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| July 20-31, 2005 |
July 20, 2005
It was so sweet, last night after I shut down the computer, Emily called to say g'nite. That and Annie's phonecall really helped me with my little empty-heart syndrome. Well, my heart's not empty, it's never empty... but it sure did feel sad and alone last night.
Here are a few more flying pictures from yesterday. If Sgt. Bill would like for me to make a page with his commentary, he'll let me know, but I'm guessing he's going to be VERY VERY busy in the near future with his job and all. If he asks though... I'm willing!
There are LOTS of neat pictures.
• • •
So. This morning I got up and went into Annie's old room where Bill had stayed and just got all sad. It was doggone empty.
We'll just consider this to be another "before" picture and when I get in there, tidy up and "refeminize" things, I'll take an "after" pic... but ... I dunno when that will be cuz it's WAYY empty. (sigh) Awwwwww.
Next time you visit home, kids, strip the bed the day you leave, so I will only have to put on clean sheets. It will help with my waterworks (tears!) fer sure.
Sgt. Bill had left this picture as my desktop, which was totally a sweet and special idea (not to mention hilarious...) |
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but I changed it to this one, because... I wanted to, so there! Nyah!
Which reminds me, I ended up with THREE virus alerts and cleaned them off. I still have to save all Sgt. Bill's desktop stuff to his special folder. It'll all be here waiting for him the next time he visits (unless I suffer a major crash or something...)
I finished my book last night so today I guess I'll start on "The Dragon Reborn"... still waiting for Emily and Bill to finish reading "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" so we can all discuss our theories. Sgt. Bill, Annie and I have a few thoughts on how things might go and who might have done what, when... Our interest is piqued, so it's sort of a bummer to think we have to wait another couple of years to see how JKR develops it.
• • •
It is SO windy outside stuff has blown off the back porch. Bill and I will probably have to wear long sleeves out there to finish putting up the fence (I hope we can get that done today so the doggies can have their access door back!) They were doing fairly well about going outside but since the fence has been down there's been some backsliding.
Guess who came by the house today? The Kirby salesman! He cleaned the carpet in the Family Room. Gee, don't we wish we had $1950 for a vacuum cleaner? Well, we don't. We know it's a great vacuum, we used to have one, but it broke, and so... well... we couldn't buy another one. Yet. But ... we would if we had $1950 and ALL our bills were paid off and we had a month's salary (before taxes and deductions) in savings... until then... sowwy... no sale.
• • •
We did it!!!
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Okay, Daddy did most of it, but I helped!!! |
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July 21, 2005
Today is another GORGEOUS sunny day, but still on the almost "crisp" side as far as coolness. Bill got a call to go fly at 4-something AM so when he gets back I'll pack up some gear and run over to see Cyndee about the skirts I am going to sew for Jackie's little girls.
I'm going to run the vacuum over the family room floor to pick up any residual foam left by the Kirby demonstration, eat a little bite of breakfast, shower then be ready to go when Bill gets home. I already have Emily's gear ready to drop off to her at 5:45 (Can-Can costume, cough-drops, and some rice-crispy treats!) BUSY DAY!
• • •
I was happy to see Cyndee and spend some time with her, and I'm more than tickled that I'll be sewing over the weekend! Hurrah!
Bill was off in the late afternoon, so after we took Emily her stuff, we went to eat at Jalapeno's in Fairbanks. The food was okay but I guess it was a very very busy night for them because the order took almost an hour and it was cold when we got it. For once I actually spoke up and asked them to fix it. They were real nice, but ... well, I'm thinking that for Mexican food, TEXAS is the best place to eat. (laughing)
July 22, 2005
Happy 1 month after the beginning of summer!
Today is a busy but lazy day -- the weather is fantastic, it's relaxing and wonderful... and it's busy because I have tasks to do that I LIKE to do... sewing and maybe a little painting upstairs.
Sewing fills a lot of creative urges for me. When I cut out the pieces and fit them together it's a lot like a puzzle, so it uses my brain. When I sew the pieces together, it's creative and when I finish something I have a satisfying sense of completion. I LIKE to sew! When I get this project completed I'll post photos.
In the meantime... what a GREAT day!
• • •
Productive day! I've painted quite a bit of the upstairs hallway.
It's funny how the colors at the online selection thingy and the colors I perceive on the wall are so different. Well, at least to me they're different!
The colors from behr.com: |  |
Colors as I see them.
The border I bought ... in 2003?? |
I see them a bit brighter, I think, and also more "colortrue"... the "Bagel" especially.
It might have something to do with my monitor settings, too.
The upstairs hallway is painted the lightest of the blues. When I'm done with the laundry area and it's dried for a few days, I hope to get the wall border up. |
| Yep, I bought that wallpaper border on e-Bay, Apr-14-03 00:49 from wallpaper10.
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Emily came by the house for about an hour this afternoon to touch base... (and catch a bit of "Buffy and the Vampire Slayer")
She let me take her picture to say hi to Sgt. Bill and Annie, so far away... and then she left to go back to camp. She might try to come home tonight though. Have to wait and see.
I haven't had such a quiet summer since before I had kids! I ought to accomplish a LOT of projects, hm? |
| I made a good start in the upstairs hall and laundry area. Most likely over did and will pay for that later, but it's a start. It could probably use another coat of blue, but I am sort of thinking about doing some clouds with white paint...
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Ginger says:
"Is it safe to come out?"
...Uhm... sooner than the cutting in for the bathroom, which is still needing to be done. All these little piddly bits that I am too danged short to get to are starting to irritate me.
I may have to do some climbing...
(humming "Climb Every Mountain") |
...have to wait and see just how crafty I'm feeling. It would probably be too "hokey" anyway.
Seriously, I'm not very artistic with paint and such as that. And obviously I'm more than a little too short to reach up along the ceiling. Hopefully Daddy will feel like cutting that in for me soon... |
July 23, 2005
7:30 AM
Another TOTALLY beautiful day -- golden sunrise for the Golden Days Parade! Emily was up early and all dressed up in her Can-Can costume to get to the dance studio and prepare to go over to the parade. I hope we get a good view of her and the Esprit de Danse Company!
• • •
8:15 AM
BUMMER... Daddy says he feels awful and after I showered my back is still hurting a lot. I would go to the parade alone, but don't exactly know where I'd park, how far I'd have to walk, and so on. I know Daddy must be bummed out too. (sigh) I think we'll make arrangements next year to sleep down on the parade route or something just to make sure we'll be there for it. I will be SO VERY sad if this is the last year Emily dances in the parade. I am always so proud to see her dance, she's so happy and energetic and just in her element.
(sigh) • • •
I am worried about Emily. She came home from the parade, and I was sleeping because I took some medication for my back pain. Then she went to Church, and should have been done by 7 PM or so, but I can't get her on her cellphone. She called between 8:15 and 8:30 PM but I was on Badger Road which gets next to no reception on my phone... but she hasn't called back again yet, and I'm worried. I will check voicemail, and then decide whether to beREALLY REALLY REALLY worried or just get mad.
9:03 PM
Okay, I am REALLY worried. There is no voicemail from Emily. She doesn't answer her phone. I don't know where she is. She didn't tell me of any plans not to come home. This is the way a mother's mind works. She is driving the Orange Vibe. It is not in the Driveway. This means...
- She has gotten into some kind of trouble.
- She is sick.
- She is hurt.
- She's been abducted.
- Worse.
I suppose that about covers it. WHERE ARE YOU EMILY???
10:00 PM
Whew!
She was at a friend's house who was out of cellphone range... Now, do "children" (who aren't really children, they're young adults) everywhere understand how a mother worries? C'mon, MOM... it's Saturday night! |
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Why was I upset in the first place if it's a Saturday night and it wasn't even 10PM?
Ring my doorbell! |
- I thought she'd be home around 7PM...
- Her car (the silver one, which she wasn't driving) was REALLY messy inside.
NO EXCUSE!
- Her ballet and pointe shoes weren't even in a bag, one pointe shoe was under the driver's seat??? TSK!!!
NO EXCUSE!
- In cleaning up her car, I found her WALLET. With her DRIVER'S LICENSE in it.
NEVER ANY EXCUSE!
EVER!!!
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So of course she had to be punished, right? I made her let me take pictures of her ringing the doorbell (which plays the Marine Corps Tune) and doing a little dance. And I'm posting it on the website. Heh. I'm so CRUEL. But hey, I was so worried, I was in tears. This is a Mom's payback. ;) I LOVE YOU EMILY!!!
DON'T DO IT AGAIN!!!!
July 24, 2005
Today's nifty project is to gather up ALL the makeup/cosmetics in the house and decide what to keep and what to get rid of. It's all over the place and while we are listening Harry Potter, we will sort. Sound like fun? My life... one exciting event after another!
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Surprisingly this is all the make-up unearthed every place except my room and Emily's room. This is the keeper stuff for Emily to go through, but there wasn't really much "garbage" to toss except a few lipsticks that smelled rancid and a couple of items that didn't have any lids. |
Since Emily fell asleep while listening to Harry Potter, I did the first sort on my own. After she goes through this, we'll see what we can dig up in her room (and mine.) Guess my real work is cut out for me in my own room. (cringe)
Daddy painted all along the top of the slanted wall by the stairs and the upstairs hallway. It looks SOOOO nice. I think we'll finish up the painting in the family room before we branch out elsewhere. After that I'd like to paint the upstairs bath (family) (whispering) PINK and then tackle moving the washer and dryer, etc. Once the hallway is finished... (drumroll)...
I'll have to roll some dice to decide whether to go for my bedroom or the "library"... I'm thinking the library because I have so many books in my room that will go in there, once the library is done I can just put those books where they belong.
• • •
Well FUDGECICLES, Bill got a call about 6:30PM and has gone out on a "run" so who knows when he'll be back. He was supposed to be preaching tonight (read his homily) but of course he can't do that from an airplane, now, can he? We haven't gotten ahold of the Cathedral to let them know yet, but I'll keep calling, right up to the 7:30PM Mass-time.
July 25, 2005
I called and called but nobody ever answered. I think Bill will go by Church today to let them know where he was.
• • •
Just a reminder, there are only FIVE more shopping months until Christmas!!!! Just thought you'd want to know. Tell your friends and familiy to make an Amazon Wish List or just browse the Amazon Gift Ideas. Purchases made by other people through my website links help me earn a little bit. It hasn't happened yet, but hey. One of these days, it just might, eh? Too bad my own purchases wouldn't count, I would probably only shop at Amazon! (laughing) Groceries probably wouldn't work out very well, but they have just about everything else!!!
• • •
Kind of a long and boring day. Bill left the house early to go flying, came home for a bit (he brought home ice, thank goodness, we were out and all there is to drink in the house is water or iced tea, both of which benefit from ... you guessed it!
Ice
Emily came home to nap for about 45 minutes and pick up her clean, folded laundry. Then she went back to camp and Bill left to go flying again.
I straightened up a bit in Annie's room -- swept it and planned for her return in September. Swept the upstairs hallway, and did a few loads of laundry. Washed some bedding and such, including (finally) my winter coat that Bill bought for me winter before last. It's a great coat; really warm, but needed washing and I finally got around to it. My life is more exciting than words can express.
• • •
Annie e-mailed (FINALLY, I was beginning to wonder if she was mad at me or something) and tipped me off to: http://www.dumbledoreisnotdead.com/ (sometimes link is broken...?) which then led me to:
If you're into the Harry Potter thing, these sites will immediately become favorites. After I decided I'm probably too old to fall in love with the webmaster, I wondered whether or not my daughters would consider him acceptable. They are SO PICKY when it comes to men!
The links at right will take you off the Dourte Journal website, but they're good reading. (Better than news about my dog's potty habits, that's for sure...)
Just be sure to come back. You KNOW you' want to find out what I do all day tomorrow! (laughing)
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July 26, 2005
1:00AM
We are one of those families that has multiple copies of the Harry Potter Novels. That's because all five members of the family are fans. Parents@100 (okay, 50 years each...), Sgt. Bill at 24, Annie at 21 and Emily at nearly 18. Sgt. Bill was first to finish, then Mom, then Annie, then Dad, and because HP is banned at camp, Emily will finish it last. Besides which she has decided to start at BOOK NUMBER ONE and re-read before reading it. But she is listening to the CDs when she comes home on the weekends. Once she knows the ending, we can all speculate aloud. :) Or in e-mail, since there are a few miles between some of us...
4441 miles (7147 km) (3859 nautical miles) from North Pole, AK to Okinawa, Japan
and
3180 miles (5117 km) (2763 nautical miles) from North Pole, AK to Austin, TX.
AND if you wanted to know,
7512 miles (12090 km) (6528 nautical miles) from Austin, TX to Okinawa, Japan.
WHEW! Wonder how far each of us is from Hogwart's? North Pole is only 4230 miles (6808 km) (3676 nautical miles), Austin is 4925 miles (7926 km) (4280 nautical miles) and Okinawa is only 6212 miles (9997 km) (5398 nautical miles) from London. Since we take a shortcut over the North Pole, we're "closest"... technically. Thank goodness for http://www.indo.com/ where I can go to figure out these distances, etc.!
SHEESH! I'm going to BED! (smothering a yawn...) G'nite!!!
• • •
10:00PM
Golly, pictures, files and things on July's pages got so huge, I split this month into THREE pages. It was all just loading way too slow!
Speaking of "loading" Annie, Ginger has a question for you...
"Annie, where do you want me to put these?
(laughing) OKay, I admit, Ginger didn't really pick up the shoes, I helped. But anybody with NINE (actually more than nine) pair of shoes ought to be able to let me know which I can donate and which to store for your return... just let me know...
| I'm still cleaning up in Annie's room in preparation for Nathan (a fellow Deacon couple's son) to spend Saturday and Sunday nights with us. His parents are going to the Deacon retreat/convocation in Anchorage so we're happy to have Nathan visit. If his mom gives permission I will post a picture, because I hear he is really looking forward to walking Marzipan! |
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This week Nathan is at Camp LiWa, and Emily has been seeing him here and there.
I think I have some fun things he'll enjoy doing, like MarbleWorks -- it's always been a favorite around here. Maybe he can help me make the movie of Marzipan's latest trick, too. And I know that Bill needs a hand building a gate to go in the new backyard fence. It'll be great to have a guy around the house to help again.
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I'm looking forward to seeing him on Saturday! *
July 27, 2005
Daddy is SO funny. I suggested that he might want to mow the lawn, because the neighbors have mowed theirs 3 or 4 times since we did it last (which was before they started putting up the new fence, incidentally!) He looked at me like I was nuts and said, "In the heat of the day?"
WHAT HEAT OF THE DAY?
"It's hot out there!"
NO WAY!
"Yeah, it's sixty-five degrees out there!!"
SIXTY-FIVE DEGREES???
"Yeah, in the SHADE!!! It's HOT!!!"
I gave up. (laughing) Heck, if it was cooler than 70 in Florida we used to wear coats! I guess if it gets up to 70 we're all gonna keel over with heat stroke or something.
July 28, 2005
It's YELLOW outside today because of (cough) SMOKE.
What a bummer. I wanted to mow the grass. I suppose I still could, but it's gonna be a choker out there today.
I am SO frustrated with the medical clinic appointment process at Eielson. I have phoned out there numerous times and either been cut-off during the automated messages or once I got through, after I was asked for my last name, the person suddenly couldn't hear me anymore. For cryin' out loud. (I'm not but at this rate, how long before I AM cryin' out loud?) (sigh) I have tried the online-appointment thing too but it tells me no appointments are available. What the heck, sometimes I think I might as well just keel over dead and spare everybody the trouble of having to do a physical in the first place. GRUMBLE
Sorting through old photographs I saw some of the house before we started painting it... good grief... no WONDER I was depressed!!! It was DULL.
• • •
Annie's response to Ginger's request for shoe sorting will help the room cleaning process...
I'll be mailing her the flip-flops in the center of the top row and storing the others without X's on 'em. Kool. Now I'll take pictures of all the clothes she left and she can do the same thing. Man. I wish ... hey I'll take pictures of all my clothes and take an opinion poll of what to keep and toss. (NOT) (laughing) However.... I should be getting back to the tasks at hand.
It seems to be clearing up a bit, although it still smells really smokey and it's making me cough a lot. It doesn't seem to be bothering Marzipan much though. Just look at her enjoying the "sunshine" between 11:15AM and 11:22AM! Gosh the sun moves fast up here!
I'm still undecided about mowing the lawn. I think I'll leave that to Bill (in the heat of the day, no less!) because he can do that, but he wouldn't have a clue about sorting girl's clothes out. THAT would be disasterous!
• • •
I want to start building Annie's desk.
She has an old computer desk in her room that takes up a lot of space that she has been wanting to get rid of for a long time. Before she went to Texas she bought some materials at Home Depot, and if we don't start building it soon, we're gonna lose parts of it. (This is the way we are, we lose things and find them a few years later.)
• • •
Awwwww. Our young buddy, Nathan had to leave camp early and come "home" because he's come down with a little case of bacterial conjunctivitis (affects both eyes and causes a heavy discharge, sometimes greenish, which he sho' 'nuff has) and an ear infection. He said his throat was sore this morning and he's had a cold for a few days, and his right ear were hurting while we were at the clinic, but hasn't mentioned it since we got home. The smoke has been pretty nasty which has everybody's eyes kind of sensitive, too so he's probably been pretty uncomfortable!
He's been a total pleasure. We have DVDs of the Chronicles of Narnia, which he said his folks have read or been reading, so think that will be a nice quiet pasttime for him tomorrow.
The desk is on hold until after the weekend, but we'll get it finished before Annie returns in September.
July 29, 2005
Nice day today but still awfully smokey. Nathan's doing better and the dogs are in "dawg heaven" having a boy to play with. They're all getting along like champs! They're really gonna miss him after he goes home on Monday.
July 30, 2005
Nathan is a handy guy! He mowed the west-side lawn and it looks super! The dogs are nuts about him. He's been a real pleasure to have for a visit; I just wish he was feeling better... the ear infection has pained him somewhat.
Honest to goodness, he did a really professional job on the lawn, I though he'd been doing it since age five or something -- but found out from his Mom that he'd never driven a riding lawnmower before!
Click on the image to see more of his handy work. |
 He's a natural!
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Let us out! We wanna play with Nathan!
July 31, 2005
A relaxing day after a relatively rough night... I had muscle cramps all night, Nathan was coughing some; so we slept late and took it easy all day. I tortured Nathan into watching Emily's Dance Recital DVD. (tee hee) Awww, it wasn't THAT bad to have to hear me brag about Emily, was it?
George and Wanda made it safely home from Anchorage and will pick Nathan up tomorrow around 10 am.
I will get up early and take the dogs to the groomer. Ginger is in an awful state, but she snaps when I try to trim her, no matter how much I soothe or brush her prior to opening the scissors... This may be her last trip to the groomers. :( As puppy like as she can be at times, other times it is sadly obvious she is in pain or confused about who we are and where she is. She's had trouble jumping up onto the bed and has fallen a few times, but didn't get hurt, thank goodness. Now I know, some people would say, "Don't let dogs on the bed." This is Alaska, haven't you ever heard of a "Three Dog Night"? That's when it's so cold you put three dogs in the bed with you to keep ya warm!
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