our little corner

the area on the corner that we've been re-landscaping is finished. we're pleased with how it turned out and i'm wondering how it will look after a season or two. i'll guess i'll find out.

original ...


step 1, front and back ...



step 2, front and back ...

step 3, front and back ...

romantic storms?

if a thunderstorm is about to happen or is in progress, you should not only hang up your cell phone, you should throw it far away from you.

"... usually when someone is struck by lightning, the high resistance of the skin conducts the flash over the body in what is known as a flashover. But if a metal object, such as a phone, is in contact with the skin it disrupts the flashover and increases the odds of internal injuries and death ... 'The Australian Lightning Protection Standard recommends that metallic objects, including cordless or mobile phones, should not be used (or carried) outdoors during a thunderstorm' ... " (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13491467/)

did i know that? do you? regardless, lightning is really dangerous -- we just don't hear about its adverse effects very often.

for example, if you are indoors during a storm don't touch electrical equipment (lightning can follow a wire) and stay away from bathtubs, faucets, and sinks (metal pipes transmit electricity). there are additional rules plus more for if you're outside, but here's one you need to remember: never lie down flat on the ground during a storm. (http://www.ci.ann-arbor.mi.us/oem/emd/thunder.html)

if lightning strikes 20 million times a year, that's about 38 times a minute. and the air near a lightning strike is 50,000 degrees. whoa. dude. seek safe shelter.

landscaping

we've been busy the last couple of days putting a new spin on our street corner. our builder thought the corner (which has the street sign implanted there) needed to be a mulched area with plantings. we never really liked it, although it was okay, and couldn't figure out how to add stuff to make it look good. finally the husband decided what he wanted to do with the space and when some small boulders unexpectedly came into his possession at an excellent price, the project got started.

on tuesday he (i was out-of-town) took out the old plants, laid down some more fabric, and told the rock guy where to place the boulders. on wednesday hubby got a bunch of melon-sized rocks and we both worked on placing those, then we purchased some plants more to our liking and placed them around the rocks. yesterday he planted plants while i dug weeds out of the lawn, then joined him on the project by placing pebble-size rocks around the plant/rock groupings. we worked hard all day (lunch was at 3pm, supper at 8) and both of us got sunburned. today we are kind-of sore, but mostly just bushed. i took a 3-hour nap this afternoon.

i'll try to get some pictures taken and online tomorrow so you can see what we've done. i love working in the yard. too bad it makes my arm swell up so much since it can take weeks for it to go back to normal size.

i've also been working on sewing a present for a friend and, strangely, the sewing aggravates my arm so even thought her birthday is tomorrow, i have to take it slow and it will be lated. right now i'm listening to my favorite station (overxposure.fm) and sitting down to read a murder mystery.

all is well here.

small town crime

June 13: Two truckers engaged in a pushing contest after becoming frustrated over a perceived incident of queue jumping in the northbound commercial truck traffic line-up. Police calmed the men, who declined to have the matter pursued criminally.

June 12: Officers mediated an argument between sisters who had become tired of living together. Apparently the younger juvenile sister was upset over being "bossed" around. The mother arrived home in the middle of the argument and took control of the situation. When everything had calmed down, officers cleared without further incident.

June 7: Police received a report of a traffic cone pattern in a construction zone which was causing south and northbound traffic to converge head-on. Officers found that construction workers had forgotten to move the cones back after moving equipment in the area. No collisions occurred and the problem was fixed.

June 7: An apartment complex resident reported that a neighbor was playing music extremely loudly. An officer responded and could hear the music from one to two city blocks away because the stereo owner had placed her speakers in an upstairs window facing the outside common area of the apartment complex. The officer gained the music lover's compliance in turning down the stereo at the time.

wow!

it is with great delight that i share the news from My Older Son -- he has a new job! at $25,000 more a year and THREE weeks vacation! his title is project engineering manager and he and the wife are as pumped as we are! of course, with costs in seattle being what they are, the young couple still may not be able to afford to buy a house, but we shall see. all in good time, as they say.

CONGRATULATIONS, JEFLA !!!11!11111!!1!!! w00t!

prices change over the years

we’ve been needing to get a new mattress for a long time now. we’ve been so unsure about what we should get that will work for both of us, however, and with the cost of the things you hate to make a mistake. one of us has jumpy legs and several of us snore a bit and one of us occasionally has bad dreams and makes noises. at any rate, we’ve tried twin beds, a full-size, a queen-size, two twin beds pushed together to make a king-size, a couch, and the floor. the twin beds pushed together actually works the best, but since one of the twins is an air mattress that needs to be replaced yearly and pumped up occasionally, it seems that we really should just get a king-size set and go from there.

so when we got a macy’s sale flyer in the mail last week, hubby sent me to look things over and see if anything would work, figuring we could find something for about $1200. one of the gals who works there is an absolute favorite of ours (she came over one day and gave us two hours worth of excellent asked-for advice about arranging the furniture, picture-placement, colors, etc), so i spoke at length with her about our concerns. she was totally helpful and we will go back next week to make our final choice -- hopefully we’ll soon have a new king-size stearns and foster mattress.

but the point of this whole thing is that when she and i were talking, she had me lay down on a whole bunch of mattresses without looking at the price. it was pretty easy to make some eliminations (i prefer firm but on a second trip we found that hubby prefers pillow-top), and two of the mattresses that i eliminated were fairly pricey. she made an off-hand comment about them being $10,000 and i about croaked, but she said she was just kidding. i looked at the price tags -- one of them was $7,000 and the other was $8,000. and i’m not kidding. thank goodness i didn’t like them.

exploration chronicles

Exploration of Planet 4B-163, Day 5

We lost Jimmy today. We left base camp at 0800 and proceeded outward along the 150 radius. Just after four kilometers, the terrain flattened out and vegetation quit growing. The ground surface became soft and spongy but well able to support our weight.

We continued along our direction for another two kims, with Jimmy at Lead. The surface gradually became softer. We debated continuing since the terrain was the same as far as we could see forward and if it were to continue to lose integrity, we could expect to become mired at some point.

The decision was made for Jimmy to continue alone for a bit more to see if the surface changed. He set out and had gone no further than approximately 300 meters when he stopped. He was observed looking at the surface, then appeared to be trying to extricate his right foot from the surface. Since we were fully suited with pos-radio trans, he was able to explain the occurrence as it was happening. The following is a complete transcription until he disappeared from sight:

Jimmy: Captain, the surface has just gotten markedly softer and I am starting to sink.
Mark: You’re starting to sink? Is there suction? Can you retreat?
J: I can’t lift my foot -- it’s really weird. The surface feels soft and swishy-like, but I can’t lift either foot at all.
M: Retreat, Jimmy. Back up and retreat.
J: Yes sir, I would if I could, but it’s like there’s something holding onto my boots -- I can’t move them and if I fight it, I think I’ll just fall.
M: We’re on our way. Jeb, Slim, and Bertie are on it.
J: Yes sir, but I don’t think they should come out here. I am not going to be able to move and they’ll just get sucked in. You better move them back. I’m already up to my knees and there’s no way I’m getting out of this.
M: Hold on, Jimmy, they’re halfway there.
J: Captain, unless you want to lose more men, you better move them back.

Captain Claney ordered the men to halt and within a few seconds Jimmy had completely sunk, the whole downward movement seeming to increase in speed from start to disappearance. Jimmy was still alert and able to speak to us for another two minutes after the surface smoothed back in place. He reported that rather than darkness as you would expect, he was able to see the material around him fully lighted, just as it had looked on the surface. Then he stated that something had grasped his hand, and his legs regained mobility. He was able to move forward, as if being towed. Rather than feeling afraid of what was happening, he reported a sense of calm. There were no further trans.

The three men who had advanced were ordered to mark the area from three meters back, then they successfully returned to the group. The decision was made to retreat to base and continue the exploration as scheduled tomorrow. Mems were held at 1700.

We lost a good man.

can't go home

well, here it is late at night and i should either be reading or sleeping, but what i'm doing is ... playing games. actually i've been trying out some new ones and the one i just lost was 'uncle sam'.

it was very basic, with me being on the ground and having a gun and shooting at ufo's. but then i got a bigger gun and a space ship of my own and went up in the big blue sky and fought the bad guys. and then i got a bigger gun and fought some really big bad guys. and then i was captured and taken off into the sky. and a message came floating down which said, "probably you can not go home." hahahaha! yeah, probably.

it's "know HOW to fold 'em," kenny...

i ran across some interesting information yesterday concerning origami:

ever heard of Satoshi Kamiya? apparently he's an origami genius. he started folding when he was two and was designing his own sculptures at ten. the designs below are his creations, with the last one being one he made in 2004, when he was twenty.

origami, you remember, is made from one square sheet of paper.







go to http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~qr7s-kmy/g/index.html if you'd like to see more of his work.

happy news

ah! The Hubby is due back today. he's been gone a looooooong time! well ... since tuesday anyway. but it SEEMS like a long time. i've missed him!

a different world

the latest information about my dad, from my bro:

"Our father continues to thrive. Every time I see him now he seems to know who I am, sometimes he even says I'm his son. He had another episode of that accute sleep apnea, or what ever it is. They didn't panic, he recovered, and they called to inform me. About seven or
eight years ago a Dr told Dad he needed an operation on his heart. Dad told the guy to take a hike. Now tell me, if Dad has a bad heart would it be able to stop and start on its own with no detectable damage being done? It would appear he has attained some kind of Zin state. He has lost more weight, which has made him more agile, and a little faster. We have also had to make some wardrobe adjustments."

alzheimer's is such a curious disease. thanks for the update, b ...

small town crime

May 25: An officer contacted an intoxicated driver, who was passed out behind the wheel stopped on a main thoroughfare in a traffic lane with the engine running. The driver failed standardized field sobriety tests and was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

May 24: A business person in the 200 block of G Street contacted the police department to report that an unauthorized person filled the trash container with items not belonging to the business. The business had not given anyone else permission to utilize the trash container and has to pay to have it emptied, so the unauthorized use constitutes a criminal theft of service. The suspect was identified and appropriate action will be taken.

May 24: An anonymous complainant requested an officer check a shopping center parking lot for a group of juveniles practicing their filmmaking skills. One of the "stunt" actors was wearing a large helmet, and being towed in a wheelchair by a vehicle circling the parking lot. An area check was conducted; however, the production "took five" and were no longer in the area.

May 19: A resident heard possible gunshots as a car passed his house and called police. Officers stopped the car and its five occupants. They found that the vehicle was backfiring and there were no weapons in the car. The resident was advised of the officer's findings.

word to the wise -- even though you may not have any more room in your trash can, do not take the trash to an apartment's trash bins -- it's illegal. hmmm, who knew? i thought it was just something you weren't supposed to do.

alone, again, naturally

oh, the time she is awastin' -- hmmm, is that the right phrase? something doesn't seem right, but then, what i mean is that time doesn't waste any time flying on by. My Younger Son is safely back at his place *teary sigh* and life is pretty much back to normal; normal being relative, of course.

i very much enjoyed all the time i had with MYS. we drove My Older Son's new car down to him (very strange run-in with police on the way), then came back and walked around fairhaven, looking at interesting things. of which there were several ...






MYS spent a couple of days up at the place and enjoyed his solo time in the middle of nature, including two hours worth of mowing the grass and an unknown amount of time chopping wood.

one of the best parts of his trip though was getting to listen to him strum his new banjo! i even was able to do a duet -- he'd play a tune while i stood behind him and reached around tapping rhythm on the outer edges of the round, parchment-looking piece with the pads of my fingers. it was very fun!!


and then there is the great news that MYS now has his master's degree of arts in science ... plasma astro physics to be specific. we can't quite figure out why the university chose to make it an arts degree rather than science, but hey. there are a lot of things about that school we can't figure out. such as why they retain poor instructors. but back to MYS -- CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! YOU are THE MAN!!!!!

and now, alone once more, we have just about finished the excellent bbc series of hercule poirot. i am so sad to see the end of it -- david suchet was entirely too excellent, mon ami, as was philip jackson (chief insp. japp), hugh fraser (capt. hastings), and pauline moran (miss lemon). i've never read any of the books, so i can't compare, but suchet is definitely uncomparable in the very best sense.

just like MYS!

let's get on it

the other day i heard about Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth. has it been talked about for awhile? today i saw a preview -- http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2718950 -- and i encourage you to check it out. it's full of information about global warming. someone (greedy republicans?) has tried to keep america from having to face facts and start reining in.

i want to see this movie. i probably won't like everything it says. i probably will come away worried about my children's future. well ... the truth can be tough.

up with family

whew! husband's sis & husband stayed until friday, then headed toward their home. we had a good-bye lunch at YEA'S WOK in newcastle. this restaurant is THE ONLY chinese restaurant on the planet that is really good. i wish it were located in my town.

at any rate, the visit with s&h was so fine! i wish they lived closer -- like in the same town -- so we could do things together more often. but, oh well. they want to be where it's hot and i want to be where it's not.

after s&h left, husband and i did some shopping then met with My Younger Son and his travel pal (new york to seattle via chicago, ann arbor-to-pack-the-honda-and-move-all-of-e's-worldly-belongings, north dakota, and glacier in about a week). we had supper at YEA'S WOK, then enjoyed a leisurely conversation at starbucks before MYS came with us and we said good-bye to e before splitting up to head home. just as we got on the interstate, however, My Older Son called us and we all decided to get together before we left town. so MYS and MOS-and-wife got to see each other for the first time in awhile -- we had a nice but short discourse then hit the road (husband's back was giving him many pains). so, yeah -- whew! -- it was a long-but-full-of-variety day.

so great to see family!!!

a bad man

He was waiting between the houses, angry and tired of fighting with her about it. He was done with the bitch. She was just too unreasonable and it was too difficult trying to work things out with her. And there was always the chance she might talk to the police ... she’d said she wouldn’t, but there was always the chance.

He’d been waiting for her, even though a misty rain had been falling the last hour. He knew she’d be walking by here -- it was part of her damn therapy. “It helps me relax and get my thoughts straight,” she’d said. Ha! Get her thoughts straight. As if she’d know when they were straight without him to tell her about it. What was she doing, trying to think without him anyway.

It was almost dark when the sound of raindrops all around turned into the sound of shoes walking in raindrops down the block. He tensed, checking to see if anyone else was out, to see if she was alone. He let her walk past, then quietly stepped across the grass to come up behind her.

“Hello, Donna,” he said. “How are ya?”

“Chet,” she gasped, startled. “I didn’t hear you.”

“You’re getting wet walking home like this; let me give you a ride. The car is just down the block.” He reached out to take her arm.

She took a step sideways and said, “N-no, thanks, I like walking home. It helps me relax.”

“Sure, but you’re getting wet. Why don’t you just get in and I’ll drop you off.” He moved in closer to her as she continued stepping to the side.

“No. Really, I like to walk.” She started walking again and picked up her pace.

“Donna, I insist,” he said forcefully, moving in, claiming her arm, shoving it under his, and bustling her off across the grass toward the car. He covered her hand with his, taking hold of several fingers. “Don’t yell. You know what I can do if you yell. Don’t make me hurt you.”

She was terrified and angry at the same time. She’d told herself she wasn’t going to get in this kind of fix again. He just kept angling them toward the car. She couldn’t get in the car, she just couldn’t. If she did, she knew she might never see her way out again.

Then, before she could think of anything to do, he was opening the driver’s door and pushing her inside. She clumbsily crawled over to the passenger side, wondering if she could get out her door before he caught her, but he must have read her mind. “Don’t try anything stupid,” he said as he started the car and pulled into the street.

ohhhhhh what a lovely day...

the husband's sister and her husband arrived yesterday, late afternoon. we had stew for supper, then talked the evening away with a nightcap of hercule poirot.

today we headed north to vancouver and spent the day absorbing the sun and seeing beautiful views -- water to the west, and mountains to the north and east. what more is there? we stopped and looked around granville island (artist colony both working and retail) where we had a really excellent lunch at the railroad avenue cafe, i believe it was called.

then we headed up to have a look-see at stanley park, then headed farther up to horseshoe bay which is a really really pretty piece of real estate northwest of vancouver. there are soothing views in every direction and we took a couple of pictures. when i have the time i'll try to put them on flickr.

we headed back home right around rush hour and the delay at the border was fine until a dark-haired b1tch with a snotty-looking boyfriend came rushing up in her big black truck and tried to push into the line ahead of us. said she meant to go to the duty-free shop, haha -- didn't want to have to wait like the rest of us peons. if i'd had a gun i would have shot out her tires -- i am simply fed up with people getting away with stuff when the rest of us have to follow the rules. and she was from the states so that sent a typical ugly-americans message. we finally got through the gate and before we left we mentioned the gal (who was right behind us) -- the guard just kind of laughed it off, but the least he could have done was to have her truck searched and cost her some time.

when we got back we had spaghetti then watched Mrs. Henderson Presents with judi dench and bob hoskins. a very very nice day all around!

midnight ride

“But Sammy, how can we escape if we don’t know where we’re going?” Trixie stumbled over her long gown and nearly knocked Sammy into the river.

“Dammit! That’s the third time you’ve tripped and nearly wiped me out Doll-face,” hissed Sammy exasperatedly. “Hold up that skirt and walk like a normal person so we can actually get where we’re going.”

Trixie grabbed both sides of her dress bringing the hem up to mid-calf as she continued walking rapidly down the dark pathway. “Okay. It’s taken care of. Now, how are we going to get out of this m---”

Sammy had stuck out his arm and Trixie ran right into it, unintentionally getting the wind knocked out of her, which stopped her from talking as well as walking. “Shhh,” he whispered, “I think someone’s on the river.” They both pressed back into the stygian shadows, listening intently for signs of pursuit. After a few minutes, Sammy relaxed. “Let’s get going,” he muttered. “We ought to find a boat right around here.”

“A boat?” squeaked Trixie looking down at her high heels and elegant gown. “If I’d known we were going to have to get in a boat, I’d have worn different shoes,” she lamented. “What good does it do me to get dressed up if I'm going to get messed up?”

“I’ll make it up to you, just keep your voice down.” Sammy stopped again, then as the moon played hide-and-seek with some wispy clouds he bent down and searched through the bushes. “Here it is. Come on, get in carefully and go sit on the other end.”

Trixie stepped closer as she said, “I can’t see a thing when the moon disappears. How do you know anything’s there?”

“Step forward and lift your leg so you can g---” Sammy felt Trixie’s heel innocently stomp his big toe and bit back a yell. She teetered off-balance, frantically trying to stay upright.

“Sammy, Sammy,” she exclaimed softly, just as she felt his hands reach out and steady her. “I’m not sure this is going to work. I can’t see a blamed thing!”

“It’ll work,” he sighed. “It has to work. Just get in and sit down right away. We’ve got to get out of here.”

Trixie stumbled forward then sank onto the seat, feeling something knock against her leg. She reached down and picked up a thick stick as Sammy was getting in. “Here,” she said, “You might need this.”

She held the stick up toward Sammy, accidentally hitting him between the legs whereupon he collapsed with a groan, the action gently plunging him backwards off the boat. He ended up in the fetal position half-in and half-out of the water as the boat absent-mindedly moved away from the shore and into the steady downstream movement of the water.

“Sammy? What happened! Where are you?!” Trixie gasped. Then she simultaneously realized the boat was moving, and that she was alone. “Uh, oh,” she said in a very small voice.

unbelievable

even though it's a gorgeous, special day, i must tell you about a most gruesome disease i read about last night. it's called Morgellons and you can read the astounding details here -- http://www.schmoo.co.uk/morgellons.htm .

this disease is being ignored by most doctors as well as the cdc, and patients are left feeling embarrassed, humiliated, and suicidal. a brief recap of symptoms: itchy skin (like bugs are crawling around underneath the skin), little blue fibers, black specks, and white threads coming out of lesions in the skin, hair loss, lymphedema, and extreme fatigue.

most doctors think the patients are delusional since no infectious agent is readily apparent, and the disdain from the medical community has patients looking for answers on their own. one patient told his doctor he had a gun in his glove compartment and the next doctor who told him it was all in his head, he was going to shoot the doctor. another patient, a teenager, killed himself. desperate people do desperate things.

so far, most of the patients are located in texas, florida, and california. one texas doctor has been looking into the problem and thinks there may be a connection with lyme disease. the oklahoma state department of health is seriously studying the disease and other groups have contacted this department to share their own findings.

the whole thing sounds like an alien horror flick, but it is definitely real. as Mark Twain said, "Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't."

a special day

happy mother's day to me, happy mother's day to-- oh! hello there! yes it's mother's day once again and it's a beautiful day here with lots of sunshine and blue skies and i opened a most lovely card from My Older Son which has tender sentiments that any mother would be deeply touched to receive and My Younger Son is hitting the road in new york and should be arriving here for a long-awaited visit in five days and the husband is happy and healthy and all is right in my world!

i am sooooooooooooo blessed!