Saturday-6am

I took this picture yesterday--early in the morning. The ice is back.

It's still black as night out there this morning--20 degrees. We can hear someone scraping their windshield in the dark.

Made a few cards yesterday. :)

This one has micro beads (that super tacky paper on the backside) and a yellow pearl center on the flowers. My first attempt at using the new scortape on the ribbon and got it a little uneven on the top piece, but better by the lower one. So sticky that you can't reposition anything, that's for sure. Have to really careful when you lay anything down because that is where it is going to stay--hehe! But--so far--I really love it!

I also did a little cleaning and rearranging in the hall closet over the washer and dryer. Gathered up all the newspapers and craft towels and rags that I had in various spots.

Started that project because I wanted to start cleaning up the bookcase that will be moved into the living room. The carpeting has already "felt" bone dry for a couple of days? Maybe can move the bookcase on Wednesday night when Dagan and Leah are here? So--I'd want it to be as cleaned up and organized as I can get it ahead of time. Ready to go, you know? :):)

Karma's been very happy with me sleeping a few hours twice a day (been taking a nap because not sleeping very long at night)--because any time I have slept in the bed and wake up--it's treat time in Karma's world! She's lucky I hate to fall asleep in my chair because it gives me a stiff neck--hehe! Life has been very good for Miss Karma for the past few days--hehe!

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The sun will be coming up soon. If we will be lucky enough to see it today, that is. Dawn will come, regardless of how brightly. :):)

Friday-8:45am

The cold came in like a wall last night. It's 24 degrees. Karma gets cuddlier when the floor gets colder--hehe!

Every day there are meetings and press conferences televised about the flood and many updates. The river is expected to crest by Sunday or Monday.

It's a good thing that they started planning way ahead of time this year. Had testing done during the winter as to the potential for another bad flood. They had plans made so when the thaw came like a month early--they could scramble and get things ready. Only had five days to get things in place--the clay levees, too. Good thing we had some nicer weather for those days, too. Now it is freezing out there. Like the mayor of Fargo said trying to stack frozen sandbags is like trying to stack frozen turkeys. Doesn't work well and doesn't seal. So--they got things up before the freezing weather hit and now have extra sandbags stored in heated buildings. Talk about scrambling to deliver and stack them before they freeze solid if we do need them--but they're there. They expect this year to be the 3rd or 4th worst flood since they started recording them. We only had time to get one set of dikes up. No second or backup dikes.

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But everyone is pretty calm as we wait it out. Well, we're Midwesterners. :)

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Sadly, I heard geese a couple nights ago and saw them out in the field yesterday...which is now frozen over. I wonder where they went? Probably had to go over to the river where the water is flowing. Must be warmer than usual all over for the geese to be here already in March, too? Not expected to warm up for around a week or so, either. If I were them I would turn around and go back down south for a while yet--hehe!

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Leah finally brought the BigBite over to JoAnn's a couple days ago. Found out that they are considered two separate stores--the online vs. the local stores. Cannot return anything to the local store that you bought online. Bummer. So--whenever I see Leah, she will bring it back over here. Probably Craft Night this coming Wednesday. I'll have to deal with sending it back and all that. :(

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Meeting's over for this morning. Oh, I guess I got the pictures switched, oh well. It looks the same every day--hehe! I guess they have voted on which side of the river to build the bypass or whatever it will be called--North Dakota side. Going to take years to build, I imagine. I hope we don't have as bad flooding in the meantime. Glad to hear they have come to an agreement. :)

We've had them breaking in for flooding news--not as much as last year, so far. And then they also have the high school basketball tournaments going on. Out of my few channels I get, three of them had basketball last night--hehe! One was NBA--one covered girl's and one covered boy's competition. I don't normally mind, but they aren't even having delayed programming for the prime time shows. Can't afford it. I guess they really need their infomercial income these days and times are hard for everybody, eh? They were showing them on some other cable network, but I don't have anything but the barest minimum of channels and don't get the normal cable service. I'll have to go and find The Office, CSI, and The Mentalist on the computer somewhere, I guess.

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I brought this up because I think this is soooo funny that I was just talking about how everything happens for a reason and how maybe I was getting a hint that I shouldn't watch as much TV...ROFL!! Do you think The Universe is trying to tell me something? :):) I'm not such a good listener when it comes to certain things--hehe! I can bet you I will look online and try to find a show...or two...or three....:):)

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Meanwhile...just for something to do...

...I torture the cat with my toes...

...which she tries to attack blindly.

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I am easily amused. :):)

Thursday-7:15am

I have not been able to figure out how to save photos on the McLap. I can get them off my camera--no problem--but I mean when someone sends a photo in an email or I want to save one off the web. I only seem to be able to move them into "downloads" and can't get them into iPhotos or my documents so that I can store them with the rest of my photos. ?? Anyways, that meant I was using the desk computer yesterday for the blog and I forgot I had a few pictures from Tuesday.

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Yes. That's a fly!

Tuesday it was still cloudy a lot of the day but it got into the 40s, the sun peeked out here and there, and we had three flies on the porch. Man! As soon as it gets the least bit warm out they show up! But when the temperature dropped later in the day, they dropped, too. Made me think of that saying--"dropping like flies"--hehe!

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I left the porch door and screen propped open in the afternoon.

Was Karma thrilled by the flies? Didn't even notice them! The carpeting is still soggy and she won't stay out there very long until it's dry. I tried to put her TV tray out there, but she wouldn't even jump up on it...too nippy and damp even for Karma. But she wanted to sit inside with the windows cracked open there by the craft table and patrol the parking lot. That was much more thrilling for her. She is getting old enough (5) to want to sit inside on a warm, dry chair and look thru the screen and smell the air in a comfortable spot. Older and wiser? ROFL!

Water logged up here!

It's no wonder we have such run-off into the river and the sewer systems. Several feet of snow have disappeared over this last week.

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They reached the goal of a million sandbags filled and have been busy making dikes with them. The freezing weather is supposed to come in tonight and stay for a while. Usually hate to see that in the spring, but it should help some with the flooding. They hope, anyways. The river is supposed to crest this weekend. The little twin cities are on alert and dike watch. Everyone is saying a prayer.

Anyways, on Tuesday we did see the sun, but a lot of the day still looked like this.

Yesterday!! Finally!! Sun!!! Karma seemed to be waiting for it...

...to come in and across the carpet in the morning.

We have missed the sun!!

Oddly--there were no flies yesterday? The carpeting is slowly drying out on the porch out there. Just been so chilly and damp and yucky.

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I was up really early. Didn't sleep long, so I washed clothes right away before I faded away--hehe! (Which I really did--hehe!) Finished the book, tho-tada! :):) Caught up some more online. It is amazing how much time you can actually spend on the computer, isn't it? Good Lord! If I was healthy I could be on here all day--ROFL!!

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Same thing last night--didn't sleep very long at all. But I am glad to be on days. Today is supposed to be in the 40s again and the sun is supposed to be out later in the morning. After that--back to 20s and 30s for a while. They're on TV talking right now (strategy meeting--there have been many televised lately) about where they are storing the unfrozen backup bags for this weekend and what backup plans are. They don't think they will have to evacuate the hospitals, etc, this year if all goes well.

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Speaking of--as a disabled person--I got a call again this year to ask if I was in a safe area and if I had a plan for a place to stay if I need to evacuate. I am too far away and was nowhere near the flooded areas of town even last year when we had the record floods, so I am not worried. Dagan and Leah were okay, too, last year. We are all in good shape and will be fine.

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Oh--and guess what? Leah said Annie has started to come upstairs and has even played a little with Sammy!! (The former owners spelled it "Sami" on the vet records, but Leah said she thought she liked "Sammy" better. I'll find out what they officially decide on spelling.) Annie's a little skittish, but already socializing some. Wonderful! That makes me so happy! :)

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Aha! The clouds are already parting and the sun is peeking thru! Nice! Well, have a great day and stay dry!!

Wednesday-6am

Hardly any sleep yesterday--exhausted--in bed early last night and up early this morning--tada! Always glad to be on days. Especially today. Supposed to see the sun (had a little peek yesterday) and maybe hit 50 degrees! Whoohoo! Got to appreciate it now because by Friday it is supposed to go back below freezing again for possibly up to a week. Might be good news for the flooding situation, tho!! Always a silver lining, right?

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Leah sent pictures! Sami has been making himself to home.

Annie had apparently stayed in one spot for the first two weeks when the previous owners got her--so Dagan and Leah knew how shy she is. At first she hid in this empty closet downstairs.
Then she moved to this cat tree in the main room downstairs...

...and has stayed there pretty much for a few days. Dagan and Leah visit her and pet her and talk to her.

Sami, on the other hand has been making him self comfortable. There's a scratching post, cat bed, and toys upstairs, I see.

He looks quite relaxed about the move. :)

And he has a cat house upstairs, too.

He has checked out all three floors and the entryway from the get-go. But he goes back to check on Annie and keeps her company, too.

Leah says that Annie has already jumped off the tree when she came down! And once she went down and Annie was walking around downstairs. Last night they found her under their bed!! hehe! Never saw her sneak up there. So--she is exploring already, also. Tada! Leah said they'd like to move her favorite cat tree upstairs pretty soon so she can be more a part of the family and still have a place she feels safe, you know? :)

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Since it's only been a couple of days--wow! I think Annie will adjust pretty quickly! So happy! Maybe Sami goes down and tells her all about what he's been doing and that it's actually safe there--hehe!
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Well, they've had most all of the schools involved with sandbagging--from Middle School (Junior High to us old folks) to the colleges. Some closed and some gave excuses to the sandbaggers. And it stopped raining yesterday--coincidentally? They say there are no coincidences, right? We are supposed to have a couple of nice days for the sandbaggers today and tomorrow--but then freezing weather. They'll have to bag fast and get the dikes made because when it freezes the bags don't seal properly together because they're stiff. I know they had troubles with that last year. They do seem more prepared this year and it isn't expected to be quite as high--but this is a real drain on the community up here...emotionally, physically, and financially. Let's hope the cold slows down the melting enough that it won't crest as high. :)

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Speaking of everything happening for a reason...??? I have been wondering if my losing my second debit card (at least temporarily) was trying to tell me something. Probably that I should concentrate on saving up for the chair and maybe an unbroken laptop table--yes. But it got me to thinking--again--about how to squeeze out more productive time without overdoing it, you know? Not having Netflix and only so much being of interest on TV-I'm once again thinking about how, as a person who lives alone, that I have the TV on just for company, you know? I am very aware I do this, but it's a hard habit to break.

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Especially when I can only physically do so much a day--in short shifts of time. I can spend a little more time online now that I have the McLap--tada! Have been able to keep up or catch up faster than I used to because I can spend additional time without too much extra pain. :) And that will improve a little more when I have a new chair and can sit even more comfortably with the laptop. :)

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Then I will have to figure out how to juggle my time between crafts and writing and all the other stuff I do and chores, etc. I will have more "good" hours to work with. I already have a little more than I used to. That is sooo nice! I guess not having Netflix for a while made me think about not turning on the TV and/or shutting it off more than I do. Even just reading more--getting out my books and lit journals about writing. Have to shift my thinking, you know? I ordered my writing magazines again. Just slowly shifting gears--even if my gears only consist of dead stop and low--and maybe a few days a month in first gear--ROFL!! I am on an incline, you know. Takes concentration not to go in reverse some days--hehe! :):)

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I suppose it would be easier if I didn't have so many interests, but I'd much prefer the variety, of course. All the various crafts, painting mediums, genres of books and movies and writing...if I had to pick just one thing I wanted to focus on for the rest of my days--I couldn't do it! The very thought is depressing to me. I think that would put me in reverse--hehe! And yet I admire people who have one love--one hobby--one driving force. What a blessing. I will be 59 here pretty soon and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. :):)

Tuesday-1:30pm

Really quick today as all I have had this morning was a quick nap. Caroline will be here in a while. I found some really cheap entertainment last night for my iGoogle--hehe! A pet hamster you can feed and a tree frog that eats flies.

Discovered that cats even like to watch pretend hamsters and crawling frogs. :)

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They claim we may see the sun today peeking between the clouds. It's 41 degrees and I have some windows cracked open--ahhhh! I finished the book for Caroline and made the mistake of starting another one--read till my eyes crossed this morning. New series by Elise Hyatt--Daring Finds Mysteries. The first one is called Dipped, Stripped, and Dead and the next one will be out sometime this spring.

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The lady is a divorced mother of a toddler who, while she is dumpster diving for old furniture she can fix up and sell, finds a dead body in a dumpster. I'm about a third of the way thru, but can hardly wait to read the rest of it. I haven't read Janet Evanovich for a long time, but Hyatt makes me literally laugh out loud like she does. Hyatt has great characters, a wry sense of humor, and the story speeds along--with surprises. Most of these chick mysteries are pretty good, but have been easy to put down, I guess. This one kept me up till 7:30 this morning! And I am all ready for Caroline and going to settle in and read till she gets here--ROFL! Love somebody who can make me laugh, fall in love with characters, and scratch my head at the same time. That's great light reading! Later gator!

Monday-4pm

Karma and a little catnip.

More imaginary prey.

Okay...I have been finishing with the carpeting for the last few days--a little at a time because of my knees. Finally done. Now just waiting for it to get totally dry. Thought I'd show you the transformation.

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When Dagan and I moved the cabinet that the fish tank had been on--OMG! I had no idea it was this bad from the Eclipse running over the top (filter in the hood) back when I first got it after I moved here. (I had to run it without the filter in it--unless I changed it about once every week or two or it would splash up over the top.) This mold had been dry for years and was like a black powder and stain. Horrible!!

After scrubbing by hand and using the SpotBot with everything we could think of short of our last resort (bleach).

Now--after using bleach water in the SporBot several times and then by hand with a scrub brush. TaDa!!

I know the bleach turned it a cream color, but I can live with this. World of difference from the above photo! I am happy with it. Want it really, really dry before we move the bookcase over, that's for sure. I'd gladly wait weeks--months! No dampness under furniture for me, I tell you! I am glad to be done with this huge project. :):)

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Let's see. I left the poem and thank you card in the mailbox. Haven't been down yet to see if she took them. I sure hope she was on duty today. :)

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Dagan and Leah brought Sammy and Annie home last night. The owners helped bring things over--carpeted cat towers, etc. It was really hard for the lady. She couldn't come in. I know how she feels. I'll never forget watching my African Greys leave before I moved up here to Fargo. They went to a fantastic home and I knew I couldn't take care of them properly--broke, lost job, going to be living off school loans--but I stood in my apartment and cried and cried. I loved them so much. I still miss them.

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I talked with Leah on the phone last night. They moved everything downstairs for now so that the cats can feel safe and explore at their own pace. Sammy is the brave one. He cased out the whole place--all three floors. Annie was hiding in the closet at first and then came out and hid in one of the cat towers. Sammy would go back downstairs to be with her. They'll gradually adapt to the new surroundings. I have no doubt they'll be very happy with Dagan and Leah. :) :)

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I won't go visit for a while because Dagan has a bad cold/cough--probably home from work today--and Leah was wondering if she was coming down with it, too. So, I'm staying away and we'll see how they are doing as far as Craft Night goes on Wednesday. Might skip this week.

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Me--resting my knees today. :) Will probably finish another of Caroline's books before she comes tomorrow. Just sooo happy to look over and not see those ugly brown stains on the carpeting!! Whoohoo! Mission accomplished!! Have a great day--well, evening. Mine are flipped--hehe! :):)

Sunday-4pm

Still cloudy and rainy up here.

The snow is vanishing rapidly.

I finished up with the SpotBot--cleaned and dried--set it by the door.

Karma rubbed all over it and kept it company for a while.

Last night Leah was helping out on PBS again. That's the top of her head in between the hosts...

...and bottom left.

They were manning the phones for a program I really enjoyed!

I was the perfect age (13) for this huge event.

I remember the whole family in the living room--I was sitting cross-legged on the carpet watching Ed introduce them.

Was the first time I laid eyes on them. We don't scream much in the Midwest, but I was instantly hooked--mouth agape.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Had an instant crush on John. Yes--I was a John fan. Pictures of him in my locker. Even tho most of the girls loved Paul--there was just something more unconventional about John.

Anyone around my age probably remembers the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. Just like you remember watch Kennedy's assassination, men walking on the moon...

Those were the days that families actually watched the one TV together on Sunday nights.

I also thought Peter was sooo cute and sweet. He almost giggled as he sang. But he made what we called "bubble gum" music and I was almost embarrassed to admit I liked him.

Listening and watching this special last night was a real hoot!

By the time I was 16--there was Jim Morrison! We thought he was so sexy and mysterious. Went to a live concert in Minneapolis with girl friends.

I think it was Patricia who brought binoculars. We had heard that he didn't wear any underwear under those leather pants. We all peeked and giggled--but wouldn't have even recognized what we were a little afraid to see--hehe!

He appeared to be drunk or stoned and didn't sing all that well--or act like he was even concerned about being there. But I can say I saw him. [Now Jimi Hendrix put on a terrific show--awesome! I liked him even better after seeing him live.]

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Years later--The Doors sound so dark and sad. Perfect for teenage angst, I guess.

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Anyways, that PBS program was great! All the songs from my teenage years. Really brought me back. So funny to watch some of the early bands from 1964-1966. They were considered so wild and dangerous--in their matching suits--ROFL! What fun!

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I took breaks--it is now after 7pm. Moving very slowly today--hehe!

Later! :):)