OK....my number of followers has remained at SEVEN for several weeks now. I'm disappointed. Please ask your friends and co-workers to "follow" my blog, if they find it interesting; funny; annoying; biased; or WHATEVER. How am I EVER going to make it 'BIG' if you folks don't do your part??
Seriously, I'm not really sure what point it serves to show "followers".....except maybe when my ego needs a boost. Non-followers can read my posts without leaving "tracks", so where is the incentive to become a FOLLOWER???
How 'bout we just say......BECAUSE IT MAKES ME FEEL GOOD!?? So FOLLOW!!!! OK?? :))
Maybe next year, I'll run a contest of some sort & y'all can compete for prizes or something.....maybe I'll write a blog featuring YOU!! Who knows? But for now....I need to see these numbers increase, folks!! LOL
Friday, April 30, 2010
Sporadic Thoughts.....Do YOU have them??
This post may take a while to publish. I'm gonna keep it open a few days just to record the vast and various array of thoughts I have during the course of a day.....or a week. If I were to keep an ongoing journal of these thoughts, say, over a period of several years....they'd probably have me committed to a mental asylum! Well, just keep reading and judge for yourself...
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Consider nose holes....HUMAN nose holes. My mind always 'saw' them as round. They are not round at all. They're more like elongated slots. EXCEPT.....when we're babies. Next time you see a baby, take a look. Their nose holes are perfectly round little holes. At what age to these little holes turn into slots?? I now find myself looking at other people's nose holes. I wonder if I could get a Government Grant of say, oh...$500,000.00 to "study" this over a defined period of time and then publish my findings?? (Hey...stranger grants have been granted already by our esteemed government!)
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Saltine Crackers.....why do they have holes in them? THIRTEEN holes, to be exact. Does that make them "unlucky" to eat?? Seriously....why the holes?? When I put mayonnaise on them, to enjoy with cheese....the mayo squirts thru the holes. Same with peanut butter. Very messy!
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Fish Tacos. ARE YOU SERIOUS?? I can't think of a more disgusting thing to put in a taco!! What do they put with the fish? Lettuce? Sour cream? Cheese? WHAT????? Absolutely NOTHING about a fish taco sounds any kind of edible!! Well.....unless you're a cat. Or a bear....an otter....some animal that already eats FISH as a steady diet. But then, I guess these animals wouldn't appreciate the corn tortilla and all that other stuff!
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Bathroom exhaust fans (aka: fart fans)......I do believe that these were initially intended to vent steam and moisture OUT of the bathroom. (probably a man who determined they were fart fans). If they were REALLY fart fans.....don't you think they'd be positioned much closer to the toilet???
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And that makes me wonder......how does a fart behave in space? As in....the space shuttle. Do they float around in a little weightless "bubble" of odor?? Could you bat it around like playing ping pong? Wouldn't that be hilarious!? Talk about the old kids' game of "Keep Away"!! LOL
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I'd like to know WHO determined where the letters on a typewriter keyboard should be placed?? HOW did this person work out the details as to where each letter went?? There seems to be no rhyme or reason to their placement, yet most of us who took typing class know just where to put out fingers to type what we want to say. AMAZING! In days gone by, when I typed "for a living", I could type up to 72 wpm with no more than 3 mistakes. I'm down to around 55 wpm now, but still....just knowing where the letters are, without LOOKING at the keyboard is a wonderful thing. I'd really love to know who & how this layout was determined. Er, um.....I'd like to know why this person didn't see fit to put the danged NUMBERS where we could easily type them?? They obviously gave up on the idea...or, by the time they figured out the LETTER placements, they were mentally exhausted..... as the numbers are just strung out in ascending order across the top of the keyboard!
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BED SKIRTS! These dastardly things were apparently invented by some spoiled-rotten Diva who never had to make her own bed.....and I'm talking changing the sheets! I HATE THESE DAMN THINGS!!!
First of all, to even get the damn thing ON the bed, you have to remove the mattress. Not much of a problem if it's a twin size bed....but TRY REMOVING A KING-SIZED MATTRESS. Better yet, once you get the bed skirt on the box springs....try getting the dang mattress back ON the bed, without completely wadding up the bed skirt in the process!! ONE person cannot possibly do this! It's at least a 2 to 4 person job! OK, so let's say you finally do get the bed skirt positioned where it is supposed to be. Looks real pretty, huh?? TILL YOU HAVE TO CHANGE THE SHEETS AGAIN!!
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And one that has puzzled me for YEARS......WHY is pubic hair curly????? All my life, I envied people with curly hair...ON THEIR HEADS....Mine is straight as a board & won't hold curl, even with a $100 perm!! So WHY the curly hair "down there", where it does me no good???? It just doesn't seem right, somehow. But then, I guess if hair "down there" was STRAIGHT, that would look even more weird!! Go Figure!!
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I've got to publish this NOW, before it becomes so long no one will even attempt to read it! YOU have random thoughts like these...don't you?? (please say you DO!!)
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Consider nose holes....HUMAN nose holes. My mind always 'saw' them as round. They are not round at all. They're more like elongated slots. EXCEPT.....when we're babies. Next time you see a baby, take a look. Their nose holes are perfectly round little holes. At what age to these little holes turn into slots?? I now find myself looking at other people's nose holes. I wonder if I could get a Government Grant of say, oh...$500,000.00 to "study" this over a defined period of time and then publish my findings?? (Hey...stranger grants have been granted already by our esteemed government!)
********************************************************************************
Saltine Crackers.....why do they have holes in them? THIRTEEN holes, to be exact. Does that make them "unlucky" to eat?? Seriously....why the holes?? When I put mayonnaise on them, to enjoy with cheese....the mayo squirts thru the holes. Same with peanut butter. Very messy!
********************************************************************************
Fish Tacos. ARE YOU SERIOUS?? I can't think of a more disgusting thing to put in a taco!! What do they put with the fish? Lettuce? Sour cream? Cheese? WHAT????? Absolutely NOTHING about a fish taco sounds any kind of edible!! Well.....unless you're a cat. Or a bear....an otter....some animal that already eats FISH as a steady diet. But then, I guess these animals wouldn't appreciate the corn tortilla and all that other stuff!
*********************************************************************************
Bathroom exhaust fans (aka: fart fans)......I do believe that these were initially intended to vent steam and moisture OUT of the bathroom. (probably a man who determined they were fart fans). If they were REALLY fart fans.....don't you think they'd be positioned much closer to the toilet???
*********************************************************************************
And that makes me wonder......how does a fart behave in space? As in....the space shuttle. Do they float around in a little weightless "bubble" of odor?? Could you bat it around like playing ping pong? Wouldn't that be hilarious!? Talk about the old kids' game of "Keep Away"!! LOL
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I'd like to know WHO determined where the letters on a typewriter keyboard should be placed?? HOW did this person work out the details as to where each letter went?? There seems to be no rhyme or reason to their placement, yet most of us who took typing class know just where to put out fingers to type what we want to say. AMAZING! In days gone by, when I typed "for a living", I could type up to 72 wpm with no more than 3 mistakes. I'm down to around 55 wpm now, but still....just knowing where the letters are, without LOOKING at the keyboard is a wonderful thing. I'd really love to know who & how this layout was determined. Er, um.....I'd like to know why this person didn't see fit to put the danged NUMBERS where we could easily type them?? They obviously gave up on the idea...or, by the time they figured out the LETTER placements, they were mentally exhausted..... as the numbers are just strung out in ascending order across the top of the keyboard!
**********************************************************************************
BED SKIRTS! These dastardly things were apparently invented by some spoiled-rotten Diva who never had to make her own bed.....and I'm talking changing the sheets! I HATE THESE DAMN THINGS!!!
First of all, to even get the damn thing ON the bed, you have to remove the mattress. Not much of a problem if it's a twin size bed....but TRY REMOVING A KING-SIZED MATTRESS. Better yet, once you get the bed skirt on the box springs....try getting the dang mattress back ON the bed, without completely wadding up the bed skirt in the process!! ONE person cannot possibly do this! It's at least a 2 to 4 person job! OK, so let's say you finally do get the bed skirt positioned where it is supposed to be. Looks real pretty, huh?? TILL YOU HAVE TO CHANGE THE SHEETS AGAIN!!
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And one that has puzzled me for YEARS......WHY is pubic hair curly????? All my life, I envied people with curly hair...ON THEIR HEADS....Mine is straight as a board & won't hold curl, even with a $100 perm!! So WHY the curly hair "down there", where it does me no good???? It just doesn't seem right, somehow. But then, I guess if hair "down there" was STRAIGHT, that would look even more weird!! Go Figure!!
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I've got to publish this NOW, before it becomes so long no one will even attempt to read it! YOU have random thoughts like these...don't you?? (please say you DO!!)
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
You can take the girl out of the city.....
...and sometimes.....she goes full blown COUNTRY!! :)) In all the time I've lived here with my Honey, I've thought I simply "enjoyed" the peaceful country surroundings; watching the horses in the pasture; the geese and ducks on the pond; and the stress-reducing benefits of raising chickens. TODAY, I have learned that I have truly become a "farm girl". How do I know this you ask?? Well.....just let me tell you!
In anticipation of the baby chicks...due to arrive just any day now....I decided I'd better get the coop cleaned up some, and build another "nursery" for the babies to use, when they finally get here. The nursery actually is just several bales of hay, turned up on their sides, to form a square enclosure. Once the chicks hatch, I'll move them to the nursery & let "mom" tend to them there. They'll need their own watering can & feed, but "mom" will protect them from the other, bigger chickens, as well as keep them warm till their feathers come in. I'M SO EXCITED!! :))
In cleaning out the coop, I had to move the old bales of hay that formed the previous nursery. I had just left them in the coop because the chickens like to sit on them. HOLY CRAP!!!!! I moved the first bale & little mice scattered everywhere. I counted at least 8 before they all disappeared. THEN, I found the nest!! There were 10 tiny baby mice, in the nest & none of them over an inch long. I don't think they even had their eyes opened yet! For a very brief moment, my mind thought, "what the heck am I gonna do will baby mice?"....then the next thought was CHICKEN HORS D'OEUVRES!!! I pitched the entire nest of baby mice to the chickens. The feeding frenzy began!!! Needless to say, the babies didn't last long. It was a quick death they suffered. I began to feel like a murderer.....then I had to REASON with myself about how destructive mice can be & the diseases they can carry. They HAD to be eliminated!! The chickens had great fun playing "catch & release" before they finally ATE THEM.
Next, I turned over the second bale of hay. Another flurry of mice scattered in all directions. These were larger ones....probably adolescents and some young adult mice. The chickens FREAKED OUT! It was too funny!! They fought over the little teenie baby ones, but when the larger ones started running around the coop, it scared the crap out of the chickens......at least, at first! Have you ever seen a chicken jump straight up in the air about 3 ft, while screaming?? It really was hilarious! Then, a mouse ran under one of the roosters as he was strolling by. His foot landed on the mouse. He wasn't expecting that! TOO FUNNY!! he jumped like he'd been shot!! Then he proceeded to chase the mouse down & kill it. At one point, nearly every chicken had a mouse, of one size or another, in it's beak!
Then.....(drum roll, please).....I turned over the third and final bale of hay. It looked like a seen from the movie "Willard". MICE RAN EVERYWHERE....BIG ONES!!! Heck, it dang near freaked me out!!
We aren't just talking "nest" here, folks, we're talking an entire village of mice. They had tunnels chewed throughout those bales of hay. There were several larger areas hollowed out, which were, I guess, previous nesting areas and sleeping quarters. No telling how long this colony of mice have lived in those bales! One thing's for sure.....they're all homeless now & will have to scramble around for a safe place to sleep tonight! I gotta say....those mice were pretty smart, making their "community" in the bales INSIDE the coop......no other predators can get to them, inside the coop! The neighbor's cats are gonna have an easier time finding a meal for the next few days!
And me......I think I just handled the situation the way any good "farm girl" would......feed the mice to the chickens! It sure beats buying rat bait! Besides, I wouldn't want to risk my chickens accidentally getting into the poison! That would be catastophic!
In anticipation of the baby chicks...due to arrive just any day now....I decided I'd better get the coop cleaned up some, and build another "nursery" for the babies to use, when they finally get here. The nursery actually is just several bales of hay, turned up on their sides, to form a square enclosure. Once the chicks hatch, I'll move them to the nursery & let "mom" tend to them there. They'll need their own watering can & feed, but "mom" will protect them from the other, bigger chickens, as well as keep them warm till their feathers come in. I'M SO EXCITED!! :))
In cleaning out the coop, I had to move the old bales of hay that formed the previous nursery. I had just left them in the coop because the chickens like to sit on them. HOLY CRAP!!!!! I moved the first bale & little mice scattered everywhere. I counted at least 8 before they all disappeared. THEN, I found the nest!! There were 10 tiny baby mice, in the nest & none of them over an inch long. I don't think they even had their eyes opened yet! For a very brief moment, my mind thought, "what the heck am I gonna do will baby mice?"....then the next thought was CHICKEN HORS D'OEUVRES!!! I pitched the entire nest of baby mice to the chickens. The feeding frenzy began!!! Needless to say, the babies didn't last long. It was a quick death they suffered. I began to feel like a murderer.....then I had to REASON with myself about how destructive mice can be & the diseases they can carry. They HAD to be eliminated!! The chickens had great fun playing "catch & release" before they finally ATE THEM.
Next, I turned over the second bale of hay. Another flurry of mice scattered in all directions. These were larger ones....probably adolescents and some young adult mice. The chickens FREAKED OUT! It was too funny!! They fought over the little teenie baby ones, but when the larger ones started running around the coop, it scared the crap out of the chickens......at least, at first! Have you ever seen a chicken jump straight up in the air about 3 ft, while screaming?? It really was hilarious! Then, a mouse ran under one of the roosters as he was strolling by. His foot landed on the mouse. He wasn't expecting that! TOO FUNNY!! he jumped like he'd been shot!! Then he proceeded to chase the mouse down & kill it. At one point, nearly every chicken had a mouse, of one size or another, in it's beak!
Then.....(drum roll, please).....I turned over the third and final bale of hay. It looked like a seen from the movie "Willard". MICE RAN EVERYWHERE....BIG ONES!!! Heck, it dang near freaked me out!!
We aren't just talking "nest" here, folks, we're talking an entire village of mice. They had tunnels chewed throughout those bales of hay. There were several larger areas hollowed out, which were, I guess, previous nesting areas and sleeping quarters. No telling how long this colony of mice have lived in those bales! One thing's for sure.....they're all homeless now & will have to scramble around for a safe place to sleep tonight! I gotta say....those mice were pretty smart, making their "community" in the bales INSIDE the coop......no other predators can get to them, inside the coop! The neighbor's cats are gonna have an easier time finding a meal for the next few days!
And me......I think I just handled the situation the way any good "farm girl" would......feed the mice to the chickens! It sure beats buying rat bait! Besides, I wouldn't want to risk my chickens accidentally getting into the poison! That would be catastophic!
Siblings...
....Aren't they wonderful? If you are an only child, I'm so sorry for you! I used to think that an only child just grew up lonely, and missed those really early lessons on sharing, etc. I have now come to realize that there is much, much more to this sibling thing than just fighting over who gets to ride "shotgun", or who ate the last donut. It's having other people who share your same memories....and others who can fill you in on the memories you've forgotten.....and even some stuff you were totally unaware of.
Being a mother myself (4 children), I can honestly say that, although I love all my children....I love each of them differently. I am learning that my own mother actually related to each of her children in different ways, as well. I'm 58 years old, and am just coming to this realization! It's been a real 'eye-opener' for me!
For instance.....my younger sister mentioned to me the other day, a comment that our mother made to her, about our dad's attempt at growing a beard. Mom never liked facial hair on a man....especially HER man. But she commented to my sister that she guessed "...sometimes you have to go through the brush to get to a picnic". WHAT?! Was she implying that although she didn't like the beard, she still enjoyed his kisses?? It's just one of those things I'll never know, now, seeing as how mom passed away many years ago.
Then there's my older sister. SHE can talk to Dad about things I would never utter, to my father!!! Seriously! They seem to have the kind a rapport that allows them to talk about the most intimate details of certain subjects...which I will not divulge here. It totally amazes me that she & Dad can do this! Her relationship with Mom was rather strained for many, many years, and my sister was never able to really get close to Mom.....maybe she makes up for that loss by getting closer to Dad. Who can say?
MY conversations with my mom (and my dad) are of a completely different type! My mother had a marvelous sense of humor....my older sister says she never knew that about mom. (so sad!) Mom and I spent many happy hours just making each other laugh! She and I used to LOVE to get up early on Saturdays....have breakfast at Denny's, and then go garage sale-ing for the day. We found some terrific bargains, and had so much fun!! I sure do miss my mom!!
I haven't discussed this with my brother, but I can only assume that HIS conversations with Mom and Dad were of still another type! So, having siblings really serves to give you a much better "rounded" version of the people you THINK you know as your parents! It allows you to really come to terms with how a parent interacts differently with each of their children....even while raising them all under the same rules, boundaries, and limitations, and attempting to instill the same values.
If you have siblings....compare notes and observations next time you're all together. You may be really surprised to hear of a side to your mom or dad that you never knew existed! You'll really begin to see your parents as PEOPLE, with their own hopes, dreams, and wishes....and you'll learn of the sacrifices they made on your behalf.
Being a mother myself (4 children), I can honestly say that, although I love all my children....I love each of them differently. I am learning that my own mother actually related to each of her children in different ways, as well. I'm 58 years old, and am just coming to this realization! It's been a real 'eye-opener' for me!
For instance.....my younger sister mentioned to me the other day, a comment that our mother made to her, about our dad's attempt at growing a beard. Mom never liked facial hair on a man....especially HER man. But she commented to my sister that she guessed "...sometimes you have to go through the brush to get to a picnic". WHAT?! Was she implying that although she didn't like the beard, she still enjoyed his kisses?? It's just one of those things I'll never know, now, seeing as how mom passed away many years ago.
Then there's my older sister. SHE can talk to Dad about things I would never utter, to my father!!! Seriously! They seem to have the kind a rapport that allows them to talk about the most intimate details of certain subjects...which I will not divulge here. It totally amazes me that she & Dad can do this! Her relationship with Mom was rather strained for many, many years, and my sister was never able to really get close to Mom.....maybe she makes up for that loss by getting closer to Dad. Who can say?
MY conversations with my mom (and my dad) are of a completely different type! My mother had a marvelous sense of humor....my older sister says she never knew that about mom. (so sad!) Mom and I spent many happy hours just making each other laugh! She and I used to LOVE to get up early on Saturdays....have breakfast at Denny's, and then go garage sale-ing for the day. We found some terrific bargains, and had so much fun!! I sure do miss my mom!!
I haven't discussed this with my brother, but I can only assume that HIS conversations with Mom and Dad were of still another type! So, having siblings really serves to give you a much better "rounded" version of the people you THINK you know as your parents! It allows you to really come to terms with how a parent interacts differently with each of their children....even while raising them all under the same rules, boundaries, and limitations, and attempting to instill the same values.
If you have siblings....compare notes and observations next time you're all together. You may be really surprised to hear of a side to your mom or dad that you never knew existed! You'll really begin to see your parents as PEOPLE, with their own hopes, dreams, and wishes....and you'll learn of the sacrifices they made on your behalf.
Monday, April 19, 2010
You're Kidding.....Right??
I just read an article concerning TANNING addiction. Say what?!?
Seems there was a study/survey conducted by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the State University of New York, Albany, of 229 students. The subsequent report stated that "...the findings suggest that there may be a subgroup of individuals who are addicted to indoor tanning and have an underlying mood disturbance.." The report also stated that 50 of the 229 students tested, "....also had slightly higher levels of anxiety symptoms, as well as higher rates of alcohol and marijuana use..."
Just when you think you've heard it all. Good Grief!! Are they REALLY trying to tell us that there is a correlation between tannin' and trippin'?? (I also just learned that there is an INDOOR TANNING ASSOCIATION.) Puh-leeeeeeease!! An Association?? Are they for real????
OK...I'm a pretty open minded person, so let me try to see this from a different perspective. I WILL AGREE, that tanning...religiously....could be an indication of some sort of mental disorder. For instance....
why do so-o-o-o-o many white people think they are of a "superior race" because they are WHITE.....and then do their damnedest to tan themselves as dark as they can get??? See? MENTAL DISORDER!!
Why do so many people get naked to tan? They don't want "tan lines" of white skin, beneath a strap or piece of clothing that might reveal that they are really CAUCASIAN! See?? MENTAL DISORDER!!
And how ironic, that these extremely well tanned (half-burnt) people seem to always show up at events to raise money for CANCER RESEARCH?? Don't they know that TANNING can lead to SKIN CANCER??
See? MENTAL DISORDER!! Now it makes sense! Case closed!
Seems there was a study/survey conducted by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the State University of New York, Albany, of 229 students. The subsequent report stated that "...the findings suggest that there may be a subgroup of individuals who are addicted to indoor tanning and have an underlying mood disturbance.." The report also stated that 50 of the 229 students tested, "....also had slightly higher levels of anxiety symptoms, as well as higher rates of alcohol and marijuana use..."
Just when you think you've heard it all. Good Grief!! Are they REALLY trying to tell us that there is a correlation between tannin' and trippin'?? (I also just learned that there is an INDOOR TANNING ASSOCIATION.) Puh-leeeeeeease!! An Association?? Are they for real????
OK...I'm a pretty open minded person, so let me try to see this from a different perspective. I WILL AGREE, that tanning...religiously....could be an indication of some sort of mental disorder. For instance....
why do so-o-o-o-o many white people think they are of a "superior race" because they are WHITE.....and then do their damnedest to tan themselves as dark as they can get??? See? MENTAL DISORDER!!
Why do so many people get naked to tan? They don't want "tan lines" of white skin, beneath a strap or piece of clothing that might reveal that they are really CAUCASIAN! See?? MENTAL DISORDER!!
And how ironic, that these extremely well tanned (half-burnt) people seem to always show up at events to raise money for CANCER RESEARCH?? Don't they know that TANNING can lead to SKIN CANCER??
See? MENTAL DISORDER!! Now it makes sense! Case closed!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
This is no EGGS-AGGERATION!
Things are getting just a little out of hand in the coop!! Today, I collected ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY SEVEN EGGS!!!!! Those 18 hens have sure been busy!!!! And THAT is only the count I collected. I have two hens sitting now.....one on 13 eggs.....and the other claims it's none of my business! (She tries to peck me when I try to get her to move off the nest!) So, who knows how many SHE may be sitting??
Suffice it to say, that I AM IN THE EGG BUSINESS, whether I want to be or not! Ha!! I now have slightly over 14 dozen eggs ,ready to be distributed (or sold) to folks who like fresh eggs for breakfast!!
Since I have Araucans (aka: Easter Egg Chickens - 4 hens; 1 rooster), I have several dozen of very colorful eggs, ranging from light sky-blue to deep green. (Yes, they taste just like any other egg....just have prettier shells) I also have several dozen beautiful brown eggs. Some are dark, and others are nearly beige. All, are delicious!!
The green/blue eggs are slightly smaller....so I'll probably sell them for around $2-$2.50 dozen. The brown eggs are all a nice size, so will probably go for $3.00 doz. These are all organically grown eggs, folks....meaning that my chickens eat only real food! No chemically-treated, "miracle gro" type stuff.
Seems I remember seeing a commercial about a shipping outfit (Mailboxes, Etc.??) that GUARANTEES anything they ship will arrive intact, undamaged, on time etc. And just so you'll know......FRESH eggs remain fresh for up to three (3) months without ANY refrigeration.
Even the WORST shipping company could surely get them to you in that length of time! So.....how many dozen would you like?
Suffice it to say, that I AM IN THE EGG BUSINESS, whether I want to be or not! Ha!! I now have slightly over 14 dozen eggs ,ready to be distributed (or sold) to folks who like fresh eggs for breakfast!!
Since I have Araucans (aka: Easter Egg Chickens - 4 hens; 1 rooster), I have several dozen of very colorful eggs, ranging from light sky-blue to deep green. (Yes, they taste just like any other egg....just have prettier shells) I also have several dozen beautiful brown eggs. Some are dark, and others are nearly beige. All, are delicious!!
The green/blue eggs are slightly smaller....so I'll probably sell them for around $2-$2.50 dozen. The brown eggs are all a nice size, so will probably go for $3.00 doz. These are all organically grown eggs, folks....meaning that my chickens eat only real food! No chemically-treated, "miracle gro" type stuff.
Seems I remember seeing a commercial about a shipping outfit (Mailboxes, Etc.??) that GUARANTEES anything they ship will arrive intact, undamaged, on time etc. And just so you'll know......FRESH eggs remain fresh for up to three (3) months without ANY refrigeration.
Even the WORST shipping company could surely get them to you in that length of time! So.....how many dozen would you like?
The early bird......just may get a MUZZLE!
That "bird" I speak of is one of my roosters!! I thought they were supposed to start crowing at sun up? MINE start crowing about 4:30am, and it's still pitch-black outside!! Thank goodness we have no close neighbors to complain! And I'm also glad that our house is far enough away from the barn, that unless I'm already UP, I don't hear them. I would really HATE to be awakened at that ungodly hour every morning!
Yep, I think some time-keeping training is in order at the coop! As I don't think my chickens would really take to wearing little Timex's on their ankles, I guess I'll have to go buy a clock with those "glow-n-the-dark" numbers on it. Hmmmm.....but it'd look really cool to have some sort of bar room, neon clock that I could just keep plugged in. What the heck, they've already got radio 24/7 out in the coop. A little neon just might give the place a whole different atmosphere!
Oh, wow......that might NOT be a good idea. I can just see them out there cluckin', dancin', and scratchin' around in the straw till all hours of the morning......just like some sort of private "Chicken Club". No.....I can see where this thing could get totally out of hand! So, I guess I'd best just forget the little ankle watches....the clock with glow-n-the-dark numbers....the neon, etc.
I might have to even consider turning off their radio around 7pm, and just buy some duct tape!!
Yep, I think some time-keeping training is in order at the coop! As I don't think my chickens would really take to wearing little Timex's on their ankles, I guess I'll have to go buy a clock with those "glow-n-the-dark" numbers on it. Hmmmm.....but it'd look really cool to have some sort of bar room, neon clock that I could just keep plugged in. What the heck, they've already got radio 24/7 out in the coop. A little neon just might give the place a whole different atmosphere!
Oh, wow......that might NOT be a good idea. I can just see them out there cluckin', dancin', and scratchin' around in the straw till all hours of the morning......just like some sort of private "Chicken Club". No.....I can see where this thing could get totally out of hand! So, I guess I'd best just forget the little ankle watches....the clock with glow-n-the-dark numbers....the neon, etc.
I might have to even consider turning off their radio around 7pm, and just buy some duct tape!!
Friday, April 16, 2010
What an EXTRAORDINARY day!!
Seriously! Today I learned that I am INVISIBLE!!!! Isn't that awesome?! I haven't learned yet just how to turn it off and on at will, but I swear....I MUST be invisible, because three...that's THREE people from my ex-employer's office (yeah, the company that FIRED me) walked right past me...made direct eye contact....and acted as though they'd never seen me before. This was even AFTER I spoke a greeting.
And these three people were not all part of one incident. Each encounter was a separate incident. Thus..... I'm SURE that it is because I am invisible and NOT just that these people are RUDE!
Geez! One would think I had contracted 'the plague'....or perhaps LEPROSY, since being fired! WHAT EVER DID I DO TO THEM PERSONALLY TO WARRANT THIS SORT OF BEHAVIOR???
Who knows? Anyway, I can certainly have FUN with it! I try to force them to speak to me. I like to get right in their path & make them go around me.
Funny! If I am truly invisible......now do they know just when to change course to avoid running slap into me?? Hmmm-m-m-m-m.......I'll ponder this a while longer!
And these three people were not all part of one incident. Each encounter was a separate incident. Thus..... I'm SURE that it is because I am invisible and NOT just that these people are RUDE!
Geez! One would think I had contracted 'the plague'....or perhaps LEPROSY, since being fired! WHAT EVER DID I DO TO THEM PERSONALLY TO WARRANT THIS SORT OF BEHAVIOR???
Who knows? Anyway, I can certainly have FUN with it! I try to force them to speak to me. I like to get right in their path & make them go around me.
Funny! If I am truly invisible......now do they know just when to change course to avoid running slap into me?? Hmmm-m-m-m-m.......I'll ponder this a while longer!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Punctuality
My dad was, and still is, a big stickler for being punctual, to EVERY appointment or event. With him, there is no such thing as being "fashionably late". It is his opinion that being late....by any length of time, is NEVER fashionable, and certainly never acceptable!
I think he managed to pass that trait onto his children, but ONLY after we had all passed through the dreaded "teenage" years! My two older siblings and I all share in dad's adherence to being on time, and maybe a little early. One could say that punctuality runs in the family.....until .....sibling # 4 was born, then.....IT JUST SUDDENLY, AND ABRUPTLY, RAN OUT!!!
My little sister was born late, at least according to mom's & the doctor's estimations. Since that time....little sister's never been ON TIME for anything! I truly believe there is some major component of her DNA that is simply missing!
Absolutely NOTHING seems to work, as far as instilling a desire for punctuality in her! Because of this, she has developed her own sense of time. In HER mind.....if she's supposed to arrive at 8am, and arrives at 8:03am....that's not late. Huh?? How does she figure?? What is the magic moment when one goes from being 'on time' to LATE?? Is it 5 minutes? Ten? Fifteen?? How late is late??
I had initially thought this was a genetic defect, indigenous to our family bloodlines. I now know differently! I am amazed at the number of people in this world who are in little sister's category of ...."late is a matter of personal perception" !
For instance....today is Sunday. A day to relax, kick back, and enjoy being a homebody. Honey is expecting visitors who were to be here at 8am. It is now 9:54am, and they STILL haven't shown up! As of 9:30 am, they had not so much as called to say they would be late......or that they wouldn't show up at all. Gr-r-r-r!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE??? Is COMMON COURTESY a lost art??
I guess my REAL gripe today is that if not for the expected "company"....I'd still be happily sitting in my 'jammies, sipping tea, and enjoying my day! Now I am on 'alert'. Scrambling around to make sure the house is ready for company...load the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher; clean the kitchen counters; clean the bathrooms; plump the sofa pillows; etc.
I normally clean house every other day..... THIS IS NOT THE OTHER DAY!!
I think he managed to pass that trait onto his children, but ONLY after we had all passed through the dreaded "teenage" years! My two older siblings and I all share in dad's adherence to being on time, and maybe a little early. One could say that punctuality runs in the family.....until .....sibling # 4 was born, then.....IT JUST SUDDENLY, AND ABRUPTLY, RAN OUT!!!
My little sister was born late, at least according to mom's & the doctor's estimations. Since that time....little sister's never been ON TIME for anything! I truly believe there is some major component of her DNA that is simply missing!
Absolutely NOTHING seems to work, as far as instilling a desire for punctuality in her! Because of this, she has developed her own sense of time. In HER mind.....if she's supposed to arrive at 8am, and arrives at 8:03am....that's not late. Huh?? How does she figure?? What is the magic moment when one goes from being 'on time' to LATE?? Is it 5 minutes? Ten? Fifteen?? How late is late??
I had initially thought this was a genetic defect, indigenous to our family bloodlines. I now know differently! I am amazed at the number of people in this world who are in little sister's category of ...."late is a matter of personal perception" !
For instance....today is Sunday. A day to relax, kick back, and enjoy being a homebody. Honey is expecting visitors who were to be here at 8am. It is now 9:54am, and they STILL haven't shown up! As of 9:30 am, they had not so much as called to say they would be late......or that they wouldn't show up at all. Gr-r-r-r!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE??? Is COMMON COURTESY a lost art??
I guess my REAL gripe today is that if not for the expected "company"....I'd still be happily sitting in my 'jammies, sipping tea, and enjoying my day! Now I am on 'alert'. Scrambling around to make sure the house is ready for company...load the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher; clean the kitchen counters; clean the bathrooms; plump the sofa pillows; etc.
I normally clean house every other day..... THIS IS NOT THE OTHER DAY!!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Adventures with "Irma"
Y'all remember Irma (see "Well Eye Swear" post) That woman is forever-and-a-day amusing to me!!
I had occasion, recently, to drive her to a doctor's appointment in the big city. Planning for the possibility of a third referral the following day, we both packed an 'overnight' bag, and off we went!
Her first appt. was at noon on a Thursday. She was out in about an hour, so we had the rest of the day to kill & were happily setting out to do just that! (Irma is the epitome of 'shop till you drop'!) First place we landed was Victoria's Secret! Woo-Hoo!! Then Irma heard JCPenney calling her name, so there we went, off in another direction. We no sooner finished scouting the sale racks at JCP's, that Irma once again "heard the call" from Belk's. In between, we managed to squeeze in some scrumptuous liver & onions for lunch.(Oh, how yummy!!)
Oh, guess I need to give you a little background......Irma's regular eye doctor suspected that maybe the retina of her left eye was trying to detach itself, due to the strange 'visual apparitions' Irma reported seeing with some regularity; e.i., lightening bolts, blazing, cascading spiderwebs, etc. (We won't go into the animals playing in her living room rocker, like the iguana... that became a raccoon... that became her PURSE, just yet!!) Anyway, suffice it to say that Irma's "issues" were beyond the realm of the good doctor, so he sent her off to the big city, to be re-evaluated by a specialist.
Well, the specialist poked & prodded, hmm'd and hummed, and did everthing but pop Irma's eyeball out & roll it around in his hands, and concluded that there was nothing physiologically wrong with Irma's eye! (I didn't say so to Irma, being her good friend and all, but THAT sure opened up the possibilities of something mentally causing the problem! Apparently, the specialist thought so too, 'cuz the following day, he sent her over to see a neurological-opthamologist! (a WHAT??!)
Not to let a worrisome non-diagnosis get her down, Irma and I hit the hotel lounge just at happy hour & had ourselves a couple of glasses of wine. (Irma figured if she was "seeing things", she may as well include pink elephants!) While there, we met a local policeman who frequented the hotel on his nightly rounds. (All the hotel personnel knew him by name.) Irma, never having been the least bit shy, strikes up a conversation with the nice policeman & asks where in the city she can buy shells for a .380 pistol? Mr. Policeman, not knowing of Irma's visual apparitions, is most helpful & tells her there's a gunshop directly across the street from the hotel! She thanks him for the info and tells him "we'll stop in right after breakfast tomorrow!"
Well, sure 'nuff, after breakfast, we head on over to the gunshop....which was located directly behind a liquor store....how smart is THAT? While Irma patiently awaits her turn, I am frantically searching my memory, wondering if Irma brought that pistol with her on our trip, and if so.....what's gonna happen if she "sees something" before we can get her safely back home???? Luckily for me....the gunshop had no ammo for Irma's pistol. Said it was a very popular caliber & the manufacturer couldn't keep up with the demand! We left the shop with Irma mumbling something about "just gonna have to get a different gun", and pointed out one to me that looked like something out of a Dirty Harry movie! It was a western looking revolver type pistol with a ten inch barrel, that took a very large caliber shell. Irma calls it a "cowboy gun" & said she thought she'd look into getting one. (Lord help us if she does!) I was relieved when we left the gunshop without her making a purchase, cause I'm still dealing with the rude awakening around 2am, when Irma thought the red light on the television was the LASER pointer of a gun, and that "someone" was outside our window attempting to do us bodily harm. She swore the red light was 'weaving all around'. I assured her it was NOT, and reminded her that we were on the FIFTH floor of the hotel, so it was very unlikely anyone would be outside our window!
We made our way to Irma's appointment with the neuro eye guy. I whiled away the next couple of hours reading my library book while Irma was being tested for this, that, and the other. Eventually, Irma came out and advised me she had been given a clean bill of health. She says the doctor told her that her 'problem' of seeing "things", and "visual apparitions" was not cause by anything more than an extremely VIVID imagination! He claims it's quite common, and that Irma does not suffer alone. He explained that her over-active and vivid imagination creates the images she THINKS she sees. Not to worry, he says.
I wonder if he would say the same if she were HEARING VOICES?? Don't they classify that as some sort of insanity?? Irma confided to me that in researching her family tree, she discovered that she had ancestors, on both sides of her family, that had died in mental hospitals, after being committed by their families!!
How ironic! Maybe THEY simply had vivid imaginations, too!!
I had occasion, recently, to drive her to a doctor's appointment in the big city. Planning for the possibility of a third referral the following day, we both packed an 'overnight' bag, and off we went!
Her first appt. was at noon on a Thursday. She was out in about an hour, so we had the rest of the day to kill & were happily setting out to do just that! (Irma is the epitome of 'shop till you drop'!) First place we landed was Victoria's Secret! Woo-Hoo!! Then Irma heard JCPenney calling her name, so there we went, off in another direction. We no sooner finished scouting the sale racks at JCP's, that Irma once again "heard the call" from Belk's. In between, we managed to squeeze in some scrumptuous liver & onions for lunch.(Oh, how yummy!!)
Oh, guess I need to give you a little background......Irma's regular eye doctor suspected that maybe the retina of her left eye was trying to detach itself, due to the strange 'visual apparitions' Irma reported seeing with some regularity; e.i., lightening bolts, blazing, cascading spiderwebs, etc. (We won't go into the animals playing in her living room rocker, like the iguana... that became a raccoon... that became her PURSE, just yet!!) Anyway, suffice it to say that Irma's "issues" were beyond the realm of the good doctor, so he sent her off to the big city, to be re-evaluated by a specialist.
Well, the specialist poked & prodded, hmm'd and hummed, and did everthing but pop Irma's eyeball out & roll it around in his hands, and concluded that there was nothing physiologically wrong with Irma's eye! (I didn't say so to Irma, being her good friend and all, but THAT sure opened up the possibilities of something mentally causing the problem! Apparently, the specialist thought so too, 'cuz the following day, he sent her over to see a neurological-opthamologist! (a WHAT??!)
Not to let a worrisome non-diagnosis get her down, Irma and I hit the hotel lounge just at happy hour & had ourselves a couple of glasses of wine. (Irma figured if she was "seeing things", she may as well include pink elephants!) While there, we met a local policeman who frequented the hotel on his nightly rounds. (All the hotel personnel knew him by name.) Irma, never having been the least bit shy, strikes up a conversation with the nice policeman & asks where in the city she can buy shells for a .380 pistol? Mr. Policeman, not knowing of Irma's visual apparitions, is most helpful & tells her there's a gunshop directly across the street from the hotel! She thanks him for the info and tells him "we'll stop in right after breakfast tomorrow!"
Well, sure 'nuff, after breakfast, we head on over to the gunshop....which was located directly behind a liquor store....how smart is THAT? While Irma patiently awaits her turn, I am frantically searching my memory, wondering if Irma brought that pistol with her on our trip, and if so.....what's gonna happen if she "sees something" before we can get her safely back home???? Luckily for me....the gunshop had no ammo for Irma's pistol. Said it was a very popular caliber & the manufacturer couldn't keep up with the demand! We left the shop with Irma mumbling something about "just gonna have to get a different gun", and pointed out one to me that looked like something out of a Dirty Harry movie! It was a western looking revolver type pistol with a ten inch barrel, that took a very large caliber shell. Irma calls it a "cowboy gun" & said she thought she'd look into getting one. (Lord help us if she does!) I was relieved when we left the gunshop without her making a purchase, cause I'm still dealing with the rude awakening around 2am, when Irma thought the red light on the television was the LASER pointer of a gun, and that "someone" was outside our window attempting to do us bodily harm. She swore the red light was 'weaving all around'. I assured her it was NOT, and reminded her that we were on the FIFTH floor of the hotel, so it was very unlikely anyone would be outside our window!
We made our way to Irma's appointment with the neuro eye guy. I whiled away the next couple of hours reading my library book while Irma was being tested for this, that, and the other. Eventually, Irma came out and advised me she had been given a clean bill of health. She says the doctor told her that her 'problem' of seeing "things", and "visual apparitions" was not cause by anything more than an extremely VIVID imagination! He claims it's quite common, and that Irma does not suffer alone. He explained that her over-active and vivid imagination creates the images she THINKS she sees. Not to worry, he says.
I wonder if he would say the same if she were HEARING VOICES?? Don't they classify that as some sort of insanity?? Irma confided to me that in researching her family tree, she discovered that she had ancestors, on both sides of her family, that had died in mental hospitals, after being committed by their families!!
How ironic! Maybe THEY simply had vivid imaginations, too!!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Praise Be To God!!
Today, a miracle happened! I was called with an offer of a job!!!
Tomorrow, 4/08/10, would have been exactly two years to the day, that I lost my job of six years! (I don't count that 4 mos. of employment between 10/19/10 and 2/08/10) God ALWAYS comes through for me!! And oddly enough, it's always at the last minute....by my human calculations.....that God provides a way....HIS WAY.
Don't EVER let anyone tell you there is no power in prayer!! That awesome power has been proven in MY life, over and over again! I truly pity the "unbelievers", as they will never know what wondrous things God could work in their lives, if only they would believe in Him!!
Thine be the glory, forever, and ever.....Amen!!
Tomorrow, 4/08/10, would have been exactly two years to the day, that I lost my job of six years! (I don't count that 4 mos. of employment between 10/19/10 and 2/08/10) God ALWAYS comes through for me!! And oddly enough, it's always at the last minute....by my human calculations.....that God provides a way....HIS WAY.
Don't EVER let anyone tell you there is no power in prayer!! That awesome power has been proven in MY life, over and over again! I truly pity the "unbelievers", as they will never know what wondrous things God could work in their lives, if only they would believe in Him!!
Thine be the glory, forever, and ever.....Amen!!
Monday, April 5, 2010
IMPOSTERS!! ALL OF THEM!!
As a child, none of us kids were taught (or allowed) to believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, etc. My dad's philosophy was....."...if we lie to our children about such things as these....how can they ever trust that we've not lied to them about other, more important things?" Dad had a point, and as philosophies go....this one was quite admirable.
When I became an adult, this subject came up one day. Dad, then, freely admitted, that he & mom struggled so hard to buy gifts for four kids at Christmas, that there was NO WAY, he wanted some ficticious, fat man in a red suit to get the credit for whatever was under the tree!! Made sense. He proceeded also to explain that, it was much easier to explain to his children that 'mom & dad just couldn't afford it this year'.....than to try explain to them why Santa didn't bring them their heart's desires! As an adult, he could also NOW tell me that there were times when my "heart's desire" was NOT something either of my parents approved of, or thought appropriate for me.
That would explain why I never got those white "Go-Go" boots! I was really, really, really disappointed!!!!! Those boots were all the rage in 1966. Most all the other girls in my school HAD them!! ( I was always the 'oddball'.) I think if those boots had been called ANYTHING ELSE....my parents might would have bought me a pair! Or, maybe it was just one of those things they simply could not afford; afterall, I had plenty of shoes already.....these would've been something merely frivolous. BUT, OH, HOW I WANTED THEM!!!
That same year, there was a really, really popular song out on the radio called "Last Date". I loved that song. It was on the top of my Christmas list....right after Go-Go boots. My parents bought me that record, (it was a "45") and on Christmas morning, once the family had gathered in the living room to open gifts, that song started playing!!!!!!! Mom had sneaked it onto the turn-table & set the needle on the record while I was distracted. I was so shocked, I think I started to cry! I completely forgot about those Go-Go boots (and I'm sure Mom & Dad were relieved!!) I think I probably drove the whole family crazy with that song. I played it over, and over, and over, and over......and back then, earphones were a luxury item that we didn't own!!!
Back to my point.......I thought Mom & Dad's philosophy was sound. So much so, that I never really allowed my kids to "believe" in these mythical characters. Oh, we all "played our part".....whether it was Santa, or the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny....they "pretended" to believe it was real, and I pretended this fictional character really existed......but my kids always knew it was Mom behind it all. They played right along with me. Still...we all have a lot of good memories.
Then comes my daughter!! Now, fully grownup, and with four kids of her own. Her kids BELIEVE!! She promotes this!!! I am amazed at her ingenious creativity when playing the role of 'Santa' or the 'Easter Bunny'!! And....I'm somewhat jealous. How much more fun could I have had with my own kids, if THEY had believed???
But then, I know there comes a time when the kids finally figure it out (or their little friends at school tell them) ....that there IS no Santa; no Easter Bunny; no Tooth Fairy.............then how do they feel????
Does it really matter in the grand scheme of things??
Do they "forgive" the lie??
How did YOU feel when you learned the truth?
When I became an adult, this subject came up one day. Dad, then, freely admitted, that he & mom struggled so hard to buy gifts for four kids at Christmas, that there was NO WAY, he wanted some ficticious, fat man in a red suit to get the credit for whatever was under the tree!! Made sense. He proceeded also to explain that, it was much easier to explain to his children that 'mom & dad just couldn't afford it this year'.....than to try explain to them why Santa didn't bring them their heart's desires! As an adult, he could also NOW tell me that there were times when my "heart's desire" was NOT something either of my parents approved of, or thought appropriate for me.
That would explain why I never got those white "Go-Go" boots! I was really, really, really disappointed!!!!! Those boots were all the rage in 1966. Most all the other girls in my school HAD them!! ( I was always the 'oddball'.) I think if those boots had been called ANYTHING ELSE....my parents might would have bought me a pair! Or, maybe it was just one of those things they simply could not afford; afterall, I had plenty of shoes already.....these would've been something merely frivolous. BUT, OH, HOW I WANTED THEM!!!
That same year, there was a really, really popular song out on the radio called "Last Date". I loved that song. It was on the top of my Christmas list....right after Go-Go boots. My parents bought me that record, (it was a "45") and on Christmas morning, once the family had gathered in the living room to open gifts, that song started playing!!!!!!! Mom had sneaked it onto the turn-table & set the needle on the record while I was distracted. I was so shocked, I think I started to cry! I completely forgot about those Go-Go boots (and I'm sure Mom & Dad were relieved!!) I think I probably drove the whole family crazy with that song. I played it over, and over, and over, and over......and back then, earphones were a luxury item that we didn't own!!!
Back to my point.......I thought Mom & Dad's philosophy was sound. So much so, that I never really allowed my kids to "believe" in these mythical characters. Oh, we all "played our part".....whether it was Santa, or the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny....they "pretended" to believe it was real, and I pretended this fictional character really existed......but my kids always knew it was Mom behind it all. They played right along with me. Still...we all have a lot of good memories.
Then comes my daughter!! Now, fully grownup, and with four kids of her own. Her kids BELIEVE!! She promotes this!!! I am amazed at her ingenious creativity when playing the role of 'Santa' or the 'Easter Bunny'!! And....I'm somewhat jealous. How much more fun could I have had with my own kids, if THEY had believed???
But then, I know there comes a time when the kids finally figure it out (or their little friends at school tell them) ....that there IS no Santa; no Easter Bunny; no Tooth Fairy.............then how do they feel????
Does it really matter in the grand scheme of things??
Do they "forgive" the lie??
How did YOU feel when you learned the truth?
Easter Memories....
Ah-h-h-h.....another Easter has come and gone. This one was EASY. No children at home any longer....no eggs to dye.....no baskets to fill....but best of all...NONE OF THAT DAMN PLASTIC EASTER GRASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God, how I hate that awful stuff!! But, what's an Easter basket without it?? Can't just have the eggs and stuff rolling around in there!
When my kids were small (and even once they became teenagers) they fully expected to receive an Easter basket filled with all sorts of goodies, every year. Oh, I didn't mind. It was actually fun to put them together & see their faces light up when they found them on Easter morning.
I couldn't wait for the kids to finally eat all their Easter goodies just so I could REMOVE the grass from the baskets! Most often, I'd put it in a plastic bag & store it in the closet for the next year. But, no matter how careful we ALL tried to be, the damned Easter grass would end up all over the floors. For months after...I was continually finding Easter grass...in the carpet....in the laundry....in the dryer vent..... EVERYWHERE! ! There just seemed to be no end to it! It was as though, the more I picked up....the more there was. (How can this be??)
It was even in the DOG!!! But it took me awhile to realize this. I just happened to be outside one day, shortly after Easter, when he decided to 'do his business'. Imagine my amazement at the multi-colored dog poop! There! There was the PINK grass from my daughter's basket.....and BLUE from one of the boy's baskets.....and the standard GREEN Easter grass!!!!
I'd like to see the look on some archaeologists' face when this petrified dog turd is unearthed, a thousand years from now. It'll be interesting to see how they will try to scientifically "explain" this phenomenon. They'll probably invent some new "never before known" species to go along with their story. Like maybe....a
"Canine Rainbow-Plastipoopalotamus"
When my kids were small (and even once they became teenagers) they fully expected to receive an Easter basket filled with all sorts of goodies, every year. Oh, I didn't mind. It was actually fun to put them together & see their faces light up when they found them on Easter morning.
I couldn't wait for the kids to finally eat all their Easter goodies just so I could REMOVE the grass from the baskets! Most often, I'd put it in a plastic bag & store it in the closet for the next year. But, no matter how careful we ALL tried to be, the damned Easter grass would end up all over the floors. For months after...I was continually finding Easter grass...in the carpet....in the laundry....in the dryer vent..... EVERYWHERE! ! There just seemed to be no end to it! It was as though, the more I picked up....the more there was. (How can this be??)
It was even in the DOG!!! But it took me awhile to realize this. I just happened to be outside one day, shortly after Easter, when he decided to 'do his business'. Imagine my amazement at the multi-colored dog poop! There! There was the PINK grass from my daughter's basket.....and BLUE from one of the boy's baskets.....and the standard GREEN Easter grass!!!!
I'd like to see the look on some archaeologists' face when this petrified dog turd is unearthed, a thousand years from now. It'll be interesting to see how they will try to scientifically "explain" this phenomenon. They'll probably invent some new "never before known" species to go along with their story. Like maybe....a
"Canine Rainbow-Plastipoopalotamus"
Sunday, April 4, 2010
All Hail!!
It looks like the "pecking order" has finally been established in the chicken house. My favorite rooster, Kellogg, seems to be firmly entrenched as 'King of the Coop', and from what I can tell, he's doing a really fine job! (I tried to hold a small coronation ceremony for him. I have the cutest, little-bitty crown that came off a wine bottle, but he refuses to wear it!) It's would look so regal on him! But, even without this adornment, the residents in the coop seems to know who is in charge.
It's absurd how some of the hens are now throwing themselves at him...whereas, just a few days ago, they all were spurning his advances! One little hen follows him everywhere he goes, and never misses a chance to "assume the position" in front of him. It's really tacky if you ask me. But, he does, on occasion, partake of her, um, offerings, if you get my drift! I guess this sort of thing is indigenous to all male species. (At least I didn't have to see any money change hands!) In Kellogg's defense, I can attest to the fact that she kept teasing him unmercifully, twitching her tail feathers & "cooing" at him! Guess not many roosters could have resisted the temptation!
Kellogg has really put Buddy in his place! Since establishment of a King, Buddy has not attacked me again....but I'm not taking any chances. I will continue to carry my stick when I venture into his domain! I still see him eyeing me, as if waiting for an opening to attack, but it's harder for him, now that he has to keep an eye on Kellogg, as well. (This is probably what creates "cross-eyed" chickens!!)
I'm not sure if the chickens know it is Easter Sunday, or not, but they've certainly been working overtime in the egg-laying department! Yesterday's count was 150 eggs!! I didn't figure they'd miss a few, so I helped myself to about 3 dozen of the biggest ones. I'm hoping that at least a few of the remaining eggs will be incubated & hatched! I'd love to see a few little chicks running around the coop.....but then...
so would the neighbor's two cats!!
It's absurd how some of the hens are now throwing themselves at him...whereas, just a few days ago, they all were spurning his advances! One little hen follows him everywhere he goes, and never misses a chance to "assume the position" in front of him. It's really tacky if you ask me. But, he does, on occasion, partake of her, um, offerings, if you get my drift! I guess this sort of thing is indigenous to all male species. (At least I didn't have to see any money change hands!) In Kellogg's defense, I can attest to the fact that she kept teasing him unmercifully, twitching her tail feathers & "cooing" at him! Guess not many roosters could have resisted the temptation!
Kellogg has really put Buddy in his place! Since establishment of a King, Buddy has not attacked me again....but I'm not taking any chances. I will continue to carry my stick when I venture into his domain! I still see him eyeing me, as if waiting for an opening to attack, but it's harder for him, now that he has to keep an eye on Kellogg, as well. (This is probably what creates "cross-eyed" chickens!!)
I'm not sure if the chickens know it is Easter Sunday, or not, but they've certainly been working overtime in the egg-laying department! Yesterday's count was 150 eggs!! I didn't figure they'd miss a few, so I helped myself to about 3 dozen of the biggest ones. I'm hoping that at least a few of the remaining eggs will be incubated & hatched! I'd love to see a few little chicks running around the coop.....but then...
so would the neighbor's two cats!!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
WHO am I and HOW did I get here??
I'm not sure I know me anymore! What has happened to me?? I look the same, but something has definitely changed, and I'm not sure I can pinpoint just when the change occurred!! Good grief.....I stand amazed at my new self!
I was just viewing pictures of my 15 yr old granddaughter......with newly acquired BLUE STREAKS in her beautiful, long, gorgeous blonde hair! AND I LIKE IT!!! I think it looks great!! (Remember when 'blue hair' was just for little old ladies??) LOL Not anymore! Her mother tells me that in times past, my granddaughter has also had pink streaks....and green streaks. WOW! Wish I could've seen the PINK; that's my favorite color!! If my DAUGHTER had gotten colored streaks in her hair at age 15, I'd have had a conniption fit!! Now...I'm thinking it's a great look!! (WHERE HAVE I GONE??)
I'm also thinking it'd be great if my granddaughter got her belly button pierced! But, I'm not so sure it would'nt be a waste of time and money for my granddaughter to have it done....no one would ever see it! She's much too modest to expose her midriff! (But that's a GOOD thing!) She, on the other hand....wants to get her LIPS pierced!! I think she told me they call it a "snake bite"?? A small ring on either side of the mouth...upper lip or lower?? I'm just not sure, but EITHER WAY.....I VOTE NO.....HELL NO!!!
I am totally opposed to pierced eyebrows as well, but I think that a very tiny, dainty stud in the nose, is very cute & appealing. (WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME????) I remember the days when I would have found this sort of thing abhorrent....
...Like TATTOOS. I've always (until VERY recently) HATED tattoos on women!!! Even now....I am very, very, very selective as to which ones I think are ART and seductively appealing....and which ones are simply the "barroom-slut/whore-dog" look that I so much detest! My own beloved daughter-in-law has at least 2 or 3 tattoos that I know of. They are all very tastefully done.....and each one commemorates a significant moment in her life. Like a living diary of some sort. I think I rather like that idea! (WHERE DID THE "OTHER" ME GO?) I just wish I could determine when these mental changes in attitude & outlook occurred! Are there more to come?? I just might end up being one cool, hip-hop-happenin' grandma!! Time will tell, I guess!
I was just viewing pictures of my 15 yr old granddaughter......with newly acquired BLUE STREAKS in her beautiful, long, gorgeous blonde hair! AND I LIKE IT!!! I think it looks great!! (Remember when 'blue hair' was just for little old ladies??) LOL Not anymore! Her mother tells me that in times past, my granddaughter has also had pink streaks....and green streaks. WOW! Wish I could've seen the PINK; that's my favorite color!! If my DAUGHTER had gotten colored streaks in her hair at age 15, I'd have had a conniption fit!! Now...I'm thinking it's a great look!! (WHERE HAVE I GONE??)
I'm also thinking it'd be great if my granddaughter got her belly button pierced! But, I'm not so sure it would'nt be a waste of time and money for my granddaughter to have it done....no one would ever see it! She's much too modest to expose her midriff! (But that's a GOOD thing!) She, on the other hand....wants to get her LIPS pierced!! I think she told me they call it a "snake bite"?? A small ring on either side of the mouth...upper lip or lower?? I'm just not sure, but EITHER WAY.....I VOTE NO.....HELL NO!!!
I am totally opposed to pierced eyebrows as well, but I think that a very tiny, dainty stud in the nose, is very cute & appealing. (WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME????) I remember the days when I would have found this sort of thing abhorrent....
...Like TATTOOS. I've always (until VERY recently) HATED tattoos on women!!! Even now....I am very, very, very selective as to which ones I think are ART and seductively appealing....and which ones are simply the "barroom-slut/whore-dog" look that I so much detest! My own beloved daughter-in-law has at least 2 or 3 tattoos that I know of. They are all very tastefully done.....and each one commemorates a significant moment in her life. Like a living diary of some sort. I think I rather like that idea! (WHERE DID THE "OTHER" ME GO?) I just wish I could determine when these mental changes in attitude & outlook occurred! Are there more to come?? I just might end up being one cool, hip-hop-happenin' grandma!! Time will tell, I guess!
Yippee!!!! It's FRIDAY!!!!
Oh, wait a minute. That was yesterday! Geez!....It's hard to keep the days straight when you're not working!! It's also hard to get excited about any one day in particular, especially when FIVE out of seven look just about the same.....from an unemployment perspective, you understand!
Not being a regular "church-going" kind of person, I still can always tell when it's Sunday. It's the only day that the little old lady across the street gets out of her bathrobe and slippers! Saturday's are easy to determine......part of the year. We can just barely hear the roar of unmuffled big block engines and screaming fans, from the dirt track speedway on the outskirts of town.
The rest of the time....heck, who knows!? Furthermore, who cares??
Not being a regular "church-going" kind of person, I still can always tell when it's Sunday. It's the only day that the little old lady across the street gets out of her bathrobe and slippers! Saturday's are easy to determine......part of the year. We can just barely hear the roar of unmuffled big block engines and screaming fans, from the dirt track speedway on the outskirts of town.
The rest of the time....heck, who knows!? Furthermore, who cares??
Friday, April 2, 2010
Mental Musings and 'What If's'
What if souls are recycled? Seriously. What if God only created a certain number of souls? THAT would make it seem more reasonable, and easier to comprehend, as to how there will be room in Heaven for all of the saved ones. What if, everytime an old person dies, somewhere, a baby is born?
Maybe we really ARE reincarnated.....NOT outside of our species, but as a brandnew human being, with no memory of our past lives. Maybe, we keep being reborn...re-living life, over and over, until we finally learn the lessons God wants us to learn. Could it be, because of this recycling of souls, that abortion is such a heated issue amongst us? Perhaps it really pisses God off to assign a soul at the moment of conception, and before that embryo can even take shape, it is destroyed by the hand of man! How does it make YOU feel to have to continually 'start over' on YOUR projects??
Souls have no color, no race, no creed, no gender. They are simply an energy force in the universe. Today, I am a caucasian female, with blonde hair and blue eyes. My soul has lived in this body for 58 years, so far. At the moment of my death.....my soul could be reborn into a male child in Istanbul, Turkey. What sort of life will I have? How long will I get to live in that boy child body? Will I be allowed to live to an old age; marry; have a family?? What lessons will I need to learn before my soul travels onward to another lifetime?
WHO will I be, and in what body will I dwell, when the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, to call us all home??
And.....what if I'm right??
Maybe we really ARE reincarnated.....NOT outside of our species, but as a brandnew human being, with no memory of our past lives. Maybe, we keep being reborn...re-living life, over and over, until we finally learn the lessons God wants us to learn. Could it be, because of this recycling of souls, that abortion is such a heated issue amongst us? Perhaps it really pisses God off to assign a soul at the moment of conception, and before that embryo can even take shape, it is destroyed by the hand of man! How does it make YOU feel to have to continually 'start over' on YOUR projects??
Souls have no color, no race, no creed, no gender. They are simply an energy force in the universe. Today, I am a caucasian female, with blonde hair and blue eyes. My soul has lived in this body for 58 years, so far. At the moment of my death.....my soul could be reborn into a male child in Istanbul, Turkey. What sort of life will I have? How long will I get to live in that boy child body? Will I be allowed to live to an old age; marry; have a family?? What lessons will I need to learn before my soul travels onward to another lifetime?
WHO will I be, and in what body will I dwell, when the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, to call us all home??
And.....what if I'm right??
We ARE the tired, the poor!!
A bronze plaque, located in the Statue of Liberty exhibit on the second floor of the pedestal, is inscribed with the sonnet "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus. Most of us know quite well those few lines --
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Well, my, my, my... how things do change!! Where once, our great and powerful country was the haven of HOPE for the rest of the world.....we are now just another chunk of real estate, slowly being parcelled out to whatever country can bid the highest! Yet, still....foreignors flock to this land in droves!! WHY?? We are no longer the 'land of opportunity'. We can no longer boast of being the place where 'dreams come true'. OR....perhaps I'm wrong! Maybe the foreignors DO still see opportunity in America! Maybe they can make THEIR dreams come true......while our own government is destroying yours and mine!
How do those LEGAL immigrants, from long ago, feel? They worked hard to become American citizens. They learned OUR language....we did not learn theirs! They diligently followed all regulations and requirements to be declared a citizen of this great country. NOW....all one has to do is sneak across our borders....blend into the populace undetected.....have a baby or two.....and our government will grant them AMNESTY. They will not face deportation back to their homelands. No-o-o-o-o! They will be given "Refugee" status, and qualify for CASH, food, housing, medical care, job re-certification, training and placement, social adjustments, interpreter services......the list just goes on and on. Todays "refugees" are eligible for up to FIVE YEARS of this wonderful government assistance. I think I need to denounce my birthright of American citizenship, and start claiming to be a refugee! As a citizen.....I am finding little, if any, government assistance available to me, when I need it.
To anyone reading these words, I say -- life as we know it, will NOT be what our grandchildren and great grandchildren will know. I beg you all....while you still have time...create your family's "Time Capsule". Fill it with diaries and photos; memorabilia of happy times spent with friends and loved ones. You might want to also keep dad's service revolver from his years with the police force, or your grandfather's hunting rifle, and maybe a small bit of ammo for each. Not that you will need them for self-defense.....but just so you'll be able to remember what it was like to be able to keep & bear arms AS A FREE PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Keep your family capsule in a safe and secure place. Protect it from the elements of nature, and the threat of destruction by fire! Especially fire! A thousand years from now, perhaps some archaeologist will find it and ponder how our race came to be extinct. Be sure to leave notes!
At the rate we're going, as humanity.....it's only a matter of time before one country or another in this big world, pushes the button that will destroy us all. I only hope that I am at ground zero when the blast occurs. I'd rather be instantly vaporized, than to die a slow, agonizing death from radiation poisoning, as there will be no medical treatment available to survivors. (part of the new healthcare plan!)
God help us, all!!
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Well, my, my, my... how things do change!! Where once, our great and powerful country was the haven of HOPE for the rest of the world.....we are now just another chunk of real estate, slowly being parcelled out to whatever country can bid the highest! Yet, still....foreignors flock to this land in droves!! WHY?? We are no longer the 'land of opportunity'. We can no longer boast of being the place where 'dreams come true'. OR....perhaps I'm wrong! Maybe the foreignors DO still see opportunity in America! Maybe they can make THEIR dreams come true......while our own government is destroying yours and mine!
How do those LEGAL immigrants, from long ago, feel? They worked hard to become American citizens. They learned OUR language....we did not learn theirs! They diligently followed all regulations and requirements to be declared a citizen of this great country. NOW....all one has to do is sneak across our borders....blend into the populace undetected.....have a baby or two.....and our government will grant them AMNESTY. They will not face deportation back to their homelands. No-o-o-o-o! They will be given "Refugee" status, and qualify for CASH, food, housing, medical care, job re-certification, training and placement, social adjustments, interpreter services......the list just goes on and on. Todays "refugees" are eligible for up to FIVE YEARS of this wonderful government assistance. I think I need to denounce my birthright of American citizenship, and start claiming to be a refugee! As a citizen.....I am finding little, if any, government assistance available to me, when I need it.
To anyone reading these words, I say -- life as we know it, will NOT be what our grandchildren and great grandchildren will know. I beg you all....while you still have time...create your family's "Time Capsule". Fill it with diaries and photos; memorabilia of happy times spent with friends and loved ones. You might want to also keep dad's service revolver from his years with the police force, or your grandfather's hunting rifle, and maybe a small bit of ammo for each. Not that you will need them for self-defense.....but just so you'll be able to remember what it was like to be able to keep & bear arms AS A FREE PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Keep your family capsule in a safe and secure place. Protect it from the elements of nature, and the threat of destruction by fire! Especially fire! A thousand years from now, perhaps some archaeologist will find it and ponder how our race came to be extinct. Be sure to leave notes!
At the rate we're going, as humanity.....it's only a matter of time before one country or another in this big world, pushes the button that will destroy us all. I only hope that I am at ground zero when the blast occurs. I'd rather be instantly vaporized, than to die a slow, agonizing death from radiation poisoning, as there will be no medical treatment available to survivors. (part of the new healthcare plan!)
God help us, all!!
Please Send Money Now!
After two years of INVOLUNTARY unemployment.....I have come to the sad realization that there simply are NO JOBS to be had in this country, any longer!! All available jobs are now in Russia, Pakistan, India, Viet Nam, Venezuela, China, Mexico.....oh, and let's don't forget that musical-sounding city, Shangri La!
So....Yes...you heard right! I need you to send me money. I will accept any amount, but the larger the amount, the greater my joy. No, I'm not feeding the world's children or trying to cure cancer. I'm simply trying to survive! Several have already contributed! You don't want to be left out!! Hurry!! Time is running out! The proverbial 'wolf' has nearly succeeded in chewing his way through my door!
For security and safety reasons, I will need to rent a PO Box to accept your donations. 'Course, I don't want to rent one prematurely, you understand, so if you wish to contribute to the 'cause (which is: "cause I need the money!"), please indicate your desire (and amount) in the comment section below this post. Once I have a sufficient number of contributors, I'll go rent that post office box!
I'm mulling over the idea of Pledge Cards.....you know how they work, right? You pledge to provide me with a fixed amount every month....and in exchange, I will pledge to YOU, to happily accept your on-going donations!! Heck, if I get enough of these type of contributors, I can just STOP LOOKING FOR A JOB!! Woo-Hoo!!
Your contributions are probably tax deductible, but I won't be sending out any 1099's or whatever form the IRS requires, so good luck with that aspect of it. Just know that your hard-earned money is going to a worthy cause!! (my survival!) When you break it down, my request is really just in keeping with our 'not-so-brilliant' President's philosopy of taking from the "Haves", and redistributing to the "HaveNots". I have become a HAVE NOT!! (and it only took 2 years!!) I need you HAVES to step up to the plate....willingly; with a smile on your face; and DO YOUR PART in the redistribution of YOUR money! Ok??
In lieu of cash donations, I will consider adoption by a wealthy family....OR.....being named as the sole heir to the fortune of a soon-to-be-deceased person. This person will need to have one foot in the grave, and the other on a banana peel......'cause I can't wait too long. My bills come due every month!
So....Yes...you heard right! I need you to send me money. I will accept any amount, but the larger the amount, the greater my joy. No, I'm not feeding the world's children or trying to cure cancer. I'm simply trying to survive! Several have already contributed! You don't want to be left out!! Hurry!! Time is running out! The proverbial 'wolf' has nearly succeeded in chewing his way through my door!
For security and safety reasons, I will need to rent a PO Box to accept your donations. 'Course, I don't want to rent one prematurely, you understand, so if you wish to contribute to the 'cause (which is: "cause I need the money!"), please indicate your desire (and amount) in the comment section below this post. Once I have a sufficient number of contributors, I'll go rent that post office box!
I'm mulling over the idea of Pledge Cards.....you know how they work, right? You pledge to provide me with a fixed amount every month....and in exchange, I will pledge to YOU, to happily accept your on-going donations!! Heck, if I get enough of these type of contributors, I can just STOP LOOKING FOR A JOB!! Woo-Hoo!!
Your contributions are probably tax deductible, but I won't be sending out any 1099's or whatever form the IRS requires, so good luck with that aspect of it. Just know that your hard-earned money is going to a worthy cause!! (my survival!) When you break it down, my request is really just in keeping with our 'not-so-brilliant' President's philosopy of taking from the "Haves", and redistributing to the "HaveNots". I have become a HAVE NOT!! (and it only took 2 years!!) I need you HAVES to step up to the plate....willingly; with a smile on your face; and DO YOUR PART in the redistribution of YOUR money! Ok??
In lieu of cash donations, I will consider adoption by a wealthy family....OR.....being named as the sole heir to the fortune of a soon-to-be-deceased person. This person will need to have one foot in the grave, and the other on a banana peel......'cause I can't wait too long. My bills come due every month!
You Made Your Bed.....
...or have you?? Growing up, I was never allowed to leave my bed unmade. That was one of Mom's firm, fast rules. NO EXCUSES! As a kid, I never could see the logic in making the bed.....I was just gonna get back in it, in a matter of hours....so why waste time making it?? Mom didn't agree with my logic, and would go so far as to inspect the bed after I'd 'made' it, to make sure it was up to her high standards. It seldom was! Having to re-make the bed was worse than having to make it the first time, 'cause now, I'm mad, too!
I vowed, that when I was living on my own....I'd never make my bed again! Well, I finally had my own place and just couldn't seem to firmly adhere to the vow I'd made many years before. I went through periods...sometimes years...when I would leave my bed unmade. Problem was, I couldn't stand looking at it that way, so I'd just shut the bedroom door. That tactic was only partially successful, 'cause I was constantly having to go into my bedroom throughout the day, for one reason or another, and everytime I saw that unmade bed, I would cringe.
Then, I went through my "Patty Perfect" period....when my bed was always made...and the house was always spotless. Needless to say, that era didn't last too long. I'm just not a 'neat-freak' by nature & the attempt at being one was just too exhausting! My philosophy is that my house be "Clean enough to be Healthy...and Dirty enough to be Happy".
Many years later, I found myself married, and living in a nice home.....but I HATED our bedroom. It was small, dark, and had hideous wallpaper! Although we were in the process of remodeling the house....we had agreed that the bedrooms would be the last to be refurbished. Well, this provided the perfect opportunity to once again leave the bed unmade! I hated that room so much, that I would find reasons NOT to go in there until I had to. PROBLEM SOLVED.....or so I thought! Hubby seemed very irritated that I was no longer making the bed. Every day, he complained. I finally had enough of his crap & told him to "make the damn bed YOURSELF if it bothers you that much! " That's when I learned that HE never had to make his bed growning up. His mom did it for him....WELL I'M NOT YOUR MOTHER!! After that....I refused to make the bed...just out of spite....and HE never made the bed, so I was left to assume that either it ceased to bother him any longer....or he just learned that complaining about it wasn't working either!
Alas, I'm back in one of those stages where I can't stand to see my bed unmade! As I was making it this morning, I began thinking of when this whole bed-making thing began? (I try to look for logical and practical explanations for WHY we do certain things.) I concluded that it must have begun around the time settlers started the movement westward. Many of them ended up in ramshackle houses, carved out of the hillside, with thatch and mud roofs. In a house like that....I can really see the necessity in making your bed. If you don't, you end up with chunks of dried mud or straw in your bed, that drop from the roof. (there were NO interior ceilings in those days) That would be very uncomfortable to sleep on! Necessity being the 'mother of invention', I can see the need to make your bed when you live in such a house.
After making my bed, I made my customary morning stop in the bathroom. That got me to thinking about why the "two-holer" outhouse was created.....but that's a whole other story, I'm sure!!
I vowed, that when I was living on my own....I'd never make my bed again! Well, I finally had my own place and just couldn't seem to firmly adhere to the vow I'd made many years before. I went through periods...sometimes years...when I would leave my bed unmade. Problem was, I couldn't stand looking at it that way, so I'd just shut the bedroom door. That tactic was only partially successful, 'cause I was constantly having to go into my bedroom throughout the day, for one reason or another, and everytime I saw that unmade bed, I would cringe.
Then, I went through my "Patty Perfect" period....when my bed was always made...and the house was always spotless. Needless to say, that era didn't last too long. I'm just not a 'neat-freak' by nature & the attempt at being one was just too exhausting! My philosophy is that my house be "Clean enough to be Healthy...and Dirty enough to be Happy".
Many years later, I found myself married, and living in a nice home.....but I HATED our bedroom. It was small, dark, and had hideous wallpaper! Although we were in the process of remodeling the house....we had agreed that the bedrooms would be the last to be refurbished. Well, this provided the perfect opportunity to once again leave the bed unmade! I hated that room so much, that I would find reasons NOT to go in there until I had to. PROBLEM SOLVED.....or so I thought! Hubby seemed very irritated that I was no longer making the bed. Every day, he complained. I finally had enough of his crap & told him to "make the damn bed YOURSELF if it bothers you that much! " That's when I learned that HE never had to make his bed growning up. His mom did it for him....WELL I'M NOT YOUR MOTHER!! After that....I refused to make the bed...just out of spite....and HE never made the bed, so I was left to assume that either it ceased to bother him any longer....or he just learned that complaining about it wasn't working either!
Alas, I'm back in one of those stages where I can't stand to see my bed unmade! As I was making it this morning, I began thinking of when this whole bed-making thing began? (I try to look for logical and practical explanations for WHY we do certain things.) I concluded that it must have begun around the time settlers started the movement westward. Many of them ended up in ramshackle houses, carved out of the hillside, with thatch and mud roofs. In a house like that....I can really see the necessity in making your bed. If you don't, you end up with chunks of dried mud or straw in your bed, that drop from the roof. (there were NO interior ceilings in those days) That would be very uncomfortable to sleep on! Necessity being the 'mother of invention', I can see the need to make your bed when you live in such a house.
After making my bed, I made my customary morning stop in the bathroom. That got me to thinking about why the "two-holer" outhouse was created.....but that's a whole other story, I'm sure!!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Elderly??
At what age, specifically, is one considered to be 'elderly'?? I have many reasons for needing clarification on this! My doctor recently changed one of my medications. The associated paperwork, supplied by the pharmacy, advises: "CAUTION IS ADVISED WHEN USING THIS MEDICINE IN THE ELDERLY".
How old is elderly??? I have taken advantage of "Senior Citizen" discounts at restaurants for several years now. I've used my age to receive discounts at various retail outlets, and am not ashamed to do so. Gaining in years has many and sundry "perks". My car insurance is now cheaper, and I often get additional discounts at hotels and car rental places. Not to mention those other 'specials' like Seniors Day at Disney World! (although why anyone with bad knees; hips; difficulty in walking; poor vision; bad hearing; and shortness of breath upon exertion....would want to even VISIT an amusement park is beyond my comprehension!) They certainly can't have much of a " turnout" on that day!
But at what age does one enter the "cautionary" years?? This is really a HUGE gaping hole of gray doubt and uncertainty! Is this issue even addressed in the new Obama healthcare plan????
Is this information available through the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA)? And just WHO makes the determination of the 'magic' age when one goes from being "over the hill" all the way to "elderly" ?? Was there a vote?? Did I miss it??
When I am inevitably heading in that direction.....I should at least have a say-so in WHEN that title of 'elderly' gets hung around my neck & entered into statistical databases!!
How old is elderly??? I have taken advantage of "Senior Citizen" discounts at restaurants for several years now. I've used my age to receive discounts at various retail outlets, and am not ashamed to do so. Gaining in years has many and sundry "perks". My car insurance is now cheaper, and I often get additional discounts at hotels and car rental places. Not to mention those other 'specials' like Seniors Day at Disney World! (although why anyone with bad knees; hips; difficulty in walking; poor vision; bad hearing; and shortness of breath upon exertion....would want to even VISIT an amusement park is beyond my comprehension!) They certainly can't have much of a " turnout" on that day!
But at what age does one enter the "cautionary" years?? This is really a HUGE gaping hole of gray doubt and uncertainty! Is this issue even addressed in the new Obama healthcare plan????
Is this information available through the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA)? And just WHO makes the determination of the 'magic' age when one goes from being "over the hill" all the way to "elderly" ?? Was there a vote?? Did I miss it??
When I am inevitably heading in that direction.....I should at least have a say-so in WHEN that title of 'elderly' gets hung around my neck & entered into statistical databases!!
Preposterous Produce Prices!
We eat a lot of salads at my house these days (who can afford MEAT anymore!!??) so I buy quite a bit of fresh produce. (well, as fresh as it can be, considering the time between when it was picked, versus when it ended up on the grocer's shelf!) I am always amazed at the price fluctuations of produce!! And this is barring any unforeseen, catastrophic 'acts of God' that would affect their growing seasons!
Last week, huge heads of iceberg lettuce were selling for $1.68 each. This week, the heads are so scrawny they're not much bigger than a GRAPEFRUIT, and the cost of each is $1.75. Last week, a bag of stalk celery sold for $2.00 per bag. This week, those same bags are only $1.00. Radishes are holding their own at .88 cents a bundle. (funny, though...once you bag them, the cashier can't tell how many bundles you've got in the bag. She always has to ask.) Good thing I'm an honest person! Seems to me, it'd make more sense to sell radishes by the POUND, and take the guess work out of it....but what do I know??
A large bag of carrots sells for .94 cents...unless you want organically grown carrots. THOSE sell for $1.25. I swear, when you put the two bags side by side....I can't see a significant difference. They look the same; they smell the same; they weigh the same. WHY do I care that the soil they were grown in was fertilized with cow crap and kitchen scraps, instead of Miracle-Gro?? Anyway....I always opt for the .94 cent NON-organic package, and we've had no ill effects to speak of! (I think my vision is even improving!)
As a general rule, I avoid buying tomatoes, altogether. No matter WHAT you pay for them....they all taste like cardboard!! You will never find a tomato in a grocery store chain that tastes like a tomato! But then, for folks who've never had a home-grown, vine-ripened tomato, those store-bought imitations may be just fine! (They're obviously using them mainly for 'color', anyway...'cause it certainly isn't for flavor!)
We don't normally like bell peppers in our salads, but I like to cook with them, and sometimes, just for variety, I would like to use red or yellow peppers in my recipes, rather than the green ones. UNTIL I LOOK AT THE PRICES!!! Good grief!!! Can ANYONE tell me why a red or yellow pepper costs nearly double what a green one costs???? They're ALL grown the same....they taste the same.....what's the damn deal??? You'd think the growers had to work extra hard to get those colors added, or something! And WHY are peppers sold as "each"....instead of by the pound, like a lot of other produce? Why would I want to pay $1.88 for a small, petite, yellow or red pepper, when I can pay the same thing for a big ole honker, softball-sized one?? Go figure!
The cost of bell peppers is outrageous to say the least! Even the green ones are .99 cents EACH!! Needless to say, I selected the largest ones I could find in the bin!! The big ones cook up just as nice as the little ones & I can freeze any leftovers for the next recipe!
And speaking of freezing.....if I can FREEZE my produce at home.....WHY can the growers demand higher prices from consumers, when their produce freezes in the field??????????????
Last week, huge heads of iceberg lettuce were selling for $1.68 each. This week, the heads are so scrawny they're not much bigger than a GRAPEFRUIT, and the cost of each is $1.75. Last week, a bag of stalk celery sold for $2.00 per bag. This week, those same bags are only $1.00. Radishes are holding their own at .88 cents a bundle. (funny, though...once you bag them, the cashier can't tell how many bundles you've got in the bag. She always has to ask.) Good thing I'm an honest person! Seems to me, it'd make more sense to sell radishes by the POUND, and take the guess work out of it....but what do I know??
A large bag of carrots sells for .94 cents...unless you want organically grown carrots. THOSE sell for $1.25. I swear, when you put the two bags side by side....I can't see a significant difference. They look the same; they smell the same; they weigh the same. WHY do I care that the soil they were grown in was fertilized with cow crap and kitchen scraps, instead of Miracle-Gro?? Anyway....I always opt for the .94 cent NON-organic package, and we've had no ill effects to speak of! (I think my vision is even improving!)
As a general rule, I avoid buying tomatoes, altogether. No matter WHAT you pay for them....they all taste like cardboard!! You will never find a tomato in a grocery store chain that tastes like a tomato! But then, for folks who've never had a home-grown, vine-ripened tomato, those store-bought imitations may be just fine! (They're obviously using them mainly for 'color', anyway...'cause it certainly isn't for flavor!)
We don't normally like bell peppers in our salads, but I like to cook with them, and sometimes, just for variety, I would like to use red or yellow peppers in my recipes, rather than the green ones. UNTIL I LOOK AT THE PRICES!!! Good grief!!! Can ANYONE tell me why a red or yellow pepper costs nearly double what a green one costs???? They're ALL grown the same....they taste the same.....what's the damn deal??? You'd think the growers had to work extra hard to get those colors added, or something! And WHY are peppers sold as "each"....instead of by the pound, like a lot of other produce? Why would I want to pay $1.88 for a small, petite, yellow or red pepper, when I can pay the same thing for a big ole honker, softball-sized one?? Go figure!
The cost of bell peppers is outrageous to say the least! Even the green ones are .99 cents EACH!! Needless to say, I selected the largest ones I could find in the bin!! The big ones cook up just as nice as the little ones & I can freeze any leftovers for the next recipe!
And speaking of freezing.....if I can FREEZE my produce at home.....WHY can the growers demand higher prices from consumers, when their produce freezes in the field??????????????
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