Tuesday-11:15am

Karma was outside basking in the heat for sooo long yesterday never begging to come in...

...because I had put that empty box under the corner chair for the heck of it.

Even going out and taking pictures didn't get her to leave the box that held no interest when it was first here. Do I know my Karma, or what? hehehe!

I think she was enjoying the heat without as much humidity yesterday.

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My folks are arriving soon for a visit. We'll be going over to Dagan and Leah's tonight. I'm sipping creamy tomato soup for lunch. Another blue sky/white cloud day in the low 80's. We may avoid another storm until Thursday. Wish I could send rain to those of you who need it.

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Kay called from K&Krafts this morning. My tattered flower Tim Holtz die is finally in--tada! So I can go pick it up this week and hit Pearle Vision, too, for the nose piece if I can stand the heat--chuckle! I should stop at the grocery store and pick up a few non-chew foods, too. Good thing I called IdeaOne and found out they won't be sending a bill till the beginning of August. See--things always work out, don't they?

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Filled my balloon up quite a bit since yesterday. :) Patience, right? I had to re-boot and re-set my patience with pain program--ROFL!

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I should see if I can find a quote about patience to think on today. :):)

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My mom called...they're 10miles away...found one on perseverance...

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"If you fell down yesterday, stand up today."

H.G. Wells

Monday-5pm

Beautiful day.

Still pretty hot (86 degrees), but not as humid.

I headed to the dentist's office.

Not good news today.

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So I figured, now that I am home and have cooled off (PitaPaseo was like a sauna), that I should blog before the novocaine wears off. The tooth has cracked almost in half down into the root--at an angle--and the one piece has shifted. The tooth can't be saved and he wasn't able to tackle pulling it. Too tricky.

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They were going to set me up with the oral surgeon. I explained my relationship with Merit Care and the oral surgeon's payments from my jaw surgery--threatening phone calls, even tho I make a payment each and every month. They could possibly even refuse to take me as a patient again.

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My only other option is this dentist who comes (to the "poor folk" clinic) about once a month and is sometimes able to do the trickier procedures. Trouble is--he's not back till August 13th. There is no guarantee he will even be able to do it, but this dentist assured me that he wouldn't agree to remove the tooth if he wasn't sure he could do it.

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Wait three weeks with this split tooth and maybe avoid dealing with Merit Care...I jumped at that option! They seemed surprised I would choose to wait. I left them laughing, tho. Pain is my game--my constant companion--hehe! They kept telling me that if I couldn't stand it to call them. They know I have darvocet for my fibro that I can take, too.

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So--I am thinking positive. Saying prayers that this other doctor will be able to remove the tooth. I kept visualizing on the way home that he was standing over me saying--"yes, I can do this for you. We can take care of this for you right now."

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All positive thoughts appreciated. :):)

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And you can bet I will be taking my pain pills--diarrhea or no diarrhea--ROFL!! :)

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I just wanted to say that I am not really sure how often I will be blogging and/or online for these next three weeks while I am waiting this out. I may be blogging pretty much every day as usual or I may need to take a break--short or long. Just wanted to warn you so you don't worry about me. I know I'll be okay. But I just might not feel like talking much sometimes. I can guarantee you I will have days I will want to stay curled up in my pjs and just lose myself in a book or a movie to escape the pain. I was all set to deal with these ten days. Now I have to buck up for another three weeks...or more.

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I feel like a deflated balloon at the moment. I might be able to blow myself right back up--but I do have a big old friggin' leak for a while--LOL!

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Karma says hi.

I've got a puzzle of a quote for today. I didn't understand Nietzsche in philosophy class in college. (Thought he was a bit daft!) I don't understand what this quote actually means--but it sounds mysteriously cool. I feel totally thrown into inner chaos right now--dancing stars should be shooting out my a** any moment!! ROFL!!

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"One must have chaos in oneself in order to give birth to a dancing star."

Friedrich Nietzsche

Sunday-11:30am

Karma likes to place herself in the apartment "hub" a lot. If I get up to head for the kitchen, bedroom, or bathroom she can't miss it. And I have to step over her while she is usually stretching and yawning--hehe!

This is one thing I won't miss!

PBS often comes in all snowy like this. Can't record on the VCR decently when it is like this either.

Even tho I have the cheapest and unadvertised cable TV hookup for broadcast channels only, you'd think they should all come in clearly, wouldn't you? It's supposed to be cable reception after all?

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Dagan and Leah's channels come in perfect--clear and crisp. So at least the channels I do get on broadcast will be clear, I hope, with the new system. And I will be able to watch a lot of stuff off the Internet, too--TV and movies--even youtube! I'm getting excited to try it now that I am hooked up to IdeaOne. :)

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Last night I watched 2012.

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When typhoons, earthquakes and other disasters suddenly threaten to destroy the world, Jackson (John Cusack), his estranged wife, Kate (Amanda Peet), and others surmise that the secret may lie in ancient Mayan prophecies that describe global calamity in the year 2012. Roland Emmerich co-writes and directs a star-studded ensemble cast that also includes Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Woody Harrelson, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Danny Glover.

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Great special effects. Okay human interest stories within the bigger plot--that was full of holes--hehe! I wasn't very impressed with it. I'm a plot person, I guess--and tend to be pretty logical/realistic. So when things get really far-fetched and make little sense within a purposed plot, I tend to lose interest. Even good fantasy or sci-fi has its own logic to it--its own real world, you know? Anyways, it was so-so.

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I walked the movie down and got my mail at 2am. Oops--got these first two pictures switched around...

Anyways, when I got to the elevator, I wondered what the heck this was over by the door to the stairwell?

Looked like a piece of the handrail from the stairwell, so I peeked down...

...and sure enough! Somebody ripped the wooden corner piece out of the wall!

You can see that it is a separate bent end piece that is glued to the end of the long rail and screwed into the wall. I went back to get my camera because I couldn't believe it. This vandalism is getting ridiculous! I thought the yanking down of the exit signs from the ceilings in the hallways was the worst we'd see. But human beings can constantly surprise you. Too bad they don't take all that energy and thought and use it for something worthwhile. It's just a shame.

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Anyways, we're supposed to have a day off from the rain today. But then rain for the next couple days again. Cycle just doesn't want to end yet. Storms last night. This is the fourth weekend we've had tornado watches in the area up here. I don't mind the thunderstorms, as you know. But I really hate the humidity that is just clinging this summer. Drops a bit after the storm, but not so as to be comfortable in the heat. The temps keep going from 80's to 90's to storm...80's to 90's to storm...

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But we do have a peek of the sun and the beautiful skies in between storms. ;) It's just hard for people to deal with the damages to buildings and crops over and over again. Last night was mostly hail damage with this storm. We've been lucky there hasn't been more damage right in the Fargo/Moorhead area, I guess. :)

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But today is a gorgeous sunny after-the-storm day. Hope everyone is weathering any storms or bad weather and having a nice weekend. :):)

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"When we tug at a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world."

John Muir

Saturday-1:45pm

Karma slept in the heat all afternoon on the porch next to her cat grass--hehe!

Beautiful "looking" day yesterday, but hot.

Supposed to be even hotter today--90s--with scattered thunderstorms. But right now we have blue sky and lots of white clouds here.

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Karma--hidden behind the cat grass planter--hehe! You can see she likes to pull some of the grass out by the roots. I have noticed that since I haven't been trimming the grass it is doing much better for a longer period of time. I was always cutting it down a couple of inches and drying it to use in handmade paper. Guess I should leave it alone--hehe!

I got out the watercolor block again yesterday--just really restless. Don't have to concentrate too hard to play with abstract bookmarks--something I could do to help take my mind off the annoying mouth pain. Made this one with Winsor Newton paints. I was surprised at how it turned out when dry because it looks so rich with dark red and deep yellow color here.

Used the scrunched up saran wrap and left it to dry.

I have another watercolor block that's a little larger and I decided to use that one, too. Used Maimeri Blu paints and splattered Dr. Martin's (calligraphy colors) copperplate gold all over it...

...scrunched up saran wrap (my favorite method) and left it to dry overnight, too.

This morning I was surprised at how the Winsor Newton faded down to more of a pink and most of the yellow was kind of taken over by the pink. Interesting!

The Maimeri Blu paints retained their color better. Looked better dry than wet--hehe!

I hadn't used the Dr. Martin's copperplate gold before and it is nice and shimmery. Acts more like an acrylic, but I liked the effect.

Watercolors are so interesting to me because they do shift and change and move. They all fade, but some brands do keep their color better than others. I know I will go back and look at these pictures later and compare all my brands. This is a fun experiment--and I'm making bookmarks at the same time--tada! Always lifts my spirits.

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Meanwhile...just hanging in here. Discovered that taking the pain pills again gave me diarrhea! Talk about an "Aha Moment"!! Here all along they have added to the IBS problem! Wow! Therefore--I haven't taken a pain pill since Thursday--and have been a bit more mouth miserable, shall we say. Only a couple more days... :)

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"Difficulties strengthen the mind, as well as labor does the body."

Seneca

Friday-2:30pm

After picture.

The IdeaOne installation went just fine. But the man told me that their box isn't wireless, so I need a router for my laptop. He hooked IdeaOne up to the desk computer.

The phone jack was behind my curio cabinet. I moved everything off the top of it and Karma's "toybox" cat bed while he went to reconnect my landline. He hadn't realized I had a landline and had disconnected it downstairs before he came up. Just goes to show you how very, very few people even have landlines anymore!

Anyways, IdeaOne runs their lines right with the phone jacks. He opened up the phone jack, hooked up their line, and I was good to go. And it doesn't interfere with my landline phone at all. Nice!

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I emailed Dagan that I needed a router, went to go turn off the McLap--and it was still online? I was all confused. But then--I am easily confused, as you know--hehe! Took me a little while to figure out that CableOne is still plugged into the same old modem (tall skinny one in the top picture) and that is what is powering the McLap--duh! So I have the desk computer being run by IdeaOne and the McLap being run by CableOne. Good thing I hadn't called to disconnect CableOne yet. ;)

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Anyways, when Dagan finally gets the other part and all the cables and the router and whatever else I need--I'll finally get switched over to the new system for the McLap and the TV.

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Dagan left an empty box here when they were over. Karma showed no interest in it whatsoever until...

...I laid it in the hallway in the dark last night. :)

I do know a little about her mind--ROFL!

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Was interrupted yesterday. Was going to tell you about the storm that went through and kept me up till dawn. On the 5pm news there were still people without power. Interviewed folks who said they had never seen such a lightning show before. It really did light up the sky and often kept it lit for quite a while because the strikes we so close together--like machine gun fire in the movies. I know I have never seen lightning like that, myself.

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Trees split and some burst into flames--fell on buildings, cars, and even a fire truck! Transformers exploded. There were hurricane level straight-line winds, too--75 mph--that flattened and even defoliated entire crop fields. Flash floods. One weather spotter had 3 inches of rain in 30 minutes. And south of Bismarck there damage from grapefruit size hail--4.25 inches across!! I never knew hail could even be that big! It was quite a storm. Things have calmed down and repairs are being made. Been a wild, sticky summer so far.

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I sent a bag of fourteen (www.bookcrossing.com) books with Caroline on Tuesday, too. She is going to put them on the free table at her work for me. I spent some time yesterday updating that info on my bookcrossing site.

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Woke up yesterday to a new lady on the phone representing my Merit Care bill...wanting me to tell her all my expenses so they can determine what I can pay...and threatening me with collections if I don't cooperate. I told her I have been making payments every month and that I had checked into it and that it is illegal for them to take money out of my disability check. She did respond and say she wasn't talking about my check--so they do know they can't take money from my check. [But then why do they keep saying they are going to get a collection agency after me? I think my cousin Tom is right--just to scare me into agreeing to pay more money.] So I told her I've lost everything due to my health--I rent, I don't own a car, boat, property, or even a burial account. She kept trying to ask me about how much my bills were, so I told her a half truth--that I had company coming and couldn't talk to her (well the IdeaOne person was coming). She gave me her number and extension so I could call her back after my company left, she said. Well, I wrote it down, but I never called her back. *sigh*

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I started making payments to Pearle Vision last month after my glasses and glaucoma exam went thru medicare and medicare didn't pay about $160.00 worth of the two bills. (And why don't they combine bills for separate visits? duh!) And this month the bills had "final notice" in big red letters on them. So I wrote them a note and sent off a payment again this month. At least one of the two bills they can mark paid now.

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And my school loans got turned over to another company. This is the third one now , I think? And they are already being more aggressive. Now they can actually take money out of my disability check (they changed that back around 2005). And apparently there is a five year limit on being too poor to pay them back. I passed that milestone long ago. So--wonder how long it will be before they decide to start taking money from me every month? I found the formula online a while back and they can take up to around $130 of my $778 a month. Whew!

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Anyways, that's an update on the bill collectors. :) Enough said on that. I'll survive. I have already earned a PhD in penny pinching, dollar stretching, making do, and going without--ROFL!! Don't worry. Hey--I'll be paying about half what I was for Internet and TV soon. ;) You certainly don't have to wonder why I am soooo grateful to be in this low income building--despite the pee in the elevator, vandalism, and pulling of the fire alarm (or lighting fires, now, too). I just don't understand people who sh*t where they sleep, as the old saying goes.

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I am blessed to be here where I am helped with rent. That the county has given me Caroline to clean. That I was allowed to pick out my Karma to come live with me. That Dagan and Leah love me and live close by and help me out--and keep me online!! And even that we have a dentist for the poor people in town to go to on Monday--no matter how scared I am of dentists--hehe! Just writing this brought tears to my eyes. I am so very blessed. Truly and deeply blessed.

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Sending out much love today!! :):)

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"If we are bold, love strikes away the chains of fear from our souls."

Maya Angelou

Thursday-10am

I thought I'd get a "before" shot of the desk.

IdeaOne is supposed to arrive today and hook me up to the Internet. I hope they use the same cable that I already have hooked up for CableOne, or they are going to have a fine time stringing new cable behind the bookcases and such all along my wall. Well, we'll see what they need to do once they get here.

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Speaking of the bookcases along the wall...

I hadn't seen Karma for some time last night. Here she was sleeping behind my chair by the desk in front of the bookcase.

I think this is a new spot I have never seen her in before in the five years we've been here. Heaven forbid there's a square of carpet she hasn't claimed as her own--hehe!

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IdeaOne just called and they are on their way over so I have to cut this short.

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"Laughter is inner jogging."

Norman Cousins

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Heck! I didn't know I was jogging every day!! :):)

Wednesday-noon

Dagan cut me five of these pieces of scrap carpeting for Karma's cat box...

...which is this cheap child's toy box from Target. That Leah is so clever! She cut an entrance hole in the end before she put it together and we found a cheap plastic tub she cut down that fit inside for the actual litter box. Anyways, I lay a piece of carpet on the bottom to help catch dirty feet as she exits. Here's the before...

...and here's the after. All cleaned up with new carpeting. Not that it looks that much different--but it smells a little better--hehe! Be glad there are no smell-o-blogs--ROFL! Caroline went the extra mile yesterday! And do you think Miss Karma had a kind thank you? Nope. I certainly didn't raise her to be so rude. Cats do not take instruction well.

Anyways, a really bad thunderstorm was passing thru right about the time Dagan and Leah were getting off work so they went home, got their cars in the garage (to avoid the half-dollar size hail if it happened to hit here--didn't), and waited it out. It was traveling pretty darn fast. They came over about an hour later and we had dinner. Then, while Dagan watched TV (America's Got Talent)...

...Leah peeked at it, too, we sorted the cards by the color ink we'd use on the backside, and she started stamping the backsides of the cards.

So glad I bought that stamp-a-ma-jig! Can get the stamp exactly where you want it. Well, unless you lose your grip--hehe!

So here's examples of our new custom-made stamps!

Looking all official, now, with our etsy website stamp, eh?

Plain ariel font and easy to read. We're happy with them. :)

I caught Miss Karma sniffing the mouse on the pole toy late last night--hehe! Guess I should buy some of that catnip spray. ;)

Dagan still needs to bring over cords and such and is waiting for that part to come--but he brought pieces with last night as long as they were coming over. Not sure what these things are...

...but they are all pretty heavy.

I've been up late, as you know. Well last night, about the time I was ready for bed, another bad storm went thru--loud thunder and such lightning that the sky was lit up! The weather folks were up and on TV--and talking tornado sightings. Hate when they come in the dead of night. You can't see them and you're not dressed--hehe!

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I turned off the TV and McLap--ended up reading Pillars and not getting to bed till almost dawn. So, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Oh well. Maybe I'll get to bed earlier tonight then? Hope so.

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Today is going to be a quiet day. If I do anything extra it will probably be to putter with the card stamping. I'll keep catching up online. Even after the storms went thru--not a day to open the windows and it is supposed to be getting hotter over the next couple days, too. Summer.

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Hope you're having a good week. :):)

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I love this quote today!

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"Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."

Mark Twain

Tuesday-1:15pm

Another spot to put her treats--hehe! Empty kleenex box.

Karma liked it till she found out her head got stuck in there and she had to shake the box off--ROFL!

I know. Mean CatMom lately, eh? :):)

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This will be really quick. Caroline will be here to clean this afternoon and then Dagan and Leah are coming over tonight after work. Leah and I are going to work on stamping the backs of our cards after dinner now that we have our nifty new stamps. ;) It's already almost 80 degrees and getting uncomfortable in here. I'm going to close up for the day and get the AC going.

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Oh--and the dentist's office called back and I have an appointment for next Monday afternoon. I knew it would take a while to get in. Well--got to get moving. Have a good one! :):)

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"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."

Maria Robinson

Monday-1:30pm

In an attempt to re-interest Karma in the new toy from Sammy and Annie...

...I put treats inside that ball trench.

Now Karma likes to scoop treats out of her can, but this became annoying in short order to her for some reason. Not as easy to get out? She only retrieved a few and has refused to go back, even if I don't give her any more of her fake treats. I guess the toy will go back to Dagan and Leah's. They said they might give away some of the unwanted toys in freecycle. Good idea. [I sent Karma's over there--hehe! Sammy does love the crinkle balls, tho!]

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Was actually chilly last night! Loved it! Window open with the fan on me all night--ahhh! Haven't had to close it up yet. The humidity has gone down--tada! I've been on a 3-11am sleeping shift and--wouldn't you know--as soon as I was in the shower the dentist's office called. I called them back and am still waiting to hear from them again. Murphy's Law, right? But the tooth isn't terribly bad. When it gets really throbby I have taken a pain pill. Have taken about four of them since it happened on Friday.

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This last week I have seen some interesting movies. The White Ribbon....

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At a rural school in northern Germany in 1913, a form of ritual punishment has major consequences for students and faculty. But the practice may have bigger repercussions on the German school system -- and maybe even on the growth of fascism. Celebrated Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke helms this Golden Globe-winning, sumptuously photographed black-and-white drama that stars Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Tukur and Theo Trebs

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....is a hard movie to describe and really has no ending--but I found it fascinating. It is in German with subtitles, so if you hate subtitles--skip it. I don't know if this was based on a true story, but it has a narrator and is presented partly as a kind of "what happened while I was there" story. You felt like a fly on the wall--getting bits and pieces of facts--and have to guess at what you think might have really happened. But you're not sure--and you're not told. Kind of like my coming upon the ambulance and the guys at the emergency exit door--hehe! If you don't like those kind of movies that leave you hanging--you won't like this one. But I was so intrigued by the goings on in this "quiet" town (there is a dark underbelly) and the various characters you are introduced to... it stayed with me after I watched it. But then I like to ponder the whys and wonder, I guess.

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Another movie I caught on TV that I had forgotten about--saw it years ago (came out in 2000)--Wonder Boys!

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Directed by Curtis Hanson, this endearing slice of life centers on unraveling English professor Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas), who's forced to confront his writer's block, fear of aging and irresponsibility as he watches a student (Tobey Maguire) surpass him. Meanwhile, he contends with the consequences of an affair and fends off the advances of a young boarder (Katie Holmes). Steve Kloves earned an Oscar nod for his script.

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Also had Robert Downey Jr. in it. I had forgotten how nutty and strange and funny this was. Made me laugh out loud several times and I was so glad I caught it on television last week. :)

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Right now, I started watching Upstairs, Downstairs (1971) from the beginning.

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Thirty years before Robert Altman redefined the English drawing room drama with Gosford Park, this beloved Masterpiece Theatre series chronicled the lives and loves of the aristocratic "upstairs" Bellamy family and their loyal "downstairs" servants. Catch a first glimpse of 165 Eaton Place and become enchanted with the saga that captures the essence of Edwardian England.

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I remember peeking at it on PBS decades ago. Decided to revisit the series. I like the quietness of it--no laugh tracks--very little music--black and white. Presents more like a play, as many of the old British shows do. I've only seen three episodes so far, but I am enjoying the revisit. :)

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I spent all my time yesterday (besides washing clothes) just visiting blogs! I finally finished at 2am--hehe! So nice to see what everybody has been up to this past week. Discovered a couple of new ones, too--oh my! Maybe my cable got jiggled back downstairs, eh? The truck has been here several times. Must have been a lot of troubles or people moving in and out? Well, I'd better not get to feeling too cocky--who knows if this will post today?--hehe! I hope it will hang in here until Thursday when IdeaOne comes. ;)

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Anyways, living in this building sometimes I need reminders--chuckle!

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"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."

Buddha