Pat Winnie wrote that she's having blog withdrawal so I promised I'd post something tonight. It's starting to get dark earlier and earlier. Sunset is 6:58 tonight, although it's 7:00 pm and still dusk outside MY window. It's still dark when I get up in the morning and doesn't start getting light until close to 7:00. *sigh*
Carol told me at dinner that we're supposed to be in for a storm this weekend. I just looked up the weather on Weather.com and it shows "possible showers" starting Thursday with actual rain one or two days. Where does that equate to a storm?? It *has* been a bit windy the last couple nights, which is really neat. Slammed by bedroom door shut a couple times. That'll wake you up! We were downstairs and SLAM. Wowza.
Saturday I went to Centralia WA with Carol's supervisor, her sister and her sister's friend. We were scraphopping. Two stores in Centralia and one in Battle Ground. We did a lot of laughing and sharing of stories (they have some good ones!) and sharing ideas. I was worn out when I got home. Then on Sunday Cindy from the credit union came over and I showed her how to make the mini album. She stayed until about 3:00. As much fun as I had, when the entire weekend is busy it doesn't feel like I've had a weekend.
I started training last week on assigning tickets from our work request queue. Sheesh. There's so much involved with each request ... 2 or 3 places to record it and then creating the assignment. And I'm still so slow at it. I've been working overtime just to try to keep up. Brought my computer home tonight to work on it for a couple of hours.
One of the issues that seems to keep popping up is that we are 2 hours behind Austin, TX and Olathe, KS. They forget that and poor Christian is getting calls really early in the morning.
There's a conference call set up for all of GITO (Global IT-our group) so I reserved a room and have the video equipment ready to go. I called Peggy to see what number we dial in to and she tells me it's been rescheduled for Thursday. I didn't get any notice about rescheduling, so I write to the exec's secretary for clarification. She said Austin was rescheduled for Thursday, but the rest of us are tomorrow. Then Peggy asks Adrian and he gets on the phone with me and said he wants us to join the Austin conference -- all of Dalton's team will be in the same meeting -- at 9:00 CDT. Uh, Adrian? You want us to be here at 7:00? Which means I have to be here by 6:00-6:30 to set it up! Shoot, Carlos can barely make it in by 8:30. There's NO WAY he'd be in by 7:00! Adrian let us off the hook and we're doing the 9:00 meeting tomorrow. Whew.
I finished the mini-album I was making of Colin. It went in an entirely different direction from what I originally planned. It was just going to be a bunch of his baby pictures, but I wound up doing one that's more family oriented. It is SO cute!! I have a bunch of ideas for more of them. I have to order more Ellie pictures before I can finish hers, but have to wait for payday.
Cal called to let me know his schedule for his cataract surgeries. His first one is October 14, and Eric's going to work from our house so he can be with him. (THANK YOU, Eric) The second one is scheduled for November 18. I'll have to use the days I'd scheduled for Thanksgiving to go home for that so I'll be having Thanksgiving up here. I've already had two invitations to join people for the holiday, so that's nice. Of course, if I stay here, I'll spend the day with Tami and Heather.
I'm still driving home 10/29 .. Peggy said since we worked on Labor Day, I might get to take the day before as well. Otherwise, I'll leave right after work and drive halfway, spend the night and finish up the next morning.
Christian shared a cool web site with me: https://www.23andme.com/
For $399 you can have your genetic profile done! Check out the web site .. it tells you how many different characteristics, etc they report on. Find out where your ancestors are from, what diseases you may be prone to. I think it's fascinating and I'm saving my money to have it done.
Just shared Stacey's latest pics with several of you (I can add you if you want, but that means you have to look at pics of my grandkids every month) and seeing Colin in his soccer uniform reminds me of when my kids were playing soccer. Almost the same color uniforms. Time certainly does fly.
Speaking of time, it's flying even as we speak. I still have work to do, so I think I've bored you enough for this session. Hey! the wind is picking up! I love hearing the leaves rustle right outside my window. I hope some of you are planning to come up for a visit next year! I miss all of you like crazy and can't wait to see you.
Take care, everyone, and keep in touch! Love you all!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Another heat wave
It has been hot the past 2 days. I'm chuckling because I can hear several of you muttering "you don't remember what hot IS!" Whatever.
On Saturday, Carol, Tami and I went to Olympia, WA to Shipwreck Beads. OMIGOSH This place is as big as 2 large Safeways and they fill only part of it right now. The store is nothing but beads, charms and fittings for jewelry. We met my sister Lynne there. She makes her own jewelry and was going to show Carol how to get started. Carol wants to make some bracelets for Christmas. She ended up making the cutest bracelet for her granddaughter with earrings to match. I think we've got her hooked on a new hobby.
Tami doesn't like crafting that much but she thought she'd check it out and she had an idea in mind for a gift. We had to remember the 23rd Psalm to be sure to pick out the right color beads, but without my bracelet I couldn't remember all of it! We were laughing so much (and probably so loud) that a store employee said "you girls are having too much fun!" We asked if she knew the 23rd Psalm and she started quoting some off-the-wall poem which sent us off in another gale of laughter. She then offered to look it up for us on the internet! How nice was that.
Tami and Lynne are really two of a kind. They have the same sense of humor and way of talking. They're not trying to be funny, they just are. My sides were sore from laughing so much. We stayed in that store for SIX hours!! Tami would never have believed that she would be in a bead store for 6 hours without grousing about it. In fact, she was the reason we were among the last ones to walk out the door. She had a brainstorm the last 1/2 hour they were open and had to run around the store as fast as she could to gather the beads and fittings she wanted.
I had to work on Sunday. Donna is still here from the Austin ServicePoint to help us through the CTI migration and train us on the on-call process. We had to work on Sunday to finish validation of the production environment for the classes that were starting on Monday. They start live calls on Thursday and everything has to be working properly. Imagine that!
I had a bit of a shock on payday when I got my check. They finally got me switched over to the OR taxes, but payroll took all my back taxes (since April 16) out in one check! 75% of my check went to taxes. WHAT! I went into HR yesterday and asked if there was anything they could do to make it a bit easier to swallow. They're going to see if they can get payroll to reimburse me some of it and take it out in two payments. Fortunately, Cal fronted me some money from savings or I'd be up a creek without a paddle. Jiminy Chrismas!
Some have been asking about my vacation plans. Here's the deal. Eric is having his Chiari malformation reshaped (?) on October 23 in Colorado. They're hoping he can fly home on the 29th. I am going to drive to their house on the 29th (maybe leave the 28th, spend the night halfway home and finish up the morning of the 29th) so Stacey's sister can leave. I'll stay there through Nov 7th to help them maintain a normal household ... meaning someone may be high maintenance besides the two kids. :) Chances are I won't make it to Dublin this trip. If I do, it will be only on the Saturday, but I'll most likely drive home on Saturday so I can rest up before getting back to work. It's a long drive. If he can't fly home, I'll be flying to Colorado for the week.
Cal's scheduling his eye surgery for October 13. Thankfully, Eric has offered to stay with him and work from our house for a few days so I don't have to figure out a way to get home for a couple of days just before Eric's surgery. Gotta love these people who can work virtual.
We've been really busy this past week and it looks like next week won't get any lighter. Lynda, I promise I'll call first chance I get, but I've just not had any opportunity to do that!! By the time I get home, we run an errand or two, eat and I hit the bed. After taking my frustration out on the bed, I climb in and go to sleep. Just kidding!!
Pat Winnie told me she got 50 books at the Dublin Library book sale. Wowza! What a deal. Monday was bag day, buy a bag for $4 and fill it. I really miss that sale. Some people would argue that I don't need any more books, but you can never have too many. Trust me.
Alright, you guys (or as Peggy or Donna would say, y'all), behave yourselves, stay out of trouble and stay tuned until next time!
On Saturday, Carol, Tami and I went to Olympia, WA to Shipwreck Beads. OMIGOSH This place is as big as 2 large Safeways and they fill only part of it right now. The store is nothing but beads, charms and fittings for jewelry. We met my sister Lynne there. She makes her own jewelry and was going to show Carol how to get started. Carol wants to make some bracelets for Christmas. She ended up making the cutest bracelet for her granddaughter with earrings to match. I think we've got her hooked on a new hobby.
Tami doesn't like crafting that much but she thought she'd check it out and she had an idea in mind for a gift. We had to remember the 23rd Psalm to be sure to pick out the right color beads, but without my bracelet I couldn't remember all of it! We were laughing so much (and probably so loud) that a store employee said "you girls are having too much fun!" We asked if she knew the 23rd Psalm and she started quoting some off-the-wall poem which sent us off in another gale of laughter. She then offered to look it up for us on the internet! How nice was that.
Tami and Lynne are really two of a kind. They have the same sense of humor and way of talking. They're not trying to be funny, they just are. My sides were sore from laughing so much. We stayed in that store for SIX hours!! Tami would never have believed that she would be in a bead store for 6 hours without grousing about it. In fact, she was the reason we were among the last ones to walk out the door. She had a brainstorm the last 1/2 hour they were open and had to run around the store as fast as she could to gather the beads and fittings she wanted.
I had to work on Sunday. Donna is still here from the Austin ServicePoint to help us through the CTI migration and train us on the on-call process. We had to work on Sunday to finish validation of the production environment for the classes that were starting on Monday. They start live calls on Thursday and everything has to be working properly. Imagine that!
I had a bit of a shock on payday when I got my check. They finally got me switched over to the OR taxes, but payroll took all my back taxes (since April 16) out in one check! 75% of my check went to taxes. WHAT! I went into HR yesterday and asked if there was anything they could do to make it a bit easier to swallow. They're going to see if they can get payroll to reimburse me some of it and take it out in two payments. Fortunately, Cal fronted me some money from savings or I'd be up a creek without a paddle. Jiminy Chrismas!
Some have been asking about my vacation plans. Here's the deal. Eric is having his Chiari malformation reshaped (?)
Cal's scheduling his eye surgery for October 13. Thankfully, Eric has offered to stay with him and work from our house for a few days so I don't have to figure out a way to get home for a couple of days just before Eric's surgery. Gotta love these people who can work virtual.
We've been really busy this past week and it looks like next week won't get any lighter. Lynda, I promise I'll call first chance I get, but I've just not had any opportunity to do that!! By the time I get home, we run an errand or two, eat and I hit the bed. After taking my frustration out on the bed, I climb in and go to sleep. Just kidding!!
Pat Winnie told me she got 50 books at the Dublin Library book sale. Wowza! What a deal. Monday was bag day, buy a bag for $4 and fill it. I really miss that sale. Some people would argue that I don't need any more books, but you can never have too many. Trust me.
Alright, you guys (or as Peggy or Donna would say, y'all), behave yourselves, stay out of trouble and stay tuned until next time!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
The Dog Days of Summer -- in DUBLIN!!
I can't get over how many hot days you guys are suffering through. I mean, seriously! I sit here with my window wide open, getting a nice cool breeze blowing through my room and it's a nice 63 degrees outside. I look at Dublin's temp and it's 73 already. AND you had a bit of a bounce with the earthquake. Cal said he felt the jolt, heard a crash and looked in the hallway to see a bunch of my books on the floor. At least they didn't fall off the high shelf. Lesson: when there's an earthquake, stay away from the bookshelves.
My sister, Lynne, sent an email that reminded me of something I forgot to tell you. When I was staying at her house for Amber's (her daughter, my niece) wedding reception, I was sitting on the living room sofa, minding my own business, when a squirrel caught my eye. He'd just wandered in from the back door. He saw me sitting there, working on my laptop, but that didn't seem to bother him. Lynne has a ficus tree in a huge pot and he climbed up in the pot and started digging around, probably looking for nuts he may have buried there! David was in the other room working on his computer so I said "uh, is it normal to have a squirrel in your living room?" He came out and chased it away. Said the darned thing just keeps getting more brazen and has wandered in a few times. Too funny!
Yesterday Tami, Heather, Carol, Heather's mom and I did a day trip. Tami drove us to Cannon Beach (or Eco Beach, I'm not sure which one). Once we CAREFULLY traversed the huge pebbles and rocks section, (wearing inappropriate Birkies) we made it safely to the sand. Keep in mind, these are not like southern CA beaches. The white sand is minimal. Although we didn't need to wear a jacket! There was fog just off the coast but it wasn't cold.
We took a nice long stroll along the waterline and Tami had fun showing us how she could make a quicksand spot. She'd step on the wet sand, which looked very firm, and when she removed her foot, the sand would jiggle. I confess I was giving her the "uh huh" look until I tried it myself. It was sort of like the cornstarch phenomenon. If you've ever played with a mixture of cornstarch and water, you'll know what I mean.
We saw 2 jellyfish washed up on the beach and one was still alive. Tami wanted to help it back into the water in the worst way, but none of us was going to touch it and we wouldn't let her touch it either. There were no sticks readily available so we left it to it's own fate.
A bit further on we saw a small black plastic bag sitting by itself, so Tami wondered what might be in it. We were speculating about diamonds, somebody's finger, a roll of money. On the way back Tami mentioned it again and Carol said it was probably dog poop. Took the wind right out of our sails!!
We had a fun lunch up on the bluff. There were several picnic benches and we had a great view. Ahead of us we could see the rock formations and then we'd look to the right and it was all fog-shrouded. And SEAGULLS! Little buggers. Just waiting for someone to drop something. They'd walk right up to our table and squawk at us. One family mistakenly threw some food to a couple and the rest descended like a cloud. They immediately had 20 birds surrounding them and flying in low. One of the little girls started screaming and the dad had to get up and chase them off. Lesson: NEVER feed the gulls!
After lunch we drove to Cannon Beach and walked through the downtown area. Wandered through a few stores and a gallery. By this time I was so tired, I could barely keep my eyes open. Too much fresh air I guess. We piled back into the car and headed home. Since we missed the opportunity to stop for drinking water on the way up, we stopped on the way back. Again, it just tastes like water. I didn't dump out my bottled water, but I did top it off with the spring water. I can't tell any difference. And it's coming through metal pipes so it has to be picking up stuff from that, right? Anyway, we had a really fun day and came home worn out.
Carol started a movie but I'd already seen it so I came up to my room to finish listening to a book I was almost done with. Sat on my bed playing with my electronic solitaire game and listening to my book. Went to bed early and slept until 7:30 this morning. Rolled over and went back to sleep until 8:30. PERFECT day! Now I have to clean out the 'frig and clean my bathroom. So much for the perfect day.
Carol's making pancakes so I'd better hurry downstairs and look like I'm going to do something besides just talk to you guys. Hey, hang in there with that crappy weather you're having and start planning a trip to OR!!
Until next time.
My sister, Lynne, sent an email that reminded me of something I forgot to tell you. When I was staying at her house for Amber's (her daughter, my niece) wedding reception, I was sitting on the living room sofa, minding my own business, when a squirrel caught my eye. He'd just wandered in from the back door. He saw me sitting there, working on my laptop, but that didn't seem to bother him. Lynne has a ficus tree in a huge pot and he climbed up in the pot and started digging around, probably looking for nuts he may have buried there! David was in the other room working on his computer so I said "uh, is it normal to have a squirrel in your living room?" He came out and chased it away. Said the darned thing just keeps getting more brazen and has wandered in a few times. Too funny!
Yesterday Tami, Heather, Carol, Heather's mom and I did a day trip. Tami drove us to Cannon Beach (or Eco Beach, I'm not sure which one). Once we CAREFULLY traversed the huge pebbles and rocks section, (wearing inappropriate Birkies) we made it safely to the sand. Keep in mind, these are not like southern CA beaches. The white sand is minimal. Although we didn't need to wear a jacket! There was fog just off the coast but it wasn't cold.
We took a nice long stroll along the waterline and Tami had fun showing us how she could make a quicksand spot. She'd step on the wet sand, which looked very firm, and when she removed her foot, the sand would jiggle. I confess I was giving her the "uh huh" look until I tried it myself. It was sort of like the cornstarch phenomenon. If you've ever played with a mixture of cornstarch and water, you'll know what I mean.
We saw 2 jellyfish washed up on the beach and one was still alive. Tami wanted to help it back into the water in the worst way, but none of us was going to touch it and we wouldn't let her touch it either. There were no sticks readily available so we left it to it's own fate.
A bit further on we saw a small black plastic bag sitting by itself, so Tami wondered what might be in it. We were speculating about diamonds, somebody's finger, a roll of money. On the way back Tami mentioned it again and Carol said it was probably dog poop. Took the wind right out of our sails!!
We had a fun lunch up on the bluff. There were several picnic benches and we had a great view. Ahead of us we could see the rock formations and then we'd look to the right and it was all fog-shrouded. And SEAGULLS! Little buggers. Just waiting for someone to drop something. They'd walk right up to our table and squawk at us. One family mistakenly threw some food to a couple and the rest descended like a cloud. They immediately had 20 birds surrounding them and flying in low. One of the little girls started screaming and the dad had to get up and chase them off. Lesson: NEVER feed the gulls!
After lunch we drove to Cannon Beach and walked through the downtown area. Wandered through a few stores and a gallery. By this time I was so tired, I could barely keep my eyes open. Too much fresh air I guess. We piled back into the car and headed home. Since we missed the opportunity to stop for drinking water on the way up, we stopped on the way back. Again, it just tastes like water. I didn't dump out my bottled water, but I did top it off with the spring water. I can't tell any difference. And it's coming through metal pipes so it has to be picking up stuff from that, right? Anyway, we had a really fun day and came home worn out.
Carol started a movie but I'd already seen it so I came up to my room to finish listening to a book I was almost done with. Sat on my bed playing with my electronic solitaire game and listening to my book. Went to bed early and slept until 7:30 this morning. Rolled over and went back to sleep until 8:30. PERFECT day! Now I have to clean out the 'frig and clean my bathroom. So much for the perfect day.
Carol's making pancakes so I'd better hurry downstairs and look like I'm going to do something besides just talk to you guys. Hey, hang in there with that crappy weather you're having and start planning a trip to OR!!
Until next time.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
It's too hot in Dublin!
Shoot, I keep looking at the temps in Dublin and you can have them! The weather hear seriously turns on a dime. It was so cold just 3 nights ago that I actually closed all the windows in the house and turned on the heater for half an hour. Then the next day it was in the high 70's. No sweater, coat or jacket needed. It's supposed to warm up this weekend (which means low 80's) and you know how these Pacific Northwesterners hate that heat!! :)
Eric found a specialist in CO and flew there last week to meet with him. He had a workup done and has decided to have this doctor do his surgery. He's scheduled it for Oct 23 and they've asked me to come home the 29th (when they hope he'll be able to fly home) to help take care of him and hopefully enable the grandkids to have some normalcy. Stacey's sister, Jill, will be watching them the week Stacey's in CO with Eric. If he's not able to fly home that soon, then I'll fly to CO to help her there.
Cal's also scheduling cataract surgery sometime in November so it will be a busy winter for me. I don't know if I'll have any time left for the holidays this year, but that's alright. It may be 2009 before I'm able to get home to see any of the rest of you. Just think how happy you'll be to see me!
Heather's mom is visiting so I had dinner with them last weekend. They'd invited me to go sightseeing with them and I was going to ... but my legs and feet were really sore! On Saturday the ladies from work came over to scrap. Marletta and Debbie were the only ones who came. Audrey and Sandy had partied the night before and weren't up to it. :0 )
Marletta brought a KILLER spinach dip. OMIGOSH. Heart attack on a chip. She made it in a crockpot and asked if she could leave it here because they were heading out for vacation as soon as she got home. I sacrificed and said "sure!". I had enough to share with Heather's family, Gary, and Peggy. That stuff was GOOD. The others have no idea what they missed.
As for the album Marletta taught me to make, I love it! I'm making one about Ellie right now and I'm gathering Colin photos for the next one. It's the perfect size for all those miscellaneous pictures that you want to keep but may not be just right for an album. Or even better, it's good for those pictures that are special and you want to give them their own "space". If I can figure out a way to describe how to make it, I'll post it. So flippin' easy. You'll need 3 pieces of cardstock and 5 pieces of patterned paper. Let me know when you've got those gathered, and I'll go on to step 2.
I have to close early. I need to finish the book I'm reading so I can give it to Peggy. She's leaving for Austin early Saturday morning and I got her started on a series and this is the next book in the series.
We're doing the Siebel testing this week because the "train the trainers" classes start next week. I've been putting in a lot of hours this past week and we didn't even get to the other stuff Peg was supposed to be showing me! YIKES. Next Thursday starts my first 'on-call' week.
Carol and I were talking last night about the people we used to work with that have had life changing events since we've left. One lady lost her daughter; another lost her husband and 3 others have been diagnosed with cancer. One of those had surgery for colon cancer and we're hearing that it was successful in that it was all removed. Incredible.
You all have a great week and we'll chat again later.
Eric found a specialist in CO and flew there last week to meet with him. He had a workup done and has decided to have this doctor do his surgery. He's scheduled it for Oct 23 and they've asked me to come home the 29th (when they hope he'll be able to fly home) to help take care of him and hopefully enable the grandkids to have some normalcy. Stacey's sister, Jill, will be watching them the week Stacey's in CO with Eric. If he's not able to fly home that soon, then I'll fly to CO to help her there.
Cal's also scheduling cataract surgery sometime in November so it will be a busy winter for me. I don't know if I'll have any time left for the holidays this year, but that's alright. It may be 2009 before I'm able to get home to see any of the rest of you. Just think how happy you'll be to see me!
Heather's mom is visiting so I had dinner with them last weekend. They'd invited me to go sightseeing with them and I was going to ... but my legs and feet were really sore! On Saturday the ladies from work came over to scrap. Marletta and Debbie were the only ones who came. Audrey and Sandy had partied the night before and weren't up to it. :0 )
Marletta brought a KILLER spinach dip. OMIGOSH. Heart attack on a chip. She made it in a crockpot and asked if she could leave it here because they were heading out for vacation as soon as she got home. I sacrificed and said "sure!". I had enough to share with Heather's family, Gary, and Peggy. That stuff was GOOD. The others have no idea what they missed.
As for the album Marletta taught me to make, I love it! I'm making one about Ellie right now and I'm gathering Colin photos for the next one. It's the perfect size for all those miscellaneous pictures that you want to keep but may not be just right for an album. Or even better, it's good for those pictures that are special and you want to give them their own "space". If I can figure out a way to describe how to make it, I'll post it. So flippin' easy. You'll need 3 pieces of cardstock and 5 pieces of patterned paper. Let me know when you've got those gathered, and I'll go on to step 2.
I have to close early. I need to finish the book I'm reading so I can give it to Peggy. She's leaving for Austin early Saturday morning and I got her started on a series and this is the next book in the series.
We're doing the Siebel testing this week because the "train the trainers" classes start next week. I've been putting in a lot of hours this past week and we didn't even get to the other stuff Peg was supposed to be showing me! YIKES. Next Thursday starts my first 'on-call' week.
Carol and I were talking last night about the people we used to work with that have had life changing events since we've left. One lady lost her daughter; another lost her husband and 3 others have been diagnosed with cancer. One of those had surgery for colon cancer and we're hearing that it was successful in that it was all removed. Incredible.
You all have a great week and we'll chat again later.
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