Sunday, July 31, 2005
too late, it's time
John is STILL sleeping! It's 11:00 now. I know it's the weekend and all, but jeepers creepers. I did climb back into bed for awhile myself, maybe about 30 minutes. But the day is calling me! It's warm and sunny and the last day left before we are all found counting down the days for the exact same spot we're in now (aka: a weekend!)
In my time of solitude, I took some more pictures and downloaded a few more from the last month or so. I just love pictures. They make everything seem so much more real. I don't really know where to start, because all of these pictures are from different times and different occasions. I like to keep things common and flowing and organized, so this post might be harder to compose than it will seem after the fact. Oh my.
The first series of Pictures
last weekend of June 05
Events: SauerKraut Days/The Band has a show/Parents are in town
One sunny morning, my mom was found doing some non-strenuous Yoga/Meditation moves on my dining room floor. The day prior, I had purchased a lovely authentic ragdoll. Only this ragdoll has a catch: it's actually a Goat Doll. Yes, a goat doll. It has a goat head and goat hoofs but it's shaped like a human and wears a dress. My mom thought it was the most ugly thing ever, but the Goat Doll actually loves my mom to pieces and wanted to join her in her new aged endeavors.
After the parade of dancing sauerkrauts and small-town Miss [insert town name here] floats, we headed south-west to a small historical site where my husband's band just so happened to be having a show. The weather was hot and consuming. My parents getting ready to leave. Mom got really sick from the sun that afternoon.
Here we see John and Craig, singin' and a playin'.
Josh is off to the side, strumming a kick-ass guitar lick or two over the folky chord changes.
And here's Jeremy, the newest member of the gang. He's just learned the bass, but he is really good and fits right in with the Boys.
The second series of Pictures*
Forth of July weekend, 05
Events: Lake Superior/Kitten/John and Melissa are in town
*some other pictures from this series can be found here
Once a cutie, always a cutie. Little Johar, my parents' cat, has a mind of his own, but a snuggly heart.
I wrote a song for piano called "Husband at the Beach" long before this photo was taken. Now that I think about it, this picture would most definately go on the cover of the sheet music. John on a sandy beach of Lake Superior.
The last series of Pictures*
Middle of July/Today
Events: Kitten Trial at New House/Kitchen/Sammie
First off, here is me today, about an hour ago. I'm still unshowered and wearing the same sleep shirt, so this is basically yours truly, as she writes this entry and posts these pictures. :)
My Precious, one sunny afternoon. Note his new little glasses!
His big smile probably came from the fact that he had two little kittens crawling all over him...oh little dear-hearts. I want them here again, but I don't know if I should adopt them or not, or if they should stay out in the wild with their mommy.
The kitchen before...white, same as the rest of the house.
And after. The kitchen is a vibrant yellow with butterfly curtains. Note our same little stove, only much happier. It cooks a lot better because it's a gas stove, and the connections/pressure is much better here, just so ya know.
Me again, today, soaking up the sun and high-fiving my shadow. Or not. As my back was turned to the patio, I heard little whimpers from behind me. Samantha!
Don't forget about me! I look all pretty now that my winter furs are almost completely gone! Seriously though, I think Sammie really likes her fenced in back yard. She never has to be tied up anymore!
This ain't gonna work...tight squeeze silly Mommy! Oh Sam, ha HA!
Well, there are some more pictures. Now we should be all up to date, and I can post regularly as the events allow. :-) I think I so needed to do this (consolidate diaries!) ¶ 11:35 AM
In my time of solitude, I took some more pictures and downloaded a few more from the last month or so. I just love pictures. They make everything seem so much more real. I don't really know where to start, because all of these pictures are from different times and different occasions. I like to keep things common and flowing and organized, so this post might be harder to compose than it will seem after the fact. Oh my.
The first series of Pictures
last weekend of June 05
Events: SauerKraut Days/The Band has a show/Parents are in town
One sunny morning, my mom was found doing some non-strenuous Yoga/Meditation moves on my dining room floor. The day prior, I had purchased a lovely authentic ragdoll. Only this ragdoll has a catch: it's actually a Goat Doll. Yes, a goat doll. It has a goat head and goat hoofs but it's shaped like a human and wears a dress. My mom thought it was the most ugly thing ever, but the Goat Doll actually loves my mom to pieces and wanted to join her in her new aged endeavors.
After the parade of dancing sauerkrauts and small-town Miss [insert town name here] floats, we headed south-west to a small historical site where my husband's band just so happened to be having a show. The weather was hot and consuming. My parents getting ready to leave. Mom got really sick from the sun that afternoon.
Here we see John and Craig, singin' and a playin'.
Josh is off to the side, strumming a kick-ass guitar lick or two over the folky chord changes.
And here's Jeremy, the newest member of the gang. He's just learned the bass, but he is really good and fits right in with the Boys.
The second series of Pictures*
Forth of July weekend, 05
Events: Lake Superior/Kitten/John and Melissa are in town
*some other pictures from this series can be found here
Once a cutie, always a cutie. Little Johar, my parents' cat, has a mind of his own, but a snuggly heart.
I wrote a song for piano called "Husband at the Beach" long before this photo was taken. Now that I think about it, this picture would most definately go on the cover of the sheet music. John on a sandy beach of Lake Superior.
The last series of Pictures*
Middle of July/Today
Events: Kitten Trial at New House/Kitchen/Sammie
First off, here is me today, about an hour ago. I'm still unshowered and wearing the same sleep shirt, so this is basically yours truly, as she writes this entry and posts these pictures. :)
My Precious, one sunny afternoon. Note his new little glasses!
His big smile probably came from the fact that he had two little kittens crawling all over him...oh little dear-hearts. I want them here again, but I don't know if I should adopt them or not, or if they should stay out in the wild with their mommy.
The kitchen before...white, same as the rest of the house.
And after. The kitchen is a vibrant yellow with butterfly curtains. Note our same little stove, only much happier. It cooks a lot better because it's a gas stove, and the connections/pressure is much better here, just so ya know.
Me again, today, soaking up the sun and high-fiving my shadow. Or not. As my back was turned to the patio, I heard little whimpers from behind me. Samantha!
Don't forget about me! I look all pretty now that my winter furs are almost completely gone! Seriously though, I think Sammie really likes her fenced in back yard. She never has to be tied up anymore!
This ain't gonna work...tight squeeze silly Mommy! Oh Sam, ha HA!
Well, there are some more pictures. Now we should be all up to date, and I can post regularly as the events allow. :-) I think I so needed to do this (consolidate diaries!) ¶ 11:35 AM
inform the media!
I did it; I woke up early once again today. So far, all I've done is sit at the computer and eat cereal and Kool Aid (such a healthy compliment to cereal, I know), but yesterday...getting up at 7 just made the weekend seem --->this<--- much longer. I need all of the free minutes I can. Tomorrow begins another week at the Grindstone.
On Friday, I got to spend the last two hours in my old area, an area I hated the last week, but it was so nice to be over there again. The radio sits on the window sill, playing great classic rock songs (not crappy ones, but songs like "Come Sail Away" by Styx and well, I can't think of any others, that was way back on Friday. But anyway, I guess I wouldn't mind being back over in that corner. Oh right!! I just remembered, I think the girl who is usually over there will be gone tomorrow, so maybe they'll have me fill in. Anyway, I think about work way too much. Thursday and Friday I had reoccuring dreams about making 30% solutions of lactose. I had them all set out to the side of me, and when John had come to bed I yelled at him and told him he was messing up my experiment.
That morning was followed by us singing together, remembered lyrics of songs by the Weakerthans, and for awhile, we were awake and chipper together...on a work day. It reminded me of those summer days when all we did was hang out at his house in Wisconsin, the doors and windows open with sweet lake Superior air blowing inside, kissing and making macoroni and cheese (Annie's Naturals with white cheddar) and riding yellow-painted bicycles downtown. For awhile, that morning, I had forgotten we really had to go our separate ways for the day.
Yesterday, on our drive to the vineyard, we had a scary conversation. John wants to go to guitar-making school very soon. He was going to go this year, but the program was all filled up. From there, he would complete the program (about two years), and then we would move up north (Northern Minnesota? The U.P? Northern Wisconsin? VERMONT??) somewhere north, where we would buy property in the woods and build a log cabin and he could make guitars and I could...I don't know. I could...what about my job at the lab? I have a 401K set up, health insurance, a good wage, a semi-entertaining job that doesn't really change day-to-day...guitar school is a 2 hour drive from here. We could move there, and I'd have to quit my job...we could stay here and John could commute. It's one of those things where the adult-ness in me says "You need to stay at this job - it's one of those jobs you really wouldn't mind retiring from some day - keep it while you have it! Retirement fund!" And the adventerous, what-about side of me says, "Think about your mom and dad - do you NEVER want to live closer to them? What about living in the woods, the city, by a lake...you only applied to this job on a whim of hope, and you just so happen to love it. Who's to say a similar situation wouldn't come along. Live life! Take it where it leads."
There is just something so scary about being permanant for the rest of my life...it's all going to go by so quickly. I mean, 5 years ago I was riding bikes with left-over potluck food rattling in backpacks down red-soiled pathways and eating macoroni and cheese, smelling fresh air from Lake Superior as I sat and ate with the love of my life. 5 years ago. It was SO DIFFERENT. 5 years isn't really that long of a time, and I'll have like 6 or 10 more sets of 5 years and each one could be just as different. I should just stop trying to plan out life. I never saw myself here back then, so who really knows where I'll be in 5 years. Even if I try to imagine it, I will be way off!
Speaking of which, we did end up going to the vineyard yesterday. First we stopped off at John's office, where I finally met his boss, and then we went to a few stores. We didn't buy much, just a leash for Sammie and some cards that will proclaim our new address to friends and family. The drive to the vineyard was so nice. We took old two-laned State highways that followed the Minnesota River Valley and the rolling fields and farms and great old farmhouses that had been fixed up, flags hanging from their freshly painted front porches. We turned off on a gravel road that led to the vineyard. "First farm on the left!" the sign stated.
There were a half a dozen other cars there, so we didn't feel too strange. Tours were 1-4, and we had missed them all. There was a sweet dog named "Duncan" who followed us around the entire time. We were still able to walk down the yard to the creek and rows of grapes. There was a big tree by the creek with a moss-covered wooden swing. It was a picture perfect place.
John had a glass of specialty wine, and we both ordered wood-fired pizzas. Their brick oven was outside, and it was beautiful. The pizzas were very traditional, flat crispy circles with cornmeal sprinkled everywhere...no red sauce, just sliced tomatoes and cheese, sprinkled with herbs. Trouble was, they were so small and not very filling, due to their flatness. Don't get me wrong, they were so good!
On the way toward home, we drove through little villages and smaller towns and gazed at their brick downtowns and abandoned schools, vines and broken windows covering the memories. There is just something about shut down schools. I can almost hear the echos of children's laughter and see the book straps and lessons written on the board. It's one of the saddest things to see, in my opinion.
The night concluded with several Kwik Trips (for cash) and a much anticipated viewing of: Devil's Rejects. I almost cried. It was amazing. ¶ 9:13 AM
On Friday, I got to spend the last two hours in my old area, an area I hated the last week, but it was so nice to be over there again. The radio sits on the window sill, playing great classic rock songs (not crappy ones, but songs like "Come Sail Away" by Styx and well, I can't think of any others, that was way back on Friday. But anyway, I guess I wouldn't mind being back over in that corner. Oh right!! I just remembered, I think the girl who is usually over there will be gone tomorrow, so maybe they'll have me fill in. Anyway, I think about work way too much. Thursday and Friday I had reoccuring dreams about making 30% solutions of lactose. I had them all set out to the side of me, and when John had come to bed I yelled at him and told him he was messing up my experiment.
That morning was followed by us singing together, remembered lyrics of songs by the Weakerthans, and for awhile, we were awake and chipper together...on a work day. It reminded me of those summer days when all we did was hang out at his house in Wisconsin, the doors and windows open with sweet lake Superior air blowing inside, kissing and making macoroni and cheese (Annie's Naturals with white cheddar) and riding yellow-painted bicycles downtown. For awhile, that morning, I had forgotten we really had to go our separate ways for the day.
Yesterday, on our drive to the vineyard, we had a scary conversation. John wants to go to guitar-making school very soon. He was going to go this year, but the program was all filled up. From there, he would complete the program (about two years), and then we would move up north (Northern Minnesota? The U.P? Northern Wisconsin? VERMONT??) somewhere north, where we would buy property in the woods and build a log cabin and he could make guitars and I could...I don't know. I could...what about my job at the lab? I have a 401K set up, health insurance, a good wage, a semi-entertaining job that doesn't really change day-to-day...guitar school is a 2 hour drive from here. We could move there, and I'd have to quit my job...we could stay here and John could commute. It's one of those things where the adult-ness in me says "You need to stay at this job - it's one of those jobs you really wouldn't mind retiring from some day - keep it while you have it! Retirement fund!" And the adventerous, what-about side of me says, "Think about your mom and dad - do you NEVER want to live closer to them? What about living in the woods, the city, by a lake...you only applied to this job on a whim of hope, and you just so happen to love it. Who's to say a similar situation wouldn't come along. Live life! Take it where it leads."
There is just something so scary about being permanant for the rest of my life...it's all going to go by so quickly. I mean, 5 years ago I was riding bikes with left-over potluck food rattling in backpacks down red-soiled pathways and eating macoroni and cheese, smelling fresh air from Lake Superior as I sat and ate with the love of my life. 5 years ago. It was SO DIFFERENT. 5 years isn't really that long of a time, and I'll have like 6 or 10 more sets of 5 years and each one could be just as different. I should just stop trying to plan out life. I never saw myself here back then, so who really knows where I'll be in 5 years. Even if I try to imagine it, I will be way off!
Speaking of which, we did end up going to the vineyard yesterday. First we stopped off at John's office, where I finally met his boss, and then we went to a few stores. We didn't buy much, just a leash for Sammie and some cards that will proclaim our new address to friends and family. The drive to the vineyard was so nice. We took old two-laned State highways that followed the Minnesota River Valley and the rolling fields and farms and great old farmhouses that had been fixed up, flags hanging from their freshly painted front porches. We turned off on a gravel road that led to the vineyard. "First farm on the left!" the sign stated.
There were a half a dozen other cars there, so we didn't feel too strange. Tours were 1-4, and we had missed them all. There was a sweet dog named "Duncan" who followed us around the entire time. We were still able to walk down the yard to the creek and rows of grapes. There was a big tree by the creek with a moss-covered wooden swing. It was a picture perfect place.
John had a glass of specialty wine, and we both ordered wood-fired pizzas. Their brick oven was outside, and it was beautiful. The pizzas were very traditional, flat crispy circles with cornmeal sprinkled everywhere...no red sauce, just sliced tomatoes and cheese, sprinkled with herbs. Trouble was, they were so small and not very filling, due to their flatness. Don't get me wrong, they were so good!
On the way toward home, we drove through little villages and smaller towns and gazed at their brick downtowns and abandoned schools, vines and broken windows covering the memories. There is just something about shut down schools. I can almost hear the echos of children's laughter and see the book straps and lessons written on the board. It's one of the saddest things to see, in my opinion.
The night concluded with several Kwik Trips (for cash) and a much anticipated viewing of: Devil's Rejects. I almost cried. It was amazing. ¶ 9:13 AM
Saturday, July 30, 2005
sixteenth notes
I did it! I finally figured out the camera. The problem turned out to be the semi-major fact that our camera is not compatible with iPhoto. So I had to use Image Capture, which solved everything quite nicely. I'll post a few for now. It's already after 12 (but I've gotten so much done today, so I don't care!), and I'd better get on with the day.
no, it's pretty hard to see out a window with dark navy blue curtains, Melissa. Try pushing them aside. Just kidding. This is in our new house, in the computer room. Dark curtains to help keep things cool. And me admiring them.
This is more of the computer room: our desk, new computer, the very neat stripey rug (that we got for free!)
The dining room! That whole part of the house appears red because of my bright red curtains in the living room.
And the living room! There's a hole for a fire place, only we don't have one of those...so it's either an entertainment center (down the road) or a tapestry to cover things up.
And lastly, the two little kittens who are ripping apart my heart. Every time I see them out at the farmhouse, I want to squeeze them and bring them home...I just don't know what to do!
Whitey - she looks just like her mother, Smokey.
Brownie - the sister who I want ever-so-desperately. ¶ 12:20 PM
no, it's pretty hard to see out a window with dark navy blue curtains, Melissa. Try pushing them aside. Just kidding. This is in our new house, in the computer room. Dark curtains to help keep things cool. And me admiring them.
This is more of the computer room: our desk, new computer, the very neat stripey rug (that we got for free!)
The dining room! That whole part of the house appears red because of my bright red curtains in the living room.
And the living room! There's a hole for a fire place, only we don't have one of those...so it's either an entertainment center (down the road) or a tapestry to cover things up.
And lastly, the two little kittens who are ripping apart my heart. Every time I see them out at the farmhouse, I want to squeeze them and bring them home...I just don't know what to do!
Whitey - she looks just like her mother, Smokey.
Brownie - the sister who I want ever-so-desperately. ¶ 12:20 PM
quarter notes
What a day of accomplishment! (so far) I fell asleep on the couch last night during "Dazed and Confused" and slept there til the TV went off at 1:00 am-something. John had found an interview with Willie Nelson on TV (not only does John dig Willie's music, but he also wants to have braids like his someday). So, needless to say, after nearly 10 hours of sleep, I could sleep no more. 7:00, and I was up, writing out the thousands of dollars of bills. It's so tough right now. I mean, the bills part.
1/3 our stuff still goes to our old house, 1/3 goes to our P.O box, and 1/3 of the time, we don't even make it out to either of our boxes. So, bills were late, duplicates were sent, heck. Our mortgage for last month didn't get sent til after the 15th. So we basically paid two mortgages in two weeks. AHH!!! Thankfully, we're all straight with that. But then there was the new satallite TV/DSL/Phone bill, some old utility bills from the old house, new utility bills, and on and on and now we're poor...til next week. :) I think this kind of puts a hault to some of our weekend plans.
We were going to go out to a vineyard tonight for pizza and music and then out to see Devil's Rejects. I'm thinking since the two of us slave away so much and all of our funds were sucked dry by the stupid matter-of-facts-of-life, tonight might be a credit card occasion. We'll see. I have to talk it over with the Master.
It was such a good feeling to see the 4 inches of bills stacked up on the dining room table like that. I also made new files for our new accounts and got everything filed and put away. John is STILL sleeping and dreaming about parrots (maybe he read that thing about Ralph??). I hope not!
I think as long as I'm on a roll with getting things taken care of (I also called and cancelled our old Earthlink dial-up service), I'm going to try to figure out how to set up the camera. ¶ 10:52 AM
1/3 our stuff still goes to our old house, 1/3 goes to our P.O box, and 1/3 of the time, we don't even make it out to either of our boxes. So, bills were late, duplicates were sent, heck. Our mortgage for last month didn't get sent til after the 15th. So we basically paid two mortgages in two weeks. AHH!!! Thankfully, we're all straight with that. But then there was the new satallite TV/DSL/Phone bill, some old utility bills from the old house, new utility bills, and on and on and now we're poor...til next week. :) I think this kind of puts a hault to some of our weekend plans.
We were going to go out to a vineyard tonight for pizza and music and then out to see Devil's Rejects. I'm thinking since the two of us slave away so much and all of our funds were sucked dry by the stupid matter-of-facts-of-life, tonight might be a credit card occasion. We'll see. I have to talk it over with the Master.
It was such a good feeling to see the 4 inches of bills stacked up on the dining room table like that. I also made new files for our new accounts and got everything filed and put away. John is STILL sleeping and dreaming about parrots (maybe he read that thing about Ralph??). I hope not!
I think as long as I'm on a roll with getting things taken care of (I also called and cancelled our old Earthlink dial-up service), I'm going to try to figure out how to set up the camera. ¶ 10:52 AM
Friday, July 29, 2005
don't let your dog bite me ever again.
I'm in a really good mood right now! I just had a really good day at work, got my paycheck, signed up for health insurance for both John and I, stayed an extra 40 minutes toward overtime, and drove home singing to my favorite Weakerthans songs. John's cooking us a marvelous dinner -- egg rolls and onion rings -- frozenly delivered yesterday evening from our very own Schwan's Man! We also ordered some vanilla sundae cones, pizzas, and our complimentary ice cream for signing up.
My parents had a Schwan's Man when I was growing up. We had a parrot-looking man named Ralph for many years. Ralph was really nice and timely and showed up every time. Then we had Troy. My dog Fluffy didn't like Troy one bit. One cold, dark, wintery night, Fluffy ran out onto the porch to "greet" the frozen-treat-carrying man. However, Fluffy's greet was nothing more than a shart bite on the leg. "Don't worry!" Exclaimed Troy, "she didn't bite through my long-johns!"
Ahh..the memories. I should totally talk about my memories more often. Dinner is ready. I wanted to write some more...I always do! But I'm always interrupted by things like work and dinner and work. :)
let's dance - it's the weekend! ¶ 7:06 PM
My parents had a Schwan's Man when I was growing up. We had a parrot-looking man named Ralph for many years. Ralph was really nice and timely and showed up every time. Then we had Troy. My dog Fluffy didn't like Troy one bit. One cold, dark, wintery night, Fluffy ran out onto the porch to "greet" the frozen-treat-carrying man. However, Fluffy's greet was nothing more than a shart bite on the leg. "Don't worry!" Exclaimed Troy, "she didn't bite through my long-johns!"
Ahh..the memories. I should totally talk about my memories more often. Dinner is ready. I wanted to write some more...I always do! But I'm always interrupted by things like work and dinner and work. :)
let's dance - it's the weekend! ¶ 7:06 PM
Lunch
I'm listening to Rosie Thomas once again, as John makes our lunches. I really love it when he makes our lunches. In the afternoons, I sit down to eat what his little hands have crafted, and I feel close to him and lucky to be married to such a wonderful guy! I'm not allowed to wear my wedding ring at work, which makes me really sad. We had even talked about buying me a wedding band (you can wear rings as long as they don't have any diamonds, etc in them, or if you are sure they will never fall off). I know it wouldn't be the same as my engagement-wedding ring (we used the same for both purposes because our engagement rings were so special to us), but we would have a little ceremony for the new ring. It would be cute, and then I could wear my ring.
I am so glad it is Friday. I don't really have any big weekend plans. I'd like to clean the house tomorrow. Tonight I think we're going to finally see Devil's Rejects. Last weekend, we really did mean to go. We had even rented House of 1000 Corpses. We were just too tired to go. So I think we're going tonight. ¶ 8:33 AM
I am so glad it is Friday. I don't really have any big weekend plans. I'd like to clean the house tomorrow. Tonight I think we're going to finally see Devil's Rejects. Last weekend, we really did mean to go. We had even rented House of 1000 Corpses. We were just too tired to go. So I think we're going tonight. ¶ 8:33 AM
Thursday, July 28, 2005
A new start...to tie it all together
I've wanted to do this for a couple months now. I have SO many diaries, 4 or 5 at least. I have two at Diaryland, two at Blogger, one at Xanga, and one at Myspace. I believe it is time to consolidate all of them into one, so it's easier to write instead of juggling my thoughts between zillions of blogs. I'm sad to leave them abandoned, but I am going to promise myself that I log in each day to keep them "alive" so I can always go back and read my thoughts. Who knows, maybe I'll even stop by to say hi.
Lately, all I have been talking about it work, work, work! For those of you who do not know me, I really don't enjoy working, per say, but I do kind of like my job, especially what it represents for me. An end to misery. An end to self-hate and depression. A life, a purpose, friends, and money. About a year ago, I violently lost my job, a job I had worked for nearly two years. I collected un-employment while I searched for jobs, and, once that ran out, I took whatever I could. A stay-at-home data entry position, a barista at a coffee shop. But then I was hired for it: my dream job! A lab technician for a food ingredients company. I LOVE IT! I've been there for almost two months now.
I suppose more about who I am will come out the more I write in this blog. Until then, here are links to some of my other works of art:
my other blogger blog
Xanga ¶ 7:08 PM
Lately, all I have been talking about it work, work, work! For those of you who do not know me, I really don't enjoy working, per say, but I do kind of like my job, especially what it represents for me. An end to misery. An end to self-hate and depression. A life, a purpose, friends, and money. About a year ago, I violently lost my job, a job I had worked for nearly two years. I collected un-employment while I searched for jobs, and, once that ran out, I took whatever I could. A stay-at-home data entry position, a barista at a coffee shop. But then I was hired for it: my dream job! A lab technician for a food ingredients company. I LOVE IT! I've been there for almost two months now.
I suppose more about who I am will come out the more I write in this blog. Until then, here are links to some of my other works of art:
my other blogger blog
Xanga ¶ 7:08 PM
