Happy Thanksgiving!!!

To all those out there that celebrate it, Happy Thanksgiving. Hope this finds you healthy, happy and staying safe.

Money In The Bank

Whew....the house is done and we have the money in the bank...although it won't be there for long since we are going to pay down the loan on the house we just purchased this summer...but it is done, and that is nice to know, even if sentimental me is a bit sad about it.

Things To Do

Sorry to do this to you guys but I need to write it down somewhere where I will be forced to stick with it and get some things marked off (not in any particular order).

1. Laundry
2. Blanket
3. Filing
4. Cards (xmas)
5. Cards (bday)
6. Xmas decorations
7. Yardwork
8. Swapmeet
9. Wash car
10. Recycling
11. Post office
12. Pictures
13. Wireless setup
14. Computer maintenance
15. Close on house
16. Geocaching....(have to put fun on the to do list too... )

I won't add eat right and exercise because I can't ever cross those off since I need to do them everyday....but they are on the list in spirit...

Japan fleet sets off to hunt humpbacks - Yahoo! News

So sad to see this....I love the Japanese culture but I don't understand why this needs to be done. I hope that someone is able to stop them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

I know I am a day ahead but for me it is your birthday and I hope you have a great one. I am so thankful to have you in my life and I hope you know that Chicken and I had a great childhood. We wouldn't have had it any other way!!!

I can't wait for you to come visit, we are going to have so much fun....just like your visit to the East Coast only more relaxing and fun.

Blanket Woes

I am making a blanket for a friend. I am really close to being done with it. I have pulled out the same stitches now 3 times trying to get it just right. I don't think it will ever be perfect so I am just going to have to live with it. She will know it was made with love and determination regardless of its level of perfection...I will have to wait for my new camera to get here so I can take a picture of it before I send it off (I take pictures of all the stuff I make)....new camera is not even supposed to be shipped until the 29th...don't know if I can wait that long...

Another Mishka Friday Feast

Appetizer
What was your first “real” job?

I guess by real job you mean not babysitting and paperroutes....my first paycheck job was McDonald's from when I was 16-18....then I started driving for Domino's.

Soup
Where would you go if you wanted to spark your creativity?

I don't need to go anywhere. I can read a book and get inspired to write, or make cards or bead and all of that can be done here at home. Of course, anytime I am out in nature, I am inspired in all sorts of ways, so I guess if I were to go somewhere, it would be into whatever nature was locally available to me...here it is the ocean or beach, and in the NW it would be the lakes, rivers, woods and coast.

Salad
Complete this sentence: I am embarrassed when…

people I think I "know" spout off racist, bigoted or prejustice statements about another group of people they can't even claim to know anything about.

Main Course
What values did your parents instill in you?

So many things, but most importantly, some of the things that seem to be lost in society these days, like not judging people without knowing them, being considerate of others, and having an open mind.

Dessert
Name 3 fads from your teenage years.

Cut open necks on sweatshirts that hang off one shoulder, leg warmers, and acid wash jeans....all fads that I hope never return....but a lot of the other ones from my childhood have come back so I won't be surprised if these do too.

Done!!!

I sent off the signed paperwork on our house in WA....it is sold. Should be recorded by early next week and hopefully we'll get a check in the bank around the same time. I love that house and I am glad that someone will be living in it that owns it and loves it too. It deserves to have people in it that care about it. I am also thrilled to not have that worry on my plate anymore....

I sent off a package of paperwork to the realtor too of all the manuals and info that I have on the house, minus any receipts I need to keep for tax purposes. I hope they appreciate having the info.

Mixup

Lately, I have noticed that I tend to type "right" when I mean "write" and "mail" when I mean "male" and I am not sure why but my brain puts those words to my fingers before I can get them to stop.....wonder if I am developing something that I need to know about.

Google Reader and iGoogle

I finally broke down and started using a reader for my blogs of interest....Blogrolling's "recently updated" function just doesn't work well enough for me to know when a blog has been updated or not....so I am not relying on it anymore. I just use my reader and it tells me exactly who has updated.

I also have the reader on my iGoogle page (much like MyYahoo) and it is nice to see news, weather, my Google groups (where I volunteer), my reader, my todo list, and the sports scores all in one place. I even have a sudoku puzzle on there that I can play anytime.

The thing I really like about my iGoogle page is that the theme I picked is the beach one (since I live on an island and only 5 minutes from the water), and changes based on the time of day...didn't know that when I picked it but it asked for my timezone and last night I noticed that it was darker with the moon out....what would be really cool is if the moon actually matches the phases but I don't think it does.

Anyhow, that is my new discovery and so far I am liking it....Google reader and iGoogle....just one more step in organization of my life.

Bunko

Just got home from a fun night of Bunko....it was a Japanese theme so I wore one of my kimono jackets I got at a sale and put my hair up with one of my cool dangly sticks in it....we ate lots of Japanese food and had a blast. Our bunko hat for the evening was a rice paddy working hat...and I had three bunkos so I wore it alot.

I ended up with the floater (had bunko at the end of the night) and then got the snakes prize so I have a new tea pot with two cups and then I got a couple of other cups as well....not bad considering I usually go home with the door prizes only...haha.

We took some pics in our outfits....hopefully I will get them by email soon.

House Appraisal Update

Appraisal went through....we are looking at being closed by the end of the month for sure....whoooeee!!!!. I need to drop a key in the mail to our realtor and now starts the long process of signing my name about a gazillion times....haha.

Mishka's Friday Feast

Appetizer
Which snack do you like to get when you go to the movies?

I like to eat popcorn if I can get it with nothing on it, or I'll get nachos with lots of jalapeños and mystery cheese.

Soup
What year did you start using the internet?

I started using the Internet as we know it now in 1995. I think I was using a rudementary version of it before that but my first "email" was in 1995.

Salad
What is your first name in Pig Latin?

Ishkamay

Main Course
Name something you are picky about.

Cleaniness and organization of my surroundings.

Dessert
Fill in the blanks: I ____ ____ yesterday and I ____ ____ today.

I did laundry yesterday and I went shopping today.

Anyone Want Anything To Drink?

I have a walking loop that I do pretty regularly (not regularly enough) near my home that is about 2 miles long. It takes me through the "country" farm land our house is in the middle of, down to a beach park and back. There is a school, lots of sugar cane and mum fields, and some bull pens along the way. I can hear roosters crowing from pens behind some houses, and smell the sea at the same time. It can be an amazing walk depending on the time of day and the circumstances of the environment. One thing I can always count on though, if I happen to get thirsty, is that there are soda machines around every corner....in the middle of nowhere, there will be a machine sitting out in the open offering cold or hot beverages for the road weary. I stopped to get a shot of these ones because they were such a perfect example of how they can just spring up anywhere. As long as you have some yen, you'll always be able to quench that thirst.

Caching It High

I had to climb up this.....

to find a stage of a geocache other day. This thing is located in a park near the seawall and the wind was howling. It doesn't look very tall but when you are on the top of it (and I was) on the outside of the ropes (because I don't fit on the inside up that high), it is pretty scary and I am not afraid of heights like some people are. I know I wouldn't want my kid climbing to the top of this thing...that is for sure. I would say it was probably about 30 feet up, and all I could think was "3 points of contact" the whole way down. The next day, I had some muscles I didn't even know I had (and I lift weights regularly) hurting...but I think that is because I was so intent on not falling, I was holding on with every muscle in my body clinched.
Note: I did go to this by myself and if I had fallen, it would not have been pretty....lesson learned....maybe.

House News

Word has it that our buyer is past the inspection stage. We are now waiting on the appraisal and it should be smooth sailing from there. We will hopefully be closed by the end of the month for sure.....whooeeee!!!!

One less thing for me to worry about, until tax time of course....this year is going to be a doozy!!!

Mishka's Reading Update

Got the October books up there today....still need to go back and modify my other posts to drop Amazon and transfer over to Powell's but I will get it done eventually....check it out if you have time.

Mishka's Friday Feast

Appetizer
How much money do you plan to spend this upcoming holiday season?

I don't know yet...probably not too much, I have quite a bit of my shopping done from other events....

Soup
What was the last television show you watched, and was it good?

I watched a taped copy of this week's Survivor and it was pretty good....it one of the only "game" shows I will watch.

Salad
If you had to paint the walls of your living room tomorrow, what color would you choose?

Probably some kind of sand color, but I can't paint the walls of this house for two reasons. One, they are cement, and two, it is a rental.

Main Course
Name something clever or practical you have thought of that should be invented, but hasn’t yet.

Now, wouldn't that be giving away my secrets?

Dessert
List 3 things you would like to receive as gifts this upcoming holiday season.

Books, online gift cards for places other than Amazon (since I don't do business with them anymore) that will actually ship here, candles (Gardenia or Jasmine smelling).

Thai Noodle Soup

I made my soup yesterday. We'll be eating it today too. I invited a few friends to come for lunch but I don't know if they will make it or not...kind of short notice. Anyhow, we haven't had the soup since my mom visited us in NC so it was a nice treat to have. It is finally cool enough (low 80s) that it is reasonable to eat soup and the last few days have been cloudy (we might even get some much needed rain today).

Anyhow, I don't make it in a traditionally Thai way because I learned to do it from both a Thai person and a Vietnamese person so I put daikon and carrots in my soup even though I don't believe that is a Thai thing to do. I just love the way the veggies taste after they have been cooking in the pot for several hours.

I wish my family was here to enjoy it with us, but maybe if they come visit when it is not too hot, we can make some.

Happy Halloween

We are a day ahead so we have Halloween happening tonight and I don't even have my pumpkins carved yet. Don't think it is going to happen tonight either...I guess I will be doing some fall motifs on them instead for Tday....

This pic is from last year's pumpkins...had to do something to add a bit of spook to my post.