Midnight Diaries

3:45:13 PM EDT
Feeling Chillin'

This week for the Photo Shoot, it's time to show off!

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Take a picture of something you've made. Pottery, cookies, a drawing or painting, a poem or a pipe cleaner stick man -- it's all good, it just has to have been made by you. Show off your creativity.

I know. I am such a slacker! I said I was going to start writing in my journal again and of course that hasn't happened! But you will see why I have been so busy as of late with this assignment.

This summer I was busy with my garden. I t was a late garden so I mostly grew gourds, giant sunflowers and pumpkins. Last years gourds became this years birdhouses I made and I am selling (pictures 1 ~ 3).

I also wrote a children's book in 1999 (pictures 4 and 5). I wrote it for my daughter who was 2 1/2 when my husband passed away. The story is based on the night he passed. I believe that he had visited her that night and it is a story for her about that night. A few months after that night she had drawn a picture for me. I could tell it was a person and asked her who it was. She replied "Daddy with wings." That sparked the idea for the book.

And last but not least, for the Halloween season...I make butternut squash ghosts (picture 6) to keep the jack o'lanterns company!

Check out how crafty and talented others are at Your Monday Photo Shoot: Things You Made from John Scalzi's journal!

 

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12:41:51 AM EDT

It has been a while since I have posted in my journal and I thought that since I started my journal with a Monday Photo Shoot, I would start up again with a the same type of post.

So, John Scalzi of By The Way...  wants pictures in negative. As usual I can't make up my mind which one I like the most and found 3 to post. Actually I have more but I don't want to over do it...too much! Check out all the other talented people at his site.

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7:59:25 AM EST
Feeling Happy

    Thanksgiving Day my children and I will travel to Virginia to spend the day with my husbands family. We don't get down there often enough so we look forward to seeing everyone, catching up with each others lives. When I think about the events that have taken place over the last year, we can all be so thankful for so many things.
    My niece who is 21 years old was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. While continuing her studies at UVA, working at the hospital, no one but her closest friends, doctors and professors knew what she was battling herself during those months of treatment. She is an admirable woman and we are blessed to have her still with us to share this Thanksgiving. For this I give thanks.
    Just as my niece was finishing her treatments, my father-in-law was diagnosed with the same disease. This wonderful man has had his share of illnesses over the last several years. He could have said he has had enough, but he just finished his treatments. He is still in recovery, having difficulties with his blood count and today I just found out he now as blood clots in his leg as a result of chemotherapy. But we will spend some time with him tomorrow and for this I give thanks.
     I have another niece who is 15 years old. She is my brother-in-laws only child. A few months ago she started to experience problems breathing. Her doctor treated her for asthma. At first she was doing well but soon became worse. After several changes in medicine and her symptoms worsening, they went to another doctor. He also started to treat her for asthma. One morning she awoke with difficulties walking, breathing problems and unable to focus properly. A trip to the emergency room diagnosed her with Pulmonary Hypertension. The same disease that has her mother in a vegetative state for the past 5 years. The same disease that took her mothers brother from them at an early age. She may not have been with us this year if they had waited another two hours or so. So for the past several weeks she was in an induced coma after being operated on to remove several clots from her lungs. She is back at school now and doing very well. Tomorrow I look forward to seeing her and for this I give thanks.
    My brother-in-law is on recovery battling his own demons that has had him in its grip for so many years. Another has finally found a job in his field after looking for so long. Tomorrow we will be together with all our families gathered around, thankful for our health, thankful for the soldiers around the world who so willingly sacrifice time with their own loved ones to keep us safe, thankful for new family members, a new job, friends or whatever else makes us grateful for the way our lives are affected. I wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

     By the way, the picture I chose for this entry was taken in Ocean City, NJ Thanksgiving Day 1993. It was the last Thanksgiving we celebrated with my husband before he lost his battle with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.

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11:44:18 PM EST
Feeling Chillin'

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Do "Before and After" photos on any subject you like. The idea is to show change over a bit of time. Some easy ideas would be haircuts, cleaned-up rooms, kittens growing up into cats, and etc. And yes, this means you can dip into your collection of old photos (they certainly qualify as "before").

I have two entries this week. The first photo show the ingredients needed to make dinner. The second and third pictures show the end result, Chicken Pot Pie!

The second set of before and after show lottery tickets worth a hope and a dream in the first photo and the after shot is what those hopes and dreams turned into, confetti. 

Check out other before and after photos at By The Way...

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11:40:04 AM EST
Feeling Chillin'

Weekend Assignment #84: Take a look at the picture below. Tell us what you think is going on in the picture. You can write as long as you want, or as short as you like -- even a photo caption works. Now, it's a fairly weird picture, but I thought that would just give you more to work with.

John and Jimmy were identical twins with two different passions. While John went on to write novels Jimmy became a stand-up comedian. He is best known for his impersonations. After years of practice and in spite of warnings from his mother ("Stop making those faces! Your face will freeze like that!"), Jimmy amazed his audience with his Picasso impersonations. And true to his mothers words, his face is now frozen in his best Picasso impersonation. Ever the optimist, Jimmy has ideas of travelling with a circus as a freak show now that his career is over. His twin can't decide whether to laugh or cry.

Extra Credit: Would you like to see more "explain what's going on in the picture" sort of assignments? Not every one would be as odd as this one, mind you. But I want to keep the assignments fresh and fun, and this might be a way to do it from time to time.

This was actually fun! I would like to see some more assignments like this. Can we submit pictures for future assignments?

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12:42:44 AM EST
Feeling Chillin'

1. My daughter was born on Friday the thirteenth. She was already 3 weeks late. The night before she was born I said to my husband, "It would just be like one of our children to be born on Friday the thirteenth."

2. When I was little I used to think that the turn signals in the car told you where to go. I would always tell my dad from the back seat that he had to turn left or right because his turn signal was on. I guess I was one of the original backseat drivers, huh?

3. I want to at some time in my life  tear down walls and remodel a house. I have a secret desire to wear a tool belt and use power tools!

4. My maiden name is Hummel. When my grandfather married my grandmother her maiden name was Hummel, so when they married she became a Hummel-Hummel! His second wife was widowed and her last name was Hummel too, so she was also a Hummel-Hummel!

5. I like to walk in fresh fallen snow. At the first sign of snowfall we would get the kids up and walk in the woods no matter how late it was. I like the silence of a new snow.

6. I once had a score of 102 on one word playing scrabble. The word was quiz and landed on a triple word square and the "z" was on the double letter score. I have trouble finding people to play scrabble with me.

7. I have never been stung by a bee or a wasp. I have also never had poison ivy. My girlfriend and I went camping along the Mississippi one weekend. While exploring the next day, I was taking pictures when she said, "Do you know that you are standing in a patch of poison ivy?" I didn't get poison ivy but she had to come home early from her vacation the next week because she had it so bad.

8. I believe in guardian angels. I have to because over the years she or he has been very busy with me!

9. My first job was cleaning a dance studio on Saturday mornings. I was in the 6th grade and wanted to make my own money so I could buy my own clothes.

10. I learned to ride a two-wheeled bike when I was three years old. I would take my sisters bike when she was in school. I would end up getting my pant legs caught in the chains at the end of the hill almost all the time and I would be stuck until someone retrieved me.

11. I have always had an uncanny knack for directions. When we lived in Chicago and I was seven I went to my cousins apartment to see her new baby. I did this by myself after being there only once before. I don't know how far it was from our house but I do remember it took me a long time to get there and everyone freaking out when they found out where I was.

12. I found three more birdhouse gourds in my garden today. That brings the total to 33. So far the squirrels haven't found them. I picked them off the vine and have them on my back porch drying. I also picked some more Hydrengas that are drying in a vase in my diningroom.

13. I wonder what it is that I am supposed to be learning in this lifetime. I sometimes think that my purpose in life is to be an example to others, as in "This is not the way to do..." or "Under no circumstances should you ever, ever do..." Then I wonder what could I have possibly been in my past life/lives. 

I got this from Colleen at Loose Leaf: Notes from a Writer's Journal.

 To learn more about 13 Thursday, to meet its founder, and to view a list of participants go visit Leanne at Leanne Wildermuth : Artist by Nature.

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6:00:00 PM EST
Feeling Happy

Yesturday I decided that I needed to have a "me" day. What prompted this decision was that I had to pick up some work and along the way is a park with a lake that I always pass by because I am in too much of a hurry to stop. But not today. I was going to stop!

There is a place to stop along the road with a path that leads to the lake and continues around it. I could see the trees in all their fall splendor! The trees in the area have not been as vibrant this year because of the lack of rain and the unusually warm days. I think because these trees are near a water source and we have finally gotten some cold snaps they were showy in all their fall color. I could see and hear in the distance a flock of geese cruising the lake. There were trees lining the shore that hid me just enough so as not to alarm them as they slowly drifted my way.They didn't get as close as I would have liked them to but I was enjoying the peace of nature.

I wasn't able to stay as long as I would have liked to because I needed to pick up the work before 10:00 am. I quickly made plans to take the long way home that would take me to Sugarloaf Mountain. I just couldn't waste this perfect fall day, sunny, a little breezy with just enough coolness to envigorate the soul!

Along the way to the mountain I found a cemetery I saw the last time I traveled this road. I stopped for a bit to check it out. It was very picturesque and was wooded in the older section. Most cemeteries around here seem to be stark, not many trees.

As I got closer to Sugarloaf Mountain, I could see where I had sat the last time on my rocky perch way above the trees. As I hiked up the mountain, I was lost in my thoughts of how nice it would be to able to own and live on a mountain. Sugarloaf is a privately owned mountain. I found my perch at the top of the mountain and watched the hawks as they patroled their lofty domain. It never ceases to amaze me how far they soar before they head back towards their nest. 

I met a couple that were taking advantage of the gorgeous day as well. The gentleman pointed out different sites in the distance to me. What I had thought was a lake ended up being the Potomac River. I originally thought that it was the Potomac but thought that it seemed landlocked so it must be a lake. The river must wind between the hills and hide among the trees. The Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalacians can be seen in the distance. I would like to hike at least a little of the Appalacian trail sometime while it is so available to me!

He also pointed out a trail that leads to an old family cemetery. That sounds like another trip to the mountain is due sometime soon! But I did need to start hiking down the mountain if I was to make some homemade soup for the evenings dinner! Nothing like nice warm soup on a day like that!

On the way home I decided to check out the Garden of Remembrance that I had seen the last time. The cemetery is a Jewish one and I felt somewhat the same way I did when visiting the Viet Nam Memorial in Washington, DC. I think it may be because there are a couple of places that have the same kind of stone and the names of the deceased are written on them. It is really a beautiful cemetery, quite different from what I was expecting. I didn't take pictures, perhaps I will next time I visit.

So my "me" day turned out to be a great one. We enjoyed a yummy homemade chicken soup for dinner and my soul was trully envigorated.

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1:46:36 AM EDT
Feeling Happy

    Wednesday I took another trip to New York. This time I went by myself because no body was able to take the time off to go with me or had previous commitments. The purpose for this trip was to be a member of the "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" audience! While at the tryouts in the summer they said we could request tickets for the show and audition again if we wanted. I have always been fascinated with what went on behind the scenes of a show whether it would be a theatre production, TV show or whatever. So I figured what the heck and got my tickets.

      I didn't get much sleep the night before. I usually have trouble sleeping the night before I travel anywhere. I am either afraid I will over sleep, forget something for the trip or some other reason. This time I was nervous about over sleeping, trying to figure out the subway system in New York by myself and going to my vehicle late at night in the parking garage alone.

      Well, I didn't over sleep, but the traffic was backed up on the highway going to the Amtrak station. It did open up for a short while but then backed up for a longer distance further up. Fortunately it was just beyond an alternate route that I could take. I was pushing my time but managed to get to the station with time to spare...barely. But I still had to park and found myself way up on the fourth level of the parking garage! I shared the elevator down with an Amtrak employee who was also running late that morning. The elevator doors opened on the first floor to a surprised elderly man standing there with his pants down! Literally! I don't know if he was trying to change his clothing (why? I have no idea! There are bathrooms in the station and the bathroom on the train!) or if it was a wardrobe malfunction! Either way I knew that today was going to be an interesting day no matter what happened and I started to relax and have fun.

     I didn't miss the train, instead the train was thirty minutes late. Although the train was late it didn't mess up the plans I had for the day which was to spend the day in Central Park until it was time to go to the studios for the audition and the show taping. The studio is not even a block away from the park.

      I figured out the subway and made it to the park with no problem. I was even able to help with directions for an elderly women that was on the subway with me. I first went to the studio to find out what time I should be there because I had an e-mail saying I was to be there at 1:45 when I first requested the tickets. When I got the tickets the time was 1:45. However, about two weeks later I got a letter saying the tickets were wrong and the time should be 2:45. The night before I was to leave I received another e-mail saying I needed to be there at 1:45! So it was confirmed for 2:45 which I was happy about because that meant more time in the park.

      I was very happy that the weather held out and was the perfect fall day. With the snowfall in the northeast and a cold front from the north pushing down clashing with the remnants of Wilma, things were looking questionable. But the weathermen and the weather report on the internet proved to be right on target! It was in the 50's with a slight breeze and sunny! I was looking forward to seeing some great fall colors in the park but I only saw a few and they didn't disappoint me! The colors were beautiful!

      I stopped at a little cafe that is in the park and shared a Veggie burger and my peanut butter granola bar with the birds. I decided that the pigeons in New York are the fattest pigeons I have seen yet. And just like the people in the city they are quite a mix, not only grey and grey with white but some were a pretty shade of brown and a mix of colors. I broke some small pieces off my granola bar and was actually feeding the sparrows from my hand.

      The park was busy with activity, people biking, relaxing, sightseeing, walking dogs, skating (I saw a woman in her 60's on inline skates wearing a mink coat! Wish I had that picture!), boating and surprisingly I saw the same bride and groom having their picture taken! Obviously it was a photography studio specializing in wedding pictures taking promotional shots of a wedding in the fall. This time I saw a bit more of the park than last time. As I started to head back to the studio I heard the wonderful sound of street musicians and followed the music to the fountain by the lake. The music was reminiscent of Leon Redbone. I would have loved to stay longer but my time in the park was limited that day. I did make a point to see the Imagine Mosaic this time, which was near the parks entrance, before I left.

      So there I was standing in line trying to make it on a show that could make me a millionaire or even a thousandaire once again. Could I pass the test this time? Last time we were ushered into the ABC studio cafeteria, this time we were lead to Tony Danza's set and sat in the audience seats to take the test. The joke is that this is the most people in the audience on his set ever! Anyway, unlike the last time where we found out if we passed the test within a few minutes afterward, they were going to announce those who passed during the break in taping the shows. So off we went to go stand in line once again to wait for the taping of the shows before us to end. While waiting I met two people in line who were on Jeopardy, one guy who has tried out for "Millionaire" 6 times before and called back three times and has still not made it on to the show, another who has tried out 3 times and several others who have either been in the audience or tried out before. My chances weren't looking good! Many of them were asking about the answers to some of the questions and I know I missed at least 3...yep, my chances were getting slimmer!

      The shows (there were two shows we were there for) are the ones they tape for sweeps (which I understand is a good thing...I'm not sure) and is couples who are engaged to be married. I believe they are showing November 7th through 11th. I thought the process of taping the show was interesting. Meridith Vieira was very nice. I'm not one to get crazy about celebraties, they are only human just like you and me after all. Anyway, during the breaks in taping they raffled off DVD's (which I didn't win any) and called the names of the ones that passed the test. I didn't make it during the first break. Hmmmm...

        The audience was called on three times to to assist the contestants and all three times we came through! Yeah for us! But it didn't get us anything! Oh well! But if you happen to see the last two shows of the couples on the dates I meantioned I will be seen in the audience! When they show the audience answering the questions with the buttons I am in the shot. I won't tell you which one I am...I'll let you guess! So during the final break they announced the rest of the names of those who passed the test. I'm not going to be a millionaire this year!

     I have a T-shirt to go with my magnet I got over the summer and the pencil we were given to take the test. I wonder how many souveniers I will collect before A) I get on the show or B) give up because I am such a loser!

     We didn't finish with the taping until 7:30 that evening. My train was leaving at 8:45 so I didn't get to go back to Cental Park as I had planned. There was a Halloween Party in the park and I was hoping get some interesting pictures. I decided it wasn't worth chancing, besides it was already a long day and I wouldn't be getting into my home station until 12:30 as it was. If I needed to take a later train I think I would feel less safe in the parking garage the later it got. So I headed to the station, got some dinner (California wrap) to eat on the train and had a nice relaxing train ride home.

       I layed my head on my pillow that night (or Thursday morning) at about 2:25, richer in experience but still poor pocket-wise! 

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12:23:15 AM EDT
Feeling Quiet

I love to decorate for Halloween, picking out the perfect pumpkin at the local pumpkin patch, carving either a scary or funny face and turning the lights out when the pumpkins were all aglow. I also like to paint butternut squash as little ghost companions for my jack-o'lanterns on the front porch. I wish I knew if I could dry the butternut squash like I do my birdhouse gourds so I could keep them from year to year. I like the shape of the squash for my ghost as opposed to the shape of the birdhouse gourds. Maybe next year I will try to encourage a few of the gourds to grow to the shape of little ghosts if it is impossible to dry the squash.

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Halloween Decorations and Greetings

For some awesome pumpkin carving go here

Pumpkingutter.com

and here for entertaining pumpkins

Contest Winners 2004

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9:11:23 PM EDT
Feeling Chillin'

      Friday evening was homecoming at my daughter's high school. The past week was hectic getting ready for the dance. I was not a very social person in high school, painfully shy and insecure so I never attended any dances. My first three children are boys so I have only seen what preparing for the dances is like from the male perspective. For all three of the boys the dress for the evening consisted of a nice pair of kahki pants, button down shirt (as opposed to the usual t-shirt), a tie (which was worn for the purpose of pictures and disgarded shortly afterwards) and dress shoes. This attire is bought in their freshman year and satisfied them for all four years of high school with the exception of prom. So the biggest issue for homecoming for them was a corsage. All four years for all three boys it was like pulling teeth trying to find out what color their dates dress was so as to order the flowers.

      Homecoming used to be the girls dressing in a nice short dress. Not so anymore! And Kate also had her heart set on a blue dress. Since she wasn't going to go to the dance originally but decided to go at the last minute because all her friends were going, the selection of dresses was becoming minimal. We went to several malls (which I absolutely hate) in several areas of the state. Thank goodness Maryland is a small state! She tried on several dresses that she liked but they were not blue or the right color blue. But the up side to this is we did find one and we actually got lucky finding shoes at the same store on the same night and even in her size (she has a big foot!)!

       Unbeknownst to me, this wasn't the end of our shopping. Evidently none of her earrings will do and of course we needed a necklace as well. I must say though, bless my children's hearts they do know how to bargain shop! Like I said before I hate mall shopping and four days in a row at several different malls in numerous stores, I hung in there like a trooper!

      So the next homecoming dance ritual for the female is having the hair done. I am a "plain Jane". Kate is not the type to fuss about herself either. Until now. It was important to have the hair in an "up-do". I was perplexed! She generally pulls it back into a crazy bun held by a scrunchie! To her that is doing her hair! And on top of that she wants to wear make-up and have her nails done! Yikes! I wear mascara, with a bit of concealer and natural toned eyeshadow at best only about once a year. Luckily all she wanted was mascara, a little eyeshadow and eyeliner. I tried to apply it for her but had no luck so we stood side by side and I had her watch me as I did myself. She did great but we had no luck with the eyeliner so that was disregarded. The end result...she looked fabulous!

     Originally she was going with several friends but they couldn't get the plans together (limo or no limo, where to eat, what time or even who was going, were they meeting at someone's house, etc.) so she finally just decide to go it alone. Her "companion" for the evening was Josh, her best friend since first grade. They met up with their friends at the dance and had a great evening.

      So we survived this homecoming and now I know what to expect for next year. And by the way, the shoes she has on, the heels light up when she walks!

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