Thankful

Thanksgiving was great.  Everyone was here; Tommy and his wife, Shannon and their girls, Sydney and Alyssa, Shana and her husband, Ryan, and their kids, Olivia and Tyler, and Jonathan and his roommate, Steve.  We had plenty of food (two turkeys!), lots of fun being together (no arguments or hurt feelings), lots of games (Xbox 360 and good old dominoes), football (Madden 2006, college, and NFL), and good weather.  It was great.  Hope you can all say the same thing about your holiday!

Addicted

I officially have no life.  Either that or I am addicted to my computers.  Probably the latter.  So, why am I saying this?  I’m sitting here with no good reason not to go to the gym this morning, and all I want to do is check my email, blog, read other blogs, check my email, read news online, check my email, read blogs….  Pretty sad, isn’t it?  Why aren’t I in the other room packing my gym bag?  It’s only about 24 degrees outside, the wind is blowing, it’s snowing…. Sounds like perfect stay-at-home weather, doesn’t it?  At least until it gets light out and I have to go somewhere – i.e. work.  Ugh.

Cat's Claw

Well, I did it.  I took Ali, the cat, to the vet yesterday to have her back claws removed.  She’s been declawed in the front since she was a kitten, but had her back claws.  Unfortunately, her relentless scratching, resulting in big, ugly, bloody sores on her neck, has forced my hand.  It was with a heavy heart that I stuffed her into her carrier and carted her off to Dr. Stoll’s office.  She knew she was in for it the moment I walked down the hall.  Cats do have a sixth sense; I’m convinced of it.  She had been head-butting me and hanging around me all morning, begging for food; she’d been without since 8PM the previous night in anticipation of her surgery.  I was talking to her, getting ready for work, and she was just sitting on the divider next to the counter.  I no sooner put my top on and walked down the hall, when she bolted for the space under my headboard in which she likes to hide.  I hadn’t even gotten the carrier yet!  She knew!  I had to lure her out with a freshly opened packet of food.  I felt so mean.  Naturally, I snatched her and stuffed her, fighting all the way, into the carrier.  She spent the drive into town shooting me dirty looks, as if to say “you mean, nasty, lying person!  I trusted you!”  No sooner did I open the door to Dr. Stoll’s office when she let out a low, begging moan, a sound reserved solely for visits to the vet’s office.  Nope, she was not a happy camper.  

Dr. Stoll’s wife, Heidi, called me about 4PM to say all had gone well, she had awakened fine, but he had given her extra pain meds (that makes me SAD) so wanted to keep her overnight.  I am picking her up this morning.  She’s going to be so mad at me.  Fortunately, Jonathan will be home around noon today, so he can console her.  I’m sure she’ll be overjoyed to see him.  He hasn’t been home since school started.  Unfortunately, later today the house will be swarming with “strangers”, and Ali hates strangers, especially those under 4’ 6”.  Tommy, Shannon, and the grandkids, Sydney and Alyssa, will be here late this afternoon, which means Ali will likely dive into the tunnel under Jonathan’s waterbed and not emerge again until Saturday sometime, after all the guests have left.  It’s going to be a tough recovery for her.  At least she will never be able to disfigure herself again, and that’s a relief.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers (all 3 of you)!!!  I hope your holiday is filled with family, great food, warm memories, and God’s blessings.

Barbie Envy

OMG I want to be a kid again!  I just got an FAO Schwartz catalog (how I got on their mailing list is a mystery to me) and was browsing through it.  I totally want the Carolina Herrera Bride Barbie!  And I swear, my original 1960 vintage Barbie had a dress just like the one on the Stolen Magic Barbie – one of those ones that is really tight at the mid-calf then flares out like mad to the floor.  Ooooh so elegant swellegant!  C’mon!  I want one.  They’re only $150!!!

Now, can you imagine for real paying that much for a Barbie doll???  That is just insane!  The bride Barbie is beautiful and I really love the dress on the Stolen Magic doll, but I don’t love it $150 worth.  My Barbie was a bride too, with a blonde bubble hairdo.  My sister had one with a brown bubble hairdo (my sister is a brunette) and hers had a green formal dress.  We both had Ken dolls too.  Hers was blond, mine was brown-haired and a doctor when he wasn’t a groom in his tux.  I think hers had a tux too.  We had a Barbie car too – some sort of roadster that they could tool around in.  Barbies ruled.  I still have our Barbies and their cases.  One of our dogs bit my sister’s doll’s head so there are holes in it.  It may have been a cat, actually, come to think of it.  Anyway, some animal bit it and there are two small puncture holes in her head.  Otherwise they’re in great shape.  The wedding dress and formal are long gone, sad to say.  Oooohhh, on the very next page there is another doll with an even prettier dress, also one that’s tight at mid-calf and flared at the bottom, and it’s only $35!!!    Now that’s more like it.  Sigh… I wish I was a little girl again.  Maybe I need to buy one of these for my granddaughter….  I could play with her.  ;)

I love Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just three days away.  It’s my favorite holiday for a lot of reasons.  It was my mom’s favorite too, and I think I understand why.  There is no gift-giving, and that fact, in and of itself, makes it a far superior holiday to Christmas.  Christmas has just become so much about buying gifts (and going into debt) and so much not about the birth of Christ, that it makes me sad.  Christmas is also Tom’s busiest time of the year.  He frequently has to work until 10 PM on Christmas Eve and then is back at it the day after Christmas, usually as busy as he was in the days leading up to it.  It has turned him into a Grinch, which he acknowledges and dislikes about himself.  Christmas has always been his favorite time of year until working for FedEx changed that.  But Thanksgiving is great.  We have all the kids and their families home.  This year, Jonathan’s roommate will be coming with him.  We usually have way too much food, which is fun.  I love to cook, and Thanksgiving gives me a great excuse to cook like mad.  For years, my brother and his family would come from the west side of Washington State, which was awesome.  Now that he lives in Medford, OR, it’s too far for him to come.  That makes me sad.  I used to look so forward to seeing him for this holiday.  Despite that, it’s still a great holiday. It was the last holiday my mom celebrated before she died (thirty years ago this year) so it has always been a bit more meaningful because of that. One of the last snapshots I have of her is of her and my stepdad at the kitchen sink, cleaning the turkey carcass that Thanksgiving in 1975.  I called her name and she turned and looked at me with a big smile on her face and I snapped the photo.  I love that shot.  Who could have guessed that less than two weeks later she’d be dead?  So, yeah, I love Thanksgiving and I’m looking forward to it this year.  I’m making two smaller turkeys instead of one big one.  I usually make a 25 pounder, but I’ve come to believe that you really don’t get that much more meat on a 25 pound bird than the amount you get on, say, an 18 pound bird.  So, I bought a 13 pound turkey and a 14 pound turkey. They’ll cook faster, I can make two kinds of stuffing, and we will have four drumsticks and a lot of breast meat.  It should be great.  I’m making the stuffings, yams with marshmallows, and a pear-cranberry crisp I make every year.  Shana is making veggies and mashed potatoes and bringing appetizers and rolls, while Shannon is bringing desserts and fruit salad.  We should have plenty to eat and have plenty of leftovers as well.  I’m taking Wednesday off to start cooking (I’m making my yams from fresh baked yams instead of from canned ones) and then Friday I’m watching my grandkids so Shana can brave the crowds and take advantage of all the insane sales the day after Thanksgiving.  I think it will be a great holiday – lots of football, noise, food, and love.  Thank you, Lord, for this time to share with our loved ones.  We are truly blessed!

Extreme Makeover Home Edition Comes to Sandpoint

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is in Sandpoint. Everyone is in a tizzy about it. The family is very deserving. The mother died about 18 months ago, leaving twin third graders behind. Her brother stepped in to raise the kids. They’ve been living in a berm house (pretty much a basement with a roof on it) just outside of town. Now they get a brand new 3,000 square foot house (twice the size of MY house!) Here’s a link to the article about it:

http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/articles/2005/11/15/news/news01.txt.

Here’s what the Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce website has to say:
Sandpoint welcomes Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to town!

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, the popular ABC show that turns a run-down house into a fabulous home for a deserving family, has chosen a Sandpoint, Idaho family, the Heberts at 3550 Baldy Mountain Road in Sandpoint.

Eric, Kyler and Keeley Hebert got the surprise knock on the door on Saturday, Nov. 12, beginning the one-week clock to build the family a new home.

The story: Eric Hebert is raising his niece and nephew, twins Kyler and Keeley, whose mother, Francine Hebert, died in April 2004. They have been living in an underground “berm house,” basically a daylight basement with a roof for the past 19 months that often felt more like a dungeon. See more on the local family picked for the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in this Daily Bee story or the News Release dated November 12. A local contractor, Skip Pucci, helped gather local volunteers from the construction industry to join Sullivan Homes of Spokane in building the home. Learn more about the amazing volunteer effort in this Daily Bee story

You can volunteer! Want to help make a dream come true for the Hebert family? It’s a massive undertaking to build a custom home in only a week and volunteers are still being recruited for everything from labor on the work site to helping feed the crews. Click for the Selkirk Association of Realtors website, with detailed volunteer information.

Spectators are invited to come join the fun and excitement. Watch the process beginning Monday, Nov. 14 through Saturday, Nov. 19, when the family comes home. Spectators may not drive to the site, but are invited to ride a shuttle anytime from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Transportation is provided from the old Louisiana-Pacific mill site at Larch and Boyer.

Please note: When the viewing area is full, shuttles will stop running to the site until enough people have left to resume the shuttle. Please be patient and do not try to access the site on your own. Roads will be blocked, and security will be in place.

The incredible timeline:
• Saturday, November 12: “Surprise Door Knock.” The Extreme Makeover: Home Edition crew led by Ty Pennington, team leader and carpenter, arrives and surprises the Hebert family at their home on Baldy Mountain Road. The family leaves for vacation in the Bahamas, and the construction work begins.
• Monday, November 14 to Saturday, November, 19: Public is invited to watch from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. as crews work around the clock to build a 3,000-square-foot home in time for the family’s return. Demolition is on Monday, beginning five intense days of work.
• Saturday, November 19: The Hebert family returns to a crowd of friends, family, neighbors and well-wishers gathered to watch the final reveal marked by Ty Pennington’s command, “Driver, move that bus!”
The lead builder is Sullivan Homes of Spokane. Check the Sullivan Homes website for daily progress reports.

More local news coverage: Check this story from KXLY Channel 4: Sandpoint, Idaho family to receive “Extreme Makeover.” Click for story.


So, this is a big deal for Sandpoint. It will be interesting to see the show when it airs in 2006.

Pet Peeves - A Rant

I don’t have many pet peeves, but the ones I do have… well, they really drive me nuts. I hate to admit that because they are probably pretty petty (oh, that looks so funny on the screen – pretty petty, pretty petty, pretty petty). Then again, isn’t that the nature of a pet peeve? It’s petty. I wondered, so I looked up the definition from answers.com. Here’s what it says:

• pet peeve n. Informal.
  Something about which one frequently complains; a particular personal vexation.

So, there you go. “Something about which one frequently complains.” Most things we complain about are pretty petty, and probably pretty much outside our realm of control. I can’t stop people from saying “I could care less”, when they mean they could not care less, no matter how often I correct said offenders. Pretty petty. But when I hear it, it’s like fingernails on a blackboard. (Do kids today understand that metaphor, what with whiteboards blanketing classroom walls these days? I doubt it.)

Other pet peeves of mine are equally as unimportant in the grand scheme of things. For example, it makes me crazy that more and more often I find grammatical and typographical errors in newspapers and magazines, even those of high regard. Where have all the proofreaders gone? Back in the “old days”, when I was in advertising and did camera ready newspaper ads and copywriting for businesses in Colorado Springs, real people actually proofread every article. We got proofs of our ads so we could make sure there were no errors. The people in these positions were educated. They knew the difference between lead and led. They knew that, though lead could be pronounced “led”, it didn’t mean the same thing as led and knew which version of the word should be used. Though a computer may know how to spell each word, even with so-called grammar checking turned on, many grammatical errors go undetected. As a result, we have newspaper articles talking about the children being “lead to safety.” As I typed that in MS Word, Word did not even put a green underline under that phrase because “lead” to safety and “led” to safety are both proper phrases, grammatically speaking. Word cannot look at the total context of the phrase and determine which version of the word should be used. Sadly, in these days of waning circulation, newspapers are making cuts right and left. Apparently, one major cut has been in the proofreading department. They are relying on word processors to catch spelling and grammar errors instead of humans. The result is far too many mistakes, even in headlines. Every time I see one in the Spokane paper, I want to send them an email asking them “what were you thinking?!” Another source of spelling and grammar errors is the scroll on the bottom of the cable news channels. The errors are laughable sometimes – and sad. Too many people simply cannot spell and don’t know proper grammar.

Fewer and less – there is less fat in something and there are fewer calories. Why does packaging continually shout at us from the grocery store aisles “Less Fat, Calories, Carbs”??? It’s fewer, people. (Word thinks it’s should be its…see how dumb it is? And this is what publications rely on for grammar checking?) We are talking about multiple things that can be counted, and the word is fewer, not less! Aaarrggghh! No wonder one of my favorite books is Eats, Shoots and Leaves. I’m definitely a grammar nazi, or snob. It’s sad.

Tailgaters, red light runners, non-signalers – those are my driving pet peeves. I really hate tailgaters. More often than not, they are teenage girls who are either talking on their cell phones, have a car full of other teenage girls, or are fiddling with their radios. They scare me. They are usually so distracted; I know there is no way on earth they would be able to stop in time if I had to come to a sudden stop. Just last night, on the way home from work, I had one on my tail. She was so close to me I could barely see her headlights, and we were traveling at 45 mph. I stepped on my brakes multiple times to try to get the message across to her. No reaction. Finally, I slowed to 25, drove at that speed for about 500 feet, then stepped on the brakes two or three times, and finally saw her hand go up as if to say “oh, okay, sorry” as she backed off. She still was following much too closely – about two car lengths instead of the four she should have been behind me by – but it was an improvement. When she finally turned off onto one of the side streets, she practically did so as if on two wheels. I hate to generalize, but my experience has been that teenage girls tailgate much more often than teenage boys. My own daughter was a chronic tailgater. She eventually had an accident as a result of it. She rear-ended a pickup truck because she was following too closely and couldn’t stop in time when he had to step on his brakes to avoid a motorhome who cut him off. She didn’t damage his truck, but she did about a thousand dollars in damage to her car. She was always fiddling with her radio, checking her makeup, or something other than paying attention to the distance between herself and the car ahead of her. She’s an adult now and no longer tailgates.

Red light runners are just plain dangerous. When we were in Spokane last weekend, we were at a stop light on Division, a major arterial. (Spokane is probably the nation’s capital for red light runners. It’s habitual there.) I could see the light had turned red for the cross street, meaning ours was about to turn green. Sure enough, here comes this small pickup truck from our left. He didn’t even hesitate. He floored it and flew through the intersection, through a blatantly red light. Thankfully, the left turn signals had not yet changed to green and no accident occurred, but it really was a miracle. I so wanted to call the cops on this guy. Too bad I was in the middle lane of 3 lanes or I might have followed him, gotten his license plate number, and phoned it in. Too many accidents have occurred in Spokane as a result of red light runners, and too many innocent people have died. These guys need to be taken off the road permanently.

Tom had an incident a couple of weeks ago that was really scary. He was in a line of cars going south on Highway 95 (the major north-south highway in Idaho). The light had just gone from red to green and it was taking the line of about 5 cars a few seconds to get moving. From behind him he sees this car flying up on him. The car moves into the right turn lane as if it is going to turn onto the cross street. Instead, the car punches it, flies through the intersection on the right of the line of at least 5 cars (this is a two lane highway), onto the shoulder alongside the front couple of cars, and then shoots out onto the highway in front of the front car. Where are the cops when you really need them? Maneuvers like that cause horrible accidents. Someone seeing this guy coming up on their right might swerve to avoid him, especially a young, inexperienced driver, and find themselves in oncoming traffic, causing a head-on collision and probably a multi-car pileup. Just such a move caused a deadly accident a couple of years ago not too far from where this idiot pulled his stunt. It’s scary. Tom has to drive this stretch of road 4 times a day.

Non-signalers are just plain annoying. You sit at a crossroad, or parking lot exit, waiting and waiting to cross the street or turn onto the street, and car after car after car either turns into the parking lot or onto the street you’re on, without signaling. Every time that happens, it’s a missed opportunity for you to actually get out onto the street, an opportunity you could have taken advantage of had the other car simply signaled their intention to turn. Either people simply are too lazy too flick the little signal activator in their cars, or there are a lot of cars with broken turn signals out there! I happen to live close to an intersection that is extremely busy and have to utilize it several times a week. In one direction, there are stop signs. In the other direction, there are none. You have to wait for a break in traffic so you can dart out onto the very busy street to continue your travel. Those breaks are few and far between. At least half the time, cars turning onto the side street from the busy one do not signal. It makes me crazy. Tom has to contend with this intersection about 4 times a day. He usually points to the front of their car as they drive by him as if to say “hey, your signal is broken.” The offending driver usually looks at him with an expression that says “what?” Sometimes they will even slow down and open their window to ask what he wants. He loves that. He’ll say “your turn signal is broken.” They’ll usually respond by saying “no it’s not.” He’ll gleefully respond by saying “well, then why didn’t you use it?!” The offender usually drives off shaking their head, assuming he’s just insane. I wonder if it changes their behavior at all.

Bloggers who don’t blog. Okay, that’s me. I have been really bad at updating lately. I’ve been super busy at work and at home for the past few weeks and blogging has taken a back seat. I’m going to try to remedy that. So stay tuned.

Enough ranting for one morning.

Whitworth Parents' Weekend 2005

Whitworth Parents’ Weekend 2005 was great! Only one thing was not great – the Harrisons were not there. Since Nathan was off in the UK on the British Isles Study Tour, it didn’t really make sense for them to come. I sure did miss them. This year, the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Last year we sat in cold, cold cloudy, dreary weather to watch the football game. This year, the game took place in perfect fall football weather – sunny and crisp, the leaves on the trees surrounding us in varying stages of their autumn color change. Whitworth smoked their opponent, Menlo, 48 to 10 (it was 48 to 3 until the final moments). Jonathan was on the field taking photos for the Whitworthian the entire time, so we didn’t get to sit with him, but it was fun watching him with his photojournalism professor from last spring, discussing ways to get the best shots, taking photos, and just being a student. His professor is the photo advisor for the newspaper and yearbook photographers this year. He is working with the kids to help improve the quality of photos going into both publications. Jonathan really likes him and appreciates his help and criticism. Kirk let Jonathan use his two digital SLR cameras during the game, which was really exciting for Jonathan. One of his photos did make the paper, and can be seen here (click). Some of them could well end up in the yearbook as well, since the paper and the yearbook share the photographic staff.

Aside from the game, the other highlights of Parents’ Weekend were the mini-college we took and the play we saw. The mini-college class was taught by Dr. Forrest Baird. The class was on epistemologies – “how do we know what we know?” I learned more in that 90 minute class than I could possibly have imagined! He is an enthusiastic professor, very much “in love” with his subject matter. He is funny, exuberant, and delightful. The 90 minute session flew by, and ended much too quickly. He had a ton of information we didn’t have time to cover, to my dismay. I strongly encourage every student at Whitworth to take as many classes from this guy as you can! He put most every professor I had in college to shame. I emailed him the following week and told him just how much we enjoyed his class. He responded warmly and enthusiastically to my email. We exchanged a couple more about our children, educational “roots” (we both went to college in Santa Barbara, CA just a year or so apart, although he went to Westmont College and I went to UCSB), and the frustrations that accompany parenting a college student who continually underperforms. Turns out one of his daughters graduated with the President’s Award for maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout her college career at the same time his other daughter was suspended for poor academic performance. Daughter #2 did get her act together and graduate on time with a decent GPA and went on to enroll in graduate school at Gonzaga with a desire to teach inner city kids in service to Christ. That was heartening to hear. As frustrated as I get with Jonathan, I need to remember, God is in control and He will work things out the way He intends them to work out. Easier said than done. It is so hard to relinquish the control we think we have to God, who is in control anyway, despite what we may think. Life would be so much less stressful if we would just remember that He is in control and stop worrying about every little thing. Why are we so stupid? Why do we insist on worrying and making ourselves sick and stressed out when doing so won’t change a doggone thing? We humans are such odd creatures.

The other highlight of the weekend was the play. The Whitworth theater students performed Our Town, the well known and well loved play by Thornton Wilder. I made Tom and Jonathan go to the play – and sit through the entire thing. They actually both laughed at all the right places, seemed sad at the right times, and seemed to enjoy it, despite their protestations to the contrary. I had seen Our Town performed when I was in college, with John Ritter as George and Sian Barbara Allen as Emily. I had forgotten they were the stars of that play until we sat down in the theater. Then, the scene with the ladders, the sparse set, and the pantomiming the actors engage in, immediately brought the memory back to me. I can still see John and Sian on those ladders talking to one another as if from their respective bedroom windows. Our Town is an interesting play in that there are very few props, virtually no costume changes, almost no set whatsoever, and the actors pantomime their actions. In description, it sounds like a very odd, boring play. On the contrary, the lack of props and the pantomiming make you focus on the characters, what they are saying, how they interact with one another, and the emotions they are expressing. It’s a powerful play with a powerful message – life is short, enjoy it, don’t take it and others for granted, pay attention to what is important – love and family. It was very well done by the Whitworth students, and a delightful end to a spectacular day. The following morning we had brunch with Jonathan, did a bit of shopping, said our goodbyes, and headed home, glad to have seen him, glad he’s at Whitworth with their incredible staff, and glad he is enjoying this year so much. It was a great weekend, but we did miss our friends, Tom, JoAnn, Lynsey, and Nathan.

To blog or not to blog

Sometimes I wonder why I bother to blog.  Is it pure vanity?  Is it because I imagine people are reading it and just not commenting?  I have a stat counter on my page that shows the bitter truth – I don’t have many readers.  I think I might have two or three die hard “fans”; thank you JoAnn, Lynsey, and Shaun.  I got into this blogging thing after getting hooked on Nathan’s blog.  He has over 23,000 hits!  How did his blog become so popular?  Is it simply that he has a ton of friends who read his informative and interesting posts regularly?  Is it because he’s young, and what he writes about is way more interesting than what a 50 year old library technology person writes about?  Is it because my generation really doesn’t, for the most part, “get” blogs, so my audience is limited as a result?  Maybe.  It is a bit discouraging, though, to write something knowing very few people will read it – or care that you wrote it.  I guess that is ego, isn’t it?  If I were approaching this blog as a kind of journal, it wouldn’t matter if anyone read it.  I would be writing for my own satisfaction, not for an audience.  But to be effective as a journal, I would have to write a lot of really personal stuff that I wouldn’t necessarily want to be read by anyone other than myself.  So the journal aspect is out.  If not a journal, then what?  Obviously, I am writing for an audience, hence my dismay at the lack of one.  I must admit, having very limited readership does make updating a lower priority.  I could better communicate with the three people who read my blog via email on a much more personal level and get immediate feedback from them.  This is a dilemma.  To blog or not to blog.  That is the question.  I suppose, until I feel very strongly one way or the other, I’ll maintain the status quo, which is to continue posting on an irregular schedule.  I should probably pray about this and about why I’m doing this and see if God has any insights for me.  Yeah, that’s the ticket.