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!

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!

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!)

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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.

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.”

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*

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 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….

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 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!

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