Bye, Bye, Bo-bie

I had a feeling this would happen. Mike left on a two-month sailing trip, and shortly thereafter Bo began to fail. Poor kitty cried all night for the last two nights in a row. It was not fun for any of us (that would be me, Jack, Scout, and Bo - except for me they are all cats). No matter what I did for Bo he could not relax, barely slept. We were all up much of the night. During the day things were a little better so I didn't call the vet until late in the day, thinking Bo might get better, but then he started in on the crying again. Heartbreaking. He couldn't eat, didn't even want water. I called the vet; they couldn't get him in that day, but said bring him in the next day at 9 a.m.

When I went to bed I fully expected to be wakeful most of the night, worrying that I was making the wrong decision for Bo. Surprisingly, I slept well. I did have to get up several times with Bo, but when I was in bed, I slept soundly. When I woke up I felt calm, and I took that as a sign that I had made the right decision for Bo.

My friend, Linda, who is also a "cat person" once told me that we (humans) usually wait too long to make that final decision. She's right, and I know that it is usually selfish; we want to keep them around a little longer, but that's for us. Or maybe we just aren't sure it's "time," so we let things go one more day and then yet one more day. I kept that in mind.

No one, animal (or human), can live forever. Bo had had a good ride. He had nicks in both ears from fights, he'd roamed most of San Jose, El Dorado, Fresno, downtown Benicia and, finally, the Southampton area of Benicia (pretty much all of central and nothern Cali). He had the dubious good fortune of being our cat before I decided cats should be corrralled behind escape-proof cat-fencing, so he got to roam. He lived The Life! He knew O.J. and Callie, in their heydey. O.J. and Callie both "moved on" bofore Bo did. Bo lived longer than any other cat that we'd ever had. Could be that was why it was so hard to make that "final" decision. But...

...it was time.

I took Bo to the Animal Clinic of Benicia today, October 29, 2008. The staff was kind, thoughtful, and caring. This is where we brought Callie in 2003 and I remembered how kind they were. Bo didn't want to come out of the carrier but, once out, he seemed relaxed. He rubbed his head on me, as though to say "thanks," and was happy to be bundled into a warm towel. The staff took him, briefly, into the back room to receive his injection. Then we were left alone, the two of us, to let the sedative take effect.

I talked to him, told him he'd been a good kitty, talked a little about all the adventures he'd had, and asked him to "say Hi to Callie, O.J., Tony, and Leah." His eyes stayed open but he was completely relaxed, under the sedation.

I knocked on the door to let the staff know he was fully sedated, and that I had said my good-byes. The doctor came in, gave the final injection, and a few minutes later asked if I wanted a few minutes with Bo. I asked, "Is he gone, then?" The vet nodded, yes.

I shook my head, no. I had said my good-byes already, earlier before I'd brought Bo to the clinic. The staff will sprinkle Bo's ashes over "Bubbling Brook" in Napa. I don't know where that is, and I don't really care. The ashes are just what's left from his body. His spirit is already with O.J., Callie, Tony, and Leah, the other cats he knew while he lived with us.

Update (12/16/08): Bo's "country burial" actually took place at Bubbling Well Pet Memorial Park, in Napa. More info here.

I like to think that they are all hangin' with my Gram Ware (who wasn't that much of a lover of cats OR dogs, but is now probably surrounded by them because since 2000 when Gram died we (the family) have all sent our beloved pets to be with her). Sorry, Gram! Bo loved his comforts. He loved a fire in the fireplace. He didn't like getting a bath, but he did seem to appreciate how much better he felt after Mike gave him a bath and a good combing. Bo adjusted to Leah, then to Tony, then to Jack and Scout.

Bo loved his meals, his little bed in the garage (where he had his private "apartment") and taking a nap anyplace where there was a spot of sunshine.

I will say that he was the most independent cat that Mike and I have ever had. Bo went his own way, did his own thing, and lived his life the way he wanted, no matter what anyone else thought!

Bo also had more nicknames than ANY other pet I've EVER had! Here are just some of them:

Bo-bie

Bo-fus

Bo-diddly

Bo-ney-butt

Bo-zinsky

Bo-stoy

Bo-ster

Bo-nus

Bo-fer

Bo-peep

Tomorrow, when I remember the rest of them, I'll add them.

For now, bye-bye Bo-bie!

Wordless Wednesday

The Orange Tabby Cat and the Mockingbird

Cat people will understand this cross-stitch picture. I love how the mockingbird is pulling out tufts of the cat's fur to build his nest!

We have lots of mockingbirds in northern California, and they do NOT like cats! Our Burmese cat, Tony, used to get dive-bombed constantly by the mockingbirds that frequented our yard. He would simply continue strolling across the yard, he was too high-and-mighty to even acknowledge them. More recently, this summer I saw "our" mockingbirds perched on the cat fencing scolding Jack and Scout(our orange tabbie sibs) as they rolled in the warm dirt, or chased bugs. The cats ignore the birds. It's an interesting "relationship," to say the least!

Since we have both mockingbirds and cats, this cross-stitch pattern was one I wanted to stitch, and I had a great time stitching it. A lot of the work was done during last year's sailing trip with the Baja Ha-Ha. So it has double the meaning to me, and I'll remember all of these things every time I look at it: Baja Ha-Ha, sailing with Mike, Mexico, Tony, Jack, Scout, and our lovely and entertaining mockingbirds.

The needlework was framed by Lowell and Carol of Benicia Frame. I trust them with ALL my special framing needs, and have done so for over a decade. Their work is exquisite, thoughtful, and always looks gorgeous.

Time Flies; Tip One - Ditch Your Watch

As promised, here is the first essay (in a series of ten) which I call "Time Flies: Ten Ways to Make it Walk Nicely." If you missed the original post you can read it here.

Lately I've become fixated on learning to "live life in the slow lane." This little series of articles is the result and will give more details on some of the techniques I've learned, and which are helping me to live my life more slowly and with more care.

The techniques truly work for me, and I hope you'll find one or two useful in your own life.

To me, time is more important than money. I can always earn more money if I need it, but I can't increase the length of my life. I can only increase it's breadth.

Time Flies - Ten Ways to Make it Walk Nicely

Tip One: Ditch Your Watch

My philosophy is this: if you have to wear a watch you are overbooked.

If you're overbooked the days are going to fly by at warp speed while you rush around trying to get everything done, get everywhere on time, get more done in less time, and in the meantime get very little enjoyment out of anything at anytime.

We're all very busy. Too busy. Busy, busy, bizzy.

And that's the Number One Reason why Time Flies.

Before I quit wearing a watch I was overbooked, too. Some of it was out of my control, like at work when there were (mostly useless) meetings ad nauseum and scheduled tele-conferences (ridiculous invention) and lunchtime was strictly between noon and 1 p.m. However, the bad habits spilled over into my personal time, too. I was involved in too many things, my calendar was packed, and my watch was a constant reminder to hurry, hurry, hurry, or I'd be late.

Stop!

Now fast-forward three years to an incident that happened just last week.

I was at the grocery store, standing in line to check out. As I amused myself with the tabloid headlines, I heard a foot tapping impatiently behind me, then there was a touch to my arm and the woman behind me asked, "Do you have the time? My watch appears to have stopped."

No, sorry," I answered, "I don't wear a watch."

The woman was shocked enough to leave off tapping her foot. "No watch? How do you manage that?"

"I try to live my life so that I don't need one," I said.

At first the woman looked at me like I'd just fallen off a turnip truck, but then her expression suddenly changed. It softened and her shoulders relaxed. She let out a breath, nodded, and said, "What a great idea."

I nodded. "Makes a world of difference." Then I stepped to one side and indicated that she should move ahead of me in line because, as I told her, "I'm not in a hurry."

Back again to that day three years ago when I took off my watch for good: You could say I had an epiphany that day because, not only did I realize I'd become a slave to Time and that my life was passing by in nothing short of a blur, but I suddenly understood that there were more days of my life behind me than ahead of me.

According to CNN Health the life expectancy for women in the United States is currently 81 years. I had passed the halfway mark to that age nearly a decade previously! I felt sick. I still had so many plans, so many things I wanted to do. Where had the time gone?

Into the Black Hole of Bizzyness, that's where.

I couldn't change the past; it was gone and in what seemed the blink of an eye, but I could do something about how I spent each hour of each day from then on. When I removed my watch that day it was more a symbolic gesture than a deliberate step taken with the specific purpose of slowing down time. The fact that time did slow down as a direct result of my symbolic gesture only dawned on me gradually over the next few years.

Today I can say that it's been time-tested and proven to work. Try it yourself.

Without a watch you'll find yourself paying more attention to what you're doing at the moment instead of thinking ahead to what you'll be doing next. Without a watch and the (dubious) ability to constantly check the time you'll find it necessary to schedule your To-Do's further apart. More time between tasks means you'll accomplish fewer things on any given day. Doing less will require eliminating some tasks from each day. And I'm not talking about postponing them to another day, either, but eliminating them completely.

Can you see where this is going?

Stop doing anything that's not truly worth doing. Time is the ultimate non-renewable resource. Let the absence of a watch on your arm be your reminder to spend time with the greatest of care. A reminder to slow down, pay attention, and fully enjoy the things you do keep on your schedule, the ones truly worthy of your time.

I know, if you have a job, this will sound ridiculously impossible and impractical, if not something that might get you fired. It's true you won't have the luxury of eliminating anything you feel isn't "worthwhile," but trust me on this. I've been there. You can still embrace the philosophy and ditch your watch.

Don't worry, you won't be completely clueless as to what time it is. You won't suddenly begin showing up late to every meeting or missing lunch. There are clocks everywhere. On the wall. On your computer. In your car. You'll begin to notice other clues, too. The co-worker who goes outside for a smoke every day precisely at 8, 10, 2, and 4:00. The growling in your stomach as lunchtime approaches. Even subtle differences in the energy and noise levels of your workplace, and changes in the light coming through the windows, will give good indication of the time of day.

As the days pass you'll find yourself relying more and more on your own internal clock to guide you through the rhythm of each day.

If you're lucky enough to be a stay-at-home Mom, retired, work from home, or in any other way able to control your own daily schedule, you'll have the great luxury to leave your day as unstructured as you like. You'll need to figure out what works best for you. To have nothing on your To-Do List at all and just let the day unfold naturally, one major task to focus the day on, or several small ones to divide up the day. Or, like me, you may use one method one day, and another the next day.

I have an artist's temperament so it's a lucky, lucky thing for me that I was able to quit my high-stress "corporate" job and start a small business here at home, where my schedule is entirely under my own control. One day I may get up raring to go on a project that I'm in the middle of, and the next day have no desire at all to continue it and will put it aside for later. In the past I would have forced myself to continue with the project, struggling along until day's end when I'd realize I'd made no headway at all and the day had been a complete waste.

For me, an overly strict routine does only one thing: it makes every day look alike. When I gave up my watch, I gave up my "schedule," too. I also granted myself permission to simply go with whatever mood I was in. Some days I get up and I'm like a Tasmanian devil whirling through the house, cleaning, sorting, organizing, and cooking. Other days I'm at my computer from dawn until midnight (or later!) because I've gotten on a roll with my digital scrapbooking projects and am knocking out the layouts one after the other. There have even been days spent entirely on one project, perhaps a cross-stitch sampler, because I'm enjoying myself so much that I don't want to go on to anything else.

Don't get me wrong; I don't let everything else go. I do try to keep my house picked up (for the most part), get bills paid on time, take care of the cats, and make meals for Mike and me. There's always some of that going on around here but I look at it as more of a foundation on which the optional activities are made possible. The bulk of my days are mostly unstructured. I'm averse to deadlines, and I try not to schedule more than one appointment per day, whether it be with a doctor, a client, or a friend.

The result of this is that my days are leisurely and each one is distinct from the others. When I look back over my week I can clearly see the things I've accomplished, feel yet again the pleasure of the accomplishment, and know that I've spent my time in ways that make me happy and feel fulfilled. The other stuff, the things I eliminated because they were just too far down on my list of importance? I don't even remember what they were.

I hope you'll try ditching your own watch. Dump the unimportant busywork (I'll write more later on how to separate the un from the important). Restructure your days so they're more rewarding, a better fit for you, and contain an unhurried agenda of activities, people, and places.

Time will still pass, yes, but no longer as a high-speed blur.

Instead, it'll walk nicely.

Enjoy the stroll.

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life
in your years." ~ Abraham Lincoln

More Shameless Plugz for my Boyz

Can't help it, it's what Moms do!

Michael's "50 Amazing Movie Facts" article written for Hollywire has received so many responses (150,000+ page views and growing) that it is now the NUMBER ONE feature article on the website. Go to the website and you'll see it right at the top of the page, "above the fold," as it's called in newspaper jargon, meaning the most important articles which are always placed on the front page, above the fold of the paper.

I may not have fulfilled my dream (yet) of becoming a famous writer, but it looks like Michael will! Oh, and he does this while living and working as a teacher in mainland, communist CHINA!

And Rodrigo? Well, that boy (ok, young MAN) just LOVES being married, and it absolutely warms my heart. Dianna is an angel. Rodrigo (and I!!!) waited a long time for Dianna to come along, and I'm so pleased she is now part of our family. When I talk to Rodrigo on the phone he sounds truly happy, and can you imagine how happy that makes his Mom?

I know I promised to post more photos from Dianna and Rodrigo's wedding -- the really good, professional ones, of Rodrigo and Dianna's wedding -- taken by Jeff Fassett. There are just sooooo many awesome photos! So here is the link: Dianna and Rodrigo. If you've got lots of time you may be able to get through them all! Jeff and his assistant took tons of photos. The best part? If you are planning a wedding in southern Cali I would highly recommend Jeff and his staff. He is fantastic; he listened to everyone and took all the photos that each one of us (and there were a lot of us) thought were most important. And now, long after the wedding is over, he's still answering all my emails, you can't beat that!

I'm tickled that Dianna and Rodrigo have asked me to create their wedding album. I can't wait to work with Jeff's exquisite photos. If all I did was put each photo on a blank page, the album would be gorgeous! In the meantime.....here's a photo of the sweet little house Dianna and Rodrigo have moved into:

Yeah, Life is good when the Kids are doing well.

No Creature can Sleep like a Cat

I was inspired by my niece, Jenny, who posted this photo of her cat, Foxy, deep in slumber as only a cat can sleep.

It reminded me of the (literally) thousands of photos I've taken of my cats while they're sleeping 'cuz they're just so dang cute! Below are two of my faves of my lil' female orange tabby, Scout.

A soft blankie, a warm rock, cats have an uncanny ability to find the most comfortable spot in the house or garden for a nap.

I can't even tell you how many hours I've spent fulfilling my very important role as "cat mattress."

Well, and after all, what could be more rewarding?

This is Why I Love Hewlett-Packard

As most of you know I have a small business. Because it's still small I have to be careful about every dollar I spend on business expenses. So when I accidently ordered three packages of Hewlett-Packard photo paper (from hp.com) with 25 sheets in each package when I meant to order the 50 sheets-per-package size (because the cost-per-sheet is lower), I immediately re-ordered the correct size, and then called HP customer service to arrange to return the first order.

Before I even tell you what happened today let me just mention that shipping for paper, ink, and many other essentials from HP is FREE, even for NEXT DAY DELIVERY. That's awesome. AND if you need to return something, you simply call and get a return number, print the return tag they provide, tape the box back up, attach the return tag to the box, and drop it off at the nearest FedEx pick-up point. AND the return tag includes postage! So returning items is not only easy, it's also FREE. Shipping charges add up so free shipping is always much appreciated. The last time I had to return something to HP my Paypal account was credited before I even took the package to FedEx. I love that.

Back to today. I telephoned the customer service department to get the return number and link to print out the return label. Can you believe it, the guy said, I'm refunding your account but you can just keep the paper.

Huh??? "Keep it??" I thought I'd heard him wrong.

He laughed, and said "I can do that, and I'm doing it right now. Consider it a small gift from HP."

Wow. Sure, it's only a little over $40.00; a drop in the bucket for HP, but it's a lot to me.

And did I mention I LOVE my HP photo printer?

Left Behind

No, this post isn't about the book series, or getting held back a grade in school, but about being the only one in this photo who didn't set sail this morning. Wahhhhhhh!

I drove Mike to the marina where he met Michael (hat) and Leo (no hat). They were all so excited. Like a bunch of boys setting off on an adventure. Well, and they are! They are going to have such a good time. I wished I could go. I was sad to leave and come home alone. But I'm happy that Mike is going; he's really the avid sailor. I can't think of anything about sailing that he doesn't like. Ok, maybe repairing an oil leak in the middle of the night while being tossed about on the waves and breathing gas and oil fumes isn't high on his list of Fun Things to Do on Summer Vacation, but I betcha he still prefers that to any repair work on land!

Meanwhile, I'm making a long list of all the stuff I need to get accomplished between now and Christmas and, from the length of it, I don't think I'll be bored. Not the least item is the trim on the house that still isn't painted. I hope to get all of the trim on the front of the house done for that all-important curb appeal (or at least most of it - not sure I should be climbing up on the roof to reach the highest peak when no one else is home). Besides, I LOVE the new colors and can't wait to have the house-painting completed. It's so pretty! Fresh and shiny like a new penny.

Today I'm working with a professional graphic designer, Darcy at Graphically Designing, to do a makeover on my Webajeb blog. It will probably be done in the next few days. Can't wait to unveil the New Look. It's going to put Debz Talkin' to shame. I'll just have to do a makeover here as well but I'll be doing that one myself.

Better put that on the To-Do List!

Trials, Tribulations, and Trips

So, the trial lasted exactly one day, including seating the jury, the opening and closing statements, witness testimonies, AND the jury deliberation. Yeah, it was a shorty. It basically involved a homeless man who interrupted a police officer occupied in towing the guy's abandoned and unregistered car from a public parking lot. The man got riled up, claimed he "owned the city" and threatened the cop by saying, "I'm gonna burn you, this entire city, and everyone in it." He began walking away and the cop, figuring the guy was irrational at the very least and that he'd better find out just what he intended to do next, yelled at him to "Stop." Of course, the guy didn't, even after the second "Stop" command, so the cop grabbed him by the shirt. The guy took a swing at the cop with his right arm which was in a plaster cast but the cop took him down and placed him under arrest. It seemed the trial was nothing more than the homeless man asserting his right to a trial by jury. It was open-and-shut; the only testimonies were his and the cop so it came down to who we thought was more credible. Based on the homeless man's assertion (on the witness stand, mind you) that he had inherited, from a great-grandfather who once owned a racetrack in the city's boundaries, all the land that the city was built on so HE owns it and therefore the cop was trespassing on HIS land, AND the fact that he claimed he would, in three years, receive a $60,000 settlement from an insurance fraud case, we decided the police officer was more credible.

After much deliberation. Not.

So that was that, and my civic duty is done for the next 12 months, darn! I love being on juries, and had hoped for a long, very involved, and high-profile case. Ah well, next time.

When I got home, this is what I found:
My poor laptop! Actually, it (my "Precious") fared pretty well this time. Last time a cat laid on the keyboard it was Bo, and he somehow caused all my desktop icons to clone themselves and scatter all over the screen, downloaded some funky toolbar from the internet, AND turned on sticky keys. AUGH!

I also found Mike running about like a crazy man, packing for the sailing trip which, apparently, is ON. He also mowed the lawns, instructed me on where to send insurance payments for the next two months, and cleaned both litter boxes. That last item proves, like nothing else ever would, that he feels bad about going off and leaving me here alone for the next 8 weeks!!!

Today he is at the boat with Leo working on the anchor and the water-making system; they will also fit in a trip to Costco for provisions. Last I heard, around noon, the plan was to leave at zero-dark-hundred tomorrow a.m. That means I will be getting up ultra-early, too, to drive Mike there so that we don't have to leave a vehicle in Richmond.

I rather hate the thought of coming back home to an empty house. It's going to be lonely.

Juror Number Eight

As I fully expected I was seated as a juror. More on that a little later today.....!

Order in the Court!

Well, dang it, I've been trying to get a chance to post an update to this blog (and my other one, too), but too many things have been getting in the way. I've got a jury summons and have to report to the court tomorrow at 8 a.m. It will either be the only day I have to go, or I'll be put on a jury (California has a one-day or one-trial term of jury duty policy).

Other stuff is happening, too. My Webajeb blog is undergoing a makeover which means I have lots of decisions to make about its new Look.

Election time is drawing near and there are a couple of things I'm involved in with regard to that (including, can you believe it, standing on the street waving signs), LOL! The "silent majority" is being advised to speak up so I'll do my part.

The Baja Ha-Ha sailing trip? The 8-week one, that got cancelled?? Well, Captain Leo is back from Texas and now wants to go! Well, we gave up our housesitters so I'm not going, but if the trip DOES get resurrected, Mike will ship out within a couple of days, so there's gonna be some heavy-duty hustle and bustle around here.

So, please be patient! I will be posting as soon as humanly possible!

Time Flies; Tip One - Ditch Your Watch

As promised, here is the first essay (in a series of ten) which I call "Time Flies: Ten Ways to Make it Walk Nicely." If you missed the original post you can read it here.

Lately I've become fixated on learning to "live life in the slow lane." This little series of articles is the result and will give more details on some of the techniques I've learned, and which are helping me to live my life more slowly and with more care.

The techniques truly work for me, and I hope you'll find one or two useful in your own life.

To me, time is more important than money. I can always earn more money if I need it, but I can't increase the length of my life. I can only increase the breadth of it.

Time Flies - Ten Ways to Make it Walk Nicely

Tip One: Ditch Your Watch

My philosophy is this: if you have to wear a watch you are overbooked.

If you're overbooked the days are going to fly by at warp speed while you rush around trying to get everything done, get everywhere on time, get more done in less time, and in the meantime get very little enjoyment out of anything at anytime.

We're all very busy. Too busy. Busy, busy, bizzy.

And that's the Number One Reason why Time Flies.

Before I quit wearing a watch I was overbooked, too. Some of it was out of my control, like at work when there were (mostly useless) meetings ad nauseum and scheduled tele-conferences (ridiculous invention) and lunchtime was strictly between noon and 1 p.m. However, the bad habits spilled over into my personal time, too. I was involved in too many things, my calendar was packed, and my watch was a constant reminder to hurry, hurry, hurry, or I'd be late.

Stop!

Now fast-forward three years to an incident that happened just last week.

I was at the grocery store, standing in line to check out. As I amused myself with the tabloid headlines, I heard a foot tapping impatiently behind me, then there was a touch to my arm and the woman behind me asked, "Do you have the time? My watch appears to have stopped."

"No, sorry," I answered, "I don't wear a watch."

The woman was shocked enough to leave off tapping her foot. "No watch? How do you manage that?"

"I try to live my life so that I don't need one," I said.

At first the woman looked at me like I'd just fallen off a turnip truck, but then her expression suddenly changed. It softened and her shoulders relaxed. She let out a breath, nodded, and said, "What a great idea."

I nodded. "Makes a world of difference." Then I stepped to one side and indicated that she should move ahead of me in line because, as I told her, "I'm not in a hurry."

Back again to that day three years ago when I took off my watch for good: You could say I had an epiphany that day because, not only did I realize I'd become a slave to Time and that my life was passing by in nothing short of a blur, but I suddenly understood that there were more days of my life behind me than ahead of me.

According to CNN Health the life expectancy for women in the United States is currently 81 years. I had passed the halfway mark to that age nearly a decade previously! I felt sick. I still had so many plans, so many things I wanted to do. Where had the time gone?

Into the Black Hole of Bizzyness, that's where.

I couldn't change the past; it was gone and in what seemed the blink of an eye, but I could do something about how I spent each hour of each day from then on. When I removed my watch that day it was more a symbolic gesture than a deliberate step taken with the specific purpose of slowing down time. The fact that time did slow down as a direct result of my symbolic gesture only dawned on me gradually over the next few years.

Today I can say that it's been time-tested and proven to work. Try it yourself.

Without a watch you'll find yourself paying more attention to what you're doing at the moment instead of thinking ahead to what you'll be doing next. Without a watch and the (dubious) ability to constantly check the time you'll find it necessary to schedule your To-Do's further apart. More time between tasks means you'll accomplish fewer things on any given day. Doing less will require eliminating some tasks from each day. And I'm not talking about postponing them to another day, either, but eliminating them completely.

Can you see where this is going?

Stop doing anything that's not truly worth doing. Time is the ultimate non-renewable resource. Let the absence of a watch on your arm be your reminder to spend time with the greatest of care. A reminder to slow down, pay attention, and fully enjoy the things you do keep on your schedule, the ones truly worthy of your time.

I know, if you have a job, this will sound ridiculously impossible and impractical, if not something that might get you fired. It's true you won't have the luxury of eliminating anything you feel isn't "worthwhile," but trust me on this. I've been there. You can still embrace the philosophy and ditch your watch.

Don't worry, you won't be completely clueless as to what time it is. You won't suddenly begin showing up late to every meeting or missing lunch. There are clocks everywhere. On the wall. On your computer. In your car. You'll begin to notice other clues, too. The co-worker who goes outside for a smoke every day precisely at 8, 10, 2, and 4:00. The growling in your stomach as lunchtime approaches. Even subtle differences in the energy and noise levels of your workplace, and changes in the light coming through the windows, will give good indication of the time.

As the days pass you'll find yourself relying more and more on your own internal clock to guide you through the rhythm of each day.

If you're lucky enough to be a stay-at-home Mom, retired, work from home, or in any other way able to control your own daily schedule, you'll have the great luxury to leave your day as unstructured as you like. You'll need to figure out what works best for you. To have nothing on your To-Do List at all and just let the day unfold naturally, one major task to focus the day on, or several small ones to divide up the day. Or, like me, you may use one method one day, and another the next day.

I have an artist's temperament so it's a lucky, lucky thing for me that I was able to quit my high-stress "corporate" job and start a small business here at home, where my schedule is entirely under my own control. One day I may get up raring to go on a project that I'm in the middle of, and the next day have no desire at all to continue it and will put it aside for later. In the past I would have forced myself to continue with the project, struggling along until day's end when I'd realize I'd made no headway at all and the day had been a complete waste.

For me, an overly strict routine does only one thing: it makes every day look alike. When I gave up my watch, I gave up my "schedule," too. I also granted myself permission to simply go with whatever mood I was in. Some days I get up and I'm like a Tasmanian devil whirling through the house, cleaning, sorting, organizing, and cooking. Other days I'm at my computer from dawn until midnight (or later!) because I've gotten on a roll with my digital scrapbooking projects and am knocking out the layouts one after the other. There have even been days spent entirely on one project, perhaps a cross-stitch sampler, because I'm enjoying myself so much that I don't want to go on to anything else.

Don't get me wrong; I don't let everything else go. I do try to keep my house picked up (for the most part), get bills paid on time, take care of the cats, and make meals for Mike and me. There's always some of that going on around here but I look at is as more a foundation on which the optional activities are made possible. The bulk of my days are mostly unstructured. I'm averse to deadlines, and I try not to schedule more than one appointment per day, whether it be with a doctor, a client, or a friend.

The result of this is that my days are leisurely and each one is distinct from the others. When I look back over my week I can clearly see the things I've accomplished, feel yet again the pleasure of the accomplishment, and know that I've spent my time in ways that make me happy and feel fulfilled. The other stuff, the things I eliminated because they were just too far down on my list of importance? I don't even remember what they were.

I hope you'll try ditching your own watch. Dump the unimportant busywork (I'll write more later on how to separate the un from the important). Restructure your days so they're more rewarding, a better fit for you, and contain an unhurried agenda of activities, people, and places.

The days will still pass, yes, but no longer as a high-speed blur.

Instead, they'll walk nicely. Enjoy the stroll.

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life
in your years." ~ Abraham Lincoln

50 Amazing Movie Facts

A link for you movie buffs: 50 Amazing Movie Facts, written by my son, Michael!! He's a regular contributor to Hollywire and writes the New DVD Release reviews, movie reviews, and other pieces related to movies, actors, and Hollywood. He also wrote a great piece about the late Paul Newman, which became one of the Top Ten Hollywire articles for September 2008.

Pretty good for a little hayseed from the backwoods of Virginia, hey?

Breathe Easy

I have one of these now:

Nothing to do with the elections, or the economy, or asthma. Just some breathing problems that have cropped up over the last 6 to 8 months and that have kept me up at night sometimes for two to three hours. It's impossible to sleep when you can't breathe.

I hereby join a large group of my family members who will totally understand what a blessed relief the rescue inhaler can be. I'll be sleeping just fine from now on.

Time Flies - Ten Ways to Make it Walk Nicely

I'll be writing in depth about each of these items over the next couple of weeks, interspersed with posts of my usual ramblings. I'll be drawing on my personal life experiences and lessons I've learned since quitting my job as a government drone one year and one month ago today. I hope you'll check back often!

Time Flies - Ten Ways to Make it Walk Nicely

1. Ditch Your Watch

2. Turn Traditions on their Heads

3. Stop Being a Slave to Stuff

4. Be a Creator, Not a Consumer

5. Avoid Instant Gratification

6. Let a Little Child Lead You

7. Dump the Multi-Tasking Mentality

8. Learn a New Trick

9. Broaden your Horizons

10. This space intentionally left blank.

Baking Day Got a Bit Out of Hand

Mike likes fresh-baked bread and since he has been working so hard on painting the house I thought I would treat him with a couple loaves of home-made whole wheat bread. I located an old recipe, one that I used to bake quite often when the boys were little, and got started.

Everything went great during the mixing, kneading, and first rise. Above is the dough just after I turned it out of the bowl, following the first rise. Looks great! I then cut it in half and rolled it up into two balls:

These got to rest for 10 minutes, then I used the rolling pin to roll the dough out and get rid of any bubbles, formed two nice loaves and put them in the bread pans:

A little while later is when I first noticed that one loaf seemed to be rising faster and bigger than the other. Hmmm. Well, I didn't worry too much, though, my loaves are never exactly even. I figured the smaller loaf would catch up during their time in the oven. Well, you can imagine my shock when I opened the oven door halfway through the baking time to find this:

That loaf in the back is MUCH taller than the other! And even the "smaller" loaf is huge! I just started laughing because these loaves are nothing short of monstrous!

Here's the bigger of the two loaves (above) just out of the pan. Look how much taller it is than the pan, ha ha ha! Below is the smaller loaf, sliced up in readiness for the freezer. We had expected to find huge holes (bubbles) in the bread, which would explain why the loaves were so big, but just one loaf had only a small bubble at the top.

In the back of the photo is what's left of the larger loaf. We've eaten the rest of it already! It's delicious -- the same yummy wheat flavor I remembered and had a hankering for (very much like my Mom's bread).

Granted, it was difficult to fit into the toaster, but wouldn't it make great (if ginormous) tomato sammies or french toast??

House-Lift in Progress

Well, our house has been due for a paint job for a couple of years now and since our sailing adventure is off, Mike decided he'd get on it. I chose the colors and Mike's doing the work, heh heh. Well, he wanted to! I wanted to pay someone to do it! I did tell him I'd help with the trim, though, so once he's done with all the walls, I'll have no more excuses, dang it.

Anyway, for the last week or so this is what he's been doing:

He's got a nice little paint sprayer so the actual painting goes quickly. The prep work, however, is a different story! He's had cracks to mend (those darn earthquakes!), windows to mask, bushes and vines to cut away where they hid the walls, and I don't know what all else because I mainly hide in the house for fear he'll put me to work hauling and carrying! And in many places he will probably need to put on a second coat.

Well, I do venture out to take photos occasionally to check his progress, and to make sure he hasn't fallen off the ladder. The photo above shows the wall that's in the cat garden. The window where Mike is painting is the kitchen window (with the bird feeders), the one closer to the camera is our office, and the smallest one, up high, is the guest bathroom. Almost all the windows in our house have plastic sheeting over them right now, which makes being inside kinda weird. Even though the sun is shining the plastic gives the feel of fog. Kinda cool, especially with Halloween coming!

This is the garage; Mike is also going to paint the door to match the house. You can see there's not a huge difference in color. Our house has been a light tannish color, and the trim a strange sort of gold which I call "baby diarrhea." I've never liked it. So now the house will be almost-white, or "Cotton Ball," as it says on the paint chip.

This photo shows the wall on the side of the house, opposite the cat garden. This wall is completely painted. Doesn't it look fresh and new? I love the color. I know it's not very "different," but I've always like white on houses; they look so clean and classic.

The trim is a color called "Ten Gallon Hat." It's a medium brown but more on the grey-y side. Hard to describe. Here's a photo of a small bit of trim where Mike slapped on the paint just so I could be sure I like it. I do. I don't know how true the color will be to your eye - everyone's computer monitor displays colors differently. You'll have a better idea when I can get a photo of an entire wall with the trim done.

It's going to look fabulous!

Worried about the Economy?

And the election?

I vote we just all take a nap:

Hopefully, when we wake up things will look a little brighter.

No celebrity is going to tell ME how to vote

Yesterday I was watching the Ellen Degeneres Show. I've watched her show for a couple years now and usually enjoy it. Yesterday I turned it off in the middle. In disgust. This is probably the 10th time I've done that this year and I'm almost to the point that I'm going to stop watching it altogether. I turn if off everytime Ellen, or one of her guests, uses the show to promote their political views. Yesterday it was Julia Louis-Dreyfuss telling the audience how to vote on Proposition 8.

When was it that celebrities began to promote themselves as political experts?

Why is it that Ellen, Julia, and the likes of Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Sting, rapper Kanye West, the Dixie Chicks, etc., etc., etc., think that their political opinions carry any weight at all with voters?

Do they have political science degrees? Do they even have degrees at all? Brad Pitt doesn't. He dropped out of college (where he was majoring in journalism) to become an actor. Ellen doesn't either; she dropped out of college (communications) to go into comedy. Kanye West? Dropped out after one year of art school . You can research the other names I mentioned if you want; I've lost interest.

You may argue that it's Ellen's show so she has the right to say whatever she wants, to invite her choice of guests to appear on the show, and the right to allow them to express their political opinions (although I betcha she "screens" those opinions first).

You're absolutely right.

But since I originally started watching Ellen's show not for its political messages, but for its entertainment value (in general, she's hilarious), I have the right to stop watching it when it ceases to entertain me.

Holiday Mystery Gifts Knit-along

I recently got involved in the Holiday Mystery Gifts knit-along via yahoogroups and we're having a Blast! Here is a pic of the current mystery project:
What is it? I don't know yet!! The guesses among the knitters have been absolutely wild as you can imagine; I mean, look at the shape of it so far, lol! For these mystery projects we are given clues for 7 days. Each clue has a portion of the knitting pattern, so you knit each portion over the 7 days. At the end of the week we will have a completed . . . . something or other!

Also, twice a week new knitting and crocheting patterns are posted. You pick the ones you want to make and go for it. All the designs are originals created by members of the group, and all are suitable to be given as gifts, so doing this now, with Christmas coming couldn't be better timing!

If you enjoy knitting or crocheting at all you'll definitely want to come join the fun. It's a great, and very friendly and helpful, group of ladies, and a fantastic way to improve your knitting skills. There's always someone to help you over a rough spot in a pattern, or to give advice on yarn and needles, plus there's a big gallery of photos of completed and in-progress projects.

I'm tellin' ya, you'll love it!