The ten minute rule Alliance in force.

I'm going to be knitting things...  See you in a while.

Halloweeeen memee! Sunday Stealing.

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes 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 amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we try to credit the blog that we stole it from. 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.  
Cheers to all of us thieves!!! 

Halloween Meme

From the archives 

1. What is the worst treat to get when trick-or-treating? 
 That would have to be a was...  And it would be from a couple of strange people on a pitch black porch, who had us stick our hands into a big deep bowl of black oatmeal.   They were pretty much having a good time, probably with booze, and they laughed and laughed at us.  They gave us the ONLY trick I've ever had played on me on Halloween.  Nasty! Nasty! Nasty! lol!

2. What character from any horror film would you most like to play?
I want to play Meryl Streep's witch from the movie, "Into the Woods". 

Source: Chris Woods on Tumblr

3. Would you rather be a zombie, alien, or psycho? (why) 
I'd rather be an Alien because I think I like them better than a rotting human being or a crazy one.  I'd like to be an EWOK.  

This one, called Wicket

4. How many Halloween, Friday the 13th, or Nightmare on Elm Street movies combined do you have on dvd? 
Zero.  We have things like "6th Sense", and "Alien", and "PitchBlack".  Those are scary enough.  

5. What is the scariest movie you have ever seen?
 Well, since you've asked and you did it so nicely I'll say again that I think the movie, "No Country for Old Men" is just about the scariest thing I've seen.

6. Lamest costume you have worn on Halloween? 
In my adult life I've been to one costume party, and that was as an airline pilot.  That costume was a masterpiece.

7. Favorite Halloween treat? 
Tiny Mounds bars

 8. Friendly-faced jack o’lantern or scary one? 
Friendly.  I don't want to scare the little kids away now do I? 

 9. Have you ever had nightmares about a scary movie character chasing you? 
Not that I can remember.  I'm not afraid of clowns so that's 75% of the complaints anyway, right?

Scary Clown Stories for Kids Page

 10. Best thing about Halloween? 
Halloween gives kids and families and neighbors all a good time.  I love to hand out candies and praise costumes.  I even like the teens!

 11. Strangest Halloween custom you’ve heard of? 
Making cake heads that look like skulls and then eating them.  My daughters love this day and Bee is making a cake to celebrate The Day of the Dead.

This is a cake but don't eat the sugar skulls
They are not for eating.

And they also for the  Dia de los Muertos.  and really quite a beautiful day.  

 12. Person in your family who most likes Halloween (not counting yourself)? 
My family is all grown up and so we like to hand out candy but don't dress for it anymore.  Well, maybe my witch's had gets a dusting off.  

 13. Are you superstitious? If so, name at least one superstition of yours. 
I'm not superstitious.

This one is from YouTube and she want's you, she reaaally ,br> wants to eat your brains.

 14. What's your best Halloween memory? 
Working at the school and running a booth for balloons when I was an adult.

 15. At what age were you allowed to go trick-or-treating by yourself?
I was about nearly 9 and had my little brother with me who had just turned 6.  But we just went around our own neighborhood.  Things were different for little kids then.  Safer and more fun.  Now parents have to have eyes in back of their heads.  

Happy Halloween.. Stay away from those clowns if you know what's good for you!  Buhahahaha!

Saturday 9, a little late in the day... Halloween!

Saturday 9: Tubular Bells (1973)

Welcome to Saturday 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) According to Reader's Digest, The Exorcist is the scariest movie of all time. Have you seen it, and if so, did it scare you?
Yes, I have seen it.  And no.  Things like "No Country for Old Men" and "Pitch Black" scare me.

2) The Exorcist has been made into a TV series on Fox, premiering last month. Have you become a fan of any of the season's new shows?
Nope, sorry.  If commercial television EVER gets rid of commercials, I'll watch it maybe.  CBS has started it's own pay for view and I'll see what's on it.

3) "Tubular Bells" is a popular ringtone for both Android and iPhone. What's your ringtone?
I have about 30 or so different ringtones I use.  Everyone in favorites has their own.

4) As Halloween approaches, do you watch more scary shows and movies?
A few, but maybe not this year...And, by the way, really, scary happens all year and in real life.  Don't relax or you're done for!

5) Do you have any recurring nightmares?
Not that I remember.  I had a lovely dream last night about being a young expectant mother, married to a sweet and tall man with gorgeous brown eyes, and my little dog Jazzie was in it, too.  We had really lovely neighbors, too.

6) Have you carved a jack o' lantern this year?
We don't do the real ones anymore.  Although, with composters, it might make more sense now.  

7) Do you like the taste of pumpkin seeds?
I like pepitas, the salted kind that come from white pumpkins, and can be bought in health food stores.

SOURCE

8) What will the trick or treaters who knock on your door get?
We've gone to buying organic pops since last year.  I think the kids like them because they taste good, and a few of the moms have been very enthusiastic.  Perhaps because they can eat more of the tiny candy bars?  heehee, just kidding all you moms!  

  

9) A Halloween "let's pretend:" Back in the 1950s, a home in your neighborhood was the site of a gruesome murder/suicide. Relatives retained ownership of the house but declined to live there. During the ensuing decades, a legend grew: The tragic couple haunts the halls. Generations of schoolchildren insist they heard strange sounds and saw curtains often move mysteriously. Now the house is about to be demolished. A local charity is raising money by sponsoring a Halloween sleepover. Would you be willing to stay in this haunted house over night?
Well, that doesn't really sound so pretend to me, because it happens.

We used to live in a haunted house.  The "ghost" was the former owner who died there from liver cancer.  Her family had spread tons of herbicide on the ground to kill weeds and grass where they wanted plant trees.  At that time the dangers of the "product" had not been publicized by the company who made it.  

Anywho...I was telling another new neighbor that I thought the house had a ghost, and she told me about Grace, who appeared to be a very sweet ghost.  Her story is sad, really, and now I wonder if all the cancers in our family have come from living there in that poisoned yard for two years- as well as living for seven months down by the poisonous south end of the bay.  Heavy metals and all sorts of junk gets into tomatoes and other food stuffs you grow.   I've told this story before and would not be surprised if it's not in some literature somewhere by now.  

Isn't that what blogs are for?  Inspiration?  That's a fact, and it's not a Meow....not really, though purple is the best of colors for murder, yes?  Well, that and red.

SOURCE

Ciou!  Well, I'll be, that rhymes with Meow!

Wordless Wednesday: 2007 Dove Family....Shhhhh........

Tuesday Tails meets Saturday Komeekz: Some real Pickles...

Wolfie went to the the groomer's today and came home with a sleek and shiny coat.  He loves his groomer!  We love her!  Unfortunately I have no picture of him today, as he's already snuggled up and snoozing on the bed right up next to his favorite alpha male, who is also my favorite alpha male.

Good night y'all!  Happy Dreams!  Everyone needs them.  They keep your brain (as Bee used to say when she was a tot) from " essplodeene"

Monday Whatnot: Start 'em young....

Jimmie devours her first book.

Yesterday afternoon, I'd been playing around in Goodreads, and while searching for a suitable photo as an avatar, I found this  of one of the twins.  We were at Mission Beach, one of the few places with grass.

Back to Goodreads.  The reason I started an account there, apparently in 2013, was so that I could order books from Logos, the bookstore we love which happens to be in Santa Cruz, nearly 500 miles away.  I could order their used books or at least research them, through Goodreads.  But then the Amazilla Monster sort of sucked up everything.

Disclaimer:  In case Amazon is listening.-- I'm not totally sure that's what really happened but it is awfully late.  And, it's definitely way too late for this old and creaking little gray panther to go pouncing on Googrilla, in order to dumpster dive into trash barrels of proof positive, nor can she go haring off up the evidentiary trails that run back up into the bushlands towards the infamous Amazon's hub at the base of it's legendary octopusal arms.

Then, wow.... just WOW!  I've evidently read 28 books this year so far.  I'll have to add some more that were off the radar but not all read this year.   Most, but not all, of the ones by Farley Mowat were read in years prior to 2016.

My challenge was 12?  Hmmm...  Well, My reading stopped dead for about five months, beginning in March, when I knew there was a hurricane bearing down on the frayed bonnets of my dearly beloved little family.  I'm creeping back into reading again, but with not quite the gusto of former times.

Shattering stuff, and it's not the first one to happen in my intimate circle.  So, I do know the "drill" but getting from THAT to HERE has been harrowing.  There's still a lot of mud and small clumps of regret, and heart pounding angst clinging to my boots from the trek.

HOLD YOUR HATS!  Another 180 degree turn coming up!............screeee!

Last fall....  This beautiful Liquid Amber lost it's battle with the California Drought.

A few weeks ago, it had to be removed by the ground's keeper.  It started it's life in the late 60's as a little seedling, sometime before it was planted a few years later in the grounds when the complex was built.  I took this shot from my sister's back slider,  through the fences and overhangs of another condo.  A sad end for a magnificent tree.

Goodbye Sweet Tree

Nose in a book? Good for you.. Sunday Stealing

October 22, 2016

Bookish Questions

Special GET WELL shout out to BUD!  Hope you have a speedy recovery!

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes 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 amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we try to credit the blog that we stole it from. 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.  

Cheers to all of us thieves!!!  

Bookish Questions

1. How long did it take you to finish your last book? 
A. The last book that I read all the way through was probably a borrowed eBook, and it took me 9 days, maybe?

2. How many times do you stare at your bookshelves each day? 
A. Since they are all in need of a very good cleaning and dusting, I'd say it's at least twice a day.

This is part of what is in the Big Room.

3. How many Goodreads friends/books do you have? 
A. I'm not sure.  It's not something that I know how to do, actually.

4. Do you ever quote books in public? 
A. Not a lot, but I do sometimes.

5. Do you ever re-read books? 
A. I have re-read  The History of Western Civilization by the Durants, and some other individual Economic books and sets of books.

6. Do you judge a book by its cover? 
A. I'd have to say it's more so these days.  I don't have time to read many samples, and anyway, a person can tell nearly right away from a fly leaf if it's a book that will be that interesting to them.

7. Do you take pictures of your books before you read them? 
A. Yes, it's something I do for this blog from time to time.

8. What are your biggest distractions from reading? 
A. The biggest distraction is Noise and bustle, and since I'm also an inveterate people watcher and chatter,  if I'm going to read, it takes a quiet place.  It's my own fault.  People are more interesting than books, most of the time.  You never know when you will see or be able to talk to an interesting person again, but a book is not going to disappear, like they may, forever.

9. Where is your favorite place to buy books? 
A. It used to be library sales and the Adams Avenue Book Store, then it was used book sellers on Amazon.  However, we just can't have any more real books in the house.  There is no room unless we start stacking them on the floor.  Mr. Z has this rule and it's a good one.  

10. Do you always have a book with you?
A.Yes.  If not a physical book, then an ebook.

11. Do you read during breakfast?  
A.Yes, sometimes.  I eat a small breakfast in bed mostly so I do crosswords there and other on line puzzles, and also read.

12. How many hours a day would you say you read? 
A. I read nearly all day, just not books.  Books?  Three hours?  More when I'm not knitting.  I can't bring myself to knit.  I'm just too restless.

13. Do you read more or less now than you did, say, 10 years ago? 
A. I'd say it's less.  I'm finding less to read that isn't written in a historical fiction style and though some of that is good, some of it isn't.  I've gone back to reading through the classics again.  I have a lot of my mother's books.

14. Do you consider yourself a speed reader? 
A. I'm a fast reader but it really depends on what is being read.  Books, especially novels, have to be enjoyed and savored.  Some very erudite writers in Political Economy, Archeology, Linguistics, Literature and History have to be read with a keen eye.  These are books that require connections to be made.  Lovely, but you have to be committed.  Gee, this is awfully wordy.  Sorry.  I'm pretty intense at the moment.   

15. Do you read in bed?
A. Yes.  I read most of the time while sitting on the bed.  There is a favorite chair with the best light, and I go there in the afternoon.

16. How old were you when you got your first library card?
A. I  was three.  I could read and write - print - at that age.  Now the libraries let littler kids have cards and that gets the books into their hands at such a good age.

I just LOVE Librarians!

Now I'll just STHU.  

I hope you're up ALL DAY!

Where to go from here?
Which way, North?

Just when you thought you'd heard it all.. Saturday9

Saturday9..... Justin Timberlake

But I bet you wish you could......

Not familiar with the tune?  Go HERE.  
Do you want to play?  Go HERE and follow the very explicit instructions.  Otherwise we pitch you into a Reverb echo machine and tickle your Nose until.... well.....  See that Above? And no, you can't stop the feeling.

1) This is an upbeat, positive song. Are you feeling upbeat and positive right now?
Not at all.  Besides the obvious, I'm not sure the music helped - techno reverb etc.  Is all his stuff like that? OUCH!
Forgive me.  I have old and tender ear bones, too. But, I must say the dancing is truly cute.  So, I liked that.

2) Justin Timberlake is a good dancer. And why not? In this song, he sings he has "good soul in my feet." Consider your own dancing talent and compose your own lyric: I have tired ol' toe bones  in ma feet, and dat comes from dancin' out in da street. 



3) In the video, there's dancing in the laundromat. Do you have dirty clothes in the hamper, or are you all caught up with your laundry?
Caught up.  

4) There's also dancing in the supermarket. What do you need to pick up at the store?
We're caught up on that, too.  Wow, it's Friday night, man.  Today's the first day of the weekend, ya know?

5) This song will appear in the upcoming Dreamworks Trolls movie. Some people believe Troll dolls are good luck. Do you have a good luck charm?
If I did have one, it didn't work.

6) Justin Timberlake loves to dunk Oreos in milk. Crazy Sam thinks this is all wrong -- the way to eat an Oreo is to twist the two halves apart and lick the cream first. Which method do you prefer, Justin's or Sam's?
I'm with Sam.

7) Justin admits to some fashion fails. He and Britney Spears wore matching denim outfits that he regrets, and he's sorry he ever tried cornrows. What about you? Can you think of a look you thought was cool at the time, but now it makes you shudder?
Like my accidental Afro in 11th grade?  I have curly ish hair, and wanted a poodle hairdo, a do that I DID think was cool.  An actress had one.
So I went to the local beauty parlor owner and asked for one.  This was in 1959, and an Afro is what I got.  As soon as I could- six weeks later!!- I got mother's haircutter to cut my hair into a pixie.  

8) He is a very good golfer. When were you last on the golf course?
I like miniature golf.  I really hate the one with the big sticks and the yelling of FORE!  No thank you!  

9) Random question: Think about your romantic involvements. Were you in love with one of them, some of them, or all of them?
One guy, and, yes, it's love.  Wow that's not random, that's pretty off the wall....

Thursday 13. As in 13 Thought-provoking things

1."When does HAL learn to program himself to be smarter  in a runaway feedback loop of increasing intelligence?

2.  Who was Srinivasa Ramanujan and why is his math still so crucial?

3. Are there really at least 26 dimensions as Einstein predicted?

4. Why are doorways so short in American homes?

5.  Who decided that studs where only 8 feet long?

6. Are green eyes recessive in California Desert Tortoises?

7. Does Somerset Maugham kill off all his lead characters?

8.How do we signal the Aliens to get their butts back here and save our bacon?

9. Why do people hide and ship tiny amounts of meat , trying to get them through customs?  What's the point?!

10. In my next life,  do I get to be a ballerina in the American Ballet Theatre?

11. Will the Monarch butterflies make it?

12. Is a baseball game shorter or longer if your favorite team is losing?

13. Was this list any fun to read?  I enjoyed writing it.

HAPPY T13!

Wordless Wednesday....shhhh

Monday Whatnot: Please Vote! "Oh, Canada"......

~♥~ Register and also, Remember to VOTE! ~♥~

What this country does has a ripple effect for the entire planet.  A message from our cousins on the Continent, The Canadians.

Please just stand up on those two back legs and VOTE, even if you do expect a landslide victory, so we can see whether we deserve to be known as the World's Leading Democracy (or not), and to see what we, The American People, are really made of!  

Sunday Stealing.. Angry birds vs Hello Kitty... Whooot!

Cheers to all the Thieves!  Wanna play?  Go HERE for today's meme...

Wish list MEME, Part Two....

26.) Favorite kids name?
I would have rather been called Lily, short for Lillian.

27.) Do you speak any other languages?
Gee, I forget..... heehee

28.) Do you use Twitter?
No, nope, nah and nay....

29.) Do you go onto YouTube?
Heavens, yes, how could we live without our YouTube.  I just wish the gargantua Gorilla+ hadn't bought it.  I'm soooooooooo sick of ads popping up.  It freaks me!  I just paid some anonymous person for sitting on their keester all day, copping songs and using them to earn penny slices.

30.) Do you play Angry Birds?
Nope.  I play Freecell, Unblock Me, and some other dumb thing.  CRS, you know?

31.) Do you like Angry Birds?
See answers to #28.  Same same..

32.) Do you like Hello Kitty?
Yesssssss!!!!  My friend and I love that so much we almost started a contest to find everything on the web about it.  Almost.  It became onerous after a while.  Please refer to the penny slices rant, above.

33.) Have you ever cried because you were so happy?
Doesn't everyone?  I mean maybe not Macho Men but normal people do.  I loved when the new agent did a major fail in "Men in Black 2", and had to be de-"activated".  He cried tears of sadness and then instantly went to tears of happiness. LOL!  Great movie.

34.) Who would you like to see in concert?
I would love to see K.D. Lang in concert.  Or Neil Diamond if he's still in full voice and frisky.

35.) Can you swim well?
Like a porpoise.  And, I think they used to have one of the best slots for a species on the planet.  Unfortunately, there is, well, there is Homo Sapiens, the self proclaimed Grand Master Wizard of Earth.  He ruined it for the other earthlings.  

36.) Ever won a contest?
I don't think I have.  I usually don't enter them anymore.  Otherwise I'd have that Buggati by now.
*sobs*

SOURCE

37. Ever won a giveaway?
Yes, a local radio station was giving away a pair of tickets to a Janis Joplin concert.  Lord, I was ecstatic and I never needed to win another thing.  I can still dance shuffle around in the kitchen over that one.

38.) Do you get a full 8 hours of sleep every night?
Normally, and to the consternation of my mama, I've always slept only 6 straight hours and then it was up and at 'em! But then my thyroid started tanking from stresssssss caused by the Paternal Unit. Now I'd like to sleep for about 10 hours but still can't manage more than about 6 (late life thyroid replacement therapy) unless I'm very ill.  

39.) What tea do you like?
Not the only kind I can drink, that's for sure.  I like the real stuff but drink Earl and Lady Grey, tea that is, and red tea, and green.  All of it de-caf.

40.) What coffee do you like?
I like dark roast and FAIR TRADE.  That last is mucho importante a me.  Wow, I can spell Spanish but the speaking seems to have gotten, er, whiffled.

41.) Do you shop at Walmart?
See answer to #28

42.) Do you shop at Target?
Ooooo marketing!  Ok I'll play...  Yes, I like Target so when I DO go shopping, which is rare, I like to go there.  A lot of the time, when I was out shopping it was with my sister, and we liked to shop at a couple of thrifts and three secondary market sellers.  We also shopped at Target.

43.) What do you order at Second Cup?
I'd have to say nothing, because I don't even know what it is.

45.) Do you like homemade meals?
Yes, I like it better than anything someone else puts on a plate at a restaurant.  Well, there was one amazing chicken salad from a small local chain, now out of business.  *cries, though not tears of joy and gladness*

 46.) Do you like homemade baked goods?
I used to bake all the time.  I can't eat most baked goods anymore, and Mr. Z. told me not to bother just for him, as he'd feel bad about it.  I know I'm twice lucky in this, first because Mr. Z. doesn't care, and also because not being able eat mad, crazy baked stuff saves tons of calories.  But then, there IS still Chocolate... yum!

SOURCE

47.) Do you shop online?
I'm American.  Of course I shop online.  I'm up half the night sometimes, and have a kindle. :o)

48.) Name 3 stores online stores you would like to shop at:
Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Armani!  Lol!  It would be cool to look at all their "SSSTUFFFF" though, eh?

49.) What holiday don't you like?
I can't think of one that rubs me the wrong way, unless it's one that's now missing because some jerk in Washington decided to cast two past presidents into the same tomb day.  So, by extension, I could say I do NOT LIKE President's Day!  Does that mean that Ronald Reagan, Taft, and all the rest are sitting around a big table in some Tomb of Dead Presidents chatting about what this world is coming to?

50.) What do you eat more of when you're sick?
 Mentally sick, that would be chocolate.  It's a good all purpose panacea.  Physically sick it would be Brown Rice Udon noodles in chicken broth.  Emotionally sick, like now?  That would be chocolate --lots of it--- again.  

Happy Sunday Stealing to all!  (You are seeing the affect of too much dark chocolate perhaps, but don't tell anyone, please.)  Not a soul!  

Saturday 9: One of those "Not if I see you first" things

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: If I Knew You Were Comin' (1950)
 

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


1) This song is performed by a woman who is positively tickled to have unexpected company. How do you feel when people  drop by unannounced?
A.  I used to love it but now, not so much.  I loved having my friend and her daughter stop by but she called several days ahead.  We could clear off the dining room table and such.  Odd how as you get older you can look at the clutter and see a nice space.  hahaha

This is what I need to do...  And now I can get rid of all the paperwork from my business.  It's official.

2) She is clearly proud of her skills in the kitchen. Do you enjoy baking? Cooking? 
A.  I still love to cook and bake.  I just don't do much of it anymore.

3) Reference is made to hiring a band. Tell us the last time you were at an event with live music.
A.  Sometime in the 80's we went to see Neil Diamond.  I still love this guy... This is a lovely song but the recording is a little "bright".  ouch!



After that the smokers got to us.  We loved to go hear the music at watering holes and small band venues, but the smoke was horrendous.  This was before smoking was banned indoors.  

4) After making recordings in the early 1950s, Eileen Barton appeared on daytime TV in the early 1960s -- including a game show called Video Village. Let's say we're all headed to a TV game show taping this morning. Would you volunteer to appear as a contestant? Or would you rather just stay in the audience?
A.  Since I don't know much about TV or about gaming, I'd have to stay in the audience or OUR team would take it in the shorts.  lol

5) In 1961, Ms. Barton got married in Juarez, Mexico. What's the longest distance you've ever traveled to attend a wedding?
I've been to Juarez but not for a wedding.  ;o)  Duty free Zone!  To answer the question, we drove to my niece's wedding  and that was about 20 miles.  She made a radiant and beautiful bride.

6) In 1950, when this song was popular, the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup. Are you looking forward to the upcoming NHL season?
A.  That's about Ice Hockey, isn't it.  I'd have to say no.  I do love to watch the US team play in the Olympics but that's a whole different thing.

7) 1950 also marks the first time anyone in the United States paid by credit card. Do you pay with a credit card to get rewards? If yes, what rewards are you accumulating (points, cash back, airline miles)?
Well, I did participate in something that gave points toward merchandise that was called Swagbucks  and was fun.  And, I notice that Microsoft is giving points for something to do with web surfing, and I'll check that one out.  I'm not very interested in getting anything.  If I haven't already got it, it's not likely I'll ever need it.  The sparkly world of "THINGS" have lost their appeal.  It's my age, I'd bet.

8) In 1950, an athlete named Florence Chadwick swam the English Channel. Are you a good swimmer?
 I am a very good swimmer, and I love the Pacific ocean. Most of the swimming that I did in the latter part of my life was in the ocean.  It's like magic, that enormous body of water.  It's not called  the Pacific for no reason but mostly, I think, because it's not the Southern Ocean.  The Southern Ocean is very, very intense sailing and lots of sailors had to go  that way in the olden days!  When they hit the Pacific it was pretty easy going! The Southern Ocean is not!



9) Random question: Think about the last "white lie" you told. Was it to spare someone's feelings, or to make your day go more smoothly?
I answered an, "I love you", with one back.  It wasn't quite a white lie, it was a matter of a real inability to trust this woman based on past behavior and hurt,  and, also, because I put the Commandment to Love central in my mind.  

Like many,  I try to live up to that all the time.  Yes, I believe it to be the most important thing a human being can do- love everyone as unconditionally as we love our children and close family. And it's important to see the soul behind the wounded and flawed human being so much like ourselves.

Wow that sounds like a sermon.  But them's the facts, Ma'am.

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!

No Thursday13 today... but I will send a picture..

M, if you see this and you are able, write or email me?

Wordless Wednesday. Shhhhhh.......

Tuesday Tails, Pangolin listed. Yay!

Humane Society International Photo

This little animal, that most western folk have never seen alive, is now on the the list of protected species.  It took near extinction for this to happen, but, hey, we are only human and this little guy isn't a mammal.  Oh SNAP!  Wait!  He IS a mammal.  So, the question is, "What the frack took us so long?"

Want to learn more?  You can go to the "Save The Pangolin.org" page - or the Humane Society International  page about the fight.

Go Scaly!
Fight Fight!

Music Monday, Sheryl Crow, "Murder in My Heart"

Where does that lead in come from?  Beautiful!

Sunday stealing: The Wish List Meme

Wish List Meme

Welcome back to Sunday Stealing which originated on WTIT: The Blog authored by Bud Weiser. Here we will steal all types of memes 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 amongst thieves”. In that age-old tradition, we try to credit the blog that we stole it from. 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.  

Cheers to all of us thieves!!!  

Wish List Meme, part one

1.) What are 3 things on your Wish list and why?  

I don't like being so far from my daughters.  With an aged, sick mother-in-law, and a very sick sister, it looks like I am stuck in this berg away from my girls for the rest of my life.  I wish that we could buy them all property, wish we could build little houses on it for them, and also wish we could pour a pad for our Bounder so we could go stay for weeks and see them more,dig in their gardens, and paint the walls and sew curtains and fix good things to eat.  There you go: Three wishes.  And we would laugh and laugh and share and share.  There they are. Three wishes and why.

 I miss my OWN little family.

2.) Do you miss your childhood? 

I don't miss my childhood at all.  For reasons I'll not go into again,  I had to live with a man that should have spent years in prison for what he did to the four of us.  If you have a good father, go to where he is. and hug him and tell him you love him, and you think he's wonderful.  You are LUCKY!

3.) What do you do on your spare time on the weekends?

I recover from the week of having to spend time with my sister, who soon will need much more care.  I used to go down twice a week until I got sick and now go only once a week.  I don't know what I'll do if anyone else gets sick and we have to go see them every week too.
  

4.) What do you appreciate most in your life? 

I appreciate that staying in touch is so much more easy now that phones have texting features, and it helps families stay in touch with what is going on almost minute to minute.

5.) Would you rather be rich or healthy? 

That's no darn choice!  In view of how most to the x gens got shut out of affordable housing and great schooling, I chose Wealth.  

6.) If you could go back in time would you and why? 

NO, and this one of the reasons why.  I just watched, for the second time, how Alan Turing was treated in England.  Enough said.  If you don't know who he was, he committed suicide after being horribly mistreated by his own government for being homosexual, after he and his team broke the enigma code and saved the world from being completely overrun by the Nazi Wehrmacht. I don't want to live in that world.

7.) Favorite game as a child? 

I liked to play hide and seek with my cousins and sibs.  

8.) What is your dream career? 

As an studio arts teacher at Berkeley.

9.) What do you do in your free time? 

I've learned to do a lot of Lollygagging.

10.) Favorite clothing stores? 

I don't have one.  I buy or make the sort of clothes that make me comfortable. When I buy, I buy through amazon, their retailers,. or another clothier on line. Zulily.   They fit my style.

11.) What TV shows can't you live without? 

Documentaries and NCIS.  and there is "Wallader", and I really like "Call the Midwife" , 'Midsomer Murders" , and "Mysteries of Laura".   I just adore those shows.

12.) 3 things you need in your life are:

The Love of DH and the children and friends, shelter and food and Wolfie.  That's four, I know, but three's a little arbitrary, and  I just don't care.

13.) What can't you sleep without? 

Herbals and Calcium and a couple of sleepy making but necessary (for other ailments) meds.  In fact it's way past my bedtime at the moment and I'm going to do a face plant soon.  

C/O of Newsweek

14.) Who do you have a celebrity crush on? 

My heart will alway be for Legolas..maybe Strider.  I'm just a little fickle.

15.) What is your Favorite Season and why?

I love Fall because it has cooled way down and the rains start to come....  The tree leaves turn later on in fall, almost to Christmas when the sky gets a brilliant, clear, beautiful blue.  

  

16.) What is your Favorite Wild Animal?

I'm sorry, I like them all.  There is not a wild animal I do not like.  It's just me.  Baby Hippos are very cute.

17.) Name 3 of your Favorite Childhood shows:

The only one I watched faithfully ( and our mother risked the wrath of a Demon to let us) was The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.

18.) If you could live as a character in a movie who would it be? 

No, life is not like the movies.  We don't live on sets that get dusted by an army of forty twice a day.  What conversations could one have day, after day, that wouldn't make a person want to tear every hair out of their head one by one.  You'd get a script in the morning of EVERYTHING you were allowed to do, and then have to do it all over again if there were a "miss que"  That would be a lot like being stuck in Ground Hog Day.  Shivers.. dreadful.

19.) Favorite vegetables? 

The yellow, green and red ones.

20.) Favorite Fruit? 

Mango

21.) If you had a dragon what would you name it? 

I have several dragons, do you want all their names?  

22.) What do you put on hotdogs?  

I like onions, mustard and fresh saur kraut when we can get it.

23.) Do you play online games? 

Yes, you can have some awe inspiring pets in the one we've played for19 years.  

24.) Whats your favorite way to get inspired? 

Nature and bird watching.

25.) Do you have a middle name?

Yes, it's my Grandfather's family name.  

Saturday9 Kelly Clarkson and the big Candy Heart

Saturday 9: My Life Would Suck Without You (2009)

Hmmm... The title makes me think that without my DH, life would suck... But I digress....

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


1) This video begins with Ms. Clarkson on a swing. When you were young, did you prefer the swings or the slide?
Always the swing.  Remember, Tarzan was the biggest thing in the forties and fifties

2) The first words are, "Guess this means you're sorry." Who is the last person to apologize to you?
My younger daughters, but they needn't have.  Nothing was their fault.

3) One of Kelly's earliest show business jobs was as an extra on Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. Do you believe in witches and warlocks?
No.  I believe in Earth Mothers and Herbalist arts, but not witches and warlocks.  But, I also believe, "there are many things under Heaven and Earth that are not dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio," 

4) Mentioning witches and seeing Kelly with a lollipop reminds Sam ... She needs to pick up a 1 lb. bag of Dum Dums for Trick or Treaters. Have you done anything in preparation for Halloween? 
Not yet.  I don't do a lot of Halloween decorating anymore, usually.  I used to carve a whole little army of those tiny squash that look like the bigger ones we call pumpkins; I'd light them with battery operated christmas lights and put them on the windowsills leading up to the door.  It was fun but a lot more work than I want to do right now.

5) Ms. Clarkson's advice to aspiring young singers is not to listen to advice. "Everyone gives you their 2¢ worth, but you have to follow your gut." Are you good at soliciting and following advice? Or do you tend to follow your gut?
I listen and then follow my gut.  It works for me.  However, sometimes my gut tells me over and over to not worry, and sometimes it's dead wrong.

6) The year this song was popular, 2009, saw two major newspapers go out of business. Both the Seattle Post Intelligencer and Rocky Mountain News published their last editions. Do you still read a paper copy of your local newspaper?
We do, on the weekends.  But our paper is local in name only.  It was bought out a couple years ago and is now printed and run out of Los Angeles by the Times.  The comics suck, and they left out some of my favorites, and they don't know how to print them without making them TOO DARK, if you are listening L.A. Megalopolis PRESS.

7) In 2009, Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that Facebook tried to buy Twitter, but was rebuffed. Which social media site do you spend the most time on?
I don't spend any time on them.  I just haven't got the time for it, nor do I want to.  Are Blogs considered Social Media?  Then it would be on blogs.  They are the one social media that I really do enjoy, and I hardly have time for those.  I want to read all my blogs every day but can't manage it.

8) In 2009, the Balmain Collection included a pair of jeans that retailed for $2,165. What's the most you would pay for denim pants?
I haven't worn jeans since my back started collapsing, but if I could still do it, I'd have Levi Strauss make me a custom pair.  They used to do this, and may still, for around $70.  I always wore Levi's and since I was 12 years old.  Having a very short rise means that I could wear men's jeans and feel comfy with a nip and tuck in the waist band.

9) Random question: You buy a charity raffle ticket and tuck it into a friend's birthday card. Before you can give the card to her, the numbers are drawn and you realize the ticket is worth $500. Do you keep the ticket or give it to your friend, as planned?
If it's not a very close friendship, I think not.  That is a HUGE birthday present and it might not be a good idea.  I'd see it as an Obligation sort of problem.
However, if she was like a sister, a BFF sort of gal, I would still give it to her because she would GET it.  It would be one of those times when "The STARS aligned" and this was just a very special thing to have happen.  It would be thrilling to have that happen, and more about Wonder and Magic than the money.

Want to play along?  Go HERE to see the latest edition.

Thursday Thirteen: Everything and anything....

...... while in transit from Wild Insanity to Preternatural Calm.  These all will be quite random.

Being as how I have been threatened, from the back of beyond, with that foolproof Monty Python threat of being "hung by the neck" until I cheer up, I've put together a little reminder of how the human species has always survived the God AWFUL  things that the fickle finger of FATE (Please refer to old "Laugh In" episodes) and other humans - have inflicted upon them.  This mostly means Wars, Bars, Cars and, what, maybe Alligators?

If you would like to play along?  Go HERE and check out this very different and completely free-form and fun Meme.

Thoughts about Life moving forward: Thirteen little rules and observations, or, if you will,  The Do's and Dont's - in not so fine print.  These are mine but feel free to launch them if they may help you....

1. DO: Knit ever day, just  create a time to do this every single day that I'm home.
Every time I don't knit I MISS it, BUT it's harder to pick up the needles because I m so restless that every time I start one thing,  I think immediately that  I should be doing something else!  There shouldn't be a timetable for this life but it's there, lurking in the back of my head.

I want to do the knitting that was a "dying wish" - her words- expressed by my daughter, to wit, that I should make both booties and short fingered gloves for the cancer patients at the hospital where she received care.  She had told us in a phone call, a few days before she passed away, that their little hands and feet were very cold and there were enough hats to make a roadway to Hell, but not nearly enough fingerless mitts or booties.

2. DO: walk a lot more.... Now that it's cooler, I can walk more.  I'm not walking outside at all and haven't because of the heat.  It's been so terribly hot this summer.  Now is the time to get in more walking (and bird watching) since it's been cooling off.  I want to go down to the river and watch for the migrating birds that congregate, by the river verges, on the Pacific flyway.  We have so many migrants this time of year.

3. DON'T: eat any extra  chocolate, anymore.  Of all the things that I'm writing here, this is the one that will, undoubtedly, be the most ignored.  If I cared as much about how wide my fandango is getting, and I guess I don't, I would do this.

c/o the Daily Mail UK
Is  this Kardashian wearing Spanx?

But this little "DON'T" will most likely be a Full on Fail, as I know myself.  Furthermore, I freaking don't care anymore.  There are things that are much more important in life, like just being LOVING to your grand daughters, no matter how tall or "big" they are.  They still want your love.  Even if they do tower above you by almost a foot, they are tender hearted need their grandmother at this stage of their lives.  They are smiling down at you and longing for your love and acceptance.  That is a word to the wise, there.

4. DO: take more pictures.   I need to do more sky watching, and carry that camera everywhere.  Also, I shall give some utter lollygagging a try.  It's good to just let this inner spirit of mine fly away to deep space, and merge with the Cosmos.  This winter, I will go look for Arcturus,  Hokule'a, "Star of Gladness", and just admire and watch it, like Jazzie and I used to do.



5. DO: Quit wishing for things I cannot have.  Mostly it's money to buy all the girls nice little houses where they live.  I'm glad Canada's government  caught on to what was happening to their housing market, the same Vulture Capitalist thugs making housing into cash cows for themselves.  The Canadian Government has started clamping down on it like Ford did.  Smart man, President Ford.

6. DO: cut your hair.  Yes,  I want to cut all my head hair off so as not to have to deal with it anymore!  With my gimpy shoulders it's hard to deal with washing any length of hair longer than a Pixie cut.

7.  DO: think about Boarding up the house and just traveling- just take off.  Land whenever and wherever, like the Gypsy you were born to be.  Start by inching up the coast day by day, which sounds like wonderful fun, I mean after driving through Los Angeles, non stop.  But take the knitting and the chocolate. (and the Tarot cards).  Take the kind of chocolate that you can just eat while doing all that walking and bird watching and sky watching.

8. DON'T: watch anymore mysteries/crime lab drama/ chick flicks while knitting.  It does NOT work out well when knitting an Aran sweater.  Save that for the Super Bowl when you don't give a flying  fig for what happens on that field.  Take your knitting to Thanksgiving, where it's wall to wall football and happily knit away.

9.  DO: Kiss Mr. Z on the crook of his neck more often, but not while he's cutting up things in the kitchen or juggling hot pans.

10.  DON'T: buy another Gadget "thinga" just because you simple cannot find that set of double pointed needles/hair clips/stitch counter/heart shaped beads or any OTHER bead for that matter.  And you do not need any new wigjig even if the damned thing is HEART SHAPED, YOU DO NOT NEED IT!

Nature provides Heart Shapes Aplenty

11. DO: buy those Tarot Cards (done) and the book that tells you how to interpret them.  Even if you Do not believe in it, they are, like anything else under the Sun, including Balaam's Ass, a way for the Lord to talk to you IF the Lord chooses to.
Believe that the Universe is Kind and not really out to get you, and bite you on that big Arse
you are developing from eating too much chocolate and sitting around knitting and reading, or even  just watching evening soap operas which take the Guise of a Serialized Western about a Hunky Sheriff.

12. DO: Enjoy the daily Bird Wars battles of five little hummingbirds all trying to OWN the Cape Honeysuckle.  I love how they dive bomb each other and then all take sips from flowers on opposite corners of that big bush.

13. DO: play more free cell/other on line games/music/or maybe hide and seek?  This is the beginning of the fifth month since Laura's passing...and this, is  the poem I remembered from long ago, and have searched for since hearing of her last moments.

According to those present, just before Laura lapsed into unconsciousness and passed away, she reached up and played with her little cat's ears, and with her Hospice nurse's keys, and giggled.  This was a sign to me that she meant to let us know she was going to be alright, even though we would be very sad. 

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Lament

"Listen, children: 

Your father is dead. 

From his old coats 

I'll make you little jackets; 

I'll make you little trousers 

From his old pants. 

There'll be in his pockets 

Things he used to put there, 

Keys and pennies 

Covered with tobacco; 

Dan shall have the pennies 

To save in his bank; 

Anne shall have the keys 

To make a pretty noise with. 

Life must go on, 

And the dead be forgotten; 

Life must go on, 

Though good men die; 

Anne, eat your breakfast; 

Dan, take your medicine; 

Life must go on; 

I forget just why."

Thanks for listening to my laments.  I'm learning to let my belovéd daughter go, so she may truly Rest in Peace, as any soul must do after such a horrific battle.  

Wordless Wednesday: Shhhhh