We always played Canasta for entertainment.
Whenever the family came together, we would enevitable pick partners and settle down to a good double deck Canasta tounament.
I had not seen my cousin Ginger for about 30 years, but when we hooked up after all that time, the evening ended with a game of Canasta. Ginger and I were partners against her sister, Mary, and Uncle Fred.
It was like a trip back in time. Thirty years evaporated as soon as the cards hit the table. We were back on the farm, and things had not ever changed. If you were real patient, Fred would make a bad discard, but Mary would pick up the pile at the smallest excuse. Ginger and I played for the long term.
The only point of discussion was Uncle Watson Rules.
Uncle Watson was a relative from Kentucky who came out one summer and spent some time with the family. Of course he was involved in the family Canasta tournaments.
He quoted special "Rules" that he invented as the occasion arose.
For instance, if you cut the deck at the exact amount of cards that were dealt out, you got an extra 100 points. Or if you had three red threes it was worth an extra 100, but you get the idea.
I don't think that his rules ever made any difference in the outcome of the game. Strategy and partnership always won out over special "Rules".
It came to mean that if you could think up a rule which sounded logical, and benefitted you, you could invoke it.
Not quite cheating, but an interresting side game to play.
So do you play by "Uncle Watson Rules" ?
Friday, April 20, 2007
Mrs A. brought home a bug frmo work. She has had a nasty, nasty cold all week. I woke up with my head completely congested, but I thought, hey, if I'm miserable, I might as well be at work. Save my sick leave for when I don't feel soo bad.
Oh yeah, like you don't do the same thing.
A 20 0z. Diet Coke with Lime and a couple Tylenol Severe Congestion tabs, and I'll make it through. After all, it is Friday.
Mrs A, and I are supposed to go to Jazz Alley Saturday for dinner and the show. Mose Allison is playing, and I was looking forward to it, but at the moment it looks unlikely.
I told the guys at work that if my head explodes, I hope I don't get any on them.
Oh yeah, like you don't do the same thing.
A 20 0z. Diet Coke with Lime and a couple Tylenol Severe Congestion tabs, and I'll make it through. After all, it is Friday.
Mrs A, and I are supposed to go to Jazz Alley Saturday for dinner and the show. Mose Allison is playing, and I was looking forward to it, but at the moment it looks unlikely.
I told the guys at work that if my head explodes, I hope I don't get any on them.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Grandfather Part II
While he was staying with us, we had gone downtown to see the sights. It was a blustery day, and as we were standing at the corner waiting for the light, right across the street a big gust of wind blew a beautiful young redheads skirt clear up around her ears. I saw Grandfather come to point like a hunting hound. His vision wasn’t too good, but he could still make out what had happened.
I turned to him and said “Grandfather, at your age!”
He turned to me and said “Son, if I quit looking, you better start digging the hole.”
While he was out here, he went to spend a couple of weeks with my Aunt Mary and Uncle Frank in Olympia. They went out to take care of some errands, and when they got back Grandfather was not to be found.
Eventually they heard noises coming from the basement. He was down in the basement, which was dirt, and he was digging a hole. They probably thought that he had gone over the edge, so they asked him what the heck he was doing.
He explained that he had noticed that there weren’t many rock outcrops or anything. It seemed like the topsoil just went on and on, so he went down into the basement to look at the soil in profile. That got his curiosity up, so he wanted to see how much deeper the soil went. He had gone down about an additional three feet, and no end . When they asked him what he thought, he just pointed at Mount Rainier and said something about “It came from over there.”
He came out of his funk and lived for seven or eight more years. I loved to sit with him and get him talking about what the world was like when he was young. He told me about the first time he saw an automobile, which was a Locomobile. He always remembered it because it had eight wheels. I thought he was pulling my leg, so The first chance I has, I looked it up at the library. Sure enough Locomobile produced a car with eight wheels.
Grandfathers great passion was his garden. He had several. There was the spring garden, the main garden, the berry garden, the orchard. We were pretty much self sufficient. We canned, and had a couple of freezers. Grandfather made the best pickled crabapples, and apple jelly, and beans, and peaches. We picked wild blackberries and huckleberries. We made homemade ice cream from wild strawberries. We fished and hunted, made our own butter.
Back to butter. We used to take a quart mayonnaise jar and fill it with cream, and sit there and shake it. By the time the evening was over, voila’ butter. Whenever I visited the farm, I always came away with eight or nine pounds of home made butter.
Grandfather had Macular degeneration, and his vision kept fading. There was less and less he could do. Finally in the Spring of 1971 it had faded to the point that he could not distinguish the new vegetable sprouts from the weeds. He decided he didn’t care to stick around any longer, so within a couple of months he was gone.
He had a long and productive life, was loved by his family, and pointed a couple of generations of kids in the right direction.
So on Saturday mornings when I put the butter on my toast or waffles, I always stop for a moment and think of my grandfather.
Here’s to you wherever you are.
I turned to him and said “Grandfather, at your age!”
He turned to me and said “Son, if I quit looking, you better start digging the hole.”
While he was out here, he went to spend a couple of weeks with my Aunt Mary and Uncle Frank in Olympia. They went out to take care of some errands, and when they got back Grandfather was not to be found.
Eventually they heard noises coming from the basement. He was down in the basement, which was dirt, and he was digging a hole. They probably thought that he had gone over the edge, so they asked him what the heck he was doing.
He explained that he had noticed that there weren’t many rock outcrops or anything. It seemed like the topsoil just went on and on, so he went down into the basement to look at the soil in profile. That got his curiosity up, so he wanted to see how much deeper the soil went. He had gone down about an additional three feet, and no end . When they asked him what he thought, he just pointed at Mount Rainier and said something about “It came from over there.”
He came out of his funk and lived for seven or eight more years. I loved to sit with him and get him talking about what the world was like when he was young. He told me about the first time he saw an automobile, which was a Locomobile. He always remembered it because it had eight wheels. I thought he was pulling my leg, so The first chance I has, I looked it up at the library. Sure enough Locomobile produced a car with eight wheels.
Grandfathers great passion was his garden. He had several. There was the spring garden, the main garden, the berry garden, the orchard. We were pretty much self sufficient. We canned, and had a couple of freezers. Grandfather made the best pickled crabapples, and apple jelly, and beans, and peaches. We picked wild blackberries and huckleberries. We made homemade ice cream from wild strawberries. We fished and hunted, made our own butter.
Back to butter. We used to take a quart mayonnaise jar and fill it with cream, and sit there and shake it. By the time the evening was over, voila’ butter. Whenever I visited the farm, I always came away with eight or nine pounds of home made butter.
Grandfather had Macular degeneration, and his vision kept fading. There was less and less he could do. Finally in the Spring of 1971 it had faded to the point that he could not distinguish the new vegetable sprouts from the weeds. He decided he didn’t care to stick around any longer, so within a couple of months he was gone.
He had a long and productive life, was loved by his family, and pointed a couple of generations of kids in the right direction.
So on Saturday mornings when I put the butter on my toast or waffles, I always stop for a moment and think of my grandfather.
Here’s to you wherever you are.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Grandfather, Part 1
Lately my grandfather has been on my mind.
On weekend mornings I almost always have either toast and jam or waffles, liberally covered in butter.
Butter is one of the things in my life that I will not compromise on. It has to be real butter. No “I can’t believe I’m eating this stuff”. No crown magically appearing on my head. Even when the Medical community was spouting their drivel about how bad butter was for you, I persisted in demanding the real thing. Of course they eventually decided that the crap they had been pushing was worse for you than butter.
At any rate, when I was 14 or 15, I was making toast and jam for breakfast. I was liberally spreading butter on the toast. Grandfather was walking by, stopped for a second to observe, and said “I see you like a little toast and jam with your butter.”
So every weekend when I am spreading the butter on my toast or waffles or flapjacks, I remember that remark. It was typical of his dry sense of humor. If you would glance up, you could see the twinkle in his eye despite the deadpan look. He looked like he had posed for Grant Woods’ famous painting American Gothic: My Grandmother could have done the other half of the pose. But if you looked a little closer you could see the twinkle in his eyes and the spark of a remarkable intelligence.
Although he was not an educated man, he had educated himself in all sorts of things: Botany, animal husbandry, bee keeping. Gardening and farming. His was a quick mind, and I never saw any deterioration right up until his death. He was the heart and center of our family while I was growing up.
Every evening after dinner we would go for a walk. The farm was on a short quarter section of land. Approximately 80 acres of pasture, 100 acres of hill covered with timber. He pointed out all of the different plans, told me what they were good for. We foraged whatever was in season. I learned a lot from him. When I was in college, my Botany Professor was amazed at how much I knew with no formal training.
After our evening walk we would either listen to the radio or get out the phonograph. Grandfather was legally blind, and he belonged to the Lighthouse for the Blind. They sent a phonograph that was geared down to like 7 & 1/2 rpm. They provided a catalogue every month and you could order books and magazines on records. He would order all kinds of stuff. I remember one winter we were working out way the through the works of George Bernard Shaw. We had just listened to “Joan of Arc” and had a lengthy discussion about whether Joan was listening to God, or listening to a different kind of voices.
We lived out on the Coast, and they lived in Northern Idaho. Every summer we would take vacation when the haying was on. We would help with the hay, go fishing and Huckleberry picking, help with the milking, whatever needed to be done.
As soon as I was old enough, I started spending my summers on the farm. I loved it over there. The best summer of my young life was when I showed up in June, and Grandfather handed me a fishing rod and stringer, and told me “Your major chore this summer is to fill up the freezer with enough fish to last the family all winter”. I was just the kid for that chore.
We lived within walking distance of some of the best trout water in North America, and that summer I fished every inch of it. After morning chores, I would go dig some worms, and off to the streams I would go. I was usually back home for dinner with a bunch of trout. I don’t remember ever coming home emptyhanded. There were four good streams within walking distance, and we varied where we went. There were a couple of kids close to my age a mile or so up the road, and a lot of times we would get together and go fishing.
Sundays the whole bunch of men would take off and go on a fishing expedition. There was always a contest between myself and my Uncle Fred to see who could catch the most fish. Sometimes he won, sometimes I did.
The summer I was 15, in addition to the fishing pole, Grandfather handed me the .22 and a couple of boxes of shells.
It seemed a family of ground squirrels had invaded the pasture, and one of the cows had stepped in a burrow and broken it’s leg. The cow had to be put down. Part of my summer job was to get rid of them. They were threatening the family income. So part of my morning and evening chores was to go set up in the field and take out a ground squirrel whenever the opportunity presented itself. It was also a very good opportunity to sit there and daydream.
Although I do not take a great deal of pleasure in killing things, it was a chore to do, and it was my responsibility. There is a different attitude on a farm. You raise a steer from birth, and when it is time, you slaughter it and butcher it and eat it. Same with chickens and hogs and once, turkeys.
Grandfather and Grandmother had been married over 50 years when she died. Everyone was afraid that we would lose him shortly thereafter. He started kinda wasting away.
We went over to the farm and kidnapped him. Kept him busy doing things he had never done before. He had never seen the ocean before, so we took him to the coast. Although his vision was limited, he was impressed with the sound and feel of the place.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Oh Shit
Like almost everyone I have been monitoring the killings in Virginia.
There are so many questions that will never be answered, because the perp killed himself.
Or so the story is at the moment.
More than anything I wish he had survived so we could understand what drove someone to do such a despicable thing.
At this point we don't know much.
How can a person descend to such a state of Hell that he can justify such an act?
I mourn for the families of the victims.
Wrong place at the wrong time.
God have mercy on us all.
There are so many questions that will never be answered, because the perp killed himself.
Or so the story is at the moment.
More than anything I wish he had survived so we could understand what drove someone to do such a despicable thing.
At this point we don't know much.
How can a person descend to such a state of Hell that he can justify such an act?
I mourn for the families of the victims.
Wrong place at the wrong time.
God have mercy on us all.
Just checking in
There doesn't seem to be mutch going on in the Blogosphere today. I am writing a longer piece on my Grandfather, so I don't have much for here today. Spent some time working in the yard this weekend.
Chased Mrs A, around the house a couple of times (caught her once, too).
Watched the Mariners whoop it up on Texas.
A nice quiet weekend.
Chased Mrs A, around the house a couple of times (caught her once, too).
Watched the Mariners whoop it up on Texas.
A nice quiet weekend.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Friday the 13th
Happy Friday the 13th. How can Friday ever be a bad day?
Now if it was Monday the 13th, that I could understand. No redeeming qualities at all.
All you have to do is hang on, and the week is over. You can stay up late and not worry about the alarm. You can have one more drink, and so what if you sleep in late and feel a little unfocused.
I noticed that there were a quite a few cars missing in the parking lot. A lot of people will use any excuse to stay home. I know one guy that refuses to get out of bed on Friday the 13th. Really.
I'm not sure where the superstition came from. One theory (based on fact) is that it is because it was on Friday the 13th that the Pope and the King of France ordered the roundup and murder of The Knights Templar.
So do any of you out there have a superstition? Personally I am free of them
Knock on wood.
Now if it was Monday the 13th, that I could understand. No redeeming qualities at all.
All you have to do is hang on, and the week is over. You can stay up late and not worry about the alarm. You can have one more drink, and so what if you sleep in late and feel a little unfocused.
I noticed that there were a quite a few cars missing in the parking lot. A lot of people will use any excuse to stay home. I know one guy that refuses to get out of bed on Friday the 13th. Really.
I'm not sure where the superstition came from. One theory (based on fact) is that it is because it was on Friday the 13th that the Pope and the King of France ordered the roundup and murder of The Knights Templar.
So do any of you out there have a superstition? Personally I am free of them
Knock on wood.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Tax Time
It's not that I procrastinate or anything, I just hate doing taxes.
At least I didn't put it iff until the last minute (That would be Tuesday).
So we queued up at H & R Block yesterday. No room at the Inn. They told us to go somewhere else. They called, and the H & R Block in Southcenter (About 5 miles away) had an opening. We walked in and were immediately served. Not a whole lot of people know there is a Tax place in Sears. It is on the second floor, back in a corner, past the bathrooms, down the hall from the portrait place.
It's kinda like they are ashamed of it but had to have it so they locked it in the broom closet and won't tell anyone where it is.
We are getting back a wad this year. I am toiling with the idea of adjusting my deductions. The first year Mrs, A and I were together, we had to PAY MONEY to the IRS. So we zeroed out everything, and since then we have been getting money back.
So, which would you rather do? Let the Government play with your money all year and get back a chunk, or keep it all now and risk paying it back at tax time?
At least I didn't put it iff until the last minute (That would be Tuesday).
So we queued up at H & R Block yesterday. No room at the Inn. They told us to go somewhere else. They called, and the H & R Block in Southcenter (About 5 miles away) had an opening. We walked in and were immediately served. Not a whole lot of people know there is a Tax place in Sears. It is on the second floor, back in a corner, past the bathrooms, down the hall from the portrait place.
It's kinda like they are ashamed of it but had to have it so they locked it in the broom closet and won't tell anyone where it is.
We are getting back a wad this year. I am toiling with the idea of adjusting my deductions. The first year Mrs, A and I were together, we had to PAY MONEY to the IRS. So we zeroed out everything, and since then we have been getting money back.
So, which would you rather do? Let the Government play with your money all year and get back a chunk, or keep it all now and risk paying it back at tax time?
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Stretch Time
Because of my rabbit picture yesterday, the Peanut Queen banned me to the dungeon. No castles with dungeons being available, I did the next best thing.
I went to Physical Therapy, where they put me on the modern equivalent of the rack. They sit you in a chair and put this thingie under your chin, They turn on the machine and it hangs you for 15 seconds, then relaxes fot five. This way they can hang you over and over without actually killing you. This goes on for 20 minutes at a time.
I am sore as heck this morning, but I have all the feeling back in my thumb and forefinger.
I went to Physical Therapy, where they put me on the modern equivalent of the rack. They sit you in a chair and put this thingie under your chin, They turn on the machine and it hangs you for 15 seconds, then relaxes fot five. This way they can hang you over and over without actually killing you. This goes on for 20 minutes at a time.
I am sore as heck this morning, but I have all the feeling back in my thumb and forefinger.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Bad news
If some of you were wondering why there was no basket of candy at your place for Easter........
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Back from the Ocean
So we are back from our weekend at Kalaloch. When we pulled in on Friday it was absolutely beautiful. We took a long walk on the beach after we checked in to our cabin. A couple of hours on the beach were the healing we needed.
I could feel the tension and worries bleeding off of me as we walked.
By the time we came back we were really relaxed. This was the first time Molly had been to the beach. So many new smells and things to look at. She was so hyper when we started out, and so exhausted by the time we returned.
We made a fire in the wood stove, settled in, and had a couple of drinks. I won't go into the details, but when the lights are out, it is absolutely dark, and "Hide and Seek", naked, can be a whole lot of fun.
I'm not sure who won.
Probably both of us.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Early Release
Today is Friday for Mrs. A and me.
We are taking off tomorrow for a couple of days at the ocean at Kalaloch Beach. We have rented one of the cabins. I hope there is enough of a break in the weather for us to take a nice long walk on the beach.
A couple of days of peace and quiet will go over real good. We are going to celebrate our anniversary. Four years on one hand doesn't seem so long, but on the other hand it seems like much longer. We have been through so much in four years, it's a wonder we have manged to stay together this long.
Right now things seem to have settled down. Nary a crisis in the last couple of weeks.
Knock on wood.
We are taking off tomorrow for a couple of days at the ocean at Kalaloch Beach. We have rented one of the cabins. I hope there is enough of a break in the weather for us to take a nice long walk on the beach.
A couple of days of peace and quiet will go over real good. We are going to celebrate our anniversary. Four years on one hand doesn't seem so long, but on the other hand it seems like much longer. We have been through so much in four years, it's a wonder we have manged to stay together this long.
Right now things seem to have settled down. Nary a crisis in the last couple of weeks.
Knock on wood.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Nothin' is somethin'
I really don't have anything to post today.
But the fact that I don't is in and of itself significant. Ever since Mrs A and I got hitched (Coming up four years on the 9th) we have been going into, coming out of, or in the middle of crisis. It got to the point where we hated to answer the phone.
The last couple of weeks have been blissfully quiet. It's not a state I am used to, but I sure would like to try.
Frosty again this morning, but the afternoon is supposed to be beautiful. I have Physical therapy for the pinched nerve in my neck after work. I have most of the feeling back in my thumb and all of it in my forefinger, so even though I thought the exercises were a bunch of BS, I guess they work. Either that or they are just a distraction to occupy you while the natural process of healing takes place.
Afterwards I need to go and get a card for Mrs A. It's her birthday tomorrow, and I'm not going to say which one.
I value my life.
But the fact that I don't is in and of itself significant. Ever since Mrs A and I got hitched (Coming up four years on the 9th) we have been going into, coming out of, or in the middle of crisis. It got to the point where we hated to answer the phone.
The last couple of weeks have been blissfully quiet. It's not a state I am used to, but I sure would like to try.
Frosty again this morning, but the afternoon is supposed to be beautiful. I have Physical therapy for the pinched nerve in my neck after work. I have most of the feeling back in my thumb and all of it in my forefinger, so even though I thought the exercises were a bunch of BS, I guess they work. Either that or they are just a distraction to occupy you while the natural process of healing takes place.
Afterwards I need to go and get a card for Mrs A. It's her birthday tomorrow, and I'm not going to say which one.
I value my life.
Monday, April 02, 2007
April Snow
It was snowing North of Seattle this morning. Sticking a little even. Haven't they told the weather gods that it is now officially Spring?
It didn't snow at my house, but still that means that it was cold enough to make you put on an extra layer of clothes. I SO want it to warm up.
No big whoop-te-do this weekend. Stayed home. Made egg rolls, chased Mrs A. around the house. V. was off with a youth group that went down to Mt. St. Helens for the weekend.
A very laid back, no pressure weekend. Did a few chores, took a couple of naps.
Gotta run. Need to go start the fire and prepare the sacrificial goat for the offering to the weather gods.
It didn't snow at my house, but still that means that it was cold enough to make you put on an extra layer of clothes. I SO want it to warm up.
No big whoop-te-do this weekend. Stayed home. Made egg rolls, chased Mrs A. around the house. V. was off with a youth group that went down to Mt. St. Helens for the weekend.
A very laid back, no pressure weekend. Did a few chores, took a couple of naps.
Gotta run. Need to go start the fire and prepare the sacrificial goat for the offering to the weather gods.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Just do it
Go here: http://boobsinjuriesanddrpepper.blogspot.com/ to read one of the funniest posts ever. I laughed so hard I has tears running down my face.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Friday at last
We had originally planned to go with Morning Light for a show at Maple Lane this weekend, but they delayed the show until June.
Tomorrow we are going to make egg rolls. We are down to the last bag, and I owe those to my sister. We are going to the beach at Kalaloch next weekend, and V. is going to stay with my sister, and I promised her egg rolls for keeping an eye on him. She says that if I don't bring egg rolls he will have to sleep under the porch.
The ritual is to go buy the materials, stop and rent a DVD and buy a big bottle of wine.
Put on the video, roll egg rolls and sip wine.
I have to admit that the quality control falls off a little towards the end.
Tomorrow we are going to make egg rolls. We are down to the last bag, and I owe those to my sister. We are going to the beach at Kalaloch next weekend, and V. is going to stay with my sister, and I promised her egg rolls for keeping an eye on him. She says that if I don't bring egg rolls he will have to sleep under the porch.
The ritual is to go buy the materials, stop and rent a DVD and buy a big bottle of wine.
Put on the video, roll egg rolls and sip wine.
I have to admit that the quality control falls off a little towards the end.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
100 books
Tagged by An Extraordinary Woman in an Ordinary Life
Look at the list of books below.*Bold/colour the ones you’ve read*Italicize the ones you want to read, leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.If you are reading this, tag your it!
1.The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2.Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3.To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10.A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11.Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12.Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13.Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16.Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)*
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible (all of it)
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)*
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolsoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)*
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100.Ulysses (James Joyce )
47 out of the 100. There are a bunch I know nothing about. Not a whole bunch that interrest me. Most of the ones I would be interrested in I've already read.
Look at the list of books below.*Bold/colour the ones you’ve read*Italicize the ones you want to read, leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.If you are reading this, tag your it!
1.The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2.Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3.To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10.A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11.Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12.Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13.Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16.Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)*
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible (all of it)
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)*
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolsoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)*
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100.Ulysses (James Joyce )
47 out of the 100. There are a bunch I know nothing about. Not a whole bunch that interrest me. Most of the ones I would be interrested in I've already read.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Happy Hump Day
I was wandering around the factory this morning, and stopped in at my old area on the barge at flow day 5. Conversation turned to animals, and eventually Porcupines, because L. had a dog that kept getting quills in it's snout.
We had a cow that got a snout full of quills twice. That was a chore that was no fun at at all. Spook was a flighty cow at the best of times, and when we got her in the milking parlor with her head locked in a stanchion, she was getting panicy.
She had a dozen or so quills, and getting them out was a hell of a chore.
When it happened the second time, we decided Mr. Porky had to go.
Mr. Porky was coming into the barn to get salt, so we waited on him one night and ambushed him with a .22.
Once he was properly ballasted with lead, we wondered what he would taste like. So we skinned and dressed him out, and threw a haunch on the BBQ.
He tasted AWFUL.
It was early Spring, and food was scarce, so he had been dining on the inner bark of pine trees, and you could taste it in the meat
Kinda like pork marinated in Pine-Sol.
We had a cow that got a snout full of quills twice. That was a chore that was no fun at at all. Spook was a flighty cow at the best of times, and when we got her in the milking parlor with her head locked in a stanchion, she was getting panicy.
She had a dozen or so quills, and getting them out was a hell of a chore.
When it happened the second time, we decided Mr. Porky had to go.
Mr. Porky was coming into the barn to get salt, so we waited on him one night and ambushed him with a .22.
Once he was properly ballasted with lead, we wondered what he would taste like. So we skinned and dressed him out, and threw a haunch on the BBQ.
He tasted AWFUL.
It was early Spring, and food was scarce, so he had been dining on the inner bark of pine trees, and you could taste it in the meat
Kinda like pork marinated in Pine-Sol.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Blah, Blah, Blah
I started out my day today in the Dentist's chair. I had two permanent crowns fitted this morning. I get closer to done with my dental project with each thing that gets done.
I came to work right after, so I was sitting here with a numb tongue and lip. I had to be real careful eating lunch so I didn't dribble soup down my shirt ftont or chew a hole in my lip.
Things are almost back to normal now, or as close to normal as I ever get.
One of my almost-daughters came over last night to use the washing machine and drier. Personally, I think she heard what we weere having for dinner, and the laundry was just an excuse to come over and mooch a meal, but that's OK.
She is working at The Space Needle in Seattle, in food service. She has access to half price coupons to eat at the restaraunt. Prices are a little spendy, like $35.00 a plate, so the only way we would go there was on a half price deal. She said she was going to get us one for Mrs A.s birthday. Mrs A. has never been there, and it has been a long time for me. It would be a bit of nostalgia.
That's where I took all of my prom dates.
I came to work right after, so I was sitting here with a numb tongue and lip. I had to be real careful eating lunch so I didn't dribble soup down my shirt ftont or chew a hole in my lip.
Things are almost back to normal now, or as close to normal as I ever get.
One of my almost-daughters came over last night to use the washing machine and drier. Personally, I think she heard what we weere having for dinner, and the laundry was just an excuse to come over and mooch a meal, but that's OK.
She is working at The Space Needle in Seattle, in food service. She has access to half price coupons to eat at the restaraunt. Prices are a little spendy, like $35.00 a plate, so the only way we would go there was on a half price deal. She said she was going to get us one for Mrs A.s birthday. Mrs A. has never been there, and it has been a long time for me. It would be a bit of nostalgia.
That's where I took all of my prom dates.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Jambalaya
I'm making Jaqmbalaya for dinner tonight, but I'm doing it the lazy way.
I have a very good recipe for making it from scratch, but during the week it is just too much trouble.
Now I go and buy a box of Zatarains Jumbalaya mix as a base, add in a green pepper, a sweet onion, some Polska Kielbasa, and some chicken. Throw it in a pot and let it simmer until the onions are translucent, and go for it.
Yummmm!
I have a very good recipe for making it from scratch, but during the week it is just too much trouble.
Now I go and buy a box of Zatarains Jumbalaya mix as a base, add in a green pepper, a sweet onion, some Polska Kielbasa, and some chicken. Throw it in a pot and let it simmer until the onions are translucent, and go for it.
Yummmm!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
The Caddie
It was a fine Fall evening. We had gotten together for an evening of Poker, cheap cigars and beer.
We played real poker. No baseball, low spade in the hole, spit in the ocean. Five card draw. Five card stud, Seven card no-peek (match the pot if you peek). Our sole aberration was acey-deucey, while really not poker per-se does have real odds and calculation.
Cards have never been my friends. We always played penny/nickel/dime/quarter with a 50 cent bet limit, except for acey-deucey, where you could match the pot, which I had. I had turned up an ace and a king and went for the pot, only to have a second king show up, much to the amusement of everyone there.
I probably would have called it a night, but as I had bummed a ride with J.B., I didn't have a way home. J.B. Was doing well, so it looked like I would be there for a while.
P.J. was up and contemplating how much to bet on an eight/three, when the door burst open. It was Meyer.
"The Caddie!!" he screamed. "My Uncle is going to give me The Caddie."
We had been hearing about The Caddie for the last couple of months. It seemed that Meyer's Uncle had this 1959 Cadillac sitting in the driveway, not being used. Meyer had been petitioning his Uncle to sell it to him cheap. Each week brought a new scheme got getting his hands on the car. Meyer's uncle had finally relented for a couple of hundred dollars and a summer full of yard work.
This was momentous news, since out of the five of us, we only has two sets of wheels, thereby limiting out access to a wider world. This was even more important than our guys only poker night, so we abandoned the poker game and all piled into P.J.'s 1957 Mercury four door sedan and headed for Mercer island to rescue The Caddie from Meyer's Uncle's driveway.
Our first stop was a Chevron gas station, where Meyer had dropped off a battery earlier in the day to be charged. A couple of miles from the gas station, the transmission started making some strange whirring noises, and a little smoke started coming from under the hood. As we got closer to the gas station, the noises got worse and the smoke more noticeable. By the time we got there, we arrived in a great cloud of smoke and a lot of noise.
A check under the hood revealed that the whole engine compartment was drenched in transmission fluid. A closer exam showed that one of the transmission lines had developed a crack and was spewing fluid into the fan which was doing it's best to distribute the fluid evenly over the entire engine compartment.
Since it was 10:00 at night by this time, there was no way we were going to be able to fix the Merc that night. So with the optimism if youth, we decided to get the battery, and carry it the mile or so over to Meyer's Uncles house, put it in the Caddie, start up the Caddie and drive it back home.
A car battery gets might heavy when you have to pack it better than a mile.
We finally arrived at Meyer's Uncles, and installed the battery in the car. We expected it to be a little reluctant to start, since it had been sitting in the driveway unused for several months, and we were not disappointed. It backfired, it flashed back out of the carburetor, it rattled a nd ran for a couple of seconds and died. It did everything except run.
The battery was starting to run out of juice, so we had a major decision to make.
Mercer Island is in the middle of Lake Washington. It is fairly large and has a central plateau which is a couple of hundred feet high. We were on that plateau, and about a mile away was the dropoff. It was only a slight uphill , not steep at any point, so we decided to push the Caddie up to the top of the hill,all climb in and even though it was an automatic transmission, we should be able to build up enough speed to start on the long straight downhill.
I do not recommend pushing a 1959 Cadillac up any sort of incline. It is not designed to be propelled by human motive power, even if you do have five healthy fit young males.
The first argument was who should steer, thereby escaping the worst work. Meyer felt that since it was his car, he should steer, but an eminent mutiny convinced him otherwise. We decided that Meyer belonged at the back of the car in the center and the rest of us would rotate position.
with a few rest stops along the way, we managed to get the car within about 40 feet of the dropoff, when the Police showed up.
"What you boys up to?"
with everyone speaking at once we tried to explain about the broken transmission in the Merc, the battery, the reluctant Caddie, the long push to the dropoff. The Officer stopped us.
"Who does this car belong to?"
We all pointed to Meyer.
"Son, can I see your license and registration?"
After fishing in the glove box for the registration, Meyer explained about the deal he had made with his Uncle, and why the car was not licensed in his name.
I don't think the Officer really believed Meyer, and he kept looking at us like he was starting a file on each of us for future reference. But what he said was:
"I don't suppose you have a bill of sale, do you?"
When the answer to that was negative, he motioned to Meyer and said "You come with me, son. The rest of you just stand over there while we sort this thing out."
He took Meyer off into the back of the patrol car, and the rest of us stood outside in the cool Fall night wondering what was going to happen.
After about a half an hour, Meyer got out. It was a good news/bad news sort of situation. On one hand, we were free to go. On the other hand, we were not going to be allowed to push the car over the top of the hill and try to get it running. No amount of pleading could convince the Officer of the logic of just turning his back and not witnessing us taking matters into our own hands. After all, the car was going to be towed to the nearest gas station, which just happened to be at the bottom if that very hill. If the car started, we could be on our way and everyone was happy, if it didn't start, it would be at the gas station.
So the Officer called a tow truck, and we all piled in the car, which was towed to the Chevron station at the bottom of the hill. We found ourselves, at two o'clock in the morning, stuck at a closed gas station a long way from home.
Since we had been playing poker for pocket change before we went off on our little errand, we had plenty of change to give the pay phone a good workout. The only problem was finding someone who would come out to Mercer Island to rescue us in the middle of the night. Parents were definitely out. So we ended up playing poker in the bathroom and taking turns trying to beg a ride from someone.
Bruce finally managed to get in touch with his sister's boyfriend, Dave who was only mildly inebriated at the time. He agreed to come and get us if we would help him put in a clutch on his other car the next day.
A half an hour later, he showed up in his fuel injected custom painted diamond tuck naugahide four speed custom wheeled 1957 Chev. We all climbed in to head home. Dave wanted to show his car off to all of us, so the only time we did the speed limit was within the first twenty feet after he started off. He wasn't all that familiar with the area, so we had to give him directions. When we realized he was going to miss the left to go around Beacon Hill, we all yelled "Take a left, take a left!" which he did, four wheel drifting through three lanes of traffic. I remember thinking that it might be a good idea to get out at the next corner, but the car never slowed down enough get out.
At any rate, we survived, and ended up at Bruce's apartment at 3:00 in the morning. We decided it was too late to get back to the poker game, so we divided up the pot and went our separate ways. B.J. gave me a ride home.
when I walked in the front door, there was my mother in her bathrobe, tapping one foot on the floor. "Just exactly where have you been until three-thirty in the morning?"
"Mom I just had a terrible night, I'm exhausted, and you don't want to hear it. I'm going to bed, and we can talk about it in the morning."
By the way, the Caddie had a broken timing belt and wouldn't have started anyway.
We played real poker. No baseball, low spade in the hole, spit in the ocean. Five card draw. Five card stud, Seven card no-peek (match the pot if you peek). Our sole aberration was acey-deucey, while really not poker per-se does have real odds and calculation.
Cards have never been my friends. We always played penny/nickel/dime/quarter with a 50 cent bet limit, except for acey-deucey, where you could match the pot, which I had. I had turned up an ace and a king and went for the pot, only to have a second king show up, much to the amusement of everyone there.
I probably would have called it a night, but as I had bummed a ride with J.B., I didn't have a way home. J.B. Was doing well, so it looked like I would be there for a while.
P.J. was up and contemplating how much to bet on an eight/three, when the door burst open. It was Meyer.
"The Caddie!!" he screamed. "My Uncle is going to give me The Caddie."
We had been hearing about The Caddie for the last couple of months. It seemed that Meyer's Uncle had this 1959 Cadillac sitting in the driveway, not being used. Meyer had been petitioning his Uncle to sell it to him cheap. Each week brought a new scheme got getting his hands on the car. Meyer's uncle had finally relented for a couple of hundred dollars and a summer full of yard work.
This was momentous news, since out of the five of us, we only has two sets of wheels, thereby limiting out access to a wider world. This was even more important than our guys only poker night, so we abandoned the poker game and all piled into P.J.'s 1957 Mercury four door sedan and headed for Mercer island to rescue The Caddie from Meyer's Uncle's driveway.
Our first stop was a Chevron gas station, where Meyer had dropped off a battery earlier in the day to be charged. A couple of miles from the gas station, the transmission started making some strange whirring noises, and a little smoke started coming from under the hood. As we got closer to the gas station, the noises got worse and the smoke more noticeable. By the time we got there, we arrived in a great cloud of smoke and a lot of noise.
A check under the hood revealed that the whole engine compartment was drenched in transmission fluid. A closer exam showed that one of the transmission lines had developed a crack and was spewing fluid into the fan which was doing it's best to distribute the fluid evenly over the entire engine compartment.
Since it was 10:00 at night by this time, there was no way we were going to be able to fix the Merc that night. So with the optimism if youth, we decided to get the battery, and carry it the mile or so over to Meyer's Uncles house, put it in the Caddie, start up the Caddie and drive it back home.
A car battery gets might heavy when you have to pack it better than a mile.
We finally arrived at Meyer's Uncles, and installed the battery in the car. We expected it to be a little reluctant to start, since it had been sitting in the driveway unused for several months, and we were not disappointed. It backfired, it flashed back out of the carburetor, it rattled a nd ran for a couple of seconds and died. It did everything except run.
The battery was starting to run out of juice, so we had a major decision to make.
Mercer Island is in the middle of Lake Washington. It is fairly large and has a central plateau which is a couple of hundred feet high. We were on that plateau, and about a mile away was the dropoff. It was only a slight uphill , not steep at any point, so we decided to push the Caddie up to the top of the hill,all climb in and even though it was an automatic transmission, we should be able to build up enough speed to start on the long straight downhill.
I do not recommend pushing a 1959 Cadillac up any sort of incline. It is not designed to be propelled by human motive power, even if you do have five healthy fit young males.
The first argument was who should steer, thereby escaping the worst work. Meyer felt that since it was his car, he should steer, but an eminent mutiny convinced him otherwise. We decided that Meyer belonged at the back of the car in the center and the rest of us would rotate position.
with a few rest stops along the way, we managed to get the car within about 40 feet of the dropoff, when the Police showed up.
"What you boys up to?"
with everyone speaking at once we tried to explain about the broken transmission in the Merc, the battery, the reluctant Caddie, the long push to the dropoff. The Officer stopped us.
"Who does this car belong to?"
We all pointed to Meyer.
"Son, can I see your license and registration?"
After fishing in the glove box for the registration, Meyer explained about the deal he had made with his Uncle, and why the car was not licensed in his name.
I don't think the Officer really believed Meyer, and he kept looking at us like he was starting a file on each of us for future reference. But what he said was:
"I don't suppose you have a bill of sale, do you?"
When the answer to that was negative, he motioned to Meyer and said "You come with me, son. The rest of you just stand over there while we sort this thing out."
He took Meyer off into the back of the patrol car, and the rest of us stood outside in the cool Fall night wondering what was going to happen.
After about a half an hour, Meyer got out. It was a good news/bad news sort of situation. On one hand, we were free to go. On the other hand, we were not going to be allowed to push the car over the top of the hill and try to get it running. No amount of pleading could convince the Officer of the logic of just turning his back and not witnessing us taking matters into our own hands. After all, the car was going to be towed to the nearest gas station, which just happened to be at the bottom if that very hill. If the car started, we could be on our way and everyone was happy, if it didn't start, it would be at the gas station.
So the Officer called a tow truck, and we all piled in the car, which was towed to the Chevron station at the bottom of the hill. We found ourselves, at two o'clock in the morning, stuck at a closed gas station a long way from home.
Since we had been playing poker for pocket change before we went off on our little errand, we had plenty of change to give the pay phone a good workout. The only problem was finding someone who would come out to Mercer Island to rescue us in the middle of the night. Parents were definitely out. So we ended up playing poker in the bathroom and taking turns trying to beg a ride from someone.
Bruce finally managed to get in touch with his sister's boyfriend, Dave who was only mildly inebriated at the time. He agreed to come and get us if we would help him put in a clutch on his other car the next day.
A half an hour later, he showed up in his fuel injected custom painted diamond tuck naugahide four speed custom wheeled 1957 Chev. We all climbed in to head home. Dave wanted to show his car off to all of us, so the only time we did the speed limit was within the first twenty feet after he started off. He wasn't all that familiar with the area, so we had to give him directions. When we realized he was going to miss the left to go around Beacon Hill, we all yelled "Take a left, take a left!" which he did, four wheel drifting through three lanes of traffic. I remember thinking that it might be a good idea to get out at the next corner, but the car never slowed down enough get out.
At any rate, we survived, and ended up at Bruce's apartment at 3:00 in the morning. We decided it was too late to get back to the poker game, so we divided up the pot and went our separate ways. B.J. gave me a ride home.
when I walked in the front door, there was my mother in her bathrobe, tapping one foot on the floor. "Just exactly where have you been until three-thirty in the morning?"
"Mom I just had a terrible night, I'm exhausted, and you don't want to hear it. I'm going to bed, and we can talk about it in the morning."
By the way, the Caddie had a broken timing belt and wouldn't have started anyway.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Blame it on the dog
Or blame it on The Peanut Queen. I didn't have a thing for this morning, and went to read the blogs this morning. HRH posted about farting, so Therein lies the inspiration for this post.
Besides, guys always find farts humorous.
My wife has this fear of spiders. Mrs A. will always do the "Come and kill it, kill it, kill it!!" when she sees one. When we are laying in bed she will case out the ceiling. "What's that dark spot over there?" I have to get up and check it out to make sure it isn't a spider about to drop down and bite her.
One night, we were laying there, and I released a secret weapon of mass destruction under the covers. Seeing an opportunity, I pointed to the middle of the air halfway between her and the ceiling. "Look out, it's a spider!!
She immediately ducked under the covers.
Besides, guys always find farts humorous.
My wife has this fear of spiders. Mrs A. will always do the "Come and kill it, kill it, kill it!!" when she sees one. When we are laying in bed she will case out the ceiling. "What's that dark spot over there?" I have to get up and check it out to make sure it isn't a spider about to drop down and bite her.
One night, we were laying there, and I released a secret weapon of mass destruction under the covers. Seeing an opportunity, I pointed to the middle of the air halfway between her and the ceiling. "Look out, it's a spider!!
She immediately ducked under the covers.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
All Hail Spring!
Today is the first day of Spring. YEEHAW!
Of course it is snowing in the pass, and we may have snow showers in the taller hills, it is freezing cold with a nasty wind, but by God if the calendar says Spring, it is Spring. Maybe if I go home and put on a pair of shorts and a Hawaiian shirt it will cause the seasons to roll.
More likely it will cause the weather gods to roll: On the floor with laughter when they freeze my ass off.
I did get out and do battle with the rose bushes last weekend. Mrs. A. was getting frantic about getting them pruned "before it's too late". Too late how? Are they going to migrate or something? Maybe if you wait too long, they wake up and fight back.
Oh, wait......
I did get several thorns imbedded in my hands to the point that I bled.
Maybe they were just coming awake.
Of course it is snowing in the pass, and we may have snow showers in the taller hills, it is freezing cold with a nasty wind, but by God if the calendar says Spring, it is Spring. Maybe if I go home and put on a pair of shorts and a Hawaiian shirt it will cause the seasons to roll.
More likely it will cause the weather gods to roll: On the floor with laughter when they freeze my ass off.
I did get out and do battle with the rose bushes last weekend. Mrs. A. was getting frantic about getting them pruned "before it's too late". Too late how? Are they going to migrate or something? Maybe if you wait too long, they wake up and fight back.
Oh, wait......
I did get several thorns imbedded in my hands to the point that I bled.
Maybe they were just coming awake.
Friday, March 16, 2007
The Rest of the Story
So you got half the story.
Here's the rest.
When we met the girls at the bowling alley, we made a date to have a party. Friday night. It was on Friday afternoon that Dave's Aunt got in her accident and we got arrested.
When we were in the back of the Patrol Car, the cop got called on a slow speed chase on the hiway, so we got to witness the apprehension of a bunch of illegal immigrants being intercepted at low speed by California's finest.
They ran a truck off of the road loaded with about 20 Farm workers that probably didn't understand English. They were not treated very nicely.
We were taken into jail and printed and processed, and put in a holding cell. We had our one phone call, so we called his Aunt. We had enough cash in the car to pay bail, but the car had been impounded, so we couldn't get to it.
Dave's Aunt and Uncle didn't have enough cash on hand to bail us out of jail, and the banks were closed, so they had to go to friends to borrow the money, but eventually we got out. We got a very stern lecture on how embarrasing it was to have to go to their friends to get the money to bail us out of jail.
It was Friday evening, and we had been invited to a party, and party we would.
We met the girls and went over at their house.
We were engaged in a very serious game of spin the bottle when we were interreupted by a bunch of very large and obnoxious boys.
It seems we had been used by the girls to make their boyfriends jealouse. Well it worked.
The Girlfriend of the schooll quarteback had chosen my friend Dave as her date. He and the rest of the football team took exception.
She managed to get them out of the house.
Party over, we had to take the other girls home.
When we left we were followed by another car. It was filled with people. We were not particularly polite when we dropped the girls off. We kinda slowed the car down, let them out and got the hell out of there.
After we dropped the last girl off, we tried to go home. We were on a back road, heading towards Dave's Aunt and Uncles place. No streetlights, about a half a mile of straight road, when they passed us.
They slammed on the brakes and people started jumping out of the car. They had chains and baseball bats. There were a whole bunch of them.
Dave tried to back up, but there wasn't enough light to see behind us.
Dave said "Hang on!" and jammed it back into drive and headed towards them. They jumped out of the way, and we floored it. We came down a long hill, and when we entered the Interstate we were doing about 120, sideways.
They chased us on back roads all the way back to where we were staying. Dave ran inside and grabbed a 30.06 off of the wall and went out to the front porch. When the other guys drove in, he showed them the gun, and they left.
We were stuck. Since we were arrested on Friday, court wasn't until Monday, so we had to stay in town.
Every time we left the house we were followed.
Eventually, a guy came over to talk to us and a meeting was arranged at the local pool hall.
We met and played a very intense game of pool, during which we agreed that we would be leaving town a soon as things were cleared at court.
I was never so glad to see a place in the rear view mirror as when we left Oroville.
Here's the rest.
When we met the girls at the bowling alley, we made a date to have a party. Friday night. It was on Friday afternoon that Dave's Aunt got in her accident and we got arrested.
When we were in the back of the Patrol Car, the cop got called on a slow speed chase on the hiway, so we got to witness the apprehension of a bunch of illegal immigrants being intercepted at low speed by California's finest.
They ran a truck off of the road loaded with about 20 Farm workers that probably didn't understand English. They were not treated very nicely.
We were taken into jail and printed and processed, and put in a holding cell. We had our one phone call, so we called his Aunt. We had enough cash in the car to pay bail, but the car had been impounded, so we couldn't get to it.
Dave's Aunt and Uncle didn't have enough cash on hand to bail us out of jail, and the banks were closed, so they had to go to friends to borrow the money, but eventually we got out. We got a very stern lecture on how embarrasing it was to have to go to their friends to get the money to bail us out of jail.
It was Friday evening, and we had been invited to a party, and party we would.
We met the girls and went over at their house.
We were engaged in a very serious game of spin the bottle when we were interreupted by a bunch of very large and obnoxious boys.
It seems we had been used by the girls to make their boyfriends jealouse. Well it worked.
The Girlfriend of the schooll quarteback had chosen my friend Dave as her date. He and the rest of the football team took exception.
She managed to get them out of the house.
Party over, we had to take the other girls home.
When we left we were followed by another car. It was filled with people. We were not particularly polite when we dropped the girls off. We kinda slowed the car down, let them out and got the hell out of there.
After we dropped the last girl off, we tried to go home. We were on a back road, heading towards Dave's Aunt and Uncles place. No streetlights, about a half a mile of straight road, when they passed us.
They slammed on the brakes and people started jumping out of the car. They had chains and baseball bats. There were a whole bunch of them.
Dave tried to back up, but there wasn't enough light to see behind us.
Dave said "Hang on!" and jammed it back into drive and headed towards them. They jumped out of the way, and we floored it. We came down a long hill, and when we entered the Interstate we were doing about 120, sideways.
They chased us on back roads all the way back to where we were staying. Dave ran inside and grabbed a 30.06 off of the wall and went out to the front porch. When the other guys drove in, he showed them the gun, and they left.
We were stuck. Since we were arrested on Friday, court wasn't until Monday, so we had to stay in town.
Every time we left the house we were followed.
Eventually, a guy came over to talk to us and a meeting was arranged at the local pool hall.
We met and played a very intense game of pool, during which we agreed that we would be leaving town a soon as things were cleared at court.
I was never so glad to see a place in the rear view mirror as when we left Oroville.
Friday
Renn was talking about her mouth getting her in trouble, something I am familiar with.
Here's an example:
Dave and I were moving from Seattle to San Francisco to go join the Hippies. Dave had relatives in Oroville, Cal. so we planned our trip so we could stay a couple of days with them. His Aunt, Uncle and cousin. We had just graduated from High School the previous June, and his cousin was a Senior. I thought it might be an interresting time.
We got in on a Thursday night, which was girls league bowling night, so we went down to the bowling alley. I met his cousin, and a whole lot of other females.
The next day was his Aunt's turn to drive in the carpool, but she got in a minor car accident, so she asked us if we would mind picking up the girls after school.
OH YEAH!
Dave was driving his 1958 Plymouth. All the chrome had been removed and the car had been painted Taxi-cab Yellow. Think of "Christine" and add histerical yellow.
We were dressed in "Hippie clothes"
We pulled into the parking lot of the school to wait for the girls. A cop car pulled in behind us.
The cop came up and motioned for Dave to roll down the window.
"I see you are from out of state. Did you know that it is illegal to loiter on school property in the State of California?"
Me and my big mouth. "Websters Dictionary defines "Loiter" as: "To consume time idly and without purpose". We, however are here with a very specific purpose."
I watched the red creep up his neck. He told us to move or get arrested. so I asked him "There is a street in front of the school. Is the other side of the street school property?"
His face got even redder as he told us too get the hell out of there.
We went and parked across the street from the school.
He pulled in right behind us, and we were immediately arrested.
This is the only time I have been in jail, and it only lasted a couple of hours.
One of the girls we were supposed to give a ride home to was the daughter of the city Prosecuting Attorney, and he was not happy about her having to find alternative transportation.
We had a talk with him and made a deal that we would plead probable cause if they would drop charges. Otherwise we were going to sue the city for False Arrest.
They did, and we did, but that is only half of the story.
Here's an example:
Dave and I were moving from Seattle to San Francisco to go join the Hippies. Dave had relatives in Oroville, Cal. so we planned our trip so we could stay a couple of days with them. His Aunt, Uncle and cousin. We had just graduated from High School the previous June, and his cousin was a Senior. I thought it might be an interresting time.
We got in on a Thursday night, which was girls league bowling night, so we went down to the bowling alley. I met his cousin, and a whole lot of other females.
The next day was his Aunt's turn to drive in the carpool, but she got in a minor car accident, so she asked us if we would mind picking up the girls after school.
OH YEAH!
Dave was driving his 1958 Plymouth. All the chrome had been removed and the car had been painted Taxi-cab Yellow. Think of "Christine" and add histerical yellow.
We were dressed in "Hippie clothes"
We pulled into the parking lot of the school to wait for the girls. A cop car pulled in behind us.
The cop came up and motioned for Dave to roll down the window.
"I see you are from out of state. Did you know that it is illegal to loiter on school property in the State of California?"
Me and my big mouth. "Websters Dictionary defines "Loiter" as: "To consume time idly and without purpose". We, however are here with a very specific purpose."
I watched the red creep up his neck. He told us to move or get arrested. so I asked him "There is a street in front of the school. Is the other side of the street school property?"
His face got even redder as he told us too get the hell out of there.
We went and parked across the street from the school.
He pulled in right behind us, and we were immediately arrested.
This is the only time I have been in jail, and it only lasted a couple of hours.
One of the girls we were supposed to give a ride home to was the daughter of the city Prosecuting Attorney, and he was not happy about her having to find alternative transportation.
We had a talk with him and made a deal that we would plead probable cause if they would drop charges. Otherwise we were going to sue the city for False Arrest.
They did, and we did, but that is only half of the story.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
DAMN Blogger
The secret back door I found to get into blogger was closed today, so I had to find another way in.
I had to enter a comment in my blog, then go to update profile, then return to dashboard, and here I am.
I saved the link, so we will see if it will let me in tomorrow without having to use the back door.
I really don't have anything to say today, but didn't have the time yesterday to find a new secret back door.
I felt unfulfilled all day.
We watched "Babel" last night. I didn't care for it particularly. It skips around between four sets of characters, some of whom are only very loosely connected with the others. No real conclusion or anything. I guess I just like more structure.
Brad Pitt looked OLD in it. He had enough bags under his eyes to fill the baggage compartment on a Grayhound.
But then, he does have a lot of baggage.
I had to enter a comment in my blog, then go to update profile, then return to dashboard, and here I am.
I saved the link, so we will see if it will let me in tomorrow without having to use the back door.
I really don't have anything to say today, but didn't have the time yesterday to find a new secret back door.
I felt unfulfilled all day.
We watched "Babel" last night. I didn't care for it particularly. It skips around between four sets of characters, some of whom are only very loosely connected with the others. No real conclusion or anything. I guess I just like more structure.
Brad Pitt looked OLD in it. He had enough bags under his eyes to fill the baggage compartment on a Grayhound.
But then, he does have a lot of baggage.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
I Been Hung
Well, everything changes with time, including how they hang you.
After a bunch of "Does this hurt" they finally got around to the rack. I knew it was coming. They don't hang the weighted bag any more, they have a machine that does it.
They position a double collar under your chin and the back of your head, then turn on the machine. It stretches your neck for 20 seconds, then relaxes for 10 seconds, then stretches again.
I have to admit I have more feeling in my thumb and forefinger tonight.
They put me on the rack for 20 minutes. I could feel it pulling down to the upper part of my back. I'll see how I feel in the morning.
At any rate, I feel better tonight.
How many people can say they felt better after being hung?
After a bunch of "Does this hurt" they finally got around to the rack. I knew it was coming. They don't hang the weighted bag any more, they have a machine that does it.
They position a double collar under your chin and the back of your head, then turn on the machine. It stretches your neck for 20 seconds, then relaxes for 10 seconds, then stretches again.
I have to admit I have more feeling in my thumb and forefinger tonight.
They put me on the rack for 20 minutes. I could feel it pulling down to the upper part of my back. I'll see how I feel in the morning.
At any rate, I feel better tonight.
How many people can say they felt better after being hung?
Blah, blah, blog
It still bugs the heck out of me that I have to sneak in here by the back door.
The only way I can get here is to reply in the comments section and then go to the dashboard.
Not that I am above sneaking in the back door when I choose, but when the only way they will let you in is by the back door, it makes you feel like the hired help.
I go to get hung after work today. I hope it goes well. I am getting very frustrated with the shooting pains down my arm.
If everything goes well, I guess that means that I am well hung, neh?
The only way I can get here is to reply in the comments section and then go to the dashboard.
Not that I am above sneaking in the back door when I choose, but when the only way they will let you in is by the back door, it makes you feel like the hired help.
I go to get hung after work today. I hope it goes well. I am getting very frustrated with the shooting pains down my arm.
If everything goes well, I guess that means that I am well hung, neh?
Monday, March 12, 2007
Monday Moanin'
Actually, I had a half way decent weekend, and got a pretty good night's sleep, so I am in fine fettle this morning.
Saturday the weather was OK, so I went out and worked on the cars. Mrs A's needed the hood release cable replaced. It turned out to be pretty simple to do. Took me about an hour, mostly trying to feed the cable through the fender liner. I got to the point I was about ready to take off the fender, when I tried one more time, and it went through. A big WHEW there.
Then I needed to fix the door on the driver's side of the Z. It was not latching, and I could no longer open it with the key. I have been putting this off for the last month or so, because doors are a pain in the ass to work on. You have to take the handles and knobs off of the inside, then remove the interior panel. Remove the vapor barrier, and then attemp to work in a space so small and twisty that only a proctologist can access it (Guys, you know what I'm talking about.)
But I managed to get my oilcan manipulated into the proper spots to lube up the binding mechanism. After manipulating it several times, things started moving the way they were supposed to. The lock even works with the key now!
So now I can drive my baby to work as the weather turns warmer.
Saturday the weather was OK, so I went out and worked on the cars. Mrs A's needed the hood release cable replaced. It turned out to be pretty simple to do. Took me about an hour, mostly trying to feed the cable through the fender liner. I got to the point I was about ready to take off the fender, when I tried one more time, and it went through. A big WHEW there.
Then I needed to fix the door on the driver's side of the Z. It was not latching, and I could no longer open it with the key. I have been putting this off for the last month or so, because doors are a pain in the ass to work on. You have to take the handles and knobs off of the inside, then remove the interior panel. Remove the vapor barrier, and then attemp to work in a space so small and twisty that only a proctologist can access it (Guys, you know what I'm talking about.)
But I managed to get my oilcan manipulated into the proper spots to lube up the binding mechanism. After manipulating it several times, things started moving the way they were supposed to. The lock even works with the key now!
So now I can drive my baby to work as the weather turns warmer.
Friday, March 09, 2007
YER FIRED!
Blame this on Rick, who blamed it on Spiffytown.
I was once fired.
I was the General Manager of a small company, doing around $500,00.00 a year and employing around 20 people. The company was based out of Chicago, but I ran everything here in Latteland. I had set up the business, started it from ground zero, expanded it, hired all the people.
We weren't making a lot of money, just breaking even. But any of you that know anything about small businesses, know it generally takes around five years for them to get off the ground. I figured that three years to go from zero revenue to a half a mil was not bad. The owners got tired of waiting.
I had several ideas of how to expand the business, but every time I seggested some new course, they vetoed it. Frustrated the heck out of me.
One day this woman I had never seen before came in to the office and introduced herself as the accountant for the firm, coming in from Chicago.
She said the parent company was shutting us down. I asked how long we had.
She said don't bother to come back from lunch.
No warning, no severance pay, nothing.
I went out to the crew and called a meeting. They were outraged at the way I had been treated, so when lunch came, we all walked off the job and went to the tavern and got stewed, leaving the accountant there by herself to run the business, offload trucks, load outgoing trucks, book leasings. The whole thing.
I told the crew they should go back in the morning. I appreciated their loyalty but told them not to do anything stupid that would jeapordize their families. When I drove by the place on my way home, there were trucks lined up all the way down the street.
The next day the accountant called me up at home, trying to locate some equipment, I told her "Yeah, I know exactly where the equipment is, but I'll be damned if I will tell you. I don't work there anymore. remember."
They never did recover some of the equipment.
I was once fired.
I was the General Manager of a small company, doing around $500,00.00 a year and employing around 20 people. The company was based out of Chicago, but I ran everything here in Latteland. I had set up the business, started it from ground zero, expanded it, hired all the people.
We weren't making a lot of money, just breaking even. But any of you that know anything about small businesses, know it generally takes around five years for them to get off the ground. I figured that three years to go from zero revenue to a half a mil was not bad. The owners got tired of waiting.
I had several ideas of how to expand the business, but every time I seggested some new course, they vetoed it. Frustrated the heck out of me.
One day this woman I had never seen before came in to the office and introduced herself as the accountant for the firm, coming in from Chicago.
She said the parent company was shutting us down. I asked how long we had.
She said don't bother to come back from lunch.
No warning, no severance pay, nothing.
I went out to the crew and called a meeting. They were outraged at the way I had been treated, so when lunch came, we all walked off the job and went to the tavern and got stewed, leaving the accountant there by herself to run the business, offload trucks, load outgoing trucks, book leasings. The whole thing.
I told the crew they should go back in the morning. I appreciated their loyalty but told them not to do anything stupid that would jeapordize their families. When I drove by the place on my way home, there were trucks lined up all the way down the street.
The next day the accountant called me up at home, trying to locate some equipment, I told her "Yeah, I know exactly where the equipment is, but I'll be damned if I will tell you. I don't work there anymore. remember."
They never did recover some of the equipment.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Playing hookie
Mrs A. had a real bad day yesterday. She came home in tears. It was one of those days when everyone was in a pissy mood, and she was the pissee so to speak.
She opened the conversation with "I want to quit me job." I know she doesn't really want to, so I listened to her a lot without any real comment, just "Uhu, yes dear, I'm sorry you had a bad day" I have finally learned to just listen, not try to fix everything.
I made her a nice strong Rum and Coke and let her wind down.
This morning I told her if she was serious about quitting, we could get a debt consolidation loan, pay off all the bills with the loan, and get by on my salary. It is possible, but it would mean giving up a lot of extras.
She said she really didn't want to quit her job.
I stayed home because I haven't slept well in several days because of my arm. The meds don't seem to be doing much of anything. Oh well, everything takes time.
I also have a dental appointmment this afternoon, so I would miss a half a day anyway, so I just called in and went back to bed.
I'm getting pocelain caps for a couple of teeth. When I get through getting my mouth all fixed up, that will be a relief, and we will have a quite a bit more spending money.
Four oral surgeries, 10 caps. By the time it will be all over, I will have about $20,000.00 invester in my teeth. Oh well, the investment will last a lot longer than a new car or a cruise.
She opened the conversation with "I want to quit me job." I know she doesn't really want to, so I listened to her a lot without any real comment, just "Uhu, yes dear, I'm sorry you had a bad day" I have finally learned to just listen, not try to fix everything.
I made her a nice strong Rum and Coke and let her wind down.
This morning I told her if she was serious about quitting, we could get a debt consolidation loan, pay off all the bills with the loan, and get by on my salary. It is possible, but it would mean giving up a lot of extras.
She said she really didn't want to quit her job.
I stayed home because I haven't slept well in several days because of my arm. The meds don't seem to be doing much of anything. Oh well, everything takes time.
I also have a dental appointmment this afternoon, so I would miss a half a day anyway, so I just called in and went back to bed.
I'm getting pocelain caps for a couple of teeth. When I get through getting my mouth all fixed up, that will be a relief, and we will have a quite a bit more spending money.
Four oral surgeries, 10 caps. By the time it will be all over, I will have about $20,000.00 invester in my teeth. Oh well, the investment will last a lot longer than a new car or a cruise.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
That's Radiculous!
No I did not misspell the word in the title. It is a terrible pun.
All right, who is that I hear snickering in the back, there.
My thingie with my arm was diagnosed as Cervical Radiculitis.A pain radiating from the spine down one or more extremities, caused by the root of the nerve being compressed.
Or as I told the Doc "I have a pinched nerve in my neck."
So they gave me a handfull of pills and told me to go play in traffic.
Percocet works on the pain just fine, thank you, but makes be dizzy and fuzzy headed, which is fine for at home when I will not be going out, but not so good for at work.
The muscle relaxer (which I can't remember the name of) also makes you drowsy, so I probably won't be taking it at work either.
I start Physical Therapy on Tuesday. The doc says they are going to hang me by the neck until well.
No, seriously.
They have a collar that they put around your neck that has a rope attached with a weighted bag on the end. You throw it over a door and sit there getting your neck stretched.
I guess the Physical therapist will have to make sure I am well hung......
Bad Al, bad, bad.
All right, who is that I hear snickering in the back, there.
My thingie with my arm was diagnosed as Cervical Radiculitis.A pain radiating from the spine down one or more extremities, caused by the root of the nerve being compressed.
Or as I told the Doc "I have a pinched nerve in my neck."
So they gave me a handfull of pills and told me to go play in traffic.
Percocet works on the pain just fine, thank you, but makes be dizzy and fuzzy headed, which is fine for at home when I will not be going out, but not so good for at work.
The muscle relaxer (which I can't remember the name of) also makes you drowsy, so I probably won't be taking it at work either.
I start Physical Therapy on Tuesday. The doc says they are going to hang me by the neck until well.
No, seriously.
They have a collar that they put around your neck that has a rope attached with a weighted bag on the end. You throw it over a door and sit there getting your neck stretched.
I guess the Physical therapist will have to make sure I am well hung......
Bad Al, bad, bad.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Damn Blogger!
Once again this morning I couldn't get into my blog to post an entry. Obviously I have figured out a back door to sneak in, but it shouldn't be so difficult.
The only way too get in is to go to my blog and enter a comment. After I put in my google account and password, if I go back to Blogger dashboard, it will let me in. If I try to log straight in to blogger, it won't let me.
What a pain in the ass.
I am a little short fused this morning. My arm is getting worse, and still no word from the doctor. It is feeling all tingly more of the time, and I can't get it to go away.
As soon as the clinic is open, I am calling the doc. I doubt they can do anything for me, but it's worth a shot.
The only way too get in is to go to my blog and enter a comment. After I put in my google account and password, if I go back to Blogger dashboard, it will let me in. If I try to log straight in to blogger, it won't let me.
What a pain in the ass.
I am a little short fused this morning. My arm is getting worse, and still no word from the doctor. It is feeling all tingly more of the time, and I can't get it to go away.
As soon as the clinic is open, I am calling the doc. I doubt they can do anything for me, but it's worth a shot.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Finally
Today is going pretty well, for a Monday.
First off, since I am adding a post, that means that I have finally defeated the evil Blog Trolls that guard the access over the bridge into Blogville. I just wandered aimlessly around the edges of Blogville until suddenly I was inside.
Why? How? Don't know how I got here, but I left a trail of breadcrumbs (read: Back Button), so I should be able too find my way back here through the back button and add to favorites.
Plus I have been having a bit of trouble with my mouse. Not the mouses fault. I have a pinched nerve in my neck which gives me tinglies in my right arm, thumb and forefinger, making it unpleasant to use the right handed rollerball mouse. So I went down and got a universal rollerball mouse and programmed it to be left handed. Luckily I am ambidextrous (No Rick, that doesn't mean I like to dress in womens' clothing).
So here I am, blogging away, clicking leftie and getting used to my new rollerball mouse.
First off, since I am adding a post, that means that I have finally defeated the evil Blog Trolls that guard the access over the bridge into Blogville. I just wandered aimlessly around the edges of Blogville until suddenly I was inside.
Why? How? Don't know how I got here, but I left a trail of breadcrumbs (read: Back Button), so I should be able too find my way back here through the back button and add to favorites.
Plus I have been having a bit of trouble with my mouse. Not the mouses fault. I have a pinched nerve in my neck which gives me tinglies in my right arm, thumb and forefinger, making it unpleasant to use the right handed rollerball mouse. So I went down and got a universal rollerball mouse and programmed it to be left handed. Luckily I am ambidextrous (No Rick, that doesn't mean I like to dress in womens' clothing).
So here I am, blogging away, clicking leftie and getting used to my new rollerball mouse.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Done
Well, the flooring is all down now. It took me most of the day, and I had a couple of Homer moments, but it is done, and it looks great.
When I was doing the floor around the door to the Pantry, I realized that when I put the new flooring in, you wouldn't be able to open the door.
DUH!
Soo I had to remove the door and cut 1/8" off of the botting and then remount it. I said a couple of bad words, but luckily Mrs A. was out having her nails done, so nobody cared.
I still have to do the trim. I have a bunch of matching moulding to go with the floor., But there's no hurry to get that done.
Mrs A. loves it, so it was worth all the hard work.
When I was doing the floor around the door to the Pantry, I realized that when I put the new flooring in, you wouldn't be able to open the door.
DUH!
Soo I had to remove the door and cut 1/8" off of the botting and then remount it. I said a couple of bad words, but luckily Mrs A. was out having her nails done, so nobody cared.
I still have to do the trim. I have a bunch of matching moulding to go with the floor., But there's no hurry to get that done.
Mrs A. loves it, so it was worth all the hard work.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Snow AGAIN!
Up here in Latteland, we get like maybe a dusting of snow a couple of times a year. With everything we have had this winter, the last thing I needed was more of the white slippery stuff.
This has been a winter to remember. I know I will get little sympathy from some, but I don''t think anyone has had the variety of bad weather we have had this time around the calendar.
In November, we set an all time record for the mount of rain in a month, ever in recorded history. Mind you, this is Latteland, where it rains 200 days per year. There is a REASON we have a Starbucks on every corner. We basically have two seasons, the warm rainy season, and the cold reainy season. Sometimes in August, we have Summer. But November was rain that had ducks looking for shelter. Slugs committed suicide.
Then in December we had a local record destructive wind storm. It did more damage than any other wind storm in recorded history. See a pattern here?
January brought snow that stayed around for weeks. You see, around here it snows, and by noon the next day, it is gone. Snow is an excuse to take a day off of work, and nobody can bitch you out about it. "But boss, the Department of Transportation said we should not travel unless it was ABSOLUTELY necessary, and who am I to defy thm?" But after about three days,, eneryone has lost patience, and you have to go face it.
Yesterday we had a late snowstorm. We here in Alville were not hit hard, but there was a stackup at Snoqualmi pass that involved around 50 cars and closed the Pass down.
Reports are that the Spring Crocuses are coming up, and my Tibetan Magnolia is budding out, so I know the turn is near.
I can't wait.
This has been a winter to remember. I know I will get little sympathy from some, but I don''t think anyone has had the variety of bad weather we have had this time around the calendar.
In November, we set an all time record for the mount of rain in a month, ever in recorded history. Mind you, this is Latteland, where it rains 200 days per year. There is a REASON we have a Starbucks on every corner. We basically have two seasons, the warm rainy season, and the cold reainy season. Sometimes in August, we have Summer. But November was rain that had ducks looking for shelter. Slugs committed suicide.
Then in December we had a local record destructive wind storm. It did more damage than any other wind storm in recorded history. See a pattern here?
January brought snow that stayed around for weeks. You see, around here it snows, and by noon the next day, it is gone. Snow is an excuse to take a day off of work, and nobody can bitch you out about it. "But boss, the Department of Transportation said we should not travel unless it was ABSOLUTELY necessary, and who am I to defy thm?" But after about three days,, eneryone has lost patience, and you have to go face it.
Yesterday we had a late snowstorm. We here in Alville were not hit hard, but there was a stackup at Snoqualmi pass that involved around 50 cars and closed the Pass down.
Reports are that the Spring Crocuses are coming up, and my Tibetan Magnolia is budding out, so I know the turn is near.
I can't wait.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Kitchen floor
Here are some pictures of the kitchen floor. The white stuff is before, the others after.
I think it looks pretty outstanding.
Now if I was only done with it, but the doc told me to take it easy for a couple of days, so it will have to wait for Saturday.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
DR.
Had to go visit the Dr. today.
I have been experiencing some numbness in my thumb and forefinger, along with a shooting pain down my right arm when I turn my head to the right at a certain angle.
No big deal, although it is a little weird working with my hands. This is not unusual for me. I injured my upper back/neck in high school and have experienced the same thing before. If I sleep wrong, it starts happening, but after a couple of days it works its way out. This time it has been a week, and Mrs A. nagged me into seeing the Doc.
I told the Doc I have a pinched nerve in my neck, and it should get better. She looked me over and agreed, said to take Ibuprofin. I asked if Naproxin Sodium woud do the same thing, she said for some people.
The thing about Naproxin Sodium, is that it lasts 12 hours, Ibuprofin for 4 to 6. When I take Tylenol or Ibuprofin they last for 4 to 6, and I wake up at 3 to 4 and have to take something else, but when I am awake, I have a hard time getting back to sleep. Much better to take something that lasts 12, if it works. Guess I'll be experimenting for the next couple of days.
I was supposed to get an x-ray, but by the time I got to the x-ray department, it was closed. Guess I'll have to go tomorrow. I hate to go back, but what the hell. I really don't think they can do anything for me, but I'll go through the motions.
I'm just getting old.
No whining here. Getting old beats the hell out of the alternative.
I have been experiencing some numbness in my thumb and forefinger, along with a shooting pain down my right arm when I turn my head to the right at a certain angle.
No big deal, although it is a little weird working with my hands. This is not unusual for me. I injured my upper back/neck in high school and have experienced the same thing before. If I sleep wrong, it starts happening, but after a couple of days it works its way out. This time it has been a week, and Mrs A. nagged me into seeing the Doc.
I told the Doc I have a pinched nerve in my neck, and it should get better. She looked me over and agreed, said to take Ibuprofin. I asked if Naproxin Sodium woud do the same thing, she said for some people.
The thing about Naproxin Sodium, is that it lasts 12 hours, Ibuprofin for 4 to 6. When I take Tylenol or Ibuprofin they last for 4 to 6, and I wake up at 3 to 4 and have to take something else, but when I am awake, I have a hard time getting back to sleep. Much better to take something that lasts 12, if it works. Guess I'll be experimenting for the next couple of days.
I was supposed to get an x-ray, but by the time I got to the x-ray department, it was closed. Guess I'll have to go tomorrow. I hate to go back, but what the hell. I really don't think they can do anything for me, but I'll go through the motions.
I'm just getting old.
No whining here. Getting old beats the hell out of the alternative.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Updates
Well, I got better than half the kitchen floor done Saturday. It looks real nice, but I wish someone else would volunteer to finish it for me. I took tonight off.
L. finally called her mom on Saturday. They hadn''t talked in several months, and Mrs A. was getting real crazy about it. The last couple of times L. called, Mrs A. didn't want to talk to her, so she was afraid to call again out of fear of rejection.
We had them over to dinner, and everything went OK.
Shortly after they left there was a knock on the door. I answered it, and it was one of R's lifelong friends. She grew up without a dad, so I have been her substitute dad since she was in grade school. She and R. had gotten in a terrible fight, so she was worried about the reception she would get. She got big hugs abd we had an hour and a half of very good conversation. Mrs A really likes her, and was worried about her, since we hadn't heard from her since before Christmas.
So Mrs A awakened this morning with a song in her heart. Unfortunately it made it as far as her vocal chords. I love her dearly, but she can't carry a tune in a bushel basket. She was singing with great gusto, using both her notes. It was great to hear her in such a good mood, and I'm sure the damage to my earbones is not permanent.
L. finally called her mom on Saturday. They hadn''t talked in several months, and Mrs A. was getting real crazy about it. The last couple of times L. called, Mrs A. didn't want to talk to her, so she was afraid to call again out of fear of rejection.
We had them over to dinner, and everything went OK.
Shortly after they left there was a knock on the door. I answered it, and it was one of R's lifelong friends. She grew up without a dad, so I have been her substitute dad since she was in grade school. She and R. had gotten in a terrible fight, so she was worried about the reception she would get. She got big hugs abd we had an hour and a half of very good conversation. Mrs A really likes her, and was worried about her, since we hadn't heard from her since before Christmas.
So Mrs A awakened this morning with a song in her heart. Unfortunately it made it as far as her vocal chords. I love her dearly, but she can't carry a tune in a bushel basket. She was singing with great gusto, using both her notes. It was great to hear her in such a good mood, and I'm sure the damage to my earbones is not permanent.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Friday Night
This has actually been a quiet week, here in Alville, something that doesn't happen very often. When we first got together, we were both riding the merry-go-round, but we knew if we got together, it would not continue.
What we decided was, that instead of the merry-go-round, we would attempt to ride the roller coaster. We will hang on tight to each other and scream like hell in the corners.
We have survived so far, but it has not been easy.
My mom has said "It is a testament to your love for each other that you have stayed together through all of the stuff you have been through".
Some times it seems like we have to pack a lifetime of crap into our relationship.
We will survive.
On a lighter note, on Fridays at work they serve an excellent clam chowder. I usually don't pack a lunch, because I love the chowder. That doesn't keep me from making fun of it.
I am standing in line with T, and remark "Once I got the clam".
"You know, they take a 55 gllon drum of chowder, and they drag a clam through it on a string. If you are lucky, the string breaks, and you get the clam. Once I got the clam."
People were chuckling at our conversation.
As I got in line to check out, I heard T. behind me "Hey Al, I saw the clam. I didn't get it, but I saw it."
I suggested that we should start a society. The ""I saw the Clam" society. We should print t-shirts with the slogan.
"I saw the clam."
We wondered how long it would take Management to ban us.
What we decided was, that instead of the merry-go-round, we would attempt to ride the roller coaster. We will hang on tight to each other and scream like hell in the corners.
We have survived so far, but it has not been easy.
My mom has said "It is a testament to your love for each other that you have stayed together through all of the stuff you have been through".
Some times it seems like we have to pack a lifetime of crap into our relationship.
We will survive.
On a lighter note, on Fridays at work they serve an excellent clam chowder. I usually don't pack a lunch, because I love the chowder. That doesn't keep me from making fun of it.
I am standing in line with T, and remark "Once I got the clam".
"You know, they take a 55 gllon drum of chowder, and they drag a clam through it on a string. If you are lucky, the string breaks, and you get the clam. Once I got the clam."
People were chuckling at our conversation.
As I got in line to check out, I heard T. behind me "Hey Al, I saw the clam. I didn't get it, but I saw it."
I suggested that we should start a society. The ""I saw the Clam" society. We should print t-shirts with the slogan.
"I saw the clam."
We wondered how long it would take Management to ban us.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Flooring
In her neverending quest to make sure that I do not waste my life in unproductive pursuits like drinking beer and watching sports or even reading abook, Mrs A. has arranged for the next task that will occupy my other-than-at-work time.
Last fall she decided that we needed new flooring in the kitchen. Although I valliantly attempted to delay this major chore, we went out last week and bought new flooring for the kitchen.
It came in last night, and I went down to Home Depot and picked it up. It is sitting out in the music room, mocking me.
I suggested to Mrs A. that I should take off today to consider the best way to install this flooring. She told me that I want to stay home every day. I said that was fine with me, I could stay home every day if she insisted.
I want to go play with the new flooring, but the packages very plainly state "Not to be opened until the day of usage".
It is free floating composite flooring that snaps together like Pergo, but is made to look and feel like stone. The color is Copper Slate, which has a kinda beige background with copper colored highlights. It will go real well with the white oak cabinets and antique copper handles I put in last winter.
Guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend
Last fall she decided that we needed new flooring in the kitchen. Although I valliantly attempted to delay this major chore, we went out last week and bought new flooring for the kitchen.
It came in last night, and I went down to Home Depot and picked it up. It is sitting out in the music room, mocking me.
I suggested to Mrs A. that I should take off today to consider the best way to install this flooring. She told me that I want to stay home every day. I said that was fine with me, I could stay home every day if she insisted.
I want to go play with the new flooring, but the packages very plainly state "Not to be opened until the day of usage".
It is free floating composite flooring that snaps together like Pergo, but is made to look and feel like stone. The color is Copper Slate, which has a kinda beige background with copper colored highlights. It will go real well with the white oak cabinets and antique copper handles I put in last winter.
Guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
What Tangled web
Sometimes thing happen that are such a web of events that they just seem more than coincidental. One thing happens that causes another that causes another, and all the sudden, years later, an unexpected result comes of it that it seems there is a larger thing at work.
But I ramble. Something I am good at.
This starts quite some time ago.
My son was in the process of a trainwreck of a first marriage. I got a call, and he was being kicked out of the house by CPS. It seems his stepdaughter had accused him of peeking at her in the shower. She was 11, and hated him. I won't go into all the details or anything, but CPS in their normal heavy-handed manner decided he had to leave.
I let him move in here, knowing the allegations were probably false, but not denying something might have happened.
His first wife was a complete slob. I refused to go see my grandkids because the house was such a pig sty that I couldn't stand seeing them living like that. Instead, I babysat the kids at my house. I have wonderful memories of getting up on the weekend and sitting with them in a big chair, one on each side, drowsing in the morning sunshine while reading the Sunday funnies..
Because the house was unfit for human occupation, once my son was out of the house, they declared her an unfit mother.
By this time the girl had admitted that what she had said was not true, but it was too late. The kids had been taken by the State.
My son could not get custodey, so the kids were placed in Foster Care. I took V. Some very nice people took the two younger kids. The oldest, the daughter who started this series of events went to stay with her great grandparents. I did my best to make sure that everyone was safe and taken care of. No one else in the family seemed willing to step forward and do anything.
I tried to work with the oldest daughter, but she was totally out of control. Any time anyone tried to set limits for her, she went the other way.
She was pregnant at 14, put in a State House for kids, ran away, was taken back. I tried to get her what help she needed, but you can't help someone who won't be hepled.
Eventually we lost contact.
Some months ago she started calling here to try and get back in touch with V. By calling from an unlisted number, she eventually did. She is 18 now, employed, and engaged to be married.
We had her over, and let V. go spend the weekend with her, being very cautious the whole time.
When she was over, R. was here one time. They had stayed in some contact over the years, and since they both had troubled pasts, they hit it off.
She has memories of me being a "Kick ass" grandpa, and realized over the years I was just trying to do the best thing for her. When she bought a used car, she brought it over to me to check out. I told her it had a blown head gasket, and pointed out a couple of other things wrong with it.
She took it back to the lot with a "My grandpa says" attitude, and they agreed to fix it for free.
When she and R. got back together, she reccommended R. for a job where she worked. R. went in for an interview, and was hired.
Is it all just coincidence, or was there a larger thing at work? Bread cast upon the waters, does indeed return in time.
I don't live my life on the principal that my every attempted good deed will be rewarded, but it is fulfilling to know that some times, good comes from them.
But I ramble. Something I am good at.
This starts quite some time ago.
My son was in the process of a trainwreck of a first marriage. I got a call, and he was being kicked out of the house by CPS. It seems his stepdaughter had accused him of peeking at her in the shower. She was 11, and hated him. I won't go into all the details or anything, but CPS in their normal heavy-handed manner decided he had to leave.
I let him move in here, knowing the allegations were probably false, but not denying something might have happened.
His first wife was a complete slob. I refused to go see my grandkids because the house was such a pig sty that I couldn't stand seeing them living like that. Instead, I babysat the kids at my house. I have wonderful memories of getting up on the weekend and sitting with them in a big chair, one on each side, drowsing in the morning sunshine while reading the Sunday funnies..
Because the house was unfit for human occupation, once my son was out of the house, they declared her an unfit mother.
By this time the girl had admitted that what she had said was not true, but it was too late. The kids had been taken by the State.
My son could not get custodey, so the kids were placed in Foster Care. I took V. Some very nice people took the two younger kids. The oldest, the daughter who started this series of events went to stay with her great grandparents. I did my best to make sure that everyone was safe and taken care of. No one else in the family seemed willing to step forward and do anything.
I tried to work with the oldest daughter, but she was totally out of control. Any time anyone tried to set limits for her, she went the other way.
She was pregnant at 14, put in a State House for kids, ran away, was taken back. I tried to get her what help she needed, but you can't help someone who won't be hepled.
Eventually we lost contact.
Some months ago she started calling here to try and get back in touch with V. By calling from an unlisted number, she eventually did. She is 18 now, employed, and engaged to be married.
We had her over, and let V. go spend the weekend with her, being very cautious the whole time.
When she was over, R. was here one time. They had stayed in some contact over the years, and since they both had troubled pasts, they hit it off.
She has memories of me being a "Kick ass" grandpa, and realized over the years I was just trying to do the best thing for her. When she bought a used car, she brought it over to me to check out. I told her it had a blown head gasket, and pointed out a couple of other things wrong with it.
She took it back to the lot with a "My grandpa says" attitude, and they agreed to fix it for free.
When she and R. got back together, she reccommended R. for a job where she worked. R. went in for an interview, and was hired.
Is it all just coincidence, or was there a larger thing at work? Bread cast upon the waters, does indeed return in time.
I don't live my life on the principal that my every attempted good deed will be rewarded, but it is fulfilling to know that some times, good comes from them.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Got nothin' here
Just another day. The most that happened today was that I went to book rooms at the Kalaloch Lodge and the prices kept coming out WAY higher than I expected.
The attack of the fine print demons.
Although this is the off season, and prices are lower in the off season, the little bitty asterisk leads to the caveat box, which says that off season prices only apply Monday thru Thursday.
Bummer.
So I either pony up the extra salad or give up on Kalaloch.
I think I'll double check the budget. I'm sure I can find a few extras in there somewhere that we can do without.
The attack of the fine print demons.
Although this is the off season, and prices are lower in the off season, the little bitty asterisk leads to the caveat box, which says that off season prices only apply Monday thru Thursday.
Bummer.
So I either pony up the extra salad or give up on Kalaloch.
I think I'll double check the budget. I'm sure I can find a few extras in there somewhere that we can do without.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Back at it
I'm still having trouble with Blogger. For some reason, I can't add a post from work. It just won't connect to the dashboard.
At least it will now let me add comments. It wouldn't let me do that last week. Any improvement is good, I guess.
My head was still over at the Lodge. I just couldn't seem to get engaged. Good thing there wasn't a whole lot to do.
We are planning our next excursion. We ususally go to Lake Quinault fot our anniversary (April 9th) but I think we are going to go to the beach instead. There is a resort at Kalaloch that has a bunch of cabins for rent, and they are critter friendly, so Molly can come along. The rates aren''t too bad in the off season, a little over a hundred bucks a night, so it will be comparable to Lake Quinault.
The only thing to consider is that we are going to Maple Lane with Morning Light the weekend before, and we might be a little worn out.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Lake Quinault
Here are some pictures I took this morning on our morning walk.
First: Proof positive that it does sunshine in the Rain Forest. even in the Winter
The little bird in the picture is no bigger than your two thumbs put together
We saw five large salmon going up this stream. I don't think they can make itup the falls. Atleast none of them did while we were watching. The fish were about three feet long and probably wieghed around 15 lbs.
The trail along the edge of the lake. Moss growing on everything. It was so peaceful and quiet. A few birds chirping the background lap of small waves on the shore.
Very restful. Just what the doctor ordered.
We had a wonderful dinner last night. Braised salmon for two, served on a cedar plank, with Lobster mashed potatoes, and seared vegetables. A berry cobbler with vanilla ice cream for desert. We waddled back to the room and went into a food coma.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
V-Day
No big romantic thing today. I have reserved rooms at The Lake Quinault Lodge for the weekend. Mrs A. wanted to have a drink tonight to commemorate the 4th anniversary of my proposal, so I bought her a bottle of the best Rum I could find.
My mom is coming over to take care of V. this weekend, so Mrs A. and I can get away for a quiet weekend by ourselves. I am SO looking forward to a quiet weekend. The nice thing about going away is that you can't feel guilty about sitting around not doing anything if that was the whole purpose of your trip. We will probably go for a nice long walk in the rain, but that is about it.
And NO I'm not going to go into any detail about what other things we have planned!
Monday, February 12, 2007
New Bolgger sucks!
Basically because I had no choice, I was forced into the new blogger. I am less than happy with the results.
I cannot access my blog(s) other than at home. At times it is impossible to post comments. When I was assimilated, one of my blogs (STAR) lost significant content. STAR is the book I am working on, and Chapter One just disappeared. I have backup, but that's not the point. What if I didn't? Chaper one is just right.
Had a very nice weekend with Mrs A. I have promised to redo the floor in the kitchen. I had heard of a product that is like Prego, but in immitation stone. Only available by special order from Home Depot. A little expensive, but it is for OUR home, so on Saturday we went to take a look.
We settled on Copper Slate. It is like slate but with tan and orange colors. It will reflect the antique copper handles on the cabinets, while rflecting the Oak cabinets. It should look great. The stuff won't be available for a week to ten days, so I have a momentary respite from the honeydo list. I'm quite sure Mrs A. will find the next thing that needs to be done.
R. called today to tell me she has found a job. I am thrilled. It starts at $11.00 an hour and has full benefits. Paid sickleave and vacation, health coverage, Dental benefits. Please, God, help her through the first couple of weeks.
The whole job thing is such a weird bunch of coincidences that if I didn't already, it might make me believe in God.
More about that later.
I cannot access my blog(s) other than at home. At times it is impossible to post comments. When I was assimilated, one of my blogs (STAR) lost significant content. STAR is the book I am working on, and Chapter One just disappeared. I have backup, but that's not the point. What if I didn't? Chaper one is just right.
Had a very nice weekend with Mrs A. I have promised to redo the floor in the kitchen. I had heard of a product that is like Prego, but in immitation stone. Only available by special order from Home Depot. A little expensive, but it is for OUR home, so on Saturday we went to take a look.
We settled on Copper Slate. It is like slate but with tan and orange colors. It will reflect the antique copper handles on the cabinets, while rflecting the Oak cabinets. It should look great. The stuff won't be available for a week to ten days, so I have a momentary respite from the honeydo list. I'm quite sure Mrs A. will find the next thing that needs to be done.
R. called today to tell me she has found a job. I am thrilled. It starts at $11.00 an hour and has full benefits. Paid sickleave and vacation, health coverage, Dental benefits. Please, God, help her through the first couple of weeks.
The whole job thing is such a weird bunch of coincidences that if I didn't already, it might make me believe in God.
More about that later.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
PICS
The Peanut Queen requested that I show a couple of my pictures, since I put in my MEME the other day that I have actually sold a couple.Most of my stuff, I give away, but here are a few I had hanging around.
The photo's aren't that great because they are in frames and there is a lot of reflection, but you can get the idea.
They are not long on pretty, but that wasn't what I was looking for.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Benjamin
This is a picture of our Grandson, Benjamin. When Mrs A. went toUtah at Christmastime, she took this picture at the airport when she was coming home.
Benjamin insisted on helping her with her luggage, so here he is with her carry-on.
The trust and innocence in those eyes almost revives my hope for mankind.
We all start out with such eyes, but over time they become jaded and untrusting.
Oh, to be able to see the world through those eyes again!
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Vending Machines Promote Insanity
Every day when I get to work, I go down to the vending machines and get myself a 20 0z. Diet Coke with Lime.
Some like their caffiene warm, I like mine cold. This is not an optional activity. I NEED IT!
So I always make sure I have a couple of ones and some change. This morning I had the required $1.35, so I ambled down to the automated chaos of the vending machnes.
Everyone has had bad experiences with vending machines. Taking your money and giving you nothing, product hanging up in the machine, not giving you the right change.
My favorite was when you ordered a soda in the old machines that filled paper cups, and the cup failed to drop. You watched helplessly as the soda and then the syrup and your money went literally down the drain.
Today the vending machine took a dislike to the dollar bill I fed it. I have no idea what it didn't like about that particular bill. It was practically new, unwrinkled and seemingly free from defects.
I checked it, turned it around and tried it the other way. Still no, again, no, again, no.
In the midst of this I remembered one definition I had heard of insanity: Doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
As if by telepathy, the machine must have sensed my thoughts, because it accepted the dollar bill. Same machine, same dollar bill, same everything, different result.
Pschological studies of rats showed that the most powerful way to reinforce behavior is with a random reward/punishment system.
The rats were placed in a cage with a lever. When they pressed the lever they some times got food, sometimes got a shock, sometimes got nothing. The rats would sit there and press the lever until they collapsed from exhaustion. Even more than the rats that got rewarded every time they pressed the lever.
So in the bigger rat race we are being programmed for insanity by machines through a random punishment/reward system.
And don't tell me it's a coicidence.
Some like their caffiene warm, I like mine cold. This is not an optional activity. I NEED IT!
So I always make sure I have a couple of ones and some change. This morning I had the required $1.35, so I ambled down to the automated chaos of the vending machnes.
Everyone has had bad experiences with vending machines. Taking your money and giving you nothing, product hanging up in the machine, not giving you the right change.
My favorite was when you ordered a soda in the old machines that filled paper cups, and the cup failed to drop. You watched helplessly as the soda and then the syrup and your money went literally down the drain.
Today the vending machine took a dislike to the dollar bill I fed it. I have no idea what it didn't like about that particular bill. It was practically new, unwrinkled and seemingly free from defects.
I checked it, turned it around and tried it the other way. Still no, again, no, again, no.
In the midst of this I remembered one definition I had heard of insanity: Doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
As if by telepathy, the machine must have sensed my thoughts, because it accepted the dollar bill. Same machine, same dollar bill, same everything, different result.
Pschological studies of rats showed that the most powerful way to reinforce behavior is with a random reward/punishment system.
The rats were placed in a cage with a lever. When they pressed the lever they some times got food, sometimes got a shock, sometimes got nothing. The rats would sit there and press the lever until they collapsed from exhaustion. Even more than the rats that got rewarded every time they pressed the lever.
So in the bigger rat race we are being programmed for insanity by machines through a random punishment/reward system.
And don't tell me it's a coicidence.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
MEME
I was tagged by An Exraordinary Woman in an Ordinary life with this MEME.
The recipient is to reveal five little known facts about his or her self. Got to put my thinking cap on for this one.
First of all: I am a published poet. Just barely. I have had several things published. Nothing extaordinary, but still, my words on paper, published by someone else. I don't count internet stuff. Some of it I have put here when I run out of anything to say.
Second: My first love tried to comitt suicide. Took a bottle of pills. It left me devestated for years. I was walking around talking and functioning, but I was in a state of suspended animation. She left a note. It wasn't me she was running from, but her parents. She was 18, I was 19. For years afterwards she was in my mind, and every time I thought of her the bottom dropped out of my stomach and my throat got tight.
Third: I have actually sold a couple of paintings. I dabble with art. I had a chance to go professional at one point, but I had a family to support, so I went for stability and a reliable paycheck. Every once in a while, I get a wild hair and drag out the art supplies and do something, but it's been a couple of years since I have done anything more advanced than doodles. One of my co-workers once compared my notepads to the journals in MYST. I love doing creative things with my hands. My latest effort was to repair a sadly damaged accoustic guitar. I carved a new nut and bridge out of mamoth ivory, reset the fretboard and restrung it.
Fourth: I am a voracious reader. I have to have something to read. If I didn't have a book, I'd read Magazines, or newspapers. If I didn't have them, I think I would read soup can labels and cereal boxes. I have read thousands of books, and my library at home contains several hundred.
Last: I proposed to Mrs A, on Valentines Day. It will be four years next Wednesday. It was at the Lake Quinault Lodge. I have reserved a room there for the weekend after Valentines Day. My mom is going to watch V. that weekend, so we will have a quiet weekend away by ourselves (With our Shi-Tzu Molly, of course). We will be in the boathouse again, since that is the only part of the lodge where you can take a pet.
Tag, you're it, whoever you are.............
The recipient is to reveal five little known facts about his or her self. Got to put my thinking cap on for this one.
First of all: I am a published poet. Just barely. I have had several things published. Nothing extaordinary, but still, my words on paper, published by someone else. I don't count internet stuff. Some of it I have put here when I run out of anything to say.
Second: My first love tried to comitt suicide. Took a bottle of pills. It left me devestated for years. I was walking around talking and functioning, but I was in a state of suspended animation. She left a note. It wasn't me she was running from, but her parents. She was 18, I was 19. For years afterwards she was in my mind, and every time I thought of her the bottom dropped out of my stomach and my throat got tight.
Third: I have actually sold a couple of paintings. I dabble with art. I had a chance to go professional at one point, but I had a family to support, so I went for stability and a reliable paycheck. Every once in a while, I get a wild hair and drag out the art supplies and do something, but it's been a couple of years since I have done anything more advanced than doodles. One of my co-workers once compared my notepads to the journals in MYST. I love doing creative things with my hands. My latest effort was to repair a sadly damaged accoustic guitar. I carved a new nut and bridge out of mamoth ivory, reset the fretboard and restrung it.
Fourth: I am a voracious reader. I have to have something to read. If I didn't have a book, I'd read Magazines, or newspapers. If I didn't have them, I think I would read soup can labels and cereal boxes. I have read thousands of books, and my library at home contains several hundred.
Last: I proposed to Mrs A, on Valentines Day. It will be four years next Wednesday. It was at the Lake Quinault Lodge. I have reserved a room there for the weekend after Valentines Day. My mom is going to watch V. that weekend, so we will have a quiet weekend away by ourselves (With our Shi-Tzu Molly, of course). We will be in the boathouse again, since that is the only part of the lodge where you can take a pet.
Tag, you're it, whoever you are.............
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
What a tangled web........
Mrs. A. and I were in this e-mail war yesterday. Things worked out eventually, but it took basically all day to work things out. It took me forever to get a handle on what was going on. The twists of logic it took were Byzantine to say the least. It goes this way:
On Saturday,we went over to Mrs. A.s sisters. It was Mrs. A.s nephews birthday. On the way we stopped at Starbucks to get a gift card. Of course, Mrs A, had left all her money and credit cards at home, so I had to pay.
When I got my wallet out, Mrs A. noticed that I had a picture of my grandson in my wallet. As we arrived, she asked "Does it hurt you that I don't have a relationship with your kids?"
"Yeah, it bothers me you can't get along with them."
Wrong answer. I implied that she might have been at least partially at error.
That started off three days of unpleasantness.
We had a decent time at her sis's place.
Going to Church on Sunday, she started in on me. I asked her why she was trying to pick a fight, and got the usual female answers "If you don't know I'm not going to tell you" Very prickly day on Sunday.
Then a shitstorm of e-mails yesterday.
You don't understand. I have been hurt, you never listen to me, you think more of your daughter than you do me, blah, blah, blah.
Your daughter comes around all the time. You will come and go at her beck and call, but my daughter won't come around at all. I think she is afraid of R. and her friends.
The AHA! moment.
She hasn't seen or heard from her daughter in a couple of months. The last couple of times L. called was before Christmas, and Mrs A. refused to talk to her.
She had seen the picture of my grandson, The Inevitable E., then seen her sis's family in a nice birthday party, which got her to thinking about her daughter and her grandkids.
I sent her back a VERY carefully worded e-mail pointing out that the very last words out of L.s mouth as she left were "I miss my mom, I want my mom back"
It's too bad they don't have a phone, and we don't have their address, or I would bundle Mrs A. into the Blazer and hold her captive and drive her down to Puyallup to see the kids.
But the logic chain I had to go down to get to what was really wrong was exhausting.
On Saturday,we went over to Mrs. A.s sisters. It was Mrs. A.s nephews birthday. On the way we stopped at Starbucks to get a gift card. Of course, Mrs A, had left all her money and credit cards at home, so I had to pay.
When I got my wallet out, Mrs A. noticed that I had a picture of my grandson in my wallet. As we arrived, she asked "Does it hurt you that I don't have a relationship with your kids?"
"Yeah, it bothers me you can't get along with them."
Wrong answer. I implied that she might have been at least partially at error.
That started off three days of unpleasantness.
We had a decent time at her sis's place.
Going to Church on Sunday, she started in on me. I asked her why she was trying to pick a fight, and got the usual female answers "If you don't know I'm not going to tell you" Very prickly day on Sunday.
Then a shitstorm of e-mails yesterday.
You don't understand. I have been hurt, you never listen to me, you think more of your daughter than you do me, blah, blah, blah.
Your daughter comes around all the time. You will come and go at her beck and call, but my daughter won't come around at all. I think she is afraid of R. and her friends.
The AHA! moment.
She hasn't seen or heard from her daughter in a couple of months. The last couple of times L. called was before Christmas, and Mrs A. refused to talk to her.
She had seen the picture of my grandson, The Inevitable E., then seen her sis's family in a nice birthday party, which got her to thinking about her daughter and her grandkids.
I sent her back a VERY carefully worded e-mail pointing out that the very last words out of L.s mouth as she left were "I miss my mom, I want my mom back"
It's too bad they don't have a phone, and we don't have their address, or I would bundle Mrs A. into the Blazer and hold her captive and drive her down to Puyallup to see the kids.
But the logic chain I had to go down to get to what was really wrong was exhausting.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Charlie Musselwhite
Friday night was the Charlie Musselwhite show at the Kirkland Performance Center. Charlie and his band are on tour to promote his new CD "Delta Hardware Co." the CD has been nominated for eight Handy awards.
The show was everything I expected and more.
First of all, Charlie is Charlie, and if you know enough about Blues to hook up to one of his shows, you are going to get what you expect to get. He is comsumately Professional. He can take a simple piece of steel and reeds and turn it into a mighty communication tool of magical proportions. The thing about any CD is that it doesn't have the soul of the moment in it. The solos, audience participation. Even a live album can't really catch the essence of the moment.
What surprised me was the quality of his band. They were excellent, Chris "Kid" Andersen is an amazingly accomplished guitarists, and his solos brought as much response from the audience as did Charlie's. The drummer and bass player provided solid backup.
The only things that were not perfect were the sound system, which had some feedback problems, and the fact that although they were on stage for an hour and a half, I WANTED MORE!!!
Friday, February 02, 2007
Not Half Bad
Mrs A. and I have been going to counseling for the last six months or so. It's not that our relationship is bad, it's that there has been soooo much CRAP going on around us that we needed some help staying focused and some validation that the things we were doing were the right things.
Last night was probably our last visit, unless some big crisis slinks over the horizon. Things are going OK. Not that everything is OK, just that we are comfortable with our ability to handle them. The counselor was a big help. He actually enjoyed seeing us, because we were a rare exception, a couple who was pulling together and obviously cared very much for each other, but just were going through some tough times.
So afterwards we went to Redmond Town Center for dinner. It was nice, although the restaraunt was awfully crowded for a weeknight.
Tonight we are going to the Kirkland Performing Arts Center to see Charlie Musselwhite. He is a killer blues harmonica player who has been around forever. I've never seen him in person before although I have three of his CDs. We have also never been to this venue before, so it ought to be a trip.
Hope y'all have a great weekend, and in the words of that 60s band, Canned Heat:
"Don't Froget To Boogie!"
Last night was probably our last visit, unless some big crisis slinks over the horizon. Things are going OK. Not that everything is OK, just that we are comfortable with our ability to handle them. The counselor was a big help. He actually enjoyed seeing us, because we were a rare exception, a couple who was pulling together and obviously cared very much for each other, but just were going through some tough times.
So afterwards we went to Redmond Town Center for dinner. It was nice, although the restaraunt was awfully crowded for a weeknight.
Tonight we are going to the Kirkland Performing Arts Center to see Charlie Musselwhite. He is a killer blues harmonica player who has been around forever. I've never seen him in person before although I have three of his CDs. We have also never been to this venue before, so it ought to be a trip.
Hope y'all have a great weekend, and in the words of that 60s band, Canned Heat:
"Don't Froget To Boogie!"
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Just Keep Marching
R. came by last night to pick up her summons and I had to take her to where she had been staying to pick up her stuff, which she put in my basement with her other stuff.
She had to sort out her stuff and pick out the stuff she needed to take with her. She was offered a job at The Cheesecake Factory, but had to turn it down because she has no place to stay. It hurt like hell to drop her off at the bus station, not knowing where she was going.
Sometimes we just march. We plod. We stare at the back of the guy in front of us and place one foot in front of the other, more out of inertia than intent. No real destination, direction unknown. The journey becomes the destination. The process becomes the intent. As long as we keep marching, things will eventually work out. Determination trumps incentive.
So we keep our head down and march.
She had to sort out her stuff and pick out the stuff she needed to take with her. She was offered a job at The Cheesecake Factory, but had to turn it down because she has no place to stay. It hurt like hell to drop her off at the bus station, not knowing where she was going.
Sometimes we just march. We plod. We stare at the back of the guy in front of us and place one foot in front of the other, more out of inertia than intent. No real destination, direction unknown. The journey becomes the destination. The process becomes the intent. As long as we keep marching, things will eventually work out. Determination trumps incentive.
So we keep our head down and march.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Chronic Chaos
Yesterday when I got the mail, there was a summons for R.
She got a DWI last year and is still working through the Courts. I guess she has to show up for something or the other this week.
She got a job offer, but turned it down because she doesn't have anyplace to stay right now, plus has the court date. I am not real clear what happened where she was staying. I am supposed to help her go get her stuff tonight and I'll find out. I'll give her the Summons while I'm at it.
We received notice last week about the "sudden and tragic" death of a co-worker. I had worked with the guy about ten years ago. He was my Functional Manager. Everyone speculated all week long what had happened.
The Services were last Friday, and it was suicide.
He was only 47, and left a couple of kids and a wife. He had this big booming laugh, and seemed find the humor in just about every situation. We had attended some of the same meetings recently, and he seemed to be the same as he always had been. It was a real shock that such a vital seemingly happy guy with friends in many countries would choose to pull his own string. I admit that it jarred me.
His wife got up at the funeral, and without being specific, said that he was carrying some burdens he could not divest himself of, and didn't know how to get help, so he chose the only exit he could figure out.
What a shame.
She got a DWI last year and is still working through the Courts. I guess she has to show up for something or the other this week.
She got a job offer, but turned it down because she doesn't have anyplace to stay right now, plus has the court date. I am not real clear what happened where she was staying. I am supposed to help her go get her stuff tonight and I'll find out. I'll give her the Summons while I'm at it.
We received notice last week about the "sudden and tragic" death of a co-worker. I had worked with the guy about ten years ago. He was my Functional Manager. Everyone speculated all week long what had happened.
The Services were last Friday, and it was suicide.
He was only 47, and left a couple of kids and a wife. He had this big booming laugh, and seemed find the humor in just about every situation. We had attended some of the same meetings recently, and he seemed to be the same as he always had been. It was a real shock that such a vital seemingly happy guy with friends in many countries would choose to pull his own string. I admit that it jarred me.
His wife got up at the funeral, and without being specific, said that he was carrying some burdens he could not divest himself of, and didn't know how to get help, so he chose the only exit he could figure out.
What a shame.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Attitude
I have an attitude problem this morning.
I got it from Mrs. A.
The dog woke her up at 1:00 wanting to go out, so she got up and took the dog out. While she was up, she noticed that the garbage had not been taken out. I know because she woke me out of a sound sleep to tell me.
I went right back to sleep.
So when I woke up this morning, it was the first thing I heard from her. V. didn't take out the garbage. Before I was even out of bed. She pushed past me and knocked on his door, and in her very best fishwife screech started in on him.
When she came in the bathroom, I suggested that there was perhaps a better way to handle it than screeching, it was like throwiing gasoline on a campfire. It was perhaps not the smartest thing I have done recently. What can I say? It was zero dark thirty and I am not at my best when I first wake up.
When she got around to the part where she always has to be the one to get V. to do anything, I told her that I do my fair share in that department, she claimed sole ownership of the territory, so I asked "So I am a liar as well?"
Once again, not the best move.
Not the way I wanted to start the week.
I got it from Mrs. A.
The dog woke her up at 1:00 wanting to go out, so she got up and took the dog out. While she was up, she noticed that the garbage had not been taken out. I know because she woke me out of a sound sleep to tell me.
I went right back to sleep.
So when I woke up this morning, it was the first thing I heard from her. V. didn't take out the garbage. Before I was even out of bed. She pushed past me and knocked on his door, and in her very best fishwife screech started in on him.
When she came in the bathroom, I suggested that there was perhaps a better way to handle it than screeching, it was like throwiing gasoline on a campfire. It was perhaps not the smartest thing I have done recently. What can I say? It was zero dark thirty and I am not at my best when I first wake up.
When she got around to the part where she always has to be the one to get V. to do anything, I told her that I do my fair share in that department, she claimed sole ownership of the territory, so I asked "So I am a liar as well?"
Once again, not the best move.
Not the way I wanted to start the week.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Busy
I've been in meetings most of the time, or in between meetings, so I haven't had a lot of time to blog or comment.
I'm sure glad tomorrow is Friday, cause I'm about worn out.
I don't think we have anything planned for this weekend, but next weekend will be busy. I have enough chores around the house to keep me busy for months.
Between my oral surgery and having the crud, I haven't accomplished much in the last couple of months.
Sitting here listening to Charlie Musselwhite's "Delta Hardware" CD. Next weekend he is coming to town. I'm really looking forward to seeing him.
Catch you on the rebound.
I'm sure glad tomorrow is Friday, cause I'm about worn out.
I don't think we have anything planned for this weekend, but next weekend will be busy. I have enough chores around the house to keep me busy for months.
Between my oral surgery and having the crud, I haven't accomplished much in the last couple of months.
Sitting here listening to Charlie Musselwhite's "Delta Hardware" CD. Next weekend he is coming to town. I'm really looking forward to seeing him.
Catch you on the rebound.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Getaway
Mrs A. is getting cabin fever. She had it REAL bad when we had all the snow and cold, and is a little better now that the cold and ice is gone, but she just wants to get away.
So I booked us for a weekend at the Lake Quinault Lodge (http://www.visitlakequinault.com/) for the weekend following Valentines Day. I proposed to her at the lodge on Valentines Day, so I figure I will make double bonus points, and a temporary immunity to the honeydo list. Not that I have ulterior motives or anything.
I also agreed to take the condo on the Oregon Coast for a week in September. We will have to figure out what to do with V. for that week, but can always take him along if we HAVE to.
So now Mrs A. has a couple of things to look forward to. She will function a lot better if she has some rewards to think about.
R. came over last night to get some dressier clothes, because she is going to a Government Job Fair today. I sure hope she gets something.
She looked a lot better than she has. Her life seems to be stabilizing. I took her to Chang's Mongolian Grill to eat. She can be such an attractive, personable young lady when she chooses. Or such a hideous viscous bitch. It's like the old poem:
There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle
Of her forehead
And when she was good
She was very good indeed
And when she was bad
She was horrid.
So I booked us for a weekend at the Lake Quinault Lodge (http://www.visitlakequinault.com/) for the weekend following Valentines Day. I proposed to her at the lodge on Valentines Day, so I figure I will make double bonus points, and a temporary immunity to the honeydo list. Not that I have ulterior motives or anything.
I also agreed to take the condo on the Oregon Coast for a week in September. We will have to figure out what to do with V. for that week, but can always take him along if we HAVE to.
So now Mrs A. has a couple of things to look forward to. She will function a lot better if she has some rewards to think about.
R. came over last night to get some dressier clothes, because she is going to a Government Job Fair today. I sure hope she gets something.
She looked a lot better than she has. Her life seems to be stabilizing. I took her to Chang's Mongolian Grill to eat. She can be such an attractive, personable young lady when she chooses. Or such a hideous viscous bitch. It's like the old poem:
There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle
Of her forehead
And when she was good
She was very good indeed
And when she was bad
She was horrid.
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