i will be adding most of these trees to my flora gallery by this weekend. i would be delighted to get some feedback on my shots. i didnt have the chance to put any of my photos on the table at the show, which is ok because we made $400 on what the beau had out. i took the opportunity to get some down town shots instead. they will be up next.

they didnt allow cameras. no surprise really. i was only hoping.

they performance was wonderful, however. all three acts had a careening carriage pulled by ‘horses’ that kind of danced, and some of the brides flew through the air on wires. the costumes were beautiful, the sets were awesome, the music was intense. the dancers were most captivating, and i quite lost myself in the story. im so glad we went.

the only downside was how warm it was. at least the air was on in the performance hall. but once everyone was seated and the music began, it warmed up. of course i wore my velvet cape, a Christmas gift from my mother last year that i finally had an occasion to wear. i dont care, im glad i wore it. it would have been nice if more people had dressed up. im no socialite, but its fun to dress up for things. there were a few costumes, a handful of people dressed up, and a lot of jeans. oh well. it is okieland after all. the beau dressed in his black slacks and white shirt, and looked great with his black ponytail. i love being eccentric. i have always been out there on the edge.

it was kind of unique that there seemed to be a full moon on a very clear night, and the clock set back, and it was a saturday, for the last day of october.

well, thats my first ballet. i think there will be more in the future. it would be nice to attend one in a big city. im so tired of here ….

this will be my first ballet. it couldnt be sweeter. dracula, performed in los angeles, hong cong, toronto, and washington d c , this is the first time in oklahoma. a thrill for okielanders everywhere.

im quite excited about going. ill try to get some pictures.

i know, its been a coons age since ive written anything here. working full time, trying to get some new photos, learning to turn them into art, takes a lot of my time. so im stingy with my down time.

so i thought id throw in some shots of my family to fill the void a little bit. in case you miss me …  :D

ive done it. ive opened a site at http://shadowbox.shutterfly.com/ to show off my photography. with the account i also have signed up with their service to sell my pictures. they will do the printing, shipping, and customer service, and deposit the profits into my bank. sweet, ya? this will help get my art and my name out there. now i can start focusing on developing my own style. (ya pun intended). i would love to have visitors at the site to see my work. not everything posted there is put up for sale.

now you know why i havent written anything here in a while. been working on my new venture. i would like to make this a full time thing, and maybe make enough to live on. thats the goal.

let me know what you think so far  ;)

well lets see. there’s a lot gone on since last i was here.

good news, my son and daughter in law are trying to work things out. i dont think either of them wants a divorce, they just have some issues to work out. dont we all.

the beau bought me a nice camera so i can begin working toward making and selling photo art. i still have to find out how to get copyrights for my work. but i am excited about it, and i really like the camera. i have so much to learn! the camera is a nikon D60, and it does a lot. i dont even know what all i can do with it. and i also purchased photo shop, so i can get even more creative. im already having fun with it.

i signed up for a tanning membership with ‘at the beach’, about a month after the beau signed up. they have really nice beds, and its very close to home. my goal is to get just a little color, enough to even out. i dont get very tan anyway, even after all the time i used to spend in the sun. i get light golden. but i like my white skin, and have no desire to get dark. the beau is dark, with his black hair and italian/cherokee blood. his is a reddish brown.

we finally purchased a second car. we have wanted to for some time. we used to have a cute little probe, and had just gotten it paid off, and were planning to get a second car, when the engine gave up the ghost. it had been rebuilt three years earlier, after we had driven over a stick in the road, and it had gotten caught and somehow went up into the engine and became tangled in the serpentine belt. $3K later we had a rebuilt engine, and it drove very nicely another three years. then one day, i had just dropped the beau off at work, and was beginning the drive home, when the check engine light came on and the motor went silent. there i sat at a busy intersection, just as if i were waiting for the light to turn. behind me was the alternate right turn lane that veered off for those heading south, and a little triangular island with a light pole just to my right, and the left lane to my left. i had to call a tow truck, and sit there and wait, trusting God to keep people from rear ending me. so the next car we got was not a second car, it was the new only car. that was the nissan altima we have been driving. we like nissan, however. good cars. now that it is paid for, or one payment shy of being paid for, we went last weekend and picked up another nissan. this one is a 2009 nissan versa. jet black. its a really cute little car, 4 door hatch back. we’ll be getting the windows tinted as dark as legally allowed, and tricking it out just a bit. :D

so there you have it. now that im back in writing mode you’ll be hearing from me more again. got to take those little breaks from time to time.

the temperature this week is going to be brutal again. its ranging in the triple, 101º to 105º. but by the end of next week its supposed to drop 10 degrees. its been hard on the dogs, who go out side frequently to eliminate and get drinks of water. cinnamon had a rough day yesterday with a high of 103º, i believe. we also had been trying to wean her off the anti nausea medication, which apparently isnt going to happen right now. she threw up most of the afternoon and evening. sigh. good thing i have lots of towels, a good washer, and my rug shampooer in good working order. shes better today, and back on two pills in the morning and two pills in the evening. i felt sick myself last evening. maybe it was cleaning up so much puke – mostly water but it still smells and is harder to clean up than more solid dog food. maybe it was the few salty fritos i had for supper. or maybe just all of the above. the air conditioner works well, but its hard to keep the house cool when the temp is up so high outside. roy did ok for a portly chocolate lab, and the cats always fair well. they dont do anything. the beau was a bit stressed too, having had a wisdom tooth pulled thursday. still, we survived it, and will get through this next wave. but i am feeling a bit depressed over the thought of all that oppressive heat. i dont want to eat, or do anything outside. my garden will get watered, but i wont be working in it till this horrid hotness is passed.

my lips are looking good. all the scabbing is gone, and the color is starting to even out. august 28 i get a free touch up to refine the lines and the ink distribution. it takes about six weeks for the color to fully come out on the lips. then i will be done with it. i am considering getting my eyes done too, but i havent made up my mind yet. the lips were more important to me. it was such a blessing to have the opportunity to get them done so much more inexpensively than at regular cost.

im sad to say my son and daughter in law are splitting up. they have had a rough time for some time now. they have tried and tried to fix whatever was wrong, and gone to counseling together. but it hasnt worked out. i know God can save their marriage, but theyre going to have to submit themselves to Him first. i know that day is near. i know it in my knower. they may file for divorce, and may even actually get the divorce. but i know God is going to turn it around. you just watch.

things are changing, or are about to, at work. my friend and coworker is on the verge of retirement. the office manager is not far behind her. we still dont know who is going to be the next office manager, but i believe there is one picked out. whether it is one of the two most likely current employees, or someone from outside, i do not know. myself, i am getting my resume updated, and looking at job opening in the portland area. i know the changes at work will be for the better, but really i cannot take another summer here. i will miss my friends at work, but i have my heart set on the pacific north west. the beau says he is eager to move as well. neither of us is happy here in this state. the cons so outweigh the pros, it isnt even funny. the roads are deplorable, and the city rather fix them with the cheapest material possible, which ends up degrading in less time than it takes for new potholes to appear. and there are many potholes, and chunks missing. the bridges are also full of holes. the police department is somewhat disappointing. perhaps in some ways they are worthy, but the patrol cars routinely speed, fail to signal, fail to wear seatbelts, and other such traffic violations. it isnt mentioned much, but the number of squirrels, rabbits, and cockroaches are pretty high. the ragweed is also too plentiful. there isnt much to do here either. there is the fairgrounds, with its many gun and knife shows, its rv and boat shows, and other redneck exhibitions. there is the zoo, and an overpriced aquarium. and there is a water park that is always way overcrowded when its open. beyond that, its shopping and eating out. there are also outdoor music festivals in the summer, when its really hot. maybe i should say there isnt much to do here that appeals to me or the beau, neither of us being of a redneck persuasion. i miss the ocean, and hiking in the cool forests. i miss the museums. i miss the diverse restaurants, something beyond the usual ethnic choices. the beau i think would like real rock climbing, or maybe skiing. real outdoor fun. i dont know … i just want to move back. can you tell?

well thats a wrap for now.

where the heck i been? ya. i been busy thats for sure. work is work, and always busy, but not why i havent been posting much, since i cant post while im at work anyway.

caring for cinnamon has taken up time. she is really doing well now, just a little thin still. she has her energy and pep back like before that mass appeared in her abdomen. but there were a couple of rough periods when she could keep food down, but not liquid. we had been giving her anti nausea meds and she was fine, we ran out, but thought she was passed it anyway. she wasnt. so this is where the time was spent, cleaning up ‘spills’. she would walk around and kind of spew the fluids. she got a little dehydrated naturally. we purchased more of the anti nausea meds, and i found a brand of canned food that has less water in the contents, and now she is doing wonderfully. she is no longer dehydrated, and starting to show more weight gain. she is back to guarding the grill, our dinner, or the bags of groceries on sunday morning. she is so funny that way …

friday i had the day off. ironically, i was the beaus birthday, and i had scheduled it off planning to surprise him. turns out he couldnt get off that day. but it worked out, because my dentists assistant had an opening to do my lips friday. so i am writing this with a swollen upper lip. i had to drive to bristow, about 35 miles from tulsa, where the school is. $150 vs $600, it was worth the trip. she gave me gas to relax me, and several blocks to numb my mouth, and then did the tattooing. i got a nice berry brown color. it will look good bare or under lipstick. only took a little over an hour. im really glad i did it. my lips will be swollen for a couple of days, and they will scab up a bit for a few days. but then the color will come back, and it will be worth the inconvenience. on the up side, i really have no pain. i felt a little bit of pain on the side of my upper lip during the tattooing, where it just didnt want to get numb. but im very good at going somewhere else when i have to endure pain. it wasnt that bad really. stinging.

the heat has been brutal this week. its been triple digit temps for five days. today the prediction is 103º or 104º. im not doing anything outside till this lets up. my garden needs my attention, but it will have to wait. the temp is supposed to drop ten degrees tomorrow, and be back down in the 90s again. the last time it was over 100º in june here was 1937. sigh. i looked up the temps in portland to compare, and they were in the 70s and 80s. why am i here again?

there was a really back wreck on one of the highways north east of here yesterday. nine people died. somehow, a semi ended up on top of two cars. they were crushed beyond belief. it was horrid. the thai restaurant we frequent usually has the TV on early in the evening, and the news was on when we went for supper. it was really a bad accident. i think this kind of heat jacks with people. i experience four near misses this week myself, each time nearly getting hit broadside. i admit i drive a little fast – not like the girls at work think i do however. but i drive extremely defensively, and i keep my eyes on the road. i dont text at all, or talk on my cell phone unless i absolutely have to, and then its on speaker. i dont let those conversations distract me from my driving. i plan ahead as i drive, and i watch the side traffic and who is coming up behind me. i expect people to do stupid things. the beau says im a natural driver, i am instinctive. true, i think. i dont have rigid rules. i feel it. i depend wholly on God too. i wouldnt be out there without Him. im not above making a mistake, and i have no control over how other people drive. i see so much that makes me cringe. i see drivers paying more attention to their passengers than to the road or the other drivers. i see drivers rigidly looking straight ahead, and driving as if theyre afraid to look around. i see competitive drivers who have to be first. i see oblivious drivers who pay no mind to other drivers. that is in addition to the drivers on cell phones, and the drivers who simply dont act like they know how to drive, what the rules are, or how to operate their signals. its a crazy world out there on the roads. add triple digit heat, and its no surprise accidents happen. its worse than rain.

im sorry to hear about the recent celebrities that have died recently. but i am getting tired of hearing about them now. especially one whose death the media seems to be eclipsing everything else with. was he really more important than anyone else who had died recently? only more well known. sigh.

cinnamon is starting to do better. wednesday will be two weeks since her surgery to remove what turned out to be a leiomyoma – a smooth muscle tumor – from her stomach. the surgeon told me how this one had a large base, and was partly in her stomach, and he removed about 25% of her stomach. he then sewed it back together, and reattached the small intestine. feeding her since then has been a trial, to be sure. she did really well with canned dog food before the surgery, when i first started feeding her small meals more often. but she seemed still thin, so we switched from chicken to turkey, which seemed better. after the surgery, i resumed with small meals, and we tried baby food as well to make it easy on her. after a week she started tossing everything she ate. then she began to refuse everything – the canned turkey dog food, the turkey baby food, the dry regular food, and even the occasional cat food treat. she didnt refuse ice cream or yogurt, so we knew she still wanted to eat. yesterday the beau said he was going to get her some steak with fat, and grill it and cut it into small bites, knowing she will not refuse that. this gave me an idea. i had some canned chicken on hand, which i offered her in small amounts, and she scarfed it up without tossing it again later. sigh of relief! its something, and she is keeping it down. what a challenge this has been.

the weather has turned hot now. we had a neighborhood garage sale yesterday, which we took part in, and got rid of some things we had long been wanting to part with. actually, we sold most of what we had put out, and made almost $200 as well. the rest will go to the animal aid thrift store near here.

next friday i have a dental appointment to be assessed for cleaning. sigh. but the dental tech is learning cosmetic tattooing, and need a subject to a full lip fill in. i just happen to be wanting to get that done, but havent yet because it isnt cheap. the beau found this out when he went to this dentist a couple of weeks ago, the day he went to pick up cinnamon from the vet hospital. im looking forward to talking to her about this. i would like a nice berry color tattooed on my lips. lip color that never smears. yes there will be pics.

have a nice sunday  :)

being a covenant woman, i understand the value of things that are purchased with blood. therefore i do not take lightly the freedoms i have in this country. i have the freedom to live where i choose, to speak my mind, and to worship God openly. i have the freedom to get any education i can afford or qualify for. i have the freedom to pursue my interests, live in any financial status i can achieve, and choose what i do for a living. i have the freedom to complain about the things i dont like, and make a stab at changing them if i feel so inclined. i even have the freedom to leave this country, if i chose to.

the blood that purchased these freedoms, and the blood that spills to defend them, is precious to me. and the families of those who shed that blood are precious to me.

though we set one day aside to honor those beloved soldiers nationally, as the mother of a marine i remember them all year long. i remember too, those who were wounded, and those who gave their time and their sweat away from their families, suffering the horrors and rigors of war, who came home but left something of themselves behind.

i may not speak of it much, but i carry them in my heart always.

last wednesday cinnamon had surgery to remove the mass that had come up in her abdomen. it turns out it was on her stomach rather than her liver, a finding that the vets were all relieved to see. they say its much better to find a mass there rather than on one of the filtration organs. i had to take a half day vacation and drive her down to oklahoma city, about an hour and a half away. i left after dropping the beau off at work, about 545am, and got there about 730. time to find a bathroom, and take cinnamon out for some relief as well. got checked in a little after 800, and consulted with the surgeon. surgery went well, and she was taken next door to the emergency hospital for the night, for monitoring. the beau took the next two days off, and drove out to pick her up thursday afternoon. what a woozy dog. they told us she would have some nausea, and may not want to eat sometimes, for a few days.

uh huh.

im going to have to get my rug shampooer fixed, since it was damaged during the ice storm last year. i thought it would be alright in the garage, but i guess it got too cold. i always rinse it well, so i know its not clogged.

sigh.

but she is eating some. we have to watch the water intake, because she gets a big drink, and then bleah! so lots of little drinks and bites of food. today this should start abating, and she should be returning to normal. small price to pay to have our dog getting better.

speaking of price, we paid a lot for sammy over the years, during her health issues, but all in small increments. this was in three sums of

1. $480 for the initial x-rays and ultrasound
2. $1800 for the surgery
3. $850 for the balance due

yeah i know its a lot, and many people either would put the dog down, or live with it. but we had the means, since i got my first credit card ever recently, so i used it for the two larger expenses. i have no interest for the first year, so it was wonderful timing. thats just the way we are. the pets are part of our family.

yesterday was my early day off. nice way to start my long weekend. thursday morning, before he left to pick up cinnamon, the beau had a dental appointment. turns out the dental hygienist is learning to do cosmetic tattooing, and happens to need a volunteer to have the lips done. huh. i just happen to have been wanting to do that. not just the liner, but the whole lip surface. ooo what a treat! at some point i want to also get a flock of crows on my back, across my shoulders. but the lips are more important to me right now. a nice rich berry color is what i would like. and the price is right as well. *big smile*

the weather is beginning to warm up now. still, it isnt repulsively hot yet, like it usually is by now. huh. must be the global warming. all i know is im pleased with the weather so far this year, and my garden is happy.

i recently saw a dancing mockingbird again. i havent seen one doing back flips on a light pole in a long time. we had gone out for thai food, and saw one on a pole singing and flipping into the air like a gymnast. most beautiful to see. i love mockingbirds. ive seen more live wildlife this year than in previous years here. raccoons, foxes, peregrine falcons, and the turkey vultures are back where i work. being on the eighth floor affords a nice view of flying fowl in the area. there is a pair of the vultures that live somewhere near our building. theyre huge birds, and majestic in flight, even if they arent a pretty bird else wise.

well, time to get my day going. ive lolly gagged enough for one morning.

seems lately i just cant get sat down here long enough to actually compose a finished entry. if i get something started, it gets interrupted and i lose the momentum. the entry then gets deleted, or filed in drafts. going back to it can be a challenge, because i have to get the same inspiration back to finish what i was saying.

this morning i have a little time to spend here, and do some catching up.

the other girl who was renting next door moved out last week, as well. i guess she couldnt afford it by herself. miss thangs car was still in the garage, as it was mostly undrivable from a previous collision. the girl drinks, go figure. most of her other belongings were sold at other girls garage sale, so when she moved out, she asked the family across the street to keep it in their garage till some money owed was paid back, or something. i wouldnt have gotten that involved, considering the animosity between the two. yesterday miss thang came by with her pisser boyfriend to retrieve the car, and anything else she left behind. since they couldnt get into the house or the garage, she called the police. we had our windows open, since it has been so unseasonably cool out, so we could hear what she was telling the officer who responded. at some point during all this she had been in jail for five days for shoplifting. how ironic. she filed a report with the officer for her stuff, and he left. she and pisser boy left, heading for parts unknown northbound. while the beau went out to see if he could determine where they were headed, i saw the neighbor who had the car in her garage, and went over to warn her that the police were now involved. thats when i found out they werent harboring it, merely storing it. still, shes a nice neighbor, and i wanted her to know. i asked her if she wanted to drive around a bit to see if there were any of the vehicles connected to miss thang parked nearby, but we didnt see any. miss thang probably wont do anything to us, but this is our neighborhood, and we dont want anything crazy to happen either. she is the kind that i would expect to have some kind of weapon available. if not her, then her cohorts for certain. i have seen gunfire on the street i was living on, just three houses down, as people were in conflict with each other.

so much drama.

as promised, i have pictures of my garden. im pleased with it this year.

we will be taking cinnamon to oklahoma city for surgery in the next couple of weeks. the oncologist that our vet spoke with seems to think its likely not cancer, since there is no sign of it elsewhere in her body, and her blood work looked good. it needs to be removed just the same. she isnt quite as active or energetic as usual, but her appetite is as good as ever, and she is happy. she still thinks she needs to bark at every dog who violates her authority over her street. she enjoys exerting her authority.

work is the same. busy as ever.

my son and daughter in law are moving into a house, because they need the room now that sienna is walking. the marines still pay for it, so i say go for it. theyre doing well.

im so enjoying this spring. its been very cool for this time of year here. cool and rainy. no wonder my garden is so happy. my coworkers are complaining that its ‘cold’. pththth. nice to have it like this for a change, rather than in the upper 90s and humid, tornados, and all that.

so until next time …

i took cinnamon to the vet friday because she had thrown up considerably during the night. its always disconcerting to wake up to puddles of deposited pet food on the floor. especially with my long history with sick pets. the vet did an x-ray and found a mass, so we authorized an ultrasound. the mass is originating from her liver, and is about the size of a grapefruit. its taking up a lot of room. so … i cursed the growth in Jesus’ name. we are going to start her on chemotherapy as well. though its true that everything biological dies, it isnt necessary for anything to die from sickness. so i have made my stand.

saturday we went to our favorite thai restaurant for dinner, and their television was on – as it usually is early in the dinner hour. the kentucky derby was on, and we had the pleasure of watching a most emotional win. in the last half of the last quarter of the race, mine the bird came from the last place to finish first by nearly 15 lengths. it was as if the horse has warp speed as he effortlessly threaded through the pack, broke through, and left them all behind. im not one to get misty over sports, but i am fond of horses and i always favor victory. this win did move me, however, and i got chills as i watched a horse given 50-1 odds break though and win in such a stunning manner. he was truly like the wind. it was most impressive, and worth watching.

my garden is looking good, except for the empty places left where the beau dug up the hastas. i gave seven hastas to one of my coworkers, whos yard has more shady areas than mine. last year the hastas fried in the summer sun. fried hasta isnt that appealing. i bought a couple of caladiums, and i like the way they look in place of the hastas, so i plan to by more and fill up the holes. i also added pansies and coleus, whish i will get more of as well. its been very wet and rainy this spring, and all the plant life is thriving. its been a beautiful spring, even for here where it usually goes from winter directly to hot, with maybe a week of spring.

that the troublesome miss thang has moved out. the other girl doesnt ever cause problems. whether she can afford to stay or not by herself is another thing. i wouldnt mind if she did. i actually hope so.

last week at work the alarm malfunctioned, and sent the top six floors out of the building. that was fun. false alarms seem to happen more than they should, and people dont take them seriously. seems most of the people who come out of the building, both visitors and employees, mostly hang out in the main floor or just outside next to the building. if we ever get a real threat, like a fire or worse, it could get messy. foolish humans.

i will get back with pictures of my garden later this week.

there has been a lot going on of late.

i have been working on my photography. i have really begun to enjoy trying to learn to use my camera more creatively. the beau brought home a photography magazine, the premiere issue of ‘color’, just for my inspiration. they are having a contest, with various prizes among which are being featured in their magazine and getting exposure to buyers and collectors of photo art. one of my coworkers also bought two copies of a book on digital photography and gave one to me.

then one of my other coworkers has been urging me to get my poetry published. the beau has said i write like david frost, and she said so as well. wow … thats quite a compliment!

so this weekend one of my goals is to get copyrights to my works, and get published. the poetry is for fun, but i would like to make money with my camera if i can.

our neighbor to the south has recently rented his house out, having had it on the market for a year with no sale. the two girls that rented it are definitely ‘good girl – bad girl’. they are both young, around 20 yrs i think. and polar opposites. the good one has shown herself to be responsible, and desiring to conduct herself like and adult, while the other is out for a good time. we refer to her as miss thang, and she is all attitude and self will. earlier in the week miss thang had some boys over, and all had been drinking – they were sauced. one of them went out to the side of the house to talk on his cell phone, and decided to relieve himself on the side of the house. since i saw him doing this, i promptly opened the window and quite lit into him. he responded with lots of yes ma’ams, and i felt satisfied i had dealt with the issue. if the police had caught him, he would have been arrested, and subsequently labeled a sex offender for the rest of his life. i really didnt want that, but i did want to put a little fear of God in him. i then took a picture of the car the young men were driving, and the beau went out to get the tag number. thats when the other young man, a white boy trying to be a boy in the hood, came out and started getting all in the beaus face. then miss thang came out and got all in mine. ah the joys of drinking too much. all would have been well enough if they had left it alone. the final results, since miss thang would not shut up, was that i called the police, but only to file a report and have a mediary. the next day the other girl came over, apologized for things, and said she rather talk like adults. apparently they arent getting along with each other either. we both think it wont be long before miss thang is living somewhere else.

so, it has been a rather eventful few weeks. i been busy  :)

my son is currently somewhere not far from lake tahoe testing weapons for the marine corps. he said its painfully boring where hes stationed.

later …

i love the word. it has such an exotic sound. such an old world sound. though i probably wouldnt be that interested in drinking absinth, i like the nickname it has. the green fairy. something kind of magical about that.

of course i love green.

green rain

green fire

green eyes

green ice

green flowers

green tea

and trees

maybe it comes from being scots irish, but i doubt it. i think it comes from growing up among the evergreens, not far from the ocean. ah, my beloved ocean. green is such a quietly strong color.