FINALLY DONE!!!!

Xmas decorating outside and in!




Here's the final take on the outside...the penguins won!

This was last year's sign and is being used again for this year. I loved the penguins that I had found on some clip art on the net and modified them to suit my shop's need...........which is more workers  ;)

Although the last fat dude doesn't look like he's much help...

he's probably the one booking in sick...;}

Here's where I stuck them...

And this is what they look like all together in their blurriness....

Before you enter here's what my Xmas Village looks like from the outside...

I have more houses but can't line them up on the other side due to the fact that it's my cat's window and she hates me mucking up where she looks out on the world...;) and that I have the shelves for sign pick-up there too...


Anyways....here's my entrance way [porch] before you enter the actual shop...

You can take maybe three steps inside this area and that's all! One has to keep in mind the space that I have to work with to house all of my collectibles and displaying them tends to make it all look cluttered. I know I don't have to show everything that I have but if I can't enjoy all of it, all of the time then why bother having them at all? Besides if I had a bigger place I would need more stuff....hmmmmm


So here goes...

This is what it looks like in the morning light

I just love the soft glow through the window as I work on the computer...

My kids have given me most of the house sets through the years and I loved displaying them on my window ledges...

With only one ledge, I display the rest on my glass topped display case. Which, if you noticed, has a big piece missing out of it. That was a heavy item hitting it and broke it off...kind of scary at the time. I blunted the edge by filing it and have covered the edge with clear hockey tape for my cat's safety. She loves rubbing her face on the edge. Haven't seen any blood so it must be working.


Along with my houses I picked up this beautiful [no chips/cracks,etc] 30" tall winter scene pillar, which lights up....at a garage sale in 2009 for 5.00!

It has penguins, polar bears and Santa on it...I love it, I think it goes perfect with my village

Another thing I like and always wanted but never got because it was a "boy's" toy....is a train set! I begged this toy from my son-in-law and it is a MacDonald's collectible from 1998...the train from the movie "Anastasia"...

My other fav is the M & M characters...

Stockings seems to have snuck in also...when one picks up xmas stuff in garage sales, one usual gets more if it's in a box of stuff, which most are....:)

And for a warning to any kids...;}

[just kidding]

So it's time to enter the main work shop...

One of my new purchases...6 beaded white owls which represents my son, daughter, son-in-law, 2 grand kids and me...:) Also the wrapping paper & purple garland are new. The bear ornament represents my sister "Eener" and me as the Xmas tree holding her up [awwwwww] ;)






And as usual you will have to wait for the shop pics...

DECK THE HALLS...

Not with boughs of holly...

I used the faux pine wire ones...;)


Fa,la,la...yada, yada




Well I'm finally getting around [business is slowing down AGAIN] to posting my pictures of all of my outside Xmas decor...taken in the daylight. You already got to see the blurry night ones...;}


I love the sparkle of the Xmas lights at night but like to see a display in the day light.

Most who have the inflatable displays don't run them during the day...who can blame them! I saw dollar signs coming off of my Halloween one and decided then, not to donate more money to the power company and buy any more! Bad enough I need their power to run my lights now...candle power is just not the same...;} The wire animal/tree ones are okay but if you have a lot of snow like we normally get, they kind of blend in during the day time...;(


I'm not one for over-doing the lights either...don't care much for the blinding mini light displays!

So I opted for more of a visual day time one with a night enhancement of a combination of the soft glow of a yellowish white mini lights for the snowy FX of winter and the blue-white of the bigger LED bulbs intertwined with smaller LED red ones.


My dream when moving into this place was to do the "Gingerbread House" for Halloween...I think I mentioned this once or twice [three] before. So when I decorate for Halloween I can put up the candy canes without the pine boughs. I will be making big candies during the summer months...see planning already :)




Anyways....here's this year's Winter Workshop somewhere near the north pole...

Still not quite finished yet...undecided whether I want penguins or gingerbread men or just leave it alone? There is 14 days left til Xmas....


I don't like the space between the door and garage door...needs something inspirational?

Notice the front slope...

I cured my problem of the slippery hill! The steps [on the left] I put in this summer, helps when I have to unload my groceries. I still have to shovel the hill for any wheelchair access...:}?

The mound of snow in the middle is to cover the hidden danger of how the two meet...it would be dangerous otherwise...too uneven...okay in the summer

Plus I have to give the dog next door somewhere to mark his territory so he won't be doing it on my decorations...Grrr


Here's another great blurry close-up...

[you know... I NEVER have to worry about anyone stealing my pics...they're to blurry...;) ]

Clear as mud right...looks pretty busy inside to me and yes, it is!

Painting the door red was a good move for this setting...:)

Notice the first bit of Halloween peeking out [bottom left]...you will see bits of it left out. I truly can't be without that weird part of me peeking out somewhere in my domain. This drove the Ex nuts...:)

So, are you ready to see the rest of this busy nightmare....

Enter

Due to more interuptions by the stupid me computer....will have to wait AGAIN for the next post

XMAS PROJECTS...

All you fans out there know that I love Halloween! Xmas runs a close second in my heart.

Well I try hard to combine the two together because I just hate leaving Halloween out anywhere!...:)

Come to think of it...it stays with me in my decor throughout the other seasons too..hmmm


Anyways...




This building's exterior is really old [80-90ish] and has a different look that kind of appeals to me...;)

I have dreamt of it as a creepy kind of gingerbread style of house that the old witch lives in...bwaaaa...:}


Gotta keep up appearances...;}




Anyways...


I am not getting any younger and decided this was the year to do it....so I started with my first project in November...the candy cane tubes for my "Gingerbread House"!


These tubes come from my vinyl rolls and I have been over-run with them! They aren't the nicest things to store...yada, yada...


So have lots of vinyl scraps hanging around too [can't throw nothing away] I covered them in red and added white and green reflective stripes. The reflective didn't work to good for me as they are above the headlights and didn't shine like I wanted them to. Oh, well...deep sigh...;(


But they do shine when you don't want them to...

Cameras like reflective stuff! They focus only on that object and blurs out the rest...at least that's what I have discovered when taking shots with it in them. Like my Halloween photos!


I had jigsawed some of the tubes in half [lengthwise] and cut out 1" section for the corner canes. I fastened them to the windows and doorways with two screws.


I made LOTS of these. This was my "sit-in-front-of-the-TV-while-doing-this-at-night" project for almost a whole week!


If that wasn't enough I added these...

You know those pesky wrapping paper rolls [can't throw away either]...they got wrapped in red vinyl and got a white stripe too!


I've started to add something extra to my outside decor...a warning to my vandals

"Cursed if Stolen" with a pentagram symbol beside it.


Most call me a witch to my back...so why not utilize it?


It should give them a laugh but deep down inside the damage is done when they read it...a mental blow, so to speak...;)...bwaaaaa


Yes, I have already been vandalized once already....grrrrrrrrr 


The sweet little darlings swiped a 18" long flower arrangement that I paid 50 cents for at a garage sale last year. I had placed it too close to the roadway and it was a case of a hit-and-run-grab. They tried to take the candy candy lit fence, only I had secured it to the tree trying to growing near the sidewalk...;) They had pulled it out into the street but couldn't go any farther! They did take one cane that wasn't lit and bent the wires holding the others up. All was fixable!

My camera was dead at that time so no photo.


And NO I hadn't cursed that object...but I do now!!!....;}


And with those cane sticks I added "Snow Jewels"...

I scarfed this idea from a post that I don't recall right now [bad me] and decided it would look good with my canes. The ones that she made were pretty big and I only wanted small ones. Besides it takes one day to freeze the little ones...so it is a long project. Longer if you only use the outside cold to do it! It's pretty cold here lately but not that bad. I would use a freezer instead but  mine was too small. Each container took 5-8 drops of food coloring. I used a different shape to make them look like jewels?


They do have a down side...they melt when the sun shines on them...;(

I also secured these guys too! I had visions of red and green missals being chucked at passing vehicles [not by me]...so I froze them in with water. They also get frosty/snowy and spraying them enhances their color. Plus more ice! I'll have to chip them way before they leak their color after Xmas.


I do like how they look and they are all still where I put them...

Notice I just HAD to get into the picture...;}

Keeping the decor company is my poor sad cat ornament...

Had to put a big bow on him cause some Ahole put a hole in his chest!...Grrrrr




My other project was to deal with my garage door which I had painted this summer. The sunrise horizon stuck out pretty good and didn't suit my theme. How does one hide or deal with that...

Yup...add a whole bunch of presents!


Most of these were already wrapped from last year...cause I don't throw nothin' away


And all of these will house my decor later, when put away... partially wrapped boxes that is! Some that are kept permanently are fully wrapped.

The taller snow jewels are lined up front and I am not quite finished yet.


The "Present Tree" was put together in three sections and I barely got them out of my work room through the doorway...;}


I secured this tower together with wire, added the lit canes and the pine garland as sort of a fence, corralling them in. I wanted to add some dolls and such, to the gifts, but couldn't find any...my grand kids are too old for toys? Will look at garage sales this coming year...;) I did add two metal trains tho.


Again the other gifts that I will put loosely around the place outside [this weekend] will not blow away, because these are wrapped presents for the garbage man [after Xmas is over]...soiled cat litter!




And if that wasn't enough to do...I had to pick up a 14" tall unpainted ceramic Santa at a garage sale this year for 2.00 and I am trying to paint it...

I do mean trying!


My inner sancutary color this year is the red & purple associated with the "Red Lady" theme. This is in celebration of the older woman in her 50/60's and such. So my Santa will reflect that cause in it's colors. His coat/hat/pants might look dark blue to you but it is not. It is a rich purple with a pearlized look. Red will go on the mitts/boots and lips.


I've already been kicked off this computer once today trying to do this blog so you will have to wait for the outside pic for the next blog...

XMAS 2010 DECOR...

What it looks like at night through my new camera...

I call it my "Winter Wonderland Work Shop"

It's not quite finished yet...the huge Orb by my "Warm Wishes" sign needs something on it and I still have to change the colored lights in it to clear ones. I had planned the lights on the "Present Tree" to outline a Xmas Tree, but my mini lights went missing from the Symposium in September, so I have to make do with whatever shape you see in it...with a star on top...;(


And I might add busy penguins or gingerbread people...not sure how much time is left before my enthusiasim runs out...






Did get a closer look for you...

Kind of looks like you are seeing it through my blurry eyes without glasses...;}


I'm still trying to work with all of the camera's fancy do-dad stuff! Definitely not technosavy me!


Some might be the fault of the reflective white and green stripes on the candy cane decor?

Or an unsteady hand...

I vote for the hand...;{


Anyways...


This is a close-up of the projects that I have worked on for this display...

I made candy cane sticks for the fence...

Lined with red & green candy drops...

And candy cane tubes for the window/door/garage outlines...


But you get to see them in the daylight in the next post...;)


Here's another great blurry close-up...

Curious how it really looks...?




Stay tuned...

MY FIRST XMAS DECOR...

I moved out of our family home right after graduation [69] as things at home weren't going so well with me and the stepmother. Something about no freedom, paying rent but living under harsh restrictions....you know how the young are and I wasn't any different...;}


Young and naive, all I could afford [saved wages from part-time jobs while in school] was the basement 9x9 room in my older sisters house. I went from one nightmare to another it seems but that's not what this blog is all about. It is about my first start on MY OWN decor in my own home room! I was the chief decorator [as in, do all the work] in my family home during Xmas time, with strict rules from the stepmother! These didn't always go well with what I wanted to do...;{


With little cash from frivolous things I managed to scrape together this little thing...

Back in 69 I don't remember there being artificial trees and if there was, they probably were expensive. My sister's complaint was about fire hazards and the cost of extra electricity...I was supposed to be happy with hers? I know I didn't live there long! This too, was another unhappy story better left unsaid...;(


Did have lots of other places and my decor did grow...not a lot at first as I moved around way too much to want to cart too many boxes. The decor hording started when I started my family.


One of my fondest memory I have of my mom, was watching her decorate the house for Xmas. Being poor, we couldn't afford decorations and I remember her decor even today. It was always the same way, that never changed, only the material that she used. It was the sparkle of the tinsel that she used, that caught my eye the most. Plus the care that she took while doing it...placed so lovingly!


There was a permanent hook in the center of the living room ceiling. She would gently swag 4 streamers [the crepe ones] to the four corners of the room. Then she would take 1 strand of tinsel and drape it over the streamers about 1 inch apart...they looked like icicles! Then she would place those honey-comb [wedding] bells in the four corners and in the center. The streamers were always red. I do recall her changing them after awhile to the tight curly foil style that has come back into style once again. The tinsel draping was always the same. As for the walls she strung string to hold all of the cards that we got, so many, that there were two rows sometimes. This might have been a 10 x 10 foot room?

I believe this is where my addiction started for decorating. My Xmas weren't always the happy events that most were...too much alcohol involved...;( 

But the glitter seemed to take the harshness away...kind of like living in a fantasy world.

Glitter made me happy....


So, if I can bring happiness with glittery decor....I am certainly going to try!


LOTS OF IT!...;}


This was my general style when we lived out on the farm [17 miles west of Dodge]...

These pictures were take in 98 with my first Xmas with a grandchild...:)

The living was much of the same draping of the windows and large mirror plus the archway. I loved doing the stairs the most. The lights hanging from the stairwell made it look so magical and AJ was completely mesmerized by them.

In the beginning there really wasn't a collection started but after awhile, I noticed a preference for Santas, trains and snowmen. Also my power symbol is the snow flake, so I use it a lot!

Being on the farm we had lots of wheat growing around so I used bunches of it for floral arrangements...very rustic like. I don't do rustic much anymore!

I'm more into Santa...as noted in last years post.

As of date I have 75 of them! From tiny [1/2"] to large [3']

Stay tuned for Santa's Workshop....somewhere near the north pole [Dodge]...

AND THE BITCHIN CONTINUES...

This was emailed to me yesterday by SewLady & Tank, challenging me to email it to any 3 friends...

How about the world on blog...


This topic covers what I have been saying for years about aid going out of OUR country, when our poverty level says the same....or worse!

I, too, am heading for the retirement time and this is what I have to look forward to...


:(




Here's the story from someone Else's view...






                  We got $3.11 extra on the Nov OAP. That will buy a loaf of
bread.  Even if you only eat 1 slice a day, it wont last a whole month!!

                  Remember  this when you cast your ballot both federally
and provincially - both should be coming up soon  - (just how soon ??)

                  As a raise last year, seniors got 2/5th of 1% on their
Canada Pension and 0% on the Old Age Security.  This won't even scratch the
raise in taxes that McGuinty levied, what Premier Campbell's doing in B.C
with the 12% HST and other user fees. We're "broke" & can't help our own
seniors, Homeless, Veterans, Orphans, etc.????? This is so pathetically
true... in the last months we have provided aid to Haiti, Chile, and Turkey.
Now Pakistan, the same people that will turn around and build the I.E.D.'s
that kills our troops. Also another boat load of refugees has arrived from
Sri Lanka that will get aid that should go to the CANADIAN people that have
worked all their lives to make this the country it is today Our retired
seniors living on fixed income receive no aid while our government and
religious organizations pour hundreds of millions of dollars and tons of
food to foreign countries. We have hundreds of adoptable children who are
shoved aside to make room for the adoption of foreign orphans.
Why are so many CANADIAN citizens, and the CANADIAN government, so star
struck they won't provide for our own?

                  CANADA: a country where we have homeless without shelter,
children going to bed without  eating, elderly going without needed meds,
and mentally ill without treatment - yet we have a benefit for the people of
Haiti on 12 TV stations, ships and planes lining up with food, water, tents,
clothes, bedding, doctors and medical supplies. Imagine if we gave ourselves
the same support that we gave all of these other countries.  I feel bad for
them, but I also care about CANADA and our seniors who developed this great
country, only to be forgotten.

                  Sad isn't it?


So, so true! 




Here is another example of what goes on right here in Dodge...


What faced me in my mailbox yesterday....

The free paper with a colored picture of our Grade 2 class and how proud they were that they accomplished sending 100 boxes to the "Samaritian Purse" organization which runs the "Operation Christmas Child". These are shoes boxes filled with happines for some poor child who may not recieve anything for xmas! Which is a great idea... if they had included a box for a CANADIAN POOR CHILD, but they didn't!

These go to children ACROSS THE WORLD that need it more than ours?

WHATS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE!

PoD and I have been fighting this project since my kids were in school here! 

I am all for a child learning to give freely....it is a great message!

What message our school is sending, is that...OUR POOR doesn't count!




And really.....who is to say that they [100 boxex] will make it to those kids anyways?




I don't say that we don't do anything else here...they do as much as they can with a Food Bank and Xmas Hampers for those who need it. I will give freely to those and do!


All This time of the year I am over run with having to support ALL of the communtiy sport/charity events with a small [?] door prize. In which I am rewarded with a small mention in the news letter...if I am not for gotten [which has happened....oops, sorry] that is! Must remember to add that I am supposed to benefit with a tax write-off.... that's harder to use on your taxes than you think!


Who gets away with not having to put out for these [door prizes], besides their attending the function [which most don't], is the private sector! Seldom do you see a family donation to the thank you list!








Good start for Dec 1....huh?




Did plan on a picture of "old time decorating" to be the first post but bitchin got in the way instead...;(




Maybe tomorrow....


Stay tuned for "Xmas Decorating" with lots minimal bitchin....

BLACK FRIDAY

Going shopping today [8:30 am]...gonna see whether buying new charger for camera [60.00] or get a NEW camera! Better be a good deal or the money don't leave the pocket...;)!


Gonna wear black too!






On another black note....




As per a REQUEST from a faithful follower, I am posting her DARKSIDE ZODIAC. Which is Gemini. I have relatives that are from that zodiac also, so it's an interesting read!




ALL must remember these are not MY words!

These are NOT my opinions either!

Nor do I take them to be a true read, for how would someone know all that about everyone? Everyone is brought up differently and I feel that makes a BIG  difference in your personality. Plus one also must come up with a good idea to sell books now days with the net and all!


So.....


You got a complaint, take it up with the authoress Stella Hyde.


There are some points in mine that really ticks me off and I'd like to slap her upside the head!

I do wonder how she comes by some of these thoughts and whether she has any friends left?






YOU ARE WARNED......I don't want to lose one of my friends and one of the few commentators to my blog! My family/friends knows who I am and how I feel...I would NEVER accept this at face valve!






WARNING:






"Gemini: May 22 - June 21


Gemini is a masculine mutable Air sign, ruled by the planet Mercury. It is the third sign on the zodiac wheel, directly across from Sagittarius, and is named for the Constellation, Gemini [the twins], which constantly ducks and dives behind the sun at this time of the year.
On the darkside this makes you an unreliable, roguish sociopath with a light finger and the attention span of a hyperactive mayfly."


See what I mean!


Want more....?





"Annoying Habits:


Punctuality: You're rarely late but never stay long since you are usually on your way to somewhere else that you think might be more interesting or stuffed with classier celebs.
Toothpaste: You have a shiny new electric toothbrush "borrowed" from somewhere, and toothpaste picked up from unguarded retail displays-you didn't pay for it, so why would you give a damn about how it is squeezed!
Temper Gauge: 0 to boiling point in five seconds, inventive invective, blistering bitchery, then back down again in two, mostly because your attention has wandered off. You prefer to get even, not mad.


Personality: feckless, reckless, two-faced. Brightside you is famous for your irresistible charm and sprightly wit. But you [and I] know that it's all a facade isn't it? It's all sparky patter to shift the eyes of the gullible away from what your really up to."

There is much more cause she goes on a lot.




Next...


Bitch Rating: A++. We bow to the zodiac's Bitch Queen. Your lightning rapier zigzags with such sparkling wit and style that many bitches don't know they have been slashed for at least three weeks; and your apologies are always so transparently heartfelt and sincere.


Favorite Deadly Sin: Oh, come on! Only one deadly sin? For you, the dilettante of depravity? I don't think so. You need at least four: two for each twin. What to choose? Pride, for sure, although you prefer to use its other name, Vanity [you know you look good so why not say so?]; Lust, because it is fun; Envy [why should the rich have all the nice, shiny things? Indeed, why should anybody have anything you want? And Greed. Greed is good. What's wrong with wanting it all?


Blame your planet Mercury! Mercury is a small dense busybody that scurries sycophantically around the sun in just 88 days, practically joined at the hip with our local star. It doesn't mind the heat just as long as it can be self-important in the kitchen."

A lot of her predictions have to be calculated with what time of day you were born...etc.




So Gemini....if you want more you got to leave a comment and I'll send you what else she has to say that you won't like...;{

WHERE DID IT GO?

The Age of Innocence....

AJ...her first day of school...Kindergarten

A look of excitement...

Yet a bit apprehensive...but there's a sparkle in those eyes!

A hint of a smile...

She may have HAD a few weeks of happiness...
who knows for sure?

Her life at school has been one from hell since!


She is being bullied by one boy and shunned by most of the kids in her school!

As of today, she cries herself to sleep most nights...wondering what she has done wrong to deserve the hurts that she receives daily from her classmates, especially from one certain boy! It's hard enough being a bully's main focal point, but if you have no moral/physical support from your own sex in your grade [or others]...life sucks big time!

She says that she has a couple of friends that live out on farms but PoD sees no activity from these friends [?] outside of school and when your daughter says that she spends all of her time alone or in the library filing books during her spare times, things don't add up to any social life in school either!

All you lonely adults out there know what I am talking about...try being a teenage hormonal girl and all alone [family doesn't count]! Things can get serious if not seen to!

HER CRIME RIGHT NOW:

She's almost 6' tall and is dangerously overweight in a classroom of SCARY THIN girls! [Most are screaming right now..."quit using the "fat" as an excuse", but in this case it's TRUE!] Thinness rules in this town as I have found thru my own experiences, worse so in the girls in our school! One is even on the "Anorexic" watch list...that's how bad it is!

HER CRIME IN THE BEGINNING: [Kindergarten onward]

She was classified as being "slow witted" [?] by the boy who was tormenting her and the rest of his classmates [plus some town people]? Her problems were; Dyslexia, which makes learning things harder for her due to all the visual confusion of letters and words, she had some slight visual problems which were correctable by glasses, hearing impairment [which required tubes being put in] and the fact that she was taller/bigger than most her age. All of this led to her being very quiet and very shy. She was afraid to talk in case she made a fool out of herself. This helped to labeled her as "retarded" [?] by some?

From the beginning she needed special teaching help to cope with the Dyslexia and that helped to set her apart immediately from the rest of her class. Thing is...she will never be "cured" from the Dyslexia, she will always have it! Yet her grades are excellent and she has never had to be held back...ever! Why hasn't she been recognized for that fact? Maybe it's the fact that she still has to attend these special classes? Her sight and hearing aren't a problem anymore either...so that's not a deterement?

But one could live with those if they were her only problem!




Her worst hell comes from one boy in her class!

Let's start with Kindergarten...

Our naive world of belief in small town niceness, came to a crash one day, when PoD noticed that AJ's body was covered in big bruises...21 of them! Mostly on the legs! That's when she found out about all the torment this boy had putting her through, the latest being throwing rocks at her! Hard enough to leave BIG bruises!

She had been taught not to be a "cry baby" and to fight her own battles. So she tried...

Her response to this boy's torment was just to say nothing and take it! Tattling at that age was not an option for any kid, even in Kindergarten? Sadly Happily bruises tell stories! PoD spoke to the teacher, all was seen to and never happen again...the throwing rocks that is!

Verbal abuse makes no visual marks!

This kid is an expert at meanness!

He has honed his art to a perfection!

A master at his craft and he's only 13 years old!

He did push her too far one day [gr. 2 or 3] and must have got right into her face [plus he was tormenting someone with her] because she retaliated by punching him in the nose [making it bleed]! She had been taught not to hit, but not to take any abuse nor abuse to others either.


He no longer gets that close to her anymore...:)! Sorry...I normally don't condone violence but enough was enough!

A happy time for her was in grade 5 when she was chosen to play "Mary" in an Xmas pageant being held for the seniors, in the senior's hall, only to have that destroyed by him!

All costumes consisted of bath robes and towels for head draping. She looked no different than the other girls, yet was chosen to be tormented by him on the way that she looked, during the bus ride to the place. She had bravely held her tears back until they got there, but could not go in because he had destroyed her confidence in her attire! A tear stained face didn't help either...all would know she had cried! Took lots of talking from PoD and bravery on her side to complete her part in the play with everyone wondering why she had been crying. I knew without being told what had happened and who the culprit was by the smirk on his face through out the whole play!

If looks could have killed...he would have been dead by my eyes alone!

Kids play you say....

Kids will be kids...

They will grow out of it...

I AM FRIGGING TIRED OF HEARING THOSE EXCUSES BY LAME ASS PARENTS OF THESE TYPES OF CHILDREN!!!

For there are many of them!

AJ could probably write a book on "How To Be Tormented And HOPEFULLY  Be Able To Take It"! Sad to say!!!

Let's fast forward to present day torments...[not that I want to belittle all the other experiences she's had to endure...story is long enough] Let's just say they were MAAAAANY!

They are both 13 now...

-Color Purple...a favorite of hers. Looks really good on her, suits her skin tone. Can't wear it anymore. He now calls her "Barney"...whether she wears it or not!

-September...had saved dried "spike pods" just to throw at her! These are hard suckers, some golf ball sized, with pointy spikes that stick to what ever thrown at...they love skin and eyes! Not to mention that can explode on contact, spraying their seeds everywhere! Toxic seeds that is! Picture screaming girl with mouth open and seeds going in...! /:[ His today's past time is reminding her that he has some FROZEN ones with her name on them waiting for her unguarded moment! Whether he really does or not is not the point...the threat is there! Today he adds "Spike Ball" to his name calling. This was due to PoD's talking to his mother [useless venture] and him about the incident. It's now the big joke to him! Can we say bang your head against the wall satisfaction..;(


-She dyed her hair black [which looks good on her] only now her calls her a witch! Sadly it was close to Halloween so that name has stuck too!


-This kid not only torments her but everyone else who gets in his way...you are either in his group or you will get picked on! That is his way! AJ has no girlfriends because most don't want her problems with this kid.


-Can't ride her bike to school anymore because PoD's safety rule makes her wear a bicycle helmut and he loves to torment her more when she does! Let's add "Helmut Head" to the name calling list!


-His usual responses to her are to called her his hateful names to try bring her ego to the ground and they work so well that he has her believing that she is fat, stupid, stinks and is too ugly for anyone to want for a partner.

He has even thrown in the threat of him stabbing her someday!

With a smile in his voice!


If she tries to ignore him, he bugs her until she has to respond someway...hopefully by crying. This means throwing things at her too!


-He so brazen that he even tried to get her attention at a volleyball game, while sitting right in front of us with his buddies! The only one noticing was me [more daggers from my eyes]! He kept calling her name! Happy she never let on that she knew what he was trying to do or if she even knew it at all. The fact is...he did it right in front of us! That's how sure of himself he is that no one can touch him!


And sadly he's right!

He's been kicked out of this school maaaaaaany times!
Been driven to other towns that don't want him in their system either?
Talked with maaaaaaany counselors/teachers/priciples...nothing works with this kid!


Statement from mother of the monster sweet child goes like this...


"If you have any ideas on how to deal with him let me know. I'm out of ideas! I don't know what  I did to raise such a dink like him?" She called him that, not us!


She also said that she gets daily phone calls from the principle about him!


His brother had come home when PoD had called on them and the first statement out of his mouth was..."What has DickHead done now?" Seems dink and dickhead is the normal names for him at home?


What has come out of his mouth to PoD about his treatment of AJ...
"She's not the only one that I bug"
"I don't care what people with authority think about me or tell me to do!"
"I enjoy it!"


ALL SAID IN FRONT OF HIS MOTHER....with big smile on face [probably scary eyed too]!

This is AJ's most recent photo...

Does this look like a face of happiness?

This was the Halloween Dance night. A drastic costume change from the one wore to school. One she had carefully planned. A "Girl of the 70's". A sparkly dress, beads, gawdy tights, high heels and my full length [faux] fur coat. Sounds horrible right? He called her a Hooker! How many of us [guys included] have dressed in that same costume style and not been classified with such distain as she was treated to by him and her classmates because of her costume?


She changed to what you saw in the previous post about Halloween...a "Glamour Girl"


The damage was already done by the sad look on her face that evening...she did try to smile but you could tell it was a strained one!


Now you know what she has/is dealing with...

She has NO self esteem at all, about any part of herself!
She has tried to make friends but every time she tries standing next to some girls they move away from her! They don't even try to disguise it either...they just do it!
She fears for her safety because of the boy's knife threat!
She has nothing but bottled up emotions and says that all she feels is FEAR & ANGER!!!!






What has the school done to help her with the bullying and being a social outcast...


-A young teacher has taken her under her wing during school times and is trying to help build her self esteem back up...but she can't be there all of the time


-They make sure the evil kid sits nowhere near her and are trying to protect her in the hallways!

Other than that...what can they do?

PoD picks her up from school as much as possible...but where's the exercise in that?



The teachers give their usual speeches about "Bullying", what the causes and effects are...but are the kids really listening? Are they even getting it?


This isn't my first time around with this PROBLEM!


PoD's started in Grade 1 [in this town] and continued right up until grade 10! Her crime was being fat and had germs!? She got skinny [gr. 10] and developed an attitude, that was her way of dealing with her tormentors [3 horrible boys and snobby "skinny" girls]! Notice I said "got skinny"...her life changed because she was no longer in that "over weight class" which made her unwantable? As for the germ part...kids do grow up, only the damage was done!

Yah, her classmates have since apologized [you know how I feel about that] for their treatment of her then and feel good about themselves for making amends on their past. It didn't heal her left out feelings though...which is what they had trampled on in the first place!

Guess what...she's still being left out? Why did they apologize only to keep the ignoring on going still? These adults?






For AJ, as of a few days ago...
The troublesome boy's parents have finally received a diagnosis on why he is the way that he is. He has: ODD [Oppositional Defiant Disorder], ADHD [Attention/Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder], OCD [[Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder], Russell-Silver Syndrome [failure to grow syndrome] with a maturity level of a grade 3! [Look them up...you will be amazed! I think most kids must be that way lately! ;( ]


What a smack in the head for those parents not to mention for that kid! NO WONDER HE IS THE WAY THAT HE IS!!!


8 YEARS that family has had to put up with this kid and those disorders!


8 YEARS... it's taken to get that diagnosis!

???????




It hasn't only been AJ that has suffered from the abuse from this kid. He has made his home life hell and has destroyed his sister the same way as AJ? What took so long? The mother did say that they had to change Health systems here in order to get these results?


Some can be helped with medication and he is slated for a personal assistant now. Hopefully it will help AJ from here with the bullying by him but what of the rest of them who don't have those excuses?


Is ignoring a person or shunning them, classified as Bullying? It makes them outcasts!




It breaks my heart when I attend her volleyball games and have to watch her being totally ignored, not spoken to and generally not getting to play! She joins these things to fit it and it just doesn't work! I give her TONS of credit on keeping on trying!

It doesn't help that the coaches never include her much either! Both my daughter and her have made great bench warmers for they were too fat to be played? Sad to say they weren't the only ones not played much. Rule goes... only the "fit" [skinny] got to play and not that they were the most qualified! Being fat is only advantageous if you are a boy and play football!



I have to say that this post has taken a long time to write due to it's sensitive nature!


I have had to consider my grand daughter's feelings on letting the world know her problems but I am tired of her being a big secret!

I tried with my daughter, respecting her wishes not to make matters worse for her and stayed out of it. Let her fight her own battles. All that did was let her building her self esteem with anger! I don't want anger for my grand daughter!


I want her to know that there IS someone besides her family that actually cares about how she turns out!


PoD was asked by the school's Principal to keep it quiet about what is wrong with this boy so that everyone won't think this kid is as mentally disturbed as he is? Don't let anyone know what is REALLY wrong with this kid and why he is the way that he is? With this kids actions most don't like him now...won't knowing just what IS wrong better, than that of "he's just a horrible kid"! We all recognize the ones that display the obvious psyhical syndromes but not the ones with these problems! His are immense and I reconize that, but it doesn't change what he has done to my grand daughter!

I want the world to know about what happens with these kids with these problems!

What will he be like in the future when the smoking and alcohol starts?

WILL medication help him?


Against PoD's wishes, relayed from the Principal... I want the world to know! If that includes my lurkers in Dodge...so be it! It's not meant to destroy this kid [?] only to let others know why he is this way and to ask WHY DID IT TAKE SO FRIGGING LONG???




Who is paying for that silence...not my grand daughter nor will the rest of his victims!




He can be medicated and hopefully is! Yes, he has a long road with possiblity of no hope of being "cured"!


SO DOES HIS VICTIMS!




AJ's fight back to mental/psyhical freedom has started with her health style change...she is changing her eating habits and exercising! She has now joined up for basketball with her goal being to "do" all sports or at least try to. Hopefully she will get to do more than bench warm! Big people can be athletes too you know!


She also works out at the gym after school...when not doing school sports that is!


She can make herself skinny [and healthy :)] by doing these things...yet






WILL BEING THINNER, MAKE HER MORE ACCEPTABLE........?






How can one cure her shyness?

Cure her fear of making any kind of mistake? [Judged but who?]


Her Dyslexia will forever be there! Ask the famous people who have the same problem!


She will never be short as well as he will never be any taller!


Sadly she comes from a long line of a family history with hereditary "misfiring synapses" that can lead to serious consequences if not seen to! This is our dark secret [not my side of the family]!






Good start for what kind of future....






Seems the "Age of Innocence" is.......

?

REMEMBRANCE DAY...

"Lest Ye Forget"...

I haven't!

My tribute to the fallen...it's been lit since the 7th and will stay lit until tonight at midnight!

I remember the high pitched wails from the "War Sirens" that used to be in Edmonchuk [Alberta, where I was born]! There was one half a block from our house. When it went off one never knew whether it was real or just another practice run! Being that close to it made it really loud and quite impressive to a young child like I was. To this day, that sound, still sends the same chill down my spine and the old feelings of dread returns! Our town has a fire alarm siren that is about the same distance as the one from the olden days and it sounds the same!

That was the worst reminder that ones life/freedom could be taken away at any moment by unknown forces!

The other is the "Poppy"!

The RED Poppy!


Removing the War Sirens was a great thing for me and I hope they never have to return!


But removing the color out of the red poppy to promote peace sounds dumb to me!

All that does is make the red poppy insignificant!

Doesn't the red stand for the blood that was spilled for the sake of our freedom?

How does draining the blood that was spilled from that war symbol make it peaceful?

Removing the color from this symbol makes no sense!

The "red" poppy is the symbol for war reminding, isn't it?

Is this not the symbol for peace...

[I meant to show it as a white dove...oops]

?

I thought they could add it this way....

But I still don't like it on the poppy!

Other symbols like the health and disability Awareness Ribbons...

are represented by colors!

Removing the color did not change the reasoning for their awareness.

The white stands for something else!

 So today I am standing up for ALL of our Veterans who gave it their all for US! 

LEST YE FORGET!