It Only Hurts When I Blog

Greetings, Bloggy Numerologists! It's Saturday!

It's day 222! Remember that TV show, Room 222?

It's early in the morning and Charlie is already back in the woods in a tree.

Everybody wave - Hi Charlie!

Coffee is brewing, and I'm going to have some coffee and breakfast, then hit the road to go swim before many people are even out of bed!

Dreamland Update:

I dreamed last night of a big storm coming, and we lived right on the coastline in a condo facing the waves.

The waves were gigantic, roiling out in the sea, and I thought we should evacuate and go inland a bit.

Discounting the danger, my son and his friend wanted to go out to a nearby club for a while later that evening. I said to them 'Why not just go NOW?' They answered 'It's only 8:30pm, we can't go in before 9:30'. Sheesh.

Long story short, we didn't go far, it never rained in my dream, the waves never came onshore, it was kind of a non-event. The waves were awesome, though, and worth the dream.

Ok, that's enough for now - I'm going to go have a breakfast bagel sandwich and go swim, then run some errands and my usual Saturday stuff.

TTFN!

Afterthought - So Long, September! It sure went by fast!

Greetings, You Bloggy Antartic Adventurers, You!

It's Friday! FriDAY! FRIDAY! (Roll sound clip of trumpets greeting the day.)

March in a circle everyone! Yes, you seals and sled dogs too!

Friday! Friday! Friday!

Sir Ernest Shackleton's Antartic weather forecast for the Nashville area: It is a frozen, frosty 41 degrees outside! That is the coldest it's been in months. Back to the 80's next week though.

Let me break the ice off the top of my coffee, and we'll continue...

Voyage to Dreamland last night: My dreams were active!

A lot of 'motion' dreams. Driving dreams (including getting stuck in someone's driveway while their electronic gate was closing and exiting the wrong way), riding in someone else's car, and one about being on a ferryboat/paddlewheel boat kind of cruise.

I went to greet someone who was also on the cruise, she looked like a former coworker, Patsy.

She was fishing with a net on a long pole over a tank that was cut in the hull of the boat, so you could 'screen' for fish as the cruise boat went along. The net looked a little like this one here but bright orange.

I found you could also swim in the tank, because she fell in accidently and showed me how it was done. ;-)

I also had a dream snippet about someone trying to convince my sister to sell her house, and them yelling at each other. ;-)

Okay, enough of the Dreamland thing.

Blogcabulary Word of the Day: BLEXPLETIVE (F&^**%*! S**%!)
Blexpletive: A series of characters meant to represent an exclamation or oath on your blog, especially one that is profane, vulgar, or obscene.

Have a lovely and curse-free Friday! TTFN! BLAM! I'm outta here!

Greetings, Curious Georges and Curious Georgettes!

Inquiring minds (or mind) called my cell phone last night.

They want to know about the surprise sent to me by Phil and Tiff in England.

Here they are - a set of humorous coasters with retro artwork talking about men and shopping. Awesome! The photo came out good, too.

In case they are too hard to read, here are the captions:

Upper left: 'Shopping! Only one more shopping day til tomorrow!'
Lower left: 'Men! Proof that God Has a Sense of Humour!'
Upper right: 'Men - They're like Tyres. It Never Hurts to Have a Spare!'
Lower right: 'Cinderella- Forget the prince! She was in it for the shoes!'

Love 'em, especially the Shopping! one. ;-)

Well, thinking about the coasters knocked out any memory of my dreams last night. I know I dreamed something but it must not have been blog-worthy.

Hey! It's Survivor Night tonight! That means pizza and beer night too, by the way, and I time it so it comes out of the oven right before Survivor begins.

(Insert Southern drawl) 'That right there is a party on a TV tray if I ever saw one...'

That reminds me of a true story:

My friend Debbie makes a delicious and intensely caloric 'Touchdown Taco Dip'. She made it for her teenaged son and some of his friends for a party.

One boy (the son of another friend) came up to her later and said of the dip (insert Southern drawl here) - 'Mrs. W - that right there is a fat boy's DREAM'.

Hilarious, that's all there is to it.

Well, guess I've gotta roll on.
Y'all come back now, and if you don't it's your own d**m fault. ;-) TTFN!

Greetings, Bloggy Darlings!

This day has started off nicely - I hit my thumb reaching for the toothpaste (in my groggy pre-coffee-infused morning condition), then stubbed my toe soon afterward.

Guess I didn't get my full, restful sleep last night, did I?

(Sounds like it's Bump day vs. Hump Day - guffaw, guffaw!)

Dreamland update:

I made a shrimp stir fry for dinner last night, so naturally I dreamed of TWO separate incidents involving Chinese food.

'Dreamlet' #1: My son and his friend had gone to some kind of Chinese late night diner place, and came back with Chinese food that looked and tasted awful, but served in these huge aluminum bowls that looked remarkably like dog food bowls. ;-) Funny coincidence.

'Dreamlet' #2: Someone asked me if I wanted to go get some nice spicy Szcheuan food. If you know me I am a spicy food wimp - can't do it. I had to say 'No, thanks'.

I also dreamed about driving in a place I didn't know, and I realized I wasn't even ON the road, I was paralleling it, so I sped up and got in front of everyone on the real road. Sounds like good Nashville driving practice to me!

Blogcabulary Word of the Day:BLORGUE

Blorgue: Any place, as a room or file, where records, information, or graphical objects related to deceased or departed blogs are kept for unexpected but possible future use. (aka Bloggy Morgue)

I removed the first photo I chose, and I won't go into detail why...

Don't look for morgue photos on the internet unless you can take what comes up. Eeeew!

Gotta go rock and roll! Have a nice Wednesday! BLAM! I'm outta here!

Greetings, Bloggy Two-fer Tuesday-ers!

First Announcement:
Phil and Tiff - your surprise arrived, it made me laugh, and I'll photograph it for a blog entry soon!

Thanks so much!

The jury is IN.
Just one week later, and our Monday night Cracker Barrel event was a nice evening.
They didn't dare disappoint us again!

There was a noticeable difference.
Our meals were excellent.
Our teas were correct.
Our salad dressings were correct.
Our cornbread was piping hot, and our waitress brought us EXTRA.
I ate THREE cornbread muffins. That's right, girlfriend. THREE. T-H-R-E-E.

Changing subjects: Overheard at work yesterday...
'I need to set my cell phone on whisper, right now it's set on EXPLODE!'

Quote of the day: I also don't trust picky eaters, guys who get manicures or, even worse, pedicures, and guys who talk on their cell phones in front of you at dinner. Merrill Markoe

Dreamland Recap:

I dreamed last night that a bunch of bees had gotten into the kitchen. They were grouped together in a corner of the ceiling.

A friend (nobody I recognized) who was over dashed into the den and came back with a couple of the FIREPLACE TOOLS to hit them with. I told him that if he used them inside my house I'd take a pitchfork to him. (Where did THAT come from?)

I gave him a flyswatter instead, but in my dream I wondered if throwing soapy water on them would work...

Ah well, I guess that's enough for now. You have a great Tuesday and watch out for bees!

Greetings, Bloggy Slug-a-beds and others who don't want to go to work on Mondays!

Last Monday, I said something when I got to work about what day it was. I got a rebuke - 'Don't SAY that word!' from someone who sits near me.

I totally understand.

Well, I had a great weekend, especially the swimming and shopping parts. ;-)

Speaking of shopping...
Here are three of my clearance sale labels - Please note that I bought a $69 item for $9.99, a $48 item for $12, and a $44 item for $9.99. Not bad, if I do say so myself. I am my own 'personal shopper'.

Dreamland update... I don't remember enough of what I dreamed last night to convey to you. Apologies!

I have a deadline this week at work and that means I'll have a busy week. Hope I finish on time!

It's Cracker Barrel night tonight - will we have the 'waiter from hell' or the 'angel of restaurant mercy'? Tune in tomorrow to find out.

Quote of the day: (I love this!)

The age of your children is a key factor in how quickly you are served in a restaurant. We once had a waiter in Canada who said, 'Could I get you your check?' and we answered, 'How about the menu first?'
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996)

Okay, gotta go rock and roll... or BLAM! I'm outta here!

Have a nice M**day and TTFN!

Greetings, Blogregation!

I'm actually going out the door to Nashville to swim at my 'old' health club, hopefully the Youth Group bunch is gone and I'll have some of the pool to myself.

More later, I promise!

TTFN!

Greetings again, Blogregation!

Here I am, blogging in between cooking dinner.

I have been busy since around 9am this morning! I'm wearing out here.

I went into Nashville to swim. I was ALONE a good part of my swimming hour - so I grabbed an extra 15 minutes in a lounge chair poolside for a doze.

Then I drove to my very favorite 'everythings a dollar' store and OHMIGOSH-THE-WORLD-AS-WE-KNOW-IT-HAS-COME-TO-AN-END! They have started carrying things that are NOT a dollar. Ok, it's not TOO tragic, but in principle it is.

The factory card outlet in Cool Springs USED to have every card in the store the same price. Now, all of a sudden they have some more expensive ones mixed in with the cheaper ones. Crud. These two stores must be in cahoots (is that how you spell it?).

Sigh.

Then I went to Taco Bell and had a chicken soft taco fresco style to eat on my drive to Cool Springs. (Fresco style means leave off the cheese and sour cream).

Then I went to Macy's and bought a LADIES FOUNDATION GARMENT and two clearance sweaters.

Then I went to Sams Club, bought gas ($2.32/gallon) and a few other items.

Then I went to Publix Supermarket and bought a few more items.

THEN I went home. I got home at 4:30 - a nice day's WORK worth of leisure...???

Interruption here - I had to go to the oven and turn my roasted parsnips and baby carrots. YUM-O!

Hey - has anyone seen the Rachael Ray show? Is it any good? Please post a comment with your opinion.

Back to Dreamland...

The only dream I remember from last night with any clarity involved my mother and her Honda Civic.

She learned that her car was down a quart of oil. (The dream did not reveal WHY her car was down a quart of oil.) She was so annoyed and aggravated and worried about her car low on oil, she immediately drove it to the car dealership and traded it in for a brand new car.

In my DREAM it was only $5000 more, which was still almost $5000 more than a quart of oil.

So, Mom, what do you think about that? ;-) Something you want to tell me?

TTFN folks, and have a great Sunday night, maybe watching the Amazing Race like we are, or perhaps FOOTBALL like my son will be.

Greetings, Meaty-Bloggyorologists (that is a cross between a Meteorologist and a Bloggyorologist).

Yeah, I know - that fractured word doesn't cut it but I ain't gonna take it back.

Oh look! A baby sleeping in the leaves! It's amazing what you find on the web when you look for pictures.

Do you remember jumping in leaves when you were a kid? There is a special, dusty, musty leaf smell to a leaf pile, and it was totally fun until you jumped on a stray stick or rock buried in there. The Evil Bloggyman PUT it in there, I know. The first jump was the best one when the pile wasn't packed down yet. Raking leaves is not my favorite activity, by the way.

It's the first day of Fall.
It's 7:30am.
It's 75 Degrees with 92% humidity.
There are flash floods and tornado warnings to the north.
Charlie is in camos sitting in a tree out in the back.

Sounds like life in the South to me!

I am slogging down the bloggy juice this morning. I need a hot milk steamer/frother thing like they use in expresso machines, and one of those stainless steel pitchers, and a much bigger cup. Does someone want to get me one for Christmas? They cost a ton.

Wait a minute while I go add some irish creme flavoring to my coffee. We pause for station identification...

I added some sugar free Irish creme extract to my coffee AND a couple grinds of nutmeg, all the while eyeing some eggnog mix I have in the cupboard. Now my coffee smells like fall and I'm already down to about 2 glugs left.

When I was a kid and one of us would pour the first foamy glass from a gallon of milk, we'd call that 'getting the glug-glugs' . We thought it was BETTER somehow than any other portion. It was a way we could be jealous of each other and fight about it, I guess. ;-)

Thinking of nutmeg and milk, and smelling nutmeg makes me think of pudding.

My mother makes wonderful egg custard with nutmeg on top. I haven't had it in years. I bought some store-bought rice pudding cups the other day. I ate one and the rest is still in the fridge. Not very good, even with a ton of freshly ground nutmeg on it.

When I was a kid and we lived in Stamford, Connecticut, my best friend Barbara's mother (they were of Greek ancestry) made the BEST rice pudding ever. I've never had any rice pudding as good since then, but the grapenut pudding at 'Eats' restaurant in Seekonk, MA isn't bad either. (the owners there are Greek as well - is there an ethnic recipe secret there?).

Well, I've just been free associating here - it's really easy to write something when you don't have to think about a topic, this is just writing down what I'm thinking as I think it.

Well, one more thing and I'll close for today - the continuing saga of my trips to Dreamville.

I dreamed last night that I was in college at Rochester College (No, I didn't have a totally cute college logo jersey on but I even thought in my dream to stop at the campus store and buy one. Yes, I SHOP in my dreams).

By the way, Rochester College is in Michigan, and in my dream it was in Maine. The photo at left is the University of Rochester. Can you see my room?

I was supposed to drive several girls somewhere, hadn't packed yet (that is NOT like me), it was around 8pm, and I couldn't find my dormroom! I thought it was B-11, then thought it was B-17, but all I could remember about where it was is that you had to walk through a formal dining area to another hallway to get there.

I remember thinking it was going to be exam time soon and I'd better study. So, is that enough crazy rambling for one day?

TTFN and DON'T GO TO SLEEP.

Greetings, Bloggy Weekend Warriors, Football Fans, etc.

It's FRIDAY!
Did you HEAR THAT? Repeat.
It's FRIDAY!
Wahoo!

(Picture Bugs Bunny hugging you ferociously and planting a big, furry kiss on your face.)

March in a circle, that's right, you know how to do it by now.

Do you like this picture of Bugs? I liked it better than the cartoon ones.

OK, here go the dreams again. Is it the pizza I ate last night? I dreamed I had a new baby. No, none of the dream was HAVING the baby, but I had a newborn baby that was mine, it was a girl, and she could speak in full sentences and communicate. Now wouldn't THAT be nice? It must have been rather unexpected because I hadn't even bought baby clothes! Those who know me know that I love to buy baby clothes even where there are no babies around. I stash them away and wait for a baby shower to appear.

Sigh - I'll never understand why I dream what I dream, but if I write it in the blog at least I can worry YOU too. ;-)

So - did you watch Survivor last night? Spoiler coming up!

One of them - Yul Kwan - has already found the hidden immunity idol on Exile Island. He is a smart guy. Awesome!

There are clues to the location of the idol on the island. Exile Island is just a sand pit, basically.

He read the clue carefully, and out loud. He did exactly what the clue said to do. He stepped off and marked his intersecting coordinates with a big X in the sand. He then dug a big hole covering that area, which he had to widen slightly after finding nothing after all that effort.

He was just a little off the mark, so nearly missed it, but he did widen the hole, and found it. He deserves to, for FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS. Some classroom ought to give him a gold star. I was impressed.

OK folks, have a great Friday, follow some instructions, and have a nice weekend!

Greetings and Salutations, Bloggy Dudes and Dudettes!

It was 46 chilly degrees outside this morning (and yesterday morning too)!

Fall be Fallin', dudes. It was so dry this year that a few trees have just lost their leaves without bothering to change color. The tree that the bird feeder is on has a little color.

Hey! Newsflash - the woodpecker that pecks on the roof is back, we heard it on Sunday and I haven't heard it since way before I started back to work.

It's Thursday, which means several things right off the bat.

It's Payday.
The week is almost over.
It's Survivor Night!

(Roll sound clip of Ferris Bueller music 'Oh....Yeah....' in that deep synthesized voice)

Let's talk about dreams for a minute. Yesterday morning when I woke up, for a scant second or two I SWEAR I smelled fresh bread baking. It was the most wonderful smell, and I wonder if I was DREAMING IT. Can you SMELL things in your dreams? If I can that is news to me. What do YOU think, gentle readers?

I think you're imagining things like usual, you twit. Thanks, Evil Bloggyman, but it's OK to imagine things in your DREAMS, isn't it? (Don't answer that!)

Quote of the day:
You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'
George Bernard Shaw

So, if I think I can dream of fresh bread baking and actually smell it - WHY NOT?

Complaint of the day:
For the past two mornings, I've gotten stuck (along with a bunch of other cars) behind a cement mixer going 40 on a 55mph road for part of my commute. Maybe I'll be lucky and it won't be there again today. (Cover your eyes. Wish for 'no cement mixer, no cement mixer')

Well gang, I've managed to ramble on for a few lines here, and I need to go get ready for work. I am going to have a nice,fat, toasted bagel for breakfast and think of fresh baked bread...

TTFN! (Roll sound clip of 'Survivor' music and fade out...)

Greetings, Bloggy Gastronomicians!

Is that a word? Nope- I made it up. You 'gastronomic adventurers' out there can figure it out.

Well, if you've been reading my blog you already know how I love Wonton Soup.

You recall I have made my own wontons and have had wonton soup for breakfast many times when I was unemployed. *Sigh*

Well, I went to P.F. Changs yesterday with a group from work. http://www.pfchangs.com/ It was my first time there.

P.F. Changs is noted for a very upscale spin on Chinese food - they actually advertise they are a 'China Bistro', whatever that is.

I must say THEIR Wonton soup is AWESOME. Since I love Wonton soup, I didn't order the cup, I ordered the bowl. Well, the bowl of wonton soup (stupid me) is a family-sized tureen with a huge ladle and meant to share at the table. Oops.

The waiter carried several bowls and spoons over, looked at me and said 'How many people are having soup?'. I answered - 'ME'. The Wonton soup had broth and wontons like usual, it also had mushrooms, some real pieces of chicken and a couple of big shrimp floating around in there too. YUM!

I enjoyed two helpings of it at the restaurant, and Charlie and I had the rest with dinner last night.

The other dish I ordered was 'Vegetable Chow Fun'- which basically is noodles and vegetables.

I liked it, it had thin sliced wood ear mushrooms in it (Heather would like this!), water chestnuts, thin sliced 'other stuff', shitake mushrooms and flat noodles. It didn't have broccoli in it like the photo, but it looks close.

However, I should have ordered it non-spicy because it had too many red pepper flakes and chili oil in it for my Waspy taste.

I brought 3/4 of the Chow Fun home, put it in a colander and rinsed most of the oil and spices off it. I then added the noodles and vegetables dish to the remainder of my Wonton soup, added a can of chicken broth and a few of my homemade wontons, and Charlie and I each had a serving-bowl sized portion for our dinner! Worked out great! Charlie said it was still spicy enough to make his nose run, you just can't get all the spice out once it's in there.

Have a great Wednesday and enjoy your own 'Gastronomy Lessons'.

Greetings, Bloggy Consumers!

Every Monday night, Charlie and I have been going to our local Cracker Barrel restaurant for dinner, sometimes by ourselves, sometimes with another couple.

I like going to Cracker Barrel, I like not cooking on Monday nights, and it's the closest restaurant to our house.

Generally, the food is good. Generally, the waitstaff is adequate, though we have our share of misunderstandings. Example - Charlie gets 'sweet tea' and I get 'unsweet with extra lemons'. How hard is that to get right? A common problem is to give me the sweet and Charlie the unsweet, or to bring us both sweet tea, and to forget the extra lemons.

Last night, we just had one error too many. I really think our waiter had a lot to do with that, though he always had an excuse to imply it was the kitchen's fault. Actually, I agree that some of it was the kitchen's fault, but not all.

I ordered unsweet tea with extra lemons. I got sweet tea with extra lemons. The replacement tea tasted like Kool-aid. I heard the table next to ours complaining that they didn't get their 'raspberry tea'. That's because it was served to ME. Again it went back, this time an unsweet tea with no lemons arrived, and I stole the lemons out of another glass. We had already been served our MEALS by that time, and I still didn't have a drink. By the way - our teas were never refilled by our waiter.

I ordered fat free salad dressing, which comes in a packet. I was served regular dressing, and had to wait for the waiter to replace it. My salad greens were far from fresh, and I picked out some of them that I wouldn't eat and put them on a plate.

Charlie's dinner wasn't piping hot, and his servings of vegetables were skimpy. My dinner was fine. After the meal, the waiter couldn't figure out which ticket was ours, even after we picked it out of the pile for him and he read it.

When we got to the register, the clerk asked how our meal was. I said 'Only marginal'. He asked 'Would you like to speak to a manager about that?'. I paused, took a deep breath, thought about our experience, and said 'Yes'. It was a meal worth complaining over.

Unfortunately, as soon as I mentioned that we go there every Monday night, and mentioned the wilted salad greens, that was enough for the manager and I didn't even get a chance to tell him the long list of other issues.

'Would you allow me to take care of this for you?', he gushed, holding our $22 check. We didn't argue - YES, it is GREAT if you want to take care of it. Our Cracker Barrel satisfaction meter just rose a few points. ;-)

We'll give 'em another try next Monday night, by the way!

Today at work we're having a group birthday lunch at P.F. Changs. Wish me luck!

Breaking news at 7:03 - I was reading the newspaper and the 'Animal Planet' cable tv channel is airing Steve Irwin's (Croc Hunter) memorial tonight at 8pm Central time, which is 9pm Eastern time. Check your local listings.

Greetings, Bloggy Commuters!

It's MONDAY and it's time to go to work!

It's rainy today - how appropriate for a Monday. 'Gloomy' totally works for me. ;-)

Do you wake up on a Monday and think - 'What's the temperature going to be? What should I WEAR today?'

Well, that's what happens to me on a Monday morning. Yesterday it was 91 degrees - bloody well hot if you ask me. Today is going to be high 70's and rain. That's more like it for September. It's almost FALL, by the way!

Speaking of Fall...

I work with a woman named 'Autumn'.

She tells me that some people (in a flash of brilliance) make jokes like 'Hey! Why don't I just call you FALL?' Not funny in her opinion. EVERYONE gets her name wrong. I have heard her called April and Amber most often. She says her aunt just calls her 'Precious' because her aunt always gets her name wrong too. Poor thing.

I had a dream last night that my daughter and son-in-law were going to buy a huge camper/tourbus kind of thing and 'fix it up'. Don't do it, Heather! ;-)

Well, I know this is short, but this is all you're getting. (sounds like the Evil Bloggyman)

I have to get ready for work and have some breakfast before I go out the door.

TTFN! Have a nice Monday and stay dry!

Greetings, Blogregation!

It's Sunday again, and I've already done a wash, made breakfast, been swimming, grocery shopped, and had lunch. I need to put in another wash.

I'm watching 'The Matchmaker' on cable - a story about a girl who goes to Ireland to research the family roots of a Senator she works for. Mildly funny so far.

The 'youth group' was in full force at the pool today, unfortunately, and seem to have grown a few more friends as well.

Miss Miserable, SINCE there were more BOYS around, actually GOT in the pool today. I actually saw her SMILE a little, twice!

She pretended, poking a delicate toe in the water, that it was COLD. The actual water temperature is more like 90 degrees. She was going to mince into the pool a little at a time, but lost her delicate little footing and FELL into the water. I enjoyed that very much. ;-)

In the meantime, I tried to get some exercise amid shrieking teenaged girls and teenaged boys who spent their time seeing which cannonball made the biggest wave, trying to drown all participants in the pool. They were half a pool away and could still splash me. Joy of Joys.

After exercising, I went to the outdoor pool, hoping it was empty again so I could lay in the sun for a few minutes before I went back in to change. It was empty, because it was LOCKED.

(Insert choice swear words here...)

Ah well, a less than perfect Sunday is still OK by me. Have a good one! TTFN!

Greetings, Bloggy Weekenders!

I didn't take the time to blog this morning - after breakfast I got ready and went out the door to go swim. I swam in the indoor pool at my 'old' health club today, then went to the outdoor pool for a few minutes to dry off in the sunshine. I was the only one at the outdoor pool.

A funny story from indoors poolside... I'd been there about a half hour and some teens came in, probably a youth group from a school or church.

Like most teenagers - they spent their first few minutes clustered together, mostly with sulky looks on their faces and looking suspiciously at the water.

Then one girl decided she would go and change into her swimsuit, which she was holding in her hand.

First - please note that her swimsuit wouldn't have made a decent handkerchief for me. I don't see how you could call that bit of cloth a swimsuit, and don't you even think my swimsuit could fit in my HAND.

Next, she totally ignored the big sign on the equipment room closet that says 'Hotel Staff Only', and stood in front of the door, knocking on it occasionally, assuming (wrongly) it was where you go to change. I got impatient before she did. I called out to her - 'The dressing room is in the next room, where the bathroom and lockers are. THAT is a CLOSET'. 'Oh, thank you!' she said.

'DUH, read the SIGN', I thought. Anyway - one by one, the girls got changed. One changed into her suit but stayed out of the water. She pulled a chair up right NEXT to the pool, where she sat and sulked with her arms crossed. The one boy present tried to encourage her to go in, but she looked daggers at him and he went to change to get in the water himself.

After I left, I hit the Summer Clearance Sale at Sears, and got a ton of clothes and two new swimsuits. Maybe I'll take a photo of 'my expedition' for tomorrow's blog.

After that, I stopped at the consignment shop to see if they had sold any more of my clothes. They hadn't, but I managed to find a couple things to buy in there too. ;-)

After that, I went through the drive thru to get more moola.

After that, I stopped at a Publix supermarket for just a few items - plums are on sale and they are YUMMMY this time of year. I also bought a very interesting 'Enquirer-style' magazine with a big article about Steve Irwin the Croc Hunter, and another article about Hillary Clinton's exorcism.

My cashier was a young guy, and the bagger was a young guy too.

They engaged me in 'young guy' conversation...

'Hey!', one young man asked... 'You gonna watch some football this afternoon?' 'No!' I exclaimed in an 'over my dead body' tone...

So they tried a new tactic... 'You gonna go home and sleep?' 'No!' I exclaimed again, in the same tone of voice. (What, did I look dead on my feet or something?)

They were perplexed -if THEY had some time off they'd either be watching football or sleeping, I imagine...

So I offered 'I'm going to go home and unload all the stuff I bought at the mall today.' That perked them up again. 'Whaddya buy?' they asked. 'Clothes', I answered. 'For yourself or someone else?' they asked. 'For myself!' I replied.

I made a quick exit from the store and came home, where Charlie and Joe were WATCHING FOOTBALL!

Charlie and Joe brought back corn and sweet potatoes from Amish country - can't wait for dinner! TTFN!

Greetings, Weekend Enthusiasts!

It's FRIDAY, and that means wonderful things!

Like... having company come over - Buddy Joe is joining us for dinner.

Like... commuting to the health club instead of to work.

Like... sleeping later in the mornings for TWO big days!

March in a circle as your health allows.

Dive into a wave like the statue at the left depicts. (This statue is in Newport, and in the wintertime people put socks on the bronze feet).

Pretty soon it'll be too cold for diving, we've had a couple of cool mornings in the 50's here, but the weekend will be back in the 80's.

Blogcabulary Word of the Day - BLOGTANE:
Blogtane - Any isomeric saturated hydrocarbon used as fuel during blogging, characteristically labeled as regular, plus and premium. Aka - The level of energy expended in a blog session.

Quote of the Day: (doesn't this fit perfectly?)
'We get, oh, 500 to 600 words an hour. Better than gasoline.' James Merrill

My blogtane level is causing me to ping a little bit - must be water in my system. ;-)

Gotta get ready for work! Have a great day and a great weekend!

Greetings, Bloggy Reality-TV fans, and those who tolerate the ones who watch it!

A new season of Survivor begins tonight. Charlie and I have always enjoyed the show, even when we didn't care much for the selection of individuals on it!

We are already sorry that it's only on for an hour tonight instead of two. For heavens sake, they have a zillion hours of footage and all we get is a bloody hour? Get 'real'! ;-)

I assume they deliberately choose some personalities who they know will annoy the other survivor cast members. They also seem to prefer women with implants. ;-)

Changing subjects...

Enough of Survivor - let's gossip about my man LEGOLAS for a minute, since everyone else is, of course...

The rumor mill says he's broken up with his former girlfriend and started seeing Uma Thurman (of Kill Bill fame).

What a shame...

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7004819817

Evidently Orlando Bloom doesn't mind being a boy toy for OLDER WOMEN...

Ladies, there's hope for us yet!

Gee - it's getting late - it took forever to upload that photo and I need to get ready for WORK.

Speaking of work, I had my first dream about my NEW job - we had interviewed someone the other day, and I dreamed they hired him but he looked completely different than the person we interviewed. Such are dreams, eh?

Have a great Thursday! (roll sound clip of Survivor chant music...)

Greetings, Pyro-Blognicians!

Charlie wrote up today's blog entry on my request. Thank you Charlie!

Bottom Line: In the past year, our next door neighbor has had TWO runaway fires on his property - thankfully not jumping over to ours! Let's see, TWO means he didn't LEARN from the FIRST ONE, doesn't it?

(roll sound clip of the Wicked Witch of the West saying 'How 'bout a little FIRE, Scarecrow?')

Begin Story:

Last fall (2005) our neighbor landowner to the south did some clearing on his land. He piled up some brush and started a fire. He watched it for the afternoon, determined it was safe to leave, and went home. When high winds moved in later, some warm embers ignited and blew into the dry grass. The fire was on!

It took the Volunteer Fire Department and forestry service to get it under control. Several acres were scorched, a few good trees lost, and the flames even did some damage to another neighbor’s woods. We were relieved that it wasn’t near our place.

Advance to this fall, September 2006. Same neighbor.

Pyro-neighbor decides to burn a small brush pile to make a spot for an upcoming wiener roast. (Never mind that we are having drought conditions and that it’s windy). It doesn’t take long for the fire to start to spread through the dry grass.

Pyro-neighbor decides that he can control the fire with a leaf rake. When that doesn’t do the job, he starts running over the flames with his tractor. I’m not sure how he prevented the tractor from burning.

Looking back, he notices that the wind has caused the flames to spread behind him, so he quickly spins the tractor around to head off those flames. But he forgot something – sitting in the front-end loader of the tractor is a chainsaw and open gasoline container. The quick spin launches these items from the loader, and gasoline is thrown in a stream over the fire.

Perhaps you’ve heard the expression “throwing gasoline onto a fire.” It works; that is, it works if you want a suddenly bigger fire. So now this Smokey-Bear-wannabe has a roaring blaze going with no means to control it.

Another call to the Volunteer Fire Department brings out the forces that get everything back under control.

The good news is that only a small area burned, an acre or so. What could have turned into bad news is that this fire was much closer to our property line, not very far from our house and barn. I was extremely happy when the firefighters contained the blaze and it had not spread to our property.

Hopefully this is the end of the story. Surely pyro-neighbor has learned something from all this. I just hope that it’s more than the phone number for the fire department!

That's it for today, folks! Be careful and don't play with fire!

Greetings, Bloggy Crustaceans!

Ok, humans are allowed to read, too.

I know I mentioned that we were going to the Nordic Lodge All-You-Can-Eat gourmet buffet when we were in Newport.

I haven't given you the run-down of what we ATE there though.

The Nordic Lodge is about a 45 minute drive from Newport, past the University of Rhode Island campus on Rt 138, then turn south onto Rt. 2 for a few miles.

The grounds are beautifully landscaped. It's on a lake, and the lounge area is 'lodge-like', complete with bearskin rugs and animal trophies on the walls.

When you enter, you go to the cash register and pay for your buffets up-front, then are seated in one of several adjacent rooms with tables that seat all different sized parties.

The price includes the buffet, non-alchoholic drinks, tax and tip, and $67.50 is well worth it.

There were 6 of us, so we were seated at a table for 8 and could spread out a bit. The buffet area is divided into a couple of sections. The middle section is the largest, and where we spent most of our time.

Along the back wall you line up to receive a steamed lobster and steamed littlenecks. There are also peel and eat shrimp, baked potatoes, and chowder. The center section consists of salads, breads, side items, baked stuffed shrimp, Alaskan King Crab, scallops wrapped in maple bacon, and a lot more food items that I've never bothered to try - I stick with what I know and love. ;-)

On the right hand side along the wall are desserts - an ice cream bar complete with toppings and fruits, a cake and pie bar, and miniature desserts including dark chocolate covered fruits, fresh fruit and whipped cream, tiny puff pastries, chocolate cups filled with mousse, etc.

A room to the left has deep fried items like clams, shrimp, and crab cakes, alongside a grill and carvery where you partake of filet mignon and prime rib. Don't forget the au jus!

I ate three lobsters (one at a time of course), scallops wrapped in bacon, a baked stuffed shrimp, littlenecks, Alaskan King Crab, prime rib, garlic bread, rice pilaf, and several small desserts including the chocolate mousse cups, a cream puff, fresh raspberries on tapioca pudding, strawberries dipped in chocolate, and chocolate covered cherries.

Charlie ate two lobsters before concentrating on crab. Charlie turned out to be the king of Alaskan King Crab that day - I must admit it gives lobster a run for the money - you get a lot of crab and it's pretty easy to get to it! I'm going to need to find some here in Nashville, I've heard of a couple places that serve it.

Goodness - it's 6:18 so I'd better go get ready for work. Are you hungry yet? TTFN!

Greetings, Bloggy Commuters! It's Monday again.

Please share a moment of bloggy silence here for the anniversary of 9/11.

Speaking of a moment of silence - let me share a story from yesterday with you.

I went swimming at my 'old' health club where the outdoor pool is still open, then went to lunch and the dollar store with Buddy Joe. Buddy Joe had on an Audobon t-shirt with alligators on it. That got our cashier at the dollar store talking about the Croc Hunter. I haven't mentioned it, but I am sorry he was killed, and am sorry for his family. He was very entertaining to watch, and I liked his accent.

The cashier asked US (as if we'd know) if we'd heard what the funeral arrangements were going to be for the Croc Hunter.

In Dr. Suess's words 'She thought up a lie and she thought it up quick.' I said 'Well I heard that he was going to be buried beside Princess Di in England in a special tomb!'

You would have thought I was leading a press conference... 'Wow! The cashier exclaimed. 'Is that TRUE?' 'NO, it's not true!' I replied dryly. She has probably told 50 other people by now...

So, today I may be a commuter but I am also a rumor-monger. ;-) I'm so proud.

Well, I'll quickly tell another story - back to Newport this time.

Charlie and I ate dinner at the Brick Alley Pub the day before we left. We've been there before, and they have great food and great drinks. It's fun to people-watch from the many windows in the front.

Charlie had a Newport Storm Ale, and I had a pomegranate margarita (YUM-O). We ordered three appetizers - baked stuffed clams (called 'stuffies' in R.I. vernacular), Oysters Rockefeller (which they call Oysters Newport instead), and chicken nachos.

Right outside the window in the photo- we saw an obviously intoxicated young man.

He was worse off than most of the people we have seen in New Orleans who'd had one or ten too many.

He wandered a bit (in a very small area), weaved a bit, then was sleeping standing up near the window.

He was waving a small flag from another country (don't know which). He dropped the flag at one point, fished it back up off the sidewalk, and kissed it.

We didn't see him for long after that because we think the local police picked him up.

Well, that's it for today! Gotta go to work!

Greetings, Blogregation! It's Sunday and the last day of my vacation. Back to work tomorrow, folks!

I hope you're having as nice a weekend as I have had.

My friend Debbie and I floated around the pool at the health club for a couple hours yesterday - it's a tough life but someone has to do it.

Then I got gas (paid $2.57/gallon - cheap!) and went to the grocery store. I still need to go to Sams Club and Walmart sometime this week. I'm headed back to the pool in a few minutes, I have a couple pounds of vacation-gain to burn off, sorry to say! ;-(

Okay Joe, here is my mothers recipe for 'Macaroni and Tomato' - aka American Chop Suey. My son requested it specially, and he loves it.

The photo above is close - it looks a lot like the real deal, but the photo shows too much hamburger. Please note that the macaroni in the photo still looks white, not drowned in sauce.

Macaroni and Tomato is simple and hearty, without too much sauce. Adapt to your taste, of course...

1/2 small onion, diced
1 tsp or more of vegetable oil
13-14 oz (a little less than a pound) ground beef, 85% lean.
(My mother calls this 'hamburg', not 'hamburger, by the way)
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes with the liquid - the unseasoned kind. Traditionally this would be made with a quart jar of tomatoes canned from the garden, but I don't expect you to have those.
1 8oz can tomato sauce
2.5 cups dry elbow macaroni - Muellers if you can get it
Salt and Pepper

Cook the 2.5 cups of macaroni according to the package directions. Cook it till it's done but don't overcook it, or it will 'get fat' at the end of the Macaroni and Tomato assembly process (as my mother put it). Let it stand draining in a colander while you are making the sauce.

In a large frying pan, saute' the diced onion in a little oil till it softens, then add the 'hamburg' and cook it through, crumbling into olive-sized pieces. Do not drain, as you are using lean meat. Then add both cans of tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, and let the 'sauce' simmer 5 minutes or so uncovered.

The last 5 minutes, add the cooked macaroni and heat it through, don't boil it. Don't add the macaroni all at once - depending on the size of your pan and how much sauce you like, start with half the macaroni - stir, survey, taste, and add more. There should be enough macaroni so that it tastes light and freshly seasoned, but if you add too much macaroni, it will taste a bit bland. Adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from the heat when it's done so the macaroni doesn't 'get fat'. ;-) This is also great reheated. Serve with a salad and bread and butter or garlic bread. When I was a kid, I would only eat it wrapped up in a slice of bread and butter - the way I ate everything. ;-)

Gotta go swim - TTFN! More Newport pictures tomorrow!

Greetings, Bloggy Labor Day Celebrants!

I think it's a good time to share a few photos from Newport - whaddya think?

Hurricane/Tropical Storm Ernesto came by and 'Kicked it up a notch' wave-wise.

I think I'll post some pictures from the tropical storm for you first.

This one at the top is of some boats moored at Fort Adams State Park. This is the HARBOR area - and it was still choppy and bounced everyone around on their boats. (Interruption - Charlie is in the garage doing duck calls. I love that man).

When we left Ft. Adams State Park, Charlie, my mother, my step-dad and I went to Brenton Point State Park, continuing our journey on the famous Ocean Drive in Newport.

Ocean Drive takes you by the coastline and many of the Newport Mansions as you drive in a leisurely loop away from then back to town.

The park is a great place to have a picnic, fly a kite, and watch the waves roll in when it's stormy.

Here is a link to the history of the park if you're interested. http://www.riparks.com/brentonhistory.htm

In the wintertime, sometimes the waves break over the sea walls and take out the road! The sea is angry and gray-looking in the winter and when a storm is brewing. Notice that there is a man sitting on the rock in the center of the photo above. We were happy when he came back to shore.

There were people out on some of the other rocks too. This is a highly dangerous activity in a storm, as there have been drownings when people are swept from them into the ocean.

All along the edge there are signs NOT to go out there, but people do.

I like this photo because I got a good shot of the spray on the upper right hand side. Maybe the blog can't do it justice, but it looks great on our PC.

Well, Charlie is going to Wal-mart and I need groceries (I just cleaned out the fridge after we returned from vacation so I need to resupply), so I've got to close for now.

TTFN and more later (or tomorrow!).

Greetings, Bloggy Darlings! Happy Day 200! That is a pretty big number! Two hundred 'anythings' ago sound like a lot of 'anythings'.

I have returned to the hot, humid arms of Tennessee. Charlie beat me home - he didn't have frequent flyer miles so he could take the shorter, more direct route from the Providence airport.

Amazing news! I actually caught an earlier flight from Boston to Chicago, then from Chicago to Nashville by going stand-by. Worked out well this time, I wasn't stranded anywhere. Thank you, American Airlines!

So, my big travel story was the short period of time I spent in downtown Providence catching the Logan Airport bus. Let me tell you who uses public bus transportation there - students, elderly, disabled, psychotic, and the poor and destitute.

I heard a girl chatting about being locked up in a psych ward for 6 weeks, tied hand and foot. I witnessed a fight at the bus terminal that ended up with both parties carted off in separate police cars. The fight started about 3 feet from where I was standing, and as soon as one guy raised his voice I knew they were going to get into it, and calmly walked to a better spot. I believe it started when one guy accused another guy of stealing something from a girl. The 'Big Guy', who was the accuser sucker punched the other guy (the thief) and knocked him down - causing him to drop his razor blade knife. The other guy didn't fight back, by the way.

I could hear a girl yelling to one of them in the police car - 'What'd they GET you for? What'd they GET you for?' Nice city, huh? I am reminded I used to go through there every day taking the bus to high school. I like to think things were different then. ;-)

Does this blog entry sound depressing? I don't mean for it to, it's just the truth.

Anyhow - I'm back and it was warmer at 6:30pm (84 degrees) in Nashville than it has been during my entire 2 week vacation in New England!

More tomorrow and maybe I'll get my pictures downloaded. TTFN!

Greetings, Lonely Bloggies out there!

Your work week is almost done, and my vacation is almost done! I am at the Newport Public Library, believe it or not, and just want to say Hello and tell you I've had a marvelous week here in Newport and will be back at home in Tennessee tomorrow night.

Probably no blog till Saturday morning though, after I download my pictures.

Highlights of the trip - seeing the 'fam', pigging out at Nordic Lodge and every other eating establishment we went to (I am totally afraid to get on the scale when I return), and having clams and lobster continually and in various forms - littlenecks, clam chowder, clam cakes, etc.

Au revoir for now - hopefully my plane connections will work out better than my July trip when I was stranded in Washington D.C. - this time I hope NOT to get stranded in Chicago - I won't be going through Washington.

See ya later, gators! I've got a bunch of pictures to show y'all, and some stories to tell!

TTFN and Love you Bye!

Greetings, Labor Day Weekend Lovers!

March in a circle chanting Fri-day, Fri-day, Fri-day, Fri-day!

Do the happy dance and MEAN IT this time! ;-)

Celebrate now because WINTER is COMING. It's already begun getting cold in Maine and it's moving south! Actually it'll probably collide with Hurricane Ernesto.

It's Friday, it's September, and it's Labor Day Weekend! Kiss the summertime goodbye. (insert 'thwack' sound here)

Goodbye outdoor pools - they'll be closing after this weekend. I will definitely miss them.
Goodbye special extended summer hours - they'll revert back to normal after Labor Day weekend.
Goodbye additional summer movie matinees - they're gone too!

Hello summer clearance and other shopping! So far on my trip I've bought some books, a new pair of sneakers, and a jean shirt. I wonder if I'll still fit in that shirt after my vacation - considering my vacation consists of EATING all the time. I need to swim swim swim!
Hello fall clothes! I like autumn colors - in leaves and clothing!

Hey Karen, quit using exclamation marks after every darn line, I'm sick of your enthusiasm! Thanks, Evil Bloggyman.

I'll be leaving my sister and brother-in-law's house this afternoon and travelling to beautiful and trendy Newport, Rhode Island.

Warning - I have no idea if I can blog from there, so apologies in advance if you don't get any blogs for days!

Plans for Newport - walk around, shop, hang out, eat, swim, go on boat rides, go to the movies, walk on the Cliffwalk which is an oceanside and mansionside walking path, and dine at 'Yesterdays' restaurant where Charlie proposed to me. Can I stand it? Yep.

On Sunday we go to the all-you-can-eat lobster buffet at Nordic Lodge. More foodfest. Thankfully there is an indoor pool - I need to EXERCISE!

Okay - my sister just left for work and I think I'll finish my coffee and go read. I'm re-reading 'The Game of Thrones' by George R.R. Martin - this series is one of the best I have ever read in my life and I am impatiently waiting for the next book to be released. TTFN!