Yellow Rose's Garden

Watched The Barefoot Contessa. The part of the movie is risque for 1954, but Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner are awesome. Also watched King Tutankhamun - The Mystery Unsealed. Who knows, maybe I'll learn something from the bunch of mostly educational DVDs I snagged at the library.

I have bits and pieces rumbling in my head for a Kirin story.

Still cleaning out my linen/hall closet. There are a bunch of kiddie/girlish/flowered twin bed sheets in there. Maybe one day, they will get used again. Things like Rainbow Brite and 101 Dalmatians are in there. RB and some of the florals are duplicated because the girls shared a room and for much of it had bunk beds. I discovered some paint on one of the sheets, trying to figure that one out! Liz took the Care Bear sheets for her boys.

There's something very cathartic about taking things apart and rebuilding them. Or in this case, emptying them out and reorganizing them. Who knew a little closet could hold THAT much?? I seem to have a few pillowcases that have wandered off, but otherwise, things seem to be accounted for. I have the towels separated into keep and donate to the vet clinic. I saved some older ones for clean ups, but some of the ones with frayed edges are going on their way.

Found a plastic zippered bag that's meant for underbed storage. Putting my extra blankets in there. Nice thing about it is that it's squashable and will take up less space.

Did a library run and I restrained myself from adding more books to my "to read" pile. I did not, however, resist the DVD rack as I noted above.

I'm on chapter 23 of 26 ( p. 311 of 374) of The Undomestic Goddess.

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Night at the Museum II, freaking hilarious! :D

Not much else to say before the date changes, so ... that about covers it.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you Moms out there.

To all the men that are doing double duty, I salute you, too.

May your day be a lovely one! :)

Oh, wait, wrong mind!

Tom's bathroom could do with a coat of paint and/or new wallpaper. The new shower curtain and lovely fluffy bath carpet have made a huge difference. I have one of those slim Rubbermaid cabinets with two drawers in there that houses first aid supplies, large items like hair straightener and hand cream. Also dumping old medications, other outdated items, and cleaning up the containers under the sink have made a major difference in the clutter level. Two of those cloth bins neatly filled with personal care items can be pulled out in one shot have made a huge difference from having things all over the place! On the counter there are three plastic trays, one for shaving gear, one for tooth care and a third for the things used everyday like hair gel. Saves things from being knocked into trash can or toilet.

Current audio book is Beowulf; scratch that, finished it at 3 AM! Current movie is The Turn of the Screw. Watched Meet Me in St. Louis on Monday.

Tom has two weeks off from school, so, I'm thinking that'd be a good time to get his closet and room organized. Naturally, he doesn't, but we'll see. This is just one of those, something's gotta give situations.

I need to get out on Thursday to do some mail drop offs and a library drop off. Seems a few overdue items have been wandering about my house. Also need to get measurements for linen closet shelves to determine what size storage containers I can use in there. I want to clean that out next week and possibly get Tom's closet done.

Here's today's something awesome. I planted white star jasmine in my yard several years ago. That I can recall, they never bloomed and were just leaves. I have yet to peek at the rest of the fence, but it seems at least two of those plants are not only alive but thriving and I'm tickled! The morning glory that I had dropped between the fences took root and is running wild in the chain link! This is good thing because the morning glory is leaving my jasmine and Blaze of Glory roses alone while filtering out the weeds and whatnot trying to grow between our chain link fence and the neighbors' privacy fence. In fact, I think the morning glory being so blasted stubborn and guarding against the weeds might be why the jasmine has started climbing the fence! I'm seriously consider trying to root some morning glory for the other side of the yard!

Morning glories can be invasive plants, so I have some advice to offer. DO NOT plant a morning glory anywhere you might want to be digging it up. Simple reasoning here. While those vines are quite slender and delicate the roots once set are as tough as old tree roots and might require professional removal. Train them to wrap around a trellis, lattice, etc. They are cooperative that way. We have two pillars out front and I always wanted to have the vines growing up them. The plant had other ideas and ran wild since I wasn't able to care for it properly.

Thursday, I made my semi-annual trip over to Class VI. For you non-military types, that's the package beverage/liquor store on Fort Hood. I got more white wine, Lambrusco, a four pack of Mudslide, and a couple of other items. I cook with wine and beer from time, so I like to have it on hand and ready to be used.

Also made a library run on Fort Hood. Got a few books, two audiobooks, and a few DVDs. Discovered that I had left one book behind at home. Thankfully, it wasn't due, yet.

Friday, we did a run the Barnes & Noble run. Kevin got a C. J. Cherryh and Tom got one of the Dark Tower graphic novels. Also stopped across the shopping center at Target for a few things.

Also saw Wolverine, I liked it. Stay for the credits, folks, there's an Easter egg at the end. Gambit kicked ass, the guy they got to play him carried off the role well. Edit: I mean the very end of the credits, two Easter eggs; one as they begin to roll and one and the very end.

We are going out for dinner with one of Kevin's workmates to celebrate her birthday.

Later, people!

Media Madness!
Finally finished the hard cover of Resolution. Good book, if you like westerns and/or Robert B. Parker's writing, you'll probably like it. It's the sequel to Appaloosa which was made into a film not so long ago. Tried listening to the audiobook of The Young Carthaginian, but the reader was one of those that has a sleeping time voice. Might try again. Current movie is The Trip to Bountiful. Still have 3 DVDs in the library bag to watch. Have a couple of books left, too; one on customs and superstitions, the other is by George Burns. Have a bunch due back on 28 April.

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This horoscope is filed under Hmm Things:
The day doesn't begin until you clear your head and take stock of some pending personal issues, CATHY. You might be making mountains out of molehills. Realize that there is a path for everybody. Put your stinger away today. It will be powerful, but won't do any good. Keep your power under wraps. Concentrate more on the more mundane tasks that need to be done. Why not make a list?

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Mini-city
Several friends are doing the dragon scroll thing. This is what I'm doing, a mini-city. If you have a sec to go and click, please do. http://mo-chroi.myminicity.com/ind. That will add factories to my city.

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I'm finally answering the comments that were left on the 14th and 15th. Once again, I thank all of you.

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It's Monday morning 2 AM. Can't sleep. I slept a good part of Saturday and that's probably why. I stuck "Paint Your Wagon" (with a young Clint Eastwood in it) into the DVD RW and am watching while I do a few other things. Today, I need to pick up the house, do laundry, get the trash out, and get all but the shower curtain, bath mat, and essentials for one shower from the bathroom. Going make a meat pie for dinner, something quick and easy. Need to get the heavy quilt cleaned and put away for the summer. Want to have everything cleaned up and done before House is over as I have some plans for the evening.

Between now and the end of May I want to get Tom's bathroom and the linen closet cleaned out. Hopefully, his closet as well.

I have some ideas for stories rumbling. A wedding, a funeral, a chat between husband and wife (that one is part of a larger story), and a few others. Now, if I could just get them to settle in my head so I can get them into a tangible form.

The cat has been very attentive of late. She's been sleeping under my feet when I'm at my desk. She's usually not this sociable, but I must admit it is nice. She won't sit on my lap like she will with Kevin, but sometimes climbs up in the chair and tries to squeeze behind my back and the back of the chair. Go figure.

Earlier, I was trying to figure out why my eye hurt. seems I have a sty developing.

Not much else to say.

For the first time in about week, maybe two, I slept well.. maybe well isn't the right way to put it. I slept hard, out cold, dead to the world. I went to bed about 4:30AM. I woke up to the somewhat harsh music of a hail and thunderstorm about 7:30. I remember shutting down all the computers and unplugging the modem, etc. I went back to bed. I don't remember dreaming. I do remember rolling over to find that it was about 3:30PM.

I have a bunch of comments to reply to. For now, I want to send out a general message of thanks to you lovely people (especially mirrored_owl and rachaelwynter ) that took the time to offer comforting messages and virtual hugs. They mean a lot. :)

I talked to Liz last night. Tuesday, I had called and let her say whatever it was she needed to say to Shottie. I told her it might sound silly, but it was something I needed to do. She said it wasn't silly at all. Liz called Wednesday, but I had been napping. She told me something last night that took a bit of the sting out of this loss. Shottie outlived all of his littermates (5 or 6 in that litter) by years. She actually said brothers and sisters, so that would mean the pups from his mother's first litter as well.

The kitchen is filled with these wonderful smells, Tom is cooking.

7:11 PM

Tom made salmon for dinner. It was good. I'm not much of a fish person and I liked it.

Thursday, we went up to Heights. Bed, Bath, and Beyond as well as Target were on our list. We bought new towels, shower curtain, and a carpet for Tom's bathroom. We went with dark blue for the towels and carpet. The counter is a light blue, this stuff will work. I got white plastic trays to reduce the clutter on the counter.

I think it's about time to clear out that bathroom and the linen closet. My daughters have some of their twin sized sheets, but there are still some in there that have flowers and what not for girls on them. Need to see what they want to hang onto and clear out the rest. I think my old towels are going to be going to the vet's office or something.

Target has a selection of Archer Foods and their store brand, Market Pantry. It's decent stuff.

Not much else to say right now.

This is not the best of days. I'm going through the motions of laundry, picking up, and what have you despite the fact that I'm indifferent to what the house looks like right now as well as a few other things. I feel quite numb and sad.

The hardest part, I think, will be over tonight. I'll call my daughter after supper, if any of us can eat, and tell her what is probably going to happen tomorrow morning. Silly as it might seem to some, I want to give her one more chance to share a moment with what was once her dog.

Shottie is not doing well. The medicine they gave him helped and yet it didn't. He seemed to be getting better until today. He hasn't eaten much in the last week or so and has been drinking a lot of water. The latter is normal this time of year, but it's like he's trying to flush his system. He seemed to be getting along better, was even bouncing about.

I let him out today to go do his thing, waited a bit and couldn't see him. My first thought was hopeful ... that he had made his way over to the side of the house where he likes resting, but when I went out to look, there was no dog. Had Tom look on the other side where I have trouble walking. The dog was out behind the game building. He was alert and seemed alright. BUT ... when he came inside, he was dragging one of his back legs. The joint isn't working like it should be. At best, this is an injury that needs attention, at worst, his body is giving up and it's time to say our goodbyes.

I made an appointment for tomorrow morning. The odds are we will be coming home without him.

This post will become public after Liz is told. I don't want someone to tell her "I saw it on the net," before she hears it from us.

I have some projects I would like to do around the house as well as some writing. Have a lot of things backed up around here and need to get them done.

I think I figured out one of problems I've been having with RP, will get to that later. In fact, I think I figured out a couple of them.

Been trying to keep up with LJ, but for some reason, I've been skimming some entries. I think I need to get "real" glasses instead of using what my grandmothers would have called dime store reading glasses to solve this issue. Love the pictures that folks have been posting!

Newest catch phrase that applies to me of late... "I can't brain, I has the dumb!"

Need to get to the grocery store today. (Edit: went and returned by 6pm)

Turns out the major problem with the Buick was ::drumroll:: bad battery. I feel silly and relieved that it was something so simple. We know the car has other issues, but they don't cause it to not be drivable. Next car problem is the Explorer's brake line.

Have three unread books to return to the library on Tuesday. Need to get cracking! One is a kid's book and the second is large print. The third, I dunno if I can run through that one or not, but Resolution looks like an easy read. If you're on Facebook and want to track my eclectic reading habits, I use Visual Bookshelf. It's part of that Living Social thing.

So, Sunday: laundry and read; maybe RP in the evening or later at night.
Monday: more laundry and cleaning. Get the trash and recycling to the curb. Pay cable, pay car.
Tuesday: library. Wednesday: Pack gifts for the kids and get them mailed
Thursday: Mail tax payment
Friday: Take Explorer into the shop about the brake line. Maybe wait until the next paycheck for that... since we have the taxes and a car payment coming out, I dunno.