CheeChee Is Here!

CheeChee, a.k.a. Cindy Meier, and the other half of the NeeNee & CheeChee's Beaded Things business is here in Dallas with us! My sister, Cindy, flew into Dallas this morning to visit with us through the remainder of the week. I was still working my temp job this morning, so Bob picked her up at DWF Airport. They picked me up from my job downtown and after lunch and after Bob returned to work, Cindy and I got down to business -- BEADING! We talked about beads all afternoon. I have been collecting various beading components from bead shows, bead shops, shopping online, Christmas gifts and even from Walmart. Since Cindy flew in, she couldn't bring any of her beads with her. I am letting her help me with my projects. We haven't added any new beaded jewelry to the Etsy website for awhile, but you will be able to see some new pieces there by the end of the week. On to BEADING!

Christmas BLIZZARD!!

Bob and I left Dallas around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday the 24th to drive to Tulsa for the Christmas weekend. It was raining in Dallas when we left, but it started sleeting when we got further north in TX. By the time we hit the turnpike in OK, it was very thick ice on the road and building up on our windshield. We saw many cars and trucks off in the ditch. We also saw an overturned car right in the middle of the road! My stomach did flip-flops! I thought we should turn around and go back home, but Bob continued on. We could only go around 30 mph for a very long time. When we hit the edge of Tulsa, there was about a foot of SNOW on top of the ice! Around 5 p.m., we arrived in Tulsa at Corbin & Christy's house. We pulled into their drive way and went inside for a wonderful Christmas dinner with Corbin, Christy, Caty, Carson, Christian and all of Christy's family. We opened presents and watched the kids have fun with their new toys. Around 9 p.m., Bob and I decided we had better head to our hotel, which was on the other side of Tulsa. We got stuck in Corbin's housing addition four times and he and Christy's two brothers had to push us out! Corbin said he would get us a room at the new Hampton Inn behind their house and Christy's dad drove us there in his 4-wheel drive. Our car was stuck in a snowdrift. At the hotel, we turned on the TV and heard that we had been driving around in a BLIZZARD! There were winds of 50 mph, snow, ice and white out conditions and the weather station was advising everyone to stay in and stay put! We heard it was the first time in Tulsa history that a blizzard had been forecasted! Well, we made it there and back home and had a wonderful Christmas with a lot of our family. Next year, everyone can come to Dallas for Christmas!

SPAM Emails

SPAM Emails!! Do you like getting them? I don't! They waste my valuable time! I rarely read them. If Iam really BORED, I might read one or two if they are SHORT ones or in cartoon form. If I open an email with a really long forwarded joke, many photos or such, I just delete it without reading it. I have too many friends and family members that I would rather write emails to than spend my time reading JUNK SPAM emails. One might get opened by mistake if the sender changes the subject line and takes out the "Forwarded" part of it. I have a Yahoo email address that I set up when I lived in Sarasota, so I could use the Freecycle. Once in awhile I will take a look at that email just to get a chuckle. I just looked at it and I have 507 emails in my Inbox and ALL of them are SPAM! Not one legitimate email in there! AND, I have another 244 emails in my SPAM Inbox! That is a total of 751 SPAM emails! WOW! Am I popular or what?

Which mascara do I use today?

I don't know about you (and I'm referring to the GIRLS out there), but I am a sucker when it comes to advertising. And I love to try new products on the market, especially make up products. And I love trying different mascara products. Whenever I see a mascara advertised that I haven't tried, I HAVE to buy it and try it. I must have 20 of them in my make up bag and bathroom drawers. Last week one day when I was riding the train into work, the BEAUTIFUL, YOUNG girl sitting next to me was applying her mascara and she was using one in a bright green tube. I had never bought that one or tried it. Her eye lashes were so long, dark and beautiful that I HAD to find out what kind of mascara that she was using. I wanted MY eye lashes long, dark and beautiful too! I tried to be discreet and see if I could see any kind of writing on the tube of mascara. I didn't want to ask her. After all, no one talks to anyone on the train -- especially so early in the morning! I saw a "MA" on the bright green tube, so I was sure I could find that brand at a drug or grocery store. On my lunch hour, I walked directly to CVS and sure enough, I found the bright green Mabelline mascara! I knew this was the mascara I had been looking for all of these years that would make MY eye lashes long, dark and beautiful!! I couldn't wait to get home to try it out. The next morning after my shower, I applied the new mascara and just like most of those other mascaras I have bought in my life time of applying mascara, my eye lashes looked JUST THE SAME as they always did! I was very disappointed. I thought for sure that I had FINALLY found the brand of mascara that was going to make my eye lashes long, dark and beautiful. So, I'll continue my hunt and fill up my make up bag and drawers with the various mascaras on the market. If you have one to suggest, please let me know.

My Elements Necklace

I enjoy looking at the Etsy website -- www.etsy.com -- for unusual items. Etsy is made up of "stores" that people set up to sell their homemade wares -- paintings, soap, clothes, jewelry, etc. This website is where I have my jewelry store, NeeNee & CheeChee's Beaded Things. I look at the beads on the Etsy website that people make, as I think these different components is what makes my jewelry pieces that ladies want to buy and wear. Us ladies don't like to wear things that everyone else is wearing. We want to look individual and our clothes and jewelry tells a bit about what we are like. I found a website on Etsy called My Elements. The lady makes these components from plexiglass and hand paints each piece. They are a bit expensive and a little more than what I usually pay for my beads and jewelry making components. But, my sweet sister decided that I NEEDED these beads, so she bought them for me. I think I will sell this necklace on my website, so I'll have to pay her back for them. I have another set of My Elements components that are purple and orange, called Funky Monkey. I haven't used them yet in a piece of jewelry. I'll post a photo when I get something made.

The Girl Who Wears Many Hats -- Including a Red One

I have been a receptionist for most of my working days. Right after I was married in 1970, I started to work for Credit Information Corporation on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, IL. I started out as a CRT operator, but one day my boss asked me to work at the reception desk when the receptionist didn't show up for work. She told me that I had a "pretty smile". That first day as I remember was quite a disaster. I wasn't coached on how to be a receptionist and right off the bat, someone walked into the office to see the president. I called him and said that "there is a woman here to see you". I didn't ask for a name, company or anything about the person. It did get better after that. I found out through the years working as a receptionist that I have to "wear many different kinds of hats", as the saying goes and be able to do many odd jobs. Throughout the years, I've had to be a nurse, a chauffeur, a hair stylist, make up artist, go-fer, typist, time clocker, and many more that I can't think of at the moment. Today, I am a gift wrapper. I am working a temp job as a receptionist with a law firm and they are sending out Christmas gifts to their clients. I am wrapping up Kindle's. You know, those books you read on a little gizmo that you hold in your hand? I sure wish I could drop one in my bag and take it home with me! Do you think anyone would miss it? Just kidding. I'd never do anything like that. But, it sure is going to make a nice gift for someone. And occasionally, I wear my Red Hat when I go to lunch with the Red Hat Society ladies.

Yummy Dessert Recipe

Last night Bob and I hosted our Tables of Eight dinner. Our church has several groups of Tables of Eight and we are in one of them. We take turns going to each others homes for dinner. Bob and I decided to host the first one for our group for this season. We made Paella, a green salad, bread and this wonderful dessert called "Chocolate icebox Cake with Mascarpone and Blackberries". I got the recipe from chowhound.com -- a website I was introduced to from my nephew Eric, who used to be a chef and enjoys cooking. This dessert was delicious and I got rave reviews! Here is the recipe in case you are interested in trying it for yourself. It was quick and easy too.

INGREDIENTS for the Cake

2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup blackberry liqueur
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 8-oz. container mascarone cheese
2 9-oz. packages chocolate wafer cookies, such as Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers
Fresh blackberries, for garnish

INGREDIENTS for the Coulis

1/2 pound blackberries
1/2 pound granulated sugar -- 1 1/8 cups
1/4 cup blackberry liqueur

Combine cream, sugar, vanilla extract, blackberry liqueur, cocoa powder and mascarone in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until firm peaks form. Set aside.

In the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan, arrange 12 cookies in a circle to form a base. Spread about 1/3 cup of the whipped cream mixture evenly to cover. Repeat layering the cookies and cream until all the cookies are used; top with remaining cream mixture. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 5 hrs. or overnight.

Combine berries, sugar and liqueur in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Let cook until syrupy and reduced by half, about 10 minutes.

Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pushing on the mixture with a rubber spatula, to strain out the seeds. Set aside to cool.

Garnish with blackberries and serve with Blackberry Coulis.

Enjoy!

Vintage Beads

These are all Vintage Beads. So "they" say. I purchased all of these Vintage Beads through Etsy sellers. Some of the Etsy sellers say that their Vintage Beads are 50 - 100 years old! How am I to know? I really don't care that they are old beads. I just like the way they look and that is why I purchased these beads. Some of these beads are from Germany, Japan or Czechoslovakia. I have no specific ideas on how I will use these Vintage Beads, but I am sure I will come up with something. If you see any beads that you like, let me know and I will make something for you.

HOT FLASHES!!!!

HOT FLASHES!!!! They are AWFUL! Shortly after I started experiencing them, a few friends of mine were talking about HOT FLASHES and one younger lady in the group who had never had them asked what they were like. Sue, one of my friends, said that when you have a HOT FLASH, you just want to take off all of your clothes and lie down on the COLD mall floor!! And she is right! I was talking about hot flashes the other day with Bob's sister-in-law and we were comparing notes. She told me that she always gets a hot flash when she is putting on her make up in the morning. I do too!! I told her that I don't even put my top on until I'm finished applying the make up. Well, I decided to Google "hot flashes" and read what the authorities had to say about them. I found out that there are triggers, such as caffeine. Well, I do drink hot tea in the morning, usually before I apply or while I am applying my make up. I know that Sandra drinks coffee in the mornings. And I can almost set my clock when it is bedtime by the hot flash I'm going to have. The website I read said that when you are fatigued you get them. And the most common time of onset is between six and eight in the morning, and between six to ten at night. Yep! This is when I get them. During the daytime when I'm sitting at work, I rarely get a hot flash. And of course, the website said that stress causes them. What DOESN'T stress cause??? And it said that EXERCISE can help to alleviate them. And what DOESN'T exercise help??? It also said to cut out the fat from your diet and lose weight. UGH! OK. I didn't read any further. Lose weight. Exercise. Better diet. No caffeine. Don't get fatigued. No stress. It sounds like I'm going to have HOT FLASHES for a long, long time!

Dallas Trolley Ride

My Aunt Eileen who lives in IL is visiting her son, my cousin Larry and his daughter, Katie, in Austin this week. They came over to Dallas today to visit with us. Katie was standing on our balcony and asked about the train tracks that she could see and we told her the tracks are for the McKinney Street Trolley. She told us that she had a list of "Ninety Things To Do Before She Turns Ninety" -- Katie will be twelve next week. -- and one of those things on her list is to ride on a trolley. After lunch at Luby's, Aunt Eileen's favorite restaurant, we all got on the trolley and rode it from McKinney Street -- a block from our apartment -- to the end of the line at St. Paul and back home. It took us about an hour for a round trip ride. It was a very interesting ride. The driver told us that the trolley car we were on is the newest one in Dallas and it was built in 1920. He had been driving for 35 years and he is one of eight licensed trolley car drivers in the United States. I wouldn't want to ride on the trolley if I was in a hurry to get anywhere, but it was a lot of fun for a leisurely afternoon ride. We all enjoyed it!

Thanksgiving 2009 -- It's nice to be with FAMILY!

Bob and I drove up to Tulsa for Thanksgiving dinner with Bob's brother Nick and his wife Sandra and her son Seth and his family. Stephen & Jenny joined us there. I didn't get photos of all of us at Nick & Sandra's house. Yesterday, we met Corbin & his family for breakfast and then Amy and her family for lunch. It's always wonderful to be with family for the holidays!

Move Is Over -- Back to Beading!!

Last night I finally was able to get my beads back out. I haven't done any beadwork since the first week of October. I put my beads away when we went to Illlinois for my uncle's memorial. When we got back to Dallas, I went right to work on a temporary assignment with Lone Star Funds. I also got a sinus infection and I didn't feel very well for several weeks until I went to the doc and he gave me prescription for Z-pak. Then, we decided we had to get out of the Dallas Power & Light apartment building and move to The Mondrian, where it is much quieter -- NO DJ playing on weekends! We did this in two weeks time. So, between all of that, I had no time to get out the beads to make any new projects. I have plenty of new beads and I have been itching to use them. I found some beautiful vintage beads on Etsy that I have purchased, so I will be using them soon. DeWayne, the recipient of Cavan's liver and left kidney, who lives in Jacksonville, FL, also sent me some beads. He said that he had planned to make some jewelry, but never did. So, he sent some of them to me. He sent me some coral beads, scarabs and garnets -- my birthstone. He told me to make some pretty jewelry and sell it. A couple weeks ago one night when I couldn't sleep, I got inspired on a design for a necklace with the garnets that DeWayne sent to me. When I get an inspiration, I want to sit down with my beads and make it right then. But, I wasn't going to get up at 3 a.m. and start beading. So, last night I finally made my garnet necklace. It is hard to see in this photograph, but there is a smokey crystal teardrop at the top of the garnet circles. I might have to keep this one. Thanks DeWayne!

Rainy Day

It is a Rainy Day in Dallas today. But, I am enjoying it for a change. I usually don't like getting out in the rain if I don't have to. Bob and I have been walking back and forth from the DART train station to go to work and I was dreading having to walk if we were having bad weather. Bob took our car into the fix-it shop yesterday and it wasn't ready to be picked up last night. So, here we were stuck without our car and a Rainy Day. It is a warm day and the rain is just a slow, steady rain, so it really wasn't bad walking in the rain. I find it almost . . . calming. I can think of three instances when I actually enjoyed walking in the rain. The first time we weren't walking, but horseback riding. I was with my mom, dad, sister and brother and we were vacationing in the Smokey Mountains. I was in high school and I thought I was too old to be going on a vacation with my family. I wanted to stay home, but Mom & Dad thought otherwise. We decided to take a horseback riding tour with a guide and it started raining. Daddy started making jokes about it and soon we were all laughing and having fun. We were stuck there and we all just decided to make it FUN. The second time was when Bob and I were living in Dallas. We had decided to walk five blocks from our house to Greenville Avenue to listen to one of our favorite singer/guitar players at one of the bars. It started to rain right before we were going to leave to go home. It didn't look like the rain was going to quit any time soon so we decided to go ahead and walk home. We started out running, but we were so totally wet (and out of breath), so we just walked and decided to enjoy it. The third time I enjoyed being in the rain was when my friend Mary came to Sarasota to visit us. The day she arrived was a beautiful day and we enjoyed walking on the beach after dinner that night. The next day Hurricane Jeanne hit Florida. It was supposed to have gone up the east coast, but it came up the west coast instead. We sat in the house all day and I could tell that Mary was worried. I'd been through a few hurricanes already so I knew what to expect. The winds calmed down in the late afternoon, so Mary and I decided to get out of the house and take a walk. Well, we found out that the winds hadn't calmed down all that much! We ended up holding hands like grade school kids do when they are on a field trip. We walked a couple of blocks, holding hands, getting wet and laughing all the way. So, if you have a Rainy Day, get out there and enjoy it!!! You might end up liking it!

Good-bye DPL -- Hello, The Mondrian

I HATE MOVING!!!! What an awful job! We had movers help us out on Thursday and three men moved all of the furniture and heavy boxes. And our friends Barry & Pat have a truck and a dolly and they helped us with a big load of stuff on Thursday night. They wanted to do more, but Bob and I were too exhausted. Bob and I spent Friday night and most of Saturday packing up stuff the movers didn't take. We made about five trips with the car filled to the hilt with STUFF. And we spent over four hours today with both of us working to clean the DPL apartment. We stayed in our NEW apartment at The Mondrian the past three nights now and it is very QUIET! The Dallas Power & Light building, where we moved from, is old, dark, smelly -- the dumpster is in the same area as the mailboxes!! -- and NOISY! The Mondrian where we moved to is new, bright, nice smelling and QUIET! We had some good times at DPL and the night views with the downtown lights were especially nice. There was always something going on in downtown Dallas. But, we are ready for PEACE & QUIET now. As you can see by the photo, we have a lot to do in the weeks ahead with all of the unpacking. I need to get rid of a lot of STUFF too. I never realized how much STUFF we had until we had to pack it up to move. And I start a fulltime job DOWNTOWN tomorrow! I'll have to take the DART train, but it is only two stops away. So, it might takes us a couple of weeks to get things put away and pictures up on the walls. When our new apartment is presentable, I'll post some photos. But, for tonight, it is a lot of REST!

Veteran's Day in Dallas

The Dallas City Hall building is located right behind our apartment building and I am watching and listening to the Veteran's Day celebration. There will also be a parade that I will be able to see from our apartment windows in about an hour today. I won't miss the LOUD DJ music on our pool deck under our bedroom window on the weekends when we move into our new apartment, but I will miss the Dallas City Hall events that we can see from our windows. God bless all of our veterans!

I'm all for Organ Donation

My son Cavan saved the lives of these two men. Michael is on the left and DeWayne is on the right. When Cavan died, the doctors asked if he was an organ donor. Lauren said he carried a card in his wallet. Michael has Cavan's right kidney and DeWayne has Cavan's left kidney and liver. About a year after Cavan died, I received a letter from Life Quest telling me who had received these organs and that I could write letters to them through the organization. Until just a few months ago, all I had were first names. I started writing letters and I received a few letters in return. DeWayne and I had exchanged our three required letters and a few months ago, we both decided we wanted to know the personal information on each other. We filled out the required forms and sent them to Life Quest. DeWayne and I have been talking on the phone with each other and have exchanged photos. I've sent him a lot of information about Cavan. Yesterday, I received the personal information on Michael after our three required letters and forms that went through Life Quest. We had a nice chat on the phone and he sent me his photo through email. DeWayne doesn't own a computer so we are still corresponding via the USPS mail and phone calls. Neither of these men would be alive today if it hadn't have been for Cavan's donated organs. I am now an organ donor myself. I encourage everyone to become an organ donor. I will be meeting Michael and DeWayne for the first time when we go to Florida in January. Can't wait!!

All I ever really needed to know I learned in Kindergarten

I found this in an envelope while I was packing boxes. I thought I'd share it with you.

Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work some every day.

Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup - they all die. So do we.

And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK . Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation, ecology and politics and sane living.

Think of what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and clean up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

Anniverary dates are hard sometimes

Today is the 4th anniversary of Cavan's death. On Nov. 6th, 2005, Cavan went with his friend Dale to a motorcycle racing track in Jennings, FL for practice day. Cavan called me the night before and told me he had finally built a motorcycle from scratch and that he was going to race it the next day. Bob and I received a phone call from Shands Hospital in Gainesville, FL at about 2 p.m. that Sunday afternoon that Cavan had been in an accident and he had a grave brain injury. Bob and I threw some things in an overnight bag and drove three hours to Gainesville. We prayed all the way there that he would be alright. We met all of Lauren's family and several of her friends there. Cavan & Lauren were married four months prior. We all waited throughout the night for anyone to come tell us that Cavan was OK. Bob and I tried to sleep in the waiting room chairs -- with the light on. The next day, November 7th, we were all called into a large conference room where several doctors told us that they had done many tests and that Cavan was no longer living. We all were devastated to say the least. I went back into the hospital room where Cavan was lying and told him "good-bye". This was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

Since no one actually saw the accident happen, the racers at the track can only guess. Cavan's friend Dale said that he and Cavan were trying to get around a pack of racers on the track and that Dale got around them, but when he looked back, Cavan wasn't there. Dale searched on his own for Cavan, then he contacted an official. The race that was going on at the time had been stopped and everyone looked for Cavan. He was found "deep in the woods" that surround the track. They think that the brakes on Cavan's motorcycle had failed and that he went off the track at a curve. That curve now has an air net on it.

This photo was taken in Monterey, CA where Cavan was living for a year when he went to graduate school. He built this bicycle that he is sitting on.

$1,000 for TWO Cats!

Bob and I think $1,000 for deposit and fees for two cats is a bit much. We received the letter from The Mondrian and this is what it will cost to move Buster & Rowdy with us next Thursday. I can see maybe paying a $500 deposit and $500 in fees for DOGS. Dogs are much more destructive than cats. My kitties have never chewed up a baseboard or clawed any walls or doors. They don't even have any front claws. They might hack up a hair ball now and then, but that is easily cleaned up with some soap and water and a cloth. One time Bob closed the door to the guest bathroom where we keep their litter box and one of them pooped on our bathmat in the master bathroom. Why the cat chose to do it there is anyone's guess. But, at least it was easy to clean up! The bathmat went into the washing machine (after removing the poop!). One good thing I can say for living where we do now in the DPL building, it has stained concrete floors and all marble counter tops. We will have carpeting in our new apartment and I suppose the owners of The Mondrian want to keep their carpets looking nice -- hence the $1,000 deposit and fees. Anyone want a couple of nice cats? Just kidding! I think they are worth $1,000 and MORE!

Fall in Dallas

It is Fall in Dallas. I can tell by looking out of our 17th story apartment window onto the City Hall plaza across the street and looking at the color of the leaves on the trees. Living in downtown Dallas, we see mostly concrete. There aren't many trees in the downtown area and I don't get out of the downtown area very often since we have nearly everything we need right here. So, I don't see the beautiful colors on the trees, except those I can see from my apartment windows. And Dallas has a lot of Live Oak trees that don't change colors in the Fall. When we drove to Illinois three weeks ago, we saw a lot of the changing colors of the leaves. Just when I decided to take photos of some trees, I discovered that the battery in my camera was dead. So, all I could do at that time, was look at the beautiful trees and admire the colors. I think it is time for a car trip to where I can see more changing colors of the leaves on the trees. And this time the battery in my camera will be charged up and ready to take some photos!

Day of the Dead/All Saints Day

Today is the Day of the Dead/All Saints Day. Our church, Emanuel Lutheran Church, celebrates this day, as we have a large Hispanic congregation as part of the church. Usually we have an English service at 9:30, then the Hispanic service at noon, but today there will be a combined service at 10:30. All of the liturgy, sermon and songs will be in English & Spanish. Yesterday, some of us built altars at the church to our loved ones who have passed on. I built my altar to Cavan. I used his bicycle racing trophy, as this was the start of his racing that he so much enjoyed. He was 11 when he won 2nd place at this race in Jenks, OK. I also put up several photos of Cavan with his bicycle or his motorcycles. My sister, Cindy, has a Day of the Dead class that she teaches in ceramics. She made this statue of Cavan on his motorcycle and the vase with photos on it as examples to show her class. She sent them to me to use in my altar. I also included my recipe book that I made for my boys in 1999 and it is turned to the page for the recipe for Manicotti. This was Cavan's favorite food. I am taking Manicotti for our potluck dinner after the church service today. I also wrote a page and included some photos, telling about Cavan and how he started racing motorcycles. And I wrote about how Cavan was an organ donor and about DeWayne, the recipient of Cavan's left kidney and liver. DeWayne would not be here today without Cavan's special gift. Cavan's family and friends miss him very much, but a part of him is still alive.

Buster & Rowdy

My cats, Buster & Rowdy, miss me. Their routine has been upset since we spent a week in Illinois and I've been working a temp job for the past two weeks. I haven't spent any time the past few weeks sitting in my computer chair at home, where the cats take turns sitting on my lap. And I haven't watched much TV in the evenings because I've had too many other things to get caught up on that I haven't been able to do during the daytime since I've been gone or working. Since I haven't worked in two years, Buster & Rowdy have gotten used to having me at home so they can hop on my lap every time I sit down. They take turns sitting on me, but one of them sits and stares at me and the cat on my lap until it is his turn to sit on me. They are very affectionate kitties. Whoever it was that said cats are independent, is not describing my cats. They love having me at home and they stay by my side constantly. Since we returned from Illinois, BOTH cats have been sleeping with us. And this morning when I was in the bathroom putting on my make up, Rowdy got up on the closed toilet seat, knocked the toilet paper off the dispenser (It just slides on.) and proceeded to chew the paper! I wasn't paying any attention to him and I didn't realize what he had done until AFTER I had applied all of my make up! Tonight when I get home from work, I'd better sit down on the couch and pet my kitties for awhile. I think they need some TLC.

Trip to Florida!!!

Yesterday while I was at work, I logged onto the Internet and on the AOL front page, there was an ad for some very low Southwest Airline fares. The low fares are good through tomorrow. Bob and I want to go to Florida to visit friends and family and I would like to go in January for my birthday and when it is good and cold in Dallas. I told Bob that I want to go to Tampa, Lake Placid, Jacksonville, Ft. Lauderdale, Sarasota, and Vero Beach to start. He asked me if I'd ever looked at a map of Florida!! I'm hoping that maybe some of these people will come to where I'll be staying too. I plan to make "my base" at my dad's house in Lake Placid -- in the middle of the state. I am planning to have a lunch with my Sarasota Red Hat group, the Sorority of the Red Hat Sisters and my Florida Navy Moms friends too. Bob and I bought our tickets last night and now I am ready to go! I can't wait!

Eurydice

Last night we went with some friends to a play at SMU. Don & Joyce's son, Donny, played Orpheus in the play, "Eurydice". It was definitely an interesting play. I don't know anything about Greek mythology. The program we received as we went into the theater had no synopses in it, so I didn't know what to expect. The story goes like this.

Eurydice (Εὐρυδίκη, Eurydíkē) (yur-ID-ih-see) in Greek mythology, was an oak nymph or one of the daughters of Apollo (the god of light). She was the wife of Orpheus. Orpheus loved her dearly; on their wedding day, Orpheus played songs filled with happiness as his bride danced through the meadow. One day, a satyr saw and pursued her. Eurydice stepped on a snake and fell to the ground. The venomous snake had bitten her, leaving Eurydice dead. Distraught, Orpheus played and sang so mournfully that all the nymphs and gods wept. In their saddened states, they told him to travel to the Underworld and retrieve her. Orpheus did so, and by his music softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone, his singing so sweet that even the Erinyes wept. In another version, Orpheus played his lyre to put the guardian of Hades, Cerberus, to sleep. It was then granted that Eurydice be allowed to return with him to the world of the living. But the condition was attached that he should walk in front of her and not look back until he had reached the upper world. Nevertheless, Orpheus in his passion for her, and just at the portals of Hades when they had reached daylight and climbed up all through hell together, could not help but turn around to gaze on her face. Eurydice then vanished again from his sight—this time forever.

This is what is written in Wikipedia. The play was well done and Donny did a great job as Orpheus.

Exciting Time in the Neighborhood

We had some excitement this morning in downtown Dallas and Bob and I had ringside seats! The AT&T building next door had a parking garage that they have been tearing down the past few weeks, making room for some heavy equipment. This morning we watched a helicopter as it moved the heavy equipment from the parking lot on the east side of our apartment building to the leveled lot on the south side of our building. If you would like to see more photos, you can go to my Shutterfly album -- share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8EbMmLJq3aKKJA

Allergies!

Allergies!! Even though I use Flonase spray in my nose every day and take Allegra every day, I still battle allergies at certain times of the year. I also receive an email every day from pollen.com and I try to watch for the allergens that bother me the most -- oak, for one. I try to stay indoors as much as possible and keep all the windows closed and I STILL get the scratchy throat, sneezing and runny nose. When we were traveling last week, we stopped inTulsa for one night on the way to IL and another night in Tulsa on the way back home. Tulsa is the Allergy Capital of the US! When I lived there, I was miserable most of the time with allergies. Now, even when I drive through Tulsa and stay overnight, I start sneezing and wiping my nose. AhhhhChooooo! Here I go again!

Same Kind of Different As Me

Last week when Bob and I were in the car for 12 hours, driving from Dallas to Springfield, IL, I read this book -- "Same Kind of Different As Me". Two of my friends had recommended that I read it. It was a WONDERFUL story about a black homeless man (Denver Moore), a white wealthy man (Ron Hall) and Ron Hall's wife (Deborah Hall), who live in Ft. Worth/Dallas. I won't give away any of the details about the book. Just read it for yourself! It is a very touching story about faith and loving all people for who they are on the inside. Since Bob and I live in downtown Dallas, we see a lot of homeless people. They hang out downtown during the daytime since they have no place else to go. Many of them stay on the streets at night, but some do go to shelters. I have become friends with Bradley and Darryl. They are "Zine" vendors, making their money by selling these newspapers about the homeless issues. Bradley stands on the Starbucks corner across the street from our apartment building. I bought his newspaper now and then when I was walking back and forth from the law office where I temped for 3 months. He was always very pleasant and we exchanged names and then more and more information as the time went on. I meet Bradley for tea at Starbucks every couple of weeks or lunch now and then and we each talk about what is going on in our lives. It's nice to have a friend like Bradley, who has a great sense of humor and keeps me laughing. He says I do the same for him. Darryl sells his newspapers on the corner in the opposite direction from our apartment building -- by the Urban Market & Cafe. Darryl loves to talk and tell you about the Lord. I've learned a lot by chatting with Darryl. I feel very blessed to have these two homeless friends in my life.

Remembering Uncle David

This is a photo of my Aunt Jo and Uncle David. Aunt Jo is my mom's sister and they live in Decatur, IL. My Uncle David had peripheral neuropathy for many years and he was in a wheel chair the past six years of so. He passed away last Sunday evening. Bob and I decided to drive to IL for Uncle David's memorial service that was held on Thursday. He had his body donated to science. It was a very nice service. We all will remember Uncle David and miss his quick wit and ability to make everyone laugh. He liked to play golf, go to the Cubs baseball games and travel with his family. I am so glad that Bob and I were able to drive back to be together with all of the family to remember Uncle David. It was a nice trip.

In Grandma's Button Box

I am calling this necklace In Grandma's Button Box. When my grandma Smith died, there were only two items of hers that I wanted -- her cookbook and her button box. Grandma used to keep buttons that she removed from clothing that family members no longer could wear, in this tin box. There are still pieces of material sewn onto many of the buttons. When my sister and I were little and we would stay at Grandma & Grandpa's house, Cindy and I would sew doll clothes and Grandma would let us use her buttons. I use the buttons for a lot of my craft and sewing projects. Yesterday I was going through the buttons for my Polly Got in the Paints Again necklace. I started thinking about how I could use more of the buttons on another necklace and I came up with this one. Even though they are my grandma's buttons, I will put this necklace on my Etsy website for sale -- www.neeneeandcheechee.etsy.com

Polly Got in the Paints Again

Here is a photo of my newest bead & fiber necklace. My sister bought this book called "1000 Jewelry Inspirations" and when I looked through it last January when I was at her house, I saw a necklace in the book that I decided I HAD to make myself. I bought the same book just to make this necklace. Now I have about 20 pages of jewelry bookmarked I want to try making. It has no instructions, just photos of jewelry to inspire you. This necklace was really fun to make. It is teardrops from pieces of material with buttons and beads glued onto them. In between the teardrops, there are beads, wire spirals and silver diamond shaped charms. It is on a black cord necklace with a silver lobster claw clasp. It will go on my Etsy website for sale -- www.neeneeandcheechee.etsy.com I asked Bob if he was going to dare me to wear it. He said he didn't have to dare me, as he knew I would wear it first chance I get! I can't wait!

Button, Button, Who Has the Button?

Did you ever play the game when you were a kid -- Button, Button, Who Has the Button? The kids sit in a circle and one person in the center has a button in her/his hand. Each person in the circle has their hands together to receive the button if deposited into their hand. The person in the middle goes around to each person in the circle and pretends to drop the button in someone's hand and she/he does deposit it in one person's hand. After the person in the middle has gone around to each person, everyone guesses who has the button. This is the name I gave to my newest necklace. I saw this button at JoAnn Fabric's last week and I fell in love with it, but I couldn't think of one thing to do with it, so I didn't buy it. When I got into the car and drove away, my mind was swirling with ideas on how I could use this button. I thought about it day and night for the past week. Yesterday I had the car, so I drove to JoAnn's and bought the button. As soon as I got home, I put this necklace together. I am planning to make other bead and fiber jewelry and I started another one this morning. I know this is a bit "different". I do plan to put it on my website for sale.

Fair Day!!

We finally had a day without rain in Dallas and it was Seniors Day at the TX State Fair, so Bob and I took this opportunity to go. I told Bob that it was FUN to get carded at the age of 60! We walked through quite a few of the buildings just to get cooled off. It was 88 degrees with about 200% humidity! We walked through the Food & Fiber Pavilion, although there wasn't much going on after 6 p.m. And we walked through the car show twice. We sat and watched the pig races too. The best part of going to the TX State Fair for me is to eat my yearly corn dog and ride the Ferris Wheel. And I didn't get mustard on my shirt this year!

Driving in Dallas Can Be Challenging

Driving in Dallas can sometimes be quite challenging. At times, it was challenging to drive in other places that I've lived too. Tulsa was the best place to drive, as all the streets go north, south, east or west in one mile increments. In Sarasota, you have the OLD people who don't know how to drive or where they are going. In Dallas, you get into lanes that just all of a sudden become "exits only" or as in my case, I just don't know where they end up. Today when I was running my errands, I was on Spring Valley Rd. and I wanted to go to Forest & Preston Rd. I could have just headed west on Spring Valley to Preston, then south on Preston to get to where I was headed. But no, I decided it was FASTER to go on I-75 expressway and get off on the Forest exit. Little did I know that you have to get off on the "Coit/Forest" exit and when you get off, it is one way headed north on Coit, when I read a sign that said "Forest" with an arrow pointing the way I was headed -- north on Coit! Now, this was very confusing to me. Where in the world was Forest? I ended up back on Spring Valley Rd. and took it to Preston like I should have done before I made my scenic tour of the expressway in Dallas. When I lived in Dallas from 1996 - 2001, I refused to drive on the expressways. I worked only three miles from where we lived on the "M" streets and our church, grocery stores and the major mall was within 5 miles of where we lived, so I didn't have to drive on the expressways. But, now that I'm doing the beading and I have to go to every bead store in Dallas to buy my supplies, I have to drive on the expressways or put up with a million stop lights. Oh, the challenges of driving in Dallas. But, I do love being back here and I wouldn't move anywhere else if you paid me to!

Baking Day!

I decided that today will be Baking Day. It is rainy, cold and yukky outside and a good day to stay inside and bake. I love to bake! Cookies are my favorite, probably because I love to eat them. I pick cookies over pies, cakes and ice cream any day. Especially if they have chocolate in them. YUM! When my boys were little, I always baked cookies and I had them in the house all the time. I don't bake much any more though. Bob and I certainly don't need to eat them. I'm baking today though because I'm getting ready to take food to the church for the Fellowship Hour on Sunday. We have signed up to host it this Sunday. Even when I don't host it, I usually try to take some cookies or something. When I host it, I take an egg dish, a fruit dish and several baked goodies. I'll put these cookies in the freezer and hope they make it until Sunday. I'll hold off until Saturday to make a coffee cake, fruit dish and the egg dish.

First Etsy Order!!!!!!

Making the decision to change from my personal jewelry website to Etsy is a good decision. I made this change on August 23rd. With my personal website, I couldn't get over the hump of selling my jewelry outside of my circle of friends and family. It is a good feeling that my friends and family want to wear my jewelry creations, but I want to expand my business and sell to people I don't know. As every morning, I fix my cup of tea and turn on my computer to read/write my emails, look at my Facebook account and plan my day. This morning when I read my emails, there was an order confirmation from Etsy. I had placed an order on Etsy recently for a pendant and I have several other items earmarked to buy soon. So, at first when I read my email from Etsy, I thought it was about MY order I had placed. Then, it dawned on me that someone bought something from MY Etsy website! I was so excited when I finally figured it out! This is a photo of my FIRST Etsy order outside of my circle of friends and family. On Friday, I made this bracelet that I named "Elegance" and I posted it on Etsy last night. I'll be walking in the rain today to the post office to mail off my first Etsy order. I'm sure I won't even notice the rain.

Shrinky Dink Halloween Skeleton Necklace

My friend Michelle sent me some instructions over a year ago on how to make Shrinky Dinks from the plastic container that store bought strawberries come in. I tried making a few Shrinky Dinks at the time and I even have one that I wear a lot as a necklace. Every time I wear it, I get a lot of compliments on it. I decided I needed to make more of the Shrinky Dinks and put them on jewelry to sell on my Etsy website. Today is a very cold, rainy day, so it was perfect to be inside and do some craft projects. I was talking to my sister and I told her that I had planned to make some pumpkin Shrinky Dinks to make into a necklace and earrings and she told me that I needed to make some skulls too. She has been making some lapel pins with skull beads. I then got the idea to make an entire skeleton and put him together with jump rings. This Shrinky Dink Halloween skeleton necklace will be for sale on my website -- www.neeneeandcheechee.etsy.com I will have some pumpkin Shrinky Dink jewelry also in a few days.

Best Ever Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

There are not many things that are better than homemade cookies right out of the oven. I just tried a new cookie recipe and they are YUMMY! I'm taking them for the Fellowship Hour at church tomorrow or I'll be putting on more pounds than I'm taking off with my exercising if these cookies remain at home.

Ingredients

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Total: 15 minutes

1. Position two oven racks in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.

3. Divide the dough into 24 portions, about 1 heaping tablespoon each. Roll each portion between your hands to form a smooth ball. Place the balls of dough on ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. You should get about 12 cookies per sheet. Using

a fork, press on the dough in two directions to form a crosshatch pattern.

4. Bake the cookies, rotating the sheets between oven racks and turning them back to front midway, until the cookies are puffed and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the cookies cool on the sheets. Then remove them with a metal spatula.

Makes about 24 cookies

Pearls Are a Girl's Best Friend

Yesterday I made a pearl charm bracelet. This looks much easier than it was and that was because I decided I needed some beaded beads on it. I blogged on July 7th about making beaded beads. Well, making PEARL beaded beads were not the same as making the other beaded beads and making the pearl ones were NOT easy! I had to buy special "needles" for the project, as my beading needle I already had did not fit through the tiny holes in the pearls. These "needles" came in a package of 12 and I didn't know why there were so many. Usually when you buy needles in a package, they are in different sizes if there is more than one needle. Well, I soon found out that after you draw the Fireline (which is basically fishing wire) through the pearl on the special "needle", the eye collapses somewhat. And the Fireline wire didn't stay in the "needle" even though the eye had collapsed. Needless to say, I went through many "needles" just to make 3 of the beaded beads. The other two beaded beads are for another project. I put the word "needles" in quotes because these special "needles" are some kind of stiff fiber and not the usual metal. And they are very long. I had to cut them down about half in size to be able to use them. This bracelet will be for sale on my website -- www.neeneeandcheechee.etsy.com

Lizards Everywhere!

Today when I was having lunch with my friend Rise who works at Lincoln Plaza, she reminded me of a funny story that I thought I'd write about in my blog. When we lived in Sarasota, there were lizards (geckos) EVERYWHERE! When you walked out the door, they would scurry around left and right into the grass and bushes. They climbed on the house and the windowsills and Buster & Rowdy always tried to catch them -- even when the lizards were outside. If the lizards got into the house, which they often did, the cats sat and waited until they came out from under the dining room hutch, couch or wherever. Sometimes the cats would catch the lizards. If they did, the lizards didn't last very long. Usually the cats would eat them. Sometimes they would eat only half of the lizard and then leave the other half for me to find. One day I came home from work and Buster met me at the garage door and he started meowing at me. I didn't pay any attention to him or follow him and he kept it up until I followed him into the living room. There in the middle of the floor was half a lizard! Just for me! I said, "Nice kitty" and patted him on the head and promptly removed the lizard to outside. Another time on my first day of work at Westfield mall, I was in the conference room for a meeting right after I arrived at work, and I felt something in my shoe. I removed the shoe and tipped it over. Out fell a dead LIZARD!! I'm sure one of the cats left it for me as a present. Nothing says LOVE like a LIZARD in the shoe!!

The BEST Hubby in the Whole World!!

I thought these two photos and many others had been lost when my computer crashed in May. I asked my sister and several friends if they happened to have saved some of the pictures I was looking for, but none of them had the photos. Bob bought me a new computer for Christmas 2007, but he kept my old hard drive. He said he thought he could retrieve whatever I had on my old hard drive and maybe some of the photos I was looking for were there. Bob tried copying the old hard drive to a CD, but the CD would not work in my computer or on his. He then put my old hard drive into his computer and copied all the files onto his hard drive. Then, he took an external hard drive and copied all of my old files onto it, then onto my new computer. Voila!! I now have all of my photos and documents that I thought I had lost forever!! Bob is THE BEST HUBBY IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!

The Smell of Charbroiled BEEF

Do certain smells take you back to your childhood or an earlier time in you life? They do for me. Every time I walk by the Urban Cafe across the street from our Dallas apartment, I smell charbroiled beef. Ummm! This smell takes me back to my days of living on Barry Street in the Newtown area of Chicago. My first husband and I would walk down Broadway and the smell of charbroiled beef would waft up my nose. Oh, it smelled so good! We would go into a restaurant there and I'd order and eat a hamburger. One of the restaurants served what was called "The Mother Load". As most of you might know, I don't eat any beef now. Not for any health reasons. It's just because I don't like the taste of it. I used to eat it many years ago though. In the 1970's we even had a freezer with a side of beef in it. My parents did this, so I guess that's why I did it too. I do love the SMELL of that charbroiled BEEF! Whenever I smell it and say something to Bob about loving the smell, he says to me, "You know, this is DEAD COW you are smelling?" OK. Yes, I know I'm smelling BEEF, but as long as I don't have to eat it!

Texas State Fair

The Texas State Fair started on Friday. We can see The Texas Star Ferris Wheel on the fairgrounds from our apartment and it is four miles away! The Texas Star Ferris Wheel is 212' and the tallest Ferris Wheel in North America. I LOVE riding on the Ferris Wheel -- especially on this one! This is on my Top Ten Most Favorite Things To Do List. I love going to the fair at night so I can ride the Ferris Wheel and see all of the lights below. Bob and I are planning to go to the fair on Thursday night so I can eat my yearly corn dog and ride The Texas Star. Thursday is Senior Day and we will get into the fair for FREE! I can't wait!

Dallas Market Bead Show

I just returned home from a small bead show that was in Richardson -- about a 20 minute drive north of downtown Dallas. Here is a pic of my new purchases. I have something in mind for the dragon pendant, but not for the other items I bought. My sister went to a bead show in Milwaukee, WI last Spring and she purchased some Tibetan beads for me that I wanted and I'm going to put them with the dragon pendant. Watch for my other new items as I make them and add them to my new Etsy store at www.neeneeandcheechee.etsy.com. Now, it's off to beading!

Cooking vs Beading

I have a wonderful cookbook collection that I started around 1970. I do love to cook, but lately I haven't found much time for it since I've been beading. Also, I have a hard time finding much to cook that both Bob and I like to eat. We eat at the opposite ends of the spectrum. He likes a lot of meat and I like little meat. He doesn't like any fruit which limits a lot of things I want to try. And he won't eat any veggies raw or cold. So, he isn't much fun to cook for. Also, we are trying not to eat items with fat, salt, etc. And we do a lot of eating out too since Dallas has the best restaurants ever! Therefore, I spend little time cooking any more. Yesterday I had lunch with a friend at Bread Winners and I had an open-faced chicken, artichoke & spinach melt on sun-dried tomato and basil bread. It was extremely filling and by the time dinnertime came, I didn't want to eat, much less cook anything. I asked Bob if he wanted me to cook him a burger or pork chop and he said he'd take care of it himself. He ate some leftover chicken tortilla soup for his dinner. I continued on a beading project. Later in the evening, I was looking at a new bead and wire book I had just purchased earlier in the day. I said, "I think I'll make this." Bob asked me what I was going to make and I showed him the photo of a necklace from my new book. He said, "I was hoping you were looking at a cookbook!" I think I'd better open up one of my cookbooks and pick out something wonderful to make for dinner tonight and spend less time with the beads today.

A Scenic Drive

Today I took a scenic drive around Dallas. It certainly wasn't intended. I had lots of errands to run and I was trying to hurry and get them finished before I met my friend Pat for lunch at Bread Winners. I went to a bead shop and I forgot that this particular place didn't open until 11 a.m. and it was 10:15. So, I decided I'd go up to Michael's and Borders, then after lunch I'd go back to the bead shop. Whenever I have a choice to make as to turning right or left, I ALWAYS pick right! I have no idea why, but I just do. Bob teases me about this. When I come out of a store at the mall or coming out of a restaurant, no matter which way I SHOULD go, I immediately turn RIGHT! Well, I was driving away from the bead store where I've been many times, but I guess I wasn't paying attention and I came to a fork in the road and which way did I go? You guessed it -- RIGHT! I didn't realize that I wasn't on the right road to where I wanted to go until I was way past anything I recognized. I ended up going around White Rock Lake and down some roads where I'd never been before. I think I might have been in Garland. Well, maybe I've been on these roads before, but I don't remember when it was. Maybe back in 1996 when we lived in Dallas the first time. Anyway, just at the point where I was going to turn around and retrace my steps back to the bead store, I saw a sign that said "Mockingbird Rd." I DID know Mockingbird Rd. I got onto it, but then I didn't know if I was headed east or west!! I've never been any good at directions. My friend Cathy can tell you this. One time I was standing on the square in Springfield, IL, with my friend Cathy and I had no idea where I was!! She bought me a compass charm for my charm bracelet shortly after that! Well, I just kept driving and FINALLY I got to the corner of Abrams and Mockingbird Rd. This was a corner I knew, so I knew where I was. I certainly took the LONG WAY to Michael's. Next week when I have the car, I think I will print out some maps from Google AND the reverse directions too, so I can get to where I'm going and get back home!

Since I'm bragging. . .

Now I need to brag about my son Corbin! Here is a photo taken on my granddaughter, Carson's 5th birthday in Tulsa, OK, where Corbin and his family live. Corbin graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in petroleum engineering in May 1999. He works at Petrohawk in Tulsa. He and Christy got married 10 years ago and they just renewed their vows in Las Vegas to celebrate their 10th anniversary. They have three children, my darling grandkids -- Caty, who will be 8 in a couple of weeks, Carson who was 5 in July and Christian who is 17 mos. Christy taught school for a year, but now she is a stay-at-home mother. They are very active in their church and with their friends. Corbin & Christy have done a wonderful job raising their children and I'm very proud of them!