First Harvest on a hot day

Hot, hot, hot , and hot. But it is great for my garden! Picked my first tomato and cuke. Had them for dinner.

O Canada

I went to Vancouver Canada this last weekend. First vacation in a while....ahhhhhh I needed that (:

I found one Geocache in Blaine Wa. Looked for one on the Canadian border but didn't find it. Oh well there's always next time.

Geocaching

So I have discovered Geocaching. I love the great outdoors and treasure hunts appeal to my piratey side.

So I have been on a few forays. This one was at a bus stop and I took the kiddos. it was easy I didn't need the gps just used the clue.

Not the greatest picture but in my hand is the "log" of this geocache. It was a micro and just contained the log. A piece of paper that you put your name on to show that you found it. It was already full of names and most likely the cache wrangler will need to put a new log in soon.

I found one here at this hamburger place exactly at the coordinates on my gps, another little micro cache. It also had a clue which helped find it.


Another bus stop cache seemed like it would be simple to find so I didn't use the gps and I guess I should have as I couldn't find it. I will return to that one and see if I can find it later.

The last cache is pretty well hidden. I used the gps and found the coordinates but couldn't find the cache. I asked for another clue. Had to have been right there on top of it. Later I will go back and look again with new clue. There seems to be a learning curve.

This weekend I am going to Vancouver Canada and I plan to stop and try to grab a few there. Well hopefully at least one, lol. It ain't as easy as it appears to be.

ahh run around like chicken little

First we were all going to die of Sars, then the avian flu, then we were all going to die/riot because of the banks, (well I do feel like rioting about the banks). Um Mr. President where is my bailout? I keep checking my mail and it's not there. Really you don't have to send me a billion I think I only need a mere 10 thousand. Oh wait, I get few dollars more in my pay check due to a tax cut uh huh ... oh yeah right...that REALLY helps! (take that as a sarcastic really)

Now it's the SWINE FLU.

I'm sorry but I guess I am a little jaded. Sure I don't want to get a flu and die, pretty much goes for all of us. But how can you tell what is really a crisis anymore?

The president is still playing golf. (Of course Mr. Bush was reading a story book during a the 911 crisis, so maybe that doesn't mean much either.)

Anyway watching tv news is like seeing a dozen chicken littles running around screaming the sky is falling, the sky is falling....!

I hope this is not really a pandemic. But I can't tell, it feels like the weather report...yes big snow storm...close everything...nothing happens then but well we in seattle knows what happens next. So yah, I'm worried but I think I will quit watching the news, I can't tell what to worry about anymore.

Cranky pants tonight

Parent advice - a viable website idea?

Hey everyone,

I have been looking for a way to share what I know with others. I am working on a website and would love to have some input from you all. Feel free to email this to friends too.

If you needed support and advice and went to look on a website what would you expect or look for?

Would you be willing to pay for email personal advice?

What about phone advice or home visit advice?

What would be the price range you would be willing or expect to pay for this service.

Do you think parents would be willing to take advice from someone (like me) who has 30 years of on the job training?

What do you think of this as a business idea and do you think there is a niche for this on the web.



Any advice/ideas would be appreciated. This has been a pipe dream of mine and I decided I would try and get it started. After all I won't be young forever LOL and thought this might be a great retirement sideline.

SUN SUN SUN SUN

What's that up there in the sky? It's a bird, it's a plane, oh my god its a bright yellow orb called the Sun!

Wow, the sun has decided to visit Seattle. The day is bright and sunny. I have plans to open all my windows and air out the house. I am going to do my house chores and do my bread baking today as tomorrow it is supposed to be even warmer. I want to get out in this sunshine while it last!

There are rumors that Monday the temp might reach 70's!

(humming...the bluest skys around are in seattle.......)

Dangers of chewing breath gum

A friend of mine chews Clorets gum. So I bought some. I have been chewing it until a few days ago when I realized that it was thinning out and sticking to the roof of my mouth.

Now you would think that you could just swallow it down but no it is stuck there somehow. I have tried to dig it out with a tongue brush and a toothbrush but it just sits up there a thin layer like some kind of gummy super glue.

I have even tried using my finger to try and scrape it out to no avail, only managed to make myself gag several times.

I finally went on line to see if anyone had experienced this problem. No one has posted that they have had this problem with any type of gum. GAAACCCKKKK

I notice that hot beverages seems to help but has not yet melted it completely away. I can't imagine going to the doc or the dentist and telling them I have a chewing gum problem. See doc/dentist right up there on the roof of my mouth, yeah that minty stuff...see it?

I guess I will have great breath until it somehow wears away or disolves...

Geeeeezz what the hell is in that gum?

Happy St. Patty's Day - Have you seen my lucky charms?

weatherization

Wow, I am having a hard time getting used to being warm in my house!

I spent most of the winter freezing my butt off because I live in an old house without insulation. Last fall I called the electric company to inquire about how to save money on my electric bill. I had just paid off the winter bill which was really high and hoped they would have some advice on how to lower the cost. Lo and behold they told me that they had a weatherization program that I might qualify for, even though I was a renter, for free!

So I made an appointment for them to come out and look at my house and see what they could do. This happened around Thanksgiving. It took three hours to run all the test to see what the house needed to make it more efficient at retaining heat. I have base board heaters in my bedroom, dinning room and front room. My bathroom as a little in the wall electric heater. They pretty much told me all my heat was going out the walls and that they could indeed weatherize the house and make it better.

In the meantime they gave me little pamplets with ideas on how to keep in what heat I was using until they could weatherize. One of the ideas was to put up curtains to close off parts of the house I didn't use very much. So I put up two curtains that cut off the drafts from the back part of the house. Which meant that when I went into the kitchen and bathroom it was like walking into a refrigerator. But I thought it was worth the chill as it meant that if I hung out in the front part of the house I would stay fairly warm. So I would run into the bathroom and do my business and run back into the living room where it was warm. yes I have a heater in the bathroom but didn't want to live it running 24/7 when most of my trips there were short and brief. I did turn it on for showers or baths. The kitchen was cold but I could cook up my meals and then take them into the dinning room to eat and the stove would heat up the kitchen and it wasn't too bad.

They finally came out to do the work on the house this last week. Two days of work and now I am so warm I have to turn down my heat. I haven't really use the curtains as the house is staying so warm that I don't have too. They added a really cool convection heater to a back bedroom so when it is in use I have heat. Wow I can't believe the difference.

The smell from all the sealants is pretty strong though and I will be glad when it dissipates. My bedroom window has been open for the last few nights as I couldn't bear to sleep in the smell. But it is slowly disappearing. Even with the window open tho the room stays fairly decent. A big change! I may even have to take off some of the blankets on my bed so I can sleep without being too warm!!! Who knew!

Thanks City of Seattle, what a great program!

Rooftop Prowling Cat

I recently got a hummingbird feeder and a suction cup device with which to hang it up on a big front window in my dinning room. I have been enjoying enjoying watching hummingbirds coming to feed. Last Saturday morning I heard a big kuthunk outside on the porch. When I investigated both my cats were on the porch and the hummingbird feeder was on the ground.

Of course they both looked at me innocently but I wasn't fooled, somehow one of them knocked it down. I had placed the feeder so it was not near any places where my cats could jump up on it, so I was mystified as to how one of them could even get up close enough to make it fall down.

Then yesterday I looked out the window and up on the porch roof was Harold, my cat! I have been hearing sounds on the roof but since I have a squirrel problem I figured it was those darned squirrels playing tag on the roof. Now I think some of the noises was Harold getting up on the roof and hanging out there to check out the hummingbird situation. Not only was he on the porch roof but he also got on the main roof, and then I spied him on the neighbors roof next door. I still don't know how he is getting on any of the roofs. But now I know what happened to the hummingbird feeder. I bet he didn't realize it would crash down to the ground under his weight.

(No hummingbirds were harmed in the process of this event, it probably flew away laughing as the cat crashed to the ground, like the roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote.)



I hope he figures out how to get on the other side of the roof and routes out those pesky squirrels. However knowing Harold he might just decide to sit in on the poker parties the squirrels are having up there. I can see him now, smoking a big old stogy of catnip and drinking a beer.

War of the squirrels, 2009

The other day I was out in the back with the kids. It was a beautiful day in Seattle. We heard a scrabbling noise up on the roof. When we looked up we saw the squirrel. Now ever since I have lived in this house, the squirrels have tried to live here too.

I don't have anything against the squirrels but they can cause damage to the house. This however is the first time I actually saw a squirrel enter his/my domicile.

I yelled at him.. "hey squirrel don't even think about it!"He gave me a look and after a brief pause he slipped into the original hole that somehow has become uncovered. There used to be a metal grate across it, courtesy of the landlady's handyman. How they got it off I am not sure. But I think they have a little squirrel tool box with a pry bar hidden in a tree nearby. Funny thing is I never found the grate, maybe they snuck it over into my garbage can while I wasn't looking. The 31/2 year old was pretty amused that the squirrel didn't listen to me.

I have blogged about the dancing and the er, x rated squirrely love I am sure is going on up in my eaves but now I think they may have taken up gambling. I will know for sure when the little cards and poker chips start showing up on my backyard lawn.

It will be the very last straw if I catch them with camera's out spying on me. I think they already listen to me though the walls when I call the landlady and tell her about their returning to live in my eaves. They are probably plotting ways of outfoxing the exterminator guys that come out to supposedly keep my house free of the little varmints.

They put little warning signs that say, "Caution, Black Boxes on Roof can be Deadly!!" Maybe in bright yellow with a little red crossed circle across a black box. "Don't be relocated" might be another.

They probably take a vacation during that week. I imagine there are little notations on their calendars...take vacation, exterminators will be present.

The exterminators have never ever seen a squirrel in my eaves nor have they caught one in the "relocation" boxes.

And where do they take those squirrels to be relocated? Oh nope I won't go there...uh uh not me.....

So now the squirrels have a really nice front door and when they get their tools out again and take off the other grate they will have a nice back entrance too. Perhaps they will build a nice little porch from it. They have a great view into my back yard after all.

So squirrels 3, me 0

computer mojo 4

HAPPY DANCE HAPPY DANCE

I upgraded my computer memory all by myself. yah, what a super feeling to know I can do it!!!

HAPPY DANCE HAPPY DANCE

Happy Dance, Computer mojo 3

Computer mojo 2

After looking at the prices of desktops and laptops I have decided to fix and upgrade my laptop. I ordered the dvd/cd drive and some more memory after looking at the dell support site and seeing how easy it should be. Notice I said should....it looks easy on paper er web diagram.

Loosen a few screws, unhook cover and pop things in and out. So I am going to do it. I have a friend who is willing to be my back up techie.

I will update when I actually get the stuff, get brave enough to try it and hopefully get back on line. If it doesn't work...well...I guess I will be looking for another computer or a repair shop.

Computer mojo

A very long time ago, I used to be able to fix my own computer. I had a desktop. If something went wrong with it or needed replaced it was a simple task.

Now I have a laptop. It is scary to think of taking it apart and trying to fix it. One of the really big reasons is that it is the ONLY computer I have. So if I screw it up, well, I have no back up!

The cd/dvd drive died in it or at least I think it did. I also notice I don't hear the fan running anymore. Or is it my imagination.....

I bought it about five years ago and I think that in computer years that means it is oh, about 100 years old. lol.

I know if I take it to the repair shop they want 80 dollars to just look at it. The replacement part, the cd/dvd drive is around 100 dollars. If it needs a fan...well it could all add up to more than the computer is worth.

If I had another computer source I would take it apart just to learn how to do it! If it didn't run when I put it back together than no big deal.

But for now I am nursing it along. Deep in thought....what to do... what to do....

Rain

Will somebody tell me where they parked the ark????!!!!!!

A visit to San Jose

This last week I was in San Jose visiting my daughter. Right after she picked me up from the airport she took me to see some awesome Christmas lights. There were two houses with lights that were hooked up to play to music on a fm wave link. Lucky for me I took my Zune, (it has fm capabilities). I gave her one ear bud and I used the other to hear the music while the lights danced. Wow a great way to get into the Christmas spirit.

On Christmas we were invited to one of her friends house for brunch. Very yummy, and they surprised us with stockings!

After Christmas we went to the Winchester house. Very impressive, once I saw the mansion it made sense why she would want so many windows. It would have been a really dark dark place without adding windows everywhere. My favorite photo is the spider web window. She had several spider web windows in the house. I was able to catch the reflected window in the shadow.






On the last day I was there we decided, spur of the moment, to go see the Monarch butterflies at the Natural Bridge park in Santa Cruz. What a beautiful place.

The Monarchs kept mostly in the high tops of the trees. You could see them in the tree tops. But my camera couldn't really get a good picture. This Monarch was on the ground.
The next picture is of a Monarch caterpillar. But it is really hard to see at the top of the plant.


This is a picture of the trees in the park. There were only around 900 butterflies at the park. They come in, in mass, starting in October. Many had already left.

This is the beach at Natural Bridge park. However the stone bridge which connected these rocks has long ago fallen into the sea. Look! It's actually sunny! A welcome sight to a snow weary seattlite.

snow impressions Dec. 23, 08 or what you do when you are really bored!

Yesterday I read Cedarflame's blog and she had pictures from someone using their bodies to make snow impressions. Well you know me, I just had to try it.

I just have a little digital and instead of a car hood with a dusting of snow, I put my face into about 9 inches of icy snow.

The pictures didn't look like much until I used my photo shop to make them into negatives, with really creepy results. LOL, It looks like the picture of Eisenhower on the dime.

I think having to press into the snowy ice flattened my features. Either that or I look a little like Eisenhower. But pretty cool anyway.






The first picture is me face taking a dive face down in the snow. If you can enlarge it you can see a 3d image of me, if you look long enough. Plus two disembodied hands were I got up after the dive.

So if you have a spare moment, are bored, and stuck in doors, go out and do a invigorating face dive into some snow. Don't forget to take pictures of the results!

Snow storm Dec. 08

Seattle is in the midst of winter storms. More snow is expected on and off all week. This is what it looks like out my front door.

My friend L has four wheel drive so we were able to get out to do a little shopping yesterday before this new snow hit.

I am supposed to fly out on Wednesday to visit my daughter in San Jose. The airport has had lots of cancellations and I hope that by Wednesday things calm down a bit. I hate to think I might be spending Christmas at the airport! ):My cats still don't know what to think about all this snow. Here is Harold checking out the snow.

No snow yesterday but lots of warning...lots of snow today no big warnings.

Yesterday a big deal was made of a supposed snow storm that was coming to Seattle. Problem is it never showed up. So lots of people stayed home yesterday.

This morning it snow thundered at 5:30 this morning. Yes thunder and lightning during a snow storm. It has been coming down ever since. I have to laugh because I just checked the weather underground website and they said it was snow"mist". Ha ha ha, I would like to see what they consider a snow storm!

The kids and i went out side today to play. I made a snow angel in the snow, first one in a long time. I think the kids thought I was crazy. lol