What Card are You?

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Shizzle, Scuz, It's Not Far Off!

This rising sign crap may have some merit after all...but then again...

Your Rising Sign is Taurus

You are the ultimate rock - stable and centered. People turn to you in crisis and count on you for calm. Stubborn and strong minded, you can't be pushed around. You are also tenacious, and you always will stick with something difficult. A bit fan of nature, you're attracted to the beauty of the outdoors. And sometimes, you find it easier to relate to animals than people.

What's Your Rising Sign?

Boy, Was I Wrong!

Boy, was I wrong! I foolishly thought we'd had an ice storm! That wasn't an ice storm, NOW we've had an ice storm. And even as things stand now, we are much better off than some parts of the state. For one thing, we never lost electricity!!!! I'm not sure how much ice we got, but it is a substantial amount.

This is the same branch, two days later......some of it is very pretty. Note, we haven't gotten any snow, this is all from freezing rain and sleet. Gheez! And we had been planning on driving back to N.W. MO this weekend to visit family. As if!


As cold and nasty as it has been, somehow the creek is still running!!! I suppose it's because the precipitation has come down as rain. And it really hasn't gotten that cold yet. The temperature is supposed to start dropping today though. And although the weather folks said there wouldn't be anymore precipitation, there are definitely some snow flurries out there right now. Hmmmmmmm.
Since walking across the yard has been comparable to walking across a frozen pond, I've been trying to take Bud outside off his leash. (he pulls, I fall) It worked fairly well until this afternoon. He decided that it was time to explore the neighborhood! Although he had gotten very good at coming when I called him every time we tried it in the house, he ignored me today. That was pretty frustrating. I guess it's back to the beginning of "Positive Dog Training for Idiots", the book I've been using. The only good part was I finally got to see the backs of the houses across the street. When you're chasing your dog, you have a very valid reason to trespass.
I got to find out where the dog that came to visit the other day, who looks enough like Bud to be his mother, lives.

Blurry, she was movin' a lot!

The same inquisitive look!

Hopefully, this will be the last of our bad weather. (I just knocked on wood--you can never be too careful about these things) Even though cars seem to be getting by on our street okay right now, we're pretty much stranded. Our car is safely in the garage--which you would think is a good thing. However, the garage is in the basement, and it is at the back of the house. The driveway is a curving hill down to the garage. It's all just a thick sheet of ice. Who knows when we'll get out, could be a very long time. Sigh.

Talk About the Weather!

Looks as if we've had a nice, pretty dusting of snow, doesn't it?

Even the creek (currently undergoing construction for a new man-hole) looks nice, and is still running some.

Ah, but upon closer inspection, the truth can easily be seen.



That's right folks, it's ICE!!!!!! (oh, and a little sleet) Pretty? Yes. But dangerous, impractical, annoying---oh yeah. It started raining yesterday morning, and the temperatures dropped quickly all day. We are currently "on a break" from precipitaion, but it is supposed to start again later this afternoon. Tomorrow--Sunday--we are supposed to get snow. Won't that be fabulous???? A nice coating of snow on top of all of the ice. I don't know how much ice we have right now. We could get up to 1 1/4" of ice before it starts to snow.
Yesterday afternoon, Lee and I went out to "stock up" We picked up medicine, lots of extra groceries, (including the all important dog and cat food) and went to the hardware store. Lee had thought that this might be a wise time to invest a little money into a small kerosene heater. Unfortunately, time has marched on from Lee's financial mind-set. What he thought we could buy for around $40, was more like $100. Our solution???? We bought a little "chimney cleaning log"---you've seen them on t.v.---you burn it, and it cleans the creosote out of your chimney. Only $15!!!! Of course, this was done with great trepidation, and probably a little stupidity since our chimney hasn't been cleaned or used in decades. I'm sure that it's full of bird's nests, twigs, and who knows what. I doubt that creosote build up would be our biggest problem if we tried to burn a fire in the fireplace. But, we feel just a little bit better knowing that we could at least try something for heat if we lose power. I'm sure that the fire department would be happy to hear this too!

You Can Let Out Your Breath Now

Well, I'm sorry that I left ya'all hanging for so long in regards to Bud. Things have gone wonderfully, overall. And yes, he has definitely found his new home right here with us. Who was I kidding, with those eyes???? Like I could even consider giving him away???? He's adjusting pretty well. Still quite a bit of pup in him, of course. He was so pathetically sick when we got him, every day as his health has improved, he's gotten a little more energy--a little more ornery. He would very much like to be friends with Kitty Explorer '98, but alas....they have very different ideas of what should be involved in a friendship. Explorer, um, tolerates Bud. But not very happily.

"Avoidance"

We had company this week. My dear old friend Curt, along with his wife, Pam, and their children Paulo and Zoraya visited briefly on Tuesday. It was a great visit, but was far, far too short. It was great fun to see my friend in the role of "father" for the first time. Like everything else in his life, it seems to come naturally, and he is very good at it. Although I loved having them here, it did help make one thing very clear in my mind. They had been gone less than 5 minutes when I looked at Lee and said, "Wow, we're too old to have kids, aren't we?" He thought a minute and replied, "Well, we're pretty set in our ways. They'd have to be just like us very quickly." Not too likely. I guess that parenthood has perhaps become a fun place to visit, but not someplace I'd want to live. This was a very important understanding to have reached at this point in my life. I've wanted children for the past 13 years, as long as Lee and I have been together. But, we've been unable to have any. Now, I realize that it is probably something that was never truly meant to be. (watch, I'll get pregnant within the month!) Precious Zoraya

"Bud"

I was waiting for Lee to get home from work with the car, on Monday evening, as I had a meeting in Columbia to get to. I thought I heard him arrive, but he didn't come in. Then, a few minutes later, the doorbell rang. I answered it, and Lee was standing there with both hands full, and said, "Merry Christmas!" As I opened the door, I found that he had a bag of Puppy Chow in one hand, and a pet carrier in the other. Inside was this poor, pathetic, sick little puppy.



Lee said that one of the ladies he works with lives in Wilton, and the poor guy had been running around there for days. He had crawled under her fence, and was on her front porch that morning. She already had something like 6 dogs, and knew that we had recently lost one, so she brought him to work to see if we (or someone) could take him. Lee told me that he hadn't even seen the little guy out of the carrier, he just saw his eyes and was sold.

The puppy was scared to death! I don't think he's really been around people much at all. Not in any good way, at least. I was sure he had pnuemonia by the way he was breathing, and he was covered with fleas and some sores. Also, it looks like his right ear was almost chewed off at some point. I fixed him up a bed, and we fed him. He was really weak, and scared, and only left his bed twice. He seems to have a great desire/need to chew on things. All shoes have been put away.

He didn't come with a collar. I didn't think that I had saved any from Aida, I've gotten rid of most of her things. But, I discovered that I still had her purple harness/collar and leash that we got last Christmas. I told Lee, "Well, she wouldn't think much of this, but it's all we've got, and she only used it a few times.

Tuesday morning, we took him to the vet. We've got antibiotics for him, de-wormer, and flea medicine. I thought that he was probably 3 or 4 months old, but after looking at his teeth, the vet said he was over 6 months He had a bad tooth, but it was a left-over baby tooth, and the vet was able to just pull it.

He finally started to act like he was feeling better late last night. We went for a walk around the yard at 2:30 am. (I realized that he really needed to go to the bathroom when he tried to climb into one of our houseplants!) Up to this point, he had to be carried or drug outside, then he wouldn't really move much. I carried him out this time as well, but he walked around, tinkled, and explored some. He's had his tail between his legs until last night, when it came out some. This morning, I walked over to his bed, and he started wagging his tail, then rolled over on his back! Hooray!

He only weighs 20 lbs, and he has pretty small feet, so he probably won't get too much bigger. It's still up in the air whether we will keep him or not. It will depend on his energy level, etc. After Aida died, I decided that I didn't want another dog that needed to be outside and get excercise, etc. as long as we lived in town. So, he may become my Dad's Christmas present. I'll have to wait and see.

He has the most loveable eyes.


We've been calling him "Bud".

Hey all! Once again, here I am to address my countless followers. I haven't been doing much of interest lately. I have been getting some knitting done. I'm working on a bath set for my cousin for her wedding-- (well, I guess cousin & fiance'; if he doesn't want to use these beautiful hand-made gifts, he doesn't have to)-- facial cloths and bath mitts.


My husband told me that he would never use something like a bath mitt, but some things are just so much cuter in pairs. Agree? For example, hundred dollar bills. Dunno, just the first thing that came to my mind.
Actually, food is the first thing that comes to my mind. This is the 22nd day of my clear liquid fast, and I am friggin' starving!!! Well, I guess that I'm not as much hungry, as I am obsessed with the taste of certain foods. And I don't feel this way constantly--thank god--but I'm really feelin' it right now. It would be tons easier if I would just quit watching tv. Do you have any idea of the percentage of commercials that are for, or contain food? I haven't done a scientific study, but I'm thinkin' at least 75%. Red Lobster, for example, has a new Main Lobster tail and shrimp dinner Special. It makes my mouth water. And I can only hope that they still have it when I end my fast. I'd really rather have lobster from someplace nicer, say Chris McD's--nice restaurant in Columbia--but I don't want to bankrupt us through a week of binge eating.
SWEET, I just got a phone call from a reporter from the local (conservative, small town) newspaper, asking to do an interview. See, I sent an e-mail to the editor about a week and a half ago about my hunger strike, etc., etc., thinking that this would be something that the readers might find interesting. After a week, I had given up on the Fulton Sun caring about my issue, but woo-hoo! Now I have good strong motivation to make it through tomorrow. That's pretty much how I approach life anyway, one day at a time. (and NO, I've never been in AA) So, other than all of the innocent people dying, I have my own self-serving reasons to not eat for at least another 24 hours. The ego serves us well.