Happy Thanksgiving

Last night I asked everyone to come up with five things that they were grateful for in anticipation of today. Claire excitedly responded that she had just the perfect project for such an occasion and made little "kits" for all of us to use to put together these cute gratitude turkeys.

May you also take a moment to reflect upon all your gratitudes today. There really is so much for which we can be thankful.

Overlooked.... Still on Hold

Earlier this spring I bumped into a blog called Those Little Big Things, also known as Overlooked. The gal who created it was encouraging a "One Little Word" thing, but instead of words, she was challenging readers to document subjects in their everyday lives. The first subjects included coffee mugs, collections, the fridge, tv/dvd love, and street signs. I joined the Flickr group associated with the blog and even designed a binder to house all of the subject layouts.

Here's my layout for tv/dvd love.

I loved this project. Then in July she got busy with some other endeavors and although she said she was only taking a short break, she has yet to return. So I thought I could certainly continue on my own, but I realized that what I've been missing are the prompts. I like not having to come up with them on my own, it seems so much more random and real when someone else generates them. So I'm asking my readers to throw me some subjects, any subject about anything in our lives that might render itself interesting when looked back upon in the years to come.

You guys game?

Mornin' Y'all

Here I am, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Well, not exactly, but I am showered and dressed and I ate a lovely breakfast of unsalted rice cake with unsalted peanut butter and strawberry jam. Believe me, it's one of my more tasty options! Friends are coming for a visit today and the stitches will be removed tomorrow afternoon. My neck is starting to turn a lovely shade of chartreuse and I'm thinking it will be turtlenecks for me after tomorrow. Talking with the endocrinologist to find out the schedule of my blood draws, and then we just wait.

Thanks everyone, for all your well-wishes and surprises and love. The surgery and recovery were a lot better that I expected, and although I'm pretty tired, I feel human and fairly happy. However, I have to say that was one of the WORST sore throats I've ever had.

Hope the world is treating you right.

Home sweet home

So, so good to be home. A comfy bed, a new hat, sweet kids. Thanks all for the love, and flowers, and company, and favorite things, and warm thoughts, and knitting! Kristi will be up and at 'em soon enough, and she is hoping to do a little art before she runs out of thyroid hormone.

After

Here she is. The drain tube just kept on coming and coming, it must've been 6" long. A bit of coffee though and she is back in the saddle.

Well by back in the saddle I mean a tad ornery! She is trying to convince the Doc that she doesn't need to stay and that waiting in the hospital for a blood test they can do in Pullman is ridiculous. You go girl!

Before

Things are going pretty slow. Kristi just got wheeled away and we got at least 2hrs to wait. She watched a river runs through it while I got to eat. She was a bit hungry, thirsty and smoke deprived but still laughing. Thought I would share the Before picture of my sweet gals lovely neck. I don't suppose I'll be chewing on it any time soon.

UPDATE: Surgeon said it was an easy one to get out. Lymph nodes looked great so he left them behind.
UPDATE: She is trying to sleep, but they gotta keep bugging her. Nausea as usual. Once she metabolizes all the crap in her system, maybe she can keep something down. Thanks for stopping by Tammy! You got her to sit up and be human again. Thank you WiFi for something to do!

Two More Stupid Days

If I had to choose a sense that I would be willing to live without, it would not be sound, because I am a hard-core music lover. And I am a firm believer in music therapy; there is a song for every human condition and I can always find one that reflects my mood. These past few weeks have brought with them a lot of anxiety and stress for me, and in response I have been listening to Counting Crows, one of my all-time favorite bands, in particular this song. I tried to embed it here, but alas I've never played on YouTube and my patience is wearing thin. If you're interested, go to the link and give it a listen, and by all means turn it up really loud. Just keep in mind that I'm not a Celine Dion kind of gal! This morning I sat right in front of the speakers and cranked it until I could feel the soundwaves on my skin. I always worry that I will damage the hearing of our parakeet, but when I looked over at her in the middle of the song, she was bobbing her head and singing. No kidding.

We spent the weekend processing deer, well Mark did anyway. I'd go into the kitchen every once in a while to give him a kiss. The kids both had sleepovers here, so we had four munchkins in the house from Saturday morning until late yesterday. One of Mark's buddies from high school was also here to hunt for the weekend, so our humble abode was a bustle of activity. Good for keeping my mind off of things.

I did a little art:

A compilation of photos of Ben using new Jenni Bowlin paper.

A layout of Claire depicting the night she made dinner for us. I even included her original menu.

A lift from Susan Weinroth I've had in my project file for at least a couple of years now. Still love it.

Happy Monday. And as our friend Sue would say, only 2 more stupid days.

Successful and Proud

Our hunter guy spent yesterday afield and came home with this buck (well the head of it anyway!!). Its rack was 7 by 5, a really nice sized deer for this area. He shot it at 200 yards in a thicket at the bottom of a canyon, which meant he had to spend this morning hauling it out. But thanks to the use of a four-wheeler from our friend Bob, the work is all done. Well, except for the butchering part; the poor guy is in pieces in my fridge awaiting packaging (the deer, not Mark, tee hee).

I did a couple of nice layouts, but I'll save them for another day. I don't want to steal the big guy's thunder. Nice job babe, can't wait for sausage.

Extraordinarily Ordinary

Macaroni and cheese for lunch with a friend.

A little hunting.

A little raking.

A little holiday prep.

A little wishing. I'm not a gadget girl and I have resisted all cutting systems that have come before, but I've got my eye on this baby. I got to play with one this morning and YES!

Sometimes it's just nice to notice the everyday things that are so extraordinarily ordinary!

Happy Birthday...

...to my amazing partner and very best friend. He's 43 today and just as sexy and fun and smart as he's ever been. He's rained out of his deer hunt this morning, but his dad is dropping by for a short visit and there will be a lemon bundt cake in the oven shortly. So much less hoopla around birthdays as we get older, but I for one certainly appreciate and want to celebrate the birth of this guy. Have a great day babe, I love you so much.

Sorry Football Post

by Mark

This year it should say "Caution Bad Football From Here to Ocean"

I am so not a football fan, but ya gotta admit this has been an especially bad year for the Washington teams. This post is for Timmy the human luge,, who cares more about this than we do, yet still hasn't paid his debt from his last Apple Cup wager. We do have pics we can share luge boy if you don't wanna pay up.

We know you appreciate the importance of the Apple Cup game for both teams to gain some grain of gratification from their pretty awful seasons. The only good news for us Cougs is that we are only in year 1 of rebuilding,, the Huskies are in year 4, right? And at least we aren’t the only division 1 team w/o a win. That would really suck. But I’m sure all 119 other teams had easier schedules than the Huskies. Salt in the wounds?? Sorry for the sucker punch,, I’m feeling frisky. The only team we beat was Portland High school , and that cost us two quarterbacks.

So ya wanna wager which sucky team will suck less? It might be the only competitive game of the year!

Shades anyone??

by Mark

My future's so bright I gotta wear shades

Remember that oldie? I still have it on vinyl in the basement. Maybe it is time the kids heard that one?

Yes the future appears bright, even on this dreary rainy grey day. We have a highly curable papillary carcinoma in the big white farm house on Benedict Rd. which, for Kristi, is preferable to Colonel Sanders and Caribou Barbie in the other White House on Penn. Ave.

I can't take credit for that funny bit, that one belongs to Mikey, who is still chasing skirts around Barcelona. I am stealing it for use here, since I owe him a dollar I lost on the election. Can't wait to give it to you in person along the Mediterranean, friend.

This is a picture of Mike that he appropriately self titled: Two occasionally bright objects.

This is a picture of Mike on a long ago Halloween that I titled; a Vegan in my Leather, which is almost as funny as a Vegan in Spain. Yes, that is a Barbie head around his neck. Weren't there people painting their nakey bodies and rolling around on paper at that party?? Oh my.

That's Snake Eyes My Friends

It's true, my calcitonin levels were 2pg/ml, way under the fear level of 13pg/ml ! Love those funny little coincidences. So, hooray for Obama, hooray for regular old papillary carcinoma,
IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE AN AMERICAN!!

Go Blue

Lots of anticipation around our house today. Claire's school did a mock election at school yesterday and she was pleased to report that Barack Obama won by a landslide. And Ben was happy to hear that Obama also secured a victory at Nickelodeon Kids Vote. And yes, you can bet I totally encouraged them to see things my way; it's one of the perks of childbirth!

Got this little gem in my inbox a while back, courtesy of a colleague of Mark's. Enjoy. And yes we're still waiting on the results of my blood work.

Subject: The People's Republic of Nuevo California

Dear Red States, We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, New York, and all of the Northeastern states. After this election, we'll be adding Colorado and New Mexico. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, especially to the people of our new country - Nuevo California.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states; we get stem cell research, the best beaches, and the best ski resorts. We get Elliot Spitzer; you get Ken Lay. We get the Statue of Liberty; you get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft; you get WorldCom. We get Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Cal Tech, MIT and Columbia; you get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs; you get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue; you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than that of the Christian Coalition, we get a bunch of happy families and you get a bunch of under-educated single moms.

Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we'll need all of our citizens back from Iraq at once.

If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They apparently have kids they're willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't mind if you don't televise their kid's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq and hope that those Weapons of Mass Destruction turn up for you, but we're not willing to spend any more of our money in Bush's Quagmire.

With the Blue States, we will control 80 percent of the country's fresh water, 90 percent of pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 97 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at your state dinners), 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, and all the Ivy League and Seven Sister schools. We also get New England, the Great Lakes and Yosemite, thank you very much. In the Red States, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans and their projected health care costs, 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, 100 percent of tornadoes, 94 percent of hurricanes, 99 percent of Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, and Clemson.

Additionally, in the Red States, 38 percent actually believe Jonah was swallowed by a whale; 62 percent believe life is sacred unless it involves the death penalty or gun ownership; 44 percent claim that evolution is only a theory; 53 percent insist that Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11; and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you have higher moral standards than those of us on the left.

By the way, we're taking all the good pot, too. You get that dirt weed from Mexico and Kansas ditches.

Peace out,

The Blue States

Let's Focus on Art: Part 2

And there you have it, the rest of my mini winter book. Next I'll be working on a December Daily album; feeling like I really need to get a jump start on it. I made one last year and it's such a great way to document the holiday season. And this year should be especially interesting, don't you think?

Waiting on my blood test results. The lower the number, the better, so I'm hoping for some snake eyes when I roll the dice today! Happy Monday.

Trick or Treat

Our little goblins. Ben was gung-ho for trick or treating this year, ran and led the pack for about 45 minutes, then he was DONE and went to pass out candy at one of our friend's house in the neighborhood where we were begging. Claire and the girls lasted about twice as long. She was so very sweet; at each house that provided a choice of candy, she always chose a peanut butter cup for me if it was available.

I'll finish posting my winter album tomorrow. Happy Sunday!