Three days is just not long enough

I go to scrap camp twice a year. I go on Friday morning and come home on Sunday late afternoon. But it's not long enough. I would like an extra day or two. After lugging everything up to camp, unloading, setting up and settling in, I'm usually not ready to just dive into the scrapping thing. So I putter around, talk to the gals, sift and sort and try to decide what to work on. Then its time for lunch. So I eat and clean up then I have to stroll around and look at what others are doing. New people arrive and need to be greeted and caught up with. Then I try to get going again, but now its almost time to get dinner ready, so I do that. Then its time to eat and maybe catch up some more and listen to stories and look at pictures. Finally, late into the evening, I get started on my own scrapping. But now I have a bit of a headache and I think I'd rather go to bed and enjoy some down time. When I wake up on the second day all I can think about it doing something fun; taking a hike or a bike ride or something like that. So away we go to have adventures and more fun. When we get back its time for lunch and after eating I might think about scrapping a bit. But I have to collect t-shirts to iron logos on and look at pictures taken on the field trip and tell everyone about what fun we had. Now I'm ready to scrap...right after dinner. No, now it's time for the gift exchange and then I can finally scrap. I stay up a bit later on the second night, but not too much. Not like some people who stay up until the wee hours of the morning. I'm in bed before midnight and loving every minute of it. Day three, I'm up early and ready to scrap, damn it. I've got until 3pm. That's it. Where has the time gone? What have I been doing with myself? Hurry up, get coffee, now sit and think. Paper, pictures, adhesive, embellish...hurry, hurry, it's almost time to eat lunch. Now we have to start cleaning up. Ack, only 30 minutes left. Here, let me lift my legs while you vacuum around me. No, don't take that box, I need that stuff. Wait, I just have to finish this last bit. Bye, see you next time. I got a whole 4 pages done. It's been fun. Can't wait to do it all again.

Keeping My Day Job

I've decided that I would not make a very good private investigator.
Alex has been looking forward to riding his bike to his new school all summer. We drove the back route. The main way is too busy. We drove it twice to make sure he knew where to turn. Last night he starts asking, "so when I get to XXX street, I turn right?" "so, then I turn left at XXX street?" "please draw me a map." So this morning I suggest that I drive behind him just to make sure he remembered the way. He says he's good and not to worry. So like a good mother, as soon as he took off on his bike, I took off in the van. I parked in a church parking lot right before his last turn to the school. I positioned the van behind a tree and was peering through the branches when I saw him go by, then turn and head back the way he came. At that, I pulled out to the edge of the lot and saw him turn back again. As he passed me, I said, "go to the corner and turn right." He made some comment about following him and then I noticed the lady in the house across the street, standing in her front window with hands on hips watching me. I gave her a big smile and a thumbs up and headed for home.
As a PI, I kinda suck.

Bus Station Blatherings

The bus was scheduled to leave at 7:40 am. We arrived well ahead of schedule to be told that the bus would be at least two hours late.

Bus Station attendant hereby referred to as BS says "They haven't called from the last stop to say that they've left yet. Or maybe they forgot."

Me: "could you call them in case they did forget?"

BS: "they are supposed to call me."

Me: "so the phone line only goes one way?"

BS: "well they're supposed to call me."

Nuff said, we came back home. We decided to call occasionally for updates.

Back at the station, the phone rang. BS answers.

person on phone talking

BS: "well, you can't buy a ticket from here to there."

person on phone talking

BS: "yes the bus stops there, but you can't buy a ticket to get there."

person on phone talking

BS: "you can get on the bus but you won't have a ticket."

person on phone talking

BS: "I can't help you."

Daly Days

Today was Daly Day at the Daly Mansion. I played Lizzie the Nanny and was stationed in the nursery for the day. This was my first ever reenacting gig. I used to act in high school and college, but that was with scripts and blocking. This is completely different and so much fun. People came through the house on self guided tours and we (reenactors) would strike up conversations, answer questions and act as informal "experts". We also interacted with each other and gossiped, visited and I had to chase two rowdy boys through the house on more than one occasion. They would scurry past the nursery and I'd drop my knitting and scamper after them, down the hall, down the servants staircase, out the door and across the lawn. Several of the servants got "talking tos" from Mrs. Daly and more than one guest was found in the room of someone that they oughten have been visiting.

What a wonderfully fun day. I will definately be doing this again. You can see more photos in my flickr badge on the right.

Ravalli Republic

Daly Mansion

Montana Wildflowers

It must have been a pretty wet spring at the cabin, because I've never seen the quantity or variety of wildflowers like I saw this year. They were everywhere and just glorious.

This is the one layout I completed at scrap night this week. I didn't do much, but wanted to record the gorgious flowers. The pic here is a bit lopsided as I just plunked it on a chair and snap a digi pic. Sorry about that.

I've added this page to my cabin album and have a couple more pages to do for this trip. We'll see if they actually get done. LOL

R & R

My annual dose of R & R. No phones, TV, computer, doorbells, etc. Just the babbling of the creek, the chirping of the birds and the pitter patter of pack rat feet on the roof at night.

Allison and I drove over Friday. Mom, Alex, Molly and Grace met us for the day on Saturday and we drove home Sunday. Not quite long enough, but I got home before the lack of showering drove me nuts. Alex and Allison played in the creek. They build a damn and a raft every year. The raft never quite works out, but this time Alex actually got on it for a brief bit. But whatever, it keeps them busy and happy and that's all that matters. We read and played bunco and they did a puzzle and played with the old windup radio. I napped and read more and just sat and looked at the mountains and trees and all the wildflowers. Chloe rolled in horse poo and swam in the creek and snored at night. Doggie delight. It was wonderful and over all too fast. I must stow away the memories so that they hold me over for another year. You can see more photos by clicking my Flickr badge on the right.

Happy Independence Day USA

This 4th of July has got my head all scrambled up.So grateful for our freedoms. So very humbled bythose who make that freedom possible. So tired and readyfor our young men and women to come home. So scared forthe ones who are waiting in the wings to head into that terrible fight. My son-in-law, David is in this group of young people who are currently packing their duffel bags and saying goodbye to their families. On July 11th he'll head off to Afghanastan for 3 months, then he'll be in Germany for 3 months. During that time my daughter, Katie will complete her second pregnancy, care for their little daughter Dani and deliver their 2nd baby while all alone. David may be able to watch the delivery by webcam, which is small comfort, but better than nothing. I try not to think of 'what ifs' but honestly, I've never sent a child off to a war zone before. And David might not like to hear it, but he's as much my child as any of the others, and I'm having a very hard time with this. I've stuffed him as full of egg rolls as is humanly possible, packed his care package and hugged the stuffing out of him. I think he was very glad to finally get away from me. LOL. If you have a prayer to spare, just remember those kids who are still fighting for our freedom. And make a special request that the powers that be can finally pull their heads out of 'you-know-where' and bring those kids home once and for all.

Hurry Home David!!!

Bubbly Personality

Boy, if that isn't the truth. Miss Thang has been here for a visit and turned the whole bunch of us upside down. She's fast, wobbly, funny, cute, sweet, and priceless. She captivates everyone she comes into contact with. She's not talking in the spoken word much, but she signs like nobody's business. She definately lets you know what she wants. On this day we were out in the front yard playing with a battery operated bubble wand. She loved every minute of it.

Small Town Saturday Night

We may be rednecks, but we sure know how to have fun.

In Other News...

It's Snowing. Happy June

Some Scrappy Stuff

"I Go"...and away she goes. Miss Independant. She's very busy these days and wants to do things herself. I keep reminding her mother that this is good and normal and to give thanks for it. Hollow words for the tired mom who just wants to get 'er done. The second layout is just for fun. Nothing important was happening here. No words of insight or wisdom to dispense. Just a cute slimy baby face and the perfectly colored paper to match. I played with a couple of digi techniques here. Don't know how successful I was on the blur thing in the first layout. Kinda like the big pic on the right side of the second layout. Still learning and trying new things.

The Wax Museum

Every year the fifth graders at Alex's school do a wax museum. They research a famous person, write a report, make a poster, create a costume and design a scene. On museum day, they pose in their scene as if made of wax. Today was the day. To see the creativity and effort that these kids put into this project just warms the heart. They take it so seriously too. Although the last 15 minutes of the day were pretty fidgety. I helped this morning with whatever might need help. For instance John Denver dropped his guitar pick. As I strolled past I heard "psst, Alex's mom, could you hand me my pick?" Sacajawea's poster fell down and Diane Fossey's gorillas were slightly aslant. Nothing major, just stuff like that.

Alex chose a person that nobody has really hear of, but most everyone has heard. Trumpet player, Wayne Bergerone was his choice. We couldn't find much info on Mr. Bergerone, so we went to his website, found his email and shot him a message. Three hours later, he emailed back. Pretty cool.

Alex's email to Wayne:

Dear Mr. Bergeron, I'm in 5th grade and we are doing a wax museum. I've chosen you as my subject. I have to dress like you and stand or sit very still like a wax figure. I also have to write a report about you. I also play trumpet. I have a few questions so that I can finish my report. I hope you don't mind.
1. Where were you born?
2. When were you born?
3. Do you have a wife and kids?
4. Anything else you want to share that would help me write my report.
Thank you very much for reading my email.
Sincerely Alex

Wayne's reply:

Hi Alex,
What a wild project!
1. Where were you born? Hartford, Conn
2. When were you born? Jan. 16 1958
3. Do you have a wife and kids? Yes. I have been married to a trumpet player named Deborah for 19 years. We have a 31/2 year old daughter named Ella. I also have a 27 year old daughter from a previous marriage named Dorian.
4. Anything else you want to share that would help me write my report. • I live in Los Angeles, CA and work as a studio musician. There is a bunch of info on my website if you need. www.waynebergeron.com
Good luck with the project and drop me a line if you need any other specific information.
All the Best,
Wayne Bergeron

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACH.....

It's Rachel's Birthday today.

You'll always be..............................................















Older than ME!!! Love ya

The Mojo is back

Haven't scrapped in ... I don't know how long. Haven't even really thought about it. And it's not like I don't have fodder. How many hundreds of photos are sitting there on the hard drive just waiting for some embellishment? But the other day I got a bug. Not the tick that I picked up on my trip into the wasteland that is my garden. No not that kind of bug. A scrappy, crafty kind of bug. Three layouts in three days. I may swoon.

I'm almost caught up with Dani's second year of life book. The only "caught up" that I'll ever be.

Anyway, here's some fun stuff. All digi. All Dani.

Spring Fever

Boy do I have it bad this year. We have had snow and ice on the ground almost continually since the big dump of November. That first 10 inches just never seemed to go away and then it was followed by a regular dumping of new stuff until this lovely weekend when the temps are predicted to hit 73 degrees. We had snow two days ago and now this heavenly reprieve. It's supposed to be cooler next week, but for right this minute, I'm going to enjoy it all I can. As a friend and I walked around the cul de sacs yesterday we noticed GREEN BUDS on a tree. GREEN. BUDS. Hugely, enormously uplifting. I may even find myself outside, clearing away the depris of winter. Not my most favorite thing, but if it gets me outside, it'll be OK.

Art Imitating Life

I got this birthday card from Rachel. It's beyond perfect. In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say she had it commissioned just for my special day. The story that goes with this is a bit long and has been told before. But it's so damn funny, I think it just needs to be shared again. Actually, I looked for the original story and couldn't find it. So, I'll attempt to retell it. Rachel and I were on our way to a Mom's Club meeting. I was driving. We were talking and laughing, as is always the case. I have a very hard time walking and chewing gum much less driving and talking/laughing. We approach an intersection and I breeze right through. Rachel comments that perhaps I should have stopped at the red light. This makes me laugh harder and reminds me of a joke. "Two old ladies are driving along. Let's call them Thelma and Louise. Thelma is driving. Louise notices that they are not slowing down for a red light. Thelma whizzes right through. Then it happens again and again. Louise finally asks Thelma why she isn't stopping for the red lights. Thelma screams "Holy Shit, I thought you were driving!". So I can see Rachel standing in front of the card display, then this little gem pops out at her. The laughter would ring through the store and of course, the rule is, if it makes you laugh out loud, you must buy it. Also, if it makes me laugh out loud I must blog it.

Thanks Rach. It's perfectly US.

What the heck?

Me? At a loss for words? Totally. I've been on a quest. Reading an awesome book. Getting in touch with that thing we all want to get in touch with. It's left me speechless. It's also sucked most of the creative energy out of me and left me not quite knowing what's going on.

The book is "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle. It's way deep. Way Big. For me anyway. I'm actually on my second read through. I've joined a bookclub and am taking an online "class" to help to process it all. As a side effect of this whole thing, I don't have much to say. Remember how I've said that I talk to hear my own voice, therefore I must blog to read my own thoughts? I think I've been cured, or am at least in recovery from that disorder. This isn't to say I'm done blogging. I'm so not done blogging. This also isn't to say that this blog will turn into some kind of weird "follow me to the light" sort of thing. So not my style. This is just a sharing moment. That's all. If you are so inclined to read the book, it's worth it. If you are not so inclined, that's cool too. It's not for everyone. But man, when it hits you, it hits right between the eyes.

Scrappy Stuff

More sharing and some scary kinds scrappy fun. It's the beginning of a new circle journal round and I've been working on Lisa's CJ this month. So Lisa is one of those magical types. Sit down, swirl some stuff around and POOF, art. So her CJ theme is "Just have fun" or something to that effect. Wait! What? No rules? No guidelines? WTH? Now what am I supposed to do? So, I unpack the cutest little altered book you ever saw. Totally cute, totally Lisa. And I start turning pages and then it hits me. Like a ton of bricks. I have to put something in there. Something even remotely cool. Crap. I had made a deal with myself at the beginning of this round. No buying new stuff for the CJs. No shopping. Use what you have. So now I've got this deal that I really feel like pretending never happened. But before I head to the store, let's just go through the stuff that's gathering dust and see what comes of it. So I find a ton of Asian stuff that I've been collecting and saving and not using. Then I find more stuff to go with that stuff. I made a pile on the table and just kept adding to it. It's a little shameful how big that pile got and how much of it I still have left over. Anyway, I thought I could make something happen from that stuff. It was Feb. and the beginning of Chinese New Year and I was sort of in that frame of mind anyway. Cool. But what does it all mean and what does it have to do with me, the Irish girl from MT? Then I thought, "quit thinking". I almost pulled a muscle, but I was able to stop thinking for just a sec. So I started cutting and tearing and inking and rearranging and it just all sat there on my desk. Looking at me. It sat for days and days. Then one day I read a passage in a book about the dragons in our lives, ie; the fears and worries. Ah, there it is. That connecting thread. I was born under the sign of the dragon. I was on this quest...(see above). Using only the most minimum of cerebral effort, it all came together. Oh, and the Irish believe in dragons too. The knot in the end of the thread.

Midwinter Band Concert

When the trumpets stand up you'll see Alex. When they are sitting, he's behind a music stand. Story of every concert I've ever gone to. LOL

Alex's basketball game

24 Years Is A Really Long Time

Where have all those years gone? On this day in 1984 I don't really think that anyone there thought this would ever work out. They all showed up and put on happy and supportive faces, but I bet in the back of many of their minds was a shrieking and screaming voice yelling, RUN FORREST, RUN!!

This day is/was also Grandma Nell's birthday. She would be 96 today. That's her in the black and white dress with slimming diagonal stripes. On the other side or my paternal grandparents, Eddie and Marie. Grandpa Eddie had always said he would dance at my wedding. And even though he was in failing health he managed a jig or two that day.

Brooks and Dunn sing a song called "Proud of the house we built". It really sums up our lives.

I dropped to my knees in that field on your daddy's farm. Asked you to marry me, all I had to give was my heart. While other kids went diving into swimming holes, You and me dove off into the great unknown. We were barely gettin' by, takin' care of each other Then I became a daddy; you became a mother. Was an uphill battle nearly every day, Lookin' back I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm proud of the house we built. It's stronger than sticks, stones, and steel. It's not a big place sittin' up high on some hill. A lot of things will come and go but love never will. Oh, I'm proud.I'm proud of the house we built.

This is the house that we built