Sometimes I wonder if anybody is reading this. Besides Rocky. I feel like I can yell HELLO and it's going to echo around an empty room. So, if it's not being read, am I simply using an exotic way to talk to myself? Maybe.

Wow. It's been a hectic week for me. And it's only going to speed up, lol. I've been rushing to finish my vinyl for the popup camper (I'm redoing the ends cause they had holes and were leaking) and I'm not even close to being finished. But that's ok. I'm going to stay in my mom's basement until approximately the 18 of December. Why the 18th? Well, because that's the projected date of my brother arriving. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't hate my brother. I simply can't stand him. We used to be friends at least, but apparently over the past year I've become one of the bad guys. What that means to me is that it doesn't matter what I do or what I've done it's not right. So, when I quit smoking, it was "Great you quit smoking, but....". There's always that "but". The last fight we had was thru e-mail. Basically he told me what he felt I should do and because I didn't agree I was wrong. Then it got to where I had to say something about the fact he never listens to me when I need to go on about stuff but I always listened to him and of course, that was wrong. I shouldn't have "enabled" that. Of course, at the time if I didn't listen that was because I was wrong and didn't love him. I went thru the same type of crap with my ex-husband. It didn't matter what I did because if it was my plan, my idea, it was wrong. I feel that I've made some great steps towards being independent. Right now I'm not getting any child support out of my ex-husband and I'm subsisting on my disability alone. I am improving my camper so that I won't need an electrical hookup to get by, meaning I'll be able to camp for free or almost free in a lot of places. Once my brother is gone, I'll come back here prolly until January. I might go to Arkansas for a bit then. I have to stay kind of close to home until April, when Blair's baby is due.

The vinyl is a big project and it's backbreaking work cause the pieces are so big and I can't crawl around on the floor if I want to be able to get up again. My knees and back don't like that sort of thing anymore. It's almost done tho and I think once it's put up it will look much nicer than that old vinyl that was there. It was the original vinyl from 1973 and it was crusty looking, heheh. I got the vinyl from this place that sells bolts of vinyl and other odd fabrics. You can check it out at http://www.ahh.biz/products/fabric%20military%20tent%20FTM014.htm . The specs on it are incredible. They say:

Weighs 14 oz. per square yard. It has a grab tensile strength of 340 lbs, a hydrostatic resistance of 500 pounds per square inch and a flame resistance
of 1X1 second (flame will be extinguished in 1 second, when removed from
flame source, if you attempt to set it on fire). Guaranteed for use in
temperature ranges from -40 F (40 below zero) to 150 F; This fabric is
mildew resistant, UV protected, Totally Water Proof and rated for constant
and prolonged outdoor use. It consists of a woven Polyester base fabric
Coated with a Specialized Vinyl. The Vinyl coating on this material is
formulated with an Infrared (IR) blocking substance; designed to make it
almost invisible to aircraft and satellites utilizing Infrared imaging
devices.

I have to say it's pretty easy to hand stitch (I'm using a sewing awl) and I'll find out how it works under the machine once I've got the major seams done. I'm using a heavier weight thread for the hand sewing than I can use with the machine for the seams that are critical. The machine sewing will just be to pretty it up, make it look nice and neat. Also, I checked on the prices and specs for marine vinyl, which is the next best thing. Not even CLOSE to this stuff, but still around the same price per yard. So of course I went with the military vinyl. If you don't believe me, check for yourself!

Here it is, early Monday morning, the Monday after Thanksgiving. Yes, I was bloated with turkey, mashed potatoes, corn and giblet gravy. It was sweet. But I haven't simply been in a turkey coma all this time. I've been working on stuff. I'm a member of a group on yahoo called Freecycle. What the people do there is if they have something to give away (free) they post it then once contacted by somebody who wants it the person then goes and gets it. Or if a person needs something they post their need and then if anybody can help them out they contact the person to let them know. I've given away a couch and a doll on there, gotten a couple of non-working hard drives and this time I hit the jackpot. This posting came up that a school was giving away all their old systems to the first person to call. I called first. They had a TON of stuff. I'm still going thru it all. I've identified 5 working systems out of the 9 they sent with me. I've used the parts from the non-working ones to beef up the working ones (these are all 300 mhz cpu or slower). They also sent quite a few monitors and some printers. I've given one to a guy I know who was running a 233 so he got the 300. I went over to his place and I swapped it all out for him. Increased his ram too. It's not speed racer or anything, but it's quite a bit better than what he was working with. I have a 233 I'm fixing up for Blair. I won't put too many details about it cause she reads this and I want the modifications I'm making to the case to be a surprise. It won't be a fast system but it will be good for typing up papers and such. I'm earmarking the other 233 mhz machine for my daughter's friend Johnica. I always told Johnica that if I had the parts I'd build her a computer. And now it's almost done. She will get a printer, monitor, keyboard and mouse for it. She won't be able to go online with it, but it will be good for typing up homework and stuff. Plus, it will be hers. Her family doesn't even have a computer right now, she has to go to her aunt's house to use one. So this will be very cool for her. And then the 120 mhz machine I'm going to give to my ex-gf. She's gone back to college and has a laptop but the laptop was given to her and it has some heat issues. So, I figured I'd give her a desktop that's slow but that she can use to write her papers and stuff on so she doesn't have to use the laptop and risk overheating. So yeah, I've been wading thru a TON of dirty, dusty, old computer parts. I've not been this happy in YEARS. I was a computer technician for a while, ran my dad's store here in town. I never realized how much I miss working on computer systems. These old systems are so easy I can almost do it with my eyes closed in some cases, lol. Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm saving all the old housings from the systems for my friend NTL in Missouri. He makes wind generators and uses a bit of scrap sheet metal. I figured this would be some nice smaller chunks of sheet for him without him having to go to the junkyard.

Now, on to what I saw that really pissed me off.

DENVER (AP) - A homeowners association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace
sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan.
Some residents who have complained have children serving in Iraq, said Bob Kearns, president of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs. He said
some residents have also believed it was a symbol of Satan. Three or four
residents complained, he said.
"Somebody could put up signs that say drop bombs on Iraq. If you let one go up you have to let them all go up," he said in a telephone interview Sunday.
Lisa Jensen said she wasn't thinking of the war when she hung the wreath. She said, "Peace is way bigger than not being at war. This is a spiritual thing."
Jensen, a past association president, calculates the fines will cost her about $1,000, and doubts they will be able to make her pay. But she said she's not going to take it down until after Christmas.
"Now that it has come to this I feel I can't get bullied," she said. "What if they don't like my Santa Claus."
The association in this 200-home subdivision 270 miles southwest of Denver has sent a letter to her saying that residents were offended by the sign and the board "will not allow signs, flags etc. that can be considered divisive."
The subdivision's rules say no signs, billboards or advertising are permitted without the consent of the architectural control committee.
Kearns ordered the committee to require Jensen to remove the wreath, but members refused after concluding that it was merely a seasonal symbol that didn't say anything. Kearns fired all five committee members.

Ok, sorry AP, I cut and pasted your story. But this just really chapped my ***. This guy Kearns obviously needs to take whatever is stuck up his *** and pull it out. Now. Like if it's his head that would explain the whole thing. Lack of oxygen makes you do stupid stuff. Now, I do understand all about these communities that have the resident's rules and regs, but this is insane. It's obvious that this guy has some sort of vendetta against Ms. Jensen. I can't see any other reason for that sort of irrational behaviour. The whole idea of Christmas is Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men. Right? And even if it's just a "seasonal wreath" with no Christian connotations, then what is that supposed to mean???? More War in Iraq? Keep our kids on the firing line? Let's worship Satan? I think this guy Kearns needs some serious psychotherapy and some of the good drugs. Maybe even a Thorazine drip. I am enough of a weirdo that I can safely say I'd NEVER live in a community where they could tell me what color my house could be. EVER. I tried for years and years to be "normal". Once I finally stopped and realized that I'm never going to be "normal" or "like everyone else" I began to revel in my uniqueness. And I do mean revel. I always knew when people called me unique they meant weird. It was a given. Now, I earn every bit of the word WEIRD. And I'm much happier this way. I am who I am and I don't care what anybody else thinks. It's a good thing.