Arrrgh!!!

Arrrgh…..where to start?? Red Eagle has been kind enough to set me up with this blog. I’m rather new to this world, although I have visited a few blogs which have been suggested to me. Frankly, I’m amazed that she would take me on, because I am a technological idiot. T…..you get extra brownie points and a lot of polish on your halo for your good works! <G>

For those of you who choose to follow along, who don’t know me, you’ll see people call me Buffy or Kitty. My family calls me Kitty; Buffy is my on-line alias. I started chatting in the spring of 1999. I was sitting at the computer trying to get into a chatroom, and was faced with the dilemma of needing a NAME. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” was on in the background, and I simply appropriated her name. I’m about as far as you can get from Buffy in real life, but that was fine with me. Unfortunately, now everyone knows me as Buffy, so I’m sorta stuck with it. Besides, I can NEVER think of a name when I need it. I loved the guy who named his boat "Cutty's Ark." Why can't I think of things like that!?

I live in the Chicago suburbs, and am married to the famous, or infamous, Fred. That’s the Fred who fell off the roof in November and severely sprained an ankle, and the same Fred who tried to bring down a thief who was eight inches taller and 25 years younger, and the same Fred who limped for months when he ripped a hamstring chasing said thief! This is also the same Fred who is addicted to sailing, who makes me a boat widow every summer. I swear I’m going to take an axe to that boat one day!

In another life, I was a grade school band director. In this life I am an office. My mother lives with us, and she has reached the point in her life where she no longer drives, so I am her chauffeur. Two of my passions are gardening and quilting. You’ll see me bitch about weeds on a daily basis for the next six months. The other addiction seems to be communicating on-line.

I’m at a point where I find the quirks of life interesting. Perhaps some of you will find them interesting, too.

I'm delighted to be here. Thanks again Red Eagle!

We are aficionados of some very silly movies. "Princess Bride" is surely at the top of that list. Who can ever forget Billy Crystal saying "To blathhhhe" trying to avoid the subject of True Love. And then there's the Bishop with the speech impediment..."Wuvvvve...TRU Wuvvve."
Someone once said:

"Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, Love gives us a fairy tale."

Perhaps that's why I enjoy the movie "Roxanne" so much. Love lifts Steve Martin's character out of an ordinary life, and wraps him up in a fairy tale of joy and hope. We all hope for the same kind of luck; luck that makes our fairy tale come true.

Another wise, but anonymous person said:

"You don't marry someone you can live with, you marry someone you can't live without."

I wonder how many of us have settled for less than true love sometime in our lives? There are SO many things that confuse us as we look for a life partner...great sex...security...friendship, that perhaps we are lulled into accepting less than true love. Shouldn't your true love be the one who supplies those pieces of you that are missing, and makes you whole?

Bertrand Russell said: "Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness." I love him..I love him not...I love him...I love him not. Or maybe the thought goes...Will my family like him, will my business partners think I've made a good choice, will my friends like him, or will I loose my friends if I commit to him? All those things interfere. They keep us from listening to our hearts.

Here's a line in a movie titled "Dream for an Insomniac:"

"Unless it's mad, passionate, extraordinary love,
It's a waste of your time.
There are too many mediocre things in life.
Love shouldn't be one of them."

I'm still pondering the subject of love. Pardon me while I try to figure out just what I think about it. <G> You're welcome to weigh in on the subject.

Okay.....Okay.....The shower wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. The apartment was lovely, the brunch was exceptional, the company was genial, and we only had to play ONE game! YES!!!

The givers of the shower did something cute that I hadn't seen before. They asked the groom to answer questions about the bride or himself, and then each time she opened a gift, they quizzed her to see if she could tell how he had answered the questions. She got most of the answers right, and enjoyed the ribbing on the few she missed.

I live in the western Chicago suburbs and had to travel to the farthest reaches of NE Chicago for this shower. I had some concerns about making the trip because I was going to have to drive through parts of Chicago I've never seen before, but it all turned out fine. I took two tollways and a freeway and a three mile stretch of Lawrence to get to this lovely quiet neighborhood. It took me about an hour and 20 minutes going and an hour returning. God was sitting on my shoulder the entire way. *S*

And I STILL think most showers need a fresh approach! *G*

<b>Dis.....</b>As you know, I'm very new to blogging, but I was delighted tonight to learn that I am involved in an activity that is still considered to be the newest trend in online communication. We were watching the Lehrer Report this evening and one of the segments was on blogs. Do you recall Trent Lott's recent political downfall? It seems it was brought about not only by Mr. Lott's own mouth, but by political bloggers who kept his words alive for several weeks until the regular news media recognized the ground swell and focused on it.

The TV program focused primarily on the legion of blogs "penned" by people interested in politics, but commented on those that focus on other subjects, such as pornography and knitting. There is a woman at MSNBC who reads blogs each day to get a feel for the trends and interests, and they have assigned several journalists to blog each day. (Actually, having the cable journalists blog doesn't really make sense to me, but she must have had a purpose in doing it.) I was truly surprised that they ignored the Comments feature of a blog. I caught T-bone saying he was a comment whore, and I know just how he feels.

At any rate......I'm so glad T made a place for me among you!

<b>Dat...</b>
If you are interested in herbs, growing them, using them in food or for medicinal purposes such as aromatherapy, I moderate a Yahoo Group called "AnHerbGarden." You're welcome to join us. We do NOT consider marijuana an herb, thank you very much, but we discuss most everything else! lol All levels of ability and interest are welcome

<b>Dis...</b>
Who said:

When we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever.

<b>Dat....</b>
In annual beer consumption per person, the Czech Republic is #1, followed by Ireland, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Denmark, United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia and Slovakia. The US comes in 12th at 84.4 liters per person. Personally, I prefer wine, so someone else has had my beer for low these many years.

<b>Dis....</b>
I don't know that Texas T-bone will ever read this, but if you do.....stick to resolution number five and keep shaving. *grins* A new study shows that men who don't shave every day have less sex and are 70% more likely to have a stroke. (info courtesy of Cosmo. Catch my thoughts on Cosmo in a coming post.)
Wouldn't ya know, I'm married to a guy whom I've never seen without a beard. My Dad, my brother and my ex all had/have beards, and Speedbump had a mighty fine beard the last time I saw him. (Ladies, that man will make you drool. Wait 'til he smiles at you!)

I'm not obsessing over this data, because I haven't seen the research. The sample could have been skewed or too small. I'll wait for the AMA to start talking about it. Until then, this was just one of those quirkie little things that caught my attention.

Thhhhhat's all, folks! Come again, soon!

I've been bitten by the Domestic Goddess bug. Last night I cleaned out our bedroom closet, and this morning, I worked ahead on meals for the week. I finally got the new wreath made for the living room fireplace, and I've been working on a "to do" list for the coming month as we get ready for my step-daughter's wedding. I did all the little stuff that takes up so much of our time, watering newly planted seeds, starts from the nursery and houseplants, laundry, dishes, making the bed. It's amazing how many hours get frittered away in a day with stupid repetative chores! I love how my home looks when all the chores are done, but I sure hate having to do it again and again and again......

DH and I both had appointments at the eye doctor this afternoon. I was surprised to find that just my left eye prescription had to be tweaked. I always assumed that both eyes changed a little bit at the same time, not independently. Isn't it astounding what an exam and a pair of lenses can cost??

I've been dozey all afternoon, so it's going to be an early night, but I stopped in to read the blogs that T has linked for me. I saw Jet's comment about Desiree's blog, and went to visit. When I started reading the comments there were FIFTY-THREE of them. I haven't learned to create a link yet, so you'll have to go read JET's blog.

The subject matter there is pretty deep. It started out being singles who seek out married people to have an affair, and somehow morphed into marrieds having affairs with marrieds. And then it became a two way conversation. The important thing is.....I was reminded just how public blogs are. There are times when I'm tempted to say personal things, and this was a superb reminder of just how public this forum is. You can't assume that you are anonymous, or unread.

Sooooo, with that sobering though in mind, I'm gonna toddle down the hallway and grab some zzzzzzz's. Good night, all!

It seems that the subject of safety has been on everyone's mind, lately, especially car safety. I saved an article from Cosmo on the 8 Must-haves for Your Car, thinking that I needed to outfit the car if we were going to do any summertime driving.

This is what they recommended:
1. A cell phone and charger that plugs into the car
2. A flashlight and spare batteries
3. Bottled water and protein bars
4. Candles, flares and matches in a waterproof container
5. A recent map of the area in which you are traveling
6. A blanket
7. A first aid kit
8. A bag of sand and a shovel, in case you get stuck in the snow

Okay....most of these things are pretty easy. I'd need a reminder to swap the protein bars every now and then, so they didn't turn to sawdust before we needed them.

It seems to me that you can get a folding shovel to carry in your car. Otherwise, I'd be likely to carry one only in the winter.

I guess I'll have to do some research on what should be in a first aid kit. The one I used to carry was pretty ineffectual, so it's time to get my act together and be prepared. I had a friend who was a driver's ed instructor, and he came upon an accident and needed serious stuff in his first aid kit. He was prepared, but shaken about the aid he had to give. So I'll surf and post my findings later.

I plan to go looking for a plastic container to hold all these things, except for the phone, the blanket, the sand and the shovel. I already have the phone and a blanket, so I'm part way there!

While I was considering posting the list of Must-Haves, I received an e-mail with general safety tips for women. It makes sense to post it here.

TIPS ON STAYING SAFE...

Tip from Tae Kwon Do:

The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you
are close enough to use it, do!

Learned this from a tourist guide to New Orleans:
if a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT
HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you.... chances are
that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse
than you and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN
LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car:
Kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out
the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't
see you but everybody else will. This has saved lives.

Last night I attended a personal safety workshop, and
it jolted me. It was given by an amazing man, Pat
Malone, who has been a bodyguard for famous figures
like Farrah Fawcett and Sylvester Stallone. He works
for the FBI and teaches police officers and Navy SEALS
hand-to-hand combat.

This man has seen it all, and knows a lot. He focused
his teachings to us on HOW TO AVOID BEING THE VICTIM
OF A VIOLENT CRIME. He gave us some statistics about
how much the occurrences of random violence have
escalated over the recent years, and it's terrible.
Something like 99% of us will be exposed to, or become
a victim of a violent crime.

Here are some of the most important points that I got
out of his presentation:

The three reasons women are easy targets for random
acts of violence are:

1. a. Lack of Awareness: swing your arms, stand straight up.

  b. Wrong Place, Wrong Time: DON'T walk alone in an
alley, or drive in a bad neighborhood at night.

2. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after
shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their
checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON'T DO
THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this is
the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the
passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you
where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK
THE DOORS AND LEAVE.

3. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot,
or parking garage:

a. Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at
the passenger side floor, and in the back seat.

b. If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car
from the passenger
door. Most serial killers attack their victims by
pulling them into their
vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.

c. Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your
vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting
alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to
walk back into the mall, or work, and get a
guard/policeman to walk you back out.

IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better
paranoid than dead.)

ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs.
(Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and
the perfect crime spot).

If the predator has a gun and you are not under his
control, ALWAYS RUN! (The predator will only hit you
(a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it
most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN! )

As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic:
STOP IT! It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the
serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man,
who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting
women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often
asked "for help" into his vehicle or with his vehicle,
which is when he abducted his next victim.

Pat Malone told us the story of his daughter, who
came out of the mall and was walking to her car when
she noticed 2 older ladies in front of her. Then she
saw a police car come towards her with cops who said
hello. She also noticed that all 8 handicap spots in
the area were empty. As she neared her car she saw a
man a few rows over calling to her for help. He wanted
her to close his passenger side door. He was sitting
in the back on the driver's side, and said he was
handicapped. He continued calling, until she turned
and headed back to the mall, and then he began cursing
at her. In the meantime, she wondered why he didn't
ask the 2 older ladies, or the policeman for help, and
why he was not parked in any of the empty handicap
spots. As she got back to the mall, two male friends
of hers were exiting, and as she told them the story
and turned to point at the car, the man was getting
out of the back seat into the front and the car sped
away. DON'T GET CAUGHT IN THIS TRAP.

I'd like you to forward this to all the women you
know. It may save a life.

Why do weddings make me cry?? At a time when everyone else is quietly happy, I'm sitting there trying to sureptitiously staunch the flow of tears. It's not that I'm not happy for the bride and groom; I LOVE the ceremony, and have faith that they are doing a good thing. I guess it's just an overload of emotion. Whatever, it's sure a mascara nightmare!

Today, DH and I will be going to the wedding of the daughter of one of my quilting buddies. I've never met the girl, and I'm likely to cry! lol Today is Friday, and the wedding is at 4:30 in the afternoon. Doesn't that strike you as a dificult time?? It's so early that most of the guests won't be off work yet, but it was the only slot the church had open when the bride chose her date. It seems we've come to a time when the actual ceremony is less important than the reception or dinner following it.

DH's daughter is getting married May 31st. This month is going to FLY by. I figure I finally have to give up and do the Spring cleaning I've skipped for the last 14 years. The out of town guests will be invited to our house between the wedding at noon, and the reception at 5:00. I've been working in the gardens for a month already, and I have LOTS more to do. A shipment of bare-rooted plants came in on Wednesday, so I have to get them in the ground tomorrow or risk loosing them.

My stepdaughter chose to be married in an historical chapel. They are allowing them two hours...that's from the moment they begin setting up the flowers, to the moment we are out the door. Just TWO HOURS! Talk about feeling rushed. And since the only slot left was at noon, there's a long wait until the reception. Still, I think she's made good choices. We just have to adapt, as my friend and her family are doing.

My youngest sister went with me shopping for a dress. I had hoped to be in a sage green dress, or perhaps something in plum. Both of those colors are in the beading on the bride's dress. Unfortunately, the only dress that looked decent was black. It's a long black tube, with an over tunic in black and silver and sparkles. I've been obsessing about it, because first of all, I wasn't sure about wearing black to a wedding. THEN, I worried about wearing something so glitzy at noon. We've solved the issue, I think. The groom's mother is wearing a black and white knee length dress. I'm going to find a white jacket and wear that over the black dress for the wedding, and then she and I will be dressed in the same colors, and both our husbands will be in black tuxes. She will be changing for the reception, and I will ditch the white jacket, and put on the glitzy black and silver top. I'm feeling much better about this. Now, I just have to find a jacket, shoes, jewelry and a slip! (Sorry guys.....be happy I didn't go any further into those details! lol)

Oh!.......And waterproof mascara!

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

You'll be happy to know, I didn't flood the church! As I told Desiree, about two-thirds of the women, and I, quietly dabbed away tears as the Bride walked up the aisle with her father. The wedding was lovely (eat your heart out, all who couldn't attend), and the reception was wonderful! The food was tasty, the music was superb, and the company very genial. Even DH and I, who don't dance a lot any more, spent some time on the dance floor.

This morning, DH and I went shopping! I've had a list of repairs that have gone waiting for ages, and this morning we went to Home Depot to pick up the materials we needed to get them done. I didn't realize I merely had to say......"We're going tomorrow!" or I would have done this a lot sooner. We picked up a doorbell button, a flourescent light, a ballast for the mudroom light, replacement towel bars (don't ask how I damaged one.....), replacements for the floor registers, potting soil, grass seed, half a flat of marigolds, and some boat stuff. Repairs, here we come!

Then, we visited Trader Joes. What a wonderful store! I picked up chevre and olive tapenade, and a crispy cracker/flatbread, and had them for lunch. Yum!! That tapenade would be yummy on muffaletas. Trader Joes has such interesting things on the shelf, you could spend hours browsing. We picked up four types of frozen appetizers to try. If they work out, we'll serve them after the wedding when we host the out of town guests for the afternoon.

I was visiting some of the blogs that I have links to, and read that a blog is supposed to be interesting! Boy, have I missed the boat! lol I figured it was catharsis, or my personal counselor, or my Day-timer. Who-da thunk I was supposed to be entertaining you! Well.....it would be in poor taste to offer sex...when you all do it so much better (After all.....JET will tell you I can't remember HOW!!!lol) I don't have any money stories to post, or pictures of babies or babes, or flowers!..... I guess I'll just have to ponder the situation.

Have a good Saturday night!

I used to sleep like a rock. For years I could fall asleep just about anywhere, and sleep for 8 to 10 hours. I'm pretty sure that I've slept through at least two tornadoes. I never understood insomnia.

Well, tonight I have insomnia, and I have it bad! Over the past year I've developed a lot of discomfort that peaks when I'm trying to sleep. The doc thinks it's arthritis. During the day I keep busy, and generally ignore the discomfort, but when I stretch out in bed, I'm likely to toss and turn, trying to find a comfortable position.

DH made it to bed tonight before I did, and between his snoring, and my aches, I just gave up and came to my computer. The one disadvantage about talking to people around the world is that they are generally not on line when you are! So....you get TWO posts for the day....and maybe more later on! *G*

What do YOU do when you can't sleep?? Besides the very obvious (GRINS), I find that working in the office helps, or a small glass of wine, or sometimes reading a book. But you have to be careful about that book. If it's too interesting, it can keep you up all night long, and defeat your purpose. I think I may find out why so many of my quilting friends quilt in the middle of the night! lol

I wish you all sweet dreams!
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I was cleaning out drawers last night, and came across a yellowed scrap of paper that I had cut from an Ann Landers column years ago. William W. Quinn, Lt. General, U.S. Army (Ret.) had sent a letter to Ann, and I'm going to post part of it here.

"......reminded me of an article I had saved, although I don't know who wrote it. The article said the world's great civilizations averaged a cycle of 200 years. Those societies progressed through this sequence:

From bondage to spiritual faith
From spiritual faith to great courage
From great courage to liberty
From liberty to abundance
From abundance to selfishness
From selfishness to complacency
From complacency to apathy
From apathy to dependency
From dependency back again into bondage

As the United States has passed its 200th birthday, and in view of the recent epidemic of immorality, I wonder how your readers would assess America's current position in this cycle."

I believe that we are somewhere between abundance and complacency, but it's difficult to pin down just where. Certainly the immorality, drug use, and astonishing numbers of people in prision are signs of a decline. On the other hand, the rise in church attendence and charitable organizations such as Habitat for Humanity show a positive side that still exists.

I'm concerned about a number of things I see around me. I think that a large part of the populace feels that there is no point in voting because their vote can't accomplish anything. In the last election, the two candidates for President sounded like clones. I've never seen an election where the two parties were so similar in their platforms. Furthermore, a lot of the population believes, probably rightly so, that you can't get elected unless you have personal wealth.

I'm also concerned about a lack of social manners. Simple things such as assisting an older person, or holding a door for the person following you, or being pleasant to a person providing you with a service.....at a check out counter, or a salon, or the post ofice, these simple things are being lost in a world that is very ego oriented.

And the need for instant gratification that I see in the young concerns me. The only thing my parents paid for over time was their home. Everything else waited until they had the cash to buy it outright. We have chosen to live similarly, with a couple of exceptions. When I was refinancing the house, I was obsessing over $1000 on a credit card right after Christmas. It seemed like an inordinant amount to have spent, and I was afraid we wouldn't be able to refinance. The banker astounded me when he told me they MIGHT be concerned if I had $35 - $40,000 on credit. Who can live with that much debt hanging over their heads?

SO.....what do you think? Where are we on the scale of societal development? Are there other signs that we're further along the slippery slide?

Don't you wish that you could go "cold turkey" when you diet? *G* You could just stop eating, and your problem would be solved. Eating is an addiction for me. I eat for comfort rather than to live, and now, I have to learn more reasonable eating habits. I want to loose weight for health reasons, for vanity, because I crave the love and approval of my peers and family (not really.....well, maybe SOME of them...*G*). For the most part, I want to loose weight to be healthy.

Desiree is starting a diet. I was visiting her blog and found a kindred spirit. We may go about the process a little differently though. I know that I need more exercise and less food. Once I have made those changes, I will start working on just what kind of food I'm eating.

Tonight, we had broiled salmon marinated in Italian dressing, steamed green beans with bacon, roasted red potatoes with Lipton Onion Soup mix, and strawberries. This meal wasn't horrible, but there are a number of ways I could have improved it. I could have made my own merinade with less fat, or done without the merinade. I could have left the bacon off the beans. I could have had a baked potato with Molly McButter rather than the roasted potatoes with soup mix, and I could have left the sugar off the strawberries. And, I could have added a salad with crunchy veggies to that menu.

This is going to be a lifelong endeavor, but wish me luck as I start out.

It's been a really long day, and I'm just about at the end of it. I had my nose to the grindstone in the office and have very little to show for it. The most irritating part of the day was waiting for people to return my calls so that I could get my work done.

By 1:00, I was working myself into a tizzy, and realized I needed a break, or I would make my family miserable, so I turned to my computer and browsed blogs.

Dr. D had written about ghosts, and it made me think of Dad. When I was younger, I believed that if ghosts couldn't be proven scientifically, they didn't exist. But I've had a change of heart. Now, I believe that there are worlds out there just beyond our consciousness, waiting for us to wake up and find them.

My Dad died 20 years and 9 days ago. I still miss him, although I no longer think of him every day. Perhaps it is the time of year that's made me think of him recently.

My Dad was one of those fathers who are perfect in the eyes of their daughters. He was my rock. I could always count on him to be there for me, whether I was right or wrong. He would have supported me if I was right, and gently guided me if I was wrong, but he would have been by my side. I have three sisters, and each one of us is confident that "Dad loved ME the most!"

Dad had five major heart attacks, and a host of smaller ones he never knew he had. He hated doctors and chose not to go for help unless it was an emergency. He had an aortic aneurysm, and we lost him 10 days after it burst. The night he died tornadoes swept through Springfield. The entire world was in disarray. Horrible storms followed the tornadoes. On our way home, I had to pull off the road and park under the canopy of a bank drive-through to get out of a hail storm. The weather seemed totally fitting to me. After all, I was mourning the loss of my Dad. Why shouldn't the world mourn too?

The next week was horrible. There were wakes in two states before my Dad was finally laid to rest. I though it would go on forever when I just wanted to be alone. It was then that I realized Dad was there. At first, I thought I might catch him if I turned to my right fast enough. It seemed he was standing just behind me, keeping an eye on things and reassuring me. Finally, I stopped trying to trip him up, and just accepted the comfort it brought me that he was near. It felt rather like he was standing beside me with his arm around my shoulders helping me through all that needed to be done.

I never talked with him. I didn't see him. But, I know he was there. He was with me for five or six weeks, and then one day I realized he was gone. I kinda think he needed to stay to be sure that Mother was cared for, and that we were taking care of things.

Are there ghosts? I don't know. Was my father with me? Yes. You have to decide for yourself what you believe.

One more thing..... My father was an exceptional man. I hope I'll see him again one day. Dad......I love you.

Don't you love old movies?? Tonight we went out to dinner and then came home to watch "The Thin Man," and "The Return of the Thin Man." While I like William Powell and Myrna Loy, I think Cary Grant is probably my favorite actor. Have you ever seen "I was a Male War Bride"?? I watched it so many times that I had the script memorized.

Fred is addicted to the Marx Brothers. We have all their movies on tape. I hope I never have to spend another New Year's Eve watching the collected works of the Marx Brothers! *G*

A number of years ago the American Film Institute created several shows along the lines of The Best 100 American Films of the 20th Century. We watched, and for days discussed their choices and ranking. I was always unhappy that Sci-fi wasn't adequately represented, but I was pleased to see how many times Katherine Hepburn's movies were listed.

My all time favorite tear-jerker?? Probably "Out of Africa," but "Ryan's Daughter" runs a close second.

Fred bought me a DVD player for the table where I piece my quilts. I've purchased about 20 DVDs in the past 10 months, and the choices were really odd. Bruce Willis's quirkiest movies are represented, with "Hudson Hawke" and "The Fifth Element." "Miss Congeniality" and "Pretty Woman" are the chick flicks. "First Contact" from Star Trek is the only sci-fi so far. I have both the Harry Potter movies, and have just about worn out the first one! THe only war movie is "Bridge on the River Kwai." Cary Grant shows up several times. "It Takes a Thief," and "Charade" are two of them.

If you could only choose one movie to watch again and again, what would you pick?

I don't know about you, but I tend to think of myself as being rather anonymous. I have a large family and a circle of friends, but I live on the dividing line between two cities which together have a quarter million residents. I'm a small fish in a pretty good-sized pond. When I go out, I don't expect to see anyone I know.

So my sense of anonymity was a little disrupted today as I read an article in the Chicago Tribune called "Data Tracks." (http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-0305090364may11,1,2664836.story) I know that business and government have been able to track us for ages. I guess I've been fairly complacent about it, because I didn't have anything to hide. But the amount of information being collected on us has increased exponentially.

We have something on Illinois tollways called I-pass. With it, you can drive through tollbooths without stopping, as it makes note of your car and the time, and deducts from your account. The record of your travels is not readily available, but it can be supoenaed in court cases.

When you use your phone, a record is kept of the time and the number called. As you walk in the city, security devices now film you using digital cameras. When you shop at large grocery stores , a list of your purchases and the day you shop is stored in their computers. Each time you use your charge card, the item, shop and date is kept. A withdrawal at an ATM causes MORE records to be entered, and a CTA card keeps track of your travels. If you use a car rather than public transportation, gas stations note where you have been. Libraries are tracking the interests of their users with computers, now. Both checks and credit cards track our spending.

We've all known that our personal information is out there on the web. I get calls or e-mails from companies who have researched my mortgage and want to entice me with a lower rate. My credit rating is available to anyone clever enough to request it. The federal government is putting everything on computer so that they can compare your taxes to the W2s and company pay records. State Unemployment divisions work with Social Security to be sure the appropriate name and number match contributions being made.

So....I guess I'm a rather public property these days. I hate to be paranoid, but I wonder how this might be used against me some day. Who needs all this data? Why are they saving it? I can understand L.L.Bean tracking my purchases, but it's shocking when the local Chinese restaurant does the same thing.

And, having said all this, I doubt seriously there is any way for me to stop this tracking. Maybe I need to start riding my bike more, and pay strictly by cash....

Wild Debauchery! Hedonism! Carousing! Don't those words bring wonderful images to your mind? I see rippling muscles, rivulets of sweat, rumpled bed covers, an empty bottle of wine and two glasses, clothes strewn over the floor, and a candle burning down. I can't begin to describe the sounds!

When did I turn away from a life of carousing to become a conservative suburban matron? What made me choose to become a housekeeper and a chauffeur rather than a hedonist? What made me give up wild debauchery and settle into office work? I could become famous if I had the answers and could warn people about veering off the path of pleasure!

I remember reading one of the last things Erma Bombeck wrote before she died.
She felt she would have lived a different life if she could do it over. She would have focused less on keeping a showplace of a house, and more on time spent loving her children and husband. Too many of us are rehearsing our lives rather than living them, and end up with the same regrets Erma had.

Then, there's always the need to live up to your family's expectations. I wish I could be the black sheep of the family. I could miss gatherings and forget birthdays and generally have a bad reputation. And I'd know that they'd all talk about me now and then, but it wouldn't bother me in the least.

Do you suppose we are genetically disposed to be what we become, or is is our ennvironment that forms us? Nature vs. Nurture. I've never been able to decide which is the stronger influence. It feels to me that "nurture" was stronger, in leading me to the suburban matron role. So where was "nature" when my wild debauchery was waning away?? Wouldn't you think the instinct for sex.....well....for procreation, would always be the strongest?

My husband is going to retire before I do. Unfortunately, I work for him, and I'll be out a job when that time comes. My sister suggested that I put in some time managing a McDonald's, but I have a better idea. I think I'll take up phone sex. *G* I actually announced that to my mother. She just gave me one of "those" looks. I know she was wondering if they swapped babies at the hospital.

Have you ever stood before a mirror and practiced a look??

I think I've done this just once, preparing a smile for a photo shoot. But, I understand that it's a pretty common thing. I wonder if young girls practice looks to lure boy friends, or if their 20 year old counterparts practice sensual looks to melt their lovers? Do BOYS practice looks in the mirror??? God....the thought must send teenage girls into gales of giggles.

Why do we need to practice a look? Is it to be sure that we are communicating correctly? Or are we putting our best foot forward? Or is it possible we really don't know what we look like when we move our muscles?

Let's see.....I think I have the "Lady Astor" look down pat. You know the one....where someone tilts her head back, raises one eyebrow, and looks down her nose at you?? I've got that one perfected. I learned it watching my Mother. I think I need a LOT of work on the "Sultry Siren" look. I can't do it yet with out laughing, and it spoils the effect.

I'm gonna go off and think about other looks I need to practice on. I hope you all have a good night.

I've been thinking about wedding rings lately. I've been married twice, so I have a spare. When I was divorced, I chose to put mine away. I know that some women throw them away, some pawn them, and some have them reset. I didn't reset mine because even reset, it would have reminded me of times I prefer to put behind me. Besides, that diamond had already been reset once. My ex took the diamond from a previous engagement and reset it for me. Enough is enough.

I was surfing, looking to see how other women (and men) had responded to this issue. You might enjoy this collection of replies to Dear Prudie.

When DH proposed to me, we went to my-sister-the-jeweler to order rings. I picked out a setting and she went to Chicago to get diamonds on consignment. She and her employees chose the diamond and had it set. When DH slipped the ring on my finger, I realized that my sister had put the diamond in the setting SHE liked, not in the one I chose. What the heck! The ring is beautiful. I refused to take it off. Besides, it gives me something to rib her about. She'll be glad when my memory goes! lol

So.....did you throw yours into the ocean, or have it reset for a daughter? Did you melt it down and make a pendant out of it, or pawn it to fund a good time? Or have you been blessed and not had to think about this?

Did you ever have to dissect something in biology class? As I recall, we had to cut up dead worms. Our biology teacher should NEVER have been allowed near kids. He took pleasure in making the weakest of us squirm and was vindictive and sarcastic. He managed to rise to the level of Principal, so he could affect larger numbers of students. :-( I suppose that we were lucky that we only had to work on worms. If we had had to cut up a frog, I would have been kicked out of school for refusing to do it.

I was pondering just why we need to disect things. I realize that the hope is that we will understand more thoroughly with a first hand experience, rather than merely reading about it. But most of us aren't ever going to see the inside of a worm again. The closest most of us get to frogs once we leave school, will be running them over with the car. So, WHY do we waste so many days playing with sharp knives?

It occured to me that I might have been able to protest having to disect anything. Of course, that wasn't done in the middle ages, but if I had been pushed into cutting up a frog, I might have tried it. I wonder if a kid has done just that somewhere, creating a precident?

We could accomplish the same learning experience with latex models which could be assembled and disassembled. Since the models are reusible, the cost for class supplies would go down. The knives could be kept locked away and the school's insurance bill would go down. And, consciencious objectors would have nothing to complain about!

I vote that disection be limited to science and medical classes and butchers, and not required of high school students.

Boooooooooo Hoooooooooo

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is coming to an end. Not that I watched it or anything.....

Here are 10 one liners we won't forget, courtesy of the Chicago Tribune, Arts & Entertainment Section, Sunday, May 18, 2003:

1. "Comfy? I'm chained in a bathtub drinkin' pig's blood from a novelty mug. Doesn't rank huge in the Zagat's guide." --Spike

2. "She just left. She didn't even care enough to cut off my head or set me on fire. I mean, is that too much to ask? You know? Some little sign that she cared?"--Spike

3. "We're drawing up a plan for world domination. The key element? Coffemakers that think."--Riley

4. "Testosterone is a great equalizer. It turns all men into morons."--Giles (THIS IS MY PERSONAL FAV!)

5. "You're not, by any chance, betraying your secret identity just to impress, um, cute boys, are you?"--Giles

6. "We can't run. That would be wrong. Could we hide?"--Willow

7. "Why go to all the trouble to dig up three girls only to chop them up and throw them away? It doesn't make any sense. Especially from a time management standpoint."--Buffy

8. "You don't just sneak up on people in a graveyard. You make a noise when you walk. You...stomp. Or yodel."--Buffy

9. "Eww! Why is it that every conversation you poeple have has the word 'corpse' in it?--Cordelia

10. "I don't like vampires. I'm going to take a stand and say they are not good."--Xander

There you have it.....the highlights of seven years of screen time! Kinda makes you wonder how they became a cult favorite.

I suppose this is the appropriate place to tell how I came to be called "Buffy." About four years ago I decided that I was going to enter the life of on-line chatting. The very first obstacle I faced was the need for a nickname to get into the chatroom. You got it......in the background "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was playing, and I borrowed her name. At the time it seemed reasonable. I had no idea that so many people would come to know me as "Buffy." I am as unlike Sarah Michelle Gellar as a woman could be, but she provided a lot of cover, and some very stupid one liners, during my chatting days. I finally got tired of the masquerade and fessed up to being a "mature suburban matron" *G* but the name stuck. I truly envy those of you who are quick witted and can come up with repartee for every situation. Maybe if I associate with you a little of it will rub off. Until then....."Hi! I'm Buffy!"

I was visiting at Dr. D's and saw a link to a post by Dominatrix at the Tower of Babel. She was writing about the difficulty a successful working woman has in finding a husband. She's figured out that she needs to find a self-confident man who won't be threatened by her success. Do you have a list of requirements in a mate?

When I was a kid, I expected that I would marry tall & dark, and if he was also handsome, that was a bonus. I come from a very tall family, and Dad had black hair, so my expectations came from what I knew. When I married the first time, my husband was just two inches taller than I, and his light brown hair was already disappearing. Our marriage didn't fail because he didn't meet my girlish expectations; it failed because we were unable to communicate.

So.....should I have had a grocery list of what I was shopping for in a mate? Should I have determined his fiscal responsibility, his five and ten year plans, his vocation and avocations, religion, education, family? What about his ability to speak to me of hopes and fears, his health, or his plans for children? What about sex....does he have fetishes, or is he so conservative that we will die of boredom?? Can he allow me freedom, or is he jealous or manipulative?

I think you have to whittle your list down to the items that you can't live without, because it's unlikely you will find your dream man. If you find that he has some of the "extras," so much the better. My advice to you is that you shouldn't assume a mate will compromise with you, or change to suit your wishes or needs. If you can't find the right man where you live, then expand your search area. If you are willing to move, then consider looking for a mate on-line. I know an incredible number of couples who met on-line, and I'm beginning to think the anonymity we have as we first chat may be a healthy thing. We talk about things in depth that it would take much longer to get to face to face.

When I was divorced, I swore I wouldn't marry again. It took three years before DH caught my attention, and what caught me was his sense of humor.
Who knew??? Add it to your list of essential qualities! *S*

Good morning, everyone! It's Saturday, and I'm still in the "getting ready for the wedding mode," but a comment Dr. D left under "Mates" caught my attention and I had a little more to say about choosing a mate.

When I wrote about mates, I was actually thinking that although we all have an ideal mate in mind as we start our search, we need to be open to the surprises which come our way. That was why I felt we need to know exactly what we must have in a mate, rather than what we might like to have.

We all start out with a long list of what we might like to have in a mate, and then we have to whittle that list down. As many of you pointed out, that ideal simply doesn't exist, or we are unable to find it. I think that it's necessary to understand yourself well enough that you can decide what you can't live without.

Family is an important issue to me. I would be miserable with a man who refused to attend family functions. Even when I'm unhappy with my family, I still have obligations to them, and my husband's support helps me through the tough times.

If I were starting a family, I'd want a husband who parented equally with me. I think that children need to interact with both parents, and parents need to be in agreement on how the children are raised. Like parenting styles would help, but I don't know if they are required.

I glossed over it in my last post, but similar interest in sex has to be a requirement. Can you imagine someone who will only allow the missionary position married to someone who wants to explore the world of BDSM?? *G* That's an extreme example, but frequency and style do matter. If one of you is unprepared to change, then you're in for trouble. To me, fidelity is also a must.

For some people, religion is a serious issue. Do you need to marry within your church, or could you accept someone from a different religion? Can you accept a person who doesn't believe in God? Could you change religion for your mate?

There are suprises along the way. I told you that I thought I would marry a tall, dark man. Well....I got the dark part. DH has incredible Mediterranean skin that I envy every day of the summer. But I ditched my expectations on height when I married DH. He's shorter than I am.

He surprised me in another way. I'm the partner with more education. He's the partner with more brains. I have the book learning, he has the common sense. I had expected to marry a man who had at least as much education as I have, and found that it really didn't matter.

I think when you fall in love, you have to think about what you need in your relationship, and set everything else aside. Be realistic, ruthless if need be, but whittle that list down. Open yourself to suprises and enjoy your search!

"The Joy of..." Have you read "The Joy of Sex"?? When that book came out, I was a modern young married woman, but I had to hold back a nervous giggle as I bought it. You couldn't order it through Amazon.com then, and it was tantamount to asking for a copy of "Penthouse" at the news stand. I was delighted to have a guide, but vaguely uneasy about it. I finally realized that the people depicted in the poses were all Hippies! Had the book featured a clean-shaven Establishment man....I would have felt right at home! lol Talk about conservative!

I picked up another book recently, Lou Paget's "How to be a GREAT LOVER." It's subtitled "Girlfriend to Girlfriend Totally Explicit Techniques that Will Blow His Mind." In the chapter called "Give That Man a Hand" I discovered that I had been depriving DH of a technique called "Ode to Bryan." I'm amazed he hasn't divorced me......and he never said a WORD! I wonder if he has a stash of how-to books and is relieved that I haven't left him because he's failed to perform some incredible technique from the Kama Sutra?

It's all about checks and balances. *G*

Okay.....tell me. What other books should I have read??

If you have been in, or are in, a long term relationship, have you ever hit a point where you didn't have the faintest idea what to get your significant other? I've gone from knowing what DH would enjoy to not having a clue. He's become like my Dad.......if he doesn't have it, you can't afford it. Dad wasn't a materialistic person, and neither is DH. It's terribly difficult to buy a gift that matters, and I hate to give a gift just because the day demands it.

I hate to admit it, but Martha Stewart might bail me out this time. With Father's Day coming up, she suggested using a picture frame with six openings, and filling five of the spots with pictures of his kids growing up. THe sixth spot has a message...you know.....Happy Father's Day, 2003! Or something a little more personal. If I featured pictures of his daughter this year.....and one of the boys each of the next three years, and his grandson the following year, I could stretch this out for FIVE YEARS!!! YES! Now what do I do for his birthday, and Christmas, and our anniversary???

How do you let your significant other know what you might like to have? Do you get a lot of goofy gifts? I know that there are women out there who have threatened mayhem if they receive another appliance for Mother's Day, and frankly, I don't blame them in the least! My ex-mother-in-law received a robe every Christmas, year after year. For Mother's Day, she got a bottle of perfume. I couldn't believe she didn't find a way to guide her husband in his gift giving, but now I find the same thing has happened to me. Maybe I just don't have enough "I wants."

I'm at the point in my life where more time together, or quality time, is what I really want. A long weekend trip would be lovely. A visit to the Antiques Fair, or maybe a weekend of estate sales, or visiting Salvage One would be fun. So would strolling a riverwalk, entertaining friends, or playing Spite and Malice. I don't need a mink.....or a BMW. Diamonds would be kinda nice.....but time is what I'd really like.

If you happen to see DH sailing by.....whisper in his ear.......

Today, as I was running errands I was listening to WGN on the radio. From 9:00 to noon it's presided over by two zany women, who tend to talk about really trivial things. Today, Judy was talking about a questionnaire in "Elle" Magazine about bodies.

The question posed was: If you were in a long-term relationship and you could arrange for one of you to have a GREAT body.....which of you would have the great body? They took six callers and 5 out of the 6 said they wanted the great body. The callers were both men and women. One man said he wanted his partner to have the great body.

The article said that 9 out of 10 women said THEY wanted the great body. Fewer men said they wanted the great body, about 6 out of 10.

Since women tend to be less secure about their bodies their results didn't surprise me. The physical aspects of making love have to be easier when you aren't concerned about a few extra pounds, or when you know that your lover admires how you look.

There's vanity involved in men wanting their partner to be beautiful. Think of how many men divorce in middle age and then marry a trophy wife. I wonder if that really raises a man's social standing among his peers? I was a little surprised that as many as six out of 10 men wanted the great body for themselves. Does that mean that male values concerning appearance are changing?

How would YOU vote?

I'm delighted to tell you that the wedding was LOVELY! It came off without a hitch (other than a cloudy, blustery day), and the reception was wonderful. Despite the fact that there were a LOT of factions from three separate families in attendance, there were no fights or hard words. Everyone was on their best behavior, and a good time was had by most.

The bride was breathtakingly lovely. Everyone was emotional, and in the midst of the pastor's comments she reached up and brushed a tear off her husband-to-be's face. It was a charming moment. Mike is a typical guy who doesn't go around with his emotions on his sleeve, so it was reassuring to see the emotion well up in him as Laura and DH started down the aisle.

I lost it as DH gave his daughter away, but I managed to keep it down to a few joyous tears and no snuffling! lol The night before I had been given an embroidered handkerchief as a gift, and I put it to good use.

The reception was lots of fun. We mingled and chatted with family members and new friends and the wedding party. The DJ played a great variety of music, and I discovered that my son-in-law's mother has similar taste in music to me. She likes jazz and old rock 'n' roll. Her husband is a charming man. I hope we get to see the two of them again.

Soooo.....it was worth all the work, so that I could enjoy myself. I went, with the intention of enjoying myself, and encouraged everyone else to do the same.
I had been following Drowning Fish's saga of the wedding she was attending, and worried that we might have the same experience.....but we lucked out. So, we will be the exception that makes the rule.

I'm certainly not as eloquent as Texas T-bone on the subject of weddings. You have to go visit and read what he has to say about them.

I hope that any of you who have weddings to attend have as good a time as we did!

I love movies. I like a wide range of movies, and have favorites in every genre.
I've followed the sci-fi stuff that's part of my generation.....Star Wars, Star Trek, Aliens. I like almost everything Steven Spielburg has done, including the Indiana Jones trilogy. I like old comedies, and some of the new ones. For some odd reason, I love Bruce Willis movies. Hudson Hawke was one of the first I bought, just for the sheer silliness

I have to admit that I rarely know the names of the stars these days, and I suspect that I've missed some good chick flicks. I got to see Chocolat for the first time this month. What a GREAT movie! I think I might look to see what else Juliet Binoche has done, because she was exceptional.

Ryan's Daughter is an old film that has always appealed to me, despite the sadness of the subject, but Out of Africa has to be my all time favorite chick flick. I just get to the place where I'm resigned that she has to be strong and go through life on her own.....and he switches gears.....and DIES! Man.....I cry every time I see that movie.

I think that An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant and Debra Kerr has to be the all time perfect chick flick. When he tells her his grandmother has passed away, and gives her the white shawl....or when he breaks into her apartment at the end. Who can keep from crying?

Do you ever share chick flicks with your significant other? I mean.....if you are at Blockbuster shopping for the weekend, does he ever agree to watch a chick flick with you?? Or do you have to watch alone, or with girlfriends?? Since I'm a boat widow in the summer, I have plenty of time to watch chick flicks, but every now and then, DH will come in and see one on, and stay to see what it's all about.

Let me know if you have a favorite chick flick I should look for.

I've been thinking about how romance writers use words. It interests me how they take words that are not commonly associated with sex and imbue them with a sensual patina. I was reading a book by Linda Howard called "Kill and Tell." The setting is New Orleans, so you already have heat, and humidity, and a languid sensuality overlaying everything. She used the word "heavy" repeatedly in one chapter. She described the main male charachter, Marc, as being heavily muscled. Karen hears his slow, heavy, heartbeat as she rests her head on his chest. She experiences that melting, warming, heavy, sense of ripeness in response to Marc's lovemaking. And, she welcomes his heavy weight pressing her into the bed.

"Heavy" isn't a word you often see in romance novels, unless it's used to describe male anatomy, so it's interesting to see how the repeated use of a common word ups the ante in the scene.

"Writhing" is another word that's being used more frequently. When I was younger, you might read that someone "writhed in pain." Or, snakes writhed. Now, women writhe in pleasure, seeking an elusive climax. IT's a really great word. Can't you just see her arching and twisting....her hair spread over the bed....eyes gone blind with need??

But, I have to say, kiwi is the most unusual word that I've read that brings sex to mind. Until recently, I rather thought it could be said to have male attributes. I mean....it's sorta the right size and shape...and hairy! I highly reccomend that you visit Speedbump to read what he has to say about kiwis. You'll never think of them in quite the same light again.

I was visiting -e-'s blog, Wazzup, today, and read what he had to say about people who blog. I'm a newbie to blogging, but I've chatted in several formats for about three years. I am NOT surprised to find that people have the same failings here that they do elsewhere on-line.

I've never understood people who create a fake persona. What joy is there in hiding your true self from the people you talk with? When I first started chatting, I was disturbed by the A/S/L question that was always asked. I was reluctant to discuss age because I assumed that younger people would feel they had nothing in common with me. When asked my age, I would say that I was 84, walked with a cane, had a dowager's hump, hair sprouted out of my chin, I drooled, and was toothless. Now...I really wasn't hiding behind a fake persona, I was simply unwilling to give out a lot of personal information. Anyone who took the time to talk with me after reading that description got the truth, or as much as was appropriate for that person. After all, we never really know who we are talking to until we meet them, so safety is an issue.

I recall one person who felt it was his purpose in life to stir up trouble. He could be guaranteed to disagree or bring up a volatile subject. He was actually a charming man who needed to work on his self image. He was able, with the help of a friend, to virtually shut down the discussion on a Onelist. I still don't understand what satisfaction that brought to him. I assume that the need to have power over others surfaces here, as it does in real life.

The other kind of behavior that I fail to understand is being "two-faced." I don't know about you, but if I know a person is saying one thing to me, and something totally different to another, I can't trust that person. I'm sure that person is going to turn on me at some point, and I don't want to be there to receive that kind of treatment.

I'm a "What-you-see-is-what-you-get" sort of person. I am relatively non-confrontational, but if you push me, I'll tell you exactly what I'm thinking, and that brings us to something else Eric said. We all put our best foot forward on-line. Although I've seen what seems to be incredible honesty on a few blogs, most of us present ourselves in the best light possible. I think that's human nature. I'm not likely to share my deepest thoughts with you. Since we limit what we tell our loved ones, it should come as no surprise that we put greater restictions on what we say here.

Soooooo.....tell me what you're thinking. Share discussions on the vagaries of life.....rant with me about the wrongs in the world. Just don't assume that you know me, until we've met.....and maybe not even then.

-e-........it sounds like you're having a tough day. I hope things improve, soon!

There isn't really enough time this evening to write about this as fully as I'd like, but I want to tell you about a conversation I had this week.

First....a little explanation. I'm a grandmother. When I married DH, he presented me with a ready-made family, who were well on their way to being adults, so I was a grandmother at a rather early age. Since I have been a step-grandmother, I sent a lot of love my grandson's way, and tended to keep my hands off his little psyche as he grew up. Unfortunately, his mother died last year.

It's been a hellish year for him, and maybe moreso for his father. It's been difficult for the two of them to talk to each other. I have been worrying about both of them for some time, and this week, my grandson was with us. I bided my time, and waited until I had him captive in the SUV....and then asked him if his father had talked to him about sex.

He's seventeen! He probably knows more about sex than I do, but I wanted to be sure that someone had talked with him about SAFE sex. I wanted to be able to tell him that making love is stupendous when you do it with someone you love, and I wanted him to know that all you see on the internet is not necessarily what the average person believes is good and appropriate.

He gets MAJOR credit for not blushing or shrinking away from me. He was really cool about this, and relaxed. He told me that he had not talked with his dad, but that his mother had talked with him. And, he described the sex ed classes they have at his school. The classes were pretty astounding, and I'm glad he had them. Too many parents and schools let kids promulgate errors, and then chastise them for their behavior, when they didn't have enough information to make the right choices.

I wanted my grandson to know that he could talk to me forthrightly about this subject, if he needed an adult to talk to. I'm realistic about the fact that he is not likely to talk to me.....but the door is open if he so chooses. I hope he will remember what I said when it comes time to make his choices.

My friends were kidding me tonight, asking if they could send their kids to me for a talk. Heck.....why not!? I'm an old hand at this now! (HUGEGRIN)

Sooooo....have you given this talk? Was it difficult or easy for you? Do you think it made any difference in the choices your child will make? Do you think some children find it easier to talk to someone other than their parents? Guys....did you leave this discussion for your wife to do?? Let me know what you think.

Well.....We rolled into this weekend with the goal of walking the Walter Payton 5K Fitness Walk. I walked it last year with my exercise class and wanted to try it again. Last year, I was coming off an extended period of treatment for a plantar fasciia problem in my left foot, so my goal was to simply get through the 5K. I did, but it took me more than an hour and ten minutes as I recall. A week after the walk, I received a postcard telling me that I was 1157 out of 1160 women in the race. (pout) Still.....I made it without having to be brought in on a gurney!

We started a walking program last fall, which was going very well. Unfortunately, DH fell off the roof and landed on his feet, and that put an end to our walking together for a bit. Then.....he tried to bring down a thief and ripped his hamstring muscle on the same leg. So, that wiped out our walking in the early spring. Neither of us was well prepared for this walk, and it's my own fault that I wasn't ready.

The day broke cloudy, gray, gusty and threatening rain. I put my driver's license,some money, and a bandana in my pockets, and a visor on my head, and we were off to the race site. We registered, got in line and set off at the shot. Despite wearing New Balance shoes and my orthotics, I was in trouble in the second mile. And because I favored the foot that hurt, I developed a good-sized blister in the other foot. This is the first time I've gotten a blister on the narrow part of my foot parallel to the arch.

It would be an understatement to say I'm limping. I had to borrow a cane from my mother to be able to get around. I hope DH can do some grocery shopping because I'm dreading the idea of having to walk the grocery store.

Still....I made it. I know that I don't want to experience that type of walk again, but I made it, and I was faster than last year! We shaved eight minutes off last year's time. If we do it next year, I plan to have walked all Spring to get ready for it. Come walk with me! It's time to get in shape!

This morning I was listening to the radio as I dressed for the day, and I heard Spike O'Dell on WGN talking to an innkeeper in the Irish town where Viagra is made. It seems that all the men in the town, and a lot of the women, are very happy campers these days. All you have to do is take a brisk walk downwind of the factory to enjoy the bounty of the production line. O'Dell was clearly worried that he was going to have to hit the seven second delay button, and kept reminding the innkeeper that this was family radio. His guest was quite willing to tell all about the benefits of living there, in colorful detail! So....either we need to take a vacation to Ireland, or encourage Viagra to build another factory in the US!

I woke up this morning expecting to loose a molar at the oral surgeon's office. I'm scared to death of dentists......all kinds of dentists, but I managed to pull myself together to get to his office at 10:45. I had not had "anything by mouth" since 11:45 last night, not even water. They were running late, and of course, we got there early.

I filled out pages of forms and they finally called me in. The nurse was wonderful. I had requested that I be put to sleep for this session so I wouldn't recall any of it. She hooked me up to an EKG machine, took my blood pressure, and put one of those clips on my finger that tracks my pulse. We discussed what meds I'm on, and the doc came in.

He was the archeologist the last time I had to have a tooth removed. He did a fine job, despite the cavern that was left afterward. I chose to go back to someone I knew, rather than breaking in a new digger. Besides, the guy is an ex-Marine, cute as hell for a guy my age, and a doc in addition to being an oral surgeon.

He checked out my mouth, and looked quizzical. "WHY do you want to have this tooth removed?" I gave him all the reasons my dentist had given me. He asked his assistant to get the dentist on the phone. She was away until June 18.

Ultimately, he showed me the x-ray of the tooth he was supposed to work on, and said that he felt there were other options to be considered rather than removing it. He thinks I should have a crown put on it.

So........for the very first time in my life I have been given a reprieve from the dentist's chair. It may still come to it that the tooth is removed, but it wasn't today. Actually, I'm rather fond of the tooth. We've known each other for a LOT of years! I sure hope this little discussion doesn't tick off the dentist. (Envisioning scenes from "Little Shop of Horror.")

Wish me luck!

You know, I've come to discover as I blog that somewhere along the line I have laid aside my ability to think critically, and to put those thoughts down in logical arguments. Frequently, I find myself in the middle of a post that has taken a left turn and doesn't have ANY relationship to what I intended to write. And I'm finding that sometimes I surprise myself, typing statements that I didn't realize I believed until that moment. Surely this is the ultimate in pselph-psychoanalysis.

I have been listening to commentary on the new book by Hillary Clinton. I assume that most of you know she plans to run for President, whether she has announced or not. I've been thinking about her and that race, trying to decide just what I feel about it.

I liked her a during the first Clinton term. Even when it appeared that they may have erred in Arkansas, my admiration for her wasn't diminished. I had high hopes that she would guide us toward a more sensible health care program, and I wanted to believe that she was a good person. Whatever happened to the improvements in health care?

Then.....when Bill was at his worst, with Monica.....Hillary kept her silence. I was torn between applauding her for not creating a veritable circus of the Presidency, and wanting her to stand up and call him every name in the book, and walk away. I will never look at another cigar again without seeing it's possible uses. His excuses: We didn't have intercourse" and "I didn't inhale" sullied the office he held.

Finally, calmed down and reached the point where I approved how she had handled it. I pursuaded myself that it was for the good of the office and the country. I waited to see what would happen to their relationship once he was out of office. I figured there might be a quiet divorce.

I was astounded when she ran for the Senate, having not been elected to office prior to that. It bothered me that she sought the Senate seat for New York, a much more posh address than Arkansas. And things became complicated here. Has she not divorced Bill because it would now hurt HER career? Is she such a political creature that she is trying to bury all the difficulties to smooth <b>her</b> path?

I have more questions. Does she truly believe that the news media won't hound her about her marriage from the day she throws her hat into the ring? They are already hounding her! Have you thought of the fact that Bill Clinton will be the First Husband, if she should win?

I think that she carries so much baggage that she can't possible win the race. What political group will spend the millions of dollars that her campaign will require, knowing that Bill will have to campaign for her.

If she chooses to divorce her husband, she will loose the Catholic vote. If she chooses to stay married, and it sounds as though she might from what I've heard of her book, she'll loose the NOW vote, both of which are substantial. I wonder what her demographics are throughout the rest of the country?

Sooooo...as I write to you, I have found I no longer respect Hillary Clinton. I'd dearly love to see a female President in my lifetime. I think we are getting closer to a time when that would be possible, but if Geraldine Ferraro couldn't stand up to the cannons aimed at her during her run as VICE President.....I seriously doubt that Mrs. Clinton will make it either. Hillary is tougher, but she carries baggage that will put her out of the running, and she should save her money, our time, and a lot of media space and reconsider.

This is a comment from the Heartland. If you've surfed in to see what we are thinking, I suspect you will find others agree with me.

Are you superstitious? I guess I should have been. The first time I was married, it was June 13. I should have worried more about the fact that my anniversary would occasionally fall on Friday the thirteenth. We lasted just 11 years, which was really amazing.

As I'm typing this, my cat, Edward Scissorhands is laying beside one of my arms. He's a black cat.....or mostly black. There's just a spritz of white at his tummy. He's not my familiar......but he's just a little too familiar as I type. He wants my full attention, and resents the time I'm giving you.

I don't tend to walk under ladders because it's safer to go around. I generally avoid cracks in the sidewalk, but that's because I'm a spaz and could fall, not because I'm worried about my Mother's back. If I wanted to whistle in a graveyard.....I would.

Do you think that we should take superstitions more seriously, or are they the product of a less educated era? I find that a lot of the information which comes to us as old wives tales or herbal lore, has basis in observable information. Alert, questioning people make correlations to make sense of the world around them. Where things couldn't be explained, they became lore, to be passed on from generation to generation.

I dont tend to be superstitious, but during my lifetime I've made some changes in what I've thought, and in the right situation, I could change my opinion on this. Do you have any proof to make me reconsider my stance??

I've noticed the phenomenon of the Friday Five at several blogs. I'd like to join the band wagon with five things that tick me off!

1. Drivers who can see for a mile that they have to merge into another lane, who speed along the mostly empty to-be-closed lane and then assume you will let them merge in front of you. You earn my five fingered salute minus four, and my grandson's long ago favorite comment......JERK!!!!

2. Sales people who hate their jobs. This applies at every level of service, from the kid at Mickey D's to the women in the toney shops who could care if you shop there. I recently purchased a silk shell to wear at my stepdaughter's wedding. They didn't have one in my size at the location where I was shopping, but they volunteered to see if one was available at another store. They found one, took my card, and gave me a receipt with a "locator number." Well....the shell never came, and a month later I decided to follow up on it. The saleswoman who took my call was indifferent, was having a bad day, and was going to have to ask for help to resolve the issue. She discovered that it had never been sent (DO TELL!!) and tried to palm the problem off on me......by telling me who to call. I stopped her and told her that I wanted HER to resolve the issue. She wasn't a happy camper, but she followed up on it, and the shell came the next day. The only thing that kept me from talking to her supervisor and blasting her out of the water was that I've been known to make a mistake, and I hope someday someone will give me a break when I'm having a bad day. My logic was totally selfish.....I didn't want to feel guilty later. But.....it would have felt good to get even for her general snottiness......at least for a moment.

3. Children who are out of control in public. I suggest you go visit Da Goddess, because she has an EXCELLENT post on this subject on June 11, and I totally agree with her stand. (You might tell her she has gorgeous ta tas, too, but that's another subject.)

DH and I were flying home from Vancouver to Chicago a year ago, and seated behind us were two parents and two young children. They had three seats for four bodies. The little girl was probably two years old, and was forced to sit on her mother's lap because her rotten little brother wouldn't share his seat. That toddler kicked me in the kidneys all the way to Chicago. Her parents KNEW what was going on, and failed to stop her. The flight attendent even spoke with this family, to no avail. The airline should have required that she be in a seat, but her parents made the choice to carry her on their laps. They should have been more responsible. I'm still ticked about this!

4. Current clothing trends for teenagers in school. I swear, if I was a superintendent, I would require uniforms! I'm astounded at what is uncovered, broadcast, and advertised on teenage bodies. I don't see how anyone believes that kids can concentrate in a classroom while they are dressed in the current fashions. I didn't care for the dress code when I was in school, but it would have been less of an issue if we all had to wear uniforms. Besides....as a teacher I wouldn't have to hold my breath waiting to see if the kid walking to the back row was going to loose his pants before he got there!

5. Telemarketers. If I tell you "No thanks, I'm not interested," DON'T ARGUE WITH ME! It's not going to put me in a frame of mind that will do you any good. And.....Don't call me with a recorded message that I HAVE to listen to, so that I can get your number, because if I have to call you to tell you to take my name off your list, I'm not going to be pleasant! Don't be surprised when you reach people who are angry about having their own phone used to waste their time.

Sooooo that's the five for this week. Now that I've gotten the pet peeves out of the way...oh wait....I have one more.....

5 1/2......people who choose to live in the US who choose not to learn to speak English. I wouldn't dream of moving to Afghanistan and then demand that you print all your documents in English for me. If you want to live here....then be a fully participating citizen, and learn the language.

Well....the next Friday Five should be lighter than this one, but it was nice to be able to get this off my chest. Have a great weekend! May you all have sunny and 72!

One of my nieces sent this to me recently. It's incredibly good advice, especially for those who have most likely passed the halfway point in their lives.
I'd add to it: Live your life as the real performance, not as a dress rehearsal.

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady,who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move
necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. "I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mrs.. Jones, you haven't seen the room ... just wait." "That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged...

it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it ...

"It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up.

I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away ...
just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account ... you withdraw from what you've put in .

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing. Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.

2. Free your mind from worries.

3. Live simply.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less.

I have writers block. I didn't think it would come so soon. Usually I have loads of things to chat about, but I can't find anything worthy of a full post.
I guess it's time to learn the art of pastiche.

I was visiting Jamie's blog and discovered that she was talking about the possibility of abortion being repealed in the U.S. This is an incredibly volatile subject, but I agree with her stand. I think women should have the right to choose what happens to their bodies. If a change is coming with respect to this bill, I hope they merely modify it, allowing women who have been raped the right of abortion. I agree that abortion should not be used as a form of birth control. We have enough birth control options open to us that there is no reason for a thinking woman who is choosing to have intercourse to be unprepared.

Along these lines, I'd like to see our welfare system modified. I was appalled to learn that there are generations of women on welfare, who gave birth to children in their teens, and their children had babies in their teens, and now the GRANDchildren are having children in their teens. There's something wrong with a system which keeps replicating the very problems we hope to cure. I'm willing to support a teenager long enough to get them through a training program or college course so that they can find a paying job. I am NOT willing to pay taxes to support a woman who chooses to have lots of children by multiple fathers.

This is what I propose: support for a specific period of time, for the mother and one child, child care during that period, and vocational training or two years of college. Should the mother choose to have another child during this period, her welfare rate would NOT increase: no additional income for additional children. It's time to make people responsible for their choices. I know this is a hard stand, and that it appears to make the children suffer, but I can't think of any other way to make the recipients of welfare want to be OFF welfare! What do you think?

The "Q" section of my Sunday Tribune yielded some interesting figures from a poll on infidelity. The following figures show the percentage of respondents who strongly agree that the following acts cross the line of infidelity when not done with a spouse or a partner:

Oral Sex
Men----85% Women----93%

Cybersex
Men---42% Women----64%

Kissing
Men---51% Women----69%

I rather understand the figures for cybersex and kissing, but I really wonder about the men and women who felt oral sex wasn't cheating. They must all be related to Bill and Hillary Clinton.....

There's an interesting discussion going on over at Mad Bull's blog. He wonders how many sex partners the average person has. Dr. D posted in a comment that the World Health Organization defines as promiscuous a person who has had 6 (six) or more sexual partners in a LIFETIME. There goes the neighborhood! On Dr. D's blog, the discussion is all about frequency of sex. Why is it that partners so frequently don't agree on what is right? I know that raising a family, or not having enough privacy enter into this issue, but for people who don't have those reasons, why do we change?

Okay.....I know you're saying that I don't have writer's block, but I do. Give me time, and I'll work my way out of this. My youngest sister's daughters are coming to visit for a week. They are 12 and 13. I may not have a lot of time to post, but I suspect that I will have plenty to say after the visit! We hope to make at least one trip to Chicago for some live theater and a stroll on Navy Pier. I'm sure there will be shopping and miniature golf, maybe even laser tag. Any advice on how to entertain these girls will be greatly appreciated!

When I was a kid, it was common for men who had been accused of rape to get off scot free by using the defense that "She ASKED for it." Specifically, I'm thinking of the cases where the men suggested that the woman's manner of dress advertized her availability.

Kids today bare the oddest body parts. The girl's clothing is very revealing, while the boys are wearing baggies that cover them from elbow to toe. Are the girls going to be accused of "asking" to be molested because they dress in what seems to be the fashion of the day?

Fashion and youth can be a scary mix. Part of our nation is very body conscious. Thinner is better, and clothes that show off how thin you are validate that premise. To be popular, you have to resemble the models in the magazines, or the young Hollywood stars. Young girls believe that what they see and read must be the real world. Sports Illustrated does an annual swimsuit issue that flies off the shelves. Does the moral climate in our entertainment world foster the idea that women who don't dress modestly are available to any man who wants them?

I have a series of questions about this. Do you think that women "Ask" to be molested by the clothes they choose to wear? Should we allow men to be excused for rape or molestation based on this arguement? Is there a point beyond which a man cannot control himself in relation to a woman?

I'd like to live in a world where, when a female says "NO!" the man accepts her word without question. And, if my body is saying "yes," but my mouth is saying "no," don't argue with my mouth. I'd also like to have faith that men can control themselves. Is that unrealistic?

Tell me your thoughts.

Hi, everybody!

I just wanted to check in and let you know wazzup here. Yesterday I drove to Indiana to meet my sister and pick up her two daughters, aged 12 & 13. They are visiting with us for about ten days. It's possible that I may be a bit scarce here while we try to provide them a memorable visit.

We plan to make a trip to Chicago to have dinner, walk Navy Pier and watch fireworks. The trip to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater has been nixed as being too juvenile. I thought it might be. It was a live stage show of "The Littlest Mermaid." I have to check to see if the girls are old enough to play laser tag. We'll play miniature golf, and I hope to arrange a swim day with their cousins. I've been talked into taking them to the movies. I'm not sure if we are seeing THE HULK....or Bruce Almighty. Gawd.....I can't believe I'm going to do that! We may even do a little mall time. I'm tired just thinking about it.

Our house is normally very quiet. We have four adults who live here, and two of them are usually at work during the day. Hearing girls chatter is really something. At times I wonder if they are talking another language, and my most frequent response is "WHAT???"

If you have any suggestions for things we might do to fill up the rare moment left unscheduled, please let me know. I'll check in when they let me sit down for a moment.

I hope you all have a wonderful start to summer!

I'm a musician with a ROTTEN memory. Jamie will be more than happy to tell you all about it.

I have a favor to ask. I'd like to create a CD with songs that have the word "Lady" in them. "Lay, Lady, Lay" comes to mind, and I know there are hordes more....but I can't think of them.

Any suggestions??

Quartz Crystal


What Stone Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Boy.....I'd say this is me. I need to be reminded to close my mouth now and then and let other people have their say. I guess that's what's so nice about blogging......I can "talk" until I run out of steam, and not worry about cutting someone off. I don't know if this has developed from working alone for so long, or if I was just a pushy broad to start with, but let me near a group of people and I want to TALK!!

I "borrowed" this little quiz from Red Eagle's blog....it's from Quizilla.

Well....I've survived the absolutely worst game of miniature golf that has ever been played! We were all silly, and our golfing showed it. We even managed to loose two balls, but found a baby bunny. Then I sent them off go-carting. Lots of smiling faces after that! And the ice cream seemed to be a fine ending for the night.

We watched "The Matrix" last night. My sister may chide me for letting a 14 and 12 1/2 year old watch that movie. As it unfolded, I realized it might be scary for them. The younger one was "disturbed" by it....and asked to sleep somewhere where there weren't so many windows....

Today we washed the dog. What an improvement! He's not 100 percent clean, but a whole lot closer. We towel dried him, and then put a red bandana on him. He showed everybody the bandana and then went off to take a nap. Too much excitement for an old dog.

Tonight, it was laser tag. I'll tell you...those 15 minute sessions FLY by! Seven of us, three adults and four kids from 8 to 14 played for half an hour. Those little suckers really understand strategy! lol I was dead in the water most of the time. I think I came in sixth in the first game and fifth the second. I was sneaky and wore black jeans and a black turtleneck, but the flashing lights on your harness sorta give you away! lol

Tomorrow....the movies. How can you make a choice between "The HULK" or "Bruce Almighty?" I really want to see "The Pirates of the Carribean," but it's not out yet.

Sooooooo...........we're making it through the week. The girls have been working on some math problems their father assigned. They gave me some help cleaning the kitchen after dinner last night. We've played Spite and Malice and Uno....and tonight they are ending the evening with Nintendo. We're tying for a balance of real life and vacation! *G*

It's time for me to go check on the girls. I hope you are all enjoying the start of summer!

Well, I'm back to my computer! We had a wonderful visit with the girls, and with my youngest sister. When I left you we were debating about movies. We ended up choosing "Bruce Almighty," and it's a pretty good movie. Jim Carey is not my favorite actor, but this was one of his more restrained efforts, and we enjoyed it.

Friday morning we took the girls to exercise with us. Then we went to Sci-Tech and strolled through the science museum. The girls seemed to enjoy the outdoor activities the best. I think they needed the chance to let off steam. That evening we went to the local arcade and let the girls loose to play games. Kate chose the games that gave her the greatest return in tickets for prizes. Becca caught on to what she was doing and searched for her own "winner." She ended up shooting basketballs. She played game after game, racking up the points and tickets. My arms hurt watching her, but she had a blast!

Saturday we needed to play things by ear because of weather. DH drove into Chicago to sail, and we followed by train in the middle of the day. The girls discovered that "A Taste of Chicago" was on, and asked to go. We did about 2/3s of it before everyone was stuffed (chocolate dipped strawberries, corn on the cob, etc...). The next stop was Navy Pier. We shopped for a bit, saw the IMAX movie on Baja, California, and then had dinner at Joe's Be-Bop Cafe (again, this was the girl's choice!). We shopped one last time, and then headed for home.

Their mom drove up on Sunday. We had a family gathering, playing cards and cooking together, doing a little more gardening. Monday morning, my sis helped me with some heavy weeding in the herb garden while the girls packed up for the trip home. It's very quiet here now.

I think everyone had a good time. I sure did. Now I need a week to recover! *G*

I had the opportunity to ask other friends about songs with "Lady in the title or lyrics, and I've compiled a list of suggestions. This is not a complete list, but if you see that one you have recommended is missing, holler at me! Thank you, one and all, for your help!

Ain't No Way to Treat A Lady
Dark Lady....Cher
Disco Lady
Dude Looks Like a Lady...Aerosmith
For My Lady...Toots Thielemans
Foxy Lady...Cure
Green Eyed Lady
Ladies Love Outlaws ....Tom Rush
Lady...Kenny Rogers
Lady Be Good (or Oh, Lady Be Good)....Ella Fitzgerald
Lady Down on Love
Lady Evil....Black Sabbath (with Ronnie James, NOT Ozzie Osbourne)
Lady Godiva
Lady in Red
Lady Is A Tramp
Lady Luck....Brian Seltzer
Lady Love Me One More Time
Lady Madonna
Lady Marmalade....Patti LaBelle
Lady of the Night...Donna Summer
Lady Samantha....Elton John
Lady Willpower
Lay Lady Lay
Linda Was A Lady
Little Old Lady From Pasadena
Luck Be A Lady Tonight.....Frank Sinatra
No Way to Treat a Lady
Oh My Lady...Stampedes
Red Roses for a Blue Lady.....Bobby Vinton
She's a Lady, and She's Mine......Tom Jones
Sophisticated Lady....Duke Ellington
Sweet Lady
Sweet Painted Lady
That Lady
The Lady is Dancing With Me....Chris Ledoux
The Lady Wore Black...Queensryche
Three Times a Lady....Commodores
To a Lady Asking Foolish Questions....Tom Talbert (Jazz0
Treat Her Like a Lady...Celine Dion
Why Lady Why

We have an old dog. He's been with us since we build this house, about 14 years ago. My sister discovered him and his liter mates abandoned by the side of the road in Central Indiana. DH and I, and my mother were all living in apartments at the time. Sis told Mother "You NEED a dog!" She agreed to keep him for us until we moved into the house at the end of October, and we would drive down to pick him up.

We followed through, and had a memorable trip home. The pup laid across my lap for more than four hours, drooling in fear. At one point I was sure I was going to drown in dog drool. It's amazing that I came to love him despite the memory of the trip.

Mother was the one who named him. She chose "Defer." It's embarrassing when I have to explain to people that it stands for "D fer Dog." It's not that I mind his name, I just can't believe people need to have it explained.

Soooooo.....we've kept company a lot of years. He's been our early warning system. Anything that moved within 200 feet got barked at. For years he's been ferociously barking at the UPS man. One day I finally let him out to meet the guy, thinking it might stop the row, and he saunterd past the guy as if he wasn't standing there. I must have the only delivery person who actually wants a dog to recognize him.

Defer is part German Shepherd and part Beagle. He's a handsome mid-sized dog with Shepherd coloring and a Shepherd muzzle and ruff, and that's about were the Shepherd leaves off. The rest of him is all Beagle! Beagle butt, Beagle voice, Beagle nose, Beagle brain.....and Beagle willfulness.

We've had to walk him on a leash because we are within city limits. He also sees the path where we walk as his personal property and doesn't like to share. Occasionally he would streak to freedom out the front door. When he was young it would take hours to get him back. Now he's pooped in 15 minutes and comes back on his own. We discovered that using a "big dog voice" helped to catch him, so DH is the leader of Defer's pack.

Defer is the only dog I've had that doesn't roll over, or play catch or fetch. He does "sit," "shake," "shake the other paw," and "down, " but only if he thinks he will get a treat for his efforts. This dog doesn't do ANYTHING for free! My stepdaughter will hold a dog cookie between her teeth for him to take, but I'll pass on the doggie breath, thank you.

This year, in late winter and again in early spring, Defer had a stroke. Each time I was sure we would loose him. His balance center was affected. He couldn't trust his eyes, and the confusion prevented him from eatng. He staggered, trying to find his footing, and would ultimately lay in the hallway for days without eating. By the time we got to the fifth day, I was ready to talk to the vet about force feeding him. I was standing in the kitchen, getting ready to feed the cat, and figured it was worth trying to tempt Defer with a tablespoon of cat food, his all time favorite food.

It worked! I gave him another dollop, and another.....and he was on his way to recuperating. It hit again around Easter, and I was afraid he might not make it back. We went through the symptoms like old pros....and again....after about five days, he was ready to resume eating. He's gradually come back, not quite to his old self, but to an easy relationship with us.

While my nieces were with us, we bathed him. Rather than risk upsetting him with cold water, I filled three 5-gallon buckets with water to warm in the sun, and we played with him, sudsing and stroking and making it as pleasant as possible. After he air dried, we put a red bandana on him, and praised him for his beauty and clean smell. He ate it up!

Of course, I know we are on borrowed time. It won't be long now before he has another episode, and this time he might not make it back. But, I have to tell you, this has been precious time for us.

We've been kinder, more patient, more loving and gentle with him, because we know that this time with him is a boon. We've had the chance to enjoy his quirks and his interaction with family. He tires easily these days, but he's always game for a quick trip outside, followed by a nap in the sun.

I'll miss my shadow when he goes, but I'm so glad he's been a part of my life. I hope you all have someone like Defer pad through your lives, and touch your hearts.

I've been thinking about skin today. Actually, I've been envisioning skin. Little snapshots have been interrupting my train of thought, and what they all have in common is skin. Texture, temperature, taste, color......it's really very complex.

Don't you find it amazing that you once were a baby with skin that begged to be nuzzled? You had skin crisscrossed with miniature veins, little rivers of blue carrying your lifeblood. Your skin was plump and moist, with a sheen that was luminous. When you had been bathed, every woman in the room wanted to hold you and sniff that clean baby smell. That beautiful skin begged to be touched.

As a young adult, your skin begs to be touched in a different way. Women watch construction workers with a six-pack of muscles and fantacize away their lunch hours. Rivulets of sweat trickle down chests and backs and draw attention to muscle and sinew covered with skin kissed by the sun. Men dream of tasting, and touching and inhaling the scent of a woman, and an experienced lover knows the value of skin as an erotic feast.

And then our skin begins to change. We loose elasticity, and the plumpness of youth. We gain wrinkles, and blemishes. Our hands look like road maps from too many days in the sun and not enough moisturizer. We show the wear of our years.

But.....our skin is still receptive to touch. No matter what age we are, we never out grow the need to be touched. The warmth of another hand holding ours is more important than all the material things in the world. Who would have thought that skin touching skin is one of the great wonders of our world?

I hesitate to post on this subject. So much has been so eloquently written by others that I almost feel I have nothing to add. But.....I NEED to say how thankful I am that I was born in the USA. We so frequently take our freedom for granted, breaking laws right and left, trying to get out of tolls and taxes, not voting, leaving issues to be decided by others, and the only reason we DARE to do things like that, is because we are free.

Our freedom was hard won. Many of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence lost everything, homes, wealth, loved ones. They knew the risk they were taking, and signed anyway. We suffered through Civil War to end the custom of slavery, so that others could have the same freedom we enjoy. We've gone to war for other countries to try to give them the freedom we hold dear.

Is the USA perfect? Not hardly. We make mistakes left and right. It's the nature of the design of our government that we must come to compromise in all our decisions. Only the test of time can tell if the decisions are right, or wrong. But, underlying every law and rule and action we take is the concept of personal freedom.

Spend some time today thinking about all the things we are able to do because we are free. Think about what life in the USSR was like, or Afghanistan, or China, or in Iran under Saddam's regime and compare it to yours. The fact that you are allowed to say you don't like what the government is doing, and that you want changes made, may be the most precious freedom of all.

To those of you who do not reside in the U.S., I ask that you forgive us our pride in being free. That pride defines us, and unites us, and is the core of every patriotic American. When we shout from the mountain tops "I AM FREE," it's because it's our most valuable asset.

I hope that you all have a great Fourth of July, and remember what it took to get us here.

Speaking of eloquent comments on the Fourth of July, go visit Sgt. Hook's blog. He did a spectacular job of focusing on what's really important about the Fourth of July.

Happy Fourth, everyone!

I was on-line in the office today, when my eyes started to tear up. Then my nose wrinkled, and I started to gag. I stood up to start the fan, and looked over to confirm that Defer was lying in the doorway of the office, with his hindquarters in the office. I've GOT to get that dog off canned dog food!

My mother had some very strict ideas about raising children, and what was acceptable. We did NOT chew gum, burp, or pass gas, and if we up-chucked....we cleaned it up ourselves. I do not remember ever hearing my father fart. As a matter of fact....that word was not part of my vocabulary until I met my present husband.

DH was very restrained the first six years I knew him. Then we married and the honeymoon was over. I should have realized what I was going to have to deal with when his partner asked if he disappeared from the room frequently. He started out letting small sounds escape, and gradually progressed to the louder, more prolonged productions. There have been days when I wasn't sure who was worse, DH, or the dog.

We'll be sitting in the living room and he will shift on the couch, lifting a hip, and sigh with satisfaction. I've developed a series of expressions to convey the depth of my displeasure, to no avail. The worst, though, are the silent deadlies. Lord spare me from the silent ones!

Explain to me why he NEVER does this in front of my mother? It's not like he's afraid of her. Why is it okay to do it to me? You'd think if he loved me he'd treat me better.

DH has a lot to commend him. He doesn't cuss or smoke; he drinks sparingly. He has a long list of sterling attributes, and this failing. For our next wedding anniversary I'm going to help him with that one failing. His present will be a big cork!

I was listening to WGN this morning. Kathy and Judy, the wacky female duo who command the morning airtime were discussing what protocol NASA should have for astronauts who discover they won't be making a safe return.

That's a really tough subject. Suppose you have risked all to be among the select few who have gone into space, and Mission Control tells you that you might not make it back. You have three doors to choose from. The option behind the first door is to ride a flaming shuttle to your death. The second door is that same ride, but miraculously, you make it back safe and sound. The third door holds a pill that allows you to take your own life before you suffer.

What a choice to have to make! How many of us have the fortitude to tough out a death like that? I believe I'd want to hang on to the last moment, trying to do everything I could, to save the mission (and my life!). I don't believe that in less trying situations I'd opt for suicide, but if NASA had supplied me with a tablet that would make my death quick and painless.....could I hold out, in the face of what was to come?

Another issue they discussed was whether NASA should suggest to the astronauts that they need to have a final communication with their loved ones. If the situation is bleak, and the chance of getting home is slim, should they be up front about it? I followed Apollo 13's trials when I was younger, and I've seen the movie about it dozens of times. There was never any suggestion made public that those men talked with their families. Do you suppose that NASA felt that admitting the gravity of the situation might lessen the efforts of the men to get back? If you loose hope, do you quit trying?

I'd be a wreck having what might be my last conversation with my family, but I'd want it. Think about the men and women on 9-11 who called their loved ones from the Trade Centers or from the planes, to say goodbye. I don't think that conversation would keep me from making every effort to make it back. It might make me redouble my efforts.

So.......would you take the easy way out, or ride the shuttle down? Would you talk to your spouse or not? Should NASA let the astronauts decide for themselves what the protocol should be? Talk to me.

It seems we have had some night visitors. Since the air-conditioning is on during the summer, we don't hear what's going on outside, but DH had a tale to tell when he came in today.

We have a storm moving in tonight, so DH decided to get as much mowing done as possible before dinner. We have quite a large yard, so he was only able to do part of it. As he was mowing, he found some evidence that "people" have been using our front lawn to "party" at night.

First, there were tire tracks through a section of my driveway garden which is down for renovation. A small to mid-size car might be able to drive through that area leaving the drive and traveling across the lawn. He felt they had parked behind a pod of lilacs that would have shielded them from the road. Secondly, they left used rubbers behind.

DH thought they may have visited several times before they came with the car. Of course, we think it's likely that kids from one of the new neighborhoods to our east or west have found us. I'm going to have to put stakes in the garden to discourage them from passing through again. We're going to use black plastic to do a solar burn off of that portion of the bed, and they won't be able to see that at night. Maybe I should put up a scarecrow in the center!

We were talking about this as I fixed dinner. DH said we should take an empty disposable camera one night, sneak up on them and click the flash. Actually....that sounds like a fine thing to be doing at 1:00 in the morning. *G* Have you any better suggestions??

Sunday, I took my mother to a beginner's class on beading. We both quilt. I create mostly pieced quilts, and Mother appliqués. We both feel that we need to participate in the current trend of embellishing quilts, and beads are the easiest way to start. We spent two hours in dogged concentration chasing those suckers around with our needles, trying to secure them to a practice piece. I now know the basic steps, and it will be the rare quilt of mine that gets beads. Maybe with practice it gets easier, but it was incredibly frustrating, and uncomfortable, besides.

I'd rather work with emoticons. They are MUCH easier to deal with!

You know from past entries that I firmly believe that those who choose to live in the United States should speak and read English. Well, to that end, I think I am going to contact the local chapter of Literacy Volunteers of America. Since I have teaching degrees, it shouldn't be too difficult for me to get the training I need to participate in this program. Ideally, I'd like to teach adults to read, but there is probably more call for English as a Second Language in this area. It seems like a great project for the coming year.

No, not the kids out on the lawn, although I appreciate the suggestions on what to do about them! *G* One of my stepsons lives with us, and he has a long distance girlfriend. She is on a trip, and since she was going to pass through this area, she made arrangements to stay with us. At first, we expected her late on Tuesday night, and then it was going to be Wednesday morning. So, I decided to go to bed and do the dishes in the morning before she arrived.

Well, you got it. She came in at 2:00 in the morning. It just doesn't pay to let the dishes go. We have one of those houses where the kitchen, and the great room, and a breakfast room are all part of an open plan, so it always feels that if the kitchen is a mess, so are the other rooms. I spent some time cleaning up this morning, so that when she wakes up, it will look a lot better.

Dear Husband teases me about cleaning the house before the cleaning lady comes. I don't think I will ever be sufficiently blasé enough to forget that I WAS the cleaning lady not too long ago.

This was posted to a Yahoo Group I belong to. It's a pictoral history lesson based on Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire."

Go see.....it's worth a look.

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~yel/Fire.html

Do you believe in predestination? I don't want to, but I keep coming back to the subject and mulling it over.

I was getting a haircut today, and Kristin was talking about this. She believes that you are put on earth for a purpose, that we have something to learn from the situations we find ourselves in. It rather reminded me of the "Quantum Leap" series on TV.

I asked her if she believed that we had any control over the direction of our lives, and she said yes. She felt that it was possible for us to take the easy path and learn our lesson pleasantly, or we could fight it, and learn the lesson the hard way.

I don't know if I agree with her that we are here to learn something, but I do believe that we choose the direction of our lives. Our environments have a huge affect on our choices, but we can still choose the paths we take. If you are in an abusive relationship, you can walk away. If you have been raised in a ghetto, you can choose to study and find a better way of life. It's harder to walk away from those you love, but if the situation is harmful to you, you can walk away.

Most of us tend to fear the devil we don't know, more than the devil we do know. We're slow to make changes because we could make things even worse. "Out of the fat, and into the fire." How many of us worry that we will make a bad choice? Sometimes those choices remind us of the story about "The Lady or the Tiger."

DH seems to make the right choice at the right time. We built a home, and it's been threatened again and again with disastrous situations. The farm across the street was zoned for light industry, and they could have built an asphalt plant there. The Illinois Dept. of Transportation wanted to put a freeway through here just after we built. Then, the people who owned the land 500 yards away wanted to build a drug and alcohol rehab unit.

The truth is....the farm across the street was purchased by the forest preserve, the freeway idea was dropped due to the cost of purchasing the land, and the rehab center was dropped when the entire neighborhood came together to protest. Each time, I worried myself sick....and each time he told me not to worry.

DH began as a construction laborer, and now he owns his own business. On the surface, it looks as though his childhood didn't contribute anything to this success, but perhaps it gave him the resiliancy and self-reliance to accomplish all this. Or, perhaps he was intended to be successful, despite his surroundings.

Despite his success, I know he'd rather be sailing the seven seas.

Are you on the path of your choice? If not, what's keeping you from it?

I was browsing blogs this afternoon, and came across Acidman's comments about love. There were a couple of his statements I was thinking about challenging, but my mind went off on a tangent before I got there. Go see what he had to say, and don't nag him about being mushy.

In 1970, the movie "Love Story" was released. It was a HUGE hit. Everyone I knew saw it multiple times, and there were posters and t-shirts everywhere. The famous line that comes from the movie is "Love is never having to say you're sorry." Horse hockey! (Seems to be the trend for the week....piled deeper and higher.)

I didn't understand that line at the time, and I still don't understand it. It seems to me that if you have done something less than noble in your relationship, you NEED to be saying that you are sorry. When you make a committment to another person, whether it's pledging your troth, or simply saying "I love you," you are proclaiming that how they feel matters to you.

There are going to be times when you screw up, and you can't just kick the mess under the rug and go on. You have to face up to your errors, admit them, and say "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry, and I'll never do that again" would be even better.

We are not static in our lives. There is never a point we reach where we stop evolving or maturing. Each year adds a perspective that didn't exist the prior year, and sometimes those changes are going to bring us into conflict with those we love. And sometimes we do things that hurt them. It takes a big person to say they are sorry, especially when they are sincere.

I worry about growing apart, and I've been told that I worry too much. It's natural for the people in a relationship to diverge some as they mature, but my concern has to do with how much diversion a relationship can bear. Can love continue when common ground has evaporated?

One of the things Acidman said that resonated with me was "You can love someone without doting on them. Sometimes you have to love from a distance." Perhaps that's the nature of some relationships.....the "if you love them, let them go" theory. I wonder if the secret to a 70 year marriage is that each of the partners has their own interests, or is it common ground that keeps them together?

As you can see, I don't have the answers. I know what I hope they are, but you'll have to check back in a few decades to see if I ever figured it out.

One thing I can tell you is the the movie "Love Story" sucks pond water! I avoid all things Ryan O'Neil, now.

I was reading Dr. D's and Desiree's comments on the post about AIDS statistics, and had a little more to say.

I started what has turned out to be a long term relationship just about the time AIDS was rearing it's ugly head. Each time AIDS has come up for discussion over the past 20 years I've shuddered at the thought of being thrown back into the dating pool. It's difficult enough to be swimming there at my age; it's even worse to have to contemplate dating in the age of AIDS.

I can just see meeting a really cool guy; deciding that THIS is one I'd be willing to allow to see me nekkid.....and then having to ask him for a note from his doctor, saying that he's virus free.

Can you imagine that conversation??

HA.....I was just sitting here thinking about asking that question of some of the male bloggers I read, and the range of responses they'd have. Think about the different let-downs I'd get from T-bone, e-the merciless, Acidman, Sgt. Hook, Mad Bull or Dr. D.

T-bone would give me a witty disertation on how he loves the Petite Filet, -e- would have to check his social schedule to see if he could fit me in between the latest blog brawls, Acidman......well....I'm not going there....he'd speak his mind, and it wouldn't be pretty, the Sgt. (who also loves his wife) would feel it was inappropriate for an officer representing the US, and Natty wouldn't let Mad Bull do it (he ALSO loves his wife). Dr. D wouldn't need a note from his doc, I guess.

Back to the subject. I understand just why AIDS is spreading. There's not a person out there who would put themselves through that embarrassment. You'd have to be willing to accept a LOT of rejection. On the other hand, maybe it's not such a bad thing. It would weed out the guys looking for a one night stand. You might actually find keepers that way.

Hm......Yahoo personals: WSF, virus free, seeing WSM, virus free. Interested in music, movies, theater, and hot monkey sex. Those without doctor certification need not apply.

Y'all know I'm a relative newbie here, and I'm still trying to find my niche, although I'm getting closer. I've started reading further afield, and one of the things that has been popping up lately is the subject of trolls. I was visiting Wazzup, -e's- site, and came across this definition for trolls:

troll /v.,n./ [From the Usenet group alt.folklore.urban] To utter a posting on Usenet designed to attract predictable responses or flames. Derives from the phrase "trolling for newbies" which in turn comes from mainstream "trolling", a style of fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. The well-constructed troll is a post that induces lots of newbies and flamers to make themselves look even more clueless than they already do, while subtly conveying to the more savvy and experienced that it is in fact a deliberate troll. If you don't fall for the joke, you get to be in on it.

Is there a book out called "Blogging for Idiots"??? It's really embarrassing to put your foot in it, and not even know that you've done it. Maybe there's a Miss Manners of the Blog world who can advise me, and keep me out of trouble.

Actually......for those of you in the same boat, read the comments posted to Eric's blog on July 17, titled "Free Speech, trolls, and sissies." It's nice to know that there are other bloggers out there who have more experience and are just as clueless about trolls.

I'm really relieved that I've missed out on the entire Usenet scene. Flaming is not a way of life that excites me. Perhaps I will simply go and read, and withhold comment until I have sharpened my logic and language skills.

Until then, you can expect posts on food, family life, friends, life questions, books, music, theater and occasionally, sex.

As a quilter and a gardener, light has always had an effect on the canvas of my creations. It wasn't until recently that I realized it affects me when I am at the computer as well.

We have a home office, and a second computer has been set up in the living room. Both rooms have interesting light. The office has a window that looks out over lawn, mature trees, a star magnolia, fosythia and a border of daylilies. The shades of green in pools of sunlight or deepest shade draw your eye, and invite you to daydream. Even in winter, when only the bones of the landscaping exist, the light will draw your eye, exaggerating the contrast of glistening snow and tree trunks wet from melting ice. The angle of the sun in summer keeps it from entering the room. There's an invisible barrier between that glorious view and the shaded room that reminds you this is supposed to be a place of work.

The computer in the living room sits on an antique trestle table. I've clustered treasures on that table to create a nest. There's a coffee grinder from my grandparent's home on a farm in Iowa in the 1930s, a frame with one of the few pictures I have of my husband, his arm draped around a fabric moose as tall as he is, a silver wire Christmas ornament from one of my nieces, and the computer. A lamp leaves a pool of light in the center of the table at night, but the light that draws me during the summer afternoons is much more lovely.

The west end of that room has twelve windows that fill it from the peak to about two feet off the floor. There are no curtains. Outside the window is the remains of an old nursery. Some of the trees are in rows and others have been sprinkled through out the regimented lines by an unseen hand. Through out the day and into the night we see a steady passage of deer, racoons, blue jays, cardinals, squirrels and chipmunks. It's not possible to be bored, here.

When I take my seat at that computer in late afternoon, the sun shines through the upper structure of the trees and dapples the surface of the table. The light is gentle and warming, and I want to use the word "bower" to describe that corner of the room. It's my personal retreat, a feminine reaction to the masculinity of the rest of the house. The windows let nature in, in the softest of ways. It's a place where I find peace.

I'll always carry the image of that summer light and the sense of comfort and beauty it brings to me.

...or maybe not so good....

I rarely follow what’s going on in sports, but I can’t help but trip over all the commentary about Kobe Bryant that’s in the news right now. AOL Sports had a column that caught my eye.

Steve Aschburner wants to know if his readers feel Bryant is “morally bankrupt.” It seems that a nationally syndicated talk show host based in LA was pushing the concept of a “moral bank account.”

Do you feel that all your good deeds and behavior accrue in a moral savings account to be used to offset the occasional immoral act? It’s an interesting concept, in that it would give you a little wiggle room when you finally had to face St. Peter.

“Well, yes, Sir. I DID rip off my partner and run off to Cancun with his money and his wife. But on the other hand, I DID organize the annual United Way Fund for Peoria, and I took in stray cats, and I saw to it that my mother lives in the best nursing home available. Doesn’t that count for something?”

Aschburner says NO! He believes that good people do good all the time, and that you are only as good as your next decision. That’s a pretty harsh stand.

I’ve accepted that St. Peter and I will have a LONG list of items to discuss. I’ve made little errors and whoppers, sins of omission and commission. Will any of the good things I’ve done help me? Gosh, I hope so. But, I don’t believe that the good things I do give me the right to occasionally sin. It’s not a balance sheet for me, but an ongoing effort to live a better life.

Should Kobe Bryant be given the benefit of the doubt in his coming case because he projects the image of generally being a good guy? Does that image give you reason to doubt his accuser? Do you think that your life is a balance sheet, and that you can occasionally make a withdrawal, as long as you aren’t bankrupt by the end of the day?

What do YOU think?

I was thinking about the proliferation of creature comforts during the second half of the 20th century. The list is incredibly long now, due mostly to the strides technology has made.

TV and radio were around before 1950, but I think we've just about reached the point where every household has one of each. Okay, maybe not EVERY…but most. TV went from black and white to color, and radio went to stereo sound. The original equipment was furniture size, and shifted to portable so you would never have to be without: Boom boxes, Walkman, Watchman, Disk players. Then we needed equipment to save what we saw and heard. Cassette tapes, Beta, VHS, CDs and DVDs, and floppy disks, emerged, each form smaller than the previous one, so that you never had to be without.

In the kitchen, microwaves and food processors became commonplace. Under cabinet lighting, under cabinet radios, under cabinet can openers, and under cabinet you-name-its, showed up.

Improvements have occurred throughout the house. Many people own electric washers and dryers, trash compactors, kitchen disposals and automatic coffeemakers. We have whirlpools and exercise rooms and saunas in some houses. We have showerheads that pulse, and devices to keep us from getting scorched by the water when the kids flush. There are curling irons, blow driers, and electric tooth brushes, electric blankets and electric BEDS!

In the home office we have typewriters with memory, computers with word processors, copiers, and electric pencil sharpeners. My phone takes messages and talks to callers. We have scanners and faxes and printers. My father’s beautiful slide rule became obsolete as calculators took over the schoolroom and then the world.

We are so addicted to being in contact that a HUGE number of us have cell phone, with voice mail and a built in phone book. Mine might make waffles; I haven’t checked.

Our clothes are created with permanent press to make care easier, and the biologists have developed ways to create colored cotton, so the fiber doesn’t have to be dyed. Some fibers are made with nanotechnology to discourage stains, and micro fibers to enhance fit and wear.

We have riding lawn mowers, automatic door locks/openers for our cars, lighting that goes on as the sun sets, sprinklers that start and stop on timers and digital cameras. Kids have an endless array of electronic games. We have windows that keep the Ultraviolet rays out, and air conditioning to keep the entire house cool. We even have electronic fences to keep the dog from straying.

And with all that, some of my favorite things are really very simple. I’m delighted to have an attached garage so that I can get out of the car and stay dry. I love the refrigerator that makes ice for me, and is frost free. The microwave gives me my first morning cup of tea in two minutes, and my family thanks GOD for that. And, the log lighter in the fireplace is wonderful. I know a lot of people go for fake fires, but I just need a little help getting my fire started.

I could live without my creature comforts, but they sure make life nice. What would you hate to give up?

This came in my e-mail today. Given the previous post on Creature Comforts, I thought I'd share it.

The year is 1902 , one hundred years ago... what a difference a century makes. Here are the U.S. statistics for 1902....

The average life expectancy in the US was forty-seven.

Only 14 Percent of the homes in the US had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.

There were only 8,000 cars in the US and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million residents, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average wage in the US was 22 cents an hour.

The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births in the US took place at home.

Ninety percent of all US physicians had no college education. Instead, they attended medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."

Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee cost fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.

The five leading causes of death in the US were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was 30.

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.

There were no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

One in ten US adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores. According to one pharmacist, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and the bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."

Eighteen percent of households in the US had at least one full-time servant or domestic.

There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire US.

Just think what it will be like in another 100 years. It boggles the mind!!

I heard on the radio this morning that Cook County, the home of Chicago, Illinois has 135 languages spoken within it's boundaries.

AND, 35%.....that's THIRTY-FIVE PERCENT of the households in the county do not use English as the language spoken in the home.

Spanish, Polish, one of the Chinese dialects. What the heck are the OTHER 132 languages???

I was reading yesterday, and came across the word "voluptuary," and paused to wonder if there are voluptuaries today.

Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1998 defines it this way:

voluptuary \Vo*lup"tu*a*ry\ (?; 135), n.; pl. Voluptuaries. [L. voluptuarius or voluptarius, fr. voluptas pleasure.] A voluptuous person; one who makes his physical enjoyment his chief care; one addicted to luxury, and the gratification of sensual appetites.
Syn: Sensualist; epicure.

I browsed at Google in an effort to see if there were famous 20th century voluptuaries, and found the word tied to the United Nations, sex, disipation, Anne Rice, the Kama Sutra, French cuisine, prostitution, literature, chinchilla, dance, Tolstoy and assorted other entries. There was even a reference to mental voluptuaries.

So, a voluptuary is a person who spends his or her time in the pursuit of personal pleasure. That pleasure may be sexual, or sensual. It can be tactile, or mental, or gustatory.

I wonder if you can be a part-time voluptuary? Do you need to have great wealth to be one? Can you be a working stiff and still be a voluptuary?

I always thought of Pashas with their harems when I saw the word voluptuary. Picture a man reclining on a collection of pillows, having a small child fan the air with peacock feathers, a scantily clad woman searching a tray for the most delictable morsel to feed him.

I suppose today's voluptuary is the man who drives an expensive car loaded with all the accessories ever invented, or the woman who choses to clothe herself in silk and fur. On very rare occasions, I have been a voluptuary when dining out, but unlike Nero Wolfe, those occasions have been few and far between. I suspect if the third world knew of the word, they would consider every inhabitant of the western world to be a voluptuary.

I think I'll create a female character for an on-going series of stories who has chosen the life of a voluptuary. You know, they say that you should write about what you know. I'll have to do a LOT of research! *G*

What is it with men and directions? I just don't understand this issue. My husband, who is exceptional in so many ways, simply does not get the idea of asking for directions when he is lost.

The closest he has ever come to admitting he was lost was the day he called me from his truck, and said that he wanted me to get out the six county map (Chicago and suburbs), and see if I could advise him how to get where he was going. Unfortunately, rather than pull over and give me some time to flip through the pages to find his starting point, he kept driving! ARRRGH!!!

He finally hit a road he recognized, and back-tracked as I frantically searched through the pages, trying to figure out how to get him where he needed to go.

When we travel, he drives, for the most part, and I sit with a Rand McNally map of the US on my lap. On long trips he never argues with me about what direction to go. Even in Chicago he turns when I tell him to. Unfortunately, one day I said "Turn Left HERE!" and we ended up going the wrong way on a one way street. Luckily, it was at a time of the evening when there was little traffic and we made it to the next block safely. I told you he was exceptional.

Still, when we are in the 'burbs, he and I would NEVER choose the same path to get where we are going. For a while it became a bone of contention between us, and now it's graduated to the family joke. My mother used to dread riding with us because we were likely to bicker about how to get where we were going.

I believe in taking the less traveled route, even if it means I have to make a few more turns. I travel at off peak times (IF there is such a thing out here, any longer). DH, on the other hand, is used to driving a 14 foot stake bed truck that is restricted to certain roads. He ALWAYS chooses the route with the fewest turns, and this habit leaches over to his private driving as well.

Being a boat owner, DH is the proud owner of three, or maybe it's four, hand held GPS devices. I'm tempted to buy him one of the watch styled ones for our anniversary. Then he'll always be able to tell me where he WAS!

ARRGH!!!

Have you experienced a streaker? It was the new thing when I was at school, and I see that it hasn't died out. This is one of those links that Dr. D might send when he's having trouble thinking of an issue to discuss. I admit it. I'm having one of those totally emply, blank, tabula rasa days. I go from having endless things to say, to zippo, so it's not surprising a little streaking caught my attention! *G*

Sorry, Doc.......I beat you to it! lol

Additional post:
Well, Sgt. Hook was right, the link has expired since I posted. THe story was about a passenger on a plane to Singapore. The man was a thirty-something flight attendant, traveling as a passenger. At one point, he jumped up from his seat, threw a glass of wine over several other passengers, stripped naked and threw his credit cards around the cabin. The flight attendents couldn't get to him for a few moments because the serving carts blocked their passage. They finally herded him to the front of the plane where he was handed his clothes and told to dress.

He's going to have a little "mental health" vacation. Apparently the airline had no sense of humor. *G*

In my twenties, I had the chance to travel across Europe with an adult community band. One of the cities we visited was Ulm, Germany. I was reminded of that day by a post on Dr. D's blog.

We were about halfway through our tour when the younger members of the bass section decided it was time for a night out. One of our members was Jewish, and he was the only one who came even close to being able to communicate with the natives.

We left the hotel, and walked down the main thoroughfare. When we came to a promising side street, we veered off, looking for a neighborhood bar. We finally settled on one. I can't say we were welcomed with open arms. The customers and bartender alike looked us up and down. I figure they were wondering if we had come looking for trouble, and they were willing to give it to us. It was clearly a rough crowd, and they resented the intrusion. It didn't help that the bass player's German was likely laced with Yiddish.

Somehow we managed to place an order for the local beer, and it came in litre glasses. Sheer stupidity (shaking my head). One of them said "Bottoms UP" and THEY chugged the beer. I was still sipping mine when they slammed their glasses down, and looked expectantly at me. "You know, the looser buys the next round, don't you?"

I ponied up for four rounds that night. I never finished one of them. Surprisingly, it was the girl who played string bass who packed it away the best. She must have practiced regularly. *G*

As one point, she and I headed for the loo, an experience I will NEVER forget. I know they talk about Americans being nasty neat, and having too high expectations when it comes to sanitation, but this was simply a hole in the floor! If I could have held it, I would have!

We had a long bus ride the next day, and had to be up early to load the buses, so after the fourth round, we lurched out of our chairs and headed for the door. I'm astounded we were able to find our way back to the hotel. Standing up was a group effort.

As I recall.....the beer was great! But I had enough of it that night to last me a lifetime!

It seems to me that I heard someone announce that the USPS is considering allowing people to have stamps with their own picture on them. I think the cost would be a dollar a stamp. I don't know if there would be a minimum number you have to order. It's apparently a way to make more money for the Post Office.

I can see women using them for wedding announcements and for bridal showers, or maybe on surprise birthday invitations. But, would you spend a buck a stamp just to send your face out in the mail??

Can't ya just see it.....They'll cancel the stamp and you'll look like you're behind bars!

I love watching men!

A few years ago I was sitting with my youngest sister. We had the oddest conversation. Her daughters were tiny then, and she was very conscious of the fact that small children are quick to learn by observation. Sis has always been a great watcher of men, especially their rear view. She was trying to tell me that she felt it necessary to put an end to that terrible habit for her daughter's sake, but as she was talking, her head swiveled to follow one particularly exceptional vision of male pulchritude. All I could do was hoot with laughter!

Remember the scene from "Roxanne" where the new firefighter meets the Chief (Steve Martin), and is mesmerized by his nose? Martin moves his nose back and forth, and the guy's head follows the movement. Sis is sorta like that around handsome men! *G*

I was in the grocery store today, and a man walked past pushing his cart. I just stayed where I was and watched for a bit. What a nice tush! I think male teens are missing a bet, wearing those darned baggy pants. Not only do they LOOK stupid....they are also missing out on the chance to find a girl who might be attracted to their (ahem) figure! That's one thing guys in their thirties have going for them...pants that FIT. I don't want to see a guy in pants that are so tight there's no room to squirm. Pants that nicely cup the curve of the butt are just right!

Another thought about those baggies.... I was also at the car wash today. Being a basically lazy person, I have the SUV washed for me, rather than doing it myself. I was waiting for the guys to finish the wipe-down when a young man sat down across from me. Guys, if you're going to wear shorts with really wide legs, you might want to have someone teach you how to sit with your knees together.

I recall an episode of "Friends" that was about guys "hanging out." I thought it was a funny, but contrived incident for a plot, and discovered today that it really happens. This guy was sitting with his legs sprawled open. I really TRIED not to look.....
*G*

1. What time do you wake up on weekday mornings?

The first time, between 4:40 and 5:00 when hubby kisses me goodbye. THe second time is between six and seven.

2. Do you sleep in on the weekends? How late? No, I try to take responsibility for the dog walk on weekends, so I'm up anywhere from 5:30 to 7:00 depending on Defer.

3. Aside from waking up, what is the first thing you do in the mornin? Pee. Doesn't everyone?? Okay.....pee, shower, dress, hair, makeup, TEA!

4. How long does it take to get ready for your day? From bed to door, 30 minutes if I am working at home, 45 if I have to go out.

5. When possible, what is your favorite place to go for breakfast? Quincy's. I like Cracker Barrel's hash brown casserole, but I haven't had it in a few years.

No...that's not a play on words. It seems that farmers have found a new way to make the most of their corn fields. They're taking several acres of their fields and cutting designs into them, and selling passes to walk the mazes.

Mazes are common in England, but the farmers have a new twist. Their mazes can be made from scratch each year, and the designs are complex. Most of them are new designs that don't bear any resemblance to the boxwood or evergreen mazes which take years to develop. Maze Play is one company that helps farmers create the designs. Take a look at some of their photos.

The invention of GPS gave the farmers the tool they needed to cut precision designs in the crops. Early in the year a design is chosen or created, and the crop is planted. The paper design is covered with a grid of GPS locations, and the information is converted into a device that the designer wears in the field.

As the designer walks the field, guided by the GPS device, he is followed by a tractor which removes specific cornstalks to create the alleyways of the design.

There is a farm in Northern Illinois that has nine miles of trails. I heard of this phenomenon while traveling through Indiana, but there are mazes all over the US and Canada.

If you haven't been to a farm lately, go and see the newest aspect of 21st century farming! Depending on your location, mazes will be available from August to November. Surf the web to find the one nearest you, or call your county extention service for more information.

I'd be really happy to tell you that it is a computer virus, or even a garden pest, but it's one of those upper respiratory thangs.

Yesterday morning, I had a scratchy throat when I woke, and felt better after breakfast. By 10:00 in the morning I was sneezing, and coughing, and by early afternoon those coughs started around my navel and came through like freight trains loose on a downward grade.

I won't go on about how rotten I feel, but I want to warn you that something nasty is out there. Take every precaution you can to avoid this. Have the kids wash hands frequently, and avoid playdates with anyone who has a sick family member.

If you catch it, a doctor friend has recommended Vitamin C. I'll tell you that hot chicken noodle soup and hot tea are very comforting. Go stock up on tissues. This is one time when you will want the tissues with aloe. Your nose will thank you!

And, Hook.....don't even suggest that this is my penance for butt watching!

I found this brief question and answer in the Chicago Tribune Parade, for August 3, 2003, page 2.

"Q. I read that Eddie Vedder and his group, Pearl Jam, bought 1400 square miles of endangered rain forest in Madagascar to compensate for the 5700 tons of greenhouse gas that will be created by the band's U.S. tour. Who will it help?--Chuck S., Mesa, Ariz.

A. They didn't buy the land but did give an undisclosed figure to Conservation International to protect that rain forest. It will help the 16.5 million people on the Indian Ocean isle of Madagascar and the five members of Pearl Jam, who hope to lure thousands of environmentally sensitive fans to concerts by convincing them that the band is politically correct. Sounds like a lot of gas to us."

I'd like to know who came up with the figure of 5700 tons of greenhouse gas, and how they determined that figure?! I assume they figured in the vehicles used to move the tour from site to site, and maybe even figured the cost due to the electricity they are going to consume for sound, lighting and air conditioning. But did they add in the effects from beer drinking concert attendees? I wonder what else they might have missed.

And, since when is a band concerned with being politically correct? It's lovely that they are helping to save the rain forest, but it's an odd way to generate press coverage for a tour.

When you are upset or ill, do you have a favorite food that soothes?

When I was a child, any time one of us was ill Mother would give us cream of tomato soup and Seven Up (a clear soda for those of you non-US readers). That's an odd combination. Chicken noodle soup would have probably been better for us, but Mother detests chicken noodle soup, so tomato it was. I'm sure the warmth from the hot liquid helped.

Today, the only thing I wanted to eat was a grilled cheese sandwich. It's not on my diet, but the diet is in abeyance until I feel better. I doubt I have to worry about gaining weight, feeling like this.

When my husband is ill, ice cream is his comfort food. I know others who prefer chocolate, but most of the peope I know go for starchy things. I wonder if there's a genetic reason for that? Maybe the body needs more fuel to fight the bug, and the starchy things are an easy source.

What's your favorite comfort food?

Did you know that Fellowes has created a shredder that will shred CDs, paper clips, and credit cards? (Model PS70-2CD $180). Since we now store so much of our personal information on CDs, I suppose this is a wise thing. Pardon my ignorance, but isn't it possible to erase a CD?? That would be a lot cheaper than shredding the suckers.

For those of you on a tight budget, the Royal MD 100 "Media Destroyer" is only a hundred bucks.

Lately I've been reading a lot of political and militarily oriented blogs. I'm astounded at how far I've let my knowledge of current events slip. After all, I was once married to a political science teacher, and my life was filled with a constant flurry of newspapers, radio and TV news, canvassing, elections and government activity.

But that's another story for another day. What I wanted to tell you about was a new site that I just discovered for those of us who are acronymly challenged:

acronymfinder.com

YEAH!!! Now I don't have to ask dumb questions!

I discovered today that Anna Paquin, who won an Oscar at 11 for her role in "The Piano," has continued to act. I don't know where I've been the past ten years. She's been in more than thirteen movies since she did "The Piano." I've actually seen her in "Finding Forrester," (my famous lack of memory creeping in here), and I have a copy of the movie "Amistad" which I'll watch now. What caught my attention was that she also plays "Rogue," a mutant, in the "X-men" movies.

Now I have TWO reasons to see the "X-men" movies: Anna, and Hugh Jackman. THERE'S a man who's easy on the eyes. He played a pretty role in "Kate and Leopold," but he plays "Wolverine," another mutant.

Jamie....you can have Toby Keith.....I'll take Hugh!

I have to say thank you to Sgt. Hook for the kindest of mentions. I've been trying to learn my way around Site Meter, and discovered that of the last 100 visits, perhaps half or more of them came through his blog.

Sarge, your support of new bloggers is a gracious thing. I'll remember and pass the favor on as I spread my wings.

If you haven't been to visit Sgt. Hook's blog, you must! He's a remarkable military man, and an incredible "human bean." *G*

Actually, my mind is still stuck on this weekend's topics. Last night I still felt too rotten to cook, so DH did take out from Olive Garden. Two of the four of us are ill, and he brings back four full sized entrees, four salads that could feed eight people, complete with salad dressing, cheese and croutons, and a bag of breadsticks. I had lasagana last night. It was very comforting, but filling. I'm working on the salad for lunch. Despite eating strangely, and eating things that are NOT on my diet, I've lost more weight. That may be the only good thing to say about being sick.

I was a little surprised about Acidman's reply to my question about comfort food. I rather expected that he would choose something inherently Cracker, but he likes egg drop soup. I guess that's an upscale chicken noodle soup. Dr. D. could have been raised in my family; his choices match mine down the line. Bogie really surprised me, with "refried beans." Actually, bogie, add a little cheese to that, and put it on a Tostito, and I might agree. See.....it's that starch thing again. Cheese goes well with anything. Speedbump is probably thinking of a suggestion for the queso at Miguelitos's right now! *WEG*

I was at the grocery store again today for more tush watching. I'm not a spring chicken any longer, and I recently realized that I've stopped watching the very young guys in favor of those who are a little older. Guys who are in their mid thirties to their late fifties seem to really draw my eye, especially if they have kept themselves fit. I'm happy to say that there are a LOT of guys who fit that description.

I wonder, after all the years that men have made it clear that they watch women, all the talk about "hooters" and "headlamps" and such, does it embarrass guys to know they are being watched? I don't go around making appreciative noises and pumping my arm in the air, and contrary to public opinion, I DON'T DROOL! But (and I've learned this from my MOTHER..) when you stop looking you might as well be dead. Actually, I was talking with Mother about this today. I asked her if she found that she was watching older men too, and she said "No." She didn't care to elaborate on the subject (pehaps she feared being immortalized here), but it seems she just likes MEN. PERIOD! Especially if they happen to have small red convertibles!

If ya really want to do something nice for me, arrange for a parade of attractive men to pass my way, today. I need a gutter guy, and a lawncare guy, and a handyman. Send the UPS and the FedEx guys, and the postman, and have a poll taker and floral delivery guy visit. Heck, if you can't think of any excuses, tell them to stop by and say they are LOST! Make my day!

A T-shirt announcing:

CO-ED NAKED GOLF!!

Jeeze......watch where you swing that thing!

I was browsing at Gut Rumbles today, and he directed me to two blogs that were new to me.

At Quit That! Marc posted a comment from his mother that I think you should read. I agree with a lot she had to say. I tend to think that I am not a racist person. The color of a person’s skin doesn’t bother me. What DOES bother me is willful ignorance, greed, sloth, general stupidity and intentional unkindness.

Her comments on education really resonated with me. Washington D.C. schools spend $13,000 per student and fail to show results. During at least the last twenty years, teacher’s colleges have been training prospective teachers to believe that it’s their duty to motivate the students. If the student fails, the teacher has failed. Horse hockey!

When parents teach their children that it is their RESPONSIBILITY to learn, and encourage them to learn, that $13,000 is going to create AWSOME students. Until Mom and Dad show the kids that a good education is a necessity, you can throw all the money and all the dedicated teachers at them that you want…..and nothing is going to happen.

Brava, Marc’s Mom!

The other website to go visit is Stupid Angry Canajun. She is a self proclaimed RM (Recovering Moron), and she has a lot to teach me.
Go visit. I think you’ll enjoy.

Do you believe there's a good day to die waiting for you out there?

We'll always be reminded of the Klingons who felt it was good to die in battle, and the men of the Wild West who prefered to die with their boots on.

John Grisham, opens his book "The Testament" with a billionaire signing a new will and then jumping to his death.

But on the other side of the coin is the mountain climber who cut off his own arm this year rather than face theGrim Reaper.

Can you imagine how difficult it is to talk to your parent about their wishes for their funeral? I had the opportunity to discuss this with my mother last week, and let me tell you, it's not an easy thing to do.

Sorry, Sir. I'm learning how to embed pictures tonight, and I needed the practice *smirk*

I was visiting at Altered Perceptions this morning, and came across a post questioning whether there should be a Code of Ethics for bloggers. Dawn provided a link to Calblog where the proposal for the Code of Ethics has been made. I strongly encourage you to visit and read the comments, but I'll summarize them here.

First, it was felt by many that the term "Code of Ethics" was inappropriate due to the fact that blogs are a personal rather than professional endeavor. Anticipatory Retaliation suggested that it might be more appropriate to call them "Standards," since standards do not carry any moral weight.

The sugggestion that most appealed to me was that each blogger should post their own guidelines in the "About Me" section of their blog. The most commonplace, and generally agreed upon guidelines are these:

1. Give credit where credit is due. Link to your sources when your post builds
off someone else's work. Cite original information.

2. If you are reporting on factual information, check your facts.

3. Do not change a post significantly once it has been established on your blog.
Personally, I will go back to change typos, grammar goofs, and broken
links within the first few minutes after I have posted, but rather than edit a
post in a way that changes the message, the better choice is to add an
Update at the bottom of the post.

4. Somewhere at your site, post your stand on the issue of comments. Let
your readers know in advance how you handle obscenity or personal
attacks, should you choose to delete this material from your blog.

5. Do not delete a post. I'm not sure I agree with this. I have deleted one
post and the comments that went with it. It was a personal rant that I later
regretted. In the future, I might also delete a post if it caused me grief. I'd
like to see some discussion of this issue as to why a blogger shouldn't have
control over their own blog.

In the comment section at Calblog, Claxton6 (who does not have a blog link) suggested that bloggers might want to read Rebecca Blood's "Weblog Ethics." I find them appropriate for blogs which focus on news or political issues, but to some degree, unnecessary for those of us whose blogs are personal commentary.

If you read Dawn's post, you'll see that she doesn't feel blog police are necessary or desirable, and I agree with her. However, a collection of common practices that might guide new bloggers as they put their oars in the stream is a good idea. Let each person post their own guidelines and no one will have to pony up for police uniforms.

I was visiting billy's blog yesterday and took a side trip to meet eloon. She has a very funny story about the power of suggestion on Thursday, August 7, starting with “What you really don’t want….”

Does the sound of running water make you need to pee? When you are out with friends, and someone rises from the table and says they will be right back, does it flash across your brain (and bladder) that you need to be excused, too? If you're working in the kitchen, and you have your hands in water, is that when you decide you really need to run for the potty? Does the phone always ring just when you’ve taken your first steps toward the bathroom? If you said "YES!" to any of those things, you're a woman.

Maybe because of the nature of feminine plumbing we have learned early on to be sure to take care of business every chance we get. Most women scope out the restrooms in a mall so that they know how far they are from one if they (or their children) need it. When I was traveling, I'd stop at McDonald's just because they had the cleanest johns (no double entendre intended), and they were likely to be found in almost any town I visited.

Every woman has experienced the situation where you’ve been quietly waiting, thinking that in just two more minutes you'll be able to make a break for the bathroom, and someone or something delays you. Just about that time a waiter will top off your glass of water, and beads of condensation will roll down the glass. Or, you’ll pass through a reception area that has a trickling fountain. Or it will start to rain outside. It's truly unfair that every little thing can remind us of the cup of tea we just drank, or the one too many cups of coffee we had this morning.

Men have always wanted to know why women go to the ladies’ room in packs. All this time they’ve been worried that the women wanted to gossip about them, but it’s really just the power of suggestion.

My newspaper brought me the information that businessmen in Chicago feel that they need an edge. A number of them are finding it by having a third of their gray removed.

Would I lie to you?

I feel another bout of simplification coming on. It happens every time I get to sit down with my newest copy of "Real Simple." This magazine has come along just at a time in my life when I long to get back to the nitty gritty. It has guidelines for simplifying every aspect of life. Usually I pay attention to those which simplify chores. Anyone in his right mind wants to make chores easier so they can get on to the good things in life.

But....this time the item that caught my eye was on multitasking.

Have there been occasions when you didn't get a picture that you really regret? We are not terribly into taking pictures. I buy an instant camera each spring and record the flower gardens and the herb garden. I take a picture of my grandson each summer when he comes to visit, measuring his growth against his grandfather. I've been taking pictures of Defer because this may be his last summer with us.

But there was an occasion when I needed to take an entire roll of film, and not a single picture turned out.

When our grandson was perhaps five years old, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were really popular. He adored them and owned almost all the action toys from the movies. He was coming to us for his annual visit, and DH decided to do something special for him.

I didn't know what he had planned until he asked for my assistance. He called me into the bedroom and asked if I would help him put "the shell" on. DH had stopped at a costume shop and rented one of the TMN Turtle costumes. As I recall, he was Michaelangelo.

I had been trying to get my husband to wear tights with a swashbuckler's costume for Halloween for years! The man has fabulous legs and a nothing tush! He would look fantastic in a costume like that, but the tights were the hangup. It seems real men don't wear tights. I thought that maybe as a joke I'd get him into them after "Robin Hood, Men in Tights" came out, but it was no deal.

But, for his grandson, he had slithered into the tights and a green turtleneck (what else) and now he needed help to get the rest of the costume on.

It only took a few seconds, and then I was instructed to take our grandson out to the front walk. When "the Turtle" walked up the sidewalk, he didn't know what to think. At first he was a bit shy, and then he looked a little skeptical. You could see that he was trying to figure out what was wrong with the picture.

DH kept the conversation to a minimum, and avoided doing any backflips. I took plenty of pictures, hoping for proof that my husband had actually worn tights, and then it was finally time for our visitor to go.

I keep hoping that one day he'll give in. I took him to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" thinking that it might get him in the mood, but no such luck. The day I finally get him to wear tights you'll hear me all the way from Chicago....WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

My thanks to my oldest stepson, who sends me lists! THe most recent list:

1. The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.

2. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

3. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

4. Deja moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.

5. Psychiatrists say that 1 of 4 people are mentally ill. Check three friends.
If they're OK, you're it.

6. Nothing in the known universe travels faster than a bad check.

7. A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn.

8. It has recently been discovered that research causes cancer in rats.

9. Always remember to pillage BEFORE you burn.

10. If you are given an open-book exam, you will forget your book.

11. If you are given a take-home test, you will forget where you live.

12. The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody
appreciates how difficult it was.

13. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning
to others.

14. Gravity Law: You can't fall off the floor.

15. The average woman would rather have beauty than brains because the
average man can see better than he can think.

16. Clothes make the man. Naked people have little-to- no influence on society.

17. Vital papers will demonstrate their vitality by moving from where
you left them to where you can't find them.

18. Law of Probability Dispersal: Whatever it is that hits the fan will
not be evenly distributed

Moses, "Excuse me, Sir."

"Is that you again, Moses?"

"I'm afraid it is, Sir."

"What is it this time, Moses; more computer Problems?"

"How did you guess?"

"I don't have to guess, Moses. Remember ?"

"Oh, yes; I forgot."

"Tell me what you want, Moses."

"But you already know, Sir. Remember?"

"Moses!"

"Sorry, Sir."

"Well, go ahead, Moses; spit it out."

"Well, I have a question, Sir. You know those ten 'things' you sent
me via e-mail?"

"You mean the Ten Commandments, Moses?"

"That's it. I was wondering if they are important."

"What do you mean 'if they are important,' Moses? Of course, they
are important. Otherwise, I would not have sent them to you."

"Well, sorry, Sir, but I lost them. I could say the dog ate them;
but, of course, you would see right through that."

"What do you mean you 'lost them'? Are you trying to tell me you
didn't save them, Moses?"

"No, Sir; I forgot."

"You should always save, Moses."

"Yes, I know. You told me that before. I was going to save them,
but I forgot. I did forward them to some people before I lost them
though."

"And did you hear back from any of them?"

"You already know I did. There was the one guy who said he never
uses 'shalt not.' May he change the words a little bit?"

"Yes, Moses, as long as he does not change the meaning."

"And what about the guy who thought your stance was a little harsh,
and recommended calling them the 'Ten Suggestions,' or letting
people pick one or two to try for a while?"

"Moses, I will act as if I did not hear that."

"I think that means 'no.' Well, what about the guy who said I was
scamming him?"

"I think the term is 'spamming,' Moses."

"Oh, yes. I. E-mailed him back and told him I don't even eat that
stuff, and I have no idea how you can send it to someone through a
computer."

"And what did he say?"

"You know what he said. He used Your name in vain. You don't think
he might have sent me one of those -- err -- plagues, and that's
the reason I lost those ten 'things', do you?"

"They are not plagues; they are called 'viruses,' Moses."

"Whatever! This computer stuff is just too much for me. Can we go
back to those stone tablets? It was hard on my back taking them out
and reading them each day, but at least I never lost them."

"We will do it the new way, Moses; using computers"

"I was afraid you would say that, Sir."

"Moses, what did I tell you to do if you messed up?"

"You told me to hold up this rat and point it toward the computer."

"It's a mouse , Moses, not a rat. Mouse! Mouse! And did you do that?"

"No, I decided to try calling technical support first. After all,
who knows more about this stuff than you? And I really like your
hours. By the way, Sir, did Noah have two of these mice on the ark?"

"No, Moses."

"One other thing. Why did you not name them 'frogs' instead of
'mice,' because did you not tell me the thing they sit on is a pad?"

"I did not name them, Moses. Man did, and you can call yours a frog
if you want to."

"Oh, that explains it. I bet some woman told Adam to call it a
mouse. After all, was it not a woman who named one of the computers
'Apple?'"

"Say good night, Moses."

"Wait a minute, Sir. I am pointing the mouse, and it seems to be
working. Yes, a couple of the ten 'things' have come back."

"Which ones are they, Moses?"

"Let me see. 'Thou shalt not steal from any grave "an image" and
'Thou shalt not correct Thy neighbor's wife.'"

"Turn the computer off, Moses. I'm sending you another set of stone
tablets."

I empathize with Moses.

I know....I've been a bit lazy lately. Usually I have dozens of little things I want to blog about, but this week I seem to be short on ideas.

I really envy those of you who have stong opinions about that's happening in your lives. Mine is rather quiet, actually downright DULL compared to most of you. I've seen interesting posts about getting lost in DE-troit, and a pooch that took himself to the vet, and I've seen information about the Blaster worm at Gut Rumbles and Quit That. Too bad Sgt. Hook is away. I'm waiting for the next installment of his "Road" stories. Go read the first two stories. Speaking of stories....Dr. D.....whatever happened to BLANCHE???

Oh....did you hear? SPEEDBUMP has posted. Yes! The man is alive and revving up for a trip to see Tobey Keith with the love of his life, Jamie. Go give him encouragement so he doesn't disappear for another 6 weeks. If you haven't clicked on my link for "I could have been a contender," you should. I hit the "I feel lucky" button one day and discovered billy in the middle of moving his family, and I got lucky! No....I haven't met the man yet, but it's been nice visiting with him. *G*

Here, you'll find recipes, or "funnies" or garden chat. I suppose the gentleness of my posting is due to the cold that is still hanging on, but more likely it's that my life is way too quiet! The good news is that I get to go to lunch with my oldest sister tomorrow. Perhaps she will have something to say that will give me ideas for blogging.

Until then, I'd like to say welcome to Texas T-bone, who has joined us as part of Red Eagle's group of bloggers. Smart move, guy!

Time to snooze. See you all tomorrow!

I was browsing through the blogs, and visiting some of the links, and I found an interesting post on the subject of people watching at Broadatbat. Actually, she was writing about men watching women, and the fact that some women object to that activity on the part of their significant other.

Mamma taught me....."If you can't look, you might as well be dead." You all know I am a people watcher. As I waited for my sister to join me for lunch yesterday, I watched the people walking by. Wednesday at 11:00 in the morning is not a great place to watch people in a mall. There was a preponderance of women pushing two seat strollers, all in a hurry to get where they were going before the kids decided to have a meltdown.

I wanna just SMACK those mothers who snarl at their children in public. I understand being at your wit's end and having a bad day, and then have the kids go ballistic. But if that's the case, you shouldn't be out at the mall. If you're treating the kids badly in a public place, what might you be doing in private?? Give everybody the day off. Get a little rest and relaxation, and do the mall another day.

So...okay....I got a little off topic. It's been a hard day. When DH and I are out, if I see either something incrediblty odd or something really lovely, I'll nudge him and try to direct his attention. He's the only man I have ever met who is seemingly unaware of the people around him. I'm not pimping for him, just sharing what I'm seeing. I don't mind him looking, although it seems a lot of women feel that is an insult.

My thoughts on it run this way. If he can't look, then he may feel that I can't look. Since it's unlikely he will ever get me to walk around in public with my eyes closed, why shouldn't he look? I don't understand the insult in watching, unless your spouse or boyfriend is constantly comparing you to what he sees, and you always come up wanting in the comparison. Now, that's rude!

Anything beyond watching is out, though. I'm not good at sharing. I've learned that from Jamie. An occasional kiss of welcome, or a kiss goodbye....maybe. But no touchy feely stuff. I mean....I'm reasonable on this subject. Look, but don't touch.

I think New Yorkers will have another day to look back on. I sincerely hope that their trial is brief. They've had their share of misfortune.

When I was a child, I woke up one frigid winter morning to find that we didn't have any heat. My father had built our home and we had hot water heat. The pipes in the unheated garage had frozen, cutting off our source of heat. Dad made a roaring fire in the fireplace in the living room and we sat close to the heat while my parents ferried breakfast to us. We heated our clothes by the fire and left it just long enough to dress.

We're better prepared these days, but a loss of power could be a serious problem if we had severe heat or cold. I'm more aware of these possibilities because my mother lives with us, and due to age, she's less adaptable. Fortunately, if we were to loose heat or air conditioning, I could drive her to my sister's home for a stay.

I can't imagine having my mother in a tall building in New York City, when there was no power. I'd NEVER get her down the stairs, so the only thing we could do would be to wait by a window and hope that help arrived, or the power was restored. Even if I was able to get her down a few flights of stairs, where would I have taken her, especially in the heat? I carry a cell phone in my purse now, so that I can get help if we are away from home. Did the cell phones work today? Do they have to go through switching stations that need electricty?

I'm a suburburn person. I have suburban street smarts. I've been very fortunate to have lived a safe, lucky life. Perhaps I need to plan for other contingencies. You know the saying....."Be Prepared!"

Some clever person put this list together. I'd like to give them credit for it, but it's one of those anonymous things circulating on the Internet. I'm posting it to show that I am not the only woman in the world who prefers a clean potty, Billy!

WHY MEN ARE JUST HAPPIER PEOPLE

What do you expect from such simple creatures!?
Your last name stays put.
The garage is all yours.
Wedding plans take care of themselves.
Chocolate is just another snack.
You can be president.
You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.
You can wear NO T-shirt to a water park.
Car mechanics tell you the truth.
The world is your urinal.
You never have to drive to another gas station
because this one's just too icky.
You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
Same work, more pay.
Wrinkles add character.
Wedding dress - $5000; tux rental - $100.
People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.
The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.
New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
One mood, ALL the time.
Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
You know stuff about tanks.
A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
You can open all your own jars.
You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.
Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.
Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
You almost never have strap problems in public.
You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.
Everything on your face stays its original color.
The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
You only have to shave your face and neck.
You can play with toys all your life.
Your belly usually hides your big hips.
One wallet and one pair of shoes, one color, all seasons.
You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
You can "do" your nails with a pocketknife.
You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.
You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives, on December 24,
in 45 minutes.

No wonder men are happier!

Forbes.com has published a list of the most expensive places to live. Chicago has moved up from eighth place in 2002, to seventh place this year. The list was based on a number of factors including high rent, high cost of living, and low job growth.

These 10 cities are the least desirable:

1. San Jose
2. San Francisco
3. Honolulu
4. Bergen-Passaic, NJ
5. NY
6. Boston
7. Chicago
8. Milwaukee
9. LA
10. Seattle

The chili sauce is in the pot, bubbling away. I got up at 5:30 to get things started, and had all the ingredients laid out, tomatoes weighed, and pots washed, when my mother walked into the kitchen. She has my cold, the one I'm not quite over, that's lasted 15 days.

There’s no hope for me. I’ve stooped to helping young men in the grocery store, now.

I was shopping. I had a small list, but it was spread across the entire store, so I was wending my way up and down the aisles. I kept passing this cute guy, who must have been all of 24 or 25, looking lost. Finally, about the fifth or sixth time, I asked him if I could help him find something. He was looking for pancake syrup, which is filed in a really quirky place in that store. I lead him to it…got profuse thanks, and I disappeared around the corner before someone could accuse me of robbing the cradle! *G* God, he had a GREAT smile!

Have you ever had a washer overflow? Or a basement that quietly filled with water when the sump pump failed? Have you ever had a pipe burst in the basement? I've had two of the three, and I hope we won't have to live through any of that again. Some of the things which could be damaged by water are on pallets because my basement is STILL not organized, but more than four inches of water, and I'm in trouble.

I found the neatest tool! The Sonin Water Alarm is a device that sets off an alarm when there is too much water in an area that should be dry. It has a remote sensor. You attach the alarm to the wall, and stop worrying! (As if THAT'S going to happen....but at least I'll worry less.)

The best part about it is that it sells for $11.50 and can be ordered at Amazon.com! (No, I'm not getting a kick-back from them....I just wanted to share my find.)

Now tell me that I just made your day! :-)

I think there's a gene missing in my body.....the shopping gene. I don't like to shop. Well, let me rephrase that.....there's a lot of stuff I don't like to have to shop for.

"Dentopedology is the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it. I've been practicing it for years."

I was astounded to find that Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh is the author of that quote. We must be related. I would have thought that, given all the years that Prince Phillip has been a public figure, that he would have learned how to cope with this problem, but it seems not.

I'm a very modest drinker. I love wine. I used to like just white wines, but my range has extended to the reds. My taste in wine followed the trends of the day: Lancer's Rose, Rhine wine (shudder), Chablis, White Zinfandel, Pinot Grigio. I've never liked Chardonnay, though. Now I drink shiraz, beaujolais, zinfandel, chianti, riojas...all kinds of wonderful wine.

I was delighted to read that researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine have determined that women who drink no more than 14 drinks a week, but at least one, have a lower risk of heart disease than those who abstain, or those who drink more heavily (15 or more drinks a week).

Do you feel that the quality of your life is less if you don't own a Prada bag or a Ralph Lauren suit, or sports clothes from Nautica or a $400 pair of Italian shoes? Is it important to you to wear clothing that advertises that you are at the top of the game in fashion? Do you feel that you are a second class citizen if you don't dress in upscale name brand clothing, or wear logos on your chest? Do you need to wear items made by the current star in the firmament of fashion?

I noticed a car today that had a bumper sticker announcing how proud they were of their honor student. I think that this is an absolutely fantastic idea. People who do outstanding work should be recognized for their success, especially children. I've seen the response to these bumper stickers, from people whose children are less successful. For instance: "My kid flunked and he can take your honor roll kid anytime!" Still, I think the idea of supporting your child's efforts is well worth doing.

I've abandoned my diet briefly. I was lured away by the heavenly scent at the display of tree-ripened peaches at the grocery store. As I stood there and inhaled, I realized that the vegetable section had been set up to create "eye candy" to entice shoppers to buy. The textures were wonderful. Smooth, shiny skins on the peppers contrasted with bumpy red raspberries, or the dimpled rinds of the oranges. The tightly curled Chinese cabbage complemented the looser rim of the red lettuce. The colors were gorgeous, the rosy peaches, the blueberries, and the yellow of the bananas. Every shade of green was represented, and the splash of purple in the cabbage and eggplant was the finishing touch to a painting. Marketers are really savvy these days.

I'm going to enjoy the fresh fruit for a couple of days, and then resume my diet. I figure it was a worthwhile interruption.

We don't give chickens enough credit for what they go through so that we can have eggs for breakfast.....

Much to Red Eagle's disgust, I use AOL to access the Internet. One day I'll grow up and get a real provider, but until then I'll be treated to such news flashes as the one that inspires today's post.

My day started out with AOL announcing that there is a HUGE surge in vacationing in the buff. It seems that in the past ten years annual revenue based on nudism has increased from $120 to $400 MILLION dollars a year.

I visited this site at CNN to learn that people are now offering nude motorcycle rallys (Bogie, WHERE was WS??), nude hiking and camping (Gawd, think of the mosquito bites and poison ivy), and cruises. You can send your children to nude camps, or go to one of 260 clothing optional resorts in North America. The number of resorts have doubled in ten years.

I'm just too placid. I have spent my last decade searching for a calmer life, one that doesn't require me to be shouting "JERK!!!" every ten minutes, and I seem to have found it. Of course, it requires spending a HUGE amount of time at home alone, but it can be done.

Actually, a little ranting, or even a little excitement in your life is a good thing. Occasionally I miss the camaraderie of fellow workers, or the bustle of traffic and then I remember the back stabbing, the road rage, and everything that goes with too many people trying to be in one spot at the same time, and I say a little prayer of thanks.

To brighten my life a little, I've been living vicariously, and you can, too. Go visit Stupid Angry Canajan and Altered Perceptions.

If you are rantless, or placid, let them bring you up to speed.

I'm frequently astounded at the variety of what I read as I browse through the blogs. It occured to me that there should be a way to draw bits and pieces of them together into a short story.

Where does your mind go with this: rotten oranges (from a comment by T-bone), voyeurism and comic books (from Billy), a string trimmer (from WichiDude), and PMSing (from Jamie).

Welcome to the first Blog Pastiche: a short story free-for-all for bloggers. Take those four items and devise a few paragraphs incorporating them. You get extra credit if you can include ANYTHING from Silflay Hraka except beer.

Post your entry on your own blog, but leave a comment and a link here so others can find your work.

I'm not even sure where to start with this. By rights it ought to be a rant, but there's a lot of general stuff, too, so I guess it's just a semi-rant.

I wanted to blog on Saturday, but my computer service was so iffy that I went to bed in disgust. I could get into AOL, but AOL wouldn't let me connect to any of your blogs or visit any websites. I'm really spoiled now. I'm used to getting on line without any problem, so when I hit a night like this it's incredibly frustrating.

The "Q" section of the Sunday Chicago Tribune frequently provides me with blog fodder. It's likely to be the quirky things in life, but those are the things that catch my attention these days. (shrugs)

One of the cover stories was about what to do with CDs that you receive as part of an ad campaign, or a purchase. Did you know that one of the disposable diaper companies provided a CD with lullabies as part of a promotion? Probably the greatest source of unwanted CDs is the blanket mailing sent out by AOL. Everyone has received at least one of these. I think our household has had about 20 of them

If you are tired of receiving those mailers, you can call 800-466-5463 and ask to be removed from the AOL disc list. Or, if you'd like a chance to tweak AOL's tail, you can go to www.nomoreaolcds.com The site's organizers are trying to collect a million AOL CDs to truck them back to company headquarters.

btw.....if you are going to dispose of CDs, put them in the garbage. CDs, DVDs and CDroms can't be recycled through the usual city programs. If you really want to recyle them, go to www.greendisk.com Green Disk recycles CDs for large companies, but they will accept them in smaller amounts. Download a shipping form, and send your CDs off to them.

Hmmmm....it seems I have a couple of really bad Christmas CDs I could donate....

I thought I knew what was out there in terms of men's skivvies, but I learned a little more this weekend. "Q" in the Chicago Tribune this Sunday began it's section on style with a discussion of Captain Underpants (Tuesday's release: Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets), and moved right on to what men are chosing to wear these days.

Doesn't it just drive you wild when someone you read has a post you want to comment on, but they are set to NO COMMENTS!!!???

I was just reading at the Parkway Rest Stop. Jim has written an entry about harmony, and how wonderful close vocal harmony can be. There's a phenomenon that I've only heard a few times. When a group is performing, if they have given exceptional attention to playing "in tune," you can sense a descant soprano voice resonating over the top of the music. With vocal groups, you get a full sound, as though one more line has been added to the top of the score.

I love to sing harmony. I have an alto voice, and try as they might my professors were never able to stretch my range to that of second soprano. My throat just doesn't like those notes at the top of the staff. I recall one professor who actually had me lie on the floor to sing during my lesson. I thought it was odd, but complied. It was embarrassing when his colleagues walked in. Lying on the floor was supposed to relax my diaphragm. Ya couldn't prove it by me once the room got crowded.

At any rate.....good close harmony is a joy to sing. You don't have confine yourself to barbershop music. Go vist Jim to see a list of well know groups who sing great harmony!

"Cash, check or charge?" I asked, after folding the items the woman wished to purchase. As she fumbled for her wallet, I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse. "So, do you always carry your TV remote?" I asked. "No," she replied, "but my husband refused to come shopping with me, so I figured this was the most legal, evil think I could do to him."

(WICKED GRIN)

Seen on a truck today:

HORN DOESN'T WORK. WATCH FOR FINGER!

Alas and alack....

Dell has replaced our hard drive, but I didn't realize that we didn't have a copy of our Operating System until 5:00 Wednesday afternoon. If I had been on the ball, I'd have ordered the new O/S on Monday, and I could have been programing the computer today.

Watch for these mergers in late 2003 and make yourself a bundle.

1. Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush and W. R. Grace
will merge and become Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.

2. Polygram Records, Warner Bros. and Zesta Crackers join forces and
become Polly, Warner, Cracker.

3. 3M will merge with Goodyear and Campbell's Soup and issue forth as
MMMGood.

4. Zippo, Mfg., Audi Motor Car, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining will merge to
become, of course, ZipAudiDoDa.

5. Federal Express is expected to join its major competitor, UPS, and
become FedUp.

6. Fairchild Electronics and Honeywell Computers will become Fairwell
Honeychild.

7. Knotts Berry Farm and the Nat'l Org. of Women will become Knott NOW.

Well, the new copy of the Operating System arrived today. Rather than bringing it to the house, Airborne Express dropped it off at the mail box. I'm amazed it was still there when we picked up the mail.

This year is the 100th Anniversary of the Harley-Davidson Company, creators of an American icon. Harley's have a signature sound that other motorcycles can't seem to recreate, a deep rumble that announces you are in the presence of a HAWG.

Go visit the Parkway Rest Stop and read what James wrote on Thursday, August 28, titled "This is REALLY Weird." I tried it several times and it gave me goosebumps!

When I was studying music I took a course in Dalcroze, which is a method of music education which related physical movement to music. We spent some time learning to conduct conflicting meters, the simplest of which was to conduct two in the right hand and three in the left.

At the end of the session, the class went to a local bar and spent the evening on the dance floor, showing what we had learned. I have it on good authority that this kind of exercise will drive musicians crazy, as they play in one meter, and you move in a conflicting meter.

Musicians have strange senses of humor. Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti........

I just had a big bowl of Vanilla Swirl Ice Cream, or "squirrel" as my family fondly calls it. I rarely crave ice cream, and it's definitely not part of my diet, but this seemed like the perfect treat after spending large parts of the last twenty-four hours re-programming our computer.

It's not quite done. I have some Window's updates to double check, and then I need to install CD creator software. Our network is down, thanks to something I entered when I installed the O/S, so my stepson is contemplating how to get around that. I may even get the chance to use the scanner that comes with the Office Jet. I didn't realize what a dinosaur that thing is until I saw the program disks. It was originally intended to run on 3.1 or 95, so it's possible that it can't be updated to run the scanner. At least I have a fax/copier/printer running.

About a year ago, a tiny two month calendar program appeared in my taskbar. I LOVED it. I thought one of the kids had installed it, but they won't take the credit. Does anyone know where I can find software for that?

Back to ice cream.... I guess my all time favorite flavor is butter pecan in a waffle cone. I wait to order that at the places that carry the really sinful ice cream. I figure if I'm only going to eat ice cream on rare occasions, I might as well eat the stuff that's REALLY bad for you! I like raspberry sherbet, too, and anything that goes well with hot fudge! What's your favorite flavor?

This is Dear Husband at the wheel of the Serenity. Doesn't he look right at home? When I suggested that he pose for a picture at the helm, it didn't take any encouraging. *G*

License Plates....

The "Q" Section of the Chicago Tribune, for Sunday, August, 31, has a story titled "All Is Vanity." Of course, it's about vanity license plates. It's incredible how clever people can be with seven letters or numbers.

These sixteen people have proclaimed their occupation with their license plate number. Can you tell their calling?

REVM UP 2
I SEDATE
NISE PKG
ONAROLL
RCYCLIT
IADDMUP
LF SAVR2
IFXWOOD
IFIXUM
I GTU FIT
BOOKWMN
SUPR BWL
NO PLAK
ELUMEN8
BIDNOFR
OH MISS

I want to wish my friend Midnight a Happy Birthday! Sorry I can't be there to celebrate. I hope you've had a great time playing with those new Lie-Nielson planes. *S*

Happy Birthday, and many, many more!

Sit still. Listen. What do you hear around you?

I can hear the dog snoring, a car reving it's engine, my processor humming, and occasionally, the sound of the cool air being forced through the ducts.

Silence is on my mind because until 30 minutes ago my house was full with 15 women, 8 men and 7 children. The children played and ran from adult to adult seeking attention. People gathered in twos and threes and fours to chat and bring themselves up to date on what was going on in the family. Newer members of the family were worked into the fabric of our existence. Bodies swirled through the rooms of my house as though eddies of a stream were moving them along and depositing them where they could start a new conversation.

Today was the bridal shower for my brother's daughter. My oldest sister took over the organization. She arranged for the thank you cards, the guest mementos, most of the food, the plates and napkins, the memory book, and the invitations. I prepared my home for the party and did a little cooking. I have a minor amount of cleaning up to do, and a LOT of satisfaction at having hosted a lovely party.

I started more than two weeks ago, weeding and working in the gardens for a couple of hours a day, arranging for the high glass in the house to be cleaned, and getting a start on my Fall cleaning. I shopped with Sister Number 1 for shower things. We rarely have the chance to get together, so we had lunch, and then chose little gifts for our guests. Perhaps that quiet time with her was one of the best gifts to come from this shower. I tried to fit the preparation in around the things that normally fill my life, plus a few surprises.

This past week I haven't had the chance to blog. I missed keeping up with what has been happening in your lives, and I'm eager to read what you've all had to say. I had a lovely note from billy.....just checking in....making sure everything was all right. It was lovely to know that I had been missed. *S*

So....I'm enjoying the quiet, listening to the lack of furor now that everyone has gone their way. I'm delighted that I was asked to be involved. I'm glad that everyone had a good time, and I'm glad that I can put my feet up and rest a while before we do this again.

This kind of silence is wonderful. May you all have the chance to experience it!

Well......I re-programed our business computer. With about an hour's help from Dell, and a couple of hours of guidance from Stepson Number 3, I got almost all of it back on and running. Most of it agrees to work as it did before, but I need to do a little tweaking.

T told me that the wonderful little calendar in the bottom right corner of my screen that just appeared one day was a a gift from "Gator," and that I didn't want to let them anywhere near my computer again. We also managed to loose "Gain" in the process, and I'm happy to have kicked them out. We're going to add a spywear program this coming week.

Now I'm trying different pop up killers. I'm being inundated with ads from companies who want to SELL me a pop up killer.......like I'd buy anything from them after they've driven me crazy! Huh!

So, the experience was not as difficult as I thought it would be. I still need guidance in setting up drivers, but the rest of the reprogramming was pretty easy. Perhaps some of my friends have rubbed off on me over the past four years!

I'm a confirmed believer in back ups, though. I managed to save all but one program, and it was time to update that information anyway. Regular backups can save you, yeah they can. Memorize this....and live by it: Save Early And Often!

Last Friday I hosted my quilting bee. For years, like clockwork, these ladies have come to my home once a month to sit and quilt and share quilting news. Occasionally we work on each other's projects, but usually we work on our own quilts as we sit and chat.

This should have been like any other of a hundred visits, but it was special. Very special. We were rejoicing that one of our members had lived through a heart attack less than two weeks earlier. She was with us, talking about her experience. She was clear on how serious it had been, but her natural good humor was underlying everything she said, and she was GLAD to be among us.

We are not young women, but neither do we consider ourselves to be old. Don't let the fact that we quilt make you think we are little old gray haired ladies. And that's the rub. We all thought we were too young to have to worry about heart attacks.

Now, we feel mortal. We look at our friends and family differently, because we know that we could loose them, or we could die without warning. It makes you reconsider what's important. I've just spent hours getting ready for a bridal shower. Perhaps, instead, I should have been spending time with my family.

Today I made sure to talk to each person. Each one got a hug, and plans were made to get together again, soon. My goal is to get past the trivial conversations, and get to know them better.

Since I don't know when my time will be up, the only option I have is to make the best use I can of the time I have left. What does that mean for you? How would you best use your time? It's something I need to ponder.

Today I was marveling at how diverse the women in my family are.

Sister #1 raised five children, drove a school bus, and then became a darned fine nurse. She specialized in geriatrics and came to be very knowledgeable about wound management. Now that she has retired, she has a business making clothing for craft fairs.

Sister #2 became a jeweler, and had her own store. Then she became the Director of Christian Education for a large church.

I'm the third, and I spent what feels like a huge part of my life in school and then teaching for 11 years. Now, I'm the office for my husband's company, and I care for our mother.

Sister #4 had a career in the Navy and then resigned to raise her family. She went back for additional classes and now teaches English to kids at risk, and may soon become a principal.

I was thinking how diverse we are, how wide spread our interests are, when I realized that each of us chose to work at some point in our lives in a service field. Teaching, nursing, Christian education, the ties that bind us are closer than I realized. Each of us have chosen a field that has an impact on the quality of life around us. I doubt you would be surprised to find that there is a good deal of volunteerism in our lives, too.

So.... maybe we are not as diverse as I thought. Sister #1 driving in stock car races, and winning, was different. And #4 has been involved with historical reinactments for the 1750 era. Things like that bring a zest to life, but they don't change the underlying concern for people.

The next generation has engineers, biologists, managers, international buyers, and business owners. The opportunities have changed for these young women, and they have branched out. In their generation we have the best of both worlds, diversity combined with interest in family.

The best thing about all this is that there is nothing keeping the four of us from trying new things all the time. We may join the next generation in diversity, yet!

I think it was my youngest sister who sent me a page of prayers several years ago. The one which stayed with me was:

God, give me patience, and I mean right NOW!

I moderate a YahooGroup for herb growers. Many of the members have interesting signature lines. One of them was: "The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep."

One of the other members asked if it was a line from a poem, and she said that it was an excerpt from a Buddhist "poem." She thought it went this way:

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don't go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don't go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth through the doorsill where two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don't go back to sleep.

I won't pretend to understand the meaning, but I love the first two lines, so I thought I'd share it with you. I hope you have a lovely day, and that you got to see the sun rise.

Do you have a Windows Keyboard? Perhaps, like me, you don't know how some of the keys work. I came across a list of functions that can be performed with the keyboard rather than the mouse, and thought I'd share the list with you.

I know it's not official, but today as I was out driving I realized that the soybeans have begun to turn yellow. The fields are no longer masses of knee-high deep green plants. Now they are mottled with several shades of yellow and green.

And the goldenrod is in bloom.

So.....Fall is here. Can Indian Summer be far behind?

Johnny Cash lives on in the hearts and minds of his fans, now. I'm of an age where the icons in my life are slipping away, and this is one icon I hate to see go.

I'm not much of a country music fan. My family didn't listen to country music when I was a kid, but you couldn't miss Johnny Cash in those days. He was a STAR, and you watched whether you were a fan of country music or not. He lived large and entertained well, and he became part of the fabric of our lives.

There was always the hint of danger, a bit of roughness, or a little of the unexpected about him, but he had the ablilty to be gentle, too. I liked the stability that came into his life with his love for June Carter, and I liked the fire he brought to her. They were married to others when they met, and went through hard times before they could be together. June Carter Cash wrote "Ring of Fire" for Johnny, about that time in their lives.

I liked the black he wore, and I liked the long coats. I loved the interaction on stage between Johnny and other performers, and I loved his sense of humor. Most of all I loved that I could sing along, or just sit and listen. I liked his music either way.

Both Johnny and June had been ill for the past few years. A life on the road as an entertainer is a hard one; it took a lot out of them. June died in May, and I'm not surprised that Johnny has followed her so soon. I expect that there's beautiful music in heaven today.

Farewell, J.R. Cash, and thanks for all the good times!

Why do Mothers-in Law have such a bad reputation? Just this week I've heard several jokes on the subject, and it's been discussed on the radio. Is there really something that happens to your mother once you marry, or is this just a convenient subject for comedians?

I have no doubt that there are mothers who pester about grand children, and it's probable there are mothers who want the best for their children, and don't have the sense to mind their own business. But I find it difficult to believe that it's universal.

Have you ever looked back over the past and realized how much has changed in your lifetime? When Dear Husband and I traveled, we used to have a conversation about how the world would change in our lifetime. My grandfather was born in the time when travel was by horse and buggy. He died shortly after the U.S. put men into space, and travel by air was commonplace. Television existed by the time I was born, and we've lived to see the boom in Internet communication. We think that miniaturization will be one of the major accomplishments of our generation, as in nanotechnology.

I've talked about Defer, our senior-citizen Beagle/Shepherd. I have two disposable cameras floating around with a little bit of film I want to use up. I thought it might be a great idea to get some pictures of Defer. I was going to take a picture of him lying on the floor with his ears standing straight up, but as soon as I pointed the camera at him, he got up and left the room.

The same thing happened today. I was going to take a picture of him walking up the front sidewalk toward me, but as soon as I lifted the camera, he whirled around and headed away.

We've finally figured it out. He's afraid of the flash. Lightening scares him. So do storms. He equates the flash on the camera with storms.

Poor baby. It's hell to get old.

Our house is 14 years old. In the scheme of things, that's not very old. But.....when your house reaches ten years, things need to be repaired and replaced. I have a list of things that need to be done and a husband who is NOT interested in doing them. That wouldn't be a problem if he was satisfied with the work that others have been hired to do.

The last few days have been unusually busy, and I'm finding it difficult to squeeze everything in. The crash of our hard drive put me back in office work, and created a bit more to do, so I'm trying to play catch-up and still take care of the daily flow of work. Exercise has resumed, and yesterday I visited a friend in the hospital. I've taken the car for it's emission testing, and swapped a waiver for a check for the company. I've grocery shopped twice this week, and taken the cat to the vet, and all this is on top of the normal laundry, cleaning, watering and dishes and office work. I'm dying to get back to my quilting frame and my sewing table, and it looks like it might have to wait until Monday.

Ed is really ticked at me. (Ed is the cat……Edward Scissorhands, formally.) I’ve known for about two weeks that we had to go see the vet. Ed is an indoor/outdoor cat. He eats ground squirrels and chases birds, and he develops worms. YUCK!

He follows the same pattern every time. He gets surly, looses his appetite, upchucks all over the place, and then gets really picky about what he will eat. I made the appointment on Monday, and took him in at 5:00 tonight. We went through all that just to put two pills down his throat.

My stepson is really good with Ed. I can count on him to help me if it’s necessary to care for the cat, but we have both thrown our hands up in the air and said “I give” when it comes to pilling the cat. I’d rather pay the VET to pill him. Ed figured out what was going on when I went into my mother’s bedroom and gently scooped him up tonight. He was struggling as we got near the cat carrier, and had all four feet splayed out. He managed to hook a claw in my t-shirt…and leave a hole. I think I’ll save this t-shirt for future trips to the vet.

So, now we let him grouse around the house, and make dashing forays to the basement, and tomorrow we will have a brand new, happy cat.

Thank god for pharmaceuticals!

I haven’t had the chance to sit down this week and read all the blogs I’m linked to, let alone the hundred others I’d like to visit, but I’ve seen a few, and want to share some of what I’ve seen. Billy and Sgt. Hook are so very good at this, I want to follow in their footsteps.

BTW….Sgt. Hook is out in the field, doing what every good sarge should do. He should return September 19th or so. If you haven’t read his blog, go visit for some great writing!

Dawn, over at Altered Perception was stuck in traffic this week. She asked her readers for suggestions on what to do while you spend several hours stopped on the expressway. Go read "Traffic Report" Sept 15, and "Traffic Ideas," Sept. 16.

Dawn, I've seen women putting on makeup and doing manicures, guys reading magazines, books and newspapers,and watching TV. I'd do crossword puzzles or plan my menus for the week. Or, you could plan your next trip.

I know there are isometrics you could do, in addition to the Kegel exercises. I suspect that bicep curls could get you into trouble, expecially if the guy next to you takes it wrong. I hope it will be a long time before the next gridlock, hon.

Your rant on "Budgets," Sept. 17 was VERY enlightening!

Allison, at Ain't That a Kick in the Head, has been reminiscing about school days, and writing about a trip through Oklahoma. Go visit for a nostalgic view of a time most of us remember with great pleasure.

PJ over at BrambleRambles hasn't posted this week, but if you haven't been to his blog, do go. He has absolutely WONDERFUL pictures in several photo journals at the bottom right of his blog. I think most, if not all, of the pictures have been taken while he's rambled with his boys. I learned a LOT about cotton from him. Go visit.

Jim, of Parkway Rest Stop fame, has posted about peanut butter. A little history, a little rhapsodizing, a schmeer here and there, and you can't stop reading. I may not agree with his opinion of Jimmy Carter, but I can't fault him for his taste in peanut butter.

Visit StupidAngryCanajun and see what Essay has written this week. In particular, read "Bullies and Bloggies" on Sept. 16. Scroll down to the comments about Dave's Drivil and click on the link for some GREAT comments heard at the proctologist's.

I was entertained by her description of a day at the office with Jimbolina, under "Brownout" on Sept. 17th It makes me glad I work alone....VERY glad!

Bogie, it seems that traffic isn't any better in Ehduhmonton than it is in New Hampshire. You might enjoy comiserating with her, if you haven't already.

Be sure to update your links, StupidAngryCanajun has moved to Typepad recently.

There's a whole lot of you I still need to visit. Be patient. There's at least one more entry in the "Going Visiting" series. I'm hoping for time to surf and find new blogs to share, too. Until then......enjoy the Fall weather, stay healthy and play nice.

I don't think I could live without Post-it notes! My office flutters in the wind, some days.

In 1968 researchers at 3M created a repositionable adhesive, but they didn't have a commercial use for it. In 1974, another researcher developed the adhesive into a product called "Press & Peel," to be used as a bookmark.
In 1979 the product is test marketed in eleven western states, and in 1980 they make "Post-it Notes" available nationally.

3M has expanded their line this year with Post-it Super Sticky Notes, which will stick to virtually any horizontal or vertical surface.

Can't you see it? DH, put away your brush. DH, take the dog out. DH, did you take the garbage out. DH, cut up the downed willow on the front lawn. DH, do the dishes. DH....our anniversary is coming....

We tend to think of thirteen as an unlucky number. We lump it with black cats and walking under ladders and stuff of superstitions. But I think thirteen just might be a lucky number, at least from my point of view today.

Fred, my Dear Husband, and I have been married thirteen years today. We have been companions for twenty years, but we said our vows just thirteen years ago.

If you ask me, it doesn't seem possible we have been together 20 years, let alone 13. They say time flies when you are having a good time.

Fred and I compliment each other. No.....we don't sit around telling each other how good we are. Silly! The parts of me that are missing, HE has.....and vice versa. We make the perfect Trivial Pursuit team. My family hates to play us.

I worry, he doesn't. I plan, he doesn't (except for the business). I love the cat, he doesn't. He sails, I don't. He tells AWFUL puns, I don't (for the most part.) He thinks he's immortal, I don't. He's mechanical and I'm not. We fit like old shoes.

Happy Anniversary, Fred. Stay safe, love, and don't loose your way.

I was reading Dear Abby today, and a young woman wrote in to say that she was in love, and she and her boyfriend were thinking about marrying, but there was one little problem. Her fiance claimed to be from another planet. This HAD to be a made up letter. What woman in her right mind would continue a relationship with someone who claimed to be an alien??

She treated it as a joke until he began announcing his heritage to her family and friends. Even then, she was still considering marrying him! She said "I know he was born in Chicago." (As if that makes him normal in any way...)

If this is what their relationship was like at the start, think of where it's going to go. She'll be forced to accept every little change that comes along. He'll say that it's a requirement on his planet. This is just another guy who wants to have his own way, and has found a novel way to get it.

I'd put up with a lot of quirks, but I think I'd pass on this one. Now, I'll find out that Fred is an alien...and all along I've been making excuses for him. It would explain his fixation with the Marx Brothers. *G*

I missed the Emmys. I don't mind that. I mind that I didn't even realize they were going to be on, and I mind that I missed the fashion review that preceeds the awards.

I miss the range of attire from tacky to sublime. I guess the dresses for the Oscars are even better, or perhaps wilder, but the Emmy nominees are like Avis, they try harder. And I missed it.

I was reading the list of winners. I'm delighted that Tony Shaloub won for comedy actor, for "Monk." And Debra Messing (gawd, she's a beautiful woman!), for "Will and Grace." I recognize a lot of the winners names, but not necessarily the shows. I've never seen "Everybody Loves Raymond." I'm not surprised Doris Roberts won, since her work is always good. She's one of those actors who has a work ethic that goes the distance. The same could be said of Tyne Daley, who won for Supporting Actress in a drama, "Judging Amy."

But the point of all this is that we see very little TV any longer. "Monk" is a favorite show that we watch for. Otherwise, we have no idea what's going on with comedies or dramas. The History Channel, Discover, The Learning Channel, Biography....those are what hold our interest.

So....I guess we qualify as old fogies. The nice thing about that is that it doesn't bother me. I can entertain myself endlessly, with great variety, even if I don't know who is in "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Saturday night we attended a wedding reception. DH's nephew was married in Las Vegas, and a reception was held for them when they returned.

I've never seen a DJ get up and put on a performance at a reception. These two college age kids switched into sleeveless black "muscle" shirts, zipped across the dance floor and hopped onto the amplifiers. I gather that the music that was playing was "Greased Lightning." They turned their backs to the party and wagged their butts, and then turned again to do what was clearly a dance that the younger members of the audience recognized.

Several of the young women rushed to the edge of the dance floor and mirrored the dance they were watching. Then at some point they all raced off to get one-dollar bills, and the more brazen ones stuffed them into the guy's pockets.

The guys ignored them and kept right on dancing.

Is this what we can expect at wedding receptions now?? Sure seems like an odd way to celebrate a wedding. This was like a cleaned up version of a stripper at a bachelor party.

I know.....I'm an old fogie.

This is another post QT has shared with me. Author, if you'd like to step forward, I'd be happy to give you all the credit! Comments in Parenthesies are mine.

As I've Matured

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk
them and hope they panic and give in. (My apologies to those who have been stalked.)

I've learned that one good turn gets most of the blankets. (Boy, is THIS true!)

I've just come home from the dentist. One of my teeth needed a crown, and today she made the impressions so the lab could make the crown.

I want to know why dentists ask you questions when they have their fingers in your mouth? Here I am trying to sit still so the "blue goo" can harden, and she asks me, "Are those new socks?" I'm good at charades, but I just grunted at her, and let her decide for herself what the answer was. I know she was trying to divert my attention, but she needs to come up with a better list of questions.

I'm sure that billy and bogie could come up with suggestions!

October is coming, and October is synonymous with the Texas State Fair. I was visiting Speedbump and Jamie two years ago in October, and they offered to take me to the Fair. I really should have taken them up on it. It turns out that the Texas State Fair lasts an entire MONTH! Texans have always done things in big ways.

Here in Illinois a fair may last from Tuesday or Wednesday to the following Sunday. I think the State Fair may run ten days or so. But I don't think we have ever considered letting it run an entire month.

Perhaps the Texas State Fair runs so long because it takes so long to get to Dallas from every corner of the state.

Tex and Jamie....if you go, take pictures of the quilts for me, and wave at BIG TEX!

Everyone has been talking about numbers lately. It seems contageous.

Out of curiosity, I went to Site Meter to see how many visitors I've had, and in four more visits I will hit 3000. Of course, this includes my own visits. When I get to shift from AOL to a dsl line, I will take myself out of the picture, but until then, my ever changing ISP number makes it a pain to edit my visits out.

I'm not sure of my exact start date with Site Meter, but I think we cranked it up about this time in June, so I figure it has been just about three months.

Bogie, I'm sure by now you have rolled over the 5,000 mark. Congrats, hon!

I haven't talked a lot about my grandson, but I'm not shy about saying that I'm a Gramma. My reason for limiting what I tell about him comes down to safety. I don't want my babbling to create an unsafe situation. I will proudly tell you that he is a handsome young man, with good manners, and empathy for those around him.

It seems that now I'll have TWO grandchildren to brag on. My step-daughter and her husband joined us for dinner this evening, and shared the news. She'll be having her baby in late May or early June. Honest, I haven't nagged about this, but it will be fun to have a baby in the family. *G*

I've got to go plan a baby quilt!

Have you been divorced? Do you have a child who is divorced? Were your parents divorced? Do you have a relative who has been divorced??

Okay.....do you have family photographs with the ex-spouse? The question of the day is, do you leave them in the picture or have them air-brushed out? Or perhaps you feel more strongly and have CUT them out of the picture!

Somewhere I have photographs of my first wedding. I suppose I even have some pictures with my former husband and some of my family members. They are not in an album, so I've just tucked them away. It never occured to me to have him air brushed out of those pictures. After all, he's part of my history. I don't dwell on him, but I don't deny his existance, either.

The subject I want to put before you is a difficult one to present without sounding whiney, and that's not my intent. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you have probably figured out that I have married a man who has four children, but we have not had any children together. I met my step-children when they were between the ages of 12 and 19, and I had very little impact on their lives other than to teach them not to make social calls to us after 9:00 at night, and not to snicker when croutons are served with a salad.

That's not what I want to write about, though.

Night Night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.

I can remember hearing that when I was a child. It never occured to me that bed bugs were real. Then I read about Medieval times and I discovered that bed bugs and lice and all sorts of miserable insects were commonplace. That might have been the start of my interest in herbs. A number of different herbs, including lavender were strewn among the rushes or straw that covered the floor of a castle's common room.

Bed bugs were eliminated in the United States, but they have reappeared.

In 1991, the Great Wall of China became the second largest man-made structure in the world. The largest was the Fresh Kills Landfill, serving New York City. It is now the highest point on the east coast.

Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every HOUR! (Now you know how Fresh Kills outstripped the Great Wall.)

For every glass bottle recycled, we save enough energy to light a 100 watt light bulb for four hours. (That makes us just about even in our household.)

One pound of recycled steel saves enough energy to light a 60 watt bulb for 24 hours.

Recycling and reusing the material in "tin" cans reduces energy use by 74%, air pollution by 85%, solid waste by 95%, and water pollution by 76%.

It's way past my bed time, but I wanted a chance to blog before I call it a day. We have a guest tonight, so I spent part of my evening cleaning. I laid a fire and lit it before she arrived, along with some vanilla scented candles.

DH and I covered the plants at the front of the house with light plastic tarps. We are supposed to have temperatures drop to about 23, so we're expecting our first hard frost. I don't know if the plastic will be adequate protection, but the heat radiating off the bricks may sustain the plants for another night.

The dog and cat have been fed, and most of the dishes have been washed. The clothes have been folded, and the house is closed up for the night.

I like this time of day. I wish that I could find a compromise between having the quiet of the house to myself late at night, and having to get up early to get a start on my day. I particularly like that my phone stops ringing around 10:00. When you were a kid, did your parents teach you that you weren't to make phone calls after 9:00 unless it was an emergency? I tried to teach that to my stepchildren, and they thought I was crazy.

Tomorrow we have the last of the preparations for the wedding on Saturday. I have the last of my clothing shopping to do, and Mother and I have appointments for manicures.

The fire is starting to die down, and I'm just about out of tea. Time to toddle off. Good night all.

The news this morning was about studies which have been done in Finland, Sweden and the United States. It seems that women who opt for breast implants are three times more likely to commit suicide than women who have not had the surgery.

It's likely that women who choose to alter their shape surgically will be unhappy with how they look even after the surgery. They may be unable to see themselves in a positive light no matter how good they look.

It's a sad commentary on our society that we are unable to accept our bodies, and that we STILL prize a look that requires an anorexic life style.

I've been getting ready for my niece's wedding this weekend. I was overjoyed when she asked me to be one of the readers for her wedding. I'm really looking forward to celebrating this milestone in her life.

But, like a lot of women, it's stressful for me to choose what I'm going to wear. I have four siblings who have superb taste in clothing. They always look exceptional. I am the one who is overweight, and I tend to lead a very casual lifestyle, so when it comes to a family celebration, I get a little crazy......well....a LOT crazy, about what to wear.

It astounds me what you will find in the newspaper these days. On the front page of the October 5, 2003, Chicago Tribune "Q" section, the editor saw fit to post an article on a new product called The Flatulence Deodorizer, or the Flat-D.

The Flat-D is shaped like a flat light bulb, and contains a layer of activated charcoal. It's worn inside your underwear. It's a washable device which sells for $12.95.

I know there's a use for this product. I was thinking about getting some as stocking stuffers, or handing them out at Thanksgiving. The writer actually tested it so that he could give his personal opinion, and he found it to function well if you make sure there is a comfortable seal. (We're well past the TMI! limit...)

What astounded me about this was that it wasn't buried in the back of the section, but it was on the FRONT PAGE! Either flatulence has become epidemic in proportion, or editorial standards have slipped.

For years, we've been told that we needed Downy Fresh softness in our wash, or the convenience of Bounce dryer sheets. Fabric softeners take away the scratchiness of towel, and, well.....soften them.

Unfortunately they also take away some of the absorbancy. Have you ever had to use a hotel towel, or perhaps one from a gym? Those scratchy towels are much more absorbant because they don't use any fabric softener in the wash.

There are two other reasons not to use fabric softener. As a quilter, I've found that cottons which will be used in quilts shouldn't be softened. The chemicals stay in the fabric longer, because quilts are not frequently washed, and they can deteriorate the fibers.

And, for those of you who have asthma, the perfume added to fabric softeners can be a problem. Years ago, we lived in an apartment building that had laundry facilities. I had to go down a flight of stairs, out the door, over to the next entry and down another flight of stairs to get to the washers. I noticed as I was reversing the trip that I was wheezing by the time I got back to my front door, and even started an exercise program to get into shape.

When the wheezing didn't go away, it finally dawned on me that I could add fabric softners to the list of materials that I was allergic to. Now, whites, are the only clothes that I use softener on. I wash and bleach them, rinse them, start the washer a second time with a quarter of a cap of softener, and then rinse them once more. The rest of our clothes go softener-less, and no one has complained!

Try giving it up. It will save you money, and might make your towels more functional!

Did you know that in 2001, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission required a change in the manufacture of cords for window coverings in response to child-strangulation concerns?

This is another of those cases where my Mother asks, "How did we manage to raise you with all that danger around?" It seems to me that parents could have managed this all by themselves, rather than requiring the expense of an entire Federal Safety Commission.

If you have cords that were purchased prior to 2001, and feel that you need to protect your children from their threat, free retro-fit repair devices are available to you through the Window Covering Safetly Council. Go to www.windowcoverings.org for information.

I was trying to sleep this morning around 6:30 when I heard this insistent beeping. Four short beeps and a pause, four short beeps and a pause, four short beeps..... You get the picture.

My first thought was that the smoke alarm went off. But the smoke alarm has one long high pitched scream of a sound. Then, I thought that Mother was listening to the messages on her answering machine.....or perhaps the answering machine was signaling that there were messages to be read. Just about the time I thought I should check on DH, he opened the door and said that the noise was his cell phone.

I was reading my mail before getting the day started today, and came across a message from a friend, telling me to go to this site. An artist in Iowa has created a memorial to our military that you might like to see.

I have the Beatle's song about birthdays running through my head. Today's my birthday. We're not planning a rousing celebration; rather, it will be a laid back day.

One of my nieces and her boys have been coming to dinner every other week. We've been trying to get together for the last two weeks, but she has had a virus, and didn't want to share it with us as we prepared for the wedding last weekend. Soooooo....I think she is finally well enough to join us.

I plan to make lasagna, a big salad and garlic bread. And there's this package of devil's food cake mix, and some fudge frosting that's been calling to me......

Usually we celebrate our birthdays by going out for dinner, but this week is pretty tightly booked. A few years ago I started telling my mother that we should all fly down to New Orleans to have dinner at the Courtyard of the Two Sisters. I tease her about it every year, but I haven't gotten her to budge. Don't you think it would be wonderful to hop a plane for a candlight celebration?

Where would you go to celebrate?

The soybean fields around our home have been harvested this week. In place of the even rows of tobacco-colored plants we have biscuit-colored fields that have been buzz cut. The geese are busy gleaning beans that were dropped or left behind, readying themselves for the long commute to their winter homes.

We have seven fairly good sized ponds within half a mile of our house. As the subdivisions have been developed, the ponds have been increased in number and size to handle the run off during heavy storms. The ponds connect the bean fields and the forest preserve, so we tend to see a lot of wild life. The deer use our lot as a runway between Federal land and forest preserve.

We have a few geese around throughout the summer, but in October, it's like a tail gate party. This morning at 10:00, if I could have stepped from goose to goose, I could have made it around the last pond without ever touching the ground. We enjoy hearing them chatter amongst themselves, and watching them practice their flying wedges.

All too soon they'll be gone and the cold will settle. I love Indian Summer!

I love words. I'm always up to learn new ones. I thought I might learn a new one today when I was listening to WGN Radio. Judy Markey was talking about hearing a word that she had never heard before. She'd read it in a newspaper earlier this week, and then one of the sports announcers covering the Cubs game, Tuesday night, used it. The word was "scrum."

Dictionary.com defines scrum as:
A play in Rugby in which the two sets of forwards mass together around the ball and, with their heads down, struggle to gain possession of the ball.

Or: A disordered or confused situation involving a number of people.

I knew the sports definition for "scrum," but I didn't know it had a non-sports connotation. The announcer was describing the mob on Waveland Avenue outside Wrigley Field in Chicago. As a home run was hit over the walls of the field into their midst, he said a scrum of people reached for the ball.

DH says scrums are what you get when you eat crackers in bed. (rolling eyes) That might be the last time I read my blog to him.

I have TMJ. If I remember correctly, thats Temporal Mandibular Joint disease. It means I grit my teeth unintentionally. Unfortunately, it also means that I am breaking some of my teeth, so I have been undergoing one tooth renovation a year.

My dentist has brought me to the final stages for a new crown. Next week it should be cemented in place, hopefully for years to come. In the process, we did a root canal, a crown lengthening, repair of a molar next to it, and then creation of a post to hold the new crown. To protect the post, and to keep the tooth from shifting, I've been wearing a temporary crown for the past few weeks.

The night of the wedding rehearsal, it popped off. The dentist and I couldn't meet up, so I did without until Monday morning, when she glued it back in place. Last night.....

Did anyone else hear Paul Harvey today announce that France has vetoed proposed billboards showing bare female butts???

I need to surf some more to find out what that was all about....

Beauty salons and spas are being asked to watch for evidence of spousal abuse on their clients. It makes sense that people in the personal care industry would be among the first to see signs of abuse.

My understanding is that unless a woman asks for assistance, you can't do anything about spousal abuse. If a salon is willing to educate people about abuse, or will act as a clearinghouse for assistance information, then this might be a good idea. If the salon is merely reporting the abuse, but doing nothing to help the woman, then what's the purpose?

We have a plethora of Farmer's Markets in our area from late May to late October. Most of them carry products other than farm grown crops, and they are a delight to the senses.

Shrimp, crab, kale, pumpkins, glads, squash, lettuce, vinegars, honey, mushrooms, apples, bread, cheese, ears of dried corn, bales of straw, dried sunflower heads, the last tomatoes and corn of the year. You can make incredible meals from the bounty they sell.

I'll miss the giant garlic heads, and leeks, the tiny pickle cucumbers, the fresh green beans, and the raspberries, and the man who sharpens my knives.

We're blessed with abundance. The Farmer's Market is the best way I know to get food at it's freshest. Seven months, and they'll be back. I'll know that summer is almost upon us when the Market opens again.

Have you ever thought about how we decide what a job is worth? To me, a buck a shirt at the cleaners is well worth not having to wash and iron shirts, and I'm at the stage in my life where I'd rather pay someone to wash the high windows and clean out the gutters.

"The Girls" on WGN were talking about how we set salaries. They felt that we should consider the following guidelines: If you love your job you get pennies to do it. If you have a dreadful job, you get $6,000,000 for it.

We are one of the legion of people who have cable TV. Our reception is so bad that we wouldn't bother to turn the TV on if we didn't have cable or dish reception.

About two weeks ago, DH turned the TV on and discovered there was absolutely no picture. We had a fuzzy gray screen and noisey static. So, he called to report that we were having a problem.

We were planning on going out to brunch this morning, as a late celebration of my birthday. One of my all time favorite restautants is Pappadeaux, a Cajun place that is part of the Pappas brother's chain. There are two in the Chicago area, and I'm relieved that none of them are any closer than 30 minutes, or I'd LIVE there.

We visited Jamie and Speedbump for New Years two years ago, and I discovered that they have ALL the Pappas restaurants in one place. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. There are at least six restaurants that feature seafood, barbeque, steak, Mexican, Cajun and Italian. Each restaurant features one cusine, and has "pappa" built into the name (Pappadeaux, Pappacitos, Pappas Brothers, etc.)

At any rate....we were supposed to go to brunch this morning, but it seems a cold has set in, and no one was up for it. That's a first! We've spent a quiet morning. DH has been watching the History and Sci-Fi channels, I've been reading mail and blogging and Mother has been knitting and watching HGTV.

One of the problems associated with a change of plans like this is always.....what will we do for dinner. Today, it seems we are in luck.

The Cubs WON last night! They WON!!! WooooooooAhhhhhhhhhhh!

This is the first time in 58 years that the Cubs have played in a post season play off. There aren't a lot of people left who can remember them winning, so this feels like a miracle to most of us. Heck....the last time they made it all the way to the World Series was in 1908.

If you love the Cubs, you have learned to deal with disappointment, but that makes this season all the sweeter! Die-hard Cubs fans feel vindicated for their faith after a lifetime of loosing.

GO CUBS!!! GO CUBS!!! GO CUBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Defer and I were out walking this afternoon. Remember that tree that I described a week ago Sunday? I was sitting in the kitchen as the sun rose, and it set the top of the tree into a golden fire? Well, in just one short week the tree completely turned to flame and then dropped all it's leaves. All that is left is the skeleton.

Our lot is bordered by a walking path, and the path is edged with trees. There are a lot of black walnut trees that hang over the path. Usually in September they drop their leaves, and then you see the black walnuts ripening on the bare branches. This year the leaves and the walnuts fell about the same time, and the path is littered with husks and leaf trash.

To rant, or not to rant, that is the question. Every now and then it just bursts out of me. Most times I can manage to maintain my cool. I believe it's healthy to rant, and I'm not sure why I don't rant more, since it feels Sooooo GOOD!

Yeah....who would have guessed they'd see ME talking about sports!? It's been a lifetime endeavor to avoid all things sporting, because most of the teams near me have been the pits!

I know....the Cubbies lost last night, but we're not out of the running yet. And to be a Cubs fan you have to take the "hope springs eternal" pledge. For years we have said "There's always next year." So the headline in the Trib a week ago was....."Next year is here." I have faith that the Cubs will go on to the World Series.

And that brings me to what I actually wanted to say. I assume that the World Series is played on the home fields of the competing teams. If that's the case, and if the Red Sox beat the Yankees to get to the World Series, we (The CUBS) need to get the field crew busy creating a kick-ass design for our infield!

Did you see how they mowed the infield where the Red Sox play?? It's a jazzed up version of a variable star....a pattern any quilter would recognize! I swear they must use GPS to guide the mowers! I'm really impressed, and feel that we need to prepare our own field so that we can stand the comparison.

Quilters, e-mail your suggestions to Ron Santo and Pat Huges at WGN, right away!

And while I have your attention, if you are a Sox or Yankees fan, plan to be on your best behavior when you come to Chicago. We want to win MORE than you do, but that doesn't mean fighting during the game is okay.

Here endeth the sports report for the day.

Do you have a keepsake that you keep near you, even when you travel? Is there something you need to have nearby at all times?

I haven't experienced this as an adult, but as a young child I had a blanket that had to be available to me or the uproar would be unbearable. It was a thin child's quilt that was a faded pink. I'd leave it on the floor until bedtime to chill it. I'd form a circle with my thumb and last three fingers and draw the blanket through the circle to chill my cheek, and I bent my index finger and sucked on it.

Mother says that I used to stand next to the washer and dryer when I was forced to give the blanket up to be washed. She couldn't pry me loose. I was probably about six when my father used Blankie as a rag. They tried to find all sorts of substitutes, but it was never the same. I could never get them to admit that it was a conspiracy to get me to stop sucking my index finger.

Today, I discovered what happens when your parents aren't successful in weaning you from your childhood talismen. You become a 25 year old who carries a blanket and a teddy everywhere you go. Can't you see having to explain about the blanket to your boss? Worse yet.....how to you tell your lover to "GET OFF MY BLANKIE!"?? Or when your four year old reaches for your teddy...."Touch my teddy and DIE!"

All I can say is......"Thanks, Mom and Dad, for helping me give it up!"

Well.....perhaps a little joy...

I didn't intend to dress in black today, but I realized late in the morning that from head to toe, I was swathed in black. Black shoes and socks, black slacks, a black silk shirt....everything is black. It must have been because I felt the need to mourn.

I had such incredibly high hopes for the Cubs. They have had the most amazing year. We've been so used to them loosing that they set a fire under us and sparked the rush to rejoice: WE COULD WIN!!!

As true Cubs fans, we will now focus on the fact that we have a competitive team who brought us great joy this year. And we'll pat each other on the back and say....."There's always next year!

Congratulations CUBS! Thanks Dusty Baker for and incredible year! See you next Spring.

1. Name five things in your refrigerator.
Minced garlic, Cran-raspberry juice, lots of Romaine, green olive tapenade,
and herb-coated goat's cheese

2. Name five things in your freezer.
Blue plastic ice packs, pot roast, shrimp, Squirrel ice cream (vanilla fudge swirl), seven pounds of butter.

3. Name five things under your kitchen sink.
Canola oil, Lamp oil, dishwasher detergent, sponges, silver polish

4. Name five things around your computer.
An antique coffee grinder, two pictures of polar bears, three candles, a
picture of DH standing next to a stuffed Alaskan moose, a glass dish of
potpourri.

5. Name five things in your medicine cabinet.
I don't have a medicine cabinet. Most of our medicine cabinet "stuff" is kept
in drawers under the counter: Floss holder, Allegra, razor,
Aspirin, Q-tips.

For some reason I chose this weekend to begin organizing both personal and company data. It might well have to do with the fact that the CPA's assistant will be here tomorrow, and I'll need to be able to find things. It could just be the "nesting" impulse that comes over me in the Fall. It could be that things have needed to be tidied up since the hard drive had to be reprogramed, or it could be that I have let months of filing slide because I HATE FILING!

Whatever the reason, I've sure gotten a LOT done this weekend. What worries me is that in the process, I blew off a gorgeous day when I could have been outside working on putting the gardens to bed. Saturday, I cleaned out half of the sidewalk gardens. I need to cover that area with compost and mulch. My biggest problem has been that the plants are still blooming, and I refuse to kill off living plants. I dug out the dahlias and readied them for storage, but the rest will have to wait until we get a killer frost.

I washed clothes, and emptied out the dishwasher, and washed dishes. I cleaned the kitchen counter and made the bed. I've organized some of the stuff that's come in from the Arr!! I have receipts organized for the first ten months of 2003, so tax season should be a lot easier. I might even get things cleaned out so that we have more space!

What is there about this kind of work that makes you feel self-righteous?? This is almost as bad as having to listen to a person who has given up cigarettes!

We were walking this evening. Dear Husband asked if I would like to go, and I said...."Maybe after dinner." Well, the light fades fast these days, and even though we had an unusually early dinner tonight, the sun had dipped below the houses to the west as I changed my shoes. I try never to say no to an invitation to walk. We both need the exercise and I want to encourage this effort.

We got onto the path, and the first thing I noticed was that the black walnut trees were bare of leaves, but there were still clusters of nuts here and there. DH told me that I had to watch out for them. They hurt when they land on you. I had a vision of the scene from the "Wizard of Oz," where the trees are throwing their apples at the walkers. I could just see that black walnut tree sizing up the distances and waiting to bomb me.

Whew.......I made it past without an incident. Then we came to a patch where the nuts lay thick on the ground. You had to walk looking down or risk doing one of those Dick Van Dyke prat falls.

Our walk was uneventful despite the dangers along the way. It seems that it's a metaphor for my life. I've walked down the path, through the dangers, and made the trip safely so far. I hope the future will be as pleasant and safe as the past has been, and that there will be time for many more walks.

Or any of a thousand other names we use for marijuana, will do.

I was reading my copy of "The Herb Quarterly" (Winter, 2003) and came across an article on the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Marijuana used for medical purposes has been met with resistance around the world. The Netherlands is probably the best known exception. However, some patients in Canada are now receiving small amounts of government grown marijuana.

What caught my eye was that the California State Supreme Court has ruled that patients with a doctor's note may use marijuana. However, federal law dictates that third parties may not supply people with the herb. Soooooo.....than means that Californians must grow their own marijuana.

I wonder if there are controls in place concering the potency of the plant? One of the stumbling blocks in Canada had to do with the potency of the crop that was being offered for medicial use. Can't you see people fine-tuning their farming techniques to develop the most potent strain of Cannabis ever created??
Every house in California will have it's own little herb garden. Marijuana plants will become a part of the landscaping! The Marijuana plant will become the State Plant!

Where else but in California???

the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the Courage to change the things I can, and

The Wisdom to know the difference.

That rates up there as one of my all time favorite prayers, ahead of

God, please grant me patience, NOW!

It certainly would be nice to experience wisdom sometime in my life.....

Isn't style fascinating? Each of us has a unique style about us. It's reflected in how we dress, whether we are day or night people, grasshoppers or ants. It shows up in the type of housing we choose, whether we have kids, what type of job is satisfying, whether we can let an old love go, our sense of humor, and if we have close ties to nature.

Style is on my mind because of the diversity of blogs I read. Since the day I first tripped over Billy's blog, he's been a daily read. He writes an amazing stream of consciousness, but in each essay he produces, there's likely to be a reflection that ties his past life into the one that's coming, something wildly funny, and something heartfelt. I never know what the subject matter will be, but I always know that I will have been given a snapshot of his life, a clear unobfuscated view.

Do you suppose that everyone at some time in their life thinks about what they might like to name their children? I've always thought the tradition you tend to find on the East coast of using the mother's maiden name for a son's first name, was a cool idea. Obviously it works better with some names than others. Can you see a kid entering kindergarten with a moniker like Schwarzenegger Brown??

I had my annual physical today. I'm not terribly fond of going to the doctor, but I make several appointments in October for annual checkups. Last Thursday I had my mammogram, and today I got a tetanus shot and a flu shot. They drew blood for a chem panel, so I'll be hearing from the doc when the results come in. I had a Pap smear done, and peed in a cup.

I hope that you will take the time to get an annual physical. Even if you are well, it doesn't hurt to have baseline information for future treatment, and you can prevent a lot of woe if you discover things early. It doesn't take a lot of time, it's not terribly expensive, and it doesn't hurt (much).

Do something nice for a loved one....and something nice for yourself. Get a check up!

Man, I LOVE Amazon.com. With a click you have the world at your fingertips!

I was placing an order for DH's birthday and remembered that I wanted to look up a Michael McDonald CD. I finally settled on "Greatest Hits of the Doobie Brothers." It arrived yesterday and sat on the kitchen counter while I finished up other things.

I popped it into the office CD player this afternoon and I'm having trouble concentrating on business. Instead, I'm dancing in my chair.....doing the backstroke and bopping along. I know that some of my readers were only TWO when this band started, but ya gotta love the Doobie Brothers! Great energy.

Now, if everybody would just quit interrupting me, I might perfect this chair dancin......(scooting the chair across the floor and back)

I'm likely to be away from the computer this weekend. I convinced my mother and DH to go to the last of the Farmer's Markets tomorrow morning, weather permitting. Then we'll do breakfast out, and stop at the cleaners and Office Max on the way home. I started making a list of about twenty other errands that need to be run, and it looks like the entire day could be wiped out. If it continues to rain, that might not be a bad idea, unless traffic is a mess.

Jo Ann Fabrics or Windmill City Quilts, getting Defer's nails clipped, and then giving him a bath, stopping at Babies R Us for a shower gift, getting a bag of vermiculite, ordering bird seed for delivery.....and I'd like to get DH to Restoration Hardware before their lighting sale ends.

I have a wonderful book I just started. It's the "Da Vinci Code." I'm barely 130 pages into the story and really wrapped up in it. I'll have to tell you more when I've finished it, but I can already recommend it.

Sunday, Mother has a meeting of Empty Nesters, and then we will go to dinner with the kids to celebrate DH's birthday. One of the kids has organized it, and made reservations. We'll be at a restaurant on a river, so we may get to enjoy the gathering wildlife.

My gardens still need me, and the leaves that have fallen are wet now. I can see that we will be raking one cold November. I'll have to get someone to take a picture. I'm sure none of you believe that I do any of this stuff! *G*

Well....I hope you all have a great weekend! Happy Fall!

I had expected to be away just a day or so, and it's stretched out to four or five. Nothing earthshaking has happened here, I've just been caught up in my off-line life.

Sunday, we celebrated Dear Husband's birthday. Normally, the birthday person gets to determine what they do they day of their birthday, but DH had to give me a hand outside. I know it was at the bottom of a list of things he could have been doing, but I'm glad he bit the bullet and worked with me.

This morning when I was out, I saw a headline in the Chicago Sun-Times which said something to the effect that if you want your child to read better, turn off the T.V. BRAVO!! Talk to your children. Have them read to you. Discuss what you've read. Limit the amount of time your children get to watch T.V. and you will have healthier, smarter children!

Everybody has music they love. Some blogs have "currently listening to" sidebars, and others discuss the merits of their favorites. For the most part, what they have in common from my point of view is that I don't recognize a word of what they are talking about.

How could I be a trained musician, and have gotten so far removed from pop music?? I can't figure it out. What I find is that I recognize some music here and there, but I've missed most of the hits of the nineties, and I have NO idea who is popular in the new millennium.

that director Jane Campion is one of only two women who have been nominated for an Oscar for directing, and that no woman has ever won? Whatever happened to the PHI ratio here?

You may know Campion's work: Sweetie, The Piano, Portrait of a Lady, and Holy Smoke.

She has another film coming out called "In the Cut." It's loosely based on Susanna Moore's 1995 novel of the same name.

After waiting for FOURTEEN YEARS, we finally had our first trick or treaters. Four boys came to the front door. I'd say they were in a range between nine and fourteen. They were dressed as bums or mimes, and carried pillowcases to hold the candy. DH actually had them come into the house. The only thing we forgot to do was to take their picture!

Mother slept through the whole thing.

No eggs, no tricks that we have found yet, and nobody was hurt.

This has turned out to be a very frustrating day.

I got a later start than usual, and worked in the garden. With rain coming in, we pulled the tarp with the herb cuttings to the compost pile, and covered two bales of straw, and then I came in for the afternoon.

I have numerous quilting projects underway, and I’ve been trying to finish some of them before starting new projects. I managed to get a twin-sized signature quilt top finished today. I pieced the back, too. Now all I have to do is pack the top, back and batting and mail them off to the ladies who will machine quilt them for me. Perhaps I’ll have a special Christmas present for my mother if they finish in time.

Dear Husband is watching a program on MSNBC called the Ultimate Explorer. The program is discussing the rangers and climbers at Denali in Alaska. I looked up in time, the first time, to see a helicopter carrying off the splayed, frozen bodies of climbers, who were stranded and died.

I went to a baby shower today. My youngest nephew is going to be a proud papa in about five weeks. The women in his family arranged a shower. I was astounded at the decorations, the brunch, and the endless gifts that were given.

It seems that babies are big business these days. The couple spent an afternoon at Babies R US registering, and I'll bet they got most of the six sheets of items that they put on the registry.

The grandparents purchased a bed and armoir. Relatives bought things like a high chair, the car seat, a baby monitor, a diaper disposal system, and several other big ticket items. Friends brought things like sleep sets and onesies, outfits complete with hats, receiving blankets, diapers, disposable changing pads, diaper bags and bottle bags. There were ball player outfits, a Santa outfit, dungarees, sweats, Oshkosh b'Gosh, and Ralph Lauren.

It makes me feel a bit old to remember that it once was perfectly okay to have hand me downs for your baby, and that special safety seats weren't required. I can remember cloth diapers, and I bet my brother-in-law thinks we should return to them. So much has changed! It seems that every 20 years or so they change their minds on whether a baby should sleep prone, or supine.

I'm delighted that this couple have all they wished for to care for their baby. I'm sure they will put it to good use. I hope, when the baby outgrows the clothes, the bed and the furniture, that it will go to someone who needs it who might not otherwise have it. And.....I hope they have the joy of a happy, healthy baby!

Dear Husband has a new job for me. Somehow he has become aware that there are corporations which have blogs. He feels that I should now spend my time trying to match up bloggers and corporations.

I've pondered the small circle of blogs I currently read, and here are some of my recommendations.

Following Jamie's latest post, I suspect that Penthouse or one of the men's magazines might be our best bet, or better yet.....PLAYGIRL! (I guess this means we have to give up the phone sex idea, Jamie.)

Dr. D, I can see several choices here. You could blog for Coppertone, but I think you'd be a very eloquent spokesperson for Trojans!

Billy, perhaps you could make a splash by blogging for Depends, but I bet you'd opt for Spiderman comics.

Speedbump, you could sweet talk the New Zealanders into being their blogging wizzard, but I bet you'd enjoy championing the Kiwi industry. WEG

I suppose it's just too trite to assign Pepcid to Acidman, but DH would be thrilled that I opted for the simplest shot.

Pob is already working at an airport. I doubt he'd want to blog for them. We need to find him a cushy job that will put him in contact with a LOT of beautiful women. Let's see.......a modeling agency?? Maybe a casting agency. Hmm...perhaps he could blog for the Miss America contest!

WichiDude and the Dudette might be great spokespersons for the wine industry. Maybe the 'Dude could blog for the Amateur Writer's Association.

Red Eagle, who already has more than enough on her plate might be able to blog for Avon.......or perhaps for PartyLite!

Bogie. Hmmm.....the Firefox woman......I can see her representing the wilds of Montana or Alaska. Or perhaps she could blog for animal adoption. Or maybe for Quizilla as they develop the newest quiz "What kind of animal owner will we let YOU be?"

Essay, how do you feel about being the blogger for Prozac??

Dawn has the first hand experience to take on the Detroit Department of Streets.

Can't you see T-bone as spokesblogger for Pampers??

Okay.....I'm sorry that I didn't reach out to each and every one of you, but I need to eat my dinner.

I'm a cat person. When I was growing up, my family always had dogs. We had some great dogs, but it wasn't until I grew up and moved away that my parents had cats. Dad was allergic to cats, but put up with them. I can remember visiting one summer and watching one of a litter of kittens testing the brick Dad had just laid. He'd hopped up onto my Dad's shoulder and walked out his arm and gently pushed the brick to see if it was set just right.

Recently Bogie directed us to Dawn Olsen's blog for a post on the subject of parental favoritism. I encourage you to read that post. It has plenty of food for thought.

I come from a family where the parents were divided on the subject. I have three sisters and a brother. Each of the girls felt that Dad loved them the best. We have no idea how he kept from showing favoritism, but he was a master at it. Dad's been gone almost 20 years, but we are still comforted by the sense of love and family that he instilled.

My mother has always championed my brother. Given the ridiculous lengths she has sometimes gone to defend him, it's a wonder he turned out so well! For the longest time the phrase "You always DID love him better" would pop up at family gatherings. He would smile a cheesy grin and nod.

One year in an attempt to get even, she had t-shirts printed for the two of them that said "I DID love HIM better," and they wore them to the family Thanksgiving dinner. It didn't stop the taunts, but it slowed them down.

Did you know that Voyager 2 left Earth before Voyager 1? ( Voyager 2: August 20, 1977, Voyager 1: September 5, 1977) Recently, on the nightly news, we heard that Voyager 1 has reached then end of the heliopause (the edge of the solar wind's influence), and is continuing on into space. I believe they said it is moving at a rate of one million miles a DAY.

I checked the Voyager website, and it's speed was given in these terms: "Voyager 1 is speeding away from the Sun at a velocity of about 3.50 AU/year...." I don't have enough math to do the equation, but if you do, you can check to see if 1,000,000 miles a day is correct. Isn't that an astounding figure?