Fall...

Is starting.  I know it's the 7th of November, but fall is only now getting under way.  The 17th of October was the first day to really feel like fall and that was followed by some 80 degree days.
The first part of October was a beautiful Indian Summer around here.  Bright, breezy, and warm.  I've still got some flowers blooming in the garden.  The roses have really liked this part of the year, and seem to be doing OK, even now there are still some buds about to open.  Don't know how much longer they'll last though.  The weather is anything but stable right now.  The heater has kicked on here and there, but it's been off more than on.  Wasn't that long ago that I had the AC on.  
But, to paraphrase Jeff Foxworthy:  You might live in the middle of the U.S. if you've ever gone from the heater in the morning to the air conditioner in the afternoon, back to the heater at night...
October was that kind of month.  Though there have been quite a few days when I've had the windows open and nothing running.
It's been a productive few days.  I've made some progress on the window frames.  I started working on them a while back.  Cleaning, caulking, painting etc...  It's been a sporadic project.  I baked yesterday, corn bread in the morning and pork chops last night.  That's the last of the pork chops, they were good while they lasted.  I finished the living room move about a week ago.  The movie collection is organized and reduced in bulk.  I know where everything is and I can get to it all.  The couch is away from the front windows and I think that the curtains will be much safer now.  I'm happy with the relocation.  This arrangement leaves a lot more of the space open and is much more flexible.  I can throw up the table and just leave it with out having it out in the middle of everything.  There will still be room to move.
And, shades of Post Traumatic stress kicking in, I like the placement of the couch much better.  I now have a solid wall at my back and clear sight lines into the rest of the house.  Funny how I don't really notice that in myself until I correct something that makes me uncomfortable.  I'm much more relaxed sitting in the living room now.
And the animals seem to be happy with the move....

Been busy lately.  Worked about 33 hours last week, which was a very good thing.
I spent the 28th and 29th helping friends get ready for a Halloween party.  It was a fun party, had a good time.
On the 29th, that was a Saturday, Dusty took a powder.  I opened the back door to find a stray dog in the yard.  A big stray dog.  He'd knocked the back gate off the hinges.  When I opened the door he took off the way he came in, and of course, Dusty was right behind him.  I got out to the alley in time to see her disappearing into the distance.
Not a good feeling there.
Dusty is not a stupid dog, but she's a big goof.  I'm not sure she realizes that cars are really dangerous, and I don't know if she could find her way back home.
I was in the car a few minuets later and on the hunt.  Luckily she didn't get too far.  I found her about 4 blocks away, looking really lost.
Then, that afternoon, she ate one of my Moccasins and I really wondered why I had bothered to hunt her down...
She's been out of the cage for most of the last month, but I can't put it away yet.  She earned time in the cage last week when I came home and found paper Armageddon in the living room.  She pulled one of the files of owners manuals off the shelf under the desk.  She's really lucky it was an old file with manuals I didn't really need anymore.
Ah well, for all the grief my animals cause, I still love them.
I still miss Anya.
And this weekend I buried Bird.
His passing wasn't completely unexpected.  He had been sick for over a month.  I gave him 2 rounds of antibiotics, but they didn't do any good.  At least he's not suffering anymore.
I really miss his cheerful chatter.

RIP: Bird ?- Nov. 5, 2011

Early, but it ain't bright...

It's early and I'm already running out of time...
It was a busy weekend.
But, all the tomatoes have been washed and sorted.  Those that have a hope of turning red are in a box or a bag.  The rest are ready for processing into fried, roasted, or pickled treats.  This is the first year that I'm trying to use up the green tomatoes.  In prior years I've just given them away.  This year we're going to experiment and see what happens.
I made about $30 bucks off the yard sale, which isn't too good.  But it's very good considering that I had no traffic at all.  Only about 10 people stopped.  I got enough for a tank of gas, though.
Next week I'm gonna go out to the flea market.  If the stuff doesn't sell there it's going to Goodwill on the way home.  I am not bringing all that stuff back into the house.  It just ain't happening.  I like having space at the end of the bed.
It really sucks to be working and still unable to pay the bills or put gas in the car.
Well, my time is up for now.  I gotta get dressed and start moving....

It's been a busy week...

I've been in lady's intimates.
At work.
I've been working in the lady's intimates department, putting out the stock.
And Monday we moved the department around.  We started at 5am and moved fixtures, stock, everything.  To make room for the holiday explosion of the sleep wear department.
Don't let it fool ya, all that flimsy, lacy stuff is heavy, and plushy robes are an interesting weight lifting challenge.  We had most of the fixtures moved by 10am.
I came home Monday, took some pain killer and collapsed on the couch for awhile.
I didn't stay there too long.  Had an invitation to a rib dinner Monday evening.  It was good.
Tuesday I worked till 2:30pm, flashing my knickers.  I also dropped my drawers quite a bit...
My task for Tuesday was to move a display of underwear from a floor fixture to the wall.  Keeping panties on hangers is not the easiest thing in the world.
One of the vendor representatives that came in to help with the move was just as tickled by word play as I am.  We traded one liners about droopy drawers and such all day.
I'm almost done reorganizing my movie collection.  That took up a good chunk of the end of last week and the weekend.  I decided to put the movies into binders.  This will take up a lot less space in the living room.  It doesn't sound like much of a task till you take into consideration that I have hundreds of movies.  I use a numbering system for identification.  So each movie had to be removed from the case, numbered with a Sharpie and put into a sleeve.  Then I had to deal with the art work and box the cases.  It was time consuming, but will be worth it in the end.  Now I can start on moving the living room around.  Still not quite sure how it will end up, but I've got some ideas to try.  I want to get the couch away from the big window in the front.  I'm tired of dealing with the dogs and the curtains.
Wednesday I worked and came home and cleaned.  Yesterday I did laundry and ripped up the garden.
Now I have a pile of green tomatoes to deal with.
Last night I reorganized the yard sale crap.
Today I have to get moving and go get a permit.  Doing a yard sale today and tomorrow.  Hoping to get some cash to help pay the bills.
Tonight I will finish cleaning and sorting green tomatoes...

I don't like being back here....

I got paid today, and I'm still broke.  This living paycheck to paycheck and juggling pocket change to cover expenses, running with the car on fumes all the time, paying bills by the shutoff notice, sucks.  I really don't like being back here.  The day is quickly coming when I will have more shut off notices than money.
Last month's water bill is paid, the refrigerator is mine for 4 more weeks, the car is insured, and the animals have food.  Can't get much more mileage out of the bank account right now.  Keeping fingers crossed that gas will last till next Friday.  I'm all out of change and there aren't enough cans to turn in yet.
At least I had a taste of what it's like to have enough money to cover bills every month.  There was a short while there when working one job was enough to keep me going...
The job hunt has stalled a bit.  Macy's has upped my hours a trifle.  Adapting to that, and other things, the last couple of weeks has side tracked the search.  But I got a notice from Ashley furniture yesterday, informing me that they were perusing other candidates.
I interviewed with them over a month ago.
Come on guys, if you aren't going to follow up in a more timely fashion, save yourself some money and don't follow up at all.  Like I'm gonna sit on my ass for a month and just wait for that letter....
Move on, I already have.
And in moving on...
Please, all you lazy ass people who don't really want to work...
Don't.
If you aren't going to show up on time for the job once you get it, don't even bother wasting everybody's time and applying.  I haven't worked a day at this job yet when at least 3 people were late.  Why anybody puts up with it I don't know.  There have been several people on my shift who haven't shown up on scheduled days, that are still working there.  I don't get that.  Used to be, you didn't show up, didn't call, you got canned.
Heard one of the higher ups say the other day that they were annoyed with the people claiming to need a job and then not showing up when they had it.
I can sympathize with that opinion.  Realize that it costs money for some company just to hire you.  It's a waste all around if you don't show up when you get the job.
And I could really use the hours these people aren't showing up for.  I find it very annoying to hear my supervisor, and others, talking about people who were scheduled and didn't show for shifts that I could have worked.
I also find it annoying that half the people I work with move at half speed.  You are paid to work, not stand around and flirt and shot the shit.
All right, I'm done with the mini-rant.
Luna, Chicken Dog, has developed a phobia about the kitchen.  I still haven't figured out what is causing the problem.  She's OK heading towards the back door.  But coming back into the house has become a difficult thing.  Since it's the same bit of house both ways and nothing has changed in that area in months and this only started a couple of weeks back, I've got no idea what is bothering her.  I've moved several things around.  But nothing has helped.  She still finds it a stressful thing to come in from the back door.  Since she willingly follows me to the back door every time I let Dusty in or out, or when I move laundry or go into the utility room, this is a problem...
But it's one she has to deal with herself.  I can't move anything else in that area.  The refrigerator is, hopefully, not moving, and there's nowhere else to put the stove.  So, she just has to deal.  I ignore when she's back there whining.  She eventually makes a mad dash.
It's October, and I've been digging through my collection and scanning Netflix for Hammer and American International horror films.  You know, the ones that used to play on the Saturday night creature feature.  The ones staring the likes of Vincent Price, Boris Karloff,  and Peter Lorrie.  It's that time of year...

Tabula Rasa....

Most will know this as 'blank slate'.  It's an old idea.  To which we ascribe many meanings, and which will summon many different images.  Cuz we all have our own image of concepts, our own unique internalization and representation of the thought.  Only a telepath can over come this, and I haven't met any of those in my time.  I've met people who could sympathize, and even empathize, but none who could think my thoughts or feel my feelings.  Thoughts and feeling can be shared, but each individual is alone with the internalization, and each internalization is different.
And I have no idea why I'm tracking that tangent....
Which brings us back to the 'blank slate'.  Which is what I have right at the moment.
Last week was a bit of a roller-coaster ride, what with Con. and death occurring in such proximity.
Still adjusting to the change in the household.
The job is still too new to be used to.  It's a challenge adjusting to the schedule.  I was up sewing till 2am this morning.  Tomorrow I've gotta get up at 3am.  The schedule isn't regular enough to force me to fully adapt.  I've got too many nights when staying up till 2am is an option.
The job is interesting.  Last week I got to arrange Jim Shore Christmas collectibles.  All sorts of angels and Santas and snowmen.  Yesterday I played with towels and redisplayed Yankee candles.  My supervisor likes the way I arrange things.  Just wish it paid more.
But today I'm left to my own devices and I'm not really sure where I want to go with this day.  I need to finish the front lawn, do laundry, clean the kitchen, etc...
I'm working on a doll.  I could just devote my day to that.
There's lots of yard work to do.
I could blow it all off and go to the Zoo...
Tabula Rasa...
Which more accurately, according to Wikipedia, is erased slate.
Thinking about that...
Every new second is an erased slate.  I could decide in the next second that I'm gonna pack the animals off to the Humane Society, sell the house and everything else, and go bum around Europe.
One of my favorite crazy ideas.
I could do it.
I won't, cuz that first step causes me no end of grief....
But, I could.
I could change my life in any number of new and interesting ways.
Just wish I knew which way to change...
Since I can't run and find the one who loves me, I'll have to dig myself out of this funky white space.
If I could just remember where I left the shovel...

This is perverse...

Last Monday I collected all the squirt bottles in the house for a cleaning and refilling.  I had them set around the house in locations where they would be easy to reach, quickly.  They are for the correction of inappropriate feline behavior.  Always handy to get the cat off the bookcase.
As I was getting ready to refill them Thursday afternoon, I realized I didn't need them anymore.  Anya was the only cat in the house indulging in inappropriate feline behavior.  Oz rarely leaves the floor.  His worst habit is sleeping on the rug in front of the toilette, and he's learned to move when I go into the bathroom.  Ash is rarely in the house.  When he is the only inappropriate thing he does is try to grab food off my plate, and he hasn't tried that in a long time.
With Anya gone, I don't need the squirt bottles.
The other day I left the back door open.  It was a nice day, there was a good breeze, and the dogs could come and go as they pleased.  The only reason I had for keeping the door shut was Anya.  Ash pretty much demands to be out most of the time.  Oz wants nothing to do with the great outdoors.  Anya was the one I didn't want going outside.
Tuesday, I washed the blanket that was on top of the other blankets.  I kept an old blanket on top of the other ones so Anya wouldn't get them dirty.  She liked to lay on top of the stack.  Which I was OK with.  That her usual route for getting there was across the top of my dresser didn't thrill me too much.  Now I don't have to worry about the stuff on my dresser getting knocked around or off.  I won't have her looking down at me from the shelf in the washroom.  I don't have to worry about what hangs at the front of the bar under that shelf anymore, cuz she won't be using it to climb up.  I keep an old, ratty jacket in that position.  She put a lot of snags in it.  I don't have to worry about keeping the sheets and towels on the shelf in the bedroom packed so tight she couldn't curl up on top of them.  I can untie the string that's holding the back cabinet shut.  She won't be going in there anymore, or pulling anything more out of it.  I won't have to rearrange the little rubber duckies on the desk shelf every few days.  I won't be cleaning up sand from the desktop Zen garden anymore.  I don't have to worry about where I set things now.  Don't have to consider if it's completely stable or it's something the cat can knock off.  I can leave thread spools sitting on the table for more than 5 minutes.  I don't have to worry about anything ending up on the floor as a cat toy or dog chew.  The next time I work a puzzle I won't have to worry about covering it up or leaving the pieces out on the table....
I could go on, and I'm sure things will occur over time to add to this litany.
WHY DO I MISS THIS CAT SO MUCH?!
When she was on my lap, she wasn't happy if she couldn't sink a claw in somewhere.  She was a knead-y cat, persistent despite endless correction.  She had a bad tendency of snuggling up and then sinking teeth in.  She truly and honestly earned the title Demon Kitty, and the name of an ex-demon.
For those who are not fans of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.  Anya was named after a character on the show who debuted as, Anyanka, a demon big bad.  At the end of that episode her power center was destroyed and she was left a mortal teenager in Sunnydale.  Watching her try to order a beer is one of my favorite bits from the show.  She, like her namesake, was inappropriate, annoying, and, sometimes, downright mean, but endearing and sympathetic enough to become a major character.
Anya, the cat, was cute and could be cuddly.  She made me laugh.  Watching her play was one of my favorite things.  The house is too quite without her.  Rotten cat.

Well, I've got things to do today and I have to be at work 7am tomorrow.  I think Macy's really wants to keep me.  Yesterday my supervisor was asking if I was considering staying with the job or if it was only a
seasonal thing.  I told her the truth.  I would consider staying with it.  I actually like the job.  But, right now, it's a job, and if I can't support myself I will continue to look for something that will.  If I find something better, I'm outta there.  I need something better than $8.00 an hour.  I could see the merchandising at Macy's growing into something better, but I can't really wait for that.

I'm considering going out to the Occupy St. Louis action.  I really want to go over there and camp out.  But I'm not prepared to do that, yet.  I am going over there sometime today.  Just to see what's up.

The other thing on the slate for today is a memorial campfire in Marc's honor.
And I really want to go out for that.  At least for a little while.
I knew Marc for about 14 years.  We didn't hang out all that much.  Maybe once or twice a month, lately.  But sitting around in his living room talking about... pretty much everything was one of my favorite things.  It was always fun, even when he was watching wrestling.  Knowing that I'll never do that again is very depressing.  I'm really glad that I saw him a week ago Thursday.   I don't have the regret of not having seen him in over a month.  I count myself fortunate to have that time.  Marc was an intelligent, sensible, compassionate, funny person.  Just knowing he's not there has made the world a bit dimmer.

I've been feeling a trifle paralyzed this last part of the week.  Left to my own devices, with nothing immediate to take care of, I'm being slow to move.  Don't know how this day will run, but I've got to get it started...

Time to get serious....

Believe me, nobody wants to do that less than me.
But, the circumstances are beyond my control.

Check out this article from Monday:

Long road from farm to fork worsens food outbreaks

Now, I have to wonder about that.  Cuz really, most everything sold in the produce isle at the store I can grow fairly well in my backyard.  There are some exceptions, cantaloupe not being one of them.  Why is getting food from the farm to the table such a problem?  We used to be pretty good at it.  Since the turn of the last century, when we started checking and regulating things we've kept a large portion of our nation fed and healthy for a very long time.  I haven't checked the history, but I don't recall too many tainted food stories before a few years back.
So, what happened?  Last century we had a good system in place and most people got good, fresh food in their local markets, and this century we can't manage it?  Really?

"Increasingly with agribusiness you have limited producers of any given food, so a breakdown in a facility or plant or in a large field crop operation exposes thousands because of the way the food is distributed," says Dr. Brian Currie, an infectious disease specialist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York.

Ah yes, now I understand.
Big corporate farms are not a good thing?  What a shocker.
It used to be, back in the day of mom and pop, those much maligned oldsters.  There were a lot of small, independent farmers.  These farmers traded directly with the consumers of their areas, or at least no more than 3, maybe 4, levels of local middle men.  Things moved pretty quickly from the field to dinner plate.  Since their were lots of smaller farms people grew a wide verity of things locally to offer to the market and you could pretty much get whatever you wanted.  We operated on that model for decades and with a little oversight and tweaking here and there it worked, and people didn't die.
Now with the advent of large corporate farms things that are grown down the street are getting shipped half way round the world, and the land around you grows 1, maybe 2, different crops.  Things have to be shipped farther and farther, and people are getting sick.
We really need to rethink this system.  I, for one, will seek more and more to get my food from local sources.  I already deal with small, local businesses for some of my provisions.  It's time to see what else I can find.
I would really like to know where my food has been.

Up and moving... sort of...

I'm up.  Gotta be at work at 6am.  So I'm up.
And my fingers are moving...
It's amazing how much presence 1 tiny little cat could have.  The house seems empty without her.  She would have been in here trying to jump in my lap, or on the bird, long about now.  Anya was a bitchy little thing but she kept life interesting and was a good snuggler, when she wanted to be.
Marc's funeral is later today, at the crematorium.  I know where it is.  That's where I had to go pick up Steve...
But I'm good at loosing people and things.  I've got a lot of practice at it.  I'll absorb and adapt.  I always do.
The real problem I have is never fully investing in anyone or anything while they are here.
I probably will never fully move in to this house.  I have some stuff that hasn't been out of the box since I moved out of my mom's house.  It's stuff that I really don't want to loose.  So it stays in the box, ready to go.  When it's time to move, I grab that box and I know it's all there.  I added Stonzie's puppy stuff to the box the last time I moved.  There's stuff in that box I'd like to have out where I could see it, but I don't expect I'll ever take it out of the box.
So far this has been a strange morning.
But my time is ticking down.  I've gotta get dressed and motor...

$97.50 =

One dead cat.
I had to put Anya down today.  I sat outside with her till about 3am this morning, she seemed to be doing better.  Was trying to squirm off my lap.  I brought her in and parked her in her window in the bedroom.  She settled down and seemed to be breathing alright.  She had stopped wheezing.  Was taking deeper breaths...
I watched her till about 5:30am.  I set the alarm for 8:30 and laid down.  When I got up she was in the living room wheezing again.  I took her outside but that didn't seem to help much.
So, bundled her up and took her to the Banfield Vet in Edwardsville, they were, supposedly, cheap and I had a coupon..  She had lots of fluid on the lungs, severe respiratory distress.  Still no idea what really happened.  Doesn't appear to have been any sort of infection.  She was fine when she was clawing my leg to get into my lap yesterday.  C said she was fine this weekend.  Vet said it could have been caused by some sort of trauma.  Asked if she was a chewer of electrical cords.
If she was trying a new hobby, it backfired...
Vet said that she'd need intensive treatment and he still couldn't say she'd recover.
I had her put to sleep.
And that cost $97.50.  Thanks to the generosity of friends, and house cleaning,, I had that.  I know it's stupid to spend that kinda money on a cat, but what was I gonna do?  She could have lingered like that for days.
I couldn't do that.
Anya can now go as high as her little heart desires.
Though I really think she's headed the other direction....

She was too good at her job.  They called her home for a promotion.
<SIGH> No more vulture kitty...

No more kitty in interesting places.

This is the last picture I took of her...

 

Anya Kitty

 

April '09 - October 5, 2011

Looks like Marc will have a traveling companion...

That was fun...

The plan was to go to bed early and get up at 3am.  Trying to switch back over to work time.  I've gotta be in at 6am tomorrow.  I was gonna try to switch back over to that schedule today.
But it wasn't meant to be.
It appears that Anya has had an asthma attack.
At first I thought she was choking.  but C ruched over and confirmed that she wasn't choking.  After that it took us a bit to figure out what was going on.  We both think it was an asthma attack.  I took her outside for a while and she seems to be doing OK now.  I've got her all set up in the window in the bedroom and she seems to be comfortable.
But I've been up all night messing with her.
It's just a good thing I don't have to be in until tomorrow.
Now I get to decide weather or not to take her to the Vet.  I really can't afford that right now.
And I get to decide weather or not to lay down for a while, or just stay up all day,,,,
Guess it's time to make some coffee.

Archon 35....

When last we talked of this, seriously, I was heading out the door...

Costumes ready to go.

All my stuff packed.

I was loaded and ready to go around 2:30pm.  My personal launch time for Con. is 5pm.  Comes from the days of having to work on Thursday or Friday.  So 2:30 ain't bad.

I motored over to E & J's to see what was up.  Had a cup of coffee.  C gave me a key card for the room.  I took one of the boxes they had ready to go and headed out.  I was in Collinsville around 4pm.

Next time, I'm taking a smaller first trip, that way when the key card doesn't work, it's not such a pain.  Somebody was nice enough to let me into the hotel.  But that was no help with the room.  Luckily, our Linus and Lucy were in the parking lot.  I had gone up to let them in.  It was good in theory.  They came up and watched stuff and I ran down and got the key card fixed.  We got into the room, yeah.  I lugged the rest of my stuff up.  They lugged up their stuff and we settled in.

Shortly, everybody else rolled in.  We all settled into 2 connecting rooms, with refrigerator and coffee maker.

Yeah, we were stylin.

After the meet and greet and exploration and setting of the rooms we ascended to the flurry of the first round of costumes.  This is the round where basic costumes difficulties will arise.  Depending on your level of perprep, these will very in challenge and toughness.  It's good to have safety pins, superglue, and duck tape for this round.  This year the round was fairly uneventful.  Most of the difficulties having been considered and planed for.  We had the duck tape and Saran wrap when it was needed.

My Rouge costume is meant to be a Saturday day costume, not a main costume, not yet.  It's a work in progress.  I realize that I can't do the whole thing right in one year.  The plan is to slowly build the whole costume up with leather armour and everything, into an elven rouge.  It's a long term thing.  If I had considered using it as the main costume this year I would have done something about the make up.  As it was with the critical fails on the T.A.R.D.I.S costume, it was a fair fall back.  Wearing it this year made me decide that this year's serious project is a proper tunic.  

The lining of the cape being black wasn't a planned thing.  But, the cape worked well.

I wasn't stepping on it and not many other people did either.  It billowed quite nicely in the wind.  I like the way it turned out.  So it stays with the costume.  I'm gonna see about turning the pin into a button.  Pinning it all the time is a pain.  The belt and scabbard worked great.  But you can't really see them.  So this year I'm gonna work on a suitable tunic.  The mask was a last minute addition and it was a little difficult to see out of.

Learned that real quick by walking face first into a window right off.

I had only had one drink.  My title as Champion Klutz is secure.

I registered, I got my weapons, peace bonded.

Anything that could be used as a weapon has to be secured to the costume.  Since my sword and dagger or metal and pointy enough to do damage they were zip tied to the scabbards.  I didn't take the staff with me this year, didn't want to deal with it.

And then I walked around, talked to people, and took pictures.

That's pretty much what I did all weekend.  Walked around, took pictures, talked to people, hung out in the room.  Had a great time.

Saturday morning we all suited up and did the Hogwarts sorting ceremony.

This year we had a Professor Sprout and Hagrid.

This year was a little low key for all of us.  There weren't any panels that looked interesting, I couldn't find a schedule for the video room in the program, didn't work up the interest to look for it.  Half of our number were sick.  People had other obligations.

The beds were comfortable and the squishy pillows were awesome.  I miss the squishy pillows.

We ate unhealthy food and partied.  Can you ask for much more? 

 The rest of my pictures from Archon 35 are on Picasa...

Monday and the return to the mundane....

Ahhh, yes.  The return to the real world has been interesting.
Had to dig out the old curtain rods and put them up in the living room yesterday.  The dogs managed to to take the curtains all the way down over the weekend.  Leaving them alone in the house is almost as bad as leaving teenagers alone.  I tried to dog proof the house as much as possible last Friday, but there's only so much you can do.  I'm gonna store the tables behind the couch.  Maybe that will help a bit.
We'll see.
Had a great weekend at Con.  But that's a topic for another post.  Today I'm gonna clean and get my house in order.
The weekend had a BIG bummer in it.  Saturday a good friend passed.  It was quite a shock, complications from a scooter accident he had about 2 weeks back.  He was going to come out to Con on Saturday, but...  We have lost another truly good person.  The world is a sadder place.
I'm glad circumstances conspired and I got to hang out with him last Thursday.  Very grateful that I got to see him smile and got that last hug.  Very mindful that you never know what the future will bring and that you've got to enjoy the time you get.
Looking forward to hanging out with friends later today...

I am good to go!

And I do mean good.
Everything I wanted to get done for this costume has been accomplished  Wit the inclusion of a garter for the dagger I wasn't planning on taking.  The belt and scabbard look great.  The cape is done.
And I have a suitable bag.  Looks like something my Rouge might carry and is big enough to hold the cameras and other stuff.
Shows what $10 bucks and a half an hour of work can accomplish.  Yes, I used $10 of the Walmart card to finish the costume.  It's worth it.
I'm ready to head off into the land of elsewhere.  Bring on the true vacation.  Cuz this is the only go away from home vacation I've gotten in more than 20 years.  It is a good weekend.  Regardless of what doesn't quite work.
It's a live and learn sort of thing.  Last year we learned not to have Taco Bell and then follow it up with White Castle.  This is a recipe for chemical warfare.
Well, this is probably the last post till Sunday or Monday.  I hope you all have a great weekend.

The Morning of Con.

Which is not a Con. morning.  Those are completely different.
This is the morning of Con.  Which is a special thing all by itself.  Con. prep has been in full swing for 2 weeks now, on E & J's part, mostly.  I started working on the T.A.R.D.S costume over a month ago.  Since the critical fails on that front, I've been working intensively on the cape for a little over a week.  But I've been over there working on the belt, and helping out where I can.
Con. prep is a year long thing, really.  Intensity of activity depends on the costume.  Last year I was putting the finishing touches on the Umbridge costume and packing at this point in time.  This year I'm working on the cape.
And it's almost done.  I wrestled with the hem till the wee hours.  The first pinning was way to high.  It would have inspired high water jokes.  So I had to mark the hem all by myself.  It's not easy to set a hem on something when yer wearing it.  I always have trouble with hems anyway.
It looks good in theory, section by section on the table, with the bulk of it trying to slither off the other side....
I really needed a bigger work space for this project.  Would have been much easier to do if I could have laid the whole thing out flat at some point.  The table I have won't even accommodate a quarter of it at a time.  Made things very difficult.  The cape is heavy and it was always sliding off the table.  I don't have a full length mirror so I'm judging the final product on what I can see with it hanging on the back of a door, spread out on the bed, or looking down while I have it on.  A dress makers dummy would be very helpful.
It's far from perfect, but it's done.  I'm gonna throw it in the wash.  It spent a lot of time on the floor it needs a good washing.  It seems to move well, I can walk in it with out stepping on it.  Will have to wait and see how much other people step on it.

I was planning on pinning it on, have a neat necklace bit that will make a good pin, if I can get the backing to stay on it.  that became a problem about 2am this morning.  That's when I decided to go to bed....
I still have to wrok with the pin and see if I can get it to work.  Failing that I'll have to find an interesting button and do some more hand sewing....
I'm also working on a garter for the dagger.  I wasn't going to mess with the dagger this year, but I had an idea last night....
Still need to do something about a bag....  I started on an idea the other day, but it's not panning out...
And I have to run to Wally world for dog food.
I'm waiting on the Macy's check to pop up in my account right now.  I'm supposed to be getting paid for last week, but it's not there yet.
As usual, the morning of Con. and it's chaos.....
But, it's all good.

Con Countdown....

We have entered the final round of Con countdown.  This time tomorrow we will be on Con time.  Which, as you all know, moves in mysterious ways.  Con is one of the few places in my world that still has magic in it.  I'll get to see people I haven't seen in at least a year.  I've already seen people that I haven't seen in a year.  C & M got into town yesterday afternoon.  We sat around the kitchen table swilling coffee and laughing.
There have been a couple of costume accidents.  The staff for C's Moody costume was pretty much destroyed by Fedex.  It got to E & J's on Tuesday in five pieces.  Luckily C found a place on line that can ship a new one and have it here today or tomorrow.  I'm not sure, I don't remember when it was supposed to come in and I haven't talked to anyone over there tonight.  It will be here for Con.  M & C are repeating their costumes from last year as Mad-Eye Moody and Minerva MoGonagal.  Moody's wand arrived yesterday and the staff should be here in time.
J & E are doing a big splash this year with the ballroom costumes from Labyrinth.



These will be in serious contention for the Hall Way costume contest.  They decided not to enter the Masquerade.  They didn't want to devote the time it takes to compete in the Masquerade.

J made Jareth's costume and J's mom made the dress for Sarah.  I've seen Jareth's costume.  E's been beading it for the last week.  This thing has some serious bling to it.  It's gonna look good.  E finally found the perfect wig.  The Jacket is done.  Everything is ready to go.  Except Cosplay shipped him 2 left boots.  They got here late yesterday.  There's another place out in Cal. that's shipping another pair, hopefully not exact matches, unless they are the right ones, by tomorrow....  Let's all keep our fingers crossed.
I haven't seen the dress since it was a couple of bolts of material.  Haven't gotten an update on status.  Last I heard, last night, there was still some question on the state of the dress.
I will have plenty of pictures at the end of the weekend.
Things are charging now.  Batteries and cameras, they are all sucking up juice as we speak.  I'm doing laundry and packing.  The belt and scabbard are completely finished.  I need to hem the cloak.  Still haven't found or made a camera bag.  Gonna hafta work on that.  I need to dig out the leather lace I dyded last year for the dagger.  The Umbridge costume is ready to go.  I want to clean up a little before leaving.
So I have things to do before I sleep.

This is cool....

Just when I was thinking I'd have to spend more time on the phone with Clear, the refund showed up.  I returned the modem to Clear last week.  I was gonna call them about the refund when I got off work today, was expecting to have to fight them for the money.  Good news is, the refund is in!  This is cool.  They did live up to their word.  So Clear will honor their money back policy, you just have to cancel within 30 days and wait a while.
Well that's one thing off my to do list.  Which is good, cuz it's rather a long list.  Con countdown is nearing it's end and I've still got a lot to do.
The first day of work was good.  This job will either get me in shape, or kill me.  Lot's of lugging stuff up and down steps.  But I don't have to mess with the public, which is a big plus.  Yesterday they had me playing with china.  That was rather freaksome.  Kept worrying that I'd break something.  But I merchandised 2 displays of plates, cups, and stuff and didn't chip or break anything.
Dusty is heading into her third day out of the cage.  So far so good.
Well I've gotta hit the road...

Just when I was trying to stay positive....

The @&!!%# coffee maker goes out.  The stupid thing's only about 5 months old.  But it appears that the heating element is shot.
At least it went out today, when I've got time to screw around with coming up with a make shift plan, and not tomorrow when I have to leave the house by 5am and it would be even more of a rude awakening.  I can plan for the inconvenience.  From here on out, I'll have to boil water on the stove, stand and pour that through the basket, and then nuke the second cup.  Isn't that just spiffy?
Don't know when I'll have the money to replace it.
Life is such a joy.
I should have just waited and looked around for the Black and Decker.  I didn't want the Mr Coffee, back when I bought it.  But, that's all they had at Walmart, and I needed a coffee maker.  So I went ahead and bought it, even though the reviews I read weren't good.  Just proves that reading the reviews on Amazon are a good way to judge the quality of the products that are out there.  This thing has been a dog since the day I bought it.  It's the leakiest thing I've ever seen, and now it's little more than a decorative grounds holder.
If yer buying a coffee maker in the near future, don't trust the Mr Coffee name.  They ain't what they used to be.
I've got a $25 credit for Amazon.  Guess I'll head over there and see how far that will get me...

Another Monday....

Another week gone.
But, today I'm finding it difficult to be bummed.
We're in the final countdown to Con. and I don't care that I won't have money to burn.  I never really spend all that much in the Hucksters room anyway.  Last year I bought the sword and the daggers for the Rouge costume and I still only spent about $40 bucks.  This year there's not really anything I want, so no big loss.  For me Con is about hanging with my friends and taking pictures.  Thanks to my awesome friends, I can do that without too much worry.  The costume prep is almost done.  So all good on that front.
And today, I have places to be and things to do.  Got a house cleaning gig that will provide some tide over money.  At the end of the week I'll get the first check from Macy's.  It's small, but it's something.  Hopefully I'll get at least some hours from Macy's every week from here on out.  This week I'll get enough to pay the insurance on the car.  After this weekend I can contemplate getting rid of the yard sale stuff.  A table space at the flea market is $10.  I'm thinking that will get me more traffic than a yard sale.  So seriously looking at that for the weekend following this.
Life could be a hell of a lot worse.
On the good side, I left Dusty out of the cage while I was gone yesterday and she didn't chew anything!!  Maybe my baby puppy is finally growing up.  She managed to get my knee pads down on the floor, but had the good sense not to chew them.  So today she's earned another day out of the cage.  We'll see how this goes.  Maybe next weekend I won't have a huge mess to clean up on Sunday.  Let's keep our fingers crossed.  I'd really like to be able to take the crate out of the living room.  If all goes well that could happen as early as next week.
Gonna go shopping for pants today.  I've already resigned myself to not finding any slacks with pockets, so there's only the chance of a pleasant surprise there.
Well, I've gotta get my butt in gear and move.  Hope everybody has an awesome week!

The things you remember....

J's costume for this years Con has sparked many jokes and invoked the spirit of Mr. Extreme himself, Liberace....
Anybody remember him?



He, and his outrageous costumes, were a semi constant in my childhood.  He was always fun to watch, wherever he appeared.



The man was not afraid to laugh at himself.  I think that was one of his greatest talents.  It's good to see someone so talented who doesn't take himself too seriously.  He always came across as a plain nice guy, who enjoyed the jokes.
And he was extremely talented, as these clips from his 50's TV show demonstrate.  Watch those fingers fly...






Today, I give you Liberace, one of the great showmen of my time.

An amazing thing...

The mail has been late most everyday this week.
But, something amazing came in the mail on Wednesday.  Someone, I don't know who cuz they didn't sign the card or put a return address on it, sent me a hefty Walmart gift card.  I have my suspicions as to who it was, but no way of knowing for sure.  I think it might be one, or more, of my former co-workers, who were an amazing bunch of super nice people.  Whoever it was, I hope you are reading this, THANK YOU!!!  This bit of a boost is muchly appreciated and extremely timely, as I have to invest in cloths for the new job.
The dress code at Macy's is all black, with no denim allowed.  I have a couple of shirts that I can wear, but no pants.  This incredible gift will allow me to be properly attired for my real first day of work.
Things are going to be very tight from here on out.  I can only hope that I can get enough hours at Macy's to make my bills.  I will get a small check at the end of next week.  But Macy's is starting out very slowly.  Next week I'll only get 8 hours.  I'm hoping for more the week after.  At $8.00 an hour I'll need at least 30 hours a week to even hope to cover everything.
The job hunt continues, but there has been no more response to all the apps I've put out.  I've listed with two 2 temp companies, but I don't know how that will work out with Macy's, and they haven't called me about anything.
I have listed with a new job board that is generating more leads, and leads on this side of the river, which is good.  The less driving I have to do the better.  Keeping my fingers crossed that somebody will call and I can at least pick up another part time gig that will give me more hours.
As it is I'm already in the hole.  I wasn't able to make the tax payment on the house this month.  So I'm heading into negative numbers.
On the bright side, I guess, I'm not smoking as much.

I took cans and scrap metal in the other day and got a little more cash.  Everybody in the house still has food, and the electric is good for another month, so not all bad.
I'm thinking about renting Dusty out as a squirrel exterminator.  She's real good at it.  Got another one the other day.  She likes to go and sit on the back steps and wait for the stupid things to come into the yard, and they are stupid enough to come into the yard with her sitting there.  I'm not happy about it, but the squirrel population is dropping.  I'm just hoping she doesn't get bit.  I can't be out there with her all the time.
She's agitating to go out right now...
I was told, in no uncertain terms, that my presence was required at Con next weekend.  So I will be going, and I'm gonna try not to worry about the money aspects.  Though gas for the car is going to be a concern.  No matter what it will be fun, and I will enjoy myself.
I'm going with the rouge's costume.  The bodice for the TARDIS costume is giving me fits and dying the lace did not go as planned.  Things just did come together and I don't think I can finish it by next weekend.  I'm almost done with the cape, and last weekend, with J's able help, and donation of the leather and other supplies, I got the belt mostly finished.  I stripped and refinished the scabbard for the short sword, it's black to match the belt.  I'm going to try to make some sort of bag, to carry my camera and such, that will match the costume.  We'll see how that goes...
Still can't get my email to work, not totally.  I have narrowed the problem down to the router.  AT&T is PPPOE and I can't get the router to work with that setting.  Every time I try, it disconnects from the web.  I think it has something to do with the passwords.  It's not AT&T equipment so their tech support can't do anything with it, unless I pay for a service call, and that ain't happening right now.  If I get the time, I'll call Belkin tech support and see what they have to say.  For now, if I disconnect the router I can access email and Facebook.  Maxwell and his connection problems have eaten enough of my time.
And, if I don't find someway of bringing in more money it's all gonna be a moot point.  I'm gonna have to drop Netflix.  After October, I'm not going to have electricity.  Kinda puts things in perspective.
Besides, right now, I need to worry about how to make the payments on the refrigerator.  I've been paying on that for over a year now and I don't want to loose all the money I've already paid into it...
Ah, well such is life.  Things have to get better soon, right?
Now, I'm off to check the other job board and see if there are any more places to apply.  I'm averaging about 5 apps a day.  Something should change soon...

There's problems here...

This started out as a reply to Pardu's excellent diary '"Classism" and the Death of Middle America'.  But I realize that I'm straying from the point and it's getting to long for a reply...

 

We've been giving the rich tax breaks for going on 10 years now and the country is worse off than it was before they went into effect.  So I still don't see how anyone can continue to support the idea that tax breaks for the rich are good for the nation.  The Bush tax cuts have not created any jobs.
Look at the unemployment figures, and then argue that point.
Corporate execs and CEOs get to keep more of the money and this country slides deeper and deeper into the pit.  If we don't collect more revenue we don't have the money to spend on... anything.  Education is in the crapper, our roads and infrastructure are crumbling, policemen, firemen, and teachers are out of work.  Where is all the hyped good that the Bush tax breaks have brought us?
And now we're supposed to cut support programs that thousands depend on for simple survival so that the execs and CEOs can keep even more money?  How is that going to help?

And computer terminals report some gains in the values of copper and tin
While American businessmen snap up Van Goghs
For the price of a hospital wing

That line is from a song published back in 1990.  Is it any less true now?  Is there some magic number that will suddenly turn the tide of greed?  Do you honestly think that any of the money men are going to wake up tomorrow and think 'Hey I've got 5 houses, it's time to start giving back to the community'?
I think they'll wake up tomorrow and buy another Van Gogh to hang on the wall of a house they don't live in.
More tax breaks for the rich and corporations are not going to help anyone but the rich and the corporations.
HCHRISTE brought up the issue of outsourcing.  Which works for the corporations because they don't have to pay a living wage in 3rd world countries.  There's no regulations in 3rd world countries.  It's all good for the corporations.  So they want to bring home the 3rd world conditions.  They want to pay people here the same non-living wages they pay there.  They want to wreck the same ecological destruction here that they wreck there.
Let's drop minimum wage to $3 bucks an hour.
Let's get rid of the EPA and OSHA.
Let's give them what they want.
And we can all live in a world where the price of clean drinking water will fuel more corporate profits and the common rabble can breath toxic fumes while they work 24 hours a day for the benefit of their superiors...
What we should be doing, here, at home, is making it less profitable for corporations to out source.  We should be making the corporations pay to fix the ecological damage they've inflicted on the 3rd world.  We should figure out some way of raising the living standard of the 3rd world.
Along with that, we should revamp welfare and the other support programs so that only those that truly can't work get a free ride.  Instead of just handing out free money, there should be some control of where that money goes.  If you are able-bodied and healthy there should be some sort of work requirement for the money.  FDR's Civilian Conservation Corps worked wonders for this country.  Something like that, along with training programs could do a lot for us right now.
We should clean our government house.  But instead of cutting vital services we should be looking to cut redundancy and waste.  We should be looking to reduce cronyism and pork.  We should be looking to take profit out of government.  We should be looking at cutting salaries and perks.  Let's get rid of the lobbyists, let's put some limits on campaign money.  Let's restrict media messages, get rid of the sound bites, spins, and false information.  Let's bring government back to the service of the people, instead of the control of the people.

 

Scientists find earliest known evidence of 1918 influenza pandemic

Scientists find earliest known evidence of 1918 influenza pandemic

Frustration!!

<SIGH>  Looks like frustration is gonna be the name of this week too.  Little is going right at the moment.  I'm having problems getting the internet access set up.  Seems to be a problem with the router.  If I don't have the router hooked up the internet works fine.  I can get into the Yahoo account and Facebook works.  Hook the router up and Yahoo and Facebook don't work.
So, right now, I can either read email and post to Facebook, or I can watch TV.  Can't do both, cuz I need the router to stream to the TV.  I'm still working on it.
Which is eating time that I need to work on the costume for Con.  That's not going well either.  Had to seam rip the bodice twice already, and I haven't gotten to the difficult stuff yet.  Decided to work on the cape and screwed up the cutting.  Luckily I had enough material to recover from that.  But now I have to make a decision on the lining and I don't like my choices in that department.  Things just suck right now.
But, today I go in to do the paperwork for the job.  Hopefully I can start working soon.  I need the money.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be a better week than the last...

Scientists take first step towards creating 'inorganic life'

Scientists take first step towards creating 'inorganic life'

Today is really my kind of day.

According to the nifty Oriental Trading Calender today is Cream Filled Doughnut Day.  It's a good day.  Happy Cream Filled Doughnut Day!  I'm including my favorite doughnut in this day, even though they are custard filled.  My all time favorite doughnut is the Caramel frosted, custard filled doughnuts from Shuncks.
The bakery at Shuncks is one of the best around.  About the best here,since Sielbold's closed.  The bakery that replaced Siebold's isn't as good.
It's turned into a nice rainy day.
Yes, I'm weird, I like rainy days.  I like gray and drippy.  The dogs aren't too thrilled, but I'm quite happy.  Haven't had a day like this in a while.  It's just a nice rain, no big hairy storms or strong winds.  There was some good thunder and lightening early this morning.  Right now I'm listening to a steady downpour.  It's really kinda cool.
Well, I've switched internet providers.  I'm now with AT&T.
Clear really didn't want to let go.  Spent over an hour trying to get the service shut down and get the question of returning the modem settled.  They say it's a full money back thing, till you want your money back.  The service seemed to work OK, in general.  But I couldn't get it to stream NetFlix.  Since I rely on streaming for entertainment, this was a problem.  I did everything they said too, had a great signal, but had to move the modem to another room to get it.  This was a strike against.  I still couldn't get it to run NetFlix.  So I decided I didn't want to keep it.  Getting them to honor the money back thing was not easy.  Right now I'm wating for the return address label to show up.  I'm betting on another extended session with the foreign customer service staff.
At first I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of AT&T.  2+ years back when I had the service at the other house, the service was fine, but dealing with customer service, which was in some other country, was a pain in the posterior.  I wasn't looking forward to repeating that.
But, I'm happy to say, things have changed with AT&T.  The people I've spoken to on the phone were American and so far everything has gone fairly well.  I've got a problem with emil that still needs fixing, but I'll get back to it shortly.  Netflix works fine and everything else is doing OK.
So summing up internet survey:
Charter, expensive at $60.00+ a month and out several hours a week.
Clear, less expensive, at $45.00 a month.  It was down a couple of times too and didn't work as well.  Though setup with Clear was way easier than Charter.  If you try Clear make sure to keep everything in the package and determine if it's going to work for you quickly.  If you don't cancel before the end of the 30 day trial period, yer stuck with the modem.
AT&T:  This time set up was fairly easy.  Customer service is now based in the U.S., which is a big + for them.  I'm working on the email problem, we'll have to wait and see how that goes.  Internet access has been steady since I set it up last night.
I'm sure Charter is having problems today.  They always do in bad weather
And AT&T is way cheaper at $14.95 a month, right now, and even at $30.00+ a month at the end of the year.

Positive Thinking

According to my nifty Oriental Trading calendar today is positive thinking day.
I've been a believer in positive thinking for quite awhile now.  Many years back when the depressions was really bad, and I was very close to just offing myself, I realized that a big part of the problem was my attitude.  If I kept thinking that everything was crap, then there was no way anything was going to change.  So I determined to change that attitude.  I embraced positive thinking.  I started by coming up with a list of 100 things I was grateful for, figuring that if I could come up 100 things to be happy about then the world, and my life, wasn't all bad.  After all, what goes around comes around, and what you put out into the universe comes back to you three fold. That decision was enough to pull me out of one of the darkest times of my life.  I've been a believer in positive thinking ever since.
It hasn't always been easy.  Back when I made the decision to embrace the positive I had Steve around to keep going.  When Steve died the only thing that kept me from following through with any of the various plans to willfully shuffle this mortal coil was my promise to him that I wouldn't, that, and the very real fear that I'd screw it up big time.  I've tried it enough times to know that killing yourself isn't the easiest thing in the world.  The fear of ending up as a vegetable is not totally unfounded.
This most recent bought of negativity, the loss of the best job I've ever had, is seriously testing the positive attitude.  But, so far, the positive is still holding.
It's not all bad.
I am, conditionally, employed.  I have been offered, and have accepted, a job with Macy's.  Just waiting for the background check to clear.  I'm not sure, but there appears to be some sort of problem with that.  Got a call from them yesterday to confirm that I had completed all the necessary steps online so they could complete it.  I double checked and it says that everything is done.  Last Wednesday, when I went for the interview they said it would take 5 days for the background check to go through.  But I don't know weather to count the 5 days from last Wednesday or if I should restart the clock from Monday.  I'm going to wait till Friday and if I haven't heard back I'm gonna call and see what's up.
It's not much of a job, part time at $8.00 an hour, but it's something.  I'm still submitting apps. and completing testing for various positions.  Hopefully something will change soon.
For now, I'm gonna think positive and believe that everything will work OK.
Today, I'm messing with the internet service, again.  Clear just doesn't work with the Roku, so I can't watch anything on NetFlix and some of the other channels don't play smoothly.  I'm trying to get service set up with AT&T.  We'll see how that goes.  If I have to go back to Charter, I'm not gonna be a happy camper.  $60.00 a month just for the internet sucks.  AT&T will be $14.95 for the first year and about $30.00 after that.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  I'm waiting for them to finish setting up the service.  Hopefully this will be the last of the computer/internet problems...
But, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?
Compared to many, I'm not that bad off.  I still have some money in the bank and the possibility for employment in the near future.
So happy positive thinking day!

Something New

And fun!
It's Swap Ideas Day, according to my nifty Oriental Trading calender, and I have something cool to share.
A couple weeks back the folks over at My Memories contacted me and asked if I would like to evaluate their scrapbook software.



Now, I'm not really a scrapbooking sort.  I've done a couple of albums in the past, but they've all been pretty basic.  But this looked kinda fun.  So I decided to try it out.
And I'm glad I did.  It really is as easy as they say.  In about 10 mins.  I created my first page:

  

And, while this is really neat, I decided that the background was a little tame.  I wanted something with a little more umph:

Changing it was just a couple clicks of the mouse.  That one was so easy I decided to get a little more involved and I created a page for a friend:

Pretty cool, huh?

 I even used the software to create a graphic for the blog the other day:

I'm not one to rely on preset templates.  I created these pages on the fly.  But if you really like things easy, the My Memories software comes with a whole bunch of photo layouts, templates, and quick pages.  As shown in the video above, the fast fill makes albums really quick and easy.

The basic software package comes with lots of different backgrounds and embellishments and there are many more available on the My Memories site.  They even have a whole bunch of free kits to add to the selection, and there's the My Memories Blog where you can pick up tips and new ideas.

 I downloaded the software from the website and installation was easy, even with Maxwell being old and slow.  I downloaded several of the free kits and installing those was a snap.  The My Memories software works with all of my fonts, and I have A LOT of fonts, and it even works with some of my graphics.

All and all I've had a lot of fun working with the My Memories digital scrapbooking software

And now for the best part.

As part of the evaluation the folks at My Memories are giving me the chance to give away a free software package.  The regular price for the suite is $39.97, so this is pretty good deal.

If this sounds interesting and you'd like to try it yourself, for free, all you have to do is:

1.  Visit the My Memories site, look through the scrapbooking kits, and pick out the one you like best.

2.  Send me your cutest photo.

Send the photo and your kit choice to: merrykat3@gmail.com

The deadline is next Saturday, Sept.17, 2011.

Next Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011, I'll post the photos and announce the winner of the the free My Memories suite.

And if you are just so psyched about the software and don't want to wait, cut and paste this code:

STMMMS31997

For a $10.00 discount on the My Memories Suite and $10.00 coupon for the My Memories store.

And check back throughout the next week for more on the software and more of the projects I've made with it.