Decorating Dilemma

Our tree has been decorated. But it must have felt like this was too much because it fell over again, showering the room with purple and silver bulbs. Surprisingly only two broke, probably because it was caught in mid fall. I can't wait for Christmas! And we don't have to worry about the tree falling over again because we all exclaimed as we walk out of sight " Don't worry about the tree, its tied to the piano!"

Christmas Tree

We got our tree today! It is fabulous...ok, not really.
Its an odd little thing. It didn't stand strait in the stand 'cause a branch was pushing against the bass. It lasted several hours before falling over. We fix that. There is a chunk missing from the back, it can't be seen in the picture. We put it against the wall so nobody can see it. But the worst thing about it is its smell. It smells like cat pee. You walk in the room and you think for just a second that you smell pine, and then that's gone and you think 'what is that smell?' Its hard to tell. Dad actually febrezed it with the lovely sent of fresh evergreen & snow. It didn't help. We should get little pine air fresheners to hang on it. I have gotten use to it and can't smell it anymore. We are going to decorate it tomorrow, mom read somewhere that you have to let your tree settle for a day before you mess with it. Your Christmas will be happier if your tree is unstressed and comfortable.

Very Cold

It is very cold at our house. Cold enough for our dog and cat to snuggle together to get warm. It did warm up today a bit, it rained. I really don't like winter. My wheels fill with snow and then my hands get wet, you should see me on ice. When I get inside I spend half my life drying my wheels and picking the snow from between my spokes. I should get inside wheels and outside wheels. Anyway, mom is making pancakes and the whole house smells wonderful, I must go eat.

Three of Everything and Three Too Many

At work we are working up a new pattern, a coastal theme. I help design it (I did the shells) , now we have to bring it up to inventory. But this week I have to paint three of everything, for shows, picture and other things. However, I didn't realize how much there actually is. The picture (left or above) isn't even half of anything. I keep painting and painting then I look on my list, that I now have of everything, and find that I still have so much more to paint. We are talking, like, a hundred some pieces. My fingers cramp up. Not only do I have to paint everything in blue, it also comes in green. Oh, and did I mention that it all has to be done by Monday.


I love my job.

The Cat Has Skills

My mother's cat, Newman ( named after Paul Newman), has this interesting skill. It was captured in a series of pix that my mother took (go mom).

He spots a squirrel on the bird feeder...Prepares for attack...Jumps...Squirrel make a run for it...But he is not fast enough...The squirrel has been captured... Carried...

And like a good little kitty brought right to the front door. Still completely alive!

( that doesn't last long)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Yes, it looks good but it tasted even better! The food wasn't even all on the table when this picture was taken. We have enough turkey left to last us the rest of the year. Anyhow, after we ate dad hit the couch like always. *sigh of contentedness*

Mischievous Deed

I found this video and thought that I would share 'cause its hilarious. This is what I did after I past my drivers test. The video is dark but if you listen to it I'll explain. Well we went to Catt county's got talent and then to McDonald's for food. We got talking and ended up with the question ' can you get Burger King crowns at the drive through?' Yes you can. The crowns come in sets of two and there were three of us, so the very nice lady at the window gave us two sets. We had an extra crown. We went back to McDonald's and sat in the parking lot and tried to think of what to do with the extra crown. We contemplated about placing it right outside the door of McDonald's but my friend works there and she didn't want to be fired. We then drove to Subway ( none of us work there, and it was closed anyway). The video is of us jumping out of the car, running, and putting the crown in front of Subway's door. I drove the getaway car. We felt so mischievous.

Next Step

This is my painting. I just put the stems in yesterday. I have to put the flowers in and do some shadowing, trust me its harder than it sounds. So far I like it, its different than the other ones that I've done. I am doing this set of paintings for a lady who had an empty wall. My dead line was last summer, not that I'm a slow worker or anything, its just that I don't work. Well I shouldn't say don't work, I work all the time. That is my problem, I have too many things going on at one time. And pleasure painting gets put to the back of the burner. Work (paying work) was slow this week so I had some time to kill.


P.S. My Birthday is on Sunday!!

Working On...

Other than the power being out most of this morning 'cause of snow,not too much is happening right now. So here are some pics of some of the things that I am working on (in the art department).This one is a tattoo that a friend asked me to help him with, I think that it's cool. He gave me his sketch and asked me to add some artisticness. That is what I came up with. I'm Hoping he likes it.
This one is hard to tell what it is, but it is the background of the fourth paint in a set of four. I finely found my style( it just took me three other paintings to do so), a lot of brush dabbing, over dramatic hand gestures, and several random outbursts of "Ahh Ha" and "Its Perfect". It seems to work for me. There is going to be a large Queen Ann's Lace over top of this mass of green. I'll post more pic of it later.

Here To Stay

This is not going to go away! It is supposed to stay cold and continue snowing for a rather long time. This snow came in pretty much one night, and it has snowed all day. Samantha measured it this morning as 19 inches, I'm sure its more now.
Snow, snow go away, don't come back another day....

It won't.....it hates me!

Hello There...

Me and my mother are planing a road rally for our home school group. A treacherous 60 some miles of back road country, over the hills and through the woods. We are going to have questions about the route, fill in the blank, pictures of thing that they have to find, and tasks that must be completed before you are allowed to finish. It will be fun. Anyway we were out driving the route the other day ( I can't tell you where we were driving because that would give it all away.) and we were almost at the top when we notice that there was a cow in the middle of the road. It was a small road and a large cow so we couldn't go around her, we had to stop. She seemed perfectly happy to be in the road and wasn't in any hurry to move. There were two very very large horses that were taller than our van ( no joke) watching her closely from the inside of the fence. I sure that she ( the cow) was rubbing it in their faces...I'm out and your not...sucks to be you....

I beeped the horn at her, she gave a little jump and move to the side of the road. We had plenty of room to get past but we remained in park. We both had our phones out taking pictures... not like we've never seen a cow before. After we didn't move she went back in the middle of the road. LOL!!

Halloween

We, here at my house don't do Halloween but every year we go to a friends house for a cookout. We sit around and help pass out their candy. Most years we watch an old scary movie like: The Fly, Teenagers From Outer Space, everything that is plan stupid just so we can have a good laugh. However, we didn't do that this year so it wasn't quiet as entertaining. The way we dress up is we pick things that you don't have to dress up to be. Things like the visible women, a pedestrian, the commoner, an Innocent bystander, retired brain surgeon, and this year I was a parapalegic. I never personally saw the man dressed as a woopie cushion, but I think he won the best costume. I'm beginning to think that Halloween is a stupid holiday. What is the point? Candy...yes, but you have no idea where that candy has been. And you would never be caught dead dressed like whatever crazy thing you are any other day of the year. Its just silly.

It's Here!

I knew that it was only a matter of time before the snow got here, and this morning the fluffy white blanket decided to grace us with its presence. It is rather beautiful don't you think?
I don't hate snow at all, it's just the wet and the cold that I dislike. So if winter was warm and dry but still kept the snow, it would be my favorite season. But seeing as it is not I will probably whine about it more in the near future.
We have our bird feeders all filled now and this afternoon I saw a Carolina wren! Hopefully she will come back, we usually only see her once or twice.

The Last of The Leaves

Most of the leaves here are on the ground, everything looks on the gray side now. They raked the other day and with the few leaves that recently fell the yard has a poke-a-dot look. It snowed again this morning, nothings sticking yet but it will. All too soon.

Nine lives

My cat fell down the stairs this morning. He's not a stupid cat ( as some people would think) he's just old. But we have no idea how he managed it. I was just out getting out of bed and I heard the loudest most horrible cat screech ever, several thumps, and then a rain of cries for the bottom of the stairs. Everybody rushed out of their rooms to see what had happened. Dad yelled up the steps " The cat fell down the stairs" Spencer added " He's dieing". Slightly panic stricken I got to my cat as fast as I could. Mom was already leaning over him stroking he gently, he seemed fine. Spencer said when he hit the ground he put both paws over his head laid there and yelled " I'm dieing" in cat lingo. Well he was fine just a little shocked, he laid there for awhile and then got up and found a quite place to lay down. We are now wondering what life he is on, he's been shot, fallen down the stairs, so that and all the other things he gotten into I'd say maybe on life six or seven.

Passed

I passed my road test today. I'm free....well maybe not entirely, I don't have a car. But I can go places without my mother. I can actually do things all by myself, I'm a big kid now ( OK that is just silly, sorry) Power to me, I'm loving it.

Pumpkinville

We went to Pumpkinville on Sunday for no other reason than getting out of the house. It is good because with work, school, and other things, I can go days without leaving the house. Sad, I know. Anyway, Pumpkinville is made for little children so there is really nothing there. They have pumpkins, which it why it is called pumpkinville. Their little hunted house is a shed and as you can see Mom and Spencer are terrified. They have a hay ride ( with no hay), pony ride, petting zoo, and food. Their apple cyder it amazing. There is also a corn maze, which we did, lame compared to the last one we were in. We got little pumpkins for finishing. We didn't get pumpkins there though, we have friends that sell them and we are going to get them from them. Hopefully very soon before they all die, it getting really cold.
It snowed here this morning for the first time. Can't say I'm thrilled but bring it on baby...bring it on! My fuzzy socks are ready.

Field Trip

Yesterday we want on a field trip to a corn field. Interesting. This however was not an ordinary corn field it was a corn maze, which is much cooler. We also went to see the wind towers. The towers are much bigger up close than the look, something like 300 feet tall. And even though it doesn't look like it, at the tip of the blades they are rotating at 130 miles an hour. In about a year the towers record for killing birds is only 1.5 birds, everybody wanted to know how you can kill half a bird. After we were done at the wind towers we started our two hour drive to the corn maze. We have been to the maze several time before and had a lot of fun so I was really excited about it. The mazes are cut in the corn so that they have a picture it them, we went to the planets and the cow boy in the past years and this years was fitness. There was a runner, swimmer, biker, a bar bell, and a heart beat. After you enter the maze you look for mail boxes along the path. Each box has a piece on the maze in it, twelve in all and you try to complete the maze so you can find your way out through the heart beat. They have a tower somewhere in the middle if you need help, we had to ask once because we couldn't find pieces two and five, it didn't really help. At one point the guy told us to walk down the path and then keep the corn on our left, there was always corn on our left. We had some problems frustration, our team really didn't work that well together. Part of the problem was that the team was to big, we started with six and ended with seven. One of our teammates walk off because she was mad but she didn't have the map so she came back. Our team was called the "Mighty Inchworms" and we live up to it. We were in the maze for about an hour and a half, we walk several miles, and we did have fun.

A Gentle Reminder

This is obviously a reminder to mom to paint the wall. She spent half the day walking around the house with a can of paint touching things up; meaning don't touch anything.

Squirrel Hunting

( Before reading you should know that there are pictures of dead animals in this post)

Last night we had a cook out in our backyard, hamburgers, cake, and maybe a little to much smoke. After we ate and we were just sitting around the fire Spencer said that he wanted to go kill some squirrels up on our hill. He didn't want to go be himself so he said he would take Samantha with him. He goes in to get the gun and Samantha was getting the orange hats ( safety first). They come out and set off up the hill. Samantha had grabbed some walkie-talkies so they could stay in touch with us back at the fire. All is well. After a while we hear a shot, we try the walkie...nothing. Several minutes later we hear another shot, we again try the walkie....nothing. Shortly after the second shot comes a third, again nothing. It then occurred to me that maybe Samantha had forgotten to set the walkies to the same channel before they left. I began scanning the channels.

"Hello...Hello."

I didn't get anything for awhile but as I repeated my hellos and channel four there they were. "Hello", it was Spencer.

"Hello, did you get anything?"

"Yes"

"What?"

"Two gray squirrels."

"I heard three shots" Nobody answered. So I tried another hello.

" I got two more." Spencer again.

" What?"

"I got two more squirrels." He was up to four.

"But I only heard three shots."

"What?" He was coming through really fuzzy.

"I only heard three shots." I spoke louder.

" I...here...squirr..." It was too fuzzy to make out.

"What? Your really fuzzy I can't hear you."

"....talk...you when...get down...we're coming...wn." I got the point. A few seconds later He said

"I love you" That was a little odd coming from Spencer but ok.

We waited, they had gone up to the pine patch so it wouldn't take long to get down. And we waited and waited and they hadn't come down yet. I thought that maybe they took the long way down so it would take longer, so we continued waiting. Finally they come out of the woods and joined us at the fire.

"Where are the squirrels?" Samantha holds up one of the orange hats.

"There aren't four gray squirrels in there." Both Spencer and Samantha look puzzled.

We got a little red squirrel, we tried to call you but you didn't answer."

"We called you and you weren't on the channel so I switched to channel four and you were there. I was talking to you."

"No you weren't."

Apparently they were still on channel five trying to get a hold of us, I wasn't talking to Spencer at all it was someone else, and they only got one red squirrel. So some strange man loves me and is eating my squirrel. Who would have know.

( This was Spencer first squirrel )

Fall

The leaves are perfect here this weekend. Yesterday we went to holiday valley to ride the chair lift up the ski hill for E-Valle's fall fest, it was a lot of fun. I rode up with Spencer and Ethan, and Mom, Samantha and Bobby rode together on a lift. On the way up under the lift poles there were signs; one said " Will " the second "you" and by the time we got to the top they had written " Will you marry me Gina? ". Gina said yes.

Me and Spencer took votes from the people that past us as we went down as to whether or not we should throw Ethan out. Most people said "yes" but a old lady said "no". We however decided not to throw him out, agreeing that we would miss him. After we rode to the top and back down we went to a soccer party. We never hang around the fall fest very long, there is way to much drinking. I talk to my friend Brian later that night ( he works at holiday valley) and he spent most of the day guarding the gulf carts, said when you mix beer and gulf carts it adds up to people stealing the gulf carts and taking them to town. So we left right after our lift ride.

Our soccer party was fun too. There was so much food, that is one thing good about homeschoolers they all know how to cook. I felt a little fatter afterwards.

What $5 Can Get You

Samantha displaying the lovely ninja/ fencing outfit. Think of all the wonderful thing we can do with this. Oh, the humiliations.

When Bees Get In

On the outside of our house between the launder room and the hill, we have bees. Bumble bees. We tried to kill them a while ago by emptying a can of bee spray into their hole and then placing a bowl over them. It seemed to work until we took off the bowl, they came back. And now they are tunneling, in the hill, in the house. But our can of bee spray is gone and you would need a dome to cover them. Well, they are coming in through the basement or at least one did. We didn't spray it or smash it with our feet but it didn't live long.

Look What I Can Do

I am having way too much fun with this photo skill.
( my mother showed me how to do this, yeah mom)

Pumpkin Butt

There was a question as to whether or not I should post this for being obscene. Butt think of it this way, it is rather creative....right? Anyway, it made us laugh .

Blood, Sweat,and Tears

The game against the Brazilians/New life is over. There were only four of the Brazilians playing, the fifth was on crutches ( didn't happen during our game) . The first half was well played, Spencer scored on a pk and it was two to one at the end of the half. However, they were just messing with us. In their earlier games they beat Portville 12 zip, our team can't come close to beating Portville. And another team forfeited at half time and refused to finish the game. They learn from their mistake and slowed way down so that we would finish the game. They came back the second half full tilt. And wow ( to say the least), I haven't seen soccer played that well..like..ever. They were really good.
But there should be a rule that you have to speak English when playing soccer against English speaking people. The one guy needed a translator. Georgie ( in the picture with Spencer) could really only say "no". It was kinda fun to watch his other teammates try to talk to him.

"No"
Georgie lifted his foot on a throw in.

" No....foot.....jump..no" his teammate said while make elaborate hand movements.

They did have a bit of a problem with pushing and off sides. But other than that they were very nice. But when you have some first year players against sweet Brazilians you get tears and blood. I don't think that the coach was helping at all.
I like Mr. Ward and I think its great that he is coaching, but he likes to yell....Loudly. And he has this thing with marking your man, that I think is silly. He assigns you a man to mark at all times, I think you should play your positions and mark who you have to. I feel so bad for Pat. It is his first year playing and he tries so hard to do it right. He has a bit of a mental problem and he can only see in twoD. Considering that he plays really well but he gets discourage quickly and having coach yelling at him is making it harder. Spencer got pulled from the game by coach because he was marking the wrong man; silly. But Mr. ward has really improved the team this year. Anywho, the one Brazilian did a successful bicycle kick, never seen that before. All in all the team played it hardest and we only lost 9 to 1.