I've tried nice, I've tried polite, I've tried doing the same they say/do to me.........I've gone along to get along......nothing I do is "just right" for two of my sisters and I've had it. I hope we don't have to deal with each other for a VERY VERY long time.

The good news is I saw my Auntie........such a sweet lady and 90........holy cow.........90. So much life.........so much she's seen...........and she still has lots of friends left too........that comes from hard work and doing your best and eating what you want in moderation. Oh she is roundish........but she's never been super heavy. I love her so much.........and I'm sorry it's been so long since I've seen her and I hope I get to see her again this summer, at least.

Always end the day on a positive note..........the negative shit isn't worth holding on to.

xo

xo

Two of the paid staff have said they are going to propose to the Director that I straighten out the archives. This is a HUGE undertaking, but I am going on the assumption they are not hiring me on. I don't mind it one bit either way. The only issue is it IS a huge undertaking.........huge.

When I first worked at the museum about 15 years or so ago, the then retiring Archivist, was a retired school librarian, and she was in the early stages of Alzheimers. So then her successor was a retired engineer/volunteer in the archives. Then he developed Alzheimers. The next guy they hired knew jack shit about anything and never worked, so they fired him. Then they asked the bookkeeper/shop manager to run the archives. At some point SHE grew tired of it (and was pissing off major financial donors in her other jobs) so she started placing items on any shelf she wanted, (which is what happened to the place when both those folks with Alzheimers had run of the place, and the jerk that didn't work at all) numbered items without putting them in the database, or put them in the database with no way to find anything but to search every nook and cranny.

I discussed this proposal with one of the guys that is going to propose it to the Director. I said "Well.......if I do that, the ONLY way that makes sense is to print out the database list, find the items (inventory them) and then anything NOT in the database, with no paper trail, gets "reaccessioned". He said that's EXACTLY how he would do it (and he's the collections curator) and how it should be done etc. So I guess he and the other guy that have this proposal going are thrilled that we're all on the same wavelength. I just thought it was common sense.........however they tell me that they've had such rotten luck finding folks to volunteer, or be hired that have common sense. They've even had interns just not show up again after a while. They did have the nerve however to list the museum as a reference...........and of course they did not give a winning recommendation.

We'll see how this goes. I'm glad to volunteer, but if it ends up REALLY being that they need me full-time............we may have to have a bit of a talk.

xo

What started as a tiny volunteer position at the museum has worked into a full-time volunteer position lol. I don't mind though. I REALLY love every minute of it and I'm having such a kick. I got invited out to one of the employees places for dinner and drinks after this "revamp" of the current Internment exhibit/reunion. Pretty cool. I was also given some sour cherry jam from the same employees wife (she invited me to dinner and drinks, just to be clear). The Director already has tried to steal me for the estate sale they are hosting this weekend. Which brings me to a touchy subject.

Museums, that WANT government funding (The National Endowment For The Arts, and other grants they can apply for) to supplement donations and capital campaigns DO NOT EVER EVER EVER! sell items from the collection. THE ONLY caveat to that is IF they can TRADE items with another museum for items each needs, OR if they have duplicates that no other museum could use or trade for, the items are then sold VERY DISCREETLY at auction, usually outside of the state, or county or whatever that particular museum wants to do. NO ONE EVER hears the items are from a museum, because if people thought their great, great, great, grandmothers stuff that was donated free and clear, was not needed/wanted any longer and sold (to be able to purchase items for the collection said museums don't have) they would stop donating items to museums all across the country. I don't care what anyone says happens..........but it's really a big no no. The government will clamp down, the communities these museums are in will have a field day (some get city/county funding) etc. It is just not within the practice of ANY reputable museum worth visiting.

Now, if someone happens to know of the provenance of the items in question that were still discreetly auctioned.....well that happens sometimes.

I mention this because the museum is hosting an estate sale this weekend and it is the 60+ years of one woman's household items and decorations.......none of it belongs to the museum, nor will it benefit the museum. She was a great friend of the museum, and gave everything she could in time, funds, etc, to the museum and they thought this was the least they could do.

Also, I do hear bits of crap now and then around the state and in Oregon of someone bought something out the back door of some museum somewhere. Well.........if you do, you are breaking the law and so is the person selling the items, and it's also just tackier than shit. The local Tribe doesn't even sell items out of THEIR museum, unless it's made for the gift shop (same with any REAL museum).

I hope I've cleared that up if it was confusing for anyone.

This weekend I will be in Eastern WA........my auntie is 90 :) She turns 90 on the day Mt. St. Helens blew, and it's also my dearly departed parents anniversary date. They would have been married 60 years this year........they made it to 35. Very sad considering my mothers eldest sister (the birthday girl) and her husband made it past 50 years of marriage before he passed on.

xo

Time for the hip waders..............shit is getting deep.

xo

I REALLY hate it when people ask me a question and then don't bother to wait for me to breathe and give an answer before talking or saying (if it's on the phone) "are you there"? It's like that asshole behind you in traffic at the red light. It turns green and you hot foot it and he's behind you honking on his horn anyway because he's used to being a prick.

So happy fucking asshole monday.

xo

xo

xo

I took the week off from the museum this week. I hadn't intended to......but I was becoming exhausted. Some of it may be allergies (not sleeping well) and the other part of it is that I'm just so overstimulated from all of the research that I'm like a kid in a toy store. I want to do more and more and more and volunteer more time and say "yes" to everything and then.........I was trying to wake up one morning this week to go in and I called and said "If you really don't need me this week.......I think I'll get some stuff done here, take some walks, enjoy nature (then it got fucking hot really fast) and rest my brain again".........that was great with them and they can't wait until I come back on Monday. They are asking MY opinions on things like the old days. I always thought they were just being nice. The Director said "Oh hell you are part of this quirky........if not insane....."family" whether you like it or not" :)

I will have to take them some goodies Monday morning.......not sure what yet. The Director is diabetic.........but isn't following his diet anyway lately..........so I'm not sure if I should tempt him with purchased lovely pastries or bring in a fruit and cheese plate. Both sound delicious so we'll see. He's a big boy.........he can figure out whether he can eat certain things or not.

At the end of the month is the "reunion" of sorts of the folks from the valley that were "evacuated" to the internment camps. They are really coming to see the exhibit we have on now about the internment, and also see the area again after all these years and see who is still around and who has great great grandkids etc. One man collected death notices of every single one of the folks from the valley that went to the camps. He kept track, wrote to the families when their loved one passed on, attended as many funerals as he could........it was heartbreaking to see the number of folks.........but they are aging of course so it happens. He has passed now.......the gentleman that kept track of all of those folks. I believe his children are keeping track now.

When you have something in your life you love doing, and it makes you so happy (and it's not disgustingly illegal like keeping people hostage as sex slaves etc) then you should do it. I've discovered 10x the joy in my life by going back to where I was happiest almost 20 years ago........than I have found in anything up to this point. It's like..........jumping in mud puddles as a kid.........(of course I still do this.......and don't care who is looking).

xo

Just a giggle of a PS: My docs office wants to have a check-up with me......no problem. I'm scheduled way the hell out there and the VERY young woman on the phone told me, and I quote "We lost one of our providers recently". I almost said (and I REALLY had to hold back) "Did you try looking for him/her? They are probably in the last place they were." ;) I didn't say it though.........but I wondered "lost"? You can't find them? Did they die? Or they jumped ship? I just thought it was a strange way to explain things. I would have said "We are just swamped with clients at the moment" or something else.

My father once cut apart a beer can and made a solenoid for the family car....it helped the car limp along until we could afford to get it properly fixed. My parent's generation grew up making do. The saying was "Use it up, throw it out, make do, or do without". Now we just buy new at the drop of a hat. I say "we" but I don't mean everyone on the planet. I don't buy new always. I do have a few "have to's" that are new, but not the most expensive that is for sure. I can't wear used bras....by the time they are used.....the twins wouldn't fit in the cups. I cannot (or rather refuse to) wear used underwear. There is not enough bleach in the world to get out all of the kootch kooties for me. I will wear GENTLY used footwear. But, jeans, tee's, blouses, skirts, dresses etc........no problem.

My sisters buy take-out and frozen meals most of the time. My brother and I cook. It's a foreign word to my sisters....but luckily my two nieces and nephew are not so afraid of the cooker. They realize being inventive with what you have on hand is another art form.

Somehow cooking skipped my three sisters....but my brother had to learn to cook to survive on his own, and because he missed mom's home cooking. I learned to cook because I loved the fact that my mother and father could take two or three ingredients and feed a family of seven. It was magical.

I hated sewing growing up. There is math in it (long story, don't bother asking) and I am repulsed by it. But suddenly I realized that I am missing out. I WANT to go back to sewing. It's not that I haven't done any sewing....I said I didn't like the math/measuring part. I CAN sew and sew well (and made many pregnancy outfits for two different sisters of mine, when I was a teen) and I am excellent at hand sewing. So with my youngest niece having a baby this fall I have decided that not only will she have crocheted items for the baby, but I will be making a baby quilt. I have been slowly designing it and I realized that I want it large enough so that they(my niece and her husband) can put the baby on it while he/she is on the floor on their tum and have enough room to explore visually. So bright colors obviously.....and interesting shapes. First I thought a spiral staircase type theme because my niece loves horror flicks....however I think bright colors and shapes will be better.

You see I never thought I was "artistic" like my siblings. They can draw, paint, etc. I can write............I thought that was it. Whether anyone likes my writing or not is not important to me because I enjoy it. I have always been able to pull stories out of thin air at the drop of a hat if I chose to. But I didn't see photography as art, cooking or baking as art, sewing as art....crochet (who would ever have thought that my left handed mother's instructions to her youngest right handed child would still be remembered after all these years?) as art etc. I have realized that with minimal instruction from others I have basically been self-taught in these art forms. My mother never helped when I cooked. She stood by and watched. "Waste not, want not"....."keep those butter wrappers in the freezer for next time we bake" "whip the egg whites" were all directions she gave and they were followed....and now they are still remembered. I didn't know at the time but my parents were teaching not only skills, but thrift. This HAS been passed on to all of my siblings except the eldest. If she has a dime she spends 20 cents and figures it will work out eventually.

My father taught me to never be dependant on anyone but myself and yet......without realizing it my parents both made me dependant on them for quite a while. When I was finally on my own......making my own money, living in my own apartment (the first one) everything started coming back.

And now.....my mother and father are watching me discover my talents.........talents I never even thought I had..........and I'm sure Dad is saying "Atta girl!" and Mom is glaring because she knows I still make better biscuits (not cookies for those that are used to biscuits as a term for cookies) than she could.

Oh Mom.....get over it ;) And Dad.....I'm sorry....but one time I bought one of "them foreign jobbies!" (aka a foreign made car....he'd be rolling in his grave now).

xo