Thoughts from Alison that might at least entertain you!

And one more thing...

Because my assignment from my hair dresser during my last haircut was to think about what I want to do next time (after I told her I thought I might be ready for something new next time), I've decided what I want to do with my next haircut.

I want long hair again.  Think I can do it?

Various Bits from Ann Arbor!

(Grrr, still not happy with changes to my blog-posting options!)

Anyway...

Tonight, we've been listening to the "Urge Radio" Swing station that's part of our fancy cable since the move.  It's fun to have radio stations (commercial free - not like real radio) that we can pull up for music anytime!  It's arguable, however, whether Bruce Hornsby and Barry Manilow should be on the Swing channel!

I lost a decent game of Scrabble tonight.  Decent for John, that is.  My brain actually suggested at one point that if I added "a-i-n" to the word "tour," I would have the word "terrain."  That might explain the losing...  And also the fact that I mostly lose!  (But win well, sometimes.)

This weekend brought mostly relaxation to our home, with more than enough running around for new-home errands.  I think John and I will both be happy to stay home once we feel like we've settled most of the standard new-home things.  We are also enjoying settling our new home!  Over the last week and a half or so I've managed to buy bed linens and decorate (at least mentally) the guest bedroom - without a bed!  John also managed to get our decrepit screen door to work a little better.  We've learned we have wasps nesting in at least a few places right around the screen door.  Oh yeah - and we ate brats and potato salad like good Americans!

The week ahead brings mostly busy evenings for us/me.  We'll also get our dishwasher repaired this week.  Family will be in town Saturday for a great show at the club.  We have pizza to make!

This week I will also pull out an old favorite book that I've been wanting to revisit - "Everyday Sacred" by Sue Bender.  I'll share some thoughts here once I have a chance to read it again.  It's a quick read, as long as I actually pull it off the shelf!  This reminds me that I should try to tackle the other two books sitting near me that I haven't quite yet.  Sheesh, gotta get to work!

Happy Week Ahead, All!  Be Well Out There!

Dreaming Weird

(I still have NO idea how to control this post, but at least I can use a different font?)

I'm only trying to pass on a peculiar dream from last night...

I dreamed that Epcot Center was a spaceship - you know the big sphere/ball thing at Epcot?  It's actually one attraction there, but in my dream it was all of Epcot, and it was a spaceship.  And it crashed, at our work offices.  Well, not all of it - just part of it, because apparently even though it's one spaceship it comes apart into many smaller spaceships too.

In the dream, I noticed that Epcot Center seemed to be circling slowly above our office.  It was also alarmingly low in the sky for a spaceship.  Just as I said to Karen (a coworker) "doesn't it seem like it's too close to us for a spaceship?" - it crashed.  It crashed outside our office, but then it was actually inside our office, which was suddenly a gigantic warehouse.  There were two guys in the spaceship - sitting at desks, but with everything crashed down around them.  They appeared to be dead (just slumped over their desks, with destruction around them) so we called 911.  As we were explaining to 911 that Epcot Center had crashed in our office, the two guys woke up - they were only sleeping, and they were fine.  Karen said "Oh, never mind - they're not dead."

AND, the two guys were identical twins.  (Also almost identical to someone I used to know.)

And then I woke up.

Any dream analyzers out there among my readers?  What do you think?

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Well here I am, ready to post something (finally), and all my posting "stuff" has changed!  I don't know how to make anything look "normal."

Grrrrrrrr!

Something else to come after I figure out how to work this new stuff...

China

Good Evening, All!

It IS a good evening - even though I'm just reading now that the Chinese program headquarters of Heifer International (one of my most favorite charities in the world - the one I'd give up a lot to work for!) - are in the city of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, which is the city 50 miles from the epicenter of this past week's unbelievably devastating earthquake.  Heifer is working hard at restoring communication with their China programs offices, and to begin assessing the damage to their programs.

I'm struck by the fact that their work in China will now be more vital than ever, with potentially thousands of people who might now need their assistance - and didn't before.  I'm also struck by the fact that I can't even fathom "thousands of people," or surviving an earthquake like China saw this week.

If you are in a position to do so, perhaps consider a little donation to Heifer to help with their work in China?  Food Gatherers can, of course, help locally - where there are (unfortunately) more than a few people who could use our support.

The cyclone in Myanmar/Burma...  The earthquake in China...  The tornadoes in our own country - in a polluted town that will likely not even be rebuilt...  And even the challenges locally that we can hardly afford to address!

Life sure is good here in our new home in Ann Arbor.  What in the world did I do to deserve this life of luxury, this job of challenge and fun, these cats of questionable behavior, and this husband of incredibly beautiful love?

Be well in this world, Friends - and be taking care of yourselves in these moments of challenge to our world.

Welcome Home

And so we really, truly live at Prune Ridge!

Here's a picture to share from moving day.  Wheeee, the fun and chaos of pulling up roots - even if you only move 20 miles!  We are much more settled after our couple of weeks in the new home, but the picture says it all about the transition!

The girls are thrilled with our new space, and John and I are at least as happy with it.  So far settling is going well.  We have a settled kitchen, a settled living room (with cable, phone, and internet!), a settled library (!), a settled bedroom, and a newly decor-accented bathroom.  We have very few final versions of window coverings, but they'll come in time.

You might have noticed Tori loves the sliding screen door to our backyard green space.  She is practicing her intimidating scary face and growling to establish her territory and fend off would-be intruder cats!  So far the cat transitions have gone well.

We've had a photographic theme since our move - "The Girls, In Things."  Maggie loved the new pantry until I filled it with stuff.  Tori has been taken with all the empty boxes.  ("I can FIT inside this one!")  Maggie has successfully burrowed under a large burlap sack for a good afternoon nap, as well as inside a gigantic fabric gift bag that also held several bed linens.  Note all the pictures as proof!

We have lovely white irises blooming in the back yard, which came just as the daffodils gave up their fight.  The rain has been making things nice and green - except for the large grass-less area in our "green space!"

The weekend ahead brings family to town from almost all directions to see Prune Ridge and visit, a Masterworks concert on Saturday night, and an evening of work for me.  Also maybe some peppered bacon farm bread from Zingerman's!

I hope all is well out there in the rest of the world, Friends.  Be Taking Care of Yourselves!

Good Words

Hello, All!

I have a few words to share from the local Milan paper (which is being forwarded to Prune Ridge!).  The article was a short interview with an older gentleman who's about to move into a retirement home.  The article closed with his words:

"Life is what you make it.  It's a chance.  Do what you like, and like what you do.  Take some chances.  Every day is a challenge.  Never worry about tomorrow.  Yesterday is gone.  Tomorrow is another day."

If I can remember those thoughts, everything is good!  We'll be online by the end of the week at Prune Ridge, with new home updates and more to follow as soon as possible.

Be Well Out There, Friends!