Choose Your Attitude

cya

Ah, yes. My attitude. My sister was told by one of her Administrative personnel that she has a "caustic wit". I looked up the word caustic. Hmmm. So, that's where I get it. I get it genetically.

My attitude has gotten me into more scrapes than I care to mention. But, it is my attitude and I can change it, right? But, I like to think of it as sneezing. Like a sneeze is trying to expunge some germ out of your body, my caustic wit is trying to expunge some germ's brainwashing out of my body. You know, the people who chant "All your base are belong to us!"

I have to use sarcasm. It is like a creative outlet. It keeps me from going insane. It keeps me from cracking at all the stupidity. My brain cannot process that much stupidity. My caustic wit is my survival technique. Without it, I would surely explode. I think that I may have a legal right to my sarcastic attitude. Some go to anger management. Perhaps we can have a management course for sarcasm. Sarcastic Management. People fear what they don't understand. They just don't get my sarcasm. It scares them and they resort to drastic measures. They are finding it difficult to control me. My base doesn't belong to them. Never has, never will.

Ha...ha...ha..ha..

Coming from the speakers: All your base are belong to us by Invasion of the Gabor robots. (I think).

Circles in the Sun

joy

"We'll have joy, we'll have fun, we'll have Circles in the Sun."

No, that's not the way it goes. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the day. It was darn purdy here in my part of Ohio.

Even though I was falling asleep at my desk. Yes, I had the sleep study done on me last night. What a trip. Take some body. Paste sensors to their head. Paste sensors to their legs and throat. Wrap them all up in thin, plastic cables and tell them to sleep.

I looked like something out of a 1950's science fiction magazine!

I slept like HELL!

I did dream of cutting tree limbs down with a chain saw, though. I thought that was pretty cool. Considering I have never handled a chain saw before.

I was so miserable, I thought I was going to scream. Every time I moved, I was pulling a cable from underneath me.

This morning when the lady came to take all the sensors off of me, she said "You don't sleep very well, do you?" Naw, you think? Oh, and not to mention the big bandage they put right under your nose. This will determine what air is coming in and out of your nostrils. She had to change mine in the middle of the night. The first one she put on was as big as the palm of my hand (I swear!). Neither one stayed on very well because the warm air from me breathing out moistened them to where they gapped.

This night - I suppose from being in a foreign bed, I developed a lower back ache that kept me awake for about two hours. You could get up to go to the bathroom, but you had to call her to come and un-hook you from all the wires. I stayed put all night.

I told her that I have been sleeping fine, just not last night. My doctor has been trying to get me in for a sleep study for two years because of my tiredness during the day. From time to time I do a lot of driving. I take my camera now, and that keeps me alert.

I know that they are going to have a field day with my study. I should have taken my CD player and my General Wellness CD of Belleruth Naperstak. (Yawn!)

My daughter and I looked at trick bikes today. She wants a bike more than she wants a guitar for her birthday. I told her she can only get one. Since she doesn't plan on doing any "tricks" with it, I chose the cheapest one for her. It will do. She got to choose the color. Silver, black or olive green. Silver, it is. They are on sale until Sunday. The bike owner shop took 7% off (or rather, the state sales tax).

Off to the kitchen to see if my darling daughter will help me make sloppy jo's, velveeta shells & cheese and some kind of vegetable.

Coming from the speakers (should I? Sure, why not) Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks. (gag - But, we sure liked it in the early 70's.)

Spring Break

spring_break

Knowing what we know today about the dangers of sun exposure, would you go to Florida for a week and bask in the sun? Every year? For fifteen years? Just to jump-start your tan for the summer, then to continue in the tanning salons until it is warm enough to where you can absorb the sun's damaging rays outside. What are the odds that you would get melanoma?

We can sue the tobacco companies when we get lung cancer or emphysema. What can you do if you get skin cancer? Sue the beaches of Florida? How about the state? All that advertising made it look so safe and so fun!

I am thankful for some of the celebrites who are not sporting dark tans. Remember Cher in the 70's? She was the image! And, Farrah Fawcett's tan. Today we can look at Cate Blanchett, Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman, and Julianne Moore to know that maybe, just maybe the message is getting through.

It doesn't help in rural Ohio, when so many of the teenage girls are running off to the tanning salons to prepare for the prom. Off the shoulder dresses and spaghetti straps. Don't dare be caught with milky white skin.

And, what do we say to the sun worshippers when they return from a week in Florda?

"You look good!"

They smile and twirl. "Yes, but I still need to go to the tanning booth. I am not near ready for summer."

Coming from the speakers: Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles

Purple and White Flowers

purple flowers

What a wonderful Easter! I spent the day with family. Oh my, did we laugh. I haven't had that much fun in a while. I found out my niece is expecting. Hurrah! She is the first grandchild to become pregnant (from our immediate family of eight children.)

The little boy from St. Patrick's day is a step-grandchild. We love him dearly. I don't mean to downplay his part in the extended family area.

We ate. We drank champagne. We were supposed to meet my one nephew's new lady-friend. She is a wine representative. I had lots of questions for her, but they were a no-show. He got stuck at work. Maybe next time.

I took my daughter to track today. They ran in the rain. One of her so-called 'friends' has been kicked off the team. This is the girl whose grandmother asked me to keep her for ten days and I chose to keep her for three while they were in Arizona. I found out a couple of weeks ago that her grandparents don't like her to be around my daughter because she (my daughter) is a bad influence on her. Oooo-kay.

Well, the other day she was practicing track with my daughter - on their own. When we left, I told her I would give her a ride home. I don't like to leave people behind. She sat up front and proceeded to flip a school employee the bird as we were leaving. I slammed on the brakes and said:

"Tell me you didn't just do that!"

By this time the school employee was walking fast to our car. It was a lady lunch monitor. It seems that she is not at all popular with the students. She is as mean as they come. Regardless, I don't condone obscene gestures.

I told her to get out and apologize to the lady.

My daughter's friend furiously rolled down the window. She knew she had no escape. She started sputtering her apologies quickly.

The lunch monitor said "No, you're not sorry. You're just sorry you got caught!"

Well, that was the truth. A few more words were said and I pulled away. I wanted to kick the girl out right then and there, but I drove her a couple of blocks and told her to get out. I was furious.

The girl was kicked off the team because she is failing many of her classes. Her grandmother has custody of her because her mother had been arrested for hitting her. Lovely.

At Easter dinner I was telling my sisters the story. One is a daycare specialist, the other is a psychologist. Both told me that given the incidents I told them, they are suspecting sexual abuse as a possibility.

The girl will hump anything and everything. I am constantly telling her to leave my dog alone. She thinks it is funny. I was chalking it up to middle school antics. My daughter said she went into somebody's yard on the way home from school and began humping one of their lawn deer. I was like WHAT? And, she pulls her pants down and urinates in the alley if she has to go.

At track practice she pulled her pants down for me to take a picture of her rear-end. I declined.

I told my daughter, I really don't want her around anymore. How sad. This is the girl that rubbed mashed potatoes in my daughter's face. And, the one who narrowed her eyes at me when I told her it wasn't my place to have to give her money for lunch. Ooo-kay.

My mini-vacation is almost over. Back to work tomorrow. The girls have the whole week off. My daughter has track practice every day. My niece has nothing to do. Pac Sun let her go. She isn't working anywhere. Her prom is coming up. I will get pictures of her dress. She picked it up Saturday. Beautiful.

Coming from the speakers: Drops of Jupiter by Train.

Big Fish

big fish

Big Fish in a Small Pond. How do fish get to be so big? They destroy and gobble up the little fish. So that the remaining fish in the pond do what they say as they live in fear of the Big Fish. For the ones who stand up to the Big Fish, well, they have many bites taken out of them. Most of them just try to stay out of the Big Fish's way.

But, everyone knows that Big Fish stink. They start to become so big that they begin to get bored with their little pond. Sometimes the little fish get bored, too. They may play games like taking little bites out of the Big Fish. This irritates the hell out of the Big Fish. No one can ever relax.

Coming from the speakers: Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. (For Goose)

Peaches 'n Cream Management

cream

A little over twenty years ago I worked in a small office. I was the EDP Operator. That's what we called them back then. Electronic Data Processors. Hah! It was 1983 or 1984.

I had a co-worker. A female. I guess I made her cry one day. I don't know how, I don't remember. But, she told the Manager. I was called into his office and he began to nitpick my work. I was pulled into his office each time she and I got into a quarrel. She began to get labeled as the office tattletale or snitch.

Now, the Manager's father ran the place and he didn't have any problem with my work. Just this one manager. He hovered over this female co-worker because she was always "helpless". She had just been through a divorce, she couldn't keep a boyfriend, you know the type. Poor poor pitiful me.

Well, I was young and I finally decided that I had enough. I moved on. Actually, an opportunity arose and I took it. But for a couple of years there, it was every six months or so, she would cry and I would get reprimanded. The strange thing was she and I usually got along fine the rest of the time. For some reason or other (maybe when she was experiencing extreme stress and duress) she would crumble and take something I said or did wrong.

Attitude. So when an employee is reprimanded they get "written up" or something goes into their personnel file. But, what can the employee do if they feel the Manager is picking on them? Like harassment. I never went over the Manager's head. I just stated my case and continued to do my job. It infuriated the Manager. I laugh about it still. His company crumbled about six months after I left. (Not because I left. It is just that the place was run poorly.)

I had another Manager at another place who wouldn't stand up to anyone. He just sat around, pretended to keep busy, and try his best not to manage anyone. He was just a lump. He let another Manager run all over his department. He never once stood up for his people when the other Manager would jump them for something.

The company let a young whippersnapper run the entire show. This caused much hostility among the elders. He barked at all of them, showed no respect for what they had to offer and basically stated "My way or the highway". I chose the highway. I don't know how this company ended up. I moved out of state.

I think in today's world, so many younger employees are coming into the work force with more skills than the elders. However, they do not have any people skills. They usually force the older people out. Why? Are they threatened by the older people? Are they scared? If so, what are they afraid of? Instead of making peace with the older workers, they alienate them and ostracize them. They build up a house of cards with their ass-kissing subordinates. Will the cards come falling down? If so, who gets to play 52 pickup?

Coming from the speakers: Better Beware by Lisa Marie Presley

Black Acoustic Fender DG5

fender


This is what my daughter wants for her 14th birthday that is coming up fast. I don't know. I only want to get her a beginner's guitar w/o paying too much in case she doesn't stick with it. I told her that she has to take lessons, too.

She also wants a trick bike. I told her she better get a job. I think they can start working as young as fourteen in the fast food places right down the street.

Coming from the speakers: Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple

When I snap....

snap


Yep. This is me on Wednesday. You know who you are.

Coming from the speakers: Hair of the Dog by Nazareth (Now you're messin' with a SOaB)

Have Gun, Will Smile

Minus the wave.

This picture of a small boy in the park, holding a gun and smiling just gives me the creeps. When I took the picture last summer, I really didn't notice the gun. They are on the top of each ride. I had to laugh though, when I saw that it was plugged up with something. In this case it looks like cheese. Now, I am thinking, what kind of children's ride would have guns on them? Older ones, I guess.

That brings us to the subject of "Going Postal". Three of us had lunch yesterday and we were discussing the strangeness of a co-worker. One said that he was afraid he (the other co-worker who was not present) would 'go postal' one day. How strange, that the Post Office became the origination for that term.

School shootings did not just appear with the Columbine incident. School violence has been going on for ages. Here are some web sites that go back before Columbine. Not just shootings.

http://www.indystar.com/library/factfiles/crime/school_violence/school_shootings.html

Coming from the speakers: One Tin soldier by Coven

Freddy? Is that you?

freddy


What a beautiful day to get out of work early. I left at 2 p.m. Turned the radio on. Parked at the (already) packed parking lot of the school. Went up the old stone steps. There was my lovely daughter waiting for me. I signed her out. I met her track coach on the way out and chatted for a minute.

We took our time and stopped to get my daughter her favorite cheeseburger at BK. I wasn't hungry, just thirsty. I listened as she told me about her day. After, we got back in the car and turned north.

Oh, wasn't it just a beautiful day for a drive? Where would we go? The park, maybe? No, not this time. What a waste of beautiful sunshine. Ironic sunshine. So damaging that sunshine. So damning.

About forty minutes later we arrived in the parking lot. We were just a little bit early. We had chatted about nothing in particular on the way up. Just avoiding THE subject. How was school, how was track, homework, and friends.

"Can we just sit in the car for a few minutes? I want to do my homework." she asked me.

"Sure. No problem." I said.

We checked out all the nice vehicles. We were in a ritzy part of town. Everyone was driving brand new shiny SUV's or huge pick-up trucks. As if there was not a petrol crisis going on in the world.

Looking up at them as I sat in my little Honda Civic, I realized that if my car and they were in a head-on collision, there would be very little chance of our survival. They would probably come out with a bent fender.

My daughter and I would be wearing their grill on our faces for our funeral. It used to be only the strong survive. Well, I guess that is true - they who have the strongest vehicle. Maybe it is only the rich survive, now. Only the most expensive cars have the safest air bags.

We finally went inside the office. There were three others waiting before us. We grabbed a magazine and sat in silence. The door opened.

(To myself) ."No, not yet."

They called another name. We continued to read in silence.

The door opened again. (me to myself again). "No, no. Please no."

They called another name. There was one boy left in the room and me and my daughter.

A little while later the door opened again.

(me cringing) "Please, please."

The boy retreated behind the door. I began to relax. We had emptied out the waiting room. It was just she and I. I showed her an article I was reading and we began to laugh and carry on. The nurses just shook their heads at us.

The door finally opened. I knew this time we were out of options. The waiting room was empty except for us. We had been scheduled to fill two spots instead of one visit. We walked back the long hallway into the little room.

The room with an overhead spot light, needles, surgical antiseptics, cotton balls, scalpels, surgical thread and fear. She shed her hoodie, baby doll tee and sports bra. All black. It's the age. She put on the flimsy, barely there hospital gown. She handed me her clothes. They were so warm from her body heat.

The next thirty minutes was a series of amicable chatter. More like nervous banter from the doctor, I guess. She is a chatty one, I'll give her that. She was admiring my daughter's earrings. Long, dangly, silver ones. She said that my daughter sure was a fashionable one.

The doctor said, "They were all impressed with your Halston dress and the people that you knew at Elaine's"

I said, "Billy Joel."

Whew. I could keep up with her. We could relate. She is a very nice doctor. No male doctor would recite words to a song that I knew. That is a certain fact. It was pretty smooth sailing after that.

My daughter said she wasn't in much pain at all. They stitched her up, she dressed and we were homeward bound. Heading south on the Interstate. As the sun disappeared below the horizon, the cooler air seeped in around us. I turned the heater on. It was getting chilly.

Coming from the speakers: Little Bitty Pretty One by Thurston Harris

Can Negative be Beautiful?

Negativity

Maybe only in a photograph. My daughter is having another mole removed tomorrow. She is worried that it will ruin her track running. She was unable to even bend over the last time, but the next day she was much better. I don't know.

Too bummed to write anything tonight. Have been reading. News, other blogs, teenagers Xanga's, tech news. Last week the doctor gave me Nasonex for my coughing fits. Not helping. What next? New doctor?

Coming from the speakers: All apologies by Nirvana.

Blue Butterfly House

butterfly_house


I have added the blue butterflies, but the house is from September 2004. I am satisfying my eyes with greens from last year until the new greens start coming out for this year. My eyes are tired of the brown/gray and the mud.

Yesterday was the Power of the Pen regional meet in Wadsworth, Ohio. My daughter said that some parents were driving their own vehicles and we are to meet at the school at seven A.M. I arrived about two minutes after and the coach (the young blonde who reeked of alcohol the last time) came over to me and asked me if I would be the lead car, because she said that if she went first she might forget that there were people following her.

Excuse me? Forget that people were following you? Are you sure you should be out in the real world, honey? Maybe you should be weaving a basket somewhere.

I was still bleary-eyed, barely had a clue as to where I was going, grabbed the map out of her super-soft manicured hands and said "Yeah, why not?" I am a 'take-charge' sort of person anyway. Especially around bimbos like her.

I drove up there as if I went there every day. Zip, zip, zoom, zoom. Bam, we were there. I was still bleary-eyed. I don't know why, but my eyes just would not quit watering that morning.

Meanwhile me and another parent got swindled into tabbing, again. Two of Miss Bimbo's friends tricked us into tabbing while they took off for the Outlet mall. They were so slick and sly, it left us shaking our heads in disbelief asking ourselves 'What just happened?' Just to find out that they were supposed to stick around because they were qualified to judge in case they were needed. (The other parent and I , were not qualified).

Well, that raised quite a stink, but it wasn't our fault. Unfortunately, our team would be penalized. The lady in charge called and complained and this and that, and me and the other parent were feeling kind of bad about it all. Then, we found out that the two swindlers had permission from somebody else and all was well.

During the ceremony, they awarded coaches who had been there 10, 12 and 15 years. These are women (and one man) who worked with their teams on a weekly or twice-weekly basis. Coaching the students how to write, what the judges would be looking for. What to expect when they get to the competition. To bring their own black pens for crying out loud. Our team, had not a clue.

My daughter told me that for two weeks the coach never showed up for practice because her boyfriend had broken up with her. Oh, great! I thought. Needless to say our team scored quite low. Probably off the charts. My daughter did get a high mark on one out of three stories. I told her how proud I was of her. And she still has track to look forward to. I only hope that the coach and/or coaches there know how to lead a team.

I watched Ray and my daughter and I watched The Forgotten. I have heard so much about Ray that the heroin use didn't surprise me. I was a bit skeptical about the forgiveness and acceptance that his wife demonstrated. She must be from the old school that says a man can have his harem as long as he comes home to me at the end of the tour. Bullshit.

There is a new breed of women emerging in the world and we are tired as hell of this crap. Step aside bimbos. My Mom used to say that this is a man's world. I would think to myself, 'Sure, as long as there are people in the world like you thinking that way.'

Coming from the speakers: Independence Day by Martina McBride.

Here I am with green hair

green_hair


Made ya look! My hair has been some different colors before, but I hope it has never looked green. That is a shamrock confetti pasted onto my forehead. I don't have any strange growths there or anything, nor do I practice any strange Eastern religions. Well, not that I know of anyway.

And, my eyebrows are in need of some serious waxing. The older I get, the lazier I get. Instead of spending my hard earned money on booze, I can splurge on waxings. Yay.

Tomorrow my daughter and I go to Wadsworth for Power of the Pen regionals. What a name - Wadsworth. How much is your wads worth? Okay, cut off my tap. And, I am only drinking ice water. It appears to be over and hour's drive for us. I guess I will print it out tonight. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

I picked up some more movies tonight. Ray, The Forgotten and The Notebook again. My daughter wanted to watch it again. I think she just liked to watch them get naked. Or as much naked as PG-13 will allow.

I lost some sleep last night so I am hitting the hay early tonight. Over and out. 5:30 A.M. on a Saturday morning. Inhumane.

Coming from the speakers: Silence (yawn).

Calling all Leprechauns

shamrocks

One cute leprechaun at the Macaroni Grill for dinner. A family birthday party. For my brother who turned 63 today. 18 showed, two cancelled. Over an hour wait (with reservations). What can you do? It was St. Patrick's Day.

That sweet hostess gave us free appetizers because we had to wait so long. Quite nice.

I ordered iced tea because I was thirsty. Sinus/cold medicine will make you very thirsty. I ordered Penne Rustica. Someone ordered two bottles of red Pinot, of which I had one glass. I was driving. The chicken was succulent. There was shrimp and cheese and sauce mixed in with my penne pasta. I had a Caesar salad. And, to finish it off I ordered Tiramisu.

I ate maybe five bites.

What was wrong?

I had no sense of smell and no sense of taste! Damn, damn head cold!

It is all sitting in my refrigerator.

Oh, and what did my darling daughter order? One glass of white milk.

She is a real cheap date.

Total bill for the entire party? $291.00

Coming from the speakers: Nothing. It is bed time and everyone is sleeping, but me.

Orange poppies

poppies

I figure that orange flowers look the best against the gray background of my siding on my house. Blue is nice, too because the roofing has a blue tint to it. And, we all know how much I like blue. It was my Mom's favorite color, too. She was my hero.

I have Vicks VapoRub, Sudafed Sinus & Cold, and boxes of tissues. I go to the doctor tomorrow. I am sure my co-workers were not happy with me today. I was very, very sick at work. I normally would have stayed home in bed, but I did have some loose ends I wanted to tie up. Sorry co-workers. I do not think that I am indispensable. I am too old for that.

I am sitting here in my computer chair with the heating pad on my back. It makes my lungs feel so much better. I have slept with the heating pad for two nights, now. It automatically turns off after so long. I like that. I was never one to use an electric blanket. I was always too hot, but I have to admit, I love this heating pad.

I am starting to get Spring fever after seeing all the seeds in the stores. Flowers and stuff. I live in zone 5, almost zone 6, I think. So, I have to be careful. I think we have had frosts as late as the end of May. Some of my favorite flowers are tulips, lilacs, African daisies, hyacinths, white datura (moonflowers), tiger lily, and peonies. I have all of them except the hyacinths. I will have to get me some of them.

We watched the movie "The Notebook" and "Paparazzi". I liked both of them, although they weren't great movies. So many people told me that The Notebook was a real tearjerker. Sorry, I didn't shed a tear. And, Paparazzi was a bit of a shocker. Directed by Mel Gibson. And one of my favorite actors Dennis Farina.

My daughter started track practice. She loves it. My niece starts working at Pac Sun on Monday. They are both on top of the world, these days. I purchased a bunch of silk flowers and foliage and baskets so I can do some flower arranging. Let out my creativity. Great therapy. I don't have a card to The Flower Factory, so I do my shopping at Pat Catans, Michaels and JoAnn's. I could spend all my paycheck in all these stores.

Coming from the speakers: Patches by Dickie Lee

Ahhh Choo!

circles


One tissue two tissue
three tissues four
five tissues six tissues
seven tissues, I have no more

Chorus:

cough,
cough, cough
cough, cough, cough
I can't breathe!

Sniffly nose, sneezing
This is getting old
Swelled up sinuses
Stupid head cold!

Chorus:

cough,
cough, cough
cough, cough, cough
I still can't breathe!

Coming from the speakers: The Pretender by Jackson Browne

Umbraphiles

spheres

For my readers in the United States - where will you be on August 21, 2017? I know where I will be. I may decide to stay in Ohio and observe the phenomenon, or I may travel south for a birds eye view.

Why you ask? It is the next time that a full solar eclipse can be seen from the United States. And, it will be happening near my neck of the woods. So I want to be sure, I don't miss it. Twelve years away. I need to make my reservations.

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEcat/SEdecade2011.html

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2017Aug21T.GIF

http://www.ecliptomaniacs.com/resources/future.htm

Did you pray?

I was at a cosmetic party on Sunday. I chatted with the fiance of a co-worker. She was a very sweet young girl of twenty. We were laughing at how her intended rarely gets angry. She told me that when he gets frustrated, she will ask him "Did you pray?"

And his answer would be something like "Why would I pray?"

Then she would respond with "Lord help him" and she said every time things would then work.

(smirk were my thoughts) But a smile was on my face. Okay.

So, she told me the next time he comes into my office obviously frustrated about something, I am to ask him "Did you pray?"

And, I thought, 'Okay. Is that before he prays for mercy on a small child getting abused or after he prays for the happy ending to a soldier looking for his lost comrade in Iraq?'

Call me a cynic, but aren't there more important things to be praying for than getting a network to connect in a small school in Eastern Ohio?

Talk about living in a paper-doll world!

Coming from the speakers: Come back when you grow up girl by Bobby Vee

Forgotten Door

white door


This is a door that seems to go nowhere. 'Watch out. That first step is a doozie!' Or, it could be an unattainable goal. 'I could do it, if I can just get that one door open.' It just seemed a bit forlorn up there on the side of a brick wall seeming to lead nowhere. Kind of like a mystery door or a forgotten door.

Every once in a while a friend will send me an email. A story that is so farfetched I have to chuckle. The first time they send something that is a hoax, I usually reply with some information on hoaxes and urban legends and give them the url to www.snopes.com.

When certain friends keep sending ridiculous emails that are quite definitely a hoax, I just smile and delete them. Wasted bandwidth, notwithstanding. One of my favorites was this one:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/signs/printer.asp

One that I received, that was actually true and is one of my favorites is:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/patriotic/iowarock.asp

Here is one that my friend actually believed and she was going to boycott the store:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/target.asp

I tried to explain to them that they really should check these things out before they jump to any conclusions.

Here is one that I am going to take care of today:

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/dryer.asp

Here is the first one I ever saw in print on a bulletin board:

http://www.snopes.com/business/consumer/cookie.asp

There are many interesting articles to read at the snopes site. Some are so ridiculous that you wonder to yourself how do people actually believe this stuff?

And, some have such awesome pictures that are true it made me want to start sending them to all my friends. And then I had to laugh at myself. Silly girl. Go back to bed.

Ahhh, sweet, soft, comfortable bed. Sleep.

Coming from the speakers: Silence.

Old Buildings

quilt in the window


It sort of sounds like the lyrics to a song.

'There's a quilt in the window...'

During one of my road trips this week I stopped for lunch in a small, rural Ohio town. As I came back from the restaurant I noticed some unusual and old buildings. Since I had my camera in the car, I decided to record a little bit of history.

I like to study people when I am out in public. While having lunch, I noticed that most of the men were farmers. Much older men who drank a lot of coffee and smoked cigarettes. There were no young men. There is no work for them in the area, they probably have moved on.

There were women with too much rouge and too red of lipstick. Their skin was very pale in comparison and they ended up looking a bit clownish.

There were Mom's with small children. But mostly, there were old men. Talking about bygone days and the current condition of the economy. Looking at the pictures, I am thinking that maybe the economy ain't so good.

When I left the restaurant and walked towards my car, I noticed a tall, thin man walking down the sidewalk towards me. He was swaying back and forth as if he were drunk. He had a sort of light brown afro and I didn't get a good look at his face. I left the sidewalk for the parking lot to my car.

Here is a picture of the building I had lunch in. It houses a few establishments, all carved up into their own areas. I wonder if anyone uses the door to the fire escape.



Coming from the speakers: Life in a Northern Town by Dream Academy. One of my super favorites. Very appropriate for an economy in despair.

Spring has been cancelled

hyacinth


I bought a candle that smells like hyacinths. One of my favorite scents. Just looking at the picture can bring up the smell for me. If you have ever smelled the hyacinth before, I am sure you can imagine the smell, too.
Go ahead, you can do it.

Because, I hate to tell you but Spring has been cancelled this year. Yep. That's it. I have been reading many blogs and a lot of people are asking Where is spring" or "I am so tired of winter, already". Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but there will be NO Spring this year.

One day the cold wind will be whipping all around us and the next day we will just step right into summer. Jolt. At least we get to miss all the mud.

It appears as though the snow missed us once again. We are not closed. It is so wonderful to have a Friday as a snow day. It starts the week-end off on a positive and fun note. I am not sure if I like Friday snow days best or Monday snow days. That is a tough call. I guess Friday because on Monday you just wish that Tuesday would be a snow day, too. On Friday you hope the snow melts and you can start having fun early for the weekend.

Coming from the speakers: Silence is Golden, by nobody.

Country Roads

Another nice drive today. And, I will be back on the roads tomorrow (unless we get too much snowfall). The sky was not as dramatic as it was on Tuesday, so the pictures were more grounded. I do like the winding roads of rural Ohio and the striking scenery.

I started collecting little things for the girls' Easter baskets. They don't care for candy anymore, so I lean more towards make-up and art supplies. And, a little stuffed animal. Always a cute little stuffed animal. This year I found two cute, soft, fluffy lambs for their baskets. I will put one little white chocolate candy in each. Just because.

For me, it was a bag of the Reeses' peanut butter eggs. I just love those things. I have to hide them or my daughter and her friends will eat them all. Do you have goodies that you hide from your kids or other family members? My sister used to hide her Pepsi. I have done that myself. We rarely have pop in the house nowadays. I buy juice packs for my niece and my daughter's friends. For my daughter it is just plain white milk. And, for me - ice water. Yum! I love it.

My daughter's good friend had a big fight with her Mom tonight and she walked to our house. I was at the grocery store so I heard everything second hand. When I left the store, it was spitting snow and I felt bad for the girl. She is fourteen and walked over a mile to our house. I feel bad for the Mom too, because I have been there. Just last week my daughter was going to walk to her house because we were fighting.

I get to go out to eat here next week for a family member's birthday bash. I am trying to get my daughter to go with me. She just doesn't like to eat out at nice restaurants. All she ever wants is a cheeseburger and chicken nuggets. I guess I shouldn't complain. She is a cheap date. The last time she and I ate there she became ill and we ended up taking our food to go.

Sometimes useless and goofy information:

Did you know that tomorrow is Red Nose day?

Did you know that there is a town called Iditarod? Official webpage can be found here.

Did you know that as a child, me and my brother used to play with the mercury out of a thermometer? Yes. We rolled it around in a big white bowl. I don't recall if we ever touched it with our fingers, but I think we did. We used to watch it bead and then bond back together. Knowing me and my brother, that may explain a lot. And, it may be why we both liked the song I have listed below.

Coming from the speakers: Tennessee Bird Walk by Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan. "Birds are walkin' 'round in their dirty underwear...."

Where slim jims come from

cloudburst

Another sky picture from my road trip yesterday.

I came home for lunch and re-heated Sunday's lunch. Blech. I overcooked the corn dog in the microwave and now I know where slim jims come from.

I gave the corn dog to the dog and chowed on one of these. Only in the egg shaped. Yum, yum.

Coming from the speakers: Gloria by Laura Brannigan.

My own personal sky light

sky light


Well, I don't have one in my house, so I had to go out and find one. I drove a good distance today and took my camera along. At one point the snow is flying at me fast and furious and after about forty miles I have sunshine and blue skies.

Broadband Constipation. I am about ready to boot-kick my cable modem through the big glass window of Adelphia. They can't go out of business fast enough for me. Or, maybe it is just Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Firefox is much quicker. IE sits and spins. The blog spell checking utility spit out the word 'constipation'. And IE is saying it can't find www.dictionary.com. WTF? Second try, it finds it. For crying out loud! Pull yourself together IE!

I watched Friday Night Lights. Tim McGraw is just plain (dare I say it?) ugly. Okay, I said it. Yikes. I didn't even know it was him until I read the dvd case during the movie. Okay, this is where I saw the actor, Lucas Black, before. Flash. I didn't care for him in that movie, either.

I understand why they made the movie. The agony of defeat. Whoops, I gave away the ending.

Coming from the speakers: Sylvia's Mother by Dr. Hook

The ugly side of spring

busch beer

I snapped this shot behind my neighbor's back yard. Between the yard and the alley I was chasing a camera-shy black squirrel in the trees. Once the snow melts one can see all the debris left over from the long winter.

I'm thirsty. Anybody else thirsty?

Coming from the speakers: Fire on the Mountain by Marshall Tucker.

Hair color?

Picture it. The year was 1980. Give or take a year. I was working as a secretary (wince) in an Automotive/Hardware store. We sold fishing licenses. I had an office in the back of the building with a glass window. One with the little circle cut out for talking to customers through.

I was young, overworked and underpaid. A gentleman came back and barked through the glass, "Is this where I buy a fishin' license?"

I mumbled affirmative and walked around my desk to the drawer with the little tackle box. (How appropriate).

I placed the carbon between the sheets. Not looking up at the man I started asking the long line of questions. Name, address, age, blah, blah, blah.

Eye color - "some answer I don't recall"

Hair color - silence.

A little louder - HAIR COLOR - silence.

Sigh. HAIR COLOR!????? - silence.

Deep breath on my part. One more time. Purse the lips like a spinster librarian. Clenched teeth. H-A-I-R C-O-L-O-R! - silence.

Finally, I look up. He was bald. No hair. I felt like a shit, but I was good at not showing it. Christ, I was such a prude back then.

I wrote down the only thing I could think of.

bald.

***************************************************************************

Another picture from yesterday.

Sunburst through the trees.



And, this big baby won't let me alone for one minute.
She is such an attention hog.

Me, me, me! So, here she is in all her wonderful glory.
'Rolling in clover' so to speak.

Our Sable.



No need to wonder what she is thinking.

'After this, I get a treat, right?'

Coming from the speakers: You're kidding, right? It's not even 5 a.m.!

Blue on blue

blue dogwood bud


Walking outside today and looking for signs of Spring. My dogwood will bloom in about two months, give or take a week. I did not touch the sky with any software program. This is straight from my Canon S50. I did add the frame. Blue on blue.

Man, I had a hard time getting this picture to post. I may not be patient but I am persistent. I used to add to the old saying 'patience is a virtue' with my version:

'patience is a virtue and I have neither'.

I baked two loaves of banana bread today. One with walnuts and one without. The one without didn't bake all the way through. That's my daughter's. She will just have to eat around the goo. I put both loafs in at the same time. Mental note to myself: glass loaf pan needs another five.

I watched 'The Hours' with Kidman, Streep and Moore. Powerful, but really didn't interest me. I guess the message was how stifled homosexuality was for women of the past. How they would rather die than live in the closet. And, today how much easier it is for gay women to live a normal life among society, but still they are touched with the sadness of loved ones dealing with death (aids). I honestly don't know any women homosexuals. I'm not even sure I know any males.

Can you believe that? I'll be forty-five in May. I suspect some men are, but they don't say they are or live like they are. When I was seventeen I worked for a lady veterinarian. There were rumors that she and her assistant were gay. They lived together. I didn't care. She was very mean to me. I didn't like her, but not because she was gay. And, not because she was very, very German. At that time, I thought my ancestors came from Germany, too. It was soon after that I found out it was actually Austria.

My daughter and niece say that the school is full of them. They are everywhere, they say. Holding hands, kissing on the sidewalks after school and before. Hmmm. I don't see any blacks or Orientals or Hispanics, either. But, they are there. They are all over. Have I reached the pinnacle of not seeing people as different? But, rather as just what they are - people? All peoples blended together. Is it possible that I am completely unbiased? Is any one completely unbiased about everything?

Have you ever told a joke that would be considered prejudiced? Do 'dumb blonde' jokes bother you? Long ago, there were many incorrect jokes flying around. My sister has been married to her husband longer than she lived inside my family unit. She, I think, is more or less brainwashed from her husband's version of life. She married him at twenty-one and has been married to him for thirty years. I think she dated him for two years, so she has been exposed to his outlook for thirty-two years. And back in that day, thirty years ago - people did say off-color jokes. Remember Archie Bunker on 'All in the Family'? That is where I learned the expression 'jungle bunny'.

Coming from the speakers: Me and you and a dog named Boo.

Nemo fish pinata

nemo

Here is a colorful pinata at a Birthday party a couple of years back. Nemo was the theme. Cute movie. I like Ellen DeGeneres' character in the movie.

I am using my daughter's PC to post, since my PC is temporarily out of service. Well, the PC is fine. The two SATA RAID hard drives are disabled while I work on my friend's IDE hard drive. I put her hard drive into my PC and can't access the Internet because she had dial-up connection and my PC doesn't have a modem. I can't get the darn Internet to connect via the Ethernet port. It says the port is connected but I get nothing. I am running dhcp, and I may force it with a static IP. We'll see. I just finished backing up her data and music to disc and am taking a break.

Cleaned most of the day. Ugh. Nasty. Not my cup of tea. Tea sounds good. Must get some. Bye

Coming from the speakers: Iko Iko by the Belle Stars (plays at the beginning of the movie Rain Man). Tap your feet!

Tinikling

tinikling

This wooden display of the Philippine's National Dance (a.k.a. Tinikling) was the center of our living room for years as I grew up. My oldest brother was stationed in the Philippines in the mid or late 60's. He brought this and a sunka game back with him. The Tinikling dance is named for the movements of the tikling bird.

I used to wonder about the dancers. They had to avoid the bamboo sticks. Have you ever knocked the inside of your ankle bone on anything or even your other ankle bone? It hurts. That is what I imagine it would feel like if they messed up and their ankle was smacked by the bamboo pole. Ouch!

And, so is life. I feel like I am hopping around trying not to step wrong or my ankle bone will get smacked. Or, my feelings. Or, I am trying not to hurt others feelings.

Slam, down the bamboo pole goes. Clack, clack, slam down it goes again. Hop, hop, move left, jump and step - don't get....... SMACK! Ouch! That hurts. Moving to my respective corner to rub my ankle bone and try to ease the pain. I don't really think I like this game.

Finally, a snow day

patio

My backyard patio attached to my garage. While we are having a snow day today, I am dreaming of the warm summer days spent on my patio. Listening to music, drinking whatever, having friends over. Can you feel the warm breeze? It is in the teens outside, but in my head it's summertime.

I will sit down and talk with my girls today. I need to apologize and go over a few things with them. My daughter and I are okay, we make up pretty quickly. But, my niece and I have never fought. It will be difficult. This is where I wanted the counseling to help. Neither girl will go with me. In the counseling session we are forced to sit and talk for an hour with no interruptions. At home, they run away from me.

Since I have become a member of the blogdom, I have been reading quite a few blogs here and there. I have some favorites and eventually may get around to posting them on my blog page. One of the things that strikes me as strange is the fact that most all of them do not care for President Bush. Probably with the exception of one blog that I read, most all of them mention at one point or another that they truly do not like this man. Many times they are downright hateful.

Most all of the people that I associate with do not like the man, either. So many people I know did not vote for him. I am in Ohio, and the election was quite an ordeal. At the time I mentioned that the Amish came out in droves to vote. It makes me wonder. Do we, as a people have much say in the Government anymore? My Mom told me that "they" all are corrupt, just Nixon got caught.

Was Jimmy Carter corrupt? Look at the good he is doing, now. I recall the election between Carter and Reagan. I was young and new to the voting arena. I talked with my big brother about the election. My entire family comes from a long line of democrats. Until the day my Mom died in 2000 she subscribed to the The Braxton Democrat that gave her the news of her home town in West Virginia.

My brother and I voted for Reagan. Why? I can recall he and I sitting watching television one evening and there was an advertisement for Reagan. It kept showing Jimmy Carter's face as sad with mouth downturned while the announcer made some negative comment and Reagan's face smiling and looking like a winner while the announcer made some positive comment. We laughed until we cried. I was totally swayed by the media. I didn't have a clue as to what kind of President Reagan would be. I had not done the research. I cringe at how I made my judgments back then. On a side note: I do not regret my vote.

It makes me wonder. People who keep an online blog. Are they more liberal? Or, am I drawn to the blogs who lean to the left? This could be the case. Perhaps when I read the profile, I am attracted to the personalities similar to my own. Or, the ones I admire. This is probably the case. If I begin reading a blog, and I find their views and thoughts unattractive, I probably move on. And, I don't bookmark them.

But, what of this country's government? Are you happy with it? Do you feel like you can do anything about it? Am I willing to take the time that it requires to research what really is going on? I haven't watched Fahrenheit 911, yet. Is the war just another Viet Nam? Does that make the military angry when we say that? Of course it does, and quite a few other people, too. They don't want to think that they are fighting for nothing. What really happened in Viet Nam? Were our boys (and girls) forced to play by the rules, when nobody else did?

They finally held some people responsible for the holocaust when some of the perpetrators were brought to trial. But, was that really enough? Is anybody responsible for all the lost deaths in Viet Nam? I keep hearing the phrase "Freedom isn't free". I don't think anyone said that it was.

Here is an interesting page. It states the cost of war. It also reminds me of the rainforest countdown I would see when I visited Cleveland's zoo and rainforest. Rather depressing.

And then there is Charlie Daniels' soapbox. I read that from time to time and I have to tell you. In some parts, I agree with him. In others, I think he tends to lump the democrats into one blob and he infuriates me. I, for one, believe there is another answer. No democrat or republican. We are a new breed of people - merging the best of both worlds into one.

And as a matter of fact, Charlie - I agree with what you are saying about being in the line of fire. If someone were shooting a gun at me and my family, you are damn right - I would fight back with everything I have. But, I also learned a long time ago about cutting your losses. When something is so big and it is a definite "No win" situation let's pull back and reanalyze the situation. Instead, we continue to feed the terrorists lunch in the disguise of our servicemen. In this respect, we are reminded of Viet Nam.

The terrorists? They are gleeful.

America is great. We no longer have to go there to kill them, they come to us!

And, please don't think that I am being disrespectful to the military. I am so grateful to them, I would kiss their boots. But, are they getting a fair shake? When all is said and done, IF all is said and done; are we going to be shaking our heads and wondering - Why? Why did we have to send so many in vain? Like we do now about Viet Nam? What did we accomplish there? What are we accomplishing here?

I am not republican, but I do agree with some of their beliefs. I am democrat, but I don't agree with everything left. I believe there is a better way. I don't feel that any one party is completely right or wrong. I think both have good ideas and perhaps there is a win/win situation.

Maybe I am a dreamer. By the way, I am not a John Lennon fan. That malarky "Let's all smokem' peace pipe and hug each other" doesn't fly with me. About the time you are hugging somebody, someone else is stabbing you in the back. Imagine there is no heaven? Most wars are about religion. My way or the highway. I'm right, you're wrong. Is there no end?

Scars

Feeling pretty low tonight. I got into an argument with my niece and she left the house. I ended up taking it out on my daughter (displaced anger) and making her cry. We ended up okay, but the scars are all there. Here is a small poem I wrote when I was going through a hard time with my Mom:

Some words spoken in the air
At the time without care
Can't be retracted, the soul they mar
And there at rest, they leave their scar.