Friday, July 30, 2004

Better things.

The weather has cooled down some. I never thought I would be grateful for temps in the 90's! When I lived in Salem, Oregon the temps didn't reach the 100's for more than a day or two at a time. I hated it when it got up to 85 degrees, I thought it was too hot. LOL I know it was worse because of the humidity, but I really don't think it's that much different as far as humidity is concerned. I wish I could live closer to the beach, it's cooler there and I love the ocean.

My elbows are feeling better now, and my back will allow me to stand to do dishes or what ever for about half an hour before it feels like it's all tied in knots. Hopefully it will continue to get better.

I still need to get out to WalMart. I have to make a payment on my WalMart card as well as get the yarn for the blanket for Snowanna's son. (It seems so weird to say that! She was such a cute little girl just last week, wasn't she? It's so hard to remember that she is a grown woman now, with a baby on the way.) I guess Howard and I will have to talk to Jimmy about getting the truck for a few hours or getting the station wagon back. Howard was supposed to get me bus schedules this week, he forgot.

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Putting things on pause.

Yesterday and today I had to put the knitting project and cleaning on pause. My elbows are aching despite the medication the Doctor gave me. The bursitis is acting up again.

To top it off I tripped yesterday and tweaked my back and my left shoulder. My back problem is pretty much just when I stand up, I'm guessing that one of the muscles that helps me stay upright was pulled a little bit. It's not a stabbing pain, just an ache when I stand up for longer than 2 minutes. The ache gets worse the longer I remain standing. So doing dishes for more than 2 minutes or so isn't going to happen.

My shoulder only hurts when I lift my arm over my head or turn in just the right way. Sweeping is out of the question as well because it puts stress on my shoulder and that particular area of my back.

So I'm feeling a little useless, and bored. At least I can still pick up Aidan, and sitting isn't painful. I'd really like to knit, but I think I'd better wait a day or two.

Monday, July 26, 2004

Dreaming

Ever since my brother, Mark, was a baby I've had dreams of the boys I love falling into uncontrolled water and being lost to me. I'm 9 years older than Mark. With Mark it started not long after he had learned to walk. I dreamed that he walked off the wooden walk ways around the boiling mud pits at Yellow Stone National Park.

With Allen and Chris, I had several dreams about the river and losing them in the water because of the current and the cloudiness of the water. There was even one that had both of them falling into a lake, Allen first then Chris tried to get him and fell in too. I couldn't find either of them.

Xander, Elijah, and Connor were also in similar dreams. It was always rivers or lakes, never swimming pools.

There are only 3 little girls I've been close to, Snowanna (my niece), Savanna and Taylor (My friends girls I babysat), the dreams I had about them always had to do with someone doing something bad to them. Hurting them, killing them, molesting them.

With Aidan things have changed. Now he is falling or being dropped of high locations. That is probably because of the day Connor fell off the balcony at the apartments in Salem. I've had two dreams about it in the last couple of weeks. I'm sort of happy that the dreams changed because I can feel more relaxed at the lake than I used to. I couldn't go to the lake if ANY kids were around. Now I just keep an eye on Aidan and I'm fine. I can enjoy myself completely when I know that Aidan is safe. But now I'm developing a fear of heights I never had before.

I haven't remembered my dreams lately. Or when I do remember it's only for a few moments after I wake up.


Monday morning positives.

Iced coffee drinks made for me by my sweet Husband.
Little boy laughing as he discovers new things.
Long phone calls with my Mom, who is also my best friend.
Learning new knitting patterns.
Pretty yarns, beads, and bright shiny things.
Old and dear friends.
New and interesting friends.
Watching my son play in the yard.
Playing a chase type game so I can get the pictures I want, while trying to keep the camera away from Aidan.


Friday, July 23, 2004

Summer heat and missing keys.

I noticed that the weather in Salem Oregon is expected to be very hot about 104  according to my Yahoo! and MSN websites. Hood River is expected to be about 101. Which makes me feel pretty good, because we are supposed to be about 99 which mean probably about 101 today. Finally a day where my friends and family up North will be hotter than I am! But those of you in New York are supposed to be cooler. I can't remember your expected high, because I was so thrilled that Salem was going to be so much warmer than Atwater.

I still haven't been able to get to WalMart. I finally get a creative inspiration and I can't do anything about it! Well actually I'm practicing with size 10 needles and some left over yarn, it's interesting and I think it's going to be very pretty. Howard wants to know what I'm going to do with this practice thing I'm making, I don't know what to tell him. Maybe a cushion cover or something for Aidan to play with. Or I might pull it out and do something else with it.

Aidan has decided that everything belongs in the trash can. Probably because the lid has one of those flaps that swings in when you push it. I've had to take the cell phone and several of his toys out of there almost constantly everyday for about 10 days now. I can't wait until he gets over this particular fascination. I think my keys are now at the dump, anyway they are gone. I've searched anywhere I can think of for them. If they are in the trash, it'll be ok, because I can make copies of all of them. Someone else has copies of every key I had. If they are here somewhere I guess I'll end up with an extra set of everything, because I have to get them copied the next time I'm some place that makes keys.

Well, everyone, I hope you have a wonderful week-end. I don't know if I'll blog over the week-end or not. I don't always have anything to say.

Tuesday, July 20, 2004

This and that.

Aidan learned how to fake a sneeze. It's really funny, because he will put his head back and go ah-ah-choo! and flop his head forward, almost like a real sneeze. Then he will clap his hands and laugh! To him all sneezes are truly funny.
 
I am looking forward to getting back into the SCA. We are going to have to start over, a lot of my garb and other stuff got damaged or lost in the moves. It will have to wait until after Howard finishes his classes and has a job. But it looks good for next summer, because next month he will be taking his last test and hopefully by then they will have an internship ready for him. After a year or so there he will have experience enough to get a job else where. So, I've decided to start doing some research on a new persona, or maybe just get better documentation for the ones I already have.
 
I am planning a Celtic Knot baby blanket for Snowanna's little baby boy. He is due the early part of September. Which in Oregon is the beginning of the cold and wet season so I'm hoping it will be useful. It's going to be interesting to do, and a little harder than anything I've ever done before. But I tried the pattern out with some yarn I had around here and I think it's going to be really pretty and not so hard I won't finish it. Now all I have to do is go to the store and get some blue yarn and knitting needles, which means waiting until I can get a car to borrow. Because I feel kind of strange to ask for a ride to Wal-Mart, and making the person who would be nice enough to drive me wait until I get finished shopping.
 
It's awful not having transportation. I'm am going to have to get a bus schedule and figure out how to get where I want to go. It costs so much to own a car in California. It costs something like $150 a year for tags and registration, plus insurance and making the thing pass smog inspection. Actually I guess the cost for the tags is really dependent on the car, so it's probably less in most cases.
 
I hate this weather! It's so hot here right now that I can't even walk from one end of my tiny little house to the other without breaking out in a sweat. I am really going to appreciate the weather in Oregon, when we can finally move back! And we are planning to move back in the next couple of years.


Monday, July 19, 2004

Is it Monday already?

This week went by in a flash! It's strange when each day seems to take forever. I really hate the heat! And my allergies are getting worse every day. But there are some good things, happy thoughts, and things I'm grateful for.
 
Today Aidan had an appointment with his Doctor. She is happy with his growth and developement. He's 33 inchs tall and weighs 28 pounds.
 
Allen called me yesterday, just to say hello. He sounds good. He told me that he is doing well.
 
Aidan learned to click his tongue a couple of days ago, he will walk around the house doing it for almost 10 minutes and then he will smile at me.
 
Jennifer, I want to say I love you sweet girl.
 
Nicole, I love you too, but I want you to know how grateful I am that you are such a good Mother to Xander.
 
Allen, I am SO proud to be your Mother. You are an amazing young man.
 
Solomon, Congradulations on your recent marriage, I can never tell you how wonderful I think you are, and how thankful I am that you were able to take care of Xander while Nicole and Allen were working.
 
I love you all, thank you for being my friends and family.
 
PS They've made blogger more user friendly, and added fonts, and colors with just a click. So I kind of went crazy with it. The colored words are not links just colors I liked for the person or thought.
  
 

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Separate and feeling lonely.

Most of the time I feel a need to keep these entries up beat and happy. Even when in reality I'm feeling kind of down, or depressed or lonely. Sometimes I feel so lonely and separate from the all the people who mean so much to me. Partly it's because I'm here in California, away from my family and some of my friends. But even before we moved here I sometimes felt very separate from them. Most of MY friends live far away from me, even when I lived in Salem they were far away. Cheryl is in Spokane, Tammy is in Portland but her family keeps her from me, Nicole, Solomon, Allen and Xander are in clear across the country. I've either lost contact with my friends or they have moved or both. I only knew that Solomon was getting married because of Nicole's blog and talking to Allen on the phone. We lost contact years ago. So today I'm feeling separated from the people I care about the most in this world and I feel lonely there is no one here for me to talk to or go visit or have come to see me. I'm feeling forgotten, I guess, and (except for Aidan) I feel unimportant to anyone. Don't worry about me though, these feelings pass fairly quickly. I think today it was brought on by reading blogs about babies and those from some of the friends who are so far away. I'll be fine tonight.

Monday, July 12, 2004

Things that make me smile this Monday.

My friend, Solomon got married over the week-end.
Xander is a very handsome young man.
Picture share. Thank you Jennifer!
Babies.
Hugs and kisses from Aidan.
Finding a good book to read.
I've found a Pagan knitting blog.

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

Busy busy days

Things have been rather hectic around here the last couple of days.

On Friday, I had to take Howard to the dentist to have his top front teeth capped. They look really good. Then we went to his mothers so he could work on her computer, he thought it would take only about half an hour, but instead it took 5 and still wasn't fixed. So Aidan only got one nap, and that was for about 15 minutes in the car when I went out to get something to eat.

On Saturday, I borrowed my mother-in-laws car and went to the store after Aidan's morning nap. While there Howard called and wanted me to go to the bank, and take the car back to his mother. So I hurried home, put the milk and other perishables away, and went to the bank. I turned the car off next to the ATM opened the side door so I could see Aidan and he wouldn't get too hot and got the money I needed to pay the rent. When I got back in to the car it wouldn't start. It sounded like the starter to me. So I pushed it into a shady parking space, with some help, and called Howard and Jimmy to come and save me. They thought it was the battery. Aidan and I played in the back while we waited and waited and waited. A nice lady went to the store and brought back 2 bottles of juice and some cheetos. Finally after I had waited 3 hours the men arrived. I knew they were going to take a while because they were in the middle of a job when I called, but they were so late because they stopped to help someone with a flat. It turned out to be the starter and it took about an hour to get it fixed. By then was already almost 7:30 PM. I went to my mother-in-laws house and ended up having to visit for another hour or so. I got home just in time to feed Aidan, give him a bath and put him to bed. He missed his afternoon nap.

Sunday, Aidan and I went to Howard's Aunts house for a BBQ, but only 7 people where there including us and the Aunt. 5 of us were women. We spent most of the afternoon there, luckily Aidan had taken an early nap that morning, but again he missed his afternoon nap.

Yesterday, the family decided to have a BBQ to celebrate a Birthday that had actually happened almost 2 weeks ago. So again Aidan missed his afternoon nap. We got home in time for a bath and bed. Any of you who have/had children who really needed their two naps a day will understand how difficult these days have been for Aidan and I.

Howard hasn't been around much since Friday, because he was working with Jim over the week-end. We missed him. Me more than Aidan because I didn't have him to turn over the child care to for any amount of time. Actually I think they missed each other the most. I'm so glad that they have a good relationship.

Today I'm relaxing trying not to be too hot. I slipped yesterday and it seems that I stressed something in my left hip, and the muscles in my right leg are also achey today. So I'm glad I don't have anything to do today. Oh and Aidan got both of his naps today! Yeah!!