HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Goodbye 2004!!!
Hello 2005!!
I wish everyone a healthy 2005.
This past year was horrible healthwise for so many people (me included).
We had the worse election year, (even here in Washington, after three re counts, we FINALLY have a new Governor, and the Republicans are calling foul and want an entire re-election)! Geeze, give it up!!
Poor losers and dirty politics absolutely turn my stomach!!
The disaster of the earthquake and tsunami has horrified me. I am still numb thinking about it!
I was at work yesterday thinking "gee, I live on an Island, and one big quake and tsunami can wipe us out in seconds!...poof...house, job, life gone!"
We are so vulnerable. My heart goes out to all the victims and survivors of the tsunami!
Well it is 10:30 and I am going to bed and snore my way through the midnight hour and 2005!!
Move over kitty, here I come!!
Snore...snore...snore...snort!

A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down. -Robert Benchley

P.S.
I have a pot of Black Eyed Peas with smoked Hamhocks in the slow cooker.
Come on over for a bowl for good luck in the new year!!

Poor kitty!

I have absolutely nothing to post. I am actually brain dead today.
I am feeling better each day, and feel like I might live after all!
This is what happens to your cat if your don't brush it every day.
They have to shave it to get all the mats off of them! HAHAHAHA
This isn't my cat, I found the picture on the web somewhere and thought it was cute!

Women and cats will do as they please,
and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
-Robert A. Heinlein

Merry Christmas!

I have got to have the best sister in the whole wide world!!
Really! We agreed to do handmade stuff for Christmas, so she made a scrapbook for me!
This scrapbook is of the family tree!! Old pictures of my ancestors, the dates, the names of them, etc.
She and dad were always the family historians, but my goodness, this is a work 0f art!
She spent most of last year gathering pictures and facts for the scrapbook!
I'll tell ya, she made me cry...then I made her cry because I cried...then everyone else cried because we cried!! And all I gave her is a wrapped up half made afghan! I tried so hard to have it done by Christmas but I just couldn't! Darnit! I'll finish it next week. My sister-in-law gave me a great thing! She works for a furniture store so she gets the fabric samples for free. She found a neat frame at a yard sale then she put the cloth inside it for me to hang on my bedroom wall. It can hold all my pins. When I get my camera fixed I will take pictures. My Neice gave me a book on the history of the Christianity Faith and Bob gave me a book on old Coots! I had my family over to my house for snacks and present exchange. They were all gone by 9:30, and I took a hot bath and was in bed by midnight!
Today I go to my sister's house for Dinner at Four.
I had a Marvelous Christmas!! Everyone is somewhat healthy and we don't fight. We didn't get a white Christmas but we are safe and warm. The wind is blowing 25 MPH and it is 45 degrees and overcast. typical Winter day in Puget Sound!
I sure hope everyone had as great a Christmas as I did!!

A three year old little boy was examining his testicles while taking bath.
"Mama," he asked, "Are these my brains?
"Mama answered, "Not yet."!!!

It's COLD out here! Let me in!! Please??

Winter's Solstice is here! The shortest day of the year and the first day of Winter! Brrrr!!
I had a physical yesterday and the doctor gave me the ok to keep my Commercial Drivers License for another two years! YAHOO!! It is scarey having Diabetes. We have to have a doctor's medical waiver every two years. But I can see why.
Tomorrow I finish with the Santa thing at the Senior centers. I'm taking about two hours off to do it. Then at 5pm is the last one! It is fun, but I get really tired still.
I am at a panic, because I haven't finished what I wanted to do. Oh well, I will not let it spoil my fun!
I hope everyone is enjoying this season!!
I'll write more later when I have the time.
Until then....

If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise.
-Unknown

Santa and Elves at the Senior Center

I spent a couple hours today with Santa and Elves passing out oranges and candy canes to the seniors at the Senior Center, then went to an assisted living complex, then went to the nursing home where my dear friend Hannah lives. It is alot of fun and very rewarding to put a smile on the faces of some "forgotten" folks!
I'm very fortunate to have a boss that will let me have a few hours off to go have fun.
Granted, there are some older folks here that are not forgotten, but if we touched the heart of a lonely old person, then it was why we did it!
There is way too much emphasis on Christmas. The merchants start cramming it down our throats in August and by November the panic starts to hit...then the Carols start playing and lights go up and there is Christmas everywhere! Listening to some carols will start some people to cry (I as one). Kids start making their lists of what they want mom and dad to buy them and mom and dad will take out their plastic cards and go in debt to make sure their kids get what they want. Then there are some families that will not have a Christmas because they just do not have the money to spend. They are too proud to go to welfare and the Churches, and will tell the kids that they will make it up to them later. Well those families are who the "Forgotten Children's Fund" target. It is such a thrill to watch the "Magic" of Christmas in a small childs face when she open's the door to see "Santa" there with toys for her in his sack! And Santa actually knows her name!! WHEW!! Now THAT is a rush!! But it is too bad Christmas has to put so much stress on people. I like to put the Christ back in Christmas and thank God for sending his only son here to save our souls. We choose December 25th to celebrate the birth of Christ. I am very thankful for what He sacrificed for me.
Well I must get to bed so I can get rest for tomorrow! Mary Lou and I are going Christmas Shopping!!!
Oh well, we are all American!! I plan on not using plastic, but just in case....well Dang!

If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons.
-James Thurber

Animal Rescue Site

I got an e-mail from a friend today and of course it grabbed my heart. I checked it out with the urban legends website to see if it is legitimate, and it is!
The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click
on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused
and neglected animals. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click
on "feed an animal in need" for free. This doesn't cost you a thing. Their
corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to
abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising. (Weight Watchers is one
of the sponsors!) Here's the web site! Click on this link, and when the site
opens, click on the purple box that says Feed an Animal for free. That's it!

Wow, that was easy! THANKS!!

We give dogs time we can spare,
space we can spare and love we can spare.
And in return, dogs give us their all.
It's the best deal man has ever made.
-M. Acklam

Aww, Ain't he cute?

Ya just wanna pick him up and snuggle with him and let him crawl around your neck and purr in your ear!
I saw this on the net somewhere and thought he was adorable!

Well I am getting back to normal now. I have put in two full days at work. My stomach is still kind of queazy but I can handle that. I obviously don't need much to eat. What really really pisses me off is for two weeks I have hardly eaten a thing and have not lost one ounce!! Not one!! I HATE this diabetes!! The insulin I inject puts weight on me even when I'm sick! It is the devil at work!!

Well I have the Senior program all arranged and ready to launch Friday! There are 9 places that we are going to visit in two days, so I needed more than one Santa and alot of elves!!

I am going to be in Oak Harbor with Santa and 3 elves delivering candy canes and oranges to The big Senior Center at lunch, then we are going over to Summerhill (an assisted living complex) where 59 Seniors live then over to Whidbey Island Manor (a nursing home) where there are 40 Seniors. That is where my friend Hannah lives and I will leave her a special sock from Santa!! This is a great way to get in the Christmas Spirit! If you have a nursing home or hospital close by take some candy canes and go visit them!

Well the cleaning lady is showing up tomorrow so I better get my house ready for her!

Wise Mama:
A three year old little boy was examining his testicles while taking bath.
"Mama," he asked, "Are these my brains?
"Mama answered, "Not yet."!!!

My friend Roxie sent me this, and I think you'll like it!
Words to live by...
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffettable knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots,leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like finesingle-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, likefrosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each.Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with themandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all costs. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave theparty or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!" (hmmmmmmm my time must be near!)

Hurry!! Only 16 More Days Until Christmas!!

Yikes! I can't believe I have been on vacation for 6 days, and have done only half of what I wanted to do!
And yes, I am sick again!! Dangit!! I stayed in bed all day today in total pain in all my back muscles where everything seems to settle! I'd run back to the doctor, but the gal at work that got sick the day before I did on Thanksgiving is home sick again too! This is a bad bug going around folks!
Maybe tonight I will drag out the ornaments to put on my tree! It's 3:30 and I just now ate three little satsuma oranges. I just love them! But that is all I've eaten all day. Not like me at all! I usually eat to make myself feel better!
Needless to say I am not much in the Christmas Spirit yet! I will be. I went to the movies yesterday with my sister and Bob and watched "Polar Express" . Absolutely magical! I am always a 5 year old at Christmas!
I have never doubted Santa Claus since I heard the bells on Christmas Eve Night and looked out my bedroom window and saw Santa and his sleigh and reindeer fly across the sky. To this day nobody can tell me I did not see him! I did!! With my own eyes!! We were living on Libbey Road and my brother wasn't born yet so I must've been 5 years old.
I like to spread the magical spirit of Christmas. Last year my brother dressed as Santa Claus and I as an elf and we delivered presents to needy families on Christmas morning. What a wonderful feeling to be with Santa when we knock on the door and a little 4 year old girl opens the door and cries "SANTA"!! Her eyes were opened as wide as they could get and she was crying and jumping up and down! We brought a tree in for the living room and ham dinner for the kitchen while Santa was talking with the little girl. Mom and dad were crying and of course I was bawling my eyes out and so was Santa and the other elf with us! We did this for 6 families and other Santas were doing it all over the Island here. We did this for the "Forgotten Children's Fund". We raise money throughout the year to make Christmas for families that the system has forgotten. Maybe someone lost their job a month or two ago and have no money for Christmas and are too embarrassed to ask. We find them and make sure they get a Christmas! I take Santa with me and deliver Candy Canes to Seniors at the Senior Centers and Nursing Homes too! What a rush, folks!! Go to your local Nursing home and visit a Senior! And take your dog with you!!

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.
-Ben Williams

Nanner Nanner!

Can't you just hear that cat "chattering" at that squirrel?
What's with that? What makes a cat make that weird chattering? It is hilarious! Their upper lip quvers and they just chitter-chatter-chitter-chatter. God must've been in a joking mood when he put that in the cat's vocabulary!
Whew, I had one busy day! I woke up at nine and did chores then my sister in-law came over and asked me to go to a Christmas village on the mainland next Saturday. She called Mary Lou to ask her, leaving a message on Mary Lou's answering machine and put the phone on the table. We then started talking about computers and phones, and Sherry heard something and looked at the phone, and I said you need to push the "off" button. Well Mary Lou left a message on my machine saying she heard all that we talked about!! GULP!!!
It wasn't anything bad, but we were talking about Mary Lou. We wouldn't say anything bad because we love Mary Lou, but still it makes me feel guilty!
Anyway, I went to a Mary Kay open house for my friend's daughter until 3:00, then went to work and got on a decorated bus and we were in the Coupeville Christmas Parade! HAHAHAHAHA
Small town parades are Sooooo hokey, but I love being in them! We were dressed as elves and waving at all the shivering wet & cold people! We would stop the bus then run out in front of the bus and bow to it to kneel, and the driver would push the button to lower the bus, then we would motion our hands to "raise", and the driver would raise the bus, then we would turn to the crowd and bow and get applause, then we get back on the bus and go 1/2 block and do it all over again! Every one loved it, and I had a blast!!!
I then went to town and did some shopping, then went to Church, then went to Kmart and did some more shopping and got home at a little after nine. I was unloading the car and the phone rang, and it was Mary Lou asking me to come over and help her put up her Christmas tree. I was exhausted and out of breath and trying to get my bed made and told her I was tired, and the poor thing sounded like she was out of breath too. Then she said never mind and hung up. Now I feel guilty as heck, but I am so exhausted!

Well sh-t!! My guilt is overbearing, so I will get in my car and go help her!!
Later, folks!!

Okay, I feel better now. I just went over to Help Mary Lou put up her tree. She bought one of those horrible tree stands that have 4 screws in the top of the stand and the tree tips! I bought one and took it back and got another one that had the screws in the top and screws in the bottom that helps balance the tree. So I saw the problem and told her to find 4 big rocks or 4 bricks to put in the bottom of the stand but she didn't have anything like that so we got 4 cans of soup and put in the stand to hold the bottom of the tree and then screwed the screws to hold the tree up higher. It worked...the tree is up...the tree is also tied to the window sills to keep the cats from knocking the tree over.
I came home and got my 4 1/2 foot pre-lit tree that I bought today and put it up and plugged in...that took me 10 minutes!! Tomorrow I will hang my favorite ornaments on it.
G'nite!!


Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.
-Ann Landers

The last of my yellow roses this year!

I ran out in the freezing cold three nights ago and cut the last of my roses.
These are so fragrant. Luckily the rose does not bother my allergies. Flowers with alot of pollen does though. Roses and Dahlias are my favorite flowers. Dahlias have the most perfect petals, but have no scent.
I was just watching the news and they said that Saturday could bring some mixed rain and snow. WhooHoo! We have our Christmas Parade that night and I'm sure Mary Lou will be out there taking pictures of our bus as it goes by! The bad part is, if it snows and sticks it will be treacherous trying to drive down the steep hill towards the water and Front Street. That is where Mary Lou will be. (right in front of the Tavern of course). So she could take the picture as we slide on down the hill!! HAHAHAHA
Until the next time...
hmmm how did this get underlined? (shrug)

I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.
-Rita Rudner

Giddyup kitty kitty!

I love this picture!
My brother had a big orange tomcat that would walk around the house with their parakeet on his back! It was the darndest thing to watch! I thought his was the only cat that would put up with that, but I see it wasn't! I saw this on the web somewhere.
Well I put in a full day at work yesterday YeeHaw! But there were about 4 other people calling in sick. Like my doctor said, " 'Tis the Season"! It is nice to feel human again! I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. (hmmmm, does anyone have a best enemy?)
I wish I knew how to change the look of my blog. Everyone is getting all festive, and I am still at this boring look. HoHum!
The other night it was getting frosty outside so I went out and picked all the buds on my yellow rose bush, and now they are opening up. They are so pretty!!
I better get ready for work. Hope everyone has a fun day. I also need to start thinking about decorating for Christmas! YIKES!!

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
-Josh Billings