New Year's Eve 2007

Not doing much, tonight. It's just a beautiful day, today. Sunny and 74 degrees. So maybe we'll sit up on the roof and watch whatever happens below. Maybe there will be fireworks! That would be so cool.

I remember when we were little and we got to stay up until midnight. I'll bet that there were lots of times that we actually didn't make it until midnight! But it was SO exciting,anyway! Now it's a struggle to make it past 10 p.m.! Jack likes to watch the Boston Pops New Year's Eve concert so maybe we'll do that, too. Champagne gives me a headache so there won't be any bubbly.

Who knows what 2008 will bring. I'm going to make some resolutions and really, really try to keep them. One of them is to follow the Like In, Like Out principle. It works like this: if a new item comes into the house you have to make sure something similar goes out either to the recycling center, Goodwill, to a friend, or if necessary, to the dump. I don't remember where I learned that but it's sensible.

A Bunch of Good Quotes

Here's a confession. Fear of failure has haunted me a lot during my life. I don't know why. Every time I learn a new skill that I think will be just the thing I want to do the rest of my life, I am stopped in my tracks by "uncertainty".

It's no big deal, really, because I've had/am having a very good life. Great kids. Great husband. Warm home. Good friends. Loving family. It's not keeping me awake at night (that's something else entirely-ha!) and the world isn't going to come to an end because I don't have a niche. But there it is...

Anyway, I've found a treasure trove of quotes that really illustrate that I'm not the only person in the world who feels just a little unfulfilled but lacks the gumption to do something about it. Here are some quotes that I find inspiring, empowering and comforting.

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. (Zig Ziglar)

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It’s OK to stumble . . . I will get up. It’s OK to fail . . . I will rise again. Today I will make a difference. (Max Lucado)

The cautious seldom err. (Confucious)

I -think-I-can, I-think-I-can, I-think-I-can... (The Little Engine That Could)

And my favorite (because it's fun) is:

Even Noah got no salary for the first six months partly on account of the weather and partly because he was learning navigation. (Mark Twain)

Gotta keep navigating!

Night in Manhattan Beach

The title of this post is a lot more promising than the post! I did walk down to the beach and I did take pictures. But as much as I like our camera, I'm afraid that it just wasn't up to the task!

This night photo is the only one that really turned out. It's pretty good, actually. But there were street lights on, too. It was pitch black down at The Strand so not much help there.

But just so you can see the task at hand, here's a picture of the Manhattan Beach Pier during the day.


And then another that I took tonight. Get the picture?

P.S. It was a very pleasant walk. No wind and not at all cold. Worth the trip.

A Lazy Day

We had a very lazy day, today. Took a long walk with the dogs and then met Jen and some friends and had lunch at a very cool place called The Counter in Santa Monica . It's basically a burger joint but you get an order form when you go in and you build your own burger by choosing from several options. You could choose beef, chicken, turkey or veggie for the "meat", one of a selection of cheeses, four toppings out of at least a dozen (like grilled onions, greens, cranberries, carrot strings (yes, carrot strings), a choice of sauces and a bunch of other stuff. They were just delicious! Plus they had yummy onion rings, regular fries and sweet potato fries. Crisp and tender at the same time. One of the guys who was there said his only complaint was that he had no complaints!

I was going to walk down to The Strand, tonight, and take some night pictures to post. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow night. Lazy me. But here's a picture of Jack with the dogs on The Strand. We've only been down there during the day. It goes for miles and miles. In fact, I think you can walk or ride your bike all the way from Palos Verdes (several miles south of here) to Malibu (several miles north of here). Manhattan Beach sits above The Strand so I think the view at night would be cool. O.K., for sure I'll take pictures tomorrow night.

The Day After Xmas Stuff...

It was a nice relaxing Christmas, this year. We loved that there was no snow. We loved that it was in the 70's! It's absolutely not true that life in California is over-rated. The only other place that I've been where the weather is possibly better (year-round) is the Hawaiian Islands. Maybe.

O.K., maybe if you had to buck the traffic every day that would get old.

O.K., the smog in the city is a turn-off.

But here in the Beach Cities where the air is clear and it's sunny and warm? I gotta say it's pretty darned nice.

I got really good gifts, this year. Jack gave me a pair of tennis shoes which I needed since I forgot to pack any. And he made a very generous contribution to my kitchen remodel fund. I got a great huge mug for my coffee. It's a Los Angeles mug so it's also a souvenir. Love it. No coal in my stocking.

Got a JoAnn Fabrics gift card, too, which I love because I'm always working on a do-it-yourself project or two. I do spend a lot of money at that store. I should probably own JoAnn stock.

Speaking of gift cards, I love getting gift cards but just in case you received some gift cards that you don't want or can't use did you know you can swap them or donate them to a worthy cause? One of my favorite websites is called The Ideal Bite. (It's listed in my "Useful Websites" list. I subscribe to their Daily Tip which comes in my email. Today's tip is about that very thing. Here are two websites to check out. Very sensible.

giftcardbuyback.com/index.cfm
swapagift.com/

Merry Christmas to All...

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?
It came without ribbons.
It came without tags.
It came without packages, boxes or bags.
And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.
What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

Dr. Seuss

Christmas Eve 2007

I took this picture of the sunset from the roof deck, last night. Looks like an abstract painting, I think. It was so calm and peaceful up there on the roof. No wind and not too chilly.

We did go to the Farmers' Market in Santa Monica. It was great! Bought vegetables for our Christmas dinner. There was a long line for omelets and a bit shorter line for crepes so I had the crepes. I ordered the "England" filling of butter, lemon juice, powdered sugar and coconut. It was delicious and not too filling. Quite likely that the Weight Watchers points were off the charts! Oh well.

Our Christmas Eve repast will include cold shrimp cocktail, cocktail meatballs, clam chowder and a very nice hot artichoke dip with fresh vegetables and crackers. Snacky stuff. Tomorrow we'll have our little Christmas away from home and probably make some Christmas phone calls. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night...

A Trip to the Santa Monica Farmers' Market and a Couple of Bargain Websites

Today we're going to the farmers' market in Santa Monica. We'll be getting fresh veggies for our Christmas dinner which will be Roast Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding. Jen tells us that there are all sorts of great offerings at that market so it'll be fun. Will post more about that adventure later.

I found two noteworthy websites while "surfing the net". Is the phrase "surfing the net" even cool, anymore??? I probably should bone up on the lingo. Lingo? Is that even cool anymore? Is "cool" even cool? Got a lotta learnin' to do...

In any case, these both have to do with saving money and who doesn't want to do that? The first one is Cool Savings. It's been around for a long time. The second is The Coupon Mom. Check 'em out! I think I'll reference both of them on my "real" blog/website when I get it up and running. BTW, I'm still working on the domain name thing.

December 22 Happenings

Here's a good one! December 22nd is National Date Nut Bread Day. I couldn't find any other information about it - not who started it or where. But I like date nut bread and haven't had it for awhile so maybe this means I should make some?

This is also the shortest day of the year. It's the Winter Solstice. It's when winter starts in the northern hemisphere and summer starts in the southern hemisphere. It alternates every two years between December 21st and December 22nd.

Today is the also first day of Hanukah so Happy Hanukah to everyone.

I read a cute story (in the Washington Post, I think) about a little girl who saw all the Christmas lights at the mall and thought they were so pretty. When she told her mother that she felt like she shouldn't look at them because she is Jewish, her mother said she should just think of them as the decorations at somebody else's birthday party and go ahead and enjoy them. I like that. Yes, I do.

Long Live the Queen and Other Stuff

Well, this is very interesting, I think. I read in the New York Times that today Queen Elizabeth II became Britain's oldest-ever monarch.

Her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria was born in 1819 and lived for 81 years and 243 days. Queen Elizabeth passed that milestone about 5 p.m., today! Her full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor. When she was a little girl she couldn't pronounce Elizabeth and called herself Lilibet.

You can check out all sorts of info about the royal family at their official website.

www.royal.gov.uk/

Other Stuff: I spent a great deal of time today thinking about domain names to no avail. Last night (in the middle of the night) I had several brilliant ideas but was too comfy to get up and write them down and, sure enough, today I could only think of a couple of them. Naturally, they were the ones that were not so brilliant. So tonight I'm putting a notepad by the bed just in case...

It was cool, today, but a sunny and happy day. Blue skies, green grass, flowers...what's not to like? It's so nice not to be knee deep in snow.

Life is Good!

Ah, there's nothing like a good night's sleep and then waking up in Sunny California (or anywhere sunny, for that matter) to give a person a new perspective on life!

I just read my post for yesterday - depressing. Sorry about that. But I was so tired and felt so crummy. It was raining when we got here Tuesday night and was a little drizzly yesterday morning which didn't help my mood. Today is another story entirely!!

We're housesitting at what I call my favorite "gig". Jack says it's not a gig but it really is. I love the location; I love the house (newly remodeled - I love what they did to it); I love the dogs and I love the weather. And I love being able to see daughter Jennifer. This is a picture of the view from the street.

I've set a goal for choosing a domain name for my website by Monday the 24th. I even posted it on the Dream Job Dialog website so I'm committed. Am concentrating on it, today - we'll take the dogs for a nice long walk along the ocean which will be perfect for "thinking". I might even ask Jack and Jennie for an opinion.

It's gonna be a great day!

Why I Will Never Ride The Train Again

So we boarded Amtrak some time after 11:00 p.m. on Sunday night. It was already running a couple of hours late out of Chicago. Found a couple of seats together across the aisle from each other and settled in with our pillows and fleece blankets. Jack slept like a log and I didn't sleep at all. Not a good start.

Monday was fine. We both read books and I worked sudoku. We spent some time enjoying the scenery from the observation car. I took this picture of the sunset through the window. Had an o.k. breakfast in the dining car. Lunch and dinner were not so good.

Then we stopped in Gallup, New Mexico. About 50 additional passengers boarded so I had to give up my seat and Jack and I had to share. Let me tell you, it is truly impossible to be more uncomfortable than we were that entire night.

Then the unthinkable happened. The train stopped and the conductor announced that there had been an accident and that we would probably be there another four hours or so while it was being investigated. We mercifully fell asleep. Tuesday we learned that someone had decided to throw himself in front of the train. Since it was dark and we were traveling close to 80 mph, the engineer couldn't possibly have stopped in time. Everyone was horrified, of course.

So we were supposed to arrive in Los Angeles at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday morning. However, by 8:15 a.m. we still had another eight hours to go. We actually arrived at 4:45 p.m almost nine hours late. I'll need an awfully good reason to board another train in the future.

This and That

Tonight we're boarding Amtrak for the trip to Los Angeles. Please, please, please let us get there on time Tuesday morning. It's snowy and cold here in Kansas so it'll be great to get to sunny California. Since we're going to be staying near the beach we'll be immune from the smog that blankets the city. I won't be able to post anything more until Tuesday unless I can find a wireless network on the train.

Dream Job Thoughts: I'm trying to learn all I can about blogging, website construction and internet businesses. Today I'm focusing on social bookmarking websites like del.icio.us. and digg.com. I'm going to join a couple of them to see what they're all about and if/why I'll need to incorporate them into my website. Hopefully, you CAN teach an old dog (me) new tricks!!

I've got a great quote by Frank A. Clark. I have no idea who Frank A. Clark is except that he was born in 1911. I was looking for something motivating or inspirational for me, personally.

"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere."

If I ever learn who Frank A. Clark is, I'll post it!

The "Akrabats" - A Memory

Akra was the name of the tiny little town in North Dakota where my family lived when I was a child. We owned the Akra Store which was comprised of a grocery store, post office, gas pump and a creamery.

My mother was the shopkeeper, the post mistress, the gas station attendant and the person who separated the cream from the milk and whatever else had to be done to the milk that the farmers brought for processing. Akra was about five miles from another small town (but much bigger than Akra) called Cavalier where everyone in the surrounding countryside went for their "big" shopping.

There were probably a dozen kids in that town including my two sisters and me. We were outside from dawn until dusk all summer long and every day that we could during the rest of the year.

There was a windcharger (first generation wind turbine, I guess) in the back yard - it didn't work as I recall but it was a fun place to play. One day all the kids were playing circus and we were pretending to be acrobats swinging from the first level of the windcharger. My sister Joan was probably about three years old or so and we wouldn't let her play with us. We told her she was too little to be an acrobat. So she announced that if we wouldn't let her be an "Akra-bat" she was going to be a "Cavalier-bat". And she stomped off!

I've found a really nice website for anyone with kids whether you're searching for baby names or information on colleges. There's a newsletter plus the site is divided into sections such as Your Child 0-6, Your Child 7-11, Your Child 12-18, etc. Plus dozens of craft projects, quizzes, Food & Recipes

I think you'll find familyeducation.com/home/ well worth checking out!

On the Road Again...

Yesterday we had phone problems which translated to internet problems; therefore, no post.

However, I took these photos from our bedroom window. We haven't cleared a path in the snow around the house so I couldn't walk back there. The trees and shrubs were absolutely magical looking. They were covered with a deposit of ice crystals so thick that it looked like snow. It's called hoarfrost. Beautiful.

Today we drove to Kansas City. There was a terrible ice storm a few days ago that spread from Oklahoma to Chicago. Driving south through Missouri we could see the trees heavy with ice bending toward the earth. Some were bent so low that they looked like large shrubs. Some of the bigger trees had branches that just snapped off. It was late afternoon and the sun behind them made them sparkle like diamonds. It was eerie but pretty, too, in a way. Mother Nature making a statement. Winter in the upper midwest.

California, here we come!

Well, Thursday we're leaving for California. We're driving to Kansas City and then Sunday we'll board Amtrak for the trip to Los Angeles. We've traveled by train several times to Washington state. It's an easy way to travel although twice we had long delays because it was winter and there were problems traveling through the mountains.

On one of our trips a woman left the train during a stop in Montana and didn't make it back on the train before we left, again. So several miles down the track we came to a stop to wait for someone to bring her back to the train. She claimed that she had a child on the train. Turns out that was just a story she concocted so the train would stop. Well, somebody on the train knew that she didn't have a child with her and when the engineer was told about that he headed out! Wonder what ever happened to her...

I'm hoping there won't be any delays this trip because we'll be traveling further south. It's bound to be filled with beautiful scenery.

A Fat Little Chickadee and a Woodpecker

We took a few pictures through our kitchen window a couple of days ago. We have a cranberry bush outside that window and a birdhouse and a suet block hanging in it.

The leaves have all fallen off, of course, but the berries are still there and the birds love them.

A woodpecker and a chickadee were vying for a spot on the suet block so I had a chance to snap a couple of photos.

Which reminds me of a wonderful website that I stumbled upon. It's all photos of nature and wildlife. It's called Focus Wildlife.

The photographer's name is Ilia Shalamaev and he is really gifted.

The url is http://www.focuswildlife.com/index.htm

A Memory

Just thinking about Christmas when I was a kid. We got one present and it came from Santa on Christmas Eve after we were in bed. We also had Christmas stockings and we'd get some fruit (maybe an apple or an orange), a candy cane and probably some other little thing. I think our grandmother also gave us a present. We also got our new Christmas dress, shoes and socks. It was so exciting.

One year I got a doll - she was a real beauty and I named her Maribel May after one of my favorite poems. I don't remember the poem, anymore. I tried to google for a poem called "Maribel May" but no luck. I'll keep trying and if I ever run across it, I'll post it!

That same year my sisters each got a doll, too. Maribel May was the biggest of them, though. Valerie named hers Susan and Joan named hers Foo-Foo because it made a sound like that when you squeezed it.

I think Foo-Foo also had two faces - a happy face on one side and a crying face on the other. A dolly hat covered up the face you didn't want to show. I could be wrong about the two faces but I don't think I am.

On Success

SUCCESS

To Laugh often and much

to win the respect of intelligent people

and the affection of children;

to earn the appreciation

of honest critics and endure

the betrayal of false friends;

to appreciate beauty,

to find the best in others;

to leave the world

a bit better, whether

by a healthy child,

a garden patch

or a redeemed social condition;

to know even one life

has breathed easier

because you have lived.

That is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Some Favorite Websites

Interesting websites worth checking out.

LOCAL HARVEST (http://www.localharvest.org/) - Just plug in a zipcode and you can find all sorts of local orchards, family farms, farmers markets, berry patches, co-ops, etc. In our small rural area there are almost fifty to choose from. There is even a family run business called Mackenzie Fields that distributes wool fleece, roving, yarn and hand spun to fiber artists. They raise and sell a particular breed of sheep that is know for its fine fleece. If you're looking for good local sources for food of all sorts, I'll bet you can find it at Local Harvest.

EARTH 911 (http://earth911.org/about) - The best thing about this website is being able to find recycling centers for all sorts of items from used motor oil, car batteries, books, household items, plastics plus lots more. Just enter a zip code and what you'd like to recycle.

EZINE ARTICLES (http://ezinearticles.com/) - A really good research tool. There are thousands of articles written by experts in their respective fields on virtually any subject that you could dream up.

LADIES WHO LAUNCH (http://www.ladieswholaunch.com/) - They describe their venture this way: "Ladies Who Launch provides content and community to help women start and expand their businesses and creative ventures." It's an upbeat community that believes that women do not necessarily have to follow the "good old boy" rules in order to launch and build successful businesses or to realize any personal goal whether or not it's business related.

MERRIAM-WEBSTER ONLINE (http://www.m-w.com/) - Jack is a crossword puzzle junkie and this is a really good website to visit when he gets "stuck" (which, mind you, isn't often). They also have a Word of the Day, word games, and Word Central for kids with a daily buzzword, word games and a build-your-own-dictionary section.

INSTRUCTABLES (http://www.instructables.com/home) - Calling themselves the "World's Biggest Show and Tell" they allow members to submit directions for creating all sorts of things like toys, arts, crafts, food, you name it. You can learn how to make a safety pin from a paper clip, how to make homemade potato chips with a microwave, or how to fix rust spots on your car. Some silly, some weird, some sorta scary, too. But fun.

More to come...

Today's Dream Job Task

Today I'm going to reach out to a few more people with my blog. For example, I'm going to contact the bloggers and websites that I've mentioned and let them know that I've added their link. I actually didn't consider whether or not I should do that before I added the links so hopefully I have not committed a blog fauxpax. There are a lot of blogs and websites that I check frequently so I'd better learn the ropes before I list any others.

I just noticed that I've now posted enough times that the "older posts" link is necessary. Cool.

It's very cold, today, and I'm not going anywhere unless I absolutely have to. Good excuse for working on my Dream Job. More later...

Winter Pictures

It's a beautiful sunny Wednesday. We got four or five inches more snow, yesterday. That makes about 15 inches in the past week. It's about time. We really need the moisture.

Here are two winter pictures - one of a birdfeeder that we have on our front porch. That's a wisteria vine growing up the porch post. We planted it about three years ago but it has yet to bloom. We're told that it will take several years. I was amazed that wisteria would grow this far north.

The other photo is looking at the house from the lakeshore while it was snowing. That's our dock which Jack hauled out of the lake until the spring. I love how the falling snowflakes were captured by the camera.

My Comfort Zone and Other Thoughts

It's snowing, today, and it's really pretty. Big soft flakes drifting down. I might go outside to take some pictures and post one or two. Here's a photo I took a couple of years ago when Jack (my husband) had to dig out our mailbox. It's one of my favorites because it really says it all about winter here in our neck of the woods. It also reminds me of the reason we like to get out of this neck of the woods for part of the winter!!

Today I took a big step out of my comfort zone. I told Jack about my blog. After reading a few posts he said, "You're something else..." Hmmm, I think that means he likes it. No more sneaking around to post! Very liberating.

I'm going to make a big pot of soup on this very cold day and then wrap presents. Then I'll spend some time gathering resources for creating a website.

Sure do hope I'm one of the winners of that Dream Job contest. The prizes include a laptop and a consultant who will help the winners realize their vision. There are going to be six winners, I think. But even if I'm not a winner, I'm on my way to a fun and (hopefully) rewarding new experience. My sweet mother always said, "You can't have a dream come true if you don't have a dream." I think that's also a line from the musical "Oklahoma" but I like to think my mother thought of it first.

On Being Green

I tend not to jump on bandwagons if I can help it; however, I am becoming more and more aware of the impact our global footprints have on the earth. Not only that, but the stuff that we put in and on our bodies matters more to me now than ever. I have struggled for years with my weight and am finally doing something about it. One of the things that helps me tremendously is eating more fresh foods. Well, we'll see how it goes...

This holiday I am trying to be a better giver, as well. We have seven grandchildren and I'm determined to purchase as many "healthy" gifts as I can. I got the cutest wooden puzzles for the two three-year olds and make-your-own chewing gum kits for the three older grandkids from a great website. The link is http://www.katescaringgifts.com/index.html . There are many more sites that I have to explore but this is a good start.

More to come on this subject...

The Perks of Housesitting

We're leaving our snowy climate (got about ten inches of snow since yesterday) in a couple of weeks to spend Christmas in sunny California and we won't have to spend a dime on accommodations! That's because we'll be housesitting for a family while they're away. We'll be caring for their two sweet dogs for the fourth time since we discovered the joys of housesitting.

We've been housesitting for almost three years during our cold midwest winters. So far we've had assignments in California, Arizona and Washington state. We've cared for dogs, cats, birds and even chickens, ducks and geese! And we've made great friends of the homeowners, too.

We don't charge for our services; we take care of the homes and pets in exchange for lodging. Totally a win, win deal. The website is based in Australia so there are lots of opportunities there but there are housesits available all over the world. After we registered with the website we began to receive emails daily that notify us whenever someone has posted a request for a house/pet sitter. If we're interested we send a message and if we're not, we just don't respond - it's a simple as that. It's very secure and there are lots of guidelines available.

You can find the website at http://housecarers.com/ . Check it out.

On Peace (Personal)

I think that each Saturday I'll post a favorite quote or an empowering thought that I have. I don't know who originally said today's quote but it's one of my favorites:

Peace: It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

A huge snowfall is predicted today. There's not much that's more peaceful than a beautiful snowfall.