GREAT LINK!!

I found this really really great link:

www.tipnut.com

The person that put all this wonderful info together is my new best friend!

I love the 50 apron pattern, the quilting, the knitting, crocheting, cooking, cleaning tips!

.....Well I don't really love the cleaning part!

Juliet at 15 Weeks Old

What does a 15-week old doggie do? They run and run and run and run and run! Juliet refuses to come when called, since running away is so much more fun! She knows how to sit and stay and she knows that she's supposed to potty outside, but instead she does exactly whatever whim hits her. Her attention span is very short and she is like a darling and lovable, rotton-egg toddler.

Today Juliet is 15 weeks and three days old, and the vet scales weighed her in at exactly 3.0 pounds. Her legs are getting long and she is still very small and slim. She can jump up onto the couch now (it sometimes takes a few tries) and her new favorite place is on the arm of the sofa. She plays hard and then suddenly she is asleep. She doesn't just jump off the couch, she does a high swan dive, then lands on all fours. Silly puppy!

C-C-C-COLD!

Last night I didn't feel well, the beginning of a cold I guessed. This morning it was SO COLD! The wind was whipping and the temperature was in the upper 30's but the wind chill made it seem colder. I was at the sales table for FMBC, selling admittance tickets for the 1A and 2A marching band competitions all day long. The entrance was shaded by a building and so we stayed really cold, to the point that our fingers were numb, most of the day. The lady that worked with me and I took turns running into the bathroom to put our hands under the warm hand blow-dryer. Around 3PM the sun finally broke over the top of the building and we were able to warm up a bit. I will buy some cheap gloves next year and cut the fingertips off so I can count money. That's my main job, counting all the money, strapping it, totalling... Mark is the door guard, making sure things go smoothly and that we are safe, as we handle a lot of cash.

Being exposed to low temperature and wind all day was baaaaad. I felt increasingly worse, and by the time we left, my throat ached, I had no voice, but a frog's, my nose was running, and my lungs felt like rocks were rattling around in them. My head was swimming. We drove home (it took just over an hour) a little while ago and I am drinking a cup of tea with some Southern Comfort and honey in it. If this doesn't help, well, at least I'll sleep well!

Leigh's funeral was today at 2 and I thought constantly of my friend Pam and wondered how she could even breathe in and out, dealing with such grief.

Viewing

Today was Leigh's funeral viewing. Her casket was open and there were wonderful pictures all around the room that showed what a vibrant and outgoing personality Leigh had. Pam and Ben received guests with both tears and laughter. Yes, it was a very somber and sad time, but there was a lot of laughter and good memories. Pam encouraged everyone to wear pink, which was Leigh's favorite color. Rarely did you see Leigh when she didn't have something pink on. Tomorrow is Leigh's 33rd birthday. Pam and her family wanted to make Leigh's death a celebration of both her life and her re-birth into heaven. Everyone was to wear pink again.

Mark and I had committed to work for Cathy and Jon at the Florida Marching Band Competition in St. Petersburg as we do every year. We will leave around 10PM for the St.Pete hotel, and have to be up and out by 6AM to go to the high school in Bradenton.

Pam's Family

Pam is from Jacksonville Beach, but I didn't know her when I lived in Jacksonville. Her mother still lives there. Mother has something wrong with her spine that makes her lose balance and fall, so neck surgery was done last week. She is still in the hospital and Pam has been away from her Apopka home quite a bit to take care of her. Her house has suffered and so I went over to do some chores while Pam and her husband and Leigh's husband took care of funeral plans. Their entire house is tiled and I swept and mopped, cleaned kitchen and bathrooms, and cooked a chuck roast with potatoes, carrots, celery and onion. The gravy came out delicious. Pam knew I was there, but still, it had to be nice when she walked into her home and found scented candles lit and everything sparkling clean and dinner too.

Leigh - such sad news

We saw my friend Pam's 32 year old daughter Leigh singing with the Caroling Company yesterday at the Festival of Trees and I took videos and photos of her. Today Pam called to tell me that Leigh had a fatal car accident. I am sharing a short clip of Leigh as she and the company sing a carol. Leigh is the big girl on the end.

Juliet Is So Busy!

Here she is, our baby Juliet. The leaf photo was taken in NC when she was 8 weeks old and weighed 1.5 pounds. Both ears up, now sprouting some silver hair at 12 weeks old and a whopping 2.6 pounds, our little girl is as busy as can be, tearing through the house. Every household item becomes a great toy! This day she chose to play with the bright orange lid from the Spot Shot (carpet cleaning spray) can. Oh she had a ball running blindly up the doggie stairs to the big foot stool with the cup-lid covering her entire fact, then she'd leap a foot across to the couch. After some fun play with the lid, she'd finally drop it over the edge, swan dive off to the floor, then do it all over again!

POOH Quilt Decision Nearly Made!

I decided on this pretty star pattern for the Pooh quilt. It will look so cheery with the bright colors. Imagine replacing the white with the yellow, beige with orange, the dark gray with the checked pooh, fussy cut the centers of the small red stars with cute characters from the solid material (in my hand), and maybe the swirl for the points of those stars and red stripe on edges. Final decisions will be made after I cut out enough for this idea and then lay it all out to see how well it works. If the quilt pattern looks familiar, it should be! I made a large quilt for my son Robert from this same pattern and similar red/blue fabrics.

I Voted

Here is a photo of the voting precinct (a church) as we were leaving. The line looks short, but you cannot see the line inside, as well as a cue line that wraps against itself and under the portico. Our neighborhood is loaded with McCain signs and one lone Obama sign. I woke up early this morning and was at the voting precinct by 6:20AM, the twentieth person in line. Mark and Robert joined me within ten minutes, and by then the line wrapped around the building. My next door neighbor was so excited to vote this morning, he wanted to be first in line, so he arrived at 3:30 AM. Little did Chris know he was supposed to wait at the back door, not the front. He was second in line, as the woman in the know would not budge from her place, even though she arrived a full two hours later! Chris was bummed! Needless to say, we all cast our votes and proudly wear "I Voted" stickers. Coffee shops, ice cream shops, donut shops, and who knows what other shops are trading their products for voted stickers. Frankly, I don't want to lose my Vote sticker, as I will wear it proudly on my collar all day. All the high fives will happen tonight at midnight - once McCain wins. I'm thinking fireworks will be in order!

Princess Juliet Octavia

Meet our newest family member, Juliet, born 8-8-08. This photo was taken in early October when she was only 8 weeks old and weighed 1.5 pounds. Juliet is 12 weeks old now, and has gained one whopping pound! She is smart and energetic, loves to romp and jump with a twirl landing. She sees people she loves and her ears go back and she makes that "I love you, love me" face. Charming. She tilts her head when we talk to her. I love that too.

I love having another doglet, and Mark is totally smitten. It is hard to teach a tiny terrier terror tricks, but so far Juliet knows to "sit" and we are working on stay and come. She understands the words "go outside potty" as I say that as we head out the door and also when she is successful. The neighbors must think I'm crazy because we nearly have a party when she does "go outside potty". Lots of cuddles and cheering and repeating those three magical words. Eventually she will respond when I say that to either looking indifferent (a no) or running to the door (that would be yes). I have tried to get her to go to the door on her own and instead she squats when I tell her those words. Eventually she will realize it means GO OUTSIDE and not just go potty anywhere.

Having a puppy again has been a lot more challenging than I remembered from 13 years ago. Still, it has taken the hurt off of losing Kelsey. A few days ago I got misty about missing Kelsey. It sneaks up on me so unexpectedly. I often mistakenly call Juliet Kelsey. They are nothing alike, a good thing.