Saturday, May 31, 2008

Hello



        Well, we were lucky enough to not get blown away the other day.  The clouds were just awesome and we saw funnels galore but besides losing our electrical transformer the tornadoes stayed away.  We didn't have electricity for a few hours.  That is bad when your wondering what the weather is doing.

     My son's house is finished.  Today he started moving things in.  Mostly his few hundred books.  We all read a lot in this family.  The great thing about getting rid of TV is it cultivated book reading in us all.  He likes to buy his books so he always has something I can read.  I don't buy them much anymore as I am trying to keep the libraries alive by going there often. 

   It seems mostly these days like it is full of perverts huddled over the computers on the top floor.  Hutched over the screen trying not to let people know they are trying to pick up children on the internet or looking at porn.  Scary unkempt people you wouldn't want to meet in an alley.

     The library tried to bar them, but even perverts have more rights then us. Prove it!  Well...their body language proves they are doing something you just don't want to know about.   Are they talking to your daughter or granddaughter?  Pretending to be their age.  Sending them pictures of their private parts!  I did see that show on TV when we were staying at my MIL's.  Scary stuff.

     Sometimes the entire computer thing makes me cringe.   My predator father would have had a field day with the new technology.  He preyed on newly widowed women.  Befriended them, wooed them, married them and took everything they owned. Abused them for kicks and slept with their daughters.   Destroyed them.  I have nothing of my father in me.  Just the knowledge that these type of monsters do exist.

         Anyway.  What have I been up too?  Not to much.  Finished the son's house.  Tried to stay dry.  Looking at marbles and new clocks. studying my new class on line, reading a good book. Waiting for dry weather so I can take my bike out.  Tomorrow we are going on a photo shoot and to an auction to check out some clocks.  I think I have room for a couple more.  I promised my oldest one of my clocks for his place when he moves.
        
        I am behind on alerts.  My computer keeps crashing.  I have read most of them but right in middle....boom, the computer is down.  Ticks me off.  Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Take care all. 

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Dangerous weather

 

They are predicting some pretty severe weather and tornadoes later today and tomorrow.   What.!   On my day off!   So we are making sure the batteries in the flashlights are good, charging the phone, cleaning any spiders out of the best place to say in the basement.  and keep our ears pealed.  It has been raining for hours.  We have the same forecast for tomorrow.  I hope nothing happens.  There is a stillness and heaviness in the air.  Not good.

     I am going to bed and sleep through it I hope.  I am sore and need to sleep.  Take care all.

                Julie

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The body I want for only a Dollar!

    Wow, wouldn't it be wonderful if just once....once the spam mail was for real!   Send in my dollar plus S & H and a detailed list of just how I would want my body to be.   Let me see. 

   I want to be taller.   Thinner is a given, but not too thin.  I don't want all my wrinkles removed because there are a few I deserve to keep.  I earned them the hard way.  Pretty feet.  I always wanted pretty feet as mine just look terrible in sandals.

    I am not much of a shoe person, but always loved open toed sandals.  Cute little painted toes sticking out.

    Lets see, what else.  Long thick hair.  The kind that always looks good even when it is messy.  Skin that tans.  Yup, that should just about do it.  Oh...a great brain.  That is the most important.  A thinking brain. 

     Wait.  I think I have that already.  Must have because even though the spam mail gave me a pleasant little moment, I deleted it and all its false promises.  One out of 10 not bad, right!


Monday, May 26, 2008

God Bless our Troops, and Thanks.



        Thank you all of the brave men and women to whom we owe our freedom too.  You are all in my daily prayers and my gratitude can never be completely expressed.


Nothing like a day off.



      When asked what it is about my job I like I usually say the 7 days off, and its true to an extent.  I live for my long stretch off.  However I do love my job.

       I had to orientate a nurse the other day.  Just to make it interesting I took a stupid pill and had trouble answering the most simple of questions the entire night.  Man.... just went blank every time.  Its not that I don't know it... I do, its just she would thrown them at me out of the blue while my mind was miles away in the other direction.  What a impression I made, LOL.  Thank goodness I can do my job without actually being able to articulate what I am doing.

        Anyway so here I am with a day off.  2 more to go.   Reading the weather I had visions of a bike ride later today when I got up but storms are once again rolling through town.  Makes for great sleeping, but bad riding.  The trip is getting closer and closer and I am far behind in my training.  Being the smart nurse I am...really.....just don't ask me any questions, LOL, I do know better then to ride a metal object in a lighting storm.

     I could sit at this desk and study.  I am doing some reading about quantum physics which is a subject I really love.  I used to sit in on some classes at the local college when my old teacher taught.  Trying to understand the wave structure of matter in light and matter.  I can understand the concept, but the math has me lost.  Why wasn't I born with a clever mind.  Sigh. Anyway it keeps me puzzled and occupied for the times I can't get out and about and have no good book around to waste away the hours.

    Well, time to go get some shut eye.  I hope we get good weather for when I wake up.  Outside the window a turkey just wandered by.  The woods are green.  The birds are singing.  It is hard to sleep through it all.


Saturday, May 24, 2008

Hello Everyone


       Just got done with day 2 of my stretch.  So far so good.    I had great patients and really enjoyed them.  Did a short dance with on man when we got him out of bed.
Much better then the last night I worked that messed me up so bad.

        The TEN's unit is giving me some relief.  Takes the sharp take your breath away pain away so its a good thing.  I have been doing my exercises and taking it slow.  No more painting.  I have been planting some coleus in different varieties, this one is the mound one.  It looks like a colorful round bush when bigger.  Should be so pretty.



   And my usual flowers.











        Slowly my yard is looking better.  I love it like this.  We have been getting thunderstorms for the past couple of days so sleeping has been great also.

          Speaking of sleeping its time for me to turn in.  take care all.



Sunday, May 18, 2008

Just beautiful

Turned out pretty good

   I finished the room today and must say, it looks great.  It really turned out better then I had hoped it would.   This room is pretty much the way it was when my MIL had it except the poster of Dan's.  He kept some of the things and will slowly replace them with things more his taste.  Except the bed and he actually likes the duck.  He doesn't care for the sofa and loveseats pattern but free is good so he will keep them for now.  The curtains came with the house and he doesn't exactly like them also but once again, replacing the curtains right now would be pretty expensive.  So what do you think, is the bedroom a success?
Before



After, Ebony likes it and thinks it is a restful room now.


Before


After,







       I could rest in this room


      And last the archway downstairs.  I love the way it turned out.  And a picture of the last room to finish.  Its the largest room.







Saturday, May 17, 2008

before and after pics

   We have the dining room finished.  Dan isn't going to use it as a dining room though.  It will be his media and game room.  The color looks startling at first but really is pretty with the furniture in it and it changes colors during different times of the day.  Its a very warm comforting room at night.











         Next they start on the living room.  I can't wait to see it.   Yesterday and today I worked on his bedroom.  We weren't going to paint his bedroom but I made a small mistake and had to.

      My in laws had painted everything antique white.  So I have been going around touching up areas that we had filled cracks and nail holes on.  I painted some area's in Dans room and didn't realize until it dried that it wasn't the same paint.  What!  You can see the smears on the wall in this shot.  One was a flat and I just painted it semi glossy.  So I told him I would fix it. 



So then I had to try and match it.  I bought a satin antique white and slapped it on.  What!  It was whiter.



    Darn.  Dan works night like I do and wasn't happy about how light the room was to start with.  Now it was even whiter.   So I called him and told him I found a nice color and would paint the room.  Fine.  Run to the store and start painting.  OMG.  It looked terrible.



    Definately darker and not at all how it had looked like in the store.  Man what to do. 

   There was nothing I could do but keep painting and hope a couple of coats would make it look better.  I also decided not to paint all the walls, just 2 walls and make the other 2 walls much lighter.  So on I went, painting away and wondering if Dan was ever going to forgive me. 

    All of a sudden there is a knock on the door.  I open it a crack and there is Dan.  He woke up early and came over to see how great his room looks.  Hummmmm.  I opened it and told him in honor of him being a milk man I made his room chocolate milk colored.   Mom....."did you just paint my room dark brown"?  Well...... that went over well.  However.  By the time the 2nd coat dried it was looking much better.  Still dark but better.



      It is actually a pretty color.  And you have to admit.  It will make sleeping during the day easier.  Today we went and got a much lighter color to compliment the other 2 walls and painted them.  It looks nice.  We are trying to decide if we should do the trim in the opposite colors.  The window and porch door dark brown and the door and closet the lighter color.  Picture a cream on your coffee.  I will get pictures tomorrow to show the finished product.

   So the room got painted after all.  To brighten it up a colorful comforter would really look good.  And he forgave me.  He really likes it now.

   So that was my day.  Yup, back to painting.  He did all the trim work and climbing on the ladders.  Its coming along.  We also almost have the kitchen finished.



    Its all painted, now to finish the windowtrim and clean up.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Thursday



        Its Thursday already and a beautiful day out.  Spring is really hear and the birds are cheeping and the flowers are blooming.  Even the dandelions are pretty.


        I have been laid up for 3 days.  The back and neck went totally south on me and I finally had to take to bed with ice packs, pain pills and my TEN's unit.  The nerve pain I was having was extremely painful.  I am feeling better today,but still under a fog from the effects of the medications.  I hate them but am grateful for them when I get like that.  Today it has settled down enough that tylenol is enough to make it livable.  I think it was from working Sunday.  It was such a busy night and we had to move alot of beds.  That pushing and pulling really gets to me some days.  Thankfully I am getting better and doing my exercises today.

     Since I have been laid up I have been reading the biography of Nikola Tesla the inventor and electrical genius  whose theoretical work was responsible for AC among other wonderful inventions.  He was the first to work on robotics, radio waves, X Ray and actually was more responsible then Edison for the lighted world we know.  He also had OCD and everything in his life had to be dividable by 3 to make him happy.  When eating soup he figured out the cubic contents in the bowl.  It is a very interesting book.

    One thing that interests me and worries me and that the author also addresses.   Children these days with these gifts, as he was gifted from early childhood, are often put in specialclasses and drugged with Ritalin and other such drugs to stifle their creativity and make them " behave as normal" in class.  What inventions of the future are being forever lost by our insistence of putting everyone in a certain mold and punishing those who venture beyond it.  Sad.

          My son's painting is done in the one room.  It turned out lovely.  I laid on the couch and watched the guys paint it.  I like to paint so it was hard to just watch but to tell the truth I just wasn't up to it.  I haven't had pain quite this bad for a long time.  I hope to not have it for a long time to come.

       Zoey has been a jealous wreak since Chester came.   The other day I was feeding Chester and Zoey grabbed a snowman I had and tore it to bits.  I bet with every bite she was pretending it was Chester.  She never does things like that.  Lets hope she never gets hold of the little guy as I think he would be chewed on also.

       Chester is so cute.  Pouty little mouth and fat little piggy body he makes the cutest noises and begs when we come in the room.  He loves apples and carrots.  I think I could teach him tricks for them but Zoey would go mad.  Silly animals.

       Rick already looks like he needs a trim.  His hair grows so fast.  He is finally used to it and getting over the phantom ponytail feeling.  I must admit to missing his hair.  It was just so him.  It is still a shock at times to see him.

      Well, this is really about all I can think of to write and all the time I can sit here.  What a bother.  Take care all.



Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Nurses Week

              

       It is nurses week so Happy Nurses Week to all you nurses out there.  You deserve great big hugs.  Here in Iowa we just found out we are some of the lowest paid nurses in the country ranking 52nd out of 54!  Medicaid promised to give our hospitals an increase in money if they would raise the nurses pay.  Well it is about time!  I knew I wasn't getting paid what I am worth.  The sad thing is we pay some of the highest taxes to live here.  The cost of living has gone way up but the wages stay low.  I am running out of reasons to stay in the state of my birth.

 

       This nurse ran her tushy off this weekend.   We were so busy.  I literally did not sit once on Sunday night and did my charting on the run between rooms.  We had such sick patients that night.  I didn't get my TEN's unit on before work so I have no idea if that would have helped or not.

     Yes I did get approved for the unit and they put it on on Saturday.   I am not sure how it will work out.  I have a lot of burning from the nerve pain and the unit seems alot like that...however.  The sharp pains and dull heavy pain was better the day I wore it so maybe it will help.  I have a month to try it out.  The bad thing is I can't get it on alone.  Helen had the same problem right Helen.  So if Rick isn't here I can't use except on my lower back.   It is hard to place the electrodes exactly where I need them between my shoulder blades and neck.   I have the sticky things stuck to my bra, shirt, and together in no time, LOL.  I am such a klutz.

    I got 2 of my clocks back from getting cleaned.  They sound wonderful and look so much better.  I am down to 6.  Check them out.  The one below is a Pilgrim Westminster clock.  The clock man sets the tones to soft so they don't chime so loud you get to hate them. Did you know they can do that?  It helps when you have multiple clocks like I do  It sounds so pretty and I love the art deco look of it.  It's pretty old, but I am not sure of the year.1910's I think.  It is a 8 day wind.



          My Gilbert clock has the lovely gong.  It just hums and keeps perfect time.  The clock people touched up the scroll work so it looks like new.  Its from the 1910's also I believe.     Looks good for its age doesn't it.  Another 8 day wind



   The next on is a Ingraham.  It was my MIL's.  She could never get it to keep good time or keep running.  I brought it home to sell for her and it keeps perfect time where I set it so I kept it.  The chime on it isn't that pretty but I like it anyway.  I might see about it getting the scroll work touched up on it also.  It needs to be wound every 8 days also.



          My newest clock is this Regulator I just got with the Westminster chimes on it.  It needs to be wound every 8 days and he also has it set quieter so you can here it but it doesn't take over the house.  I think it was from the 60's or 70's.  Keep great time also.



           The Kundo Anniversary clock is one my husband gave his parents on their 25 wedding anniversary.  So it would be around 30 some years old.  It only needs to be wound once a year, how cool is that and keeps perfect time.



           Last but not least is my Mastercrafters fireplace clock.  I had several of these novelty clocks but sold them at the auction.  Except for my ship clock I am giving to my son.  They are cool clocks but make noise when they run and it gets to me.  I do want the waterfall clock this company made.  I think this is from the 50's or 60's.



     I am kind of a sucker for these old clocks and who knows, I might end up with more if I run across one that I just have to have.  I did see a coo coo clock I want.  Hummmm.

        Anyway.  What else.  We are putting the final touches on paint at my sons.  2 more days of work.  I probably won't paint today as my back is pretty touchy today.  I will supervise LOL.  Hey guys, you missed a spot.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Happy Mothers Day



          May it be a beautiful day for all you mothers.



Friday, May 9, 2008

hello



     It is so nice to have some flowers in the yard again.  They were missed this long winter.

    I am in my 2nd day of my stretch at work.  We were so busy at work.  Kept me hopping.  In the morning I have PT again and they are going to hook me up with my TENs unit.  I can wear it at work and we will see if it helps my pain.  My fingers are crossed.

     I bought Dan a house warming gift.  He likes my antique clocks but doesn't like to have to wind them.   My clock man made this clock out of a 1907 case.  The inners were shot so he replaced them with a battery unit.  He usually won't do that but the case was so nice.  So he has this beautiful clock with the ease of a new one.  He liked it.  I love the greek key detail on the wood.



     We have been working steady at the house and it is now ready for painting.  My son is off tomorrow so that is what he will be doing.  He has been moving things over.  I know he is anxious to move in.

       I had my hair cut the other day and Rick decided to come and get a trim.  When she asked him how much he wanted trimmed off he said all of it.  Our jaws dropped!  I have never seen with with short hair.  It has been 37 years since he wore it short the last time!  I was mad he didn't let me know he was going to do it so I could bring my camera but here are some pics.   They cut off 10" and they sent it to locks of love.

Before


After



   Wow.   Now he is thinking of cutting the beard off.  He hates how gray it is.  I won't know the man.  I told him the mustache has got to stay though.  I have my limits.  Now he has this fathom  limb thing going on.  He keeps reaching back to move his pony tail out from under his shirt or combs it much longer then he needs.  He said it really hit him in the shower when it was so short to wash and dried in record time.

     I don't know how long he will keep it like this.  He says it is more work to keep it short but he messed with his hair all the time before and I do like it.  He used to have the most beautiful auburn hair.  Long and shiny.  But now that it is long and gray it looks better short.

     Well, I don't get to get on my computer much since my son is staying in my spare room.  I am so far behind on alerts.  I will have to get my laptop going.  Take care all.


              

  I love this meditation, just breathing and you can really just relax so fast.  Just ignore the add at the end.  Or order I suppose if you like it.