Canine Math

What do you get when you take one of these

Add it to one of these
Mix in a smidge of this.....
....And a smidge of that....
And add it to one of these?
?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

You get

ONE OF THESE!
We had an ancestry analysis done on Pepper and the results are in! All this time we were certain she was a Shepherd Retriever mix. We were only partly right.

20% - 36% of her DNA is Cocker Spaniel

10% - 19% Doberman Pinscher

10% - 19% German Shepherd Dog

10% - 19% Weimaraner

10% - 19% West Highland White Terrier.

Sick of the Holidays

And they haven't even started yet.

I've been trying to figure out why I'm so Bah Humbug when it comes to the holiday season, because I never used to be. I noticed a marked change around 2003 when we stopped putting lights in the windows and outside. It was just too much damn trouble and half the time the suction cups would fall off the windows, so the lights would be hanging in crazy swoops. Or it'd be howling out, pouring down buckets, and Brian would have to go outside to unplug the lights out there. The last time I went all out decorating was for Xmas 2005. It took hours to drag all the boxes out and lovingly decorate the upstairs and downstairs. As I unpacked everything, I couldn't help but think that it felt like I'd just put it all away and now I had to drag it all out again. Then on December 26th, I spent hours packing it all back up.

One of the reasons we've scaled back is that Sagan is just too, erm.....'enthusiastic' and rather than have a precious, one of a kind ornament broken, we decided not to put them all out anymore, including a live tree like we had for the first 15 years of our marriage. Or the really cool wire tree that holds all the beaded ornaments I made & my modest collection of Christopher Radkos. I think I miss that more than anything else. But Sagan could easily take that whole thing down with his tail, and the results would be disastrous.

When you are a child, it seems like it takes forever for the holidays to arrive. Nothing went up in the stores till after Thanksgiving. When Santa arrived at the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, you knew the holidays were officially here. About the only mention of Xmas was when the big Sears Wish Book would arrive in the fall. No one put up any decorations till at least the first or second weekend in December. You got one chance to see the holiday specials. I remember one year, I had to have been 9 or 10, my parents & I went to Hyannis after school, to shop. At 7:45 I had a complete meltdown because "Charlie Brown Christmas" was starting at 8 and we'd never get home in time. My dad didn't yell at me often, but he yelled at me that night. Told me I'd seen it before and it'd be on again next year. That seemed like FOREVER away. But I loved Xmas when I was a kid, and even the first few years Brian & I were married in San Francisco were amazing. I got so excited, it was so special.

Slowly but surely, over the years, the holidays have begun to creep into our lives earlier and earlier. It's gotten to the point now where I can't stand hearing Xmas carols because everywhere you go, they are blasting. I would go postal if I had to work in any retail store or bank and have to listen to it all day long. One of my Facebook friends took down her Halloween decorations on 11/7 and put up all her Xmas decorations that day. It makes me feel kind of bad for Thanksgiving, getting lost in the shuffle between Halloween and the December holidays. It's just too early.

Catalogs arrive in July, packed with decorations and ornaments. Cable networks decide to be cute and run "Christmas in July" specials. It's 100 fucking degrees out and I'm supposed to get jazzed for the holidays? Are you kidding me? I went to Fred Meyer in late September and not only was it jammed with Halloween decorations (which of course went up in August), the end of the aisles had boxes of lighted deer, wreaths, holly, trees, etc. Xmas crap for sale in September.

I'm convinced that the reason the years are flying by is that everywhere we go, we are bombarded with advertising, rushing us through the seasons. Go into any store on Dec. 23rd and you'll see the Valentines Day stuff going up. February 12, the St. Patrick's Day stuff will be out, and Easter immediately after that. After Easter, all the lawn & gardening crap goes out. Grills, beach balls, etc. Back to school ads start immediately after July 4th, Halloween decorations are available by the end of August. We're never allowed to enjoy the lulls between holidays and seasons anymore. As soon as one ends, the next one must be prepared for.

It was October 4, and we saw the first commercial for The Seattle Ballet's Nutcracker. As I pounced on the mute button, I said to Brian, "It's gonna be a loooooooong next 3 months if this ad is gonna start running now..." This damn ad runs constantly, morning, noon and night, and has done so since we moved here. I can't help but wonder if the little girl in the ad is already out of college by now. I am so fucking sick of hearing Nutcracker music it's not even funny. And I used to love that soundtrack too.

Try watching college or NFL football this time of year. OMG, we had to mute every single commercial break this weekend. Could they be more annoying? And loud? The diamond ads, the car ads and oh my god the fucking Walmart ads (don't get me started on my Walmart rant). And who the fuck buys someone a car for Xmas? Seriously! Esp. in this economy?!?!?!

__

The diamond jewelry ads really send me into orbit. "DIAMONDS! Give her the gift she REALLY wants! Buy factory direct and SAVE!" Or the snotty shrew of a housewife emasculating her husband in front of the entire family, upon observing another female family member's diamond jewelry gift, sniping "HE went to JARED!" I went apeshit the first time I heard the commercial for DeBeers engagement rings that touted, "what better way to spend two months' salary?" TWO MONTHS' SALARY? On a ring? I said to Brian, "I swear to god if you have a spare 2 months' salary burning a hole in your pocket and you want to spend it on me, and you buy me diamonds, I will Kick. Your. Ass." (also, don't even get me started on my blood diamond rant). Every single year there is some new, usually ugly and/or gaudy diamond encrusted pendant that you MUST give your wife or girlfriend because it's the only way to truly express your love. Didn't I hear that last year with the journey pendant? And the year before with the circle pendant? And the year before that with the Past, Present & Future pendant? Quite frankly I'd much rather have Brian put the toilet seat down, or think of me when he's out and picks me up a little something, even if it's just a pack of gum or an ice cream. That means way more to me than some diamond gift that the media has guilt tripped him into buying. He has bought me diamond earrings and a beautiful and very unique diamond pendant, but never, ever because I goaded him into it.

BUY BUY BUY!!!!! YOU NEED THAT!!! Your significant other/child/parent/aunt/third cousin six times removed NEEDS THIS!!!! Can't live without it!!! SHOP SHOP SHOP! Host the perfect dinner! Decorate the perfect house! Buy the perfect gifts! And let's face it, the absolute last thing any of us need is to incur more debt.....or anymore "stuff". Take a listen to George Carlin's routine, "A Place for My Stuff". It's hilarious. It's true. And I'm just as much to blame. We've reached maximum density in a 4 bedroom house b/c it's so full of "stuff".

Watch all the specials over and over and over again! When I was a kid I couldn't imagine being able to watch Charlie Brown Christmas more than once in a season, much less be able to own it on DVD. If you missed it, you missed it. Now you can watch "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" any time you want, if you own it. "It's a Wonderful Life" in the dog days of summer.

"Carol of the Bells"? Used to be my absolute FAVE carol. Ever since it was used in an Andre Cold Duck ad in the 1970's. Walmart uses it now. So does Garmin GPS. And many others. I think I did a blog post about it's overuse last year, in fact. Well the Carol of the Bells onslaught is upon me again and I'm about to take hostages.

The ad agencies are making me hate Xmas long before the actual date ever arrives. I'm already sick of looking at decorations and hearing the music. It's unfortunate too, because we have a lot of beautiful and very unique ornaments and stuff, and I love to take them out once a year and reminisce about them, but it's just so much damn work and there's always this huge feeling of letdown on December 25th. After the excitement of the morning, the afternoon is always thick and heavy, the night is always subdued. All that buildup, months and months of obnoxious advertising and it's over in 3 hours the morning of the 25th.

Just in time for the after Xmas sales on December 26th...

Seasonal Dragons

I started these in June and worked on them during my lunch break all summer, finishing in September. Finally found frames I liked at Artco, so I framed them today. Click on the pics for a detailed view.

Spring. When I bought the kit, I had no idea it included beaded accents, so that was a nice surprise.
Summer.
Fall. It's hard to see but there are sparkly blending-filament threads mixed in with the floss. It seems to show up best in the light orange areas.
Winter.

Our Little Earthquake Detectors

I have heard many stories about how people notice a change in their animals, right before earthquakes. Many pets run away in the days before a quake. But it's only after the fact that the people realize that their animals were trying to tell them something.

The last 2 nights in a row, Pepper....
...and Sagieboo....

were acting really weird. They were really clingy and restless. They wouldn't lay down, they would just stand in the family room either near the slider or in the doorway to the hall, and stare at us. We kept saying, "Lay down. Sit. Down." and they'd just stare at us. When they get like this, I'll always say, "What's up with you guys? Is Timmy trapped in the well? Are we gonna have an earthquake or what?"

Sometime very early this morning, my bed was shaking very hard and fast. I assumed it was Pepper either climbing up, jumping off, or perhaps she was shaking b/c she'd heard a loud noise. I may have muttered, "settle down Beanie." But when I moved my leg over, she was laying very still, although she did jump off the bed right after that. I turned over and thought, "wonder if we just had a quake?" A few minutes later, I looked at the clock and it was 4:55 am, so I went back to sleep for an hour. I woke up at 6, forgot about the shaking bed, turned on KING-5 news and saw this story:

"PORTLAND - Federal officials say a 5.3 magnitude quake off the Oregon coast Wednesday morning did not generate a tsunami. The U.S. Geological Survey Web site did not have any initial reports that the quake was felt on the coast. The USGS reports the quake occurred at 4:38 a.m., 249 miles southwest of Portland or 124 miles west of Barview."

Although the quake was at least an additional 160+ miles from where we live, I am certain that's what I felt. I asked Brian and he said he didn't consciously feel any shaking, although he did get up to use the washroom and noticed that it was 4:38 am.

There was a small quake off Humboldt County in California the day before.

Could Bee and Say have sensed them before they happened? It would explain their behaviour the past 2 nights. Since Brian and I both try to approach things scientifically, we do take notice of the way they act, to gain insight into how dogs interact with each other and with humans. And living in "Earthquake Country" for the past 20+ years, we are extremely aware of the many lost pet or unusually hyper pet stories, especially after the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. A couple of weeks after that quake, I remember I was walking to the store in my neighborhood. I could hear dogs barking and howling in apartments. I thought, "Oh god we're gonna have an aftershock, I just know it...." There was an aftershock that very night.

Next time we'll take Bean's & Boo's restlessness a bit more seriously!

Happy Accidents

Ha. I got the Vincent Vixens' attention with that one, eh?

Actually, I'm talking about a happy accident that happened on Monday.

I took a mini vacation, from last Wednesday afternoon through yesterday. On Monday, I checked my emails from the weekend and found one from my old friend Gene Morrow, who is a merchant marine. He always sends out a mass email to everyone before he ships out to let us know that he'll give us his ship-email address as soon as they are underway. As I read, my eyes bugged out and I yelled loudly, "HOLY SHIT!". His email went on to say that he was currently Seattle, would be staying overnight in Tacoma on Tuesday, and that his ship was leaving from the Port of Tacoma on Wednesday morning. I was floored. All I could manage to email back was a quick, "YOU ARE IN SEATTLE???????" He said yes he was, and confirmed that he would be staying in Tacoma on Tuesday night. He was apparently under the impression that I was on the other side of the mountains, in Eastern Washington. His younger brother John kept telling him no, Joanne is near Tacoma. And Gene kept saying, "No way, she's on the other side." He emailed me his cell # and I called him and we made plans to meet up as soon as he arrived down here on Tuesday afternoon.

What a fantastic surprise! And to have it fall on a day off was just the best too, although I would have taken a half day at work (and I know Steve would have let me too) if I had to. I was so excited to see him and as usual, we had a great time together. Walked around downtown Tacoma, had lots of laughs. We even stopped by Brian's new office so I could introduce them. Had a good meal at The Ram. Lots of catching up on 'town gossip' (Gene knows everyone!) and our mutual friends & family news.

Here he is on the Chihuly Bridge of Glass.

My parents are Gene's godparents (he always calls me his 'godsister'). My parents and his were best friends starting in the mid-1950's. Gene, Jr. (or as we used to call him "little Gene") is 10 months older than me, Marybeth (his sister, aka MB) is 6 mos. younger, and John 5 years younger. My dad often hired their dad to help him with plumbing jobs. We went to NH together in 1972, and after we kids were grown or in college, my parents, theirs & a bunch of other couples always took an annual trip to Maine together every fall from 1986 through 2002.

Gene, Sr. nicknamed me "Binky" when I was a baby b/c I loved my pacifier. I have always been, and will always be, Binky, to him. When I was in high school, I was mortified if he referred to me as Binky in public or in front of any of my schoolmates so he really made an effort to say, "Hello Joanne" but a look would always pass between us.....gratitude on my part for not 'outing' my nickname and amusement on his part. And I have to give the Morrow kids a ton of credit for never, ever calling me Binky in the halls at school or when we were with our friends. My life at Sandwich Elementary and High Schools would have been miserable. But I saw Gene, Sr. at my dad's funeral and was quite comforted when he called me Binky. My dad's casket had the American Legion Honor Guard, at the funeral home, which is what is done for our war vets. Gene was one of them. He also presented the folded American flag to my mom at the graveside.

My mom and Carol still, to this day, yack on the phone for 2 hours or more. We kids literally grew up in each other's homes from babyhood through high school. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of spending time with their family. Every time I got together with the those guys, it was guaranteed that, at some point, one or all of us would be spraying liquid out our noses & mouths from laughing. They were "town kids" and they knew everyone. They still do. That house was always busy with activity, people dropping in, tons of kids going in and out. It was a lot of fun, especially for me, who grew up on a lonely, quiet road with no kids my age, in a rural part of East Sandwich. Their annual January 1st "Bloody Mary New Year Brunch" was legendary in Sandwich in the mid-70's. Their large, old home was packed stem to stern with adults, and us kids would be outside playing in the snow and sledding.

Here's Marybeth in 1978, in the apple tree at my house.

John in June, 1983, at MB's high school graduation party. He's married and has 2 kids and lives in Arizona. He's trying to arrange for his family, MB & her hubby Al, and Gene to all take a trip to Seattle so we can hang out. That would be a blast. I hope it comes together.

When we were little kids, Carol and my mom used to call Gene and I "The Twins" because our personalities are so much alike. We are both extremely stubborn and brutally frank....and our tempers are pretty similar as well.

Gene in 1975, trying to get my mom not to take his photo.

I am very lucky to have these people in my life. A very happy accident, indeed.

Tahoma Beadworks

I finally got some decent photos of my jewelry.

It's done. It's finally over.

After years of threatening, I finally did it. I cleaned the damn garage. The last time I recall doing this was some time in 2004 and boy did it get out of hand. Click on the pictures for the full view of what Fibber McGee's garage would look like if he'd had one.Boxes and crap piled crazily here and there, balancing precariously on top of other junk. Holiday decorations improperly stored.
I park on this side of the garage. Every time I opened my car door to get out, I'd smash it into some gardening tool which would then of course topple over, usually against the table, which would then set in motion more crap rolling off the table and onto the floor. I found a squished roll of duct tape under my tire one day.
What the hell is all this crap?

(the 'CASSA-D" license plate was on my old Toyota when I lived in Massachusetts in the late 80's. It's a tribute to Neal Cassady and also one of my fave Dead songs, "Cassidy").
Brian's work boots, last used at the end of the Clinton Administration.
After 5 hours of steady cleaning and purging on Saturday, another 2 hours on Sunday, frequently fogged up glasses from sweating, and many aches and pains later, I finished it. I finally assembled the garden tool holder. Now when I open my car door, it smashes against the holder, but at least nothing tips over or threatens to conk me in the head, like some slapstick comedy movie where the guy steps on a rake.
I swept a fir tree's worth of pine needles off the floor. I had to use the snow shovel to scoop them into the barrel.
Items properly stored. There's even room for the lawn mower this year!

We gave our new next door neighbors the unassembled weight bench and unassembled garden cart. The dream is over, ladies and gents. Brian ain't gonna be liftin' any weights any time soon, nor is it likely I'm going to be killing myself doing enough yardwork to warrant a cart, either. That's OK. The neighbors are a sweet, young couple just starting out. They have the energy for this crap. We don't. They were happy to get the stuff for free and we were happy that we didn't have to load them up and haul them somewhere. We gave the unused, 6 year old bikes to another neighbor for his kids. I took 2 huge carloads of stuff to the Goodwill on Monday & Tuesday, filled the recycling bin and 3 trash cans.

This corner was the worst of all. I'd cleaned the whole garage up to the freezer on Sat. and the last 2 hours on Sunday were devoted to this area. I think that "Weekly World News" would be interested to know that I found both Jimmy Hoffa AND Amelia Earhart in this part of the garage.
OMG I can finally BREATHE again! We can finally fit both our vehicles comfortably again! I can get to the freezer without stepping on all kinds of junk or knocking things over!!
Totally worth the aches n pains. Now I won't have to do it again till 2013. lol

Wordless Wednesday

Because I just can't get enough of LOL goggies.

Happy Hump Day!

Messin with the Moon

We had a beautiful harvest moon last week.So I started messing around with my camera.


After I saw this one, it gave me the idea to try and draw a pentacle with the full moon.
This was my first attempt. Close, but not quite....
Then I nailed it.

The Web

No, not Worldwide, but Spider. It's been foggy the last couple of mornings, and I shot these at work today. Click on the pics for a larger view.



Note how they billow in the breeze.



Later on in the day, the sun came out. As you can see, the foliage has finally started!

Northwest Trek

Back in June, we spent the morning at Northwest Trek, a beautiful and brilliant wildlife preserve featuring animals found in the Pacific NW. I was very disappointed that the woodland creatures weren't out, and the otter tank was being cleaned so the otters were elsewhere. The bear exhibit was closed, and the wolves & big cats were elusive. Shooting the birds was difficult because of the low lighting in the woods, yet the flash made them looked washed out. But the big game animals came out great and most were shot from a moving tram!