Mundane musings......

What kind of soul are you??

2008-09-29T00:50:00.000-04:00

You Are a Prophet Soul

You are a gentle soul, with good intentions toward everyone.
Selfless and kind, you have great faith in people.
Sometimes this faith can lead to disappoinment in the long run.
No matter what, you deal with everything in a calm and balanced way.

You are a good interpreter, very sensitive, intuitive, caring, and gentle.
Concerned about the world, you are good at predicting people's feelings.
A seeker of wisdom, you are a life long learner looking for purpose and meaning.
You are a great thinker and communicator, but not necessarily a doer.

Souls you are most compatible with:
Bright Star Soul and Dreaming Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

This was me.........

2008-09-01T19:27:00.005-04:00

....this past long weekend!!

..............lol minus the pony-tail mind you!!

OMG!!

Somehow I missed spring cleaning this year.....starting a new relationship might have had something to do with it....that or just plain laziness...who knows?? Well I think I've made up for it the past 3 days....nothing like a bit of spring cleaning inside AND out to instill that nesting feeling and make everything right with the world again!

AND....I had help this time around.....the gf pitched in and helped out like the awesome trooper she is!! One of the many things I love about my girl is that she has a keen sense of pride of home ownership....wether it be her house or my house we are working on....gotta love it!!

After we were done my gf left for her home with 15 bags of my garbage -- her city's garbage restrictions are much more liberal than mine.....soooooo I have pilaged and burned my house and home....and ALL the junk is outta here already.....woooohooooooooooo!!

I have been remiss.........

2008-08-24T19:17:00.010-04:00

............lol there's an understatement!!

I have been remiss on countless blog fronts.....

Is it possible to be away from blogger for ohhhhhhhhh what?....close to 8 months and still come back?? I've asked myself this question countless times.......I've thought about posting several times and for one reason or another (too many excuses to count really) it never happened. To be honest the more time that passed the easier it was to keep ignoring my blog....

But see there's an interesting phenomena out here in blogland......there are folks out there who aren't about to take that kind of a cop-out lying down......or at least not without trying to find out why!!?? I seem to have some amazing blog friends who keep checking in on me now and then in various ways....some have emailed and some have posted comments.....all wondering whatever happened to me.........

....you all know who you are **wink** so I won't go naming names.

Suffice it to say.......I'll just stand around, looking down at my feet, kicking at the dirt with a bashful, sheepish look on my face for not having gotten back to you.....I feel like a big heel.....so to those awesome folks I wanted to first off apologize and also to humbly say............

Meanwhile.....what the hell have I been up to?? Truth be told I've spent the better part of the last 8 months falling head-over-heels blissfully happy in love and being incredibly miserable at work -- what a roller-coaster ride it's been on those 2 fronts!!

I'm happy to say that the falling in love part has continued unabated which has been an absolute treat and feels truly amazing, wonderful, magical.....I could go on and on but will spare you the mushy, sappy details!

As for the work part....meh....what can you do about crap like that...same shit different day.....I owe, I owe it's off to work I go....bills need to be paid...yadda, yadda, yadda....there are changes on the horizon which if they pan out should ease the misery somewhat. If not, there are other jobs to be had.....or, if worst comes to worst, good meds to be taken to make miserable situations more tolerable.....lol!!

Well goodness!!!

2008-01-30T22:14:00.000-05:00

.....stay away from blogger for a few days and look what I come home to.....

Red Mojo over at Half a Bubble Off gave me this awesome award.....along with some very sweet words about me!! Not sure what I did ~~to con her into thinking~~ that led her to believe that I was deserving of such an award but I will wholeheartedly and very gratefully accept nonetheless!!

Thank-you m'dear......:)

LOL Red Mojo........in your analogies of awards being like sex....I believe you mentioned something about....you never forget your first....well, uhhhmmmmm this is my first ever blog award and I won't soon be forgetting it either.....**wink**

Checking in........

2008-01-24T15:32:00.000-05:00

Starting a new relationship seems to have turned me into a bad, bad blogger......eeeeeks!! Will have to do something about that vewwy, vewwy soon!!

Actually the relationship is taking things slowly.....couple of dates a week......which is what we both wanted.....lol as opposed to the fabled lesbian myth/way of the U-haul being rented for the 2nd date!! ahahahaha I could NOT resist adding that!!

Alright, alright......for those not in the know (can there really be folks that have never heard this one??).....there is a joke that has been around for well, forever......and it's become somewhat of an urban legend in this lifestyle.....referrencing the fact that all too often this is what we tend to do.....rush into things........the joke goes like this........

What does every good lesbian bring on a 2nd date??

The U-Haul

Getting far too old and settled for the U-haul nonsense these days.....slow and steady stays the course.......AND.....I'm having an aweful lot of fun **grin**.

Until next time fellow bloggers............:)

Mental Feng Shui.......

2008-01-15T13:50:00.001-05:00

Seemed like a good time of year for something like this..........

ONE. **Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.**

TWO. **Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational
skills will be as important as any other.**

THREE. **Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.**

FOUR. **When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.**

FIVE. **When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.**

SIX. **Be engaged at least six months before you get married.**

SEVEN. **Believe in love at first sight.**

EIGHT. **Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have
much.**

NINE. **Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to
live life completely.**

TEN. **In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.**

ELEVEN. ** Don't judge people by their relatives.**

TWELVE. **Talk slowly but think quickly.**

THIRTEEN. **When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and
ask, 'Why do you want to know?'**

FOURTEEN. **Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.**

FIFTEEN. **Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze**

SIXTEEN. **When you lose, don't lose the lesson.**

SEVENTEEN. **Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and
Responsibility for all your actions.**

EIGHTEEN. **Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.**

NINETEEN. **When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct
it.**

TWENTY. **Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.**

TWENTY- ONE. **Spend some time alone.**

New Beginnings.......

2008-01-13T10:39:00.000-05:00

There is a song by Mary Chapin Carpenter called You Win Again......

In it there is a line that goes like this........

....standing on the corner of love and heartache......

This is where I spent most of the year 2006 standing, rooted, waiting for decisions to be made.....then I spent 2007 walking away from this corner....deciding that I would just be blissfully single.......lol this worked.....some of the time.

2008 has started with sad endings and new beginnings......

Sad endings in that I lost my godmother, just after New Year's, after a long battle with cancer.....she and her husband were my Dad's, who just past away last April, very dearest and closest friends....so the funeral was fraught with all kinds of levels of sadness.....sadness and grief for her and her family, of course.....but also brought back memories of Dad's passing and his funeral.....same church, many of the same people.....grief wounds reopened with a view to healing over a bit more than before.

New beginnings in that I started dating again late last fall and shortly before Christmas met a very sweet interesting woman who, as luck would have it, lives nearby and is as interested in me as I am in her. It's still really early.....we've had what?.....2 dates with a plan for a third.....but damn it sure feels nice!

My Mantra......

2008-01-04T01:36:00.000-05:00

I'm going to borrow an idea from my blog friend Drowning Pisces -- the idea of a weekly mantra....only mines going to be just this one time....and I think I like it so much it's going to be my mantra for the year!!!

Right after I wrote my New Year's Eve blog post about 2007 -- the year that was....and I mean nanoseconds after I hit that little publish button....the ball had dropped, the New Year had been ushered in and I was still watching one of the New Year's Eve shows on TV and saw Natasha Bedingfield sing her song Unwritten. I've heard that song dozens of times before....it's a great song!!

Given what I had just been writing about....new beginnings......this one particular line just zinged me!!! So, without further ado here is my new mantra for the year...........

Today is where your book begins......
......the rest is still unwritten.

Fits the new lifestyle change to a T don't you agree??

.....had to have been synchronicity at work....it was just too, too coincidental the way this all happened!! Have I mentioned how much I love that word......synchronicity??

Synchronicity........

The coincidental occurrence of events that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality – Merriam Webster’s Dictionary

The year that was..........

2007-12-31T17:35:00.000-05:00

2007 has been a year of changes for me to be sure.

A relationship was ended at the very tail end of 2006 that probably should never have been rekindled in the first place **sigh**.

I lost my father after a long, arduous illness that made his leaving bittersweet as his passing was a blessing saving him from anymore suffering....but left the rest of us sad and shell shocked.

Family fallouts ensued and continue.

Grieving was done on all three fronts......the lost relationship, the lost father and the family fall-outs.....and the grieving continues, as it does, in it's own way, in it's own time.

But, as often happens, out of sadness, grief and difficult times often good things ensue. Sometimes these good things are like miracles presented to us to keep us from going mad.

For me that miracle was the lifestyle change I started on January 8, 2007. I call it my lifestyle change because I hate (despise?? cringe at??) the word diet.....and because this has become so much more than "just" a diet -- it really has become a complete lifestyle make-over for me.

Since January 8, 2007 I have lost 70 pounds. I continue to maintain that loss and keep working at losing another 20-30 lbs. I have not weighed what I weigh now in 20+ years. I have completely changed my style of eating to the point where virtually nothing processed, pre-packaged or sugary ever makes it into my system.....and I have yet to start missing any of it!! Slowly but surely I have built up a work-out routine to the point where I work-out hard for at least 45--90 minutes at least 5 times a week. This summer saw me hiking and biking for 10+ miles several times a week. I haven't biked in probably 10 years. I have dropped about 8 clothing sizes. My blood pressure which had become very problematic towards the end of 2006 is completely cleared up and normal now. My cholesterol -- although never bad, bad was certainly borderline for a quite some time and there was one element of it that was really bad -- is now superb!! So much so in fact that my doctor commended me, not just on remarkably bettering my bad cholesterol, but more importantly on raising my good cholesterol which is, apparently, a really difficult feat to accomplish and is very healthy for you!!

So, all in all, this year has had it's fill of the good, the bad and the ugly.....but the bad and the ugly though hard at times -- are tolerable -- and we do somehow get through to the other side. The good?? Well, can't say enough about the good!! I look forward to 2008 with no expectations other than to keep on truckin' with this journey I've been on for the past year.

In the spirit of keeping things simple.....here's my wish for the coming new year to all my friends and family.......

What's a 710??

2007-12-28T13:26:00.000-05:00

A few days ago I was having some work done at my local garage. A blonde came in and asked for a seven-hundred-ten.

We all looked at each other and another customer asked, "What is a seven-hundred-ten?"

She replied, "You know, the little piece in the middle of the engine, I have lost it and need a new one."

She replied that she did not know exactly what it was, but this piece had always been there.

The mechanic gave her a piece of paper and a pen and asked her to draw what the piece looked like.

She drew a circle and in the middle of it wrote 710. He then took her over to another car which had its hood up and asked "is there a 710 on this car?"

She pointed and said, "Of course, its right there."

If you're not sure what a 710 is Click Here

Heyyyyyyyy I'm blonde...I figure that gives me the ok to post the occasional blonde joke and this one just about slayed me....roflmao!!!

Note to self for next Christmas.........

2007-12-21T17:43:00.000-05:00

'nuff said 'bout that one......GAH!!!!

I am off to my sister's home in a few minutes here to spend the holidays with her family....it will be awesome....always love spending time with the sis, her hubby and the 3 nephews....the oldest will be back from University....haven't seen him since the summer time!

Tomorrow we are all headed to the big city of Toronto, finding a nice spot for lunch and then going to catch this show....

......can't wait....it's been eons since I've done something like that.......:)

So I will see everyone on the flipside of the holidays.....or possibly during the holidays as I will have my trusty laptop with me 'natch!!

Wishing everyone a pleasant, calm and relaxing holiday season filled with oodles of love, great eats and good cheer!!

The Golden Girls.....

2007-12-17T17:48:00.000-05:00

Please allow me to introduce you to my girls........

A blog I recently discovered, Drowning Pisces (of the recent most excellent post about ellipses!), had a picture of two of her cuties -- one is 156 lbs. and the other is 7 lbs lol!!!

This is Molly....my 6 year old golden retriever....ain't she pretty?? Both girls are rescue dogs and I've had Molly since she was about 2 years old. I don't think she was treated very well for the first 2 years of her life as I have never met a more anxious dog in my life...you just have to look at her the wrong way and she is rolling on her back in a very submissive pose giving you her belly....not sure she'll ever grow out of that. But she is a sweet, sweet girl who just wants to be loved and fed.

Maggie protecting her bowl!!
And then there's Maggie who is a Shi-pooh....3 years old....I got her about a year ago...also a rescue dog....I think she was part of a puppy mill scenario. She is the bossy-boots in the family and has no qualms about keeping Molly in her place!! They play very sweetly together and I am always in awe at how gentle Molly is with her. They will play tug of war with a rope-toy and let's face it...with the size difference and if Molly had a mind to.....she could pretty much launch Maggie into outer space....but she never does and Maggie usually ends up winning....trotting off happily with her prize!!

They love to sleep touching each other.....usually Molly will settle in for a nice nap and then a few minutes later Maggie will ever so nonchalantly settle herself in next to her big sister.

Tales of a shopping adventure.....

2007-12-13T20:23:00.000-05:00

Leading up to the holiday season Dorky Dad has been writing a series of articles about how much he adores this time of year....especially this year as he is hosting both his parents as well as his in-laws!! He's a tad stressed over it all.....go on over to his blog and you can read all about it!! We all know that he will come out of this just fine.....regardless of the outcome....no doubt the events will make for more interesting blog fodder!! Funny, fun fellow!!

Anyway....one of his recent posts was about standing in line for 45 minutes for something that took all of 15 minutes and it put me in mind of..................

Christmas line-ups..............OMG!!

This is the time of year....each and every year mind you -- you'd think I'd learn...when I am cursing and resolving that NEXT year I won't wait till it gets to this level of madness and mayhem!!!

I have to say though, the other day the good mojo gods must have been smiling at me....I steeled myself for a trip to the mall, with list in hand, hoping to make this as short and sweet as possible!! Would you believe that somehow I made it the entire length of the mall, back and forth, hit about 6 shops, got 5 people completely bought for....and made it out alive in under 40 minutes!!!

I was in and outta there so fast I felt like.............

"¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba!"

I suspect that people saw the determination in my eyes and the smoke coming outta my heels as I was motoring along and made the wise decision to steer clear of such a frightning and intimidating force!!

Then afterwards I treated myself to one of these most delicious of beverages -- a gingerbread latte................YUMMERS!!

Today's funny bit......

2007-12-11T14:34:00.000-05:00

Heard today in a moment of frustration about lord know's what — from one of the feisty as hell, female, 50-something, single, straight probation officers I often work with.........

".....goddamnit, what I need is a wife AND a live-out husband......"

Oh my lord this made me laugh!!!

She knows I am gay and so, without missing a beat I responded with.....

"...I'd like that too but probably for different reasons than you!!"

Love, love, love moments like this.........:)

What's in a blog name???

2007-12-09T21:44:00.000-05:00

So my sis over at The Coffee Shop tagged me with a Meme!! I feel so honoured....I don't think I've ever been tagged for one before....or maybe I have and have responded by being a bad blogger and not completing it!!

Truth be told when I come across meme's while surfing the blog kingdom I have to admit that there is something intriguing about them and I enjoy reading others' responses....but when it comes to answering them myself.....7 quirky things about you....7 things people don't know about you....or whatever....~~my first reaction is to cringe~~ I seem to hit the brick wall and I ~~suddenly become mute~~ can't come up with a damn thing!!!

But I digress.......my blog name.....Boo7. I soooooooooooooooooo wish there was a funny story behind it or some touching vignette I could weave into an interesting story....but alas, such is not the case!!

The simple truth of the matter is I've been surfing the internet for longer than I care to remember.......I think I got my first computer in 1994 and I used to ~~be obsessively fixated~~ spend far too much time exploring various chat rooms and then spending ~~days on end~~ entirely too much time in those chat rooms.

Soooooooooooooooo long story short....somewhere along the way, someone, for some strange, long forgotten reason.....gave me the nickname Boo....I have no clue other than that anymore!! Somewhere along the way I added the 7 as that's always been my very favourite number!

So there you have it.....nothing too exciting!! Now inquiring minds want to know.....what's your story???

WOW!!!!

2007-12-05T13:58:00.000-05:00

This is my nephew.....he's 10 years old and the piece he is playing is something he himself composed.....just on his own....without writing the notes down or anything like that.....just off the top of his head.....and the tips of his fingers!

He is very gifted at the piano.....last time I was there he was playing pieces from Dvorak's New World Symphony (one of my favourites) and waltzes by Johan Strauss!!

Recently I asked him how he's able to play such amazing pieces without ever looking at the music?? Without missing a beat and while continuing to play he said....."I dunno, I just have to think about the piece and it's like a page of music just appears in my head". Another time he said....."You know it's weird, sometimes I don't even have to think about the music....it's like my fingers just know exactly the notes to play".

Doesn't this sound like it could be the theme song of some Broadway show or something along those lines?? I am just in awe of this young man and his talents!!!

Bad Hair Day...............

2007-11-30T18:33:00.000-05:00

.......or bed-head, take your pick!!

I took a sick day from work today.......I have a bad cold which, I swear on all that is holy, has been with me on and off for about 3 weeks now!! Some days I feel completely fine.....others I am sneezing, sniffling, runny-nose, achey, pounding head

I wanted to get my grocery shopping done (usually a Saturday job but I have to take the dogs to the vet and have other stuff to do tomorrow). I debated cuz I figured with my luck I'd run into my boss....and you know....that hole stupid thinking that happens about that........oooooooh if I see my boss she'll think I'm not really sick etc., etc.. Am I the only one that does that kind of thing???

Anyway I digress.......so I came to my senses and realised....sick people can go out and do stuff like shopping.....it's not like I have the plague or something hugely debilitating!! So off I toodle, list in hand and get my groceries.

All's well.....until I was leaving.....when I had loaded everything into the back of the car and looked in the rearview mirror to back out of the parking space in.....what did my horrified eyes behold????? I was staring aghast at myself in the mirror......seems I forgot to do anything with my hair before leaving the house......I had the MOST horrific bedhead I've ever seen!! OMG....I had a shower right before bed last night and went to bed with damp hair.....and, well.....I cannot believe that I didn't get any incredulous looks from anyone at the store!! Oh dear............:)

Without a word of a lie.........my hair looked like this today............while out in public!!!

I don't know who this cute as a button young boy is but I found the pic doing a Google Image search so I hope it's ok to use it!! On him? The bed-head looks adorable and makes you go Awwwwwwwwwwwwww and wanna cuddle him all up!!

On my 46 year old head out in public.....mmmmm not so much!!!

**sigh**

My drive home last night...........

2007-11-27T09:04:00.000-05:00

This is what I drove home in last night......only it was even worse in that it was dark already!! Normally a 45 minute drive took me exactly double to get home........

ACK!!!! Need I say more???

Someone quick..........remind me again why I live in Southern Ontario??

Seems to me that the older I get the less well able I am to cope with this kind of driving......and we have 4-6 months of this yet to come???? OMG!!

Now the only saving grace (hehehe as I hum the Monty Python tune....always look on the bright side of life.....) is that my drive to and from work is mostly along smaller country highways which means a)generally less traffic and b)generally people taking it easy and being appropriately cautious and c)if I choose to drive half on the very wide gravel shoulders for added traction.....who can argue that??? I have been driving this same route for a long, long time and know with certainty that I could probably do the entire route driving on that nicely graveled shoulder!!

I would probably have to quit working if my commute took me along major highways in snowstorms like this.............

Kitty Talk.......

2007-11-23T17:14:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it really seems like cats can talk.....these two certainly look like they are having a conversation don't they??

Thankfully I found a translation over on YouTube!!

Grief.....

2007-11-17T19:47:00.000-05:00

I’ve been feeling melancholy lately and it took me the longest time but I finally figured it out……

It started last night when I found myself humming and singing a few lines from an odd song while doing the dishes…….odd just because you hardly ever hear any of these types of songs anymore….Jazz, old-timey, big-band era, swing, early 1940’s kinds of songs…...it was one of his very favourites…….and he would sing it JUST as if he had been on stage somewhere performing it…..complete with various postures, knee-slaps and dipsy-doodles – or whatever dance one might have done back then to this song………

CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO
Glenn Miller
- from "Sun Valley Serenade"
- words by Mack Gordon, music by Harry Warren

Pardon me, boy
Is that the Chattanooga choo choo?
Track twenty-nine
Boy, you can gimme a shine
I can afford
To board a Chattanooga choo choo
I've got my fare
And just a trifle to spare

You leave the Pennsylvania Station 'bout a quarter to four
Read a magazine and then you're in Baltimore
Dinner in the diner
Nothing could be finer
Than to have your ham an' eggs in Carolina

When you hear the whistle blowin' eight to the bar
Then you know that Tennessee is not very far
Shovel all the coal in
Gotta keep it rollin'
Woo, woo, Chattanooga there you are

There's gonna be
A certain party at the station
Satin and lace
I used to call "funny face"
She's gonna cry
Until I tell her that I'll never roam
So Chattanooga choo choo
Won't you choo-choo me home?
Chattanooga choo choo
Won't you choo-choo me home?

(I just HAD to post ALL the words cuz I just couldn’t for the life of me pick out any one particular line…….they were all HIM!!!)

We’d play these guessing, whistling/singing games…..his line was always "...here lemme hum a few bars and see if you get it…”. It never took long to guess as he was always humming and singing just in his everyday life…..and he had such a repertoire…..unbelievable!!

He was a hummer, singer and a whistler.....over time he developed this routine of sorts. You see he also liked some of the more risque songs....can't think of one just right now....but he would sing them out and when he got to the naughty bits (which really weren't all that naughty but in his eyes and for the times I suppose they were)...he would suddenly switch from singing the song to whistling or humming through the naughty bits and then resume the singing!! Quite the character my Dad was!

One of his passions throughout his life had been the theatre…..he knew a great deal about it and had, in University, performed in several pieces himself….and then never did again!! It’s funny my Dad had oodles of different passions and hobbies which he would do intensely for a time and then not ever again….come to think of it…..Dad was truly one of those Jack of all Trades, Master of None types of people. He knew a great deal about some things and just enough about many, many other things.

I remember how shocked I was when seemingly out of the blue he suddenly took up painting…..he knew exactly all the things he needed. I found out some time later he used to take a lot of art classes along with the acting classes in University……and lo and behold he sat outside in our English country garden, perched on a little stool with his easel, his palette, his little tubes of paint and did this awesome oil painting of our house and the surrounding gardens….I was like 12 and had never known him to paint and never saw him do it again…..I wonder what ever happened to that painting???

Then this morning I found myself having a toasted bagel for breakfast and rooting around in the fridge for something to put on it…..and what did my hand automatically go for…….Rose’s Lime Marmalade!! Now if you are any kind of a marmalade aficionado as my Dad certainly was you would know that the very finest, (well, aside from his lovingly home-made orange marmalade) is made by L. Rose & Co. Ltd., in Cambridge, England. It is to die for and made me think about him some more.......which, in turn, made me all weepy again!!

Each year, no matter what part of the world we happened to be living in at the time, Dad would somehow be able to find the prized oranges needed to make his marmalade.....it was as one might expect only a certain type of orange that would do.....Seville oranges maybe?? I'm not even sure anymore. The recipe was, of course, an old family tradition type of recipe handed down and taught through generations…..wish I had paid more attention!! Dad turned this into an art form spending hours preparing the oranges, slicing the peel in fine strips....but not too fine because you know it had to have a certain substance to it too......marmalade just wasn’t marmalade unless the bits of peel were just so. Here he is making his delectable marmalade......

So yeah, back to the melancholy I’ve been feeling for the last little while….I guess this is what they call grieving and it’s so true…..it doesn’t happen all at once….it comes in drips and drabs…..waves sometimes…..(thankfully it hasn’t been oceans yet and I don’t imagine it will be really)…..usually it happens when you least expect it……..it’s OK though….this is manageable…..

I’m just sad……and I miss him!!

Hump Day Humour.......

2007-11-13T22:27:00.000-05:00

Received this in an email the other day and OMG did it make me laugh......

When you have an 'I Hate My Job' day, try this:

On your way home from work, stop at your pharmacy and go to the thermometer section and purchase a rectal thermometer made by Johnson & Johnson

Be very sure you get this brand. When you get home, lock your doors, draw the curtains and disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed.

Change into very comfortable clothing and sit in your favorite chair. Open the package and remove the thermometer. Now, carefully place it on a table or a surface so that it will not become chipped or broken.

Now the fun part begins … take the literature out of the box and read it carefully. You will notice that in small print there is a statement that reads:

'Every Rectal Thermometer made by Johnson & Johnson is personally tested, and then sanitized '.

Now, close your eyes and repeat out loud five times; "I am so glad I do not work in
the thermometer quality control department at Johnson & Johnson."

HAVE A NICE DAY AND REMEMBER, THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE ELSE WITH A JOB THAT IS MORE OF A PAIN IN THE ASS THAN YOURS!

And some other choice job options......

And my personal favourite..........

Time Capsules.......

2007-11-03T21:44:00.000-04:00

Such interesting things to think about aren't they?? The idea of filling something up then squirreling it away somewhere to be found by someone many years from now....here's what Wikipedia says briefly about time capsules........

.........A time capsule is a historic cache of goods and/or information, usually intended as a method of communication with people in the future. Time capsules are sometimes created and buried during celebrations such as a World Fair, cornerstone laying for a building or other event. They can also be unintended caches such as at Pompeii. The phrase "time capsule" has been in use since about 1937, but the idea is as old as the earliest human civilizations in Mesopotamia.

Time capsules can be classified into two types: intentional and unintentional. Intentional time capsules are placed on purpose and are usually intended to be opened at a particular future date. Unintentional time capsules are usually archaeological in nature. Discoveries of cultural significance are often found in standard archaeological digs as well as those from volcanic eruptions such as Pompeii and Vesuvius.........

Interesting to think about to be sure either way.....intentional or unintentional....but I had a very bizarre experience the other day that made me think of time capsules in a different sort of way......a mental time capsule.......

Let me explain a bit.....and, I should add, I have no clue if this will be conveyed in quite the same aura as it occured in.......

I was at the gym the other evening ~~going hell bent~~, ~~killing myself~~ just doing my average thing on the treadmill and a fellow passes in front of me.......he looked instantly familiar and yet I knew him not. As I continued on ~~the hamster-wheel~~ the treadmill, the recognition of him kept working in my brain, niggling away up there as thoughts sometimes do......it was bugging the living daylights out of me!! For the life of me I could not figure it out as I kept ~~staring at him~~ stealing glances his way trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Suddenly it hit me.......this was someone I had gone to University with 25+ years ago and not seen since that time!! But the image in my mind was of the man 25+ years ago as I knew him then......there was SUCH a disconnect going on in my brain....looking at this middle aged, gray haired, slightly paunchy man in front of me....but in my mind's eye was the exact same fellow 25+ years ago. It was too freaking weird....almost surreal.....I guess I've had similar experiences happen but it made me wonder about mental time capsules.

Do most people encapsulate people, places, times, things in their minds like that??

Two of a kind..............

2007-10-31T21:57:00.000-04:00

My sister Trish over at The Coffee Shop posted this first picture on her blog today.....along with the story that goes with it....go on over and check it out, I'll wait......it's a way cute story....then come on back to continue on with this story..............

Basically this is a picture of her, being her cute lil tomboyish self, at age 6 or 7.

Just now I was rumaging through some of our family pictures online and came across.........

This.............
.......is a picture of her youngest son at the same age!!

Remarkable isn't it???

Weekend funnies........

2007-10-26T21:50:00.000-04:00

Well this weekend is da Momma's birthday and in a couple more weekends it's da bro-in-law's birthday. So my Mom, my brother and his fiance and I will be descending on my sister's place where we will spend the weekend. We have a fabulous restaurant already booked for Saturday night so no one has to cook or worry about doing dishes!

Then on Sunday we are all off to the Toronto Zoo!! A while back, probably eons ago, Mom told us that she has never, ever been to the Toronto Zoo and soooooooooo my sis and I hatched this plan to take her for her birthday. So, after a hearty birthday breakfast we will be off on our adventure!! It's pretty late in the year but hopefully the weather will hold out and we'll do OK......we'll just have to bundle up. The camera is packed so will post pictures some time next week.

In the mean-time.....thought I would leave you with some weekend funnies....in no particular order....but the first one is one of my all time favourites....it makes me laugh each and every time I see it.................

Imagine that...........

2007-10-22T20:47:00.000-04:00

How sweet is this?? My 2nd day back in blogland and look what I get...........

Sometimes it pays to go away and come back again!!

This lovely award was bestowed upon me by my friend Trish over at Incoherent-ish (not to be confused with my sis Trish over at The Coffee Shop ) although what made her decide to honour me with an award is beyond me!! All I can think of is that not only is she a very nice person but she is sweet as well (roflmao Trish....NICE and SWEET.....are ya gagging yet hon???). Trish should be cringing something aweful right 'bout now.....see she works very hard at being many, many things in her blog presentation.....strong, funny, gutsy, sarcastic, opinionated to name but a few......nothing wrong with those characteristics by any means......but something tells me it must have taken great deal of courage and strength for her to receive the nice award and to pass it along.....can't fight it Trish.....just accept that you're nice and sweet too!!

Thanks for the welcome back Trish............mwahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

OK.....enough gushing.....now to pass this award on to the next person cuz that's what linky-love is all about no?? I am going to pass this award on to Nina over at Closer to Fine cuz, well, lotsa reasons......I love the name of her blog......one of my favourite Indigo Girls songs......some of her posts I can really relate to....particularly meaningful to me recently was her post titled The Virtual Therapy Couch and well she just strikes me as a great blogger trying to find her way in this world like the rest of us are!!

Sayonara and sleep well folks..........

Moving on.......

2007-10-20T23:52:00.000-04:00

Hard to believe it’s been since July when I last posted……well it is and it isn’t hard to believe actually….truth be told I think I have been living my life on hold for the past 8 months or more….somehow I hit the pause button on the remote control of life and forgot to press play and turn myself back on again….lol.

No other way to explain it really….it’s not even been depression really…..well at least not the kind that keeps you immobilized for days…..there have been great days but more not so great days than I care for…nothing tragic or huge...life has still gone on and I've played my part as far as getting to work, taking care of critters, house and home etc., etc.,....it’s just felt more like I’ve been living my life in a fog or a haze of some kind…..where the sun peaks through now and then to brighten things up a bit…..but otherwise it's been more like living life in a fog with gray lensed glasses …….something along those lines.

Well rather than try to explain it or figure it out for myself I’ve been in the process of deciding that it’s time to…...

Truly I think it’s a process of figuring it out rather than suddenly stumbling across some nebulous **aha** moment and I guess, all things considered, it’s really just another part of the journey of figuring life out right?? This is my conclusion anyway. 2007 was not a great chapter of this journey what with an unexpected relationship collapse complete with endless unknowns, followed by the death of my father and then the resultant, on-going sibling fall-out……yeah not a great course of events by any standard I suppose.

But slowly I've been noticing myself working my way out of the funk in subtle ways.....I mean let's face it.....eventually living in a funk has gets old doesn't it?? Well it has for me.....and moreso since I've been realizing that I was in the funk in the first place........does that make sense?? Much of what I am thinking about and typing about tonight comes almost like a hind-sight kind of thing.....last month had someone asked me if I was in a funk I'd have likely responded with a polite....."uhm, no but thanks for asking".....and carried on. Anyway, not sure I'm explaining it how I'm thinking it.....but there you have it.

One of the things I decided this past week was that part of this unfogging process was going to include a decision one way or another about this whole business of blogging!! See there are a couple of forces at play here -- one is that every now and then I have been receiving an email or two from one or the other of my dear blog friends......so sweet, so kind, very thoughtful and I do apologize for not being a better email responder!!

Then there is also..........

1) my dear sister Trish over yonder at The Coffee Shop has been, ever so subtly, just every now and then been inquiring if I was ever going to blog again......oh hell let's face it and be honest......there was a time or two where she wasn't even that subtle about it but I digress. **mwahhhhhhhhh Trish**

2) and the final force at play here is..........

There is something about it that I truly miss.....sitting here prattling on about this and that and another thing!! At times Trish has referred to it as her therapy and maybe there is something to that notion......who knows?? Whatever the notion is I am back to see if I can be a little more consistent in my blogging!!

I toyed with the idea of a complete blog overhaul (even changing to a different blog service) as part of this coming out of the fog process.........however, after a moment or two (read too many hours to count) I decided that would just be a foolish idea -- I am familiar with the ins and outs of good ol' blogger........why mess with that?? So, instead I am making a few changes here and there to my existing template and see how things go from there!!

So, having rambled on as I have I leave you with one of my favourite quotes that I have on my fridge....my younger brother loved it so much when he saw hit I got him one too which sits on his fridge in his new house which he and his fiance recently bought.

It's a philosophy I hope to adapt more of into my life in the coming part of my journey......

Kids at heart...........

2007-07-21T20:12:00.001-04:00

Look what was waiting in my pond for me when I got home from work on Friday!!! Roomie had the day off due to a very sore tooth and he went out and bought us each a toy boat to float on the pong..........and so without further ado I present to you...............

the S.S. Jeffy and the S.S. Bubbles!!! And if you have to ask which is whose......well I ain't telling nuttin.......suffice it to say that the nickname Bubbles is not one of my fonder ones!!!

Here they are docked at port getting supplies to head out on their 3 hour tour.....

Venturing bravely into uncharted waters......."looks like there's rough waters up ahead Gilligan...we'd best turn back before it's too late!!"

Landing safely at another port of call.......Maggie has to check things out.....she's not too sure about boats........now toads are an entirely different story.....if there is a toad in the pond, or any where around the pond it is Maggie's firm belief that they are there solely to plot the overtake of HER (because, afterall, it is all about Maggie don't you know)back-yard which she fiercely defends!! Boats she's pretty sure are also up to no good but for not seems to be giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Heading out again to make another attempt at making it across the rough seas........things get ugly at this point....well you remember what happened to Gilligan and the rest of the crew don't you.......**shudder**.....too frightening to go into detail........it's the stuff of nightmares!!!

And this is, after all, a friendly blog.........so instead I will give you a picture of my ever-lovin' roomie.....bless his lil heart!! Here he is bbq'ing up a storm for our supper.....:)

He is such a sweetheart and things have been working out even better than I could have imagined after 3 months of him being here. Not that I was anticipating any problems.....we've known each other for many, many years.....but we all know how dynamics can change once you live under the same roof with someone.....but really such has not been the case!!

Ok....let me go on just a bit more about what a sweatheart he is.....cuz, well I'm just in that sort of mood.....all mushy-gushy and sentimental like!!!

When I was gone for 10 days in May looking after my nephews while sis and hubby went on a trip for their 20th wedding anniversary.......my dear, sweet roomie busted his butt all week long, after working long hard days to plant my entire front yard!!!!

You saw some of the pictures in my previous post..........OMG!!! It was such an awesome surprise to come home to.....he planted all the flowers in the big flower bed, created a bunch of beautiful, colourful planter pots, including one with gorgeous purple and yellow pansies in a little wooden wheelbarrow AND bought me the awesome Inukshuk you see in the big flower bed!!

What was the occasion you ask??

Well, the entire thing was for my birthday.........now how absolutely sweet is that???????????

Colours in my Garden..........

2007-07-08T17:32:00.000-04:00

Pet Peeve #358.............

2007-07-05T18:56:00.001-04:00

Ok so I have just a few pet peeves......gives me an idea though.....perhaps I will share more as we go along............good blog topic don't ya think??

Back to the pet peeve.............

Tell me something dear reader.............what's wrong with these pictures??? Let's see if anyone else has the same pet peeve as I do.........

Here we have some lovely shots of families out for a nice bike ride..........what fun?? Relaxing in the great outdoors, fresh-air, sunshine, exercise......what could be better......it's a great way for families to spend time together right??

But still there is the niggling question of what is amiss in each of these shots...........

Anyone care to hazard a quess??

Come on.........

Give up yet???

Alright, alright I will tell you what my pet peeve is...................

How come the parents are not wearing helmets????????????????????????????????????

It's all very awesome that the kidlets all have them securely fastened to their lil noggins....but why not the parents??? This just irks me to no end!!! It's excellent that the parents make sure the children are safe and protected......but what happens to and who looks after the kids if Mommy or Daddy or, heaven forbid, both parents get killed or are permanently brain damaged by some unforseen mishap??

They don't refer to bike helmets as "brain buckets" for nothing you know!!!

Pet peeving rant over and out...............

.............until next time that is!!!!

7th installment of 100 things about me......

2007-06-28T20:26:00.000-04:00

So, I've been tagged by dear Lori aka Shaniqua (<--long story hehehe).....soooooooooo I thought I would do the tag in the form of adding to my list of things about me that I have no doubt everyone is simply dying to read about!!! lol

I'm not afraid to try new food. As kids growing up we were ~~forced~~ offered a wide variety of different foods and there was never any discussion about eating what was put in front of you!!

My favourites are......Thai and Indian food

I don't intend on ever having children

Don't get me wrong.......I love kids and have spent a good part of my adult life looking after and working with kids but I liked going home without them at the end of my shift and I like giving them back to their parents at the end of the day

I have never minded spending time alone

My favourite colour is purple

I hate to fly

Such was not always the case

Now I need Ativan to do it

My first pet was a golden retriever named Whiskey…..my godparents gave him, as a puppy, to my parents on the day I was born….can you imagine….a newborn and a puppy at the same time???

One of my mothers great hobbies when we were younger was obedience training with her goldens. They would enter comptetions and she still has many of his trophies in her home. His greatest achievement was that one year he won the Louisiana State Championship in obedience training.

He was fiercely protective of me. One of the many things goldens are known for is they "gentle", "soft" mouths meaning, for example, that they can carry a raw egg without cracking the shell over great distances. How this pertains to me is that when we would go swim in the ocean Whiskey would get frantic when I, as a five-year old, would venture out into the water. He was a great swimmer too but when I was in the water he would be pacing the shoreline keeping his eyes keenly trained on me. Eventually, he would decide that enough was enough and he couldn't take the worry any longer. At this point he would swim out to where ever I was in the water and with his gentle, soft mouth take me by the wrist and swim back to shore with me where he was content to let me play in the surf but no further! He lived to be 13 and was truly one of those once in a life time kinds of dogs.

here

I ~~was made to play~~ played the recorder for about 5 years

I only lasted 1 year playing piano

When “important” topics – birds and bees, drugs etc., -- needed to be talked about my mother would leave a Reader’s Digest article on my bed......better than nuttin' I suppose but things like that just weren't talked about much in our household!

We Are Unstoppable!!!

2007-06-26T19:19:00.001-04:00

Guess what came to town this past weekend??? Give up?? Ok, I will tell you......

This past Sunday was Toronto's gay pride parade following a week long celebration of pride and this year's theme was..........

This is always one of my favourite days of the year!!! It's indescribable really......the ambiance, the solidarity, the feeling of pride.........amazing!! So I thought I would share some pics of the day........

For the past few years I have marched in the parade with a float supporting LGBTQ youth. Prior to this I would be squished somewhere standing in the throngs of peopple watching the parade....

OMG what a rush!!! Marching in the parade is just so incredibly powerful!! Waving, dancing and just generally making noise in front of hundred's of thousands of people.....and this from someone who is normally quite terrified in big crowds!!

Annoying Coworkers............

2007-06-20T19:07:00.000-04:00

I need one of these.............

..........to help me deal with one of these!!!

Overture, dim the lights, this is it......

2007-06-15T18:45:00.000-04:00

enough is enough.....I decided that tonight was the night to decide what on earth to do with this blog!! And, it looks like for now......I am going to give it another go of some kind.....what that will look like who knows.....but continue it will!!

Being the true Gemini (sometimes can't make a decision to save my soul) that I am and in true procrastinator fashion I have lost count of the number of times I have sat at my computer and tried to figure out what to do about this blog......then as so easily happens with the internet I would get busy with something else and forget all about it......until the next time!!

Anyone curious about where I've been?? Me too!! I have searched high and low, near and far, hither and yon.........and, would you believe, nary a sighting of Boo7 to be had!!! If you happen to find me....be a good sort and send me home would ya???

I've been in a funk......a funk of monstrous proportions!!! Ever have one of those?? One that lasted a long time?? Well, the following graphic pretty much sums up my last 6-8 months...........

Now don't get me wrong......it's not all been bad......far from it.....in fact, there are some pretty great things that have transpired in this same time frame too!! However, if I had to sum up a general feeling for the last little while....the general malaise, confusion, what am I going to do when I grow up (lol I've been asking myself this for probably 36 of my 46 years!!), the betwixt and between feeling, the yin and yang of life.......Fuckitol would definitely rank right up there and just seems to sum things up nicely for me!!

But there is truly something I like about this whole blogging business.....can't quite put my finger on it......not sure how to explain it.........but there it is..........

So, here's to turning over a new blogging leaf......perhaps it will eventually lead me to turning over some kind of new life leaf!! Or, perhaps, it will just help me to realize, understand and be comfortable with the notion that I am exactly where I need to be at this point in my life!! I have found, at similar times in my life, that once that acceptance is reached......the rest usually falls in to place totally of it's own accord!!

How come it's soooooo easy to lose sight of that??

**sigh**

100 things about me.....

2007-06-09T22:38:00.000-04:00

I am a sister, daughter, aunt and friend

I am a gadget lover

Office supply stores, electronic stores and anything that sells gadgets….all of them make me giddy and my palms start to sweat just a little

I wear glasses

Losing my glasses and not being able to see….is one of my greatest fears

I like some crafts but go in fits and starts with them

I am just a lil obssesive sometimes
(who me??)

I am just a lil compulsive sometimes

I deny both sometimes…..most times I am OK with it

My name is Barbara Anne. If you call me that I’ll assume you’re mad at me. If you call me Barbie I’ll assume you hate me. I’m just Barb.

Part II

I am Canadian

I now live in Canada

But that was not always the case……I have lived in the U.S. (New Orleans, NYC, Minneapolis), Switzerland, England and Sweden with intermittent stints in Canada

I moved to where I am now 26 years ago to attend University… …and.I.have.never.left…(something about putting down roots late in life perhaps???)

Who knows if that might change

Since becoming an adult and moveing here 26 years agoI have been away from here for holidays…to whit…visiting family and friends within the country and the States….and I have been to Mexico (x2), Dominican, Cuba (x2) and Panama

I love my down duvet…..actually my whole bed!!!

I would be blissfully happy living in my shorts and sandals all year round if it were not for a little thing called………WINTER….ok 2 things……..SNOW!!!!

I love sunshine but not hot, hot heat

I love thunderstorm and lightning storms

Part III

I had a lot of jobs as a babysitter when I was younger

I believe that it's important when dealing with children of all ages to be as honest with them as their age allows

I love reading.....reading in bed with a cup of coffee.......awesome!!

I love the water…ocean, lake, river, stream, creek

I want to live near the water someday….either closer to the ocean or by a lake or river…..even a stream would do!!

I love sitting on a dock dangling my feet in the water but I have to admit that, no matter how hard I try not to, eventually I start to wonder if something down there might not decide to try snacking on my toes

I like to sing…although my friends don’t like it when I do

As a result, I mostly sing in the shower or in the car

I am hooked on my computer…ok, ok I am hopelessly addicted to my computer….I love doing all kinds of things on the computer

I have fallen asleep while sitting at the computer

Part IV

I have 3 tattoos…..small, tasteful and meaningful....I have a faith (cross), hope (anchor) and love (heart) amalgamated graphic, I have a sleepy moon and my 3rd tattoo is a yin/yang symbol with a moon, star and sun within the two yin/yang areas.

I may get another one or two

Friends and especially family mean the world to me.....here we are....the 6 siblings....3 girls, 3 boys....age spread 26 years from oldest to youngest...picture taken in 2001.....starting from the right we have: J. who is 55; then there is moi 45; next up is E. who is 29 and I refer to as my baby-bro still....I was 16 when he was born and my parents were pretty dang tired of doing the parental thing by that point!!; next up is my sister Trish who some of you know and love already and I can tell you her age, 41, without too much trouble as she talked about it over on her blog the other day; moving along....we have D. who is 53 this year; and finally we come to my big sister J. who will be 51 in a few weeks time.

Family can be a challenge at times

Especially my mother

Just ask my sister

I like being a caring person

At a ridiculously young age I won a honking bottle of whiskey at some fall fair (…not sure what ever happened to that bottle!)

I love my coffee

At night I have to have a fan going in the room in order for me to sleep.....which is odd to me as I am otherwise a sensitive sleeper....must be the "white" noise kind of thing

Part V

I have been told that I have a certain laugh/giggle/chuckle that sounds just like Betty Rubble

I love, love, love dolphins....they are somehow magical to me

I love, love, love candles......I buy them often.....even if they cost way too much…..and I always buy too many......I like to burn as many as I can and turn off all the lights

I love scary movies....the scarier the better.....but it has to be a “good” scary....like a good psychological thriller...not just senseless blood and guts scary....those are dumb and a waste of time

I hate going to the dentist, however....I have THE greatest dentist in the world!!

Oh, and I particularly love the gas they give you at the dentist....just sayin'

I was quite accident prone as a kid, bounced my teeth out on a headboard in a bed bouncing incident, serious rope burns around my legs from my, normally very docile but big, dog taking off suddenly, serious burns to both forearms (at different times), broke my nose in a jungle gym incident.....I was 16 when that happened. My one older brother was also quite accident prone and the folks used to tease us about getting discounts at the medical centers because we were there so often

My nose is the only bone in my body that I’ve ever broken

The day after I broke my nose I got German Measles….so I had 2 black eyes, a swollen nose and red spots ALL over my body

I didn't even get to miss a day of school because by that time my German Measles were no longer contagious. German Measles is the ONLY childhood disease I have EVER had

I hate driving in unfamiliar areas....I have this "getting lost" phobia (abandonment issues??)

Guess what?? I am 1/2 way through my 100 things about me!!

Part VI

ALL my life I believed I was born on a Monday…..complete with the line from that poem….Monday’s child is….yadda yadda you know the one…..until I met my friend’s hubby who was born on the same day, month and year that I was. In his home he had one of those baby plates detailing one’s birth and it told me that we were born on a Friday. I, of course, did not believe this……THEY, you know that other family must have somehow gotten it wrong……afterall…..my birthdate fell on a Monday. That is until I went home and checked it out on the internet and, well, let’s just say…..THEY were right!!!

You're a joy to everyone around you
Your natural kindness shines through.

I collect quotes and sayings in a journal and read them often

I am 3rd generation Canadian on my Dad’s side and German on my Mom’s side

When I was 3 years old I had a “bouncing on mom and dad’s bed” accident and knocked out all my top front teeth….the next set of teeth did not come in until I was 7 years old…..they thought my teeth would grow in crooked…..they didn’t

I am thankful for that

I hardly ever remember my dreams…I often say I do not dream….but am told, unequivocally, that I am wrong….everyone dreams. But seriously I have remembered maybe a handful of my dreams and then only the smallest of snippets…like a person in the dream, a scene, a thought…..(perhaps reason for therapy # 365)

As a kid I had a recurring dream that I had gotten up, wandered to the bathroom and then on my way back I could not get back to my bed as the floor was wall to wall alligators and spiders.

One of my dream jobs would be to own a bookstore……or better yet….a cozy bookshop with a little coffee bar attached…….

But someone else would have to handle the business end of running things.......

I just want to arrange books and drink coffee at the cash register.

I don’t particularly like watching televised sports, but am glued to the summer and winter Olympics.

I don't make my bed unless I've just changed the sheets......I don't see the point.....you're just going to get back in it again!

When I die, I want to be cremated

For a short time during university when a bunch of us would go out for a night on the town I would smoke dope in order to avoid drinking booze….I ~~had this idea~~ justified it by saying I was on diet and trying to avoid the calories from booze….did it work?? Uhhmmmm not so much!!

My dream home……cozy log cabin in a clearing on a wooded lot with a stream or small lake close by......something like this........

Part VII

I'm not afraid to try new food. As kids growing up we were ~~forced~~ offered a wide variety of different foods and there was never any discussion about eating what was put in front of you!!

My favourites are......Thai and Indian food

I don't intend on ever having children

Don't get me wrong.......I love kids and have spent a good part of my adult life looking after and working with kids but I liked going home without them at the end of my shift and I like giving them back to their parents at the end of the day

I have never minded spending time alone

My favourite colour is purple

I hate to fly

Such was not always the case

Now I need Ativan to do it

My first pet was a golden retriever named Whiskey…..my godparents gave him, as a puppy, to my parents on the day I was born….can you imagine….a newborn and a puppy at the same time???

One of my mothers great hobbies when we were younger was obedience training with her goldens. They would enter competitions and she still has many of his trophies in her home. His greatest achievement was that one year he won the Louisiana State Championship in obedience training.

He was fiercely protective of me. One of the many things goldens are known for is they "gentle", "soft" mouths meaning, for example, that they can carry a raw egg without cracking the shell over great distances. How this pertains to me is that when we would go swim in the ocean Whiskey would get frantic when I, as a five-year old, would venture out into the water. He was a great swimmer too but when I was in the water he would be pacing the shoreline keeping his eyes keenly trained on me. Eventually, he would decide that enough was enough and he couldn't take the worry any longer. At this point he would swim out to where ever I was in the water and with his gentle, soft mouth take me by the wrist and swim back to shore with me where he was content to let me play in the surf but no further! He lived to be 13 and was truly one of those once in a life time kinds of dogs.

I ~~was made to play~~ played the recorder for about 5 years

I only lasted 1 year playing piano

When “important” topics – birds and bees, drugs etc., -- needed to be talked about my mother would leave a Reader’s Digest article on my bed

I'm not afraid to try new food. As kids growing up we were ~~forced~~ offered a wide variety of different foods and there was never any discussion about eating what was put in front of you!!

My favourites are......Thai and Indian food

I don't intend on ever having children

Don't get me wrong.......I love kids and have spent a good part of my adult life looking after and working with kids but I liked going home without them at the end of my shift and I like giving them back to their parents at the end of the day
I have never minded spending time alone

My favourite colour is purple

I hate to fly

Such was not always the case

Now I need Ativan to do it

My first pet was a golden retriever named Whiskey…..my godparents gave him, as a puppy, to my parents on the day I was born….can you imagine….a newborn and a puppy at the same time???

One of my mothers great hobbies when we were younger was obedience training with her goldens. They would enter comptetions and she still has many of his trophies in her home. His greatest achievement was that one year he won the Louisiana State Championship in obedience training.

He was fiercely protective of me. One of the many things goldens are known for is they "gentle", "soft" mouths meaning, for example, that they can carry a raw egg without cracking the shell over great distances. How this pertains to me is that when we would go swim in the ocean Whiskey would get frantic when I, as a five-year old, would venture out into the water. He was a great swimmer too but when I was in the water he would be pacing the shoreline keeping his eyes keenly trained on me. Eventually, he would decide that enough was enough and he couldn't take the worry any longer. At this point he would swim out to where ever I was in the water and with his gentle, soft mouth take me by the wrist and swim back to shore with me where he was content to let me play in the surf but no further! He lived to be 13 and was truly one of those once in a life time kinds of dogs.

here'>http://chchatter.blogspot.com/">here

I ~~was made to play~~ played the recorder for about 5 years
I only lasted 1 year playing piano
When “important” topics – birds and bees, drugs etc., -- needed to be talked about my mother would leave a Reader’s Digest article on my bed......better than nuttin' I suppose but things like that just weren't talked about much in our household!

Rest in Peace Dad......

2007-04-23T12:13:00.000-04:00

Not sure how to do this grieving thing.....ironic really.....the topic of grief does come up in my work-life....how simple it seems to advise people that grieving is such an important, integral part of the healing process and yet how many of us actually know how to do it....reminds me of the quote about.....the shoemakers son goes barefoot. Is there a proper way to grieve???

I read this at my father's funeral as a tribute from his 6 children............

Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other
That we are still
Call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way you always used
Put no difference into your tone
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed
At the little jokes we always enjoyed together
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was
Let it be spoken without effort
Without the ghost of a shadow in it
Life means all that it ever meant
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolute unbroken continuity
What is death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind
Because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you for an interval
Somewhere very near
Just around the corner
All is well.
Nothing is past; nothing is lost
One brief moment and all will be as it was before
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

Canon Henry Scott-Holland, 1847-1918, Canon of St Paul's Cathedral

Not sure how I got through that as we had JUST finished the first hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers" -- probably his favourite -- which seriously started the waterworks and suddenly it was my turn......I think that, after dabbing at my face with a wad of kleenex I just went into auto-pilot mode. The whole event is remembered as somewhat of a surreal blur.

Right after I spoke my oldest nephew read a tribute he had written to Grandpa George on behalf of all the grand-children.....he wrote such a sweet passage.....very touching and captured his memories of his grandpa perfectly!

One of the hardest parts of the whole funeral for me were.....hearing and feeling my younger brother sobbing beside me during the service -- he and Dad shared a very special relationship. My younger brother is younger than all of us by at least a decade -- he was one of those "later in life" babies....the rest of us were 26, 24, 21, 16 (me) and 11 when he was born. My mother thought she was going through "the change of life" and went to the doctor only to be told "Mrs. SoandSo do you know you are 12 weeks pregnant??".

But back to my original train of thought........my Dad started having kids very young at a time when he was barely done being a kid himself. So, after 2 sons then 3 daughters, lots of life experience, age, maturity etc., etc......my younger brother came along when my Dad had the whole father-hood thing pretty much down pat -- with all the trials and tribulations ironed out. As a result I think he was able to be the Dad to my younger brother that he wished he could have been to all of us -- the kind of Dad that comes with age, maturity and experience perhaps.....hard to explain but it was a different relationship. They did all kinds of father-son, really cool, guy bonding sorts of things -- just the two of them -- some of these included baseball spring training in Florida, skiing trips, various sports hall of fame visits and the list goes on and on.

After the funeral some of us went back to my sisters place and enjoyed a wonderful, reminiscent evening together where my younger brother shared alot of his memories of his life with Dad. It was a perfect end to a very sad day.

The very best part of the whole weekend were a couple of things by youngest nephew said while I tucked him in to bed.....one was that he thought that Grandpa George was in a better place nowbecause he would once again be able to do all the things he loved doing so much (my Dad was pretty much incapacitated for the last 2+ years). The other thing my nephew said was that he was glad that grandpa George was in heaven now because he would be able to be with his parents again.........oh my goodness.....out of the mouths of babes????

Bad Driver Awards.......

2007-03-28T20:55:00.000-04:00

'nuff said!! OMG....................

ROFLMAO!!!!

2007-03-24T15:01:00.000-04:00

My prison bitch name is...........Dirtbox Demon........what's yours??

http://www.prisonbitchname.com/

How about your Jedi name?? Here's mine................

Cast off your old name! Your Jedi name is

BLABA BEGUE of the planet Ativan!

Find your Jedi Name!

AND......the kicker of all names........my Hobbit name........Petunia Proudfoot!!!

What's yours??

http://www.chriswetherell.com/hobbit/

OK OK cut out the laughter!! Clearly I have too much time on my hands this morning!!!!

Daily Cuteness for Hump Day......

2007-03-13T21:48:00.000-04:00

Just an inspirational thought......

2007-03-09T08:15:00.000-05:00

You did......

There have been situations in your life that you thought you would never get through. And yet, you did.

There have been challenges you faced that you thought you would never overcome. And yet, you did.

There have been losses you've suffered that you thought you would never be able to get beyond. And yet, you did.

For you are here today, stronger, wiser, more experienced and more knowledgeable as a result of it all.

Though the road has had its rough spots, you've successfully made your way along it.

There will certainly be more rough spots ahead, and there may even be some particularly difficult ones right now.

So it pays, every now and then, to look back and remember that even though you thought you wouldn't get through, you did.

And perhaps, if you think about it, you'll see that there's really never any reason to doubt yourself.

For when life challenged you to make your way through, you did.

And now, even more importantly, you will.

-- Ralph Marston

100 things about me.....part 6

2007-03-03T20:00:00.000-05:00

ALL my life I believed I was born on a Monday…..complete with the line from that poem….Monday’s child is….yadda yadda you know the one…..until I met my friend’s hubby who was born on the same day, month and year that I was. In his home he had one of those baby plates detailing one’s birth and it told me that we were born on a Friday. I, of course, did not believe this……THEY, you know that other family must have somehow gotten it wrong……afterall…..my birthdate fell on a Monday. That is until I went home and checked it out on the internet and, well, let’s just say…..THEY were right!!!

You're a joy to everyone around you
Your natural kindness shines through.

I collect quotes and sayings in a journal and read them often

I am 3rd generation Canadian on my Dad’s side and German on my Mom’s side

When I was 3 years old I had a “bouncing on mom and dad’s bed” accident and knocked out all my top front teeth….the next set of teeth did not come in until I was 7 years old…..they thought my teeth would grow in crooked…..they didn’t

I am thankful for that

I hardly ever remember my dreams…I often say I do not dream….but am told, unequivocally, that I am wrong….everyone dreams. But seriously I have remembered maybe a handful of my dreams and then only the smallest of snippets…like a person in the dream, a scene, a thought…..(perhaps reason for therapy # 365)

As a kid I had a recurring dream that I had gotten up, wandered to the bathroom and then on my way back I could not get back to my bed as the floor was wall to wall alligators and spiders.

One of my dream jobs would be to own a bookstore……or better yet….a cozy bookshop with a little coffee bar attached…….

But someone else would have to handle the business end or running things.......

I just want to arrange books and drink coffee at the cash register.

I don’t particularly like watching televised sports, but am glued to the summer and winter Olympics.

I don't make my bed unless I've just changed the sheets......I don't see the point.....you're just going to get back in it again!

When I die, I want to be cremated
For a short time during university when a bunch of us would go out for a night on the town I would smoke dope in order to avoid drinking booze….I ~~had this idea~~ justified it by saying I was on diet and trying to avoid the calories from booze….did it work?? Uhhmmmm not so much!!

My dream home……cozy log cabin in a clearing on a wooded lot with a stream or small lake close by......something like this........

March comes in like a lion........

2007-03-01T18:14:00.000-05:00

.....one can only HOPE it goes out like a lamb!

Today's drive home looked something like this.............

..............GAAAAHHHHHHH!!!

Someone remind me again why I still live in this god-forsaken, frigid, winter wasteland???

I mean if I could live here and not HAVE (ie. like to attend to that annoying little thing called work) to drive in weather like this .....things would be peachy.....I really do like the different seasons......but this......THIS just about gives me heart (not to mention renal) failure each and every time!!! And the older I get the worse the phobia (it really is verging on that) seems to become.........ACKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I work about 40 minutes from where I live and today it took me over 2 hours to get home. When I left this morning I was chuckling just a little as school's were cancelled before anyone even woke up and yet there was nary a flake of snow in the air!!!

I was choking on that chuckle on my way home this afternoon.....choking and cursing at the same time....not a pretty sight!! Now thankfully I travel on country highways which is a blessing and a curse at the same time....a blessing in that there really isn't as much traffic as on a major highway and what traffic there is - drivers appear to be quite content to go nice and slow and give each other lots of room....a curse in that, at times, the visibility is even worse on a country highway with wide open fields for the wind to be whipping the snow around!

To add to my trauma today....as well as to remind me that sometimes we truly do have guardian angels watching out for us.......about 1/2 way home I made a quick stop at a coffee shop just for a breather and to get rid of some ice crusted on my windshield wiper blades. Wouldn't you know it.......some random piece of plastic snaps off of one of the blades. After muttering a few ~~curse words~~ prayers and hoping for the best I continued on my way. Finally made it safely into town and, while stopped at a set of light, my injured wiper blade goes flying over the top of my car......the set of lights I was at??? RIGHT beside a little Mom & Pop service center!! I AM a lucky girl!!!

Phewwwwwwwww.........at this point I am chanting my Hail Mary's and prepared to get on my knee's and kiss the ground!!! Sooooooo I am happy to report that I made it home in one piece and after greeting the dogs I bundled up to spend an hour or so clearing the driveway along with the rest of the neighbourhood.....it was a regular ol' freakin' party out there!!!

And the snow is supposed to continue to midnight at which point it's supposed to turn into rain with a possible thunder-storm overnight........what the what????? ONLY in southern Ontario can you have bizarre weather combo's like that!!!

Now.......somewhat calmer, drier, warmer and on my way to bed......after remembering my gratitude......I am more than ready to give ol' man winter the ol' one finger salute...........

...........photo courtesy of my sister.......:)

A most memorable gift......

2007-02-23T15:12:00.000-05:00

Not sure what made me think of this today....must be feeling nostalgic or something.

When I was 16 we had lived for 2+ years in New York City and were moving to Minneapolis. While in NYC I held several very lucrative after-school jobs as a dog walker and dog sitter....it was a great job....we had our own dogs that needed walking and picking up a few more on the way was no big deal and a great way to make money as just about everyone in NYC has a dog it seems!!

I became very attached to one of the dogs I often walked...and sometimes he would come to our house when his owners were away on holidays. His name was Tuffy and he was this lil black cockapoo mix....we has just adorable....Dad used to call refer to him as an animated floor mop as his fur was fluffy and quite unruly and he was a quirky lil guy with lots of energy. Our dogs had always been big golden retrievers with the laid-back, laissez-faire attitudes.

Now it turns out that Tuffy's owners offered him to me as their two teenage daughters....whom the dog had been originally bought for and who were supposed to look after the guy....had lost interest in him....and the owners saw how attached I was to him....and were happy to give him to me. However, when I asked my parental units they did consider it but in the end said no due to the fact that we were in the middle of a move, had 2 dogs and 2 cats already etc., etc..

Once in Minneapolis I got over my heart-ache pretty quickly what with getting used to a new school, new home and making new friends....but for the first little while I would still often think about Tuffy.

Fast forward about 6 months and Dad finds himself on a business trip back to NYC......imagine my utter and complete suprise when, on his return, he pulled in the garage and the family gathered to greet him, he gathers his bags and brings them in the front hallway as he is hugging and greeting everyone and says that he forgot something in the car.....when he came back in....

he was beaming from ear to ear and what did he hold out for me......

.....Tuffy in an airplane pet carrier!!!

Erik and Tuffy...a boy and his dog, 1980

Bless his heart, unbeknownst to anyone -- even my Mom I think (I must ask her one day but I don't think she even knew), he had contacted Tuffy's owners while he was back in NYC for his business meeting and they had happily turned him over to my Dad who brought him home to the family.

This was so out of the blue and so out of character for my Dad...I was just floored....absolutely and completely floored!! Now don't get me wrong......we were all most fortunate in that we received many great gifts and things we asked for and wanted throughout our childhood.....and for that I will always be grateful..........

Tuffy, Rye, Erik and Fancy 1982

........but this.........this was the best, most meaningful, most memorable gift I ever received.......

Do you have a favourite, most memorable gift story???

Hallmark on a bad day......

2007-02-20T08:17:00.000-05:00

From yesterday's serious post about life lessons......to today's snarky post.....all in the blink of an eye!! Must be that gemini nature being let loose.....serious to snark in under 30 seconds.......

Have a laugh on me!!

Ever wondered what happens when Hallmark writers are having a bad day?

My tire was thumping.
I thought it was flat
When I looked at the tire...
I noticed your cat.

Sorry!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heard your wife left you,
How upset you must be.
But don't fret about it...
She moved in with me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Congratulations on your wedding day!

Too bad no one likes your husband.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How could two people as beautiful as you

Have such an ugly baby?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've always wanted to have
someone to hold,
someone to love.

After having met you ...
I've changed my mind.

----------------------------------------------------------
I must admit, you brought Religion into my life.

I never believed in Hell until I met you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the days go by, I think of how lucky I am...

That you're not here to ruin it for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Congratulations on your promotion.

Before you go...

Would you like to take this knife out of my back?

You'll probably need it again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Birthday, Uncle Dad!

(Available only in Tennessee, Kentucky & West Virginia)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When we were together,
you always said you'd die for me.

Now that we've broken up,
I think it's time you kept your promise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We have been friends for a very long time ..
………let's say we stop?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm so miserable without you
……..it's almost like you're here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Congratulations on your new bundle of joy.

Did you ever find out who the father was?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your friends and I wanted to do
something special for your birthday.

So we're having you put to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So your daughter's a hooker,
and it spoiled your day.

Look at the bright side,
it's really good pay.

Monday Musings.....

2007-02-18T23:38:00.000-05:00

"I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today,life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow."

"I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way they handle these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights."

"I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life."

"I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life'."

"I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance."

"I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back."

"I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision."

"I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one."

"I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone - People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back."

"I've learned that I still have a lot to learn."

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

I saw one of these today.........

2007-02-15T18:28:00.000-05:00

.....on my way home from work!! What a beautiful sight it was.....and as I am staring at it, doing a double take, thinking that I am seeing strange things, trying to figure out what it was AND still trying to keep my eye on the road so I can accomplish my goal of arriving home in one piece.....I am wondering what it is and for lack of anything better.....I thought....hhhmmmmm it looks like, so maybe it's called a rainbow cloud.

Once home I was describing it online to my sister who right away asked if it was a sun dog?? How can it be that I love all things sun, moon and stars related and have never heard of a sun dog??

So, being the good lil googling geek that I am.....I set about finding out about this celestial phenomenon and here is what I found........courtesy of this webpage .......

Q: What is a sun dog and what makes it happen?

A: A sun dog is a rainbow-like spot in a cirrus cloud. Light shining through ice crystals in the cloud makes a sun dog, much like light shining through raindrops makes a rainbow. They are reddish on the side facing the sun and often have
bluish-white tails stretching horizontally away from them.

Cirrus clouds — these high fleecy white bands or patches in the sky are mostly tiny
particles of ice. Ice can take on many forms and shapes. The cloud ice, however,
is shaped like hex bathroom tiles or stubby pencils each no bigger than the
tiniest grains of sand. These ice crystals bend light like a prism, disperse its
colours, and cause sun dogs.

When the crystals line up, the light shining through makes sun dogs. The horizontal crystals bend the light 22 degrees as the light enters and exits the crystal. Light colours fan out from the bending and display as a sun dog.

Sun dogs are among the most commonly seen sky phenomena, appearing most prominently when the sun is low. They usually appear in pairs two handbreadths on either side of the sun when it rises or sets behind a very thin veil of high cirrus clouds.

Now these pictures, although beautiful, can't even hold a candle to the one I saw today in terms of intensity.....it was quite large and long......stretching up and down in the sky..... and the colours were sooooo vibrant and brilliant....it really took my breath away....you could clearly see every single colour of the rainbow.......AMAZING!!!

And while I was surfing.....I came across this picture again......it's taken somewhere in Alaska....double rainbow.....brilliant!!!

Points to Ponder....

The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.

Rainbows apologize for angry skies.

Life is like a rainbow. You need both the sun and the rain to make its colors appear.

A Winter Poem......

2007-02-13T22:56:00.000-05:00

I found this beautiful winter poem and thought it might be a comfort to you. It was to me, and it's very well written.

ENJOY!

" WINTER "
a poem by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre

SHIT!
It's Cold !

.......gotcha!!!

Check out this behemoth.....

2007-02-10T21:48:00.000-05:00

Here's a pet for you animal lovers !!!

On a typical day he will devour 20lb of meat, usually beef or chicken, and is capable of eating 100lb at a single setting. At just three years old, Hercules already weighs half a ton.

He is the unintentional result of two enormous big cats living close together at the Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, in Miami, Florida, and already dwarfs both his parents.

" Ligers are not something we planned on having," said institute owner Dr Bhagavan Antle. "We have lions and tigers living together in large enclosures and at first we had no idea how well one of the lion boys was getting along with a tiger girl, then lo and behold we had a liger." These two cats don't normally have the opportunity to breed in the wild, as most lions live in Africa and most tigers in Asia.

Look at the size of the head on this thing……..

Ligers are 50mph runners….not only that, but he likes to swim, a feat unheard of among water-fearing lions. In the wild it is virtually impossible for lions and tigers to mate Not only are they enemies likely to kill one another. But incredible though he is, Hercules is not unique. Ligers have been bred in captivity, deliberately and accidentally, since shortly before World War II .

Today there are believed to be a handful of ligers around the world and a similar number of tigons, the product of a tiger father and lion mother. Tigons are smaller than ligers and take on more physical characteristics of the tiger.

Check out the fangs - like pre-historic days

OK, so I admit......

2007-02-08T15:13:00.000-05:00

.......that I am a reality TV junkie!! Yes, yes in spite of my mother's attempts to not allow my brain to be addled by senseless TV viewing....(or maybe, just maybe, because of it)......I do indeed watch some of them.....shocking I know!

These are my two favourites..............

Admittedly Survivor has gotten fairly "old" and it's pretty predictable these days but they are promising new twists and turns **yawn** this season.....which starts incidentally....TONIGHT!! So we shall see about the new twists and turns.......otherwise I will still be a faithful follower....it's a habit at this point and goes well with my other addictions.

Oh, by the way....my mother....remember how I was telling you about her opinions about mindless TV......well, she is SO, SO, SO a closeted Survivor viewer!!! She slays me.....she really does.......we will be chatting on the phone and she will say something along the lines of......."well, I was just channel surfing (sure, OK Mom) the other evening and I can't believe what I saw on Survivor.....OMG what were they thinking....and did you see **insert Survivor name here**....I can't believe what he said.....and what WAS that they were trying to make the Survivors eat....and what kind of a stupid challenge was THAT???". And she will proceed and carry on and basically tell me more about the show than I know!!! But, remember......she was only channel surfing!!

I also watch the Amazing Race which starts up again on February 18th!! I can't wait....this is probably my favourite reality TV show and it IS always different just by the fact that they are traveling around the globe and so are always seeing new sights, cultures and so on. This season it will be an All-Star version.....bringing teams from previous adventures together for this one.....should be fun.....I don't know if Mom watches this one.....will have to ask her.....or suggest it LOL!!

So there you have it.........Hi my name is Barb and I AM a reality TV show junkie!!!

Did I mention that I also am fond of American Idol?? I usually get into this one once the show is underway.....they spend weeks in auditions first......mind you watching some of the auditions is a hoot and a half!!!

There is a hilarious blog called American Midol which does some awesome pieces on the show......I see that they have added a new feature recently.........the Paula Abdul Insanity Index which currently pegs her at 6.2 and is updated weekly!! She really is a piece of work on that show!!!

OK, I am done now....over and out......Survivor is about to start!!

Arts and Crafts..........

2007-02-06T01:18:00.000-05:00

If tales of crafting and such bore you to tears then please feel free to skip this post....I won't be offended in the least......

A while ago Guy from Astoria Oregon Rust asked me in a comment what kind of crafts I do so I thought I would show you some of them.....and then explain a bit about my crafty tendencies.....

TV viewing was strictly monitored in our house at all times for most of my youth.....which wasn't really a big deal to us as we knew no differently really....growing up in Europe TV was almost non-existant other than for the news and rare holiday specials or things to do with the Queen when we lived in England. So, when we first moved to Canada I was about 13/14 and my mother had it in her head that she was not going to let any children of hers become corrupted by anything North America had to offer (keep in mind that my mother, although very worldly in many respects, is from a very strict European, pre-, during, and post war era). At the time it was just my younger sis Trish and I at home -- the 3 older sibs were off on their own already and the youngest.....well, he was not to be a twinkle in anyone's eye for a few years yet!!

Our TV viewing was limited to certain shows and to only a certain amount of time per day. The qualifier was that if we were going to watch TV we HAD to be doing something creative with our hands as well......and so my crafting abilities were hatched!! My younger sister......not so much. It started out with knitting and keep in mind that Trish would have only been about 7ish and, well lets just say that my sister was the consumate tom-boy who was going to have nothing to do with any knitting or crafty stuff!!!

These pieces are all called counted cross-stitch which translates to......there is nothing printed on the canvas when you start....so you start with your coloured threads (dozens of colours), a needle and your blank fabric.
Here is one of my most favourite recent projects.....I made it for my bestest gay male friend....you have to know him (big and tall bear of a guy)....and it really is very fitting for him!!

One year, '94 I think it was -- was there a winter olympics that year??.......I was unemployed for about 6 months -- kinda by choice, kinda not -- let's just say I was taking some time and in no rush to locate any employment quickly!! That year I knit 12, count 'em 12, of those wintery, Icelandic pull-over sweaters!! Here like these ones..............

I knit EVERY colour combo imagineable......now to be honest.....6 of those sweaters were in pint-sized sizes as all my nieces and nephews were toddlers still back then.....it was so much fun knitting the smaller ones....just to see how they turned out.....most of the patterns and sizes I had to make up and scale down from the adult versions as there were no kid size patterns to be found at the time!! Those little cute sweaters were passed around from family to family as kids out grew them.....there may still be some tucked in attics and cupboards where outgrown clothes often go.

So there you have it.....some of the crafts I do while watching television......hope you enjoyed looking at these. It was fun....a journey down memory lane.....thanks for posing the question Guy!!

Part V of my 100 things about me.....

2007-02-05T00:19:00.000-05:00

I have been told that I have a certain laugh/giggle/chuckle that sounds just like Betty Rubble

I love, love, love dolphins....they are somehow magical to me

I love, love, love candles......I buy them often.....even if they cost way too much…..and I always buy too many......I like to burn as many as I can and turn off all the lights

I love scary movies....the scarier the better.....but it has to be a “good” scary....like a good psychological thriller...not just senseless blood and guts scary....those are dumb and a waste of time

I hate going to the dentist, however....I have THE greatest dentist in the world!!

Oh, and I particularly love the gas they give you at the dentist....just sayin'

I was quite accident prone as a kid, bounced my teeth out on a headboard in a bed bouncing incident, serious rope burns around my legs from my, normally very docile but big, dog taking off suddenly, serious burns to both forearms (at different times), broke my nose in a jungle gym incident.....I was 16 when that happened. My one older brother was also quite accident prone and the folks used to tease us about getting discounts at the medical centers because we were there so often

My nose is the only bone in my body that I’ve ever broken

The day after I broke my nose I got German Measles….so I had 2 black eyes, a swollen nose and red spots ALL over my body

I didn't even get to miss a day of school because by that time my German Measles were no longer contagious. German Measles is the ONLY childhood disease I have EVER had

I hate driving in unfamiliar areas....I have this "getting lost" phobia (abandonment issues??)

Guess what?? I am 1/2 way through my 100 things about me!!

And so it begins.......

2007-02-02T17:49:00.000-05:00

....co-parenting a pet with the ex!

I just got back from dropping off my big dog -- Molly -- to visit with her other mother my ex.....why yes...it was actually in the formal seperation agreement!! We have had Molly for about 4 years now. She will be gone for 10 days or so when the ex has an appointment back here in town and will drop her off to me again. I know she will be well cared for and have a good time......but damn I will miss her!! And it was hard not to get emotional....this was the first time seeing the ex since she left.

Here are the 2 girls sleeping together....notice Maggie's head resting on one of Molly's legs....too cute....... Would you believe that there are even articles written about this phenomenon?? I'm sure it's more common than I thought.....I found a book that had been written about pets and divorce.......there have even been custody battles, taken to court, waged over a pet.....that lasted 2 years and cost the couple thousands of dollars each.....and here is another one.

Apparently pet custody battles are on the rise......it's being called the Modern Divorce Issue. Schools, including some of the biggies like Harvard and Yale, are offering animal law classes with segments dedicated to the issue of pet custody. CNN has tackled the issue and even CBS has posted a segment about pets and divorce.

.....a new website dedicated to the subject, http://www.petcustody.com/ (motto: "We're family too"), allows engaged couples to download pet prenuptial forms, and recommends that people get their affairs in order early. "Always, always, always put clear, concise language in prenups that cover your pet," counsels the site.

Talk about going to extremes.......roflmao pet prenups???? Oh dear.........

I couldn't bear the thought of being dog-less for 10 days so Maggie is still here with me.......

....Maggie looking for her big sister....

Maggie is more "my" dog....she joined us about 6 months ago as an impulse (mine) rescue dog....it's amazing though how close the 2 dogs have become!! Maggie ALWAYS wants to be touching some part of Molly when they are sleeping......

....Bookends of cuddly, soft, adorable doggy goodness....

Points to Ponder.....

Animals are such agreeable friends -- they ask no questions, pass no criticisms.
--George Eliot

I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts.
--John Steinbeck

The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.
--Samuel Butler

Mourning Doves.......

2007-02-01T00:51:00.000-05:00

I love doves…always have….my back yard has always been graced with a number of pairs of mourning doves but this past week I have noticed that there is a veritable flock of mourning doves….I find it interesting that they seem to have multiplied just recently….synchronicity at work?? Who knows really but I like to think it is!!

Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) are one of the most widely distributed and abundant birds in North America……..

They have a small head and pointed tail, presenting a streamlined appearance. Flight is direct and rapid. The wing beat usually produces a characteristic whistling noise, especially when doves are flushed.

One of my backyard feeders
Mourning doves make a soft cooing sound that some people confuse with the hooting of an owl. This is so true….they do sound like owls. I love hearing the haunting sounds of the Mourning Doves. The mourning dove probably gets its name from its haunting "hoo, hoo, hoo" call.

My backyard

Predators include: birds, snakes, squirrels, cats and hunters….I never really thought of squirrels being a predator for birds but just today….with my flock of them in the back yard….I did see a squirrel chasing one of the doves.......

And then of course there's Maggie....fierce and bold lil Maggie.....who thinks that just maybe one of these days she will be able to catch one of these birds......
She just about slays me when she goes shooting out the back door hell bent for leather on her tiny lil legs trying and catch one of them.....
It's just about as cute as her attempts at trying to catch the water from the waves lapping up on shore as she is doing here.

4th installment of....100 things about me....

2007-01-30T23:55:00.000-05:00

I have 3 tattoos…..small, tasteful and meaningful....I have a faith (cross), hope (anchor) and love (heart) amalgamated graphic, I have a sleepy moon and my 3rd tattoo is a yin/yang symbol with a moon, star and sun within the two yin/yang areas.

I may get another one or two

Friends and especially family mean the world to me.....here we are....the 6 siblings....3 girls, 3 boys....age spread 26 years from oldest to youngest...picture taken in 2001.....starting from the right we have: J. who is 55; then there is moi 45; next up is E. who is 29 and I refer to as my baby-bro still....I was 16 when he was born and my parents were pretty dang tired of doing the parental thing by that point!!; next up is my sister Trish who some of you know and love already and I can tell you her age, 41, without too much trouble as she talked about it over on her blog the other day; moving along....we have D. who is 53 this year; and finally we come to my big sister J. who will be 51 in a few weeks time.

Family can be a challenge at times

Especially my mother

Just ask my sister

I like being a caring person

At a ridiculously young age I won a honking bottle of whiskey at some fall fair (…not sure what ever happened to that bottle!)

I love my coffee

At night I have to have a fan going in the room in order for me to sleep.....which is odd to me as I am otherwise a sensitive sleeper....must be the "white" noise kind of thing

Points to Ponder.......

History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.

--Maya Angelou

Passing it on......

2007-01-28T13:56:00.000-05:00

Please keep her going!!

This woman is walking the World for Breast Cancer.
Please pass her on so that she can reach her destination.
Say a prayer for all those who are affected by this disease.
Pass it on so she can get there!

Regrets, I've had a few.......

2007-01-25T21:50:00.000-05:00

Regrets are funny things you know……hard to pin down succinctly. The philosophies, thoughts and ideas surrounding the notion of regret are many and varied. Regrets have been on my mind a great deal this week....I'm not quite sure why, I'm not quite sure if it's the even right word....but there it's been, on my mind.

Some folks say that regrets are just lessons we haven't learned yet....others believe regrets are things we feel badly about....still others think that to regret is to feel sad about a loss or an absence of something or a sadness associated with some wrong done or some disappointment …..some believe that regret is a dissatisfaction with something or a remorse for a fault or an act. Some even go so far as to liken regret to a prison cell...in that it can keep you captured, stuck....the good news being that, unlike a prison cell, there is no lock on the door…..meaning that we can open that door and free ourselves from the regret.

I think that this guys thoughts made the most sense to me with respect to my life today and thinking, this week, about regrets.....

Regretting is the act of revisiting past decisions or events, comparing them to what might have been, wishing they had been different, and suffering emotionally in the present because they are not. The word regret comes from the Middle English word regrete, meaning "to lament or to feel sorry" and from the Old English word graetan, meaning "to weep." When we give past decisions or events the power to hurt us in the present, we have created burdensome regrets-regrets that corrode our lives.

Why do we regret?

Regrets arise from unfulfilled expectations, from shattered hopes and lost dreams, from failures and tragedies, mistakes and misjudgments. They arise naturally out of life's events and are woven into the fabric of the human experience. Regrets are to be expected as part of being alive. They are inevitable. But regrets do not have to be burdensome. They can be let go and their power to hurt us taken away.

I love words....I suppose that's a trait from my father who was quite the wordsmith in his day....he used words exceptionally well but also liked to play with words. Quotes, phrases and sayings have always been a part of my life.....and so I offer you some quotes on the topic of regret......

When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.
--Alexander Graham Bell

Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can't build on it; it's only for wallowing in.
--Katherine Mansfield

Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future.
--Fulton Oursler

Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience.
--Victoria Holt

Regret is insight that comes a day too late
--Unknown

I think I have to say that the last quote is one that resonates with me at the moment...it really sums it all up doesn't it....reminds me of that expression...something along the lines of.....always being a day late and a dollar short.

So tell me.....anyone have any insights or gems of wisdom regarding the notion of regret??

****humming that Ol' Blue-eyes tune on my way out the door......Regrets, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention. I did, what I had to do, and saw it through, without exemption. I planned, each charted course, each careful step, along the byway........****

A funny for the day.........

2007-01-25T17:55:00.000-05:00

.......cuz I get tired seeing the same post on my blog day after day.....and, well my mind isn't being very creative these days.........

SIPPING VODKA……..

A new priest at his first mass was so nervous he could hardly speak.

After mass he asked the monsignor how he had done.

The monsignor replied, " When I am worried about getting nervous on
the pulpit , I put a glass of vodka next to the water glass. If I start
to get nervous, I take a sip."

So next Sunday he took the monsignor's advice.

At the beginning of the sermon, he got nervous and took a drink.

He proceeded to talk up a storm.

Upon his return to his office after the mass, he found the following
note on the door: !

1) Sip the vodka, don't gulp.

2) There are 10 commandments, not 12.

3) There are 12 disciples, not 10.

4) Jesus was consecrated, not constipated.

5) Jacob wagered his donkey, he did not bet his ass

6) We do not refer to Jesus Christ as the late J.C.

7) The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not referred to as Daddy,
Junior and the spook.

8) David slew Goliath, he did not kick the shit out of him.

9) When David was hit by a rock and was knocked off his donkey,
don't say he was stoned off his ass.

10)We do not refer to the cross as the "Big T."

11)When Jesus broke the bread at the last supper he said, "take this
and eat it for it is my body." He did not say " Eat me" .

12)The Virgin Mary is not called " Mary with the Cherry,.

13)The recommended grace before a meal is not: Rub-A-Dub-Dub thanks
for the grub, Yeah God.

14)Next Sunday there will be a taffy pulling contest at St.Peter's
not a peter pulling contest at St. Taffy's

Now a word from our sponsor.......

2007-01-22T16:53:00.000-05:00

Regular blogging will continue sometime soon!!! Too busy at the moment nesting, getting my house in order, getting rid of all the stuff that was left behind and generally plodding along the road to recovery from a broken heart.....but not to worry dear friends.......all is good and getting better......time is the quintessential healer........right????

Ooooooooooooops did I post that one out loud?????????? hehehe well forgive me a few morbid thoughts!!

New Study.......

2007-01-20T00:03:00.000-05:00

A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has revealed that
the type of male face a woman finds attractive can differ depending on
where she is in her menstrual cycle.

For example: If she is ovulating, she is attracted to men with rugged
and masculine features.

If she has PMS, is menstruating or menopausal, she tends to be more attracted
to a man with scissors lodged in his temple and duct tape over his mouth
while he is on fire.

No further studies are expected.

Feelin' the Love.......

2007-01-16T08:53:00.000-05:00

First off.................Awwwwwwwwww thank-you so, so much to everyone for the supportive words and hugs in response to my post from yesterday......all very much appreciated.......

Now on to our regularly scheduled post.............

LOOK what I discovered the other day!!! ------->click here<-------- to find out what's got me all aquiver today......(not that it takes that much mind you)....ok, ok get yer minds outta the gutter peeps.....geeeeeeeeeeez!! Y'all were expecting something naughty perhaps weren't ya??? Give a gal a break......did we forget my broken heart post of yesterday??!!??!! Cut a gal some slack k?? You think I'd be posting about sex already??

OK, OK...lemme back up a bit and explain.....

Hi, my name is Barb.....and I'm a huge ~~closet~~ American Idol fan

......there I said it, phew! I feel so much better you just can't imagine!!

For the most part it's not an addiction I announce proudly....people give me funny looks when I do that!!

So, the other day I was blogsurfing, making the rounds of my blogroll and stopped by Curly McDimple's (gotta *heart* this name!) place Ham and Cheese on Wry (another name to *heart*!) and what do my wandering eyes behold but a post about American Idol.....with a link to this other blog d.e.d.i.c.a.t.e.d. to the show.........unbelievable!!!

I see that Curly is a contributor and although I don't know whose brain-child the blog is....how cool is this?? A place to go and kibbitz about Paula Abdul's latest incarnation as something other than herself....a place to wonder outloud with kindred spirits what exactly was it that Paula just tried to say.....or which illicit substance she is experimenting with this evening....or will both of her eyes be moving in the same direction any time soon........and well, I haven't explored the whole site yet.....but I imagine other peeps get ~~picked on, cut to shreds~~ discussed there as well.....although Paula does tend to steal the limelight an aweful lot!!!

Long story short....I left a comment for Curly about my excitement at having found American Midol and I confessed to her my ~~addiction~~ fondness for American Idol.........

Curly's response to me..........

Let your freak flag fly, Barb! You're among friends here. We love the show and we are not ashamed! Lay down your guilt and come out of hiding. We welcome you.

OMG!!! ------>I.am.so.feelin'.the.love.<------

Me flying my freak flag!!

A post that did not start out as it ended up being......

2007-01-14T17:27:00.000-05:00

Following on the coat-tails of a post recently written over at Bent Fabric titled "Okay You Two - Break It Up!".....I suggest that, in most cases, it's not a great idea to try to live together as "friends" with an ex!! Bent acknowledges the difficulties surrounding a break-up and then offers a great deal of sage advice on how to cross that great divide with minimal ~~thoughts of retribution~~ stress and heartache.

For the most part I think I have done pretty well sticking by her pointers.....keep in mind that this has been a break-up stretching over 1+ year (but the relationship has stretched over 15+ years...with a 4+ year break in there somewhere....confusing I know....but it IS a long story....yikes!!).....ok so maybe one of Bent's points was about not making this a long drawn out affair...but well...you know....there were circumstances!! gimme a break here!!

Ok, so on with the rest of the points.........

1) I haven't bad-mouthed her to our friends

**the best part of this pointer is that Bent used the word va-jay-jay** LOL but I digress.....

2) Tedious friendship discussions have not even happened...well at least not on my part!! REALLY hard to think about friendship when you are basically the dumpee and there appears to be NO reason for the dump in the first place!!

**seriously, I have not been given one clue why this is happening** ok but I digress again....

3) Counselling...about counselling Bent says.....

Counseling. Sure, why the hell not? Therapy can facilitate closure. You are
bound to hit the high road when it costs you hundreds of dollars to wrap things
up.

Nuff said 'bout that!! Been there, done that.....she did not care to go and try to figure things out so there you have it.....'nuff said!

4) "Refuse to answer any questions that begin with, "I just want to know one thing..." What follows that phrase is always trouble." Well, I got this one covered.....I would have been the one asking these questions.....and I can thankfully say.....I refrained.....what's the point!! I learned my lesson spending far too much time playing this game with a long ago ex and it ended up with me engaging in the screamin' meemies each and every time.....not a pretty site......ain't goin' there ever again!!

5) We haven't had sex in I ain't sayin' how long!!

6) Not gonna rehash this relationship EVER again......we got back together again after a long hiatus due, in part, to rehashing the fucking relationship!! Can we say........DOH!!!

Here is where the angry part comes in for me.........

Once you have made the realization that you would be happier elsewhere, you owe it to yourself and your partner to impart that information
straightforwardly. Of course, she will likely hate your guts. She's supposed to;
you're dumping her. But her rancor for you will be short lived if you don't
waste months of her life trying to persuade her that you are doing what is best
for both of you.

I did not get this courtesy......as time has passed it has become increasingly apparent that she was outta this relationship some time ago....and what small information I have received has been sparse at best....and outright misleading at worst......and I do feel like that last year or so has been a waste....as she has been clear (to herself) about where she is headed......but somehow forgot to convey that message along to me......good grief and for the love of all that is ~~fucked and bizarre~~ sacred and holy....that's what broke us up the first time around!!

So there you have it....my life in a nutshell over the past little while....my lil ol' heart been broke.....lol time to put it back in it's cage!! Never shoulda let it out again......double padlock this time....

.... a shout-out and a thank-you again to Bent for her post which came at me outta the blue....but in a good way....you know...one of those hit you over the head kind of things.

Funny how things happen.....I don't often talk about personal stuff on my blog.....and this post did not start out being about what it ended up being.....but it has had a cleansing effect of sorts to write about it.

Points to Ponder....

It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance. It is the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance. It is the one who won't be taken who cannot seem to give. And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live.
--The Divine Miss M.

Ever wonder........

2007-01-12T12:33:00.000-05:00

Why bike shorts should ALWAYS be black............

Nice handsome looking fellows focussed on their sport.......right??

The alternative......**shudder**..........

Rare photos.......

2007-01-10T23:21:00.000-05:00

Points to Ponder.....

Lives of all great men remind us we can make our lives sublime. And, at parting, leave behind us footprints on the sands of time.

--Longfellow

This particular quote came to me first from a very prim, proper but also very warm-hearted old (...and I mean bordering on ancient here) English teacher I had when I was about 11 years old attending school in England.....I can clearly remember her name -- Mrs. Churchill -- and her face -- very warm and kind but also very no-nonsense.....it was one of the first quotes that struck me with a sense of awe.....as did she herself.....she was probably one of the first ones to foster my love of quotes, poems and sayings. Funny....I have not thought of that particular vignette of my life for eons....and tonight it comes to me while searching for what to use for my Points to Ponder.......ahhhhhhhhhhh memories!!!

hhmmmm I wonder??

2007-01-10T10:17:00.000-05:00

Shamelessly lifted from Greymatter's blog............

You Belong in Dublin

Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions.
You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town.

What European City Do You Belong In?

Phenomenal........

2007-01-05T22:59:00.000-05:00

I got this in an email today and it was just too damn good not to share!!!

Darwin is alive

You gotta see this, he's got to be the luckiest guy in the world and the CRAZIEST!!!! This guy was attempting to be the newest addition to the Darwin Awards!

I had never heard of this term before but according to Wikipedia this is what it is......

A Darwin Award is a tongue-in-cheek "honor" given to people who supposedly
improve the human gene pool as part of the natural-selection process by
accidentally killing or sterilizing themselves during a foolish or careless
mistake. Named after pioneering evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin, some of
the "awards" are in fact urban legends.

This is a case of photographer photographs photographer. The following photographs were taken by photographer Hans van de Vorst at the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The descriptions are his own. The identity of the photographer IN the photos is unknown.

I was simply stunned seeing this guy standing on this solitary rock IN the Grand Canyon.
The canyon's depth is 900 meters here. The rock on the right is next to the canyon and safe.

Watching this guy on his thong sandals, with a camera and a tripod I asked myself 3 questions:

1. How did he climb that rock?
2. Why not taking that sunset picture on that rock to the right, which is perfectly safe?
3. How will he get back?

This is the point of no return.
After the sun set behind the canyon's horizon he packed his things (having only one hand available) and prepared himself for the jump. This took about 2 minutes.At that point he had the full attention of the crowd.After that, he jumped on his thong sandals...The canyon's depth is 900 meters here.Now you can see that the adjacent rock is higher so he tried to land lower, which is quite steep and tried to use his one hand to grab the rock.

We've come to the end of this little story. Look carefully at the photographer. He has a camera, a tripod and also a plastic bag, all on his shoulder or in his left hand. Only his right hand is available to grab the rock and the weight of his stuff is a problem.He lands low on this flip flops both his right hand and right foot slips away... At that moment I take this shot.He pushes his body against the rock. He waits for a few seconds, throws his stuff on the rock, climbs and walks away.

100 things about me....part 3

2007-01-03T00:44:00.000-05:00

I had a lot of jobs as a babysitter when I was younger

I believe that it's important when dealing with children of all ages to be as honest with them as their age allows

I love reading.....reading in bed with a cup of coffee.......awesome!!

I love the water…ocean, lake, river, stream, creek

I want to live near the water someday….either closer to the ocean or by a lake or river…..even a stream would do!!

I love sitting on a dock dangling my feet in the water but I have to admit that, no matter how hard I try not to, eventually I start to wonder if something down there might not decide to try snacking on my toes

I like to sing…although my friends don’t like it when I do

As a result, I mostly sing in the shower or in the car

I am hooked on my computer…ok, ok I am hopelessly addicted to my computer….I love doing all kinds of things on the computer

I have fallen asleep while sitting at the computer

Pretty much says it all...........

2006-12-31T15:55:00.000-05:00

Priceless..........

2006-12-30T23:29:00.000-05:00

OMG I keel over laughing every time I see this one!!!

Points to Ponder......

Okay, who stopped the payment on my reality check?

Paybacks a bitch.........

2006-12-29T16:33:00.000-05:00

LOL.....now to get the full story of what's happening you'll have to go here
first and then here.....it's fuckin' hilarious!!

Too funny..........

2006-12-28T10:34:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist nabbing this from a blog surfing expedition recently.....I found it over here ......

Points to Ponder........

There isn’t any map for the road to success;
you have to find your own way.

2nd 1/10th of 100 things about me....

2006-12-26T23:04:00.000-05:00

I am Canadian

I now live in Canada

But that was not always the case……I have lived in the U.S. (New Orleans, NYC, Minneapolis), Switzerland, England and Sweden with intermittent stints in Canada

I moved to where I am now 26 years ago to attend University… …and.I.have.never.left…(something about putting down roots late in life perhaps???)

That may change in the not too distant future
(…..changes are afoot at mid-life! Not sure if that’s a good thing or not…time will tell!)

I have been away from here for holidays…to whit…visiting family and friends within the country….and I have been to Mexico, Dominican and Cuba

I love my down duvet…..actually my whole bed!!!

I would be blissfully happy living in my shorts and sandals all year round if it were not for a little thing called………WINTER….ok 2 things……..SNOW!!!!

I love sunshine but not hot, hot heat

I love thunderstorm and lightning storms

Holiday Eating Tips.........

2006-12-22T19:13:00.000-05:00

1. Avoid carrot sticks and celery. Anyone who serves carrots and celery knows nothing of the holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare.
In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but
now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an "eggnog-aholic" or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it! Have one for me.

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or butter-and-cream. If it's skim milk, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a holiday party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted cookies in the shape and size of Santa Claus, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get
to have more than one dessert when you're not pregnant? Labour Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but don't turn up your nose and attempt to avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards. . .try some with a BIG dollop of Cool Whip!

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips: start over.

But hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an
attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in
one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and yelling........

"WOO-HOO what a ride!"

Happy Holidays

Holiday Humour......

2006-12-21T21:43:00.000-05:00

These came in an email today and some were just too good to not pass along........:)

Points to Ponder......

What WAS the best thing before sliced bread?

Some giggles for the holidays......

2006-12-21T12:14:00.000-05:00

Ahhhhhhhhhh from the politically correct to probably verging on the very incorrect....who knows......whose to say??

But it's my blog.....and it's only in jest......and I have ~~experienced~~ worked with most of these disorders so that means I'm allowed......and besides that my boss sent these around.....roflmao which means not only am I allowed....it's pretty near sanctioned even!!!

Christmas Carols with a twist..............

* 1. Schizophrenia --- Do You Hear What I Hear?
* 2. Multiple Personality Disorder --- We Three Kings Disoriented Are
* 3. Dementia --- I Think I'll be Home for Christmas
* 4. Narcissistic --- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me
* 5. Manic --- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and.....
* 6. Paranoid --- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me
* 7. Borderline Personality Disorder --- Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire
* 8. Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why
* 9. Attention Deficit Disorder --- Silent Night, Holy... oooh look at the Froggy - can I have a chocolate, why is France so far away, did I just get an email?
* 10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder --- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,Jingle,Bells, Jingle Bell

Points to Ponder.......

Fed Ex and UPS were to merge,
would they call it Fed UP?

Happy holidays...........

2006-12-20T13:26:00.000-05:00

Hopefully this is politically correct enough to cover all the bases!! I thought it was cute AND funny..........

Points to Ponder........

A bus station is where a bus stops.

A train station is where a train stops.

On my desk I have a work station..........

Synchronicity....

2006-12-18T19:06:00.000-05:00

What a wonderful word!! It's one of my very favourites.......

Wikipedia has this to say about it.......

Synchronicity is a word that Swiss psychologist Carl Jung used to describe the "temporally coincident occurrences of acausal events." Jung spoke of synchronicity as an "acausal connecting principle" (i.e. a pattern of connection that cannot be explained by direct causality). Cause-and-effect, in Jung's mind, seemed to have nothing to do with it. Put plainly, synchronicity is the experience of two or more occurrences (beyond coincidentally) in a manner that is logically meaningful- but inexplicable- to the person or persons experiencing them. Such events would also have to suggest an underlying pattern in order to satisfy the definition of synchronicity as developed by Jung.

Today was a day characterized by synchronicity for me. Let's examine the evidence.......

1) After leaving a rushed holiday lunch with a couple of colleagues at a chinese restaurant I forgot about my fortune cookie and did not open it until I was at my next destination.....here is what it said.......

Well this could just not have been more perfect for where I am in my life right now......complicated relationship break-up, a break-up that I don't particularly want.....long story......not sure if I ever wanna be in another one....blah, blah, blah......then I get this for my fortune today.......incredible really.....I just read that and thought....."WOW OK so I am where I need to be right now at this point in time".

2) Went to the mall trying mightily to finish up the last of my grinchly christmas shopping..... found everything relatively quickly and painlessly.....rounded the corner to get a coffee here.........

And there was NO line-up....a miracle in and of itself.....I ordered a large of their Christmas Blend coffee....the guy went to fill it up and there was only 3/4 of a cups worth....he apologized profusely and assured me it would only take 5 minutes to brew a fresh pot....I said "...no, no just charge me for a smaller cup....how much would that be...." to which he responded with...."...that would be free.....Merry Christmas!" How cool is that??

3) Remember how I said that lunch was a bit rushed....well there was a gift exchange as well....but we were rushed -- so the exchange kinda happened out in the parking gift, on the fly, as everyone was jetting out to their next appointments etc., etc.. Well I didn't get a chance to open mine till many hours later once home again.......look what my office diva (I prefer calling her that than secretary or admin assistant.....she prefers it too!!) gave me........

....it's one of those scent diffusers.......OMG....how cute is that......AND has anyone noticed the sub, sub-title to my blog....which I just added not too long ago......"live well, laugh often, love much".....hellooooooooooo synchronicity??!!!! And can you stand how cute those little wax cakes are......a cinammon bun and a gingerbread man......amazing!!!

4) The other day I stumbled on a new blog.....The Boomer Chronicles......great, great, fun blog all pertaining to baby boomer business.....and that day's post was about potatoe latkes....I had made them once eons ago but never again......well guess what I made for dinner tonight.....and can I just tell you how fabulously they turned out?? Well....see for yourself.............

I know you can't taste them but they turned out crisp and golden brown and absolutely YUMMY!!!

Oh......and who can forget the kick-ass album by the Police from the 80's.....

So there you have it....synchronicity at it's finest.......I really needed a day like today!!!

Points to Ponder........

Whether we name divine presence synchronicity, serendipity, or graced moment matters little. What matters is the reality that our hearts have been understood. Nothing is as real as a healthy dose of magic which restores our spirits.

Liquid lunch anyone.......

2006-12-17T14:47:00.000-05:00

I am a social worker......**gasp**.....yeah, yeah....I've heard it all....go on get it outta your system......I'm thick-skinned I can handle it.....but I am not one of "those" social workers trust me!!!

Anyway....the majority of my clients suffer from multiple issues not the least of which is often addictions issues.....okay, I work with alcoholics and drug addicts.......often times what goes with the field, and with any other high stress field, is a certain allowance for what I like to call "gallows humour".....trust me, I adore 96% of my clients but to work effectively with some of the folks I work with.....some kind of outlet is a must.....in fact, oftentimes it's a sanity saver!!

Well....here is one of my all time favourite examples of just that kind of humour..............

Too funny.......

2006-12-16T19:09:00.000-05:00

This picture never fails to make me laugh....I love it.....it's one of my favourites!! On so many levels it just really tells it like it is........:)

Points to Ponder......

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year.
--Emerson

....it's a gemini thing....

2006-12-14T22:45:00.000-05:00

Talk about extremes....yesterday I am waxing nostalgic, reminiscing and posting colourful pictures depicting my connection to the words faith, hope and love.....turns out I had some people just a wee bit worried with that post.....then today?? Talk about a turnaround but this is how it is for ~~all~~ most of us gemini's....the duality of our nature....the yin/yang of being born under the sign of the twins......today is Queen Bitch day.....it's been a while since we had one of those.......

Oh and tomorrow.....tomorrow is my "...let's get started on our ~~Christmas~~ holiday season shopping..." day....chinese water torture is preferrable, on ANY given day, to shopping thanks ever so much **rocking gently back and forth chanting take me to my happy place**.

Have I mentioned recently **bahhhh humbug** that I am just a wee bit of a grinch at this time of year??? Oh hell, who am I kidding??? I'm a Halloween grinch too.....soooooo, pretty much that would make me a grinch from......oh let's say end of October straight through to the New Year!!!

But no matter, shopping needs to get done and get done it will!!! I am prepared I have my ~~ativan~~ lists and my ~~brandy~~ routes all planned out and as long as no one gets in my way....all will be well with the world and we can all come out of this unscathed......and on my way home I'll prolly pick up one of these........

Points to Ponder........

It is not doing the things we like to do,
But liking the things we have to do – that makes life blessed.
--Goethe

LOL appropriate dontcha think???

But the greatest of these is love........

2006-12-14T00:08:00.000-05:00

Throughout my life certain thoughts, phrases, passages, song lyrics or quotes have stuck with me for one reason or another…..hence I started the Points to Ponder at the bottom of my blog posts. I remember some of the reasons these particular ones caught my attention and other reasons have been long forgotten…..but the words have remained. I have them everywhere in all kinds of notebooks, bits of paper and journals.....serious ones, funny ones....ones about life...ones about love...ones to make you stop and think.....and pretty much any other topic you can think of really...all of them were kept because they spoke to me on some level.

One of the earliest prominent ones has been simply……Faith, Hope and Love…..just those 3 words. As a teenager I had a necklace with the symbolic representations of those words…a cross, an anchor and a heart around my neck for years and years. I lost track of that necklace but not before I was able get a tattoo, my first, of it done on my chest….near my heart….a red heart, a purple cross and a blue anchor layered over top of each other.

I’m not even sure when I realized that it was part of a biblical passage from First Corinthians 13:13…..but I do know that I did not always know that…..I just liked the trinity of the words.

I am not a particularly religious person and ours was never a particularly religious family – both my parents would go in fits and starts with taking us to church, or not. We went through confirmation classes and all the standard kinds of things I suppose but for the most part I remember going mainly on Easter Sunday and at Christmas.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13 (New King James Version)

Not sure where I was going with this post....just my evenings thoughts and ramblings on paper I suppose....oh and before I forget I liked this little variation on the theme........

Points to Ponder.....

A part of me is left in every place I have loved.....
be it a simple tear, a dream or the echo of my voice.

How cool is this.........

2006-12-13T11:24:00.000-05:00

.......for the holiday season???

It's arts and crafts time kids.....check this out.....interactive and online........

Make a Flake

It's really kinda fun....and relaxing too!!

Here is mine........

Points to Ponder.......

More good things in life are lost by indifference
than ever were lost by active hostility.

1/10th of my 100 things about me......

2006-12-11T21:48:00.000-05:00

.......or in other words......this will be a work in progress.......

I enjoy reading other people's blogs and lists…..A LOT. It's a great way to learn about people…….I’m not sure I can come up with 100 things….so let’s just start out and see how far I get……perhaps it will be a work in progress……

Here's mine, with all its quirks and oddities…..and in no particular order…….

I am a sister, daughter, aunt and friend

I am a gadget lover

Office supply stores, electronic stores and anything that sells gadgets….all of them make me giddy and my palms start to sweat just a little

I wear glasses

Losing my glasses and not being able to see….is one of my greatest fears

I like some crafts but go in fits and starts with them

I am just a lil obssesive sometimes
(who me??)

I am just a lil compulsive sometimes

I deny both sometimes…..most times I am OK with it

My name is Barbara Anne. If you call me that I’ll assume you’re mad at me. If you call me Barbie I’ll assume you hate me. I’m just Barb.

..........to be continued.......

Points to Ponder........

If you blame others for your failures,
do you credit others for your successes?

It figures.......

2006-12-10T23:52:00.000-05:00

This evening found me with some time, peace and quiet to leisurely sit and catch up on some blogs and perhaps even leave a comment or two......but instead I ended up doing this in fairly short order..............

For you see, Blogger appeared to be having one of it's moments of passive-aggressive non-cooperative, non-comformity. So after a few attempts at trying to get Blogger to act right (roflmao as if I could make it do that??!!) I gave up!!

Before I ended up doing this...............

......to my computer I found this little cartoon..............

Which set me off into guffaws of laughter and made me forget about the divine retribution part of my psyche which had come out to play!!! Good thing really as it's not really the computer's fault that Blogger was pitching a hissy fit now is it???

Huge apologies to anyone I might have left more than one (identical) comment to this evening.....Rainbow Wolf got about 5 of them I think and there are a few others out there as well....just know it wasn't intentional!!!

Hope everyone has a grand week.........:)

What day of the week.........

2006-12-08T09:18:00.000-05:00

.......were you born on???

ALL my life I believed I was born on a Monday…..complete with the line from that poem….Monday’s child is fair of face….yadda yadda you know the one…..I just never even questioned it....this was what I was told and so this is what I believed.

Until I met my friend’s hubby who was born on the same day, month and year that I was. Early on in their dating she and I went to visit him at his house one time. In the guest room of his house he had one of those baby plates detailing his birth and it told me that we were born on a Friday. I, of course, did not believe this……THEY, you know that other family must have somehow gotten it wrong……afterall…..my birthdate fell on a Monday.....everyone knew this to be true....well at least I did. That is until I went home and checked it out on the internet and, well, let’s just say…..THEY were right!!!

Monday's child is fair of face,

Tuesday's child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe,

Thursday's child has far to go.

Friday's child is loving and giving,

Saturday's child works hard for a living,

But the child born on the Sabbath Day,Is fair and wise and good and gay.

Friday's child....
You're a joy to everyone around you
Your natural kindness shines through.

If you don't know....go check out what day of the week YOU were born on. Or you could go here
to find out....lol same thing just different graphics AND you can never be too sure....:)

What colour???

2006-12-07T22:08:00.000-05:00

What Color is Your Brain?

BLUE:

At work or in school: I like to be with people, sharing with them, inspiring them, and helping them. I work and learn best when I can take into consideration people and the human element. I flourish in an atmosphere of cooperation.
With friends: I always look for perfect love. I am very romantic, and I enjoy doing thoughtful things for others. I am affectionate, supportive and a good listener.
With family: I like to be happy and loving. I am very sensitive to rejection from my family and to family conflicts. I really like to be well thought of and need frequent reassurance. I love intimate talks and warm feelings.
Take this quiz!

Quizilla
Join

Make A Quiz More Quizzes Grab Code

In the Christmas Spirit.....

2006-12-06T20:04:00.000-05:00

Syd sent me this website the other day.........I can't imagine why??? One of the sections has a series called Bad Santas Favourite Evil Toys available for all of your favourite lil girls and boys...some of them are so warped I can't even bring myself to blob about them....but they are freakin' hilarious in that wonderful warped way that we secretly can't resist.......some of my favourites......

For the budding voyeur in the family.....

This one defies description......it's just wrong on so many levels......

For the young athletes in the family.....

A good old fashioned family favourite board game with just a slight twist.......

And finally.....like the good, organized man he is......we have Santa's To Do List..............

If it's not big enough to read here......go check it out here!!!!

Hump Day Levity.....

2006-12-05T22:59:00.000-05:00

HAPPY HUMP DAY Y'ALL.......:)

ABC...easy as 1-2-3....

2006-12-03T22:05:00.000-05:00

A- Available or Single? Single at the moment….or is it a curse?? Sometimes I truly think that I want to be perpetually single….no not in that sappy awwww how sad way…….more in the seriously true way….relationships are a lot of work and does anyone really get them right??? Truth is…that ideal we all strive for doesn’t even come close to the reality….does it?? OMG this is fodder for a whole ‘nuther post!!

B- Best Friend? Can’t pick just one….

C- Cake or Pie? Strawberry-rhubarb crumble pie….has to be the crumble!.

D- Drink of Choice? I drink A LOT of water….otherwise it would be wine or straight up shots of tequila!!

E- Esential item you use everyday? My glasses….they are the first thing to go on in the morning and the last thing to come off at night….I have a wee lil phobia about losing my glasses and not being able to see.

G- Gummy Bears or Worms? Gummy bears

H- Hometown? Guelph, Ontario

I-Indulgence? Cookies and milk

J-January or February? February….because it’s my least favourite month!! No particular reason other than February seems like THE dead of winter here….and spring seems like forever away!

K-Kids and their names? No kids

L-Life is incomplete w/out? My family, my cozy bed, my dogs and my computer

M-Marriage Date? N/A….brought to you by the letter “A” above

N-Number of Siblings? 5…..I have three brothers and two sisters.

O-Oranges or Apples? Apples

P-Phobias/Fears? WOW where do I start….I collect these things you know?? The worst would be my phobia of losing my glasses and not being able to see.

Q-Favorite Quote? “When you come to the edge of all the light you have known, and are about to step out into darkness, Faith is knowing one of two things will happen; There will be something to stand on, or you will be taught to fly.” --Jonathan Livingston Seagull

R-Reason to Smile? Sunshine, my nieces and nephews and my dogs

S-Season? Spring, summer, fall………ANYTHING but winter!

T-Tag Three People? I'm bailing on the tagging but if anyone wants to complete this and post it to their blog....let us know k??

U-Unknown Fact about me? I’m a lil OCD….whuuut?? Peeps know that about me already??….oh hell alright then……..I am embarrassed about my cracked heels….they are better now that I get them pedicured regularly…..4 years ago the thought of ANYone messing with my feet would drive me around the bend…..not so much now….

V-Vegetable you don't like? Fiddleheads…..and there is a story to that….and it ain't pretty.....ewwww

W-Worst Habit? Worrying too much about things I have absolutely no control over

X-X-rays you've had? Not sure that I have had any other than the ones the dentist takes

Y-Your favorite food? I have to pick just one?? Thai food would be numero uno. Messy bbq sauce laden chicken wings would run a close second

Z- Zodiac Sign? Gemini

Coincidence or Synchronicity???

2006-12-02T15:06:00.000-05:00

A few months back while wandering through Chapters I found this book..........

Available at Amazon Books and various other book stores I'm sure....I got mine at Chapters.

Just the title alone made me laugh....my sister (who introduced me to blogs....not sure yet wether I wanna thank her or not!!) and I were still pretty much in our blog infancy so to speak....truth be told I still feel like I am!! So, the title tickled me and there happened to be 2 copies on the shelf at the time so I bought 'em both....one for me and one for my sis.

I was at her house shortly there after and we both spent time perusing the book....it's great because it's broken down into chapters relating to time increments....short posts (Fifteen minutes to Fame), longer posts (Thirty Minutes Away from the TV) and so on......you get the idea right??

Then, as often happens, the weekend was over, life intruded (damnit) and the book found itself on a shelf and was promptly forgotten about.....until today!!!

Lo and behold I crack the book open and what should the very first entry be?? Remember this post?? Go ahead I'll wait while you check it out.......

Yupper you got it!!! I almost keeled over from laughing so hard.....the post is called....Reign Supreme....and it comes complete with graphics on correct and incorrect placement.

It's so fulfilling to give yourself a good laugh now and then isn't it???

And on that note....I hereby solemnly swear never, ever to mention toilet paper on my blog again!!! Well unless I absolutely HAVE to!!

If.......

2006-12-02T00:43:00.000-05:00

If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can overlook it when those you love take it out on you when through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

If you can honestly say that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion, gender preference, or politics,

Then you have reached the same level of development as your dog.

.....I have a ways to go yet!!

Toilet paper you say???

2006-11-30T09:50:00.000-05:00

Suzanne from the Suburban household is undertaking a most excellent scientific survey…..she has aptly named it…..Typical Household Toilet Paper Usage….or THTPU for short. I wondered out loud in her comments section about a corrolary scientific project…..namely the age old debate about how one “hangs” their toilet paper……my comment got to be so long that I realized it was fodder for a blog post of my own.

Believe it or not there are articles here, here and here dealing with this exact topic……..this guy, in his very funny video, believes that “…this is one of those subjects that define who we are as humans….” Pretty heady stuff when you think about it!!! AND did you know that there is even a virtual toilet paper museum?? I kid you not….go check it out here…..but I only saw the front page….so enter that one at your own risk!!

Again, believe it or not (should we invite Ripley’s to join us here???) this IS a topic of some discussion at family and friends gatherings!!! I, for one, can quite quickly be driven apeshit when the toilet paper is hung under....thankfully 90% of my family and friends agree...although some might have been ever so subtly co-erced (convinced??) into agreeing!! And those other 10% well they are just lost causes in this endeavour (….and between you, me and the fence-post I sometimes wonder if they hang it under just to see me go apeshit….).

So before I ask YOU to weigh in on the debate and tell me your toilet paper modality………

Some major moments in toilet paper

• 1391: Chinese emperors begin using toilet paper in 2-foot by 3-foot sheets. The Bureau of Imperial Supplies produces 720,000 sheets per year.
• 1857: New York entrepreneur Joseph C. Gayetty sells the first packaged, pre-moistened bathroom tissue (called "therapeutic paper") in packs of 500 sheets for 50 cents. He is so proud that he prints his name on every sheet.
• 1890: Toilet paper on a roll is introduced. Scott Paper doesn't want to be associated with its "unmentionable" product, so it sells the rolls through intermediaries.
• 1902: Northern Paper Mills introduces Northern tissue, a bundle of 1,000 4-by-10-inch sheets attached to a wire so it can be hung from a nail.
• 1930: Northern Tissue is declared splinter-free.
• 1942: Two-ply toilet paper is introduced at St. Andrew's Paper Mill in England.
• 1973: Johnny Carson makes a joke about a national toilet paper shortage and people rush to clean out store shelves.
• 1991: U.S. military uses toilet paper to camouflage its tanks in Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War.
• 1999: Japanese inventors unveil the "paperless toilet," which washes, rinses, dries (and flushes).

So now I ask you....**drum-roll please maestro**....

Do you hang your toilet paper over......or under???

***insert perfect cute lil "over" and "under" graphics here if only blo**er was not being a super-sized biotch supreme today!!!***

Come on....speak out....let your voice be heard....don't be shy....come one come all.....everyone has an opinion....tell us what it is!!! Or perhaps you are one of those rarest of breeds that doesn't care one way or another....but surely that can't be!!! Surely everyone has a preference no???

Happy Hump Day.........

2006-11-28T23:59:00.000-05:00

How You Live Your Life

You seem to be straight forward, but you keep a lot inside.

You tend to avoid confrontation and stay away from sticky situations.

You tend to have one best friend you hang with, as opposed to many aquaintences.

You tend to dream big, but you worry that your dreams aren't attainable.

How Do You Live Your Life?

Sitting up straight.......

2006-11-27T23:24:00.000-05:00

......could be bad for your back???

Who knew that all those adult admonishions years ago....sit up straight, don't slouch, straighten up, shoulders back, good posture is everything yadda, yadda, blah, blah, blah......would turn out to be crippling us!!??!?!

Well, OK so maybe not exactly crippling us....but researchers are now saything that this position.............

is actually the ideal one for your back!! (Hmmmm a blanket and a pillow and we'd be all set for a nice nap!!)

A new study is making it easier to ignore your mother's sage advice on sitting up straight. In fact, the stick-straight posture is bad for your back, researchers say.

The best posture is actually a 135-degree angle, which
would mean one would sit at their desk leaning backwards slightly. This position takes the pressure off the spinal disks in the lower back, researchers
say.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh......on a totally different note and apropos your post today......just for you Trish.....hot off the presses......(Updated Mon. Nov. 27 2006 5:56 PM ET)

Pamela Anderson files for divorce from Kid Rock

Canadian actress Pamela Anderson and US musician
Kid Rock are seen before their wedding ceremony, aboard
a yacht in St Tropez, southern France, Saturday, July 29, 2006.

NEW YORK -- Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock each filed divorce papers Monday seeking to end their marriage of less than four months.

Anderson's representative would not comment on the reason or any particulars of the divorce. Anderson and Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, each cited
"irreconcilable differences" in their divorce filings in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Imagine that....they "made it" for all of 4 months....not to bad by current Hollywood standards. And how terminally boring that they would cite "irreconcilable differences".....but even more pertinent is the question..........and we care about their sorry-ass split up why??? Did we care about them getting hitched in the first place??

Cute animal pics.........

2006-11-27T16:09:00.000-05:00

I can't help it....I'm a babe magnet......

Yo! I told them Taco Bell ! !

Is too my bed....this one's too small!!

ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Is that dog gone yet????

Well, ok, we can share...........

Saturday Funnies.........

2006-11-25T00:33:00.000-05:00

Change of pace.......

2006-11-22T14:55:00.000-05:00

I had to get past my post from yesterday....thank-you so much for all of the kind comments, hugs and well wishes......they are much appreciated!!!

As I sit here thinking about what my next post will be I realize that I am currently doing one of my very favourite things.....something I had forgotten about for a few weeks and just re-discovered....lol for some reason I am tempted to tell you that it's something naughty....just cuz I have you at the edge of your seat already.....just waiting!!!

But that would be a lie and besides it's nothing THAT exciting........

As I write this......I am sipping a steaming hot mug of chai tea made with milk.....and what a comforting, soul soothing thing that is!!! (.....some would say that the naughty thought might have been too.....but, well.....you know....)

Anyway.....on with the chai teaChai is simply the word for “tea” in Hindi and several other Asian languages. The spicy, milky variety known in India as masala chai is called “chai” in North America.

Masala Chai, an aromatic spiced tea, has been the Indian drink of choice for hundreds of years. It is the perfect blend of freshly ground spices (chai masala) like cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom and pepper, added to a boiling pot of loose leaf tea and milk to make a delicious, satisfying and healthy beverage.

Recipes for chai are like recipes for fried chicken; there are a lot of good recipes, strong regional preferences, and everyone thinks theirs is the best. METHODS differ. Some folks stew/boil the tea with the spices. Others stew the spices with the sugar, then add and brew the tea, then add the milk. I like this slightly thickened texture. A third group stews the spices, then adds and brews the tea, then stir in the sugar and the milk. It's your choice.

The spices used vary from region to region and among households in India. The most common are cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and pepper. Indian chai produces a warming, soothing effect, acts as a natural digestive aid and gives one a wonderful sense of well being.

It's difficult to resist a second cup.....

which is where I am off to now.....to make a second cuppa!!

Someone please remind me.....

2006-11-21T15:36:00.000-05:00

....or even explain it to me for the first time in a way that makes sense and that will lead me to the great "...aha moment..." that means something and makes it not hurt so much.........

Why is it that when our dearly beloved 4-legged friends become sickly, old and frail we treat them humanely and stop their suffering by euthanizing them....and allowing them to go gracefully to the romping fields and rivers in the sky......

........and why is it illegal to do the very same thing for our 2-legged dearly beloved humans???? For the love of all that is holy I just DON'T GET THAT!!!

With many of the weightier issues in life, like this one, I can tend towards sitting on the fence one way or another....call it a Gemini trait, the yin and yang....hell call it a cowardly way out to not stand firmly on one side of an issue or another.......but I tell you this......if there had been ANY way today to put my Dad out of his misery and end his suffering.....I can say with conviction that I would have done it!!! For sure and without a doubt!!

Today confirmed for me that he no longer enjoys even a modicum of quality of life any more....I truly believe that if it were not for the fact that he was always been incredibly, physically healthy and fit....his heart would have given out long ago....but no, today as I cradled him in my arms, as he slept because they have him so fucking medicated that he can't keep his eyes open, I could feel his heart beating strong as ever....but a beating heart does not equal quality of life in my humble opinion.

I am so, so, so angry and I had a fleeting, bizarre, out of the blue thought that perhaps I need to start going to church......surely the answer to my question might be found there??? On second thought....I don't think so......

....excuse me while I go rip up a phone book, punch a wall, put in a call to the man upstairs or cry myself a river!!

Tuesday Musings......

2006-11-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will.

You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time.

You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken.

You'll fight with your best friend.

You'll blame a new love for things an old one did.

You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love.

So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.

Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.
~anonymous~

I love passages like this and the picture I find breath-taking......

Monday Morning Maxine......

2006-11-19T23:14:00.000-05:00

My personal favourite??? This last one!!!

What kind of soul are you..........

2006-11-17T22:59:00.000-05:00

You Are a Dreaming Soul

Your vivid emotions and imagination takes you away from this world
So much so that you tend to live in your head most of the time
You have great dreams and ambitions that could be the envy of all...
But for you, following through with your dreams is a bit difficult

You are charming, endearing, and people tend to love you.
Forgiving and tolerant, you see the world through rose colored glasses.
Underneath it all, you have a ton of passion that you hide from others.
Always hopeful, you tend to expect positive outcomes in your life.

Souls you are most compatible with: Newborn Soul, Prophet Soul, and Traveler Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Childhood Books.........

2006-11-15T18:13:00.000-05:00

Don’t even ask me how I came across this meme because the route there escapes me at the moment!!! Oh wait, maybe it was via Beth who is a new commenter to my sister Trish's blog at Coffee House Chatter.

I am leary of memes....maybe selective is a better word.....this one caught my eye, or maybe better stated, my heart because it set off a flood of thoughts and memories of my history of reading......

1. How old were you when you learned to read and who taught you?

I really don’t remember how old I was but I know I have always loved reading….it was such a great escape….but honestly I could not put an exact age to when I became a reader. Funny thing is too that I have NO recollection of who taught me to read...that seems really weird!!! I remember my oldest brother teaching me how to swim but for the life of me I can't remember this one!!

2. Did you own any books as a child? If so, what’s the first one that you remember owning? If not, do you recall any of the first titles that you borrowed from the library?

Did we own books??? OMG……ours was a house of books…..Dad has been a book collector from day one….he is the one that made sure that we were aware of all the classics….not only aware….but read them all as well. Dad did a lot of reading to us which probably got me hooked in the first place….but it didn’t take long to want to read on my own as well.

3. What’s the first book that you bought with your own money?

We had sooooooooo many books I don’t ever remember having to buy one myself….it just seemed like all the one’s I wanted to read were always there. We also got lots of books as gifts on birthdays, Christmas….pretty much any occasion where gifts are given there would be books in the mix.

Actually now that I think of it…..the V.C. Andrews books….starting with Flowers in the Attic….yeah I likely bought those for myself early on. Dad was pretty militant about his books and always very pro-“the classics” and pretty much anti-“anything else”……so “those” books he probably would not have approved of.

4. Were you a re-reader as a child? If so, which book did you re-read most often?

No, I never understood re-reading books really….still don’t!

5. What’s the first adult book that captured your interest and how old were you when you read it?

The very first "real" book I read all on my own was Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and I loved it so much....I turned around and read it to my sister......**waving at Trish**

As for the first adult book......for sure, anything by Agatha Christie….I devoured those books at a pretty young age…one right after the other.....and there were soooooooo man of them.....I remember taking them EVERYwhere with me!!!

6. Are there children’s books that you passed by as a child that you have learned to love as an adult? Which ones?

No but there are books, like the Harry Potter series, that I keep thinking I would enjoy as an adult but then I have tried reading them and they just have not captured me enough to keep reading them.

7. Anything else you would care to share……….

Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators Series…..these were written by Robert Arthur and OMG these were my favourites as a mid-teenager….I never read the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew…but I think I musta been JUST the right age for the Three Investigators Series when they came out. I think I read about every single mystery that these boys tackled!!

“A detective agency with its secret headquarters hidden in a junk yard with every possible invention made from that junk, boys who had freedom my friends and I only dreamed of, figuring out cases that baffled adults, meeting Alfred Hitchcock--The Three Investigators lived every child's fantasy.
Jupiter, the brains and the risk-taker, Pete, the athlete, and Bob, the record-keeper, formed a detective agency, complete with business cards. Each book starts with an introduction and ends with a conversation with Alfred Hitchcock or Mr. Sebastian
in later books. “

8.Cuz I KNOW you wanted to know.......

While writing this I was amused to remember something….for all my Dad’s militancy regarding the classics….and anything that he deemed to not fall in that category was just not worth reading……..there were an aweful lot of Harold Robbins books in our house………ahhhhhhhhhh yes nothing like cozying up to a little good, hot smut for the teenage brain!!! I read EVERY single one of those books!!! **blink**blink**

......just to balance out "the classics" of course…..**grin**