CRAZY STUFFI have

CRAZY STUFF

I have been saving some items, mainly in the back of my mind, for commenting on later, and later is here. ;-) Some of them are pretty wacky.

First of all, there is the pregnancy pact being reported from Gloucester, Massachusetts. Girls in high school are trying to get pregnant en masse. I saw a blurb on the NW Newschannel yesterday quoting a source at the Gloucester High School as saying this was false, but the source I link to in this paragraph (Time Magazine online) says the girls kept going back to the school nurse for pregnancy tests until they came back positive, at which time the girls were giving each other high fives. Perhaps movies like "Juno" are partly to blame, but some in Gloucester have attributed it to broken homes and loneliness.

Next, there is a fellow ex-Mormon who has a very popular blog. I am not going to name her here, as I feel that ex-Mormons should stick together; however, her humor gets pretty way out sometimes. After an appearance on the Today show where she was on with Kathie Lee Gifford, she wrote that Kathie Lee was coming onto her. I know that she didn't intend for this to be taken seriously, but I wonder what Kathie Lee thought of that. It certainly does go under the category of "crazy", in my book.

Then there are dreams I have been lately, which have featured a man who was involved in probably the very worst mistake of my life, and people close to him. I hate these dreams! I don't know why I'm having them but they are just crazy!

I am not telling my own family (siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles) about my upcoming minor toenail surgery. My youngest sister acted like having had my right big toenail removed last summer was a punishment from God, and I don't need that kind of reaction again. (I wonder what she would think of the fact that it has grown back in beautifully and is what I consider a blessing from God.) I think this kind of negative and unkind belief, which really seems out-of-character for my sister, is pure wackiness.

So there you have my wacky items for the day. I imagine I will come up with more over time. Feel free to add your own.

*****

I have been eating Manwich sloppy joes off and on over the last 5 days or so, and I took this picture of what -- to me -- is the perfect Manwich meal:



I don't care for the taste of the Manwich with the hamburger meat alone, but I find it to be delicious when topped with a slice of Tillamook cheddar cheese. And paired with sliced tomatoes (the non-salmonella variety), it becomes a lovely meal!

*****

As for the cartoons above, I am glad that my cats who stay downstairs at night don't try to wake me up for food during the night or early in the morning. They are very well-behaved.

I love the Maxine! LOL! Patrick Dempsey, you've really made it big now that you are in a cartoon with her! Hee hee!

THE GIRL IN THE CAFE

THE GIRL IN THE CAFE

I'm not sure where I saw the HBO movie, "The Girl in the Cafe" recommended, but I ordered it from Blockbuster on my one movie at a time program and watched it last night. I couldn't remember what it was about, and reading the description on the jacket of the DVD didn't help any, but I was game to see if I would like it or not.

The movie starts out in England -- London, I presume -- and features Bill Nighy as rather high-up civil servant Lawrence. Nighy is one of those people who I know I have seen in movies before but more as a character actor than the lead. His Lawrence is rather shy and, maybe partly as a result of that but also due to his devotion to his work, a confirmed bachelor.

He meets a much younger woman, Gina, played by Kelly MacDonald, in a cafe, and he dates her briefly before inviting her to accompany him to the 2005 G8 Summit in Reykjavik, Iceland. Lawrence has been telling her what the G8 Summit will entail, especially the Millenium Development Goals to eliminate poverty and AIDS, and when there, her outspokenness about them with world leaders, especially Lawrence's boss and the British Prime Minister, get both of them into a lot of trouble. The ending, however, was quite gratifying and brought tears to my eyes.

I did a little research after reading more about the movie in the Blockbuster description. I discovered that the 2005 G8 Summit was held in July of 2005, while this movie aired on HBO on June 25, 2005. Very interesting timing. Also, the U.K. hosted the Summit.

I have a little trouble understanding English accents and I didn't check to see if this film was close-captioned, but I did get most of what was happening. If you have a chance to rent it, I would recommend that you do so. I don't see a rating listed but I would call it PG13 as there is one scene of partial nudity and a couple of bad words. It did win the Emmy in 2006 for Best Made for Television Movie.

*****

The following joke comes from Ralph Milton's Christian E-zine, "Rumors", out of last week's June 15, 2008 edition.

"Bottom of the Barrel – Since we are now in the time of year when clergy and congregations begin to play musical pulpits, I thought this hoary old clunker might be useful.

The all-male pick-a-preacher committee had the job of deciding if the latest applicant had what it takes to be their minister. They didn’t quite know how to proceed, because this candidate was a woman.
“Let’s take her fishing,” suggested one of the committee members.
Out they went, early in the morning, the five men and the minister. Soon they were busy casting for trout, when the line of one of the men got snagged on a floating log. His tugging wouldn’t dislodge it.
So the lady minister stepped out of the boat, walked across the surface of the water, unhooked the snag, and walked back into the boat.
“Hmmmph” muttered one of the men. “Just like a woman. Can’t swim!”

Love it!

*****

I think it's time I thanked my friend Lynne again for the Ziggy in this entry and all the other ones that I have posted.

I really like the Maxine, too! There is more than a germ of truth to it! LOL!

MY LITTLE WALRUSMy

MY LITTLE WALRUS

My little cat, Stevie, is getting fat in her old age. I took this picture of her yesterday, claiming my new bath rugs for her own, and I think she looks like a walrus. LOL! (My Flickr friend Cynthia -- Philosopher Queen -- thought that was rude but funny. LOL! She suggested weight loss medicine, which I can't find online.)



I would take her to the vet but I don't want to explain to my current vet about why I left the one that amputated her tail. (I didn't care for his personality.) I would also feed her less but if her bowl gets close to empty, she eats out of the other cats' bowls. The poor little thing! For now I am watching her and I will try to feed her less.

*****

Another public character is coming out with a book. This time it is Senator Larry Craig of Idaho. Yes, the man who gave a whole new meaning to the term "wide stance." LOL! I think this is another publication that I'm going to skip.

*****

After a painful day for the old arm yesterday, today seems to be better so far. I am having to put up with it because too much use of it or sleeping on it causes the pain to flare up. I am not taking Vicodin because I have just a few halves left and also I don't want to get hooked on it. I just put up with the pain. The arm has to be used or it will atrophy. So far today I am feeling pretty fair but I was icing it after I worked last night.

I always think of what Steve said when it was time to work, quoting an old donut store advertisement, in which the baker said, "It's time to go make the donuts." That is what we have to do, even in pain: Go make the donuts.

Speaking of working hard, I see each of my sons doing that, and I am very proud of them.

BTW, I have a couple of suspicious spots on the same arm. They are small but dark blue-gray and I suppose I should get them checked. One seems to be flaking off a bit. An online friend is urging me to get them looked at right away but I think I will watch them for a week or two, then contact my doctor if I feel it is warranted.


*****

I love the Ziggies again today, especially the eHarmony Ziggy. I have never thought of using a dating service, especially since I have seen the ads by an eHarmony competitor saying that eHarmony rejects a lot of applicants. In addition, I have an online female friend who had kind of a bad experience with an eHarmony match-up, as the guy had been recently divorced due to his wife's unfaithfulness and it soon became apparent that he was not over his wife. Besides, where would I find a man who would put up with the amount of time I spend online? ;-)

GOODIES ARE ARRIVING!

I just received my new car vac (Dustbuster) and the two books I ordered from Amazon.com using the gift certificate son J.D. and DIL Kris gave me for my birthday (the first of a number of items I was able to order) -- "A Strange Fit of Passion" by Anita Shreve and "The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation" (a book of short stories) by Elizabeth Berg. I am delighted that they came so quickly! I will spend part of the afternoon figuring out how to operate the car vac. I suspect I may need a battery or batteries for it.

In addition, in the mail today I received something that isn't a birthday gift, but is necessary and which I will enjoy using: stamps. What's special about these is that I ordered 2 sheets of twelve "Year of the Rat" stamps, as I was born in the Chinese Year of the Rat, plus a roll of 100 42-cent stamps for when the price increase comes through next month (although I don't know the exact date when that's going to happen). The Year of the Rat stamps are -- amazingly -- quite cute and appeal to me despite the fact that I don't generally like rats. ;-)

In terms of other gifts I have received, I spent some time yesterday picking out pictures and cutting them to size for the picture coasters that Cindy gave me. It worked out perfectly to have the 4 coasters, one for each of the 4 grandchildren. Here is how they turned out:



And Socks had been wanting all too much to help me do that, so I distracted her while I cut out the pictures with a sample picture from the coaster, and I was at least able to get the pics in the coasters before she decided to take over, as shown below:



She became bitey (spell check says that's not a word, but I think it is) when I tried to get her away from the coasters so I could put them in the holder, and she kept biting me when she could get to my hands the rest of the day. Today, she is being good, though.

*****

My progress in the book "Understanding Your Grief" and the accompanying journal is going well. I found a question that I didn't have the answer for last night and I e-mailed my brother Frank about it. He wrote back this morning, which I very much appreciated. I am not going to detail it as I don't want to get too morbid on a public blog but I will just say that my visit with my grief counselor (which will have been my last appointment) the other day went well and she was going to send a positive note to my doctor. She felt I am handling my emotions in a very good way. She was happy to see the progress I have made in the book and journal. It is very therapeutic to write my thoughts and feelings -- it is healing. One thing the book and journal say is that we never get over the death of a loved one. Each person is special and our relationship with that person unique, so there is no "getting over it" or total resolution of our grief. We can find ways to honor that grief and celebrate the life of the person who has passed away.

*****

I love the Maxine above. We all need hugs. I notice that as a person living alone, I sometimes feel starved for hugs. It's good I have my cats to provide their warmth in sitting on my lap or when I pick one (usually Socks) up to cuddle, although she will squirm quite quickly to get away.

The signature tag is the last one I sent out to the tags list, and I also made one and sent it to neighbor Bobi, who is an artist and very gifted when it comes to crafts. She loved it, she said.

*****

As you can tell, I am over my rant of yesterday. But I still feel strongly about what I said. I hope I didn't scare people away with my comments about the forwards I dislike!

*****

I wonder if Socks will let me sleep now. If not, I will have to struggle through another afternoon, half awake. I suppose I could keep her here in the office if she became too disruptive, but I hate to do that. So I may be back later when I am hopefully more alert, although I'm not sure what more I would have to say, other than to perhaps gripe about the alarm that keeps going off at the chicken houses next door. (As J.D. said a number of years ago when I mentioned that problem -- maybe the chickens are making a run for it!) ;-)

ZIGGIES AT LASTBlogger

ZIGGIES AT LAST

Blogger seems to have recovered from this morning's glitch, so I was able to post the Ziggies above. Sometimes that first one seems all too true, but it's nutty. The second one is just plain zany, too, but that's one thing I like about Ziggies -- they are fun! Thanks again to my Australian friend Lynne for keeping me supplied with them!

A Child Learns...If a

A Child Learns...

If a child lives with criticism...
He learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility...
He learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule...
He learns to be shy.

If a child lives with shame...
He learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance...
He learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement...
He learns confidence.

If a child lives with praise...
He learns to appreciate.

If a child lives with fairness...
He learns justice.

If a child lives with security...
He learns to trust in himself and others.

If a child lives with honesty...
He learns what truth is.

If a child lives with approval...
He learns to like himself.

If a child lives with acceptance and love...
He learns to find love in the world.

Author Unknown

I received the above from an online friend, Mary Jane, in New Jersey. I had seen it and may have had a copy of it longer ago but not in recent years. I loved it from the first time I read it. It explains so much about nurturing parenting and also the opposite. I thought I'd post it in case there were those of my readers who had never read it before.

*****

I received my first birthday gift today -- from my friend Edith in Toronto. She wanted to get it to me before I went to the coast on Sunday. It is the book "Dreams of my Father" by Barack Obama. I will take "The Good Husband of Zebra Drive" by Alexander McCall Smith as well, and read that first as it's a short book.

Edith's birthday card to me was soooo funny - it really cracked me up! It's very true-to-life, too. The front has a cartoon dog on the computer saying, "Just found this cool new WEBSITE for people YOUR AGE!" Then on the inside it says, "www.NAPQUEST.com" and down below, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY". LOL! And, of course, I am feeling just about ready for my early afternoon nap. ROFL!

*****

The cartoons above just happen to be especially disgusting today. I hadn't planned it that way; I received them and wrote them on my daily calendar at different times. Just consider them my contribution to the weight loss plans of those readers who are dieting. Hee hee!

BIG FISH AND BETRAYALThe

BIG FISH AND BETRAYAL


The following picture was posted to my tags list by a member in Oklahoma, and amazingly it was taken here in Oregon, not all that far from where I live.

FYI: This sturgeon is still alive, just worn out from the fight. They turned him loose after the photo.











This sturgeon was caught on the Willamette River just below Oregon City. It weighed out at over 1,000 pounds and measured out at 11' 1". It was 56" around the girth and took over 6 1/2 hours, and 4 dozen beers, for the 4 guys taking turns at reeling it in.

Any sturgeon over about 5 feet has to be released unharmed and cannot be removed from the water. They are brood/breeding stock and probably older than most of us.

For some reason, I have become somewhat suspicious of these larger-than-life photos, after having been taken in a few times by computer enhancements, but this looks to be pretty authentic, and it didn't appear on Snopes.

The Internet continues to amaze me, especially in cases such as this one, where it was someone in Oklahoma who sent this to me, when it was in my own back yard but I hadn't seen it before.

*****

I was pretty upset for a good part of the day yesterday, due to learning from one online friend about another one's betrayal. These two happen not to be friends any more, but when they were, the person who betrayed me was apparently labeling me as "strange."

I have decided to step back from my friendship with the one who called me "strange" and see what happens. After having had a good night's sleep, I am more philosophical about what the person labeled me. I'm sure it's not the first or last time that I will be called a name, and I've been called worse, and by people I cared about. This person happened to have irritated me quite often by preaching at me regarding how I should feel or react to incidents in my life, so from that standpoint, probably taking a break from e-mailing back and forth with her is a good idea.

Yesterday while I was processing this situation, I also had to fight a "shoot the messenger" reaction, but I got over that. It's quite amazing how cyber-relationships can bring up all sorts of feelings, even though we are not operating in the "real" world. I've seen it happen time and time again. And I will probably continue to see it in the future.

I have had some questions running through my head, such as about motivations, how literally to take what I have been told, forgiveness, and previous thoughts I've shared here regarding forgiving and yet not letting myself be put in a position where I can continue to be hurt.

It is continuing to be food for thought but for the time being, I am most inclined not to let this person betray me any more, if she has continued to do so. I've never liked to be ridiculed or laughed at (I got enough of that growing up) and I am hopefully ending that in at least one venue in my life.

*****

Last night I experienced something that I haven't for quite a while -- aching in the collar bone that I broke when I was about 5, when I was staying with my Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Lincoln and was at a park playing with my cousins. I was hanging by my knees on a swing set, which I liked to do, when I fell and struck the low wooden barrier running around the swing set and broke the collar bone. I was immediately taken by my cousins back to my aunt and uncle's house and from there to the doctor, who diagnosed the break and put me in a brace. My aunt and uncle and my cousins were always very nurturing and they took good care of me until my parents got back.

That was 55 years ago or so. As a result, when I felt the aching last night, I was given cause to reflect on the way the break had happened. It's not that the area of the break hasn't ached before, but it's been a while. I had heard rain forecast by weather people for today but my collar bone was also telling me that rain was on the way. Sure enough, it has rained this morning. That's not the most comfortable way to personally forecast the weather! LOL!

*****

It just so happens that both Ziggies are about medical-type professionals today. I have had mixed experiences with such people, so I am especially enjoying these cartoons.