Dazed and Confused

my inner self has no idea what's going on.

It's been extremely chilly in Colorado. Tonight, I'm in the Houston area -- Humble, TX exactly (pronounced "Umble"), getting ready to judge a show tomorrow.

Chilly it ain't.

After a fun-packed few hours jammed between a girl who either blabbed on her cell phone, listened to stuff on her earplugs so loud that it came through loud and clear for me...oh, and my favorite -- woke me up out of a sound sleep so she could go to the bathroom. Just before we landed. Where the bathrooms are not only much easier to use, but less smelly, to boot.

No. She needed to use the bathroom ON THE PLANE.

Wanna know who was on the other side? A mom with a cute young baby. With lungs of leather. (The baby, not the mom.) Who liked to practice with them. Repeatedly.

I staggered out of the terminal after this fun experience, and nearly ran smack dab into palms. And flowering bushes. Big ones. Wow...and tropical!

It's going to take some time to get used to this. Fortunately, my inner self is getting used to the time change -- and the altitude change (begone, headache) -- and has absolutely no idea what time it is. So this may take a while.

One Pot Meals Rule!

...especially if they're via the crockpot. Without it, I'd have a tough time keeping food on the table while I'm working. Fifteen or twenty minutes of work before I head out the door, and a wonderful fragrance wafts through the air when I get back that night.

It's a great help when I'm headed out of town, as well. Dave lived for a few nights on chili last weekend, thanks to the trusty crockpot.

Yum.

Ham and pea soup is simmering in the crockpot right now, and brightening a gloomy Saturday. What's in it? A meaty ham bone, 1 chopped onion, a shake or two of chicken seasoning, 3 cups of dried peas. Fill the crockpot 2/3 full, let simmer at low for 7-9 hours. Pull the hambone and clean off the meat -- give the grungy stuff to the boys. (One gets the fat and such; the other, the bone.)

Here are more ideas:

http://www.aldenteblog.com/2009/03/easy-one-pot-meals-1.html

Organic Gardening - Free!

Thanks for this info from MoneysavingMom:

if you join the Stoneyfield customers forum (free), you'll also get a year's subscription to Organic Gardening magazine -- free!

http://stonyfieldfarm.satmetrix.com/stonyfield/portal/controller/page/Waiver?service=page&context=Waiver

I've read OG for years, and it's wonderful. It can jump on the 'let's-be-weird-about-green-issues' bandwagon, but it has a lot of practical, helpful information. My plants have been better for my reading OG.

Besides, how can you argue with free! But I suspect this won't last for long...

I'm baaaccckkkk...

Finally home, with three quilts in the suitcase and some goodies for Husband...

it's good to be back.

Some interesting auctions, including a group of paintings that may (or may not be) done by Adolf Hitler:

http://news.aol.com/article/hitler-watercolors/443657?icid=mainhp-laptopdl1link3http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Fhitler-watercolors%2F443657

More tomorrow.

The Week Just Keeps Going...And Going...

Susan Boyle is receiving the credit she deserves...what a courageous (and talented) woman!

* * * * *
Here's news of two guys who came down the "easy" way from Mount Washington. (ahem) It's a miracle they rode the avalanche:

http://news.aol.com/article/avalanche-survivors/429819?icid=mainhp-laptopdl1link3http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Favalanche-survivors%2F429819

I climbed that stubborn, beautiful hill 13 times in college, while teaching back-packing in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I say "hill" because, compared to the REAL mountains out here in Colorado, it's just a... well, you know. :)

amazing. More amazing stories hooked onto that slide show, as well.

For those of you looking out at green grass and warm breezes, it's snowing here. Again. More expected tomorrow. And the next day. My daffodils are looking quite tired of it all.

At least it keeps you in, and wanting to work.

Don't Miss This!!

After a very tired day...up until 4 a.m. working, batch of piano lessons given, still fighting flu...

and the most amazing, inspiring video I've seen in a long, long time.

Don't miss this appearance of Susan Boyle on the Brit version of American Idol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

and see if you don't smile through your tears, as well!

Thank you, friend Laura, for mentioning it!

Trading In Your Car For Cash...And A New Car

Apparently Great Britain is considering implementing a new program where old car drivers (not old people -- people with old cars!) would turn in their machines for scrap in return for 2,000 pounds and a commitment to buy a new car.

What is that -- about $5000?

Here's the link:

http://www.confused.com/news/motoring/car-insurance/-2-000-scrappage-scheme-expected-2536699634

What intrigued me was the matter-of-fact statement that Germany has already done this successfully.

Really! I'm not so sure we'd turn our baby in. (It has several years of life left, I think.) But I am certain both Daughters would leap at the chance -- Daughter #1's car has been looking a little sad, and Daughter #2's car is not that far from the grave.

Seems like this would be a GREAT idea for our ever-burgeoning subsidizing!

Could Everything Shut Down At A Moment's Notice?

According to the Wall Street Journal, as well as a number of other sources, techno-spies have seriously invaded the U.S.'s electrical system. Not only that, but they've put in 'sleeper' software that, if activated, could shut things down in a hurry.

No one would have found this if electrical companies had not given the government permission to do an audit on their systems.

It's thought that these hackers were from China and Russia primarily, though those countries are denying any responsibility.

Read more here:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gTamvV9J8BmeVmQift2odb--mBigD97EJO000

Are you as creeped out about this as I am?

I'm also surprised that the articles seem to have been pushed aside very quickly by the media. Better not to think about it, perhaps they're reasoning. Can't do anything about it anyways... who knows, but I saw the article this morning -- and really had to search for it tonight.

Free Blue and White Notecards!

Three and a half hours of sleep later, feeling a little more alert...

I love blue and white together. Cups, dishes, and vases that let the light shine through...they're all big on my docket. You can print off your own pretty blue and white notecards, thanks to these downloads from Alice Cantrell. Thanks, Alice -- they're lovely.

http://www.alicecantrell.com/blog/2009/04/blue-white-tea-notes.html

Working Tuesday

Only got a few minutes' sleep last night...maybe half an hour...but I am finally starting to make progress.

Just have to keep it up for a while.

Have you heard about this Australian sheepdog named Sophie Tucker? She fell off her owners' boat, managed to swim 5 miles to a desert island, and lived there for 4 months -- on her own. Park rangers found her, and said she'd lived by hunting baby goats.

And her owners said she was a house dog before this.

Amazing.

http://news.aol.com/article/dog-overboard/416030

It IS April...right?

Snow. Ice. More Snow -- blowing sideways for good measure. Or upside-down. Rightside-up.

I was supposed to do appraisals today at the Creative Needle in Littleton -- only 20 minutes or so away. Nothing doing, right?

Naah. I called -- and they said, "What snow? We've just got a little rain here!"

And so they did.

So Husband and I slipped and slid our scary way to the edge of Denver -- where the blizzard magically disappeared, and we drove into Rainy Day Land.

The Creative Needle staff is great -- thanks to all of you, especially Marge, for your kindness -- and I couldn't resist buying a nice batch of batiks (they have the best selection), some hologram threads, a batch of sewing-themed hankies and some iridescent floss. Drooled over the glass buttons and beads Marge's son makes...lovely.

By the time I left at 4 p.m., the snow was just beginning there...and five miles later, we were right back in Storm Land.

Weird.

A nice cozy fire. Popcorn. THE BOOK on my mind. And Carolina winning its way to Monday night's final confrontation -- with Michigan State!

I AM GOING TO FINISH THIS BOOK. (Then Pass Out)

I notice that the good folks at Google are hard-put to match an ad or two to my iFart post. Poor people...

Yes, I am working on THE BOOK. It's overdue, gently reminds Deb, my long-suffering editor. (Gigs, the flu, and most of all, my dad's illness and death have taken their toll.)
Husband equally gently reminded that I go through this same process with every book. This, by the way, is #6:

*interest
*fascination
*obsession
*commitment (sign the contract)
*despair
*self-hating ("why, oh why, did I do this...no one will be interested in what I have to say blah blah")
*exhaustion (too many late nights, coffee and bubble gum)
*common sense gradually returning
*interest returning
*figuring out problems ("now how can I get THIS motif in THAT block size?")
*writing, writing, writing...
*stitching, stitching, stitching (sample projects have to get finished, too)
*absentmindedness (can't find my keys, but I know when gold was first discovered in California!)
*odd dreams -- bigtime. (Or insomnia -- take your pick)
*FINISH -- ship everything out (usually just as the birds are chirping in early morning)
*Collapse.

Then start the process all over again with revisions and changes.
There now. Don't you envy the life of an author?

I mutter to myself, spank at the computer screen, do umpteen fabric yardages. (After all, you have to double-check this stuff to be sure it's accurate. That is, before your editor triple-checks it for you.) Wash dishes, and feel guilty. (I should be working on...) Check something, then find myself reading Crazy Aunt Purl...who, after all, knows what it feels like to be "producing a book from my nether regions in two days:"

http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/archives/2009/03/top_ten_nonsens.php

Then an endearing little note about Queen Elizabeth, normally a beacon of propriety, hugging Michelle Obama -- and having the embrace returned. Look at the Queen's eyes while she's talking to Michelle in the video clip -- she honestly LIKES this woman! Frankly, I don't blame her. Mrs. Obama is like fresh wind in that stuffy atmosphere.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-world/20090402/G20.Michelle.Obama/

Ooh...wind! And the Pull My Finger business. Hmmm.... nope. Not going there. After all, there is THE BOOK.

So I sigh, brush off the pile of pistachio nut shells that's collected, throw them in the garden (ooh, I should be out there moving the snow aside and checking on the daffs...no, THE BOOK...)

Something from the freezer tonight. No recreational reading. No messing about with Judge Judy. Just, you know...

Sigh.

April Fool?

One company is suing another, claiming it has violated the other's IPhone application.

Ifart, whose specialties include "Jack the Ripper" and Burrito Maximo," is being accused of grabbiness (and intruding on the 'exclusive' ability to make farting noises by IPhone) by the company Pull My Finger.

Pull My Finger claims it has exclusive use to the phrase "pull my finger." In the spite of the fact that this phrase has been around for a long, long, LONG time.

Pull My Finger was the top seller in the applications area of Apple's Iphone App Store...until it was supplanted by iFart, who was the top seller for 22 consecutive days.

Think this is just an April Fool's joke? Check out:

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_12006444