Bye to Raccoon, Hi to Turtle

Monday night, I set the trap in the basement just in case something else fell through the ceiling and was hiding in Girl World.  The trap was empty yesterday morning so I headed to the airport for my trip to Santa Fe.  I heart Santa Fe big time.    I was sick all day yesterday and just knew that I had some disease from cleaning up raccoon pee and poop....which is red in case you ever need to know that.  So, I put the raccoon behind me for a couple days and am now in Santa Fe.  I am staying in a little cabin north of town, in the turtle house.

I do not have many pics yet.  VoteMom, I am having my retreat time with God, just the two of us. Today has been amazing already!  So here is a pic of my patio.  I love the architecture of adobe houses.  My cell phone will not work inside the house because the walls are 28 inches thick. And there is no reason for you to feel all that jealous because it is the same temperature here as in Michigan.  It was toasty in Albuquerque yesterday, but Santa Fe is at a higher elevation, so colder.  They are saying snow here on Friday!

On my way out of Albuquerque, I did some bead store shopping for work.  I got some turquoise and coral for me.  Who wants some?

This afternoon I will be heading into town to do a few things.  Stay tuned for pics of some of my fav places here in Santa Fe over the next couple days.  Did I mention I love it here?  Love it!

Normal Girl

The Aftermath

I can stand in the basement and look all the way out to the sky.....through the big hole in the ceiling....through the hole in the roof.

Today I worked with one generous man who jumped in his car and came to help when he heard wild kingdom had gone wild....one man who bid for the work and was proud of his dishonest ways around the insurance system... and one man who worked hard to win my business, making the process very easy for me.  Oh yeah, and one really smelly wild animal who is smart enough to open a window.

Interesting day,

Normal Girl

Wild Kingdom Oversteps it Bounds

It is 4:30am and I have a raccoon in my kitchen.  Yep.  All those pics I have shown you of raccoons and woodchucks and you said....aw, they are so cute????  Wish you were here now sharing this experience with me.

I woke up at 4am to the ceiling crashing in over the basement stairway.  I kicked myself and decided not to get up and check it out because there was nothing I could do right then.  A few minutes later, I heard things breaking in the kitchen.  CRAP! I got up.  I flicked on the lights, I knew he was there but it took me a few minutes to find him.  If I had had a gun, I would have blasted him to his maker right there on the kitchen window at 4am.

I went out the front door, walked around the house, and opened the back door, hoping he would take the chance to escape.  He must have done it while I was walking back to the front door.  I have not heard a sound in the kitchen since then.  

I just went back in and looked around.  I don't see him.  The back door is now closed.  He is either outside or playing in Girl World.  I am now thankful for the pocket doors on both kitchen doorways.  I have the kitchen closed off from the basement and from the rest of the house. I am thinking I should have someone look in the attic for more of satan's friends before I leave town this week.  And, it stinks in there, just from his short visit this morning.  If you have not been up close and personal yourself, you can believe me that raccoons stink.  Literally and figuratively.

Hoping I can go back to sleep now,  I have a really busy day ahead, made even worse by the masked evil thing.  I have to wash everything, ick! 

Update 5:30 am.  I went back to bed..... and a few minutes ago, I heard him in the kitchen.  I had turned on all the lights, looked under everything with a flashlight and did not see him.  Where was he hiding?  But, that is why is still smelled in there, he was still there.  So, he had tried all three windows.  He is now at the third window.  I watched him open this window, and leave.  He pushed the top half of the window all the way down.  He was a strong little bugger.  I struggled to put it back up again.  At least I know he is gone.  Still wondering how many are still in the attic.  And, he could be back up there again by now.  Have I mentioned how much I hate raccoons?  I am seriously creeped out by this.

Hope insurance pays for this,

Normal Girl

Bead Soup Parties

One of the fundraisers we are going to do for the Divine Design mission trip to Atlanta is Bead Soup Parties.  We will be asking our friends and family to host bracelet making parties for us.  Who doesn't love that?  

Populating Michigan with beaded bracelets, one party at a time.

Normal Girl

Crazy Resolutions Update

Remember my list of resolutions on December 31?  Twenty Six, one for every letter of the alphabet?  I thought it was time to take a look to see if I have accomplished anything.  It has been 2 months.  


B: Bead Soup make it/take it table at craft shows....might be good additional income
Not exactly accomplished, but I think we will be doing bead soup parties as a fundraiser for Divine Design, so kind of

G: Glucosamine and Chondroitin every day
almost every day, doing much better

I: Increase my Facebook friends to 200, I am pitiful and don't have many friends
Working on it, I am up to 153

K: Kim’s private spiritual retreat...someplace out of the way, just God and me
Next week, I am going to Santa Fe for a bead show and am spending two days for Kim's private spiritual retreat.  I have a cottage out of the city at the foot of the mountains.  It is quiet and beautiful. Stay tuned for pics.

P: Pray with more focus
I am making progress.  I know if I have a tactile experience during prayer, it helps me focus.

V: Very interesting semesters in school… all three of them, not sure if I have control of this, but I am saying it anyway

Semester 1: Ethics and Moral Reasoning, maybe a 7 out of 10 on the interesting.  Not horrible.

W: Widen the focus of Divine Design
Oh yeah.  I have excelled at this one.  We will be doing 2 mission trips, with the additional trip going to Atlanta, GA!

Z: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Learn to sleep less, hahaha! How else will I accomplish all this?
I definitely have been sleeping less.  I think it is partly because I have a lot of things that hold my interest and partly because I have been coughing too much to sleep.  No matter, it gives me more waking hours.

I have to work harder on this the next 10 months.

Normal Girl

A Place I Like

Fabric Warehouse.  Ahhhhhhhhh! Can you hear the angels singing?  I really like this place and the two very helpful guys that work there.  Before I found this place, I had to take a 40% off coupon to three or four Jo-Ann's locations to get enough fabric for my project.  

Now, I walk in, they practically run over to me asking to help.  I say, I need a snow white fabric that is lightweight but I can't see through it.  They walk to the perfect bolt and voile, I am done.  AND.  Every fabric is $3.49 a yard.  AND.  They have enough for my big projects.  AND.  We talked today about having a church day when they give me back a 30% rebate, for Divine Design,  on everything people from my church buy.

Don't you love things that make your life easier?

Normal Girl

Acquisition Therapy

I acquired this one button today while I was coughing down the aisles of Jo-Ann's looking for snowman parts.  

That sentence says so much, doesn't it?

So, the button jumped right off the peg into my hand.  Does that ever happen to you?  What do you think I will do with this one black button?  It is nice and big, asymmetrical and has square button holes.  I love those things about it.  

Any guesses?

Normal Girl