
Ah, the other side. The other side of the lake, the other side of a door, the other side of the tracks, the other side of the mountain, the other side of the world, the other side of a certain age. The view is pretty nice over here!
Friday, January 20, 2006
Hopefully I'm done with flat tires. Yesterday morning went out to the car, and the driver's side was soft. Mighty mighty soft. I had some fix-a-flat in the trunk, but it didn't help at all. (I think you're supposed to get it into the tire, not all around the tire.) So I got in, tried to keep my weight off the tire (yeah, right) and drove the quarter mile to the gas station to get some air in it. Lots and lots of air. I then drove very gently to the tire store and purchased a new tire. That's two new tires now. Enough, please?
How are you faring these days?
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Wednesday is a true hump day!!
Whee! Just when I'm about to move cyber-bro Jeeem (with three e's) to the inactive file, he comes roaring back to life! Great post, little bro!
Oh goodness, it's January 18th. Kevin Costner is 51 today.
I always like it when I get a "wheresgeorge" bill. This one:
One Dollar Bill, Serial# F6670---1J Series: 2003
This bill has travelled 247 Miles in 312 Days, 1 Hr, 36 Mins at an average of 0.79 Miles per day.
Wanna play a caption game?
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Monday, January 16, 2006
| #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### |
| Your personality type is SLUAI |
| You are moderately social, moody, moderately unstructured, accommodating, and intellectual, and may prefer a city which matches those traits. |
| The largest representation of your personality type can be found in the these U.S. cities: New Orleans, Albuquerque/Santa Fe, Greensboro, Memphis, Providence, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Salt Lake City, Portland/Salem, St. Louis and these international countries/regions Puerto Rico, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Turkey, Ireland, Ukraine, England, South Africa, Greece, Wales, Brazil, Switzerland, South Korea |
City Reviews at CityCulture.org
It's otto's Monday Madness.
Good Monday to you all! Let's fill in the blanks! As always, I want to thank you for playing my meme! =)
1. Before I walk out the door, I always check to make sure I _______. have my keys.
2. I can't seem to catch up on my _______. anything. I am always behind.
3. The one surface in my house that always seems to get cluttered fast is _______. the little stand by the door.
4. If I sleep past _____, I feel that I've slept in too late. nothing. The sky is the limit.
5. No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to _______.hmmm. I dunno on this one. I don't think I try very hard on a lot of things. hmmm.
6. I hope to have my income taxes done by _______. April 15.
7. This year I'd like to make more time for _______. writing.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Ten Top Trivia Tips about Shirl!
- Shirl can sleep with one eye open!
- The only planet that rotates on its side is shirl.
- Only twelve people have ever set foot on shirl.
- Plato believed that the souls of melancholy people would be reincarnated into shirl!
- The original nineteenth-century Coca-Cola formula contained shirl!
- If your ear itches, this means that someone is talking about shirl.
- The patron saint of shirl is Saint Eugenie.
- Shirl is the only one of the original Seven Wonders of the World that still survives.
- South Australia was the first place to allow shirl to stand for parliament.
- Grapes explode if you put them inside shirl.
At the movies, no less.
Yesterday I saw Last Holiday, the new Queen Latifah movie. The reviews are pretty accurate: this is a so-so movie with absolutely nothing that will surprise you, but it is fun.
One of the characters was an evil business owner. He was in his 40's, and had a sharp, hungry, lean look. The actor looked so familiar, but I could not place him. I stayed for the credits to see who it was, and gasped! It was Timothy Hutton! I've not followed his career, so the last thing I had seen him in was Ordinary People, one of my three favorite movies of all time. He played a teenager in that movie, but that was back in 1980. Now he's an older man.
Where did the time go?
I'd like to be first, but I bet I'm not!
I say ... and you think ... ?
1. Paralyzed:: with fear
2. Bossy:: comptroller
3. Worth:: self
4. Breathing:: remember to keep (thanks, susan!)
5. Uneventful:: day
6. Return:: income tax
7. Splint:: sling
8. Notice:: eye
9. Hero:: who is your?
10. Vulnerable:: open
Just checked. I'm third.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Friday, January 13, 2006
Wednesday, January 11, 2006

A constant all my life has been needing bathroom breaks. This means that one of my areas of expertise is knowing where all the bathrooms are in town.
One of my nieces was teasing me a year or so ago. "Owwee, you need to do a web page of bathrooms."
Well, I always mind my nieces and nephews, so I started grabbing quick shots of places I had visited with my cellphone. They're very quick pics, and the cellphone is old so the quality is dubious, but I've got a dozen here in a flickr set.
Question for the day: what is the most exotic or most interesting restroom you've ever seen?
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
And that's a good thing. A year ago my newly-wed niece's husband left for Iraq. Niece #1 has had a lot of misfortunes in her young life. Her dad passed away when she was ten. Her mother was sickly, and she was a little Momma to her younger brother. She tried college, but it wasn't really for her.Things started turning around. She found a good job, and she found A. They made plans to wed. However, he was in the Guards and his unit was called up. They had two weddings, a civil in June (in case of early deployment) and the planned one in August. (Whew, he was still here.) They had a couple of weeks after the second wedding, and then he was gone.
So I put this ribbon on my antennae as a reminder to keep both niece and A in my thoughts. On December 23, I removed it, as A was home for good. The pictures of their reunion, of A as he was wending his way through the crowd to find his sweetie, are right out of a movie.
But now I keep losing my car!
And that's a good thing.
Monday, January 09, 2006
This is what otto gives us for today's Monday Madness:
I want to thank coffeeNtoast for this week's excellent questions! Thank you so much for emailing me! (Suggestions are always welcome!) =)
1. Name 1 type of supplement that you take. None, but I should take calcium.
2. List 2 books that you would like to read in 2006. Soul Collage (thank you, Kathryn!) and Romantic Country.
3. List 3 hobbies that you have. Photography, Reading, Scrapbooking
4. List 4 gifts that you have received. Michaels Gift Cards-3, Hobby Lobby Gift Card-1, PhotostoScrapbook Gift Card-1, Meijers Gift Card-1.
5. Share 5 (instant & inexpensive) ways to spruce up a room. Oh boy, I should read everyone's answers to this. Fresh flowers (doesn't have to be but one or two), fresh potpourri, dusting, light some candles, hide that junk!
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Hi, my name is Shirl, and I am a paperholic.
I have been one for many years. Originally, my illness was limited to notebooks and writing paper. I had a file drawer of ready-to-use notebooks, and a bag of journal type books. Finally, even I could see that enough was enough, and I tapered off, only to get in on the beginning of . . .
The Scrapbooking Craze. More paper. Paper of every color, every design, with embellishments. Paper that of course I would one day make into beautiful scrapbook sheets. Utoh.
For Christmas and my birthday I received several gift cards to Michaels, the craft store. I had thought I would slowly use them through the year to buy scrapping and craft supplies. That plan went out the window when Michaels ran an ad for the Crop in Style P3, a Pop-up Paper Plus Storage Tote. I had been eying the P-3 just the week before, thinking I might use the 40% discount coupon that often comes in the paper for this purchase. However, the sale price was way more than 40% off. Time to move, and I almost missed out even then. There had been seven units the previous week. I purchased the last one in the store.
Yesterday I went through all the bins and boxes I have paper in, and my P3 is quite full. To give you an idea of the scope of my addiction: the P3 has 9 trays that hold up to 80 sheets per tray.
Yep, my name is Shirl, and I am a paperholic. And if I'm tempted to go buy more paper, remind me to open the P3 and look on my stash. Better yet, remind me to scrapbook some pictures!
Do you have an addiction?
I say ... and you think ... ?
1. Better off::Richer
2. Girls::Boys
3. Uniform::Soldier
4. Classified::Ads
5. Hard::Soft
6. Kitty::Cat
7. Team::Swat
8. Massive::Huge
9. Depressed::Sad
10. Award::Academy
Saturday, January 07, 2006
What Sort of Intellectual Are You?

You're a poetic intellectual.
Take this quiz!

Quizilla
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| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code
It is divisible by 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18, 27, 54. That's nice.
It is one of the 9 multiples. My dad taught me a trick back in third grade to learn the 9's. For example: 6x9. Six minus one = 5. Five + four = 9. 6x9=54. Good memory. (And got me through multiplication tables faster.)
Fifty-four forty or fight.
Studio 54.
Car 54, Where Are you?
It's still ten years away from When I'm 64.
Friday, January 06, 2006
I love the holidays, I really do. I love the planning and the thinking about gifts for people and the glitter and the excitement and seeing everyone. It's a wonderful time.
It is also wonderful to have a weekend ahead with no deadlines, no fussing, no alarm clock, no stress, either good or bad. Bland, boring, wonderful in its own way.
And how are you?
Thursday, January 05, 2006
With a birthday so close to the first of the year this period is a double-time of introspection and goal-setting. The watchwords for this year will be: Movement and Letting Go.
Movement. This means changing my address. After twenty-three years in a "student ghetto" it's time to mosey on along. I think I should live in at least one other place before I move to the senior center, don't you?
Movement also means getting out and doing more physical things.
An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
Newton's First Law
Okay, so I don't know how Newton applies, but I've always liked the first law.
Letting Go. Letting go works hand-in-hand with movement. As I prepare to change addresses, I need to go through the clutter and detritus and good stuff collected over the last twenty-three years. This should make for a few posts. *smile*
I also need to let go of some old attitudes, some old hurts and frustrations. These only bind, and restrict that good old movement.
This is where I'm at, at the start of the year 2006. How about you?
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
I was going to have a quick post yesterday morning, about how it was Mel Gibson's birthday and J.R.R. Tolkien's birthday and how when I first started blogging my blog was called 49-forever and NOW it's five years later because I turned 54 yesterday.
I was going to do that, but, I slept through my alarm. Woke up to daylight, which meant I should be at work. Had to hustle, which is hard for an old woman. *grin*
Had a great birthday, lots of cards and gift cards (yay, I'll be at the craft stores if you can't find me) and a roast beef dinner with all the trimmings last night. AND butter-brickle cake with butter-brickle frosting. Moms can spoil one, even when one has reached my advanced years.
Thanks for all your well-wishes, and onward we go!
Monday, January 02, 2006
Happy New Year to you all! This week we're going to try something a little different.
Using the letters in the words HAPPY NEW YEAR, give yourself 2 minutes to list all the words you can make.
Happy, pear, pap, pan, pen, reap, heap, hen, wen, wren, hewn, New, Year, Ear, hap, when, yap, weep, wear, near, hear, here, hew, pew, yew
Sunday, January 01, 2006
I say ... and you think ... ?
1. Celebrate:: each day
2. Resolve:: to celebrate each day
3. I need to:: celebrate each day
4. Call:: phone home!
5. Token:: of my affection
6. Brand:: name
7. Comparison:: shop
8. Far away:: and long, long ago
9. Artful:: Dodger
10. Fantastic:: Four!
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Happy New Year! is one way to say it. If you keep on typing it will wrap around.
And so we end the year, stealing from Mandarin meg. Shhhh, don't tell, eh?
Best wishes to all of you, and we'll see you tomorrow, with a brand-spanking new year.

You're Babar the King!
by Jean de Brunhoff
Though your life has been filled with struggle and sadness of late,
you're personally doing quite well for yourself. All this success brings responsibility,
though, and should not be taken lightly. Life has turned from war to peace, from damage
to reconstruction, and this brings a bright new hope for everyone you know. These hopeful
people look to you for guidance, and your best advice to them is to watch out for snakes.
You're quite fond of the name "Celeste".
Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.
Guiltiest Song: "Lose Yourself", Eminem. Only you folks know *grin*.
Guiltiest TV: Hmmm. Desperate Housewives.
Guiltiest Food: Hmmmm. Big hmmmmmm. Uhhhhhh. Candy bars from the snack box at work. I really just shouldn't.
Guiltiest Drink: The margaritas at Texas Roadhouse. Strange things happen when I drink those.
Guiltiest Crush: Well, first it was Robert Redford, then it was Kevin Costner, and now, it's Brad Pitt. And I'm soooo happy he's with Angelina.
Let's see, now who shall I tag: I'm gonna say, anyone who wants to play!
Friday, December 30, 2005
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
- Twenty-four people can still be squeezed into Mom's living room. Twenty-five cannot.
- Opening presents before dinner is still more fun that opening them after.
- Fifteen pounds of ham will feed 25 people, with lots of leftovers. Thirty pounds will make for meals of leftovers. (What was Mom thinking?)
- Even if it's a giftcard in the package, it's more fun to unwrap presents than open cards.
- It can be white ALL December, and still end up being a green and white Christmas.
- There's no place like home.
And what did you learn?
Monday, December 26, 2005
I didn't unconsciously mutter yesterday, so I'll mutter today:
I say ... and you think ... ?
1. Virus::Computer
2. Poop::dood (poop upside down, a long-standing family joke)
3. Smart::Aleck
4. Agent::Secret
5. Wrap::those presents
6. Brass::Bad
7. Waste of time::oh, a lot of things that are also a lot of fun
8. Suspicious::minds
9. 360::degrees
10. Dummy::Charlie McCarthy
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Thanks to Patti for finding it. And wow, girl! Impressive numbers!
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
So often they have "other" sides.
This Christmas, our family is sad as my brother entered detox Sunday. Sad that it came to that, sad that he won't be with us for Christmas, but happy that he is taking steps now to get a long-standing problem under control.
This Christmas, our family is ecstatic that Niece #1's husband is home from Iraq, for good! Their company returned to town this morning. My mom and brother and I couldn't stay for the whole thing (as they were delayed) but the pulsating excitement and joy in that auditorium was a wonder to behold.
Holidays. They do have "other" sides.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005

This Christmas song caught my attention this year. I've been thinking about it a lot, and looking for nativity scenes at churches. So far I've only spotted two stationary ones, one lighted one, and one tableau. (The tableau was quite cute. It was teenagers on a Saturday afternoon, with three live goats, and the goats were soooo cute and cold.) The blonde Marys are kind of a jolt. My favorite so far is the Mary at Cristo Rey.
Some years we've been in danger of not having a white Christmas. That is definitely not the case this year. We've had snow throughout the month, and the forecast will keep us in the white stuff.
I've liked the wno this year. (Don't hit me, otto!) It's made me think of the old-fashioned Christmases of years gone by.
And be sure to ask me how I like the white stuff come February. *smile*
Monday, December 19, 2005
| You Are Rudolph |
![]() Sweet and shy, you tend to be happiest when you're making someone else happy. Why You're Naughty: You sometimes stick that nose where it doesn't belong Why You're Nice: Christmas would be a sad affair without you! |
A Little Monday Madness:
Since I haven't received any emails from my faithful participants, offering questions (hint, hint), I will have to come up with my own... =)
1. Name 1 toy you owned when you were younger, that meant a lot to you. My sewing box that my grandparents gave me when I was ten. I still have it.
2. Name 2 games you enjoyed playing as a child. Hide 'n Seek. Monopoly.
3. Name 3 foods you didn't like as a child, but do now. Mushrooms, coconut, and green peppers
4. Name 4 foods you didn't like as a child, and still don't like. asparagus, cooked cabbage, can't think of a fourth, but the third would be, and I bet you guessed it bryn: brussel sprouts!
Sunday, December 18, 2005

It was the deer. Those beautiful animals with their big dark eyes, their white plumelike tails, and their ridiculous Vulcan-like ears. He had tried three times in the four years they had lived in Long Ridge to have a vegetable garden, and each time the deer had devoured it.
~~Before You Know Kindness, Chris Bohjalian
I say ... and you think ... ?
1. Replenish::Refuel
2. People::Person
3. Trend::Fad, chart
4. Girlfriends::Sharing
5. Spirit::Moves Me
6. Banshee::Howl like a
7. Oasis::in the Desert
8. Thrills::and Chills
9. Fountain::Chocolate. They seem to be in this Christmas.
10. Boxes::Gift wrap.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
| You Are Apple Pie |
![]() You're the perfect combo of comforting and traditional Those who like you crave security |
Lifted from Knit-Together, where Kathryn is the sumptious Mud Pie
I picked up a sandwich for lunch yesterday. It was a chicken barbecue thingee, and it tasted a bit off. (I didn't finish it, which is rare for me.) Within an hour, I was raging sick. Ewww! So came home from work, slept three hours, got up and had some soda and crackers, slept three hours, got up, had some more soda, slept three hours, had some chicken soup, went to bed for the night.
Feeling better this morning, and the scales say some weight went bye-bye.
A new weight-loss program.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Today would have been my Grandma Bea's 99th birthday.
Today my mom is being a Great Grandma and my nieces and nephews are being Great Grands.
My mom is quite conservative in her tastes in books, movies and television shows. Bad language, violence, and sex are issues. Her grands know her tastes, and work within that framework. Nieces #2 and #4 went to all of the Lord of the Ring movies with her, and would tell her when to not look if things got too intense.
On Thanksgiving, Niece #2's new husband went over to Mom. "Grandma," he said, "there's a movie coming out and we'd like to go to it with you." He was speaking of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
So the program mushroomed, and this evening two nieces and three nephews are gathering for Chinese with Grandma and then going to the movies. And I don't think they'll have to tell her not to look at all.
They're all great.

Needmore Church. Yes, that's it's name, taken from the highway that it sits on. This is the church where Grandma Bea taught Sunday School for many years, the church where she played the piano for many many years. It's where she married Grandpa Larry after being a widow for six years and living with us.

That's US at the wedding.
Behind the church is the cemetery where many of our relatives are parked. We take wreaths out in the winter, fill urns on Memorial Day.
December 16th was Grandma Bea's birthday.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
doYOU
It's a textual thing. Pure text with some inline CSS. No graphics required.
Okay, meg asks How Do You Blog?
Tool: Blogger. I've been on it for over four years now.
Initial attraction: ease of use.
Current attraction: It's become quite stable. Except for holidays. And certain other outages. *smile*
How:
1. If I have something to say, I open the tool, type the stuff in, and hit publish.
2. If I'm surfing, I leave the create window open and make notes as I go.
3. If I have a picture I want to share, I grab the link from flickr.
Thanks, meg, for the CSS above!
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Hmmm. What can we confess?
I confess: that I cheated on a music theory test in 8th grade.
I confess: that I later confessed to the teacher. (I was such a nerd.)
I confess: that I ate some cupcakes at the grocery store when I was seven. And didn't pay for them.
I confess: oh, you don't really think I'm gonna confess the juicy stuff right here in public do you?
I confess: that I weigh too much. *sigh*
I confess: that I have wayyyy too many scrapbooking stickers and pieces of paper in my hobby closet.
I confess: well, here's another one I'm not gonna type aloud. Hmmm. I yam a coward. (My mother surfs the net. Wouldn't want her to accidentally find anything too intense, ya know.)
I confess: that I talk to myself. (And once in awhile, I answer. Oops.)
I confess: that I still like Neil Diamond.
I confess: and this is a big one, don't hate me, but . . . I never really cared for Bob Dylan.
Okay, I'm going to tag the following: Susan and susan and Roscoe and kim and meg and Kathryn and sheryl and otto and sherle and Karen and bryn and LDH and Pandora and . . . well, anyone else who would like to play along.
You are Batman
| You are dark, love gadgets and have vowed to help the innocent not suffer the pain you have endured. ![]() |
Haven't done a quizzie lately, so swiped this one from LDH's.
Didn't make it back here last night. My friends Deb and Carol gave me an early Christmas/birthday gift: a gift certificate to Coldwater Creek, a women's clothing store that I had never gone to because I thought their clothes were too nice and too small for a big person like me. Nah, they said, so we went there and they helped me shop, and we had a blast!!!! And I got home late.
And how was your Monday?
Monday, December 12, 2005
Sunday, December 11, 2005
To Lucy Barfield
My Dear Lucy,
I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and boynd you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think of it. I shall probably be too deaf to hear, and too old to understand, a word you say, but I shall still be
your affectionate Godfather,
C.S. Lewis
~~Preface to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
I say ... and you think ... ?
1. Stalker::Night
2. Outrageous::Outlandish
3. Carrying::Case
4. Spirited::Horse
5. Oh!::My!
6. Grid::Iron
7. Country::Singer
8. Karen::Carpenter
9. Candles::Burning bright
10. Relationship::*sigh*
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Friday, December 09, 2005
Thursday, December 08, 2005

The wrecker came, but then HE had problems with the lugnuts and had to call in a backup. The back-up got there, and he was going to use a pneumatic thingee, but they couldn't get that fired up. Finally, old-fashioned man-handling worked the charm. They got the spare on, and I took off for Discount Tire.
I took a few pictures of the cemetery offices and buildings while I was waiting.
So how was YOUR day???
So
A question came up. What, to you, is the difference between under and underneath?
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Leslie Harpold has her Advent Calendar again! I've played with it every year, and I'm glad to see it's back. Now, I'm only seven days late, so I can have fun catching up!
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Monday, December 05, 2005
This week's questions are all about moving... Have fun, and thank you so much for playing! =)
1. When is the last time you moved? December, 1982
2. How many times in your life have you moved? 9
3. In your opinion, what is the worst thing about moving? packing
4. What is the most exciting thing about moving? setting up a new household
5. If you've lived in the same place all your life, do you plan to move in the future? yes, moving this June
6. Do you WANT to move somewhere else; if so, where? Same town, different address
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Yay! One of the big perks of living in snow country is snowball fights! Had a great one last night with brother Boo, two nieces, and two nephews.
We were out in the garage, getting out of our wet snowy stuff, when the doorbell rang. An old family friend had stopped by. Sheesh! Way to make an impression after 30 years, wet hair plastered to head. Well, that's the real me!
While looking through my archives for the link to the cyber-snowball fight, I found this:
Aww...you are the plant of love! You are the
mistletoe! You are a loving, romantic person
who likes to do what is best for the one or
ones you care about mostly. You are very
affectionate and enjoy being close to people.
You believe that love brings you together,
which is a wonderful thing. You are most likely
going to have a very nice and marvelous season.
Your inventive mind could come up with anything
interesting to do. Merry Christmas =)
What Christmas Figure Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
And that hasn't changed from last year!
Okay, here's the snowball fight! (Made it to level 4 on the first try. How did you do?)
I say ... and you think ... ?
1. Amazing:: Race, Grace
2. Delights:: the heart
3. Inspired:: to great heights
4. Disgusted:: turned up nose
5. You:: and me
6. Vagina:: Monologue
7. Palm:: Sweaty
8. Sweetheart:: Let me Call you . . .
9. Guilt:: Penance
10. More to come:: The best is yet to be

















