The Fourth of July

It has been so long since I visited my own blog that I need to get in here and knock the spiderwebs down and chase off the spiders! They have reallys set up housekeeping around here................

Happy 4th of July to everyone! T'is a great country we have here and believe it or not,even with all that is going on here in this country right now, we are still a "Blessed" nation. Of course there are still some folks that just won't beleive that.....they should go to Kenya where my little adopted daughter lives and see for themselves how good we truly do have it. It will get better here if we pray and ask for guidance.

Today sure looks dreary for all the picnicking folks..........It is raining as well. Sorry about that.

This afternoon Roseanne Cash (daughter of THE late Johnny Cash) will be here to christen our brand new bandshell here in Red Wing, MN. There will be other entertainment as well but she is the star that is coming. I hope the whole town turns out for her!! Tonight will be fireworks and we will enjoy it all from our kingsized bed. We can hear it all really well and sometimes see them from over the tree tops of the golf course. I don't want to go out and be eaten alive by mosquitoes, thank you very much! I had a stiff neck a few days ago. A powerful one with tons of pain and I also had a headache and I thought I had encephalitis. Perish the thought! I will stay indoors til they GO THE HECK AWAY!

I haven't introduced you to our new pup. He is 8 months old now and his name is "Marcello Luigi Pasquale" and he is a little Italian Greyhound. He is a powerhouse of energy and has a very very low threshold for boredom. (Witness our ottoman on the right side of this posting) They are strictly not for everyone. (Please read that last statement one more time if you think they are cute and you happen to want to run out and get one right this moment! They are a handful, Bright as a lightbulb but stubborn as heck! You don't really train them, they train YOU!

He is my joy and my inspiration. "I was born for him and he was born for me and we two make a happy family." :o) However, on the other hand, he drives all the other dogs and his daddy half nuts. His favorite game is grab a leg and drag the other critter across the room.......He is not particular, and ear will do just as well. As for me, he is a mommy's boy. He loves to jump up on his powerful little legs and bite the stew out of my bottom. I am sooo bruised.....(Really, do not try to picture this cuz it is NOT a pretty picture!!!

He is really something to sleep with. He will sleep for 8 hours at a stretch in bed but oh how he kicks the stuffin's out of me at night. I hang on the bed by 'one butt cheek'.....LITERALLY! Still, I firmly believe that God saved the best for last. He will romp and play where the others just want to veg out and sleep. If I try to rough-house with them they get all offended and get scared of me. So me and the 'Chello boy' will play and play and play until God comes to get us.

We are a rowdy little family and as happy as if we had good sense!

Life is way to short..............

I have come to the conclusion that life is just too darn short to write with an ugly pen!

Glad I bought all my pens before this financial crunch. I can be perfectly happy with a tablet and a good pen.....I can write and write and write!

In the long run, much cheaper than all the art supplies and dolls I was collecting and truly more fulfilling to write a friend to say "I am thinking of YOU today". After all, everyone needs a warm fuzzy hug.......especially nowadays.

I love pens so much and I have many and they all do something different for me. I have no favorite one in particular (I suppose) but I have learned one thing throughout my buying spree. You can get a really good, smoothe writing pen without spending an absolute fortune. I never would have believed it but it is true. I gravitate to my Pelikan Future pen more often than not. I only paid $25 for it and it is as smoothe as a baby's butt. It turned me 'on' to fountain pens. I recommend it to anyone who wants a nice writing experience. Mine has a Medium nib. I also like the Lamy pen for $30 and it has a fine nib that I 'smoothed out' and it is great as well.

For the more spendy ones, I find I love all of the Pelikan Pens and I get them from
printhardcopy on ebay and his name is Bill and he is in Singapore and have had many wonderful dealings with this gentleman. He frets until that pen is in your hand. Excellent man to buy from. I have had nothing buy wonderful dealings and emails from him. He is trying so hard to get his business going and he deserves a break.

Anyway, I am so hooked that I have all my pens inked and ready to write at a moments notice. I write with each one daily to keep the ink primed.....even if it is just the alphabet. I will eventually drain and clean them all and only use one or two at a time but I am drunk with power having all these fine instruments to play with. Eventually, I will learn to repair them and have a business of my own. :o)

Well, just writing about my beloved pens has cheered me up today. Last night was such a bummer..................Well, I am off to cheer up someone in my address book.

ELECTION DAY

I remember in days of old.......we would know who our new president was by midnight. Now it may take weeks if it is as close as the last election.

I went to cast my ballot and there were no long lines so I felt very lucky. I wouldn't have missed this election for nothing in the world.

There was only one hero worthy of the office and he got my vote. I was pleased to give it to him, and my trust as well.

My last wishes..........

My last wishes are well known and have been for years. I have never understood why we can't be buried with our beloved pets.........So having said that,

I will be cremated and buried in the back yard here in the "Luhman Cemetery" out back. It is quite lovely actually. All my babies are there and I want to be with them forever so cremation will allow for that. The last thing I would want is to be next to someone for eternity who doesn't care for animals! Perish the thought!

I think I have found a way to beat the system! If I haven't, don't tell me cuz I will go all nuts all over again!! :o)

I am also in my dream house and never want to leave it so maybe I can be here long after I make my departure from this old earth.

Everything else goes to the Humane Society and my church. Easy peasy!

"Eucharistos" (live in celebration of light and love)

So long Summer...............

With the Hurricanes and all, I guess we can kiss our sunny days goodbye and go ahead and welcome Fall. As I walked in the garden this morning it was still bursting with color but soon we will have to bring in the Tropicals for the winter and the color will soon cease. All will be shades of orange, red, chartreuse and gold and then poof the leaves will be all gone and nothing but a blanket of white will greet me when I pull the curtains back. Many long months of all white. Terrible for a Artist!!

I noticed the Golden Finches of summer are beginning to get their rather drab little costume of feathers for winter. Sad because they are like ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. They have been eating so much thistle seed the last couple of days.

This morning as I looked out upon my beautiful little 'secret garden' that few have been invited to see, I noticed on the fence a big, blue, Morning Glory. I thought for sure the dogs had dug them all up but no, they left me one plant. This true blue flower made me so happy. I just can't adequately describe my feelings when I saw my surprise today. I love that sort of surprise, I really do.

So, with the gloom hovering and much to do today I will close here................

I went for a blood test...........

After my routine blood test yesterday we were trying to decide what to do next.....he had taken a whole day off work just for 1 minute of blood letting......

So we thought it would be a good thing to go donate blood at Mayo Clinic. We did and it wasn't big deal at all. I had a good vein and the blood came quickly and when we were done we could sit out front and have fresh baked cookies and juice or coffee or whatever we wanted. They were so nice to us and gave us little gifts of tee's and pens and things like that. We helped 6 people just with our little donations. Felt good and hope it helps someone, truly. That is what is most important.

Later he took me to a salon and I got my first acrylic nails. What a fun thing to watch! I could do that all day long I think. I love the detail work and it reminds me of making temporary crowns years ago. Anyway, I have some nice white nail tips in a square shape and now I can't do a thing. I feel totally helpless. Luther! open this jar.........Luther, Open the baby gate........Luther!!! I will bet he will be cussing himself over and over and over for encouraging me to go through with it.

So many pens and so little time

Well, I have gotten in way over my head with the Pen collecting......Thanks to Robb.
I am enjoying all he is teaching me about flex and softness of gold nibs.
I have quite a few pens to choose from now....one for my every mood.
I have fun changing inks and mixing my own colors.
My latest acquisition is a Sailor Pro Gear with a 21K nib. Smoothe as buttah!!