Krista texted me on the way home and said: "huge moon". I knew she wasn't talking about my @$$, so I grabbed my camera, drove to the cemetery, and got this shot...well, the moon one, anyway. The one of Wolf I took a couple nights ago!

Don't forget ... the Friday Fill-In is over here now!

Stolen from DebR

I'm a bat jellyfish...and a scary mixture at that!

Lion's Mane Jelly: Imagine having no eyes or brain, but still having one of the most sophisticated weapons on earth! Lion's Mane Jellies have tentacles over 100 feet long, each one packed with tiny harpoons that inject prey with deadly toxins! I'm so scary!

Rodrigues Bat wings: Your wings are very different from bird wings, which are made like human arm bones. Bat wings are more like really long fingers...creepy long fingers!

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Last night, Wolf was up in his window seat (the window was open; screen firmly in place) and I was reading in bed. We heard a noise outside, like something crashing through the underbrush in the back yard. We both looked at each other, then out the window. I turned off the light, the better to see into the back yard and but we saw nor heard anything else. What do you think it was?

Just to let you know...all good wishes welcome...I AM winning this!!!

Each winner (there will be three!) will receive a trip package to see Led Zeppelin in concert on November 26, 2007 at the O2 Arena in London, England. Each trip package includes 2 round trip tickets to London, 2 tickets to the concert, hotel for three nights, meals...and best of all:

~ Two (2) tickets to a private dress rehearsal on November 25, 2007

[OMGOMGOMG!!!]

Breathe, breathe...

The work week's more than half over, yahoo!!! Right now, I'm laying in bed, listening to the wind blow through the leaves on the trees and into my open window and thinking it's good to be alive. I love this weather...not too hot, not too cold. Wolf likes it too, but not so much the breeze. It ruffles the fur near his butt and that freaks him out. Yeah, he's weird :-)

Just a reminder...What Is It Wednesday has a new home; this week's entry is up and ready for your guesses (I post early for my friend from Australia, Julie).

If you guys can ask me 13 questions, I'll post 13 answers as my Thursday Thirteen!

Did you miss me this weekend?

Friday, I went to my first ever book club meeting; great snacks and conversation (the things you learn when listening to a bunch of social workers!) and I got a TON of stuff from Megan to review for AGMS...not a hard assignment as most of it is either scented lotions or oils and candy. Poor me, eh?

Saturday, I gave Wolf a nice long guilt-induced walk and then headed up to Vermont to visit my friend Maureen. She had a golf tournament to attend, so I let myself in the house and hung with Rumor (her dog), Emma (her brother's dog) and the cats, Chloe and Wheels. Great fun was had by all!

Mo, her brother & SIL were starving when they got back so we went off for dinner, a delicious Italian place (I had leftover spaghetti for a late night dinner AND lunch the next day LOL). Mo took me to downtown Burlington later that night where we strolled and took pictures. We capped the night off with POTC 2. Ahhhh, life is good.

Sunday, I awoke to the smell of coffee and maple sausage...heavenly! We had a quick breakfast and went to meet a friend of hers for a hike in the woods. We kind of got lost while hiking and it turned into a 4 hour trek, some of it up BIG hills (this IS Vermont, after all). Thanks to my GPS navigator, we found our way out.

We dropped Rumor off at home and headed to the Magic Hat Brewery, where I got an awesome pint glass and a 12 pack of Halloween beer :-)

Then we had a brunch of boxty (and Guinness for me) at an Irish bar called Ri Ra. Came home, packed and headed home...where I collapsed in bed soon after I arrived, after picking a tick off Wolf (never on Max...I think Wolf has sweet blood).

I'm still tired! How was your eekend?

***SCROLL DOWN FOR WHAT IS IT WEDNESDAY!!!***

Button from schmutzie

I've been noticing a decrease in comments, too and then I read about this over on zoot's blog today (right after I berated a friend for rarely commenting on my blog [not you, K]). Deep down, though, I thought ... oh mah god, it was either a) me or b) my blog was screwed up. My blog designer has been overworked and whatnot lately so I didn't want to ask her to take a look to see if something was wrong and was resigned to my fate. What a maroon!

So all you lurkers; come out, come out, wherever you are, stop hiding behind your bloglines and google readers and SAY something, will ya! Comments make everyone smile :-)

And if you need something besides my horrid writing to generate a comment ... pick a picture! Which one do you like better...and why?

Iguana, pondering a seagrape

or

Bride, washing her feet

I'm posting this early, because you know, tomorrow is What Is It Wednesday!

Ahoy lads and lassies, landlubbers and old salts, all manner of Brethren of the Coast! Arrrr, tis Talk Like A Pirate Day, me buckos! Shiver me timbers, tis a fine Wednesday, two days t' Friday and we're over t' stress o' aft t' weekend Monday.

Some scurvy sea dogs hae taken it a step further and made it "Talk and Dress Like A Pirate Day"! Matey, tis true, this saucy wench did t'ink 'bout it, but me workplace be so full of bilge-sucking deck hands (begad, more than a few I should like ta send ta Davy Jones' locker...as Cap'n Barbossa did say: "Here there be monsterrrs"), I thought it best t' wear me regular clothin', blast it!

Last year, this wench were busy preparin' for a blasted privateer's inspection; this year, there'll be none o' that bunghole twistin'! Arrrrrrrrr!!! Bring on the rum!

Arrrr, if any of ye poxy addlepates wants ta be talkin' like a pirate, this'll be the site ye'll be lookin' for. Laura, that lovely lass from a landlocked place, will once again be responsible for titivatin' tha jollyboat, or it'll be kiss the gunner's daughter for ya, ye scurvy sprog!

And me beauties, ifn yer wants ter dress up yer blog in honor o' this fine day, head straight t' weeworld, where they have lots o' piratey goodness! Arrr!

Fair winds to ye...drink up me hearties, yo ho!

Friday, I got my hair taken care of. No, I didn't go silver. Not brave enough yet, I guess. Got a lovely shade of dark honey and platinum-y highlights.

Saturday: Went to Sephora, where they were offering free foundation consultations. I got a mini-facial from a Dr. Perricone rep; fantastic stuff, but so.damn.pricey.!!! Then a Stila rep did my makeup. Got many compliments from friends at the wedding I went to that evening, as they're not used to seeing me wear much makeup at all :-)

Michelle and me, photo taken by Michelle's husband, A

Took 200+ pictures at Krista's wedding; of course, I like only about 5 of them LOL! Since the bride & groom haven't seen any of the shots, I really shouldn't share ... but ... oh, well, here. They go from this:

to this:

and this:

with a little bit of this thrown in:

and this

"I don't know why you people are getting so dressed up, but I hope there's food involved!" - Bonbon the corgi

Sunday, I relaxed, tried to catch up on sleep, reading, cleaning, etc. My brother and I took Dad out to lunch; new-ish Italian place...NOT very good at all. Overcooked pasta, not so tasty sauce, frozen veal & fish; as my brother said, when you're served cold bread that should be served warm, you know that what's to follow won't be so good either. As none of us had come CLOSE to finishing the meal (I think the staff knew better than to ask, "Was everything ok?"), we all went for an ice cream for dessert at a local dairy farm:

(look at it with your head tilted to the right, it won't look so much like the Leaning Tower of Pisa that way!)

Patiently waiting for his or her owners to return with ice cream!

When I got home, I finished working on the wedding photos. Phew!

How was your weekend?

I was at work, and a friend sent me an email; he said, "Did you hear a plane crashed into the World Trade Center?" Like many of you, my first thought was some poor person had a heart attack while flying a small plane and crashed. At that point, who could conceive of someone purposefully flying a plane into a building? Then someone told me another plane had crashed into the other tower. And then we knew...and it seemed to get worse and worse.

A bright blue September sky, with just the right amount of crisp coolness in the airI will never seem so innocent again. Remember what a beautiful day it started out to be?

Where were you when it happened? What were you doing? Did you spend a few days glued to the tv, hoping for a bit of good news?

Friday night, I had plans but due to a miscommunication, they fell through. What were my plans? I wanted, had been CRAVING to walk on the beach! Dip my toes in the water, let the salt water soak my tattoo. Oh well! No worries, I was going to the beach the next night, I could do it then, right?

Saturday: Went up to Hampton Beach to see Louis Black, a comedian my friend Pat loves. Have you ever heard of him? He does political based comedy mostly, with liberal use of the eff word sprinkled throughout. He was pretty damn funny, especially when he was talking about Santa Claus running for president! Afterwards, I got to walk on the beach, but alas...it was waaaaaaaay low tide and I didn't feel like walking miles and miles to dip my toe in. Here's the picture I promised Rus; people working on Labor Day weekend:

Sunday: Drove Pat up to her new home in NH. Nice ride, we got sandwiches and ate lunch with her husband once we arrived. Then we walked around the neighborhood, checking out the new construction and lamenting the fact that they'd be paving her road. She likes it the way it is, and I don't blame her! Afterward, I was going to call my cousin as I was in the neighborhood, but I plugged in my address to my navigator and forgot I had it on "Simple". It took me all backroads MOST of the way home! I didn't so much mind, there was lots to see and not too much traffic. On the way, my plans for the evening fell through (sensing a pattern here?) and I was a bit upset, as I'd've stayed at Pat's if not for the plans. When I got home, another friend called and asked me to meet her for drinks, which I did and we had a great time!

Today? I finished another book for Carl's challenge this morning, I'm going to clean, do some wash, take Dad out for breakfast, and crack another book. Thank you, Carl, for getting me to read again! I only just returned my faulty TiVo Saturday, so I don't expect the new one for awhile.

How's your long weekend been (for those of you that have one!)?

The Sunday before last, I came home from a day away to discover my Tivo wasn't working. My brother took a look at it and diagnosed a failed hard drive. So sad...bye bye to all my saved recordings, to all the Eurekas which I was saving up to watch at one time, to who knows all what!

Last Friday, I contacted Tivo and told them about my hard drive problem. The first person I talked to said: "Oh so sorry, you bought it, it's yours, there's nothing we can do". I asked him to connect me to the proper person so I could cancel my service.

That person said: "Oh, your hard drive died? I see your unit is only 2.5 years old, that's MUCH too soon for a hard drive to have died, we'll ship you a new Tivo free of charge.

ROFLMAO! Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum! So I have to ship my Tivo back, and since they don't have any of that particular type of Tivo in the warehouse, they're sending me an upgraded model :-)

FREE!

While I heart my Tivo, I must admit I've enjoyed being tv-less lately. I've noticed I eat less (seems I enjoy eating in front of the tv), read more, walk Wolf more, have more/longer conversations, just DO more.

So I'm in no hurry to return my old Tivo, nor in a hurry for the new one to arrive. Once that connection was severed, it seemed to also sever a dependence I didn't realize I'd had.

In the meantime, I hope my brother comes over soon and hooks up that wireless modem I bought yesterday, so I can enjoy my laptop, which I got a few weeks ago, and haven't used much (it IS convenient for watching movies on when I housesit and can't figure out how to work someone's tv, or when I'm staying in a motel with no cable)!

How about you? What are your addictions?

LEO - The Lion:
Great talker. [check]
Attractive and passionate. [check]
Laid back. [sometimes?]
Knows how to have fun. [check!]
Is really good at almost anything. [check]
Great kisser. [she says so!]
Unpredictable. [check]
Outgoing. [check]
Down to earth. [check]
Addictive. [check]
Attractive. [you already said that fer crissakes, but I guess it's worth repeating...check!]
Loud. [can be!]
Loves being in long relationships. [check]
Not one to mess with. [check!!!]
Rare to find. [check!!!]
Good when found. [check]

For your 32nd birthday, I wish you much love and happiness, oh friend o' mine! I value your friendship, and although it's been a rocky road at times, maybe that just makes our friendship all the stronger :-)

Pop over and send her some happy thoughts, won't you?

What a great long weekend! Drove up to Vermont with Diane & her girls to stay at Mo's. Betsy and her middle daugter, Audrey, joined us Sunday.

- Went to the drive-in to see Ratatouille (and to gaze at the very full moon). When's the last time you went to a drive in? SO much fun!
- Met Mo's bead lady and took a TON of pictures
- Saw a herd of miniature horses (didn't get ONE shot LOL)
- Finished a book that wasn't Harry Potter - Heat, by Bill Buford
- Went to Lake Champlain Chocolates - yum!
- Went to see the Lipizanner Stallions - beautiful animals :-)
- Watched a sunset - sigh
- Played with a puppy - what fun!
- Hung out with friends - the best!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend:

Monarch in the burdocks

Rumor! Isn't she gorgeous?

Close to my favorite pic of the weekend...shot in color, looks almost black and white

Meri

Can't believe I got this shot LOL!

Love these ... "things" on a rooftop in downtown Burlington, VT.

A gorgeous onion from Betsy's Dad's garden

How was your weekend?

Last Thursday at work, I won 3 tickets to go see the Red Sox on Saturday. I gave two to my brother and father...I WAS going to go with them, but 1) I was reading the last Harry Potter book and 2) I was reading the last Harry Potter book!

I asked around to see if any friends wanted just the one ticket ($165 ticket!) and no one did. I did a mass email at work and gave the ticket to the first person who responded.

"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game."

Ooooh, look at what you can do with your Weemee! Go forth, create, and have fun!!!

If you go visit me on Weeworld, you'll see what I'm saying :-) And notice the colors I'm wearing!

To make your own WeeMee, go here; when you're finished, save it, and then invite me as your friend (search for fondofsnape)!

Is it me, or is there something rather horrible about The New England Aquarium's Celebrate Seafood Dinner Series...which includes a complimentary pass to the Aquarium?

I'm sensing a movie here...

This is my horoscope for today:

You know your own worth, but today it might feel as though no one else does. If you're feeling neglected, overlooked or just taken for granted, take note of the friends who are treating you that way. You're no bargain-basement friend, and if you're being made to feel that way, it's time to move on. Consider a trial separation from the negative people in your life, and find out what life would be like if you didn't have to deal with their self-obsessed melodrama.

Negative, no; a tad self-obsessed, yes but not so much with the melodrama...that's been weeded out of my life; I'm highly allergic to melodrama ;-)

Who knew!

Altho my header says "fond of the beach", I am still, and will always be fondofsnape!

Carry on.

I tried to log in last night to post a picture I took up in Portsmouth NH earlier in the day, and all I got was a big, blank nothing! My hosting company solved the problem, and I'm BACK! Well...I wasn't really gone, but I did have slight withdrawal symptoms :-)

Firstly, here's the pic:

teeheehee

Secondly, Megan's cousin won tickets this morning to the sneak preview of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at the local IMAX theater tomorrow night...and she VERY nicely gave me one! WOOHOO! I am JUST a bit excited *understatement*

Thirdly, I had the BEST time up at my cousin's house these last few days! She invited me up for the 4th, and to stay a few days after that, which I happily did! She and her husband graciously let me laze about, rereading OOTP and feeding me from time to time. We hiked one day, had a HOUSEFUL of dackels another and generally just had a wonderful time. Thanks, MB!!! Love ya!

PS! If you're having a hard time commenting, don't give up after one try...we're working the bugs out! If you CAN'T comment at all, please email me at fondofsnape AT gmail DOT com and let me know exactly what happens. Thanks!

Faith wrote an entry that hit a nerve. As hard as it might be to believe, I grew up going to church and singing in the choir, but I always felt like an outsider and stopped going at the age of 13, much to the dismay of my parents. I think church provides a sense of community in addition to faith for people...I kind of miss it. But I have yet to find a church where I feel accepted and comfortable. The last minister at the church I grew up attending was the most uncaring, selfish person; why he EVER went into the ministry is beyond me. Far, far beyond me.

Something else Faith said made me stop and think: "We're taught at church and in the scriptures that if someone offends us, we're to go to that person and talk to them. And that's how I've tried to live my life. But despite those teachings, we've been told that people instead of coming to us have been going to each other. And the rumor mill goes on." I need to start living my life like that from this day forth. And further, I'm taking this opportunity to say if I've offended you, please talk to me about it.

That's it!

Did you see the Strawberry Moon Saturday night? Michelle and I saw it...and as we drove around a bend in the highway, white fireworks (from Canobie Lake) exploded just under the moon! At first, I thought the moon was sending out a shower of sparks. It was fantastic! A magical end to a great day.

And I also forgot to mention what I had for dinner Saturday night at Canoe: lobster macaroni and cheese! OMG was it GOOD! I shared it with Emily, who enjoyed it just as much as I did, but left me the big lobster bits :-) We started off with mussels steamed in wine and onions, SO good! We also had some sweet & spicy fried calamari. MB shared her iceberg lettuce wedge with me, and Michelle shared her ahi tuna. For dessert, the waitress brought out a molten chocolate cake (I'd post a picture of Emily practically licking the plate, but I promised not to!) with a lit candle, and everyone sang Happy Birthday. As much as I hate to be the center of attention, it was nice, and I enjoyed it!

By the way, this was the SECOND time I was surprised for my birthday...my brother did the same thing last Thursday up at Michael's in Salisbury! I had no CLUE! Getting old, I must be.

On the way home from breakfast at the Owl on Sunday!

I'm back! Miss me? Lots to say, no time to say it, dang work! Here's some pics to tide you over til I can tell you about fabu Vegas (one word: HOT!!!).

LOVE was fantastic! I want to go back with my cousin to see it again, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Yellow Submarine had the best special effects!!!

There were tattoos (henna, not permanent!):

MaryEllen sent me some lovely flowers!

Deb & Laura sent me some delicious cookies, specifically tailored to my loves!

And pickles, yummy deli pickles!

I missed you all; more later, I promise!

Wolf's blood work came back fine! Liver and kidneys functioning properly, white blood cell count fine, blood sugar fine! I didn't have them test for rabies, as they'd've had to take his brain, and I'm sure he needs that for the next 10 years or so.

PHEW!!!

So...it was a random seizure, hopefully. I'm not going to schedule him for an MRI or CAT scan (how wrong would that be, a CAT scan for a dog!!!) at this point. I'm going to monitor him, and have Dad keep an eye on him as well.

My newest flip flops; the piratey skull ones are an early birthday present from Megan and the silvery ones I picked up last night at JC Penney's.

mama kelly tagged me; why not!

Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to then report this on their own blog with their 7 things as well as these rules. They then need to tag 7 others and list their names on their blog. They are also asked to leave a comment for each of the tagged, letting them know they have been tagged and to read the blog. Got it?

OK, here goes...

1) I love a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast with a cup of coffee! The peanut butter must be spread on half of the slice of bread, then the slice is folded over. Sometimes I'll spread some butter on first. Yum!
2) I have to be in the mood to clean. I'm not often in the mood. When I AM in the mood, no one can be home. Consequently, the house doesn't get cleaned very often :( Altho I WAS in the mood this weekend, and the 6 months of paperwork on the dining room table has been organized. Not quite put away, but soon!
3) I've never been to Las Vegas...and I won't be able to say that anymore after next Thursday, as I'm heading there with friends to celebrate my birthday. Wanna come with?
4) I've seen Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End four times so far. The last time was this past Wednesday; Pat and I took my Dad to Chunky's. Pat and I also drank some rum...which we smuggled in. Shhhhh...don't tell!
5) A&W root beer, diet, with LOTS of ice is my favorite soda! I also have a favorite new rum, Sailor Jerry's! Give it a try if you're into rum...it's really quite good.
6) I need quiet time to recharge and the older I get the more I need. For example, I had absolutely NOTHING planned this weekend other than taking Dad our for Father's Day on Sunday. Doesn't mean I didn't DO anything...in fact, Michelle called to see if I was free, I was and we went to Jasper White's Clam Shack. Yummy oysters, steamers and boiled shrimp. Delish!
7) I'm reading two books right now; one during the day and one at night. The one during the day is the latest Dean Koontz, called "The Good Guy"; the night book is Rises the Night, by Colleen Gleason. Not sure why it's worked out like this but there you have it. Oh...and in Rises the Night, there is a WICKED hot guy, Sebastian. Mmm, mmm, mmm!

Seven of you, tag, YOU'RE it! Run with it! Quickly!

Yesterday I went to Plymouth with Michelle to evaluate some folks that want to adopt a dog. They passed with flying colors! Afterwards we ate a late lunch at Hearth & Kettle, which brought back memories for both of us; you see, we both used to spend alot of time down the Cape in the summers when we were kids and both of us used to eat at Hearth & Kettle with our parents as a treat.

Since we'd brought Wolf with us, even though it was chilly and foggy, we decided to talk a quick walk around Plymouth Harbor. It was too foggy to get a shot of the Mayflower...which brought my ancestors to New England, but I did manage a shot of Plymouth Rock, the (very small) landing spot of the Pilgrims in 1620, as well as some shots of the harbor.

All in all, it was a good day and a fitting ending to a great weekend!

Hope you all had a great weekend, too :-)

Tonight I went to Newburyport with Megan and Jim, in the pouring rain, complete with fierce thunder and lightning! It eased up by the time we got there, tho, which was good as we ended up walking a bit to get to Aquatini. I had a extra dirty martini and some oysters and shared a cheese plate with Megan. Perfect! Afterwards we drove to Plum Island, sat out on the rocks and watched the lightning far off in the distance and talked. Magical!

Here's a flower that's growing in my front yard; enjoy!

ahhhh, the weekend! A glorious, nice long weekend filled with just the right amount of things to do! Truth be told...maybe TOO much, but I'm not complaining!

Friday I went over to Megan's; we headed up to Nashua to do some shopping and have dinner. Got some free POTC temporary tattoos, which made my night!

Saturday, I did some shopping, made dinner for Dad and headed over to Megan's for a cook out. She had the BEST black bean and mango salad; I'll post the recipe soon! She and Jim, her fiance, invited some folks over and we sat around outside, eating and drinking and talking. Fun! They grilled, in addition to other things, some eggplant, which is my new favorite thing to eat!

Mango-y goodness!

Sunday, I took Wolf for a walk in the woods and ran into Megan & her friend, Kristin there; took Dad out for breakfast at the Owl; then Michelle came over and we went back to the woods with Max in tow.

We saw two turtles on our walk, isn't this little guy adorable?

That evening, I took my friend Diane out for dinner (Melting Pot...eh...except for the chocolate fondue, THAT was awesome) and a movie (POTC 3; she had a hard time following it, then gave up and just delighted in the piratey hotness that is Captain Jack Sparrow). She savored getting out without the kids and being surprised; I enjoyed surprising her AND our impromptu stop at the Container Store, which I'd always wanted to go to!

Monday, up early to get ready to go to MB's for the day! Michelle came along with Dad, the dogs and me and we had a relaxing, delicious, puppy filled day that even included a bit of shopping at the oh so awesome annual Memorial Day craft fair.

Puppylove!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Without some sadness, we'd never know how good happiness is. Without some ugliness...we'd never realize beauty.

This Memorial Day weekend, please say a prayer or light a candle or think a good thought or whatever you do for Eon-Paul, who passed away May 19 and left behind his wife and two children.

His parents lived down the street from us; my Mom knew and was friendly with them. As you can probably tell by his name, Eon-Paul's parents were pretty much free spirits. When Eon-Paul's mom got pregnant with him, my mother was thrilled...she loved all babies!

Eon-Paul's parents divorced, his mom remarried a big ole man who, of course, goes by the name of Tiny and they all moved away, but still kept in touch...even after Mom passed, they'd still call Dad. Like this morning...Tiny called Dad to let him know what had happened to Eon-Paul.

Eon-Paul...you had someone waiting for you up there, didn't you?

Lately, the dogs have been acting weird, panting, staying close to me. I figure it's the weather change; they can sense storms when they're miles away and neither one of them likes thunderstorms. Recently, about 4:30 am (guess that's technically morning LOL), Wolf woke me up; he was pacing 3 corners of a square, from one to another to another and back again, sniffing and sniffing. Of course there was a load of laundry in that corner, and I was afraid "something" was there, so I got up and distracted him by taking him out to pee. Then, of course, Max had to go. I decided to hop on the computer and check emails. Wolf fell asleep next to me on the floor, until I happened to look outside, saw it was light and asked him if he wanted to go for a walk. HELL YES, he did!

So we walked for about 30-35 minutes, and I tell you, it's so peaceful out that early! Not many cars, although I did encounter another dog walker. The lilacs smelled awesome in the early morning air, and what was left of the sunrise was spectacular.

It's nice to do every now and again, but I don't think I'll be making a habit of it!

Something I am trying to make a habit of is eating better. Starting on 5/14 and going nine days, I'm cutting out meat; protein will come from chickpeas, tofu, lentils, beans and egg whites (four a day, which seems like a waste to me, the poor yolks, so I tend to have Eggbeaters instead). Calcium comes from two 6-ounce low fat or fat free yogurts and two cups of low fat, fat free or soy milk. I can have almost any fruit (no avocados) or veggie (no white potatoes) I want, any quantity. I'm allowed per day 2 cups of brown rice, 1 cup of oatmeal, 2 cups of herbal tea and all the herbs, spices and water I want. The only thing I'm cheating on is I'm not supposed to have any caffeine, so I'm sneaking in one cup of coffee per day. I have a salad for lunch, carrots & celery for snacks, oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, altho this morning I had a leftover frozen smoothie.

I LOVE eating this way! The first night, I made some brown rice, steamed some broccoli, chopped up a raw carrot, and heated up some white beans in a bit of italian dressing and tossed it all together. Crunchy, chewy goodness! Wednesday I made vegetarian chili, and mixed it with some brown rice. OMG is that chili good! It was simple, too:

two cans of chili beans in sauce
1 can of black beans, drained
1 32 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 can rotel tomatoes with chilis
1 can fat free refried beans (thickens the chili)
Chili powder
cumin
red pepper

Finely chop an onion and saute it in a bit of olive oil along with some garlic; if any oil if left over, drain it.

Add all the beans & tomatoes and chili powder, cumin, red pepper.

Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 1/2 hour and serve.

Another thing I made that I really liked was a smoothie...here's the recipe:

6 ounces fat free or low fat vanilla yogurt (I use Fage 0% fat, so didn't have vanilla, so I added some vanilla flavoring)
4 ounces of fat free or lowfat or soy milk
some splenda
a handful of ice
a handful of frozen strawberries (or blueberries or whatever fruit you like)

Put the yogurt, milk, vanilla, splenda and a handful of ice cubes in the blender and blend til smooth, then add the strawberries and blend til smooth.

I just saw this quiz over at Swordgirl's, and was shocked to see the card I came up with!

You are the Hanged Man

Self-sacrifice, Sacrifice, Devotion, Bound.

With the Hanged man there is often a sense of fatalism, waiting for something to happen. Or a fear of loss from a situation, rather than gain.

The Hanged Man is perhaps the most fascinating card in the deck. It reflects the story of Odin who offered himself as a sacrifice in order to gain knowledge. Hanging from the world tree, wounded by a spear, given no bread or mead, he hung for nine days. On the last day, he saw on the ground runes that had fallen from the tree, understood their meaning, and, coming down, scooped them up for his own. All knowledge is to be found in these runes.

The Hanged Man, in similar fashion, is a card about suspension, not life or death. It signifies selflessness, sacrifice and prophecy. You make yourself vulnerable and in doing so, gain illumination. You see the world differently, with almost mystical insights.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Given that I'm on this 9 day detox phase, it seems pretty applicable to me!

My brother, who fixes/rebuilds/sets up computers on the side, recently told me about a family he met while doing this; the daughter, Minna, has cerebral palsy & Reiger's syndrome and is wheelchair bound. She's 24, lives with her mother (her father passed away from cancer in 1999) and they don't have a lot of money. Minna's trying to raise enough money to purchase a lift van so that she can get around more easily and take care of herself. To read more, click on Minna's Ride.

If you'd like to donate, please do so. I can assure you this is not a scam!

I'm considering selling my Canon 20d along with three lenses: 50mm f/1.8, 70-200mm f/4 and 17-85mm f/4-5.6. I also have various filters for these lenses.

If anyone is interested, please contact me to discuss price.

Thanks!

How do you like my new design? Still fondofsnape, just a different header. Snape might be back in another incarnation as might be Captain Jack Sparrow, Percy as well as various pictures that I've taken...like the one that's there now :-)

As usual, Megan has outdone herself with this design, which she surprised me with! She's been quite busy with her new job, her new business (which I've linked to, check it out!) and various and sundry other things, but still found the time to do this. Thanks Megan!!!

Let me know what you think, and have a great weekend!

Ooooh! Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab just released a new scent today; here's a description from the website:

13 - April 2007 Incarnation:

13 is significant, whether you consider it lucky, unlucky or just plain odd. Many believe it to be unfortunate---

Says a lot about the US, doesn't it?

This is the scent description:

A base of cocoa absolute and white chocolate with thirteen baneful and beneficial bits: cardamom, fig meat, grains of paradise, rice flower, chamomile, sandalwood, catnip, clove, and a bundle of five blessed blossoms and herbs.

Mmmmm, clove! Sandalwood! I had to order a bottle, of course...I mean, c'mon...it's Friday the Thirteenth! What better way to celebrate it!

Friday:

- Flew into BWI, MaryEllen picked me up at the airport
- we headed to Reading, PA
- Ate lunch at Cracker Barrel

Because I neglected to print out directions to the hotel from the highway and because no one answered when I called their phone number, we drove around Reading looking for the hotel. Finally, after someone decided to pick up the phone, we got directions and thought we found it; thank the GOOD [insert diety of your choice] it wasn't the right one, cause it was crack whore heaven pretty crappy.

Found it, checked in, decided to possibly check out the tattoo show in the nearby Sheraton. Um...no...

Downtown Reading looks amazingly like downtown Portland, Maine! We had (in my case) the most delicious dinner at an English pub called the Speckled Hen. Blackened tuna with artichoke and lime aioli and wasabi mashed potatoes--AMAZING!!! Yuenglings were involved, as well. MaryEllen, who's not much of a drinker, actually had a full beer (Lindemans Framboise Lambic Ale, of course).

Went to the 2007 Marshalls U.S. Figure Skating Showcase; took a gazillion pictures, sighed over Johnny Weir, who designed some awesome costumes AND skated like a dream. There was this one guy who did backflips! That always amazes me in ice skating.

Saturday morning, woke up, showered, and hit the road for Frederick , where MaryEllen lives. Took pictures along the way, stopped at the grocery store for dinner (veal) which MaryEllen cooked and it was delicious! After, we took her Mom to see Blades of Glory. Laughed our asses off! Came home, relaxed, played with the dogs, Chloe & Chief, and then everyone turned it; I read til 1 am (The Ruins by Scott Smith, one of the saddest books I've ever read).

Sunday, we dyed eggs, made Easter baskets (one for boys, one for girls), had breakfast, then MaryEllen and I headed to WV to look for real estate guides. After that, we went to DC, walked around a bit and froze our tuchis (tuchi?) off, took pictures, and then headed to the airport, where we had "easter brunch" together (aka panini sandwiches LOL) and said goodbye. I went to Phillips Seafood, had a bloody mary and then read til it was time to board the plane.

MaryEllen, excellent driver though she is, tried several times to kill me...to no avail ;-)

I haven't talked about this, because the brand of food I use (Innova, made by Natura Pet Products) only uses US suppliers - no ingredients come from China or other foreign countries and that seems to be where the problem is coming from. And [insert diety of choice here] knows I've ranted and raved before about what goes into pet food. So I won't go into that again.

Click on this link for the list of foods that have NOT been recalled and that are SAFE to use

Click on this link for more facts about the recall

Click on this link for the latest recall, which is from Del Monte (and you thought they only sold pineapples): As a precautionary measure, Del Monte Pet Products is voluntarily recalling select product codes of its pet treat products sold under the Jerky Treats, Gravy Train Beef Sticks and Pounce Meaty Morsels brands as well as select dog snack and wet dog food products sold under private label brands.

Do be careful what you feed your pets...I know that the dogs and cats I had as a kid got supermarket dog food, Alpo or Gravy Train or whatnot...but perhaps the things that go in pet food today didn't go in back then, who knows.

My recommendation is Innova, or any other type of food made by Natura. My dogs LOVE it; I went through quite a few brands before settling on it.

Ooooh, a lovely article about Severus Snape is in today's Baltimore Sun. I particurly liked this excerpt:

"For a surprisingly large number of Potter fans, mostly adult ones, the fate of the intrepid boy wizard - you know, the one the books are ostensibly about - isn't nearly as interesting as what will happen to his ex-professor. The double-crossing Death Eater. Murderer of the beloved Headmaster Dumbledore. Greasy-haired, yellow-toothed, cuttingly sarcastic and, in the words of his creator, "deeply horrible."

The article goes on to say:

"Oh, sure, there's a school of thought that blames all the Snape love on hormones and Alan Rickman, the actor with the seductive voice who plays him in the movies - the fifth of which, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is due in theaters in July. Rickman comes with a fan base, and whoever decided to put him in that repressively buttoned-up Victorian get-up seemed to understand how that would affect adult women. We do seem to be Snape's biggest fans."

And further:

"I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death," he says to his new students in the first Potter book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and we thought, cool. A closet poet, our Snape, and frequently funny in an awful, I-can't-believe-he-said-that way. People identify with this thirtysomething man stuck in a hated job, who never gets credit for his good efforts, who is irritable and quick to judge and deeply human." [hmmmm...that last sentence sounds familiar!]

Finally, although this has nothing to do with Snape, it is Harry Potter related. In my photography class last Thursday, the instructor was talking about how he liked a balance of dark & light in photos. During the discussion he said, "I like to see serious black in a photo."...and I cracked up quietly to myself ;-)

So there's been alot going on lately and I haven't really had a chance to talk about any of it.

Thursday: Dad was able to come home from the hospital, and we also got a diagnosis; he has Parkinson's disease, in the early stages. His doctor has prescribed a medication and we'll see what happens. I'm, of course, hoping for the best! The diagnosis does explain a lot; his soft speech, his shuffling gate, his shaky hands. I thought it was just aging. Ah, me.

I also started an eight week photography class on Thursday. The guy teaching it seems knowledgeable and talented and I learned a bit just during the first lesson. Our homework is to do a portrait for the next class, not more than eight pictures. I asked him if the subject had to be human; he kind of scoffed at me and said he didn't want to see cutesy pics of people's pets. Now, c'mon...is THIS cutesy?

Friday at work, one of the VPs mentioned to me that I was going to CA for a month for work. I was like...um...huh? What? When? In typical fashion, no one had mentioned it to me. And it has to do with the aspect of my job I resigned from. Of course, the person they hired to do that has an elderly mother she takes care of so she can't do it. Well guess what? Neither can I! Haysus, it's NOT my job anymore and I have an elderly father to take care of! Anyway, after he said something, I went to my boss and she said she knew about it, but had told the higher ups she couldn't do without me for a month. My company being what it is, I'm sure they could care less. But you know what? If they want me to go, they're going to have to arrange for someone to come in and watch Dad, pay for kenneling the dogs cause Dad can't watch them and fly me back and forth to Vegas from CA because of course this coincides with my Vegas trip for my birthday.

Yesterday I made a boiled dinner in honor of St. Patrick's day and mostly sat around watching movies. I have a sinus infection on top of everything else that's going on and the right side of my face is a bit swollen. I also got a blister on my foot from wearing a new pair of shoes. It was healing fine until Wolf accidently stepped on it, and now...ouch! It just hurts like hell and I can't put a shoe on. No walking around in flip flops outside for me, not in the foot of snow we just got! I did slip on a pair of Ugg boots and did a bit of shoveling yesterday. I mean, if I don't do it, it won't get done and if something happens to Dad there has to be a path to the house, you know?

My cousin Maribeth and her hubby sent Dad a beautiful bouquet of flowers yesterday; it arrived before I shoveled, so they left it with the neighbors next door, who were nice enough to deliver it later.

They smell even better than they look!

Last night, Wolf noticed something outside and I saw him out of the corner of my eye staring intently. So I looked and saw what I thought was a cat, at first, just sitting there. Then it started running and I thought...wow, that's a weasel! So I looked it up online and found that weasels are a brownish color and this animal was black. Looked further and discovered what I saw was an American mink! Amazing the things you see in your own back yard!

Day 54 from Project 365; salty chocolate - man, was it good!

Things have been a bit stressful lately; Dad blacked out or fainted in the bathroom Thursday and came to on the floor...where he stayed for 4 or 5 hours until I came home from work. Apparently, he didn't have the strength to get up. Of course, I ended up working late that night and didn't get home til 7, and even then didn't know he was on the floor til I heard a repeated banging noise.

I helped him up and put him in bed. He slept for a few hours and when he woke up, I gave him something to eat, as he probably hadn't eaten since noon time.

Took off the next day from work to keep an eye on him, all the while trying to talk him into going to the ER just to get checked out.

Saturday, Michelle came over for a bit so I could take a shower; I was afraid to leave him alone. My brother came by, too, and finally convinced Dad to go to the ER. They went around 3; after waiting there three hours, he was finally seen. They did blood tests, urine tests, an EKG and a CAT scan...only thing they found was a UTI, but I think the fact that he blacked out and didn't remember it prompted them to admit him.

Yesterday, they were concerned that he seemed a bit out of it (which is kinda normal for Dad) and so did an MRI. Haven't got the results yet, and he's still in the hospital.

So, yeah...I needed some chocolate.

I was driving to work this morning, scanning through the radio, when I heard "Sweet Caroline"; it took a minute to register that it wasn't Neil Diamond (I cannot STAND Neil Diamond, sorry to anyone who likes him, but ... UGH! Maybe something bad happened to me during a Neil Diamond song [and lord knows there were many opportunies in my early days for THAT to happen] or something, cause, ... JUST UGH!) singing it, so I flipped back to listen to who it was. At first I thought it was a failed American Idol joke thing...then I thought maybe it was Tom Jones. The more I listened, the more I was sure it was Tom Jones. Um...no. It was Dave Matthews (live from the Fenway LOL). This blew my mind! Dave Matthews sounds like Tom Jones? Who else wouldn't I recognize if I heard a random song by (damn, what great sentence structure THAT had!).

So the next song I heard after that was "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World; the first two lines were:

Hey, don't write yourself off yet
It's only in your head

Hardy har har...how friggin' appropriate!

This post brought to you by Ramblings of a Lunatic!

No work today, woohoo! Instead, I laid in bed til 10 am reading the latest Patricia Cornwell novel, Predator. Then I got up, showered, made a shopping list and met Lauren for lunch at Macaroni Grill...yum! Next stop, or would've been if I could've found a parking space, was Barnes & Noble. Gave up after a bit and headed to Border's where they had 10 books on sale for half off, and I bought Michael Crichton's latest, Next. Then I went back in search of the purse I saw at Marshall's on Saturday.

Oh, I didn't tell you about that! I went to see Pan's Labyrinth (awesome movie!) and got to the theater early, so I figured I'd browse Marshall's. Found a purse I really liked, then I noticed the loooooooooong checkout lines and knew I'd never make it to the movie. So I put the purse down and figured if it was there when I came back, I'd buy it. Well...it wasn't. So then I had the great Purse Search of 2007. Today I found it!

Cute, eh?

Now I'm making chicken soup from the roast chicken I made on Saturday:

Then I'm going to hopefully finish Predator, before 24 starts! Wish me luck!

Have you made your own WeeMee yet? I've made a few; which one do you like best?

To make your own WeeMee, go here; when you're finished, save it, and then invite me as your friend (search for fondofsnape)! It's a little slow, still, but it'll get faster and there are big things in store!

2007 is The Year of the Pig (or Boar), which begins on Feb 17th. In China, the Pig (a more correct form would be the Boar) is associated with fertility and virility. To bear children in the year of the pig is considered very fortunate, for they will be happy and honest. If you're born during the following dates, it's your year!

- 22 January 1947 - 9 February 1948: Fire Pig
- 8 February 1959 - 27 January 1960: Earth Pig
- 27 January 1971 - 14 February 1972: Metal Pig
- 13 February 1983 - 1 February 1984: Water Pig

Wikipedia says:

The Pig type is usually an honest, straightforward and patient person. He/she is a modest, shy character who prefers to work quietly behind the scenes. When others despair, he/she is often there to offer support. This type of person is reserved with those they do not know too well, but as time passes and they gain confidence, those around them may discover a lively and warm-hearted person behind that mask of aloofness. Despite those born in the year of pig having a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, they have few close friends who understand them and share their inner thoughts and feelings. It is easy to put trust in pig type; he/she won't let you down and will never even attempt to do so. Such people simply want to do everything right according to social norms.

There is a tolerant and peaceful side to their character. Such people are never afraid to allow others their freedom of expression; they do not want to cause arguments and if there is any way to avoid arguing, they will probably take this option. They are not weak, however, and if the situation forces them to fight these people will rise to the occasion, whether it is to defend themselves or those close to them. People of the Pig type are the most admired by others.

I went car shopping today...and guess what I got? Not.a.damn.thing. In fact, I decided to keep my car!

The Honda Fit is not a good fit for me; it's ... too light, too...simple. I was quite disappointed actually. The salesman asked my why I wanted to trade "down" from my current car, a Honda Civic Si hatch (which they don't make anymore, sad to say). I hadn't realized the Fit was trading down until I finally found one to test drive. Definitely not for me. I also test drove a Honda Element; while nice, it's too big for my needs and as Jimbo said...it's so empty inside it echoes LOL! I sat in a Civic Si coupe, which was nice, but not big enough for Wolf's crate. Gotta take into consideration the dogs and Wolf doesn't like being in a moving car unless he's crated.

So after talking to the salesman, I decided to keep what I have for now. And truth to tell, I'm quite happy with the decision! It's a peppy car, well made and solid...and the stereo sounds awesome!

Before I went out I put on some sauce to simmer; my office mate gave me the recipe, and boy was it good! Here's the recipe:

one package of boneless pork spareribs
one package of sweet italian sausage
three 28 ounce cans of peeled crushed tomatoes (Pastene)
fresh garlic
olive oil
beef bouillon cubes

Pour a couple tablespoons of olive oil into a dutch oven, toss in 3 or 4 beef bouillon cubes and some garlic (I used 5 cloves, smushed flat with a the side of a knife) and heat that.

Brown the spareribs on all sides; remove to a plate

Brown the sausage. Put the spareribs back in the dutch oven and add two cans of the tomatoes.

Stir; then simmer for ... however long you wish LOL! I simmered it for 5 hours and the meat just fell apart!

A half hour before serving, add the third can of tomatoes. Voila!

I also added some pepper, salt & basil. Delish!

ok, I'm tossing this out there for advice.

My car is leased. The lease is up on 3/13/07. Yeah, next month. I have two choices here, obviously. I can turn the car in and purchase or lease a new car, or I can buy the car (or refinance). Simple in theory, right?

Well...in order to turn a leased car the following items are required:

- Get the car inspected (no problem, I'm under the allowed mileage)
- Proof of maintenance (big problem, I basically changed the oil every 3,000 miles, bought new tires and had a 40,000 mile or thereabouts checkup...not quite meeting the lease requirements.)
- Receipts for said repairs (which, of course, I don't have)

Plus, if I refinance what's left on the car (about $7,000.00) my monthly payments will stay about the same, albeit for a shorter period of time.

So...if my payments will stay the same do I keep the old car or buy a new one? I don't think I'll lease again...I'm not good enough at keeping receipts, etc.

Advice?

Your past life diagnosis:

You were born somewhere in the territory of modern West Africa around the year 1825. Your profession was that of a medic, surgeon or herbalist.

Your brief psychological profile in your past life:

Ruthless character, carefully weighing decisions in critical situations, with excellent self-control and strong will. Such people are generally liked, but not always loved.

The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation:

Magic is everywhere around you, even in the most usual, most ordinary situations. Your lesson is to understand this magic and to help other people to see it, too. You are a magician!

I brought magic (in the shape of a pizza) to my friend Diane's little girls, Chloe & Meri, Saturday night

How was your weekend?

To the man (can't use the term "gentleman" because he wasn't, and I am loathe to use the terms d!ck, @$$hole, or self important mfer) driving the Chrysler 300 with New Hampshire license plate "Sox":

What in the world happened to you to make you think you deserved to take up two spaces in front of the Owl Diner (aka 4 Sisters) on a busy Sunday morning? C'mon...is YOUR car really more important than others? No matter WHAT you think...it isn't. And then...I saw you leave, impatiently cutting off a long line of traffic so you could go on your merry way.

I only wish I had my camera with me.

Project 365: One photo a day...for a year! I started on 1/17/07...so far so good...which is saying alot for this commitment phobe!

In other news, today started out good...and then I got hit over the head. Not literally, but you know, figuratively hurts just as much.

On the bright side, I get to help plan a shower! That's always fun :-)

And two more bunchs of BPAL Imps were waiting for me when I got home Sunday night!

sometimes, something happens to make me smile:

Skyebourne: so I had the funniest horrible scope today
Janet: do tell
Skyebourne: You needn't be as sober and serious as you have been in the recent days or weeks, lighten up and let someone in before nightfall.
Janet: ahhh good one!
Janet: what's mine say?
Skyebourne: One minute you may feel you have everything going for you and the next that all is lost. Don't be so dramatic.
Skyebourne: omg
Skyebourne: it fits yes?
Janet: ahahahahha
Janet: too funny!

Are you KIDDING me???! Heroes is back tonight...but on at the SAME TIME as 24! That's just not fair, man, not fair at all.

Grrrrr...

Michelle, I'll be watching 24, and tivoing Heroes, so feel free to IM me when you get excited!

Who said IT guys aren't observant? I got new glasses yesterday and wore them to a Pampered Chef party at a friend's house. No one mentioned the new glasses...and yes, I'm aware that it might be because they didn't like them...but I don't see them every day like I do the guys in IT...still...we KNOW guys aren't all that observant...

I get to work this morning, one of the IT guys pokes his head in my office to ask about moving my computer to the new office.

Him: new glasses?
me: yup
him: nice, I like 'em. So when do you want your computer moved?

LOL!

Boneheaded thing I did this weekend: Well, I did a few, but this one takes the cake. I'm walking around the mall after dropping my car off for a LONG overdue oil change (MB tell Jack to stop laughing). A friend calls on my cell phone...but I can't hear her. So I try to hang up...can't...and end up powering off the phone. Turn it back on, call her back...can't hear her. So I'm freaking out, thinking my phone is broken. I text her and tell her sorry I can't hear her and take my phone to the Verizon store in the mall.

Anyone want to guess what happened? Hmmm...I think I'll LET you guess, and whoever guesses correctly...or with the funniest answer, will win a BPAL Imp when they finally arrive!

Have at it!

What else...Friday I looked at getting a new phone; I BADLY want the Blackberry Pearl. My contract with Verizon is up in September...so I guess I'll wait...if I can manage it.

Saturday Megan & Lauren helped me move into my new office...and move all the rest of the crap I had accumulated over the 10 years here into my storage facility. Thanks, girls! That night my friend Diane & I saw the movie Notes On A Scandal; it made me sad, but it was a damn good movie. Judi Dench & Cate Blanchett (and Bill Nighy, for that matter) were awesome! We saw the movie in Framingham, and it was so crowded we had to park across the street...it was also DAMN cold, and my lungs were frozen and aching when we finally made it inside. Finally gave Diane her Christmas gift!

Sunday I exchanged Christmas gifts with my friend Mo, and we had breakfast at the Owl Diner...yummy! Was wandering around Target later that day and saw some pretty gift cards. I thought...hmmm...those are SO cute, who can I buy one...for...OMG! Zoot had given me the gift of extending my Pro account at Flickr for Christmas. I was going to purchase a frame from Target for her, but we talked about it and I was going to send her a Target gift card instead of mailing the frame...IN December ... for Christmas ... Zoot, expect some mail REAL soon! I am SO sorry, my brain just isn't functioning!!!

I HATE when someone in this office effing crunches lifesavers...STOPIT! Like fingernails on a chalkboard, it is.

Finally...a pic from last Friday morning...

I love looking at pawprints in freshly fallen snow! These were going across my driveway into the neighbor's yard...it's fun to see what's out there, you know?

Um...so far, this has been ... an interesting weekend!

Continue reading "a couple movies, some puppies, and a bit of boohooing"

Happy Birthday, Severus, my sweet!

In other news, I'm totally looking forward to seeing Heather this weekend! My cousin mentioned something about having a gathering at her house...anyone up for it?

I went to the dentist yesterday and now I have a raging headache...damn!

Wolf has been on a tear lately. He nipped at Max when Max walked by him the other day and he's jumped on the back of Dad's legs as Dad goes to walk by me to ... warn him? I don't know. He's got a wild shiba hair up his rear, haysus!

Laura, I've gotten MORE compliments on that scarf you gave me! EVERYONE loves it!

It's entirely possibly my phone is dying...I hope not, but it's acting very strangely!

And the last thing on my mind...I'm thinking about getting a new car, a Honda Fit. Anyone seen them?

Anneliese and Anni

Can you believe the weather on Saturday? It hit 70 degrees; I was driving around with the window down...on the 6th of January!!! Very, very strange.

I finally rented a storage unit, climate controlled, and started moving boxes off the porch. Next will be consolidating the things that are left on the porch, then I takle upstairs. When I'm done, I'll have a bit more room and the house will certainly look more presentable.

Sunday, Krista and I went to visit my cousin, or more accurately, her puppies! Aren't they just the cutest things? Four weeks old, and already playing with toys, growling and barking in their tiny voices...so sweet! And there is nothing like the smell of puppy breath! Thanks, MB, I had so much fun :-)

Stopped at a restaurant on the way back, The Common Man. Holy MOG, was the food there good! I had lobster chowder, a salad & some butternut stuffed pasta...and for dessert, Indian Pudding! My favorite! Thanks, K, that was so much fun :-)

When I wasn't packing, moving, playing with puppies or eating, I was reading a book called The Secret History by Donna Tartt. So good, and hard to put down. Probably why I wasn't online much either LOL!

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?

DebR is the Wednesday guest blogger here and I'm playing along:

1. I have never wanted to poor and unemployed; but I've always thought I might like to be rich and unemployed or free to do what I want when I want to.

2. When I was twenty-nine years old, I believed Michael and I would live happily ever after.

3. If I was my own best friend, what I would enjoy the most about spending time with Me would be the fact that I'd be up for almost anything, and could take trips on a moments notice; while what I'd find the most irritating would be listening to myself put me down.

4. If the story of my life up to this point was being published tomorrow, it would be titled "A Photographer and Her Shiba" and it would be dedicated to all shiba inu lovers and photographers everywhere.

5. When my time on Earth is over, and the people who loved me are remembering me, it would please me if they said I scattered her ashes at/in/by [fill in spot]; it was where I had the most fun with her and I think of her whenever I'm there and remember her fondly.

MissMeliss made me do it! Recently, she posted about some scents she purchased from Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs. One of the comments on her entry caught my eye, it was about the scent Hetairae. I did a search on Black Phoenix on black opium, and then honey and came up with the following scents that sounded like they'd smell so.damn.good!

Anathema: Black opium, with vetivert and honeysuckle.

Sed Non Satiata: Myrrh, red patchouli, cognac, honey, tuberose, geranium over the darkest musk.

Blood Kiss: Vanilla, honey, clove, red cherries, vetiver, soporific poppy, blood red wine, and a bit of musk

Hetairae: Golden honey, fiery patchouli, sweet fig, clove, and a touch of ylang ylang.

O: Amber and honey with a touch of vanilla.

Bengal: Musk with honey, pepper, clove, cinnamon bark and ginger

I ordered 6 Imp Ears from them of these scents...can't wait to smell 'em!!!

Also new for me this year, L'Occitane's Lait d'Ambre (Amber Body Milk). Mmmmm, I love it! Here's the description: When the sun is slowly setting above the Mediterranean shore, cistus plants fill the air with their delicious ambered perfume. These flowering plants have leaves coated with a highly aromatic resin called labdanum, which is responsible for the scent.

For a perfect example of how everyone experiences scents differently, I wore this to work last week. A co-worker came into my office and said...OMG were you in a smoky bar last night (I wasn't, it was the Amber body milk scent). However, I went to a local bar NYE and the female bartender asked me what scent I was wearing cause it smelled so good! Actually, that was the Amber lotion mixed with the scent I made, Snape.

Looking forward to any new scents this year?

Is everyone sufficiently recovered from New Year's Eve? I need to recover from today! It was a marathon of CSI Miami...don't ask my why, it just was! Maybe it was the freezing rain, maybe I just needed a day of absolutely doing nothing...man, it felt good to be lazy! And entertained LOL!

My New Year's Eve was a three parter! First, Michelle came up and we went to dinner (Chinese, of course) with Dad. Then she and I went to Grendel's and watched one of the chick bartenders arm & thumb wrestle with the customers LOL! It was over all too fast, I dropped Michelle off at home and headed to Megan & Jim's for their first New Year's Eve party in their new home. Had fun talking the folks there; Jim's baker brother was sweet and his other brother's wife was quite interesting! Lauren & Rich kept me amused, too, as did Megan with her antics. Give that girl some champagne and a camera and she's OFF!

Anyway, I hope each and every one of you had a fantastic New Year's Eve celebration, however you chose to spend it, and that 2007 is the best year ever! I have a feeling it will be :-)

January:

- Great New Year's Eve with my cousin and her husband
- back to the gym
- Tea at the Ritz
- Saw Les Miserables at the National Theater in Washington, DC
- Mom's memorial service
- the old Ash tree in front of the house was cut down
- went to a drag queen show in Boston!
- Charles Laquidara back on the radio! Woohoo!

Movies:

- Brokeback Mountain
- Narnia
- Last Holiday

Books:

- The Love Wife by Gish Jen

Monday: The only non-Christmas event this week, I met Megan at Not Your Average Joe's, and went to see Casino Royale...the first Bond movie I've seen that wasn't corny beyond believe. Go see it! One word for Daniel Craig: Yum!

Tuesday: Krista & Matt invited me over to see their new house, which is just beautiful! She made a lovely dinner of General Loo's chicken, Megan & Jim were there, too and we had wine and a good time. Thanks, K!

Wednesday: Headed to Not Your Average Joe's, after some confusion over which one we were going to, with Krista, to meet Michelle. We had a nice dinner and exchanged gifts.

Thursday: I met up with Lauren & Meg at Not Your Average Joe's (yes, again LOL) where we had dinner and exchanged presents. Eileen came along to give us comic relief.

Friday: Oh, what a night! Megan and I had a magical time! We met at Barnes & Noble and opened gifts there. Next up was:

Sandrine's, a nice french bistro in Harvard Sq. The service left a bit to be desired, but the food was beyond reproach! We dined on appetizers only, so we could try a few different things: escargot, onion soup, pates...along with a glass of beaujolais nouveau, it was quite delicious!

We hopped on the T and headed to downtown Boston, were we had a drink at The Oak Bar at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. It was like sitting in my grandmother's parlor, the service was fantastic and very gracious, the jazz was great, and the martini was the best ever! It's called the Charles River martini, and as you might guess by the name (if you're from around here), it's a very dirty martini. It has green olives, kalamata olives & cocktail onion, all chopped up, in it and oh my was it GOOD! It was also quite possibly the most expensive martini ever...clocking in at $24!

From there we went to the bar at one of Boston's most posh restaurants, Aujourd'hui. The service there was the best I've ever had; our server was attentive, congenial and fun! I had Pernod on the rocks with water, and we ordered a cheese plate that was served by a Frenchman with an accent that had Megan melting LOL!

Finally, we ended up at Top of the Hub, a bar/restaurant on top of the 52nd floor of the Prudential Building, where we ran into Michelle and her husband! I was bone tired by then and ready to head home. It really was a magical night of no worries, just pure enjoyment! I highly recommend trying this sometime :-)

Saturday: I headed up to my cousin's for a pre-Christmas celebration. Unfortunately, I was late, so I missed the lunch at Canoe! But Maribeth made a fantastic dinner of all appetizers; meatballs, artichoke dip, grapeleaves & potato salad...yum! And I got to play with the puppies!

Two weeks old!

We made my parents' Sand Tart cookie recipe, and watched Scrooged, which I think only amused me LOL! We then watched POTC: Dead Man's Chest, nothing to do with Christmas, but ai yi yi that Capt. Jack Sparrow is muy easy on the eyes!

Sunday: Delicious breakfast, with some stollen for dessert (what...you don't eat dessert for breakfast?).

for ME

the stollen!

Then we exchanged presents, and afterward I headed home to clean and organize. My brother came over with pizza, he and Dad watched the football game while I got things done around the house. After the game, they helped me make cookies, my traditional molasses chewies and toll house biscotti.

Wolf helped, too!

We ordered Chinese for dinner and watched How The Grinch Stole Christmas, followed by the movie My Girl.

Monday: Merry Christmas! We were up earylish, I had YET to wrap presents, so while Dad & bro ate a breakfast of baked french toast, I wrapped and finally got it all done LOL! Then we tore the gifts apart :-)

Altho this was my brother's present to my Dad, I'll get to use it, too! The cup was a gift from a coworker!

Today? I'm taking the dogs for a long walk, leftovers for dinner and slathering myself, after showering, in my new body lotion!

What are you doing today?

Here are the names of the songs for the lyrics I posted in today's Thursday Thirteen:

1. Father Christmas - The Kinks
2. You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch
3. River - Joni Mitchell
4. Santa Claus and His Old Lady - Cheech and Chong
5. O Christmas Tree
6. Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses
7. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) - Nat King Cole
8. Santa Claus is Comin to Town - Bruce Springsteen
9. Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas
10. Same Old Lang Syne - Dan Fogelberg
11. Jingle Bell Rock - Hall and Oates
12. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
13. Winter Wonderland

Thanks for guessing, it was fun!

I was reading blogs today and came across the The Faeries' Oracle at ocean blue fire. So I asked the faeries a question about my job. Guess what the faeries said?

Well, here...read for yourself, you'll probably have to click on the picture to read the text clearly.

This is the Past:

This is the Present:

This is the Future:

Interesting...

It's been a year since Mom passed away...and it feels like forever and it feels like yesterday.

I was with Michelle in Barnes and Noble when my brother called me...I went to find Michelle, told her what happened and in my shock said "But finish your shopping, ok?" She, of course, did no such thing and went with me to the nursing home and was just there for me. I don't know if I even thanked her as it was all kind of a blur but I appreciated her calm presence more than I'm sure she knew.

I've been waiting for that number to show up, and finally it did! Ocean Lady wrote the 7777th comment on this entry; and she wins a prize! You get to pick what it is; a gift cert, a picture, a christmas ornament, another Imp of perfume, whatever, as long as it's under $15! Your call :-)

Congratulations and thanks to everyone for coming by, reading and commenting!

Want to be my Blingo friend? Click on the link below:

My second win on Blingo happened on my very first search today! This is my 8th win overall:

- Fandango Movie Ticket, thanks to me! 12/11/06

- Fandango Movie Ticket, thanks to Michelle on 10/17/06

- $10 iTunes Gift Certificate, thanks to me, 7/13/06

- Blingo Movie Ticket, thanks to Megan 7/13/06

- $10 iTunes Gift Certificate, thanks to Amy on 6/30/06

- $200 Visa Gift Card, thanks to Michelle on 4/12/06

- $10 iTunes Gift Certificate, thanks to Michele on 3/31/06

- Apple iPod Nano, thanks to Megan on 3/7/06

Are you using Blingo to search? If not, you should! No strings, no spam, just prizes :-)

Again, Lisa borrowed this from someone, who borrowed it from someone else, and so on and so on. The rules: "Write the first sentence of the first post of every month in 2006." I decided to change it a bit; instead of the first sentence, I did the first three sentences. I also added my three favorite pictures of each month. Here goes!

January: Welcome to 2006!

Happy New Year! Dad and I ushered in the new year with my cousin, Maribeth, her "hubby" and of course, Shubi, Fritz & Greta! MB made a delicious dinner of boiled lobster, carrot casserole & asparagas with apple crisp for dessert; of course, prior to and afterward we noshed on all sorts of yummy things: artichoke dip, clam dip, and lunch when we first arrived (a platter of liverwurst, tilseter cheese, salami, mozzerella & panchetta, with german bread called bauernbrot, fleishsalat, french onion soup & a platter of devilled eggs--yum!).

February: Wednesday's songs

Charles' 9 great songs from 1993:

Big Head Todd & The Monsters "Bittersweet"
Pearl Jam- "Daughter"

March: My vacation

as told in pictures:

Day 1 - 2/28: Beautiful macaw! Just one of the birds we saw at a bird rescue organization we visited on our bike tour of Key West.

April: Your soul was born in the Shadows...

Your soul was born in the shadows of the moon at night. You're all mystery and enigma and your element is the Moon. No one really knows who you are, but they might think they know you.

May: It's May! Why am I still wearing a coat?

Last Friday, I told you about the water heater. Well, it didn't get fixed Saturday...or Sunday...but hopefully it did get done today! I've been showering at the gym, not fun, but the extra added benefit is I actually am working OUT at the gym as well.

June: T13

Thirteen Things I love about June!
(the list is up early for the US, but it's Thursday SOMEWHERE in the world, right?)

1. It's my birthday month; I share a birthday with Cyndi Lauper & Todd Rundgrun, Ed Bradley (60 Minutes), Jai Rodriguez (the cute lil guy from Queer Eye), Mary Lynn Rajskub (10 points to those who know who she is), Steven Page from BNL, Dan Brown (he wrote The Da Vinci Code), and Meryl Streep, to name a few.

July: Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt

Not only do you get an automobile picture, you get kilts & bagpipes as well! Anyone know what kind of car this is? Saw it at the Union College "Re-Union" a couple months ago...

August: Opium and smoke and spice...ooooh my!

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.

September: Stuff Portrait Friday

Random and Odd's 3 items:

1. Show your Support (everyone supports something right?)
2. Show me your sacrifice (everyone makes them right?)








(yeah, totally broke the rules, but I just couldn't choose!)

October: a rainy day with Azzy & JR

Today I met Azzy and her beau, JR at Henrietta's Table in Harvard Square, where we decided we weren't hungry enough to spend $40 each on brunch. We headed over to Upstairs at the Pudding, which had an a la carte menu that was fantastic! I had an artisan cheese plate and a fruit plate (with a dirty martini which was quite good), Azzy had huevos rancheros and JR had divine rosemary steak & eggs.

November: What Is It Wednesday #30

Here's last Wednesday's picture:

This is what it was cropped from:

DebR got it correct again this week, "Rooster comb?"

December: Stuff Portrait Friday

Random and Odd's latest challenge:

1. Something that makes you go "hmmmm."

Will it fall or won't it? Hmmm....

She would've been 84 today and I miss her. Here are some memories I wrote about her last May.

I miss her...but I'm glad to know she's keeping in touch with my friend!

As my therapist said, the first time she met me...at least you have a great sense of humor :-)

Happy Birthday, Mom, wherever you are!!!

Also, I'd like to wish a very happy birthday to Monique and Michele! Hope you both had a fantastic day :-)

I love going places during the holiday season! France at Christmas is gorgeous, as is Italy, Canada, Germany, Japan, Norway, England. However, in reality, I've only been to France & Japan during the holidays, but I HAVE been to Epcot, where you can visit all those places in a single day!

Deb and Laura SHOULD open a B&B because they were the BEST hostesses ever! They made sure we were happy, fed and having fun every second of every day...even while sleeping, I swear, they filled the house with scents of zepolis and sugarplums!

Here's a sampling of our itinerary:

Saturday: Arrived in Orlando, met Deb & Laura at the airport, and off we went to their lovely timeshare. Dropped off the luggage, got a tour of the place, and then went grocery shopping and had dinner at the clubhouse. Came home, opened presents (they gave us gift certs for massages at the spa!!!), watched a bit of a movie and hit the hay.

Sunday: Breakfast at the Waffle House...grits!...yum! Love that place, none of 'em up here :-( Then off to the Magic Kingdom! We bought a two day pass to the Disney parks and went back and forth between the Magic Kingdom (LOVE saying that) and Epcot. Rode Pirates of the Caribbean (the first animatronic Johnny...er...Captain Jack Sparrow was TOTALLY awesome!), The Haunted Mansion and saw a 3D show featuring Mickey & Donald :-) Then Epcot! And tons of walking and drinking and eating and shopping, capped off by some AWESOME fireworks!

Monday: Used our gift certificates for a wonderful massage, then back to the timeshare for a delicious breakfast cooked by our gracious hostesses! Poor Laura was not feeling well at all, and decided not to go back to the parks with us, and Deb stayed home to take care of her. They were nice enough, though, to drop us off! So back to the Magic Kingdom for another ride on Pirates, and then back to Epcot for more shopping, drinking and eating. Deb & Laura picked us up about 930, and Laura made some zepolis (italian cookie/biscuits thingies, which were delicious).

Tuesday: Total pool day! Had breakfast at the clubhouse, laid out by the pool, took pictures, swam, sunned, read; had lunch at the clubhouse, repeat LOL! Went shopping to a Disney outlet and a regular outlet, then to Macaroni Grill for dinner and Krispy Kreme (Deb & Laura had never had one!) for dessert.

Wednesday: Deb & Laura took us to the airport where we did a bit more shopping (Lush!!!) and wandered off to our gate, only to find our flight was cancelled! Even that worked out well, we caught an earlier, direct flight, and were whisked away home!

And I'm wicked missing it today; it's FREEZING here!

Colleen has a great contest going on; it closes tonight at midnight, but it doesn't mean you have to stop "Paying It Forward"! Her Thursday Thirteen will give you some ideas of Thirteen Things You Can Do To Pay It Forward!

Tell me what you enjoy doing to "Pay It Forward"!

And am I the only one who finds it ironic that Colleen, a woman who writes books about a vampire slayer, included on her Thursday Thirteen list "donate blood"? I think she should've made it #13 instead of #12, tho hehehe ;-)

I'm going to talk politics...run away!!! But come back, cause then I'm gonna talk about Lost!

When I got home from work Tuesday night, there were two empty beer bottles on the kitchen table (my precious Yuengling!!!). Now...neither Wolf nor Max has the ability to open a beer without breaking the bottle, so I figured it had to be Dad.

I said hi, walking into the living room...and he looked like his best friend had died. "Dad!", I said, "What's wrong?" His reply? "I'm watching the news, and it's not good...not good at all." You see, Dad's a Republican.

Fast forward to Wednesday night. Rinse, lather, repeat (minus empty bottles of MY damn Yuengling). He's convinced that with liberals in high places bad things will happen. I asked, "Dad...did any bad things happen with Republicans in office?" His answer? Silence. Stubborn bastid ;-)

Normally, my Dad and I are alot alike...but in this instance the apple fell far, far, FAR from the tree :-)

You Are 0% Republican

If you have anything in common with the Republican party, it's by sheer chance. You're a staunch liberal, and nothing is going to change that!

How Republican Are You?

I'm scared by people who answered even ONE thing positively in that test. *shivers*

You Are 48% Democrat

You aren't a full fledged Democrat yet, but it's likely the party that fits you best. You probably consider yourself an independent Democrat. You usually support the party, but you also think for yourself!

How Democrat Are You?

Ok, done with politics. What did you think of Lost last night? How STUPID are the others that they didn't know Jack would do what he did? Damn, Sawyer and Monica Kate are hot! He's just such an adorable badass!!! Look north? What did THAT mean? And what WAS the story Jack told Kate when they first met?

Off to walk the dog; Thursday Thirteen is below!

I've seen this on a couple of blogs and I love the art on these cards. I'm, of course, the Moon :) Let me know if you do this one so I can see your card!

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

I'm going to open this up to you readers...does it sound like me?

do some parents cater to kids? Have you guys seen the Pizza Hut commercial with the harried Dad, rushing into the house and tossing various fast food bags at his kids? The first time I saw it, I was dumbfounded!

When I was growing up, my brother and I ate what my parents ate. My mother didn't cook us separate meals! While we might not have liked everything she made, we were exposed to a wide variety of foods and liked at least one thing each meal. For example, I didn't like lima beans or peas and would gag when she made them. I'd pick them out of my tuna casserole or whatever it was and set them aside. My mother didn't punish me for not eating them, she didn't put them in a bowl and force me to eat them later, but neither did she leave them out when she was cooking the meal. When did parents become personal chefs for their kids? And more to the point, why?

I noticed this phenomenom at my cousin's surprise party. The kids didn't sit and eat turkey and mashed potatoes and squash and broccoli and stuffing and cranberry sauce with us. Know what they had? Chicken nuggets and mac & cheese (ok, I had some of the mac & cheese, but I still enjoyed the rest of the meal, too). My cousins and my brother and I would never have thought to NOT eat a meal like this, especially at Thanksgiving. In fact, we looked forward to it! It was a tradition! Apparently, these kids don't take after our side of the family LOL! I did notice that MB's daugter, Amanda, at least tried the plum pudding, instead of making fun of us for eating it (it's kind of a weird thing, an aquired taste, I guess). I find it strange that people don't at least taste something new...but I won't make fun of 'em for it...mostly ;-)

It's not mac & cheese or peanut butter? Then I'm not eating it! Hmmmph!

Drove to New Haven, CT yesterday to participate in a surprise party for my cousin, Maribeth. It was planned and put together by her sister, Mel, who did an OUTSTANDING job!

Maribeth thought she was going to enjoy a nice turkey dinner with Mel and her family and their parents, and instead, she got a bit of a surprise in the form of her daugther, my Dad and me!

Since lots of us in the family are shutterbugs, tons of pictures were taken! Unfortunately, my camera decided to have a headache, so I'm letting him rest a bit, then I'll try to download the pictures I took (96 LOL). In the meantime, here's one by Mel and one taken with my other camera:

Cousin Mel captured this shot of Dad & her mom, Rosa (they're first cousins), reminiscing over a photo album:

Don't they look happy?

A full moon accompanied us on the long drive home:

A friend of mine sent me an interesting email recently. She said: "Just wanted to tell you that I woke up from a dream about you feeling a huge sense of "ok, everything is going to be alright now". Don't know what that means, don't remember the dream, just that I felt very worry-free about you."

Which led us, in a typical meandering fashion, to the following conversation:

me: speaking of doctors and House, you watch that show, right?

her: not regularly, I love it though, I think House is hot.

me: I, of course, can't stand the show, but he was on SNL last week and he was a funny funny bastard!

her: don't you think he's good looking?

me: no, he's ok looking, i just HATE the character! so frickin' mean

her: I think that's what makes him so hot

me: yeah, well, you go on your masochistic lil way honey ;-) I'd prefer a man who is a bit nicer...say Professor Snape :-)

her: SNORT

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An excerpt from a interview with Alan Rickman in a French magazine, Total Star, back inApril/May 2005 (it's a rough translation from French to English):

TS: Did some fans address you with loathsome remarks?

AR: In fact, very little did. What is splendid is that people in general adore Snape. He is sarcastic, stubborn, etc, etc. But he is also fascinating. I have a lot of fun impersonating him, I take immense pleasure in playing someone so ambiguous.

Ok, I did absolutely horribly at the RIP Challenge! These were the books I was going to read:

1. Murder Most Scottish, an anthology (I did read a few stories out of it, tho, just not the whole thing!)

2. The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice (mmmm...Lestat, tho I liked Louis more in the movie)

3. Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories (same as #1, I read a few of the stories)

4. A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials by Frances Hill (this one I couldn't find at the library)

5. Vampires: The Greatest Stories, a compilation of stories. (ditto)

I finished only one book on it...and it was a book I'd already read, The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice. However, I DID read a fantastic new book called The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, which Carl so wonderfully reviewed here. Two books out of five is pretty damn pitiful for someone that ADORES reading.

Carl, can we have a movie challenge next time? ;-)

Don't you wish you could just sail away sometimes?

NaBloPoMo, day 2:

****LOST SPOILERS BELOW****

Because a few of the cool kids are doing it, I signed up for NaBloPoMo, too.

Fussy says: "No matter what you post - pictures, poems, observations, critiques, or bald-faced lies -- the hope is that the act of putting something of yourself out for the world to see every single day will make writing become a more fluid, natural, and integral part of your day.
A personal blog is a mirror, and just for one month you'll be able to capture an image of yourself every day while creating a time capsule of the good, the bad, and that time you pissed off your mom by updating your blob [Fussy said blob hahahah; Freudian slip regarding all the eating going on at Thanksgiving?!] during Thanksgiving dinner.
Plus, think how happy your regular readers will be, knowing they can get a reliable dose of your brilliance thirty days in a row. That means weekends, too, my friend."

So without further ado, here is my first November post:

I put this up on the door to the conference room at work yesterday; the powers that be decided a Halloween Pizza Party and costume contest would be fun; prizes were awarded (gift certs to Starbucks, Borders, etc).
I contemplated dressing up in my vampire wig, goth makeup and all black clothing, but decided to pass on that. My costume: the cool devil horns that I'd purchased in Salem last Sunday.
Unfortunately, not ONE person in any of the other offices in this six floor building dressed up. The Cafe help didn't dress up...the maintenance staff...no one. So it felt a bit odd...not that feeling odd is unknown to me!
The costume winner was a relatively new guy in the office who dressed up as Kip Dynamite (I didn't know who or what he was supposed to be...I just thought he was a sleazy 70s guy...hell, I didn't even recognize him!).
I also have a bit of regret about not going to Salem last night...it's just so cool to see the people that go all out in their costumes, but I did have a great time at Grendel's, so it's all good.

Tonight was one of those surreal nights...Michelle and I were having a conversation, suddenly we're doing shots with the guy seated next to her (he was minding his own business, reading Shogun) and Ned (the bartender, it was so good to see him again! His hair grew out a bit, he put on a bit of muscle, looks hotter than usual) ; then Michelle, the guy next to her and I are talking about animals and testing (he's a vet tech at Harvard) and the next thing I know I'm in a deep conversation about politics and racial issues with some older black man with a bowtie who graduated from Princeton and finally I'm talking to the guy next to Michelle about LOTR and Harry Potter and how good the books and movies are. Huh??? As usual, Ned charged us like $25.00 for dinner and many, MANY drinks (we were there from 5:30 pm- 10 pm).

How I missed these kinds of nights!

Took this shot on the way home from my cousin's house. MaryEllen and I had such a relaxing Friday night and Saturday morning with her and Hubby up in NH! She made us yummilicious crepes for breakfast. I'm telling you, this chick should start a B&B!

Saturday evening, MaryEllen and I met up with the now infamous Deb & Laura (ask them where we ended up Saturday night! Go ahead...ask 'em! HAHAHA!!!). Megan met us at their hotel room as did Lauren & Julie. Unfortunately, Lauren couldn't accompany us on our night of debauchery, which began with a liberal amount of wine, included dinner at Cobblestones (we were those really loud people that I normally glare at), a long drive afterward and concluded with...well, let's just say I thought Megan's face would crack in half, she was smiling so hard and MaryEllen had TWO massages...she was as relaxed as I've ever seen her! I even had a massage, but it was far too short.

Sunday I picked up the girls and headed to the Owl Diner, were we met up with Megan and Jimbo and squeezed 5 in a 4 person booth...togetherness rules! We stole Megan for the day and went to Salem, where it was crowded, but not horribly so. Still quite a few interesting folks there...like this guy:

How was your weekend?

I haven't really done anything here lately other than post pictures and ... post pictures LOL!

Here's a bit of what's been going on:

- My friend's husband was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He had his first chemo Tuesday. Please think good thoughts for him?

- My lovely and talented friend, Heather, has done yet another new design for me on my photoblog over on Blogger. It should be up tonight, it's green and filled with shiba goodness...and it's FANTASTIC!

- I'm feeling VERY disconnected from my friends, very much alone in this world, which in and of itself is mostly a normal feeling for me...not sure how to change it, or if there is anything to change.

- Yesterday I sent the president of my company an email telling him I wanted to sit down with him and discuss resigning my main position (I were two hats here); he has not responded or mentioned it to me in any way.

- Last night I came home to find out Dad had tried to fully close one of the windows on the outside porch...and had gotten stuck...for at least an hour. On the porch. In the cold. Boy, was I mad! I don't want to yell at him for trying to do things that were easy for him to do in the past, but I can't seem to help myself. I want to be more kind and caring, but...what's wrong with me?

- This weekend I have some friends coming up and I'm really looking forward to it. I just hope that things go smoothly.

- I figured out a great Halloween costume ... totally looking forward to it, I just wish it would GET HERE already!

- We're having a Halloween Party at work on Tuesday; I think I'll just wear a pair of devil horns ;-)

Poor Legolas was traded in for a new model this weekend ;-)

Today is my little brother's birthday! Well...he's not so little anymore:

Larry and Wolf

But he's still younger than me. Wait...I can't rag on him for that anymore, that's a GOOD thing! Hmmm...anyway...happy birthday, bro!

Aging is such a bitch! It made me forget to wish my good friend Aislinn a very happy birthday yesterday!

I met Azzy at work a few years ago...we discovered we had some things in common, the Air Force being one of them, and LOTR being another, just to mention a couple. We spent many lunchhours playing LOTR Trivial Pursuit, and she's the only one that stood a chance against me :-) For old time's sake, Azzy, here's a question from for you from the game:

What does Legolas tell Aragorn is the certain fate of all the Rohirrim at Helm's Deep?

And no, the answer is NOT a date with me ;-)

She's pretty dang happy in her life now, the lucky so-and-so is going to Paris & London soon, and I'm pretty dang happy for her!

That's Aislinn on the right :-)

Won't you wish her a happy birthday, too?

I decided I'd try a different scent a day off the 'imps' I got from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.

Today was Greed, a combination of patchouli, heliotrope, copal and oakmoss. The patchouli is VERY weak in this...you can smell it, but it's toned down and mixed nicely with the flowery scent of the heliotrope; it's a very nice combination!

Again, there is a slight smell of incense, which I believe comes from the copal (had to look up copal--it's a more mature form of resin. The word copal comes from the Spanish word copalli which means incense.)

These are some of the comments I got:

smells like baby powder
smells like incense
smells good (could ya BE a bit more specific)
and my favorite was this unsolicited comment, given to me as I was walking ahead of this woman in the hallway:
Janet, you smell good!

It's a keeper! Tomorrow will be Lust, perfect for the adult toy party I'll be attending ;-)

Yesterday, I went back through my blog entries from October 2004 and 2005. Damn, I've been around awhile, and so have some of you! Apparently I have a tradition of posting spooky pictures for the month of October. It's so convenient, having a brain that doesn't remember things!

Awhile ago, I asked my non-blogging cousin, Mel, to contribute another scary story for Halloween; she's a bit busy, but said she'd consider it. In the meantime, I'll post a repeat of her stories from 2004 & 2005 starting next week. Both of them have 4 chapters, so I'll post 1 chapter a day starting on Mondays. She's an excellent story teller, I hope you enjoy them!

Here's the "scary" picture of the day, which is a repeat from October 1, 2005!

Today's photo: a tricky shot involving a shiba and a witch hat...always a tough combination:

me: Wolf! Stay!

Wolf: oh for crissakes, I'm NOT wearing that hat!

me: C'mon, Wolf...treat! Treat!

Wolf: Hmmm...maybe it's one of those crack biscuits or a piece of cheese!

me: Good BOY, Wolf!

Wolf: Yeah, whatever, where's the damn treat?

It's been awhile since I've written anything really personal here; time to change that!

Today, I was going through the Thursday Thirteens and saw this entry, Thirteen Things About Severus, whom we all know I'm "fond of". So many of the entries I read today and last night were either about people's kids or about people's relationship with God, neither of which I could really relate to, so when I read this one I smiled.

Also, I think the picture Amy took of the picture I sent her is nicer than the picture I took!

Fool of a took!

Ooops, sorry, slipped into Tolkienese.

Going to effing shoot myself now. Have a great night!

- Anyone want to go see the Raconteurs with me at the Orpheum this Friday at 7:30? It's only 30 bucks :-)

- Target at 10 am-ish during the week...don't go there! It's baby & toddler heaven, and if you have the least little sensitivity to sound, holy haysus! Not only do some of the moms just let the kids scream, they let them bring toys that make loud, repetitive sounds, as do some of the moms themselves. For example, one mom said to her baby/toddler (and in not a quiet voice I might mention): "oh look at the pumpkins, the pretty pumpkins, oh look there's another pumpkin" over and over and over til I just wanted to say to her OMG HE SEES THE PUMPKINS ALREADY! Can you not hear yourself? MAN! Sorry if I've offended moms, I know not ALL moms are like that...are you? LOL!

- I decorated the yard Monday in Halloween style, and finally got the dang Blingo gift card to work. Hope those merchants get their money!

- OMG! And I found the man of my dreams Monday! Would you like to see him? Sure you would! I'll post his picture soon :-)

- Colleen wrote a very interesting post on Alan Rickman, aka Snape; click on the highlighted link and go check it out, if your'e so inclined!

Tonight, on 20/20 Barbara Walters talks with Terri Irwin, Steve Irwin's widow, and to his business partner John Stainton. While I want to see this, I know it's going to be a sobfest. Why do we feel so strongly about Steve Irwin? I believe it's his innate goodness. What do you think?

Gmail's down, as is google and firefox doesn't seem to be working properly. Yes, I tried accessing gmail on IE, no go, but blogs that wouldn't open up in Firefox open up fine in IE, atho I can't comment. What the hey???

So if I have't answered any emails recently, that's why.

Here, have another picture to look at while I go back to reading The Thirteenth Tale:

A Geek In Beantown asked and I volunteered...to be a photo editor for Boobiethon 2006 (Laura, don't faint); and yes, I'll be submitting a picture, too:

The following is quoted directly from A Geek in Beantown:

Robyn posted a call for early photo submissions... In her own words: "A quick heads-up that we are now taking early photo submissions at the fifth annual Boobie-Thon. By making an early photo submission you help us make sure the site is already filled with content on launch-day (October 1st). You can find more information on how to submit photographs, and what kind of photographs are accepted, here."

Volunteers are still needed, especially a PR coordinator and male photo editors, so please read my last blog entry if you're interested in helping out. We'd love to have your help, your photos, etc. Also, we'd love it if you'd post about this and help spread the word!

So I've posted about it, and I expect some of you more adventurous types to submit photos! And don't email them to me, please follow the directions (and guidelines) here!

Thanks, and have fun!

- I've got a wedding to shoot this weekend in a building with practically no windows and the groom doesn't want me to use a flash. Wish me luck?

- Wolf's paw is bothering him; he's been licking it to the point it's bleeding...how much do you want to bet he wakes me up with a shiba scream tonight and then he gets to go to the vet tomorrow?

- Did anyone watch the new tv show Jericho? I thought it was a very interesting premise, and I really like Gerald McRaney! Damn, he's aged, tho...but haven't we all LOL!

- Today, someone I work with told me she's leaving. I knew it was coming, still I'm sad to see her go :-(

Speaking of work, when I got back from going to Trader Joe's this afternoon (licorice, cookies, raw almonds, Tofutti ice cream sandwiches, thanks to Heather & satay noodles) there was a yellow jacket in my office. One of the IT guys was walking by and I asked him to get the bee. This started a 3 Stooges routine of the funniest order!

He goes after it with...well, he's an IT guy! What do you think he went after it with?

A rolled up newspaper?

Bug spray?

A shoe?

No...air! Canned air, like you use to clean your keyboards. Can you say pissed off bee? Then he sprayed some of the air over where he thought the bee was, and it hit a dried rose I had on the wall. A petal flew off, and I SWEAR he jumped and screamed ROFLMAO! Ok...lol at least he wasn't too scared to try, which I was!

Finally the problem was solved by Super Deb and Brave Walt. In a combined show of strength, Deb lysoled it, got it to the carpet, Walt pointed out where it was on said carpet and Deb stepped on it, squishing it dead. Then she was going to pick it up with her bare fingers! GROSS!!!

I promptly asked Deb if she'd be my roommate so she should kill bugs for me. She laughed and asked me to stop kidnapping her Captain Jack Sparrow stuffed doll (from McDonald's y'all!). I like to look at it as Where In The World Is Captain Jack Sparrow?

Gotta leave you with a picture:

My friend Betsy's daughters, Nat & Aud, I call this one "Voila" (what else)

(graphic courtesy o' Heather, an amazin' lass!)

Ahoy lads and lassies, landlubbers and old salts, all manner of Brethren of the Coast! Arrrr, tis Talk Like A Pirate Day, me buckos! Shiver me timbers, tis a fine Tuesday, one day closer t' Friday and we're over t' stress o' aft t' weekend Monday.

Some scurvy sea dogs hae taken it a step further and made it "Talk and Dress Like A Pirate Day"! Matey, tis true, this saucy wench did t'ink 'bout it, but me workplace be so full of bilge-sucking deck hands (begad, more than a few I should like ta send ta Davy Jones' locker...as Cap'n Barbossa did say: "Here there be monsterrrs"), I thought it best t' wear me regular clothin', blast it!

Jes' so's yer knows it, this wench'll be busy preparin' for a privateer's inspection nie this Wednesday, so don't get your bunghole in a twist if I'm not emailin' or IMin', savvy?

Arrrr, if any of ye poxy addlepates wants ta be talkin' like a pirate, this'll be the site ye'll be lookin' for. Oh, and Laura, ye'll be responsible for titivatin' tha jollyboat, or it'll be kiss the gunner's daughter for ya, ye scurvy sprog !

Fair winds to ye, and drink up me hearties, yo ho!

It was a gorgeous pre-autumn day here in New England yesterday! I popped in some Zeppelin, turned it up loud (is there any other way to listen to Zeppelin?), opened the windows and roof and headed over to pick up Michelle for a trip into Boston.

As I'm driving, not far from Michelle's place (singing along [LOUDLY] to Zep, of course), I notice out of the corner of my eye a vehicle that seemed to be keeping pace with me...a BIG vehicle. So, in typical Masshole style, I ignore it...til the person starts beeping at me! I turn my head to look and I'm SURE the look on my face was...um...not polite, to say the least.

What does this person say to me?

"Are you fondofelves?"

I about keeled over LOL! She went on to say that she was "Counting Sheep" and my cultured response was something to the effect of "get the eff outa here!" (I wasn't telling her to go away, I was expressing my disbelief at the smallness of the world, New England style).

So, Jo, it was nice to finally meet you! I wish I'd had the presence of mind to invite you over to Michelle's; she and I were on our way to Sel de la Terre, but it would've been fun to sit and chat for a bit!

Next time?

Yesterday, one of the guys at work sent around an email, asking some of us if we'd like to guess who'd place 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th.

I replied: 1-Lukas; 2-Dilana; 3-Toby, 4-Magni.

I've never seen the show...not once, never heard them sing, nothing. They all laughed at me cause I put Lukas #1, they said he'd NEVER win.

Guess who won?

me & Lukas!

I walked into work today and the two Lisas were like...um...OMG I can't believe you won, will you buy us lottery tickets NOW please?

hehehe...

I also won the prize at the Pampered Chef party the night before...now if only I were that lucky with men! Or women!

Awhile back, I purchased a Kodak KLIC-5001 rechargeable digital camera battery as a gift for someone; it ended up not being needed. So if anyone would like to purchase said battery from me, they can have it for $15.00; it goes for $16.35 on amazon. Free shipping ;-)

It fits Kodak digital camera models DX6490, DX 7440, DX7590, DX7630. Leave a comment if you're interested!

Decided to take Dad out for breakfast this morning. I ordered my usual, Woburn St. w/eggbeaters (mushroom, spinach & swiss cheese omelette) and Dad had corned beef hash (eggs sunny side up on hash with home fries & toast), and decided to grab my wallet. Which wasn't in my purse.

Time to call 1-800-aloo-loo (who thankfully lives right around the corner)!

me: Hey, if you get this message in the next 5 minutes call me back

aloo-loo: *calls right back* Hey, what's up?

me: Hey, I'm at the Owl Diner and I ordered already and discovered I'd left my wallet at home, can I ask a huge favor and borrow like 5 bucks? (I had $10 in my purse just floating around & Dad had $10, but I was afraid, with tip, that wouldn't be enough).

aloo-loo: Are you alone?

me: Nope, I'm with Dad.

aloo-loo: *puts on her superwoman cape* I'll be right there.

She brought me $20 to save the day!

Thanks super aloo-loo woman!!!

Mac Rebennack, more commonly known as Dr. John, The Night Tripper and his band, the Lower 9-11 (pronounced "nine, eleven"), features guitarist Reynard Poch, bassist David Barard, and drummer Herman "Roscoe" Ernest III and their swamp pop/blues/gospel/jazz/R & B/funk sound played at Boarding House Park in Lowell Thursday night. They were awesome, as usual! A few pictures:

The band

In this picture, he was talking about Hurricane Katrina, and the damage it did, and how New Orleans still wasn't back to its "normal" self, that in fact it was looking like a third world country.

Caught his eye...

This weekend I got to see the rest of Spike Lee's 4 part documentary, When The Levees Break. All I have to say is shame, shame on the government for trying to take the land away from those people in the 9th Ward. Shame on the insurance companies that won't reimburse them for their losses. Shame on the people who said they'd searced all the houses and they didn't, so that when folks came back home they found dead loved ones inside. Shame on folks who've lived where they wanted to live all their lives, who say, "Well, those people should be happy they were evacuated and have a nice place to stay now."

Shame.

I woke up this morning, played with the dogs a bit, and then switched on the tv, to see what Tivo had recorded last night. The news was on, and at the bottom of the screen text was rolling across as usual. I caught a quick glimpse of "Steve Irwin: Australia's Crocodile Hunter..." and then the show went to commercial. So I waited, hoping for the best...but no.

Steve Irwin was killed Monday by a stingray; apparently it's poisonous barb punctured his chest, then his heart. A friend and colleague who was with him on the boat said "He died doing what he loved best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind."

Still, it's sad...and I feel so badly for his wife and kids.

A friend of mine has developed a site called A Girl Must Shop. Here's a short explanation of it: "A Girl Must Shop is a Web site devoted to serving the interests of hip, trendy gals who can appreciate the treasures that a shopping excursion can unearth, but don't have the time to discover all the riches that exist!"

I'll be contributing articles from time to time and must submit a photo of myself. Here's where I can use your help!

Which one do you like better?

This:

or

this:

And let me know what you think of the site! Thanks :-)

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 :-)

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!

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

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...

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 :-)

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!!!

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?

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!

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!

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...

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!

Friday night: Had the good fortune to watch one crazy storm! Pat and I went out after work for dinner and drinks, and as we were leaving the restaurant, the storm started. Niether of us thought it was going to be as bad as it was! We'd driven over to Target, and had to sit in the car for a good 10 minutes, waiting for the torrential rain and fierce thunder & lightning to stop. Poor Pat! She's like my grandmother and my dogs...not liking the storms so much! I, of course, was taking pictures :-) Didn't get a lightning shot, tho, dammit!

(click on the pictures to get a better view)

Saturday: Dad and I went up to Parker's Maple Barn in Mason NH for breakfast, then we drove around the back roads, just enjoying the scenery. We stopped at Pickity Place, also in Mason and I took some pictures:

Pickity Place serves 5-course gourmet luncheons, 3 seatings a day, reservations required and has an herb garden, flower garden and gift shop; it's also where Elizabeth Orton Jones illustrated her retelling of Little Red Riding Hood story.

I had gotten some new sheets (pink & green!) Friday night at Target; Wolf broke them in for me:

Michelle called that night about 8 and spontaneously asked if I wanted to go to the movies with her. I adore spontaneity, and said hell yes! We saw Lady in the Water; once again, critics be damned! I really liked this movie, and funnily enough...I don't care much for the director, M. Night Shyamalan's OTHER movies, Sixth Sense especially. I've heard a rumor he may be tapped to direct the 6th Harry Potter movie, The Half-Blood Prince...hmmm...

We saw some previews for three other movies that look awesome: The Pursuit of Happiness, featuring Will Smith; Children of Men directed by Alfonso Cuarón (he also directed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and starring Julianne Moore & Clive Owen; and World Trade Center, featuring Nicolas Cage.

Sunday: Met Michelle at the Boston Museum of Science today to see Body Worlds 2. It's an exhibit of human bodies and organs that have been preserved by a process called Plastination. Fascinating exhibition, but a bit disturbing at the same time. We also saw a movie at the Omni Theater called The Human Body. Finally, I checked out the Butterfly Garden and got a couple nice shots:

(the one on the left was HUGE!, the size of a sparrow!)

How was YOUR weekend?

Sometimes, when one is drinking, one says something that hurts another. And for that I'm truly sorry. I don't even know why I said it! Stupid drunk beyotch.

Damn

Talk about a perfect summer's day!

Early in the afternoon I met an old friend at Grendel's in Harvard Square. We sat outside, talking, sipping & noshing. He surprised me with a birthday gift & card...REALLY surprised me, and that's no easy thing to do LOL! We walked around the Square for a bit and then had lunch at John Harvard's Brew House. Hopefully, we'll be able to get together a few more times; he's here for a week on business.

Last night about 830, on a spur of the moment kind of thing (shocking, eh?), I met my friend Maureen up in Hampton Beach, a seaside town in NH. We walked the beach, at the water line, and just talked and talked. The waves were fierce; seems the ocean was uneasy last night. People were setting off fireworks here and there, and ... it was fantastic. Made me realize how much I miss the sea and that I need to get there more often. We had a late dinner of steamers & lobster bisque, with dippin' dots for dessert.

While walking the strip, Maureen told me she'd gotten her palm read there recently, so I decided to get mine done. Very interesting! A few things she said that were right on: I'd been married twice, had no kids, owned no property and, strangely, something about negative energy coming from some people in my life and that I wasn't successful in blocking this, in fact, I was absorbing it and that wasn't a good thing. Interesting...

The funniest part of the whole thing was the woman stopped the reading and said...you smell SO good! LOL! Essence of Snape, what can I say?

So how was your weekend?

Man, was it rumbly last night! Lots of thunder but no rain where I was. My hairdresser kindly fit me in...but my hair isn't exactly the color I wanted it to be LOL! Oh well, it still looks good. I bought some new shampoo while at the salon; it's by a company called PureOlogy. The shampoo & conditioner (which smells of ylang ylang, bergamot and patchouli) are both great and they make your scalp tingle; they contain peppermint oil!

Afterwards, went out with Megan; she surprised me by taking me to the new Coldstone Creamery. I felt bad for the girls behind the counter...every time they're tipped (and I hate to tell you what we tipped lol) they have to break into song. It was kind of funny in a goofy way ;-)

Then we wandered TJ Maxx while waiting for a table at Texas Roadhouse; only we ended up not going to Texas Roadhouse (neither of us was in the mood for any country music LOL). So we stopped at one cute lil Italian place, but they only served beer & wine and we wanted martinis (picky, aren't we?). So we ended up at...well...I can't tell you WHERE we went, cause we did something highly illegal there (and I can't tell you what it was, either). Let's just say neither one of us will be showing our faces there again anytime soon.

In the course of conversation, Megan said I was sarcastic; it's a trait I hate about myself and wish I wasn't quite so...then I saw this test today...guess she's right:

You're Totally Sarcastic

You sarcastic? Never! You're as sweet as a baby bunny. Seriously, though, you have a sharp tongue - and you aren't afraid to use it. And if people are too wimpy to deal with your attitutde, then too bad. So sad.

Empress has resurrected her MOTD (Man of the Day) posts, and I am SO glad! I made three requests, and she's done two so far...can't wait for #3!!!

BTW, take a close look at the hands in today's picture...aren't they lovely? Makes me weak ;-)

#3 has the best hands of all and he's known for using them expressively in his work. No, he's not a p@rn star!

Sheeeesh!

Go take a look...and leave her a request for your special MOTD!

My new best friend Amy (you'll see why I call her "my new best friend" if you click on the following link) sent me an email the other day and in it she said: "See if you can check this out: 10 Reasons We Love Johnny Depp!. Let me know if you can't see it!"

Ohhhh, I could see it all right! Here was my response to her:

1. OMG! That first picture!!! OMG! I've been DRINKING you know! GOD!!! He's soooooooooooooo effing HOT!!!

Thanks for sharing this with me!

Thursday: I got together with someone I hadn't seen or talked to in quite some time. I think we've buried the hatchet and I'm glad. I missed her :-)

Friday: Met my friend Mo up in Hampton Beach NH to see the Dropkick Murphys. They were great! Any band that has a bagpipe band march onto the stage before they start...amazing! The other bands that went on before them? Not so good...yaawwwwwn, altho to be fair, each of them had at least one song we kind of liked. One was a punk band from Beijing, China! Interesting. The crowd itself was fun to watch; so many tattoos!

Drove home with the big waning moon by my side, over the ocean. Did I have a camera? Nooooooo.

Saturday: Michelle and I went to Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival in Florence, MA (out near Northampton, a loooong drive). We got there in time to see a band called Enter The Haggis play...they were GREAT! Rock-ish, with a bagpipe player (two bands with bagpipes in one weekend!). It was fun, and I got to have some real haggis, with neeps and tatties, YUM! Here are a few shots from the day:

Later on that evening, went to Grendel's with Michelle, and Krista & Matt showed up! Our favorite bartender, Ned, wasn't there, tho :-(

We tried a new drink tho and it was oh so delicous! It's called The Ruby Vroom and it's made with Absoulute Ruby Red Grapefruit flavored vodka, POM pomegranate juice, pomegranite Syrup, Cointreau and a dash of Angostora bitters.

Sunday: I'm going to see a movie and who knows what else. More later!

Seen over at Lisa’s:

You Are A Fig Tree

You are very independent and strong minded. A hard worker when you want to be, you play hard too. You are honest and loyal. You hate contradiction or arguments. You love life, and you live for your friends, children, and animals. A great sense of humor, artistic talent, and intelligence are all gifts you possess.

1. I'd rather be...at the beach!

2. Sometimes I...like to cook, sometimes I don't.

3. I never...imagined my life being like it is now.

4. The last good thing that came in the mail was...a batch of birthday presents from Zoot!

5. Someday I'm gonna...go back to visit Japan again!

6. Tonight I'm going to ... go see the Dropkick Murphy's, then on Saturday I will.... go to a Scottish Festival in Northampton and later that evening visit my favorite bartender and Sunday will be... relaxing and filled with seeing a movie, walking the dogs, taking Dad out for breakfast.

And you?

***UPDATED***

Ok, how's this for irony? Amy commented on one of my blog entries, and in it she said: Fondofsnape isn't doing a 13 this week???? I replied with "I have writers block :-) Wanna suggest a topic?"; she kindly sent me six suggestions, and I chose this one: "13 reasons Janet would love to go back to Japan". As I was searching for a link to the Iron Chefs, I won a movie ticket on blingo (which I converted into an iTunes gift cert)! Too funny!!!

Thanks, Amy!

***END UPDATE****

While my searching hasn't won me anything, four friends I signed up to Blingo have won things which I win, too, for having signed them up!

- Blingo Movie Ticket, thanks to Megan (again!) today

- $10 iTunes Gift Certificate, thanks to Amy on 6/30/06

- $200 Visa Gift Card, thanks to Michelle on 4/12/06

- $10 iTunes Gift Certificate, thanks to Michele on 3/31/06

- Apple iPod Nano, thanks to Megan on 3/7/06

Are you using blingo to search? Want to be my Blingo friend? Click on the link below:

I was shopping at Whole Foods Friday night and decided to browse the ice cream section. This flavor struck my fancy, as I LOVE the taste of molasses. Had some Sunday night and oh my goodness!!! It is so incredibly GOOD!!! You can read about it here: Laloo's Goat's Milk Ice Cream. It's low fat, low in lactose, contains no growth hormones and is made by hand from natural ingredients that are locally grown in the Sonoma County...and the packaging is so pretty!

Isn't life interesting? I was talking to a friend of mine today; she lives with her elderly Mom and was happy that her mom was going to visit another daughter this weekend. She was happy to have a weekend alone.

I was happy I was going to Jamestown NY this weekend to see some friends.

But things change.

My friend's Mom decided to not go visit her other daughter, and my friend was a bit bummed out, cause she really could use some alone time.

My Dad got sick at the senior center this morning and was taken to the hospital via ambulance. After an EKG, bloodwork & xrays, it's been determined he has gastroenteritis, which for you and me would most likely be no problem. Unfortunately, with infants, young children and the elderly, it can be a serious problem if they don't rehydrate enough. So he's in the hospital for a couple days, and I'm staying home...alone.

Funny how those things work out.

What a weekend! I decided to wait and post this after the 4th, since I wanted to share what went on then, too!

Friday:

Went over to my friend, Di's, after work. I'd asked her to dress her daughter, Chloe, up in a tutu so I could take some pictures. I ended up taking 87 pictures of Chloe, Meri (her youngest), Di and Paul. LOL! Sadly, none of their dog, Bailey :-(

Afterwards, Di and I headed to the Chestnut Hill mall to see if Bloomie's had the Thierry Mugler perfume, Alien. They did, however, they only had the large size, and at $95 that seemed way too steep for me, so I passed. I did spritz myself with it, tho and it smelled SO good! Di then took me to dinner at Paparazzi's, where I thoroughly enjoyed a mushroom & asparagas risotta, a yummy martini and some panna cotta with the most delicious caramel sauce for dessert! We went to see The Devil Wears Prada afterward. It was funny, and the Paris scenes made me smile :-)

Saturday: Did absolutely nothing, really! Took Dad to breakfast, edited Di's pictures, rented the entire final season of Queer As Folk, cleaned a bit, mowed the lawn, pretty much a very lazy day. Went to get a new tattoo, but the design needed more work, so had to reschedule.

Sunday:

Took some photos of Miss Charlotte for Erin. That was so much fun!

Met up with Michelle and we headed to Newburyport and Gloucester.

Monday: Work. Blah.

Tuesday:

Cook-out at my cousin's. Food, fun and friends, a wicked awesome combination!

The potions master and the goddess of love...could there be a more perfect couple?

Well, ok, maybe so, but shhhhh...allow me my fantasy, would you? ;-)

Yesterday, Michelle and I, after enjoying a flight of martinis at Aquatini, ambled up the street. We were blinded a bit by the combination of delicious drinks and bright sunlight, so at first we only noticed an open door and big, plate glass windows. Then we looked beyond...and saw what appeared to be many, MANY bottles of scent! A parfumerie!!!

We giggled, looked at each other and said at the same time, "it's just what you've been looking for!" (me) and "oh heaven!" (Michelle)

We spent a glorious hour in there, sniffing this scent and that scent, reading about what scents were in the perfumes we liked and wach finally deciding on one that we liked. Michelle's was Aphrodite, an enticing combination of rose, ylang ylang, geranium and mimosa oils, all known to inspire euphoria, bliss and ardor, and create a warm glow of romance.

I chose two scents combined: Tunisian Opium (patchouli, black opium & jasmine) and Angel (a blend of chocolate, caramel, honey, vanilla, sandalwood and patchouli, accompanied by fruity notes of citrus, melons, peaches and plums) which reminded me of Snape because of a story I once read in which his favorite tea is Lapsang Souchong, a very smoky blend; this scent is smoky, as well. When asked what I wanted to call my creation, I looked at Michelle and simultaneously we said, "Snape!" The guy behind the counter laughed and said, finally, they're in agreement about something (the scents Michelle liked were not the scents I liked, and vice versa LOL).

Anyway, a day of being in a beach town, walking around, taking pictures, stopping for a martini, walking around, taking more pictures, buying a custom made perfume, walking around, taking more pictures, having lunch and another martini, walking around, taking pictures, driving to a second beach town, climbing a huge rock to get a picture of the sunset, and finally sticking my toes into the ocean is just about as perfect a day for me as can be!

The 4th of July: the words conjure up many memories; summertime, hanging out at the beach, music, fireworks...but most of all ... FOOD!

To me, the perfect 4th of July foods are: hot dogs and/or hamburgers on the grill, potato salad, deviled eggs, corn on the cob, watermelon, ice cold beer... typical fare at all the 4th of July cook-outs (such a quaint New England term!) I've ever been to.

My cousin is hosting a cook-out tomorrow; we're having all of the above plus fresh, home made salsa, clam dip and chips, fruit salad, maybe a 7 layer mexican dip. We'll have to suffer with steak shish kabobs instead of hamburgers and hot dogs, tho. Life's tough sometime! Maybe we'll have some angel food cake with strawberries dipped in chocolate for dessert or possibly a cake like this:

What kinds of food makes it a perfect 4th of July for you?

Another of my Blingo friends, i.e., people I've signed up to Blingo, has won a prize, which means I'VE won another prize--this makes #4! This time, it was Amy! I opted for the $10 iTunes gift cert instead of the movie ticket :-)

C'mon...sign up, you know you'd like to win prizes, too! All you have to do is use Blingo as a search engine 10 times each day. Easy! Click on the tag below to sign up!

Be my Blingo friend, won't you?

More birthday goodness in the mail yesterday! The above is from my friend MaryEllen (the photo on the bottom is the card she sent LOL)...hmmm...who to use the Office Voodoo Kit on? Hmmm...

She made the bag herself, out of silky ribbon yarn by Lionbrand!

There was also a package from Lush, which contained Flying Fox shower gel, Flying Fox balm and two slivers of 17 Cherry Lane soap...but no note as to who it was from! After asking around, I found out it was from Heather! Thank you so much, and boy, do I smell GOOD today, all jasmine-y and honey, sweet!

My coworker/friend E popped her head into my office last night and said two words: "Crabcake sandwich?" I logged off the computer and headed to The Cheesecake Factory with her. There was a 20-40 minute wait, so we went to Sephora, 9 West and Baker's to kill some time. Finally, we were seated. I had a wicked dirty martini, she had a beer, and we ordered calamari for an appetizer and the aforementioned crabcake sandwich for dinner (we split it). Halfway throught the crabcake sandwich, I didn't feel so good. Too much fried goodness, I think, or too much mayo-based stuff. Anyway, I headed home after that. Had to pee, but figured...oh I'll wait til I get home, it's not far.

Know where this is going?

I opened the door to the house (Dad was out for the evening, went to a concert with some people from choir) and immediately thought one of the dogs had had an accident (not that they ever have!). All I could smell was poop!

This is what I saw: dirty dishes on the washing machine, a sink filled with soapy water and nothing else, dirty pans on the floor in front of the sink and little globs of dirt (not poop!) on the floor. I had to pee, tho, remember? So I headed to the bathroom, where I found the source of the odor...there were faint smears of poop on the floor in front of the toilet, along with a spatula (no poop on it, but I still threw it away).

So, Columbo-style, I pieced together what happened. Kinda. I figured Dad put Max out on the run in the backyard. Then he started to do the dishes. Unfortunately, sometimes Max gets wrapped around the tree out back...and Dad has to walk thru the not usually unmown but with all the rain we've been having grass, where he encountered a poop bomb. He can't look down when he's walking so that explains how he stepped in it.

Then I think he realized what he's stepped in...and took his shoes off before he came in the house...but that little bits of dirt fell off them anyway. He took the shoes into the bathroom...cause where else would you clean poop off your shoes but over the toilet? After cleaning off the shoes and whatnot, he realized he had no time to finish the dishes OR leave me a note, cause the choir folk were coming to pick him up.

So I had to clean all THAT before I could pee. Next time, I'll use the restroom at the restaurant, sheeesh!

And you can bet I'm going to tell Dad that ALL kitchen implements are NOT for use for anything but COOKING! I might even just throw them all away and start from scratch...and I'm serious! DISGUSTING!!!

Of course...I could be wrong about the whole thing and Dad could just need to start wearing Depends. In which case...I'm REALLY glad I threw away the spatula! I'm warning him, tho...incontience = nursing home! Joking! [mostly] No really! [uh huh]

In my car on the way to work this morning, I pass an MBTA bus. On it's side is a poster for the new Adam Sandler movie, Click.

(his ear looks fucked up!)

We're stopped in traffic and the bus is next to me, so I get to read the buttons on the remote, which is basically the subject of the movie.

One button in particular, "Rewind", stands out; it says "To prom night ". I think to myself, this would make a good blog entry. What buttons would be on YOUR remote? And then I thought of all the things a guy could go back to, why would it be prom night?

Seems weird to me. But then I'm not one for convention, and didn't attend my senior prom; I did do something fun that night, tho ;-)

These are what would be on my buttons:

Play: Hooky
Mute: People who snap their gum
Delete: Bills
Pause: Wolf
FF: Work
Slo-mo: I'd have to stick with vacations
Skip: sickness
Rewind: hehehe, I'm not tellin' ;-)

What would be on YOUR remote?

Then, at lunchtime, Pat emails me:

Pat: "Hey.are you still going to the movie with me tonight?"

me: "soitenly! what time?" [to myself, I'm thinking...huh? what movie? did i say i'd go see a movie and not remember ...HAHAHAHA]

Pat: "it starts at 7 but I have to be there at 6. It's the Adam Sandler movie switch or something"

See? Coincidence!

Who's up for a trip to Disneyland? Disneyworld? YUM!

"Hey, isn't that Johnny Depp chasing the serving wench? ...visitors will be treated to ... an animatronic figure of Captain Jack Sparrow..."

I couldn't possibly want to be a serving wench more!

And...the word "animatronic" sounds like anatomical right? Do you think it could be? Anatomically correct? Hmmm...a girl could only fantasize hope...cause if so, I'd like one for my bedside closet, please!

Yo ho yo ho a pirate's [edited for content] for me!

I just wanted to thank each and every one of you who wished me a happy birthday yesterday! It made me smile in my heart. Thanks!

Thanks, also for the wicked funny ecards! TNChick sent me a Hoops and Yoyo one-I adore Hoops and Yoyo!!! Gina sent me one that had a VERY funny song on it, hahaha; MaryEllen's was all mushy, and Carmen's had a cute bear on it LOL, and you saw the screen caps from the one Deb & Laura sent!

Oh, and Yo Tambien Te Mando Besos sent me a couple of really cool songs, including one that mentions Severus Snape! Thank you!

A new and very interesting blogread, rusvw, mentioned me in herThursday Thirteen (I love her outlook on life!), and one of my very first reads when I started blogging, Zoot, in honor of my birthday, was moved to do a T13 (she doesn't suck!)--I loved it! I'm really not an attention hound, believe it or not.

I was talking with Michelle the day before yesterday and she told me she'd just walked past one of those cows that are all over Boston right now. I asked her to take a picture with her cellphone and send it to me, she said sure, then her bus came and she had to catch it. The end, right?

No! The next day, she went and took pictures of 5 different cows, had them developed, bought a frame, put one in the frame (I can rotate the other pictures if I get bored of the one in the frame LOL) and gave it all to me last night at dinner for a "joke" present. Joke! I LOVED it! I loved that she thought to do it, that she took time from her not so busy work day, dragged along a coworker...I even loved the face she cut most of the cow's feet off in the pictures! It was thoughtful and funny and made me laugh. Thank you so much!!!

Met Krista after work at her place, where I put on my new Laura Mercier makeup while sipping the second best dirty martini ever, handmade by the Loo herself, prior to heading out to meet Michelle for dinner at Magnolia's. We were late, I'm sorry MIchelle, dinner was delish, the ice cream for dessert next door at Christine'st was too (they had CORN! Corn flavored ice cream. Yes, of course I had to taste it, I also tasted the licorice flavored one and ended up with a WHITE mint chocolate chip cone. Yum! K & I dropped off Michelle and headed for a nightcap at Not Your Average Joe's where I bought her a drink in honor of her divorce.

I even got a couple of unexpected emails! Life is just filled with surprises, even when you're as old as me :-)

Seriously, though, it helped me more than you all will ever know, to have all those birthday wishes, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Tonight, it's dinner (back at Joe's again) and a movie, An Inconvenient Truth with Michelle (two days in a row, how can she stand it?). Tomorrow, a historic rose garden picture taking expedition and Menopause: The Musical and Sunday, a drive to Boston to pick up some friends.

What're your plans for the weekend?

Every year, I anticipate the first birthday card, the first Christmas card, etc., I'm just weird like that. This year, the first birthday card AND present were from transvestite bait Monique: The card was sassy, like it's giver, and the present, a magnet, made me drool:

The icing on the cake...from yesterday at work. We celebrated three birthdays in the month of June; the president of the company, the controller and me. I call it the holy trinity ;-)

Took a ride up to Hampton Beach last night to photograph the sand sculptures there. Found it was fenced off, so I couldn't get close enough to get a good shot. Oh, well, I'll just have to go back :-)

And I have to share with you screen caps from the ecard Deb & Laura sent me:

Cracked me up, it did!

A few folks saw fit to mention me on their blogs today:

Heather
Michelle
MB
Lauren

Looking forward to dinner (and a martini, perhaps) tonight, and who know what else! Life is good :)

Technorati Profile

I just loved the colors in this one (also from the Norfolk Harborfest).

I felt overwhelmingly sad today and I apologize to the one that had to hear most of it...you know wholoo you are. I'm not one to complain usually, guess it was just one of those days. Still not feeling much better, either. If I hadn't just got back from a vacation, I'd think it's a vacation I need, but that's not it. If I stopped and thought about it and whatnot, I'd say I'm feeling a sense of aloneness (is that a word?), essentially self imposed. Usually I like being alone, in fact, I crave it...but this is a different kind of alone...it's a separation, a standing apart.

I read blogs about people and their families and their significant others ... and I want that for me, altho I know it'll not happen. Had my chance, more than once and passed it on by. Or...maybe it didn't work out cause I'm basically unloveable, I'm not pretty enough for someone to love. Who knows?

Please don't think I'm looking for attention by writing this post...if you knew me at all, you'd know that's not the case. I'm just talking about how I feel because I thought maybe by talking about it, I'd get it out of my system.

Maybe a nice vodka tonic would help. It'd sure go a long ways toward forgetting about the spider I found on me tonight while I was walking Wolf. EEK!

I love when it gets so hot out that I can smell the candles inside the house...or inside the gift shop down the street as I drive by!

Had my yearly mammo today; other than waiting to see the doc for 45 minutes, everything is fine. I even educated the doc and her nurse about the wonders of listening to books on iPods...neither one knew this and both of them are only in their 30s.

Had a teensy inspection at work, more of a physical inventory. Went well! Speaking of work, things are quite busy lately...they've decided to have me do consultant paperwork again. What fun!

My brother forgot to check on Dad while I was gone last weekend...anyone want to check in on him next time I go away just to make sure he doesn't need anything, or burn down the house? When I got home Sunday night, the first thing I smelled was a burning odor...asked him what it was and apparently he put breakfast sausages in the microwave. Instead of setting it for 3 minutes, he set it for 30 minutes. OMG! I see I need to put that note back on the microwave...he's lucky!

I'm taking care of a friend's three cats, two chickens, and a rabbit while she's frickin' sunning herself and drinking foofoo drinks for a week in the Bahamas. Beyotch!!! *wanders off mumbling*

Saw this at Michelle's recently, and she got it from A Geek in Beantown, who got it from another (and another and a sistah and a brothah...anyone know what that's from?):

Wolf and Max sure have changed some, eh?

Friday: Had a bit of a dicey landing at BWI...a wind gust slightly blew the plane slightly sideways...EEK! That was scary! Me picked me up, and we drove, drove, drove to VA Beach. Only got stuck in one traffic jam, and that was around Williamsburg, where a van had caught fire (it was burned to a crisp when we passed it). On the way, we stopped for dinner at a fantastic little Italian restaurant called Giuseppe's in a tiny town called Ruther Glen, off the Ladysmith exit on Rt. 64. If you're nearby, check it out!

ME and I were talking about how people refer to their children in months instead of years...I decided I'm going to say my age in months from now on! This month, I'll be 588 months old! And I'm potty trained (mostly) and can feed myself (mostly). Isn't that great!?!

Checked into the hotel (cheaper rate than we antipated, sweet!) and headed to VA Beach to check it out; ME was pleasantly surprised by how upscale it is, compared to say Ocean City LOL. Had an ice cream at DQ on the beach, walked around a bit, and then headed back to the hotel.

Saturday, we spent the day with ME's son, Rob. He met us at the hotel, we had a quick breakfast, when a tragedy happened...an invisible bug bit me on the arm. I was leaning my arm against an outside door, holding it open for someone and it felt like a sliver of metal stuck me. I showed it to ME and she noticed two miniature bite marks, as if a tiny vampire had got me!

Made a stop at Best Buy so I could buy a thingie for my iPod, so I could play it on the radio, thereby torturing ME & Rob. Equipped with the torture device, we then headed back to VA Beach, and walked around some more. It was busy there, some soccer thing going on, some sand wrestling and the obligatory tourists wandering about. I took a gazillion pictures, including a few of ME & Rob, waiting, waiting, waiting. Had lunch at Harpoon Larry's, my favorite dive place. Yum! Yuengling on draft & spicy steamed shrimp! ME was not impressed LOL!

Back to the hotel, where we changed cars from ME's nice new one to Rob's old, puked-in-last-week one [he cleaned it up, it didn't smell too too bad ;-)] and he drove us to the naval base, where he gave us a car tour. We stopped at the NEX and walked around...boy, do I miss being able to shop on a base! So much cheaper :-)

Off we went to the Norfolk Harborfest, where we did more walking. There were some awesome ships there! We caught a water taxi over to Portsmouth, had a english beer at the Bier Garden (ME had a raspberry lambic that made her decide she does love beer, after all), and ended up eating dinner at a lovely restaurant called Lobscouser. Oh mother of all that's holy, the meal I had was SO good!!! Scallops sauteed with slivers of Smithfield ham and served in a cream sauce. I wanted to lick the plate, and almost did! Mmm, mmm, MMM! The wicked dirty martini wasn't bad, either.

Back to Norfolk for fireworks, which were pretty damn good, and then back to the hotel for some reading and sleep...but we stopped off at a Krispy Kreme whose hot fresh now sign beckoned to us ;-) I noticed a Sonic next to it, and that's where we had breakfast the next morning!

Sunday: Yummy sandwich and cherry lime rickey at Sonic, then off to Williamsburg for a ginger cookie and a stretch your legs walk. Back on the road in an hour, and got to BWI at 430 or so, exactly on time! Finished the book I'd picked up in Manchester (Dean Koontz's Life Expectancy: A Novel (which I highly recommend!) and had an uneventful flight home.

Here's another picture as a reward for getting through all that:

Harpoon Larry's

So...the highlight of the weekend, excluding the Harpoon Larry's debacle, the sneaking of the highly unauthorized photo on the naval base and riding around in a car that had been puked in the week before was finding out not only had our room at the hotel not been cleaned, but that Vladimir, the room maid (what do you call 'em when they're guys?) left the cart with each and every room key on it in the hallway...all day & night.

I thought the head of housekeeping was going to have a coronary when ME told her! As ME said, "when a Baptist mutters "Jesus", it's never good."

I wasn't so much freaked that we could've been killed in the night, as that someone could've stolen my camera!

Saw this over at Transvestite Bait's Monique's blog; she calls it "totally trendy". As you all know, if there's one thing I'm NOT, it's trendy. But I still had to have it :-)

See it? The zoom cloud? Over to the right? Make your own zoomcloud...you know you want to!

I backed out of my driveway this morning, no easy task some mornings, and headed to work. Just down the street and around a slight corner, I saw a car in the middle of the road, stopped. I was about to swear and honk when I noticed three turkeys (bird, not human) crossing the road.

(Not one of the actual turkeys I saw this morning, but still, a turkey I saw wandering down a side street)

These wild turkeys roam our neighborhood, and maybe it's good if they cause traffic to slow down. People love to speed up and down this road; awhile back a car actually flipped over just across the street.

I noticed this sign today at the top of my road when I was out walking Wolf:

I'd seen these other signs before:

and while Home Depot might bring more revenue to my town, it'll also take away business from the local hardware store and generate tons more traffic.

No thanks!

Yesterday, the upscale shopping center that is being constructed down the street from where I work caught fire:

Today at work, the transformer for our building blew up...kaBOOM! The building was evacuated and we were all sent home.

Can I get a big awwwwwwwwww, bummer? No? I didn't think so ;-)

Went to Target and bought some things for the dogs and a cool pair of sparkly sandals; to the Mall, where the nice girl at Aveda gave me a hand massage and I bought tea, hit Godiva for Dad (no really!), had pizza for lunch. Came home, got 5 gallons of spring water from down the street, picked up Dad's prescription ($250 deductible, thanks Bush) and ordered Mom's headstone...FINALLY.

Now I'm chillin' with the doggies, and MAN is it HOT out there! Not complainin', just sayin' ;-)

aaaaaaaand...let the weekend begin!

Friday night: Went to see X-Men3...already talked about that.

Saturday: Drove 2.5 hours to CT to attend a graduation party for my cousin Mel's youngest child. It was so nice to see everyone, and I enjoyed talking with Mel's friend Lisa very much! I'm going back down towards the end of June to take 3 gazillion pictures at a rose garden Mel told me about...Lisa's coming, too, yeah!

That evening, met my friend Diane at Vinny T's in Lexington, where we had an appetizer and a drink (and a very nice waiter!) then headed off to see the movie, Thank You For Smoking. Go see this, if you get the chance. The audience laughed out loud so many times I lost count (it's satirical comedy). I'd say it's a fair and accurate portrayal of the cigarette companies. One of my favorite quotes was from Nick's boss, BR: "We don't sell Tic Tacs, we sell cigarettes. And they're cool, available, and *addictive*. The job is almost done for us..."

Sunday: Drove up to visit my other cousin, MB (aka dackelprincess) and her husband Jack. I brought Michelle along, and Dad; Jack's Army buddy (Ed) and his wife (Janice) were there as well...had a great time talking to him (photography and recipes) and her (Harry Potter & jewelry). They made the best fresh salsa I ever had! We also had hot dogs & hamburgers & MB's yummilicious potato salad, and as MB had requested something chocolate, a flourless chocolate cake for dessert. It was my first time making this, and altho I thought I should've left it in the oven a bit longer, everyone liked it. I guess that's all that counts, right? Great food, great company, and I even bought a really pretty pair of earrings at the craft fair downtown. Sigh...perfect! Well, that is until the drive back...when we got stuck in a massive traffic jam due to a horrendous accident. We didn't get home til 10 and we left at 7. Oh well! Michelle and I had fun staring at the other motorists around us, including one guy in a Davy Crockett hat! The things you see LOL!

MB made poor Michelle work for her hotdog, hamburger and unending glass of wine; Queen Greta cast a disdainful eye on the goings on ;-)

Monday: Got up, read a little more of Possible Side Effects, by Augusten Burroughs (started it last night, borrowed from Michelle). This guy makes me laugh in a slightly horrified way LOL! Headed to Dunkin Donuts for coffee and the local farm stand for plum tomato, jalapeno, rosemary & cilantro plants. I ended up also getting basil, tarragon, leeks, and some cherry tomatoes (they were called Elf tomatoes, how could I resist?). So I had to end up making another garden plot, and put the tomatoes & leeks in that one.

At least I put the grass I dug up to good use, covering the bald patches the backhoe left when the rhododendron was moved from next door to in front of our porch. Mowed a little bit, too.

Went out to dinner with Dad and then had some alone time, watching The DaVinci Code...it was ok, but I liked Dogma better :-)

How was your weekend?

Checked my blogline reads this morning, and found out I was blogged forward, thanks to Pat! What the hell am I talking about, some of you might ask? Well...courtesy of Buzz, today is...

Blog It Forward Day!!

Here's how it works, in Buzz's words:

"For those of you who are new to this, let me 'splain. The rules are really quite simple. All you have to do is pick someone (or sometwo or somethree) from your blogroll and post (on your site) just what makes them linkworthy. I mean, there's obviously a reason that you allow them to take up that valuable real estate on your site, right?

Well, how about a brand new site that gives your funny bone a good ticklin' every day? Or how about one of those oldies but moldies that you just can't live without? Or maybe it's someone that you know is great but just isn't getting the kind of traffic that you feel they deserve."

I break down my blog reads into categories in my bloglines and I'm going to choose 3 from the category, "New to me": ok, THAT didn't work...here's a combo of new and old, but all interesting, which isn't to say those of you I DIDN'T pick aren't interesting...so don't even GO there (I'll so delete your comments if you do and also put a curse on you):

1. Amy's Bad Groove: I discovered Amy through Spoil a Blogger 3.0; she was my Secret Spoiler...and damn, she was GOOD!
2. Miss Meliss: I don't remember now how I found her, but holy MOG, she writes some AMAZINGLY good (and hot!!!) fanfic about Snape at her other site.
3. Gina; she inspired me to get my Sony DSC-717, she loves animals & Johnny Depp (check out her "From the Deppth of My Heart" skin)...and she takes some of the most amazing pictures I've ever seen.
4. Carmen; she's going to Egypt on vacation soon, and I just know her pictures will be fantastic!
5. Carl; he is one seriously funny and intelligent guy! His reviews are more in depth than what you'd read in a newspaper and his comments, especially on my What Is It Wednesdays, never fail to crack me up!

Diane and I drove up together to Schenectady, NY to meet up with Betsy, Kim, Mo & Cheri at Union College's ReUnion this weekend. This is my favorite picture of the four 1986 alums (Kim and I didn't attend Union) I was with:

In front of The Nott Memorial, left to right: Betsy, Cheri, Diane, Mo

Even tho it was rainy and chilly, we had a great time, as usual when we all get together.

Diane and I had a bit of an interesting adventure on the way...her car broke down on the Mass Pike. After a few starts and stops, we made it to a service station off the highway, where her car finally died. Ever the intrepid travelers and with an agenda to stick to, we called Enterprise Rent-a-car, got a Hyundai Santa Fe and we were off. Made it to the Class of 1986 reception with 15 minutes to spare, wandered the Campus afterwards for a bit, and then headed to the Chili's that was attached to our hotel for drinks.

Sautrday, rain rain rain, but we walked the campus anyway, checked out a rugby game (the girls played rugby during their time at Union) and then Kim left to go visit a friend. We had lunch at a twilighted zone Friendly's and then back to campus to catch Union's very own Dutch Pipers, an amazing a cappella group. Boy, were they good! And cute!

We met up with Kim & her friend in Saratoga Springs, where we had dinner at a place called Brindisi’s...yum! It was so good, I had a delmonico steak with a baked potato, asparagas and a mohito. Delish! Dinner was on Kim and it was NOT cheap. She's awesome like that :-) Dessert was at Coldstone Creamery and then 3 of us stayed to catch a band, and 4 of us headed back to the hotel. Guess which group I was in? (I had my nose SO deep in Augusten Burrough's book, "Dry", that I was more than happy to head back to the hotel LOL! )

Next morning, Mo went to visit her brother & sister in law, and the rest of us got pedicures, which my lady sliced the living KEERAP out of my toe...OUCH! She had a hard time stopping the bleeding. I still tipped her. Moron, huh? If it gets infected, I'm going back to kick her ASS!

Kim wanted to get going, she & Betsy had a 6 hour drive, so I asked them to drop me off at a Border's, where I bought Burroughs' book, "Magical Thinking" and headed to the Friday's next door to wait for Mo to pick me up.

All in all, a great weekend!

How was yours?

While at the nail salon with Michelle last weekend, I picked up an old Oprah magazine. There was an article about perfume inside, and it mentioned that Thierry Mugler had a new scent out, called Alien. He made Angel, too, which is my favorite! I didn't discover Angel til 2003, but no matter :-)

I got a sample of Alien yesterday and OMG...I LOVE it! Zoot, you'd probably like it too, one of the main components is Jasmine.

My question is, have any of you seen this? Macy's doesn't carry it, neither does Lord & Taylor. Guess I'll have to head out to Chestnut Hill...

Top 25 key phrases that have brought people here:

1. snape tattoo: Hmmm...no, I don't think so. The dark mark, tho...hmmm...
2. hot snape: Well, d'uh!
3. hunts photo comm ave.: Where I need to go to buy some camera stuff.
4. wolf fantasies: Cheese/squirrels/food. Oh wait, that was wolf not wolf's. Sorry!
5. invisible fence shiba inu: Don't do it!!! They don't work well with shibas...can you say phobia and booboos and dog psychiatrists?
6. richard brautigan and toothbrush ghost story: Toothbrush ghost story? I'll have to google that myself! Love me some Richard Brautigan!
7. fussa japan body massage: I always heard there were "those types" of places outside the base...
8. okonomiyaki 101: When I go back to Japan, I'm finding me a good okonomiyaki place and indulging!!!
9. definitely dead spoilers charlaine harris: Go read it! Good book; I particularly liked the expansion of the character that shapeshifts into a tiger...mmm, mmm, mmm!
10. krista perfect body tis: Krista? Something you're not telling me?
11. the fools night for beautiful girls lyrics: Ahhh, love me some Fools (not the human kind, the band kind)
12. the year of magical thinking was such a comfort to read i lost my mother: It wasn't for me; I think The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom made me feel better...but to each their own!
13. lotr skin ipod: Hmmm...that would be cool! A Snape skin for my ipod would be even cooler!
14. your soul was born in the shadows: sigh...you're so right...
15. is robert plant still married?: Why? Think you have a chance? HA!
16. severus snape and spanking: One word...yum! Five words: spank ME, Professor, spank ME! Ok, stopping now.
17. take a walk on the wide side lyrics: I love this song!
18. snape is a 19th century sea captain. harry is his cabin boy: HAHAHA!!!
19. invasion and supernatural renewed? So sorry, Zoot informed me Invasion was NOT renewed; it remains to be seen what happens to Supernatural. Bastids!
20. why vampires fascinate: *shiver* the sharp teeth...the neck biting...the living forever thing...the strength...I don't know but they certainly fascinate me!
21. williams sonoma cinnamon clove lotion: Hadn't heard of this lotion, but I'll definitely check it out!
22. dr. john and the night tripper: That would be Dr. John THE Night Tripper...and I'm psyched I'm going to see him this summer!
23. tattoo shops in fussa japan: Dan, Dan The Tattoo Man! Bastid wouldn't give me a shot of tequila when he was torturing tattooing me.
24. the hobbit novel pictures: Go see John Howe - he was the original illustrator!
25. feet eating fantasies: I saved this one for last...I didn't think Laura would make it all the way thru the list if I didn't! Um...people? GROSS!!!

And a hearty thank you to my top 10 referrers!

1. foryourpawzonly
2. trampslikeus
3. skiptomylooloo
4. misszoot
5. randomandodd
6. stainlesssteeldroppings
7. carmen
8. tnchick
9. occasionalmelancholia
10. smoochdog

You may feel as if an important change is taking place within, but are not yet clear about its true nature. You are going through a transforming growth spurt, and may not have much patience with yourself. Don't try to analyze what's going on; just roll with it. Romance is highly favored today. [ha]

I need to remember that bolded statement. Just roll with it...easier said than done, but oh how much more fun life would be!

I need a 'tini...anyone want to go with me?

While looking up the initials "AIN" for work, I happened upon the Scottish edition of Wikipedia. Who knew!

Also, I wanted to share this cute picture of Sarah with you; she's made my friend, Pat, a VERY proud and happy Auntie!

Check out the heart design the sunlight created on her head (no, I didn't take the picture)

!!!24 SPOILER IN EXTENDED ENTRY!!!

***I'm going to leave this on top til June 10th...in case anyone would like to donate***

I'd like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, everyone who either called or emailed or left a comment for me today, offering comfort or an ear or just to let me know you were thinking about me (as Gaylen said, bless your heart[s]!). Your caring support and kindess was appreciated more than you know.

And now I'm going to bed. Goodnight!

Oh, and Wolf says good night, too...

What I Know About My Mother: Mom was born in Amish country in PA. When her mother and father divorced, she moved with her mom and 2 brothers to Brighton, MA. She loved singing and was a member of the choir at the Allston Congregational Church and then the First Congregational Church in the town I grew up in. When Dad wanted to buy the house "in the surburbs", Mom was worried there'd be nothing to do, having grown up a city girl. She needn't have worried...she was very involved in church and she worked, first for a lawyer in Boston, then at Bon Marche, a department store in downtown Lowell, then as a church secretary and finally as a secretary in the special needs department of the local high school.

In her younger days, she loved an ice cold gin & tonic; as she aged, she found a chardonnay would do the trick. Mom loved to talk and socialize; at the restaurants my parents frequented, they knew everyone's names. As she grew older and it became harder and harder for her to get out and about, she became a very avid reader. She'd always loved to read (that's where I got my love of reading from), but now that her world was so limited, she'd pick up a book and that bad things would melt away. She always gave her books away when she was done...to friends, the church or to the hospital, where she ended up spending so much time during her last year of life. Mom's other favorite beverage was coffee...black!

Although my Dad's mom didn't really accept her (no one was good enough for her Georgie LOL), the rest of Dad's small family did, and I have so many great memories of time spent on Cape Cod with them. Heck, she'd even agree to vacations spent camping, cause she knew we kids enjoyed it so much. Her idea of a good time did NOT involve sleeping in a tent! My parents also took us on vacation to where Mom grew up, Lancaster PA, and we'd have shoofly pie, big soft pretzels, lebanon bologna, scrapple and other delicacies of the area.

She made a big deal out of each holiday for my brother and me; new outfits at Easter, costumes at Halloween and big to dos at Thanksgiving & Christmas. Our family tradition was to make cookies, called "Sand Tarts" at Christmas. Mix the dough, roll it out and use cookie cutters to cut them into the shapes of christmas trees, bells, stars, santas, a scottie dog, a horse & a fish. All the cookies except the fish, after being brushed with melted butter, got colored sugar or sprinkles. The fish, always, got cinnamon & walnuts. I loved making those cookies with my parents as a child, less so when I got older. When I lived in Japan, my parents would send me care packages all the time and always those cookies would arrive at Christmas. I made her some Christmas of 2004, when she could no longer make them herself. She was quite surprised, I think.

Things got strained between us when I reached my early teens...I'm sure it was rough for her as she and Dad didn't have children til they were in their mid-30s, so Mom was hitting menopause when I was hitting my teen years...a volatile combination, to be sure. Nevertheless, I always felt she was there for me if I needed anything.

She traveled alot with Dad after they retired...driving cross country and even coming to visit me in Japan (Me: Mom, what do you want for breakfast? Mom: cornflakes...it doesn't have fish in it, does it??? Me: LOL!) where they had a great time (I think).

What I Wish I Asked You Then......Why couldn't we be closer?

What I Wish I Could Ask You Now.......Are you mad at me for not being there when you died?

I borrowed this idea from Terri quite awhile ago, and really struggled with writing it. I tend to not think about things that bother me or cause me pain, and because I feel so much guilt about my Mom's passing...well...

But, of course, I do think about her and remember her every day in 1,000 different ways, and wanted to talk about her on my first ever Mother's Day without her.

Happy Mother's Day to you, Mom, I love you.

Also, Happy Mother's day to all you Moms, grandmoms, step moms, moms that have furkids only, and women that wanted to be moms but for one reason or another didn't become moms. Here's a picture for you, especially Mel & MB, who love lilacs:

I call it Lilac Dreams...

Ok, so it took seven months for me to get to know her, but just as I start...she leaves! How unfair! Good luck to my crazy co-worker, Lisa, on her big move to Arizona. I'll miss her, but there's always email and I know she'll be reading the blog from time to time.

The moral of the story is don't let me take your engagement photos ;-)

Borrowed the idea from Carmen.

Wolf answers your most probing questions in this exclusive interview:

1. What's your favorite food? Cheese! In any way, shape or form. I'd kill Mommy for a piece of cheese! Well, not really...maybe just bite her really hard ;-)

2. What is your favorite toy? My disemboweled, destuffed squirrel, closely followed by my ball on a string. I love when Mommy throws that for me and I love to scare her by flipping over backwards trying to catch it, and landing on my back. Ouch!

3. What is your best trick? Mommy probably thinks it's my high five; but I think it's my ability to get Mommy to save me her last bite of food at meals!

4. What is your favorite human trick? I love when I do the shiba scream cause Mommy gets such a panicked look on her face! AHAHAHAHA!

5. What human rule do you break often? Oh, whatever ones I can get away with, to include not sitting when I'm told, not coming when I'm called and barking, LOUDLY, when I'm told to shush.

6. What do you wish your human knew about you? That I love her very much ;-)

7. What are you glad your human does NOT know about you? How often I lick my butt before I lick her face!!!

heh heh heh ;-)

If you've got a dog or cat and want to participate, tag away. Tell me all about it.

What does it mean when you see a coyote
in a very ritzy residential area, and a man crossing the street in Somerville wearing a maroon sweater and matching maroon skirt?

Well, of course, it means you're going to have a wondeful dinner at Henrietta's Table at the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square AND get to watch the last half hour of 24 (why, oh WHY couldn't Logan just pull.the.trigger???), carrying both your xxxdirty martini AND chocolate bread pudding with carmelized bananas and vanilla ice cream out of the restaurant and up to your friend's room! Oh, and seeing an authentic Joel Meyerowitz photo on the wall at the Charles was like the icing on the cake! His photographs are the most beautiful I've ever seen, and are probably what inspired me to use natural light.

Had a great time with my friend Art tonight; he lives on the west coast, and I rarely get to see him. In fact, this was only the second time, although we've known each other for more than 5 years.

He told me about sitting next to Liza Minelli recently on a flight home...she was telling him about her dad, Vincent Minelli and the movies he made. I was thinking...man...why couldn't he be sitting next to Johnny Depp, tho! Of course, I said that and of course, he laughed at me :-)

It was nice seeing you, Art!!! Come back soon, k?

The highlights

- ice cold Yuengling!
- Seeing Betsy, Griff & the kids and Kim (see where they rank? right after the beer!!!)
- Walking around Highland Park with Betsy, enjoying the scent of the lilacs (the park looked remarkably like our Arnold Arboretum; and in fact was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who technically only advised Charles Sargent Sprague with the Arboretum's design, but still, you could see similarities)
- the bus ride to Toronto (the Tour Director asked if there was anyone on the bus who knew the LOTR story well enough to explain it...HAHAHA! Betsy and I ended up going up front and giving a synopsis and took a few questions. No, I didn't show off the ring and hopefully, none of them noticed us getting into my car after we got back...the GOLLUM license plate would've been a bit embarrassing!)
- yummy chopped liver sandwich with chopped eggs & onions at a deli in Toronto!
- playing with the girls
- watching late night tv with Kim (she has the BEST laugh!) and enjoying a couple ice cold Yuenglings with hothot wasabi peas
- Popeye's chicken!
- Getting a case of Yuengling from Betsy in return for taking pictures of her girls

The lowlights

- Mo forgetting about the plans and having to cancel cause she was dog sitting :-(
- giving Kim the "read between the lines" gesture in front of the assistant pastor on the bus (the bus trip to see the play was arranged by the church Betsy attends...or used to attend LOL! Betsy thinks the assistant pastor didn't understand the gesture, one can only hope! I don't need any more black marks, thank you very much)
- having to listen to Honky Tonk Badonk (or some such weird title) on Kim's iPod...my ears are still bleeding!
- the price of gas! It was $3.07 at one place, the most I've ever paid for gas in my life (not counting Japan)
- Kim: "Snape? You think SNAPE is HOT??? You're joking, right?" No, Kim, I'm DEADLY serious ;-) (Betsy: "Who's Snape?" I see I'm going to have to expose her to all things HP, just as I did with all things LOTR. I see another addiction in the making.)

The weekend was built around about going to see the play, The Lord of the Rings, at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto on Saturday.

What a production! The stage design was spectacular; unfortunately no pictures were allowed and I didn't want to attempt it, lest my camera get confiscated. There were branches extending out from the stage all the way to the top balcony and before the play began, various "hobbits" were trying to catch "fireflies" that flitted here and there among the branches. The hobbits came down into the audience, climbing over vacant seats and the like...it ws funny! The costumes were fantastic, too, except for the orcs...not going into THAT!

Bearing in mind the length of the trilogy, and the fact that there were 3 movies made, at about 4 hours each (the extended version), creating a 3 hour play was not an easy thing. All in all, they did a great job. Eomer was cut, as was Faramir & Grima Wormtongue. All the hobbits were there, and Gollum (who got a standing ovation and most definitely deserved it), Gandalf (didn't care for the actor's portrayal at all, much too soft spoken and he spoke too fast, so he was very hard to understand), Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli (the lone American actor; had a great Scottish accent!), Elrond, Arwyn, Eowyn, Theoden, Sauruman, Sauron, the orcs, the Ents (including Treebeard and to hear him speak Entish was hysterical!) and the nazgul (on horseback!).

The songs weren't nearly as good as the score composed for the movies by Howard Shore, but again, they did a decently job with what they had.

For a dedicated LOTR fan, it was well worth the trip! Combined with the chance to take some photographs at Highland Park, seeing Betsy & Kim, playing with the girls and Yuengling!, it was a fantastic weekend.

little pink tree

pansy butterfly

one of these is not like the other!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Just read my horoscope, and it couldn't be more true today!

Venus in your 10th House of Career can help you shine in your professional life now. Others are seeing you in a more favorable light, and even within your family and community, situations can change for the better. Although you may be eager to show off, this can also stir anxiety for you as you feel less than safe coming out of your shell [oh HELL yes]. Consider the alternatives, but don't waste precious energy worrying about it once you decide to step into the spotlight.

Today, I was asked to do a couple things I don't normally do at work, and was rewarded with three thank yous! That in itself is a miracle :) One of the things had the added bonus of making me laugh; what a joy to speak to someone with a sense of humor!

Also today, someone asked me to photograph their wedding in September. Luckily, it's not the same day as the other wedding I'm photographing in September; no Murphy's Law at work here.

I heard from two friends that I haven't talked to in awhile and kind of finalized plans for a trip this weekend.

I sold another picture, too (although, when she told me she wanted to buy it, I realized I hadn't cashed the check she gave me for the first one yet! Hmmm...where did I put it?!).

Now I'm on my way to buy a new lens from a guy I met in a camera store; he says he doesn't use this particular lens much anymore and he's selling it way, way belong list price.

Just so you don't think it's all good...I did crash a huge database at work today and corrupted it. Oops!

Last Friday, I told you about the water heater. Well, it didn't get fixed Saturday...or Sunday...but hopefully it did get done today! I've been showering at the gym, not fun, but the extra added benefit is I actually am working OUT at the gym as well. Took a broken hot water heater to motivate me, LOL. I haven't felt self-concious (well, at least not TOO) and as a result noticed that there are actually people my size there. Hell, I even got up this morning at 6 AM to go work out!

Anyway, Friday night I went over to Pat's with every intention of taking a shower, but she made dinner, pasta & meatballs, and some yummy sangria. We ate, plunked ourselves in front of the tv and then I went home LOL

Saturday, I did the Zombie thing, walked the dogs and other than working out, that's about it, I think.

Sunday I worked out and then drove to Marblehead with a coworker and her fiance to take pictures of them in various poses against various backgrounds for their engagement photo:

(obviously this isn't the one they'd choose, I just think it's cute!)

Then I met Michelle and the plan was to take down the pictures at Starbucks, then go eat a late lunch/early dinner. Only, lovely awesome friend that she is, she got to Starbucks before me and took almost all of them down so all I had to do was pack them up! She was hungry, that one :)

Got home, popped dinner in the oven for Dad, walked the dogs and fell asleep at 8:30...must've been that sea air!

Today when I got to work, there was a pretty gift bag on my desk, along with a card, from my coworker thanking me for taking the pictures. Inside the bag was two DVDs: Sleepy Hollow and Finding Neverland! She's feeding my Depp addiction :-)

Also today I got eight 8x10s printed and then framed them to hang at the Starbucks in Woburn. The manager wouldn't let us use nails, only S-shaped hooks that hooked onto the lip of the wooden piece of molding on the wall. He had 4 hooks; I had 9 pictures. This means I must now search for these S-shaped hooks so I can hang the rest of the pictures (as soon as possible, according to him, cause he can't.leave.the.walls.bare!). Sheesh...he's a bit high maintenance, but shhhhhh....

That's it! Jewelry class tonight, search for the S-hooks, do laundry, and watch 24. That's my plan!

How was your weekend?

I think I met a vampire in the woods today! He appeared out of nowhere, the dogs didn't even sense him and they always go still or bark when they see someone in the woods; he had on a tee shirt, long sleeved plaid shirt over that and another long sleeve heavy shirt on top of the plaid one, a baseball cap, sunglasses, long pants. He said "It's almost time for me to be out of the sun."

Vampire...I'm tellin' ya!

So this morning I went to brush my teeth and I noticed that there was no hot water. Damn! My hair needed to be washed SO bad, figures right? I took a quick cold shower, washing the important parts and hoped for the best.

What I didn't remember at the time was that I had an appointment with my dermatologist today. I hate going to the doctor's office without being clean!!! They did a full body check for any abnormalities on my skin; the reason I had the appointment was because I'd noticed a abnormality on my arm, just to the right of my tattoo. At first I thought it was a scratch, and then I forgot about it. When I noticed it again, I thought...oh, another scratch (Wolf plays rough sometimes) and didn't think any more of it. Third time's the charm; when I saw my primary care doc in Feb, I mentioned it to her and she thought I should get it checked out.

Today the resident working with the dermatologist did a biopsy on it, injecting the site with some lidocaine (why can't I get that before I get tattooed???) and then slicing off a piece of it. If it's good news, I'll get a letter in a couple weeks; bad news, a phone call in a week. The resident was cracking me up, talking about a friend of his who is also a doctor that has a huge dragon tattoo on his back, multiple piercing and something about liking to dress up (I think he meant in leather, maybe an S&M dealio). He was hysterical!

Anyway, I'm sure it's nothing!

Tomorrow the new hot water heater arrives; I pity the guys installing it. The cellar is tiny and scary (spiders!).

I asked ME who her five favorite movie characters were and why. Here are her answers:

1. Depp as the Pirate...hot!
2. Reeves as Neo...hot!
3. Peter Fonda in 5 easy pieces...hot!
4. Pierce Brosnan as Bond...way hot!
5. Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman...I could do that

What are yours?

Monday:

- Snape was on my page a day Harry Potter calendar, altho I might have mentioned that already ;-)
- Bought a new bed, like it?

Tuesday:

- Saw the movie American Dreamz...the gay Iranian guy was hysterical!!!
- Joe's American Bar & Grill makes THE best Sangria, sorry Ned!

Wednesday:

- Someone at work, who had taken some jellybeans from the bowl on my desk, mentioned casually that they might be old or something, as they tasted a bit strange...I pointed out they were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans (the box is right on top of the bowl!) and she laughed and said, I thought I was losing my mind, one tasted like black pepper!
- Made a great tortellini carbonara
- Came to work to find a gift (pretty tealight holder shaped like a lotus flower and a box of tealights) & a card for Admin Professional's Day (or whatever it's called nowadays; hell, I remember when it was Secretary's Day!)
- Leggings? Back in style? HAHAHA:

Thursday:

- waking up from a sound sleep because I'm so frickin' sensitive to the smell of skunk (there is NO other scent that can do that, trust me!)
- forgetting I'd poached a chicken and left it on the stove, in the pan, all night; Wolf helped me remember by parking his butt on the chair by the store and staring longingly at the pan
- saw this face transformer thing over on Gabrielle's blog; it's kind of creepy! Here's my face as seen by Modigliani:

Friday:

- Everyone guessed correctly on What Is It Wednesday's picture, the complete view is below (Just wait til next week, tho...it's fixing to get tougher!)

- 25 years ago today I got married. Too bad it didn't last!

A friend of mine recently forwarded me an email, you've probably seen it before, about the reasons why people come into your life. She said, in the email:

"I think I am a season to you and I hope to become a lifetime. You have made me a better person for knowing you."

She may think we're "season" friends now...but I think we're "lifetime" :-)

Here's the text of the forwarded email:

Poor Wolf had a rough night tonight. First he upchucked some grass he'd eaten...those tender sprouts first thing in the spring hold such appeal for him, and Max, too. Then when he was upchucking, he did a strangled shiba scream...scared the bejesus out of me.

Later we were playing with one of his disembowled chew toys. When I went to pull on it (he loves to play tug of war) it got caught on his front dewclaw and I didn't notice. He did a shiba scream peep, and completely lost interest in the toy.

My poor Wolfie!

and the nine songs at 9 were:

Pretty in Pink - Psychedelic Furs
Every Little Thing She Does - Police
Gloria - U2
Shake it Up - Cars
Arc of a Diver - Steve Winwood
Morning Train - Sheena Easton
The Voice - Moody Blues
Tempted - Squeeze
Be Good Johnny - Men at Work

And the flashback song was Fever - Peggy Lee.

When I heard Charles say 1981, I laughed to myself. Gotta listen to this, I thought; after all, 1981 was the year I got married for the first time (September 21st, to be exact).

The first few songs, ok, yeah, the Police & the Cars, not bad...then Charles played "Tempted" and I burst out laughing.

Tempted was the song that was playing when my ex proposed...at a club in Lowell (The Raft, where we spent most Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays for a looooong time and where I first saw Andy Pratt, but I digress).

Strange song for a proposal, right? He was getting ready to leave for basic training, you see, and I'm sure that was on his mind. I think he wanted to make sure I'd wait for him...I, in my weird way, thought it was rather sweet.

Makes for a nice story, anyway!

And then...Be Good Johnny...LOVED that song!!!

Why Monday is great:

- 24
- my HP desk calendar features a picture of Snape!
- leftover roast chicken for dinner
- with all the rain, the flowers are blooming like crazy!
- Wolf was in a snuggle mood this morning

Why Monday sucks:

- well, cause it's Monday...
- I have cramps
- I'm tired
- I have a sore throat
- I'm whiny
- it's rainy & chillly

Anyone have anything to add to the list?

Friday: Krista and I (J: I don't want to drive, K: Well, I'll drive but I won't be happy about it. J, arrives at K's house and says: Oh, I'll drive, K: grrrr) drove to Fairhaven, which takes about 3 hours roundtrip, to support Aislinn in raising some money for cancer treatment and research via a jewelry show. I didn't contribute too much, just bought one pair of earrings, but the gas to drive down there was like 3 gazillion dollars! We went to some local dive bar, where my ears bled due to the singing of the karaoke. Had to blast Zep on the way home to get it out of my brain.

Saturday: Ran errands all morning, including picking out a specific site in the cemetary for Mom's headstone and final resting place. Then drove back down to Fairhaven, where Aislinn made me a stuffed quahog for lunch! After Azzy FINALLY got ready (hehehe) we left for Bristol, RI (stopping for pedis along the way). After driving over a VERY long and VERY high bridge (I totally thought of you, MaryEllen) we arrived at Aislinn's friend's jewelry store, where I was to take pictures of her absolutely gorgeous jewelry for her new online catalog. Unfortunately, the pictures didn't come out very good, and I was quite disappointed this morning when I downloaded them to the computer. Sigh... Of course, the picture in the entry below came out good...go figure! Met Aislinn's new beau, reminisced about Japan with him, and had a stuffed quahog for dinner, too...YUM!

Sunday: Relaxed! Took Dad out for breakfast to the Owl, yummy Woburn St. omelette. Roasted a chicken for dinner, bro was here fixing the 'puter and bathroom light, and he ate with us. And I got the news a friend of mine passed the bar in NH (not A bar, but THE bar, as in, she's a lawyer now)! That made me smile, alot. I'm so happy for her, and proud, too!

That's it!

How was your weekend?

On the 6 secrets about me, posted 4/19, Mel was the only one with the right answer. Although she IS my cousin, really, she should've been the LAST person to guess/know as we really weren't that close til recently, but there you go! Congratulations to Mel; I'd like to send you a little something for winning...but I'm not sure what!

On What Is It Wednesday, altho I was HIGHLY entertained by the guesses involving pancakes and frisbees and whatnot, the correct answer, of course, is a mushroom. Thanks for playing along!

And as for the woman in the white car who, when I signaled my intent, wouldn't let me into the left lane of traffic this morning, even tho there was room in front of her (til she sped up): I hope your apparent angry bitterness at life, combined with my flipping you the bird, doesn't send you off on a shooting rampage, or make you abuse your children tonight.

Beyotch.

Is there ANYTHING better than walking your dog, your feet in worn Reef flipflops that mold to your feet and feel incredibly soft, the scent of blooming magnolia and oddly enough, dryer sheets, perfuming your walk?

No, I didn't think so.

Carry on.

Last Saturday, Pat finally gave me my Christmas presents. Among them is a stone coaster and on it is written: "Who needs therapy when you've got a martini". Atheeffmen!

That is all.

Wait...who is Heather Bradley? Anyone know?

on Backtrack...and the year was 1971:

War - Edwin Starr
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye (transcends time)
Delta Lady - Joe Cocker (love this song)
Anticipation - Carly Simon
LA Woman - the Doors
Witchi-Tai-To - Jim Pepper (gawd, Charles used to play this ALL.THE.TIME)
Mandolin Wind - Rod Stewart (back when he was good)
Wild Night - Van Morrison
Do You Know What I Mean - Lee Michaels (reminds me of Franny Misuraca)

Flashback song was Warm Pastry Heart by Mike Heron. Never heard of it!

Friday: Met Michelle after work, she had a pitcher of sangria waiting for me at the bar, and NotNed was nice enough to pour me a glass when I walked in. Had Greek pasta (which Erin and I had talked about recently, perhaps it was even Friday) for dinner, yum! We walked over to the Coop, so I could look at photography and photoshop books, but was distracted and overjoyed to find a new book by Julia Child, called My Life in France, which was co-written with her grandnephew. He sat with her, listening to her recollections and stories, reading family letters and going through many photos. This book is the culmination of that, and it is spectacular! If you liked Julia in the least, are interested in France, cooking, photography or love, this book can't be beat. I want to savor it slowly, rather than dash through it, to make it last. One last visit with Julia...sigh...
We then went to see Transamerica, which I liked very much.

Saturday: Got up at the @#$-crack of dawn to meet Pat, her husband & mom and head to Foxwoods...which turned into a trip to Mohegan Sun! I'd never been to Foxwoods, but had been to Moghegan Sun last June to NOT see Robert Plant, altho the discovery of an excellent XXX dirty martini at Tuscany helped to dull the pain.

Anyway, with the coaching of MaryEllen, I quickly won back, at 21, all the money I'd lost at slots plus $40. Yippee! I'm sure I looked like an idiot, not doing things right, not cashing out correctly, but it was fun nonetheless. I bought Pat & Jim a drink with my winnings to thank them for taking me down there, went and pried her Mom off the slots and headed home. It was much fun!

Sunday: Colored eggs, made a coconut cake, and cooked dinner (pork roast, baked potato, green beans) for my Dad and brother. My brother and I walked, with Wolf, down to the cemetary to see where we wanted to put Mom's headstone and agreed on a place.

Took these pictures today, too:

click on each one to see the larger view...it looks much better!

How was your weekend?

(click to see clearly [now the rain is gone]).

Also see Krista, cause great minds extend to funny blog entries, too :-)

Wow! I've won, via people I signed up, 3 prizes since I joined Blingo Friends on 1/5/06. The latest is a $200 Visa Gift Card, thanks to smoochie (the other two things were a $10 iTunes gift cert and an iPod Nano)!

MaryEllen always wants to rub my head for luck before she headed for the Casino on our cruises...maybe there's something to it!

When I went to claim the Visa gift card, it gave me the following option:

If you prefer, we can send you a $10 iTunes gift certificate instead of a $200 Visa gift card.
What would you like?
Send me an iTunes gift certificate.
Send me a $200 Visa gift card.

Hmmm...which do you think I chose LOL! Each time you win, you're given an option; for example, I could've chosen a $149.00 Visa gift card instead of the iPod, and on the other win, it was actually a movie ticket, but I chose the option of the $10 iTunes gift cert.

Canon 50mm lens, here I come!

Click the Blingo link above to play!

And this time...I get to find out who my secret spoiler is! Without further ado, I give you...AMY! Go visit Amy, won't you, and congratulate her on a job VERY well done! She loves animals, adores beagles (and daschunds, MB!), loves music & reading & writing and is also Harry Potter fan! Go say hi!

Amy has been the absolute best secret spoiler, altho this time...she sent me COCKROACHES:

Big, dead cockroaches!

Amy's GROSS!

Well, not really...actually, the cockroaches came in this:

and tasted quite delicious, or so Amy said. I couldn't put it in my mouth LOL! I'll bring it to work tomorrow and get one of the girls who always amuses me by trying the Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans to eat one...and I'll try to photograph it LOL!

Amy also sent me two things from my wish list:

Greek honey and Tuscan Chestnut Spread with Honey Almonds! Yum!!!

This has been so much fun, all due to Amy. This last box was addressed to The Lovely and Talented Janet Mylastname...and the postwoman said...are YOU the lovely & talented Janet? I cracked up and muttered something about a strange friend in CA...and Amy...that's you! Thanks for making this game so much fun.

I spent a VERY quiet weekend and loved it! Saturday, I washed, ironed and rehung the curtains, washed & waxed the kitchen & bathroom floors, vacuumed and dusted the living room and dining room, cleaned the bathroom and hung a new shower curtain (skinny, shimmery blue & green stripes). Sunday, Dad and I met Larry up at Parker's Maple Barn for breakfast; when I got home, I took Max for a loooong walk thru the woods. Poor Wolf didn't get a walk, I felt kind of bad, but I wanted to take pictures, and it's hard to do with him. Max'll just sit there and wait for me, plus I can trust him off leash.

This is one of the photos I took, I love the green!

How was your weekend?

I won free tickets to go see the movie, Stoned, but they're only good for Monday night, April 7th...and I have jewelry class that night :-(. Anyone want two free tickets? It's playing at Kendall Square at 7:30 PM

Here's a synopsis of Stoned:

In 1962, Brian Jones was the founding member of one of the most famous rock and roll bands of all time: The Rolling Stones. A gifted musician, influential fashion icon and indiscriminate womanizer, Jones (Leo Gregory, Green Street Hooligans) rode a glittering staircase to stardom for seven short years before being fired by the band. Shortly afterwards, he was found dead in the deep end of his own swimming pool and in the wake of his tragic death he became a legend.

Damn...I really wanted to see this, too! When I first got into the Stones, it was cause of Brian Jones...he was absolutely adorable.

A friend of mine got married recently...on the sly while on vacation! I got a postcard from them yesterday saying so! I'm so happy for them, can't you tell by all the exclamation points! They'll be back in two days, and I'll let them disclose their identity then.

WOW!

Knowing her, I'm sure it was beautiful, too. Can't wait to see the pics!

I forgot to tell you all, but I recently won on Blingo again! This time it was from my friend, Michele. She joined my "Blingo Friends" on 3/7/06 and won a movie ticket 24 days later (Blingo gave her the option of getting a $10 iTunes gift cert instead, which she chose to do; it's also what I chose).

Last month, I won an iPod Nano as a result of signing someone up!

The rules are you can only claim 2 prizes in a month; but 2 prizes are better than NO prizes! Once you join, remember to log in and use Blingo for your searches (each day, your first 10 searches qualify as entries in the Sweepstakes).

Blingo rawks!!! Sign up and be my lucky pal, won't you?

Preview of the storm to come

Damn that girl! She caught a bug from her son (damn daycare) and was sick most of the weekend. Guess who's got it now?

I've been SO sick! It started about 2 AM Sunday night...bad tummy woke me up and sent me flying to the bathroom. Cold sweats, many leave-takings from above and below. Yeah...not good! Plus a massive headache, you know, the kind you get when you lay down too much?

Ugh.

So here I am, home sick again. I actually slept a bit this morning, say from 430 to 930 am and felt a bit better...but still not good enough to go anywhere that doesn't allow me quick toilet access.

The mere mention of food sickens me; the smell? Let's not go there.

Toinght I received a phone call from someone I used to work with in Japan. She was a high ranking Air Force officer and she and I did NOT get along at all...like oil and water.

She said she'd thought of me often over the past 10 years and it really troubled her that we didn't get along. I said that you know, sometimes people just don't see eye to eye and she said that she never had a problem getting along with anyone before and that she felt badly at the way she'd treated me.

It was a slightly surreal conversation, to say the least. Anyway, we had a long talk and it was nice. She wants to stay in contact and I think that's fantastic.

Join the Reeves Elementary PTO for an evening of shopping! A wide variety of cash and carry or orderable items will be offered from various home party reps, crafters and local businesses.

When: Thursday, March 30th
Where: Holiday Inn Select (next to Showcase Cinemas), Woburn MA
What time: 6:30-10:30 PM

Raffles and cash bar! 100% of the proceeds benefit the playground fund.

Come on by!

***I'm not in the PTO; a friend at work is!***

Who knew it was so hard to hand saw a straight line through a piece of copper? Oh, my aching hands! The instructor said to ask our significant other to give us a hand massage when we got home; Wolf tried, but not having opposable thumbs, he gave up and just licked my hands.

The class was interesting, we'll get to make a few pieces, a couple rings and either a bracelet, necklace, pin or earrings.

Hey...as long as I don't have to saw anymore!

Anyone who wants to buy a new puppy, please, PLEASE read this post. In fact, pass it on to anyone you know who might be considering a puppy or kitten from a pet store. Hell, post it on your blog if you feel strongly enough about this issue.

I do.

If you're not trying to better the breed, please don't breed your dogs. There are SO many animals out there just waiting for you to adopt them. Animals that are given up because their owners don't have time for them anymore, they've remarried, had kids, moved to a place that doesn't allow pets.

Please.

Both my dogs are adopted, and were neutered soon thereafter. Your dog or cat doesn't need to have sex one time, or to give birth one time to know the joys of motherhood. C'mon. Seriously.

- got a new haircut, short & sassy, thanks to the lovely Q!

- On the new (SO EASY) way to Michelle's Saturday, I saw a police car behind me...he passed me, and then I stopped for a red light. He then did a U-turn up, and once I took the left, got behind me again. I stopped at the next red light, and he pulled up in a gas station parking lot right next to me on the right...and looked at me. I was like...sigh...OK, I'm going to get pulled over...which I did as soon as I made the right when the light turned green. Expired registration, no seatbelt. He asked where I was going, and I said to a friend's house. He asked if the friend had a computer and if I had a credit card. I said yes and he told me to go straight to her house, do not pass GO, get online and renew my registration immediately...oh, and buckle up, please. Very nice :-) phew!

- rented a couple movies, but only watched one: Flight Plan, with Jodie Foster, Sean Bean (Boromir! Give the ring to Frodo!) and Peter Saarsgard (so creepy!). It was ok...very slow going at first.

- am sick of being told what I can and can't talk about...

- jewelry class begins tonight!

- Ray Davies tomorrow!

MaryEllen's husband passed away today. He was ill for quite some time, and she was lucky enough to have been able to talk with him before he passed.

Dan's titles through the years were son, husband, father, Vietnam vet, cop, and landscaper, friend, and oh, Dr. Let me explain: when MaryEllen first showed me a picture of him, I thought he looked like a young Dr. Smith of "Lost in Space" fame, so the next time I sent her a letter, I addressed it to Mrs. MaryEllen Lastname-Smith. Dan, of course, got the mail that day and wanted to know why I'd addressed the letter that way, ME explained and he thought I was crazy ;-)

Dan was a good man and I'll miss him.

I took Dad to get the taxes done Tuesday; it's one more thing that he and Mom used to do together that holds strong memories for him. He thanked me for taking him and for gathering the papers together; it's something Mom used to do. In fact, she paid all the bills, handled the money, etc., etc.

Guess who's doing it now?

Guess who kinda sucks at it?

Guess who needs to grow the fuck up and get with the program?

A friend called me today for some emotional support. She has to make a very hard decision regarding her husband, in fact, probably the hardest decision of her married life. She has to decide whether to keep treating his ultimately fatal illness or to let him go. If she decides to keep the treatment going, his quality of life, which was absolutely horrible before, will be even worse. If she lets him go, she has to deal with the guilt of that. This woman has been through so much in her life; since I've know her, she's become a cancer survivor, nursed her adult son back to health after a horrible accident and now this. Some prayers, kind thoughts, what have you, for her peace of mind, please?

My blog was featured as site of the day recently on Michele Agnew's blog (thanks, Michele!!!). I wanted to show my appreciation to those that commented, here tis:

1. First was Mamacita, who is also a Snape fan!

2. Next was Heather, who I miss very much

3. Malinda777 liked my photos, which makes me smile.

4. mar said she's never seen buckets on trees; click here to see why it's done!

5. margalit's also from the Boston area

I'm irrational, I know. Probably paranoid as well. But...it takes every fiber of my being NOT to run to "that coffee shop" and TEAR my photos off the wall. Here's what I think:

- They're not great photos, they're just pictures that would be in anyone's vacation album
- People are laughing at me behind my back about me putting pictures on the wall...in a PUBLIC place
- I'm an idiotic MORON for thinking they were good enough to be on that wall
- I want to go home and lose myself in some tv show/movie that requires nothing of me but to lay there and watch

I've already pissed off a co-worker talking about it, trying to get her to say what I feel, which is they shouldn't be on the wall.

Who the hell am I to think ANYONE would want to buy my stupid pictures? Seriously, I'm freaking out.

And, dammit, I forgot to listen to Charles this morning!

WOW! It's not every day that I get 45+ comments! Thank you so much, Michele, for making my humble little blog the site of the day. I don't know if I've ever told you, so I'm telling you now: I love your blog! It's fun, and fun is high on my list of priorities, don't you know ;-) It's interactive and crazy and one of the most enjoyable sites on the whole internet!

I'd also like to thank each and every one of you for the kind comments! I'll be replying personally in the next few days...I just wanted every to know how much I appreciated it.

Of course, irony played a huge role in my day today--I had a migraine, was out sick from work, and it hurt my eyes to even look at the screen, which is why I didn't answer right away! Murphy's law, yes?

Here's a picture I took today, hope you enjoy :-)

A few days ago, two guys at work were interviewing someone over the phone in the conference room and as I sit right next to the conference room, I can hear most of what they're saying. The woman they were interviewing apparently had a dog that barked, cause I could hear one of the guys say do you have dogs? As soon as he said that, I thought to myself, "she's going to say she has a shiba inu."

She says, "yes, I have 3 dogs." The same guy says "Wow, three dogs! What kinds are they?" She says, "I have an adopted greyhound", then something else I couldn't hear and ... "I have an adopted shiba inu."--Isn't that WEIRD!

They MUST hire her :-)

Wow! Did you ever have one of those days, even tho you're glad it's Friday, you're a bit sad for whatever reason? Well, I was having one of those days...until I got home and noticed I had a package from my Secret Spoiler! First off...it was addressed to "The Wonderous Janet Mylastname", which made me laugh :-)

Inside was a gift certificate for iTunes, an assortment package of Tazo Teas [as it says on the box; "2 filterbags each of ten captivating teas: Awake, Calm, China Green Tips, Earl Grey, Tazo Chai, Passion, Decaffeinated Tazo Chai, Wild Sweet Orange, Lotus and Zen"...yum!], and two packages of Harry Potter candies, Fizzing Whizbees and Drooble's Best Blowing Gum.

('scuse the unironed cloth I used to photograph the stuff on)

She (or he) also enclosed a card, and that more than anything cheered me up:

The outside is pretty, eh?

Here's the inside:

Now that made me smile :-)

Thank you SO much, Secret Spoiler! You're the best :-)

In medieval Ireland, mushrooms were thought to be umbrellas for leprechauns...I think the leprechaun using this one was scared away by Wolf moments before I took the picture ;-)

Anyway, have fun tonight, and have a green beer for me!

Borrowed from Mar:

You're 45% Irish

You're probably less Irish than you think you are... But you're still more Irish than most.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, correct? Today's picture on the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire desk calendar, positioned, on my desk, front and center today for maximum viewing pleasure, is of Professor Snape.

Alan Rickman portrays Professor Snape in such a way as to make Snape extremely attractive and compelling, or maybe it's just me.

But I doubt it :-)

I forgot to add this Snape-ism to my post yesterday, it's also from Potter's Realm:

Snape, needing chocolate:

My Dad has such fond memories of this house; he had wonderful summers there, swimming in the ocean, running over the rocks, eating meals at the picnic table in the back yard, sleeping on the porch. I vaguely remember going there as a kid...if memory serves it was down a dirt road.

I found this picture, a water color done by my grandmother's eldest (? Mel, MB, is that right?) sister, the one who doesn't have anything to do with the family, while cleaning out Mom's bureau. Figured Dad would like to have it framed and so that was one of his birthday presents this year.

He loves it :-)

I heard American Girl by Tom Petty this morning on the way to work, and it flashed me back to ... well, Japan, of all places.

I lived on the six floor of Hakata Towers on Yokota Air Base.

The apartment was beautiful and brand new, we had 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a washer & dryer and 2 balconies with great views.

One day I was out on the balcony, thinking about things when American Girl came on the radio:

It was kind of cold that night
She stood alone on her balcony
She could the cars roll by
Out on 441 Route 16 yeah
Like waves crashin' in the beach
And for one desperate moment there
He crept back in her memory
God it's so painful
Something that's so close
And still so far out of reach

I'm wondering if you know who "he" is.

While listening to that song this morning and thinking, it occurred to me that my new friends don't know much about my past, and maybe that's as it should be. Does it have any bearing on my present? Sure, all actions have causes and reactions, right? But is it important in the long run?

Hmmm...

Last week this time I was at the airport, waiting for Kim with ME and Mo, anticipating this:

This week? Probably this:

While on the cruise, the subject of what I wanted to do for my 50th birthday came up. We talked about Hawaii or Scotland or Paris...and today I saw THIS!

It incorporates my love of Scotland with my love of Harry Potter; what could be more perfect? I'm serious, now. I've started budgeting for it, putting away, til the end of June 2007, about $205.00/month. Break it down to weekly - $52.00 or daily - $7.35 and it looks so much better!

Who wants to go?!

"...Hogwarts-style banquet at Edinburgh Castle..." *faints*

I read, in Joan Didion's book, The Year of Magical Thinking (which was recommended to me by three people after my Mom passed away), a passage she quoted from Emily Post's 1922 etiquette book, of what one goes through after the death of a loved one:

"Persons under the shock of genuine afflication are not only upset mentally but are all unblalanced physically. No matter how calm and controlled they seemingly may be, no one can, under such circumstances, be normal. Their disturbed circulation makes them cold, their distress makes them unstrung, sleepless. Persons they normally like, they often turn from. No one should ever be forced upon those in grief, and all over-emotional people, no matter how near or dear, should be barred absolutely. Although the knowledge that their friends love them and sorrow for them is a great solace, the nearest afflicted must be protected from any one or anything which is likely to overstrain nerves already at the threatening point, and none have the right to feel hurt if they are told they can neither be of use or be received. At such time, to some people companionship is a comfort, others shrink from their dearest friends."

I talked about this recently with my friend, Diane, who lost her Mom when she was in her 20s. Diane said almost the same thing, that "...none have the right to feel hurt if they are told they can neither be of use or be received."

I'd find that very hard to deal with, DID find it very hard to understand when one of my best friends lost her father suddenly. Her husband called me to tell me about it, and at the time, I was hurt. Now, having gone through losing my mother, I completely understand. I didn't call her on it, I was just there for her, but that's just me.

Two people that used to be friends of mine thought that the appropriate time to either end our friendship or to complain about their lot in life was during or just after my mother's memorial service. That, of course, is their perogative, but I find it insensitive, cold, callous and uncaring. I just hope when they go through something as traumatic as losing a parent that they have warm, caring, unselfish friends to see them through it.

They'll need it. I did, and I'm thankful to my friends who understand that it's not all about them, 24/7.

Ok, since you've asked for a description, here 'tis!

I flew to Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday, met up with ME, Mo & Kim. We had dinner (outside on the deck altho it was "cold" in FL, 60 degrees or something LOL) and then headed to the hotel. Got up bright and early the next day, breakfasted, did a bit of shopping (found a Popeye's YUM) and then headed to the pier to board the ship, Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas. Boarded with no problem, didn't leave my purse in the cab this time, and made it to our cabin, which was the first disappointment to me. The balcony was GREAT, but the beds, ugh...not soft & fluffy like Carnival's, more like a cheap hotel. Ok, no big deal, I had my pillow (I take it everywhere with me), it's all good.

We went down to dinner where we were pleasantly surprised by our gracious, efficient and very friendly waitress (Nikki from Romania) and assistant waitress (Carla from Portugal). Dinner was cruise-typical...good, but not fantastic.

We stayed up late, wandering around the ship, checking out the show in the Orpheum Theater and tasting the drinks (killer xxxdirty martini!!!).

Monday we docked at Key West from 7 am to 2 PM. We'd booked a bicycle tour which was quite fun, especially when the Key West native shouted from his car, "Are you trying to get killed, you morons?" Love it! Stopped at a bird sanctuary, a park, a hotel & a pier for photo ops and some coconut milk straight from the coconut (not creamy like what you get in the store, it's a clear liquid, not very sweet, but refreshing).

Tuesday was Cozumel, where we'd booked a bike / snorkel tour. Poor Cozumel had been devastated by Hurricane Wilma in October of 2005. The docks, the shopping area, the palm tree tops...all gone. The water, tho, was clear and perfect for snorkeling. I saw lots of fish and one great big HUGE stingray with leopard spots. It was just beautiful, gliding through the water, slowly flapping it's wings. Amazing!

That evening we headed to the disco, where I was appalled at the behavior on the dance floor. Simulated sex (get a room), bitchy young 20-somethings (oh, get up and dance, go ahead!), and tons of crew members keeping an eye on everything. Bummer. Apparently, it got even more blatant the next night when some guy had his pen!s out and some girl (Mo & Kim swear she was under 18) took off her top; they said she looked totally stoned...not drunk, either, but high. Not that there's anything wrong with that...but, hmmm...

Wednesday was Belize City. The tour we'd arranged pretty much sucked and the poverty deeply disturbed me. We rode on an air conditioned bus for an hour and a half through the countryside and...it's just so sad.

That evening, we had dinner at Chops Grill. It was an extra $20, but oh man, was it worth it! The filet mignon I had was melt in your mouth delicious, and the assistant waiter cracked us up. It was supposed to be oh-so-formal, but he kept it interesting. That night was also lobster night in the main dining room, so I went down with ME at our seating time (8:30) and ate some pineapple while she had her lobster. Unfortunately, it was kind of not well done, more like lobster sushi, which was fine by me, but she did NOT like it, which was sad, as that girl LOVES her some lobster tail!

Thursday was a day at sea. I hung out at the solarium all day, occasionally cooling off in the salt water pool, but mostly I lounged and read, read and lounged and didn't burn, amazingly enough.

Friday was back to Ft. Lauderdale, where we got up at 7, had breakfast and wandered the ship. Gave me more time to take some photos while we were waiting to be called to disembark. Off to the airport, where we said goodbye to Mo, then Kim. ME and I had lunch together and she waited with me til my plane was ready. She left last and was I GLAD JetBlue had changed my flight from a later one to the one that left at 4:20.

Krista picked me up at the airport, dropped me off after extracting a promise to pick up some furniture with her next Saturday in Plymouth (payback!) and that's it!

I have to say, I'm not all that thrilled with the ship we were on! I enjoyed the Carnival Cruises much more! Having said that, I had a great time!

Some highlights:

- the hot stone massage...pure bliss!
- dinner at Chops
- the stingray
- finishing two books (Garlic and Sapphires : The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls) and starting a third (The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion) (more about this book in a future entry)
- the far off lightning storm was spectacular!
- each night we kept the balcony door open a bit and were lulled to sleep by the sound of the ocean and the gentle movement of the boat. More bliss!
- the hot dancer (what a 6-pack!) and his look-a-like, who was a guest on the cruise (mmmm, mmmm, mmmm was heard alot from me; a couple of times, Kim had to wipe drool from Mo's mouth after she spied the dancer or his twin)
- singing "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt, every. single. day. and laughing (course I heard it yesterday and was immediately BACK ON THE CRUISE).
- having a tan in March ;-)
- wearing flip flops every day, all day

Don't burst into tears in front of Michelle! It freaks her out but good! Sorry, Smoochy!

My hairdresser said to me tonight, "The word 'old' is NOT in your vocabulary!" I love her!

I forgot to tell you about the medal my cousin gave me last week. It belonged to my Grandmother and identified her as a Regent in the Paul Revere Chapter of the DAR. I asked my aunt, "What's a regent?" and her answer was "One of the big bosses." The medal has her name and regent number engraved on it...pretty cool, and a gift I'll treasure, for sure!

Cousin Monique? Was your grandmother in the DAR?

I saw the movie King Kong tonight and was inspired by Carl Denham's final words, "Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes; it was beauty killed the beast." to write this personal ad:

You, there! On top of the Empire State Building! You don't have to die for beauty, you know. There's lots of us plain folk, good cooks, fun-loving, not into drama or being dramatic but loving, giving & caring, good in bed...so what if we're not pretty? Give us a try, won't you?

I pulled out of my driveway this morning, and noticed what I thought was a crow walking on the front lawn, near the bird feeder. Funny how one's mind works: I see a big bird, therefore, it must be a crow or a raven, cause I've never seen any other big birds in my yard.

Anyway...NOT.A.CROW! It was a HAWK! And it was going after the poor lil birdies that hang out in the bushes near the bird feeder. Man, that thing was fast! The lil bird would fly to one bush, pretty much silently, the hawk? Not so silently...more like CRASH CRASH CRASH!

I'm glad to say the hawk didn't get the little bird, at least not the one I saw it chasing, and when I got out of the car to take a picture, it flew away. Not too far, tho...just down the street, where I'm sure it waited til it was sure I was gone and then went back to stalk the bird feeder, waiting for an easy meal.

Time to change the location of the bird feeder, I'd say!

Also, I saw today on The Leaky Cauldron that it's Alan Rickman's birthday and that he's 60. I was reading some of the birthday well wishes and many people were either 1) shocked that he's 60; most thought maybe he was in his 40s or 2) shocked to find out that a man they think is hot is 60. Just another tribute to Mr. Rickman's acting skills, methinks.

Doesn't she have beautiful eyes?!

Today I decided to see Walk The Line. I liked this movie alot and altho I don't much care for Joaquin Phoenix, he was fantastic as Johnny Cash. Sometimes it takes awhile for two people to admit to the love between them and that seemed to be how it was for Johnny Cash & June Carter, for a variety of reasons. I also loved the guy who played Jerry Lee Lewis, so cute! It was interesting, as well, to see the early days with Cash, Lewis & Elvis on tour together.

Afterwards I went to see The Pink Panther. Except for the Paris scenery, it was a horrible movie. Just ugh.

Took the dogs for a walk in Thanksgiving Forest...hadn't been there for awhile and it was a great day for hiking. I did run into a very sketchy guy, tho, and he made me a bit nervous...and I'm never like that.

Made cinnamon apple chicken sausage for dinner, with rice pilaf & brussels sprouts. Apple pie for dessert. Yum!

Love having Monday holidays :-)

Sweet Gina emailed me today cause she hadn't seen me post in a couple of days and wanted to make sure everything was ok :-)

Everything is ok, I've just been busy.

Friday night, I carried the new 27 inch tv upstairs...can you say "jelly legs"? That sucker is HEAVY! I got it hooked up to Tivo, thanks to my brother and just relaxed, watching some Tivo'd programs. Supernatural was fantastic, especially the one about the freaky backwoods hunters.

Yesterday, I took Dad down to visit (for his birthday) Auntie Rosa & Uncle Jim, their daughter Mel (MB's parents & sister), Mel's husband, their daughter-in-law and two grandsons; my brother was there, too. Auntie Rosa and Mel prepared sauerbrauten, noodles, peas, red cabbage and some yummy "grandmother" pretzels (I'll ask Mel for the recipe, it was great!). We had a good time visiting, and after a bit, Mel and I went out shopping. It was nice to see everyone in a relaxed setting, since the last time was at Mom's memorial service. I'd love to steal Mel away for the day, minus cell phone and hubby checking up LOL! Mel's also quite the photographer and we spent some time looking at her pictures. There's a lovely rose garden close by her home, and I am definitely going down there in June for a photo expedition :-)

While there, I found out that Shubi, MB's dog, lost her long battle to stay alive. I wish there were words that would comfort her...I hope she realizes I love her and would do anything in my power to make it better for her. Shubi was the sweetest dog I know, and even Wolf loved to curl up with her:

That's Shubi on the left, Wolf on the right and my foot :-)

We didn't get home til 8 or so, Max & Wolf were more than ready to make a quick trip outside!

Today I decided to move things around in my room, throw more things about, dust, vac, and just rearrange. I had to stop mid-job as Michelle was coming over to have lunch with Dad and me, and I had to shower. Off we went for lunch (that Crackerbarrel cheese place, as Michelle calls it) where she was amazed at how much Dad can eat (fried catfish, two big pieces, corn, apples, apple sauce, and more apples...oh and let's not forget the biscuit! Afterward, we dropped Dad off home, and headed up to NH to pick up 3 of the 5 pictures of mine that didn't get picked for the craft show, looked at the pictures that did make it (mine and the others), stopped to get gas (I seriously thought I was going to run out but lied to Michelle when she asked me if I thought I was going to run out LOL), picked up a circular polarizing filter & a memory card, came home, made dinner for Dad, wrote some thank you cards, paid some bills and here I am.

Tomorrow? Hopefully, a nice long walk with the dogs, and I'm going to see "Walk The Line" while it's still in the theaters!

Here's a picture I took today, pre-circular polarizer:

I found a tick on Wolf a couple weeks ago...testament to the strange weather we've been having (warm/FREEZING/warm/BLIZZARD/warm) as well as to the fact that he is a freaking TICK magnet! It's like...he's the sun for crissakes and the ticks are the planets...ever circling him, just waiting for the chance to pounce. Ok, so planets don't do that...but you get the general idea!

Here's a drawing Krista did for me illustrating my idea:

I love her artwork, it's so whimsical!

"Late Sunday night, February 5th, "Mr. B," a five-year-old miniature donkey, was attacked by predators at his home in Milton, NH. It is not known if the attackers were domestic dogs or wild animals. It is believed that there were several in the "pack," due to the damage they inflicted."

To read more, click on this link (Careful, the pictures are a bit disturbing). Poor guy!

I first saw the story here.

Donations can be sent to the Mr. B Fund, c/o TNT Equine, 17 Member's Way, Dover, NH 03820. More info can be obtained by calling 603-749-4077. You can track Mr. B's recovery progress on his vet's website.

Today is my Dad's 81st birthday! I think I'll call him RIGHT NOW and sing happy birthday to him, lucky devil ;-)

Ah, even better, got the answering machine LOL! Nothing like recording some bad singing!

My brother and I are taking him out for dinner tonight, oh and I have to go pick up his birthday present, a picture that his Mom's sister painted long, long ago, and I had framed. Can't forget, can't forget, can't forget...cause I'm prone to that, don't you know.

Driving home last night I was listening to WZLX, and heard that Dr. John was playing at the Regent Theater in Arlington that night, postponed from Sunday night because of the blizzard.

I'd seen Dr. John and his band, the Lower 911 last summer at Boarding House Park in Lowell, and man, he was fantastic, doing all his old hits and some of his new stuff. I was thrilled to hear about it in time, called Pat (no answer) and Eileen ("sure, I'll go!") and made it there in time for the 7 PM show. The Regent, by the way, is a great place for a concert, very small and intimate.

He ambled onto the stage, cane in hand, as is his habit, sat down at the piano and played the HELL out of it! He didn't do many songs I recognized, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. And during the second show (I um...'stayed' for that, Eileen left) he went OFF about New Orleans (where he's from), and the lack of support given. The bass player & the drummer both lost their homes, and one of the roadies lost his mom, so it was very personal. Towards the end of that show, between songs, someone in the audience yelled "F*#% Bush", and the drummer, who is kind of the spokesman for the band, said "YOU can say that safely, from the anonymity of the audience, but if I were to say it...let's just say I value my life" or words to that effect.

A very politically charged concert, to say the least.

If you're interested in hearing a snippet of my favorite song of his, listen to Such a Night. Also check out "Right Place Wrong Time"; I'm SURE most of you will have heard that one!

"I don't wanna know about evil. Only the delicate balance of anutha zone, way past the Shapaka Shawee, more ancient than the olive tree. Before Rosacrucian mysteries, or Freemason vesteries. Up through the trembling roots as deep as the moss drenched Oak and Cypress trees."
- Dr. John

Just in time for Valentine's Day, my secret spoiler (What's a secret spoiler? Read about it here, on Spoil-a-blogger) spoiled me good!

Found this (Johari mapping) at Monique's. I'm sure you've been dying to let me know what you think of me ;-)

Took Dad out for breakfast; went to Acton to pick up dog food and to check out the kennel Wolf will be staying in when I go on vacation...looks nice, but the guy isn't too complimentary about shibas; headed over to Krista's to help her pack and move. She was done packing by the time I got there, so I just had to carry boxes down two flights and pack up Dad's van, which he kindly let me use. Then we waited two days for her boyfriend to arrive...luckily we're the kind who can easily amuse ourselves. Finally he & his friend arrived, they finished packing up the big stuff, and off we headed. Michelle was there to help unpack, so it was done quickly, and then we went for a nice toasty Italian sub and a cold beer. Well...I did, guess there IS a perk to looking older, Krista got carded and didn't have her purse with her. I let her sneak a couple sips, tho...it was the least I could do after scaring the bejesus out of her in front of the scary door:

I reached my hand around the side, stiffened and then screamed...she screamed louder and turned to run away, then I cracked up. I still laugh every time I think about it. I'm horribly evil like that ;-)

It was damn spooky down there, though... this was the basement of her old condo. You can click on that picture to see the others...*shiver*

All set for the snow...all 12-16 inches of it, 60 MPH winds, the whole shebang. Bring it on! Doesn't matter my tv has no sound, I've got books to read, comforters to cuddle under, and lots of tea to brew. Just please...don't let it be as cold as it was today...bonechilling, man...just bonechilling!

Today is (and I can't wait til we can really call her this) Dr. Goofygirl's birthday! Please go give her some birthday love, won't you?

Happy Birthday, Heather! I hope you have a fantastic day and if it snows, maybe you and Paul can go out and build a snow Heather with snow birthday cakes!!!

Hugs!

EDA is 5 days from now...OMG! My new camera is on it's way! Get here in one piece, honey!!!

Remember I wrote about submitting five pictures to the 2nd Annual Juried Art Show and Sale to Benefit the Animal Rescue League of NH? They accepted these two:

Accepted work will be hung and up for sale until March 1, 2006...check it out if you're in the area!

The year was 1969; the songs were:

Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You - the Beegees
Gimme Shelter - the Rolling Stones
Can't Find My Way Home - Blind Faith
Ramble On - Led Zeppelin
Green River - Creedence Clearwater Revival
I Can't Quit Her - Blood, Sweat & Tears
Come Together - the Beatles
Marrakesh Express - Crosby, Stills & Nash
Badge - Cream
Peaches en Regalia - Frank Zappa

I missed the first song, and the name doesn't ring a bell, but each and every one of the others I knew, some QUTE well, one (Peaches en Regalia) I hadn't heard in years. Sigh...this is radio at it's finest...obscure songs, not the same 10 "top of the pops" crap, songs that were about music and creativity, not money.

I wanted to tell you about four things that made me smile yesterday.

The first was a beautiful sympathy card my Mom's doctor sent to Dad, which said:

"I am so sorry for the loss of your wife. She was a strong feisty woman, who fought until the end. I am sorry for your suffering with her loss, but I am grateful that she no longer suffers. She was lucky to have such a devoted husband and children. It was my honor and pleasure to care for her." That made me smile as well as be thankful that there are actually some doctors who are also caring people.

The second was the beautiful Valentine's Day card my cousin sent to me, along with the cutest sterling silver and stainless steel snowman mobile that I'd admired at her house over New Years. The body is a snowman and there are three snowflakes that dangle against it, making the nicest QUIET chime ;-) That made me smile, too as well as be thankful that I had such a sweet, kind, caring cousin!

The third is I finally got into the Beginning Jewelry class at a local adult education center: "...students will learn the principles of piercing, soldering, filing, making jump rings, stone setting and various ways in which to polish. Emphasis on design, measuring and layout is encouraged. Materials include copper, silver, brass, solder, stones, bezel wire, round wire, drill bits, saw blades, and more." And Krista joined with me! This will be fun :-)

Lastly, Dad was cleaning out a closet and found an old Scrabble game that belonged to my first ex-husband and me. Inside there was an anniversary card with scores written all over the back, and another sheet of paper that the ex had written on:

Janet: 41
Blake: 66

Blake Won!
Janet quit because she was losing.

Yes, I'm quite aware that's a very low score...does it help that the score on the back of the card was Blake: 269, me: 192?

I left work early today, came home, got Max and whisked him off to the vet. Yup, he has an ear infection, drops were purchased and the poor thing will get two squeezes of the stuff in his one bad ear, once a day.

Started talking to a man who was sitting in the waiting area, one thing led to another, and come to find out he's married to the woman my first ex-husband and I went to for marriage counseling. SMALL world!

Got home tonight and no lie...one of my dad's friends was visiting, well actually, most of the people that were "friends of my parents" were Mom's friends, Dad really didn't need anyone other than his family...but anyway. This is one LOUD man and he's a bit afraid of the dogs, so off Max went to the bedroom, where he began barking up a storm, Wolf's barking upstairs, the tv was blaring, the radio in the kitchen was blaring, and the guy was like Janet! Come in here and show me how Tivo works, and did you know it does this and it does that, and and AND... and Ii was like OMFG!! Get me OUTA here!!!

So I ordered them a pizza, made 'em a couple rum & cokes, picked up the pizza, served it and took myself off to Barnes & Noble, figuring I'd get some peace there

Sigh...not meant to be. There was the kid that kept yelling MOMMYMOMMYMOMMYMOMMYMOMMY and an adult with down's syndrome who kept making the same loud noise over & over and the man sitting next to me who kept sniffing extremely LOUDLY (because if there's anything that drives me more crazy than loud noises are REPETITIVE loud noises). AAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Finally I mostly blocked it all out, thanks to the latest Stephen King book, "Cell". Before I knew it, I was 49 pages into the story. Know what made me buy it? This sentence: "He was naked except for a pair of what looked like brand-new Nikes with bright red swooshes." AHAHAHA! Maybe MaryEllen will be so kind as to explain why!

Seriously. I am GOING to go insane. Don't say I didn't warn ya!

"...principal photography on Phoenix [i.e., Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix] began yesterday." Mind if I do a bit of a happy dance right now?

There are quite a few scenes I'm very much looking forward to seeing, such as Snape's memories in the Pensieve, Snape teaching Harry Occlumency, Fred & George creating the swamp, the centaurs carrying off Umbridge, the Threstrals and Tonks! Can't wait to see Tonks!!!

Saw this yesterday on The Leaky Cauldron; glad to see I'm not the only one who's fond of Snape!

I seem to have become violently allergic to noise recently.

Saturday: Took the dogs to the beach, nice quiet day right? Nah. There was a group of gas-powered model plane enthusiats there...and do you know how LOUD those things are? Very loud.

Sunday: Relatively peaceful, especially since I blew out the speakers to the tv (apparently, an unwrapped speaker wire touching a metal 7 outlet power guard surge protector is not a good thing).

Monday: Our receptionist was out, so I had to answer the phones all day long. Ring, ring ring ring. So what do I do AFTER work? Go see a movie about...you guessed it...a freak who prank calls some screamy-meemy whiny-ass teenage girl all night long. Hep me...

Tuesday: Tree stump grinder shows up at 7:30 am and commences work. OMFG!!! The receptionist is here today but has one of the worst cases of laringitis I've ever heard (and this girl LOVES to talk!). Altho I've told her I'll answer the phones today, I'm stressing about her trying to answer the phones (which she has a few times), as the president of the company is traveling today. You watch. When he calls in, some combination of crap will happen (Murphy's law, y'all), she'll grab the phone before I can get to it, he'll freak when she does and it'll be all my fault somehow, someway.

And I feel that if ONE MORE PERSON asks me a question to which I do NOT have an answer (and that's happening all too often lately) I will completely, totally & utterly lose it!

I really REALLY need that motherf#*king vacation RIGHT NOW!!!

Wolf's going to the kennel during my vacation. It's $24/day if they can put him in with another dog...$35 if he's alone. I'd love for him to be with another dog, but I don't want anything bad to happen. They're fed separately, so that's good...but Wolf likes to nibble sometimes (on his food, not other dogs)...what to do, what to do...

It's sunny in patches today, with the rest of the sky looking very stormy, and cute lil snow flurries...in the sunshine. Pretty!

Max has a bit of an ear infection I think...it looks reddish, and I could see flecks of dried blood (sorry!). He's off to the vet tomorrow.

I'm considering laying out big bucks for a new camera; a professional camera. I know I'm going to buy it (I think), and I'd like to get it before I leave on vacation (Feb 26th). Help!

The dang beep beep beep of a text message on my cell phone woke me up last night...I wish I weren't such a light sleeper. Then because I woke up, Wolf woke up. He tried to go back to sleep, but apparently none of his normal places were comfortable enough for him (the pile of sheets on the floor [his, not dirty], the pillow on the window seat, the stuffed beanbag in the front room), so he ended up curled up next to me on the bed...he never does this and of course I'm worried that he's not feeling well. I always think this when he goes thru the shiba shed because I find it hard to believe that any dog (no matter HOW many times he does this) can lose so much hair and not be ill.

The best thing about this weird Monday? Snape's on my HP desk calendar! Yummy ;)

The FedEx one was cute...loved when the guy got stomped after kicking the little dinosaur!

Pepsi: Brown & bubbly was just stupid.

Polamalu: Wonder how tangled his hair is after a game?

Anheuser Busch: The Streaker...ahahah! But I'm a sucker for animals ;-)

ouch! That looked like it hurt when Tom Cruise slammed into the car in the preview for MI II.

Dove's Campaign for real beauty dotcom...great idea! That girl with the freckles was adorable. Course the one that thought she was ugly wasn't and let's not even talk about the one that thought she was fat...c'mon now.

Addicted to ... Lost???? AHAHAH! Wonder how much they had to pay Robert Palmer's estate for the use of that song?

And then...after the half time show...the commercials went downhill...so sad!

I roasted a chicken today. Put a little olive oil in a bowl, squeezed some fresh orange juice into and stirred in some rosemary, sea salt, pepper, sage, oregano, bay leaves, thyme & garlic, then coated the chicken with that. Only problem was...I roasted it upside down, so at the end of the roasting time, it was still pink and not done in areas. Popped it back in for 1/2 hour or so, and voila! Roasted chicken dinner with baked potatoes, broccoli, and ice cream for dessert. Can't get much more traditional Sunday dinner than that!

I'm not a football fan, not since the Bears won back in the 80s (if you remember the Superbowl Shuffle, dang, you're about as old as me!), but I'll be watching on and off this year , if just to see Dr. John, a favorite of mine, and of course, the commercials!

Oh, and here's a few shots from yesterday:

Um...has Burger King lost it's mind? That commercial, with the women dressed as slices of tomato, onion, lettuce, the hamburger, all presided over by that creepy "Burger King"??? Someone dropped one too many hits of acid, I think.

Back later!

I woke up this morning to the horrible smell of skunk! It was so strong, the odor woke me up from a dream! UGH! I think it possibly had crawled under the porch, because only the inside of the house smelled badly, not outside. Man, I hate that smell!

I took the dogs to the beach, ran some errands afterward and then put some pictures in frames and took them to the Animal Rescue League of NH for their juried art show. These are the shots I'm hoping they'll accept:

This isn't the shot I submitted, but I can't seem to find it, and just wanted to show you how cute Molly was!

I went over to Monique's for a bit afterward, beautiful home, dog, kid, etc., etc.! I think we're related via our Mayflower ancestors, how weird is that?

Met Michelle in town for dinner...the restaurant was SUCH a disappointment...our entree came out before our appetizer, so our waiter took back the entree ... and you KNOW it just sat in the kitchen waiting for us. But before it found its way back to our table, two other entrees appeared at the same time, and there was no room on the table...and to top it off, the hostess was rude to Smoochie. Nevertheless, we had fun! Afterwards we walked around downtown Boston in the rain, unseasonably warm, very strange.

And now I'm head to bed. G'nite, y'all!

Awhile back, I asked you to name 5 things that make you think of me and I'd return the favor. Here 'tis, in order of the comments that were left to that entry:

Michelle: Grendel's, any book store, black labs, dimples, Bon Jovi

goofy girl: Wolfie, doctor, Star Wars, Morimoto, sushi

Mel: Cape Cod, the beach, bedtime stories, summertime, family

Lauren: Vegas, Star Wars, Gizmo, white russians, frappucinos

ME: chocolate labs, chicken parmigian, herbs, gardening, knitting

Carl: movies and reviews, musicals, renaissance fairs, tiaras, planets

zoot: Ron Weasley, Krispy Kremes, the south, humor, babies

Krista: Nightmare Before Christmas, bass guitars, the gym, Lowell, Tim Burton

Laura: Jersey shore, red sparking wine, big italian families, Bruce!, white carpeting

Lizabetty: laughter, kids, martinis, scary movies, Cheesecake factory

Dyane: Chevy HHRs, kids, crafts, Broncos, the TV show Medium,

Monique: Viggo!, shelties, craft fairs, cute bartenders, funky style (and I'm not the one the transvestite said "looking hot, darling", to! Also, I don't think there's enough sustenance in 6 olives to absorb vast quantities of alcohol, don't let me forget that, mmmkay?)

T: tattoos, bunnies, rainbows, grocery stores, freckles!

Azzy: LOTR trivial pursuit, Air Force, Halloween, the beach, designer handbags ;-)

Wednesday night I spent $160.00 on picture frames, all wood, black or white or reddish-brown. Last night I went to Starbucks to see what the wall looked like where I'll be hanging my pictures and to enjoy a cinnamon dolce latte (yum!). There were 9 pictures I think, mainly 11 x 17, mostly travel shots, some with people, and all in frames like this:

They were hanging from braided wire, which was attached to a long metal rod. I wonder if the weight of the wood frames will be too much? I wonder if I need to have bigger pictures on display? Many of what I wanted to use are 5 x 7...

Do you ever watch My Name is Earl? Last night, Earl goes into a book store to find a book that will help one of the folks on his list (people he's wronged, that he must right in order to improve his karma) not kill himself. The man he talks to directs him to the "self-help" section and then mentions that maybe books on tape would be helpful. Earl says, with a puzzled look on his face, "you mean like sticky" and presses his forefinger and thumb together to mime stickiness. I. nearly. died. Such a simple comedy, so damn funny!

Charles' nine great songs from 1982:

1. ADAM ANT - "GOODY TWO SHOES" [loved Mr. Ant back in the day!]
2. JOHN MELLENCAMP - "JACK AND DIANE" [loved Mr. Mellencamp, too, but not particularly this song]
3. ASIA - "HEAT OF THE MOMENT" [nah...not my taste]
4. MODERN ENGLISH - "I MELT WITH YOU" [ahhh...memories]
5. PAUL CARRACK - "LESSON IN LOVE" [don't think I know this]
6. BILLY JOEL - "LAURA" [eh?]
7. STRAY CATS - "ROCK THIS TOWN" [good rockin' tune]
8. ALAN PARSONS - "EYE IN THE SKY" [eh?]
9. CLASH - "SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO" [yes!!! The Clash were such an fantastic band!]

Friday's Year will be 1972...lots happened to me that year...I turned 15 that summer and 15 then is not quite the same as 15 now LOL!

Charles' 9 great songs from 1993:

Big Head Todd & The Monsters "Bittersweet"
Pearl Jam- "Daughter"
UB40- "Can't Help Falling In Love"
The Cranberries- "Dreams"
Aerosmith- "Crazy"
Lenny Kravitz- "Are You Gonna Go My Way"
Blind Melon- "No Rain”
Radiohead- "Creep"
Collective Soul- "Shine"

Ok, the only song I know on this list is Aerosmith's Crazy. But I didn't live in the states in 1993, and so missed most of the new bands that came out...and new songs, apparently, as well!

Tomorrow will feature songs from 1982, now THAT year I bet I'll know each and every song Charles plays!

I had an interesting dream this morning about an old boyfriend, Michael. I picked him up in Chinatown, after a business meeting, and we were sitting in the way back of a car, like a Subaru Forrester or some such, with Wolf. Michael gave me a piece of jewelry and said how much he'd changed and how he was ready to appreciate me now, and then he let one of those Korean liondogs into the car and I was like, that's nice, um, can you please ask that liondog to leave, I'm a bit worried about it eating Wolf. And then I woke up and realized my alarm, which had gone off at 715, had neglected to go off again after I hit snooze, it was 745 and I'd better get up and go to work, where I had just the most lovely day [insert sarcasm].

Sigh...

And I missed most of Charles' second day on the radio...

Tuesday's Featured Year: 1985

~Hooters- "All You Zombies" [don't think I know this one...]
~Tom Petty- "Don't Come Around Here No More" [love this one!]
~Pet Shop Boys- "West End Girls" [eh...]
~Bruce Springsteen- "Glory Days" [one of Bruce's best!]
~Cheap Trick- "Tonight It's You" [hmmm...not sure I know, or more likely, remember, this one, either]
~U2- "Bad" [I MUST know it, but again...the old brain's a bit foggy...]
~Simple Minds- "Don't You Forget About Me" [loved Simple Minds back in the day...]
~Dire Straits- "So Far Away" [loved this song alot]
~Robert Palmer- "Addicted To Love" [lol this song always make me think of this guy Doug I worked with at Hanscom, as he'd change the lyrics to something nonsensically obscene...]

I turned on the radio...just to see if he was there yet, cause I'd heard February...and there he was! Started yesterday, and I missed his first day AND him playing Fool in the Rain...sigh...

WELCOME BACK, CHARLES!!!

Last week, one of the women I work with told me that the local Starbucks featured work by local artists on their walls. She was telling me this because she thought I should take one or two of my framed photos and see if the folks at Starbucks might be interested. If you know the least little thing about me, you know I'd never in a million years do that...so she took one over herself!

The manager was interested and said he'd call me. I figured, sure he's just telling her that, being nice, you know.

I was out Saturday night and my cell phone rang...an unfamiliar number with a familiar area code. I excused myself from the bachelorette party and took the call. It was the manager of Starbucks, telling me he'd like to feature my picture on the wall. I was so excited!!! Then he said something about the wall needing to be filled...and I said, wait, you mean you want just my pictures on the wall? He said, yes, we can fit about 12 or so. OMGOMGOMG!

So, for the month of April, 12 or more of my photos will be hanging on the wall of the local Starbucks. Can you believe it??! I can't!

The worst part of this is the woman who started it all is in DC this week and unreachable...so I can't tell her the good news, which is kind of why I waited to tell all of you. But I can't wait anymore!

12 of my pictures on the wall. Wow! Anyone want to go to my flickr and tell me which 12 to choose? :-)

My cousin Maribeth lost her daughter, Katie, in 1985 in a horrible automobile accident; she wrote about her loss today, beautifully, eloquently, and of course, sadly.

My most vivid memory of Katie, an adorable little red haired girl who loved to laugh, revolves around me trying to change her diaper and not doing a very good job (altho, typically, she just laughed and laughed).

Maribeth sent me a card and a journal last year, and enclosed a picture of Katie and me. It made me smile; that seemed to be Katie's purpose in life, to make us smile. I'm glad for the time she was on this earth, altho it was far, FAR too short. I'm glad she's in a better place, but selfishly, I wish she was still here, making me laugh and bringing a smile to my face.

Katie on the left, me in the middle, Amanda on the right

Monique invited me to go to a bachelorette party with her last night; part 1 involved a buffet at Peking Tom's and part 2 involved a female impersonator show at a place called Jacques.

First of all, I can't believe I never heard of Jacques...the show was absolutely so much fun! There was one performer, Mizery, I think is her name, who was amazing...scary, but amazing. I kept thinking that an old boyfriend of mine would've done very well there ;-)

Some of the highlights:

- seeing Monique again; we had a great time, I feel comfortable with her!
- the food at Peking Tom's is great; and the bartender made me an xxxdirty martini that was as good as if not better than the one I had at Tuscany's
- but my new favorite drink is a mohito! Smells as good as it tastes!
- seeing the lion dance and drummers do their thing in the restaurant
- finding a place to park in downtown Boston that doesn't cost an arm and a leg...oh but it was so complicated trying to get OUT of there LOL!
- a mischevious, elfin femboy at Jacques who sat at our table for a bit and reminded me of someone I knew long ago
- stopping at another watering hole around 130 (am) only to find it was closed, but the doors weren't yet locked...so I got to see the cutie bartender again ;-) (I think he said his band has played at Jacques before)...
- making it home in one piece!
- Watching Wolf make a new friend; I brought him out to meet Monique and she thought he was adorable :-)

so drunk...gay guys...Ned...Wolf...hope abrowncow gets home ok...tppl ,r yp urstd yp yu][sr yjpde@@@

Because of cyclical lunar dating, the first day of the Chinese new year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. On the Western calendar, the start of the New Year falls on January 29, 2006.

So today we leave behind the Year of the Rooster, which was the tine I was born into (if you were born in 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993 or 2005, then you, too are a Rooster) and enter into The Year of the Dog.

People born in the Year of the Rooster are deep thinkers, capable, and talented. They like to be busy and are devoted beyond their capabilities and are deeply disappointed if they fail. People born in the Rooster Year are often a bit eccentric, and often have rather difficult relationship with others. They always think they are right and usually are! They frequently are loners and though they give the outward impression of being adventurous, they are timid. Rooster people's emotions, like their fortunes, swing very high to very low. They can be selfish and too outspoken, but are always interesting and can be extremely brave. They are most compatible with Ox (1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997), Snake (1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001), and Dragon (1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000). I've never dated anyone born in the year of the Dragon, but my two favorite boyfriends were born in the year of the Ox and the year of the Snake, respectively.

If you were born in 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, or 2006, however, you were born under the sign of the dog. People born in the Year of the Dog possess the best traits of human nature. They have a deep sense of loyalty, are honest, and inspire other people¡¦s confidence because they know how to keep secrets. But Dog People are somewhat selfish, terribly stubborn, and eccentric. They care little for wealth, yet somehow always seem to have money. They can be cold emotionally and sometimes distant at parties. They can find fault with many things and are noted for their sharp tongues. Dog people make good leaders. They are compatible with those born in the Years of the Horse (1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002), Tiger (1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998), and Rabbit (1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999).

For dogs in 2006, any recent setbacks or obstacles can be overcome so look forward to a year in which to really shine, either personally or professionally.

Last weekend, I watched some shows on tv that had a similar theme...abused children. Cold Case was one of the shows and it was just heartbreaking...a child stolen by his uncle and sold to a pedophile, I felt so incredibly bad for the little boy. Another was a true story, a woman who had 5 children, 3 girls, 2 boys, and she killed 2 of her daughters. I also read the blog of a regular read to find out she'd been treated horribly as a child.

As much as I didn't feel close to my mother, I know I had damn good parents. I never felt unloved or unwanted, I was barely ever disciplined or spanked (back when spanking was socially acceptable LOL), I didn't go hungry and while I didn't get every little thing I wanted (sigh...that Easy Bake Oven) I was well taken care of, had clean clothes, a roof over my head and kind, caring parents. And bear in mind, I wasn't the easiest child in the world, especially once I hit my teens.

In a way, I felt it was like my mother was pointing this out to me.

I was emailing with Gina yesterday and she asked: "How are you feeling?". A loaded question at this point in time, unfortunately. Here is my answer:

I'm ok, I guess, thanks for asking. I'm beginning to feel alot of guilt in regard to my mother; I didn't visit her enough, I never bought that Chantico from Starbucks for her cause I kept thinking, "Oh, I'll get it next time" and then time ran out, I'm relieved I don't have to go to that damn nursing home anymore, I didn't stay the day she died and she died just two hours after I left, alone. I hate that.
And then I took Dad & the dogs to the beach Saturday, and Dad walked too far, got tired very suddenly and actually fell, thankfully it was on the sand. He recovered his breath and was able to get up and walk back to the car. Now I just keep waiting for him to keel over...sigh... Aren't you glad you asked?

In part, she answered: "...Someday, you'll realize you did the best you could, and dwelling on that stuff is not going to do you any good..."

She also said: "And I am glad I asked how you are. When I ask, I mean it. I don't want to hear "oh, I'm fine, how are you" or some shallow-assed comment if how you actually feel is damn crappy. I'll take you crappy or happy."

So many people do want to hear "Oh, I'm fine", though. They ask how you are out of politeness, but they certainly don't want you to answer by saying, "Well, actually, not so good." as that would entail a conversation which, a. isn't mainly about them, or b. they don't have the time for.

Anyway, I digress. Smart, kind girl, that Gina! I'm glad to have her as a friend :-)

"It sure can be fun and dramatic to watch a situation get totally out of hand, but aren't you older and wiser than that? You've got enough going on as it is. Find a way to gracefully exit this now."

I don't think it's fun, not a bit and I am older, but not necessarily wiser. It is true, though, that I do have enough going on as it is, more than enough, actually. A graceful exit? I'm just not sure how to do it...other than just walk away. I always have had a hard time just letting go of anything...possessions, situations, friends. Just like my horoscope sign, tenacious to a fault, that's me.

On a more positive, less confusing note, I'd love to take a jewelry making class, working with silver, not just beads. CCAE has such a class, but it's always filled immediately. Guess I need to really pay attention when the next registration opens and sign up right away.

Welcome to New England!

My cousin said: "...if we have snow today I'll be the one stuck shoveling off the driveway!" Well...her driveway is more like a small, winding road, as evidenced by the picture below:

and oh, my yes, if we're getting snow, chances are she certainly did! Ahhh...it's good exercise, anyway, right?

I'm out to shovel my short little walkway for the mailperson...and I have to say I'm feeling much better about doing that LOL!

I got to see Narnia today! Having never read the book(s), I had no preconceived notions of how it should be and I totally enjoyed it! I loved the bat people, so freaky. I was a bit late, but made it before the previews started (luckily, cause I finally got to see the POTC2 preview, sigh...Johnny Depp...sigh...oh wait, I was talking about something...) & enjoyed my breakfast hot dog, popcorn & coffee (which I promptly forgot to pay Krista for, as well as the ticket!).

Came home, helped my brother move 10 wheelbarrows of wood from the front yard to back by the barn; he cut them into 16 inch logs for my cousin & her husband. We also "borrowed" some huge limbs from another tree that was cut down...not sure what type it was...

Got a Hawaiian pizza for dinner; caught up on Tivo; paid bills; vaccuumed my car; put away more Christmas-y type stuff that I didn't catch the first go round. Now I'm enjoying a cup of Aveda Comforting Tea and wondering if I'll be able to sleep tonight.

Wish me luck!

Took Dad out for breakfast, picked up the dogs and went to Salisbury. What a beautiful day! 60 degrees, warm and sunny...what's wrong with this? Oh, it's January...hmmm...I'm starting to wonder what summer is going to be like!

Anyway, here's a cute shot of the dogs:

Later on, met Michelle at Kendall Sq; we saw Casanova and boy was it good! Heath Ledger was fantastic, as was Oliver Platt, but the unexpected funny guy was Casanova's manservant...ROFLMAO!

After the movie, we went to dinner at a place I frequently go to after a movie at Kendall, but cause I'm gonna bitch about the place, I won't name it (it's never been a bad experience before).

We ordered a pizza, red, with spinach, feta & mushrooms; he brings white, rather, the runner brings white. We wait and wait for the waiter to tell him we ordered red; he never shows, so we ask a passing waitress for some tomato sauce. Takes awhile, but finally she brings it. The bowl it's in is hot; the sauce is cold. Ok, whatever. Finally our original waiter stops by to ask if everything is ok; we explain what happened and he says...but I put in an order for red (i.e., it's not my fault!!!). We shrug, go on with the meal. I ask for water, he forgets but does bring Michelle a refill on her iced tea. Finally, he brings water after Michelle reminds him. Then, when it's apparent we're done, he clears our table...and brings the check! No asking if we wanted anything else or anything. Michelle says, oh thanks, but we'd like dessert. He says, oh sorry and brings the dessert menu. We order the special, mango brulee. We wait...and wait...and wait...and after 10 minutes another runner drops off the brulee...no carmelized sugar on top, basically, a dish of custard...which didn't taste very good at all. He nicely took that off the bill...but never a word of apology about getting the pizza wrong (whether his fault or the kitchen's, just say sorry at least). I was kind of embarrassed cause I'd said this place was great, and it was Michelle's first time there. Oh well, the pint of scotch was good!

...not really a pint of scotch, rather scotch ale ;-)

And then on the way home, I stopped to get Dad some orange juice ... and spied this:

The description: Naturally sweetened Chocolate Pearl Shaped Cereal with Pirate Shaped Marshmallows...ROFLMAO!

How was your Saturday?

We have [insert sarcasm now] lovely new fluorescent lights at work; makes everyone look like they have a sunburn...or maybe they DO have a sunburn from the high intensity! It hurts, turn it OFF! I'm bringing a lamp in, screw this!

A coworker had an extra Lost calender and gave it to me...wasn't that nice of her? And here I thought she didn't like me!

I saw this cool meme on Monique's blog yesterday, so I did a search on my name, leaving the results as a comment...then I saw the same meme on Watergirl's blog...and I did a search on Severus Snape:

1. Poor Sevvie...or should I saw poor Sevvie's sexual partner
2. Eeeeewwwwww GROSS!
3. LOL, ooh what an image!
4. Who knew a ferret and I would have similar problems.
5. AHAHAHAHAHAH!!! *snort*
6. Slurp!
7. Or while drinking heavily...
8. Flaming Severus...sounds like a drink I'd like!
9. *snort* ROFLMAO!
10. I'm movin' to IOWA!!!

Quickie: Clean up a space you use often -- your car, desk, bedroom. Clutter is distracting. [ha]

Overview: Partner up with someone, and you might just see those pipe dreams become reality before you know it. Sometimes all you need is a sympathetic ear to spark your sense of inspiration and direction. [ha ha]

Daily extended (by Astrology.com)
Escaping from the world is one of the things that you love best, especially when your antennae tell you that it's definitely time. If you're especially eager to get home, ask the powers that be for a few hours off and head out early. Get into your comfiest clothes and whip up one of those wonderful meals you've always been able to prepare in no time flat. Pop in your favorite video and put your feet up. There. Talk about heaven on earth! [ha ha ha]

If only, sigh...if only

Took this shot at the WWII Memorial when I went to DC last week. Funny how the sky mirrored the granite. While there, I decided I'd take Dad down in the springtime, he was in WWII and would love to see the Memorial. I'd like it to be when the cherry trees are in bloom, but we'll see.

As I said to Megan yesterday, I ... oh, crap, I said I wasn't going to talk about work here. Ok. Um...

Hmmm...well, sleep's been eluding me lately. Nothing definite keeping me awake...it's a bit frustrating.

I ordered a xxdirty vodka martini tonight; I received a vodka & gin martini. Figured it was a sign from Mom, so I drank it anyway (she loved gin, I hate it; still, maybe she wanted to enjoy one thru me...*shrugs*).

There's a bunch of movies out I want to see: King Kong, Casanova, Narnia, Good Night and Good Luck, & Cache (Hidden) to name but a few. Anyone want to go?

Mom's memorial service was perfect yesterday.

Backstory: My friend, MaryEllen (ME), flew into Manchester Saturday morning, I picked her up, we went shopping and commenced to cooking. She made 5 pounds of meatballs in sauce, and italian sausages with pepper and onions. While she was working her fingers to the bone, I made veggie dip, clam dip & onion dip, sliced 8 green peppers and chopped one clove of garlic. The cold cuts (1.5 pounds each of rosemary ham, maple turkey, roast beast, 3/4 pound each of german bologna and genoa salami and 3/4 pound each of baby swiss, mild provolone & american cheddar) we decided to roll Sunday morning, along with setting up the veggie tray, pickles, chips, etc. We finished in time to check ME into the hotel, chill out for 15 minutes and then head to Julie's house to see her baby and go out to dinner. Another friend, Maureen (Mo), checked into the hotel just as we finished up dinner, so we dropped Julie off and headed back. After talking for awhile, I went home, to NOT sleep, altho that surely wasn't in my plans. I did fall asleep around 4 am and woke up at 910 am to snow, ice and lots of wind. Did I say it was a balmy, calm 57 degrees the day before?

I was supposed to pick up ME and Mo at the hotel at 930; didn't get there til almost 11. I forgot I'd told Julie we'd be at the church at 1130 (altho in my own defense, I'm never on time even in the most optimal conditions); we saw her in the center of town as we were on our way to the florist, grocery store & card store and said we'd be right there. We arrived 45 minutes later; naturally, she was annoyed, especially as nearly the same thing happened the day before (she was to meet up at the church, we were 1/2 hour late, and she went back home as she had the baby in the car with her).

Once we got there, we started working, getting out the platters, arranging some greens on them, rolling the cold cuts, making everything look good. And by we I mean ME, Mo, Aislinn, Krista, Maribeth, Julie and my brother. I think I wasn't much help at all at this point, except the one time I made everyone laugh when I looked in the kitchen, saw my friend Mo & my brother Larry in there working and said, "There's Mo & Larry...where's Curly?". Lots of people started drifting in and the choir had a quick practice in the hall adjacent to the kitchen.

I left to go home and change about 1:20 and when I got back it was pretty much time to go sit for the service. My father, brother and I sat in the first pew; next to me was Maribeth. Behind us was the rest of the family and behind them were my friends. I wished so much I could turn around and see everyone, but I didn't.

The hymns and music chosen were all unfamiliar to me, except for "Amazing Grace", which they did in a gospel style. The choir, which consists of maybe 18-20 people swelled to about 30, accommodating all the members that had moved away, but wanted to sing for my mother. One of those folks sang solo during one of the songs, and what an amazing voice he had. They sang "Just a Closer Walk With Thee", "Lonesome Valley", "People Need the Lord" and "The Old Rugged Cross". Not a note out of place and Mom's friend, Carolyn, played the organ flawlessly.

The minister shared with me the draft of his reflections Saturday night; I only asked him to change one thing, which he did. His Liturgist started out the service, and did the scripture readings, which she did well.

My brother got up and spoke, which was very, very hard for him as he was extremely close to Mom, but he contained his emotions and spoke beautifully, as did my cousin, who was up after him. It was an honor to listen to the wonderful things they had to say. The third speaker was Mom's choir partner; at the start of his speech, he said: Betty teased me all the time in life, and even from the grave she got a last laugh--when I opened the program and saw my name listed as speaker!

Towards the very end of the service my friends, who will be known as the kitchen fairies from now on, got up to make sure things were ready back in the hall. Seriously, without them, I'd've been lost. They did everything from setting up to cleaning up to ensuring everyone had signed the guest book. ME was the master arranger; her troops included Maureen, Aislinn, Krista, Maribeth, Julie, Megan, Jim, Diana, Diane. It was amazing to me how well they all worked together, how they just got done what needed to be done, seemlessly and with a smile.

My brother and I stood and greeted everyone as they came into the hall after the service, and almost everyone had a funny story to tell about Mom. I heard 3 spitball stories, and one woman, who used to work with my mother, said that she and Mom used to say that their kids were never boring and enabled them to lead very exciting lifes (an aside to how bad my brother and I and apparently this woman's children were as kids LOL).

It was so nice to see all these people come out in the cold, wintry weather to say good bye to Mom. I loved being able to see my non-blogging cousin, Mel, Auntie Rosa, cousin Rikki, and some of Mom's old friends; Mrs. B & her family, the Clarks, Mrs. Holloway & her daughter, the Taylors, and even Mr. Risher, who I hadn't seen since I was 12 and who looked exactly the same (he was the one person in line that said remember me? and I did).

Things started to wind down about 430 or so, and by 5 the hall was clean, everything was packed up and Megan & Jim took me out for dinner, thankfully, cause I hadn't eaten anything all day, except for a carrot here or a piece of a red velvet whoopie pie there. I think I had an anise cookie, too, oh, and Pat filled up a coffee cup with a Bailey's-like drink and said, while I was in the line, here's your "special" coffee...I thought it was coffee and took a big sip...OOH!

One of the things people kept saying to me, my newer friends in particular, was that they wished they'd known my Mom, that she sounded like an amazing woman...and she was.

Then I went home, Dad thanked me for making the day special, but really it wasn't me, I couldn't have done any of it without a LOT of help from my friends!

Friday the 13th, a full moon, VERY bizarre warm weather and almost exactly a month since Mom passed. We're having her memorial service this Sunday.

Our family is small; Mom had two brothers, one of whom had 2 children. The children he had are estranged from his side of the family (altho I did send a card to his son, who I vaguely rememb. The other brother didn't marry til he was 60 and never had children. Dad was an only child; his mother had two sisters. One sister had two children, Auntie Rosa and Uncle Bob. The other sister married into a well to do family and wanted nothing further to do with her sisters. Auntie Rosa had 3 kids with her husband, Uncle Jim: Dickie, Melodie & Maribeth. This was the side of the family I'm closest to. Dickie has passed on, but Maribeth (even tho I misspelled her name in the program for the memorial service, she's going to KILL me) and Mel are a big part of my life. Uncle Bob, who was married to Aunt Cinny, both passed away, had two children, Carl & Erica. Carl is deceased (our family wasn't too lucky with it's males); Erica, called Rikki, is coming to the memorial service and I haven't seen her in a good 10 years. Dickie, Mel, Maribeth, Carl & Rikki also had children; my brother and I are the only slackers who didn't, much to my mother's chagrin...she wanted more than anything to be a grandmother.

So anyway, those are my thoughts tonight.

Anyone miss me?

If you get the chance to see Les Miserables at the National Theater in Washington, DC, DO SO! Fantastic, and I'm not really one for musicals. I especially liked Master of the House, the Inn Keeper's song, he was wicked funny.

The only thing I didn't like what the bratty teen sitting in front of us, flipping her hair up, strethcing her arms to the ceiling not once, not twice, but 11 times (on the 11th time, I tapped her on the shoulder and said, "You probably don't realize this, but it's very distracting for those of us sitting behind you when you do that." She rolled her eyes, and her Mommy said "What did that mean woman say to you, honey??? all the while giving me the evil eye, so I killed her...oh wait, that part was my daydream. I get my daydreams confused with reality all the time ;-)

Anyway, it was great, I loved it and many thanks to my friend MaryEllen (ME) and her husband Dan for allowing me the opportunity. See you Saturday, ME!

Awhile back I had a falling out with a friend and we decided to stop speaking. for. ever. Well, I'm one who forgets just how pissed off I was (and it's usually with damn good reason that I do get pissed off, or at least STAY pissed off), so while I was browsing thru some old entries from fondofelves, I came across a poem she'd written about me. I decided I'd email her the poem, tell her about my Mom passing away and tell her I missed her. This is the reply I got:

I'm very sorry to hear about your mom. I said a prayer for her and your family. However, please don't ever contact me again.

the tag line on her email was this: There's more than 1 way to eat a Reeses!!

To tell you the truth, I was quite glad to get this email from her. It confirms that my initial decision to end our friendship was spot on, I need to learn not to get sentimental about these things and just go on.

Thank you all for your great suggestions (!!!) about the blurb I need to write. My mother's memorial service is this Sunday at 2, which I really just can't talk about here or even think about or I won't get thru it. Many thanks to all my friends & cousin-friends for their help; we'll make this a celebration of Mom's life rather than a somber affair, or so I hope. Next week I have to prepare in earnest for an inspection at work at the end of the month, but after the inspection, I'm going to give my full attention to the blurb and to getting my photography business up and running.

Ok, here's my assignment for you people. Megan wants me to write a blurb about myself for my new photography venture...I'm having a hard time with it (shocking).

If you had to write a descriptive paragraph about yourself for such a venture, what would you say?

Write me a paragraph, eh? Help!

I finally had the chance to check out my new iPod in more detail this morning...it had a surprise in it-a video, Fat Boy Slim's Weapon of Choice!!! I LOVE this video, I LOVE Christoper Walken!

So far, I've been able to get to the gym every other day and I'm really enjoying it. The iPod makes it more enjoyable and gives me the push I need to keep going. I'm still embarrassed to look at anyone, afraid they'll laugh and say what's the point, but mostly I push that out of my mind.

I found out this morning It's possible I'll have a little surprise for my friend MaryEllen Tuesday night...we'll see.

Yesterday I went out to breakfast with Dad, love the Owl Diner! After that I did some stuff around the house, played with the dogs and then set off for Boston, to meet Michelle at the Ritz for high tea. That was her Christmas present to me, and boy was it nice. I know I don't seem like the Ritz "type" but I'm comfortable there...it brings me back to childhood; my grandmother was into those sorts of things. We hit the bar downstairs afterwards and scored a table by the window, overlooking Boston Common. Nice, nice, nice...Michelle ruined it all by throwing a wasabi pea at me, tho! Can you imagine?!!! (joking!!! I'm JOKING, Michelle-|||, dude!)

I saw this guy in Red Eye and thought he was more than a bit creepy. Then I saw him in Breakfast on Pluto and thought he was just the most adorable thing ever. He's up for a Golden Globe for his work in Breakfast on Pluto, against Johnny Depp, come to think of it, for Willy Wonka. Hmmm...

Severus Snape - January 9, 1960

For your entertainment:

This picture cracked me up!!!

I don't generally care for drawings of characters, but I thought this one was quite beautiful!!!

And this, well, this never fails to make me laugh!

Finally, a little test: What Wildly Out-of-Character Fanfic Snape Are You?

My results:

woke up
showered
picked out headstone
got my new iPod, OH BOY!!!
worked out
showered
Brokeback Mountain (see it!!! OMG go see this movie, WOW!!!)
Grendel's
walked around Harvard Sq. (Lush isn't open yet, and Apple is over at the stupid mall), brrr, cold, need a warm drink...
back to Grendel's
home

Sam Adams Winter Ale
rum & coke
a "ned"
dirty martini
sangria
something else...
tequila shot
honey liquer & hot apple cider

I can't remember what I'm forgetting ***it was a glass of sherry or port***

and no hangover...a good thing, I think, or not...

My movie/dinner/drinks companion!

our bartender

our "sign"

yummy tequila shot!

I was SO happy to read that Charles Laquidara will be heard again on Boston radio!!! Starting some time in February, he'll be on WBOS (92.9FM) 9am to 10am, Monday thru Friday. During each show, he'll be playing his favorite 9 album cuts from a certain year. If I'm not mistaken, he was a big Zeppelin fan, so yeah. Finally, some radio worth listening to!

I. can. NOT. wait!!!

Seriously, this guy opened my eyes musically by introducing me to so many songs I'd never have heard otherwise. Man, the nights my friends and I spent partying, or just staying up talking and talking, figuring out all the secrets to the universe, right thru to sunrise and then Charles would come on and play some weird stuff and we'd...um...well, we'd listen, yeah, that's what we'd do, curled up around Andrea's pool, or some guy's front yard, or on the beach, or just riding around in the car. I started listening to him in 1972...and somehow, I just thought he'd be there forever. Then he broke my heart and retired and compounded the broken heart with a little jealousy, as he moved to Hawaii (lucky bastid).

sigh...welcome back, Chuck!

Three searches that brought folks to my site so far this month and made me laugh:

- is robert plant still married: LOL...this one just struck me as funny
- hate snape site: um...sorry, I'm FOND of Snape...or Sevvie as I like to call him, who btw, will be turning 46 in a few days...wonder what I could conjure up for him? :-)
- premiere lord of the rings robert plant: I would love to know if he saw the LOTR trilogy and what he thought about the movies! Robert? Care to tell me?

I'm trying to figure out whether to just go to the gym, or go to the mall first to look for a purse? handbag? thing to put all my stuff in? and then the gym...hmmm...decisions, decisions...

My friend, MaryEllen, has decided to start speaking Tonguian; she says, in the Tonguian language there are no such words as:

Stress
Assholes
Spouses
Work
Children
Broken down cars

And other assorted words that will be added as needed

She also says that the neatest thing about Tonguian is that it has a lot of phrases that begin with:

For me? (formay)
Why thank you! (ooo)
You shouldn't have, but thank you. (aw-ooo)
Another gift? (yesh)

She adds that these are common and very easy to say.

What do you think of my friend's new language?

I went to the gym tonight! I picked Krista up, she held my hand (figuratively speaking) and off we went. I've missed the grunts, the noise, the smell. Yeah, I'm a liar. But, well, actually there weren't any bad smells and I didn't hear even one grunt, thankfully.

My trusty iPod was there for me, I got into an audio book (ok, yeah, it was The Half Blood Prince, so?) and off I went, 30 minutes on the tread, alternating walking and running (slow run) and 15 minutes on the bike, then some stretching.

The worst part of the whole experience? Was getting my picture taken, I can only IMAGINE how ... oh I can't say that anymore.

Now that I'm over the hurdle of actually going in and DOING it, well...I think I can I think I can I think I can...

Thanks, K!!!

If what's happened so far in 2006 is any indication, technology is going to be somewhat of a fickle friend. I don't know if any of you had noticed, but Yahoo was a little wonky for the first few days of the new year (the problem seems to have been fixed today). I decided to make the switch to Gmail, set up a new account...and today Gmail decided to act wonky! Also today I wrote a nice long entry in my blog...and the computer froze. Oh well!

Let's see if I can remember what all I was talking about:

I've still not cryed about my Mom's death...but reading this entry today brought me close. My friend Mo said I better do it soon or it's going to happen at the most inopportune time...but hell, most things in my life have happened at inopportune times, so why change now?

Money has been flowing thru my fingers like martinis into my mouth lately. Case(s) in point: two xxxdirty martinis at Top of the Hub yesterday set me back $32 (with tip); I recently bought a Coach holiday patchwork wristlet and a new iPod (30 GB); it's black and plays videos and movies, stores pictures, has a CALENDAR and comes complete with 6 Harry Potter audio books and all 3 movies. Wooohooo! That wasn't the selling point though...this was:

Traveling with your digital camera? Leave all those extra memory cards at home. The optional iPod Camera Connector lets you shoot all day, then transfer the pictures from your camera to your iPod, where you can view them immediately.

Thank you, Apple!

I saw a link on Yahoo today about finding yoga classes ... and found a place in a nearby town that sounds quite interesting! I've been thinking of taking Reiki classes, and this place offers them...and the price isn't too bad. They also offer a Thai Yoga Bodywork that is of interest to me and is defined on the website as:

physical/spiritual meditation in action. In each session, I place a recipient in a series of yoga postures and stretch and move her/him, rhythmically. As a practitioner of this beautiful, traditional massage, I use a variety of techniques to facilitate a balanced flow, or streaming, of vital energy throughout the body. Each assisted yoga massage is addressed to the individual needs of a client. I pay careful attention to the physical abilities and limitations of each person, as well as to personal boundaries. My aim in this practice is to evoke a state of vibrant, deep release from stress, i.e., a sense of peace and wellness.

Bloglines isn't updating some of the blogs I read at all...and when I realize, hey, gee I haven't read so-and-so lately there's quite a few posts to catch up with. So if I haven't been commenting on your blog much lately and suddenly you get tons of comments from me, that's why!

Anyway, I think that was it...if anything else pops into my brain I'll be SURE to let you lucky things know :-)

Went into Boston today with a sneezing, noseblowing Megan, poor thing! We walked thru Boston Common (in hopes of seeing the ice sculptures from New Year's Eve, but they'd been knocked down...so sad) on the way to Lush, where we both got a free gift for spending more than $45. Here's what I got:

Bath Bombs (4)

Youki-hi (jasmine, ylang ylang, cypress and palmarosa): Our Chinese New Year celebration Ballistic is named after one of the world's three most beautiful women ever, a Chinese woman called Youki-Hi, according to Japanese tradition. It has a gloriously sensual, jasmine flower fragrance and is regally decorated with gold sparkles and red sea salt in the colours of Chinese dragons which dance along the street for new year parades.

Sex Bomb (lavender, jasmine, ylang ylang): Clary sage essential oil, as well as being a reputed aphrodisiac, helps you to keep a balanced viewpoint and a clear mind. However, the Sex bomb is not just for nights out; it makes a wonderful start to a quiet night in.

Black Pearl: A dark, a mysterious Bath Bomb named in honour of Captain Jack Sparrow's ship in Pirates of the Caribbean. It's studded with crystals of sea salt and scented with lavender and blackcurrant. Inside each one is a wise saying. [oh, you know I just HAD to get this one!]

Hot Java (ginger, cinnamon, juniperberry): Jump into a Hot Java bath every time you need warming up. It's for cold days or days when you.ve got a cold or when you.ve been out in the cold and need warming up right through. It's good for when you're feeling creaky after exercising too. Run a warm bath, drop in the Hot Java and let the spices soak right in. Powdered cinnamon is traditionally used to relieve aches, ylang ylang relaxes your muscles and juniper berry oil is said to help relieve stiff joints. A week in the tropics would be lovely but a Hot Java will do nicely.

Bubble Bars (2)

Bathos: Bubbly Bathos is made with some of most sensual, relaxing essential oils on the planet - violet leaf, rose, jasmine, ylang ylang, bergamot, clove and lots of green glitter. Don't put one of these in the bath in the morning on a workday. Save it for later.

Ruby Red Slippers: This bubble bar has a the beautiful scent of rose and carnation (our Potion [oooh, potion!] fragrance) and a trail of sparkling red twinkles. Do not delay, order yours before they click their heels and disappear. [this one was my freebie]

Luxury Bath Melts (2)

Elixir: It's blue and sparkly! The Elixir is the bar to melt into your bath on mornings when your mind is a little sluggish and your body is trailing behind it. It warms and revives you with ginger essential oil and refreshes you with cardamon, which is said to help to clear confusion from your brain. Neroli, that powerful - and expensive - natural wonder of an essential oil, is said to help relieve headaches and stop you yawning and also soothes highly emotional states.

Ceridwen's Cauldron: Named after the Welsh sorceress from ancient mythology, works magic on your skin when you drop it into the bath tub, which is as close as most of us get to a cauldron. Each melt, wrapped in a square of muslin, contains more skin softeners than you can shake a wand at, including sandalwood, rose, walnut oil and cocoa butter. As your bath melt melts, the whole oats are caught in the muslin bag and the idea is that you then wash your body all over with this little pack of scented porridge, traditionally used to lighten the skin and gentle enough for all skin types. This is not your common or garden bathing experience; think of a Ceridwen's Cauldron bath as a modern day ritual to soften the skin.

We then walked down Newbury Street a bit further before deciding to head for the Pru Mall. Stopped for a bite to eat there and then walked down to Rickart (French chocolate store) where amazingly enough I ended up not buying a thing (still have a 2 pound box of See's chocolates at home). We wandered about, stopping to take pictures in front of some gigantic gold christmas ball ornaments and walked and walked and window shopped and walked (it was just the right temp for long walks outside). Finally we headed back to the T and home.

Now I'm going to relax in a Lush bath and retire to my bed for the evening, where I'll try to psyche myself up to go to work tomorrow...sigh...

***UPDATED***

Don't you just love winter in New England?

Happy New Year! Dad and I ushered in the new year with my cousin, Maribeth, her "hubby" and of course, Shubi, Fritz & Greta! MB made a delicious dinner of boiled lobster, carrot casserole & asparagas with apple crisp for dessert; of course, prior to and afterward we noshed on all sorts of yummy things: artichoke dip, clam dip, and lunch when we first arrived (a platter of liverwurst, tilseter cheese, salami, mozzerella & panchetta, with german bread called bauernbrot, fleishsalat, french onion soup & a platter of devilled eggs--yum!).

Of course, we had to drink a bit with this as well...a bit of sherry, a bit of rum & coke, a bit of mead & finally a bit of rosa regale. It also snowed a bit last night, not alot, just enough to look pretty and cover things. The town put on a fireworks show about 930 or so; It was a bit strange to watch fireworks thru the snow, but a nice experience overall!

MB and I sat on the couch for a bit (it was hard to get her to sit down, but I did it) and as she was flipping thru the channels, she came across Prisoner of Azkaban on tv, so of course we had to watch that...my last view of Snape in 2005, and what a good view it was!

I think I finally felt a bit old when I saw Dick Clark on the countdown; the "man who never grows old" recovering from a stroke did it. He did a great job, and it was very brave of him...someone who made/makes a living from talking, to have his speech taken from him, it was quite touching to see him there (yeah, I know it was prerecorded...still!).

Communication Breakdown - first song I heard in 2006...on tv, during the Patriots pre-game talk!!!

Hope you all had an entertaining New Year's Eve...have you broken any resolutions yet? ;-)

OH! And I forgot to say, I had my first ever Lush bath last night! Bollywood bath bomb, in the jacuzzi, with a People magazine and a nice drink...sigh...

Sippin' on a rum & coke (new dark rum from Captain Morgan called Tattoo), cooking up some meatballs for an hors d'oeuvre tomorrow at MB's and debating with myself about going to return the presents I bought for Mom for Christmas. I dropped off 5 bags of clothing at Goodwill today, there were some unused purses and brand new shoes in there as well, hopefully they can use those things and not throw them out as the clerk at Zoot's Dry Cleaners said they might. I also have a bag of teddy bears...anyone want some teddy bears?

I woke up with a wicked headache this morning, don't you hate when that happens? I can't get rid of it, and the child that whined non-stop at Crackerbarrel didn't much help. Note to parents: when your child is whining that much it kinda ruins it for those sitting close by. Just thought you might like to know. Or not.

Wolf cut his leg when we went out for a walk today...we were running, me on the asphalt, him on the curb, and he slid off ... must've skinned the inside of his leg. Didn't seem to bother him, which is VERY good, cause shibas can obsess on things like that...i.e., lick it raw.

The Christmas cards are still coming in...got two cute picture cards from my friends Betsy of her 3 girls and from Diane, of her 2 girls:

Yesterday I got a very interesting card from my friend Masayo in Japan:

Tonight I think I'll try to relax and watch my Christmas present from Gina. It's a strange movie, but one of my favorites...cause I'm strange, you know ;-)

Finally, for MaryEllen...a picture of my Christmas tree this year:

First day back to work...blah...that's all I have to say about that.

Tomorrow I have to take my car in to have some work done that can't be put off. This will make me late for work and further empty my wallet. So sad...

Today, a friend sent me an article about coping of the loss of a parent. In it, it says there are 5 steps to grieving:

Shock and denial
Anger
Bargaining and guilt
Depression
Acceptance

Do I have to follow these steps? Cause I think I skipped right over denial; I'm between shock & anger right now. I've yelled at my father twice. The first time was after the Christmas Eve church service, the second was last night after he plugged in something which caused some other electrical thing to not work properly [insert electrician talk here]. Yes, I'm a horrible person.

The article included 10 tips on how to cope:

~ Give yourself permission to grieve in your own way. [check]
~ Let others in your family grieve in their own way, too. [check]
~ Express your feelings about your loss. [uh...having a problem with this one.]
~ Be honest with children about your sadness. [not applicable]
~ Take care of your health. [um...having a problem with this one, too]
~ Keep in touch with people who know how much your parent meant to you. [I don't think this applies to me]
~ Honor your beliefs. [um...ok]
~ Let your manager know what happened. [like he cares]
~ Cherish your memories of your parent. [check]
~ Join an informal support group. [for a fee]
~ Look into grief counseling if the strain becomes unmanageable. [I don't think so]

Really, all I want to do is withdraw. I don't have the energy to be the friend my friends want me to be, and the nature of my friendships is such that if I can't be there for them, then they don't know what to make of this development--it changes the dynamic of the relationship (me listening to their various problems) and they just kind of don't know what to do. It's hard to comfort someone who seems to not need it and, for me, it's easy to fall into the role of seeming to be that kind of person.

Wolf & Max (and I) would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthly & prosperous New Year! Now, you'll have to excuse me, I still have presents to wrap LOL!

I love to go to church on Christmas Eve...or during the holiday service when the choir sings only Chrismas songs! These are my particular favorites:

- Hark the Herald Angels Sing
- Silent Night
- Away in a Manger
- Deck the Halls
- Joy to the World
- It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
- Oh Come All Ye Faithful
- We Three Kings
- Angels We Have Heard on High

I used to sing in the choir when I was a kid...stopped going to church at 12 and that was that (probably a relief to those that used to have to listen to me...I can't carry a tune). So when I do go to one of these holiday services, I make sure to sing very softly, almost to myself...

Some of my other favorite, more secular holiday songs:

I thought I'd be done in a day...not turning out that way! The pictures I'm finding, the art is just amazing. Today I found a photograph of my Grandmother, taken on her wedding day--amazingly gorgeous!

I want to thank, again, everyone who has sent flowers, plants, food and also those who have signed Mom's online Guest Book...it's nice to read people's memories of her. Today, my cousin Rikki, whom I haven't seen or spoken to in years said:

"Uncle Betty will be missed here, but my Mom and Dad will be very happy to see her - they've been waiting for some more company up there."

I can see them now, popping a beer, sipping a gin & tonic and waving their cigarettes around.

Mom would have loved a sip of this concoction Megan and I came up with the other night (my first batch of homemade blueberry vodka, some Bailey's and a bit of half & half:

Did any of you see Barbara Walter's special on Heaven last night? So many religions, so many definitions of what heaven is. I found it amazing that 90 percent of people think there is a heaven and that most of the religions agree it's a place where one is happy and peaceful.

I STILL need to finish my Christmas shopping...help!

I added a TON of stuff to my Amazon wish list for the Secret Santa...and my Santa got me the most perfect thing on the list! No it wasn't the $999.99 camera; it was the Harry Potter Desk Calendar! Of course, I had to open it right away...and flip the pages looking for Snape!

He first shows up on February 6th, nice close up, mmm, mmm, mmm! Then again on March 16, another nice close up and so stern! Next is April 24 where he's shown seated next to Professor McGonagall, followed by May 5, where he's smacking Harry & Ron on their heads, then a vague glimpse of him on June 5th, waaaay in the background July 6th, side view on July 12, Aug 23 with Karkaroff, McGonagall & Dumbledore, and lastly Oct 30th-Snape (with Karkaroff) in the snow.

There's also a nice one of Lucious on Dec 23/24th and the pictures on May 4th, July 8/9th, & Sept 15 I'm saving for Megan ;-)

Thank you VERY MUCH, Secret Santa!!!

On a totally different subject: Lez Zeppelin - Middle East - Feb 18th - 11PM - Who's in?

I wasn't really going to talk about this here, but...my cousin wrote a beautiful post and so I'll share that with you.

Mischief Managed!

Originally uploaded by fondofelves.

Thanks to Michelle for bringing her camera and to Krista for photographing; finally...it feels finished! This capped off my weekend. It was so nice to walk into a tattoo shop where the guy greets me by name, asks what music I want to listen to while being tattooing (um...Led Zeppelin, please!) and does a fantastic job. It hurt more than I let on, more than any other tattoo I've had done on my ankles, but it was well worth it :-)

Late lunch at "that cracker barrel cheese place" and then off to the Bizarre Bazaar at the Boston Cyclorama, followed by a drink at Sibling Rivalry (not so good) and two more at Rock Bottom Brewery (very good).

Mischief managed!

How was your weekend?

And far be it from me to disturb them by getting ready to go to work! Actually, it's snowing like crazy...and from what I can see from my little window, it's slippery going; as a friend said "...roads are scary yo." I think I'll stay home, and if I do venture out, it will be to take Dad to visit Mom, as it's her 83rd birthday today.

I'll finish up my Christmas cards, finish decorating, make some cookies...

What are YOU doing?

***UPDATE***

I meant to wish a very Happy Birthday to two blogfriends, funny they share a birthday with my Mom:

ABrownCow
Watergirl

Go wish them a Happy Birthday, too, won't you?

Borrowed from Megan

Step One

* Post an entry on your blog with 10 holiday wishes.
* The wishes can be anything at all, big or small.
* The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.
* If you wish for real life things, make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.
* Post these guidelines so that the holiday joy will spread.

Step Two:

* Surf around your blogroll (or friend's blogrolls, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list.
* IIf you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true.
* Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--do it.
* You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.
* There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

My list:

1. Go to Kennebunkport to see the holiday decorations
2. See Spamalot before Tim Curry is gone!
3. A happy, joyful, memorable occasion during this holiday season
4. Anything on my wishlist :)
5. A trip to Paris in the springtime or Edinburgh at New Year's
6. Photograph Johnny Depp
7. A fenced in area in my back yard
8. Go dog skiing
9. Dinner or brunch at Sel de la Terre in Boston
10. Snape A companion to go through life with

ps - if anyone would want to surprise me with anything, you can get my snail mail address from Megan, or you can email me/comment for it.

Courtesy of I Miei Pensieri; she got them from here:

It starts off with, "Ah good morning, Severus, do you have an update for me?"... made me laugh my arse off and trust me, I could use a laugh right about now...

I also liked this one:

***This post will stay at the top for awhile, in this edited form, ahem, so that more people can put themselves on the map ;-)***

Blatantly "borrowed" from Zoot, who, I forgot to tell you, SAVED MY LIFE yesterday. Well, ok, it wasn't quite that dramatic (yes it was!!!); you see, my Tivo didn't record Lost for me Wednesday night! Imagine my horror when I discovered that! I quickly sent an emergency email to Zoot, asking her if she still had Lost on her Tivo. She did AND she said she'd be more than happy to copy it to tape for me and mail it out!

Did I tell you how much I love me some Zoot?

So, yeah, I wanna be a map geek too! If you feel like it, please enter your location on this map; if I only know you by your blog name, use that as an identifier, mmmkay? Feel free to attach a picture (of yourself or something that will make me laugh), or if you want to stay anonymous, use whatever name you like...I'm easy!

Originally uploaded by fondofelves.

Slowly but surely I'm getting the tree (and house) decorated! Found this ornament a couple years ago (look familiar? It's an Annalee) at a little shop down the street. Hmmm...maybe I'll do a picture a day for the rest of the month. That'll motivate me to get things done!

Saturday:
- Went by the photo shop where I want to get the photos I'll be selling done; will go back during the week so I can talk with the owner; weekend help not too helpful
- Went to craft fair in Salem, NH...not too impressed
- visited new tattoo place, will be taking my business there from now on...VERY impressed
- baked cookies til midnight (want some?)

Sunday:
- Awoke to sirens; Santa & elves going by on fire truck...sheesh!
- Put on some music and started setting up the Christmas decorations
- Took the dogs for a quick walk, and shot some pictures in the back yard
- Decided to cheer Krista up by letting her take me back to the tattoo place to see the design that the guy had done (the design got my stamp of approval; the appointment is on the 11th)
- Early dinner/late lunch at Polcari's along with some sangria. Yum!
- Came home, put beef stew in the oven for Dad's dinner
- Partially decorated Mom's room at the nursing home with Christmas decorations

And how was your weekend?

The old maple tree, last view

Originally uploaded by fondofelves.

NationalGrid (which is the stupid new name of our electric company) mailed their customers recently. I received the letter yesterday which said they were going to send out a certified arborist to check trees on people's property that may pose a threat to their power lines; if it was determined the trees were weak, damaged, cracked, etc., they would either take the tree down and remove all debris or prune the limbs that overhang the wires, both at no charge.

Well, I'd been thinking about having this tree looked at, as you can see, it TOWERS over the house and I've...not exactly been worried...but concerned whether it was healthy or not.

So the guy came today, nice guy, and he said the wet crack between the two limbs (no laughing) worried him...he said that's a sign of [insert arborist word here]. Because the base of the tree is about 5 feet before it splits into two branches that I swear are probably 100 feet tall, it makes me think that if it did fail, my god, it would be a catastrophe. It is situated, as you can see, so that if one side fell, it would probably fall towards either side of the house, but is that a chance I want to take? When my father bought the house back in 1960, the next door neighbor offered him a bit of advice, which was: "first thing you should do is cut that tree down."

I love the tree, it totally shades the house in summer, and I HATE cutting a tree down, but...they are doing it for free and it's something I've been giving much thought to.

What do you think? Is it this tree's time?

My friend, MaryEllen's ("opinions for free") advice: "Oh absolutely have it taken down, don't take any chances (hey sell the firewood). You can plant another tree come spring and have the thrill of watching it grow."

MB? Need some firewood? Come and get it!

Is it a full moon tonight? Wolf woke me up at 1 in the morning (see the time?) cause he had to "go"; I'd much rather be woken up then to clean up a mess, so it's all good. Couldn't fall asleep so I decided to check out bloglines. My reward came from a couple of posts over at the Leaky Cauldron; the first mentions a Forbes article, listing the top fifteen wealthiest fictional characters. Apparently, it pays to be bad:

Then I clicked on another interesting piece of news; Isetan, a department store in Japan, is featuring some Harry Potter items for sale, from November 29 - December 9th. Do I have any readers in Japan who'd like to send me the robe ornament? Perhaps one of the owls? Or...is that a card ... of the Dark Arts classroom, there in the middle?

and c'mon...a chocolate Sorting Hat on top of a cupcake? How cute is that!

Hey...it's 1:30 AM, what do you expect, sense?

Night, all :-)

While looking at some Rosicrucian websites yesterday, I came across a Cycles of Life calculator. You input your date of birth, chose either the 7 year cycle or 52 day cycle, and voila! This is what it had to say for me for the last 52 day cycle of this year, November 25 - December 31, 2005:

This period is considerably different from the preceding one, inasmuch as in it we have the cosmic forces strongly influencing and strengthening the mental, nervous, and psychic side of the nature rather than the physical. It is an excellent period for the writing and mental creation of books, plays, plans, business schemes, and other matters requiring a fertile mind, quick thinking, smooth-flowing language, and an unusual ability to express the thoughts in the mind. In fact, the mind will seem to be highly charged with new thoughts, new ideas, and easily contacted expressions of the Cosmic Mind.

It is a good period in which to deal with literary persons, reporters, messengers, to engage stenographers and writers, bookkeepers, engravers, artists, and persons whose work is primarily mental and rapid in expression. Artists are more inspired and more nimble in their work during this time.

Went to a Tastefully Simple party at Megan's tonight; the beer bread is to DIE for! YUM! The dirty martinis were damn good, too :-)

***UPDATED***

A new name has been decided upon: Sarah Daniell Photography; the url will be www.sarahdaniell.com; I'll explain what that name means to me in a future post.

Thanks to all who gave me some ideas, your thoughts and effort was greatly appreciated!

With a little lot of help from a bug in my ear friend (Did you do it yet? What's your plan? Did you do it yet?) and a kind offer from another friend, I finally have a design for business cards! Wanna see? Of course you do!

This version was a draft, the typo has been fixed LOL!

I also went through my Flickr account to see which photos I wanted to print out, and then sent a list of 100 links to three friends and asked them to help me narrow it down. I'm sure they love me for that!

Then...another friend pointed something out to me...that there is already a photographer out there with a VERY similar name. Oh, shoot me now!

Do any of you have ideas for a good name? Open up a browser and type in www.whatever-your-idea-for-a-good-name-is.com to see if it's taken if you do. Sigh...back to the drawing board!

I've found my new purpose in life! It's to help my friend Pat enjoy the holiday season more! Saturday night I think I discovered another purpose, too, but I drank a bit too much and don't quite remember what it was. Hmmm...dang, that bartender is adorable, dang, wish I wasn't [insert self deprecating phrase of your choice here] ....

Anyway, I took Pat shopping Friday AND Saturday; she said she'd never had so much fun shopping, which made me smile. I'm available for a small rental fee to anyone else that would like a fun holiday shopping experience ;-)

Friday night after shopping I went over to Megan's, there was the usual debacle of me going to the wrong Vietnamese restaurant to pick up our takeout (we had Phat Prik--chicken with hot green chili and Thai spices!) and I got to watch Dogma, one of my all time favorite movies.

Saturday night Krista picked me up (it was snowing HEAVILY up in Salem, NH and I hate driving in the snow; here, there was NO snow--K thought (like she didn't before) that I was/am insane. We met Michelle for cheap dinner & drinks and some eye candy ;-)

Sunday, got the tree up finally, and bought 5 new strings of lights for it, 3 blue, 2 white. The dogs got walked, turkey soup got made, Mom's laundry got done, I visited her and a good time was had by all!

Awhile back I was saying I'd stopped listening to the radio; well, I discovered a new station this weekend--96.5 out of Manchester NH. The station was playing "Deep Cuts" this weekend, i.e., songs that hadn't seen the light of day in 20-30 years. I was scanning stations when I heard some chords that sounded vaguely familiar; it ended up being Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp (acoustic Led Zep song). I'd only heard the live version, so didn't recognize it at first. After hearing a few more obscure songs, I fondly recalled the early days of WBCN, when Charles Laquidara was there. Charles was great in many ways, not the least was he always played a wide variety of music--he's probably the person most responsible for shaping my musical tastes.

One of the songs I heard today was Once Bitten, Twice Shy by Ian Hunter, who formerly was the lead singer in Mott The Hoople. I caught these lyrics and ... kinda laughed:

And you forgot just how a woman feels
You didn't know what rock n' roll was
Until you met a drummer on a greyhound bus in a Cambridge bar
I got there in the nick of time

Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

First things first, before the Happy Thanksgiving part, even! What happened in the opening of Lost last night? Tivo was being bad and didn't record it, luckily I noticed 5 minutes into the show and watched the rest. But what did I miss?

Ok, Happy Thanksgiving!!! The turkey is roasting, the pumpkin pie is cooling, the candles are lit, the house is clean (for the first time in AGES) and I'm taking a bit of a break, sipping my coffee and listening to Christmas carols and there is snow on the ground, apparently we're having a White Thanksgiving ;-)

On to the Thanksgiving Thursday Thirteen!

Thirteen Things about me! 1. I'm thankful I have Thursday and Friday off from work! 2. I'm thankful that my parents are still alive and able to enjoy life, I'm thankful for my cousins and all the happy memories associated with them, I'm even kinda thankful for my brother ;-) 3. I'm thankful for the friends I've let into my life. 4. I'm thankful for the delicious scent of roasting turkey wafting through the house! 5. I'm thankful I got to fulfill one of my fondest desires this year and see Robert Plant in concert! 6. I'm thankful for the funny and interesting people I've "met" through blogging. 7. I'm thankful I found a radio station that plays GOOD Christmas carols! 8. I'm thankful for my dogs, Max & Wolf. 9. I'm thankful, strange as this may sound, for each and every experience I've been through in life, good and bad. 10. I'm thankful I got to live in Japan for three years! 11. I'm thankful I'm going on a cruise next February; I figure I'll be damn happy to go somewhere warm in the dead of winter! 12. I'm thankful that I can see the beauty in things many find uninteresting! 13. Finally, I'm thankful that you're reading this! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Loose leaf 2. Musings from the Edge 3. Running 2Ks

I'm feeling so overwhelmed and stressed right now it's funny in an ironic sort of way. I'm always the first one to say relax, calm down, let it go and so this must be payback. Every little thing people say I take the wrong way due to oversensitivity, so I think I'll just...[fill in the blank].

Recently someone categorized described me as "bitter insecure & unhappy" in an entry on her blog. Last night I found an article called "Why Snape?" over at Mugglenet which talked about why people liked the character of Professor Snape so much. This excerpt made me go...ohhhhhh:

As an adult, Snape is in a job he dislikes and is constantly surrounded by people who either annoy him, or do not respect him. He's bitter and angry and having trouble letting go of all the slights he's experienced.... He tends to take these feelings out on those around him through the use of sarcasm.

It is my theory that, deep inside, many of us have felt these things and we identify with Snape. We know what it is to be lonely, angry, and unappreciated - to struggle to get through the day , surrounded by idiots.

It's a short jump from identifying with a character to liking him, in spite of his faults. I think we want Snape to succeed. We've all been in that place in his head and we want him to break free - either because we've done it ourselves and are rooting for him to do the same, or because we're still trapped ourselves, and his freedom would give us hope for our own.

I sent this to a few friends saying something like no WONDER I like Snape so much. The responses I got were...interesting, to say the least. One friend gave me the email equivalent of a hug; which really was what I'd hoped for by sending the email. Another gave a terse, two word reply (no, it wasn't "F.U" lol). The third didn't respond.

The article went on to say this:

And then there are the films. Alan Rickman came to this part with a huge existing fan base. He is a skilled, sexy actor, with a voice that compels. Although Snape is described as unattractive in the books, the Snape we see in the films is much more appealing. Alan Rickman draws the eye in almost every scene he appears in. He is graceful in movement and seductive in tone.

The costume design adds to this attraction. The nature of the character is magnified by his outfit. Snape is buttoned from head to foot. In some scenes, even his hands are covered by fingerless gloves. What is he hiding under all those layers?

His cape *swooshes* when he moves, as if Snape had his own personal wind machine to provide dramatic counterpoint. Everything is black, except for the hint of white at the throat. It is all impeccably styled. For someone who is described as socially backwards and in need of a better shampoo, the Snape of the films looks stunningly cool.

So there, that's why I like Snape so much. Glad someone could put it into words; I surely couldn't!

The weekend was fun, more fun that I thought it would be! Some highlights:

Friday night, I went with Megan to see HP/GOF again, she really liked it, I liked seeing Snape, and everyone clapped at the end...I loved that!

Megan and I went to a craft fair Saturday, where I had made plans to meet Monique; she's sarcastic and funny and talented...what's not to like? She inspired the title of this post, btw, over a martini at a yummy lunch, which was made of all appetizers: pumpkin ravioli; lobster & crab ravioli; bruschetta w/tomato, proscuitto & mozzerella; two big meatballs.

The reason we went to this craft fair was to see Sky and her beautiful "Flower Gardens" that she was selling; bought one called Forget Me Nots for my Mom, and got totally inspired by all the creativity there. There was only one person selling photographs, the cards & 5x7s were great, the 8x10s a little blurry. Still, I got some good ideas.

There were also quite a few people selling jewelry, and I swear there was one necklace that was very similar to one I made for my friend, ME, that was going for...$75!!! Shite! Lots of scarves & knitted goods, too, hint, hint, ME. One scarf in particular that I liked was like sparkly silvery tinsel...and it was $29.99! I KNOW this scarf only took about $6 of yarn to do.

Also met a woman who had the booth next to Sky; she had a beautiful tattoo on her ring finger and we got into a discussion about tattoos. She recommended the guy who had done hers, gave me the name of the shop, and I emailed him this morning to see if he can come up with a design to add to my "mischief managed" tattoo.

Met Michelle in town for drinks & dinner; we had to laugh at the bill. It was something like $18 for 4 drinks & dinner. Inexpensive AND a hot bartender...boy do I love that place!

Sunday, the dogs lucked out and I took them for a nice long walk in the woods, each individually. Talked to two women who stopped to ask what kind of dog Wolf is, and found out they'd spoken to another person walking her dog who had seen a coyote sitting out in the (now harvested) cornfield that the path goes by. So when I ran into the ranger (not the weird one that likes me) on my walk with Max, I asked him if there had been any coyote incidents in the park. He said no, no incidents but a few sitings. He then told me about a couple whose house abuts the park had a coyote come in the their yard and grab their small dog. Luckily, they also had other dogs, among them a greyhound and a german shephard. The greyhound chased down the coyote, and held him at bay til the shephard showed up and convinced the coyote to let go of the smaller dog (who was fine). We ended up having a nice long talk, about coyotes, chipmunks, eagles, ticks and the joys of working outside. It was nice; I love these random conversations LOL!

So...what CAN you do to Snape in 7 letters?