It Only Hurts When I Blog

Greetings, Bloggy Season Changers-

It's the last day of August, time to pay bills!

Fall is coming. I can FEEL it. The shadows are longer when I am in the pool, and fewer people are coming to the outdoor pool area.

The leaves are drying up, and the tulip poplars are turning yellow. At my mother's house in Maine, the temps are already dipping into the FORTIES overnight. Brrr!

It gets light later in the morning and it gets darker earlier at night. I hate that. Whenever I say I hate it, people say 'Well, don't you like Fall?'

Yes, I do, but I want fall to have long, lighted days like summer!

But I just can’t BELIEVE what I got in the mail the other day.

A CHRISTMAS magazine renewal request. CHRISTMAS! Do they REALLY have to start 6 months in advance? Sheesh!

Greetings, Bloggy TV Watchers!

No, do not adjust your TV set.

This is not a test.

This is just an exercise in creating a blog that is not a blog.

Have a nice day.

The End.

Greetings, Monday Morning Blahgers!

I get black and blue marks and I don’t even know how it happened. NO, this picture is not my bruise, I just took it from the web.

By the way - do not search for pictures of bruises - they are awful!

Anyway - let me start again. I get these phantom bruises (just small ones), and I don't remember bumping into anything or hurting myself in any way.

However, now I have a bruise that is shaped a little like Elvis… Do you think I’ll become famous, and people will come from miles around to gaze at it?

I think not.

Greetings, Bloggy Diners!

A friend of mine is a waitress at a local steak house. She said that the economy has made people change some of their restaurant behavior.

She said that more and more people order water and then bring their own 'pour in' drink packets with them. I love those powdered drink packets, but never thought to bring them to a restaurant!

She recently had a party of four teen girls come in. They had one coupon for a buy one get one meal(two meals total). They received the 2 meals, but all four of the girls shared them.

So - is that going too far, or are you OK with all that?

Greetings, Bloggy Pattern Lovers!

By pattern I am meaning test pattern, I am sure you figured that out.

No time for a 'good' blog, but I liked the test patterned sweater, so there you are!

TTFN and have a nice day!

Greetings, Bloggy Texters!

It's Friday, Hooray!

You know what to do, march in a circle chanting 'Fri-day! Fri-day! Fri-day!'

Texting is big, and bigger than I ever thought it would be when it began. People are texting all the time, wherever you are. It is a 'quieter' way to communicate and for ME, I know I need a keyboard on my next phone!

Texting has even made inroads into the competitive arena.

As you recall, Charlie and I went to the Wilson County Fair August 20th.

One of the events on that Saturday was a 'text messaging contest'! I imagine a text messaging contest would be like a typing contest - where everyone types the same material, then they are scored on the most words with the highest accuracy?

That's just a guess, though, I could be completely wrong.

What do YOU think of that? That's a great way for an old-timey fair to do a modern kind of thing!

Greetings, Bloggy Singers!

Not everyone is musically inclined.

Some people hear music and don't get goosebumps. Some people hear music and never cry. Some people sing and don't hear any wrong notes.

I asked Charlie the other night 'If I asked you to sing me a lullaby, what would you sing?' He looked shocked for a minute, and worried for another minute, then he thought hard and the smile came back to his face.

He started singing, and it went something like this (you fill in the strong Southern accent). Please note the words are different in the South than in the North.

Found a peanut,
Found a peanut,
Found a peanut just now,
I just now found a peanut,
Found a peanut just now....

I haven't stopped laughing about it yet!

Greetings, Bloggy Spinners!

I really don't spin around very often - it makes me dizzy. If I do circular motions during water aerobics, that's fine, but not if I get dizzy.

Dizziness is NOT the subject of this blog.

There are some things that are off limits for bloggage, but not the fact that I like to vault or leap or jump or crash into bed at night.

Invariably it makes Charlie laugh. I don't EVEN want to know what I look like when I do this, but I keep doing it.

Lately, I spin my arms around like a windmill and THEN vault into bed. Charlie now refers to me as 'Windmill Girl'.

I'm so proud. The end.

Greetings, Bloggy D.A. Wearers!

Yet another story from the fair- and again about the boys on the porch. Two of the boys had purchased 'Fonzie style' switchblade combs.

They took turns saying 'Aaaaaayyyyy' like the Fonz, and combing their hair.

Their younger brother was absent during most of their antics, then appeared just in time for them to start teasing him.

Younger brother had gone to the bee exhibit hosted by Charlies bee club.

He had spent his own money on a soap-bar-sized piece of real honeycomb (filled with honey), and was anxious to try it but he had no utensil to eat it with!

While his older brothers teased him about his purchase, he was sticking his finger into it and also trying to get enough honey flow going to drip a little of it into the corner of the package.

Fascinating, doncha think?

Greetings, Monday Morning Blahgers!

Another story from the Wilson County Fair -

Uncle Sam (in costume) was strolling around the fairgrounds in preparation for the evening parade, which was to start at 6pm.

I was sitting on a porch, people watching, when Uncle Sam came down the street.

The 'mom' sitting next to me called to her young sons (maybe early teens) saying 'Look! The Tax Man is here!'

The boys took off, met him, spoke to him, and each of them 'fist bumped' Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam looked like he was going to burst out laughing, and looked happy with the attention.

Do you think of Uncle Sam as the Tax Man? We thought that was pretty funny.

Greetings, Bloggy Fair Folk!

Charlie and I went to the Wilson County Fair yesterday. The Wilson County Fair is an AWESOME fair, one of the best in the country. Yesterday was the last day for this year.

We did something new this year - we paid a whopping $5 to park in their 'preferred parking' area, right near the entrance. That was AWESOME.

We met up with Buddy Joe and his family, and walked around, and saw exhibits. Charlie saw the mules pulling, and later he sat through a 'worm lecture' while I rocked on the porch.

It was about 96 degrees, but I did wear my sunproof LL Bean floppy hat. It might not look very attractive, but it worked.

We dined on 'walkaway tacos' - fritos bags with chili, cheese, lettuce and sour cream inside them. Then we had ice cream. Then we had fried pickles (I love those). Then we needed to wrap it up and head home.

Thanks to Buddy Joe for the tickets - we had a great time.

Greetings, Bloggy Cheapskates!

Buddy Joe reminded me of an incident in New Orleans when we were vacationing there.

Joe, Charlie and I headed out one morning to find eggs. We went into a local convenience store first. It was INconvenient, because their eggs were sold in half dozen packages, and were horrifically overpriced as well.

I couldn't 'stomach' the price, and even after Joe offered to PAY for them HIMSELF, I wasn't satisfied. I wanted to go to a nearby (kind of) A&P grocery, but we didn't know exactly where it was.

While wandering around in search of the grocery store, yours truly stepped off a curb wrong, tripped, fell, and landed on the uneven cobblestones on my right knee, also skinning my hands in the process. I was black and blue and swollen for a long time. After the bruises and swelling went away, my knee hurt for MONTHS afterward.

Joe remembers thinking to himself 'This vacation is OVER' at the time, but we managed to have a good trip anyway. I think I was a pretty good sport despite being crippled for the remainder of the trip.

By the way, it cost more money for bandages and ointment than the eggs would have cost in the expensive convenience store... But did that cure my cheapness?

Nope. But I need to state for the record that Buddy Joe is even cheaper than ME.

Greetings, Bloggy Cheapskates!

I go to ridiculous lengths sometimes to save a dollar.

Or less than a dollar.

Do you do that - just refuse to pay for something because you know you can get it for less elsewhere?

I am embarrassed to say that yesterday I refused to get my gas at Sams Club because I knew that our local gas station's price was THREE CENTS A GALLON LESS.

It was storming on my way home, so I stood at the gas pump, saving my THREE CENTS A GALLON, getting spit on by the rain.

Serves me right.

Greetings, Bloggy Believers!

I recently purchased some Hanes 360 degree stretch foundation garments that had a special, encouraging card inside the package.

The card read (excerpted) 'Believe It! This WILL fit you! Yes, it is small but trust us, it will stretch to fit you.'

I imagine the card was needed because so many customers RETURNED them, thinking they would not fit. And I should say that I hope ALL sizes contain that card, not just MY size. Ha!

That reminds me of the old Romper Room song 'Bend and stretch, reach for the stars, there goes Jupiter, here comes Mars. Bend and stretch, reach for the sky, stand on tippy toes Oh, so high'

Remember?? TTFN!

Greetings, Bloggy Middlers-

It's Midweek and Midlife, I always say!

Yet ANOTHER bit of news from the pool yesterday... I should sell tickets.

My new friend 'The Old Man' was at the pool again, and said Hello to me when he jumped in to cool off.

I decided to TELL HIM about the lifeguard thinking he was my husband.

He roared with laughter and asked me 'Did you tell him HELL NO?' He also said 'That's a good one!'

Have a nice Wednesday and make someone laugh today!

Greetings, Bloggy Observers!

Yet another poolside observation, and a new one.

A refresher course - remember the kiddie swimming lessons, and the cute male swim instructor, and that some of the mom's appear to have started 'coiffing' before bringing their children to class?

Yesterday was the best show ever. Dressed up Mom sat SIDE-SADDLE on a lounge chair so she could display her legs to their best advantage, without getting 'pool chair stripes' on them during class. Her plunging neckline was bordered by ruffles. She occasionally texted on a color-coordinated handheld, regularly glancing up at the lesson then back to the handheld. She would sometimes toss her hair away from her face - no need for a BARRETTE or HEADBAND...

I don't think the swim instructor noticed, though he spoke to ME a few times. HA!

Greetings, Monday Morning Blahgers!

Heather snapped this photo of Savi listening intently as I told her a secret. This is such an awesome picture!

I did notice that my old, tanned, freckled grandma skin looks SO different than her baby fair complexion, but I can't do anything about that...

She's 3 now, but she learned how to whisper a long time ago. She loves the mystique of secrets. She is old enough now to make them up herself.

We spent a long time last Sunday telling secrets and playing with hand puppets. Savi would sing songs to the puppets, and they would dance. It was so precious.

I debated whether to tell you ONE more thing about Savannah's Secrets. She's getting to that age - the funniest secrets to tell were some kind of bathroom humor!

TTFN and have a nice Monday!

Well, how about THIS, blogregation?

It's Day 2000 of the blog!

That's pretty blog-worthy, isn't it? Two THOUSAND days since I started the blog, and nearly two THOUSAND postings.

Let the pigeons loose, strike up the band, and there will be fireworks later, I'm sure.

Do you like the '2000 Celebration Barbie' photo? Seemed to fit.

Do you think the blog will make another THOUSAND days? That's nearly three years. Maybe we can get some Vegas-style odds on the likelihood.

In the meantime - celebrate Blog2k today!

Greetings, Bloggy Birthday Boys and Girls!

Today is my son Evan's birthday, and he's having fun in Old Orchard Beach, Maine today. I'm jealous!

This picture was taken at the Grand Ol' Opry museum here in Nashville, not in New England.

Have a great birthday, Evan!

I'll be going to water aerobics classes as usual this morning, then shopping, then off to Papa Boudreaux's for dinner tonight, even though it's not MY birthday.

Greetings, Bloggy TGIFers!

It's Friday, Hooray!

You know what to do, march in a circle chanting 'Fri-day! Fri-day! Fri-day!'

Guess what I bought earlier this week?

My first 2011 tub of Utz Halloween pretzels. They are only available seasonally, and I wish they were available all year round because they are SMALL packets that are just 50 calories. They taste like regular pretzels, but they're shaped like Bats and Jack-O-Lanterns.

I get the 70 pack tub at Sams Club. I keep it at work, and we alternate between pretzels and candy for snackage. Last year two other employees gave me money to buy them a tub at Sams before they ran out.

Readers - if you want a non-candy treat to pass out at Halloween, this is the thing to buy. 70 pretzel packs for $6.98 equate to a dime a bag. Not a bad deal!

TTFN and 'Trick or Treat'!

Greetings, Bloggy Pool Sharks (get it?)

Today's photo doesn't have anything to do with a pool, it's Savi and her Uncle Evan.

I had a short swim session in the pool after work yesterday, though I don't usually work out on Wednesdays. Here are a few things I noticed.

A woman got in the pool to READ A BOOK! She got in the pool, located a corner, opened her book up on the concrete deck, and read while most of her was under water.

A couple of teens (or a teen couple) got in the pool to hang out together. I've seen them before, and they always seem to spend some time snuggling with each other.

I saw a man at the pool today who I see nearly every time I have been there - it's like he LIVES there and only goes home to sleep. I mean that, you know...

An old man jumped into the pool near me and said he was cooling off after playing golf. He chatted with me for a minute. One of the life guards asked me if he was my husband! EEEEEwwwwww!

And last but not least - the cute male swim instructor (the one that has all the young mothers dressing up when they take their kids to him) deliberately introduced himself to me, shook my hand, and chatted with me today. He must have been totally bored, dontcha think?

TTFN and keep your eyes peeled for interesting goings-on today!

Greetings, Bloggy Middlers!

Savannah really loves her little kitty, kind of a beanie-type stuffed animal.

Here in Columbia Tennessee, the city recently received a donation of someone's Beanie Baby collection. The Beanie Babies will be used for children in need of comfort, given out by the police and fire department.

There is a much bigger charitable effort going on to send unwanted Beanie Babies overseas to soldiers to hand out to children in Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

From an article I read:

Several charities are accepting Beanie Babies for the soldiers who hand them out to children. According to Beanies For Baghdad, "Over one million toys" including beanie babies have been donated overseas.

So, even if you never travel abroad, your Beanie Baby might!

Greetings, Bloggy Twofer Tuesdayers!

I have a funny story about Sunday afternoon's playtime with Savannah...

A little background - Savannah loves anything having to do with princesses, and believes that SHE is a princess too.

I'm not sure why, but I started imitating trumpets blowing and sang the little intro 'Hail to the Princess Aurora' from Disney's Sleeping Beauty.

Savannah SPRANG into character immediately. She said 'Wait! Wait!' so she could go around the corner and MAKE AN ENTRANCE (over and over). After coming into the room, she would do a little dance after her 'processional' was over.

The funniest part? Before her first entrance, she insisted on putting on her SHOES. Evidently princesses look much more dignified making an entrance with purple flip flops on! I didn't know!

Have a nice Tuesday, princesses and princess wanna-be's!

Greetings, Monday Morning Blah-gers!

Well, the bad news is that I never did get clam cakes yesterday, and I am flying back to Tennessee this morning.

The good news is that I had to settle for deep dish Chicago style pizza instead, and it had literally POUNDS of mozzarella cheese in it. I'm not sure if I even got through 2 slices, it was so big and thick!

The rest of the good news?

I had a wonderful trip.

I didn't spend too much money because I used a frequent flyer ticket.

Miss Savi is cute and smart and everything a granddaughter should be! We went for a walk last night before they left, and she found a pet slug which she named 'squishy'. We put him in a paper cup and she took him home with her.

I got to see lots of the family.

Thanks to my sister and brother-in-law for hosting yet another family blowout!

Greetings, Blogregation!

We had a WONDERFUL cookout yesterday - tons of food and tons of dessert!

Our starters were chips n dip, a relish tray, italian style pizza strips- just crust with a spiced tomato topping. We had torpedos; rolls with a filling of tomato sauce, chorizo and hamburger. We had 'ambrosia', a mix of fruit, mini marshmallows, and whipped cream.

For our main meal we had garden salad, potato salad, hamburgers, hot dogs, and grilled chicken.

Desserts - fruit topped boston cream pie, a pineapple refrigerator pie, a marble sheet cake, a coffee cake, brownies, ice cream, watermelon, and cantaloupe.

There were more things but that's all I remember!

Today, IF I can possibly work up an appetite, I'd like to go get some clam cakes!

Greetings, Bloggy Weekenders!

I am safe and sound in the 'land of the clam', Rhode Island. The family has gathered for a special weekend which will include a big cookout later today.

Yes, I ate clams yesterday - littlenecks cooked in garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes. Incredible. I had the obligatory Dunkin Donuts iced coffee too, as well as an Italian style spinach pie. Can you tell that travel home for me is hazardous to my waistline?

I have a story or two to tell about my plane flight yesterday.

I was randomly chosen for the full body x-ray machine at the airport - what fun! I had to put my hands on top of my head and put my feet on the footprint markers while the machine did it's thing. No worries, right?

Well, the TSA agent said 'You've got something in your pocket that the scanner is picking up'. I corrected her and said 'No, actually I have nothing in my pockets, but I have a bandaid on my BUTT!' I must have made a funny face about that, because the agent laughed out loud! The x-ray machine had looked THROUGH me, and the image implied that the bandaid was actually something in my pocket! Once the agent confirmed that yes, I did have a bandaid there (by touching the edge of it through my slacks), then I was free to go.

Last story - I am old enough to require reading glasses when reading in dim light. I am reading my George R.R. Martin 'Dance with Dragons' book, which I've waited five years to be published. I am savoring every line.

I had a window seat. My glasses fell off my head, and got stuck in between the side of the plane and my seat where I couldn't get to them! Oh CRAP! How am I going to enjoy my BOOK when I can't bloody well SEE?? I tried reaching down the side and my arm almost got stuck there. Ouch.

I stood up (to the chagrin of the two people sitting next to me) and tried to see if there was another angle to reach them. No go.

I considered ringing for the flight attendant and asking for a hanger. I thought that was too wimpy and needy.

I ended up making a tool from the heavy cardboard safety instructions, and knocking them to the floor behind my seat. Unfortunately, then I had to wake up the girl behind me (it was an early morning flight) so she could reach them.

The man sitting beside her teased me saying 'Can't read very well from down there?' Very funny, bud-ro!

Have a great day, I know I will!

Greetings, Bloggy Browsers!

It's Friday, Hooray! You know what to do, march in a circle chanting 'Fri-day! Brow-ser! Fri-day! Brow-ser!'

We recently upgraded to IE9, and I have to say that if you are a blogger on blogspot, I really can't recommend doing it.

I have to remember (daily), to click the little icon for 'compatibility mode' or the menu buttons don't work correctly.

I have to use the Edit Html design page instead of the Compose page, which is NOT 'what you see is what you get'.

My favorites bar isn't a bar at all anymore.

There is ONE feature I do like about IE9. You can take a 'Favorite' and put an icon for it on the menu bar. It will launch when you click the icon instead of having to the browser first.

There, I said something nice. Have a nice Friday!

Greetings, Bloggy Waiting for the Weekenders!

Tomorrow at this time I will be at the airport, on my way to Little Rhody for a get together with 'The Fam'. That is Rhode Island, if you didn't know already.

That means that TODAY I will feel like it's Friday all day! I love that ol' Friday feeling, silly as that may sound.

I do my flight checkin before getting to work. I have already put reminders in my calendar at work to set my Out of Office message, do my timesheet, etc.

I am partially packed, have notes and reminders everywhere about what to bring, and tonight I'll wrap it UP and GO, GO, Gadget!

And yes, there will be bloggage in the morning, just in case you were worried...

Greetings, Bloggy TV Watchers-

Cartoons made me who I am today...kind of.

I learned to like romantic opera from Mighty Mouse cartoons.

I learned to like spinach watching Popeye.

I learned all the old-timey songs like ‘Clementine’ by following the bouncing ball and singing along.

I learned to swear from Yosemite Sam. Ricka frazzle ruckim buckim! (you know the rest)

I learned French from Pepe’ le pew. Le Mew, Le Meow, Le Mew, Le Meow.

I learned that ACME is the place to buy supplies if I ever want to go after a RoadRunner.

And last, but not least, I learned that awesome BANDS like the Beatles should NOT have cartoon shows.

I rarely watch cartoons nowadays, but they are safe and sound WITHIN...

Greetings, Bloggy Experimenters!

I was given a new nickname yesterday as I was making coffee in the department kitchen. I make coffee every morning at 7am.

I like to experiment with different coffee combinations, and sometimes use as many as 4 or 5 different coffees to make a unique blend.

I put it the results in one of those big thermal carafes, and a VERY select group of people are allowed to contribute coffee to 'Le Club' and drink the gourmet brews.

I am called 'Coffee Lady' by at least one person. My coffee is called 'Witches Brew' by another coworker. Yesterday, one man came by as I was making coffee and remarked 'The Mad Scientist at Work'. I really liked that! Beats 'Witches Brew', doesn't it?

My favorite coffee combination at the moment?

One scoop Seattles Best Level 4, Two Heaping Scoops 'Jamaica Me Crazy', and 4 scoops of Starbucks Guatemala Antigua.

TTFN and enjoy your foame' latte' or whatever you like to drink in the morning...

Greetings, Monday Morning Blah-gers,

Yes, it's monday, but it's a brand new month and it's my brother-in-law Steve's Birthday. Happy Birthday, Steve! Remember to turn your calendars today, unless they're electronic.

If you read the blog archive for May 9th, 2011, you may recall that I told a story about a really cute story from the 'Funniest Home Videos' show.

A little girl called her grandmother when she saw a rainbow over her grandmothers house. She said that a rainbow was 'hitting her house' and requested her grandmother look for the treasure and call her right back. Very cute.

Anyway - long story short, this video won $10,000 last night on the 'Best of' show.

The moral of the story is - Yes, there WAS a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow, but it was reserved for that little girl.

TTFN and have a nice Monday!