Topeka's First Snow! {really, trust me!}

Snow! Can't see but it is there!

This was taken outside my office window on the 8th floor with my really old cell phone, so you'll just have to trust me when I say it was snowing! Here's what one of the local tv stations has on their website:

Today Rain and Snow Mixed, High 40°, Low 26° Cold and windy. Rain may mix with snow at times...little if any accumulation.

Tuesdays

Tuesday means I made it past Monday and it's only one more day until Wednesday which is officially Hump Day, especially for those of us who work a M-F job. I thought about calling this post Tuesday Truthfulness and then I'd just tell the truth about things. What things though? Hmmm, how about the fact that I usually take on more than I can handle? It's kind of like the old saying, "your eyes are bigger than your stomach!" Remember that one when you were growing up? Well these days that translates in to, "your intentions are bigger than your abilities" (or substitute time, energy, stamina, money... they all work equally well.) Just when I should have been spending all of my spare time making cards, gift bags, tags, etc. for the craft show on November 27th I decided to participate in the Operation Write Home Valentines Blog Hop on my other blog Diary of a Craft Room Transformation. Now don't get me wrong, I have zero regrets and am 100% happy that I did, BUT the fact remains I should have spent that time working on the craft show preparations. So that is truthfulness, ok? Maybe I need to start setting better goals and making check lists and then sticking to them. Any suggestions? How do you stay on target?

Happy Veterans Day slide show of Dad

Not a year goes by that I don't swell with pride knowing that my father served over 20 years in the U.S. Army, including two tours of duty in Vietnam. This morning I gathered some pictures of him, both in and out of uniform, just to share a bit of him with all of you. Please thank a veteran today and if you don't know one please say a little prayer for the safety of all our soldiers currently serving to protect our freedom. Now, just sit back and enjoy the show! ***Note that as of ???? The slides have disappeared. I will try to manually add pictures.

Thinking about Veterans Day

A note from a fellow veteran on Facebook reminded me about the pride we should all feel knowing that when we signed up for the military we gave them a blank check payable to the United States of America for an amount up to, and including, our life. I'd like to share a few pictures with you this week to commemorate not only my veteran status, but also my father's. To start out, here is a picture of the two of us when I first got to my duty station in Goeppingen, Germany, home of the Big Red One Infantry Division where my dad was stationed at the same time. The story follows the picture. Sorry about the quality, but it was scanned from an already yellowed newspaper article. If you know me then you'll agree that my nose is NOT pointed and long as it appears in the picture. That's actually part of the plaque behind my nose that you're seeing. No, REALLY it IS!!! Oh and btw, yes I did finally learn how to play the guitar and we logged hundreds of kilometers on those Volksmarches!

Sunday ponderings

Update on my new toy first. I made a couple of feeble attempts at creating my own design and learned a few things. The first one was of my recently departed Wire Fox Terrier and it didn't have enough contrast, ending up just a blob of ink on the page. Who is that, Rorschach but he did the ink blot tests... well this looks kind of like one of those. Then I made a wordart file in MS Word of a scripture in a circle that must've been too small or didn't cook long enough or something because the letters all kind of melted together. Maybe I cooked it too long? Soooo, I tried one of the negatives supplied with the kit and it turned out much better, albeit still not quite what I'd like to see on paper. I scrubbed too hard when cleaning the goop off and the source of the quote fell off. Conclusions:  buy some acrylic stamp ink pads, don't scrub so hard, use a digital timer. I'm not ready to share pictures yet because, well, they're just too embarrassing. Well not really, I don't embarrass easily, but they're jut not worth showing. Am I disappointed and discouraged? No not really, just impatient because I like things to be easy peasy and this has a bigger learning curve than I'm used to.

Today has been rather productive though in spite of my boycott of my new toy for a day. It started out at usual with the dogs not wanting me to sleep in even though Mike so lovingly shut the bedroom doors so they couldn't bother me. Can you spell "dog claws clicking on the laminate floor outside the door?" Well it was time to get up anyway after getting that extra hour.... no wait! He turned all the clocks back before I went to bed so I really didn't get an extra hour, right? RIGHT.... because I stayed up and extra hour based on today's new time! Anyway, on to getting the vitamin trays filled for the week. Easy this time because we didn't run out of anything. You have to understand that in addition to the three little prescription drugs that I take every day I also take a fistful of assorted herbs and vitamins. One of these days I think I'll just stop taking all those extras just to see if I feel any different!

I finally tackled the dresser in the bedroom which was piled high with all kinds of stuff that didn't belong there (kitchen towels that got washed with my clothes, then never made it out of the room; old receipts; broken jewelry; Tupperware container full of stuff that came out of an old purse, and the list goes on...) The bonus is that Mike saw what I was doing and after he finished mowing our huge yard he came inside and cleaned off his dresser too! Isn't he the sweetest husband a gal could ever have?

Oh yeah, I always do my laundry on Sundays, so I got two loads done. Mike does his on Friday nights, then we do miscellaneous laundry if needed on Saturday. I usually do most of the folding when I get in bed while watching some kind of tv show.

We took a nice long walk around the neighborhood minus dogs. It was really quite pleasant unless you count that huffing and puffing while walking uphill. I've got to get in better shape so I can walk up a slight incline without losing my breath. You know they say if you can't talk while walking then you need to slow down, well let me tell you that I definitely could NOT talk!

I spent close to an hour unassembling, gluing and reassembling the bedroom wall clock only to decide it needs a new element. You know, that thing the battery goes in that makes the clock hands turn. They're very simple to replace and I've got one somewhere around here, but couldn't for the life of me find it. So for now it's just wall art!

NOW it's time to get down to my sewing room and whip up a thing or two.

Tootles!

Amendment to my Saturday plans due to arrival of Teresa Collins Stampmaker!

Ok, so remember what I JUST said I was going to do today? Well scratch part of that because my new toy just arrived! It's a Teresa Collins Stampmaker!!! Yes, Christmas came early around here because I needed it before the holiday season so Emily and I could make our own stamps, embossing folders and stencils. Well I also got 16 new sets of Studio G Christmas stamps also, so am pretty set for Christmas stamps for now. Rather than repost the pics, here's a link to my other blog that has the scoop and will have more later.

Tootles!

Yippee it's Saturday!

What is it about weekends that makes me so happy? It seems that during the week I just keep counting the days until Friday because I know the next day is Saturday. Maybe it's the freedom I feel knowing that I can lounge around in bed all day if I want to, although that never happens unless I'm so sick that I can't move. Could it be the pressures of my job that make me yearn for the freedom of weekends? No, my current job is pretty much pressureless unless you count having to get up early, get dressed for work (fairly casual), drive 10 minutes in to town, park close to the building, sit at a computer all day and then drive home as being pressure I've been pretty much blessed with a good job and great co-workers. Besides that, my weekends are usually full of projects around the house that need to get done, so I'm actually busier at home due to the pressure I put on myself. Maybe that's part of it, I love weekends because my creative spirit has an outlet and there is usually so much more to show for my efforts than what I see during the week. Whatever the reason, I love weekends and look forward to the day I can retire so every day will be like my weekends are now!

So what, you might ask, is on my plate for this weekend? Welllll..... TONS! What will I get done? Who knows? Last night I made eight mini books to sell at the craft show Emily and I are doing on November 27th. Today I need to embellish them and make the ties for keeping them shut. I have about ten more sheets of paper to use to make more. Then I need to make more Thanksgiving cards for my own use and some for our Etsy shop. Oh and I MUST make some gift bags/shopping bags for our sale. We had so much 6 inch tulle left over from Emily's wedding that I'll use that to make simple reusable drawstring bags that are in keeping with our Eco Chique philosophy of reuse, repurpose, recycle! Even the Thanksgiving cards I've made have embellishments made out of cereal boxes. Hmmm, I wonder if using up my stash for those mini books counts as repurposing if the original intent of the paper was scrapbooks? lol!

Ok, so I'd better get busy working on all those weekend projects before the day is gone!
Tootles...

Celebrating over 100 Posts!

I just noticed that my last post was Number 100 and that is something to celebrate! I'll come up with something really cool when I get home tonight unless of course I just collapse from this crazy cold of mine. Watch for some kind of giveaway soon, but in the meantime here's a Wordle containing some of the key words from this blog. If you click on it you can see it more clearly and even make one of your own!

Productive Sunday

I created a pattern for an apron Emily saw at the store and sewed it today. She picked out the fabrics from my abundant stash (THANK YOU EMILY!!!) in colors that compliment the apple green in her kitchen. I love pink and green together and was happy when she picked two prints with those two colors. The prints are Joel Dewberry and the pockets are a Japanese print. You've got to zoom in and look at the cute pockets!

Lessons learned the hard way

How many times have you picked up a prescription and ignored the written materials that came with it? Well I guess I'm too trusting of my doctor and the pharmacy because last Friday I did just that. Yup, picked up my Non Steroid Anti Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) for my 2nd visit by the old man called Gout (yes that's right, NO woman would inflict this kind of pain on another woman!!!), rushed home and gobbled down my first dose. Let me tell you that I was in so much pain that at that point it probably wouldn't have mattered even if the papers said in big bold red print, "DON'T TAKE THIS DUMMY!!!"  The good news is that the inflamation was almost gone by Saturday and not at all noticeable by Monday, but then again I didn't notice much of anything through the fog that crept through my brain. On Tuesday my boss asked what I was taking because he has also fought the nasty gout and ended up in the ER when he took medicine. I printed out the information that Walmart so generously provides on the web site and before giving it to him I read it. Well.... seems as though my blood pressure medicine is listed in big bold print under the heading "DO NOT TAKE WITH THESE MEDICINES!" Not under the "potential drug interactions", but under the "under no circumstances are you to mix these two drugs!" So WHY, I ask, did my doctor prescribe it and WHY did the pharmacy dispense it? And and even BIGGER WHY DIDN'T I READ THE INSERT???? The answer to all three questions is "I don't know!" Have I called my doctor or the pharmacy yet? Well no not yet. Probably will call the doctor after I feel more back to normal and probably won't call the pharmacy. Giving them the benefit of the doubt since I switched to mail order back in May and so they aren't showing a current fill of the triamterene/hctz. Anyway, I hope if anyone is reading this you will learn from my mistakes and always read the inserts that come with your prescriptions and over the counter medicines.

Some Christmas cards I made last night for Operation Write Home

below is a closeup of the glitter glue embellishment that I made. If you zoom in you can see how sparkly it is.

Sorry about the sideways card below. It is made out of a soda can colored with Tim Holtz alcohol ink, embossed with my Cricut and touched up with stickles and Crystal Effects (zoom for detail).

Oops, I just found out that we are supposed to leave the inside blank, so these cards won't be going to Christie (see previous post about her challenge)  because I stamped this sentiment on the inside of them. It seemed really appropriate, but rules are rules and hey, I need Christmas cards for other things anyway! I'll make more tonight and leave them blank. It was really fast making these out of one sheet of a page out of a glitter card stack and a page or two of decorative paper. The cards themselves are just plain old card stack either white, blue or green. I really love the fun colors and think they'll brighten anyone's day, so will make more like these for Operation Write Home.

A frog in my plants

Earlier this week I moved the plants from my front porch in to the garage to protect them from the predicted cold temps at night. When I reached down to move what appeared to be a rock in one of the pots to my surprise it was soft and breathing! Yuppers.... it was a frog (or are they called toads?) Here's a few pictures of the darling little thing.

Sadness and mourning

I am in mourning now over the loss of my dear Tucker. If you have time, please celebrate his life along with me by watching this slide show on his blog. It was tough putting it together, but is part of my healing process. Thank you for your warm thoughts and prayers.

Prayers for my Wire Fox Terrier Please

My daughter has posted a wonderful note on her blog about our Wire Fox Terrier, Tucker, who might not make it through the night. He will be 14 on October 26th and has far outlived the vet's prediction after surviving Mast Cell Tumor removal. Maybe he'll surprise us and spring back after getting some rest, but his breathing is labored and he can't hold his head up, so for now we've put him to bed and will try to get some sleep ourselves. I would appreciate your prayers, both for Mike and I as we go through another loss and for Tucker's comfort. Please go look at his pictures on her post and also on his blog.

New Blog Hop

After this nice lady followed me on Blog Frog I hopped over to her blog and she was doing a blog hop, so I hopped along! Won't you join us too?

Sunrise over Topeka

Sunrise over Topeka taken with my old, not-so-high-tech cell phone. Right before I took this picture the sky was all sorts of shades of cotton candy pink, cherry red, luscious peach, lemon yellow (are you hungry yet?) reflecting on soft billowy clouds. Then all of a sudden this huge orange ball appeared from behind the capital dome and was just too good to pass up. Even though I'd much rather be home than at work, it's mornings like this that make me thankful for working on the 8th floor of a downtown building across from this awesome architectural marvel!

Mushrooms around the Topeka Statehouse

Last week a co-worker and I noticed a bunch of odd looking things poking up above the mulch surrounding the trees on the grounds of our Statehouse. Of course the first day I didn't have my camera with me, so I remembered to bring it along the next day. The first pic shows some pretty standard clumps of mushrooms.

and the next one looks pretty standard too

but the next two pictures made our minds wander a bit and caused so much laughter that we almost drew a crowd. I can't tell you what we were thinking because this is a G-rated blog, but for a couple of old ladies we sure had some fun! She tried posing these because in one day's time they had totally wilteed, then when we did finally come across one that wasn't wilted she just HAD to add those two ball thingies.

I am sitting here at work paralyzed by a statewide network outage. Everything that I do relies on the network. Since I can't work let me t

We have Monarch caterpillars!

Just as I had hoped when I discovered the milkweed growing next to the driveway, we finally got some monarch caterpillars! They sure chewed through that stuff quickly! Here's some pictures to enjoy.

Red sunrise before the storm.

Pictures of the Crane over the Topeka Capital

Our Sunday paper had some awesome pictures of the huge crane over the capital along with a story of the operators and project. I decided there's no way my pictures will come even close to their professional quality, so here's a link to the article:
http://cjonline.com/life/2010-09-11/statehouse_journey_into_height

The crane over the Kansas Capitol is ready for operation!

The first picture was taken last Thursday. I was off work Friday and Monday, then forgot my camera yesterday, so no pics of them taking down the erector crane (red one on the left). You can see how tall the tower crane (blue) is as it soars above the Capitol building. We've been told they will be using the crane to haul things up to the dome for renovation to the inside. Here are some quick facts about the dome from http://www.kshs.org/places/capitol/dome_tour.htm

Dome Facts

The state legislature approved the dome in 1881 and the construction began in 1885. There are 296 steps leading up from the fifth floor to the top of the dome. The bronze statue of the Kansa warrior, Ad Astra, was placed on top of the dome in 2002. It is 22 feet and 2 inches tall and weighs 4,420 pounds. The outer copper dome extends approximately 75 feet above this inner dome. The copper sheeting covering the outer dome turns green when it oxidizes. The inner dome is composed of glass panels.

The tower crane almost ready for operation.

The east side of the Capitol currently under renovation.

Two metallic creatures soaring high above the city, like the birds they are so aptly named after.

This morning at sunrise, the lonely blue tower crane missing its red friend.

What a gorgeous site! The clouds looked as if they were dancing with the new blue creature.

Last, but not least.... yes that IS a porta-potty on top of the Capitol!!! You wouldn't believe how many times I heard someone ask where the guys would use the toilet, so I just HAD to show this! We're still not sure how the crane operator that will be in that little box with its own air conditioner will take care of elimination needs. Maybe a very small porta-potty. Anyone know the answer?

Attack of the pear-eating moths, flies, bees, wasps & ???

When I came home this evening I noticed a bunch of pears had fallen out of the tree during the 40 to 50 mph winds yesterday, so I dropped my purse and lunch bag in the house and traipsed outside with a big bucket in hand, hoping for a few edible selections. I salvaged about six of them, the rest going under a few bushes to feed the local wildlife, then grabbed my camera to capture this incredible site. This one mushed pear must have been exactly the right degree of rot to attract all the local moths, flies, a bee or two and even a few wasps. None of them had any interest in me while I was invading their private feast, well except for a few small moths who seemed interested in my pants or socks. I couldn't resist shooting a couple of the moths enjoying the purple butterfly bush. Not sure where all the butterflies are, but the moths make nice pictures too, don't you agree?

Did you know eggs could explode?

As many of you know by now I am blessed with a husband who likes to cook and also one who respects my need for down time when I get home from work. Now that he's back to teaching again he also has things that need to be done after work, so yesterday his mind wasn't completely focused on the task at hand... well at least not the one boiling on the stove. I knew that he was boiling eggs for me to take to work and from the far end of the house (it's not THAT big...) I could smell a faint odor of something overheating. He was in the room next to me working on school stuff, so I asked if he was still cooking the eggs and I guess he didn't hear me because the next thing I knew I heard a big POP! He must have really been in to his school work because not only did he ignore the smell, but also seemed oblivious to that explosion. YES I said EXPLOSION!!! Not like the one in Coffeyville when the condo Emily and I were living in blew up, but a very loud POP anyway. So I walk in to the kitchen to find egg EVERYWHERE!!! No I didn't take any pictures (silly me!) because I was more concerned about picking up the egg bits off the floor before the dogs got to them, shell and all. Got the stove turned off and the burnt pan set in the sink and proceeded to walk BACK down the hall to fetch Mike (still oblivious?!?!?) to finish the cleanup job (which I ultimately had to to later as I continued to discover huge chunks of egg and shell everywhere.) So what's the verdict? We, at the young age of 56, have officially become OLD PEOPLE!!! YUPPERS, where's the hidden camera that will be used to post funny videos on YouTube of us old people putting our cereal in the refrigerator, milk in the cabinet, eyeglasses in the freezer (not yet, but we're headed in that direction!) and exploding eggs on the stove?!?!

Stay tuned for further reports of unidentified objects flying through the air in our humble abode.....
Cheers!
Sharon

Cranes and Butterflies

Outside my office window this morning was evidence of the hard work the crane erectors did on Friday while I was off work. The crane in the middle is now taller than the Capital building and will soon take on a new shape as they install the cross bar, forming a very large T across our skyline.

During my afternoon walk I spotted this beautiful butterfly on some flowers out in front of our building.

60th Wedding Anniversary Celebration

Yesterday was a fun day as we spent time with family celebrating my parents' 60th Wedding Anniversary. Here are a few shots of the fun. The first pic is all five of us kids with Mom and Dad, then Mike, Matt, Emily and I and lastly is our Wire Fox Terrier, Tucker who came along for the ride.