Giftings!

I gave Jackie a beadwork panel with a dragon pendant, a corset necklace and a new bear

Jackie gave me (for Hanukkah) - a BTVS Dark Horse mint condition comic, Dragon voice recognition software and a Magen David

Hanukkah 2013 (a little late)

I'm a little late posting photos - sorry.

Night 1 and Night 8

Lights! Action! Walking!

Jackie and I went over to Atlanta to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens for their holiday light show. It was fantastic. A lot of walking but worth it. We don't know the story behind the huge sculpture of a woman leaning over a pool of water with water flowing out of her hand as if she put her hand in the water and raised her hand, the water escaping. Not sure about the story behind the huge cobras overlooking the path to the children's area. Those were done up fantastically with lights as well.

Bravo to the Gardens

One Year

One year.

We miss Mama terribly. 

Pictures! Pictures!

Okay, here are pictures of the window insulation and the work in the garage (still in progress)

You can see the long strips we used for the large window and the rectangles we used for the multiple pane windows/doors.

We have noticed a difference and are fans.  We can see through the bubble wrap enough to know if its a cat on the porch or a possum.

Jackie working at painted the garage wall with sealant paint (sitting down on the job!).  We do the grout/mortar lines with cement repair grout and then paint that and the masonry blocks.  The paint is thick and hard to get on but it'll help stop the mildew in the garage and basement.  Not easy work for these disabled bodies, however!

JFK Rememberance

50 years ago today my father was stationed at Ft Worth, Texas - right next to Dallas.

Mom's story: Bob, Mom and I were taking a nap (I was 3-4 years old) and they had the radio on.  The news that President John F. Kennedy had been shot in Dallas.  Both pairs of feet hit the floor at the same time.

Bob quickly got dressed, pulled what money he had out of his pockets and put it on the dresser, kissed me and then kissed Mom and said he didn't know when he'd be home.  My father was in the Army and was a fine soldier - a drill sergeant, soldier of the month many times, and more. 

No one knew what was happening - chaos and disbelief swamped the entire nation but especially in Texas.  Everyone waited by phones, televisions and radios, many people hovering around appliance stores or beauty parlors, anywhere there was a tv or a radio.

Then came the word hours later that President Kennedy was dead and the nation went numb and then into a depression.

Fifty years later we're still asking why and who.  Was the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, the only shooter?  Was he part of a conspiracy, knowingly or unknowingly?  Was he a fall guy?  Will we ever really know?

Tom Sawyer? Bubblewrap, paint, candles, flower pots

Well, I didn't have to pull a Tom Sawyer to get my sister to help paint the garage wall with sealing paint.  We moved things around so we can get the car in and out easier.  We got the trunks up on bricks to prevent any risk of water damage (unless the house washes away).  It's supposed to rain and be colder this week so we jumped in and started painted the worst area for the dampness and seepage through the masonry blocks. 

I painted the one wall before but hadn't gotten very far on the garage wall.  We got about a third done and part of that was a second coat on what I had already done.  The colder weather snuck up on us so we're trying to work to get the most of this one wall done to cut down on the mildew and mold.  Between caulking, sealing paint, bleach and concrete caulking, we're gaining on the mildew.

We also got draft dodgers up on the doors, got painter's canvas up in the living room to cut down the area we heat with small heaters and we put up bubble wrap on the windows (bubble side out - measure, cut and attach with plain water).  The bubble wrap acts like insulation at a fraction of the cost of window film and works better than just plastic.

We've noticed a difference.

I'm also heating my room at night while I'm on my laptop or reading with tea light candles in a bread cooking tin - over 3-5 tea lights I place a small terracotta pot with the bottom (now the top) hold covered.  Over that is another terracotta pot with the drain hole left open.  The small pot heats up from the candles and the heat is caught between the two pots and warm air is forced through the drain hole - a convection heater at work.  It takes the chill out of the air and keeps my hands from freezing while trying to type.  I can tell when the candles are burning down, there is a difference in the air.

Pictures to follow