Across the ridge

Western sunset looking out across Bacon Ridge

I spent Saturday visiting my sister who lives out on Bacon Ridge. I was kind of wondering, how does the ridge get the name of bacon? I am thinking that there was a pig farmer who owned most of the ridge and pigs = bacon? The next ridge over is Timothy. Is this named after timothy weeds? Who knows.

I want to thank all the bloggers who gave me support over my grief of how my home office handled the hospitilization of a co-worker. I just want so much to believe that I am going to go into work tomorrow and they are going to contact us and say "Hey, we are sending W** a basket, or a card with money," or something along those lines.

I want to believe that there is good in all people. That the week-end brought them to their senses. Hey, it could happen.

One long week down out of the long month of January.

Lemon-lime twist

Using Photo Shop I twisted my fruits

I had one hellacious day at work. Many things went askew and I anticipated as much. The wiring closet that I worked in felt like the heat coming from a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven. Nothing worked. Nothing was ready. I was on the front line. I had to give the school the bad news. I said "Don't shoot the messenger."

I called my home office to see if they were taking a collection for my co-worker who had the heart attack and was in a Columbus hospital. My manager said "We have a meeting on the 19th, we can collect and do something then." WTF?!

I was angry. I called the hospital and they not only gave me his room number, but his phone number to the room, too. So much for HIPAA. I called the room and his wife answered. She said that he was on dialysis and could I call back this evening. I said "Of course." I hung up in shock. Dialysis? My office co-worker and I gave each other a worried look.

My office co-worker was angry with our home office personnel also. She said "It isn't like it is his father, it is him lying in the hospital!" I said, "I know. It's as if they don't recognize us as real co-workers since we don't work in the home office." After being there 11 years, it finally starts to sink in. It isn't going to change. It isn't going to get better. We will always be on the outside.

That evening I called back to Columbus. His wife gave me the details. No, his kidneys did not fail. They thought they did at first, but the dialysis was to filter the blood to make sure his kidneys were working properly. He has had Type I diabetes for years. He is just today becoming coherent since he was admitted to the hospital. He had a lot of sugar problems during the holiday and back pain. This is where his heart attack settled, in his back. Not his chest. He had been having a heart attack for about four to six days. He has a stent in place.

Over the past month, he had just moved his office from one location to another. He had to carry things down three flights of steps because the elevator was not working in the original building. He really overdid it.

The horrible part? I called another co-worker who worked in the office with him. This guy had been on vacation and I wasn't sure if he had heard the news or not. He also has had a heart attack. He said he was aware of what happened. Then the kicker. He said that one guy from the home office had come out to work with them and laughingly said "At the office we have bets on which one of you is going to end up in the hospital first!" I was horrified. What an ignorant thing to say. I wonder if he feels any remorse for what he said and now knowing what has happened.

I have to take a step back and not let that home office get under my skin again. When I was the only satellite office they would neglect to tell me when there was a Christmas party. They would take turns taking days off during the slow season (years ago) and never tell me. The first year I worked there, I was not included in the bonus handouts. (I did not find out about this until the following year). When I was by myself, I used to think that it was me. That I was too sensitive, that I was imagining things. When others came on board at satellite offices, I heard the same remarks from them. The frustration of being neglected and left out. The strange feeling of being left out of the loop. For about five years, I had one secretary clue me in on all the little extras that happened in the home office that my manager would neglect to tell me. I was astounded.

But, this has gone too far. When a co-worker is lying in a hospital bed, on a respirator, having dialysis and they "may" do something like send a card in two weeks? I am beginning a slow boil. I am going to let somebody have it. My office co-worker and I got a card and sent some money to the family. His wife is sleeping on the sofa in his hospital room and we felt that would be the best thing to do. Flowers are nice, but money can get you a tank of gas, a meal or some much needed rest.

I just can't believe my manager and home office. What is wrong with these people?

Don't look now, but...

Big bite!

Does it look like Sable is about ready to take a big bite out of my grand niece? She was (almost) feeding Sable some snowman poop earlier. She would hold the miniature marshmallow (well, what did you think snowman poop was?) out to the dog, the dog would try to eat it by licking it a couple of times, and then my grand niece would change her mind and pop it into her mouth. Disgusting? I thought so, too. But, my sister (the grandmother) was there and thought it was funny.

Her cheeks look a bit wind chapped. She didn't seem to mind, though. She positively loved our bird, Peru. They jabbered back and forth for a while. The cats all ran. They wanted no part of her or her snowman poop.

At Christmastime for a joke we would pick an unsuspecting child (about 8 or 9) and put miniature marshmallows in a zip-lock baggy with this little poem:

Heard you've been naughty
So here's the scoop,
All you get is...
Snowman Poop!

It was kind of cute to see them roll their eyes at such silliness. Another favorite was wrapping something small (like a ring, wink, wink) in a big box. The girl is thinking she is getting something (bigger than a breadbox) and inside is a ring. Always, a Hallmark moment. (sniff). I received one of my engagement rings in the middle of a heart-shaped box of candy on Valentine's day. There are always little ways to surprise someone. That is where America's Funniest Home Videos come in.

Ugh. My eyes are hurting. They are really working me this past month. And, it looks as if there is no end in sight. One of my dear co-workers in an office south of me had a serious heart attack the day after Christmas. I knew he had not been feeling well. He is diabetic and had a few sugar episodes. I implored him to see his doctor, I can't recall if he did or not. He was supposed to be taken off the respirator today to see if he could breathe on his own. We only found out today. With the holidays behind us, we didn't know why he did not report to work. Calls to his house went unanswered. They transported him to the medical clinic in Columbus. Nobody called to let us know. It was just terrifying to hear about this today. I am hoping for the best.

Well, back to reading about java. Fun stuff. I did learn the meaning of a new word, so all is not lost. "draconian". Yep. That sums it up pretty good! This assignment is draconian.

OH! I fixed my garbage disposal today. I read the manual. I had no idea that there was a little tiny red "reset" button on the bottom of the unit. I never look underneath the sink that often. I pushed the button, turned the disposal on and away it went. All is back to normal. That is about as mechanical as I get. LOL!

Bee massager

Bumble bee massage

My daughter got this cute little gizmo for Christmas. It is a vibrating massager. The "massage" part leaves a lot to be desired, but it gets top points for cuteness. I tried to get a nose view on my scanner, but the on/off button is on the nose and my scanner glass did not care for the vibration motion at all. LOL!

Well, it was back to work today. The office was freezing so I turned a little electric heater on and shut the door. Big mistake. I had it so toasty and warm in there I about fell asleep. Good thing I had a job to go to after lunch so I could get outside and move around. The job was in a bus garage and I went back to freezing.

From the holidays I had an entire tray of huge shrimp cocktail, a huge crockpot full of meatballs, a big bowl of vegetable soup and an entire 12" apple pie. My daughter told me that her boyfriend's Mom went to the hospital yesterday. Boys being boys he had no idea what was wrong with her. I called her this evening and told her I was going to bring all that food over. She had diverticulitis. Although I felt bad that she probably wouldn't be able to eat it, this way her family can have it. I snuck in a huge can of chocolate pirouette sticks. Whew. Now, that food is out of my house. I only have a huge pot of kraut and pork to dispose of. Can you freeze kraut? I guess you can. Hmmm. Checked Google. Of course you can freeze sauerkraut.

I have some other odds and ends that need to be disposed of and my garbage disposal won't do a thing when I flip the switch. Total silence. Hmmm. I really need to run it and the dishwasher uses it too. I'll check the breaker first. I still catch myself saying "blew a fuse" and have to correct myself to "trip the breaker." Old dogs, new terminology. I hate mechanical gadgets like cars, tools, furnaces, water heaters, washing machines, dryers and other big appliances. I am scared of electricity. I give it plenty of respect.

I had an odd dream last night. I dreamt that my oldest sister and I were going to cross a swinging bridge. She went ahead of me and when I stepped onto it I could feel the bridge begin to sway. It unnerved me. Have you ever been on a swinging bridge? I have. Not up very high, though. This was up really high. She was halfway across and I felt the bridge start to sway a lot. I dropped down and began scooting on my rump. The bridge was really teetering. She lost her footing and was hanging on over the side of the bridge. I can remember trying to scoot quickly to her so that she could grab my leg. Of course the dream ended and I have no idea if I saved her or if she got back up or fell.

Odd thing was today I caught parts of Cliffhanger and that show had a swinging bridge in it and people fell over the side. Weird.

Introducing...

The new 2007 model of the stretch kitty!

Moose says that today is the day to take it nice and easy. Stretch out, relax. Don't move too quickly, don't over do it.

Sounds good to me.

Moose still has massive amounts of matted fur. They are so very close to her skin, I don't try very hard to trim them off. She is still much too skiddish to let us hold her. We let her in last February. She sneaks in and sleeps on my bed from time to time and she seems to want to play. When I do play she will try a little and then she seems to remember that she is frightened and runs away.

I have a slight headache because my daughter's favorite gift is PS2's Guitar Hero. She and a couple of friends have been playing it all afternoon. It is a challenge game of how well you can play the game's guitar and follow the on-line colors to play the songs. She also received another mat for Dance, Dance revolution. Video games are beginning to expand into the physical aspect of their viewing audience. No more sitting in front of a screen moving the opposable thumbs with their tongues hanging out. With the new Wii and newer Play Station games, they are getting physical again! I support that.

I used to ride my bike (A LOT) when I was younger. Maybe not so much at 15, I was working every week-end back then. I can't recall what I did in the evenings after school. 31 years ago. Memory hazy. Oh, I was in basketball my sophomore year. And band. My daughter does not want anything to do with school's extracurricular activities. (grimace).

However, she is very sociable. She likes to spend time with her friends. And then some.

I may look into getting a new camera this summer. Mine has served me well for four years. The white letters on the top of the selection knob have worn off so that I have to use the display window to let me know what mode I have it in. I will research which one I plan to get. My nephew and niece both purchased Canon's. Not the same model as mine, a bit nicer. I may go with Nikon or Olympus just to taste the competition.

Cocktails

My New Year's Eve

Yep. That pretty much sums it up. Lemon, lime, maraschino cherries and shrimp cocktail. The garnishes and appetizers. Kraut and pork after midnight. A wee bit. This would be something you do not want to come back up in any shape or form.

The house is empty except for my daughter and I. Back to quiet and peaceful. Well, my pets of course. My tiny grand niece really enjoyed my bird. She kept wanting to stick her finger into the cage, though. My bird also enjoyed her. They chatted back and forth a good bit.

Four rats are gone from my basement. My sister brought her rat down while she stayed for the holidays and when she went back home today, not only did she take hers, but her daughter's three rats as well. That is fine by me.

My daughter's mouse is STILL hanging in there. He does not look well, but he is eating and drinking water. He just loves it when I drop rice chex into his house. That is my bird's favorite treat, and I share it with him. They love it.

The New Year started off well in my household. Good vibrations, good morale. The weather did turn a wee bit chillier today. Spitting snow. We did a bit of shopping. Necessities. Dog food, cat food, bird food, kitty litter. New smoke alarm. My hallway alarm never did work after the fume fiasco in July. Heh, heh. Ahem. We won't go there.

I purchased a new one today. One for the kitchen. The one currently near the kitchen I will move to the hallway. This new kitchen one has a silencer button. This is for when Peruby decides to put a pan on the stove burner with a butter wrapper stuck to the bottom and fills the kitchen up with smoke again. I can silence this alarm when I do this. And, trust me. I am sure I will do this again. I spill stuff on my oven burner all the time. I am not real neat in the kitchen area.

My niece's laptop died. Unmountable drive, and the blue screen of death. Not good. Her brother will take a look at it. I can open up a PC and move things around, but I leave laptops alone. I am a bit rusty in this area anyways.

So, the long month of January stretches out before us. Cold, dark, dreary. Ugh. Not my favorite month. In fact, I think it may be my least favorite. I'll have to focus on cheery stuff to keep me occupied. Maybe floral crafts. Maybe scanner photos like the one above. I am not sure if my scanner is ruined. The shrimp was pretty cold and left a cold spot on the scanner for quite a while. LOL! Or, maybe the lemon and lime cleaned the glass for me. There was a lot of lint and scratches to "blacken" out, I know that.

When to take down the decorations? When the mood strikes me, I guess. Maybe tomorrow.

Fiber optics

And may your New Year's be bright!

Christmas Past

1966

Christmas for the young is a magical time. You have no idea where the presents come from. Whether the North Pole or from Treasure Island, you just relish in the moment of opening them and the glory of getting stuff.

Where does it turn ugly? For some, it never does. For others, depression sets in and suicide incidents skyrocket. The Christmas years that I felt depressed I can probably count on one hand and have fingers left over. Nothing major. I just feel for those that cannot pull themselves out of the overall monstrosity of the holiday. The never ending expectations.

Christmas is a time for giving. Have they nothing to give? Do they think that everyone wants a material gift from them? I am trying to recall the holiday that I was depressed the most. I am thinking it was a time in my life where my life was in a stalled situation. I wasn't sure of where I was going and I was trying to leave the past behind.

When you feel like a nothing inside, I guess you feel like you have nothing to give others. I was at a point where I had no partner in life, my working life was in limbo and friends were scarce. You are too old to receive gifts from family and you have no money with which to purchase gifts or even contribute to the holiday meal. You feel empty inside. You look around and you see all these happy faces and you wonder why you don't feel the same way. It also could be that I was still immature and selfish inside.

When I had a child of my own and I became responsible for the joy on another's face, the event held so much more for me. To be able to create an atmosphere in my own home that would hold joy for others became so much more important to me. During the year, I put my nose to the grindstone and whether I liked my work or not, it paid the bills and gave me something to look forward to in the way of family vacations and holiday cheer. I grew up.

I don't think that anyone in this world can escape a blue Christmas from time to time. It is realizing the fact that they are not all that way and time marches on that we need to focus on and remedy the situation that made us depressed in the first place. I truly wish that those in the throes of their depression could be given a crystal ball and they could see themselves in some future holiday where things are much brighter and cheerier. A time to look forward to. For those in need, this is my Christmas wish. That they are filled with hope and can lift their heads up and march into the new year with renewed spirit and confidence.

Out of the misty fog an arm stretches out. You don't see a face, just an arm and a strong hand to grab yours and pull you out of your dense misery and give you a step up. Look up, take a deep breath and push forward.

Oh, upon re-reading this it sounds so sappy! Can you tell that I am going to go and visit friends today? Some happy, some sad. I want to help the sad one. The one who is dealing with loss and sickness this year. Although knowing her, she will probably be so darn cheery, I will feel like the depressed one. She is a survivor, but I want her to know that I am there for her. Sometimes, the cheer can be a facade.

Oh, that's me on the far left squeezing the life out of that baby doll.

Glares, pricks and burns

Floral craft

My eyes are still store from all the camera flashes over the holiday. I have pricks and small cuts on my fingers from wrapping presents, cutting silk flower wire and burns from the glue gun and baking.

I worked Wednesday, off Thursday and I work today. Crappy, I know. The job on Wednesday was such a disaster (not on my part), that the school co-ordinator cancelled the entire show. Except for my part. He still wants me to come out today and upgrade his switches. Fun stuff. I get to follow a custodian around to all the schools because they are locked up for the holidays.

The nice part about this is, nobody is around. I just go in, do my stuff and walk out when I am done. That is, if all goes well. You never know when you blow the config away if you can put it all back together. There is always one little piece of equipment that has to trip everything up. Snarly little buggers, I want to tell you.

Then I am off work again until next Wednesday. This week-end I get to fix food. Thank heavens for slow cookers/crock pots. What a blessing. You just mix the food in and forget about it for hours. You can go shopping, watch a movie (I am hoping to watch Devil Wears Prada), clean house - when you are ready to eat, there it is! Gotta love it. I have purchased shrimp for New Years eve. I have pork and sauerkraut for the New Year day, but very little. (Not our favorite stuff).

Sigh. I guess you know that you are getting old when the food is more important than the alcohol. Did I get any alcohol at all? No. I still have bottles of stuff from three to four years ago. What a lush!

Peek-a-boo

There's a boy in there somewhere!

A little friend of the family appears to be buried underneath his small mountain of gifts this Christmas. I am thinking he made out pretty good.

Watched a movie this evening. I really, really DON'T recommend it! Friends with Money. I really, really don't get this movie. What was it about any way? Did some Hollywood producer decide to create a movie that says "Let's make a movie that shows how stoned Jennifer Aniston can be?" Okay, I am using the word "really" a bit too much, but I can't help it. I am at a loss for words, here. If I am missing the point, somebody please point it out to me.

Wait. I just read where the writer is one who has written for Sex and the City, Six Feet Under and Gilmore Girls. Nuff said. Fluff. Smoke it up, then.

Wrong setting

Lights on the tree

I had the camera set wrong when I took this shot. The white lettering on top of the camera knob has worn off and I can't tell what I have it set at and if I don't have my glasses on, I can't see the setting show up on the display window. I kind of like it.

I had a wonderful Christmas. I didn't do much yesterday except go through bags and bags of wrapping paper to make sure nothing was thrown out. I saved one little make-up mirror from the garbage.

I won ten dollars from a lottery ticket. I don't much care for the lottery, but when somebody hands me a ticket, I'll scratch it!

Back to work today. I am tired.

Merry Christmas

Silver ornament from my tree

I hope this Christmas morning finds all of you well and happy. If not happy, at least content. If not well, hopefully on the road to recovery. I am hoping that everybody got all they wished for and more. That each one of you took a moment to relish in the atmosphere and the spirit of having loved ones close to you. This is what Christmas has been for me this year, and though I know that not every year can be like this, I just hope and dream that nobody feels left out or lonely this holiday season.

What today feels like

Today feels like I am standing at the bottom of this huge tree, looking up. See that top way up there? My goals are sitting up there. I have to start climbing. Get ready, set, GO!

Drunks in the basement, bats in my belfry

A red ornament

It appears as if I am going to get the three things I did not want for Christmas. The list I posted a couple of days ago. Paper cuts, kitty vomit and drunks in the basement. Check, check and.... check.

I don't have the heart to continue what I was posting the night before, or the middle of the night. As I stated at the beginning of the post my head was fuzzy as cotton and I was just rambling.

I just have a hard time helping people who drive nicer cars than me, have nicer clothes, and nicer nails. I don't want to judge but I was raised to question things. This is why I have such a difficult time at work. I was never the type to just do the job and shut up.

I get a manager who wants me to do as they say and don't ask questions. I have a problem with that. I speak my mind. Sometimes. I get into hot water. I get written up for insubordination. I tell them to shove the job up their arse and I walk.

Then I had a child and I found that I had to curb my sarcasm a bit in order to provide a stable home life for us. I found out that the job ain't so bad after things smooth over. I found out that the sarcasm problem follows me to every damn job I go to. Huh. Imagine that.

I found out how to adjust my attitude so that my life became easier. I still have a bit of a problem now and again with the "insubordination" part, but I stand my ground.

Life is a bitch sometimes, but I like myself and I am too damn tired and too damn old to keep starting over. I figure anymore if I walk, who wins? Me or them? Hmmmm.

However, I usually walk when I lose respect for my boss. They lie. I hate that. They say they are going to help you and all they want to do is to help themselves. If you are not there to help them look good, then you are the enemy.

I find fault with the organization. I am not a Pollyanna who can pretend that my organization is the greatest thing since sliced bread and that it can do no wrong. Hell, we are a mess. It is hard to wait for sometimes, but usually they hang themselves. They trip themselves up in their own lies and false pretenses.

Sometimes I get tired of seeing customers laugh at my boss and my organization. Well, mostly they get frustrated and mad. It is hard not to get depressed about it. I just try to do the best I can. It can be exhausting trying to make up for what the upper management screws up. I had to learn to stop trying to fix things I didn't mess up. I still try sometimes, but I keep reminding myself to make life easy on myself and just do what I can do without killing myself.

Hmmm. I guess I am still tired and my head is still full of cotton. Look at the garbage I just wrote. Sheesh! I better get some rest before I spin another yarn.

The good, the bad and the ugly

Ornament, camera, reflection

So, this is what I get after two days full of running and drop exhausted into bed at 9:30 p.m. at night. I am wide awake at 12:30 a.m. Unable to fall back asleep. My head is full of cotton. I am not sure I can be held accountable for what I type here today. I'm not sure I am in my right mind.

For work yesterday (I think that was Thursday) I did a lot of driving. My mind kept returning to the evening prior (Wednesday evening). This was the night that I attended the Christmas party for the families that the city police department gave. Not my city, one north of where I live. They let the children open one gift and serve them a nice hot meal and sing carols, Santa comes, etc... I had the task of serving the turkey.

What I am about to say is not meant to be "Politically incorrect." It is just an observation on my part. I was uneasy asking "Would you like dark or white meat?" to a room of folks where some were black, some were white and some were both. I stopped asking and just put turkey on their plate. It just sounded wrong. We are all afraid of saying the wrong thing.

The Good, the bad and the ugly.

The Good:

The little children were adorably sweet and they were fed, given one present to open at the party and got to sit on Santa's lap.

The bad:

So many of the adults wore professionally fake fingernails, beautiful make-up and dressed to the nines. So many of the children roamed around without supervision. I gravitate toward children so I had a few on my hip almost all evening. I had no idea who the parent (or guardian) was and no one seemed anxious to retrieve their child. A couple of times we had to shoo them out of the kitchen because we were using some pretty sharp knives to carve the turkeys.

The ugly:

You could see where some of the other adults had led a rough life of poverty. It showed in their faces. Missing teeth, dull hair, sunken eyes. Aged beyond their years.

I had an extra ordinary stressful and busy day at work on Wednesday. This gave me no time to go home and freshen my make-up or re-do my hair or change clothes before dashing off to the party that evening. As I served the food I felt dowdy, tired and stressed out. I was envious of the women who had the professional nails done and their make-up was glowing and their clothes were shiny and glittery. I am a little sore on the subject of fake finger nails. I like them as well as the next person. I was always angry when one of my sisters would boo hoo about her monetary woes and in the next breath she would rave about her newly manicured fingernails. When pressed to comment on how much the nails cost, she shut up about her problems pretty quickly.

I was glad to participate in the event. I took the Tickle Me Elmo Extreme in case they needed an extra gift. The officer in charge told me that everything was planned out, all children were taken care of. I may just return the darn thing to the store.

Then came the article I read. Drat! About how to be careful around the holidays. Most of your money and donations do not make it past the folks collecting. This is why the officer wanted the folks who donated to attend the party. They could see where their efforts went. This is an important step to charity.

A few weeks back I had purchased a gift for a little girl. It was a beautiful purple horse head that the little girl (or boy) could add make-up to and style the mane. (I will always love to buy little girl gifts!) I missed the giving tree at one of my banks and dashed around to find a place that had NOT stopped collecting. (As some of you suggested to give Elmo to a toy drive, it is way too late for that. They need time to wrap and distribute the gifts). I found a box for the horse head gift at a Dollar General store. I dropped it in, and went through the store picking up a few things. When I checked out I came close to the box. The cashier quickly told me that the gift had been taken into the back room because they didn't want anybody to grab it and run with it. I believed her. After the article, I wonder.

A decade or so back, I was sitting at a party. I overheard a worker at a Good Will store bragging about how she got first dibs on whatever came into the store. Now, this worker was not mentally challenged as most think Good Will employees are. Not at all. She was sane, her husband made good money and she had no children to purchase for. Good Will is "supposed" to place the articles on the sales floor for 48 hours "before" the employees get the opportunity to purchase them. Forget that. From this gal I heard about money she pulls out of pockets and sticks into her pocket. It was supposed to go to the store jar for all to share or go towards their holiday party. They do this sorting in the back room of the stores. Note that not all stores operate in this manner. It just turned my stomach.

Some of the people who don't work have the time to visit second hand stores and to be on hand when their new shipments come in. They visit often and get the best deals. People who work all day, do not get the chance to browse that often. Result: resentment.

To be continued: (Unless I get well rested and am able to monitor and actually think about what I am typing here!)

Willy Nilly

My tree this year. All willy nilly.

I kind of just threw stuff on it this year. I didn't get a live tree. I purchased one from Tis the Season. It was their last one and it has white snow on it's branches. I wonder how long that stuff will last. Somebody said "You will need to re-spray it." I'm thinking to myself 'You can do that?'

I normally don't do things on a whim. The season kind of sneaks up on you. I made a purchase that I have absolutely no use for. I got caught up in the excitement. I purchased a Tickle Me Elmo TMX. The Warning version. I happened to be in the right place at the right time. I was in a toy store and somebody had just returned it unopened. The clerk asked me if I wanted it, I said "Sure." And, I bought it.

Now, what the hell do I do with it?

A Christmas Tag

I was tagged by:

One day at a time: Tabor.

"The Rules:

The player of this game starts with "3 things he/ she would love to get for Christmas" and also has to list "3 things he/ she definitely does not want to get for Christmas". Then he/she tags 5 friends and list their names. The ones who get tagged need to write on their blogs about their Christmas wishes, as well as state this rule clearly, then tag 5 more victims. And the one who tags need to leave a comment that says "you've been Christmas tagged!" in their comments and tell them to read your blog."

Three things I would like for Christmas:

1. My daughter's kiloid to dissipate

2. Peace in my family/household

3. Someone to clean my house


Three things I don't want for Christmas:


1. Drunks in my basement

2. Kitty vomit

3. Paper cuts from wrapping gifts

LOL! I have been so busy with other things, I never really sat down to figure what I really wanted this holiday season. I will be very surprised it I get number three from the first list and if I don't get number three from the second list!

Writing on the wall

My cards from last year

Greeting cards. Is it a dying tradition? A passing fad was the one page newsletter about what the family did throughout the year. I don't receive any of those any more. I used to get about three a year. I kind of lost contact with the folks who sent them out, so maybe they still do.

There are religious cards (usually the nativity), scenic cards (snowy country setting with church or cozy house), cutesy cards (little critters and such), shiny and satiny ones, ornament ones, Peace, Happy Holidays, holly and ivy, birds, snowmen... just about anything you can think of has ended up on a Christmas card.

Is it a waste of money? A waste of paper material? Do you purchase recycled cards? I have. Not every year. I have also purchased ones that contribute to the welfare of pets. Card companies make a killing. There are always shelves of cards left over after the holiday. Do they save them for next year?

Do you add a personal note or just sign your name(s)? I receive a few pre-printed cards with the family names printed neatly inside. Do you print your addresses from a computer and stick them on the envelope? Does this take away the personalized feeling of a card?

Do you include confetti inside your card? The recipient opens it up and a cupful of stuff falls out and onto the floor. Then they shake their fist in the air! "Why that dirty so and so! Now, look at the mess I have to clean up!" Nobody likes confetti inside a card. Nobody. Stop it. Send a lottery ticket inside a card if you have to put something inside it. LOL! Just kidding.

I don't participate in the state lottery. And, I especially don't participate in chain e-mails or letters of any kind. I've had a few people angry with me because I broke the chain. I tell them I don't do that sort of thing. I am not overly religious. I just don't believe in them. There just seems to be something wrong about it.

Of course there is a reason I don't participate in chain e-mails. Because I have to try and un-clog bogged down networks. Especially when we get an e-mail storm. Too much traffic causes congestion. No matter if it is cars or Internet packets. Why is your connection so slow? Because somebody somewhere is forwarding that last joke to everyone in their contact list and it has a "ripple effect". I'm not saying don't send any more jokes. I love a good joke.

I just remove all of the junk out before I send the joke and I only send it to people I think will appreciate the joke. If you receive a letter in the postal mail, do you re-stuff the original envelope into the new envelope before you re-send it to your friend or relative? No, of course not. And, can you imagine how big this letter would get by the time twenty people re-stuffed the letter without removing the envelopes that contained their address? Adding packet after packet on top of the previous e-mail causes the entire message to grow and grow and grow. Until it is an actual elephant trudging through the backbone of the Internet. Now, multiply that by years of people sending and re-sending the same jokes. Pretty soon our networks won't move at all.

1964

On the front porch swing

I am guessing this is 1964. Could be '65. That's me in the middle - in yellow. I look like I have two bananas in my hair. I guess the barrettes were a little too big for me. LOL! I think also that I am holding my dress down around my legs so as not to show any panties in the picture. That would be disgraceful!

Prison dryers

I have no photo today that would depict the anger I am feeling. If I were this guy, I would be giving the judge back the $75 used to bail me out of jail and beg to be let back in. If not, he had better be hiding, and hiding well. I can only imagine if he were in my neighborhood. I'd lead the mob of angry villagers to lynch him up.

So, how big are the dryers in prison? Yeah. We'll see who wets their pants, now.

A daisy wheel

Cute wheel cover

One of my first office jobs, I used a typewriter with a "daisy wheel". It wasn't like this. I thought this was a cute Volkswagen beetle. A daisy wheel cover on a popsicle green bug. This person just has to be full of sunshiny happiness.

Gushing gutters

My neighbor's house through a downpour

No snow to speak of yet. It is mild enough to rain. This photo is from the past summer. Before I discovered my gutter wasn't clogged. It had just pulled away from the roof and just needed pounded back in.

Do you have a real "Sad Sack" that you work with? I have worked with some. This is the guy who can't get anything right. No matter how many times you tell him something, he can't seem to remember it or get it straight. He keeps typing in the wrong numbers. When you call for support and get him, you groan. No, not "Sad Sack!" He can't do anything right. Sometimes he would make me so mad and other times I felt so sorry for him.

He's the one that if it wasn't messed up before he touched it, it is beyond help after he is done with it. The buzz around the office was "Never let Sad Sack touch your computer equipment! It will never work right again!" He would hand it back with some lame excuse that somebody else messed it up or it was messed up when he got hold of it - and it wasn't. He messes almost everything up.

Know the type? Okay, now imagine he is your manager. How in the hell did that happen? Of course that might say a lot about managers in some work places.

Just blabbering

Vivid orange

I put some lights up around the outside bushes this evening. The first set of net lights out of the box didn't work. Great start! I strung a bunch of single strands together. I put way more than three on one line. They look okay after dark. Somebody (we suspect the pizza man) stepped on one of the bulbs and put an entire strand out that was close to the railing. I'll replace it. I have one strand running across the sidewalk to connect the bushes and I covered it with a rug. I should have wrapped them in bubble wrap.

I'll go tomorrow and get more outside extension cords. I can't find my old stuff. I figure by the time I exhaust and frustrate myself by looking, I could have purchased new stuff.

Well, I am down to three cats. Precious went back to my sister. A couple of years ago when she divorced and moved into a small house, she was not allowed pets. She said that the one cat was calm and quiet and could stay in an upstairs bedroom, but she felt that Precious was a little too high strung so I took her in. She purchased her own house a month ago and I took the cat back to her.

We had a houseful of teenagers this evening kicking it to Dance Dance Revolution (a Play Station 2 game) and the temperature in the living room rose to about 74 degree Fahrenheit. My poor niece stays in the basement and the furnace did not run all day so it is quite chilly down there. I need to have the gas fireplace checked so I can run it this winter for her.

I was front seat to another Jerry Springfield episode of Catholic Religion 101 again this morning. Usually on Mondays the two co-workers talk about their service they went to over the week-end. I went downstairs to get a cup of coffee. When I came back upstairs the big guy (head honcho) of the building was in the middle of the conversation. I groaned "Oh no! Not you, too!" He said "They are talking religion." I said, "I know! That's why I left." He said his grandmother always told him to never talk religion or politics. I said, "Oh yeah? My Mom told me it was religion, politics and sex!" He laughed. We were more interested in their passionate input of the conversation that what they were actually discussing.

He dragged his employee out (almost literally). The two employees were yelling at each other "You're wrong! I'm right!" Man the room was hot after that. They sure were fired up. I think they remained friends through all of the screaming. It was apparent to me (an observer) that neither one was really listening to what they other was saying. They were much too intent on shouting over what the other was trying to say.

I never could stand talk shows like that and I hope this brings an end to the arguing. I can pretty much guess that the big guy talked to his employee and told her that this sort of office babbling needs to stop and needs to stop pronto. My co-worker? I label her a religious quack! She was still yelling at the other employee as she was being dragged away by her boss "Remember, that this religion stemmed from the Catholic religion!" She watches television evangelists Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen.

The tree is up

First artificial tree in this house

This is the first year I don't have a live tree since we moved to this house in March of 2002. I am in no way fastidious when it comes to decorating for the holidays. As long as it has color and plenty of glow I'm pretty happy. So I don't much care if the wires of the lights are showing or not.

I almost hit a deer on the way home from a dinner last night. If I opened my car door he could have walked right in. Except for the fact that I was going 60 mph. He was just strolling. That is a good thing because if he were running, I'd have nailed him. There were two cars coming in the opposite direction so I had my headlights dimmed and did not see him until I was within inches of his nose. My reflexes caused me to swerve anyway. It was a bit unnerving.

My niece told me today that a classmate of hers shot himself Friday night. He came home from a party, called his grandfather, told him he loved him and shot himself with a shot gun. He died last night. She had not seen him in over a year so she was not sure how his mental condition was. I had just read in the paper this morning how depressing the holidays are for some folks and how SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) affects the 20 to 30 age group the hardest.

It just seems like the world events are taking their toll on folks this year. I am not sure if it was the nice batch of warm weather we had or if people need to really express themselves this year, but there sure are a lot of light displays. We drove around tonight and looked at some. Some folks like the religious theme. Others like the Santa and reindeer. Still others do the snowmen or Rudolph and the Abominable snowman. And of course there is the Grinch or the Peanuts gang. They are always popular. Trees, trains, stars, wreaths, pointsettias - so much to choose from. Palm trees are big this year. I like the snowmen. I may go with that theme some year. You know. When I have all this extra money to spend on decorations.

Some girls I used to work with, get together every month or so to play cards or sing along or just visit. We adopted a family this year from the Sheriff's office. They don't get the parents any presents. Just the children. There are two. An 11 year old girl and a six year old boy. I am covering the boy. He likes Spiderman. It has been ages since I bought little boy clothes (if ever?). We have to use a credit card. This way we can give a gift receipt with the item and the parent(s) cannot exchange the item for cash. They must exchange it for merchandise. Wow. I prefer to help out strangers. This way I don't know why they don't have money to buy gifts this year. Even the thought of a parent returning their child's gifts for cash for themselves makes me shake my head in dismay. It never ceases to amaze me.

Well, it's off to starting another work week. This December is going to be c-r-a-z-y! We are connecting a dozen schools via fiber this month. This means about 2 dozen less T1 lines to troubleshoot. Yippee!

Little blue bird

I think her name is Shelby

This little girl dressed in blue was at my Grand niece's first birthday party back in October. Cute as a button and dressed all in blue to match her pretty eyes.

I sat at the mall waiting on my nephew this evening when my feet felt as though they were going to fall off. I looked up and there was this huge line of parents with their children waiting to see Santa. I sat and watched them for a while.

So, how much do you suppose a mall Santa gets paid? I know it was at least 80 degrees in that place. He had a full suit on with beard, etc. He wasn't as round as the storybook Santa. For all I know he may have started out bigger, but sweat off all the fat.

I'm pretty sure it was a guy. I didn't get close enough to hear him speak. Time after time somebody plopped a little rugrat on his lap. Most of the time they were horrified at this sight of foreign red and white monstrosity. Anyways, I'll bet he doesn't get paid near enough.

These look good

Cherries from July

I could go for a bowl of these babies right about now. I have bananas and golden delicious apples. No cherries. I closed my eyes and picked a photo from my archives. My night picture taking needs a lot of improvement. I am reading and studying up on it, though. Even with my tripod the lights are very blurry. If it warms up a little I can experiment more. As it is, the wind is biting cold and I don't have the ambition to play around with my camera outside. Brrrrr.

The incident I wrote about the other day (employees reading other's e-mails) is all over the newspapers here. Since I know the person involved and have worked with them, I am just sick to my stomach over it. Somebody with a family (two small children) has been suspended from their job. Before the holidays when life gets depressing enough. It is hard not to snoop for some people. Especially if they have a bone to pick with somebody and they want to catch them in a compromising situation. What is that old saying? "Cut off your nose to spite your face?" The meaning is, you do something rash or silly (usually in anger) that ends up backfiring and doing just as much harm to yourself (if not more). This appears to be the case.

I drove around a little bit this evening to look at Christmas lights outside people's homes. So pretty. This tradition goes way back to when we were little and used to open our gifts up on Christmas Eve. My Mom and older sister would convince us that Santa had so many gifts to deliver he needed to start early and he usually started at our house, so we got our gifts early. My oldest sister would pile us younger ones in the car and drive us around to look at Christmas light displays in the neighborhood. (Thus giving my Mom time to put the gifts out under the tree). I know that I fell for it. As I got older and began driving, I would take my Mom out for about an hour to look at lights on an evening close to Christmas. She never went out after dark when she got older, so this was a rare outing for her. We didn't go if the weather was bad.

Then I come home to my house - completely dark. I better get something done. I have a gazillion lights and stuff, but just don't have the knack for putting them up. Not very handy with the ladder and tools. I'll give it a good try tomorrow evening or this week-end. I still have time.

Big beautiful mess

A mess of purple

I have so many things I want to write about today. Part of me wants to continue with the comment that Tabor made after my post yesterday, and I became philosophical about my flashy silver foil representing the flashy young life I used to have. When you are young and vibrant, things seem much shinier and flashier, like the foil I had on the outside wall of the patio porch attached to my garage. Then with one big wind storm - POOF! It's gone. Like our youth.

The wind did leave somebody's green and crumbled up grill cover in my back alley. Like aging, we are more down to earth and a little less flashy. Sometimes we feel tired and weary, represented here by the crumpled up grill cover lying on the edge of the alley. Forgotten, people look the other way when they see it, or trying not to see it. Nobody goes over to pick it up, they just let it be. Kind of like neglected older folks in a nursing home.

Another part of my day consisted of two co-workers arguing about their religion Catholicism. Oh. my. God! You know the old adage. Never discuss politics, sex or religion. An hour. By the time their faces were turning red and they were nearly screaming, I wanted to quit the Catholic religion and I'm not Catholic! For the most part, I listened - bemused. Neither one would give in and though they were not angry at each other, it was interesting to hear how they justified what they thought was wrong with the religion or right with it. One co-worker stated that all religion stems from the Catholic religion. Huh?

It's just hair

New do

Okay, Peruby. Just keep repeating to yourself over and over. It's just hair. It's not like it's a tattoo or a piercing. It's just hair, it's just hair, it's just hair, it's just .... red and black striped hair???? Sweet Jesus in heaven, have mercy!

Actually this is from last week. I am over it already. She likes it. She is having fun with it. I liked the other style, but she was killing her hair with the straightener. She is with this one too, though.

I saw the Salvation Army collecting at the grocery store. Could be that most of them wait until December to begin.

I've been taking different streets around town so I can see more light displays. I received a tripod in the gift exchange on Saturday and if I get brave enough to venture the cold, I'll maybe take it out for a walk and set it up to get some photos. I may even find my lost sheet(s) of silver door covering. I have somebody's green grill cover in the alley behind my garage. Stupid wind!

December chill

Summer wild flowers

I am a bit weary of posting decorations and wanted something to remind me of warmer weather. I shuffled back through my photo archives and caught this one from the back alley behind where I work. This is close to Earl's dog house. Earl is still there. I wave to him when I pass.

Last year the girls that I get together with every month or so decided to purchase a bunch of toys for children that must spend the holidays in a hospital. We went through the routine, called two hospitals, got the information and then the day came to deliver them and the two hospitals in the area said "No, we try to send children home for the holidays."

We were left with a pile of gifts. One of the gal's knew a sheriff in town and he delivered them for us to families that were in need. This year he is helping us to get involved in a program where we can adopt a family. He gave us a family with two children. They do not give the parents any money or gifts. I prefer this method because if I know the family, then usually I know why they don't have money for the holidays. I'd rather not know.

I am not sure why, but I have not seen many collections for The Salvation Army outside of stores this year. I may be a dreamer, but I like to think that when the collector is done with their shift they take that bucket and run it over to a needy family. Like in A Christmas Carol, the needy family is sitting around the table with little food and heat and trying to keep their spirits up. There is a knock on the door. They open the door to the cold and dark. They can't see the face of the visitor, but a big wad of money (or a big box of food) is shoved into their hands and their problems are solved for at least a while. If it were only like that. It is still a nice dream.

Creche

Nativity at Tis the Season

I sounded so ungrateful in my post yesterday. Let me say that I am thankful my roof didn't blow away, or my garage, or my siding or my child. Well now, my child...hmmm. Oh, sorry. Okay, okay! I am grateful!

After reading the newspaper this morning, I see that I fared much better than others in the neighborhood.

I am off to a Christmas party tonight and have been running around today like a chicken with it's head cut off. I am taking meatball appetizers and a cheese ball/tray with trail bologna and pepperoni. Just not enough time to do everything. I am behind. I hate starting the season running behind. I have Bunco Dice and Catch Phrase to play at the party tonight if I can rouse up a group to do so. Tomorrow I can try to get the house into some kind of organized chaos. Maybe.

Gone with the wind

Unicorn ornament from Tis the Season

If I weren't so darn tired, I'd probably be crying right now. I spent the past couple of days in Columbus helping my nephew who had minor oral surgery. I am brain dead - fried. Out of my element, I don't sleep well and I was sick for most of the time. Yecch.

My niece called me at 3:30 p.m. today. I was stopped and getting gas in the car. She said all my decorations from the patio blew down 3rd street. We don't live on 3rd street. We live near 3rd street.

All that work. I didn't have any pictures yet, because I was waiting until I finished. I was too traumatized to cry. Not really. I said "Easy come, easy go." I had purchased silver heavy foil door cover and put it on the back wall of my patio. I had blue lights all around. I was creating a centerpiece on top of my glass round table - with silver glitter cones. It was a silver and blue theme.

When I came home, I saw that all was not lost. The foil backdrop is gone. Poop. The lights are still up and still on. The centerpiece is tangled up, but I actually think it looks better than what I did. The cones fell over or blew out into the yard. I may fix it, I may leave it.

Another tree fell in my neighbor's yard. When I first moved here four years ago he had a long row of hemlock bordering our back alley. One fell and I had the electric company come out and move it off the wires, etc... Then one by one, like dominoes they are all falling over. He just built a new garage and this tree just missed it. The wind is still howling. It was supposed to stop at 10:00 p.m.

I watched Over the Hedge and The Break-up while I was away. Lukewarm feelings on both shows. I doubt that I will watch either one again.

A dirty picture

I wasn't about to touch it

My second oldest sister purchased a house and we helped her clean on Saturday. This phone is in the garage. He worked on automobiles. His name is George. He is now in a nursing home.

As high as I was in the spirit of the holiday, I am sunk low today. I have been fighting an ear ache and sore throat. Nothing major, just something there. I have run very low on energy and am quite bitc... err.., irritable.

The second half of work was a major headache - couldn't get video to working and everybody was tense. This outside company sells this small educational building their video equipment. They take it away and "fix" it for 3 months after a lightning strike. They bring it back today. There are four guys. I come in to test the connection end and the tech support person at this building is a lady. I tried to smooth things over because there was so much tension in the air you could cut it with a knife. These guys were really on their high horse. When I first got there they were not speaking to her. Daggers were being cast with the eyes.

The first thing I did was get the air conditioner turned on and brought two fans into the room. It was a toasty 78 degrees F in the room they were working in. I joked with them and cajoled them. When they saw that I was not a Miss Frost they began to loosen up. They relaxed a little and sat down to eat their lunch while Miss Frost returned to her inservice in another room. I refused to let them be. I chatted and joked. We were all laughing and nodding our heads by the time their lunch was over.

Then things took a turn for the worse. Their equipment kept failing. (A Windows 98 machine running a V-Tel video unit). My home office wouldn't answer their phone. I kept getting voice mail. Things began to get messy. It was perhaps a year or longer that I have worked with this type of video equipment. I was rusty - and my memory was failing. I instantly became deflated - I wasn't in top form as it was. Tempers began to flare again. Somebody in the building had turned the air back off. When Miss Frost returned from her inservice the daggers began again. I left after three hours of this mess. My home office had left an hour before and I was not getting anywhere.

I come home and get into it with my daughter about teenager/parent things. She wants this, she wants that. I snap back that she hasn't helped out around the house and earned the other things she got, yet. She wants more, more, more. She is decorating the teen park place, but won't lift a finger to help me.... Yep. I'm going to bed and dream of a better day tomorrow.

Tis blue!

Blue display

My daughter and I went to 'Tis The Season in Berlin today. We had a day off. If you like lights and color - this is the place to go. A chalet in Amish country with three stories of every Christmas theme ornament you can imagine. I still like the nativity displays and have some photos of them. Very, very pricey. If ever I have money left over, I would like to go here in January or February when they have fantastic sales.

I am looking at another very busy week, so posts will be hit and miss.

Reflections

Wine-colored decoration

Another from the museum. Things are not slowing down, yet. Not sure if they will before Christmas. I am trying to carve out some "me" time. I did update a few belated photo projects on my family photo album page.

I anticipate a lot more decorations to see this year because of this beautiful weather we are having. I was able to start on my patio. I cannot lay my hands on some of my blue lights so the scene is a little bare right now. I plan to add to it as the weeks go by. Not sure if I can spend much in that area to help fill it out, but I will keep a close eye on store sales.

Thank-you, thank-you very much

Elvis atop a tree

I finally get some time to sit and reflect this morning. I am not rushing off somewhere.

I had an unusually raucous day with my family Thursday. On the big feast day usually we sit around stuffing ourselves and lay around afterward talking. Somebody brought the game "Catch Phrase".

We played in teams. When a team won, they remained seated and took on the next set of challengers. We roared. My head about blew off my shoulders from laughing so hard. I finally lost and was able to get some aspirin in me. The folks around us had just as much fun watching us as we did playing. The word that stumped me pretty good was permafrost.

I fixed a turkey and ham on Friday for the crew at my house. My sister and nephew went to one of the stores on Friday morning. I don't think anyone in my family indulges in that mad rush of shoppers on Black Friday. I prefer to celebrate the "Buy Nothing Day." They said it was exciting and fun but would probably not do it again. By the sound of it, I am thinking that people who want the sales also like the "party" atmosphere of the event. Don't knock it until you try it, right?

It has been rather busy at the Peruby household and I am off and running today. My sister is moving into a new house and a bunch of us are meeting there to help clean. I will take the camera today. I carried it to the big feast day, but didn't even get it out of the bag. I was trying to hog one of the two little ones all day.

It was also kind of sad because the younger generation are struggling. Two couples did not participate in the name exchange this year because of financial problems. One had their car engine blow up and it was costly to get repaired. They are also having pet problems that are costing a lot in medical bills. They seemed a little down in the dumps. I had my hard times in my mid to late twenties while living away from the family in another state. The ones that are having it rough right now, graduated from college a couple of years ago and are trying to start a life with their husband/wife, keeping up with expenses of a home, paying off college loans, and trying to make it in this cut-throat job market today.

Living in America should not be this hard.

This year I am thankful for a wonderful family. I am so very blessed. Thank-you, thank-you very much.

Red, silver and green

Inside a decorated tree

One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is the glittery, sparkly decorations. I used to sit and stare at our tree and squint my eyes until all the pretty lights blurred before me. I get mesmerized. Things don't look so drab when it is all spruced up in silvery colors.

My daughter got a cortisone shot in her back this evening. A keloid formed on one of her scars. Afterwards, we went to a big mall. It was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. For an early Christmas gift I purchased my daughter the white Rylie parka at Abercrombie. I went to the grocery store earlier in the afternoon. And I still have a happy spirit. My feet are killing me, but my mood is okay.

The ivory

Ivory train

Mr. Warther carved wood, ebony and ivory. They are well known for their knives. I have a couple. They are nice, but I prefer serrated knives, which they don't carry.

It is written that Mr. Warther only purchased ivory when the product was taken from elephants that had already died. Before the poaching began.

A hint of blue

Capri blue

At an antique store I found some Capri blue glasses that remind me of the hue that the glass in the photo above is reflecting. If you Google Capri glass, you get some photos with the same tint.

My IP has been purchased by another cable company and I was thinking that I had better download my entire Photo web page for backup purposes. 420MB I have out there. Ouch.