Skye Writing

AuroraSkye appears on RateMyDrawings

2010-06-24T15:54:00.000-07:00

Hi there!!
I've been hanging out at RateMyDrawings lately -- drawing a lot of pictures of food to try to win a computer drawing tablet in a contest. I finally got tired of drawing food and decided I would draw my secondlife avatar! LOL I think she turned out pretty good! It was interesting drawing my avatar instead of my regular thing of drawing or making clothes for my avatar! I've never drawn her before. I think she turned out pretty good! :-)

http://www.ratemydrawings.com/drawings/portraits/677163.html

It's been awhile since I have blogged....

2010-05-26T04:52:00.000-07:00

I guess I go thru phases. Lately I have been making SL dresses and tiled fractals for computer desktop backgrounds. Here is a fractal I made last night.....

YouTube - Mean Kitty - Valentine's Day

2010-02-16T17:32:00.000-08:00

YouTube - Mean Kitty - Valentine's Day

01022010

2010-01-02T07:11:00.000-08:00

How NEAT!!!! I just saw on the news that today is a "Palindrome" number (for the USA because we use month/day/year 01/02/2010) A Palindrome is where a saying, a grouping of letters, or grouping of numbers can be read the same way in either direction! These are very rare! The last one was October 02, 2001. And the last "Palindrome" day before that was in 1308!
In the US we will only get 36 of these in the next millennium, where as countries that use the day/month/year style will get 60 Palindrome dates! The next Palindrome date in the US will be 11/02/2011. :-)

Ring out the old...Ring in the new.....

2010-01-02T06:51:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years ALL!!!

December 31st 2009

2009-12-31T08:36:00.000-08:00

Hi there all --
Today would have been my Dad's 80th Birthday if he had not died in a car accident at age 53! I wonder what he would've been like all these years later. I still have dreams where he is still alive but in those dreams he is never any older than 53 yrs old. We used to celebrate his birthday and New Year's Eve together by having a party every year. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD (wherever you are) ... and HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2010 everyone!
It is raining today and I LOVE it! Of course, I would PREFER SNOWWWWWWW but rain is nice too! (grins) It is so weird how most of the world is already in 2010 ...while us slowpokes in the US are still a year behind (LOL). I wanted to make a New Years party dress for SL in time for New Year's Eve but I guess I didn't get it done in time (darn it) I may still make a pretty gown anyway -- I've been wanting to do something NEW ...but I have been blanking on ideas lately....
Well, my catlets and I wish everyone a wonderful New Year's Eve and New YEAR!!! I hope we all can head more towards loving each other and being more mindful of our planet and the animals we share it with this coming year.... ओं

This season is going by WAYYYYY tooooo quickly!!!

2009-12-20T01:36:00.000-08:00

....and I WANT SOME SNOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! (LOLOL)
I had a "Holiday" party at my apt tonight (well ok-- officially it was last night since it is now 1:40 am) I am not sure I have EVER had a party in this apt. (and I moved here in 1992) I cleaned and cleaned and put Christmas lights up, and a purple tablecloth on the coffee table with cinnamon (spelling?) smelling pinecones as the centerpiece and a dark green runner (I LOVE purple and green combinations), It wasn't a huge party - just 5 of us and 2 more dropped in briefly - but this is a small apt so it would have been too crowded with more people. We talked and listened to beautiful music and each of us had a RUNEs reading. That was fun. I think it turned out well. I think people enjoyed themselves (I hope so). That was my Christmas. On Christmas day I will be here at home with two cats. Maybe I will hang out on SL. :-)
I've been trying to reach my mom on the phone for the past week but all it does is a partial ring and then hangs up on me. :-( I don't think she is hearing it ring at all! I sent her an email saying that I was trying to reach her but she hasn't even responded to that. I know she is ok because my brother and sis in law *(who live closer to her) say that she is fine-- but I must admit I WISH that she would get a regular LANDLINE phone (instead of the stupid SKYPE? Internet phone she has. I KNOW she can afford whatever a regular phone costs per month and at least I would be able to reach her!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
It is soo frustrating! ....Oh well... :-( The place is so quiet now that everyone has gone. It is a bit lonely ... but, hopefully I will feel more like myself tomorrow. I really DO wish that we would get A LOT of snow! So far-- we are hardly getting any RAIN! It was mainly sunny today, and nothing is happening weather-wise tonight, I wish it would at least POUR down with RAIN! Somehow having it be soooo still outside seems to be adding to my loneliness. I am not sure why. Very strange.
Well I guess I have pretty much just been rambling on ... not saying much of anything important... Maybe I should try to make some fractals? Maybe I should just try to go to bed? Hugs to any and all who stop by! :-)

I forget if I can link to pictures here

2009-11-26T23:56:00.000-08:00

I guess I really need to figure out that Flicker thang ... Can you link pictures that you upload to Flicker == to other places on the web?

<--- A new computer sketch (of Dhani Harrison -- George Harrison's son)

<--- Here is the photo I used as a reference.

Happy Thanksgiving !!!

2009-11-26T13:39:00.000-08:00

Hi there --- Autumn/Winter is going past WAYYYYYY too quickly!!! Summer didn't go by this fast! I guess it is cuz this is my favourite time of year but I sure wish that it wouldn't go past quite so quickly! LOL Anyway, I know that many people don't celebrate Thanksgiving but I think it is nice to think about being grateful for things no matter what day it is. I really should do that more often, myself! A lot of what I am grateful for is the same as what I was grateful for LAST year but I'm still going to list them because they are definitely things to still be grateful for. (Wacky sentence there!) :-)
I'm grateful for Tai Chi (my eldest cat) even tho she is making it extremely difficult to type right now because she decided she wants to be in my arms, to purr and shed! (grins) I'm grateful for my younger cat, Blueberry, because she is NOT bugging me to pat her at the moment- LOL ... Nahhhh...because she is a sweet heart (like her "cat sister" Tai Chi) and she (and Tai) bring me such love and companionship all year 'round. (I love my little catlets!) (smiles) I'm grateful for my family still being here and us all being relatively healthy! I'm grateful for the wonderful friends I have, both in RL and on SL. The SL ones are just as real and important to me as any and all friends I have made in real life! Their love and friendship help me at all times, happy, lonely, angry, or sad. I'm grateful it is RAINING today!!!!!! Whooo hooooo!!! I love it love it LOVE IT! It is sooo beautiful and grey outside. It is perfect for a cozy mood of getting together with family and friends. I'm grateful I have a place to go this year -- to my brother and sister in law's (I have had some years where I had no place to go, no one to celebrate with -- that can be very lonely) I'm grateful I have a roof over my head, and a working shower/bath! (grins) I am grateful my apt is a lot cleaner than it was last year ... and that is because of my care-giver, whom I am also VERY grateful for!!! I'm grateful for music and being able to hear it -- I recently saw Dhani Harrison (George Harrison's son) in concert with his group "thenewno2" ("The Prisoner" reference), and his music was fantastic! (I've been enjoying his CD ever since). :-) I am VERY grateful that the arthritis in my knees/legs is not acting up as badly as it was last year -- so it is much easier to walk at this point!!!! (I am SOOOO grateful about that)!
I'm grateful for having a working computer and for being able to afford the cost to get online (and visit people!) I'm grateful for being alive at the time where we CAN have contact with people all over the world, instantly, ... I STILL hope that this contact can help us all as a species to try to STOP killing each other! (Hopefully make our differences stop being threatening so we can be tolorant of and actually enjoy our variety!) I am SOOOOOO grateful for animals being on this planet. They are sooooo beautiful and I think we could learn a lot from them! {I want to write some more because writing down grateful lists is such a good exercise to improve one's mood -- but I have to get ready to drive to my brother's for Thanksgiving -- THANK YOU everyone who visits this blog for being there!!! -- To Be continued Later! Hugssss!!!!}

I finally figured out my photo upload problem

2009-11-18T04:10:00.000-08:00

LOLOL Turns out -- I only needed to check some sort of agreement thingy next to the upload button! I don't remember seeing that or having to check that little box before -- but I finally noticed it! I think I need a new brain (and some new eyeballs) lol
Now, if only they would let me change the colours of my titles again - I would be happy!

Here are the photos I was going to post in the earlier blog. :-) The first one shows many pretty fractal displays at the Fractal Diversity show that is on til mid January. I think it is so interesting seeing all the different fractals people come up with! There are so many beautiful fractals there!

The second picture is of a nice friend of mine named BellaSummer (and I) in front of my display at the show. I am still not sure I am pleased with my display. I may still change it (if that is allowed) I really wanted to go to the opening "gala" ....but as I say... I slept thru it!

I SHOULD go to sleep now (4:20 am) but, of course, I feel wide awake! (I think I belong in a different time zone!) lol

DARN IT!

2009-11-17T19:17:00.001-08:00

Hi there --
I feel like such an idiot! I intended to go to the opening party for the Fractal Diversity show but I have insomnia and I was up til 11 am this morning - so I ended up sleeping thru the opening! :-( (I slept til 6:30 pm) I feel like such a dope. AND, my sleep is royally screwed up again. I don't want to take a sleeping pill every night (like my mom has to) because I am afraid I will become addicted to the sleeping pills and HAVE to take them. (Darn --I also still can't upload pictures to this blog --- anyone have any ideas on what I can do to fix this? It is no fun having a blog that I can't upload pictures to!!) This is not my day! I should go back to bed! :-(

Well, its been over a month since I have blogged...

2009-11-17T00:00:00.000-08:00

I guess it may be a good idea to blog something tonight -- altho as usual, I don't know what to say! Erm...... (trying to think of something). This is embarrassing - you'd think that I could think of SOMETHING to write about.....other than cats and the weather.....
There is going to be the 2nd Annual Fractal Diversity exhibit starting today with an opening party at 3 pm 'til 6 pm, then it will run until mid January. I am grateful to be a part of it again. It is nice seeing the variety of fractal art that people come up with. There are many beautiful fractals there I would like to buy. Anyway, if you would like to -- stop by and check out the show ... I have the LM on SL but I am not sure how to put it in here -- but if you check out my store "AuroraSkye Creations at Wollaston" -- there is a poster on the Fractal show there that will give out Landmarks. :-)
(Darn -- I was going to put a picture in here but for some reason it is NOT letting me upload any pics! -- something about my "java"?) :-(

Hi there all .....I am SOOOOO glad that Autumn has arrived!

2009-10-14T00:49:00.000-07:00

Hi there!!!
It is windy and a BIT rainy outside as I write this and I LOVE it! The leaves are turning beautiful bright colours, and the grey clouds look spectacular as they are sweeping across the sky (or they did earlier when I could see them in the daylight) LOLOL
I am still having to deal with stupid tub replacement etc in RL but I took a small break from the whole thing tonight, and visited my mom. It was fun. I got us the Applebees Two meals and an appetizer for $20 deal - and then drove to her place. She had the sirloin burger and I had the fiesta chicken. We watched episodes of "Medium" from my 4rth Season DVD. That is neat that she enjoys that series too. I brought my FINALLY charged camera over there and took pictures of her and her cat!
They promised us rain today but all we got was wind! (Sheesh) Finally, tonight, it started to rain a LITTLE bit! I sure hope it doesn't rain all night and end up being sunny tomorrow but I bet that is how it will be! It always seems to do that! I would much prefer it to be dry at night and RAIN RAIN RAIN all day but I know I am a minority in desiring that! (grins)
When I drove home from mom's I stopped off at the store. It was sooo nice to drive home in the rain (however small a rain it was) I stuck my hand out the window to collect rain-drops! (I am so mature! LOL) :-)

Happy Birthday Johnny!!! :-)

2009-10-09T15:27:00.001-07:00

John (and Sean's) Birthday today. I guess John Lennon would have been 69. I sure wish he were still with us. Oh well =-- Happy Birthday, guys! :-)

Real Life Inspiration for "Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds" dies....

2009-09-28T23:53:00.000-07:00

:-(

The full story for it is here: http://www.examiner.com/x-2082-Beatles-Examiner~y2009m9d28-Lucy-Vodden-the-real-Lucy-in-the-Sky-With-Diamonds-dies?cid=examiner-email

So Sad. :-(

Well, the summer is trying to hang on ....

2009-09-22T03:22:00.000-07:00

....even on the first day of FALL! Weather people are saying that it is going to get up into the mid to high 90s tomorrow ...oops=-= TODAY.... I am SOOOOO NOT in the mood. Cindy (who has been helping me to clean my apt) is coming tomorrow but it will be harder to clean when it is so hot. I am SOOOOOOO ready for Autumn!
I know this is going to sound very "dotty domestic" but I FINALLY got one of those close-fitting couch covers (called "surefit") and put it on the couch that my cats had clawed up (its arms). I must admit it is so nice NOT having to see those clawed up arms any more -- but one of my cats tried to claw even UNDER the cover!!!! I yelled "NOOO!!!!" and scared her off. It was a rather expensive sleeper sofa -that I bought many years ago -- and I tried every trick in the book to stop the cats from using it as a scratching post but to no avail. :-(
Frankly, I still prefer the cover the couch came with -- but at least I am not having to see the poor shredded couch arms anymore. I guess that is ONE aspect of cats I can do without (but I still would NEVER remove their claws cuz that is inhumane to the MAX.
I hope you all are well!!! :-)

I took the music off this site....

2009-09-16T18:14:00.001-07:00

Hi there -- I tried having music on this site but I guess I don't like webpages with music even when it is my OWN website! LOLOL I guess I prefer the kind you can click ON --- rather than the kind that you have to search for to click off. LOL I guess it is cuz I have a slow computer and those sites with music seem to really play havoc with the page loading for me. Still - it is a shame - cuz I LOVE music and I love hearing other peoples' favourite songs and being able to share MY favourites! (Oh well)
On other news -- it is drizzling today!!!! Whooo Hoooooo!!!! I LOVE it!!! It is such a pleasant change from the constant sunny days! It is my brother's birthday today! I already gave him presents but I wanted to stop by and give him a birthday cupcake (or cheeseburger) or something. LOLOL I guess it is good I didn't stop by tho -- cuz it seems that they are not at home at the moment. He says he likes the 2nd Season "Get Smart" DVD, "Matrix" video, and Larson book I gave him!

:-) I hope you all have a wonderful day! :-)

This is how I would exercise!

2009-09-12T03:36:00.001-07:00

I can sure relate to this cat! LOLOLOL

Hi there all (or whomever still reads this blog...)

2009-09-11T03:04:00.000-07:00

Summer is going to give us another (tho hopefully last) heatwave for the road (today and tomorrow - 90 and above temps). :-( I will be very happy when Autumn arrives -- hopefully with lots and lots and lots of RAIN! :-)
Our family celebrated my mom's (and my brother's) Birthdays on Wednesday night. (Mom was born on 09/09 and Rob a week later) Mom had her birthday on a neat date this year: 09/09/09! My friend in California got to have her birthday on a neat date in 2006 (on 06/06/06). I will never get to celebrate my birthday on a neat date like that cuz there are no months that go up into the 14s! Oh well -- :-)
On SL this morning - I realized it was/is 9/11 today. (Ugh) It is depressing how much has changed here in the US (and around the world?) since the attacks of 9/11. Many Politicians here have used it as an excuse to get rid of a lot of our freedoms (and the constitution itself). I think we are living in very frightenning times and it is not just from fear of Terrorists. Unfortunately I am not sure I can do anything about what has been going on. It is very upsetting.
I don't want to end this entry on a down note tho -- sooooo.... hmmmmm .......they just released newly re-mastered Beatles CDs on 09/09/09. I would love the boxed sets but I think they are quite above my price range. Still, from the reviews I have read -- they evidently sound wonderful -- I can't wait to hear them! :-)
Have a good day, all -- Hug your family, friends, and pets today (and all days)

LA fires

2009-09-02T03:39:00.000-07:00

I know these fires happen every year but I have read that they have been getting larger and more devastating in recent years. Many say that this has nothing to do with global warming but I think there is a definite connection. It makes me sad hearing about the loss of life (both human and animal) that are a result of these huge fires. Having lived many years in Los Angeles - I remember well the "Santa Ana winds" and this fire-risk time of year. There are a lot of fires burning out of control up and down the west coast. My prayers go out to all involved.

Time Lapse Test: The Station Fire from Eric Spiegelman on Vimeo.

Yea -- it should be cooler tomorrow/today! Whoo hooo!!!

2009-08-21T00:43:00.000-07:00

Hi there ---
I am so glad that at least this latest heatwave is over for awhile. :-) (Doing a happy dance) It should be more in the 70s "tomorrow" ! Wheeeeee!!! :-)
Here is an amazing child prodigy!!! Emily Bear -- check out this video! Amazing! :-)

Ellen went home and we got another heatwave! LOL

2009-08-20T00:44:00.000-07:00

Hi there ---

I am glad it was cooler while Ellen was here -- but then when she left we got another heatwave! (sheesh) Today was close to 100 degrees in Portland. Fortunately, it is supposed to be cooler tomorrow! I sure am looking forward to Autumn!
It is so nice having my digital camera working again -- I finally sent away for the charger that I had lost -- but then after I bought a new one =-= I found the old one! :-/ Isn't that always the way!??? lol At least now I can take better pictures of my catlets! Above is a cute one of Blueberry! And here's another one! (grins) She is such a cutie (IMO) :-)

She loves to lie down with her feet in the air! When she does this -- it is really tempting to pat her belly but she objects to having her belly patted. (She is such a tease) :-)

Here is one of Tai Chi .... She is such a sweetheart! She is my older kitty. She is at my feet under the computer as I type this. :-) =^..^=

My friend from Calif and I have been having fun....

2009-08-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

Hi there --
My friend, Ellen and I have been having a nice visit. Since she also does SL I have been letting her spend the time at the computer while we are home. The rest of the time we have been checking out places and seeing friends and family. I drove us both to Mnt Hood yesterday! It was a beautiful day == sunny (yeah == I like sunny when it is not too hot and has some clouds) with blue sky and lots of wonderful clouds. It was great weather for photography! I drove us up to Timberline Lodge (where they filmed some scenes for "The Shining." )(lol)

It is a neat lodge -- with lots of sculptures and iron grille details. The doors are huge! It was built in 1937.

Ellen walked a bit up a path to try to touch some snow (not much snow at Timberline lodge in mid summer) I wanted to walk with her but my legs, body etc can't do that at this time -- hopefully I can get in better shape soon... (next goal after cleaning apt). I waited up at the bar in the lodge and eventually got some chairs by one of the best window views of the mountain. (It was hard -=- whenever anyone would leave- - others would rush right into that spot --)

When Ellen got back, we had dinner at the bar, and watched the fog/low clouds come in and cover up the mountain quickly. The food was delicious and colourful. (Pretty fruit and veggies).

Afterwards we walked around some more and took more pictures cuz the scenes had really changed with the low dark clouds coming in. Ellen hates the rain but I LOVE it -- so I thought the dramatic skies were WONDERFUL!!! It rained quite hard as we were decending the mountain. I guess Ellen was glad she was INSIDE the car. (grins) It was SOOOOO BEAUTIFUL! Hopefully I will get some of the pics we took into this blog when we transfer them to the computer!
:-)

PS: The weather has been great temperature-wise during Ellen's visit but on the DAY she is leaving - they are predicting it to be into the mid 90s again!!! :-( AND -- the following week it is going to get up into the HIGH 90s again!!) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! :-( The hot weather is supposed to be down in Los Angeles, California! I am not a great fan of El Nino weather systems.

Whooo Hoooo -- It is finally cooler!!!!!!

2009-08-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhhh -- Finally!!!! The temps are now in the mid 70s!!!! And -- for the first time in AGES - we have had TWO grey days in a row!!!! I still wish we would get some RAIN but these grey days are sure welcome! I am thoroughly enjoying them! Isn't it wonderful??? :-)
I know that the hot days are not over yet -==- but this break is sureeeeee nice! :-)
My apt is finally clean enough to have a long time friend come over and stay for 12 days. My good friend has come up from California for a visit. I picked her up at the airport yesterday. The cats both remember her! They enjoying all the extra attention! I gave her a bit of a piano lesson yesterday! (grins) I don't have a piano here but I DO have one of those synthesizer keyboards. She had never made a chord before (she is not really into music that much == shame == I couldn't survive without music!) I taught her a bit of "Heart and Soul." I think she had fun! :-) My brother and I always dreaded our piano lessons as kids because the teacher was rather ... erm .... B*tchy! (shame) Music should be fun! Just like art!
My friend also uses SecondLife -- and I only have one computer here so we will have to share computer/SL time. I probably will let her have more time on SL than I use because I want to be a good hostess. (smiles)
Anyway -- it is SOOOOOOO nice to NOT be having to run the "portable" AC atm! I sure hope this lasts awhile! (Actually I would love it if we would have a cool rest-of-the-summer -- but I doubt we will be so lucky!)
Still -- the coolness is soooo nice while it is here! :-)

Hi there all ~~~

2009-07-20T01:30:00.000-07:00

They are saying that this week is going to be the hottest it has been all year -- AND it is going to get into the triple digits by this coming weekend!! I am tired of only writing complaints about the heat here but I sure DO hate this weather == I figure this may be the last time I can be online for awhile because if it is hot as it they say it is going to be =- then it is too hot for my "portable" AC to handle -- and it will be too hot to have my computer on.

I sure hope this HEAT stops soon -- I am really sick of this!!!
:-(

It's been HOT HOT HOT!

2009-07-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

(Waves to Wild and Princess -- I sure am grateful to you both for how you stop by and leave comments == It makes me feel less alone =-=- TY so much!~! Hugsss!!)
(Also waves and HUGS to FD, MI, Mykyl, and Michelle!)
We have been in an AWFUL four-day heatwave over here. WAYYYYY too hot to turn on the computer -- it has been awful. My "portable" AC has not been able to keep up with things and even turned itself off this morning. :-( I guess it overheated. For awhile there I thought thaqqt it was off for good but it still turns on (thank God). Cindy (the lady who helps me clean) thinks that it is not producing much cold air though. :-( She came today but we didn't get much done because it was too hot. She just tested some bateries and made the bed and then left. Hopefully we can get more done when she comes again on Tuesday. (Boy, I am NOT a heat person == and definately NOT a summer person) :-/
Oh well == it is going to be HOT again tomorrow and then it is supposed to cool down. I am concerned that if I am having this much trouble with mid 90 degree weather == what am I going to do when it gets up into the 100s in August and September?
Ugh!
LOL!
I hope everyone had a nice 4rth of July! I didn't do anything or go anywhere today but I did visit mom yesterday (on the 3rd) It was a nice visit. We talked and watched some episodes of "Medium" on DVD. When I got home at midnight last night == my apt was SOOOOOOOOO HOT even though I had left the air conditioning and tons of fans on. :-( Hmmmmm Something definitely is not working.
At least it is cooling down at night and I am very grateful for that -- unfortunately = I am having a heck of a time getting the cooler air from outside INTO my hot apt! I have all the windows open now and fans in them but this apt is staying hot. :-(
Sorry about all my complaining about the heat -- but if I can't complain here ==-where can I? (Giggles) I sure will be happy when it starts RAINING again! (smiles)

Warm Day and got more cleaning done

2009-06-27T23:11:00.001-07:00

Hi there all *(Or whomever still reads my infrequent blogs here) :-D,
I am sooooo pleased with the cleaning progress of this apt. I still have a long ways to go (*IMO) but it still is SOOOO nice to be getting so much done. I think the cats are enjoying the space too == but Blueberry sure is "snarky" (my helper's word for it) with Cindy, my helper. LOL I think it is cuz "Blue" HATES the vacuume cleaner (she definitely will NEVER be one of those cats that you can vacuume the shedding fur off of) lolol .... {I don't know how to spell "vacuume" I even tried spell check but with no luck} :-(
Anyway, once when Cindy was trying to unplug the vacume cleaner from the power strip by Blueberry's water =-= Blueberry really HISSED at her big time !!! She was afraid to reach over to unplug the machine with Blue acting sooooo "B*tchy" LOL) (Poor Cindy) I am actually kind of embarrassed at Blueberry's awful behaviour but I can't seem to get her to be more polite! Bad "Snarky" kitty! LOLOL (She is currently asleep on my foot, under the computer) Anyway, I have missed you all on SL -- and I hope to be coming on more often now that the apt is getting in better and better shape. :-)

Birthday!!!

2009-06-17T01:55:00.000-07:00

Dear Sweet SL friends -

I want to thank you sooooo very much for making my Birthday (last Sunday, June 14th) soooo very special!!! It was so fun to hang out with you and dance and shoot water balloons at eachother! I love my new baby Tiger, and a new resting kitty I also got (grins) (I also love the new Flapper dress I bought!)

Thank you so much for all of your friendships. :-)

It is HOT today and will be tomorrow and the next day too (UGH)

2009-05-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

I am still upset at not being able to change the colours of the titles of these posts anymore -- I would have the title of this one be a bright HOT orange! !!!!! Oh well ....
I tried to clean a bit today but it was too hot to get much done. Big 5 hour cleaning tomorrow. I finally decided to put on the "Portable" (HA -- it is HUGE) LOLOL Air Conditioner again == I am so glad I bought it last year. I hope it lasts thru this summer and for many many many years after that!
I must admit -- it is a bit irritating to be having this much of a heat wave when it isn't even officially summer yet!!! Eeeek! If it is this hot now -=- I hate to think of what this year's summer is going to be like! But nahhh-=-= there is no global warming! <--- sarcastic remark to my brother who really believes there is NO global warming. :-(

Darn -- I really HATE not being able to change the colours of my titles :-(

2009-05-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

It was soooo much prettier when I could change the title colours== Darn Darn Darn! :-(

Well, maybe I can at least find a pretty fractal to put in here.....

It's been awhile again.... LOL

2009-05-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

Hi there --
Sorry it has been awhile since I have Blogged (*again). I have been going thru a big time "cleaning phaze" in real life ==- and I figure I will take advantage of it! (grins)

***{Oh DARN==- I tried putting colour in my title again and they have definately stopped letting us do that -- I think that is such a shame because I really like having diff colours in the titles rather than always having them be that same old dull blueish colour ..... Am I missing a way where I can continue to have different colours in my titles}***

Anyway -- I am soooooo grateful I have a GOOD helper now for cleaning! She is amazing! This week we got a LOT done -- including vacuuming the window screen!!!! (*to get it nice and clean) and washing the windows!! (smiles) I am even going to have my curtains dry cleaned (to get dust and cat hair off of them)
I have been sorting a lot -- I have WAYYYYYYY too many photos of Adrian Paul from the "Highlander" *(Conventions)-- but I am not sure how to do the whole "selling on Ebay" bit == so I will probably join "Freecycle.com" and give many collectibles away. It sure will be nice to hardly have any possessions anymore (altho that is a ways down the road)
Well -I wanted to wave "Hi" to those few who frequent this blog page-- and let you all know that I am ok --- I hope/plan to be on SL again soon -- I miss everyone -- but as I say == I want to take advantage of my craving to clean for as long as I can! :-)

Been a long time since I have last blogged...

2009-05-07T13:58:00.000-07:00

Hi there --- Sorry it has been so long since my last blog. I have been pretty busy in RL -- so much so that I have not even gotten onto SL much lately.
*(Hmmmmmm I wonder if I can still change colours in Blog titles -- it is now giving me an error in the HTML message which is strange cuz I didn't even WRITE the HTML -- I let this site write it ...Darn -- looks like I can no longer change the colours of the titles to these :-( SHAME) :-(.) Darn -- Oh well ....
I had to rush off before I could finish this blog -- not that it is a very creative one anyway .... I've been doing a lot of apt cleaning lately -- I finally have someone who can help !!! (Woooo Hoooooo!!!) Together we are getting quite a lot done and it feels great!
Of course, I will feel even better when I get rid of many many many more possessions. I have given a lot away to Goodwill etc so far =--but I have far more I want to give away. I know that I will feel a lot freer when I have many less material items cluttering up my life. I have a lot of interests and a very small apt -- NOT a good combination. LOL
At any rate-- I am SOOOOOO grateful to FINALLY have some help to get the things done that I have wanted to do for a long time. :-)

It's BLUEBERRY's Birthday! :-)

2009-04-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

Hi there all -- It's Blueberry's 8th birthday today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLUEBERRY!!!

I got her around June 2nd, 2001, but I was able to meet her previous owners and they said her Birthday was on April 8th (same as Julian Lennon's :-)) They also said her previous name was "Princess!" (Hi there, PrincessIvory! waves) I think she has decided her name is "QUEEN" now cuz she rules the house! (grins)

I gave her and Tai Chi some wet food today (they usually have dry). Now "Her Highness" is relaxing on my bed! :-) :-) :-) (no spoiled cat here) (smiles). In June 2001, I brought her over to meet my brother and sister in law -- and my brother took some cute pictures of her as a kitten! ENJOY!

Isn't she cute???? And aren't these great pics? I love her "Halloween Kitty" poses! She is not as white now as she used to be. Now she is mostly grey. But she is still cute.

Here she is eating some of Maureen's fake flowers. Nutty cat! (grins)

I sure love her! :-)

"I love you, I love you, I love you ....."

2009-04-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

"....that's all I want to say...." (Quote from the Beatles "Michelle")

The Beatles, together and seperately, speak of love better than I ever could. :-)

http://www.obsessedwithconformity.com/obsessed_with_conformity/2009/03/in-the-name-of-love.html

I made the box for the dresses -- whoo hoooo!

2009-03-05T01:27:00.000-08:00

Took me awhile. But at least I got it done. Trying a different approach this time. I got tired of making each box individually. I have a big day in RL tomorrow -- er -- today. I am dreading it. Then on Friday night-- I will not be able to be online cuz I am having another sleep apnea test (last ones I had were last February of 2008). I sure hope I will be able to sleep that night!

Anyway -- Nighters!!

I made a new dress for SL

2009-03-04T00:24:00.000-08:00

Hi there --

This one was a hard one -- I had to go back to the drawing board and upload new textures quite a few times to get things matched up correctly, but I think it is finally finished. :-) It looks really nice when the avi is moving -- either doing a salsa or a tango! :-)

Now I have to make a box for these== oh joy! LOLOL

I took some cute pics of Blueberry! (One of my sweet catlets) :-)

2009-02-27T14:37:00.000-08:00

Isn't she cute??? I know these are a bit close but it is hard to control the stupid web cam --esp cuz it is connected by a wire and the cat doesn't seem to want her picture taken. But still == she is a cutie! (grins) Now I need to take some pics of Tai Chi! (grins)

What a sweet little face! (smiles)

Hmmmm now that is strange....

2009-02-23T12:08:00.000-08:00

Just out of curiousity - I tried to send myself a postcard as an alt avie -- and it worked!!!!!! So it can't be a problem with my email -=- it is something wonky with trying to send a postcard as AuroraSkye! I looked at preferences and settings etc and so far - haven't been able to figure out why I can't send postcards as Aurora when I can as my alt..... I sure hope I can figure it out.....

For Some reason my Postcards from SL are no longer coming in... :(

2009-02-20T06:45:00.000-08:00

I like to send myself a lot of "postcards" from Second Life -- to save nice memories and to post some in this blog== but for some reason == the "send a postcard" bit seems to be no longer working for me! I sent a test email out to myself = and it came back fine== so it is not my email -- so it must be good ole SL! :-( I really find this frustrating, tho, because it is a royal pain to save the files directly to my computer because they only come in as ".bmps" -- MUCH bigger files than what fit my needs ..... and I certainly am NOT going to "upload" them every time at $10 lindens a shot -- so darnit -what gives, SL????

It is really upsetting too because before it dawned on me that this was happening (or NOT happening in terms of NO postcards being sent) ... I had taken (and lost) MANY MANY MANY carefully composed -- NEAT postcards pictures! (darn it!!!) :-(

Oh well, at least I took the one I will post here with today's blog== by using Photoshop and the "Print Screen" function. But I wish I knew how to get my SL postcards working again!

The above pic is of my new-ish display for my animated gowns on SL. I made two new "Celestial Gowns" within the last two days. They look neat and are fun to wear! They look so much better while being worn (especially at Midnight setting) but I lost all the neat pics I took of three of us in them tonight and now I have crashed out of SL so I can't post them here.

Happy Valentine's Day!!! :-)

2009-02-14T08:44:00.000-08:00

I stayed up all night again (Bad me) ...but it was fun! I made a Valentine's Gown to give out as a present to the people in my small AuroraSkye Creations group. Then I got to try out the gown doing a graceful slow dance with a nice dance partner. It was a nice way to bring in Valentine's Day! It is even SNOWING a teeny tiny bit at the moment, so that is nice. I wish it would stick and cover large areas and stay -- but hey -- even tho it isn't -- it is still neat to see some of those little flakes fall! :-)

I like the texture I made for the Valentine's Gown ... it turned out really neat with the gradients going in opposite directions. :-)

Well, Happy Valentine's Day all!!! I hope you all have a very nice day (as I go off to get some sleep) lolol *(Darn, the snow already ended - sniff) lolol

Nighters!

Why do I always have such bad luck with Helpers? :-(

2009-02-13T21:42:00.000-08:00

Well, .... I guess I have to try to go thru the whole awful interview process again to find another Helper! :-( Jennifer was supposed to help two times a week but so far I think she has only come for 2 hours for the month of February so far. I HOPE she is alright! I am worried about her to be honest. She cancelled last Wednesday and said that she could come today (Friday) at noon. I called her last night to remind her but never got a call back. Noon came and went today and NO Jennifer and NO call from her at all! I called her again (cuz I don't want to call her too often) and I DID write her an email .... so far there have been NO responses at all ! :-(
If she has decided that it really IS too much for her to work for me at this time -- I wish she would at least have the decency to call me about it. Otherwise it wastes my days and it also causes me to worry about whether she is OK or if she has gotten into an accident or something. All the times she has worked for me, she has stressed that she believes that it is "rude NOT to call the 'Employer' if you can't work that day or if you are going to be late," and so far, she has been pretty good at calling to cancel at least. That is why I am really wondering what is going on right now. :-( I really do hope that she is OK.
BLAH! :-(
Oh ... PS: For Princess --- For some reason -- I have not been able to leave comments on your blog anymore. :-( There have been many neat posts you have written that I have tried to leave comments to -- but I keep getting "an error on the page" and the comment box never appears. :-( I just wanted to let you know, in case others are having this problem as well, and in case you are wondering why I have not commented on your blogs lately.
For Malicious Intent -- For some reason -- I can't even GET to your blog page anymore! (sniff) It says that I have to be invited -- and asks for my name and password == but after I type them in -- it says I have not been invited. I would love to be invited to be able to view your blog (*if that is ok with you) I love seeing how you are doing and checking out your writings etc!

I want to thank you all, dear friends ....

2009-02-04T00:56:00.000-08:00

I wrote this in my comments section in the last blog but I wanted to make sure you all see my thanks to you all for such wonderful comments about my prayer post. I don't think of myself as a good writer at all -- so it was such a surprize to read that you thought my prayer post was written well! Thank YOU so much -- you really made me feel good with your kind words.
I have not been online lately because I have been working on cleaning my apt -- (and having bad allergy attacks from dust and cats) .... but since I did happen to get online tonight -- I wanted to make sure I thanked you all for your kind comments on my previous blog! Thank you so much, again!!!
*(heading off to bed now cuz tomorrow I have to get up early to get my garbage disposal repaired! Wheeeeeee!!! Ahhh such an exciting life I lead! (grins) lolol*

A small prayer .....

2009-01-31T10:47:00.000-08:00

Dear Lord ---
Thank you so much for my cats, Tai Chi and Blueberry. They are so sweet. Their loving eyes gaze up at me. They follow me whereever I go all day and then guard me at night. Thank you for my family. Though it is small, it is loving. My brother is a sincere and honorable man. He cares deeply about things and tries his best to love God and care for his family. My sister-in-law is the sister I always wanted. She loves animals and is a sensitive soul. My mother has given me the love of animals, humour, intelligence and so much more... (on a side note -- can you please heal her, physically, Lord, from the ills affecting her body).
Thank you for my friends (In RL, online and on SL). Again, though they are few, they are loyal. They care and they listen and they share. They allow me to help them as well. They give me hugs over the computer even tho we live far apart. Thank you for my Helper, Jennifer. Even though she doesn't always make it over here on the days she has said she would, at least she is VERY good at calling and letting me know -- and when she DOES make it here -- we get a long well and get a fair amount of work done ...and that is very much helping to lift my depression.
Thank you for me having a roof over my head, food in my cupboards, heat at night. Thank you for the SNOW we had this year, and for the rain that waters the trees and my soul. THANK YOU, Lord, for giving me the talent to draw/paint/etc. The things I have created have brought some pleasure into other's lives as well .... and I live for the joy of creating. Thank you for the ability to sing. Even though no one hears me, it gives me great pleasure to sing melodies and harmonies with the Beatles music and so many others. (Lately I have had so much fun singing along with their angellic voices on the "Beatles Anthology" accapella version of "BECAUSE" .... Hearing their beautiful harmonies on that song, without any instruments, surround me in the car takes my breath away!) *(Try it some time - it is truly amazing!!!)*
Thank you, Lord, for my health. It could be better but it could also be worse, so I am glad for where it is. Thank you for the Internet, and computers and for my being able to participate in this amazing world of inter-racial/cultural/country etc connection, unprecedented at any other time in history. May the togetherness it encourages save humanity, and this planet.
Thank you, Lord, for the Grateful heart I woke up with this morning, and the desire to write down this little prayer of thanks.

May whomever reads this blog feel equally blessed for all the little miracles in their lives.

I woke up to SNOW today!!!!

2009-01-27T10:54:00.000-08:00

Whoo hooooo!!!!! I love it!!! Unfortunately, it is beginning to melt and we will be getting rain to wash all the pretty snow away -- DARN! But I STILL LOVE it!!!! It is sooooo pretty!!!! I stood out in it (of course) I wish it would last even though it would mean being trapped at home.... but oh well. It still is sooo neat to wake up to!

:-)

Darn, why does it always seem to be this way?

2009-01-26T04:49:00.000-08:00

I found a helper (or I thought I did) ....We had maybe three days over the past few weeks where we worked pretty well and got some things done. I even dared to make an appointment with someone to replace my broken garbage disposal because I figured that at the rate we were going, the kitchen, etc would be clean enough for him to work by the time he came this week (or so I was hoping). But the new helper has cancelled the last 3 or 4 times we have tried to set up -- including TODAY (Mondays were supposed to be our guarenteed working days even if the other days didn't work out!) :-(
I understand her reasons, her kids have been sick, and I realize and understand that family must take precidence. But it still makes it hard over on this end. When she came for the very first interview she lied to me about having her kids living with her. (They were in foster care, but she didn't want to let me know that cuz she was afraid that I would judge her about that.... I don't think I would have ....) I mention this not because of the kids being in foster care, (she has them back now anyway) but because of how good she was at lying! She had me totally fooled, she was very smooth with it! (I am not good at lying, myself) So, of course, now I am wondering if I am being lied to again. I hope not. I have told her that if she feels she can no longer work for me, just let me know, so I can start looking again for another helper.... I admit, I am sooo tired of looking for helpers, and then thinking I have found a good one, only to find that, for whatever reason, it is not working out again. :-(
I find the looking/hiring process to be FAR harder than all the work we have to do cleaning! I don't necc want to start looking AGAIN! :-(
Anyway, I am just complaining in here to be able to vent a bit. Of course, I want her family/kids to be healthy and to get over the cold/flu problems that have been affecting them.

I finally put my new rainbow "Boho" dress up at my store on SL

2009-01-23T02:24:00.000-08:00

For a long time I was avoiding any "work" and just "7 Seas" fishing a lot! (bad me) lolol BOY do I have to go thru my inventory and start deleting things -- I have WAYYYYYY tooo many inventory items. (Sounds like my apt in real life!)
Jennifer, the lady who has been helping me with my apt, may have to move in 2 months. :-( Darn it!!! Seems like every time I find a good helper == I end up having to lose him/her.
:-( Knowing she may be leaving soon, I definitely want to have her come over and help as often as possible before she has to go -- but unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be working either. She cancelled again this week. :-( I am not blaming her - she had a good reason to cancel - but I sure HOPE that we can get a lot of work done before she has to move away, and darn, I will miss her cuz I like her as a friend as well as a helper.

Long Power Outage- UGH

2009-01-18T21:31:00.000-08:00

The Helper - Jennifer, - came again, yesterday (Saturday) and we worked for 6 long hours. All day we had AWFUL cold, powerful East winds here, - blowing right thru my apt even when everything was closed (I have awful insulation), making it sooo cold! When we were almost finished for the day, the power went out leaving us both in darkness. I hoped that it would come right back on again (*as it usually does) but this time it stayed out :-( And didn't come on again for over 20 hours! (ugh)

It made the night very cold (*even with extra clothes, extra sheets, two quilts and two cats in bed with me! LOL) And, of course, I was unable to use the sleep apnea machine - which made it almost impossible to sleep. :-( Everytime I woke up (practically every hour on the hour) I kept praying for the power to come on again. It didn't come on again 'til 1 or 2 pm the next day (today) I knew I liked my electricity, but it really IS amazing (and upsetting) how dependent I am upon it. :-( I would not make a good caveman/gal. (I also enjoy indoor plumbing! lol)

At least on Friday night in SL, I felt inspired to do a new Rainbow gradient Bohemian dress outfit! I think it turned out pretty nice. It sure was a LOT of work doing the top for it! I made it a bit different this time -- now there will be a seperate sheer shirt beneath the fancy jacket with golden metallic decorations on it. I don't have a picture yet of it with the sheer shirt, but at least I have a pic of it with the fancy, gold decorated jacket. I think it is a pretty one!

:-)

This is soooo neat!!!

2009-01-18T20:46:00.000-08:00

http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=1560479383964&source=jl999

This artist is SOOOOOO talented. I have seen her cards online before -- usually with a labrador retriever dog. I love these card/animations! I wish I could do stuff like this!

A helper finally came on Tuesday ....

2009-01-15T03:17:00.000-08:00

After a lot of disappointments -- a helper finally came this past Tuesday, to help me with my messy apt. I believe in working alongside helpers so I worked REALLY hard and got very tired. After 5 hours and 45 mins, she left and I ate something (having not eaten all day -= not good -- ooops) and I laid down to rest a bit at 8 pm. Next thing I knew -- it was 3 AM!!! I had totally zonked! After watching two specials on "The History of India" on our local PBS station at 5 am, I went BACK to sleep and slept til 4 pm! (Sheesh!) (I guess I really wore myself out on Tuesday)
We got a nice amount done but I have A LOT LOT LOT more work to do, unfortunately. (My apt is so disorganized and such a mess) Fortunately, the helper is not afraid of my apt and says she has seen a lot worse, so I hope she continues to be able to come and help out. The more we progress, the harder it will be because then it will get into having to make serious decisions about things to throw out and/or give to Goodwill. I gave some nice things already but I have a LOT more I need to give away.
At least we got the front part of my car clean, too, so now I can have passengers again! (grins) Since it is often too difficult for me to bring heavy things in from the car -- I often just bring in the cold things that need to be refrigerated and then I leave the heavy things in the car -- making it hard to have passengers if the things build up too much. If this helper will be able to make it permanent, then, hopefully, I will be able to have things STAY neat instead of things getting messy again like an ocean tide. (grins)
Thank you, all of you who have prayed for me to find a good helper -- As I say == I sure hope that this one proves to be more reliable and lasts. :-)

Some more nice pics

2009-01-03T22:03:00.000-08:00

Hatching a Dragon egg ...............

Walking over a rainbow .....

In Marx's Garden....

At beautiful falls with Solari.......

HAPPY NEW YEARs!!!!

2009-01-03T21:41:00.001-08:00

It's been awhile since I have blogged. Been awhile since I have been online at all, and definately has been awhile since I have been on SL. I am not sure why I haven't wanted to get on SL lately but I am sure it is just a phase I am going thru.

Still, I was looking thru some of Aurora's fave SL pics from the past year and have found some nice pictures that hold special memories for me. Here is one of Danaeah and I riding in her air balloon! That was fun! :-)

And here is a fun one of Hacker and I at Greenies with a large cat! (giggles) (That is such a neat sim, I highly reccommend it)

It is lots of fun going thru pictures of the past year and reminiscing a bit.
Anyway == I hope you all had a WONDERFUL New Year's celebration and I wish us all a happy and healthy 2009. :-)

"George at Apple Studios" drawing

2008-12-30T02:10:00.000-08:00

Hmmmmm,.... I guess I was in a creative mood tonight -- I just drew another one. :)

I felt inspired tonight and drew a picture of George :-)

2008-12-29T22:27:00.001-08:00

I have tried a few times before but they never turned out-- whereas this one finally turned out (or at least turned out pretty well) -- It is not easy to do realistic portraits with a computer mouse! LOL.

There are still probably parts of this drawing I will want to change and refine. It still doesn't quite look the way I want it to look.

Someplace Else: This is such a beautiful song

2008-12-29T16:59:00.000-08:00

I really hope this works and I really hope you all *whomever happens to stop by* take the time to watch this video. It is short but OH it is such a BEAUTIFUL melody.

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday

2008-12-29T12:11:00.000-08:00

Hi there all! It is SUNNY here today (Eeek!) LOLOL (I guess it is ok) The snow is ALL melted. I sure loved our snow storm this year and I HOPE we have some more before the Winter season ends. (grins) But it is also VERY nice to be able to get out of the apt and drive somewhere. :-)
I haven't been on the computer for a couple of days (it FEELS like it has been even longer) I visited my mom this past Saturday and that was nice. My brother and sis in law came by for 2 hours too (before they went to a Chanukah party) -- After they left, mom and I watched "Wall.E" and "Ratatoulle" (mom's DVDs). I liked "Ratatoulle" best, but it was fun to see them both. I got a very pretty sparkly (you know me and sparkles LOL) Christmas card (of a tree) from mom, with a gift card for a meal at Red Lobster (mmmmmmm) ....and Rob and Maureen (my brother and sis in law) gave me a poster of George Harrison "for Chanukah" ! Ok ... LOL Mom gave Rob and Maureen some nice restaurant gift cards too ("Olive Garden" and "AppleBees").
I gave mom and Maureen 3 pairs of handmade bead earrings. I think (hope) they liked them. I didn't really have a present for my brother because I didn't think we were going to exchange gifts at all (seeing as how he is now against Christmas as being "too Pagan") ... so I ended up just giving him 4 wrapped "Heath" candy bars, but he said he was pleased with them and shared one with us all. I also gave mom some chocolate jelly sticks (she loves those) and I gave Maureen a nice gel pen set. I still wish we could go back to having our regular family Christmas the way we used to -- (I really miss the way it used to be) but I am grateful that at least we had this brief family get-together this past Saturday. :-)

Happy Holidays!!!

2008-12-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

Hi there all - I hope you are all having a nice Christmas (or whatever Holiday you celebrate) I am sitting here alone (with my cats) unable to go anywhere (and not really having a Christmas even if I COULD go somewhere) .... but at least I am glad that we had these wonderful snow storms this year. Our snow seems to be over (unfortunately) .... we mainly seem to be getting rain now -- but the roads (and stairs) are still slippery, and the news/weather stations are saying that we need to have chains or traction devices to drive down I-5 from my exit, to about 20 miles down. (So, that means I can't go visit mom today) *EEEEEW -- now the sun is coming out-- BLAH .... :-( But still, I am very glad that we had snow and this is an OFFICIAL "White Christmas!."
I called a friend with whom I'd been out of contact since this past summer (long story on the reason why but suffice to say that it was her not calling me not the other way around, after she had wronged me, so the ball was really in her court, so to speak....) I decided to just let bygones be bygones and be in the spirit of the season and call her. -=- Well, I guess that was a mistake!!! I spoke to her husband, and he was nice but when he told her who it was she said that she couldn't get to the phone (she was "in the bathroom and would call me right back") Well, she hasn't called (and she has had plenty of time to finish up) so I guess she is pulling what she did last summer again. I guess she probably won't call (and after saying so many times how our friendship would last forever! HA!) I wish it didn't hurt but it does. Now I feel like a fool for having called her --- even tho I know that that was a nice, forgiving thing for me to do.
:-(
I know that I took the high road by calling so I should not feel bad even though she is being a jerk -- but unfortunately it still hurts. :-( I must admit -- I really hate how someone being mean can really cause one's own mood to go down. I would like it not to affect me but screw it -- it DOES affect me. (I guess I am in a "grumpy mood, like FD gets in, sometimes" Bah Humbug LOL) (Hopefully this mood will pass soon cuz I know it only hurts me -- and I hate feeling this way. In general, even tho I can be a depressed person sometimes, I usually really TRY to keep a good attitude about things. I guess I just don't understand, even after all these years, why some people seem to enjoy hurting others. :-(
Well, I hope you all are having a nice Holiday, Merry Christmas etc. I have sure had better ones. I hope I have a better one next year (if I am still here) (I wouldn't DO anything-- I just know that we never know when our time is up on Earth) Remember our time is short here, and call those whom you love.

Thick Ice and Power going out

2008-12-21T19:43:00.001-08:00

The freezing rain came early last night and covered my window by the computer (among other things). Now it looks like opaque textured shower glass that you can't see thru! lol The poor tree branches (and power lines) are weighted down with the ice. It sure LOOKS pretty though. Last night/this morning my power went out twice but fortunately it came back. It sure got cold in here FAST when the power went out! I was already under two quilts with a warm cat but within about five minutes I was trying to hide my face under the blanket cuz my face got very cold. I am glad the power came back quickly that time.
Of course, the power going out plays havoc with a sleep apnea machine. I woke up this morning, trying to breath thru the mask with no air coming thru. Fortunately they have holes in the mask so it is not like I was going to suffocate or anything, but of course I took the mask off cuz it was not doing any good anyway.
One of my new friends on SL to the south of me had her power go out last night while we were on SL. She was able to stay online for a while even with the power out (I still am not quite sure how she did that) (lol) but her power didn't come back. I was worried about her but thank goodness today I heard that she went to a hotel so she is ok. I am so glad. I hope her power comes back at home soon.
I still love this wild weather but I DO wish that I were better at driving in it. (grins) There are no stores or buss-stops within walking distance of me and I do get a bit tired of being stuck here ..... But still, stuck or not, power outages or not, I do love this weather. (smiles)

My Newest ratemydrawing.com sketch ...

2008-12-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

Hi there --- I decided to play with that "ratemydrawing.com" page again. They have a new beta drawing tool so I decided to play with it. Their water colour brush is rather interesting to work with. My drawings are nothing compared to some of the FANTASTIC drawings you can find at that site -- but it was still fun to play there. I guess I will head off to bed now.

http://www.ratemydrawings.com/drawings/abstract/392174.html

Whooooo Hoooo ! I can't help it - another SNOW post! :-)

2008-12-19T05:12:00.000-08:00

Hi there --- I royally goofed up my sleep again by staying up all night, constantly looking out my window and praying for more SNOW ..... It took FOREVER (it seemed) but it FINALLY arrived around 4:30 am! I stood out in it and caught some on my tongue! (I am so mature- grins) lolol I admired the beautiful glittering world as the flakes fell silently. My hair is still damp from snowflakes! (giggles)
I let Blueberry out a bit so she could look at the snow as it fell on her fur(I held her cuz I didn't want her running away and getting lost....) She is sure curious about it. :-) It is so beautiful and so fresh! I was so excited I turned on my computer and went to my blog page JUST so I could post about it! (smiles) (Of course, now it has stopped -- darn it - but still, it was/is so wonderful! I hope we get LOTS more!)
***I guess this is what happens when you don't get snow as a kid-- you make up for it as an adult! (giggles) Watch out parents -- let your kids experience snow as kids if you don't want them to turn out all wacky for it as an adult like me! :-D *** (Darn -- I wish it would start snowing again!)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the snow

2008-12-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

..... but BOY is my apt C O L D (even with a heat-dish) LOL
I wanted to try to drive somewhere today (cuz I haven't been out for awhile) but it was TOOOO cold ... (especially with no sweat shirts, no sweaters, no coats, no jackets, and just a hoody to wear. LOL -- I guess I didn't prepare myself very well clothes-wise for cold weather!) Still, I LOVE this cold weather =- ESPECIALLY if it snows some more! :-)

We finally got SNOW!!!! Whooo HOooooooo!!!

2008-12-14T18:24:00.001-08:00

We got SNOW today!!!!!!!!! Yipeeeeee!!!! I was waiting and waiting and waiting for it! It looks soooo lovely outside! I admit, I can do without the cooooooldddddd winddddd but still -- I love the snow!! We are going to have the coldest week we have had in over 18 years --- it will be sunny, clear and cold (ugh) sooooo I am VERY glad that we got some snow to start it out! (I am not a huge fan of it being VERY cold so I figure if it is going to be soooo cold == then it is much more fun having snow on the ground!) It is going to be below 0 degrees with the wind chill this week so wowowowow -- wish I had better heaters in the apt, and I wish I had a coat! LOLOLOL (so much for being prepared) :-(
It is hard to beat having lovely white flakes falling, even though they stopped over two hours ago! I wish it were going to SNOW for a week, but oh well! For the rest of the week we have only the cold temps to look forward to -- with no more precipitation. Still, I am sooooo happy the snow came today!! :-D Whoooooo Hoooooo!!! (grins)
(It IS a bit cold sitting here by the computer even tho I have my heatdish on, and a blanket over me...... I think I will turn everything off and go back under the blankets cuz this is toooooo cold to type (and our BIG freeze hasn't even HIT yet -- eeek) ) lolol It may be too cold to spend much time at the computer this week. (This is not a very warm apt) (my computer is right by two windows == on the North/East corner of my apt (facing directly into the cold cold cold wind).

Today is the anniversary of the last time I talked to my friend Karen...

2008-12-11T21:53:00.000-08:00

Sorry that there are so many blogs, here lately, about anniversaries of deaths etc, but for some reason these months (late November thru mid January) have a LOT of sad anniversaries for me. (More than at any other time of year) I don't know why there should be so many in these months ..... I wonder if other people have anniversaries like this at this time of year. Maybe people tend to die more around the end of the year cuz of it being the end of a year? Or maybe it is just the way it is for my family/friends.

At any rate, on Monday, Dec 11th 2005, at about 11 am or so -- I got a call from my friend, Karen (whom I had known for over 35 years) telling me that she was feeling very depressed and suicidal.. She was calling from Los Angeles, where she had gone down for a week or two to visit her man/friend (*boyfriend just doesn't seem to fit for a 60+ year old man .... Karen prefered older men). She had spent most of 2005 up in Oregon, and I'd spent 3 to 5 days every week she was up here trying to help her to get acclaimated to where maybe she could stay here if she chose to. Like me, she always prefered the rain to the sun, so she was VERY tired of Los Angeles where it usually is full of endless sunny days. She even had a pet for the first time in her life (from 2004 to 2005) -- a Bishon Frise (spelling) she'd named Shatzi. Anyway, Alan (her friend) had paid for her to have an apt up here for that past year, to see if she really liked living in Oregon (instead of just always talking about it) It was very nice of him to pay for that apt for a year for her. Understandibly, he didn't want to pay for it indefinately so it was time for her to decide to either move to Oregon and pay for it herself or move back down to LA. I found out (later) that she had enough money to pay for an apt up in Oregon for a year -=- but I guess she somehow didn't think she could afford it -- so that day (when she called me) she was angry at her father for not giving her money to move up here and she felt like she had to perminently move back down to LA.
She told me she was upset and suicidal during that last phone call but unfortunately I thought she needed an empathetic ear more than a more active 'intervention" on my part. I didn't realize she had actually decided she was going to commit suicide and was taking steps to do it as we spoke on the phone that morning. :-( I wish I HAD realized this because I think I would have said different things to her and maybe even been able to talk her out of it, or even called the authorities to get her hospitalized (which I would have done -whether it made her angry or not) -- but instead I was just trying to be there for her as she expressed her feelings of depression. I DID ask her "What are you doing now?" but all she said to that was "I'm taking a walk." Which sounded pretty healthy to me so I didn't persue it. I should have. Turns out she was "taking a walk" to a hotel to spend the next couple of nights there taking pills 'til she OD'ed. :-(

Intellectually, I know that I am not to blame for her suicide. If someone really wants to commit suicide they will eventually succeed. She had talked of killing herself for the full 35 years I had known her (and before). She was getting better and better at it with each attempt. I KNOW this and yet I still feel that I could have said something to talk her out of it.
With her last attempt I had been able to find her in time (even tho she was unconscious from the pill overdose). She'd come very close to succeeding that time (in Jan 2004) and, I guess, would have succeeded had I not found her. She was furious at me afterwards for rescuing her. She didn't talk to me for months. But she got almost 2 more years of life after the 2004 suicide attempt which is a good thing. I wish that I had realised what she was saying/doing when she called me that December 11th morning three years ago today. I am sure that that phone call will replay over and over again in my head 'til the day I die. :-( :-( :-(

If ANY of you out there feels even the least bit suicidally depressed -- CALL for help, be VERY clear about your intentions, let yourself be admitted into a hospital for awhile, see a therapist, DO SOMETHING to save yourself --- because suicide is a decision you can not come back from. It also affects the people you love for the rest of their lives! There is a lot of anger in suicide. Many people who commit suicide want to "show them" (punish the people they love - for not having loved them enough -- "look what you drove me to.") I know they also want to end the pain of their lives -- but as I say == the decision is FINAL, and once you're gone, you're gone.
The one CONSTANT thing of life is change -- and that means that even the things that are depressing you will change and many will go away. There CAN be a light at the end of the dark tunnel. You CAN feel happy and fulfilled again... (or even happy and fulfilled for the first time in your life). Suicide takes all those chances away AND -- it leaves your loved ones with mixed feelings of sorrow for their friend/lover who was killed AND ANGER at the murderer who killed them - (which, in suicide, is the same person).
(I know I am on the soap box here but if even ONE person reads this and changes their minds about suicide == then it is worth it!) Too bad it is too late for Karen. :-(

(((((((Hugs to you all out there))))))

Take care of yourselves!

Wow, I totally goofed up my sleep again! LOLOL

2008-12-10T12:11:00.000-08:00

Hi there -- I stayed up all night and all morning and now heading into the afternoon! Sheesh! I really shouldn't do this I know, but I get on a roll and can't stop. (no online addict here) HA !LOL
At least I made three new gowns and I sent one out as a Holiday Present to my *AuroraSkye Creations* group on SL,.... So, if you are in the group -- make sure you got the present -- and if you are NOT in the group -- join it for free (if you wish to) and you can get the Holiday Present Fractal Gown by going through the notices. (Which won't be hard cuz, as far as I know, there is only ONE notice there! LOLOL).

Anniversary of when John Lennon was killed...

2008-12-08T17:51:00.000-08:00

I made this photo retouch in honor of John today. I always liked this photo. It is so sad that John was killed -- especially at such a young age! I hate that.

It is so sad for his family, and for all of us. I can't help but wonder about all the additional music he would have made, and what he would have thought about the war in Iraq etc. So much for "Imagine - Peace."

I know I never knew him personally, but I still miss his presence upon the Earth with all of us. I hope there is an after-life where maybe we can all see people again.

I visited mom today ...

2008-12-07T00:53:00.000-08:00

Oh, ok, I guess officially it was YESTERDAY (cuz it is after midnight as I write this).....
It was a nice visit. I picked up some subway sandwiches for us both, so we enjoyed a nice lunch/dinner. Then we tried to order a pay-per-view movie but found that we couldn't cuz the box for her cable is owned by the assisted care living place and they only allow people to have the regular cable stations with no pay-per-views. Oh well. So we watched a couple of the FREE movies on the "On Demand" station. One was "Joe's Apartment" (I think that was the name of it) where some guy moves into a NY apt and shares it with thousands of (animated) cockroaches. (And they sing and dance too! LOL) Then we watched "Mr. Wrong" with Bill Pullman and Ellen DeGeneres. Both were pretty weird movies. LOL
Now I am very sleepy, .... so I guess I should head for bed. (Oh what an exciting life I lead) (Actually I am glad it is not too exciting) (grins)

Hi there all (or whomever stumbles upon this blog)

2008-12-06T00:06:00.000-08:00

For some reason I have not really felt like getting on SL lately. I am not sure why. I miss my friends there but I guess I have just felt the need to "be alone" and reflect. This time of year has a lot of anniversaries of many losses for me. Fortunately, I am not particularly depressed but I guess I am just in a solitary type mood.
Tomorrow, I promised to visit my mother. I always enjoy our visits once I am there -- and I am glad that she is here for me to visit -- but at the moment I am not in the mood to go anywhere. Oh well.
I hope you all (or whomever still reads this blog - if anyone- lol) are doing ok. I do want to come back and be more active in SL soon --- Hopefully, I will eventually. In the mean time I hope life is treating everyone well.

"Critter" died :-(

2008-12-03T17:11:00.000-08:00

In 2001, (pre 9/11 -- by a month) I got a sweet little sugar glider I named "Critter"! (His original name was "Tiny Tim" - eeek!) I bought him from a friend in St Louis who I was visiting. He flew home on the plane with me in my bra! He was sooooooo cute! When I got him home, Blueberry, (who I had bought in June that same year) befriended him. She used to spend hours watching him run and play in his large cage - and he came over and greeted her a lot too. I took him to Art School with me in his little pouch. I really LOVED him but I was also worried that I was not able to provide the best home for him. The more I learned about Sugar Gliders -- the more I realised that they are very social creatures and prefer to have another sugar glider around. Also, their diet is VERY specific and specialized (and not easy to make) One has to be careful that they get enough calcium in their diets or they could get paralysis. I started to worry that my care would not be good enough for him so I eventually gave him away to someone who had other sugar gliders, on the contingency that I could still visit him. After I gave him away -- I regretted it. I had never given one of my pets away before, and I really missed him. (So did Blueberry) And, Jonathon, the guy I gave him to, lived somewhat far away so it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be to visit Critter. Still, I kept telling myself it was for the best for my little sugar glider.

Now, I am not so sure it WAS the best for him. Sugar Gliders can normally live up to 14 years in captivity. Critter was only 7 years old, so he definitely didn't die of old age. :-( Still, I don't blame Jonathon (the guy who I gave him to). I am sure he tried his best.

I got the call from Jonathon, today. It was the first time I had heard from him in almost 6 years, so I had feeling that this was not good news. He said that Critter was fine last night and the night before, but that, today, he found him dead in his wheel. :-( Jonathon said that he noticed that one of Critter's hind legs seemed to be a bit paralyzed at one point, a couple of days ago, but that he thought nothing of it. He had also not had the BML (which is the MAIN part of a sugar glider's diet) for a month or so =- because the store had been out of one of its main ingredients, but that he didn't think that a sugar glider could die from low calcium in just a month! I guess we will never know what happenned.

Even though Critter didn't live with me the last 6 years, I thought of him often and figured that I would still get to visit him sometime. It hurts because now I NEVER WILL be able to see his sweet, loving, little face again. :-(

RIP little one.

Remembering George on this anniversary of his death :-(

2008-11-29T16:20:00.001-08:00

Blah -- I hate to feel this way -- esp right after Thanksgiving, but ....

2008-11-28T20:46:00.000-08:00

... I am feeling rather depressed. :-( As far as our family is concerned -- the Holidays are over --- cuz my brother and sis-in-law will no longer celebrate Christmas! (it is not in the TORAH) (BLAH) And since, my family is all I have to celebrate Christmas with (locally) that means that I don't get to celebrate Christmas anymore either. I HATE it. :-( I LIKE being able to get together with family and remember God and give each other gifts. I HATE that we can no longer do that. It hurts. :-(
And I think it will be EVEN harder -- cuz I will be seeing everyone else both in RL and in SL, getting ready for, and celebrating Christmas .... when it is over for us. DARN -- It really hurts! I wish I had a husband and kids of my own cuz then I could celebrate Christmas with them and my in-laws -- but I don't have any husband/bf in my life. :-( I wish I had some local RL friends that I could celebrate Christmas with -- but nope on that count too.
Blah -- I guess I am just really feeling down about this -- I was hoping that this non-Christmas bit with my brother wouldn't affect me -- but it does) :-( :-( :-( :-(
At least in the past- - I wouldn't have these "after the Holidays" blues til AFTER New Year's Day -- but as I say -- NOW it has come after Thanksgiving cuz there is nothing left to look forward to -- Holiday-wise, for me. It is NOT about getting presents for me -- it is about the whole MOOD of the Holidays --and it is of buying presents for others and looking forward to whether they will like my choice of gifts or not. I like the whole mood of everyone being nicer to each other and thinking of others for a change. I know I don't need a Holiday to do that -- but somehow -- it just feels like now I am MORE left out on Life than before -- and I was already left out of a lot of things before. :-( (I am having trouble explaining it)
PLUS -- Since a power outtage a day or so ago - my TV has died -- it now shows only squiggly lines instead of the picture. Grrrrr! I am DE-pressed! :-(

BLAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I played with the colours on one of my Tudor Gowns ...

2008-11-28T01:42:00.000-08:00

..... and I like the results! Whoo hoooo! (Grins)
Gold sure looks neat on dark blue! :-) I had a nice Thanksgiving! I hope you all did too. I brought a Chocolate Satin Cream Pie over for dessert -- and it was delicious (but high in calories!) lol Maureen's turkey turned out wonderfully!!! We packed up a nice dish and brought it over to mom and she enjoyed it too. Then we watched a "Everybody Loves Raymond" episode on one of Maureen's DVDs of the show. Then, later, watched the movie "Click" on regular TV. It was actually a fairly well done movie -- with the moral lesson about not rushing/fast-forwarding thru life.
It was fun. :-) (Doesn't this tudor gown look neat?)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone!!! :-)

2008-11-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

I hope, wherever you all are, that you have a wonderful day! Pat some cats and/or dogs. Hug some friends (in RL or in Cyberlife). Listen to some relaxing (or wild, or fun) music! Enjoy remembering things you are grateful for in your lives! Feel warmth. Partake in a nice meal. Do something kind for someone. Feel free to share some other suggestions. (grins) :-)
*HUGS!*

I had a nice (early) Thanksgiving with Mom, and family

2008-11-26T20:23:00.000-08:00

My brother, sister in law, and I, all met mom at her assisted care living place for lunch today. It was very nice (altho it took about 45 minutes before we got served and by then practically everyone else was having dessert LOL) But still, it was nice (I LOVE turkey). They even had a singer who was a very good entertainer. The songs he sang were pretty much before my time but he really put his all into them -- and asked many people to dance with him during the instrumental sections. He had a good voice and as I say, was a very good entertainer!
The parking lot was soooo crowded ---there were NO spaces left to park, so people even parked next to red (no parking curbs). I have never seen it so crowded before. Unfortunately, I was one of the ones who had to park illegally cuz there was no other even relatively close street to park on -- and no way could I have walked it from the hospital parking above. Fortunately, I didn't get a ticket! Boy am I glad about that!!! :-)
When I came home tonight, I gave my two cats some turkey and giblets wet catfood (they normally only have the dry cat food so wet catfood is always a treat for them). They now get a half a small can each -- whereas they used to only get a 3rd of a can each when Duncan was still with us. Of course, after they chowed down -- I heard one of them throwing up !! Grrrrrrr (Good one, Cat!) :-( She must have eaten too fast or something-- sheesh--- "easy come and easy go." :-(
I am grateful about so many things. I am glad Mom is still with us, and lives close by. I am glad my brother and sister in law live close by too. I am grateful I get along with my family -- so many people don't. I am grateful that my test results turned out to be negative. I am grateful for my catlets, and that I have a place to live. I am grateful that my legs are sometimes not so bad (at least the inability to walk is not constant). I am grateful I didn't get a parking ticket today! I am grateful I got home safely from a very high traffic drive tonight. I am grateful that we are in the Fall/Winter season (even tho it is going WAYYYYYY too fast!) (grins) I am grateful that it might rain tomorrow (I HOPE so == but I won't hold my breath). I am grateful for the Internet, computers, Beatles music, and "YouTube" videos LOL. Most of all, I am grateful for family and friends, old and new.
I HOPE you all have a Happy Thanksgiving -- whether you officially celebrate it or not. :-)

I made a pink one, (with leaves!), for ya, Princess! (grins)

2008-11-25T07:32:00.000-08:00

As you requested! I hope ya like it! I am not saying you have to get it but it is there for you in case you want it. :-) Who knows -- if you like it, maybe Alphonsus will get it for ya. ;-) (not that he has to either) I stayed up all night again like an idiot. I keep doing that. Still, it was fun. I tried to do some photo retouches for my brother. He may not think they look good enough but it was fun to try anyway. I hope he likes them. Mean old TV land has stopped playing my 6 am "Star Trek"s. LOL (meanies!!) They are now playing "infomercials" instead! :-(

Have a nice day all who stop by!!! And have a Happy Thanksgiving this week too! :-)

I finally made a silver version of the VINE dress

2008-11-22T14:05:00.000-08:00

Normally I would have kept the box the same but I tried a different box style with this one. Took me forever to do this box - so I doubt I will do any like it in the future ! LOL
I completely re-drew the skirt for this silver one cuz I wanted to add some dots. :-) Now if I make anymore -- I have to re-draw the skirt AGAIN -- cuz I can't change the colour of the silver one cuz it has NO colour on it to tint. lol (Oh well) They are fun to draw. :-)

Whooo Hooooo -- the test was negative!!!!

2008-11-20T23:56:00.000-08:00

I am SOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOO grateful!!!! Thank you so much all who were praying for me and all who gave me reassurance - and TY God, Yshua, Yaweh, however you'd like to be called, Lord!!! This is such a relief! I went to the hospital to get the extra X-rays they wanted done and then a Dr came in and said that cysts can have a tendency to form close to eachother making them look bigger -- and that is what two of mine did. He said they looked benign!! Phew!!!!
Frankly, I am not sure how they can tell just from pictures -- if something is benign or not -- but I am sooo glad that these look benign to the Dr today. It was a different Dr than the one who called me back to have more pictures taken -- so I must admit I would also like to hear the original Dr's opinion on them (just in case the second Dr would have seen the earlier pics as benign too) I want to be sure that there is nothing wrong!
I feel SOOOO relieved, though! I feel like I escaped an ax! I am SOOOO grateful! Again -- thankyou all who were so kind and patient with me while I freaked out a bit from being nervous! I know we all have to die sometime but I am just glad that my time hasn't come up yet (at least so far) :-)
HUGS to everyone!! Everyone go out and smell some roses, enjoy the rain, hug a cat, enjoy the time we have! :-D

I made a new dress that I am pleased with ....

2008-11-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

I have stayed up way over 24 hours now -- trying to stay up til a more regular bed-time so I can, hopefully, sleep straight thru to tomorrow when I have to go for more breast pictures to be taken (wheeeeeee). Last night/this morning I worked hard on a new sort of dress and I am pleased with how it turned out. In a way -- the picture doesn't do it justice cuz this "dress" may actually look better without the prim skirt at all! :-) I like how the Vine grows around one leg and then up over the upper body. It also looks very Art Nouveau-ish (spelling?) to me, and I LOVE the Art Nouveau style!

Anyway, I made a teal green, a gold, and a blue one before I decided to head back into the real world. I hope people enjoy them. :-) I would like to try to make a silver one later, if I can. :-) I should have made the box somehow show that the left leg is bare. As it is -- the box makes it look like BOTH legs are covered with the design -- which (in my opinion) is not as nice as having it only be one leg. Oh well, I am too lazy to change the box design on all three of them.

I've been sleeping a lot this week...

2008-11-18T23:47:00.000-08:00

I am nervous about having to have a second set of mammagram pics taken on Thursday. They found something irregular that has grown since the last pics were taken (3 years ago -- ooops) :-( on my right breast. I really don't want the Big C. :-( I hope/pray that it is just a harmless, benign cyst. It still has me nervous, though.

I am really missing George Harrison tonight

2008-11-15T00:26:00.000-08:00

It's so silly really, he has been gone for 7 years now -- you would think I could accept the loss and move on but, I don't know, sometimes I miss him more and more. Even though I never knew him personally (darn it), I still miss him just being on this planet with us all. Heck, I miss John Lennon being here too. I wonder what music they both would have created, and what interesting observations they would have made in interviews. I miss George's quiet, modest, self-effacing humour, and his (and John's) openness, and sincerity.

I guess my thoughts are towards missing them both cuz it is coming up on the anniversary of both their deaths (about a week apart) November 29th and Dec 8th, respectively. 58 years old and 40 years old are way too young to die in my opinion. I also miss my friends, ---Susan (died Nov14th, or so, 2006 - age 55?), Karen (Dec 13th - age 45), and Pat (Jan 11th 1998 - age 65) --- and my Dad, (died - Jan 17th 1983 - Age 53 <-- way too young). Definitely a lot of losses in these next couple of months. :-(

"Handle With Care" - The Traveling Wilburys

2008-11-11T06:53:00.000-08:00

OOooooooo you all MUST listen to this song (even if you have heard it before!) It is SUCH a fantastic song - done by one of the BEST groups ever!!! Roy Orbison's voice is GORGEOUS, and the beautiful melody by George Harrison frames Roy's voice perfectly! I sure miss the Traveling Wilburys!!!

"Handle With Care" - The Traveling Wilburys

Getting passport ....

2008-11-11T00:28:00.000-08:00

Hi there -- I guess I figure if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I decided to get pictures taken and paperwork done to get another passport. I had one before but I never used it and it expired. :-( It would have been nice to go to England. Now I am not sure I will ever get there -- but it is nice to imagine that I may make it there someday. :-)
My brother got pics of mom to get her passport renewed too. I guess its good to be prepared altho my apt is such a mess it would be very hard for me to get out of here ....and where would I go?
Blueberry was searching the bedroom the other night and I think she was looking for Duncan! She found the last place where he was sleeping before I took him into the vets to be put down and she climbed into the place and stayed there for a little bit. :-( She may be missing him.
I haven't been able to tell if Tai Chi has been missing Duncan or not. I wish I had gotten pics of the three of them sleeping together. It was always so cute to wake up and see them all curled up together in eachother's arms.
I made a couple of new fractal dresses on SL the other night ....but I have so many fractal dresses now -- I am thinking I really need to come up with something different. I am not sure what, though. I like my animated "Elements" gowns -- but I am not really sure how or IF I can continue those. I would like to think of "something completely different" ....but my mind has been blank lately. Still, hopefully I will come up with something. I LOVE making SL dresses. I sure wish they were as easy to make in RL! lol Heck, I would love to wear them myself! It would be so much fun! :-)

I'm feeling a bit down

2008-11-07T21:44:00.000-08:00

Hi there all --- I slept all day today -- I was really tired but of course I wish I hadn't slept the day away. I got up at 7 pm and now I am up and probably will be staying up all night. :-(
My brother is getting his passport and is still talking about leaving the country and that has me scared and depressed. I don't want him to leave.

It was a nice GREY day all day today!

2008-11-06T19:12:00.000-08:00

I sure LOVE grey rainy days (Not sure if I should spell "grey" as "gray" or as "grey"?) I wish it would POUR (like it did last night) but at least it was misty all day. My legs have been hurting big time again (especially my left leg) Darn it! It was sooo nice having them feel somewhat better last week -- I don't know why they are hurting big time again. :-( VERY hard to stand or walk at all. :-( :-(

Duncan is dead :-(

2008-11-04T23:55:00.000-08:00

Hi there all -- *(or whomever still reads this blog). I had to put my oldest cat, Duncan, down tonight. :-( I probably should have yesterday but then the vet told me they would do blood work and call me today with the results, and he gave me anti-biotics to give him in case the problem was an infection. Frankly, I am NOT at all happy with how the vets ended up handling things. They SAID they would call today but they never did and then when I called them for the blood work results they just kept giving me excuse after excuse as to why they didn't have the results. I had to call a lot and be on hold a lot and even call the vet I saw yesterday over at a diff office (where he was today) THEN they didn't even FAX him the test results when they said they were doing so --"The fax machine was broken" ... and the "blood test machine was broken" yesterday, ... and "The Dr wasn't here today" (but they already KNEW he wasn't going to be there ... and then the Dr who WAS in was soooo busy today (well, again, that is THEIR mis-management - not mine). Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. .... And "she can't read the other Dr's writing" etc etc ..... all to FINALLY get the blood test results that Duncan should be put down. :-( I could have saved Duncan one more day and night of suffering if I had put him down when I took him to the vets yesterday!
Also, by the time I finally got the blood work test results -- I couldn't FIND Duncan! He had gone off to hide (as cats often do when they don't feel well) somewhere in my apt but where???? He wasn't coming when I was calling him, even when I opened a can of food (the other two cats chowed down). I thought maybe he had hidden somewhere in the diningroom where the last care-giver (two years ago) had stacked all this stuff (making it virtually impossible to even get IN there) ... but after searching around -- I didn't find him in any of the places he could have hid in the diningroom. Since he was not meowing or making any noise when I called him, I truely felt that at this point I was searching the apt for a dead cat. :-(
Thank goodness/God ... my sis in law (who came over to help -- Bless her) and I finally found him alive, in the bedroom. (Hiding in a small square lower bookshelf. Poor little guy) :-( At this point I had mixed feelings about whether I should be taking him to be put to sleep or if it would be better for him if I could just let him peacefully go to sleep in my arms here at home. I wanted to do the later but I also didn't want him to be suffering..... Fortunately I am now VERY glad that I took him to the vets (a diferent one btw) because the Dr said that with Kidney failure -- an animal doesn't neccessarily have a peaceful death -- that more likely he would be nauseous and then even having seizures. (Well I definitely would not like him to go through that!) Soooo, hopefully I did the right thing ... altho it is hard to leave the apt WITH a cat and then come home without one. I am sure it will hit me later -- I think I am numb about it now. I had him 16 years! From October of 1992 'til November of 2008. It will be hard having him gone. :-( Poor Duncan! I will miss him.
On a hopefully more optomistic note. I am glad for the results of the election for turning out as they did (despite my whole family voting the opposite of how I voted). I sure HOPE that the new President can turn this country around and try to undo so much of the damage that the Bush administration did (IMO). Still, Obama is "inheriting" an awful lot on his plate - I am not sure one man/administration will be ABLE to fix things. And my brother is now talking about leaving the country (which scares the heck out of me -- I don't want my brother to move) I just hope that the coming changes are GOOD changes (I know -- "good" is very subjective). For as we know, we can have CHANGES and not neccessarily have the changes be for the better. (and of course, many people probably have many different ideas of what "better" would be).
I just hope we survive as a country and that the dollar can survive. I hope we can find new and cleaner energy sources, and I hope that we can take better care of animals and the Earth than we have been. I hope we can strive for peace both within the country and around the world but I also hope that we can avoid being blown up and/or killed off from biological warfare.
I guess I still am a dreamer .... I hope that these next 20 to 30 years can/will be better than my brother (and so many others) are feeling that they will be. Bless the animals and the people of the world. Bless the little kitties. Bless you, Duncan, whereever you are. =^..^=

>George's "Brainwashed"

2008-11-02T05:31:00.000-08:00

Wow -- I wonder if this is an official video of this song -- I have never seen it before!!! (and that is rare for me to find an official George H. video that I have never seen!!!! It is a GREAT video (and song) and even has FRACTALS in it! :-)

George Harrison - Brainwashed
Uploaded by Bodhisattva1956

"Got My Mind Set On You"

2008-11-02T04:13:00.000-08:00

I never particularly liked this video OR the song but it is a favourite of many people who grew up to it, so what the heck. :-) lolol

Hello November --

2008-11-01T21:35:00.000-07:00

It is raining outside!! I love it love it love it!!!! I love it when it POURS!!! I went out in the rain today! I was naughty == I went to a "See's Candy" place (delicious chocolate candies) and bought some. At least I am good at making them last. :-) Then I drove to Mexicalli Express and had a nice dinner of a cheese enchalada, black beans, rice and a salad. (With lots of onions, cilantro and pico de gallo (not sure of spelling) Mmmmmmm! Because I went alone, as I usually do, I read my Dean Kootz book while I was there. Afterwards I went to Trader Joes (a great natural food store) to get some Seseme sticks, and some other things. Unfortunately they didn't have the seseme sticks or ANY of the other things I was looking for, so I just got a VERY expensive gallon of milk ($3.00 UGH) and came home.
Still, it was a pleasant afternoon.

I hope you all out there (whomever might read this blog) are having a nice day/weekend/week too. And enjoy the months ahead.

Halloween was fun on SL

2008-11-01T02:08:00.000-07:00

I'd been making a lot of dresses this past week so last night (*Halloween) I decided to just play! It was fun. I went to a Halloween dance in a forest in Etopia, and danced with old and new friends there! :-) It was fun seeing everyone's costumes. No kids knocked on my door for candy in RL so the only thing that made it seem like a diff night than any other was celebrating on SL.
Before the Halloween dance, I went to a Samhain (spelling?) ceremony where we said goodbye to many troubles of the past and lit candles for friends, lovers, family no longer with us. It was a beautiful ceremony. *(hey - this black on black looks neat!)
I am sad to say "goodbye" to October. :-( But at least we are still heading TOWARDS Winter instead of away from it. I now wish that November would last 3 months. LOLOL

My mood has been better lately

2008-10-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

Hi there all -- My mood has been better lately and I am sure grateful about that. I am not sure of WHY my mood has been better lately. It could be cuz this is my absolute FAVOURITE time of year!!!! I LOVE the Fall/Autumn. I love the breezes on the sunny days and the showers on the rainy days. I love the bright colours of the leaves. I love the whole MOOD of this time of year. Sort of an anticipatory mood-- or at least it feels that way to me. I love Autumn MORE than Winter and Spring and MUCH more than Summer *which I often find to be too hot and depressing. (Oppressive).
My legs have been hurting a bit less lately (this week) too. They still are hurting and it still is hard to stand and to walk -- but at least they are not QUITE as painful as they HAVE been!!! I don't know if the improvement will last or if my legs will go downhill again but I sure am grateful for them feeling a bit better this week! :-) It is wonderful!!!
Anyway -- I wanted to share these things that I am grateful for because often we forget to write about things that we are happy about. I must admit -- I wish that this week before Halloween could last for 3 months!!!!! October has passed WAYYYYYY too quickly. Soon it will be Thanksgiving and then Christmas and then looping around towards Summer (*UGH) again. I really wish this time of year would last "forever"! :-)
I had a dream of George Harrison this afternoon (my sleep has turned to days again --oh well). The mood of the dream was really nice even though I knew he was going to die soon (he died on November 29th 2001). He was performing with Eric Clapton in a concert and a lady usher moved my friend and I to the first row to see him (after two mean women audience members had threatened my friend and I at our previous seats). As usual, the MOOD of the dream is impossible to share with words but there was such a feeling of love in this dream -- even tho it was mixed with sadness at the knowledge that George was going to die from cancer in a few days. I guess my subconscious is still trying to come to terms with George Harrison being gone from this world. Even tho I never knew him, personally, he has been a very important and influencing figure in my life. I still MISS him sooo much even though it has now been 7 years since he died. (At the too young age of only 58 years old)
Anyway -- even with some anniversaries of deaths coming up ... I am still in a pretty good mood tonight and that is very nice! :-)

Special about Fractals on "NOVA" tonight

2008-10-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

Hi there all - my sis in law told me that there is going to be a special on Fractals on "NOVA" tonight at 8 pm on our public broadcasting station! I must admit -- I can't wait. I usually love "NOVA" and it should be interesting seeing a special on Fractals! Actually I prob should try to tape it but I am too lazy to try to find the remote. lol

Above is a fractal based on the BROT ... I intended to put in a diff one but goofed on the title ... Maybe I will put in the other one as well......
Here is the one I originally intended to upload. Both are based on the fractal form "Brot" which I am sure they will talk about in the "NOVA" special. :-)

I hope it is playing in other areas too so maybe some of you out there can see the special too. If it is on at 8pm for everyone then I guess it is already playing back east.

I LOVE FRACTALS! :-)

I made two Halloween outfits

2008-10-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

I think they turned out kind of cute and they are fun to wear. Of course along these lines -- what do I do for Thanksgiving? Make turkey dresses? LOLOL

A sunny windy Day!

2008-10-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

I am not normally a great fan of sunny days - but I must admit that today is one of those rare sunny days that I LOVE! It is sunny and clear but not too hot or too cold. And it has a WONDERFUL dry breeze! I love hearing the leaves rustle as the wind blows. It is a somewhat warm (but not TOO warm) breeze and it reminds me of the Santa Ana's we used to have in Los Angeles in October! :-)
It is a VERY pretty day!

My stupid sleep schedule is trying to work its way...

2008-10-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

..... back to staying up all night again --- Last "night" I went to sleep around 6 am and slept til 2:30 this afternoon. NOOOOOOO!! I don't want it to switch back around sooo soooon!! I hope I can nip this in the bud ... I took some allergy pills that usually zonk me out (a few mins ago) ...but I don't know if they will work cuz sometimes they don't. Well, wish me luck! (grins)

I was going thru some pictures of Aurora's.....

2008-10-19T04:02:00.000-07:00

And I found some neat ones that I figured I might as well put up on this blog. :-) This one is of a funny cat sculpture I made with a fractal image texture over it. It has such a silly face I think it is cute. I also like the dress I am wearing and I hope I can find it again. It was a fun Christmas dress to wear. I wonder what I named it and if I can ever find it in my messy inventory! lol
This one below is of Phoenix and I. I wish I could say that I made the dress I am wearing in this pic but I didn't make it. It sure is a NEAT dress though, wow! Phoenix made the Chinese dress that she is wearing. :-) I love her kitten! (grins)

WOw it is sure hard to put pictures and text where I want them in this blog -- grrrrrr! Below is a cute pic from that neat SIM -- Greenies! I love the HUGE cat and the fact that it was raining in the Kitchen. And I love that Sim cuz they sure did a great job of making things so large that we feel tiny! :-)

My legs are hurting SOOOO MUCH! :-(

2008-10-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

I went to an art therapy group today in TAW (the actual world -- got from Mykyl's blog) (grins). It was SOOOOOO HARD to go down the stairs from my apt. I held onto the railing very tightly but my legs/knees are hurting and clicking SOOO much that even leaning against the railing is not making it much easier to walk down the stairs.
I am soooo scared about all of this. In such a short time I have gone from being able to walk fine without any pain -- to hardly being able to walk AT ALL --- even with the help of a cane! I have continued to lose weight since the problems started happening with my legs/knees but the weight loss has not helped. How much longer will I be able to live in my upstairs apt? How much longer will I be able to drive or walk at all? My legs/knees have gone downhill so FAST!!!! It hurts just to stand .....and it hurts (and takes a long time) to walk from room to room (in my SMALL apt). What am I going to do?
It is very frightening. :-(

Well, at least my sleep schedule is good at the moment

2008-10-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

I don't know how long it will last but I sure HOPE it lasts a long time!!! The last couple of days I have gone to sleep around midnight or so - and gotten up around 5 to 6:30 AM! My sleep schedule always seems to wrap around to staying up all night again but each time it is like this I TRY to have it last as long as possible! :-) I sure HOPE I can make it last cuz I really DO prefer going to bed early and getting up early in the day. I have more chances to do things and see people when I am on daylight hours. (Not that I neccessarily do anything or see anyone!) LOL!
I am still trying to work through my feelings regarding the "helper" (or lack there of) situation. Fortunately I feel a lot better than I did earlier this week but it still feels like a rug was pulled out from under me. And it has been VERY disconcerting in terms of my obviously not being very good at judging whether a person is decent or not. I still wish I knew the REAL reason why he decided he didn't want to work for me anymore (cuz my "contacting him too much" can't be the real reason cuz I didn't do the contacting - he did every time) Now I find that it is unclear as to whether he even HAD a "medical emergency" at all. But I guess I will never find out the truth of the matter. At least, the more time that goes by -- the more I am getting over this latest set-back, but it sure hit me hard.
On SL, I, as AuroraSkye, have made some fun gowns. I want to make a set of FOUR "Celestial" gowns -- (like the four "Elements" gowns) but it is harder to come up with ideas for the Celestial gowns without them being too close to each other. I even had the silly idea of trying to make a "Saturn" gown with particle RINGS around it LOLOL -- but I don't think that idea will work. Still, I like the two Celestial gowns I have come up with so far. :-)

Grrrrrr

2008-10-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

Grrrrrr Grrrrrrr Grrrrrrr!!!!
According to the guy who assigns helpers to me -- the helper may have quit and decided to avoid me because I "contacted him too much!" I must admit -- THAT is sure a surprise because HE was the one who wanted to exchange email addies and I only wrote back to him IF he wrote to me first -- and usually just to say "Ok" to the time he said he was coming over. VERY strange!
I never initiated contact with him either by phone OR by email. In fact, when we both cancelled him coming over on Wednesday -- he told ME to write or call him with a new day for him to come work ....but I didn't get around to it -- before he contacted ME! So as I say -- it is patently ridiculous that I "contacted him too much!"
I am now thinking that he may be one of those people who fabricate stories/habitually lie -- because he sure had some stories that he told me that may very well have been lies/exagerations.
I guess I will not see the Beatles book I loaned him- ever again. And so much for him paying me back for the glitter pens he asked me to buy for him. I still don't understand the whole thing. It doesn't make sense. :-/

For whatever its worth ....

2008-10-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

I want to clarify something and apologize to my readers .... I was VERY VERY excited about the new helper/care-giver that was recommended to me and who agreed to help me with my apt and lifting things etc. He was perfect in practically EVERY way! He was non-judgemental, honest, and kind. He could lift heavy things and was a good and eager worker. (and he liked the Beatles!) I was VERY VERY happy to have found him and was looking forward to a long association with him.

As far as I know -- we didn't have ANY problems in working together. He even talked about what we would be doing apt-wise in a year's time. I don't think he felt over-worked or anything. We had no disagreements or arguments. I don't know what the "medical emergency" was but usually people feel they can recover and are able to work again, after medical emergencies, so I can't help but wonder if there is something more to his deciding he can't work for me anymore than what he said in the email.

There was only ONE thing I was concerned about his working for me and I expressed it here. Unfortunately, in concentrating on that one concern, it came across as if it overshadowed all the GOOD parts about his working for me. I now really regret expressing the concern at all. Even though I shared no names and I felt I preserved anonymity -- I still shared things on a web page. Admittedly, it is one that I felt was/is only read by a few people, but it still is a public place and I really am VERY sorry that I shared my concerns here. :-( ESPECIALLY since the way I expressed those concerns made it SOUND like they were a bigger issue for me than they were. YES, I was worried about him and didn't want anything bad to happen to him but I DEFINATELY didn't mind sharing candy with him or sharing a meal. HECK -- I would gladly share MANY MANY meals with him and MANY MANY candy bars (*as long as the candy wouldn't make him sick) if only he would work for me again.

I wish there were a way where I could go back in time and un-do what I have done but I can't. :-( I can only apologize to whomever I may have offended with my posts here.

Lost the care-giver :-(

2008-10-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

I am sooooo upset :-( The worker was supposed to come today at 2pm and I waited and waited (and fell asleep as I often do) He never called, and never came and I had anxiety dreams of cleaning all day ('til 9:30 pm tonight -- missing all day) :-(
I finally got up and called him -- got his answering machine. Then turned on the computer and got an email from him saying:

"I have had a medical emergency and just got home to rest. I am sorry to say that I will no longer be able to work for you any longer due to medical reasons...."

I am sooooooo upset about this!!!!!!! I had those concerns about his diabetes and how he was handling it but I felt those could be easily worked out. I have seen the list and there aren't many male workers and I really thought he would work out great! I had my hopes up so high (always a dangerous thing for me) and now they have crashed down soooo hard again.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOO upset!!!! :-( :-( :-( I have no help again and I feel so alone.

:-(

I made a new gown tonight ....

2008-10-11T04:58:00.000-07:00

A BLUE one ...

Fitting huh? LOL

I am feeling rather down tonight ...

2008-10-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

.....and I don't know why. It isn't low blood sugar or lack of sleep cuz I have eaten and slept. It shouldn't be because of the messy apt cuz, altho it is still messy, I AM taking steps to take care of it..... I am just feeling BLUE.
I suppose it COULD be because my close friend's mother is dying of cancer.... but then again she is 89 years old so she has had a very long and good life..... Maybe it is cause I am dreading cleaning tomorrow.... I like having things clean and I even like the process of cleaning (sometimes) but it can be painful esp the way my legs/hips/etc have been lately. Maybe I am down because of the pain in my legs/hips/etc. *SIGH*
Maybe it is just good ol' chemical depression. :-(