It Only Hurts When I Blog

Greetings, Bloggisimos!

It's Thursday! Only one more work day to the week after today! Of course, I'm on VACATION so every day is Saturday while I'm off.

I'm blogging this morning from my daughter's computer. My son-in-law has already gone off to work and her wake-up alarm just went off.

Their kittens are frisking around at the moment, racing back and forth near my feet. Earlier they were playing hockey with a small bit of paper. Cute!

Last night my daughter, son and I went out for dinner to one of our favorite seafood places - a little 'hole in the wall' place in Warren, RI named 'Perellas'. We ate calamari with hot peppers, littlenecks in garlic and oil, lobster saute', and Steak ala Mamma. (also salad and pasta and Italian bread). Good food and better company!

Last night we watched 'The Notebook' on DVD - it is a love story - and was better than I thought it would be - very nicely done.

In less than an hour my sister and brother in law are picking me up and whisking me away - we're going out for breakfast at Bickfords restaurant and I'm spending the day with them and staying overnight at their house tonight.

Am I sounding like a travelling nomad now? I think I am! Or a comic - I sleep in a different place every night! But this way I get to see everyone while I'm on vacation.

I just had a visitor - one of the kittens leaped up to sit beside me for a fraction of a second, then scampered away again. He's practicing WWF moves with his brother right now. Feline pile driver! Cat food crusher!

I heard an owl hooting last night - it was a lovely sound. We've always got the air conditioning running and the windows closed in Tennessee, so I don't get to hear the night noises!

You have a nice day and so will I! TTFN!

Greetings, Bloggy Road-Trippers!

The title above is a song by Hal Ketchum, by the way.

He has a great voice but I don't think his CDs do it justice. If you hear him sing in person at the Grand Ol' Opry his voice is just wonderful.

I'm hitting the road again today with my son, heading to my daughters house in 'Tax-achusetts'.

We'll pack up our bags, get some Italian sandwiches (yes, Heather, we'll bring you a couple!) for the road, and hit it. My son drives a jeep, we'll wave as we go by!

Blogcabulary Word of the Day: BLOGNOSTIC
Blognostic: One who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of a blog.

Quote of the Day:
Today, plan for the future since YOU are the architect of your own life. Helen Steiner Rice

Changing subjects - my mother, son and I went to see 'Talladega Nights' yesterday. We all thought it was pretty bad. I also don't ever want to see Will Ferrell or Ricky Bobby in his tightie whities again.

Up here in the boonies a matinee is only $4, so no harm done. We spent more on popcorn than the movie. That is just not right!

Gee, I guess that's about it for today, you have a nice Wednesday and TTFN!

Greetings, Bloggy Sculptors and those who like sharp, pointy objects!

I promised you a photo of the veggie carving activity we did at the retreat last weekend. Here is the result!

Didn't our group do a great job?

What you see here are radish mushrooms, radish rosettes, radish ladybugs, various carrot carvings, cucumber fans, cucumber rollups, and cherry tomatoes too!

We skewered them with bamboo skewers (that I bought at the dollar store in Tennessee and brought with me) and put the skewers in pitchers (we could have used vases but pitchers were handier) like flowers.

No injuries occurred. The carrots were the hardest (in more ways than one) to carve. The radishes were the easiest AND the most beautiful!

Let me tell you - if you want something that attracts attention, put together a few of these in a vase for your next get together. We stored these overnight in the fridge, wrapped in a trash bag, and set them out again the next day in the dining room and next to the coffee station. So many people admired them and complimented them - they really were a conversation piece.

I never really thought anyone would EAT them, but we did spot a few being consumed!

Blogcabulary Word of the Day: BLOGGYGAMI
Bloggygami: The ancient art of paper folding a printout from your blog.

My son arrived yesterday for a visit, and we did a bit of shopping and went out for lunch. We stayed up till midnight watching Red Sox baseball, but I don't know who won!

His big request isn't to go out for a fancy dinner - he wants his grandmother to make him American Chop Suey - isn't that sweet? He'll probably eat the whole panfull.

Have a great Tuesday and Be Careful With Those Knives! TTFN!

Greetings, Monday Worker-Bees!

I don't like Mondays but I make an exception when I'm on vacation. I guess I ought to be on vacation in Redondo Beach right now! ;-)

It's not fair - I get to see Orlando Bloom playing the same character in the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but I'll never get to see him as Legolas again. Not fair. Legolas, Legolas, Where art thou?

Life isn't fair, Karen. You watched too many bloody Disney movies and they fried your feeble brain. Thanks, Evil Bloggyman.

It could be done - how about 'Legolas Returns', 'Son of Legolas', 'Tarzan meets Legolas', or 'Legolas vs. Predator'? I could write the screenplay for any of those.

Charlie isn't jealous of Legolas. After all - Legolas is thousands of years old, unemployed, and wears tights and a wig. (I sigh....)

Picture Legolas, deftly and lightly walking on top of the snow with no coat. I slog along, huffing and puffing behind him with enough clothes on to be mistaken for a bear, half buried but making a herioc effort to look cute. (I'm laughing now). Perfect image...

You have a nice Monday and let me know if we should petition for a new Legolas movie!

Greetings Bloggy Bluebloods! How was your weekend?

I had a busy weekend at my annual reunion conference/retreat. As a Coordinator, I was pretty busy but 'managed' to enjoy myself as well. Veggie carving was a huge hit - I'll show you photos once I get them downloaded.

I have to make this short because it's almost time to go to my aunt and uncles house for pizza!

All food was provided this weekend. Lunch today - fish chowder with homemade broccoli/cheese calzones. After lunch, an arts and crafts activity - toenail painting. A little later, we got ice cream. I wonder if my mother has a scale, and I wonder if I would have the nerve to step on it.

NO, it was too cold to go in the ocean. I did WALK and SIT on the beach, but no 'swimmage'.

Temperature here - 56 degrees. Brrrr....

Greetings, Bloggy Weekenders!

It's FRIDAY and I'm on vacation! I'd march in a circle but not outside, it's too bloody cold. Forty four degrees in August just doesn't seem right to me!

I phoned Charlie last night - it was 85 there and 58 here - see the number reversal? Weird!

I need to get in the shower, have breakfast, and PACK a subset of my clothes for the weekend. My mother and I will be spending the weekend at the ocean further down the coast for our annual camp reunion/retreat that we go to. I hope it's warm enough to put on a swimsuit!

I am one of the Coordinators this year, which means I got to attend for free but have to earn my keep. Today is registration and orientation day, tomorrow has a full schedule of things like ecology, arts and crafts, (I am teaching vegetable carving, by the way), and stuff like that.

Blogcabulary word of the day: BLOGGIDEXTROUS
Bloggidextrous: The ability to Blog with either hand.

Later, gators!

By the way - I don't know if they have the facilities for me to write my blog from there. If you don't hear from me, we'll be back on Sunday night (in time to attend a pizza party my aunt and uncle host regularly).

Greetings, Bloggy Travelers!

Just a 'click and a promise' from me this morning - it's 4:30am and I'm outta here to hit the road for the airport (and the long line at security).

TTFN! Love you bye!

Update at 5:02 pm Eastern time... I'm here!

I'm here in Maine Maine Maine, have already had a Dunkin' Donuts latte', the corn on the cob is boiling, and the lobsters will be going in the pot shortly. We picked tomatoes and green peppers from the garden to go in the salad too.

Newsflash - I sat across from a Dunkin Donuts employee on the plane - and he said they have opened a store in Franklin, TN! Awesome! Everyone can give me Dunkin Donuts gift cards now for Christmas.

It's cool here, and might drop into the THIRTIES one night this weekend - can you believe it??? Well, talk at you later, gator!

Greetings, Bloggy Darlings!

It is ONE day till vacation blast off! Now I feel like it's Friday but it's only Wednesday so I won't march in a circle.

I must be excited because I woke up at 4am and couldn't go back to sleep. So what did I do?

Started cracking jokes and woke up Charlie to keep me company. I mentioned around 4:30am that I should go back to sleep.

His very observant comment 'You can't sleep when you're talking'. Yep, he's right. ;-) I'm still laughing and it's 6:04am.

Blogcabulary word of the day: Blogamy
Blogamy: The criminal offense of starting another blog while actively attached to another.

If you're a Mormon, I guess it's Polyblogamy? That's too hard to say.

Back to my trip discussion:

With the new carry on restrictions, I think I need to put a lot more in my checked baggage. I'm not even sure if I can carry makeup in my normally chock full trip-stoked handbag.

Upon inspection, I discovered things in my purse like antibacterial waterless hand cleaner and chapstick and all sorts of stuff that won't pass muster against the definition of 'liquid or gel'.

Anyway, before I leave for work I may check in online and print my boarding passes.

I need to have a nice productive day at work so I don't have a guilt trip over leaving my projects stranded while I'm gone.

Better get to it! BLAM! I'm outta here!

Greetings, Bloggy Maine-iacs!

Let's get 'cracking' this morning!

I am practically DREAMING about Lobster before my trip.

Lobster and Haddock Chowder. YUM-O!

This picture is of one cooler full of lobsters at our family 4th of July festivities. (We had multiple coolers full of lobster). More YUM-O!

You can get lobster right now in Maine for as little as $5.99/lb, compared to $13/lb here in Tennessee.

A highlight of my vacation is also going to be a trip to the Nordic Lodge in Rhode Island, a gourmet buffet that includes all-you-can-eat lobster, clams, shrimp, filet mignon, and prime rib. Yes, the old diet is going to suffer that day, I can tell you!

I'm running a little late this morning (I took time to make a CD for my mother of my 4th of July pictures, and I need to mail one of these to Aunt Nancy, too. Sorry, Nancy! I'll get to it!)
so I'll give you a link to the Nordic Lodge website.

If you like seafood and if you want 'the best of the best' in quality, go there when you are in New England.

Their website isn't the greatest, but check out the photos and the menu listing.

http://www.nordiclodge.com/

Well, I have to rock-lobster and roll. Have fun daydreaming of lobsters today! TTFN!

Greetings, Bloggy Package-Readers!

It’s a dark and Bloggy Monday! Pop Quiz - raise your hand if you're alive this morning. I am!

Let’s just talk about FOOD again, surprise surprise. Food Labeling, that is.

I got brave and took a chance last night, opening and cooking some fish I had bought frozen about a month ago.

I love fish – I prefer to buy it fresh or to freeze it myself from fresh, but I have had pretty good luck with frozen as well.

However, I almost brought this fish back to the store when I read the ingredients on the back of the box (I am sure you've read my photo above). Evidently this fish is ‘treated’ somehow with CARBON MONOXIDE to keep it’s color. What a horrible thought! If I had read that label AT the store I wouldn't have bought it at all.

The THOUGHT of it was bad, but the fish was delicious and I liked that each filet was individually wrapped inside the box. It really was just fine. But I confess, I was scared of the label, and researched and read a little bit about that carbon-monoxide business on the web as well.

The practice of using gas to preserve color in fish is banned in some places (including Canada), because it can make non-fresh fish LOOK fresh. Well, common sense tells me that my sense of smell and the texture of the fish will alert me to whether or not it’s any good. I didn’t worry after I had done the ‘sniff test’ on it. (Good schnoz-work, Karen!)

I've got a very busy next-few-days-at-work-before-my-vacation, but tonight Charlie and I (and another couple) are going out for dinner to Cracker Barrel, like we've been doing for several weeks now. I like Monday night!

So that's my Monday Blog - be safe and read those labels! TTFN!

Greetings, Blogregation! It's Sunday again!

What's a drive by Blogging? Just a quick and dirty entry before I go do something else!

It's already 11:30am, and we've been up, had breakfast, and I've already gone to the store (20 miles away), been to get gas ($2.73/gal at Sams Club), and come back again.

Charlie and I had talked about going to a movie but he's out in the 'Outback' somewhere so I don't know if we're going or not.

Debbie and I stayed at the pool for THREE HOURS yesterday. Thankfully it was overcast most of that time, but I have some sunburn on my cheekbones.

I am already organizing and packing for my trip starting Thursday.

BLAM! I'm outta here! Happy Sunday!

Greetings, Gentle Readers!

How Bloggy thou art this Saturday morning?

I know what you're thinking... 'What? Another drink picture today? Whassup with that? '

Do you know who 'P. Allen Smith' is - the gardener guru guy? Anyway, he did a spot this morning on the agave plant, from which tequila is made.

Due to the 'agave' theme, he also went to a hotel in Memphis that makes these special margaritas with a mousse/egg white/lime topping that looked fantastic.

So I walked in here and looked up 'Margarita Mousse' on the internet and found this photo and recipe. This is actually a dessert, not a drink topping, but that's what I found so that's what you're getting. Does that crooked picture make you feel 'tipsy'? Me too.

I'll put the recipe at the end of the blog in case you are interested.

It's early and Charlie's already out the door to go to an archery thing with some of his buddies. I'm going to hang out at the pool a little later with my friend Debbie, then we're going to the movies. Sounds like a perfect day!

Guess I'd better do some wash too (I stopped here and put a wash in and scrubbed the bathroom tub and filled the soap dispensers in the bathrooms). Guess I'd better write some checks and mail some bills too. Guess I'd better stop at Sams Club this weekend too.

Guess I've blogged long enough with so much to do - have a great Saturday, everyone!

Here's that Margarita Mousse recipe, if you decide to imbibe!

Margarita Mousse
1/2 cup water
1 envelope (1 tablespoon) unflavored gelatin
6 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup tequila
1/3 cup Triple Sec
1 cup whipping cream

Directions: Combine 1/4 cup water with gelatin and stir. Set aside to soften 5 minutes. Beat egg yolks until pale, about 5 minutes; set aside. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup lime juice in a pan. Bring to a boil and cook until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in softened gelatin until gelatin dissolves. Add tequila, Triple Sec and remaining lime juice. Slowly pour hot mixture into egg yolks, beating until smooth. Place bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice. Beat cream in a chilled bowl on high speed until soft peaks form. Cover and refrigerate. Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form, then gradually add remaining sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form. Stir 1/3 third of egg-white mixture into egg-yolk mixture. Fold in remaining egg-white mixture and all the whipped cream, incorporating well. Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Spoon into margarita glasses with sugared rims. Garnish each glass with a lime wheel. Serves 8.

Greetings, Bloggy Dudes and Bloggy Babes!

Do I even need to mention that it's FRIDAY again already?

Ritual Friday happy dance, please - march in a circle chanting Fri-day! Fri-day! Fri-day!

Is this photo the most 'beautious' drink ever? Puts my mug of coffee to shame (except for it being morning and all), and I want one of those cute monkeys hanging on the glass too.

But I am in the 'Blog Days of Summer' zone right now.

This time next Friday I'll be on the BEACH in MAINE.

Yes, although I haven't any vacation time saved up yet at my new job, I had already scheduled my summer vacation so I am taking unpaid leave for it.

I'll be on a plane next Thursday, and not returning to work until the second week in September. Joy and Bliss! Of course, that means I have a lot of work to try to 'bring closure to' over the next few days.

I might even go in a bit early this morning, if I get my blog written and make my lunch and eat breakfast and can get out the door. I really do like being home in the morning past 6am.

You haven't heard me mention going in to swim at the crack of dawn lately, instead I've been swimming on the weekend and also a couple nights right after work before the outdoor pool closes at 6pm. I can swim for 40 minutes, and it isn't crowded at that time. (on Tuesday there were only a couple people there). I will surely miss the outdoor pool after my vacation - it'll be closed when I get back.

Would someone please tell me why everything closes after Labor Day, when it is HOT here through October???

Anyhow - better get a move on! It's Friday! BLAM! I'm outta here!

Greetings, Bloggy Fall-Lovers!

Scared you, didn't I?

I heard someone say yesterday 'It is 14 weeks till Thanksgiving'! Shocking!

I can live without the temps in the 90's every day, but I am not ready to give up summer and swimming outside either.

Charlie and his buddies are already talking about fall hunting trips, school is coming back in session, and if you look around, dry leaves are already starting to blow around. Eeek!

And you know what FALL means - WINTER is around the corner.

Charlie and I were in Cracker Barrel on Monday. The past few mondays we've been going out for dinner - because I really don't like mondays and I really do like to go out for dinner.

Anyhow - over in the corner of the store, Cracker Barrel had already put out some Christmas merchandise! I really just couldn't look at it yet - that 'Christmas shopping' spirit somehow is missing in August.

So why are you bloody well talking about it now, Karen? Well, evidently you didn't give a hoot about my most creative and entertaining Cinderella story, so you'll get my ramblings instead. So there.

Blogcabulary word of the day: Blogthritis
Blogthritis - a painful condition of the hands, wrists and fingers caused by too much typing.

I guess I'd better post this before I get blogthritis...

After all, I have to go to WORK and TYPE ALL DAY there too.

TTFN! Enjoy summer while it lasts!

Greetings! Welcome to Bloggy Fantasia!

Close your eyes and listen to the story... Oh, I guess you can't read that way, never mind...

Once upon a time, there was a blogger named Cinderella.

She dreamed of blogging, but had to work in an unrewarding domestic goddess capacity all day long.

At least she wasn't mooning around the house all day dreaming of some stupid fantasy Prince Charming. Blogging is more empowering.

Back to our story...

Cinderella's fairy Blogmother measured her (photo above) for ergonomics, and chanted 'Bibbity, Bloggity Boo!' Presto, chango, the perfect pink laptop appeared (without an exploding battery like SOME we've heard about), with a wireless link to the fairy internet, a wireless mouse, and a bunch of peripherals that Cinderella had only seen in her dreams.

Her poor little mice friends had to run on a treadmill to produce the electricity for dear Cinderella to blog, but they served her happily (ever after).

She did meet the Prince after all, you know. Being the only person in the land with a computer, she could rent time on it at astronomical rates, which only royalty could afford. He proposed soon after, presenting her with an engagement ring with a diamond shaped like a mouse.

The End.

Bye folks, I'm out of time! Have a nice Wednesday!

Greetings, Blog Watchers!

I wrote my blog this morning, lost my connection to Blogger, and lost everything I wrote.

I've got to go get ready for work now, so SORRY about that, blame Blogger.

In other words &*^^%%$$ (those are swears).

Have a nice freakin' day.

Happy Birthday to my Dad today, by the way.

BLAM, I'm outta here.

Greetings, First Years!

Please park your broomsticks over there and bring your laptops with you.

Welcome to Blogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Bloggery. Headmaster, Albus Bloggamore.

Look, there's the famous 'Harry Blogger', with a right-click mark on his forehead! He's with his friends Ron and Hermione! And there's Neville LongBloggum - he's on his way to class!

The magical blogging hat will sort you into the houses you'll be living in. The Houses are RavenBlog, SlytherIP, HuffleParse, and GryffinData.

First class today - Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Hagrid. He's got some blog-ended skrewts - a cross between a lobster and a torpedo!

Wands or wireless mice at the ready, dears. Now try to levitate your laptops - the charm is 'Bleviosa'! Not Bleviosaaah, emphasis on the o, please. That's it, you've got it!

'Blogmaster, please, where do I plug this laptop in, there aren't any outlets!' Shhh, never mind that, it's just a blog, it doesn't have to be accurate!

Okay, that's enough of that - back to reality...

My commute to work is about to change this morning, maybe a broomstick would be a good idea. I have to drive right by an elementary school on my way to work, and I haven't a clue what the traffic is going to be like. Evil Bloggyman: Bad, probably, you dumb a**!

Ahem. Right. The alternate route is the interstate, and I already know that the interstate backs up at that time of the day. Don't want to go that way either.

Anyhow - you folks have a great Monday! Repeat after me - 'Mischief Managed'!

Greetings, Blogregation!

Happy Sunday! The FOOD is HERE!

Today is my son Evan's birthday - Happy Birthday, Evan!

He doesn't read the blog but I would be remiss if I didn't say 'Happy Birthday'!

We had a great time yesterday. We got everything I was looking for and more in Amish country.

That haul totally filled up the trunk of my CRV. We didn't make it home with everything we started out with - Charlie ate a peach fried pie in the car and I ate two of the apples.

The final inventory and cost:

Corn on the cob - 6 dozen - $11.25
25lb box of tomatoes - $8.00
10 lbs red potatoes - $3.25
5 lbs golden apples - $3.00
Red/Yellow peppers - 4 for $1.00
Head of cabbage - 50 cents
Cantalope - $1.00
Watermelon - $3.00
Various cukes, red onions, and squash - .75/lb

I don't know if I've forgotten anything or not! Doesn't matter if so. Of course, when we got home, Charlie spent a long time outside in the shade shucking corn, and I spent the rest of the afternoon peeling and cutting and cooking and freezing some of this deliciousness.

Our lunch yesterday - 2 ears each corn on the cob, boiled new potatoes, sliced fresh tomato, and leftover pork tenderloin. YUM-O!

I'll be back and write more in a little while - gotta go enjoy my coffee and Baileys! ;-)

You might want to know about the 'Country Corn' preparation process. Another term for 'country corn' is 'fried corn'.

You want fresh, fresh, fresh corn, and the sweeter the better.

After the corn is shucked, I wash it in the sink. You'll never get off every silk, but you try your best.

Cover the table with newspaper.

I pile a bunch of washed ears of corn on a cookie sheet, then start the scraping process.

You cut the kernels off the ear, but you don't cut too deeply, so that some of the inside kernel and the 'corn milk' can be extracted by scraping with a serrated knife.

Your hands get gooey, the table gets gooey, your shirt gets gooey, and the floor gets gooey.

Cut, cut, cut, scrape, scrape, scrape. Repeat for dozens of ears.

When you have a frying pan full, fry it up with some water, butter (I skipped the butter), salt n pepper, and whatever other seasonings you may want.

Some people add sugar but I never have. When the kernels change color, they are ready to put into containers and freeze.

You can add a little water/flour paste when reheating the corn to thicken it slightly. Consume all winter long! I put up about 4 dozen ears which made 15 freezer containers of corn. It is sitting happily in the freezer to be eaten over the winter.

I may need to put up some of these tomatoes as well, but not yet - we'll see how many we eat and we've already given some to Charlie's daughter. She and Charlie went to the preseason Tennessee Titans game last night. (They lost, shucks).

I think that'll give you some 'food for thought' for the day! TTFN!

Greetings, Bloggy Buggy Riders!

It's Saturday, my favorite day of the week.

Charlie and I are going to Amish country today to buy some vegetables.

We don't know how much drought they've had this year, so I'm not quite sure what they'll have. I think it's too late for corn, but I still have a little in the freezer I put up last year.

In a good year, we've seen tomatoes for as low as TWENTY CENTS a pound, and I'd like to get some potatoes, cucumbers, a watermelon, and who-knows-what-else.

There's one farm we go to that sells these GIGANTIC tomatoes - they are more pink looking than the photo above, and rather misshapen. Some of them must weigh POUNDS each. A nice SLAB of tomato please, underneath my steak! Oh - that's BIGGER than my steak.

Back to corn...

I don't think I've told this story about a corn-buying expedition one year. We bought 7-10 dozen ears (for probably a dollar a dozen) from a girl and her brother who had the back of their buggy piled up with corn. Now that's a lot of corn! The girl mentioned how much work it was to put all that corn up. (Of course, she is also thinking of all the canning work afterwards, and I just throw it in the freezer after I have cut it off the ears and pre-cooked it a little bit).

The Amish girl made a little joke that Charlie would need to help me with that corn. We all laughed about it, and of course it was true! We were just about to drive off, and she stepped over to Charlie's window. 'I hope I didn't hurt your feelings', she said. Charlie said 'What?' She said 'When I said that about you helping with the corn, I hope I didn't hurt your feelings'. He said 'Not at all! I will help with the corn!' She was satisfied that she hadn't offended Charlie by 'expecting' him to do women's work in the kitchen. Imagine that?

We saw a couple of teenaged Amish boys who were working for a non-Amish farmer one day. They were absolutely shining with anticipation and fun, as the farmer was driving them around in his big truck, and buying them pizza for their lunch. They don't see that every day!

Joe remembers going to a farm where a woman was filling plastic grocery bags with produce. Her little son's 'job' was to stand there with both arms bent, and two fingers on each hand sticking out, making himself into a human bag holder. It was priceless!

Charlie remembers a little boy scrambling onto the bumper of his truck so he could peek inside and see all the 'stuff' that he had in there. We don't know if he saw anything 'cool' or not, or whether he recognized anything at all in there, but he surely was curious about it!

Another Amish farmer was selling corn from a large wagon. His sons were playing in the shade on the ground underneath the wagon, and having a fine time. The farmer told us a man had been by driving a small pickup truck, asking for a thousand-dozen ears of corn. The farmer was mildly disgusted, because HE knew that a thousand dozen wouldn't have fit in the man's truck.

We regularly see an older Amish man at the nearby 'country buffet' at lunchtime. We figure he must be a single man who doesn't cook for himself, and eats there instead. He sells vegetables and baskets, but we've never seen him with any kids in tow, which is unusual.

Well, we've got to hit the road and get those veggies! BLAM! I'm outta here!

Greetings, Bloggy Week-watchers (as opposed to clock-watchers)! It's Friday!

March in a circle chanting 'Fri-day, Fri-day, Fri-day'! Cut out some valentines (if you're allowed to use scissors) and write 'I love you Friday' on them.

I searched the internet for photos with a 'Friday' theme, and this one came up entitled 'Friday browsing'. Fair enough.

I had my second-paycheck-at-my-new-job yesterday (no, I didn't remember it was payday), and my direct deposit has been set up so now I don't have to make a run to the bank. Another step forward in the acclimation process of a new job.

Buddy Joe is coming over tonight after work, so I have a bit of 'tidying up' to do (if I get to it). On the menu is pork tenderloin with stir-fry and egg rolls. YUM-O!

Speaking of 'foodies'...
Blogcabulary word of the day: BLAM.
Blam: The word that Chef Emeril 'would' have made famous instead of 'BAM' if he were a blogger.

I like Emeril because he doesn't seem arrogant like a lot of chefs and makes this cute little high-pitched humming noise like Curly of the Three Stooges - very endearing.

I could use that word myself if I want to make a point...
BLAM! There it is!
BLAM! Kick it up a notch!
BLAM! Another blog to tempt your literary palate!

Evil Bloggyman - BLAM! Shut Up! All right, I can see that's enough of that.

BLAM! I'm outta here! Happy Friday!

Greetings, Chief High Bloggy-Mucks!

It's THURSDAY already and the week is flying by!

I actually could use a couple more days tacked on to this week, to catch up with some things I'm doing at work, but that ain't gonna happen.

I haven't been in the pool since SUNDAY - can you believe it? S.L.A.C.K.E.R.

I am telling myself it's given me a rest and helping my back get better, but what it accomplishes is to make my butt get bigger instead. ;-) I have to go to the grocery store after work tonight, so I won't be dashing over to the pool for a quick swim tonight either.

If you want to see BOREDOM, take a look at the teenaged-or-a-little-older lifeguards at the pool. They sit there on their 'towers' and play with their hair, their FEET, their sunglasses, and you can just SEE them waiting for the day to tick by.

The parents, on the other hand, are quite busy. They spend at least the first 15 minutes of their pool visit slathering and spraying down their kids with sunblock. That gives me an edge ‘cause I can get in right away (I don’t stay outdoors long enough to need any sunblock, and it gets in my eyes) and beat the rush.

Once last week I was one of the first TWO in the water, but not the first one to go underwater (because one kid jumped in). OK, he won. It was getting pretty crowded after about 45 minutes, but I was already done and ready to lay around on a lounge chair and read.

I saw the ‘nicest Dad’ at the pool the other day. (By the way - it seems to be a ‘Dad thing’ to take the kids to the pool - or is it Divorced Dad’s day maybe? ) Anyway, this Dad would patiently LIE DOWN UNDERWATER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POOL so his son could climb up on him like an island and vault himself off, over and over and over again. Need a float? Use Dad! Maybe an island? Dad’s up to it! I thought that was quite sporting of him.

Solo adult swimmers like me? Not many, maybe two or three, either swimming or napping in the lounge chairs!

Changing subjects…

Seen on MSN – don’t worry about how fat PEOPLE are getting, worry about how fat your DOG is getting, and how hard it is for your DOG to lose weight. Is there a Doggy BMI???

If you can pinch an inch, it might just be the BREED!!!

Does this dog food make my tail look fat? Jeepers, yes! ;-)

Changing subjects...

Is anyone watching that 'Think you can dance' show? I didn't vote, but I would like to see either Travis or Benji win it. Travis has the best talent, but Benji has the best showmanship. Either one as champion would be fine with me. Charlie, of course, likes Heidi. ;-)

Okey dokey - gotta go get in the shower! I haven't even finished my coffee! Eeek! Bye!

Greetings, Bloggy Star-Gazers!

No, I don't 'wish upon a star' very often. I just noticed Venus looked really bright this morning.

AND it's a full moon at the moment, which I always enjoy.

I usually say 'Hi Moon', whenever there's a full moon - do YOU talk to the moon? No? I always have so I guess I always will!

I say hello to the moon and I always wave to a train that's going by. YES, if someone sees me they wave back!

Quote of the Day:
'Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus. Computers are from hell.' Anonymous

I just finished Book 6 of the 'Witches of Eileanan' series by Kate Forsyth. Not a bad series in my humble opinion.

Let's see - what else is going on? It was 97 degrees the past two days, and in the 90's every day as far back as I can remember. Bloody well hot is what I'm trying to say, and no sign of relief. I try to go walk around the building on my breaks at work, but it's too hot to be outside for more than a few minutes.

I wonder if I am getting recognized as 'that girl that walks around the building'. No harm done if so. Notice I called myself a 'girl' instead of 'that lady'. Makes me feel younger. ;-)

Blogcabulary Word of the Day: BLAPTITUDE
Blaptitude - the innate ability to blog about anything, nothing or everything.

Well gang, I'd better go get in the shower, get dressed, and have breakfast. I've gotta leave in about an hour.

Have a nice Wednesday! TTFN!

Greetings, Bloggies! It's Tuesday!

Lift, Separate, and Torture?

Welcome to the fascinating world of women’s foundation garments, smallclothes, or UNMENTIONABLES. (You’re thinking, good grief, what is she going to talk about?)

I don’t usually talk about anything more intimate than a bathing suit, but you might need to know this! Think back… Trizzle trazzle trazzle trone…

Did I mention that I got a new chair at work because I thought my old chair was hurting my back? I have had a constant sore muscle under my ‘chicken wing’ (which is a shoulder blade) on my right side for almost three weeks now, and it’s just starting to get a little better.

All of you folks who live with pain, I HEAR you loud and clear. Sitting all day at work, by noontime my back would be clenched in a knot. My SKIN was hypersensitive because I was in pain. Pain is distracting and pretty much… a pain. I even tried a heating pad for the first time in my life. (It was a plain blue heating pad, not a floral covered one from the 60's like SOMEONE has who reads this blog).

I don’t know if I pulled that muscle in my back swimming, lifting groceries, or just LIVING. I don’t know and I’ll probably never find out either. Being the studly woman I am (can a woman be studly?), I ignored it most of the time. I kept on swimming and carried on pretty normally, but it surely did hurt, especially trying to get to sleep at night. Ask Charlie, I tossed and turned most of the time until midnight or so. I was in pain when we went on that weekend away to Gatlinburg, and that was one of my worst nights. I even tried sleeping on a pillow because the mattress hurt my back. It didn't work.

ANYHOW – I discovered ONE thing that was aggravating my back and keeping my sore muscle sore! MY BRASSIERE(S). I use the plural because several that I wear all have clasps in the back. These clasps would hit that very same sore spot all day long and make it worse, and the chair back would contribute to that pressure! Can you imagine – a torture device that I intentionally put on every day!

My back started to get better this weekend when I changed what I was wearing to my very thinnest, softest, stretchiest, front closing… thingies. I think the constant pressure of the clasps right on that sore spot have really prevented me from getting better!

What do YOU think? That it’s all in my head? (Don’t answer that).

Gotta go now. Be at peace, all over!

Greetings, Bloggy Linguists! It's Monday!

Another work week is here and NOW. (shudder)

A week ago today our cable internet went down. This is the picture I was going to post a week ago. Thanks to Phil for contributing the photo.

I decided yesterday to add a new feature to the blog whenever the mood strikes- a 'Blogcabulary Word of the Day'. Obviously a 'Blogcabulary Word' is going to be any word after it's been 'Bloggicized' or 'Blogassimilated'.

The word of the day is 'Blamina'. What is Blamina? The stamina to get online at 6am or earlier to invent stuff for 'da blog'.

Changing subjects...

I have a photo submission of the day from Charlie too!

Charlie has a motion activated digital camera and took this photo in our 'Outback' area (we have 8 acres of land).

Isn't that a precious deer, Gollum?

If you look closely, you can see that there is a family of raccoons right next to (and practically underneath) that deer, all lined up in a row! What a photo! Thanks for that, Charlie.

Well, I should go get in the shower, eat breakfast, and get ready for WORK.

Have a nice Monday, everyone!

Greetings, Blogregation!

It's Sunday morning and Charlie and I have already finished breakfast and unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher. If you're wondering, we ate the same breakfast as yesterday, but substitute ham for sausage on the sandwich, and I had mine on an onion bagel.

Charlie's going to go mow the lawn (which is a couple-hour process), so I am going into Nashville to go swim while he's working outside. (The rec center pool doesn't open till 1pm on Sunday. I think that's ridiculous).

Since I'm swimming today I can skip swimming tomorrow morning without feeling guilty and take my time. I need that on a Monday, I must admit.

That also means I'm going to leave you until I get back, and write more later.

TTFN! Happy Sunday!

I'm baaack! It's 1:51pm and we've just finished having chicken nachos while we watched the ballgame on TV. YUM-O.

Internet connection seems to be working just fine, knock on wood. (rap rap rap) Speaking of the internet...

Karen - Doctor Bloggy, do you have a minute?

Doctor Bloggy - I only charge by the hour.

Karen - oh FINE, bill me.

Doc Bloggy - Please proceed. What did you want to discuss today, Karen?

Karen - Well - since the cable connection broke my 160 day blogging streak, I feel that the pressure is off to post a blog entry EVERY SINGLE DAY. Not that I won't post whenever I can, which most of the time will be daily, but I have a trip coming up at the end of the month so I am trying NOT to worry anymore if I miss a few days here and there.

Doctor Bloggy: So, Karen - maybe losing your internet service did YOU a service? Is that what you're saying?

Karen: I didn't feel that way last week, but if you look at it in the 'I didn't blow my blogging streak so now it's out of my hands' kind of way, yes, that's what I'm saying.

Doctor Bloggy: So, Karen, how does that make you feel?

Karen: Normal.

Doctor Bloggy: You're not normal, Karen.

Karen: Normal-ER then.

Doctor Bloggy: Very well. Please see the receptionist on your way out and have her Xerox your new insurance card.

Karen: Thanks, Doc.

Doctor Bloggy: NEXT!

Karen: TTFN!

Update at 5:30pm. It was 94 degrees this afternoon.

On the way home from swimming I stopped at the Kmart (close to where I swim) and bought 2 nice pairs of sandals and a sweater for a mere $25, tax free. Aaaaaaah.

I didn't pay attention to the mall traffic today, but yesterday the traffic backup looked worse than at Christmastime. Eeeew.

I am going to read a little now and watch a movie on cable at the same time. (right, I'll read but ignore the movie). TTFN!

Greetings, Bloggy Weekenders! It's Saturday!

Seems like a week since we've chatted (which it has been). The internet connection still seems ok. It might be a little slow, but at this point I don't care. I don't know if we want to keep the service call we have in for Tuesday, or cancel it.

Was a week without a blog like a week without sunshine? We all miss what we can't have, don't we? I can't tell you how many times we TRIED to get online.

Soooo, what's been goin' on? I had 35 unread emails that I hadn't been able to get to, and a few emails in another email account I have, and of course a ton of spammage sitting in my bulk folders. No emergencies though.

I even got SPAM VOICEMAIL at work yesterday, I stopped answering the phone after the first one, and got probably 6 phone calls from an 800 number with an automated message from some mortgage company (not mine). If that continues I'll see if I can block it.

I'll be back - gotta go have some more bloggy juice. If you've forgotten, that's COFFEE.

TTFN!

I'm back!

It's 7:54 and Charlie and I have just finished breakfast. What did we have? An egg/turkey sausage/cheese breakfast sandwich on a wheat roll. Semi-healthy I guess!

The baby mockingbirds (who have grown up to be teenaged mockingbirds) still hang around on our deck. They are learning to chase other birds away from the feeders, just like Mom and Dad. 'Chicks' off the old block, you could say. You can tell they're not full grown yet, they're a little smaller and their coloring is a bit different.

My friend Debbie is meeting me at the outdoor pool where I 'used' to swim in Nashville, and we're going to hang out there for a while this morning. Remember we did that last Saturday too. It's overcast right now, but that doesn't bother me, I don't need a sunburn. High today is expected to be 93. Charlie's gonna go do 'man stuff' while Debbie and I are lounging at the pool.

This is 'tax free back to school shopping' weekend. I should try to avoid stores this weekend but I could really use some new sandals. Tennessee normally has sales tax on clothing - a whopping 9.25 percent I think. (That's because TN has no state income tax). This weekend there is no sales tax for clothing items that cost up to $100 each, and no tax on school supplies, and a certain allowance for computers, etc. Most schools start back here mid August, though a couple of school systems have already gone back! That's early!

Guess that's enough chatter for now - have a great Saturday whatever you do!

Greetings, Bloggies Great and Small! I'm baaaaaack!

Did you miss me? I don't know if this connection is going to last, so I'll make this very brief.

The modem lights on the cable modem IMPLIED that the internet signal was working, but earlier in the week that also happened and then the connection died again. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

ANYHOW - I am 'Making Blog' while the sun shines so just COME ON BACK and gimme some welcome back comments!

Love you bye! I'm going to go cook some parsnips now for dinner.

You wanted to know that, didn't you?

Karen, nobody cares about your friggin bloggy cable problems, they just want something else to read about and look at - they're sick of Sunday's posting.

Thanks, Evil Bloggyman. Welcome back to you too...