I lost an eye today. I lost it around 11:30 CST today and I have been looking for it since, with no luck. So now I have this really sweet Neuron who only has one eye and it’s just kinda sad.

I’ve been in bed a lot lately (nasty brain is fighting me again) and so I have been sewing a lot and watching a lot of Internet TV…it’s not much better than regular TV but there are fewer commercials.

So anyway, I’m sewing some eyeballs today, playing with a new smaller bulgy eye thing, and I got up to do something, I don’t remember what, but when I got back, BLAM! it was gone! Actually at one point early on in the process I lost both eyes. I finally found one but the other is not in the following places:

under my pillow

in the garbage can

under my heating pad

between the beds

underneath the bed

lost in the covers

jammed in my crossword puzzle book

in my pill case

in my button container

crammed in my sock container

on my vanity

in the car

at my mother-in-laws house

or in my mouth.

It’s a mystery.

On the up side, while looking I repaired my makeup brush, found a hair thingy, had lunch and got to shout out, “I lost my eye!”  It’s been a good day.

Well, it’s been a battle with computers and brains here at Neuron Rebellion. I actually have been sewing a frenzy of Neurons (that’s what a group of Neurons is called) and have a total of 22 new ones to get posted, so please be patient…someone has to be, since it’s not me!

Anyway, enjoy. I’m trying a white background…I’m not sold on it.

Not long ago…okay…it has been a while…I mentioned wanting to post some photos folks had sent my way of the Neurons in their new homes. Frankly each and every one is fabulous in it’s own special way and I can’t possibly say which one is the coolest! But this one rocked my world!

One of the things that makes this so great is that the moment I saw it I knew they (the Neurons) were in the happiest place they ever could have dreamt of! It was *perfect!

“Dr. Alt with O and P arrived safely. I now understand why you were confused and thought he was evil. He’s a CRYOGENIC scientist – those guys can be chill and somewhat tetchy – and his helpers are O for oxygen and P for pressure. They are now happily working as mascots for our liquid oxygen/kerosene rocket engine test stand (photos attached).”

Did she say, “rocket engine”?! That might be everyday language in her world (and I’m sure now, Dr. Alt’s world, too) but for me, that is just plain COOL!!!

“P.S. They are being greeted by the Dust Puppy, who is the EZ-Rocket mascot. He’s been kinda lonely and so is happy to have some company out in the shop.”

Thanks, Ms. J.

*makes me smile a lot

Our beloved dog, Harlow is no longer with us. She passed away on Saturday Novemeber 27th. It totally sucks. We had her for all but the first 5 months of her 13 years and 11 months. I really miss her. It is the first time in all those years we are without a pet and the house is feeling pretty empty. She was an exceptional dog. Learned how to open our back gate, always slept between us and the door, and could shed copious amounts of hair all year around.

On the back of all my tags it explains that the Neurons are made in a “dog friendly” home…I can’t bring myself to change it just yet.

Years ago there was a great line in “The Muppet Movie” where Fozzie Bear says, “Ahh, a bear in his natural habitat…a Studebaker!” I love that line! So as promised, here are some photos of Neurons in their new habitats. And yes, these all make me smile! Smile a lot. Thanks everyone! The first installment is from Thomas who sent this some time ago (my bad, Thomas, sorry). It is the story of Roddrick and Piper (pictured below for reference) going to work with him.

‘So yesterday evening the weather report started to look really good for today and I decided to skip the bus and bike to work. Walking past the bookshelf, I saw our two friends sitting there, chilling as usual. “Hey, you wanna come along to work tomorrow?”

Piper jumped up and barely stopped herself from falling of the highest shelf. “Ohhh yes! Let’s do that!”

“But you’ll have to get up early, ok?”

“…” Roddrick shrugged and put on a happy grin.

“We’ll be up and ready!” Piper leaned against the much heavier Roddrick with her one arm.

Getting up was harder for them than they thought, but it reminded Roddrick of his time in the service and all the preparations for the trip felt like his good old days. It felt good to be back in action!

Once on the road, the saddle bag was perfect for the two friends, with an easy view of the world passing by.

When we came up the hill and around the corner where they could see the bridge, Piper was ecstatic. “Wooooooow! It’s sooooo biiiiig!” She waved her little arm around and pushed up to look out above Roddrick’s square head.

“…!!!”

“Yep. It was sooo worth to get up for this!”

“…”

Both of them enjoyed the sun and the wind blowing through their fuzzy sock-like skin as we wheeled down to the viewpoint for some photos in the glorious morning light. Going across the bridge was probably their highlight of the day, with far views across the Bay on one side and the endless ocean with its bulging waves on the other.

The bike glided down easily to another viewpoint at the south end of the bridge and then we went on to work, where I knuckled down at my desk while the two friends hung out in the saddle bag, making sarcastic remarks about my job as the day progressed.

But the evening commute with the exciting night bike ride across the bridge was worth the wait! Piper was glad to have battle-hardened Roddrick with her – there were not many things that would frighten him.  As we rolled through dark and quiet Sausalito, I heard them talking from the saddle bag. 

“That was such an exciting day, wasn’t it?”

“…”

“Oh, the bridge was gorgeous! I can’t wait to see the photos.”

“…!”

“Don’t worry, you looked great! Your colored stripes matched the bridge really well!”

“…?”

Thanks, Thomas!

Okay, last week was a bit weird, even for us. Monday, my husband started blorching around 2pm. After more than 5 hours of trying to “readjust his fluids” we ended up in the ER for 6 hours until they admitted him at 3am! (First time either of us has been admitted to the hospital since we’ve known each other…who knew it would be HIM to break that record.) He had a really virulent virus and after a couple of days with a tube up his nose, down into his stomach to pump out the ick, he’s home and recovering. Happy, happy, happy!

So we are recovering from all the drama, watching “Lord of the Rings”, when I start to make supper and notice the meat I bought the day before is now bad…hmm. And the milk has gone bad…double hmmhmm…Do we hate the grocer? Well, we want to, but it turns out we have to say goodbye to the refrigerator. But, it has served us well for a used fridge and now I sincerely hope it gets used for something like this…

Here’s the link

Meanwhile, I am trying to get the next dozen Neurons up on the site…urg! Funny side story, I got three Neurons sewn while on the couch listening to the man of my dreams “calling whales” in the bathroom…-hey, I was having a “bad day” before he was! Won’t spoil them by telling you which ones, in case you are squeamish.

Funny side note: Before rushing him to the emergency room, I called the local nurse-call-line. After answering a bunch of questions she realized she had gone to high school with my hubby and said, “He is such a nice guy!”  -He is.

ALSO OF NOTE: I have some photos of Neurons in their new homes (even a couple on a trip through San Fransisco) that I am trying to find the time to get together and post…if you would like to be included, email me yours. It makes my neurons smile…and you know how I feel about smiling!

Hey! Just when I was discouraged about these pesky symptoms coming back and was dreading having to write a post about how they were keeping me from getting a new batch of Neurons photographed and posted…a wonderful, uplifting, warm-fuzzy swooped in and hit me like a punch in the face! A ‘good’ punch in the face…oh, not that I like a punch in the face, that would be sorta creepy…but a good kind of…I’m sorry, what was I saying?

I received a mention on Epbot! Yeah! The woman that is the purveyor of “Cake Wrecks” and Epbot somehow found my little Neurons and “poof” they were on her site. She is wonderful, hilarious, and generous! Wow! Thanks, Jen! My brush with greatness has put a sweet smiling glow on my sometimes-twitchy face.

And, “A”, thanks for the encouraging words…you made my day!

Being in bed for almost two years, I was addicted to our laptop. Sometimes my computer hoarding husband would think he required all three of our machines, but mostly it sat on my bed, on, and perusing the vast, vapid, void of the Internet, looking for entertainment. I still have to let my body wake up in it’s own time everyday and spend my mornings (or more) looking around some favorite spots (like DudeCraft) and new ones for something to inspire, encourage, or simply make me smile.

Cut to the chase! Neatorama, and the Cleverly’s . I’ve never posted a video before, but this one made me smile and hope it will do the same for you…

the Cleverly’s sing Walk Like an Egyptian

Just want to quickly thank Paul Overton from DudeCraft for the lengthy and very kind featurette on Neuron Rebellion and consequently…me…wow, very kind! Please jump over to his site, it is one of the few places I “go” everyday for inspiration. Thank you, Paul, for your generosity and encouragement!

There are nine new Neurons up…there would have been ten, but Bruce went all “diva” on me during the photo shoot and none of it was usable! Freakin’ Rebellious Neurons!

I am sorry for the lateness…gads, that doesn’t begin to describe the lapse, but I’m still not great with words. Let’s just say I am going to try to do better.

Here is my latest non-Neuron effort. I have had this in my “want to make it someday” file too, and got to for Waukee Fest Parade this year. I made two, cuz, come on! Two is way cooler than just one. The bigger one we named “Russel”, and the smaller one is “Curly”. I consulted with my bro about wiring old computer fans into the heads so the occupants wouldn’t die from heat stroke and actually pulled it off. (I am NOT electrically inclined) Special thanks to Beau and Naomi for wearing the monstrosities.

In Neuron News, I have a tub full of new ones to photograph and load so I better get to it!