Wordless Wednesday: Artist's Beach, Big Sur....shhhhhh

Tuesday Tails....Jade's story.... Greek doggie...Wonderful story!

Amazing Tuesday tail!  This will warm the cockles of your heart......

I have decided to foster dogs or cats at some point in my life, because it's an essential step on the road to a forever home for rescued animals, like Jade, who need more initial care.



I give thanks for all the people all over the world who are stepping up to help save them.  

Music Monday: "High Cotton", Alabama..... Tap your toes

This is such a lovely, lovely song.  The sounds are what my Grandpa left inside my heart, with his voice and guitar.  Enjoy!

Sunday Stealing: Shannon's meme Part II

 August 27, 2016

Shannon's Moment Meme, Part Two

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes (or surveys) from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard the expression, “honor among thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we try to credit the blog that we stole it from. When possible, we contact the owner of the blog where we stole the post. We also provide a link to the victim's meme in our "Previous Victims" widget. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") Sometimes we edit the original meme, to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, to select the best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from this new meme or recently asked questions from a previously featured meme. 


We found this gem when a few weeks ago we asked for memes to steal. Shannon W (my friend and the author of Moments of Introspection) gave us this one but did not tell me where she got it. It's long so we broke it up in two parts. Today is the second and final part. And please don't fret, Kwizgiver will be back soon. She'll straighten this all back out!

Okay, now time for me to shout:
  

Cheers to all of us thieves!!

Sunday Stealing: Shannon's Moments Meme, Part Two

23. Have you ever gone to the “dark side”? 

Is that Darth Vader's side?
  

Or Bock Beer side?  
Oooo, I love Bock Beer.  Hmmm... Cookies and beer, what a concept. 
Oh, Oh!! you mean dark chocolate.  Yes, and yummy it is, with beer.

Now this one >> comes right out of "Office Space"  

24. What shirt are you wearing right now?
A night shirt.  It's about time to wrap this puppy up, init?

25. What’s important about a bed to you? Like type of sheets, size or whatever. 
I've found that it's best size wise is a California King if the dog is going to sleep with you.  A Queen is too small even for a 15 pound dog and two humans.  The dog thinks the whole thing belongs to him.
Maybe we need to do this?

26. Can you sing? 
Yes, I can still sing and even harmonize as long as no one is listening.  Maybe I should sing in the car with the Stereo blasting (like the good old days) but  I hardly ever go anywhere alone now.
    
27. What is something about you that would surprise us? 
If I haven't told you before this, it's highly unlikely that I'd tell you now.

28. Have you been a pirate, Renaissance Fair, or other costumed event? If not, would you for the right event or say cause? 
Um, something is missing there... "at a.."?  Women don't "swashbuckle" in quite the same way as a guy, despite the excellent performance by Keira Knightly in "Pirates of the Caribbean3". So no.  I have been a fortune teller which was a blast, but wouldn't do as a pirate.  No, i wouldn't dress up for any charity.

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? 
Rigoletto, of course....... 


No, really, I'd get water down my windpipe trying to sing Opera in the shower.  I guess it would be like gargling, eh? 

30. Favorite girl's name? 
Maria.  I wanted to name my first daughter that but it got nixed.  It must have been, shall we say, too "Ethnic"? But in my heart, she was always my Maria.

31. Favorite boy's name? 
Joseph 

32. What’s in your pocket or purse right now? 
Actually I don't know.  The purse is big and shaped like a backpack and it's kitted out like an EMT's bag.  

33. Last thing that made you laugh? 
Something in the Halloween episode of "NCIS" from a few years ago.  We just saw it last night through the magic of Netflix.

34. Best toy as a child? 
My mother saved up and bought me a beautiful tea set.  Not the kid kind, but a real grown up one.

35. Worst injury you have ever had? 
A broken back.  I had to fight for years to get back my strength and the crappy thing is that no one tells you that when you are 65 it's all going to come back down on you anyway.  

36. Where would you love to live? 
Somewhere in Central Coast, California.  My whole Life is up there.  But it's freaking impossible.

37. What type of TV do you have? Would you’d like an upgrade? 
It's a small flat screen, and no,we don't want an upgrade.  This one fits the little space it's in, perfectly.  But, if you are giving them away we could re-arrange furniture a bit.

38.OK it's really missing

39. How many dogs do you have? 
One, but I'd like one more.  I'd love to get a very little, very fuzzy white rescue dog..  That's why I can't look at shelter dogs anymore.  I think Wolfie needs a sister, and Mr. Z. and I might have a big fight if I find one.

40. Do most folks trust you? 
They seem to.  I always try to be honest and trustworthy, and to keep no agenda running in the background like too many people seem to do.  

41. What book are you reading? 
I've been trying to read books for the last six month now but it's not working.  I just started yet another one.  

42. What’s your favorite classic TV show? 
I always loved "Major Dad", And over the years I've added, "Frazier".

43. What’s your favorite sports team? 
That would be both the Green Bay Packers and the Forty Niners, both equally.  The Packers because classmates played for them, and the Niners because, well, I just really like them.

44. Favorite month and why?
I've always loved October because the hot weather is over, and the holiday season starts shortly after.  This may change.  Lots of things are changing.  Move'n on...
Thank you for playing this week on Sunday Stealing! Please leave a comment or link when you have posted. Stop back and visit other player’s posts. That is really what this is all about, making new friends! Have a great week. See you next Sunday! 

Saturday9: Hello there! My name is......

Today is National Dog Day!  Yay!

Saturday 9: Hello (2015)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.


1) This video begins with Adele and her flip phone. Is your cell phone a simple or a smart phone?
It's a Smart phone, but not as smart as my sister's android. Actually, texting proved to be so much fun that when the old phone chargers broke, we traded in our flips.  They were the best little phones but hard to text on- tiny buttons.

2) As soon as her cell is fully charged, Sam disconnects the adapter from the outlet to save electricity. Are you careful about conserving energy?
Sam, we do the very same thing.  There are no adapters in the outlets unless something's being charged.  Energy conservation, just like water conservation, means that Mother Earth gets a break.

3) Adele sings that she must have a called a thousand times but her former lover never picked up. Think about the last call you made. Did you get through? Did you leave a voice mail? Or did you just hang up? 
I got through.  

4) Adele brews a cup of tea in the video. How often do you drink tea? Year round? Only in winter? Never?
I drink tea all the time, no matter what the season and always, now, decaf, though some are caffeine free, like Rooibos chai.  Yummy! 

5) Adele told Glamour magazine she like two sugars in her tea. Do you watch your sugar intake?
Since I'm practically immobile compared to two years ago, yes, I watch every calorie.  I save sugar for things that really count, like chocolate or chocolate covered ginger from TJs.  How about another Yummy here just for that chocolate treat.

6) This song is about reaching out to someone and extending an apology. When is the last time you said, "I'm sorry?"
I've probably said that, "I'm Sorry", most recently to Mr. Z. when I did or said something that made him sad.  
I'm pretty careful not to overstep my bounds with anyone, now that I'm not a parent anymore.  Parents are trying hard to not raise a "criminal"( as one of my rockhound friend once said) so they can get pretty overwrought.  I'm not talking about beating, brow or body.  But just going a little too into the nasty side of human nature.  Yelling is sort of like the Bearing of teeth, in the animal world, eh?  

7) Adele was a heavy smoker who enjoyed the habit and didn't quit until 2015, after  doctors convinced her it contributed to her chronic throat problems. What's something you know you should do for your health?
 A heavy smoker who sang for a living always amazed me.  But they got a lot of second hand smoke anyway.  I'm glad it is BANNED in Boston and every other inside venue now.
So, this is a meme and you asked about meme.  Well, I really should walk and stand more.  Something I'm trying to do. Knitting is fine but you can stand to do that, too.  I can no longer walk and chew gum so walking while knitting is too dangerous, both for me and for others.

8) Even though she is one of the world's highest-earning entertainers, she recently had her credit card rejected while shopping at H&M. She admits she was "mortified." Have you ever experienced that moment at the counter when your card was rejected?
No I haven't.  Probably because I hardly ever used a credit card.  But I did see an amazing arrest of someone who was using a stolen card!  It was so exciting!  It was in a small gift shop in Old Town and caused quite a stir!  The perp looked me right in the eyes and stared!

9) Random question: When you were a kid, did you keep a neat or messy bedroom?
If you saw my craft spaces now you wouldn't believe that I was neat as a pin the whole of my life until falling ill in my fifties.  I really miss that tidy sort of life and must get back to it!

See?  Even in the middle of the Jungle it's possible to tell the Naturally Tidy
© Betty Londergan and Heifer12x12 2012. 

Heifer International is a great organization, and I support it's work wholeheartedly.

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!

To play along, and to see who else has played, click  HERE

Friday5 for August 26 : 1999, the last year before The Great Oblivion?

Friday 5 for August 26: Two Thousand Zero Zero Party Over Oops Out of Time

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! 

The links are there in case you need a little bit of help, but of course there are other ways to get relevant info.  For number 3, click the link and change the “January” in the URL to your birth month and “1” in the URL to your birthday, then hit enter.

1.What’s your favorite song from 1999?



"In the End, Only Kindness matters"

2. What are some of your favorite films from 1999?
I have three from that year, four actually: "Galaxy Quest"- such a gas, "The Sixth Sense", "Office Space", and "Dogma".  We've watched them several times in the ensuing years.  "Office Space" was one of Elle's favorite movies.  Who could ever forget that red stapler?  Or, for that matter, could anyone ever forget those bad A** angels in Dogma?

3. What’s something interesting that happened on your birthday in 1999?
Harry Potter hammered his way into literature?  Did I use literature in that last sentence?  I've never had the time to read a single word of those books but it's pretty apparent that not only little children feel powerless in this real life world we find ourselves in.  

4. How did you ring in the new year as 1999 became 2000?
At home, with a bottle of Bubbly and some chocolate.  It still is the best way to not get a DUI or have to call a cab at 1 am. Yes?

5. What’s something that’s gotten better since 1999?
The internet has, well, sort of grown but of course some of it was sideways.  It's growth, per year, is astounding, to say the least.  Now if we could just get the spooks out of our back pockets again.  It's painful to sit on them, so well armed are they.

Want to play along?  The link is in the side bar, or just click HERE.  Come play with us!

Thanks for participating, and have a wonderful weekend!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One's True identity comes with self knowledge....

Just so you know who you're dealing with here.... heehee

Now, some music from the Carter family.

Sunflower bought at Santa Cruz Market

"Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side
Keep on the sunny side of life
It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way
If we keep on the sunny side of life"

Giant sunflower in Trescony Garden. 

Peace bells, for Colleen

More wind bells and more modern castings....

I guess in the United States they started to be called Peace Bells, these little ones, but they are called Wind bells in Japan.  Meditation may be the reason for them being called that here.

Peace bells are actually the large Sister City bells - San Diego has one on Shelter Island- that Sister Cities exchanged.

Thursday 13:Visit to Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park.

Come Play?  It's fun, and you meet new people.

It was a Peaceful time to photograph flowers.  It was mid-June a few years ago.

Enjoy the Garden, and be sure to visit it when you are in San Francisco.  They sell many things garden related, and even T-shirts and other interesting things at the little store.

I bought Peace bells there.  I'd love to have a dozen more of those, but I'll settle for three or four.  All these sales help the Gardens; it's all for the greater good!

All the ornamental stones used in creating the garden adjacent to the Library building were once part of a 12th Century Cisterian monastery in Spain, some of which was dismantled, and shipped to San Francisco by Randolph Hearst.  He wanted to use the beautiful stones to build a gargantuan castle that would outshine his own mother's near Mt. Shasta.  (Take that, Mommie!)
.
Some how after the arrival, he lost interest, or otherwise turned away from the project.  The stones were either sold or given to the city of San Francisco, which putting them to use much later.

There's been a huge dispute going on for a century, give or take a few years, about whether they were acquired by the Stealth and/or Guile of a somewhat ruthless American billionaire.  READ about it here,
Read it, that is, if you can wade through all their irritating pop up ads and other detritus.  There is an even more detailed story HERE, from Outlands Org. which is easier to read.

Just a semi-related thought:  Nature, more or less, instructs  us to bloom where we are planted, and, therefore, to Compromise.  To compromise can mean to accept standards that are less than desirable, and go ahead and bloom anyway.

So, shall we do this, live in neighborhoods, and towns and meditate-bloom- instead of medicate?  Is this how it's done?  I'm hoping it's so.  Everything, save ice cream, that makes me euphoric also makes me sick.

Have a Happy T13!  

Wordless Wednesday..Shhh Arizona Cactus Botanical Garden barbed wire shot

LINKTO barbedwire art.. shhhhh.....

Nasty Business-Be Warned! Tuesday Tales: cat meat in suburbia? Mon Dieu!

I was raised on a farm, and had a lot of unpleasant chores to perform, and also saw some brutal things happen around me, like the killing of dogs and cats by psycho dad. But, we were never forced to eat them.  But their killing, let me tell you, was horrific and it's something you NEVER want to see.

For their safety in the cities and burbs, , please, please do keep the kitties inside, and don't let the dogs out alone either!

  Just reading about this makes me sick, and I don't want to keep my mouth shut and be sick anymore!   So I'm sharing it to make true the saying that a trouble shared is a trouble halved.  Yes, I know, thanks ever SO much, Mz. Zippi!

 

A wiki page on the ugly world of CAT MEAT.   Don't shoot the messenger.

 No, I haven't lost my mind.  I am just very upset and concerned is all.   

Music Monday: Three Doors Down, "Here Without You".

Damn............................  I came in to do Music Monday and heard the news.....



Rest in Peace, Matt.

Source is LoudWire

Sunday Stealing: Shannon's Meme, Part One

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes (or surveys) from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent memes. You may have heard the expression, “honor among thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we try to credit the blog that we stole it from. When possible, we contact the owner of the blog where we stole the post. We also provide a link to the victim's meme in our "Previous Victims" widget. (It's our way of saying "Thanks!") Sometimes we edit the original meme, to make it more relevant to our global players, to challenge our players, to select the best questions, or simply to make it less repetitive from this new meme or recently asked questions from a previously featured meme.

We found this gem when a few weeks ago we asked for memes to steal. Shannon W (my friend and the author of Moments of Introspection) gave us this one but did not tell me where she got it. It's long so we broke it up in two parts. As it says above, we edit and change questions. Mostly I hate yes or no questions. That also allows the person I stole it from to play. That's not a goal but it is reality. If you think hosting a meme is easy, try it once. Okay, now time for me to shout:

Cheer to all of us thieves!!

Sunday Stealing: Shannon's Moments Meme, Part One

1. Do you like blue cheese?
I love blue cheese.  I love all cheeses.  Well, I haven't had that Norwegian cheese they make by boiling down the whey after cheese making.  Really, the idea of eating such a product is beyond my ken.

2. Have you ever smoked cigarettes? If yes, how did you quit?
Yes, as a teen and then again for a short time as an adult.  I just quit, and went through the normal withdrawal and madness.

3. Do you own a gun? How are your feelings about gun control/2nd amendment rights?
I've owned rifles, but no hand guns.  My Psycho Dad had them and regularily patrolled his "Property" with them.
I feel that as Americans we have the right to own and to bear arms.  My problem is with the sorts of guns that are now included in fire arms.   To borrow a page from Diana, the founding fathers didn't know that the arms industry would be lobbying heavily for the right to bear any sort of side arm that someone thought they needed to feel safe from ICBMs, let's say, something ELSE they didn't envision.   The buck has to stop somewhere, and I prefer it stop on the correct side of sanity before we all regret it.
You can read her whole post HERE.  Diana said it best.

4. What is your favorite flavor of water or liquor flavors?
Well, I like iced tea.  I like it unsweetened, and as far as liquor flavors I guess I like Creme de Cacao the best, though it's been literally decades since I've had any.

5. Do you get nervous before a doctor visit? Why?
No, unless it's the cardiologist that I just do not care for anymore.  My Primary Physician is the most amazing, caring doctor that I've ever had.  She's been my doctor for two decades at least.

6. How do you like your hot dogs?
I don't like hot dogs, unless they are polish dogs or Kielbasa.  Then I like them with mustard, onions and a bun.

7. Although it’s been asked a lot, tell us about a favorite movie that you haven’t shared before.
"Smoke Signals".  It's one of my favorites I've never shared.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
I like Rooibos tea in the morning.  And there is a newer one that a sweet, sweet knitter friend shared with me that is flavored with clove.  At least I think it's clove.  I'm too tired to flip on all the lights, go in the kitchen, and check it out.  Ah!  Heaven bless the web!  Kisses! Kisses! Kisses!

This is the one.

9. In a dating situation, have you ever misrepresented yourself to seem cooler or hipper? (Yes we know for most of you it was long ago…) 

This fellow, below, is called, The Philosorapter.

 memegenerator.com

One thing, one very good thing, I learned from my mom, was that it's always OK (and a good thing) to just be yourself.
In her own high school year book, under her picture, it says that she was voted the least pretentious person in her class.   That's how she raised us, to love fun, and be yourself.  She was like her Mom and Dad.

10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? Why?
It is a little opal ring that Mr.Z found in the leaf litter, by a parking lot curb, sparkling up at him.  At the time we were virtually penniless and Christmas was on the way.  I wear it nearly every day.

11. Favorite hobby? Tell us about it so we understand it.
I like to make rings and other jewelry, and especially I like to carve or form the material that goes in the mountings from slabs of stone that we've collected from sites in the desert or from other rock hounds.  That is the best.  I have sold off most of my stuff for it so I'll quit it!  This is because I'm trying to get more mileage out of these old hands for doing knitting, the second thing on my favorite hobbies list.

12. Do you have A.D.D., or have you suspected it?
I don't have it.  O.D.D., maybe, because my brother and sister have GOT to have that, and it's the genes thing, you know?  I'm first and foremost an artist and a crafter so have lots of stuff from a business I used to own, but  Every thing doesn't have to be perfect and lined up, and straight on the wall, within mils of tolerance.  I'm not a USMC Drill Instructor about it.

From Twitter

13. What’s a thing you dislike or would change about yourself?
I really, REALLY want to lose 20 pounds but I keep eating way too much chocolate.  No, I can't stop it, either.  Gotterdammerung!  Isn't that just the BEST swear word substitute ever?

14. Middle name? Like it or not?
I like it.  It's my Grandpa's family name, which my mother gifted to me.

15. Name three random thoughts you might have on this week:
1. I might think I want to jump off the cliff above the dam.
2. I might think I would like to get a house in the suburbs of a northern County, and rob a bank to be able to afford it.
3. I might decide to cut my hair even shorter and spike it, like this, but dye it rainbow colors.

Getty Put their Great Big Paw on this one.

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink. Tell us a bit about them.
1. Water, it's made up of Hydrogen and Oxygen which would blow you up or fry you if they hadn't married each other.
1. Iced Tea, which is Hydrogen and Oxygen married to each other and infused with an herb from China called chai.
3. NAB which is non alcoholic beer. It also has in it, the wedded Hydrogen and Oxygen.   Some of it's actually pretty good.

17. Current worry:
The two roses will finally die of their disease.  We can't seem to stop the process without endangering the tortoises.  They eat the leaves.  It's pretty sad, but I think we will lose those two 30 year old roses this time.  I'll be glad when 2016 exits, stage right, limping and burned badly by two of the children of an un-married Hydrogen and Oxygen.

18. Current annoyance:
Rodents eating the tomatoes, but we've foiled them I hope.  We picked all the tomatoes and plan to keep doing it the moment the bottom of one turns pinkish.

19. Favorite place to be in the summer? Give us a wee bit more than “the beach”.
Any place with AC.

20. How do you usually ring in the new year? If forced (how we’d do that without Judd coming to your house, if you even know who he was) to do something new, what would it be?
We usually eat a little Chocolate for a sweet year, and drink some Champagne.
Since that didn't work on this Brass-plated Beeoch of a year, I'd gladly drop kick it's nasty little fandango to Kansas, while wearing all black and levitating.  These boots were made for kicking...

Observer.com

21. What have you done this summer that’s special? Pictures please.
Saved two fledgling California Towyees, this is the female, who was so battered I didn't think she'd make it.

Sweet bird of the sparrow family

Fought for and kept my sanity by knitting my heart back together..almost....

22. Have you ever walked into a room with just shoes on?
No, that just seems plain silly.  I've walked most of my life barefoot, though.  I have to wear shoes now because my feet have no tread left after walking a million miles.

And yes, I've re-edited this numerous times, and Now it's time to go to BED!

If you would like to join this fun meme, the button in the side bar is linked but HERE is a link also.  My old advice once said, to have as much fun as possible in this life.  That is still true.  Find the Fun, and just Do it!

Thank you for playing this week on Sunday Stealing! Please leave a comment or link when you have posted. Stop back and visit other player’s posts. That is really what this is all about, making new friends! 

Have a great week. See you next Sunday! 

Judy Judy Judy! Saturday9

This is the LINK to Saturday 9, the Gal Herself 's sweet, sweet Meme
Come on over and play!

Saturday 9: The Trolley Song (1944)

... Because Stacey suggested Judy Garland. Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.


1) In this movie clip, just about everyone (except Judy) is wearing a hat. Do you wear hats for fashion, for warmth or for both?
I wear hats to keep the sun off my face, sometimes for fashion but not lately at all, and for keeping my head warm.  So both, with one thrown in.

2) This song is from Meet Me in St. Louis, which was a huge hit and the second highest grossing movie of 1944. When is the last time you watched a movie in the theater?  
It had to be back in the 90's.  I don't like going to theaters anymore.  I'm just too old now, it's no fun anymore, and there is no PAUSE button.  You really can't watch a movie cross-eyed can you?

3) The movie follows the Smith family as their hometown, St. Louis, to prepares to host the 1904 World's Fair. What's the biggest thing happening in your hometown? 
Well, KISS is going to be performing  in town next week.  Is that big enough?

4) This week's featured artist, Judy Garland, is best known as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. That movie is shown so often that Sam thinks she may have seen it a dozen times. Is there a movie or holiday special you've seen over and over?
Yes, I love to watch "Miracle on 34th Street".  But there are so many.....alas, I must choose only one!  Isn't that Elder Abuse?

5) Judy admitted to being perpetually tardy. Are you usually prompt? Or are you always running late? 
I do my best to be punctual, but plan to be late for my own funeral.  Hey, why not?

Who let the dogs out??!

6) Judy's first professional performance was a rendition of "Jingle Bells" when she was just two. How old were you when you entered your chosen profession? 
Um... I never actually did have the profession I chose.  But I sang all the time.  From the time I could talk I could sing, and did.  My grandpa always loved to have his little grandchildren gathered around him and singing.  Singing is fun.

7) Thinking of "Jingle Bells," here's a wintery question for a hot summer day: What's your favorite carol? 
There are so many but "Carol of the Bells" is one that is just so irresistibly beautiful.  It was hard to find one that didn't pop up an ad for the Orange Menace.



8) Judy was a very demonstrative person. She enjoyed hugs and admitted that, when she nervous, she took emotional support from physically reaching out. Are you demonstrative?
I was until I left my grandparent's house with all my aunts around me.  And then we were raised by two pretty undemonstrative people so I had to learn over again to be a hugger.  Mr.Z and his mother and two sisters turned me back into a hugger.  However, I always was, and always will be,

A Tree Hugger

SOURCE

9) She told Barbara Walters that people would be surprised to learn that she was a good cook and specialized in desserts. Do you have a sweet tooth?
I like sweet things but I love salty things better.  Sometimes the saltier the better!

A tiny rant....

I told you this one made you think about things.......

The friday5 was about France.  It was kind and upbeat, as always, because the person who creates it is, also.

But, it opened some old wounds that I didn't want bleeding all over such a cheerie and delightful meme.  And it certainly is not the fault of the meme that my mind is the way it is.

Anyway, I have my own thoughts about what's been happening in our world for so long that I can't stand to keep this in.

Sadly, Americans tend to disrespect the French, but that, I feel, is mainly just because the British do.   And I've had to listen to it from the four corners of my life for far too long.

War Stories:  We should, at least by now, think for ourselves.  The French, after all, bankrupted themselves helping us fight the British in our War of Independence.  And, the Brits sunk the entire French Fleet - with sailors aboard, to "keep it from falling into Nazi hands".  They didn't even give the sailors a fighting chance.
In truth: Voir, un couteau á double tranchant.  N'est Pa?  And I'm just too old to keep this stuff inside me anymore because I've heard so many nasty things said over time, and that gets to be an irritant.

Any country, large or small, who had a border as long and flat as the one France shared with the Germany of that time, was in trouble when Hitler took power.  What America did was stay out of the war until the last minute, when é Viola, they had an impeccable reason to enter:  Clue?  Money.  Follow the money.  

Anyway, France and the rest of Europe had born the full brunt of the Nazi machinetta running it's arse all over the flats for quite some time.   They were prone, saving what they could, and then the French fleet was sunk.  The whole thing.  Now, my friends, that is just Nasty, Nasty, Nasty.

I've said what I think.  Now I'll go back to keeping my head down.

Friday 5 for August19:

Friday 5 for August 19: French Kissing

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below, so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

What’s your favorite kind of French fry?
In and Out Burgers probably still has the most delicious ones.  Like homemade ones!

Where can you get really good French toast?
Really, it is so easy to make superior french toast at home, why bother going out to get it.  Put a tiny bit of nutmeg, cinnamon, or clove into the whipped egg and cream you dip some thick slices of French or Italian bread in, panfry in light oil or a little butter til golden, and there you have it.

What are your feelings about French salad dressing?
Well, I like the kind I make.

What’s something you know how to say in French?
Lots of stuff, but saying isn't typing.  N'est Pa?

What French films have you seen?
'Sequins', 'Amelie', several with Gérard Depardieu in them, comedies and semi sérieuse, and many others, which I really can no longer recall that are available through netflix.

Thanks for participating!  Have a great weekend, and s’il vous plait…dessines-moi un mouton!

The pesky Friend Connect Gremlins relent. Yay!

I blame the Russians.  They seem to be messing with emails a lot right now, so why not knitting blogs?  But I hope whoever fixed it will now be my Google Paladin.

Speaking of knitting, the sleeve is about 8 inches long now but the cameraman was shaking badly and  the picture was total rot today.  There are, however, some lovely shots of tomatoes from Mr.Z's plants.

Two huge ones for us

And one great big one for the pesky "night crew"

Well, this snap is better, and maybe the thing is more like seven inches.
.that's an 8x11 inch paper but my eyes are screaming for sleep

ANYWAY, NIGHTY NIGHT!
See you soon!

Thursday 13:

Thirteen things I think about too much.  So many questions but not enough answers.  In fact, I have no answers, just mostly questions.  These are serious and on the silly side, but give you a little insight into my world.

1. How many people will die from drinking bad water tomorrow?  This one is getting closer and closer to home than more people want to admit.  Right now the count is up to 2000 children a day who die from bad water,this according to Unicef.

2. How does a person move through a new reality but still keep, intact, all the best things about the old one?  Hire a magician.?  Meditate?  I'm meditating as well as thinking about the trials of Saint Theresa of Avila. She is my special love.

3. I wonder how to feed the hungry birds with all their small fledglings without feeding some of the neighbor's rodents who live under their outdoor bird cages.  I don't mind feeding the one tiny field mouse who lives in the clump of geranium, but not his bigger cousins.  I'm hoping the barn owl gets them.  We've had to resort to picking the tomatoes early just to get any at all.  So far, we're ahead!

You can see why we want the barn owl to win.

4.  When will I bake another birthday cake for someone?  Maybe I'll make a carrot cake for my daughters and sons when next we go to the North.  That way, it's flour free and all of us can eat it.  Yay!

5. How many more plants can we plant for butterflies and hummingbirds under these water restrictions?  I want monkey flower, sages and salvia and even some ceanothus, all plants that  are at the Nature interpretive center.

6. How does a week go by so fast?!  Yesterday it was Sunday and tomorrow it's already Friday?

7. If a gamma ray burst hits Earth, will it be over almost instantly?  Scientists say "yes", and I hope they are right.  It's not right that innocent beings should suffer.

8. Will the Chicago Bears finally win a season?

9. Why do I care?


10. I've never made a bucket list.  I probably should have got that fine arts degree.  People always say it's never too late, but they don't know what they are talking about.  Of course it is sometimes too late!

11. Is fruit less fattening than fried potatoes with garlic and onions, if you don't care?

12. Will I ever feel normal again, well, as normal as I actually Felt,say, in the year 2005?

13. Will this year ever end?

Wordless Wednesday. Very Special Stones ... shhhhhh

Whispers....."Lord Ganesh..."