43T

My entries at 43things aren't showing up here for some reason. Perhaps it's the way the new site is? Does anyone have an idea how I can fix that?

Long time!

I'm going to have to try to do my posting better here (and at my livejournal). I've been busy at 43things and I'm generally pretty good about posting there every day.

The season is upon us and it's been crazy busy at work these days. I get more hours that way! But it's nice when I get a day off where I don't have to do anything. (That probably won't happen till next year again!)

I don't remember which day

But one of the things I meant to add is that my little rose bush, the minature one I have in my craft/sewing room, which is supposed to be a white rose bush, has a yellow one opening up! It’s so odd! All the others have been white and this one is definitely yellow.

Weirdness but it’s so great!

See more progress on: list three things every day that made me happy

Pretty pattern

I found the free pattern at elann.com and joined a kal for making this at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AranWeightVictorianLaceShawlKAL/?yguid=958484 which also has a picture of the shawl.

And! I found some yummy colored yarn to make it in. http://www.herrschners.com/products/sku-711008id-3588tab-.html It’s the one on the top of the page, although I ordered it through Joann’s since it was cheaper there.

See more progress on: Knit a victorian lace shawl

Friday

1. Finalizing plans for our knitting circle at work! We got permission to meet at the store on the first and third saturdays an hour before the store opens. So far it’s definitely Debra, Dylan and myself, but we’ve got interest from Heidi, Tiffany, Jennifer, and quite possibly Tonya, too. Tonya is the store manager as of the first of the month. I’m so excited! We’re going to do t-shirts and have them say Chicks with Sticks. Dylan is an art major and she’s going to design them.

2. The new Vogue Knitting. There’s a CUTE purple dress/jumper in there I just HAVE to make.

3. Battlestar Galactica. It’s back!

See more progress on: list three things every day that made me happy

Awesome lady!

You give so much of yourself to us and make us all feel good about ourselves. You have encouraging words and wise advice, happy feelings and comforting touches. I hope your day is at least half as great as you make the rest of us feel.

See more progress on: Cook up a 5-star birthday for KC Cooker on Thursday, October 5th!!!

Wednesday

1. The Lost recap. I saved it on the tivo for Harlan, just in case he decides he wants to watch the new season along with me. Next week! It’s coming!

2. Having two months worth of selections chosen at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fantasyfavorites and both titles I have on my tbr!

3. Knowing my Virtual Villagers are still alive. I don’t check on them too often, and once they scared me by being down to something like 30 in population, but they’re back up there now. Whew! (for those who don’t know, this is a game I’ve been playing for ages)

See more progress on: list three things every day that made me happy

Friday

I’m earlier than usual!

1. A Clay Aiken free show! http://soundcheck.walmart.com/clayaiken.html

2 Books! From PBS Strangewood by Christopher Golden..from S&S Just Between Us by Cathy Kelly..a free promo at work called The Sweet Potato Queens Big Ass First Novel.

3. Davy Jones singing a kids song at http://www.workman.com/boynton/

4. My copy of Ice Dragon by George RR Martin finally came in at work! It came home with me, too!

See more progress on: list three things every day that made me happy

Tuesday

1. Watching the birds. I’ve got two feeders out back (one of them is a nice one my father in law made for me) and it’s nice to see the birds happy.

2. Sim City. I got on a tangent with a city that was actually doing really well and forgot about everything else for a few hours.

3. Discovering a new bud on my miniature rose bush. It’s in my sewing room and I’ve had some trouble keeping it going when it’s hot out, but it’s doing great now.

See more progress on: list three things every day that made me happy

Monday

The day has been filled already!

1. A picture of a new niece! Grace Elizabeth was born September 5th.

2. A shopping day with my sister. It was so fun!

3. Finding SEVERAL dresses I really wanted. I usually only find one. Course, I only bought one of them. But it’s enough to know I could have gotten both. The Dress Barn had phenomenal prices!

4. A small piece of raspberry caramel.

5. Harlan cooking supper. I didn’t have to cook today!

6. Driving with the top down!

7. Realizing that I’ve maintained being a size 8 for over a year now. It makes me feel good to know I’m not gaining, even if I’m not losing.

8. Reading things at 43T. It’s so gratifying to meet new people and find so many great things being accomplished here.

See more progress on: list three things every day that made me happy

Thursday

1. Having Ben Barnes speak at the store and selling out of all his books. We could have sold twice as many!

2. Getting to ignore the work needing to be done while our author was there. The crowd was just too big to be able to stock anything and oddly enough, there were no phone calls!

3. Getting two more DMC 699 floss. I thought I was going to run out and Walmart had just two left. I think I’ll have enough for my project now.

4. Finding a skirt I like on clearance for $5.

See more progress on: list three things every day that made me happy

Criminy Jickets: Garterlac Dishcloth

What a great find this place is! Check it out!

Criminy Jickets: Garterlac Dishcloth

Friday

1. New t-shirts at work! This time it’s for a September music promotion. It’s fun to be able to wear t-shirts and jeans to work and looks neat when we’re all wearing the same thing.

2. New calendars in at work! It took me a while to get the stand pulled out and get them set up. I got myself a new Josephine Wall calendar with magnets with her artwork. I love them.

3. Watching episodes of Rome that I missed seeing on HBO. I really like this show and I hope it has a good second season.

See more progress on: list three things every day that made me happy

Monday

1. Finishing my game of Virtual Villagers. The golden child is funny to watch. And he definitely likes to party. And chase butterflies. Very cool.

2. Knowing I have enough on my gift card to get the first season of Rome (the HBO series) that recently came out. I may do that.

3. Having a great time with podiobooks.com. There are a few on there worth listening to. I recommend Shadowmagic. It’s the same guy that did the voice on Red Dwarf for the talking toaster. (I LOVE Red Dwarf.)

4. Changing the sheets on the bed.

See more progress on: list three things every day that made me happy

Triads

Triads are old sayings.

The first triad:

Three followers of wisdom:
imagination
purpose
endeavor

As wisdom grows in your heart, so too your powers of imagination, sense of purpose and mission in the world and your ability to work hard and achieve your goals.

See more progress on: take a class

Sunday

1. Spending the day with Harlan.

2. Having dinner at Chili’s, even though it seemed as if they were rushing us through. It wasn’t busy, though, so it might have just been me.

3. Watching some rented movies together and not having to worry about getting up in the morning. I fell asleep during the last one. Darn. But it was still fun. We don’t do that often any more. Not together, anyway.

See more progress on: list three things every day that made me happy

Thursday

I fell asleep last night before adding anything here. Now I’m trying to remember the day! Isn’t that awful?

1. Getting a good report from the higher ups on their inspection of the store at work. Yay!

2. Getting permission to start the book club for the store and give customers 20% off of whatever book I choose for that month.

3. Getting the magazines of what’s coming out from one of the publishers I’ve reviewed for. They sent the fall and winter selections for me to look at. I can choose from those for review copies if I wish!

See more progress on: list three things every day that made me happy

Sunny days

1. Finding out I gave everyone a laugh by goofing up on the store intercom today. They couldn’t believe I actually said “what am I thinking?” out loud in the middle of it all.

2. Being able to watch a tv show on my iPod at lunch. Since it’s too hot to leave a book in the car, this is the next best thing.

3. Getting a hug and a smile from Harlan when he came home from work. It feels good to be valued.

See more progress on: list three things every day that made me happy

Bounty!

Well, Advisory Board sent me a hardcover yesterday called The Expected One and I got the Illuminator from PBS. But I timed things badly on Queen of Swords. I bought that one because I have to lead the discussion on it for a reading group. I did buy it used, though! So does it count? I’m undecided. It’s the first one this month that cost me actual cash. I wonder if I need to start over with this goal.

See more progress on: no new books

Promos

We got a whole bunch of promos in at work. Cale took some and let me choose a few, so I picked two: The Sacred Cut by David Hewson and Imperium by Robert Harris (the one who wrote Pompeii). Imperium is a novel of ancient Rome and looks really good! The other seems to be a murder mystery. I love the perks of my job!

See more progress on: no new books

The Forest Mage

This month of not buying any new books has reaped a bounty of free ones! I just got Robin Hobb’s The Forest Mage, the sequel to Shaman’s Crossing, which of course I don’t have yet, but will need to get. Is it out in paperback yet?

See more progress on: no new books

Bardic course

I had begun a Bardic course through OBOD a long time ago, and then I had kids move into the house and everything got forgotten for a while. Now I’ve decided that I’d like to continue on with it. Since before, they’ve put the entire course on 28 cds! Very cool! I can put them in my iPod and take them with me! I can hardly wait till they get here!

See more progress on: take a class

Oprah group?

I was sure I'd posted something here since the 19th, but I guess not. Maybe I was dreaming about it. Anyway!

I'm undecided on what to do about the Oprah group. Oprah doesn't seem to have any interest in her reading group any more and it's hard to run an Oprah reading group without any books to read and discuss. Then when she switched from classics to modern, many of the more verbal members wandered away, and that makes sense. They joined because they wanted to discuss classics and the group did well then. Course, A Million Little Pieces is a marvelous book, no matter what kind of bad press it's gotten. I'm glad I read it. Night is a marvelous book, too. I'm also glad I read it. But those are the only two books she's chosen in a YEAR. No reading group can survive on only two books in a year.

I've mentioned closing down the group several times and once when I did, we got a lot of chit chat, but no real book discussion going on. I've tried having co-moderators to no avail. It only ends up being a "what have you read" kind of thing and no real book discussion going on. Maybe I'm talking myself into closing it down as I type. I don't know. But I gave myself today as a deadline to decide on what to do with it. Procrastinating won't help. The whole group has had like 17 or 18 messages all month, most of those from me. It's hard to have a discussion with yourself, isn't it?

I don't know. We'll see what happens.

POD-dy Mouth: Random notes to the authors of the last seven POD books I read:

POD-dy Mouth: Random notes to the authors of the last seven POD books I read:

This is so funny! And so true! I've read a few POD books and one of them had such awful spelling that we didn't even put it out on the shelf in the book shop I work in. Yes, the description of the book on the back cover had more than half the words spelled incorrectly. Ewww! Imagine what was inside! But check this post out. It's great fun.

iPods

Well, I've finally gotten a few of my cds put into my iPod and I have to say it was a lot easier than I thought it would be! This is a really marvelous little tool. I can watch television on my lunch break or hear some of my favorite artists sing me a tune. The podcasts are a lot of fun, too. I subscribed to several. There's a poker one from ESPN and Dean Koontz has one and there are several others that are interesting.

The grandkids are supposed to be coming over today and I haven't gotten anything done around here yet. I imagine I should start by getting dressed and getting the dishes done, but it's been so much fun playing first.

On with the day!

Books!

Today has been a day for books! I got home and found a book I had requested to review: THE GLASS BOOKS OF THE DREAM EATERS by Gordon Dahlquist. It looks amazing! At work we had some promos come in. I wanted all three! But I was nice and left the other two and took: DAWN OF EMPIRE by Sam Barone. Interesting sounding historical fiction! It releases in September. Then! The girls in the back room were getting rid of some books and asked if I would like any. I didn't want to be greedy, so I only took two: MAD SHIP by Robin Hobb and ROSE DAUGHTER by Robin McKinley. Not bad for not spending any money, huh?

One of my granddaughters has a birthday on the 17th also and I finally got her a card to stick some money in. It's cute. It's got a picture of a cat blowing out the candles on a birthday cake. I'll mail it in the morning. I hope she gets it in time!

Today was one of those weird days at work. I had a guy looking for some software games for an eight year old. We have some software, not a lot, but I showed him what we had and recommended a couple. He wanted one with math in it. Now tell me there's an eight year old out there that'll just sit and do math problems. I showed him three different games that contain math concepts and he didn't want any of them because they were GAMES. (big sigh) Most kids I know learn more easily if the computer program is in the form of a game. But that's just me. What do I know? Course then he asked if I would order him "the program." I asked him what the name of the program was that he wanted. He didn't know. Any idea of what it might be called? Nope. I kinda need the name of a program in order to order it. I don't think he had an idea what he wanted.

I'm so glad to be home. Normally I love my job. I play in the books. I stock them, I alphabetize them, I pick them up, hunt for them, set up the displays, all that fun stuff. But there were just some weird people out there today.

Desperate Housewives

Okay, I'm joining the bandwagon. I hadn't seen this show until I downloaded the first season for my iPod and darned if it isn't addicting! I've been having a great time watching the show and I'd gotten it for lunch breaks. Now I won't want to run any errands. I'll want to just watch one of the shows.

Valerie sent me a copy of Collapse (Jared Diamond) that came in the mail today. That was so nice of her! I've been wanting to read that one for a while now. Maybe I'll start on it tonight, although I should probably get some sleep. Morning comes early and with Cale in Waco this week, I get some good hours in at work. Yay! I can always use a bigger paycheck.

I've been so disorganized. I look around and I see books that I need to send off for bookcrossing or put away somewhere. And read! I have The Far Pavillions coming up at Chunky Books, and The Executioner's Song, too. Sounds like some good reading, doesn't it?

Ipods

I got an ipod this weekend! I'm in love with it already! I've been playing around with itunes and I have the video ipod where you can watch tv or movies, stuff like that. It's amazing. I'm watching the first season of Desperate Housewives (thanks, Peanut, for the recommendation!) and it's going to come in so very handy with work. I can't leave books in the car because of the heat, so for lunch break I can watch something! Or listen to an audiobook. The possiblities for entertainment are endless!

Wow!

Make a goal like this and you get lots of surprises! Well, a few anyway. I got a copy of Lisey’s Story in the mail today! I had requested a copy to review it for several places and had given up on getting a copy. So it was a really nice surprise!

I also got that book that I won at the beginning of the month from Favorite Pasttimes. It’s by Tricia Goyer and called Night Song. It looks really good!

See more progress on: no new books

Sunday!

We'll be heading off to Mary's soon for a visit! I'm taking some books down. And of course, Peanut and Loren and Jesse will be there, down that long ways from Iowa! It'll be great fun to see what everyone has been up to. Whatever will I wear? I better check if there's something I want to tivo before I leave, too.

Yesterday was a productive day for the most of it. I actually got a pair of socks started!! I am so happy! Except that I have to tear up what I've done. Between two of the needles, I didn't tighten it up enough and it's got a loop. Dang it! But I'm thinking I should take it down to Mary's to show her how I got it going. Maybe I should take the wrap I started for Cacia along, too. Projects, projects.

I have to remember to ask Peanut about birthdays. Now onward!

New neighbors

Kitty corner from my house is a little house that has seen more tenants (and bad ones, by the looks of it) than my husband has socks. The ones that just moved out after a six month tenancy were a pair of illegal Mexicans who were only one step in front of the law. They stole from the neighbors across from me and when they left, it was probably because of one too many thieveries. The police showed up there the next day. But they are gone...we have new neighbors now and I hope they'll at long last be someone that everyone can get along with. A blue van, a moving truck (small). I haven't seen any kids. Perhaps it's just a young couple starting out. It's not a house you would move into unless you really couldn't afford much. One of the previous tenants sold the dry wall off the walls (yes, he did) and some of the prettier kitchen cabinets (leaded glass, built in) and since then, the house has just been kind of ramshackle. The house needs someone who will care for it. The neighborhood could use it to have tenants that didn't have sticky fingers. We'll see what happens.

Phillip came to visit!

I always like seeing my family, and Phillip surprised us with a visit on Sunday night. I was going to catch him unaware with my camera, but as you can see, he was ready for me. It was a nice visit. He plans to travel in a couple of years so I treasure the time we have together now. After all, who knows if he'll come home again any time soon? We got to see Emily, his lady, the next day. Originally, they were going to go home so she could work the next morning, but she called in. Her family lives in the same area that we do, so she was visiting them for a while, too, but we still got to see her. Yay!

Promo

We had some promos come in at work and Cale let me pick from the ones he didn’t want. I only took one: Ricochet by Sandra Brown. Free reading!

See more progress on: no new books

The days are just packed!

What a nicely busy weekend it's been! I got surprised Sunday night with my son, Phillip stopping in. He and Emily were down from Denton and were going to just be staying a few hours, since Emily had to work in the morning. So we were up till around 3 in the morning. It was a late night for me, but definitely worth it to spend some time together. Then Emily decided to call in to work, so we got to see her yesterday, too! I really like her. She and Phillip are so good together and it feels to me like they're friends as well as romantic, and that's a good thing. They've been together for three years now.

Emily's been sewing and I sent some of my older patterns home with her to play with. I'll be curious to see some of her work when we go to visit next time.

My niece Peanut and her family will be down next weekend! They arrive on Saturday, but since they drive all the way from Iowa to Texas straight through, I think it's best to give them some sleeping time when they get here, so we'll go down on Sunday to visit. I need to remember to take some pictures!

I watched Lonesome Dove on Sunday (Hallmark channel had an all day thing going on) and of course, just because I'm the only person on the planet who hasn't seen it, Harlan would walk in..and make remarks about what was going to happen in the movie. Grrr. He spoiled several places for me, so I'll have to keep my eyes open for a payback. lol

Happy 4th of July to all who celebrate it! I have to work tonight.

Favorite PASTimes: Welcome to PASTimes!

Favorite PASTimes: Welcome to PASTimes!

What a marvelous way to begin a new month! These great people have let me know that I've won a book! Yay, me! Check out their site. Historical fiction is a favorite read of mine and this site is started by some great authors.

Balancing the checkbook!

Well, that's a thankless job done once again. I HATE balancing the checkbook, and I'd let it build up for three months this time. I shouldn't do that. Harlan never writes in when he takes out cash from the atm and he takes out 60 and 80 and a hundred at a time when he does it. I don't always catch them when I check the balances and stuff when I do the bills. I missed one for 60 from about a month ago. Scary stuff. So, I'd better see about getting it done a little more on time. We don't have much left, but tomorrow is payday and the mortgage will get paid.

Miss Jordyn turns six!

It's Jordyn's birthday today and I don't have a picture to share! Darn! I have one on my fireplace, though. When I see her after the Fourth, I'll try to make sure I use my camera phone to get a few to share. It'll be fun seeing Jesse then, too! I hope my grandkids get to visit while Jesse's down from Iowa. The cousins don't get to see each other much.

I got to talk to Phillip, my own birthday boy, last night! It always makes me feel good to hear his voice. He stays busy with his tattoo work.

I didn't get to play with socks last night. I was a little tired when I got home from work, so I pretty much vegged out.

I wonder what work will bring today....

Shawl

I finally got a picture taken of that shawl I had been working on earlier and thought I would share it. It's a little over six feet long, but mostly I wanted to try to get the pattern itself to show up. Whatcha think? I got this pattern free from http://www.lionbrandyarn.com . They've got some really nice freebies there. Check it out!

Here's a picture!

There! He had one! This picture was taken last December at Phillip and Emily's house in Denton. Emily is the one standing behind him and Kady, his sister from Minnesota, is sitting next to him. We woke them all up when we went to visit, but they look awake here, don't they?

Phillip's birthday!

Today he turns 33. My firstborn, my star. The pictures I have of him are in albums and on the fireplace. I don't have one in my computer! I wonder if Harlan does. I'll ask him before he heads to work.

If you read this, Happy birthday, Phillip. It's a happy day!

Socks are evil!

Yes, I got started on them after all, and it's amazing what those dastardly things will do to drive you insane. Needless to say, the socks won today. But I'm not out yet. Watch this space for more progress.

Ephemera 2 Belladonna

I'm ecstatic! I wrote to ask about a review copy of Belladonna and they said they'd be sure I got one, but to remind them after the new year. Yay! I LOVE that series! Have you read the first one? It's Sebastian by Anne Bishop. I can't recommend it highly enough. Ephemera is a new series and it promises to be every bit as good as the Black Jewels. I'm definitely an Anne Bishop fan.

Well, after all that, I didn't get started on my socks today. I've been goofing off most of the day and now I've got to actually get a few things done around here! I have work tomorrow and you know what that means.....needing clothes clean to go to work in. Oh well. It's been a fun day just being lazy. We all need those every so often, don't we?

A different approach

I gave up on that first pattern. It was off the label of the yarn and while that’s a nice basic pattern, when you’re trying to learn these things, it’s nice to have something to refer to. So! I went looking for sock how-to on the net and I found this! http://www.royea.net/sockdemo1.html What a wonderful thing for Terri to do, putting this all together for people like me. I’ve got to write and thank her.

See more progress on: knit a pair of socks

Free offers

If you’re interested in some free cleaning supplies to make your house nice, here’s one that you can sign up for (it expires soon). http://www.cleanhomejournal.com/WelcomeBack/one/EnterInfo.aspx
We all like clean homes, don’t we?

See more progress on: spring clean my house

Roses

I have a small rose bush (minature type) in my sewing/craft/reading room. Two of the buds opened up this morning! I thought I would share a picture of one of them here. Pretty, isn't it?

Accu-chek monitors

I love my Accu-Chek Compact and I wanted to let you know of a great deal that's going on this week through CVS stores (formerly Eckerd's). Get their FREE easy care card. It gives you special discounts and other perks. Then this week, pick up their special: they have the Accu-Chek Compact on sale for $19.99! Yes, that's really it! It's normally about $75 so this is a phenomenal deal all by itself. Inside the box is a coupon (good till the end of 2007) for a $25 rebate on the purchase. So, if you need a monitor, this is a great way to get a free one, and if you'd like to have a free second monitor to leave at work or somewhere else, here's a great way to do that.

Just thought it was a great enough deal to pass it along.

Favorite PASTimes: Welcome to PASTimes!

Favorite PASTimes: Welcome to PASTimes!

Socks

I've started trying to knit my first pair of socks, working on five size 2 needles. I think with practice, I might get the hang of it, but it sure is taking a bit to learn and master! I have newfound admiration (well, actually I had it all along) for those able to knit these buggers. lol

I get my car back this afternoon! Oh happy day! But first I get to go out to lunch with my darling husband, so I'd better get a move on so I don't end up too late.

So far, so good, today!

It's warm out there!

I never seem to get everything done that I want to. I did manage to finish my lace shawl last night, though! Yay! Now I think I'm going to start on a pair of socks. I have that magic stripes yarn and I want to see how well it works.

We finally had to invest in an air conditioner again. We use a small window one in the bedroom at night and the old one (which we got free from a friend) finally just gave out last night. I woke up and it was pretty warm in here.

Ah, Sunday...I should be working, but playing is so much fun!

Off to work!

I'm still missing my car! I guess I'll be able to pick it up on Monday (they're guessing), but I'll have to call up and make sure first. I'm driving a red Dodge Neon in the meantime, and while it's better than that loaner car was, it just doesn't feel the same not to be able to put the top down on a nice day and cruise along.

Where do all of my pens go?

Without a car

I'm taking my car in tomorrow to get it fixed. The girl called back. She had gotten ahold of her insurance agency and gotten it all arranged for me. She was so nice about it! It makes you feel good when you don't have to argue over things like this. I'll definitely miss my car, but there's a chance I might be able to get it back yet this week. Fingers crossed!

Bad intersection!

There I was, at the light, waiting to go across, and sure enough, a young girl (22-in college) in a gold Jeep Liberty didn't stop for me and ran into the back of my poor little Miata! I was pretty shook up to begin with, but I'm better now. She called tonight and said that she sent in a claim to her insurance, so it'll get taken care of. Whew! What a relief! The estimate we got said just under $700. I hope they aren't going to make us go to a bunch of different places for estimates. I'm confident with Campbell's. I hate that it's going to take 3-4 days and they're closed on weekends, so it's going to leave me without a car for a while. Grrrr. Still, she was pretty responsible about it, and I appreciate it.

Knitting

I've been working on some projects that are really fun! I'm knitting a pretty blue lace stole for myself and I'm getting some dishrags done up. The one I'm working on now will make my third pink one. I need to get onto another color, though, because I'm getting a little tired of pink. I found some other wrap/stole patterns I'd like to do, too, but first I think I'm going to work on making a pair of socks. I found one of the most fun patterns for them at knitpicks. Here's a link to them: http://www.knitpicks.com/projects/Projects_Display_Yarn.aspx?itemid=50440220 They've got some great prices for yarn, too, and a nice selection. This one looks a lot more difficult than it is. It uses a magic stripe kind of yarn combined with a solid color. Looks great, doesn't it?

Happy Father's Day!

I've got to call my dad later on. He might be sleeping in this morning, although I suppose he's up by now. Maybe I should call this morning?

Anyway, today my mind is on my son, who is a father of three. He's locked up in Lovelady at the moment. I'm sure he's lonesome and feeling sad, especially today. Two of his children acquired a new stepfather in May. Jesse is really great with the kids and far more responsible about taking care of them. I'm really glad they have him. Today would be his first Father's Day, officially. I wonder what the kids did for him. He does a lot for the kids. I hope they did something nice.

It's sad to think of Jake missing out on all of this, but I also know he only has himself to blame. He's never shown responsibility the way he should. He's also spent so long locked up, only out for months at a time, it seems. The last time (before this) that he was locked up, he promised the kids they were going to be a proper family. Connie took them to visit him regularly. He'd gotten locked up when the now seven year old was just turned one. He was still locked up when his only son was born shortly after. So when he did get out, did he fulfill his promises? No. He decided to go work in a tattoo shop, which would have been okay, but he spent all the money he made rather than help with any bills or food and went out and partied it away. He wasn't faithful to his wife. He didn't spend any time with the kids. When Connie caught him, they split up. He'd only been out two weeks when it all started. Less than a year later he was locked up again. I miss him. He can be very sweet. But I'm being honest when I say he hasn' t done right by his kids. Now he wants to get to know them, but they've moved on. His daughter up north wants to know him and wants a father in her life. I hope he can actually settle down and do right by her. I hope that with all my heart, for her sake. But who knows what will happen?

Reading withdrawl

With company coming either Sunday or Monday, I've been busy trying to reorganize the house for that week that they're here. That and make sure everything is clean. I'll get the new shower liner up today. I imagine it'll smell like vinyl for a while.

Then poor Harlan's car broke down on his way home from work last night and I had to go get him. It's a darn good thing we have three vehicles. I can't imagine how we would both get to work with just mine. I love my car!

As a result of all the organizing, though, I haven't had nearly the time to read that I would like. I've got Doomsday Book going, and Thriller on loan (and I need to finish that up soon!) and a lot I want to get started in. I don't imagine I'll get a lot of reading time in with the inlaws here, either, but we'll see.

It's payday! Another thing to take care of...

Memories

Today is Memorial Day and we're going to probably go see X Men 3! Yay! It's one I've been wanting to see. No picnic, though.

Today is about remembering. There are several I have cared greatly about who are gone now. There are many who have died for my way of life, too. I hope I won't be alone in taking time out of my day to remember them.

Yesterday would have been Candy's birthday. I've started a story told through Tristan's eyes in honor of her.

New Kittens!

I'll have to see if I can get closer to get a picture of them, but the stray who always has her kittens in our back yard has had another litter. There's only three left now. I want the black one! They are so cute! They look a little older and were out playing this morning. They don't stay around long once you've seen them out from their hiding spot. I'm thinking about feeding them in hopes of keeping them here. Wouldn't Harlan just love me?

Desperation

Did anyone watch this last night? I thought it was great! It's been so long since I read the book, and having King write the teleplay, I knew it would stay true to that. Well done! I like the choice of actors, too.

It was so hard choosing what to watch, though! Who's going to win American Idol? Taylor or Kathryn? My choice is Taylor. I just like him better, and I'm more likely to buy his cd. I was glad to see Chris there, too. I'll be watching for his cd, too.

And House! What a great season finale! I was so surprised!

Ah, the magic of tivo! I love it! I did miss seeing the next part of 10.5: Apocalypse, though. But that's okay. I had some great viewing entertainment anyway!

Scarborough Faire

We had such a nice time yesterday! I think my favorite of the shows was Don Juan and Miguel. They were hilarious! I want to go again next year. The costumes were amazing and fun to see. There was even an executioner and a couple of the costumes had to have been pretty warm to wear, considering what a nice day it was out. It looked like rain to begin with, but then the sun came out and it was a perfect day.

Phillip, however, didn't remember to bring our cell phone numbers with him, and so we kept missing each other all day. It wasn't until the park was closing that we actually ran into each other! So, I didn't get to see my son most of the day, but at least I did finally manage to see him.

I wonder if I should make a costume to wear next year!

Good news!

Connie (the former daughter-in-law) called this morning and my granddaughter, Jennine (aka Neener) is going to be placed in the advanced classes! She's in first grade now. I'm so proud! She brought home a note for mom last night and said, "Karen told me to give you this." Connie: "Karen?" Neener: "Yes, Ms Hubbard, you know? My teacher?" lol She's such a nut! Poor Connie. She's got her work cut out for her. But what fun work it'll be!

Get a newspaper today!

That's a reminder to myself that my first printed review releases today in one of the local papers, the Stephenville Empire Tribune! I'm very happy about that. Now I've got to get busy on the next one!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last made an entry here, and my livejournal is suffering, too.

My Jake is still locked up in segregation. He was recently stabbed and it breaks my heart that he's in such an awful place as that. How does that happen when he's in segregation? I've heard stories about the guards there, and not good ones, either.

My son Phillip is taking mom to the Scarborough Faire for Mom's Day this weekend! It's been years since I've been to one, and Harlan never has, so it should be a fun day. It's a bit of a drive, but that's okay. I'll have a book and my psp along. (Set for every contingency.)

My birthday yesterday!

I had a really marvelous time, even though I had to work and I spent the evening alone (Harlan had to work). I treated myself to a new book called Pinkerton's Sister by Peter Rushforth. Here's from the back of the book:

For Alice Pinkerton, trapped in a suffocating life of convention and party chatter, 1903 New York society is enough to make a woman mad--or at least make her a madwoman in the attic. So Alice escapes through the looking glass of literature, finding companionship and inspiration in Shakespeare, Wilde, Hawthorne, Stevenson, Poe, Austen, and the rest of the literary pantheon of her day. Like a character from one of her favorite novels, Alice holds a biting, eccentric view of life, seeing beyond the limitations of her circumstances to create a fascinating portrait of her society.

Heartbreaking and wildly funny, intelligent and dazzling in its range, Pinkerton's Sister is a true celebration of the imagination and a mesmerizing example of the saving power of fiction. Most of of, itis the quintessential novel for readers.

Now I ask you: how could I possibly resist that one? I know, I keep trying to get my tbr under control, but after all, it was my birthday and it gave me something special from my co-workers.

They surprised me yesterday with a cupcake tree (they couldn't find a sugarfree cake anywhere in town for sale) and some Hershey kisses, the ones with cherry in them. They are to DIE for! And then of course some meat and cheese and crackers. And! A gift card for $25. I certainly wasn't expecting any of it. Each cupcake had a plastic ring in it, some with butterflies, some with Easter eggs. I chose a blue butterfly for myself and had fun wearing it all day.

Yesterday had some phone calls after work, too. My sister Mary called and my brother John rattled on for quite a while, too. Michelle, mom to a few of my grandchildren, called last night, too, although she didn't realize what day it was and I didn't remind her. She was having a really bad day and needed an ear more than anything. I'll have to try calling her tonight and see if she is having it any easier in the light of day.

Harlan was home later from work than usual and then had to watch his Mavericks game. Me, I read and fell asleep. All in all, a decent day.

Uncle Sam

I've been working on our income taxes (I know..just prolonging the agony, waiting till now, aren't I?). Of course, Harlan's stuff is in his computer and for some reason, his computer has decided that it doesn't want to let him in. I sure hope it doesn't take till past the 15th to get in there! Life is grand. We're going to have to pay in. I had to sell off a couple of investments (Taxable income) to pay my hospital bill from last year. It's not enough to deduct, but you know how that goes. So it's going to have a little ouch factor this year. I hope I get to see where our bottom line is later on today. I need more coffee before I agonize too much over this.

We have progress!

Harlan had to go to the dentist yesterday and I went along, so we could browse Home Depot afterwards. I love that store. My pretty countertop was still there! Anyway, we ended up getting a door for my sewing room (aptly named Neverland). It has glass panels in it, so I can see into or out of the room. I love it! We need to paint it yet ..it'll be sky blue on the inside of the sewing room..Harlan wants it white on the outside, but that won't work with what I'm going to do with the kitchen. I don't know for sure what color I want, so I'll wait. I can change it later on. Now that you can see into the sewing room, I'd better get my books cleaned up off the floor!

Dates!

Here it is, my birth month eve day. Sound confusing? It can be, unless you realize that I celebrate my birthday all month. Doesn't everyone?

With the day off of work, I'm going to see how much I can clear up around here. The fire ants are trying to invade the house, looking for water (meaning they get in every so often by the sink) so it's time to do something about them. I think they've managed to build a hill under the house somewhere. I hate those things!

It's warmed up a bit, too, and is into the 70s. I have my plants back outside and my geraniums are going very well. I have one I need to repot. My cat ate my pixie lily, so I'm waiting to see if that comes back. She at the impatiens, too, but it's flowering again, happy to be out of her reach. That cat will eat anything!

I've been knitting happily along. I got a dishcloth done in variegated greens the other day. I'll have to dig out my flour sack towels and decide on some designs on those. I may draw my own and personalize a few. Quilting pens are very handy for that.

The Advisory Board sent me a book called Above Suspicion by Lynda La Plante. Looks good! I hope to get to that one this coming week.

Broken Chains

From http://www.brokenchains.us/
This is where one of my sons is:

75 Ad -Seg. prisoners are on hunger strike at the Eastham Unit, in Lovelady,Texas, near Houston, Texas; over a multitude of grievances, between 350 & 400 have already been submitted at this 98.75 % to at-capacityunit. 304 beds shy of overflow, there have been two riots in General Population that have taken place in the past week. The word is out that imminent Unit -Lockdown status is forthcoming.

>One of the hunger strikers, a self-styled Anarchist /Eco / Prison Activist, Ernest Martinez, Jr., #761046, with his Ad-Seg.-cellblock in lockdown, has sent us a list of 14 complaints/grievances from his assessments, and asked us for solidarity, and to publicize this, and also to write letters lodging complaints to theEastham ( called the "HAM" ) administration :
Senior Warden David L.Stacks,
TDCJ Eastham Unit,
P.O. Box 16,
Lovelady, Texas 75851.

The deplorable conditions that exist at the "HAM", are here in the main list of demands:

1. Educational / Library access has been terminated due to budget cuts.

2. Food portions have been cut in half.

3. Food is being served cold / No bread (s) on tray for over a month.

4. Dishwasher broken / several weeks ( increasing hepatitis risk )

5. Many cellblocks with very little or no heat. During rainy weather lower level cells are flooded due to leaks in roofs, walls, vents, and windows.

6. Prisoners who are elligible - are NOT being broughtup for promotions and / or not being allowed to make a 5 - minute phone call every 90 days.

7. There is a chronic staff shortage. ( this includes both medical as well as guards )

8. Due to staff shortage, prisoners are not given alloted recreation periods. Some times we are only given 1 -3 hours of rec. per week.

9. Ad-Seg. rec. yard-kennels are literally caked with bird excrement very unsanitary and a health risk ).

10. Prison officials do not respond to and / or even bother to return requests made by prisoners.

11. Guards are quick to write up disciplinary reports for even the most mundane and / or archaic rule infractions.

12. Sick - Calls go unanswered for up to 2 weeks. (Note: this prisoner has submitted two Sick - Call requests within the last 9 days and still has not been seen. )

13. As of December 13, 2003, U.S Mail is is no longer picked up / distributed on Saturdays.

14. Haircutting implements are not being properly sanitized. On haircut day 20 - 40 prisoners are forced to have their hair cut with the same clippers and blades. ( Increases Hepatitis risk / other skin and scalp infections )

Ernest says..." of course this is just the tip of the adversity iceberg, many other aberrant violations occur behind these walls every day."

Also write a letter to:

TDCJ Region I Director's Office
1225 Avenue G,
Huntsville, Texas 77340

Chris Daughtry

It's been a wild ride on television so far this week! Prison Break is back! And 24 deserves praise for always raising the bar on excitement and surprises. Can you believe what happened with Edgar? Then there's American Idol. Who are they going to vote off? Who will make it to the end? For my money, and especially after that version of Walk the Line, Chris Daughtry deserves to win. He's definitely talented, but then so are many of the others. I like Elliott, I like Taylor, and Lisa, too. But Chris shows the most originality and showcases his talent like a star. Have you seen him? Tune into American Idol on Fox tonight and see who stays and who leaves. Here's a picture of Chris. You should be voting for him!

Procrastination

I was going to start up my spring cleaning yesterday, having the day off of work and no one home to work around, but I didn't. Shame on me! Instead, I did laundry, washed ALL the bedding, including comforter (which is down and takes forever to dry on low), and cleaned up the kitchen and utility room floors.

I also caught up on a few of my Tivoed (how DO you spell that?) items. I still have about two weeks worth of soaps to watch, but I did manage to finally watch the highlights of the Oscars. Course, it ran over and the show ended right as they were going to announce best actress. At least I already know it was Reese Witherspoon. I like her. She seems like a nice person.

I give myself so many things to do. I never get anywhere near done with my list. Why do I do that?

St Patrick's Day was memorable!

Well, for all the wrong reasons it was. I had a dental appointment first thing in the morning for a deep cleaning. Urgh. So, Harlan went along to get some teeth filled. (Which they didn't do.) A productive morning and out to spend the holiday together! That's not quite what happened, though. These deep cleanings take a whole lot longer than I thought (about three hours!) and they decided they wanted Harlan to have a cleaning before they decided where to go from there. He needs a LOT done. So after my cleaning, we went to lunch (which was a total adventure, since my novacaine hadn't worn off) and then back for Harlan to get a deep cleaning. It was almost dinner time when we got out of there. We had spent the whole day there! It would have been a whole lot nicer if I had remembered to take along my book (we were in Harlan's vehicle) so I could read something other than magazines while waiting.

After that we went looking around at Home Depot. I found the kitchen countertop I want! It's black with beautiful silver flakes in it. Silestone was the brand. I must remember that. I love looking around and planning out how we're going to remodel this place as we get the money. My sewing room still needs the doors done.

So we got ourselves an interior decorating program for the computer, came home and had supper and I did get to watch Dr Who on the scifi channel! Very fun! But there was no real carrying on for the holiday, darn it. Maybe next year. At least I don't have a hangover!

Today I'm going to start in on my spring cleaning, I think. I listed it at http://www.43things.com which is a marvelous site! Check it out!

What did you think?

Well, I was surprised at the bottom three on American Idol last night. I'm not surprised that Melissa went, though. I figured after she forgot her lines, it might happen. I do like her, though. Were you surprised Kevin wasn't in the bottom three? I guess he really does have the "cute factor" going for him!

I got three reading group polls put up already this morning and I'm getting ready to leave for work, so I feel pretty accomplished already today! I love watching to see which book is going to get chosen each time.

There's no American Idol on tonight! But! I heard that Alias is coming back next month! Woo hoo! I LOVE that show!

I love American Idol!

Who do you think is going to win? Right now I really like Chris Daughtery (sp?). I like Elliott and some of the others, too, but I think this year it's going to be one of the guys that wins the first spot. Kellie Pickler is sweet, though, isn't she? And Mandisa can sing. Well, they all can pretty well. I liked Bucky's performance tonight, even if Simon didn't. Pbbttt on Simon for that one.

It's cold out there!

I think rather than make this blog about reading, I'll add things here that are going on with my life. At least that's the plan. We'll see how it goes.

I got a letter from Jake yesterday and he sounded occupied. He's figured out a way to make "paint brushes" out of toilet paper and it's giving his work a little more depth. I hope when he gets out he can find something to do with his art. He's very good. I'll try to get a picture or two up of it here if I can figure out how to scan the canvas or get a good enough picture of it.

Phillip (my other son), has been busy with his work. He's a tattoo artist in Denton. He's also very good! Their styles are a bit different, though. I can look at an example of each and tell who did which one.

It's good to find something you love and then find a way to make a living with it.

Where have I been?

I've been so remiss here, but I think it's because I can't decide just what I want to do with this blog. I already have a reading one and it seems silly to have two of them. It would just be duplication.
For those who don't know, I have a son away from home. His name is Jake and he'll be away for a few more years yet. His biggest crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and not choosing his friends wisely. I'll add a picture of him here. If there's anyone who wants his address to write to him, email me at diamondlightfoot at yahoo dot com. I know he could use the moral support.

What is it a person wants to say about things? I already have a blog for what I'm reading over at livejournal, but I wanted to see what this place was all about, too. Why? I don't know! I hardly keep up very well with my other one! But we'll wing it here and see where this goes.