My Elixir

I feel kinda silly blogging about this because it's boring, but sometimes I just get desperate to write about something, ANYTHING just to stay connected to my many wonderful fans out there.  Ah'em.

So what's been happening here is the flu bug.  Seems kind of weird to have the flu going around this time of year, but apparently it's really making its rounds these days, attacking anyone who gets in its path.  Like aliens coming from outer space to invade and take over the earth.   

But I am like the Gingerbread Man.  It can chase me, but it has a been really long time since it has caught me.  That's because I arm myself with a flu repellant.  (kinda like "bug dope")

If I were a traveling salesman living in the 1800s peddling my wares, I would definitely be stocked up with this concoction:

"The secret formula elixir to cure all kinds of ailments".

Except it really is no secret.  You can pretty easily find this, or something similar to it, with a click of a button on the internet.  I found it on the "Dr. Axe" website.

I started drinking this 3 or 4 years ago when I was having my stomach issues.  It is really excellent for settling any acid issues like GERD or acid reflux.  (Any gastro doctor who disagrees is ignorant and misinformed, and would much rather get you dependent on drugs that only make your condition worse.)

Anyhoo, I took this tonic every day for awhile for my stomach issues, and whenever I went off it,  I noticed that I felt better in general when I went back on it again.  I can't be specific in this explanation.  All I know is that I feel better in my general well-being when I am taking it.

I also began to notice that whenever those alien flu bugs from outer space came to invade, everyone around me got sick.  But I wasn't even touched.  I thought this was interesting, so I kept taking the tonic, kind of as a continual test trial and waited for the next invasion to observe how/if I would be affected. I escaped every time.

My poor poor poor hubby came home early one day last week, complaining of chills, sore throat, stuffy nose, headache, and fatigue.  He said it was going around at work and pretty much everyone at work either had it, or has it.   Chuck spent his whole entire weekend in misery, huddled under a blanket, sucking on throat lozenges, coughing, blowing his nose, and sleeping.  He was never professionally diagnosed, but I think it's a no-brainer that it was the flu.  As you all know, the flu bug is VERY contagious.  If you get in the same room as that person, you might as well count on getting sick yourself.  Being that I'm his loving, caring, doting wife who had to take care of him, I couldn't avoid him like the plague, so of course I took the necessary risks and put myself in that sacrificial danger zone.  The whole time I was thinking, if I am the average person (and I am), I should definitely be getting sick any time now.  Every morning when I woke up, I opened my eyes and moved around a bit, just to test how I feel.  Nothing.  So I could then start my day as usual. Hooray!

Now, I will be honest and admit:  On Sunday when I was in church, I started to feel a headache coming on.  And this wasn't the usual kind of headache that I get from hormones or too much sugar or whatever.  This felt like the kind of headache you get right before getting sick.  So I thought, "Hm.........maybe it's my turn to get sick now".

But the headache only lasted for a few hours, and then went away as fast as it came.  That very same night, I felt as normal and good as ever. SO, if I was destined to be victimized by the alien flu bug from outer space, I guess that was as bad as it was gonna get for me. (C'mon you buggers, is that all ya got?  Bring it on!) And yet, my poor poor poor hubby is still trying to recover  (stuffy nose and coughing, and even still now a week later complains of having chill spells.  Sheesh, this thing is not giving up on him.  I imagine it wants to knock him out cold so it can abduct him onto their space ship and do experiments on him).

My guess is, I owe it all to my personal elixir.  I hate to brag and boast about the power of this stuff because I will be embarrassed if I ever have to eat my words, and I'm sure that day will probably come.  But I tell you, I have not had a cold or the flu (in it's fullest form), in over three years, even while everyone else around me is suffering big time.  And I DO NOT EVER EVER EVER get the flu shot.  If I am right about this stuff, it beats the flu shot HANDS DOWN!!  Cuz even people who get the flu shot still get the flu!!!!  I keep telling Chuck he needs to drink my tonic, but he never listens to me.  Too bad there isn't a verse in the Bible that says "Husbands, listen to your wives, for they know what's good for you."  It would fit in very nicely anywhere in Ephesians 5.

If you take one little sip of this stuff, you will most likely put it down and say "THIS STUFF IS NASTY!", and that is why most people (like my poor suffering hubby) would rather get sick than drink this nasty stuff.  I, for one, HATE being sick, so learning to tolerate this stuff was well worth it. Yes, you do have to learn to tolerate it, I won't lie to ya.

But at the same time, imagine yourself being the ONLY one in a crowd that's NOT SICK.

Am I starting to sound like a 19th Century peddler?

Lucky for both you and me, I'm not trying to sell you anything.

Okay, so here is the not-so-secret formula recipe for this amazing "cold and flu bug dope" (repellent).

Water

A splash of apple cider vinegar

A dash of cinnamon

A dash of cayenne pepper

A little bit of ginger syrup

Fresh squeezed lemon juice

You can skip the water and just drink it straight in one swallow, but if you drink this undiluted you probably won't like the burn on your throat.  Some people might prefer to get it over with (like ripping off a Band-Aid), but to minimize damage to your throat lining and the erosion of the enamel on your teeth, I would highly recommend diluting it.  Now, let me explain the way I make it.  First, I take a 6-8 oz. mug and fill it up with water.  I heat it up in the microwave for 1 minute.  (I used to drink this stuff cold, but I found that I prefer it warm.)  Then I throw in the rest of the ingredients.

(do not literally throw them - you know what I mean)

Dr. Axe does not include the ginger syrup.  That was my own idea after I discovered its existence.  I add about a 1/2 tsp of ginger syrup, just enough to make it more palatable but not enough to make it taste like a sugar drink.   I used to use honey or salt, and that is okay too, but the ginger flavor in the syrup helps with the flavor and I like it that way.  Sometimes, when I remember to do it,  I stir in some minced ginger, but I often forget this step. Yes, this stuff tastes pretty nasty, even the way I make it, but medicine is supposed to taste bad, right? -- Keeps you from overdosing on it.

And besides, if you keep at it like me, you will eventually find that you like it.  I have gotten to the point where I actually sometimes crave it.  

Plug your nose, if that helps ya get it down the hatch.

C'mon, you wanna stay healthy, don't ya?

All righty then, next:   the cinnamon also helps with flavor AND it's really good for you in a number of ways that I can't remember right off the top of my head.  You will just have to trust me on this one.

I'm not sure what role the cayenne pepper plays in all this, but here is my guess:  I've read on numerous websites that cayenne pepper is really good for fighting viruses and infections, (some people actually keep some in their medicine cabinet!) and is also supposed to help thicken the protective mucus membrane in your stomach lining, which would be very good for me. (I've read that ulcers were cured with the use of cayenne pepper.)  I can't vouch for how true that is, but in my experience it hasn't hurt anything yet that I've noticed.  The reason it's supposed to be good at fighting viruses and infections is because it's hot and spicy -  do you ever feel hot and flushed after eating something spicy?  It gets the blood flowing, and circulating blood is what helps heal those troubled spots.  

The lemon juice is really good for the flavor.  I used to use the bottled lemon juice, but after slicing a fresh lemon and squeezing the juice out of it, it really does make a difference in the flavor of this nasty tasting tonic.  I cut a lemon into 6 slices and squeeze one slice of juice into it, but you can put in whatever amount tastes good to you.  The lemon is also alkalizing, which helps neutralize your stomach acid and also helps flush out your liver.  

The apple cider vinegar is probably the most important ingredient, but I think all the ingredients somehow work together as a team.  You can probably use regular apple cider vinegar, but I really think that the unfiltered kind with the "mother" is best.  Look for the kind that looks like it has murky gunk floating around in it.  It looks gross, but that's the kind of bacteria that your body can benefit from.

After you get it all together, you can do what I do.  After fishing the lemon seeds out of your cup (if there are any), take your fresh cup of warm tonic to your computer and read the news while you sip and enjoy, like a morning cup o' joe.

And now you know what my morning routine is.

And that is my secret to not getting sick.

(knock on wood)

Or at least, I THINK that's my secret.  What other explanation is there?

I never thought I'd write a complete detail of this because it's not very interesting.  But like I mentioned, I have no other news, so if you are bored with this, all you have to do is get up out of your chair and find something else to entertain you.

Like taking a picture of your cat sitting in a sunny patch in the middle of your living room:

(how exciting is that?)

Beanifer

I know "Beanifer" seems like a weird name for a cat, but I told Kayla that she could pick a name for her.  And that is what she came up with.  Most of the time we just call her "Beanie".

Sometimes I call her "Beaners" or "Mrs. Bean".  It's one of those names that you can have fun with.

Kayla calls her "Beanie Baby" and refers to her as "the Bean" when she's talking about her.

I think Kayla has a new BFF.

The first few days, she spent most of her time hiding, and we spent most of our time looking for her.  She was very good at finding hiding spots and we often gave up looking, knowing she had to be in this house SOMEwhere!   And every time we found her spot, she would find a new one.

Finally we decided to set up living quarters for her in Kayla's room until she got comfortable.  That way if she wanted to hide, we knew she would be in there somewhere, and that was better than searching the whole entire house.  It didn't take too long for her to warm up to Kayla, and before long started hanging around more on top of her bed, and spending less time under the bed.

Then she got spayed on Friday, and that kinda set things back.  But it was good that we had her confined in Kayla's room because that kept Bossy away from her, and gave her a sense of security while she recovered.  Kayla discovered that she likes to be bundled up in a blanket, so she stayed wrapped up like a burrito in a fleece blanket for most of her time.

We were getting concerned because she still wasn't eating and hardly drinking any water at all.  The only thing we could get her to eat was Gerber baby food.

(never thought I would ever buy that stuff again!)

After a couple days of eating that, she finally started nibbling on her normal cat food.  And she is also drinking more water and using her litterbox.  

A couple nights ago, Kayla came downstairs and left her door open to see if Beanie was ready to come out yet, and sure enough, Beanie followed her downstairs and into the kitchen. 

I was sitting on the couch and she came to say "hello" to me, but only for a minute.  I guess she has gotten pretty comfortable with Kayla because she kept watching her, and then went into the kitchen to hang around her feet and rub on her legs.

When Kayla went back upstairs, Beanie followed right behind her, and that was all I saw of her for the rest of the night.

Today she came out again for a little bit longer, and we also finally got her interested in playing, but only for a few seconds.  So far she hasn't been very playful; she's actually kind of a boring cat, but maybe she will play more after she feels more at home.

Anyhoo, it's good to see that she's feeling better.

Other than that, I am getting more seeds started. Today I started my broccoli, zucchini, and sunflowers.

My five pumpkin plants are thriving and growing.

And so are my tomatoes.

And Bossy actually got out of bed and went outside today.

That's big news.

But she doesn't stay out very long unless I'm out there with her.  Pretty soon she is begging to come back inside already.

That's about all that's going on in my corner.

Our Newest Addition

Meet our new kitty!!

We just got her a couple hours ago, so I haven't gotten any decent photos of her yet because she is still too busy exploring her new surroundings.

She is 9 months old, getting spayed later this week.

We still don't have a name picked out for her yet, but that will come in time, after we've had a chance to know her better.

Every Saturday at the Pet Zoo, they have an Adoption Clinic that comes and brings cats that need a new home.  So me and Kayla went there to check it out and this was the first cat that caught my eye because she is so pretty.  Her "foster mom" believes that she is part Siamese and part Himalayan.  She came from an abused home, but she is very friendly, loves to be held, and purrs all the time.

Pictures really don't do her justice.  She is a very beautiful cat.  I tried to get rid of the "red eye" effect so you could see her eyes - they are a very very deep deep blue.

Chuck doesn't know about her yet.  He's been in Milwaukee these past few days and is right now as I'm typing this flying on his way back home.

Bossy is still trying to figure what just happened to her happy home life, but hopefully, in time she will come back out from under the bed.  I just hope this kitty works out for us because I kinda feel like we maybe adopted her on impulse, which I guess is true.

But she really needs a name!!

Anyone got any suggestions?

Fairbanks Visit, March 2016

So last weekend we drove up to Fairbanks to visit Steph and Isaac.  One the way up there, we ran into blizzard weather through Denali Park.  Since we didn't really have a winter at our house this year, for me it was a welcome sight, even though it significantly slowed us down, which Chuck wasn't too happy about.  Why are men always in such a hurry to get to where they wanna go?

Why is it that men can never just enjoy the journey?

Hurry, hurry, hurry............!

When we arrived, I was glad to see Mica again.  She is such a nice cat.  I really wouldn't mind taking her home with me. We always laugh at her cuz every time she meows, she sounds like she's asking a question.

"Meoww??"

Of course Charlie was SO EXCITED to see us!

For his Easter present, we gave him this stuffed Easter bunny.  He carried it around with him all weekend and even slept with it at night.

Speaking of which, he INSISTED on sleeping with me and Chuck at night.  

Have you ever slept with a horse?

Me neither, but I think I know now what it would be like to sleep with a horse in your bed.

It doesn't work very well.

Since Steph was on spring break from her work, she decided to use this time to work on some home improvement projects, so we came prepared to help her with that.

Chuck's job was to help her install some windowsills on all of her windows.  It took a few trips to Lowe's and/or Home Depot, a lot of cutting, and a lot of priming.

While they were working on windows, I was given the task of painting one of her bathrooms:

It took me about a day and half to get it all done, including all the taping, and redoing some spots three times because textured walls are hard to cover evenly, even with a roller. I was supposed to do the ceiling too, but graciously bowed out of it because I didn't have confidence that I would do a decent job with that.

Chuck's job of doing all of her windows took pretty much the whole weekend, so when I was done with the bathroom, I helped him with that wherever I could or when Steph was too busy with other things.

So, it was a busy weekend.  We did have some down times though.  Chuck and Isaac sometimes found themselves both sitting at the table with their computers, discussing and comparing videos and information about their favorite subjects:  snowmachines, motorcycles, and for Isaac - Jeeps.

(yawn........!)

So that was pretty much it.

On Sunday we went to church, got a bite to eat a Chinese restaurant, and then drove home.

After a weekend with a hyper pup, it was so nice to get back home to Bossy!!

So now that I'm home, I got back into "gardening mode" and figured out which seeds I needed to start right away.  From what I found, the tomatoes needed to be started 8-10 weeks before the last frost.

It's pretty hard to tell when the last frost is gonna be since every year is different.  But the smart people usually consider June 1st to be a safe day to plan for planting outdoors.  I always hope to plant on Memorial Day, but just to be safe, I counted 10 weeks before June 1, which turned out to be today.

So here we go:

This time I ordered two different varieties of tomatoes.  The Stupice tomatoes are supposed to be strictly for growing in the greenhouse.  The Polar Beauty tomatoes, so it says on the package, can be grown in the greenhouse OR in a warm place in a garden bed.  So I started seeds for 6 Stupice tomatoes, and 12 Polar Beauty tomatoes.  That way I can try my luck with them in both places.

For the rest of the seeds, I counted the recommended weeks before the last frost, and wrote down the dates on the packages, so that way I know at a glance when I need to start them.  In a couple weeks I will need to start the zucchini and the pumpkins.

So here are my tomatoes so far.  Looks yummy, don't it?

Since I had some leftover pellets, I also went ahead and planted some other seeds, just cuz I didn't wanna waste the pellets. Maybe I should've just went ahead and made them all tomatoes, but I didn't know if that would be too many.  

I know, here I go with my boring gardening posts again..........

Before I close this out, you wanna see something really weird?

I was cutting apart this green pepper the other day, and I found a GREEN EAR inside of it!

That is weird.

Matthew 7:7 ASK!

As most of you know, I am a self-taught student of NT Greek, or I should say "self-teaching", since I am still learning, and always will be learning.

Anyhoo, I learned something today that I thought was very interesting and I wanted to share it.

This morning, my translation exercise was Matthew 7:7.  You are all quite familiar with the English translation of that verse:  "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you."

I was particularly interested in the word "ask" because I knew that there were several different Greek words for the word "ask", and I wanted to know if there were any significant differences in them, and how it would enlighten me in a new way whenever I came across this word in the future.

Indeed there is a significant difference!

As I said, there are several different Greek words for the word "ask", but I will only focus on two of them, since they are the ones that should be distinguished for deeper meaning.

1. The first one is the one you see here - the first word in the verse, pronounced "hye-TAY-te".

It is in the imperative mood (a command).  The lexical form is "hye-TE-oh".

It suggests a request or a petition that is made from a person of less equality or status than the person to whom the petition is made.  Like a child to a parent, or a subject to a king, or in this case - man to God.

Are you with me so far?

2. The other Greek word to compare it with is "air-o-TA-o", which also means to ask or request, but it suggests that the petitioner is on equal footing or familiarity with the person of whom he requests, like a king to another king, or sibling to sibling.

So, if I am going to request something from a friend, I would use #2.

If I'm going to ask something from any authority figure, I would use #1

Interestingly, in Luke 7:36, one of the Pharisees "asked" Jesus to eat with him. The word that Luke used in that narrative is #2, which suggests that the Pharisee considered himself to be equal with Christ.  Perhaps at that time, the Pharisee didn't understand who Jesus was? Or perhaps he thought Jesus was inferior to him? In vs 39, he refers to Jesus as a prophet, so maybe he was just arrogant?  What do you think? Certainly, by using this word, the Pharisee didn't consider Jesus to be above him in any way.

(The way I see it, #1 may suggest an attitude of respect and humility.)

Okay, here's the really interesting part that I'm still trying to wrap my brain around: Jesus never used #1 when making requests to the Father. The reason is obvious - He was EQUAL to God.  

It would very interesting to point this out to the Jehovah's Witnesses and see what they would have to say about that!

It's amazing how something so trivial can have so much meaning!

And this is just one teeny example of why I love learning Greek!

So there's your little Greek trivia for today.

In other news:

I got my veggie seeds already!

I will be planting pumpkins, winter squash, zucchini, tomatoes, snap beans, beets, broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, cucumbers, salad mix, peas, and sunflowers.

I would like to start planting some of them NOW, especially the squash and pumpkins, but we are leaving for Fairbanks in a couple days, so it will have to be my #1 priority when I get back home.

Other news:

Bossy took Kiska's place as far as helping me with my quilting.

It's kinda hard to sew it with a cat sitting on top of it.

She likes cushy things, I guess.

That's all for now.  Hopefully, I will have some news from Fairbanks when I get back.

Good Riddance, Kiska!

Today, I had to do something that was very hard.  I took Kiska to the pound.  :-(

Here are the last couple pictures that I took of her today:

She was napping in a sunny spot with her tongue sticking out.

It breaks my heart that I actually did it, and I feel like a wretch because she's been part of this family for 10-1/2 years, and now all of a sudden she's whisked away to sit confined in a small cage, surrounded by other kitties.  And she has no clue as to why, why, why?!  Poor Kiska.

I wish I could've made her understand before I had to take this measure.

But here's why:

She would not use the litterbox!

A very trivial thing for her, but a very big deal for me.

We got her when she was a kitten:

... and we enjoyed her fluffy cuteness for 10-1/2 years.  

Even when she was a kitten, I knew she wasn't very healthy and prepared myself to deal with problems that she would probably have.  For starters, she had runny eyes all the time.  The vet said she had some kind of virus, probably a herpes virus, and there wasn't anything I could do for her except maybe slip some Lysine in her food.

Then she was seriously constipated.  It was terrible listening to her crying so loud every time she tried to poop, which often came out with blood.  Poor thing.  And because of that, she started pooping outside the litterbox.  The vet said it was because she was associating the litterbox with pain.  I had sympathy on her, so I patiently waited it out.
And I suppose this was the beginning of her litterbox woes.

Then for awhile she was fine and we had no problems.

Then winter hit.  For some strange unknown reason, she would get diarrhea twice a year - once in the winter, and again in spring/summer.  Then I had to muster up more patience as I dealt with a VERY STINKY cat, who left poopy butt prints on everything that she sat on, so I had to resort to giving her baths in the kitchen sink which of course she hated.

Then she would be fine again.  Then she would get stressed about something and start peeing on someone's bed, and this would last a few weeks, while I tolerated it and again waited it out with an irritated kind of patience.  (I can name plenty of people who probably would've shot her in the head by then, but I apparently am a very patient person.) Then she would be fine again.  She would keep going back and forth like that all the years that we had her, and I began to entertain wicked thoughts of hoping she would get hit by a car, or maybe an eagle or a hawk would snatch her up.  (does that make me a bad person?)

Then last year she got sick with a urinary tract infection.  The antibiotics cured her, but the habit of peeing outside her litterbox got worse and did not go away.  This was now a fixed habit that was here to stay.  Ever since then, her favorite place to pee was ON MY COUCH!  And it was EVERY DAY, TWICE A DAY!!  (sometimes three!) We had to throw out one of our couches because we could not get the cat pee smell out of it.  I knew she would then choose to start peeing on our other couch, so I kept it protected with plastic underneath a blanket.  So every day, twice a day, I had to change the coverings and wash them.  Then she started pooping on it as well, and Chuck and I started throwing around the "P" word (P is for pound).

I deterred this habit and tested her for a couple days by placing the plastic on top of the blanket, knowing she wouldn't pee on a plastic sheet.  I was hoping it would work, but instead of going to her litterbox, her next choice was MY BED.  Okay, that was a mistake.  So it was back to the couch.

Twice a day, every day.

I thought my wash machine was gonna wear out.

At 10 years old, I knew she still had some years left in her yet, and Chuck and I both agreed that this is a habit that is here to stay, and I didn't wanna keep dealing with this twice a day, every day for the next 5-10 years.

No way.

Plus, we both agreed that it was only a matter of time before she moved on to another piece of furniture, or worse - the carpet.

So I had to do the inevitable and take her to the pound, knowing full well that no one is gonna want her with that habit, thus knowing full well what will happen to her.

I don't wanna think about it.

Anyway, here is how she has spent the last week here.

As I was preparing to sandwich my quilt, she was right there to hold it down for me.  Or maybe she was just there to be in my way.

Here I'm trying to lay out my batting while trying to work around her.

And here she is enjoying a nap on it after I got it all pinned together.

As you can see, she's good company.  I will miss her when I'm scrapbooking cuz she always follows me and keeps me company whenever I go upstairs to work on my scrapbooks.

It really breaks my heart that I had to betray her like this.

But, at the same time, it really does help to be mad at her.

Bossy, on the other hand:

She doesn't give a hoot, and as soon as she realizes that Kiska is gone for good, she will be doing cartwheels.  She hated Kiska with a passion and got really grouchy if Kiska was even in the same room as her.

And now, Bossy is the queen of the house.

For now.

Until we get another kitten, which we are already talking about.

For me, I will enjoy getting up in the morning and NOT having to start the morning routine by washing the couch covers, only to wash it again later in the afternoon.  AND, I will be able to sit down on the couch without first having to sniff it to make sure it hadn't been peed on since the last washing.  And when we have guests over, I won't have to embarrassingly warn them about sitting in cat pee.

So, yes, I did shed a few tears, but it really does help make this less painful when I am mad at her. All I have to do is think about cat pee on my couch, and the tears no longer flow.

Other news:

We had SNOW!

But alas!  It was all gone within an hour or two.

Other than that, there's nothing else to report, other than I have been working on a "secret project", which I will reveal to you in due time.  I have been pretty obsessed with it, and it is the reason why I've been writing letters and making phone calls and connecting with people that I hadn't been connected with in a long time.  I'm very excited, but I cannot spill the beans just yet.

  Next week we will be visiting Stephanie and Isaac in Fairbanks, so maybe I will have something to write about after that trip.

 I must keep myself busy so I don't think about Kiska too much.

I Survived My Civil Duty

Well, I finally got called in to do my civil duty.  There really isn't much to tell.  I could give you the short version, or the long drawn-out boring version.  Both versions will put you to sleep.  But if you are so bored that you feel you might be entertained by a boring read, then I'm happy that my boring life can add a little excitement to your day:

I had to arrive there by 8:30 on Wednesday morning.  There were a lot of people in there, so when I entered the room, I took a quick glance around to see if I recognized anyone I might know.  I didn't, so I chose a table to sit at where a harmless-looking older lady was already sitting.  Everyone had to fill out a form and put it in the basket.  Then we had to just sit and wait for further instructions.  I made it through two magazines and started to read a short story on my iPad when we finally got escorted into "Courtroom 2".  There were so many people that the room quickly got filled up by the time I went through the door.  The judge told the rest of us to go ahead and sit in the jury box, and "don't worry - if you sit there it won't increase your chances of getting selected".  That was supposed to be a joke, so this is the part where you're supposed to laugh.

So I had to sit in the jury box with a few other folks while they described the case to us.  It was a DUI case, and the judge said that it would only take a day or two, and that they only needed 6 jurors.  So that made me feel better cuz that would cut my chances down of getting picked.  So they started off by randomly picking 12 people, and those 12 people were supposed to sit in the jury box to get "interviewed".  So as they got picked, those of us who were in the box had to move out of the box. (that room was so full!)  They were going to pick only 6 out of those 12, but they also wanted backup jurors in case they all needed to be excused for one reason or another, so they randomly selected 12 more names to sit and wait in case they were needed.  My name got picked for one of the backup jurors.  So the 12 of us that were "on reserve" had to stay and they let everyone else go home.

So I sat there and listened to the 12 potentials get interviewed, and I was starting to feel nervous just listening to the questions because if I still ended up getting picked, I didn't know how I would've answered them.  They were asking a lot of questions about drinking, and whether or not they had any experience with drunk people, and if so, would you be able to make a fair and unbiased decision.  With every question that was asked, I listened for how each individual answered them, while at the same time wondering how I would've answered that question.  With my childhood background, I think I would've had a hard time answering them.  Three of out of those 12 people got excused, so they had to randomly pick three more names out of us "reserved" potentials, and I got nervous every time they picked a new name.  I am SO very thankful that my name did not get picked because I didn't wanna answer those questions!!!  After they selected their 6 jurors, they swore them in, and then they let the rest of us go home.  Whew!!!

I still have another week left to call that dreaded phone number every night, but I think it's unlikely that I will have to go in again.  But with my luck, I know it won't be long before I have to go through this all over again.

So, now that THAT's finally behind me, I can now relax and go back to my hum-drumminess.

I finally made it to JoAnn's and bought some batting for my quilt.  It was on sale (yay!)  Ma, I wish you were there with me to help me pick it out cuz I'm not sure if I picked something that I'm gonna be happy with.

Then today I went to my neighborhood quilt store and browsed for some fabric for my back panel and my binding.  It took me a long time to find something acceptable.  I was looking for something specific, but had to go with the best that I could find. Since this is a "scrap quilt" I guess it really doesn't have to match perfectly.  I think it'll be okay once I get it together.  So this weekend I will be sewing my panel together, and then I have to psyche myself up for that back-aching job of pinning it all together.

I will end this boring post with a boring picture of a bored cat.

"Got boredom?"