I'm BAaaack!!!

With pictures and stories but not together in this post unfortunately. I am slap worn out. We had a GREAT time camping, boating, hiking, and fishing, with a few minor(and a major) setbacks and/or irritations. I will attempt to describe the pictures below each of them.



Right off the bat Sarah and I spotted this little mama deer(can you see her? Smack dab in the center of the photo, clicking to enlarge it might help) with a fawn that couldn't have been more than 2 days old. I took this picture before we discovered the baby. It was a WEIRD trip for deer sightings, Atlanta State Park is known for having bazillions of them all over the place and these two were the only ones we saw(multiple sightings in the same area). Of course, having a mountain lion in the area might make them appear scarce. Early Friday morning, the girls(did I say there weren't going to be stories? oh well) and I decided to go on the park's "nature trail". See where the deer is? That is the "nature trail". As is this...



This was the most visible the trail was, ever.
We walked for 2 miles at least, finding the trail only by the colors sprayed on various tree trunks. One place we came to had a very steep, very tall hill to the right of the trail. It was devoid of any vegetation except a few scraggly pine trees, appearing to have been recently burned. As I glanced up to the top of the hill I saw a gold shape slip down to the right. It didn't look like a deer, it didn't spring or leap. Of course, I dismissed it as a deer, didn't want to frighten the girls, and I didn't know if big cats were in the area. Then I came across this strange dug up place that seemed very odd, again dismissing it as something unknown but harmless. I investigated online and found This, scroll down to "scrapes". I saw them in two different places on our trip, including at the bottom of the hill.



Amy had a good time even though she doesn't enjoy fishing. She liked playing in the water and going on the boat.



I'm hoping someone can identify this flower! We found them in a few places in the campground. The stems aren't all that pretty but the blooms sure get your attention.



We found this guy by the bathrooms, as we did many critters including tons of frogs and toads(not one picture though).



The tent pad was a little crowded.



At first, the kids spent a lot of time in the tent. Then they discovered the boat ramp was right down the hill from our site, and they could fish off the shore. The light blue bed in the back was mine, the girls shared the other one.



This is a picture of the back of our boat. The black metal bar between the motor and the trailer(hooks onto the barbell-shaped black area on the trailer) is called a Transom Saver and is used to keep the motor up so it won't be damaged while driving. It is used with a stretch cord to hold the motor even more steady.

After our boat outing Friday afternoon we were hooking everything back up and getting ready to head back to the campsite for dinner. Mark had set the transom saver and was reaching the drain plug(little gold ring on the backside of the boat, under the motor) to let the water out of the back of the boat. The bottom hook had slipped off the rubber area on the trailer, causing the motor to slam down on Mark's right hand. He immediately grabbed it and spun away from the boat. I made him show me and I thought we were headed for the ER for sure. It was wide open but not bleeding. Mark felt woozy and ended up fainting as I was trying to get him in the passenger seat. He was panicked about me having to back the boat up and drive it to the campsite(which I did with NO problems). After we got back, I doctored him up and fixed dinner. The cut, which appears very small in the photo(the end of it doesn't show up), is about 2 inches long. It never did bleed a lot, thank goodness.



The boys went fishing after breakfast this morning, despite the injury. The girls and I broke camp and had it ready(mostly) to pack up when they came back. Mark was still having trouble with the transom saver so we went to the boat ramp to see if repositioning the boat would help. After 10 or so tries, we determined that it would not. But, Mark had a brilliant idea and spent about 40 minutes adjusting the rails on the trailer, the ones that go under the boat. He fixed it so the boat sits higher in the trailer and now the transom saver fits with no problems at all. It is fixed in the photo above.

Ok, now it is 10pm and I'm about to fall over with tired. Night night.
After coming home today and unpacking all of our equipment, it has swollen up twice as big as you see here. He thinks he may go get it x-rayed on Monday.

We are still married!....

Must be true love if it survived chain link fence building. And we didn't kill any kids(in fact, they worked as hard as we did, almost). I can't begin to tell you how hard this was to do, and in the rain all day yesterday. We started Saturday morning, early, and didn't get finished til noon on Wednesday. If you ever get an estimate to have one put in and think its too much to pay, trust me it isn't.


(halfway around)


(Ryan and Mark pulling tension)


(hole in the side of pool, about 3 feet across- pool man came today and is gearing up to get started soon-yeah)



This morning during breakfast I noticed these beautiful spiderwebs on the hollies out front.







There were 16 of them!



I also snapped some pictures of these gorgeous flowers this morning. My mom tells me every year what they are and I always forget. Those are grape leaves surrounding the blooms(no relation).






We are headed to Atlanta State Park tomorrow for a few days of camping and boating. Will have some good pics I hope! The kids are geeked. Last time I camped at this place we had tornadoes, fallen trees, snakes, flooded tent, stolen fish and equipment and Mark got two tickets. It was NOT a good time. Of course none of that will happen this time though, will it? NO!

In a few weeks we plan to vist Caddo State Park and take the canoe. Not sure if we'll camp or not, they are known for alligators and snakes(and maybe even bigfoot).

Remembering and Honoring

Peace is Patriotic.

The post in which I give yall the bestest coffee recipe evah...

I had this quote ready to go:

When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.
(some judge, 1925, wish I had copied the whole thing)

I was all prepared to give my opinions about mandatory school uniforms, as if you can't guess how I feel about them. But, in the interest of trying not to be negative during the countdown to a fabulous weekend...


I've decided(um, I mean, I remembered finally) to give you a little frozen coffee goodness in time for the warm weather. Mark and I used to make something similar years and years ago(before we had more than one child actually) but haven't had them since. The girls discovered frozen cappuchino at Joe Muggs(inside Books-a-Million) and were hooked. Our version is MUCH better though because we use chocolate ice cream. We all love it!

Frozen Chocolate Coffee

2-3 cups leftover coffee(I pour into a tall glass when we're done in the mornings, cover with foil and refridgerate til needed)
2-3 cups chocolate ice cream
1 teaspoon vanilla(or 1/4 tsp cinnamon, your choice)
1 cup milk
2-3 cups crushed ice
1/2 cup sugar(to be added after tasting, the coldness can keep it from being flavorful)
1 cup whipped cream or cool whip

Combine everything but the ice cubes in a blender. Whirl until mixed. Add ice and blend til they are destroyed. Taste and add sugar if you need to, whirling again to mix. You can either top with the cool whip or add it to the whirling, it is good both ways. Makes about 4 servings.

MemeMadness....

Carol over at NumbKnits has a new meme, well I've seen it several places lately, but it is new to me. So, I'll post it here and you can play if you'd like(just let me know if you did by commenting).

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

We had just celebrated the 5th birthday of my oldest kiddo and half birthday of my middle kid(they are exactly 30 months apart, Amy turned 2.5 on Ryan's b-day). Mark was in college, about to graduate, and working at Walmart as a mechanic(yes really!). It had been just over a year since I was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, anxiety disorder and post partum depression and I was still taking Paxil and Xanax(I took myself off in September of 1998). Later that summer we moved from Nacogdoches to Spring, Texas so Mark could work as a manager for JC Penney. I still miss my friends from Nac.

2. Name 5 things on your today's to do list:

Since I'm writing this after 9pm, I'll use tomorrow's.
1. Clip blackberry vines back from old lattice fence around the pool.
2. Talk to pool man(funny how he'll get back in touch with us if Mark calls him).
3. Participate in my weekly International Homeschool Chat(where my hs friends hang out on Friday mornings).
4. Do some light housework, like fold and put away some towels.
5. Do some decluttering of a few hot spots in the living and dining rooms.

3. Name your favorite snacks:

Right now I'm digging some Triscuits with French Onion Laughing Cow Light(cheesey stuff) but I enjoy ranch dip with carrots, cucumbers, and radish slices as well. I am also currently addicted to Junior Mints and dark chocolate(the really bitter kind) oh, and puffy Cheetos(I don't eat these often though). My snack drink of choice is french vanilla iced green tea or a lemonade made with True Lemon packets and splenda.

4. Some Places you've lived:

Ridgecrest California, Duncan Oklahoma, Austin Texas, White Oak Texas, Spring Texas, Norman Oklahoma, Temple Texas.

5. What would you do if you were a Billionaire:

Hmmmm. Partay! Give a bunch of money to relatives and friends. Buy a house or three. Shop at the expensive grocery store and buy organic EVERYTHING. Buy shoooooes! Have the yard landscaped with native grasses and wildflowers. Donate a buttload of money to our local animal shelters. Adopt more pets! Adopt a child or two, or ten.

6. Peeps I want to know more about:

Anyone who reads my blog!

What I'm listening to these days...

TGIW?

(Ruby in our bedroom windowsill)

***updated to include that the cats have all been medicated for ear mites, and I got nary a scratch! wooohooo!!

Yes, TGIW! That means tomorrow is Park Day for our homeschool group and the next day will be busy with getting ready for the weekend. We are planning to install a chain link fence around the pool area on Saturday. Still haven't heard from the pool fixer guy, hope he calls me back, we have issues to discuss. Anyway, back to TGIW. I'm working in the bedroom again today. So far I've decluttered my closet about 85%, reorganized my fabric shelf 95% and got the floor swept. I have a pile of books, yarns, fabrics and so forth on my side of the bed that needs dealt with along with the top of my dresser(ick) and a ton of music cds to sort and I'll be done! We'll try to paint either this weekend or early next week, can't wait to have that part finished, the big gray splotches on the walls are getting old.

Subject change...

Lately I've been thinking about how incredibly LUCKY we are to live in a country where we have the option of not participating in "government school". And, luckier still that we live in Texas where we can teach our kids how we see fit. As Sarah and I were driving home from the park yesterday morning, it occurred to me how much she was NOT having to do by being out of school. No sitting in class from 8am til 3pm(plus travel time), no turning the page when the teacher says, no raising hands to speak(and getting passed up due to teacher indifference), no waiting in line for a bathroom, no being left out, or singled out, no herding around of kids like sheep, no lunchroom "socializing"... Wow! She gets up when her body is ready, makes her own breakfast(unless she talks me into Malt-o-meal), plays with her pets and siblings, jumps on the trampoline, feeds the cats and guinea pigs, gets on the computer to check the weather and her email, draws in her schedule, rides her bike or skates, talks to her friends on the phone, takes videos and pictures with her camera, and SO much more than she'd ever get to do in "school". We have been awesomely blessed by our decision to not participate.

In other news...

I made Mark a fishing blog! Check it out....Fishing Wild. He plans to use it for posting pictures and tales of our adventures in fishing, boating and camping(which we plan to do in the next few weeks). I'm thinking he'll post less than once a week but we'll see. Maybe Ryan can help keep it updated.

And last but not least...

Stolen from Sadira. I think I have done this one before but seems like it was longer.

The rules say you can only type one word.

1. Where is your cell phone? Mars?
2. Your significant other? Driven
3. Your hair? Clean
4. Your Skin? Light
5. Your mother? Loving
6. Your favorite thing? Life
7. Your dream last night? Fun
8. Your favorite drink? Tea(iced, green)
9. Your dream/goal? Peace
10. The room you're in? Dining
11. Your ex? Dead
12. Your fear? Anxiety
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Relaxed
14. Where were you last night? Bed
15. What you're not? Organized
16. Muffins? YES(duh)
17. One of your wish list items? Time
18. Where you grew up? Texas
19. The last thing you did? Sipped
20. What are you wearing? Culottes
21. Your TV? Off
22. Your pet(S)? Lots
23. Your computer? non-laptop
24. Your life? Educational
25. Your mood? Content
26. Missing someone? No
27. Your car? Old
28. Something you're not wearing? Jewelry
29. Favorite Store? Thrift
30. Your summer? Hot
31. Like someone? Yep
32. Your favorite color? All
33. When is the last time you laughed? Today
34. Last time you cried? Yesterday(poked a pin under my fingernail, ouch)
35. Who will/would re-post this? Someone?

Pictures to Share...

From our weekend fishing trip, Ryan's birthday "party" and the doggies' visit this afternoon. I don't think I need to label each of them. The lab in the last dog pic is Buddy, the other 2 pics are of Buttercup "acting a fool". Buddy knows how to sit politely on the couch, B-cup does not. The corgi, Dixie, is helping my dad mow, she's not our dog. I need to get Ryan's catfish from Friday night on here, they were huge! Maybe later.

More Busy-ness...

Where do I start???

We have turned into that busy family that I've not ever wanted to be! It all started Thursday with Park Day. We left the house at 10am and didn't come home til almost 6pm!! That was also the night when Mark and Ryan loaded the boat for their Friday night fishing trip. I think they were out there til almost midnight. So Friday comes along and they leave for the lake. The girls and I had to deliver Ryan's party invitations to his youth group so we headed out with Puppy-girl along for the ride. After we left the church, Amy suggested we go "somewhere else" because she wasn't ready to go home. This is SO unlike her! We decided a walk on our favorite trail would be best so I swung into Walmart to buy a leash. Haha. I was there 45 minutes, at least. Note to self, don't go to Walmart at 6:30 on a Friday evening. We did have a nice walk, the weather was just perfect! Mark and Ryan didn't get home from fishing til nearly midnight and to bed around 2am. Ugh! I stayed up and waited for them too. I think they caught 12 catfish, 2 were 19 inches long! They also had a beaver swim along side the boat for a while. Mark said it was huge.

Saturday we had big plans to "do something" in the yard and/or with the fence and/or deck. No specific plans, we just knew we needed to get some work done. So around 8:30, Mark suggested that we go boating as a family. Sarah has really been wanting to fish with the boys but they stay too long for her. We headed out with a picnic basket and two coolers(one for the worms) around 10am. Mark backed the boat into the water while the girls played at the playground(at a city park on the shoreline of Lone Star Lake). Once in the water we trolled over to a good fishing spot. Mark couldn't get the regular motor to turn over. Not. At. All. And the trolling motor wasn't working at this point. So we rowed. And rowed. Luckily the fish were biting in the shallows and not far from the boat launch. We fished til around 3:30 or so, then rowed back across the lake. Sarah managed to catch the first, and biggest, catfish of the day!! It snapped her line and flounced out of the boat before we got a picture though. Ryan and Amy both caught catfish and Mark and Sarah ended up with brim too. Not a great day fishing but pretty exciting for the girls!

It was a fun day, we bird and turtle watched and really enjoyed being together as a family. The only bad thing was that I got a weird sunburn on the back of my left calf, I guess that was the place I missed with the sunscreen. Oh, and I got bit by a fire ant on my pinky toe. That STILL hurts.

When we got home, we unloaded the ton of equipment that it takes to go on a boat outing and I started dinner while Mark fiddled with the motor. Turns out, the battery was dead, dead, dead. We had delicious spaghetti sauce over noodles but I baked a spaghetti squash for myself. I LOVE them!!! Ryan's friends, the Dufus Brothers, called to have him over for their little brother's birthday so he went there around 8 o'clock. Mark picked them all up to spend the night around 10:30. Wheeeeee! They did manage to get in bed at a decent hour because Ryan was tired. Tell the truth, I'm getting tired of writing all this out but will try my best to get through it. (I did have another "episode" during this time but it wasn't as intense as the first one. Mark and I have determined that it was probably a panic attack but I don't know what the trigger is, maybe nutritional or something)

Sunday morning, the boys decided not to go to church(really ticked me off since those are the people Ryan invited to his birthday party). So, we farted around the house most of the morning. Mark and I went up to get drinks, chips, ice and a cake, then we all went to the park where the party was going to be. It was a great birthday for Ryan(he turned 15 last Thursday). He had lots of guy friends show up to play frisbee and football and they wore themselves totally out. We finally packed up around 5ish I think. Ryan rode home with a friend and some of the guys from the party. They ended up going fishing down at a stock pond and caught about 20 good sized bass. While Ryan was gone, the girls played on the trampoline and Mark and I cleaned up in the garage. I managed to get another two garbage bags full of donations. YEAH!! Slowly but surely I'm paring down to a managable amount of fabric and yarn.

Today I have a list of 16 specific things that I have to get done. Mark is going to help me paint the bedroom finally! So, I'll be off the computer for a good while. I know this is necessary but I really hate being this busy! My camera batteries are dead so I'll post pictures tomorrow(probably update this post with them).

Hope everyone had a glorious weekend!

Blog Fishing Again...

I love doing this...


Toast

Desideratum

Semi-Charmed Wife

Kim's Big Quilting Adventure

Stephanie Lee, Semiprecious Salvage

A Drafty Place

beauty that moves

Sunshine & Shadow

Quilts and Pieces

Mabel's House(love this one)

Trail Mix

Stitchy(another great one)

Lindamade

Storybook Woods

LOL

Wisdom of the Moon

kokopalooza

makingpeace

monkeybox

and last but not least,

Greg 'n Keetha Stuff


Enjoy.

Some Changes Goin' On...

In light of my very scary chest pain event, which was totally NOT heart related but could have been very easily, I've decided to get this health/diet/exercise junk over with once and for all. I'm also going to share some pictures of the flooded park for those who are local. ummm, but those who aren't local can enjoy them too though they won't mean as much.

Anyway, back to the diet thing...

Several women in an online quilting group I belong to are starting a health regimen as well and have shared some websites(just this morning as it happens!). I am still exploring but FitDay looks like a keeper as does, SparkPeople. Both have similar features such as keeping up with your meals, calories, exercise and so forth. FitDay will tell you if you are taking in enough nutrients based on the items you eat each day, among other many other cool things. At SparkPeople, they give you a sample menu for each meal and you get to substitute other foods as you click on each item. Both are GREAT sites and I plan on trying them out, probably one a week, to see which fits me best. They are similar to the WeightWatchers online but easier(for me) to use and FREE!!! WW was around $17/month to use their point and exercise tracker. Just tracking today, a normal day for me, I've eaten about 1500 calories and I'm done for the day. Not bad and I don't usually fluctuate from this too much that I can tell. Sometimes, of course, I'll have a much worse day but more often I have a way better day(as far as my nutrients go).

Now, onto the exercise thing...

I have a not-so-fun problem with my skeleton so I don't get a whole lot of exercise right now. It seems that my left leg is at least an inch shorter than my right leg. Always has been but I didn't really know it could cause problems until a few years ago(even though it HAD been causing them for about a decade before that). What happens is that any time I walk, my body leans to the left and causes the muscles over my right hip to be stretched more than normal. This results in an excruciating irritation of the bursae of that hip called Trochanteric Bursitis. Leg length inequality also causes lower back pain and other aches.

Also, when I was a young adult, I seriously injured the tendons in the top of my left foot. This injury reared its ugly head again when I was pregnant with my second child, and again in the past several years. Mostly it bothers me if I walk too much or if I swim(the flapping of my foot triggers it).

So anyway, I know there are people who exercise and do all sorts of other amazing feats with no limbs and other deformities and/or injuries. I'm not trying to take anything away from their successes. But, dang it, I HURT! Most of the time! And, I'm tired of it! So, I'd do much better without 50 pounds of extra fat that I'm carrying right now. My body hates it when I exercise, it pays me back with days and days of pain. I try not to take NSAIDS due to my high blood pressure so I mostly rely on herbal remedies and rest. It is HORRIBLY FRUSTRATING to exercise one day and feel wonderful about it and not be able to hobble to the bathroom the next morning. But I'm going to give it my best shot. Here are some of my favorite exercise sites:

Exercise at About.com
Tai Chi Forms and Movements
RealAge's You2 Exercises
BodyBreak Online

There ya have it. Now for the park flooding...

Costochondritis...

Yeah, I hadn't heard of Costochondritis either! Until today.

First...

I was doing some very light housework this afternoon, removing things from the entertainment center(at eye level) so I could dust, and watching a very interesting documentary. VERY low energy activity. Anyway, my upper back had a pain, like a tight muscle, so I rubbed it with a tennis ball and continued on with my chores. Suddenly I was struck with chest pains, dizziness, and a flushed tingly feeling from my chest, to my face and the top of my head. I walked toward the couch, where the phone happened to be and was able to think clearly enough to get the kids to come in from playing in the hose before I dialed 911. The whole time I was wanting to just curl up on the floor, it felt that bad. I figured that if I didn't call 911 right then, I might not be able to later. The dispatcher told me that they had help on the way so Mark was next on my list. He got home just as they were examining me.

Then...

I got to ride in an ambulance!!! Woohoo, NOT, and dang I didn't have time to grab my camera or I would have! By the time we got halfway there we'd figured out that I was probably not having a heart attack but it could still be something serious and my blood pressure was crazy. I had all the usual testing, x-rays, bloodwork, etc. I got two potassium pills but nobody told me why(still looking into that because of the kidney implications). Luckily all was ok with my heart and lungs, probably the initial pain caused a panic attack which raised my bp. Everything was mostly normal by the time we left the ER.

Of course, coming home to google this whacky condition has unearthed some unpleasant things, such as Fibromyalgia and Costochondritis and (eeek) Ankylosing Spondylitis(I have been having horrible stiffness in my extreme lower back for the past few weeks), among other things. Just what I needed to start my week off!! But I'm OH SO THANKFUL that it wasn't heart related.

I've noticed that it hurts worse when I operate the mouse with my left hand so I might have to limit my computer for a while.

Stringing Three Sentences Together....

Finally! I haven't had more than 15 minutes at a clip to sit and do computer stuff. All week it has been this way. Too many things coming in and stealing my time. Like laundry. And pet care. And baking cookies, getting the milk, cats to vet, kids to friends and park, groceries, dinners, crafting, decluttering, etc. It has just gotten away from me this week.

So, today the boys are fishing at a new lake. They left at the crack of dawn, actually sometime before that even. Mark has to try and straighten out a part on the trailer while the boat is in the water. It isn't hard to do, he just has to have the trailer sans boat. Anyway...

The girls and I are going to Gilmer to a new-to-us gift shop for a Mother's Day/Birthday outing. A friend of mine sells mineral make-up there and today they've got some special things going on. Like plate lunch bbq and a few of the local artists who have their items there. The boys will probably beat us home since Ryan has a birthday party at 3pm.

Sarah's birthday is Sunday and I still don't really have plans for anything. She is getting a bike. Her friend Callie gave her some wonderful inline skates and she's had them on most of the time since we came home from park on Thursday. She lost another tooth last night so she's got a bit of money of her own to spend. Here are some random pictures of my babiest baby.


(Sarah just an hour old, with Mark)


(The girls, June 2000)


(Sarah, 2 weeks old)


(Easter 2002)


(Sarah's 2nd birthday)


(kids, February 2004)


(January 2005)


(Boopa as Ichi)

Last post, I think I mentioned that I had finished the binding on my confetti quilt. It is on the bed now and I'm ready to start binding the Trip Around the World that I finished last year. I've got a few other projects that I need to get finished and/or started and finished, some fun and challenging things. Can't wait!

Thank God its Monday, Maybe Now I Can Rest!!!

We worked our tails off this weekend and I'm exhausted from it! First, the boys went in the boat again and caught eight nice catfish. They are strictly catch and release fishing. We don't eat fish from area lakes because most are contaminated from various power plants and/or Pilgrim's Pride and US Steel run-off. There are warnings:

"Lone Star Lake (aka Ellison Creek Reservoir) in Morris County
Chemicals of Concern: PCBs
Persons should not consume any species of fish from this reservoir."

So we heed them.

Meanwhile, the girls culled their clothing and toys, and I spent the morning sorting through fabric and yarn, cleaning out the fridge, and cutting up eight ginormous bell peppers that I got on sale. I cut them up into a small dice and freeze in pint-sized bags. One pepper filled each bad so full that I could barely get them closed. After I got all the hard work done, I was able to sit down to work on hand-attaching the binding to my confetti quilt while we watched Cloverfield, which was good but not great. I didn't care for the "camera man" character, he was way overdone and it seemed kind of hokey in some scenes(ok, REALLY hokey). The binding got finished last night. I'll have pictures after I get my batteries charged.

Sunday we got up early and cleaned the garage. all. day.. long! Our garage serves as a catch-all furniture storage place for several pieces including at least two dressers, a few bed frames, headboards, bookshelves, lamps, end tables... you name it we probably have it, plus tools, pool supplies, sports equipment, items to donate, and other typical garage-ish stuff. So, we straightened all that out, putting some of it in the attic. On the other side of the garage I set up a station for the kids to bring me boxes and buckets for me to sort out. We ended up with several bags and boxes to donate. Ryan mowed as well.

After we got the garage put back together(around 5pm), the kids and I went out to dredge leaves out of the bottom of the pool. Ryan found a dragonfly larvae that he's going to try to nuture to adulthood.

I'm not too sure about this pool stuff. From what we saw yesterday it looks like they'll have to redo the whole floor of the shallow end and about half of the slope, and there are two big places on the wooden frame that are rotted so bad that its like paper. One of those places has a huge ant bed in it. I don't think it will be an easy job, that's for sure. They were supposed to come today for something but we're expecting rain for the next three days. I imagine that will put them a bit behind schedule. Not that its warm enough to swim yet at all, but Ryan was hoping to have it ready by his birthday on the 15th.


It was a good day but I am TIRED(and there is still more to do out there!).

Today's chores include more fabric and yarn sorting, cleaning my bathroom, laundry and cooking. First, I MUST pick up my bedroom floor and sweep. As I was putting the new quilt on the bed I moved a pillow from the floor and was attacked by a lint puff in the vague shape of a spider. I screamed so loud that it made the dogs bark!!

It is also Cinco de Mayo, which we'll "celebrate" by having pulled chicken soft tacos with guacamole. For what its worth, my chicken is NOT Pilgrim's Pride, not just for the illegal immigrant issues but because they inject most of their chicken with "up to a 12% broth(saline) solution" to "improve" the flavor(and make it heavier so you are actually BUYING WATER). Sanderson Farms doesn't inject their chicken and it is minimally processed. Anyway, back to the immigration problem, what a freakin' mess that is! The family who came Saturday evening to remove the pool liner is from the same area many of the Pilgrim's Pride workers are from and they are Hispanic. They had two preteen boys and a 6-almost-7-year-old girl, just beautiful children and very nice. The little girl's birthday is the day after Sarah's. They were all bilingual, which is helpful, I just hope they are not illegal. Sigh.

Later this afternoon I hope to have a chance to sort my WIPs and find all the fabrics for my unicorn quilt. It will be a Turning Twenty pattern, or maybe a Turning Twenty Again, I haven't decided yet. Either way, the feature fabric is a beautiful mottled purple and royal blue with a rather large unicorn on it, accented wtih silver metallics here and there. I've chosen about twentysomething purples and blues to coordinate with it. Pictures later, I promise... putting the batteries on the charger now.