Another Book

I get the opportunity to read a book each week on Monday and Wednesday while waiting in an office. My life is too busy to take the time to sit and read, most books are consumed on my commute to work each day, I listen to them on CD while driving. It's a great way to catch up on the latest authors. However, we have a 'library' of books at work, we all bring them to share. It gives me a chance to try authors I would never give a second glance. THe book I am reading right now is by a very new author,"The Measure of a Lady" by Deeanne Gist.

It is the story of 3 children orphaned during a trip to San Francisco in 1849, their father wanted to settle there when he herd of the gold rush, but died of cholera enroute on the city. The children are left behind to make their way in the camps outside the city. There are no boarding houses or hotels for them to stay in, the oldest, a 20 year old beauty (aren't they all?) makes a deal with the 'hotel' owner in town to cook and clean for him in exchange for a place to live for her and her siblings. (Hotel owner is a loose term, he actually owned a saloon and gambling house, but for some reason only known to the author, he called it a hotel.)

Anyway, I am not finished with the book, but it has kept me interested, I like a book that does that.

Nothing new to tell

I have a bead open house at my friend Sandy's tomorrow. I have been sick all week, haven't been able to torch and make beads or jewelry, but I will go and take what I have on hand. I didn't sleep much last night. Couldn't quit coughing.

I sat up and read 1,000 White Women, you have got to read this book! The premise of the story regards a proposal in 1854 by the Cheyenne tribe. Cheyenne's culture dictated all offspring would be raised under the 'tribe' of the mother. To ensure peaceful relation between the white people and the indians, they requested 1,000 white women to take as brides. This was indeed a proposal made during the course of our history, but never came to fruition. Jim Fergus writes this book as though it did indeed happen. It is a real page turner. My interest in historical fiction is generally from the times of Lords and Ladies. I enjoyed this book immenseley, nobody is more surprised than I am.

I didn't want to go to bed, but I finally gave in, still coughed, but not as bad. Today I am dragging around with a nasty cough. I need to keep my PTO hours to go on my trip in January. It is unusual for me to get even 1 good cold per winter, this year I have already had 2 bad ones, I suppose it is because I am trying to hoard hours for my vacation.

I WON, and I don't remember entering

This weekend the weather was so pretty, I opened the whole house up to let it air out while I cleaned like a maniac. When opening the front door, I discovered a package that had been delivered via FEDEX. I couldn't remember ordering anything, I listened carefully for ticking sounds, it seemed to be safe, so I opened it. Much to my surprise, I found a pair of walking tennis shoes. I didn't know why, I signed up online to do the 60 mile breast cancer walk, so I thought maybe they sent me a good pair of walking shoes.

I called my daughter to tell her what I found, she told me we had signed up to win a free pair of shoes months ago. She won a t-shirt, I won shoes!




They are pretty comfy, I can feel the difference when we walk around the lake, I like them, they would have cost around $80/pair if I had purchased them. This is a great treat, I would never pay that much for a pair of tennis shoes for myself. I really never win anything, so was quite thrilled to get them......I am such a weirdo, so easy to thrill with a pair of tennies! Oh, they can be found at www.ryka.com

1977 Revisited

I love when things fall out of the sky and remind you of years gone past. We thought we were so creative in 1977, the clothes, hair, furniture, etc. I got these pictures from a friend at work, it is amazing what we thought was 'innovative and stylish.'

I wonder how many languages I can say GAG in?

This was a great year for Steve and I, our daughter was born in April 1977.

JP Penney catalog cover:


Latest in Dining room furniture:


Not to mention the latest colors to decorate the bathroom:


Clothing left a little to be desired:


I am pretty sure even MONK would not wear this:



When you want to look like a total pussy:


I think this would be a good way to get your ass kicked on the play ground. Excuse my language, but I am pretty sure that this would get it done:





We didn't know about going 'green' then, but it looks like we were recycling old tablecloths:



I am so amazed that we thought this was good. I remember a powder blue suit I bought to leave the church when Steve and I got married in 1975, it was polyester, and the day was as HOT as ever. That fabric could not breathe, I was so miserable in that thing, but I thought I looked good.

It's good to be an Ogre!

One of my co-worker's and his wife dress up as a matching something every year, I love him and Trish as Shrek and Fiona





Here they are with the kids, Puss and Boots:

I miss my grandkids on holidays

Even though I really am not that big of a Halloween fan, I miss the babies being here. We never did go all out for this one, but the kids did dress up and 'go out' around the neighborhood. We carved a pumpkin and put it out, but didn't decorate and go crazy like so many other people do.

I sent the kids an outfit this year, I thought they fit their personalities perfectly. Olivia put hers on so Karen could send grandma a picture, but Noah wouldn't, he doesn't like pictures all that much. Here she is, such sweetie.



This one she looks like she's tugging on her pants, I got her some of those legging type pants to go under her skirt. I thought they could wear their outfits to daybreak today. This is a 3 hour break that Karen and Bryan enroll the kids in, it is set up in a church, the kids go for 3 hours while Karen does her grocery shopping or whatever she wants or needs to do, it has made a huge difference in her home life. It is difficult at best to get all things done with the kids, they are pretty active. Steve and I had them for a week while the kids went to Disney, we were worn out completely at the end of that week, but had so much fun!



Karen will try to get Noah's outfit on him for a photo today. He is my shy one, Olivia runs to the camera to ham it up, esp. if Karen tells her it is coming to Grandma. I'm her favorite, you know how much I hate that????

Noah turned 4 yesterday, karen offered him a pizza party, or she would make him an orange dinner. He picked the orange dinner, I think she got pretty creative. You can buy bread from grocery store bakeries tinted in different colors. I have had them tint the bread purple for Olivia and orange for Noah before. Karen had her store do orange for Noah, she made grilled cheese, there are pictures on her blog.

Halloween Spooktacular is making me TIRED!

Just finished up with the last of the Creepy Witch's Fingers. It is late, around midnight. My little sister, Michelle came over to help me get my treats made for the party. I can't make just one thing, of course, I find all these neat things on the internet,then I overdo it and go crazy. HA! Here are the Witch's fingers, no self respecting witch would be caught dead without her nails properly painted. Recipes for Halloween can be found HERE.



My favorite thing is the Chocolate Mice I found on All Recipes.com, I thought it would be great, there is no baking to do, so it would go easy..........HAHA, they weren't easy, but worth the effort. If I could find an easy way to get the tails and the eyes to stick on, it would have been a cake walk, but the eyes kept falling out, and the tails did, too. We thought they were cute, and worth sharing:



I made eyeballs last year, they are neat, a little work, but so fun when they are all done. I didn't get as anal with the painting this year, it is so late and I am so tired, but they are OK.



The last thing I will make is Mummy Toes, they are cocktail wieners wrapped in breadsticks, with a little almond slice sticking on the end of the wienie to make it look like a toenail. I think they will be neat, but they have to be done right before the party. We'll see, if I do, I promise a photo.