I Hope there was much Merriment in your Home yesterday!

Thank you for all the kind wishes. I think I am gonna take a short vacation from blogging. About a week I think, should do it. I have things that are piling up and changes to make and I don't think there will be much going on in the blog-0-sphere that can't wait until I resume blogging. I will, of course, be checking email.

Wishing you all a very Prosperous and Fulfilling New Year.

Sláinte!

♥Pam

I Say

Joyeux Noël

Feliz Navidad

Mélékélikimakka

Froehliche Weihnachten

Nollaig Shona Dhuit

And...

Buone Feste Natalizie

♥Pam

I Are Tired

I was in bed by 2215, or 10:15 pm for you non military/health care types, and at 9 mins after midnight I got a call and ended up having to go make a visit. I am a bit of a Grumpalufugus this am. Got home at 0200 (2:00 am) but I wasn't able to fall back to sleep until 0430 (4:30 am) despite a cup of Sleepy Time tea.

Speaking of Sleepy Time tea...November 20, I had off, since I was working Thanksgiving. So Bill and I went to Celestial Seasonings for the free tour. They are in Boulder which is a solid 1.75 hr drive from the Springs. It was a GREAT tour. I couldn't take any pics inside the processing or packaging plant. Took about an hour, after shopping in the gift store. While waiting for the tour to begin we hung out in the reception area where they had all sorts of samples out. Hot and cold tea. And because they are now part of the Hain Celestial Group, there was some samples of their food as well. The walls were decorated with the original artwork that they use for their boxes of tea.

The best part was the way the place smelled. YUM. They were sifting Blackberry tea that day.

The process for cleaning loose raw tea is quite ingenious. They loft it and apply just enough loft to cause the non tea, like dust and feathers and lint kinda stuff to float high and be sucked away and the heavier non tea stuff like rocks and small twigs to fall to the bottom and be collected. The other really cool thing was the Mint room. It is a large room that is sealed off from the rest of the plant. They put spearmint and peppermint in this room. They keep the mints seperate because if they don't, everything will taste like mint. When they opened this big garage door to the the room, I didn't and really couldn't go in. My eyes started to burn and my nose started to run. Very, very intense. Bill, walked right in and hung out as long as they would let him. He said, and it was confirmed by the tour guide, that the two types of mint don't mix even though they are only feet apart. He said you could actually smell the dividing point in the room.

Well, here's a few pics. Click 'em to big 'em.

A bit about the company:







The Sleepy Time Tea box pic:







A collage of pics:







The early packaging:







This was VERY cool...

Why would someone make a dress, hat, shoes and handbag out of tea bag packages? You can read about it here.

All in all it was a delightful trip and tour. The gift shop was full of fun tea things and a host of other delights. That is where I got my large cookie cutters for the mittens, snowflakes and bear.

I guess this makes me a dork...you know, liking tours and stuff. That's okay. The pleasure I get out of watching how something is made is well worth any social stigma. I watch "Unwrapped" all the time. Last night the History channel had a two hour piece about candy making.

Okay, so I've only had a total of 4 hours sleep. I don't know how some of you do it routinely...ahem...I won't mention any names but you know who you are...we IM'd last night at around 3 am!! ;0]
But I for one suck when I don't get sleep. Actually, I can manage very well, but I don't like it. What really gets my goat is being woken up. If I choose not to get a full 7 or 8 hours that is one thing...being woken up is a whole 'nother kettle of fish. Just call me a Grumpalufugus...Bill does.
♥Pam

I Like Both...which do you like?

Here are the two movie clips that had "White Christmas" featured. Which was your favorite and more importantly, can you name the movie to the black and white video?
♥Pam

White Christmas

Color version of the song..."White Christmas" by Irving Berlin.

I Like Izze

instead of soda. Well, if you are having popcorn or pizza, then a P*psi (decaf) is required... but otherwise, if it's not water or milk, it's an Izze. Blueberry is good. Apple is almost too sweet. Haven't tried BLACKBERRY, CLEMENTINE, LEMON, or POMEGRANATE yet...I'm a little fussy, so I go slow. But I adore, simply adore, Grapefruit. Not only is it natural, one bottle is the equivalent of a piece of fruit, by USDA standards. You can't beat that! ♥Pam

I Just Gotta Post These...

I ♥Love♥ Snow. I love that song from "White Christmas"..."Snow", you know, when the four of them are on the train in the club car and singing about snow.
I know Christmas isn't about snow but....dang. I sure do love the stuff.
So, I couldn't resist. I went outside to take a few shots. Enjoy.

Our moose lights went out the other night on one side of his body. His head turns from side to side.

As you can see....it's still snowing but the wind is the bugger...making some significant drifts. My neighbors house 2 doors away has NO SNOW on the front yard or driveway....yeah, it's all over at my place. Heheheee.

It's blowing so hard it has even coated our wreath. The red dot at the 3 o'clock position is the nose of a plush stuffed moose.

♥Pam

I Jump Up and Down

They are closing the office today at 11 am due to the storm. We are expected to get 8-12 inches here in El Paso County and the winds are horrific. So, I don't have to go to work.
YEAH!!
The bummer is we were having our holiday meal at our monthly staff meeting at noon today and I was looking forward to Red Hot and Blue...I mean, really looking forward. And the phones will be rolled over to me starting at 11 am. CRAP.
I will be making cookies and watching The Homecoming. They never show it on TV or cable so I bought it last year. I ♥ The Waltons and I don't care who knows. I want to BE The Waltons...and I don't care who knows. You can read about it here. It's not likely to happen any more but...och, who am I kidding. It will never happen. But...
I'm still off work today!!!
♥Pam

I Can't Believe...

that for the second night in a row...I've been awakened by the on-call phone at 4 o'clock in the frickin' morning. Holy Criminoly. Lord have mercy people, you want me to be coherent AND pleasant in the middle of the night.
I'm gonna try to go back to sleep. CRAP
♥Pam

I Unveil...

this weeks YouTubesday selection, which is a rough attempt at low light video. I love making videos with Windows Movie Maker and someday I will be able to put sound to it, other than ambient sound that is. So I have filled in with some still shots. Hope you enjoy. (If you want to play YouTubesday...go here.)




We went to for a Madrigal Dinner last night. So incredibly inspiring and joyful. Such glorious voices and wonderful food. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. I don't know if the folks I was with will actually send me copies...
But it was incredible. You can see their photo's here of the Madrigal singers. The main page has some awesome photos too, which you can see here.

I Spew

I'm forewarning you. Depressing post to follow.

I alluded a few times to having an issue with the holidays. So what is my problem with the holidays. In a nut shell is…loneliness. And resentfulness. And well, what can I say. I am greedy. I want my family near me. Herein presents the dilemma. My sister cannot travel. So I must go to her. That means taking time off from work. In case you don’t know or have forgotten, I am a nurse. Taking time off during the holidays is vewy, vewy twicky. Most of the time you have to work one of the winter holidays, which are Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years. Some places add in Christmas Eve. Isn’t that nice? So, if you want Christmas off, you have to work Christmas Eve. Well, who the hell wants to travel on Christmas Day?

Where I am at now has us working two of the winter holidays. WHY…I don’t frickin’ know. I will be discussing that at our next nurses meeting. It’s just plain ridiculous.

I’ve been in nursing since 1981. I ALWAYS work Christmas. ALWAYS. Except for 5 years ago. I got special permission to have Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Years off. I told them I hadn’t had a holiday with my family in over 15 years and I thought it was about time I did. They were very gracious about letting me go. I went home to my mothers. Bill and I enjoyed Christmas with my mom and my sister and my stepbrother, stepsister and her family. That was a wonderful year.
But you see? Bill and I don’t have any family here and we end up working, so we really don’t have any traditions about the holidays. We didn’t decorate for the last 2 maybe 3 years. Why? Ain’t one single person gonna come over. If we have an open house…no one shows. If we invite a few friends for a buffet…no one comes. So…why bother? If I have to work, or if it falls on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday and sometimes Saturday, Bill works. It’s either work or take vacation time. (Which if you haven’t noticed about me, is very precious, because I like to travel too much) So why decorate? We have to haul that stuff up stairs, which Bill is good at doing. Then, I get pissy because I end up doing most of the decorating by myself…which is retarded, because Bill would help, but I never know where I want to put things and so the poor guy ends up standing around waiting for me to give direction. And we won’t be here on Christmas Day, well, I won’t anyway, because we are working, so why bother? Yeah, I know, ‘we could celebrate before or after. We do…but let me tell you…IT IS NOT THE SAME. You try it. Is it the same?
I’m getting to the point in my career where I feel entitled. I’ve been in healthcare for over 25 years. Aren’t I entitled to some perks? Why do I have to work every frickin’ holiday? Why must it be this big ordeal for me to take off on Christmas?
Why? Why can’t I have family close? Why can’t I have my own family?
So, I get pissy and I try to hide it. Antidepressants did a wonderful job for 8 years. But, this year…I had no chemical governor. It was me baby. The raw and the uncooked. And it wasn’t/isn’t pretty. I removed myself at Thanksgiving so I wouldn’t spew vituperative crap all over the place. I was out of control angry. I’m not angry any more. Resentful, sad, lonely…but not angry. Too much energy being angry. I’m tired of “making do” with having to celebrate around a work schedule. Last year I was off on Christmas, because it was a Sunday. But Bill worked Saturday night and slept all day. And, I went in to do the remote vital sign monitoring for an hour or so. So, even though I was off…I still worked, even if only for an hour or so.

And then, when I gather all that stuff up above and look at it…I feel ashamed, horribly ashamed. There are hundreds of thousands of soldiers and their families that are separated at this time of year. There are hundreds of thousands of people who are homeless, broke, sick and dying and here I am complaining. Big baby. Shut up and deal with it. And…I make myself worse. Guilt on top of resentment. Man…what a double whammy. I am such a sad sack. I decorated…made cookies so I could show you all what we can do, what we would like to be at Christmas. Truly…how sad is that? Wacked and weird. But, I’m gonna throw my chin out and put my shoulders back and post that video tomorrow. And if nobody comes…then I guess I better get out Shaklee’s Mood Lift Complex. Because it’s my bizarro problem. I better get to dealing with it. And I better buy a lottery ticket too while I’m at it.
I want a life that I want to live. This ain’t it.
♥Pam

I Do A Little Showing Off

*Updated...sorry folks, I'm turning on word verificiation. Too much spam.
I think these came out okay. Maybe not Martha St*wart okay, but they made me happy. Last weekend I made Spritzen or Spritz's...click it to big it....

for a cookie exchange at work this week. I also made these butter cookies (I like 'em better 'n sugar cookies) and have been working on them all week long. The icing is royal and so it dries to a hard candy type coating. I mean...HARD. But, maybe next year instead of making them out of butter dough, I will make them out of cinnamon and glue so they won't go bad and you could hang 'em on your tree. What do ya think? Are they cute enough to hang on the tree? The blue is too dark, it's okay but I would have preferred a lighter blue, especially for the snow flakes. I like the green. Tell me what you think? What's your favorite?

















BTW...if you are smart and like yourself even just a teensy bit, never, ever, EVER get tile countertops. They are a *expletive* to keep clean.
♥Pam

I Hunt Annoying

Click here to join the FUN.

Hmmmm. A picture of something Annoying. What can I choose? The idiots who cut in front of you on the road? Naww...how interesting a pic could that be? The stupid, vapid commercials on the radio? Annoying to be sure, but how do you capture that on film? And capturing my annoyance with non recycler's would be challenging.... or with moron's who insist on either talking during a presentation or using their phone and not leaving the room. Can I catch that this week? Or, people who either insist on parking in such a way as to take up two spots so that their vehicle won't get scratched or dinged or because they are too damn stoopid to figure out how to do it properly. I saw that yesterday and said...."Aha", and took a pic in the hospital parking garage. But...it wasn't what I wanted to post. On the way home from the hospital, while stopped at a traffic light, I had the "pleasure" of enjoying someone's bass, restart my heart rhythm. Can't capture that on film. Man...what am I going to photograph for this Saturday's Hunt?

But this is what I came up with.

This is what I decided would best illustrate annoying...at least for me, and Bill of course. They have been building these condo's for THREE years. As you can see, any construction vehicles end up working just on the other side of the fence. Their incessant "beep, beep, beep" as they turn around or back up...is ANNOYING. Ok, it's really past annoying. It's decidedly past annoying. But that's my Annoying shot for this Hunt.

And, I am going skiing today. And am hopefully, thoroughly enjoying myself whilst you are reading this.
♥Pam

I Present our Year End/Holiday Letter

Okay my bloggy friends and lurkers. I recently read this and was...well, miffed. Not because the blogger put up a funny post about year end/holiday letters (it was a very tongue in cheek and therefore humorous letter), but because everyone who commented was so mean about them. So, I am sending out our letter with our cards this weekend. I usually add a personal note to each one.
But here's your chance to tell me what you think. Is the letter that follows something you and your family will make fun of, if you were to receive it with your Christmas card? Would you rather just get a card with just our signatures? Or should we just skip the card altogether because that would mean you feel compelled to send one in return?
No, really. I wanna know. I'm a big girl. Bring it on.
Just as an aside, I have been writing one since 1990. I was single, working in the ICU at Ft. Carson and had access to a computer. Very rudimentary computer...heheeee, but a computer nonetheless. I didn't write a letter the last few years because there wasn't anything to say. And actually, we didn't send out cards last year. So..make hay while the sun shines.


Merry Christmas Everyone! 13 December, 2006

So, you've had a couple of years break from our year end/holiday letter. I recently came across some writing, where the year end/holiday letter was much maligned. What say you all? Do you want to read my version of our lives? Or do you typically give this type of thing a cursory glance and toss it in the trash bin? Well, since I have already written it and it is what is in your hot little hand, this is truly a rhetorical question. However, I should love to hear from you and invite, nay beg, your comments on the topic of the year end/holiday letter. I write because I like to. But writing more often, doesn't seem to flow as well. A sum up of the year seems like a good thing to do and to put in the Christmas cards. That being said, some of you who are lucky enough to be on my email list, have had my blog address sent to you to peruse which has given you the opportunity to keep up with us on a more daily basis.
For those of you not in the know about what a blog is or who haven't shared your email address with me or Bill, let me take a moment and bring you up to speed. According to wikipedia.com, a blog is a contraction of the words, web log and is a website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. It also has the ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format and is an important part of many blogs. It can include pictures, audio and video.
I started my blog, November 2005 in order to comment on my girlfriend Claire's, blog. She was my next door neighbor many years ago and moved, due to the military, and it was a fabulous way to keep up with what was going on in her world and her growing family. I found the idea of creating my own website fascinating. So, I've been writing almost daily for over a year now. It has been a growing and learning experience. But before I expound on that, let me catch you up on the last few years.

Well, Bill and I are still working, doing the same thing we were doing, the last time we sent out the year end/holiday letter. But we are doing it at different places. In late February of 2005, I was offered the position of Staff Development Coordinator at another home care agency in the Springs. I lept at the chance to design and implement the program and all that it would entail. The company where I had been working, for about 8 years, was never interested in investing in the position. Well, until I said I was leaving and then there were all sorts of promises. But promises are like ...well, best not go there. So I merrily went off to the new place and to make this brief, I am back in the field seeing patients. I am not an office/corporate person. I am a hands-on, roll up my sleeves and down-to-earth kinda gal. I didn't fit in and I struggled every day. In November of this year, I took the position of the Evening On-Call nurse which means I start work at 2pm, by monitoring our agency's remote vital sign monitoring program from a computer at the office and then I go out to see a few patients. After 5pm, I also answer the phone. The office phone rolls over to the mobile phone and I get to be "on-call" until 8 am the next day. Mostly, it's okay, although a few times I have had calls at 2 am for problems such as chest pain, bleeding IV etc.. I handled the problem of course, and then try to go back to sleep...not an easy thing to do. But, it sure beats the abject misery I was trying to survive while working in the corporate office. Another good thing is I get a company car...a Toyota Corolla with the agency logo emblazoned on the side. This is a very good thing, since my 4-Runner is almost 12 years old with 196,000 or so miles on it!
Bill is still making computer wafers and still works the same days, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 7pm until 7am (and every other Saturday). He just went from one manufacturer to another. He now works at Intel. The difference is, he is VERY happy and has been, since he started there a year ago in November. He sets records every week on production. And I'm just gonna go ahead and brag:they asked him to work another shift, for a few days, to help them figure out why they can't be as productive as he and his coworkers are. That's as good as it gets, since he and I work in jobs where promotions are not possible. For either of us to get promoted, we would have to change jobs. He would have to go into engineering, maintenance or management. I would have to go into management. Not something either of us is keen on and quite frankly, I hope I never see another corporate position again as long as I live.

On the home front, Bill and I still live in the same house we moved into shortly after we were married, 12 years ago. Yup, 12 years. We are quite comfortable though we aren't happy about the condo's they finally built, right behind us. Now we have no view of the mountains from the house. Oh well. It's really more that I feel hemmed in. Fenced in. I suppose, it could be worse.
We haven't had a veggie garden in many years, mostly because we were in a drought. This past summer brought rain and relief finally. After more than 3 years of drought, it was a lift to the spirit. For that we are very grateful and we planted annuals and some perennials to brighten up our poor bedraggled flower beds. We are planning a garden for next summer. Hmmm. Maybe I should say, I am planning a garden for next summer. Summer also brought the most amazing thing into our lives.

A three day old, mule deer fawn. On June 17th, my girlfriend found this little sweetie near her home, apparently abandoned by his doe and when I saw it...and my friend looked into my face...it was all over. Legs came home with us. Yes, Legs; we needed to give it a name, but I knew we would have to turn it over to wildlife rehabbers and it wouldn't be a good idea to get too sentimental. Yeah, right. So we named it Legs. It was either that or Radar because mulies have enormous ears. I have posted several videos on my blog. I won't type it here...but if you send me an email, I will send you the link. And you can see for yourself what a joy it was to have him around. I literally cannot begin to put into words what caring for this fawn for one month, meant to me, to us. I truly cannot and as I type this, tears stream in torrents down my face. If we didn't live in the city, I would take up wildlife rehabbing. The down side is that Bill and I fell in love with Legs and it was incredibly painful to turn him over, on July 16th. But, of course, it was the only thing and the right thing to do. I surely do miss that boy. Here is Bill and Legs, enjoying a moment together.






Our dogs and cats still occupy a huge portion of our lives. Max, our English Cocker Spaniel, passed away this past February. He had a stroke, I think and went to sleep. Even though he spent the last 5 or so years, blind, he still had a good life, right up until the day before he died. Abby, Sazi and Gretta are getting on in years. Abby and Sazi much more so, at 14 and 12 years respectively, and we expect to lose one or both of them soon. It is the burden pet owners have. Outliving their pets. For you know, to us, they are our children. We adopted Hank, an Australian Cattle Dog or Red Heeler in September. He is....ahhh. Well, he is an active little guy and let's leave it at that, shall we? Koko, Yum Yum and Mouse remain the same, although Mouse has some significant gastrointestinal issues that the vet has no idea what is causing it. We have no plans of increasing the size of our clan. Although...naw, just kidding.

In other randomness, we don't entertain much since Bill went to night shift some 6 years or so ago. I miss it. But it is too stressful on both of us, to try and entertain, with him working nights. My Shaklee business is slowing, mostly because with the corporate job I had, there was very little time or energy...mostly energy, left at the end of the day to work on my business but I haven't lost any ground, thank heavens. I am currently working on actively growing again. I gave up my Longaberger business finally. Well, I hadn't had a show in over a year and I let my contract expire. I love the baskets but don't like the business. Not my cuppa. We've been doing a bit of traveling in the last year and a half.

In June of 2005, we traveled with my mum to Ireland for 12 glorious days. Truly a delightful, inspiring, lively place with warm, wonderful people. Intel has a plant there, outside of Dublin, if I thought I could get work, we'd move, I swear it. Bill went to Alaska for his brother, Tommie's, retirement from the Air Force at the end of September. I was committed to be in Montana the following week and someone had to watch the dogs while he was gone, so our plans are to go together in 2008. I am really looking forward to that. As I said, I went to Montana to house sit for a friend the first week of October. I have always wanted to move to Montana. And after housesitting for a week, I would move today if there was ANY work for either of us. My friend had lots of pets, birds, horses and deer to feed. Not to mention some inquisitive black bears that scared the poop outta me. Bill had no more vacation time and so I drove up with another friend and we laughed so much, my sides hurt for days. I love Montana. I can't wait to see Alaska.

Next year we hope to go to my mother's family reunion in July, in upstate New York. Then I would really like to go to Shaklee's annual convention in Nashville the first week of August.

See, we haven't had a year end/holiday letter in years and yet, not so much to tell. Although, if you read my blog you will find everyday details that might be more interesting. Then again, maybe not. And speaking of my blog, you can go here to: http://ramblingsandotherthings.blogspot.com/
to read what we having been doing. On the right hand side of my blog, you can scroll down and click on my archives. I have enabled anonymous commenting but would appreciate it if you left your name. That means, you don't have to have your own blog in order to comment, but that it would be nice if you signed your comment with your name. That being said, you don't have to comment, you can just read. I will never know if you came and read or not. Blogging is just my way of being creative and somewhat social.

Other than what I have mentioned about vacation plans..we have no other plans. I still dream of living on a huge ranch and not having to work. You'll have to ask Bill what he dreams about.

We have lots of guest room...still. So, don't be a stranger. And as always, reduce, reuse and recycle. We wish you love and peace, and may your holidays be merry and bright.

Pam and Bill

I Ramble...

Yes, I do. Hey, that's what my blog is called...for good or bad.

My husband works 12 hour nights...7p to 7a. He leaves the house at 5:o8. Just in case there might be some traffic on his 20 minute drive. He doesn't want to be late.
S'all I'm saying on that topic.

But his bosses want him in a meeting every morning after his shift is over to 'discuss' the production for the night. WTF???
I sent him the following pager text message after he emailed me a reminder that he was going to be late because of his meeting:
"Yeah, was just thinking about that and that is a load of crap. You tell your bosses that you put in more than 13 hours already and they should have this meeting while you are on shift."

Then he calls me and says...nope, they canceled it.

I'm sorry. I mean, I spend half the week alone. Am I greedy? Selfish? Difficult spouse? Is it reasonable to expect to spend some time with your husband on a daily basis? I miss the turd when he's at work. Unless of course, he's had onions or chili....then, he can work as many hours as he wants.


Can't comment on any Beta Blogs. If you've switched to beta...and you don't allow anonymous comments, I can't comment. And...I ain't switching till I have to. Don't see the need to add that bit of excitement to my life two weeks before Christmas. Like I'm not busy enough as it is. My apologies to anyone, like there are any folks, who might miss my stunning wisdom and hilarious commentary on your blog.

Had taken video for YouTubesday but wanted to add more footage for a nice montage. So...I guess it'll have to be next Tuesday for the vid. Anyone care? Yah, thought not.

Bill and I adopted Grandparents about 12 years ago. They lived next to us in my condo. We only moved a quarter of a mile away. They actually have children younger than Bill and I but...for all intents and purposes...we call them our grandparents. Grandma, Kay, came to our wedding as Grandpa, Bob, was in WY on business and couldn't come. Over the years, we have celebrated anniversaries...theirs and ours. We celebrated New Years Eve one year...played games until midnight then went out to watch the fireworks on Pikes Peak and then hit the hay. We shared many, many a meal with them. Kay taught me to crochet. Bob taught me to make coleslaw and toffee. They are important folks in our lives. Up until 3 or 4 years ago, they spent the winter in Florida. But, even though they didn't go to Florida for the winter, they still went to one of their 6 children's homes for the holidays.
But...they have decided, because of Bob's CHF/CAD and other health problems, to move to a lower elevation. 6,000 feet is hard on the heart and lungs. I can't tell you just how sad this makes me. I cry just thinking about it. I actually cried in front of them the other day. If you know me, I don't cry in front of people. I don't cry in front of Bill. (Well, until perimenopause kicked in) But at least, this year, we get to have them on Christmas Eve. I have to work Christmas Day, so we have to celebrate Christmas Eve. I believe it is the saving grace for me this year. To be able to celebrate with family.

My dear Sazi, is about 12 years old. And she suffers from arthritis. She has such a hard time coming up the stairs from her kennel in the morning because of the pain. It breaks my heart. Rimadyl doesn't seem to help. I think I will start her on Shaklee's Joint Relief. Hey, it works for Bill and I.

Well, it's time to make the cookies.

Sláinte
♥Pam

I Read

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Literate Good Citizen You read to inform or entertain yourself, but you're not nerdy about it. You've read most major classics (in school) and you have a favorite genre or two.
Book Snob
Dedicated Reader
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Pretty accurate. I have taught myself a lot from reading books. Organic gardening for instance. Vermicomposting. And I read quickly. I intuitively learned to read the "Evelyn Woods" way. I had no idea. I remember my mom taking one of her classes when I was a preteen and when she showed me what the technique was, I said, "I already read like that". Who knew? So the average Nora Roberts novel takes me about 3 to 4 hours. And...I cannot put the dang thing down. I will read until I'm done. Unless of course, I fall asleep. Usually, I am reading with one of those little book lights, so's not to disturb Bill. Or, if it's during the day, I read and end up late for anything, like say...work. If I get a book to read on the plane...I'm usually done before we've landed. Because I read half of it while in the terminal.

What I cannot do is read sewing instructions or knitting/crocheting instructions and then turn around and put them to use. Surely, they were not written for the average non sewing person.

One last thing. I have been known to be so ingrossed in a book, that Bill will be standing next to me talking to me and I had no idea. Never heard or saw him. And no cracks about selective hearing. Absorbed by the prose....s'my story and I'm stickin' to it.

♥Pam

I Catch Up

as opposed to ketchup or is it catsup? Do you know it doesn't matter? The tomato condiment can be spelled several ways. But alas, that is not what I post about.

• I went to Hammonds Candies Saturday. Tried to rally people from work and as usual, had no takers....not one. It's one of the reasons I have shied away from celebrating lately...but more on that in another post. I had fun, as you can see here....well, I was gonna post a pic of me in a reindeer hat but good gracious I can't abide another shot of my gums. But here is Jordan, my neighbor who went with me, wearing the hat.
  
  

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• We did have Bill's boss and his wife over for dinner on Sunday. We actually went to see a play first. One of my coworkers is an actor/director and he had a big part...well, he was the lead in the show...check it out here. We saw Arms and The Man, a play by GBS...George Bernard Shaw. Absolutely delightul. I smiled the whole time. I think we are going to buy some ticket packages because I loved going here when I was growing up and in college in CT and miss it greatly. Here is my coworker Kelly playing the Serb soldier.
  
  

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• Dinner was fab...mostly. I bought a tenderloin of beef...and was absolutely astonished to find out how big that puppy was. And of course it was pricey. I was buying 'natural' beef. We always do. But let me tell you.....I was beyond incredulous that I had made this beef into this succulent entree. WOW. Bill and our guests raved all thru the meal. We were able to cut the meat with a butter knife. Do you think I remembered to take pics? Ah, no. Sorry.
• Unfortunately the Supreme Scalloped Potatoes were....watery. But there was very little left so either they/we were starved or they weren't that bad. Disappointed but at least they weren't disgusting...that was my big worry.
• I rec'd the ultimate compliment though...the bosses wife brought homemade apple pie and said she followed my recipe for the crust...you know the one I posted back in October. She said she liked it and was going to use it from now on. I beamed with pride. Someone acutally trusted my advice. Hehehehee.
• We have decorated the house for the season. We haven't done that in 2 years. I have too much to say about that for this post. And will take pics for tomorrow's YouTubesday.

So that's it for today. All the news that's fit to print.

♥Pam

I Expound

on my post from Thursday..."I Am Moved".

So many threads weaving and twisting in my mind. I found myself, awake early, this morning thinking and writing in my head. Unfortunately, rarely do those words of stunning prose end up in a post. I know I should jump out of bed and rush to the computer but...in the past when I have done that...it doesn't work.

So, if you are not familiar with the movie, Merry Christmas, and haven't watched it, then you should before reading this. It's not that I'm going to spoil the plot. The plot is listed on the IMDB link I gave you. It's that I don't want to prejudice your thinking prior to screening the movie. So, continue reading at your own risk.

One more preface. The movie is based on true events. But it is a movie. Which means, the writer and directors have 'artistic license'. I will hopefully, be expounding on concepts rather than facts. You can read for yourself the facts as they are published, by checking the links I have posted at the bottom, in a sort of bibliography.

The first thing that moved me about this movie is that mostly, we really do just 'want to get along'. We, being the human race. We will fight. Because we will disagree. But quickly, the men (and women) who fight, lose their motivation, for scores of reasons...seeing a buddy die or the amount of carnage wrought by war, is one. In the movie however, there is one young Scot soldier, seething with hate because his buddy died. Other reasons might be living in inhumane conditions, as well as enduring months of physical and emotional misery. So, while the common everyday man suffers at the 'front', the decision and policymakers extol the reasons for fighting, safely ensconced in the 'rear'. It has always been this way..it probably always will. It is the nature of 'man'.
Did you know that one of the peace talks in one of the wars, was stalled because the participants couldn't agree on a setting. I don't know if it was a ploy to stall talks or because they just were cantankerous, but the stall ended when it was determined that if they moved the table, it would satisfy everyone and so these very important people decided to pick up the table as a group...enemy to enemy, and moved this massive conference table. (I'm sorry I was unable to locate a link to validate this story but I do remember reading it or hearing it my my university poli sci class.) Working together brought them together. That is the first thing, that moved me about this movie, was all about. We have many commonalities. "We" being peoples of the world. But we let a handful of policymakers make those decisions for us. We trust them. We let these policymakers convince us that the enemy is different and therefore evil and must be eliminated.

Let me ask you this. When your children fight amongst themselves...do you tell them, go ahead and fight. Fight until the other kid can't get up? Or do you tell them, there are better ways to resolve conflict. Do you encourage them to perhaps....share? Say they are sorry when they have done something wrong? So then, if you teach your children those qualities, because your parents and their parents etc, taught them that...then what changed when they became an adult? Did the stakes get bigger? "My opinion is right and yours is wrong"? Nooo, I think children fight over that topic a great deal. What about "invading another country to destroy, pillage and other atrocities"? Well, children fight about that too, but they don't usually employ guns and lethal weapons. "Johnny took my truck." "Susie won't let me play with her doll". So, why was it wrong for the children to fight? Hey Johnny, smash that playmate over the head until he gives up his toy. You want it. You should take it.

The movie made me mad at people and fall in love with people. Why is it weak to want peace? Peace is harder than war. Or rather..."Winning the peace is harder than winning the war. " Xavier Becerra or how about this..."Making peace, I have found, is much harder than making war." Gerry Adams (Thank you Brainyquote.com) Why are people so afraid to take a stand for peace? Love thy neighbor. How does fighting and killing stop... fighting and killing? Love thy enemy.

Another portrayal in the movie is the Scottish ?Cardinal or Bishop or whatever he was. They portrayed him as devaluing the lowly pastor for 'fraternizing' with the enemy. The fraternizing matter refers to this lowly pastor reading bible scripture to all of the troops on Christmas eve. This high official in the church then went on to motivate the new troops moving to the front, teling them to kill all the Germans. I don't think that actually happened, in fact, I'm sure of it. But you never know.
I will say I am amazed at the amount of "Christians" that say that war is just. Jesus Christ was the original pacifist. How can a "Christian" say that it is okay to engage in war by killing others? I do not understand that concept. Yet "Christians" condone and often perpetrate the killing of others in the name of Jesus Christ. How the hell did that get to be "okay". Oh, I forgot...it's always been okay e.g. the Crusades. And don't pull the old "self defense" card on me...I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about war. I'm talking about aggression. I'm talking about death. Have you had the opportunity to see death? Up close and personal? Have you seen, with your own eyes, what happens to the human body when blunt force and projectiles have been used? Have you? Not what is shown on TV and movies. With your own eyes? Watched someone die because you could do. no. more? And I'm not talking about watching Great Aunt Edna pass away in her sleep either. Have you seen a human being become pieces of torn, broken and bloody anatomy before your very eyes? No? Then before you consecrate war...you should spend some time in an ED. Then try and comfort the living, who must try to make sense of their loved one's death.

The only thing that floods my mind right now is the second to the last scene from Schindler's List. As he leaves, he realizes how many more he could have saved had he only done something else. Isn't that what makes him a Christian? Isn't that what we want everyone to embody? Isn't that the quality that makes 'man' so astonishing? Forgive, turn the other cheek. Two wrongs don't make a right. Love thy neighbor...love thy enemy.

That is what I took away from the movie, Merry Christmas. I am choosing to forgive some of the artistic license in lieu of the bigger picture. I am choosing to forgive. I am asking you to look into your beliefs. Not what you are told by the media or your church or your spouse. Look into your heart. What do you believe?

♥Pam

One last thing. If you feel personally insulted by anything I have written, please note, there are several commenters who are "Christians", and who read and/or comment here. This was NOT a personal attack on any one person, despite how it may make you feel. I am pretty sure I don't have any policymakers visiting here, so I am good to go there.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce
http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/christmastruce.htm
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/truce.asp#add
http://www.christmastruce.co.uk/
http://www.worldwar1.com/heritage/xmast.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/10/98/world_war_i/197627.stm
http://www.kinnethmont.co.uk/1914-1918_files/xmas-truce.htm

I Quote

A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.

Mark Twain

♥Pam

I Am Moved

by this movie. Joyeux Noël or Merry Christmas. I am not sure what prompted me to put it on my Netfli* list but I did. I watched it tonight.

I'm torn between discussing the plot in detail and possibly spoiling it for some or just alluding to it. I think I will do both. I will just allude to it today and post an indepth post on it on Sunday.

I wish for everyone to watch and listen with their hearts. In this one thing, we, as a race of humans, need to pay careful attention and heed the messages, for there are many. I wish I could show you what I think and feel about this visually. Ah, but then, there is the movie.... so it is done.

Briefly, it is based on true events. It takes place on the front in WWI. It takes place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Okay, that's it for now.
♥Pam

I Went Skiing on the 25th

of November. My early Christmas present from Bill was a season pass to Monarch Ski area. I went alone. I had a good day. Better than I expected. Here's a few shots of me, the area and the drive up and back. Click 'em to big 'em.

Taken on Hwy 50...just outside Howard Creek...I think.

Rocky Mountain Sheep

Close up. No rams in the group..just yearlings.

Me...of course.

The mountain and the lodge at the base, all from the top of "Romp".

Driving north on 285 towards Buena Vista. This is the Collegiate Range, taken between Poncha Springs and Nathrop.

And I saw this on the way home too.....




Nawww....but ain't he cute??
♥Pam

I Bake A Pie

Bill and I had our Thanksgiving the Sunday after, since both he and I worked on Thanksgiving.

I can bake. I like what I bake...usually. It's one of the few things no one can take away from me. So, since I'm a bit proud of my baking...here's a slideshow.

Others may have awesome recipes, whiz bang techniques or crusts that make their heart go pitter patter. I like my baking. I admit I might be a bit biased.....
here are two more pics that wouldn't fit on the slide show. (I guess I need to go 'pro').

I've got an Attitude

Well, I used to have this same attitude, believe it or not. And, I believe this with every fiber of my being. I'm sure you've seen this in your email. Maybe if I post it...it'll come to fruition.

Attitude....


John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good
mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask
him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would
be twins!"

He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the
employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up
and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do
it?"

He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have
two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you
can choose to be in a bad mood.

I choose to be in a good mood."

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim
or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.

Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to
accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of
life. I choose the positive side of life.

Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut
away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you
react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood.

You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line:
It's your choice how you live your life."

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower
Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought
about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious
accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was
released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better,
I'd be twins..Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone
through his mind as the accident took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of
my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the
ground,
I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live
or...I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

He continued, "..the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they
wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the
doctors and nurses, I got really scared In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead
man'. I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,"
said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes, I
replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply.
I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'."

Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live.
Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because
of his amazing attitude.. I learned from him that every day we have the
choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry
about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.".
After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

I seem to have lost the choice....for though I try....it doesn't hold...the center doesn't hold.
♥Pam

I Eschew Obfuscation and Espouse Elucidation

Eh?


Okay, I like big words and I cannot lie. Maybe that should have been one of my weird things. But if you want to know what the title means...go here.

I want so much to filet open my brain and pick it apart. Then my soul. I want to squat down with crime scene tweezers and vinyl gloves and accompanying intellect and photograph the workings of, or at least the components of, these structures. Maybe then, I would find some answers and some peace. Peace eludes me of late. I have no peace...no quiet. No certainty. No solace. I'm a whirling mass of misery. It started back here and probably a bit sooner. I've been putting on a front. Mostly to protect those around me. But now I cannot stop the seepage...the damage is rampant. Hate and anger and rage all flood my soul, my mind, daily. Am I heading for critical mass and a subsequent disintegration of self? Am I suffering hormonal and routine life events of those approaching the halfway point of their lives? Has the madness, so prevalent in my family, finally won? Must I surrender to the chemical 'governor'?

It is overwhelming and so must be put aside. Must be corralled up and locked away for another day for surely, if I scrutinize it in the light of day with scientific singularity, it will consume me. I will not come out the other side more whole, with peace and confidence. I will burn in a supernova of insanity and singe, nay, cremate those nearest to me.

♥Pam

I Present Our Version of Shoveling the Driveway

I'm a little early for Youtubesday or however you spell it. But I couldn't wait anymore. Sorry no music accompaniment....long story...suffice it to say I've got software issues.

Enjoy.



Yes, we often use a broom or a leaf blower to clean snow off of our driveway. It is acutally cleaner...meaning it leaves less residue which could turn to ice. We can do this because our snow has very little moisture to it. I dunno...go google it. Or better yet, here's the wikipedia def. Case in point, Steamboat Springs Ski Resort..they patented the use of the word Champagne Powder® to describe their snow.
Unlike New England, where I grew up. That snow is HEAVY. What took Bill and I 8-10 mins would've taken over an hour.
Yes, it is good to live in CO.
♥Pam

I want to spread the word...

You know how you are always getting emails from people, that have been forwarded a hundred times, about some lost child or someone dying from cancer or something else tragic and it either turns out to be a hoax or they've already been found or gotten better? Well, Janet C. over at Life in Westcliffe has a story that's sure to win your heart and break it at the same time.

In a nut shell, a sweet angel of a girl, Ariana, aged 4 years, was diagnosed with Brain Stem Glioma (click on it to read more about it) and you can visit her website here. Her cancer returned on November 15th and she is expected to only have 4-6 weeks left.

Do what feels right for you and your family, to help Ariana. Thank you Janet for sharing.
♥Pam

I Hunt Lights

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The Freemont Street Experience in Las Vegas.