And it's deja vu all over again...

So what is it about this administration that has been bringing out the Watergate-era names out of the woodwork? This evening on Keith Olbermann's show, John Dean came out in favor of impeaching Dick Cheney. On the screen, right there.

No wonder Cheney won't turn over any records from his meetings...

Things are looking very interesting in the immediate future, as subpoenas are issued, because W and company have already made it known that they are going to ignore them. So what does it have to take- do we have to have actual live footage of Dick Cheney eating a baby with the wrong fork? How much of our Constitution are we going to let them dismantle?

*sigh*

Nothing much, otherwise. Everyone appears to be packing for the War, since they weren't here this evening. I slept badly last night and all day was hassled with low back pain. Bother, said Pooh.

That's all I got tonight- come, stick pins in me in the morning, I'll be more responsive then...

'A bird in hand is worth two in the-'

Not gonna go there. Nope. Wouldn't be prudent. And if I were those birds, I'd be getting out of there. With numbers down to 26%, the Bush isn't the best place to be...

I am astounded at the latest outrage, basically declaring the Pres and VP to not be accountable to anyone, and essentially above and beyond the law. Maybe I shouldn't be astounded, and yeah, in a way it doesn't surprise me, but mostly in the 'I didn't think they'd go that far' sort of way.

If the Capitol catches fire, I'm outta here.

Lessee, in other news of the 'Lainie-

Went to Dragon's Mist Defender's, had a pretty nice time. They had it out at Camp Wilkerson, which is where we held Tournament of the Lions 15/16 years ago. Still a beautiful site, even nicer now that they have the flush biffs/showers. I had remembered the hill up to the lodge, but as the day wore on I felt like it got longer and steeper! And I was remembering what a pain it was when I was autocratting there. Boy, do I have some sore muscles!

The pavilion class went really well, I think. Ten victims, very enthusiasic, and I suspect that we'll be seeing some new pavilions in the next year or two. Spiffy, I think.

The excitement for me was on the way home- I got lost on my way out. I was going out the way I came in (or so I thought) andI must have missed a fork or something, because I suddenly found myself in a construction zone that I had not seen on my way in. There was a 'road closed' barrier up and a sign saying 'detour' and pointing to a gravel road. I had this sudden flash of the folks who got lost in the coast range last winter, and thought 'this is how people die in the woods!' I turned Zippy around and found my way back to the fork where hwy 47 peels off, and took 47 down to where it meets up with 26 near Banks. Added about an hour and a half all told, but at least I was not wandering around in the woods in the middle of the night.

47 took me through Vernonia, which is a really pretty little town and once you're through there, it's a fairly easy trip out to the Sunset hwy. I stopped in Aloha and grabbed a chicken sandwich at McD's, which perked me up a bit for the rest of the ride home. Pulled in at the stroke of midnight, which all things considered, wasn't too bad.

Sunday I managed to get my carcass out of bed (no mean feat, as sore as I was from hiking up and down that hill all day Saturday) and off to brunch with Wanda and Karl and Linda. Made a couple of stops on the way home, but then crawled into bed and slept most of the rest of the day. Just really wiped out. Slept most of Monday too. I've really got to get some stamina back. Just not sure how to go about this.

My seester sent me a 'Honeydukes Sweet Shop' t-shirt. :-)

James sent me links with pics from Investiture- and the step-up outfits were... pretty ghastly. I keep trying to recite the 'notmyproblemnotmyproblemnotmyproblem...' but I still cringe. I told James it would be cool to do a full-out High Gothic reign to follow them. I'm sure he thinks I've gone completely mad. (And how would this be different than normal? Maybe we don't want to answer that...)

Heh. The job comes with minions though. Me likey minions. :-)

Fabric juju returns!

I had just enough time today to stop out at Goodwill in between errands, and scored! Whoo-hoo! I found a little knitted tank top in a soft pear green, which I needed, not having much in the way of summer clothing. And I plowed through the fabric in the back and came up with four pieces worth dragging home. A white and robyn's-egg blue weave (that crinkled up a bit when washed! Must have had a twist in the thread- makes it interesting!) that is about 5 yards, a lovely bug/chartreuse green linen that is a yard and a half or so (I think there's enough for a skirt), a navy rayon challis that's 5-6 yards, and a piece of red worsted, about 3 yards or so. Fun stuff to play with and I might get some needed new clothes out of it. Yay!

That done, I am now out of money. But near enough to the end of the month that it is ok.

1-20-09. Meditate on this with me now...

Score one for me!

Well, I may not have had the good fabric juju going the other day, but I think I made up for it today. I had this shelf thingie under my desk, partly to stack files and such in and partly to put my feet up. Well, it was made of particleboard, and it went as things of that nature go- if fell apart.

I poked around a bit last week in Goodwill, etc, for something to replace it, but came up empty. So today I went down to City Liquidators, to their used office furniture section. And found one of those 'hutch' things that go across the top of the desk, the right size, for $20, which was what I was budgeting. Came home and put it together with a minimum of cussing, and slotted it in under my desk. Sorting stuff out and putting them away on the shelves- there's two shelves on this instead of one, which makes me happy- a bit less mess for me to manage. And it's a little bit taller, which is good for putting my feet up. All around I'm pretty pleased with it. Of course now I have a pile of dusty crap on my bed that I have to sort and put away...

Think I'll coast for the rest of the evening, maybe head upstairs tomorrow and start in making messes again (I'm really good at that!)

Surprise surprise!

I actually, really and truly cleaned up the sewing room! Well, most of it at least. Still have to vacuum, etc. But the ironing table has actual flat space on it now and the shelf unit next to the sewing machine has a brown fake-wood print top! Who knew!

So the really cool news was the shopping trip. Cathy (Ursel) and I went to Mill End. I got skunked- everything I liked had not enough on the blot, which was very annoying. But Cathy scored, and big! First was a couple of nice small pieces of wool in the Annex. Then when we went around the corner to Home Dec, I spied a bolt of gorgeous brocade- moss green with a pewter ground. Pattern in rondels about 6" across, with the 2" rondels connecting them. Stylized floral pattern inside, etc. It was $12.99/yd, and she got enough to make a court gown/12th night gown. And then while puttering around in Home Dec, she found a bolt of absolutely jaw-dropping brocade. Blue and gold tapestry brocade, probably a cotton blend. Pattern of 3" rondels with 1" connectors- with animals inside- an eagle, a griffin, a winged horse, and an elephant. It looked for all the world like some of those Sicilian brocades that turn up in the robes of the Holy Roman Emperors, 1th-12th c. Absolutely astounding. It was $19/yd, and she got enough to part it out a bit at a time for royal gifts or trims or whatever. Completely wow.

Then we came back here, and I worked on cleaning and sorting while she drafted and made a wool hood. I also brought the Emdeko machine upstairs and set it up. Runs like a top, virtually unused. I was very pleased with that. We finally knocked off after 11, I think she got home about midnight. When I got home Wanda was back from Seattle. They'd gone to Pike Place and came home with silly little things like a refrigerator magnet set of W with a variety of clothing, paper-doll style. Not at all respectful. :-)

And to day I'm just sleeping off yesterday, which is ok I think. Plenty to do this coming week, so taking today off is a needful thing.

Adventures in and out of 'Lainie-town!

I was out running errands today. And man, am I tired.

The excitement was when I drove across the river- there's a Pendleton Woolen Mills outlet store in Washougal, about 15 miles out from the bridge on I-205. I drove out there to see if they had anything I could afford for new clothes (they did- I brought home a 6-yard piece of a dark charcoal suitweight wool- $3/yd!). And when I went to check out, I handed the lady my Oregon driver's license with my debit card (Washington state has sales tax, Oregon doesn't. If an Oregonian buys something in Wash., they can get the sales tax off by showing their license. I like this. ). And come to find out it's expired. Not the debit card- *the license*. Since November!

I have no recollection at all of getting a renewal notice, and there's no renewal sticker on the license, and flipping through my check register, no check written for it either! Eek!

So I drove ~very carefully~ back across the river to DMV, and got my license renewed. (And was I feeling paranoid all the way there? Oh yes! Last thing I need is a citation for driving with an expired license!) They insisted on making a new one- picture and all. Blergh. I was running errands, had no makeup on, my hair needed combing and I'm wearing my Gryffindor t-shirt. So now I have a driver's license picture that makes me look like the World's Oldest 14-year-old!

And of course simply braving DMV... wait wasn't too long, except there were three of them. And the last two I had to sit between someone who was clearly a heavy smoker, and a fellow who believes that after-shave is akin to godliness, and he wanted to be very Godly! So why is it that when I pull out the albuterol inhaler, they look at me like I'm the problem?

Tomorrow's adventure- Mill End!

A whale of a tale!

So in weird news today, I saw a story on CNN (and other sites) about a whale that was caught in Alaska- and discovered to have a late-19th c weapon deep in it's blubber. Apparently it had been hit somewhere around 1890, but the shot was mostly an annoyance, and the animal has been swimming around with a giant arrow-head in it since. That's a long time to have a sliver...

In other news, I drove down to Fabric Depot today. It was a wasted trip. Went through the Outdoor sale, saw nothing that I wanted enough to pay for. At least that was what I'm needing. There was pretty stuff that would make great indoor garb, but it was all petrochemicals, and I need sturdy tourney wear. So no go. Tried the fabric store across from the Safeway in Rose City. They had a couple of bolts of linenish stuff, but it wasn't really what I want either. So tomorrow I try somewhere else. I need to clean the sewing room too, but I've avoided it so far...

Tomorrow I get to run Zippy through DEQ and get her tags. Ah, it's just money, right? Oy. And a lot of it. Am thankful that Oregon has some of the lower car licensing fees in the nation. I remember ponying up in Washignton state, where the fees varied depending on the value of the car. Not that I ever had a valuable car- I think Zippy's the most valuable car I've driven regularly, which may not seem like saying much, but old Volvos never die, and they retain value really well.

May be saying so too soon, but I'm actually feeling better tonight. I'm tired, but not quite as bone-sappingly so as I have been the past couple of weeks. Maybe I'm beginning to bounce back.

Butter me, baby- I'm toast!

Well, James and I made the trip down to Stinky War today. I am SO glad that we didn't camp. Not cold, but the rain was pretty constant, and it was a bit windy, too. I sat for awhile and watched the fighting, and then I curled up on the rug and went to sleep. Seemed like the thing to do. We packed up and came home. Went to dinner with Wanda and her friend Sharon at the new Chapel pub (McMenamin's), which is a lot less crowded then the Kennedy School. Came home and now I'm having trouble staying awake.

I'm feeling better than I was Wednesday- at least the coughing is not constant. But I get winded *REALLY* easily, and recover a lot more slowly. Feeling absolutely sapped. I sure hope I start to bounce back soon, because this is a real drag.

And oh- I tried to put on my trusty blue gown- the one I wear all the time. Could not get it on, which means more sewing for me, as I only have a couple of things I can wear. Very discouraging.

Back on the sauce...

Crimony, didn't I just post this?

Well, I'm sick again. I'd noticed that the asthma seemed to be ramping up again the past few days and I was trying to beat it back, but no dice. I woke up about 3 am flailing about because I was dreaming that I was drowning. Seems I was having trouble breathing. Did some albuterol and then couldn't sleep. Or read or anything constructive. Finished a game of CivII. (big whoop.) Continued to feel crummy. When it was a rational hour I called the dr and got an appt. Dr Becher is still booked, so I saw Dr Engstrom. Nice fellow, about my age. He said that yes, my lungs are making all sorts of interesting wheezles and squeaks. But he also said that there was a 'burbly' bit on one side. So now I'm on BIG antibiotics and BIG doses (short term, thank goodness) of prednisone. And continuing with the albuterol and the Azmacort.

Life sucks.

And James and I do not agree about Fred Thompson. (OOO... big surprise there.) He thinks I'm in tinfoil territory and I think he's out of his mind. (Another big surprise.) In the long run, I think I would like to be able to chose between candidates who will A) not turn the country over to their friends to have as their private strip-mine, B) not use our soldiers to play GI Joe In The Desert, and C) won't go after the Constitution like a three-year-old with his first pair of scissors. (It's called the Habeas Corpus and it's there for a reason, ya bozos!)

Not that I feel strongly about this or anything...

And now I'm going to bed.

I had this terrific idea for a post

earlier Sunday. Did I write it down? Nope. Par for the course, I guess.

So I went to Eugene Saturday. Took Stephen out to lunch. He decided that Ruby was pretty tasty. We did a walk-through at Saturday Market (it looked just like I remembered), and then went down to the rose garden to hang out in the shade for awhile. It was almost cool under that big old cherry tree. Then we went over to David and Lydia's, where they were making boffers. Watched Robot Chicken for awhile, then I took Stephen home so he could catch a nap- he and his buds were going on a pub-crawl for his birthday. (I don't know how that turned out.)

It's been hot- way too hot for me- I'm okay up to about 80, but over that and I start having problems. It's been in the high 80s to low 90s. Ick. And Zippy has no A/C. And in Eugene there was this little problem called pollen. I was pretty miserable. And it was a good thing that I took my inhaler with me.

I slept most of Sunday- missed the Democrats debate. From what I read and watched clips later on, it looked like Edwards did really well. And the more I see of Hillary, the less I like her. Too bad- Bill as First Lady could be pretty interesting. The pundits seem to have backed off on Edwards a little- past couple of weeks they've been pretty rough, and none of it on anything substantive. They seem to think that nibbling him to death with ducks will bring him down. They don't have anything they can really say about his policy proposals, so they go after his haircuts and his house. Pretty stupid, I think.

I also think I need a popsicle. :-)

I like popsicles!

Last week when we were both sick, Wanda went out and got popsicles. I figured she'd bring home a cheap bag of pops, and that would be it. But no- she couldn't decide which ones, and she wanted ones with real fruit. She ended up bringing home something like 8 boxes of not cheap popsicles. But they are tasty! Oh boy! Especially the strawberry ones, which are basically strawberries smooshed up and frozen onto sticks. Me like.

So tomorrow is June 2, which is Stephen's birthday. I bought him a selection of McMenamin's brews, and a t-shirt to go with. And I'm driving down in the morning- plan to take him out to lunch and goof around a bit. He's going out bar-hopping with his buddies later in the evening. I might drop in on Lydia after I drop Steve off.

It looks like I'll actually make an event next week! I was too sick to go to Egils, which sucked, but I should be able to make it to Stinky War in Nordholt. Nice, small event, a bit lower stress than Egils. Hopefully my lungs (which are a bit irritated at the moment) will cooperate. Would be nice if the weather did too.

And only 49 days to HP #7!!!!! w00T!