At last, a bit of time to sit down today and catch up on a bit of writing. It seems like things have been rushing past in huge blurs lately, what with the many trips to the hospital and such. Good news though - Dad has stabilized and now just needs to focus on a long road of rehabilitation. On Sunday my Aunt and Uncles, sister and myself are going over to the house to clean things up and prepare it for his return in a week's time. I really don't know how to prepare myself for it emotionally - I know it will be difficult going into this house that hasn't seen much attention in over a year... but it needs to be done.

To escape from the stress of all of this, I have taken to stealing moments in my own personal 'spa', thanks to my best friend Beth who gave me a GORGEOUS basket chock full of bath and spa goodies. Everything from bath crystals, to a sugar scrub, to slippers for my feet... a bath pillow to rest back on, and little white gloves to slide on my hands after slathering them with an intoxicating almond lotion. THANK YOU BETH!! She knows what I love - cause she has the same taste as me. ;) When I indulge in that, I feel like a total pampered princess. It really works in scrubbing away the day and engulfing me in a total cocoon of peace and quiet at least for a little while.

My sister is over for a few days, which is always fun. I had a glass of wine with her and mom last night, and for some reason it really smacked my system like a tsunami!! After half a glass I was feeling all jello-muscled and woozy!!! I'm not sure why it was so potent, but dang...I'm going back for seconds tonight. *grins*

I bought a CD today which is actually on my Amazon Wishlist. It's "Sounds From Middle Earth" by David Arkenstone. I've wanted it for the longest time, and finally broke down and got it. It's beautiful, with all kinds of music that sounds as if it was right out of the movie. It has me inspired to do some sketching, which is something I haven't really shared with any of my online friends. Art was actually my first love, before writing. So - in a few weeks Beth and I are going to convert my grandparent's old home (which is still furnished and used by family when they come to visit) into our art studio for the winter. A couple of times a week we're going to meet there, put on some tea.... fill the rooms with music...and paint & sketch to our heart's delight. The first thing I'm going to do is do some fantasy sketches, and when I finish them I will post them on my website for everyone to see. I'd love to get opinions, and maybe even some requests.

I really love the new theme of my blog. While I like the black background, it doesn't really reflect the kind of person I am. I'm more of a sunny disposition - and now the new look really reflects that I think. Well, without needing sunglasses like my first attempt at a 'brighter' blog turned out. ;) I may be adding a few things in the near future, but for now...it has me pretty pleased.

I may add a feature here as well that would allow people to write full length posts as well - how would that go over? If you like the idea, leave a message on my tagboard. Then I'll know you're ready to venture into the world of blogging too.

It is starting to snow again outside. It's time to heat the teapot up and sip some chai while I cozy up in slippers and fleecies. ;)

Couldn't find the purse, only keys.
Drove too slow, through rain, past the burned down fruit stand.
Went to the house that I don't like, got my car with the keys and no purse.
Sixdollars and a freebie coffee card in the glovebox.
Does anybody keep their gloves there?
Double tall, but no breakfast.
Hunger pangs at 10:00, but photo shoot at 10:15
Wind and rain on the train tracks. Didn't get caught.
Phonecalls and emails, orders filled and a craving for Godiva.
Does anybody else see that old man in the bowler derby?
Lunch in the back, because no tables were clean in the front.
Ate my lipgloss off, and the rest was in the purse I forgot.
Drove home in the dark, careful though -- no license.
Walk home, heavy boots kicked off.
Purse on the bedroom doorknob.
Cat slinks around my ankles, wondering where the other cat is.
Rootbeer for dinner.
Belly laughs for desert.
Time for rain and sleep - but not before that chewable vitamin.

I'm seriously dragging this morning. I went and splurged on a double shot Amaretto latte this morning, but so far it has yet to take effect. There are a couple of reasons why this is.... so sit down and let me spill it, mmkay?

First, today is the day my kitty Buzzbee is being put to sleep. :( He lived a good kitty life, 14 years roaming around the house I grew up in. He's a big ole' black and white splotch kitty, with huge yellow eyes. Unfortunately, he got cancer on his nose....and none of us wanted to see him suffering with it, so...today's the day. I was in somewhat of a foul mood all day yesterday, and didn't even really think about it relating to this... but then when I kneeled down by the chair he was lounging in (by a crackling fire no less!) I couldn't help but cry. Fourteen years is a long time to get to know a little critter...and harder still when you have to leave knowing that's the last time you'll ever see them.

So....hubby and I drove to the place we're house sitting, and I cried pretty much the whole way. But, after awhile, I pulled myself together, and we got ready to call it a night. Well, after we went upstairs to bed....Chiquita, the chihuahua that we're looking after...decided to start barking wildly downstairs, running through the house as if there was a 20' tall beasty trying to get in the door. This was at about 1:30 in the morning! So...hubby goes down and braves the dark to see if there's anything to be concerned of. Chiquita stares at the back sliding glass door, then runs around. Hubby spends a good 15 minutes down there, before he comes back up, not having seen anything. He gets back in bed...and the damned dog does it again. This time we both haul ourselves up and go down, and yes...it's a bit spooky, peering through the windows to the old empty swimming pool out back...

So, we finally decide to just turn on some lights downstairs, take the phone upstairs with us...and chalk it up to a nervous chihuahua (even though she hadn't done this sort of thing the whole first week we'd been there...). Neither of us can get to sleep now...and sure enough, two hours later, the whole thing starts up again. Hubby was so sleepy when he got up at 5:30, and I look like hell today.... and we both decided that we're not staying there overnight anymore. They're coming back Friday - we'll stay there in the evenings, and then we're going home to sleep in our own bed. No more of this getting freaked out in a big old creepy house!!!! I mean, I didn't even mention the glassy eyed dolls that lined the stairway going up to our room. Hubby took them all off the stairway and tucked them away...but when I go to use the computer I can still see the backs of their heads where they're standing, like they were bad little girls and were sent to the corner to be punished. OI! *shiver*

Anyway....I'm sleepy, I'm sad..... oi, what a day.

I was laying in bed at the place we're house sitting...having slept in much longer than usual. I thought to myself 'I'm sleeping as if it's snowing outside....', because normally when the weather changes that dramatically, I sleep very deeply. All the blinds were drawn, and it wasn't until I got up at 9:00 to head downstairs and let the dog out that I realized my intuition proved true. I drew back the sliding glass door that is covered with venetian blinds...and voila! SNOW! I doubt this snowfall will stick, however. It's a light dusting, and it probably won't be for another few weeks that we'll get our heavy, long lasting fall.

Hard to get motivated today. I have so many things that I want to do - so many things that I NEED to do....and yet here I sit. We drive back home during the day and don't return back to housesitting until the evening....so I'm looking around my house and noting that I should do some laundry. I should tidy up. But want I'd love to do is to delve into some writing in my book. I'm inspired after seeing a new book out that was written by Sting. Memoirs of his life up until fame struck with the Police. All the memories prior to that life that made him the man he is today. I wanted to buy it, but didn't want to shell out 26.00 for it. I'll wait to get it used on Amazon I guess. But at any rate, it inspired me.

The reality of my day is that I should really get jamming on the Cheese Factory website!!! Major updates are needed. Total overhaul really. Oi....too little hours in the day. My tummy is full of french toast and even though I just woke up....a nap is calling me. Lazy cat that I am.

The past few days are a complete blur of activity. As I said in my audio blog - I ended up going back into work from 8:30 to 11:30 that night. Me, Toni, Kristen and Todd waited for Verl to arrive in the big 24' U-Haul with the shipment that had finally completed it's journey from Shanghai to Seattle. I was sweating it, because my Bossman had put me in complete and total charge of getting everything arranged to clear it through customs and to be picked up at AEI near Seattle. I was nearly biting a hole through my lip when Verl left in the U-Haul. He had to make it to Seattle by 5:00 sharp... and he didn't leave our offices until 2:00. The mountain pass had snow on it, and any number of things could've held him up. The fact that Bossman forked out money to send Verl on this wild mission....and that it had a chance of failing miserably was too much to bear. I saturated my nervousness with as much caffeine as possible - because then at least I was just manically hyper instead of annoyingly anxious.

At 4:45 a called AEI. No, they had not seen our driver yet...and they could not guarantee that anybody would remain after 5:00 to help him if that's when he showed up. I begged and pleaded for her to hang on while I tried to contact his cell. I pressed the phone reciever to my forehead and closed my eyes, willing this phonecall to be a good one.... and then I dialed the number. It rang...and rang....and suddenly I heard Verl's voice on the other end!!

Me: VERL!! Oh my gosh - where are you??

Verl: Are you getting nervous?

Me: YES! *whimper* we're all nervous!

Verl: Well.... (long pause) I just left Wenatchee.

Me: YOU'RE CRUEL!!!!!!!!!! You're MEAN!!!!

Verl: Heheh - actually, I just walked through the front door at AEI.



So he skimmed in with five minutes to spare, and another guy there helped him hand load 147 big boxes into the U-Haul (because the pallet jack wouldn't fit past the wheel wells on the truck. DOH!)

So.....back at the farm, we busied ourselves until Verl finally came rolling in at 8:30. After lifting him on our shoulders and parading him around the office (okay, maybe not) we formed a chain from the loading dock to the conveyer belt that would carry the boxes down into the basement where we'd be sorting everything. We worked until I thought my back was going to snap...tossing those boxes from person to person, then onto the conveyer. But...at last, the last one was sent down, and we did an exhausted dance of triumph.

All the guys took off at that point, and left us girls to head down into the spooky basement to get everything lined out for the crews that would be coming in the next morning. That took us up to about 11:30, when we finally dusted ourselves off, limped up the stairs and went our seperate ways.

The night went WAY too fast....and before I knew it, I was rolling out of bed (we're housesitting in Wenatchee for the next two weeks...so it wasn't even my own comfortable bed! But that's a story for another blog session) and heading back in to work. That happened next was a total blur of boxes...gloves....unpacking, sorting, counting, repacking....conveyer belting....and limping from standing on a cement floor with sandals on from 8:00 in the morning until 6:00 that night. Oh... my............gawd. By the time I drove over to the place we're house sitting, I could barely walk up the front steps to the door. I must have looked like an 80 year old women!!!! But, the important thing was....we got it all sorted, inventoried...and good to go. HUZZAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! At last.

So....needless to say, after scarfing down some pizza from the place just around the corner from where we are staying, I laid on the couch while hubby rubbed my feet...and found myself dozing off. I roused for a moment, and saw that he was snoozing too....so I suggested we just flop into bed and call it a night. It was 8:30 p.m. *laughs!!!!* But bed sounded so good. I'd taken our two awesome oversized sleeping bags and zipped them together so we'd be more cozy comfy sleeping on the strange bed upstairs. I suppose it could've been two wooden planks for all I cared, I was so tired it wouldn't have mattered - I would have fallen asleep anyway.

So...after 11 hours of pure, blissful sleep....I was laying in bed listening to the sound of cars going by the house. (We live out in the country and rarely hear any traffic, so this was a reminder of when we used to live in the city.) Hubby woke up....and the following conversion ensued:


Him: Man... I can't believe how much traffic goes by this place.

Me: I just pretend it's ocean waves crashing on the shore....it makes it a little better.

(lay there listening to several cars or 'waves' go by.......)

Him: Yeah, I see what you mean. And every now and then there's a wave that sounds like a Volkswagon.