December 5th

And so another weekend draws to a close.  Its cold and windy outside....been cold all day but it turns bitter when the sun goes down.  I got my tree out and put it up but probably won't decorate it until tomorrow so that the furkids get a chance to get used to it (and hopefully don't knock it over)....and so that I can relax and enjoy looking at the ornaments and remembering the experiences associated with them.  And it might even give me something to blog.

The tree will look a bit different this year because I passed on all of my son's ornaments to him as I packed the tree up in January - thinking that it was time for them to become part of his house and family.  I also gave them a lot of Christmas decorations that I didn't need telling them to keep what they wanted and donate the rest.  I did keep some things that are up now....but this house just seems to work best with a theme of less is more. 
I went over to the kids house today to drop off my old hot tub (they are going to try to fix that pesky leak) and I saw a familiar spray of greenery on their front door...it was cool to see that it had found a new place and it looked great.

Then I bribed my friend Rick (the guy with the truck that delivered the hot tub)with an offer of lunch at Ikea, and where I managed to score some inexpensive decorated gift bags and notecards that should make wrapping easier.  They were marked down - for whatever reason Ikea used themes of blue stars and red hearts - neither of which is very Christmasy in the US.....but there were silver bags with angels and that should do just fine.

Ikea was crowded, but then every place is crowded this time of year.  I love to shop - but I do NOT enjoy sharing that experience with lots of people.  So I think the balance of my gifting is going to be done online.  (Who am I kidding - I haven't bought a single present yet - the only ones I have are some that I bought on clearance last year to be office gifts this year).

Guess I'd best quit blogging and start buying.

12/4 - Caturday

In honor of all my friends with the white stuff.......please keep it to yourselves.

It is COLD here - cold as in 36 degrees out back - a far cry from just a week ago...and perhaps that's why I'm so chilly - because there was no gradual change in the weather it just jumped from ahhhhhhh to arghhhhhhhhh.

Last night I got to catch up with my friend Steph at the winetasting and I had a great time.  I could go on and on about how interesting she is and what a great attitude she has and how she has that way of making whoever she is talking to feel important...oops I guess I did.  And athough we've known each other casually online for years (and met once a long time ago) - it took a third friend from several states away to get us in the same place at the same time.  I guess I could consider it a present from Santa to bring me a friend that I can visit without having to cross times zones :).

But what I really wanted to blog today was my watch.  I wear a two tone Citizen water resistant watch that I bought from Montgomery Ward in 1999 to replace a Seiko that I had been given as a gift by an ex boyfriend back in 1984 that I lost :(.

I loved that Seiko - not just because it was given to me by someone I adored....but because it suited me so well.....and became like a part of my arm - I never went anywhere without it.  And when I finally had to buy a new watch - it looked as much like the old one as possible - in fact, the only reason it wasn't a Seiko is because this was a bit less expensive and I didn't have much extra money to spend back then.

Now I just looked back through my Multiply blogs and it seems that I had the watch in for a new battery in June.....that's when the jeweler discovered that the day/date option didn't work and it was something he couldn't fix.  Didn't really matter to me because its been a long time since I could read that tiny little print anyhow.

So it does seem like the poor things days are numbered  - but I think after all the time we've spent together  I'll stick with it until it gives up entirely. 

Which actually is what the watch guy in the mall is doing....there are few big stores left and the place is crumbling.  Literally crumbling - they've had to close a couple of parking areas because the elevated deck collapsed.  He stays because he doesn't know where else he would go.

And that makes me think of those old people who refuse to move no matter how their neighorhood and their homes deteriorate because it's their home and they just can't deal with the angst of change.

So what do you think:  Am I practical to keep this watch till it quits completely - or am I just afraid of change?

December 2nd - Thursday thoughts

It's been a very, very long week.  I posted a comment to someone's blog that I think most people weren't happy about having to go back to work after a long holiday weekend and so they did their best to share their misery with everyone in their immediate vicinity.

 I even found myself in less than Mary Sunshine mode, which is positively criminal because my life is pretty close to perfect these days and I have no excuse for being anything less than thrilled with how things are going.

Fortunately the rational side of Em managed to convince the overemotional hormonal side to breathe deeply and relax before reacting.  And that's a good thing because as I looked more closely at the situations that were getting me upset - it turns out that just about all of them were unintentional misunderstandings rather than intentional attempts to ruin my (insert your choice -  afternoon/day/career/life). 

The guy who cut me off had out of state tags and panicked when he thought he might miss his turn - the coworker who had let a vendor go unpaid which put my order on credit hold hadn't "let" anything happen - it turns out that no one had bothered to alert them that there was a problem. The friend who I was hoping would come over and help move the old hot tub out didn't show and didn't call, but that's because he was waiting for me to call him.....I did and we're all set for this weekend.

So my lesson to remember is that I should not take things personally - most less than pleasant experiences have nothing to do with me and everything to do with the other person.

All I can control is myself.....so I'm focusing on pleasant thoughts and actions....and let me share a few of them with you.

Isn't this star cool?  It's 42 inches high...I bought one on clearance last year at Target and it is in my front window.  The problem was that I actually have two windows side by side and there was no way to center this thing.  For the heck of it, I went back to Target tonight and they had more of them - so now I have two giant snowflakes in my front window and they look great (I'll have to take a picture sometime).

 I haven't done any Christmas shopping-the tree isn't up - no decorating done inside....I just wasn't feeling it - but I think that will come as soon as I start unpacking all of the holiday stuff....and I'm going to find time for that this weekend.



Kona coffee - real Kona, not that 10% blend stuff, is awesome.  I opened the freezer to grab something and found some beans that I'd been given by a friend a few months ago...so I ground some and brewed myself an awesome cup of coffee.  Of course caffeine after 8 pm I'l probably be up all night.



I posted a couple of days ago that I had finally finished painting my kitchen wainscoting .  This is NOT my kitchen, but this is going to be my kitchen floor - believe it or not it is vinyl planks - and the color and  size of the "fake oak" pieces are close enough to that of my real hardwood floors that it shouldn't be a noticable transition from the hall to the kitchen.  I LOVE the idea of a wood floor for a kitchen, particularly with white cabinets but I prefer the feel and easy to clean aspects of vinyl, so it's perfect. 


Recognize this place?  It's Machu Picchu in Peru - and its been on my to do list for a long time.  Since I'm not going to cruise Hawaii, I was considering taking a winter cruise....but then there was that surprise bonus award I got....and it looks like I can afford to make the trip this winter/spring.  I thought about waiting until I got myself in good enough shape to hike the Inca trail...but realistically I hate going without showers and sleeping in tents ..so I don't think the experience will be ruined if I choose to take the train.



And this is the kicker.......apparently direct flights from Lima to Easter Island start in January....and a couple of travel agencies offer tours that include both.  I've been wanting to go to Easter Island ever since I read Kon Tiki - the story of Thor Heyerdahl's attempt to prove that Polynesia was first inhabited by ancient mariners who made the crossing from South America in primative rafts

Next week I'll be making some phone calls to see if I can pull this adventure off.

 I was chatting with one of my friends tonight (she's been quite ill so I was glad to see her online).  Anyhow, without divulging anything too personal, her doctor feels that what she has isn't curable.   I told her, incurable means chronic -  she'll probably have this disease for the rest of her life.  But incurable doesn't mean that they have given up treating her symptoms or that they will stop trying to get her as healthy as they can.

Life doesn't come with guarantees....and athough I believe that we all need to be responsible and plan for the future.....I also would hate to be that ant that worked hard all its life and then got stepped on before he got the chance to enjoy what he'd accumulated...especially since the grasshoppers would probably have jumped out of the way (at least that's how it seems to work in my yard - those darn ants are too singleminded to notice the foot heading for them......but have you ever tried to step on a grasshopper).

I think the Romans had the right idea.

"Never let the future disturb you.  You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present." ~Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
Wishing all of you a great weekend ahead....