Amazing Snowflake Pictures

Not much exciting happening around here lately. Mostly I've been working, reading (and sometimes commenting on) Journals, playing pogo, surfing the web, and trying to keep up with the message boards. Of course, that last would be easier if some strings didn't go over 100 messages in just a couple of hours <LOL>

When surfing the web, there are a couple of sites that I visit frequently. One of these is the National Geographic site. They offer a lot of interesting articles, and often offer stunning pictures that you can download (for free!) to use as wallpaper on your PC. While visiting this site recently, I came across this page. It has some stunning close-up pictures of snowflakes. Wow! How beautiful and delicate they are when seen individually... And what havoc they can cause when they group together!

With a large amount of the country blanketed in the cold, wet, white stuff, I thought this would be an appropriate time to offer up this site for your viewing pleasure!!

Oh, and if you are interested seeing what else I do to stay busy, stop over here at my new Journal and take a look at the pictures of my latest afghan in progress!

 

snowflake graphic from Robinwood.com

Let It Snow

I've been watching the Weather on TV for the last 2 days, and I must say that I am soooooooo glad that I live in Florida! <LOL> But, I thought I would do an entry in honor of all of my J-land friends who are <cough> enjoying <cough> such a Winter Wonderland!!

First, for my J-land friends who need some cheering up, Click Here... Or better yet, Here <g> Hopefully these two sites will bring a smile to your faces!

For anyone curious about Snow.. Well, I have a place for you to go that will tell you more than you EVER wanted to know about SNOW!! Finding this site in my e-mail box was actually what gave me the idea of doing a 'Snowy' entry <LOL>. So, without any Further Ado.... Click here for an education in SNOW

So, Now that I have both tried to cheer you up AND educate you, let me add my hope that everyone involved in this Winter Wildness is staying bundled up, warm, and with all the Hot Cocoa (both spiked & unspiked) that they desire!!!


graphics/background from the following: Absolute Background, Useless graphics, and amazing animations...

99 Rooms

                       

This is a very cool site... part game/part art.... You are in a maze of 99 Rooms. Some pics require you to do something... Some are just to look at. A couple of people I sent this too had a problem figuring things out, so here is the simple version <g>

1. If your mouse pointer is an arrow... Move it around till it becomes a hand. Then click to make whatever happen.

2. Sometimes you have to do more than one thing.. i.e. click all the switches, or click the plates once to move them and the second time to make them break.... Sometimes all you have to do is touch a certain part of the picture to be able to move on.... Sometimes you have to 'manipulate' something.. i.e. turn a crank

3. Sometimes you are just waiting for something to happen/finish. You'll know when you've done the right thing or the right thing has happened because your mouse will turn into an arrow with three triangles.... Click to move to the next room.

4. If you get toooo stuck, or just want to return to a specific room... click on the spacebar and it brings up a 'filmstrip' that you can click on the image you want to see...

5. Enjoy the surrealistic images as you travel thru

So, remember... arrow=move around looking for something that causes your arrow to turn into a hand.... Hand=click to make something happen....  arrow with 3 triangles=click to move to next panel/picture

HAVE FUN in the
                    

Sidenote: Click on anythin that says 99 Rooms to go to the site... <g>

Oops... graphics created at  Cool Text and Flaming Text

I'm O.K..... I Just Got A Job!!

First, Thanks for all of the comments and e-mails asking if I was o.k..... I was touched that people noticed I haven't been around <g>!!

Second, Gram is doing very well at home. Thank you for all of your good thoughts and wishes for her! She's not happy with the fact that she now has to take 6 pills though. She keeps insisting that she had been doing just fine with the 1 pill she was used to taking <g>. My Mom is lucky enough to work in a management position for a local company. Her Boss knows our family and Gram... He basically told Mom he would see her when she felt comfortable leaving Gram again. Sometimes it's nice living in a smaller town where you've lived your whole life and everyone know everyone!! Mom says she has a good amount in her savings account and both her brother and sister have told her not to worry about anything. No one wants Gram to go to a Care Facility and we are all happy to contribute to Mom not having to work so she can be there to do whatever Gram needs!!

Third, yes, I know I've been MIA from my Journal.... But, I have been reading and commenting on other people's Journals. I've also kept current with the message board. Sooooo.... I've been around, just not as visibly as normal. Couple of reasons...
    1. No inspiration. Don't know why, but just haven't had much to say. (Actually, that's not entirely true... I sorta know why, see #3 <g>)
    2. I Got A JOB!! O.K.... It's not in my field, but it is 3 minutes from my door to the job. It is assembly work, so I can practically do it in my sleep. The people are really nice. It doesn't pay what I'm used to, but as G. puts it, I'm not doing this for money--I'm doing it to get out of the house. But, since it is assembly work I've had to get used to being on my feet for 8 hours straight and it is VERY PHYSICAL work. I started on Wed the 5th, and the first weekend I was just beat.  It's great though in that I can run home on my 30 minute lunch break and walk Morgan, so I don't feel guilty about her being alone for so many hours.
   3. Lack of energy due to #2. But, I expect this will get better as I figure out a different routine and become accustomed to the work.
   4. Last weekend was the last weekend that my friends from the show were going to be in town, so we spent a good amount of time with them.

All of the above have added up to not a lot of extra time. And, since I have to read all my Journals I have on alerts, and earning my badges on Pogo are a given each week.... well, something had to give, and what I chose was my Journal :(   I will try to do better, even if it is just a quick paragraph saying  "Hey, I'm Alive!!"

Sidenote: I've done pretty well... I managed to accomplish my New Year's Resolution the first week of the year ;) --See last entry and my determination to find SOME kind of job this year <BG>

graphics from Diddlworld and Uselessgraphics

Scattered Thoughts for a New Year...

               

Tonight I'm just rambling.... I've got several ideas floating around in my head and I think I'll just put them all in one entry <g>

First, I've noticed that I'm not the only one in J-land that has expressed relief that the holidays are over and that a return to normalcy is upon us... Well, at least as close as I ever get to normal <eg>. I've often wondered why it seems that we have all of those holidays all crammed up together. It seems like you have Halloween, and then you don't stop until after New Year's. Can't we spread them all out a little bit more?? I mean there are basically 4 fattening holidays in a row!! (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years) AND they happen in about a 2 month timespan..... Geez! Enough already.

On the Monday after Christmas weekend, my Mother called us to let us know that my Grandmother (she will be 90 this year) had a heart attack. It happened on Christmas Day, but they didn't want to call my brother or myself and 'spoil' Christmas, especially since the doctors were saying it was a 'mild' heart attack... (Mild heart attack???? Like there IS such a thing??? Especially when you are 90???) G. was all for sticking my butt into the truck and sending me to my Grandmother's post haste. It is a 13 hour drive, and I can do it as a straight drive if I need to. Mom said No, Gram would be getting out of the hospital on Wed... Since then, the doctors have changed their minds and decided it was a pretty bad heart attack. They want to treat it with drugs though because of her age. My brother and I both told Mom that we would prefer to know rather than be 'protected'. Gram did come home on Wed and seems to be doing quite well. Mom said she was trying to clean 30 minutes after they got home and she had to 'send her to bed' <g> I kind of feel sorry for my Mom trying to keep Gram 'quiet'... She has always been very active and hasn't allowed age to slow her down very much!! I'm sure I will manage to worry about this a lot during the next few weeks, but I guess there are some things I can't control <sigh> and I will just have to wait and see what is going to happen.

I spent New Year's Eve dealing Blackjack for a private party. G. dropped me off and picked me up because he was worried about the other drivers out on the road. I got done about 11:30pm, and G. arrived about 5 minutes to Midnight. So, I got to spend the first minutes of 2005 with my sweetie.... Now for the bad part. If you believe the old wives' tales, then whatever you are doing the first few minutes of the New Year is what you will spend a large part of the next year doing... Well, good news is that we were together... bad news, we were driving <LOL>.

The New Year does always make me think about the last year, and of the year ahead of me. This last year saw a lot of changes for my little family. We left jobs where we traveled basically non-stop 11 months out of the year and called a train room home to settle in one place. And we went from being a two-income family to a one income family at the same time. Both of these have been quite a shock. I look forward to at least changing us back into a two income family next year, one way or the other. If I can't find a job in my field... well, I'm going to find a job! I've managed to do a lot of here and there work, but I want to have a more stable income coming from me this next year. I've even been contemplating doing something from home...

On other fronts, it's been an interesting year also. We managed to move back to Florida just in time for the worst Hurricane Season in like forever! <LOL> I keep telling G. that what he experienced this year is NOT normal <bg>... He keeps looking at me and shaking his head. Not only were the Hurricanes nerve wracking on their own, but they affected the economy and kept me from finding full-time employment in my field. I am thankful to have found all the neat part-time gigs, but ......

My last thought of the day is  the Tsunami disaster. It has brought things into perspective... I have food, fresh water, a roof over my head, and my little family around me.... I am blessed. Everything else just seems trivial in comparison to that disaster. I can't even wrap my mind around the number of people who are already known dead, and the number just continuesto grow every day.

graphics from Useless Graphics, cybergifs, and Mike Shaikun