Slowly, like I said...

It's been a long month. I've been really busy making 125 nametags from business card stock and polymer clay, and I'm weary. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed doing it, getting my creative juices flowing again, but as usual I put it off until the last minute and had a couple of nights with little sleep.

Now I'm in the same boat again - time for the housing nazi to examine the place again. It drives me nuts for her to imperiously say, "You know, this rug was brand new when you moved in..." - jeez, lady - I've been here 5 years.

Spending a lot of time on the computer lately, and I'm so grateful for AdMuncher. No more ads, no more pop-ups! Learning to exempt some sites takes a little concentration and logic, once that's mastered, it's a breeze. As a bonus, it eliminates those annoying commercial breaks from sites like Hulu. If you're interested, it's here. If I remember correctly, there is a free trial. I was without it after trying it, and couldn't stand it, and became a customer - and that doesn't happen too often on my budget.

More later today as I take breaks from my frantic un-cluttering. Volunteers welcome...

Coming back, slowly but surely...

I've got so much to do today - this week, in fact - I figured now would be a good time to get to blogging again.

I volunteered to make nametags for an anniversary month of a community in which I'm involved...about 150 of them. Good excuse for not doing 'spring' cleaning, but will have to do it eventually or I won't be able to find my way to the computer.

I also have to clean the kitchen after setting fire to a frozen pizza. This is really easy if you're tired and don't realize that there is a cardboard circle underneath, hidden under the edges of the pizza. No real fire, but a lot of glowing cardboard, smoke EVERYWHERE, and because the kitchen door was closed, a delay in the smoke alarm going off. Top of pizza - lovely. Bottom of pizza - not so much. Oven - smoke and ashes. Kitchen - still smelling like burned paper. Ate the pizza topping but decided the crust was a little too 'done' for me. And yes, there was that unintended 'smoky' flavor, but overall, not bad.

I've noticed the upsurge in tattoos lately, especially on entertainment folks. Strange. I realize most of them got into show business wanting to be famous, but then they complain about the lack of privacy. Then they go get a big honking (and often stupid) tattoo that screams 'look at me!!!.' I bet the studios just love it, too, what with all the time that must be spent hiding them for period movies and parts which require elegance. And how do you answer a 13 year old who is screaming for a tattoo when instead of saying 'everyone does it' he/she says, 'Well, GRANDMA has one!'


I do love henna 'tattoos', though. The classic ones ARE elegant, and what's more, they are temporary. You don't go into your twilight years with a picture of KISS on your shoulder. They fade, and then they are gone, all in a matter of, at most, weeks. Check out some lovely ones here: http://www.shophenna.com/Gallery.htm .No reason these henna tats can't be done in the more 'stylish' (aka 'weird') art of today. Just so they are temporary...the mind is an easy thing to change...

Climbing out of my primordial ooze...

I'm slowly crawling out of my funk. Not sure what has been causing it, although the lack of transportation, both with my car and this small village without a public transportation link to anywhere else, hasn't helped.

I haven't posted because a whine without a chuckle is just boring, and my sense of whimsy had pretty much disappeared. To me, a crisis is a situation that hasn't ripened into an absurdity yet, and it's that absurdity that is vulnerable to being laughed at. Not much chance when the 'situation' goes on and on and ON. I even tried to sell my car on eBay. However, the best offer was $600, and since that is half what it is worth running, and it would cost about $200 to fix, logic won out and I will be saving to fix it, instead. Again. To that end, BTW, I'll be posting stuff on Justbeads and on Etsy... focal beads and some sets. Remember... the Holidays are less than half a year away... [insert lopsided grin here...]

I'm Still Alive -

Sorry to have been so absent - my brain has pretty much been absent, too. Lots of things have been going on, not the least of which is that my bluddy car is once again dead (surprise!). A couple of friends are in crisis mode, and it's difficult and guilt-making to put my problems ahead of theirs, although mine are every bit as real to me as theirs are to them. I don't even have to ask if any of you know the feeling... As an adult child of an alcoholic, I sometimes envy my father's ability to just anesthetize himself out of life's problems - I know that simply postpones the inevitable.

So I will be back soon. Please don't give up on me.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

Apparently it was 'just' hay fever -- no Montezuma or its opposite effect, no temp. But the chills made up for it, often becoming violent. Vertigo, causing me to bump into doorjambs and almost pitch forward into furniture. No sinus problems or chest involvement, making it difficult to figure out just what to medicate. Just a little rain in the middle of all this caused the symptoms to receed somewhat, giving me the clue that it was hay fever caused by the moderate pollen count plus the enthusiastic mowing (without grass bag) of the spacious community lawn. Once the rain quit, the symptoms came back with a roar, but antihistimine really helped everything but the vertigo. At any rate, a week of this is just way too much. It would be nice if we could have a light sprinkle every other day until the pollen subsides. Someone please take note...

Please, Michelle - don't do it!!

Please, Michelle... don't put on that hat!

There is something about a black woman in a hat that is just perfect. In an era when hats in general have fallen out of style, 'women of color' of whatever heritage still know that their dressed-up look is complete only when that hat, chosen carefully, is lovingly added as the finishing touch. In fact, a charming book about the affection between African/Jamaican/etc.-American women and hats is entitled "Crowns," a perfect title if ever there was one.

Dunno why, but white women just don't look quite right in hats. (Sorry, Your Majesty, but that means you, too.) Take pretty much any hat and try it on a caucasian gal, and it somehow looks like an affectation. Hand that same hat over to a black woman and it will more than likely look like it was made for her. The last white women who really carried off the hat as stylish accessory were Jackie Kennedy, and to a greater degree, Audrey Hepburn. And only the latter could have made the hat above look as charming as it does on even the average black woman.

So I beg of you, Michelle. Don't go making hats 'in' ... Silly women not of black heritage will go jumping on the bandwagon (or in the hatbox) and make fashion fools of themselves. You have a fantastic style sense, and I bet you look just as wonderful in hats as do pretty much any of your 'sisters.' It's because we white women don't that I beg you to withstand the temptation.

Parents: Time to Have THAT Talk with your Kids...

No, not the one about the birds and the bees, etc. This is one that shouldn't be put off until after your child goes to playschool, head-start, or any pre-school tot-group they might be headed for.


I'm referring to a chat with your kids about other kids that are 'different.' When they get to group play of any kind, they may encounter kids who are in the middle of cleft-palate repair or other necessary reconstructive surgery for readily apparent facial or other noticable abnormalities.


This is something that parents don't often take into consideration when 'socializing' kids. I remember my first encounter, as a grade-schooler, with a little boy going thru cleft-palate repair. He had a 'mild' cleft, apparently not intruding into the nostrils, but just up to it. Not ever having seen anything like it, and since it seemed to eminate from his left nostril, my unformed and uninformed cause/effect logic figured that it was the result of nose-running.... lots of snot, in other words. As I remember, I did way more nose-blowing than necessary for quite awhile.


When I was in Junior High, and a bit more sophisticated about birth defects, I was standing in line at the nurse's office for some reason, behind a nice kid named Jerry. His birth defect was one of missing fingers on both hands....3 on one, and 2 on the other. I was cool with it, but the girl behind me literally began screaming and pointing and demanding to know what happened at the top of her lungs. I shushed at her, and when that didn't do anything, I punched her really hard on the upper arm. She then began screaming at ME, and of course I got in trouble. As I remember, I didn't mind that too much, especially after I explained what happened.


All this is leading up to the plea - don't wait to chat with your kids about physical defects among their peers, both current and future. Kids that would never physically bully another child often don't think a thing about joining in on the ridiculing of a kid who is 'obviously different.' I think there is a bit of fright or apprehension about this cruelty...that maybe laughing or ridiculing it will ward off the same thing happening to them. When they don't know what causes it, it's hard to judge what reaction to have. You can do your part in explaining that sometimes, not very often, [God/mother nature, whoever] has caused the baby to be a little bit different when they were in 'their mother's tummy' and that it's unkind to make them feel bad about something they could not help.


Of course, if the ridiculing kid is a teenager, you've way missed the boat, but do your best. To my mind, the perfect time is the first time your child has his feelings hurt, because it's the perfect time for him (or her, of course) to relate to the pain they might inflict.


The little girl in the picture? She has extreme scoliosis...click on the pic for a good article. Love your kids, keep them safe, and do please keep them nice.

It's embarrassing to be an Illinoisan Sometimes...

I can't believe folks have nothing better to do than actually complain to a company about this.

Tell you what... if President Obama objects to it, I'll change my position. Until then, to everyone who complained... yer all nutz!

Speaking of Love...

Such a simple, well-bandied-about word. Full of meaning and yet often signifying very little. It's this latter type of 'love' I'm going to blog about. I'm going to use the word in the same way we say "I just LOVE Burger King," or "Simon Baker" or whatever. Just a way of further introducing myself.

Because it's still on my mind, I'll start by saying I just loved the show "Life On Mars." Feh to the network for dumping it. But I'm grateful they sewed up the series in the finale. A few years ago I faithfully watched a police procedural called "High Incident" which ended it's season with a MAJOR cliffhanger, never to be seen again.

I also love "Treasure Quest"... they'd BETTER find a lotta treasure to keep that ship afloat!

Also:

*Meerkats

*Flavored coffee creamer in hot water, sans coffee. Very much a 'comfort drink.'

*Unsweetened Kool-Aid without any kind of sweetener... no sugar, no artificial sweetener.

*a turkey in the fridge to pick on, rather than regular meals.

*'real' Volkswagen beetles, not the kinda-sorta ones they offer today

*printer manufacturers who don't sell cheap printers with outrageously expensive ink. I have a friend who just buys new printers that come with cartridges in place and an extra set in the box. He uses the printer until the inks are gone, then buys another computer and sells the old one on Ebay. He actually comes out ahead doing this.

*Lavender-Vanilla spray scent that Walmart sells. It must agree with my personal body chemistry - I've had a lot of inquiries about it.

*cold pizza for breakfast

*replies to my blogs

From now on, I think I'll append other blog entries with a few 'I love's' as they come to me.

Anyone have any opinion on the Kindle? I'm just curious...what's the benefit over and above a paperback, aside from immediacy?

A Little of This, A Little of That

A bunch of silly little things occurred to me today.

It must be hard-wired into humans to go for the negative when there is news of any kind. Granted, the report that Michelle Obama put on a sweater (aka 'covering her arms') to see the Queen was a relatively neutral observation. But those who didn't wonder aloud or in print why the Queen carries a purse in her own drawing room were swooning away or waiting for lightning to strike when Mrs. Obama actually TOUCHED the Monarch's back. That the Queen touched HER back first makes it all the sillier. This was, among other objectives, a fence-mending that sorely needed doing, and according to various reports, it was successful. Must be a slow news day...

I'm about halfway to getting my car fixed. I'll be sending money to almost cover the cost of the part, tomorrow. The mechanic (Corky's of Rantoul, IL) is charging me very minimal labor, but that distributor (Honda Accord '92) costs a BUNCH of money (over $300). This whole thing makes me long for what I consider the best car I've ever had... an almost new (6000 miles on it) Suzuki Samurai. Sold it after 9 years because it needed several repairs, and still got a decent price for it from a mechanic who wanted it for his son to learn the trade on. That said, I've always had good luck with Hondas save for this one. THIS one is trying to gaslight me.

Reminder to those who are allergic to bees: Time to update your bee-sting kit! I neglected to do so last year and was looking around every bush and tree for the bee/wasp that would do me in. Of course, once I got in the house and near the phone, I promptly forgot to call my MD, but I got the jump on the problem today, and hopefully that yellow plastic kit will be in my purse by this time next week.

I'm sorry to see Steve Wozniac leave Dancing with the Stars. Not because he's such a good dancer - he's a better 'sport' than a hoofer - but I loved seeing those holier than thou judges get into such a swivet with his take on so-called 'classic' dancing. Same for Cloris Leachman last season...good for both of you!

Speaking of 'reality' shows, I've been a fan of 'Survivor' since the first season. The show's editors have finally caught on to what I've been enjoying for years...the plotting of one or two 'lesser' players to take down the inevitable 'arrogant bastard' who pops up in every season. Love that 'blindsiding'!

Finally - as I type, Illinois is waiting for the lengthy indictment of our idiot former governor Blagojevich. And where is Blago? At DisneyWorld. Somehow that seems so very appropriate.

Meet my new Love - he's an ANIMAL!

Not much time to devote to the computer today, so I thought I'd introduce you to my new heart-throb...

Cars aren't the Way Fleer Promised they were going to Be...

When I was a kid, back in the dark ages, pretty much everything kidly came with some kind of trading card. I wasn't interested in the sports cards, but oh, I loved those cards that showed 'cars of the future.'

This was during a time when pretty much every kid could name any make of car by sight, including the model and year. That was just part of being a kid. Cars looked different, too, one from another. A Chevy didn't look like a Buick, a Plymouth didn't look like a Ford, etc.

What happened to those cars of the future? They were really neat looking. They were low, and sleek, and aerodynamically perfect, with very little wind resistance. What would our reaction be to the Scion, above, as a 'modern' car of the 2000s? I'll tell you.

We'd quit collecting cards.

It all ADDs up

Adult ADD is a strange and sometimes wonderful thing.

It causes a lot of trouble. But the rewards can be interesting, too. I have a friend who also has it (I refuse to say 'suffers from'). We are both artists, which is a common trait of AADD'ers. Many writers share the syndrome, as well as actors, scientists...it is often an unrecognized aid to focused and determined research and other endeavors. It can turn nasty, it's true - we start things and cannot finish them if we lose interest unless you drag us kicking and screaming back to it. We tend to be impulsive and too quick to act on untried ideas. (We are best at being the idea-person in a group, letting the follow-thru'ers act on them.)

What AADDers do wonderfully well,though, is chat. We understand, intellectually, about staying on-topic for long stretches of time...we just can't do it. We'll be talking about a tv show plot, then something one person says ignites an idea and off we go on another topic, only to change the subject again in another few minutes. It's like watching a verbal tennis match. Or My Dinner With Andre without the boredom.

We hate boredom. That's why the picture above is wincingly appropriate for a lot of us. We are, or can be, attrocious housekeepers. It's just not as important as what we're already doing, and what we're already doing inevitably leads to something else not connected with housework. Then, suddenly, it's bedtime. Tomorrow is another day.

One of the Best Things about St. Patrick's Day is....

The Strange Case of the Multiplying Meds

I don't know if anyone else has this mysterious experience, but my meds seem to be multiplying, even factoring in the 28/30 day months during the year.

I take a lot of meds for a lot of minor but necessarily medicable reasons, such as an arthritic knee, sensitivity to nitrates/nitrites (which require antihistimine), prozac (for free-floating anxiety) and Concerta to counteract some aspects of the prozac that causes one to want to sit and watch paint dry. Lasix for fluid retention. and a couple of potassium tabs to avoid charley-horses from the lasix. That half-aspirin just for luck. Finally, fish oil caps and big honking vitamins.

For some reason, the prozac and the lasix seem to be multiplying. I hate to have the Rxs stopped for any reason, since that causes all sorts of problems with the health care programs, requiring a new scrip in some cases - a big problem for me until I get my car fixed. So I sit and listen for signs of shenanigans from these two meds, because I can't explain the voluminous amounts of both I have on hand any other way. Being frug...oh hell...cheap, I can't bring myself to throw them out, and they have miles to go before they expire.

The Best in Shorts

I really have nothing much to say today, so I thought I'd instead share what I consider the best short story ever written. It's not long, so don't, please, read the last paragraph out of order. And when you encounter references that might make you wince, remember that it was first published in 1930.

A Rose for Emily

Out of My Mind About Bernie

Just have to add my (last) two cents to the Madoff affair.

First, I have to wonder what went thru Madoff's mind as he closed the door to his penthouse for the last time. At his age, he must have known that was the last moment for a LOT of things, not just the high life. If he has grandkids...no more uninterrupted contact with them. No milk/cookies dunking and quiet chatter with them. No more staggering sleepily out to the kitchen for that first cup of coffee with the day unfolding in front of him, ready for his choice of agenda. No, his days will be planned for him, and probably not to his liking. And probably having nothing to do with spreadsheets, either.

Letterman (one of my guilty pleasures) is making a huge deal out of 'where did the money GO??' Well, a lot of it was bitbucket-money. It never existed, except on Madoff's profit report. See...if you gave him $100 to invest, you got a wonderful report of what that money was doing, advancing like a fiscal pregnancy, growing by leaps and bounds. You might even get a 'dividend' or so to keep you 'on the hook.' (In reality, other investors' money.) You THOUGHT, and he told you, that it had grown to $5000; that is what you'd see as your loss. However, your actual loss was your initial deposit - nothing more. The other $4900 was your expectation. One of these days they will figure out what the real losses are, and it will be WAY lower than the beaucoup billions touted now. Did people "lose it all"? Oh, yes. But 'all' isn't the amount they think right now. Little consolation.

Another possibility regarding the 'disappearance' of the actual investment money is 'other folks' crimes.' Huh? you say...

Think about this - Madoff hired 'accountants' supposedly unsophisticated in the day to day profit/loss shenanigans going on within and around the faux accounts being massaged by Madoff. It's likely that most of them had no idea they were links in a financially diabolical scheme.

But it only takes one or two. Just suppose, in one of those over-the-watercooler moments, one of those more-savvy-than-you-thought employees sidled over to ol' Bernie and mentioned how interested the SEC, FBI, IRS, and probably NBC would be in his wonderfully creative investment abilities. However...just put some real cash in this sharper-than-average employee's hands (not in an account, please) and lips would be sealed.

In the course of 20 or so years, there could have been quite a few employee realizations of what was actually going on, all completely separate from the others.

That's quite a bundle of blackmail payouts. It could put a serious dent in one's actual unmassaged financials. And given the possible personalities of said 'employees' it could even induce an old goat like Bernie to plead guilty rather than answer questions about where 'all that money' went, rather than put himself or others at risk. Not that Bernie is a softie at heart - he asked his 'best friend' for a few million to invest just a day or so before being arrested - but an implied or actual threat to immediate family might have found a way into that stainless steel heart of his. A message such as 'you talk about our hush-money dealings and there won't be anyone left to come visit and buy you vending machine coffee' could inspire all sorts of guilty pleas to avoid pointed prosecutorial questions.

I'm just sayin....


(c)2009 KellyK

Way back when, around January, I posted a sad tale about my car (not quite like the one above). Here's an update. It's still dead, waiting for the $450 repair cost that isn't forthcoming as long as the freezing weather lasts and my money (literally most of what's left after the rent is paid) dwindles into my village's utility coffers.

It's amazing I've lasted this long without going completely insane, since I'm a single person in a town without even a bus service. It looks glum for the foreseeable future, too, since the utility bill is always a month behind real life; the result of energy frugality during one month only shows up about 6 weeks later after everything is tablulated and the most costly spin (it seems) put on it by the utility company.

I wanted to go to nickel bingo today. I didn't have any cash with me, but I had access to my Paypal account, which could, thru various massaging techniques, result in a $5 payment to a friend in another city. So last Friday I sent an email to her, requesting that she put five $1's in the mail to me in return for a $5 Paypal payment (a 'currency' she is accustomed to using). She didn't get the message in a timely manner so that's still pending, but she did some eyeball-rolling, presumably because it all sounded so silly.

But was it? She wondered if someone in the neighborhood had a five or five ones, forgetting that I didn't have actual money to offer, but Paypal funds which were trapped in my computer. Once with the $ in hand, the in-village mini-bus was available by regular route to go to 'geezer lunch' (my name for Peacemeal in-house lunching) + bingo, but what point is there to go to nickel bingo without a nickel? Hop in the car and go to the market or bank, where I could get change back? Hardly...no car. Walking would be fine for the kids in the neighborhood (if it weren't for the distance to store, etc.), but when you have an arthritic knee it produces diminishing returns.

How did this relatively new invention get to be the main 'ingredient' in so much of our daily life and survival? It's not by accident that the strength of a car's mobility is measured in horsepower.

I am quietly going nuts.

Breaking the laws of physics...

...sometimes weighing someone's words can give a negative value...


Much has been said about the former President's term, but no one can say it better than the man himself:

Doing it better the second time around...

Serious title, but I think it fits. The Oscars are a guilty pleasure of mine, and I usually think better of the broadcast than the critics do. This time, though, I really feel they fell down on the Memorium segment. Hard to read, hard to see in some shots. Roger Ebert agrees, and he posted the following UTube clip in his blog. Thanks, Roger...I'm passing it along:



Not earthshaking, but people who bring us joy, touch us in some way, devote their lives to sharing their talent should be acknowledged in a seemly manner.

Now for a change of pace...

I'm not a movie critic, like I'm not a connoisseur of anything (well, sushi maybe...), but I viewed a DVD yesterday that I really liked, and made me think about even now.

It's called "The Ruins." It doesn't have a load of A-list stars. In fact, it doesn't have *any* A-listers, and that's a good thing for this film, because one really has to identify with the principals in order for it to work. Like with "Blair Witch Project," it wouldn't have worked if the audience thinks 'oh, it's Brad Pitt playing [whatever part].'

The one star it DOES have is Ben Stiller, as executive producer. Nice work, Ben, because on the commentary section, many alternate choices were considered for important scenes, and in each one the right choice was made.

The plot? A group of young adults on vacation decide on the spur of the moment to assist a new acquaintence in finding his brother, who has gone in search of some ruins but has not returned. That's all you need to know, and don't let it make you think you've seen/heard the story before. You haven't.

CGI? Not so much. And clearly only where there was no other choice. I'm not a fan of kablooie for kablooie's sake. Nor do I like special effects which create situations or results which otherwise would be law-of-physics impossible. Let the special effects crews [SEC] create, not the computers. And in "The Ruins" the SEC comes thru with a bang (which is really the only bang in the flick).

If you liked Hitchcock's "The Birds," you will like this. For reasons I won't go into now because it will spoil a lot of the essence of it, I won't explain why I feel that way. If you are reasonably perceptive, you will understand why I say that after you've seen it.

The acting is good, and low-key for a thriller. There's good reason for hysterics from the principals, but the director chose to make the group level-headed and intelligent. What flip-outs there were, were logical and brief.

There is much to get nit-picky about - why did they [whatever], and why is this [whatever], and 'that wouldn't have happened.' Well, to that kind of movie-goer I say, 'just stop that!' "2001, a Space Odyssey" wouldn't be the classic it is if it got pecked to death by cinema-ducks. Movies depend on willing suspension of disbelief. There's not that much to suspend in this film, so if thrillers are your thing, just sit back and enjoy it. Or not. Your taste, your choice, but give it a try, since there's always the off-button if you don't.

Fiscally 'real' life...

This may lose me some readers, but I have a suggestion to help turn the economy around. Decriminalize pot. Before you run screaming or start yelling at me, there are things to consider, cost-wise. (And no, I don't use it, although I have...at night before I went to sleep. Very relaxing, and the dreams were delightful. Now - not in the midwest I won't...it's not treated nearly as casually as it is in California.) Anyway, that said:

For those with a head for studies, here is a very on-point website: http://www.drugpolicy.org/library/thies2.cfm
For those who like their information pre-chewed: http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/?c=columns&id=255&inc=article&x=drug-roar-20080429_c=columns&id=255&inc=article&x=drug-roar-20080429


For a purely fiscal point of view, consider these direct and indirect costs (in no particular order):

- relieve law enforcement of pursuit of small sales (up to, say, 2 oz) for personal use and get them back to big-time drug- and crime-fighting.
- get personal use out of the courtroom and free up huge time/cost factor, unclogging court calendars for more important issues. If you've never considered the cost of one prosecution of a personal-use bust, start with the cost of the court clerk, thru wages of prosecutor, court stenographer (or whatever they're called these days), Judge, bailiff...see where I'm going with this?...
- upon conviction, the cost of jail for the convicted person. If probation, you have to factor in the wages of the probation officer.
- absolutely the worst possibility... it might be the third offense (and remember, an ounce of pot can be a felony in some states) and that might be -- and in some cases IS -- a mandatory 25-life sentence. Can you picture anyone doing 25 years for being caught with a grams-sized bit of grass? Well, it's happening. And if you thought the cost of trying a personal-use case is excessive, do a little research on the costs of housing/feeding one inmate in general population for one year, then multiply that by 25. Check this site for state-by-state acceptance (or not) of use/cultivation... it will make you dizzy.
- Also, there is the cost of international pursuit of growers and their 'middle-men.' Free up THOSE officials/officers to pursue the cocaine/heroine/etc hard drug conglomerates. On the "positives" side, regulate and tax it like we do cigarettes, which are WAY more dangerous to one's health. Make driving while high the same as DUI (and take the impaired driver's license away while usage is under determination). Make adding ingredients to the mix to make it addictive a MAJOR felony with mandatory prison time (I personally think this should be in place for cigarette companies...). Regulate it thru the FDA.

Not only would this one simple decriminalization decrease the costs to the
cities/counties/state/feds, it would increase revenues of those same entities. It would allow those with diseases for which pot is indicated to use it without fear and/or guilt. It might even redirect potential alcoholics to a 'mood altering substance' which is far less likely to cause health/social problems.

And to the folks that have fallen for the argument that marijuana is a gateway drug...use your head. If marijuana is legal, you've removed the 'gate.' If it is no longer on the drug dealers' list of substances, you've eliminated the source of the enticement to go on to cocaine, heroin, and crack. How many drug dealers sell Burgundy? Vodka? Pina Coladas? If there's no profit, there's no point for the illicit drug dealers to sell it. Let the profit go to the various governments and watch their budgets change for the better.

Out of My Mind 2

- There's a current commercial showing a cute cupid firing his arrows into a unresponsive fella's chest. That kid is just adorable, which I'm sure gets him far in his schoolyard. Beyond that, I'm willing to bet my social security check that he's the spittin' image of Simon Baker at that age. And if you don't know who THAT is, shame on you!

- No matter one's life situation, there is not much more wonderful than a lovely thoughtful gift from a friend, right out of the blue. I was the lucky recipient (Tuesday, although I'm not sure when the carrier just plopped it in my carport) of the charming Numi gift set to the right. No reason (maybe Valentine's day), just a lovely gift I would never buy for myself, although it has been on my 'when I win the lottery' list for awhile. (along with the SmartCar and two years at The Golden Doors...) Thank you, and a big hug, Susan!

- That Dunkin' Donuts commercial is self-defeating. The one with all the folks yelling from their roofs. Especially the gal who is on her sixth cup. No WONDER she's on the roof. After six cups, I would be, too.

Say WHAT??

What am I missing? The one thing about this bailout that perplexes me is why NO Republican politician is in favor of limiting the pay of CEOs of corporations that accept bailout money. Doesn't 'bailout funds acceptance' kinda indicate the CEO isn't doing such a great job, on the face of it?

Recently Wells Fargo decided to forego its big bash for 'top producers/employees' slated to be enjoyed in Las Vegas. When asked about it, WF's reply was that the cost of this incentive trip was to be paid from corporate profits, not the bailout money it received. However... WF's last report showed loss rather than profit. I want to learn how to do that financial magic. Perhaps WF should be WTF instead...

Sinking my teeth into issues again...

It's so good to be back! So good, in fact, that I hate to start my return by grumbling about something. It is, however, something I feel strongly about.

For years there have been dental programs for kids. And it's an excellent, sensible thing to do. But there seems to be nothing nationally for seniors. When you really think about it, seniors with dental diseases are just as big an eventual drain on our health care system as are children with bad teeth.

With virtually all of the kid's dental programs, fillings are the mainstay of dental health. Makes sense, right? Good oral hygiene is essential for the intake of good nutrition. (Try eating an apple while enjoying a toothache...)

Consider, then, the 65+ year old senior who lives solely on Social Security, who gets a cavity. No one believes dental caries cure themselves, right? But neither Medicare nor Medicaid will cover fillings. If the cavity gets big enough, or deep enough, to cause a toothache, only then will the 'entitlement' for the aged kick into gear. The solution? Pull the tooth. Likewise, if a cusp or two on the tooth is broken, deny help until the tooth disintegrates enough to cause physical pain, then --- you guessed it --- pull it. Since regular dentists seldom do extractions anymore (although rebuilding the tooth is routine for them) the mandated extraction procedures are done by an orthodontist, who then bills Medicare/Medicaid for much more than the simple filling would cost.

Given the fact that people do lose teeth 'naturally' in the course of their lives, what happens when the absence of several teeth on one side, or side-by-side occurs? Chew on the other side. Ah...but what if the other side is in a similar condition because of all of this pull-don't-fill cost-ineffectiveness? Now it's time for sometimes thousands of dollars worth of major oral surgery all leading to dentures. Is this dumb, or WHAT?

A side effect of this astronomical stupidity is the reluctance of a lot of seniors to complain about ill-fitting Medicare/Medicaid dentures (since they see it as charity to begin with). They begin to deny themselves vitamin/nutrient rich foods and instead opt for soft foods which, while easier to chew/gum enough to swallow, don't provide the essential nutrients to maintain what would otherwise be a reasonably healthy body. Off to the doctor for various problems caused by less than optimal body health. This is striking among the 60+ demographic... a fat senior is very likely to be obese not because of laying about munching bonbons, but because spaghetti, macaroni, etc., is much cheaper and easier to eat than lean meats and fruits/vegetables. For them, low-calorie equals high expense, and even with foodstamps, it is not sustainable on a less-than-$1000 per month budget. (Especially in the midwest-to-east, where winter heating can easily take 1/4 of that amount.) Bad diet (frequently high in fat) equals heart disease, type 2 diabetes... many other ills the treatment for which will come out of YOUR tax dollars. Type 2 diabetes, linked primarily to diet, costs an enormous amount of Medicare/Medicaid dollars just in supplies - testing strips, needles - as well as daily insulin.

There needs to be more attention paid to senior dental health, and our legislators need to be made aware of just how the lack of it weighs down our tax dollars.

A True Horror Story For Our Time...

Still waiting to assemble my keyboard...and adapter...so in the meantime let me direct you to some interesting sites and information.

Today we look at the term 'transparency' by looking at what *wasn't.* Please go to this article, pour a big cup of coffee - or better still, a big stiff boubon - and enlighten yourself straight from the mouths of folks who were there AND willng to do the 'right thing'...

| shall etun...

'm stll wthout a keboad and feelng 'toothless'... wll be back soon, hopefull, but untl then, be glad ou don't have to put up wth tng to ead ths.

Couldn't put it better...

http://buntsign.com/Jan09/20090119.html

I'm typing on a keyboard that's giving me fits. Appaarently my 'old' 'board below kicked off in sympathy with my car; it refuses to type certain letters. The major problem with this is, it was an ergonomic keyboard I've used for over 10 years, and after 4 wrist/arm surgeries, it's the only one I can use with any comfort. (see image)

So, do I use part of the car repair money to get another one? With a $650 per month income, I don't just run out and get a new one. Ebay has a few, but the shipping is awful, and I could pay either the cost of the keyboard or the shipping, but not both.

(I've only typed those two paragraphs and already my left set of fingers are going numb using the laptop keyboard...later they will ache.)

If anyone has a keyboard like the one above that they've hated and put away, I'd be happy to reimburse your shipping cost. I would love it as if it were my own child, and keep it clean and happy.


Wthout t would tpe lke ths. Pettee pathetc, sn't t?

Still Scratchin'

As the little guy in the picture suggests, I'm still puzzled. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to pay for my car repair. I'll be going to my bead-lunch tomorrow, but I'm not the primary seller there, and with the economy the way it is....

Lest anyone think the little graphic that scrolls some of my beads is showing ALL available, it doesn't. I have an Etsy store, too, and if you're in the market for beads, do please go look at them. I'll be putting more and more up on Etsy today and throughout this vehicular crisis, trying to ward off insanity.... ;o)

All I want for my Birthday is a Rocket Launcher and one Round...

Right now this is my fantasy... the image at the right is, in my mind right now, my car. (Actually it's from a special effects website) But I'd really like to substitute my car, and push the button or however they detonated it. KABOOM!!

The estimate for my car repair is $450. Distributor cracked...filled all available crevices with gas (so I guess I'm lucky it didn't start burning with me IN it).

So... I'll have maybe half that by the end of the month. Since I don't use, or even HAVE, credit cards, it will sit at the repair lot gathering dust until I can scrounge up the balance. It wouldn't be quite so bad if I weren't in a 'one-horse town' with nothing much here and no bus-line to get to where there ARE places to get what I'll need throughout the month. Feh.

Greatest American Sit-com

Once upon a time, boys and girls, when the state of the television entertainment media wasn't all flash and glam, there came an enchanting series called "The Greatest American Hero." [GAH] The stars weren't stellar... you might not have heard of any of them aside from Robert Culp (of "I Spy" fame). Connie Selleca wasn't all that well-known (she of the currently Mrs. John Tesh status), and the basic claim to fame that William Katt has is this charming series, over 100 listings in IMDb, and good acting genes (mom: Barbara Hale, the original Della Street; dad: Bill Williams, the original Kit Carson, both of TV fame in the 50's-60's). I don't know why his star didn't skyrocket - GAH showed his great timing and cute-as-a-button good looks. The series' backstory can be found on Wikipedia; it's all you really need to get caught up on the premise.

This short video from YouTube gives you an example of the fun and playfulness and pure joy of the series. I've read that the three stars loved every minute of it, and it really shows. The casting was pure genius...I can't picture anyone else in the roles, especially Katt and Culp, who seem to share a buddy-chemistry missing in a whole lot of more recent shows. Culp seems to know just when to take center stage, so to speak, and when to give it over to Katt's underplayed, whimsical nature. Heh... do you think Netflix would mind if I..uh...'lost' the whole series...? {grin}

Please, if you want to see a really feel-good, charming, witty, fun show...rent this. I've heard that Steven Cannell is going to make a movie to go into production in 2009. If you don't watch the original, you won't enjoy the movie nearly as much. Talk is of Adam Sandler playing the part of Ralph. I can only shudder.

I have to tell ya, though... the theme creates an 'earworm.' You've been warned.

Happy Belated Birthday, New Year's Babies!!!

Don'tcha just love that phrase? So clever, so original. I'm sure everyone who says that to us thinks it's as fun to listen to as it is to say. And maybe you like it. I don't -- two words say it all: hangover and football. As in, 'by the time the hangover is gone, the football game is on.' A lot of us are lucky we're not asked, 'uh...who are you?'

Addendum: my friend Jael's post today is about beanie babies and their proliferation... personally, I think the only good BB is one filled with prime catnip and thrown to my two 'girls'...

Sometimes Timing is anything but Good...

As I was posting that wonderful "Santa Baby" rendition... well, read here


Bummer.

Thru The Day

It will be a long day for me, since no family is here and just peeking out of the door reveals ice at least an inch thick on the sidewalk leading to where my car used to be (and will stay 'used to be' unless Santa sends me a big bank account...!). So, even if I get an invitation or two, there is not a Christmas prayer in the world that would entice me to go anywhere that requires stepping on any sidewalk or street today. Well, maybe if the house were on fire, but not much else....

At least I will have turkey today... I froze the Thanksgiving bird while it still had a bunch of 'leftovers' on it, and I will pick at it starting this afternoon and when I'm done I'll put the leftover-leftovers into the crockpot for soup tomorrow. If I had a pressure cooker, I would also pressurize the bones into mush and give 'the girls' a treat. Yes, you CAN give pets poultry bones if you do this... the only real threat is the sharp bones that pet crunching creates - pressure-cooking (and running it thru a sieve) eliminates that. There - that's my gift to pet- and pressurecooker-owning poultry-eaters in this recessive time! (you might want to put aside a quarter-cupful of unsalted juice to put into it... the fat is ok (they would have eaten it 'in the wild') in moderation, but the salt is not.)

Checking the cupboard...I also have some canned jellied cranberry sauce left from when I almost depleted it making cranberry juice for my UTI. (I will NEVER quit trying to say IUD, although I *know* the difference very well!!...I have to stop and make sure I say it right EVERY time...) BTW, where did all the whole-berry cranberry sauce go? I searched all over my small town on T'giving to no avail, not even our big-box store had anything but the jellied kind, which seems to me to be something I should be spreading on bread. Is it scarce everywhere, or just here?

I also have some lettuce, so a salad is available for my feast, and also one of the potatoes I nuked yesterday.

It's not going to snow today - just freeze - so I won't be enjoying a white Christmas except for the leftover snow, which I guess is par for this Christmas course.

For those who know me well, they'd agree this would be my favorite turkey leftover....

Addendum:
Found this amazing news video and had to share it...put up with the ad and enjoy the story!

Potpourri - Part 2

I've been busy most of the day dropping Entre cards and looking for humor online -- I really need some giggles. For the third (and hopefully final) time this year, I had to have my car towed. It was 12F outside, no one had told me the 'geezer bingo/lunch' had been canceled and I was way too far into the street with a car that had just **stopped.** The last time this happened, it was the distributor. This time I suspect the fuel pump, if only because when I tried to start the thing it would occasionally let out a 'foof' sound. Very 'airy,' like a Hondafart...

So there I am, in a towtruck, with the poor sweet driver trying to back my towed car into a slot on a patch of unpaved lot which is covered with between 1" and 2" of ice. He finally hiked to the garage office to ask if he could park it out in the open, since it kept jackknifing all around the lot as he tried to back it in. This gave me my first grin of the day -- The driver is one of those guys who have a bit of tummy overhang in front, so his jeans tended to droop a bit, giving him a 'plumber's crack' about 6" long. To his credit he did try to pull them up now and again as he literally skated the 100 feet or so to the office/garage building, but mostly he had to use his arms for balance. It was too much to hope for that he would lose them completely, but very Chaplinesque, nonetheless.

I really shouldn't giggle too hard; he was sweet enough to drive me home rather than have the folks at Corky's do so - he didn't want me on the ice at ALL, even to walk to the shop office. Nice guy considering he'd had dozens of towing calls since last night, and the general area had, by then, chalked up 37 semi's jackknifed or otherwise broken down over a 10 mile radius. A shout-out to Joe's Towing...
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On a lighter note, I found this:

Bear convicted for theft of honey

By Paddy Clark - BBC News

The taste of honey was just too tempting for a bear in Macedonia, which repeatedly raided a beekeeper's hives. Now it has a criminal record after a court found it guilty
of theft and criminal damage.

Because the animal had no owner and belonged to a protected species, the court ordered the state to pay for the damage to the hives - around $3,500 (£1,750; 2,238 euros). The bear, meanwhile, remains at large - somewhere in Macedonia.
----------------
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas tomorrow, and best wishes for whatever holiday you celebrate! I will be reading a book, playing with polymer clay, and wishing I had a car to go get something with which to make hot buttered rum.

Potpourri, or "Out of my Mind"

I really don't like blogs that inflict music unasked, but I suggest you play this one - it is a really neat version of one of my favorite 'seasonal' songs:


This woman is a national treasure. The spin she puts on this satire of conspicuous holiday consumption is just precious! (For those under 40, it's Eartha Kitt... a fantastic entertainer who was born WAY too early!)
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I don't wish anyone harm, but this elicited a snort:
(AP) Some health department workers in southern Illinois think they may have discovered some contaminated food -- at their own office Christmas gathering. After the Lawrence County Health Department had a buffet for 72 people at a restaurant last week, 42 of the attendees suffered stomach problems, including the head of the department.
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Scrooge in action: http://dailycontributor.com/200812222445/goodbye-snowzilla/
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From the "Let's just rephrase it" department:

I like words...I've mentioned that before. I have a good 'feel' for using the proper one, but there is a word that just flummoxes me - 'wake' and all its permutations. I did a google search under 'grammar' to see if there is a definitive rule for 'wake,' 'awaken,' etc. All I can say after doing so is 'sheesh!'
See http://www.editpros.com/news0207.html#COACH question #2 for an example of the 'gee, thanks' kind of help I got for my effort.

More later, probably. I'm always wishing I'd added something, so maybe I will.

Stop That Drumming!!

I like the holiday season...I don't have much responsibility since my family is not in the area - just the love and good wishes to and from my precious friends is all I need to make my season bright. I even get to humming carols, although it takes a bit of prompting from radio or TV.

One carol I try to avoid every season is "The Little Drummer Boy." Supposedly a song of rejoicing, it sounds more like a funeral dirge. I really don't mean to offend anyone, but while the lyrics are just fine, the drag-ass melody is anything but joyous. If anyone can point me to a peppier version, I'd really appreciate it. I'll still turn off the draggier renditions, though, and look for 'Jingle Bell Rock' or even 'It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.'

Back from MD... well, yesterday. It seems I'm in fairly decent health for the health I'm in. Too fat, blood pressure a bit elevated (with HBP med) but within limits, blood glucose wavering but still within acceptable limits, a couple of other things (mostly maintenance) dealt with.

But in one of those 'oh, by the way' moments, I mentioned a spot on my upper arm that a friend insisted that I address the next time I saw my doctor. She looked at it, and said it looked like a precursor to, or possibly early basal cell skin cancer. She used liquid nitrogen on it, and we will watch it closely. She also called my friend a very wise friend, indeed. Absolutely, and with all the other things she has on her plate, Jael could possibly be a lifesaver, too. Hugs, lady!

Playing Catch-up

I'm one of those folks who can go without sleep for a time, but who has to get it back eventually. Between some looming projects and the mild-but-annoying illnesses I've had one on top of the other, I've either not been to bed or just stared at the ceiling when I did. That seems to be over, but my brain seems a bit slower to awaken than my ambition.

What I *have* been doing is catching up on mindless stuff, like watching the full series "Six Feet Under" (probably mostly because I'm glad I'm not), and playing russian roulette with SurfTheChannel.com's collection of Alfred Hitchcock TV shows... none have titles, just "???" ... while making fridge magnets for 30 people. Today is an 'on the road' MD appt. (she's 15 miles from the town I'm in), then the rest of the week is MINE!!!

Lessons...

No comments today... I'm 'recovering' from a lesson well-learned - that of erring on the side of caution when eating something your body isn't accustomed to.

In my case it was merely some (and I use the term loosely, so to speak) large, semi-cooked veggies - carrots, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower - and they were so good I ate the whole bagful (8 lbs) over the course of two days. It was then that my 'nether reagions' rebelled with severe cramps and two sleepless nights.

I guess if I want to go on a vegetarian diet I'd better sneak up on it with a tad less enthusiasm. In the meantime, I think that notorious 'old corn flake' of the early morning infomercials is long gone.

Have Hatchet, will Travel...

I'm feeling mighty mighty today...

In the 90's I moved from Northern California to Arizona to help someone in time of need... I got there just as a new governor was being voted in. Within a couple of years he was indicted for fraud.

I eventually moved back to California, then when I got disillusioned with the Deukmejian-sterilized version of my home state, I moved to Illinois, just in time for a new governor to be elected (in a very close race). A couple of years later, he was indicted for malfeasance of various kinds. A new governor was voted in.

Today that governor was arrested by the Feds and charged with various felonies having to do with using his office/power in a corrupt way. Yesterday he was quoted as saying in a press conference:""I don't believe there's any cloud that hangs over me, I think there's nothing but sunshine hanging over me."

I guess I'd better dig up my hatchet again... Anyone want to get rid of a governor? My mere presence seems to do the trick. I ask only moving expenses and at least one year's worth of rent/utilities....

TRADER JOE'S - Frustration R Us....

I love Trader Joe's. It's a fun friendly store, and the items they offer are really quality stuff. Some things I just can't find anywhere else, like the 'clear' (as opposed to tomato-drenched) salsa. Likewise 'two buck Chuck' (actually three bucks in our state), a very drinkable wine. Go here for an article about TJ's...

What I *don't* love is the fact that they are continually opening new stores, including new ones in Illinois, and THEY ARE ALL IN UPSTATE ILLINOIS!!!!! Am I shouting? In the words of Sarah Palin, "Ya'betcha!!!"

I once wrote to them, asking if they were going to open a store in central or downstate Illinois. After all, this is a long state, and even our state capital is more down-state than central. What's more, east-central is home to the University of Illinois @ Champaign-Urbana, a favored area of many, many 'most desired' lists. Students and staff come to the U. of I. from all areas, and many - if not most - are familiar with TJ's from their own home areas.

The reply I got was very annoying - they pretty much inferred that they were very selective in choosing what areas TJ's is located. It sounded to me that they were saying all but the greater Chicago area was undesireable. If it were any store but TJ's I'd mumble a few expletives and forget I'd ever heard of them, but TJ's really is special. Here is their own map of how they cluster the 11 or so stores in Illinois. (If you're unfamiliar with Illinois locale, just look at the Great Lakes... Illinois is that kinda 'flaccid' state at the lower left. Use the focus tool in upper left hand side of the map to pull back the mapview - move it closer to the '-' range to see dramatically how close the clusters are.)

If it weren't so bloody hard to organize pretty much anything, I'd help stage a march or something, but if someone could suggest an alternative, I'm listening...

In Other Words...

I love words. I love trying to find just the right word to fit the idea or emotion I'm trying to convey. One word, though, stops me in my tracks every time.

How does one define "thrill"? There are a lot of words that are hard to define, but pretty much everyone knows the concept... love, hate, and my absolute favorite 'defining-itself word, "uptight." But what is thrill? It's a silly word on the face of it, sounding vaguely like a sound, or perhaps one of those 'group of'' terms, akin to 'a pride of lions' or 'an exultation of larks'...

But it's not. It is a positive word, I guess... I haven't heard it used negatively unless it refers obliquely to the results of an action, such as "Dexter gets a thrill out of imposing justice on the deserving," Or "the thrill of the roller-coaster ride caused cardiac arrest"...

It does seem to be a real thing, though... one of those things that is unseen but felt. We can't 'see' pain, but we can feel it. Likewise 'love.' It's a tangible. But 'thrill' seems to wander around one's mind, meaning different things to each of us.

So the next time you're tempted to use it to describe a feeling or reaction, think about what you are really saying, and smile.

Looking for FORMER fabric painting artists...let's make a deal!

I know you're out there... those artists who decided to try fabric painting and bought all those supplies and paints just to decide it wasn't worth your time or money. You put the stuff away, not wanting to throw out all that paint that represented all that money. Worse, was there a little devil in the back of your mind that whispered that tossing it would admit failure? Read on...

I've found that the raised dimensional fabric paints (as opposed to the ones that apply flat to the fabric surface) are a wonderful tool in making my polymer clay beads and jewelry. However, frequent readers of my blog know that I can't afford a pack of gum without major massage of my budget. So for anyone who has multiple bottles of the medium hanging around, let's make a deal... let me know by email what you have (and it must have the kind of nozzle shown--the brand is immaterial); I will swap beads /pendant /whatever. Of course I'll pay postage! I'm a great fan of bartering and this seems to be a great opportunity to do it. Or if you know someone who might be interested, share this URL with them?

As to color...since all I have right now is green and orange, ANY color would be welcome!

Crock-pot Redux...

It seems that the fates felt sorry for me and my crockpot plight... I was getting my monthly groceries at 'that big-box store' and went over to the appliance dept to see how much it was going to cost me to replace the cooker I murdered. I remembered that the last one was over $30 and figured that they'd gone up a bit...or worse, that the model/size was discontinued.

Ah, but there it was... the same size, same model, brushed stainless...and on sale for $25! On my miniscule budget, that means someone(s) else is going to get short-changed unless I sell some items this month, but that pot was so much a part of my way of doing things, I would have to change a large part of my 'routine' to deal with its absence. Since the crockery insert from the old one fits the new one, it means that I can 'bulk cook' two large items the same day instead of having to plan two days...hooray! Have I rationalized this expenditure enough? [snort!]

If it sounds like all I do is cook - there is nothing further from the truth. I don't like it all that much, which is why I usually devote a full day or two to doing mammoth batches of whatever, then splitting them into servings and bagging them for freezing. Economical and good for portion control, which I desperately need... [grin!]

REDUX UPDATE: Murphy's law... I crowed too much... the new pot is, I guess you could say, 'a quart short.' It's otherwise identical, and the size of the box fooled me...the space was taken up with that fun foam stuff. That means I can't use both crockery inserts in the new one, but I can still use the old, larger one to store the cooked stuff from the new one in the fridge and carry on cooking. Usually I have size info with me when I go to shop for something, but this was a grocery trip. Dang. Oh, well!

Please Please Please....

I went to my usual Monday geezer bingo/lunch this morning, and just as lunch was starting, one of the more irritating regulars came in sniffling and coughing and snorting and sneezing. It's ironic that this particular person NEVER donates to the meal ($3 suggested donation, but they can't turn anyone away who doesn't pay because they get federal funds), yet she is just ever so happy to share her damn germs.

Please, folks - one of the greatest gifts you can give anyone is a free one...avoid going out when you have a cold or the flu. While your presence would be missed, it wouldn't be nearly as appreciated as your thoughtfulness in NOT giving everyone your cold or flu bug. Trust me on this!

TV Shows - some are just too good to miss!

While I'm kadoodling with some beadmaking and other creative endeavors, my little TV or laptop is ever at the ready.

Currently I'm catching up on a series I missed the first season-and-a-half, on Hulu. It's Burn Notice, and I guess you could call it the poor man's OO7. While trying to learn who 'burned him,' former spy Michael takes on what you might call 'odd jobs' earning the money that used to come a lot easier as a 'special ops' guy for 'the government.' A lot of fun, a lot of explosions, but not a lot of bloodshed, and what there is isn't nearly as messy as CSI's.

Another 'never miss' is Dexter. I'm just amazed at Michael C. Hall's talent. I just wish I could find a site that has back seasons of '6 Feet Under.'

I have plans to catch up on the seasons of another show I missed first time around - 'Rescue Me,' because I really like Denis Leary. Finally, when I'm thru with that, I'll peek in on a few others I've ignored because they cost big bucks to subscribe, like HBO and Showtime. Bless these streaming rerun sites!!

Bits, Pieces, and the demise of a well-loved Crockpot

I spend a lot of time in front of the computer, which means a lot of time in front of the small TV I also have on my desk. As a child-of-the-####ies (oops, a little line noise there), I learned to aurally multitask, listening to music or radio dramas while I did other things, most notably my homework. (hmmm...that might be why I got thru 12 grades by the skin of my teeth...) At any rate, I never did get out of the habit--to this day I can't just sit and watch TV. I must have something going on with my hands, be it needlework, beadwork, or even a book. (That takes REAL multitasking...) This is really my explanation of the 'bits and pieces' entries...I'm doing something else and something has piqued my interest on TV (or the Roe Conn radio show...you should stream that sometime!).

So...watching the Early Show's presentation of great (if not inexpensive) gifts for kids...I fell in love with Bisquit. As a cat person, I can be pretty smug about not walking the dog, especially during a snowstorm, but this pup I could really warm up to. I can't seem to get the embedding to work here, but here's the URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKSgU2cLUvg

I might add to this today, but for now....the dearly departed crockpot saga...
This isn't exactly the LOOK of my pot - it was white with flowers on it - but the style is the same. I loved to make stews and big chunky soups in it, as well as my 'end of the month' shove-in-the-Uncle-Ben's budget stretchers. It had its faults, one of which was divesting itself of the lid handle, and it became a real challenge to find something with which to lift the lid. But I loved it, knew its temps, and pretty much timed everything just right with the symbiosis of a real partnership.

Then came the unit inspection. I was doing a major tidying of my counter, shelves, etc., and the crockery insert was in the sink holding silverware and coffee-cups bathing in sudsy water. I had put a shopping bag over the pot because the inside had become pretty disreputable-looking over the years and I figured lifting lids and such was beyond the purview of even the inspection militia. Well... apparently in all the shuffling around, the little thingie (technical term) was jostled from 'off' to 'low,' so for the better part of the day the pot was working on the green recycled synthetic shopping bag. At some point the bag sagged down to the bottom of the pot, which was still without its crockery insert (it would have modified the damage greatly) and melted pretty much permanently onto the insides of the cooker. It does not peel off, and putting ice on the green stuff doesn't allow it to chip off, either. Leaving it there is not an option; it sets off my hard-wired smoke alarm, although there is no smoke to be seen...it's all invisible and apparently insidious.

So, it's 'goodbye, old friend.' I can't afford to replace it on my incredibly tight budget, although using the gas oven is going to be more expensive in the long run. I guess I'll have to chalk it up to another lesson well-learned...

Bits n' Pieces

Sometimes when 'dropping' I run across a blog entry that just has to be shared. This is one of those times, and I really hope you stop and read this one:
If it didn't at least almost bring a tear to your eye, you need new eyes...

More later, but just had to share that.

The WE channel has just given me a very nice Thanksgiving present... they're showing "Benny and Joon." This is such a rich, touching film, almost my favorite. "Friendly Persuasion" has that spot, but B&J is IMO Johnny Depp's best movie.