Have a Safe and Sober New Year

As 2009 looms only hours away I hope everyone has a safe and sober holiday. I have never understood the lure of drunkeness. As for drinking and driving, that is for losers. I hope none of you are losers.

Tomorrow my older grandson head for my daughter's in Wisconsin. I've been without heat in my car so yesterday I forked oner $370 to get a new heater. Ouch!!

I'll write about my resolutions when I get back on Sunday. Next week is appointment week: PET/CT scan, pulmonologist visit, and oncologist visit. Each week in January I have medical appointments.

Happy New Year everyone.

Basting the Turkey

Thanksgiving is one holiday where I love to cook. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, doesn't get much better than that. My daughter taught me a great, quick recipe for basting the turkey with. Melt butter, add white wine. Baste the turkey every 20 minutes or so. The white whine gives a good tang to the gravy. Like most recipes like this we don't measure. I kind of use one quarter of butter to a cup of wine.

I'm cooking this year for my younger son, his wife, and their almost18 month old son.

I hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Thanksgiving is later this week. My son Nate moved to Florida3 weeks ago. I wondered how soon he'd call for my chocolate pecan pie recipe. It was today. I started making this recipe when we lived in Alabama. The recipe is from a Southern cook book.I don't like the pie as it is way too sweet for my palate, which prefers sour.

2 squares unsweetened chocolate
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup light corn syrup (Karo)
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pecan halves or pieces
1 unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt chocolate and butter together. Mix sugar and syrup together, bring to a boil, boil together for 2 minutes and pour slowly over beaten eggs, stirring constantly. Add vanilla, melted butter/chocolate, and nuts. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 375 degrees until it puffs up all over the top. Cool.

October Afternoon

I promised Lucinda and Robin I'd blog when I got home from October Afternoon's packing party but I'm tired and my feet throb so it will have to wait til tomorrow.It was fun, their products are great, and it was a surprise to find old friends there.

Arthie, today was very dreary, no sun. A little rain, not enough to count. The temp was in the high 50's so warm.It was very windy, not good for the allergies. I did the filing for Melissa. Tomorrow is happy hour, then Melissa's jewelry party. How are things in India?

Another Gorgeous Day

Today was another gorgeous day, no rain as predicted, close to 70 degrees. The great weather was a boon to people getting out to vote. Minnesota typically has an 80% turnout, they expected 90% today. I am not watching the election coverage, way too boring. But I turn to MSNBC when the ads are on HGTV. Minnesota has gone to Obama, no surprise there. I think Ike might have been the last Republican to win Minnesota. I hope our senate winner is the Independent candidate. The Democratic candidate is a vulgar, rude comedian. The Republican, who used to be a very liberal Democrat, goes whatever way the wind blows.

I started decluttering and organizing my garage today. I use it strictly for storage, not the car. Uffda, it’s a major mission organization endeavor.

Tomorrow I’m working at October Afternoon,a scrapbooking business whose warehouse is in Apple Valley. I will be packing boxes. My pay for 4 hours is $50 worth of their product. I’ll post tomorrow about the experience.

This photo is along the railroad tracks in front of my apartment.

The Empty Nest

I expected my empty nest years ago. My youngest child Alex moved out when he bought his own home at age 21. My daughter had been on her own after college. My oldest child Nate actually moved out when he was about 24 but then........he moved back home. 2 1/2 years ago he moved in for 2 to 3 months, that’s all, “I promise Mom, I’ll be out soon.” Yeah, right.

For the past 14 years he has talked of moving to Florida. I always said I’d believe it when it happened. Well, it happened :-) I can hardly believe it. Nate never liked winter, even when he was a kid. He claims it is because he is Colombian and therefore genetically programmed for warm weather. He left a few days ago for Tampa, arrived Saturday. He went with a friend he met at work. Nate does medical billing for a large national medical supply company. When he gave them his notice they didn’t want to lose him so after an interview he was accepted at the Tampa office of the same company. This was a major relief for me as he had planned to go there without a job, not wise in this economy.

His 11 y.o. son lives with his mother in Lakeville. Poor Sondros is very sad his Dad moved. He knows he has talked about it for years but he’s at an age where he really likes to be with his Dad. I will be taking him to Tampa for spring break.

The cats and I miss Nate too. It’s so quiet around the place. I think I’ll get used to it. I do wish he hadn’t moved so far away. The photos are of the cats watching Nate pack up his car.

Today was in the mid 70’s. Hard to believe for November 3rd. I love fall weather but uffda, the high mold count really affects my allergies and asthma. The next few days are to be reasonably warm but rain and thunderstorms. Then snow and a high of 38 degrees predicted for Friday. Minnie-sota, 4 seasons in a week, gotta love it here. I went to Minnehaha Falls for a walk today and was disappointed that there wasn’t a drop of water in the creek or over the falls.

Today was my last day riding the bus. I am glad because once again I have a respiratory crud.

Don't forget to vote tomorrow. Minnesota always has the highest voter turnout in the country. The last presidential election saw 80% of us voting. I expect tomorrow will be higher.

The Wheels on The Bus...

go round and round, all through Saint Paul. I have been riding a school bus every morning and afternoon with a 5 y.o. Hmong boy who has a tracheostomy and fragile respiratory system. I agreed to do it only short term until someone permanent could be found. I didn’t think short term would mean until November. I retired because of my health and I’ve learned I definitely cannot work with kids. I’m on respiratory infection number 4 since the job started. I have been on prednisone, after needing it only once my first full year of retirement. Tomorrow is my last day riding with Ben as they found a nurse who will both ride on the bus and stay in the classroom all day. I won’t miss the bus ride but I will miss Ben. He is so darn cute and adorable. He has limited vision also but makes the most of what he does have. He knows a lot of signs. He wears glasses that make him look like Erkle. He is small, wears size 2 clothes! He is very smart, I think eventually he might be able to move to a class with higher functioning kids. He’ll always be in special ed but compared to his peers he’s higher functioning. Right now I am campaigning for him to be homecoming prince. I wish I could post his photo but I have a policy of no posting of identifying kids’ photos, even if I have parent permission.

Speaking of busing, Saint Paul buses 87% of its students, more than any urban district in the United States.

I know I have been lax about blogging. I have to improve because Arthie is home in India for 2 months, she needs to keep current with local happenings. Also, my older son Nate moved to Florida!!!!!! More on that tomorrow.

The End of Summer

It seems like summer just started and now it's Labor Day, the official end of the summer season. School starts tomorrow for most kids. Fall is officially a few weeks away but the cool nights are already here. And the real test of fall, my allergies are terrible.

Today is the last day of the Great Minnesota Get Together, otherwise known as the Minnesota State Fair. I went last Tuesday and spent all but the first hour at the Miracle of Birth Center. A ewe had just started labor so I stayed in one spot for 41/2 hours. Her labor was longer than normal for a ewe. She had twins and needed a little human help with baby girl one. She had 2 baby girls, so cute. She had quite the audience for her delivery. It's too bad so many people don't see human births as miracles.

The Republican National Convention opened today. The only change I have noticed where I live, about 3 miles from the site, is increased helicopter traffic. Tomorrow I plan to go to the bluffs with my telescopic lens to get photos. The hooligans broke windows in Macy's, took apart bus waiting benches, and just generally engaged in non productive activities.

Take That France

The American male swimmers did it!!!!! It couldn't have happened any better.

Home from Camp

Sondros and I got home from camp Friday evening. We both had a good time. Sondros learned to canoe and was able to canoe out to the island in Lake Independence. He successfully completed Polar Bears, which requires an early morning jump in the lake. He also participated in archery and made the target every shot.

I was the nurse for the 8 y.o. boys. We had 9 boys in the cabin, which is 2 to 3 too many. We were scheduled for 10 but one did not show up. An important part of asthma camp is doing education. It is a challenge at this age. One of my boys ended up being sent home for bad behavior. Another ended up going home early. His father was murdered 2 weeks before camp and he just needed to be with his Mom. He was a very sweet boy, I felt so bad for him.

I found several 4 leaf clovers. I have always had an eye for seeing 4 leaf clovers. The most I ever found in one day was 20, back in Cassadaga.

I developed an ear infection at camp. I have not had an ear infection since I was 25 y.o. and in the Navy. It really was uncomfortable.

We had only one storm at camp, during lunch on Thursday. We all had to go in the storm shelter. It was rather crowded, to say the least. The next day it was very hot and humid. My campers were all picked up on time, whew!

Now that we are home Sondros and I spend our afternoons in the pool. Sondros swam for 4 hours yesterday! I did laps for 2 1/2 hours. Tomorrow I am taking him and his friend Mitch to see Kung Fu Panda.

Off to Camp Superkids

I'm getting ready to leave for Camp Superkids. It is the oldest and largest camp in the U.S. for kids with asthma. It is run by the American Lung Association of Minnesota and held at a YMCA camp near Loretto, MN. I will again have the 8 y.o. boys, who are all 1st time campers. Each cabin has a R.N. There is a M.D. present 24 hours/day at camp. We do a lot of education on recognizing triggers and early warning signs, proper inhaler technique, and learning that kids with asthma can do anything other kids can do. So many kids, along with their parents, mistakenly believe the kids cannot participate in running and other sports. For the last several years it has been documented that our campers have fewer ER visits and hospitalizations after completing camp. For that reason many health plans pay for camp.

I picked up my grandson's Advair yesterday and the co-pay was $50!!! It was a $42 co-pay for an albuterol inhaler. One of the biggest problems in asthma management is medication compliance, along with improper inhaler technique. Well, with co-pays of $50 it is understandable how families cannot afford an Advair diskus every month. We are so in need of health care reform in this country.

Yesterday I saw a Tylenol display in a store. The sign said "skipping meals can cause you to have a headache" so stock up on Tylenol. Hello, wouldn't it be better to eat than to take a drug known to cause liver toxicity? A Tylenol now and then, OK but regular ingestion can ruin your liver just as badly as alcohol. The bottle size was 500 extra strength caplets. That should be a life time supply!!

I will be off line until Saturday 7/12.

Summer is Here

At last, after an unusually cold and wet spring summer is here. The weather this past weekend was beautiful. Low 70's, pleasant breezes, sunny. The kind of climate I would like year round. This week it is moving into the 80's, a little too warm for my tastes. I begin my days with a 5 to 6 mile walk early. I wait til about 6 p.m. or later to swim so I can avoid the melanoma causing sun rays. I love to swim, I should have been an otter.

Sunday I took a walk through Crosby Park, it was alive with dragon flies. I don't know what type of dragon fly is blue but they were everywhere. I need to get a dragon fly field guide (hint Emily,Alex, or Helen for Christmas or birthday).

I am typing with Galway on my shoulder. He is a very loving, but naughty, kitten. He loves to sit on my shoulder. At night he sleeps on my head. He has the same hair color I do. I think that is why he is bonded so much with me.

Congratulations to my grand daughter Katie. She just turned 4 and is riding a 2 wheeler bike BY HERSELF!!! No training wheels. That is pretty amazing for her age.

I cannot believe this is my first post for June!!! I will try to do better Arthie and Emily.

Let Summer Begin

Summer doesn't officially begin for another month yet but most of us consider Memorial Day weekend as the beginning of summer. Here in Minnesota we have had a very cool spring. We had snow several times in April and even once in May. The Memorial Day weekend was no exception. It did get very muggy on Saturday, leading to tornadoes. The nearby city of Hugo was hit, killing a 2 y.o. and injuring many. The next day it was back to 50 degree weather. I predict this summer will be similar to the summer of 1990. President Gorbachev visited Saint Paul that summer on the first Sunday of June. We stood in line to see him in our neighborhood. It was 28 degrees that day!! It was a very cool June and cooler than normal summer. This summer will be the same, in my opinion. Of course I'm not a climatologist but that is my prediction.

Gas here is up to $3.85.9 per gallon. So I will be mostly staying close to home this summer. My car required $1700+ in repairs earlier this month, followed a week later by a flat tire. Any money I had saved for a vacation is gone. I have a 2001 Taurus. I would trade it in but it only has 50,000 miles so I want to keep it for a few more years.

Why do gas prices always end in .9 cents? Nothing else is priced that way. I don't get it.

Tomorrow I test for the TSA, the folks doing security at our airports. If I make it through all the hoops I'd be working part time at the airport as a screener. I think it would be an interesting job.

May 1st 2005: 3 Years Later

Today marks the 3rd anniversary of what was almost my date of death. On May 1st 2005, a Sunday, my sons checked on me because they knew I had not felt well on Saturday. I had been in Ireland earlier in April. After returning from there I was tired beyond any jet lag I’d ever had. I worked on Friday and went to my usual Friday night crop, which I ended up leaving early because I was literally falling asleep while cropping. I was also having sharp abdominal pain. That night and all day Saturday was a blur of shaking chills and over whelming fatigue. Sunday they found me and called 911. I was admitted to the hospital in critical condition with pneumonia, septic shock, and DIC (Disseminated intravascular coagulation). I was dying. remember Jim Henson, the puppeteer? He died from the same thing. I was in and out of being conscious. While semiconscious I prayed to God saying if it was my time then take me. I prayed to Fr. Oscar Romero asking him to intercede on my behalf, that I wanted to live but I would accept whatever was God’s will. Well, I did survive. Had I died I never would have met my 3rd grandchild, Armando. Katie would not have remembered me, being only a year old. And Sondros would have missed me terribly. I have been left with a lot of lung damage. My health has never returned to normal. I ended up having to retire many years earlier than I planned to. But I am alive and I am glad. Thanks be to God and Senor Oscar Romero for his intercession.

Waters Edge Retreat Center

I spent a 4 day weekend at a great scrapbooking retreat. A group of us from Creating Keepsakes Member Board decided many months ago to get together for a weekend of cropping and scrapping. Gena, aka HiMommy, found information about Waters Edge Retreat Center on line. It is located in the boonies outside the small town of Santiago, MN. It was a great place for such a retreat. 11 of us from Minnesota and Iowa, and Sarah from California, spent 4 days together. I had met 2 of the women previously at Saturday crops at The Scrapbook shop in Saint Paul. The other women were all friends waiting to be made. We took turns making meals, having signed up ahead of time for a particular meal time. It was amazing how well we all got along, united in our hobby of scrapbooking but otherwise representing different careers, religions, politics, etc. One weird but true fact was NONE of us smoke. I think that is why we got along so well. You know, birds of a feather flocking together.

I worked on my 1989, 1990, and 1991 photos and scrapbooks. I had put off doing those years because they represent difficult years in my life, covering the time period after my divorce when I became a single mother of 3 children and we moved to Minnesota. I was able to date the photos with the help of my diary and date book. We sure did go to ALOT of Twins games our first few years here. I completed 22 pages, fewer than I had hoped but a respectable number. I think Bethany did 30 pages. Most of us did somewhere in the 20's.

On Friday a group of 5 of us toured the Creative Memories factory in nearby Saint Cloud. Creative Memories is really the company that contributed the most to the hobby of scrapbooking taking hold the way it has. Scrapbooking has always been around but they took it to a new level with archival products easily available. They encouraged the combination of scrapbooking and photography. I had always kept scrapbooks since 4th grade when the Salk polio vaccine came out. In college I began combining my photos with my scrapbooks. In 1988 I was introduced to Creative Memories at a genealogy conference. I became hooked then. CM really got its start through genealogy. It offered a way to preserve your family stories along with the photos. I have always used CM albums, they are by far the best quality of any on the market. Now that there are a bzillion companies selling various scrapbooking products I do use other products but I tend to stick with CM's basic style of keeping it simple but telling the story.

It was interesting to see the albums made. They are all made in the United States, what a unique idea. The factory is clean, organized, and well run. Yes, CM albums cost a little more but it's worth it to get a well made USA product.

It was a good weekend to spend inside because it was really a yucky weather weekend. It was cold, rainy, and then snowy. Yes, snow!!! We only got 1-2 inches where we were. Up north got 18 inches. That is so depressing for the last weekend of April. The retreat center is located along the Saint Francis river. It was really a very pretty location. The river got quite high during our stay. We were glad there was a stone retaining wall and slight incline between us and the river.

After this retreat thongs, white weiners, ring bologna, and lemons will never have the same meaning again, LOL. Sarah from California received quite the education from us midwest girls. We plan to get together again next April at the same place. We wanted the same weekend but another group already signed up for it so we'll be going a week earlier. If it snows again then Sarah isn't invited to any retreats after that.

Pain

The operative word for yesterday was pain. I have had many eye surgeries over the past 4 years and this was, by far, the most painful. Even when I spent 5 days with radioactive seeds sewn into my eye I didn't have this much pain. I wasn't at all prepared for this degree of pain. The Vicodin hardly touched it but it did make me get sleepy so it helped that way. I have a lot of bruising, which I was hoping to avoid this time but no such luck. I know someone else who had the same procedure done and had almost no bruising. It probably doesn't help that I've had radiation to the area, that always changes the tissues. Add to that I tend to bruise more easily I guess it would be a surprise that if I didn't bruise.

Trying to get my post op appointment is proving to be very frustrating. The clinic number provided on the discharge instructions was incorrect, it was a PT clinic. I called the plastic surgery appointment number and after much repetition of my name and dob I was given an appointment time but then told oops, the computer says too many people are scheduled that day. So I may end up removing my own sutures. Dr. Fletcher used a running stitch so it's like unraveling yarn, once I cut the retaining knot, which is held to the bridge of my nose with a piece of steri-strip the whole set of stitches can be pulled out. I'm supposed to get a call back once someone figures out how to over-ride the computer. Computers have their place in medical practices but really, a pencil and a notebook worked just as well, and cost a lot less.

I'm off the my local scrapbook store to get things ready for the retreat. I leave tomorrow.

The Last Eye Surgery

Tomorrow I will be having what I hope is my last eye surgery. I have scar tissue from radiation and several previous eye surgeries. It causes my lid to have a significant droop, reducing my field of vision. It is covered by insurance because it was caused by radiation and involves the visual field cut. I have to have the procedure done in the hospital rather than the day surgery center because of my latex allergy. It is still day surgery. I have to be at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. That is really early now that I am retired! Surgery is at 8:30 a.m. and is scheduled to take 2 hours! This rather surprised me, I hadn't expected it to take that long. I hope I don't have as much bruising as I usually get because I am going to a scrapbook retreat for 3 days this weekend.

The retreat is at a place in Santiago, MN. The house is set up as a crafting retreat center, used mostly by scrapbookers and quilters. It looks very nice, with 34 acres of scenic land. Hopefully it won't rain the entire weekend so I can take a few walking breaks throughout the weekend.

My daughter and her family are on vacation in Orlando, FL. This is their first vacation in 2 or 3 years. They drove from Wisconsin so they could visit Emily's birth family in Birmingham, Alabama. They had a good weekend visit with family and after a day of rest yesterday are spending today at Sea World. Katie is 4 y.o. so the perfect age for an Orlando vacation.

My older grandson is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his baby brother, who is due any day. Sondros is so excited about finally having a sibling.

My baby grandson stays busy getting new teeth and refining his walking skills. He is so darn cute. It's hard to believe he's almost a year old. His birthday will see family coming from Colombia.

Happy spring to everyone!!

A Ray of Sun

Today started out as another cold, dreary day but at 1:30 p.m. the sun made an appearance. What a difference the sunshine makes. It's not here for long but by next week we should be enjoying its presence more. We are due for a major snow storm beginning late tomorrow. Duluth is under a blizzard warning. I can begin to understand a little how my German great grandmother must have felt in March 1888. She was a new immigrant from Marktgreitz, a small village in Bavaria. She was living in New York City, in the Bronx. After a week of unseasonably mild March weather the storm began. It ended with 40 plus inches of snow in the city. The whole east coast was paralyzed for many days. My great grandmother had never experienced such a storm in Germany and she wanted to return home. Of course travel in those days wasn't what it is today so she never did return. But she talked about that blizzard for the rest of her life.

Speaking of travel, how would you like to be flying AA this week? I feel sorry for all the travelers unable to get home or to their destinations thanks to all the canceled flights. Two years ago this week Sondros and I got stuck in the Boston Airport overnight. We were returning from Ireland. Our Northwest connection from Boston to Minneapolis left without us. It was not a comfortable night.

The babies saw the vet today. Galway weighs 3 lbs! His paw size already shows he is going to be a big cat. His sister Clare weighs only 2 lbs. They got their first immunizations. Their leukemia tests were negative, whew! The bill today was $196. Is it any wonder so many pets aren't immunized! Each of the big cats have an appointment next week to get their shots updated. I have to take them one at a time.

That's Clare inside the Coke carton.

Grey or Gray?

I tend to spell the word grey but spellcheck always indicates it is misspelled. So I looked it up today. Grey is the preferred British spelling, gray the American spelling. Greyhounds are spelled with the grey spelling so I guess growing up where the Greyhound Bus went by several times/day led to my spelling it that way.

Either way today is another grey, gray day!! At least we did not get the 30 inches of snow that northern Minnesota received yesterday but a little sun would be nice. We have snow in the forecast for later this week :-(

Kilkenny and Clare have the right idea for how to spend a grey day, sleeping.

Enough Already

I love living in a place with 4 distinct seasons. I lived in Alabama from 1977 to 1980 and really missed having distinct seasons. Obviously I like winter or I wouldn't be living in Minnesota. But enough already, waking up on April 7th to it snowing outside is enough to push me over the edge. Where is spring? Warm days? Gentle rains? The sun? Are you listening Mother nature?

Speaking of weather, WCCO, our local CBS affiliate, fired Paul Douglas, its popular weather man. Never even asked him if he was open to renegotiating a new salary, just a bye-bye, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

A More Typical Spring Day

Today was a cold, cloudy, rainy day, such a major contrast from yesterday. It was a good day to stay in bed and read a good book. None of the movies on Lifetime were ones I wanted to see. Yesterday Sondros and I went on a small neighborhood explore. I bought him his own digital camera as he likes taking photos. He has been scrapbooking for about 2 years now. He is getting a baby sibling soon so he'll have lots of photo ops. The photos above were taken by him on our explore yesterday.

A Beautiful Spring Day

It was a gorgeous day in Minnesota. The thermometer hit 60 degrees (above zero, LOL). It was breezy. My adult cats have been out on the balcony all day and refuse to come in so I guess they're there for the night. The baby kittens didn't want to come in either but I carried them in. I started cleaning the balcony. I planted some Irish wild flowers and shamrocks. I am on the north side of the building now, having moved across the hall to a smaller apartment when I retired. Part of the balcony gets a lot of sun so I hope things will grow well. The weather report on the 10 p.m. news is for snow tomorrow! Yikes, that's the upper midwest for you. Northern Minnesota is supposed to get up to a foot of the white stuff. The Twin Cities may have rain tomorrow and a rain/snow mix on Monday.

Retirement Routine

Now that spring is here and I am coming up on the first anniversary of my retirement I'm starting to believe I really am retired, LOL. At first it felt weird doing things during the day, like someone would see me and report me for playing hooky from work. Or waking up late and thinking, oops, I'm in trouble. But I am retired, really honest to goodness retired. I'm starting to develop a routine. Mondays I run errands, Tuesdays I clean, Wednesday is massage therapy for my lymphedema, Thursday I work in a scrapbook store, and Friday I crop all day at my local scrapbook store. Saturdays vary depending on whether my 10 y.o. grandson is with me. Sunday is laundry, ironing, and movies on Lifetime Movie Network. I will be starting a volunteer position one lunch hour/week at St. Agnes High School. It's my older son's alma mater. They've just started a hot lunch program and need some lunch room volunteers..

I can't say I ever gave much thought to retirement when I was younger. I figured I'd be growing old with my spouse. We had talked about doing either Peace Corps or medical mission work in retirement. Divorce changed those plans. I always loved nursing so I figured I'd work until I was well into my 70's. Cancer and lung disease changed that. My life revolves around my grandkids and simple pleasures. I love my adopted state of Minnie-sota, you betcha. I couldn't be in a better place when it comes to both medical care and quality of life. So, retirement isn't what I had envisioned but it is good.

Flat Owl Project

Nature provided a good April Fool's. 8 inches of snow yesterday, 95% melted today. The sun was even out. Any day with the sun shining is a good day.

I found this owl plaque in our apartment complex party room. The room is being remodeled so management put out a table of unwanted items free for the taking. Someone sometime paid $2.25 for this small wall plaque. My cats said no way are you having that owl picture in our abode. So it is free to the first scrapsmacker that wants it. Maybe it could become the traveling owl. We each take a photo of it at a local outside spot and then send it on. Kind of like a flat Stanley project. Who wants the owl? Don't all speak up at once.

Out Like a Lion

March seems to be going out as a lion. We are under a winter storm warning. Heavy snows are predicted. The snow began this a.m. but is mostly melting as it hits the fairly warm ground. As the afternoon goes on the temperature is going down and the rate of snowfall increasing. The overnight forecast is for 8 inches. Spring snow tends to be very wet and heavy but it tends to melt within a few days. As I look out my window now the flakes are so big and pretty.

I took a lot of Armando and kitty cat photos last night only to discover at Proex this morning that the setting was on email format. So I can't print them for scrapbooking but I can use them here. The photos I took on my drive back from visiting Emily were also in email format. I had taken some cool barn photos, which I like to use in card making, so I can't get them printed.

My grand daughter Katie turned 4 years old last week. She got a cat for her birthday. It is a white cat, about 8 - 9 months old. His current name is Horton unless Katie has changed it over the weekend. Can you guess what movie she saw recently?

I will post snow photos tomorrow. I just went out and scrapped off my car. The wind is really picking up. Fortunately tomorrow is my stay home and clean day.

Easter

It is Easter Sunday, a joyous day in the Christian calendar, a dreary , snowy day in today's weather reality. I'm one of those people who wants weather to match the sentiments of the day. A day like Easter, when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, calls for warmth and sun. Christmas calls for falling snow, lots of it. Halloween calls for damp, dreary, windy weather. Thanksgiving calls for a sunny, cold day. But so often the weather just doesn't co-operate and today is one of those days. But it can still be a warm sunny day in our hearts.

I have a feeling this is going to be a cooler spring and summer. I think it was the summer of 1990 that was unusually cool. Gorbachev came to visit Minnesota on Pentecost Sunday, which was June 3rd. The governor's mansion is in the neighborhood where we lived at the time so Alex and I wanted to see Gorbachev. It was 28 degrees, Alex was wearing a snowsuit. A snowsuit in June!! It was also Grand Old Days, the largest one day street fair in the U.S., but hardly anyone showed up that cold day in June. Anyway, my prediction is a summer similar to 1990's.

Have a wonderful Easter Day wherever you are, no matter the weather.

Another Morning in Kitty Paradise

These photos were taken by Sondros. The kitties keep us laughing. They are so darn cute. It's time to clip their nails again, LOL. Talk about razor blades!!

We woke up to a lot of snow. Now, if the sun would come out I could get some spectacular photos. I will post snow photos later today.

Enjoy this snowy day. It's March, winter will be over soon. It never lasts forever, it only seems that way.

The Owl

As promised on scrapsmack, this is an old photo of an owl. The original photo is on thin photo paper, circa 1900. The album is from New Jersey, I bought it on ebay. There was no writing to indicate date, place, etc. I found one photo I could date to about 1902 of the Beacon Incline Rail near Fishkill, NY. I'm thinking this owl was injured, otherwise I don't think it would have been so easily photographed.

Clare & Galway

Clare and Galway, born 20 January 2008 joined the McBride family yesterday. I found them via Craigslist. They were living in Prior Lake, MN. Their mother is a tiny, petite calico cat. It's hard to imagine that she had 5 kittens. She must have looked like a blimp.

They did very well on the drive home. They slept well all night and have carved out their special niches in the apartment.

Clare is what I guess I would call a muted calico. She doesn't have the distinct spots that my previous calico cats had. But she's not really a tortoise shell, like Kilkenny, because her colors are distinct. She is named after County Clare, Ireland. Galway is an orange cat, he matches my hair. I had been looking for an orange kitten for awhile. I don't think I've had an orange one since about 1952 when I had Fluffy. He is named after beautiful Galway Bay in Ireland.

They are keeping us entertained. Kilkenny ignores them. Wexford is staying up high. Donegal is grooming them.

Major spring snow storm due tonight. The nice thing about spring snow is that it melts fast, seldom lasting more than a day or two.

25 Years Ago Today

Today is Saint Joseph's Day. It is also the 25th anniversary of our son Alex arriving in the United States. He was born in Bogota, Colombia. On December Eve 1982 we received a phone call asking if we'd like to adopt a baby boy. Our older son Nathaniel was 5 1/2 and our daughter Emily 3 1/2 at the time. We had been on a waiting list for about 2 years at the time of the call. We said a boy or girl would be OK with us. It took from December to March to finish the rest of the paper work required once a child has been accepted. Normally travel to Colombia is required but my husband's medical partner had been diagnosed with terminal cancer so there was no way Jim could travel to Colombia. I could travel but being alone in Colombia, or anywhere, with 3 children wasn't something I looked forward to. The courts ruled we could have a friend in Colombia transport our new baby home. so on a very snowy, blistery day I drove with my other two children and a friend, who was to become Alex's godmother, to Minneapolis-Saint Paul to meet Alex. Jim was on duty at the hospital. We were living in northern Wisconsin at the time. Little did I know I would one day live in Saint Paul. On the drive home, after spending the night in Minneapolis, we got hopelessly lost around Chippewa Falls/Eau Claire. Diana thought she knew a short cut. LOL, it was no short cut. The visibility was down to zero at time. I think it was St. Joseph who saw us home safely.

And it's been wonderful having Alex as a son. And now he's a father to an adorable little boy. Time sure does fly.

The photo was taken when Alex was about 2. Emily was taking a bath and Alex decided to join her, LOL. I don't have a working scanner at the moment so no airport photos.

Is Spring Coming?

Donegal wonders if spring is ever coming. Lots of Minnesotans are asking the same question. They must be forgetting that historically March is our snowiest month. You can always plan that at least one of the state high school sports tournaments in March will see a good snow storm. I can only think of 3 sports that have tournaments in March, there may be more: basketball, hockey, and wrestling. Hockey is going on now, I think. LOL, with my kids all out of high school and college I don't follow sports any more. I still think the winters here are mild compared to Cassadaga,NY winters.

BTW, I don't know why my Saint Patrick's Day post was dated 3/16. I posted it after midnight, it should have been dated the 17th.

Darn, I just missed a great photo op. It is 0300, snowing hard, and the train is going by. It reminds me of the Polar Express, which is a great story. I love having a train track very close to my apartment. It reminds me of pleasant McBride homestead memories.

Leave a comment, first 5 win a scrapbooking related prize.

Saint Patrick's Day

Blessings on this most wonderful of days.

May the blessing of light be on you—
light without and light within.
May the blessed sunlight shine on you
and warm your heart
till it glows like a great peat fire.

and

May the frost never afflict your spuds.
May the leaves of your cabbage always be free from worms.
May the crows never pick your haystack.
If you inherit a donkey, may she be in foal.





Photos: Howth Castle, where friends of my parents live.

Glendalough, one of my most favorite places which I visit on every trip.

Friends, after Kilkenny beat Waterford in soccer semi-finals. Yes, they are wasted. The man in the yellow/black soccer shirt is director of the Irish chapter of Europeans against the Smoking Ban (or some such name). How the rabid anti-smoker and he met is a long story.

Basic Grey

How hard can it be to find the name of a particular Basic Grey pattern? I can tell you, it is very hard. I make cards for friends and neighbors. I've had many requests to make a certain card, shown here. I used a Basic Grey paper for the photo mat.I could not remember the name of the series or pattern. I eventually found it. It is the Fusion series and the paper I need is Fusion Explosion. So, once I had that I thought it would be easy to find. Wrong. My local scrapbook shop no longer carried it as it is about 2 years old. I found several on-line places but all were out of stock on that item. I finally found a few sheets on EBay. So, they'll be here in a few days and I can make more cards. The house in the photo is an abandoned farm house near the Minnesota/Iowa border. It was a beautiful autumn day when I took the picture.

Express Issue

Three photos. One shows that spring is indeed coming to Minnie-sota.We won't talk about the predicted storm on St. Patrick's Day.


The second shows the real Spammy for the scrapsmack crowd.











Picture number 3 shows el nino trying to make friends with el gato. El gato is in striking mode should el nino move one step closer.

Owls, Birds, and Butterflies

In November 2003 a young owl crashed into a window at the school where I was the school nurse, in St. Paul, MN. The owl was very stunned. His left eye appeared injured but later he could open it.His wing appeared broken. His imprint was in the window for a long time as we didn't want to wash it away. We notified The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota, they recommended we put him a box until they arrived as the owl needed darkness. We named the owl Screech. Yeah, I know, original weren't we!It was identified by the Raptor Center as a long eared owl,very rare in Minnesota. They were very excited to get him because of how rare they are here. Previously only a few had been identified in Minnesota but no where near us; rather in the lower southern corner of the state. We are located on the banks of the Mississippi River and get many birds in our courtyard, but never an owl in broad daylight. Screech spent several weeks at the raptor center while his broken wing healed. Then he was released in southern MN where he will hopefully find other long eared owls.














These are a few examples of the many birds of Hawaii. I took these photos last month along Waikiki Beach. I love seeing colorful birds. They are easy to see in Waikiki because they are everywhere. When I go bird watching here along the Mississippi I need binoculars to find the birds amongst the foliage.




These are photos of Admiral butterflies taken in June 2005 by my son Alex. They were taken in Ontario, Canada. We drive to Armstrong, where the road ends, then fly to an island, never the same one twice. Every morning these butterflies would be found in shoes left to dry out on the dock.