Me too

JANE SEABROOK is an illustrator and designer who lives in Auckland , New Zealand . In recent years, her artwork has focused on paintings of wildlife for the Fury Logic series of books. She shares her life with her husband, two teenage children, and a growing menagerie of assorted animals.

At last, I have a shooting sister

Not to say anything bad about going to a shoot and having your partner/spouse as a shooting buddy, but from a woman's perspective, it is nice to have a female friend along.
Jeanette's husband has been shooting for many years and now that she has retired, Jeanette has the time to enjoy the sport along side her sweetheart.
Yesterday Sunday, Mr C and I were up very early ( I woke up at 4am, groan, and could not get back to sleep) so we could catch the ferry at 6:35 am to take us across to the mainland for the drive to Puyallup . The ferry ride is usually about a 20 minute ride across to Mukilteo but the dock there was closed over the weekend for repairs, so we docked instead at Kingston, a 50 minute ferry ride.

This was just the second time Jeanette has competed in a match, and I must say she did very well indeed. All the practice she has put in certainly shows, as she is a very accurate shooter and will gain speed as time goes by. I know she was nervous, but we all are when we first start out, and still are at times.

The stages at this particular match were a challenge indeed. Some called for concentration and accuracy instead of all out speed. This stage had three small steel white plates in front of a large black one, and on the other side, three small red ones in front of a large white one, and waaay back, in the center, a very small white plate, called the penalty plate.. You can just see it above Jeanette's shoulder. Here is where the concentration and accuracy played a part.
The object was to not hit any of the white plates, if you did, you could take a shot at the penalty plate, and if you struck it, the penalty for hitting one of the white ones, was canceled out.
On one string, I missed one of the red plates, muttered "oh crap" sent up a nano second prayer for accuracy, gritted my teeth and sent a round down range at the small penalty plate. Whoo hoo! I hit it, whew! it would have cost me a 5 second penalty if I missed.
Jeanette also had to take a shot at the penalty plate, and she also manage to save herself from a five second penalty by striking it.
All in all we had a great day, even though it turned out to be an unusually long match due to many shooters showing up, some shooting more than one gun, then after the match, seven of us went to the Hanger restaurant for dinner, and of course sat around talking. Mr C and I left Puyallup at 7:20 pm and instead of taking the chance of a long wait for the ferry, decided to drive back to the island via deception pass.
We arrived home at 11:25pm I was in bed by 11;36pm and thought I would get a peaceful nights rest. Jeez! my mind would not shut down, so today I feel like a zombie, thank goodness I have just one two hour shift at work.

A sight for sore eyes

From our house, we look across at the Olympic Mountains on the Olympic Peninsular WA. This morning they were spectacular in their beauty.

We never grow tired of seeing the mountains, covered in snow, or gilded in lovely sunset colors.

Thursday humor

The teacher said; “Take a pencil and paper, and write an essay with the title ‘If I Were a Millionaire.’” Everyone but Joe, who leaned back with arms folded, began to write feverishly.

“What’s the matter,” the teacher asked. “Why don’t you begin?”

“I’m waiting for my secretary,” Joe replied.

Awwww you are so cute

Sometimes I simply don't have a whole lot to blog about, especially during the winter months when I am not venturing far from home. I have decided, for your entertainment, to post pictures from the extensive collection of photos I have taken during the past years.

Here is the cheeky little semi-tame black bunny, who decided to rest on top of a potted fern. Of course I shooed it off, and moved the pot away from the other pots, so the rabbit did not have something to jump up on to enable it to climb onto the potted fern. This little rabbit is very friendly and will come hopping up to me as soon as I open the front door. Naturally I nearly always have a treat for "black Bunny" Mr C and I are of the opinion, that years ago, some kids in the neighborhood had domestic pet rabbits, and when they no longer wanted to care for them, or had too many babies to look after, they released the rabbits into the wild, and they have bred with the local cottontails. Now we have golden, brown, gray, and a couple of black rabbits of cottontail and domestic heritage, happily living in the neighborhood.

Pray for the people of Japan.

Fast and furious

I checked the weather radar off and on all morning, watching the approaching storm trying to gauge when it will hit this part of the island. I had a very good reason for doing so, as I had a client to visit at 3pm. and did not want to be caught on the roads in the snow storm. At 1pm, I called the office and had them call my client to see if it would be all right with her to come and take care of things at 1:30pm, it was so off I drove.
I worked at breakneck speed all the time glancing out the window at the gathering clouds. By 3:30pm I had done everything I had planned on, like meals being prepared and left in the refrigerator to be easily re-heated, and wood brought upstairs to feed their wood stove.
At 3:35 the first of the hail started to fall and by 3:45 I was on the road driving through wind whipped hail on my way home. I was very happy to turn into our driveway, pull up under the carport and go inside the nice warm house. Around 5pm it started to snow, and it came down very fast. The wind was driving the snow sideways and about 1 1/2 inches accumulated in just about half an hour.
If the forecast is right on, then we are to have plenty of snow this evening, then freezing temperatures Thursday and Friday. I don't have to work tomorrow but do on Friday, but if the roads are slick, I intend of staying off them.

We are being dumped on

11:49 Update: look what we have now. I elected to stay home and not drive on the slippery roads. There have been accidents reported, and I don't intend to add to the count.

8:46 am It started out with a very heavy rain, then turned to snow, changed to hail and now it is a mix, all blown by a very stiff wind.
I have to be at work at 10 am, so I am hoping this has blown over by then, as the roads could be a little slick.

A NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE

I was sent this via an email, and thought it very worthwhile posting. How many of us women know what to expect?
I recommend that you ladies read this for your own benefit and you men so that you can advise your wife or girl friend.

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD READ THIS . . .
A NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE

I am an ER nurse and this is the best description of this event that I have ever heard.


FEMALE HEART ATTACKS

I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read.

Women and heart attacks (Myocardial infarction). Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing heart attack .. You know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in the movies.

Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack.

'I had a heart attack at about 10 :30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might have brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.

A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable.
You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation---the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m.

After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasms), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR).

This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. 'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening -- we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven't we?

I said aloud to myself and the cat, Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack!

I lowered the foot rest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else ...
But, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in a moment.

I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics ... I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts..

She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to un-bolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in.

I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the radiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like 'Have you taken any medications?') but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stints to hold open my right coronary artery.

'I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stints.
'Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand.'

1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body not the usual men's symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act).
It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up ... which doesn't happen.

My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before.
It is better to have a 'false alarm' visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said 'Call the Paramedics.' And if you can take an aspirin. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!

Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER - you are a hazard to others on the road.

Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road.

Do NOT call your doctor -- he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics..
He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP.
Your Dr. will be notified later.

3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure).
MI's are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in thebody, which
dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there.


Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep.
Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive..

Wednesday humor

One day an old German Shepherd starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost.. Wandering about, he notices a panther heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old German Shepherd thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!"

Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the panther is about to leap, the old German Shepherd exclaims loudly,

"Boy, that was one delicious panther! I wonder, if there are any more around here?"

Hearing this, the young panther halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees.

"Whew!," says the panther, "That was close! That old German Shepherd nearly had me!"

Meanwhile, a squirrel who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the panther. So, off he goes.

The squirrel soon catches up with the panther, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the panther.

The young panther is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, squirrel, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that
conniving canine!"

Now, the old German Shepherd sees the panther coming with the squirrel on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?," but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old German Shepherd says...

"Where's that squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another panther!"

Moral of this story...

Don't mess with the old dogs... Age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery!
BS and brilliance only come with age and experience.

You know you have had enough of winter when.......

A chuckle to brighten your day

There were two buddies, one with a Doberman Pinscher and the other with a Chihuahua. The guy with the Doberman Pinscher says to his friend, "Let's go over to that restaurant and get something to eat."

The guy with the Chihuahua says, "We can't go in there. We've got dogs with us."

The buddy with the Doberman Pinscher says, "Just follow my lead."

They walk over to the restaurant, the guy with the Doberman Pinscher puts on a pair of dark glasses and he starts to walk in. The bouncer at the door says, "Sorry, Mac, no pets allowed."

The man with the Doberman Pinscher says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye-dog."

The bouncer says, "A Doberman Pinscher?"

He answers, "Yes, they're using them now; they're very good and protect me from robbers, too."

The man at the door says, "Come on in."

The buddy with the Chihuahua figures, "What the heck," so he puts on a pair of dark glasses and starts to walk in.

Once again the bouncer says, "Sorry, pal, no pets allowed."

The guy with the Chihuahua says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye dog."

The bouncer at the door says, "A Chihuahua?"

The man with the Chihuahua says, "A Chihuahua?????? They gave me a Chihuahua?!"

Not much going on right now

I know, I know, I am tardy in my blogging, but when a person hasn't been anywhere, or done anything exciting, there really isn't much to say.
I could rant about having to have repairs done to my car, and whine about how I really do need a new one, and how much I would love to take a trip back to my homeland, and how now would be the time to win the lotto so I could afford a new car, a trip or two, and could retire, but I won't rant right now *grin*
Mr C has a saying " I guess we just have to be good lookin' instead of rich" hmmmm! I think I would like to try rich for a while. At least the sun is making an effort to shine today, brightening up the day, and my grumpy mood.
Yesterday I checked out the movie section at the small local library, and discovered DVD's of BBC Masterpiece theatre, I rented one and started watching it last night. Being born and raised in New Zealand, I am familiar with BBC productions on the telly (TV) and this particular DVD brought back all the memories of series I used to watch many years ago. I hadn't realized how much I miss the British shows, so I intend on making another trip to the library to see how many more of these types of DVD's they have for my entertainment.

Roast vegetables

About 1-1/2 cups each of yellow squash, onion, carrot, zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, all thinly sliced or broken into small florets, tossed into a plastic baggie with Mrs Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning, garlic powder, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Toss all around in the baggie until well coated then pour onto a foil lined baking dish and bake.

I use my small counter top convection oven, and cook the veggies at 400 F until they are just tender crisp, as I will reheat them in the microwave later on. There are less than 100 calories per one cup serving of these very tasty vegetables.

We are ready for Spring

Here in western WA we have had some nasty weather. Yesterday they were forecasting for lots of snow starting around 4 to 5pm, well it didn't hit in some places until about two hours later. I changed my hours of work so I could drive home at 5pm with the idea that I can see the snowy roads better in daylight. Well, I was lucky to be able to get home on bare roads, get settled in and wait to see when the snow will arrive.
I went to bed around 9 pm, and still no snow, I got up at 11pm and looked out the window to a beautiful sight of a yard blanketed in soft fluffy snow.
Sometime early this morning, it started to rain and some of the now melted, the rain stopped and the wind came up so there is still quite a lot of snow around our place to melt away. I know that by the time I drive the main highway later this afternoon, the roads will be clear of this mess. Across the pond, in the Seattle area, they are having to drive very slushy freeway, and icy, slushy side roads. We will all be thankful when Winter leaves us, and spring arrives on our doorstep.

JANE SEABROOK is an illustrator and designer who lives in Auckland , New Zealand . In recent years, her artwork has focused on paintings of wildlife for the Fury Logic series of books. She shares her life with her husband, two teenage children, and a growing menagerie of assorted animals.

My kind of Saturday afternoon

I spent the morning doing my chores, then this afternoon I brought firewood inside and lit the fire.
Mr C was away for the afternoon so I decided to spend the hours in front of the crackling fire reading. I made a pot of my favorite tea placed it on a tray and took it into the living room to sip on while reading. What a perfectly wonderful way to spend one's day when it is too cold and wet outdoors to do anything.

Salad for dinner

Now that I am counting calories, I have decided to eat 'light' for my evening meals. This salad consists of black rice, avocado, apple, tomato, green onion, and Annie's fat free mango dressing. I also grind plenty of black pepper into the salad.
As I am a sweet tooth, I need dessert, so I satisfy my cravings with a Dreyer's frozen fruit bar.
All this for 341 calories

Enough already!

My goodness, I don't know what came over me! Early last year I did a good job of tracking my daily calories via My Fitness Pal and managed to drop some pounds, then I just stopped making the effort and paid for it by gaining the weight back.
Of course it didn't help that I had three falls this last year, and was, and still am, in pain quite often. Today I go in for ex rays to see if we can track down the source of my discomfort.
January the 3rd I decided I have had enough of feeling sorry for myself, being depressed about my weight gain, and eating more to console myself, and went back to tracking my calories, and what a difference in my attitude. I think it all comes down to being accountable, as I record my progress on Fitness Pal for all to see, and who wants to fail, when people are watching *grin*
I really like My Fitness Pal as it is free and there is a great community of support. If you are interested in losing a few or many pounds, stop by My Fitness Pal and check out their site.

First sunset of 2011

What a beautiful way to end the first day of 2011