A borrowed photograph

Pretty pink flower

I have borrowed this photo from my nephew's China collection. It's delicate petals remind me of sugar icing. The flower looks good enough to eat. His latest toy? A Garmin nuvi 360. Very nifty.

I am baking a cake today. I have a party tonight and was asked if I could bring a dessert. I decided to repeat the Butterfingers cake recipe. The last cake turned out very good, but did not get eaten very quickly. With only my daughter and I in the house it just sat in the refrigerator. For some weird reason, I don't like my own baking. When I taste a dish that I love and get the recipe, that is one sure way to ruin it for me. To bake it myself, and I am like "What happened? It doesn't taste the same!" Oh well. It is the kind of dessert you want to take to a picnic or a get together anyway because it is so huge and so rich.

I will also take my cheese ball and crackers. It is a sort of staple for me.

I am currently reading "Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties" by Robert Stone; "Singled Out" by Bella DePaulo, PH. D.; and "Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers" by Henry Jenkins.

We have 10 years and 4 months to plan the event. Total Solar eclipse. The closest area to me is Kentucky, Tennessee.

Wait for the Blessing

We went to church on Sundays, but my family was not big into religion. My Mom tried church and was dismayed by the gossiping that went on there. Ta, ta! Look at her! I quit going around 12 or 13 years old. Perhaps 15 when I started working every week-end.

We were not ones to say the blessing, but I needed something for Photo Friday's challenge of Blessing. To me the first thing that pops into my head when I hear that word is a family or someone saying the blessing before they eat. I didn't see many photos of that.

Pie!

It's gone

I need to work on the meringue. I have not made a meringue pie before, so I didn't know the little tips and tricks. I prepared. I called two wonderful pie makers. They didn't mention that I should not add the sugar before I beat the egg whites. I whipped. I beat. I electric mixed. I wire whisked. Damn, this shouldn't take this long! I finally gave up and plopped the silky white mess onto the lemon pie and baked it. I kept checking because one of them told me that it would burn quick. I finally took it out when the top became a beautiful creamy beige.

Personally, I loved the meringue this way. I didn't have peaks and I didn't have fluff, but it tasted wonderful. My tastes have changed. I hated lemon pie, but now - love it!

And, I think I got "Happy Feet." If we are ever visited by aliens, we are to break out into a lively rendition of River Dance and the aliens will think we are adorable, fall down and leave us alone.

Speaking of falling down, my daughter and I have decided that our latest addition (over a year) to our pet family (Moose the cat) is part Myotonic goat. For some weird reason she just falls over. Granted she doesn't stick her legs up in the air, but we laugh. She just "boom" falls over onto her side. I figured she wanted me to pet her when she does this, so I reach down and she runs off. She is still a bit skittish. We had never seen a cat do this before. Oh no! As I am proof reading this very paragraph, my daughter just told me she did it again. LOL! Crazy animal.

Panda Bear Nesting Dolls

My nephew brought back a set of nesting dolls for me from China. I didn't specify doll or animal, and I was pleasantly surprised with the Panda bear set. My Mom had a Russian woman nesting doll set. I think I may start collecting them. I don't see them very often and I am not certain, but I think my nephew had a time finding this set for me. My second choice was a wind chime, which he said he could not find anywhere.

Did you know that things sold in China do not have the "Made in China" stamp on them? Amazing!

Here is a thought to ponder. In the United States the government pays you to have babies. In China you pay the government to have babies.

I am still trying to get through "Happy Feet." One of my sister's agrees with me. She thought it fell short also.

New video card is in the machine. An ATI RADEON Sapphire X1950 XT 512MB. My daughter's frame rates in her game increased from 30 frames to 550 frames (I think this is per second.) So what does that mean? My daughter got motion sickness. Nice.

Mixed feelings

A soft glow of the rain forest flora

I find myself in a mixed emotional state today. For the past few days I have been contemplating writing a piece titled "The dumbing down of America." This phrase sticks with me because it is being used a lot right now. In the papers, on the news, etc... Lately I have become aware of the people around me and how they just don't seem to be in tune with what is happening in the world today. I guess that says a lot about the company I keep.

Am I reaching a stage in life where I want to move from 'watching the events unfold on television' to actively 'doing something about it' or educating people about it? This brings forth the question, 'Do people want to be educated about it?' I distinctly get the feeling that a lot of people don't care. I think that frustrates me just as much or more as the unbelievable events themselves. My feelings are not catastrophic, just needling me.

The dilemma itself has been lying under the surface for a long time, but more recently when I mentioned a current event and that person had not a clue as to what I was referring. Is it true then, that since the boom of television "entertainment" we have tuned out of what is really going on in the world to watching endless sit coms and reality junk shows? I like to laugh as well as the next person (you know I love Seinfeld and AFV), but I can only ask that folks balance this out with watching a documentary or watching the news channels. Preferably, one that does not flash the latest death, overdose or overexposure of a celebrity.

When you go to a get together and the topic of conversation is the overdose of someone that lived their life to the extreme tells me that there is something askew. I don't want to be the wet blanket. I just want somebody to be able to make a comment when I mention the latest controversial issue about politics or the environment as well as the latest gossip in the plastic world of celebrities.

I have heard of certain celebrities reaching a point in their lives where they are trying to say "Look folks, this is NOT real! What we do is entertainment!" They try to invest their time, effort and money into a cause that they are passionate about. I can imagine that they also reach the point where it get ridiculous to them. Like the Captain said at one of the events "Get a life!"

Is the world so overwhelming that some people cannot face the actual reality? Does it make them think too hard? It requires effort and time to study and learn. The alternative is 'let's tune out and tune in?'

I don't mean to get up on my soapbox today. I also, went through many years when I didn't even know who the Governor of my state was if somebody were to ask me. I was busy living my life, trying to make ends meet, trying to establish a well paying job, trying to develop a relationship, trying to keep a social life, and trying to find myself. Life gets in the way.

During the ghastly movie "300" I sat thinking about how they trained the Spartans to fight. It was a lifetime training and this movie depicted that aspect of their life very well. It reminds me of a conversation I held with my brother some time ago.

Let's say that the United States goes to war. Who do you think will win? The man who had to live his life scraping by, scratching at the dirt to make his living, climbing trees and rocks to get from place to place - or, the American who grew up watching "Happy Days" and spending his Saturday nights cruising up and down the boulevard in his souped up Chevy?

I understand that the details are much more complicated than that, but this was just an example. Oh, I think I have exhausted myself, now. And, I have come to realize that wanting to write about this has just now become a reality. Like a poison, I have gotten it out of my system.

Sweet 16

Cincinnati - getting ready for the show

Opening a new pair of ear rings that ended up being too heavy to wear for long. Never having pierced ears, I can't relate. I do know the clip ons can pinch like a... like a.... son of a gun. I quit wearing them years ago along with rings and bracelets. Once in a great while I will don a necklace, but that is it. I don't evern wear a watch.

So, the past sixteen years have flown by, huh? I had eaten a vanilla ice cream cone, and was riding around the camp grounds near the ice cream stand. It was unusually warm weather, didn't need a jacket. After the ice cream my water broke. In the front seat of a Ford pick up truck. Oh, yeah. Two or three hours later I was having an emergency C-section. My doctor had just returned from vacation that very day. It was a Sunday. I worked an afternoon shift by myself and had worked Friday night. I kept thinking "What if my water broke when I was at work by myself?" Well, really the hospital was about two miles from where I work and 25 miles from my house. So, it probably would have been okay.

Feels like a lifetime ago. I guess it was.

Blue and gold Macaw

Beautifully posed at the zoo

The person who gave me our bird (Peru - for whom this blog is named) owned other birds. One being a blue and gold macaw. I never cared to own a bird of this nature. Too big and much too noisy. They live to maybe 80 years or so. The person almost lost her thumb so the bird had to go. She went through her varied strange animals. Snakes and birds mostly. Personally, I believe she got them for the attention. The stranger the animal the more attention it would bring.

As it is, I guess we all do certain things for attention. Take my daughter's hair. The triple color brings about three remarks on a day that we venture out into the world. At the mall or in Cincinnati, people make a comment. All positive. I suppose if somebody does not like it, they keep it to themselves. I would joke and say "Hey, at least it isn't a tattoo or a body piercing!" They would laugh and agree.

However it dawned on me today. If it were a tattoo or piercing, it would be over and done with. As for hair, it grows out and fades. The money thing never stops! Arrgghhh! Saturday we are looking at getting teal instead of red/pink. I guess some girl at school did the same "do" and we just can't have that now can we? We must be different. We must stand out in a crowd. She said she wants the teal like the color in the peacocks or the macaw. I am hoping that this "fad" fades quickly.

Nobody in the family has mentioned Easter dinner, yet. I wouldn't mind a quiet one. Usually somebody pipes up by now. Somehow I got to be the family go-between. I go between those with e-mail and those without. I make the effort to call everybody and get the show on the road. So and so is having the dinner, can you bring (usually what they enjoy making) and if not, whatever else they feel like bringing. Then, I call the person having dinner and fill them in on who is bringing what, who can make it and who can't, who will be late and who can only come for an hour before they have to be somewhere else.

My daughter wants a lemon meringue pie for her birthday. I have made a pumpkin pie and I have a made a no-bake cheesecake. My Mom made great lemon meringue pies. I never liked lemon pies so I never watched or took an interest in how she did it. I looked up a couple of recipes and I guess I'll give it a go. My Mom also made sea foam candy from time to time. Another candy I did not like. (I guess some call it divinity). Sugar, water and egg whites. Yuck.

When my daughter was young, I really got into throwing birthday parties for her. One of my favorites was when I dressed up as a fortune teller and told the girls' fortunes. (All good fortunes, of course!) I rented a costume and we had great fun. The past couple of years my daughter does not want any fanfare. Any at all. No cake, no party, no decorations. I feel weird with this decision. As if I am not doing enough or something. She wants to go out to eat (her favorite is Damon's ribs) and she wants to get her hair done. Pie and/or ice cream cake when we get home. Just me, her and her boyfriend. (And any other family that happens to be here that week-end). We are looking at a very quiet one, though.

Me? If I had my way? I would invite girls and boys, turn on all the disco lights. Blast the music and set up Dance, Dance revolution in one corner of the basement and karaoke in another area. I would decorate with green, purple and blue streamers with a tiki Island theme. We would have pizza, pepsi, chips and dip, candy and cake. I guess we already did that at the 11th or 12th party (before the boys). I recall one year doing the island thing. Oh, well.

Birthdays past involved skate parties, pinatas, limbo, Discovery Zone, Chuck E. Cheese and a handful of other crazy games and ideas. Sigh. Well, they were fun.

Snow White

A white hibiscus at the zoo

Beautiful and sunny bloomed the white hibiscus. I wonder what it feels like tonight with snow swirling around it? I covered the tiny green sprouts of my hydrangea.

We saw 300 today. As if they can make this blood bath more graphic. I used to cringe when horror movies showed blood. I could not stand Bravehart or any other graphic war movies. Well, I didn't choose 300. It is rated R, so an adult had to go. Handing my ticket over, the elder lady said "Oh, this is a great movie!" I looked at her "Really?" My spirits lifted. She said "It is... how can I say it? Pretty!" I asked "What about the blood and gore?" She replied, "Well, you know it isn't real." Well, sure I know it isn't real. But somewhere, the war fought in 480 b.c. or the war being fought today - blood IS real. And, I want to know what her definition of "pretty" is. My daughter thought that some of the hard lighting on the scenery was pretty. I have to say, pretty does not come to mind when I think of this movie. Pretty gruesome, pretty awful, pretty graphic... yes. But, the word pretty by itself? Nope.

So, take the blood bath. Slow it down. Way down. Enhance spurting blood all over the screen and shower it all over the battlefield as if it were raining blood. Slowing the movements down allows the viewer to experience the gruesome detail of heads being sliced off from every single angle and perspective. Lovely.

Sound effects must have taken on a whole new art form. The sounds were deafening. Iron swords sloshing into body parts. Slicing, dicing and making all kinds of sucking sounds. If it were possible, I believe I would have hurled popcorn. Not an easy food to bring back up. My eyes remained closed during much of the onslaught. My migraine medicine was a necessity.

Alright you heathens. I carried through on my promise to take you to that dreadful display of gore. I get the rest of my vacation to myself. Wild Hogs or Meet the Robinsons. Are the movies Happy Feet and Charlotte's Web out on video yet?

Giraffe

I guess this is what he thought of my picture taking

This photo combines The Lion King and the Zoo. The show was absolutely stunning, of course. Performance and costumes. I went in with a slight migraine (any travelling or change of schedule will certainly trigger one) and had taken my medicine three hours prior. The lady that sat next to me must have emptied her entire bottle of perfume on that day. It was strong. I understand that a migraine kicks all of my senses up about a hundred notches. Smell, taste, hearing, sight and feel. All super sensitive to any activity. This is why they tell you to lie down in a dark, quiet room. Block all the senses.

We had a beautiful day for the zoo. The critters were lazy, but so was I. Six hours. I made it six hours with many rests. I was constantly looking for an outlet to charge my one good battery for my camera. That was okay with me as it gave me a chance to sit down. I think I may have had more fun watching every body's little children experience the animals. I recall why I don't go to the zoo. I love the excitement and I love to learn but I hate to see the total boredom of the animals. My daughter will be sixteen. I believe the next time I will visit a zoo is when I take a grandchild.

I do have a humorous little story. I was sitting in a tropical room (waiting for my batteries to charge - both mine and my camera's) and this family walked in. The father must have sneezed a dozen times. I said "Sounds like you are allergic to something in this room." There was silence for about ten seconds. Sometimes when I am in a good mood I try to make light chit chat with the folks around me and I am delighted when I find another light soul. I especially like to have fun with the little children. I don't pursue anything if the parent does not give me some kind of signal that it is okay to correspond with their child. I read them and if it feels like I am intruding I quickly move on.

After the ten seconds he turned around and said "Why don't you leave and we'll see if I quit sneezing." I had to laugh. I guess he had allergies and this was a two month process for him. He mumbled something about "Every year like clockwork, two months I have this!" I notice that his wife was not saying "Bless you". She just kind of gave him a sad smile as if she knew he were suffering and couldn't do anything about it. Well, color me "put in my place!" As he left he said "See, I'm leaving and I've stopped sneezing." I smiled at him. Pardon me.

Godiva Belgian Blends

Dark Chocolate Mocha

Some NUT left this in my refrigerator. What a great way to start my day. Dark chocolate, cold, wet. Caffeine, cocoa powder. 200 calories. 1 gram of fiber, 6 grams of protein, with calcium and iron to boot. My sister is a nut. She also is to blame for two big Easter baskets in my house. Not to mention the huge five foot one on my patio. Nobody has touched it. That huge pink bunny sits out there with tons of candy in it's basket and nobody messes with it. I will take it to my niece's place today along with my dog. She is dog sitting for me this week-end.

We are off to see The Lion King.

Growth

Photo Friday Challenge: Growth

My Rose of Sharon from last summer. This flowering bush really takes off if you don't curb it. I didn't know to curb it. It is all over the back of my garage and close to taking over the back of my house. It had better stay clear of my moon flowers. That's for sure. It grows much taller than I and this made it easy to get the shot above. Not so easy? Getting a picture without electrical/telephone/cable lines in the frame. Sheesh!

Tickets to this show have arrived.

Too cute

I received him in an e-mail today. I think I'll keep him!

My daughter broke (busted) her cell phone on Sunday. We went today to try to get a replacement. I have insurance on both of our phones. We went to the mall to visit the store that represented our brand of cell phone. My daughter was six weeks away from being able to get another (new) phone for the sale price with a 2 year contract. Hmmm. Today's price $399.00. Price on May 5th: $39.99. For a fifteen-year-old (two weeks away from 16), six weeks can be a lifetime to wait. What would she do without a phone?

I told her she could use mine in the evenings. She said "Then how will I call YOU when you aren't home?" Wow. How dependent we have become on being able to speak with each other any minute of the day (minus movies, during class, appointments and meetings of course).

I replied, "We will have to go back to the old days." And then I thought about that. Could I go back? With a cell phone, I can reach her at any time. When it is 11:15 p.m. on a Saturday night, I am out of town and she calls to say that she is home, and I can breathe again. When I realize that I didn't even know I had been holding my breath. Just in that one instant all is well again.

Or, when she is at a friend's house and the parent drives them somewhere and she is not feeling well. The friend's family does not want to leave. She calls me. I say, "I'll be right there to pick you up." Yup. That was easy.

We thought about a TracPhone. By the time we researched them I realized it just wasn't feasible. Nor would we be certain that we could get any service in our area. She was beginning to get depressed. As teenagers will when things don't go their way.

We bought donuts and brownies. Comfort food. Driving home from the mall and Wal-Mart I passed our cell phone store. I said "Let's try this one. One more time. Even with insurance at least we could get the similar phone to the one she broke and that would get us through until May 5th. " She didn't want the same phone that she had before and that is all the insurance will do for you. Give you a refurbished phone.

We waited. They were busy. Finally a sales rep came over. A very nice lady in plum purple. We told her our story. She pulled up my account. She said "Wait just a minute" and she disappeared into the back room to make a phone call. I made the remark to my daughter that I had been a customer for a number of years and they should at least be able to do something. She came out and said that she had authority to waive the 6 weeks. My daughter could get the phone of her choice for the sale price today. She said the reason was that I had been a model customer for a number of years. My daughter and I shared a knowing smile.

Wow. I think Miss Plum made a friend for life. My daughter was beaming. She chose her phone and as of this post she is picking her ring tone, typing in all her contacts (her other phone was so broken, they couldn't retrieve her contact list to transfer it) and calling her beau to tell him about her latest toy.

Ahh. All is well in the Peruby household. Until it dawned on me that when this two year contract is up my daughter will be 10 days away from her 18th birthday. Now, where ARE those brownies!?

The lighter side of life

Cute chick from a HUGE Easter Basket

My sister won a huge Easter basket in some kind of drawing and she brought it with her to give to her daughter. Her daughter is 20 and does not like chocolate. So she is giving it to a friend of hers who has two children and one on the way. This little orange chick was one of the ten or so stuffed animals in the basket. The pink bunny was about four feet tall. There was so much stuff in the basket - even candy corn. Did they have the right holiday?

I think I am back to the lighter side of life. My previous posts were so intense I didn't even remember writing them. I would log on to my blog and read the post and think to myself "What the... ?" Hopefully that bug is out of my system. LOL!

I made the mistake of eating a Cadbury creme egg (from a smaller basket) today. Ugh! Why? Did I think my taste buds had changed? I didn't like them 10, 20, 30 years ago - what made me think anything would be different? They are way too sickly sweet for my taste. Goo! Now, I am drinking my second glass of water. I can handle the little Lindt truffles or a bit of white chocolate, but forget creme and marshmallowy stuff. Of course my all time favorite is peanut butter cups (milk or white chocolate).

I think I am over the chocolate covered almonds from Dove. I can only find them at Wal-Mart and I don't really like to shop there. However, I have found another candy that I like. Werther's caramel chews. Oy!

Little Miss Typist

Exposing my Grand Niece to the keyboard early

The sooner they start, right? We'll have her clicking away in no time. She loved to hear the click, click of the keys. When my daughter was little I used to put my computer on a screen saver and unplug the keyboard. She would touch a button and the screen saver would change and I would say "Wow! Look what you did!" Not in an accusatory tone of voice, but more like a 'that is great!' tone. She would giggle and of course touch the keys again. Voila, another screen change. This kept her occupied (for a few moments, anyway) during some scary parts of movies that other members of the family were watching and I didn't want her to see.

The above photo is the same day that I gave all my old purses and pocket books to my Grand Niece to play with. But, (I am proud to instigate) once the keyboard was introduced - she forgot all about the pretty jewelry and pocket books. That's my kind of girl!

This little girl needs all the technical help she can get since her Mom and Grandmother (my sister) drag this poor little thing from one beauty pageant to another. She has had photo shoots in Chicago, Cincinnati and has another contest coming up in Canton. Although I do not agree with this type of activity, I will refrain any more comment. Their life, their business. (Personally, I believe it is all a money scam and I think my sister knows this in the back of her mind). She is twitterpated when it comes to her grand-daughter. As most grandparents are. I think it comes with the territory. Well, so much for my refrainment.

(On a side note, www.dictionary.com recognizes 'twitterpated' and 'refrainment' as words even if Blogger does not.

Speaking of beauty pageants, my co-worker just didn't get "Little Miss Sunshine". I think you have to look behind the story to get it. The brother who didn't speak for months. I think the more sensitive and aware teenagers are developing into human beings who realize how inane the human race is and he probably had no words to express his overwhelming thoughts about this discovery. Then finding out that his one dream in life is unattainable put him so over the edge, his pain came pouring out in a verbose outcry. As if it had been bottled up inside of him.

The bewildered homosexual and suicidal Uncle who was so in tune with others and was just flabbergasted by his ignoramus brother-in-law. The Grandfather who believed in the little girl and meant to teach her to see beyond all the fluffy pomp and circumstance and to literally 'let her hair down.' The father who discovered that his personal support of his daughter's self confidence was far more important than her refraining from eating ice cream to keep her weight down. The absurdity of beauty pageants. Subjects of that nature.

I went to a friend's house last evening to help her set up her new Dell. It has Vista and it was my first exposure to the new operating system. It has little quirky changes, but I liked it. I found nothing objectionable with it. Everything I loaded and added had the correct drivers, it all worked and things went smoothly. I am a command prompt user (having worked with PC's before Windows 3.1 made GUI popular and favorable). I have a better feel for things from the command line. Maybe I should have taken the programming route. Still, it is not too late. Java here I come!

Er, anyway. The command prompt and Run option are in different places as is the 'Add or remove programs' function. But, once found I can reprogram myself to adjust. That is a given in technology. Change. It may be uncomfortable, but it is inevitable. The better you adjust, the better and smoother your life is going to be. Just substitute the word 'life' for 'technology' in the above remark. If you don't like change, you can choose to be miserable or choose to adapt.

This is also what I tell folks who question technology in Education. I have heard some cry "Teach them reading, writing and arithmetic! It was good enough for me when I was in school!" I tell them, "Technology (and the Internet) are here to stay. Like it or not. We can't go back. Let's just make the best of it and utilize it for what it was actually intended to do. Let us take the good aspects of it and educate our children." Of course, the naysayers will claim that there is nothing good about it.

What is your greatest fear?

I was reading a blog the other day and I recall seeing the question "What is your greatest fear?" Of course, I had to stop and think of some of mine. My daughter, my family, my health, my country, my job, my home.... anything happening to any of those. You know, the usual stuff.

Then today a random thought popped into my head. "Discovering that we have no purpose whatsoever in this Universe." What if? What if there is NO reason to us? Next thought 'there has to be a reason'. So, that is my greatest fear after all of the others listed above. Or, maybe it should be first, I don't know. Who is to say?

Some say we are not supposed to know. They why do we seek to know?

Reminds me of a poem I wrote long ago, that started with:

"Why are we here on this tiny planet?"

Why are any of us here? Are we some ant farm being observed? Are we an experiment? Is this a stage in the process of reaching Nirvana? Are we some sort of seeds strewn across the Universe to ensure survival of the species? Is this some sort of test to see what kind of soul/heart/spirit we have inside? If that is the case, why even bother with randomness? Why not just create good souls in the first place? Or, do bad souls help to shape good ones?

We are the only living form on the Earth that questions our existence.

So now you are probably wondering who is writing this post and what did I do with Peruby?

Sentimental

He's just a little itty, bitty thing. Solid something. Maybe brass, maybe copper. He was gold when I played with him 40 years ago. He turned black from age and dirt. I cleaned him up for his close up. He turned a pinkish copper. It is something I loved when I was a little girl in my Mom's house. It has a lot of sentimental value to me. He was made in Japan. It says "Japan" three times on his underside. Of course looking very closely at his underside I realized I should have been calling him a "she" all along. Pardon me.

My niece has pink eye, my daughter has a sinus infection. It has rained so much our entire yard feels like a huge sponge. The sidewalk is flooded in spots and it is gray and dreary outside. Red Lobster cheered me up. My niece talked me into getting a "Lobsterita". This is a huge margarita. I chose the raspberry flavor with salt around the rim (never sugar!). I drank it very quickly because when the food comes and I begin to eat, I can't drink alcohol any more. We had a party of 8 tonight and we laughed and told great stories.

Two of my family members are heading for China tomorrow. One two hour flight, then a five hour lay over. Then a 12 hour flight, change planes and then another long flight. Ugh. They didn't get assigned to the same airplane. Bummer. There are 40 going altogether from Kent State. My niece gets to room with the tour guide, and they say this is great because she will take them to all the little extra places in the evenings after the "official" tour.

Not too bright

My Mom used all of the old time sayings. "Bright eyed and bushy tailed." "Red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky in morning, sailor's take warning." "What you lack in the head, you make up in the heel." (this one I would say to myself many times!) She said her favorite was "This too shall pass."

The thought that comes to mind this morning is "Bright eyed and bushy tailed -NOT." I was out late last night to a birthday party. I am moving slow this morning. I don't usually celebrate on a school night, but this was arranged because of my nephew leaving for China in 3 days. And it was out of town.

The weather has a spring-like feel to it. Warm. It feels good to be outside walking around in the warmth without such a chill in the air. I'd like to say it puts a spring in your step, but I can't say that I am stepping much lighter or quicker.

I am working on my first cup of coffee and trying to brush the cobwebs out of my head. I didn't take my camera inside the restaurant, because my nephew's camera puts mine to shame. He has the Canon EOS 30D with lenses that cost more than the camera body. A co-worker of his does some professional photography on the side and he gets all the latest and greatest tips from him. He borrowed a mono-pod to take on his trip to China from him. Cripes, I didn't even know they existed.

My daughter hit him up for ideas of what video card that I am to purchase for her for her birthday so that she can kill people faster. (In her video game). My nephew laughed and stated that he is looking at a $600 card. I said "Not funny! Give me something a little cheaper." He is coming to my house Friday evening and I'll have him recommend a good one for her game.

The Lion King trip is more my idea that my daughter's. She wouldn't go anywhere if she had her choice. I am trying to add some culture to her life. The heathen.

I don't recall what type of flower (above photo) my sister had on her patio last summer, but it reminds me of a bleeding heart.

Daffy

Relay daffodils

Each year I get the daffodils from Relay for Life. It fits me today. I feel a bit daft. Or, daffy.

I had a migraine earlier and my medicine didn't work. It was with me for six hours before abating. I was answering an e-mail to my sister about my upcoming Lion King show when it dawned on me. The tickets did not come. I went into instant panic mode. How did I overlook this little tidbit? To throw my head into a panic like this is not real good on top of a slow recovering migraine. I started to look into the matter when I had to shut down. I closed e-mail. I closed Google. I closed the URL for the show. I proceeded to forget all about it for the time being.

I aimlessly did other stuff. Picked up my daughter. Cleaned the kitchen. Watched a documentary on Chernobyl (The Battle of Chernobyl) on the Discovery Channel. I love stuff like that! Reminds me of this site I stumbled on about four years ago.

When I finally calmed down I went back to my computer, called the company and found out that all is okay. They did not proceed with the order ( I should have paid closer attention) I think they were a scam. I checked my credit card back for a month - no charges for that sale. And, I re-ordered through Ticketmaster. Whew. Back on track.

Smoldering

What's left
Photo Friday Challenge: Heat

When the challenge for Friday came, I was not certain I would have anything to show for "Heat." I had some photos of a camp fire. There must be over 50 of them in the challenge line up. I didn't have much in that category to pick from. Then, my brother sent me this photo on Saturday night.

I am afraid of pilot lights and gas and such stuff. I didn't grow up around it and am nervous around it. When we lived in an old farm house the "pancake" used to pop open after a fast humidity change or barometric change or something. I was never real sure what made the "pancake" pop. But when it did, it kicked the gas off to the house. We would have to go out and pull the "pancake" up with a pair of pliers and re-light the pilot lights to the furnace, stove and hot water heater. We rented this farm house and the gas (heat) was free because the farmer had gas wells on his land. I did not care for the re-lighting of the gas appliances if I were there by myself.

When we moved to the apartment in 1996, it was all electric. Our house now is gas and electric. The furnace and hot water heater are gas. The furnace does not have a pilot light. The hot water heater does. The first summer we moved in, I would let my cats outside. They brought fleas back in with them. I bought the flea bombs. On the directions it says to turn off all pilot lights before setting off the bombs. A local company was scheduled to come in and give my furnace a check for the fall and they were very nice and told me they would re-light the pilot light in my hot water heater for me when they came to look at my furnace. This worked for me. Everything went off without a hitch. They came, checked the furnace, turned the pilot light back on my hot water heater and I had hot water again. And, no fleas.

Unfortunately for the folks in the above photo, they forgot about the pilot light on their stove. They set the flea bombs off and left. Their double-wide was out on a back road and the fire was not immediately noticed. Their dog was at the groomers. No fatalities. A total loss of the structure. My brother (the fireman) knew them. I met the couple once, maybe 15 years ago or so.

Waiting for it

The lush greeness of summer

My Mom always wanted to go to Ireland. She liked the greens of that country. Ohio has it's version of greens, too. Ireland would be nice, but I want to visit more of the USA first. My niece and nephew are headed for China in about ten days.

My daughter and I area heading out in April for a couple of days to ourselves. She will turn sixteen next month. We plan to see The Lion King on stage.

Clearly More!

Bonus Packs

I buy 'em. Every year, I buy 'em. Do I plant them? Not always. Sometimes I forget about them, sometimes I plant them too late and they make an effort to grow. I love orange flowers. I used to grow the huge red tulips. Now, I think I will get the orange ones. I thought I ordered orange ones from some nice ladies that sold flowers door to door. But, you can't tell from the bulb. They came up bright yellow. My house is dark, dark gray. Not a color I would have chosen, but the house suits me inside.

My Mom had one of the most beautiful flower gardens in 1975. When I was fifteen. She was out there everyday weeding it with great care. She always had plants in the house. I go through phases. When my daughter was born, I received a dozen beautiful green plants. I lived in a great big farm house with a huge east-facing window. The plants flourished. When my daughter was five I moved to a small cave-like apartment and all the plants died. One by one. I need to get some more and start over now that I am in a sunny house again.

When I was young, my Mom planted about twenty different trees on our property. She and my oldest brother did. I remember a Chinese elm, Russian olive (it never produced olives that I saw), good ole' Ohio buckeye, blue spruce, weeping willow, and a Catawba (Indian cigar) tree. We had two huge sugar maples in our front yard. One was struck by lightning and died. The last time I was visiting the old house you could see where there was the beginning of a new maple tree there. The old tree died back in the late 70's I think. Before we moved there in 1966 there were other trees there such as hemlocks, locust, apple, pear, pines, and an old cherry tree.

Of the bushes I can remember forsythia, lilac, roses, trumpet vine, and a honeysuckle vine. There was another bush by our back porch that the humming birds loved. It has soft pink and white blooms on it. I'll think of the name sooner or later. One year (I think it was '75 also) my Mom had the most beautiful red rose bushes on white trellises. I think that is the plural form of trellis. I'll have to dig through the old family album and scan those pictures in. Deep red roses. She also was fond of wine colored Irises. There's another one - plural of Iris? Patriot hostas.

Around our house when we first moved there were some green loose-leaf bushes. They had tiny white flowers that would bloom in the summer and when you shook them the flower pedals would fall off like tiny little white dots. Hundred of them. I used to pretend that it was snowing when I shook them. I can't find that bush on the web, either. (It was not the snowball bush! Way too big.) Not the asters, these didn't have yellow in the middle. Not snowsprite, trillium, azalea or white moth. The border bushes grew about four feet to six feet tall, had very dark green leaves that were tiny and not shiny. They were not a full bush, but that was probably because we never trimmed them.

Hah! I found the other one! I 'googled' plants that attract hummingbirds and found it on the second hit. Weigela bush. That bush was outside of our back porch and the bees and birds loved it. I love honeysuckle but I despise trumpet vines. Big black ants love trumpet vines. Our trumpet vine would find a way into our kitchen window at the back of the house. We are talking twenty feet up off the ground. It grew between the wooden slats of the window and bloomed inside the kitchen this one year. I think we have a picture of it somewhere. But, I hated them because of the big black ants. And they are hard to manage. Once they take hold, they take over.

I have not checked my hydrangea, yet. I am afraid to.

Apologies to Mr. Hackman

I couldn't resist

I loved Gene Hackman dressed up as a woman in The Birdcage. He was gorgeous. Pink is his color and that hair! This movie tickles me. I am sure I laughed out loud the first couple of times I watched it, but now I just chuckle. I know what they are going to say now before they say it. I can focus on facial expressions and such. Wonderfully cast.

Pines over the park

But this is the photo I shot just an hour ago. At the top of our park in town. I missed the red ball of sun going down. I hope to catch it another day. Everybody was outside today. I took the bird out and let her sit outside (safe in her cage) to get some of the dust off of her. She does not bathe. She won't touch the water but to drink it. I used to bathe her. I don't know why I stopped. She loves the blow dryer.

I know that Photo Friday's Challenge was "addiction" last Friday, but I think I posted the wrong addiction. I am seriously addicted to America's Funniest Videos.

Muted Morning

My sky this morning

Time change stinks. I did get a kick out of my cats, though. When I opened my bedroom door an hour early they looked at me like "What the...?" I stumbled to the kitchen, fed them, let the dog out and started my coffee. Well, okay. I did start my coffee first.

Driving to work I noticed the pink and periwinkle sky. My camera had been in the car all night and I grabbed it when I parked my car and took one shot from the lot. One shot. Then the camera shut down. The battery was weakened by being left in the car all night long in the cold. Oh, well. That's all I get.

I am on the second floor and there is a door that opens onto the roof. I was going to open it to see if I could get some better shots, but it was not to be. Bummer. I was thinking about getting a new camera this year, but I am still having so much fun with this one. I did get a nice tripod and I can hardly wait for warmer weather when I can set it up outside in a field or a park somewhere.

My co-worker brought in a Butterfinger cake today. I had not tasted one before. Now, I have to make one. It was so-o-o-o delicious. Have mercy. This recipe is close to the one she used. Except she used butterscotch topping instead of caramel. You can use either one. I don't like cake when it is dry, and this one is moist and kept refrigerated so it is cool and delicious. Yum.

We are currently watching The Birdcage with Robin Williams, Nathan Lane and Gene Hackman. It is one of my favorites.

My daughter turns 16 next month. People say to me "Time flies, doesn't it?" I reply "It has been the longest 16 years of my life!" They laugh. You know I love her to pieces. She is my sunshine, my joy.

A year ago today

Sunset Eastern Ohio

This deep reddish orange sunset was taken at my brother's house one year ago today. I recall it was a beautiful day. This is where we were introduced to the little teacup size chihuahua named Brandy. She is a precious little thing.

Somebody got me addicted to these. Remind me to strangle them. They have a resealable zipper on the bag. Yeah. Like I will ever use that!

My pulled muscle in the shoulder/neck area is much better today. I am washing clothes. I am sure it is not wise to carry baskets of clothes up and down the stairs, but hey. It has to be done.

I watched The Night Listener with Robin Williams and Toni Collette. That was a strange movie inspired by true events. That is just weird. There were many holes in the script that made it harder than what it should have been for the lead character played by Williams. Oh! You have to go here for a sinister eerie web page for the movie. Turn your speakers on and be patient. Play along. Click when your cursor turns from an arrow to the pointing finger. Creepy but superbly done!

The time changes today and already I feel like it is flying by. Lose an hour? For me it seems as though I have lost six hours. Must hurry and get things done. It will be bedtime before I know it and back to work in the morning. My shoulder will have to deal. I must vacuum the carpet because of the dog hairs.

Speaking of dogs, all but a dozen of the dogs taken from the shelter have been adopted. The community support was amazing. I would like to think that each one of them went to a loving and caring home.

Well, I am going to make sure my camera is charged and ready in case I see somewhere that there is another beautiful sunset to capture.

Munchkin visit

My Grand Niece

I had company today. This little munchkin came to visit. She enjoyed playing with all my old purses and pocket books. For some odd reason I keep my old ones. Maybe I will just pack them all up and take them to the Good Will tomorrow.

I had to break down and go to Wal Mart tonight to get cat and dog food and kitty litter. Moose keeps spitting up the Meow Mix that I purchased. I had to go and get the sensitive digestion formula and hairball formula kind. Wal Mart sells it in the big bags and it is a total waste of money to buy it in anything smaller. The kitty litter was heavy, but I had to have it. My shoulder stung a little bit after the strain of big bags of food and litter. Sigh. Back to the heating pad.

Addiction

My addiction

The challenge for Photo Friday this week is "Addiction". This is what I have been eating since I pulled a muscle in my neck Thursday morning. I went to the doctor this morning and my beloved teal translucent pills have been replaced with a muscle relaxer and an NSAID. I don't care for NSAID's. I'll probably stop taking them and return to the ibuprofen above. When you click on the photo to enlarge it, the gel capsules look like cucumbers.

At first when I cropped the photo, I though "Good, it doesn't display the brand name, even though to some the color is a dead giveaway." Then when I looked a bit closer to the one in the bottom of the frame, I see the name. Oops.

I recall the first time I tried ibuprofen. It was in the early 90's, I am thinking. It made me so sick. I had a migraine and the ibuprofen didn't sit well with me. Somewhere over the years it did begin working for normal tension headaches and I use it. I find that the liquid gels do work faster. Or I imagine that they do.

My doctor checked over my neck and shoulder and told me there was no permanent damage. I am to rest this week-end. A few hours after the first dose I was cleaning up out in the yard. It was such a beautiful and sunny day. I figured I needed my vitamin D. I caught myself. Stop what you are doing and go back inside. When I sat back down the burning had already started on my left shoulder. Stupid, stupid.

It is hard for me to sit still in one place for a long time. I found myself sinking down into my chair with a cat on my lap and one on the headrest by my head. I couldn't move. Not without great pain. That is the way it was trying to sleep last night, also. My neck hurts when I lay down and when I sit too long in one place.

Kitty heaven

This is why Jasper jumps up in my lap

Yeah. I can complain all I want about my animals. They are always under my feet, always begging for food, always jumping up in my lap. They seem to know when I plan to get up to go do something, because that seems to be when they jump in my lap.

They just want a little lovin' like Jasper does. To get the photo above, I put the timer on 10 seconds, and held the camera with my chin. Jasper keeps his eyes closed because of the flash.

I get the "dummy" award today. I went to help some co-workers move some office equipment this morning. During lunch my neck began to hurt. It really started to hurt. Driving home (about an hour) my shoulder and neck began to "freeze" up on me. It was Interstate so I didn't have to turn my head like I would at a stop sign or turning onto another road. It was still very, very painful. I kept thinking to myself, "Wait until you get back into town and call the doctor." Many thoughts go through my mind. The nurses at the office will think I am a baby, or the doctor will. (This comes from being the youngest of 8 and always being called 'the baby' because I cried a lot, I guess).

I got into town and I called at 12:38. Answering service. Doctor and staff were at lunch. I called back at 1:32. Still the answering service. I tried to call back at 1:50. Busy signal until 2:15. Finally I got through. For a "pulled muscle" the doctor has to see me. Tomorrow morning at 8 was the earliest. Whatever, I'll take it. Advil wasn't working.

I sat at my desk for another twenty minutes, barely moving. I recall the doctor saying if I get a pulled muscle to go and get a massage. I called the one she recommended. Booked all evening. She gave me two other numbers. I left a message with both.

When it was time to go home, one of them returned my call and said she could see me for 30 minutes. I have never had a "professional" massage before and I am thinking I never will again. This was not pleasant. I do not know if it was because I was in so much pain from the pulled muscle or what. I will tell you this. If you want to try a massage go when you are stressed, but not in pain. I was so tense. Of course she kept telling me my back was a mess, blah, blah, blah. It was probably still messed up from the shovelling I did a month ago. When I would relax during the massage, my shoulder/neck would spasm into pain.

I don't like being a baby. Right now it hurts but it is bearable. Enough Advil and Reeses Pieces can do that for me. My heating pad is calling me. The lady did tell me not to overdo it with the heat. That the area was already inflamed and just a little heat would do if I had to.

I have had pulled muscles before, many times. It is just uncomfortable for a few days. This one was different. It felt as if somebody was taking a hot curling iron and laying it on my left shoulder every five minutes or so. Aarrgghhh! That burning feeling was something I had not experienced before. The burning has stopped for the most part. I hope it never comes back. I am keeping my appointment with my doctor tomorrow morning, but I don't think I will be calling for another massage any time soon. Of course it is supposed to be "great" for migraines. I am sure, but the Insurance company pays for prescription medications, not massages. When they pay for massages, I will get them for migraine relief.

Some folks may say "Try another masseuse" but honestly, I am kind of glad it hurt. That way I don't go back and spend money on it. All I need is another monthly (in this incident, weekly) expense. Like everybody else in America, I am feeling the pinch of higher prices.

Frozen lake

Salt Fork 30 days or so ago

The sun may be strong and the sky may be blue, but the air is still quite chilly in Ohio. This photo was taken in February (about 30 days ago). I will pass Salt Fork tomorrow on my way to Cambridge. More than likely I will not have time to stop for photos again like I did a month ago. We are removing some office stuff from our old building down there to the newer one. My co-worker had a serious heart attack the day after Christmas and has been off from work ever since. He said he may stop in to say "hello" while he goes in for what he hopes is his last dialysis treatment. Amen, to that.

A lady in my home office returned from six weeks off after her hysterectomy. She also suffered with two blood clots, one in each lung. She suffers from migraines as I do and she has Multiple Sclerosis. That isn't all. She now suffers from Rectocele. This ain't pretty, folks. Read at your own risk. At the lunch table today, I heard some co-workers talking about how she also had problems with even other things. My God, how much can one body take? As she told me some complications she had suffered a few days ago, I teared up. How awful.

Evolving canopy

Trees bending over the roadway

I am thinking in a few years the trees on the right will have grown more and the trees on the left will have bent over enough to form a canopy of sorts over this road. I recall a canopy created by trees on a stretch of road in Virginia. Old route 17, if memory serves me correctly.

I am a bit down this evening. I believe it was from looking at Photo Friday's Challenge for the week, "Alone." The pictures are kind of depressing. Now, if the caption were say "sunny" or "sunrise" or "happy" perhaps I would be in a more upbeat mood.

I don't know how anyone gets the chance to look at all the photos submitted. There are over 550 so far today and it started last Friday. I don't vote anymore, because I don't get much time to look at them all and when I do, I am bleary eyed. I look at so many that they all begin to blur together.

Update on the dogs that were removed from a shelter. 67 dogs this lady had. Not near enough food and this is what happened to the two that she first said were "murdered". The other bigger and meaner dogs killed them. For food. It is a horrible ordeal. Personally, I would like to believe that the woman's heart was in the right place. Attempting to provide shelter and a home for dogs nobody wanted. I just don't think she knew her limits. Like the crazy old cat lady, this could be the crazy old dog lady. I think I read in the paper today that no charges will be filed against her. In her way, I guess she was doing her best. Any charges against the lady will be misdemeanors, the paper said.

Numerous people have volunteered to help clean, feed and temporarily care for the dogs. Two veterinarians have been donating endless amounts of their time to examine and care for the dogs. Local kennels have helped out, local grocery stores have donated food.

Of course my niece and daughter want me to get another dog. These dogs have been through a lot. It is difficult to say what long term effect this ordeal has had on them. It is a bit more complicated than just saying "Aw, I'll take one." I know what happens. They go on about their lives visiting friends and what not and the dog(s) sit alone waiting for somebody - anybody to come home and let them outside or take them for a walk. They do very little for our one dog, so I realize that it won't be different if another comes into the household.

On a brighter note, my friend's dog had 4 puppies. Shi Tzu's. At the last litter I was there and filmed one being born. I'll spare you (you're welcome). They are adorable.

My skin is so dry. I put lipstick on my hands this evening. I was sitting at my desk and my lipstick (no color) was sitting right beside me. My hands were hurting. I don't like to put lotion on and touch my keyboard, so I took the lipstick and rolled it over the tops of both hands. It looks as if I took vegetable oil and painted it on. Not a bad idea, hmmm. Of course it is an awful waste of money, but they don't hurt and my keyboard is still clean. Now, about those legs.

Old Barn

Old abandoned barn in Coshocton County

This was from two weeks ago. A set of photos that I guess I more or less forgot about and neglected to post any of. I did do an Album on my Photo Album page. If you want to see more of those photos the link is on the right column of this blog.

This was the set where I said a black lab ran along side my car. He was so very friendly and I was going so slow I was able to take a couple "shoulder shots" of him before I moved ahead because I didn't want to encourage him to chase cars and I most certainly didn't want to hit him. Or, her.

It was very picturesque that morning. The previous two days had brought snow and an ice storm. Like some crazy fool I decided to take a long route and drive on some half paved county roads to get to my destination. A little school out in the sticks that was on a two hour delay, so I was able to take my time. The morning weather allowed for the fog to form off of the snow and created an eerie, mysterious and romantic backdrop for most of my photos.

It ain't colorful, but it has it's own beauty. Our Ohio winters. You just have to keep looking until you find it. In the meanwhile, I'll drink my hot chocolate and cuddle under a blanket. We do hear birds singing in the trees in the mornings, though. Wind howling at night and birds singing in the morning. All is right with the world.

Thinking of summer leaves

I like the shadows on the leaves

It is cold and I am dreaming of warm breezes through the leaves in the beautiful trees of Ohio. I can hear the whispering leaves. The way they rustle together and it is so quiet that is all you can hear. This is the way it used to be on our front porch at home. We had two huge Maple trees in our front yard. This was my happy place. This is where I go when I am meditating.

The photo above is from Spring Lake where I go to meet up with some previous co-worker friends. We have a camp fire, good food and good music. We talk about my old work place. Two of the original six of us are still there. I try to get the sun setting on the lake as much as I can when I go there. Before the darkness comes. It is a beautiful spot.

This has been a very low-key week-end. I needed it. So many are sick with a bad cold and I didn't want to go mingle with them. You can hear it in their voices when I talk to them on the telephone. I watched Stranger Than Fiction this week-end. It was pretty good. I liked the moral of the story. Just live your life.

Mr. White Whiskers

Here is Jasper, up close and personal

Yeah. When I am cleaning there isn't an animal (or daughter) to be found around. They all run for their little cubbyholes and hide. When Mom takes a break they come out of the woodwork. If I sit in my chair, it isn't ten seconds and Jasper is in my lap. In my face in my lap. He has to sniff my eyeballs or something. I hold my breath because if I get one whiff of cat food breath I will gag. Does he have the longest white whiskers you have ever seen or what?

He was most certainly getting annoyed at the camera flash.

Photo Friday Challenge: Alone

Update on the dog murders

Well, it appears as if the dogs were not murdered by human beings after all. The dogs were killed by other dogs. Absolutely horrifying. Article is here.

I just have to shake my head

And hide beneath the covers. I can't believe that there is a human being (maybe two) who are this cruel. Above you can see a photo of my beloved dog Sable standing behind some of my tiger lilies. She is happy. She is a pain sometimes and I love her dearly.

In an area of town about four miles from my house somebody murdered two dogs in a very monstrous way. Here is the article, however, I don't recommend that anybody read it. Just take my word for it - heinous.

In the paper the next day, they reported that the crime scene had been altered when they should have called the police right away. So much evidence was lost, I guess. Clues and such. The baseball bat had been washed.

I hope they get them. I don't want somebody like that roaming around free. Monsters.