New Year's Eve-5pm

Happy New Year!!!

It is already getting dark outside. I will be heading to my table to clear it off and get ready for my usual new year greetings! I light a candle or two and put on some soothing music. I write down my goals for the new year, do an angel card, and the burning bowl ceremony. I have been writing down things I want to send off to The Universe for a week or so--for the burning bowl ceremony. I have a LOT of things I am grateful for this year. More gratitudes than wishes I guess this year. :)

We had rain! It melted almost all the snow. Then it snowed again. On the surface, it looks about the same out there--but there's a layer of ice underneath that snow! I pray for all the people who are out and about to be safe tonight. And I hope Dagan and Leah have a safe trip back from Canada tomorrow, too!

Happy, Happy New Year to everybody!!!

May this be the best year ever!!

Saturday-6:30pm

Dreams!!! I have been busy online the past couple of days. Found a new group of like-minded souls on SparkPeople.com--the Psychic Sparkers. I've never run into anybody who dreams quite like I do, so it is fun to discuss this stuff with other people who have had similar experiences!

I have always had dreams about places I've never been and people I don't know--since I was little. I had some precognitive dreams, but they were mostly when I was younger. I dream about other time periods and have had a couple of dreams that seemed to be from another planet possibly (or this one and it didn't/doesn't look the same?). I have always had dreams that were like past life dreams--and often "recognize" a person or two as being someone from this life, even if they don't look the same, are a different age, and are sometimes even a different sex. I have dreamt of being a man in other time periods, too. I have dreamt of being in a place where people are inbetween lives--learning and waiting to come back.

May be just a wild imagination...??? Who knows? But, I do know that I learn spiritual lessons when I am sleeping and dreaming--always have. Like I am being taught. I can have "instant replay" dreams where I am shown something I missed completely while I was awake.

Over the years I have learned to sometimes be aware I am dreaming while I am dreaming--and I'm able to alter or change a negative action/response of mine in the dream while I am dreaming it. My leaping and floating flying dreams--I used to fall and crash to earth. Loved the flying, hated the hard landings. I have somehow learned to land gently and not crash? Used to be chased years ago--never happens anymore. I was determined not to be afraid in my dreams. I can be in terrible situations in my dreams these days and it is like watching a movie. Even tho I know I am afraid in the dream, I don't usually "feel" the fear--if that makes any sense.

The past few years I have started to have what I call "time jumping" dreams. For example--I can be riding in a car in a modern day dream and suddenly I am sitting on a horse cart in someplace that looks like the Middle Ages. There will be an emotional connection between the present day dream and the other time period dream--a similarity in situations on an emotional level. Something I haven't learned yet in this life. (I am a terribly slow learner!!)

Anyways, running into people who are interested in dreams and a few who do dream like this or in some of the ways I dream--has inspired me to start a dream journal again. I have done that a couple of times in the last ten years or so. Something new to add to my list on New Year's Eve. Tomorrow!!! How exciting!

I have been doing my morning pages on my laptop in bed when I get up for over a year now--until I lent Leah my laptop for December. I have been recording any dreams if I remembered them, but made no real effort to recall them. Leah will be bringing me back my laptop after they get back from Canada. I will keep a notepad and pen by the bed again and try to remember as much as I can--take notes when I wake up in the middle of the night.

So, anyways, sweet dreams! Or at least interesting dreams--hehe!

Friday-5:15pm

We got 1.8 inches of snow--just said that on the weather report. Just enough for the plow to come thru tonight and push the thinish layer of snow around out there. I bet he was sooo happy to see the white stuff coming down! They suffer financially when there's no snow. I took this photo before he got here. (And you can see what chaos I have on my table when I am deep into crafting! hehe!) Here's a shot from the porch. Actually is pretty much white on the field out there!! Felt more like Christmas today than it did on Christmas Day!
I finished "The Thorn Birds". I ordered it from Netflix, but am going to wait a while. I'm all caught up in "Six Feet Under" right now. I did watch "The Break Up"--(why she even wanted the awful guy character in the movie I could not figure out for the life of me!) I really had to look to recognize Peter Billingsly! All grown up and hairier--hehe! He played a nice husband and had very few lines at all.
Anyways, Dagan and Leah headed for Canada today. I hope they had good roads? West of us here the roads are terrible and icy, I guess.

I have been busy making birthday cards for 2007! Well, trying to figure out what to make this year that I have enough supplies for--because this year I am thinking of mass producing the birthday cards for the whole year. I have done that a couple of times. Been having fun experimenting, of course. :)

I've been playing with the Melting Pot, too. Works like a charm with moulds! Now I am experimenting with what I already own to see what I can use to paint, highlight, or color on that plasticy stuff? I know they make special little paint kits that work on almost anything--glass, wood, plastic, clay--so I know what I want to order in January. :) But, just wondering what else I can also use--if anything--from my assortment of playthings??

Finally white in Fargo! Later.....

Thursday-2pm

Caroline was going to come to clean today, but she came down with the flu. So, hopefully she will be well by next Tuesday. If not, she'll call me. Poor thing! She sounded awful.

I am lucky these days--being home all the time, I am not exposed much to what's going around and I don't get sick very often any more. :) I never recovered from the mono, it seemed--and I think that is what set off the fibro? All the five years I was in college I caught everything that went around. Probably at least a quarter of the time I was in classes I was actually sick with something respiratory. I carried a huge wad of kleenex, a bag of cough drops, and that numbing throat spray in my backpack just to make it thru classes without driving everybody crazy--and was sometimes forced to leave because of coughing jags (always sat by the door whenever possible). I usually came down with something and was sick over the Christmas and summer breaks--and was just generally exhausted and in pain, too, from the fibro. I was always missing more classes than they allowed and had to go in and talk to my professors every semester--and had to find somebody to be my contact in each class I took. Sometimes I look back and I wonder how I did it at all? I had a lot of help from other students--emailing me to let me know what went on in classes and the letting me take their notes home to copy. And so many professors were so helpful to me! Restores your faith in humanity and the youth of today (they were all young at Concordia!). I never had any trouble finding some classmate to help me out in every single class I was in?? Amazing! Angels were watching over me, that's for sure! And everybody knew who to come to for cough drops, kleenex, bufferin, and other cold medications---and pens, paper, highlighters, pencils, and stapler for that matter--hehe!

In the couple of years since I had to quit school, I think my immune system has had a chance to recover. I am only sick a couple of times a year now! Silver lining to being homebound--hehe!

I am off to cart my garbage outside. The garbage truck was here and hauled off the tons of Christmas boxes and wrappings--hehe! I waited until I knew I wouldn't have to be struggling to fit my two bags in there.

Leah brought me Ranitidine from Sam's Club last night!! I was finally able to sleep easier last night. That stuff just works like a charm for heartburn!! My friend, Ruby, told me about it and it changed my life! I ran out a week or so ago and thought I could take the Shaklee Stomach Soothing Complex. Nope--didn't seem to do anything at all for what I've got. I'd forgotten how awful I felt all the time. So much for the diet, too--been eating crackers and toast like crazy. So, anyways, now things are back to normal as far as that goes. (Maybe I can even get to sleep a little earlier now, too? It's hard to lie down with bad heartburn.) All those years the doctors prescribed Ibuprofin for my arm pain--just ate my stomach out, I think. I have never been the same. Until Ranitidine--hehe!! Thanks again, Ruby!!

Well, got to get moving here....

Tuesday-1:45pm

Sad! I was looking on www.imbd.com yesterday and discovered that Flick in the movie "A Christmas Story" has been in porn movies for years! Scott Schwartz (the one who got his tongue stuck on the pole in the schoolyard) is doing porn "flicks". The last movie credit listed was for a "B" horror movie. Maybe he's trying to get out of the porn business? I hope so.

And I saw that Peter Billingsly who played Ralph is in the new Jennifer Aniston movie "The Break Up" in a small role as Andrew. So, I ordered it to see if I will recognize him as an adult.

Had just a lazy Christmas Day yesterday. Watched "A Christmas Story" and "It's A Wonderful Life". Played with Karma and Gracie. Didn't do anything really constructive besides dishes and writing a few letters. I have been going back into my night shift. Last night I was up till 2:45am. Been up till 3-4am recently, so I think staying on days is getting questionable anymore. I will continue to set the alarm. (Confession--I shut it off today).

Caroline called and asked if she could wait to come to clean until Thursday? That was fine with me. I am off to play with something crafty this afternoon...

Christmas-3:15pm

Merry, Merry Christmas!!

Just watching "A Christmas Story" on TBS and chuckling away!

Wishing really, really, really hard for Peace On Earth.

Blessings to all!!

Sunday-4pm

Okay--I was going to play with the Melting Pot--but then remembered that I hadn't even started sewing the handmade paper cards together. I decided that I had best stick to my promise to myself and finish up previous projects before beginning something new. I have been having such fun all afternoon that I took pictures and figured I would post them now, even if I already posted earlier today. (Who knows how sore I will be tomorrow after this extra enjoyment today--chuckle!)

This really is fun to do! I make an insert from white cardstock and cut it to fit the irregular shaped cards. With my Japanese Screw Punch (a fantastic invention--push down on it and it can twist-cut a hole anywhere on a piece of paper--and has 6 or 7 sizes of bits for holes) I make a number of holes along the spine.
Then pick out one of our assortment of wild yarns (or even two!). Leah and I recently found some more fun yarns on sale at Michael's last month to add to the collection. I have a few more in a box, but these were the colors I wanted to work with today.
You weave or sew the handmade paper and the insert together. Can have a few holes or a lot--whatever strikes your fancy. I was using a darning needle with this yarn, but the needle works better with the embroidery thread.
The best thing to use with these bulky yarns are actually floss threaders for bridges (teeth). They come in packets and are pretty cheap. I love the little tricks that crafters come up with using household items--hehe!
I finished up fifteen cards this afternoon while watching TV. Such fun!!
I had to search out a company and order a larger size envelope for our handmade paper cards last year when we got the Arnold Grummer kit. These handmade paper cards are bulkier in the first place and we like to put an insert in them most of the time because they are more difficult to write on inside. At least our first chunkier ones were--hehe! When we put the inserts inside this way--well, we loved sewing them together with yarns/ribbons/raffia/embroidery thread--and we prefer them this way. (I was in a yarn mood today, obviously.) They look like a little book. You could easily add several pages if you used a lighter weight paper for the inside. I want to do that someday--with a nice chunky cover!! :):)But today I just made up the cards. I can pick out an inside stamp at the time I use one--or just write on all four sides of the insert -- whatever. Some of this paper was from the very first time we made paper last summer in 2005. See why I need to tie up the loose ends and finish half done projects!?

Anyways, I was just having such a happy time and am in such a good mood--just wanted to share the joy, I guess. I just plain love Christmas--even if it is brown. :) Just smiling as I am typing away here. Best to everybody and I hope nobody gets coal in the morning--hehe!

Christmas Eve-9:30am

Went shopping with Dagan on Friday. He got off work early and we started at 2pm! We went over to K&Krafts and I got the UTEE-Flex crystals that you add to the embossing powder to keep it flexible. Then we went to PetSmart--everybody needed food! I got fish food, bird seed, and cat food. Also picked up this fake cave for my poor plecostomus who is getting too large to hide under the small pieces of slate that I have stacked against each other in the tank. Looked bigger in the store. Well, it is bigger than what the pleco has right now. I put it in the tank yesterday, but I am not sure if he's been in there yet? Nice that it already has fake algae on it--hehe! It will blend right in--ha!

Now that I've gotten the hang of stealing pictures off the web....here's the Melting Pot that I have been talking about.
It is just too difficult to try to explain how this works and what it looks like. You pour in the embossing powder (and the flex crystals if you want it to be less breakable when cooled) and melt it in the pan. Can use this nifty little device for melting candle wax, crayons, soap, etc.
This demonstrates how you can pour it directly on to a nonstick, heat resistant mat. Leah and I have oven liners. They are larger than what they sell at the craft stores and cheaper--tada!
You can press rubber stamps (with or without ink) into the warm puddle or cut out shapes with cookie cutters or scissors--but you have to act quickly before it is completely cooled. I was lying in bed thinking about what I could press into it and what I could pour it into....and thinking about the cookie cutters we have for the polymer clay projects that I could use....
You can also pour the liquid into actual molds. This example is a handmade mold made with special clay for that purpose. I don't have that kind of clay and don't know if I am interested in making my own molds or not?
Anyways, that is the new toy! Why I woke up thinking about things I could do with it--I don't know? I only had three and a half hours of sleep. Yup. Suddenly been up till 3-4am the past couple of nights?? Oh well.

I forgot to mention that my jacket arrived on Thursday! I was able to wear it out shopping with Dagan on Friday. That was a real surprise because I had just gotten a postcard telling me that it had been backordered for 4-6 weeks?

After I got done at PetSmart about 3:30pm Dagan took me out to eat at Johnny Carino's--kind of a Christmas dinner for me, he said. I was there once before with Dagan and Leah. This is just THE best Italian restaurant in town now! Absolutely delicious! We beat the crowds and I got home early.

Truth be told----I've been actually spending time playing "The Office" solitare on the computer the last three days. It's addictive! But it is such a waste of time--especially for me. I use up my good hours in no time--and have a tendency to sit here longer than my hour which makes me extra sore. Silly. No--dumb! Duh! I have to cut that out!!

I have also caught up quite a bit on emails and have been on Sparks more often in my teams message boards. That's good. But today I am going to stay away from the computer and get crafty--hehe! Enough addictive solitare! :)

Well, while you are all celebrating with family, I will be playing with my new toy today and watching Christmas movies on this brown, brown Christmas. I guess I have to find some movies with some snow in them! Have a wonderful day!! :):):)

Friday-11:30am

Well, am a bit aggravated over the bill I finally received in the mail yesterday for the new chiropractor, Dr. Hager. I had called and asked what he charged before I ever made an appointment and was told $40--same as Dr. John. I even explained that I was on Medicare and had already paid the deductible for 2006 and asked if I would have to pay anything additional for switching chiropractors--no. I had, after paying the deductible, been paying $7.24 a visit at Chrio Life where Dr. John was--so I was expecting a bill of under $14.50 for my first two visits. $102.42!!! I almost fell over.

So, I called the billing department this morning and asked why I was being charged so much--why are there two different charges for each visit--and why was he so much more than I had been told? The lady said she would check into it and call me back. I told her my DIL just got her first bill for her first visit and it had double charges, also. One visit and it was almost $100 for Leah, too. ??

Even if I can manage to get these bills reduced, this means that Leah and I will have to find another chiropractor. *sigh* Dr. John may have had us coming in a little too often, but I had never felt better. Plus--this time after going to Dr. Hager (Wednesday) I noticed that the place where I was so sore and stiff and hurt--well, it is still sore and stiff and hurts. So, he didn't do much of anything this time, I guess. Doesn't feel much different. He did manage to help with the displaced rib from Dr. Mike--that he managed to do--in two visits. But this place hurt down here on the other side since I was in last time--and he still didn't get rid of it this time. So--time for a new chiropractor, I guess. But--I will have to put it off for a long time now. January I have to start paying the $120.00 yearly deductible again--and now I owe Dr. Hager all this money--plus we just went again!! I am not happy. I feel I was lied to--deceived!

Meanwhile--Dagan is coming at 3pm to take me shopping today. That will be fun! I always enjoy his company--and Leah's. I am dragging him off to K&Krafts in Moorhead--hehe! And to PetSmart in Fargo. We'll see how it goes if we go anyplace else (money and energy).

Been working on a few cards and letters. Puttering about. I have given up on getting the secret finished by Christmas, obviously. I am now hoping to have them done by Sacred Circle in January on the 7th. Dagan and Leah will be gone on their annual trip to Canada thru New Years--so I will have some time to spread everything out and dig in while they are gone. They never read my blog, so I am not worried about them being tipped off--hehe!

I just got a call back from the billing department at Dakota Clinic. She gave the information to the department that investigates the questionable billing for Medicare. They will look into it further and see what each of the costs are for, etc. Could take a week or two. But, since this is his usual practice of billing (since Leah got the same thing) I doubt it will amount to anything being changed. At least I have put in my complaint. And I told her again that I feel most deceived by them telling me ahead of time he charged $40! If they had told me he cost like $90-100 a visit, I would never have gone to him, let alone had my daughter-in-law go there, too!

Okay--just think happier thoughts! If I could see my own aura--I bet it is black right now! hehe! I am going to have a nice afternoon with my son--buying some things to play with and some goodies for all my critters. That will lift my spirits. I have done what I can do--now I have to let it go. I will be making small payments to this chiro/Dakota Clinic now for a long time. I am not even done making payments to the other chiro until January---and I thought I was finally done!! Oh well. What is the lesson learned?? Maybe it is better to deal with a small business than a huge business?? At least about billing and charges--hehe! I am not sure what the lesson is in this...???

Tuesday-8:30pm

Just a quick note tonight. Been working on the handmade paper I had already made up long ago--making them into cards finally. Not done. Been working off and on all day and am absolutely done for the day.

Tomorrow Leah and I go to the chiropractor at 4pm. My back has been sore to really sore the last couple weeks on the left side. Hope he can work that out.

I got a box delivered from my friend, Bonnie, in Hibbing. Three cans of my International French Vanilla coffee! What a wonderful surprise! She just had surgery yesterday--she's in my prayers and I hope she's doing well.

Tired, sore, and happy in Fargo!

Monday-noon

I went around and took pictures of my helpful props! Here's my two Levenger lap desks. I have a couple of small pillows, like the pink one you see leaning against the endtable--I put one on my lap first and then set the lap desk on top. I usually keep one in the living room and one in the bedroom (for writing or reading in bed).

This is my very favorite letter writing friend! This red leather portfolio has traveled with me a lot, too. I forgot to mention that the calendar holder is a suede leather--and that got more worn looking faster. This portfolio in smooth leather has also been drug to school and stuffed in my purse for many years, but has held up remarkably well.
My usual stationery--hehe! Very familiar to many of you!
This is where I write most of the time. I can hook the portfolio under the elastic strap on my lap desk and it works like a charm for me! But changing positions is essential for me, so I switch over to sitting at the table, sometimes, and I have to switch from chair to chair. When I am in the chairs--I use the lap desk.
This little plastic holder that I got at Office Max was invaluable for when I was writing up papers for school. I could scribble notes by hand and then clip them onto this while I typed it onto the computer. Now, I use it mostly for holding the pictures I am trying to copy when I paint or draw. This vase card is a watercolor I made watching an instruction program--just found it a couple days ago. I had put it underneath some heavy stuff to flatten it out and forgotten it--hehe! Looked better to me now that I haven't seen it for so long and can't recall as vividly what it was supposed to look like--ha!
Here's my other wooden book holder and the leather book weight. Can't tell I like red, eh? This holder is adjustable with the moveable pegs to hold small or large books. It faithfully held many books for long hours for me while I studied and wrote papers for college. Now--it holds cookbooks for me when I am working on a new recipe.
These clipboards were used constantly in college. Took notes in class with them, too. I still use them to write letters with sometimes, but not as often as I used to. When I write poetry--that is something I can't do on the computer for some reason--these come out right away!
This "reader's table" gets used in the bedroom every single day. Usually have my laptop on it (Leah is borrowing) and do my morning pages in bed when I get up. But I also use it to read and write, too, instead of the lap desk sometimes.
Another little trick so that I don't have to hang on to the notebook (or clipboard)--prop it up against a stone coaster or something thick enough and heavy enough so that the paper doesn't move when you write.
So, those are some of the accomodations I have made over the years for reading and writing because they are so important to me. Where there's a will there's a way, right?

Right now, I am actually off to read more of The Thorn Birds. Remember the miniseries with Richard Chamberlain? I will have to see if they have it at Netflix after I am done reading the book.

Sunday-12:30pm

This is my red leather holder for my calendar insert. It is worn gray all around the edges from all the years that I carried it around in my backpack. This Stanley Journal from Levenger has traveled many miles with me. :)


I keep it propped open on a book holder I had for my school studying days. I have a few book holders because of my bad arm not being able to hold or grip for more than a few minutes--and a book weight to hold open a book that is lying flat, also. When you have been making accomodations for so many years (since 1993) you can forget all the little ways you have changed how you do things and all the items you have purchased to make life easier.

The new calendar is ready to go Christmas Day! Now the old one lies on the desk for a week. I have that big paper clip you can see on the bottom left edge that I use to mark my place and weight the pages open a little. Been using that as a page marker for all these years, too.

I always start out so neatly, but it doesn't last for long--hehe! Scribbling, white out, and highlighters all over the place in no time. They were such a mess and so jammed with information when I was in college that I had to start using highlighters to color code at a glance. Orange for having to be/go someplace, blue for phone calls had to make, hot pink for big important stuff, green & yellow for the less important but don't forget this stuff. See--I am so "organized" people tell me. Or a little OCD maybe? The last couple of years since I've been out of school--green has become the color for people coming over to my place--but I find I am not as strict with the color coding as I had to be in college. It was more important to be very organized then or I don't know how I would have made it as far as I did. My memory was getting worse and worse with the fibro and being so tired--so it was practical as well as a little OCD--hehe!

In the back of the calendar I can plan out my budget each month. Keep track of phone numbers--I only have the numbers I need for Federal, State, doctors, chiro, dentist, etc in the calendar address section. And I am all set and ready for the new year. Hard to believe it will be 2007. Seems like only yesterday we were dealing with the Y2 scare! (Which I thought was pretty silly, actually.)

This is the last week to get ready for Christmas--all of you who still need to prepare for arrival of family. Blessings to all!!

Saturday-4pm

Have to click on these to enlarge to see the raised Christmas tree better, I guess. Most of the people I sent cards to should have received them by now. These are the Christmas cards Leah and I worked on. Very simple style this year.



Been working on making the soup from the ham bone I got from Leah. Had to use what I had on hand, of course. Black bean and barley soup--yummy to me! I really like black beans.

Spent the afternoon getting my new calendar insert all up to speed. Just finished watching "The Office" on tape. Such a silly show! I enjoy it, tho. Michael is such a child. And we've probably all worked with women like Angela--work is everything to them and they have to be in control. I just chuckle!

I can smell the soup. I just added the barley to cook. Then I am eating dinner. Yummy! :)

Friday-1pm

The new humidifier! 99.999% germ free! I haven't set it up yet today. Have to finish reading all the instructuions. I have to clean this one once a week to keep it from calcium deposit build-up--so that will go on my weekly schedule--hehe!



Notice--Absolutely no white dust!! Seems that this is a very common thing with the new ultrasonic humidifiers. They have had them returned before because of that. There was some other thing I could buy to try to prevent as much white dust buildup--but I passed. They tried to tell me other brands didn't have as much dust. I passed. I wanted the one I purchased in the first place because it had warm and cold mist--and I figured the warm mist would kill a lot of the fungus and bacteria that caused me so much sinus trouble with my old humidifier, which was just cold air and a fan. So, this one fit the bill. Germ free and no white dust. If I have to clean it once a week, so be it!

Leah forgot the coupon for Michael's. (This is why she absolutely hates coupons!) She said she was going to go tonight after work and pick up the Melting Pot. And she emailed me today already and told me she remembered the coupon. Now, if she can just remember to go to Michael's--hehe! She and Dagan are so alike this way--forgetting--and, now--sadly--so am I. We are like three peas in a pod. Why do you think I have to write everything down! When I don't--I forget anymore.

We did make a trip over there, anyways, to see if they had the Melting Pots (had two!) and if they carried the crystals you add to make it flexible so it won't crack if sent thru the mail. Nope. I had seen this on a Carol Duvall show that I taped--but they don't always give the brand names of things on the show. So, after I got home, I did a little research and found out the name of it--Utee-Flex. And now I have a place I can order it online if we can't find it in town. Which reminds me--I should call KandKrafts and just ask them if they carry it! Duh! Be back--

KandKrafts carries it! TaDa!! I'll have to email Leah! Oh, the little thrills in life--hehe!

Leah is closer to knowing for sure. Sounds like if she goes to India it would be on the 22nd of January. That would be good! She'd have more time to make arrangements and to buy what she needs to get (like luggage). She and Dagan could go on their annual trip to Canada with friends that they were going to have to cancel over New Years, too! Nice! They were even telling her she'd have a car to use and an escort available whenever she wanted one. So, it sounds pretty definite. I guess there's another Indian man they are waiting to hear from for the finalization, but he's traveling. So--really sounds like 95% positive that she's going!!!?? At least not quite as soon as we thought. I am glad of that.

No snow in the forcast for the next ten days!! AWK!!! I cannot imagine a brown Christmas!! (Sorry, Mary Lou, but I just can't!) That would be depressing to me!! I am praying for snow!! At least enough to cover the ground!! Snow! Snow! Snow!

Thursday-1pm

Today is an overcast day. Supposed to get up to 40 degrees. Brown and dry out there--still waiting for snow.

I watched some more of The Sopranos yesterday and some craft shows I had taped. After doing a lot for a few days--now I have been on the downswing. Tonight I will probably go with Leah to return the ultrasonic humidifier and pick out a nice, regular old water and fan replacement. We are also planning on heading over to Michael's to see if they have a Melting Pot Leah could get with the weekly 40% off coupon. Leah will come over after she's done with the second job at maybe 7pm. She'll call and see how I feel--give me time to change clothes and put Gracie in her cage, etc.

Just a nice quiet day in Fargo. :)

Wednesday- 10:30am

Here's my God Jar. Nothing fancy. It's a handmade jar I bought many, many years ago at a craft fair from a potter--just decided to use it for my God jar. I was writing down a few things yesterday for New Year's Eve.

This is my weekly schedule/chart. I've been keeping this for several years. Especially helps with not remembering as well as I used to (fibro). And fits my nearly compulsive personality, too--hehe! The only thing I've managed to figure out on that computer program--excel? Can't even remember the name of it. Took me forever to get this put together, that's for sure. I did it on my own without help--by trial and error--back when I was in college. I finished up another 34 cards in the last two days. Here are some more samples. The bird cards (on top) are done in pastel pencils--that's why they look so pale.

This is the finished stack of cards. They aren't fancy. I write a lot of letters--that's why I like to mass produce cards to have something to throw my letters, written on small legal pads, inside of--hehe! Gives me an excuse to play, right? Now--I am finished using up all the stamping odds and ends I had laying around from over the years. I can move on to the stack of handmade paper I have to make cards out of. I have some copies of pictures I've painted that I can use on the fronts of cards and a lot of old cards & interesting things to recyle and use for cards, too. Those are the next projects to finish up. I am trying to tie up all the loose ends, as they say. Go thru and clean out all the half-done "stuff" that has been lying around waiting for me to come back, finish, and send them off into the world with postage. :)

Tuesday-10:30am

I washed everything yesterday--even the mattress pad, body pillow, and the blanket from the bed. Karma loves to be made into the bed, but she has never stayed under the covers more than a few minutes. Yesterday she rearranged the blanket and settled in for a very long nap.

Yes-- I had to play just a little bit with the new Twinkling H2Os last night. They are just as bright and colorful as in the photo I posted! I used a bright yellow to paint in the wings, halo, and stars on the three little angel stamps I had ready to make into cards. The camera isn't very good at close-ups--but you can see the yellow is the brightest part of the picture now! And it is shimmery--even if you can't see it well. (Can click to enlarge.) These are going to be really fun to play with and they are easy to use. I want to emboss some stamps and then color them in with the H2Os! I am sure I'll think of a lot of different things to do with them. :)
The dryer was going all day long--until 9:30pm. Pillows take forever to dry! Because I slept so long yesterday, I didn't get to bed till midnight. But--I set the alarm for 7:30am so that maybe I can keep this schedule. I'm trying, anyways.

News! News! After I cleaned the DVD player (in the bedroom now) that wasn't working--it played a movie!! So, it was the dreadful ultrasonic humidifier!! Good grief! You would think customers would have complained enough that they would have stopped making them or revised them so they don't do whatever it is they do with the white dust!? I am so glad it is out of the apartment!

Silver lining--now I can watch DVDs in the bedroom and in the living room. :)

Caroline comes this afternoon to clean. I can tell her that, once we get it all cleaned decently again, things will be back to normal. Thank goodness! I think all this powder has been overwhelming to her, too.

Goals! Between now and New Year's Eve I am hoping to figure out how to get myself off the see-saw eating pattern that I am on. I go above my suggested range for calories and then below. I've been better at hitting the suggested range more often, but I still go above and below regularly like a yo-yo. I don't want to go on to phase two at Sparks until I can fix this bad habit. So, I am hoping I can do this by the first and start out the New Year with that goal met as progress toward my healthy lifestyle. If not--I'll keep trying till I can do it. This is obviously a pattern I have been in for many, many years and didn't realize it. When I am below for days, then my body must want more food and I go above for a couple of days. A bad cycle. I am hoping if I can keep within my suggested range all the time that I won't have the days I feel like I am starving.

According to the articles, when I am so far below my body believes I am starving. And I am talking about having days where I eat less than 500 calories--just plain not hungry and forget to eat. That happens pretty often--and I am regularly under 1000 calories. You'd never believe it to look at me, but it is the God's truth. I never would have ever thought that I was letting my body believe it was starving so that it desperately clings to every ounce of fat out of fear of future starvation--hehe! Interesting concept. I am out to test it--if I can get out of this crazy food cycle. Believe it or not, it is really hard to make yourself eat when you aren't hungry! Everyone knows it is hard to not eat when you feel like you're starving and craving food--and I go thru that too with my yo-yo--but when I am not hungry food doesn't even appeal to me. Strange, eh?

Christmas and New Years--ahhh! I am already gearing up for the new year. Making out a new form for my weekly schedule/chart for January. Waiting for my new calendar insert to arrive from Levengers. Thinking about plans for 2007. I always take time on New Year's Eve night to do some angel cards, the burning bowl ceremony, and whatever else strikes my fancy. Occasionally I have had people over, but I am more often alone. I am going to start to write things down on little pieces of paper for my God Jar. Those are what I burn in the burning bowl. Things I am grateful for. Goals I want assistance with. Prayers. Blessings. Whatever I want to send off to the Universe in the smoke. That is what the burning bowl ceremony is about. (I think it has Native American origins, but I am not positive.)

I just love this time of year!!! :) :) I am going to go work on things for my God Jar...

Monday-2:30pm

This is what we use most of the time to put cards together--rolls of indoor carpet tape! Found that out at a stamp class a few years ago at K&Krafts in Moorhead. And the cutter is a Fiskars--we use that to cut down the paper we use.

I got all 26 of these done yesterday. They are half sheet size cards--the large ones.
I got the three leaf cards put together and the one baby bird print I had left.
Hard to get a good picture--but these leaves are shimmery. Honestly--I made them so long ago that I can't remember what I used to make them shimmery--hehe!
And this is the stack I have ready to go. All the fronts are cut down and the framing piece for underneath is cut to size, too. All ready to sit for hours and cut little squares of carpet tape...
That's what I got done yesterday. Today--I am washing clothes and sheets, etc--so that is about it for me. I doubt I'll get any more cards put together.

I slept from 10:30pm till 10:30am--so I am not sure I'll get to bed as early as I have been tonight? I am very well rested--hehe!! We'll see. I hope I can still get to bed pretty early and keep the day hours.

Dagan came by over lunch and picked up the humidifier. He left the DVD/CD cleaner. It worked on the livingroom DVD player, but not on the computer one? Not sure why not? I was taping in the bedroom (my soap I have half watched for over 35 years--All My Children)--so Dagan left the cleaner disc for me. The sound it made toward the end scared Karma so badly that she stayed in the bedroom under the bed until Dagan was leaving. So, I have to remember to turn down the sound when I run it in the bedroom. It is extremely high pitched and goes higher and higher and higher! Was really creepy, actually--I can see why it bothered her. She's only been afraid of the fire alarm--but now this DVD/CD cleaner is her second greatest fear.

My Twinkling H2Os came today and I think I am too sore to play with them. :( I'll have to see how I feel after I am done with the laundry and rest up. Maybe before I go to bed I could play a little...???

Sunday- 8am

The apartment across the hall from me has their door decoratd so nicely. I love the abstract wooden angel on the wall. The lady has already changed it out since they moved in from rose buds to Christmas decorations. They just moved in a couple months ago--and have a dog. I was so impressed with how well the dog is trained. When they were moving in the dog would just lie on the back end of the moving trailer outside and patiently wait for them to make trips in and back!! Amazing!! Never moved! Was a big brownish dog--maybe a golden retriever?

Several people on this floor have Christmas decorations outside their doors. There haven't been any notices about vandalism for a while...


...so I hung my little Santa head outside the door and I'll hope he's there when I pack up the Christmas decorations--hehe! I actually notice him more when he's outside the door, when I get the mail or bring the trash down, than when he was hanging inside next to the coat closet. I originally bought him for hanging outside the apartment door--so, now he's where he's supposed to be. :)

Now--on to the interesting news!

Leah emailed me yesterday and told me that Chuck and Michal (her sister and BIL) knew about the ultrasonic humidifiers and the white dust!! They told her to tell me to get rid of it right away--that it also "kills electronics"!! So--the new humidifer may be why my DVD player died!? And could even be why the lights have been acting funny over by the window? So--it wasn't just me!!! TaDa! I turned it off right away and emptied it. Dagan is probably coming over tomorrow over his lunch hour to pick it up. They will exchange it for a regular one--one with just water and a fan! AND--Dagan and Leah have a DVD cleaner of some kind and Dagan will bring that over and clean my DVD players. Possibly the bedroom one might work again? It's worth a try, anyways.

So--how about that?!! Now that I will be free of the ultrasonic humidifier and the white dust, I can gradually clean the whole place and it should stay clean--well, like it normally did, anyways--hehe! Fighting the battle of the white dust every day is depressing, for one thing. Always feels dirty in here--coated--literally. It is sure nice to know that this has happened to somebody else! I hope that Dagan and Leah don't have any trouble bringing the humidifier back to Bed, Bath, and Beyond without a box? I haven't had to return things there before that I can remember. They'll be exchanging, so they might not be so picky--I hope.

Anyways, yesterday it got up to 48 degrees!! I even had the porch door propped open for Karma to go in and out on her own. Today--predicting 38 degrees. Still, pretty warm compared to what we have been having, that's for sure.

I watched the first disc of Season Six-Part One of The Sopranos yesterday. What a shock! Crazy old Uncle Junior shot Tony--thinking he was somebody from Junior's past (Alzheimer's). Can hardly wait to get the next disc. I guess this is the last season for the show? I can see why people talked about it all the time and why it won so many awards. Has been nice to finally be able to watch it thanks to Netflix. Boy! I sound like a Netflix commercial--hehe! But--me, without a car--I'd never get to rent any movies at all without it.

The last couple weeks has been all music DVDs from Netflix. I think I still love the Beatles, The Moody Blues, and Simon and Garfunkel the best from back then. Music joggs your memory in a way that nothing else does. Transports you back in time--for good or bad--hehe!

"I Know You're Out There Somewhere" by The Moody Blues.......I never did find him.

Saturday 11am

Well, today is supposed to get up to 44 degrees!! A heat wave!!

I am on total R&R today. I finished up the Christmas cards yesterday!! So, yes, the last of them are in the mail as of today!! After a few days I can post what they looked like.

When the mail comes, I am supposed to get season six, part one, disc one of The Sopranos today. I guess this last season has been put out in two parts? Something to occupy my down time. I have been taping the craft shows that are on in the mornings on HGTV, too. And I have Thursday night's shows I haven't seen yet--The Office, ER, etc. So, that will be my day today. I can roll my sore feet on the wooden thingie from Leah. If I get bored--I can always read. But going to be kind to myself today---it will be a healing day.

Friday-10:30am

Leah has been going to a reflexologist recently, who says she can help her with her plantar fasciitis (yes--she has it, too!!) and some other foot things. They were talking about rolling your foot over a tennis ball and Leah remembered this wooden contraption that her grandmother used to roll her sore feet on. She went online and found them! So, yesterday a package came (all their packages are delivered here because I am home, of course). She got me one, too!!

I was going to be good and take it easy yesterday--but I was too close to being done with the cards. So, I figured that if I pushed it and finished them, then I could just sit for a couple of days and fill them out, right? So, I did get them done yesterday and worked on addressing them and such last night! I shall continue now for the next day or two while I take it easy. I promise!

This will be very short. Am very sore. Off to my chair to stack up my pillows on my lap to write out cards!

Thursday-9:30am

I have been a month ahead with my telephone bill for months and left it deducted out as back up. Yesterday I got a catalog with the spring jacket I wanted to buy--on sale--and with a 50% off deal on top of that! So, I ordered my spring coat! It is reversible--has the nylon side and the sweat-shirty fleece material on the other side. Not a big deal to most people--but I am excited to be all set this spring! My old fleece jacket is in such terrible shape that it is embarrassing to wear it, anymore. I am excited to have a raincoat and a fleece jacket in one.

I worked off and on all day yesterday to have everything ready for putting the cards together last night. I started before Leah got here and worked until I just couldn't sit in that chair another minute. We weren't going to be able to get them all put together in an hour and a half. So, I suggested that Leah put hers together and finish them, so that she didn't have to be coming over helping me any more. She only needed ten cards, after all--and I need forty! So, she got hers all done and helped as much as she had time for with mine. And she brought me snowflake stamps, too! What a sweetie!

Today--I am so sore--don't know if I will work on them at all today. I need a day off to recover from overdoing it yesterday and then I'll continue on probably tomorrow. :) Soon--soon--I'll be done with them. Then comes the addressing and getting them ready to mail! Soon!!

Tomorrow the Shaklee delivery is supposed to arrive. Monday the Twinkling H2Os are supposed to come. So, I definitely want to have the Christmas cards done before Monday--so I can feel free to play-play-play!!! I have so many things to work on--I'll be very busy for quite some time!!

I've been listening to The Doors, The Moody Blues, and Jimi Hendrix--but the dancing has been only every other day or so and very conservative--hehe! Fun to kind of go back in time with the music memories. Also have been playing my Christmas cassettes! I switch back and forth--hehe!--from Love Me Two Times, Foxy Lady, and Nights In White Satin to O Holy Night, Let It Snow, and Handel's Messiah!! I always say--variety is the spice of life!

Was eight below zero when I got up today! Wind Chill Advisory till noon. Nineteen below wind chill right now. (How do you like that, Dad? You're sure glad you're down in Florida right now, eh?) It's a frigid hello from Fargo today!

Wednesday- 10:30am

Okay--for those of you who have asked for pictures where you can see Leah's face--hehe! I asked her to let me get pictures of her last night! She is so pretty. I don't know why she's so shy about photos. So, here she is working on Christmas cards. She's coming tonight again. I am working on embossing today so that everything will be ready for putting them together tonight.


It was the weirdest thing--speaking of electrical stuff lately! My blinking white lights went out completely yesterday. I checked cords and the strip cord and plugged and unplugged--nothing.

Later, after I said good-bye to Leah at the door, I walked back and the light was out in the hanging light over the table--just like that. Again--I plugged and unplugged--that light cord goes into the wall. The heat gun still worked and the lights were on the strip cord?? (The blinking lights and the heat gun are plugged into the same strip cord.) I gave up and went to bed---early again!

This morning I suddenly realized that the light was on over the table!? Hard to see in the daytime. So, I go over and plug in the blinking lights--and they work again, too?? How peculiar! ???? I said--things are weird at my place.

Barely any snow--but had a dusting again. Tired and quiet today. :)