True Love

I am in love with my walls. After a painstakingly long time of scraping popcorn off the ceilings of my soon to be bedroom, after deciding to texturize the ceiling so the flaws would not show and taking ages to do that (it's like painting glue and sand on the ceiling), and finally painting the ceiling white twice to cover the sand color, I finally started painting my walls with color this week. And today, I fell in love with the walls. I painted the upper portion a tan-gold color, which alone is kind of ugly, but then painted the lower portion with a hot chocolatey-color brown, and then after it dried, I sat on a chair and stared at it all. It looks fantastic. The brown makes the tan-gold pop, the entire combination makes me feel all warm like I am sitting at camp in front of a fire with a hot drink in my hands. I am going to love sleeping in my room.

My husband says color will not affect him at all. He likes white walls. I think he will love it when it's done. Especially because it will be hard to get me out of the bedroom at all!!!

Great Big Moose

I have a moose problem, I think. My husband had a moose theme going on in his house before I dated him and married him. Moose rug, moose blanket, moose shower curtain, moose cookie jar, moose plates....it doesn't end with those items, but you get the main idea.

So, I was informed ages ago by my dear friends ( I am not being sarcastic here, they really are dear friends) that I needed to make the house my own. Ok, we have white walls. To me, yes, boring. To my husband, white is normal and he likes it. So I made our new family room yellow and blue and I think there are days he can barely handle the stimulation. BUT, he really loves (I think) having all his beer steins and fire plaques and sports plaques all in one room. Not to mention the pool table and big screen TV. Is it SO his room, except for the yellow walls and the fact that I hold my scout meetings in there.

But I have to say, I really like the fireman theme, and I really like the moose theme. Maybe I would not have chosen it had I started from scratch, but the moose is part of my husband and a part of my girl scout friends out here (ask me any day and I will film me doing the Moose song and email it to you, but do not be surprised if you commit hari kari after you see it). So, the moose, from Bullwinkle in my childhood to the moose song today to my husband's rug, shower curtian, etc. is what I focus on as the big strong positive part of life. The fun part. The moose is one big, bad ass, cool, and smart animal and I want to safely see one in the wild. Or a park. As long as it's alive, it would be very cool.

There is no greater image for me of Western Washington than the Moose. The most amazing animal in some ways, so huge, so stunning, so noble, and can beat the crap out of you at any moment. All in the great green tree environment. Just like my man. Except he doesn't beat me, he just teases me to the point of annoyance at times. But all in good fun. Great Big Moose.

Cruel but Fitting

As I reflect on 2008, I can say we had a great year:

Black people are happy; Obama was elected.

White people are happy, OJ is in jail.

Democrats are happy: George Bush is leaving office.

Republicans are happy: Democrats will finally quit saying George Bush stole the election.

And all of us are so happy; The election is finally over! I think 2009 will be even better: Immediately after his inauguration, Obama will balance the budget, revive the economy, solve the real estate problem, solve the auto industry problem, solve our gas/alternative energy problem, stop the fires and mudslides in California, ban hurricanes and tornadoes, stop identity theft, reverse global warming, find Osama, solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, get rid of corruption in government and achieve world peace . Then on the 7th day, He will rest.

My best wishes for 2009.............and remember:
"The government cannot give to anyone anything that it does not first take from someone else."

Last day of the year

Today is the last day of the year 2008. I blew out my knee, unexpectedly lost my father in law, got a knee operation, didn't get to go camping, was completely overbooked, and saw my all time hero lose an election. I took such offense at an email from a friend that I still have trouble thinking about it. And yet it was a great year. I just picked up my leg brace for skiing in 2009, and was given the okay to ski by my surgeon. So I have a little support for my leg, and there's the support from the memory of my father in law to bring me back to Colorado, where we lost him. He had more spunk than the rest of the world combined, and I am going to make him proud by going out and having a great time there. We all will, the family, that is. And I can rest in the knowledge that Senator McCain is still the greatest and most noble American alive today. his grace in loss and pledge to support the government of our country is what makes him an amazing person who puts his country first. And so we begin a new year, with hopes for the best and strength for whatever may come our way.

Weird, Creepy, True

Just watched some perfectly matched for me show called something like Weird Creepy and True. It was about swarms. Swarms of flies in Africa, swarms of crabs on Easter Island, swarms of locusts, swarms of box jellyfish, wasps, endless unexpected death around every single corner. Right up my alley.

Right now I am watching some show about a shark eating a woman, and her friend just keeps on filming it. Nice. Sounds like my old high school click.

I love to watch death and disaster. I feel it's good to be aware of every pitch life throws at me. I'm not sure it helps me stay alive and keep my loved ones alive, but it sure as hell makes me feel better to think about all the possibilities and think about how I would react.

I was on the Circle Line once for a Halloween Booze Cruise in NYC. Unlike a lot of people, I was only drinking and not doing drugs, I did have some brains, I guess. I saw a guy go overboard, from the top level of the ship, and walked over and asked the guys sitting there staring at nothing if a guy had just gone over. (My mother has trained me to distrust my "vivid" imagination over the years). They said yeah, he went over. So I ran, first thinking, where is the captain of the boat, then realizing that would do no good, and turned, heading straight for the DJ. He cut the music and announced Man Overboard, and all 500 people in full costume ran to the sides of the boat to look. I ran down the inner stairs, and two guys were standing at the bottom. One of them says, "Hey, this is the best time to hit the bar!" (he did not like lines, I am guessing) and the other guy rolled his eyes. AHA! I found intelligent life. I asked him where the life preservers were, and we tried to hunt one down. Alas, we found out after knocking a few ceiling squares down and opening a few benches, that all the life preservers had been removed because booze cruisers often ended up tossing all the preservers into the river.

So, the guy died. But I learned several very important lessons that night. One was, never hang from the railing by your feet on a booze cruise, no matter how fun you think it might be. Another is that I am capable of reacting well in a bad situation. Of course, it's not like the ship was sinking or anything, but trust me, I would have been on the lifeboat with that one intelligent guy before anyone else even knew the boat was sinking. But I did not act like a moron or flip out, I functioned well under stress. It proved to be my strong point in later years in my professional life.

And the final thing I learned was...it really is a good time to go to the bar if you want a drink right away. Really.

Even though Christmas is past, don't forget 'em!

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
Sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... An American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

"Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most" - Ruth Carter Stapleton

Getting "Slammed"

We have had some interesting weather lately. I base all of my comments here on the weather people and newspeople on the television, because they are the whiniest, most annoying people on the planet.

First, according to our lovely weatherpeople, we are slammed with ice, all over the place. The street I live on, a steep hill, was not sanded. The neighbors and John went out with their own de-icer and shoveled up the snow so a few people (not us) could get up to the world. If the county knew, we would be swarmed with PETA or Greenpeace people screaming that we killed something with our deathly de-icer. Oh well.

THEN, we get slammed with snow. And more snow, and more snow. Yes, almost as much snow over several days as the east coast gets in a few hours. And western Washington came to a dead halt. And good Lord do they complain about it on the news.

I would like to add at this point that my street did not get plowed of snow. Any neighbors who don't have 4 wheel drive parked up at the top of the hill. We didn't, we have TWO 4 wheel drive cars. We still didn't venture out more than once or twice though.

Good news, my street became a center of attraction to all sledders who were not afraid of the possibility of shooting through the barrier and off the cliff. It was fun to watch from my cozy inside couch.

Then, tonight, I turn on the news. They open up with the fact that it has been raining for two days, and we are being SLAMMED with rain. Oh my gosh, flooding warnings, dangerous slush, it is horrendous! I wanted to slap them all. Whatever. After a good 10 minutes on weather, they finally mention that Israel SLAMMED the Palestinians with explosives today. Of course, they did not use the word slammed on that, when they SHOULD use it.

By the way, my road is still untouched by the city and I am still not complaining about it. I laugh when people come down and get stuck. Hello, this is a mountainous area, not a hilly one. Get 4 wheel drive or stay at home during storms. Or try something new, walk!

These weather guys whine so much they really ought to live on the east coast. I forgot how much people complain about the weather over there. I might have to get a petition to banish them before the New Year.

Provided, that is, we don't get SLAMMED by them.