Music from my Life

Thought I'd actually post about music, seeing as how that's sort of the theme of my blog. I love music, with two or three exceptions. I don't like rap or heavy metal. Also, not too keen on organ music. Some years ago, probably when I was about 25, so half my life ago, LOL, a friend (Dana, you know who you are!) turned me onto movie soundtracks and electronic music. At that time the local jr. college was doing a Saturday nite show, featuring many cutting edge artists, such as Steve Roach, Vangelis and more. I would tape the program and I got a lot of great music for free that way. What amazes me is how powerful these influences actually were; I just tracked down the music to Western Spaces, an album by Steve Roach, Kevin Braheny and Richard Burmer, that I had listened to way back then. I still remembered the title of the first song on the album, The Breathing Stone. I found that the album had been reissued, but minus Burmer's work. I actually spent a long time online searching for his pieces, so I would have the complete album. The awesome thing about the internet, well, one of them, anyway, is that a lot of the old music is being made available again. I use Pandora.com sometimes and am even able to listen to praise music on their site. They did a lot of research and set up what they called The Music Genome Project and then made it available to everyone. Okay, I can't find Love Song, a group from the very beginning of the Jesus Movement, but hey, it found Karen Lafferty and Keith Green! In this case I actually bought the songs from Amazon.com, an album for $8.99 and then a couple of individual songs for .99 each. Then I downloaded them as MP3's and could listen to them immediately. Very nice! But I do have to get them backed up, or I'll have to buy them again.

The reason I'm worried about getting things backed up is that I just went through a computer crash. Wow, sure found it hard to deal with being without my laptop. But a couple of good things came out of it. I found out why my external drive wasn't working, for free. I also regained a function I'd lost, which allows me to copy pictures more easily. I'm wondering if I got it back because the reload of XP gave me what I think is IE6. If that is the case, Don says IE6 is hackable and I have to upgrade to at least IE7. No one here is upgrading to IE8, it sucks! And, although I had to sacrifice a few documents, I did get back into my Asus EeePC, which I had lost the password to, changing it while traveling caused me to forget what the password was. I also had to reset the connection to our WiFi, which helped me figure out how to connect to it on the Asus as well. The other thing is that Don built an awesome shelving unit and set up the new color printer and my laser printer; the latter is wireless, so I can now print from the living room! I had been emailing documents to Randy or myself, then going online at her computer, opening the darn thing and printing it.

I have a theory. I think cats are secretly IT and computer experts. It started when Tyler was a kitten. She walked over the keyboard and managed to type "TY." Then Skittle typed "puppy." Now here is where it gets really suspicious; one day I was online and had left my computer for a few minutes. I came back as Skittle jumped down and discovered she'd been Googling!

Her results included a number of mathematical equations and a foreign embassy! More recently, she also managed to shrink the browser characters to miniscule, even a magnifying glass wouldn't have helped. It's a plot I tell ya! That's her at Randy's computer, doing who knows what!

New Post for the New Year

Wow, I'm actually doing a post before the first month of the year is over! I've been trying to enforce a decent bedtime for myself, in my quest to overcome fatigue. Not succeeding too well, so far. On Monday I did get to bed by 6:45a, though and rehearsal went better for me.

Skittle has rediscovered the fun of her polyester cube, it has round openings in all but 2 sides and she'll come flying in and leap into it, sometimes skidding it across the floor. Or she'll hide in it and wait for some unsuspecting person to walk by. What's really cute is when she does an 'up periscope' move, popping her head out the top to see where everyone is! I threw my big green kooshie ball at her the other day and she was stalking it from inside the cube, just her paw stuck out to whack it and try to get hold of it. She's not limited to one spot, she takes the cube with, it's hysterical. When she gets bored, we'll put it away for another while, till she finds it fun again. Best $5 investment we ever made!

I have a car again! Well, I paid for it and essentially also paid for the repairs, since I was owed $$ for the septic pumping a couple of months ago. Randy and I will share it. It's old, a '93 Ford Taurus; I don't know how it is that Don & Randy always seem to find Ford Tauruses, but they did again. It wouldn't have been my first choice, but it runs and we got its engine mounts replaced yesterday. What Don was thinking was the transmission clunking was literally the engine sliding back when you started up from a stop! He can do a lot of the minor maintenance on it and eventually we'll get the bad rack and pinion fixed. That's making the steering wheel do some pulling to one side right now, but I've dealt with that sort of problem before and so has Randy. I actually think that Don has replaced a rack and pinion himself before, if memory serves me right, but that is always iffy nowadays. The car is silver and has these weird oriental seat covers on the front seats. If the upholstery isn't shot, I'll be removing those. I am planning to go to the Joyce Meyer Ministries conference in Long Beach in March, so I'm happy that I'll have transportation. I'm a little torn between inviting a friend to go with and taking a vacation for the solitude. I will try to have dinner with my Dad at least one night, while I'm there; he lives there in town.

Being mobile feels so good! I can go to B&N if I want, or the library, and I don't have to arrange to borrow the car for my appts. all the time. One car for three adults was hard to manage! This will also stop the need for renting a car so much. If this car still seems unreliable, though, I may rent a car for the convention. Oh yeah, I just remembered that my aunt wants me to visit her in Phoenix this winter, if I can. And my other aunt is wintering in Apache Junction. Hmmm, maybe a road trip is a possibility? Something to think about, anyway.

The last couple of months I've been really busy. Had my 50th and we managed a party one week before the date. Turned out perfect, we had it at a park and the weather was just right, not cold or hot, just comfortable and there was a beautiful lake view there. Little tribute to my Mom with yellow roses on the tables, they were her favorite. My sister did the decorations, made Mom's macaroni salad and brought a big chocolate cake! She also gave me an HD TV for a present. That was literally a jawdropper of a gift! There were about 14 guests, mostly my friends from chorus. We got so busy chatting that I forgot to ask if we could sing something for my sister, she's only heard them sing Happy Birthday, which of course they sang again for me.

On my actual birthday I was in Appleton, WI at Harmony Inc.'s Int'l Contest and Convention. It was the day of the chorus competitions and Randy got the whole place to sing Happy Birthday to me! That's a memory I'll treasure for years to come, that about 1,000 people sang to me for my 50th! Randy said she knew the MC (and the MC was a bass, which Randy is too). We found a fab Italian restaurant a few blocks down the street. I also acted as the chorus' delegate for the meeting and learned what is coming up and in the works for Harmony. I did attend a class for section leaders. I also watched the finals of the quartet competition and all of the chorus competition.

Since then our chorus has done 2 Holiday shows, within one week, which we did last year too and both times it wiped me out. I am just now coming down with the cold Don has had for about a week. Zicam is a big help. There are other performances at retirement and convalescent homes, but I only signed up for the shows, the fibro hits hard and fast of late. I want to take a leave of absence, but Randy is worried I won't come back. She wants me to just drop being the asst. section leader. I'm going to talk to Lisa about it, I'm her assistant and she would have to find someone else. To me it seems logical that I am doing too much if it doesn't take much to push me into fatigue. I have given up SCA because it was hard for me to do the camping and to maintain a persona. I wanted to hang with the bards, but wasn't really a bard myself; I didn't feel like there was a place where I fit.

I also did NaNoWriMo n November and finally finished over the 50,000 words, although it wasn't all from the novel I wanted to work on, since my muse deserted me after one plot twist. I did most of my niece's story and also threw in my sci fi spy story. It was hard because Randy didn't want to see me sitting around at the convention, etc. That was a change, since normally she's very supportive of my writing. But she had bought my All Events Pass and wanted me to take advantage of the opportunity. It was an amazing time!

About 2 weeks ago on Saturday our Skittle girl went missing. She's always such a bright spirit and the house seemed too quiet. Don felt terrible, because he had let her out, but that could have been any one of us. We continued to try calling her over the next few days, I know I felt like she was out there and that hearing us would give her the heart to try and get home. Randy was afraid she was giving up late that Sunday night, so we went outside and sent her love and energy. After that we both felt better. On Monday we began calling the shelters. She and Don had the neighborhood plastered with signs! Randy actually went to one shelter, because one cat sounded as if it might be her. However, it turned out that the cat was a male. She came back home and was about to check one more time in the garage, when Skittle came flying around the corner of the garages! We think she got shut in somewhere and couldn't get out until Monday. She had a scuff on one ear where the fur was worn off, but otherwise not a mark on her. Thank you God! She was as happy to see us as we were to have her back! She was torn between getting pets from Randy & I and eating as fast as she could gobble. The only one who wasn't upset over her going missing was Tyler and she has been snarling at Skittle even more than usual. Too bad Skittle is so observant of cat etiquette, because she could knock Tyler into next week if she wanted to and Tyler deserves it!

On a Warm Summer Night

It's a warm August night and our fan is running on high, as are the various ceiling fans throughout the house. Skittle is sleeping on the TV tray in front of Don's chair in the living room. Randy and I have both tired of scolding her and chasing her off. She's so much bigger now, almost Tyler-size and goes out without one of us chaperoning now, although she only stays out three hours or less at a time. She's our little Egyptian Mau/Bengal mix and is highly intelligent, plus she's very food-motivated. Randy has had some success at training her. Tyler has settled directly in front of the fan that is drawing the cooler air in from the outside. She's sad that Don, her MealMan, has banned her from the bedroom, but she'll repeatedly wake him during the night if he lets her in. Spats is deep in sleep on a carpet runner next to the music bookshelves.

Last night Randy and I went out to watch the lunar eclipse, the first time I've ever seen one, in spite of my nocturnal predilections! Tonight we've both mentioned going to the gym, but neither of us is making a move to get ready, so I don't think we'll make it. I am trying to do some gentle exercise again. A recent appt. with a nutritionist has reminded me how important it can be to help control my blood sugars. Most likely my weight gain is due to the fatigue and pain from fibro. I'm trying to eat as per the South Beach Diet, but it is hard to stay with high fiber carbohydrates all the time. A 'no sugar added' milkshake is very cooling in the summer heat. We buy Breyers brand and a store brand low carb ice cream sold by Vons. Sugar free Popsicles are great too. I snack on low fat string cheese or nuts. I also work at drinking a goodly amount of water, iced this time of year, everyday. We drink filtered water, the stuff you can get from a water bottle filling machine, like Glacier Water. The water in Escondido is fluoridated now and we prefer purer water. We even use filtered water to make our ice cubes.

When I look back, although I am still overweight, I realize that I eat so much healthier now and much smaller portions too. I used to make casseroles and Hamburger Helper when I lived alone and often I ate half or all of the recipe the first evening I cooked it. Although I switched to fresh fruits when I moved out of my parents' house, I still ate a lot of canned veggies. Over the past 10 years or so I've stopped eating hamburger, unless I get a burger at a restaurant. I much prefer the taste of ground turkey or chicken. My cholesterol is about 180 which is good for most people, but new guidelines for diabetics does now push for a 100 reading. I can't take statins and the alternative is Zetia, which upsets my stomach after a few weeks, so I'm looking at taking the new Promise Activ Yogurt Shots during the week that I have to forego taking the Rx, although I haven't found them yet. You know, if you go to a bookstore's site, like Barnes and Noble, you can find out if they have the book you're looking for, no problem. I've gone to the sites of 4 grocery stores, Trader Joe's, Albertsons, Vons and Stater Bros. and not a one allows you to search for a specific item! Now how dumb is that?

Memorial Weekend

It's strange, because I really hadn't thought about this in particular for years, but this year I am acutely aware that this is the time of year my mother passed away. I remember all the flags on the other graves, at the gravesite. Last year I was at Potrero War for this weekend, but we are talking at least 20 years or more ago. Okay, I just figured out the math; she died in 1983, so it was 24 years ago! So why now? No idea, guess I have to wait and see if there is a reason.

This year I'm home with the cats, while Don & Randy are down in Potrero; it's their first trial run with the new pavilion for The Open Arms Bardic Hall. No one was signing up for the performance time slots; hopefully they signed up once they got there! I've just had so many weeks of late where I ended up overdoing it and then losing the rest of the week to exhaustion.

So far Tyler has attacked my arm when I reached for the TV remote and Skittle has bitten me about 5 times when I've tried to discipline her. I used arnica salve on the scratch/bruise from Tyler and it already seems to be fading some. I love our cats, but I sure do hate the scratches and bites. With Skittle I figure it's a kitten thing and she is possibly a feral baby. But Tyler never used to do this. She almost bit my nose the other day; I just managed to pull my head back far enough for her to miss. For sure when my settlement comes in, I need to have her seen. A lot of the attacks seem to relate to her paws being touched or moved, so maybe she is getting arthritis in them. With Amanda we used to give her Rescue Remedy. She would wobble around, I think it made her a tad tipsy, but she stopped her constant complaining.

I went to a group mtg (my first) for Project Dulce and asked Lisa about going on to phase two of the South Beach program, since I can't seem to manage to get through the first phase. She said that's fine, so now my eating is easier now. I also got pre-cooked chicken from Henry's, for this weekend.

My plan for the weekend is to work on my bedroom and I also want to make a few phone calls, to Sherrie and to Carol, my friend in TX. So far I've not done much of anything but watch TV and eat! Now I need to do some dishes! That won't be fun, it gives me a terrible backache. I guess I'll do it in short spurts. Don was just too tired from packing for Potrero to do it before they left. Anyway, I'm just blathering on about stuff that no one else probably even cares to read about. So I'm out of here.

This is one of the first pictures we took of Skittle, she was so small when Don brought her home! Now her head is about the size of all of her at this size. She is very energized, our million mile an hour cat. We are still debating what her breed(s) could be. I'm leaning towards Bengal/Egyptian Mau mix. Her ears have small tufts of fur at their tips and she doesn't have spots or stripes, but a cross between.

My SSDI hearing is this Thursday. I can't believe it's finally going to happen, It's been about 5 years since there was any activity on my case and they have combined both cases together, so it's win or lose. I'm praying hard!

We have been without a second car because a rock took out the oil and transmission pans on the station wagon. Don ordered parts, but only the oil pan has come in so far. Besides that, Randy was double-booked for next weekend, so there is a good chance I will miss my niece's birthday party for the first time. I am just waiting too see what happens. That lucky kid has had a party every year so far. I remember one for my 5th and one for my 7th. A slumber party at 13 or so. None for a very long time, except a cake a few times. We always had a cake when Mom was alive, but neither Tam or I are that talented at baking. Of course, Mom used to put them together with toothpicks if they fell apart! I think I might want to celebrate 50. There was a long time there that I didn't think I'd live that long. Especially when I was working! Living past the age that my mother died at was sort of surreal.

I'm off to do a few tasks before I go to bed. TTFN

Blogging for Cats and More

The kitten has now her own blog at the Hello Kitty Sanrio site. http://blog.hellokitty.com/skittlekitty/ if you're interested. The bed is no longer a refuge from her, as she found me there last night! She scales furniture, it's amazing! Next I need to update Da Tyler Monster's blog.

I found a program that records the music from internet radio as MP3's. Should be a cool way to get more music for my player. Maybe I can get those 2 songs I really want. That, plus the TalkIt TypeIt program and a Sudoku program for my dad, all for just over $40. Am hoping that, since IE7 is a Microsoft program, I'll also be able to use the voice recognition program online. I know it works on AIM. I expect a big jump in productivity once it's implemented. My typing, simply put, SUCKS! I am constantly going back to fix typos, which I try to avoid at all costs, being a perfectionist English major. If it doesn't work online, I can always record it in NotePad and copy it over. It even comes with its own headset/microphone. If it's not here by tomorrow it should come sometime next week.

Went with Randy to her Dr's. appt. yesterday, then we had lunch at Major Market and got a few things there, including dry kitten food and my favorite lo carb ice cream, Breyers LC Mint Chip, as well as some stuff at Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's rocks, as a lot of what we buy there is cheaper than at the grocery stores. Especially cereals, which the stores want about $4 - $5 per box for and we get for $3 or so. They are the only ones with a decent carb reading on tomato soup, which I love and have really missed. Too bad they stopped carrying the lo carb pasta; now the only one that tastes edible is Dreamfield. I'm thinking of trying South Beach, as I'm gaining and gaining although I'm not overeating. It's probably the insulin. But only 20 carbs on Atkins is really hard! We'll see what happens, we'd have to get the book, unless I can find out what to eat and not to eat online. Last time I searched I couldn't find that, the Dr. who wrote it has cornered his own market very well.

I'm afraid I'm going to lose my Food Stamps, because the office that my Dr. moved to can't keep track of things and I believe they've once again lost the form to fill out to say that I'm not able to work. Must also copy the new SSI paperwork and get it off to the lawyer; we ran out of time yesterday. Paperwork is my personal hell. I have a huge mental block against filling paperwork out! A lot of it is an allergic reaction to red tape! LOL.

Darn Blogger Anyway!

I can't believe it! Blogger implemented its new format and has basically forced everyone to reinvent their blogs. I am so not sure I will stay with this blog now. I may have just messed things up, too, because as usual they don't explain things adequately and I might have filled part of the sign-up form out wrong. I thought I still had the Tap My Brain title and used it in signing back up and then it said that the Tap My Brain address wasn't available. Well duh, it's been used by me! So if you need to know, my old blog is at http://tapmybrain.blogger.com, although I don't know how long it will remain there.

I guess the biggest news is that we now have a new kitten. I was hoping, but Randy was pushing for a puppy. Anyway these kittens were found out behind Don's office building. We think they were about 3 weeks old and that someone left them there in the hopes that they would find homes. So we've had the interesting job of teaching the little one to drink from a bottle and to use a cat box. We named her Skittle and she has done very well. She's now eating canned kitten food, supplemented by as much of the big cats' food as she can steal. We think it's because she was without food for a good while before she was rescued. I wanted to put up her picture, but the add a picture function doesn't seem to be working on the "new and improved" Blogger.

We had a fun holiday season. I got an MP3 player and I love it. I feel like it's made my music available to me again. Don just picked up a gizmo that allows you to record from other media, like a tape player or record player and put it in MP3 format on a media stick. From there you can move it wherever you'd like. I plan to reformat many of my Christian music tapes and transfer them to the MP3 player. Mine also plays the Window Media Format, so I can copy CD's to my computer and from there to the player. I have found some good music online for free and have copied many of my CD's as well. There are just 2 songs I haven't been able to find by the original artists that I'd really like to have for the player, The Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler and That's What Friends Are For by Dionne Warwick. Both of those songs have strong connections with friends who have passed on for me. I may end up using I-Tunes. I guess that paying around $2.00 isn't so bad.