How much dirt can you pact onto a pair of jeans?

I know now I do not care for landscaping. Today started toooo early. I was waiting by the front door at 2:45 with my cup of tea wearing my old cashmere sweater filled with hole - I love that sweater. Rarely can you get something so nice filthy and not feel bad.

Me and another sister were assigned to hose off a stump! At first I had my suspicions that they were just trying to keep us occupied, but not so - that was a very difficult job that lasted hours, and the hose was huge and heavy - I will never become a fireman. The best is yet to come though.

So in the afternoon we set out to plant a bunch of huge palmy things all around the trailer for relief work so it is not visible (btw this is at the Ft Lauderdale Assembly hall). Anyways, this little French man and a brother set about this task by jumping on one of those mechanical yellow digging machines. Well what do you know...They dig up a waterpipe! The little, I really should say short (he wasn't that little) man was already on a crane thing putting a ten Ft palm in the hole. So you know the French people from Monty Python with the "ridiculous accent"? This guy stepped out of that movie - hilarious. So he's twenty Ft in the air maneuvering this ten Ft tree that is hanging on a chain, moving it into the hole that is now filling up with water. "it'z an ol pipe" he says and plants the tree. So Eve, that's his name, continues to dig with his backhoe thing, and he digs up and brakes another pipe! So the young plumbers were not finished tracing the other broken pipe when, the little French guy yells "I zink it'z a nutter pipe." So we actually have to turn some water valves off. I hope this isn't boring you, because I'm NOT FINISHED. So me and these other guys are digging and digging so that pipe can be replaced. So while we're digging the little French guy is determined to get all these trees in the ground, so his big shovel machine is digging three feet away and....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................He hits another pipe! What a productive day! The first pipe that was broken turned out the be old and unused, and we fixed the second one that was broken and they're probably finished fixing the third one by now. It really was hilarious. Eve, although not the best on the backhoe, is so nice. I was I circuit overseer, I think for the French congregations, and he's been the caretaker at the assembly hall for ten years. Well, that was my day.


AND Swing flips kick butt!!!! Boys, I am soo proud of you guys. I don't think I would do them anywhere except over grass. But They're sOooooooooooooooooooooooo much fun. :)

Also, if anyone has heard Clap your HAnds Say Yeah could you let me know if it's junk. I'm trying to download it, but I think it's going to take ten years.

Home

Because I went to Boston and didn't get home until this after noon, I had a heck of a lot of work to do this afternoon. I actually just got off!! 1 AM!! I am not one to be afraid of the dark, but let me tell you - the back woods of Chuluota is SCARY! My boss lives IN A JUNGLE. If I screamed NO ONE WOULD HEAR. Since she's off on vacation I had to lock up her house and turn off the lights. So as I'm walking out to my car, my arms full of packages of towels for the salon and paper work and all my stuff (cds, sweater, tea cup) -it is completely BLACK. And it's super woodsy, and she has a boardwalkish porch which I am tripping on, these freakish yellow lights hidden in the grass turn on all by themselves. They're not bright enough to light anything up, just make me scream a bit and sprint for my car. And doesn't it always seem likes it's when you really want your keys when it take FOREVER to get them into the keyhole. Anyways, I'm home safe...

I really like Boston, I don't know if I would really fit in there now, but I have so many good memories there. As we were driving to the airport this morning my mom and grandpa were talking in the front seat, we pasted Newton were we lived when I was little. 11 Irvington st Newton MASS. I learned that the same time I learned to write my name. We didn't go by and see the house, we had to get to the airport. I don't think I would have wanted to anyways, my grandpa said it had been painted red. Red, my favorite color- yuck. Not on our old brown house - I think if I had seen it it would have messed with my memory. I remember, jumping on the bed in my room, which was on the third floor explaining to my school friend that she could not wear her shoes on the bed, but I could because they were jelly shoes and they did not collect dirt, only small pebbles! And we jumped forever on that queen size bed -what fun.
I remember we were fighting about something, I think I was four or five, me and Violette, because we were sharing a room and my dad got a hammer and nails and a bunch of blankets and nailed them to the walls and across the room. At that moment we knew we had the coolest dad in the world.

So that's the kinda stuff that's been on my mind. Last night there was a family dinner with a lot of relatives. The Whittleseys are so funny -very intense and everyone always has something fascinating to say. Not always fascinating to everyone else, but I suppose the best way to fascinate someone is first be fascinated yourself. My mom made the comment that it would have been even more intense if my other aunt had been there (that is in no way an insult, Whittleseys love intensity) and I must agree, the more Whittleseys you put in the same room the more intense it becomes. Makes me wonder what my crazy family's going to be like in twenty years. My uncle was talking about how some movie was pretty crummy and that starts the Cool Hand Luke impressions, my grandfather starts pretending to be swallowing eggs, and my grandma even throws in a couple of lines. My grandpa is such a character. Him and my mom are a lot alike, she's just less structured.

We also visited the kingdom Hall that Sophie went to. It's really small and friendly. The conducter called on me by name even though we got there right before the meeting. I went there a couple of times seven years ago and I remember they called on me by name then too, they must ask around during the meeting or something. After the meeting everyone wanted to know how Sophie was doing, I always said "She's doing really good" or "great." My mom, ha, she's so funny. So there's like seventy people that asked the exact same question (how's Sophie) and every time someone asked it she would pause , have a meditative look on her face and say something like, "Well" pause, pause, pause (like she was REALLY thinking about it) and say, "She's ok." Then she would look slightly up as if she was still thinking about it , then say, "Yeah, she's doing alright." But she did that like SEVENTY TIMES! She can be quite the actress, yet at the same time extremely sincere. I think she wanted people to know that Sophie was missing everyone in that hall. Man, I've never heard so many nice thing said about Sophie before. Older sisters would come up with huge smiles and a glaze over their eyes saying, "you're Sophie's sister?" And then give my a big huge. Needless to say a very sweet congregation.

SO I bought some canvases the other day. Yippee. You know what's kinda bothering me. Nevermind. I think I just realized how weird blogs are. I feel like I'm writing to space. THERE ISN'T A PERSON THERE! I know someone will read it, but you just send it out there, to who knows where. Luna is being so good. I threw her out of the house when I started this and then she came back - IN UNDER TEN SECONDS! There's some hole in the attic. Now she's curled up in my lap, but her breath does stink.

HAha, so Cathy Oh is staying at our house because her parents are somewhere. This morning on the way to the airport Ally says, "opps mom, I forgot to ask, um Cathy's gonna stay with us, that's alright, right?" Mom then turns to me, "Well, I'm hardly home, is that alright with you Nina?" Ok that's not what I was going to say. What I meant to say is that she , Cathy is so adorable. My mom usually talks the the cats while she does her bills and paper work at night. At least, we say it's the cats she's talking to. So anyways, my mom is talking and talking, and usually, she only has the cats, but because Cathy decided to do a puzzle in our dining room (no cable) my mom talked to her, and Cathy just sorta listened and laughed at EVERYTHING. I don't know why, they were just so cute in there. Alright, that was retarded, I'm going to bed before I say more :)

Boston

I’m sitting in the basement – I love basements, I always have. So here’s a little run through of my day. We woke and had some breakfast with the fam then ran outside. Ahhh snow..there was , I don’t really know, probably seven inches. I was wearing snow boots up to my knees so I stayed pretty dry and cozy. There is a little pond in the front of the house so Ally and I though we would see if it had frozen through. Well, about two step out it started cracking , oopps. So when we went in for luch we were told something something, irrigation, something fish and frogs, don’t crack the ice! Opps.

So we went to see the famous five and dime were Sophie worked. Grandma, mom and I. I started talking to one guy who worked there named Josh. I was like “oh did you know Sophie,” He was like “sophie, sophie, ah yeah.” I was like “yeah I’m her sister” blah blah. I walk out of the store and into a knitting store next door. Soph calls me back and I told her Josh said hi, but she swears she knows no Josh! Anyways, out of the knitting shop, btw yarn is expencive! And into the little health food store. I really like little stores with sidewalks in front of them that you can just walk from one to the other. You know, they have glass doors with bells on them and all that. Then it was dinner at Aunt Suzy’s at FOUR! Well, I really believe that my family has passed down a late gene to me. So four oclock rolls by, four thiry, people are moving slowly, one person still watching the game, another on the phone. No one was really planning to be there at four or four thirty, or even quarter to five. So eventually we do get there, everyone swearing they were just waiting for everyone else to get in the car.

Well, dinner was really wonderful and dessert included mochi covered ice cream. It was interesting. We were loaded up with snow pants, and jackets as we left and on the way to the car Ally and I rolled in the snow one more time.

Sledding tomorrow!!! This is going to be a short, but deffinately a sweet trip. Like sweet and short, not like sWeeeeet, that word bothers me, I don’t know why. C ya

Does Kevin have competition?

Kevin, better watch out, your "The Hair Guy" title may be swept away and given to this gal.
I just found this in Soph's camara. heehe

For those who have never met my dad

Here's a little self portrate of my dad, painted by, well, himself. It is proudly displayed in our house. One thing I always appreciated about my family is if you created a "piece of art" we would always find a place for it on the wall. For example, Apple Tree (oil on canvas) by our stairs. Dear family members and friends, I just wanted to let you know that I REALIZED it's not good! Of course, it's not good, I painted it when I was , I don't know, nine. But I have never heard anyone says it needs to be taken down! Also, Ugly Fat Naked Lady (acrilic on canvas) by the computer has been there over a year, except for that brief time when Avril hid it when her friend was coming over. I've never heard anyone complain about the ugliest painting of Violette I have ever see, The Ugly Violette (painted by avril, watercolor) which has been in the kitchen for what, three years? Avril, you really made her look spanish and overwieght. Alice's demon cat sculptures stare at me while I type. Sophie, well it would be difficult to take her "art work" off the wall, because...well, she draws ON the wall.

Well today is still Tuesday, and it is still AM, and I am still in my pjs. I am really loving today.

What's with today, today?

No more Violette. What do you mean this room isn't big enough??

Well Violette is really gone and we do feel he missing presence all around us. Now that my mornings are not sent frantically looking for HER keys to move HER car because she always parked behind me in the driveway, I don't know what to do with myself!

As you probably already know Sophie just got a new camera, which I am enjoying verymuch.

I tried to scan some old pictures into the computer, but I couldn't post them. I picked out the ugliest baby pictures of us - but I'll work on that later I guess. I slept in this morning and MAAAaaannnn does it feel fantastic!!!

ta-dah

So I realized I should put up some after shots

Before and After

So here are some pictures of my room. I don't have a very big room, but I have a lot of junk. I try to throw stuff away, but I can't! So Sunday night I decided to give it a good cleaning!

Rbc

Well, I made it home for another Sunday family dinner so I am not in the dog house. Although if I was in the dog housse ours would be pretty bad - It sits on granite stones and tips over. You know, it's for all the dogs we have.

Well I am an inpatient person - and get bored wayyy tooo fast. That's something I'm going to work on right now. At the rbc project, I realized I have such a low tolerance for slow moving, standing around people. But I don't want to be that way - makes me kindda presumptuous.

Foam - it's great because it's soo light. You can walk around with a ten foot piece of foam, look real strong, and it weighs like a a pound and a half. One thing I did with soph today was push some foam (the boarders on the side of the building) into the corner of the roof and the wall - Oh my goodness, we felt like our arms were going to fall off after ten minutes!! all in all - it was fun, and unexpectedly chilly - thank goodness for my four shirts. thanks - will return later :)

So we moved violette out into her apt yesterday. It's a very nice place. I am looking forwaad to...to..living on their coach. Just kidding, but not. Well family dinner is starting so ciao.

Ok back from dinner. You know what else, I love roadtrips. Almost all my memories of long car rides are wonderful. Even the Alaskan highway in a small van, seven suitcases, seven people, and a spare tire, which was switched out for a flat tire - is a great memory. I really haven't gone too far, but soph and I have gone to Georgia and Miami a couple of times - and it's just such a free feeling. So many different directions to go. haah. As Sophie and I contemplated our happy memories, we did realize that on our little expeditions- I ALWAYS do ALL the driving - but the truth is I love it!

No more house sitting for me - I'm back in my our bed - does feel nice. and I feel so free being away from cable and that large screen tv - I just HAVE to watch it when I'm there.

Classes are done for this term!!! I just had my last exam (math, arr) Ok it is true. I get seriously addicted to things. I'm not a big tv watcher, except for lost (it's a social thing, I feel like I'm out of the loop if I don't watch it) Anyways, I'm housesitting again. So they have cable and a large screen tv. AND I'm watching tv non stop. When was it, Sunday, Alice and I watched tv ALLL day! The studies I hato do in the morning cancelled, and we had stayed up really late the night before - WATCHING TELLY. I think I will be happy to be back in my mildewy room with my little tv that I never watch, but do appreciate (some one gave it to me, thanks).

You know what I think makes someone a good friend? When you start talking nonsense, are completely annoying and they don't hold it again you. That's right, by 2:30 yesterday, I think I stopped speaking English and started to speak gibberish.

So I guess I'm going to MASS in two weeks, so much for my 120. Haha - thought I was going to church! Massachusetts that is.