I Done Been Tagged!!!

This hasn't happened in a long time. Or, maybe it has, and due to my complete lack of blog surfing, I just didn't realize it. Ya, I think it's because everyone knows not to tag greenthumb, cause he's a slacker. No worries, true to form, it took me a few days to realize I was tagged and then a few more to actually follow through.

This one is for you RipZip.




Four jobs you have had in your life:
Waiter
K-Mart Apparel Associate - quite possibly one of the funnest and bizzarest jobs. I really did do Blue Light announcements.
1 Hour Photo Guy - short lived due to the fact that I left for my Mission shortly thereafter.
Produce Person- Thriftway in my hometown.

Four Movies you could watch over and over:
Drop Dead Gorgeous - (these are the same reasons as Ripzips, but they are dead on. This movie totally is one of my all time faves.) There are many and varied reasons, but the main ones have to be Denise Richards and her dance routine with Jesus, Ellen Barkin and her beer can, Brittany Murphy screaming "He's GAY Dad! Peter is GAAAAAYYYY!!", Kirsten Dunst practicing her tap routine in the morgue, vomiting beauty contestants, and the enchanting Minnesota accent.

Fargo - More Minnesota accent, but darker, edgier and bloodier. Go Bears!

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - One of my all time faves!!!

I never tire of old Doris Day/Rock Hudson films. Carey Grant too. Alfred Hitchcock Films too.


Four Places I have Lived:
Washington State - born and raised, left, came back, left again, came back, left and now back. Only this time, instead of just moving back and forth across the border, I made sure to move waaaaay up north, so that it wouldn't be so easy to just, you know, move back.
Oregon - for almost 12 years
Arizona - I don't know if I can really count this, but I did move there.
Georgia - All over the Northern half of the state. A shout out to Cedartown, Douglasville, Gainesville, Lawrenceville, Clarksville, Dunwoody and Roswell. Hey Ya'll!!!

Four TV Shows I like to watch:
Commander and Chief - I love, love, love this show.
Will and Grace - I can never get enough Karen and Jack.
The City Gardner - Matt James is my British TV boyfriend.
The Colbert Report - This guy is a total FREAK and I love IT!!!.

Four Places I have been on vacation:
Spain - Malaga, Cordoba, Cazorla, Granada, Sevilla
London
Maui
Barkley Sound, British Columbia - 10 days of kayaking, no showers and roughing it. Still one of my best vacations EVER.

Four Websites I go to daily:
Dooce.com - The woman is brilliant, sheer genius and her little girl is too cute for words.
Flickr - I love seeing what my contacts have shot and check out my own page.
Yahoo! - for a quick shot of top news stories. You don't need a link to that. Fine...It's Yahoo.com. You're on your own from there.
klog Okay, so maybe not everyday, but one of my all time faves to visit and one I do frequent a lot more than any other. Kelli is just about the cutest thing to come out of Redneck Valley ever. Firey temper, quick wit, cute haircut with highlights, long sexy legs and a passion for John Stamos that won't die.

I have many blogs that I would like to check on everyday, but I'm not on the computer long enough everyday to accomplish that. I'm thinking of creating a grid on the wall with all my favorite blogs in each square and a corresponding number. I'll then spin the wheel or get a bingo ball tosser to choose a corresponding number from. That way, it's totally random. He! He! Bingo Ball Tosser!!! LOL!!! Oh come on, that's funny.

Four favorite foods:
Thai - mmmm....curry.
Italian - I could live on this alone.
Spanish (not to be confused with Mexican) - I love tapas!
American - sometimes you just gotta have Fried Chicken, Potato Salad and Apple Pie or just a really good Hamburger.

Four places I would rather be right now:
Maui or anywhere in Hawaii
Southern Spain
Australia
Anywhere there is Sunshine. Damn this rain, damn it to hell!!!

Four people I'm tagging:
Fertile mrtl - because she makes me smile and I'm dying to know more about her.

Torrie - she's preggers for the first time and I want to draw attention to the fact that she's still HOT!!! even though she's carrying her baby in her boobs.

Homestead - proof that you can be educated, hot, married to someone just as educated and hot, have a cute kid and still be a Redneck.

Spoonie-licious - she may stick finger in peoples bumcake on a regular basis, have bloody family gatherings and disappoint her Mother on a daily basis, but she does it all with a gorgeous smile, crack you up humor and finess.

Pooper Friday!!!

Dirty window aside, I really like the way this shot turned out. Aesthetically, it's not the greatest, but I love the way she looks here.

A Little Reflection

LOL!!! Get it?!?! Reflection...oooohhkay, ya I know.



I took Harlow out to the Field on Monday, her favoritest thing in the whole wide world. She loves that place and she always asks to go, but lately it's too dark to go after work and so she goes for days in a row with out it. Well, at this time of the year, it's also saturated with H2O, and for those of you not familiar with that, it means RAIN, WATER, LOTS of IT. I finally invested in a pair of Wellies, or rubber boots to tromp around in out there. Every now and then the mud and water threaten to suck my boot right off. Some diety better help me if I ever have to take off at a run after Harlow, I just know I'll lose one or both boots in the process. Don't think I won't take THAT out on her as well, cause I will.



My Uncle is on his way home from the hospital and a long road to full strength, but he's here with us. I received a loving email and update from Gramma last night. My heartfelt thanks to you all for the love and encouragement, the virtual hugs and just overall presence here with me. My blog has taken some turns and twists over time and as I quickly tumble towards my 1 year anniversary, I feel so very fortunate for some very wonderful bloggers that I have 'met' here. Some still visit, some have moved on, but all have left a lasting mark here and with me.



Yesterday, we had our first real full day of sunshine. We're talking eye squinting, blue sky glaring sunshiny day y'all. IT FELT SO GOOD!!! ( Thank you Susie, and you know why.) I was gettin' jiggy wid it up in the potting shed listening to the radio while potting roses. I just couldn't help myself. I totally felt like ELLEN. Right now there is a beautiful sunrise taking place outside the window. I better get busy and hit the road to the nursery. Have a glorious day.

About Jack...

I know some of you are wondering how things went the other night with Jack, the Weimaraner up for adoption. Well, it didn't go well for us at all. We went to the agency where he was at and met him. We took Harlow along as they recommended to see how they would interact. I knew that she would ignore him for the most part, that's just the way she is when she's out. After about 10 mins. or so my gutt reaction was no, he's not for us. I was fighting a battle in my head though, giving him points for being where he was, being a bit traumatized and so forth. They offered to let us foster him for a bit to see how things would work rather than out and out adopt him. Even though my gutt reaction was no, I saw this as an opportunity to give him a different environment, as well as test Harlow's acceptance in her space.

A couple of things that were stacked against him for us was the fact that he was not a nuetured male until 4-5 days ago. While we were in the play area at the agency, that boy marked more places than you would of thought possible. Strike one. His focus on Harlow was borderline obnoxious and she had to nip at him more than once, but he could not stay away from her backside. Strike two.

Things in his favor that were determined after getting him home include very loving and such a sweet face. It was painfully obvious that he wants to be loved and reassured and that's something we can do very easily.

What I went to bed knowing that night, was that my gutt instinct usually is right on. Something that neither of us can tolerate is the marking of territory, especially when it's inside and when it was my bed...twice. I can accept that it was a situation where he was on scent overload, but he had no concept of what 'No' was, not to mention what his name was. Jack needs to be in an environment where he get's the full focus of one individual who can teach him basics and still allow him to be a male dog.

We are feeling guilty for taking him back the next day. When we got there the night of the introduction, there was so much excitement on the part of everyone there. They all knew we were coming and everyone was so enthusiastic. I'm not sure if their desire for us to take Jack didn't have some influence on me as well. I'm not sure if I am someone that can rehabilitate a dog that has been surrendered like that. I have seen the good that can come of rescuing a dog first hand, but I have never been the one to take that on. Perhaps we were unprepared to take on that responsibility and should of prepared more.

I know there are a lot of people out there that are part of a movement that adoption is needed. I couldn't agree more. But what if I'm not capable of that route? I'm not even sure that I can do another dog. I find myself clinging to Harlow even more the last couple of days. I am very attached to my relationship with her and I get anxious about that being disrupted in anyway. She's my best friend and I like our one on one time, but I want to be fair to her too. I don't imagine it's much fun being home alone during the day.

Anyway, I think I/we will take a step back and evaluate this some more. We still feel awful about taking him back there, but we know someone else will see how sweet he is and want him.

****

I received a phone call this afternoon that my uncle had been hospitalized for a heart attack. They performed heart surgery on him today, the procedure where they go in with the scope and Roto-Rooter his arteries. This should allieviate the situation, but he is pretty weak. This is the same uncle that lost his son recently. Our family is on edge as you can imagine. My thoughts are with him and his family tonight after a long and arduous weekend.

Pooper Friday!!!

Puppy Dog Eyes



I'm probably going to jinx us by saying this, but tonight we are going over to the pet adoption place to see a 1yr 4mo old Weimaraner named Jack. We've been talking about getting another dog for a while now and I've been fairly set on getting another Weimaraner. I just love the breed that much. Nick has wanted a Boxer and I have told him that he should get one, but we can't justify buying a puppy when there are dogs like Jack available. I really hope that it's a good connection tonight for us and Harlow. I have to say though, there is a site that I visit quite often called Daily Oliver that pretty much made the deal for me. Oliver and Hugo OF FRANCE!!! are gorgeous and funny, even if they are being totally exploited. (unlike any Weimaraners on this site.)

Oh the Humiliation


Before I go, I would like to express my gratitude for the loving words recently received in the previous post. You are such kind and loving individuals and it's a great privilage to have you here. Thank you!!!

Acceptance and Understanding

Where to begin? It's early, I've been lying awake for some time, so I decided to just get up. I'm home from the funeral trip and I've spent a lot of time on the road in the last three days. This has provided me with a lot of time to think, remember and to analyze so many things. I'm not sure how articulate and how clear I can be at this hour or with this subject matter, but lying in bed was making me nuts so I thought it best to make a go at it at least.

First and foremost, thank you for the love and support of late. Never underestimate the power of words and there ability to uplift and encourage. Thank you for that.

I guess that is something I take away from this experience too, that ability to have an impact in so many ways. I don't think we ever fully realize what we do in that regard, nor are we able to discern how others leave their imprint, or rather how broadly. It was so amazing to see how one young man in only 22 years of life had touched so many. As I sat there during the memorial, watching images on a screen, hearing words of love and admiration, I felt that I had missed out on something by not having known him better.

Being with my family and seeing the loss in their eyes, their pain and disbelief that someone so young and full of life had been taken from them, broke my heart repeatedly. My grandmother clutching me and each of her grandchildren tightly, weeping for the loss of her youngest one, feeling helpless that she can't hold onto them all and keep them safe. My grandfather, a man that has left a legacy of fear of misbehaving in his presence that started first hand with his own children, that was felt by us, the first of the grandchildren, and even though time and years soothed him, managed to be passed on by us through word of mouth to each subsequent generation of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Here he was faced with the loss of a child that he loved, finding himself helpless to do anything about it, unable to give his grieving son enough comfort to take away his pain. That impact of his departure, from ground zero with my Aunt and Uncle to those of us in each level outward and away from it ignites so many emotions and reactions, from their loss and confusion of it, to those holding on to the ones still here, making contact and renewing convictions of love.

Death does so many things to us and yet it is a course as natural as anything ever could be. No matter how many centuries have passed, no matter the understanding or the enlightenment, the pain of loss from death has remained constant. Some take refuge in their faith and hope of a life after this, while some view it as the literal end. For some, the physical pain will never cease as is the case for a mother who has lost a child, and in this case, a twin who feels the loss of half of who she is. In this, I'm reminded of my own loss and the sorrow that I continually feel and the tears that come unbidden anytime that I talk about my grandmother. And while I will not equate my pain and loss with those that my Aunt and Uncle and their children feel, I understand something of my own pain a little better today for having experienced this with them and my own sense of compassion for others has increased.

Death does so much more for us, like reminding us to live each day to the fullest, to tell those close to us how much we love them, not to take for granted the little things. While I don't feel I have the clarity yet, I do feel as though my understanding and acceptance, yes, that's what it is...THAT is what I think has been eluding me here. My acceptance of my own mourning and loss. I've ignored it mostly, avoided it, but I think this weekend I finally looked at it and began the process of acceptance.

Last night I was reading "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom. If you haven't read this, I suggest it to you. It's touching and heartfelt and filled with nuggets of golden insight that we tend to ignore. Anyway, he's being interviewed by Ted Koppel, this old man who is dying. It's a follow up interview to one previously held and they are discussing the mail that has poured in from viewers. One letter is from a school teacher who teaches a select group of children who have one common thread, the loss of a parent. Morrie read a letter he wrote back:

"Dear Barbara...I was very moved by your letter. I feel the work you have done with the children who have lost a parent is very important. I also lost a parent at an early age..." Suddenly, with the cameras still humming, Morrie adjusted the glasses. He stopped, bit his lip, and began to choke up. Tears fell down his nose. "I lost my mother when I was a child...and it was quite a blow to me...I wish I'd had a group like yours where I would have been able to talk about my sorrows. I would have joined your group because..." His voice cracked. "...Because I was so lonely..."

"Morrie," Koppel said, "that was seventy years ago your mother died. The pain still goes on?"

"You bet, " Morrie whispered.



The pain, it goes on and I understand that now. I know that it will be that way for my family too. I know more than ever what that means for my beloved friend Mandy, my bestest friend Skanky and my love and my life Nick. I understand what it means for me too, and why I feel this loneliness from time to time, and I'm going to try and not be afraid of it anymore.

Pooper Friday!!!

How sweet are these pictures? This is proof that she loves him too. (Notice I didn't say 'just as much'? Ya, it was deliberate.) These were taken the other morning before work. Niether of them wanted to get up that day and I found them like this on the couch. You might think that she closed her eyes because of me, Mister Flash, but she did indeed intend to fall asleep. And they did. My two favorite nap buddies together, only there wasn't room for me.

Have you seen the sun?

Hamamelis or Witch Hazel 'Jalena'

I think I finally figured out what my deal is lately. I'm suffering from S.A.D. (Seasonal Asshole Disorder). Well, this and a few other things. I've been battling another head cold which is now on it's way out. Last week we received news that my cousin Josh was killed in a head on collision as well. Having just read this, I want to say that this list is not in any priority, it's just how it tumbled out.

I was not close to Josh at all. I'm actually quite a bit older than he is. In fact, I'm the oldest of the grandchildren and he is the youngest. I was gone for most of his life, seeing him on that occasional family get together, feeling overwhelmed that he and his twin sister were growing up so much, so fast. More than anything, my heart has been aching for my family. I'm so far from everyone, I'm completely out of sinc with the whole thing. I feel completely disconnected.

I'll be heading down to the hometown this Saturday after work. This will be a solo trip this time. Services will be held this Sunday and I'll turn around and head home on Monday. Since I'm heading down so late on Saturday, I may try and spend the night in Portland with my Skanky Girl. I'll have to check still, but it would be great to see her. She's preger's with her first and it's a girl and I haven't seen her actually 'looking' pregnant yet. I hear her tits are gy-normous!



Sorry there hasn't been much on here lately. I'm completely out of sorts. It's been raining for weeks now and it's starting to wear on me. Apparently we are on our way to matching the record for number of contiguous days of rain. We're around 24 days now I think. I keep looking at that little bottle of Prozac and thinking maybe I should, you know, start again. I hate that I am prone to this, but my thoughts are random, my attitude flat and my focus nil. I can't keep going like this. Someone please bring back the sun, just for a week or so. I don't care if it's 28 degrees out, just bright sunlight. I've been bringing in the winter flowering shrubs and making displays at work. Mostly because that's what we do, but also for myself. It does help to have the Witch Hazels inside with their bright yellow and orange blossoms, not to mention their fragrance. The flower shed is filling up with Primroses and that certainly boosts your spirits, reminds you that spring is coming. My bulbs that I forced are starting to bloom as well and some of my orchids are showing signs that they too might join in on the scene. Reminders for me to keep my head up and keep trudging through.

Greenie Update!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!! It didn't really occur to me until last night that it's 2006. I know, I know, what? I realize it's a new year, but you know what I mean. It's like the first time you go to write a check or post the date to something and you catch yourself putting the old year down, only I was just kinda thinking about it and not actually writing it down. My computer 'knows' to reset for the new year and daylight savings, but I have to do a manual reboot of my brain, and I was just off by a few days is all.

Things around El Casa de Homo are finally back to some semblance of normal. The tree and decorations have been once again relegated to the attic. We splurged on some new storage devices for the ornaments. I love Target! Now the ornaments are neatly stored in compartmentalized trays that stack and snap. GLORIOUS!!! All that's left are the outdoor lights and my goal is to have them down before the end of May this year. I spent yesterday scrubbing, dusting, washing and putting away. Afterwards, I and the house took a nice deep breath. I swear I heard the house go aaahhhhhh!

New Years Eve turned out to be an interesting night. We had been invited to attend a drag show in Kent, which is a bit south of Seattle. No offense to the good people of Kent, but that little bit of information right there should tell some people the general quality of things to expect. My favorite thing to do the day of and after, was whenever someone asked what are you doing for New Years...well, it went something like this.

Starbucks Barista: Happy New Year! Are you doing anything fun?
Me: Oh some friends have invited us to dinner and then a drag show.
Starbucks Barista: OOooh! How fun! Is that in Downtown/Capital Hill?
Me: *slight glint and oh no even better look* No, it's in Kent.
Starbucks Barista: *noticeable eyebrow raise* Oh!
Me: *laughing* I know huh? Should be interesting.

The night did not fail to live up to the anticipation. Now I know some of you may think I'm being snobbish, but you have to keep something in mind. Kent is a small town, an up and coming suburb of Seattle it may be, but cosmopolitan she ain't. So the idea of something like a drag show in a little locally known gay bar, that's really a Lesbian Bar, well, you start to see my point more clearly right?

Some people think that ALL gay men and ALL gay women are all on the same team sort of thing. Gay is gay right? I don't think I have the capacity to list out the differences here, honestly. Gay men alone are so divided and complicated on their own as it is. If I were to think of the Gay Populace living on it's own planet (like that wouldn't be someone's best dream EVER) and having it's own type of United MoNations, I think of the diverse groups within the gay culture as individual delegates from their own nation. The list might look something like this:

LeviandBoots-Wanna
Trannyvainia
Dikelandia
Lipsticklesbiana
BearandCubsland
Twinkvainia
Sportkitsia
Musclemotamia
Suburbiamotanica (composed of gays and lesbians)
Drag Queensland
SadoMasopotamia

LOL!!! oh that was kinda fun. Anyway, it's very stereotypical of me and that's not what I'm really all about, but that night, I have to tell you, the lines between gays and lesbians were really well defined. Apparently this is a well known bar that caters to both, but it was so obvious that this was a lesbian bar. Now don't get me wrong, I loves me some lesbians. I really do, but I totally felt like I was trespassing here. I sort of liken it to this, how you know your parents and you are around them all the time, but then one night when they least expect it, you walk in and there they are being all intimate and you gasp and they gasp and you look up, they freeze in place...awkward, awkward, awkward. Oh god!!! My eyes! My eyes! Okay, that's a little extreme but it makes the point right? Ya, I was totally feeling awkward being in a room FULL of ladies loving and dancing and having a great time together. While I have friends and associates that are lesbian, I have to say that this is the first time that I have ever been in a room full of them. And like that stupid list above, the number of differences in them were just as noticeable. You had the Bull Dike, the Lipstick, the Gangster (*new one for me*), all kinds and all very defined in look and behavior. It was a people watchers dream.

While that was all well and good, and it was friendly and fine. No hostile looks, not really. The drag show that followed was very tragic in my mind on sooo many levels, but there were a few bright spots in this. I have to say that my favorite was the D.Q. (Drag Queen) that did the Whitney Houston number "I will always love you". She was a big girl, white and half way through the number stepped behind the props and picked up a mirror with white powder all over it and started doing lines. The rest of the song was sung to the mirror and the contents on it. A bit harsh I know, but FUNNY!!!

*side note* by this point I had a few cocktails in me and everything was FUNNY!!! This number though, it was standing all by itself as funny. No drinks needed. *end side note*

So that was our New Years Eve. Memorable, funny, eye opening and entertaining. Nick and I left just before midnight to beat the rush, and we got to see the fireworks along the way home not to mention quite a few cops with cars pulled over. Don't worry, Nick was the designated driver.

I'm back to work today. Whew!!!

This has been your Greenie Update and that's all the news thats fit to print. Greenie Out!!!