Need to relive those fireworks? Go here. From my non-blog pal Judy.

A 404-page that tells it like it is. Courtesy of another non-blog pal.

Last spring PBS had a great "reality" show with three families being transplanted back to the Montana of the 1880's. What a trip!

Kathryn has some good retorts...in Latin!

Football.
Susan reminds me that there is another reason to enjoy the fall season...football! Go Green! Last year I went to one high school football game as well as several Michigan State games. I must remember to go to more high school games this year...they really are a trip.

My friend 'Roo from Australia says that they have the real football, or as she calls it, "footie". Makes for some good friendly arguments.

Mmm....Bryn has a new design. Lovely. And Lynn has a new design...and she's posting again. Yes!

Kathryn points to a new peace movement. Surprised me! *snicker*

Remind me not to say "that said" around Susan. Cute gif!

Eve. Eve in South Africa writes directly and movingly about dreams of youth and how we change. Thank you, Eve.

Apples.
Trying to find a good reason to get cheerful about autumn. Apples. That will work. We live in apple country, with several orchards nearby. There is Uncle John's. They are the premier mill, north of town. Coming on strong south of us in Charlotte is the Country Mill.

Corn mazes are cropping up all over. I think I'll put doing one on my to-do list for fall.

PromoGuy's Monday Mission 2.37
1. Do you have a favorite piece of poetry or prose written by someone else? Care to share it?
Sure. Wordsworth.
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind...
In the faith that looks through death,
In years that bring the philosophic mind.

Ode. Intimations of Immortality, IX, 1807


2. In High School, did you enjoy creative writing? Do you currently do any other writing in addition to your Blog? Yes, I've always enjoyed writing. Right now I do technical writing at work, do the company newsletter and website, and at home have a novel in progress.

3. Have you ever noticed that the Blog entries you least expect to get the most comments do, and those you expect to generate a lot of feedback don't? Which Blog entry of yours surprised you by getting a lot of comments? Which one did you think would generate a lot but didn't?

Umm. I'm just always happy for comments. I'm lucky that good folks come around frequently and add some levity to the proceedings. *BIG GRIN* Thank you all!

4. Sometimes you get a chance to make a lifestyle change that has a huge impact on the course your life takes. That is, a moment where something became very clear to you, and that realization changed your life, such as: the need to leave a relationship, to stop an addiction, to bond with someone, to start a new career, and so on. Have you ever had an "awakening" moment in your life? Actually, no, but it's funny you should ask. I've been feeling like Rip Van Winkle, like I've been asleep for 20 years...and that's a literal twenty years...and I've just awakened. So perhaps my moment is just about to come.

5. Then there are other times where you can have a huge impact on someone else's life. You suggest they see a doctor, stop them from taking that last drink, or maybe just say some kind words at the moment. Have you made a lasting positive impact on the life of someone else? According to my brother Boo, that could be a yes.

6. Are there any charities or organizations which you support? How did you come to be involved with them? Hannah's House for unwed mothers, because I'm pro-life and believe it is important to back that up with action. Salvation Army, because they do good stuff. United Cerebral Palsy Association, because my brother J.R. had Cerebral Palsy, and they work for independence of handicappers. Literacy Volunteers of America, because reading matters. Council Against Domestic Assault...it's one of our work charities. American Cancer Society (I probably don't have the name right) because Stan at work lost his granddaughter to cancer and we support him in his endeavors. The church down the road's building fund, 'cause I can never get a seat. They've built a new balcony, but I STILL can't get a seat. What's up with that?

7. Care to collaborate with me? Help me out and write the rest of this poem:

I drifted though a dream last night,
visions full of colors bright.
My thoughts began to drift to you,
and in an instant we were two.

I touched your hand,
We began to blend,
Filled with a feeling
that should have no end.

....

Um.
Blog*Spot has developed a mind of its own. I click on Jim's Journal, end up at Lulu's. (I don't know Lulu.) Tried to go to SusanJayne, ended up I don't know where. Perhaps this is a new marketing tool?

Forty degrees out this morning. Autumn is coming. I don't do well with seasonal changes, so expect some cranky postings for awhile.

My mom has to be the world's cutest cyber-granny. She just sent me a postcard of Ty from Trading Places. They sure make feisty 74-year-olds now!

Late night tonight. "Message In a Bottle" is on. I have my tissue ready.

One-Hour Photo.

After Michigan State's drubbing yesterday I had to do something to cheer myself up. It was either vodka gimlets or take myself to a movie. It was afternoon, and I really didn't want to start in on drinks that early, so off I went to see One-Hour Photo.

This movie worked on several planes for me. The cinematography was riveting. The film development process intrigued me. (My niece, the one-hour photo gal, is going to check it out to see if it was accurate.) I like to play with cameras, so that was a draw. And the story kept me involved.

******



I'm the snake print Doc Marten...
I'm a wild child and I live on the edge baby!

Which Doc Marten are you?
(by *coffeebean*)


Link via Susan, and I think Kathryn had it up also. I have to say...Wild Child?????? that would be a first.

There seems to be something in the air?
Umm. Yesterday I linked to a site that specializes in plastercasts of a certain male portion of the anatomy. Then Susan found a link to the oldest one of these objects. Now Jeeem is posting about a young lady named Heather who emails him that she wants to help him increase the size of his. Hey, Jeeem, I've got news for you....she wants to help me increase the size of mine, too!

Please, Green, GoGoGo.
Uhoh. I didn't have tickets to the game this weekend (the game, being, of course, Michigan State Vs California). I have it on the radio. We are not doing well; at halfl-time it is 25-0. We are ranked 15th. The boys need to get things straightened out here. Hopefully, they'll do some good locker-room things. Ugh. They just mentioned -- 4 turnovers. Ewwww.

Come on, Green! Go Go!

Update: Oh dear. Michigan State University lost. Score was 46-22. Big regrouping going to happen this week. Next week's game is Notre Dame. *gulp*.

The radio guys were taking call-ins. Somehow the connection must not have taken. They couldn't hear the caller, and he kept saying "hello" "hello" "I'm here". I think everyone is a bit down after that loss.

Ladybugs.
Well, we all know how much I like ladybugs. For the uninitiated, I recently got a ladybug tattoed on my leg. I was at Gibson's Books and Beans yesterday and saw ladybug charms. Did some googling, and the ladybug has long been a good luck symbol. I had no idea. I've considered them cute since I was a little girl and used to collect them in a glass jelly jar at Grandma's.

Jeeem has a lovely ladybug story here. Don't be mad, Jeeem, but that story makes me want to mother you....you're lucky I'm just an aunt!

Lynn has developed a CD of stock photos, and is working on a cover for it. You can see one of the sample covers here. Good job, Lynn!

Calvin & Hobbes spoken here.

Okay, we really have to switch back to Celebration Theaters for Friday afterwork movies. We ended up at Swimfan. This movie was so lite that it started at 7:00, had three advertisements and five previews first, and was still done by 8:25. Lame. Pretty people. but Lame.

This is one of the sites I visit when I get vacation sick for Montana.

When I switched to blogrolling I inadvertently left Steve's Diner off the sidebar. He's back on now!

The Seward Johnson sculptures have left the downtown area. They were a lot of fun for most folks, though some found them a little too Norman Rockwellish.

Good place to play with words.

One of my workmates told me about cynthiaplastercaster. Note: It has been suggested that you open this one with caution if you are at work. End of Note. This page is rather calm, and then you can choose whether to proceed or not.

T at work: "I can't believe you guys are nice to me after all the bitchin' I do."

Are you a Paraskevidekatriaphobic?

Do you have an irrational, morbid fear of....Friday the 13th? We've got one coming tomorrow, folks, and another in December. Our company Christmas party is planned for the one in December.

Now I actually like the number 13. If I didn't, I would be classified a triskaidekaphobics. It was my employee number until we changed computer systems. (Now mine is 103, which is close.) My previous two residences had a 13 in the numbering. But this Christmas party on the 13th...hmmm.

Oh, and the barbecue? Wonderful. Don't need any supper. A good time had by all.

Morning, folks! It's a beautiful sunny September morning here in mid-Michigan. And it's the company barbecue this noon...yum...ribs and chicken and lots of goodies. And all those good-looking construction men...in shorts...ahhhh...I'm in heaven *grin*!

11:45 a.m. update. Food is on the grille, and it smells yummy. This is one of those nice turn-around things. The salesmen and shop workers put this on for the office. We can bring a dish to pass, if we wish, but they do all the set-up, food buying, food prep and clean-up. They're great. (And they don't even read this blog, at least I don't think they do *grin*.)

September 11, 2001.
It was a beautiful September morning, brilliant blue sky, moderate temperatures. I work at a heating and air conditioning company. There are six of us in the office. It is a quiet office, no radios, because that's the way Elsie likes it. Elsie is our senior staffer (imagine someone more senior than me *grin*) and she gets what she wants. There are two men working in the shop making ductwork, and service techs, installers, and sales people are in and out all day.

A few minutes after 9:00 one of the service techs stops by. "The World Trade Center was hit by a plane," Tom says. It's hard to imagine, but we figure it must have been a small plane that got confused or something. A few minutes later Joe comes in the back door. "The World Trade Center was hit by two planes." Uh-oh, this isn't good. And still we keep working.

A few minutes later the shop door bursts open. "Pentagon was just hit," Al shouts. And now we know. The world has gone nuts. Mike and Bud are taking inventory up in the warehouse loft. I go up to tell them. (Mike is our G.M.) Bud remarks at the time: "We'll always remember this day." We will.

The guys try to get the television going, but SOMEONE forgot to bring the antennae back from the last home show. Danny says he'll run home and get his TV. Radios are turned on, and I'm able to get an MSNBC feed on the computer. We see pictures. We start hearing details and rumors and questions. And still, in the background, we keep working.

Danny returns with the television set, and sets it up in the lobby. We've all seen the images of that day. We've all felt the surrealness of the moment watching that plane approach the towers, over, and over, and over again, feeling caught in a Tom Clancy plot. But this was no movie, this was reality.

A lunch truck comes to our building at 10:45 a.m. Sally, the driver, was crying. She wanted so badly to just chuck things and go pick up her son, but she kept doing her route. We were over-the-edge. We bought up all her chocolate Hostess cupcakes and set them out for anyone who wanted to munch.

Hearing about the Pennsylvania plane was incredible. The men and women on that plane, who had time to find out the reality of their situation, had taken control. That was incredible.

Today, a year later, we remember. We remember the horror and the disbelief. We remember our fellow citizens who died in this attack.

We will never forget.

Around Cyberspace:
Susan is recovering from illness. Glad to see you starting to percolate again, Susan. Meryl is relapsing again. Meryl has been doing a set on sexism and the blog. Now I do have to warn you, if you follow the link to Dawn Olsen's site at Up Yours, that it would be what I would call an R-rated site all right, I have an idea who is scurrying right over there, hehe. Just so you know...

Cybertoad had a really rough weekend. Her comments are back up, so you might want to stop and give her a hug. Kathryn has some excellent points on 9-11. I've been struggling with my thoughts...will hopefully post those tomorrow.

Argh. Politics at work are a bothersome nuisance. Just THINK how much work could get done if that sub-game wasn't always going on. Drat.

Hey! What do you know? Grandma was right, a three-day cold takes nine days (three days comin', three days on, and three days goin'), and today I'm feeling fine! And thanks to a lovely late night phone call from ahem...I'm even in a good mood for Monday. Will wonders never cease?

One of the great good things about blogging is that "aha" thing, where you read another's words and the resonance chimes immediately. Kathryn's 100-word piece did that this evening. Thanks for sharing, Kathryn...and the follow-up is super too!

Bryn has some good arthritis recipes posted today. I need to try them on those achy-breaky days.

Now, this surprised me this morning.

And it's been awhile since a quiz. via Rabi

	All the great heroes can fly. And thats what I am, a great hero. I am well rounded. I have a good sense of right and wrong. I seek to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people, but my friends always come first, especially if it's a romantic interest. Despite my amazing gifts, I prefer a quiet position away from the limelight, maybe among the clouds. What's your superpower?

Eve at Creative Doubt does a weekly question that you can think about and answer any time in the week. Er, um....this one was a toughie.

Weekly Wanderings -- September 4, 2002

Your relationship with money can be looked at in the same way as you look at other relationships -- as a very powerful reflection of your own process of interagrating all the energies within yourself. Money reflects your relationship with your creative energy.

Money really isn't anything in itself. It's symbolic. Money represents creative energy. The way money flows in your life has something to do with the way your own life energy flows. HOw you handle this energy will be reflected in how money works for you.

-- from Awakening: A Daily Guide to Conscious Living by Shakti Gawain

Do what you want with this. Reflect, discuss, imagine. What ever you'd like.

My relationships with money:
1. Easy come, easy go.
2. Books, books, books...stickers, books, camera stuff, books...
3. Charity giving at about half where I would like it to be, but I'm working on it.
4. Don't think I deserve money.
5. Things break.

Kind of a bleak picture there, eh?

Go Green!
Except Houston isn't going to be happy with me...Michigan State beat Rice 27-10. Have to hand it to the Rice team...they were 25 point underdogs so they did better than anticipated.

MSU had hyped this as the "Smoke and Fire" season, emphasizing the passing game of Jeff Smoker to Charley Rodgers. They haven't lit yet. Just wait.

Rageboy writeth. oh. my.

Okay, this story about Australia has been around forever, but I just saw it again and it tickles me.

And brother Jeeem is ranting about Amazon. Now Jeeem...are you sure you can't use that treasure?

hehe...go to The Hestia Chronicles and click on Don't Give Your Dog Beer. Too funny. And then click back to Kathryn's heartfelt Shameless Wheedling and Whining . Very moving.

I have heard it said that war and the waging of war is responsible for many of the innovations in the world. I thought of that today as I was searching for the origins of canning (those pickles got a bunch of questions going). Anyway, at Safefood.org they have A Short History of Processed Foods. Seems that when Napoleon pushed into Russia, there was a big problem: his army suffered more from starvation than from enemy fire. The French government offered a reward to anyone who developed a method of preserving food. One Nicolas Appert (a candy-maker, hey, you know he had to be a good guy) experimented with putting foods in bottles, corking them, and then putting them in boiling water. It worked, and he received the prize from Napoleon himself.

I finally gave up. We ended the month yesterday, and the computer was going to be down at 10:00 a.m. this morning, so I called Mike, made sure he could get into the safe, and then crawled back into bed. Up now for some chicken noodle soup, and then back to bed we'll go. Ugh. Well, enough whining.

Our work newsletter survey question for October: You can have lunch with any living famous person. Who would you like to have lunch with? We've had some interesting answers come in, from Stephen Hawkings to Russell Crowe to Dale Earnhart, Jr. It's one of the perks I like about my job, doing the newsletter.

And...your dining companion would be?

Gack! I still have this stupid cold. But we're short a person at work, and we close the month, so...soldier on. Right? Just keep the kleenex coming, and step back when the sneezes hit. *sigh*

I know several of you are suffering with this bug also. Hang in there!

Note: My old grandma, the one who knew all things old-wifish, used to say colds were "three days". Three days comin', three days on, three days goin'. If that is true, I'm at about the last of the "on" days. Hope a hope!

Further Update
I have a book called "Home Remedies for Man & Beast" that belonged to my great-great-grandmother Ida. (That side of the family always ended names with the ee sound, so she was grandma Idee.) It's from 1892.

To cure a cold:
1. a hot foot-bath and a good does of strong ginger tea just before going to bed. Retire and cover warmly.

2. a hot foot-bath and a pint of hot lemonade taken just before going to bed with produce good results.

And a cough syrup recipe included "syrup of Rhubarb".

Yikes.

Kevin Tollefson's Bicycle Trip
Kevin took a bicycle trip from Washington to Minnesota. Took it through Washington, Idaho, Montana you KNEW it had to be there somewhere, North Dakota (see picture of ta-da..Rugby, geographical center of North America) and Minnesota. Great trip, Kevin!

Some Funeral Thoughts.

The size of your bankbook won't guarantee you a large funeral, but the size of your heart will.

No one looks "so natural" in a casket. They don't. They look dead.

Donations to a charity are a nice gesture. Flowers are a nice gift, both to the family and those attending the funeral.

Never expect your mate to outlive you. They probably won't.

Blame it on Cybertoad :-)

12.5 %

My weblog owns 12.5 % of me.
Does your weblog own you?

Guess I can't blame the pickles entirely for the drainage problem...it appears I have picked up a summer cold. Dosed with Nyquil and went to bed at 8:00 p.m. last night, with a copy of The Star rag, er mag. I usually avoid gossip mags, but when I'm sick, they're fun to read. Only...Ben Affleck and J'Lo? ugh.

I'm looking for something.

I'm looking for something. And I don't know if it's something I have lost, or something I have never had. I don't know if it is a tangible, or an intangible. I do hope I'll know what it is when I find it. And I surely must find it, now that I'm looking for it, wouldn't you say?

Monday Monday...oh, oops, it's Tuesday!

Hey there, Meryl...I didn't do it *grin*. You do get some funny referrers.

I'm having a problem here. We made bread and butter pickles yesterday after the Labor Day picnic. Stirring a vinegar and spices concoction for half-an-hour did something to my nose...drain drain drain. Ah well.

PromoGuy's Monday Mission 2.35

1. What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you on a date? Er, um, that would be the time we lost the car after hiking *grin* in the woods and had to call my dad to come help us find it.

2. Do you eat your veggies? If they are raw.

3. Most people are comfortable going to the bathroom in front of at least one person. Has anyone ever used the restroom in front of you that you wish wouldn't have? What happened and how bad was it? I'm a private person...hasn't happened. Won't happen.

4. Have you ever had a bad online transaction? You know, the item wasn't what you thought it would be, you got totally ripped-off, no refunds, it just plain sucked? What's the story there? Nothing but good on-line transactions...which is more than I can say for off-line places sometimes.

5. Ever have a current love find any old love letters (or similar item) you kept that probably should have been thrown away? How did that turn out?no

6. A secretary at work was telling me about a trip she took to Mardi Gras. She showed off her beaded necklaces and proudly said she "earned' each and every one of them (for those not familiar with this tradition, ladies walking up Burbon St. in New Orleans will flash people who are upon the balconies, in return the guys will throw them worthless plastic necklaces). I was shocked, I had no idea this quiet gal had a wild side. Was there ever a time when you did something totally outrageous because you knew no one would know who you were, or maybe didn't care even if they did? Yes.

7. Hey, what happened to you last night? I waited forever! I was there...we must have been in the wrong places.

Labor Day.
The Lansing State Journal's lead in their business section today was Building A Career, about the need for trades people in the coming years.

I work for an HVAC company. I just want to say a word of appreciation to the men and women installers with whom I work. They're out there, in all kinds of weather, and they keep on keeping on. Five of them were working today. They're a great crew...and they really look great in the shorts they talked the boss into letting them wear this year! Go team!

Embarrassment averted!
Only now I'm going to embarrass myself by typing this. Oh well.
Friday night I went to the mall. Spencer Gifts was first on my list, then a stop at Olga's for a bite to eat. I made my way through Marshall Fields (no specials on Tresor this week), hit Jacobson's as it was the last night that venerable store was going to be in business, then entered Shuler Books, my favorite store in the mall.

Well, as I had been trolling the mall for quite some time I needed to avail myself of the facilities. And for some dumb reason I was thinking I couldn't take my package into the restroom, so I left it on a rack of books. In the middle of business I suddenly remembered what was IN the package...handcuffs! Sheesh. What if someone FOUND the package and looked into it, and...oh dear. (The handcuffs are purely innocent. They're for our next Charity Tuesday day. We're continuing with bracelets, so I thought handcuffs would be cute. That is all. Nothin' kinky doing here.) I hurriedly finished up, just sure that when I stepped back into the store someone would be standing there grinning with my package and contents held up for view.

But no one was.

Package was right where I had left it.

whew.

Alison.

Who Left The Alarm On?
Oops! That would be me. Oh well, it's not so bad on Monday morning when you can turn it off and go back to bed. Later, 'gators!

I love it when the nieces and nephews are around, because they find things like this:





He's about 18 feet up in a tree, and that's fat hanging down on the far side. Mom feeds them TOOO well!

Go Green!
And we did, winning 56-7, but we were supposed to win so no surprise there.

After 33 years of Astrotuf, the stadium has gone back to grass. I KNOW it's better for the players and I KNOW I should like it, but it's going to take a while to become accustomed to it. In previous years, there was such a jolt of green and white as you came up the ramp and entered the field. The field is still green and white, but not that sharp sharp green and crisp white. But...it's good for the boys, and we'll adjust.

Thanks, Lynn!
Friday night I changed my postings from Pearl to Shirl the Pearl. After a year and a half of blogging I'm coming close to combining all my nicks and owning my stuff. Saturday I had a beautiful Shirl button in my email from Lynn. It's in my sidebar, and Susan has already noticed it, Lynn. Thank you so much!

hehe....Jeeem has a quiz and I am not a professional!

Bloginality.

via Susan*Jayne. Susan points to a bloginality quiz, which is a brief form Meyer-Briggs type test. As usually happens, I am an INFP. Thanks for the link!

Also, Susan got there through a link from Inner Balance. This appears to be a lovely site that I will be revisiting.


via Kathryn.


What revolution are You?
Made by altern_active

hmmm. The French Revolution, eh? Thanks for the link!

The Joy of Cell Phones.
The phone (land-line...in the bedroom) rang when I got home last night. It was my sister. We chatted, and I hung up. My cell phone started ringing. It's in the living room, in my purse. I rush out, grab the purse, grab a cell phone -- nope, that's the work phone and there's a funny message on it, but no time to look, grab a candy bar -- hey, it was close to the shape of a cell phone, toss it on the couch, and finally unzip the other compartment of the purse and grab my personal cell phone. Clicked on answer...no one there. The land-line started ringing...in the bedroom. Sheesh!

Sweet! My new scanner came with a stripped down version of PhotoShop Elements. Should be enough for my limited abilities.

Go Green!
If you don't like football, I'm going to drive you nuts for the next twelve weeks or so. Yep, it's Spartan Football time! And with the stadium just over there <---- and my boss sharing his tickets and the family tailgate planned for October 26, well, there is going to be a heck of a lot of "Go Green".

Michigan has several state schools, and two of them are big enough to be Big-10 schools. UofM is that big school down in Ann Arbor...people go there to become Doctors. Here in the mid-Michigan region, in East Lansing, is Michigan State University. People come here to be Veterinarians. UofM...hoity-toity. MSU...down-to-earth. Sound like we have a chip on our shoulder? Well, mebbe a little teensy one *grin*. (Oops, I almost typed *green*...guess I'm really jazzed.)

About eight years ago my boss started sharing the tickets he gets from his media advertising. I decided I would take my nephew Baby Bull. He's my sister's only child, and he'd been a special buddy. He was seven at the time, just a little fellow, and I can remember our seats so clearly, way at the top of the south-end bank of seats. He was a serious little boy who loved sports and I knew enough about football that I could explain some of the rudiments to him. (But I always had to hear the calls before I could explain what had happened.)

Now the tables are turned. He's fifteen and towers above me and his sharp eyes and awareness of the game mean that he's telling me what the calls are going to be. I don't know how many more years he'll want to trundle out to the stadium with his old auntee, but for now, I count myself very lucky.

Go Green!

Hmmm. So now there is going to be a Blog*Spot Pro. Guess I'll wait before jumping on that bandwagon.

Link via Rabi:
I WAS A SWEET CHILD
you're parents were lucky with you. you're sweet.
innocent. helpful. and cute.
what kind of child were you?
(brought you by april)

Around my blog world...Jeeem is in summer lust, and not just with Eve, who has found a beautiful piece of writing she shares. And thanks for the shout-out, Eve!

Susan points to this story about The Geek Squad (makes me little old heart pitter-patter) and at Susan*Jayne shares her daughter's beginning her freshman year in school.

Kathryn shares the joys of shopping and finding great clothes for larger women. I'm right there with you on that one, Kathryn. It's easier being a "big gal" than it used to be. And her connection to her grandmother Ruth is a heartwarming story. There are bonds that go beyond memories.

Lynn is still pretty quiet over at Lucid Dreaming, but she's been very busy over at Deviant Art. Check out her work! And Elaine has great Thursday pictures on texture.

Does Size Matter?
We have new model furnaces coming in this fall. These babies are 33 1/3 inches short...that's less than a YARD! If you saw one of these little tykes being installed in your home, what would you think?

Thank Heavens for Orange.
I am not by nature a morning person. I do like a paycheck, so I have learned to adapt to early rising. However, some mornings are such a struggle. Today was one of them, just absolutely no juice (figuratively and literally).

Then I made the bed. I have a big old chenille bedspread that is orange. mmmhmm, yep...orange. Not a clown orange, a flower orange. It belonged to my great-grandmother Alta.

Alta was a farmwife at the turn of the last century. She was one of two daughters, and only had one child herself. My mother remembers her saying occasionally "well, I have the bluesies". But she also had her oranges: the bedspread is one example. I have a couple of vases that belonged to her also. Oranges and greens dominate. And when I pulled the spread across the bed, I did smile.

Nice! Susan at Easy Bake is building a second blog home at Susan*Jayne. Check it out!

AOL's splash page lists "Five Great Drives". I've not driven any of them.

My list of great drives would HAVE to include: Glacier Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road; Montana-49 connecting US-2 and Montana-89; Pierce Stocking Road in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park; M-22 in the Leelanau Peninsula of Michigan. Your list?

I didn't do the Monday Mission this week at PromoGuy's as it centered around marriage questions. It dawned on me...I'm not married. I probably never will be married. How did that happen?

Kathryn has a picture of an HVAC truck that has been making the rounds of my work email buddies. (We work for a heating and air conditioning company.)

This evening is baking time. Tomorrow is last Tuesday of the month, which is our charity day at work. This is where we pay to wear something funky (previous months have been slippers and headgear) and have a bake sale. The charity this month is the United Cerebral Palsy Association..

This month is "funky bracelet" day. Geez, do you think they're trying to tell Jane and I that we went a little overboard last month with the halo and the horns? I've made lemon muffins and still have to make the sugarplums, so I guess I'd better skedaddle! Later!

Meryl has a story that will wrench your heart.

Well, the weekend sure rushed around, and here it is, Monday morning again. *sigh* And of course, AOL has to have on its splash page the link to the story that the majority of us don't like our work. *sigh* This does not help create an atmosphere conducive to a bright smiley employee this morning. *sigh* Okay, enough with the grousing. (And yes, I know that's a jay not a grouse in the picture. Let me grouse about that too...we were sitting in my mother's backyard, when ... a hummingbird flew up and posed for an infinite second on a branch near us. I don't think I had ever seen a hummingbird sit still, but could I swing my camera around fast enough? Oh, no. But it was wonderful to see, and made my afternoon, and now that I think about it, this week HAS to be great with that in the start of it, right? Right???)

Mom has a wonderful garden with lots of funky areas: the butterfly area, the sunflower house, the trumpet vine arch, trees, a grape arbor that's become hysterical, trees, a wildflower area strewn with raspberry bushes, trees, rosebed, antique pieces from the farm, trees, and two multi-garden beds (one of which is being taken over by the foxglove we brought back from Montana two years ago). The hummer divides its time between the trumpet vine arch and the cannas.

Saw S1m0ne Saturday. It was cute, but the pacing was off. And the soundtrack was out of sync part of the time, which was incredibly annoying.

On the way to the theater I pulled through the Mickey D's drive-through window. (Apparently that's what we here in the U.S. are supposed to do, go to McDonald's and sit on our fat butts...just doing my duty.) I have this thing I like to do at the drive-thru. If the kid looks pretty sharp, I give him/her an extra five and tell them to apply it to the next customer's bill. (I am SO easily amused.) If I'm still in line when the next vehicle comes, it's hilarious to watch the gestures, and usually there are waves and mouthings of thank you. Saturday I was back on the road when the car came up, but it tickled me anyway. *grin*

Well, I've now managed to make it so that I'm going to be close to late for work, so...Later!

Last night we went to see the movie Blue Crush. Okay, not my first choice, but I lost my vote because Simone wasn't playing at the Multiplex at the Meridian Mall. It was a decent flick, and the photography was breathtaking (and won't translate well to the small screen). I especially liked the fact that it was a "surfer girl" movie, which was a nice twist.

One of the previews was for 8 Mile, Eminem's movie that is due out in November. I'm not a fan of hip-hop, I'm not a fan of Eminem, but this movie looks powerful. hmm.

Mike Sanders didn't finish the week with his usual tagline: Have a nice weekend. Hoping it is a quiet one. Both here, in Israel and thoughout the entire world.

Mike, you might not have typed it this week, but I heard it. Thank you.

Yikes! It was a little harder getting back into the work schedule than I thought. That, coupled with the fact that the boss had lent me his library copy of the latest Spenser book, filled up my week. (Not that Spenser ever takes very long, but I kept falling asleep at 8:00 p.m. Argh!) I love the relationship between Spenser and Susan -- such a great combo of strengths and softnesses.

Must remember to order tickets tomorrow. Must remember. Wisconsin game for the big group. Not sure which for little group.
Go Green!

Kathryn made me do it:

What is your Alter-Ego
Personality?

Weekly Wanderings -- August 21, 2002
Here's your topic:

What was the worst job you ever had and what made it so hideous?

I met Eve (two Eves, I'm so lucky) during the blogathon. She and Kathryn are buddies. When Lynn stopped doing the Wednesday What I thought I would check out The Weekly Wanderings. So here I am.

My worst job was working at a hospital laundry. A hospital unairconditioned laundry. In the summer. A hot summer. That's all I want to say!

*********
Argh! Cybertoad, what have you done??? I keep playing that Bejeweled game you had linked. Argh! Someone save me from myself.

**********
Jeeem (with three e's) has a beautiful rant on temper.

**********
Lynn is back to school! You go, girl!

**********
Oh my, Robert Redford is going to be in Asheville, North Carolina. I'm trying to wrangle an invite to visit my good friend Susan.

**********
And Wendy, whom I also met during Blogathon and is a wonderful artist, was interviewed re: American Idol by People magazine. She met Pink at Christmas. She's just always in the right place.

Argh! This google phrase was in my logs: "how are your teeth? (any cavities" crown..."
It's from one of promoguy's Monday Missions. Well, today my teeth are cranky. The upper left side was prepped for a bridge to take care of the missing number 14. I was so shot up with novocaine that I looked like a stroke victim all afternoon...if I tried to smile my lips went exactly opposite of where they normally go. Worse yet, the novocaine is wearing off now, and they hurt. *sob* Geez, Shirl, whining will get you no where!

Remember Garter Belts???

My ladybug is on my right thigh, and the directions were to not wear pantihose for two weeks. Gulp. I'm a skirt and top person most of the time, so I've really had to figure out how to do things this week. Today I got out the garter belt from my "special" drawer and wore stockings and garters. It's a weird feeling, sports fans. There is a definite difference in the body awareness....plus that heightened risky and risque feeling.

I'm glad they didn't fall down.

***

Alison.

***

Trying something here.

PromoGuy's Monday Mission 2.33
1. Many children have blankets, or a favorite nubby stuffed animal that they like to keep near them for security. Do you recall what you had for your "security blanket" as a child? When did you finally give it up? What brought that about? I was very grown-up as a child, and didn't have a special security blanket. Now that I'm a grown-up, I have my stuffed bear that goes with me everywhere. He even went camping with me this weekend.

2. Now that you are a big kid, what do you have to give you that same sense of security? Well, other than my stuffed bear I have my cellphone. That gives me a good feeling, even though there is lots of *gulp* static.

3. With a little over four months left in 2002, have you accomplished everything you wanted to for the year? Is there anything that you would like to accomplish before the year is over? I've accomplished almost everything to date, but there are fall/winter goals coming up.

4. I don't know about you, but it seems to me children have it pretty good these days. Game systems, computers in the home, microwaves, cable TV, the internet, cell phones and pagers, they certainly have a wider variety of technology than most of us did as children. What modern convenience, if any, do you think it would be good for children today to do without? What would they gain? I think those conveniences are ok, as long as they are IN MODERATION. (moderation would work for some grown-ups (like me) also!)

5. Many of us have one thing in which we believe we excel. What do you do better than most? Hmmm. Reading.

6. In the United States, and possibly other countries, teenagers in High School usually wind up falling into several social circles or "cliques." Stoners, Rich Kids, Jocks, Cheerleaders, Band, Drama, Goths, and so on (though the names are probably different today). What High School "clique" did you find yourself in? Was it by choice or did it just happen? Did you look down on other groups? (Aw it's ok, it was/is High School, we all did dumb stuff) "Smart kids" and "orchestra", which was its own weird little group. Didn't look down on the other groups...there was a lot of overlap.

7. (it begins) I have great news! I won the contest and we now have plane tickets to anywhere in the world. The bad news is we have to pick a place now and leave in the morning. I can't decide where to go, so you get to pick. Where should we go, and what is the first thing we should do when we get there? Paris, and we'll find the elusive Eiffel Tower.

Mighty Mac. (that's it, below)

Everyone has heard of the Golden Gate bridge, but Michigan has a mighty bridge of its own...the Mackinac Bridge. We're a double peninsular state...the lower peninsula looks like a mitten and the upper hooks onto Wisconsin and juts over the mitten. Until 1957, ferries were the only way to get from the Lower Peninsula to the Upper Peninsula (hereafter referred to as "da U.P.". We have home movies of the construction of the bridge. Yes, I know. I'm old. *grin*

For many years Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) was the longest suspension bridge in the world. It is currently the third longest in the world, and the longest in the Western Hemisphere.

We were camped just 12 miles to the west of the bridge, so of course we had to make the stop again this year.

Ahh....blogger came back to me!

Continuing on in the "new experience" vein of this vacation, today I had my first full-body massage. Couldn't help but snicker. Monday I was hanging out at the tattoo parlors on the east side, today I spent the morning at the toniest day-spa in the county. I'm definitely putting a massage on my every six week list of things to do. It was Wonderful!

I think I've spent most of my 50 years living inside my head, not inside my body and head. (We old-maid amanuenses are kind of silly like that.) The tattoo and massage were both "body" things. And tomorrow I head up-north to join with the rest of the family in a week-end camping trip. I'll be a smart-ass and sleep in a sleeping bag directly on the tent floor instead of using a cot or an air mattress. Bet I'll REALLY be aware of my body then.

Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said. "One can't believe impossible things."
"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometime I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

It has been so nice to have a few days to just chill out...to sleep and wake as the mood struck. I've made one mistake so far on this vacation. I went to see Austin Powers. It was raining yesterday, and I wanted something light. Sorry to any AP fans, but that movie wore mighty thin mighty fast.

It also appears that I need to reassess my time use. I needed to find an IEEE cable (skulking in my closet) to reattach my printer, as I had to use its USB port for the new scanner. I went to the closet and pulled out two boxes of what I thought were Beanie Babies. Oops. It turned out that it was one large box of old photos (which do need scanning) and a box of scrapbooking supplies (I had wondered where they had gone).

Somehow I need to become more disciplined in my use of time (and money). Drat! I'll probably have to curtail reading and internet time. Why can't I just have six months off from work to get caught up instead? Oh yeah, right. I have to eat and pay rent and pay the bills. *sigh*

Thanks to all for the tattoo support! It was something I really needed to do.

Ruh-ro. Today's plan was for walking and photoing the town...but I just heard thunder. Now, what was the back-up plan???? oh yeah, something about a nap, to make up for wondering around in the middle of the night looking for meteors.

Brother Boo and girls are up in the U.P. near Whitefish Point. They just called on the cell phone...a bear crossed their path. Oh boy, Boo....I'll bet you have some nightmares to contend with tonight with the three baby divas with you!

Ok doke! Here she is!

Next year I'm going to throw a meteor party.
Well, I went out on the balcony and observed for 20 minutes. Saw three meteors, one good one. Clouds started rolling in. Bat flew by. I flew back into apartment, slamming the balcony door behind me. (Apartment below me is empty right now.) *sigh*

Ahem.

I am now sporting a sweet little lady bug...tattoo.
Yep.
I did it.

Pictures at 11.

PromoGuy's Monday Mission 2.32
1. If I could guarantee that the Fashion Police would not lay the smackdown on you, which favorite out-of-style article of clothing do you wish you could wear right now? (and if you have photos of you wearing it, post 'em) Hmmm. I'm always sort of out-of-style.

2. In your opinion, who is famous but shouldn't be? Any doubt? Pamela Lee Anderson

3. Are there any new movies or TV shows that you are forward to this fall? CSI Miami, Moonlight Mile September 27 and The Banger Sisters September 20....oooh, they're close together, with Susan Sarandon.

4. If you had a time machine that you could use only one time (there and back), where would you go and what would you do? I would go back to 1804 and the Lewis & Clark expedition. Sacagawea could have used a female friend on that trip, don't you think?

5. What cologne of perfume do you like to wear? Which brand do you prefer that your partner wear? Tresor by Lancome...studly sweat

6. Do you recall your first "French kiss?" Tell me about how that felt, and how it came about. Do you like them? nice girls don't tell *smirk smirk*

7. Excluding your partner...If you had the opportunity, who would you most like to French kiss?Brad Pitt

Virtual Train Trip ~~ Destination
And if we were on the Empire Builder, that grand old train named after James J. Hill, we would be pulling into Glacier Park Station in the next few minutes. We would be pulling into heaven.

The Northern passage across Montana is called "the Highline". U.S. 2 and the train tracks race each other across the high prairies. The towns tick off. Wolf Point. Fort Peck Dam, setting for Ivan Doig's Bucking the Sun. Glasgow. Malta. Chinook.

The excitement of the trip ramps up near Chinook. Sixteen miles to the south the Bearpaw Mountains appear, the last spot on Chief Joseph and company's flight to freedom. The new traveler often thinks we're close to the front face of the Rockies now, but we still have many miles to go.

Havre is the last refueling stop. Here I would jump off the train, around the station, and snap a picture of the statue of J.J. Hill. Then back on the train and up ahead: is it clouds? Is it smog? Is it...the Front Face of the Rockies? It is.

One last wait to go over the single track bridge at Cut Bank. Speeding past Browning, which is the winter East Glacier stop. Then over the Two Medicine, rising, rising, slowing...and we're there.

Virtual Train Trip - con't
Can't seem to help myself. We would have been taking the Amtrak's Empire Builder to Montana today if we hadn't had a complication develop. I'm just mentally doing the trip.

It is amazing how fast sleep comes after M-SP. People get out their sheets, blankets, or afghans and curl up. The lights are dimmed. And the train continues, clackety-clack through the darkness.

I've never been awake at Grand Forks, never been aware of crossing the Great Red River of the North. Consciousness begins to seep in as the train slows and stops at Devil's Lake. Devil's Lake is a run-off lake, with no natural outlet. It shrinks and increases, shrinks and increases.

By eightish we're in the snack car, finding some sort of breakfast. We sit on the left side of the train, because we'll be passing Rugby, N.D. There is something special about Rugby, and the first person who finds and enters it in comments shall receive a $5.00 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. (Okay, so I'm in a really really REALLY goofy mood this morning *grin*.)

Next stop, "whynot Minot" North Dakota. We camped there one year when we drove out to Montana. The people are exceedingly friendly. The KOA folks let us double camp on a lot. Tash had an ear infection, and her folks took her to emergency. She came back with a big stuffed animal.

Minot is the second refueling station. This allows us enough time to get off the train and walk around. Minot's newspaper stands don't work. Never have. Not once. *sigh*

There's a station at Stanley, North Dakota. It is a tiny town. We have driven through it (my dad's name was Stanley, we're sentimental). It was early morning when we drove through the streets, and I think the newspaper boy on his bike was a little concerned about two vehicles from Michigan making their way through his town.

Right about now, we'd be pulling out of Williston, North Dakota. Here we change to Mountain time. And here we begin to follow the Missouri. Lewis & Clark country. Badlands of North Dakota. Eighteen miles to Montana.

Virtual Train Trip.
Midnight. If we were on the train, the Empire Builder, we would be pulling into Minneapolis-St. Paul's station right about now.

We would have left Chicago about three p.m. We would pull out to the north, following Lake Michigan for awhile, stopping at various bedroom communities, because the Empire Builder is also a commuter train.

At Milwaukee we would say good-bye to Lake Michigan, and begin a more westerly route. The Dells area would appear, and we would begin our deer counting contest. One hundred and five was the highest number we saw. We would go to the dining car when our seating was called (and not before, or risk being chewed out over the public address system -- the public address system that shorts out quite often, making it very hard to hear if your seating is called.) We would choose from the limited menu -- a beef, chicken, or fish entree -- and meet folks who were heading somewhere. If they were from the sleeper cars they would invariably and indubitably be upset about something. Coach is much more relaxing, I think.

After dinner we would go back to our seats. Dusk would settle as we went through LaCrosse, Wisconsin and crossed three rivers...the LaCrosse, the Black, and The Mississippi. The Mississippi crossing is much longer here than it is at its headwaters up at Lake Itasca. There, the mighty river can be crossed on a log.

We would be tempted to nod off as the darkness settled, but we're seasoned travelers and we know that Minneapolis-St. Paul is coming up, with at least 20 minutes of off-train time available. So we switch to slippers, but we stay alert, and at MSP we're the first out the door. Fresh air...cool fresh night air. We walk to the end of the train, then back to the station. We go inside and get Sunny D and Ruby Red. We come out quickly, because we don't want to be stifled inside for an extra minute.

Sorry folks...I'm missing Montana. Next year. *grin*

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Vacation time. Ten days of no grind, no hassle. Yes!

This is where I'm headed this afternoon.

Lynn has been accepted into her program! YAY!

It has been a good week all around! Eve got her bank loan for her business! Congratulations!

And Kathryn has a wonderful story in Miraculous Phenomena.

Update: Kathryn has a wonderful care for her clients and has redone Miraculous Phenomena. Kathryn, the people you come in contact with are indeed lucky people.
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Very unserious test, but I liked the graphic *grin*.

Book Worm Meter

Shut In 71% . . 29% Out Of The House Intellectual 95% . . 5% Moron High Attention Span 95% . . 5% Low Attention Span Bookitude 96% . . 4% Book Burner Book Worm 89.25% . . 10.75% Bug Stomper

Take your bookworm readings.

And another:

You are 35% geek

You are a geek liaison, which means you go both ways. You can hang out with normal people or you can hang out with geeks which means you often have geeks as friends and/or have a job where you have to mediate between geeks and normal people. This is an important role and one of which you should be proud. In fact, you can make a good deal of money as a translator. Normal: Tell our geek we need him to work this weekend. You [to Geek]: We need more than that, Scotty. You'll have to stay until you can squeeze more outta them engines! Geek [to You]: I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain, but we need more dilithium crystals! You [to Normal]: He wants to know if he gets overtime.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

Too Old Too Soon

Sometimes I think I've been old all my life. Now I want to be young, but it's a little bit harder to be young in a 50-year-old body. Oh well, pass the Bufferin and let's get going!

My vacation starts in ten hours and 45 minutes. YAY!

Jeeem! Quit playing with your food!

Okay, enough fooling around. I gotta go to work!

Back End of Summer.
One of the radio stations was trying to make things sound better Tuesday, saying that we were halfway through summer (using the June 21-September 21 numbers). Nice try, but it doesn't really fly. We all know that summer here in the U.S. is Memorial Day to Labor Day. We're counting down fast now. Waaaaaah!

Only good thing is...September brings MSU football games! Go Green! Oops, I guess there actually is a game in August. Whoa.

Sometimes blogger sites don't ping weblogs. Wonder what that is all about?

you are a book called



what
dr. seuss book warped you?

Link via Joni...thanks!

Alice Roosevelt said of her father, Teddy Roosevelt: My father always wanted to be the corpse at every funeral, the bride at every wedding and the baby at every christening.
My mother's gentleman friend passed away this week. He was an exuberant man, loving people and being the center of attention in his world the same as T.R. loved attention. It is a shame that men like this have to miss their own funeral.
He will be missed.

'Bye Lynn! Best of luck!

Oh yay! Wendy had the best visual arts project for Blogathon 2002! Congratulations, Wendy...it sure helped me keep going through those 24 hours!

Monday Mission...by promoguy:
1. Ever considered just deleting your Blog and not doing it anymore? What prompted that and what stopped you? Yup! I actually did it, but here I am again. It was prompted by two things: 1.) I was seeing a new guy (now defunct) and 2.)I can't say. *grin*

2. How about a quick review of the last movie you saw? Signs. Better than I expected, a fun watch, but the good feeling didn't last.

3. What's your favorite gadget? Are you lusting for any new ones? Will you ever be satisified???
Cameras...and I'm NEVER satisfied. Looking for a better digital right now, and also larger format. *sigh*

4. Saturday night I played "UNO" for the first time in years, I mean it has been over 10 years since I played it. It was great fun, but it really made me want to learn how to play Backgammon again. What "table game" do you enjoy playing most with other people? Have you played it lately? Hearts (over last Christmas). Monopoly...over five years, I think.

5. About a year ago I was obsessed with loosing weight, and I dropped pretty low before I got a handle on things (I've actually gained about 8 pounds of it back, and it is still a struggle sometimes to not try to loose it). Thankfully, I like fattening sweets and buttery popcorn too much to live like that for too long. Have you ever been obsessed with something so much that it was close to causing you physical or mental harm? If not, have you known anyone else who has? I don't think so...

6. Did you grow up in a family or community that displayed racist or prejudice attitudes? Did it influence you in any way, either toward or away from those views? How did you manage to avoid it, or did you? The church I grew up in was racist, unfortunately, and I knew I didn't want to be like those people.

7. Good grief, I am starving! You got anything to eat around here? Corn on the cob, grapes and rice krispie treats.

Link list.
Okay, at the bottom of the link list it says powered by blogrolling.com. Well, I haven't got it set up yet, so it is still the template list for now. I'm going to print off the template so I can get all you wonderful folks with the proper URLs. (I tried earlier and goofed mightily.) So if you're pinging weblogs.com when you post, we'll get to see a *fresh* note on the list. Any ideas as to how many hours should be considered *fresh*?

Susan has a great entry on It's a Blog, Blog, Blog, Blog, World. She hits the nail smack-dab on the head.

I thought Fred First from Floyd (West Virginia) was a codger. I was wrong...he's a redhead!

Would you buy a book on blogging?
Several books on blogging are out or coming out in the next month or so.
Due in September is Essential Blogging from O'Reilly, by Shelley Powers, Cory Doctorow, J. Scott Johnson, Mena G. Trott, Benjamin Trott.
Out now is We've Got Blog: How Weblogs Are Changing Our Culture by Editors of Perseus Publishing (Introduction), Rebecca Blood.
Rebecca Blood has her own book out, The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog.
Going to any of these Amazon links will give you links to more blogging books.

Now I have two shelves full of computer books...one over there ---->
and a more outdated shelf in the bedroom. But I'm not so sure I'd snag a book on blogging. Fellow bloggers are just so helpful, and it seems like you either want to do it, or you don't. But we all know how goofy I am. What do you think?

Good Morning!

From Lynn, who says it is from almost everywhere:

A mental exercise: using only two words, describe the following:
Your home. Needs changing
Your car. Chevy Corscia
Your job. Information amanuensis
Your S.O. In dreams
Your Family. Best friends
Your Friends. Scattered afar
The Internet. Positive Change
Television. CBS rules
Books. My friends
Today. Somewhat Pensive

I do have August 12-16 off still, so I'm setting up plans for how to spend this vacation time.

1. Tattoo Day. Yep, I'm gonna do it. Any more suggestions as to where it should be? Jeeem has given me a few pointers, but I'll listen to any advice anyone has to offer.

2. Spa Day. I think I am totally in need of a day at the Spa, another thing I have never done. I'm in need of a change, and a massage sounds perfect.

3. A couple of days at Lake Michigan. A soul restorative.

4. Cooking. I've missed experimental cooking. One day I think I'll just cook up a storm. Got a recipe you love? Lay it on me!

Montana trip postponed to 2003.
Unfortunately, we have had to postpone Montana for a year. This year I was going with my mother. Her boyfriend fell two weeks ago and broke his hip, but they have had such a hard time stabilizing him that they have not yet been able to fix his hip. Things don't look promising at the moment, but Mom is coping fairly well. Life can change in just a twinkle, just a misstep.

Oops! Sorry that I didn't finish that last entry. The combination of the Blogathon last weekend and the busiest month at work since November 1999 wiped me out. I was dead to the world by 9:30 p.m. Feeling rested and a might bit perkier this a.m. Hope you are all having a great day. I plan on doing some cleaning and some puttering around the place, then seeing SIGNS this evening with a friend. I wasn't going to bite, but I can seldom pass up Mel Gibson.

Sheesh. Just over at the Signs website. That looks like the Field of Dreams farmhouse. Guess I'd better go to IMDB and see where it was shot. click click click Nope, it was fillmed in Pennsylvania.

They keep messin' with my bookstores.

I am a bookstore fanatic. I have my favorites, and I have a routine that goes with visiting there. I should say, I HAD a routine, because both favorites moved, and I just can't get in sync for some reason. Tonight I went to Schuler Books. This used to be a stand-alone bookstore close to a grocery store. I would spend an hour or two there, get a nice bag of books, choose one perfect pastry from the coffee shop, go to the grocery store and get their salad bar, head home, and be in ecstasy. Now they've moved to the MALL! I love malls, but the energy is totally different, and I can't browse more than 20 minutes. *sigh*

Susan writes lovingly of mother/daughter relations. Your mother is lucky, Susan.

Wheee! I shirley do love end-of-month at work. Not. Well, it is okay, but it is draining...I work for a heating and air conditioning company and with the great heat we've been having we have been busy busy busy. And then, like an idiot, I have the company Newsletter come out at the end of the month also (guess who writes most of it...mmmhmm). Dork I am, I am.

Here is a question. Do you ever use the f*** word? And if so, is it easier to speak it or write it? Jeeem with three eee's has been at it again.