I’m going to be rich!

I’m going to be rich! I’m going to invent snot-fuel!

I swear, I’ve had this cold for two weeks now! And although I feel ok, I still have to blow my nose every 5 minutes!

I am continually AMAZED at how much SNOT one head can produce! Then it came to me,… if I could invent an engine that ran on snot, I could solve the worlds energy crisis!!! Snot-fuel! My nose alone could power the City of Cornelius.

And just think of those 3rd world countries. In every photograph you ever see, ALL the little kids ALWAYS have snotty noses. Those countries are sitting on a gold mine of snot. Think of it, no more famine, filth, and despair. This could seriously change the world!

People wouldn’t bitch about having a cold anymore, they’d think of it as a windfall!

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to walk out to your car, open the fuel cap, plug one nostril, and hock a big ol’ glob o’ snot into your tank, … and away you go!

I honestly can’t think of a downside here!

Ya know, maybe I shouldn’t have this on a public blog. If someone steals my idea, I’m gonna be mad!

This is how memories are made.

Family Weekend. It was fun and wonderful. We had all our families together and played in the sea and went crabbing, and BBQ'd. We should do this every year.

But the true highlight was having all of our kids together.
Are they cute or what???

Life doesn’t get any better than this.


"The brightest spot in the universe, is wherever my children are.” ~ Linda Kay Harrison

I am - "The House Plant Goddess"

Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life. ~ Confucious

Wooohoo! Monday I get to start my new job! I'm the house plant specialist at Al's Garden Center in Sherwood.

There are 3 Al's Garden Centers around the area. The one is Shewood is the largest Garden Center in the entire Northwest. It's kind of a cross between Sterling Nursery, Greenhurst Nursery, and Bloomingdales. It's huge and georgous.

Their house plant section is about the size of the main floor of a two story house. Lots of the usual plants, pothos, philodendron, african violets, etc. But the really great part is the an amazing selection of unusual exotics. Orchids, lithops, pitcher plants and other carnivorous plants, etc. COOL stuff! I'm hoping they have a really lousy employee discount, otherwise I won't bring home any money, just a whole bunch of cool plants and cute home decor. Working at this place is kind of like letting Ival work at a pet store, or letting Kate work at a shoe store. Some things just aren't a good idea. But too late now,... I start on Monday! Hooowaaa ha, ha, ha!

THE UPCOMING WEEKEND OF FAMILY FUN!

"The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together." ~Erma Bombeck

"I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich." ~Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford, M*A*S*H

"It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us family." ~Johann Schiller


I am sooo excited for this weekend!

Having all our families all together is gonna be so much fun! Even Steve is coming!

And then of course there will be pictures of everyone crabbing, cooking, eating and drinking, beach combing, interacting, etc. I’m gonna be so busy taking photos! I hope everyone takes lots of photos. We’ll have a place where all the photos can be uploaded later, so that everyone can get on their computer and see everyone else’s photos, and pick and choose which pictures they want.
I think some great memories will be made that weekend. :o)

Don’t forget to bring warm clothes and rain gear. It IS the Oregon Coast.
Wooohoo! I get to see you all soon!!!!!

Hello??? Can I say something here???

Ok, Puss, I accept your challenge, however, could we make it about, oh,... say, 10:00-ish? I mean sunrise is so early! I like to sleep in, then I have to shower, do my nails, do my hair... well, anyway, I will be there. I shall go by, "Donkey", the anoying sidekick. I'll be the one who shows up with the big ugly ogre! Ha, ha, ha,...


Actually, Bob says he is placing bets in Vegas. Mom? Are you in? Apparently the pot is getting sizable. But he won't tell me who is money is on!!!! I guess with 3 of us involved it could be a Win, Place and Show type of thing. Ya know, that way everybody wins 'something' and nobody feels left out.

But ya know, the visual of Jodi and Kate out there on the beach brings to mind the picture of Ricky Ticky Tavi and the Cobra. I don't want to participate, I just wanna watch! Besides, I KNOW when I’m out-gunned. I wouldn’t stand a chance in that ring. I mean, I’m so meek and helpless and all.

Kate with cotton candy??? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Wait a minute, wait a minute… > trying to regain my composure < JODI, LEG WRESTLE???? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Oh my god…. I’m gonna pee my pants! I gotta go!!!

So much going on...

"What doesn't kill us makes us stronger." ~ I dunnano who said it

I haven't updated my blog lately because I've had so much going on. I'll try to summarize into a brief bit so that this doesn't turn out to be a novel.

Basically, I've shuttled daughters back and forth to Portland, so now Lisa is here and Andrea is gone.

Andrea is struggling with that awkward stage when one is no longer under a parents control, but one is not really an adult yet either. It's difficult to see her go through it, but it's something she's got to do. I keep reminding her of the above mentioned quote.

Lisa has made the leap, and is becoming a Portlander. It's been a difficult processes for her because leaving a town she is absolutely sick of and wants to get rid of, requires leaving a job she enjoys and the man she loves, (Sweet Rodrick!) I keep reminding her of the above mentioned quote.

I am currently, uh.... between jobs. Ok, unemployed. Ugh! See, I was offered a job (over the phone - red flag #1) doing landscape design at Loen Nursery. I love design work, and it paid $20 an hour, so I accepted it. I put in my 1 day notice at Blooming Nursery. (Loen said they needed me to start immediately, red flag #2.) I went out to Loen to speak to the manager, (the owner hired me,), and other than the manager and the owners son, there were NO OTHER EMPLOYEES there, (red flag #3.) Hello??? Linda??? Are you paying attention to your insticts here??? Then, I called the owner to tell him I needed time off, for my family reunion, and he went balistic, became a complete asshole! (Or as Jodi called him - the Nursery Natzi!) OK, at this point, I FINALLY decided to pay attention to my insticts, and told him I would not be taking the job afterall. But I absolutely HATE being unemployed. Heavy Sigh,... at this point, I have to remind myself of the above mentioned quote.

Being without a job is a dreadful feeling. I NEVER leave a job without having another one first, no matter how much I dislike the job. I almost went to Loen anyway, just until I found something else. However, my darling sister Kate threatened me with bodily injury if I went to work for psyco-man, and because she has the demeanor of a badger, I chose unemployment over a possible hospital stay. Did I make the right decision? How bad could Kate really mess me up? I mean, "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger." Right?

The Earth Laughs In Flowers. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

And if that’s the case, this time next year, my yard is going to be hysterical!

When we moved in here in May, the front yard was knee deep in weeds. Loving plants the way I do, I was quick to take on making the front yard look pretty! My plan was to have all plants and a couple of walkways, with no grass at all, (not in the front yard anyway.)

So, - The good thing about working at Blooming Nursery, is that I get a killer discount on plants!
The bad thing about working at Blooming Nursery, is that I get a killer discount on plants!

Yes, it can work against me. With so many wonderful things that grow over here, and so many pretty plants to chose from, I now have 147 plants in our small front yard! Whew! That’s a lot of planting! Blooming Nursery only grows perennials and flowering shrubs, so the yard is all flowering plants. Next year it’s gonna be ‘chuck a block’ with flowers!

Everything is still tiny this year, but by next year, when things start growing together, and everything really gets blooming, this is going to be one ‘happenin’ yard.