Random crap

When making peanut brittle it is not wise to poor the hot candy into a glass pan and expect to get it out easily.

I make damn good English Toffee.

After owning my cd player/changer for at least five years, today I realized it plays mp3s. I made a cd and I've been playing it since about 1:00 this afternoon. It's now after 5:00 and still playing. You are awed by my tech savvy, aren't you?

I didn't go to church this morning.

My car is still in the shop.

I forgot about the new television program The Walking Dead. I spent last Sunday afternoon watching all the episodes but the first one which wasn't available with video on demand, then watched the season finale that evening. I can't figure out what caused the people to become zombies. Is it a virus? Anyone?

For Christmas I got my daughter an otter box for her iphone. I should have given it to her early. She dropped it today and shattered the screen.

My phone is old and doesn't have even a camera, but if i break it it won't cost me a fortune to fix it. Well, I wouldn't bother fixing it. I'm good for a free upgrade. I just haven't done it.

I think cell phones are the worst invention ever.

I have broken every nail on my left hand this week. They grow and grow and suddenly one will break. Once one breaks they all start breaking.

You can thank me later for writing such an enlightening post.

So darn cute!

Best youtube video of the year!

Happy Anniversary to My Mom and Dad

Today is my parent's 53rd wedding anniversary. They're proof that 2 people with very differing personalities can make a commitment and stick with it through adversity. I've said it before and I will say it again, my parents gave me a most wonderful, blessed childhood and upbringing. I hope I am half the person both of them are.


The quality of this old snapshot is poor but I have always loved this little photo of them. Looking at it more closely, I just might be in that photo too, because that looks suspiciously like a baby bump on Mom's tummy.

More falderal

I don't play Farmville on Facebook, or any of the games where you build something, so I don't have a clue how any of it works. I have to laugh at how irate some of the players get when the program has a glitch and isn't working correctly.

My baby sister loves me. She knows I don't like to cook for just myself so twice now she's set aside portions of meals she cooks, freezes them and sends them to me in a cooler via my parents when they visit. I love the gesture and the food beats TV dinners by a long shot.

My refrigerator is on the blink. The freezer works fine but the frig part isn't cooling like it ought to.

There are only 2 more sessions of Divorce Care and I'm glad. I have reasons.

I am debating on whether I should make Christmas candy or not. I used to make several different kinds but after things changed so much I stopped making it. It's expensive to buy all the ingredients and it seems pointless to make it when my house is no longer holiday central. Still, I miss carrying on the tradition my grandma started.

Life is so weird and emotions are even weirder. It's no secret I've harbored ill feelings for Dana the snake. I found out her sister, who has been fighting cancer for several years, was recently given 3 months to live. I feel sad and sorry for her and it's confusing to feel sympathy for someone I've felt such animosity for in the past. I don't know why she should even register on my radar because I am certain she never gave me a second thought. My friend Kay tells me it's a sign I'm healing. Maybe I should just accept that explanation and move on.

So far I have had a good experience with my insurance company regarding my wreck. I have heard horror stories from some of my friends concerning their experiences with wrecks and insurance companies. The wreck happened on Wednesday evening and per my agent's advice I waited to call in my claim until after the holiday on Friday. I was scheduled to meet the adjuster on Monday and had my car in the shop and a rental loaner by Tuesday.

Thank goodness I kept full coverage! I had debated off and on about switching to only liability in order to free up my finances a little. Sometimes procrastination is a good thing. I hope the wreck doesn't make my premiums go up.

You gotta laugh

First, I will say I thoroughly enjoyed my parent's visit over the holiday. I'm still my Daddy's little girl no matter how old and gray I get. I am so thankful they still enjoy good health and that they made it here and back home again in one piece. I am so very lucky to have been born to my parents and could not have asked for a better upbringing. I see a point on the horizon when they'll no longer be able to do the 9 hour trek down here to visit. I am putting each visit into a treasure chest of memories.

I have learned I have to take bits of what my parents say with a grain of salt sometimes, and realize they mean well. Daddy told me if I'd just gain about 10 pounds I'd find a man. I tried not to hear, "Good gracious, woman, you're so homely you'll never get a man." He's almost 80 years old. In his world women were meant to be taken care of by a man. I wish they both didn't worry so about my circumstances.

The man I felt knew how to do everything is no longer as adept as he once was. I will say he's in damn good shape for 79.95 years old. You wouldn't know by looking at him. Mom hasn't aged quite as gracefully, but she's a very young 73.

When they got to town last Wednesday Dad decided to take a "shortcut" to my house. I bet there was some bickering going on in that car. Anyway, long story short, they got lost, and when they called me they were only about 5 blocks away but I could not make either of them understand what they needed to do to rectify the situation. So, I got in the car to go find them and lead them to my place.

And I had a wreck on the way. My first wreck. It's been an experience.

I may be jinxed.

Or maybe Dana the snake is the witch my daughter says she is and she put a curse on me. Water off a duck's back, bitch.

Or God is trying to tell me something. I wish he wouldn't mumble.

No one was hurt. That's a great blessing. And truth be told, the spin I got when my car was hit might have been fun if not for the dents to poor ol' Bessie that came along with it.

Car's in shop, got a decent loaner, and so far the insurance company has been very accomodating. It could have been so much worse.

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus

We celebrated the youngest grandson's first birthday yesterday. This is a photo from the very end of the party after he's enjoyed his cake. He was one tired little munchkin at this point in the evening.

Oldest grandson's football team lost their playoff game against arch-rival Aledo on Saturday, so there won't be a superbowl game this year. It was a hard-fought battle and they made Aledo earn the one touchdown scored in the whole game. Grandson and his team mates all had tears in their eyes when it was over. They're tough little guys on the field but their age showed when it ended in a loss. They wouldn't see it now, but sometimes greater lessons are learned in a loss than in a victory.

Unless the weather turns too bad for traveling, my parents will be here day after tomorrow (YAY!), so I need to get into cooking and cleaning mode.

Ho Ho Ho

I really do not like Christmas. It hasn't always been that way, but somewhere down the line I went from enjoying it to dreading it. Actually, I do remember when the cog slipped and I started wanting to avoid Christmas like the plague. I know when, if not exactly why, but that's not something to talk about here.

That feeling of dread was re-enforced when the ex decided the holidays were a good time to rip his family apart by leaving a week before Christmas. I know it's my choice how I handle things, but it's difficult not to remember this time of year as a sad anniversary because the time from Thanksgiving through Christmas is so thoroughly ingrained as a time for families.

I don't want to hear that I will make new memories. I know that will happen and I look forward to when it does. I am not so far gone that I don't realize I still have my little family, albeit, minus one. I AM thankful for what remains. What I would like to do is to be able to stop mourning the past, to not care that his leaving makes that past feel like a lie.

What's more idiotic is the fact that I feel sorry for him. He has to live with knowing what he threw away. I can't be sure it even registers with him that his relationships with his daughter and grandchildren are filtered and diluted because of what he did. Maybe his "new" family makes up for it. Maybe it wasn't ever as important to him as I had thought. I'll never know, but I pity him for changing the course of his life so drastically as to affect the lives of the people who loved him the most in such a way that excludes him from a bigger part in their lives.

It's all too sad. I would like to go to sleep the day after Thanksgiving and wake up on New Year's Day to avoid it all.

Paradigm Shift

This film might be a little hokie but it was a good message for me because I tend to get wrapped up and absorbed in my own problems and I fail to remember that the people I encounter are fighting their own demons.

No, no pressure at all...

I'm not sure how to take this. Are we being subtly threatened by left wing environmental wackos, or were the creators of this "thought provoking" film short really mocking the left wing environmental wackos?

Twisted Deep Thoughts

In the Roadrunner cartoon, the coyote has been chasing him for 25 years. I'd like to see him finally get right up to him and go "Sorry, I thought you were someone else."

I hope if dogs ever take over the world, and they choose a king, I hope they don't just go by size, because I bet there are some Chihuahuas with some good ideas.

It takes a big man to cry, but it takes an even bigger man to laugh at that man.

The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face.

If you define cowardice as running away at the first sign of danger, screaming and tripping and begging for mercy, then yes, Mr. Brave Man, I guess I am a coward.

Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis.

If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.

We tend to scoff at the beliefs of the ancients. But we can't scoff at them personally, to their faces, and this is what annoys me.

To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.

I think someone should have had the decency to tell me the luncheon was free. To make someone run out with potato salad in his hand, pretending he's throwing up, is not what I call hospitality.

To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kind of scary. I've wondered where this started, and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus, and a clown killed my dad.

As the evening sky faded from a salmon color to a sort of flint gray, I thought back to the salmon I caught that morning, and how gray he was, and how I named him Flint.

Sometimes I think the world has gone completely mad. And then I think, "Aw, who cares?" And then I think, "Hey, what's for supper?"

It's sad that a family can be torn apart by something as simple as a pack of wild dogs.

source

Stuff

I turned my heat on a couple of days ago. I am a wimp. I can't stand being cold. I tried to keep from turning it on so I enjoy a couple of months of lower energy bills. So much for that.

Hallelujah, the elections are over. No more political ads! I was watching the news the other day and they were breaking it down nationwide as to which party had more personal attack ads. I don't remember the actual percentages but the Democrats were responsible overall for the most attack ads. I was surprised the liberal media (I think it was Dianne Sawyer reporting)would report such ugly facts. I don't like politics. I think someone who goes into the political arena with truly altruistic intentions either gets beat down until they quit/lose or they turn to the dark side.

Tomorrow is the last game of the season for grandson's football team. I imagine they'll be in the play-offs. Last week's game was really exciting. They played the number 1 team in the league and beat them 8-0. That team (from Brock) was previously undefeated and averaged over 20 points a game. Grandson's team's defense never let them get closer to their end zone than the 30 yard line. It was the best game of the season, and not only because of the win.

Last night's Divorce Care program was about sex. I regressed back to my tween years and had a really difficult time not giggling all the way through the film. To make it even more uncomfortable, I was sitting next to a man who sort of seems interested in me, he asked me to dinner 2 weeks ago and last night gave me his phone number. It's all too confusing to someone who hasn't been single for a long time. I'm still thinking of becoming a nun...or possibly a Mormon.

Thank you for the interest in my painting. The winning bid, much to my surprise and consternation, was a staggering $250. Whodathunkit!

Main Street - My Home Town

I swiped this photo from somebody on facebook.

Fast Food Folk Song (at the Taco Bell Drive-Thru)

If you make it through to the end you see that the guy taking the order got every last item!

I've been watching Ocra (name as per AnO) and she's had several people on today who used to be teen idols. My daughter called and said she was watching too, then said "My god Sean Cassidy is old. He looks like someones dad." I wasn't a fan, but it's funny how we expect people like that to remain ageless and we're surprised when they suddenly come back into the light of day after many years of relative anonymity and see they've aged just like the rest of us. I wasn't a Sean or a David Cassidy fan, I was more a Donny Osmond style screaming meemee. I had a fetish for big, gleaming, white teeth, I guess. I remember writing him fan letters telling him I'd turn Mormon for him if he'd just pick me. Good lord.

Peter Frampton was also on the show. Was he ever considered a teen idol? I didn't realize he was a Brit, either. I can say-- he is an old fart now.

My friend Marion doesn't get the crush on a celebrity thing. I'd say it was because she was raised in England if it weren't for the Beatles. Maybe she was raised by wolves. When you think about it, it is kind of odd, but I've always had crushes starting with Elvis. I cringe when I say I thought David Lee Roth was hotter than Georgia asphalt back in the day. Ack, what a sleaze.

Never mind.

Cute email about beer

Sometimes when I reflect on all the beer I drink, I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. I think, "It is better to drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."

Babe Ruth


"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. . ."

Lyndon B. Johnson


"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."

Paul Horning



"24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not."

H. L. Mencken


"When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!"

George Bernard Shaw


"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

Benjamin Franklin


"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza."

Dave Barry


BEER:HELPING UGLY PEOPLE HAVE SEX SINCE 3000 B.C.!

W. C. Fields


Remember "I" before "E," except in Budweiser.

Professor Irwin Corey


To some it's a six-pack, to me it's a Support Group Salvation in a can!

Leo Durocher


One night at Cheers, Cliff Calvin explained the" Buffalo Theory" to his buddy Norm:
"Well, ya see, Norm, it's like this.A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members! ; In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine! That's why you always feel smarter after a few beers.

Spookiest thing that ever happened to me

Around February of 2005 we drove from our home in Farmington, NM to Durango, CO for a concert at their local college. We had planned on driving back home afterward (it's only a distance of 45 miles) but on the drive over we decided to see if we could get a room at the Strater Hotel and spend the night.

We checked in and joked about seeing a ghost as we went to explore our room. I believe it was room 304 but I can't remember for certain. The Strater's rooms are all charmingly decorated with antique furniture and period wallpapers and linens. In each room, propped upon the bed pillows is a journal where guests are encouraged to write about their experiences in Durango. We didn't have time to read any of the entries before going to the concert.

After the concert we stopped for a drink in the Diamond Belle Saloon located off the hotel lobby then went to our room. My once upon a time husband climbed into bed and was instantly asleep. I puttered around, brushed my teeth, washed my face and crawled into bed to read a book and get warm because the temperature in the room was icey. I read a couple of entries in the journal whose writers mainly told of where they were from and chronicled vacation itineraries, then I switched to reading a book I'd brought with me because it was a lot more engrossing than the journal appeared to be.

It was very quiet as I lay there reading except for the OUaTH's snoring. Suddenly, I heard rustling in the room next door and then a woman began crying. Not just crying; she was sobbing in agonizing grief. I had never heard anyone cry like that. I tried to wake the OUaTH but I couldn't move or speak. I glanced at the clock and it was midnight. It went on for several minutes before abruptly stopping. I am sure it wasn't as otherworldly as it seemed, and was only a distraught guest, but in that setting and at that time of night I was spooked. It wasn't scary but it was eerie.

The next morning the OUaTH read the journal as I was getting around to leave. It seems some of the other guests had had similar experiences.

Have you had any eerie experiences?

Happy Halloween!

excellent point

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

C.S. Lewis

How 'bout them Cowboys?

The Texas State Police are cracking down on speeders heading into Dallas.
For the first offense, they give you 2 Dallas Cowboy tickets. If you get stopped a second time, they make you use them.

Q.What do you call 47 millionaires around a TV watching the Super Bowl?
A..The Dallas Cowboys

Q.How do you keep a Dallas Cowboy out of your yard?
A.Put up a goal post.
...
Q.What do you call a Dallas Cowboy with a Super Bowl ring?
A.Old

Q.What's the difference between the Dallas
Cowboys and a dollar bill?
A.You can still get four quarters out of a dollar bill.

Q.How many Dallas Cowboys does it take to win a Super Bowl?
A.Nobody remembers.

Q.What do the Cowboys and a possums have in common?
A.Both play dead at home and get killed on the road!

The truth is out there...

The other night I was sitting on my daughter's front porch after dark and noticed an odd light in the sky. I figured it for an airplane but when it didn't move from the same spot for about 10 minutes I called daughter outside to look at it. It stayed stationary for at least another 10 minutes, then seemed to get closer for a few minutes before it disappeared.

I have had this same dream several times. A group of people are standing in the parking lot of the United grocery store in Perryton, TX at night watching a war in the heavens. We can see the crazy maneuvering of space/aircraft and tracers from missiles being shot, sort of like star wars or that arcade game from the 80s, Galaxian. There's no real sense of urgency or fear from the crowd, though we are concerned. Maybe it's just a hold over from the Reagan years.

Have I left any doubts yet as to the state of my sanity? Just so you know, I knew it before you did.

My dog has fleas. What's worse is she's allergic to their bites. I just gave her a bath. In the process I got a shower. Her licking and scratching are driving us both crazy.

Jackson is walking, cautiously, and only when it pleases him! He's so damn cute and it's not just because I'm his Grandma.

Thanksgiving and my Mom and Dad can't get here quick enough.

I feel like a loser not having a job. Obviously, prospective employers think so too. I don't know if it's my age, my lack of experience or a combo of both, but something aint working. I was so stupidly trusting in my last life. I wish I could go back to being younger and tell him to stuff his priorities up his arse, it's my turn.

Damnit, Janet, Glee was stupid last night.You won't get that unless you watched it.

Scout smells like an old wet dog...imagine that.

Alrighty then, the painting is finished. It's actually been finished for a while, but I've been too chicken to do this. By this I mean, Mzchief first contacted me in regards to purchasing my painting, but graciously suggested that since more than one person has shown interest I should put it up for silent auction. I am not a professional artist, so selling a painting feels odd to me.

This is an unframed 24" x 30" original oil on canvas. I apologize for the poor photos. I'm not a photographer and when I use a flash there's a glare so I tried using the camera without the flash (photo on left.) That works but it doesn't give a realistic interpretation of the colors. The photo on the right is with the flash.

I would like to start the bidding at $50 to cover supplies. Please, only local bidders so that I don't have to worry about how I'm going to post it. The maximum bid offered will be the winning bid. For instance, if the highest bid is $60 and the next highest is $50, the sale price will be $60. I will tell you what the winning bid is, but I will not publish the buyer's name. Bidding will close on November 5.

If you're interested, email your bid to thisisjenny@yahoo.com. If you're the winning bidder and upon close examination of the painting you're not happy with it, I will not hold you to the purchase.

According to the Divorce Care materials, a person should stay single 1 year for every 4 years they were married. If I were to follow through with their guidelines, I'd start dating right around the time I go into a nursing home.

But I understand where they're coming from. So many people jump right back into the game before resolving their issues from the previous relationship. I know one person who has been married 9 times, and another who has been married 5 times.

Statistics for divorce in remarriage are higher than for first marriages. The only specific stat I remember was for fourth marriages which they say end 93% of the time. The stats rose with each subsequent remarriage. (of course)

If a person is still hoping or fantasizing about reconciling with an ex-spouse, they're not ready to see other people.

They stress that divorce care is not a place to hook up; that a relationship is only as healthy as the two people in it. If you're basing your budding friendship on shared experiences, chances are you will find out later on that that was all you had in common. Makes sense.

If and when it happens for me, I don't even want to be thinking about what I lost, and I sure don't want every conversation to be about what we went through.

You Are the Right Side of the Brain

You are a naturally creative and imaginative person. You have the mind of an artist. You are inspired by the whole world around you, and you never hesitate to act on your inspirations. You are very spontaneous. You are a true multitasker. You are always scanning and processing the world around you while you get other things done. You see the big picture like no one else. You have spot on intuition and a good memory.

What Side of the Brain Are You?

Blogthings: Discover the Parts of Your Personality that Have Been Hiding

I am most certainly NOT spontaneous! I am a planner.

The Forgotten Man - Jon McNaughton

I received the link to this video in email this morning. If you go to the artist's website you can click on the painting and roll over each person or object in the painting with your mouse and see an explanation of who/what the person or object is and what each represents. It's interesting from an artistic as well as an editorial viewpoint.

I abhor people who feed off of someone else's misfortune! Especially when it's mine they're gossiping about. Facebook is good for catching up with friends, but it sucks when a perceived friend is only trying to get the goods on you. I should've known better. I would soooo love to tell her the real story because she sure as heck isn't going to get it from the other party.

Deep breath.

That's better.

After the photo brouhaha

over Mzchief's profile avatar, and in the interest of the complete transparency and honesty so often found on the internet, by blog commenters in particular, I have decided to come clean.

The above photo, that I used to use as my avatar and which mysteriously disappeared from my profile, is not really me. I am so ashamed.

Virtual Sistene Chapel

This is awesome! You can explore every inch of the Sistene Chapel. Your arrow keys allow you to turn and you're able to zoom in. This is one of the places I have always wanted to visit. It took only about 4 years for Michealangelo to paint 12,000 square feet of vaulted ceiling. It wasn't merely a matter of picking up a paint brush, squeezing paint from a tube and applying it. He and the other artists who painted the chapel used the fresco process which is mixing pigment with water and applying it to fresh, wet plaster. The plaster absorbs the color. I way over-simplified the procedure. You can't apply plaster to a large area at once because it dries too fast, so I would think it would be difficult to get uniformity in color since you have to stop to apply more plaster.Since they couldn't be sure of the color until it dried, it amazes me how the colors, done in patches, match so well.

Bullying

This post on bullying by blogger Single Dad Laughing is being posted all over Facebook. It's a must read. There has been a case of cyber bullying on my grandson's football team's facebook page. Some kid has been bullying one of the team members. He can't do it there now because my daughter is team mom and she removed the bully from the friend's list and told the parents of the child being bullied what's been going on.

I went through some bullying in junior high. In 6th grade I'd been friends with a girl who, for some reason during the summer between 6th and 7th grades , decided I was a complete geek and started picking on me. She'd tout her own beauty and tell me how ugly I was. Our moms formed a car pool taking turns driving us to or picking us up from school. While waiting for whichever mom was picking us up we'd stand inside the cafeteria. It wasn't enough that she picked on me herself, she and a group of her friends would surround me in the cafeteria and tell me how ugly I was, how goofy my clothes were, how stupid I was, etc. Luckily, I told my mom what was going on and she dismantled the car pool, talked to Tammy's mom and the bullying stopped.

That was a mild case of bullying. Think about the children whose bullying continues on and on and try to imagine how they feel, or put your child in their place and realize how you'd feel knowing that kind of assassination was going on. I know from some of your posts that some of you have already thought about it. It breaks my heart and not just because I had a taste of what it felt like.

When I was younger I had a closer relationship with God, but as time went on I distanced myself from my beliefs and convictions and let the world in. Things were good and I could take care of myself, and when things got bad I questioned God's existence because I felt a loving God would not allow bad things to happen, yet bad things happen - - horrible things happen - - things worse than any I have experienced happen all the time. I was pissed off at a God I wasn't sure existed.

Last night at my divorce care group meeting someone said something that really struck home. Sometimes God allows bad things to happen to bring us back to a closer relationship with Him. This made so much sense to me and it gave me an answer to the question "why?" that I have been searching for for 3 years. Although I was happy in my marriage I was letting the world carry me away. He allowed the destruction of my life in order for me to return to Him. During the darkest hours I felt God had turned his back on me because I had turned my back on Him so in between bouts of questioning Him, I did not feel worthy of any comfort. Since I hadn't thanked him for my blessings why would I be worthy of His comfort? And that's what He was trying to get me to do all along!

Another aha moment from last night - He's been carrying me through it all. He has provided enough for all my needs. He has seen to it that I have been sheltered and fed. He has provided comfort in friends and family. None of this was due to anything I have done, it's all through Him.

The only thing that has ever held me back is me because God has always been here.

Now we'll see if I can practice what I preach.

Drugged by my parents

Another email post.

Dancing at the Movies - Music Video

Sent to me in email today - Pretty nifty!

A very powerful ad

Wow. This one leaves me a little speechless.

Grousing

In trying to finish the painting yesterday, I spilled a jar of oil painting medium on the table and floor. What a sticky, icky mess to clean up. It's a good thing I like the scent of that concoction because my whole house smells like an artist's studio now.

$13 down the hatch. My clumsiness pisses me off.

While I am venting, here's another thing that pisses me off. When you come to a busy 4 way stop and you're waiting for someone who got there first to go because it IS their turn and they start waving and gesturing like a maniac for you to go as if you're the village idiot and they're the stop sign God, at the very least I want to reciprocate by giving them a very significant and vulgar hand gesture. At the most I want to ram them head on.

My ex did that. Which probably explains why it bugs me so much.

I have been in this house nearly a year! I had to renew my lease this month. I second guess everything I do these days. When I moved back to this town from Ft. Worth I just knew I was going to find a job here because everything else had worked out so neatly and conveniently that I thought this was where I was meant to be. So far on the job front, not so much. Still, some things ARE better.

I wish I'd changed my last name back to my maiden name in the divorce decree. During the divorce process there were a number of reasons I didn't do it. I'd had this last name for 31 years and felt it would be too difficult to get used to using my maiden name again. I didn't want to have to change my name on my driver's license, social security card, school records, leases, etc. And there were a couple of other reasons I won't elaborate on which were a stupid reasons anyway. I could change my last name now but it would cost me so I guess I'll keep the one I've got.

Do you ever get tired of living in your own head?

Never met a cliché I didn't like

I had a different blog a long time ago that I deleted. The difference between this blog and that one is like night and day. I never had a problem coming up with something to write about then, now I mostly wonder why I bother. I suppose the biggest difference is that I thought I knew who I was then, and now I am trying to reinvent or rediscover myself. It's confusing to live a life for so long one way then to suddenly start living a completely different way. Being an introvert sort of hampers the "get up and go" needed to make head way.

Just felt the need to explain the irregularity of my blogging.

Old Fuddy Duddy

I feel like a prisoner in my own home while waiting on a call for an interview I am assured will come. I don't know if they'll leave a message if I am not home to answer or if they'll try my cell phone number. The job hunt is driving me insane.

This week I have been going over to help my daughter of an evening after 5:00 pm when I know the potential employer's office is closed. She's getting her sale items prepared for a Just Between Friends event this weekend. It beats a garage sale or ebay, but she's just like her dear old mom in the procrastination department in that she has waited until the last minute to get it all done. I've been helping her tag and have been amazed at how many of the baby's things never got worn and still have the original tags on them. Most of them were gifts that he grew out of before the season for which they were appropriate came around.

I am glad I was a young mother and therefore a young grandma. I am equally as glad that the responsibility of full time parenting is past. It's wonderful to get to enjoy all the cute stuff and pass him back to his mama when the fuss starts. I tried to get the little one to sleep last night and he wasn't having any of it. He wanted his mom and not a substitute. What a production!

Oldest grandson's football team lost to their arch rival last Saturday. I think my coach son in law took it harder than my grandson. It's only a game, it's only a game.

Here's something with which I am having some difficulty. My 10, soon to be 11, year old grandson has a girlfriend. I know it happens. I was 10 soon to be 11 once, but when I was that age it was still something to be giggled over with friends and teased about by parents and siblings, there was no actual interaction between crushes, except for maybe a hang up phone call, and there sure as heck wouldn't have been any planning to attend the high school homecoming game with all the accoutrement's of a "date" including a homecoming mum, etc. Okay, it's cute, but it's too soon to be encouraged. Sorry, daughter, it's effing ridiculous. There, my opinion will be ignored, but it's out there.

The squirrels are back and tormenting my dog again. Yesterday she broke her leash trying to get hold of one of the little barstids. During the heat of the summer they must have found a more comfortable playground, but now that it's cooled off, they're gathering the nuts from the live oaks and scampering over fence and roof and provoking my dog to froth at the mouth with visions of squirrel tartar.

hay baling fun

How you doin'?

Talked, or tried to talk, to someone (you know who you are) on the phone last night, but there were gremlins in the line and we kept getting cut off. Weird.

Got my hair cut on Tuesday, maybe rather dramatically depending on who you talk to. It's a shortish bob. Daughter says I look like a different person. I hope that's good.

I killed the wasps. I think. I soaked the nests good with spray but there were some stragglers buzzing around afterward. I still need to knock the nests down. I don't enjoy killing things even if they may be a danger. Those nests must have been there all summer long as big as they were and I never knew. But the thought of mowing underneath them after knowing they were there....yikes.

The white morning glories have finally bloomed. They're gorgeous, huge blooms tinged pale, pale blue with darker blue star centers. I think the Heavenly Blue has sent forth only one bloom, but what a gorgeous shade of blue! Unbeknownst to me,.
morning glory must have been planted along the whole fence line of the property at some time in the past, because they have sprung up volunteer everywhere. I can now see why my farmer grandfather thought of morning glories as weeds

My youngest grandson became ill with gastrointestinal problems starting last Thursday. He wasn't getting better so Daughter called his pediatrician yesterday morning and was told to curtail the formula and start him on the B.R.A.T. diet for a day or two and see if his symptoms lessened. Then, last night she heard about a recall for Similac formula, which is the formula he was on. It seems that they found out that one particular manufacturing plant inadvertently added a secret ingredient, chopped up beetle parts. Guess what the side effects for ingesting chopped up beetles are? Did you say GI problems? Guess when Daughter started him on a new can of formula? Yep, last Thursday when the vomiting and diarrhea started. Both of the numbers on the cans of formula in their house, the opened one and a new one, matched the recall numbers! My little grand baby was eating bugs and those bugs made one sick little baby.
Now even though I don't like to think about it, I am sure we all get our share of insect parts in the foods we eat, but it makes me furious that quality control on something that infants and toddlers eat isn't highly stringent. The company found out about the bug problem a week ago according to their own spokesperson and are just now instigating a recall?! Last night my son in law went to Walmart (where the cans of tainted formula had been purchased) to replace the Similac with a different brand. Similac was still on the shelf. Daughter says Baby J is back to being more like himself today. Thank goodness.

All the compliments and interest in my painting really encourages me to keep painting. I would have done so anyway because I love doing it, but it's nice to hear good things. Thank you thank you thank you!

It's getting there

I'm sort of sick of looking at it. I don't like the greenery or some of the flowers.

Insectacidal Tendencies

How have I missed these all summer long? And what do I do about them now that I know they're there? I bought a can of wasp spray but I need a strategy for using it. Do I just point and shoot, then run like hell? Are they going to swarm and chase me or are they going to drop and die? I'm askeered. Look how big those suckers are, especially the one under the awning! Do you think the property management people will do it? Am I crazy for not wanting to kill them? I hate killing things. If I find a spider in the house, 9 times out of 10 I catch him and put him outside, but these guys scare the bejeebus out of me.

Dangling participles be damned

There's much to do but I cannot get motivated today. I hope the insomnia is not back because I didn't sleep worth a flip last night. I came home from a meeting last evening at 9:00 and read until midnight. I turned off the light, reluctantly because the book is a good one, and I don't think I closed my eyes until 3:00 a.m. It was probably caused by the caffeinated soda I drank. Anyway, it feels like I am walking under water.

I am going to complain about yard work again today. Besides the front and back yard, the house I rent comes with an adjoining lot I must take care of. I don't know what I was thinking. I cannot keep up with it. During the 100 degree weather I rejoiced in the fact that the grass in the lot had ceased growing. Then while I was back home in KS it rained. It really is amazing how fast vegetation can grow. It's a nightmare.

Tomorrow is homecoming for oldest grandson's football team. Since my daughter is team mom and her good friend is cheer coach, the chore of making decorations falls to them. We worked on them Wednesday night and we'll work on them today.
Side note to Obi: My team mom daughter is not the hellion you're having to deal with.

I recently started doing something I wish I'd done 3 years ago. I am going to a divorce care support group. If nothing else comes of it, it's nice to know that I am not alone in the feelings and emotions I've felt following my divorce, which is pretty much how I have felt. Alone in it. A good friend told me, and it really is true, people don't know how awful it is unless they've been through it. The news of your divorce is a 9-day wonder to most of your associates. They think, oh gosh, too bad so sad and forget it. It doesn't anger me, I was once one of the people who didn't know how awful it is.

It's been good for my sanity to know that it's normal to be feeling as I do, even this far down the line from the break up. Family and friends have told me to just get over it. I understand their frustration with me, I truly do, because I have been frustrated with me too. I look at the people in the group whose divorces or separations are recent and see their raw pain and know that, by golly, I HAVE made progress.

During this ordeal my whole concept of God has been challenged. I have been so angry at a God I haven't even been sure existed. Someone said something at last night's meeting which struck me. He said something to the effect of, "God did not want any of the bad things to happen to you, but he created us all with free will to choose our paths. He could not intervene when your ex husband chose a different path." I'm still processing that one. It comforts me in my beliefs in God pre-calamity but doesn't quite reconcile itself with recent thoughts regarding God. I don't know.

Another important happening in the furtherance of a healing process is reconnecting with an old friend whose life happenings have corresponded closely with my own. Love ya, K. I appreciate your friendship.

I know some people(my ex) think it's strange that one can develop friendships through the internet. It is more common these days, but when I first started blogging it was still looked upon with suspicion. I have made some good friends through this medium of communication. I've only met a couple of them in "real life" but I think when all you've got to go on is some one's words, sometimes you get to the meat of a situation, or, more importantly, the heart of the person, more quickly than you ever get to know someone whose facade you have yet to break through when you meet them face to face.

One such friend was the person I first knew by the name Barngoddess. Lori lived in rural Oklahoma with her husband, two sons and a myriad of animals including her aged, beloved horse named Scooter. She was one smart cookie. We didn't have a friendship which required constant communication, but I knew if I wrote her an email or a comment on her blog I was going to get a nearly immediate reply, and we'd been planning and waiting for an opportune time for her to visit here. We were going to sit on the patio and drink margaritas and vegetate.

I hadn't written or heard from her in a while so I went to her blog last night to check in. Her last post was dated May 22. I clicked on the comments under that post to find that her sister had been there to let us know she'd passed away unexpectedly on July 18. Scooter had to be put down shortly after her death. It's an odd comfort to know he's with her because she loved that horse so much. I'm going to miss her. She was a beautiful person inside and out. My heart goes out to her husband and boys in their loss.

Rest in peace, Lori. I cherish our friendship.

I Love My Brother's Backyard

I just returned from a trip back home to Kansas. I absolutely love my brother's backyard. I like nice houses but I could live in a shack if I could open my back door and look at this every day. He's spent a lot of time and hard work getting it to look like this, but it was worth it. He told me he comes home from work and goes straight to the patio and stays out there until bed time. I would too.

Note: I have no clue how to upload and space photos on blogger to have a caption directly beneath the photo.

PS I really should figure out how to take the date stamp off, but it's sometimes helpful, especially when taking photos of children, for remembering how old the children were at the time the photo was taken.

ACK! Here I go again.

"God gives us what we need, not always what we want!"

I find people who say things like the above statement really aren't wanting for anything, and probably never have. This is one of numerous headlines on Facebook, you know the ones in you're a FB user. You're supposed to click on them if you "like" them and then they show up on your profile. Some of them are funny and I have been known to "like" those. I suppose if you find statements like the above comforting or inspirational, more power to you. I find them trite and irritating.

I'm really hungry and want a sandwich right now. I hope God thinks I need one.

From my brain's archive

When I was still living in New Mexico this sign showed up right next to the adult video store on (if I remember right) Highway 64 between Farmington and Bloomfield.

It wasn't a coincidence. A local church was responsible for the sign. I think it showed a sense of humor on their part even though it got the point across. Although, considering the ungodly (pun intended)amount of drunk driving offenses in the state, usually multiple offenses per offender, their money might have been better spent targeting (judging?) a worthier cause.

Pic borrowed from here.

"That girl thinks she's the world's belly button."

My present fixation with the southern fiction genre led me to look up lists of southern fiction authors. On one list is author, Lois Battle. I picked up her book Storyville last month and liked it enough to check out The Florabama Ladies Auxiliary & Sewing Circle on my last trip to the library. I get a kick out of some the southern truisms thrown in the mix. Here are a few of them:

"If procrastination was the thief of time, she could be convicted of grand theft."

"Sometimes telling the truth is just an excuse for meanness."

"Most men I know only got five gears: if they can't eat it, drive it, fix it, or screw it...they've gotta kill it."

"The gist of all biblical quotations seems to be, "You're in trouble but you deserve it."

"That girl thinks she's the world's belly button."

"Just when you think life is a bitch, it has puppies."

"The trouble with experience is you have to do all the wrong things before you get it."

I suppose the book could be categorized as chick lit, which for the most part, I don't like, mainly because chick lit only encompasses the younger reader (under age 40) in regards to dating, but most especially shopping. The protagonist in this book is slightly younger than me and her problems more closely mirror my own. It's not the best book I've ever read, but it's a quick, entertaining read with little jewels of wisdom.

I would love to go

but I can't plan that far in advance.

Stuff

At first I was reticent about Facebook, but I have caught up with so many old friends because of it that now I'm a regular. There's a beach get together in the works for next summer in New Hampshire for a few of us hens. I hope I am able to go.

I don't know what's up with my blog template but I wish it would cut that out.

I made a cd yesterday of a lot of songs I would never have heard of if not for the internet. It's good "painting" music.

But it's not good "cleaning house" music. For that I need loud and energetic, not ambient.

I'm not telling secrets when I say this heat sucks the life out of you.

Today is football weigh-in day for my oldest grandson. As has become the norm, he is right on the cut off weight to be able to carry the ball. I hope the scale used at weigh-ins weighs the same or less as their home scale or he's going to be so disappointed.

Baby grandson has perfected crawling and has become a little terror. He knows what no means but he just grins and goes back to what he shouldn't be doing. Why do electrical cords fascinate him so? He's also getting pretty good at pulling himself up on the furniture but has suffered some bumps from the coffee table.

Thus goes my exciting life, try to contain your envy.


EDIT: He made weight with 5 lbs. to spare. WooHoo! Can't wait til the games start.

I'm painting again!

All my life I have drawn and painted, it used to be my passion. Somewhere along the line I stopped. Too many other things got in the way. I decided to get it back. I started this painting years ago for a friend who asked me to paint her something bright. Even though I felt it was going well I never finished it. I'm going to do it now. I'll post another photo when I finish it. I paint slowly so it might be a while.
(It really looks better if you don't click in closer ;P)

Ya'll, I'm turning over a new leaf and I'm ready to have some fun. No more moping and hoping and living in the past. I'm ready to dance, at least metaphorically.

I came across this photo of E.E. Cummings and Marion Morehouse several years ago and saved it. Not that it matters, but Wikipedia says it's not clear if they ever legally married but they lived together in a common law marriage for about 30 years until his death in 1962. I don't know why, but I think it's one of the saddest photos I've ever seen. He's looking across the table at her with bemused resignation, and she appears almost distraught in posture and can't bear to look him in the eye.

More than likely what's really going on is he's already decided what he wants to order and she's still looking down reading the menu and trying to decide between the chef salad and the burger with fries.

Maybe after dessert he wrote this on a napkin. It could've happened.

i have found what you are like by E. E. Cummings

Water Drama

My phone rang at around 5 a.m. on Monday. You know the feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when the phone wakes you up from a sound sleep and it's still dark outside. Your mind automatically jumps to the awareness that something is wrong.

Luckily, it wasn't something wrong with a family member. It was an automated call from the City of Weatherford alerting its citizens about a water main leak which necessitated turning off the water supply. We were without water for two days and even though it's back on we're told it's not fit for consumption or for washing dishes, but we can bathe. If we can't do dishes in it why is it safe to take a shower in it?

And wouldn't you know, I had a sink full of dishes needing to be washed. I don't suppose it's a good idea to do laundry either if the water is full of sediments, etc that might stain. There IS icky stuff in the water. After boiling water and pouring it through a Brita filter I can see the nasty stuff in the dregs at the bottom of the pan in which the water was boiled. EW.

It sure gives one an appreciation for modern conveniences and a slight insight into what it must have been like before modern plumbing. Imagine having to haul the water to the house.

When the water supply was turned back on we were told we were in level five drought conditions with a ban on outside watering. Last night the ban was lowered to a level four. My potted plants and morning glories are happy, but sadly, it might be too late for the petunias.

Another old favorite

Dave Mason - We Just Disagree
Have I posted this song before or have I only thought about it?

Not quite a murder of crows

These fellows scavenging for food in the yard across the street remind me of the ravens at the Tower of London.

The counselor I spoke to after finding out what I found out about my marriage told me the reason people do what they do even if they know what they're doing is wrong is that doing what they want to do makes them feel good. That was a convoluted sentence. He was not the right counselor for me. At the beginning of our first session he held up a sign that had the word crying with a slash through it, as in NO CRYING. My marriage was ending and he didn't think I should cry?! WTF! Still, I think he was right about what motivates us to act on things we know we shouldn't, to a point. There are some things we do that don't make us feel good, yet we keep doing them. What is the motivation behind that? Stuck in a rut? Habit? Hope? Brain Chemistry? Mental Illness? Stupidity?

Bob Loblaw

My brother and his family spent most of this week here. I almost felt like I was on vacation too. My brother is crazy. I love him to pieces, and his wife is a sweetheart. We went to the Railhead on Tuesday evening for the live music and he kept me in stitches with his antics. He told me he spent the better part of his life being timid and safe and he's just not going to do it anymore; he's determined to have fun. Trust me, he is not timid any longer. In fact, he can be downright embarrassing when he dances. They returned home yesterday and the quiet house is an adjustment after all the recent activity.

The birthday excursion to the Stockyards sort of petered out. We went but not with nearly as many people as we had expected. It was fun, but it's definitely not my scene. I'm not fond of bars or crowds so I think it will be a good while before I do it again.

If you've read the comments under my last post you know I didn't get the job. Realistically, I knew someone else would be better qualified, so it wasn't a total shock when they called to tell me I didn't make it through to the second round of interviews. It was a huge let down anyway.

The oldest grandson is gearing up for the football season. He did a 3 day camp this week and practices start soon. My son in law is coaching this year. Well, he's head coach this year rather than assistant coach as he has been in years before. SIL is not looking forward to the grousing of the football mommies and daddies when their little Heisman contenders don't get to play as much as the parents think they ought to be playing.

The littlest grandson started crawling and trying to pull himself up on the furniture this week and has learned what "no" means. He isn't crazy about that word either. He's so proud of himself. There's a lesson to be learned from watching him. As an adult I have not been satisfied at all with the progress I've made. I want it all now now now. Maybe I should marvel at each baby step the way Jackson does and the way I do when watching him. And maybe I should rebel against the word "no" a little more, too.

EXCITEMENT!

I have an interview tomorrow for the job I mentioned a while back that I really, really want!

Does Ft. Worth ever cross your mind?

Friday night is the big night. The way my daughter tells it, half the population of Weatherford and citizenry from various other locations will be invading the Fort Worth Stockyards en masse for fun and mayhem. I worry about hangin' in and keepin' up because I'm old, crotchety and used to being in bed early while the majority of the crowd is young and frolicsome. I'm a sitter and a watcher and "frolic" hasn't been in my vocabulary for a very long time. I like to have a place to sit my beer and park my butt. I don't think there's going to be much sitting and parking going on.

Son-in-law tells me I need to relearn how to get my freak on. I told him I thought it was weird he'd noticed his mother-in-law's freaklessness. Back in the day I was a master flirter, but then it was safe to say something slightly innuendous because there was no fear that anyone would take me seriously with the husband standing by. And yes, I know innuendous is not a word, I looked it up. I also know that innuendo is not necessarily flirting, but it was fun. In SIL's defense I think what he really meant is that I need to loosen up and quit being such a stick in the mud. I intend to try.

Anyhow, that's where I'll be. Come on out and join us. I'll be the tall, skinny, slightly-freaky "mature" woman with the rose in her teeth.

None of us will ever know what transpired between the mother and daughter in Coppell, but everybody's got a strong opinion about it. Mine differs slightly from the norm and I am wary about stating what I think. Taking her daughter's life along with her own was inexcusable, but my heart breaks for the feeling of utter despair that drives someone to suicide. Most people, thank God, have not experienced the kind of anguish and hopelessness that leads a person to think the only way out is death, and unless you have, her actions are incomprehensible.

It goes way beyond having the blues. It has nothing to do with pride and keeping up appearances. Suicidal people don't want to die, they only want the pain to end. Someone that ill does not think rationally. They're to the point that rational plans do not seem possible, and they don't ask for help because they don't think they CAN be helped. Yes, suicide is a selfish act, and hers more so than most because she killed her daughter, but suicide doesn't seem selfish to the person in the depths of an abyss they see no way out of. It's not right but it is a tragedy.

My morning glories have finally started blooming, but only the purple ones and even the purple blooms are few and far between. I planted blue and white varieties too, but neither of those have bloomed yet. It was the blue ones I was looking forward to the most. I am happy with what has been given to me.

Too Cute

This video is precious. I've never heard of Plan B. I was just messing around on you tube when I saw where someone mentioned it. I think it's really clever how they visually incorporated the beat with the jury's movement, and those dancing bailiffs cracked me up.

This guy let me get way closer than I thought he would.

I was only about a foot and a half away from him.

This yard is full of creepy crawlers.
I'm bored.
I have plenty to do and nothing I want to do.
I wrote a long post this morning then decided it was TMI.
Seems like half the blogs I visit are on vacation. I want to go on a vacation.

Whatever you do...

...DO NOT view/listen to this song at work OR around children OR if you're offended by the EF WORD. Otherwise, please listen to my new anthem.

Missing Girl

Perrin resident Krishonda "Shonda" Leann Townsend, 19, went missing sometime after 12:10 a.m. Monday, while reportedly returning home from Mineral Wells.

According to Townsend's uncle, Jamie Rittenbury, Townsend sent her mother a text message shortly after midnight, telling her she was on her way home -- just east of Perrin in Gibtown.

"Nobody's seen her since," he said

Townsend was last seen around midnight Monday morning leaving the residence of a friend on U.S. Highway 180 West. The mother of a 2-year-old boy, she was last seen wearing pink shorts, a black tanktop over a black and white polka dot bikini and navy blue flip-flops.

A Palo Pinto County Crime Stoppers reward is being offered for information leading to the whereabouts of Townsend. Anyone with information is asked to call (940) 325-0000. Provided anonymously, information leading authorities to Townsend will be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Information concerning Townsend's disappearance can also be provided by calling the Jack County Sheriff's Department at (940) 567-2161 or the Mineral Wells Police Department at (940) 328-7770.

Baby

Yesterday my daughter, my two grandson's and I were sitting on the couch trying to get the baby to say Mama and Bubba because it had sounded like he was trying to say both words a little bit earlier. The baby was concentrating so hard and screwing his little mouth up while trying to form the words. He'd laugh and then immediately start crying after he got the words out. The effort it took and frustration of wanting to do it so badly wore him out. Oldest grandson was happy because he was saying bubba before he said mama.

I just talked to my daughter. This morning Baby J woke up early and she put him in bed with her where they slept a little longer, until he woke her up by smacking her face and saying "ba ba." He wanted his bottle!

He's almost 8 months old. It's a little early to be talking. It could be coincidence that the noises he's making sound like words. The thing about being a grandma as opposed to being a mother is that I have time to notice and enjoy each milestone. It amazes me. It's not a miracle, it's life, but it fills me up to watch him discover the world.

Un poco de Poco

I fell in love with Timothy B. Schmidt's voice when I first heard this song on the radio while on my way to the Kansas State Fair in 1976. Sometimes a song can make you feel something you can't describe. This song did that for me then and it does it for me now.

This is my favorite song from their following album after which Schmidt left Poco for the Eagles.

Maybe it's because I'm old and all old people, no matter their generation, feel this way about the music they grew up with, but what the hell happened to music after the 70s?

Yesterday I went with the kids to the Weatherford Peach Festival against my will. I kept hoping for rain to wash it out, and considering the week of rain we just had, I felt chances were good that my wish would come true. Wouldn't you know it held off until we were leaving and even then it was only spitting sprinkles, just enough to gum up my hairspray. It's just not my cup of tea to swim through humid air and crowds of sweaty people. I am such a crotchety old thing these days. On the up side, I spent the day with my family and that's never a bad thing.

After leaving the festival we drove into Ft. Worth and ate BBQ at Cooper's. I was hungry for some fried okra but there wasn't any on the menu. I ordered a chopped beef sandwich and that sucker was huge. I ate half. The beans and potato salad were yummy. The beer was the best I ever had, since I was parched from the morning's travails.

I'm mystified as to why, on the days I can sleep in and want to sleep in, I wake up before the sun. I don't like sleeping the day away, but I would like to sleep beyond 5 am on a Sunday.

I suppose I should try to get some chores done because my daughter's house is off limits since the rat bastard will be gracing them with his presence today. Try as I might not to, I hate that fucker. Being around me makes him uncomfortable so I'd crash the party if it didn't make my daughter uncomfortable too. At least Dana the snake is still forbidden in the garden of my grandchildren.

Yeah, I know I need to let it go.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see a gnome or a fairy walking through the enchanted forest of this flower pot. The plant isn't doing so well, but the toadstools are thriving. They're delicate, pretty, little things and look like tiny parasols fit for a fairy princess.

Keep your fingers crossed for me, say a prayer, send me positive vibes, etc. Yesterday I applied for a job that I'd really like to get. It's not exactly paralegal work but it's close, and the pay isn't all that great, but it could be worse and I could live on it. I wouldn't have to commute which would save a ton on gas. The dress is office casual so I wouldn't have to invest in business attire. I want that job!

So much for getting the mowing done this morning as I'd planned. I'm not going to complain about the rain, though, because I am loving it. I only hope that when I do get the mowing going I don't run into any scary critters hidden in the tall grass. And I hope I don't slaughter my Prince with the mower blade.

The morning glories I planted on Mother's Day have been busy climbing the fence but they have not bloomed yet. Did I plant them too late?

His name is Prince and he's kinda cute in a toadie sort of way.

FINALLY, and honest politician?

Happy Independence Day

My best Independence Day celebration ever was spent in Silverton, Colorado. Silverton, an old mining town, is nestled in a valley in the San Juan Mountains along the million dollar highway between Durango and Ouray. The town sets its fireworks display on a ridge above the town, and at an elevation of over 9,000 feet, the display is breathtaking. The splashes of fire across the dome of the sky seemed close enough to touch and the echoes of the booms off the sides of the mountains brought the same thrill one gets on an amusement park ride. It was fantastic. The ride down off the mountain in the dark was a little hairy. Gosh, I miss living near there.
This video doesn't do it justice, even with the sound turned up all the way.

Book Ramble

Is Weatherford having a fireworks show this year?

It's so nice to sit out on the patio of a morning when the weather is like this. The afternoons are sort of sauna-ish, but the cool misty mornings are wonderful. The rain yesterday broke my heart in the way it quietly and gently fell. It reminded me of the rainy summer I turned 13, which was an idyllic time in my life.

I am glad I rediscovered the library. One of the things I have missed the most about my previous life is being able to go to a book store and buy books. It's more practical to borrow them from a library anyway. The only drawback is that this library doesn't always have the books I want to read. I could not find 1 Greg Iles book, and I only found 2 Jodi Picoult books. I didn't check the card catalog. Maybe they have them all and they're checked out. I've read all but 1 written by each of those authors. I want to read The Help by Kathy Strockett and couldn't find it.

I have a preference for reading southern fiction. I don't know why since I am not a daughter of the South. My present location is as far south as I have ever lived. Maybe I was a southerner in a past life, or maybe it's a remnant of my youthful infatuation with Rhett Butler. Right now I am a couple of chapters into reading Pat Conroy's South of Broad, and it's excellent.

I know I am not the only person to wonder why Harper Lee stopped writing (or at least publishing) after To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the best ever novels in southern fiction. Some say she didn't write it at all, that it was written by Truman Capote. I can't think of a reason why he'd have allowed that to happen considering what I have read about his personality. I know he was not liked at all by any of the people who met him when he was in my home town doing research for In Cold Blood. My ex FIL hated him, with reason. He had worked for the Clutters.

Another little jewel of a book, Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail, was written by author Louise Shivers who has published only 1 more book since. I found author Bev Marshall a few years ago and I have been watching for her to publish another book. I hear she's written a sequel to Right as Rain but it's sitting on her agent's desk awaiting a publisher.

Have a safe and fun 4th of July. Happy Independence Day.

QUESTION

I also read the Craigslist Job Ads for the DFW area. Do you suppose when the say the location is "Uptown" they mean Dallas or Fort Worth? I figure they're meaning Dallas.

Buffalo Bill

One of my time wasters is to read Craigslist Missed Connections. This ad stuck out last night. I laughed when I read it, but wouldn't it be awful if he was being serious?

I can't find a link for this video outside of Facebook, so I am going to try it this way and hope it works. This is a graphic and haunting video about unsafe driving. It's fairly long and it'll make you think, either about your own driving habits or about being more diligent when watching out for the other guy. It seems especially pertinent with the holiday weekend coming up.

edit: I think the link only works if you're logged into Facebook.
re-edit: I found the website and I am not going to link to it because the site disgusting.

THANK YOU, MZCHIEF!

I have a life long friend who plays the cello. We used to laugh about the beaver shots when the school orchestra performed before the student body because those dresses back in the mid 70s were dang short. I love the cello. It makes such a heart achingly, plaintive sound. This video features one of my favorite pieces, La Berceuse de Jocelyn.
I think it's a excerpt of the same recording I've got in my collection.
I wish it was the whole song, but I couldn't find any other fully orchestral recordings on you tube with the cello playing the solo, but, coincidentally, the video is of a West Texas sunset.

And apparently, the cello is much more versatile than plain ol plaintive. Check out these loco guys.