Rus, who's a new read of mine, was talking about scents in a recent post; he mentioned Lush and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, which I'd never heard of. I clicked on the link and was happily immersed in reading about all the different scents these people put together!

This one, Les Infortunes de la Vertu, sounds like it would smell so good: A pain-tinged, pleasure-soaked blend of leather, oakmoss, orange blossom, amber, and rose with a breath of virginal French florals and a hint of austere monastic penitential incense.

I was intrigued by the description for Laudanum: The essence of the most debauched hunger encapsulated into a perfume. Desire beyond love, anguish beyond sanity. Nutmeg, sassafras, black poppy and myrrh.

While reading the message board for this scent, I noticed someone had said: "..."This smells like Johnny Depp!", someone else said: "...I picture Johnny Depp in From Hell when I smell this...it's masculine and sexy, and totally mysterious and intriguing and just downright strange. There's something really divine about this. It's sexy in the weirdest way." and a third person said: "...as an example of the perfumer's art, this is amazing. I completely agree with prior reviews that compared it to what Johnny Depp must have smelled like in [the movie]From Hell.". That, of course, didn't intrigue me in the least...nope...not in the least! [liar!]

Looking at The 7 Deadly Sins, Greed (base and earthy, yet glittering with golden notes: patchouli, heliotrope, copal and oakmoss) and Lust (uncontrollable passion and insatiable sexual desire: red musk, patchouli, ylang ylang and myrrh) appeal to me, and possibly Sloth (thick, dark, sluggish and heavy with indolence: vetiver over black myrrh) and Wrath (a scent aflame with rage, swirling in the red haze of hatred: dragon's blood spiked with black pepper, clove, and cinnamon).

I was IMing with Michelle when I clicked on the link and shared it with her; she said that she's the sin of either envy or gluttony, and that she also liked this descripton: a light, pure scent: white musk, green tea, aloe and lemon. It's called Embalming Fluid ;-)

And any place that has a Dorothy Parker quote is ok by me:

I like to drink martinis
Two at the very most.
Three, I'm under the table,
Four, I'm under my host.
-- Dorothy Parker

I'll be ordering a couple of things real soon!

Here's last Wednesday's picture:

And what it was cropped from:

Michele: "I think maybe a moth? But really, I've no idea." answered it correctly, but indecisively; Amy suspiciously said: "I am going to go with the close up of a moth or butterfly...", while Michelle (with two Ls) said emphatically: "It is the close up of the furry *shudders* wing of a moth"

As for this week...

what is it?

MaryEllen wrote:

You Are 46% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side. Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

Janet wrote: I beat you by two points: You Are 48% Evil - You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side. Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

MaryEllen wrote: So you will arrive at world domination 2 hours before me, meet me under the big clock

Janet wrote: I'll be too busy riding on the devil's fun machine!

Julie wrote: She said CLOCK -- with an L...

Krista: i did an obsessions entry
Krista: you should too!
Krista: janet's obsessions
Krista: HP, JD, LZ and Wolf
Janet: i have no obsessions
Janet: what are these obsessions of which you speak?
Janet: YOU do my obsessions, I'll post Loo's thoughts on Janet's Obsessions
Krista: ok!

So here are the things Krista thinks I'm obsessed with:

1. Johnny Depp
2. Harry Potter/Snape
3. Led Zep
4. Wolf
5. Tokyo
6. Photography
7. LOTR
8. XXX Dirty Martinis
9. Stinky cheese

Agree? Disagree? Anyone want to add anything? Elaborate? Feel free!

graphic courtesy of Debbie

1. Les asked: "Any idea where I can find someone to help me pack my house???" Well, Les, why not try a local college? Or ask someone in your church (if you attend) if they know someone that needs a little cash...or maybe a couple of local teens? Moving is the PITS! I hope ...nope, not saying it, I'll jinx myself!

2. Amy wants to know, "why can't i marry johnny depp??????" I suspect it's cause he's got a girl and you've got a guy, but I could be wrong!

3. Tess asked me, "Who's buried in Grant's Tomb?" Um...Grant, I hope! Or maybe Jimmy Hoffa? Is this a trick question?

4. Amy (aka my secret spoiler!) had a real question: "With whom was your first hard core crush on? Did they know?" Amy...it's a bit hard for me to remember back past 1972 or so...I'm going to say it was Richie Upton (I presume you mean IRL). I met my first best friend, Pat, in the 9th grade, cause I had such a crush on Richie and I knew she knew him. Make friends with the boy's friends, right? Richie was a pretty cool guy; I remember hanging out with him a few times, he even let me paint his fingernails black (his Dad was pretty pissed off about that). Sadly Richie passed away that same year in a car accident. Poor Pat, tho...she and I are STILL friends, oh the things she's had to put up with!

5. Tracie asked, "How do they really know dogs are color blind??" (sorry, Tracie, I can't link to you because I get assaulted with popups each time I click on your link!) They asked Ron L. Hubbard to ask the dogs, or maybe it was Dr. Dolittle, and one of them translated for the dogs. Howzat?

6. Mysterious Lady asked me: "Where is Jimmy Hoffa buried?" Possibly Grant's Tomb? How about on the spaceship that's housing Suri for the time being? Have you checked your back yard and is this just a question to throw the cops off the trail? Hmmm...

7. Something's Missing asks the age old question, "Hey, tell me -- why did the chicken cross the road? :)" To get the worm the early bird missed? Cause a coyote was chasing it? It was curious about life on the other side?

8. christen (who has a GREAT blog name!) wants to know, "when will the next harry potter movie be released?" Not soon enough!!! But I'm betting on 7/7/07.

9. My cousin, Maribeth put me on the spot by asking, "Who is you favorite cousin?" Well, that would have to be my Mom's brother's son, Brian, of course! ;-) ahahahah! But you're a close second, lovie :-)

10. Megan asked a question I've asked myself quite a few times: "If you could change one thing about yourself, be it a physical attribute or personality trait, what would it be and why?" I'd change my low self-esteem issues! My friends would be thankful cause then they wouldn't have to hear my say how ugly I am, etc., etc., ad nauseum!

11. Karen said: "you & your clean & shiny guys- give me Aragorn!! I think I could handle Alan Rickman, the guy, too. Have you seen Love Actually? it IS the voice, isn't it..." Yes, I have seen Love Actually, and I didn't really care for his character in that movie. Really, it's the character of Snape I like...and oh my, yes, the voice is a big reason why! BTW, my aforementioned friend, Pat, has said the very same thing to me in regard to Aragorn & Legolas ROFLMAO!

12. Collen wants to know, "Do you like men in long hair or short hair? (I think I know so I'll ask one I don't, too) What would you say to Jonny Depp if you were introduced to him?" Strangely enough (strange because for most of my adult life I dated guys in the military who were required to have short hair) I like a guy with longish hair. Must be the hippy in me! As for JD...I'd probably stutter something incredibly stupid and ask him to show me his tattoos, like I did with Sean Astin when I met him LOL!

13. Finally (careful opening this, it's not exactly work friendly) Yo Tambien Te Mando Besos asks, "Janet couldn't we just share Johnny Depp? :)" Dude, sure! I'm all about the sharing!

Seeing as how there're only 4 more questioners, y'all are getting a bonus today!

13a. TNChick wants to know: "...what digital cameras do you own and which is your fave?" And also, she asks, "how come, even tho I check "remember me", this thing won't remember my name, email, URL?" I have a Sony DSC-717 and a Canon20d. I love them both, the Canon is more interesting, as I can change lenses (anyone want to buy me a 70-200mm f/2.8L USM lens?), but I end up using the Sony more often, cause I'm less worried about damaging it! Which is stupid, cause it's STILL an expensive camera LOL! And dude, I have NO IDEA why it won't remember you and I'm terribly sorry! Bad, bad thing!

13b. The next question is from RacerX, who was recently in town and got to see me slightly drunk (all I have to say is I'm glad he didn't witness what happened in the bathroom with Krista, me & the guy in the stall). Anyway, he says: "I want to know...how's the tooth???... :-)" I talked about what happened to the tooth here; it'sfine now, better than before and no more Granny Clampett!

13c. Shari said: "I thought I was alone in this world! Glad to discover I'm not the only one who gets a little shivery at the sound of Alan Rickman's voice, especially as Snape. After the first movie, my friends and I were grabbing some snacks and I asked who else thought Snape was strangely hot and they all just looked at me. Oops." She didn't really ask ME this question, but as I think Snape is hot, I thought I'd address it! Oh, no, you are SO not alone in this world in regard to thinking Snape is hot, strangely or otherwise!

13d. Mel rhetorically asked, at the end of a statement: "Yep, it's the Old North Church. Ron and I were there last fall and the pew with the name Captain Timothy Daniell is still there. (of course you knew Tim was named for him?) Um...yes, yes, sure I did! *scratches head* Somewhere deep in the recesses of this thing I call a brain, I did know it. But heck, she won't see this anyway, she's on vacation :-)

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

I neglected to answer commenter Raggedy's question today; I didn't notice til she brought it to my attention...she asked the question here, instead of here. Anywhere her question is: What do you like about writing?

Writing in my blog is relaxing to me, never stressful, nor do I have a hard time coming up with things to talk about or list in the Thursday 13. Life has so many little things going on in it at any given time, I just need to open my eyes and look around! I don't think writing is a strength of mine, though. Photography, maybe :-)

Writing notes, cards, letters, etc., is something I usually love to do, given the correct pen. After my Mom passed away last December, I had a photo of mine made into thank you cards, bought a quill pen and some ink to write the cards with. Despite that, I have yet to sent out most of the cards. I did 10...then kind of just ... let it be. It was hard to write about it over and over, and so...if you haven't received a thank you card, know that you will, and know that it's just hard for me.

Hope that answered your question, Raggedy!

On another topic, yesterday at work I went downstairs to the vending machine and saw Clamato Tortilla Chips in there!

Now, I will try just about anything once! And this combination sounded intriguing to me :-)

They were actually pretty good! But that red coloring...wasn't that banned??? LOL!

Last night I went to see Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders up in Hampton Beach. MAN! She still rocks, and she fulfilled my fondest wishes by playing my two favorite Pretenders songs: "Precious" and "Tattooed Love Boys". Who wouldn't love a song with a name like that! It wasn't even too hot up there, apparently a storm front had passed through and cooled things off considerably, which is good because where they were playing isn't air conditioned LOL!

I ran into someone I hadn't seen since high school at the concert. It's surprising to me I recognized her at all because I wasn't close to her, but if I remember correctly, she dated someone I had dated and maybe that's why I remembered her. We spoke briefly and she recognized me, too. Small world :-)

Finally, this news item amused me no end:

J.K. Rowling, Stephen King and John Irving each recently read excerpts from one of their books in two performances at Radio City Music Hall in NYC; the evenings benefitted Doctors Without Borders and The Haven Foundation.

The author Salman Rushdie attended one of the performances and apparently asked JK Rowling something to the effect of whether Snape was good or bad; he asserted that Snape was intrinsically good. Of course, she didn't directly answer the question, but said something like "your opinion is correct." She also supposedly said to him: "I don't feel this is quite fair. You're better at figuring out plots than most."

That probably got a good laugh!

Random and Odd's 3 items for this week:

1. Your Spices

The wife of an old boss gave me this set for Christmas one year. I loved it!

2. Salt and Pepper

Salt and

Pepper(s)

3. Add a little spice to [one of] your [favorite] picture[s]. :

Some chick, tonguing Charles Manson! Freaky deaky!

If it's Friday, it's time for Megan's Friday Fill-in!

1. It's a nice day for a ... donut!

2. Might as well face it, I'm addicted to ... dirty martinis!

3. If I had a ... lot of money, I would ... buy all the camera equipment I want!

4. I need someone, to hire me as a photograph, somebody to help me ... build up my portfolio!

5. I was thinking about ... the fact my computer at home crashed this morning I was hoping ... Megan didn't think I just stopped answering her!

6. And all the roads we have to walk along are .... filled with surprises, some wonderful, some not. (Thanks, Krista!)

Went to see Leon Russell with Pat Friday night. Don't know who he is? Unless you're my age, you probably haven't heard of him. He was good though, it was a nice night to sit outside and listen to music.

Drove up to Burlington, VT on Saturday...about a 4 hour drive...to see Mo's new house and to see Betsy & the girls, who were visiting Mo as well. What's the first thing I saw when I was pulling into a parking space in downtown Burlington? A shiba inu! Where was the shiba inu from? West Newton, MA LOL (close to where I live, relatively speaking)!

Burlington is gorgeous, I'll be going back soon, and not just to get some McKenzie maple sausages, no matter WHAT Mo thinks :-) God, they're good!!!

Saw signs on Rt. 89 up in VT...Moose crossing...deer crossing...BEAR crossing??! My mind would be boggled if I saw a bear on the highway! Bear? Mo says she's seen a couple crossing her path while driving. Bear? Sheesh!

My favorite picture from the weekend:

How was your weekend?

Hi, my name is Greta and I'm a feet-o-holic!

Greta is my cousin's pride and joy, and man is she a trip! She walks just in front of your feet, and then flops down ... while you're still walking! OMG I'm so afraid I'm going to hurt her! And then I yell at her and her little dackel feelings get hurt and I feel bad. But...at least I didn't squish her!

Bother me tomorrow, today, I'll buy no sorrows.
Doo, doo, doo, Lookin' out my back door.

Holy mother of all that's good in this world, can John Fogerty ROCK! He's, what, 62, and got more energy than most. He was on stage for a solid 2 hours, sang SO many songs you probably know by heart, and looked damn good doing it (we were only about 10 people from the stage)! My ears are still ringing, man is he LOUD!

If you get the chance to see him, don't miss it!

A almost full moon guided me home tonight, my iPod on Creedence, my mind on how lucky I am to have seen this guy again!

Creedence broke up before I was really old enough to go to concerts, and I never thought I'd get the chance to hear their songs live...especially with all the crap Fogerty went through about not being able to play his own music. Finally, after wanting to see him for almost 35 years :-), I've now seen him 3 times in 2 years...and I'll for sure go again!

Dude...I'm happy :-)

Here's last Wednesday's picture:

oops! I accidently deleted it from my flickr! Sorry!

This is what it was cropped from, tho:

Michele said: "Barnacles!" and she was right, along with most of the rest of you! Although...more than a few of you either have very overactive imaginations or dropped one too many hits of acid thought they were some type of alien or somesuch:

It looks like little beaked aliens hatching

its an invasion of body snatchers

Those are beaks of some sort of weird alien creatures as they hatch. I know I got this one right. I've seen these before on Labyrinth or Dark Crystal or in my neighbors back yard or somewhere, I'm sure of it!

creatures being hatched in a star wars movie...

I must confess I was a bit disapponted that with such a picture none of you commented in pirate-speak...sigh...

As for this week...

what is it?

graphic courtesy of Debbie

1. The MUSIC! Zeppelin, Bowie, T.Rex, Creedence, just to name a few that pop into my head.

2. The fact that you could have unprotected sex and not worry about getting a fatal disease. The only things you had to worry about were pregnancy, crabs or a couple of easily curable STDs, nothing that stayed with you forever like herpes or genital warts or HIV.

3. Radio; it was wild and free and uncensored and no one sued anyone cause they heard the word "fuck" on the radio. Man, I miss Charles Laquidara! Shite!

4. Smoke shops, all over the place. Not for the rolling papers, silly, for the cool roach clips! Not that I used them for their intended purpose. Nope!

5. The Frolics, a club up in Salisbury Beach that is no more and sadly missed! Spent many interesting nights there, listening to the James Montgomery Band, Duke & the Drivers and Joyride Express.

6. Miller lite, in the little cans. They stayed cool longer, I can't guzzle beer, and hate when it gets warm!

7. Being able to experiment, if you wanted to ;-)

8. Hitchhiking: It's how I got around from 14 til I got my license. Met alot of really cool people, only 1 freak, well BAD freak. I saw a hitchhiker on the highway up to Hampton Beach last night, and thought it was ironic, as I was going to see John Fogerty and my absolute favorite song by him is Sweet Hitchhiker. :-)

9. the Vietnam war

10. everyone smoked cigarettes

11. eight tracks

12. the clothes and

13. the hair (as evidenced below)!

I went to see the movie World Trade Center tonight. I really don't even know what to say. The movie was amazing, the actors were fantastic, especially Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena as the two Port Authority officers trapped in the rubble. Today, after another terrorist plot involving planes was foiled in the UK, it seemed like a good time to see it. I mean...if people could suffer and die, I can sit through a movie and cry and be reminded of a horrible day in history...it's not like it's that far from my mind anyway.

Every time I walk outside and see a bright blue sky, I think of that day. Remember what a beautiful day it started out to be? I think of that day when I see fire engines, planes, skyscrapers, even large flakes of snow slowly falling from the sky.

I remember...because it's the least I can do.

In my car after the movie, I put my trusty ElfiPod on shuffle; these are the three songs that played in the time it took me to get home:

With A Little Help From My Friends by Joe Cocker: My friend, Pat, and I saw Joe Cocker out at Great Woods (Tweeter Center to all those who didn't grow up around here) just 4 days after 9/11. We had tickets, Cocker didn't cancel, and so we went. It was stormy that day, but when we got there, the rain had ended and there was a gorgeous perfectly clear and distinct double rainbow in the sky (and me without a camera!). Before the show started, everyone had been handed a white candle, was asked to light it at a specific time and have a moment of silence, which we did.

911 [is a joke] by Flava Flav: Flava is all over tv nowadays. But back in the mid-80s when he did that song (it refers to the emergency call number and NOT September 11th), he was still with Chuck D & Public Enemy, who did some serious, militant raps. Flava Flav was and still is the comic relief.

Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin: I mean, come on.

Out of the 300+ songs I have on my iPod and these are the three I heard on the way home? Weird.

Random and Odd's 3 items for this week:

1. Song Title:

Courtesy of Megan:

1. Photography --- is my favorite form of therapy

2. I wish my blog was --- graced with a picture of Captain Jack Sparrow!

3. If you get my voice mail you'll hear --- a simple, to the point message.

4. My life would be so much easier if --- I wasn't so damn stubborn!

5. I smell ----like a mixture of tunisian opium and Angel; smoky...a bit sweet, I concocted the perfume at a parfumerie up in Newburyport, MA and named it "Snape"

7. Friday is the best day for --- the start of a weekend!

Today is Megan's 31st birthday...she's just a young thing but is having a bit of a hard time with this birthday, so go wish her a happy one, won't you?

Megan, I know your favorite color is yellow so I've gathered together a "bouquet" of yellow flowers (and one yellow butterfly) for you :-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

A spur of the moment meeting, the kind I most love, took place yesterday. And even better, I got to go with Megan instead of driving two hours by myself!

We went here:

and met the Princess and the Tramp:

Oh, wait...here's a better picture and it includes someone who is NOT camera shy:

and we even saw a guy in a tiara!

We ate at Tuscany's, talked & walked, went to a bar where they told us we could only stay 9 minutes, walked & talked, went to the Dubliner to chill and have a drink played some roulette, talked & walked, and got some Krispy Kremes for dessert!

We had a GREAT time, and these girls are too much fun! Can't wait to see 'em again :-)

Saw these two over at DebR's, one recently, one not so recently:

You Are a Centaur

In general, you are a very cautious and reserved person. However, you are also warm hearted, and you enjoy helping others in practical ways. You are a great teacher, and you are really good at helping people get their lives in order. You are very intuitive, and you go with your gut. You make good decisions easily.

Wanna play? Click here to take the "Are You Truly Erudite? Test" on okcupid.

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Don't remember where I got this one but...shocking to most of you I'm sure...I'm a B+

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Another shocker, and I can't remember where I got this one, either, but it was pretty old (and very true):

***Your Political Profile:***

Overall: 40% Conservative, 60% Liberal
Social Issues: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal
Personal Responsibility: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal
Fiscal Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal
Ethics: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

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OMG and this one cracked me UP! But I like to make fun of myself, so as seen at Robin's blog, I'll share this with you!

Undifferentiated You scored 40 masculinity and 40 femininity!

You scored low on both masculinity and femininity. Your personality includes characteristics of both traditional sex roles, but your gender is not strongly defined.

***UPDATED***
Can you see the lady's face in the water? My cousin, Mel, pointed it out to me!

In addition to my adventure in CT this weekend, I also did some yard work with Dad, we trimmed and cleaned and raked and beautified--it looks so good! It's frustrating to him that he can't do what he used to and he pushes himself. The result, as you can imagine, is he gets overheated or overtired, which isn't a good thing in the elderly. Plus he forgets to eat and so gets the low blood sugar, shaky thing.

Our mower kicked the bucket recently, so my brother brought his over and mowed the lawn for us earlier in the week, which is what inspired us to clean up the rest. Bro did a great job!

Took the dogs for a verrrrrrrrrrrry long walk in the woods yesterday (it's where I took the shot of the pond, above); Wolf was so tired from the walk that when he was done beginng for a bite of Dad's dinner (chicken cacciatore with mushrooms, and caribbean rice) he let me know he wanted to go upstairs and he passed OUT! He didn't even move when I came upstairs, usually he'll come see me (more to see if I have anything to eat with me, I suspect!). And he didn't wake me up at 6 am either. I can see wicked long walks are in his future!

One of my co-workers, Lisa, noticed an article in a local paper about a photography studio that was voted best in that particular town; it included a picture. She looked at it and thought that some pictures I'd taken recently of my friend's (Betsy) kids which I'd shown her were much better.

She point blank asked me why I don't just start a photography business, why don't I actively search out positions, sell myself, etc., etc.

That's a good question!

Let's examine the pros & cons:

Pros

I'd love my job
There'd be less stress at work
I'd enjoy what I'm doing
I wouldn't have to deal with some unpleasant folks at my present job anymore

Cons

- the expense
-- renting a place, advertising, set up, insurance
- I seriously don't think I'm good enough
-- should take classes (again, the expense)
- need a zoom lens
- I get along great with kids & animals, but adults, not so good sometimes!
- I have a VERY hard time promoting myself
- I'm not very organized

Hmmm...

Here's last Wednesday's picture:

This is what it was cropped from:

Carmen was close; she said: "The purple patch in the picture is throwing me off. Maybe it's part of a shoe?", but Laura nailed it (mostly): "I think they are flip flops stacked on top of each other...". As you can see it was only one flip flop, but let's give it to her, shall we?

As for this week...

what is it?

graphic courtesy of Debbie

1. Leaves are falling all around, Its time I was on my way.

2. If I was to walk into your life, would I leave these troubles behind

3. I was lyin' in a burned out basement / With a full moon in my eyes

4. Nietzsche's six feet under but his babies still got rythym

5. I am still dreaming of your face / Hungry and hollow for all the things you took away

6. They're Just Simple Protoplasm / Clear As Cellophane / They Ride The Winds Of Fortune / Life Without A Brain

7. I saw a lion he was standing alone with a tadpole in a jar

8. You and I have memories / Longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

9. Not me baby, I'm too precious, f*** off

10. Some balls are held for charity / And some for fancy dress / But when they're held for pleasure / They're the balls that I like best*

11. He was lookin for the place called Lee Ho Fooks, gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein.

12. You say your summer has gone / Now the winter is crawlin’ in / They say that even in your day / Somehow you never could quite fit in

13. White light cut a scar in the sky / Thin line of silver / The nigh t was all clouded with dreams / Wind made me shiver

*for Megan

Random and Odd's 3 items for this week, and she says:

1. Your Supplies (home, office, school -- whatcha got?)
2. Your Bag (w'’ve done it before, but I know you all change purses like I change undies)
3. Your Mail box (most look the same nowadays so pan out and let me see where you go get your mail.

You know what? Since this is Stuff Portrait Friday, I've decided I'll only use my "portrait" lens from now on, just to make things more interesting!

1. Your Supplies:

You'd think, being in the admin career field for so long, that the first thing that would pop into my mind when I hear the word "Supplies" would be pens and pencils and paper and copies and computers (and typewriters, who remembers typewriters?). But no. The first thing that pops into my mind is this:

Of course, what would I take a picture of but my photographic supplies! Missing from the picture is the big tank, the Canon 20d...and the lens I'm going to purchase this weekend from the first money I've made: a $450.00 gift certificate to Amazon from Krista's friend Jenn, whose wedding I agree to shoot in September.

Which brings me to a question: I'm considering a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens to complement what I already have, which is the 50mm f/1.8 lens and a 17-85mm f/4-5.6. Would you say the 24-70 is a good idea or what would you suggest? I'd love the 70-200 f/2, but eeeeeeeeee that's too expensive!

2. Your Bag:

Since I somewhat showed my "bag" in the previous shot (nice backpack that holds everything), I decided to show my new purse! I walked past this bag a few times in the store, and each time it called me a little louder: "Janet..." "Janet." "JANET!" so hey...I bought it! Wouldn't YOU buy a bag that could speak?

btw, like the background? LOL!

3. Your Mail box:

We get our mail delivered right to our door, which pleases the dogs no end. I used to think my dogs were smart...but you'd THINK by now they'd've figured out the postperson is a permanent fixture, is NOT going away and sometimes even brings treats! And they show their appreciation by barking their fool heads off...sigh...

Courtesy of Megan:

1. My friends... mean the world to me!

2. I was the 1st child born to my parents, and because of this I broke them in for my brother...altho he was more of a difficult child than I :-)

3. When I was living in Japan I saw my first fertility festival and I'll never forget it! [site might not be work or child friendly]

4. Plans and schedules are the bane of my existence! Why I have such trouble with them I'll never know!

5. I'm happy when things work out for the positive :-)

6. This weekend, I'm going to see my Mom's headstone (it was finally done last Wednesday), meet Meg and go to the North End, take pictures, walk the dogs, pick tomatoes from my garden, take Dad to breakfast, pay bills, meet Smooch for dinner and who knows what else!

Have a great weekend!

Dear Maribeth,

Today for lunch I had the delicious you made on a , with some of the equally delicious you also made on the side. I had some to drink and for dessert, a from Mikey's Bakery in the North End, which you didn't make, but I thought I'd taunt you with :-)

Thank you for sending me some of you delicious mustard pickle and moonglow pickles, they are incredible!!!

xoxoxo,

Janet

Thanks to the lovely and talented Megan, the lovely and talented Captain Jack Sparrow now graces my blog! As it says, I'm fond of pirates, too :-) Thank you, Megan, it's spectacular!!! If you're looking for a new blog design or a new blog set up, check out her design site, at Webundance.

And while we're on the subject of my favorite pirate, I ran across an article the other day, in which the author, Alix North, talks about "...the curious magnetism of one Captain Jack Sparrow." She went on to say, "...what is it this seemingly drunken character inspires in viewers? What curiousity does he awaken, what needs does he speak to? What lessons does he have to share?" Read the article, it's quite interesting...

I was wandering around Harvard Square in Cambridge tonight when I saw a pirate display in a children's store and snapped this pic:

Yo Ho, Yo Ho! A pirate's life for me!

Ahoy, don't forget, September 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, garrrr!

Here's a dinner low in calories, high in fiber and just plain delicious! I used 1 pound of scallops, recipe called for 1.5 and I forgot to add the paprika! But I added the spaghetti & swiss chard, so it was all good :-)

1.5 pounds scallops
kosher salt
4 tbls extra virgin olive oil
4 green onions, chopped (white & green parts) (I only used two)
12 oz cherry tomatoes (I used 3 bunches of grape tomatoes, it seemed like enough)
4 tbls fresh italian parsley, chopped
3 tbls lemon juice (I used the juice of one whole lemon)
1/2 tsp mild or sweet paprika

Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tbles olive oil over medium high heat. Saute 2 minutes on each side or until the golden brown color you see in the photo. Transfer scallops to another plate and set aside.

Add 2 more tbls of olive oil to the pan (I only used one, there was still enough from the scallops), and toss in the rest of the ingredients. Saute, oh, 2 minutes or so? Just enough to mix the flavors and heat it, really.

This is where I totally deviated from the recipe LOL!

I took one large bunch of fresh swiss chard, chopped it into 1 inch pieces (after washing!). Put 2 tbls olive oil in sauce pan, with some red pepper flakes and one small sliced garlic clove, cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the swiss chard, stir to coat and cook 5 minutes. Check to make sure there's enough moisture. Stir the chard good, and cook another 5 minutes or so.

Have the spaghetti ready too (I used some fancy schmancy high fiber kind).

Mix the chard & spaghetti together, put it on the plate, top with scallops and then the tomato mixture and voila! Dinner!

Friday: Met up with Megan an hour and 20 minutes after I said I'd meet her, thanks Eileen, hope YOU had fun at the mall while I was being effing yelled at. Oh, well, whatever, such is life. Megan and I hit Wellington Station (where Megan saw a bumper sticker that said Real Men Love Jesus, but when she said it out loud, I thought she said Real Men Love Cheeses ROFLMAO!) to take the T in town...but there was something going on up the tracks, so we waited there quite awhile. Finally got in and ended up near a bunch of sketchy folks (weird loud lady, Capt. Ahab & beyond goth boy); wish I'd had my camera (or not LOL). We got to the North End, finally, and wandered about, it was absolutely gorgeous out! Walked past Assiago, where Meg needed to pick up her sweater she'd forgotten when she'd had dinner there last week, and decided to kill two birds with one stone (pick up the sweater and see if they could seat us for dinner). They had one table left! Dinner was great, and afterward we stopped at Mike's Pastry for a box full of cookies and nother of canolis and had coffee at a typical little Italian cafe. It was 11 by the time we got back on the T and headed home LOL! [sorry no pics, the battery in my camera died!]

Saturday: Got up, puttered around, took pictures, drove to work to get my camera, stopped at Dunkin's, had lunch, watched some tivo'd shows. Met Michelle at Grendel's and had a great time talking, then we strolled the square, bought some books...and took some pictures LOL!

candy and holy water

Sunday: Woke up from a sound sleep due to a SPLITTING headache. Wolf was disappointed HE wasn't the one to wake me up, as he normally does. Went out to breakfast with Dad, and when we got back I tried to sleep for a bit, but no luck, so decided to go to the movies with Megan, Jim & Tara. We saw Little Miss Sunshine, and it was fantastic! Go see this movie!!! The Air Force general I worked for in Japan was in the movie, for a brief second...that was kinda cool :-) We had pizza for lunch, ME would've loved it, wicked thin crust. After they dropped me off I went shopping and made dinner for Dad, edited more pictures, enjoyed a brief thunder storm and finally went to bed.

friends and pizza

How was your weekend?

Course, for me that would say:
"Dude! Me 'n Michelle ah gonna hit Grendel's
t'night to check out tha hot bahtendah; meet us
they-ah at 6. We'll hit tha Coop aftah to browse tha books."

graphic courtesy of GoofyGirl

1. Autumn! Ohhh, I love the fall. Every last thing about it, well, except that it leads to winter. The foliage, the crisp smell in the air, apples, pumpkins, sweaters, wild wind swirling the leaves about, Halloween!

2. Spring! After a long New England winter, that first day that you don't need to wear a coat is just heaven! And I love all the little flowers peeping thru the ground, and the leaves budding, every last thing about it, well, except for the return of the bugs!

3. Summer! Flip-flops & tshirts, shorts or capris, that's my summer uniform. There is nothing in the world like a day that's hot enough for flip-flops, but cool enough not to need the AC and New England has plenty of those days!

4. The first big snowfall! I get so excited the first day it snows, but by the end of the winter I am OH SO GLAD to see it all gone!

5. The fresh clean smell. I went to FL in late June one year, and when I got back to Manchester, NH and off the plane that was the first thing I noticed. Fresh. Clean. Sweet. Love it!

6. You can drive thru these 6 states in the time it takes you to drive thru just one of many other states.

7. The accents...they just crack me up! Altho I do prefer a southern accent on a man ;-)

8. The ocean: It's not too hot, it's refreshing and it does get warm enough to actually swim in for about 3 weeks in August ;-)

9. The history and culture here.

10. The bugs are normal size, i.e., mostly small and the snakes are mostly not poisonous.

11. The beautiful old houses.

12. Driving out on the back roads, and never knowing when you'll stumble across an old farmhouse, an abandoned apple orchard or what!

13. So many of my friends and all of my family live here :-)

I was tagged by Amy the Black to tell you all 5 weird things about myself [insert dramatic sigh]...oh, how hard it will be to limit it to come up with 5 weird things about me!

1. I'll try eating just about anything once, which is how I put natto, sea urchin roe & chitlins in my mouth (not at the same time, and my rating is: yuck, yuck & yuck!).

2. I don't like food that is artificially colored green, such as mint chocolate chip ice cream.

3. I enjoy the attention my dog, Wolf, gets when we're out walking, cause I HATE/DETEST/CAN NOT STAND to be the center of attention and would much rather any attention be on someone else.

4. I procrastinate like no one's business, then stress out because I've procrastinated. Dude, just DO IT!.

5. I can only learn about things that interest me...ask me about the stock market or how cars work and I'll yawn and fall asleep, but ask me about the different kinds of olive oil, how many races of Elves there are, or what Snape's mother's name is, and I'll rattle it off in a second.

I have some pretty weird friends, so this is easy! I tag Smoochdog (she's wicked wierd!), Looloo (shite, she's weirder than me!), Goofygirl (she's weird in a cute way), Rus (cause I don't him too well yet, and I bet he's hiding some really weird stuff!), and Megan (cause she's as weird as they come)!

I just wanted to thank Leanne for all her help and patience with teaching me how to put buttons beneath my pictures on my photo blog, so that people can purchase matted and signed prints of my photos if they're so inclined! I noticed these buttons under her photos, and thought it was a great idea. Not only did she share this great idea with me and lead me step by step through what I needed to do, she also made buttons for me to go with the color scheme of the blog! She is so talented, it's ridiculous and I mean that sincerely!

Also, much thanks to Heather for making me, out of the clear blue sky cause she thought I'd like it mind you, a POC design for my photoblog! It's not set up yet, but it will be soon! She also did 5 pirate headers for my T13 posts, I couldn't wait and put one up on today's, totally looking forward to next week's!

Thanks to the both of you so very much, I appreciate your kindness and friendliness more than you know :-)

Random and Odd's 3 items for this week, and I think she might be PMSing: "No really...this is your assignment. GET ANNOYED WITH ME PEOPLE."

1. Stuff that annoys the living shit out of you:

Oh...oh man...since I can't post what I'd really LIKE to post, cause it's not worth the heartburn it'd create (if you think I'm talking about you, I mostly like am), I'll post about zombies:

zombie-hating christians!

I mean...c'mon! These zombies are cute!

a pirate zombie!

a zombie family! Awwww, how could you hate them?

2. YOUR space:

some time at the beach is my favorite way to recharge myself!

My second favorite space is this:

a nice hike in the woods!

3. Something in your life that keeps the makers of Xanax in business:

Last week I asked a question: I'm considering a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens to complement what I already have, which is the 50mm f/1.8 lens and a 17-85mm f/4-5.6. Would you say the 24-70 is a good idea or what would you suggest? I'd love the 70-200 f/2.8, but eeeeeeeeee it's so expensive! and I'd like to thank everyone who had some input. I ended up getting the 70-200mm f/4 lens, and my first wedding is September 10th. So I've got another question this week: Can I wear jeans & flip flops to the wedding? Kidding! ***EDITED*** new stuff that annoys the living shit out of me is that people think I'd really wear jeans and flip flops to a wedding! Is the word "kidding" invisible after the jjeans and flip flops question? sheeeeeeeesh!

Seriously, any tips/techniques you'd like to share? I'd love to hear! Thanks :-)

Courtesy of Megan:

1. The most valuable thing in my life is...my health. Without that, I've got nothing!

2. The happiest I've ever felt was when...I'm out and about, taking photographs for pleasure.

3. My best memory is...something that's hard to single out. I have so many!

4. I love chocolate...best when it's dark.

5. The last thing I ate was...cottage cheese with roasted vegetable Ritz crackers

6. This weekend...I'm starting it early! Took today off from work, puttering around the house, then picking up Megan and heading to my cousin's house. We're going to a craft fair tomorrow, and Sunday back home, probably checking out Krista's new (old) pad and picking up the business cards she made for me, then on to a shoe hunt with Michelle.

Made these for breakfast this morning, but substitued Maribeth & hubby's homemade peach compote in the place of apples.

6 medium Granny Smith or Newtown Pippin (it comes in pints!) apples (2 lbs)
2 tbls butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tbls sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt

Peel & core apples; cut each into 8 wedges. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In 12-inch skillet with oven-safe handle, heat butter, 1/2 cup sugar & 1/4 cup water to boiling over medium-high heat. Add apples wedges to mixture in skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes, until apples are golden and sugar mixture begins to caramelize.

Meanwhile, in blender at medium spped or in food processor with knife blade attached (I used a wire whisk), blend milk, eggs, flour, salt and remaining 2 tbls of sugar until smooth. When apples are golden and lightly caramelized, pour egg mixture over. Place skillet in oven; bake pancake 15 minutes or until puffed and golden. Serve immediately.

This came out SO good, but I think I left it in the oven just a bit too long; the sugar mixture in the bottom of the pan REALLY caramelized into crunchiness. But it was still good :-)

Sorry, no picture, it was devoured in an instant!

These are some of the things I saw...hope you enjoy!

Row 1: Sunset at Waukewan Lake, train tracks, red & yellow flower, another view of the sunset
Row 2: a ripening peach, Fritz, heart shaped raspberry in champagne flute, muscle
Row 3: sign at library, Zep book, fairy house, a girl and her dog

Seen at Shephard's blog:

How do you like your eggs? Dry! With some salsa or at the very least, ketchup.
How do you take your coffee/tea: Coffee; hot-black or with articifical sweetner & milk; cold-always with milk and artificial sweetner. Tea: depends on the brand! English breakfast artificial sweetner & milk; lapsang souchong or aveda comforting tea: add nothing
Favorite breakfast foods: life cereal; Woburn St. omelette. I also love a typical Japanese breakfast which consists of steamed rice, miso soup and side dishes (grilled or smoked fish, a type of rolled omelet and pickled vegetables).
Peanut butter: smooth or crunchy? Either! I like both!
What kind of dressing on your salad? balsamic vinegar, a little olive oil & pepper
Coke or Pepsi? Coke, diet w/lime, please.
You're feeling lazy. What do you make? Grilled cheese
You're feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order? Mushroom, maybe w/pepperoni, too or ham & pineapple
You feel like cooking. What do you make? Anything! Watch out!
Do any foods bring back good memories? Oh yeah; thanksgiving dinner, my aunt's chestnut stuffing and plum pudding, Mom's chocolate chip cookies; Life cereal (days of early rising and flea markets);
Do any foods bring back bad memories? Can't talk about it...stomach's a bit queasy right now!
Do any foods remind you of someone? chirashi reminds me of Julie; Hostess cherry pies of Pat; pineapple upside down cake of Michael.
Is there a food you refuse to eat? Brains of any sort. Bugs. Crawlies. Chitins. Dog or horse. Green mint ice cream.
What was your favorite food as a child? i don't really remember having a favorite.
Is there a food that you hated as a child but now love? beets!
Is there a food that you loved as a child but now hate? food is my friend :-) who likes to hang out on my hips & tummy & boobs and won't go away!
Favorite fruit & vegetable: Right now, watermelon! Can't get enough of it! Veggie: corn on the cob.
Favorite junk food: Potato Chips, salt & pepper or vinegar & salt. Yum!
Favorite between meal snack: Anything salty. I should just put a salt lick by my desk. (hahaha this was his answer, and I'm keeping it!)
Do you have any weird food habits: hahahah MANY! I mean, I don't think they're weird, but everyone else does!
You're on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on? Celery, I love it. Watermelon, most any fruit or veggie.
You're off your diet. Now what would you like? Chips, steak, bbq
How spicy do you order Indian/Thai? mildly spicy
Can I get you a drink? Yes, please, I'll have a martini with Grey Goose, extra dirty
Red wine or white? Red, definitely! Didn't much care for reds til I went on many a winery tour in VA...YUM!
We only have beer: Yuengling!!!
Favorite dessert? pineapple upside down cake or angelfood cake
The perfect nightcap? a kiss ;-)

Here's last Wednesday's picture:

This is what it was cropped from:

Here's a picture of the whole box:

rusvw guessed correctly, "hmmmmm...