Christmas trip

For Christmas, my sisters, brother-in-law and I all met up in San Angelo to spend time with my mom.  As mentioned in my Thanksgiving post, the drive for me is long and, at times, rather boring.

The trip to San Angelo was rather unusual this time.  I called ahead and checked on the condition of the roads.  The recording said they were fine.  The recording did not mention the foggy conditions that were pretty much in place until I got to Roswell, NM.  Sometimes you could see several hundred yards to a mile.  That's unusual for the country I was driving through where you can normally see for several miles in all directions.  In Lincoln County, NM the fog was especially heavy.  Not much fun to drive in.  Here's a picture of when conditions were foggy but not too bad.

Normally you could see for at least 5 to 10 miles -- at least.

All the fog plus temperatures around freezing put a frost on the vegetation.  Just north of Vaughn, NM, I spotted a couple of trees.  I pulled over to take a photo.  When I rolled down my car window, it sounded like there was a light rain.  It turns out I had stopped about the time that the temps got just above freezing and it was the sound of frost sliding off branches and plopping on the ground.  Here's one of the trees.

Just north of Vaughn is a very small town called Encino.  Here's a sad little house.  I always wonder what it's history was and why it looks like this now.

On the trip to San Angelo I was very glad I had finished all my shopping.  One of the towns I went through was LaMesa, TX and the strip center with WalMart was PACKED.  Ditto in Big Spring, TX.

Between LaMesa and Big Spring I almost ran off the road when I spotted what I thought was a full-grown, real, live reindeer.  I checked again on the way home and decided (due to the other animals in the pasture) that it was probably an elk instead.  I think the ranch it was located on hosts hunters for a living.

Christmas was nice and so was the drive home.  It was sunny and windy and a bit chilly.  As I got to Brownfield I noticed several long ribbons of geese headed in an easterly direction.  Not sure why and where they were going, but they were pretty to look at.  Also spotted on the drive home was a solitary hawk perched in the only tree for several miles.

It's good to be home.

Papillon

Make It Stop

I suddenly like political ads better than Christmas ads.  Why?  Because the day after the election, the political ads stop.

Apparently this is no longer true of either Christmas ads or Christmas music.  After having both start up before Thanksgiving, it looks like folks are trying to wring every last bit of sentiment out of them.  Especially annoying is the incessant Christmas music.  Yesterday I was hoping area merchants were just letting the music linger through the weekend.

Then I was in a local restaurant today and what do my ears behold?  More Christmas music.  Fortunately the restaurant was a bit noisy and I could tune most of it out.

All I can say is - make it STOP!
Papillon

A Snow Day

It's been a long dry autumn here in New Mexico.  So we felt some relief when the weather forecasters said we'd be getting some precipitation starting yesterday.

The forecasters were right.  I woke up yesterday to cloudy and rainy skies.  Hooray!  I ran some errands and then headed home since the forecast was for the rain to turn to snow.  Sure enough, it did shortly after I got home.  I was expecting an inch or two.  That expectation was dashed when it kept snowing and snowing and snowing.

Here's what it looked like out my front door around 10 PM last night.

This morning I woke up to approximately 4-5 inches of snow.  We rarely get this much snow here on the west side of Albuquerque.  Needless to say, I'm going to spend most of the day here at home. 

It's supposed to warm up to 40 degrees.  However, as of noon, we are still in the low to mid 30's.  Some melting has occurred, but there's still a whole lot of snow hanging around.

Papillon



Feeling Good

After having spent some time as one of the countless unemployed persons and having my resumes ignored by all and sundry, I suddenly am having much better 'luck'.

Around mid-week I was contacted about my interest in a position at a local entity which runs/owns two of the local TV stations.  Since then, I've had my first interview.

Then, at about the same time, I was contacted by Sandia National Lab about my interest in a position there.  Friday morning I went in for testing - they want to make sure you can read and do math and follow instructions and have more than a passing familiarity with Microsoft Office.  I did well on all of the tests except for Excel.  Even though I use Excel on a regular basis, they were using 2007.  I have not had a chance to use it and with the 24 hour notice I did not have a chance to track down a tutorial to run.  So, for a while I was pulling out my hair, but eventually got through it with a passing score.  Hooray!

I go in for an initial interview on Monday for Sandia.  I'm waiting to hear if the TV stations want to do a second interview.

Woohoo!  It sure feels nice to be popular.

Papillon

More Recuperation - At Home

I'm back from San Angelo.  It turns out my trip timing was excellent.  I left the Albuquerque area on Wednesday and had lovely, albeit windy weather for the drive to San Angelo.  In reading the local newspaper after I got back, it turns out the Albuquerque area had just enough moisture plus freezin temperatures to turn a major highway interchange into a skating rink.  About 20 cars ended up wrecking, including several police cruisers who were responding to the accidents.  Nobody was badly hurt so that was a good thing.

I came back on Saturday and had lovely weather for long distance driving.  On Sunday, a cold front moved through with resulting high winds.  Today, portions of the state got snow - including areas that I drove through on Saturday.  Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, driving through eastern New Mexico and western Texas can be mind numbingly boring at times.  For example, large parts of west Texas (north and west of Big Spring) are devoted to cotton... as seen here.

The brown parts of the photos are fields of harvested cotton.  For fans of the movie Places in the Heart, cotton is no longer harvested using crews of field hands.  Instead farmers have large (and hugely expensive) machines that have one person sitting up in a cab and driving down the rows.  Much more efficient.  As you can see, the fields go on for MILES.  In the right-hand photo, the small area on the extreme right hand side of the picture are mature trees surrounding a farm house. 

After the cotton is harvested, it is pressed into large rectangular shape generally the size of a large travel trailer.  These are later loaded onto trucks and moved to communal cotton gins located around the area.  Usually the gins are just called things like Co-op Gin of (insert nearest community).  One of the better named gins is the one located at Punkin Center.  Note:  to my knowledge there are no pumpkins/punkins at Punkin Center.  Just lots more cotton - the field just behind the sign looks like it's waiting to be harvested.  That's not snow on the ground, just open cotton bolls.

In addition to cotton and cattle, there are numerous places in both west Texas and eastern New Mexico where there's lots of drilling for natural gas.  So you see lots of these devices, they're called pumpjacks (I think).  All day long they go up and they go down.  Rather hypnotic in their own way.

Also, as mentioned before, there are some weird place names in west Texas.  On the south side of Sterling City is Bodcaw Draw.  (Reminder to self, must remember to do some research on what the heck is a bodcaw?)

Trips can be fun.  But it's also good to be home, especially knowing that the Sandia Mountains east of town got snow today.  Hooray for not having to drive through it!

Papillon

Thanksgiving Visit

I'm spending Thanksgiving with my mom.  She used to come & visit me, but thanks to a number of things including increasing frailty as she gets older, I've been visiting her for the past several years.

The problem is that there is no easy way to get from the Albuquerque area to San Angelo, TX.  You can fly to San Angelo, if you don't mind spending hours & hours in airports during various layovers in Houston or Dallas.  Or you can fly to Midland, rent a car & drive for a couple of hours.  Unfortunately, what used to be a late afternoon flight was moved by Southwest to a mid-evening flight - leaving the traveler to drive the couple of hours in the dark (literally and sometimes figuratively).

Thanks to my getting a new(er) car earlier this year to replace my 20 year old truck, I've been driving over the hills and through the prairies - for about 9 to 10 hours.  Which is what I did yesterday.

At first it's fun to see the scenery change.  The evergreen trees in the Sandias changing to the evergreen shrubs changing to the grass punctuated at first by lots of cholla (cactus) to occasional cholla to very little cholla and mostly grass.  However, after about 5 hours, it starts to get VERY old.  This photo was taken in Lincoln County, NM - looking west from the highway.

I was glad I was doing the speed limit when I drove through Vaughn.  By the side of the road sat the police.  In a pickup truck.  And not just ANY pickup truck.  Imagine said pickup with a kick-ass paint scheme of blue and black.  Plus the fact it was a pickup that apparently had been taking steroids for a considerable period of time because it was very big and very intimidating.  The windows were tinted so I couldn't see if the occupant matched the truck for size & intimidation. 

I keep meaning to stop in Vaughn.  As I've driven through I've noticed a diner - one of those old-fashioned kind with lots of chrome on the outside.  It looks very 1950's.  I may stop on the way back to Albuquerque for a snack.  I'll keep you posted if I do.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Papillon

Recuperation

No, I've not been sick.  I've been recuperating from the November edition of the Albuquerque Main Library's $3-a-bag book sale.

Don't get me wrong.  I love books.  I love getting books for $3 a bag.  It 's just VERY tiring schlepping all those books around.  There are times I wish I'd gotten a lighter weight hobby.  But no.

On a positive note, the best way to recuperate from the book sale is to lay on the couch and read one of the books.  So tough to do (tongue firmly in cheek)!  The cat likes it too, since my lap is handy for naps for him.

Note:  some time ago I mentioned this book sale to a coworker.  She looked at me and said in all seriousness, "I hope you got some good books in your bags."  I looked at her stunned when I realized she thought that a '$3-a-bag book sale' meant you went to the library, paid $3 and the library staff handed you a random bag of books.  Um, in a word, no.  I explained to her that this was not a literary version of buying a pig in a poke.  You either bring your own bag or use one of the brown paper, grocery-style bags they provide and then you look through the thousands of books they have out on tables.  You get to select any books that take your fancy and then pay the nice ladies at the cash registers.

Happy reading!
Papillon

Fall Color

As I mentioned in an earlier post, most of the fall color we get in New Mexico is yellow.  Here's a lovely leaf that landed in my front yard.

When I bought my house, I decided to enliven things by planting several red leaf plum (fruit-less) trees.  Their leaves don't change colors.  I'm always amused when they drop off the trees.  Initially they don't seem to do it one or two or three leaves at a time.  Instead, it seems they have all their leaves one day and the next - 50% of them are on the ground.  The rest then do the one or two at a time.

So far we've had mild fall weather.  I hope that stays true for the rest of the season!

Papillon

Autumn is Here

I realize that the official start of autumn was not quite a month ago.  But here in New Mexico, we've had a two month run of very nice weather.  Warm but not hot days.  Cool but not cold nights.  That all ended this week.  There's definitely now a chill in the air.

A couple of streets over one of the houses has a row of Lombardy poplars in their backyard.  In late September, those poplars participated in an encounter with a hot air balloon.  (Note:  the balloon hung up for only about a minute and then pulled free.  It pendulum-ed once or twice but then went on for a safe landing.  The tree suffered a minor bit of damage in the form of a small amount of branch coming loose.)

However, the trees are definitely turning.  Unlike some parts of the USA, most of the native trees here turn yellow.  So, instead of the smorgasboard of colors you'd see in the Northeast, here it's like looking at a wide stretch of bright gold.  Not quite the variety, but very pretty nevertheless.

Here are the neighbors trees in all their autumnal glory.

Papillon

Happy Halloween!

A very appropriate photo found at http://www.icanhascheezburger.com/.

Papillon

Hats Off!

Okay, I'm still a bit fixated with 1950's etiquette (per Amy Vanderbilt).

Today, it's hats, especially for women.  I'm not sure exactly when women stopped routinely wearing hats in public.  It may be about the time that the Kennedy family left the White House.  I remember women trying to emulate Jackie and her pillbox hats.  Men stopped wearing hats because John Kennedy went bareheaded so often.  And I don't remember Lady Bird Johnson wearing a lot of hats.

However, in the 1950's, women had all sorts of rules about when and where to wear hats (and gloves for that matter).

Sample question from M.M. in Oakland, CA:  "Do you feel that a woman public speaker must always wear a hat?"  Amy Vanderbilt:  "Not necessarily.  She doesn't wear one if she is in evening clothes.  In many urban communities, where hatlessness is a matter of choice, I've seen many distinguished women speakers without hats.  In very small communities, which tend to be conservative in this matter, it is probably well for the speaker to wear a hat in order to avoid criticism..."

Another woman (Mrs. J.A.F, Monroe City, MO) wrote in to say "I am confused as to when to wear a hat and gloves..."
Vanderbilt replies, "When in doubt, wear a hat -- and gloves..."  She goes on to make a list of hat rules, such as:
"1. Wear a hat and gloves to church and to any religious ceremony...
2.  Wear a hat to any formal reception...
3.  Wear a hat when making a formal call on an important person, such as a governor or a bishop.
4.  Wear a hat - or be prepared to do so - if you are a professional speaker before any group..."

There is an ongoing nostalgia for all things 1950-ish.  The thought being that it was a lovely time of peace and quiet following World War II.  While reading Vanderbilt's etiquette book, it looks to be just one more era of fairly rigid rules on what to where and how to act - lest one receive criticism for the simple act of not wearing a hat while giving a public speech.

Papillon

More 1950's etiquette

Today - we look at 1950's restaurant etiquette.

A woman from Texas wrote to Amy Vanderbilt asking how to order dinner when at a restaurant with her boyfriend.

Amy's reply:
"You do not pick up the menu yourself, but you wait until it is presented to you by your escort or by the waiter.  You give your order to the escort rather than to the waiter.....you give your order to your escort, for it is his masculine duty to scan the (menu) card and suggest things that might appeal to your palate.  It is also he who suggests the wine, if any.  A girl may know all about food herself, but, as a guest of a man in a restaurant, she defers politely to his suggestions, although, of course, she's not required to eat anything that she doesn't like."

I do so love the fact of how women's liberation has changed things.  Now we don't have to play this silly game of women deferring to men simply because they're men.  I love the proviso at the end about how a girl doesn't have to eat anything she doesn't like.  Wow, that's nice.

So ladies, give a big shout-out of thanks to all the women who firmly set themselves forward and said - we are self-sufficient adults and should be able to do those adult things like voting and not being considered chattel and - on a lesser note - being competent to order our own food when dining out with a man.  Because, after all, we are, in fact, adults.

Let the games cease!

Hip, hip, hooray!
Papillon

2010 Balloon Fiesta

Taking a break from etiquette rules from the 1950's - today (10/10/10) is the final day of the annual Balloon Fiesta here in Albuquerque.  This year was no different from other years in that there were a couple events (primarily in the evenings) that had to be cancelled due to unfavorable conditions.  However, most events went off as planned and most folks were thankful for slightly warmer than normal morning temperatures.

For the first time in I can't remember when, I actually didn't have to work this week and so got to do some laid back balloon chasing, hoping to get photos to use for my needlework patterns.

Here are some photos that most likely will not be used for patterns, but are kinda fun nevertheless.

A good takeoff -

The two faces of a jester (special shape) balloon -

Two balloons looking for a good place to land - 

A balloon that's made a safe landing -

And here's a balloon that made a rather 'sloppy' landing.  You'll be happy to know that nobody was hurt, not even the balloon.  OK, the balloon may have had some minimal damage, but looked to have survived enough to fly another day.

Thanks to the efforts of the fine folks at PNM (local utility) and the equally fine folks with the Albuquerque Fire Department, the balloon's envelope was un-draped from the power line.

And that's it for this year.

Papillon

More fleeing from the 1950's

Another amusing bit of etiquette practiced during the 1950's - bows. (No, not something involving a shoe laces or ribbons.)  From what I can gather from the Amy Vanderbilt etiquette book - people (at least in the USA) didn't always shake hands when greeting each other.

One question asks about the differences between a man's bow and a woman's.  According to Ms. Vanderbilt, a man's bow is a modification of the deep bow he learned as a boy in dancing class.  After the bow, the woman might offer to shake hands.  Or not.  A lady's bow is a slight inclination of the head, usually accompanied by a smile.  She might then offer to shake hands. 

Please bear in mind, according to Ms. Vanderbilt - no one properly refuses to return a bow.

In a related question, a woman asked if ladies are already seated at a luncheon table are introduced to each other, do they shake hands?  Ms. Vanderbilt said, "No, they bow.  In this country there is very little shaking hands between women."

Oh, my.

Papillon

Fleeing the 1950's

As usual, I've been browsing through the book section at Goodwill looking for interesting books.  I found a couple including one from the early/mid 1950's.  It's Amy Vanderbilt's Everyday Etiquette.  I bought it chiefly for the entertainment value.

I must admit, I was grew up in the 1950's (partly).  In reading the etiquette book, I am so glad I'm no longer living there.  The book is written based on questions asked of Ms. Vanderbilt by her readers.

Here's an example of why I'm glad we're no longer living in the 1950's.

A person (identified as G.H. of La Jolla, California) asks what is suitable attire for a secretary to wear to work.  Ms. Vanderbilt's reply is as follows:
"It depends on the community in which she works.  If she works in a large city, she wears tailored, conservative clothes, low or medium, not high, heels, stockings (even in the hottest weather), minimum of jewelry and none of it clanking, conservative make-up and nails, and a simple coiffeur.  If she works under country conditions, she wears simple country clothes, which again should be on the conservative side.  In the country, for example, sweaters and skirts worn with or without jackets are acceptable, but sweaters in a city are often not permitted."

What the heck are 'country conditions'?  And the thought of having to wear nylons everyday (even in the hottest weather) makes my blood run cold.

I will admit that several years after moving to the Albuquerque area 20 years ago, I was working with a temp agency.  One of the jobs they sent me on was working in the front office of an apartment complex.  I showed up wearing a nice blazer, shirt and slacks.  They refused to let me work because 'corporate' refused to have women wearing slacks in their front office.  I was dumbfounded, after all this was the early 1990's, not the 1950's.  Needless to say, I notified the temp agency and headed for home.

I'll be passing along more 'tips' for your amusement.

Papillon

I Love A Rainy Night!

The Albuquerque area is designated as high desert.  One, because we're a mile high.  Second, we don't get a whole lotta rain.  (Note:  desert doesn't necessarily mean really hot, although lots of deserts are.  It usually refers to the rainfall, or lack thereof, in an area.)

Anyway, we don't get a lot of rain on average and rarely do we get a whole day of it.  So it's very lovely when a day like today happens.

I'm just sitting back and enjoying all the lovely rain.

Happy Autumnal Equinox!

Papillon

State Fair

Today I went to the NM State Fair.  I almost didn't go because it's still slightly hot outside.  But I saw a notice in the paper that they were discounting the entrance fee by $2.  So what the heck, I was on my way.  When I arrived, it turns out the entrance fee was $2, not $2 off the regular amount of $7.  Yippee!

As usual when I go to the State Fair, I never go to the midway.  I have a very low threshold for nausea and so I try to avoid things like midway rides.

Instead I headed for the contest venues.  Among other things I entered two photos I took a number of months ago at the fountain in front of the Albuquerque Museum.  They didn't win anything, but I really like the way they turned out.

I also entered a couple pieces of my needlepoint.  I designed the patterns for both - they're based on photos I've taken.  The first one won a second place ribbon.

Finally, I entered a pillow with pansies.  It won a third place.

 

Granted first place on everything would have been nice, but I'm always glad to win something!  It's better than a poke in the eye with a stick.  Plus, I took a good look at the winning photos and will now know how to do things next year.  Practice, practice, practice!

Papillon

Eek!

Yesterday started out well.  My dentist's office agreed with me that a bill I'd gotten from them was in error and I didn't owe them money.  Yippee!

Then I ran some errands and found most of what I wanted.

On the way home I decided to stop by the Walgreens near my home and pick up a bottle of booze.  I do like to have a drink each evening as a way to wind down.  Some time ago (a year or so?) the Walgreens chain decided to card everyone buying products like booze and cigarettes.  I don't have a problem with that - normally.

However, yesterday I got to the counter and showed the clerk my driver's license.  He looked at it, then looked at it again.  It had expired on Sunday.  Eeek!

Needless to say, they wouldn't sell the booze to me.  And I hot-footed it off to the Motor Vehicle Division.  The trip there was mildly funny.  Before realizing my license had expired, I had been driving around without a care in the world.  Afterwards, I was constantly looking for police officers lurking behind any and all large objects.

I made it to the MVD and settled in for a LONG wait.  They were on number 99 when I entered and my number was 47 (they roll over and start at 00 when done with 99).  Fortunately I had a book of mystery short stories in my car.  I completed it.  I went out and got a magazine.  Finished it.  Finally after a bit over 90 minutes, my number was called.  I answered a number of questions - no, I don't have a disease that might cause problems while driving, and no, I've never had a DWI, and yes, I do still want to be an organ donor.

Then it was off to have my picture taken.  On my recently expired licensed, my photo made me look like a middle-aged felon.  My current photo makes me look like a slightly older, somewhat surprised middle-aged felon. 

Oh, well.  I'm now back to being a legal driver.  I took the 8 year option so am spared the whole process for a while yet.

Papillon

Another Recommendation (Actually Two)

I just finished reading the book The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan.  It's about how her mom raised 10 kids (with very little help from her alcoholic husband) using 25 words or less in corporate contests.  For those who don't remember, after World War II a lot of companies helped drum up product sales by sponsoring contests where consumers bought their products and then sent in proofs of purchase along with entry forms.  The consumers would dream up catch phrases or advertising slogans for the companies as an integral part of the contest.  If the judges liked your entry - you could win big prizes (trips, cars, cash, etc). 

Evelyn Ryan (the prize winner mentioned in the title) won a large number of these contests.  Not only did she win, but quite often did so in a very timely fashion.  Her son's bicycle was irreparably damaged in an accident.  A short time later, a bike arrived from a contest Evelyn had entered.  Ditto for the family toaster. 

I recommend this book, it's an interesting read about a woman who found a way to rise above all adversity in her life.

I also recommend the movie based on this book (it stars Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson).  I saw the movie first.  Usually I prefer one treatment or the other - in some cases I really like a movies, but not the book and vice versa.  In this case - I really liked both the movie and the book, just about equally.

Papillon

Summer

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. -- Russel Baker

Deep summer is when laziness finds respecability. -- Sam Keen

Summer has set in with its usual severity. -- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Heat, ma'am!  It was so dreadful here, that I found there was nothing left for it but to take off my flesh and sit in my bones. -- Sydney Smith

A bit of hyperbole perhaps, but I've gotten to that point in the summer when all I want to do is recline on the couch and read an easy-to-read book.  Or take a nap.  Or read a book followed by a nap.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Unfortunately, this heat-induced lethargy is having an adverse effect on my needlepoint efforts.  I'm feeling far too lazy to do even background.

Fortunately, the summer looks like it's winding down.  We've still got warmer temperatures, but they're not as hot as they were earlier in the summer - mid to upper 80's instead of mid to upper 90's.

So, I think I'll just get a cold glass of something and relax.

Papillon

Life at This Moment

To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take up exercise, get up early, or be respectable. -- Oscar Wilde

My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning and yet I'm happy.  I can't figure it out.  What am I doing right? -- Charles Schulz

At this point, the above two quotes pretty much sum up how I feel at the moment.  It'd be nice to be a bit younger.  But I know that's not going to happen.  So, I know that no matter how much 'work' I do, getting my youth back is an exercise in futility.  Hence, I agree with Oscar Wilde - I'm not going to exercise (much), get up early (never again if I have anything to say about it), or be 'more' respectable (let's face it, I'm moderately respectable - a failing of mine, I'm afraid).

I also agree with Charles Schulz.  Before I got out of college and into the workaday world, I had my life pretty much plotted out.  Then I got out and found out how much nonsense goes on in the business world.  Not backstabbing per se.  I'm referring to the office politics (good/bad/indifferent).  I always hated playing that game.

I also loathe committee meetings of any kind.  Which explains why I also hate jury duty.  I'm not one to endlessly discuss the minutiae behind any decision.  Any committee ever formed has always had one or more person who does want to talk everything to DEATH.  Which always makes me want to pick up a heavy blunt object and strike them repeatedly about the head and shoulders.

Plus, I won't discuss the bosses I've had over the years for reasons of possible defamation charges.  No, not every boss was weird/hateful/incompetent.  But enough of them have been and I've become a bit gunshy.

After enough weird/bad jobs with weird/incompetent bosses, I find I have no ambition left.  I don't want a career.  I don't want to climb the corporate ladder.  I don't want to supervise people.  Essentially, I just want to be left alone.  (Note:  Greta Garbo did not say "I want to be alone".  She said, "I want to be LEFT alone."  Hear!  Hear!)

Of course, all of this could just be my annual bout with late summer lethargy.  It's like the heat has sapped all the energy from my bones. 

Papillon

Me vs The Tree

When I became a homeowner about 18 years ago, my house did not come with a whole lot of shade trees.  Previous owners had planted trees, most of which were along the back fence, so they didn't provide much in the way of shade for the west-facing side of the house.  So I planted some trees.

One of those trees is a purple robe locust.  It's a nice enough tree that has lovely purple bloom clusters in the spring (they look rather like wisteria blooms).  I'd seen examples around town & thought it would be nice to have in the yard.

What I didn't know is that locust trees have a bad habit of sending up little offshoots - all over the place.  Most of the time I just prune them down to the ground until they give up.  However, there's one that's insinuated itself into part of the fence.  Which makes it very hard to get it cut back down to ground level.  I'm trying, but so far that particular shoot seems to be gaining on me.

I do feel sorry for my neighbors, they've had any number of shoots come up on their side of the fence.  I did notice a while back that they seemed to have cut down all that were readily noticed.  And I say, go for it!

I did do some rather severe pruning of the 'fence shoot' today.  I'll need to keep on top of it, if I let it get out of control it could turn into another 'Audrey' (feed me).

The things you learn when you're no longer a renter!

Papillon

Edward Abbey

Recently I ran across a quote by Edward Abbey:

"There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience.  And then there is California."

This quote got me thinking about Abbey.  For those who are unfamiliar with him (including me) - Wikipedia says that Abbey was born in 1927and died in 1989.  He was an American author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues and criticism of public land policies.  Larry McMurtry referred to Abbey as the 'Thoreau of the American West'.

I'm not sure of the dates but Abbey received a Master's degree from the University of New Mexico.  This is where he took part in one of the great practical jokes of all time.  (Note:  I'm not normally a fan of practical jokes, I'm making an exception for this one.)

A few miles west of Albuquerque are the remnants of several volcanoes which have been dormant for a VERY, VERY long time.   One night while Abbey was at UNM, he and several acquaintances took a number of old truck/auto tires out to one of the dormant volcanoes.  There they set the tires on fire, then headed back to Albuquerque.  Needless to say, there were some panicky people the next morning when everyone woke up and saw thick black smoke coming from a 'dormant' volcano.  It was checked on and found to be just burning tires and not actually a volcano waking up.

I just love this practical joke.  Nobody was hurt (emotionally or physically) or humiliated and everyone ultimately was able to laugh.

Papillon

Internet Acronyms

Last year I saw a story about tourism in Wisconsin.  It seems for years there was an organization called the Wisconsin Tourism Federation.  Of course, if you're a fan of Internet/text/Twitter acronyms - you will have already noticed their initials spell out WTF.  After much thought, they have changed it to the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin.  A number of folks on BoingBoing.com said they should have left it as it was - they could have made a fortune on T-shirts and other souvenir items.

Today, I saw another organization whose initials have been overtaken by the same acronym.  In large letters on a pickup truck was NWTF.  My initial reaction (pun intended) was WTF?  It turns out the initials belong to the National Wild Turkey Federation.  I didn't get a chance to ask if they plan on changing their organization's name or if they will leave it as is.

Papillon

Another Book Recommendation

I just got done reading another book.  It's called Just a Couple of Chickens (Raising Poultry and a Family in Hard Times) by Corinne Tippett.

The book covers a 5 year time span where the family moves to a 2-acre parcel of land east of Santa Fe - the author's husband is an entrepeneur in construction and she stays at home and takes care of the house, the 2 children and well over 100 assorted fowl, including chickens, geese, ducks, pheasant, and quail.

The book is both humorous and straightforward about the 'hazards' of dealing with Mother Nature on an up-close and personal basis.  Plus the hazards of being an entrepeneur during the economic crash of 2008 and 2009.

I recommend this book as an interesting read. 

Papillon

Malfunctions

I had been planning on writing about my recent trip to the Albuquerque Museum.  They've had a traveling exhibit from the National Museum of Wales - artwork collected by two Welsh sisters - 'From Turner to Cezanne'.

However, all of that had to be put on hold because my computer decided to become difficult.  It would allow me to connect to the Internet, but then my browser would not allow me to actually doing anything on the Internet.  OK, I take that back, I could do stuff on the Internet but only after jumping through hoops to get my browser to work with me.

After spending a great deal of time thinking murderous thoughts about my browser on Wednesday night, I disconnected everything and schlepped my computer to the repair shop.  They promised it back in 3 to 5 business days.  So I am now at one of the local libraries, using one of their computers.  It's a workable situation, but not especially convenient.

So, things may be a bit sporadic for the next 3 to 5 business days.

Papillon

Life's Too Short...

I bought another book today.  (Yes.  Another. One.)  It was an impulse buy and easy to make since I was at the local Dollar Tree and therefore, it was only one whole dollar.

It's by a lady named Pat Lorenz and is called Life's Too Short to Fold Your Underwear.  The title amused me (no, I don't fold my underwear) so I got it.

In the chapter entitled 'Life's Too Short to Worry about Getting Old'.  In this chapter she talks about how, after entering her 50's, she entered a whole new world and sums up her new basic philosophies concerning cooking and cleaning.  The summary follows:

- Help keep the kitchen clean - eat out.
- My next house will have no kitchen, just vending machines.
- A messy house is a sign of a misspent life.
- A messy kitchen is a happy kitchen and this kitchen is delirious.
- Countless numbers of people have eaten in this kitchen and gone on to lead normal lives.
- Housework done properly can kill you.
- A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

As long as at least one of those cookies contains white chocolate chunks and macadamia nuts, I entirely agree with all of the above.

Now I've got the munchies.  I think I'll go to my deliriously happy kitchen and see if I can find something fun to eat.

Papillon

Endless Horizons

As I mentioned in yesterday's posting, I've been visiting my mom who lives in west Texas.  There's no easy way to get from where I live to where my mom lives.  It's not easy to fly there and it's equally not easy to drive there.

On the most recent visit I drove.  This is not brain surgery.  And there are parts of the drive that can be very interesting.

That said - there are parts of western Texas and eastern New Mexico that should bottle and sell a cure for insomniacs.  Initially when you see the endless vistas, it can be very interesting especially if it's your first time in this part of the country.  However, after several hours it can become, well, the equivalent of a giant geographical sleeping pill.

Granted, there are some very cool things to look at.  Since there's so much available space, there are a number of wind farms in and around Big Spring and Sterling City.  Up close they're rather hypnotic (in a good way).  Rather stately.

Please don't get me wrong - I'm not dissing west Texas and east New Mexico.  There's some gorgeous scenery and the people have always been uniformly pleasant.  It's just -- there's a whole lot of flat going on in some places.

Papillon

The End of an Era

As you may have noticed, it's been a week since my last blog posting.

Earlier this year, my mom had several episodes where she fell, one especially bad fall in early March.  Since then my mom has gone into a nice assisted living place (researched by my older sister).   Since then both of my sisters and I have been working on getting my mom's house cleaned out and put up for sale.

Over this past weekend we held an estate sale.  A very lovely and talented woman (Kay) and her team of lovely and talented workers conducted the sale.  (We are very grateful for their professionalism!)  My sisters and my brother-in-law and I helped by being watchers and runners and generally doing what we could to make things run as smoothly as possible.

All in all it was an exhausting weekend and I just really didn't have the mental energy to blog.

The title of this posting mentions the end of an era.  When my dad retired, he and my mom moved into the house that is currently my mom's home (my dad died in the early 1980's).  So the house has been in my family for over 30 years.  Needless to say, there are lots of memories connected to the house and its furnishings.

I find myself becoming sentimental over any number of things that could be considered small or silly.  But they'll trigger a memory or two or three.  As to be expected, some of the memories are happy, some sad. 

Was it C.S. Lewis who said that memories are what give us roses in December?

Anyway, my mom seems to be doing well at the assisted living home.  It was definitely the right move.  She seems to be making new friends to go with all her former friends who've been very good about visiting her.

Prior to the estate sale, my sisters and I very amicably decided on what we wanted to keep.  It was still tough seeing some things being sold.  I kept having memories of 'remember when'.  I just kept telling myself that the items being sold would now be giving good memories to their new owners. 

Papillon

Drip Drip Drop

It is no use to grumble and complain; It's just as cheap and easy to rejoice; When God sorts out the weather and sends rain - Why, rain's my choice. - James Whitcomb Riley

Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.
-Langston Hughes

Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you. - Langston Hughes

Many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings abundance to drive away the hunger. - Saint Basil
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We got a very lovely rain storm a short while ago.  Such a pleasantly blowing diversion.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I love the weather here in New Mexico.  I could never, ever live someplace like Seattle.  All that rain would have me putting my head in a gas stove.

I do love sunshine.

That said, it has been a very dry rainy season so far. 

People who don't live in New Mexico tend to laugh when we say that we have a rainy season.  After all, this is a high desert.  But we do have two months (July and August) where we are supposed to get a large portion of our annual moisture. 

We tend to worry when the moisure heads north or stays to the east.  This has been the case so far thanks to a high pressure system in the northeast corner of the state.  That has moved off to the east, allowing more moisture to head in.  Which lead to this evening's storm.  Lots of wind and a significant amount of rain.
 
My car now looks cleaner.  Up until now, all we'd had were a couple of quick bursts of moisture followed by blowing dust.  Which made my car look grubby.  The dirt is now mostly gone.  Hooray!
 
All in all, a very good result was had.
 
Papillon

Friends and Fun

Several friends and I got together yesterday for a quick field trip to a quilt shop on the (far) east side of town.  OK, to be truthful, it's just a weensy bit out of town.  But that was all OK, too, because it was a lovely day, if a tiny bit hot.  But that's to be expected in mid-July.  And, it IS a 'dry' heat after all!

We got to the quilt store, found out they were having their 2nd anniversary sale and promptly ran amok.  The store owners and staff were a tough bunch, entirely capable of dealing with quilters and their amok-ness.  They were rewarded for their efforts and we walked away with more projects for the future.

I say 'more projects' because most/all quilters have way more projects in mind than they will ever have time to do.  That is because all creative types live in fear that they will wake up some morning and find themselves with nothing to work on/look forward to.

I feel this way, not only with my craft projects, but also with books.  Which is why my house is generally decorated with books, books and even more books.  Not to mention needlepoint and quilts.  I obviously wear my creative endeavors on my sleeve (and on the wall plus various bookcases).
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I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~Anna Quindlen

Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house. ~Henry Ward Beecher

Books are delightful society. If you go into a room and find it full of books - even without taking them from the shelves they seem to speak to you, to bid you welcome. ~William Ewart Gladstone
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Afterwards we all went to lunch (being famished after all that running amok).  Fortunately there was a pleasant little restaurant right across the parking lot.  We got our aerobic exercise in the walk there.  While perusing the menu, I noticed they had a burger that was stuffed with chiles and cheese and then deep fried.  We were tempted to order but figured that our stomachs and arteries would kill us. Literally.

Later we got together at our host's house (thanks!) and admired the views and each other's purchases and the key lime pie we had for dessert (yum!).

All in all, a fun day was had.  Good friends, a quilt store having a sale, good food, lovely views and key lime pie.  Can a day get any better?

Papillon

Minor Annoyances

Because I live just outside of Albuquerque, I have access to both my town's library and the libraries in Albuquerque.  This is fun because it significantly widens the pool of book possibilities.

The closest Albuquerque branch library is in the Taylor Ranch neighborhood.  Sometimes I think the library staff is psychic in a slightly annoying sort of way.

This is because I had requested several books.  They left me a voice mail message the other day saying I had a book ready to be picked up.  I got busy and waited a couple of days before picking it up today.  After I got home, I found another message - another book is ready to be picked up.  Grrr!  The second book was NOT on the hold shelf when I picked up the first book. 

Oh, well.  In the grand scheme of things, this is a petty annoyance indeed.  It could be worse.  And if this is the worst thing that happens to me this year, it'll be a pretty good year.

Another annoyance?  The weather.  Mother Nature is being a great big tease.  For most of the afternoon, there've have been lovely dark clouds all around my house.  Have I seen a drop of rain?  Why no.  To rub salt in the wound, the local news showed that the east side of town had gotten a very lovely shower. 

Ah, well.

Keeping my

Driving Around

I was driving around today and for a while was behind a car that had a sign on its back windown that said "Singing Lessons - All Age."  Let's put aside the nitpicking about whether it should have read "All Ages" - perhaps the 'S' had come loose and the lack was not noticed by the vehicle's owner.

I bring this up because it got me thinking about the audition process for the show 'American Idol' and specifically for the 2010 season.  I don't watch the bulk of the show, but I do like to watch the auditions.  I do this with the same morbid fascination that I usually reserve for train wrecks.  There are just so many people who are so very eager to display their complete and utter lack of talent on national TV.  They quite often do so with the complete and utter ignorance of what very little talent they have.

In the auditions for the 2010 season, one young woman was turned down by the panel.  She did have a modicum of singing ability.  She wasn't as horribly bad as William Hung.  But she definitely did not have anywhere near enough talent to be considered as a viable contestant.

She took umbrage at the panel's opinions and very irately told them that she DID have talent and that she's got the singing teachers to prove it.  Yes, teachers, plural.  You could see it on everyone's face - perhaps she needed to go back to her teachers and ask for a partial refund of fees paid.  Because if she's had YEARS of lessons from multiple teachers, then she either should have a better singing voice or her teachers should have been more straightforward with her concerning her potential as a singer.  I would guess the teachers were more interested in receiving the fees than in telling the young woman the truth.

Oh, the places my thoughts go when I'm behind a car at a stoplight.

Papillon

Random Thoughts

One last entry from Bennett Cerf's The Sound of Laughter:

A few interesting revelations made by David Ewen in his American Popular Songs..."Take Me Out to the Ball Game," the song classic about America's favorite sport, was written by Albert von Tilzer, who didn't see a baseball game until twenty years after he wrote the lyrics; "My Blue Heaven," one of the most successful songs about marital bliss, was written by Walter Donaldson, a bachelor; the most celebrated songs about the Southland were the work of Stephen Foster, who never set foot below the Mason-Dixon line; and Van Alstyne's "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" was inspired by the composer's visit to New York's Central Park, which has no apple trees.
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Otherwise, I don't have much in the way of thoughts, random or otherwise.

We had some fairly ferocious looking clouds earlier in the afternoon and I was really hoping for some rain.  But they were all tease and no action, at least not at my house.

I hope you're having a great weekend.

Papillon

Oh, My

Another excerpt from the previously mentioned book Bennett Cerf's The Sound of Laughter:
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Well-brought-up young ladies in the 1870's learned their good manners from the pages of a book that is unbelievable by present-day standards.  It was called Hill's Manual of Social and Business Forms and it has just been republished under the slightly updated title of Never Give a Lady a Restive Horse.

Professor Hill gave strict orders to young ladies just climbing out of bed in the morning.  "Take a complete bath at once," he commanded, adding, "A simple washing out of the eyes will not do at all."  In the chapter headed "Errors to be avoided," Professor Hill brooked no nonsense from male readers, either.  "NEVER," he ordered, "allow butter, soup, or other food to remain on your whiskers."  There are forty-one other "nevers" listed by Professor Hill, including things not to be done in hansom cabs and other horse-drawn vehicles.
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OK, I'm now kinda grossed out at the thought of what bearded men are allowing to remain in and on their whiskers.  Ick!  At least he was trying to get people to bathe regularly.  It certainly helps to reduce the 'funk' in a room full of mostly unwashed people.

Hmmmm, I may go over to Amazon and see if I can locate a copy of this book.  It sounds like it could be a fun read.  Perhaps similar to a list I read a while back from perhaps the 1940's or 1950's with rules for wives and how they should maintain their households and keep their husbands happy.  It's a good thing I wasn't a housewife back then or my head would have been inside that gas oven hoping for a quick end.

Papillon

A Glitter of Unicorns?

As has already been mentioned, I love going to places like Goodwill & looking through their used books.  Most recently (yesterday to be precise), I found a book edited by Bennett Cerf.  (For those too young to remember him, he was a publisher, lecturer, columnist, toastmaster, and TV personality.)

The book is Bennett Cerf's The Sound of Laughter.  It was published in 1970 and there is a fair amount of humor in it that is rather dated or is what would now be considered politically incorrect.

However, I have run across some items that I like.  Here's one:

"Almost everybody knows that lions travel in prides, that pups come in litters, that elephants en masse are referred to as herds, and that fish navigate in schools.  But you'll have to dig into James Lipton's unique book An Exaltation of Larks to find that in their time and fashion, good folks have referred to an ostentation of peacocks, an impatience of wives, an unction of undertakers, a sneer of butlers, a twinge of dentists, a tantrum of decorators, an indifference of waiters, a descent of relatives, a no-no of nannies, and a babble of barbers.  If the game appeals to you, you might strike out on your own."

I may just have to see if I can find a copy of Lipton's book.  It sounds rather a hoot (of owls?).

So what sorts of things can you come up with?

Papillon

Happy Independence Day!

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.


- Benjamin Franklin
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We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

- Declaration of Independence of United States of America
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Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.

- John F. Kennedy
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To go against the dominant thinking of your friends, of most of the people you see every day, is perhaps the most difficult act of heroism you can perform.

- Theodore H. White
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Several years ago I read an interesting bit of information concerning the phrase 'the pursuit of happiness'.  (I don't the title of the book/article where the information was.)  In the 1700's the use of the word 'pursuit' was not confined to meaning 'to chase or hunt after'.  Instead, it was also used to mean the study of a subject.  So Jefferson most likely did not mean that we should chase after happiness as if it were a butterfly flying just out of our reach.  Rather, we should study happiness and find out how to make happiness work for our particular situation.

By the way, did you know that in 1777 Mary Katherine Goddard was picked by the Continental Congress to do the first official printing of the Declaration of Independence with the names of all the signers?  Mary Katherine was one of a family of printers doing business in and around Rhode Island and Maryland.  The family business was headed by her mother, Sarah Updike Goddard, and also included Sarah's son/Mary Katherine's brother, William.

Have a great day!

Papillon

July Thoughts

“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.”


Erma Bombeck
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One of the things I like about summer is the ability to go out at night and just stand and look at the stars.  Let's face it, it's just too cold in the wintertime to be outside for any length of time.  But sometimes on a summer's evening I like to walk outside and just look up and wonder who else is out there in the great beyond.  I find it to be a very nice way to relax.

I live in a generally quiet neighborhood where most folks don't stay up really late.  So when I walk outside it feels peaceful, as if I have the whole place just to myself.  Once in a while I can hear traffic on the nearest major street, but generally it's just me and Mother Nature.

I do have to laugh at myself sometimes.  I'll be standing outside and the wind will pick up a little bit.  Occasionally something will be blown by the wind and consequently will make an odd noise (usually it's just a leaf scraping across the pavement).  It'll startle me and I'll then begin wondering if it isn't actually a member of the local coyote population.  Or some other kind of critter.  I'll then hot foot it back into the house.  Silly me.

Thinking of the local critters, there was the cutest little bunny sitting in my driveway earlier.  He wasn't a baby but wasn't big enough to be full grown.  I guess the bunny equivalent of a tween.  I almost OD'ed on the cuteness of that bunny.  I would have loved to pick him (her?) up and just snuggle the heck out of him/her.  But I didn't just because I knew I couldn't get anywhere close enough.  No point in trying.  But it did sit there awhile and let me admire.

Otherwise, I'm just sitting here thinking about how the year's already half gone.  When I was a chld, the grownups would tell me that time goes by faster as you become an adult.  They didn't warn me that sometimes it feels like I'm in a speeding car or a bullet train.

Papillon

More Random Musings

I'm still feeling rather laid back after my lovely day yesterday at the Botanical Park.

I'm glad I went when I did.  Later in the afternoon a thunderstorm moved through.  Lots of wind & rain.  I was glad I was home.  I did worry about a young man who came to my door wanting to give me a religious brochure.  As always I politely said no, thank you.  I hope he was able to find shelter from the storm.

Earlier in the summer I visited my mom who lives in west Texas.  There are a number of odd place names on the way to & from Albuquerque.  For example:  there is Cannibal Draw (near Big Spring, TX).  I wonder what happened there to give it that name.  I keep telling myself I'm going to do some research on it.  However, I've been a bit lazy in that regard.

One of the routes I've taken over the years goes through Lincoln County - where Billy the Kid earned his notoriety.  Lincoln NM has a small cemetery.  Some gravestones are old.  Some are newer.  Some don't even have a formal headstone - just a large stone (about the size of a bowling ball) at the head and foot of the grave.  Kinda sad when you think about it.

There is one headstone that amuses me.  It's for a husband and wife.  His claim to fame is that he was a 'pal of Billy the Kid'.  I guess if that's your 15 minutes of fame, then you might as well run with it.

Papillon

A Lovely Summer's Day

I spent part of the day at the Rio Grande Botanic Park.  One of the reasons I went was to see the Butterfly Pavilion.  As to be expected, there were lots of lovely butterflies fluttering by.  (Oh, there was also the cutest family of ducks outside of the pavilion.  A mama & about a half dozen babies who acted like they owned the joint.)

After the Butterfly Pavilion, it was fun & rather soothing to wander through the rest of the Botanic Park.  Lots of flowers - begonias & roses & daylilies among others.

My favorite spot in the whole park is the Japanese garden tucked all the way at the back.  Extremely soothing.  Lots of shady spots to sit & reflect & relax & just commune with nature.  A couple of dragonflies seemed to be posing for me.  (Let's hope those photos come out OK!)  A few people walked through but for the most part I was all by myself. 

I did swing by the Heritage Farm area of the park.  I was minding my own business taking photos of daylilies when something in the foliage STARTLED me.  It obviously wasn't some small critter or a lizard, but was of significant size.  I backed up a bit & at first thought it was a cat.  Nope, it was a fairly hefty chicken.  During the day, the farm area lets the chickens go free-range.  (They're put in their coop at night - no reason to provide hot snacks for the local coyote population.)  It obviously agrees with them because they're of good size & have a rather carefree attitude.  It was fun to see them doing their thing.

Papillon

Hitting the Bottom Line

I have yet to figure out why people crank up the bass to its maximum when playing their music.  A couple of days ago I was driving around town & a man drove by.  The bass was cranked up so loudly that it sounded like his speakers were going to explode.  I made sure to give him plenty of room just in case they did.

A similar incident happened several years ago.  I was stopped at a red light.  All of a sudden my vehicle started to vibrate.  I was worried that I was looking at some pretty pricey repairs until I realized it was a car behind me with the bass cranked up.  I wouldn't be surprised if local seismographs were registering that car.

What brings all this to mind?  I live several blocks from a local city-run swimming pool.  (I moved into the house before the city put in the pool.)  Occasionally during the summer they will host evening pool parties.  I don't have a problem with that.  What I do have a problem with (sometimes) is their music.  When tonight's party started they had the music & the bass line cranked up so high that it felt like my heart was beating in time with the music.  You could feel the windows vibrating in sympathy.

Someone (not me!) must have complained because for a while there was silence.  When the music started back up, it was at a much quieter level.  I can still hear it, but now it's in the background (for me) instead of feeling like they're situated smack dab in the middle of my living room.

Party on!
Papillon

Bunnies & War

Gee, ain't I a stinker! - Bugs Bunny

Of course you realize this means war! - Bugs Bunny
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There's a fair amount of wildlife in my neighborhood.  Coyotes, quail, squirrels, and, of course, rabbits.
Up until now, I've had a pretty good relationship with all of them.  I don't bother them & normally they don't bother me.

Recently I bought some bedding plants.  So far the rabbits have ignored the sage & rosemary.  But they zeroed right in on the peppermint.  I noticed the plant was looking a bit nibbled on.  However, I draw the line at them stripping it right down to the stems.  If those wascally wabbits are too proud to eat the weeds growing in my yard, then I'm not going to enable them by provide them peppermint to cleanse their little palates.

Fortunately, I caught it in time so there's still some greenery left & the plant looks perky enough.  What's left of it.

Thinking of Bugs Bunny, I once used one of his quotes while at work.  I think I'd gotten to the office & was commenting on someone's driving during the morning commute.  I concluded by saying "what a maroon!"  A coworker then corrected me saying, "It's pronounced moron."  All I could do was stare at her & then turn & walk away.  I've never been quite sure if she'd been so culturally deprived as to never have seen a Bugs Bunny cartoon or if she was, in fact, a maroon herself.

Off to water the plants,
Papillon

Summertime

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.


-- Henry James

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Days like today always remind me of my favorite summertime sound - the quiet 'chink' of ice against the side of a glass full of lemonade.  Note:  it's gotta be a glass glass, not a plastic glass.
 
We actually got a bit of rain today.  A teeny tiny bit of rain.  After supper, I went out to water some plants & there was a very fine spray of rain.  It has since passed on.
 
I think my brain is feeling the summertime heat effect - as in it's too hot to think.
Either that or my blood donation from earlier today is resulting in not enough blood to carry oxygen to my brain.  (Just kidding, all you phlebotomists!)
 
People always tell me they can't understand how I can be a regular blood donor.  They HATE needles.  Well, duh!  So do I!  But it's only one needle during a time period that's a minimum of 8 weeks.  I'm especially amused when people who have tattoos make this statement.  Unless that's a temporary tattoo, you've had WAY more needle pricks than I've ever had.
 
Plus, it's the ultimately lazy way to help the community where you live.  You do it once every 8 weeks, you do it lying down, you're giving a resource that's regenerated in a very short period of time, and when you're done they give you juice & cookies.
 
Today, they were earmarking some donations (including mine) for babies (& probably other folks with immune system problems).  It got me to wondering - does blood donation affect the recipient the way organ donation sometimes does?  I've read where people who have received donated organs have later exhibited some characteristics of the donor.  Liking spicy food when the donor didn't like it before.  Craving candy when the donor didn't crave it before.
 
I'm hoping my blood's recipients turn into voracious readers.  Reading anything & everything.  Broadening their minds & horizons.  Delving into the past.  Speculating about the future.
 
Read on!
Papillon

Cat Weirdness

"There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast." - Unknown
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Dogs are essentially omnivores.  With certain exceptions like onions & grapes, they can eat most anything.

Cats need lots more protein.  I once saw a documentary where a British expert said that the perfect meal for a cat is a mouse.

That being the case, why do cats like to eat the strangest things? 
Examples:
- A friend used to have a cat who liked broccoli with cheese.
- My family used to own a Siamese who LOVED graham crackers.  And champagne.

The champagne leads to a funny story.  The cat didn't originally love champagne.  But one New Year's Eve I put a drop of champagne on my finger & offered it to him.  He acted like I'd just offered him a drop of liquid arsenic.  I dab the drop on his nose.  He licked it off.  You could see him thinking about it - 'hmm, not bad.  Better than I thought.'  So I offered him another drop.  He licked that up.  Next thing you know, he's trying to drink out of my glass.

My current cat is carrying on the family tradition.
He likes:
- croissants
- wine (but not hard liquor)
- butterscotch pudding
- Wheat Thins
- and the list goes on.

Interestingly, he's not overly fond of Thanksgiving turkey.

Papillon