Welcome back, Dobber, you miracle kid you!

I was following FerroLad's lead in googling for 'related:other_side.blogspot' and what should I find but this:

Disposophobia

Now my question is: how does google know???

Unconscious Mutterings:

Week 56

I say ... and you think ... ?

Hollywood :: Oscars
Censor :: Ship
Nascar :: Racing
Lube :: Job
Mortgage :: Company
Freedom :: Fighter
Champion :: Ali
Reality TV :: Survivor
New York :: New York
Tease :: Strip

Yay! Susan's up, and pointed to how to make avatars. Thanks!

Bryn has a new site design.

Kathryn has haiku!

Ack, naomi, what you've started! *grin*

Naomi is a Canadian artist who sells her artwork through e-bay. I've picked up several pieces which I love, and I'm sure there will be more purchases. This is a good thing.

The ack is that in playing around at ebay I've also managed to pick up a viola for my niece (hope it's usable, otherwise I'll have a new piece of wall art) and am currently bidding on a medium format camera. When I was young there was a Photography How-to Column in the newspaper each Sunday. The writer had a Rolleiflex, and apparently it made an impression.

Whoo. Bobbi has a beautifully done train scene here.

Susan's not up yet at EasyBake . . . I'll have to catch the Saturday Morning Me later! (I feel just like a little kid up too early on a Saturday morning . . .


Mandarin meg has a new project:


Email Annie

One of the harbingers of spring up here in Michigan: The Home Shows! I work for an HVAC company, and we are participating in two in March. Tonight I was at the mall looking for a new outfit. Couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, so I'll have to do some more checking shops out tomorrow. Aww.

Jennifer and otto remind us of a Day in the Life: LeapDay photo project coming up. Prepare your cameras!

Good Friday morning to you! It's the start of the weekend for some of you lucky folk . . . I'll be catching up with you in a few hours!

We've been starting the mornings at 15F/-10C, but the temp rises nicely by noon. Tomorrow we actually should see 50. Woohoo!

Later!

Some of us just aren't scribblers . . . check out meg's for the links for those who are!

Oh goodness . . . Survivor bootee time! (Thursday night.)

I understand there's a twist this week. Who do you think will get booted?

Good evening! We've got multiple projects going on at work, so it's been haul ass all day, then come home and crash. (And then wake up about 10 for a couple of hours.) I need to break this cycle soon.

Just took the trash out. It's a crisp, clear evening and the stars are looking mighty pretty. Said "good evening" to Orion, my favorite constellation. He's one of the good things about winter. The moon was close to a star or planet, very pretty. Wonder what was up with that? And thanks to google, we can get some ideas here. Oh cool . . . this shows exactly the configuration I saw.

What's in your sky tonight?

Swiped from Bryn:

You are Franklin!


Which Peanuts Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

This is on the fly this morning. Have to be at the bakery at 7:00 a.m. to pick up the Paczkis for Fat Tuesday at work. Hope your Tuesday goes well, and I'll catch up with you later!

A little Monday Madness to get the week going. (But what happened to the weekend? It's over, already? Yikes!)

Last week I let YOU pick a letter to start your answers with.....this week I will pick the letters. For the following statements, fill in the blank with a word (or words) that begins with the letter I give you. Let's have some fun!!

1. If I could w________, I'd be so happy! win the lottery
2. Maybe one day I will try my hand at c________. cello playing
3. Before I started blogging, I used to s_________. sing in the shower
4. L_______ sure makes me scared! Love
5. If I could fly, I would fly to A_________. Aruba
6. If more people were n________, the world would be a better place. nice
7. I thought this meme was _________ this week. (any letter will do for this one.) different

Sincere.

Last year I saw my first robin on February 22, in the midst of a snowstorm. They are a harbinger of spring up here (though some do overwinter) and are Michigan's state bird. Wonder if I'll see any today?

Query:

When you see the date February 22, 2004, do you say "two thousand four" or "twenty oh four" or something else? Thank you very much!

It's Sunday, so it's time for Unconscious Mutterings:

I say ... and you think ... ?

Angel:: Heaven
Birth:: Order
Logic:: Common Sense
Stars:: in the Sky
Nursery:: Rhyme
View:: Observe
Hart:: Deer
Creation:: God
End:: Over
Fortune:: Cookie

I haven't done the slant for awhile, so here goes.

You’ve failed.
What do you do now?

I used to handle failure by hopping into a box, pulling the cover shut, and huddling. Next failure, hop into a littler box in the box, and pull that cover shut. And on and on.

Turning the "other side" of fifty showed me the error of that way of handling failure. Eventually the box got too small, and I could barely breathe. Not good.

Now when I fail, I still hop into the box, but: I only cower for a short period. When cringe time is up, I kick the lid off and start again. Makes breathing a whole lot easier.

It's the half.
MSU 30 - Northwestern 26. Go Green!

Just finished Spilling Open. Yummy. Visit Sabrina Ward Harrison's website here.

Looks like we have to go to work Monday. We didn't win the Mega-Lottery.

The header is a stopgap. I had to get rid of the hearts some way. Happy Saturday!

Oh weird. I'm:
57% (Dixie). Barely into the Dixie category, according to the Yankee or Dixie Quiz. I'm going to take it again, answering as I would have when I was 17.

Retake as a 17-year-old comes out: 50% (Yankee). Barely into the Yankee category.

Found at Joni's.

Brrr! Lynn's got pics of a Halifax lot of snow! Put on your coat before you visit!

It is not the voice that commands the story: it is the ear.
~~Italo Calvino, in Invisible Cities

Hmmmm. Swiped from Cybertoad.

You're Mrs. Dalloway!

by Virginia Woolf

Your life seems utterly bland and normal to the casual observer, but inside you are churning with a million tensions and worries. The company you surround yourself with may be shallow, but their effects upon your reality are tremendously deep.
To stay above water, you must try to act like nothing's wrong, but you know that the truth is catching up with you. You're not crazy, you're just a little unwell. But no doctor can help you now.
Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Nova Scotia is getting bombarded with snow, with a province wide state of emergency. Bryn and Lynn and Joni are still getting the word out. Keep warm, my blogging friends!

STOP

Hump Day. After only one day of work. I like that! Our temperatures will be above freezing today, imagine that! Time to break out the swim suits.

Next Tuesday is Fat Tuesday. Does anyone do anything special for it?

And: it's time to pick your bootee. Survivor bootee, that is. (Game on tomorrow night.)

Uh, well, that didn't work. If you want to grab a fortune, go to Jennifer's.

And now it's back to work.

It was fun seeing how the other side lives with President's Day off. Several projects were completed, my hair is cut, I have information on printers, and it's off to work we go now. But before we do, I also need to make a quick comment on two movies I saw over the weekend.

For the Friday after work movie we chose 50 First Dates. It was a concensus thing. The local reviewer panned it, basically because she doesn't like Adam Sandler. That's fine, but Drew Barrymore was a good half of the movie, and I've always had a soft spot for her work. She projects such a unique combination of vulnerable and tough. The premise of the movie is that her character has lost her short term memory due to an accident. Some great stuff set for about the problems of this condition.

The second movie of the weekend was Girl With a Pearl Earring. I couldn't talk anyone into going with me, so I took myself to a Saturday matinee. I've been fascinated with Johannes Vermeer, the artist, since I took a freshman art appeciation class um . . . too many years ago. Apparently my friends missed that class *grin*. Anyway, the movie is based on the book of the same name which is a fictional back story of Vermeer's painting.

The star of the movie is the cinematographer. From the opening scene of Griet chopping vegetables, beautiful saturated color vegetables, (but no brussel sprouts), the eye is treated to painterly scene after scene. The story unfolds slowly, but that is perfect, as it gives the eye a chance to soak in the beauty photographed. I highly recommend this movie for the visual stimulation. (I found Colin Firth lacking as Vermeer, which surprised me as I usually like him. Scarlett Johannson's Griet is right on the mark with a subtly nuanced performance. )

Oops, it's late, gotta run. Have a great day!

Good Monday Morning! And a good one it is, I scheduled it as a vacation day. It's Presidents Day here in the States. It's a holiday for many folks, but not for small businesses, so I gave myself the holiday.

Otto added a new twist to the Monday Madness:

I've got a new idea this week.......First of all, pick a letter, any letter.................Got one? Ok. For the following questions, all your answers must begin with the letter you just thought of. (Honor system here, my friends!) Have fun with it! (Oh, I am in the process of updating my list so if you do not see your link yet, please know it will be there asap!) Thanks for your participation!! Remember; All your answers must begin with the letter you just chose! =)

Ut-oh. I picked e. This could be a problem.

1. Name two types of food that you could care less if you ever ate again. eggplant, elderberries
2. Name one animal. elephant
3. List three words to describe yourself. eclectic (my favorite word), enthusiastic, enduring
4. Name two things you might find at a zoo. elephants and excitement
5. Name three things you might find living in the water. drat, I don't think elephants will work here. eels, echinoderm, equisetum. And yes, I had to go to the dictionary.

So I'll be popping in and out today. I have several scrapbooking projects going, and I need to run out and get my hair cut and buy a new printer. (Does anyone else go through printers wayyy too fast?)

For comparison purposes, Roscoe and susan, my morning temperature was:
-7F/-21C. *sigh*

Scott at EdgeCurve has a new caption game up.

My question for the day is: Who is your favorite president?

And you can still take a walk in the woods.

It's a cold morning. Temp is -1° F/-18° C. It's the middle of February, but that's more of a January temperature. Yikes!

Added at noon:
Yesterday I took a walk in the woods. If you would like to come along, click here. (Note: some scenes involve snow. Put on your sweater.)

Added in the evening:
I'm a day late, but oh well! Caught it at Karen's.


discover what candy you are @ quiz me

It's Sunday. Time for Unconscious Mutterings.

Week 54

I say ... and you think ... ?

Dragon:: Fly
Molecule:: Atom
Tire:: Automobile
Mighty:: Mouse
Octane:: Gas, High
Troll:: Fish
Atmosphere:: Air
Guide:: Lead
Leash:: Dog
Dustmite:: Itchy

Just a reminder that this is Leap Year. And there is a Leap Day Store. Here.

I © You!

Edit: Ut-oh. Does not work in Mozilla. Sorry.....

Edit the Ut-oh. meg is always having to straighten me out. It's a full-time job, kiddo, and the pay is mighty low. Thanks!

In Mozilla you'll see something like:

I © you.

Now I'm wondering how the heck THAT's going to turn out!

Friday the 13th!

Not a good day for friggatriskaidekaphobics. Fortunately, I like Friday the 13th. You?

Edit: 10:25 p.m.
I was scanning some old pictures last night and this one tickled me no end, for an odd reason. The picture is about fifty years old, and the kiddie in the sandbox is yours truly. The two men are my dad and my grandpa cornelius, who went by the nickname Shirley. Yep, I was named for my Grandpa. But that's not what tickles me about the picture. It's about the big tree in the background, with the lopsided bench built around it. That's how grandpa built things: fast and sometimes without the aid of a level. But the memories of that tree jump out at me unbidden at different times, memories of the boy cousins hanging a Tarzan rope from one of the branches one summer, flashes of the Baltimore Orioles that built their hanging basket nest in it another summer, and glimpses of gaggles of kids sitting on the bench. And wasn't it just . . . yesterday?

Survivors Ready?

It's time to pick your bootee for tomorrow night's episode.

Bryn posted about Charles Dickens' Birthday on February 7. She had lots of good CD information.

My favorite Dickens book is A Tale of Two Cities, and my favorite quote from it is:

It was remembered afterwards that when he bent down and touched her face with his lips, he murmured some words. The child, who was nearest to him, told them afterwards, and told her grandchildren when she was a handsome old lady, that she heard him say, "A life you love."

Yours?

©

That's just perfect meg! Not only is it perfect for Valentines Day, it fits right in with the Go Red program of the American Heart Association!

AT THE
MOVIES Saturday I met a friend for lunch and a movie. Lunch was at the Irish Pub, a lovely Dublin Salad. It was my first time at the restaurant and I highly recommend it. (How can you not like a place that has "The older the violin the sweeter the music" inscribed above one of the doors?)

We settled on Butterfly Effect for the movie. It was one of those compromise things that turned out to be a good choice. The movie is a time travel movie, where the Ashton Krucher character returns to his childhood to right wrongs. As with all time travel movies, there are the missteps that occur (for we all know that changing things in the past alters the future, right?) and reoccur as he tries to find the key to protecting himself and his friends. The film takes a serious look at child abuse and its repercussions.

I had been curious about Ashton Krucher, as I hadn't watched the Seventies Show. There's lots of intelligence going on there behind that beautiful face, as well as a "regular guy" kind of thing.

Can't sleep? Well then, visit Monday Madness!

1. On Sunday afternoon, I like to ...visit Mom.
2. I'm behind someone at a traffic light, the light turns green and they just sit there, I... count to three, if they haven't moved then, tap lightly on the horn.
3. My immediate reaction to someone making a nasty remark to me is... make a nasty remark back
4. If I had to live in a state/country where it was cold most of the year, I would... adapt.
5. When the weather outside is hot and humid, I prefer to...go swimming.
6. My favorite 'comfy' clothes to wear around the house is...my robe.
7. If given a deadline at work/school to finish a project, I usually... will meet it.
8. If someone gave me a pet for my birthday, I would... be surprised.
9. As far as watching the clock on weekends, I... only watch it if I'm meeting up with friends.
10. I usually wash my car about every...six weeks.

THANK YOU!

Roscoe and Onyx. You made me smile!

Swiped from Cindy, who is in HongKong for the next two weeks for her grandmother's memorial service. {{{hugs}}}


Ballet shoes- beautiful, graceful, and creative,
you enjoy dancing writing and music. You are
often very poetic and sometimes dramatic. You
keep to yourself aside from a few close friends
that you can relate to.


What Kind of Shoe Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

It's Sunday, so it's time for Unconscious Mutterings!

Week 53

I say ... and you think ... ?

Identity:: Crisis
Reveal:: Trading Spaces
Live:: and let live
Attitude:: Bad
Night:: Music
Nevada:: Gambling, Ponderosa, Bonanza
Weekend:: Smiles
Write:: Right, necessary
Friend:: Best
Seventeen:: Magazine

COMMON

Good Saturday morning!

I cannot believe it. I was first on Susan's Saturday Morning Me! That's never happened before! (Mmmm, just checked her site again. I'm followed by the intriguing Kane. *evil grin*)

Lynn has a new layout showcasing her black-and-white photography. Sweet.

Bryn has a good quote for the morning. And if you want to see snow, go visit Rune!

Ferrolad has the first three chapters of a work-in-progress posted. More, more. Faster, faster!

Diane is serving rightside up pineapple cake. Check out her new home!

As always, there are more places I would like to send you to visit, but I've gotta meet a friend for lunch today and there are errands to do and . . . I'll catch ya later! Have a great day!

FLIPPING ORKUTFLIPPING ORKUT

(meg made me do it. she did. really.)

Burningbird hits a Homer.

Shelley Powers puts Clay Shirkey's Power Law in perspective here, with her Weblog Speck Law. I like it.

And a good Friday morning to you all! And for those of you starting your weekend today...I am so jealous! *grin* But I'll catch up with you tonight!

Incoherent?

I can't seem to string two sentences together this morning. Yikes! Maybe it's brain freeze: we had homemade ice cream last night. Is there anything better than ice cream cranked in a machine, with ice from winter icicles instead of the ice machine at the local convenience store? I think not.

Survivors Ready? It's tomorrow night for the second round. Who would you like to see booted? No wait, who do you think will be booted?

About mid-day it struck me: Today is 02/03/04. Kinda cool.

Good Tuesday Morning.

Looks like we've got at least a couple new inches of snow again. Whee!

Primary question of the day. Seven primaries or caucuses. How many will John Kerry win?

Okay, so why is that lady in the old silver Corsica driving through the cemetery every night around 5:40 p.m.? Wonder what's up with that?

Er, um . . . that lady would be me, and I've fallen in love. No, not with a ghost, I'm not that far gone. (Yet.) I've fallen in love with the deer herd that comes to hang out at the cemetery in the dusky hours of the evening.

I'm not sure where the herd came from originally. One theory is that they migrated in from the farm area south of town as development took place. A second theory is that they are the product of deer that escaped from the arboretum and zoo years ago. However they came about, I've counted a dozen different animals ranging about the cemetery, including two grown bucks and a spike horn.

I've not been able to get good pictures of the critters yet. A combination of low light, lots of white and black colors, and my own stupid excitement when I see the beasts has made for less than optimal snapshots. But I do have such fun trying.

I had heard that deer stand on their hind legs to reach food. The cemetery is the first place I've ever seen them do it. Don't they look a little like kangaroos? (Oh yeah, they're White-Tail Deer. And from this link I see that pretty soon the antlers will be shed. *sigh*)

I know folks that are buried in this cemetery. My old boss, my sister-in-law's father, old Sunday School teachers. And my best friend from childhood, Linda, is buried here. Kind of makes me smile to watch the deer playing hide-and-seek amongst the tombstones. Kind of.

Anyway, pretty soon I'll decide that I've crossed the line from passion to obsession (see, all posts sort of work together here), and then I won't visit the deer herd anymore. But for now, that silver Corsica pulling into the gates each evening will be me.

Scrabble.

Spotted several places, most recently at FARRAGOS.

**smack** Wake up!

Let's get going with some Monday Madness.

.........here's this week's questions! Hope you like 'fill-in-the-blanks!'
1. I probably spend about ______ on the computer every day. six hours at work, two hours at home
2. It always takes me ____ minutes to get ready in the morning. thirty minutes
3. I would rather go to the dentist than go to _________. the mammogram shop
4. My favorite dessert is ________. Brownie Pudding
5. When I go to the store for one item, I always walk out with about ____. twelve
6. If the statement, 'You are what you eat' was true, I would be a _______. turkey. oh wait. I am one!
7. I set my thermostat to _____ in the summer and _____ in the winter. variable/variable
8. My favorite outdoor activity is _________. walking
9. My favorite indoor activity is _________. umm. *smile* okay, second favorite: reading.
10. When I'm feeling down, I usually _________. go take pictures.

Interesting set of questions, otto. Thanks!

Turn the Calendar Page . . . It's February!

Lynn has a new look!

Two questions:

1. Where is the line between passion and obsession?

2. What is the history of photography in your life?

Gotta run, but I think I have more to say on #2 . . . see ya!

Edit:

Still waiting for Survivor to start. Still thinking about #2.
There's a ring around the moon. We have snow predicted for Tuesday. Uhoh!

Edit Monday Morning:

Well, I missed all the half-time hoopla!

Unconscious Mutterings. It must be Sunday!

I say ... and you think ... ?

Ignore:: Me
Death:: Resurrection
Missy:: Roo
Ballet:: Boo's girls
Guest:: Towel
Campus:: MSU
Lonely:: Solitary
Company:: Party
Helicopter:: Pad
Sterile:: White