New Roommate

We've been having a lot of fun during our first week with our new roommate! He keeps his room tidy and has paid his rent on time. He's very well behaved, generally sleeps most of the day and usually doesn't stay out past midnight. He still wears diapers and doesn't quite know how to operate his hands yet, but with luck that will work itself out. Hopefully you'll all get to meet him soon! Lots of Love- Scott, Alice & Rowan

Waiting for Baby G - he/she is looking chubby!

We are so fortunate that Baby G is waiting for the right time to deliver, instead of coming too early like Mike and Janet's babies.

My house is cleaner than it has ever been, looking good for the perfect buyer who is just waiting for this house. Doug helped me tremendously (thank you thank you!) and several friends also helped. Mostly it has been my own efforts though, and I am really tired of it all and , like alice feels about Baby G,(ready for it to come out), I'm ready for my house to be in someone else's ownership.

I'm looking forward to being a renter, "free to move about the country". While I enjoy fixing up a house, I want to change my focus to enjoying nature and new activities in Sedona. I am really excited to move on to the next stage of my life. I may stay in Sedona, or move on to other areas. I see this as a step to something else and I'm not sure what that is. I love the idea that I don't know what is going to appear, and I feel like everything is possible!

Happy New Year

Well, Baby G is almost here, could be any day now.  Check out these amazing 3-d sonogram pics from last Wednesday, when they did a growth scan and estimated the baby's weight at 8 lbs , 1 oz.  Looks pretty squished in there!  

Scott & I had a very relaxing & fun New Year's, and now we are ready to meet our baby in 2009!

8 inches, and still coming down

Of course its all over the news, but we're at the tail-end of our first big snow storm of the year. The ice last week was nothing (for us anyway). Tuesday evening we got a couple of inches of snow, though. I was in PA at Olympus America all week and Carmen left early Wednesday AM for MT (we have a dog-sitter now!). Translation: nobody shoveled our driveway! When I got home Thursday night, our entire property was one big skating rink. The snow had half-melted, then froze. The driveway...all 150 feet of it...had 1" thick ice on it. With a 10AM appointment, and an ETA of another storm at 1PM...I had a stressful Friday morning and afternoon trying to clear all the ice off the driveway before the storm hit. I finished around 3:30 just as the snow was starting to build up.

Lesson of the day: Never let the snow melt on the driveway!!

My new snow blower was completely inactive against the ice, so I resorted to salt and a square shovel, yard-type. It actually worked quite well. Shortly I will christen my snow blower for real, and then head out to the mall to do my Christmas shopping!

27 days and counting...

Baby G is almost ready!  Yesterday I had a growth scan, and they estimated the baby's weight to be approx. 7lbs 4oz!!!  If I go to my due date it could gain up to 2 more lbs- yikes!  That makes me scared for the delivery, but people say it's good to have a nice big baby, that they are healthier, eat more, sleep longer, etc.  

This week at work they had a surprise shower for me, which was really nice.  Today we have a prenatal visit with our pediatrician.  Construction continues on our hall closet, it should be done this weekend.  Then we will will be all ready.

We are looking forward to relaxing during the holidays.  Scott's family will come down and it will be fun to see the kids.

painting again

Just after I finished painting my living roo m and hall green and orange a couple of months ago, I now have to return it to "neutral" in order to not offend potential buyers! So I have been taping and painting, up and down the ladder, bending over to the baseboard and I am exhausted tonight. Once I get the taping done it should be easier. I may paint Doug and Carmen's favorite color in their new house - the swatch looks like it would go really well. Can you imagine that doug? I will get a sample and try it before I commit.

So I'm off to rest my body and read.

Oh, I like the idea of freecycle, but I have so much stuff... I took a carload to goodwill today, and my friends came over and claimed some of my stuff I no longer want. It seems like more trouble to post and answer calls.

Really good news though - my new company is paying my moving expenses so I guess that means I don't have to pack! So my getting rid of stuff is mainly necessitated by probably having a smaller place with much less storage space than this big house. It feels really good to unload this stuff!

Walmart?

Before my arguably liberal family starts jumping on the Walmart bandwagon, perhaps we should read some of the reasons why a large number of educated Americans boycott Walmart.

http://walmartwatch.com/

I believe that they are partly responsible for a lot of the problems that we are experiencing in this country. Less than 50% of their employees are covered by their healthcare plan. They are the single largest customer of Chineses made goods, putting Americans out of work.

My biggest problem with them is that they censor the content of CDs, magazines and books. As the worlds largest retailer of media, if Walmart tells you to change your cover art, or your content because they conflict with Walmart's Southern Baptist culture...that's a big problem in my opinion.

http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storewars/stores3_2.html

As for me, I can spend a little extra money...and buy somewhere else.

Xmas??

I don't feel very Xmasy this year. When I go out to the stores, it feels wierd, cause there is hardly anyone shopping....makes me think I shouldn't be there...I should be home, not spending my money, saving it just in case....but there sure are some great sales going on.
Ron and I have become intimate with Walmart since we have been buying things there for the house in Pioneer. I keep thinking that I should buy stock in Walmart. It is always packed...I never stepped foot in it until this year...look what I have missed....people (especially in Jackson, where Walmart is THE only store) who look like they just came out of the woods , scruffy beards, beat up clothes, missing teeth, with a slime trail following them as they wander aimlessly about, some of them yelling for their fellow Walmart visitors, and/or screaming at their children who look like orphans....precariously perched on the side of the shopping carts...(dont they know that the little ones can fall and hurt themselves badly?) .... are these people horrified by what could happen in their world due to the stock market and the world economic crisis... They aren't home saving their money...they are at the world's greatest importer of Chinese made items...who knows maybe things will change and USA will start making "things" again and in the future we will have the oppportunity to buy them at the last remaining retail chain, Walmart...guess I should buy some stock!
Mary

Ice. Ice. Baby.

As you probably will see on the news this morning, we're having a bit of an ice storm here in Massachusetts. Power has been off since about midnight. No heat, no lights. Luckily, it's not that cold...only about 33. Also, luckily, our local Starbucks has power!

We have about 3 downed branches this size in our yard. It's pretty impressive how much ice fell off of them. When we drove to Starbucks, we had to take several detours because entire streets are blocked by downed trees.

When we walked out to this branch, I told Carmen that we should make margaritas! (you know...with all the ice.)

We were supposed to get about 2 inches of rain last night. Since our yard is a big soupy mess, that sounds about right. It's supposed to stop raining around noon, then warm up a little...but then get down in the teens tonight. Good thing tomorrow is Saturday!

art website finally

Hi all,

So update...I have three of my gilcee prints in a retail store in Sutter Creek (near Pioneer) and will be putting another 5 or 6 in this week with more to follow!

I found someone in Jackson (near Pioneer) to produce the gilcees for me and have one more store in Pioneer wanting to sell my art, and another store (saddlery shop) near Stockton interested. My work might also be exhibited in the Restaurant at the Jackson Rancheria (Indian gambling joint). So I have finally worked on my website which is www.FineArtStudioOnline.com/MaryPauer

and have some more work to do on it.

So how did this all happen?? Don't know but it sure has been easy. I have one piece that I would like to show in Studio Seven in Pleasanton, which is a pretty nice art gallery. I am a bit nervous about sending it off (jpeg via the internet of course) but the worst that can happen is she says No!

On another note, I go to Dr. Larson at UCSF (neurosurgeon) on Wednesday this week to speak again about the Deep Brain Stimulation. Am so uncomfortable, actually in alot of pain sometimes, so it is time to get this done.

If you haven't heard, Chris starts BMW program tomorrow....hoorah! Seven months of full time school so he wont be working part time any longer. Instead of the 280 lbs of books the course usually requires, he will be getting a new lap top from BMW with the books downloaded on it! Lots of homework each nite...but he should be graduating with a job at a dealership!

Kaitlyn is fine, her social life is flourishing. Still not interested in getting drivers permit!

Ron is taking the month of December off starting on Tuesday. Linda is coming on the 25th for a few days and we will take her to see the house.

Got to run!

Love you!

Mary

Giving things away- Freecycle

Have you heard of "freecyle.org"? It is a website that directs you to a local yahoo group that is specific for the area that you live in. They have one for Tempe. People put all sorts of things that they want to give away and therefore keep things out of the landfills.

The other day I offered a pile of 20 or so gift boxes ( you know the ones I keep collecting every year, even though whenever I buy a gift it always comes with a gift box). I posted it on the group and later that afternoon some lady picked them up from my front porch! Awesome! Steve had a pants/press valet that we have moved around the country five times that was a periodic annoyance to me whenever I looked at it. I put it on freecycle and within an hour , I had 12 emails from people who wanted it. ( I started to doubt myself for wanting to get rid of it because it was desired by so many people!)

Anyway it is very easy because you don't have to gather up a big load to take to a drop off spot. If you are inspired to get rid of something, just put it on freecycle and it will be gone.

Good luck on your job interviewing Mom, and keep us posted.

Love,
Anne

I'm excited ! I've interviewed friday on the phone for a job at the Verde Valley Guidance Clinic which looks very promising! It is located in Cottonwood and if I get the job I would live in Sedona, one of my favorite places as you know.

I'm having to overcome my mental and emotional obstacles to pursuing my dream of living in a place like Sedona. At first I was scared to death, waking up with anxiety and telling myself to forget moving, just stay here! Guess I was scared to give up what I have. Now I am not scared but moderately excited. Then there is inertia - I'm contented, like my job, liking my house more and more as I fix it my way. Esp as I look around and think of leaving it. But I think if I stay here I am cutting myself off from the new possibilities that lie in the place I dream of, that I would be settling for the status quo, preparing for old age by playing it safe. And it seems like I am ready for an adventure, and I'm not getting any younger!

I have to consider the possibility I won't get the job, but I think I will and am proceeding like I will .


I am in a quandry about whether to rent or try to sell my house, which I think is my biggest obstacle. (Any advice is welcome.) No matter which I do, I'm purging my house of unnecessary, unloved, or unwanted stuff that, even though I don't consider myself anywhere near a packrat, has accumulated over the years. I am hindered by an emotional/mental obstacle to throwing away good stuff. I got this from Granny I am sure -you know how she is always passing along stuff nobody wants - a very annoying habit that I am also guilty of foisting on my kids! Every time I want to toss something my mind automatically thinks "who can I give this to?". It's amazing how ingrained this is and how gut- wrenching it is to put stuff in a trash bag to either throw away or take to charity. But I am persisting and it does feel goodto lighten up! I even found a place to take "building materials" for recycling - old boards, tiles, drywall, etc that were collecting cobwebs in the garage. I got my guest bathroom updated with new faucets and towel rods.

Next I will try to get a shower stall door replacement for the master bath. If I sell I might get new countertop in the bathroom too.l

I interview in person with DR G on sunday in Cottonwood. Wish me luck!
I will call a realtor to show my some rentals in Sedona while I am up there too.

Just watched PBS special about Dale Chihuly glass artist - there is a special exhibit of his glass throughout the desert botanical garden that I just bought a ticket for -it should be beautiful lit up at night.

The Bright Side...

They say you're always supposed to look at the bright side of things. You know, like the glass is half empty...

Well today, it was really cold out morning when I took the dogs out into the yard for their morning ritual...and I smiled at the fact that frozen dog poo is much less unpleasant to scoop up and discard than regular dog poo.

A little while later, I went upstairs and crawled back into bed with Carmen. "It's SO cold," she said. Yeah, but if it was warm, I'd be out riding my bike instead of snuggling with you. "True-dat," she said.

Later it started drizzling, raining, snowing, raining, sleating, etc. I didn't feel so positive about that, but it did give us a great opportunity to put up our Xmas tree...

Update from Scott & Alice

Hi everyone-
Scott's Grandfather passed away last Sunday, and we went to Albany on Tuesday night for the Service on Wednesday. It was a really nice service, with so many people, but of course really sad even though he had a long happy life. Scott's Grandmother is still alive. I wish I had known them earlier, they seem like amazing people- nuturing and fun-loving. They had a large loving family- four biological children, three adopted children, and took care of several foster children over the years.
On a lighter note, today we had a party at the house with about 25 friends and 4 kids, a non-shower, I guess you'd call it. It was so nice to see everyone and celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby G. We had a great time. We had everyone write name suggestions & put them in a vase, since we are still stumped.
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and visiting with Scott's family & with Doug, Carmen & Carmen's parents. I am really excited to play some mexican train if I can stay awake:)
Only 7 more weeks until the baby comes, give or take. We are getting ready little by little. By the way, we are registered for a few things at BabiesRus, if anyone asks.
Love to you all.

I agree with a Republican

I saw Mitt Romney on the Today Show this morning and I liked what he said about the Big 3. He said that giving them the money would ensure their demise. Instead this is an opportunity to help them shed costs and restructure giving them the chance to be competitive and survive. They need new labor agreements to get the labor costs in line with their competition and the retiree burden needs to be reduced. He wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times on Wednesday about it. I agree with the republican view on this issue.

Free Cars for 1 million tax payers

I have an idea. Instead of giving $25B to the Big 3 so that they can keep making cars that no one wants...why don't we give $25,000 to 1 million taxpayers with the contingency that they buy a Ford, GM or Chrysler vehicle. I think the return on investment for the American people would be better. Most of us will get abolutely nothing, which is what we're going to get with the bailout. The lucky few, if you could call them that, will get new cars.

How do you decide who gets them? Lottery. All taxpayers with income less than ____ are automatically entered to win. The amount could be like $100,000 or so. We could even spread it out over a few years, to keep them on life support as long as possible...

I've been compromised

My credit card was compromised today. Someone got the number and charged hundreds of dollars at some porn site. Miraculously, Chase caught it and denied the charges. New cards are en route. Apparently no damage done. This leaves me with 2 questions:
1. How does this not happen more often? With all the people that actually see my credit card number during the dozens of transactions per month...
2. How in the world did they catch this so quickly? What kind of clairvoyent algorithms do they use to figure this stuff out in real-time?

This is the second time this has happened to me, and at least the 3rd or 4th time that Fraud Protection has called with questions like: "Mr Kennedy, did you charge $347 to ILUST4YOUNGBLONDS.COM today?" or "Mr Kennedy, did you purchase $57 at Chevron in Homestead Florida yesterday and $32 at Applebees in Boise Idaho today?" uh....no to the blondes...but don't tell anyone that I ate at Applebees...okay.

I'm just glad that there's some really smart programmers out that that are working on the side of goodness and justice...because otherwise the hackers and thiefs would have their way with us and we'd all be broke. Of course, we still have the politicians doing their best trying to give away our hard-earned tax dollars to the Big Three...because they simply can't make cars that people actually want to buy...but their existence is vital to our national security...therefore we must keep them on life support so that they can continue to loose market share to the Japanese...who arguably make much better cars trucks and SUVS...and wait for them go bankrupt when nobody notices...or when the economy is doing better so that nobody cares. And they accused Obama of being a socialist. Now that both parties worked together to socialize banking and they're well on their way to socializing the US auto industry...the GOP is going to have to find a new bad name to call him.

As for me, I'm going to just going to bury my head in the sand and continue being a good American...by spending as much money as possible...as soon as I get my new piece of plastic.

San Francisco Adventure

Sunday we went to San Francisco for the day. We took Bart over and then we rode the cable car
over to Fisherman's Wharf. It was a beautiful day there with sun and 75 degree temperatures! We ate fresh Dungeness Crab. Kendall gave fifty cents to a street musician playing a dulcimer. She said that when she grows up she wants to play an instrument so that people will give her money!
At Pier 39, we visited the aquarium and enjoyed seeing a fringe group of the Stanford marching band performing. It was a fun adventure of public transportation and seeing the sights in San Francisco.

I experienced a little winter while driving home from Flag - the skies turned from blue to gray and the temperature dropped from 60 to 38 in a couple of hours. As soon as I started driving out of town flurries started, then heavy snow which stuck to the windshield and road. Since I was headed downhill, within 30 minutes it was rain and after I climbed out of the Verde Valley, the sun was again shining and it was clear at home.

I enjoyed my overnight in Flag - Darlene has an adorable old house right downtown so we walked to restaurants and even for shopping. I'd never experienced Flag from the perspective of a resident - it is really a cool place and I would even consider living there but not particularly attracted to it though. What does attract me is red rock and desert! I saw a picture of Terry Tempest Williams (author) seated outside her Castle Valley (isn't that a cool name?) UT home (outside of Moab) which included spires of red rock and I was immediately envious and had to look it up on the web. She is coming to Changing Hands Thursday so maybe I can talk to her. One of these days I hope to fulfill this dream of living in such a place.

I'm watching less TV these days because I got rid of my cable recorder. More reading, more listening to radio and music. I still catch Oprah most nights.

Hooray - I did several hours of filing, purging, tossing in my office and it feels so good to have all that done! Now I can just shred and file as things come in, thereby avoiding such a back log. I'm learning to make it easier = moving the files that I need to the spot where I go through my mail (laundry room), instead of creating a pile in the laundry room or on my desk to be sorted some months down the road.

That sure was a lot of leaves Doug!

Halloween

Kendall was Dorothy for Halloween this year. She had a lot of fun trick or treating. Rosie went as Toto. As you all heard, I painstakingly sewed this costume (with help from Mary and phone consultations with Mom). I think it turned out pretty good despite the fact that I had to sew her into the dress for her first costume party on Tuesday. It was just like an episode of "Project Runway" as I rushed to finish her dress in time. You can't even see the blood stains on the sleeve bands from my pricked fingers. If I start now, maybe I can finish next year's costume without as much stress.

Love,

Anne