BIG GIRLS A Coming!!!

       (WWLP 22News)

          The people in the header photo, from the Washington D.C. area, look exactly like I was feeling yesterday after I heard about the rare 5.9 magnitude earthquake!...

        (WWLP 22News)

           ...It rattled the eastern third of the United States from Virginia all the way to Rhode Island and New York City!...And Yeah! Holyoke is in there somewhere too! LOL
         WWLP 22News shared photos from the Washington D.C. area (below)...

           ....from Philadelphia....

          ....from Baltimore Maryland...

        .....and from other points in between, of people flabbergasted, and damage done. You can see the rest of the photos if you click HERE.

           So, as you might guess, with a 5.9 magnitude earthquake,...the strongest earthquake to hit the East coast in 100 years!...AND then hurricane Irene, almost at a category 3 {125 MPH winds} and now hitting the Turks and Caicos islands on it's way to the Bahamas..... and then also barreling up the coast right toward us by Sunday night!...the feeling is not getting any better this morning!! *gulp!* O_0

      (WWLP 22News)

(WWLP 22News)

         First of all....did I feel the earthquake?!....The answer...I'm not sure. O_0 I 'did' have a strange bout of queasiness yesterday, but I haven't really taken the time to think about whether the timing was connected...I 'do' know that the local news out of Chicopee,...

        ...the town next door to Holyoke,...

      ...was reporting that some people in our area here in Western Massachusetts felt it!...I don't have time to try to figure it out! I'm watching the news and weather, people!! :-]
        I can tell you that there's an almost palpable air that it seems like everybody is feeling. And it's not just from the weather, but the news too! And even though we're all not huddled together in one spot...like the flamingos were yesterday!...I know we can all feel it!
    Speaking of which, the Post Gazette said that the first warnings of Tuesday's earthquake may have happened at the National Zoo. Apparently some of the animals felt the earthquake coming before humans did! 
      The red ruffed lemurs began "alarm calling" a full 15 minutes before the quake hit! And an orangutan let out a guttural holler 10 seconds before the keepers felt the quake...And the flamingos?!...They huddled together in the water seconds before the people felt the rumblings! :-) ...........I think the animals had the idea! Scream, sound the alarm, and then duck for cover!....Preferably not alone! ^_^
     Hubby and I are already talking about huddling strategies involving canned beans, flashlights, batteries, candles, snacks, and an inordinate amount of water!!...My local WWLP 22News said: "...Forecasts for strength and direction of a hurricane this many days out can be tricky and, at times, unreliable. That being said, Irene needs to be watched closely and we will have a much better idea on the potential impact any rain or wind will have on Western Massachusetts in the coming days..."
        The first 'Big Girl' hurricane...so we called her...that we remember coming through the New England area (we lived in Connecticut at that time) was Hurricane Gloria!! She was SOMETHING!!! Oooo! Whee!...Then, not too long ago, we got Hurricane Isabel. She wasn't as fearsome as Gloria, but I did write a poem about her!...Now, I guess we're gonna just have to wait and see what this 'Big Girl' is all about...Oh! By the way, her name is 'Irene'.
       I can tell you something else for sure...whenever she gets here, I'll be right here!!!... Probably in a sleeping bag, with the zipper all the way up, holding a can of pork and beans in one hand, and a can opener in the other. But I'll be right here!!! I'm not moving!!.....*said as I'm shaking in my boots!* LOL...But that might just be another tremor from the earthquake.......*sigh* O_0


Me And Isabel

She's round and likes to travel,
and goes where I'd like to go.
She loves warm weather and water;
and her size doesn't bother her flow.

She packs a lot of power-
But its peaceful to look in her eye;
And, like me, she gets lots of attention
when she goes meandering by.

Beach-combers hate to see her coming,
because she loves to kick up the sand.
She can be kind of destructive-
(But that depends on where she lands).

I love comparing myself to her,
even though I have nothing to gain
by seeing myself-point-by-point,
compared to Isabel-The Hurricane!

Bye, Bye, Hurricane Earl!

     Yep! Hurricane Earl has come...and gone. Well, almost gone. He's heading out of our area without much fanfare, except for some pesky wind that has the backyard swirling this morning. But the backyard is still in tact. Actually it's more than just intact. Remember these from an earlier post?

     I called them 'Batman Flowers', but they're sunflowers from our backyard. Well, they decided to pop out and say "Hello!" to Earl!!

    I'm sorry that the photos aren't better, but the wind is swirling so much in the backyard that I was thankful to get these!

    Earl is not being a very good guest, slapping them around and everything! *Teehee* But anyway, he'll be gone pretty soon. I'm very thankful he didn't mess up the house, leave water on the floor, and eat up everything. I've had guests like that in the past...of the 'Human' variety!

    I'm writing some letters, taking care of some necessary chores today, and of course...

   ...watching tennis!

    We've got a 3-day weekend this week, some laundry to do, some weekly meals to experiment on, and tennis and crocheting to waste time on....and thanks to Earl, some time to waste on each other! :-) It would have really been a waste of some precious time if we would have had to spend this time cleaning up after our "guest"!

    In the South, when a guest has stayed for a while and they're in the driveway with their packed up car backing away, their hosts usually start waving frantically and yelling: "Yall come back soon now, ya hear!!" Well guess what? I'm NOT saying that to Earl!! Instead I'm gonna say: "Get on out of here!!!" ... *talking to myself*...Now that's not very nice!! ^_^ (I was much nicer about a previous hurricane we had. Even wrote a poem about it...Earl is not inspiring me to write a poem about it!)

Me And Isabel

She's round and likes to travel,

and goes where I'd like to go.

She loves warm weather and water;

and her size doesn't bother her flow.

She packs a lot of power-

But its peaceful to look in her eye;

And, like me, she gets lots of attention

when she goes meandering by.

Beach-combers hate to see her coming,

because she loves to kick up the sand.

She can be kind of destructive-

(But that depends on where she lands).

I love comparing myself to her,

even though I have nothing to gain

by seeing myself-point-by-point,

compared to Isabel-The Hurricane!

Bead Love...In The Making!

   Okay, yesterday it was 'Out With The Hats'! Today it's 'In With The Beads'! But only for a little while. Now that I'm trying to scale down some stuff, I figured I'd better start making some necklaces and earrings out of my bead collection. Then I can sell them and get them out of the house too!!

   My header picture is part of my collection of seed beads and such. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all of the colors!!! This isn't all of my beads though. I recently bought a 'Bead Buddy' to store the others in. This is my 'Bead Buddy'...

   When you first open it up you see this...

   The back piece is removable. It has a measured section to use when you're deciding how long of a necklace you're going to make.

It has little cup sections also, where you can put your beads that you're working with at the time. It's quite handy!...Now I'd like to show you some of the really special beads I have. These are a combination of black and white ones, and a whole bunch of clear ones.

   I don't really like plastic beads that much, even though I do have some. I may make bracelets for children out of them, or something. Most of my beads are glass, crystal, or ceramic. I like my beads to have a little weight. Don't I sound all 'Bead Professional' and everything?!! LOL NOT!!!

   These are some of my blue glass seed bead collection.

   These are some of my brown hues. The larger ones have a leopard look.

   I love the look and feel of this one...

   It's smooth and wavy even when you turn it sideways!...These are ready to go already. They have a spring ring attached.

   This one is one of my favorites. It's just full of heart-shaped personality.

   Here are a few of the others...

   And the last ones I'll show you are my candy beads...

   ...Don't they remind you of those fruity colored hard candies?!

You need more than beads if you're going to make jewelry, right?! Well, I got that covered too! Some beading wire...

   I had to learn the difference between beading wire and the other kind of wire that I crochet with...

   My crochet wire is much more mailable. It wouldn't be strong enough to make a sturdy necklace...Then you need spacer beads...

    ...crimp beads, to stop your beads from slipping off of the necklace...

    ...clasps...

   ...spring rings in silver and gold, of different sizes(I like these better because they don't just meet at the ends, but the ends pass each other. More chance of your jewelry staying put!)...

I'

   ...I even have some pretty bead caps that I was given as a free gift with one of my purchases...

Take a deep breath. I'm almost done!!! LOL...These are the pins I use for my earrings...

   ...and the earring wires...

Now, except for my very special crystals to add some sparkle to whatever necklace I make,...

   ...I'm done!!! I'm pretty much ready to bead myself into a frenzy, don't you think?! :-) Be sure and keep your eye on my Wuglyees shop so you can see what kind of beaded/crocheted wonders I come up with!

(Today's poem was one I wrote about 5 years ago, after I was watching the weather.)

Me And Isabel

She's round and likes to travel,

and goes where I'd like to go.

She loves warm weather and water;

and her size doesn't bother her flow.

She packs a lot of power-

But its peaceful to look in her eye;

And, like me, she gets lots of attention

when she goes meandering by.

Beach-combers hate to see her coming,

because she loves to kick up the sand.

She can be kind of destructive-

(But that depends on where she lands).

I love comparing myself to her,

even though I have nothing to gain

by seeing myself-point-by-point,

compared to Isabel-The Hurricane!