My head is in the trees

All I can think about lately is the treehouse - I'm ready to get started, but I have yet to get my first big necessity.....attachment bolts. I didn't find what I wanted at the local big box home improvement stores so I'll be ordering online and spending more than I had planned to. Oh well, what in life doesn't cost more than you wish it did?? I'll feel better about getting the bigger, better attachments - especially since I'm a novice builder. I'll post a picture of them once I get them in hand, I think they are going to be huge.

I've been working on design ideas and I keep changing my mind, something that I am definitely going to add is a widow's peak. It will be a small lookout tower that will rest high in the trees above the actual tree house. This project keeps growing in my head....

In other news, I'm dealing with a lot of crap in general - first, my grandfather. He's been someone I've always looked up to, but lately it seems that he is just pissing me off. I don't agree with his ideals, his morals or his view in general. It's really hard to start seeing someone without the filter after so many years. I want him to be my hero, but honestly, he is a racist and a chauvenisitic pig. That's hard to say about him, but I'm just being real. He is old and he is easing his way into dementia so I'm just riding along as usual and playing nice. I wouldn't want to ruin our relationship before he passes (at least, ruin it for him - it's already gone for me). I hate that my memories of him are now shrouded by what I've realized is his true personality. I can think back and see it all along, but as a child I just wanted him to be a hero and I looked past so many things. He was so completely rude to me a few days ago that I left his house in disbelief. He is just selfish. Period. Selfishness is something that I detest.

My grandmother on the other side of the family is slowly going down hill - she now has home healthcare and really just stays in bed most of the time. She has lost her desire to be on earth, but she trys to keep it positive on the outside. I'm inheriting her dog. I'm not a dog person, we have 3 cats. I've been spending a lot of time with her dog so we can all get used to each other - judging by the amount of dog bling I've purchased I could be getting converted. The kids are excited to get him - he is a black lab, very big. He has been an indoor dog his whole life, but that is not an option at my house. I'm kinda worried about the cold weather and how we will handle that. I'm hoping for the sake of the dog that grandma doesn't give in before the spring. The dog can stay in her house as long as she is there.

Funniest thing about the dog - I've always seen the cartoons where dogs bury their bones, etc. I thought is was just a cartoon thing. NOT. I gave Bo a rawhide and then he disappeared into the woods - near the treehouse spot - once I eyed him I saw him digging a hole. He dropped the rawhide into the hole and proceeded to cover it up by nudging dirt and pinestraw with his nose! It was the cutest thing ever! I'm anxious to see if he will actually remember where it is in a few days!!

Suck!

MAN! Do I ever suck at commitment!? I suppose that it is good that my loyalties lie elsewhere to a blog, but geeeez I'm gettting really slack!

I am in my busiest season of the year, what with all the holiday shows and people beginning to think about holiday gifts. It won't be long before I shall be chained to my sewing machine 24/7 trying to get all the orders filled and off to Santa's sleigh. Sometimes I wish that I would just completely close up shop for the whole month of December so that I could truly enjoy a peaceful holiday season. However, this would involve the entire collapse of my business, so, uhhm.....maybe I should put that thought aside? Anywho, I'm here for the moment and I have PICTURES! No, no, no, not of Adam's party, though I truly wish that I could have squeezed in the time to go. I have pictures of our spooky tent and car and then my cuties. We went camping the weekend before Halloween and it was torrential rain - while we put up the tent. We waited to see if it was going to stop, but there was no end in sight so we pitched in the rain. That was a first for us. We did learn a lot of great lessons for the future, but let's just say that for this trip our tent was a wee bit wet.....meaning, puddles. But we lived. The low temp was 37 degrees, so we warmed the sleeping bags with a hair dryer before climbing in and once everyone was tucked in, the night was not so bad. The rain stopped over night and we had a great day to play on Saturday. We went to an Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Farm. We also rode bikes and hiked to a beautiful waterfall. It was a perfect fall camping trip. I believe that I did find my limit for camping weather though, I prefer to stay above 40 degrees.

We always plan our costumes well in advance so that I can try to find all the necessary parts. Much to my dismay my youngest child has changed her mind on her costume both last year and this year ON HALLOWEEN. So we end up throwing something together and the meticulously planned outfit gets slept on by the cat. Why do I give in you say? 'Cuz it's Halloween and that's how I roll. You get to be what you want, and if you decide to wear a garbage bag at the last minute, and it makes you happy, then go with it. This year we ended up with a Pirate and Death (who turned into an Evil Doctor just as we were ready to go). Anyone in need of a Death costume? Comes with a Sickle..... I would love to upload pics, however I can't find that CF card at the moment and if I don't post now, well.....we all know you won't see me again for DAYS!!

I did manage to find time to vote early, so I was able to avoid the mayhem on Tuesday. Congratulations to OBAMA, I could not be happier for him. I am ASHAMED to say that many of my family members would not have voted for him, even if he were a Republican, strictly based on the color of his skin. My eyes stung and my heart dropped when my grandmother actually asked, "You didn't vote for that N*gg*r did you?". My only *hope* is that the hatred and stupidity is dying off with these generations that just can't come to grips with humanity and decency. I absolutely CAN NOT imagine how the people of the past just accepted that people were not people, simply because of their color. I have never been accepting of something, "just because that's how it is". I had a black boyfriend in the 6th grade and my grandparents threatened me, tried to counsel me and in general told me that he was evil. Even at the age of 11 I knew they were wrong, no matter what I had been told my entire life I could see that this boy was just that, a boy. And I liked him.......and I kissed him......and guess what? Nothing happened, other than a lot of butterflies. I didn't wither away and the sky did not fall. So, the answer is YES, Grandma, I voted for a MAN who I think can not only change America, but can change the stupid way some Americans think. I voted for OBAMA.