2009 wrap-up and resolution

I think I'm ready for a New Year to begin. The ending of this one has been a little hard to get through. We'll see what's ahead for us in 2010. On Myspace, I always do a year end review of the number of books I've read. When I went through my list of books I've read this year, I was appalled. I've only read 18 books this year! It's hardly worth it, but here's the break down:
Sci-fi/fantasy: 4
Bio/autobio: 3
Gen. Fiction: 4
Mystery/thriller: 4
Non-fic: 1
Other: 2
I rarely do a New Year's Resolution, but I'm making one now, and feel free to inquire about it from time to time in 2010 (to keep me honest, ya know):

I WILL READ MORE IN 2010!!

Maybe I'll try and do a blog once a month on what I've read. Feel free to poke me about that, too.
So, Gladys (AKA Sorcha), the journey begins anew in one more day. I thank you for your kindness in reading my ramblings this past year, and for the kind comments you've made. Give Pete my regards and I wish you and yours the very best that Life has to offer for this new year.
xoxo Dot

December ramblings

Well, Gladys, it's been a bit melancholy around my brain of late. I need to drag the ol' attitude out of the dumper and start focusing on just what this time of year means and what's REALLY important in the bigger scheme of things. To sorta quote Bogie, "the problems of a few people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."
The month started out with me being double nickels no longer. I had a birthday, and am now double nickels and a penny. When I mentioned this to Marv, he said, "Well, next year I'll be double nickels and my 2 cents worth!" I actually had a very nice birthday by going shopping with Paul in Chico, and he treated me to a wonderful burger at Burger Hut (the best burgers in Northern California!). We listened to the Beatle's Sgt. Pepper album while driving, which gave me a bit of a pang. I was first introduced to this album in Junior High by a very special teacher: Mrs. Virginia Sherman. She was my teacher for Reading/Spanish in 7th grade, History/English in 8th grade. She had us listening to this album and also the "Why Is There Air?" album by Bill Cosby. I immediately got both those albums after hearing them in her class. The reason for the pang was that Mrs. Sherman passed away a few days before my birthday. I always thought of her any time I heard a song from the Sgt. Pepper album. RIP, Mrs. Sherman. I'm sure she joins Mrs. Vanderlay and Mrs. Malloy in teacher heaven.
A week ago, my wonderful mother-in-law, Lillian, had a stroke. She's 89, and had been slowing down a bit, but this still took us by surprise. Taking her to the doctor and then the hospital invovled my wrestling an antique borrowed wheelchair in and out of the car 3 times that day, seriously damaging my already dicey back. I've been managing the days with low level pain meds and the nights with high level pain meds. The saddest thing is seeing the change in "mom", as I've always called her. The stroke could've taken more from her, but what it took was enough to make her "not the same" anymore. Christmas will be very different this year, but we don't know yet how different. We don't know if she'll still be in the hospital or a nursing home, neither of which is what you want for a loved one at this time. Or any time, for that matter.
And then--tomorrow is my dad's birthday. He would've been 98. He died 2 weeks after his 93rd BD. It just all gives me pause.
BUT--the important stuff! (pay close attention, Gladys!)
1. I KNOW without a doubt where my dad is at this moment.
2. I KNOW without a doubt my MIL's spiritual "act" is in perfect order, and where she'll be when the Lord sees fit to take her Home.
And best of all:
3. Christ was born to save us; He died to save us; He rose again, completing our salvation; HE WILL RETURN to take us all Home on the last day. Amen.
Merry CHRISTmas!

gift cards and fruit cake

I've written about gift cards before on Myspace, but just have to say something again after reading an article titled "Gift cards are the new fruit cake". First of all, fruit cake has a bad rep because of the mass-marketed cake that is usually on the shelf this time of year. I LOVE fruit cake IF:
1. It's DENSE
2. It's MOIST
3. It's FULL of CHERRIES
4. It's DRIPPING with rum/brandy/whatever. (Maybe all 3)
5. It's HOMEMADE
Give me a plate of fruit cake like that, and a cup of coffee and I'll call it dinner!
Now, about gift cards. Once again, I LOVE gift cards! I do NOT think they: are a cop-out/show how much you DON'T care/are lazy. And yes, it does depend on the store the card is for. Yes, you can get screwed on the weird, out-of-the way stores that might go out of business at any moment. The MAJOR places are just fine, thankyouverymuch. AND--it doesn't cost much to mail the little gems to those you love. And believe me, it's the loved ones that get the gift cards!
So, Gladys, if you are of a mind to gift me for either my birthday (this Friday, thanks for asking) or CHRISTmas, here are some of my favorite places I would love to have a gift card for:
1. Barnes and Noble--there's a reason this is number 1.
2. Starbucks--competing hard with B&N, but after you drink the coffee, that's it. The book you'll still have.
3. JC Penney/Kohl's/Target/Walmart/Sears--any of the major dept. stores. Last year, I got a fabulous blender at the sales at Penney's. Thanks again, Bert!
4. Michaels Crafts--tons of fun there
5. Red Lobster/Applebees/Olive Garden/Outback--yum! Trader Joe's is good, too.
So there you have it once again. IMHO, fruit cakes are great, if they're the right ones. Gift cards are wonderful. Give me one of each, Gladys, if you're feeling particularly bountiful. And I will say a hearty "Thank you" as well!
I MIGHT even cut you a slice of the fruit cake....maybe....

random meme

I got this from a meme site I'd not seen before:
1. Has anyone in your life talked in their sleep?
Marv used to talk in his sleep ALL THE TIME. Sometimes I'd respond, which would wake him up and he'd get annoyed with ME! Now all he does sometimes is laugh in his sleep, which is kinda weird. He never remembers what he's dreamed about.
2. What do you like about Fall?
The best Fall days are cold but sunny. The leaves are crispy and sometimes you can smell woodsmoke. The best nights are cold but clear and you can see all the stars.
3. Who was the last person to do something extra special for you?
Sarah's dentist!! When I broke my tooth during my last visit, he worked me into his schedule, made repairs that would get me through until I could see my regular dentist, and only charged me $30!! Totally saved the rest of the visit for me! Thanks, Dr. Sasai!
4. What is the longest line you've stood in, and was it worth it?
Many years ago, Garrison Keillor was in Sacramento at a book store. The whole family went down there. I stood in line for 4 hours to meet him and took a couple of his paperbacks that I had, hoping he'd sign them. While I was in line, Marv bought the latest hardback for me. Not only did Keillor sign and date the hardback, he signed a funny little comment in each of my paperbacks. AND I brought the camera, so Marv took our picture! If I knew where that pic was, I'd post it. And yes, it was worth it!
5. Is there a book that you're dying to see as a movie?
In the early 70's I read "Calico Palace" by Gwen Bristow and totally fell in love with it. It took place in early California during the Gold Rush. I wished with all my heart that it would be made into a movie. I loved all the characters in the book and could ALMOST see the action taking place while I was reading it. Alas, it never was filmed.
6. When was the last time you complimented someone, and what was their reaction?
While visiting Sarah, Chris made a wonderful chicken dinner. I complimented him twice, but he made no response.
7. When was the last time you had an ice cream cone?
ALL SUMMER LONG...which is why I'm doing Atkins at the moment...
8. If everyone liked each other, what would we complain about?
What else? The weather!!

mmm...hot tea...

Now that the weather has FINALLY turned, I’ve been enjoying a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate in the evenings. The other night I had a cup of one of my favorites: Earl Grey. Or should I say, “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.” Yes, Gladys, I am referring to Captain Jean-Luc Picard AKA Patrick Stewart. I’ve watched ALL the Star Treks, from the Classic Trek to the bitter end of the ill-fated Enterprise (great theme song, though). And don’t get me started on the outrageous non-ending of Deep Space Nine or the lame-o ending of Voyager…(imagine a disgusted snort at this point)
One of my favorite tag lines of ST/NG was the tea order that Capt. Picard would place to the replicator in his office. You can find a pretty funny montage on YouTube of clips from various episodes of him saying the “Tea-Earl Grey-Hot” mantra. At some point I actually went out and bought some Earl Grey and said, “Wow! No wonder this is the Captain’s favorite!” Just a wonderful, spicy brew. And though the good Captain drinks his neat, I must have sugar in mine. Once in a great while I will add a tad of milk. Other teas I might put honey in for the sweetener, but not Earl Grey. It demands sugar. Actually, I use Splenda if I have that choice.
And while we’re on the subject, WHERE’S MY REPLICATOR?!?! Ever since The Jetsons, I’ve waited (Lo, these many years) for some kind of food thingy that lets you punch buttons (or speak to) and out comes a perfectly done steak! Forget the flying cars—I want that replicator!
In the meantime, I have my tea, Earl Grey, hot, and dream of the future…

…although a holodeck would be mighty nice, too…

Sorry, Gladys

Gladys, I'll be honest. I'm a bit bummed at the moment. My mood status on Myspace states I'm at "sixes and sevens" right now. I looked up the phrase and it's used to describe a state of confusion or disarray. "Disarray" is the word I would use. With a bit of melancholy and a touch of Weltschmerz for seasoning, perhaps, as well. Which is why I've been ignoring you, Glad. May I call you "Glad" for short? After all, I consider you a dear friend, and dear friends nickname each other....
Anyway, I just seem to have lost my "oomph" lately. Maybe it's the time of life, time of season, or just plain TIME, in all caps. I don't hear the clock ticking so much as the sand whooshing its way down the hourglass. Ecclesiastes is starting to run though my mind. Maybe it's my approaching BD. Don't know.
I used to be on Myspace all the time. There were a lot of blogspots I read all the time. Now I just don't seem to care as much. I miss it all, Gladys, and especially you, but I just don't seem to be able to work up the energy to leave comments like I used to or blog as much. Have I run out of words? I hope not!
I'm going to do something I've never done before. I'm going to directly ask for feedback. Just this once, I promise. Let me know I'm not speaking into a vacuum. Because that would just suck. (haha, get it? Vacuum? Suck? I still have my sense of humor!)
OK. No more whining. This will be the last pity party I throw for myself. In future, if I don't feel like writing, I won't. I had really wanted to challenge myself and commit to writing something weekly. No more promises. I love to write, but I'm not going to force it. So check back once in a while, Glad, if you're really bored. And don't take my absence personally. Give my regards to Pete.
To quote Jimmy Cagney, as he said at the end of his autobiography--"Thanks for the use of the hall." ♥

I am not a number! I am a free man!

Gladys, I have been having 1.5 hoots (that's a hoot and a half BTW) recently. I had seen a blurb about the remake of The Prisoner, coming in November on AMC. I had been absolutely addicted to that show in the 60's and had always wanted to get the series on DVD. The more I heard about the remake, the more I wanted to see the original before November. So the next time I had a coupon from Barnes and Noble, I used it and got the DVD set. That was so much fun, Gladys, watching those episodes again! I wish you could've been here with me! There was a lot I hadn't remembered--like Rover! Who could forget that big, white, evil balloon?! Over the next week or so, I watched those episodes and just fell under their spell once again. Having the Internet, I was also able to really find out a lot about Portmeirion, Wales, where the "real" Village was. What a beautiful place! I idly looked into the biggest fan club, Six of One, and found out that membership is something like $80. No thanks. Anyway, I was very much looking forward to the final episode. I remember being totally confused and sort of let down by it, and hadn't seen it or any of the episodes since. Apparently they've been played on TV, but never where I was aware of it. So with great anticipation and hope about finding out WHAT IT ALL MEANT, I watched it. I wasn't terribly surprised to find out that the ending is totally open to interpretation. I didn't feel as let down as I did 40 years ago, but I think watching it all again as an adult helped. I'm looking forward to the remake next month, but I think the original will always be the standard to me. Patrick McGoohan was a quirky, quirky guy.
Thanks, Pat. Thanks, Number Six.
Be seeing you.

spork and other nonsense

I know, Gladys--it hasn't been a week since my last post, but doggone it! I MUST speak out! This was going to be a paean (look it up) to The Spork, but kinda meandered into Edward Lear. Who I'm sure would've loved knowing that his "runcible spoon" has been linked to The Spork in some circles. Paul and I were eating at Taco Bell yesterday and I was pondering the plastic spork I always get when I take my tray to the table--you never know when your tortilla's integrity is going to become compromised and you end up with cheesey double beef all over your wrapper... So I was remembering a cute little poem I wrote a few years ago when we were still doing the Secret Sister group at church. I wrote that poem for my Sister on National Spork Day. I couldn't remember when that day was and hoped I had marked it on my poem. When I went to my files, though, there was no date. So I started looking online. I don't know where I got the original date for my poem, but I couldn't find a date that the majority agreed should be Spork Day. In my wanderings, I came across a "definition" for spork that linked it to the "runcible spoon" mentioned in Edward Lear's poem, "The Owl and The Pussycat". Now, I am VERY familiar with that poem, and over the years have collected different children's books with that poem. And long, long ago, I THOUGHT I had learned the definition of "runcible" and didn't think it had ANYthing to do with anything spork-like! So I wandered further afield and discovered that Lear INVENTED the term "runcible" and applied it to many things and wasn't even always a noun! So now I have no specific date for Spork Day AND I learned that "runcible" doesn't mean a damn thing! I tell you, Gladys, it does give one pause. Or, in the case of a pussycat, paws.
I have to admit that I did have fun looking all this stuff up. I know that somewhere in my papers I have the original list from Secret Sister days where I tried to find something to celebrate everyday, and I'll find out when *I* want to celebrate The Spork. For now, though, "submitted for your approval" (read enough Edward Lear and you sorta feel like you're IN the Twilight Zone!) here is the aforementioned and (dare I say?) highly anticipated...

Ode To Spork

Hail, O hail, the wondrous Spork
Without it, you'd need spoon and fork
Spork alone will fill your need
When time has come for you to feed

Good for soup or custard pie
For young or old, for gal or guy
I love my Spork! And you will, too
Just try it next time you have stew

I'm free, Gladys!!

Dear Internet friends--I have decided to name you Gladys. That way, I feel like I'm actually talking to someone real. I never cared for the the "Dear Reader" or "Dear Diary" tag. So Gladys it is! And it's in honor of the 60's sitcom "Pete and Gladys" with Harry Morgan and Cara Williams. It used to be on every weekday in the mornings when I was in grade school. I loved that show! I thought Cara Williams was the prettiest and funniest housewife in the world! That's where I first learned about peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I was exclaiming about what a strange pairing that was and my grandmother seemed very familiar with the combo and said it was quite good. So of course I had to try it myself. Yum!
So anyway, Gladys, about my blog title...this weekend is the church rummage sale, and I have been ruthless! As I mentioned in a previous blog, I've really questioned myself about some of the stuff I've been hanging onto all these years. I got rid of a set of craft books I bought before Marv and I were married and haven't looked at in several years. I USED to go through them every once in a while, but between Google and Wikipedia, I can find any kind of craft instruction I could ever want. I also took a hard look at some of my other books and decided that while all of them were good books, I just was not going to read some of them again. Agatha Christie I will keep until I die. I can read her over and over and still get great enjoyment. Ditto some of the other authors. But I was pretty pleased with myself about what I did give up. Took a hard look at my hats and was only able to part with one. I love my hats! Went through my CD's, cassettes and albums and was able to let loose of quite a few of those. Really debated about my Cat Fancy magazines and decided to wait until Lia is a little older, and let her have fun with them and maybe make a few collages. All in all, I think I done good. Almost feels like I lost weight. Paul helped me schlep it all up to the church after lunch. We'll see what I can let go of for the next rummage sale in May.
Well, Gladys, it's getting late and I still need to make Marv's lunch for tomorrow. Sleep well and we'll talk again soon. xoxo

OK, OK, I'm writing!

I know, I know. Long time no write. Both of you are probably wondering...
Just could NOT think of something, so went to one of my favorite places that have little "nudges" to get people started. So here's a "who, what, where, when, and why" meme. BIG PROPS to Sorcha for reading my last meme and posting her own answers! The feedback means a lot (now you're pressured to do it again, hahahahaha)

WHO
is easy to love? my little Lia
do you just wanna smack? Anderson Cooper. He sneers.
do you trust? my wonderful hubby, Marv
do you talk to when you're alone? Jesus

WHAT
dangerous things do you do while driving? go a bit fast, sometimes
is the last thing that moved you? watching Lia being baptized
is Satan's last name? hmmm. Lucifer?
is the freakiest thing in your house? probably me

WHEN
is it time to turn over a new leaf? when all the others are dry and crumbly
will you be all that you can be? when I'm in Heaven
is enough enough? right about...NOW!
do you go to the darkside? when Darth Vader is serving cookies (Paul has a t-shirt that says "Come to the Darkside. We have cookies.")

WHERE
are your pants? on me, thankyouverymuch
is your last will and testament? haven't made one yet
is your junk food stash? all over the counter under all the "stuff"
is Carmen Sandiego? somewhere in the hearts of kids of the 80's. I loved watching that show with Paul and Sarah.

WHY
was the Lone Ranger alone? B.O.?
was The Scarlet Letter scarlet? for SIN
are musicians sexy and plumbers not? I've seen some nice looking plumbers that I'd take over Keith Richards ANY day!
are there no seat belts on school buses? I've been asking that for years! There should be!

Eek: Reborn

One of my first memories was when I was staying with my Aunt LoLita while my mom was in the hospital after having a miscarriage. Because of when the miscarriage took place, I know I was only about 2 years old. I woke up screaming in the middle of the night from a nightmare. My aunt took a simple hand puppet and tried to distract me with it. I don’t remember much more of that night. That puppet became a very much loved object, though. Mainly because it was from Aunt LoLita. I adored her. It was made from corduroy with 2 little ears and 2 white pompoms for eyes and a black one for a nose. I didn’t really play with it much myself, and no one at home EVER used it to play with me, mainly because I always played by myself. I don’t remember any interaction with my parents or grandparents, ever. Anyway, this little puppet with no name was always among my treasures. I would look at it and think of Aunt LoLita.
After Sarah came along, I brought the puppet out and named him Eek, because that’s what I’d make him say when I had him “talk” to Sarah. Eek became one of Sarah’s menagerie of critters. When the time came to pack up the toys no longer played with, Eek went into a large bag with the others and was stored in the attic.
Over the last couple of years, when it was time for the church rummage sales, we’d get stuff out of the attic and sort for what stayed, what was donated and what was thrown away. The occasional bag of toys was gone through as well. I would call Sarah before donating any of her stuff, as she had named a lot of the critters. At one point, when I was describing some of the stuffed animals and such, she said “Wasn’t there an “‘Eek’”? I KNEW that was a familiar name, but couldn’t for the life of me remember what Eek was, and neither could Sarah. Sounds like a mouse, right? None of the mice I came across were Eek. Nothing else seemed to fit.
After Lia got a little older, I really started looking for Sarah’s things to see what might be OK for Lia to have. As I went through this huge box of miscellaneous “stuff” from both Sarah’s and Paul’s childhoods—there he was—Eek. I knew him as soon as I saw him. How could I forget Eek? Poor Eek—by this time he’d lost one eye and his nose. I washed him and gave him new white button eyes and a little pink button nose.
This past weekend, I was pleased to introduce Eek to Lia, who seemed to enjoy him as much as Sarah and I had when we were children. I just wish I could tell Aunt LoLita about it…♥

MEME time!

As readers of my blog on Myspace know, I am more than somewhat fond of memes. I discovered a new blog today that had a meme with questions that were new to me. So of course I must do them! Should you chose, repost them with your own answers. If you don't have your own blog, (and why not?!?) then email them to me!

1. What is your current obsession?
As has been the case for a year or so--my craft room! I can't seem to get it organized! I try, really I do, but it's like one of those nightmares where you're trying to run away from someone/thing and you're running as fast as you can, but you're not moving forward! I tidy a corner or small area and while my back is turned the rest of the room goes to hell! AAahhhh!

2. Which item from your closet are you wearing the most lately?
All summer long I've been wearing my capris that I got at Walmart 3-4 years ago. I tried to get every color they had in my size. Love those things. I might get one more summer out of them before they graduate to the "rag" category.

3. What's for dinner?
Casserole! The world's easiest dinner. Pasta, a can of cream of chicken (or mushroom) soup and whatever leftover meat or canned meat you have on hand. And both Paul and Marv love it.

4. What was the last "fun" thing you bought?
A cute plastic ribbon holder from Walmart. I was in the craft aisle, not really looking for anything, and the thing practically jumped into my cart! It worked so well, I went back and got another one.

5. What are you reading right now?
"The Real Animal House" by Chris Miller, of National Lampoon fame. Hilarious! Got it in the bargain section of Barnes & Noble some time back and finally got around to starting it.

6. What is your current guilty pleasure?
HGTV's Design Star. Totally worthless show, but I find it fascinating. I have to admit, though, I record it to watch at a later time. That way, when they get into their little cat fights or snit fits, I can fast forward it. Or when they're in the green room awaiting elimination and they're all trying to blame each other for possible failure and the tears start (from both guys and gals). I just can't seem to NOT watch it!

7. What will be the first "Fall" thing you do?
Seriously go through the capris and some of my other summer clothes and cull for the church rummage sale taking place in October. Also my hats. Some of them I know I'm not going to wear anymore, so it's off to the sale for them!

8. Where are you planning to travel next?
Hopefully Fresno. The kids should be moving into their new house in early October, and I volunteered to stay for a few days and keep Lia entertained while Sarah unpacks and puts the house in order.

9. What do you collect?
I used to collect all manner of "cat" stuff. Figurines, of course, and whatever else came in cat shape or design. I have some neat things like staplers, tape dispensers, potholders, mirrors. I've kinda backed off that for now. I finally came to the conclision that I had enough cat stuff! I know, hard to believe...but true. So now it's back to my other main love--books. I've collected books all along, and am now getting to the point of thinking I have enough...BUT...you can NEVER have too many books! I've been going through some of them, though, and have been asking myself, "Are you ever REALLY going to read that one again?" And I will give it real consideration. Sometimes the answer is "No," and that book will go in the sale bag. As much as I'm enjoying the Animal House book, I intend to put it in the sale bag when I've finished it.

And there you have it, folk. Or folks, if there's more than one of you...Ta for the ear.

Sloppy Joes at Bethany Lutheran

Keeping with the "church food" theme, I remember the first time I ever experienced the wonderfulness of Sloppy Joes. I was in first grade at Bethany Lutheran, so I was 6 years old. There was a carnival-type thing going on at the church that evening. I don't remember any rides, but that was a time when we were REALLY tight on money, so that might have been something we just didn't do. Looking back, I know it was a real sacrifice for me to be attending a parochial school at all. Anyway, we were there, and I remember saying "hi" to a boy from my class. There was a clown giving out balloons and my parents let me join the crowd of children around him to get my balloon. I was a little surprised when I got close to the clown and noticed how heavy the makeup was on his face. AND--he did NOT say "You're welcome" when I politely thanked him for my balloon. I was taught that you ALWAYS say "Please", "Thank you", and "You're welcome". What a rude clown!
Somewhere along the line was when we all had Sloppy Joes. What a wonderful thing! We'd never had them at home! I loved it! Time passed and it was getting time to leave soon. Ice cream was mentioned, but I wanted another Sloppy Joe! I was told that I couldn't have both ice cream and a Sloppy Joe. That would give me a tummy ache. What a "Sophie's Choice" type of decision to place on a child! Ice cream--Sloppy Joe: what to choose, what to choose! Well, it really wasn't much of a struggle. We had ice cream all the time at home, so Sloppy Joe it was!
PS-A little story about the balloon. I was disappointed the next day when the balloon no longer floated. I didn't understand about the helium leaking out, leaving an ordinary balloon behind. I still loved my balloon, though, and was devastated when my baby brother (that's YOU Bert!) caused it's demise. I don't recall what he did, just that it was his fault, and I cried. My grandmother used the "sop" of "That's OK, we'll get you another one." So I waited ALL DAY for her to get me another balloon! Every time she left the room where I was and came back in, I expected her to have a balloon with her! Never happened! Ever! So you OWE me a balloon, Albert! Make it a helium one, and all is forgiven...perhaps. Make it a helium one that's BLUE and we're definitely even!

Church Food!!

Today I'm talking about that most wonderful of foods: Church Food! It doesn't matter what it is, it's good! I've always loved church food, and especially pot lucks. I don't know why, but for a predominantly German congregation, we sure get a lot of Italian food! Of course, spaghetti and other pasta dishes are fairly easy to make and to make in large quantities. When we had a pot luck at the church where I grew up, our family would always take a couple of big cans of Ravioli, brown some hamburger, mix it all together and cover the top with Parmesan cheese. There were NEVER any leftovers. I went to a funeral at a Baptist church (*gasp*) a couple weeks ago and they had the most wonderful Southern fried chicken at the lunch. Wow! I went to a funeral service at my church at the beginning of this week and they served lasagna at the luncheon afterward. Another wow! What makes all this especially good is that I can eat just about anything again since I'm not having lactose probs anymore. What a blessing that is, I can tell you! I didn't have to worry that the fried chicken had milk in the batter and of course the lasagna would've been deadly to me as well.Which brings me to tomorrow's fare--Pancake Breakfast!! It's the last fund raiser for a trip to Kenya that our pastor and another man from the congregation are taking in a couple of weeks. And I will be able to partake! I absolutely adore church pancakes! I have tried a whole BUNCH of mixes and scratch recipes over the years, and my pancakes NEVER taste as good as church ones. This past Easter was the first in many years that I was able to eat them again. Growing up, we always went to Sunrise Service on Easter and then went back to the church for breakfast. The Men's Club would do the cooking. You'd get a paper plate full of 2 eggs, 2 pancakes and 2 link sausage and cover it all with syrup. Does not get any better than that!
Thank you, Lord, for Church Food! Amen!

the pain! the pain!

Paul spent the last few days "improving" our computer. One casualtyof it all was my bookmarks! Gone! Without a trace! Oh, the pain! I had an old file of bookmarks saved in a folder, but there were a lot of dead end ones and ones I no longer used/needed. I had a LOT of YouTube songs that are gone, but those are fairly easy to get back, just takes some looking around YouTube again. And I had some great YouTube tutorials for stamping that I'll try to find. Some were just stumbled upon and will not be easy to find. What I'll miss the most are the stamping blogs that I had come across randomly. I spent most of today trolling the Net looking for stamping blogs. Haven't yet found the originals, but did come across some really neat ones. There are a lot of stamp blogs done by Stampin Up demonstrators, a goodly number of them in the UK. I had no idea SU was in the UK. I even found a blog done by a man in the UK who is a demonstrator.

AND--all my games were gone and had to be re-installed. Which means my scores were lost! I'd worked hard on some of those word games and just don't have the heart right now to really get into them in the same spirit as before. For Bookworm, I had gone for DAYS working on that one. And I can't find the disc for Bonnie's Bookstore, so can't even play that one until I find it.

But I'll live. I guess. I'll stop whining about it, anyway. At least now I back up my stuff on a more regular basis. Even though not only is the horse gone, the barn (with the door) burned down....*sigh*

Chillin' at the Starlight Drive-in

This time of year I start remembering the Starlight Drive-in. It's gone now, of course, as are most of the drive-ins in California. I don't know how many are left in the rest of the country, but I'd guess not many. It's too easy to get a movie from Netflix or the Red Box and watch in the comfort of your own home. The Starlight was just down the road from where we lived, and on a clear night, we could hear the movie from our yard. There was a field where some kids would go and see the movie for free. We weren't allowed to do that. We'd load up the station wagon with my parents, me and my bro and a couple of times even my grandparents went along. We had plenty of snacks and sodas, because why pay snack bar prices when you could bring your own? We'd park and put the speaker in the car window and settle down to sweat in the hot summer evening and bat at the mosquitoes. There would usually be some movie first for kids and then a more grow-up movie, during which my brother and I would usually fall asleep in the back end of the station wagon.
After getting married and moving to Oroville, Marv and I went to the local drive-in a couple of times. It wasn't until a friend told us how to really enjoy the drive-in that we learned about bringing lawn chairs and sitting OUTSIDE the car with an ice chest full of frosty drinks. Man, that was a LOT of fun! We were only able to do that a couple more times, though, before that one closed down as well.
I have to admit, though, now that I'm a tad older....(ahem)....I really enjoy sitting in my recliner in an air-conditioned house, the kitchen or bathroom only a remote control button and steps away, my cats on my lap, and watching a movie and then being able to go right to bed afterward. No line of cars to get out of the drive-in, no popcorn to clean out of the car, no soda cans to collect....
But the memories remain.

And so it begins (again)

A little over three years ago I signed up on Myspace because I was afraid of trying to start an actual blog. I found Myspace very easy to navigate and have had a lot of fun there and have met some really neat people. The one thing that I couldn't do was link to past blogs. At least not that I could tell. I've always made hard copies of my blogs so that at the end of the year I could put them in a folder for that year. If I wanted to reference a past blog, I'd have to plow through the folders and hope that I'd recognize the title I'd given that particular blog. I realized the time had come to go back and look at this venue again and get this puppy up there. I still haven't looked into how to link to past blogs, but I'm sure I can figure it out. And now that I'm doing this, I'll probably find out that it's super easy to do on Myspace as well, and I'll REALLY feel like the narcissistic dork that I am!
So there ya go. I'll still post to Myspace because I really love that site, but I'll also post here. And when I'm bored and have nothing better to do, I'll dig up an old blog from Myspace and post it here. Because I know you're all dying to read everything I've written. (WHERE ARE MY SMILEY ICONS?? Here's where I'd put a cute smiley to mock what I'd just written! They have them at Myspace!!)
Oh well. We'll call this a work in progress and leave well enough alone. For now.