November 19, 2008
Back to normal
We are back from the National Review Post Election Cruise and I have about 300 photos to go through and upload to ExposureManager.com
It was a wonderful trip. Meeting so many National Review writers and editors along with all the other folks who attended was just great.
And yeah, we have been home a few days, but Wendy left Kansas today to go to Colorado, so there was some hanging out to do.
Our friend and Castle Argghhh! Denizen, Ry, really helped Wendy out while we were on the cruise. He got more done in a week than I normally get done in ... oh ... umm.... a year.
Ry drove home on Monday and interviewed for a job and got it!
Oh, darn.
I have to go - later.
Posted by Beth at 4:31 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
February 11, 2008
Okay, I'm back
I didn't really feel like writing anything, so I didn't. I had a busy week. I have joined the Leavenworth Farmers Market, and I attended my first meeting on Saturday morning. They are all very nice people who really seem to enjoy growing things and selling them at the market.
Now that I have paid for a spot for the season (which does not start until May), I have to be sure I have something to sell! So I set up some shelving units in the basement with some seed flats so I can start some of the seeds.
I'm afraid that I'm not totally sure which seeds to start first! I bought a ton of seeds, it seems, and I have not even received a bunch of them in the mail yet.
I suppose herbs and tomatoes would be a good place to start. This year is going to be experimental for me - find out what I can grow well and what I'm really crumby at!! LOL
I also hope to manage to get some of my crafts finished in time for the market season, too.
Much work to do!!!
Posted by Beth at 1:55 PM | Comments (4)
December 30, 2007
Looking back at 2007
This has been a very emotional year for our family. My dear mother-in-law, Ann, passed away from lung cancer the day after my birthday. She was a very good mother-in-law. She rarely lectured or scolded, and was mostly very supportive, loving and fun. I miss her a lot. This Christmas was kinda weird without Ann's wisecracking and humor.
Ann left her family with some money. Enough that my sister-in-law, Kathy, was able to get her dream kitchen and great room and more for her house. It is truly beautiful, and I'm terribly jealous of her kitchen appliances!
And we were able to buy this farm. Which is a huge, huge thing in our lives. John can step out the back door and shoot targets from the deck. Our horses live on our property, and John had indulged my love for critters by letting me have guinea fowl, chickens, and goats (the goats are in the future yet).
And I got fired from my job. The company I worked for was doing well, but my own belief is that they felt I was too old to work with the 'company culture'. The majority of employees there are between 22 and 35, and yes, I did stick out like a sore thumb. I am rather angry about how they handled the whole thing - giving me all these false hopes that I could get a position in a different department in the company. But in every one of the 8 interviews I went through, my age was mentioned at least once as a drawback for me moving that department - for example - can I get along with people young enough to be my children.
Yikes.
So now, I am embarking on becoming something different. I will be working for myself. I plan to earn some money by growing herbs and vegetables and flowers here on the farm, and taking them to the farmer's markets, and also by selling my photographs.
If any of you have any connections to Hallmark, American Greetings or to any calendar manufacturing company or any nature magazine, let me know. Also, I'll be selling my photos on Exposure Manager, I'll be making links available in the next week.
So, for me, it's been a rough year, a lot of unhappy things happened, yet good things are happening now.
I suppose I should start writing more on politics, too, seeing as we are going into an election year, and blogging seems to keep my blood pressure down!!!
So, Happy New Year to everyone. May your days and nights be blessed with joy and peace!
Posted by Beth at 1:32 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
December 16, 2007
Okay, I'm back now
I love electricity.
It was restored yesterday afternoon, just as John and I were ready to leave the house to go and purchase another generator - John bought one on Friday night, but we needed a second one to be able to do things like keep the chickens from freezing!
We had at least an inch of ice - lost lots of branches of lots of trees, but my hope is that all the trees close to the house will survive. We have hundreds of trees, now that I think about it, but the two Chinese Elms between the house and the barn really lost a lot of limbs. And in the summer, those two elms provide a lot of nice shade.
I also got some great photos in the past week. I'll put the best up tomorrow. I have a love/hate relationship with winter. I hate ice storms that steal away our electricity, but I love ice storms that cause the woods to look like crystal.
Posted by Beth at 5:34 PM | Comments (2)
December 3, 2007
Monday, Monday
Does anyone remember the Mamas and the Papas? Back when I was in high school, they were very big! Well, Mama Cass was always very big, but my friends and I loved, loved, loved their music.
Mimi Horning, Maryann Pernoud, Laurie Lamberton and Melinda (who's last name I forgot) and I would all sing to the record - in harmony. We were very good! We also sang the Temptations and the Supremes and the Turtles - if any of them read this, I'm sure they remember!
Posted by Beth at 6:16 PM | Comments (4)
August 22, 2007
Let's see - it's Wednesday, ain't it?
I had more interviews today. Of all the interviews I've had in the past few weeks, these were for the most interesting position. I would really love to get it. The woman who would be my boss is smart and nice and friendly, as is her boss and the very nice guy who wanted to check out some of my technical skills.
So, keep you fingers crossed, my friends. I would really, really, really like to get this job! I'll know by Friday - if I don't get it, I will be laid off.
On the farm front, the remodeling seems to be kinda slow at the moment - they are doing boring things like taping and patching the walls and such before they paint. My wonderful, wonderful flooring arrived and is absorbing the atmosphere of the house for a couple of days before it can be laid. The bedroom should be finished the middle of next week sometime. Then, the basement remodeling begins.
We have decided to wait until 2008 before remodeling the avocado green bathroom - we are spending a huge amount of money right now on other stuff!!
I started building the pen that the coop for the guineas will be in. I spent a few hours on it tonight - most of the time was spent arranging the wood and trying to figure out how to build something that will be strong enough that it won't just fall over the first time a breeze comes along - which is all the time. I've been watching the weather every day in our area, and the wind is almost always between 7 and 13 miles per hour.
I did get the front framing for the pen almost done - I need to staple the hardware cloth to it (even keeps snakes out, and the keets are too little to deal with snakes as yet). My hope is that I'll have both the pen and the coop finished by the end of this weekend, as the keets are growing like crazy, and are going to be way too crowded in their brooders very soon!
Oh, and they eat so much now! So, I figure they need to start ridding our farm of bugs ASAP!
Posted by Beth at 9:14 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 3, 2007
Quick update on what I've been doing
1. Good news - I have a job interview next Friday for one of several positions at the company I currently work for. I think I have a good chance of getting at least one offer.
2. I bought a Nikon D80 SLR digital. I will be prying/cutting/slicing/burning open the damned clamshell packaging that the 2 gigabyte storage card is in sometime today and I will take pictures and publish them here for you!
3. I'll be going out to the farm to feed S'mudge (the new barn cat, thankfully healthy according to Dr. Nikki Green, our vet)
4. I have to pick out flooring, fixtures, doors, wall colors and wood stain colors for our bedroom at the farm. Besel's in Leavenworth is going to make one big room for us out of two small ones. The faster I pick this stuff out, the faster the bedroom will be finished and the faster we can start really moving in!
5. We might have to get a T1 for internet service. There is no decent alternative that I can find so far. We need to check wireless broadband, but I'm a little discouraged at the alternatives in rural areas.
6. I will be building the brooder for the soon-to-be-hatched guinea babies, called keets, today. I found instructions for a great, easy brooder here.
7. Oh, I joined Slim4Life and started the program last Sunday. I have a lot to lose, so it's not really surprising that so far I have lost 8 pounds. I'm not hungry and I feel okay. I do have to take a ton and a half of supplements, though, and it's easy to forget something! I'm very hopeful that between eating right and doing more physical work, I should be able to lose all this fat.
8. I will also be getting pallets for the two outbuildings where I want to store our hay this weekend. It takes up way too much room in the barn!
9. With any luck, I'll get a start on the pasture fence. But that might be asking too much!
So, I'll be busy, but I will check in. Have a good weekend, everyone!
Posted by Beth at 7:42 AM | Comments (7)
July 26, 2007
I'm still alive
Trying to put together a resume, trying to get the farm in shape, not even trying to get the other house cleaned up - what's the point!
A cat found our farm - of course - her name is now S'mudge.
I have to get moving - hope everyone is good!
Posted by Beth at 6:32 AM | Comments (5)
June 14, 2007
The weekend nears . . .
We had the inspection on the house today. Mostly, it's in decent shape - we need to have a load of dirt brought in to even out some areas around the foundation - and after the hell we have gone thru with the foundation of this house, believe me, we will do whatever we need to in order to avoid that kind of nightmare!
We are going to be downsizing, so far as household goods go. Both John and I are pack rats. We have tons of stuff that we don't need, don't use and really don't want.
I know I am going to have to hold at least one big garage sale, probably a couple. We are going from 25,000 2,500(thank you for pointing out that booboo, Barb!) sq feet of living space to about 1400 sq feet of living space (the basement adds the same amount, but needs to be finished.)
So many decisions to make - do I keep my porcelain horse collection? How about my frog collection? Do I keep it or sell it on ebay? We have all kinds of furniture we need to get rid of, it's going to be a lot of work!
It is totally worth it to me to simplify because my hope is that we will spend a lot of time working around our farm, and not miss the stuff that we have now.
Posted by Beth at 9:43 PM | Comments (7)
June 3, 2007
Okay, so I lied
Instead of doing practical stuff today, John and I went to a late breakfast at Santa Fe Depot here in Leavenworth, and then we went out to what hopefully will soon be our farm. We walked the fence line on about half the property, and we were really awed by the beauty of this farm. There are lots of woods, 3 stock tanks and one large pond (so far, there may be more stock tanks we have not found yet). There are acres and acres of woods - mostly deciduous trees, but some evergreens.
There are wildflowers and rather high grass - we need to get the horses on it! The fence looks pretty darn good in most areas. It's only along the main road where there are spots that are not so good.
The pond is really big. Big enough that we should probably get a small rowboat and build a tiny dock so we can row out and fish if we like. Oh, and there are frogs, well, at least something that sounds like frogs. And trees - but I think all ponds should have at least one weeping willow, so that is one thing I'll do as soon as we close on the property - plant a couple of willows.
We found several creek beds - all but one look to be occasional - when there is a lot of rain. We saw two skulls - cattle, of course - and found a couple of places where trash had been dumped - which will be cleaned up before we close!
The farm is pretty hilly, and the hills only add to the beauty. The vegetation is just sumptuous and I love it. It took John and I about 2 hours to walk the fence line on about half the farmland. I think it will take longer on the other half, because I believe it is hillier.
I do need a walking stick. John found an old mop handle in the trash, so I used that, and it made it so much easier to climb hills and cross creeks that I am bidding on one on Ebay.
I will be publishing all the pics that we took today on Exposure Manager, and as soon as I do, I'll put up a post with a link.
Castle Argghhh! will be on the prettiest piece of Kansas property around!!!
Posted by Beth at 6:37 PM | Comments (7)
Today is catch up day
Today I am going to finish planting my flowers, catch up on laundry and cleaning and dream about the farm and pray that they accept our offer.
Posted by Beth at 10:09 AM | Comments (2)
May 25, 2007
I've been kinda busy with work
So I'm just now try to catch up on important things like reading my favorite blogs, petting kitties and dogs and wishing today was Saturday so I would not have to go to work!
Anyway, my dear friend, RG of Girl on the Right, is getting concerned about the fact that she is not contributing in a meaningful way to saving Western Culture. This is a must read. You will laugh, you will cry, you will wonder why. . .
Sorry, I'm in a rhyming mood this morning, I might get silly, so I better get dressed and go to work before I decide I'm in need of a mental health day!
Posted by Beth at 5:59 AM | Comments (1)
March 20, 2007
You might be shocked . . .
at how nice your old jewelry can look!
My sister-in-law, Kathy, and I went through her mom's jewelry boxes last week. My father-in-law, brought the boxes (yes, plural) into the kitchen and dropped them on the table. Wow, Ann had a lot of pretty things.
There were some costume pieces that I liked, but they seemed really worn. I bought one of those sonic cleaners and got some amazing
By the way, my sister-in-law, Kathy, could not have been more gracious about sharing her mom's jewelry. I got several beautiful rings which will remind me of Ann every time I wear them.
In fact, I'm going off to the jewelry store now to have them sized to fix me.
Posted by Beth at 11:07 AM
March 9, 2007
Damn. No car for me!
John has the keys in his pocket - about 200 miles from here. I had a second chance at having wheels for the weekend - our son, Andy came home for a few days - with his lovely girlfriend, Ashes. I asked Andy if he had keys. Naturally, he left them in Manhattan, Kansas.
I think that the lovely and charming Venomous Kate might be able to give me a ride though - let's hope!
Posted by Beth at 9:34 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Life has been kinda busy
I was in Dallas this week, well, actually Plano. I was shadowing a co-worker to learn the new software I'm going to be implementing - IBMWebSphere.
My co-worker, Megan, was teaching the clients how to do an install and set up all the configuration stuff, etc., for the product that our company sells. It's pretty cool stuff.
It was also kinda funny - a guy who has worked for the same company as me had quit and gone to this new consulting firm - so we were training him! I think, in a way, he was trying to bust our butts, but he was still pretty nice - it was quite a surprise to see him when we walked into the conference room.
And then, there are all kinds of things going on in our personal lives. Andy and Ashes (his lovely girlfriend) are coming to visit this weekend, but unfortunately, John has to be somewhere else, so it will just be the three of us.
And, oddly, there is a shortage of pine shavings for the horses. Poor John went to 3 or 4 different distributors of critter shavings and discovered that for some reason, the furniture industry took some time off - so much time off that the pine shavings companies have all run out of shavings! For those who are unfamiliar with the care and feeding of horses, the pine shavings are about the best substance to put in the stalls - they are absorbent and smell great, and it is easy to clean compared to straw or pellets.
I have the crummy car this weekend. John needed the good one for his road trip. I hope John checks his email when he gets to his destination because I have no idea where the keys for the crummy car are, and I have a massage and a hair color appointment tomorrow. If the weather is nice, I guess I could walk, but I'm not sure how long it would take someone in as bad a shape as I am to go two or three miles to the salon.
Posted by Beth at 6:07 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 15, 2007
Wow, no wonder I'm so unorganized!
So, I'm following the FlyLady's directions, and I'm doing pretty well. So I figure I'll go look at the lady she links to for clothing assistance - what do I wear with this - um - kinda fat body.
So this lady suggests that you go through your closet, take everything out (which I had just done anyway because of my new closet hardware) and then anything that has not been worn in a year - give away. If you have two of something - give away the oldest one.
You would think that would decrease the amount of excess clothing I have, eh?
So, this nice lady says to arrange your clothes by type (pants, skirts, dresses, shirts, etc.) and then by color.
Holy cow. Fully 7/8ths of my wardrobe is black. In fact, I have 8 black skirts. 3 styles, 8 skirts. I have not even counted the black shirts I have. How depressing!!!
Yes, I'm kinda fat these days, and I'm slowly, ever so slowly, losing it (I did have a bit of a relapse over the holidays to my never-ending shame!). But you know, I'm not any less fat when I wear black. Heck, I'm not in mourning!
So, I need to continue to go through the clothes - give more and more away, whittle them down to a manageable mess. No wonder I never get all the laundry done! We have enough clothes for probably 10 people!
Someday, not in the near future, I need John to do the exact same thing. He has way too many shirts, and some are identical to each other. I do try to at least get rid of the ones that are falling apart when I do laundry, but I betcha that John has 30 or 40 polo shirts. No. Lie. I know because I wash them.
Oh, and I am working on the bedroom, thank you BostonMaggie, Anne and Harvey! I found some fossils under our bed.
Who knows, they might be worth something!!
Well, time to go back to my housekeeping.
Posted by Beth at 4:44 PM | Comments (7)
January 9, 2007
ho-hum
So far as my life today, it's been the same old stuff, only with a slightly more organized home, which is a wonderful thing. I figure it took me 9 years to make this mess, it is going to take more than one week to straighten it out
Ack! John just bit my finger! I must not have fed him enough dinner.
You all might think there are monsters in our moat, but that's not quite true . . .
Posted by Beth at 9:40 PM | Comments (5)
October 27, 2006
Dreary day
It's been dank and drippy nearly every day for a week, and I'm ready for some sunshine.
Our hometown soldier, Cpl. David Unger was put to rest today at the National Cemetary at Ft. Leavenworth. John has the details here.
Last night, the evil family Phelps came to protest across the street from Leavenworth High School. The Patriot Guard kept them at bay, thankfully. Many of us held flags provided by the Patriot Guard along 10th Avenue until the wake (held in the high school gym) started, then we gathered along the walk to the gym door to stand watch while the wake went on. I really appreciate the folks in the Patriot Guard - they were happy to have us join thier vigil, and I was honored to do so.
At least 300 people made it to the wake to pay their respects to David. No one ended up paying much attention to the Fred Phelps people - there were only about 6 of them screaming obscene things at everyone around. Fortunately, the revving up of motorcycles drowned out thier evil wishes.
John has a much better description of everything here.
Posted by Beth at 3:48 PM
October 2, 2006
Okay, back to blogging!
My heart is breaking over the murder of 3 Amish schoolgirls by a deranged milk truck driver who committed suicide at a one room schoolhouse in Lancaster County, PA.
And there are another 7 little girls who have been shot. Some of them in the head.
I've been to Lancaster County 4 times for work. It is beautiful, beautiful country. I've never seen a more bucolic area.
The man who killed the little girls was 32 years old. He let the boys and the women with children go, then he blocked all the exits to the building tied the little girls (ages 6 to 13) to each other.
The Amish are hard working, Godly people. They want to live apart from modern things, and by and large they do. But now, their lives have been crushed by some wacko who left suicide notes at his home before leaving to find his victims.
There is enough similarity between this and the murder of a high school girl in Colorado to believe this is a copy-cat crime.
And the Amish would have never heard of the Colorado incident - no TV.
Personally, I don't understand why at least one of the adult women didn't stay and try to save the girls. Perhaps it is cultural - I'm pretty sure that Amish women are not given to being forward enough to fight a killer. I could be wrong, and I'm sure we will find out.
Posted by Beth at 2:11 PM | Comments (1)
April 25, 2006
I'm home!
The weather certainly changed here! It's cold - and we might even have a frost tomorrow morning. Good thing I didn't get around to planting anything last week. Some times, being a procrastinator is a good thing...
So I was checking out all my email from the last few days, and whilst checking with the ladies of the Cotillion, I found that our friend, Right Wing Sparkle, is now blogging for the Houston Chronicle - only they renamed her Texas Sparkle. She is doing a great job of covering the story of the woman that a Texas Hospital wants to kill . They have a clever way of making her comatose - they drugged her - and now, under Texas law, they can just pull the plug. Awful, horrible. Not ethical in anyway. Please, go read about it here. (yes, I know it is the DU - and someone there is the sister of the patient in question, and her family is asking for support).
Posted by Beth at 10:17 AM | Comments (2)
March 28, 2006
Inflation!
Some months ago, I lost my car keys. For a long time, I was convinced they would show up somewhere, but I finally accepted the truth - I lost my car keys! And most likely threw them out!!
I have been borrowing John's keys since then, but we really did need another set, so I took the car in to have a new key and key fob made - all to the tune of 194 dollars - American.
Used to be, you could have a key cut for you for what - 2.00?
the key by itself was 29 dollars.
unbelievable!
Posted by Beth at 10:42 PM | Comments (3)
March 16, 2006
quick asides
I'm getting ready to check out of the hotel so I can get home earlier than planned due to approaching weather - in the meantime- my opinion follows:
1. If I was Jessica Simpson's mother, I'd be totally embarrassed. She dresses and behaves like a total slut. And then she refuses to meet President Bush.
2. Why do people keep inisting that the economy is it terrible shape? Just look at this Stock Market news.
3. Yale. Taliban. Okay - never mind Yale - we all know that the Ivy League School is nuts - why the hell is a terrorist in the US? Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi should be in Guantanamo - not Yale! Get him the hell out of the US.
Who the hell okayed a visa for this guy?
Posted by Beth at 6:24 AM | Comments (4)
March 8, 2006
stuff
I really like the new show, The Unit. So does John.
Cassandra has been doing some pretty good writing lately - here and here - of course, great writing is parr for the course for Cassie.
Be sure and check out The Cotillion and all the fine ladies on the Cotillion blogroll.
Meanwhile, I'm not blogging much at all. Work is stealing my life away from me! I never, ever catch up, and right now, it is really wearing on me. I'm very tired - of course, that could be because I am getting used to some new medications. Celebrex is incredible stuff - I didn't know how much my joints hurt until the hurt went away - wow, it's amazing stuff. I can even go up steps without pain. Only bad thing - so far, it makes me tired, but I hope to get over that.
Posted by Beth at 4:56 AM | Comments (2)
March 2, 2006
An inauspicious start to the day
Damn. I can't find my hairbrush. How on earth did I lose my hairbrush?
And my sinuses are so fricking filled up that my tear ducts are clogged up.
And then the stupid little coffee maker here in the hotel room doesn't work.
Well, it can only get better.
Posted by Beth at 6:38 AM | Comments (2)
February 18, 2006
Too much to write about, not enough time
Let's see - I go to Chicago next week, I need to look up some bloggers there if I have a chance - and I'll probably be in Chicago the following week, also.
The week after that, I go back to Canton, Ohio - good people there, I like them a lot!
It's really, really cold out today - I think it is all of 5 degrees right now. Brrrrrrr.
It was a three dog, 4 cat night last night for John and I - when it gets cold, the herd gets cuddly.
I finally planted the moss in my Wardian Case and found a tiny little porcelain pony to graze in it. I'll put up a picture.
Debbie Schlussel has sent me some very entertaining emails. This woman, even though she is a conservative, is really a piece of work. I'll get to that later.
I get my hair done today. Any of those who know me personally know how I get a 'skunk' stripe when it's been 4 weeks since my last visit to the salon. Makes me want to wear a hat for a day or two.
Oh, and the inmates are not back taking care of the horses yet, so I have to go clean stalls again today - it takes me about 2 hours to take care of my beautiful boys every day, but leaves no time for riding them - it's a bit cold for that today, anyway! Poor John is going to have to take on the horse stall cleaning job next week while I'm gone!
On the other hand, since I have to care for my horses myself everyday, I am spending more time with them and meeting some new folks at the stable. That's a good thing, as I tend to be a bit of a hermit outside of work.
John is going to Korea the last couple of weeks in March and first week of April. I don't envy him that plane ride! And I'll surely miss him. I might have to see if Andy can come home for a week or two to keep me company!
Posted by Beth at 9:48 AM
January 28, 2006
Rainy Saturday
It's gonna be a rainy day. Naturally, it can't rain when I'm out of town, or when I'm in town but working - it rains on the weekend!
Actually, I don't mind. I have lots to do today. John bought me my Wardian Case that I spoke of a couple of weeks ago, and I have been scouring eBay in search of miniature plants for it. They have arrived! So .. I will spend the morning building my miniature garden in my beautiful Wardian Case. I will take pictures. I even have a little waterfall that will fit in it.
I know, it seems silly to be so excited about houseplants - but you have to understand. We have 8 kitty cats. They like nothing better than to tear up houseplants and flowers. Once upon a time, before kitty cats came into my life, I had something of a green thumb. I once had many beautiful African Violets that grew so profusely, I had to divide them once or twice a year. But that was then - this is now. I have kitty cats.
Don't get me wrong - I would not give up our feline family for a million houseplants. But, after seeing the Wardian Case that John later purchased for me, I realized that I can have plants again - only they need to be kept under glass. I'm not talking about those old '70s plastic terrariums (which I thought were the coolest things on earth at the time), but glass conservatories.
I found a book
I bought a couple of miniature African Violet plants on eBay, and they arrived yesterday. Oh, my, they are so teeny tiny and precious! I'll have to take a picture of them, also.
Then, John and I need to go shopping to find him a new chair for his desk. The old, nasty, gross, disgusting chair broke last week. John is inconsolable, but I am thrilled! I really hated that chair. It was a light blue fabric that showed every bit of dirt from the cats and dogs and - dare I say it - John. You see, John will go out and work in the yard, and have dirt all over him, and have an urge to blog, so he will come inside, sit down on that nasty chair and type away.
I'm absolutely thrilled that we can go buy him a decent chair today!
And then, of course, I have to go to the barn and clean the horse's stalls. Then I have to do laundry and cook and clean a little.
Posted by Beth at 6:54 AM | Comments (3)
January 25, 2006
Bad Commercials
So, what TV Commercial do you hate? Which just irks the heckydarn outta ya?
My favorite bad commercial is Amigo - the commercial for the program that will teach you Spanish. If I see that in the morning, I think of museeka all day long.
John and I hate a lot of commercials, and we mute them as quickly as possible - but the damn Amigo commercial just makes me crazy!
UPDATE: I can't believe I forgot about the creepy Burger King commercials. That 'Burger King' gives me nightmares - how creepy - a mask for a face...
Posted by Beth at 5:10 AM | Comments (13)
January 10, 2006
Do you ever ...
get an idea that you can't let go? A silly thing - like a Wardian Case
The nice thing about being my age is that I can go ahead and just buy one! And next, I'll have to start looking for the miniature plants to put in it.
I think there is a part of me that never really grew up. I was pretty much a tomboy as a child, but I always loved pretending that my model horses were real, and I built miniature paddocks and pastures in the back yard out of twigs and clover chains. I always wanted to build a big Victorian doll
But I figure that crating a miniature garden in a Wardian Case is a little like building a doll house, and might be a bit more acceptable for a grown up woman to do.
Fortunately, I have a wondrous husband who supports whatever I want to try out, no matter how often I decide to try something different!
Posted by Beth at 8:33 PM | Comments (5)
December 2, 2005
It's Friday! I'm home!
The hard drive on my laptop crashed this morning, so I drove from Canton to Cleveland to get an earlier flight home so I could get my broken laptop to the company helpdesk so I can have it back tomorrow so I can go to Grand Rapids, Michigan on Sunday.
And I have this damn cold.
I'll be back in the morning - now, I go to bed with my beloved!
Posted by Beth at 8:31 PM
Stream of consciousness
There is snow in Cleveland. I have to drive there to catch a plane back home- and no, Ry, I won't make John clean it if I catch it!
I have an awful cold. Rather than expose my clients to my germs, I'll work from the hotel this morning before I check out and drive up to Cleveland.
This is a nice area.
Yes, at the very least, my yellow Cobalt rental car ought to be blue!
I am pro-life - that includes being against the death penalty - but if anyone deserves to die, it is that monster in Florida who kidnapped and murdered that little girl. Oh, and the guy in California who invented the Crips. How many people have the Crips murdered nationwide? A lot, I bet.
I can't stand Brittney, either. What a stupid, stupid girl!
I have to go to Grand Rapids on Sunday. This cold better be gone by then!!
By the way - I like it when people in stores say Merry Christmas.
Posted by Beth at 6:06 AM | Comments (2)
November 15, 2005
this week
This has been an interesting week so far. I flew into Baltimore and drove to Silver Spring, Maryland on Sunday. One of the Castle Argghhh! Denizens, Boquisucio, and his lovely and talented wife, Kathy, took me out to dinner.
We went to a Salvadorean restaurant and had a really good meal and a lot of very entertaining conversation. They are the proud parents of a cockatiel, Mikey, who believes he is a human. Boquisucio should start his own blog, by the way - he's funny and smart, as is his wife.
Then yesterday - oh gosh - the system admin made a UID change for a system user and broke everything that I had previously installed. So I'm almost starting from scratch.
I did actually get through the entire 45 minutes yoga video last night - so all was not lost. Now, if I could just do my yoga every evening I'm here - I'll be happy.
Posted by Beth at 5:32 AM | Comments (5)
October 15, 2005
Saturday = slug day
I have done nothing today. Just nothing. Except stay in bed and have John wait on me (well, he offered to, kinda). I am so worn out from the constant travel, that when I get home, I pretty much collapse for a day. Doesn't give me much quality time with John, though - because I have to leave tomorrow for Lakeland, Florida.
But I'm taking next Friday off so I'll have two whole days at home to unwind and decompress before I fly back to Boston that Sunday.
Anyone wanna come and clean my house?
Posted by Beth at 6:50 PM | Comments (1)
October 3, 2005
A strange afternoon!
Here I was, sitting at my computer trying to get expense reports done whilst balancing our virtual checkbook, and the doorbell rang.
Now, I'm not one to answer the door to strangers, especially if the dogs are out back - as they were and still are. But they rang again, so I went to the door and one FBI Agent and one US Marshall were at the front door.
They asked if they could come in. I asked for their ID again, so I could see if it really looked real, and invited them inside.
The house is kinda messy, as is the norm, and I apologized for its state of disorganization. The two agents sat down in the living room with me and they asked me if I had been in the Washington DC area recently. I mistakenly thought they were talking about my trip to Silver Spring, MD, when I was there a few weeks ago, but they asked me about the Ft. McHenry Tunnel, and I suddenly knew why they were here.
The week I went to Delaware, I took one of my co-workers with me, J, I'll call him. We flew into BWI and drove to Delaware. On our way back, we went through the Ft. McHenry tunnel. J had never seen anything like it before, so he stuck his head out the window of my rental car and took a picture of the tunnel.
He wanted to show it to his son and daughter. He also took a picture of the road leading up to it - it was about 16 lanes or so - and inadvertently took a picture of a power plant that neither of us noticed while doing so.
Let me tell you about J - he is a great guy, I think he is 30 or 32 or something. He grew up on a farm and lives about 90 miles out in the middle of nowhere. He is as innocent as the day is long, and quite innocently took those pictures, which is not against the law, but could be seen as suspicious.
At the time, I told him that someone is going to end up reporting us to the Department of Homeland Security, and sure enough, someone did.
And I'm glad the FBI is checking out these things. Makes me feel like they are much more capable than previous to 9/11.
So that is why the FBI came to my house today. And it is also why I could use a margarita this early in the afternoon. But I'll try to wait - have to do that huge expense report for last week still.
Update: I forgot to mention that I asked the FBI agents if it is okay for me to blog about the visit. They said, sure. Then they said - what's a blog? I said, you know, a web log? They said no, never heard of it - seems they are not big on computer stuff and had never heard of a web blog - I tried to explain, then I finally just told them to go to Instapundit and start clicking on links.
Update the second: They were very observant - they asked if someone in the family had been in the military (of couse the American Flag presented to John when he retired is framed and on display) and asked about the bullet board and the gun on the bar. Gandolf and Annie just loved the US Marshal guy, and then, of course, they asked me about the cats - how many, where did they all come from, etc.
I suppose you need to be a naturally curious person to be doing Homeland Security work. Nosy, really. Kinda like me.
Posted by Beth at 2:34 PM | Comments (14)
August 15, 2005
Such a nasty comment!
I asked people of all political stripes to donate to Project Valour-IT. I put up a post on Daily Kos and actually have had a nice discourse with some folks via email about our differences in seeing the world. But others are just really grumpy about the fact that I am getting the word out about the project.
Here is a comment I got on the post below:
honey please. you are pathetic. this isn't about computers for troops and you know damn well it isn't. it's all about you and your ego.
and why in the world are you so taken with cindy sheehan's "idiocy" that you are making predictions about her continued effectiveness?
who gives a fuck how long her cause stays atop the MSM? it is HER cause. and that is what you fail to understand, since by your stance we now know you've likely not lost a loved one and very possibly drive a vehicle adorned with a ribbon magnet.
if you truly care about the state of the world, then why aren't you predicting something REALLY important, like how long it will take for laura bush to go out to camp casey with a platter of those spicy southwestern tacos she continues to rave about?
sheesh. another self-absorbed nutcase without a fucking clue. jew hater, indeed.
if you really want to raise money for a cause, either ask your hero to roll back a couple tax cuts or ask your rich daddy to write you a check. just don't attempt to twist facts just because you're playing to your own crowd.
I don't know if this person came from KOS or not, but I am surprised at his/her assumptions about me. If the person had the cajones to leave a valid email address, perhaps we could have found a middle ground on which to agree without supposing I'm rich (Ha!) or have a rich daddy (I wish my not-very-rich daddy was alive) or that I am helping Project Valour-IT for ego purposes.
In fact, I'm a 52 year old, dumpy working woman. I once cleaned houses - how many rich folks do that, I wonder? And through the wonders of very hard work, I now make a good salary in the IT field. I admit, my salary is a lot more valuable here in the Midwest than in the overcrowded East or Left Coasts, but I do alright and can't complain. But the point is ... I did it myself.
I am living the American Dream because .... I worked hard.
Just bringing it into the light of day. Comments are most welcome.
Posted by Beth at 6:14 AM | Comments (3)
July 1, 2005
I was not the only one disturbed by Nisssan's Ad
OL Whats New:Nissan Pulls Television Ad
ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 29, 2005 – In response to a protest this week by Operation Lifesaver and its safety advocates, Nissan Motor Company has decided to pull a television advertisement for its Altima SE-R that showed highway-rail grade crossing gates shifting to block a train from crossing in front of a driver.“We are pleased to hear that Nissan shares Operation Lifesaver’s dedication to safety,” said Operation Lifesaver Inc. President Gerri L. Hall. “In addition to deciding to stop airing the commercial, Nissan officials have expressed a willingness to work cooperatively with Operation Lifesaver in the future. We applaud Nissan’s timely action in this matter.”
Operation Lifesaver, Inc., the nonprofit, national highway-rail safety education organization, objects to advertising or programming that depicts dangerous behavior around tracks or trains.
Operation Lifesaver wrote to Nissan’s President and CEO, Carlos Ghosn, on June 28, explaining its objection to the commercial. “Even though most viewers will realize the scenario is unlikely, the overall effect is to reinforce people’s dangerously incorrect perception that trains can stop for vehicles in their path. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth – it can take a train the length of 18 football fields to stop after brakes are applied. The stark reality is that about every two hours in the United States, a vehicle or person is hit by a train,” Hall’s letter explained.
I'm glad that Nissan got the hint. I thought it was a very stupid and dangerous ad when I saw it.
Posted by Beth at 7:35 AM
June 5, 2005
A wasted day
I really hate being sick. All I have done all day is lay in bed, acheing and drinking water. I did a bit of surfing and weboggling, but I'm surely not very good at thinking today!
Barnacle, the cat who owns me, has been very bad today - she has peed two times outside of her litter box. I don't know if it's because I'm sick and she doesn't like that or if she is just pissed at me for some reason.
John got me a Custard Cement from Sheridans - I thought eating that cold cold stuff would make my fever go away.
Well, it sure tasted good, but I still have a damn fever.
So John made me a Margarita. I doubt it will kill what ails me, but maybe I won't care anymore!
Posted by Beth at 7:33 PM | Comments (1)
May 30, 2005
Damn
Apparently I have been a victim of Identity Theft - back in 1992 - and I just find out now?
Good lord!
I'll let you know what happens.
Posted by Beth at 10:42 AM | Comments (1)
April 28, 2005
Ugh
What a week. I swear, I put in more hours when I'm not traveling. And I still have a cold. And to make it worse, poor John has it now, too. In fact, he is really sick - maybe I had the flu?
Anyway, CalTechGirl is the best.
She is this week's hostess for the Carnival of the Recipes and she has it all under control!!
Posted by Beth at 6:49 AM
March 5, 2005
Today sucked!
I have spent the entire day either working, doing laundry, playing Weboggle or helping John fix his fancy schmancy pc.
I am proud to say, I got his pc on the internet. There is a reason I did tech support at Sprint for so long, after all.
Unfortunately, the only way I could get it to work was to give him my wondrous netgear usb wireless thingie.
So now, I have to go buy myself another one.
But what's most important, is John is happy. He can play his flight simulators and download and upload his stuff and he is happy.
He is also taking me out to dinner to pay for that happiness. Heh.
Posted by Beth at 6:02 PM | Comments (4)
February 12, 2005
I have so much to do!
I will be travelling all over the place for the next 6 or 7 weeks. Tomorrow, I leave for Bangor, Maine (one of my favorite places), and I have got to do a ton of laundry to get ready for that trip.
I also want to take John to a gun show today, so I can get him a Valentine's gift.
Oh, and we are going to meet Rammer and family for dinner tonight.
I'm only going to be home one and 1/2 or 2 1/2 days ever week until April - arggghhh!!
Here is my schedule -
Week of Feb. 14th - Bangor, Maine
Week of Feb. 21st - Orlando, Florida (I'll get to see Tammi!)
Week of Feb. 28th - Reno, Nevada
Week of March 7th - Washington, D.C.
Week of March 14th - New Orleans, LA.
Week of March 21st - Bridgeport, CT
Week of March 28th - Somewhere in Pennsylvania (not sure which city!)
Just looking at that schedule wears me out!
But - this week will be in Maine - lobster - lobster roll - yum! Good, fresh and cheap!
I'm flying to Manchester, NH and then driving up to Bangor so I can get some picture taking opportunities.
All this stuff to do, and here I am, sitting at my computer, just blogging away. ..
Posted by Beth at 9:44 AM | Comments (5)
January 29, 2005
Whoa, this day has disappeared!
Let's see - got up around 7:15 (pretty late for me) - fixed coffee. Then what did I do?
Oh, I almost forgot - way last autumn, I ordered some everyday dinnerware from a pottery that was at the Kansas City Rennaissance Festival. They make everything to order, so it took a really long time to get my dinner plates, bowls and lunch plates. The mugs are yet to be delivered - but unpacking all of my stuff took John and I some time and made an incredible mess. They used recycled boxes and shredded newspapers to pack everything in - and the boxes were humongous. I'm pretty happy with how it has all turned out so far - now I need to order some serving pieces.
And then, I decided to do something with the just awful wood floor in our hallway - it has been pretty abused. So I got some stuff that strips and cleans the wood and spent most of the afternoon on my hands and knees trying to clean it up in preparation for waxing it. The smell was just awful - so bad that we had to open windows and turn on the attic fan (and it's about 30 degrees outside) to get rid of the fumes.
It's finally dry now, but I think I'll have to go over it some more later tonight or tomorrow before I test some wax on it.
I don't know why I decide to start these projects when I do. This may have been better left until warmer weather.
I still have to download my pictures from Michigan, do more laundry, figure out what to fix John and I for dinner and vacuum the living room/dining room.
Well, I'll be back - oh, and in case you forgot, Kin of Kin's Kouch is our host for the Carnival of the Recipes this week and he will have it up tomorrow - so I suppose if you really, really hurry, he might be able to get your recipe added!
Posted by Beth at 5:42 PM
January 14, 2005
Quick Question
Do you have any friends or coworkers who don't know words that you use on a regular basis?
At least once a week, the guys I work with look at me funny when I use a word they are not familiar with. I am amazed at how many words these really smart computer guys do not know. It seems I'm always defining one word or another for them.
They thought that I was making up a word when I told them that a client was persnickety. I had to show it to them at merriam-webster.com
Is it just me?
Posted by Beth at 7:07 AM | Comments (13)
January 4, 2005
Stream of Consciousness Post
We are in the midst of what is going to be the mother of all ice storms. I worked from home today because I'm about 40 miles from the office, and boy, am I glad - freezing rain for the past few hours - expected to continue until tomorrow night. I just hope not too many people lose power from transformers blowing and powerlines coming down.
Already, the trees have an icy coating that is thick enough to make it difficult for even the squirrels to climb up them. I admit, it's kinda funny watching our neighborhood squirrels try to scamper up a limb, only to slide back down.
I went to K-Mart this morning to pick up some toilet paper (we were almost out), and when I walked out of the store, there was a huge number of police cars from Kansas City, Wyandotte County, Leavenworth County, Lansing, Kansas and Leavenworth Kansas - sheriff's cars, state trooper cars - sirens blaring - going up 4th Street (aka 7 highway) not a whole lot faster than the speed limit. There was a lone jeep in between all these law enforcement vehicles. I have never seen anything like it. On my way home, I saw several more police cars flying down our street. John happened to call home, and I told him about it - it ends up that the jeep was a stolen car - stolen in Kansas City, Mo, and every jurisdiction along the way started 'chasing' the car. It was much like the OJ Simpson chase - and they did get the guy. But .. I counted 24 official law enforcement vehicles. 24. For a stolen car.
Now, don't get me wrong - car thieves need to be caught and property protected. However, it took 24 of them to catch this guy. 24. Twenty four!
I can't help but think that there might have been other crimes worthy of attention during this time. Was it necessary for each police department along the way to have a couple of cars included in the chase? So, police people - tell me - was this necessary? I will say that the chase was at a safe speed, thank you police departments in the Leavenworth/Lansing area!
Our house is finally becoming a home to me. I know, I know - John and I got married nearly 7 years ago, this is home. When John bought this house, he was still with his ex-wife, and even after all these years, I always felt like it was not really 'my' house, so I hesitated to make any changes. In fact, when I sold my house and married John and moved here, we just piled all of my stuff in with all of his stuff, and we've never gotten around to figuring out what to do with it all, or how to make our house more homey.
I am a terrible procrastinator. Awful, I am. There were things I wanted to do with the house, but I just couldn't get started. So I ordered some hypnosis cd's - don't laugh, I think they are working! In the past 2 1/2 weeks, I have turned our awfully cluttered and dirty mudroom into a mini-workbench area and a closet full of crap is now a pantry, and I went through every single cabinet in the kitchen and threw out all kinds of stuff we don't use, and gave away nice stuff we don't use, and I cleaned and I rearranged stuff, and I know have a kitchen that I really like a lot more - we need to paint the walls, and maybe the cabinets, and John suggested a border of some sort - he is right - but the kitchen is now really great. We even purchased a lovely Boos Block work table for a center work area. I'll have to take a picture, I can't find the exact table on the web anywhere.
Then I took an old butcher block table we got at an antique store, and put it in the breakfast area with a couple of old chairs, and it works as a dinette for two. I even found a 'throw' that makes quite a nice tablecloth for it.
Wow, I really feel like I have accomplished a lot lately! I really think that the hypnosis cd's are helping a lot. I also had John move the bar into the living room area, and he put up shelving in our computer room for all of our books, etc.
It has taken us seven years to get started on this stuff - pitifull, eh? But we are finally doing things we really like to our house .. our home.
Posted by Beth at 5:38 PM | Comments (7)
November 23, 2004
Got to get moving
I have to drive out to Manhattan, Kansas (The Little Apple) and pick Andy up for the Thanksgiving Holiday. His last class is over at 9:30. I guess he'll have to wait a little, I'm still in my robe.
Too bad I don't have that XM radio for the drive!
Posted by Beth at 7:16 AM
October 26, 2004
Gmail!
If any of you would like Gmail account, let me know, I have a few to give away!
Posted by Beth at 8:09 PM | Comments (1)
Busy busy
John is working at Ft. Benning, GA for the next three weeks, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to spent more time with the horses and do some things around the house.
Last night, I took Willie out for about a 40 minute ride. Neither of us have been out on a ride for quite a while and we are both out of shape, so we just walked. And naturally, now I'm stiff.
If the rain stops, I'll ride again tonight - not sure if I'm quite ready for the Petey Challenge (he can be a bit difficult at times on a ride), but I'm sure that Willie and I can maybe even get into a trot (yes, how daring - ha!).
Politics is making me crazy. I'm so worried about all the talk of cheating and fraud that I'm afraid we deserve UN observers if we can't straighten this crap out ourselves.
I have to wonder if there really is that much more cheating and fraud than usual this year, or if maybe it has finally become more obvious as there is more attention paid to what is going on with voter registration, etc. Either way, it needs to get fixed quickly. No matter what Democrats think, they don't get to vote twice when alive and once when dead.
Posted by Beth at 6:38 AM
October 20, 2004
For Women Only
Well, at least I think this is something only women will be interested in. I could be wrong.
I was reading the Queen of All Evil and thinking about her pregnancy, and I remembered the incredible cravings I got for some foods all those many years ago when I was pregnant with Andy.
I craved green olives stuffed with pimentos. I would sit down and eat an entire jar. What was so odd about that was before I was pregnant, I absolutely hated olives. I still love them, and I'm munching on on one now.
So, my question of you is - what kind of food did you start craving when you were pregnant, or if you were never pregnant - did you have any strange changes in food taste in your twenties or thirties?
Posted by Beth at 6:14 PM | Comments (11)
August 31, 2004
MRIs are very weird!
Today I had an MRI. It was one of the oddest experiences I have ever had. Don't worry- there's nothing malignant going on, just pre-menopausal female stuff that men do not want to hear about.
The young woman who took all the 'pictures' was really nice. She let me hold a paper clip about 3 feet from the giant magnetic donut, and it felt like someone was trying to grab it out of my hand. I learned that if I let go of the paper clip, it would fly into the machine at 40 miles per hour. Cool. I did not let go, I behaved.
This was not one of the old Magnetic Resonance Imaging machines where you are completely closed in (thank God for small favors!), but it was not the newest where you can feel free and easy. It looked a lot like this.
Some people say that the sound is like a jackhammer - but they are wrong. Each 'picture' that the magnets take have a different rhythm. And there can be multiple rhythms at the same time. It made me think of a bass player with a good beat, but not a lot of variety in note playing.
In fact, the 4th "picture" - a 3.5 minute picture sounded like the beginning of the Who's Won't Get Fooled Again.
She didn't tell me that you feel the energy of the magnets - but you do - a certain mystical pressure, a bit of heat - a wave of feeling - I could almost imagine my insides from the rythym, pressure, heat, imagination. Very, very weird feelings.
It took about 45 minutes of holding still, yet still being allowed to breath (good thing they let you breath, because I would not have lasted for 45 minutes!)
All in all, it was a very interesting experience.
Posted by Beth at 8:31 PM | Comments (5)
August 24, 2004
Tuesday
I worked from home today. We had some pretty severe thunderstorms for severral hours this morning, with flooding in the area, so I figured that work would get more time out of me if I stayed home than if it took me an hour or so to get into work.
It finally cleared up around 11:00 am, so I took the three dogs for a walk. We saw a bunch of squirrels, a beagle, a bunny and 3 deer. Actually, Houdini is the only one who noticed the deer. Shadow is becoming elderly, and he has cataracts and I don't think Whiskey really cares.
When we got back home, the dogs were happy to take naps, but the cats were pissed that they had been ignored for 45 minutes, so they bugged the heck out of me all afternoon while I worked - Annie kept jumping up on the table and biting my chin, RestStop kept head butting me and Barnacle just whined. A lot.
Finally, John got home from work, I was too tired to cook, so we were very bad and ordered a pizza.
And that is all I feel like writing.
Except that Kerry is getting all he deserves for lying all those years ago about all the Vietnam Veterans. The man is delusional.
Posted by Beth at 7:36 PM | Comments (1)
August 23, 2004
Monday Morning
John has another week of having to arrive at work at 6:00 am. That means that he is getting up at 4:30, and the dogs' and cats' sleeping and eating schedules are all screwed up.
They want to eat as soon as a human awakes. John puts the 3 dogs out to feed them, then brings them back in and I'll put them out for the day. For some reason, this has screwed up Houdini's potty schedule, and it seems that I'll be taking a bath, John has left, and Houdini suddenly has to poop. Fortunately, he does not do it on carpeting. Houdini also managed to pee in the bathroom on top of a huge package of 24 toilet paper rolls. I don't know how he got up there, and I don't know how he managed to just pee on the plastic without it dripping down onto the toilet paper. I also don't know how to get the puddle of pee off the package without having it drip down and ruining that two month's supply of toilet paper.
Bad Houdini!
And then there are the 7 cats - kinda like 7 dwarfs, I guess. They are all indoor cats, so I switched them to cat food made especially for indoor cats, and they have all become bulimic. They gobble up great quantities of kitty food and within 10 minutes, they vomit it - in amazing quantities, then they go and eat each other's food.
It's gross. I gotta get outta this house and go to work!
Posted by Beth at 6:58 AM | Comments (5)