Myriah at 13!

This is a picture of Kesiah and Myriah at the Lake Bowl last Sunday. They are both so beautiful, it takes your breath away!

I can't believe it, but my oldest granddaughter Myriah is 13! Gosh, it seems like yesterday she was sitting in the car seat next to me, bee bopping to the tunes on the radio!

Myriah is getting to be so grown up now - if you can believe it, she wears eyeshadow! And Christopher choked when she only wore lip gloss. Just wait Chris, until her first date. It will surely make the "first date" scene in Bad Boys II look like church boys!

In case you haven't seen that scene, you can see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3NQaU7awPI


Riley and I once had to rewind it about four times to watch it, we were laughing so hard we were crying! First dates for Myriah, Rhyan and Kesiah LeeLee - look out! Chris is the only person I know who can use profanities 32 times in one sentence! And wait until the poor guy gets a look at Brady! Well, that's what brothers are for, so I am told!

Myriah had a great party at the Lake Bowl - except grandma drove straight to Chico's first.....felt kind of dumb getting back into my car. Lots of great friends and some kick-stuff bowling by the kids. Kesiah was really getting into the bowling bit.

On another note, the shuttle launch has been delayed until maybe February. I am still so looking forward to it! I was talking to my friend Tim (see class reunion photos), and he was all excited just imaging the noise!

And yes Kate you are BGF #1!! I miss you so much!

I had a class tonight - so I'm tuckered. Catch everyone later! Love you all -

t's world, revisited...

Number one son called to tell me that his dad wants me to come and get my green house. I think he's joking so I call his dad, and his first question to me is "When are you coming to get your greenhouse?" . Hmmmm. So, I called my best friend and asked her and her husband to go with me and Matt to look at it to see if we could tackle this job. When we get there, my husband starts shaking his head. "I don't think so", says he. Now, remember, my green house soars some into the air. It's huge! I remember when we put the roof on, thinking that Don and Forest were going to go flying on it; it was a windy day, and the roof is slanted so much that it just picks up breezes like a shovel picks up dirt! So, we wander around it going hmmm, hmmm, and I think it finally comes down to we won't be able to do it, and put it into some semblance of order when we do. I have asked Deb if she would take it for me (put it onto her property), but she has such a huge dislike for #1 ex that it would prevent her from doing the job justice. So, we will wait and see. I am told that I have until he finishes the kitchen to move it (a job that has been going on for 10 years now). So, I don't know.
No, I am not going anywhere to watch the any space shuttle take off. I will be lucky if I catch it on the 'net. Spending my days getting used to it being cooler, and the days being so short. I am the type of person that when the sun goes down my body says it's time to go to bed. When the clock moves back one hour, I will be going to bed at 6:00! For awhile, anyway.
I am so pleased that mo is able to go do stuff like this! She is so into planes and stuff! And, I think it's amazing that we have that opportunity at all! We have sure come a long way, baby! t

Semi-Official Announcement

Well, it's NOT QUITE official, but it appears I will attend the launch of the shuttle Atlantis next month at Kennedy Space Center in Florida! WooHoo! I am SO EXCITED! Kate, her husband Rick and I were invited a few months ago. We've been waiting on launch dates because of Hurricane Ike (Ike landed near Houston, where Johnson Space Center is located. JSC controls the mission after the launch).

I got to know the shuttle pilot, Greg Johnson (Ray J), when BBCC PIO Kate Holestine contacted him to come to BBCC for the opening ceremony of the newly remodeled aviation building. Ray J is a graduate (class of 1972) of the BBCC aviation program, and knew a friend of mine, Greg Thompson, who was killed in an airplane crash over Stevens Pass many years ago. Greg Thompson was Ray J's CFI, and they flew together at Kenmore Air.

When I found out Ray J knew Greg Thompson, I contacted a friend of mine who had traveled a lot with Greg and had some great pictures of him. I had them color-copied and had copies waiting for Ray J when he came to Moses Lake. (It's the little things, you know.)

We have stayed in contact with semi-annual emails. Ray J was scheduled for a launch that got scrubbed after 9/11.

We plan on flying into Orlando, renting a car and driving to Titusville. There is a reception hosted by Ray J's wife, Nanette Faget, who is a NASA engineer. (find out more about her father Max, who was a long-time NASA engineer here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxime_Faget - he has his own wiki!).

You can follow the official launch details at this site: http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/sts125/.

The mission is to repair the Hubble telescope. It is exciting, and the crew is working very hard. There are plans in place for an evacuation of the Atlantis crew by the shuttle Endeavor if there is damage to Atlantis. Lots of hard work on behalf of many, many people!

So I am doing the official NASA dance, using the YMCA music! (Someone told me I was a dork, but hey at least I'm a happy dork!!) I called Kate and told her Rick (who is a teacher) had an official assignment, to come up with appropriate hand-signals for our new dance. Maybe I will video-tape them and you can vote on his version vs. mine.

Life is very good - I have SO MANY blessings; great health, great kids, great grandkids, super great friends, a house I love, a garden I love, dogs I like, a car that runs, a job, some fish and even a rabbit!

I am thinking about taking a laptop or something to report along the way, so check back for more details. Launch is October 14, 2008. WOOHOO! KSC here I come!

A day in the life of....

Well, my sisters lead a more interesting life than I do, so therefore it seems logical they would post more. My life is pretty much in a huge rut. Since I no longer work, my time isn't compressed into just after work, and weekends. I get to spread the same-ness through 7 long days! For example, the biggest decision I had yesterday was what kind of toothbrush to buy! (Really, this was important, guys! I brush so hard I have to replace my toothbrush every month or so. So, I sort of needed a cast iron toothbrush. In case you are wondering, ended up wtih a Oral-B cross action power max toothbrush. BBBSSSSTTTTHHHHTTTT!) Today, so far, the most important decision was weather or not to take my male schnauzer to the vet or not. He tried to jump on the bed, and ended up on his back on the floor screaming bloody murder! After consulting with my better half, it was decided I would take him to the vet, but call Matt back if anything expensive came up (like bowel resection, or disc decompression surgery). Turns out that Shadow just blew a disc in his lower back (where, please, is the lower back on a schnauzer?) Just taking anti-inflamatories for a week should make him good as new. I hope I never have to hear him scream like a girl again! Whew!
So, this is why I almost never post. I can not imagine my sisters wanting to hear about the great toothbrush debate that took place at our local Walmart last night. Or, even, to hear about the monetary value I put on my dog as compaired to the monetary value my spouse puts on my dogs. Let's face it, there are bigger fish to fry, and I never get to go out and see them!
I anticipate more weighty decisions coming up for the rest of the week. For example, should I or should I not cover my tomato's in case of early frost. (it was a mute point yesterday, as the 30 mile an hour winds would of made confetti out of anything I tried to protect them with). But, I can see from the coolness of the days that this decision will have to be made, and made sooner than I am prepared for. (Really, screw the tomato's! Who cares???)
Also, coming up is dealing with my daughter moving away to Yakima. She will no longer be within shouting distance of me, and the thought of that makes me sad. Even if we didn't see her everyday, it was a comfort knowing that she was just 3 houses down if I needed her! And, my grandsons? When will I see those little buggers???
So, I will keep you posted on my day to day occurrences, if that will make you happy, Mo. But, I am more interested in reading about you, and some interesting choices you make each week. What happened to bad mo-joe??? Hmmmm?
More latter, t

Funny book I'm reading...

I have to tell you all about the book I've been reading once in a while. It's pretty funny - BGF Linda brought it over for me to read after a guy hurt my feelings this summer. The name of the book is "It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken". It is hilarious! I feel good because I'm not nuts like these girls are.....

Gals have written in about their breakup with their companions, breaking into emails, voice mails, IM's, on and on and on. Amber writes in, and they reply "Amber Waves of Pain", Misty writes in and she is "Misty Water Colored Memories", Janet writes in and she's "Janet from a Sad Planet"... you get the drift!

One funny chapter is called "There are no new messages", and it says "What did heartbroken people do before phones - stand and stare at the mailbox? Stand in their driveway and wait for the stagecoach? Run to the Western Union and see if anyone had Morse Coded them?" You gotta wonder about that.....

My problem was, as usual, being a little bit too nice. If I had recognized the number on the Caller ID, would I have answered it? Who knows, but I didn't, and I did answer the phone, and there I went galloping right down the road to the Heartbreak Hotel.

You can't stay at the HH forever! Time to look for a guy who is honest and kind, and above all - totally into me!

Quiet Weekend

I had a nice, quiet weekend. WooHoo! I shouldn't slow down, as winter is coming right around the corner, but I got alot of stuff done.

I had Kharsyn Saturday. He wasn't feeling well. He is the most polite child in the world. You ask him if he wants to eat "yes". You ask him if he went potty "yes". If he is done eating what you feed him, he simply pushes your hand away. Much different from the little boy who, taking a bite of cantelope, threw it on the floor and stomped on it earlier this year!

You can see he isn't feeling very well! He looks alot like Riley did when Riley was his age.

I picked plums, mowed the lawn, and put up my summer clothing and brought out winter stuff. I always change the colors in my living room - turquoise and silver in summer, red and brass in the winter. So up and down the attic steps I went several times! Now I have blankets, pillows, books and pictures out - kind of that homey look that keeps you warm in the winter!

Here is a picture of the 4th of July Goldenrod I have to separate this fall. I have about three of them. They get about 4' tall - I also have to move this one to the back of the border.

This is purple basil - a great plant! It is huge! I was thinking about this for your front bed Marge - it is a beautiful bi-color plant. This is two years old and about three foot across.

This coral rose is enjoying the cooler weather!

That's it for now! Love you all - Mo

Market Woes

I have been getting lots of telephone calls about the current state of the stock market. If you are a certain age, hopefully you have a percentage of your retirement / savings in cash. The closer you are to retirement, the more cash you should hold.

A large part of my emergency funds were in a mutual fund I have had for almost 20 years. I started off very carefully, with a GNMA account that paid 6% in dividends. From $1500 I went to $3600. Then, to my shame, came the greed factor. I looked up the accounts in this mutual fund, picked the second highest flyer, and transferred my funds into that account. Verrrry scientific right?

Woe is me! That was in 2000 - so you know what happened to my money....down the paper drain it went - to $1800. But I perservered, and last year my $1800 was $11,000! WooHoo! I could do no wrong. Sorry.... but the first of this year my account was $9,000, and I sold it last week at $7,000. But it was a good thing I did, because if I would have held on, it would have dropped another $1,000 in ONE WEEK.

I felt kind of bad because I had that account since Mom died, so I felt like I was loosing a friend. But all that friend really wanted was my money! So I'm a little poorer, but smarter.

Here is the few bits & pieces of (hopefully accurate) information I can pass on:

If it goes up, it will come down. Simple - Newton's Law right? So whether it is real estate, internet stock or gold, the law remains the same. Ride the wave UP, not down. If your hairdresser is talking about it - get out!

Always have a cash fund - even if this is in a dreary .0001% return at your local bank. We are all supposed to have 6 months salary in our emergency fund.

Luckily, last year I had a hot stock, and made enough over my emergency fund to pay for my driveway. This year I'm not holding my breath - although in a few months may be a good time to "bottom feed" stock purchases. I read a few years ago, buy KMart stock - I thought right - at $1.43 a share, what a deal. Unfortunately, I did not heed that information, because if was soon well over $100 per share.

Mutual funds are NOT FDIC insured. Neither are money market accounts held at brokerage houses (the former Merrill Lynch, the former Lehman Brothers - you get my drift right?)

Cd's held at local banks are insured for $100,000 - unless it is an IRA cd. Those are insured for $250,000.

The FDIC rules are complicated - of course - who wrote them? But it is possible to have $100,000 in your name, $100,000 in your spouses name, and I'm not sure the amount in your joint names at a FDIC insured bank - not your local brokerage house. Check then check again!

Shop, shop, shop rates right now. You have to shop daily. But do consider cd's because even if you are only making 3%, you aren't loosing 20%. And did I mention to make sure it is FDIC insured?

I have been changing all my allocations in my retirement accounts to bonds and money market accounts. I can't change them fast enough - today I lost over 1%. At my age, I don't want to loose a penny.

Another bit of advice is to keep your money diversified - that means don't throw all of your money into a big house, or gold, a coffee plantation or internet stock. I have four houses, cash, stocks, bonds, and two dogs. Staying diversified means you spread your risk over several different types of investments. The bad thing is I have to feed the dogs every single day!

Lastly, this isn't a time to be sentimental. Just because a stock made you bucko bucks before, it will turn around and eat your panties tomorrow!

So dig in and do what American's do best - perservere! No more lattes, keep your nose clean at work, be productive, but always remember to keep a smile in your heart, a tune in your head, and your dancing shoes close by!

Below are pictures of my #1 son, and his daughter Taylor. These were taken on her 5th birthday, last month. Also, there is a picture of my new garden, that Matt and I just built this spring, which last year was the dog run. It's a pretty happy garden, behind the fence are my tomato plants, and a mix of old perennials that I put there, as a temporary storage solution. It's been lots of fun, I just put the annual seeds down the first week of August, and they are just taking off!

I am hoping that my sisters will be able to come here this fall, and dig up some of my perennials in the front garden that have gotten carried away. I have columbine, butterfly bushes, salvias, all sorts of things that need to get weeded out; they are taking over my front yard!!!

It's been fun, though. When Matt and I moved here, there was just dead grass, one birch tree, and 5 old roses. Everything else in our yard is 5 years old, or younger. Our first summer here I somehow managed to win the Garden of the Month from our local gardeners club! It's been fun watching everything grow.

I am not able to get out and do much when the weather is so hot, but when it cools down I am looking forward to spending more time out there. Above is shot from the gate looking straight back at the house.

Come and get them, girls!!! t

My summer vacation

Hi! I'm home!O-k, I've been home for a couple of days; I had to have Heather come over again, and show me how to upload pictures! Here we are at my favorite park, the Peace Arch, at Blaine, WA. They have art work there, it changes all the time, but this is my all time favorite plant, it's leaves are 6 feet wide, and those are the blooms you see here (the orange). It was nice to get away for awhile; we had a 5:00 am fire drill (the last time we stayed in Birch Bay it was 2 am fire drill), and so we got to know our fellow condo owners a little bit. We didn't go to Lopez Island this time, the fare was $35.00, and $10.00 for each passenger!!! I did get in a lot of beach combing, and brought home a bushel bag of rocks and shells!

The dogs stayed at Quail point kennels, who I recommend to anyone; they are so nice, clean, and attentive. Unfortunately, the dogs were so comfortable that they ate every morsel (usually they go off their food when we are gone), so they didn't loose any weight like the doctor ordered!

Thanks to daughter Heather, who looked after my two giant gold fish for me, and watered the yard. I came home to a very comfused orange poppy that was blooming, again!

I have to admit, the Peach Arch Park is my favorite garden, too. They pay attention to even the smallest creatures!

t

West Nile Virus or the Flu?

I haven't fallen off the face of earth - I've been sick! Icky tummy and very severe headache. I hate it when I have lumps on my neck - just pushing on them makes my head ache more.


So.... do I have West Nile Virus - or the flu? You tell me girls!


But this week I attended the funeral of a former friend I worked with Faye Maslen - the kids called her Big Faye - not to be confused with my best friend of 34+ years Little Faye. I worked with Faye at Central Office Suppliers, and also worked for her when she had her store The Book Nook. She was very active in the community, and will be missed.

Today (Saturday) I finally got some energy to go outside and mow, water, rake and burn. But after a week not feeling well, it sure zapped me! Kharsyn was here with his John Deere tractor, but he didn't ride it at all, just enjoyed running around the property.

Take care all!

Birthday Bash!

I had a great birthday - a big thank you to everyone!

Here are myself, BGF Glenda, BGF Linda and Albert at Michael's on the Lake:

We are funny sisters, Marge might get her Christmas present from me or Trudy on Marge's birthday (in July), and Trudy always forgets the day of my birthday, even though it's the same day as hers (the 4th). I always forgot the day of Dad's birthday, even though HIS was on the 4th too. And Mom and Pat's were days apart......

I am lucky to have such great sisters, sons, daughters-in-law and friends. Love you all!

Beware your Heart's Desire

At a certain age, of which I will be shortly celebrating, we all know to Beware your Heart's Desire!

On the occasion of turning 55, which I don't really believe is happening, I had to ponder; what do I most want for my birthday?

Trying to organize the house, and those of you who know me know I have stuff everywhere, I am always looking for something. The first of the year, I got tired of looking, and promptly went to WalMart where I purchased several different sizes of storage containers. I had a storage container for drip-irrigation parts, tools, nails, screws, and other miscellany that seem to follow me in my life. So if I open a drawer and find some sprinkler heads for my drip-irrigation system, I know exactly where they go! Into the container within the Kitchen Queen.

Sadly, the Kitchen Queen is being sold for lack of space.................... Now what does a girl do? WooHoo! the girl buys a tool box! Now for some of you, this isn't very exciting. But it's exactly what I wanted! Little organizer thingamajigs to put thingamajigs in, but most important, light enough to lift!

Here's my pride & joy:

It has a top compartment, which I promptly filled with various screws, nuts and tie-thingies:

Isn't that amazing? I even cut out the sizes of the nails to put into each compartment. Am I smart or what?

Here's the mysterious interior of my toolbox:


I found out I am the proud owner of FOUR hammers! And there's a pair of plyers, and some other mysterious stuff in there. Woops, I didn't take a picture of the little thingie you lift off when you open the tool box, but it is full of screwdrivers Brady brought me a few months back.

Sigh..............I am happy for now!