I just now seen it out there by the carport!

I just ran a package over to the post office on the highway and when I got home I looked over there and there is a pretty little yellow crocus.  Debbie called me this morning to tell me she just picked a Jonquil.  So you know what this means?  Spring is here whether or not it is actually here!  When the flowers bloom that means it is Spring, I do not care what no damn groundhog says!
The farmers are out plowing and I am fixing to pull the Cruiser out and dig out my rototiller.  Then I will go get some fresh gas and I been hearing from the tall guy that he will  "get out there and get that machine ready for tilling very soon."  Yeah, tall guy, by the time you get around to getting out here, I will have a crop in the ground.  Going to amend that old saying "Time and Tide wait for no man." to say "Lou waits for no man!"  Been waiting all winter and now I am waiting no more.
Neighbor man dumped a big load of manure out there and tomorrow the goose house is getting new straw and the old straw is going to line the pathways.  I can almost taste them tomatoes now!  Ah, and the eggplant, cucumbers, squash and Lord only knows what kind of seeds I may find in the drawer.  And I got the organic thing going on, so that is good.  If I hurry, I can get a little lettuce before it gets too hot!
So if you are calling me, just leave a message cause I can not hear the phone over the rototiller motor and the squawking geese and barking dogs!  And if I do hear it I will probably not answer.  Gotta make hay while it is sunny!!

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Roll of scotch tape; roll of linoleum.

I was thinking last night about how when I was small and we would move into a rented house what would transpire.  First the walls had to be repapered.  Before I could remember that part I understand sometimes the papering was with newspapers.  But we must have been rich because we had actual wall paper.  Usually it was some sort of flower stuff.  We did not always paper every room, but we did like the clean feeling new paper gave to the house.  After the rooms were papered came the most fun of all.

Off the parents went to the place, which was usually the furniture store, to buy our new floor.  Back in those days the furniture store was owned by Mr. Warn and his brother, Doc Warn, owned the appliance store and repair.  The furniture store also carried caskets, in case you died waiting for your new linoleum to arrive!  Did you ever hear of linoleum?  You measured your room and if it was 12' x 12' you told Mr. Warn and he would take you to the size you needed and show you a picture of it to make sure you liked it.  Sometimes there were several to choose.  The linoleum was rolled up and inside a big cardboard tube.  We usually carried it home since we did not have a car and the horses were supposed to be for work and this was fun!

When we got it home Dad would very carefully cut the tube.  Sometimes it would slide out the end and then we had the tube to play with which was way better than the linoleum to my way of thinking!  Any way, after it was out of the tube it had to lay there and rest and loosen up and we were not to touch it for any reason because if we did it would crack.  I think it was straight asbestos with a picture painted on one side.  As it relaxed it started to loosen and unfurl a bit.  At that point we were allowed to very gently unroll it.  If we met with any resistance we had to stop and wait some more.  This is the reason you only bought linoleum in the summer.  Cold weather slowed the process considerably.

After a couple days of tending to the roll it finally was completely unfurled.  It was rolled so when it was unrolled the design was on top.  Otherwise we would have had to flip it.  When it was all the way open we were allowed to walk very gently on it and finish flatening it.  Always in our bare feet.  Hell yes!  Well we never had shoes in the summer anyway!  So now the room was perfect.  And now the furniture could be brought back in from where ever it was.  Well, first, the wood stove had to be placed.  Moving into a new home always meant we got a new thing to put under the wood stove.  That was a big piece of asbestos covered with an enamaled piece of tin. 

You should make note here that asbestos is now illegal and is considered Hazardous Waste.  We did not know that when we were walking on it, setting hot pans on it, and generally using it for every thing imaginable.  Probably had a piece in each hand when we ran through the cooling mist of the machine spraying DDT to kill the mosquitoes on a hot summer night!

Ah, Home Sweet Home!!! 

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Wanna buy a perpetual calendar?

After the completion of a Bonnie Inouye Exploring Multi-shaft Design study,
six weavers from within the Handweavers Guild of Pueblo created a
delightful perpetual calendar for keeping a record of special birthdates,
anniversaries, etc., using their designs and woven samples.
Each month's design includes the threading, treadling and tie up along with
the actual woven sample. The front and back of the weave can be viewed in
it's own window.
Calendars measure 5 1/2" X 11" and have a spiral binding.
The price is $28.00 with delivery at Colorado Weavers Day Conference in
Golden on May 19. CWD committee has given their okay for distribution of
pre- ordered calendars at the end of the Conference. If you prefer having
your calendar mailed directly to you there will be a $5. charge for postage.
To preorder your calendar please contact:
*E-mail Orders*: Joanne Caldwell *caldwelltheweaver@gmail.com
*
*Phone orders*: Cathy Coatney 719.251.2959

Click here to view

6 degrees and one of us is rising!

I am setting here in my banana belt enjoying a lovely 6 degree morning.  Yesterday at 7:30 AM I took Elvira in to the beauty shop.  Noticed a few flakes.  Dropped the dog off and headed home in a blinding blizzard.  9:10 Doug called to say she was ready, but not to hurry cause it was supposed to stop at 9:00.  Hmmmmm.  By the time I drove back into town through the same blinding blizzard the snow was about 4 inches deep.  And when it finally got around to slowing down, this would be the view out my office window.  It was anywhere from 4-8 inches depending on where you stuck the ruler in the snow at. 

By 2 o'clock  the snow had stopped.  I had to run over to the highway and drop off some packages.  At that point the roads were snow covered and it was slushy. 2 hours later I walked up to get the mail and South Road was clear.  Patty came in about 6:00 and arrived on a sheet of ice. 

Now my point is this, where is that damn groundhog when I need him.  I had been setting here on Wednesday plotting the tilling of the garden and planting of the seeds.  Then the next day I am digging out the snow shovel again.  As I recall, back home, it was a simple matter of watching and when things started popping up, it was time to plant.  We used to start tomato seeds inside in flats in January and when planting time came we had big nice plants ready to stick in the ground. Such is not the case here in Colorado. 

Remember when they had a car advertisement that said "Zero to 60 in 9.9!"  That seems to be the motto here in Colorado only just reverse it.  Now I see that the 7 day out look is calling for this to happen again on Tuesday.  Want to come shovel for me?

When Amy was here nary a flake fell.  Wait, yes it did, but not much.  What happens in Colorado is almost comical.  See it drops down to exactly 32 degrees.  Then it starts to rain and it drops another 1/2 degree.  This causes snow flakes that are about 4 inches across.  Looks like a bunch of white feathers coming down.  These, of course, pile up very quickly.  So we have a very deep snow going on until it stops and the temperature shoots up to 32.5 degrees and it immediately starts to sink into itself since snow flakes are very delicate.  This is my scientific description, by the way.

Well, kiddies, I got up this morning with a headache, so I am going to cut this short, go deal with my eBay stuff, print a label and start my day.  We are off to an apron class this afternoon.  Not because I want to, but because Patty wants to and I do not think Garden City is conducive to new sewers.  So tomorrow I will try to post about our class, unless of course, I get side tracked which has been known to happen.

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Well, that was rather anti climatic if I do say so myself!

I some how wonder just what that was all about, the star business, I mean.  But I sure found out who my supporters are!  To refresh here, I needed only a few feedbacks to reach my thousand feedbacks and my star would change colors.  Several of you emailed me that you would leave me feedback on eBay if you could, but they do have thier rules.  First you have to buy something from me and then you can leave feedback.  And you can only leave one feedback a week.  So I lingered at the 998, then along came Cindy Darrow, my niece,  to the rescue.  She left lots of feedbacks for things she had bought previously.  That put me up to 999.  She then began buying Lip Bong and leaving feedback.  But they still did not count!  Only one per week counts. ;(
Then some time in the night pheadwood left feedback for an Avon necklace and my purple star quietly turned red.  That was it!  No glowing letter from eBay extolling my virtues as a seller.  No fan fare.  No nothing.  But I do have to tell you about this niece of mine.  She is the daughter of my late oldest sister.  She lives in Oklahoma, so I do not see much of her, but I may make the effort to remedy that this summer when I head south to see my son in Dallas.
I am not sure just what the girl does down there, but I do know she sent me 250 of the big Crown Royal Bags.  She also sends me lots of electronics that actually work along with new stuff that comes from Lord only knows where.  I think she may have connections and may be one of  "Lou's Little Angels" who are people who work quietly behind the scenes for my little causes. 
Some of this is routed through her brother, my nephew.  And why does she do this?  These things are earmarked for the AIDS clients that I work with here in Pueblo.  If we want money for something like candle wax to make candles for the homeless, the office in the Springs does not fund that!  If we want to have an outing away from the office and just let out hair down, like at the bowling alley, the office in the Springs does not fund that.  A long walk on the Nature Center trail followed by a hamburger some where; the office in the Springs does not fund that.  While I do my own funding for most of the social events as far as the food aspect goes, there are a lot of little things this money furnishes.  I call this the "Lou fundraiser". 
Of course this is not tax deductible for you or me either.  If I were walking the streets asking for money it would probably be illegal.  What I have done is just let it be known to  a few of my friends that here in the Pueblo office we like to do special things for our clients to kind of raise their spirits and make them feel a little more human.  This money goes through no channels except me.  My first donation came from my friends Kay and Frank.  Then Cindy took up the banner and ran with it.  Last week I put almost $300 in the "Lou Fundraiser"  and I have more stuff on eBay now, along with a box right over there that needs to be photographed and listed.  More then one way to skin a cat in this old world.
As long as I have friends like Cindy and Kay and Frank, I will do just fine operating on the skirt of  the organization.  And as for my feedback number and the sad little red star, life goes on.  I am now setting at 1002 and I do not know when the next change will be, but I do know that I have friends out there rooting me on and that is all that really matters! 
And do you know what sponsored links are?  Those are places that pay me money when you go there and buy stuff.  And where do you suppose that money goes?

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Me and eBay, it is a beautiful thing!

Most of you know by now that I have been selling on eBay for a number of years.  In my mushy little mind it seems like I have been doing it since last month but in reality I know it has been longer than that, but less then nine years.  I think about eight maybe.  There is a point coming!  Drum roll, please!
Feedback on eBay is paramount.  Very important to the survival of a seller on their site.  When I reached 50 and was 100% I was very happy.  Then I reached 100.  Then 250.  Then 500.  I still remain at 100%.  Somewhere along the line some guy bought a seed catcher for $12 and left me a neutral feed back and the comment  "Very nice quality and arrived quickly, but a little pricey!"  Oh, I almost had a stroke!  Good feedback is green.  Bad feedback is red.  Neutral counts for nothing and is gray, but somehow that little gray dot broke my heart.  So I wrote him.
"My dear fellow.  I am very sorry you were not happy with my price, but here is the deal. I have fabric, thread, store fees, insertion fees, final value fees, and time involved.  Oh and then there is that free shipping thing every seed catcher customer gets. I do not feel the $12 is too far out of reason if you check the other stores where they sell for $20.00 plus shipping."
I did get a letter of apology back explaining that he did not understand, but since I had told him he would go back and change it if he could, but he had tried and could not.  So the little grey circle passed from one month into the 6 month column and someday it will march on off the right side of the page.  Right now I am setting with my purple star and 100% rating and a little fellow who looks happy and that is the Power Seller guy.  There is also a medallion with ribbons out the bottom and that means I am a top rated seller.  These along with my Bronze rating gives me a discount on my eBay fees which makes them only a little bit absorbenent.  And my feedback number is now 995.  In only 5 more feedbacks I will reach a thousand.  I trust I will get something special.  Lord only knows what, but I hope it is good.  I kind of hate to loose my purple star since that is my favorite color, but
I know I will get something better, maybe.
There is no way I will ever get rich there on eBay, but I do make a little money for PFLAG, other people and a few dollars for myself.  You can not walk through this part of the house, and I have a storage trailer full of total crap, but I still have my wits about me and I can find an item when I need to lay my hands on it.  Seed catcher business is hopping cause people do not want to clean up the cage area 3-4 times a day and they do not want the cheap net things at Petsmart.  I make mine to order and it seems that no matter what colors I have ready in the bin, that is not the color they want.  But that is fine, because I like to put my personal touch on everything that leaves here to a new home.  I have made a lot of friends on eBay and expect I will make a lot more. 
I had a cold recently and a lady from Michigan sent me Nasturium tea.  Big shot at General Motors in Niagara Falls sent me tea shirt from Buffalo, other memorabilia and $20 to buy a bottle of wine along with a cork screw.  Murano heart necklace from a girl in Daytona Beach. (That is the same one who drove 2,000 one way to meet me.)   Necklace and a tie-dye tee shirt from a lady in Palm Bay, tea towels from Wales, ice scraper from Missouri, and I could go on all day, but I think you get the picture.
So as I keep clicking over on the feedback waiting for the next five to come in I am celebrating my own little personal best here and I can not beleive it...IT IS STARTING TO SNOW!!!! I thought spring was here!  Damn!

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This is a bunch of paper from a box I just unpacked.  If you look closely in the center you can see a black thing.  Do you have any idea at all what that could be?

 Ah!  It suddenly becomes clear, doesn't it?  Icarus, the cat from hell! 

May I have my chair?

I wish I could borrow that note book or see that screen.

Right now the devil cat is climbing through a box of eBay stuff that belongs to some one and I know if I try to make her move there is going to be a bunch of crashing and then I will have broken glass to clean up and something to pay for  that I sure did not need.  She is now peering at me from under the monitor.  Pretty soon she will start swatting at my fingers.  I have no idea how I have managed to keep my Internet up and running with her prowling all over my desk.  I think she can read, so I expect that will be swatted off  pretty soon.

I do not remember how long ago I got this cat.  Seems like over a year.  Hell, it seems like I have always had her.  She was a rescue cat and had just had a litter of kittens.  Of course she was skinny and had the droopy boobies.  Always amazes me how people can neglect an animal, but a lot of them do.  Anyway, when I got her, I kept her inside because I knew she would run away if she got outside.  She would go back to her old home, cause I hear that is what cats do.  Silly me.  She immediately settled in and thought she was a dog.

When I go out to do my chores, my dogs go with me.  Elvira is a Lhaso/Shitzu and Daisy is a Jack Russel Terrier/Wiener dog.  Both rescue dogs and I think I told you Elvira had just had a litter when we got her.  Daisy was just an unfed little runt with two black eyes.  She was Bret's dog.  So here they are, the three of them.

Daisy

Elvira 

Now when I go out there are all three of them with me.  I do not know how that cat knows I am even on the move, but here she comes.  The dogs are never more than 10 feet away, just waiting for some action.  So we go out back and every one of them goes and sniffs everything, but the real action comes when we start for the house.  Icarus and I get to the gate first and have to stand and holler for the busy little dogs.  Icarus settles her self down behind a barrel and waits.  When the first dog arrives she leaps through the air and lands on it's back and rides on into the house.  I have tried to get a picture of that, but all I get is a blur. 

I had to get another printer because the controls on the other one were on top and she kept walking across them and running the scanner.  Guess she was doing "cat scans".   This printer fascinates her and when she hears me hit the print button she jumps up on the desk and peers into the place where the page will come out.  As soon as she sees it coming she grabs at it and if I don't get her first I fear she may be jerked in and spit out the other side.  And it is very hard to read the page after she has shredded it.  Well, the same thing happens in the bathroom.  If the stool is going to be flushed she is going to be with her paws over the side watching it go.

I have often thought about getting another cat to keep her company, but what if I then had 2 devil cats?  No matter where she is during the day, if I set in the recliner and flip  the foot rest out, before it is in the full upright position, Icarus will be on my stomach.  And the first thing she does is knead it for me.  When it is soft enough, she lays down and puts her paws on either side of my throat and turns out just enough claw for me to know that if I push her off my stomach, my jugular vein will be ripped from my throat. 

At night I wake up and find her perched on my shoulder, or laying curled up on the other side of the bed, or staring out the window at Lord only knows what.  But for all my complaining, I love all my animals, even the 13 geese out back.  Guarantee there is not a man walking who could cross that yard if I were not there to run interference.  Guard Geese.  Gotta get that sign up!

Well, I am off to start another day and hopefully I will actually get something done, but I doubt it very much. Today I am babysitting a 2 year old, so it is cuddle time around here!

Have a good one.

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