Why is there no fish in this picture?

Because I didn't catch one. Donnie did, but no camera was close to record the great event. He says it was huge....

I am however wearing my beautiful new crystal I got at the shop I have been asking Donnie to stop at for almost 2 years now. The lady that runs the place is really interesting and knows all about all kinds of rocks and things.... She doesn't lock up any of her crystals and they are all on the side of the road. She says people don't steal them because they know that "bad juju" will come to them if they do.....

Joes' place

I think this is an escapee from Dinosaur world quite honestly. (Thats a real place)
I found him at the bottom of a ravine when we were looking for a friends' house near the White river today. Donnie said the guys house was "Crouchesque" which it was. The walk from the road took 30 minutes....He wasn't home, but we left him a message. If he has things like this for yard art, then I like him even more than I did before.

See yah baby!

One of my favorite sights..... all packing done and ready to go....We are flyfishing baby!!!! First thing in the morning.
Right now I am in the lobby of the hotel waiting for my clothes to dry because we were running late... Seems DPB members were confused about the time they were to start tonight. Thank God there are several of them, usually one of them can get the time right and set everyone straight... that meant very fast packing and drive straight here the entire duration of which I wished I hadn't drank a pop right before we left.
But now I am here, and tomorrow I will be standing in the White River fishing for mongo sized Brown Trout. What are you going to do?
For anyone Slurking out there.... Don't even think about it, WE may be gone, but our house sitter is right at home.

We are free to be who we want to be, it just takes work.

American Indian code of ethics
1) Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if you will only speak.
2) Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance.
3) Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.
4) Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.
5) Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours.
6) Respect all things that are placed upon this earthwhether it be people, animal or plant. Honor the Spirit in all things.
7) Honor other peoples thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression.
8) Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you. All persons make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven. Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism.
9) Nature is not for us, it is a part of us. They are part of your worldly family.
10) Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and lifes lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow.
11) Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of your pain will return to you.
12) Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of ones will within this universe.
13) Keep yourself balanced. Your mental self, spiritual self, emotional self, and physical selfall need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.
14) Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.
15) Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of othersespecially sacred and religious objects. This is forbidden.
16) Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first.
17) Respect others religious beliefs. Do not force your belief on others. 18) Share your good fortune with others. Participate in charity. Be willing to give back to the people, so that People will live.
Huna principles
There are no limits: The three-dimensional body supported by the five senses is not real. If we go deep in to the matter and energy, it is possible for you to come to the genesis of Universe. In the space time universe we live, there is a common source outside what we assume as reality. In effect there are not limits.
Energy flows where attention goes: Our body is composed of energy and intelligence. This vibrating energy and intelligence can be converted in to any other energy field according to your thought process.
Now is the moment of Power: Your deeds of yesterday are history; your dreams of tomorrow are not real you do not know what it holds, but this very moment is very real and in front of you for you to use it most positively, wholesomely for your betterment.
To love is to be happy with: Love is happiness. Unhappiness springs from doubt, fear, anger etc the base instincts. If these are obliterated from your mind, Love becomes deeper and stronger.
All power comes form within: You are the powerhouse. You have the capability to create and this creation manifests through your belief system, mores and codes, desires, expectations as well as fears. Your thinking channeled positively will have positive power.

The wedding planners!

YUP!

Teachin' them early!

I Cat-Smiled Donnie back.

I'm tired of him Cat Smiling in every picture, so I'm getting him back and it's turning out to be fun.

I cat-smiled with my unsuspecting mother.

Papa and Thad

Playing a little pre-dinner pool.

She Adores Him.

Her "Little Prince". Even still...

My People

Santa is real!

Cat Smiles

We are a REAL FAMILY NOW!

Not that we weren't before, but after the trials of the last few months and days coming to an end, we are stronger and happier than ever before. The dynamics that come with security have made changed everything. What a wonderful christmas!

Merry Christmas Dud Man!

Pig ear, Yummy!

Two things

I made myself proud today. I did the right thing and Looked my biggest fear in the face, and I won.


Dudley is home and writhing on the bed in glee!!!!!

Public notice

My name is Bridget Martin. I am 35 glorious years old. I am strong, happy and healthy. I have a loving family and I am ready to take on anything that comes my way.

Dud is sick

I'm really sad today, we had to take Dudley to the vet because he got sick last night. He has to be hospitalized and have blood work done, so we had to leave him there. The only good thing is Lori works there, she is pretty much his fairy godmother and he really loves her, so I know he probably isn't as scared as I am right now. Almost every time I walk to a different room, Dud goes with me. He sleeps on my side of the bed most nights, and I spend alot of time talking to him and giving him treats, pills ect. The house seems empty. I hope he is home and better before the kids get here.

I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

Forget the stereo...this is what was going on while I was doing chores and making dinner ..... :)

Family Day!

Today we didn't do anything but go have fun. No chores, no projects, no homework. We went out to lunch and bowling after playing video games for a few hours after church. We have had a Katamari Damacy tournament going on this weekend. The kids also had fun reading and going thru all their books they bought the other day...they spent HUNDREDS on books! Very cool. Anyway, here are a bunch of goofy various pictures from our adventure, we also had our friend Donn M. and Ean his son with us. It was a good day, a great weekend, and makes me really glad to have such a great family to spend the holidays with! (Notice in all the pictures with Dillon and Donnie that Dill pickle is ALWAYS in his lap! If I ever have to look for him, all I have to do is find Donnie and there he is!)

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

Our little family got the Christmas tree out today and decorated it. It looked great until the kittens woke up. They love it and like to lay in the branches. I doubt it will still be standing by Christmas day!

Good Music, Casinos & Wild Kittens!

God I love good music. Tuesday was a lot of fun, Skinner finally showed up and did several of his tunes I had really been missing since he went off on his "European Tour" ... He really did go to Europe, but there is more to that than I'm discussing here. Don Morris was the Co-host as Donnie had a casino gig which meant lots of MOOLA for him...... I preferred to stay in town and hear music that meant more to me than a souless casino gig... The sound typically sucks and hardly anyone pays attention. The casinos like to say they have entertainment, but they set it up in a way that it doesn't interfere with gambling. I don't like the casino anyway. I think of casinos as a study in human desperation... Really poor people and lots of immigrants trying to win the "American Dream" all the while wasting good money they could spend at a store a buying the things they need. The most I ever gambled was $3 I found on the floor, my friend Blue helped me try the slots and I lost all of it. I could have left with 3 bux, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. The casino got it, not me.
There is a lesson to be learned by that.
Don't take me wrong, I do love a good casino gig from time to time, going out of state (usually close to a choice flyfishing spot) nice hotels with a pool, food taken care of, good pay for the guys, and some good merch sales from time to time. But hanging out in a casino is another thing....

Next topic:
These kittens climb everything, I mean everything. Nothing is safe, not the fish tanks, tables, folded clean laundry... every speaker is a kittens dream since they are covered in carpet and are stacked in various places in the house and tend to be a gateway to higher more interesting places to attack from. Atchi and Camille have no time for us and only for investigating their new home. At night they pile on top of us along with Casey and sometime during the night they get under the covers and start fighting. We both wake up in the "morning" (yeah right) more like noonish and discover a plethora of scratches on us. The other day my face was all scratched up.... As I sit here they are behind me trilling, climbing and things are falling onto the floor. It looks like the kids have been here having a big ole' party. Every time I look behind me one is on top of something else, looking down at all the books and cd's they have knocked over. "They're just like rats"

God Bless the Children

Every parent gets it.... The last minute call, "Mom, I need 45 cupcakes by 11" or "I have a band concert tonight" I know all kids do it to their parents, I did it to Mom and my kids do it to me. All the time. This made worse of course by our living situation, it is of DIRE IMPORTANCE that I do not fail them. Last night was such an event. Kenyon just remembered to tell us she had a concert, and of course I have to go. I cringe at the thought of terrible honkings and off beats, irate band leaders and such... but I go anyway, because I am their mother and I am proud of them. The good thing is my kids are getting older, so the productions tend to be "not so bad after all". Last night was no exception, each grade getting progressivly better with the high school giving a wonderful performance. None were bad last night. One thing I do wish is that someone would help dress these poor kids who have no idea or comprehension what stage lights can do to ones appearance. Oh, and how to sit onstage while wearing a skirt. I was in girls choir and competition chior, and I know the teacher never said a word about our make up, and looking back at the pictures I wish she would have. Last night, one kid had the giggles so bad he infected his entire section and couldn't play, that brought back some memories.... BTW, I am speaking from the point of view as one who passed out and fell backwards off the top riser during the "Spring Fling" in front of the entire school. It was the talk of the school for days and being in the 8th grade at the time it was mortifying. So, I'm not talking bad about any kids, just kinda feeling for them and their awkwardness at times.
If your wondering about the cupcakes, I have awnsered that call on more than one occasion, and "it's not so bad after all"!

Who else did this?

Ok, so fess up..... Who else did this? Who rolled their Levis up and folded them in? Did you have big permed hair too? Or were you the guy in the Pink oxford with the collar turned up? Obviously this is not a perfect recreation, it's now impossible because the shoes are all wrong, but thats ok, it's close enough to make you laugh...... I aspire to never be a slave to fashion again!

Food in my belly

Jimmie Johnson thinking about what to eat next during the great feast Saturday night.... Thanks CITYBUX!

I DIG CITYBUX!

Ok, here is the deal... I joined Bartlesville.net, a website in town, and I think you should too... I like it alot.....The best part is I liked it BEFORE I won the monthly $500 drawing!!!!! It gives the cheapest gas prices in town, free e mail and, free classifieds. Now some other friends of mine have won as well. Jade has now won TWICE for a total of $130 bux! So Saturday night Jimmy, Jade and Donnie and I went out to eat at Hoops. It was fun to just go all out for a change! We ate so much good food it made us tired. Then Sunday I went to the Rangers house concert with Dee and Renee, and we ended the evening with a drink at Hoops and them some really bad bowling! Thanks www.Bartlesville.net ! I couldn't have had such a fun time without you! Next the kids and I are headed to the bookstore for a book blowout! Get anything you want kids!

What a dork.

Just keepin' yah in the know.....http://examiner-enterprise.com/articles/2005/12/02/news/2985.txt

The Hunt

Most of my friends are artists in one way or another. Donn McCallister is multi talented as you can see. This is my favorite in a series he has done lately. This is the second with the grasshopper who apparently had to abandon his convertable in previous work in order to hide from the giant fish in the sky. Notice the depth of field he has going on...... My question... why did he not make these giant brown trout? That would please me greatly... Perhaps because this was not a gift to me, but for his personal pleasure?

Katamari Damacy

I am addicted to Katamari Damacy. Donnie is, the kids are, and I think Dee will think about it and want to play it more after tonight. This game is WEIRD. You have a ball and roll up all things on earth in an ascending size.... going from tacks, to lipsticks, to socks, to chickens, signs, people, and even buildings after a while. The entire thing is trippy, weird, and if you please the King he spits out a royal rainbow at you. If you don't he berates you for a long time with a thunderstorm and strange oddly translated Japanese insults. Thanks alot SPU, your causing us all to waste alot of time rolling a ball around the world. Here is the story from a website, You gotta check out this game!

The King of All Cosmos accidentally destroys all the stars in the sky one night. The different versions of the game do not offer the same explanation for why he did this—the original Japanese release states that he was drunk, but this was omitted from the US release. He sends his son, the Prince (who is five centimeters tall), to Earth to gather material with which to reconstruct the galaxy.
To gather this material, the Prince pushes around his katamari, a magical ball capable of sticking to anything of a certain volume or less relative to itself that it rolls over or into. Initially, the katamari can only pick up tiny items, such as loose change, thumbtacks, and ants. As it accumulates objects and becomes covered with a variety of items, it can pick up increasingly larger items, such as fruit, milk cartons, small animals, children, cars, houses, stadiums, office buildings, rainbows, clouds, and sperm whales.

Boxfull of cats!

Dee is a cat pusher, so watch out for her. If she comes to your house with a box, you are doomed. Or Donnie is, SUCKER!!! The other day Jesse met Atchi, the newest member of the Wood family and asked, "Do you want it?" Of course we do! So we called Dee and she brought him one, then Dustin decided he wanted one too, but there was only one manx left. The other kitty is tortise looking with a tail and Donnie sure thinks she is pretty. I wonder what her name is? I bet she doesn't leave, Dustin will just have to wait for a manx. Atchi seemed happy to be reunited with his family and used his new fighting skills he learned from Casey on his unsuspecting siblings. Check out Caseys face in the picture with Donnie, He's pissed.

Whats that smell?

The other night Ty came over as well as several other friends. Typical behavior around here is people look in the fridge to see what I have left over and they help themselves. I can't tell you how many bands I have fed before and after gigs. So of course I noticed Ty digging around, but paid little attention. After he left Danny Joe said he left me a present and laughed.... Turns out Ty fed Dud Man 8- 10 deviled eggs, wrote us a poem and left it on my nightstand. I have lived thru some BAD Dud farts, but trust me, these will clear even my 2 boys out of the room for 15 minutes. Ty, we WILL get you back. I don't know how or when, but you better look out buddy.
Here is his "poem"

In the morning as you take a wiff of the crisp morning air, is there a hint of a scent that should not be there?Why Yes! You say as you cover your mouth & look away~believing it is your significant other who's breath you cannot bear.

Well Alas! It's not his or her nor even yours I say with a sheepish smile!

But another sleeping in your room, Sleeping so sound, it's your beloved Dudley, your companion, your hound.!! Sometimes they are silent. Sometimes they are not, ones things for sure they are all Steaming, Smelly and Hot!

Damn those dog farts!
Why must they be so bad?
Maybe we should change his diet!
But nothing he's ate should be this bad!

Aren't friends wonderful?

Grogreen & Aunt Mary

Donnie's ever so lovely Grandmother Grogreen and Aunt Mary came out to Music Feast so they could enjoy hearing Donnie in a cultural environment. I was so happy to see them I can't even begin to explain, but I don't think that joy was possibly overshadowed by Grog's when she saw Donnie. Like my mom said, "She REALLY Loves Donnie" Donnie has a wonderful family and getting to know his grandmother has been wonderful, she really is a Lady in the truest sense, and so very proud of him. Tonight was the first time she heard him play the Mandolin and she made me laugh when she said she didn't know he played one, especially that well. Here are a few shots of Grog loving on her first grandbaby (that she used to dress up in little suits when he was little) one of her meeting Dustin, and one of me and Aunt Mary.

Box full of cats

The box full of cats never came. Just one loud whiner who screams when picked up. He has the biggest eyes and the sweetest little spots. Casey took one look at him and told me to go to hell or something like that in Cat Talk and went and slept on his perch. He also tried to eat all the kittens food a few times, after eating his own meal. Right now Casey is stalking the baby who is out exploring his new world.In the picture of Casey's back, he is standing with his front legs out. Dud Man BTW is extremly concerned about the situation and is watching all activity with worried looks.
We think his name it either Atchi or Otchi, which would be a cross between Ochelata and Atchi. I called Chet and he said it would be ok. The first thing he said was "is it a red cat?" Thats kinda freaky, but leave it to an old indian man to say that. He said Tuesday I get to hear the story as to how he knew. I will post better pics of the baby, just wanted you all to know we have added to the family. Thanks Dee, I trust very few people to pick a cat for me.

A Donnie Creation

I swear this is like being married to an engineer. Moulder loves to sing with our music and while Donnie is recording or practicing, this way he can be right in the office to work on his musical career. Moulder is already recorded on a Randy Crouch track to be released soon.

Head of the flock

Who is that exactly? Donnie and Moulder seen on Sunday afternoon working out their complicated relationship and theories of domination. The picture on the monitor is disturbing to me, for those who know us, understand.

Happy Birthday Mom

Friday was Mom's birthday. I was kinda freaking out because I really wanted to get her a Japanese Maple, but they are out of my budget....so I found a really cool 6 ft electric lampost.... If you know my mom, you know she loves decorating. She seems to think the possiblities are endless with it and called me the next day to tell me so. I'm glad she likes it. We went out to dinner and then to hear The award winning Dustin Pittlsey Band. I'm glad to have my Momma... I love you Mom.

Hooked on Mosaics

We spent the day working on our art projects, Kenyon is now hooked on mosaics as bad as I am so now we are really going to have to get good. She learned how to use a low powered sander to get sharp edges off the ceramic and never complained about the safety glasses. Thad finally repaired a bird house he made me a few years ago and we got it renailed, caulked, and painted. He also made something for his Nana. Pickelbutt pretty much shot the bb gun and helped me paint the dogs' dish holder. Dud is too old to bend over to eat, so we have a lil' something made up for him. Thats it, fun, fun, fun. I need plates, lots of flat colorful plates!