lookie lookie!!!

i am so excited
i made a magazine file out of a used priority mail box
(i had gotten yarn in it and it wasn't squished)
i crumbled brown craft paper and glued it on the cutdown box, and then waxed over with a mahagony wax
i am going to go over it again with a natural wax in a few days

also i am organizing
hahaha
well ok so i'm trying
i printed some cool labels
and some labels are just me writing on them ( they sorta suck, i like the printed ones)

but i got my glues almost all together
AND i found one hot glue gun so i put it in with my hot glue sticks under the basket of adhesives
how cool is that???

(way cool i tell you....THIS part is fun)

anyway, i read somewhere that it should take about three months to redo a studio
well i don't know about that
it's taking me years and years and years
right now however i am finding all sorts of cool stuff
like the colored pencils i didn't realize i had
today it was that flash of AH HA with the glue basket and hot glue box

and my magazine file
now as i get used boxes i am going to make more of them
i need 5 to start
and then a place to put them
but i think i may have that place

cool huh.........?

maybe just maybe this time i will actually get this finished??

the 'joys' of organization

ha

have i ever mentioned i hate housework

really
i would rather muck a barn then pick up stuff off the floor or vacuum
i would also like to mention
that it's way overwhelming
especially the studio

now logic tells me that if i do it even one square INCH at a time eventually it will all be done

ha again

all i see is piles and piles and elephants and banannas

some folks have nightmares about scary movies etc
my worst nightmare appears to be cleaning and organizing the house

i know people who are BORN ORGANIZED
they don't get me
(that's ok i don't get them either, but i am rather tolerant of their defects)

they don't understand
1) how i can live this way
2) why i can't seem to ever really get it all done
3) why i can't just DO IT

i know part of my problem is lack of closets
lack of kitchen cabinets and lack of counter space
not to mention lack of workbench space right now in the studio

the other part of my problem is lack of the organizational gene it would appear

maybe i do have it
i do lists
i make plans and i can carry out some stuff
like if i have to can a years worth
i did the planning and then worked the plan

for some really warped reason however it doesn't appear to work for organization

or housework

i used to have a card written out, step by step how to clean the bathroom
and i followed it for YEARS

i bought all the organization books
i tried to follow them

somehow i think i am organizationally impared

or something

ok
so

i could use some help here

HELP

oye

vi

icecream

ok we got a new icecream maker
Hamilton Beach 68330R 4-Qu... $31.99
we got it from amazon with the free shipping

today we made the vanilla recipe in their book
it's similar to mine
it's a cooked recipe with eggies..... 6 eggies
but we got eggies you know...... we do we got eggies

i like this new machine, as it holds more then our old one
about double what our old one held

i will be tweeking the recipes

what i don't like about it is that you let it run until you hear strain on the motor
that worried me and bernie

but the icecream seems ok
it's in the freezer tempering now

(btw, you will be reading this in the morning......actually it's sunday night)

we did plain vanilla as bernie said 'let's try it first before you get creative'

so i am hoping to 'get creative'
every week
hahahahaha
i do so love my icecream you all know

now we had it churning on the deck but brought it in as it looked ( looks) like it's going to storm, and since it isn't even 7pm and it's BLACK out
i am assuming that those heavy dark clouds mean business

meanwhile i started to sort and label stuff in my studio
i am still not back to drawing ducks
but i did some halloween stuff
if i like them when all is finished, i am going to print them up and sell them on etsy
however in the meantime, until i can face ducks without cleo
and chickens without my marguerite.........it's halloween stuff and studio cleaning

oh and bernie's pitchforked foot appears to be healing

take good care you folks
vi

no rain?

are you sure?
better check twice..........

you know it's bad when slugs are climbing up the side of the house

colleen, my sister in law, said that before hurricane IKE hit galveston, the slugs were climbing up sides of buildings....her husband noticed it
they were up higher then he is tall and he's over 6 feet tall

now we got slugs up here

however the GOOD news is
the ducks only have to stick a bit of their beak in the very soft ground and they come up with a huge mouthful of worms

it makes them happy

happy ducks make me happy as well
it's like dominoes

so i guess it isn't all bad

bernie had to weed wack the weeds....... the lawnmower still isn't working
and besides the weeds were over my head
(ok so i am not very tall but still........)

today, in addition to ducks
i am going to make icecream
wish me luck

it makes a gallon at a time
hmmmmmmm
maybe cheesecake and mixed berry icecream???

i really got nothing to say

dead is all around

seems like that sometimes
truly death is all around
but we aren't usually that aware of it unless we are hospice workers,
soldiers,
morticians or goth
(or mass murderers, i suppose)

and all attempts at freezing time do not appear to work for very long

for taking a moment and saying 'this is perfect, let me stay here for a while'

i guess when we are in perfect moments, we feel they won't ever stop
isn't that part of the definition of perfect?

and now with the deaths of icons from the seventies, we all in our middle years
will admit our youth is gone

aging has always been surprising to me
i suppose with the arrogance of youth i felt that somehow i would not age
but at the same time, acting old
and feeling oh so old

the paradox of youth no?


i don't know about this summer, so far it's not a good one

something is biting me

i get these tiny little bumps
and they are sort of hard
if i scratch them
they pop!
and a tiny little hole is under them
that bleeds
it's a tiny drop of blood but it continues for a bit
and then they itch

now it is NOT CHIGGERS
we live up north
and there aren't any tunnels under the skin

but whatever it IS

it really really likes me

i am almost completely covered on my arms and now on my legs
and a bit on my torso

now maybe it's a good thing that this year my garden is non exhistant
as vicki called last night and told me that their garden is finished!
the rain did it in
the tomatoes all died of water logged wilts
(and they have elevated beds in the sun without trees within 200 feet of the garden)
the weeds in my garden are still doing well, in case anyone is interested
and we put a ton of manure all over the garden to help smother
next year it should be great huh?
i needed great this year


i don't like my new doctor
she wants me to lose weight but yet wants to put me on actos
i said i didn't trust actos due to the heart problems for side effects
she informed me it was benefical to heart patients ( i looked on the actos website and that's not what the manufacterer said)
she told me the only side effect was......... weight gain
hahahahaha
she wants me to lose weight but will put me on a drug that is known to cause weight gain and congestive heart failure.........

that's a doctor?


anyone know of a GOOD endocronologist in the vacinity of monroe county pa
the one guy in allentown is an ass
and this new one is in denville but apparently is not wrapped too tight...

my doctor who was good, suddenly closed her office
with no warning and no explanation

i would even go to philly i think 4 times a year if i had to
just to find a decent endo
with some brains and common sense

vi

i miss my girls so much

the ducks however do seem to be adjusting to momma duck being their 'third'

lillianna has some scabs on her beak that are peeling off
phoebe is being a brat

i keep looking for cleo and marguerite

falstaff wants to be with the girls....he's not allowed naturally
not without a fence in between them

i found out i am finally FINALLY almost over the perimenopause and will be post menopausal very shortly
which means chin hair to my toes right?

bernie is working on his injured foot
he's got it all swollen
it's not infected though thank goodness and he does have that tetnus shot now
he's good to go until 2019 now

and i'm good to go until 2018

the rains have apparently stopped for the moment
which is good as i am slowly being eatten by mosquitos and these tiny tiny teeny little black bugs
about 1/84" of an inch long ( no kidding they are that small)
the tiny microscopic ones pack the biggest wallop
and leave the largest and most itchy welts


i need icecream

bernie's foot

he went to work, and worked a full day
he's all swollen and in pain
(dumb ass man)

if upper management had realized they would have sent him home
(the upper management in this company is wonderful, they really are)

he's limping around and not elevating

i am going to appoligize to everyone for not really responding much to comments or even to emails

losing my two favorite girls and then bernie getting hurt knocked me for a loop
even lillianna decided to stop yelling at me and was sweet, coming up and asking for a neck rub

i miss cleo and marguerite so bad i can't believe it
i got so used to always checking where cleo was as she was the weakest of the ducklings.
and marguerite, i had a special treat for her all the time, she'd be waiting for me every morning at the end of her pen for a pet and wattle rub and her treat
i could kiss her little beak and pet her soft feathers
(duck feathers aren't soft at all but orpington chicken feathers are)

fawn has been sleeping on my head now and licking my arm most of the night
she knows something is up
even thaddeaus and calpurrnia are aware that something isn't right in our little family

meanwhile momma has been accepted into the little duck group
they do nip at her neck but i realized it's more like sibling rivelry then actual agression
she's coming around slowly
i don't know if i will ever get her to come and ask to be held like cleo and lilli do
(did?)
even phoebe sometimes asks to be held so maybe
i do know that momma doesn't really care for falstaff much so i won't be putting her in with him again unless i see her express an interest
she won't even go over to greet him when the girls do
poor falstaff
he's lonely again
i need to find him a few ducks that won't mind him

ok
back to the drawing board
i had to put aside the duck drawings for the moment
i can't bear to look at the pictures right now when little cleo was alive and well and running around

new week....better luck?

bernie went to work, inspite of the pitchfork wound in his foot
i told him let the paramedics look at it
he won't

stubborn man

momma duck is starting to fit in with lillianna and phoebe
although the girls are still biting her a bit
i don't really think that it's a mean thing
but more like a bit of sibling rivalry

i picked up momma yesterday (prior to bernie impaling himself)
and she did settle a bit
her heart stopped pounding so hard after a few minutes
she is a nicely solid duck
i think bigger even then lilli

i miss cleo and marguerite terrible
their loss is really huge for me
i am always looking for cleo to see if she needs help
and calling marguerite without thinking
seeing their absence stops me dead in my tracks

all the pens outside are cleaned for the summer
the ducks are not happy as we got not only all the winter bedding out
but the worms too
tons of HUGE fat nightcrawlers
they gorged themselves silly on those worms

well again
i am hoping this is it for the bad luck for a while
i hope no one else dies on me
no one else gets hurt

and life is quiet and happy

but i miss my girls


vi

back from the hosptial

it's quite deep but no broken bones
he's got antibotics
didn't want pain meds
is on aspirin
and is supposed to be resting with the leg elevated

so what is he doing?

baking a potato..............


heaven help me
i just may have to kill him today


vi
who is now very very tired

off to the hospital

bernie impaled himself with a rusty pitch fork

so off we go to the hostipal

i told him not to do that duck pen that i would do it tomorrow

it hasn't been a good week

losing marguerite and cleo this week within two days of each other was bad
cleo i always figured would not last long,
she was always so weak compared to her sisters

marguerite was old
this strain of chicken doesn't seem to live too long
sharon died a while back of retained eggs
we just thought she was broody
but this strain doesn't live too long
their brother larry died at about 4 months old
most likely of heart failure, as he like marguerite died in his sleep

i am grateful for that

just like little cleo dying in her sleep as well

i put momma duck in with phoebe and lillianna now
she's getting along with them more or less
the girls are bullying her a bit
i told her to bite them back.....after all she is WAY bigger then they are

i been spending a lot of time with them
i've been having them out to graze and bath
momma learned how to climb in and out of the small baby wading pond
she is learning to follow the girls
and that if i call them over, normally i have a treat for them
blueberries or worms

i am cleaning pens
i got part of the close to the house pen done
it was loaded with worms under the hay
they ate a LOT while i was mucking it

i'll most likely finish it today
then i will be doing the day pen out back
all the wet hay is going to go in the garden to smother weeds


i have to say
this is not only a bad week here
but losing two of my favorite birds in two days shouldn't be allowed
it's just not right

vi

in loving memory yet another one

marguerite the chicken november 2005- june 19 2009

there was never a more personable chicken
she made friends every where she went

they say these things come in threes.............
i've had two now this week
marguerite was age related
her strain doesn't seem to live long

cleo

may 19, 2008-june 17-2009


i will miss you so very much my tiny little baby duckie
your little duck hugs,
your sweet little twitter
your splashing and playing in the pond

why is it that

every time i try and sleep in
a very furry cat walks back and forth across my head?????

i have some sinus stuff going on.......... bernie does too
his are draining and driving him nuts
mine aren't draining and driving me nuts

so i decide since my head feels like it's been stabbed with red hot pokers
i would stay in bed a bit
after all i went to the lab YESTERDAY for the vampire doctor and left 9 viles of the good stuff
i deserve a bit of a break no?
i finished canning the blueberries
i wrangled ducks
i gathered eggs
washed clothes and dishes
cooked pork loin

i did work yesterday

try telling THAT to a fuzzy cat

fawn decided it was time for me to get UP

it wasn't that they didn't have food or anything, it was just that mom doesn't normally stay in bed until 7am
i think she was concerned
so naturally she needed to assure herself and me by walking repeatedly over my head
back and forth
did i mention the sinus thing?
it hurts
did i mention the repeatedly furry cat back and forth thing?
it didn't help as much as it sounds like it should

really
it didn't


and you can't get the good stuff anymore, tylanol severe or extreme sinus
they don't make it anymore cause of the freeken meth labs
that one was the only one that worked for me

apparently with all the rain
i got algae in my nose too

i wouldn't be surprised

vi

blueberrie conserve

9 pints of blueberries
8 cups sugar
zest of three oranges then the pulp and juice
zest of three lemons then the pulp and juice
1.5 cups of raisins ( i used dark cause i had them, but i prefer light)

a teaspoon of butter

add everything bring to a simmer/low boil
boil about 1/2 an hour
can in jellie jars in boiling water bath about 12 minutes
so you don't have to sterilize the jars

this is much better if you put it up and let it set for a year
it mellows into an amazing conserve


vi

momma isn't a momma after all

it was pretty sad but i took momma off the nest yesterday

actually i took her in the crate with the nest out to the upper pen
with fresh water in the little pond
she got out and took a bath
while she was out
i took the crate and the nest away
the eggs weren't going to hatch as it was already 4 days over their time

good thing too
because the person who had originally asked me to SET that nest had decided he didn't want them, but never bothered to tell me!
i would have had 15 new ducks to hand raise and either eat or find homes for

i still feel bad about the nest however
but it is ok
i am going to think about setting momma up again later, but probably not until next year maybe
i will however get her used to the girls and put her in with them
falstaff won't like it
but it makes for easier duck chores for me
and less injured female duckies as well
he's sorta rough with the girls

i am however truly annoyed with that person who emailed ME to ask for 12 ducklings
and then had the gonads to inform me, he had purchased three females near him ( and i remember when he did that, as i got momma from the same place at the same time)
he never bothered to inform me however that he no longer WANTED the ducks from me
i emailed him to say that momma was finally setting eggs

i let a duck set for 35 days for this idiot...........
she could have been made non broody and we could have had fresh eggs for table for that 35 days
i get a better price for the eggs too compared to duckling prices
she also could have been grazing on juicey worms out with the others
happily bathing in the ponds instead of sitting on a nest

i am so mad

ok

i am going to get my blood work done today ( it's only a week late.......i had the plague remember)
and then finish canning the blueberries
then start the peaches and mangos
THEN i can start to work on the studio again

although i should do some laundry and hang it on the inside line as well
oye

ok
off i go now
i need this to get done today

take good care and i will be over the mad in a few hours
vi

blueberries and strawberries

today i will can my blues
the strawberries will be sugared down and i will get to them tomorrow

i have mangos and peaches ripening
for grilling sauces

as of last night........still no ducklings
i hope this nest isn't a dud
but if no babies by thursday
bye bye stinky eggies
hello other duckies

now that my beloved and much missed sister in law is back in texas
we've finally recovered from her lovely parting gift ( the plague)
and taken the bed down in the studio
so now i can start back again with organizing this room
i am putting all the little things in containers as i go along

i also got some odds and ends to make me summer fun earrings ( i still need some rose, lt rose and fushia swavarski crystals for one pair)
as well as a small set of 24 inktense ink pencils from derwerts

i would also like the set of 72, maybe if michaels has them and a 50% off coupon?
i worked on a halloween treat cup illustration yesterday with them and LOVED THEM
they will do some of what i want them to do so i would like the complete range

ok off i go as i got strawberries and duckies calling me

300 thread count my assets.....

we got new sheets
30 BUCKS
300 thread count
they are like laying on a tissue

what ever happened to wonderfully crisp sheets like my old laura ashley's?

what ever happened to sheets that are so nicely woven that they resist wrinkles simply because they are so tightly woven

?????

they are however a delightful shade of a coral/rose
and with the contast of some eggnog colored pillow cases as well as the matching ones......
they look nice
but
for 30 bucks, i expected a much higher quality

and don't get me started on the construction

oye


vi
still no ducklings

we are giving her until thursday, then taking and dumping the eggies

good morning drier air

Dear Mother Nature,

it's me, your good daughter vi
you remember me right?
fought that lawsuit to protect the old trees

the one overrun with slugs
( yeah thanks for that, as i got the ONLY ducks in the world that prefer worms to slugs, and i got the damn ducks for the slugs in the FIRST place)

yup.......... that's the one..... me, vi

listen, with all respect, i gotta ask............
WHY all this rain
i got algae growing between my toes
i SWEAR THEY ARE GREEN
i saw moss on the GLASS picnic table
and a bit of mold on my laundry that is still hanging limp and soaking wet on the line
actually it's wetter NOW then when i first hung it out..........a WEEK AGO

and mom, what's up with that roundup stuff.......?
we sprayed the poison ivy but it acted like super heavy duty poison ivy FERTILIZER
that shit is some SUPER terminator poison ivy out there
it shot UP the side of the house after we sprayed it

also mom, do me a favor ok?
can you light a fire or something under the township
as the road drains down my driveway and it's totally eroded now
i guess that was their cost saving anti sewer thing huh?
drain down through our driveway and they didn't need to put in sewers?

thanks mom, for listening to me
i have to get the ungrateful ducks out now
oh and mom, one more thing.............. can you help them ducklings hatch TODAY?
so the guy can come and get them tomorrow
and i can clean the pen?
it smells really BAD in that pen
cause she won't let us clean it

thanks mom........ did you get the flowers i sent for mothers day?



love
vi

there is a strange light in the east

oh my GOODNESS

it is the

SUN!!!!!!!!!

the old april showers.... have shifted through may to

june

it POURED last night
i am just going to have a fast cuppa and then go and see if the chickens and ducks are floating
at one point, it rained so hard that bernie thought that our patio umbrella flew away

we checked
it was still there

we aren't so sure about the chickens and ducks

i dreamt of an old friend of mine that i lost touch with
and even in the dream i lost touch with her!
then when i ran into her in the dream, just as i was leaving.........
she said.........'come to a party tomorrow night, it's in your honor'

which i really couldn't go to
then she said

'i wore a grey sweater just like you always did'
which is sorta true
one of my staple winter colors while working 'in the field' was grey
in all the shades
and a lot of tweedy flannelly heathery greys

what an odd dream, which i swear was brought on by the rain pounding down


ducklings.......... we aren't sure if they have arrived yet
another reason i am up a bit early
i have to go and see
they are/were spoken for

but the guy hasn't returned my emails
and i have at last 'figure' 13 give or take cause she tossed two eggs out
great
a coven of ducklings
just what everyone needs

i agreed to this setting only because the guy said he'd take ALL of them, as he has a farm
he wanted 12 so one more won't be an issue he told me
although if there WERE more i would keep back a girl or two for eggs
anyway
if there are babies...and they WERE due yesterday, so there should be
in addition to the rain
i will be fighting with a duck
oye
and babies will be in the laundry basket
AGAIN

meanwhile a very soggy sodden vi bides you adieu

ps: SEND THE ARK NOW

oh and buy that pantry book

i wish i could stop sweating alllllllllllll night

night sweats are the pits
seriously
so is coughing from this plague
then fawn decides to 'comfort' me by sleeping on my head

i love that little cat..........
and those of you who may remember when she first came here.........

wow what a difference!
we did compromise
she could sleep on my pillow on the side of me
i got some sleep at about 6am this morning
that's why i'm late with the blog
late with the coffee
late with the duckies
and still haven't gotten to the lab for the extended bloodwork

night sweats
blame mother nature

ok

just a reminder about the PANTRY book....... check out that link on the right
and when you read this book
(i hope you all love it as much as i did)
drop the author a line, she is a very nice lady
who has put up with me almost stalking her as i do love this book so much
it was a most satisfiying read and i have hopes that someday she will write the companions to The Pantry,
which should be 'summer kitchens' and preserving

she needs a new publisher i think


and to the next thing
the rain
i swear mold is growing in my ears
and speaking of moldy ears ( don't ask)

i need a bit of help
i am thinking of opening an etsy store
to sell my handmade miniatures and dolls, halloween stuff, soaps etc..........and probably greeting cards with my drawings etc

i am in need of a name!
my sister in law wanted 'things for all seasons'
it's been taken already
i was thinking of some of the following

necessary indulgences
repository of dreams ( but it may not be me if you know what i mean)
lifes little luxuries
seasonal delights

anyway i am pretty much stuck
so i could use some help


oh and i have ducklings due to hatch today
that just reminded me
oye


HELP!!!!!!!!!!!


vi

the pantry book and todays work

check out the link at the right....... please do yourself a favor and don't miss out on this book
i am not affiliated in any way but i adore this book
if you are a foodie and like putting up stuff you will too

if the description of mole's pantry from wind in the willows did it for you......... BUY THIS BOOK


ok
on to today's work
more studio clearing
dishes, and duckies

and still wet clothes hanging on the lines
oye
ok so i should actually get the thermal fuse for the dryer huh?
but i have enjoyed these past few years without it
i know it's only about 20 bucks
yes i know
ok
ok
i'll try and remember it

i am as some of you may remember
organizing the studio and drawing duckie pictures
i have run into a smallish problem
ok not so smallish
ok more like a large problem............. almost huge

it's the BOOKS
i gots them
tons of them
thousands and thousands of them
i never (almost) met a book i didn't like
i am the last home of unwanted books
i never willingly give them up
if i buy you a book.........i most likely will also buy me the same one at the same time
unless i already have read it
i don't have enough space in this house for my books
THAT alone is a good reason to move
but moving at the moment with this economy is out of the question
so i got book issues
they fill the dining room
climb the stairs
wander over mantels, chests of drawers, tables
pile on the floor
pile on the work benches
lean on walls
cover floors and sofa's
are tucked in here and there.........

a bibliophile's dream....
and there are books on almost every subject you can imagine
and some you may not be able to
in addition to history and literature, science, and how to's
are things such as 'naughty victorian pop up books' (not as bad as it sounds.........and quite cute)
books about collecting books
art books, cook books, knitting books, garden books, sci-fi, biographies, commentaries, green books, fairy tales, religions, art, art history, archeology, anthropology, forensics, etc etc etc......
i am if anything a truly eclectic reader
and i like to learn new things about ever 6 months or so
and along with that comes more books
numerous ones on the subject i am learning
plus adjacent subjects....... ( such as spinning, and raising sheep)
big books
little books
oversized books
sideways books

now i refuse to have a book sale
as matter of fact
the annual library book sale is going on right now .............. and i am being good and NOT going
although i really need a new copy of little big by crowley as mine wore out and fell apart

so that actually brings me to

book storage
i need some unique and original ideas
that don't take wall space
which i don't have

i could sooooooooooo use some ideas

(just throwing that out there.........in case someone has a brilliant one)


ok now that i whined about books
i need another cup of coffee

remember you all
that pantry book
i probably should get a second one to put away for when they are 200. each at the out of print and rare book websites

vi

falstaff in the morning

The Pantry this is the BEST book

thanks to 'sayingthings' (http://sayingthings.wordpress.com/) for the heads up

i have been telling folks for a while about a book i just love
it's called the pantry and i have had it for a while
i was just alerted to the fact that it's gone out of print and the remainders are available from the author

The Pantry

anyone who is interested in food, as well as preserving or even the history of houses NEEDS this book
i love my copy

i almost stalked this poor woman as i loved this book so much
i would have loved to see her do a book on summer kitchens and preserving

please tell your friends, and buy one of these for yourself
before you get to the point where the only copies will be over 200. on the rare book market

they just don't make plagues like they used to

(images are longwood, one color, one black and white of the same tree.......to see the values)

thank goodness

i think we are over the worst of it...........actually while i did sleep in

i am doing pretty good so far

of course i am not totally awake yet

but

i think i will live.................

we still haven't knocked down the antique cherry bed that we slept on while colleen was here,

it was my grandmothers, and my parents, now i have it

most likely i was conceived on that bed (different matteress however, i got this new one in 1993 for dad)

it's a 3/4 size

so smaller then full sized

we actually are quite comfortable in it

inspite of three curly cats that insisted on laying all over our heads and feet in this bed

today's agenda:

1. studio organizing
2. dishes
3. duckies
4. laundry

more or less in that order, as while colleen was here everything stopped of course.

and due to the excessive rain while she was here......... gee thanks mother nature

i have weeds as tall as i am in the garden

and still no cuc's or beans

as i had badly thrown out my back during that time

and then colleen came

so sometime this week is weedwacking the garden

followed by planting and prayers

i also have to go to the lab for tests again

the new endo found some nodes and what she thinks is a fluid filled cyst on my thryoid

plus she wants to see better fasting blood sugar levels

mine which has been going steadily down....... (january's was 84) shot up to 104

which may have been due to this cold or something

but i was very upset friday after the doctor

so i decided since i sorta felt like crap, i would wait a few more days to have the new levels taken

if it went down then she can't put me on the insulin sensitizers like she wants to

and i would prefer to avoid

well that's about most of the news, of course if i remember something i will let you all know
oh and colleen finally called us yesterday
she'd put the wrong phone number in her phone............so couldn't reach us until she found her address book
i told her next time to call bernie's phone
just so we knew

ok i have to start my day

ttyl
i will try for duckie pictures as well
dirty duckies but duckies all the same

gone but so not forgotten

colleen left us a lovely parting gift........(no not the building...although it would have been nice)

the plague from the pits of hell

and she's my FAVORITE herron family member

we are sniffling, coughing, aching and just miserable

ok let's see

what we did

bought me clothes for the summer which i needed desperately

got 6 tops and two jeans

got more storage for the studio

went to the art supply store

went to the outlets and went book shopping

got me underwear...........(that's become a tradition when she visits, we go shopping for underwear)

went to longwood

went to parts of longwood i'd never seen before!

had a few suppers on the deck.........mostly we dealt with rain so didn't do half what we'd planned

i was going to teach her to knit, can, and make soap

she learned to knit

she was too sick to can or make soap

she was too sick to help me in the garden, since she wanted to learn herbs and veggie plants

she liked the ducks

they cracked her up

oh and big news

the OLD chickens are laying again, dulcette and henrietta

not marguerite yet

and the new girls are mostly laying

so we are getting eggs again

usually 3-4 a day from them

and two a day mostly from the ducks

i have been accumulating art supplies but did no productive drawing while she was here

i did get some wonderful storage things

and i also got a couple of studio magazines, 'where woman create' and

'studio'

so i gleaned some ideas from them

due to the rain colleen didn't get to help her brother build a duck pen........which is what she was looking forward to doing

she got sick last week and was coughing, and sneezing and miserable the whole rest of the week so we didn't do much

she did go to the new endocronologist with me

where we discovered i have new nods on my thyroid since the last scan

that's about it

i am sneezing and coughing and have a very sore throat right now

oh and i discovered that 'inktense' pencils are incredible and i want the full set
so i have to find a discount coupon for them
no?

baby ducklings are due the 11 ( and due to leave on the 12)

colleen leaves today

and i am heartbroken

colleen's longwood pictures

part of the set colleen took when we were down at longwood

my sister in law is leaving tomorrow,

a day early as my nephew forgot to tell her that his graduation is tomorrow

she'll get in just in time to get there

i am going to miss her so very much i can't even tell you all

i had such a wonderful time with her

she is like the sister i should have had but didn't

we laugh, and joke around

give each other advise

confide in each other

this trip, bernie didn't get any time really with her

normally they take a few days and do something together,

last time they built the duck pen

i sort of stay out of their way so they have some time together that they were cheated out of when they were kids

(talk about screwed up families.........their parents took the cake)

he didn't get time this time, they had planned on the new duck pen, but it rained .........a LOT

she also got a bad cold which she still has

she sounds terrible

she just got over asthmatic bronchitis right before she came, so i am very worried that it would be that again

anyway

that's where i've been

soaking up the family time with my sister in law

i will miss her so much when she goes back

i want them to move here

away from galveston and hurricanes

vi

a bit more longwood

a taste of longwood

there are THREE treehouses...........cool huh?

pictures!