Pacific Northwest Dog Owners

Just thought I'd pass this along in case you didn't know about it already. Apparently there is a big outbreak of some horrible disease dogs are catching from rodent urine. I forget the name of it, in my head I just keep thinking "rat pee disease" but that's obviously not it. I think maybe it started with a P. Your vet will know what the heck I'm talking about because mine has been getting faxes from public health officials and such for days now. Anyway, it's mostly deadly - causes kidney failure. There's a vaccination for it and while my vet normally doesn't push vaccinations, she thought this one was pretty necessary and so we gave it to both our girls. Oh, and it can spread to humans too, if your dog catches it.

That Mercury in Retrograde Thing...

...Is kicking my butt. My whole family's butts, really. Today was bad too, but I won't bore you with the details. Except to say... that Kesia went to the vets and she thinks she has the beginnings of heart disease. She's already beat cancer, why does she have to deal with this too? Will be working on a weight-loss program with her starting tonight. And she's going to be getting her own private walks too - she gets to pick the pace without having to keep up with hyper black dog. She'll like that at least.

RUMBLE!

It's thundering!!! I love a good thunderstorm! And lightning too. It's rare to get one out here - sometimes I miss the East Coast just for the thunderstorms. And the lobster. And the bagels... well lots of things. I'm just happy it's roaring out right now. Very Cool. Or, as Luke is yelling right now: "Yeah, Baby!!!"

Frank just walked in and said it's snowing out too!

My Boy

Three hair cuts in two days. Poor thing. Frank gave me a hard time about going to the yuppy kid hair cut shop so I took him to great clips. What a mistake. He came out looking like his hair was cut with a bowl on his head. A bowl that jumped around and allowed nicks and holes to be cut. Or maybe as if he had cut it himself even. His forehead was all red where she injured him somehow, his bangs only went 2/3rds the way across his forehead, and they were so crooked. On one side, his hair was an inch longer than on the other side. So then I tried to "fix" things, and then I decided there was no fixing unless it was by a professional. So today we went to an old-fashioned barber shop down the street and the nice man there fixed him up. It's still long, but not "surfer dude" long like he likes it. I can see his face again, which is nice - though the bangs are way too short. The ironic thing... I spent MORE than I would have at the yuppy place and he doesn't have half as good a cut.



Yes, I let him ride his bike in the house. Yes, it surprises me too that I let him. And yes, he likes to ride naked. He should get along well with the Fremont Parade crowd, don't you think?

Something Pretty

So she thinks...

...she's going to make something out of this pile of junk. A necklace perhaps?

Can this day get any worse?

No no, don't answer that. I don't want to know.

First, after a night of not much sleep due to kid and dogs and cat... dog wakes me up at 6:00 and insists it's TIME.

Then, I make coffee, sit down to the computer with it, dog comes over and smacks hand and coffee spills all over computer and stack of bills.

Then, Luke wakes up early and there goes my half hour of peace & quiet I was hoping for.

Then, Luke tells me there is something I need to see. Turns out to be cat yack.

Then, I discover a cat mess of another kind in the bedroom.

Then, I decide that's the end of my bad day and I'm going to turn it around. We go to Michaels and stock up on art supplies for Luke. We go to Starbucks and get my fix. Someone calls to preview the house - great - it's all ready and the key is out - have at it. We go to the library and get library cards and are early for story time even. Things are definitely looking up.

Then, when story time is almost over, my cell rings. Well, it vibrates, because I didn't want to be rude if it went off in the library. I look and it's that realator, which I figure is important (to me) so I answer it really quietly hoping that's ok. But it's not ok - realator is telling me she dropped the key down the deck crack and it's GONE and story-time lady is yelling at me to take my phone call outside. Yelling. At. Me.

Yelling at me. So Luke and I scrammed out of there, I'm so embarrassed and don't want to ever go back. To my new library. Which turns out to be a great library. Which totally sucks. And now, instead of going for a walk in the neighborhood and doing art this afternoon as per my great-day-plan, we have to spend the rest of the day driving around and getting a new key in the lock box.

Yuck. I can't stop shaking.

Luke's Take

Luke: Mom? I smell fire.
Me: Yup, right over there - they cut down those trees.
Luke: Oh! Why?
Me: So they can build a house.
Luke: Oh. ... What do the trees say about that?
Me: Well... I'm sure they don't like it.
Luke: Yeah. ... I'm glad they didn't cut down our trees. ... Hey Mom? When can we cook marshmallows?

Development

The crack of huge trees falling
in the woods behind my house.
The smell of woodsmoke
burning my nose and eyes,
filling my hair and my clothes
so I carry it around with me
and can't escape it.
The clouds of smoke rising up
to meet the beautiful blue sky,
smudging it, putting a mar on it.
Flecks of ash falling around softly,
landing on my car, my house, my hand.
Driving me back inside
when I'd rather be out.
Falling outside my window like rain
on what should be a fresh clean spring day.
Promise of yet another season
of buzzing
and dozing
and hammering.

And I was going to say...

...that things are going so well at the new house. All the nasty surprises seem to be in the past. Things are under control. Plans have been made for improvements. We have our list and are moving on. No sign of any rodents since Frank was in India. The house is comfortable even though it is more than half empty. Luke gets to ride his bike through it and yesterday was so nice that I took him out to explore the sidewalks for the first time. We met some neighbor kids and moms, and found a new park and took Kesia, the old girl, with us, even. She was in pure bliss - it's been a long time since she was an in-town dog and she seemed to be as grateful for the return as I am.

And then today. I bought some new dish soap, and instead of just putting it under the sink, I thought I'd take advantage of the little built-in dispenser that came with the sink. How to do it? I started by just lifting the pumper off the top. Looked in - yup - looks like the place to pour the soap in... started pouring. Frank came in and said "WHAT are you doing?" and then asked was I sure? And I said yeah, I think it's this easy. And I kept pouring. And he said, "Why don't you stop now so I won't have so much to clean up in a few minutes." And I kept pouring... ignoring him of course - I know what I'm doing here... but then I was STILL pouring and I had bought a BIG thing of soap... and so I said, out loud, how I wondered how big the container under the sink was... and so then Frank reaches over and opens the cab door and says "STOP!!!".

Yes, he was right all along. Soap all under the sink. What a mess. Turns out that stupid little container for the soap had a BIG ASS crack in it. Figures. One more thing to add to the "list".

Our Family Portrait

I'm so excited to share this picture that is now hanging in my new kitchen! It's by artist Debi Hubbs of Artblooms Studio. She's doing a 60 mile walk for breast cancer and trying to raise $2500 for it. I sent her a donation and she sent me this painting - it's our "family portrait"! Luke wants to know why he's so small. I just love it.

Pink

Spring

Eyes

These are weird, hu?

Art & Soul Retreat Classes

In Portland... this fall. Oh! I want to take these. But... so many buts. At least I have until the 25th to decide (and sell the other house so I have some $$). But then... there's always the what to do with Luke thing... there's one in Italy in 2007 too. Wouldn't that be great.

Carla Sonheim 411 - Family Portrait

Carla Sonheim 408 - Kids "R" Us

Stephanie Lee 366 - Totally Plastered

Traci Bautista 322 - doodle;paint;play

Traci Bautista 324 - Fusion-Dyed Collage

Sheri Haab & Wendy Malinow 404 - Mixed Media Metal Clay Charms

Traci Bunkers 327 - Its All About Transfers & A Simple Stab-Bound Book

Books for New Orleans Library

Seeking Book Donations
The New Orleans Public Library
(New Orleans LA)

The New Orleans Public Library is asking for any and all hardcover and paperback books for people of all ages in an effort to restock the shelves after Katrina. The staff will assess which titles will be designated for its collections. The rest will be distributed to destitute famil! ies or sold for library fundraising. Please send your books to:

Rica A. Trigs, Public Relations
New Orleans Public Library
219 Loyola Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70112

If you tell the post office that they are for the library in New Orleans, they will give you the library rate which is slightly less than the book rate.

Like Father, Like Son

Luke played a prank on me yesterday: he invited me to play a game of cards with him, and set up a little bit of left-over oatmeal on my chair for me to sit on. I sat, I went around my day. We got into the car and were driving away and he started giggling. "Mom, you have a white thing on your pants." (giggle giggle giggle). "I don't see anything", I say. "That's a'cause it's on your BUTT!!!!" (all-out evil laughter). He 'fessed up and then when I got mad at him he said could we just forget about it, he didn't want to talk about it any more. Could we pretend it never happened, he said.

Of course we couldn't - and when I told Frank about it, he started smirking and laughing too. Turns out... it was for a prank very much like this one that he got kicked out of the Boy Scouts way back when. He meant to glue his friend to a chair... but his scout master sat in the chair instead. Luke wanted to know why he put glue all over the chair - why didn't he just do a little spot instead - that would have been better, he said. This is just the beginning, isn't it. (sigh)

Rub-a-dub-dub, Luke-in-a-tub

And here's what I did with that background painting. I think maybe I will still collage over it. Maybe.

Book:04 Ida B

I just finished a sweet little book. I assume it's a children's book, even though I picked it up in the adult section of the book store, while Luke was whining about a movie he wanted to buy, so I must have been confused, or something. The book wasn't anything like I thought it was going to be (as are most things hastily bought when distracted by my son) - but what a wonderful and magical one it was anyway. Ida B by Katherine Hannigan. A very wise little girl who talks to trees and brooks and knows the wisdom of the stars - who makes plans every day to have fun and create a full life - who knows the best way to live is to find the good things and focus only on them - not wasting time for the boring or mundane. Then her mother gets cancer and her world changes - from bad to worse as her perception of the world changes and she only looks out for the bad things that could happen - and that's all she finds of course. Naturally, there's a happy ending, everything turns around and she finds her connection to the land and the trees, new people and herself again. It made me cry and laugh too. I think I would like to be more like Ida B myself - on her good days anyway.

Back "home"

Camping out is fun, but coming 'home' is really nice. First thing Luke said was "Mom! It's so nice to have a toilet that flushes the first time." He's right. It's also nice to have KPLU's "All Blues" blaring through the speakers we wired throughout the house... and bright lights, and warm clean floors that you can go barefoot on... and delicious clean water right out of the faucet, and... that big tub of mine that is calling my name - just wondering if there is enough hot water after 3 loads of laundry and Frank's shower - I'll find out soon, and it will be clear fresh water, not the yellow stuff that we filled the old claw foot up with in Edmonds. That house really needs a LOT of work. It will be nice though too... just give us enough time. And money. And patience. For now, I'll enjoy my little luxuries here while I have them.