The beginning of an end or the end of a beginning?

Does it really matter which way you say it? Doesn't it all sort of mean the same thing - change?

Yesterday was my birthday and as much as I loathe the thought of chalking up yet another year I must admit I enjoyed the day very much. Maybe because I had most of the people I love the most around me. Maybe because we had some really awesome chow. Maybe because I got some really cool gifts. Maybe just cuz I'm up looking down and not the opposite. Either way turning 45 was alright with me. Age is just a number you know. I am reminded of that every time I go into my new favorite Starbucks and get to see this young guy that works there. I have no idea what his name is (although I would like to know so I could stop calling him "guy") but it's not like I have a crush on him or anything. Not at all. For some reason which I cannot explain we seem to have this connection. It's like when we look at each other he knows what I'm thinking and that in another time or place we would have been friends. Like when you meet someone for the first time and you automatically have some sort of chemistry and you talk and talk and feel like you could talk forever. But I know this "guy" is probably like 24, or 23 or 22... I just don't know, but he's young. Young enough to be my son and here I am now 45 old enough to be his Mom and yet we still seem to connect. It's so weird. And yet it's not weird at all because that's the kind of thing that makes life cool and worth blogging about.

The DH and I got back from South Carolina and I can't wait to tell you all about that trip but I will until I have the pics so you can see our Soldier for yourself. It was a good trip. We both really liked the South. The people were amazingly friendly and polite. The weather was unbeatable as long sleeves and jackets were a must-have. It rained and it was windy and chilly. It was perfect.

SONG OF THE BLOG: "This Love" by Maroon 5. I know, I know - old song, but I love it just the same.

Pics

This is the latest scarf from my collection. I call it "Cowgirl Up".

Is this at the local yarn shop? Nooooo, it's my new craft room!!

I'm sick....very, very sick.... LOL

Saturday

Greetings fellow bloggers! It was a tad bit chilly this morning in Murrtown! Woohoo! Can't tell you how happy I am about that! The DH woke up with a migraine today =( so he is taking it easy today. He was going to work but had to cancel. Now if I can just get him to CHILL out for the day. LOL That's not easy...

Well, my To-Do list isn't much shorter... Been working on taking pics of everything but it's not an easy job. I'm thinking I might ask our daughter to be my model for the scarves. I think with her pretty face and smile it will definitely help sell them. I'm getting quite a few views, but no buyers. The DH says to be patient and witht the holidays fast approaching my stuff will start to move. Sure hope so...

Have any of you seen the movie "Shoot Em Up"? I watched a little bit of it the other night before I went to La-La Land. It's pretty funny - way out there with the shoot scenes, but it's entertaining.

SONG OF THE BLOG: "Take Back the City" by Snow Patrol. How's that for different??

F-F-F-Friday

I know, every day for me is a Friday, but hey - I'm still enjoying it. Got up this morning rather leisurely. Went to Sbux for a caramel machiatto and a slice of the pumpkin loaf. Sat outside on the back patio for a bit with the hubby enjoying the quiet of the backyard and watching our cat stalk the lizards.

I have much to do...

1. Make the most of the son's digi cam before we take it to him next Wednesday. I have to take pics of all my completed blankets and measure each as well.

2. Start going through boxes and decorating the house. Not what we want to do, but since we know we are probably going to be here for at least two years we figure we might as well enjoy the house.

3. Pack for South Cacalacky! Woohoo!

4. Organize my new craft room!

SONG OF THE BLOG: "Trying to Love You" by Trisha Yearwood.

PHOTO OF THE BLOG: Hot, Hot, HOT!!!

Flippin Hot

I'm angry it's back to being so hot. All I want to do is sit in a chair staring blankly at the TV screen. It saps my energy. I have been trying to crochet - but the heat doesn't make it easy to have yarn in your hands and in your lap! Here is the most recent scarf...

Still no sales on the Etsy shop. Here is that url by the way: www.redkranch.etsy.com

Got a letter from the son in basic yesterday. It was a very cool letter. He actually told me he misses me and can't wait to see me. Awwwwwww. We are so excited to see him, too!

The Dh and I have been talking about staying here in this house now... At least for another 5 years. I'm not against it entirely and neither is he. We could do a lot worse. We both love this house and couldn't ask for better neighbors. And so it goes... Who know where we will be in 2 years? 5 years?

SONG OF THE BLOG: "Better As A Memory" by Kenny Chesney.

It wasn't in Augustana that I was Counting Crowes under a Maroon 5 sky

So Thursday my daughter texts me and asks if I like Maroon 5 and after I replied I did she asked me what I was doing Friday night. She scored two free tix from her bio mom and asked me to go. Sweet! Augustana was the opening act (double score) and then Counting Crowes played right after followed by Maroon 5. If you haven't heard Augustana, you should give them a listen, especially their song called "Boston". They were awesome. They played about six songs. Counting Crowes wasn't so awesome. Well, let me rephrase that... I suppose if you are a serious CC's fan you would have thought they were awesome. I must not be a serious fan because most of the time while they were playing I found myself looking around at the others in the audience for someone to translate and/or interpret. They did their hits, turning a 4 minute song into a 10 minute song. The lead singer with the wild hair was just "out there". I'm sure he is a great artist and talented if you get into his kind of ad-hoc singing. The best example I can give you is the rest of his band sort of went silent and he sat down at the piano and said, "I'm not going to do a lot of talking tonight - just playing a bunch of songs. (much applause and whistling and yelling from the crowd). This next song is about me...alone in my room...on a dark night...at the bottom of a canyon..." After that song I really couldn't tell you much else about what they played. It was just so bizarre. They were passing out free sticks of "5" gum - it was a new citrus flavor. We were kind of hoping you chewed it to be able to understand what the heck he was saying... No such luck!

Maroon 5 on the other hand was freakin' awesome. How I have let them slip by me is beyond comprehension. I can hear Birdman saying, "Well if you didn't listen to that shit-kicker music you might have heard them!" They were really good. James Valentine on lead guitar rocked. And Adam Levine - well, what can you say about him other than he is smokin' HOT. Needless to say I will be downloading many MV songs to my Ipod.

I have five items listed on my Etsy.com store. None of which have sold. The DH keeps telling me they have only been up for a week. I guess I am just overly anxious. I am about 95% done with the Raiders blanket and will be starting a Chargers (gag) throw. I am also crocheting scarves as an idea hits me. The most recent scarf to go up for sale is one I call Lone Star.

I have it listed for $28.00 and although it's gotten quite a few "views" no one has bought it up. Do you think the price is too high? Too low? Scarf is not appealing? What do you guys think?

SONG OF THE BLOG: "Won't Go Home Without You" by MV.

No clever title

Blah. That's how I am feeling today. I went to bed late (1:30) and although I did get sleep this morning I woke feeling...not tired, but restless. I got all dressed to go ride, stopped at Starbucks for breakfast and a few minutes of crocheting and just couldn't see myself doing much of anything the rest of the day. I realized sitting at Starbucks how it's difficult for me to fit in with any other women. There were three women there chatting about their kids in school. They were all probably my age; maybe a few years younger and their kids were in middle school. Mine are all grown; out on their own; soon to be parents, soldiers, etc. I just started to think about life and what it means to me to relax and enjoy it and I promptly packed up my yarn and instead of driving to the barn today I came home and here I am! Lucky you!! LOL

If all goes well, I will not HAVE to look for work until after the first of the year. I am enjoying the time off I have now very much. The DH has been a huge part of this and I can't thank him enough for taking the stress off of me. At the same time I wish I were bringing in more than just what the unemployment pays. I can't have everything though, so I'm trying to hard to produce quality crochet products that will sell.

Tonight is the second episode of "Sons of Anarchy". I'm looking forward to it. Like I said, it's a bit rough around the edges, but I like seeing the bikes and getting a peak into the biker club lifestyle - even if it's probably not the normal bike club of today. I am still taking the rider's course in November and then with luck will have a bike at Christmas. I have been reading a lot of blogs and forums regarding first time bike owners and their fear of riding. Seems it takes time to log on miles on your bike in different kinds of traffic and road conditions. After reading that information it makes much more sense now why there are so many used bikes with low miles. I guess women as a rule have a harder time riding solo and getting up the courage to just take their bike out on their own to gain experience of the road. Although there is no sure way to tell if I will fall into that category, I am thinking I know myself pretty good and I will be able to ride on my own. My next purchase is a pair of biker boots. There are so many styles to choose from it's difficult to know which I like. I mean, I can rule out the ones with heels. LOL But I also don't want to look like a dyke... =)

Tomorrow is the oldest's doctor appointment for his pregnant gf. We are wondering if he will call us with the news since he doesn't call us about anything else, we seriously doubt it.

SONG OF THE BLOG: "Animals" by Nickelback. . I LOVE THIS SONG. I know it's old but it's on my playlist and I love it.

PHOTO OF THE BLOG: 2004 Harley Davidson Sportster 1200. I like this bike. I don't like the color, but I like how it looks. I like the saddlebags. Only thing is that mine will have the double seat.

Monday, Monday

I can think of much better ways to spend $400 than buying a washing machine. But yesterday the DH and I took the plunge and picked up a nice one from Home Depot. It is so quiet we both have checked on it to make sure it's actually still running. LOL I think it's the nicest one I've ever owned.


My Colts and Peyton Manning got off to a rough season. Losing to the Bears. Ugh. Not that we have an excuse but Peyton didn't get any preseason playing time in due to a minor surgery he had on his knee. It was also the first game in the new Indianapolis stadium. His timing was just off - nothing he can't get back. Let's just hope it's soon.


Well, the Etsy shop is up and running. We posted four items for sale; 2 blankets and 2 scarves. Wish us luck. Oct 15th the diner is having a special evening dinner and open mike night. The owner would like me to have a book ready to pass around to the customers. So I've got some photos to take and such. Here are the two blankets finished...

Tonight we are having friends over to watch the Raiders/Broncos game. Nothing fancy - hotdogs and fixins. Let's hope they beat the Broncos so at least one of us is happy in this house right now.

SONG OF THE BLOG: "Aol Summer Long" by Kid Rock

4 wheels vs 2

Ah Sunday... The day of the Lord. The day of sleeping in. The day to relax...

The DH and I are going shopping this morning for a washing machine. Ours started leaking last night. Can you say Lowes scratch & dent? We swore we wouldn't buy an awesome matching set again until we move to our final resting place. =)


Have any of you ever heard of Riccar vacuums? Long story short, we used to own a Dirt Devil bagless. That thing worked well for about a month and then things just went downhill. So the DH found this guy in Lake Elsinore (Mike) who is the vacuum king. Small ass little shop jam packed with vacuums and vacuum accessories. This guy knows his vacuums. After putting together the cost of repairing the Dirt Devil agains the price of a much better Riccar, we plopped out the plastic and dove right in. $376 - this thing kicks major BUTT. I can't even describe it. Oh and it is also very cool looking. Check it out!

Yesterday's massage was probably the best I've ever had, minus the ones given by the DH - which he calls "massages" but we all know they benefit him more than me. Anyway, the session was really good and she worked out all the kinks in my neck and upper back. I am considering joining the club. I have 30 days really to decide...

Found a great quote today:

"Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul." Leaning more towards vivid black now...

Birdman: I don't think I'll run drugs. I know more about guns. And yeah, if necessary I'll rough some folks up in a bar fight. Nothing I don't do now when I have to. By chance, did you watch "Sons of Anarchy"?

SONG OF THE BLOG: "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger. This song requires no explanation.

Massage Envy

That's the name of the place I am going tomorrow morning at 8am for a 1.5 hour massage. I cannot wait - needless to say. I don't think I've ever shared this, but when I am stressed and tense I wish I could be runover by a steamroller. Just the thought of being squished and stretched to capacity makes me woozie. I'm like a video game - I will pop back up once the steamroller has passed and I will feel better than I did when I was born. I hope that's what this massage manages to do for me.

I have been working hot and heavy on the Raiders blanket. The DH and I are going to set up the Etsy 'store' this weekend and update the web site. That means with luck "Originals by Red" will be available to the World. It's kind of exciting, but I'm still not convinced my originals are anything anyone will want to buy. Time will tell I suppose...

It looks like the soldier is getting hit with Hurricane Hanna. I'm sure the Army has them locked down so I'm not worried about him. We made the reservations to see him the end of the month. The DH and I are excited and very proud. =)

Harley update: I will be taking the Rider's Edge course in November. That's cool - I'm fine with that. Just one step closer to getting my bike. Every indication is that the market will be flooded with used bikes when I'm ready to start looking. Buyers with cold, hard cash can get sweet deals on mid-life crisis bikes purchased by, well, women like me going thru a mid-life crisis... Gee, does that sound a little pathetic or am I just being overly sensitive? (where are those damn happy pills???)

Our oldest posted pics on MySpace of his recent trip to California. Oddly there are no pics of anyone except him, his gf and his bio mom. As I looked at the pics I realized he didn't break out his digi cam while he was in our house. Guess the other side of the family isn't photogenic enough. I mean, who would want to remember the Monopoly game? Or the killer bbq? His only sis and her beau? Or the horses? Or going to Honeycutt's? Yeah, nothing to see / remember here folks, move along....

So after reading JamieLynn's bucket list posting, I'm putting together one of my own... More to follow on that one...

I'm trying very hard to be positive about our oldest. It's difficult. I really feel like they are in a lose-lose situation. I am hoping for the best, but preparing myself for the worst. It's difficult to be happy about a baby considering the circumstances. At the same time, it is a baby and our grandchild. We should feel excited and anxious...rather than concerned and suspicious. I hope I'm dead wrong and they live happily ever after as man/wife and have many more children to follow this one. I mean, that's all we ever really want for our kids - is for them to be safe and happy, right?


SONG OF THE BLOG: "Trying to Love You" by Trisha Yearwood. I love this song for very personal reasons that shall remain that way!

PHOTO OF THE BLOG:

Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Pumpkin Loaf and ... Grandma?

I just got home from taking care of the horses. It was hot over at the barn today. I had a lot of work to do since we had fallen behind while the oldest and his new gf were visiting. But I took care of business, left the girls munching their goodies and finally got home to an empty, quiet house. Ahhhh.

Stopped at Sbux on my way to the barn and was thrilled to see the Pumpkin Spice Latte and Pumpkin loaf on the menu. Guess fall is really on the way - hopefully bringing with it cooler weather. I am so doggone tired of the heat. It wears me down.

The oldest and his gf have been dating since mid June. They told us Sunday afternoon they were going to get an apartment together come Oct 1st. We thought that was pretty quick and told them so. They also share a phone plan. Again we told them we thought that was a pretty bold move for being together such a short a time. Later than same night, before we started a game of Monopoly they told us she is six weeks pregnant. To say the least we were shocked. We really didn't know what to say. I mean, "Congratulations" seems a little...fake, you know? It seems she can't be on BCP's because of clotting. So they normally use condoms, only a few times they didn't. Yeah... So the oldest doesn't see the problem or why we are so concerned. What can you do? Sit back and hope there's not a train wreck. She is due in April.

Other than that, not much else is going on... We are looking now towards Casper, Wyoming for our retirement home. =) There is a ranch being subdivided into 40 acre parcles called the BB Brooks Ranch. Anywhere but here sounds nice...

SONG OF THE BLOG: "Anywhere But Here" by Chris Cagle.

Photo of the blog: