violetismycolor

away, away...

Off we head for the great journey...yay!!!

Hope, collage away...if you would like a more hi-res scan, you'll have to wait till I get back but I would be happy to share with you.

House/dog sitter is on her way to protect the homefront.

Hope to post from the trip...we shall see...

angels at work...

I have been reading a book by Doreen Virtue, who writes about angels and how they help us.  I have a history with angels (more about that later), so I was very interested in what she had to say.  She says that there are all sorts of angels out there, just waiting to help us if only we just ask.  Even travel angels. Okay, so I love the idea of travel angels just smoothing the way for me.  So, I told Bonnie about this idea, on the way to the airport this morning.  I told her that SHE would have to ask the angels herself, since she was the one who was doing the traveling, and she said she would.

So, guess what happened for Bonnie today?  Her first flight (Portland to Minneapolis) was overbooked but they bumped her up to first class!  She was just thrilled.  Her second flight (Minneapolis to Syracuse) was also overbooked and she was afraid she might get bumped, but instead she got to sit in the exit row...again, she was thrilled.  I don't think she has had a more comfortable traveling experience in a long time.  She is really groovin' on travel angels right now.

Okay, so I think that I will be having a word with those travel angels, myself, on Tuesday.

notes from a weekend...

I did not do the Photo Friday assignment, "Glow", though I thought my Illo Friday would have worked for that, too.  I am thinking about doing 'bloom' before we leave but don't know how it fits into my 'panic-ing about what to pack' schedule.  So, we'll see.

For those banner afficionados out there, the new banner for Aries is up.  Again, translations of the poem would be nice since I have no idea what it means.  My hubbie is an Aries, so it would be nice to figure it out.

Speaking of the hubbie, yesterday was our 22nd wedding anniversary.  Un-friggin-believable...  And what did we do for our special day?  We went to a state Democratic political dinner with hundreds of others at the Convention Center.  Well, we were seated right next to the governor, but I am not a huge fan of his (he's not fighting for education dollars, while we close schools, enlarge class sizes, and cut teachers and school days;  he is trying so hard to appease Republicans, with an eye towards his re-election, that his policy decisions are pathetic; don't get me started...)  I wisely kept my mouth shut and made nice.

Anyhoo, the hubbie really wanted to go to this dinner and really wanted me to go with him, so I said that I didn't mind (and I really don't) since I know that our big trip to Scotland, England and France will be all the celebration I need.  But, let me tell you, I made huge points on this one.  Not only did my husband think I was terrific, but our House Majority Leader Kate Brown came up and told me that I deserved a big hug for letting John do this, and so did a ton of other Oregon notables.  And the speeches weren't all that boring...

Bonnie leaves to go back to school around noon, and we are headed out for the Original Pancake House (our favorite breakfast place) for some strawberry waffles, apple pancakes, and dutch babies.  If you don't know about this place...so sorry.  You are missing a fabulous experience.  Now, there are numerous Original Pancake House restaurants across the country, but they are not all the same.  This one IS the actual original, and they do it better than the others...they actually make their own fruit flavored syrups to go over the specialty fruit pancakes and waffles (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, marionberry) and they top them with enormous stacks of real whipped cream.  Okay, so I had better go eat soon, cuz I am making myself crazy over this...

illustration friday...fragile...

***you know...click on it for a better look***

Fragile, hmmm...  I had an idea to do Humpty Dumpty, but it never got off the ground.  And I made a list of other things that were fragile, and came up with lovely, delicate ladybugs.  I did the ladybug in Illustrator and the daffodil is a picture that I took in macro mode of one of the flowers in my yard.  I actually really like this combination of the two. 

And you know that I will be going to Scotland here soon and won't be around to do the Illo Friday thing for the next two weeks but hope to be checking in on everyone via the Net.  I'll miss the challenge but Edinburgh, London, and Paris call, so...oh, well...

working, reading, raining...

Spent a good part of the day doing web and photo work.  Not anything earth-shatteringly exciting or anything, but it will make me some money. 

Bonnie was feeling a little better today and just laid low and did some studying and tried to figure out her schedule for her first semester of her SOPHOMORE year...how can my baby be a sophomore in college?  Not friggin' possible!

It finally rained, a little, here today.  I think it's the first rain we've gotten in a month!

Caught up on most of my fave blogs tonight, and that was nice.  I love checking in on people and just making sure they are all alright...that means YOU!

I am getting ready to put up my next banner, and that is exciting.  It should go up this weekend...stay tuned!

being a 'mom'...

Remember when Bonnie was sick about 10 days ago...ya, well...she's still kind of sick. She has this horrible, unstoppable, hacking cough that comes on her sometimes. She went out for a couple of hours with a friend, came back almost gray with fatigue, then went to take a 2 hour nap...during which she hacked and coughed while ASLEEP!

Today, she and I went out to Vivace for crepes (thanks, Stephanie, for the tip) and then went across the street to the New Renaissance bookstore, where I bought her an amethyst bracelet. Also, browsed the books by Brian Weiss, Sylvia Browne, etc. Now, she is collapsed on the loungechair, reading.

If she doesn't stop the coughing by tomorrow, it's to the doctor we go...

Bonnie's home...

Bonnie finally got home last night at about midnight.  She missed her connection in Minneapolis (not her fault, but the airlines') and was miserable.  But she slept well and was happy today.  We went down to Woodburn to visit my parents and buy some things at the terrific Woodburn Outlet Mall. 

It was 78 degrees yesterday!!!! but only 72 today (awww...).  We barbecued burgers outside on the grill for dinner...burgers complete with sauteed onions, fried eggs, bacon, and avocado.  Yummy...

John left the back door open for the afternoon and Barley ended up wandering outside and down the steps to the deck (with his back knee) and John found him asleep on the back lawn.  He stayed outside for about 3 hours, just enjoying the fabulous weather.  What a great day!

photo friday...faces...

*click on photo to enlarge* or go to my Photo Album here, and see both my photos for this theme.

Yes, I finally got my act together on this week's photo theme...I went through my archives and found this one.  Taken on Earth Day 2003 in Portland, I just loved the way people painted themselves up. 

illustration friday...ancient...

***click on illo for a closer view***

I have been doing some reading about lost ancient civilizations...how appropriate!  Here is my interpretation of the sun/moon duality, with some inspiration from one of the books I have been reading.

I was intrigued by the idea that the suns rays were like birds not yet in flight.  Anyway, this was fun.

Also, Bonnie gets back tomorrow for Spring Break.  One of my many nephews fell off a play structure and got what is hopefully only a minor head injury.  One of my sister-in-laws is pregnant with baby #6. Yikes! This might be grandchild #40 for my parents.

friends are a good, good thing...

My coffee group (we meet each morning at our local Starbucks) went out to lunch to celebrate one of our group's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Heidi!  We went to the Portland City Grill (the old Atwater's, for you locals) on the top of Big Pink.  It is on the 30th floor, and the view is incredible.  Especially fun was seeing Mt. St. Helen's, who is still belching steam bits...

PCG has an incredible menu of various martini's, and the six of us tried about 6 different ones.  They also have great food, with impeccable presentation! 

We had such a great time, though our husbands are not quite sure how we have anything left to talk about, with all the time we spend together. 

If anyone out there is interested in New Age spiritualism, angels, etc., you should tune in to Hayhouse Radio.  They just started broadcasting this week, and are on Monday through Friday, 1 pm to 5 pm.  There are so many interesting topics and call-in segments.  A little addicting, though.

kid report...

Adam IM'd from the land of the Scots and said that he had gotten the internship he had applied for. 

Explanation:  Adam applied for an internship at OHSU (that's Oregon Health Sciences University, i.e. med school and hospital) in Neuroscience, for the summer. 

He is very, very excited.  Even though he won't get paid much; it should be a really great experience.  Yay, one summer job down, two to go.

Bonnie has applied for a research internship at Colgate.  Her proposal was to do a study of 19th century English coffee houses/French salons...compare and contrast, examine the influence on society.  She had a history teacher give her a very enthusiastic yes to her request for sponsorship.  Now, she has to wait for the committee to decide.  She'll hear on April 15.

Though the East was covered with snow, it was a beautiful 73 degrees at my house in Portland, today.  Then, Mt. St. Helen's decided to give us a little show of blowing off some steam and ash.  Quite impressive.  Now, all we have to hope for is good weather in the East on Saturday, and our mountain keeping it's cool the same day...since Bonnie is flying home for Spring Break. 

ross has a smooth, smooth face...

It took Ross a long time to get his driver's permit, though he hasn't attempted to drive even once in the 2 months since he got it.  But he has hit another milestone.  He finally had his first shave.  With his dad there to give help and encouragement and his mom there to record the moment for posterity, Ross took up the razor and had at it.

He went really, really, really slow, though.  He was incredibly nervous about cutting himself.  He has this phobia of shots and needles, and he said that he has (apparently) an equal fear of having sharp objects in proximity to his face and especially his neck.  Can't blame him for that. 

Luckily for Ross, he appears to have my family's lack of facial/body hair.  My mom has no hair on either her arms or her legs, and she doesn't shave them and never has. It's just natural.   Both my boys have very sparse facial hair.  Adam still only shaves about twice a week, and you'd probably never notice.  They both seem to appreciate inheriting this trait. 

Illustration Friday...jazz...

***click on the illo for a better view**

This was certainly a much easier prompt than last week's!  I enjoyed this alot.  I used an antique fabric as a model and it seems to have worked out well. I am not actually a jazz fan, myself, but I am a fan of the Jazz Age.  I am really in the mood, too, because our book group just finished The Great Gatsby.  What timing!

appreciation...

It's always nice to be appreciated, even if it is after the fact.  Bonnie told me that she realized that being a 'grown-up' living away from home, she no longer has anyone to take care of her when she is sick..

She said, "Before, when I was sick, you would say, "Honey, would you like some orange juice?  or  Do you need another pillow?  or Can I make you some tea?  Mom, I really miss that!".

Two things:

I probably spoil these kids...

My daughter is actually able to see what I have done for her, and appreciates it...

The really good news is that when I was feeling sick, last time the kids were all in town, they would come up and bring ME food and tea and anything I needed.  Now, that's progress...

lost and found...

Got a call first thing this morning from Bonnie.  She was crying.  Seems she had left her coat at the computer lab last night and when she went back this morning, and...no coat.  It also was not at the lost and found.  I told her that it just a coat.  Replaceable.  Perspective, please.

I also asked, "How can you walk out into the night (when it is only about 10 degrees outside) and NOT realize that you aren't wearing your coat?"  Seems she had this fever for the past 24 hours...probably strep throat.  And she was so hot that she didn't notice. 

I calmed her down, ascertained that she was going to the health center to get checked out, and made her aware that she should be taking tylenol or something to bring down her fever and reduce her throat pain. 

The good news for me is that I got to go out walking and did my gardening in our lovely, lovely weather.  Things were much more relaxed today, and I am much less stressed!