We're in a What????? Get Out!

Okay, all of you out there who were surprised to hear that the US was in a recession, please raise your hand. Great.....I see homeowners unanimously have their hands up......Students, yep their hands are up......Recently laid off or about to be laid off workers.....yep, hands are up........People at the store trying to make purchases......I see those hands. Folks trying to sell their house..........that bunch is standing on the table shouting. Hmmmm, there's a group over there that doesn't seem to understand the question.......Wall Street, stock brokers....what's that you say........you are SHOCKED to hear that the US in in a recession. Well,now, doesn't that just explain a whole lot...

OK, my cynicism aside, how in the world can the "stock market" be shocked and react so dramatically to the news that we've been in a recession since December 2004. I seriously don't understand that. It seems like the ultimate in denial and it's just not at all productive. It scares me just a little (okay, more than a little) that these are the people who have a handle on our economy and that for many of us, are managing our retirement funds. Ok, I'm ready to start using the Bank of the Tin Can....I think it's infinitely safer.

I have no doubt that we will eventually be in a better place financially at some point in the future at the same time, it's going to take Wall Street, Big Corporate CEO's waking up and venturing out into the real world to see what life is really like. (Sorry one more rant....how do those auto guys go to Congress to ask for bail out money in private jets and expect to garner sympathy? Life must be good when you live in the Emerald City.) Ok...rant's over.

I feel so much better for having gotten this off my chest. Carry on.

Engaging with Grace

Check out: http://www.engagewithgrace.org/.

Engage with Grace and the One Slide Project have one goal: To help ensure that all of us - and the people we care for - can end our lives in the same purposeful way we lived them. Here's how you can join the conversation: Download the One Slide and donate just 2 minutes at the end of every presentation to sharing it with colleagues. Share it with your friends and family. Try to answer the 5 questions for yourself. Store your answers to the questions on our secure site. Make sure you and your loved ones can carry through your wishes.

Watch a video about it here"

http://vimeo.com/2339539

Five Wishes

If you need a place to start, you might want to use the Five Wishes document. You can find out more about it at http:www.agingwithdignity.org

The Five Wishes document helps you express how you want to be treated if you are seriously ill and unable to speak for yourself. It is unique among all other living will and health agent forms because it looks to all of a person's needs: medical, personal, emotional and spiritual. Five Wishes also encourages discussing your wishes with your family and physician.

Five Wishes lets your family and doctors know:

1. Which person you want to make health care decisions for you when you can't make them.
2. The kind of medical treatment you want or don't want.
3. How comfortable you want to be.
4. How you want people to treat you.
5. What you want your loved ones to know.
   

Done!

Quintana - Cowley Wedding.

After two years of dating, Ron & Kathleen got married today. It was a very simple ceremony performed by Ron's son Robbie. Ron's other son Jimmy, his mother (93 years old); Kathleen's daughter Julie and various other friends and family (about 25 in total) watching. It was a very nice, simple ceremony and lunch.

The Story of the Shrug

About a 6 weeks ago Kathleen called me to see what I thought about having someone crochet her wedding dress. We talked a bit and I offered to work with her and see if there was something I could do for her. I thought 6 weeks was a little tight but you know, if I really concentrated on it, I could get something done. So, the next day, Karen and I went to a taping of Jeopardy (to air Thanksgiving week) and stopped by Kathleen's place on the way home. I showed her a lot of pictures, she showed us a couple of dresses that she had and was considering and after all was said and done, she decided she wanted a shrug. We settled on a Lace shrug from the Spring/Summer Vogue Knitting. I was a little nervous about this because, you know, I've had my issues with lace. I new it would be a stretch garment for me to make but after all, it's just making loops with two sticks and strings.

I did finish it and I believe it turned out well.....you be the judge.

As it turned out, the yarn store gave me Tilli Thomas Plie rather than Rock Star. Plie is a finer gauge than Rock Star and some adjustments were necessary but all in all I made it work.

The Red Sweater-

Back in March I started a cabled cardigan and got disgusted by it. I put it in the closet to give it time to think about how it was behaving. After I finished Kathleen's shrug, I dug the cardigan out of the closet, took it apart, blocked the pieces and then sewed them up again. It turned out really nice. This was my first real cable project. (Model is the amazing Amanda from work.)

Change In America - Yes We Can

11-04-08
“It’s a long time coming, but because of what we did on this day, at this defining moment, change has come to America,” - President-elect Obama

So....Paul thinks I should blog more

So I get this email from an IT guy at work saying...u should blog more....I should do a lot of things that I don't really do.

• I should do a proper gauge swatch instead of just knitting a few rows and then counting.
• I should clean my house more regularly.
• I should stop buying Cheetos.
• I should walk to Starbucks rather than driving.
• I should stop worrying about things I have no control over.
• I should grow up and be a real adult and do things like save money, pay off credit cards, etc.
• I should take a proper vacation. (See previous should)
• I should read more books on things that will help me be a better person rather than ones that let me escape into some goofy world.
• I should watch more "sophisticated" movies rather than the ones that make me laugh or cry.
• I should add more photo's to this blog.
• I should get back to work.....

How Can You Not Do This?

This is too important:

Baby's and Weekends

Mason Kane and Grady Robert:

Two little baby boys were born 9 days ago. They came way too early. There names are Morgan and Grady. I knew from the very beginning that they would need special blankets. I have finally finished making the squares for two mitered square blankets. They are the same but different. I love them. I love the colors and I love that they make me smile. Each stitch has been a little prayer over the past 9 days. Now to the finishing...

Side by Side

Outside Stripes

Inside Stripes

Weekend:

We took a little trip to San Diego yesterday. The weather was perfect and it was beautiful. A couple of great pictures....Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado Island.

San Diego Skyline

Cowley Family Reunion - August 2, 2008

One Aust's Impressions of the Cowley Family Reunion Weekend

If you want to read a more coherent post about the reunion AND see some pictures you should visit Elizabeth's blog.

Corn Roast......Cinnamon Roll Bake Off (this judge says it was Uncle Tom all the way!) ......Grandma's potato salad throwdown (this judge says both were good but Aunt Eileens was closest to Grandma's).........Singed Eybrows........Asymmetrical rings in the wood = Applewood (or did Jimmy just know that Eileen & Roger had cut down an Apple Tree?) .........Beef on Weck.......Blueberry's hand picked from Burdicks........Amazing blueberry pies........a little smack talk about pie crusts from the Memmott clan........."Poppa you do the marshmallow."........Wow, that's tall corn........Can we go walk in that field?.....Katherine's first driving lesson........Building for sale in "downtown" Cattaraugus for $19,000.......The Cattaraugus County Fair........Taffy booth........BBQ chicken......Farmall tractor..........Holsteins, Brown Swiss, Angus......"The midway used to be so much bigger.".....How long can they play the game with the bean bags?.......Boy, Reese has an amazing throwing arm!.....Richard Cowley & the family tree (I hope he shares it).......demolition derby..........Aust Road......The house in Eddyville......the Cemetery Tours.........Katie, Madonna, Carol, Maryellen, Judy, Jimmy -the Buffalo cousins and how they loved coming to Uncle Larry's in the summer......Did you hear the wind with that storm?....It blew the tents, tables and benches over....Fish Fry Friday night.

There are so many more things to talk about that it will take days. It was a great weekend. It was great to see family that I haven't seen in years. It was great to go back to a place with so many fantastic memories. It's great to have new memories. I'm still not planning the next one.

I Need to Write A Blog Entry

I was looking at this blog yesterday and thought OMG, I just need to lighten up. Not that it's not good to acknowledge the passage of time and that it's completely normal to grieve the loss of loved ones (especially a dad) but there is more going on in my life than just being sad because I don't get to talk to my Dad in person. So, today I was thinkin...I need to write a new blog entry. But what do I write about?

Tiger...Did you see the US Open from Torrey Pines this past weekend? On Saturday, I thought Tiger's play on 17 & 18 was nothing short of spectacular and some of the best sports I've ever seen. It was so obvious he was in a great deal of pain and it was like his natural ability and instinct kicked in and he just did whatever it took to get off the course and get out of pain. His play on Sunday to tie Rocco and then the same on Monday was just awesome. It's even more incredible today to find out he played 91 holes of golf with a tibial stress fracture and a torn ACL. Most of us would be on the couch sucking on a bottle of Vicodin Water.....

Tennis....And I use the term loosely. My roommate and I have been going to the tennis courts this week to hit some balls around. Let me just say right now....we totally suck. Enthusiasm, we've got plenty of....skill - not so much. It will get better.

Knitting - The good news: I have finished all the pieces of the Cabled Cardigan. The bad news: I can't sew the sleeves on to save my life. I have sewn the right sleeve on twice and ripped it out twice. They say the third time's a charm. I must finish it so I can start on something new. What is it that I think I need to finish something before I start something new? Character flaw? Certainly not extreme knitterly behavior.

I think I'm all blogged out.....

1095 days +1

6.11.05 - Three Years -

Still Missing Dad

Boggity-Boo, Shnickel Von Fritzmeyer, Shnickelfritz, Doodle Bug - Whiskers (1992-2008)

All better now.

Mohawks and Woody's

Whirlwind

The last few weeks has been quite a whirlwind. I spent a few weeks finishing up the bulk of the large project that I've been working on for the past 9 months....it was just like birthing a baby. Not that I'd really know what that's like but it seems appropriate. Anyway, it's 95% done and I'm having a difficult time forcing myself to tie up all the loose ends. I have a couple of weeks so I know I'll get it done. I'd hate to actually get something done with time to spare!

The day after the big part of the project was completed, I headed to Chicago for our annual large conference. It was 10 days of sheer exhaustion.....more than 9200 critical care nurses in one place.....exhausting. Once again I experienced "NTI Feet" which is a condition that can only be experienced; not explained. It takes the right combination of shoes, blister block, moleskin, toe pads, bunion cushions and drugs to make it through the week. Once it's all over, the feet go back to normal fairly quickly, thank goodness. This weekend I treated myself to the "Royal" Pedicure at my favorite little nail place. It was 90 minutes of absolute heaven. I think the feet are finally back to normal.

As exhausting as NTI is, it is inspiring and fun at the same time. This is the first time we've had an NTI in Chicago. It was also the biggest one ever! Chicago was chilly at times, rainy at times and quite springlike at times. I which I'd had more time to do some exploring. Maybe next time...in 2011.

Weekend in Florida

After NTI, I made a quick trip to Florida for a visit with Mom. It was good to spend a few days with her. I miss her a lot and it's the hardest thing about being in California. Mr. McGregor and Miss

Maggie (the Yorkie and Shih Tzu) acted like I was just coming home from work. It's been a year since I visited Mom and the dogs were very excited to see me. Mr. McGregor decided that I needed to hand feed him (reminiscent of the days when I lived with them) and Maggie dropped my Mom like a hot potato when it came time to decide where to sleep. We had a nice visit with my Uncle, and some friends of my Mom. We had a wonderful walk on the beach and the water was so tropical, clear and warm. I miss that. Mother's day was nice and then it was a quick trip back to California.

Catching Up on Shopping

This weekend was the time to catch up on shopping. A quick trip to Sam's, Costco and Whole Foods and life is good again. On the way to the District, we were driving up the 73 Toll Road and saw this......

I know it's hard to see but this is a genuine old Woody WITH a surfboard on top. It was very cool!

Today was a day for the Orange County Swap Meet. I don't do that very often (it's been a year and half since the last time) but it was fun. It was HOT today but I got some really good deals.....$5 clip on sunglasses so I don't have to be blind.....some cool splatting tomatoes, some poppy coasters that I've been looking for and a new cool purse. One of the funniest things I saw was this:

Yep, that's a blue Mohawk on the top of that guys helmet. He told us he'd made it himself. The funny thing about this is that about 30 seconds before this picture was taken, he was on the ground with his bike on top of him. He had forgotten to take the lock off his wheel before trying to move in a forward direction......the things you see on a Sunday morning.

Next weekend is Memorial Day already. My roommate's planning a party at Lucky Strikes bowling lanes. It ought to be fun.

Ain't it Purty

Obviously.....all efforts continue in the work avoidance project that I'm on today.........

Buried Alive....With Ants In My Pants!

So, did you ever have one of those times in your life when you have a ****load of work to do and you know there isn't enough time to get it all done? AND at the same time, you have ants in your pants?....That's me. I know that it is one of my work avoidance behaviors but it knowing it doesn't help. See, the conversation in my head goes like this....

Me:
"You really need to get those assessment items done....you only have about 6 weeks to write, oh, I don't know....maybe 700 test questions!"

Me Back:
"Yeah but I've been working every weekend since October and most nights after I get home from work, I don't wanna do anything else."

Me:
"You know that if you just start doing it you'll get into it and it will be okay. You'll feel better if you just do it."

Me Back:
"You don't know what you are talking about. I can't do this...it's too hard.....I'm not smart enough to do this."

Me:
"Yes you are. You are just making excuses. You can do this and you are running out of time. Just pick up the pencil and start. You can't use the excuse of not being organized anymore, you spent last week taking care of that."

Me Back:
"Wait, I can't start yet. I don't have all the learning objectives in the right order. I've also changed the outline so I need to create new learning objectives for the stuff I added in. See, I'm not ready yet."

Me:
"Liar"

Me Back:
Uh uh. I am not a liar. Seriously, I have to do that before I can start. Look how nice it is outside. It's finally really warm out. I need to go to the beach."

Me:
"The beach! Are you kidding me? You aren't going to go to the beach. The water's too cold, you are NOT going to just hang out and do work at the beach. I know better than that."

Me Back:
"Well, I'll just go to the beach and sit outside at a Starbucks, drink coffee and work." Yeah, that's what I'll do.

Me:
"Liar! You won't do that. You'll take the crossword puzzle and work on it instead. Just who do you think you are kidding"

Me Back:
"Seriously, I just need to go outside and play for a little while, then I'll get back to work. Really I will."

Me:
"What are you going to do?"

Me Back:
"I think I'll go return stuff to Costco and Coldwater Creek. I'll be right back."

Me:
Right back? That's all you'll do?

Me Back:
"Yep, that's it......

2 1/2 hour later the conversation looks like this...

Me:
So......Now you'll get to work on those assessment items, right? You promised.

Me Back:
"Sure, I'll get right on that. I just have to send an email, catch up on blog reading and oh, yeah....I should write on my blog too....I haven't done that in a while....then I swear to God, I'll get right on it.....

Me:
"Liar."

Happy St. Pat's Day from the Cats

'Nuff Said!

Good Cat Gone Bad

Dear Ellen,
I wanted to let you know of a situation that has occurred since I was at your February 29th show. You see, this is the sad story (with a happy ending) of a really good cat gone (temporarily)bad. It is a difficult tale to tell because for the first five years of Misty's life, she has been no trouble at all. She doesn't talk back, she cleans up after herself, she contributes around the house by putting her toys in the just the right place. She has always been a pretty finicky eater....no people food, no wet cat food, no kitty treats; strictly a kitty kibble kind of kitty girl. All that was changed by visit to your show.

It started out well enough. We danced, we saw Stryker, we listened to your monologue, we danced some more, and then it happened. You announced your partnership in Halo and that we were all going home with an assortment of Halo products. It was exciting because gifts are a good thing, especially gifts for a best friend like my little Misty. We watched the rest of the taping; the guy who won a million dollars on the Price is Right, Dr. Wayne Dyer and Janet Jackson. It was great. As we piled out of the studio, we innocently picked up our bags of pet products, Janet Jackson's new CD, Dr. Wayne Dyers book and went on our way. There were cans of cat food, bags of cat food, bags of dog food and kitty treats. I was excited to bring them home because if they were from you, they were bound to be great. Little did I know that I was carrying home illicit, extremely addicting drugs to my sweet innocent Kitty Girl Misty.

In the bag were some freeze dried chicken treats that are certainly innocent looking enough. I mean they look like actual pieces of chicken. Like I said, Misty isn't a cat that eats much of anything other than her normal Kibbles. Misty was a little hesitant and tentative about eating the treats. She was interested and she wanted to try it but in her heart of hearts she knew it was not in her best interest to try it. The other cat in the house, Whiskers, an older cat that was already tainted by eating people food, wet food and kitty treats for her 16 years, just went ahead and gobbled the freeze dried chicken treats down. Unfortunately, things deteriorated quickly. Misty tried little bits of the "Funky Chicken" (I believe that's their street name) and it soon became all she could think about. She had become a Funky Chicken junkie. She spent her days guarding the container of Funky Chicken preventing Whiskers from getting close to it at all. In fact, after a day or two, the only place Misty would hang out is in the kitchen. Gang wars ensued...there was much hissing, growling and swatting. No way was Misty going to let Whiskers steal her drugs. I'm telling you, Ellen, it was getting ugly. My sweet, innocent Misty had turned into a thug. She would do anything for a Funky Chicken fix. After a few days, I knew if I didn't do something, I was going to lose my sweety girl to the darker side of kitty life. I decided that it was time to stage an intervention. It was a tough couple of days. Misty was mad, she wouldn't eat, she was in pretty rough shape. All I could do was support her through the tough times. We wouldn't even let Whisker's have any Funky Chicken, after all, Misty needs EVERYONES support. Misty is better now. She knows she can't have any Funky Chicken for a while(and let me tell you, Whiskers is pissed) although she does hold out hope when I open the cupboard where it is stored.

Things are back to normal, finally and I think she's found the next best thing in Spot Stew. Misty and Whiskers give it two paws up! I just thought you'd like to know what a hit your Halo pet food has been around the house.

Thanks for helping us keep our pets healthy so we can have them with us longer.

Mary Pat
P.S. Whiskers thinks she might give another flavor of treats a try without telling Misty.

Coming Up For Air

Where in the world have you been?

October 30th.....How can it possibly have been since October 30th since I last wrote? It doesn't seem possible. Oh well, there it is...right there on the page, the proof that it has, indeed, been four months since I blogged. So, what's been going on?

#1 Work

I wish I could say that it's an incredibly active social life and travel schedule that has kept me from writing. While there have been moment of those that have interrupted my blogging, work is the main reason for my absence. I have been waist deep in a major project at work and while I'm still in the middle of it, there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. I am loving what I'm doing and truth be told, I love being busy. It has just been busy.

#2 The Holidays

Thanksgiving was nice and quiet. Thanksgiving day I went to see the Jersey Boys which was a lot of fun. It was nice to be doing something non-traditional. It was a packed audience so I wasn't the only one. The music was nice and it was enjoyable. The Orange County Performing Arts Center is a beautiful venue and I look forward to going to more events there.

I did cook Thanksgiving dinner for my Aunt, her fiance and my roommate on the weekend. It was fun to spend the day cooking and the meal turned out really great.

Christmas was very busy. My mother made the trip from Florida and spent the week here. We went to see Cirque du Soleil and the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular while here. It was great to have her here for the week.

We had some friends from Fort Myers come for New Years. It was a blast to have them here even if I was sick most of the time they were here. We had tickets to the Rose Bowl Parade and they went ahead and made the trek to Pasadena. I spent the day in bed with my cat.

January came and went without a lot of fanfare. I did go to see a taping of the Ellen Show. It was a very rainy day and we only made it to the Riff Raff Room but it was fun. While we were waiting we took the NBC studio tour. That was a lot of fun. We got to see Jay Leno (he waved to us!), Allison Sweeney (DOOL and the Biggest Loser) and Mary Beth Evans (DOOL.) It was quite the Hollywood tourist day.

At the beginning of February I went to Washington, D.C. for my niece's Quinceanera. That was a spectacular event....15 teenage boys in tux's and 15 teenage girls in strapless dresses. A quick ride up the beltway to see my Aunt & Uncle in Md. (and visit a nice yarn store) and another one out to Sterling to see my brother and celebrate his 50th birthday wrapped up that quick trip.

#3 Knitting & Crocheting

With the increase in my workload, knitting and crocheting has taken a bit of a back seat. I did finish the Tilted Duster before Christmas. I did another Lutea Lace Tank for a friend of my mothers. I did a production piece for my sister and am now working on a knit dress for a friend and a wrap for me (I think.)

#4 The Pets

Misty and Whiskers have been doing pretty well. Whiskers had to have some surgery and spend a couple of days in the kitty hospital. Misty was a little freakked out when she came back from the hospital. It's all back to normal no

Thanks for listening....