I always go to Edgerton to spend Halloween with my children. Halloween is my Daughter and Son-in-law’s favorite holiday and of course my seven year old Gr-son gets hugely excited by the festivities. The wife of their best friends who live next door was born on Halloween so they have a birthday party for her as well. Generally they take friend’s young son trick or treating with them while friends go out to dinner.
Son-in-law really gets into Halloween and goes all out decorating his front yard and porch up as spookily as possible. His theme is a graveyard and skeletons, of course. I generally help him out by shopping the after Halloween clearance sales for his Christmas presents and getting him skeletons to add to his collection.
I haven’t hit Walgreens yet to see what they have but I think I want to get him a t-shirt with a skeleton on it if I can find it. He was wearing the one he has for part of his costume this year and it is terribly faded and ragged around the edges. Not that that is necessarily bad from his point of view, I suspect but it might be nice to get a new one he can start wearing under his mailman uniform this winter so it will have that appropriate worn out look in a couple of years. <heh>
He alternates between being a skeleton and Jack from “The Nightmare before Christmas.” He has a wonderful Jack costume and my daughter has a great Patty costume. If they could get the Gr-Son to do one of the other characters instead of a super hero it would be wonderful but of course Gr-son loves the super hero costumes. This year he was a Transformer.
Funny, I never let my kids buy costumes. Ever. And it wasn’t because we couldn’t afford them. It was because I wanted them to use their imaginations and come up with great costumes the way my brothers and I did way back when. Now you hardly ever see home made costumes and I suppose if I was my daughter I would not make my Gr-Son use his imagination either even though between his Mom, Dad and himself they could surely put together something better than that ticky tacky stuff passing for costumes.
I bought the kids a better grade of chocolates and little toys for their goody bags although I wish I had gotten them here in Madison rather than waiting until I got to Edgerton. Russel Stover’s are NOTGOOD chocolates in my opinion! I made good choices for all of them. Baby T really liked her little ladybug noise maker. She was so cute with it.
I got pictures of everything but I’m having problems with my photo program. It’s a real puzzler. Stinking ‘Puters!
One of my constant readers <grin> at Living in the Edge of Madness commented that he was glad I got a dog/friend rather than a weapon to protect myself. So I started thinking about all the good stuff adopting this dog did for society that a weapon wouldn’t.
First of all, I saved him from ending up at a humane society pound which is almost a virtual death sentence for many animals. Granted Igor is a handsome animal and has an appealing personality so he has a better than average chance of getting adopted. However, those goofy legs of his might turn prospective adopting families away before they even get a chance to know him.
I added to Madison’s economy by taking him to the Vet here in town and bought him toys and food as well as a new leash and a training collar at the pet supply store. I’ll be spending more on food every month and vet bills twice a year. I’m kind of sappy and since he’s prone to play with his toys, I’ll continue to buy them. The new leash and collar have already paid for themselves in terms of saving my back and arms from untold pain and misery. I really recommend The GentleLeader HeadCollar. Even my son was impressed.
He’s helping me recycle. Every-time I go to the store or take advantage of the food that comes in from Second Harvest I get plastic bags. It takes only 14 plastic grocery bags to drive a car one mile (per the Cap Centre Grocery Store). That is astonishing! I use grocery bags as garbage can liners for my sewing trash bin , the bathroom trash bin and the kitty litter trash bin but I STILL had more than enough to fill a paper grocery bag. Now I can use them as waste receptacles when I’m out walking Igor.
I’ll spare you photographs of this.
Trust me, it ain’t pretty…
He’s getting me up off my butt and exercising so I will undoubtedly lose the weight I gained after I quit smoking and maybe more. I’ll be much healthier in no time. I’m beat at the moment but I think I will adjust quickly and it’s not like he’s a power walker. One or two 6 block walks a day satisfy his needs to go rambling. I’m not even sure he appreciates that much he’s such a couch potato!
Oh, I forgot the $10 license I have to get from the city. I heard a rumor that there is a $20 fee to take him to the dog parks too. I’ll find out about that when I go to the dog park the first time, I suppose. It’s beautiful out today and I considered going while my son was here visiting with his MinPin but Son said not a good idea with Po–he’s too little and too feisty. He always tries to pick a fight with the biggest and meanest dog with the biggest and meanest owner. My son hates beating people up…
Would you look at these two! Po weighs less than 15 pounds. Maybe not even 10. Igor weighs 38 pounds yet they don’t look all that different in size in this picture.
All in all this is a win situation for everyone concerned except for my fat little Calico Cat. She has come out from under the desk at least but now she’s living on top of my dresser. I had to move her food out of the dog’s reach since he has discovered it is much more to his liking than his own food so I put it on the dresser. Then because I felt sorry for her I put a pillow up there. She may never leave.
I’ve been having such a good time playing around with my new camera and the Xandros photo manipulation program digikam. This is way more fun that developing film and making your own black and white prints which I learend to do back in the late 70s. I mean that was fun but my lord it was expensive and fussy work.
With these digital cameras you don’t have to worry about how much film you have you can take as many shots of your subject as you like and not worry if you’re wasting film. Once you’ve got your shots downloaded onot the PC you can take them off the camera and fill that space up again. I’d say my digital camera has already paid for itself in those terms.
Not that I would have ever taken 150 pictures of my cat pre-digital camera but being able to is wonderful! Now I need to take a class so I can learn to do everything this caemra does. <heh>
Some of my best work:
My son, Daryn
My nephew, Gregory
(psst… Both of these boys are single and live in the Madison area. But don’t tell them I said so.)
My Gr-Dog, Po Sacajawea
(I like how these effects really pick up on the muscle tone of this dog.)
Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone
Oh where, oh where can he be
With his ears cut short and his tail cut long
Oh where, oh where can he be?
Disney?
I am in such an incredibly good mood. Every-thing’s going my way! The Isthmus is quoting me. My Blogs are cooking right along, I’m writing daily without a struggle, I am pretty sure I have found the Dog of my dreams and I am not in excruciating pain 24/7 just 12/3 and 1/2 <snort> Actually, I think I am just finding it easier to ignore the pain because I am engaged in the world and enjoying myself.
I’m this close >< to getting a dog. It’s a choice between a dachshund/beagle mix–a Dachsle and a Yorkshire Terrier/Chihuahua mix–Yorchi. I’m leaning heavily towards the Dachsle because he is cheaper, looks just like my dog when I was a teenager, is low maintenance, and is probably less spoiled than the Yorchi who sounds like a holy terror from the way his ‘Mom’ described him.
The Yorchi is cute as a button but he is four years old and has never been neutered so he’s full of piss and vinegar. It sounds as though he has been spoiled rotten and needs some serious obedience training. I could DO that but do I WANT to? ummm NOT if I don’t HAVE to. There is also the cost. He will cost twice as much as the Dachsle who comes with a kennel and all of his toys and stuff.
I really like the Yorchi’s ‘Mom’ who is my son’s co-worker. And I think I will feel bad if I say no because she really really wants me to take this dog because she has such a high opinion of my son that she thinks *I* would be a great ‘Mom’ for her baby sight unseen. That is so flattering and I am so proud of my son for being such a nice guy that people think *I* must have been a great mother. That is so cool but he deserves so much credit for making the right choices in life when he could have very easily taken the wrong path.
For all the care and heartache
Life has brought to me
One precious gift has made it all worthwhile
For heaven blessed and with great joy rewarded me
For I can look and see my own beloved son
My son, my son just do the best you can
Then in my heart I’m sure
You’ll face life like a man
My pride and joy
My life, my boy
My son, my son
Vera Lynn
The song quoted above is a little misleading since I have a daughter I am also immesely proud of. I have spoken of her before in this Blog. My children are indeed my pride and joy. I have trouble expressing that sometimes. Intellectually I know that what I am about to say is crazy thinking but it is always there in the back of my mind that if things are going too well for me and mine and I express my happiness and pride in my life it will somehow be destroyed.
I need to get over that fear big time because it is putting such a damper on my relationship with my children. I love them so much but showing that love has become so difficult, I am literally subconsciously afraid that *I* will destroy THEM. Maybe by saying these things out loud on this Blog I can dispel that fear. How much more public can I get?
Oh, BTW, Thanks Mom and Dad for installing this huge fear into my ego, id or super ego or WHATever. Lovely.
Give me down to there hair
Shoulder length or longer hair
Here baby, there mama
Everywhere daddy daddyHair, hair, hair, hair
Grow it, show it
Long as I can grow it
My hair
The Cowsills
I have fairly long hair–long enough that when I sit down it catches against the back of the chair and annoys me. Unfortunately, I am beginning to experience the family curse. Alopecia Areata. In other words, I’m balding. I started out with incredibly thick hair so its taking awhile.
I’ll admit it. I’m vain about my hair. I think it has always been my best feature. It’s a medium auburn, it’s shiny, and it has a lot of natural body. If it wasn’t so thick and heavy it would be curly and was when I was a little girl. I love my hair. Yup, I’m pretty attached to it.
I’ve been wearing my hair parted(going north you might say) so last night, I was standing in front of the mirror brushing my teeth minding my own business when a wild hair (all puns intended) struck me. Bangs would look nice. Before I could stop myself, I had a pair of scissors in my hands and I was snipping away. Voi`la Bangs!
I hope I don’t regret this. My favorite way to wear my hair is up in a french twist and it would do this really cool swoopy thing before I cut the bangs. I’m guessing I won’t get the swoopy thing anymore. But I’m not cursed with a forehead you could land a 747 on anymore either. <heh>
I think I like them. I washed my hair this morning and fiddled with them a bit and it’s going to be a lot easier to keep my hair out of my face without using lots of product on it. That’s a good thing as Martha would say.
I wonder what my daughter will say. She’s the beautician of the family. She’ll probably be peeved I didn’t wait and let her do the honors. Ohhh well. I need the ends trimmed and I’ll let her chop a couple of inces off. I quit “covering up the gray” so there’s some dyed stuff that doesn’t really match. I’m going to be a lovely silver when it all turns.
My daughter wants me to get it cut short. She thinks I’m too old for long hair and she could give me a really cute cut that would be much more flattering. I tell her I’m doing the Tyne Daly thing and MYOB. My daughter wishes I was a more sterotypical suburban Grandma type Mom. She doesn’t appreciate my free spirit radical hippie style. Whatever.
Hopefully my hair loss will continue to be gradual and I won’t end up going whole hog with Areata Universaliswhich is complete and total hair loss over your total body. Yeah, even down there. The good news is you don’t have to shave your legs anymore. The bad news is that you have to paint on your eyebrows and use false eyelashes. Wigs are optional since Sinead O’Connor.
I hear through the family grapevine that my Aunt Kathy Jo who is the same age as I am woke up to find her beautiful blonde hair in bed with her one morning. It stayed there while she went to breakfast which is exactly what happened to her mother,, my Grandmother. I suspect she hit menopause and that was the triggering event.
I am still peri-menopause I think–I have had a hysterectomy so I don’t know. However, I haven’t had any of the typical symptoms until just recently, maybe. The last few days I have had what might be hot flashes and Iexperienced night sweats two nights in a row. Maybe I’m finally THERE. At 55 it’s about time.
Imagine, I could have conceived a child up to this point or that’s what they told me three years ago when they did a hormone study–USE BIRTH CONTROL. I think a hysterctomy that removes the cervix is a pretty good form of birth control don’t you?
My Grandmother and all of her brothers and sisters had Areata Universalis. It was pretty bizaare. They also had a mottling loss of skin pigmentation which I have but not nearly to that degree. I AM very fair skinned. It may have been this condition: Vitiligo.
All that to say I have a new ‘do. I like it.
If I go bald I’m getting a tattoo on my scalp. I’d love to get it tattooed all over with fake curls in multi-colors but that’s out of my budget. Dunno what yet. Maybe “Naturally Bald and Proud of It“
href=”“>Bless the beasts and the children
The Carpenters
There are so many ways we can abuse so much in this world. We can even abuse the planet itself as Al Gore has pointed out in his Academy Award winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.“ I am not a Christian, I have made that very clear on several occasions in my Blogs but I believe the myths human beings tell to explain their occupation of this planet are powerful. The Christian creation story has a compelling message that I think that Christians and non-Christians alike can take a valuable lesson from regarding our role as stewards of this planet and its inhabitants.
I am going to use the King James 1611 Bible because I love the majesty of the Elizabethan Language. I don’t think it makes much difference which translation you use. This part of the story of “In the beginning…” is pretty clear.
1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
This story is centuries old. It was almost certainly passed along as an oral tradition long before it was ever written down and there were many versions before it was recorded in this beautiful 16th century iambic pentameter. The main point that I want to dwell on here is that HUMANS have DOMINION over everything else in the world.
Dominion. That’s a strong word to use. We were to dominate or rule over all the animals and all of the fishes in the sea and the fowl that flies and all the creepy crawly things too.. We have complete charge of everything else in the world. The creator god gave it all to us. If you believe in this creator God I don’t see how you can fail to believe that you have been commanded by God to take care of his creation.
If you are a disbeliever perhaps you could take a moment to reflect that these supposedly primitive people back in the dark recesses of time recognized that it was OUR duty to take care of this planet. They believed that an almighty force, a supernatural being they believed to be the creator of everything around them, gave THEM the power to rule over everything. They recognized their status as the beasts highest on the food chain and understood the moral responsibility that that implied. Can we do any less?
Taking care of this planet and ALL OF ITS INHABITANTS, right down to the most seemingly insignificant species of fly in the muckiest marsh in the backwoods of nowhereville is essential to our own well being. This is it, folks, this is all we’ve got. This planet and its inhabitants depend on us to be good stewards. WE MUST STOP THE ABUSE!
Each of us can stop the abuse by choosing our own particular interest and taking a proactive part in being good stewards. Humananity has been thoughtless and cruel for far too long. There are many, many causes that need to be taken up and battles that need to be fought. You might find the destruction of our rain forests to be particularly reprehensible or you might have issues with substance abuse in your life or you might want to take up the cause of making sure that everyone spays and neuters their pets. There is something for everyone to do.
I have a particular interest in preventing child abuse. How do you prevent child abuse? You can make a determined heroic promise that you will never ever abuse a child and I will truly believe that you would never WANT to do that. But if you were abused as a child I would bet that the odds are better that 50/50 that you will abuse your own child in some way, shape, or form if you do not seek professional help.
I hit my children when I was angry. I said terrible things to them. Things that no mother should ever say to her babies. Eventually it got so bad I HAD to seek professional help because I was horrified by my behavior. I was horrified but I couldn’t stop. I was out of control.
I had to admit that I needed help if I was going to to end the cycle of abuse. If you are a parent who is in the position I was in, please, seek help. You can get help through your local Child Welfare Services,Domestic Abuse Crisis Lines or family doctor. The professionals you turn to will understand. You will not be punished and your children will not be taken away from you if you come forward. YOU are NOT a bad person but your behavior can and must change.
If you were abused as a child but don’t have children yet, PLEASE, seek professional help. Not only for your own sake, for the sake of your future children.
If you see a child being abused or know of a family where children are being abused DO SOMETHING. The child abuse hotline is 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4253) You can also help by getting involved in Child Abuse Prevention organizations
Make a decision to stop the abuse. Choose Hope.
Bless the beasts and the children
For in this world they have no voice
They have no choice
Bless the beasts and the children
For the world can never be
The world they see
Light their way
When the darkness surrounds them
Give them love
Let it shine all around them
Bless the beasts and the children
Give them shelter from a storm
Keep them safe
Keep them warm
Light their way
When the darkness surrounds them
Give them love
Let it shine all around them
Bless the beasts and the children
Give them shelter from a storm
Keep them safe
Keep them warm
Tomorrow is the big day. BlogCatalog intends to make history with bloggers around the world Blogging for Hope and against abuse. The Guiness book of Recoods is at stake here. And you can win a prize!
To be a part of this just grab a logo, link to blogcatalog and write about stopping abuse. Substance abuse, animal abuse, child abuse, elder abuse. Republican abuse ;^>. Whatever stikes your fancy. I’ve got my entry written and ready to roll. you can read it here tomorrow. Write on everyone.
A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold.
Ogden Nash (1902 - 1971)
What happened to my WYSIWYG editor? I have this strange coding menu at the top of the text entry box. This is rather intimidating. Oh well, I’ll soldier on.
The time spent with my kids this weekend was pleasant. My Grnadson is growing like a weed and is nearly up to my shoulder. He is only seven. Handsome young man too. I’m not prejudiced or anything.
The baby is cute as a button. She’s at that age when babies are really becoming interesting. My daughter and I got down on the floor with her and put toys just out of reach so she would get up on her hands and knees and try to crawl to get them. She has the commando crawl down pretty good so daughter is working with her on a carpet that is rough and not so much fun to do the commando thing.
She is going to be a chatter box. Her little mouth was going the whole time, making clicking noises with her tongue and little jabber babblings. When son-in-law came in the room she squealed with delight and I would almost swear she said Daddeee but I’d have to hear it again to be absolutely certain.
I made a pork roast with potatoes and carrots Friday in son’s crockpot. It turned out really good. Son has a really nice crockpot. He needs a good set of pans and I will teach him how to cook. I think I will give him my big cast iron skillet if he wants it.
Nephew gave me a book by Chuck Palaniuk to read “Survivor“. It’s his favorite novel. I think I might have read this before but if I did it’s worth giving it a second read. I really enjoyed “Fight Club.” Nephew is such an anti-intellectual intellectual. An anarchist, I believe.
I want so much for him to educate that fine mind of his but he was not raised to value a formal education. The company he works for would pay for his tuition and I keep telling he could get his basic general credits out of the way at their expense but he doesn’t want to take basic general classes. He wants to march into Philosophy 303 and start arguing iwth the Professor. ARGH!
Oh well, he is who he is and I love him dearly. He can be like me and go to college in his 30s and appreciate it all the better for having waited until then.
We’re off to see the Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
You’ll find he is a whiz of a Wiz! If ever a Wiz! there was.
If ever oh ever a Wiz! there was The Wizard of Oz is one because,
Because, because, because, because, because.
Lyrics by EH Harburg, music by Harold Arlen “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”
I’m off to see my Grandchildren tonight. My nephew will pick me up sometime between now (9:15) and Midnight and take me to Edgerton. He works odd hours and doesn’t get off work until 8:00 PM. It works out good for me because then I can sort of stretch that rule the building management has about not leaving pets alone for more than 24 hours out a little.
I don’t like to leave Patches alone for much longer than 24 hours but she does fine for 36. She’s more than happy to see me when I get home though. I got the paperwork necessary to get permission to have a dog in this building but I don’t have a clue what happened to it. They have to be designated as a companion dog. <heheh> Patches could use a companion.
Not so sure about me. Dogs are a lot of work but there are all kinds of guys in this building who would like to walk my dog if I get one. <shrug> I would feel safer if I had a dog but…
I would love a Boston Terrier or a Boxer. Better yet, I would like a mutt mix of either of those. I’m not all that big on pure bred dogs. The inbreeding is nasty. I saw a cute little rat terrier/jack russel mix up for adoption by its owners that I would be interested in but they say they don’t know how she would be with cats. If she hasn’t found a home by mid week next week I will call them. It would be worth a try to see if she is a chaser.
Oh goodie, my daughter just called and she is going to send a note to school with my Grandson so that I can pick him up rather than having him go to daycare. Fantastico! G and I get along well unless he’s feeling frisky and oppositional. He’s a really smart little boy and he likes to pit that smart little brain against Grammy’s brain. Grammy isn’t used to thinking on her feet against smart little boys.
He also likes to tell “stories.” Last night on the phone he told me he had skipped all the way up to 5th grade. Not too long ago he told me he thought he had flunked kindergarten. He had me convinced he believed that. That’s the third time he has caught me with his “stories.” From now on I don’t believe a word he says until I check it with his parents. <heh>
Update on the adoption process. The mother has decided to fight the state’s decision to terminate her parental rights. It may be three or more years before the baby is released for adoption and the mother could prevail. I am afraid for my daughter. This could get really messy. I am very proud of her for hanging in there though.
B
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