Last Day

Packed all my stuff and the folks drove me down to the cities today. We stopped at the rosedale mall and I was able to say bye to J. She took me to this funky Japanese store and bought me a funky soda. I took her to the book store and bought a green arrow comic book I won't be able to read until I get back. We made it to my auntie J.'s house and got to visit with everyone. Apparently it snowed so much last night that the metrodome caved in. I think I would have been sick of cold and snow in a few weeks anyway so being forced to leave for Texas isn't so bad, until they start yelling at me anyway. Aunt M wasn't here but she sent a wonderful gift. It's a shame I won't be allowed to take it with me. I still have a few pages left in Lord of the Rings. Hopefully I'll be able to finish before I leave. And because I'll miss her here's a picture of the kitty. I wish I was a cat.


- Posted from my iPhone.

Where Are All The Newspapers?

I was supposed to hang out with K yesterday but she was running late so I went to town to get a copy of the hometown paper since they were supposed to print my poem but I went to three places and no one had any. I got lunch and a gift for my dad at the mall and came home. I went with K today and we saw that new movie Tangled. It wasn't quite as good as some of the old stuff, they were trying to hard to be funny and have cool animation and it sort of dragged down the story. Other than that it was pretty good. We stopped for lunch and then we tried the gas station to see if they had a paper but all they had were papers from two weeks ago. Lame! I'm leaving for the cities tomorrow to go to basic training and all I wanted was to see my poem in print before I left and nobody has this weeks paper! Seriously, why put "the week of Friday the..." on the front of your newspaper if no one is going to read it until Monday of the following week? Something is seriously screwy about that. It's almost as if the government were running things. Hopefully we'll be able to pick one up on our way tomorrow. Only two hundred pages left in Lord Of The Rings.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Old Friend

I was going to go out with C, an old friend from school who just came back home after being away at school, yesterday but we had to reschedule so I stayed home all day and read and watched tv. Ma made steak and fried potatoes for supper. Today I did some more reading, less than fou hundred page to go, and watched tv (I have Hercules the legendary journeys season one on DVD). I went to C's house for dinner. Her directions weren't the best so after looking for a while I waited at the switch for her and followed her to the house. She made tacos. We talked. One of her kitties had a giant snot bubble going in and out his nose while he slept. Poor kitty. Ma called and wanted me to come home so I had to leave, luckily it was easier to get home than to find the place once I knew where it was.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Just A Few Days

Did some cleaning today, folded two loads of laundry, watched tv. Only a few days left untill I leave for basic. Went out to eat tonight with ma and maunta at the wooden table. It's starting to get really cold at night (and during the day). I think by the time I leave I'll have had enough of winter. The cat has had enough winter too, she just can't seem to get warm.


- Posted from my iPhone.

Tomorrow Then

Had my last day at work on Sunday. It was pretty boring, although I did tell all the guys about the square trees and how if they catch a certain disease they grow square. Of course they didn't beleive me untill I showed them the picture. Today I went with dad to town, we stopped at the clinic, the bank, the railhead, and then Hibbing to see my airforce guy. We went to walmart and I bought some stuff. We got a couple camera cases for my cameras that have to be returned. They were too small. I knew I should have gotten that big one but pop insisted it was supposed to fit snug. That's forty-five bucks down the drain. Meanwhile, I started packing and my bag I wanted to take is just a little too small. I did get my Shakespeare book back finally. I can't remember if those papers in it were mine though. I guess I never did get around to reading lord of the rings today. Tomorrow then.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Bouncy Floor

We got a new floor mat for behind the counter at work today and it was really bouncy and squishy. Too bad I'm leaving soon and won't have time to enjoy it. Me and dad made dave's pizza for supper at home. Ma is out christmas shopping. I'm gonna miss christmas.


- Posted from my iPhone.

Six Hundred Pages

I finally found someplace that had the lord of the rings trilogy on DVD. Funnilly enough it was the furniture store in town. Anyway, the power was out when I got home so I went to hang out at grandma's house untill it came back on. I had to take dad's truck because my car was in the garage and the power door wouldn't open. I drove grandma to the store and then I made popcorn and watched the fellowship of the ring at the kitchen table. She kept thinking it was harry potter for some reason. It must be the old guy in the pointy hat. Came home, watched tv, finished actually reading the fellowship of the rings. Now I only have two more books to go. I hope I can finish the lord of the rings before I leave. Six hundred pages isn't all that many, after all, I am the same person who read the seventh harry potter book in one night, and that had to be longer than six hundred pages. I work tomorrow and the next day but I'm totally dedicating all day Monday to reading.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Sled Beagle

Slept in today, brought in firewood with the beagle (we'll make a sled dog out of her yet), and watched Pan's Labrynth. I don't know why they called it that. I didn't think it would be as scary and sad as it was either. At least the bad guy got killed at the end but that movie still gave me the creeps.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Remote Controlled Plow Truck

This week has been pretty slow. Worked a few days, went Christmas shopping and got a haircut today. I had to see my recruiter in Hibbing Monday and it snowed so bad I had to drive twenty the whole way home. In the dark. Alone. With no plow trucks. Anyway, me and this other girl at work think that the remote controlled plow truck would be a brilliant million dollar idea. I mentioned this to the lady who owns the used bookstore when I was downtown today and she said that the remote controlled snowblower might be better for everyday use and she even told me she used to work in the pentagon and told me to get in touch with some office of research and development and see if they would fund my idea. I wonder what I did with that paper she gave me? I'm telling you, old people always have the best stories and most interesting contacts. Maybe if I get stationed in Alaska I'll see if there's anyone on the base who can build a remote controlled plow truck. They could probably use one of those in Alaska.

Turkey

I worked wednesday and then helped clean and get stuff ready for thanksgiving when I got home. Thursday we cooked and cleaned and the family came over, except for the one from st. Paul because it was snowing. We had lot of turkey and pie and stuffing and sweet potatoes and I signed some copies of my book. I was so tired this morning I drank like four soda pops at work. I went to see that new Harry potter movie with my cousins. The movie was good. We stopped at target as well but they were completely sold out of all their copies of Lord of the Rings. So was target. I've had such a craving to see those movies too. I guess that's on my christmas list.

- Posted from my iPhone.

New Kitchen

Worked Sunday, had yesterday and today off. Slept in yesterday and went with dad to town and we bought soda pop at kmart. The guys from lowes came out today and installed the new kitchen cabinets and countertops. It looks nice and now it's all done in time for thanksgiving. I got to go to town and pick up lunch and sink parts. I also got to help install the new kitchen sink. It wasn't too hard but I think I prefer being a linguist to a plumber. I also finished reading Sharpe's Enemy. Even though it had a sad ending it was still pretty good and besides, the bad guy was definetly killed this time so I won't have to worry about him coming back anymore. I had to shovel the deck and there was two feet of snow out there. I'm gonna miss the snow in Texas. Here's a picture of the back trail from when I went skiing the other day.


- Posted from my iPhone.

Boring Week

Not much happened this week. Worked a few days, watched tv, did some reading, dad bought a new fridge that doesn't work. We should have a new kitchen by thanksgiving. I went skiing the other day. All that snow. I'm gonna miss it when I'm in Texas.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Casino Weekend

I was going to drive myself down to hinkley to meet J. but my ma was worried about the snow, there was quite a lot of it and the power was out, so she decided to drive me herself and silver crow came too. They left to go home right away but I stayed the night with J and her folks at the hotel. J finished up the last picture and we went for a swim in the pool. I blew all my money at the shooting gallery in the arcade because the pinball machine was broken and that was the only other game I'm any good at. I won some candy, a pair of earrings, a deck of cards, and a plastic heart. I gambled my found penny voucher in the casino and lost. Whatever happened to those ones where you could pop in a quarter and crank on a big handle and watch the thing spin and if you got three in a row you know you won? That's all I wanted. Something simple. Everything was just too complicated, too many lights, too many lines and pictures, too many different ways to pay that only involved whole bill denominations and vouchers, and cards, and no spare change at all. At least we got dinner at the nice buffet. After that we went to the room and watched tv and J worked on book stuff. This morning we got breakfast and then J did more book work. She lost her voice cuz she caught a cold. After that we watched her dad play blackjack in the casino while we waited for my maunta to come pick me up. We stopped at barnes and noble and then ma came over to maunta's house and we made tacos for supper. Little Nellie cat liked me and matchka liked me but didn't want me to know it. I got home and dad said how the monster cat ripped the whole screen door off it's hinges, and it was a brand new one too. The cat is being wild but I'm too tired to chase her so I'm going to bed.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Unpunctual Snow

The weather guys said it was supposed to snow around ten but it didn't start until eleven thirty. Shows how punctual they are right? I was inspired to write a poem so I scribbled it on the back of a carwash slip. The poem is called The Legend of Lost Lake Swamp and it can be read on White Fox:Silver Crow and on on my page at fifteen minutes of fiction. It's inspired by the time my dad was at the shack and him and the beagle got charged by a wolf who then ran off when my dad yelled at it. Enjoy.

Pumpkin Pie

Worked on wednesday. Worked on Thursday. Went with the folks for dinner at the china buffet last night. Slept in today. Watched tv, did some reading, went for a jog. I finally got my laundry folded. Went to town and bought groceries. Made caserol for dinner and pumpkin pie with a grahm cracker crust and homemade whipped cream for dessert. I was even going to whip it by hand but ma got impatient halfway through and broke out the electric mixer. Turned out pretty good anyway.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Hyper Inflation

I'm freaking out because I started the day with sixty dollars and now all I have is eighty-seven cents. I didn't even do all that much. I bought gas, lunch, and a couple movie tickets and popcorn. Sure, the gas was twenty-five bucks, the lunch was six, the movie tickets eighteen, and popcorn and soda eleven. That does add up to sixty. And I thought Glenn beck said we had a while yet before the hyper inflation hit. I'm really gonna freak when the small bottles of milk hit twenty dollars a piece. Man, I really hope dad and grandma don't chew me out for blowing all the money they gave me in one night. I love you guys! I really need to find friends with their own money, and a boyfriend who pays for eveything. That way I'll still have at least half my money left after a night out, maybe all of it. At least that megamind movie was good. Not sure if it was worth two tickets. L. G. is totally buying next time. Also, I saw this cat hat at target but I didn't get it. I don't think monster would let me put it on her.


- Posted from my iPhone.

More Books

I left my check at home when I went to work today so I had to drive all the way back to town as soon as I got home. I decided to pick up a frozen pizza for supper while I was in town. I watched some tv when I got home. Dad still hasn't killed me anything yet. My books came in the mail. Turns out that banjo Patterson was a print on demand public domain thing copied from a vetrinary school library copy. Why a vet school had a copy of Australian poetry I don't know but I'm glad they did or I might not have been able to find a copy anywhere else. I also got the next three Sharpe books. As soon as I'm done with the Lord of the Rings I'm reading another sharpe book. It's like they're chocolate or something, when I have them I can't stop and when I don't have them I crave more. Which reminds me, I should make some hot chocolate tomorrow. Nothing says happy like a day off, a roaring fire, a pot of hot chocolate, and a stack of good books.

- Posted from my iPhone.

The Claw

Work today was a boring as ever, the only interesting this was that the coffee maker broke and one kid showed up an hour early because he didn't know about daylight savings time. I made taco salad out of leftover shredded roast beef when I got home. Funny, it looked great but I have a feeling it tasted better on tv. I made it through chapter six in the Lord of the Rings. I guess my brother was right, the movies left out a lot of stuff. I still think the soundtrak was epic though. Also, enjoy this picture of The Claw I took last week. I bet those guys win all the Teddy bears.


- Posted from my iPhone.

Puck

Work yesterday was hectic with all the hunters coming through. I looked up more tinwhistle music online when I got home. Everyone buy me was out. I was so tired at work today. I had to stop and get cheetos and something for my irn bru on the way home. Maunta came over and made roast beef. It was good. We all watched tv and maunta silver crow made me read my book out loud. She wanted me to add a verse explaining who Puck was. I said if Shakespeare never had to explain obscure references about dead Romans to his audience I shouldn't have to explain a reference to the most famous fairy on the planet. Let anyone who doesn't know look it up and thereby deliver themselves from literary ignorance. Anyway, I'm going to bed.

- Posted from my iPhone.

A Jog With the Dog

Went for a jog with the dog this morning and watched some tv. My James bond book finally got interesting with only seventy pages to go. I went to the bookstore with dad but they didn't have the one I wanted. We had beef potroast for dinner and I think I ate too much. I got two loads of laundry washed and dried today. At least my work shirt will be clean for tomorrow. I work all weekend.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Puss in Boots

After sleeping in I made a tv dinner and watched Howard the Duck on tv. Then I watched the food network untill dad sent me to town in the truck to check his rail cars. He had to stay home because the installer guys were here putting in a new deck door. I got a chilli dog and a roast beef sandwich for lunch in town. I watched Beauty and the Beast and Puss in Boots when I got home. They were old eighties flicks I got on sale at kmart. I wish that Disney would release beauty and the beast on DVD but all they have is that stupid blue ray combo pack. I do not want to have to buy a blue ray player, even though they say they're backwards compatible not all of them play regular DVDs. I thought that halloween candy would last longer but we're all out and I really want a chocolate bar.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Partridge Soup

Worked day shift again Monday. Watched tv and did some reading. The Lord of The Rings is much better this time around, course that could be because I saw the movies and know what to expect. I know it's wednesday officially but since I worked night shift it still counts as Tuesday to me. It was election day today. Dad was so excited to vote he showed up two hours early and was dissapointed when all the judges ran unppposed and the guy he wanted to vote for was in another district. I went to town and grabbed a bite to eat with L. G. We swung by the mall after and I got a battery power toothbrush on sale for five bucks. Her boyfriend wanted her to pick up mcdonald's and it was so busy I had time to read an entire chapter in my James Bond book before I went looking for her. I worked night shift and ma brought me some partridge soup dad made, after I called and reminded her of course. I don't think it quite agreed with me because I got all crampy and sick feeling. The other gal said I might be alergic like her dad who always gets terrible stomach gas after eating poultry. At least I have the next two days off to recover.

- Posted from my iPhone.

More Time, Less Bills

Wore my musketeer costume for Halloween at work today and felt conspicuous since the other girl forgot to dress up. At least I got lots of compliments on my hat. We only got seven trick-or-treaters. All that candy still sitting in the bowl. I guess we'll just have to eat it ourselves. So far that James Bond book isn't very exciting despite the assurances on the back cover. Maybe it will get better, after all I'm only on chapter ten and there are seventeen left to go. Meanwhile I started in on The Lord of The Rings and finished the first chapter. That was always the hardest bit, I've never gotten past it before. I think once I get my next paycheck I'll order the next couple sharpe books and try and find the next Dresden files in paperback. If only I had more time and less bills.

- Posted from my iPhone.

This Week

So far this week I finished reading that ranger's apprentice book. It was okay. I also started on a James Bond book. Did a few things in town with the folks. Bought sone clothes at walmart after I visited my recruiter the other day. Maunta silver crow came over to watcha movie last night. I went to visit my grandma and we spent time remembering old silly songs she used to sing like midnight on the ocean, the bologna song, my cross eyed gal, and that one about the drunk mouse. L. G. had her b-day party today. She invited thirty people and it was only me and one other girl who showed up besides J and her boyfriend who lived there. And she decorated so nice too (everything was covered in spiders). Whatever Happened to Baby Jane is on and I think it's an absolutly horrible movie. That blond sister is just so mean running her sister over and saying those nasty things. I don't think I want to finish it. I have to work in the morning anyway.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Cooler Heads

I felt better yesterday, which was good as we were pretty busy and I was working by myself. My paperwork seems to have suffered for it. I did get my car back last night but I had to bring it back this morning for a few extra tweaks. The bill ran about four hundred bucks. I went with dad to town and we got lunch at the Mexican place downtown. It's been raining all day and all yesterday too. It's supposed to snow any minute now. I just saw this thing in the news about the FBI being after some crazy down south who's running around shooting up military bases and recruiting centers. I think dad is right, the weather up here tends to freeze out the whackos, cooler heads prevailing and all that (ha!). I hope the weather in California won't be too warm. Monterey is in the north right?

- Posted from my iPhone.

Indigestion

I had to do the paperwork all by my lonesome at work yesterday. I was nineteen dollars and something off which I consider a huge improvement over last time. Spent today watching tv and reading. Went with the folks into town and we stopped at the mall where I got the next ranger's apprentice book. Dad got us a couple dave's pizzas for supper. I'd forgotten just how much indigestion eating a whole dave's pizza by yourself can cause. I hope it goes away by morning.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Absurd

Work was boring yesterday. My car still isn't dry yet. I did some reading when I got home and managed to finish that first horatio hornblower book. Maunta came out to watch a movie with us. I had that Amelia movie to watch but for whatever reason I didn't like Amelia. She was just so mean to that guy, and after he bought her a whole airplane too. Anyway, I've been reading Mort by Terry pratchet this morning. I needed something not napoleanic war based with a little humor and absurdity and magic in it. I still want the next sharpe book though. Maybe I should order it anyway since I got that e-mail coupon for fifteen percent off this weekend only. Me and ma went to visit grandma and she gave me a teapot with grapes on it. We picked up a couple burgers and mini tacos to eat at home. I had a nice pot of mint tea. Even the cat had some, with extra cream of course. Ma said she'd give me a ride to work tomorrow. I probably won't get my car back till monday.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Land vs. Sea

Woke up, made breakfast, watched tv, and did some reading. I'm currently reading Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. I don't know if it's the difference between land and sea, authorial styles, or the fact that horatio was born an officer and sharpe was born a gutter rat but I just like Richard Sharpe better as a character. He fights dirty, he's vulgar, he's got scars, but he's also honorable and polite to the ladies. I suppose sharpe's honor seems more honorable than hornblower's precisely because it is all the more unlikely from a gutter child and his acheivments more exciting for his seeming unimportance and the lack of appreciation he seems to get. It could also be that the hornblower movies were word for word like the book so far and I already know exactly what's going to happen. Not knowing made Sharpe's adventures more exciting. I think I'll order the next batch of sharpe books as soon as I get my car back.

Meanwhile, I went with dad to his eye appointment and helped him get his boat out of the water and parked in the garage. We had lasagna for supper. Lucy chased the cat. I watched more tv. Dad's going to give me another ride to work in the morning so I'm going to bed early, well earlier anyway.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Macaroni and Steak

Dad had to give me a ride to work yesterday. We stopped at the car place after and it looks like my car should be fine apart from just being wet. Shouldn't cost too much either but with the towing there goes my whole next paycheck. We had steak and macaroni for dinner last night. I spent today watching tv and reading. I finished that Merlin book and think I'll read a Horatio Hornblower next. It would have been a Sharpe but I haven't ordered the next batch yet, as if I can afford to after I pay for my car. Whatever, I'm sure horatio will get into just as much entertaining trouble as richard sharpe. I hope so anyway.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Swamp Grass and a Tippy Can

Had an accident on the way to work this morning. A cd fell out of the holder and hit me in the face and I went in the ditch. Doesn't appear to be any body damage, just a lot of swamp grass and water. I'm perfectly fine by the way. Nothing hurt but my pride.


I was only two hours late for work. A curse on visor cd holders and loose elastic. Ma had to pick me up from work. Dad actually wasn't as mad or screamy as I thought he'd be. Hardly chewed me out at all. It was weird. Anyway, I watched some tv, made some popcorn, watched another Chuck Norris movie (I'd love to hear the current president say "this administration does not negotiate with terrorists!"). Dad's giving me a ride to work in the morning so I better go to bed early or I'll probably be late. And on a happier note, enjoy this picture of my magic tippy can that doesn't fall over. Pretty cool right?



- Posted from my iPhone.

Manicotti

Did some reading this morning, made a pot of tea, watched tv, and baked a homemade banana bread. Watched a Chuck Norris movie. Went to the shack and made manicotti with ceasar salad for dinner for dad and his buddy. It was really good. Came home, watched tv, now I'm going to bed. To think, I could have spent today at a comic book convention in the cities. Whatever, J said our book didn't sell well anyway and I was sick of takeout.

- Posted from my iPhone.

I Don't Know What Happened

After work yesterday I came home and did some reading, watched tv, and went for a jog with the dog and even did some sit ups and push ups before bed. Dad brought home some Chinese takeout for supper. I had to do paperwork by myself today at work and woun up twenty two hundred off. I don't know what happened. I decided to go into town afte work and treat myself to a new haircut. I also picked up stuff to make homemade manicotti for supper tommorow. I also got a couple movies to watch, though maybe I should have saved the money for more Sharpe books. Anyway, that low tire light came on again but the guys at the valvoline couldn't get the nosle on the one tire open. I'm going to need to get a new valve. I'm just waiting for my tea to steep. I think I'll have a cup or two before bed.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Mmm, Cookie Dough

We had a lot of stuff to put away at work last night but at least I had time for an ice cream break. Mmm, cookie dough. Spent today reading Merlin. I ran out of Sharpe books and I really want to order more, I just don't want to have to pay for them. Anyway, I watched some Doctor Who on tv and saw this great old buster Keaton movie called The General. They just don't make movies like they used to. I decided not to go down to that convention with J. It's just too much driving and hassel and money for a one day thing, besides which ma couldn't drive me anyway and wouldn't let me drive myself. At least I'll get to sleep in on Saturday.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Columbus Day

Thought I'd go to the bank today but when I got there it was closed for Columbus day. Nobody really celebrates Columbus day anymore. I think maybe they should start again. Less of a surprise when the banks close. I picked L. G. up and we went shopping. I didn't get a whole lot, a chuck Norris DVD on sale for five bucks but that was it. Got the oil changed in my car and brought L home. I made it all the way back home only to find out she left her phone in my car. I went with dad to meet ma at lowe's and after we had dinner at valentini's. Their bread dip and pasta was even better than I remember. We swung by L's on the way home and dropped her phone off. I've been watching tv since I got home. Ovation is having a musical week. Jesus Christ Super Star is on now. I might go to bed now since I already know how it ends. It might be interesting to see how they choreograph the dance numbers and do the lyrics but the story is pretty much unchangeable.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Not A Bad Day After All

Work was busy yesterday, so busy I never got to have my soda. Me and mom went to town after and picked up a few things at target. We stopped at kmart and I got the Iron Man two movie on DVD. We got Jue's takeout for supper. Watched tv today, did some reading, went for a walk with the beagle, gave the beagle a bath, and roasted marshmallows over a fire. Not a bad day after all.


- Posted from my iPhone.

Fish Fix

We had three people working the registers today, me and the other gal and then this guy who used to work there a few years back but quit (or was fired, I never did figure out which). At least I got to go fishing with dad when I got off. It was such a nice day out too, warm and sunny and calm. Too bad we didn't catch anything. We never even got so much as a nibble and we tried four different spots and had minnows and trolling lures. We had to go Mcdonald's to get our fish fix. If I could only win the big bucks at monopoly it might be worth it. Ma said she knows a lady at school who wants to buy five copies of my book for Christmas presents. I might have to order a second batch of books after all. Might as well create my own account while I'm at it too. I hope I can make it down to see J on the sixteenth, she still has to get me the photo shop files for everything.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Toadpole

Work yesterday ran later so I didn't get home till midnight. I got compliments on my intelligence and appearance from several nice guys, who were all unfortunately much, much older than me. Why does nobody my age like me? Also, there was a giant tadpole in with the rainbow minnows a guy bought. It was so big it was probably for a toad, I guess that makes it a toadpole (I know, ha ha very funny). I wonder how you stick one of them on a hook? Today I went with dad, first to v-town where I got a nice new pair of dark brown leather mitts for ten bucks off because they had some extra threads hanging off them. A little trim when I got home and you can't even tell the difference. We also went over to H-town and had lunch at the pizza ranch. They had this really good desert pizza with pumpkin pie stuff on it that was delicious. Took a nap when we got home, did some reading, watched some tv, and now I'm going to bed. I have to work early tomorrow.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Books in a Book Store

My fairy books came in the mail yesterday so I went to town with dad and left a few with the book store downtown. They even gave me the money upfront. After that we had lunch at Jue's Chinese restaurant. I finished reading Changeless when I got home and now I'm on Sharpe's Sword. I'll have to order the next batch of Sharpe books after this as it's the last one I own. I watched tha Wolfman movie remake this morning. I'm kind of mad at the remote because even though it powers and plays the DVD player it doesn't navigate the menu, it just adjusts the tv volume instead. After that I went to work. I managed to only look at the clock once shortly before close. I even made it home before midnight.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Funky Hats

Friday morning I packed and had everything out in the car by noon. K didn't get home till six so we still left later than I would have liked. The trip down to the cities was uneventful. J was nice enough to let us stay at her place and even drove us to the ren fest the next morning. Of course I found I was much too over packed for a two day weekend. At any rate my costume was much nicer after I'd managed to find a shop with a good selection of musketeer hats at a reasonable price (provided all I wanted to buy the entire trip was a hat). I wound up with one that had lovely silver, blue, and gold trim with large blue and white feathers and a perfectly stunning blue hatband and bronze buckle. I feel one should never need a reason to wear funky hats, simply a desire to do so. At any rate, the forest walk was closed due to flooding and the picture place was looking a mite spendy after the hat purchase so I didn't get vey many photos. We saw a couple of tortuga shows and there was this random guy who juggled flaming torches while wearing a flaming beanie and walking accross a flaming tightrope. He also juggled other stuff but it wasn't quite as exciting without all the fire. After the fair we went and saw that legend of the guardians movie in 3D. It reminded me a little of lord of the rings in several places. We did a little shopping in what I like to think of as an outdoor mall. Then went back to J.'s. K and I left this morning around nine thirty, stopped for breakfast, and made it home around two thirty. I've spent most of the time since then reading. I finished sharpe's company before the trip, finished reading Soulless, and now I'm reading Changeless, Soulless and Changeless being the first two books in a new series that's about vampires, werewolves, victorian London, and a spinster turned lady wife who has the power to negate the supernatural. So far it's proven quite entertaining.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Nine Brains

After I got home from work today dad made kalla mojakka for supper. It was delicious. Nobody makes fish stew like dad. I watched tv and did some reading. Almost finished with Sharpe's Company. Maybe it's my imagination but the book seems way more epic than the movie. Also, random fact for the day, an octopus has three hearts and nine brains (one for each tentacle). I remember there was this book I had as a kid about an octopus. He was a lab octopus who was released into the wild by a scientist and had to figure out how to live in the ocean. I believe it was called 'I was all thumbs', or something thumbs anyway.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Progress

Turns out that the Moon's Shadow had some wonky deep philosophical meaning about the trials and tribulations of the main character's struggle to rule and his relationship to his empress. There was even a link to a discussion group in the back of the book. Geez, at least Sharpe's Company is a prety self explanatory title. I think I'd much rather read about trenches and mud and blood and bayonettes than some hidden meaning an author insists on telling you all about at the end anyway. Aside from that though it was an okay book. I went into town with dad today and we got lunch at rainy lake downtown. I wasn't sure about the theme of the place. Life size horse statues mounted upside down to the ceiling, Texas longhorns and antelope, elvis and the blues brothers, crystal chandeliers and lobster traps, wooden skiis, and a variety of signs and posters ranging from anrmy recruitment to the ham's bear. Plus a lot of other stuff I couldn't quite identify. The food was good though. When I got home I wound up bringing a stack of books back inside from the shed. It seemed like such a shame that all the books I loved as a kid should spend the winter out in a cold lonely shed, besides which if I ever finish my unread books I might decide to re-read some of them. I have less than forty books left to read. That's pretty good considering that I started out with over sixty. Sure, most of them are the same ones I've had sitting there since I got back from Scotland but I'm making progress and that's the important bit.

- Posted from my iPhone.

The Sound of Distant Gunfire

As usual work today was pretty boring. The only excitment was that everyone was supposed to look busy for the surprise inspection everyone seemed to know about. I think the surprising bit was that it never happened. This gal from work followed me home and I let her take the old tv from the shed. They just moved up from Illinois and didn't even have a tv. Speaking of tvs, I wanted to watch Mary poppins but the DVD player didn't have a remote, so I decided to program it into the universal remote. I think I wound up resetting the whole thing because after I googled how to set the DVD player and got that working the tv and the satalite box quit working. I must have spent over and hour trying to get everything working again. I still don't know if I got it right. At least everything turns on and off, I can hit play, pause, and fast forward on the DVD player, and the guide and volume work on the dish and tv. I even found the time to get in a walk with the dog, we didn't go far though because all the gunshots in the distance were a bit unnerving (I suppose it is hunting season, but still).

- Posted from my iPhone.

More Time For Reading

Night shift yesterday was pretty boring. The only bright side was K. R. stopped by and dropped off my new costume for the ren fest. It's positively terrific. All I need to do is get my ma to hem the cape and sew some buttons on the shirtsleeves. Another plus was that I got home by eleven thirty. That C. sure is good at paperwork. It helped that we didn't have any last minute customers and all the cleaning was done.

Today I've been reading The Moon's Shadow. It's a SiFi thing and I haven't quite figured out what the title is referring to yet, which is odd since I'm almost done with it. I did run into town to deposit my second paycheck but other than that I spent all day reading and watching tv, but mostly reading. I wish I had more time for reading.

- Posted from my iPhone.

I Better Get Overtime For This

The boss made me stay a whole extra three hours at work today cuz someone couldn't come in till six. I was able to get Friday off so we won't have to leave for the ren fest at midnight but I will have to work nights shift tomorrow. Finished Reading Sharpe's Battle last night but was too tired today to read anything. I watched a few episodes of MacGyver instead. I know none of that stuff works in real life and he has this thing about no guns but I forgive him. MacGyver's great.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Ely Shopping

Went to Ely yesterday with J. where I probably spent too much money. I think I might be turning into a shopaholic. At least I don't have any credit cards to run up. We watched The Sword in the Stone and Camalot when we got home. Slept in today then went to v-town. Showed J. around the mall and downtown. We got a bite to eat at the Mexican place before J. headed back to the cities and I came home. Dad cooked steak for supper and I finally got a load of laundry washed and in the dryer. Less than seventy pages left to read in Sharpe' Battle. I still don't know how he' going to get out of the mess he's in this time.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Book vs Movie

Finished reading inkheart. I don't know if I like the book better than the movie or not. Worked night shift last night and again tonight. Actually managed to get home before midnight tonight. J. is coming up tomorrow. She said she wanted to go fishing but it might be raining and I don't know where those rain pants are that go with my rain jacket. I'm reading Sharpe's Battle now. We'll see if I have any time to finish it tomorrow. I still have laundry to do too.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Two-Hundred and Thirty Pages

It was supposed to be my day off today but my boss called and asked me to come in anyway. How he managed to get through to my cell phone when it was downstairs and said 'no service' is beyond me. I went shopping after work. I know I was mad at target for that apology thing a while back but they're like the only store in town that has reasonably priced stuff I like. Still, I feel bad for breaking my boycott. I buy your stuff but I still hate you target CEO! Or, at least, I still think your apology was insulting and dumb. Anyway, I still have two-hundred and thirty pages of Inkheart left to read. I know I won't finish it tonight but I still feel like giving it a try. I really want to read the next Sharpe book but I'm forcing myself to read at least one different book in between each one, that way I get more read and the sharpe books are like my reward. I'm going to have to order another batch soon. There are twenty in the series and I have thirteen. I can't wait to get them all.

- Posted from my iPhone.

I Hate Jobs

I've been reading Inkheart since I got home from work today. So far it's not going as fast as I hoped it would. I'm actually more interested in seeing if the story all the characters come out of is real because it seems like that would be much more fun to read. The pilot light in the fireplace stove upstairs is broken so we're going to have to call the stove guy to fix it. I hate having a job. All the irregular hours, stressfull conditions, and lack of sleep are giving me breakouts. Maybe I'm alergic to the face wash. It doesn't seem to be doing any good.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Next

I finished reading Sharpe's Escape. Bit of an abrupt ending but still good. I didn't get my book caught up with the computer but I did at least get all my poems printed off so all I have to do is cut then out and paste them in the book. I might actually have enough to fill the thing. I suppose that means I'll finally be able to use that second blank book I bought a year and a half ago. Still, now all I need is more time to finish filling this one. And to decide which book I'm going to read next.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Sheet Music

Work this morning was boring. I picked up a sandwich at subway on th way home. I was listening to a Celtic cd ad there was this neat tinwhistle song on it that I wanted to look up as soon as I got home. I wound up on this funky tinwhistle site I'd never been on before. I didn't find the song I was looking for but I did print off about ten other ones that are just as fun. Dad's printer is now out of ink. Mom's new printer is supposed to be working, the only trouble is that it's hooked up to the old computer which takes like an hour to turn on and like thirty minutes to get anything open and working. She sai it had some kind of wireless option but it wasn't set up yet. I guess I'll have to wait till tomorrow when I actually have time to finish printing all those poems for my book. I like to spread my sheet music out so I need poems for spacers. I haven't written anything new so hopefully by tomorrow night I'll finally have my book all caught up with my computer. I can't seem to find that false prophet poem I wrote though. I know it's in a notebook somewhere, I just don't know which one.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Shampoo

Icky night shift again yesterday. I hate night shift. Today I went to town with dad and we had lunch at the mexican place downtown. Stopped to say hi to grandma and grandpa. They got a new vacuum, one of those things with the ball instead of proper wheels. Still reading Sharpe's Escape. So far I can't figure out what he's supposed to be escaping from. Went for a walk with the beagle. Did a load of laundry. Felt horrible because there was nothing decent to eat in the cupboards. Ordered a pile of copies of my book. Hopefully they'll be here in time for Thanksgiving. Bought some shampoo today too. I think I'll go test it out now.

Snowflake

Yesterday (technically the day before) they finally taught me paperwork at work. When I got home I did some reading. I'm reading Sharpe's escape now. I went with dad to town for lunch today (technically yesterday). For some reason my fried rice tasted funny. Anyway, worked the night shift today. Not as many people came in but the guy I was working with kept talking so it went by fast. I'm starving though. I just got home and wish I could cook a big breakfast but I'm too tired. There was this one kid who came into the store and he had this haircut with short pretty dark blond hair except in the middle where he had long really light blond hair. It looked like a horse main. We teased him and called him snowflake the little pony. Nice kid though. His hair actually looked pretty cool, but now I can't stop thinking about pony boy from the outsiders.

Something Decently Patriotic

Work was boring today. I was scheduled for tomorrow off but this other girl asked me to take her shift for her so I said I would. I've been busy reading the Somnabulist since I got home. Finding out who the narrator is was a huge shocker. I totally never saw it coming. I was searching for something suitably patriotic to post today since I forgot to do something for 9/11 and decided on an American Flag picture. Of all the things that showed up when I googled for pics I never in my wildest dreams expected to come across a picture of a guy dropping his drawers to take a you know what on the flag. I was insulted! No, I was INSULTED!! Horribly offended, deeply angered, and decidedly off put. Plus a lot of other things not quite as polite. How that even got in there next to Betsy Ross and decorative desert cakes is beyond me. Needless to say that is not the photo I picked. Enjoy this other, decent picture of the American Flag instead.

Whichever

Went to Duluth with L. G. today. We went to the mall and I got a new case for my mobile and a couple books. There was this really cool cat hat I wanted but I didn't get it. We got a bite to eat at applebea's and then headed home. I finally got paid today. Three hundred-eighty some bucks. That's more than I thought it would be. I hope the boss gives me my days off I asked for and that he doesn't make me work night shift the day before. He has me down for a couple night shifts next week. I just know I'm going to be miserable. I finished reading sharpe's gold and started on the Somnobulist. So far it's like Sherlock holmes only totally different. That doesn't really make sense, I know, but trust me when I say it's true. Or don't. Whichever.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Need More Time

So I found out at work today that I got the eleventh off after I already went and cancelled that meeting. At least I can sleep in. I made popcorn as soon as I got home and ate it while watching tv. I've been reading Sharpe's Gold and so far it's pretty good. With this job I don't know if I'll be able to finish all my books before I leave for basic training. I still haven't finishes that hat I started knitting. I really should whine at mother about moving my stuff upstairs, even if it's only a little at a time, otherwise it'll never get done before I leave.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Quite Addictive

Went to Hibbing to see that other recruiter guy today. Got there early so I went to walmart and joann's fabrics for a while. Got some archery practice in when I got home. That longbow shoots excellent groups. I just wish I was a better shot. I got this new game for my computer that was in the bargain bin at walmart. It was one of those hidden object eye spy things. Quite addictive. I think it might even be more fun than that space game I had. I never did finish that one. Back to work tomorrow. I guess I'd be a little more enthusiastic if I knew when I was finally getting paid.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Do They Have Left Handed Hats In Baseball?

My longbow finally came in the mail yesterday. It shoots. I didn't really think through the whole no-arrow-rest-shoot-off-the-hand thing though. I wasn't wearing gloves so when the arrow went by my hand at speed a piece of the feather imbeded itself under my skin. I got it out all right but it stung like I don't know what. I decided not to try shooting it again till I had some decent gloves, to that end me and dad went to L&M and bought some gloves. It got really windy and a little rainy out when we got home though so I haven't gotten anymore shooting in yet. Twins won again last night. I noticed that the batting team wears those helmet hats and that they have those funny ear pieces on the one side. I had to wonder, do they have left handed hats in baseball? I guess the switch hitters get hats with two ear pieces.

Anyway, I went for a short run this morning. That stupid dog jumped on me and broke my headphones. I was going to go I to town and buy new ones but I wound up getting a book, a blue tinwhistle, a bagpipe reed, and some Mexican takeout instead. Turns out it was the wrong kind oh bagpipe reed anyway so I ordered the right one online. My bro dropped off his old practice chanter for me to use. My fingers already ache from stretching to reach all the holes. I was going to print off a bunch of poems for my leather book but that stupid printer wouldn't hook up to my computer and the Internet was down all morning. I suppose I could have used a jump drive and dad's computer but I was too lazy. I'm trying to get hard copies of all my poems down in my book. I guess I'll have to try again tomorrow.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Five Hundred Channels and Nothing to Watch

Yesterday was a slow work day. Mom was making hard tack and home made beef barley soup when I got home. It was delicious. She also baked another apple pie for my brother but he never came by to get it. I wound up taking the littlest pie to grandma and grandpa. Grandma gave me some really old Beatrix potter books and they may or may not be worth some money. It's too bad the antiques roadshow is over for this year. I would have loved to go. Today was busy at work with all the tourists leaving to go home. I went fishing with dad after I got home. We tried trolling rappallas but didn't catch anything. It was pretty windy out but not too cold. Since there's nothing on tv tonight I think I'll go to bed early. Oh, and the twins won. Yay twins!

- Posted from my iPhone.

Pie!

It was cool out today. I'd love to see those global warming people explain how we can go from a record ninety-some degrees over a hundred years ago to freezing this morning and still have the planet being fried. It just doesn't work. Anyway, when I got home from work me and mom made homemade apple pies with apples from the trees in the front yard.


I made crust cookies from the leftover dough and used grat grandma's old metal cookie cutters to make leaves and turkeys.


The pies turned out really well. We made a sugar free one for dad and a little baby pie as well as a big pie for me and mom.








While the pies cooled I went to town and got stuffed pork chops for supper. After supper we made homemade whipped cream and had fresh pie, still warm, while we watched the antiques roadshow. It was the perfect bedtime snack.


- Posted from my iPhone.

Drink The Oil and Sniff The Pop

Had to go to the main office today for some goofy orientation for work today. We had to watch all these videos from twenty years ago on safety procedures and what to do if someone tries to rob the store and stuff. The best bit was the guy in the chemical safety video who tried to drink the oil and sniff the pop. He was a hoot. I also wrote, or finished writing, a poem called The Grudge. It's about the betrayal of a friend told from the perspective of "jealousy". The majority of it was written years ago and I only added the last eight lines the other day. It can be read over on White Fox: Silver Crow and on my page at fifteen minutes of fiction.

Old Favorites

Watched tv all day yesterday. I finally called that archery shop today after work. That longbow I ordered is in the mail and should be here in a couple days. I wonder if it'll beat that book I ordered from barnes and noble. I also put in for my days off at work, I hope I can get them all. I put in for sept. 11 because of that recruiter meeting but the schedule I checked today had me working that day. I'll have to call th Ssg and see if we can do a phone thing or if he doesn't mind my being four hours late. I started watching Hurcules: the legendary journeys today, I bought the first season DVD when I was at barnes and noble last week. So far it's just as campy and fun as I remember. Now if only I could find someplace that had Andromeda on DVD (and Beastmaster and Mutant X and Dr. Quinn medicine woman), then my life would be perfect.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Grapling Hook

Stayed home today and watched tv. Saw this really cool opera singing ten year old on America's got talent. Dad went to the shack to destroy a beaver damn. He was gonna blow it up but didn't have any dynamite so he had this goofy plan involving a pick axe, a grapling hook, a length of rope and a four wheeler. It must have worked since he made it home ok but I still think he should have had the DNR take care of it. Whatever, at least I got a load of laundry done while I was watching tv.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Day Off

Worked yesterday, I got to male coffee and sweep the floor this time. Did some reading when I got home and watched tv. So glad to finally have a day off today. I went with the folks to Duluth. We had lunch at the old country buffet and then they dropped me at barnes and noble while they went shopping for a printer at best buy. I wound up probably spending more than I should hav on books and movies. On the bright side I got to talk to this nice young guy who worked there for half an hour about good reads in historical fiction. I feel bad I didn't get his name. Oh well, he's probably married or got a girlfriend anyway, all the good looking nice guys usually are. We made it home in time for me to watch a movie before Glenn beck came on. It's too bad that rally was all the way out in Washington or I so would have gone to it. Anyway, I think I have time to watch one more DVD before bed.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Author!

I did finally get a little archery in yesterday after work, unfortunately it was terribly windy so my aim was slightly off. At leas I managed to hit the target even if it wasn't right in the middle. My book came in the mail today. That means I'm officially a published author. It turned out real nice too.





I had to run over and show grandma as soon as I had it. She thought it was "just darling". Ma and silver crow thought it was great too. Ma even said she'd pay for a proffessional book editor. Now all I have to do is find a real publisher. Too bad that cheerios contest is over or I could have entered that. I have to work one more day tomorrow and then I get three days off. I can't wait, I forgot just how tiring work can be.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Work

Went to town yesterday with dad . We stopped at grandma's to say hi and we went to that archery shop on the corner. The guy there put one of those no glove things on the string for my recurve. Now I don't need to get a finger tab. I didn't have time to actually get any shooting do e though because it took over two hours to mow the lawn when I got home. Why do we even have such a big lawn anyway? Started work this morning. From the minute I got there untill the minute I left I never sat down (they didn't have any chairs) and it was so busy I never got a lunch break or a potty break all day. I suppose I shouldn't complain too much as I did get paid for a seven hour shift, but still. Anyway, dad took me for Chinese for dinner. I still didn't get any archery practice in. I suppose I'll try again tomorrow.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Job

Finally got a job today when lucky seven called me back. Just when I was finally starting to like unemployement. Whatever. I went into town and got some ribbon for my robin hood hat. The lady at the Ben Franklin was very helpful. I had a steak and fried carrots for supper when I got home. Watched some tv. If that cat had done anything but sleep all day maybe she'd quit being so rammy all night. Stupid cat.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Spare Change is Good

Watched some tv yesterday and did some reading. I wanted to go check out the squinty eye western shoot but nobody would go with me so I just stayed home. Today I brought that change into the bank. Turns out there was over three hundred dollars in that tin can. How neat is that? I also stopped at the car place and had that low tire light reset. Spent the afternoon watching tv. I talked to K and she wants to cancel our ren fest trip untill September. J wants me to go to the state fair but I really don't care for rides, animals, 4H crafts, or everything on a stick. I guess medieval costumes and bread bowls of soup are more my thing. I suppose it'll work out better since my new costume isn't finished yet. It would be neat if my longbow got here before I went too. I still haven't gotten that test copy of our book yet. I guess I'll just have to keep waiting and see what happens.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Change

Went with ma yesterday to help clean a couple of grandma's upstairs rooms. They weren't so bad except for the cat barf on everything. I even got this really cool big wicker basket out of it. Construction wasn't so bad on the road today. I hardly had any waiting at all. I thought today was Friday and I hauled my giant bucket of spare change all the way to the bank just to find out they were closed. I'll bring it back in on Monday. I decided to use all my change for a longbow. Dad might freak out a little bit but I just won't tell him. And if he finds out from this blog he's a lot sneakier than I thought he was. Besides, it's not like I'd be using money I had in the bank for something else, I've been saving spare change for something cool for over six years. I suppose I should thank grandma for all that change she hands out every Easter. Or is it a different holiday? Anyway, it's my money and I'm an adult. I found this great site online with longbows for cheap, only a hundred dollars with arrows. The paper printed that ad this week and if I get the money from that I'll still have come out more than a hundred and fifty bucks ahead. I decided to take a break from exercising today. It was eighty-four degrees out. I watched tv instead. I wish it was fall already.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Construction

Did some reading this morning. I'm on sharpe's eagle now and even though it's different it's even better than the movie. I went into town this afternoon and spend an hour in the used book store. I also found out that they will sell my book too. Said hi to grandma on the way home. There was a lot of road construction on the highway. I was stuck waiting in the middle of the road for over half an hour. I even had time to read a chapter in my book. I hope they finish soon. Also, I'm really annoyed with that new taco bell comercial, you know, the one with the lime who claims to be a "culinary Casanova". Everyone knows Casanova is itallian. He should be don Juan. I hate it when they use the wrong literary reference.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Job?

J and I went over to my aunt's yesterday morning. We stopped at this goofy surplus store on the way and it had all sorts of funny handmade signs on everything.





We went with my ma and my aunt to the history museum. They had a beatles display and a world war II display. The best bit was the tank.


After we went out to eat at this Irish pub place. J went home after. I thought we were going to stay another night and maybe go to the mall in the morning but bud and his friend decided to head out so mom decided to go home that night too. At least the twins won. I did get a call back from the golf course so it was probably good that I was home to go to the interview today. I finally dropped off that add in the paper. If I get any calls and if I get a job too maybe I can use the money for a longbow. That would be fun.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Test Book Order

We made it down to the cities around eleven o'clock this morning and ma dropped me off at J's. We had to run in to town quick so she could check on some records but aside from that and a quick out for pizza with J's mom we spent all afternoon and evening working on our book. Guess what? It's finished! All the pages are done, the pictures, the poems, the cover art, the formatting, everything. We even sent away for a test copy of the hardcover. We couldn't get a dust jacket from lulu though, so we couldn't use our flap design with the author bios. It was expensive though, twenty-four bucks with the shipping just for the one copy. I think we decided if we want to print up a bunch of copies to sell at the convention in October we're going to go through comixpress and do a stapled spine paperback. They only cost two dollars and seventy-five cents apeice instead of twenty. It'd be much easier to make a profit that way. Too bad we don't have a real publisher ready to shell out all kinds of money on us. I think we need to find some investors.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Yellow

On Friday I went to superior with mom to meet with my recruiter. Why he had to have the group meeting in the park when the whole place was blocked by construction is beyond me. On Saturday I went with mom and maunta to walmart and we stopped for a bite to eat in town. Today I sat in the living room all day. I thought I'd try my hand at knitting a hat with some yellow yarn maunta gave me. So far it looks like a too big crappy hat. It was supposed to look like one of those long floppy ones the French voyagers used to wear but so far it doesn't. It's not done yet so maybe I'll be able to fix it. I'm going to the cities tomorrow with ma. I'll meet up with J. and we'll try to get this book thing worked out. Meanwhile, I've been reading Murder at the Cat Show and I can't seem to remember where I left off.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Why is That?

Got bored with staying at home and went into town to have lunch with L. G. It's a shame she wants to move to Canada but I suppose the economy being what it is you can't really blame a person. I've been reading sharpe's havoc and I'm almost done with it. I still have quite a few other books to read so I'm going to try and hold off on getting another batch of sharpe books untill I've finished at least twenty six more of the other books I already have. Meanwhile, I've been very consistent on that exercising and I found out YouTube plays on the wii but for whatever reason other video sites don't. Why is that?

- Posted from my iPhone.

"."

I did some more reading today, watched some tv, and exercised. I even tried to clean the kitchen. Mom made blts for supper so it got messy again anyway. I spent some time watching YouTube videos of victor Borge and senior Wences with ma. I decided phonetic puntuation and inflationary language is hilarious. I also finally understand that reference dad makes when he pretends to have a box that says s'alright when he opens it. We also watched clips from singing in the rain. They just don't make comedy like they used to these days.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Twenty Six

Today was really hot and muggy. It felt like a hundred degrees out but really it was only eighty nine and very humid. I went into town with dad today, he kept me waiting in the truck in the heat for an hour while he was looking for a missing stick. I really shouldn't be complaining after he gave me that money last week but the heat made me unappreciative. I felt much better after lunch at the saigon but then the paperback book exchange was closed for "vacation" and ruined my day all over again. Not to mention my friend was late and had to cancel her visit. And then when I got home the wii fit had the audacity to say I was unbalanced. Stupid wii fit, what does it know anyway? At least I got to vote today and kugel just hit a home run and the twins are ahead twelve to five. I hope they win but I'm too tired to stay up and watch. I did finish reading two more books last night. So far this summer my book count is up to twenty six. That seems like a lot, but it isn't like I have anything else to do.

- Posted from my iPhone.

My First Video Post!

So, after a brief jog this morning with Lucy, some siting around, some lunch, some reading, some exercising, and some more sitting around, I decided to see if I could get a video on my phone of the cat, who has a strange habit of sleeping with her face smashed into the floor. This explains why she has such a flat face but not, I think, what she finds so appealing about our rank old living room carpet. Let's see if I can't figure out how to post a video to my blog.

It appears I was successful. Hurray for my first video post! I think.

Silly Cat

I found a pedometer for my iPhone and tested it out today by jogging around the corner and back. It took me fifteen minutes and was a distance of one and a half miles. Even though I was utterly exhausted at least I know I can make it at least half the way I'll be going at basic. And I have till December to work up to the whole loop. I also figured out how to enter outside activities in the wii fit and how to create a profile for the cat. Silly thing was sleeping all day but she managed to only weigh nine pounds. The last cat we had was sixteen pounds or more. Cleaned the kitchen. Went into town to check dad's rail cars for him and picked up some stuff to make tacos for supper. My brother stopped by on his way back from work and he had some tacos. It's supposed to storm tonight. Now that I'm going to bed that silly cat has decided to get up and create some havoc. Maybe she wants to go out in the rain after all?

- Posted from my iPhone.

No Fish

After watching that movie Igor on tv I decided to go to maunta's at the lake. I brought my fishin rod and cast off the dock but I didn't catch anything. I think that plastic gulp was expired or something. I did finish reading the silver blade. It was actually. Pretty good book, fast paced, a little dark, romantic, and with just a touch of mystery and magic. I tried to swim but the water was much colder than last time and I just paddled around in the floating chair collecting beaver wood for silver crow. She made a nice lunch for me after. I stopped for some m&ms on the way home and boy, was the store crowded. I think the entire town must have been in there buying groceries for the week. When I got home I put in another thirty minutes on that wii fit. I'm even more sore now than I was this morning. I guess that's how you know it's working though. I still can't seem to get that hoola hoop rhythm right. To be honest, I was never that big a fan of twitchy hips and shaking booties anyway. Of course, I defeated any goal of calorie burning I might have had by eating a big bowl of ice cream with whipped cream before bed. I suppose I'll have to burn it off tomorrow. Meanwhile I started on sharpe's rifles. The gist of it is similar to the movie but there are a lot more differences as far as the little thing go. We'll see if it ends the same way.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Wii

Went up to fortune bay this morning and applied for a job at the golf course. Stopped in town to pick up a sandwich for lunch on the way home. Mom finally decided to hook up the wii and we took turns exercising all afternoon. I found out I really need to work on my push ups and balance. I didn't do too bad on the sit ups or running in place though. Now that I have something keeping track and giving an incentive I might exercise more often. I really want to beat mom's high scores.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Um, No

Filled out that mall application this morning and dropped it off in town. I had to stop and say hi to grandma and check on dad's railcars anyway. I decided to splurge and got some shower gel and spray from bath and body works. Nice stuff, on sale too. Went for a walk with Lucy when I got home. I didn't finish that book yet and the new ones came while I was in town. Only two hundred paged left though. Ma wanted me to go for a walk with her but I'd just gotten back from my own walk. She told me she saw a bobcat sunning on a rock by the side of the road. And just yesterday I was saying how I didn't like walking by myself and dad was saying I should have a gun to keep away the scary beasties. It's a shame I'm too broke to afford to buy one. I keep saying I'll buy all sorts of stuff when I win the lottery, but I still haven't bothered to buy a ticket. Maybe tomorrow.

- Posted from my iPhone.

False Hope

Went to town with mom yesterday to help her shop for new outfits. The ladies at the store were so nice, I even got an aplication to fill out. We ha lunch with maunta and while ma met with some finance guy maunta and I went to target. I was broke so I didn't buy anything. Dad made steak and veggies for supper when we got home. I cleaned the kitchen and living room this morning. Not that it will stay clean for long. I finished reading that wizard in rhyme book. I went for a walk after dinner with Lucy. I even did some sit ups and push ups. My books haven't come in the mail yet, though I did get a little excited when the ups truck pulled up, but it turns out it was just delivering medicine for dad from the VA. I started reading The Silver Blade. I wonder if I'll finish it before my new books come?

- Posted from my iPhone.

Fantasy Vs. History

Stayed home yesterday and finished reading sharpe's prey. So I orded the next four in the series. Meanwhile I started in on book three of A Wizard in Rhyme. So far it's okay. I liked the ones with matt as the main character better. I gave the beagle a bath. It rained again. I'm starting to not like the rain. Every time it rains it gets hot the next day which makes everything humid and muggy and miserable. I really am a fall person. I went for another walk/jog with Lucy today. At least it was cloudy and there weren't a lot of bugs but it was still sticky and muggy out. Watched some tv and folded some laundry. Did more reading. I don't know if I'll finish the book tomorrow but I'm going to give it a try. I want to at least get a couple other books read before my next batch of sharpe's books arrives. I know this book has an evil whitch, her army, torturers, fighting, fleeing, magic, poetry, and love, but even the violent bits aren't nearly as graphic or exciting as sharpe's and the love doesn't seem quite as romantic. I suppose it just goes to show that fantasy never quite lives up to history.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Tall Ships!

Yay! My hopes weren't dashed after all. My folks decided to take me to see the ships in Duluth. We even went out to eat at red lobster. The ships were awesome. I wish we could have gotten closer though. Ma wouldn't pay the seventeen bucks to go on a tour so we just looked at the ships from the dock. If only we had known we could have done like those smart people and launched our own boat and gotten good pictures from the water. Still it was pretty cool.














We also saw something interesting in th parking lot. Be forwarned, I do not endorse this vehicle!


Even though we didn't walk far it was icky hot and I was tired. We stopped at sam's club for a bit and I napped on the way home. I napped some more on the couch when I got home. J is working hard on the pictures for out book. Hopefully they'll be ready in time for the next convention. Ma and maunta are busy googling old videos of sixties bands on ma's new computer. I left sharpe stranded in Copenhagen and I should get back to find out how he escapes. I'm sure it involves some gratuitus violence.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Dashed

Dyed my hair this morning. I think it turned out alright. I went into town and bought a book at the mall before going to babysit my cousins, which turned out not to be as bad as I thought it was going to be. I even got home in time to catch part of the twins' game on tv. Dad said he was going fishing tomorrow and ma says it's going to rain. My hopes of seeing the tall ships are being dashed. Dashed I tell you. Dashed. Well, at least I finished sharpe' trafalger and if the cover is anything to go by the next book should have some seafaring in it as well. Though reading about a ship in a book isn't nearly the same as seeing a real ship with your own two eyes. At least I have something to dream about tonight.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Grapevine

Did some more cleaning yesterday and finished reading another sharpe book. I was going to go for a walk today but Lucy was limping so I jumped rope in the living room instead. Poor beagly. Hope she gets better soon. Went into town this afternoon and got an application for the gas station. My recruiter told me I was for sure a linguist and would be leaving in December. The gal working the counter at subway already knew which was a little strange since I didn't even know her and I only found out and told the folks and grandfolks yesterday. I guess you never really notice how fast the small town grapevine works until you happen to the the subject of discussion. Ma gave me some cash to pick up ice cream in town. Mint. With whipped cream. I saw on the news that the tall ships are in Duluth. Maybe it's just the fact that the curret sharpe book I'm reading is trafalger and the epic sea battle but I'm just dying to go an see the ships. I've always been a fan of old fashioned sailing ships, I love horatio hornblower, and if I don't go see the ships now it might be years till I get another chance if ever. Mother says she doesn't want to drive in the traffic. Maybe I can convince dad to go. I remember he liked horatio when it was on tv. I guess I'll have to hope they see sense.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Spring Cleaning In July?

Went to town with mom today to pick up more packing boxes for the basement. We got twelve and we ran out. I even filled another tote with stuff from my nightstands. Slowly but surely we're getting the basement in order. At least all that box lifting is making up for some of that exercise I've been missing. I do wonder though, is it still spring cleaning if we waited till the middle of summer to get started?

- Posted from my iPhone.

Rasberries

Went to town with dad yesterday. We stopped at the shack to pick rasberries and then at the grocery store so dad could get pectin to make jam. We haven't had time to make any jam yet though.


I didn't go anywhere today. It was horribly hot out just like yesterday. I did manage to finish reading the second sharpe book, which was epic, and started on the third. Ma and I managed to get all those old books packed away and I got rid of two whole totes of knick knacks from my room. It's actually starting to seem possible that we might get the basement redone before I leave for basic, it's my closet I'm worried about.

- Posted from my iPhone.

New Table

I couldn't sleep so I woke up at five o'clock this morning. I laid in bed for half an hour, then got up and made some breakfast, then read a few chapters in my book, and then I went for a walk. When I got back at seven twenty I was bored so I went back to bed. I got up again three hours later when dad got home from the shack. I helped ma organize some books downstairs and then we all went to Duluth to pick up mom's new kitchen table from the Amish furniture place. The real reason I went was because I knew they'd have to stop for lunch and dinner and us broke unemployed recent college grads are always looking for free food. I really need to work on building some upper body strength though, I had a time of it helping haul the old table to the shed and getting the new one up the stairs. I was going to bed when ma started yacking at me to start packing up my "trinkets and dodads" in my room before I left for basic. So I filled a whole box of beanie babies to get her to go away. It wasn't so bad though, now all my glass stuff fits in my display cupboard and I found out I had a matching set of buddy and baby Mattie cats.





I still have a lot of other stuff to put away yet but maybe I can put it off till ma is done with her books. And she's been working on those books for a really long time.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Hitch A Ride

I forgot to post yesterday but when we were driving home from town a frog appeared out of nowhere on the side window of the truck. It was pretty unexpected. We did eventually pull over and let it go in the grass but we never did figure out how it got there. I wrote a poem called To Hitch A Ride that can be read on white fox: silver crow.

Hurray For Books

My sharpe books finally came today. Unfortunately I already started on a different book so I'll have to finish that before I can start on my new ones. Went to town with the folks. We stopped at the BL for lunch. It sure is nice after they rebuilt it after the fire. I did some more reading when I got home and watched a little tv. I talked to J and she wants me to come visit in august. We'll see. It woul be nice to get all this book stuff finalized.

- Posted from my iPhone.

New Hair

Went into town this morning for a haircut. All the colored bits are gone now. The gal who cut it said I would look cute in platnum blonde but she also said it would be high maintenance. I managed to get all the way to grandma's when dad called to make me turn around and go back to check his railcars. When I did get home I found that mom won the contest as he new laptop computer arrived in the mail. My books haven't come yet. I really hope they get here tomorrow. I finished readin The Light Fantastic. At least this one had a solid happy ending, none of that silly falling off the edge of the world stuff like the first one. Still, I want my sharpe books to get here like yesterday.

- Posted from my iPhone.

BLTs

Went for a walk with lucy yesterday and after I went into town with ma. We looke around the mall but didn't see anything worth getting so we went to target. We got a couple of storage totes and frapachinos at starbucks. We met silver crow for lunch at that new perkins they just built on the highway. It was alright. Silver crow came over to watch a movie. It stormed again last night. The night before it knocked out our Internet. Went for another walk with Lucy this morning. Watched tv and did some reading. Ma made BLTs for supper. So far I've managed to keep my room clean. My books haven't come in the mail yet. Ma ordered a new computer the sane day I ordered books and we have a contest to see which one gets here first. I hope my books win. I also decided to time myself and found that I can do 28 push ups in a minute and 40 sit ups in a minute. I know the minimum push up number is twenty seven but I forgot the sit ups. I think I passed it though.

- Posted from my iPhone.

So Over Fantasy

Went for a long walk this morning. I thought if I went early it wouldn't be so hot out but I was wrong. Even when I hit shady stretches they were filled with skeetos. Cleaned my room again today, finally got around to changing my sheets and blankets. It looks pretty nice. I went into town to see if the bookstore had the second sharpe book but they didn't. Said hi to aunt C. in the hall. I picked up a pizza on the way home from pizza hut and watched a few movies before finally deciding to order those sharpe books online. What with online discounts and free express shipping I think I got a pretty good deal and the books should arrive by the end of the week. Even though I have a lot of other books I haven't read yet I still can't wait for those sharpe books to get here. I think maybe I'm over fantasy for a while. Historical war fiction is totally my new favorite thing.

- Posted from my iPhone.

The Movie Didn't Have Tigers

I went for a short walk today with the beagle. There was this weird yellow dog who kept running away like he was scared. I finished reading Sharpe's Tiger. It was sort of funny how a lot of stuff from the book was similar to the last movie but the movie took place years after the book did, and there weren't any tigers in the movie. The book was excellent. I really hope I can get the next one soon, last time I was at the bookstore they didn't have it. Maybe I'll order it from barnes and noble online, as long as I paid for that member card I might as well use it to get the free shipping and twenty percent off discounts. I'll have to remind myself to check the site tomorrow. I also need to remember to wash my sheets. I keep meaning to but somehow I never get around to it.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Air Show

Went to the air show in Duluth today with the folks and one of dad's marine buddies. The planes were pretty cool. I had to meet up with my recruiter and all the other air force recruits and we were sworn in by the comander of the air force thunder birds right out in front of the whole crowd. I hope we get copies of the professional pictures they took because we were too far away from the crowd for dad's pictures to be very good. We stopped for lunch on the way home and ma stole an airshow poster off the restaurant bullitin board for me. She'd already bought me a thunderbirds visor at the show. I hung the poster up as soon as I got home. For spending most of the day standing around waiting I sure am exhausted, think I'll count some planes (or paratroopers) and go to bed early.


- Posted from my iPhone.

Death to Wasps!

Dad made me mow the lawn today. Funnily enough, I must have driven past that swingset five or six times, right next to it too, but it wasn't until after supper when I was chasing the cat and she ducked under it that I got stung by a wasp. I'd forgotten how much it hurt. At least wasps don't have detachable stingers although, knowing your attacker will die does have a certain appeal to it. Dad sprayed the nest but I'm still not going out there till I know for sure the're dead. My poor hand finally quit hurting, but now it's numb. I can't understand why those wackos into alternative medicine go to get bee stings on purpose for therapy. I think I'd rather run three miles, do sixty sit ups, and then do forty push ups. I don't know if my hand would let me do a push up now though. Death to wasps. At least bees polinate flowers and make honey, wasps serve no useful purpose. A painful death to wasps everywhere.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Zombie Romance

I haven't been on my computer in ages. I suppose since I'm not in school anymore I don't use it for research or papers and I can check my e-mail on my phone now so I hardly use it for that. I don't even need it to update my blog and I've been on facebook hiatus since I gave up on all those inane games. I suppose I thought the poor thing was missing me so this post is from my computer (shhh... nobody say anything about me wanting a new computer, I don't want charlie to feel bad, worse, you know). I  applied for another job today before going into town. I went with L.G. to see the new Sorcerer's Apprentice movie. It was really good. Ninety five percent of the reason I went was Nicholas Cage and the other five percent was the live action version of the mad mop scene from fantasia but the rest of the movie turned out to be really good as well. I went home without getting any pizza but that's ok becaue ma let me order a pizza  for supper anyway and that way she paid for it instead of me.

I finally broke down and watched the second twilight movie, even though I'm still a firm believer that the whole series is lame, poorly written, and doesn't even have any real vampires in it. Turns out the second movie was just Bella feeling suicidal because Edward left and Edward being suicidal because he thought she succeded when really she was saved by the werewolf. Basically melodramadic idiocy. All I can say is I was watching a very poor quality copy a friend burned me, the sound was off and the piture was fuzy and it skipped a lot, and the quality of the video was still better than the quality of the book, story, plot, characters, and movie acting combined. And don't tell me that story and plot are the same thing because the're not. I'm an English major, I should know. If only I wasn't so lazy, then I could wite my own vampire romance. Although, since vampires are so sickeningly popular these days, as are werewolves and wizards,  maybe I should move on to the next big thing and write a zombie romance novel. Seriously, at least then when people gagged reading it it wouldn't be becuase it was sappy or the writing sucked, it would be because some girl was swapping spit with a reanimated rotting corpse that lacks all voluntary bodily control and only exists to eat brains and do the bidding of an evil vodo priest intent on taking over the world. I'll sleep on it and start writing tomorrow.  (Man, I really wanted to put in a mean political joke in there about the vp, thank goodness I caught myself.)

Deep Dish Pizza

Went for a walk yesterday to test out the new shoes mom bought me the other day. I also went into town with K. We went to the mall and grabbed a bite to eat. After I got home I watched some tv and did a little reading. It rained all day today so I didn't get in any walks. I did do twenty minutes of stair steppers. Watched tv, did some reading, tried to make home made macaroni and cheese. It was ok. Not great but edible at least. I have a deep dish pizza craving but all the restaurants are too far away and closed. I think that's what I'll do tomorrow, get a deep dish pizza. I should probably apply for another few jobs as well.

- Posted from my iPhone.

It Was A Really Nice Jacket

I went with the folks to bring my sister back down to the cities for her flight yesterday. Everyone met at my auntie J.'s for pizza. I decided that the winking moose would make a great name for a pub and/or and signature drink, something blue with whipped cream and a mint in a martini glass. My friend J called to let me know that she has finished all the pictures for a black and white book. We could have a test copy ready by the end of the month. My sister wanted to stay at auntie J's but I went with m folks to aunt M's. We looked at old family photos for a while before bed. M made breakfast and we went over to auntie J's to get my sister, who was still sleeping. She also insisted we stop at the mall of America before the airport. I suppose I would have understood why she wanted to go there when we were already running an hour late if it wasn't for the fact that the store she wanted to go to was the same one we had just been a in Duluth two days ago. Anyway, after dropping her off at the airport and after some of dad's confusion with the gps we went to noodles for lunch. They have the best macaroni and cheese there. Then we hit the road. We stopped at the tanger outlet mall. I was goin to get this jacket from wilson's leather that was on sale for fifteen bucks but when I got back from looking in another store wilson's was closed for a delivery and dad insisted we couldn't wait for them to reopen. And it was a really nice jacket too. We made another stop somewhere at mcdonald's for supper before we made it home. I'm just so glad not to be moving anymore. For whatever reason I always feel queesy and jerked around when dad drives. I'd blame it on city trafic but most of the drive was long straight stretches of highway in the middle of nowhere. Oh well, no use complaining when I'm already home.

- Posted from my iPhone.

A Good Night's Sleep

Went into town with the folks today. My dad got some new hot pads and ma picked up a cat bed for grandma's cat, Patches is so ignored. Had a quick bite to eat off the arby's dollar menu. Dropped the cat bed off at grandma's on the way home. Dad decided to make smoked ribs for supper so I talked ma into taking me to arrowhead lake and I went swimming for half an hour. Then it was home, supper, tv and now bed. We have to bring Hannah back down to the cities tomorrow. Her plane leaves on the day after but she wants to visit family and the mall of America so we're going early and staying over a night. Ma was whining at me because I don't have lots of friends my own age and saying I should have joined more extra curricular groups. Seriously, all her friends she has now are years older than her so I don't see why she should be complaining about me. Besides, I'm not going to do stuff I don't like just so I can meet people. If I don't like doing stuff but do it anyway how likely is it that the people I meet who actually do like doing that stuff will be the sort of people I'd want to be friends with anyway? Whatever. I think finding a way to make some money and pay off my student loans is a bigger priority at the moment. That, and a good night's sleep.

- Posted from my iPhone.

Shadow Me

Went for a walk with Lucy this morning. Saw lot of black eyed Susans.


Went to grandma's again with ma to help clean more stuff. We threw out five big garbage bags this time and it still looks like we've hardly made any progress. At least the middle bedroom looks ok. I went for a walk on the trail out back of grandma's. I really liked the fact that the trail meandered through the tall pines so it was shaded. I saw the bones of some kind of large animal, possibly a dear.














It was a nice walk. I tried getting ahold of K when I got home but there was no answer. Too bad. I wanted to go to a movie. Dad made chilli for supper. I threw a whole trash bag of garbage out from my room. I have too much junk already and I haven't had nearly as long as grandma to accumulate it. Speaking of, the only thing I saved from the knick knack box was this funky candle holder. It makes for a nice before bed reading light.


- Posted from my iPhone.

Inconsistent Cover

Went into town with dad yesterday. We had lunch at that Mexican place downtown. We stopped at grandma's on the way back to check in. I watched some tv at home. I finally finished reading that lost fleet series. My only complaint is that on the cover of every book the main character is shown dressed in battle armor wielding a weapon on the surface of a planet during a battle. Having read all the books I can confidently say that the main character never set foot off his ship, during battle or otherwise, except at the very end of the last book when he went to the spaceport. At no point did he ever wear battle armor or wield a weapon. That might sound lame but trust me, despite being the exact opposite of the epic cover the book was actually better. I went to the Duluth mall with my sister today. She talked me into buying this purple and grey outfit on sale. I also got a couple books at barnes and noble. They rearranged everything in the store! I'm terribly annoyed with whoever decided to move stuff around. Now I'm going to have to memorize where everything is all over again, an since I'm not at school and can't stop in every week it will take me who knows how long. At least gander mountain hasn't changed much. Sure they moved the whole store but that was years ago. We stopped at the outback steakhouse for a late lunch. My sis insisted on paying since I had driven which was awfully nice of her. I started reading the blood of Ambrose when I got home. So far it's very good. It's proven to have a plethora of witty banter and the characters so far are quite entertaining. But then, I'm only on page eighty so well see.


- Posted from my iPhone.

Counting Sheep

Went with the folks to visit grandma in the hospital in Duluth. My brother and sister would have come but they ha other stuff already going on and besides sis was tired of spending all her vacation riding around in vehicles. I dropped sis off at B's in town then went with my folks and grandpa to the hospital. Grandma was doing so good she was able to come home that afternoon. I rode home with my aunt and uncle. L. G. wanted to do something when I got back so I took her to the mall and bought her some ice cream. Then I went home. Ma stayed the night at grandma and grandpa's. This morning I went over there to help clean the middle bedroom. We must have thrown out ten big garbage bags full of stuff and it still looks like it's full of junk. We took grandma to the double g to pick up garbage stickers. Ma decided to stay another night but I came home. I went out to maunta's at the lake. Went for a swim, watched a movie, said hi to all the kitties. On the way home at ten thirty I saw five dear, possibly six, one fox, and a horse. I suppose that's slightly more interesting than counting sheep.

-Posted from my iPhone