what the cat dragged in

January 2012 Book Report

2012-01-27T11:45:00.000-08:00

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and be a villain by Rex Stout

Yes, the title is all in lower case. That’s the way Mr. Stout did it. It’s from a quote by Shakespeare. I love the Nero Wolfe mysteries. This was a good little case involving a woman who had a radio talk show. One day, her special guest dropped dead while on the air. Poisoned! Whodunnit???

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The Love Nest and other stores by Ring Lardner

Not Ring Lardner Jr. but his father. Didn’t know he was a writer as well. Got this little paperback at one of the church rummage sales. Delightful bunch of stories. Written in 1926 and really brings back the flavor of a time long gone.

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Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

We saw the movie first, and I really enjoyed it. I’ll watch just about anything that Meryl Streep does. Knowing the movie was based on real events made it even more enjoyable. I came across the book in the bargain bin at WalMart. Marv actually found it first and showed it to me, and I put it in the cart. There wasn’t as much about Julia Child in the book as there was in the movie. And Miss Powell sure does love the ‘f’ word! She is a very talented writer, but her language was a bit off-putting. And she makes her hatred of Republicans come through loud and clear as well. I think I’ll stick with the movie.

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When My Baby Dreams by Adele Enersen

This is the book I mentioned in one of my “positive/thankful” posts. Ms. Enersen is a photographer and artist. She had a blog with a bunch of pictures where she created “dreamscapes” around her sleeping child. Unfortunately, someone stole those images and used them in unauthorized advertising and Ms. Enersen removed them from her blog. She put some of those pictures in a lovely little book that was just released. There weren’t as many pictures as I’d hope in this book. But that was the only disappointment. Maybe there will be other books forthcoming with more of the pictures. I hope so. This book would be a great baby shower gift.

Thankful/Positive 1/15 to 1/21

2012-01-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

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Started out the week by getting all the Christmas boxes put away! Finished taking down the tree on Sunday, and on Monday got the front room put back together and even vacuumed!
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Tuesday was our Christ Care Bible study group, which is always a blessing. We watched a very interesting movie on the science behind the star that appeared to the magi. Although I have to admit I was so tired that evening that I dozed through some of it. I've NEVER done that before! At least I didn't snore...and I need to watch that movie again...
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The highlight of the week was our monthly dinner/game night with friends. Instead of games, though, we watched an outstanding Christian movie called "Courageous" that I cannot recommend enough. Awesome movie. And there was PIE as well!!
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A New Label

2012-01-20T10:27:00.000-08:00

This is a follow-up to the posting about my knees. The last time I saw my doctor (for something unrelated to my knees) I swallowed my pride and talked to him about getting a handicap parking tag.

He fully agreed with me. Not that I look down on people who have a tag, but it bothered my pride that I am now in the position of needing one. On good days you would never know. And even on some of the bad days, you wouldn't be aware of the full extent of the pain I was in. But those extra steps can really, really make a difference. Especially if there isn't an abandoned shopping cart nearby that I can use as a sort of walker to get into the store. Going back to the car isn't as much of a problem, since I usually have a cart to lean on. I didn't have my tag in time for Christmas shopping, but I have it now. And it is a real Godsend, I can tell you. If I'm having a good day, I don't bother looking for that special parking spot, because I don't need it. But on the bad days....then I admit that I am handicapped to a certain extent and need some extra help. And I am grateful for it.
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Thankful/Positive 1/8 to 1/14

2012-01-16T12:56:00.000-08:00

I'm not always going to expound on everything I list, just hit the highlights.There were a LOT of positives last week.
The week started by waking up with an awful headache after DREAMING I had an awful headache. I could've just taken some pain meds and gone back to sleep, but chose to get up. After my coffee/slimfast breakfast I started feeling somewhat better and decided to go ahead and get ready for church. And as always in a situation like this, I was blessed immensely by the service.
Got to spend some quality time with Paula and get some stamping done. So much fun when there is someone to talk to while doing this.
Went to a pizza fundraiser for the Children's Center and had a great time. Wasn't real impressed with the pizza, but the salad bar was great and so was the fellowship.
One night Marv brought home 2 French donuts leftover from a meeting at work! YUM!!!!
I'd been having trouble with my new bifocals and went to Chico to Sears Optical to see what could be done. It turned out all I needed was a bit of adjustment and tweaking of the frame and everything lined up just fine. BIG relief!
AND....since I was in Chico, of course I had to go to Barnes & Noble and have lunch at the Starbucks inside the store. I also found 2 bargain books: the true story of Dewey, the library cat in Spencer, IA and an autobiography of Rick Springfield. WOOT!
On Saturday, we had more fun with Jay and Paula (Jake's Burgers is GREAT), and then went to a friend's BD party.
Good week. Thank you, Lord!

My Pegboard Desk

2012-01-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

Apparently these things were popular in the ‘40’s & 50’s. I had one. I LOVED it. The pegboard would slide out and you could then inset a masonite board in for a solid surface to draw or color on. And of course all the little wooden pegs would store inside the desk. I hadn’t thought of that desk in ages. I’ve been reading the book “Julie & Julia” and it mentions Julia Child’s pegboard wall in her kitchen where she hung all her pots and pans. That jogged my memory about the desk. I vividly remember using it when I was 3-4 years old, when we lived in Kansas City, KS. I have no memories of it after that, when we moved to California. It might not have survived the trip, since after we’d started out with our trailer full of possessions, the hitch broke and everything in the trailer ended up in a corn field. After picking up what could be salvaged, we drove back to KC to repack and reload. Then headed out again.

I tried looking these up on the Internet. This one pictured here was on Ebay. And I guess that’s the only place you’re going to find one these days. I thought this would be a dandy thing for Lia, but I guess not. I know Marv could easily make a pegboard in a frame to place on a table, but where on earth would you find pegs? There is nothing like what I had as a child. There are peg games with large plastic pegs, but Lia is beyond that kind of thing. The closest thing would be a Lite-Brite set. Ah, well. The things of childhood past…

Sure did love that desk.

Thankful/Positive 1/1 to 1/7

2012-01-09T09:06:00.000-08:00

We thought for sure that when we took Sheba in to the vet last Monday, there was a good possibility that we would be taking an empty cat carrier home. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case…this time. We got her a reprieve in the form of a steroid shot. We were told this was only a stopgap, but I’m grateful for whatever more time we have with her.

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I found out that a book I’ve been waiting to be published for a long time is now available! It’s titled “When My Baby Dreams” by Adele Enersen. I will report more on that after I get my copy.

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I know the above isn’t much of a post, but the purpose of this whole Monday blog thing is to reflect on the previous week and pick out only the positive stuff. There is a whole world of things/people/etc to be thankful for and positive about every single day. Waking up to a new day is one. Seeing the sunshine, drinking coffee, talking to friends…the list goes on. What I want to do though is not just a “diary” type of thing… “Dear Diary, I started the day as usual with my coffee and trying to get my eyes to open up on their own. Then I brushed my teeth and got dressed. Then I emptied the cat box.” My readership would go from the possible 5 down to maybe 1 if I did that sort of thing. The point is to focus on picking 1 or 2 real positives apart from the everyday life that we are to give thanks for as a matter of course. For the Christian, anyway. We are told to “pray, praise and give thanks” for everything. Which I try to do. But some days, the only thing I can think of to be grateful for is that the day is finally OVER and I don’t have to deal with it anymore. This blog will force me to come up with something positive in a one week period beyond the everyday.

I leave you with something to ponder:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

More Freebies

2012-01-06T11:43:00.000-08:00

I’m pretty sure I’ve written about my love of free stuff before, but I haven’t figured out how to access labels on my blog yet, so I’m not 100% sure. Just give me time…I’ll get it eventually.

In the meantime, here’s something new about freebies, since it just happened yesterday.

I try to give blood as often as I’m allowed since I’m a universal donor. I’ve missed the last 4-5 times because of illness or being in Fresno. The last time was in December and they were giving out a free holiday t-shirt. I was in Fresno…(sigh)

So when the blood drive was here yesterday, the planets aligned and nothing else was going on and I was in good health and I went in to donate. Even though there was no t-shirt offered. It was out of the goodness of my heart (or veins, maybe) and the lure of free snacks. Plus, I had a good book I’m in the middle of. *More on that later.

After I registered, I was given a nice, shiny key chain because I was at the gallon mark of donations! I’ve given a GALLON of my life’s blood! WOOT! And it’s a real nice key chain too. Not cheap. Heavy metal. Came in a nice little gift box. Of course, now that I’ve talked about it, there is NO chance of me ever re-gifting it to anyone…not that I would do that.

So I got all comfy in the reclined chair and read my book and donated. It doesn’t take me very long to fill up the bag…fast blood, I guess. I went to the table for my snacks and ate my crackers and nuts and took a small bag of Cracker Jacks to eat at home. **More on that later. As I turned away from the snack table to leave, there was another table set up with ALL THE HOLIDAY SHIRTS FROM LAST TIME…

They usually don’t have leftovers, but there was a good number of them. So I got my shirt after all! I was so stoked! It was a very nice grayish/blue color, which I love, and had white snowflakes on it. I was amazingly thrilled. I’m wearing it as I write this…***More on the asterisks.

*Yes, I know it’s been a long time since I did a book report. I’ll get to it eventually. I think I gave up doing that on a monthly basis some time ago. I’ll just report when I don’t have something else to talk about.

**Cracker Jacks. Love ‘em. Always have. And of course the prize was always something to look forward to. Not anymore. (sigh) All they have now are little paper things like pencil toppers or a folding paper to reveal a famous person. NO FUN. I guess there were so many people ingesting the prize and suing the company that all the fun was taken out of it. Now be honest…did you eat until you came to the prize, or did you dump the box into a bowl, paw through it for the prize and THEN eat it? Hmmm? Be honest!

***I saw this device used in another blog I used to read, and of course, I decided to steal it for my very own. So, dear Gladys, KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE ASTERISKS!!!

Retro Resolution

2012-01-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

I hadn’t come up with a New Year’s Resolution as I was still so chuffed at keeping the one I made last year—about blogging every week. So I didn’t even try. I would just keep up what I had started.

Last night I was having trouble falling asleep because of pain. I had forgotten to take my pain meds earlier in the evening and was really hurting by the time I went to bed. So I was laying there, waiting for the stuff to kick in. I started thinking about maybe giving up something for Lent this year. I hadn’t been led to do that in a couple years or so. I was running things around in my mind and came up with something entirely new: instead of giving something up, how about taking something on?

The result was this: a thankfulness blog apart from my Friday one. And it wouldn’t just be for Lent, it would be for this entire year. It would be written on Sunday and posted on Monday and would cover the previous week. This would force me to really go through the days and focus on the positive of what had transpired.

Since January 1st fell on a Sunday, the previous week would be Christmas. That’s too easy. So I decided to write this as my first entry. Since I didn’t come up with the idea until last night, my first posting is late…typical for me, huh?

So start looking for me on Mondays as well as Fridays. Better yet, subscribe to my blog, and then you’ll get it in your email inbox and won’t have to wait for notices on Facebook. And let me know what you think! I welcome comments. You DON’T have to have a blog or website or anything like that to leave comments here. You can post anonymously. But if you can leave your name within the comment just to let me know who you are, that would be dandy! It would also let me know that I’m not sending all this into a vacuum…that would suck! (haha, vacuum humor! Never gets old!)

So just as a quickie bit of thankfulness:

12/25/11 to 12/31/11

Christmas and all that entails—the birth of our Lord and Savior. Born to die. Born to save.

Fellowship with family and friends.

The old year is over. We’ve been granted a new start. Amen, and thank you, Lord!

30 Days of Pictures - Day 7

2011-12-30T11:25:00.000-08:00

Because of where Christmas fell this year, and because of the chaos of family, fun and frivolity, I didn’t have a blog last week. So…to make up for it, this week’s blog is a bit longer than usual.

A picture of something you wish you could change

I really, really wish I had better knees. I have always had problems with my knees. When I was about 10 years old, I developed Osgood-Schlatter Disease in both knees. For an entire year I was unable to participate in any kind of sports at school. On bad days, I had to wrap both knees in ace bandages. I won’t even go into the ostracism that led to. I was left with large bumps just below the knee caps that made it impossible to kneel. And it was ugly.

About 8 years ago I developed arthritis in both knees, but the left one was much worse than the right. For quite a while I was on a heavy load of pain medication. Then I graduated to using a cane. I was always in pain. Walking hurt. Walking improperly also really messed up my back.

After struggling with it for a couple of years I finally accepted that I needed to have the left knee replaced, hoping it would save the right knee for a few more years. The whole experience was horrific. I have never had pain like I did with the recovery. Plus, this was before the antidepressants, so I was already borderline going off the deep end emotionally. The addition of the pain made it all a hell. I didn’t do the physical therapy as I should have, with the result being limited mobility in my left knee. Getting my socks and shoes on in the morning is an adventure in itself, not to mention pedicures! But it DID help with making the right knee last for a while longer…I told myself that I would go through a GREAT DEAL of arthritis pain before I would EVER go through another knee replacement.

In the last 2 weeks, the right knee has decided that it no longer wants to participate. It’s almost exactly 6 years since the left was replaced, and the right knee seems to think that it’s carried the load long enough. BUT…I now have the antidepressants on my side! HA! I can handle a LOT more pain than I could previously. I went CHRISTMAS SHOPPING with Paula…AT THE MALL while in great pain. I went AFTER-CHRISTMAS SHOPPING with Sarah…AT THE MALL while in even greater pain. I’m back on a heavy load of pain meds, but I just cannot face that surgery and post-op period yet. And while I could handle a cane with ease when the pain was on the left, I haven’t quite gotten the rhythm of dealing with it on the right. So I guess I need to practice a bit…

But God is so good! I have never had to deal with my knees and back at the same time! When the back has been bad, the knees have been tolerable. And the reverse is true as well. Through the last couple of weeks I have had very little trouble with my back. So it’s all good…I just keep clinging to Phil. 4:13. It also helps to remember St. Paul and how little he considered the challenges in his life. I try to be content in all things.

Feasted, Feted and Felicitations

2011-12-16T16:12:00.000-08:00

I had a birthday recently. December 11^th, to be exact. My 58^th. Wow, I am old!

As with most adults, celebrating on the actual day isn’t as important as when one is a child. It doesn’t matter when you get a card or present or maybe go out to dinner. It’s nice to have the day of your birth celebrated “whenever”.

This year, it started shortly after Thanksgiving when I spent a week with Sarah. I was given a lovely, soft, yummy throw blanket. I even used it while I was there. And one night Chris took us to dinner at Red Robin (yummm!), and while that wasn’t specifically for my birthday, it was a celebration nonetheless. Also while in Fresno, I bought a new purse! You can NEVER have too many of those! That was my little gift to myself.

Back home, a friend took me out to lunch a few days before the 11^th. It’s become a tradition to celebrate at either Taco Bell or Jake’s Burgers. This year it was Taco Bell. We had a nice lunch and then went back to her house, where her mother was waiting. I had invited Thea’s mom to join us for lunch, but she didn’t want to cut into “our” time together. We had THE BEST VISIT just the 3 of us! AND….there were homemade Christmas cookies for our dessert! Can’t beat that!

Paul called me on my birthday!! He NEVER calls!! This was a BIG WOOT! This does NOT take away from talking to Sarah almost every day (and that is pretty essential to my well-being) but was a nice little bennie. Also, my brother called me, and he and his wife and daughter sang to me.

Marv got me “Cowboys and Aliens”, which just came out on DVD. That was high on my list of new movies I wanted to watch, but just never got around to going to the theater. THEN we went out to Red Lobster for dinner. ALWAYS a treat, no matter what. And Marv told the waitress it was my birthday and I got a WONDERFUL piece of chocolate wonderfulness along with a scoop of ice cream with a lit candle on it!

I got lots of well-wishes on Facebook. I have come to really love that place. I have met some incredible people there.

All in all, a wonderful birthday…Thank you, Lord!!

PS--the above picture was not my birthday cake. For one thing, it doesn't have NEARLY enough candles...

December Ramblings

2011-12-09T10:42:00.000-08:00

As usual, this month (and this year) is rapidly nearing an end and I don’t have much accomplished. Always have big plans, but the rush just seems to make things even harder. Don’t know if I’m going to get Christmas cards made this year. I found some very good Christian ones last year at the sales and may just go with those this time and give myself a break.

Since I spent a week in Fresno right after Thanksgiving, I didn’t get the tree up and decorated yet. Marv got it out of the attic and put together last night, so now the decorating begins for me. No more kid’s ornaments anymore. Sarah took hers with her a few years ago and this year I will be shipping Paul’s to him in VA. I did get to help Sarah put her tree up while I was at her place. Lia took such delight in being able to help put some ornaments on.

Last week I went to Chico to get my new glasses and took Anne Murray along for the ride. Several years ago I heard “Mary’s Boy Child” on the radio sung by her and just fell in love with that song. I was in the car at the time, so when I got home I called the radio station to find out the exact name of the song and what album it was from. Then I got the CD. Really fine Christmas CD without a lot of secular stuff. And Anne’s voice is the only female one low enough that I can sing along with the songs.

I’ve needed new glasses for a couple years now, especially since my fall in the parking lot chipped up my bifocals and really skewed the frame. For almost a year now I’ve been using my reading/computer/piano glasses full time and only putting on the bifocals for watching TV. My new reading/etc. glasses are fine. The new bifocals are different this time in that they are progressives. No definite line in the lenses, which I love, but it’s taking a little getting used to the “grey area” and finding just where my eyes need to go at different times. It’s also a different material from the plastic lenses I’ve always gotten, and that’s a bit hard to get used to as well. The peripheral area is blurry. Don’t know if I can deal with that. Time will tell.

Is anyone reading this? Really? Any suggestions on topics? Anything you’d like to know about me? I have pretty much accomplished my New Year’s Resolution for 2011 by posting a blog every single week. I know some of them have been skimpy things, but by golly, they’ve been there! Subscribe! Become a follower! Leave comments! You don’t have to sign in to blogspot…I think you can leave comments anonymously. But of course it would be nice if you had your name in there somewhere so I know who reads this…I know Gladys has had problems with the comment function.

See ya next week!

November Book Report

2011-12-02T09:35:00.000-08:00

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Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

As far as I’m concerned, Mr. Riggs is a genius. He took a bunch of bizarre vintage b&w photos with no connection between them and wove a story with them. The story in itself was fascinating, creepy and utterly compelling, and the addition of the photos was a great little bonus. The story had an open end to it, leaving you wanting much more. And I did. I really wanted to know what happened next. According to his blog, Riggs has confirmed that there will be a sequel with more odd photos. Yay! And…he has sold the rights to a movie based on the first book! Double yay!

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Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

This is a delightful children’s book that I reread after watching the Jim Carrey movie “based” on it. I think the only thing the movie used from the book was the title and the fact that it had penguins in it. It was a good movie, and I enjoyed it, but the book is a separate entity to be enjoyed on its own.

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Heat Rises by Richard Castle (novel)

Richard Castle’s Deadly Storm (graphic novel based on the original book)

More fun from the people that bring us the delightful TV show “Castle.” The smartest thing they could ever do is actually write these supposed books that the main character, Richard Castle, writes. The Nikki Heat books are fantastic. And then, to start doing graphic novels from Mr. Castle’s earlier Derrick Storm series is just plain genius marketing.

Thanksgiving Blessings

2011-11-24T21:49:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Blessings

(in no particular order, except for the first one)

Jesus

My wonderful family

My beloved friends

My church

My country

My freedom to worship

The beauty of nature

Music

Art

Literature

My salvation

Computers

Laughter

Cats

Chocolate

Get Outta My Way!!

2011-11-18T19:20:00.000-08:00

Several years ago, before I started taking antidepressants, my theme song was a little ditty by Blue Flannel called "Having a Bad Day." I heard it on the radio and said "That's my song!!!" I especially liked the refrain, which was:
Having a bad day,
Having a bad day,
Get outta my way,
'cause I'm having a bad day.

And the lead singer basically sang about how he hated all kinds of people. No discrimination there. ALL of them!! And that was how I felt so often. Nothing personal. Just get outta my way! I had a LOT of bad days...

I got to thinking about that song today, and how I hadn't played it in a LONG time. And I thought about how it was no longer my theme song. And how I really wished I hadn't waited almost 20 years before asking my doctor for a little help with the depression...
Better late than never, eh?
So I got on youtube and listened to the song again. Still love it. Great tune, and boy, it nails the mood...anyone who's had a bad day knows what I mean....

November 11, 2011

2011-11-11T16:14:00.000-08:00

God bless America and all who protect her.
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."
Psalm 33:12

30 Days of Pictures - Day 6

2011-11-04T11:56:00.000-07:00

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A picture of something you love

I should've posted this one after the one I did about liver, but I got distracted. I was about 5 years old when I had my first French Donut. We were living in Bellflower, CA at the time. My dad brought home a Winchell's box and these heavenly delights were inside. I was instantly in love, and have remained so. I've written about French Donuts before, so I won't belabor the point.
THESE THINGS ARE DA BOMB!!!
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Saying Goodbye to Valerie

2011-10-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

October 28, 2011

Dear Valerie,

I know that you are unable to read this, my last letter to you. You died on October 6^th, but since I never got to really say goodbye, this letter helps ease my aching heart a bit.

You never professed a faith in Christ, but seemed open to my attempts to witness to you. Even while you were in a coma the last months of your life, I never ceased praying that the Holy Spirit would use my words to your benefit. And in my last letters, which Svenja read to you, I always included my love and prayers. I now can only continue praying for your grieving family, that they can find some measure of peace and ultimately draw near to Christ. I will never stop those prayers.

When we first met on Facebook, playing the game Ravenwood, I was immediately drawn to your quirky sense of humor. You made the first contact, and I wasn’t really interested in any kind of “chat friendship”. I was only interested in the game. As time when on, though, the game became less important than the true friendship that developed. Since you lived in Germany, the time difference dictated that our chats would come at the middle of my day and the end of your day. I was amazed that you spoke English so well, and delighted in the little quirks of your speech at times. The fact that you were the same age as Sarah, with little ones the same age as Lia was another bond.

As the months went by, the daily conversations became in integral part of my day. I knew that I would be talking to you at some point every day. I loved learning about your life in Germany, the stores you went to, the kinds of meals you prepared for your husband and 2 girls. And you told me you enjoyed the same exchange about America and my life. I loved sharing recipes with you. I truly regret that you never got to make the Taco Salad you were so interested in. And I have done my best to teach Lia about Muffin Tin Meals!

When you suddenly disappeared from Facebook, I became alarmed. When you didn’t respond to my messages, emails and letter, I was even more concerned. And then the day came when Svenja contacted me on Facebook to tell me the sad story of your brain tumor and aftermath. From that point on, I had the feeling that I was going to lose you, but never gave up hope or praying for your recovery. I kept writing letters that I knew Svenja would read to you, and prayed that my words would make their way through the coma to your heart. I kept praying until the day Svenja told me you lost your battle. And now the “pen pals” are your Mina and my Lia. Lia does not yet realize the importance of this contact to Mina, but hopefully will some day. It’s hard to lose your mother at the age of 5. And Rosie isn’t even 1 year old. And Mark is doing his best as a single father now, but he misses you terribly. There is one positive to all this though. I have now forged a friendship with Svenja, Mark’s cousin and your dear friend. Svenja loved you as much as anyone else. You will always be in my heart. Your family will always be in my prayers.

And so this letter ends. Our earthly friendship has come to a close as well. I eagerly await the day when it will resume when we both stand before the Father. May God grant this last plea!

Goodbye, dear Valerie. Goodbye my friend.

Love, Dot

30 Days of Pictures - Day 5

2011-10-21T10:37:00.000-07:00

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A picture of your biggest fear

That's a picture of Country Crest Health Center. That's where Marv's mom lives. It's a nursing home. It's a nice one, but it's a nursing home. That's also where my dad spent the last 2 years of his life. Not a lot of good memories there. Marv's mom is so different in her attitude and outlook than my dad was, which makes it a lot easier to deal with. But at the end of the visits, we get to go home and she doesn't. She's stuck there. I would rather die. I don't think I would be as bad as my dad was, and I would strive to emulate my MIL, who I adore. But I would rather die than spend my last time on earth in a nursing home.

Sing Along With Me!

2011-10-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

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I've been pretty sick this past week, so as a sop, this week's blog is a poem/song I wrote several years ago. It was mainly in response to the food that was being served to my dad in the nursing home, but can be applied to any kind of institution food. Enjoy! Come back for seconds, if you like!

Mystery Meals

(sung to the tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic)

They’re serving up the dinner and I sit down eagerly

I ask them what I’m eatin’ and they shrug quite helplessly

They tell me that it’s healthy and to eat it thankfully

The Mystery Meals are here

chorus

Come, and sit down at the table

Bring your Maalox if you’re able

Good nutrition’s just a fable

The Mystery Meals are here

I lift the cover on my dinner just to take a peek

I poke it gently with my fork and then hear someone shriek:

“What is this crap they’ve served us now, that we’re supposed to eat!?”

The Mystery Meals are here (sing chorus)

I eat my dinner cautiously and try to keep it down

And hope for something yummy when they bring dessert around

Dessert is an enigma, too, a sort of greenish-brown

The Mystery Meals are here (sing chorus)

August/September Book Report

2011-10-07T17:14:00.000-07:00

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My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D.

Dr. Taylor was a brain scientist when she had a major stroke at the age of 37. This is her fascinating account of her journey into recovery. I have to admit I skimmed some of the technical stuff, but it’s all pretty ‘user-friendly’ as far as laymen go. Very readable. She writes with courage and humor.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

This is the first book in the Precious Ramotswe series and is a total delight. I had heard of these books, and they’d been recommended to me, but I’d never gotten around to reading any. I love the spunky, common sense woman who starts her own detective agency in Africa. I look forward to more of these books.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Will Rogers, Immortal Cowboy by Shannon Garst

This biography was from the Youth section, so no bad stuff. I doubt that anyone was this perfect, but there is no question that Will Rogers was a real American treasure.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

The Lords and The New Creatures by Jim Morrison

There are some interesting verbal pictures amongst these words. The way it flows along makes it feel almost like automatic writing. Not much of it makes sense, though. It’s Jim Morrison. What do you expect?

30 Days of Pictures - Day 4

2011-09-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

A picture of someone you miss

My dad: Albert M. Jackson Jr. 1911-2005

I STILL have moments where I will see something or hear about something that I know Dad would be interested in, and my first thought will be "I have to call Dad!" or "I have to remember to tell Dad!" And there will be that little pain in my heart...

30 Days of Pictures - Day 3

2011-09-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

A picture of something you hate.

That, folks, is a plate of liver. I can barely even look at it.
I do NOT want to hear from anyone about how wonderful it is if it's cooked right. I do NOT want to hear how full of B vitamins it is.

30 Days of Pictures - Day 2

2011-09-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

A picture of you and the person you've been the closest with the longest

The one and only Marv! We've know each other for 37 years. Been married for over 35 years. Still seems like yesterday...

30 Days of Pictures - Day 1

2011-09-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

I’ve seen postings on Facebook where people had a list of 30 different pictures they were to put up, 1 for each day. I’ve never seen the entire 30 done by anyone. So I decided to make that a new series to blog on. I’ll do a different picture each week within the series. As with the Alphabet Soup series, I might do some pictures blogs, then maybe a couple regular ones and then pictures again as the mood takes me.
So here we go...(BTW, this pic was taken several years ago....notice the non-grey hair?)

1. A picture of yourself and 10 facts

I am a Christian

I am 57 years old

I love being a grandmother

I love cats

I learn something new each time I read the Bible

I play the piano for my own enjoyment

I enjoy most of the cartoons I watch with Lia

I don’t mind watching the same movies with Lia over and over

I really like milk toast

I have a great sense of humor

Alphabet Soup – part 9: the last spoonful

2011-09-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

X – X is for Xanadu

Not the poem by Coleridge; I’m talking about the Gene Kelly/Olivia Newton-John movie. I LOVED that movie! I loved the music! I thought it was great fun! I didn’t care that it made no money at the theater and the reviews were pretty bad. I wanted to sing and roller skate like Olivia did, with my hair flowing back in the breeze.

Y – Y is for Yak Butter

One of my favorite books that I read over and over is “Escape From Kathmandu” by Kim Stanley Robinson. In it, some ex-pats in Nepal find themselves offered tea with rancid yak butter floating on top. This beverage is mentioned several times. I looked up how butter tea is made, and like the Vegemite from the previous soup blog, I don’t think I would like it…

Z – Z is for Zamboni

Who doesn’t love Zambonis?? I ask you?? What always comes to mind whenever I hear that word: Snoopy on the ice in the bird bath, preparing for the hockey game with Woodstock. He’s driving the Zamboni and getting things ready.

And there ya go, folks! A through Z. Hope you enjoyed the meal…

Randomacity

2011-08-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

OK. I will admit that I had NO CLUE what to write about yesterday, which is why there was no posting. I know that I left that note on FB promising something really special today…but guess what? I lied! There. Now you know the truth. I feel much better…

SO…that means rummaging through that box in my mind called “Random Thoughts”. Sorry. It’s all I got right now. The muse has apparently gone camping one last time this season.

We’ll start with the title of this blog. I know that “randomacity” isn’t a real word. It’s a little tribute to Phil Hartman, a comic genius who was taken from us far too soon. In an episode of NewsRadio, his character, Bill McNeal was having fun with the word “adequate” by coming up with a lot of variations on it just to annoy Dave Foley’s character. It was a cute little episode that has stuck with me all these years.

I really miss my childhood closet. It was HUGE. My bedroom itself was small, but the closet was HUGE. For the last 33 years I’ve been making do with a VERY small section of closet in our bedroom. When Sarah moved out, and her room became the craft room, I immediately took over the closet for my use. Still not enough. YOU CANNOT HAVE A CLOSET TOO BIG. No such closet exists. Except maybe the one that leads you to Narnia….boy, I’d love to have THAT one! I’d have my own set of closets on the other side in Narnia!

Enough randomology for you? No? You want more? OK. One last thought. (Stop cheering! It’s rude!) Just as you can’t have a closet too big, you can NEVER have too many books. Marv, Sarah and Paul would take issue with that statement. But it’s true. Books are life. I love books. Seeing all those books on my shelves give me comfort. I grew up with a ton of books on the shelves in our house. My mom was a voracious reader. My only regret is that I never really got to discuss books with her before her decline. It would’ve been nice especially to discuss some of the books in HER library once I had read some of them. I remember checking out a book from the local library when I was in high school. It was Dragonwyck by Anya Seton. I loved that book. Very dark and gothic. I was stunned some time later to discover that very same book amongst my mother’s books. She had read that same wonderful novel! I truly wish I could have discussed this with her…

OK. Time to put the randomlicious box back in the TINY LITTLE CLOSET of my mind. I will try to have a “real” blog for you next week. But probably not. Buwahahahahahahah! I am evil!!!!

Really, I’m OK. No cause for concern. Move along now…I mean it! Get outta here!

Billie

2011-08-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

I was looking through some of my blog sites for prompts and came across one written about bullies and kids named Billy. The writer had very poor experiences in his childhood with boys of that name and couldn’t think of anyone named Billy that included a positive experience. I immediately thought of a little girl I knew whose name was Billie.

I was 5 and she was about the same age. She and her family lived next door. She was one of my first friends, simply because of proximity. None of the families in that area had much in they way of money, ours included. I don’t know how it came about that we knew it was Billie’s birthday, but we had a little celebration at our house, just us and Billie. My mom got a coloring book and crayons and we wrapped them up. I was so jealous, because I never got a new coloring book. All I had to color on was paper. I didn’t understand why Billie was so special.

We had a little cake and sang Happy Birthday, and then Billie burst into tears. That totally floored me. Why!? She was getting a new coloring book and crayons! Looking back, and sort of remembering some of the adult conversation going on, I think perhaps that Billie had never celebrated her birthday before, and was just overwhelmed by it all.

Some time later, Billie was playing outside and ran into the street and was hit by a car. She only ended up with severe road rash on one arm. My mother took her aside a couple of days later and very carefully explained why you NEVER run out in the road, and you NEVER go NEAR the road without looking both ways. I already knew that information—why didn’t Billie? Why did she have to have this explained by another person? Again, vaguely remember conversation going on around me, it was apparent that no one had ever told Billie this stuff.

And that’s about all I remember about Billie. She was my first friend. I don’t know when they moved away, but I was aware that suddenly she didn’t live next door anymore. I hope she’s doing well.

Grandma’s Continuing Education

2011-08-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

When my kids were little, I knew almost all the names of the various cartoon people in their world. I knew all the Ninja Turtle folk—both good and bad, most of the Smurfs, Rainbow Bright and her friends, Strawberry Shortcake and her friends, most of the My Little Pony gang, etc. And Barbie was Barbie! No matter what hair color she had. Yes, she had a few friends with their own names, but they looked different, too.

Now that Lia is in my life, I’m finding that I have to learn a whole new cast of characters. There are different looking ponies now, with different names. All the Disney movies now have their own “Barbie” dolls, with specific looks and names. And even the regular Barbies often have their own look and name. And Lia has them all, by the way. Ponies and Barbies. And now there’s Tinkerbell and all her fairy friends to learn too! And since S & C don’t have cable, Lia watches movies all the time. Over and over. The same movies. Then she’ll move on to another movie or two and watch those over and over for a while. While I was visiting this last time, we saw the 2^nd Mermaid movie and the old Disney version of Alice in Wonderland. Over and over. In play, Lia will re-enact parts of the movies, using her various dolls and stuffed animals for the characters. She will assign me a doll/animal and tell me who it is, then she’ll take her “character” and feed me lines! I may not have paid strict attention! I won’t know my lines! She’ll correct me! She’s memorized these movies! Then she’ll switch without notice and the former Rapunzel doll which had become Pocahontas, is now Ariel from the Mermaid movie. And if I voice the wrong character, Lia gets mad at me! Can’t win!

But it’s all good, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Bring ‘em on…Grandma can handle it…

Alphabet Soup - part 8

2011-08-05T13:04:00.000-07:00

U – U is for Ukulele

To me, the ukulele is the symbol for Arthur Godfrey. When I was young, I listened to Arthur Godfrey on the radio and watched him on TV. I remember his commercials for Lipton tea and soup and for Axion detergent. To me, he always sounded like he had a slight cold, but his voice was very comforting. I enjoyed the talent shows. One of my favorite movies is The Glass Bottom boat, where he plays Doris Day’s father. They do a duet where he is playing his ukulele.

V – V is for Vegemite

I’ve mentioned being an Anglophile before, but I am also an Australophile. It’s a fascinating country and fascinating people. I love the native artwork. I had never heard of Vegemite, though, until the song “Down Under” by Men at Work. I loved that song and did a little research into Vegemite. I don’t think I would care for it…

W – W is for Windchimes

I love windchimes. When Marv and I were first married, we found some local artist who made ceramic windchimes. They were gorgeous, and that first Christmas we gave EVERYBODY windchimes. Sadly, ours broke a few years later after we had moved and by then the guy was no longer in the area. I tried finding him on the internet a couple times, but I don’t really know how his named was spelled. If I didn’t think it would drive the neighbors nuts, I’d hang windchimes all around the outside of the house so we would be sure of catching SOME kind of breeze on a spring or summer night. I’d have all the windows open and go to sleep listening to those chimes.

June/July Book Report

2011-07-29T10:31:00.001-07:00

Never got around to doing a report for June, so decided to combine last months and this, since only 4 books were read.

Camilla by Madeleine L’Engle

This is from the young adult section. I read it when I was in high school and enjoyed it once again. It’s a bit dated by now, but still a good book. Camilla comes of age and discovers her parents are only human. No one is perfect, parents make mistakes, the world does NOT revolve around YOU. In the process, she discovers her first love is the brother of her best friend. The book definitely does not have a happy ending, but the ending is real, and is one that can be dealt with.

Bedelia by Vera Capsary

This was a real corker from my mom’s library. Turn of the century suspense about a black widow that marries lonely middle-age men and makes them deliriously happy until they die “normal” deaths. After taking out huge life insurance policies, of course. The plot wouldn’t work in today’s modern age, but still a great book.

Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

Non-fiction book that I’ve had for years, but never got around to reading it until now. Heyerdahl was convinced that the Polynesian islands were first inhabited by primitive sailors from the Americas. He set out to prove that a primitive raft, such as was available back then, could safely make it from Peru to Polynesia. He did it. Great read for anyone loving true adventure stories.

Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich

Since this is the newest Stephanie Plum book, and has only been out for a short time, I won't reveal too much. If you're not a fan of this series, you REALLY need to be! As usual, Stephanie goes after her FTA's with her usual flair and incompetence, aided by the plus-sized Lula. I will only add two more words: Ranger action. OK, I'll make that 3 words: MAJOR Ranger action. As in lots of action. Wow. With Ranger. Excuse me, I'm going to take a cold shower...

Alphabet Soup – part 7

2011-07-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

R - R is for Roller Skates

I grew up in a very rural area where there were no sidewalks. I had roller skates, but no good place to skate. The street was far too rough, and there wasn’t enough room in the driveway. There was a local roller rink, but we NEVER went there. I didn’t even know it existed until I was in high school. The roller skates I had were the clamp on kind that you attached to your shoes and had to tighten with a key. I have no clue why my parents got them for me when there was no place to use them. My friend Shirley had a very large back patio where we could do a little skating back and forth a few feet. We were there one day when my skate caught on something and I fell forward into the little garden area at the end of the patio. I put out my hands to break the fall, and punctured my hand on a rusty nail sticking up from a board. That meant a trip to the doctor for a tetanus shot.

S – S is for Scurbles

I don’t remember when I came up with the word “scurbles” but it was some time when the kids were very small. It could be used as an interjection or anything you wanted. Sarah was always drawing little creatures with odd names and I guess decided to draw what she pictured a scurble looked it. Very cute, kinda like a little mushroom creature. Many years later when “Fantasia” first came out on video tape, I got it and watched it. One of the musical sections had little critters dancing around that looked just like the scurbles that Sarah had drawn! I was amazed! We had never rented that movie before, so it wasn’t an image that had crept into Sarah’s mind earlier.

T - T is for Tapioca

I have always loved tapioca, but since it was a cooked pudding, we didn’t have it very often. This was long before Jello came out with the packages that still required some cooking, but you didn’t have to soak it overnight first. My grandmother used it a lot to thicken fruit pies and cobblers. One time we had large pearl tapioca, which we’d never had before. After it was soaked, my grandmother made pudding. It was like having small eyeballs in your dessert! I loved it!

Alphabet Soup - part 6

2011-07-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

Just a little preamble regarding the “L” posting a few weeks back: I got the ‘Leather & Lace’ CD and it was like going back in time!!! I was singing along with the ladies and lovin’ it! I was listening to it today while paying bills, balancing the checkbook and getting this blog ready. Awesome!! J

O – O is for Opal

I love opals. I love the fire within them, the prism of colors, the variations. Oddly, I have no opal jewelry. Wish I did.

P – P is for Pollock

I’ve blogged about Jackson Pollock before, so I won’t say much here. I love his work. He was a deeply flawed human being, but his soul was amazing. I was talking to Sarah once about accent walls, and I said I’d love an accent wall done as a Pollock abstract. I thought Marvin would barf. He does NOT appreciate Pollock.

Q – Q is for Quark

I’ve loved ALL the Star Trek TV shows and movies and have seen them all. I was deeply saddened by the non-ending of Deep Space Nine. I really hate when there are loose ends. Quark was such a great character. Yes, he was a greedy, conniving Ferengi, but he had a heart…

He certainly had mine ♥

Mega Blog! Watch Out!

2011-07-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

As promised last week, here are TWO SEPARATE BLOGS to take the place of last week’s missing blog and this week’s regular one. Enjoy!
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
RANDOM 5
1. Write a haiku about the last meal you ate: (2 verses!)

hot dogs and beans. yum!
franks sacrificed on the grill,
buns to follow next

second course: beans! oooh!
They kept those “home fires” burnin’
ALL NIGHT LONG

2. Name 5 things in your freezer:
ice cream, ice cubes, fish, vegetables, sausage patties

3. Are you looking forward to the next holiday? Why or why not:
When I originally planned this posting, the holiday coming up was July 4^th, but that has come and gone. The next holiday is Labor Day, and yes, I am looking forward to it. That’s when Sarah plans on coming up again. And of course, where Sarah is, Lia is as well. Not that I wouldn’t be more than happy to see Sarah by herself, it’s just that Lia is an added “bonus” so to speak. And speak she does! Volumes! At high decibel! Sarah was a VERY quiet child…don’t know where Lia gets it…

4. What would you be doing at this exact moment if the internet had never been invented?
Probably reading. That has been the biggest change in my life, due to the computer. And I do mourn that loss to a certain extent, but I have found such joy in just puttering around the ‘net! AND IT’S NOT JUST RAVENWOOD!!

5. Describe your “happy place”:
I don’t often go to my “happy place” during the day. Just too busy. Used to go there a lot as an unhappy child. Quite often when I lie in bed at night, though, I will check it out. And it was a different place then, but there are certain similarities to the one today. It’s a cabin in the woods up north. Maybe Shasta or Eureka. Lots of pines. Sometimes it’s almost like a tree house, tall and skinny, with the upper floors looking out into the pines on one side and over the mountains on the other. There’s a cold mountain stream or creek running nearby…you can hear it any time of day or night. It’s always sunny, although quite often very cold and breezy. It’s very quiet, except for the creek and the birds. There are decks aplenty to sit and enjoy the sun in the early morning with a hot cup of coffee.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
ALPHABET SOUP – PART 5

M – M is for Moggies!

There are several different stories of how the British term moggy/moggie came to refer to a cat. Being an Anglophile, I’ve always loved the term. It sounds cuddly. I even wrote a poem about them for the altered book I did for my niece many years ago:

Love them Moggies
Love them so
Always know just where to go
Don’t like dogs and don’t like snow
Lovely little Moggies

Friendly Moggies
Purr so sweet
Wash their little hands and feet
With rough tongues (they’re very neat)
Lovely little Moggies

I love Moggies!
Every day
Love to watch them run and play
In my bed at night they’ll lay
Lovely little Moggies

N – N is for Narcissis

This is the official flower for December, (my BD is Dec. 11, for anyone who wants to send a card, BTW). I’ve always loved them for their wonderful scent, which lasts even when they’re past their prime. Pretty flower, lovely scent, a couple vases of them in your home and you’ve got something special!

So there ya go, Gladys…forgive me? I’ll probably do this again at the end of the month when I’m spending another week at Sarah’s.

We pre-empt this blog...

2011-07-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

...for an important message:
This week's blog has been postponed due to a heavy influx of "grandma business"! As a sop, next week will contain TWO BLOGS to make amends...

peace out ♥

Alphabet Soup – part 4

2011-06-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

J – J is for Jabberwocky

I was pretty young when I read the Alice books. My mother had this wonderful volume that comprised of both books with illustrations. Since then, I’ve read them several times. I especially love the poetry. Jabberwocky was so different, in that it had words that were made up, but still made sense when read as a story poem. Wonderful books.

K – K is for Kaleidoscope

I’ve always loved kaleidoscopes. As a child I seemed to always have one of the cheap paper kinds where you twist the end to change the stuff inside. I was just amazed at how this wonderful thing worked. You could twist and twist, and the results were never duplicated. One year, as a Christmas present, I got one that had interchangeable shallow plastic containers that would snap onto the bottom of the tube. There were different things in each container, and there was one that was empty that you could put whatever you wanted in and see what kind of magic would happen. I tried paper clips, rubber bands, everything. I just loved that kaleidoscope. I have no idea what happened to it, and I’ve never been able to find one like that again. There are some sites online where you can have a ton of fun making kaleidoscopes. The first one is http://krazydad.com/kaleido/ That one enables you to take a pictures from anywhere online and make a kaleidoscope. I’ve spent hours playing with that one! I recently came across a couple more that are a lot of fun too: http://www.permadi.com/java/spaint/spaint.html http://www.zefrank.com/dtoy_vs_byokal/

L – L is for Leather & Lace

I AM SO JAZZED!!! This was one of my absolute favorite cassettes from the 80’s and I played it ALL THE TIME. Every once in a while I would look for a CD of it, but there wasn’t one. I stopped looking and the years went by. As I was getting ready to write this, I decided to look one more time. I FOUND IT! THE CD!! I ORDERED IT!!! I WILL LISTEN TO IT ONCE AGAIN!!!! I was surprised the playlist was so short; only 9 songs. But they are all winners. Here’s the list:

What’s love got to do with it – Tina Turner

I hate myself for loving you – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

We belong – Pat Benatar

We got the beat – the Go-Go’s

Walk like an Egyptian - Bangles

Warrior – Pat Benatar

Only the lonely – the Motels

Bette Davis eyes – Kim Carnes

Solitaire – Laura Branigan

Alphabet Soup - part 3

2011-06-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

I know you’ve been anxiously awaiting the next installment. Well, wait no more, it’s HERE!

F – F is for Fard

This is a legitimate word. It means to paint (the face) with cosmetics, or color. From the first time I heard of this word, I adopted it for regular use, as has my daughter. After all, who doesn’t want, when asked by one’s husband/boyfriend/whatever: “What is taking you so long to get ready?!” to answer thusly: “I’m in the bathroom farding!” I know it sounds like junior high humor, but trust me, this is really erudite stuff and will impress your friends. Try it. See what happens. Then let me know…

G – G is for Grimalkin

Originally an old term for a cat or witch, usually negative in usage. I happen to love the word, the sound of it. And when I use it as a name for a cat, it is an endearment, rather than a pejorative.

H – H is for Honeycomb

When I was 5 years old, we were given some honeycomb by friends who had bees. I knew what honey was, but was not familiar with “fresh” honey, so to speak. It was a pretty big chunk in some kind of container. There were even dead bees in some of the combs. My dad broke off a small chunk and gave it to me. I was told to chew it and spit out the wax. I also knew what wax was, but had no idea it was found in honey. It was an amazing experience.

I – I is for Inkblot

I would LOVE to take the Rorschach Test. The real one. And then be analyzed. There is one online that is pretty funny. Take a gander and see what it says about you: http://www.theinkblot.com/

I remember doing art stuff in grade school where we would take a piece of construction paper, fold it in half, then take a piece of yarn dipped in paint and close the paper on it, leaving a small piece outside of it. Then you grab that little piece and YANK it out! You do this a couple of times with different colors and you have your own little Rorschach. Of course, it wasn’t called that in grade school.

Alphabet Soup - part 2

2011-06-10T22:48:00.000-07:00

As promised last week, we will continue with the alphabet blog. This week’s letters are:

C – C is for Capybara

The capybara is the world’s largest rodent. It is also the beloved pet of The Tick. I absolutely adored that cartoon show. The Tick wasn’t the sharpest super hero, but he was the funniest. When he was hallucinating in the jungles of Mexico and came across this creature, he thought it was a dog. He also thought it was speaking to him. Thus, he named it Speak. Even when he found out Speak wasn’t a dog, The Tick insisted it was of superior intelligence and could learn tricks.

D – D is for Dandelion

Yes, I know dandelions are WEEDS, but I like them! They are so cheerful looking. You can pick a handful of them and put them in a little vase, and you have a nice cheery centerpiece for the table. And if you leave them in the ground to go to seed, then you have “fairy flowers” to blow on. Lia loves that! When I was little, we had a canary named Chirpy (I know…lame) and I can remember my grandma sometimes getting dandelion leaves and putting some in the bird cage for him. I also remember just once, Grandma got a small bunch of dandelion leaves and cooked them. Just for her.

E – E is for Étui

I came across this word a long time ago in a crossword puzzle. It’s pronounced A-TWEE with the accent on the second syllable. The definition for the puzzle was “needle case”, but it was really a small holder for different tools a woman might use. Needles, scissors, hair pins etc. They could be plain or highly decorative.

May book report and stuff

2011-06-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

OK, I know I only got one book finished in May…but I GAVE UP Cityville on Facebook! I’m still doing Ravenwood, but I SHOULD have more time to read…maybe. Give me a break. So for this posting, I will review the book I read and add some other stuff as filler…

“Octagon Magic” by Andre Norton

Ms. Norton wrote both adult and youth sci-fi, and I’ve read and enjoyed both. This was from the youth section. Lorrie is a 6^th grader who comes from Canada to live with an aunt in the US after the deaths of her parents. There is the usual pre-teen angst of trying to fit in with a new school, new country, and new ideas. The Octagon House is supposedly inhabited by a witch, and Lorrie finds refuge there when bullied by some boys. The elderly woman who lives there is NOT a witch, but she does have a very mysterious past, and things “happen” when Lorrie is in that house. By the end of the book, Lorrie has come to understand how to better make friends and learns to let go of the old and accept the new. Very well written.

Filler Stuff:

I miss the original VH1 channel. I loved having just videos all the time. I enjoyed the VeeJays, especially Don Imus. And I REALLY miss Pop-Up Video. I loved that show! I learned some neat trivia about my favorites that way.

MST3K—I loved Mystery Science Theater 3000. That was so much fun! Joel was my favorite. I was really sorry to see him go, but Mike did an OK job. I enjoyed all the characters and the little bits they would do between movie sessions. And I loved the theme song.

When I was little, I was never into cowboy stuff that much, but I loved my cap gun! Both my brother and I had one. I mainly enjoyed making the loud pop. Taking a hammer and hitting the caps was fun too. But eventually you would run out of caps and that would be it until more could be purchased. The rolls never lasted long enough. What I REALLY loved was my paper popper/paper buster gun. That was absolutely brilliant. You didn’t need caps, just a long strip of newspaper to feed into the gun. It made a sound just as loud as caps would. And newspaper was plentiful. I have no idea what happened to that wonderful toy. You can find them on eBay, although I’ve never seen one like the one I had.

OK. I think that’s enough for a posting. Toodles!

Next week: Alphabet Soup part 2!! (Thought I’d forgotten about it, didn’t ya?)

Random Thoughts #2

2011-05-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

Since I got such overwhelming response from my last Random posting, (Thank you, Gladys! I don’t know what I would do without my faithful Reader) I decided to do it again…

*Stuff They Don’t Make Anymore That I Really Miss

Delaware Punch: This was a non-carbonated soft drink from around 1970. It’s owned by Coca Cola, and is still made, but very difficult to find. Haven’t seen any in this area for 40 years. I totally loved this. Could drink it all day long. Since it wasn’t carbonated, it went down real easy, real fast. I probably wouldn’t be able to drink it now, since I can’t stand anything that isn’t sugar-free.

Pillsbury Toaster Strudel CHOCOLATE flavor: These are really good strudels, but chocolate was the best. I’ve seen the TV ads promoting these things as being something healthy to give your kids for breakfast. You can’t fool me: these are pure SUGAR! So why not make them CHOCOLATE and really make ‘em good? Don’t know why they discontinued them.

Pepperidge Farms Blueberry Turnovers: My absolute favorite flavor of turnovers. Used to get them all the time. The other flavors are OK. In fact, they are very good. But I want blueberry! They stopped making them! Why?? I haven’t seen blueberry turnovers in the regular bakery section of any store, either. What’s the deal???

Beef Noodle Soup: Campbell’s used to make 3 different noodle soups—chicken, turkey, beef. All good, but my favorite was the beef noodle. I loved to fix it and put crushed potato chips in it. Made it really salty, but WOW, was it good! According to their website, they still make it, but trying to find a store that carried it yielded no results. It is available online, if I want to buy it by the case and pay shipping.

*Toy Food

Everybody loves miniatures. They’re so CUTE! “Look at that little ceramic turtle! Only as big as my thumb nail! Isn’t it CUTE?” “Look at that little tea set! Isn’t it CUTE?” “Tiny Sticky Notes! How CUTE!” Well, I happen to love miniature consumables, i.e. FOOD and DRINK. Here are some of my favorites:

Booze—how cute are those little airline bottles?? I LOVE toy booze! And they hold just enough to make a decent drink serving. Very expensive, though. Especially if you have to ride on an airplane to get them… They are available online and in some liquor stores, where they are STILL expensive. But they’re SO CUTE!

Soft drinks—Also expensive are the little half-sized cans of soda. The main place I would see them was in nursing homes and hospitals., but they're in stores now. Cute, yes, but just not enough volume for me to bother with.

Pickles—LOVE TOY PICKLES!! They’re usually called “baby”, “cocktail” or “snack size” but to me they are toy pickles. Yummy AND cute! What more could you ask for?

Watermelons—I have just recently seen the toy watermelons in the stores. They’ve had small sized watermelons before, but I thing the ones on the market now are even smaller. Have no clue what they taste like. BUT THEY ARE CUTE!

Remembering Dana Garret

2011-05-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

Dana Garret died recently, at the age of 63, and for some reason her brother decided there was no need for any kind of service. He was not a Christian, even though Dana was, and had many friends at church. He didn’t think anyone would come to a service. He was wrong. Here’s what I would’ve said if I’d been given a chance at her service:

Dana Garret was a member of our church. She was a quirky gal with a good sense of humor. She loved people, she loved kids, she loved cats. Most of all, she loved her Lord and Savior.

In her later years she was unable to get around very well. She had many health and mobility problems. She kept coming to church as long as she was able, and after that she was housebound. But she was not silent.

She loved to call people on the phone. I would answer the phone and hear her voice: “Hello, honey-bunny! How ya doing?” She would always say she had to check up on us, to see if we were being good. But not TOO good, because that wouldn’t be any fun, would it?

We would chat, talk about cats, about grandkids, nothing earth shaking. She would always ask how her “boyfriend” was doing. That’s what she called Marv. She would always end the conversation by telling me to give her boyfriend a kiss. Then she’d say “I love you guys.”

I will miss her phone calls. I will miss being called honey-bunny.

April Book Report

2011-05-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

OK. I’ll admit that playing Ravenwood and Cityville on Facebook is cutting into my reading time. That does NOT mean I’m addicted!

So…the 2 books I read in April were:

“The Boy Who Reversed Himself” by William Sleator

This was from the Young Adult sci-fi section. Sleator is one of my favorites. Even though his books are geared to a younger reader, I enjoy them tremendously. Well written, with a real plot you can sink your teeth into. Laura is trying to fit in with the popular kids in high school. When Omar moves in next door, she knows he’s “odd” somehow, and tries to distance herself from him. Her curiosity gets the better of her, though, and she finds herself joining Omar in traveling into the 4^th dimension.

“The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow” by William Arden

Another in the 3 Investigators series. Just happened to read 2 Young Adult books in a row. One sci-fi, one mystery. I still enjoy these books a lot, even though they are a bit dated by now. The 3 boys hear of a fabulous treasure hidden long ago by the ancient Chumash tribe. They not only break the code and discover where the treasure is hidden, but they thwart an unscrupulous Australian crook in the process.

OK. Now it’s ~~back to Facebook~~ time to take care of some laundry, and maybe ~~play some Ravenwood~~ read a little. I AM NOT ADDICTED!!

Alphabet Soup - part 1

2011-05-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

I came across a blog prompt site that had a lot of great ideas. They had one for April that was a daily challenge. Blog about a different letter of the alphabet each day. I don’t want to commit to something like that, so I’ll just take a letter or two (or three) and babble about it a bit each week until I get to Z. No big articles, just little vignettes about the particular letter.

A – A is for Apple

Every child knows that. That’s in all the coloring books and papers that kids bring home from kindergarten. Although nowadays, a child pretty much has to know their alphabet, shapes, colors and numbers BEFORE kindergarten or they will be left behind.

When we were first married, we lived next to an apple orchard that was pretty much abandoned. We were told that we could have as many apples as we wanted. I made so many pies that first year! And they were fabulous. One of my favorite memories from that first year is when I had some pie leftover and I took it to Chico to share with my grandmother. I had every intention of giving her the whole portion, but she immediately got 2 plates out, divided the pie, and we shared some pie at the kitchen table where I grew up. Nice little memory. I sure miss Grandma.

B – B is for Brownies

My close friend Shirley lived across the street from me. We were at each others house all the time. She had a cookbook written for kids that had very simple recipes in it. One was for brownies. Shirley and I used that recipe several times and it is still my standard recipe for brownies. It’s in my recipe box, titled: Brownies (Shirley Plain recipe). One of the things I liked about the recipe, other than it was super simple, was that it didn’t call for nuts. I didn’t care for nuts in my brownies back then. I still prefer to throw in a few chocolate chips instead of nuts. Here is the recipe:

Melt 2 squares unsweetened chocolate OR ½ C. cocoa and 1/3 C. butter

Add 1 C. sugar, ¾ C. flour, ½ tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. salt, 2 eggs

Mix and spread in a greased 8 x 8 pan.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Recipe may be doubled.

Blah!

2011-04-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

I have a nasty cold and am REALLY out of sorts. Couldn't think of anything to write, so decided to compose a few Haiku verses for the occasion. Read and comment, or not, I don't care.... :-P

I have a bad cold

It really irritates me

Grumpy grumpy grump

Having a cold sucks

I’m irritable and mean

Stay out of my way!

Pharmaceuticals!

Oh NyQuil, how I love thee!

Take me to bed! Now!

What Was Her Dream?

2011-04-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

Since I was brought up in the church, I am very familiar with the Biblical accounts of major events, among them the birth of Christ and then His crucifixion. Very early in my life, I was intrigued with the passage in Matthew 27:19. That’s where the wife of Pontius Pilate sends him a message: “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” (NKJV)

I don’t know how old I was when I first became interested in finding out just what that dream was all about, but as time went on, I became more and more intrigued. Since this was way back in the day when I was so phobically shy I couldn’t talk to anyone, all I could do was search through my Bible. (No Google back then, either!) I was so frustrated when I discovered that it was ONLY in Matthew where this incident is mentioned. A couple of times I would check other versions than NIV or KJ (which was all I had) to see if there was anything else, or check a commentary. Nothing. The dream was important in that it was mentioned in the Bible. But I really wish there had been a little more info. Every year when this passage is read during Lent, I ponder it. What was so bad about the dream that Pilate’s wife would interrupt her husband?

The dream also comes to mind whenever I have had a particularly horrendous dream about a loved one. Thankfully, those are few and far between, but there have been some doozies. It had been a while since I’d had such a dream, but I had one the other night. Woke up heartbroken. The feeling persisted most of the day. That’s what has prompted this Good Friday blog.

Now that we have such a marvelous source of information via the Internet, I have been able to look a little further into this. There are a lot of apocryphal stories and legends, but nothing new regarding scripture. And there it will have to end.

I’ll always wonder about it.

March Book Report

2011-04-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

Only 4 books read in March, but they were all keepers.

“Small Town Reality” by Carolyne Aarsen

This was a Grace Chapel Inn book. Always good. A reality show wants to showcase the local beauty shop and ‘real’ people to show what can be done with products the average woman can get and use. You don’t have to be a celebrity or rich to look good. The side story was about a retired editor that started up a tabloid paper to skewer the small-town ideals of the locals and try to drag them into the dirty 21^st century.

“We Have This Moment” by Diann Hunt

Another Grace Chapel book. A gentle romance about an older couple that were sweethearts in school, but went separate ways. A chance meeting 46 years later shows them that you are never too old for love. The side story was about Jane secretly making Louise a scrapbook about her life.

“Hakon of Rogen’s Saga” by Erik Christian Haugaard

This book was from the Youth section of the library, but Mr. Haugaard says he writes for all ages. And this is a great story for all ages. I love the old Norse myths and stories about that era. This one is about the local chieftan, Olaf, who is killed by treachery. His son, Hakon, is young in years, but grows up fast to take revenge. His courage earns him his birthright as the new chieftan.

“The Hours” by Michael Cunningham

This is the book that the Meryl Streep movie was based on. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but intend to. I haven’t read any of Virginia Woolf’s works, but I loved the style of the author, who was apparently trying to mimic Woolf’s. The book gives a glimpse of three different women (Virginia Woolf, Laura Brown, Clarissa Vaughan) in three different times, all within a 24 hour period. Very enjoyable and I look forward to the movie.

Sloppy Josés!

2011-04-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago I wrote about my first experience with that wonderful food, Sloppy Joes. If you’re interested, you can find it here: http://dotkat-whatthecatdraggedin.blogspot.com/2009/08/keeping-with-church-food-theme-i.html

That’s always been a good last-minute, don’t-have-any-time, starving-and-wanna-eat-NOW kind of meal. I’ve made Sloppy Joes from scratch and from a variety of canned mixes. All of them yummy.

The other day I was in the Dollar Store looking for a new toothbrush holder for the bathroom. As usual, I go up and down every aisle there looking for new/fun stuff, sparkly socks, things for Lia, etc.

When I got to the food aisle, I was browsing the microwave noodle dishes and saw a can of Sloppy Joe mix. I had taken a pound of hamburger out of the freezer the previous day and thought, “Hmmmm. We haven’t had Sloppy Joes in a long time…” So I got the can of mix and then backtracked to see if I could find hamburger buns. No buns, but there was a huge display of tortillas. Never had Sloppy Joes in a tortilla. How novel. So I got a package of them.

Great idea! Put it on a tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, zap in the microwave, roll up, and YUM! Not only is it tasty, it’s actually neater than the bun method. I don’t know what the Spanish word for sloppy is, so I’m calling them Sloppy Josés. Although Less Sloppy or Tidy Josés would be better. Don’t know the Spanish for those words, either.

And don’t say that all we had was a burrito. Different flavoring entirely.

And BTW (because I know you care deeply), I did find my toothbrush holder. The previous one was a pretty blue plastic one, but since it had been knocked off the sink ledge many times, it was all cracked. What I found was a nice-looking ceramic one in a sage color that went with the bathroom colors better. And since it’s ceramic, I got 2 of them…so when the first one is broken, I will have a replacement and a little time to start looking for more…

Girls Day Out

2011-04-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

I can’t remember the last time I had a day out with one of my gal pals. It’s usually Mary, and we haven’t gone out in a long time. Yesterday was with both Mary and Paula, and I had the time of my life! I really hope this was just the first of such outings.

We started at an antique store none of us had been to before, and spent an hour and a half and still didn’t get to see it all. I scored a fabulous brass cat holding a mirror, the mirror being removable. You could just as easily substitute dried flowers for the mirror. After I got that and put it in the car, I went back over some of the area I hadn’t seen yet and scored another bargain: a bin full of mega blocks for only $4!! I snapped that up fast! Lia will love it!

Then we went to Taco Bell out by Trader Joe’s. The taco salad was great, but the shell was a bit stale. We hit Trader Joe’s then on to S & S Produce (natural health store and organic produce) and then to Baskin & Robbins. I had a coupon for a free pint of ice cream that I got one of the times I donated blood. Got a mix of Snickers, New York Cheesecake and World Class Chocolate and 3 spoons. YUM!

After that, it was on to Kohl’s. It was mainly so Paula could get something, but I though I might take a look and see if they had any white purses. They did, but they were way out of my range and I didn’t even like them that much. BUT….I found a hat I could not live without! My next profile pic will be of me wearing that hat. I love it! I haven’t bought a new hat in ages. And it was on sale! I also got a pair of slippers on sale. All in all, a very good trip.

Got home and was stunned that it was 4:30! Had no idea it was that late. I had lots of Ravenwood and Cityville stuff to take care of and some Scrabble to catch up on. Did Cityville, then let Marv have the computer while I ate dinner. Then I did Ravenwood for the next few hours. Love that game!!

Really great day. Not much in the way of pain, although I am a little creaky today. But it was worth it.

Random Thoughts

2011-03-25T15:39:00.000-07:00

Not much to talk about really. Just bits and pieces that were laying around in my blog folder…

The Sacrificial Cube
This started a long time ago when Marv would get ice from the freezer for his ice tea or soda. Invariably, he would drop a cube on the floor. Every time. He started calling that the “sacrificial cube” that paid the price for all the other cubes. Sometimes he would go to great lengths to try and save that cube. It would involve acrobatics the like of which you’ve never seen. But alas, the cube would end up on the floor…

Clinking Kitty Dishes
I’ve had cats that would come running whenever the can opener was employed. Sometimes they were rewarded with mushy cat food. Most often, it was a can of olives I was opening, or perhaps some new potatoes. I would offer them some, but they would turn up their noses. Nowadays, the canned food comes with pull-tab tops. No can opener required. My current cats, Harper and Sheba, have no interest in the can opener whatsoever. What brings them running, however, is the clink of the 2 porcelain dishes I use for their mushy food. They’re just cheap, mass produced little pudding dishes like you see in a hospital or nursing home. In fact, I think that’s where one of them came from. I think my dad took one when my mom was in the nursing home. It probably had pudding or jello that she didn’t eat, but my dad took home with him to eat as a snack later. The second one I got at Salvation Army specifically for the use of the cats. I have to be very careful when taking those dishes out of the dishwasher, because if they clink together and the cats hear them, they come running and won’t leave until they get those dishes filled and placed on the floor.

Special Powers
I have long suspected that my cats have special powers. I now have proof. Harper can transport himself outside without benefit of a door. The in/out, in/out stuff is not unusual. As T.S. Eliot said, “He’s on the wrong side of every door.” And it’s easy to lose track of who is in or out when we go to bed, because they’ve done nothing but the in/out all evening. Yesterday, though, was different. We’ve had to keep Harper in for the last week and a half because of stitches he got after an injury. And he’d been increasingly anxious to GO OUT, DAMMIT!! (Yes, I’m afraid Harper has a potty mouth…) So yesterday, Marv got home from work. He was in the family room and I was in the kitchen starting on dinner. He said something, and I went to the doorway of the family room to answer, and we both heard Harper’s paws on the sliding glass door FROM THE OUTSIDE! WANTING IN! We looked at each other and said “How did he do that?!?” Because I KNOW I didn’t let him out! The answer: teleportation! It’s the only way…..

Grandma’s sayings
My maternal grandparents lived with us while I was growing up, and Grandma had a lot of sayings that she would employ as needed. I really wish I’d written more of them down. These are the only ones I can remember.

1. “If you dream about the dead, you’ll be surprised by the living.” I always thought this was a neat one.

2. “There’re more ways to kill a cat other than choking it to death on butter.” Don’t remember the circumstances with this one…it’s probably a variation of the ‘more than one way to kill a cat’ but the addition of the butter made it different.

3. “It doesn’t eat any bread or butter.” This was said if there was a sale on something like toilet paper or something not readily perishable. All it took was the space to store it in. I have used this saying once or twice myself when debating on whether to get the big box of dishwasher tabs on sale, even though I really don’t need them just yet.

What's In My Purse?

2011-03-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

You’d probably be surprised. My mom always carried an enormous purse with an amazing assortment of stuff in it, because, “You never know…”

I didn’t start carrying a purse until I got my driver’s license. Once I needed to have that with me at all times, stuff just started accumulating in my purse. And more than once, people have availed themselves of my purse’s bounty.

Need a tissue? Got it.
Need a nail file? Got it.
Hand cream? Brush? Pen/pencil/paper?
Got it.

Over the years, I’ve tried downsizing to a smaller purse. There are a lot of cute little purses out there, and you can’t put much in them. I always find myself trying to cram too much in and go back to using a larger purse for everyday use. For church, or some other outing where I know I’m not going to be gone long, I will sometimes get one of my cute little purses and only put in the absolute essentials. And most times, I will regret at least one of the things I leave out.

So here are the essentials:
Tissues
Lip balm
Pen/paper
Keys
ID (only if I think I’ll be driving)

Also added at times:
Money/credit card
Wallet (contains nail file)
Checkbook
Calendar

The rest of the stuff:
Coupons
Hand cream
Mints
Meds
Handicap tag for MIL
Brush
Address book

For special occasions:
Camera
Reading glasses
Other crap that people say “Here, put this in your purse, will ya?”

Whenever I come back from an outing where I used a cute little purse, I am always vigilant to take the stuff from that purse and put it back into my big one. Because, "You never know..."

Things I Don't Do Anymore

2011-03-12T18:15:00.000-08:00

I sometimes get to thinking of the things I don’t/can’t do anymore because of age, health, wisdom (yes, I do learn from my mistake sometimes!) and thought it might be interesting to list a few of them. Some I regret, some not.

Eating chili at midnight – I can remember watching TV late at night and getting the “hungries” and thinking nothing of opening and heating a can of chili. Boy, that would taste good! And I loved adding crushed potato chips to my bowl. Nowdays, (and yes, I know it’s spelled wrong. I do NOT pronounce that middle ‘a’ and see no reason to print it!) I have to be very careful to even attempt a bowl of chili at dinner. Lunch is a better time for it, but if I do have it for dinner, precautions must be taken. A handful of antacids before and after the meal is the only way to do it. And I usually have to sit up when I go to bed anyway.

Going to the library – The highlight of my life in my younger years was going to the library. It was always a weekly treat. Saturday was for going to the library and checking out a ton of books. I was never without a book to read. As time went by, I started collecting books for my own personal library. When the library would have a surplus book sale, I would get them by the bagful. Then I joined a couple of mail order book clubs. Then the Internet came along! What a wonderful source that has been! Especially the used section of Barnes and Noble online. I’ve slowly been getting all my favorites and also adding new ones to my collection. I almost never go to the library anymore, which I find very sad.

Drinking too much – I never really did drink much alcohol, although I’ve been known to become somewhat “merry” at Christmas and New Year’s. I probably would’ve drunk more if there had been smoke-free bars in my younger days. I’m extremely sensitive to cigarette smoke, and couldn’t take the smoke filled atmosphere of the bars or night clubs. As the years have gone by, my tolerance to alcohol has become less and less. Which is no real loss, except for my dream of going on a true “pub crawl” sometime. But since I will probably never go to England, that dream will just fade like the rest.

Eating too much – I’ve always been heavy, and absolutely loved buffets like Sizzler and Golden Corral. Again, over the years, I’ve noticed that I feel so much better if I eat smaller amounts more often. And I’ve lost some weight, too. I still enjoy going out for a nice dinner, but usually bring some of it home with me to eat the next day.

Running/walking – I’ve never enjoyed exercise for exercise’s sake. Running was always difficult and became impossible as my knees got worse. On good days, I can walk a bit, but it has to be on a level surface. Living in a neighborhood that goes up and down a lot makes it difficult. Of course, that’s just an excuse. I could drive to the dam and walk there, but I don’t. Boo for me…

Run for the phone – Why must phones be answered immediately? In a business setting I can understand it. At home? No. Why do people let the phone ring 3-4 times and then assume the person isn’t there and hang up just as you answer it? So I don’t even try anymore. We have the answering machine set all the time, so if I’m in the process of lugging a load of laundry up the steps from the garage and the phone is ringing, I don’t kill myself trying to get in the door, set the laundry down, and run for the phone. If it has stopped ringing by the time I get to it, who cares? If it’s important, leave a message! I WILL get back to you! Of course, there are times when I’m expecting an important call and will do my best to answer the phone quickly. Otherwise, I let the machine take it. And since we don’t have cell phones, just the land line, I don’t have a phone on me at all times. And if I’m having a bad day pain-wise, getting up those steps from the family room can take at least 4 rings or more. And as for Marv’s complaint, and his only reason for NOT having a cell phone—being available 24/7—BOSH! It’s my understanding those things have something called an on/off function. In other words, if you don’t want to be available, YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE!

Book Report for February

2011-03-04T12:59:00.000-08:00

“Pride’s Way” by Robert Molloy
Takes place in Charleston in 1910. There are still a few Civil War heroes left and feelings from ‘The War’ are still high. The main characters are two elderly sisters, Miss Julie and Miss Tessie. They have never gotten along very well, but Miss Julie decides that it’s time to reconcile while they still have the chance. Nice flavor in this book, gives a good feel for the place and the period. And of course, the struggle within families is always current.

“Simone” by Lion Feuchtwanger
I read this book when I was in my teens, but had only a hazy recollection of it. I thought I remembered how it ended, but wanted to read it one more time before donating it. It takes place in a French village that is about to be occupied by the Germans during WWII. Simone is a poor relation who is treated very shabbily by her rich relatives. The whole village looks down on her as she does her best to just get through the days. She does finally take a stand just before the Germans arrive, but her efforts only cause her to be placed in the local mental institution. NOT WHAT I REMEMBERED! If I had remembered that, I would never have read it again. Bummer ending! Well written, but depressing.

“My Sergei” by Ekaterina Gordeeva
Bio of figure skater Sergei Grinkov written by his widow. I vaguely remember when he died and I thought it was very sad. Ekaterina had help writing this, but you can still get the foreign ‘flavor’ of her English. Charming. Good story, although a little shallow. Hard to believe this all took place 15 years ago.

“The Weigher of Souls” and “The Earth Dwellers” by André Maurois
Very dated sci-fi from the 60’s. “Soul” was OK, if very melodramatic. “Earth Dwellers” was pointless.

Gimme 5 for Feb (part 2)

2011-02-25T16:05:00.000-08:00

Wow! Two of these in a row!

5 favorites for each color

I’m only going to do the traditional 8 that you get in your box of crayons in kindergarten. If they even give those out anymore. I loved having my own personal box of crayons that I didn’t have to share with anyone!

For some reason, when I got those crayons at the age of 5, I put them in this order: Red, Yellow, Orange, Blue, Black, Green, Purple, Brown. And every year after that, whenever I got a new box of 8, whether it was in school or at home, the first thing I would do is put the crayons in that order. Later on, when I’d get the larger boxes of crayons, I would still rearrange them in those color groups in that order.

Red: tulips, Valentines, wax candy lips, one of the Christmas colors, rubies

Yellow: sunshine, butterflies, lemons, daffodils, Pikachu!

Orange: my favorite fruit-orange, golden poppies, cream-cicles, Monarch butterflies, goldfish

Blue: my favorite color of all time! It can be just about anything. Hydrangeas, the sky, the ocean, blue turquoise, the Blue Man Group

Black: ebony wood, star sapphires, licorice, cats, black pearls (not Jack Sparrow’s ship)

Green: grass, jade, frogs, olives (with pimento, thank you), bamboo

Purple: grapes, violets, Manischewitz wine, amethysts, wisteria

Brown: wood, earth, acorns, pine cones, CHOCOLATE!

Gimme 5 for February

2011-02-18T14:28:00.000-08:00

Quite a while back, I did a blog post called “Gimme 5” and I think I said something like it was the first of what I hoped would be a series….I don’t even remember what the 5 things were that I wrote about. Going through my files, I found a page with some ideas for this that I obviously never followed through with. So once again, I hope this will be an occasional post in a series.

5 Foods I Will Never Eat

Scrapple –

I watched Mike Rowe make this stuff. I have never liked organ meat from any animal, and the thought of some of the other parts used in this “food” is truly revolting. And it’s a breakfast food! Can you imagine waking up to a plate of this stuff in front of you at the table and pouring syrup, gravy, ketchup or jelly on it? And eating it?
I’m glad I’m not Pennsylvania Dutch.

Escargot –

Snails. ‘nuf said.
I’m glad I’m not French.

Squid/Octopus –

Almost the same as the above. I hope to never be in the same circumstances that led someone many, many years ago to look at one of these creatures and say, “Mmmm. Looks tasty to me!”
I’m glad I’m not Asian.

Haggis –

As far as I’m concerned, this is in the same category as scrapple, except with sheep parts instead of pig.
I’m glad I’m not Scottish.

Tripe –

Wikipedia says this is “edible offal from the stomachs of various farm animals.” I guess I have a vastly different idea of what is edible and what isn’t. I saw Jeff Smith (the Frugal Gourmet on PBS) prepare this many years ago. No thanks.

Offal = intestines
Intestines = guts
Once again, ‘nuf said.

Apparently many nationalities “appreciate” this type of food. I’m glad I’m not a part of any of them.

And before any particular race or nationality gets their shorts in a twist: I am proud to be of German stock…and I HATE German food as well…

Give me a hamburger or hot dog of questionable content any day of the week!

Good ol’ American food! (Cue theme music “Stars and Stripes Forever”)

Stephanie Plum's Peanut Butter Sandwiches

2011-02-11T15:15:00.000-08:00

I enjoy a series of books by Janet Evanovich that involve a bounty hunter named Stephanie Plum. The books are a lot of fun, with humor, suspense, murder, mayhem and the thought of Ranger without his clothes on….but I digress…

Stephanie eats a lot of peanut butter sandwiches. Peanut butter with different additives. Like bananas, potato chips, olives, jelly and marshmallow goo. Not all at the same time, of course.

I grew up not particularly liking the mixture of peanut butter and jelly. I preferred the two things to go solo on my bread. At Girl Scout camp, we would get two sandwiches in our lunch bags: one was peanut butter and jelly, the other was “meat paste” that the girls referred to as “hamster meat”. I would trade my hamster sandwich for a peanut butter and jelly with anyone who was willing. And there was always someone willing. I would take the two sandwiches apart, putting jelly with jelly and peanut butter with peanut butter. Later on, I discovered the joy of peanut butter and honey. Add some butter to that one and you’ve got a really fantastic sandwich. Combines lunch and dessert all in one neat package. The last couple of day trips Marv and I have made, we’ve taken peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but I premix the PB + J together before spreading it on the bread. I like it better that may. I also add raisins to my sandwich. Once again, lunch and dessert combined.

I was reading a new Stephanie Plum book and it again mentioned all the PB sandwiches she makes and the various ingredients she adds to the PB. I got to thinking about the various pairings. I’ve had PB + J. I’ve had PB + bananas (thanks to the old sitcom, Pete & Gladys). I’ve had PB + black olives (try it before you condemn it). I’d never had the pairings of PB + marshmallow or PB + potato chips. So in the interest of doing a good book report, I tried those combos. I usually prefer my marshmallows surrounded by chocolate and graham crackers, but PB and marshmallow fluff is pretty darn good. Much better than the PB and potato chips. There are only so many chips you can smash into the PB and about all I could taste was the PB. With added crunch. Ho-hum. Then I was reading a bit further in the book and came to the realization that the olives Stephanie put in her sandwich were GREEN! OMG! Totally unappealing! But good reporter that I am, I knew I had to try that. I LOVE green olives with pimento, but as a side goody, not in a sandwich. The idea of an entire sandwich of PB + green olives was not acceptable, so I tried just one olive with a glob of peanut butter. I was surprised. Not bad at all. So I tried another one, just to make sure. It’s still not something I would want to have an entire sandwich of, but I will admit its viability.

So there ya go, Gladys. Something to consider if you’re feeling adventurous at lunchtime…

January Book Report

2011-02-04T12:56:00.000-08:00

5 books read

“Before the Sun Goes Down” by Elizabeth Metzger Howard
Delightful little book about a one year period in the small town of Willowspring, PA in 1880. Electricity was the “new” fad coming to the towns, people still went about in horse and buggy or actual walking. The doctor still made house calls. Just a nice little slice of Americana.

“Magic Flutes” by Eva Ibbotson
Takes place in Vienna after WWII. A lot of the formerly wealthy Austrian nobility now have to seriously down-size. As in selling their castles, property, titles. This book is about an impoverished princess who has the chance to marry money and save the castle, but she’d prefer to *gasp* WORK for a living as a costume girl in a local opera company. Her life’s blood is in opera. Nice little romance that has a very satisfying happy ending.

“Nurse Into Woman” by Marguerite Mooers Marshall
A few chapters into the book, I thought this was going to be a soap-opera with tons of schmaltzy drama. I had almost decided to skim it, but it got better and became a real story. Nurse Grant is young and beautiful, and the best nurse there is. Because of past hurts, though, she decides she will never marry or have children. That way, she can’t be hurt again. But a handsome young sea captain, under her care for pneumonia, changes her mind.

“The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure” by Robert Arthur
This was one of the Three Investigators juvenile mystery series written with “co-operation” of Alfred Hitchcock in the 60’s. I used to read them and loved them. They’re still good little books. Easy on the adult brain, but I still find them enjoyable. In this one, the 3 boys solve the theft of a rare Japanese belt encrusted with jewels.

“So Far…” by Kelsey Grammer
I loved the TV show “Frasier” because it was so well written and clever. The pretentious Mr. Grammer sounds just like Frasier and a bit full of himself. It was an easy read.

When the Muse Strikes..."Duck!"

2011-01-28T14:54:00.000-08:00

Or, “You can run, but you cannot hide!”

I enjoy making altered books as an art form. I make them and then give them away. They’re for anniversaries, birthdays, whatevers. Some are amusing, some are spiritual, some a mixture. With each one I learn something different to do or a different way to do it. I grow with each one. And each one takes a piece of my soul with it when I give it away.

The usual method is this: there is an upcoming special date or reason for making a book for a specific person. I ponder about that person or reason for the book. I do research for just the right sayings, graphics, art work, stamps etc. Whatever I feel should go into that book. I assemble the elements and then alter the book. From idea to completion takes many, many hours. Assembling the elements may take days. I might have a certain piece of ephemera in mind and will have to hunt through my craft room to find it. Or a specific stamp set that I KNOW used to be RIGHT THERE on the shelf, but was moved and now I have to go through ALL the sets to find that certain one. Once I actually start on the book, I can complete it in 2-3 days if I have the free time to work solely on the book. When it’s finished, I take pictures of the pages for my file.

The last two books I’ve done have been a bit different. For these books, the muse has been the Holy Spirit. I was working on a friendship book, and the whole time I was working on it I was getting the almost overwhelming feeling that I should be doing a book for someone else. Since the book I was working on was for a specific person, I couldn’t just finish it and give it to someone else. I continued with the current book, fighting the Holy Spirit, and felt awful. I usually take a big break after altering a book, because I put so much of myself into it and need to refuel. Not this time. I was so strongly led that I finished the book and sent it off, and immediately started on the next one. It was one of the best I’ve ever done. A HUGE part of me went into that one.

A couple of months went by before I started getting that nudge from the Holy Spirit for another book. This one was completely different. It came, giving me only 3 days to do it. It was like, “Do a book for this person, NOW!” I had one idea for it, and just barely started the process before it was changed for me. I went in an entirely different direction. I have never altered a book so quickly before. And again, I feel it was one of the best I’ve ever done.

I have a list of people I want to do books for, and hope to get another one started soon. I find it an amazing art form. I look at some of the altered book blogs and galleries, and get so inspired. I feel like such an amateur next to some of these artists, but since it’s MY soul that goes into my books, I know it’s the best I have to give. And I’m content with that.

Gingerbread French Toast

2011-01-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread French Toast…OMG!

And yes, the “g” stands for “gosh” so calm down!

We got our new AARP cards the other day, and as I was peeling them off the paper, I noticed some of the places you can use the cards for discounts. One of them was for Denny’s. Your AARP card will get you a 20% discount there. Now, I know a lot of people have “issues” with Denny’s, but I’ve always loved the place. I love getting breakfast food there. I love breakfast any time of day, for that matter. Their prices seem a tad high, though, compared to some of the other restaurants around here. But that 20% discount made it a bit more acceptable. When I mentioned the discount factor to Marv, he suggested we go there for dinner that night.

They were still doing some of the holiday specials at Denny’s, and one of them was their Holiday Slam. It offered Gingerbread French Toast instead of pancakes. So I went for it. I ate the eggs, ham and hash browns first, saving the French toast for dessert. I poured the syrup over the toast and cut off the first bite with my fork.

wow.

Yes, no capital, just a stunned, quiet “wow”. It was more like eating gingerbread cake. It was so moist and crumbly that it would’ve been better to have served it in a bowl and eaten it with a spoon. Since I like to think of myself as a lady, I did NOT lick the plate afterward…but I did save a tiny bit of toast to mash up and try to get the last vestiges of syrup. wow.

No more can be said, so I’ll stop. wow.

Friday's Feast - January

2011-01-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

Friday’s Feast - January

Some time back, I discovered a blog where a woman would do a posting on Fridays, calling it Friday’s Feast, and likening it to a meal with appetizer, soup, salad, main course and dessert. I thought it was a neat way to take a topic and divide it up. So here’s my “meal” for your enjoyment. Maybe I’ll do more, maybe not.

*Appetizer – “How do you usually celebrate on New Year’s Eve?”

We usually get together with friends for an evening of fellowship and fun. We eat, drink, play games and wait for midnight. Favorite games are Boggle, Scattergories, Pictionary, Rummikub, Dominoes.

*Soup – “Name one thing unexpected that happened to you in 2010.”

There were actually three things that had great impact on me.

Dealing with the aftermath of my mother-in-law’s stroke made a huge change in the dynamics of the family. It wasn’t necessarily all negative, though, and in fact brought about changes there were beneficial for all concerned.

Paul moving out and the circumstances that led to that were difficult, but as usual, God knows what He’s doing and I just needed to step away and let God take over.

Our pastor left our church to take a call in Kenya. LOTS of changes there, and good bit of chaos, but I think it will be good once the dust settles.

*Salad – “Where was your favorite place that you visited in 2010?”

I never thought that Fresno, CA would become a favorite place, but since that’s where Lia is, there ya go…

I got to spend a week there at the end of summer and had a chance for some REAL 1-on-1 with Lia. Exhausting, but I loved it!

*Main Course – “What resolution is your top priority for 2011?”

The resolution for 2011 is a continuation of the one I made in the middle of 2010: get medical help for the depression, and ONCE AND FOR ALL hand over my concerns to God and let Him take over. I’d handed them over many, many times, but always grabbed them right back. Not a good idea…

*Dessert – “Using just three words, describe 2010.”

Unexpected

Changes

Renewal

3 (count 'em!) blogs in 1

2011-01-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

3 blogs in 1!

Yes, I cover 3 topics in this posting, so PAY ATTENTION people!

I’ve made a New Year’s resolution of trying to talk even MORE than I usually do! Weird, I know. I’m going to see if I can post a new blog every Friday. If there’s ANYone still paying attention to this blog, (other than my loyal Gladys—God bless you, dear!) feel free to hold me to this resolution….and for Heaven’s sake, leave a comment! 50 extra ‘brownie’ points to any new subscribers!

My December book report comprises of only one book: “Life Blood” by Caroline Llewellyn.

This was a nice little mystery/romance taking place in the English countryside, set in modern times. One theme was dealing with the aftermath of a loved one’s suicide, which was very interesting, considering the author took her own life about 10 years after she wrote this book. I enjoyed the book immensely and will keep this one in my library.

Book wrap-up for 2010:

Since I’m now giving a report for each month’s books, I no longer break things down into categories. The total number of books I read was 28.

That topic was short, I’ll grant you. Hope you’re not too disappointed….I’ll try and make up for it next week.

Stay tuned!

30 Random Things

2010-12-17T17:54:00.000-08:00

I was tagged on Facebook for this. It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these. Since I still don’t know exactly how Facebook works, I said I would do this as a blog. So here it is. Since you’ve already done this, Gladys, (and indeed, you are the one who tagged me!) won’t SOMEONE else please return the favor and post something on your own blog, Facebook/Myspace page or email it to me?? Huh? Is that too much to ask for?? (picture a small teardrop and a quivering lip…)

I love a steak and baked potato dinner. And I like that steak to be medium well.
I have always loved coffee, from a very early age. I can remember being 3-4 years old and sneaking coffee from my parent’s or grandparent’s coffee cups when they weren’t looking.
I could not care less what kind of car I drive. Cars don’t interest me in the slightest. I just want to go from point A to point B in comfort and safety. A good stereo is just bonus. Although I have to admit I think Metropolitans are adorable and would love to have a “toy car” as I call them.
I was born with a deep and abiding love for cats. Love them ALL. If I didn’t have good common sense and a good sense of responsibility, I could see myself becoming one of those “crazy cat ladies”.
I am starting to become uncomfortable with the changes that come with getting older. Right now it’s the wrinkled skin on my arms that catches me by surprise at times.
I don’t care how much grey hair I have, I am never going to color my hair again.
I love all colors, but am very partial to blue. However, I wouldn’t want everything to be blue. I need the other colors to show just how beautiful blue really is.
I can’t sleep if I’m cold. In the summer, I might have trouble sleeping if it’s too warm, but having a fan on is all I need. If I don’t have a fan, I just take off my pj’s. But I CANNOT sleep if I’m cold.
I fear and despise spiders. Don’t care for bugs in general. Spiders are just plain evil.
I hate needles, but am not phobic about it. I donate blood on a regular basis, but can’t watch them stick the needle in.
I hate pain and don’t deal well with it. I used to be very stoic, but over the years it’s just worn me down and I cry a lot more now.
I am a Christian. I don’t force my faith on people, but will gladly give my testimony. I am not ashamed to say that I love my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I love nature. All of God’s handiwork is awesome. Trees, mountains, flowers, desert. Standing amidst the beauty of this world can move me to tears.
My children hold my heart in their possession, and have since the day they were born. No one else on this earth has such complete power over me.
I am a voracious reader of almost any genre. Sci-fi and Mystery are at the top of the list. Getting lost in a good book is my favorite means of escape.
I have always felt “outside” of the rest of the world, from a very early age. I have always felt acutely self-aware and uniquely alone. I never felt that I had true peers, until I was an adult.
I can’t sing worth a damn. And I love to sing. You’ve been warned….
I love music. I especially love listening to the piano. I can play fairly well, but haven’t the discipline to be good. That takes practice. I hate practicing.
I love, admire and respect my husband. He is my earthly Rock. He is my Touchstone. He truly is my “other half”. I am not complete without him. Sharing the same faith has gotten us through everything, and always will.
I love the chaos of having Sarah and Lia visit. Seeing the toys strewn all over the place gives me much joy. Picking them all up again, notsomuch. But it’s all good.
I have a younger brother who I love deeply. Also his wife and daughter. I love spending time with them. Visits are NEVER long enough!
As bizarre as this state is, I LOVE California! I love its natural beauty. And as they say, “the land of fruits and nuts”.
I was born in Missouri and am glad I don’t live there! I hate humidity and I would hate dealing with a lot of snow and cold.
I am very nearsighted. I’ve worn glasses since I was 7.
I’ve always wanted to be a wife and mother. Thus, I feel I have succeeded in my life.
I used to be so phobically shy I could hardly speak to my own family members. It wasn’t until my mid 20’s that I was able to speak (although very uncomfortably) in social settings. Now you can’t shut me up.
I love fried Spam.
I am afraid of deep water. Anything over 4’ makes me uncomfortable. I will NOT go swimming in the ocean or a lake.
I’m deeply afraid of heights, but I’m not afraid to fly.
I wish I could speak German. It was my mother’s first language, and I regret that she didn’t pass it on.

November Book Report

2010-12-01T16:36:00.000-08:00

November Book Report

The four books I read last month were an interesting mix: biography, horror, comedy sci/fi and one downright depressing book.

“Scarlett O’Hara’s Younger Sister” by Evelyn Keyes told how the young dancer made her way into Hollywood. Her roll as the younger sister in Gone With the Wind wasn’t a big part, but it opened doors. The book was written in the 70’s when Ms. Keyes was well in her 50’s and was pretty frank. It was interesting to read about the Hollywood of the “golden age” and after with 2010 knowledge. Very well written.

“Son of Rosemary” by Ira Levin sucked me in right from the beginning. I had read Rosemary’s Baby a few years after the movie came out. I never saw the movie, but found the book pretty disturbing. I was curious enough to know “the rest of the story” however, to read the sequel. Once again, Levin is a great writer, and this book grabbed me from the start. I found the ending a bit disappointing. All I will say is: Don’t Trust Satan! He Lies!

“The Ice Storm” by Rick Moody was the downright depressing book. I never saw the movie, although I thought enough of the main actors to put it on my “like to see someday” list. I have now removed that movie from my list. The book takes place in New England in the 70’s with the adults being unhappy and having extramarital affairs and the kids being unhappy and experimenting with drugs and sex. No one really communicates from the heart and no one is happy at the end. Bah.

Who’s Afraid of Beowulf? by Tom Holt was a hoot and a half. I loved it and will keep it in my library. The other 3 books immediately went into the Salvation Army bag after I was finished with them.

This would make a great movie. Hildy is a young archeologist who discovers a buried Viking longship in the Scottish countryside and accidentally awakens King Hrolf Earthstar and his crew after their spell-induced sleep of 1200 years. Now she has to help them find and overthrow the evil Sorcerer King who has remained awake all those years and is intent on world domination through 20^th century technology. Absolutely marvelous book.

October Book Report

2010-11-16T12:10:00.000-08:00

I was sitting here, enjoying my elevenses (pumpkin spice latte and raisin bread toast with cream cheese) and thought I would do my October book report. Only 3 books, but a couple of those were real doozies. All were enjoyable.

“Wicked Appetite” by Janet Evanovich

“Naked Heat” by ‘Richard Castle’

“Peg Leg Pete” by Mel Ellis

Evanovich’s newest series introduces a new lead character, Lizzie, but includes the already familiar Diesel and Carl the Monkey. Just like the Stephanie Plum books, this one is a real hoot. Maybe even a hoot and a half (high praise from me!). The setting is Boston and has a touch of supernatural added. This book dealt with one of the Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony. Can’t wait for the next book in the series. Sure hope it’s Lust…

The TV show Castle is one of my favorites. I love Nathan Fillion and he is just great in this show. He plays a mystery writer attached to the NY police department. Some very bright person decided to come out with a book supposedly written by Richard Castle, (Fillion’s character) and based on the characters in the TV show. This was last year. The book, “Heat Wave” was such a hit that they decided to follow it with a sequel. It helps if you’re a fan of the show and know the characters and can see the similarities between the people in the show and the people in the book. The books can be enjoyed on their own, though. I loved them both.

Mel Ellis was a sports/nature writer, but wrote other books as well. “Peg Leg Pete” was the story of an injured mallard duck that his daughters adopted. This was NOT a Disneyesque, cute little animal story. Yes, Pete recovered from his injuries and eventually went back into the wild, but Ellis was very graphic in his description of the injuries and what had to be done to help the duck. Ellis loved animals and nature, but acknowledge that nature is wild and a lot of times capricious. Not all animals are cuddly. Some cuddly animals eat other cuddly animals. Not all of them survive the winter. That’s the way it works. To get along in and with nature you have to recognize this. I really appreciated the down-to-earth approach in this book.

intangible Grail

2010-11-05T10:58:00.000-07:00

OK--here's my other "quest" I mentioned in the last blog...

At one point in time I had so many bookmarks on the computer that I tried to transfer all of them to word and print them out, leaving only the ones I used all the time on the computer. There was one site that I had visited a couple of times that had the first two chapters of a self-published sci-fi book. Then you’d have to buy the book. At that time I really had no discretionary funds to get that book. Some time later, I went back and tried to find that bookmark. It wasn’t on the computer and it wasn’t on any of the lists I’d printed out over the years. I went through every single one of those printed bookmarks, by the way. It was such an intriguing book, and I’ve always wondered how it all turned out. I’ve tried every trick I know of to tease Google into letting me find it, to no avail. I’ve looked at so many sites that have online books, self-published books, sci-fi books, what have you. So I will give you the basic plot line and see if any bells ring.

A man does some kind of software work. He has a girlfriend he loves. He’s fairly happy. He’s hit by a bus and killed. He wakes up in a hospital-like room. He remembers “seeing” his parents and girlfriend at his funeral. He’s naked under the sheets, and when he removes them, he sees he has no true sexual features on his body. A woman comes into the room and greets him as if she knows him. She is also naked, with no true female sexual features. His memory is somewhat spotty, but he slowly realizes that he is “home”. His entire “life” as a software guy with a family and such, was only a game. As in computer game. A HUGE computer game. People from time to time would enter this game and the only way you could tell if a person was “real” or part of the program was by the color of their eyes. I don’t remember what color was real and was color meant a program person. I also don’t remember why the man was terminated from his game and made to return. He seems to be in Heaven. God is really the computer that runs everything there. I do remember one scene where the man and his companion are going somewhere, and their mode of transportation is sitting on the grass, and the grass moves them along. I really wish I could find the site and get that book! Of course, this was all many years ago. The guy who wrote the book may not be on the Net anymore. The book may not have sold and he quit writing. Or he may have sold a bazillion of them and become famous and I have NO IDEA WHAT HIS NAME IS!

So there ya go, Gladys. A pretty little puzzle, no?

Two More Grails

2010-10-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Quite some time ago, I wrote about my quest for a soup plate that I could use when making milk toast. (score!)
In early summer I wrote about the glass 10” pie plates. (score x 4!)
A couple of months ago I discovered 2 more “Grails” could be checked off my list:
Lobby Broom and a bottle brush long enough to clean Marv’s Stanley thermos.

That bottle brush had been on my Grail list for many years. Marv uses that thermos every day to take iced tea for his lunch. For a long time I used an old baby bottle brush that had a nipple brush on the end, making it ALMOST long enough to scrub the inside of the thermos. The nipple brush finally broke off, and that was that. A long bottle brush was not to be found. Every once in a while I’d pour boiling water in the thermos to try and get the grunge out. I finally found a kitchen brush that was OK, except the handle was too thick. I had Marv grind it down so it would fit in the thermos, and then discovered that the bristles were too wide as well. So I took my kitchen shears and gave the thing a haircut. It was still a bit wide and not quite long enough, but it was all I had. I struggled with that thing for more years than I care to count. I would look online occasionally to see what I could find, but there just wasn’t anything for a tall thermos. THEN—oh joy! I found it! The Sigg Cleaning Brush! And I was able to locate a store that had them: Target! (score again!)

The Lobby Broom was a minor Grail that only made the list recently. When we cleaned out Marv’s mom’s apartment, we found what is basically a whisk broom with a long handle. It’s ideal for getting into small spaces, and you don’t have to bend over. Lia also enjoyed using it as a hobby horse. It was pretty old, and the straws were starting to come out. I started looking in stores and couldn’t find a new one. I went online and at first all I could find were children’s toy brooms that were indeed only for play. Then I discovered that what I was looking for wasn’t a toy, it had a real name: Lobby Broom. Home Depot has ‘em! (score once more!)

That pretty much took care of my Grail list. At least for tangible things. There is one more thing that I’ve been looking for online that I just cannot find. A certain book. I will write about it in my next blog.

September Book Report

2010-10-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

I know this is really late, but at least it's here...
"The Hogfather" by Terry Pratchett
"Pollyanna" by Elanor H. Porter
"Tickled Pink" by Rita Rudner
"Gilbert Stuart" by Ruth Langland Holberg
"No Time Like Tomorrow" by Ted White

"The Hogfather" was another fun romp in Discworld, this time with a Christmas-like theme. I'd read the book before, years ago and had finally gotten the movie they made of it on Netflix. Tons of fun. Then I read the book again. Can't say enough good things about Pratchett. You owe it to yourself to read these gems.

I've never seen the Disney movie of Pollyanna. I picked up the paperback of this children's book some time ago, and came across it recently. Very good read. I highly recommend it. Yes, it's a bit on the sugary side, but who cares? We need a bit more sugar in this bitter world right now. Pollyanna's "glad game" would be good for all of us to play.

I love Rita Rudner's style of humor. I've always enjoyed her on the talk shows and was happy to check out her literary endeavor. Good book! Lots of humor mixed in with serious stuff. I'd love to read more.

"Gilbert Stuart" was another young adult book I'd gotten at a library sale. As I was reading about the man who painted the portraits of several presidents, I was also checking into Wikipedia about some of the peripheral characters in Stuarts life and saw a lot of the portraits mentioned in the biography. I love early American history and this had some good peeks into that time period.

The Ted White book was a young adult sci-fi novel about a young man who is accidentally dragged into the far future. This book could've been a lot longer with lots more details about this future. I found it fascinating and wanted more. I found the ending a bit of a let-down, but admit it was the best ending for the characters concerned.

So--5 books for September. I think October is going to be a bit skimpy. Only read 2 books so far and might only get one more done before the end of the month. As we head into holiday season, I doubt I'll get a whole lot of reading done.

The best part of waking up...

2010-09-09T18:01:00.000-07:00

…is Slim•Fast in my cup!

I HATE waking up! I am NOT a morning person. I am NEVER at my best first thing in the morning. I know that breakfast is supposed to be the most important start to the day, but unless someone serves me directly, I am not in the mood to be preparing ANYthing first thing, not even cold cereal. I used to only have my favorite International Coffee Orange Cappuccino for breakfast, but found that by 10-10:30 I was starving and would need a snack. Of course, that would usually be a high-calorie snack, and I would still eat a substantial lunch. When I started getting serious about losing some weight, I went back to having Slim•Fast in the morning. I had tried it years before, when they still made the Chocolate Royale lactose-free. When they stopped making that flavor without lactose, I had to give it up. Since I was able to have dairy again, I was pleased that they still made Chocolate Royale. I put it in my fat-free milk and had that for breakfast, but I was then a bit too full for a whole cup of coffee. And I NEED my coffee in the morning. That’s usually the only caffeine coffee I have during the day. I don’t know when I had the bright idea of adding a little extra water to the Slim•Fast mix and then putting in my orange cappuccino powder and heating it up, but after that, mornings got a whole lot better. I’d still be stumbling into the kitchen sometimes with my eyes partly closed and putting everything together by feel, but sitting with a nice insulated container of hot Slim•Fast coffee and letting the morning sort of ooze into me makes the insult of morning a bit easier to take.

August book report

2010-09-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

One good thing that came of having the computer go south for awhile was that I did get caught up a bit with my reading. I knew I was spending a lot of time on the computer, but was a little dismayed at the amount of reading I got done because I wasn't on the computer so much. So here's the list:

3 books by Janet Evanovich--"Plum Spooky", "Finger Lickin' Fifteen", and "Sizzling Sixteen".
1 Grace Chapel Inn book--"Mystery at the Inn" by Carolyne Aarsen

I love, love, LOVE Janet Evanovich! Her Stephanie Plum books are the biggest joy in the world to read. A friend at church introduced them to me and I in turn got Sarah hooked on them. They involve the misadventures of a clutzy Jersey girl who is a bounty hunter. The humor is wonderful and both Sarah and I wait impatiently each year for the new Plum book to come out.

And as always, the Grace Chapel Inn books are a treat for the soul.

Now that the computer is of use again (for however long it holds out), my reading has slowed down. I've decided to curtail my use though, and get more done around the house and certainly read more! I'm almost finished with another Terry Pratchett book...

My Little Lost Lamb

2010-08-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

When I was pregnant with Sarah (lo, these 30 years ago) Marv got me a Nativity Scene for Christmas. I’d always wanted one, and don’t know why I never asked my parents for one when I was a kid. It was a wonderful set, and I loved it and love setting it up every year. I have very specific ideas as to how it should be set up. I try to make the scene look as realistic as possible. I don’t have everyone spread out in a panorama, with the Christ Child smack in the middle. I have Mary hovering right next to the manger, with Joseph right behind her. I have the Wise Men hovering around in a circle, the kneeling one right beside the manger opposite Mary. The one shepherd with the lamb on his shoulders is sorta on the periphery, as would suit his class. The rest of the animals would be spread around, with the 2 sheep by the shepherd. There was one little lamb that was posed like he was running, and I would have him positioned as if he was indeed running off away from the group. Over the years I added some cats, because let’s face it, you can’t tell me there weren’t rodents around an animal place, and where there are rodents, there WILL be cats! One cat lays on a straw mat at the back of the barn, one cat is peeking out from the hay loft, and one curious little cat is right there at the foot of the manger, looking in at the Baby.
I don’t know when it was that I noticed the runaway lamb was missing. I don’t remember missing it when I packed up the set after Christmas, but I do remember missing it when setting it up the following year. I carefully searched through the papers in the box, but no lamb. The years went by and I figured somewhere along the line he’d fallen off the table where I’d set the Nativity up, maybe in the wastebasket.
A month ago, when we started getting ready to do the home improvements, Marv removed the huge board-and-brick bookcase in the living room. That thing hadn’t been moved since it was put up years and years ago. We found several books that had fallen behind the shelves….AND WE FOUND THE LAMB! He’d gotten knocked off the table and had ended up behind the bookcase. What a wonderful find that was! I was a little surprised at how much of a lift that gave to my heart. He’s now in the china cabinet, waiting for December. I might have the other sheep block his path in the future…

July book report

2010-07-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

I finally finished a book! Mark it on the calendar, Gladys! Now I have only the one unfinished book from May (the one I keep misplacing), one that a friend lent me, and 3 Stephanie Plum books to go…August is going to be a busy month…

The book I managed to finish was “Feet of Clay” by Terry Pratchett. Some years ago I decided to start going through his Discworld books again from the beginning. I would read one, then some other book, then another Discworld, etc. Feet of Clay is #19. This series is just the absolute best for some fun times. Pratchett is a joy to read. I really urge anyone who enjoys humorous Sci-Fi to look into these books. There’s not a whole lot I can say about this book if you’re not familiar with the people, circumstances, etc. of the Discworld. The books can stand on their own and can be enjoyed in any order, I just find them to be more fun if read in order.

This book involves Golems who decide to revolt against the order of things, a nasty plot against the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork (the main city), a new Dwarf recruit in the City Watch, and the usual folks who make living on a flat world flying through space on the back of 4 enormous elephants who are on the back of an even bigger tortoise such fun…

Impossibly Good!!

2010-07-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

I don’t know when Bisquick came out with the recipe for Impossible Pie, but I immediately embraced it. What an easy dish to make! Of course, back then, I had to bake them in a real oven. But that was OK, because the results were so great. And I could make two pies at once. I usually made the quiche-like recipes with leftover meat and veggies. I’ve made dessert ones and they’re good, too. Once I was able to make them in the microwave, I would make them more often, since it wouldn’t involve heating up the house. I could only make one at a time though. And by then I only had one 10” glass pie plate left. Smaller ones wouldn’t hold the entire mixture.

So began my quest for another 10” pie plate, WITHOUT RIDGES OR FLUTING. I quickly became aware that these plates were no longer made by Pyrex, ....Corning...., etc. I would look every time I went to Walmart or some such store, and never find what I wanted. I finally went online, and that’s when I found out that you can’t get them anymore. So I started haunting Salvation Army and other thrift stores. Nothing. Lots of small plates, but no 10” ones. Another good thrift store opened up here not long ago and they seemed to have a lot of glassware and so I would make it a practice to check in with them every once in a while. Nada.

During Marv’s vacation week, we happened to be at the newer thrift store, and as usual, I looked among the glassware to no avail. Marv sat down in a nice looking office chair to try it out and quickly called me over. I looked at him and he just pointed to the bottom shelf of some decorative glassware. I rarely pay that section any heed. There they were…2 glass pie plates, no ridges, no fluting, and they were 10”! It was like finding the Holy Grail…I may even have teared up a bit. I clutched those plates to my chest like a mother with her lost child and made my way to the register. Then we went to Salvation Army and just for the heck of it, looked at the glassware. More 10” plates! There were probably 4 or 5 of them, but I only bought 2, bringing my total for the day to 4 plates. Don’t know where I’m going to put them all, but by golly, they will be at my disposal! I will still treat my original plate with the respect it deserves, but no longer live in fear of it breaking. And I can now bake 2 pies at once if I want to fire up the oven! And even if I still want to use the microwave, I can make one pie, and be eating it while the second one bakes.

Of course, you know that now I will be stumbling over 10” glass pie plates whenever I go to a thrift store...feast or famine, feast or famine...

What I Did On My Vacation

2010-07-10T14:51:00.000-07:00

Marv’s one week of vacation was spent at home this year. Mainly working on the home improvement stuff. We went to Home Depot a LOT.
We did take a day trip to Mt. Lassen to see the snow. It’s not every year that there is still a significant amount of snow in July. As always, the drive up there is beautiful. I love that area. It was surprisingly warm outside when we got there. At that elevation, we’d hoped it would be cooler. There was quite a bit of snow, but not as much as expected, since the day we went up was the first day that the road through the park was completely clear. It was still beautiful to look at though. We had a picnic lunch and ate outisde at the visitor’s center. It does my soul good to just sit and worship the God that created so much natural beauty.
The last day of Marv’s vacation we went to Paradise to some of the antique stores. We were looking for a different coffee table and maybe another table lamp for the living room. No table, but we did score a couple of neat lamps. AND I found a kitty figure that I had to get.
Not the most exciting vacation, yes, but still enjoyable. I can enjoy anything as long as I have my Marvy around. We stayed up late watching TV, slept in somewhat, went out for pizza and fast food more than usual. Even when he was puttering around outside and I was inside at the computer or doing household chores, just knowing Marv was around was enough to make me happy.

summertime blog

2010-07-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

Really have had the blogging blahs lately. Nothing really much to talk about. Doing some home improvements, trying to downsize all the crap we have, general chaos throughout the house. So of course, that means, MEME TIME!!!!

1. What is your current guilty pleasure/obsession?
This was originally two seperate questions, but there are two things that I'm equally obsessed with and also find them a guilty pleasure:
A new Fishdom game
Colin and Justin's Home Heist

The first is the 6th Fishdom game that Playrix has come out with and I HAD to buy it. I love that game! All of them! Spend HOURS with them! 'nuff said...

The second is a show on BBCAmerica that I stumbled across and was so taken with it within the first few seconds that I hit "record" and then started recording them all whenever they came on. Colin and Justin are a couple (both proessionally and personally) of interior decorators from Scotland who go around in Canada finding homes that have been decorated in bad taste and then turning them around. They are such campy hoots that I knew Sarah would enjoy them as well, and I was right. Whenever she visits, we get in a good dose of Justin and Colin. I usually spend my lunchtime watching at least part of an episode. When I get to the end of an episode, I hit the "keep" button so I know that's one that Sarah hasn't seen yet. I LOVE those guys! Except for some of that wallpaper they seem so in love with...

2. What item from your closet are you wearing the most lately?
Well, some time back I wrote about going through my closets and getting rid of some stuff that had seen better days. One of those things were my capri pants that I've had for years. I had figured that I had one more season out of them and then they'd go bye-bye. As it turned out, I couldn't part with them. They are so cool to wear when it's really hot. Even jean shorts are too hot sometimes, but those capris are a much lighter weight cloth. So I decided those would now be my kickin' around clothes.

3. What was the last "fun" thing you bought?
Well, shopping for Lia is ALWAYS fun, but for a totally fun thing JUST FOR ME: black bras! I've always had white bras, because that was what came in my size. At least in the discount stores, which is where I get my stuff. No Victoria's Secret for me. I refuse to pay those outrageous prices for something no one (except Marv) is going to see. And Marv doesn't care what bra I'm wearing. Finally the kind of bra I get came in rosewood as well as white, so I got a few of each kind. I looked on the company's website and found that they had black, but not in my size. One of the last times I went to Walmart, I discovered that they had finally come out with my bra size in BLACK! Wow! They had 2 in stock, so that's what I got. Of course, I have to be careful not to wear something light colored when I wear a black bra, but for some reason it gives me a lift (no pun intended) when I wear black. Now if only it came in red...

4. What are you reading right now?
Oh man, have I fallen astray in THAT department. Just so much going on with the house. That's why there was no update on books in May or June. I started a book in May, and was really enjoying it, and then "things" started happening, and I misplaced it. Couldn't find it to save my life. So I started another one. June came and went with more "things" going on and the house stuff as well. Then I found the May book! Buried under music on the piano! Of course, the logical place.... So now we're in July with 2 half-finished books.

5. What's for dinner?
Leftovers! We had hot dogs on the Weber last night, and there are 3 left for Marv, along with a bit of pork 'n' beans. I'll have what's left of the chili (for chili dogs, ya know) and some leftover fried chicken from the other night. And for dessert we have leftover watermelon. The first one we'd gotten this season and it's a good one! Kept it in the fridge for 2 days. Nothing better than ice cold watermelon!

Well, I have to admit I feel better now that I've blogged. In fact, I've changed my title. It was "eh" before.

the bigger they are, etc. etc. etc.

2010-06-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

I managed to trip over my own feet on Saturday when we went to Food Maxx. Marv was getting me a cart and I just plain tripped and fell right on the concrete by the carts. The right side of my head hit the ground and my glasses flew off. I hit my right knee pretty hard, but was wearing capris, so no skin damage. The hardest hit was my right hand that I guess I had put out to break my fall. It was crumpled under me and I sprained it a bit. There was a young man gathering carts to put back and he was right there offering me a hand and Marv was on the other side. They got me upright and I was OK. The main thing that hurt right then was the side of my face. My glasses had smooshed into me before flying off and cut me right below the right eye. It was bleeding, so I went into the ladies room to wash up a bit. My glasses were bent all to heck, and it was very hard to see. Thankfully, the lenses are plastic, so they didn't break, just the corner of the right lens was crunched a bit. I tried to bend them back to the point of at least being able to wear them, but it sure made vision a problem. We did our shopping and went home. Marv was able to get the glasses back into shape as I sat in my recliner with ice packs on my knee, wrist and face. I was mentally going through all the blessings of the incident:

It could have been worse; I could've broken something.
I didn't have to play at the nursing home chapel service this coming week.
I wasn't having my picture taken for anything important, or going to a function where I'd want to look all "prettied up".
I'd have a great story to blog about!

I figured the next day I'd probably be feeling a few more aches and pains, but I was surprisingly FINE...except for a nasty cold I'd picked up somewhere! Can't imagine where THAT came from...even my wrist was good enough that I could've played for the chapel service if I'd had to. So there ya go. I had Marv take a pic of my shiner and put it in the Misc Pix folder on Myspace. Take a gander...

hamburger lips

2010-06-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

Sarah got her braces adjusted the other day and was telling me how much her mouth hurt. Not only because of the adjustment, but because of the way her cheek was scoured by one of the brackets. Boy, did that bring back memories! My orthodontist was just a few blocks away from where I went to Junior High, so I had special permission to leave campus when I had an appointment. My parents both worked, and while my mom could've made arrangements, it was just easier for me to walk there. The appointments were made for after lunch, so I'd be able to brush my teeth before going, and there would only be 2 classes left. About 2 hours after the adjustment I would be in great pain and usually didn't sleep well that night.
Around Christmas, I was goofing around on my mom's bed while she did something in her room. I lost my balance and fell, mouth first, across the footboard of the bed. Talk about pain! And blood! Now you know where I got the title for this blog...
The ONLY good thing about this incident is that it took place during Christmas vacation (NOT "Winter Break" thankyouverymuch), so I didn't have to go to school with grossly swollen lips. But it was very hard to really enjoy any kind of Christmas goodies when it was so painful to try and chew without moving my lips. I can still feel it...

fabulous day!

2010-06-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

Gladys, today was wonderful! It didn't start that way, but it sure ended up that way. I had an appointment in Chico and my friend was going with me and we were going to have lunch at Starbucks. I was making the sandwiches and my friend called and said something came up and she wouldn't be able to go. So I went to my appointment in Chico alone in the dreary rain. I had a CD that Paul had made for me years ago, with some old tunes that I really loved. I ended up singing the whole way to Chico. By the time I arrived at my appointment, it had stopped raining and was windy and cool but it felt great. After my appointment, I went to Starbucks by myself. I sat outside at one of the little tables with my sandwich, my peppermint mocha and a chocolate croissant and watched the traffic. Then I did some shopping. I had a blast! I love shopping at the Walmart in Chico, as it has a much larger selection of everything than the store in Oroville. I got me some new jammies! Tinkerbell and Minnie Mouse! And what was even better--since I've lost so much weight I was able to get them in a smaller size and not pay the extra $2 they charge for the larger sizes! WOOT!! I ended up on a whim at the 99¢ Store and got a BUNCH of fun stuff for Lia. I also scored 3 (count 'em! 3!) different scents of dusting powder WITH PUFF. I had been on a mission for some time trying to find any store that still carried that item. Everybody has bath powder in a bottle, but no one had it in the flat round container with a puff. At least not at a price I was willing to pay. I was so stoked! Then I drove home singing all the way. The only thing that would've made the whole excursion better would've been if Mary had been with me. Or you, Gladys--you would have been a welcome companion! Maybe next time? ☺

Alfie

2010-05-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

I watched the movie "Alfie" the other day. The 1966, Michael Caine version. I was too young to see it in the theater at the time, but really loved the song as sung by Dionne Warwick. I was really surprised that the US release featured Cher singing the title song. I don't remember ever hearing her sing it back in the day. It was always Dionne Warwick.
When I got the movie on DVD, I was expecting a fun, frothy romp from the swinging '60's. I've always loved Michael Caine and was looking forward to seeing him as a lovable scamp, always after the ladies.
I was very disappointed. What I saw was a sad, sordid little movie about an absolutely soulless cad. Alfie went through women like Kleenex with no looking back. He did seem to care for them in his own limited way, but it was VERY limited, and only extended to his own pleasure and convenience. He did "take care of" the married woman he got pregnant, and even cried when viewing his aborted child, but it was too little, too late.
He seemed genuinely bewildered at the end of the movie. He truly didn't know "what it was all about" and I doubt he ever would.
I found it rather bleak. I could imagine Alfie as a middle-aged roué, burned out by life and abandoned by the women he'd carelessly used, sitting in his cramped little apartment and still wondering what it was all about.
I still love Michael Caine, though.

April book report

2010-05-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

Amidst all the chaos of the last few weeks, I only finished 2 books. Here they are:

"The Way We Were" by Arthur Laurents
I was mildly interested in the movie, but never saw it. I liked the theme song, though. I don't remember where I found the paperback of the book the movie was based on, but thought it might be interesting. I really struggled to get through this one. I found it depressing. I thought both main characters were jerks in their relationship to each other. Counseling might've helped...
The only good thing was being able to picture the whole thing with Redford and Streisand in mind, so it was kinda like watching the movie. Have no idea how closely the movie followed the book. Don't care.

"I See By My Outfit" by Peter S. Beagle
This one was a delight. I've always loved the fantasy novels of Beagle, and found this book at some sale. It's an account of his trip from New York to San Francisco with his friend, artist Phil Sigunick. It took place in the 60's when both were in their early 20's. They each had motor scooters that had their own little quirks.
The book was a neat little window into a time long gone and an America that no longer exists.

I love men's shoes!

2010-04-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

I have big feet. There, I've said it. Not only are they big, they're wide and fairly flat after going barefoot or in sandals most of my life. Once the weather starts getting a little warm, I can't stand to have shoes enclosing my feet. It's hard to find cute shoes in my size that are comfortable. I can't wear pointy toed shoes, or even most closed shoes other than tennis shoes. And I can't wear heels. They kill me. If I have to wear dress shoes, they have to be open-toed with a heel no more than 1½ inches high. I've seen some nice shoes in magazines with closed, square toes, and Aravon makes nice, low-heeled, square toed shoe--but YOW! they're expensive. For something casual that's nicer than a tennis shoe, I shop in the men's department at Walmart. That's where I get my tennis shoes too, by the way. Many years ago, I got my dad a nice pair of velcro strap tennis shoes, because he was no longer able to handle laces. I really liked the style and got myself a pair as well. And we both wore the same size! And I have to admit, it was kinda nice to get a pair of shoes in size 8 (mens) instead of 10 (womens). I later found a real nice pair of casual black slip-on shoes in the mens department that I could get away with for casual dress for church. So that's where I started shopping. I would still wear open-toed women's shoes for wearing with dresses and such, but I just loved the comfort of the men's shoes for everyday and dressy casual. Recently I needed to look for a new pair of casual shoes. So there I was, in the men's shoe aisle at Walmart, in my socks and trying on shoes. I saw a nice, elderly gentleman with a turban and fluffy beard start down the other end of the aisle where I was. He was slowly looking at the shoes and darting glances at me. I had found what I thought was the perfect pair of shoes in brown and was looking to see if they also had them in my size in black, when the man arrived to where I was. He politely said "Am I in the wrong place, or are you?" I explained the reason I was looking at men's shoes and showed him the brown ones I had already picked out and said I found men's shoes more comfortable than women's. He seemed to think that was reasonable and went on with his own shoe search. I found the black shoes I was looking for and bought both pair. THEY ARE GREAT!! I just love them and wear them all the time. In fact, I've worn the brown shoes so much, they're starting to get a bit scuffed, and I've been thinking of going back and getting another brown pair. Although it won't be much more than another month and I will be in sandals until nearly October.

emerging from the dark

2010-04-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

OK Gladys, I'm back. Thanks for your patience. And thank you to everyone for their good wishes and prayers. I won't dwell on things I have no control of, but will try and move forward.
Easter was a bit tough as expected, but having Sarah and Lia here made a world of difference. And Marv's mom got to come to church for the first time since she moved into the nursing home. All in all it was a good day.
I finally went to the doctor and asked for some extra "help" with some of things I've been dealing with. He put me on Celexa, which is an antidepressant/antianxiety med. I think it's beginning to make a difference. I'm a lot calmer and have more control over the tears. I've gotten really tired of crying all the time. I'm able to look at things a bit more objectively. I know I should've done this a few years ago, but had been able to somewhat cope until lately.
So onward and upward. I've got three books started that I go between, depending on what mood I'm in. I hope to have them in my report at the end of the month.
Tomorrow night I go to a stamp party. Wheee!

March book/Easter

2010-04-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

March ended really sucky, but I promised a book report each month and I do try and keep my promises...The only book I managed to get through was an old library sale book written in the 60's called "Daughters In Law" by Henry Cecil. It was supposed to be a frothy novel with lots of high jinks. It probably would've been funnier 45 years ago, but it was pretty dated. It was very British, which I usually love, but it dealt with the Brit legal system, of which I'm very ignorant. It also had some very dated views about women in the predominantly male realm of law. I really tried to finish it, but the legal stuff was tedious and the plot line was pretty bad, too. I finally skipped to the end and then put the book in the Salvation Army bag.
So now on to Easter. This Easter is going to be a bit hard for several reasons, most of which I can't deal with at the moment. So I will recount the earliest memory I have of Easter. I was probably 5 years old. I knew what Easter was all about (the real meaning) and was a little confused about the whole Easter bunny business. But I liked Easter eggs and candy and wasn't about to say no to any of that. So I got up insanely early Easter morning. I think my dad and grandmother were in the kitchen, but I didn't say anything to anyone and didn't even really go in the kitchen. I quietly got dressed in play clothes (I knew I would be putting on "church clothes" later) and took an empty egg carton that I had gotten the night before, and went out in the front yard and looked for Easter eggs. NOTHING! Since I didn't believe in the Easter bunny anyway, I wasn't terribly surprised, but was still a bit disappointed. I was also a tad embarrassed that I had "fallen" for what I thought of as a joke. So I went back inside and didn't say anything, and no one said anything to me. They may not even have been aware that I had gotten up, dressed, gone out and then come back in. Later, of course, we all got dressed, went to church and then back home there were Easter baskets for my brother and I. I got to thinking about that Easter and decided that I deserved some Easter eggs this year. With Paul gone, I'm the only one here who likes hard boiled eggs, so I only made 5. I colored them all differently using only vinegar and food coloring. I think they came out quite nicely--very earthy colors. AND I did make one really good score this year: an Easter KITTY for Lia! Seasonal cats are really hard to find, except for Halloween, of course. But I managed to get the very last bright pink Easter kitty that the local Walmart had. And it was obviously an Easter kitty, because the tummy looked like a polka dotted Easter egg.
Of course, the only truly important thing about Easter is that it took place. Christ lived, He died, He rose again. Praise God! Many blessings to all of you!

missed anniversary

2010-03-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

With everything else that's been going on, I failed to mention that last weekend was the first anniversary of my being able to have dairy again. It's been a great year, gastronomically speaking. I've had pizza, ice cream, cheese of all sorts, and of course--MILK! No more having to read labels to see if there's lactose. It's sure made cooking a lot easier, too. I can make stuff with real milk or butter and don't have to try and make do with lactose-free products that don't always translate as well as real dairy. And I can make things I haven't had in years and used to enjoy a great deal--like Cheeseburger Macaroni Hamburger Helper! Don't laugh; that's one of my all-time favorites. I pretty much enjoy all the Ham. Help. varieties, but the cheeseburger one was always the family fav and I would make it for Marv and Paul, but couldn't have it myself. And one of the biggest pleasures with that particular variety is a soup that can be made with it. I got the recipe years and years ago on the back of the package and just love it. Marv's not a big soup lover, so he'll usually eat it on the first night and the leftovers will be split up into individual servings for me and put in the freezer to enjoy at my leisure.
So to whatever part of my body that processes lactose, I say: Happy Anniversary (fill in the blank), and many more!

pasta and a haircut

2010-03-05T14:15:00.000-08:00

WAAAY back in September of '09, I got the best haircut of my entire life. I always go to SuperCuts because I'm cheap and I've always had pretty good service there, no matter who does the cutting. I figured that just before Thanksgiving I'd get it cut again, as that's when my hair would start not co-operating with me.
Things came up, I had dental work done and was miserable for a long time, Thanksgiving came and went, AND MY HAIR WAS BEAUTIFUL. My current profile pic on Myspace was taken at Thanksgiving and I think my hair looks pretty darn good. I'd never had a haircut last that long! I had to do a minimal amount of fussing and it was still working! I thought maybe just before Christmas would be the time to get a cut.
Of course, if you've been reading my blog (and if not, shame on you!) you know that that's the time I was dealing with a very bad back, the stuff going on with Marv's mom, Sarah and Lia coming up and Christmas itself. So no haircut, but that was OK because MY HAIR WAS STILL BEAUTIFUL! I was getting compliments on it regularly!
January came and went and February was well into it before the first hints of non co-operation started. By the end of February I knew that was it. No more Mr. Nice Hair!! My big goal this week was to get my hair cut, come heck or high H2O. Last night I decided that I would get my hair cut in the morning and then go to lunch with Paul to redeem our blood-earned pasta coupons at Round Table. I also had a coupon for a free tea tree shampoo with purchase of any hair cut. So that's what I did. I got a wonderful shampoo and a fabulous haircut.
When Paul and I went to Round Table, he was going to get the lunch buffet of salad/pizza bar along with his pasta. I went first and asked how large the pasta portion was. The gal said it was pretty big, and showed me the take-out pan they use for it. It was enormous. Paul changed his mind when he saw that and just got the pasta and drink like I did. When it was served, it also had a big garlic bread twist with it. I think the bread had sour cream in it, which I really don't care for, but the pasta was superb! I could only eat about half of it and brought the rest home for dinner. I'll probably give the bread to Marv; I only took two small bites.
So it's been a pretty good day--free shampoo (and great haircut) and free pasta! And tomorrow I get to go to a stamp luncheon! Whee!

whaddya want, blood?

2010-03-04T17:09:00.000-08:00

I was a good girl today, Gladys. I gave blood, even though my last experience was pretty awful. Many years ago, our church had a blood drive and I gave blood for the first time. It was OK. I don't like needles, but I didn't look, so everything was fine. I got some good cookies and juice and a free t-shirt. We never had another drive at church, so I just never got around to giving blood again. Marv donated several times at other drives around town, and Paul has been a regular donar for years. I was just real ho-hum about it.
Then, this last December, there was a message on the answering machine for Paul, reminding him about the upcoming blood drive at the local sport club. The gal in the message said it was very important during the holidays for there to be a good blood supply on hand, and especially important for Paul, because he was a universal donar (type O-). When I heard the message, I thought, "Well, shoot! I'm a universal donar too! Why aren't I giving blood?!?"
I had no good answer for that, so when time came for the drive, Paul and I went together. The first thing we did on registering was pick up our free red holiday t-shirt. The place was pretty busy, but they had 8 drawing tables, so things went fairly fast. When it was my turn, the table I happened to go to only had an arm rest on the right side. Whenever I've had blood taken for a blood test, it's always been on the left--no particular reason. But I sat down and the gal got things ready for my right arm. That's when things went south. For some reason, she was having a very difficult time finding the vein, getting the needle in, getting blood to come out and just generally saying "Sorry! Sorry!" a lot. Finally another gal had to come over and help. It took forever for me to fill up the bag! Then, when the gal tried to fill the little test vials, nothing was working. She took out and then tried to reinsert the needle. No go. Meanwhile, everything was really starting to bruise in that whole area of my arm. Again, someone had to come over to try and help. They ended up taping up my right arm, moving me to another table and getting things started in the left arm so they could get those little test vials--otherwise they would have had to throw out the bag of blood I had so painstakingly just filled. After several more "Sorry! Sorry!" apologies, it was done. I was pretty calm about it all since the gal doing the blood work was having enough anxiety for both of us. After one more apology, the gal thanked me for being so nice and told me to get another t-shirt. At this time, Paul had given his blood, had his juice and cookies and was just kinda hanging out until I was done. Since I had already gotten the red shirt, I was going to get one of the older blue shirts from a previous drive, but they were out of my size, so I just got another red one. THEN I had my fill of cookies and juice! I'd earned it!! And my arm was bruised for 2 weeks!
SO-----present day. They had another drive at the sport club this afternoon and Paul and I went together again. This time the freebie was a coupon for a free individual penne pasta w/meatballs at Round Table. And things couldn't have gone more smoothly for me this time around! We were in and out of there in no time. I made sure that it was my LEFT arm they used, though....(and no HINT of a bruise this time!) So tomorrow, Paul and I will have our lunch at Round Table!

February book report

2010-02-27T21:17:00.000-08:00

Well, Gladys, I did a little better this month: 4 books! In order, they were:
"Prayers, Paws & Providence" by Diann Hunt
"Through Gates of Splendor" by Elisabeth Elliot
"Night Song" by Susan Plunkett & Krysteen Sellen
"George" by Agnes Sligh Turnbull

The first book was another in the Grace Chapel Inn series I talked about last month. I learned a lot about seizure response dogs in this one. As always, a good read and very positive.

The Elliot book was about the martyrdom of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming and Roger Youderian in Ecuador in 1956. I went into this book knowing it was going to be a hard read. I'd read a little about Jim Elliot years ago and had seen the movie The End of the Spear a few years back at church. Hard movie to watch. I have a great deal of admiration for these young men and their mission, and for their widows as well. I've read several of Elisabeth Elliot's books and think highly of her.

"Night Song" is from another series put out by Guideposts, called Mysteries of Sparrow Island. Not as lighthearted as the Grace Chapel books, but still Christian oriented. A little more "real" in the way they deal with people. Like Grace Chapel, the 2 main characters are sisters who are in their mid to late 50's. I love these books just as much as the Grace Chapel ones.

"George" is a children's book. I'm a big fan of Agnes Sligh Turnbull, having read "The Day Must Dawn" when I was in high school. That book was written in 1942, and was one of those that I would check out from the library over and over again until I finally found a used paperback at a sale. I used to buy elementary school readers whenever I'd find them at a sale or Salvation Army. I liked using the illustrations and artwork in my collages, and sometimes used the poetry as well. I'd always skim the whole reader before taking it apart. There was an excerpt from "George" in one of them. I was intrigued by the story of a rabbit with glasses who helped a woman get rid of her migraine and then helped her children with their math homework. I found that the excerpt was from a book written in 1964, so it was long out of print when I went looking for it. I found it in the used/out of print section of Barnes & Noble online and ordered it. It's a delightful little book. I found I was reading it imagining George to have a New England accent, which made it just that much cuter. I look forward to reading it to Lia some day.

So that's my report, Gladys. I recommend these books highly. Toodles util next time!

Holy Pancakes, it's Lent!!

2010-02-19T17:24:00.000-08:00

This past Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday AKA Mardi Gras AKA PANCAKE DAY!!
I like to acknowledge the entering of the penitential season, and used to make a special dinner on Shrove Tuesday. The last few years though, we've either been at church that evening or at Bible study. This year, we were at Bible study and I knew there would be something yummy and sweet for snack, so didn't want to have syrupy pancakes for dinner and then more sweets later. Wednesday was Ash Wednesday with supper at the church before service, so no pancakes that day. Thursday I was just plain tired and didn't feel like standing at the griddle. All I could manage was cottage cheese and scrambled eggs.
BUT TODAY--TODAY WAS THE DAY!!
♥♥♥PANCAKES♥♥♥
So now I'm FULL of pancakes and happy.

Perceptual Expectation

2010-02-10T16:45:00.000-08:00

I can't tell you how many times I've worked on a crossword puzzle and have read a clue and started to write in the answer, only to discover that the word I know without doubt is the correct one is one letter too many/too few for the space. Or--the word fits, but throws off all the other words around it. I will then re-work it, sometimes doing all the words around the trouble spot, thereby filling it in by default. I'll look at that word and think "That doesn't have anything to do with the clue!" I will then look at the clue again and find that I've transposed a letter, left a letter out, whatever, changing the clue entirely. Or--maybe in a 2 word clue, I've read the first word and the first letter of the second and assumed a different word.
Perceptual expectation.
This has happened many, many times, and never fails to annoy me. I'll wonder how on earth I imagined a different word in the first place. I got an email today that said this in the subject line:
Get Hi-Def Drama with New Mega Impact Color from AVON
I saw who the email was from and thought this was a very strange email for her to send me. Above the advertisement inside, she'd written that "Avon has great sales this time of year, pass the info along, etc." then the most outrageous statement of all: "Great gift ideas as well."
I thought "What on earth?!?!"
Then I scrolled down a bit, saw the advertisement and said "This is all about make-up!" THEN I looked at the subject line again and realized that it said Mega Impact COLOR--NOT "COLON"
I had originally just glanced at it, thought I saw something having to do with a remedy for impacted colons (which is why I thought my friend was kinda strange) and hadn't even seen the word AVON. Then I open the email and see about Avon having great sales on the stuff and that it was a GREAT GIFT IDEA????
I have to admit I just looked at the make-up ad for a second or two and really re-thought my friendship with this woman before looking at the subject line again. Then I had the best laugh I've had in days. Actual tears in my eyes over this.
Thanks for the laugh, Nadine, even though it was my goofy perceptual expectation that caused it, and keep the emails coming! I never know what I'm going to THINK I see!

Jan Book Rep part 2

2010-01-28T17:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I surprised myself and got another book read within this month. It's "The Price of Fame" by Carolyne Aarsen. It's one of a series of books called Tales of Grace Chapel Inn, and it's put out by Guideposts. I really enjoy these books for several reasons. They're clean, upbeat, always have a good ending (as opposed to a happy ending), although there are usually struggles along the way.
The main characters are 3 sisters who have a bed-and-breakfast in a quaint New England town. The sisters are all 50+ which I REALLY like. The only slightly unreal thing about the books is that they all come from a Christian standpoint. The people in the town for the most part are all Christians and freely admit to that and even (gasp) PRAY together! I'm not mocking that....I want to live there!! I would love to be in a town where it's not politically incorrect to wear a cross or confess Christ as Savior, or want to solve differences of opinion with prayer and honest discussion.
Anyway, on to the book itself. A movie crew comes to the little town of Acorn Hill in PA. The quaintness of the town and its architecture seem ideal in lending itself to a period piece. As it turns out, the price the town must pay in compromises is more than the people want to pay. Of course the movie people are scornful of Christians and prayer, but one of the crew comes to believe that maybe the things taught to him when he was a child aren't so old-fashioned and of no use as he thought. He breaks from the rest of the Hollywood crowd and goes back to his home in Canada.
Sounds sappy, I know, but I love these gentle books with their loving humor and joys and sorrows.

January book report

2010-01-23T18:54:00.000-08:00

You'd think with all the down time I've had lately because of my back, I'd have read more. Well, guess what? When one is on a lot of pain meds, it makes it kinda hard to concentrate on the printed word. Since there's only one more week to the month, I know I won't finish another book before the end. My report is on the one book I did finish--"Going Rogue" by Sarah Palin. Paul got me the book for my birthday, but I didn't start it until the end of December.
I loathe politics. Always have. It's a dirty, dirty world. I don't debate or argue politics. It upsets me too much. So this is all I will say: I have unbounded admiration for Sarah Palin. I didn't care much for McCain, but I was truly on fire about the possibility of Palin as Veep. This book cemented my opinions of politics and the main stream media. The way Palin's children were attacked was beneath contempt. Palin isn't perfect. No one is. But she's a darn sight better than just about anyone else you can name. I hold her in very high esteem for her adamant stance on the sanctity of life. That is the main issue I vote on. And if Palin runs for President in 2012, I will gladly vote for her.

Ow-ow-ow-ow!!

2010-01-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

Hi Gladys--I hurt my back again, so I thought I'd veg out in front of the comp with my trusty heatpad and wait for the pain pills to kick in. This has been really hard to deal with. I hurt for several days, then get to feeling OK and overdo it and I'm back to square one again. I hate not being able to do simple things without being extremely careful or asking for help. Today I started taking down the Christmas tree. I had every intention of taking it easy, but all it took was a couple of reaches up, down, around and a few twists and I knew I was in trouble. But I kept it up for a couple of hours until I knew I just couldn't do any more. I hated to stop but I had no choice. So what else to do but another cute little meme? This was on a blog site and was listed as the most random meme the blogger had ever seen. I'm always on the look-out for something different.

And On With The Meme!!!!

What kind of soap is in your bathtub/shower right now?
There's a bar of Irish Spring for the guys and at least 3 bottles of purty-smelling stuff for me (and Sarah when she comes up)

What color or design is on your shower curtain?
The usual one is a nice cream color with bamboo design that Paul bought us when he accidentaly destroyed the other one (funny story). But what's up right now is a beautiful red and gold one that belongs to Sarah. Since her current shower has a glass door, she let me have this one for the holidays. She's always trying to bring a little class into our house...

Do you drink out of glass or plastic when you're at home?
Depends. I have both. I use both.

Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now?
I ALWAYS have iced tea in the fridge, but it's in a glass "sun tea" jar instead of a pitcher. Marv takes that in his thermos to work every day.

How many pillows do you sleep with?
Because of my reflux prob, I sleep with a lot of them. Along with my old triangle wedge pillow, I had 5 extra pillows to position myself, depending on how high I had to sit up. With my new wedge (which is a lot firmer) I only need 2-3 extra pillows.

Do you sleep with any lights on at night?
Because I have to get up 3-4 times a night to visit the little girl's room, I have a night light in the hall and in the bathroom.

Standard toothbrush or electric?
Standard. I tried one of those disposable vibrating toothbrushes and really liked it, but it only lasted about a month before the thing died. And I wasn't going to pay $6 each time for something like that.

Welcome, 2010!

2010-01-01T21:31:00.000-08:00

It's a new year, thankfully! And what better way to start it than with a MEME???

What famous person do you (or others) think you resemble?
I didn't see the resemblance, but one Halloween I answered the door wearing my hair parted in the middle with 2 white barrettes holding my hair back. No reason, that's just the way I was wearing it that day. A couple of teen boys looked at me and said, "Are you supposed to be Kathy Bates?" It wasn't until a little later that I thought of her in the movie "Misery", and that's how she wore her hair. Then I felt insulted...

What 3 things can always be found in your refrigerator?
Milk, soda, butter

What superstition do you believe/practice?
None. I'm a Christian.

What color are you bed sheets?
Right now they're dark red flannel with bears on them. And paw prints.

Would you rather be a fish or a bird?
Since I HATE deep water, it would have to be a bird. Plus, I'd love to be able to fly!

Do security cameras make you nervous?
Not at all! In fact, if I see one, I always smile and wave!

Last time you went to a cemetary?
Memorial Day 2009, to take a picture of all the flags in the Vet's section where my parents are.

Favorite musician(s)/bands you've seen in concert?
I saw Davy Jones of The Monkees at the fairgrounds several years ago. Big disappointment. He opened for Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits. THAT was wonderful. Peter was a real showman and had the whole audience singing "Henry the 8th". This past year I got to "experience" Tommy Emmanual at the university in Chico. All I can say about that is "WOW!!" He has to be seen to really appreciate him and his music.

Do you talk to yourself?
Of course! No I don't! Yes I do! That's nuts! Oh yeah? Yeah! You wanna make something of it?!?

Was your mom a cheerleader?
No. She was the editor of the school newspaper.

The phone rings. Who do you want it to be?
My Twinkie Pie, of course! (aka my daughter)

What 3 words best describe yourself?
Intelligent, funny, blessed.

2009 wrap-up and resolution

2009-12-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-20T18:44:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-21T12:17:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-11-14T20:11:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-10-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

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!!

2009-10-01T22:32:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-22T23:16:00.000-07:00

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!