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The first doll family is Dr Ken Basey, his wife Barbara, his twin daughters Alicia and Allison, his younger daughter Bonnie, and his infant son Kenny.
Well, Sunday has not been one of the best days of my week--but it could have been worse.
I did not wake up in time to take a picture of Mom's little car. In fact, I only got out of bed to pee a couple of times until after 4 pm. Mom went to her church pot luck at about 4:30--then I went upstairs and ate some of the hotdish she had left for me and took a bath. I feel so much better now that I am clean!
When I came back downstairs, I sorted my laundry, stripped my bed, and started my wash. My sheets and mattress pad are clean and dry. The comforter and pillow shams are in the dryer, and my dark clothes are in the washer. I will have red and white loads to do tomorrow, and I may wash my blanket and afghan as well, just to have a completely clean place to sleep.
I did some rearranging of fabric containers and picked up some doll accessories that have been laying around for a while. I emptied out a shoe-box sized tote that has a top with a handle on it for the Ideal family (Tammy & Co.). I tossed in some fabric I thought would make nice shirts for the male dolls. I haven't put the dolls in there yet. They are all nekkid except for Pepper at the moment.
When Mom got home, she came down for a while and told me about the pot luck. It sounds like they had fun and that the car we made was given many admiring glances, even though it did not win.
There was not much to watch on TV. We ended up watching CSI:Miami. I worked on the doll dress I had cut from the Halloween hankie I bought at Walmart in Rochester. It isn't the nicest fabric--it is pretty thin, but the skeleton and candy corn design is so danged cute I can't stand it. I think it will make a very very cute little dress. The other Halloween hankie is also cute and much more ornate. I am going to have to think carefully about how I want to cut it out.
I have the skirt half sewn onto the bodice. I will finish that tomorrow. Then all I will have to do is sew it up the back, put snaps on it, and try it on the doll.
That's all I accomplished today. I was feeling a little sick to my stomach and had a headache today, so I spent a lot of time just sleeping or messing around with my computer.
Tomorrow I will do better.
I did not wake up in time to take a picture of Mom's little car. In fact, I only got out of bed to pee a couple of times until after 4 pm. Mom went to her church pot luck at about 4:30--then I went upstairs and ate some of the hotdish she had left for me and took a bath. I feel so much better now that I am clean!
When I came back downstairs, I sorted my laundry, stripped my bed, and started my wash. My sheets and mattress pad are clean and dry. The comforter and pillow shams are in the dryer, and my dark clothes are in the washer. I will have red and white loads to do tomorrow, and I may wash my blanket and afghan as well, just to have a completely clean place to sleep.
I did some rearranging of fabric containers and picked up some doll accessories that have been laying around for a while. I emptied out a shoe-box sized tote that has a top with a handle on it for the Ideal family (Tammy & Co.). I tossed in some fabric I thought would make nice shirts for the male dolls. I haven't put the dolls in there yet. They are all nekkid except for Pepper at the moment.
When Mom got home, she came down for a while and told me about the pot luck. It sounds like they had fun and that the car we made was given many admiring glances, even though it did not win.
There was not much to watch on TV. We ended up watching CSI:Miami. I worked on the doll dress I had cut from the Halloween hankie I bought at Walmart in Rochester. It isn't the nicest fabric--it is pretty thin, but the skeleton and candy corn design is so danged cute I can't stand it. I think it will make a very very cute little dress. The other Halloween hankie is also cute and much more ornate. I am going to have to think carefully about how I want to cut it out.
I have the skirt half sewn onto the bodice. I will finish that tomorrow. Then all I will have to do is sew it up the back, put snaps on it, and try it on the doll.
That's all I accomplished today. I was feeling a little sick to my stomach and had a headache today, so I spent a lot of time just sleeping or messing around with my computer.
Tomorrow I will do better.
Monday
Pain in the ass. My computer is not hooking up to my mother’s wireless again. Sigh. It doesn’t take much to fix it, but I am in bed and the wireless connector is across the house and I would have to turn on all the lights and make a big production to get to it. It requires moving her printers and all kinds of shit. So, I will just write in a word document and copy and paste it in the light of day.
I was up until 3 am again, so I slept in until 10 am. I would liked to have slept longer, but I want to get my days and nights back under control. Mom went to help LaVonna can pears today, so I was on my own for most of the day. The day began with cleaning litterboxes and filling cat dishes with food and water.
In the night, the cats had knocked over a stack of small totes, so I spend a lot of time putting all the stuff back into the proper totes and stacking them up, hopefully in a more sturdy arrangement. I had thought of doing laundry, but I don’t really have a ton of it. I need to wash my bedding, but it’s such an ordeal to strip all the stuff off the bed.
I went upstairs and warmed up some left over spaghetti and had a piece of the apple cake I baked on Saturday. It is extremely delicious. I got a couple of totes out of the porch and brought them down in hopes of getting some more stuff put in order. I also hauled down my “My Friend Jenny” doll and a big baby doll from my youth. They both need to be scrubbed up and dressed. My bride doll and the Saucy Walker doll are still up in the porch. They need a good scrubbing too—and redressing.
I took a break and watched some of the stupid judge shows, since there wasn’t anything else worth watching on.
When I went back to the basement, I scrubbed the Tammy family with Joy dishwashing soap and a nail brush. They all look much perkier after their scrub. I stripped off all their clothes to wash them. I believe I will be sewing them all a new outfit soon. I need to dig out some of the Fashion doll patterns which I haven’t used in quite a while. I’ll probably make them all something warm, for fall.
Tomorrow I have to take my mom to the doctor, so I have to get up early. I have been looking for my billfold and I am not finding it anywhere. I have no idea where it could be. All of the places I thought it WAS, it WASN’T. The only place I can think of where it might be is in my car, under the seat. I often stick it there when I drive. I have to get in a better habit—I need to keep it in my purse. I don’t often carry my purse when I shop, but when I take people places, I like to carry the purse as it is large enough to hold a pencil box which I use as my traveling Sewing Box. It contains a pin cushion, a small pair of embroidery scissors, a card of snaps, a spool or two of thread, some precut elastic, and a few outfits that have already been cut out of the fabric. It’s amazing how much you can get done while waiting for people to get done with an appointment or with their shopping.
In my sewing box right now, I have a flannel long-sleeved shirt and long pants, a pair of shorts to go with the outfit I made earlier, a pair of culottes in the pirate pattern. It will go with the pirate outfit I made as an alternate “bottom.” I also cut out a little dress with a gathered skirt in the stars and strips pattern I had made a shorts out fit of. I think it will be very fresh and cute. I’d like to make a sailor style collar for it—if I can find any plain white fabric. That should be far more than enough to keep me busy tomorrow.
On Wednesday, I meet Ben at Perkins for lunch so we can visit about whatever is on his mind. He’s a good kid, and I miss him. He is very talented in creative writing. I was happy to hear that he is meeting with a former teacher for mutual support in the writing area.
On Thursday, I have to go to the Jobs Services place. Yuck. Not looking forward to that. But it is all a part of jumping through the fucking hoops to collect unemployment. Sigh.
On Friday, I meet DeAnn at Perkins for Brunch. It will be good to see her.
On Saturday, Ingrid wants me to come over for a late lunch and to watch a movie. I haven’t seen anything of her in a very long time, so I guess it is about time to spend some time with her. I look forward to seeing her little Missy again. She is a very sweet little doggie.
Nothing is happening, as far as I know, on Sunday.
My brother-in-law Jeffrey is getting out of the hospital on Wednesday. Supposedly. It depends on how well his foot is doing.
Now, in more bizarre news…apparently a semi driver went a little nuts in Rochester today and nearly killed one of my former students. According to the Rochester Post Bulletin, the truck driver had been driving along like a normal person when he suddenly veered across three lanes of traffic, crashed through the barrier and through a bunch of trees, and slammed into the Service Master Cleaning Service. One of the drivers on the road said the truck driver flashed her a peace sign as he barely missed her vehicle. Crazy.
Unbeknownst to me, one of my former Triton students now works there: Lindsay Kanable (pronounced can-ABLE. Not cannibal). Her desk was right in the path of the truck as it crashed through the building. Fortunately, she was at a co-worker’s desk or she would be dead right now. As it was, she was buried under debris and the emergency people had to dig her out. I hope she was not too badly hurt. I always thought a lot of her. She was a sweet kid when I knew her.
A witness who worked in a nearby business said the truck was going around 80 miles per hour. It was a big belly dumper kind of semi, filled with sand, apparently. It busted up that building like it was made out of paper.
The truck driver was dead on impact, apparently. Damn fool. One of my ROC kid’s Mom worked there too. Thankfully, no one else was killed.
All this happened at about 4 pm, and it happened very near ROC. I’m glad none of my kids got involved in it. It could have been much much worse.
Pain in the ass. My computer is not hooking up to my mother’s wireless again. Sigh. It doesn’t take much to fix it, but I am in bed and the wireless connector is across the house and I would have to turn on all the lights and make a big production to get to it. It requires moving her printers and all kinds of shit. So, I will just write in a word document and copy and paste it in the light of day.
I was up until 3 am again, so I slept in until 10 am. I would liked to have slept longer, but I want to get my days and nights back under control. Mom went to help LaVonna can pears today, so I was on my own for most of the day. The day began with cleaning litterboxes and filling cat dishes with food and water.
In the night, the cats had knocked over a stack of small totes, so I spend a lot of time putting all the stuff back into the proper totes and stacking them up, hopefully in a more sturdy arrangement. I had thought of doing laundry, but I don’t really have a ton of it. I need to wash my bedding, but it’s such an ordeal to strip all the stuff off the bed.
I went upstairs and warmed up some left over spaghetti and had a piece of the apple cake I baked on Saturday. It is extremely delicious. I got a couple of totes out of the porch and brought them down in hopes of getting some more stuff put in order. I also hauled down my “My Friend Jenny” doll and a big baby doll from my youth. They both need to be scrubbed up and dressed. My bride doll and the Saucy Walker doll are still up in the porch. They need a good scrubbing too—and redressing.
I took a break and watched some of the stupid judge shows, since there wasn’t anything else worth watching on.
When I went back to the basement, I scrubbed the Tammy family with Joy dishwashing soap and a nail brush. They all look much perkier after their scrub. I stripped off all their clothes to wash them. I believe I will be sewing them all a new outfit soon. I need to dig out some of the Fashion doll patterns which I haven’t used in quite a while. I’ll probably make them all something warm, for fall.
Tomorrow I have to take my mom to the doctor, so I have to get up early. I have been looking for my billfold and I am not finding it anywhere. I have no idea where it could be. All of the places I thought it WAS, it WASN’T. The only place I can think of where it might be is in my car, under the seat. I often stick it there when I drive. I have to get in a better habit—I need to keep it in my purse. I don’t often carry my purse when I shop, but when I take people places, I like to carry the purse as it is large enough to hold a pencil box which I use as my traveling Sewing Box. It contains a pin cushion, a small pair of embroidery scissors, a card of snaps, a spool or two of thread, some precut elastic, and a few outfits that have already been cut out of the fabric. It’s amazing how much you can get done while waiting for people to get done with an appointment or with their shopping.
In my sewing box right now, I have a flannel long-sleeved shirt and long pants, a pair of shorts to go with the outfit I made earlier, a pair of culottes in the pirate pattern. It will go with the pirate outfit I made as an alternate “bottom.” I also cut out a little dress with a gathered skirt in the stars and strips pattern I had made a shorts out fit of. I think it will be very fresh and cute. I’d like to make a sailor style collar for it—if I can find any plain white fabric. That should be far more than enough to keep me busy tomorrow.
On Wednesday, I meet Ben at Perkins for lunch so we can visit about whatever is on his mind. He’s a good kid, and I miss him. He is very talented in creative writing. I was happy to hear that he is meeting with a former teacher for mutual support in the writing area.
On Thursday, I have to go to the Jobs Services place. Yuck. Not looking forward to that. But it is all a part of jumping through the fucking hoops to collect unemployment. Sigh.
On Friday, I meet DeAnn at Perkins for Brunch. It will be good to see her.
On Saturday, Ingrid wants me to come over for a late lunch and to watch a movie. I haven’t seen anything of her in a very long time, so I guess it is about time to spend some time with her. I look forward to seeing her little Missy again. She is a very sweet little doggie.
Nothing is happening, as far as I know, on Sunday.
My brother-in-law Jeffrey is getting out of the hospital on Wednesday. Supposedly. It depends on how well his foot is doing.
Now, in more bizarre news…apparently a semi driver went a little nuts in Rochester today and nearly killed one of my former students. According to the Rochester Post Bulletin, the truck driver had been driving along like a normal person when he suddenly veered across three lanes of traffic, crashed through the barrier and through a bunch of trees, and slammed into the Service Master Cleaning Service. One of the drivers on the road said the truck driver flashed her a peace sign as he barely missed her vehicle. Crazy.
Unbeknownst to me, one of my former Triton students now works there: Lindsay Kanable (pronounced can-ABLE. Not cannibal). Her desk was right in the path of the truck as it crashed through the building. Fortunately, she was at a co-worker’s desk or she would be dead right now. As it was, she was buried under debris and the emergency people had to dig her out. I hope she was not too badly hurt. I always thought a lot of her. She was a sweet kid when I knew her.
A witness who worked in a nearby business said the truck was going around 80 miles per hour. It was a big belly dumper kind of semi, filled with sand, apparently. It busted up that building like it was made out of paper.
The truck driver was dead on impact, apparently. Damn fool. One of my ROC kid’s Mom worked there too. Thankfully, no one else was killed.
All this happened at about 4 pm, and it happened very near ROC. I’m glad none of my kids got involved in it. It could have been much much worse.
Monday/Tuesday
Sep. 13th, 2011 11:01 pmThe very affectionate nature of my cat, who insisted that his very ability to continue living depended on my turning off the computer and cuddling him, caused me to fail to post yesterday. There wasn't a whole lot to say, anyhow...
Monday--
Got up early. Mom was already washing her living room windows when I went upstairs. She is insane about her windows. She must wash them a dozen or more times a year. Mine were never washed the entire time I lived in my house.
I made poached eggs for us for breakfast. We also had toast and grapefruit. Then I went down to the Lair and worked on some stuff. I'm trying to find places for the last of my stuff. Mom came down later with my debit card for my unemployment. I activated it and asked her if she'd like to run into Owatonna with me later. (I knew she wouldn't want to miss her soap opera).
So, we drove to Owatonna and went to Walmart where I got two bags of cat food, another container of litter box deodorizer, and an air freshener to put in the furnace room near the litter boxes. I also bought 2 boxes of generic Nutty Bars, some apples, a case of diet coke, a carton of laundry detergeant which was on sale, a jar of peanut butter, since I heard that peanut butter is going to become insanely expensive in the near future, and two cute little outfits for my niece which were on sale for $3 each.
After Walmart, we went through the drive through of McDonalds for a twist cone. We stopped at Kentucky Fried Chicken and bought the eight piece meal package, all dark meat. We had that when we got home--it was good. I prefer the roasted chicken, but mom likes the original recipe, so that's what we got. I paid for it as Mom had bought my meals at least three or four times while I was poverty stricken.
That was our very late lunch--and we had no supper.
We watched TV for a while, though I don't remember what we watched. I wasn't paying much attention. I was working on the cute little outfit I was making for the Chryssie doll. I have to upload these pictures to Flickr so I can put some of them on here.
Mom had Bible study at 6:30 pm. After she left, I went into my Lair and read for a while. I finished reading The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey. It was okay. Her heroines are always these teeny tiny but fiesty little things and the heroes are always these huge, muscle-bound guys with square jaws and hard eyes that only turn tender for the sweet little chick heroine. It gets old.
I tried to play scrabble on line, but the damned website was not behaving well. I chatted with my former student, Bill Wilson, who told me that he had survived cancer four times and was now fighting it for a fifth time. Then he told me it was a brain cancer and that he had been given 8-14 months to live. He assured me he intended to beat it again...I hope he can. I suppose he is in his early thirties now. He was always a good kid.
That was depressing.
Tuesday
I woke up today and had a Nutty Bar for breakfast here in my lair. I sure wish I had my little fridge down here because then I could keep milk right in my room and have cereal every morning. I took my meds then started working on my laundry. I had three loads. The last one is in the dryer now. I'll fold it in the morning.
I also cleaned the litterboxes, gave my cats fresh food and water, and put the air freshener out there.
I put away a bunch of books that had been in Walmart bags and worked on the Lair most of the morning.
Mom and I had Kentucky Fried chicken left overs for lunch. Then she came downstairs and we watched a bunch of judge shows while I finished the little outfit I had been working on yesterday. We had hot green tea and some cookies while we watched TV.
Cora came over at about 5:30 as Caleb had a football game and she doesn't enjoy going to the games. She gets bored. I gave her the two little outfits I had bought her and she liked both of them. She sat on Grandma's lap for a long time, reading her book and trying to persuade Mom to take her home so she could ride her bike and Mom could watch her. LOL.
At 7 pm, she and Mom went upstairs to watch Wipeout, which I do not enjoy because I think it is stupid and pointless. I stayed downstairs and watched NCIS. Jack and Kari and Caleb came to get her around 8 pm. They hung out very briefly as it is a school night and the kids had homework to do before bed.
I had begun sewing the little black silky "witch" costume for the Chryssie doll. It is completely done except for the hem and being sewn up the back. I think it is too short, and I am going to add a ruffle to the bottom of the dress to make it longer. I may make it a double ruffle, with the underneath one being made of that black fabric with the holographic silver stars on it. I am planning on making her a cloak out of that as well. I saw a very cute pair of boots on EBAY for her, and I am tempted to get them for her. I have a $70 credit on my Target card...
My little Stewie Bug is being a big cuddle-bug tonight. He is pressed up as tight as he can get to my stomach. I have to stop typing from time to time to pet him and tell him he is Momma's precious baby boy....yes he is! Yes he is! LOL.
That's about it. Tomorrow, I may sneak out to Owatonna while mom is at bible study--need to get my license tabs and also would like to get some of the stuff she would not approve of--like chocolate candy. Also, I have sugar cookies to deliver to my nephew Erik and some books for my sister Joni. Another thing I hope to do tomorrow is to wash my bedding and vacuum the lair.
Monday--
Got up early. Mom was already washing her living room windows when I went upstairs. She is insane about her windows. She must wash them a dozen or more times a year. Mine were never washed the entire time I lived in my house.
I made poached eggs for us for breakfast. We also had toast and grapefruit. Then I went down to the Lair and worked on some stuff. I'm trying to find places for the last of my stuff. Mom came down later with my debit card for my unemployment. I activated it and asked her if she'd like to run into Owatonna with me later. (I knew she wouldn't want to miss her soap opera).
So, we drove to Owatonna and went to Walmart where I got two bags of cat food, another container of litter box deodorizer, and an air freshener to put in the furnace room near the litter boxes. I also bought 2 boxes of generic Nutty Bars, some apples, a case of diet coke, a carton of laundry detergeant which was on sale, a jar of peanut butter, since I heard that peanut butter is going to become insanely expensive in the near future, and two cute little outfits for my niece which were on sale for $3 each.
After Walmart, we went through the drive through of McDonalds for a twist cone. We stopped at Kentucky Fried Chicken and bought the eight piece meal package, all dark meat. We had that when we got home--it was good. I prefer the roasted chicken, but mom likes the original recipe, so that's what we got. I paid for it as Mom had bought my meals at least three or four times while I was poverty stricken.
That was our very late lunch--and we had no supper.
We watched TV for a while, though I don't remember what we watched. I wasn't paying much attention. I was working on the cute little outfit I was making for the Chryssie doll. I have to upload these pictures to Flickr so I can put some of them on here.
Mom had Bible study at 6:30 pm. After she left, I went into my Lair and read for a while. I finished reading The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey. It was okay. Her heroines are always these teeny tiny but fiesty little things and the heroes are always these huge, muscle-bound guys with square jaws and hard eyes that only turn tender for the sweet little chick heroine. It gets old.
I tried to play scrabble on line, but the damned website was not behaving well. I chatted with my former student, Bill Wilson, who told me that he had survived cancer four times and was now fighting it for a fifth time. Then he told me it was a brain cancer and that he had been given 8-14 months to live. He assured me he intended to beat it again...I hope he can. I suppose he is in his early thirties now. He was always a good kid.
That was depressing.
Tuesday
I woke up today and had a Nutty Bar for breakfast here in my lair. I sure wish I had my little fridge down here because then I could keep milk right in my room and have cereal every morning. I took my meds then started working on my laundry. I had three loads. The last one is in the dryer now. I'll fold it in the morning.
I also cleaned the litterboxes, gave my cats fresh food and water, and put the air freshener out there.
I put away a bunch of books that had been in Walmart bags and worked on the Lair most of the morning.
Mom and I had Kentucky Fried chicken left overs for lunch. Then she came downstairs and we watched a bunch of judge shows while I finished the little outfit I had been working on yesterday. We had hot green tea and some cookies while we watched TV.
Cora came over at about 5:30 as Caleb had a football game and she doesn't enjoy going to the games. She gets bored. I gave her the two little outfits I had bought her and she liked both of them. She sat on Grandma's lap for a long time, reading her book and trying to persuade Mom to take her home so she could ride her bike and Mom could watch her. LOL.
At 7 pm, she and Mom went upstairs to watch Wipeout, which I do not enjoy because I think it is stupid and pointless. I stayed downstairs and watched NCIS. Jack and Kari and Caleb came to get her around 8 pm. They hung out very briefly as it is a school night and the kids had homework to do before bed.
I had begun sewing the little black silky "witch" costume for the Chryssie doll. It is completely done except for the hem and being sewn up the back. I think it is too short, and I am going to add a ruffle to the bottom of the dress to make it longer. I may make it a double ruffle, with the underneath one being made of that black fabric with the holographic silver stars on it. I am planning on making her a cloak out of that as well. I saw a very cute pair of boots on EBAY for her, and I am tempted to get them for her. I have a $70 credit on my Target card...
My little Stewie Bug is being a big cuddle-bug tonight. He is pressed up as tight as he can get to my stomach. I have to stop typing from time to time to pet him and tell him he is Momma's precious baby boy....yes he is! Yes he is! LOL.
That's about it. Tomorrow, I may sneak out to Owatonna while mom is at bible study--need to get my license tabs and also would like to get some of the stuff she would not approve of--like chocolate candy. Also, I have sugar cookies to deliver to my nephew Erik and some books for my sister Joni. Another thing I hope to do tomorrow is to wash my bedding and vacuum the lair.
Quiet day.
I got up earlier than usual. Mom had bible study in the morning. I had an appointment with my counselor for 1 pm. For some reason, Mom wanted to come with me to Rochester...I didn't mind. It was a little weird having her in the waiting room while I was talking to my therapist, but it didn't interfere with anything.
On the way to Rochester we stopped at Byron and got a couple of things each at Otto's Bakery. Ann, the wife, mentioned that she had wondered about me since I hadn't been in in such a long time. I told her the story of how I am unemployed now and living in my mom's basement. She said, "That's a shame. Everything I have heard about your teaching and the way you get along with the kids is so good."
Everybody says something like that, yet, here I am. Disgraced and unemployed.
Anyhow, she did say there was something positive about the whole thing--"You look well rested and cheerful," she said. LOL.
I got both mom and I an apple fritter which are just fabulous. Mom wanted a jelly bismark and I got a strawberry cream cheese croissant. We ate the apple fritters on the way.
My therapist basically said that I had to stop being so nice. She said, "People walk on you because you are so easy going and kind." No shit.,
She also said I should start systematically looking for work, not just for teaching jobs but for anything that will get me through.
After my appointment, Mom and I went to Carlos O'Kelly's for a late lunch. She had the Cinco Platter which is enormous with five different things on it, and I had my old stand by, spinach and mushroom enchiladas with chicken. That stuff is just the BOMB. I only ate one of my enchiladas so I could bring the other home and eat it later. Mom brought home some of her stuff too.
On the way back home, we stopped at Walmart in Owatonna. Mom needed grape, strawberry, and Root beer for the kids. She floated me a loan for a big box of kitty litter and some litter deoderizer. She also allowed me to buy the fixings to make that salad I had at the Old Country Buffet. There was chicken in it and also pea pods, celery, penne pasta, and the dressing was a dill dressing. We bought some dill veggie dip. It should work out well. I think I will make that tomorrow.
Caleb rode his bike over to carry the kitty litter to the basement. He also brought the pop down and put it all in the refrigerator.
I finished sewing the fourth of july outfit for Chryssie and took some pictures of her and her toys. I'm in the process of loading them up on my yahoo groups photo section now. I worked on a "dorm shirt" night gown for her...the fabric is cute. It's a sort of a seer-sucker. It's white with stylized cheeries on stems as the design. It is going to be very cute, I think. I have the neckline and back section faced and tomorrow I will hem the sleeves and stitch it up.
This little girl is going to be spoiled with a lot of fun stuff.
I watched Ghost Hunters, and of course, I fell asleep and slept through most of it. Sigh.
Mom came down and we talked a bit. Then my cats started yowling and rattling the door, so I took pity on them and came into our bedroom.
Now, I am ready to go to sleep. It's been a busy day and I didn't sleep as late as I usually do.
I got up earlier than usual. Mom had bible study in the morning. I had an appointment with my counselor for 1 pm. For some reason, Mom wanted to come with me to Rochester...I didn't mind. It was a little weird having her in the waiting room while I was talking to my therapist, but it didn't interfere with anything.
On the way to Rochester we stopped at Byron and got a couple of things each at Otto's Bakery. Ann, the wife, mentioned that she had wondered about me since I hadn't been in in such a long time. I told her the story of how I am unemployed now and living in my mom's basement. She said, "That's a shame. Everything I have heard about your teaching and the way you get along with the kids is so good."
Everybody says something like that, yet, here I am. Disgraced and unemployed.
Anyhow, she did say there was something positive about the whole thing--"You look well rested and cheerful," she said. LOL.
I got both mom and I an apple fritter which are just fabulous. Mom wanted a jelly bismark and I got a strawberry cream cheese croissant. We ate the apple fritters on the way.
My therapist basically said that I had to stop being so nice. She said, "People walk on you because you are so easy going and kind." No shit.,
She also said I should start systematically looking for work, not just for teaching jobs but for anything that will get me through.
After my appointment, Mom and I went to Carlos O'Kelly's for a late lunch. She had the Cinco Platter which is enormous with five different things on it, and I had my old stand by, spinach and mushroom enchiladas with chicken. That stuff is just the BOMB. I only ate one of my enchiladas so I could bring the other home and eat it later. Mom brought home some of her stuff too.
On the way back home, we stopped at Walmart in Owatonna. Mom needed grape, strawberry, and Root beer for the kids. She floated me a loan for a big box of kitty litter and some litter deoderizer. She also allowed me to buy the fixings to make that salad I had at the Old Country Buffet. There was chicken in it and also pea pods, celery, penne pasta, and the dressing was a dill dressing. We bought some dill veggie dip. It should work out well. I think I will make that tomorrow.
Caleb rode his bike over to carry the kitty litter to the basement. He also brought the pop down and put it all in the refrigerator.
I finished sewing the fourth of july outfit for Chryssie and took some pictures of her and her toys. I'm in the process of loading them up on my yahoo groups photo section now. I worked on a "dorm shirt" night gown for her...the fabric is cute. It's a sort of a seer-sucker. It's white with stylized cheeries on stems as the design. It is going to be very cute, I think. I have the neckline and back section faced and tomorrow I will hem the sleeves and stitch it up.
This little girl is going to be spoiled with a lot of fun stuff.
I watched Ghost Hunters, and of course, I fell asleep and slept through most of it. Sigh.
Mom came down and we talked a bit. Then my cats started yowling and rattling the door, so I took pity on them and came into our bedroom.
Now, I am ready to go to sleep. It's been a busy day and I didn't sleep as late as I usually do.
My knee is much better today. I didn't take any of my codeine pain pills today. It is a little tender, but not giving me the agonizing pain that I was having before.
Today, I did a little laundry. I called the unemployment office, and for the FIRST TIME since all this shit hit the fan, I talked to a human being who was actually compassionate and who LISTENED to what I wanted to do. No bullshit about how I should go on disability or give up and retire early. She actually LISTENED and UNDERSTOOD why I did not want to become NOTHING or give up thousands of dollars in retirement funds.
I would think that if anyone was likely to be rude and unkind, it would be the unemployment people--they deal with so much all the time--but she was awesome. It makes the TRA woman seem even more cunt-like in comparison.
We got the news on my Aunt Lily's biopsy today--There are three tumors on her pancreas--two on the outside and one on the inside. There is a cyst on the outside as well. All of the tumors are malignant. This is not good news. All I could think of was Patrick Swayze and Michael Landon...pancreatic cancer is not a good thing.
She took it pretty hard. My uncle choked up when he told my mom.
I did not get much done today--I finished sewing the Asian pattern slacks and top outfit I made for my Chryssie doll. I started on the fourth of July one--got the pants done, and the shirt is ready to have the facing sewn on the neckline. I cut out another little outfit for the Fourth. It will be a shorty "dress" with shorts to wear under it. It's white with hearts all over it, and the hearts are like little American flags, only in heart shapes. It will be a cute outfit.
I warmed up some pizza and took my morning meds at about 3 pm. I sat in the upstairs recliner and sewed while mom called various relatives to pass on the news about Lily. At about 6:30 we went downstairs, and Mom made popcorn for supper. We watched Wheel of Fortune and NCIS. It was the episode where Mike Franks dies. I liked Mike. It made me sad and angry when they killed him off.
Then she watched America's Got Talent. It was okay--but not something I would deliberately CHOOSE to watch on my own. I liked the black guy whose name I don't remember. He sang--and he sounded EXACTLY like Frank Sinatra. He was amazing. Apparently, in real life he works at a car wash. Then there was a group of young kids--one girl and several boys. They sang a Jackson medley--and it was fantastic. That little girl has an amazing voice. If it were up to me to choose, those two would tie for the win.
I sewed while I watched TV with Mom. She has decided that she will come with me to Rochester tomorrow. I have an appointment with my therapist--I'm not sure how I feel about her coming with...I hope she doesn't want to go and sit in the waiting room while I am in there...it would be okay I guess, since I don't scream and cry and shit while I am talking to my therapist. But it would just feel weird.
I took some pictures of the Chryssie doll wearing her new outfits. I put them up in my Yahoo doll collecting folder. I have to upload them to Flickr before I can post them on here.
Mom went up to bed at about 10:15. I returned to the Lair of Despair and took some pictures of the doll clothes I'd made earlier. I caught up with all the scrabble games I have in progress on Facebook. And I roundly cursed Facebook for being so slow and glitchy. I finally got them all caught up--talked to Shane for awhile about the Rethuglican party and their evil ways--and enlightened him about how Ronald Reagun was NOT the kindly old grandfatherly figure he is presented as. He was a callous, cold hearted bastard. He funded terrorists in South and Central America, and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians down there. He also began the destruction of the Unions that have protected the workers for generations and set us on the deadly path of "RAY GUN NOMICS." In which it was proven to anyone with a single brain cell that when we depend on the rich to let the money "trickle down" to us poor folk, the only thing that they allow to trickle down on us is their urine.
He showed me the bullshit site, Conservapedia...my God! Seriously????? It is such a pack of bullshit and lies...and in it they actually discuss rewriting the Bible to make it more in line with Conservative values. Seriously???? Don't they know that there is a verse in the Bible that curses anyone who changes so much as a dotted I in the Bible? One more bit of evidence that they REALLY DO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD AT ALL. They just use the concept of "god" to strike terror and loathing into the hearts of their brainwashed minions.
Pricks. If there is a hell, many of them will burn in it. Personally, I don't really believe in hell. I can't see a loving God making ANYONE burn throughout eternity--especially if their only fault was not being a believer.
But that is a discussion for another day. I am trying to be in bed no later than 2 am.
I have an appointment with my therapist at 1 pm tomorrow, and I would like to be up early enough to take a bath and finish my laundry.
Oh, one more thing....fatty pants Tyger Lily knocked the freaking closet door off its slide again...and it is hell to get it back on again. I would like to take both of those doors off, and just let the closet be open, but I know mom would have a fit about that. They don't slide well and they are a huge pain in the ass.
So, that is it from the Lair of Despair....good night!
Today, I did a little laundry. I called the unemployment office, and for the FIRST TIME since all this shit hit the fan, I talked to a human being who was actually compassionate and who LISTENED to what I wanted to do. No bullshit about how I should go on disability or give up and retire early. She actually LISTENED and UNDERSTOOD why I did not want to become NOTHING or give up thousands of dollars in retirement funds.
I would think that if anyone was likely to be rude and unkind, it would be the unemployment people--they deal with so much all the time--but she was awesome. It makes the TRA woman seem even more cunt-like in comparison.
We got the news on my Aunt Lily's biopsy today--There are three tumors on her pancreas--two on the outside and one on the inside. There is a cyst on the outside as well. All of the tumors are malignant. This is not good news. All I could think of was Patrick Swayze and Michael Landon...pancreatic cancer is not a good thing.
She took it pretty hard. My uncle choked up when he told my mom.
I did not get much done today--I finished sewing the Asian pattern slacks and top outfit I made for my Chryssie doll. I started on the fourth of July one--got the pants done, and the shirt is ready to have the facing sewn on the neckline. I cut out another little outfit for the Fourth. It will be a shorty "dress" with shorts to wear under it. It's white with hearts all over it, and the hearts are like little American flags, only in heart shapes. It will be a cute outfit.
I warmed up some pizza and took my morning meds at about 3 pm. I sat in the upstairs recliner and sewed while mom called various relatives to pass on the news about Lily. At about 6:30 we went downstairs, and Mom made popcorn for supper. We watched Wheel of Fortune and NCIS. It was the episode where Mike Franks dies. I liked Mike. It made me sad and angry when they killed him off.
Then she watched America's Got Talent. It was okay--but not something I would deliberately CHOOSE to watch on my own. I liked the black guy whose name I don't remember. He sang--and he sounded EXACTLY like Frank Sinatra. He was amazing. Apparently, in real life he works at a car wash. Then there was a group of young kids--one girl and several boys. They sang a Jackson medley--and it was fantastic. That little girl has an amazing voice. If it were up to me to choose, those two would tie for the win.
I sewed while I watched TV with Mom. She has decided that she will come with me to Rochester tomorrow. I have an appointment with my therapist--I'm not sure how I feel about her coming with...I hope she doesn't want to go and sit in the waiting room while I am in there...it would be okay I guess, since I don't scream and cry and shit while I am talking to my therapist. But it would just feel weird.
I took some pictures of the Chryssie doll wearing her new outfits. I put them up in my Yahoo doll collecting folder. I have to upload them to Flickr before I can post them on here.
Mom went up to bed at about 10:15. I returned to the Lair of Despair and took some pictures of the doll clothes I'd made earlier. I caught up with all the scrabble games I have in progress on Facebook. And I roundly cursed Facebook for being so slow and glitchy. I finally got them all caught up--talked to Shane for awhile about the Rethuglican party and their evil ways--and enlightened him about how Ronald Reagun was NOT the kindly old grandfatherly figure he is presented as. He was a callous, cold hearted bastard. He funded terrorists in South and Central America, and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians down there. He also began the destruction of the Unions that have protected the workers for generations and set us on the deadly path of "RAY GUN NOMICS." In which it was proven to anyone with a single brain cell that when we depend on the rich to let the money "trickle down" to us poor folk, the only thing that they allow to trickle down on us is their urine.
He showed me the bullshit site, Conservapedia...my God! Seriously????? It is such a pack of bullshit and lies...and in it they actually discuss rewriting the Bible to make it more in line with Conservative values. Seriously???? Don't they know that there is a verse in the Bible that curses anyone who changes so much as a dotted I in the Bible? One more bit of evidence that they REALLY DO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD AT ALL. They just use the concept of "god" to strike terror and loathing into the hearts of their brainwashed minions.
Pricks. If there is a hell, many of them will burn in it. Personally, I don't really believe in hell. I can't see a loving God making ANYONE burn throughout eternity--especially if their only fault was not being a believer.
But that is a discussion for another day. I am trying to be in bed no later than 2 am.
I have an appointment with my therapist at 1 pm tomorrow, and I would like to be up early enough to take a bath and finish my laundry.
Oh, one more thing....fatty pants Tyger Lily knocked the freaking closet door off its slide again...and it is hell to get it back on again. I would like to take both of those doors off, and just let the closet be open, but I know mom would have a fit about that. They don't slide well and they are a huge pain in the ass.
So, that is it from the Lair of Despair....good night!
I seriously did not want to get up this morning. If I had been on my own, I would have slept all day. I know I would have. But, Mom came down to ask me something, and to torment and cuddle the kitties. She admits she likes them. :D They are very lovable kitties, I must say.
Anyhow, she wanted me to put my dishes in a tote so they could be put on a shelf in the garage--but when I went up to go through the boxes she thought were dishes, they were not dishes! They were framed pictures and knick-knacks. I packed all the pictures into a tote that will come down to the basement and go on a shelf in the furnace room that was previously occupied by Mom's coolers and canners. She put those out on the new shelf in the garage--and really, they will be more convenient for her there as the garage is right off the kitchen which is where she uses that stuff.
The totes full of pictures and knick knacks were too heavy for me to carry, so I have left them in the porch until my brother or some other big strong person comes over. I may carry the knick knacks down in the Walmart bags as I am hoping to put those out on the bookshelves in front of the books or on a shelf.
I brought a blue Walmart bag full of little barbie accessories down to my room and sorted it out into my tall sterlite drawered unit. The bottom drawer contains miniature food, dishes, and pots and pans. It is nearly full. I may have to remove that stuff from the drawer and put it into a larger tote and put it onto a shelf in the furnace room...I maybe should sort it out so that the food is in one spot and the dishes and cookware are in another.
I found one of my miniature pound puppy dogs for Hector's room. I know I have at least two more, but this is a start. I also found two of the pound puppy horses for Chryssie's box o' stuff.
I finished the Valentine jumper for Chryssie today. It's cute, but it needs something else--buttons or lace or something to give it a little more pizzazz. It is a sleeveless jumper, so maybe I can crochet her a little shawl to wear over her shoulders...or enlarge one of the pattens I have for the Marley girls and make her a "onesie" turtleneck to wear under it--and tights too.
Mom's sickness has gained strength again. Yesterday, I would have sworn that she had just about kicked it, but today she was hacking and choking on those deep, nasty coughing fits again. So far, I have remained healthy despite my exposure to her. I have had a headache that has lingered and lingered for the last couple of days--but I think it is stress rather than anything more serious.
Mom and I had scrambled eggs for lunch. We had Velveeta macoroni and cheese and cabbage salad for supper. When I came back downstairs to put that stuff away, I ate a Nutty Bar for dessert and took my evening pills with a can of diet coke.
I am going to start trying harder to be in bed and sleeping by midnight. It's nearly 1:30 now, so it won't be tonight....however, it isn't 3 am yet, so I'm doing better than normal.
I'm heading to dreamland now--hopefully I will get some more stuff put away in here tomorrow so I can drag a little more down from the porch. I think my Stewie darling is ready for some much needed smoochy cuddling! He is my good little man.
Anyhow, she wanted me to put my dishes in a tote so they could be put on a shelf in the garage--but when I went up to go through the boxes she thought were dishes, they were not dishes! They were framed pictures and knick-knacks. I packed all the pictures into a tote that will come down to the basement and go on a shelf in the furnace room that was previously occupied by Mom's coolers and canners. She put those out on the new shelf in the garage--and really, they will be more convenient for her there as the garage is right off the kitchen which is where she uses that stuff.
The totes full of pictures and knick knacks were too heavy for me to carry, so I have left them in the porch until my brother or some other big strong person comes over. I may carry the knick knacks down in the Walmart bags as I am hoping to put those out on the bookshelves in front of the books or on a shelf.
I brought a blue Walmart bag full of little barbie accessories down to my room and sorted it out into my tall sterlite drawered unit. The bottom drawer contains miniature food, dishes, and pots and pans. It is nearly full. I may have to remove that stuff from the drawer and put it into a larger tote and put it onto a shelf in the furnace room...I maybe should sort it out so that the food is in one spot and the dishes and cookware are in another.
I found one of my miniature pound puppy dogs for Hector's room. I know I have at least two more, but this is a start. I also found two of the pound puppy horses for Chryssie's box o' stuff.
I finished the Valentine jumper for Chryssie today. It's cute, but it needs something else--buttons or lace or something to give it a little more pizzazz. It is a sleeveless jumper, so maybe I can crochet her a little shawl to wear over her shoulders...or enlarge one of the pattens I have for the Marley girls and make her a "onesie" turtleneck to wear under it--and tights too.
Mom's sickness has gained strength again. Yesterday, I would have sworn that she had just about kicked it, but today she was hacking and choking on those deep, nasty coughing fits again. So far, I have remained healthy despite my exposure to her. I have had a headache that has lingered and lingered for the last couple of days--but I think it is stress rather than anything more serious.
Mom and I had scrambled eggs for lunch. We had Velveeta macoroni and cheese and cabbage salad for supper. When I came back downstairs to put that stuff away, I ate a Nutty Bar for dessert and took my evening pills with a can of diet coke.
I am going to start trying harder to be in bed and sleeping by midnight. It's nearly 1:30 now, so it won't be tonight....however, it isn't 3 am yet, so I'm doing better than normal.
I'm heading to dreamland now--hopefully I will get some more stuff put away in here tomorrow so I can drag a little more down from the porch. I think my Stewie darling is ready for some much needed smoochy cuddling! He is my good little man.
Stewie and I had a good long happy cuddle this morning. Right in the midst of it, Mom called me and asked me to bring my dish pan to Lily and Jerry's house as they were freezing sweet corn and did not have a decent bowl for doing it.
I was dressed except for my shoes and bra (I don't wear them if I don't have to). So I made myself a quick PBJ and took my pills then went over there.
Their cat Franklin has been terribly sick for a long time. They actually took him to the vet to have him put down one day--but the vet, seeing how desperately they loved him, decided to try one last heroic measure and put a feeding tube in his neck.
I was afraid that he would look like death warmed over, but he looks great! He seems to be recovering--he's been eating a little bit on his own, but they have to feed him every five hours and it takes an hour to feed him through the feeding tube. I guess he is pretty cooperative about it.
He even managed to push the screen door open and have a little stroll outside. LOL.
I got to give him a little kitty lovin' and he tolerated it pretty well.
Mom and Jerry were in the basement cutting the corn off the cobs. Lily has been having a lot of trouble with her shoulders and neck. Apparently the doctor told her she had "frozen shoulders" and has been giving her shots for them. I suppose it is cortizone. That's what they put in my knees.
They hurt her so bad that she was gasping and crying out every time they "grabbed" her. I felt her arm and what it felt like to me was huge masses of knotted muscles. I told her she should consider therapeutic massage as getting those knots rubbed out would help ease the pain considerably.
Then Mom told her how I was really good at massaging knots out and how I had helped her when her back was so bad.
So, I helped a little by putting the corn in the freezer containers, and when we were done with that, we went upstairs and I massaged her neck, back, shoulder and arm for probably about an hour.
I started really gentle and soft because I knew how much pain she was in...I felt the knots loosening almost right away except for one really nasty stubborn one that was just above her elbow. By the end, I was able to go a lot deeper without hurting her excessively, and the knots were much reduced.
I told her she should take a nap after that as her muscles would be relaxed and she should be able to sleep...also, in sleep her muscles should relax even more. She said she has been having a terrible time sleeping due to the pain.
While we were working on the corn, Jerry offered me a beverage--I said, "Nah, I have my water bottle." Then he said, "Well, I was going to offer you a marguerita."
"Oh!" I said, "Well, in that case..." I was just joking, but he made a couple of margueritas, one for me and one for him. I'm not generally a big fan of regular margueritas--I prefer the fresh fruit strawberry ones that are blended. But this was pretty good. It had just the right amount of "pucker power."
He said the secret to his success as a marguerita maker is an orange liquor that he can only get in Mexico. They spend every winter in Texas, so they always go into Mexico too. That's where I get my supply of REAL vanilla. There is nothing to compare to good Mexican vanilla.
He gave me a book to read--he said everyone was telling him how good it was but he just couldn't get into it. It's called Black Wind and it was written by F. Paul Wilson. I have never heard of him before. However, I started reading the book and got into it right away.
It is set during World War II and is about a young Japanese boy and a young white boy growing up together in California. Both are picked on by a bully named Mick, and the Japanese boy seems to be a member of some strange secret society...but he knows very little of it himself. However, his grandfather (or guardian--not sure what he is exactly) is training him in all the ways of the Japanese culture.
At about 6 pm, I retreated to my lair and worked on the mess from my desk. I sorted a lot of paper stuff out--I have recipes in a wire basket and a bunch of patterns in a blue Walmart bag. Hopefully I can get those straightened out and put away properly tomorrow.
I folded my dark clothes and threw my whites into the dryer. I scrubbed up my Mickey Mouse doll and my "My Friend Mikey" doll. I did my best with Chatty Baby's hair, but it looks terrible. I see cute little bonnets in her future. Mikey's jeans were freshly washed and dried, so I put those on him. His shirt and jacket are in the dryer now, I believe. I looked on EBAY for some "My Friend..." doll patterns, but didn't find anything much.
I put Chatty Baby in a newborn t-shirt I bought at Target some time ago--after Halloween. It has a baby Frankenstein face on it and says "Little Monster." It looks cute on her.
Mickey and Minnie are just standing around in their painted on underpants, poor things. I need to sew them some clothing. I think I will make them both a pair of bib-overall shorts. Just something so they don't have to stand around naked.
I'm hungry right now--no lunch and no supper. When I got back from Lily and Jerry's house, Caleb was practically on my heels. Mom made us all popcorn, and I guess that was supper. I have some yogurt in the fridge down here, and I also have bread and peanut butter and raspberry jam. I could have another PBJ sandwich...but I just don't feel like making the effort.
The next time I go to town, I will buy myself some granola bars or something that are easy to eat.
Right now, I wish I had some potato chips and sour cream with chives. *drool*
Not much else is new. Stewie is sleeping on my feet right now. The girls are at the end of the bed snuggling with each other. Once I fall asleep they will all be snuggling up tight to me. LOL. My babies. I love them soooo much.
How annoying. I had a large entry about halfway done, hit a button by accident and apparently deleted the whole freaking thing. Dammit.
Now I have to reconstruct it from memory.
I slept in till about 11:30 today. I have to start getting myself on a better and more regular schedule for being asleep and being awake.
I didn't feel much like working in the porch today, but I did. I worked in there from about noon until after 3 pm. Two more totes got filled up and hauled out to the shed. Two additional totes were filled with stuff that I don't want in the shed. They are stacked up next to my wooden storage thing where all my dishes and stuff are. I filled up another whole box of stuff to give to Cynthia Butler.
I came across my tote of Camp Cho stuff...I had some of the stuff put in Cynthia's box, and then I took it out again. I can't part with it. I doubt I will every sponsor another Camp Cho--for one thing that doll group doesn't even exist on Yahoo any more--but it was so much fun! If I ever get a house with adequate space for displaying my Barbie stuff, I would like to set up "Camp cho" again. The styrofoam fire that one of the gals made got destroyed--it was pretty fragile. I hated throwing it away, but it was in pieces. :(
I worked in the porch from about noon until after 3 pm. I felt pretty good about how much I accomplished out there. When I burned out, I came back down to my lair and farted around on my computer for a while.
Jack and Kari invited us over to supper. I didn't really want to go because it is Wednesday--and every week I wait and wait for Wednesday so I can see Ghost Hunters. Alas, once again, I did not get to see it because Jack and Kari don't watch shows that upset Cora...and almost everything that is interesting is upsetting to her.
LOL.
Anyhow, Jack grilled steak and chicken breasts. They had a good flavor, but I don't care for white meat much. It is always so dry. You have to chew it for years before you can swallow it. The steak was pretty good, though. We also had corn on the cob and bing cherries for dessert. They were the best cherries I have had in some time! There was so much flesh on them! Yummy.
Kari and Mom watched Dancing with the Stars, which I am not into. I was impressed with a couple of the dancers though--they were so strong!
When we left there, we ran out to the gas station which is just outside of town. They have a big green receptical where donations of clothing and shoes can be left. I had a big black garbage bag full of clothes to be donated. So we drove out there, and I dumped it into the box.
One more thing off the list!
When we got home, I went down to the lair and sorted my laundry. I also sorted out the dolls and doll clothes that somehow got peed on by cats at my house. I decided I would wash each load twice to be sure the nasty smell was out of them. Then I took all the naked dolls into the bathroom and started scrubbing them down with lemon scented Joy dishwashing liquid. I did not get all of them done, but I got a few cleaned up. I do not smell cat pee on them any more. I am happy about that as most of them are dolls I really want to keep.
I washed my blanket first. Then I washed a load of whites that included several pieces of doll clothing. I washed it a second time as well. In the morning, I will sort out the doll clothes--I plan to air dry them as drying them in the dryer seems to damage them. I may iron them before they get thoroughly dry just because they also tend to crumple up when washed.
I have a load of darks and a load of reds, pinks, and purples that need to be done in the same manner. After that, I have another blanket, a bedspread, and a rug that need washing. When that is done and everything is put away, I am going to put everything that is laying in a chaotic mess on the desk into a laundry basket so that the surface of the desk is completely bare. Then I am going to organize all that stuff. I feel I need another file cabinet, but I have no idea where I would put such a thing.
I decided today that I am going to stay here when Mom, Kari and the kids go to Tammy's to help her organize her house. I have so much of my own work to do, that I think it would be for the best for me to stay here and get this stuff organized. And it will be beneficial for me to be alone too, so I can drag stuff downstairs without someone saying, "Where are you going to put THAT?"
Every day I want to get my bed made up with fresh linens and stuff, and every day it doesn't get done. I would really like to get that done tomorrow. If that and the laundry is all I accomplish tomorrow, I will be happy. Though I will be happier if I get more done. :P
I guess that's it for me for today. Nothing too thrilling I am afraid....
Oh, wait! I had a weird dream last night. I was in Winona, apparently going back to college, but in my dreams about going back to college I never have any money--and once I get out of my car, I can never find it again.
Well, last night I dreamt I was cruising down the sidewalks near campus in one of those electric carts like they have at Walmart; it was night, and I was wearing shorts but was naked from the waist up. I didn't realize I was until it was nearly dawn and I came across the little bakery I used to go to on the east side of Winona. I realized that my big floppy boobs were hanging free and was embarrassed. I decided I would go into the bakery anyway because I was hungry and they had tremendous baked goods back in the day.
Well, once inside, I realized I also had no money with me. :(
Dreams are so weird.
I had hoped to continue with my basement lair today and get more stuff organized and "housed" in proper spots. However, it was a lovely cool day with an amazing breeze and Mom wouldn't rest until I worked in the porch. I did get quite a lot done out there, which makes me happy, but it also makes me a bit despondent that I couldn't get anything in my room done. I had hoped that I would get most all of the clutter dealt with today.
Now I have a bunch MORE clutter down here to deal with.
However, I did get at least four more totes of my "treasures" put out in the shed. I am terrified that all that stuff will be ruined out there, but there's nothing to be done about it. I am trying to keep my favorite things and anything made of cloth or foam in the house.
I got three full Walmart bags of stuff set aside for Diane and Cynthia Butler. Cynthia got my doll house--the wooden one that belonged to the daughter of this old lady named Mabel. Her husband had made it for the daughter. The daughter died really young of cancer--and was buried in her wedding dress, never having had the wedding. Her husband died soon after of a heart attack. She had all her daughter's bar bie things--her daughter had been a huge fan of Barbie as a child.
She hated to get rid of it, but she needed to get things sorted. So, she gave it all to me. I loved that house. But, there was no place for it here.
Not long after she gave me the stuff, she fell down the steps in her garage, hit her head on the cement floor and died. About two weeks later she was found. It was July. It was a horrible mess, I guess. A grim way for that sweet lady to die.
The stuff for Kim, my pots and pans, some vintage snack trays, my other CD/radio, and a variety of things, is in the trunk of my car. Next time I am in Owatonna I will drop it all off to her.
I have a big bag of clothing to put in the green box. I had a full white garbage bag of garbage which is now in mom's trash bin.
I also got quite a few things hauled down to my lair that now are cluttering up the place and needing to be sorted and housed.
Kari and the kids came over to help me with the lifting and carrying.
I have such cool stuff in my collection--but I will never be able to enjoy it out in that stupid shed.
I got rid of a lot of my Christmas and Halloween stuff. I don't need it. I stopped decorating for holidays a long time ago.
I kept the things that I truly cherish. But, I will probably never actually use them again.
I need to do laundry tomorrow. I have a lot of stuff that needs washing. Also, I have a bunch of doll clothes that smell like cat pee. I don't know if these guys did it or if Komet did it. I suspect it was one of these guys. I want to get it taken care of before they decide to pee on it again.
Mom will be gone to Bible study and go out to lunch with her Bible study buddies tomorrow, so I will have a little privacy in the morning. I intend to work on the room and take a bath while she is gone. I do need to go out and finish tidying up the little bit of messiness I left in the porch. I worked out there today from about noon until after five pm. I have two more totes just about ready to go to the shed.
I am feeling a little scattered today. I'm feeling really sad and depressed about not going back to school. Even though it was a terrible year last year, I didn't want to be unemployed!
My life is usually quite disappointing to me.
I need to get this shitty mess dealt with. It is getting to me.
Oh, I finished reading The Doll House Murders today. It's sort of a 'tween book. I read it mostly as research as I hope to possibly write some books for that age group. And I would love to do a series of books set in a doll's house. My very favorite book when I was about ten was The Doll's House by Rumor Godden. I think that book set the stage for my immense love of my dolls.
first, the most recent adorable picture of Peaches who is enjoying the big very very soft dog pillow i got for the kitties.
she was really snoozing peacefully. I had to take a picture of her because that level of Cute must be eternally immortalized.
Jim and DeAnn had invited me to go to Winona with them for the day. It's been YEARS since I've been to Winona, so it was a real treat
While waiting for them to come and pick me up, I sat on the front steps and took some pictures of my tomato plants. I am enjoying watching them grow. I'll miss them once the frost comes.
I also took pictures of my tiger lillies. They are really pretty. I got them from my sister Kim several years ago.
I always have to bring a doll or two along--this time, it was Grace and Annalee. I dressed them in their Raggedy Ann and Andy shorts outfits. I love the fabric. Using careful cutting which wastes fabric, but makes prettier outfits, i made sure Ann was centered on one halter top and Andy was centered on the other. You can see the faces of the raggedies very clearly in the second picture.
We took the scenic route on the road to Winona. Poor little Swayze was fussy and cried for quite a while. Then, near Douglas, he threw up. We had to pull over and clean him up, and DeAnn got in the back seat with him to help him calm down and cuddle and play with him a little bit. We stopped in Elgin so Swayze could get out and tear around on a playground. It was a very nice playground. Lots of day care people were there and kids climbing all over everything. Swayze was a little shy at first, but he loved everything and climbed all over the place. He was so cute.
Here he is at the top of the big orange slide.
And here is mommy DeAnn climbing up the groovy stairway to block the young'un from plunging off.
And here are DeAnn and Swayze going down the slide.
And here is Daddy Jim helping Swayze off the slide.
And here is the wee lad talking to Mommy about how much fun it was going down the big slide.
This may be the grooviest kids' play set I have ever seen.
Here is mommy encouraging Swayze to go down the slide on his own and daddy ready to catch him at the bottom.
Here's daddy helping the wee lad.
Some bigger kids were leaping from that open spot to the yellow fireman's pole and sliding down. Swayze so that and was giving serious thought to leaping.
There is mommy disuading the lad from leaping to his certain doom.
Meanwhile daddy comes up behind to rescue the boy--even if he doesn't feel he needs rescuing.
And here are daddy and Swayze going down the cool twisty slide.
This is a view of another part of the playground. That side was more for the little ones, Swayze's size. But HE preferred to be in the big kids' area. the little "rock" wall was so cute. I wanted to take my dolls over there and take their picture on it, but there were so many little kids running around that I decided against it.
It was just a beautiful shady playground.
There's the little squirts' jungle gym.
And another shot of mommy and Swayze going down the slide.
Here are mommy and Swayze hitting the bottom of the slide.
Here's Swayze checking out the climbing wall.
The first thing we did when we got to Winona was stop at Shopko to get Swayze some new shirts. As he had thrown up over his extra sets of clothes. The last bout of vomiting was pretty nasty. The car didn't smell very good for a while. But, it got aired out before we left Winona.
The next thing we did was go up to Garvin Heights. i only went as far as the small look-out spot. The big one just seemed to far away for my poor old knees. I took a picture of the girls sitting on the picnic table.
Here is the view of beautiful Lake Winona.
We saw these little tugboats along the side of the Mississippi River.
Closer view of the tugs.
There is an aquatic machine that fascinated Swayze. I suppose it reminded him of Bob the Builder's equipment. Bob's the MAN in Swayze's eyes.
After we ate lunch, we drove around a while then went down to the park by the band shell. Since I had last been there, they had erected a massive children's playground. While Jim and DeAnn played with Swayze, I sat at a picnic table and read my book. I also took a few more pictures.
This is the view of the lake from my picnic table.
another view of Lake Winona from the kiddie park
Here's the backside of the bandshell. it is old. It was there long before I went to school there.
Here is a part of the huge playground set that was in the kiddie park. If I were skinnier and not so crippled up, i would SOOOO be up in that tower. I could see that they even had little benches up there. Again, would I ever have loved to take pictures of the dolls up in there. Sigh. It sucks to be old.
(no subject)
Jun. 29th, 2009 06:14 pmI haven't really felt much like posting since I found out Dave had passed away. All I can think about is how I promised him I was going to stay in better touch with him, and how I just kept putting off calling him because I was "too busy."
Now it is too late and there is nothing I can do about it.
Sigh.
Stewey was snoozing one day, and I couldn't resist putting all of my stuffed kitties around him. He looks soooo cute.
Here is my handsome young nephew Erik. This was taken at hisgraduation party. I can't believe my little punkin is graduated from high school. These guys grew up way too fast.
:(
Here is Joni's new Siamese kitten, Cricket. Cricket is hell on wheels, but very adorable. She enjoys snuggling with me for some reason. She must be catching the "kitty-mama" vibe I am currently projecting.
After the graduation party, Kim and Mom and I went to see the chick-flick The Proposal. It was short on plot and believability, but strong on cuteness. I enjoyed it. Mindlessly.
After the movie, as we were pulling out of the theater parking area, we caught a glimpse of a hot air balloon in the distance. In a fit of silliness, we decided to chase it down, and I documented the progress we had with my digital camera.
You can see the balloon above the tree tops just to the left of the middle of the picture.
Here it is viewed from the parking lot of he farm store across the street from the drug store on Rose Street.
Another shot from the same parking lot.
Here is a view of the balloon over a side street--I think it was Willow.
This was by the ravine by Joni's old house, on Rose Street. The balloon was definitely descending. We pulled over to look at it and take pictures, and pretty soon a whole bunch of people were also pulled over watching. 
Here it is lowering over the trees.
You can see the guy in the basket pretty clearly now.
A really nice picture of the balloon descending.
And there it is settling down into the trees.
This one is a little fuzzy, but you can sort of see the people climbing out of it.
It is surprising how big these things are when they are on the ground.
And that concludes my photo essay of the hot air balloon chase.
And now for some more kitten pictures.
Stewey and Peaches. So sweet and cuddly. Peaches is even now snuggled right up against my leg, snoozing. She and Tyger Lilly have their little arms wrapped around each other's necks.
They are the sweetest little kitties EVAH.
Here the three of them are in my bed, waiting for me to finish getting dressed so that I could give them their treats.
Stewart in one of his classic completely blissed out poses.
One of my doll collecting associates was thinning out her massive collection, didn't want this little girl any more, and offered her to me. She is so precious. Her face is soooo sweet. I am going to call her Sachi, which means "Child of Bliss" in Japanese. 
Here is another victim of a culling expedition. I had waffled about getting this doll when she first came out but decided against it sinceI already had the straight haired version--but when my dolly pal decided to give her away...well, I couldn't resist. I am either going to call her Adele or Nimue. She reminds me of Winona Ryder a little.
Last Saturday, Kim and I met Jack, Kari, and Caleb at the theater in Owatonna to see the movie "Transformers 2." I brought Viktor and Edgar along--they seemed to enjoy the movie. :D
Kim made sure that they had refreshments. LOL
When we got home, the boys discussed the movie in detail.
Edgar admits that he found the mean robots a little scary.
Doll family
Apr. 23rd, 2009 08:52 amOh, happiness! Two orphans have a daddy now.
I got Dick Tracy (nekkid, of course) from Cherished Friends for a very very cheap price. I clothed him in one of the many man-outfits I have recently made and gave him Ethan and Emma as his children. I bid on a lovely mom for them on Ebay, but I wasn't willing to pay more than $25 for her, so I lost her. I will keep trying though, till I get her. I want Melanie from the GwtW series for the mom. I think she and "Dick" would make a lovely couple. He looks stern and she looks gentle, so they would balance each other out.
Of course, I am not leaving him with the name "Dick Tracy." I am calling him Taylor Dixon. "Dixon" is a shout out to his "Dick Tracy" roots.
Pictures? Oh, but of course!!
I still love my ancient digital camera.
this is the GWTW Melanie I have a bid on. I hope no one else wants her. I want her to be the mom to this little family.
And in other dolly news! On my Cheery Agnes Dreary group, i won a random drawing for an Uglidoll. it arrived last week.
I gave it to my Ernestine because it looked like the sort of thing she would really like. And of course, she loved it and immediately changed its name from Jeero to Bludge. I am thinking I may have to try my hand at sewing some thing similar...i am pretty sure I could do it.
I gave it to my Ernestine because it looked like the sort of thing she would really like. And of course, she loved it and immediately changed its name from Jeero to Bludge. I am thinking I may have to try my hand at sewing some thing similar...i am pretty sure I could do it.
Just in case no one knows this interesting information--i made this skull sweater out of a Halloween sock.
Woot!
I think it looks quite swell. Even if I do say so myself.
There's a New Girl in Town.
Mar. 7th, 2009 06:14 pmWelcome Regina (Gina for short) to the Tonner doll community. I got an email from the clearance doll place I like to look at and here was this little beauty--known by her manufacturer as "Through the Looking Glass Alice." They get their own names when they come to me. She let me know her name was "Gina" almost right away, but I was hesitant to name her Gina as one of my LeeAnn dolls is "Geena" (named after the illustrious Gene Roddenbury).
No matter how many other names I tried on her, she kept insisting, "I'm Gina. GINA." So, we compromised with "Regina" which also seems to suit her personality.
I have longed for her ever since I first saw her. She is so different. Yet so lovely. I was thrilled to be able to get her for less than half of what she was originally going for. I couldn't even buy her naked on Ebay for that little. And now I even get her charming little Goth looking outfit. Wooooo!
Notice the sweet ruffles at the end of her sleeves. Soooo precious.
I think I have enough of this sized doll now. I need to start saving up for the Kish dolls that make great little sisters for them. (Or little brothers).
As I hobbled into my room this morning, somehow I either bumped the chair or the table near my desk or got my backpack hooked on it somehow. All I know is that there was a horrendous CRASH! followed by a series of equally loud crashes as the chairs fell off the table, and, utilizing the "domino effect," caused three other tables and all the chairs to crash to the floor as well.
The whole building heard the crash.
Sigh.
I did take pictures...
In other news, Cody C and Ashley G brought in their new puppy, who was sooooo sweet!!!
Here is Lucas M holding the adorable little puppy. I got to hold her myself for quite a long time. I love dogs, especially puppies, but lordy, they are a lot more work and responsibility than cats.
And in STILL other news, I got the LeeAnn girls' "World Scout" uniforms and smocks done at last. they look pretty good if I do say so myself.
Here are the four members of World Scout Troop #985 the "Busy Bees."
I was fortunate to find that green fabric and the yellow fabric with bees fabric. The smocks turned out super too--I haven't sewn the badges on yet, however.
Back view of the outfit.
Geena and Polly ready to do some World Scouting!
And Pixie Lee and Marissa showing off their new uniforms.
Here Marissa models the uniform without the smock.
and here is the back view of the uniform. I think it looks pretty spiffy.
(no subject)
Feb. 15th, 2009 11:33 pm
This little child with the black eye is me. I am surrounded by my dollie friends. Apparently I either jumped or fell off the couch and hit the corner of the coffee tabe with my eye. I was only about two when this picture was taken.
Even then, my dolls were the love of my life.
I still ahve several of those dolls. They ae a little worse for wear, but still beloved.
Writer's Block: Dream Job
Feb. 12th, 2009 01:08 pm[Error: unknown template qotd]I love the job I have right now. If I had to choose something else, I would choose to work for a doll manufacturing company, designing dolls, their clothing, and their cool accessories.
I would have tons of fun doing Play Packets that would include things like "Winter Evening by the Fire."
The set would include an in-scale real stone fireplace with some sort of computer animated flames that flicker like the real thing. It would also include a love seat just big enough for the two dolls who would be enjoying a quiet and romantic evening. There'd be an in-scale bottle of champagn, two champagn flutes (with bubbles imbedded in the plastic "liquid" substance), a plate of cheese and crackers, and a bowl of strawberries that had been dipped in chocolate. The outfits for the dolls would be a lacy negligee for the lady doll, a pair of silk boxers for the man doll, and two really yummy fuzzy white robes. Also, there would be a warm and cuddly throw for them to snuggle under. And I think perhaps a fauz polar bear rug for lying in front of the fire. And I think a curled up sleeping cat to set either on the bear rug or on the back of the sofa.
Sounds like a lovely evening to me.
Another would be "Gardener's Spring Paradise"
The clothing in this set would be his-n-hers bib overalls with checkered shirts. There would be an in-scale set of gardening tools--two hoes, two spades, two trowels, several packets of vegetable flower seeds, a little wheelbarrow, and some little "garden flats" of seedling plants. Probably tomatoes and strawberry sets and some flowers--marigolds, petunias, and snapdragons. There would be little pairs of garden gloves and a couple of bottles of water, since gardening is thirsty work.
Of course another set to mirror this one would be "Harvest Time." In this set, there would be another pair of biboveralls in a different color and a couple of flannel shirts and a blaze orange hoodie, so the dolls would be accidentally shot by those sports hunter action figures while working in their gardens. The set would come with bushel baskets full of ears of sweet corn, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, peppers, and so on. For their after work snack, there will be mugs of spiced cider and slices of pie.
Oh, I have lots and lots of ideas. Probably these things would be too expensive to produce and sell, but ah, well. I can dream.
I would have tons of fun doing Play Packets that would include things like "Winter Evening by the Fire."
The set would include an in-scale real stone fireplace with some sort of computer animated flames that flicker like the real thing. It would also include a love seat just big enough for the two dolls who would be enjoying a quiet and romantic evening. There'd be an in-scale bottle of champagn, two champagn flutes (with bubbles imbedded in the plastic "liquid" substance), a plate of cheese and crackers, and a bowl of strawberries that had been dipped in chocolate. The outfits for the dolls would be a lacy negligee for the lady doll, a pair of silk boxers for the man doll, and two really yummy fuzzy white robes. Also, there would be a warm and cuddly throw for them to snuggle under. And I think perhaps a fauz polar bear rug for lying in front of the fire. And I think a curled up sleeping cat to set either on the bear rug or on the back of the sofa.
Sounds like a lovely evening to me.
Another would be "Gardener's Spring Paradise"
The clothing in this set would be his-n-hers bib overalls with checkered shirts. There would be an in-scale set of gardening tools--two hoes, two spades, two trowels, several packets of vegetable flower seeds, a little wheelbarrow, and some little "garden flats" of seedling plants. Probably tomatoes and strawberry sets and some flowers--marigolds, petunias, and snapdragons. There would be little pairs of garden gloves and a couple of bottles of water, since gardening is thirsty work.
Of course another set to mirror this one would be "Harvest Time." In this set, there would be another pair of biboveralls in a different color and a couple of flannel shirts and a blaze orange hoodie, so the dolls would be accidentally shot by those sports hunter action figures while working in their gardens. The set would come with bushel baskets full of ears of sweet corn, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, peppers, and so on. For their after work snack, there will be mugs of spiced cider and slices of pie.
Oh, I have lots and lots of ideas. Probably these things would be too expensive to produce and sell, but ah, well. I can dream.
I probably would have benefitted from another day at home doing not much--but I am at school. I had emails about how horriblely my third hour class behaved--everything from leaving the room to play hackey sack in the gym and hallways to sneaking out the back door to smoke (which everyone I have talked to so far denies). Apparently they were so rude to Laurie and Robin that they cried.
I pulled all of them that were in school this morning into the board room to ask them what they heck happened. Of course, they down played it a lot, but I do believe they were contrite. I asked them all to write what happened up for me so I could understand what went on and would be able to talk to Jaymar about it. I told them I would close their campus for the whole month of february if they didn't write their explanation--i think that is fair.
They all needed to own what they did or did not do.
I am surviving the day--the worst part is over. Now it's just lunch and my last two classes which are pretty good. I am about to take my meds. i haven't eaten anything today, but Laurie gave me some crackers. if I have something in my stomach, i will be able to take the meds and not be sick. I considered driving to Subway and getting some chicken noodle soup, but I don't have any cash, and i don't think they will take a check. i don't want to put SOUP on my credit card.
the pills and a few crackers are down the hatch. now I just have to wait and see if I get really nauseated again. Hopefully not.
What I would really like is some nice chicken and barley stew with some carrots and celery in it. I would also like if it was very brothy--i don't want to have anything too intense in my stomach.
I wrote out my bills (the five that i had sorted out and gotten ready to pay the other day) this morning--but I forgot to swing by the mail drop box and put them in this morning. I had Rachael and Ben put them in the outgoing mail--hopefully I will not get a late charge...and there shouldn't be any danger of my lights or heat being turned off. LOL.
I just got my check from Susan a little while ago. I'll have to get my mail on the way home and write out any new bills that just arrived. i also need to get my income tax crap dealt with so I can get that taken care of as soon as possible.
when i get the refund, i will again pay my property taxes for the whole year right away. I need to figure out how to do bill pay on line. that would be so much easier. And i would spend a lot less money on postage and stuff too. What's left will go on my bills. Though i might pull out just enough to buy the tuscan sun Tulah. I love her and I want her. I have the family she needs to belong to all ready set. :) She will be Grace's little sister. I think I will call her Faith. I need a little sister for Noelle too--I will name her Holly. (Christmas theme.)
Recently Sewn Doll Clothes.
Dec. 6th, 2008 08:02 pm
I fell in love with this fabric when I saw it, and I had to have a bit of it. It worked up into darling capris pants and a "spaghetti strap" top, both of which I trimmed in fairly narrow eyelet lace. I made the socks too. The red canvas tennis shoes came to me by way of Dollchris Boutique. They look just like the real thing. They do fit better with socks on.
Here she is standing--this is "Annalee," btw.
This little cutie is an artist OOAK doll. The outfit was made by BevBeese. The zipper is real. I love the sweet face on this little girl. I wish I could remember the name of the doll artist who repainted her.
I call her "Sophie."
I loved this summer fabric as well. I think the capris pants and the spaghetti strap top here are just so fresh and cute. I love the color combinations and the fruit slices motifs.
This is Savannah in a sweater knitted by one of my Canadian doll collecting friends. I made the blue jeans myself. The shoes--again, Dollchris.
Here, Savannah models a "mini dress" with a white ruffle at the bottom and a while Annalee again models the capris and spaghetti strap top. At first there was nothing else on the dress, but it looked so plain. So, I added a ribbon flower with a "diamond" in the center. Now it looks good.
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Here Savannah models a jumper and Annalee models a "gypsy" skirt, a "onsie" with matching knee highs, and a white felt vest with embroidery.
These are actually destined for my doll collecting friend Anne--she sent me some fabric and some notions (like buttons, lace and trim), and I turned them into the clothese you see on this page.
Here is the hand embroidered back of the felt jacket.
Here is the gypsy skirt with a peasant top. The purple jumper has gone over to be tried over the "onsie." I made the little white purse to match the vest.
Here the purple pants are matched with a flowered blouse trimmed in the green lace and the blue flower trim.
Here Annalee is dressed in her bibs with the purple felt jacket and the purple Halloween cat sweater I made from a sock.mmI love the way my little sock sweaters turn out.
Here is the back of the purple jacket, with dragon flies on it.
A nd here is Annalee modeling the bib overalls.
That's it for the swap. I also have a bunch of summer things for a very late "mix and match" swap. I may have posted them before, but Idon't remember. They turned out very cute.
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Finally, a couple of Halloween outfits that I had cut out some time ago. The yellow one will eventually have a "onsie" style undershirt because it is too cold to run around sleeveless in Minnesota. The pumpkin outfit turned out too darn cute for words! I experimented with a little with white fabric.
That's the end of this entry--I keep falling asleep as I am trying to post this up.
Happily, this is the last picture, so I can go to sleep. It's only 8:51, but my ass is draggin.
was
I just have to share this....
Oct. 3rd, 2008 01:36 pm
This is a "cabin' made by one of my on-line doll collecting buddies. Isn't it awesome?? Look at the little details in the background. look at those kitchen CHAIRS!! i want them. I was not even aware that such things existed. They are PERFECT scale.
Look at the bear skin rug that you can see in the next room. It looks like a real house. Even the wear on the table looks realistic.THIS is why I love my doll hobby--it is so cool to see what people can actually do, and how realistic they can make their rooms.
BTW, I don't remember who posted this picture, and I am posting it here without asking. I apologize if this is a problem--think of it as a compliment to your awesome talent if you are its creator.
