Jake looks very ferocious in this photo-Maybe some of his Viking ancestors popping up in the dna. He's wearing his new coat that he used his xmas money to buy.
It has been one of those days where I knew that I should get the taxes started but there were so many other cool things to do-
1. start a new book-The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
2. practice with my camera
3. laundry
4.dishes
5.crochet
6.scrapbook
7. watch Ellen finally get George Clooney on the show
8.knit
9.rearrange furniture
Well, so the message is coming through loud and clear that I hate paperwork!
Tomorrow, I plan to watch every second of the Inauguration. Oh, I really miss having a classroom right now. With the magic of the computer, the whole class could watch every morsel of this historic ripping of the same old fabric of America and feel the magic of history that occurred on their watch even if they were only in the 3rd grade.

I just proclaimed in a previous whiney post that nothing happened today but .....
the ups guy delivered my new lenses so now I have a wide angle lens and a telephoto lens. So I can either catch some great shots of wildlife that I can't get close enough to or I can become a private eye and find out who's cheatin' on who!

Also, yesterday- I drove myself to the the doctor- one small step for Jeanie, one giant leap for independence.

Just an average joe kinda day

I decided to post a pic from summer just for the pep up value-nothing of any interest happened to me today-Tom Cruise was on the View-the ups man delivered some more of my pictures-I walked one and half mile-I did laundry-have everything packed to go spend the week with Reesa and Codi and Sach-finally it is my turn-they don't need me and probably don't want me but I am desperate for people to talk to and things to do.
I have decided that I am going to tape Eddy's snoring and use it to keep the deer out of my yard. For some reason this past week, my tolerance for the snore has just flatlined. I'll go weeks when I don't even notice it-
Friday night tv is so incredibly boring. Well , I can't even think of something to complain about...

Spending money-what happened to me?

I use to be the world's best spender. But when I paid off all my credit cards three years ago and went to what I call " actual buying" versus buying with unreal cash, something happened to my psyche. Reality spending has almost made me an anorexic buyer. I constantly check my account on line and plan out purchases forever. The only problem with this is that it makes me afraid to make those splurge expenditures. Like overeating, what if I spend too much? I've had the money saved for quite awhile now for a new camera-I'm up to 1000.00 carefully nestled in the bank-the research that I have put into a new camera would put a doctoral candidate to shame, and yet I can't bring myself to make the plunge-what if I buy something that isn't that much better than what I have? What I have done is buy , from a friend, some used lenses that fit my old camera, for a song. I'll play with those for awhile. I know that I used to do spending therapy, now I need saving therapy!

January -to be or not to be

January is such a indecisive month-it can't figure out if it is to be happy that now the days are getting longer and full of more promise or if it is to be a winter month with doses of blah for some. I love January. Everybody I know has a birthday in January including me! I was talking with a friend today about my desire to have a greenhouse. If I had one, I would already have the seed ordered and ready for planting. Now, Eddy's fear is that a greenhouse would never make it on this hill. And he's probably right unless we anchored it to his hay barn! That would put a kink in his pathway.
I need to consider doing my taxes right away then they don't hang over me like a sword ready to cut off my pleasure at scrapping or going or just plain ol' tv watching.
I can remember in the classroom that I loved January because it meant that testing was just around the corner. I am addicted to the thrill of the competition and that's all testing his-how well can we do compared to others. Sounds just like a race....
So today I have been playing on my computer, something that I haven't really done for awhile and looking at everything else and thinking "you know what the days are longer, I'll just wait until this afternoon for that chore!"

Why I like him

Marriage is not easy. It's not that simple to exist with someone who has just as strong a will as me. I have stored up the good memories and I figure if I ever wrote a book on how to stay married, it would be titled "Remember and Forget" . Many, many times, I have have been so angry, frustrated, bewildered, or just ambivalent about my spouse. But more often, I have liked him. Is it "love" that keeps people existing in the same house. I don't know that you really ever have to say, "I love You". I think if you find that you just tolerate this other person's idiosyncrasies that you are a long way toward the golden anniversary.

What do I like about Eddy Oliver? He can be brought to his knees by a child. The most impatient man with the outer world, he slowly bends to hear the breath of a child. If you want to ride around the yard 101 times on the mule and you are less than an adult, he is there for you. Even though, he knows the cat can't be coaxed from the top of the hay bales, he'll hold you up there until you are hoarse with, "kitty, kitty, kitty".

Remember my book title? I remember how estatic he was all 3 times that I was pregnant. My memory of his patience with me through 2 labors and the smashing disbelief of the loss of a baby at 5 months, sneak up on me at the oddest times. You can, of course, be sure that these passages of our past are replaying now that we are so freshly blessed with grandbaby. It seems like yesterday that I was crushing his hand as contractions hit me like the waves of high seas. He told me over and over, "you will forget this pain as soon as we see the baby"

I forget the bad times. I feel that I have a remarkable talent to just forget and get on with stuff like life. I forget the times that we were sure that maybe a separation was best for all of us.

Well, editing this photo made me think for just a moment.....I do remember that I, like the baby in this photo, have been able to just grab Eddy Oliver and hold on. He has never let go of my life and I'll never forget that.