I've become a blabbermouth

To a co-worker. I've sat back in the lunchroom with her two days in a row (just us) and both days told her things I'd not told anybody else.

Damn.  This HAS to stop.

It is chili today.

Cooking up a batch of chili today. It will taste better tomorrow, right? Maybe I can fix grilled cheese today and we can chow on this tomorrow.

Then I am going to work on my bathroom. Right?  Right? right..?

Movies

I watched two movies over the long week-end. American Sniper and Selma. Both took me more than one sitting to watch them.

American Sniper reminded me of The Kingdom, which I really liked. It was good, but I liked it less than The Kingdom. I am trying hard to like B Cooper. Or, his choice of characters, I suppose.

Selma was very intense. Both movies are true-life events. Both sad. Both thought provoking and both grabbing you by the collar and saying "Wake up! There is hard life going on all around your precious little happy bubble!" 

It makes me want to crawl under the covers and hide. But I realize, that is what I am already doing. I feel guilty enjoying my life when there is so much pain and un-fairness in the world.

Slow going

The basement is a priority compared to my upstairs bathroom. I am still washing wall paper paste off the walls in the bathroom. Tedious job.

Downstairs, they have Clorox'f the floor and added the first coat of primer in preparation for the new carpet.

The smells have slayed me. I have taken a migraine pill and it has kept the fumes from ripping my head apart (just barely). The smells still make me woozy, especially after I come in from taking the dogs outside.

It was a Chinese food fest last night and I don't want to see Chinese food for at least a year or so. Tonight it looks like sloppy Jo's and french fries. That should change the smell factor in the house. Oh, yeah!

It starts

To my family and friends, I said "After ten years...."  Now, I realize it has been 12 years. 12 years next month I purchased this house.  I immediately changed the paint in my bedroom. I had the living room re-done the exact same shade of blue - ceiling and baseboards blue also; for continuity. The painter tried to get me to go with the white ceiling and baseboard, but I liked the way the lady before me had it. That was about the only thing I liked from her style.

I have tolerated this bathroom for (now) 12 years - not 10.  It is pink on pink on pink. With pink fixtures, I can see some pink. But this lady had pink roses wall paper and behind the bathtub, pink stripes! Stripes AND flowers. My older sister loved it. Well, she and the lady I purchased the house from were about the same age and from the same generation.

My daughter and I picked up some paint samples. Still the same daughter. She and I agree on nothing.

At work we have some painters in, painting the walls. One suggested I go with gray walls. Well, that got me thinking. My daughter hated the idea. I love it.

I am a slow worker. Do not expect a lot on this project. I work as the spirit guides me. I am not a dedicated or disciplined person. I am artistic and ambivalent. I don't have one vision - I have several thousand visions. I usually like them all. The occupants in my house usually get irritated with me because I can go for months (years) with the room partially done. Some cannot tolerate this kind of arrangement. Me?  Again, I am ambivalent. I move, I change, I roll with it.

Right now the sanding has me stalled. I can't stand to wear the mask (I can't breathe) and the dust is far too much NOT to wear one. And, my arm is sore!

The good news is the wallpaper was (is) a heavy fabric material and peels right off without any remaining. It was a heavy, washable kind. Not that I washed the walls. Are you kidding me? I am in no way domesticated and I despise cleaning.

Here is a sample (from what I found on the Internets) of what my bedroom looked like before I had it re-painted. The stripes reflect the actual hue of the color. The flowers give you an idea of the pattern. I did not have a camera when I purchased the house. I have no photos to remind me - just my memory. Some images cannot be erased! LOL!

Books I read in 2014

It definitely had to be the fact that I read this many books this year was because I was stuck baby sitting my old washing machine. I guess it is a good excuse as any, huh?

But, how nice. To be forced to step away from the computer, away from the television, away from the kitchen (that is constantly calling me) to stay downstairs with nothing to entertain me except for a stack of books and (when charged) my Nook.

I must have 200 plus books uploaded into that little device. Most of the books come recommended by magazines that I read on-line. I then look up the author and instead of just downloading that one book, I download all by that author.

However, in the case of Atkins - the characters are the same, as are the Jack Reacher ones.

I will try to skip around and read various authors. The Nook is still a puzzle for me, though. I swear the books move. I go to the library - they are not there. I go to lost files, they are there. The next time I go to choose a book, they are no longer in lost files - they are on my shelf. WTH?

It is probably me. I am probably doing something to shuffle them around.

I got the idea for this challenge from Raaji.  Her "Writings for Life" blog. When I started to research and look at all the books I read this year, I almost fell off of my chair. I could not believe it. I don't think I've read like this since before High School. And fiction, to boot. I like biographies and auto biographies and non-fiction the best.

Well, here it goes. For what it's worth. I also think I read them much too fast to retain much from them. Shame on me.

The Wild - Cheryl Strayed

The Ranger  - Ace Atkins

The Broken Places -  Ace Atkins

The Woman Upstairs - Claire Messud

Snow White Must Die  - Nele Neuhaus

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey

Tortilla Flat -  John Steinbeck

Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself - Alan Alda

American Rust -  Philipp Meyer

Justified - Elmore Leonard

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star - Paul Theroux

I Loved Lucy - Lee Tannen

Killing Floor (Jack Reacher) - Lee Child

The Other Typist  -  Suzanne Rindell

The Next Best Thing - Jennifer Weiner

Crazy Rich  Asians    -  Kevin Kwan

The Great Gatsby -  F Scott Fitzgerald

The Silent Wife  - A.S.A. Harrison

Love and Limerence - Dorothy Tannov

Some of the book reading ideas came from a movie I watched or plan to watch. Some books (actual hardback physical "hold in your hands") came as gifts. Others are quick pdf files that can easily be downloaded from free Internet sites.

I do want to watch the movie "The Wild" now, of course. What book stayed with me the most? I was looking at the list and thinking about this.

Hmmm.....

I have no idea.

The North Koreans can have it

The movie, that is. "The Interview".  Why did I watch it? I caved to the propaganda. The only part I enjoyed was the puppy (similar shown above) near the end of the movie and the beginning with Eminem. He played his part so dead pan.

Between the beginning and the end, I was reminded why I do not care for S Rogen films. I paid nothing for the film, so at least I did not have that loss.

Christmas eve found us traveling in a hellacious rain storm. At one point, I just could not see. Fortunately for me, I had a car ahead of me (follow the red tail lights) and the vehicle behind me backed off so I did not feel as if I were being "pushed".

We passed no less than four vehicles pulled over, and two serious-looking accidents. A Merry Christmas was NOT had by all.

I hinted to this group that we planned on skipping next year. I hope I can stick to my guns and follow through. Years ago when my sister was incarcerated, I had her two children at my house for Chistmas every year. Now, she is out - they are both married and have children of their own - they have plenty in their family and I feel that it is time to just return to mine. I travel to them now, because it is just the three of us. I hope they understand. Maybe they will be just as relieved.

Anyway, take the security off of Franco and Rogen. I don't think anybody wants to hurt them except for perhaps Katy Perry for ruining her song "Firework".  

Remember Downton Abbey's Mathew Crawley?

Well..here he is in the move "The Guest".  I didn't like him on the Downton Abbey show, although I did not want to see him die.

No wonder he moved on. How boring Downton must be compared to this.

We didn't have a Santa

...but we did have a little elf show up.

Yes, this past Saturday was my family holiday Christmas dinner get together. We have it at a restaurant. 26 adults and 10 children. 10 were unable to make it.

I nearly lost my voice trying to re-gain control of the crowd so that I could finish the games and hand out the remaining gifts. It was a lost effort. My voice just was not strong enough.

I did the usual games of pictures and they were to guess the song the picture depicted. Love that game. I had 4 versions.

For the little ones, there are questions such as "What color is the Grinch?"  "What is the name of one of the reindeer?"  What instrument does "The Little Drummer Boy" play?  "How old are you?"  LOL!

I'll leave you with one of my "search query" requests from the school search engine report:

"Good weapons to kill Santa with"  

Oh, dear.

un-blocked for now

Well, Santa came early this year.

I came home from work on Thursday, having about 20 minutes before my daughter and I (and her beau, who was not working for a change) were to meet my brother and his wife at Red Lobster. (My absolute favorite-ist place ever!).

She was playing her video game and whines "Go get my clothes out of the dryer!"

I told her to "go eff herself" and took the dogs outside. I may not have been that harsh. We lovingly say these things to each other. The words sound harsh, but we joke with them.

I came in. She had not moved. She continued to play her video game and whined "Come on, Mom. Go get my clothes out of the dryer!"

I said "kiss my a..." and used the restroom.

I came out, she whined again. It was weird because her beau was not saying anything. After over a  year with him, I knew that he would either a. Agree with me and tell my daughter to go and get her own clothes or b. would run down and get them for her.

He wasn't saying a word.

Still. I remained vigilant. "No!"  I said.

She came up behind me and gritted her teeth "You HAVE to go downstairs and get my clothes out of the dryer."

The request (demand?) had more emphasis on the "go downstairs" instead of "get my clothes" and it finally dawned on me.

I was given a hint that this gift was coming, so I realized what was going on by now.

I said  "Oh! Okay. I'll go downstairs."  And I giggled and skipped down the basement steps. I knew, I knew... I was clapping my hands.

I was ecstatic! I loved them.

My daughter and her boyfriend were laughing. My daughter had intentionally provoked me trying to get me to get angry, stomp down to get her clothes and then see the new set.

But, I wasn't angry. I was just "I gave you an hour's notice to get ready, you are sitting there playing a video game - I am NOT getting your clothes out of the dryer for you. Kiss My Astronomical behind."

I was a few minutes late meeting my brother and sister-in-law, but I had pictures to show them.

The only problem is - now, when do I read? That was my reading time. While baby-sitting the washing machine (needed to catch the machine when it began filling with water for the rinse cycle and hold the tub back, so the water did not go behind and run out into the floor) I would read my Nook.

The other reason that facilitated this purchase was the fact that my daughter's beau works in the fracking industry and his clothes are fire retardant and very heavy and very dirty. They made certain to get a stainless steel tub (my other was white).

Now, my daughter said I probably won't ever know how to use it because she will be washing all the clothes, now.

Yeah. Let's see how long THAT lasts.

I have lots of good/funny "searches" to share with you. They will be coming up. These kids search for the funniest things!

Y'all excuse me....

..while I continue to push this block out of my head. :D

Still thank ful

We did the family thing on Thursday. whew! All of my Mom's 8 children showed. We did not get any group pictures. Some said nobody was interested, I never heard anybody bring the subject up.

The grandchildren of my Mom came in shifts. Some came earlier, some later. Two are feuding and one was actually going out the back door while the other came in the front door. It all worked out.

Our family traditional games were played - Tripoly and LCR. This is the first year I did not play. I handed the nickels over to my daughter. I noticed the younger set are doing the games. We older set kept moving around talking.

A big group of us stayed over. Just because. Only one was drinking and she no longer drives, but I think we just wanted to extend the visiting. The next day I returned home, exhausted. I rarely sleep at other people's houses.

I think the above photo is the only decent one I got. I put my camera setting on the sports setting because the children kept moving. My flash does not work on that setting (I guess) and all my photos came out grainy, dark and just bleh.

The snow was a surprise. There did not seem to be much indication that we would get any accumulation but we did get some. Just enough to worry people driving back home. I asked my daughter to text me when they got home.

My elder sister's keurig got a work out. One niece went shopping after dinner. She goes every year. The rest of us are like "No, thanks!"

I returned home late Friday, so Saturday was my clean up day.

Today, I am fixing a bird with all the trimmings. While taking the dogs out this morning, my daughter informs me that her beau wants her to go have dinner with his grand pa and his new lady friend. When was this plan made?! I guess I was a big ambiguous about the day I would fix the turkey. I was tired and said I would fix it whatever day I felt like it. I am off work on Monday also - I need at least one day to recover.

And to clean that bird. UGH!

So, I'll fix the bird but what time is their dinner? Screw it. I'm going to fix it when I feel like it. When it is done, it is done. If they are not here, then that is a few less side dishes I have to make, such as noodles.

I watched "Noah". I was very disappointed in the movie. Not certain what I was expecting. I was never a fan of Crowe. I adore Connelly  since Labyrinth - one of my daughter's favorite movies as a child. I do recall saying I was never a fan of middle-earth-type movies. This reminded me of that setting.

The boxer in the snow

I've not shown pics of the pets lately. Here is the boxer. He is still active as all get out. He is still goofy. He nearly brings the house down when somebody comes home or knocks on the door. All hell breaks loose as he slips and slides his big self across my wooden floor.

He is like a bull in a china shop. Not that I have any china. He knocks over chairs, crashes into furniture. We just yell at him. "Slade!"

He is a nut.

When somebody knocks on your door, does it make you jump? I can't seem to explain why I have this fear or anxiety when somebody knocks on my door. I don't mean it to sound funny because of the dog (dogs). I have had this feeling  all my life. Even when I did  not have pets in the house.

Anybody remember the song "Who Can it Be, Now?" from Men at Work.

Oh, wait. After examining the pictures above - take a closer look at the second one. Now, does anybody remember the song "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow?"  - that was Frank Zappa? Huh. I never knew that.

Family pics

 

This little angel is the grand daughter of sister 1956.

 

This is my sister 1956 when she was 8 or so.

When I saw the above picture of her grand daughter posted on FB, I knew that face, that smile - so I looked until I found the same face I had looked at in the family album for years.

Snow car

My car says "You know....you have a perfectly good two-car garage sitting right next to me. What is your problem? Do you enjoy scraping ice and snow off of me on mornings like this?"

Sigh. My car has a good point. Well, it is in the garage now.  Like it matters - 4 days after the snow fall. I pull it in the garage, but can barely get the door open and get out. heh, heh.

Pick a movie title!

Sorry to go here, guys. I have a blast at work. We have a group of "girls" that go out to eat about once a month or so. Using search queries from my report, I came up with this topic of conversation over dinner.

Describe your sex life with the title of a Movie.

Oh. my . gawd.  Hilarious!

Some of the answers:

Titanic (from the table next to us who over heard us)

Gone with the Wind

Dumb and Dumber

Dazed and Confused

Fast and Furious

Gone in 60 seconds

Misery

Mission Impossible

Are we there yet?

Rocky

Some Like it Hot

Psycho

Endless Love

From Dusk til Dawn

Just Go with it

300

Clueless

Wreck-it Ralph

Raging Bull

The Incredible Hulk

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Frozen

The Big Sleep

Heartbreak Ridge

Mama Mia

Heat

Big Daddy

Scary Movie

All is Lost

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

It Happened One Night

Super 8

Mercy

Raging Bull

and for a great laugh....

Toy Story!

Why in the world...?

Back to my "suspicious search" report. There was an entry or two where somebody searched for "sexy pictures of soda pop."

LOL! I was like ...."What the...?"

Then I remembered. Required reading - 8th grade. One of my favorite books and the author was what...17 when she wrote it?

If you have read the book, then you know that the oldest brother had a "regular" name - Darrel. The middle son was "dreamy" looking and the parents had named him "Sodapop".  And the narrator of the story - the youngest boy was named "Ponyboy."

So, sexy pictures of soda pop.....there you go. It made me laugh.

One day late..

I'll post here (one day late) what I posted on my fb page  yesterday:

Today when I thought of veteran's day, my memory slipped back to stories I heard about soldiers being spat upon as they returned from the Viet Nam war. I can't wrap my head around the fact that someone would do such a vile, senseless thing.

Calling them baby killers, throwing beer bottles and human waste at them. What kind of propaganda were the brain-washed people listening to back then? I was too young and fortunately I did not know of anybody who taunted the soldiers.

Soldiers were sent to war to do a job. Everyone of them paid a price for this service. Not one was left unscathed. Most of them saw and experienced things that we could only imagine in our worst nightmare.

More on the way

This is how my niece decided to let the family know she was expecting again. The one pictured above is having his first birthday party on Sunday.

Okay, bring it. Who is next?  The family went through a baby phase the past two years. Will it start again? Please, not my daughter. Please, not my daughter. I can wait.

I finished reading "Snow White Must Die"  by Nele Neuhaus. The difficult part for me were (was?) the German names. I got lost going back and forth in the story as to who she was introducing or writing about. And there just seemed to be a lot of bad luck for the one main character. Spoiler alert: He gets out of prison for doing ten years for a crime he did not commit. The same time he gets out, somebody throws his mother off a bridge (she survives but is in a coma),  he gets beat up a few times  over the next couple of weeks, and his father dies a horrible death. He also finds out that almost the entire town knew he was innocent but let him take the fall.

Okay, on to the next book. I hope I get something a little bit lighter this time. I may never get my washing machine fixed. (I have to baby sit it during the rinse cycle and hold the tub back so it does not leak) - so I have my nook down in the laundry room and I read.

Oh, and for the times my nook is charging - I have an old (real hard cover) book with various stories in it. I am almost done with "Tortilla Flat" by John Steinbeck. My daughter is not familiar with Steinbeck. I think I will call her school this week to see what is the required reading there. No, not really. Steinbeck must be out of vogue.

Mutant grape

I found this in a bunch of grapes at work the other day. I painted clear finger nail polish on it and snapped a photo of it. Yeah, I have THAT kind of job.

The other staff members and I laughed at how it looked a bit like a pumpkin/gourd.

I am not looking forward to seeing it tomorrow. It was looking a bit peaked on Friday.