7 QUICK TAKES FRIDAY

1. I am missing having little kids this Halloween. I think having time on my hands makes me itch to sew costumes and decorate like I used to. I even made fun Halloween foods like bloody fingers for dinner. I had fun until the sugar took over my kids.

2. Went shopping with Ally today. We had $200.00 and needed a coat, shoes and some warm tops. At the last minute we went to Kohls. We got a cute red "peacoat" with black buttons for half price, a pair of grey "suede" boots and 4 tops. I was amazed.

We even got along for the whole shopping excursion!

3. My printer/copy/scanner/fax machine has been breaking down utility by utility. first I couldn't scan anymore, then I couldn't fax, then the copier went and not I can't print. We had to order a new machine because I use it a lot for work. It isn't that old and now we have to figure out how to get rid of it. I now know to avoid those drop off places because they send the equipment overseas and it is causing big health and pollution problems. I'll check in with the garbage company, I guess.

4. Speaking of the garbage company, ours finally switched over to multiple cans for recycling, food/yard waste and garbage. It has been a big adjustment for Tom. He finally admitted that he could figure out what goes where but he is just choosing not to. Sigh.

5. My kids turn 22 this Sunday. This year has gone by so fast and 22 seems so much older than 21.

6. This time last year we were excited for the election! We are still feeling "hopey changey" at our house. We have been around long enough to know it takes a time for things to get done with a new administration. I prefer some thoughtful "dithering" to rushing into more war or ineffective legislation. What the election last year brought us here in California, was a shameful revision of the civil rights of same sex couples to marry. I hope that 2010 will bring those rights back.

7. Remember to turn those clocks back after the trick or treaters go to bed on Saturday!

HALLOWEEN DECOR?

I should leave this for the Friday Confessions at the Colony - but I will "fess up" here.

I opened the blinds in our little den for the first time in months to find MASSIVE cobwebs full of bugs covering the windows. Truly something straight out of a haunted mansion.

Haunted mansions, however, are usually vacant. This one is inhabited by a woman who actually considered just calling the mess decorative until after Halloween...

BLUE MONDAY

Jodi at the Colony has offered up a Blue Photo Challenge. I missed the orange challenge last week, but in just a few minutes around my house I have some blue offerings.

7 QUICK TAKES FRIDAY

1. My latest job search complaint: Companies who post jobs they already plan to fill from "within." I must have spent an hour and a half on the application, they wanted all kinds of information and details for a credit check and 4 personal references with name, address, phone number and e-mail. Then I waited and checked in, and finally got the notification that the job was filled from within. Geez. They should let you know if this is the circumstance of the job posting before they collect all sorts of private information and waste my time.

The ongoing complaint: All the "part time" jobs that are 32-35 hours a week. That way they avoid offering benefits - but it is tantamont to a full time job schedule offering little "time" for anything else.

2. I needed wide egg noddles to go with the Goulash I was making for dinner. I usually buy Golden Grain brand, but Safeway was out and I didn't have time to run across town to another store. So I bought the Safeway brand. When will I learn? The noodles were gummy when cooked through so I mixed a little butter through to keep them from sticking together. It didn't work. They ended up blobbing together and didn't hold the sauce of the goulash at all. Yes, blobbing is the best description...

People who say the store brand is the same as the name brands do not have my standards, I guess!

3. I have determined that I am going to enjoy being unemployed. Actually, I am officially unemployed but I do work for Tom's law practice. It is not consistent, so I find myself sitting at the computer "just in case" something comes up that he wants me to do. I end up surfing the net, reading all day. Getting stiff and headachy. It is making me anxious and depressed.

So now I am "scheduling" other activities, like housework and going to the gym. When work comes up, I do it. Otherwise I have a list of things to accomplish. I feel much better about my days this week. Now I just need to get Tom to be less irritated that I am not always at his beck and call...

4. Got my hair cut today - back to a basic bob. I grow it long because Tom likes it, but then I keep it pulled up all the time to get it out of the way. More asserting of me going on! Plus I had so much length cut off that the hair will be donated to a Locks of Love type organization which makes wigs for women. Hope they like the silver hair!

5. We survived the high school drama program devoted to AIDS and other world issues all done with music, dance and media projections. Very full of high school drama student ANGST. Actually, many of the 20 scenes were quite well done. Of course, we had stopped in for a few glasses of wine with fellow drama parents before we went over...

6. Ally's current boyfriend is not one for dances, so I got out of the dreaded shopping excursion for a suitable Homecoming Dance dress. I really must slip that boy a few bucks in appreciation.

7. Reading a murder mystery for book club meeting coming up. It is called Dissolution. Set in Tudor England at the time the monasteries were being dissolved and the new Church of England was being formed. I don't usually enjoy murder mysteries, but the setting makes it intriguing. I am enjoying it.

WHY INSURANCE IN THE FIRST PLACE?

I am glad that all these stories about the abuses of health insurance companies are getting a lot of press. First a 4 month old breastfed baby that is denied coverage for being overweight. Then a toddler is denied coverage for being underweight. I am math impaired and even I realize that not everyone will fit into the 50th percentile!

And I can't believe we need to legislate to force coverage of battered women. Insurance companies have long charged more for coverage for women because we actually go to the doctor (as opposed to men who apparently fix everything with duct tape!)

My dad was in the life insurance business and I always understood that the money was paid in by everyone and then distributed on those who needed it. It is not supposed to be pay as you go. It is pooled and then used, the companies are sort of gambling that more people pay in than need it paid out. If they want to charge based on actual use, why have an insurance company in the middle of the transaction?

Right now we are paying $1350 per month for our HMO. We also have a $30.00 co-pay each time we see a doctor and $10.-30. for labs and prescriptions. I often wonder if we banked that $16,200. per year and just paid cash for our actual use if we wouldn't come out ahead. I believe they have policies for catastrophic care to cover a serious illness or injury. I'll bet we would be ahead if we did it. Considering that our cost for the same plan was $800.00 a month 5 years ago and is going up so much every year - we may just do it.

The health care industry has gotten like the banks. There are so many layers of profit built in that the actual cost of a doctor visit or a test or a treatment is jacked up by all the hands out expecting their cut.

I had a doctor about 18 years ago who did his own lab work, right there in the office. He did x-rays, too. He did house calls for his elderly patients. He got driven out of business by the insurance companies. They didn't want him to do his lab work. They wanted him to use the labs they operated. He said the insurance companies were so invasive that it got to the point that he couldn't run his practice the way he wanted and he closed it down and went into teaching. He was the best doctor I ever had. The kind of doctor I am afraid we will never get to have again.

PRIZE SHOES

I had the great good fortune to win a giveaway from The Woman's Colony a few weeks ago. It was a $200.00 gift card to Piperlime, an online store for shoes, bags and clothing.

I made that money stretch to cover 3 pairs of shoes!

These peep toe flats show off my red toes, but are they too long? I'm thinking when they loosen up, my toes will move forward a bit.

These giraffe patterned shoes will go well with my brown dress and, of course, all my black. I just love the texture.

These black shoes have a bit of a heel and are leather, suede and patent leather. Very elegant.

I looked at every shoe on the site, and believe me, I had about 10 of them in my basket and took a lot of time before I made the selections. These are the perfect additions to my summer flip flop collection and winter Merrills. I drooled over all the gorgeous pumps my feet no longer allow me to wear and the darling boots which make no sense in California. I hope the ladies of the Colony approve of my selections...

7 QUICK TAKES FRIDAY

1. I have this fantasy that we human beings could be self-cleaning, just like the oven. Throw back the covers in the morning and we are showered, shaven and shampooed. Just style and go!

2. My job search has stalled out. Careerbuilders.com appears to think so, too. Instead of an e-mail with job postings, I had one inviting me to check out other job options based on my skills and resume. I have a law degree, a journalism degree. I have worked in marketing and customer service for the most part.

I answered 6 questions. In dictating my interest in law, politics, writing, problem solving, interpersonal skills and the like. The list of careers that I should pursue included: Anesthesiologist, Electrical Equipment Assembler, Fish and Game Warden, Cashier and Geographer. Even Netflix does a better job of matching my interests!

3. I didn't realize that the Bible was up for revision. Just think of the possibilities. It could be revised women to remove the bias toward men. By perverts to make their kinks the norm. By PETA to ban the eating and wearing of animals. The mind boggles

4. My son called to say he had come up with the answer to a proof presented by one of his math professors which no previous student had ever been able to answer. GO MATH.

5. Shoes I chose with my Piperlime gift card from the Women's Colony gift card are on the way, will post early next week when I have tried them on!

6. This morning on The Today show they were talking about NASA's project to blast free some of the surface of the moon to gather more information on it's make-up. The "news team" cracked jokes and showed cartoons and said something along the lines of "hope they find out what they are looking for." I grew up in the 60's when we all took great pride in what NASA was doing and saw them as us. The can do spirit of this country. Too bad the cynics are taking over everything.

7. We are expecting rain on Monday. I plan to get the garden ready for it and start closing up my outdoor mosaic studio. Have a great weekend.

SILVER WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Tom and I were married on October 7, 1984. It wasn't the wedding of our dreams. We were so broke that our honeymoon was spent in my parent's Tahoe cabin, a place Tom didn't even like to visit.

He borrowed the money for his part of the wedding expenses, including the ring I still wear. No engagement ring.

My mom and I made my dress. It was pink silk with an ivory lace overlay. Our wedding colors were pink, violet and gray - very 80's. We had our wedding in a small park with a violin and flute playing music. The reception was on the patio of a restaurant next to the park. We had a DJ playing music and an open bar - my Dad's big splurge. We danced to the Beatles song "I Will" and Jackson Browne's song "Lawyers in Love."

My mom and I made little baskets with violets in them for the tables. Even though I asked the florist for no mums in my bouquet - it was mostly mums, but it was pretty. We planned a menu to be passed on trays as the reception was meant to be cocktail party style. The restaurant, instead, made a buffet so we ran out of food. That is why people hire wedding planners! Anyway, the cake was good - lemon with a basket weave design and violets.

My dad gave us some lovely toasting glasses which still reside in my china cabinet. Doves at the base of the stem. I am taking them to the restaurant we are going to tonight as a surprise for Tom.

We were watching some show about weddings and Tom surprised me by saying someday we should renew our vows and really "do it right." For 25 years I think we have been doing it right already. But I would never turn down a chance to celebrate that!

WHAT WERE YOU DOING 25 YEARS AGO?

The weather is turning, temperatures coming down. Chilly nights, sweaters in the morning. The trees are just barely showing a new yellowish tinge. It takes a long time for them all to drop their leaves in our mild, mixed messages climate. One day we have a high of 68 two days later is it 82.

When I was planning my October wedding I felt completely confident that I didn't need a rain plan. We held the ceremony and the reception outdoors. By the late afternoon start it was so warm the flowers we had decorated with were drooping, the ribboned strings of bells we had hung from the arbors were silent in the still, warm air.

Twenty-five years ago today, I met my mother-in-law for the first time. My friends and family were gathering. We had a casual "rehearsal" dinner in front of the TV - the baseball play-offs were heating up and we took pictures saying "Cubbies" instead of "cheese" in deference to our best man. (We were actually San Diego fans.) Twenty-five years ago today was my last day as a single woman. I slept in my childhood room that night.

The next day I was married at the foot of the Bufano sculpture shown here!