Sneaky Men and buried treasure

I know it is Wednesday, but I bombarded you with pictures yesterday. So today you suffer with my words.
I was sleeping pretty hard yesterday, early afternoon. Work had suuuuuuckeeeeeed the night before. My three cats have, in their desire to make me crazy, learned a new trick. They have learned that by pushing, somewhat hard, against the bedroom door, they can open it, and have free reign of the cat free zone. (New doorknob coming SOON. We needed to install one with a lock, anyhow. AHEM.) In that fugue that is half sleep, irritation at a full bladder, and the denial that I have to get up to deal with it, I hear the door, slowly open. Damnit. "No" I growl, rather loudly, and swing myself to the side of the bed to boot a furry black arse OUT of the cat free zone. Wasn't furry. (much) or black. It was MM. Home. Early. "Oh" I squeak, before he is next to me, kissing me. *Happy*.
The bugger had been in the house for at least 10 minutes, though, being quiet, as I needed to sleep for another nights work. His diabolical plan had been to sneak out again and go run an errand. Except, the papers he needed were in the bedroom. Caught. Ha ha. Much as I tried, after that I couldn't sleep anymore, so I got up.
The treasure, now, was something I didn't want to blog, yet, because, MM frequently frequents my blog. I wanted so to surprise him. To see the look on his face.
A few treasures I have told him, or talked about. The gargoyles. (Holly, pictures coming, I promise). I discovered the rest of them. They are happy to be free. Along with some small, jeweled pewter wizards, dragons and castles I found.
One of my favorite treasures was MM's mom's cook book. I spent quite a bit of time looking through it. It's one of those old, Betty Crocker ones that is very well loved. With hand written recipes falling out everywhere. Heaven, I tell you. I told him, over the phone, that I had found that gem. He was pleased.
What I found, what excited me the most, was that I found his Dad's Navy portraits. The old kind, black and white, one with just that touch of color... Perfect, for over in the hallway/alcove with the old recruiting posters. There were 2 of them. Quicker than quick, I had them framed. I also have MY Dad's Navy portrait. They are now buddies, in the hallway.
And we have a table, built by the MM father. Iron work, wood, abalone. It is a beautiful little table. So one portrait rests on there.
I so wanted to tell him what I found. But more? I wanted to see the look on his face when he came in Wednesday night, and saw his Dad. But he snuck in, while I was sleeping. I missed it. He offered a re-enactment. But I missed the moment.
So I ask him if he noticed. He did, indeed. And is happy to see his handsome father, gracing our walls.
Then he tells me. Somewhere, in the boxes I have not gone into, is his Mom.
More treasure to be found, framed, and displayed. I can't wait.

MORE

Here, then, are more pictures, of the house.... boring, right?


this is the view from the living room into the dining room. Kind of dark, I know. Sorry. I just don't have a whole lot of time right now to "play" with my pictures, and adjusting things.


Living room. Those are the new couches, and the rock fireplace is where the new to me Gargoyle is now living with his Notre Dame candle.


this would be the far wall of the living room. It is empty now, but we are wanting to put family pictures on that wall. Possibly all in black and white....



this, then, is the deep seated hallway/alcove. The one I painted blue. I think it goes really well with the 'yosemite sand' that we painted in the living room.

All in all, I am pretty happy with the way all of this is turning out. It is still a work in progress, but I finally feel like I have the upper hand of this whole adventure. Some boxes are left, but nothing that is "major". The books are in the bookshelves, the kitchen is done, stuff is on the walls. Things are getting closer to "normal". I am so glad for that. I could use some normal.
Oh, and for the curious, I Have found, and liberated the remaining gargoyle hostages. They are now happily frolicking in the house, along with a few other prizes I found lurking in MM's boxes....

jumping on the mosaic bandwagon

I have seen this done much, lately, most recently, over at Jo's Place. It looked like fun, so I gave it a whirl.
Go here if you want to make a mosaic of your own. Go to a website where you can get random images for what you are typing in, and copy/paste in the URL's of your answers. It's that easy.



Here then, are the questions, with my answers in parenthesis, and explainations, if needed!

1. Your first name (mielikki. Putting in my real first name kept bringing up pron stars)
2. Favorite food? (chicken)
3. What High School did you attend? (Calaveras. It means Skull, in spanish. Lovely, huh?)
4. Favorite color (green)
5. Celebrity crush? (Swedish Chef. I don't crush on a 'real' celebrity. And I don't want to join the David Tennant fray. You ladies scare me)
6. Favorite drink? (iced tea)
7. Dream vacation? (british isles. All of them, one long, glorious, trip)
8. favorite dessert? (Creme Brulee)
9. What do you want to be when I grow up? (true to myself. And I am)
10. What do you love most in life? (All my "people")
11. One word to describe you? (stubborn)
12. Your blog name (absolutely no pictures came up...)

So there you go, a glimpse of me, in mosaic form....
go play if you want to. If not, have a good Monday, anyhow!

Short Story Saturday

Belinda rolled over, restless, hot, and cranky. The weather had been close to 100 degrees all week, and, like many others in the recent economy, her family had lost their home four weeks ago. They'd bounced around from cheap hotel to cheap hotel for the first few weeks, but, they were so financially strapped at this point that even cheap hotels were no longer an option.
Sighing, she pulled the stringy, plain brown hair out of her eyes. Her Mom braided it for her each night, yet, it was so fine and light that most of it always escaped the braid. Impatiently, she blew it out of her eyes and looked out the back window of the Durango. They'd been sleeping in it for the last two weeks, parked in the parking lots of various churches in the neighborhood. The sun was just rising, but it was already unbearably hot.
Quietly, she squeezed past her little brother, Charlie, and climbed out through the back window. Being careful not to wake anyone, she made her way half way down the block, to the local gas station that had a public bathroom they all used. The owner had been pretty nice to them, encouraging them to use the facilities as much as they needed. Cleaning herself up as best she could, Belinda sighed at her reflection in the cracked mirror. She'd never liked her hair color, and wished she could change it, like so many of her classmates were prone to do. Critically, she examined her face. "Too skinny" she decided. Her eyes, though, everyone said she had pretty eyes. When she looked them in the eye, that was. Shrugging, she turned away from her reflection, and exited the bathroom. To her chagrin, a group of construction workers were gassing up their trucks outside, and, seeing her, they began to whistle and call rudely.
"Hey pretty girl, looking for a ride?" one of them leered at her. Blushing, Belinda scurried away, amidst their laughter. More than laughter, though, she heard footsteps behind her, following her. "Great" she thought, and quickened her pace.
The man following her grinned as she quickened her pace, eyes alight. He like nothing more than the hunt. He'd been watching this girl for the last few weeks, studying her patterns. Knew that she was from a homeless family, who would not have the slightest clue she was gone. Until it was too late. He watched her try to get away from him, her lithe, youthful body moving quickly, not towards where her parents were, but, up the dusty road, toward's that fleabag hotel, the Time Travel Inn. He gauged her age to be sixteen, or close to it. He hoped she was still a virgin. He liked them better that way. Excitement quickened his pace, which quickened hers. She began to run. So did he. Cursing himself for daydreaming too long, he watched, as she darted into a room with a Fleur de Lys on the doorway. Grabbing the door before it slammed, he jumped at her, growling.....
And found himself, suddenly, laying on hard earth, with a mouth full of soiled hay. Spitting it out he cursed again. "Merde!"
Then, "where did that come from?" he wondered. He'd never heard, nor used that word before. Studying his surroundings, he saw a young girl, resembling the one he'd just been chasing fly out of the door in front of him, now dressed in a floor length, frilly dress, her hair now clean and curly. Looking down, he saw he was now dressed in rough spun clothing. And it STANK. Getting up, he was surprised to see he was in a stable....
Belinda kept running, despite the heels she now found her feet in. She'd run through that door, at that hotel, desperate to get away from that man who'd been chasing her. But the dark room had turned, inexplicably, into something more. Turned HER into something more. Looking over her shoulder, she noted the man was gone. For the moment. She'd seen him in the stable. Changed as well. She slowed down, to a walk, coming into a crowd of people. Smoothed her dress, which was a deep, peacock blue, she noted. A man came to her side, bowing. "Mademoiselle", he intoned, gleam in his dark brown eyes. "Might I accompany you to luncheon?"
"Non!" choose me! answered another man, this one blonde, with summer blue eyes, rushing to her side. "Giles, you cur, leave her alone" snarled the dark eyed man. "She is mine"
"Not in your wildest dream, Stephan" answered the other, drawing a pistol. Belinda gasped as the brown eyed man gently shoved her aside, facing the blonde man, who had also drawn a pistol.
The man in the stables circled slowly around the 2 men with guns, eyes still on the girl. She was to blame for this, somehow, he knew. He now wanted her more than ever, just to see if he could somehow return them both to the place they'd left. THEN, he would deal with her. What he failed to notice, was that the dark eyed man had indeed seen him. As he lunged for Belinda, he felt the agonizing pain of gunshot tearing through his chest, and he fell.... not onto the grass of earth, but to the cold, stinky carpet of a hotel room. The life left his eyes as his breath left in a sigh.
Belinda could only sit, and stare, at the space where the man should have fallen. Wrapping his arm around her, Stephan, the brown eyed man kissed her brow, and whispered "Come, cheri. We must talk". Numbly, she followed him....

Friday mieography

for the naughty campers:



Meet Juliette Gordon Low. Founder of Girl Scouts. (I so think she would have gone to Naughty Camp if she could.)
She was born on Halloween of 1860 in Savannah, Georgia. Her family refered to her as "Daisy", she was the second of 6 children. As a young girl, she was known to be sensitive, and talented, with a lifetime interest in the arts. She wrote poetry, acted in plays, sketched, painted, and sculpted. She had many pets, but was especially fond of mockingbirds, and dogs. They say she also had a very good sense of humor.In her teens, she attended boarding school at the Virginia Female Institute in Staunton, Va. She later attended a French finishing school in New York City. In 1886, she married William Low, a wealthy Englishman. She spent much time traveling between the British Isles, and the US.
Unfortunately for Juliette, she had suffered from many chronic ear infections. She lost most of the hearing in one ear because the treatment she was provided was improper. At her wedding, a grain of "good luck rice" got lodged in her ear, puncturing the eardrum, resulting in infection, and total loss of hearing in that ear.
During the Spanish-American war, Juliette came back to America to aid in the war effort. She and her mother organized a convalescent hospital for the wounded soldiers returning from Cuba. At the end of the war, she returned to England, however, her marriage had disinigrated. Her husband died in 1905, while they were seperated.
After this, she spent several years searching for something useful to do with her life. In 1911, she met Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. Becoming interested in this, she channeled her energies into this movement. She came back to the United states and announced to her cousin "I've got something for the girls of Savannah, and all of America, and all the world, and we're going to start it tonight!" On March 12, 1912, she gathered 18 girls to regester the first troop of American Girl Guides. Her neice, and namesake, Margaret "Daisy Doots" Gordon, was the first to regester. That next year, the name was changed to Girl Scouts.
Juliette brought her girls into the outdoors, and encouraged them to learn multiple things, from traditional home making, to arts, sciences, and business. The Girl Scouts welcomed girls with disabilites as well. Juliette herself suffered not only from her deafness, but also back problems, and cancer.
From those original 18 girls, Girl Scouts has grown to 3.7 million girls strong.

things found and delivered

So there I was, sluggishly going through boxes in 100 degree weather yesterday. Specifically, a MM box full of papers. (Exciting stuff, right?) When this guy popped out.

cute, isn't he? I love gargoyles, and I had never seen this one hanging out at MM's house before. Turns out, the poor guy had been living in his box for quite awhile, just waiting patiently for the right person to find him, and let him come out to play. So I did.


so, now he is hanging out on our fireplace. Guarding, of all things, the candle I brought back from THE Notre Dame, in Paris. I thought it only right.
Turns out, somewhere, in MM's other boxes, are 2 more of his kind, in pewter. Making unpacking, for me, now, a treasure hunt! I must liberate the poor gargoyles from their purgatory of MM's boxes! It will give me something to do until next Wednesday when MM comes home from his trip....

AND (and and and and)
Daryl Claus came to visit. She sent me 2 wonderfully rusty er, I mean, rustic, pictures of an old truck in Napa. A picture I had admired when she put it up on her blog. She didn't like the closer up view of her shot, so sent me a full body shot of the truck as well. I love them BOTH and so they got quickly framed, and put up right in the entryway, where all who come visit can stop, and admire them. MM loves them as well, and spent considerable time yesterday standing there admiring the rusty truck. They are a hit!








So, cross your fingers that I find MM's gargoyles, and free them soon. And thank you so much Daryl Claus!

Wordless Wednesday