Wake Up People, It’s Monday!
Posted on November 10, 2008 - Filed Under Life, brain farts, mixed bag
Hey Guys!
So, did you miss me? I missed you too. Well actually, there were times when I didn’t even think about blogs or blogging or any of you because well I was thinking of other things - but I didn’t forget you.
So let’s see…okay, first of all we are suspending Theme Fridays for the time being, probably til after the 1st of the New Year. All of us have various things that have us swamped and distracted and so after much discussion and deliberation we’ve decided to suspend for now. I will however, probably still do some sort of fiction thing on Fridays, it just won’t be a group thing with reciprocal links.
My friend Kelly, who you may remember was in a bad car accident last Spring is doing much better, so much better in fact that her doctors have agreed to put the part of her skull that they had to remove when she had the accident, back in. It will be a late Christmas present and the surgery will be at the end of December. We’re all excited because then she will look really good in hats again. (She thought that was funny, come on, people, lighten up). And to celebrate she sent you this vid:
Quite a little toe tapper, ain’t it?
You’ll all be delighted to know I have refined my chicken vegetable soup recipe to perfection. Feel free to email me for a copy.
I pulled a hamstring because I had the good sense to decide to exercise in an attempt to decrease the size of my fat ass. Feel free to send flowers and chocolates. It’s all better now though.
I came up with a brilliant business idea which I think will be tre’s cool and make us a lot of money (I have a partner) and I’m working on the website now.
And…let’s see what else? Oh yeah, I’m in love and going to be moving to the east coast soon.
Okay, that’s about it.
Have a great Monday.
At Last - Theme Fridays
Posted on October 31, 2008 - Filed Under Family, Life, love, original fiction, theme fridays
At last, I sent my final breath into the atmosphere and I was free. The smell of antiseptic and the squeak of rubber-soled shoes couldn’t touch me anymore. And the colors of the stars were foreign sparklings in the sky that loved me.
I was a child again, teeming with energy and bright ideas. The world a playground and no longer a prison of tubes and pain killers, lethargy and waiting.
All the thoughts and concerns I’d not been able to voice at the end vanished and I couldn’t remember what the worry was in the first place.
Did you know that the moon does look like swiss cheese, close up?
Giddy with freedom and panoramic vision, I turned sommersaults in rarefied air. Giggling so much that if I’d still been stuck in that meatball of a body another drug for hysteria would have been prescribed.
But something pulled me back like flowers to the sun and I found myself hovering once again, in that familiar chamber of death. My lifeless body a curiosity - how shriveled and pale it had become. I felt no longing to return to it. Oh, but a longing I did feel. She was there. My bright girl, a huddle of tears and regrets. “Oh Daddy!”
“It’s okay, Kate,” I whispered in her ear but she could not hear me.
“What will I do without you?” she clutched the white, cold hand that was once mine.
“You’ll go on. You’ll get out of this hell-hole and see that life is out there, waiting for you, my darling girl.”
The nurse tried to pry Kate loose from the hospital bed and that sad room that tried to be happy with flowers and crayon drawings from the grand kids, family photographs, cards and boxes of chocolates dressed in gold lacy bows but never eaten. “Get away from me! I won’t leave him,” Kate threw off the woman’s hands.
Kate always had a fearsome streak that could wilt the steeliest of wills. The squeaky shoes hightailed it out of the room and enclosed Kate in my living tomb and I ached to release her from her chains. “You have to let go, dear,” I whispered again. “It’s time to let me go.”
Kate lasered a sharp look at my still body.
“That’s right, I’m here,” I said a little louder.
Alert mahogany eyes scanned the room. “Who is that?” she rasped.
She could hear me but would she listen? “It’s me, honey.”
More darting eyes, tears rose and threatened to spill over. “Daddy? Where are you?”
“I am in the ether and next to you. I am free. I’m in the air that you breathe, the sun that comes through the open window, the clouds in the sky. I am everywhere.”
And then Kate smiled and let go of my hand. She drew the sheets up to my chin and tucked me in and then planted a sweet kiss on my forehead. “Good bye, Daddy. I love you. I will always love you.”
And I saw the color rise again to her cheeks and her spine straighten as she stepped to the door, then paused. Kate turned back and looked at the shell that was once me and smiled. “You’re free, at last.”
copyright 2008
Christine’s at last moment here and Panther is at lasting here
I Wonder…Why Life Can’t Be More Simple
Posted on September 23, 2008 - Filed Under Deep thoughts, Life, Opinions, adventure, i dunno
Don’t you? And I have been wondering it more often lately. When I was a kid, life was the personification of simplicity: Sleep, school, play, eat occasionally, then sleep again. Though childhood is supposed to be simple so that may not be a fair comparison.
I sometimes try to look back to see when things became complicated and there doesn’t really seem to be a specific time that I can point to, in terms of the past. When I was first on my own things I don’t think were all that complicated I had only to work my job, pay my rent, eat, sleep, write, stay alive, basically. But then as we go on in life we start to pick up things. Obligations, debt, relationships and suddenly we are knee deep in all these things that eat up time and seem to add to the confusion and non-simplicity.
While these may be a common part of living life, I often wonder if they are necessary. We dont’ have to run up our credit cards and take on debt, but then things happen, emergencies, shoe sales at Nordstrom’s, dreams we want to fulfill that require schooling or training. We want a home of our own and so we sign onto mortgages, rental agreements, and ditto for cars, and of course family too. Accidents, illnesses, deaths, all these things add up to our sometimes having to take on the burden of others because, well hell it’s the right thing to do.
Then there are relationships - which are very funny animals when you think about them. I mean if you can for just a few minutes blow out the back of your head a few feet and really examine them, it is amazing what you can find. Some relationships are so very good for us, they nurture, they share, there is a wonderful balance of give and take and rarely any issues about who should have done what, rarely quarrels or disagreements, etc. - they just flow like the perfect natural rhythym of a lazy river on a summer day. Beautiful.
Then some are a bit iffy, those in my estimation tend to be family because with family you have this built in obligation/emotional connection - you are supposed to love your parents and your siblings and your children and so on but sometimes they make that very difficult and quite honestly you can’t really get rid of them. They are stuck to you with emotional and historical velcro, so you are forced to solve these relationships and juggle them on a regular basis. Unless you just want to change your name and work for the circus, they must be dealt with.
And then we start to get into the really potentially icky relationships - the co-dependent ones where they are not good for either person involved but are compulsive as though you are forced to play out a role decided upon by a exterior force and often over which you feel no control. These are tough and honestly, I’ve never found a good way to deal with them - generally I manage to tear myself away and try to just never go back. It doesn’t always work but it does most of the time. (For me.) This can be more complicated if they are co-workers or bosses or peers in some way as you are in constant contact with them. Boy, talkr about complicating things - they can really wreak havoc with your life. But they can be overcome, I think - sometimes too if you see your own co-dependency you can stand up to it and then it all kind of melts for lack of a better term. The compulsion just disappears and it’s like a release.
Then of course you start getting into the realm of stalkers and harrassers. These too can add to stress and are difficult to free yourself from. They start out innocently enough, of course you don’t know that that kind of potential is there until it’s screaming you in the face. What to do? Honestly, I’ve never really figured this one out. It can be terribly introverting because I have a tendency to ask myself why I made this happen to me. Why I hadn’t made better choices, hadn’t seen it coming. Which is unfair because I don’t have the power to see the future, nor does anyone else. And though these relationships often come in on a romantic line, they can also come in on a friend line. Have you ever had a friend who became utterly obsessed with you or a co-worker? Believe me, it’s plenty scary and it doesn’t matter if the person is really into liking you or hating you - it still feels like someone is trying to get inside your soul or something.
Jeez louise, what was my point here? I guess my point is this that for me of all the complications that can arise in my life and make my life not simple - relationships are the it for me. It’s because I like people. I like to know people, I like to get other people’s ideas about things, see and learn different viewpoints and leave myself open to that. For me, it is natural and is how I prefer to live my life. The only trick is, how do you keep it sane? How do you factor in those great relationships and factor out the icky ones? I’m not sure I know but I do think that if I could figure that out then my life would be so much more simple.
How about you guys? Same problem? Different?
Weekend Meme
Posted on September 20, 2008 - Filed Under Just For Fun, Life, joy of creating, meme
Well it’s the weekend, so it must be meme time again, eh?
This one is from Alex over at Someday Syndrome. Thanks, Alex.
I am: just me.
I think: too much, too often
I know: I can survive anything
I have: too many ideas and too little time
I wish: people were kinder to each other
I hate: as little as possible, it serves no purpose and resolves nothing
I miss: having my own little house, the room mate thing is getting old
I fear: I won’t have enough time to do everything I want to do.
I hear: what people think
I smell: everything, which can be a little distracting.
I crave: chocolate sometimes but I’m not a craver at heart, if I want something then I usually just go get it.
I search: for the truth, not just mine, but the truth in all things
I wonder: why life can’t be more simple.
I regret: nothing. what is done is done, you cannot call it back. there is no point in regretting.
I love: the ocean, the blue of it, the sky above it, the vast space of it.
I ache: when I exercise too much or don’t get enough sleep
I am not: trying to be anyone but myself. What you see is what you get.
I believe: all people are basically good, despite evidence to the contrary
I dance: when I am joyous
I sing: all the time, especially old jazz standards and blues
I cry: when I’m happy and when I am sad, my emotions are volatile and at the surface.
I fight: when I have to, I don’t like to fight but I’m not afraid either.
I win: when I remain true to myself, regardless of the circumstances.
I lose: when I give in to things I know aren’t true or me.
I never: want to stop writing.
I always: believe change is possible.
I confuse: people sometimes.
I listen: with all of my senses.
I can usually be found: at a computer keyboard.
I am scared: of very little.
I need: space, a garden, writing implements, friends and purpose in what I am doing.
I am happy about: sunshine, flowers, laughter, song, art.
I imagine: a world in which there is no war, crime and insanity but peaceful co-existence where everyone strives to improve the state and condition of the world and nothing more.
I tag: no one, do the meme if you’ve a mind to. It’s an interesting exercise actually.
Whose Life Is It, Anyway?
Posted on September 10, 2008 - Filed Under Life, adventure, ghosts, life metaphor
Did you ever wonder if you were really living your own life? I don’t mean that in a shallow sense like the kids, the job, blah blah never leaves you enough time for yourself - I actually mean it in a more literal way. Like someone you love suddenly dies or has a terrible accident - and you become so distressed that you practically will yourself into becoming them. That you so don’t want that person to leave your life you begin to lead their life for them, rather than your own?
I know, WC, where the hell do you come up with this stuff? Hard to say but it has nevertheless been on my mind lately. As most of you know there has been lots of crazy action around me the last few months and it seemed to start when my friend Kelly had an accident that should have killed her but which she was too stubborn to die from. When I learned the news I actually felt myself do a funny little thing - not one of those out of body experiences but it was as though I was driving east and suddenly I picked up the car and turned it west and drove that way. And it stopped feeling like my car too.
Obviously in extreme situations, we will react with stress and our stress manifests in different ways. In my case it seemed almost a personality transplant had taken place. I often found myself thinking I didn’t recognize myself and was confused by my own actions, my own thoughts, my viewpoints. Though I suppose some part of me remained or I wouldn’t have questioned anything, I still felt obsessed, possessed and not truly under my own will.
Suddenly things just happened to me, rather than my making things happen. Odd, that. Not like me. I would get irrationally upset about things that never bothered me before. Saw danger where there really was none yet it all seemed very real. In fact, for a while, I couldn’t drive without the image of someone slamming into me. I thought incessantly about Kelly’s children and family - natural you might think because of the situation - but it wasn’t the thought so much as the viewpoint of the thought - as if I were thinking for Kelly.
And suddenly many other things seemed to go to shit in my life as well. Inexplicably. As though it were now my turn to ride first class on the shit tour. Blow ups with friends, room mates, my dog acting weird, clients not paying me - yeah it was shoveling faster than I could shovel it out. With me, just shaking my head and asking WTF?
Though there came a point that we realized Kelly was going to make it and we could let out a collective breath, it didn’t return me to myself, so to speak. I still felt weird, odd, strange. Not me. So instead of ignoring it which I’d been doing and hadn’t changed a thing I made myself think about it, examine it, turned it into a science project if you will and I realized something very interesting. That I’d done this before - the first time when grandfather died, then my brother, then my father (that was a real tough one) and now Kelly. It gave me pause to see a pattern like that. I was tempted to just say, ‘well, that’s natural, that’s normal, we all go through loss and stress and so on.’ But I really couldn’t buy that for me. I am a strong person with a very strong personality and strong will - I couldn’t believe that there wasn’t some decision on my part involved in it. I don’t necessarily rational decision but decision nonetheless. And when I really looked at it I could spot the decisions - see them, almost hear myself think them. And it goes something like this, “I’m not going to fucking let them die, no matter what.” Spooky, huh? I thought so.
And so the pattern began and has lived on - some dumb part of me believing that through sheer will I can somehow continue another person’s life by being them or acting like them, carrying on for them. With no mind to my own life and all the many things that I need, want, have. Well, I’m here to tell you folks, it can’t be done. It really can’t. I can only truly live my own life, as can anyone else and that’s how it should be.
It’s a relief in a way to realize it - so much guilt I now don’t have to own, so much worry, so much grief. I can empathize, I can understand and I can grieve but it’s not my job to continue for them. And so I can just tend to the job of being myself and living my own life. Which is hard enough, eh?
So, any of you ever feel that way or is this one of those posts that you wonder if I’m smoking crack or something?
Life is Short…
Posted on September 6, 2008 - Filed Under Dear Readers..., Family, Life, friends, love
This year has been a helluva experience - a lot of good, a lot of bad, a lot of suprises, a lot of lot of… And Jesus Christ, it ain’t over yet. I’m wondering if I have enough St. John’s Wort to last me. Probably not.
Life can turn on a dime, to coin a phrase (pun intended) and you never think any of that crappy stuff is going to hit your door and muck up your plans - but it does. And usually just when you think things are looking pretty okay.
I don’t particularly want to ruminate or lament about things - but I do want to say that life is short, sometimes much shorter than you think it’s going to be - so my friends, don’t sweat the small stuff and enjoy everything there is to enjoy in your lives while it’s here - while you have it.
If you’ve had a fight, make up with them, forgive them or get them to forgive you. A flat tire is just a flat tire. You can buy a new one pretty much anywhere. Blog stats, comments mean nothing if someone you love is in trouble. Give your dog an extra doggie treat, play with your kids, hug your mom, tell everyone you love that you love them. Go on the big roller coaster, drive too fast, let the wind mess up your hair, eat the chocolate or the fresh baked bread, the hell with the calories. Write with your heart, read with passion, appreciate the efforts of others. Be there for your friends, be there for yourself. Grab it all while the grabbing is good.
I love you all and thank you for being here, I’m here for you too, only an email away.
Sixteen - Theme Fridays
Posted on September 5, 2008 - Filed Under Life, life metaphor, love, theme fridays
“There’s sixteen things you have to know about men, if you’re ever gonna be happy with one, ” Grandma said to me that night on the porch. Summer. Hot and sticky. And we swung on the porch swing, in tandem with the moon.
“Are you listening to me?” Grandma asked.
“Uh huh,” I murmured but I was watching the stars in the sky and only hearing her a little bit. What did I need to know about men? What could she possibly tell me? Why didn’t my little brother come and interupt this conversation like he did all the important ones? I hoped this wasn’t going to be like the ‘talk’ I had with Mom a few weeks before.
“I’m only going to tell you this, once, Stella. So listen,” Grandma said and her voice would not release my ears.
I nodded and the porch swing creaked for emphasis. The stars winked out as I lay my head back and closed my eyes. “Yes, okay,” I said surrendering to her intent.
“They won’t never put down the toilet seat. Live with it.”
I cocked an eye at her - was she serious? This was advice?
“Never say a word against his mama. No matter what she’s done to you, to him or anybody else. She brought him into the world, and for that you gotta be grateful.”
“Whose mother? Who is he?” I asked sending a lazy eye out toward the night to find an intruder.
“If he remembers your birthday, he’s a keeper. If he remembers your birthday and your anniversary, other women will be jealous of what you got.”
“But I’m not a woman,” I protested. “What women will be jealous? Why do I want that?”
“Sssh and listen. You will be a woman and you will remember this, if you pay attention,” Grandma chided.
I closed my eyes again and went along.
“They’re as bad as babies when they’re sick. Make them soup and they’ll be happy. If he’s after you all the time, it means he is not after other women. That’s a good thing.”
“After me?” I came out of my slouch and spied again into the night. “Who’s after me?”
“Child, just listen,” Grandma put her hand on mine and squeezed. “Just listen.”
“But why are you telling me this? I’m not a woman. I don’t even like boys,” I pointed out. “And I’m pretty sure they’ll never like me, either.” I ran my tongue across metal braces and could not imagine lips landing there.
“Because you will be a woman, you will like boys and I won’t be there then to tell you.”
And we shared a look, one I’ll never forget - there was a secret in her eyes that told me I should shut up and listen. I sat back and let her talk.
“They have hair in places you can’t imagine - but you’ll get used to it. They never understand what they did wrong no matter how many times you explain it. If he says he is sorry, forgive him and forget about it. They do their best which is usually not good enough but you can’t get blood from a turnip. If he makes you laugh it’s worth more than gold. If he holds you when you cry you’re in his heart.
And tears formed in my closed eyes but I didn’t know why.
“He’ll tell you he loves you by opening pickle jars and fixing clocks. You have to hear the words in what he does, not what he says.” Grandma stopped and I opened my eyes to meet her stare. “Are you listening, Stella? Are you really listening?”
I nodded and I really was, even though none of it made much sense to me, I had a feeling it would - sometime later. I had a feeling that when it did mean something to me that I’d remember this talk on the porch on a hot, sticky night and smile to myself. “What are the other two,” I asked.
Grandma squinted at me for a minute then smiled. “So, you were listening and counting too?” she was pleased.
I moved in closer, now anxious to hear the final two important things I needed to know sometime in some future life with a man I would someday love. “Are you going to tell me?” I asked.
Grandma nodded and her blue eyes twinkled in that devilish way of hers. “Tell him he’s the only one for you and always was. But keep a love letter around from an old flame just to keep him off balance.” And then she laughed loud and deep from her belly and I laughed too. For a long time we laughed.
And when I went off to bed that night, I wrote down the 16 things in my diary, so I wouldn’t forget.
Discover Christines world of 16
Ooopsie Daisy
Posted on August 24, 2008 - Filed Under Humor, Just For Fun, Life, adventure, double yoiks, laughs
Well, believe it or not, somebody gave me an award. Who knew? It was my good chum, Teeni, who is always looking out for me and doing nice things. The explanation of why I was chosen for this award is here.
Here’s the scoop on the award itself:
The Oops award was created and is to be given to bloggers who inspire others with their humor and their talents, also for contributing to the blogging world in whatever medium. When you receive this award it is considered a “special honor”. Once you have received this award, you are to pass it on to others.”
The rules for passing this honor on:
1) Pick 5 blogs that you would like to award this honor to.
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Oops” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
All righty then, humor, hmmm…who tickles my fancy?
Well, I’m definitely going to have to pass this onto Evyl - because no one can elicit quite the giggles from me like he can. And he is responsible for creating quite a few giggles blogosphere-wide, all the way to the Land Down Under, from what I hear. He’s rude, he’s crude he’s quite a dude. Love ya darlin’
A new addition to my group of bloggy chums is Panther this is one funny woman and she does it with such panache and style I feel perfectly vogue whenever I am at her site, reading. She’s witty, she’s charming and she sparkles. I promise, really, it’s true.
Then there’s my whacky and wild friend, Curious C. She is curious and she can go off on a tangent like nobody’s business, and yet you totally know what she’s talking about. She loves American Idol and her glass of wine and she finds joy and humor everywhere. God love her, cuz I do.
Joan of Fun - now Joanie and I have a very special relationship, I find the dumbasses and then send her after them with her cane and video camera. Well actually I don’t find the dumbasses, Joanie seems quite capable of doing that herself. She has a hysterical view of life and always makes me smile.
Grit, or Mr. Photoshop as I like to call him - he has searing sense of the ridiculous and loves to doctor photos, what more could you ask for? And he’s an equal oportunity insulter, so nobody is left out in his satirical and often hilarious posts.
Okay then, there you have. Go and be free and funny my children. Thanks Teens for the award and I hope the other kids like theirs too.
I Want - Theme Fridays
Posted on August 22, 2008 - Filed Under Deep thoughts, Dreams, Life, future
I want to feel safe in a world gone prefectly mad. I want people to recognize that we are all here together and it could be an amazing adventure if we let it. I want people to be kinder to each other, to pass on the opportunity to have the upper hand and not have to always be right.
I want music, poetry and art to be created from the heart again, without a thought given to the demographics. I want children to go to sleep on full stomachs in warm, clean beds. I want to quit being manipulated by groups with vested interests, especially the ones who tout their ‘good causes.’ I want people who play games to move to their own island and leave the rest of us alone. I want people to value themselves and others more. I want natural disasters to just be the result of weather with no political affiliations.
I want chocolate for breakfast and for men to see all women as the lovely creatures they are and to cherish them. I want women to stop wanting to be men and to give the balls back to their rightful owners.
I want technology to stop - and take a breath - so that we can. I want teenagers to find meaning in books and art and personal relationships instead of their cell phones. I want old people to be respected and revered for their wisdom and experience. I want humor to be funny without being mean.
I want leaders who lead because they have the best interest of their citizens at heart instead of just the ability to talk a good game. I want children to have parents who love them and keep them safe but also teach them the lessons of life. I want every human being on this earth to feel happiness and joy and to put that above things and power.
I want people to say what they mean and mean what they say. I want anyone who can talk out of both sides of their mouth to go work for the circus, not my government. I want to fight the good fight when I have to but I don’t ever want to have to.
I want us all to realize that we are sentient beings and that the way to change things is by changing ourselves - that the answers are not ‘out there’ but rather ‘in here.’
And Christine wants and Jess wants
Zelda and the Money Pit
Posted on August 19, 2008 - Filed Under Humor, Just For Fun, Life, WTF?, adventure, brain farts, double yoiks, laughs, little dictators, losers, my opinions, really stupid shit, republicans
Many of you are familiar with my good friend Zelda, we have had many adventures in the past and continue have them, even as we approach our broken down middle aged years. Last year she and another friend of hers decided they didn’t want to work for the rest of their lives and thought it would be a really smart idea to invest in some real estate. They wanted to do the old flipping thing. You know, you buy a place, fix it up and then sell it? Easy as flapjacks, right?
Well Zelda being Zelda, naturally chose the perfect moment to go into this business -about 6 weeks before the crash. Isn’t there a saying…timing is everything…. Before they even had the first wall knocked down the value of property had evaporated like 7-11 gasoline. Though the property they bought was a very cool place up in the canyons with a spectacular view and lots of potential - it had been owned and lived in by a couple of crack heads for years and the work to just make the place livable was overwhelming, much less make it a showcase.
Now before all of this, Zelda had a small, albeit, thriving consulting business which she was doing smashingly with and making very nice income from and was more than comfortable. In fact, she was the only really prosperous one in our group of friends and we often had barbecues, summer cookouts and parties over there and had a lot of fun. Zelda bought the food, we cooked it and everyone ate it - a nice arrangement we all thought. Then this new business idea came to her in a dream or something and within weeks she went from snazzy, savvy businesswoman to beat-up, down-trodden day worker. Each time I saw her she had some new nerve damage, gash, cut, abrasion or burn. I secretly wondered if she was training for an xTreme fighting club soon to debut in Madison Square Garden.
Over the last several months, she has continued to rennovate and do improvements on the place - and whenever asked how much longer to go, her response was, ‘just a couple more weeks’ and after a while none of us asked her because it was apparent that Zelda was going to continue doing improvements until the house was bought and sold and the family moved in and asked her to leave.
She has lost 20 pounds, of which she is quite proud, however, being unable to stand upright and walk without a limp does take away from the newfound svelte figure and really how sexy can you be in a pair of steel toed boots and your big brothers jeans and tees?
Oh yes, back to the money pit part. I cannot reveal how much they paid for the house nor how much they have spent, however I can say that of the 67 credit cards she has, she isn’t sure if any of them have enough left on them to buy dinner, her secret stash is gone, the line of credit they got with the house is gone, her personal lines of credit are gone - and well, they are pretty much going to have to sell the house for close to one million in order to make it worth their while. Yes, welcome to real estate investment in sunny California, folks. It just really isn’t like those cable tv shows where a coat of paint and some new curtains does the trick. To name just a few of the major projects for this house, they: built two decks, refurbished the fireplace, gutted and redid the kitchen, gutted and redid the master bath, built a laundry room, rewired, repiped, put on a new roof, painted inside and out, reguttered, rebuilt the corral and now are tending to the minor details, I wonder if it would have been cheaper to just knock down the old house and start from scratch. We’ll never know.
So anyway, please pray for Zelda, who now has the house listed and it really does look quite beautiful - but if she doesn’t sell it soon, she’ll be living in my backyard, existing on tomatoes, eggplant and mystery squash.
UPDATE:
Zelda just sent me a couple photos here:
Unfortuantely, they do don’t the place justice - the first of the living room and the second is the view from the master bedroom deck.
Also Zelda gave me the following message for you:
Please tell everyone I popped in, and thank them for their well wishes. The double vision is clearing up and I believe that the skull fracture is, in fact, healed. Brain damage was… OK I was going to say minimal, but that may not be entirely true, right? Zelda
