Sunday-1pm

We had thunderstorms rolling through all day and night, so I shut down the computer and didn't blog yesterday. The wind has been pounding and howling against the windows for over two days. Supposed to clear up pretty soon. The poor spider plant has taken a beating out on the porch, that's for sure.

The blue betta died. He'd been lying on the bottom of the bowl for a couple of weeks and struggled to get to the top to eat, so it was no surprise.

Yesterday Dagan and Leah went around looking at houses that are in the Parade of Homes again. Then they went to HOM Furniture--called me about a different chair they found that was a little more comfortable, they said. They found one the same style, but it is maroon and wobbles a bit. Was in clearance for $89.00 (vs. $149). Leah thought she could fix the wobble (our tool girl!), so I said okay.

But then they called me later and told me that decided to bring me over today, since the sale was still going on thru Sunday, to see it for myself before I decide to buy it. They said they were going to go look at more houses (last day) for a while and then come and pick me up around 2:30-3pm. I might go with for a second look at the house they liked the best for ideas over in Moorhead, so I know what they are discussing. :)

I was finally feeling better yesterday, so I didn't want to go with Dagan and Leah and set myself back again. When I go beyond my limit--it just takes days to recover and get back to my normal. I overdid it Weds and Thursday--pushed myself over my physical edge. Sometimes you don't even know you are doing it when you do it--but you pay for it later. Pretty much getting closer to normal now today.

I cleaned out the fish bowl. Watched some things I had taped this weekend--episodes of Bleak House on PBS (two more Sundays to go), the silly scratch and sniff episode of My Name Is Earl, The Office, ER, Medium, etc. Finally did some sketching last night. Just the preliminary pencil work on the second page--next I can start with the ink, then coloring of some kind, and when I am finally done I can post it. Felt good to be able to sit for a while and accomplish something. I do enjoy the drawing a lot--it's relaxing. Just was a nice weekend listen to the howling wind and be cozy and warm inside! I guess I will be out in it, tho, in a couple of hours--hehe! Hope you are all warm and safe. :)

Friday-5:45pm

Watched a couple of movies that I really enjoyed a lot!

The Pursuit of Happyness was really good! Will Smith and his son were delightful together and it was nice to see Will in something other than an action film or a comedy. I thought it was the best movie he has ever done. His son could be a truly wonderful actor--already is a natural! It was excellent and a true story of the American Dream!

Will Smith (in an Oscar-nominated role) and his real-life son Jaden star in this tearjerker about a struggling single parent determined to build a better life for himself and his child. Chris Gardner is smart and talented, but his dead-end salesman job barely pays the bills. When he and his 5-year-old son are evicted from their apartment, they face trying times as Chris takes on an unpaid internship at a stock brokerage firm with hopes of getting rich someday.

The Dinner Game is a movie (with subtitles) that grabbed your attention early on and had you laughing all the way through!

A group of French intellectuals gather each Wednesday for the dinner game, where the challenge is to bring along the most idiotic guest each can find. Pierre (Thierry Lhermitte) thinks he's found a ringer in François (Jacques Villeret), a civil servant whose passion is making architectural models out of matchsticks. But Pierre gets more than he bargained for when François becomes his houseguest -- and nursemaid!

Dagan came over after lunch and picked up the Shaklee order. Hung out for a while. Helped me to unjam my printer (first paper jam I have ever had--now I know there is a back panal that you can remove to get to the nasty crumpled paper).

Leah stopped by briefly, too, after she got off work. Had her try the earth shoes on, but she didn't like them and said they hurt her heels. I love them. Just never know, do you? She is in the process of trying to see if she can get her apartment complex to do recycling. Leah made phone calls to the recyling center and the city of Moorhead--now she has all the information to go to the office over there. Would cost them $76 a month and they'd have less trash to be picked up if everybody got used to recyling? Doesn't hurt to try, right? Leah also found out that the recycling company will do curb pick up if you buy the proper containers/large tubs--so if the complex won't do it, she might buy the tubs and do it herself.

My complex doesn't have any room for the recycling containers. They built the fence around the dumpster just large enough for the dumpster to fit in there. And being as I am in low-income housing, I doubt they'd ever spend additional funds to enclose recycling bins with a fence. But--if Leah figures something out for them, she and Dagan can pick up my stuff and add mine to theirs. Leah already picks up my mail order catalogs. Then I could recycle glass and such, too. :)

By the way--NOTE: If you go to www.USPS.com and type junk mail in the search engine, you will find a link where you can sign up to eliminate a lot of your junk mail. It only costs a dollar!

Today has been a chilly, rainy day. Not a hard rain--just a slow steady, drizzly rain. Having a very sore R&R day--overdid it--my own fault. Tomorrow will be better. :)

Thursday-4pm

How much cozier it looks with a couple of plants and a candle. Got Miss Gracie's cage back out, even if it is still a little chilly and way too windy today to actually put her out there. Soon! :)

I ordered a Sigg water bottle--refillable, good for the environment. A red one, of course. I'll just carry it with me around the house and I hope it fits into my red bag, too?

I ordered a few small things: cardboard magazine holders (have them piling up in stacks), a cell phone cover for my new phone, and (believe it or not) a bible cover! No--not for my bible. On the EDM site they mentioned how they are the perfect shape and size to carry around art supplies for sketching and watercoloring! And the one I got wasn't expensive either. Interesting! Hope it is as nice to use as they say. :)

CashWise was here and I just finished putting away groceries. Now I am going to order the Noodler's Ink for my Lamy pen for sketching and that's it for me this month. The rest goes toward the new chair! tada! Can hardly wait until that arrives!

Leah is stopping over after work to pick up their Shaklee order. She and Dagan are going to try the new Cinch Plan? They'll let me know how it works for them. Supposed to help you lose weight in a healthy way--no muscle loss and get rid of belly fat? Hope it works!

Well, it's another beautiful day--just very windy! Windy enough to rattle my apartment door off and on all day. Maybe the days just seem extra beautiful to me now when I can sit out on the porch and read and write letters, huh? Right now though (after I order my Noodler's Ink) I am going to go watch the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" with Will Smith and his son.... Later....

Wednesday-10:30am

Big excitement around here last night (according to Miss Karma--hehe!). I moved the patio chair and ottoman outside to the porch. Rearranged things on the porch and endtables inside. Looks so empty in the here now.

I still need to move some plants out on the porch and Miss Gracie's cage, but it is all set up so that I can go sit out there to relax and read now!!

Karma has been all wound up--chuckle!

Dagan and Leah will be over tonight for Sacred Circle. :) It got chilly last night--nippy, actually--but is supposed to be another beautiful sunny warm day today--in the 70s, I think? I am off to read on the porch. Am half way done with the second book in the Dark Tower series. Maybe I will get back to sketching today, too? Finished one page while I was waiting for Lin to arrive on Monday--need to get the other side done so I can post again...

Tuesday-4:30pm

Lin came to visit for the afternoon and I talked her ear off--hehe! She looks so good and seems so much more content these days. I am happy for her. She wants to get together with both Jennifer and I one day, as Jennifer was in our Writer's Group, too. That would be fun! (Let me know, Jennifer!)

Then Dagan came over and we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond--and discovered that the quality of all their patio furniture dropped drastically this year?? :( So Dagan suggested we go over to HOM Furniture, since he needed to make a trip over there anyways. He and Leah bought their huge, beautiful bedroom set from HOM recently and they want another nightstand for the other side of the bed--and that is where he bought the cool pillow. He suggested I look for a cheap chair--which I didn't expect to find actually. We wandered and snooped around--found out they have a sale going on this weekend--Dagan checked out the availability of the nightstand and the pillows--no problem--can go back this weekend and save some more money. And we found a strange little chair on sale for $149.00--found a picture of it on their website in tan. I like the sage green that was in the store better.

It swivels and glides and rocks--like you are floating about when you sit in it. The ottoman moves about also. (Karma may hate this chair--hehe!) There's a lever and you can lean back like you're in a lounger and stop it in whatever position you want--Dagan figured that out. The only thing that could be bothersome is the bar that goes across the front of the chair seat under the cushion--it presses on the back of your legs a little. But I switch chairs around a lot--so I could just move. And there may be a way to slip an additional piece of foam under there too--as the seat is just slipped over the bar. I think I am going to go for it. Dagan said I could just pay them back the rest. I had planned on $100 maximum for a chair, but this is such a good deal and is a real living room chair, too--not the patio furniture I am using right now that actually belongs on the porch.

Then Leah met us over here at my place in the parking lot and the three of us went snooping through houses at the Parade of Homes from 6:30-8:30pm. Many of them! I finally couldn't do anymore stairs (knees and hips were giving me trouble)--I sat in the car for the last one--and snapped a picture.

There were many expensive houses on the tour--fun to snoop. I think this one was $339,000. Dagan and Leah were just looking and getting ideas about floor plans and other details. We were in a house before this one that had the most beautiful cupboards!! We all loved them--called a "port" or a wine stain. Had awesome woodwork throughout that home. Dagan and Leah are also looking for things they think they could finish themselves in a building process or a remodel, you know. Save some money.

I crashed last night for 11 hours. Am not getting much of anything accomplished today--hobbling about--but it was lots of fun. Got to visit with somebody I haven't seen since my "college days"-hehe! Found a decent chair for my apartment and got to spend the evening with Dagan and Leah as they planned and dreamed. :)

Monday-noon

A bit of drizzle this morning. I am expecting Lin about 1pm and thought I'd do a quick hello. Dagan is coming over after work. We're going over to Bed, Bath and Beyond to look at what they have for patio furniture for this year. I want to see if there's something I like and figure out if I can afford a chair in May. The nicer weather is here! Want to get the patio cleaned up and arranged for the summer.

Dagan, Leah, and I might all go wandering and snooping at the Parade of Homes tonight, too. They are open from 6:30-8:30pm during the week and thru next weekend. We're going to decide later.

I took the garbage out with my green cart this morning. The garbage truck had just been there. People don't put their garbage in sealed up bags and stuff fell all over the ground this time. I saw the garbage man out throwing stuff back in the dumpster and doing a second emptying. What a mess!

Anyways, I am going to go make some coffee....later....

Sunday-2pm

Dagan and Leah looked at a few houses yesterday--none of which was "the one". They ended up going through a Parade of Homes exhibit and found out about a smaller contractor who builds homes for a little less than average. They plan to go and look at some of his work next weekend. If he does good work--they could have the floorplan like they want it and make many other decisions--could be the answer for them, who knows?

I forgot to mention that a lady who was in our writers group back when I was in college at MSUM, Lin, called me last Thursday, I believe. Professor Vinz is retiring this year and they were having a goodbye event for him--she wanted to know if I wanted to go later that night. I wasn't having a good week last week and go couldn't that day, but I asked her over to visit tomorrow afternoon. Haven't seen her for years! She's somewhere around my age--can't recall exactly--energetic and funny and bold! Be nice to catch up and find out what she has been up to since she graduated.

I have been watching some Netflix movies the past few days---The Queen:

After Princess Diana's shocking death, Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren, in an Oscar-winning role) and Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) engage in intimate talks as Britain demands the princess be memorialized in a manner beyond standard protocol. This Oscar-nominated drama for Best Picture goes behind the scenes as the queen and prime minister try to manage Diana's death on a personal level while also dealing with a public calling for royal treatment for their beloved princess.

I thought it was very interesting and everybody did a great job--not trying to do obvious imitations of all these living people. It gave the royal family's position so that you understood more where they were coming from when they didn't officially respond right away to Diana's death--with protocol and so on. I could probably make some enemies here, but I wasn't a big Diana fan. I was in the beginning, I suppose--not that I paid a lot of attention, but you couldn't miss the fairy tale coverage of their life. And at first I felt sorry for her--being betrayed and all--but she married into royalty and it really shouldn't have been such a surprise. She hardly knew him--it was more or less an "arranged" marriage--she knew she was there to breed and provide heirs and play her role--come on! She wasn't that stupid--she knew what was expected of her. She loved having the position and she always played carefully into the press--like she should have--until the divorce.

Honestly, what altered my personal opinion of her was that long interview she gave when she was getting divorced--one on one interview--there was something in her face and her eyes. She was not the innocnent that she liked to portray to the public. I thought she was totally manipulating the press and saw this gleam in her eye and tiny smirk escape every now and then--and I felt she was lying and exaggerating specifically for public sympathy. That was my gut level response to her. I had never seen her close up for any length of time, so I had not had an opportunity to really watch her before. I know that is an unpopular belief--but after seeing her up close and personal--I wasn't effected much by her death and all the hoopla. I am glad she did some good in her life--charity work, etc. But I think she may have done it more out of boredom, a need to have something of her own, and to look good to the press--to keep up her own innocent princess identity. She fell in love with her own image and her own press, I think. I think she was a very troubled girl who was a sucker for men of power and position. She figured she had it made when she produced two male heirs, I think. Figured she had worked at maintaining being popular enough with the public that she figured she could go off and do her own thing and divorce (with the public's blessing and sympathy) and be the (future) King and a spare's beloved and revered mother--forever. And she was probably a good mother. She made her bed, but didn't want to lie in it. She knew she was popluar with the press, and she used the divorce as a public battle that she planned to win. Anyways---don't bother to write and defend her to me--I already know it is an unpopular viewpoint--hehe! I can understand her, but I just don't feel as much pity for her as the rest of the world seems to. (Same with Anna Nicole, for that matter. Although Anna did not have quite the global support as Diana did. What has happened to being responsible for your own actions and decisions?)

Anyways, I also watched The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn:

Small-town farmer Noah Dearborn (Sidney Poitier) lives an uncomplicated existence till shady developer Christian Nelson (George Newbern) tries to usurp his family's land. Nelson will do anything to take Noah's property, including hiring a shrink (Mary-Louise Parker) to have him declared insane. What Nelson doesn't anticipate is Noah forming an unbreakable bond with the doctor that proves stronger than anything the land baron can dish out.

This was such a good little feel-good movie--like a Hallmark movie--maybe it was? Sidney Poitier was excellent, as usual.

Marie Antoinette:

Sofia Coppola directs this stylized portrait of Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst), the naive Austrian princess who married Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman) to become queen of France at age 19. The film explores the young queen's luxurious yet terribly confining lifestyle and illustrates how Marie Antoinette's youthful indiscretion and frivolity were not only her release, but ultimately, her very undoing. A Golden Palm nominee at Cannes, the film also took Oscar honors for costume design.

Was like a personal glimpse into the lifestyle and home life--done very well. The only thing that really bothered me was the occasional modern music. Young director. Definitely eye candy--the costumes and decor are amazing! You felt like you understood Marie more and that maybe she got a bad rap because her lifestyle was all she knew and she was cut off from the normal society. Maybe the first person to be the victim of a huge publicity smear campaign??

And then I watched Grey Gardens:

Documentary pioneers the Maysles brothers (Gimme Shelter) capture poignant moments in the lives of Edith Bouvier Beale (Big Edie) and her middle-aged daughter, Little Edie -- relatives of Jackie O -- at their decaying estate, Grey Gardens. The ladies shut out their bleak present by recalling richer times and lost loves, and while Little Edie confides that she'd like to leave, the camera captures a co-dependency destined to continue.

This was a fascinating documentary! I had no idea that Jackie Kennedy Onassis had these realtives living in squalor in an old house that was literally falling apart out in the Hamptons. Jackie actually had to go out there and help clean it up once and legally make enough repairs to let them remain living there. But I had the impression that this documentary took place after that--and the house and grounds were in terrible shape. Cats pooping anywhere and racoons destroying the walls and attic--the daughter was feeding them!! The relationship between this mother and daughter was the focus of the film. They had this love-hate bond that had been established over the years. The mother (Jackie's aunt, I think she was) wanted the daughter to be dependent on her and help her--and yet she managed to insult her frequently. The daughter (who was in her 50s) felt she had wasted her life (her mother kind of pushed her into remaining single) but loved her mother and couldn't leave her--and hated her for it sometimes--and used her as an excuse for not having a life, too. There was a constant conversation, comfortable bickering, and occasional outbursts. Was hypnotic in a strange way--mesmerizing--but sad.

As long as I am probably irritating people today---something in the news lately--Richard Gere mauling Shilpa Shetty in India. I wish he'd get the 30 days in prison! I have always been confused by this man--he is so hypocritical. He claims to be a follower of the Dali Lama and the Bhuddist prinicples--yet he consistently picks movies where he plays horrible human beings and/or are very violent in nature. He insulted Cindy Crawford's intelligence, vocabulary, and claimed to be bored with her after they were married. Well, that says more about him than her! Gere has made many, many trips to India--and yet he has no respect for or understanding of their culture. This was made blatantly obvious by his pawing and smooching all over Shilpa. If this is something that isn't done there--if anybody should know this it would be a man who supposedly has such love and respect for the culture and for other people's religions and for other people's dignity! ??? I saw a snippet of him on some talk show afterwards--totally unapologetic, laughing about it, and poo-pooing it as insignificant to him. He didn't even understand the backlash or make any attempt to. Typical ugly American--no remorse whatsoever. No comprehension or empathy in the real world for where other people are coming from--just a lot of concepts and ideals in their heads. No wonder a lot of people don't like us in other countries....

I don't usually "rant" on my blog. But I will on occasion. If you don't like it--skim.....ROFL!!!

Saturday-2pm

Giving up Cable TV has now provided me with being able to afford apartment insurance and a cell phone on Dagan and Leah's family plan!

The cell phone came with an adapter so that I can use my headphones I already had for the land line phone. Now I have to get used to this new contraption. One nice thing is that it will hang up automatically when you close it and picks up automatically when you open it. Easier for me to figure out--hehe! Now I have to learn how to program in telephone numbers and all the rest. I have finally entered into the mysterious world of cell phones. Didn't think I ever would. But now I can call friends and family long distance after seven pm and on the weekends! (You are all forewarned--chuckle!)

The best laid plans.....my body didn't want to cooperate all that much the rest of the week (taking more detox supplements). I didn't go with Dagan and Leah looking at houses this afternoon. Yesterday Dagan and I had to wait to leave until later in the afternoon. I never made it back to the mall this week, but I did get quite a bit of walking in, anyways--so that was good. Got my new hippie earth shoes! I did make it to the mall once, anyways--and managed to finally get to the insurance office and to Sprint this week--so it was a good week on the whole, I guess.

The weather has been beautiful the past few days--in the 70s and reaching for 80! Dagan and I brought in my two tall fans from the garage yesterday, too. Going to need them pretty soon. Have to try to make it over to Bed, Bath and Beyond soon to see what they have for outdoor chairs for the summer. I am going to have to decide if I can afford it soon! (Either that or we'll have to haul the uncomfortable gold lounger back in again from the garage.) It is time to be sitting out on the porch again! In fact, I am going to go sit out there and read for a while. Have a good one! :)

Friday-11:15am

They finally arrived! In the right size! And they were worth waiting for! My new "hippie" earth shoes--and they are vegan, too.

As you can see, they are lower in the heel than they are in the toes.

They tell you on the tag: "We recommend moderate wear at first to allow your body to adjust to this more natural walking experience." I wore them around the house yesterday until my calves hurt. Felt a little strange at first--like you are tipping or something--but the shoes are so comfortable for me! I have wide feet and they seem to fit right into the shoe without being cramped at all. There's a real strong arch inside of the shoes--but I think it helps to stretch out those muscles on the bottom of my foot that help with the plantar fasciitis pain? We'll see, eh? Anyways, I am in love! If these work out as well as I think they will, I will probably have to get some tennis shoes next!

I am going to wear them bopping around with Dagan this afternoon. So, got to finish getting ready....

Thursday-3pm

Dagan and Leah came by after work and we had Subways. We watched the Oprah show on going green. (I got excited for the earth and for us all over again--hehe!) Leah finished embossing all the business cards that she had.

I had really overdone it on Tuesday with the sketching (sore), so I was being pretty good yesterday until I did play a little pyramid solitare very late last night. Karma kept me company.

Quiet, warmer day in Fargo. :)

Wednesday-3:15pm

I got totally lost playing last night--with the Triplus colored pens and the Micron pens! Forgot to set my timer. Am paying for it today, but not as badly as could have been, I guess. :) Will take it easy today. Dagan and Leah are coming after work. Leah is bringing Subway! I will have to pass on crafts tonight. My body is forcing me to take it easy--hehe! I promise I will be good....

Tuesday-3:45pm

Yesterday was my bus trip to the West Acres Mall. I want to keep making the short trip to the mall and walking for exercise. That is the plan! Trying not to be housebound! :)

To show you that there is just nothing to walk to around where I live--this is the view from the bus bench looking south.

And this is looking north. Used to be just all flat fields. Now it is all new apartment buildings and residential.

When I got to the mall I went on a walk up and down the hallways. This is my favorite sitting area that I found and it is close to the bus stop waiting area--right down the hallway. I sat facing the very overcrowded, very large fish tank.

I was in the light brown chair to the left of the couch--sitting and writing to my aunt, Mary Lou. :)

Then I went out for another swing around the mall before I caught the bus home. In one hallway they have the Roger Maris Museum.

Here's a close up of the plaque for you baseball fans--not that you can read it--hehe! Maybe you can if you click on it and enlarge it, I didn't try.

They have this tiny room where you can sit and watch a video about Mr. Maris. I must confess that I have never watched it. Maybe some other time. But that is the "museum"--some windows in the hall and this little room.

At the other end of the mall by the food court is Creative Kitchen. They are having their Food Expo this weekend and I am planning on making another bus trip to go to it and watch the demos. I wanted to take a shot of it as it is normally and then I'll get a shot at the Expo--if I remember.

This is the view looking out from Creative Kitchen of the Food Court. It is quite huge! Lots of places to sit and sketch in the future, I guess?

I turned to my left and shot the eating tables they have on either side of the big doors at the Food Court end of the mall. Was pretty quiet on a Monday afternoon, I must say.

On my way back to the bus stop area I snapped a wider view of where I had been sitting by the fish tank. They have some kind of TV on the other side. I didn't check that out this time, so I don't know if it is advertisements or what is on it? Couldn't really hear it very well from where I was sitting--but then I already have hearing loss in my left ear.

Then I turned around to snap a picture of the directory--and some man who works for the mall came up with a scowl and demanded to know why I was taking pictures!? No lie! I explained it was for my blog and he laughed and walked away. Strange. Is there some kind of mall espionage going on? Are there mall spies!? Do I look like a mall spy? And if I really was a mall spy, wouldn't I lie and say I was taking pictures for my blog?

This is the wonderful place they have built for people to wait for the bus. Very nice in the wintertime!

And here are shots of where you can wait outside, right in front of the inside waiting area. This is the right side as you look out--for non smokers. I went and waited out there after I took pictures--such a gorgeous day!!!

And this is the left side for the smokers. Employees come out there to smoke, too. In fact, I think these were all emplyees.

I was so exhausted--just from the trip to the mall when I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, either--that I was in bed by 7:30pm and woke up at 9:30am! Times like that remind me I have chronic fatigue syndrome, too. But it was such a good day and I am determined to ride up to the mall more often--gain confidence--and eventually start taking additional buses elsewhere.

Yesterday Dagan found out he had free pizza day at work--so he came over today instead. Showed me how to transfer my favorites to Google--to update them, I mean. I have already started to save them in cyberspace now! Love it! And we laughed at this cartoon on PBS that has a pig, cow, and a duck with Irish accents! Just cracked us up!

Caroline came to clean this afternoon. I just ate a sandwich. It is another absolutely beautiful sunny day like yesterday. The grass is mostly green now! Spring has finally arrived, I guess.

Tomorrow Dagan and Leah are coming over after work. Leah is going to do some more embossing on her business cards. We are going to watch Oprah that I taped--about going green!! Just in such a great mood! Happy, happy hobbling about today. Sure hope those earth shoes fit when they come and help me with the walking about. Have a great day, everybody!!

Monday-noon

Got caught up reading Dagan's book--the first book in the Dark Tower series I borrowed from him. I am re-reading the first three or so that I had read a few years back so I will remember what the heck was going on. Things can be so strange in Stephen King books. This is a very odd series, even for Stephen. Kind of a combination western, days of knights & quests, sci-fi, time travel, and mystical as far as I recall.

Watched a movie I really enjoyed yesterday, too--Hollywoodland:

When George Reeves (Ben Affleck), the actor who famously played the Man of Steel in TV's "Adventures of Superman," turns up dead, a dogged private eye (Adrien Brody) investigates and unearths a string of strange secrets. Diane Lane and Bob Hoskins also star in this gritty noir-style drama based on the true story of one of Hollywood's most infamous mysteries, a film that marks television director Allen Coulter's feature film debut.

I liked the fact that they didn't tell you what they thought actually happened, but just put out the possibilities and left you to ponder on your own--because they never did find out if it was murder or suicide. The thing I loved about the film was the time period, the atmosphere, and the interesting details of George Reeves personal life that I didn't know about. It didn't dwell on the Superman series and the movie was basically through the eyes of this detective. I loved how the detective's life was changed by his investigation of Reeves' life. There was a lot more to the movie than I had expected.

Dagan is coming over for lunch. I have some computer questions for him. He'll be here any minute----gotta go! :)

Earth Day!!! Sunday-4:45pm

I wanted to post a picture today, so I had to draw "Cookie" for a while first. I have to do a sketch with pencil first and then use the pen. In the EDM Yahoo group they encourage you to sketch in pen--but I have a ways to go before I am up to that--hehe! That's okay. I am doing what I feel comfortable with--and even that is really pushing me! :)

Happy Earth Day!!!!!

Saturday-1:30pm

I finally got back to sketching last night and got another EDM done. Glued my former cup picture into this new book--hehe! Waste not--want not, right? It was the very first sketch I had done, after all. :)
I haven't gotten a lot done since I came home Monday night--just wrote a few letters and managed to wash clothes. Watched some Netflix movies. Feeling better and more back to normal now. :)

Last night we had a thunderstorm move in. I quick grabbed Karma's porch perch and brought it inside before it got soaked--not thinking that, of course, she was going to want to sit on it inside. Anything new intrigues her.

Looked like it was going to be a really bad spot at first.

But she settled in, relaxed, and left the fish alone. It was funny to see her paw the front and sides of the tank trying to catch them, tho. She has no claws, so she can't hurt the acrylic tank. It kept me entertained for a long time watching her, tho--cat entertainment--the best! Like I say--she makes me laugh every day!!

Wednesday-2pm

Had a wonderful time! And the trip went much, much better than it did last time. Must be a combination of the Shaklee and The Secret, eh? Those are the only changes since last July...??

Here we are at Mary Lou's kitchen table on Sunday afternoon after we ate. Standing is my son, Dagan. Right in front of him is his wife, Leah. Clockwise--Mary Lou, my aunt, is sitting with her back to the camera. Renee, my younger sister. Denise--Mary Lou and Irving's niece (his brother's daughter) who I call my "kinda cousin"-- :) And Joel, Renee's son.

It was so wonderful to be sitting around the kitchen table again! Many fond memories--and I miss this so much since I moved away to Fargo/Moorhead.

Leah got a really funny shot of Joel!!

And a candid shot of me.

Dagan and Leah went to the Shaklee Excite Seminar on Friday night and Saturday during the day. They met the Fargo group of distributors--who meet twice a week!! Wow!

Great to have a support system. They won't be able to connect up with them for a while because they have things going on and will be gone next weekend to Saint Cloud--but they will go to the meetings as soon as they can.

Mary Lou had a funeral come up that she had to attend on Saturday afternoon. I read a few of my emails that afternoon--was told that the Rapidograph ink is bad for other pens and can ruin them--so I emptied the pen out at Mary Lou's to be safe. I am sure glad that I found this EDM Yahoo Group! They know so much (learned a lot of things since I joined) and it is a good place to ask questions. They don't make you feel stupid for asking beginner questions, either. Such a supportive group!

Dagan let me borrow his new memory foam pillow while we were there. I LOVED IT!!! I slept so well every night, too--just cradles your head so perfectly--soft, yet supports. So, he let me keep it when we got home. I can pay him back and he'll get a new one. I want another one to use as a body pillow, too, since the cheap foam body pillows I have purchased go flat so fast. These memory foam pillows never lose their shape--and this one comes in this longer queen size. (Having the body pillow helps with my hips and knees--arthritis--when the pillow is not flattened out--hehe!)

The trip home was longer. I had to get out often--was very sore by that time. But last summer--I was in that shape on the way down! :) I was worried about how Karma and Miss Gracie had fared alone for three nights. I had been sending peaceful thoughts all the time I was gone and for about a week ahead of time before we left. They were just fine!! Karma didn't even get into anything??!! The scotch brite pad was in the living room on the floor and she had been playing in the bathtub and the shower curtain was partway out of the tub--but that was it!!! What a relief! They didn't even carry on that much when we came in the door. :):) Good! This means I can do this again sometime and not worry as much.

They are a bit insecure--especially Miss Gracie. She eeps away if I leave the room. I have had to stop and talk with her several times a day more than normal. But, she is settling down now. Karma spent a lot of time laying all over me off and on the last couple days--but she seems to have settled down a bit now, too. She was just showing me that she missed me, of course--needed a lot of snuggling. She needed a lot of play time with her string toys, of course, also.

I mostly caught up on just reading emails yesterday here and there--hobbling about. Today is better. But I didn't feel up to going and looking at houses with Dagan and Leah after work today. Just on R&R for now. My big project for the day--washing clothes. Was such a wonderful, wonderful visit, but it is always good to be home. :)

Thank you, Mary Lou, for everything! So good to see you, Renee, Joel, and Denise! Oh--and Dagan checked out fine with the cardiologist and the pacemaker check. Life is good!!

Friday-2:30am

Here I thought I was going to get extra sleep before the trip to Minneapolis--hehe! Check here to see what I was up to in the middle of the night:

http://soulcomfortsartisticside.blogspot.com

I know, silly, eh? Obviously the art/sketching/drawing does effect me on a core level, like I said. I even wake up dreaming and thinking about drawing! My subconscious is preoccupied with it, too--ROFL!!

I decided that I had best bring some art materials with--just in case--even if I will probably never touch them while I am there. They are packed. :)

We are leaving about 11am. I am hoping to catch a few more winks before then. Talk to you next week....have a good weekend!!

Thursday-7:30am

One of the watercolor sketchbooks I bought was sure a bad purchase. Talk about buckling!!

Went to look it up on Dick Blick--and come to find out that this one is made by the same company as the Nepal travel sketchbook I just dismantled because I couldn't deal with the paper. I had to laugh!! Both were made by Lama Li (and that company name wasn't on the new journal--only said Savoir Faire). So, I will never buy anything again from that company--hehe!

Couldn't blend--just weird, porous paper. Have to use a quite dry brush on it--just doesn't act like regular watercolor paper at all, in my opinion. (I know I am a novice, but it sucked!)

Anyways, we had Sacred Circle last night. Leah made fried egg and ham sandwiches before we started--very good. (I think I misunderstood her). Dagan and Leah have had the feeling that they should look for a house in town--an older house. Something with a bit of land, nice yard with trees, and an outbuilding or room enough to put up a building later.

They are focusing on the Shaklee business right now (and they both got angel cards that obviously supported them in this new venture!!). Then, if they have a smaller mortgage, Leah can gradually buy herself some of the equipment she needs for the crafts she wants to learn and eventually sell--like the pottery. She loves to work with clay, wood, glass, metal, etc. Eventually she'd like to be at home all the time--and just selling Shaklee and the things that she makes. Dagan will be learning more about building a website and the computer ends of things--and whatever else he wants to do to work out of the home, too. Then--when they are both working from home--they want to look for a place with land, etc--but probably not around this area here in Fargo-Moorhead. They'd be free to look wherever they wanted to if they worked from home--true! So that is the plan for now. :)

While we were occupied in the living room, Karma chewed apart one of Dagan's shoelaces! She has been just nutty about string lately!! What a stinker! So now any shoes with ties or shoelaces we'll have to put on the top of the shoe rack there by the door.

Yesterday when Jennifer was here she laid her purse on the floor--I was showing her some stuff on the computer--we turn around and Miss Karma was parked right by Jennifer's purse and was scooping things out with her paw. She had already removed her checkbook and some pens, etc. Jennifer gathered up the stolen items and zippered it away from Karma's snoopy paws and teeth!

I wonder how much damage Karma will manage to do while I am gone to Minneapolis? Silly girl! Speaking of--I may or may not post while I am gone. We are leaving tomorrow morning (Friday) and won't be back until Monday night. So, I might not be posting again until next Tuesday. I hope I remember to take some pictures!! My camera doesn't hold many, but Dagan and Leah's does--if they remember it--chuckle! Anyways, I am off to the garage to get my overnight bag....

Wednesday-10am

I finished the first couple pages!! Ta Da!! I love my new Moleskine Sketchbook! You can click on the picture to see it better.

I was so tired I was in bed by 9:30 last night--but woke up at 3:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Was actually laying there thinking about drawing! Decided to draw the lamp on my headboard with the cool shade. Was harder than I thought--hehe!

I have an easier time drawing from a photo than from real life. So I was up snapping pictures of the different items for the EDM challenges this morning. Then sat down and drew for a while. Nice way to start the day.

Tonight is Sacred Circle. (I may need a nap!) Leah wants to make Eggs Benedict and said she is bringing all the supplies. So, I don't have to worry about making dinner for them, I guess. :) Then on Thursday I have to pack for the trip to Minneapolis!!

Right now--I am off to see if I can throw a little watercolor on the ink sketch I did yesterday...

Tuesday - 7:45pm

Yesterday my earth shoes came, but were a size 6 instead of a size 8--so had to return them. I got a return lable for UPS online from the company--but found out that it would cost me $10 for UPS to come back and pick up the package. So, Dagan came by over for lunch today and took the package to his UPS drop-off at work for me.

Caroline came and cleaned this afternoon. And Jennifer came by later on after work. I had a whole stack of books for her and she had a few for me. We caught up a little, she showed me her new Ipod, and we watched a movie from Netflix based on the longest running British comedy Last of The Summer Wine. Kind of odd. Three old codgers and a dead body of a friend--strange little movie. Okay, I guess. Not the best of the British--hehe! It was really nice to see Jennifer--been a while!

Yesterday I washed clothes and played around with the new Moleskine sketchbook. I am not going to take photos until I have both pages filled when the book lies open. I also started an ink sketch of a vase and flowers in the rough WC book with the deckled edges. After I get it painted, then I'll take a picture of that one, too. I just think I am too tired to do any artwork tonight. Plan to get to bed early.... :)