Good days seem hard to come by

Good days. It's all a perspective right? Today was tough in the middle. Mommy/daughter/cat clashes. We went swimming but the tension continued(s). After a delicious burrito dinner I threw kid into the back yard and proceeded to pull/cut/destroy weeds. Then I tied up my raspberry bushes finally. Let me tell you what, that is an itchy and painful affair. Not very pretty either, but we might harvest enough for jam this fruiting. Not enough for Christmas gifts, but enough for ourselves and that is the point of much of our gardening. Oh, and while I did this Lil'Bug managed to unwind all my twine and capture herself, "In the name of the hundred acre woods!" Man she's a funny funny little Pooh Bear fan.

I am trying to get the yard cleaned up by Saturday when we finally stick the FOR SALE.....SOON sign up in the yard for the benefit of the 30 people that go on our neighborhood house tour that are typically diverted around our block. Chad intends to work on the front landscaping and smile at those who do stop and gawk. I am really sad about the house sale process actually getting underway...but happy too.

The picture is this week's harvest. We are finally ripening the volunteer little orange tomatoes. They are sweet and tart. Before I had a chance to replant the lettuce bed with beans, they sprouted up and took over the entire bed. Crazy.

De-Cluttering is hurting our economy or why my mess is patriotic

Clutter= costs you money because you can't find things you need so you end up buying more AND/OR you break the stuff you own (see below) and have to replace it AND/OR when stuff gets stolen you don't know for days and then really have no idea what all is gone anyway (so no insurance claim possible).

Wow. I know, bold statement, eh? Here's the summary: Clutter costs you money= supporting our economy= patriotic. Right?

So here's an example of how I work to support the economy. Say lovely wife (that's me) decides that all her files and pictures need to be backed up (after a scary, dog and cat smash the computer right off the table, incident- such a bad week around here) so she spends a mere $15 for husband, dearest husband to spend all of his free time for the next two weeks backing up said files. Oh, an external drive must be purchased too. Ok, fine. Par. But what if there is nowhere to put the stack of CD's in the clutter we call the library room?

Perhaps it would go down like this: the amazing lindy hopping vacuum dancing wife is jiving like a hep cat, actually cleaning for once instead of just chasing tot, and knocks into the desk (aka the precariously stacked mountain of stuff in which sometimes husband lurks with electronics). Jazz music is so loud she doesn't hear the crash and proceeds to, after a bit and a song change, foxtrot on to fallen pile of fragile and brittle CD's, or should I call them splintered bits of plastic?

Ok. Do not panic. Now I have to shop and buy some more which will undoubtedly lead to extraneous impulse purchases. Purchases support our economy and improve morale of both the shopper and the worker, (and the employed debt counselors), right? Patriotic, eh? The library is now vacuumed and I'm supporting our economy.

This is just an example of one tiny corner. Imagine what I would avoid destroying if everything had a place to be stored all lovely like. You have no idea the destruction that occurs by my graceful enthusiasm every freakin' day around here.

Oh, and sorry about the landslide in your office dearest, most capable, efficient, wonderful, loving, and forgiving husband. Oh, and the back up files that you might now have to re-do. Oops. But I'm just being patriotic so you cannot be very mad at me. ;)

Harry Potter Fan

I finally got to see Order of the Phoenix! It all started when the Target check out girl commented on my HP pajama T-shirt (hey now, surely others end up wearing PJ shirts to get groceries?) and I realized that the OP would be leaving the IMax soon..... so like a big dork still donning my HP PJ shirt I went to see it. I was amazed that soda and popcorn only totaled $4. I was overwhelmed at the Imax "experience" and annoyed when it stretched out faces and the like, but overall it was a good movie.

I like the book better. The movie paid tribute to some of the minor characters like Tonks and Kingsley but there was no attachment or character development and I think that will have to be addressed in the movies at some point since they are more important later. There were a couple other things left out that were important too, like Quidditch being canceled, the Centaur Divination teacher, and the like but it is just a movie. I do feel a bit sorry for people who will never read the books.

Here's to hoping there is a director's cut that is 6 hours long!

New Process

I thought I'd preview the new process I've been using for painting. It is both new in medium and new in the way that I approach creating. Here is a picture of one, yes only one, of the boards that I started last month. I am using Gouache and Watercolor Pencils.