Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

I have a job interview Friday morning! I'm really nervous about it too. This is the first job interview that I've had in almost 12 years. Sooo, after getting my outfit figured out I realized that my hair wouldn't do. It was half-way down my back, straight and unmanageable. What do you do with fine Irish hair except scoop it up in a clip? I can't French braid, if I could it probably wouldn't be a problem. Bebo took me out yesterday and got me a haircut. It's a bob that stops at my shoulders, and there are bangs. It's certainly, well not really different 'cuz I've had it this short before in my life, but it does make a big difference.

So I'm ready for Friday. Maybe. If I can get my stomach to settle down.

What are you looking forward to this week?

Oh Crap!

It has begun ....

And it isn't funny ......

It's About Time

Yeah, about time I got back here. I do not in any way wish that virus on anybody, well, maybe one person......

What a lovely couple of days we're having. Yesterday (Sunday) it didn't get out of the 60s, and today it'll be a little bit higher, but still - with a week that's looking at a couple of 90 degree days, I'm loving this. Of course, it did mean terrible storms Saturday, so bad that I'm sure you've heard about the Dallas Cowboys practice dome collapsing. Couple of serious injuries there. There were several members of the media in the dome, so some excellent video exists. This was the rookie camp, and what I liked (for lack of a better word) was the many players in uniform working to free others. The thunder from this storm sent the cats scurrying a bit - and these cats don't really react to thunder. It left a trail of damage in it's path - but so far only one possible tornado, down near where Bebo was for the weekend.

Let's see, what else has been going on? Um, hmmmm, I did miss my on-line workshop - the week I was sick, and then the second week where trying to play catch-up was impossible. I have all of the lesson plans and I will be doing them.

That leads me to another question ... is in on-line or online? No, I'm serious - I've seen it both ways and was just wondering.

There are a lot of words like that, words that confuse me - for instance, effect and affect. Don't try to tell me, many have tried and failed. So, what word/words give you a problem?

Have a happy Monday - and I'll see you Wednesday!

A little map will do ya

So I did something different on Saturday. I went to a book signing! I’d never been to one. Susie and I went – it was Michelle Miles, and she was at the Barnes & Noble at North East Mall in Hurst. I’d never been to Hurst either, at least not on purpose. LOL I got off of work at 1:00 and met Susie at my apartment and then we were off! I had printed out one of those Google driving directions things to help us, as neither one of us really knew where we were going. Have you ever used one of those? They are useless and awfully vague with their directions. But I guess we did okay since we only got lost 3 times. Hmmmm. Anyway, Michelle’s new book is A Break in Time, the second in the Ransom and Fortune Adventure series. (I have got to find a copy of the first one, oops.) So we saw Michelle, Susie bought a copy of her book and I bought two. Why? ‘Cuz I’m going to give an autographed copy of the book away. Not right now, probably Wednesday when I decide how to do it. But I digress … after getting our books, Susie and I had lunch with Ames and Lynn at someplace called Logan’s Roadhouse. Interesting place and the food was good. So was the company. I had forgotten how great it was to hang out with Ames, and how invigorating talking about writing can be. That’s what I’m hoping for with Yellow Rose – the stimulus that I get from being around other writers. It could be just the thing to kick my writing ass into gear.

So, that was my Saturday. Sunday was spent doing nothing and watching the Cowboys whip some Cleveland Browns butt! Altogether a great weekend.

How was yours?

And Even More

Here's my front hall. That's my pewter spoon collection, and on both sides of it are Irish pictures, of course.

This is the view of the kitchen from the living room.

Here's one side of my kitchen

Here's the other. Like we said, it's small. That's the washer and dryer area in the back.

And here is the bathroom in all of it's glory. Well, most of it's glory. I didn't think you wanted a picture of the toilet itself. LOL

This is the end of the bathroom. Yes, the toilet is to the left. This is the curtain that Bebo got me for a house warming.

Here's a close up? I was trying to get the curtain rings. Maybe if you click it will be larger. Anyway, they match the curtain.

Okay Susan, here's my patio.

This is in my kitchen. It belonged to my maternal grandmother, so it's special to me.

This is also in the kitchen, above the archway to the laundry area. This is the plaque that I talked about earlier, the one that we found in my mother's closet tucked in the back of the shelves. It was my mother's last gift to me.

For Susan

The Living Room





The picture above the fireplace is a family tree that my cousin drew in charcoal, with the frame made by my uncle. Actually, the cousin and uncle are on my dad's side, but the tree is my mother's side. That's Irish stuff on the mantle. I don't have ceiling fans, so I have to have standing fans, kinda spoils the decor. LOL



This is a close-up of the little table in the corner. It's my little bit of nostalgia.



My entertainment center. I have one more picture to frame and get hung, then it's finished.

My big ol' chair (with Aidan in it) and my new couch. The door at the end goes out to the patio.

That's it so far. I'll get the kitchen and the bedroom for Wednesday. Does this satisfy you for a bit? Oh, if you click on the picture, you get a close-up view.

Friday is just another day, or Thank God it's NOT Friday!

What? No pictures? Well, you see, it's kinda like this. The apartment didn't get ready this weekend. I know, I know. You see, the best made plans and so forth. I have three large boxes to unpack and a desk to de-clutter. I could have done that on Friday, the day I'd planned to have it done, but my Friday didn't go exactly as planned. The day started well enough, no harbinger rang out to warn me of the trouble ahead. And it was trouble. With a capitol "T". BAck in October of '06 was the last time that the hide-a-bed was used, by Glenice as a matter of fact. Even though she was the last to sleep on it, I knew she'd want fresh sheets. I opened the couch to take the old ones off and was met with a horrendous smell. Reek was more like it. And the covers were stuck to the metal frame. What the hell? I pried the blanket loose and the smell got worse. It was everywhere. I managed to get the sheets and blanket loose and off, then proceeded to pull the mattress out to the patio, where I sprayed it with some freshening stuff. I threw the blankets and sheets into the washing machine and prayed that they'd get clean. Then I turned my attention to the couch. I couldn't help it. You could smell it all through the apartment. What had happened? It looked like it had somehow gotten wet. I figure that BooBear, in his perpetual quest for a clean litter box, had somehow peed down the back of the cushions. Yet this smell was not evident UNTIL I opened the hide-a-bed. I sprayed down the mattress support and the couch. Then I went to work on the bar with a brillo pad to see if I could get the rust (or what I thought was rust) off of there. By this time the washing machine had gone into the final spin cycle and the thing became over balanced. I tried to fix it, but the blanket and stuff wouldn't cooperate. So I did what I used to do at home, just leaned on it until the cycle was through. Took the stuff out and threw it in the dryer, then loaded the washing machine with towels and bath rugs. Went back to work on the bed, taking the cushions outside and spraying them, spraying the mattress again for good measure. Came back into the house, did a few things and then went to put some trash away in the kitchen. The kitchen floor was flooded. Yeah, you heard me. Flooded. Water pouring out from beneath the washing machine. It took 4 1/2 big rolls of paper towels to wipe it up. Luckily the load was done. Are you with me so far? Yeah, thought so. It was at this time that I thought that a daquiri was in order. The outcome? The couch had to be thrown out - loaded with fungus and mold. Replacement luckily found by accident at a garage sale for $40. With a $70 slipcover, it was taken care of. The washer? Glenice pulled it out a bit, climbed up and looked behind and re-connected the hose that had come loose when the washer had gone into it's shimmying (sp?) overload dance. That was my Friday. May it never come again.

I'm toast

Bebo and I attended Scarborough Faire, a Renaissance Festival just south of Dallas. This is its 28th year and the first year I had attended. Bebo had gone in years past, but not for about the last 16. We'd been promising to go for around 14 and decided that this year we'd go. Was it fun? I spent the day with Bebo, bought some great stuff. But fun? Not better than the North Texas Irish Festival. I hurt. We were only on our feet for about 5 1/2 hours and they ache. I'm used to being on my feet for 7 1/2 hours and they have never hurt this much. They have these stone walkways - not gravel really, more like little garden stones, chunks here and there. Stepping on them not only made walking a little hazardous (you've stepped on a little rock and had your foot turn, haven't you?), but each step would thrust one of those little stones through my tennis shoe bottom. I probably have little bruises all over the bottom of my feet. And it was really kinda ... boring? While the NTIF has music everywhere, bands on stage almost every half hour in different venues throughout the area, Scarborough had some traveling musicians, or a single player singing outside of a shop. It was almost silent, except for the occasional shouts from the "barkers" and maybe a sword fight here and there. I did get my hair braided - it looks pretty. Too bad it won't last. Oh well, at least I can finally say that I've been to the faire, but I doubt I'll be going back.

The Truck

Main Entry: truck
Function: noun
Etymology: probably back-formation from truckle small wheel
Date: 1611
3: a wheeled vehicle for moving heavy articles: as a: a strong horse-drawn or automotive vehicle (as a pickup) for hauling

That’s Webster’s definition of a truck. My definition is quite different. I hate them. No, let me be more specific. There is one certain pickup truck that I hate. Totally. I can see the headline now:

Aspiring Author Arrested for Truckocide.
Suspect allegedly smashed truck to smithereens with a tire iron, all the while yelling “die you effing truck, die!”

It’s not really the trucks fault. I’m sure it’s a fine upstanding truck. In fact, it may have little trucks to support. I don’t care. I hate it. Sitting out there so innocent looking. No one would believe how evil it is. And it is evil, don’t doubt about that one bit. It’s either parked on one side or the other of my bedroom window, sometimes right smack dab in front of it. And it hates me as much as I hate it. I’m positive about that one. Otherwise, why would its alarm go off at all hours of the night and early morning? Why else would it do it especially the night before I have to get up for work? And believe you me, it’s not just night when it lets itself be heard. It went off several times today, breaking the silence with its shrill siren and incessant horn hocking. Did I mention incessant? Aggravating? I’m going to end up flipping out one night and charging out my patio door, tire iron waving in the humid Texas night as I climb hysterically over the patio fence. Then it’ll be just the truck and I. And the tire arm. I’m betting on me.



BTW, I've been busy putting together a MySpace fan page for Jill. Head on over to see it. Let me know what you think. It's 99% done and I'm waiting for Jill to crawl out from the deadline cave (Monday I hope) to finish the little bit that's left. You don't have to be a member of MySpace to look at the page.

New Home

Oh no!!! I wrote this last night, but was having problems with the internet and kept closing down the computer and rebooting. In the meantime, word, of course, went bye bye and I forgot all about it! Sorry I'm late.

Well we’re here and we sorta have internet. This is the same problem that I was having before I moved. It’s the laptop, refusing to hook up to the router. It also keeps telling me that a network cable is unplugged? Huh? There’s no cable hooked up to it, nor has there ever been. Oh well. Also, at about 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. it refuses to hook up at all. When my money comes in from the house sale I’m going to have to have it looked at.

The move was traumatic for the cats. First, BooBear was closed up in the bathroom. Bubba and Aidan were put in the Master bedroom and then when the guest room was cleared out, they were moved there. Bubba does not like to be closed up in a room without a human, but we had to do it to keep them from running out the propped open front door. We made a couple of runs from the house to the apartment. We were so tired that we decided to get the cats, go home and then come back the next day to finish up. My niece and her husband were coming to pick up and store the things for my brother so we had to be there anyway. I took a last look around in the closets and noticed something way back on the shelf in the Master. It was a small box. I took it down, opened it up and cried. You see, my mother had this habit of buying gifts, hiding them and then forgetting about them. She’d obviously bought this before the Alzheimer’s set in. I knew it was for me – it was a Purrfect Friends cat tile. It’s beautiful. I didn’t have long to linger over it as the crowd arrived to pick up Dave’s stuff. Then they were gone. Bebo and I put the last few things in our cars and I sent Bebo ahead so I could take a last look around the house alone. It echoed around me and in those echoes I could hear laughter and tears; in the rooms ghosts reached out to me. I stopped at the wall that separated the den from the kitchen. Resting my hand on the paneling, I stood for a moment. You see, when we moved in there, the paneling wasn’t on this particular section of wall. This was where my parent’s measured my growth with penciled lines on the wall. They were still there, underneath the paneling dad installed in the mid-80s. Stepping outside, I looked at the sidewalk my dad put in around that time, the sidewalk where he wrote our names: David (my brother’s step-son), James, Eric, Jenni Lynn and me. I said goodbye to the feral cats – especially Little One, the most friendly. Locking the house, I went next door to say goodbye to Gwen (having said goodbye to Debbie the day before). And then I got in my car, backed out of the drive and stopped at the sound of a shout. The man across the street stepped out from his garage and waved “goodbye”. The people on the corner did the same thing. Ernie on the corner called me over and I stopped. He said goodbye, gave me a hug and sent me on my way. I cried most of the way to the apartment. BooBear was still hiding – on Saturday he had found the bed and crawled under it, not coming out until dark and then back under Sunday morning. He was still under the bed, but Aidan was no longer hissing at Bubba. Bubba took the move just fine, exploring and jumping in boxes. Now a week later, they are all doing fine and adjusting to the constraints of the loss of running room.

I’ll tell you more about the move and the new apartment next time.

Last, Part Three

Friday night will be my last night in this house. I'm feeling a bit melancholy tonight. Mostly, I think, because of what this house symbolized. You see, once there was a family of six, now there are three. Once there were family gatherings with in-laws and grandchildren and gr-grandchildren and aunts and uncles and cousins. Now there is only Bebo and I. Once there was a little girl with dreams. Now most of those dreams have slipped by.

Now there will be new dreams, new memories. But I'll always remember that once there was a family. Once.

McCartney and Lennon said it best:

There are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

Lasts, Part Two

First off, let me say that I am very excited about the future. I am by no means ignoring the things ahead of me. I’m just taking this time to say goodbye to something that has been a haven for me for the last 39 years. This is my closure.

So here are the lasts that I am happy about:

This is the last time I’ll have to struggle with the gate to the alley.

The last time I’ll have to struggle with the sliding glass door that is off its track and difficult because of the shifting foundation.

The last time I’ll have to worry about how I’m going to get the lawn mowed.

The last time I’ll have to deal with those ugly squiggly plant things that fall off of the tree every spring.

Speaking of the tree, it’s the last time I’ll have to deal with the web worms.

The last time I’ll have to put up with things not working.

The last time that I’ll have to watch a bad cable connection and not be able to do anything about it because it’s the lines my father split off from the main line.

I won’t have to clean a three bedroom, two living area, two bath home ever again.

No more messing with a broken garage door.

I have a fireplace, so I won’t have to freeze my butt off next winter because I can’t afford to run the furnace.

I won’t have to put up with those barking dogs next door. Don’t get me wrong, dogs are okay – it’s just these dogs I don’t like.

I won’t ever have to look at the mess that my neighbor has made of her home and yard. She’s a nice lady, but a bit on the trashy side.

No more cleaning the alley.

I can put the trash out whenever I want to.

Heath Ledger

Stunned. That's the only way I can describe my reaction to the news of Heath Ledger's death at the age of 28. What a loss of a remarkable talent. It was in 1997 that Bebo and I first saw Heath in a short-lived TV series called Roar. For those of you unfamiliar with this show (and you really should have watched it) here is a montage from the series.



They say he was found surrounded by sleeping pills. I hope it was an accident, that he didn't mean to overdose. He had just finished filming his role of the Joker in the new Batman movie. I feel sorry for his little girl.


In other news, I have an apartment. A cute little 1 bedroom with a fireplace! I've always wanted a fireplace. I move the weekend of March 15th.

Monday, 'nuff said

Glitter Graphics & Comments


I made a mistake tonight. I went back and read all of the entries on my old Alzheimer's blog. I thought I could do it, you know it's been a year. I thought I could step back and read it dispassionately. That's what I get for thinking. I bawled like a baby. Why did I do it, you might ask. I received an email from someone who had come across the blog and who was looking for some answers. She is now the caregiver for her mother. I said what I could, then went back and read the blog. Just shoot me now.

I spent most of the day culling my books. I have two built-in bookshelves which I obviously can't take with me, so I needed to get rid of some books. Four boxes and two bags later, I'm done. No, the Shalvis Shrine was not touched. There is only one thing that would make me touch that - if Mrs. Hugh Jackman were to come over and say "I'll give you my husband for your Jill Shalvis books" I might have to think about it - long and hard. I love you Jill ... Oh, and there were also all those books I brought back from RWA intending to give them away on the blog. Then I realized I didn't have the money for postage ...

Did you know Bubba farts when I pick him up? Why did I tell you that - because everyone should be warned.

No YouTube today - thought I'd spare you.

Have a great Monday everyone.

Go Speed Racer

This is for Tori. Racer X from the old Speed Racer series.



I *heart* YouTube.

I've started doing a little packing, mostly weeding out of books since I can't take them all with me. Don't worry, the Shalvis Shrine will be untouched. Anyway, the books I'm packing up now will go to Half-Price books because they'll give me some cash for them, and I need that.

American Idol starts tonight (since everybody knows I'm writin this on Tuesday night) and I can't wait. I love the audition parts. But I have a problem for Wednesday night - it's up opposite Ghost Hunters International, so I'll have to tape GHI. I hate that, espcially since there's nothing I watch on Saturday nights.

Received my order from Amazon and I can't wait to get to it, but I still have a stack on the table next to my big ol' chair that I need to work on first.

That's it for me. I hope everyone has a great Wednesday. And yes, Spam will be back on Friday.

Just a Friday

I'll be back next week, honest. If you're wondering what's going on (like you haven't been by this week) then go here. Otherwise, enjoy Hugh as host at the Tony Awards. Have a great weekend.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, read the blog below. A few answers about "The situation" - mom's will left the house to us equally. My brother(the executor) says the estate can no longer pay the insurance or house taxes, neither can I. My brother gave me $100 a month while taking care of mom - there was nothing else he could do from Missouri. The estate gave me $7,000 when mom died. I am mad, but at the same time a little resigned. I may have found a home for Neely Shae. Another answer - I can't afford four cats, nor would I take four of them to a one bedroom apartment. There's a small part of me that's kind of relieved. No more watching the house fall down around me, no more worrying about who's going to mow the lawn, etc.

Anyway, while I've been contemplating everything, I've discovered YouTube. So here's something else to look at.

My World has fallen apart

I don’t know what to say. Some of you have been aware of my situation with the house, others won’t know what I’m talking about, but I’m too devastated to go into it. My brother informed me tonight that I have until the end of February or March to vacate the premises. I don’t have a full-time job, so no means of support. I have to get rid of one of the cats. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t feel like blogging right now, so will be gone for a few days. I hope you understand.

Post about nothing

A couple of hours ago I realized that I needed to write a blog for tomorrow. It’s now 8:30 p.m. and I still don’t know what to say. So call this the post about nothing. I had a good day today. The only blemish was a visit from a beloved cousin who had only stopped by to drop off my birthday present and ended up spending the entire day and eating dinner with Bebo and me. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my cousin Janet very much, I often call her “mom” (she’s much older than I and has children my age), but she can be rather insensitive at times. On the day that I miss my mother the most, she chose to tell me all about our aunt who she thinks has Alzheimer’s and could I give her some tips on how to handle her, what to do with her, who can take care of her (which I very promptly said “not me, I’ve gone through that once already”). I didn’t need to be reminded of my mother so much, especially today. She also gave me a 3-piece microwavable spa set. Huh? What am I going to do with that? Talk about white elephants … although for my birthday she gave me this gorgeous sofa pillow with St. Nicholas on it. It will go well with my collection and is the perfect color. It’s also a present for the cats as it has tassels on it.

My sister gave me the complete first (and only) season of the Dresden Files! Yay!!!!! Bebo gave me Borders gift cards for both my birthday and Christmas presents. More yays. Let’s see – Brandy sent me this cute little box of candy. Thanks sweetie. My brother didn’t send me anything, not even a card. I suppose he considers calling me up and singing the Merry Birthday song was enough. Not. I sent him an ecard for his birthday AND called him. Men.

Oh, and I started the day by going out to the nursing home to see my sister. See, I’m being a good girl. (For those of you who are fairly new to the blog, I don’t get along with my sister – she thinks we do …)

See, look, you made it this far without barfing, so I guess its not that bad. So now I’m sitting here watching The Christmas Shoes for like the third time this season (it wasn’t what the TV guide said would be on), I’m too lazy to put this laptop down and find the remote.

Oh, and now my cousin wants to be included when Bebo and I go out! She wants to make it a threesome. Every once in a while yes, but not on a regular basis – please, not on a regular basis.

So here it is, my blog about nothing. At least there’s spam for Friday, right?

What did you get for Christmas?

btw - I bought Bebo "The Gift of the Magi" for Christmas. Thanks Devon!

Blue Christmas

I was having a so-so day, not good nor bad. Then I made the mistake of answering the phone when one of the credit card companies called. I've been ignoring their phone calls, but for some masochistic reason I answered this one. Big mistake. Now I'm in major depression mode. This guy was real aggressive, but in that patronizing way. "Couldn't you get a second job?" Um, if I could have I would have. "Do you have something you can sell to make a payment?" Well, there are the cats. I sit in the dark, the room lit only by the TV and Christmas tree. I sit in 40 degree weather without the furnace on. If I sell something it would be to pay the electric bill, not a credit card. "You have to get your priorities in order." You think? My Sears card is not my priority. Maybe I should just give up eating.

I'm late with my Christmas cards. They're ecards because I couldn't afford to buy cards. My ecard account is set up in my real name, so if you receive something from Bluemountain.com, it'll be from me. It isn't spam.

Sorry this isn't the greatest post in the world, but it's all I have to give at the moment. Y'all have a great Wednesday.

Cats 4, Tree 0