Happy 4th of July

Today is rainy in Kansas City but the barbecues and fireworks will still liven up the day.  What a great day when our countries celebrates it's birthday.  For weeks the celebration has been under way.  All the communities around KC have their own festivals and celebrations.  We live in a great nation!

For my grandson, I repurposed a T shirt that was a bit baggy and sloppy on me.

 Using an Octobre pattern, I cut the flag out of the original T shirt, I reused the sleeves and ribbing also. I have fabric left over for another T.    I should have gone to the store and bought a lighter shade of grey thread.  I have been trying to use up thread I already have.  But the zigzag around the ribbing stands out more than I had hoped.

Regina

Start a New Novel

I have started reading Winter's Bone: A Novel by Daniel Woodrell.  This novel has grabbed me from page one.  The movie came out recently and is forecast to receive Oscar nods.  I prefer to read the book first.  I usually find movies do not depict the story as well as the novel.  For example how could you ever expect a movie to pull off The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Neffenegger.  I saw the movie and who could have followed it without having read the book.  Another example is White Oleander by Janet Fitch.  That movie did not at all come across well.  The novel was so good, but there is no way a movie could detail the life of Astrid who's mother was imprisoned for murder and she bounced from foster home to foster home.  Such a gripping novel.

I have yet to watch the movie, The Lovely Bones.

But I have heard good reviews about the movie Winter's Bone, although still have to read the novel first.

Regina

Raccoons

There are raccoons in our neighborhood.  A few years ago, I had issues with them getting into the bird food I stored in containers on the back patio and upper deck.  Needless to say, I now keep my birdfood in the garage.  Recently I changed a bird feeder from an open mouth feeder to little slots for the birds access to the food.   I had seen the squirrels and grackles eating all my bird seed so wanted to change it just for the finches.

Shortly after I changed the feeder, I noticed a plant had been trampled.  I didn't pay it much attention just figuring the birds had been using it for landing.  I moved the plant.  Then about a week later I found a pile of poop by my sliding glass door.  I had stepped right over it and sat down on my chair to enjoy a nice early morning cup of coffee.  My dog, Sadie, immediately picked up the scent and followed the path of something on the deck that lead to the pile.  This was not the pile from a little squirrel.  At first I was confused about how and what had happened.     There are no stairs leading to the deck and it is at least 10 feet off the ground.  I knew raccoons and squirrels could get on the deck.   Then a week or so later I found the cushion on my lounge chair destroyed.

I felt so violated.  I cannot prove it was raccoons but can't figure out what else it would have destroyed the cushion.  Would a squirrel be able to do this?  

Regina

Dog-N-Jog

Sadie and I went to the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City Dog-n-Jog this morning.  We used her new Easy Walk Harness and love, love, love it.  Since the D-ring to attach to lease is on the dogs chest they cannot pull.  Every time Sadie got ahead of me or tried to pull, she was turned toward me.  She still received plenty of opportunity to sniff and visit dogs and people but it was so much easier for me and welcoming for others.  We start personalized training next Saturday.

Regina

It is June - humidity, art festivals and my Golden Retriever-

Summer is here, the heat and humidity of Kansas City, not my favorite time of year.  I grew up in the desert southwest and have been in KC for 15 years.  I am still  adjusting to the humidity, but still hate it.


I went to the  first annual Liberty Arts Squared last Saturday, June 5th.  It was so humid, standing in the shade, sweat was rolling into my eyes and burning.  But I am happy to support a local art festival in my neighborhood.  I saw some great pieces of art, one of my favs was Cinderelish, a potter, who I visited with and found out she has a blog.  I love her pottery and could see pieces that I believe my daughter-in-law would love.


My dog Sadie, is a stubborn, overly friendly Golden Retriever.  She is always so eager to see people, I cannot control her, she pulls, wags ferociously and stretches out to sniff and lick them.    In the last two weeks I have been hurt as a result of her antics.  The first I was walking her and friend Newton in St Louis, and two little dogs were barking disturbingly at a fence as we approached.  Sadie pulled to get to them.  I braces to hold her back.  I was doing pretty good until I felt my left foot slip and my big toe hit the front of my shoe.    I did get Sadie past the little dogs and finished our mile walk.  An hour or so later, I felt my big toe hurting like my shoe had been too tight.  Upon further analysis, I found toe swollen, unable to bend and very sore.   I still don't know exactly what happened.  Toe is slightly better, but still not too flexible.  That was two weeks ago.


Last weekend, I took a two mile walk with Sadie and as I approached a man on the sidewalk, I deliberated about whether to step into street or hold bring Sadie to my side and secure her.  I did the later, and that rotten little cute girl leaped out to see sniff the man.  I stepped off the sidewalk to control her and stepped right into a hole and fell, twisted my knee and scrapped and bruised my elbow.  This has got to stop!!!!

I have tried the Gentle Leader, but Sadie walks around with her head to the ground in shame.  I talked to my friend Laura, a dog trainer and owner of  the The Dog's Spot, she recommended a product by Premier the Easy Walk Harness.  It did take me a bit to fit her, but this morning she walked right beside me.  I am also going to take some classes from Laura to isolate Sadie's people social skills.  Sadie loves Laura and taking classes at The Dog's Spot.  


Has anyone else had the same trouble like Sadie?


Regina

The Girl who Played with Fire

Stieg Larsson's triology is genious.  Lisbeth Salander is the best unconventional heroine ever.  She is not well liked, does not make friends, but I and everyone that reads these books love her....  I thought the Dragon Tattoo was the best who done it book ever, but Larsson's second book in the trilogy takes you to another level.  The only problem is the last book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest  will not be out in English until May 25th.  I finished the second book a couple of weeks ago and grieved that I could not find out what happened next.  I must reveal Stieg does leave you hanging at the end of the second book.  I need the third book badly.  Why am I not able to read a foreign language????

Regina

30 years old

My son turned 30 this week.  What an amazing 30 years he has given me.  Every year has gotten better and now this last year he provided my first grandchild.  How can a mother ask for more.  I remember the night he was born like it was yesterday, not the pain, but the light labor pains the whole day prior to his birth, the drive to the hospital, and having a son to hold.  I remember his first year of life, the first time he ate cereal, learning to crawl, his first fever, learning to walk.  The difficulty of leaving him for the first time at a day care center for the entire day when I went back to work.  Throughout childhood, I remember all the sports he was involved in, soccer, baseball, karate, basketball, tennis.  As an adult he has done triathelons and marathons.  I was present at most sporting events, missed only a few.  I never realized how much I would miss elementary school with the field trips, fundraisers, Halloween costume and pumpkin carving contests, ice cream socials and who remembers all the things we had to do, until the final end of the year ceremony with all the grades performing.  Middle school had tough moments with fitting in and trouble with friends but still fun.  Then we moved to a different city when he was in high school.  I thought he would never forgive me, it was his worst nightmare.  But that year I moved and he joined me come summer gave me more time with him.  My son, as I with all children, is special.  He found great friends in his new high school, went on to college and found more great friends.  He succeeded here in Kansas City.  I am not sure he would have succeeded had we not moved between his freshman and sophomore year.  He now does what he loves.  He married a beautiful woman who is a wonderful mother.  They are a great couple, they go together well.

Looking back I didn't know if being raised by a single woman who had two unsuccessful marriages and too many boyfriends would harm him.  If anything it made him stronger, I know family is the most important thing to my son.  He will dedicate himself to his own son, wife and other children.  I am so proud of my son because he survived me as a mother.  Yes he was my first priority and maybe that is what helped us get to 30 years.  I made way too many mistakes and continue to make mistakes.  I do not have a huge family (something he always longed for), he has found his family in his wife's parents, sister, grandmother, aunts and uncles.  My son was extremely close to my mom, dad and brothers.  Him and my dad were great buds, Kabe had to have a blue suit like grandpa's for his first communion.  I have a picture of the two of them when he was 3 and they have the same stance.  But my dad died when he was nine.  He was a extremely close to my mother, but she died the year my son graduated high school.  She didn't get to see the man he has become, but she would be so, so proud.

And then there is little Eli.  What a cute grandson I have.  He smiles and smiles, quite the charmer.  He may not see me for a month or two at a time, but he smiles when he sees me.  He is like his parents easy going and happy.