Winter Blues

We're expecting another 8 inches of snow, tomorrow. I'm getting CABIN FEVER! I think I'm due a psuedo-vacation. What do you think? Rome? Ireland? The Greek Isles? I think I'll do all of them. A week apart, maybe. I'll start with Ireland. Plan my sister and nieces itinerary at the same time. They want a break, and I have a sneaking suspicion they would both be excited with psuedo-tickets to Ireland. EXCEPT they'll want to fly. Not me. I'll take a TransAtlantic Cruise. Sounds GOOD!

It's Monday

Ok, the economy has finally hit us. Well, silly, I mean it is finally causing us to bleed. Welcome to the real world, eh?

It's Monday, and my daughter will be home from Nashville shortly from sending her boy off to Albuquerque for the summer. It will be quiet, but I'll miss him.

Mike and I built (ok, Mike built and I gave directions) a flower box around the railing of our front porch. We'll have salad every day through October starting next month. Whoohoo. Think I'll turn green?

This has been a wierd month. After Jacob's mom died, our nephew's cancer returned and everyone is worried. I'm looking at herbs to help, but I believe trying to treat cancer with herbs is irresponsible. I've agreed to help on the condition that his oncologist is in the loop. But, frankly, I don't know if nephew is on board. I think mom and uncle are searching for the magic wand, but I will certainly help where I can. As long as we are only complimenting his regimen, not replacing or suggesting this would be better. (and NOT doing anything that would compromise his best chance at recovery) I hope this is not crossing some line. We'll see. Then a great nephew started having seizures out of nowhere. I won't say it comes in threes, although that has been my experience, because I do not believe my nephew's problems are at the caliber of the other two. But, it has been a strange month.

The conference went well. Membership and attendance doubled. Everyone is happy. Enough of that.

My nails are brown, and I can't get them clean. I'm playing in the mud, which makes me happy. I want to put up one of my smaller looms and make myself another belt. I have one I wear all the time, but frankly it should probably not be worn for everyday stuff. So I want to make another. And some cuffs. And wraps for my hair. Like these things might make me look better. But I will like them, and it is time to bring the beads back out. Back be damned!

I wonder how my friend Liz is doing. She's making mini quilts, I saw, but worry about her job(s). Maybe she would have suggestions for the quilting the irish do, where they sew the stitching into patterns (vs stitch in the ditch or other like techniques) for a birthday present. I've got two more pair of drapes to make, but have trouble lifting them lined. Heavy stuff, and arthritis complains when I start pleating. Am thinking of smocked pleating, this time.

Let's see how the wind blows. For now, I'm thinking and playing in the mud.

Happy Monday!

Vacation home in Florida?

Ok, like I don't have enough real estate to worry about. But, I've got grandkids in Florida and one just lost his Mommy. I would love to be able to spend time there and go back and forth. I enter all these contests, but never win. HGTVs Green Home Give-away would be awesome, but I'm not sure how to put the widget on the page. So I'm going to try and figure this out. It's possible I'll make a mess and will clean up what I can clean up. If I leave a bunch of junk lying around from failed links - I apologize. But, here goes.

http://cs83.clearspring.com/u/47a24125c1a09edf/4a0078bd7b266403

Happy Easter, everyone!

Good morning, everyone, and Happy Easter!

Jonny went out this morning and searched for eggs. He found 72 or 74. Something like that. Not all chicken eggs, as that is a LOT of egg salad. He couldn't find 7 of them. His mother had some ideas. He asked her how she could possibly know where the eggs were. She held her finger and her thumb close and said 'me and the Easter Bunny. We're like this'.

It's been awhile, so I apologize for the absence. It's been busy. This has been a kind of sad week. My son's roommates found another house, and he's really stressed. And our ex daughter in law died Tuesday. Not the same son. She had been fighting breast cancer, and we knew it wasn't going to last. But we thought she had 6 to 8 more months. She went to the doctor on Monday, he said she had 24 to 48 hours and she died within 12. It's been hard on her ex and her son. He's only 6, and is missing his mommy. Both the boys are having a hard time. I wish there was something I could do. I wanted to go down, right away, and Michael said 'no, let's wait'. Everyone is there, right now, and in a little while it's going to be harder for them. Then we go down. I feel guilty not dropping everything. But, I understand. And it gets harder for us to travel, so we're not really up to 2 trips back to back. They live about 15 hours away. So, I guess he's right but I feel awful that we're not there, right now. His mom is there, and all her family, so maybe so. I don't know, but Mike says that's what his gut is telling him. He stewed on it for awhile before he decided. He's feeling guilty, as well.

A good friend lost her job, this past week. A customer had a tantrum and pulled some strings (over a lousy $4 bucks for 4 pieces of wood). People.

But, it's Easter. A day of hope and renewal. Things will get better. But I wish I could reach over and give all three of these people who I love so much a big hug and some kind of smile.

Misty day but no snow yet

Well, this retirement thing is kind of a joke. My sister retired many years ago, and I thought she was nuts to stay as busy as she did. Was she a glutton for punishment, or what? Now, here I am, and my days stay almost as busy as they did working 60 hour weeks. 'Splain that, if you can. A quick note on retirement and then we'll move on to other things. I've done volunteer work for many years for local Sleep Societies - web master for Blue Ridge for several years, Secretary for Tennessee, and legislative work. Well, my Blue Ridge days are over x ~ 2 years, and come December I would be through with Tennessee Sleep. So, what did I do? Raised my hand and offered to host a conference. So, now I share Education Committee with this poor man in Memphis. I just can't seem to let go. That's ok, now let's move on.

My husband (year 15 with MS) had CT scans yesterday. They thought he had an aneurysm. We don't have the results yet, but everyone smiled politely and pointed us to the exit when they were done. I read that as NO ANEURYSM! They would have kept us there, if they thought he was about to blow. So, today we're home and back to normal. Whoohoo!

My mother wore many many hats. One hat was as an Interior Designer. She made drapes. Her mother made a living making drapes. When I was pregnant with my first child, I found myself unable to do construction work (I worked as a masoner) and needed a job. My mother and Grandmother let me take on a bit of their overflow which let them take on more jobs and gave me some money. I love and respect both women, but HATED making drapes. I didn't at all mind helping them while we talked, but making them myself? No thank you. NO THANK YOU! We bought another house a year and a half ago (no, we only live in one - the others are rented) and the drapes in this house are/were S.A.D. The dining room drapes were so thin you could see through them. Not by design, by wear and never being cleaned. The living room drapes were......old. The house was built in the 80's, but I would swear the drapes were made in the 70's. Pale blue drapes with white pom pom trim. And white drapes, underneath. Not shears. Drapes. The rest of the house has vinyl blinds. I don't mind blinds, but some color and cover is a good thing. A friend came down last weekend and we spent several days making drapes. Now, the dining room has newer, lined drapes and the den downstairs has the same. 48 pleats in the set, downstairs. My hands will never be the same. One more set to go, and then will just do curtains for the rest of the house. Whoohoo!

I received word last week that my neice had a preemie. Now, I'd heard Luke had arrived but had no clue he was that early. Boy did I feel about 2 inches tall. I had no clue. But, it looks like he's getting better and off the ventilator. Excellent! I had a preemie and know how hard it is. But she's a remarkable young woman and I can't think of a better person to handle that. I watch, from afar, as I live across the country and am a terrible aunt. Her dad keeps me posted, but was distracted this time. Mom is going to need a serious vacation, but I suspect she would be missing home after about 6 hours away.

I don't even know any good jokes. That's my husband's territory. Then maybe it's time to sit down and shut up (as my mother was prone to say).

I'm ready for some SNOW!

Initial Ramblings In A Most Bizarre Intro

Having no idea what to think about entering into the world of blogs, it's time to pull my thoughts together while I decide what point, if any, this page(s) will contain. Recently, I was forceably retired - phased out - outsourced - whatever from work I had done well for 29 years. Frankly, this change has been a mix of elation, confusion, contented resignation mixed with a strong sense of betrayal. Nothing personal, of course, but my salary was better spent saving the Director's budget and saving the hospital large sums as my health was fading and we/they were self insured. It happens to all of us, at one time or another. Not being fired or discharged until this late in my career is telling (or should be) so it's time to let it go. Working on that. I managed a small town big hospital 6 bed Sleep Center. My work over the years had been rewarding, often ground breaking and I had spent the last 5+ years trying to get out of the field. So, no whining allowed! What to do now? Oh, so many things. I am a grandmother, an artist, an avid reader and a trickster. I do large bead loom tapestries (my husband builds my looms for me - they are much larger than anything available commercially), paint and quilt. Not normal quilts, I'm too non-conformist for that. I design them as I go - usually big squares with smaller stories or scenes within each square. This year, I'm thinking about combining my bead skills with my quilts. We'll see. I am a Master Herbalist, who was in private practice for several years. This was in addition to my 'real job' and I consulted a few afternoons a week with a physician in his office. Patients were great, but I was/am somewhat hesitant to buy herbal preparations off the shelf and made all my own. Combine 65+ hours a week managing a 24 hour clinical operation, 4-5 hours seeing patients in a clinic, serving on the Executive Committee for the Board of Directors of a State Sleep Society, managing the web page of a neighboring state society (I live in a 'border town'), sitting on the Legislative Committee of the State Sleep Society and drafting legislation (not all by my lonesome, there were 6 of us who spent too damned many hours and cups of decaf over legal pads in small conference rooms across the state or sitting at our desks on speaker phones) for the profession, welcoming my grandson and daughter into my home all simultaneously during an exhausting 3 year period meant for some very busy days and nights. Writing this down says one thing loud and clear. BURN OUT! My forced retirement probably saved my life. Especially since my real time off was spent having rods inserted into my neck or recovering from fractured shoulders and the like. And I'll be the first to admit that spreading myself this thin meant the hospital and the household chores suffered. So, you probably think I deserved to be let go. Maybe I'll admit to that in about 10 years. But not yet.

I'll spend the bulk of this site talking about some of my artwork, I think. Probably vent a bit about some of the legislative issues if they come to the fore, but my final term ends in a few months and the legislation passed the House and Senate and is now law. They are just ironing out the wrinkles at this stage. What could I possibly offer at this point?

My husband and I have spent the past 6 months researching some major modifications at our house to take it as far off the grid as is possible. The house is all electric, and the region will support solar power which will be one of our major resources. In addition, my husband tells me this region is gas rich (who'd a thunk it? - I thought much of that here in the US was spread around Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico). We're WAY on the other side of the Mississippi River, and I presumed all the gas in the Appalachians would have dissipated by now. Old mountains and all that. And you don't see many rigs being hauled down the highway or pumps grinding away off the side of the road. There can be oil or gas that people aren't clammering for with the energy crisis in the hole it is in? Amazing, again!

I hail originally from the Colorado/New Mexico border in a small town named Farmington. I moved to the Southeast about 15 years ago, but return occasionally for family gatherings and professional conferences. Next year, they're all coming up to my place! Family, not peers.

How long can one babble before the PC decides it has had enough? Will the battery on my wireless keyboard give out if I keep going on like this? Well, time will tell. Or my keyboard will. I'll keep you posted.

I do ask for one favor, if I may be so bold. I realize blogging is old news and there are professional bloggers out there. Me, I'm just a stupid old Indian woman with a computer and an attitude. Forgive me while I get the hang of this, will you?

Oh, why Stormy Sessions? Sorry, I forgot. My given name (not my Christian name - but let's save that argument for someone else please. Or if you have to fight with me, let's do it another day) is Quiet Storm. Not so quiet today, huh?


:::::::::mumbling to myself as I shuffle out the door::::::::