Barbwire

Ginger & Irisis

2010-06-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

Here are my purple Irisis and yes there are house finches nesting in the bird house.

This is a ginger plant that is over 25 years old. It has never bloomed until this year. It is beautiful and smells so good. I close my eyes while smelling the flowers and I swear I could be in Hawaii. This is where this plant was bought originally.

Robin's Post

2010-05-18T15:13:00.001-07:00

Today it's raining and sky is full of gray clouds. This is why the picture is so dark. You can see the robin on top though!

Before Jerry left for Seattle last Saturday I asked him to put my fence back up around my veggie garden. I made it bigger this year so it needed another post added. I came home from work to find this monstrous pole at the end of the garden area. At first I thought it was so out of place and I didn't like it at all. Then the same day I saw a robin with a worm in its mouth sitting on top of the pole. What a cute sight! Since then I have seen many robins sitting on top of that post with worms in their beaks waiting to fly to their nests to feed the babies. I now love the fact that Jerry put that pole up after all.

I love watching the birds. I put my hummingbird feeders out last weekend and already have a flock of different colored hummers. The Yellow Goldfinches are back also and as the days go by their yellow color gets brighter.

Mama's got a brand new toy!

2010-04-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

I decided I need more exercise even though I clean houses all week and one of those houses has 50 stairs in it. I go there 3 times a week. But.... I want more exercise that is outside in the fresh air. I have been looking online at many bike trails here in Spokane and have decided I am going to eventually ride the 37 miles of the Centennial Trail. It's a beautiful ride along the Spokane River. That is my goal anyway! LOL

I just got the bike today and even though it's friggin freezin and windy outside, I needed to know what it felt like riding a bike again after all these years. I was a little wobbly going out the driveway but then I was ok. I only went to the end of the street and back. I will go a little further each day around the neighborhood till I feel I am ready for the trails. I need to learn how to use the different gears.

The last time I rode a bike was when I was in my early 30's. I went riding with my daughter when she was little and somehow we crashed into each other in front of the Lakewood Police Dept. (This was in S. Cal) I was so embarrassed and scraped up. I haven't ridden since. Sooooo................... I will be riding by myself until I feel it's safe for others to join me. LOL

Anybody else out there riding in their golden years?

Junk Yard Blues

2010-02-24T16:03:00.000-08:00

I have seen junk yards from afar (like from the freeway) but never actually been to one till yesterday. Don't EVER want to see one again. Too sad!

Last Christmas on my way to Florence, Oregon in my Subaru I went to pull my sun visor over to the left driver side window. Well, it snapped off and I have been wedging it up ever since. I hit a bump in the road and it falls in my lap. Startles me in fact which isn't good while driving. I decided I would try and find another visor in a junk yard to save money. There is a huge junk yard in Spokane Valley that I was told about. So off I went and after about a 30 minutes of getting lost I finally found the massive place. I have never seen sooo many mangled cars in my life. I felt sick just looking at so many. You couldn't even tell what make a lot of them were because they were so mangled. I asked the driver who was taking me out and around finding my model of Subaru how he could tell what brand and model these cars were. He showed me a map of the yard and the cars are numbered like on the side of a race car except these were done in what looked like white paint then circled. All I could think of while driving around seeing all these mangled cars were the people that used to drive them. I don't see how many of the people survived the crashes in these cars.

We found 5 Subaru cars and none of them had sun visors left. I still feel sick thinking of these horrible mangled pieces of metal just sitting there all with their own stories. Needless to say I didn't find a sun visor but sure got a eye full of sadness.
I don't think I can ever go to a junk yard again.

I did try to find a visor on both E-Bay and Craigslist but none available. I might end up having to go directly to the dealership and pay an exorbitant amount. Summer is coming and I need a visor.

Oregon Christmas

2009-12-29T13:08:00.001-08:00

I drove to Florence Oregon for Christmas (530 miles and 9 hrs one way) by myself to be with my family. My brother drove from Santa Monica CA. The weather was sunny but windy and coldish. Not as cold as Spokane though!

On Christmas Eve afternoon my brother and I went to the local casino and I won enough money within 10 minutes to pay my half of dinner we had planned at a nice posh restaurant that evening. Below is my Dad and brother trying to take my winnings LOL

Here's wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

New blooms

2009-12-12T10:19:00.001-08:00

These are the flowers close up.

This is the second Christmas cactus in bloom. If you look back on my blogs the first one that bloomed was around Nov 24th. I still have one more plant but it's not doing anything at the moment. Will see if it even blooms this year or maybe we will have to wait till early next year. This plant here is a different species. These flowers are huge and flourescent pink whereas the other one was red and spider type blooms. I don't put them in closets like the directions say you are suppose to do. They decide on their own when they are ready to be pretty.

Still no snow on the ground yet. Hooray!!! I am hoping to drive to Florence OR for Christmas to be with my family. It's an 8 hr drive and I will be by myself. So wish me luck with the weather.

"Walk in the Woods" by Stephen Lyman

2009-12-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

I fell in love with this piece of art about 13 years ago. I saw it in an art gallery in Sandpoint Idaho.

My brother sent me some money for my birthday (Sun Dec 6th) and I went to the Northtown Mall. A friend of mine said I had to go to this certain art store called "Affordable Art" because they had lots of moose pictures. He knows I am crazy about moose. I walked around the store and saw lots of beautiful moose pictures but just didn't like any of them enough to spend a fortune on. I finally asked the sales lady if she had any moose pictures by Stephen Lyman. She took me around a corner and said she only had this one. (below) I almost cried. It was the one I had wanted forever. I bought it and it's now hanging in the living room. I never thought I would ever have that particular painting. I LOVE IT! Thank you brother Dave!!

This picture of it doesn't really do it justice. It came framed this way too which is awsome!

Snow and flowers

2009-11-24T10:22:00.000-08:00

Above is my Jasmine plant that is growing wild up the wall. I am trying to train it to go across the ceiling but there is a skylight in the kitchen so it's trying to decide which direction to grow towards. Windows on one side or skylight on the other.

We have about three Christmas Cactus (holiday cactus as they call them these days as not to offend anyone) and this is the first to bloom. It's two days before Thanksgiving and it's in glorious bloom. We have two others and one is just budding and the other isn't doing anything yet. So hopefully we will get blooms all through the holiday season.

Thank goodness we have pretty flowers and plants inside because they would never survive outside in the snow. This is our second snowfall this year and it's not melting this time. We had around 3 inches fall last Sunday.

Our cats went to the vet yesterday to get their annual shots. They are brother and sister and we have had them since they were 8 weeks old. I was in shock when I found out that Smokey weighs 13lbs 12oz and Ashley weighs 10lbs 2oz. Buuuuutt it is winter and they are outside cats so they have to build themselves up to keep warm and survive the winter weather. That's the excuse they both gave me anyway. They are only 2 years old so we will see what they have for an excuse in the spring time when they start to shed their winter coats. Hmmmmm, maybe time to let them know the meaning of DIET. LOL

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Bad language

2009-10-29T15:59:00.000-07:00

Yep, what you see on the ground there is a four letter BAD word. I can't believe it's here so soon this year. October 29th!!!!!

This is like seeing Christmas decorations in the stores before Halloween. I wish everything would hold off until at least after Thanksgiving.

The weather forecasters have said that this will be a mild winter. I certainly hope so after the last two. Let's all keep our fingers and toes crossed that we just have a little of the white stuff this year! Cross your fingers and toes for Rosemary's neck of the woods too. She gets it a lot worse in N. Idaho than I do here in Spokane. (100 miles apart).

Sick of looking at the squash on my blog.

2009-10-15T14:03:00.000-07:00

I am so tired of looking at those squash on my last blog I had to update.

Here are two views of the new porch add on. Looks messy right now but once it's cleaned up I will get better pics.
The construction crew were friends that drove over from Seattle just to do this job. Oh, and also play disc golf (very important). Took three days with lots of disc golf included to finish the porch. They will be back in the spring to erect a carport for our cars. Poor guys worked in below freezing weather with lots of wind. Oh, and all my plants are dead from that freeze. I am glad in a way because I don't want to see another squash till next year. LOL

Our weather now is in the 40's at night and up to the low 60's during the day. Rainy. Got that roof on just in time.

Pictures

2009-09-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

Looks funny not to have at least one picture on each of my blogs. I took this over the weekend to show just how many veggies we get. This is just a few of each by the way.

Seems the zuchinni has slowed down just about when the crookneck decided to take off. The basket is full of tomatoes and cucumbers, and we have started to get a few edible ears of corn which are just DELICIOUS! White corn at that! In the middle you will see a Basil plant. I have to admit I bought that at the store because I was making zuchinni soup and it called for fresh basil. Hey I am sounding like I can actually cook. Ha ha! I dabble here and there on fun things but don't expect me to cook day after day. NOT me. I would rather clean dishes any day!

I found a project in my latest Birds and Blooms magazine that I am going to make next spring along with planting lots of veggies again. It is a bird bath and it is two terra cotta pots butted together with a saucer on top that you decorate with mozaic pieces. Looks fun and pretty. We love to attract birds here in the garden. After our sunflowers die we take the heads and hang them in trees and over posts so the birds can feast during the harsh winter months.

Vegetables

2009-09-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine said I didn't need to add pictures for every blog. So thank you Rosemary.

This summer growing season has been fantastic. We have grown more this year than last and hope to venture into growing new things next year. So far we have had an over abundance of Zuchinni and Crookneck squash. I have made 8 loaves of zuchinni bread and lots of zuchinni soup and froze so far. Have given away so so many of both zuchinni and crooknecks and still have lots left. They are also still growing.

The tomatoes have done really well too. I have blanched, peeled and frozen quite a few, eaten lots and they taste so much better than store bought. Of course everything tastes better when it's homegrown.

We planted white corn for the first time and I tasted my first ear today. OMG! it was absolutely delicious! That is a definite do again next year. We also grew cucumbers this year and they are delicious too. Last year we grew the pickling kind and they weren't as good. We had a friend come over and take most of them for pickling. A couple of days ago I had a cucumber, zuchinni sandwich. Wow! it was yummy.

I planted some wildflower seeds and had all kinds of pretty flowers come up. Somehow I also got a tomato plant and of all things a cantelope plant. The cantelope has three small melons on it right now. I don't know if they will get big enough to eat of not but what a nice surprise.

After looking at Rosemary's potatoes she grew I want to try to grow some next year. They looked really tasty.

Even though the season is coming to an end I have to admit I had so much fun playing in the garden this year and reaping the benefits.

Goodbye summer. Hello Fall.

Good news/Bad news

2009-08-31T16:20:00.001-07:00

Here is a pic of our huge sunflowers growing above the house. We didn't plant these! They are self starters from last years flowers. They shade the living room really well and it's like looking out into a jungle from inside. The bees and birds love them too.

Isn't this a nice looking BBQ? It's only been used a few times about three years ago while I lived in Sandpoint ID. Once I moved to Spokane it has been stored away. I decided to drag it out this last weekend and BBQ some chicken breasts. I marinated the breasts for two days and was so excited on Sunday to BBQ them. Jerry cleaned up the grill part and I got the chicken on it. It started to smell really good after about 5 minutes so I put the lid down, turned the heat down and came in the house for a few minutes. When I went out to check on it I got a big surprise.

The connection between the propane tank and the BBQ was on fire. I was so afraid the tank was going to blow up but I couldn't just let it burn. I had a squirt bottle handy that I was going to use on the chicken but now had to put the fire out with it. As you can see from the pic below, the plastic connector has melted onto the tank and also melted the connections together. The BBQ is toast. It is going to the dump. I was so disappointed that I had to put the chicken in the oven to finish cooking. I think I will go back to the old fashioned charcoal briquet style of BBQ.

Long Beach Harbor California

2009-07-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post my mother's 82nd birthday lunch pic on my last post. We had a beautiful time at the Kings Estates Winery. My family seems to think I look like Sarah Palin? Funny no one came up to me or stared as if I was. Hmmmm

This is Lacey (Doreens cat) and she is keeping my chair warm for me till I see her again.
We became very good buddies while I was visiting. She is such a sweetie!

Doreen and I had just eaten at Bubba Gumps

I need to go on a diet after eating there.

Here I am on the Aqualink feeling the spray of the ocean. What a wonderful feeling. We were both pretty sun burnt later that day.

On the left is the shoreline of Long Beach

Below is the Hyatt Hotel

Left is my best friend Doreen.

Below is taken from the Aqualink looking back at where the Spruce Goose used to be and also the Queen Mary that's still there.

I had a wonderful time visiting Doreen and time went by too quickly. We went to the movies and saw Phelam 123. Also rented Australia which I had seen but wanted to watch it again since it is so good. Ate out a lot. Slept in till 8:00 everyday. Stayed up late. Got to see Doreen's daughter new place. Just had a great time all in all. I need to go back more often. I used to live there about 14 years ago but everything has changed so much I don't recognize much anymore.

Oregon vacation

2009-07-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

Had a great time on vacation. Got to see my parents and brother in Oregon.

These are pictures of Cape Perpetua which is north of Florence near Yachats.

Oregon & California here I come!

2009-07-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

I leave next Wednesday for Florence, Oregon to see my Mom & Dad for a few days. My brother is meeting me in Eugene (he lives in Santa Monica CA) and we will be driving to Florence together. It's my Moms 82nd birthday next Thursday and the family will celebrate together.

My parents have decided to take their home off the market and stay in Florence. I am glad because they were going to move back to Arizona. They will just be snowbirds instead.

I leave Florence on Sunday the 12th and fly back to Los Angeles with my brother. He will then drive me down to Long Beach to visit my best friend that I have known for almost 40 years. I will stay there until the 16th and fly home to Spokane. Then it's back to clean clean clean. I have picked up a couple of more jobs besides my regular Mon, Wed, and Friday job. I now have a bi-weekly job and a monthly job. This is keeping me busier and out of trouble!

I have some new pics that were taken this morning to post:

This is our first harvest of Zucchinis.

We have been adding Cilantro to our potato salad. Livens it up!

This is the crookneck squash that is in with the two tomato plants. The crooknecks are tiny so far.

Petunias

Daisies

This is the life! Relaxing in the garden.

Happy still loves to play with her disc. We don't throw it for her much anymore because of her arthritis. So she rolls over it instead. She just turned 12 yesterday. Happy Birthday Happy!

Everyone have a happy 4th!

Gardening has its rewards.

2009-06-18T19:34:00.000-07:00

I have been in the garden as much as possible in my spare time. How does my garden grow? Here are a few pics to let you see.

Purple Irises right outside the living room window.

I like to sit out on the deck here and admire all my potted flowers. I have yellow, purple and white daisies, red, yellow and purple petunia waves. Cilantro, Rosemary and Chives. Excuse the mop LOL! I could lie and say it was a long stemmed flower but I won't. It is a wet mop I put there to dry and forgot to move it for this pic.

Here is another flower garden with 3 Bee Balms in the middle.

This is the veggie garden with Zuchinni, crookneck squash (you can just barely make out those beautiful yellowish/orangish flowers on them Rosemary! (our little secret). Also there are cucumbers and another tomato plant in there. This is the finished wall and new flower bed I talked about. Beats looking at that big white propane tank.

Remember the last post of my Topsy Turvey? I am so excited that this contraption really works.

Spring beginnings

2009-05-13T16:51:00.001-07:00

Gee, it's been so long since I blogged that I almost forgot my password. LOL!

Well here is a pic of my new "Topsy Turvey" tomato planter. I have two tomato and one crookneck squash in it. I will post another pic later on in the season when hopefully it is full of veggies.

This is the progress of the wall to hide the propane tank. I am going to buy a couple of Virginia Creeper plants to cover the wall. Also we are going to make a little flower garden in front of it.

Jerry bought a newer riding lawn mower and is enjoying it. The place always looks so much nicer when the lawn is mowed. I love the smell of a freshly mowed lawn. Ummmmmm!

This is cilantro that I planted. They are big enough to be outside now. I started crookneck, zucchini, cucumbers and the cilantro by starting to grow the seeds indoors last month.

Saw something unique this morning looking out the bedroom slider: There was a male house finch sitting on top of a pine tree. This little bird has a bright red chest. I suddenly noticed a hummingbird bobbing around him as if he was a flower. You had to see it to really appreciate how amazing and funny it looked. I just put the hummingbird feeders out last weekend and already we have quite a few hummers visiting.

Rosemary made me do it!

2009-04-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

See what Rosemary has done to me? Every time she mentions a type of delicious candy I have to go out and buy some. LOL

I know it's not Rosemary's fault, it's mine because I am addicted to chocolates. I need help!

Maybe if I blogged more I would have less time to eat the baaaaaddddd treats. They are so divine though!!!

Looks like Happy has had too many treats as well. No not chocolate! I give her those tiny doggie biscuits instead. One choc for me and a doggie treat for her. Really she's taking a nap since it's raining outside. She's 11 going on 12 so she doesn't bounce from room to room like a pup.

Here is a pic of green lawn coming back. What a nice sight to see after all the snow.

Last week we had three days of pure sunshine. I was able to get out and tidy up some of the garden areas. The sun felt sooooo good on my bare skin. I got to wear shorts and a tank top it was so warm.

Took a trip to Seattle a few weeks ago which was fun. Nice weather the whole weekend we were there. Can't leave Seattle without stopping at Trader Joe's for my favorite goodies. I love there Roasted tomato and garlic soup in a carton. I buy those Rosemary and Garlic crackers to crush up into the soup and it's divine. There now, everyone can buy that and become healthier instead of eating all those chocolates. Too bad the closest Trader Joe's is in Seattle for us here in the Inland Northwest.

Happy Easter everyone!!

Cherry Cordials

2009-03-03T15:41:00.000-08:00

Oh no! I was in Rosauers this afternoon and I hadn't eaten lunch. You know what they say about going shopping on an empty stomach? It's not advisable because you tend to buy junk food. Yep, I was looking for the bread aisle and had to walk past the candy section to get to the bread. Guess what jumped out at me? Those Cherry Cordials Rosemary is always talking about. I had to buy a bag out of curiousity. I now have them h0me and I am afraid to eat one for I might become addicted. Wonder if there is a 12 step program if I get hooked LOL. It might be something like this:
1) Avoid the candy sections in all stores.
2) Take a friend with you if you go to a store and tell them to keep you away from the candy aisle.
3) Don't visit people who you know have Cherry Cordials in their cupboards.
4) Make new friends who are diabetics because you know they can't eat Cherry Cordials.
5) If you accidently run into a situation where there are Cherry Cordials, put your hands in your pockets and leave the building immediately.
6) If someone puts a Cherry Cordial in your hand, run to the nearest sink and send it down the garbage disposal.
7) Admit to your friends that you have a problem when it comes to Cherry Cordials. If they are real friends they will help you get past the cravings.
8) If by chance you absolutely find it necessary to eat a Cherry Cordial, call your sponsor immediately and explain what caused your break down. Everyone slips once in a while.
9) Keep your sponsors phone number on your cell phone under "In case of an emergency".
10) Attend group meetings with people with the same problem.
11) Do not try to disguise the Cherry Cordial in order to eat it.
12) DO NOT take Cherry Cordials in cars, buses, planes or trains. Too tempting in confined spaces.

AND MY CAT SCAN SHOWED NO ABNORMALTIES???

Occasional Blogger

2009-02-22T08:38:00.000-08:00

Well what can I say? I am not a frequent blogger am I? Things just seem to happen and I just don't have the enthusiasm to write. Now I have to think of all the things that I want to blog about that have happened in the last month.

I have seen many movies: The Reader, Gran Torino, Slumdog Millionaire and International. I think out of all 4 of those Slumdog Millionaire was the best. I thought Clint Eastwood was great in Gran Torino though.

Most of the snow is still on the ground and the temps are still cold. Mornings in the low 20's and only getting up to maybe high 30's during the day. I can't wait till Spring. I think February is the month most of us living in the Pacific Northwest get a bad case of Cabin Fever.

The 16th of February was a sad day for me. I lost the love of my life 4 years ago. I still think of him a lot and all the gardening we used to do together. We had an amazing landscaped garden when we lived in Sandpoint. The neighbors said that we did enough work in 2 yrs that most people took 20 to do.

Have had some health issues lately(daily headaches) and had to have a CAT scan done on my head/brain/sinuses. Guess what? The results showed nothing abnormal thank God! I do have a functional brain too!! Yippee! I have been sleeping a lot. On my days off I can sleep most of the day. What a waste that is. Another Dr appointment this coming Thursday so hopefully he will have some good ideas of what is going on with me. I kind of have a good idea but will wait and see what the good ole doc has to say.

The house I take care of 3 times a week has a kitten named "Midnight". He is pure black from head to toe. We have become very good friends. He follows me around most of the day (in between his little naps) I have become very attached to him. Gave him a paper grocery bag to play in last Friday and he had so much fun. Animals are a blessing when you aren't feeling up to par. He just purrs and purrs when I am close to him. What a sweetie! I always give him a kiss on the head when I leave.

Had another moose siting last Tuesday morning. This one was shedding so it looked a bit scraggly. I heard our dog "Happy" barking and barking and when I looked out the window she was about 6 feet away from this moose. It looked like the moose was about to charge (head down and pawing at the ground) I yelled at Jerry to get Happy in the house. Fortunately she is very well trained and came inside right away. Whew that was a scare! The moose hung out for awhile then headed north across wide open territory. What a site! I noticed it was about a month ago when we saw the two moose here. Hmmmmm what a coincident. I will have to watch for moose around the 17th of March to see if any arrive.

Happy is getting up in age (just like me) and she just loves to chase the golf disc and brings it back to your feet for another throw. We are trying to limit her running because the next day she can barely walk. She just thinks she is still a pup. The other day she was running across the snow to get the disc and must have fallen into a hole. She limped around for the rest of the day. I have a vet appointment for her this Thursday (after my doctor appointment) to get her shots updated and have the vet look at her legs and feet. We give her Glucosamine daily for her joints but maybe she needs more. She also needs her toenails clipped and since they are pure black I am afraid of going into the quick. Looks like I have a busy week ahead of me. Monday: Spokane Movers bookkeeper to help me with the monthly bookkeeping duties. Tues/Wed: Housekeeping job. Thurs: Doctor and Vet appointments. Fri: Housekeeping job. Guess I won't have much time to sleep this week! LOL.

I know there is more to blog about but can't think right now. Maybe later.

Out and about

2009-01-25T14:58:00.001-08:00

Up until a week ago Friday, I had never been downtown Spokane to a place called River Park Square. It has a lot of stores and a 20 theater movie house. It was the movies that introduced me to this location. My neighbor friend Patty invited me to go and see the movie "Doubt" with Meryl Streep a week ago Friday. We went and picked up Patty's sister and took off for the 9:15pm showing. Reasons we go to the late show is because Patty's sister works nights and she sleeps most of the day on Friday (her day off), also the parking isn't bad and there are fewer people in the movie so we get good seats. I got home that night at 12:30. Ugh, I am not a night person. Also the movie wasn't that good. I thought it was very slow and drab. It definitely leaves a doubt in your mind though.

This last Friday we went to dinner at a place called "Sawtooth Grill" inside the square and then caught the 9:45pm showing of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" starring Brad Pitt and Kate Blanchett. It was a great movie and I recommend it to all. It's funny, sad and romantic. I didn't get home till 1:30am. It was a 2hr 48 min movie!

So now I go out with the girls every Friday night to a movie and maybe dinner if we can afford it.
I think next Friday we are going to see "Defiance".

I really miss going to the movies with you, Rosemary. Remember, we used to have to wait weeks sometimes for something decent to come to our one movie house in Sandpoint. Then those same movies would stay for almost a month. Now every time I go to the movies here in Spokane I will think of you. I miss you.

I love moose

2009-01-17T11:23:00.000-08:00

First of all you all have to know how excited I get when I see a moose. I just love these goofy, awkward and unpredictable creatures. Our house is full of moose items such as clocks, mirrors, stuffed animals, picture frames, coffee cups, candle holders, slippers, a log bed with a metal insert in the headboard of a moose and I even have a futon with moose fabric. I have just too many to list. You get the picture though.

When I moved from Sandpoint where I saw moose often, either in the garden or on the road. I didn't think I would see moose here in Spokane. The first time Jerry said there was a moose in the yard I didn't believe him. But sure enough he wasn't kidding. From that day if I hear Jerry say there is a moose I am jumping to see it. I am usually asleep when they wander thru in the early morning. Yesterday was no exception. It was 7am and I jumped out of bed when I heard Jerry say "Barb, there's a moose". There were in fact two moose and they were rather large. Here are some of the pics I took. I was almost late for work because I couldn't stop watching them. I didn't even care that they were eating our Arborvitae bushes.

Anyone tell me how to move the pics to where I want them on the page? I wanted these at the bottom not the top.

Let it snow let it snow!

2008-12-18T18:35:00.000-08:00

OK, I can't figure out how to get the last paragraph up to the top here. So you will have to see the pics first then read later.

This was taken out the back master bedroom slider.

This is the driveway and my car after snow blowing.

The little house in the background is where we set up the kitties when it got so cold last week. Lowest temp got down to -12 degrees. We set up a dresser by the front window and draped an electric blanket over it along with another blanket on top. We left the little side window open and placed a log (you can see on the left side) so the kitties could scamper up and into what we call the pump house. (it houses the pump that runs our well.) Once we picked them up and carried them into the house they seemed to be happy just sitting in the window watching the snow fly. There food and a little heater are in there too. They have a heated water dish by the back door that they can still get to when thirsty. Oh, and that's Jerry snow blowing.

Here is Happy walking in the snow blowed path. She loves the snow and tries to make snow angels.

This is my car and it's not an SUV. Just a little all wheel drive Subaru wagon.

Ah, just in time for Christmas. We got snow bombed today and yesterday. Started around 7am yesterday morning and finally stopped around 3pm today. We shoveled and snowblowed what seemed like forever. Snow blowed the neighbors driveway too. We are still stuck at home though because the streets haven't been plowed yet where we live (outside city limits of Spokane WA) so what else is there to do but stay home and wait. Here are a few pics I took this morning. Watching the news all day and we now have an accumulation of 23 inches of snow over a 24 hour period. Now it is suppose to get down below 0 degrees again for the next few days. Snow forcast for Sunday again. Just as well my foot is healed enough I can help with the shoveling.

I'm free!

2008-11-17T15:34:00.000-08:00

Good news! Get to start trying to walk without the bootcast. Foot is healing well. Just have to build muscles up in my leg again. I can't walk too much but little steps at a time. I am on the mend at last!! Does feel funny trying to walk normally though. My ankle doesn't bend very well at the moment because it's been in the bootcast all this time.

Thought I was going to be able to go back to work the beginning of Dec but have to wait until after my next dr appt on Dec 8th. I know I can't stand on my feet for very long right now anyway. Might as well enjoy my time off from here on.

Looks like I might be going to Seattle for Thanksgiving with Jerry's family. I said I probably wouldn't go anywhere for the holidays but that was when I thought I would be back to work.

My Dad's surgery went very well and he is up walking around already. Since he has heart problems, a diabetic and is 83 years old, the doctors only gave him an epidural instead of putting him totally under. He said he heard all the sawing and banging while they were putting his new hip replacement in. YUK! Gives me chills!!

My friend Karen from Sandpoint came to visit before and after her trip to Minneapolis. We are the airport shuttle service for our friends. Had a fun time catching up on all the goings on at Litehouse where I used to work with Karen. She is retiring next spring and moving to Florida.

Amazing technology

2008-11-06T10:53:00.000-08:00

As I write this blog, my Dad is in surgery having a hip replacement. My Mom called from the hospital in Springfield Oregon this morning to say I can watch the progress on-line. She gave me a "tracking" number in which it shows my Dad's stage. Right now it shows he's in operating room # 10. At the end of surgery it will show "Closing". Then it shows when he's in recovery stage #1, then stage #2 and finally ready for family to visit. It shows updates every 60 seconds. It is just amazing what the internet is capable of doing these days isn't it?

Here is Spokane WA we are waiting for a big rain storm to come. Suppose to rain hard through the weekend. Probably means that nasty four letter word (snow) is going to hit you Rosemary.

My friend Karen from Sandpoint will be here tomorrow evening and we are taking her to the airport Saturday morning. She's heading for Minnesota to visit her mom for a week.

So very happy the election turned out the way it did. Now let's just hope Obama can turn this country around. I know it will take time but I really believe this man has a compassion for the people of the USA. Time will tell.

Prop 1000 also won here is WA. This is the assisted suicide prop that I was hoping would pass. All in all the election turned out well in my opinion.

Time to go check on my Dad again. He's 83 so surgery at this time of his life could be tricky if you know what I mean? He has had two triple heart by-passes in the past and is a diabetic.

Monday Monday

2008-11-03T07:21:00.000-08:00

Feeling better all the time. Anyone remember those songs? It's funny when all I have to do is mention some lyrics to an old song and Jerry knows all the words and starts singing. He sings and plays guitar very well by the way.

My last blog was pretty much feeling sorry for myself but I feel better today. Thanks for reading my blog and sending comments that made me feel better.

I subscribe to Netflix and part of that subscription includes a play now option. I have never tried it till yesterday morning. Had to download a bunch of stuff in order for it to play on my computer but it was well worth it. I watched a documentary called "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" I was fascinated by it. Takes place in San Francisco. If you get a chance, watch this movie. It's great. My friend Doreen told me about it ages ago. I had to call her to tell her I had finally watched it. Oh, better have the kleenex box handy!

Here is a pic of Ashley in her winterized house. Fortuneatly I fixed it up with new plastic to keep the rain and snow from leaking thru before I broke my foot. Took quite a few hours. Put in a clean blanket and hooked up the electric pad which only heats up when body weight is on it. Haven't got the heated water dish out yet but there is still time for that. I didn't think both cats could fit but they do.

The horses across the field that I loved to watch romp and gallop around the fields are gone. One had to be put down because of a bad cut to its leg from getting caught in the fence wire. I guess the other horse was given away or sold so it wouldn't be alone. Maybe I will see new horses out there next spring.

No trick or treaters on Halloween. Didn't expect any really. We live on a non-lit dead-end street. I don't think it's safe for kids to go house to house anymore no matter where they live. Too many crazy people out there.

Today is Nov 3rd. I moved to Spokane exactly 2 years ago today. I still miss my old house in Sandpoint Idaho where I lived for 10 years. I miss my friend Rosemary too.

Nov 11th would have been my late husbands birthday and our 8th wedding anniversary. That day is also his best friends birthday. Yep, same day same year. He's Rosemarys husband, Steve.

It's also Veterans Day and John (late hubby) was stationed in Germany during the Viet Nam War. His brothers were already in Viet Nam and the story goes that the military can't have all the family men in the same war zone. I am glad he got to go to Germany instead. I think he was too.

BOO! HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

2008-10-28T15:14:00.000-07:00

The boo is for Halloween but the boo hoooooooooooo! is for me.

I am totally depressed today and I am going to bitch bitch bitch about it to whoever reads these blogs of mine. I tell you it's not many of you that read them either which is another depressing thought.

Went for another dr appt yesterday to find out I have AT LEAST another 3 freakin weeks of wearing this damn boot. I am starting to get blisters on my ankle bone and also blisters on my back heal from this brick boot. I still can't drive, still on crutches and I am pissed off about it. Jerry is taking off for Seattle this Friday and coming back late Monday. Think I will sleep a lot to pass the time. He deserves to get away for a few days after putting up with me like this for the last 3 weeks.

I can't e-mail my friend Rosemary cause our e-mails don't seem to connect. I tried calling and she isn't home so I am sitting here at this computer just bitching and feeling sorry for myself. I know I know, I should be thankful I am not in a worse predicament. At least I still have 2 feet, 2 arms and half a brain etc.....

The house is a mess. Needs dusting and vacuuming. Jerry has been pretty good at trying to keep the kitchen clean but it's not like I want it.

I talked to my daughter three weeks ago and I haven't heard from her since. That was when I told her I broke my foot. What's wrong with me???

Cloudy days

2008-10-20T18:46:00.000-07:00

Fall is definitely here. The trees are shades of reds, yellows and browns.

I grew up in S. Cal so I really never saw the four seasons. Today was windy and cloudy but still beautiful.

Yesterday I was going insane sitting around the house babying this broken foot. Jerry took me to "Northwest Seed and Pet" here in Spokane. We bought another bag of Niger seeds which the Goldfinches love. Also another feeder. The Goldfinch is Washington's state bird and it reminds me of a Canary. One of the feeders is right outside the living room window and I can watch them all day while I am couch bound. What a sight they are. Jerry also hung some sunflowers that we grew over the summer on the pole and it's a treat for the Goldfinches too.

Here is a picture of the boot I have to wear for 6-8 weeks. I am counting the days. It has been exactly 2 weeks 3 days since I broke my foot. It feels like 2 months. I can get up on the crutches and move around a little bit but I get tired easily. Crutches are hard to use at my age. Looks lovely doesn't it? Spittewy! Can't wait for it to go.

Talked to my Dad today and he has been rescheduled for Nov 6 for his hip surgery. Hooray! In the meantime my Mom who is 81 and still plays tennis, hurt her arm last week. She has a torn rotator cuff. So no more tennis for awhile. Lots of physical therapy though. Seems my whole family is falling apart except for my brother who is 3 years older than I. He plays tennis and golf all year round in S. Cal.

Update on broken foot

2008-10-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

Had another Orthopedic Dr. appt this morning and the x-ray showed that the break is healing correctly. This is a huge relief since if it wasn't healing the proper way I would need a pin inserted. OUCH! My whole foot is turning yellow, black, blue and purple. Looks lovely! I still have red toenail polish on too so that just adds more color. LOL

This last week has been pretty boring. I have been trying to keep occupied by watching TV, sleeping and working on my cross stitch project. I am still going batty though.

Jerry has taken me for a few rides in the car and that was wonderful. Fresh air and things to look at besides the living room walls.

Another dr's appt on the 27th to see how the bone is healing. Still have to keep my foot up as much as possible but also try to put a little pressure down on it while on the crutches.

Spent most of the day today doing payroll for Jerry's business. Another day down and another 5-6 weeks to go before I can get back to work cleaning.

My Dad was suppose to have hip surgery tomorrow but last week he had a mini stroke. Now he has to have tests done before the re-scheduling of the surgery. He has had pain in his back for so long (years) and finally the doctors in Oregon figured it was his hip. He just turned 83 on the 5th of this month. I am hoping the tests go well and he can get that surgery done soon and be out of pain. Therapy takes a while too but at least he would be on the mend.

You can tell I am bored can't you? I am just blabbing along here like I have all day. Well, guess what? I DO!!!!!!!!!!!

I won't bore you anymore though. I will go take a nap! Bye for now.

Rosemary's Memes

2008-10-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

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There's rosemary, that's for remembrance.William Shakespeare: Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Power of Four Meme
I was tagged by Joan at The Erstwhile Librarian for this little meme. I have absolutely nothing to blog about so I will try this one. Thank you, Joan, for the opportunity....maybe I will seem less boring by doing this meme.
What you are supposed to do is copy/paste my post, remove my answers and type in yours and then tag four people on your blog roll! Don't forget to change my answers to the questions with those of your own.
Four places I go over and over
* Rosaures in Brown's Addition for my RX's.
* To the compost pile out back.
* To Spokane Movers to p/u revenue and paperwork for work at home.
* My cleaning clients homes in Brown's Addition and The Ridge in Hangman Valley.

Four people who e-mail me regularly
* My Parents
* KHQ channel 6 with breaking news and weather reports.
* My cousin Pam in England.
* My friend Karen
Four places you'd rather be.
* Hawaii being waited on hand and foot by a great looking hunk.
* Out in a boat on a nice scenic lake.
* Back in Sandpoint with my late husband
* Riding a horse on a clean sandy beach.
Four TV shows I could watch over and over
* Law & Order
* CSI
* NCIS
* Cold Case
Four places where I like to eat out.
* Linnies-Thai food
* Azteca-Mexican food
* Northern Quest Casino Buffet
* Denney's bar for dinner.
When I do one of these memes and tag someone....they never try them. So, if this sounds like fun, go for it and pass it on if they work in your posts. This one was fun. Barb should have lots of time to do this; she broke her foot and is home bound! I bet she would like some blog visits too.

Work work work-NOT!

2008-10-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

For the next three weeks I had arranged to fill in for my neighbor (she is going on vacation to Cabos San Lucas) who cleans a one story home. Went on a trial run last Wednesday to find out what was expected of me.

I turned over all my bookkeeping chores to the office girl except for payroll because I would have been working Mon-Friday for the next three weeks and knew I would be exhausted. Welllllll, I guess someone up there said Oh no you don't, you already work too hard and proceeded to tangle my feet on a staircase while working on Friday. I went down hard. Hit my head, bruised my shoulder and my foot had me screaming. (I know God really didn't do it to me) I was just not paying attention and I missed the stair. I thought I had sprained my ankle and kept working for another hour till I couldn't put pressure on my foot at all without severe pain. I managed to miss getting hit by a bus while hobbling across the street to my car and then proceeded to drive home using my left foot for the brake and hurt right foot for the gas. I had to lift my pant leg to guide my right foot. I still thought my foot was sprained maybe!

Jerry helped me into the house and I took off my shoe to see a very swollen foot. Put ice on it, elevated it etc.... Went to emergency and 4 hours later after x-rays I was told I had a BROKEN foot. I have never had a broken bone in my body till now. I don't wish it on anyone.

These days the doctors don't put casts on you, they put a "boot" which conforms to your foot and leg by pumps on either side of the boot. So I have a boot and crutches. I will not be able to work for at least six weeks and I have to make an appointment to see an Orthopedic doctor on Monday.

If I had the flu or some bug that made me sleep a lot it would be fine but I am not used to feeling ok and not being able to run around doing everyday things. This is going to drive me nuts!!!

I have called all my clients to let them know I couldn't work for the next six weeks and they were totally understanding. I feel terrible about letting them down though. That's just the way I am.

One funny thing happened at the emergency clinic though and that was we had to go downstairs for the x-rays and when we came back up we thought we had come from the 2nd floor. When the elevator doors opened we saw a sign that said "Neurology" instead of "Urgent Care". I had to laugh thinking I wasn't ready for that department yet!

I will have lots of time to catch up on my reading and watching movies for the next few weeks. This is only the 2nd day and I am already fidgety.

What am I going to do with myself????????????????

Kitties go for ride

2008-09-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, here it is Wednesday. I had an appointment for the kitties to get their Rabies shots and whatever else they needed. (they are both outside cats and bring us lots of mice and gophers)

I purposely went to Petco and bought another cardboard cat carrier since the only place the cats go to is the vets. We already had one cardboard cat carrier and when they were kittens it's what we brought them home in from the shelter. (Too little for both of them now to fit)

At 3:30 this afternoon I put Ashley in one of the carriers and Jerry found Smokey and got him in his carrier.

They both got put in the back seat of my car and off I went to the vet with both meowing loudly. As I got on the freeway I heard Smokey scratching the side of the carrier and the next thing I knew he had torn a hole in the side and was looking out the window. I couldn't pull over so I kept my elbow between the seats to prevent him from jumping into the front of the car and getting under my feet. I was thinking "How the h--l I was going to get them both into one carrier while inside the car. I pulled into the vets parking lot and managed to get the back door open without Smokey escaping. How I got him into the carrier with Ashley in it I will never know. I survived without being bitten or scratched. I just remember grabbing Smokey by the scruff and practically throwing him on top of Ashley so she wouldn't escape. I felt mean but better than having them get loose onto the street and killed by a car.

The vet gave me another cat carrier to get them home in. The ride home was uneventful other than the loud meowing again. I still had the old torn carrier in the car so I played a trick on Jerry and told him I brought 3 carriers home. He thought I had brought another cat until he got close to the torn carrier. I flipped it around for him to see the hole and then told him the story. He was relieved I didn't bring home another cat.

Trip to Seattle

2008-09-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

Took off for Seattle on Saturday morning at 10am. Stopped in Moses Lake for breakfast and a round of disc golf. Got to Jerry’s son house which is in the Queen Ann area of Seattle at 4:30pm. Jerry’s son has a view from his balcony of the Seattle Space Needle and all the high rise buildings. It’s a gorgeous site. Went to dinner at a place called “Wild Ginger” which was fantastic Asian food and atmosphere.

Sunday we went to a park called Lakewood and watched a disc golf tournament. It’s the first I have attended. I was amazed at how well the professionals played. Was a nice weather day too considering it rained all day before. Nice sunshine and warmth.

Sunday eve we met up with Jerry’s sister Judy and her husband. They live in Seattle also. Had a couple of beers with them then went down a few blocks and met Jerry’s brother Bruce (yes, he also lives in Seattle) for dinner.

I do know that I wouldn’t be able to survive living in Seattle. Too many people, too small a streets, horrific trying to find a parking space and when you do it’s all metered parking. You put money into a central machine on the block and it prints out a ticket that you have to stick on your side window of the car. I am so lost most of the time I couldn’t tell you where I went.

Monday we played a round of disc golf with Jerry’s son then headed for home around 1:30pm. We took one wrong turn off the freeway and it took an hour to find our way back on again. Seeeee what I mean???? Lost lost lost! I just got more stressed out as time went by. I wanted out of the crowded city fast.

After we made it back on the freeway heading home (thank God) we made a side trip to Pothole Reservoir which is below Moses Lake near Royal City. Was a beautiful drive with just open farmland for miles. We got home around 8pm. I can say I had a nice time but won’t be going back to Seattle for awhile.

Family and friends

2008-08-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

I am back from my visit to Long Beach California. Here is a pic of my daughter and my grandson. He is a joy to be around. As you can see, he loves the Dodgers but also he told me he liked the Chicago White Sox. I only got to see them for a few hours on Sunday. They were off to Disneyland on Monday and left for Chicago early Tuesday. I wish I could have spent a lot more time with them both. I miss them terribly.

This is a pic of the boat my best friend Doreen and I took around the Long Beach Harbor. Was a beautiful day and we both got sunburned. We had a nice lunch overlooking this view afterwards.

This is a view of the dome where the Howard Hughes's Spruce Goose used to be housed. I think it's now in SLC.

This is the lighthouse with Long Beach in the background.

This is my best friend, Doreen and her husband. We went to a Japanese Buffet restaurant and I ate so much Sushi. I just love Sushi and not many people I know like it. Doreen being one of them. Her husband on the other hand loves it too. We definitely pigged out.

This is Doreen and her daughter who just moved back from Tennessee. I said in an earlier blog that I have known Doreen for over 30 years. Well, the actual count is 38 years. I know this because Erica was just about to be born when I met Doreen. The yacht behind them is Erica's in her dreams. LOL
This is my new boyfriend I met at Shoreline Village in Long Beach. Isn't he handsome? Definitely my type too.

I had pretty good flights even though I am not comfortable flying. Going over was ok but on the way back from SLC to Spokane I could have sworn the plane was speeding down the runway with flat tires. Wasn't the runway because it felt the same when landing in Spokane.

My daughter and I talked about me living in Chicago in my retirement years. I don't know. I miss her and my grand kids a lot and would love to be closer. I guess time will tell. The way she moves around, who knows where she will be when I am all alone and retired.

When I got back Tuesday eve around 11pm I was totally exhausted. Wednesday, Thurs, and Friday I had to get up early for work. On Wed eve we went to the Casino for dinner with our neighbors, Thurs Jerry and I went to "Pig Out in the Park" at Riverside Park here in downtown Spokane, then last night I refused to go anywhere so we ordered pizza in and had the neighbors over. I have been working on the books since 9am this morning till around 4pm this afternoon and still have lots more to do. Payroll tomorrow. I just had to take a break and have some fun with this blog.

The lost blogger

2008-08-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't blogged in awhile. I have been so busy working then a couple of weeks ago I came down with a bad cold which seems to be hanging on forever. Then of course I have to watch the Olympics every night at 8pm. Soooo.... I have been lost in another land.

I am off to California this Friday to see my best friend Doreen whom I have known for over 30 years. We have kept in touch even after I moved to Idaho in 1996 from California. Yes I am from the dreaded Southern Cal. Lived there from age 9 until moving to Idaho. This is also the trip I get to see my daughter and my grandson Jesse who is 5. So this will be my last blog until I get back next week.

Everyone! have a great week.

Our garden

2008-07-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Our flowers are blooming and veggies are growing. We must have picked at least 50-75 zucchinis so far this month. We are giving them to neighbors, the people I work for and also blanching and freezing them for winter use. The tomatoes are still green but we will have beefsteaks and cherry's when they ripen. Cucumbers are still small but will get large fairly quickly in this warm weather. I love the red sunflowers but next year we will plant them elsewhere since they are covering the way to pick the zucchini which are behind them. It's like traipsing through a jungle to pick. We also had strawberries the beginning of June but they are gone now.

I took pics this morning of the garden and all the types of trees we have. We counted them yesterday and wow I didn't realize how many we have. These pics are just a few. None of these trees are older than 15 years old. They give us plenty of privacy from the road.

96 Spruce

10 Weeping Willows

8 Poplars

2 Oaks

1 Russian Olive (Fallen)

8 Mtn Ash

9 Birch

1 Elm

1 Red Cedar

1 Juniper

18 Western Larch (Tamarack)

1 Hawthorne

1 Pear

1 Apple

5 Ponderosa Pines

20 Lilac Bushes, Purple and Red Bee Balm

My friend Gina

2008-07-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

Had a great visit with my friend from Naples Idaho last Wednesday evening. We all went to the Northern Quest Casino for dinner. Their buffet is delicious and the price is right. Jerry and I get senior discounts since we are both over 55. (I am 56, Jerry 59). Gina has a few years to go before she gets the discount though. LOL!

Gina was amazed at where we live. She thought we were in a metropolis but we are outside the city limits of Spokane in a rural area similar to where she lives in Naples. Horses, a donkey, roosters and even peacocks live around here. Peacocks are very loud!

I took Gina to the airport for her trip to see her daughter and help with her baby shower. She's due in August so Gina will be going again and hopefully will be there when her daughter delivers.

The weather here is in the 90's today. Good day to stay inside and do payroll for Jerry's company. Picked some zucchini, blanched and froze them for winter use. Must have picked 30 over this last week. Gave some to the neighbor and she is growing yellow squash so will be exchanging all summer.

I keep forgetting to take pics of things I talk about. Oops! I wonder if the neighbor has eaten her zucchini yet! LOL

How do you bloggers get the same pic next to your name when you post a comment?
Rosemary has Mimi her cat, someone else has a little cartoon, some have pics of themselves etc....

Porcupine

2008-07-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, I went and took a look at #8 tree that was replaced with a white pine and guess what? GONE! Yep, that # 8 spot seems to have been robbed again. The good news is though is that the jury decided the porcupine was our wrong suspect. He is innocent. We do have a new suspect and hopfully he will be hung by dusk tonight. Will keep you updated. Hint: The kitties are slacking on their hunting skills.
The pics are before and after catching the guilty robber.

My friend Gina is coming to visit later today and stay overnight. She has a 6:30am flight out tomorrow morning. Since we only live about 15 minutes from the airport she will leave her car here at our house and I will drive her to the airport in the morning. She actually lives in Naples Idaho now but she and her husband lived across the street from me when I lived in Sandpoint. She and her husband looked after my late husband on many occasions while I had to work. Also took care of our animals when John was in the hospital for days at a time. So will be fun to chat up a storm tonight. Haven't seen her since 2006.

I am charging my camera up and will hopefully get some pics posted soon.

Love the summer

2008-07-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

It's hot but I am not complaining. We have central air to stay cool in when it's too hot outside to work.

No sign of the gardener yet so this is good! I have been mowing all weekend in sections. When it gets too hot I come inside to cool off, then out I go again. I am about to do one more section tonight after I finish this blog. I can do this! I am using the gas mower that I have to push. It's all good exercise though.

Last Friday I took on another cleaning job. The house is a historic home in a section of town called Brown's Addition here in Spokane. It's a gorgeous house and the new owners are just moving in. The house was built in 1899 and renovated in 2006. It's 4400 sq. ft. 5 bedroom 5bath house with 48 stairs 4 levels. All hardwood floors. It has the historic plaque out front and is called the "Olmstead House". So now I have 3 housecleaning jobs plus doing Jerry's books for him. I have so much more energy now I am doing physical work it's unreal. I even went and played 9 holes of disc golf down the road earlier today. I think this is what I needed to get out of my tiredness slump. Summertime and exercise. I do have to admit I am exhausted by the end of the day but I think this is a good feeling of accomplishment.

Yesterday I watched my other Netflix movie, Seabiscuit. I loved it so much I watched it again with Jerry. It's hard for Jerry to sit through a whole movie without moving around. His neck starts to hurt and he has to stand up often and move around. This drives me nuts so most of the time I watch my movies by myself and totally get absorbed in them. Just like when I read a book. I have to have quiet and I go into the book itself and enjoy.

I decided after my last trip to Florence Oregon that I needed to buy a new suitcase. I needed one I could take on board or put on the cart outside the aircraft and pick up upon departing the aircraft. If I had not had checked luggage last time when I got stuck in Portland for 4 hours I could have caught and earlier flight home. Since I am off to Ca in late Aug I decided to go and buy the smaller suitcase. I got one at Fred Meyer that was on sale. It's just what I need. Hooray, I am ready to go now.

Last Thursday Jerry noticed that one of his tiny tamarack trees (about 2ft tall) had vanished. He had planted 15 out towards the back of the house and 5 in front of the property by the road. We just couldn't figure out what happened. Deer would just chomp off the top probably but there was no sign of a tree ever being there. Weird! Friday evening our dog Happy was acting very strangely and was determined to be inside the house. We let her in and looked out towards the tall tree close to the house and saw a porcupine in it. It was then we figured what ate the little tamarack tree. Glad Happy wanted inside. I have heard of dogs getting porcupine quills stuck in their snouts and have to go to the vet to get them pulled out. We haven't seen the porcupine since and hopefully he went on his way to other trees to nibble on.

Does anyone out there know why swallows fly low over fields in swarms? We must have over a hundred here.

Time Flies

2008-07-12T11:48:00.000-07:00

Here it's been almost a week since my last blog. Busy busy in this beautiful warm weather!

Let's see, since last Sunday's blog I watched my Netflix movie "Number 23" and said I would let you know what I thought of it. Weelllll! WEIRD is the word for it. Anyone that has seen it knows you can take any number and make almost everything in your life number wise = a specific number. For instance, my number is 24. Sooo many things have happened to me or about me on the 24th. I didn't realize the number meant anything till years after all these events happened and I started taking note of all the 24's in my life.

1) 1st time married October 24th 1970.
2) 2nd time married July 24th 1976.
3) I was 24 when I got married 2nd time.
4) 2nd husband Jesse's birthday Sept 24 1948.
5) My daughter Jessica's birthday April 24th 1978.
6) My daughter was 24 days late when born.
7) My Mother was 24 when I was born.
8) Boyfriend Tom passed away March 24th 1993.
9) My best friend in California got married May 24th 1980.
10) My property address in Lake Isabella Ca was 1124.
11) My property address in Long Beach Ca was 5424.
12) Lost Cutie dog Jan 24th 2003.
13) P.O. Box number in Sandpoint ID #24.
14) Late husband John asked me to marry him June 24th 2000.
15) My parents got married Oct 24th 1959.
16) Flew to Florence Oregon last Dec 24th 2007.

Now you tell me if this isn't strange. See if you can take a number and do it too.

Tennis anyone?

2008-07-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

As I was growing up my parents paid for me to have tennis lessons. I think I was around 11 or 12. I got to wear pretty tennis outfits that made me feel pretty. The problem was that I really wasn't any good at the game of tennis even after the lessons. In fact I began to despise the game altogether. Those were the years I started to rebel against my parents for one reason or another. Fact is I have never been interested in tennis since. (my brother and mother still play).

Today, I thought I would put the TV on just for some noise while I was putzing around the house. Yes, Mom I was cleaning again! LOL. Anyway I happened to click onto the Wimbledon Championship game between Federer and Nadel. I watched in awe as the two men played, amazed at the shots they were dealing. I actually sat on the couch and watched them play another set. I guess it was the longest game in the history of Wimbledon. 4 hours and 45 minutes. With two rain delays and almost nightfall Nadel won the Championship. What an exciting moment for him. He played a magnificent game. Maybe next year I will watch again.

Tonight I am going to watch my movie from Netflix called "Number 23". Will let you know what I think of it.

4th of July

2008-07-05T13:29:00.000-07:00

I was planning on spending this whole weekend working but.....

I got out early yesterday and mowed the grass around the house. I want to fire our gardner cause he is just too expensive and he mows over some of my plants at times. Really pisses me off. We have 5 acres but we only want around 2 of them mowed.

The gardener sold me a little riding mower and said it would only last a couple of years. So we made a deal that I would mow the area around the house and he would take care of the rest. This way I thought it would cut down on the cost. The last time he was here both Jerry and I were gone. I will admit the yard looked nice when we got home that night but he still charged Jerry the same amount as if he'd done the whole yard himself. Made me mad but Jerry didn't mind that much. Arrrrrggg Men!!! Anyway the gardner told me to try out this bigger mower to see if I liked it better than the tiny one he sold me. (the belt broke on mine and hadn't had time to get a new one yet.) So I was mowing with his mower one day and he happened to come by. He went ballistic on me asking if I checked the oil before I started mowing. I am a woman, how did I know I was suppose to check the oil EVERY TIME I used it. Geez! You don't have to check the car oil everytime you drive it someplace!!!! Anyway he went on bitching about how much time and money it takes to keep these mowers in tip top condition blah blah blah. I went and found some oil and of course he put it in still ranting that I could have burned up the engine blah blah blah.

A few days after that he stopped by again and I just gave him one of my disgusted looks that could kill. He just looked back and said "WHAT?" I left and went into my office to work. I heard Jerry yelling at him about the way he treated me over his mower. They argued for about ten minutes then all was quiet. I came out and asked Jerry what happened and he said he told Ronnie to take his damn mower and leave. We don't know if he will be back. Hope not. I know it is hard work mowing but I can do it even if I have to buy another heavier duty one. Right now I am using my old Sears gas push mower. Talk about getting exercise :) Jerry is helping too.

Why does this blog sound like a bitch blog? Ok let's get on to happier subjects. Am I suppose to be writing all this or just little tid bits of stuff?

Also yesterday I did a lot of paperwork for the business. About 5 hrs worth. I then took a break and noticed Happy (Red Heeler)had taken off again. I wondered if she heard fireworks and got scared. I called and called and no Happy. I got in the car and drove down the road to our friends house that has a disc golf course. (Happy loves to join in the game) She wasn't there. I started back home and I glanced over at my neighbors house and guess who was behind the gate. Yep, good ole Happy. I noticed the neighbors had company so I was hesitant to go get her. I stood and yelled for her several times but no one heard me. I am sure Happy did but she was getting spoiled. Finally Patty came to the gate and invited me in. She said Happy always comes to visit her and she usually hears Jerry calling her and lets her out. My voice doesn't carry well enough.

Well I ended up enjoying the 4th of July at the neighbors with wine, hamburgers and some very nice people. Got home about 10pm just in time to look out the windows to see some fireworks going off downtown Spokane. Happy was still a bit aprehensive of the fireworks so she slept on Jerry's side of the bed instead of her bed on my side which is by the sliding glass door.

My neighbor Patty just loves all animals and takes care of Happy and our two cats when we go overnight someplace. She spoils them ROTTEN and has often said she wished she had found our two cats first. (she loves them that much). They are brother & sister, grey in color and we named them Ashley and Smokey. They were only 8 weeks old when we adopted them from Spokanimal. They think Happy is their mother.

Ok, I have to get back to cleaning this house now. I have scrubbed all the baseboards in the bathrooms and kitchen before mopping, washed all the saucers under each house plant, washed all the rungs on the dining table and chairs. Now I will start on the rest of the house. Work work work and I love it. Maybe I need a brain scan???

Florence Oregon

2008-07-02T20:08:00.000-07:00

Well I just returned late last night from visiting my parents in Florence Oregon. I arrived in Eugene Friday where my parents picked me up at the airport. Was up in the upper 80's degree wise.

Florence is about 68 miles from Eugene and a very scenic drive. We stopped off at the La Valle winery for a tasting before heading back to Florence.

My Dad is going to be 83 this October and is in a lot of pain from brusitus. He sometimes doubles over while walking the pain is so severe. He is also a diabetic so has to be careful of medication he takes. His doctor has given him some pain pills but he says they don't help. He also has to do excercises to relieve the pain. I DON'T WANT TO GET OLD!! I think if I end up with ailments that are so painful and make life so hard, I will try and find Dr. Kavorkian or someone like him. I hear Oregon is one of the few states if not the only one that has assisted suicide. Don't get me wrong, I am no where near getting to that point yet. But..............

My visit was nice. We went up the coast on Monday but it was so foggy we couldn't see a thing. No pictures in other words. Had some nice dinners in town. I had lots of clams and mussells.

I arrived home last night around 11pm, came home and went straight to bed. I was tired because we left very early in the morning for Eugene because I wanted to do lots of shopping at places like Bed, Bath and Beyond, Old Navy, Chico's and Trader Joe's. Can you believe the closest Trader Joe's to Spokane is in Seattle? Sure would be nice to have one closer. I love their Green Tea bath soap. I also bought some English Stilton cheese and put it in my suitcase. When I got home it looked a bit squished but still tasted good. I put it in the fridge last night and we had a few nibbles of it this evening.

Jerry leaves to visit his son in Seattle tomorrow morning for the 4th of July. He won't be back till next Monday. I have so much work to catch up on it's going to be a working weekend for me. I also have to clean this house. For being semi-retired I am always busy doing something. Usually Monday's and Wednesdays are my "free" days. Tuesdays I clean a house, do laundry, take clothes to the cleaners and pick up cleaned ones etc... This is just a part time job till the end of August. The wife and kids take off for the summer and leaves the Dad behind to work. I guess he doesn't know how to clean, do laundry or any other domestic type of household work so I get to do the job every Tuesday. This week was Wednesday though since I didn't get back from Florence till late Tuesday. Tomorrow, Thursday I also clean a house for this wonderful family. The two little children are so adorable they remind me of my own grand kids. This house is 5,000 sq feet and three stories. Well so is the other one I clean too.

I also work for Jerry's moving business doing the bookkeeping. Every other weekend I do payroll so guess what I will be doing this weekend. Yep, plus all the data entry for the last two weeks in order to do payroll. As I said I have a lot of work to do this weekend. I also pick up the revenue and drop off at the bank almost every evening. So you see it is a pretty busy life here in Spokane. Oh and of course don't forget all the gardening I like to do too.

We have tomatoes, lettuce, zuchinni, cucumbers, bell peppers, strawberries and lots of herbs growing. Jerry also planted a lot of sunflowers that are getting pretty tall. Will try and get some pics posted soon.

Going to see my daughter

2008-06-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

I am so excited right now I can't speak! I just booked a flight to Long Beach CA. Seems my daughter will be there from Chicago for a wedding. I haven't seen her since Christmas of 2005 when she and my grandkids spent Christmas with me in Sandpoint ID. Her name is Jessica and my only child. Just turned 30 on April 24th. I just drank a beer in celebration so hopefully I don't get too mushy and sentemental on you. My best friend Doreen also lives in Long Beach CA and I will be staying at her home. Boy am I turning into the traveling guru. It's funny too since I hate to fly. I leave for Florence Oregon this Friday to visit my parents who are in their 80's. Jessica would rather live in Long Beach CA but since there are custody issues with her ex, she has to stay in Chicago. She despises the winters in Chicago but likes the rest of the seasons. She has had a bit of a rough life. She lost her Dad at age 17 so she's just got good ole Mom left. She's an only child too which makes it harder on her. I guess that's my fault though. I only wanted one child and it had to be a girl or I was sending it back LOL. My Dad has red hair and my ex-mother-in-law had red hair. I was afraid to have a boy with red hair. Life is rough enough without being called a carrot top growing up. So I thought girls can have beautiful long red hair and not get teased. OK I know I drank a beer on an empty stomach so I better stop blogging now. I just am so excited about seeing Jessica again in late August.

Whew, what a day

2008-06-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

Wow did it rain hard last night. The wind blew and howled. We have lots of trees around the house including twelve large Willows. They are around 15 years old and I love to watch them sway in the wind. They drop large branches and we use them for our outside fire pit. Jerry just planted 20 more Western Larch tree plugs (We live on 5 acres) There must be 30 Spruce trees too. The house is basically surrounded by trees on three sides which gives us privacy. As I sit at my computer in the guest bedroom I can look out the sliding glass door to the North East and see lots of green open land with Mount Spokane in the background. It's very quiet here away from the hustle and bustle of town which is about 15 minutes away. The one drawback of living here is that there are Coyotes almost every night doing that horrible howling. We have two outside cats and I make sure we still have them both the following morning. They are only about a year old. Smokey and Ashley (brother and sister). We also have a dog named Happy. She's a Red Healer. What a loyal and obedient dog she is. She loves to play disc golf with the guys down the road but she's almost 11 years old (77 human years). In fact she keeps coming over to the window here and looking at me. I just realized she hasn't been fed tonight (not that she really needs a lot of food. She's a bit overweight, kind of like us when we get older ya know? Anyway I better go feed her before she wears her feet off pacing. She wasn't interested in food, she wanted inside. Anyway back to the disc golf course down the road. Happy will join in the game by circling the disc after it lands. She lets you know where it is. Very helpful at times when the disc ends up in the weeds or hard to see spots. At home she has her own disc that she knows she can pick up and bring back to be thrown for her again. Smart dog! Problem is when she goes down the street and runs around the course then home again she has a hard time standing up the next morning. So..... we have asked the owner of the disc golf course to call us or send her home if she shows up there. She's sneaky too. Slips away when we aren't looking. No we don't have any fences to keep her home. We give her glucosamine for her joints each morning and we think this is helping her walk a little easier. Well I am off to the living room to watch my Netflix movie "Charlie Wilson's War with of course my favorite actor, Tom Hanks! Whoo Whooooooo!

Barb's first attempt @ blogging

2008-06-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

I am not sure how this works exactly but will learn just as all you other bloggers did. So for now I am just leaving it like this.