Saturday-8:30am

Good morning! This is the additonal little pot that Dagan dropped off after work yesterday. Perfect size for a pencil/pen cup!

I haven't seen much of Dagan and Leah for the past couple of weeks, so I am posting for them, especially, to show them what I used where. Leah said to use them for whatever I wanted to. The candle holder that Leah said she made just for me (big grin) went up on top of the bookcase where I can see it if I am watching TV or working on crafts.

Two of the pots replaced four of my pen cups over by the computer. I put folded paper towels under them for now. Some of them need to be filed down a little on the bottoms and she hasn't had any time for that yet.

The skinnier ones were immediately filled with paint brushes.

The big blue one replaced two cups worth of art pens. The one Dagan delivered replaced the white cup you see in the above photo. I love using this old lazy susan for holding craft supplies on the table! Makes them so much easier for me to reach and it just feels more organized, I guess--hehe!

I just couldn't use the brown and white bowl for paint/ink water. It is just too pretty and I am afraid the paint or the ink will stain the white side of the bowl, if nothing else. So, for now--I filled it with wintergreen lifesavers!

These two I am ready to try out for painting water today. The smaller one for clean water and the larger one for rinsing. I don't think the paint/ink should stain the shiny surfaces. Feels decadent to be using such beautiful bowls for painting! :) Makes me think I best paint something really nice, eh?

Supposed to be another hot and humid day today. Low 90s the next couple of days. One extreme to the next, it seems. Hope it is a great day for you--wherever you are. :)

Friday-8am

Yesterday I spent a lot of time on the porch writing a letter and reading. Need my pillow and lap desk to do that. Was a gorgeous morning and afternoon!

I have been on crazy hours--unheard of when I had Gracie, of course. Sleeping whenever I am tired is a luxury I am still not quite used to. Leah emailed me that she needed to borrow some dishwasher soap some time after work. I warned her I might be sleeping, but that everything for them was in the wall pocket by the door.

I konked out from 4pm until 5:30 this morning! On days all of a sudden--love it! And I found a few surprises when I woke up. Leah brought over pots from her pottery class she took!! I am so proud of her--wow! This is her first time trying pottery and I think they are awesome!

So proud that I am putting up a picture of each and every one of them!!

One is a candle holder--even has a circular ridge on the inside bottom to set the votive in so it doesn't slide around!

We had talked about using the pots she made to hold brushes or to use them for water for painting, etc. But they seem too nice! We would feel pretty darn fancy using these, eh? We'll have to study on them and decide how we will want to use them. I could use the taller thinner two for brushes, tho--I know that. I think they are great and just had to brag on my talented daughter-in-law!! (Leah these are beautiful!!)

Also, Leah dropped off the two grocery/shopping bags that a friend of hers sewed up for me. I can fold one up and bring it with me if I go shopping on the bus. I need a shoulder bag because I can't carry with my left arm--so these are perfect to slip the straps over my head and be able to carry quite a bit home by myself. I can also bring them with when I go shopping with Dagan and/or Leah so that I can carry things up by myself from the car when they drop me off. Nice! Anything that helps me be more independent, right? Cool!

What a surprise! Slept till morning and found all this--wow! What a way to start the day!! :)

Thursday-7:30am

Karma watching people leave for work this morning about 7am. We have been up all night and sleeping from afternoon till like midnight--crazy hours! Crazier than before--hehe!

Karma was obviously a little tired this morning.....

...but the swooping swallows are worth skipping another nap--hehe!

Another bright sunny morning. Supposed to be hot by this afternoon, tho--just like yesterday. Scattered thunderstorms, tho--again--this afternoon, too. Rain--rain--rain! We could use some more sunny time to dry things out around here.

I have been being good and watching movies. Last night I watched The Good German:

U.S. Army correspondent Jake Geismar (George Clooney) gets caught in a web of intrigue involving ex-flame Lena (Cate Blanchett) in Steven Soderbergh's drama set in post-World War II Berlin. Lena's missing husband is hunted by U.S. and Russian military, and in desperation, she looks to Jake for a way out. Tension mounts as Jake discovers Lena's been keeping secrets and the black market dealings of his shady driver (Tobey Maguire) come into play.

It was really put together to look and sound like one of the old movies from the 40s--even the way they did the credits. I got a kick out of it because I like the old black and white movies--and that way they could take actual newsreels from back then and insert them seamlessly into the film. It was weird to see Toby Maguire play such a creep. He was good at it! I think he was only in the first half hour of the film, but he was memorable. George Clooney--he really had "the look" from that time--could have fit right in back then! The ending had a Cassablanca-like spin to it. Just was a bit of camp--yet serious enough and filled with plot twists--was pretty good.

I also watched Serenity. I had rented the Firefly series and was so disappointed that it had been cancelled. Apparently so were a lot of fans. They made this movie to tie things up for the many, many fans of the series--and it was really good! Loved it!

Picking up where his cult show "Firefly" left off, writer-director Joss Whedon's tale of galactic unrest follows Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), captain of the transport ship Serenity, and his scrappy but loyal crew. When the ship picks up two new passengers -- fugitives from the powerful coalition ruling the universe -- "Mal" and his mates find themselves at the center of a cosmic conflict, pursued by military forces and space-roaming savages.

Today I have a couple more movies to watch. I may test out my arm a little before I fall asleep this afternoon/early evening. (I am quite literally sleeping my way around the clock.) Just glad to sleep whenever I am able to with this crazy menopause--hehe! I may be sleeping odd hours--but I am sleeping again--hurray!! :):)

That's about it from Fargo for today. Have a good one!

Wednesday-8:30am

My student easel is up now and I have room to put a TV tray to the right of me to hold a palette, too! It was really weird with it being a big empty space there, so it feels better to have something completely different in that spot.

I knew Karma would want to lie on that bottom shelf and, since it is a folding shelf and not an expensive easel in the first place, I was afraid it might break. I looked around for something to support it from underneath--the sturdy red box the brush set came in almost fit. I folded a towel and put that on top of it--perfect! Now Karma can lie there if she wants to and not bend or break anything. :)

Really odd thing....??? I had always had a full-spectrum light bulb in the lamp up on the bookcase over Gracie ever since I brought her home almost five years ago, right? Went to turn the lamp on last night for the first time since she left--burnt out! Dead as a doornail! Strange, eh? It has worked every single day for five years.....???

Another bright sunny morning! I have been up and down--sleeping whenever I am tired. Really, truly can sleep or nap whenever I want to, as long as I want to! I still can't quite belive it, but I am really appreciating it! Resting my arm, being good. Getting antsy to do something artsy (sumi-e painting, sketching, etc) but I should wait until tomorrow or Friday--see how the arm is doing. *sigh* Thank goodness I have some Netflix movies coming today in the mail. :) Such a beautiful day!!

Tuesday-9:30am

My view from the porch this morning! Yes--the porch!! The carpet is dry and the weather has cooled off. Karma and I spent a gorgeous morning out here!! First time without Gracie eeping nervously at us from the little green cage on the porch or screeching and calling from the living room until we came back in. Most enjoyable and peaceful time ever on the porch. :)

I got an email from Lois. I had asked her how Gracie was doing. She said that Gracie was happy and being ardently pursued by "Woody" who was singing his little heart out to her and following her around--but she was still in shock and not responding to him yet. She is with seven other cockatiels! (Some will be adopted and more will arrive over time.) I'm hoping that once she settles down (she's a born nervous Nellie) that Woody will win her over. She is very happy to be with the other birds, tho. I thought she be thrilled to meet a "real boy"--but Woody coming at her is just as scary as a human hand, I guess. Well, not quite. She isn't threatening him or biting him--hehe! It made me feel so good to hear that Miss Gracie is happy as part of a flock! :)

Caroline is coming this afternoon. It is so nice to have all the windows open and the porch door open--ahhhh!!! I will go sit on the porch while she vacuums and be out of her way. :)

I got the trash gathered and ready for her. This morning I wheeled down the box of brown paper towels to the storage area. That's about it for the arm for today. In a couple of days it should be better. I haven't gotten it to burning like this for a long, long time. Dumb! I should have known better than to have cleaned all those brushes at the same time. That is what set it off. My own fault.

Since I have been feeling a little better (due to Shaklee and The Secret), I seem to be going thru some kind of reverse learning process. I can do a little more, so I am finding out by trial and error just how much more I can do. Kind of like when I was finding out just how much less I could do by trial and error years ago--hehe! I misjudge and pay for it for a while. At least these days it is because I am slowly able to do more!! :):) I get excited and overestimate what I am capable of. Got to back down a bit, I guess. Take it a little slower--hehe!

Anyways, it is a beautiful, sunny day! Have a good one!

Monday-11:30am

Since I was good all weekend, I was able to finish cleaning the cage and playpen this morning. Dagan is coming over during his lunch break and going to help me get these two and the boxes of toys down to the garage while it is not raining. (We had loud thunderstorms rolling through all night.) I'll roll the boxes down on my little green cart. I'll let Dagan do the pushing of these two. My arm is due for R&R again--but I am done--finished cleaning them! TaDa! So--gotta go....later.... :)

Saturday-6pm

This is what I've been doing little by little since Gracie left. Can you tell my birds always had a lot of toys rotated in their cages? This is years of accumulation--and most of the really big parrot toys are stored in the garage!! The plastic container that Karma is lolling in was filled with toys and was kept on the shelf under the playpen. I moved all those toys into a banker's box. All the toys from the playpen and the cage pretty much filled another box. Now I have a nice empty plastic storage box--a large one, too. I can always use storage boxes--hehe!

The playpen in the bedroom--stripped down for cleaning.

Assotment of things drying in the sink will add a little more to the toy boxes..

The big cage stripped down for cleaning.

That is as far as I got by yesterday. Next I have to take a bucket of soapy water and sit and clean all the bars and all the nooks and crannies on the cage and the playpen--clean off all the various trays and grates (which are waiting for me propped up in the hallway by the door)--and then I can roll them all the way down to the garage. Maybe Monday I'll start scrubbing them down...kind of did a lot the last couple days...for me.

I am thinking I might actually put up my easel in that spot! I have never had a place for it to be up permanently before. I'll have to see how it looks and if Miss Karma will leave paintings alone while they dry--hehe!

I just remembered--I have Caroline coming to clean on Tuesday. If I have everything cleaned and ready to go, she could help me push them down to the garage! Dagan and Leah have been so busy lately. It's just a harder thing to do basically one-handed. My weak arm just isn't good at gripping, pushing, pulling, or carrying. Can do things for brief little periods of time, but if I over do it I can put it out--and then it's in a sling for days and the pain gets so sharp I can't sleep. I watch it pretty carefully and haven't pushed it to that point for a long time. When the wrist starts to burn (like it does now half way to my elbow from all the puttering with the cages for two days)--just have to basically stop using it.

This is how my life goes--hehe! I need to rest my arm today--and the shoulders/back/etc from the fibro, too, need a break for a couple of days. If I am cleaning the cage (big project for me these days--used to be a no-brainer--never gave it a thought--cages, tanks, whatever) then I can't paint or draw or do much of anything while my body readjusts and calms down inbetween the cleaning sessions. And I have to pay attention to the arm pain so I don't go over the limit and to the fibro pain, too. But in this case--the arm pain has top priority.

If I can get them cleaned by Tuesday--fine. If the body doesn't cooperate--fine. I'll just wait until Dagan and/or Leah can come and help me push them to the garage. Or give my arm a good long break for a week or so and bring the cage down one day and wait and wheel the playpen down a day or so later. I can do them myself. It just takes so much longer. My impatience. It is frustrating to deal with. You'd think I was as old as my dad (86). He'd do better than I would with these projects! Sad, eh?

This is my "normal" life.

So, with all my props and aides (so that I avoid using my left arm) I am able to sit in my lounger and read or hand write letters a little at a time--but that will be about it for the weekend. I am typing very slowly--one-handed right now. My shoulders are buring. I may not be blogging tomorrow, but you'll know why--just resting my touchy body--hehe! I'm fine, tho. TTYL........ :)

Friday-4:30pm

I apologize for the glare on the picture. I usually take a few pictures of everything so I can pick the best one--but they all had glare on them. Very hard for me to get pictures of things that have a lot of white in them--no fancy camera, you know. hehe! You can double click on the picture to enlarge it.

Anyways, I could sure see what Haiying meant by this not being a good quality set of brushes! Yesterday it took me over an hour to clean and clean and clean these brushes--and, as you can see, hairs came off of them like crazy. Some of the brown ones especially had tons of these hairs! And several of them had dyed hair! Browns, reds, yellows--colored the water and suds! The lighter colored brushes seemed to have less loose hairs and no dye in them. What a job!!

Eventually, I got them cleaned (or as well as I could for the first round--I might do it over again another day--can only do so much at a time and I know there is more to remove). The brown paper towel rolls were delivered from Office Max yesterday--so last night I was finally able to play a little for the first time. I watched all Haiying's videos on orchids--a couple of times--and these are my first attempts.

This is the very first one. I had grabbed an orange colored brush that wasn't very large. It didn't hold much ink and didn't come to a point very well for the thin lines, so I switched to a medium sized white one and did the rest of them with that brush.

I forgot to put the ground in a couple of the second batch.

I was having so much fun playing and experimenting!! I was trying to make them look more delicate than they probably are in real life--just because I love delicate flowers and I was having fun seeing what I could do with the thin and thick brush strokes. I should try to find some real photos of the orchids to give me a better idea what they actually look like. What would I do wihtout Google, eh?

This was sooooo exciting for me! I think I will be actually able to do this!!! I was so afraid--intimidated. I guess I will have to learn which really good brushes to get eventually. Haiying told me they run around $15-30 each--I think that is right--could be more, too, depending. For now--I am going to play with the ones I have and continue to just practice and practice the orchids. Eventually some of you will get cards from me with an orchid on the front--with green leaves and red flowers!! But for now--I practice with black ink until I am totally familiar with my brush set and accustomed to this alien way of painting and holding brushes upright. I am just so happy that I accomplished this much the first time! :) And I am so glad I have the brown paper towel rolls so that I can play and play to my heart's content and not worry that I am wasting expensive rice paper, you know? Fun!!! I am so grateful for these hints I got online and the videos that Haiying has made for us! :)

Well, at least somebody enjoys it when it is 90 degrees and humid! hehe!

Here's Miss Karma--sound asleep on the porch--sleeping in what I call her "prayer" position. Also reminds me of a squirrel the way she keeps her front paws like that.

Sometimes I guess you don't know how you will really feel about someone or something until it is gone, right? Sadly, I don't think either Karma or I miss Gracie very much. It is soooo peaceful and quiet without her stressful screeching all the day long. Gracie never had the contented bird sounds that I had been used to and loved with all my other birds--except when she was singing to her boyfriend in the mirror (and I loved that!). Her voice was distressed, nervous, and sharp--poor thing.

I still miss her being here, of course. I don't miss being bitten and threatened all the time (she bit me twice in the last couple weeks--and drew blood, I mean). She just wanted to nest and was getting territorial and aggressive--again. It's not that she was a mean bird. She just wanted people to leave her alone. She enjoyed watching people and listening to them--even moreso the cat! She was just very lonely and we didn't ever fit the bill. I pray that she has great joy in her heart and finds her real, live sweetheart to love. Or at least has lots of girlfriends to hang with, eh? She will be thrilled! And Miss Gracie will finally be happy--or at least have a genuine chance at happiness. (If she is capable of it?)

For Karma and I--things feel so different around here. We are still getting used to it. I can sleep whenever I want to. I can take naps! Karma has been konked out a lot! I suppose Gracie always kept her from sleeping well, too.

I can leave to go get the mail and not have to worry if Gracie flew off the cage in the few minutes I was gone and would come back to find Gracie following Karma around and worrying her to the max. Karma would always have this look like--"Save me! Get this thing away from me so I am not tempted to pounce on it!" I can pick up a magazine or shift in my chair without a call of alarm to accompany my each and every move.

Gracie lived in fear that I might try to come and make her get on my finger to go in her cage (I had to chase her off on to the floor so I could pick her up--and she'd grip her little claws into me in fear--and turn and make a lunge at me with her beak as soon as she was on her perch inside the cage)--so she had this little yell every time I did anything, made any move.

And yet she wanted me around where she could see me because she was so lonely--so she'd call and call--yell and yell--if I left the room to take a shower or anything that took any time at all.

So, my life was revolving around this tiny bird. I never liked her to be any more stressed out than she already was, so my showers were before I got her up or she started screaming at me to uncover her, whichever came first (not actually a pleasant way to wake up)--or after I put her to bed at night. Unless I had someplace to go--not often anymore--then she just had to scream for me--which she did the entire time I'd take a shower and get dressed until she could see me again--*sigh!* Poor Gracie.

Gracie's misery has always tugged at my heart. I have always felt badly that we just couldn't connect in a closer way. I guess I have never had that problem with animals in the past, you know. It always hurt it little. Years of telling her, "I love you, Gracie Girl" and "You're okay, Gracie"---she never trusted me any more than she did when she came as a baby. Maybe a little, but it was negligible.

I just stood up to get my little dictionary to see if I spelled negligible correctly (spell check doesn't work on my blog for some reason--never has) and I expected to hear that stressful, sharp call behind me. I guess I honestly don't miss that--at all.

I think I am discovering how stressful it actually was for me to live with her all these years--with the fibro and all. I was always concerned about her and her distress. It might be a better thing than I realized for me to have the freedom to be allowed to sleep whenever I am able to (which I need) and not have the constant stress calls from my crazy, lonely little bird who really didn't like me, anyways--chuckle!

Cranky, bitchy Miss Gracie. I will never forget her.

Thursday-2pm

Gracie is gone. Lois came and picked her up last night. She left in her little green porch cage with all her foods, treats, shower perch Leah made, and some toys--and the six page form I had to fill out. Gracie was almost five years old. I had been thinking it was six years, but she'd be five around Aug 1st (had to look it up).

Been very quiet around here. No stressful screeching and eeping. I slept late and Karma has been catching up on her sleep, too--hehe!

The order of brown paper towel rolls came today. Time to clean the sizing out of all the brushes in the new set. I found out they aren't the best quality brushes. Haiying read them and got a good look at them when I posted them on my art blog. (Haiying Yang's from the Chinese Brush Painting Yahoo Group). But they will be good enough for me to practice with. I hope to get in some first practice over the next few days. Hope to learn how to draw bamboo, orchids, plum blossoms, and cherry blossoms for sure. :)

Overcast day and still raining. Rained all day yesterday, too. Been a very rainy spring.

I hope Miss Gracie is happy. I have to admit it is less stressful around here. Lois agreed that she did not act anything like a hand-fed and didn't believe Gracie had been hand-fed, either. Gracie will be so much happier with other birds. I still miss her, of course. Just kind of sad today. Bye...

Wednesday-10am

Miss Gracie is leaving tonight.

I was trying to get pictures of her last night. She was pacing for a while because I was up by the cage too much. (She has bitten me twice in the last couple of weeks--wants to nest.) She is not a bad bird, just lonely and wanting bird company. I hope she is very happy when she gets with other cockatiels--poor thing! She's never made a very good "pet" bird.

Been raining. During the night I lost electricity enough for it to get warm in here? I think the fans coming back on woke me up. So, I didn't get much sleep--four hours. Going to be tired tonight.

I packed up Gracie's foods and treats last night--and a few toys. I think I am going to send her tiny porch cage with her. They can use it for parakeets or lovebirds or finches. Gracie is familiar with it--so she won't be as scared either.

I have a six page form to fill out today with information about Gracie. That is what actually got me out of bed--kept thinking I had to get that done today while I was lying there trying to get back to sleep but it was too warm. So--I am off to work on the form...

Tuesday-11:45am

My mom and dad were here yesterday from about noon until 10pm. Had a nice visit. I showed Dad Bejeweled on the computer and he got farther than I ever have in like the third try! You can tell he plays a lot of computer games. I showed Mom all my new art supplies and we watched a DVD I had with Andrew Weil-8 Weeks To Optimum Health.

Dagan and Leah came over after work. Mom and Dad had just left to get their motel room (before 6pm) and unload their luggage. They called to tell us what room they were in and Dagan and Leah went to pick them up. That way they didn't have to drive after dark (my dad can hardly see out of one eye anymore--glaucoma). We ordered lots of Chinese, gabbed for a while, ate, and then watched The Secret. By that time it was 10pm and off they went.

I was in bed by 11pm and slept till 10am. Totally drained. But, even Mom and Dad said they thought I was better than last year. True. Due to Shaklee and The Secret--those are the only changes really. I wouldn't have lasted that long without reaching the point of being unable to speak anymore (pain level) a year ago. Very sore today, but doing okay. R&R day, tho, for sure! :)

Leah looked for the brown paper towel rolls, but neither Office Max or Office Depot had them in the store. Have to order them online then.

At least I don't have to cook today--have leftover Chinese! Later.....

Monday-11:45am

This is the Winsor Newton Bijou Box that people are trying to imitate with the Altoids tins. It is very small and comes with 8 full-sized pans and a travel brush. Runs between $95-110 where I could find it online. So I am saving a lot of money, I guess, eh? And I have 15 smaller half pans--more colors!

My folks will be here any minute, so this will be brief.

We had heat lightning all night long. Was about 90 degrees yesterday and supposed to be that again for the next couple days. I tried the air conditioner again and this time it worked!!!! Somehow it fixed itself since last week. Things do that around here--like the computer recently did. ??? I am fortunate, I guess, eh?

Well, I had to move the red chair out of the way so that nobody sits in it. Not fixed yet. May take a long time to get the parts. Anyways, TTYL----have a nice day!

Sunday-2pm

It has been one whole year since I started this blog! I wasn't sure if I was going to be consistent with it, but I have been. I can't believe it has been a year already!! :)

This is what I did last night. I glued these little empty half pans into an empty Altoids tin to make a tiny travel paint palette. Found out about this idea online.

Used tubes of paint I had (other than Holbein) and filled up the pans. They are drying now. It will take a couple of days, I'm sure.

I wrote in permanent marker on a large label for the top of the tin--so I would remember which brand of paint and which color was in each pan.

Also cleaned Gracie's cage, watched some more of the Cracker series, read some more of the Dark Tower series--and now today I am washing clothes and sheets. My folks are coming to visit tomorrow and will be here around noon. I put a sign on the maroon chair that nobody can sit in it. I forgot to tell Dagan when he stopped by and he sat in it. Hope it didn't hurt anything? Well, there's a sign on it now to remind us.

Mom said she has The Secret book and has read it three times already. She asked if we could watch the DVD. Sure! So we will be watching The Secret tomorrow night after we go out for dinner--when Dagan and Leah get off work. I suppose we might have to watch it over at Dagan and Leah's since I am minus a chair? That might be a good idea. Anyways, in the 80's today--so have it closed up and the AC on. Seems to be working now?

Saturday-5:30pm

So exciting! Like Christmas! The Jerry's Artarama order came yesterday.

The Golden Panda Master Brush set was on sale till the end of June and so were several of the items I bought. Plus I had an extra 10% off my entire order for being a past customer, too. :)

The oriental brush set kind of dwarfs my other brushes--hehe!

You can also use them for any kind of watercolor painting--not only the oriental brush painting. So I figured if I really stunk at it and couldn't get the hang of it--I can still use the brushes, right? I have read that it takes a lot of practice, so it is not something you can instantly do well. Don't expect me to be posting finished pictures any time soon--hehe! :)

I am off to attempt to make my own tiny travel palette from an Altoids tin....

Friday-7:30pm

Last night--tornado watch, tornados west of us, driving rain, 48 mph winds, and low of 45 degrees last night.

They have been building dikes. Flooded farmland--some of them it is the second planting that is drowning--some of them have never been able to plant at all yet. Not good.

I located the website for the local Fargo/Moorhead bird group. They have a form on the website for relinquishing birds. I filled it out. A couple of emails later and Gracie will be leaving this coming Wednesday. I am happy and sad at the same time. I know she will be happier with other birds--period. No doubt about that. But I will still miss my little bitchy bird. :(

Gracie will probably miss Karma.

Thursday-4pm

More angels! This artistic angel cup was a gift from my mom and dad. :)

We had a tornado watch until 4am last night. This afternoon it was pouring and we had thunder that shook the ground. Rain for ten days--2 dry days--and now it is back to rain again. No wonder we have flood watch going on up here. They've been building dykes along the river in town. I saw on the news that the park near where I used to live in Moorhead is already flooded (it floods almost every year)--and the rain keeps coming. I don't live on the flood plain here in South Fargo and Dagan and Leah are okay, too. Really a wet spring up here. I hope there is not too much damage for people's homes. :(

Dagan came over and checked my computer yesterday after work. Didn't find anything--no viruses or anything. He set it up to defrag before he left--that took most of the night. I see lightning again--guess I should shut off the computer again...adios!

Wednesday-12:45pm

This little angel sits in my bathroom on a box filled with bars of soap. I keep forgetting I have a few more pictures of angels around the apartment.

The last couple nights I have slept for just a few hours, woke up, and then couldn't get back to sleep again. I finally give up after about an hour of lying in bed and decide to just sit up and read for a while.

Been having my "pain dreams"--that is what I am waking up to in the middle of the night. I guess I should just take the pain pills before I go to bed for a few nights and maybe that will help? (Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't--pretty mild, but I don't want strong ones so that I am zonked out.) I know I wasn't going to talk about my health issues, but they just kind of take over my life half the time. The dream I was having in the middle of the night last night was about somebody exchanging my blood with something that burned and prickled sharply all over my body. I was telling somebody that I was trying to get used to the process and numb myself to the pain, but it wasn't working so well--and then I woke up. I certainly have a lot of inventive ways to incorporate the pain into my dreams, that's for sure. hehe!

I laid back down about 6:30am and was finally sleeping really well--when Gracie started a continous calling/screeching to me about 11am. I thought she would quit if I didn't make a sound and didn't move. Laid there until 11:30am because I was too exhausted to do anything else--and afraid if I did have any energy that I'd just yell back at her and that is pointless. Miss Gracie is rather, well, dumb as a post, as they say--sad, but true--and it is unfair to expect more from the mentally challenged. But I did wonder as I lay there listening to the unending repetitive screeching call--is this driving my neighbors crazy, too--why is she suddenly doing this after all these years--why is my life being controlled by a bird--could I actually find a good place for her and give her away.....???

And what did she want, you may ask. Not my company. She cheerfully went from one mirror inside the cage to the mirror on top of the cage, chatted with her "boyfriend", and mastubated on the perch. *sigh* It is spring.

Tuesday - 8:45am

Woke up really early (4:45am) and couldn't get back to sleep. So, I showered, dressed, and went out to sit and read on the porch for a couple hours in the sun with Karma.

I have already emptied all the small garbages into the one big bag. (Caroline will take out trash for me when she comes this afternoon.) The dishwasher is going. Bed is made. Birds are chirping outside. Gracie is unusually quiet this morning (she is tired--not used to getting up this early--didn't even want to come out of the cage and I didn't uncover her until almost 8am--hehe!). Nice day again. We had ten days of rain, so it is nice to see the sun!

Short but sweet this morning...have a great day!

Monday-1:45pm

I thought my desk computer had crashed last night. Turned it off and on three times and it wouldn't work. Today it is working. I will never understand computers.

I did get the art supplies ordered. Be excited to get them--maybe this week?

Watched one last Netflix movie (they had bunched up on me this weekend)--Evil:

Adapted from a best-selling novel, this Swedish drama follows rebellious teenager Erik (Andreas Wilson) as he's expelled from high school for fighting and sent to the prestigious Stjärsnberg Academy. Having endured many beatings from his father, Erik is dismayed to face a similar threat from the academy's senior students, who bully the younger ones mercilessly. But this time, Erik is determined not to crack and lash out in violence.

I loved this movie. Even moreso when I watched the speicals and found out that it is based on things that really happened to the author of the book that the movie was based on. The main character goes through a transformation--it is the old good vs evil senario, but in a setting one wouldn't expect it. It is a foreign film--be prepared to read subtitles.

I called the office to let them know I need them to come and look at both the air conditioner and the clothes dryer. Neither of which is working very well. When it had gotten really hot out last week--shut it up in here and ran the AC for like 7-8 hours and it was cooler outside. And the dryer is taking like two hours to dry a load of clothes. I hope it is not something big. Even tho the owners have to fix them--still hope there isn't anything major wrong with the appliances. They aren't that old. Seems like they just don't make things to last like they used to, eh?

The sun is out today! I am off to read on the porch!!!

Sunday-5:30pm

CashWise delivered on Saturday. I was feeling a little better so then there are things to do--like wash clothes. I didn't get much sleep yesterday (up for the delivery)--but slept for about 12 hours last night! Sick and tired of being sick and tired--hehe! Just don't want to talk about it anymore--because I am on the mend. :)

Watched some Netflix movies this weekend. Deja Vu:

Déjà vu -- that powerful but fleeting sense that you've been here, or met someone, before. ATF agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) finds himself dogged by that feeling as he investigates a bombing on a New Orleans ferry. Should he shrug off the unsettling sensation, or can it help him unravel the clues he needs to save hundreds of innocent people from disaster? Directed by Tony Scott, this thriller also stars James Caviezel and Val Kilmer.

Was okay--a little hard to follow when time was overlapping. Not as good as I had expected it to be--but Denzel is always good. Then watched Fur:

Nicole Kidman stars as controversial photographer Diane Arbus, an acclaimed artist who took her own life in 1971, in this provocative biopic. Known for her bizarre and often disturbing black-and-white images that captured both the mundane and the unusual with a dreamlike clarity, she became the first American photographer to have her work exhibited at the Venice Biennale -- but not until after her death.

I'm sorry--I thought it was just stupid! Not too often I get movies that I don't like, but sometimes you do. They stated that it is a made-up version of her life or something to that effect, but you don't feel you got to know much of anything in this dreamy, moody movie. Her husband was a photographer and she had two kids--maybe that was true? She met a new tenant in their building who moved in upstairs--and he was a dying dog-boy (completely covered with hair) from the circus and he had all these circus freak friends which they showed you briefly. She falls in love with him and spends all her time up at his place--even overnight--and her husband doesn't really say anything? Before the dog-boy dies--he asks her to shave him. She does and they make love. In the end she apparently leaves home with her camera. Dumb--was just dumb. To me, anyways. Sorry if I ruined the movie for anybody. I think they were trying to get the point across that people are just people--no matter who they are or what they look like--but it missed the point somehow.

Then I had rented the first season, first DVD, of Cracker:

This popular PBS series stars Robbie Coltrane as Fitz, a deeply flawed criminal psychologist addicted to gambling and drinking. As Fitz profiles and questions suspects in police investigations, he ventures into the minds of potential criminals who just might be saner than he is. Series 1 witnesses Fitz as he battles the demons in his own life while trying to solve a series of murders.

I really liked it and will rent some more. Robbie Coltrane plays Hagrid these days in the Harry Potter movies--the huge hairy guy that everybody loves. In Cracker his life is a shambles due to his drinking, smoking, gambling, and general gruffness. The storyline in the first two-parter was very interesting and kept you guessing right along to the end. Cracker, himself, is very dark and kind of nasty. That could get to you after while, but I am willing to watch some more. It stayed on the air--so my guess is that they had to show you other sides of him or tone him down a bit. ??

The sun has peeked out this afternoon!! There's food in the house, clothes are clean, the bed is freshly made, Gracie is quieter today--life is good!! :) Hope you all had a nice weekend!

Friday-2pm

Here's the other strip of plastic I am now keeping by the porch door. Today it is misty wet, but I can keep the door open and have that nice fresh air coming in even though it is raining pretty hard off and on. Glad I thought of this! :)

I actually felt a little better last night after getting some sleep for three days. Got to cleaning and reorganizing. Made room for the future brush set that will be coming in June.

And got the two new slim satchels a place under the saggy shelf--and dusted and cleaned up a couple of shelves. Not that you would probably know the difference, but I do--hehe! I even made a little free space for some of the new things that will be coming (supplies for the Chinese Brush Painting).

Still raining. Been raining for eight days the weather man said. And we are still expecting rain through the weekend.

Leah came over on Wednesday briefly. She took the maroon chair apart from the base. Turns out there were some broken and bent metal rings inside there. That is why it listed to the left. She took them with her to check with HOM Furniture to see if they will order the parts for us or will give her the name of the company to contact. Leah just kind of set the chair together--so nobody but Karma can sit on it. Karma believes it is her chair--but, for a while anyways, she is correct and it truly IS only her chair--hehe! I'm not sure why I find that so amusing?

I slept again last night! During the night!! And was up by 11:30am! Things are getting back to my normal--tada! What a relief! :)