The Assassins...

Hello, I have not been much for posting. Happy Friday.

Last night I went to the play, The Assassins. It is a satirical musical comedy. It was really funny and also made a person uncomfortable about laughing so much about a subject that's not funny. It was also informative about the people who have either succeeded or have attempted to assassinate a US President and the reasoning that they may have had. It was well acted and the singing was well done.

I wore my After Hours shawl and got many compliments. All in all a good night.

Recommendation: take in a local play in your area and enjoy.
Good Day and Good Friday to you.

Exactly how does this work???

Palestine has applied to be recognized as a statehood in the UN. My question is...Exactly how does that work when part of the land you are claiming is Israel??? I guess the old adage here applies that "if you can take it and hold it---it's yours." Well, guess what Palestine, Israel took it and they currently hold it---good luck going against Our Lord Your God on that one. In fact, in 1967 it only took Israel 7 days to get it back and keep it.

I find that Palestine has put the UN between a rock and a hard place. The UN has no authorization to give away land that is currently Israel.

On another note, looks as though Greece is out of money and about to be a non-country. What happens when the USA, who happens to owe more than Greece, defaults??? Maybe Palestine can re-locate here or to Greece instead, eh??? hmmm, that doesn't work either since its the actual location that everyone wants to argue about. location, location, location happens to be very important, at least in this case.

Thank you Yahoo.com for the link.

Good day and Happy Friday!!

best advice...

My best advice today comes from Proverbs 23 which is a continuation of the 30 sayings and my current daily read in the bible.

Saying 9 - Proverbs 23:6-8

6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
do not crave his delicacies;
7 for he is the kind of person
who is always thinking about the cost.[b]
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.

I provided a link for the whole chapter above as its all very good reading and makes you think. Thank you BibleGateway.com for the link and the verses.
good day.

Traffic light scam...

watch out for this scam. Keep in mind police agencies and the court system are too busy to give you a call. Third party collectors may call but they are going to also send you something in writing. Make certain you have a paper trail for anything. Never, ever do anything over the phone unless you are familiar with the company, agency or person.

thank you Yahoo.com for the link.
good day.

Mondays meanderings...

Pikes Peak, Colorado
Moth
This moth was almost as big as my hand!!! It was so startlingly huge I just had to take a picture. Isn't it beautiful. And of course September isn't September unless there is snow on Pikes Peak.

-photos copyrighted by me.

Good day.

Birth Totem.... Power Animal.

Here's a fun thing to do---find your birth totem. I totally took this from the Mavrick Crafter blog.

Mine??? I'm a snake. Sure, why couldn't I be an owl??? just kidding, I think the snake is very coolio. I am very passionate about transformation, regeneration and spiritual consciousness and improvement.

Snake-Power Animal

Just click through till you get your time period of birth date or go to the home page.

Thank you My Power Animals for the link.
Good day.

...and now for the rest of the story.

My trip to Estes Park was filled with interesting tid bits that certainly made me want to cry, laugh hysterically, and come home with my tail between my legs--or at the very least as quickly as possible. Especially after I got stung repeatedly by a yellow jacket. Although even that has turned out, as I no longer have extreme joint pain in that elbow. Huh, who'da thunk it?

I arrived on Friday, to the quaint little cabin on the mountain, and to my surprise a new furnace was being installed. No worries, right?? wrong. Long story short, no heat for the weekend. Innocently enough, I say no problem, right? wrong. It's ok during the day but it got cold at night. I mean, I am after all in a little mountain valley and it does get down to freezing. Freezing is cold by the way.

Then unknown to me as I have had the doors open all day to the quaint little cabin on the mountain, we closed the doors at night because its too cold to keep them open and there is a noxious odor in said "quaint" cabin, which is no longer "quaint." The odor is so bad it makes our eyes water. OMG!! Had the town not been totally booked we would have left, its that bad.

So between having no heat and the odor, the people with whom I am sharing the "quaint" little cabin have nothing good to say about the place. The comments are really bad and I feel terrible, because guess who chose the place to stay?? yep, Me, Myself and I. I just wanted to crawl under a rock and die, I tell ya. It was bad. I tried to make positive comments but in the end I succumbed to the negative too. Interestingly enough when I started on the poor little cabin, my roomies started to make positive comments. Nothing like accidental reverse psychology in the making.

We eventually had to shut the doors or really freeze. We did have a fireplace and built a fire in it, and still froze. We finally sent (best friend) BF's DD to Safeway to purchase scented candles and Febreeze. Thank goodness it stayed open till 11pm.

Ok, that was Friday. Here's Saturday. Saturday was the parade. Just before it started I went to the visitor's center to use the privy. While in the privy, I slipped and fell on some water and accidentally hung myself with my scarf. Oh, god, oh god. I just want to die or cry!! I am defeated. I am splayed out on the bathroom floor and can't get undone and can't get up. There was a lady there and she had to help untangle me and help me up. I was so embarrassed and now have a limp--I hurt my knee. I limp up to the people having a great time at the front desk and inform them about the water on the floor. I know what you are thinking---was it really water??? yes, yes it was--it didn't smell or anything and was clear, I swear. Talk about crushing the happy atmosphere in the visitor's center. I limp out and back to the parade. Its painful, but I shake it off. right?? right. I also have to tell the others why I am now limping.

The parade was great and I spent the rest of the day at the festival---just limping around---I mean hanging out, which was terrific too. The festival, not the limping.

That evening as I prepared to go to the Celtic Concerts, I got repeatedly stung by a yellow jacket. I was just sitting there not moving, hanging out on the back deck and all of a sudden I feel something biting me. OUch, ouch, ouch. I look incredulously at my elbow to find a yellow jacket stinging me. Sheesh, by this time I am convinced by what the others are saying and that the cabin is haunted. I determinedly head out to the concerts, wondering if I'll still be alive afterwards. BTW--the candles and Febreeze helped immensely with the smell. The concerts were great and I got in at about 1am. Alive and well.

BF's DD couldn't sleep that night as she dreamed that I never made it back due to all my bad luck.

We made it one more night in the "quaint" now determined to be haunted cabin. I tried to sit out on the deck but each time I did a swarm of yellow jackets came at me. The others, interestingly enough, did not have this problem.

Sunday, I got to golf at the nine-hole course and did fantastic--44. Hey, things are looking up right?? I am supposed to stay one more day to enjoy my surroundings and leisurely make my way home the next day, but by this time even with the terrific golf score, there is NO WAY I am staying in the "haunted" cabin alone, my roomies were leaving that day, and I was being swarmed by the yellow jackets each time I went outside, and still no heat. There was no way I was going to push my luck any further.

I packed up, called the rental management company, asked for a refund for that evening and for a partial refund for the other nights as there was not heat, and reimbursement for the odor eating supplies and happily headed home. Yeah me. Side note: the screen door came off its runners and I couldn't get it back on. It's time to go and go quickly.

I got home early Sunday. Spent it cleaning out the odor from my stuff, hoping that I still have a BF, and spent a wonderful day on Monday---at HOME. There is no place like home, there is absolutely no place like home.

--anyone up for traveling with me??? Truly, its never boring.
-BTW I plan on going to Sock Summit in 2013---Now who needs a roomie???

-forgot to mention the flames in the kitchen on Saturday evening too. It was pretty funny!!! No, it wasn't me but a paper towel that BF's DD was cooking with, and the paper towel got too close to the gas burner being used and it burst into flames just as I walked into the kitchen. ha BF and I calmly watched her DD dance around saying, oh, god, oh-god, oh god! and she finally got the paper towel to the sink and doused it with water. :)

Good day. -pictures copyrighted by me.

Finances...How to get out of debt in 3 years.

Take a look at this article.

And get out of debt. thank you Yahoo.com for the link
Good day.

Longs Peak Scottish Highland Festival, Estes Park, Colorado-pictures.

-all photos copyrighted by me. thank you.

Longs Peak Scottish Highland Festival, Estes Park, Colorado.

Hello,
I went to Longs Peak Scottish Highland Festival held in Estes Park, Colorado, for Friday, Saturday and Sunday and recovered on Monday. It was great fun. I got to hear some amazing music and watched terrific performances. Will be sharing pictures of it all this week. Why not today??? Because I forgot my camera connector for today. Sorry.

I just love Estes Park. If you get a chance to come to Colorado, its a place that I recommend you visit. Its a lovely little town although it has grown quite a bit and now even has a Safeway.

The whole festival was dedicated to the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 and it was AMAZING!!! The Tattoo brought tears to my eyes and was very moving.

Groups I saw:

The Marine Corp Band - they were amazing and had a piper that was a terrific performer.

1st Scottish Battalion - from Scotland and are an actual medical battalion and have recently returned from Afghanistan.

Air Force Academy Honor Guard - they were amazing and are only in attendance every 10 years or so. The way they tossed their guns around was...dare I write it again...AMAZING!!

Several pipe bands from Colorado and one from Texas.

Albannach - drum group - this group was amazing with just drums, it was very primal and the LOUDest group.

Brother - pipe, drum and electric guitar were excellent.

Tartan Terrors - from Canada - they had everything, violin, drums, pipes, and more.

and lots of additional musicians and vendors and dancers and dog herding, strong man competition, jousting competition, piping competition.

Another observation: I had no idea the Scots were so tall and broad!!! the First Batallion were GIANTS!!! You could almost point out from where everyone was just by height. Wales-tiny little people, Irish-loud rambunctious and taller than Welsh; not as tall as a Scot. The Scots-tall, and very, very frugal. Lots of funny jokes going around about the Irish and Scots.

Good day.

I AM TIRED OF BEING EXPENDABLE...

Spinning...3rd yarn.

This is Hanks in the Hood - Forks. I plied it back onto itself and ended up with approximately 200 yards. I'm getting closer to thinner yarn. Yeah me.

Colorado Balloon Fest 2011.

Here are some lovely pictures of the Balloon Glow that was held on Saturday and Sunday nights. I went Sunday night. It was a busy weekend this past weekend. I enjoyed it.

-pictures copyrighted by me. thank you and take care.

Bible in a Year...Ecclesiastes, 2 Corinthians, Proverbs.

I finished Job and you will all be happy to know that he had the "happily ever after" ending for his life. Our Lord Your God restored him to his former glory only more. 10 children again - 7 boys and 3 girls. Interestingly enough it states that he also gave an inheritance to the girls too, which didn't happen in those times. As we all know women were considered chattel. Because he was so wealthy the girls got some too.

I am now in Ecclesiastes. In my opinion, this book is most likely written by King Solomon in his later years and he comes across as slightly depressed. I think he's disappointed in himself with some of his choices and depressed about it. He pretty much states that life is meaningless but you still need to do your best even though it's meaningless. That the rich man and the poor man end up in the same place. Dead. That the wise man and the foolish man end up in the same place. Dead. You get the picture.

Personally, I believe life is very worthwhile and I believe Solomon was being very hard on himself because of some choices he made. Despite all his conclusions he came to he forgot to mention that despite all of us dying there are still some people who, because of the way they lived their life, still influence people after their death. I believe that this is very meaningful and helpful to those of us still living life.

Solomon does state to do right, do your work and enjoy it.
Lets get straight to Solomon's conclusion: Fear God and keep his commandments.
Yep, that's it. You can click the link and start at the beginning to read for yourself.

Proverbs 22 - there are 30 sayings to the wise in this chapter. Here is 3 & 4, which I felt were important:

Saying 3

24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
do not associate with one easily angered,
25 or you may learn their ways
and get yourself ensnared.

Saying 4

26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge
or puts up security for debts;
27 if you lack the means to pay,
your very bed will be snatched from under you.

Saying 4 reminds me of my own sweet government that has learned nothing. You would think that they, with all the learning they have, would be wiser about the budget. Greed overshadows everything, doesn't it???

Click the link and read the chapter in Proverbs at your leisure. Its a quick read.

Thank you BibleGateway.com for the links.

Good day and make it meaningful.

Current Read... Hold Tight.

Hold Tight
This was a very fast-paced read for me. I found myself staying up late at night to read the next line, sneaking it in at work to read and I usually don't do that. Plus, no spinning or knitting at all either. EEEk--that is strange behavior.

It will make me think twice about helping someone in the parking lot of a store. For me it was scary, intense and as always Harlan has a great ending.

Happy reading. Thank you Amazon.com for the pic.

OOOoooo...presents to me!!

Colorado Balloon Classic - 2008
Hanks in the Hood - Forks colorway
Travel Kate-open
Travel Kate -closed
I purchased this lovely traveling kate!!! I first saw it on the Shut up and Knit blog and was able to contact Anne, annimol on Ravelry, who informed me that they had a few left. I sent payment and its here. I don't really know how to use it (will figure that out later)---I am thrilled to have it in hand. Isn't it pretty??? Its very well made and well worth the cost. Plus supporting hand-made crafts from others is important to me too.

I confess I did have buyers remorse at first (which I always seem to have---its a personal problem--we all have issues) but I remembered that since riding my bicycle to work everyday I have been saving quite a bit of money in the gasoline-for-car budget. And at times a person needs a little pick-me-up, or pat on the back, so this gadget is mine (at least that's what I'm telling myself to get over the guilt factor). I don't count the yarn or roving I purchase, at least not today. I really like the kate even if I don't know how to use it. Its also compact, which is always a plus for me. Love, love love it. Did I say how much I like it yet??

Spinning example today is of Hanks in the Hood, Forks colourway. It is 50/50 wool,bamboo. Once again, difficult for a newbie like me to spin as the bamboo in it is slippery. This one has some sparkles in it and that helps with the grab factor and makes it slightly easier to spin. Now to decided if I want to spin some white to ply it with or to just ply it onto itself and once again make a two-ply worsted weight. sigh, when will I ever get to make sock yarn???

Have a good weekend everyone. Once again,I plan to attend the Colorado Balloon Classic. I won't say how long I've been attending. It is beautiful to see the balloons in the air with the mountains as a back drop and its fun to watch them do a quick touch-n-go onto Prospect lake.

Good day.

Opportunities not lost...

Opportunity #1:

The selling of DDs first cello. Oh, how I cringe at those words, even now, and its been a few days. Dear mum happened to be speaking to her neighbor and they mentioned that their oldest was going to be in symphony this year at school. Mum asked what instrument and they stated cello. I had previously mentioned to mum and DD that I wanted to sell the cello. This caused DD to object. "How can you even think about selling my first cello?", she cried.

Nothing like a well-placed guilt trip to stop you in your tracks, eh??

To make a long story short, the cello transferred ownership. It turns out that I had a more difficult time in selling it than DD. Do you see the irony in that one??? me too. As they were walking out the door, I wanted to grab the instrument and run. DD was happy as a lark to see it go to someone she knew and asked that if they should ever sell it that she had first choice at purchasing it back. All ended well.

Opportunity #2:

As I was standing in line to deposit the check for the cello, there was a young lady behind me lamenting on the phone that she only needed $26.00 to pay the rest of her rent or else she would be evicted. She had called all the churches in town to see if they could help her out. A friend had given her $18.00 and there was no one else, and wasn't it a shame that she would be thrown out over just $26.00???

I had been looking for an opportunity for awhile to "help" someone and kept thinking about this young woman. I try to find something each month. I confess, I wasn't going to help her, and I kept looking at the first cello money in my hand. I had the "good angel/bad angel" talk with myself while standing in line. I informed myself that if I helped her that the money I gave her I had to have no attachment to it and that it was up to the young lady to make good choices with it.

I stepped up to the teller, deposited the check for the cello and obtained just enough money for the young woman---I didn't have to give her the money---bad angel, bad, bad angel. I completed my transaction and walked up to the young woman and handed her the money she needed to save her for that month. I hoped for her that she will be able to make good choices in the future or in the alternative, get a cheaper place to stay. I informed her to "pay it forward" and good luck to her and left.

I did not do this to "feel" good. Especially since I had the conflicting thought of keeping the money. I did it because I believe it to be a responsibility for each of us to provide kindness and generosity to each other. It's a good, positive responsibility. If you have ever read Be More With Less blog, she puts together brown bags full of goodies and hands them out each month. I don't have the energy to do that so I look for one instance every so often and this was mine.

And surprisingly enough, the heart-felt loss of one item in my life helped to prevent another from having a loss in theirs.

As I view it, a lovely completion in the circle of life for DD's first cello.

Good day

Bible in a Year...Job, 2 Corinthians, Psalm, Proverbs.

hello, not much for posting lately. I must confess my mind is mostly on spinning and last night I finally hit the "spinning zone" and it was quite wonderful. I am still making "art" yarns but the zone was fun to be in. Not certain what to ply my latest endeavor with but need to decided soon.

As for the bible, I am keeping up. I was a bit irritated with Our Lord Your God the other day so I did skip a night, but soon caught up. Don't stand too close too me, as you might get hit by a lightening strike, as I do believe its not healthy to state being irritated with an Omnipotent being. Take Job for instance, he didn't even have to do anything and he suffers tragically plus he has to put up with his friends accusing him as being a lesser man than he really is. Because as they see it only "bad" things happen to "bad" people, right??? Hmmm...

The Corinthians are being encouraged by Paul to get along, to "love" one another and to live an upstanding life, and to keep away from sexual immorality. He emphasizes living by faith.

David is lamenting in Psalm about being forgotten by Our Lord Your God, or maybe its him forgetting Our Lord.
and Proverbs always reminds me of Confucius (course, as I see it Confucius plagiarized from Proverbs).

here are the links:
Job 37

2 Corinthians 4

Psalm 44

Proverbs 22

here's a favorite of mine in Proverbs 22

Proverbs 22:1

A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

---and my super sarcastic mind states "yeah but does it pay the bills???" and the "angel" in me states, "have faith" and you will make the right choices to be able to pay the bills.

Thank you Biblegateway.com for the links.

good day.