At Dean's

I'm having a very good time.

Yesterday we drove to Crawford. We spent about 20 minutes at the Peace House and then headed for Camp Casey. It's pretty much the way you see it on the blogs. A lot of tents along the side of the road, signs and those crosses. The Repubs are camped out across the street. Nobody was doing any yelling and the peaceniks and the hawks all parked alongside each other.

We got to Casey 2 at around 1:30. They had just finished lunch. They called for volunteers to go work in the kitchen so we went over there. The big tent was mostly empty, maybe 40 people there. We jumped in and got to work cleaning steam trays and utensils and putting food away. The woman who was handling the kitchen had to leave and she put Dean in charge. We started making stuff for dinner. We made 2 HUGE salads and some bean dip/burrito filling, which turned out pretty fabulous considering our primitive conditions. Actually, conditions were not that primitive. They had 2 big commercial stoves and 2 warming ovens, a big ice truck and a refrigerator trailer. All that, along with the HUGE tent and all the tables and chairs were rented using the money that was donated to the Peace House.

We were told that pizzas were going to be ordered for dinner to have with the salads and burritos, but they FORGOT to order them. People started coming in from Casey 1 and there were no pizzas. We put out the bean dip and chips and tortillas to get them started. Someone ordered the pizzas. Everybody was pretty hungry so they were very glad to have the beans.

After a little while Cindy appeared. She kind of breezed by our table but didn't stop to talk. She's a busy woman. We hung out for a while longer and then turned the kitchen duties over to someone else and left. We didn't wait for the pizza or the awesome looking, huge chocolate cake that was being saved for dessert. It was 7:30 and we had a long drive home.

Today they're packing up. All the non-perishable leftover food is being sent to New Orleans. This evening Cindy is coming to Austin for a big rally. Dean and I are going to the movies and then the rally. We even painted signs this morning! Dean has a peace symbol and mine says NOT ONE MORE on one side and BRING THEM HOME on the other. Look for us on the news.

No, you won't see us on the news unless it floods here and we have to be picked off a rooftop. That's our other major activity; watching the news. I feel like a big wimp being nervous about flying close to a hurricane. We barely felt a bump.

More to come...

Wish me luck

'cause I'm flying into a hurricane.

Well, close anyway. I have to change planes in Houston which, on the weather map, looks like it's about 5 miles from the bleeping EYE WALL. They're cancelling flights into Louisiana and Mississippi but not Texas. I'm going to trust that those pilots know what they're doing. Remember when Dad and I flew into Denver? We had to abort the landing because SOMEONE wasn't paying attention and we got too close to the plane in front of us. I'm thinking these guys will be verrry alert because I'll bet it's going to be bumpy.

So, have a great week, everybody!

I'm going to Texas

But don't tell anybody. Well, you can talk amongst yourselves but don't tell Dad and don't tell the relatives. I'm not planning to visit them. I'm going to Austin.

Since I decided to relax about dealing with Dad and letting go of my deadline I figured there's no reason for me not to go. I'm going to spend a week with Dean. I'm also going to do something a little crazy. I'm going to Crawford. Am I a radical extremist, or what?

Dean's already been. She spent a day there cleaning and organizing the kitchen at the Peace House and she visited Camp Casey. She peeled potatoes. She and her sister are going back this Saturday. That's when the big event is. The Astroturf Caravan is pulling into town to "neutralize" Cindy. Hmmm, I doubt it.

She and I are going there on Tuesday. I'm excited about seeing this little piece of history in the making. I'm thinking things will probably be calmed down after the big weekend. Cindy is leaving the next day. We'll lend a hand wherever we can.

But the main reason for this trip is to have fun visiting my best bud. I don't want to take any time to visit relatives. I saw them just a few months ago when I went with Dad. I'm pretty sure they'd be miffed about me not visiting and I know they'd be majorly snarled about my lending my support to the enemy (Y'know, those Americans who are exercising their rights. The ones who are shoving Bush's big fat failure right back in his face. Those people). Just today I got an e-mail from my cousin about Jane (How Many Times Do I Have To Apologize?) Fonda. Boy, my relatives sure don't know me!

Jim is going to be handling the Dad stuff while I'm gone. Thank you, Jim! When it comes to taking care of Dad, he does more than his fair share. He does his best to keep me from getting too stressed.

I'm not sure if taking this trip is exactly the right thing to do. Part of me feels I should stay home and charge on. But I also think if I don't do this now I might not be able to get away for a long time. Anyway, the ticket is bought. I'm going.

Ok, let's try this

Walking up Mt. Rubidoux is good for thinking, too.

I'm giving up the schedule. I'll keep plugging away and work towards getting the workshops going but I'm not going to get stressed over when they'll start. The first workshop might not be about Halloween. I'll just have to do that one next year.

Jim is going to work on getting finished with the appraisal class as soon as possible. We have a contact in the biz and it's possible he could start working before he gets his license. Then we'd have some money coming in. It's better than nothing.

I might get a Christmas job. I should be able to handle doing that and take care of Dad. I can still work on Rancho Curioso when I get the time. After Christmas we'll reassess the situation.

So, I'll keep doing what I'm doing and not get all stressed about Dad's interruptions. If it takes longer, so be it. We'll just need to find a way to make some money, even if it's not a lot.

Ok then.

Gotta walk off this tension

Every day, sometimes several times a day, Jim and I have to stop what we're doing and deal with Dad. Usually he just stops by for no good reason. He just wants to "shoot the bull" which in English means WASTE EVERYBODY'S TIME. Some days it's no big deal (other than making my chest tight) but right now we have a lot that we're trying to accomplish and it's hard to keep a momentum going if Dad shows up 3 or 4 times a day.

Today he called up and said he's feeling guilty for not visiting Grace and since Corny and Grace took such an interest in me because of my painting I should go with him and visit her. He was laying it on pretty thick. For one thing, Corny and Grace never took a special interest in me. Not really. Also, I don't agree with their politics so spending any time in a room with Grace and Dad would be excruciating. I think Dad wants me to go because he knows he can't carry on a normal conversation and he needs my help.

I told him I would go but really, if he wants to visit his friends he should just do that and not drag me into it. I told him I don't want to be there for longer than an hour. He called Grace to find out when would be a good time and they had a good long conversation over the phone. I told him maybe we'd go next week sometime. I'm hoping he'll forget about it by then.

I know this sounds pissy but I feel like we already give a large portion of our day just dealing with his basic needs and his interruptions. Dean offered to pay for me to fly to Texas for a visit and I turned her down because I'm trying to get my workshops going and I need to try stick to my schedule, which is already way off. The day is coming where more of my time will be taken up taking care of Dad so I really want to use the time I have now to get things off the ground.

Ugh! So, I'm pretty tense right now. Jim and I are going to Mt. Rubidoux.

But really, right now I want to go someplace and scream.

Unsticking the stuckness

I think this is going to be something I'll have to do from time to time as a sort of life maintenence. This is a new thing for me. I'll be energized, motivated and inspired for a while then it starts to wane and I start feeling like I'm spinning my wheels. Then I'll start to worry about my ability to achieve my goals. Doubts start creeping in big time.

And then I'll roll up my mental sleeves and get to work. Tonight was another one of those great brain blasts that I've been having in the last 2 years that keep me moving forward. I took inventory of my situation and the stuckness started to unravel. Here's my list.

Get the downstairs cleaned up.-- I need help moving the furniture out of the workshop area and into the bedroom. The chemicals in the kitchen need to be moved into the closet. Our boxes need to go into the container. Do something about the moisture damage on the bathroom wall. Repair the work table and paint the legs. Get 12 good church chairs out of the cupboard and clean them. Paint them if there's time. Clean up driveway and move that stuff out. Clean up parking area and pull the weeds. General cleaning inside.

Finish Jeff's uke case.-- Get paperboard for the lid and bottom of the case. Cover them with batting and velvet. Cover the top and bottom with the outer fabric. Cover the poster board strips for the sides of the case and lid. Jim wire up the light unit. Get buttons for the closure and figure out the strap. Get cord for the "seat belt".

Build first project, The Prop Head-- Come up with a better name than "prop head". Record the steps, cost and how long it takes to do the project.

Go see Cee Ann at Tiggywinkles-- I met Cee Ann last Halloween. Her son lives across the street from Kevin's, which is where we do our Halloween decorating. She really liked the display and she was very interested in one of the prop heads. We chatted a little and I gave her some of my paper. We talked a little about me making a prop head for her that she can use as a display in her store but it didn't get much further than that. I'd like to do a mannequin with interchangeable heads that she can use all year round. That's kind of an involved project for a later date. Anyway...

I want to go talk to her about making a head for her shop. I want to see if she'll let me leave some flyers for the workshop on her counter in exchange for the head. She's always been so helpful, maybe she'll go for it. I also want to talk to her about finding a cheap mannequin somewhere that we can turn into a year round display piece. Her resources might be better than mine.

Other areas of stuckness--
Getting serious about my diet. I'm exercising again and I'm happy about that but I really need to do the whole thing if I'm going to make any progress. I lost some weight and it felt great. I know I've gained some back and I want to get it off again as soon as possible so I can feel good again.

How am I going to achieve my goals AND be Dad's primary caregiver? That day is coming and I have to figure out how to make it work. When Jim and I have to spend too much time dealing with Dad it knocks us off track. There has to be a way to include the Dad stuff and still be able to take care of business. Today Dad came over 3 times. I know that as time goes on he'll be coming over more often.

Ok, that's enough for now. I feel this is something I can work with in the next few weeks.

Gotta keep moving forward.

Two and a half hours

That's how long we sat here with Dad explaining how to do his diabetes testing and talking in circles about what we need to do to sell his land.

He absolutely cannot do his own diabetes testing anymore. I wish we could have filmed this session because it was amazing. He couldn't understand why it's so difficult to do now when it was so easy a few weeks ago. We told him (as gently as we could) that he can expect it to be this way from now on. So starting tomorrow morning we're going to do all of his testing. I'm going to go over there every day at 8am and do his fasting test. Then I'll test him 2 hours after meals.

He wanted to get his meds from me. He had a bit of a fight about it, nothing big. I agreed to let him have one of the meds because he's incorporated it into his routine and it's going to run out soon anyway.

We need to set up a little meeting to discuss what the next step will be to sell his land. He has it in his mind that Scotty's friend, Patrick, is going to handle the whole thing. We have to get it cleared up soon and sign up with a realtor. He keeps getting cold calls and he has one woman mailing him comps. We need to get things locked in so we can get rid of all these other people. Dad thinks he's going to get a realtor to give him money up front. We went round and round trying to get him to understand that that's not the way it works. After a while we gave up.

Jim is a saint. That was an exhausting session.

Outa, outa shape

Kee-ripes! I went up Mt. Rubidoux with Jeff last night and by myself tonight. I hadn't been up there since just before we went on vacation. When we got back there was a big ol' heat wave and then I got sick after going to Mexico. It's been about a month since I've had any real exercise. Golly gosh, I sure can tell!

So, back to it!!!!!! Knock back the calories and crank up the activity. I like it better that way, anyway. Jim's shin splint is all better so he can start walking again. The weather is cooling down. No excuses. And dammit, no more injuries!

Dad's elbow

Today we went to the VA emergency room because Dad's elbow has flared up somethin' awful. He had an appointment with Dr. Griffin for Monday but the pain and swelling are too bad for him to wait. After futzing around in the ER for half an hour they sent us to Dr. Griffin. She drained a little fluid from the elbow that she sent off for testing. The swelling is mostly from inflammation, not excess fluid. She sent us home with an antibiotic (the same one he OD'd on some months back), something for inflammation and some Vicodin. I was concerned about Dad having these new meds and asked her if I should keep them at my house. She said I should have ALL of Dad's meds at my house, in fact she insisted on it. I came up with a compromise. I'll keep the new meds at my house and dole them out and monitor the meds he already has.

She pulled me out into the hall for a chat. She said she thinks he's slipping and we have to be very careful about keeping his diabetes under control and keeping him on track with his meds. She said if David wants to call her she'd be very happy to talk to him.

I thought Dad would be pissed about her and I leaving the room for a chat but he seemed fine with it. He also didn't mind me taking the new meds home. He's been very friendly and cooperative this last week. I think on some level he knows that he's slipping so he's willing to accept more help and give up some control.

He's definitely more foggy now. I have to explain things over and over. And then five minutes later I have to explain it all again. I worry about his driving. He eats all of his meals in restaurants which is probably the reason he's gained so much weight. I wonder if we're getting close to the point where he needs round the clock care. Calling him to ask if he's taken his meds just doesn't cut it.

So, ok.

Disaster week

Ok, we've had enough. Uncle.

I'm having a hard time typing this. My muscles are still a bit messed up. Two hours ago I felt like total crap but I think I've turned the corner now. Now I know what Montezuma's Revenge feels like.

Lindsay's two best buds from highschool are visiting this week. Thursday we (minus Paige) went to Mexico for the day. We had a great time drinking Margaritas and eating lobster and shopping for trinkets. Friday, Chelsey and David took off on their own to go explore Riverside while Lindsay went to see her boyfriend who just got back from England. Jim and I went to Ken's to go swimming. We got a call from Chelsey saying that her car had broken down. Jim and I left Ken's and went downtown to help Chelsey and David deal with the car. While we were doing that Chelsey started feeling ill. We thought it was because she had been in the heat for too long but now I'm thinking it was the beginning of our Mexican bug experience.

Saturday, Chelsey and David spent most of the day in bed. Sunday, Lindsay and I started feeling sick. Jim was fine. He didn't drink the Margaritas at Porto Nuevo. Wise boy. Sunday was also the day that the septic system decided to explode. This was a MAJOR inconvenience because there were 4 people in this house who seriously needed functioning toilets. Jim went to Home Depot and bought a sewer snake which took care of the problem.

This week we also had a power surge in the middle of the night which worked mischief on some of our appliances. Our washing machine seems to have lost its mind. We haven't worked on it yet because it's been really hot and I've been too sick to help Jim. Our washer and dryer are in a tight space and it takes some maneuvering to get them out. We'll probably mess with that tomorrow.

Hoo boy, I felt miserable. My arms and legs felt like sand bags. Every muscle hurt. I was clammy. And oh yeah, it's good that the bathroom is only about 7 steps away from my bed. Moan, groan, moan, groan. But I'm better now.

Dog gone

I called a bunch of rescue groups today. No one could take the dog. One person said I should take him to the pound because people usually go there to find their lost dogs. So that's what I did. I sat there for an hour while they called nine times for someone to come and take him to a kennel.

We ran an ad in the paper and put up 20 flyers in the neighborhood. He didn't get along with Gracie and Boz and they got to where they were afraid to go outside. He would attack Gracie every chance he got. We were ready to see him go. Who knows, he may get adopted. He's young and he's very sweet with people.

Lindsay's back from Davis and she brought Chelsey and David with her. They'll be here for a week. Chelsey looks awesome! She's so thin. They both seem so grown up. We first met them when they were in middle school.

We might be going to Mexico tomorrow. Ole.

Oh happy day!

Yesterday Dede and David came down to work on Dad's finances. I went over and helped Dede work on going through the big pile on front of Dad's front door. She has a clever strategy for fooling Dad into thinking his precious crap pile is still intact. She keeps certain boxes in the pile so it looks like stuff is still there. These are decoy boxes. Then he won't miss the masses of old, useless papers that have been thrown away. Yesterday I found an empty candy bag that had a note stapled to it that said, "Don't throw this away. If you find another bag like this one, staple it to this bag."

We found some good stuff, too. My grandfather's harmonica was in the pile. I took it home for safekeeping. Jim played it a little and then started hacking and coughing. He had sucked something down his throat. He said, "I wonder what that was?!!" I said, "Probably chewing tobacco." Jim pulled it out of his mouth and smelled it. Yes, it was chewing tobacco. Pa-pa used to chew. Jim was majorly grossed out. Pa-pa died about 26 years ago. That chaw has been there a long time. Jim is going to take the harmonica apart and clean it.

But for me the most fabulous find was my Black and Decker food processor. I had brought it down 14 years ago when we were getting ready for Stacey's wedding. I made salsa for everyone all week. After the wedding I could not find it. It just disappeared. I looked everywhere for it. Well, it was in a box with a bunch of crap piled on top. I know I asked Dad about it back then and he said he didn't know anything about it. Hmmm...

I loved that food processor. I even went online and tried to find another one but it had been discontinued. I searched thrift stores for one. And now I have mine back. Wheee!!!

After Dede and David were done we all went to lunch. On the way home we passed by a huge utility table by the side of the street with a FREE sign on it. Jim stayed with the table while I went home and got the truck. This thing is huge and really heavy. It'll be perfect for a workshop table. Just another little gift from the heavens.

We brought it home and put it downstairs. I checked out the scene down there. We have some of our things stored there which we plan to move to the container. Dad has been filling it up with Christmas tree oil and fertilizer and other generic crap. I have a big cleaning job ahead of me.

No calls on the dog yet. I'll call the rescue groups tomorrow.

Found a doggie

Tonight when Paige and I went to Drew's to take care of their dog there was a young, male dog hanging around outside their gate. He seemed scared and very glad to see us. We could barely get the gate open to drive through it because he wanted to stick to us like glue. I had Paige hang onto him so I could get the car through without squishing him. Paige shut the gate but he wiggled under.

He's a very sweet dog. I think he's about 6 months old. He looks like a cattle dog or a heeler, whiteish with red spots. When Paige tried putting a leash on him he freaked out. He looks healthy.

Drew and Mindy's street can be busy and I was afraid to leave him there so we took him home. Tomorrow I'll put an ad in the paper and go back to their neighborhood and put some flyers up. If nobody claims him we'll run another ad and try to find him a home.

We can't really have another dog, too expensive for us right now. But Paige is getting pretty attached. I think she'd be ok with finding him a home. It would bother her (and me) if we ended up taking him to the pound. What really bothers me is how people can be such idiots with their pets. This guy had no collar and he acted like he'd never worn one. He's not fixed. I guess we could take him to the animal shelter and have him scanned but I doubt that he has a chip.

So, here we are. Anybody want a dog?

Ok, not to get too corny and weird, but...

I just had an unusual experience.

I was sitting on the front porch playing solitaire and thinking about the whole workshop thing and all its aspects. Then I thought about something that was a little negative (I can't remember what it was) and I automatically said to my self, " No, I'm too happy to think about that." Then I thought well, it's been a while since I've thought of myself as happy. Then WHAM! this wave of happiness washed over me, building and building. I just sat there, cards in hand, feeling this feeling. After a while it peaked and I relaxed a little. I kept thinking wow, that was cool.

I looked up and thanked Mother Universe for the buzz.

But it's really true, I'm just plain happy right now. This workshop thing might not work but I'm excited about trying it. I'm not paniced about our dwindling finances anymore. I feel like gardening!

The troll under the bridge is saying, "Oh gawd, she hit menopause and now she's gone completely bonkers."

Today I zoomed around to all the thrift stores in this area looking for items relating to those catagories I carry around in my head. Say wha??? Yes, catagories in my head. My perpetual thrift store list.

Cool items, Halloween possibilities, costume stuff, furniture to paint, glassware, crap from the 50s and 60s, lamps, Hammond organs and jewelry. I have now added lamp parts, things I can stick mosaic to, and styrofoam heads to the list. It wasn't a successful hunt. Just one flower pot. But at least now I know where all the stores are on this side of town.

Anyway...

I'm just so ready to get to work. I need to;

Clean the studio
Finish Jeff's ukulele case
Clean Dad's downstairs and the parking area in front
Make a prototype prop head and take notes on the process
Look into wholesale suppliers for paint, Rigid Wrap and other supplies
Figure out how to market the workshops
Develop the workshops
And lots more

Yes, I like this much better.

From Castle Park to Ken's pool.

We played at Castle Park last night. What a joke. Jim and I went in to see the manager yesterday afternoon to find out about the logisics of setting up. John had talked to a different guy there who told us we could set up at 5:30 and then play whenever we were ready and for as long as we liked. The manager, Joe (officious prick) said no, we can't, we can only play for one hour starting at 7 or 8. He said they "allowed" the bands there to play for only an hour. We decided to play at 8 so it wouldn't be too hot and the sun would be down. The stage faces directly into the sun.

When we got there we were informed by Joe O.P. that we were going to start at 7 because that's the way he planned it and it was already set up that way. Set up? There was nothing to set up. Nobody who worked there paid any attention to us. He didn't want to turn on the stage lights. He was the nastiest little turd I've encountered in a very long time.

We dragged our stuff in about 100 feet. We could have driven all the way up to the stage but Joe O.P. didn't want to remove the pipe barriers for us. Removing the pipes would have involved lifting them out of their holes, something I did myself with no trouble at all. We set up and started playing at 7.

We had a small but appreciative crowd, most of them people we knew. Once the sun went down behind the Big Top it was more pleasant. We were sweating buckets up there. The stage was painted black and there was NO shade. We played a little past 8 and hauled out of there. I did an unprofessional thing and ended the show with a little tribute to Joe O.P. Into the microphone I said, "We want to thank Joe for doing his best to make us feel very unwelcome. Joe, you're the bottom." Then John said, "Let's give Joe a cheer!" We Bronxed out a big one.

Afterward we all went to Ken and Sherri's. After unloading we all jumped into the pool, beers in hand. Jim and I had stopped by our house to grab beers and tequila. We were neck deep in the pool doing shots. Amber and her friends had left so it was us, Ken and Sherri, John and Paul. We spent the next several hours drifting around the pool, drinking and having delightful conversations. I don't know what time it was when John left. Paul stayed for a very long time, a surprisingly long time. The therapeutic conversations continued. When Paul left it must have been at least 1:30.

Jim had a bit too much to drink (a big bit) and I was in no condition to drive home so we stayed for a long while longer. We left there at 4. Four AM. Jim's new nickname is Ralph.

That was the nicest, most relaxing and fun night I've had in a long time. Well, we had some good nights on vacation but this was different. It was a nice band bonding experience. And that pool was heavenly.

The rest of the trip

Friday we had a big dinner at Lorraine's. The other Smiths were there, too. I had a very nice long talk with Jeanne out in her new, cute Jeep. Bright red, of course. It was fun listening to her talk about how good her life is now. I'm happy for her. She's certainly earned it.

We had another awesome barbeque. After dinner we all went out to the fire pit for drunken reveling. It might be wise for them to build a rail around the fire pit. We almost lost Danny. Eric was very entertaining. Both of them.

Lorraine has been dealing with some problems with her job. During our visit she was going through some frustrating times but she was also taking steps to leave that job. I hope the next one goes well. She starts next week.

She's quite a woman. She's had a lot of rough times but she's come through it all like a champ. And she looks fabulous.

Saturday we went to the Lorenz's for a jam and barbeque. Michael joined us for that one. He was blown away by Amelia's bass playing. What a wonderful evning that was. The music was perfect. The food was awesome.

And, oh, what a nice group of people. We met Ernie Fosselius, the creator of Hardware Wars. He's been mentoring Amelia. For a little while (dang, I missed it. I left tp go pick up Lindsay) he was singing novelty songs and playing guitar.

Brian was there. We love Brian. We all swam for a while, which was nice. Hanging out in a cool pool drinking beer and listening to mellow music.

For dessert we had grilled pineapple on vanilla ice cream again AND S'mores. What a nice day.

Sunday we picked up Brian and went to Armstrong Woods. Then we drove to Duncan's Mills and ate lunch at the Blue Heron (sound familiar, Jeff?). There was a really good Grateful Dead cover band playing and there were bikers everywhere.

That night we had another nice dinner at Lorraine's. And that's the vacation. Next morning we left early and got to Michael's around 9:30. We visited with him for a couple hours and then left. The drive home was uneventful. It was a bit of a shock coming over the mountains and seeing all that smog. Sonoma County was clear and warm. SoCal is smoggy and HOT. Welcome home!

I'm still riding the wave. All those people inspire me. It's stupid that we didn't go up sooner. Thank you to Lorraine, Danny, Eric, Jesse, Lisa, Jimmy, Dave, Nancy, Amelia, Brian, Ernie, Michael, Terri, Mary, Jon, Jeanne and Eric. It was great seeing you all.

Oh dear...

Looks like we need to have another family meeting. This morning I got the report from Stacey about Dad's doctor visits and his general behavior last week. It was a bit rough. Sounds like he's taking another dive.

I need to go over there and get him set up again. She said he didn't have any reminder sheets taped to his bathroom mirror. That's an important part of our system. I need to check on his vitamin supplies too.

When I asked him about how the doctor's visits went he shrugged and brushed it off like everything was ok. Stacey had a whole different story to tell. She said he fell and got a big gash on his head. He couldn't remember how or when it happened, he just remembered cleaning it up. Then he said it happened at the restaurant where he eats breakfast every morning. Stacey went there and talked to the waitresses and they said he never fell while he was there. They had helped him one day when he had a cut on his arm so that must have been what he was remembering.

Stacey also said he was snippy with her. They actually ended up getting into a big blow up at one point. I'm sorry she had to go through that but I'm also kind of glad she got to see what we've been dealing with. Dad can still cover pretty well most of the time but when he gets cornered about his memory he lashes out. I'm starting to think counseling would be a good idea. He needs help accepting this. Being in such deep denial isn't helping the situation at all.

Ok, I'm going over there.

In an hour.

The rack

That's what Dad called it. Really, it's a set of shelves.

This morning Dad called and said Joanne Barry gave him a rack from her store that she didn't need. He wanted to know if I wanted it. I went over and had a look. It's a set of brand new metal shelves and it's pretty nice looking. They're painted with a hard enamel paint that's apple green. I really like them. This time, Dad brought something cool and useful home.

I've been thinking about this workshop I want to do. I want to provide extra supplies that people can purchase. This shelf would be perfect for that. It's like a sign from God. Suddenly I feel like Elwood Blues.

I figure if Jim is doing real estate appraisals and I'm doing 4 workshops a month we'll be making the same money Jim did in Santa Rosa. I want to do the first three on my own and then, if they're successful, start doing them through the jc. Jim suggested that I could also be doing them in San Diego, LA, San Bernardino, anywhere within reasonable driving distance. Why not? That's what Terry does with his rubber stamping classes. He goes all over teaching at rubber stamp stores. I'm going to call him.

The more I think about this the more I like it.

A little about the trip

Our first stop was at Michael and Terri's in Vallejo. We got there in the early evening. Terri fixed us a nice dinner. While it was still light I went around their yard taking pictures. Their yard was on the Vallejo Garden Tour this year. It's freakin' adorable. Terri's been doing ceramic sculptures and she has many of them placed around the yard. She made a really cool mermaid sculpture that spills water into a tub of fancy goldfish. Plants in pots (reeeally cool pots) are everywhere. She has the nicest collection of succulents I've ever seen. When we were on our way home we stopped by for another visit. I collected a nice bagfull of cuttings. I hope they take.

After dinner Jim, Paige and Michael jammed for a little while in his studio. I had a very nice talk with Terri. It's always inspiring to talk to her. Heh, as I write more about this trip that's a word you'll see me use again and again. My friends inspired me this week.

Then we headed for Lorraine's. It was late when we pulled up so we didn't visit, just a quick hug hello and then to bed. Lorraine had to work the next day so we drove around Santa Rosa a bit, dropped Paige off at Natalia's and then went to Dave and Nancy's. Had a nice (though short) visit with them and then went back to Lorraine's. Danny had gotten some two-fer coupons from a steak house so we went there for dinner.

Wednesday morning Mary came to Lorraine's. We went for a walk and then Lorraine had to go to work. We took Mary back to Napa. Jon came home shortly after we got there and we had a most excellent visit with them. Jon grilled some steaks, brats and peppers for dinner. Afterward we drank wine on the back deck and got nicely mellow. Mary really got going. The girl was full of all kinds of creative and helpful ideas on how we should market our business. And since we were all nicely buzzed the conversation was loud and animated and just plain fun.

We spent the night. The next morning Mary called work and told them she wasn't going to come in until 1. Jim burned some cds while Mary and I went to Papyrus to drop off some samples. Lindsay did her Lindsay thing and kept her nose in her laptop. Then we left Napa and headed for Dave and Nancy's.

We took a detour through Sonoma. We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and poked around some of the shops. I dropped some paper samples off at one and had a very nice chat with a girl whose family had a gallery store. She told me about a friend of hers who was struggling with her art business. She sent samples of her work to some big magazines, three of which ended up doing articles about her. She got thousands of dollars worth of business from that. Hello! I can do that!

That night we had dinner with Dave and Nancy. Brian joined us. Nancy grilled some ribs and pineapple which we had for desert with vanilla ice cream. Deeeelish!

More later.

How's this for an idea?

Still riding the boost I got from the Santa Rosa trip. Here's the idea.

I make one of my original designs such as the Halloween prop head, taking notes on the different steps of the process and develop a workshop around it. Then I advertise it in the paper. I'd limit it to 12 people and charge around $30, plus supplies. When people sign up I send them an e-mail with a list of the supplies they'll need. I'll also offer a kit and other supplies that they can buy from me if they don't want to gather this stuff on their own.

I'll clean up Dad's downstairs appartment and hold the classes there. No problem getting tables and chairs. As people come in they'll see a display of the prop heads along with some of my other Halloween creations (soon to be presented as workshops). At one end of the room I'll have a stand of kits and supplies that people can purchase. I would also offer a light kit at an additional cost if they want the prop head's eyes to light up. Jim can wire them up, no extra charge.

I see the workshops as being kind of loose and casual. It could be divided into 2 sessions. Sometimes it can take a while for glue and paint to dry. I'd hire Lindsay and Paige, or even Tori and Audra to assist me.

That's it so far. I think I could have it ready to present by September. If I did two workshops per weekend I could pull in maybe $800 if people also buy supplies.

Knock this around with me.