Yep, I'm still here. Made it through another month. April is gone. On to May - one of my more favorite months. Favorite because it is not the end of a quarter so I don't have to do a lot of extra bookkeeping. Favorite because the weather gets better. Favorite because I usually take a vacation, actually a long weekend, usually a spur of the moment, last minute, throw my bags in the car kind of adventure each May. No plans yet, that's the way it's supposed to be. Favorite because the flowers are blooming (trying not to think about the allergies that always hit around mothers day). Favorite because next month is June and the it will be summer and the rain will go away.

Things are going good. Better.

My youngest son sold his condo. Now he can actually buy my house, not just pay rent.

Baby J has been home with his mom and dad for 2 nights now. I am finally catching up on my sleep. Husband is away for the next 2 nights. Now I can really catch up on my sleep because there will be no snoring, no 4am bottles. Just me and the cats. Speaking of which, Miss Minnie seems to think she should be a permanent fixture on my lap now that Baby J is gone. Rusty follows me around, rolling on the floor in front of my feet whenever I sit, begging for attention.

I read blogs for over an hour tonight while watching Dr Phil who happens to have a cold. Wasn't going to do that because I wanted to work on my socks. But, I got all involved in finding blogs written by real writers. I wannabe one of those...someday. What I wonder now is how do those real writers find time to blog and write books and teach writing?

So what else is new? Lightweight jacket day today, tomorrow the umbrella surfaces again. I ate a giant piece of strawberry pie today reminding me of a trip across the states my family made when I was 16 - my goal during the entire trip was to find the best strawberry pie - trouble is I didn't find any fresh strawberry pie until we got all the way to California from Michigan. Fortunate for me I now live in California so can have all the strawberry pie I want during this season. To be honest, I also polished off one of those Cadbury easter eggs today. These size 8 pants are getting tighter - why oh why did my sister give me that dozen Cadbury eggs for Easter??? I'll be going back to Weight Watchers soon... only 8 eggs left... one a day... have to weigh in on a Saturday... but not this Saturday - this Saturday I go to a tea and fill up on crumpets, scones, tea sandwiches, tarts, etc etc.

Rambling on... time for aromatherapy bubble bath and bed.

This or That

"

April 29: The *Take Comfort* Edition
Take Comfort...

Which is more comforting for you...

1. Lying down on the couch, or stretching out on a recliner? recliner (Relax the Back Chair)
2. Going barefoot or wearing soft slippers? Socks I knitted
3. Eating ice cream, or pizza? Ice Cream
4. Watching on TV...a classic movie or a reality show? Classics
5. Wearing: blue jeans or sweat pants? Blue Jeans
6. A long, soothing bubble bath or a quick, invigorating shower? Bubble bath
7. Furniture: leather, or something more on the fuzzy side? Fuzzy but my back chair is leather
8. Soft, classical music, or upbeat rock & roll? Enya
9. Darkness or light? Darkness or candle light
10. Thought-provoking question of the week: You get married, or otherwise begin cohabitating with a significant other. S/he moves into your place, but brings with them the UGLIEST chair you have ever seen! You really don't want this thing in your home, but SO says it is the most comfy chair s/he has ever sat in, and no way will they part with it. Do you: grin and bear it, or scheme to get rid of the montrosity somehow? Grin and bear it until I can no longer tolerate it then scheme.

I beg to differ please

Sleeping Beauty - Okay, so maybe you're not exactly
master of your own fate, but that's alright.
You know a good thing when you see it. But for
heaven's sake, stay away from sharp pointy
objects unless you know what they do! (From
Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, by Charles
Perrault)


Fairy Tale Lady
brought to you by Quizilla

Where did April go?

Another month almost gone and I wonder where it went. The older I get, the fast time goes by. Scary. So what did I do this month:
Got my car serviced
Got my hair cut
Did my taxes
Got my hair highlighted
Got another year older
Toured Sharffen Berger and ate chocolate
Finished socks
Bought more yarn
Went with husband to shrink every Monday morning
Visited doctor for medication adjustment
Tried to fight for MRI - denied again
Went to funeral
Worked 16 long days
Cooked, ate, did dishes
Laundry
Got up almost every night to feed baby
Babysat, babysat, babysat, babysat.....19 days and nights

What I missed doing:
Easter Sunday church
Red Hat Day at the races
Some of my regular meetings
Ironing my clothes - I wear them wrinked these days for obvious reasons

No wonder I am tired - and there are 3 days left to:
Finish quarterly books for 2 clients
Do 3 sales tax returns
Work at my regular job
Take a long leisurely bath and get some sleep before the baby comes back, or.....

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Slob:: Slobber
   
2. 60:: Minutes
   
3. Personals:: Ads
   
4. Famous:: actor
   
5. Cancer:: screening
   
6. Internet:: power
   
7. Previously:: before
   
8. Moonshine:: booze
   
9. Ants:: fire
   
10. Check::mate
    

Good Bye Uncle Roy

It was an unseasonably warm day in Half Moon Bay today for the memorial for Uncle Roy. We arrived at 9am ready to board one of the 10 or so fishing boats participating in the flotilla honoring Uncle Roy. Roy's small fishing boat made it's final voyage leading us out past the first buoy for the ceremony. We were greeted by seals as we made our way over the "jaws" out to a calm area. Two blasts of the horn followed the ceremonial scattering of remains and flowers.

Uncle Roy had quite a send off. Yesterday his remains accompanied some of his best buddies from coffee in the morning through the night out with the locals. He was a colorful character with quite an evident following. The final celebration of his life took place at the VFW with fishing stories in abundance. To top it all off there was a potluck feast of salads, desserts, cracked crab, fried fish, clam chowder and chioppino (however you spell it).

We'll miss you Uncle Roy. We'll miss your stories, your dances, your hearty laugh.

Unconscious Mutterings and Stuff

1. Milk:: Duds
   
2. Itch:: mosquitos
   
3. Raisin:: Bran
   
4. Contempt:: Court
   
5. High:: Low
   
6. Take:: a break
   
7. Hamburger:: fries
   
8. Frilly:: Hats
   
9. Tigger:: tiger
   
10. Creek::Side
    

Getting used to these long weekends and working only four days. But gee now my Tuesdays are really Mondays and my body gets all confused. Forgot to set the alarm last night so had to rush to get to work on time.

Baby J went home this morning with his mommy. He had four shots this morning. He'll be back, sooner rather than later. This is not a good thing. I love him but it's not easy being in the middle of the mire of a dysfunctional family.

So, the sun came out for a bit today. The storm is brewing again. Seems like my family turns with the weather these days.

Getting Better

Okay, allright, already. I'm out of bed. I've been slave to Baby J for a week... and his mother. Now it's "Me" time.

So it's not all bad. I did get some flowers.


I finally finished knitting my socks and am wearing them today. They are so cool. Well, really they are warm but they look cool. It was fun to see the pattern develope as I worked through the socks. Its Regia Sock Yarn knitted on size 3 dpns. I bought a couple more skeins last week so I can start another pair.


Grandpa will be home in a few minutes with Baby J so I'll be signing off now and getting back to my Grandma duties. Gosh, this sure isn't easy but at least there's lots of new gadgets out there that make things easier than when my kids were babies 28 years ago. And at least Baby J sleeps 8 hours at night already. Rusty and Minnie are tolerating Baby J since they kind of like sharing his toys.

Life is Hard

I think life is really hard sometimes. It's not easy to
wake up every day and go through what you go through.
But the beautiful moments that you share with people that
you love, or even experience alone, are worth all of the
pain and sorrow. Those moments should be cherished,
and I think that's what music is all about - to remind
people of the beautiful moments that are in everybody's
life."

- Charlie Haden, Grammy Winning Jazz Artist


To focus on the good moments in the midst of crisis seems almost an impossible task to me. I have some CDs that I play when the uncomfortable events occur. It's my thinking music. For the past couple of weeks those particular CDs have resided in my car CD player as well as in my home stereo. In the car it slows me down, makes me think, gets me from here to there. At home, I light a candle or two, sometimes jump into a warm soothing bath, sometimes just crawl under the covers. That's how I cope. Sometimes it's only the faith that the good things will come again that keeps me going. Eventually they do happen.

For now I feel the feelings. To some it seems I am withdrawing from life, escaping under those covers. So call me a turtle - I seek safety within my shell. When the sun comes out, I'll emerge again, ready to bask in the warmth.

Mz

Mz is not feeling well and is taking a break from Witt Bits. Hopefully just for today (and yesterday)