A Harlot Song!

For those of you who knit, this little video with a song about Stephanie McPhee the "Yarn Harlot" will laugh and play it again, and perhaps hum along. For those of you who do not knit, well, just enjoy the funny of a lower level.

Destination Truth or Destination Fraud?

Destination Truth is one of the newer shows on the SciFi.com network. Hubby and I began watching it at the beginning of this season. The host, Josh Gates, and his crew go all over the world in search of monsters and really weird creatures of legend. Although Gates is ruggedly handsome and seems brave and really exciting, both Hubby and I can't help but wonder if this show is nothing but a big hoax, a fraud in the "reality TV" genre.

Instead of actually giving the crew time to find information about the creatures of legend they are supposedly hunting, Gates and the show only have 24 hours to search, explore, and find proof whether or not the creature might exist. Twenty-four hours isn't a long time to look for anything in my humble opinion. And, whether or not there is proof really doesn't seem to matter to Gates because he has already made up his mind that the locals are basically just primitive twits who are stuck in some lost area of time and space.

In the Sea Monster & Bat Demon episode, Destination Truth traveled to Vietnam to find the Tarasque, a sea monster that had been attacking local fishing boats for, well, generations, including recently. There wasn't any set pattern to the attacks, but most of the fishermen agreed it attacked during the day - Gates went looking for it at night because he reckoned it was a "nocturnal" creature. There were giant splashing in a cave that Gates had gone into looking for the creature. He went alone with a night vision camera.

I cannot say the man isn't brave, but if he even remotely figured he might run upon something big and scary why did he go alone with so little equipment to capture information?

When Gates and crew went looking for the Popobawa in Zanzibar. According to the locals, the Popobawa is a large "bird" with bat-like wings and has been known to attack people. The attacks have usually all happened during the day, but, again, Gates went looking for the creature at night in a jungle he had never been to before armed only with a machete. Somehow the man was able to find his way deeply into the jungle and out again to his crew without any problems.

I grew up in the Appalachians and the first thing I was taught was that if you ended up in a part of the forest you didn't know try and retrace your steps, and if you couldn't do that, just sit still in one place and eventually help would find you. Many of the boys who I grew up with would roam the hills during the day and always made certain they could find their way back home during the day-light hours so they wouldn't be caught in the forest at night. As they grew and learned the mountains, they could go many places during night as well, but they were always careful. Rarely did any of them end up lost. However, many people who did not know the mountains would go into the mountains and get lost, then the boys would have to be called on to go and find the people. Even if these experienced men were set down in the middle of an unknown forest or jungle they couldn't just run wherever in the middle of the night and genuinely expect to find their way back to a relatively unknown camp before day-break. How does Josh Gates do it then? And why would he look for it at night having never gone to the areas to where the creature supposedly made the attacks? I am willing to suspend belief for many things, but not for something that is supposed to be searching for answers to a question.

Another thing Hubby noticed was that Gates' interview with eye-witnesses and victims of attacks, he always acted as if he didn't believe them from the very beginning. The people he interviewed were really just uneducated, superstitious backwards people who couldn't make a determination between a giant bird and a pterodactyl-like creature.

In a "journal entry" from the site regarding the episode about the Tarasque, Gates says:

Vietnam's history is laden with rich and imaginative folklore, part of which is the elegant notion that a dragon descended from the heavens, his tail splitting the earth to form the jagged towers in the waters of Halong Bay. ("Halong" means "Where the dragon meets the sea.") An alternative version of the story says the dragon spat out jewels that formed the many islands here. Either way, these people have serpents on the brain, and with eyewitnesses predisposed to seeing creatures. Vietnam's history is laden with rich and imaginative folklore, part of which is the elegant notion that a dragon descended from the heavens, his tail splitting the earth to form the jagged towers in the waters of Halong Bay. ("Halong" means "Where the dragon meets the sea.") An alternative version of the story says the dragon spat out jewels that formed the many islands here. Either way, these people have serpents on the brain, and with eyewitnesses predisposed to seeing creatures out of a Tolkein epic, reliable accounts will be hard to come by.

Did he ever intend to find something?

From beginning to end the entire show seems staged and Gates knows exactly where he is going at all times. He supposedly can defend himself against anything with a machete and he is afraid of nothing, which reminds me something of what my Daddy and many older men and women have often said, "A man who isn't afraid of anything is stupid and just looking to die." Another little piece of wisdom they would also impart was, "If a man thinks he is a bad ass, there is always somebody badder out there, and one day they will run up on one another and the bad ass may just lose a battle." Having lived as long as I have, I can honestly say I have seen several young bad asses out there, and they usually always run upon someone tougher than they are, and it never ends up nice for the young one. He lives after the confrontation if he is lucky. Every time I have watched this show I have ended up thinking about this and wondering if he is actually going to run upon someone tougher than him on the show, and, quite frankly, I don't want to witness it, although, to be honest, I doubt they would view the leader getting his ass kicked in some third-world, third-rate country.

Tech Support.....

Received this in an email and had to share it with you all because it made me out-right laugh.

Tech Support
Dear Tech Support:

Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0 . I soon noticed that the new program began unexpected child processing that took up a lot of space and valuable resources. In addition, Wife 1.0 installed itself into all other programs and now monitors all other system activities, such as Poker Night 10.3, Football 5.0, Going To The Pub 7.5, and Softball 3.6 I can't seem to keep Wife 1.0 in the background while attempting to run my other favorite applications. I'm thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0 , but the uninstall doesn't work on Wife 1.0 .

Please help!
Thanks, Troubled User.....

REPLY:
Dear Troubled User:
This is a very common problem that men often complain about. Many people upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0, thinking that it is just a Utilities and Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is an OPERATING SYSTEM and is designed by its Creator to run EVERYTHING !!! It is also impossible to delete Wife 1.0 and to return to Girlfriend 7.0 .

It is impossible to uninstall, or purge, the program files from the system once installed. You cannot go back to Girlfriend 7.0 because Wife 1.0 is designed to not allow this. Look in your Wife 1.0 manual under Warnings: Alimony-Child Support . I recommend that you keep Wife 1.0 and work on improving the situation. I suggest installing the background application Yes Dear 2.7 to alleviate your program problems. The best course of action is to enter the command C:\APOLOGIZE! because ultimately you will have to give the APOLOGIZE command before the system will return to normal anyway. Wife 1.0 is a great program, but it tends to be very high maintenance! Wife 1.0 does come with several support programs, such as Clean and Sweep 3.0 , Cook It 1.5 , and Do Bills 4.2 .

However, be very careful how you use these programs . Improper use will cause the system to launch the program Nag Nag 9.5. Once this happens, the only way to improve the performance of Wife 1.0 is to purchase additional software. I recommend Flowers 2.1 and Diamonds 5.0. WARNING!!! DO NOT, under any circumstances, install Secretary With Short Skirt 3.3. This application is not supported by Wife 1.0 and will cause irreversible damage to the operating system!

Yarn Harlots, a Wonderful Hubby, and Fabulous Friends...

...make for a day that will go down into the memory as one of the more wonderful ones. I am a little pooped so I am going to just link you to my knitting blog and let you go from there. Check it out at Not Afraid 2 Knit: Knitters Are . . . Smart

There is so much to share and life is suddenly doing that "busy" thing...

Believe it or not but there are so many articles for The News that yours truly is finding it difficult to get them all lined up and out to you, my Dear Readers. Alas, tonight was class and I am tired so the article about Destination Truth and some very interesting things Hubby has noticed.

Also, there is an interesting thing happening over at Poetic Asides in the form of a Poem-a-Day challenge for the month of April. As I understand it, you don't need to worry about how good it is or how well it is written, but to actually get poems down for editing later and you do this for the entire month of April. Although I am a little late on this, I am going to be beginning it tomorrow. However, I must apologize in advance for not posting any of them here because I am going to try and submit them somewhere by the end of the month and need them to be "fresh" and "new" as in unpublished in any format, even here. Still, I hope many of you join me in this. It sounds like fun.

The Sweet Smell of Morning Questions

see more crazy cat picsToday is a wonderfully glorious bright sun-shiny day. Sunshine really does (usually) make me happy...and smile.

Recently I mentioned that I am an Eastern Orthodox Christian. Most of you steady readers know this, but sometimes someone comes who doesn't know this and when they stumble upon an entry where I am talking about Pascha or some other feast we have two questions inevitably follow: (1) What do you believe?; and (2) do you believe in the Bible?

Let's go with the second question first: Yes, we believe in the Bible. In fact, the first collection of the holy books now referred to as the Bible was compiled by the first Christian Church commonly known as the Orthodox Christian Church, before the Catholics split and then there were more splits from the Catholic Church because the "Roman" Church got a little greedy and thus many denominations sprang up like...flowers. King James did not approve of some of the books of the Bible and wanted it to be more "king centered" instead of "Christ centered" so took out some of the books he considered to be fluff. Why do we need books of praise, thought, and history in our belief system? The books now known as "the Apocrypha" were not books King James approved of, not the believers and Church fathers and mothers of the time, including the Roman Church. The Orthodox Bible is no different from anyone else's Bible, especially King James - it is just that we have more books. If you would like to have a copy of said Bible you may purchase one through http://www.light-n-life.com.

Now back to the first question What do we Eastern Orthodox Christians believe? Pretty much the same as everyone else. It is listed in our Creed as follows:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all worlds, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Begotten not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made:

Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man;

And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried;

And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures;

And ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of the Father;

And He shall come again with glory to judge the quick and the dead, Whose kingdom shall have not end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spake by the Prophets;

And I believe in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.

I look for the Resurrection of the dead.

And the Life of the world to come. Amen.

If I am not mistaken this was once posted before, but it never does hurt to post it again. I am a firm believer in you should know what someone is talking about especially when it comes to their belief system.

Oh, and when we say we "believe in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church" it is not referring to the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. It means we believe in "the body of Christ" here on Earth. We do not pass judgement on any other body of worship unless that body of worship is genuinely and truly a cult - of which I won't get into any here...everyone knows the Church of Scientology is not a true "church".

Keep asking questions and I will endeavor my very best to keep answering them the best of my ability. As always, my e-mail is hahwriter@Yahoo.com.

Lexington, KY is in the Top Ten Places for a Career?

According to a new list that came out today, Lexington, Kentucky is one of the best places to have a business or start a career. Really? So why is everyone so poor? Don't get me wrong, part of me is extremely proud and happy for this because I really do love Lexington, but that this small city is one of the best places to have a business or a career also makes me wonder what they were smoking when they made this decision. What exactly did they use for their demographic?

How Rain Can Make a Kentucky Girl a Little Blue

It is raining today. Earlier it was storming. It was storming while I was still in bed. JoJo was safely tucked next to my feet and snoring, and when the thunder began there was a large golden lab tucked next to my body. I had to put my hand on Chewie's head for him to stop shivering. Sometimes I get so sorry for him because of the life he led before he found us and a really good home that my heart just floods with love and compassion for him. When he did stop shivering he fell asleep with a paw over his nose and his body pressed up to my side like a little kid. Gabby came into the bedroom while it was storming, as did Cappa, the cat, but it wasn't to be comforted I don't believe, but to comfort. Gabby went around the bed and checked on everyone, they lay down in the next she has made for herself in the bedroom and began snoring loudly in about five minutes.

I just lay there, surrounded by love, and thought about how my life has changed. There was a time when I would lie in bed or hide in my room and listen to the storms and wonder if I was ever going to be free. Free from a small town and prejudice. Free from feeling as if I genuinely did not belong. Free from feeling so trapped in my life that death seemed like the only answer. Today it was easy to genuinely see how my life has changed for the better and I am so very thankful to God for not giving up on me.

Then, without expecting to, I thought about my Mom and Dad and how they sacrificed so much for me. Their sacrifice always makes me feel a little sad because I didn't appreciate it when I was younger, not the way I do now. Perhaps this is part of growing up and realizing just how much life you have lived and just how much you can appreciate the life you have now.

I said in the title to this entry that the rain made me blue, but it didn't. Not really. It made me reflective and quiet. It also gave me a peaceful feeling, so that when I did get up and start moving for the rest of my day I did so without worries of what would happen if this or that wasn't done, and it also helped me see just how much I care about this home of mine and the people and creatures who help to actually make it home for me. I am genuinely blessed.

Looks Familiar

Last night was the first night back to class for me to Sullivan. I could not have gone or actually been relaxed in any sort of way had not Sniffles gone with me. If I had her permission I would actually speak her name and laud her praises to the sky until the end of time.

CSC 104 in class is just as boring as on-line sadly. There are tons of projects to do and have e-mailed to the instructor and, luckily for me, I am a week ahead already because we did the first week and then the second week last night as far as homework is concerned. Now all I have to do is finish the homework before Tuesday of next week. I am working on that today with breaks here and there.

Being back in the classroom was beyond awesome, even if it was boring. Not only do I run on sunshine, as some friends have happily proclaimed for years, but I also run on social gatherings whether that is in school, at Church, at tai chi, or anywhere else I may happen to be. For the first hour I was enthused, juiced with electricity, and then the reality of the class hit and I slowed down considerably. After a break though I was ready to go again. Sort of.

Tomorrow night is Tort law and Hubby is going with me. I am going to be enjoying it tremendously, but I am not at all sure about him. He will either sleep or go to the lounge until I text him and tell him I need him or something I suspect. Either way I won't be alone. Not really: Last night I learned I am going to need someone with me in order to help me get to the rest room during those quick, short breaks, and to help with the crutches and other little mundane things I hadn't even thought about prior to going, because I didn't know if I would have problems or not. Isn't it strange how that happens? You discover something you didn't expect and then meet the need as quickly and efficiently as you possibly can?

However, I suspect Hubby will change off Thursdays with Sniffles so he can game. We shall see. Now back to the homework.

see more crazy cat pics

Monday...It's Monday...

Today has been one of those oddly nonproductive-productive days. Hubby went to work and didn't come home for lunch because he has lots of work to do and he also wants to go to service tonight. This has meant I have had one of those (now) unusual items of a day completely alone except for the animals. Even though it has been most refreshing it has also been something a little off kilter for me for some reason. Perhaps Hubby coming home for lunch has become something of the norm? At any rate, I do understand we will have to begin to pack him a lunch several times a week in order to save money since gas has gone up over $3 here in Lexington. Can anyone remember when it used to be under $1? I can. And I miss those days. Hopefully this will encourage people to purchase hybrids so we won't have to worry too much about gas and petroleum fuel for a while in the near future. I can hope can't I?

Made it to tai chi Saturday. We got there late because...I'm not sure why exactly. We had time and then we didn't. At any rate, we got there, and it was SO wonderful to be able to practice and to move. Just Bill was encouraging and I really did miss everyone! *sigh* Now I must practice alone, with Hubby or with Hubby and...The ShowMan. This isn't going to stop my tai chi practice, but at the same time it does put a different spin on it, which is OK for now. It is only a temporary stall to learning. Plus, Hubby and I will be going to the Kite Festival in Georgetown and spend a good part of the day there, after class of course.

Tomorrow is the beginning of classes for me. It is the repeat of the CSC class. I am looking as forward to it as possible. Surprisingly you have no idea how really "possible" that is right now. The nerves are really kicking into over-drive, which is normal I suppose.

Not a Happy Friday Overall

Today has been one of those days where I could really have been happier to have been doing anything than what I was because I have been fighting a virus all day. It was a stomach thing I probably picked up from the game last night.

Ah, the game. There is much I would say about the game, but this will have to wait until later.

So, today has been a day of illness, and tomorrow is the last Saturday Hubby and I will have together because of stupid school.

More later, Dear Readers. Now I go sleep and hope this crud is seriously over with.

I Remember When....

... My guy had to do shiftwork. I am SO happy he has a good job now.

You have not been forgotten, Dear Readers!

moar funny pictures

A lot has been happening of late. Not all of it has been good, and not all of it has been bad.

School
According to the registrar I did not pass CSC this last quarter. It appears that when I fell and hit my head that I missed two tests instead of one, and since I could only make up one of them I was sunk from the get-go. OK, I can deal with that if necessary, which it is necessary, of course, to do.

So, my class schedule has changed. I will have night classes this quarter, as well as a Saturday class. I tried my best to get out of the Saturday class, but there is nothing I can do about it. I must have a full class load and the only options available to me are the ones I have taken, including the Saturday class.

It doesn't really sound horrible, in many ways, but the class begins at eight o'clock in the morning on Saturday and is over at 11:40 a.m. Eight flippin' o'clock in the morning! And the subject matter - litigation. Yep, you got it, a hard ass class early in the morning on a Saturday!

Hubby isn't pleased either. He doesn't want anything to do with the Saturday class, but I think he is going to drop me off at class where Sniffles is going to be waiting for me to help me get to class. Sniffles has been a God-send so far this quarter. She is going to help me on Tuesdays and Saturdays and Hubby is going to drop me off on Thursdays.

What does this mean in general? No tai chi or Stone's Throw for me until the end of this quarter. Hubby is probably going to go on to tai chi, but he isn't happy about anything about this quarter because it has thrown everything off we would normally do - Saturdays are usually the days we spend together. It is "our" day.

I can't do anything else, and Hubby is unhappy.

I am somewhat unhappy, too.

This quarter stinks.

Plus, we haven't heard one single thing from Medicare about the power chair. You know, I really miss my life, the life I used to have.

Life in General
The arthritis pain has been pretty rough. Sunday I sincerely felt as if I had had as much as I could handle. Monday I was grumpy as sin, which Hubby detested and yelled at me for (this was also the day we found out about the changes in the school schedule). I guess I deserved being yelled at for being grumpy: I let myself give in to the seemingly never ending pain and discomfort.

Thankfully, today has been a little better, even though it is still raining and the temps are flip-flopping like a yo-yo.

Finally

The final in CSC is over. It was taken yesterday. I must admit I am not at all pleased with it all, but there is little I can do about it now - what's done is done. If it must be re-taken, then it will be so and I will endeavor to do my utmost and pull an A out of that silly creature!

Gah!

Letting that silly class go in my head has become something a little trickier than I thought. Still, evening classes and one on-line class begins on March 24th, until then, however, I am free.

Free? You mean there is actually time to sit and do what I want and need to do? My poor head and heart won't know exactly what to tackle first, you know. Cleaning and organizing are going to be on the top of the list, and then writing. There is a short story that has been knocking around in my brain for the past couple of weeks, and it is about time it actually makes it to paper. I did try putting it down just on the computer screen, but it felt as if it was running away from me into uncontrollable spirals, so I am going to whip out the old reliable pen and paper, get it down, then type it up. It may come out in spurts, stories tend to do that you realize, so there will be spurts of writing and spurts of typing. About the only thing I can genuinely say here, comfortably, is that this story is most definitely a short story.

There might just be one more thing I can say about the story - I am sending this one off. I don't know where, but once it is finished it is going out to face the world. It has been several months, almost an entire year, since I have received a rejection slip, or an acceptance letter. Cheyenne has already received two rejections for a poem he has sent out. He is ahead of me this year. I might not be able to catch up, but I can give it a serious go.

S.C. Church Fighting to Evict White-Supremacist Store

There is a video from Yahoo News/AP Press about a store in an old theatre in Laurens, S.C. that is a white supremacist store. There you can purchase anything you could possibly want or need for a good ol' cross burning, including the white sheet costumes.

The rub is, the theater is owned by a black pastor and black church in Laurens (which was named after a slave trader). In the video the store owner, a young white man says, "If this store falls, the nation will fall." Yeah, right, gimme a break! When has any insignificant little store been the downfall of an entire nation. Some might even call this delusions of grandeur.

Why people try to keep a "race war" concept going is beyond me, especially in this 21st Century. We are a nation of all kinds of skin colors and origins. It always has been. Who actually believes it was just pure white people who colonized this nation? The pure white people took the land from the Native people here and even now refuse to accept the true responsibility of what was done to an entire people. Yet, the white race is supposed to be superior. What superior thing has the white person done for the good of humanity? Has it been only white people who have helped make the advances that we call the modern age? I don't think so - we have cell phones and computer technology that comes from a think tank of advancements from all over the world. I hate to burst your bubble, people, but America is a little bit behind on the technological advancements in computers and cell phone arenas, as well as in health care for the common person.

Besides that, we're fighting a war that has no purpose or base and putting out own people into harms way because...ooops we made a mistake?

No one skin color is better than any other skin color. We are all just people God created. What do we have the right to fuss about it if God looked upon what he had made and called it Good?

A Monday Without Pepsi

OK, I feel like this bunny looks. You can check out the full caption over at Disapproving Rabbits. Just click the title of this entry and it should take you right to the site. It amazes me how angry and determined a bunneh can look!

I ran out of Pepsi on Friday and because of Lent we have not purchased any more because I decided it would be a good idea to give it up for a little while. Saturday I had a Coke, so it wasn't so bad, but not one single Coke or Pepsi has been had since Saturday. I have tea, mind you, and it is good tea. I made it just the way I likes it. But it isn't a Pepsi.

It isn't a loss of caffeine either because I have had a good strong cup of coffee. I miss having my afternoon Pepsi and reading over my e-mails and going through the knitting sites, and news sites. Until you say you aren't going to do something for a while you really don't see just how much something is a comfort until you can't have it for a while. As of right now I definitely know one thing that is going into our Pascha basket.

I don't have a caffeine headache, but there is a headache present: It seems the headache from my fall has come back. It just loved me so much it couldn't leave me alone. *sigh* Yes, I realize this isn't a very spiritual admission, but it is very much a true one. Pepsi is one of my daily comforts, and without it I realize just how much a comfort it is, and I miss it. However, at the same time I know I can do without it for a while and will learn how to make it through with other things.

One reason why Pepsi is important is because of my Mommy, and I didn't realize it until today. When I was growing up, and during those years of when I was at home before going to college, my Mom and I would take a break during the day, but not with coffee -- we would have a nice cold Pepsi, either over ice or straight from the fridge. We would relax and talk about problems, or gossip about what was happening on Stinnett; and sometimes we would talk about the Bible and what we thought certain passages meant. I know I will never get over missing her, but I didn't realize just how much of my Pepsi addiction was linked with relaxing with her, as well as finding that one special time during the day to let everything go that wasn't overly important in preparation of greeting my guy when he gets home from work, and then cooking supper.

Perhaps now I will appreciate my afternoon Pepsi just a little more, since I've realized just how special it truly is for me.

Orthodox Lent

Today is the official beginning of Orthodox Lenten observance. It is known the world over as Cheese Fare Sunday because this is the day we give up the dairy and egg products if we have selected them to be in our regimen. Since I have protein issues, I am keeping those, but I always enjoy this day, this beginning. Tonight is the most wonderful of services called Forgiveness Vespers. We ask each other's forgiveness, and we give it ourselves. It is a most humbling service, and one of the most beautiful. I will be missing it this year because of the snow. I don't do snow very well because of the crutches and the wheels, but the snow is melted. However, I had already decided I wasn't going, because I have decided I am actually going to look after myself this year, especially since that fall. Some effects are still felt, such as the bruise on my back, and my left arm is still sore, but, thank God, it is better. And, I can now say in all honesty my headache is gone!

To celebrate the beginning of Lent, I have made myself some wonderful iced tea. The old fashioned Lipton iced tea, but decaffeinated because this will be my beverage of choice for Lent since giving up Pepsi and carbonated beverages. I did it my Mommy's way - boil the water, then put the tea bags in, then, before it completely cools, put the sugar in and let it melt. I had already prepared my pitcher by adding ice to it and just a little cool water. When I poured the hot tea over the ice the smell that came up made my mouth water!

The snow we received night-before-last and yesterday is practically all gone today. The temperature has risen to 37*F and the sun is shining like a new beginning. I am really going to work at this Lent being a new beginning for me spiritually. Everything has a chance of being better for me, and I genuinely want to increase that chance by doing everything I can to establish good habits and practices on the inside as well as the outside.

The outside has always been a problem for me until the retreat with Mother Gabriella. She said that one thing a lot of people didn't realize was that the nuns and monks have a duty to keep their bodies as healthy as their souls. It doesn't mean they have a killer exercise regimen because they do everything for themselves such as grow food, made products to sell, and do their own fishing. They are doing hard work instead of just exercising. Since nearly every movement is hard work for me, I thought I would add to the movements and do some extra exercising and get my body and my spirit in better order. By the time Lent is over I should have lost at least a dress size and feel better about myself and life in general.

The Beginning of Eastern Orthodox Lent

In a way, this past Sunday, called Meat Fare Sunday, is the beginning of Lent for many of us Eastern Orthodox Christians. On that day we give up all meat, if possible, and after Cheese Fare Sunday, which is this coming Sunday, everything else we are taking out of our diet as well as the things we have decided to add in for the Lenten observance begins.

Since there are some certain health issues I must be very aware of, I am keeping fowl, dairy, and eggs in my diet. However, this Lent I am trying to be very aware of the times I eat chicken or fowl. So far this week I have not eaten any chicken and I am actually quite proud of myself. Instead of chicken I have been adding in nuts, fruits, and just being very careful of what I eat. Tomorrow I will make certain and eat some chicken and on Saturday.

One of the things I am giving up this Lent is Pepsi. Luckily I don't have to give it up until next week. It is going to be most difficult to give that silly beverage up, simply because I depend on it when going out to eat. And it isn't just Pepsi in particular, but ALL carbonated pops/beverages. Sometimes some of the hardest things to do during Lent is giving up the standbys we have all come to depend upon.

Another thing Hubby and I have decided to give up is a good amount of television programs. Since I watch a lot of television or have it on during the day, giving up the TV is going to be difficult. Hubby suggested I keep *How Clean Is Your House?* and *You Are What You Eat* because they are helpful, and, of course, the noon news for the weather reports.

Since a lot of things I cannot take out of my diet, this Lent I have added in several different things to make sure I am doing something productive in my faith and honoring what this season truly means: I have added in Bible reading, and my prayer rope of the Jesus Prayer each and every day. True, there isn't a set time for doing either, but my day is usually a little different, but, so far, I have been able to do this relatively well. Keeping it going, of course, is going to be the interesting part.

This Lent I am actually looking forward to - a new beginning for me and my faith, belief. It is difficult to have faith in this day and age, and seasons such as this help us re-define ourselves with the faith and belief we have. It is important, I believe, to participate in them.

Knitting Alert!

A finished object is over here.

Self-Explanatory

Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!

As Many Thoughts As There Are Snowflakes

Today has been a day of quiet contemplation, decision making, and just life in general. It just seemed the right thing for a cold, not-quite-so-dreary day of snowfall. The uncertainty that has been my near-constant companion for the past few weeks has relented and I have been able to take a deep breath and look at my life and glimpse the nearest goals which are required for me to reach and attain in order to reach other, bigger goals for the more distant goals. Instead of feeling oppressed, it has had a feeling of peace.

Update

Had a nasty fall Sunday in a shoe store trying on shoes. Hubby tried to catch me, but I was too far out of reach. Hit my head on a metal shelf. Went to the ER Sunday. Slept most of yesterday. Mostly awake today since Noon. Sore and painful, but otherwise OK. Will update more later on in the week when I am feeling better.

There is Ice in Lexington

We have the beginning of an ice storm here in Lexington. Check out the news. I'll post pictures later.

Need a Smile Today?

see more loldogs are funny dog pictures!

Giant Sea Spiders and Tid Bits

Beware the 'Devil Frog'!

According to this article, this frog may have eaten baby hatchling dinosaurs.

One thing intrigues me, though, one scientist said "It would have been quite mean," added paleontologist Susan Evans of University College London, another of the scientists. How would they know? Are all frogs evil and mean? What criteria do they have for saying this? I am just curious.

Today and Tomorrow

The sun is shining beautifully outside the windows and doors. The thermometer says it is 63*F and tall, fluffy clouds with dark bottoms pass by as if saying, "Not yet. Not just yet." Hubby has gone to visit one of our friends who is recouperating from a long illness brought on by a surgery, and I am here alone with the dogs, computer, television and the radio. I don't feel sad today. (This is probably due to being out in the sunshine yesterday and having such a wonderful day.) I haven't done any homework yet, but there is suddenly energy for that and this is a great thing compared to how I have been feeling and looking at life.

Today has not been as physically good a day as yesterday was, but you can't have all good days. My arthritis has been acting up something horrible and last night I barely made it to bed and when I did I was awake most of the night because of pain. Sadly, I also kept Hubby awake who needs his rest as well. However, he managed to get up and get to Church and Bible study while I recouperated and rested up the best I could. It took a while for me to struggle out of bed and then into my shoes and then onto my feet, and by the time all of these things had been accomplished, Hubby was home as I was trying to make it into the hallway from the bedroom.

As each step caused pain and discomfort I realized just how much had changed in the past few days. No, I don't mean physically. These sorts of days come and go and you have to learn how to deal with them if it is possible, and it is usually possible. What had changed was how I felt about it all. Today is a bad physical day, but emotionally it is still good. I won't be this way continuously and when the weather decides to do what it is thinking about doing my joints will adjust and get better and I will move with a little more freedom. Today I am not feeling down and depressed and cursing my life because this is the one I was given, and I know more than anyone else just how imperfect it really is. Today I can see my future ahead of me and I can accept it with smiles and acceptance. Joy might not be overly present, but it will return. Who knows, maybe joy will be here tomorrow.

Today I can look at the struggles ahead and just place one foot in front of the other mentally and physically and trudge forward. It is a slow progress, but it is progress. I am no longer just running in place or fighting the mud to stand up: I have stood up with God's help. And I am on the road again. I am not running, but I am progressing and going towards my goals of having a good life with my Hubby and friends.

Today there is pain. Tomorrow there will be pain and the day after. So much of it gets everyone down at times, and I am no different. But, today I am standing up emotionally and mentally and I am moving forward. Sometimes the only thing you can do is move forward with the thoughts if not so much with the body, and maybe if you move forward enough with your thoughts your body can start to catch up, too.

Almost a Normal Saturday

Today Hubby wanted to go to tai chi in Georgetown (Kentucky). I had no problem with that at all; this is the usual Saturday drill for both of us. Or was. Since moving to the new house I am afraid I slacked off on going to tai chi and having the normal Saturday of fellowship and friends, as well as necessary exercise. This morning Hubby smiled and actually helped me get my rickety, creaking body together so we actually made it there together.

There couldn't have been a better day for driving to Georgetown. The sky was blue. The sun was shining bright, and several times I just closed my eyes and soaked up the sun that was rich and warm through the van's windows. Hubby also made certain the van was warm. On the way there I decided I have had enough "down" time. Now is the time to start collecting the energies and preparing for a different phase of everything.

Once to class and jumping back into it all I realized several things 1) I remembered more than I thought I would; 2) I have genuinely missed class and the people there; and 3) I also missed going to tai chi with my husband. Going today made me quite aware of all of these things, and a thousand more that can't fully be articulated. It was surprising to me just how easily I slid back into the groove of it all. A couple of times I looked over to Hubby who was practicing and saw the peace and happiness inside all of the concentration. I had missed seeing that particular expression on his face.

Just Bill's voice explained movements and weight distribution on the legs and I just sat there and tried very hard not to grin, because I had missed him so very much! Jim the Scribe kept Hubby on track once or twice with corrections and Bob Hoohaha was still "the bad example"-and it all filled my heart and head with joy. Nothing had changed, and yet it had. However, the peace was almost palpable to me, and life seemed a little less disjointed.

As always after tai chi, we went to Fava's for breakfast. For the first time in many days I was starving and ordered a big breakfast and ate it all except for two slices of tomato. I felt stronger and more relaxed. When Just Bill asked me how I had been doing I was honest, but I also had a wonderful decision made which I also shared: not going to be down any more. It was fantastic to be able to share that with him and the rest of the group who was closer. It was important in moving forward for me, and, at the same time, it was important for the rest of them as well. It was precious and special. Hubby relaxed then, also for the first time in several days, and smiled.

And, as always when in Georgetown, there was yarn therapy.

Things aren't "back to normal" because there aren't any electric wheels still, yet there is something inside me that is back to normal. It feels wonderful!

A Grainy Video of the Valentine's Day El Toro

Valentine's Day

With everything that has been happening bad in the past few days and the deep dark purple funk I've been in, this morning with it being Valentine's Day I got up with Hubby.

There in my wheelchair was a large-ish purple box, a card a-top it, and a sugar cookie (which turned out to be from Sniffles). The front of the card said "My best friend and my only love, my dream and my reality, my moon and all my lucky stars..." When I opend the card it began singing to me about how I was his "everything"...yes, there were tears. Tons of tears. Why? Because I was happy and wasn't expecting anything like it.



When I could sort of see I turned my attention to the large-ish purple box. There I was greeted with El Toro and his message:
"Hello, my name is El Toro...El Toro of looooove. And my love for you burns with the heat of a thousand halepenos!...Wait!...What is El Toro saying! A million. YES! One million halepenos! Spicy!"

All I could do was cry. I stood and cried alone, then I went and wrapped my arms around Hubby and cried because I simply could not speak. Then, Hubby had El Toro speak again and he dipped me and kissed me so deeply I lost my breath and my head swam and my knees felt weak.

Yep, he's still got it.

---

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Wheelchair Update

Yeah. It sucks.

Toopid Homeworkm, It After Me!

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Who Is The New Voice of Kitt?

I was quite surprised to discover the answer myself, and a little sad, especially when I saw his picture. He looks ill, somehow, and sad. Who am is it? Read the article and discover the answer for yourself, then share with me what you think.

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Today is.....a little weird and wired.

Most everything I could possibly say can be found at

http://mountainlaurel.livejournal.com

More later. Still homework.

Valentine's Day Productivity and Other Stuff

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. In preparation for this wonderously sloppy day of girlie goodness and love extradinare, I pre-ordered some Valentine's Day cards from The Hunger Site's Animal Rescue portion and purchased some lovely cards with a puppy holding a rose in its mouth. The outside says, "I love you" and the inside says, "...unconditionally" which I thought was perfect for my sisters. As sisters we will always love each other despite the occasional tiffs sisters usually seem to have during their younger years. We love each other simply because we are who we are and just how much we trust each other and love each other...unconditionally.

However, there were only four cards in the pack (and it is apparently discontinued so I cannot link to the cuteness) which meant I needed to find more cards to send. Since there is no electric wheels to give me freedom to shop, I intended to look on-line for places where I could possibly send cards. Since I had to make another change of address on-line at USPS.com, I discovered there was a link to a place called CardStore.com. Actually, it is part of the USPS site. It allows you to choose cards, fill out the address, pay the postage and have them mail off the card for you. The cards weren't overly priced either and I could put anything I wanted on the interior. So, I spent about $9 and the Valentine's Day card problem was solved.

Of course, if I had my druthers I would have preferred to have actually gone shopping for the cards and been able to put special messages on the inside of the cards with my own signature, but this works. Because it works, and works well, the feeling of accomplishment is remarkable.

This isn't the only thing I have done all day, as a matter of fact. The big long TO DO list that was made last night actually has a number of things marked off of it, including important matters such as bills and appointments made and double-checked; and order of operations organized.

It would be nice to say I had everything of importance done I needed done today, but it isn't so...yet. There is still homework, supper to cook, and bills to pay; knitting to do, and books to read. And, as always, there is still some housework to do. However, the day has been very productive, which has also helped my mood considerably!

Yesterday I was feeling very defeated by all of the things I needed to do and hadn't been doing. Today there is a better feeling-a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. I need this feeling to keep me going. I suppose I need to just sit down and make lists and be able to look back over them and see what I have accomplished in the day as well as what I still need to do.

P.S. See the new poll on the right there? ---->

The one about the cute photos? Yeah, vote, ok? This lets me know how to better improve this site.

Thanks.

How Cute is This?

Every day should start off right, and this made me smile when I saw it. Good morning all.

Time and Space and How it Moves

Time moves quickly and space gets filled up.

We have been having some pretty rough weather here in Kentucky lately. According to the local weather 'casters there have been a number of tornado touchdowns in the past seventy-two hours as well as a lot of "high winds" that were not classified as tornados but did practically as much damage as a full-fledged twister. Harrison County, if I am not mistaken, has taken several big hits.

Here in Lexington there has been quite a bit of damage and up to 60,000 people are without electricity. I don't know what the number is right now, but it is over 10,000! There have been trees down, power lines down, property damage, but here on our street we have been spared a lot of the nastiness. Thank You, God.

Night before last our dog Chewie came to the bedroom door and whined. A big storm was happening outside and Hubby and I were trying to decide if he was just scared of if he was warning us bad things were happening. Chewie has been abused for barking, so he doesn't bark. (It is so bad that the other day he barked at the mailman and the sound of his own voice frightened him, then he looked at me as if to say, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" Of course I complimented him and told him what a good boy he was and the poor fellow just looked confused. Hopefully if I praise him enough for barking he will begin doing so and not be so frightened about doing so.)

Just Because

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Words

Received this in an e-mail and I just had to share it!

DORMITORY: When you rearrange the letters:DIRTY ROOM

PRESBYTERIAN:
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER

ASTRONOMER:
When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER

DESPERATION:
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT

THE EYES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE

GEORGE BUSH:
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE

THE MORSE CODE :
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS

SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME

ANIMOSITY:
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY

ELECTION RESULTS:
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT

SNOOZE ALARMS:
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z'S

A DECIMAL POINT:
When you rearrange the letters:
IM A DOT IN PLACE

THE EARTHQUAKES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE

ELEVEN PLUS TWO:
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE

AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:

MOTHER-IN-LAW:
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER

Yep! Someone with waaaaaaaaaaaytoo much time on their hands! (Probably a son-in-law)

A Wild and Crazy Time!

This weekend was the Hubby Birthday Extravaganza! Cheyenne came in on Thursday night, Hubby's official birthday, and departed back for Columbus as of today only a couple of hours ago. Since it also turned out to be Superbowl Sunday as of yesterday, we decided to have a Superbowl party.

Just as a note to all, having two parties back to back-Saturday for the birthday and Sunday for the Superbowl-is a bit on the hectic side; however, we loved every single moment of it and are actually planning to do it again next year.

It was fantastic having so many people over during the weekend, but I must admit it feels nice just having space and time to take several deep breaths and contemplate ordinary household, every day things.

Have begun, of all things, a knitting blog! It is called Not Afraid 2 Knit. Don't worry, I will continue to post finished objects and bits and pieces about knitting here as well, but it is nice to have a blog dedicated to my most favorite hobby, nay passion. It is just easier to keep that part of my life in one place because not everyone adores pieces, lengths of string the way I obviously do and it was also suggested by several friends, so I am taking them up on their suggestion. Go check it out sometime, but I warn you: There it is all knitting and spinning ALL the time! LOL!

Lemonade

Today is hubby Kolbar's birthday! Cheyenne is coming in from Columbus and several other friends are gathering up on Saturday for lunch, movie, and then home for cake and ice-cream. Tasty! Tomorrow Cheyenne and possibly Sniffles, will be unloading things out of more boxes to make this place more organized, which is something Kolbar has asked for. I don't blame him. Sadly, I still need help because I am not strong like bull. So, the enlistment of friends begins. Teacher will be coming one day next week to help me unload more boxes and put things together. AND yesterday I found some free cross-stitch patterns I am going to put to good use. A "welcome" plaque and also one of The Beatitudes! I am no where near as much into cross-stitch and embroidery as I once was, but now there is a need to decorate an entire house and I would really like to do some homemade/handmade things. Kolbar says he doesn't want the place looking "country", but we'll see. Surely after so many hours are put into cross-stitch projects and he puts them into frames for me, he won't be upset! Martha Stuart I am not, but I am discovering the more I do here in the house, the more I am like my Mommy, and this makes me warm inside, and happy.

When I was living on my own I never wanted to do anything like this super seriously. I always viewed the apartments as temporary places. At the old house, so much had gone down there as well as so much depression, it felt impossible for me to get anything looking good because there were so many structural problems (roof leaking, cold, drafty, floors collapsing in the bathroom, etc.)! Now I am in a place that I look at and feel very much as if I have arrived home. My home. Mine and Kolbar's home. Home.

It feels wonderful, and, at the same time, it is a little over-whelming. Not because there is (constantly) so much to do to keep it looking nice, but because it is home and the feelings I have are just wonderfully over-whelming in their magnitude. As Kim Woodburn would say on How Clean is Your House?, "I am gobsmacked!" And, it's true.

One thing I have noticed is that, once we found home, it felt like it immediately. There is a lot of work to do, but this is home. My Mommy used to say you make home out of wherever you are, but it was difficult for me to do that back then. If we have to move from this darling, lovely house I will endeavor to do just that, but I hope we never have to leave it unless Kolbar's work (or mine) takes us some place even better. Also, the depression that has plagued me for years has finally begun to lift. Permanently. Sure, there are bouts of sorrow and sadness, but they usually come, I have noticed, when the pain is really bad. Once I have moved through the pain the depression lifts. Some would call this "normal" I suspect. I hope it is, because I have many years left of pain, and I am still enjoying my life despite it all. God does work in mysterious ways.

It is amusing, really. I slept late to give my body some extra hours it needed of rest. Then I lay back down to give my bum some rest (perhaps I'll explain this to you some day), and got back up to take a full regimen of meds for the pain-it is one of those sorts of days today-and now I type to give the meds time to work and to spam LJ with, perhaps, silly thoughts and understandings of this weird life I live.

This reminds me of something else my Mommy said to me once:I was very small and yet again in the hospital. This wasn't anything new to me. I was an old hand at hospitals and medical jargon by the age of six. I was playing with my doll in the hospital bed and my Mom was sitting beside me reading a magazine. I believe a 105* temp had broken the night before so I was still pretty weak; however, I knew that with the fever down, if it stayed down for two more days I would be able to go home. A nurse I had not seen before came into the room. There were three other beds in the room besides mine. I remember this because they were all empty, which made for an even longer stay when you didn't have other kids to talk to. The nurse looked at my chart and then at me, and then at the chart, and then at my Mom. My Mom shook her head in warning. The nurse sighed heavily and looked at me with pity and said, "When life gives you lemons make lemonade", and then left.

I had never heard that expression before and asked my Mommy what it meant. She said, "Some people don't use what God has given them so they go around like they're sucking on sour lemons. BUT if you take the sour lemons and add sugar to the juice you have a sweet drink that is perfect for summer. Do you understand?" I nodded as best I could. My Mommy was quiet for a couple of minutes it seemed, then came to stand beside my bed. She said, "Are you sure you understand, baby?"

"Of course I do! God gave me and you and Daddy lemonade instead of lemons."

"What?"

"Yeah, because we don't have the sour lemons, we have sweet lemonade because we need it like it more."

"That's right, baby. He did," she said, and then added, "don't worry about people like that, because they don't know, or want to know, how to make lemonade!" Isn't it strange how you can remember things sometimes.

The world tried to give me and Kolbar lemons with the old house, but God gave us sweet lemonade with this one!

A Strange News Filled Day

I am not one of those people who usually make a point of watch the evening news except to catch the weather report. However, today as I was checking out a few things on-line I came across several news stories that made me sit quiet and read them. True, it wasn't CNN.com or MSNBC.com but Yahoo news, but still, I read news stories and enjoyed them. Yeah, it was shocking for me too, so I am including a wee bit about the stories I read today.

The first one to catch my eye was about a town, practically a city in Egypt. Ruins of 7,000-year-old city found in Egypt oasis and the really shocking thing to me is the fact it was listed as being in the Neolithic era. When I was in grade school, it was insinuated that the Neolithic period was when cavemen existed. Cavemen weren't supposed to have cities, roads, and farmed the land. Human kind is evidently far older and more advanced than what the people of knowledge wanted to admit before.

On a totally different note John Edwards has withdrawn from the presidential race. Now the only choice democrats have is Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama. He did it supposedly to keep the party together and for the democratic party to move forward. Part of me can't help but wonder if he was threatened, or, sadly, bribed by the party to withdraw.

In entertainment news Duane "Dog" Chapman isn't going to be extradited to Mexico for kidnapping. Chapman is the guy on the reality show Dog the Bounty Hunter fame. A warrant was issued for his arrest from Mexico when he went into Mexico to retrieve a fugitive that had run from a serial rape trial. Mexico procloaims bounty hunting is illegal; so, when Dog and his crew went to retrieve the serial rapist that had run away from American justice he was being charged with illegally detaining a person. Right.

And finally, in Los Angeles, there is a now a marijuana vending machine at one of the medical marijuana sites. It is supposed to be cheaper and can be used 24 hours.

Can you say...IMPRESSIVE?

Duck Feeds Fish, News at Eleven

Hubby sent me this and I just had to share.



Doesn't it look as if the fish could just about eat the baby duck?!

---

It is raining here today, which is making me feel very much like an arthritic. Night before last I told Hubby rain was coming. Late yesterday it began raining and today it has rained the entire day. According to a friend of mine tomorrow it is supposed to snow. Who knows, this time we might get a modicum of snow on the ground, which will once again keep me from going to the rpg on Thursday; then again, maybe it will be just a light covering and not keep me indoors over much, especially since this is Hubby's birthday week and I have plans for said birthday. And Valentine's Day. Yes, plotting has begun for Valentine's Day!

Surprise!

Yeah, I thought it would be nice to update The News. Luckily it has been easier to keep all of the page elements I have than I originally thought it would! However, to see the entirety of the picture "sleep nombr" you actually have to click on it. I will work this bug out as we get to it. Also, I enlarged the type some. Enjoy!

Upended-ness and Settle-ment

Have you ever had one of those instances of where something happened and it was so uncomfortable it threw you for that proverbial loop so broad and expansive you can't really wrap your brain around it? I have experienced similar things before, but nothing like what is currently happening. Sadly, it isn't happening directly to me at all, but to people who are friends of mine and that just really messes with my brain. I keep thinking, "How could this happen? How? They are no different from me." Then I think again about the entire situation and wonder just as quickly how all of this could happen and then I realize they aren't just like me or else what is going on wouldn't be going on. Yes, I know this is all cryptic and rambly, but there isn't anything I can do about that for the moment. As things progress and I understand more of the situation that is happening I will be able to explain more here, as well as to myself. I hope.

In a completely different vein, Hubby helped me realize something about myself yesterday: I am so used to worrying about making ends me and keeping us fed, I had actually convinced myself we didn't have any food in the house. I was so adamant about it I actually caused an argument because Hubby was telling me there was food in the house. Since I can only make the lists now and give them to him to do the actual shopping, he knows what he was been bringing into the kitchen for me. It was a real eye-opener to come into the house last night and have to apologize, not because I had lost an argument, but because I seriously did not think, believe we had any food in the house at all! It was actually frightening! When I opened the freezer to fix supper there were two frozen bags of chicken, an entire leg of lamb, some frozen fish, and the cupboard was full! All last week I was convinced we didn't have any food and I wasn't at all sure how I was going to feed us. When I opened the freezer I didn't see anything except the frozen fish!

While I was cooking last night I tried to figure out why I hadn't been able to see the food. Was I going crazy? Had I gone off the deep end? What else was I missing and convinced we didn't have? I thought long and hard about it and had to finally just sit back and pray and let myself relax before I could accept we are actually doing all right. We aren't doing perfectly, of course, it is still going to take a lot of hard work on both our parts for things to be perfect, but we are doing so much better and are at a place in our lives where we can buy food without over-much worry and we can meet our bills in peace. True, we have to be exceptionally careful about how the money is spent, but we are doing all right.

We have had to struggle for so long to make ends meet, to keep us clothes, fed, and housed that it is the first thing in my head. It is a habit, an expectation, not the reality of what is happening now and I am unsure how to get it out of my head!

Hubby is handling our prosperity much easier than I am.

Each day I wake up and I thank God for my family and our wonderful house, and I still let myself get concerned about what is or is not in the freezer on a very basic level. I am really going to have to give this to God more and let peace enter my Soul and mind more than what it currently seems to be. The thought of this doesn't sadden me any more like it would have otherwise done; this time it feels like a very right and true action to take. Could it be my faith has finally begun to grow as well? What's more, I am very thankful Hubby could point this out to me, in the middle of an argument I caused, and help me to come to grips with it! Sometimes he just makes my jaw drop open with how wonderful he is!

---

The Smile for Today


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A New Type of Revolution

I am not exactly sure why any of this is happening other than people have come to the conclusion the Church of Scientology is...bad. A writer who has an LJ I usually read has discovered something wonderful, a revolution against said Church of Scientology. Check it out here and read her words carefully. Something important is happening.

The Marsh, a Pretty Good Movie

Plagued by disturbing visions, children's author Claire Holloway (Gabrielle Anwar) obeys her doctor's orders and takes a sabbatical, checking into the Rose Marsh Farmhouse. But instead of peace, she finds her worst nightmares come to life, forcing her to seek the help of a paranormal consultant (Forest Whitaker). Directed by Jordan Barker, this supernatural thriller also stars Justin Louis, Niamh Wilson, Joe Dinicol and Brooke Johnson.

Recently I have joined the masses in joining Netflix and The Marsh is the latest movie I have watched and I found it a most enjoyable film. Gabrielle Anwar is quite familiar to those who watch Burn Notice because she is the fiesty, sexy "Fiona", which was a big reason, in the beginning I chose to watch The Marsh through the Watch Instantly feature Netflix offers. Since I watch most of the movies I receive either on the PS2 with Hubby or on the computer it wasn't a challenge.

This movie had just the right amount of spooky and thriller with just the right amount of puzzle that you couldn't really figure out before you were supposed to, which was at the very last fifteen to twenty minutes of the movie. True, there was nothing new discovered about the ghosts that are haunting the Rose Marsh house, but it is a good story with believable characters and believable performances.

One of the more interesting performances was given by Forest Whitaker as Hunt, the paranormal investigator who doesn't believe in ghosts, instead he believes in people, because all people are is water and energy. If Hunt's character had been anything other than strong and intelligent, genuinely intelligent, the movie would have fallen flat on its pretty little face like many movies of late.

If you would like to see a pretty good movie that doesn't force you into undue expecatations and delivers a great deal of entertainment with just the right amount of spook, I highly recommend it. The run time is about 96 minutes if I remember correctly.

It receives four out of five stars. * * * *

And just to have something to smile about, check him out!.......

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Don't You Just Feel This Way Sometimes?

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The Electronic Quill is Open for Business

The Quill has not been used for a good amount of time. I think it is time it should be dusted off and used again.

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We Begin...Finally

Made Me Smile It Did

There are several blogs I read at the beginning of my day or sometimes in the middle. One of them is The Dooce. Today the author wrote about a talk she had with her daughter in the car on a road trip. Go read. Smile. 'Tis good.

http://www.dooce.com/2008/01/23/conversation-car-somewhere-nevada-pass-time

Just How Did This Happen?

"Some kitty math: How many lives did little tabby Gracie Mae use up when she crawled into her owner's suitcase, went through an airport X-ray machine, got loaded onto a plane, thrown onto a baggage belt and mistakenly picked up by a stranger far from home? "

Moanings, But the Snow Was Pretty!

moar funny pictures

Finally managed to get the word processing exam done. It wasn't as difficult as it seemed at first glance. Isn't that the way everything usually is? According to one posting I had, since it is automatic, I received a 95% on one section. Since the other part of the exam was just changing templates and saving and editing documents, I'm pretty sure I got at least that much there. Now, all that remains to be done is catching up on the remainder of the homework and sending it in, which as been what has happened off and on all day today. With luck, it will be finished and caught up by no later than Thursday, just in time for all of the other homework to be due.

It snowed last night. According to Hubby, there was at least an inch, or an inch and a half at most. When I got up to see it this morning it was so pretty! The dogs went outside and romped and played until they could romp and play no more. My arthritis is acting up today, and our dog Gabby is also exhibiting arthritic symptoms today. Gave her half a Tylenol(c) and she is now sleeping peacefully beside me and Chewie.





And Cappa is peacefully slumbering on her chair giving her a clear view of what might be happening outside.



All is right with their world.

And what of JoJo? She is curled up on the couch and hiding her face--so no photos of her for today.

Bobby Fischer Dead at 64

I love chess. Some would say I even adore it, and some people have asked me what I thought of Bobby Fischer. To be honest, I don't have an answer for them. Bobby Fischer is, was a fantastic chess player, but he had some problems. Whether or not his anti-Semitism was an act or real is not for me to decide, especially now. Nor do I want to go to that dark place his renouncement of his American citizenship brings me. So, I will just say, Bobby Fischer has died. He was, perhaps, the greatest chess mind in the world and it is sad he never wanted to share his knowledge with anyone.

Something Different For Me

Since moving to the new house something has happened to me: I have become a housewife with a clean desire. There is something inside me keeping me from using the word "obsession" because I am not really sure what is going on qualifies as an obsession.

At the old house there was a lot going on there and, quite honestly, both Hubby and I had given up on trying to keep the house clean. Why? Because it was falling apart. The neighborhood was depressing, and, even though people say it doesn't matter "where" you live, it genuinely DOES matter. It also seemed that the old house held on to all of the negative energy of things that had happened and no matter how much you cleaned the place simply would not brighten or lighten. There was so much darkness there that it pervaded the interior and affected the occupants, no matter how happy you were as a person.

However, since moving to the new house, things were immediately different. I began cleaning from day one and haven't stopped. The house is filled with a lightness and brightness that encourages you to keep it that way, and, if possible, improve upon it. Even on gloomy, rainy days such as today, once the blinds are opened, the rooms lighten and it doesn't feel quite so gloomy inside (the house or the person).

I have tried with every ounce of extra energy I have had to make certain everything had a place and everything remained in its place. Hubby has problems with this concept sort of, but he is indeed better than before. Being sick last week and not having enough energy or strength to do the daily routine of cleaning made me feel even worse. Yesterday there was some time and energy left to me, so I did a bit of cleaning and organizing and a weight I hadn't realized was present lifted noticeably off of my shoulders and the kitchen virtually came to life ... again.

This desire to have a beautiful, warm, happy home has also given me a deep love for the show How Clean Is Your House? which comes on BBC-America. The premise of the show is that the Queens of Clean, Aggie MacKenzie and Kim Woodburn, find the worst, dirtiest houses in Britain and give them a cleaning make-over and teach house cleaning at the same time. Many of their house cleaning tips are "green" or are environmentally friendly. The people whose houses had gotten into such messes are just like everyone else in the world-having too much to do, having depression over how their house looks, and not knowing how to keep it clean or even where to begin to get it back into order.

Part of me likes to watch the show just to be able to say, "At least my house wasn't that bad." The greater part that enjoys watching the show, however, is the part that sees two women attempt to give a family a second lease on a life in a clean home. Kim is always amusing, and Aggie is always scientific. Plus, the two always look their best, even when they are in their cleaning whites and decorated rubber gloves. Kim is in her sixties and always has her make-up on and her hair perfectly quaffed. Aggie, younger, is virtually the same. Their cleaning tips are always useful and even my weak, arthritic hands can do most of them. Surprisingly even I have enough "elbow grease", one of Kim's favorite terms, to get cleaning done. And, having as clean a house as possible makes me feel better about myself and my life in general.

Why am I explaining all of this today? Well, because last night I lost control and my temper and argued with Hubby over something that didn't really matter. It was an old habit that I have been fighting to break every since moving to this beautiful new house. It is amazing how hard some habits are hard to break. It appears I was annoyed and wanted everyone else of the human variety to be annoyed as well. The truth is, it was just a reaction to nothing in particular. Seeing the old habit rear its ugly head made me more determined than ever to not bring any more negativity into this home than is otherwise normal. It is silly, perhaps, but I have fallen in love with a house, and life, and Hubby, all over again and I want there to be a nice safe and happy place for us to return to once we have been out in the world for a majority of the day.

My Mom worked so hard to provide my sisters and Dad this same thing. I never understood how important it was until moving here and seeing there could actually be something wonderful in a house. Until this place it seemed only my Mom had that answer and gift. It nearly floored me when I realized I had it as well, and just how important a gift it is to possess. AND, it doesn't make me less a professional or creative person than I am. In fact, I believe it makes me even more so!

Snaffu Almost Lined Out

The life of a student is never easy. Besides making certain all deadlines are met, the parties to attend, and the real world that always manages to creep in makes it difficult to juggle everything needed to a) have a life; b) get the grades you want; and c) just keep from going totally bonkers. In order to completely do the classes currently signed in for I have needed a disk for a number of days. The school had them back ordered and then mine was mailed via UPS. It never got here, not in my knowledge nor Hubby's. According to UPS they delivered the package on January 10th to my side door. We don't go through the side door and, since we've had so much wind lately I seriously doubt it is out there. However, Hubby is being the hero and went to the school to pick up the needed disk and is currently on his way home with the package. Now, perhaps, I'll feel more like doing what I'm supposed to have been doing for the past couple of weeks.

Not having everything you need to accomplish a task puts a stumbling block in your brain, or at least it does mine. It makes me not want to do anything because I would only be doing a half-arsed job (perhaps not in reality, but to me this is how it makes me feel). With the disk firmly in hand perhaps getting all of this homework done will be something my brain will click into doing. Actually, I'm pretty sure this is what will happen.

Fingers crossed.

Another Week is Beginning

I'm not sure about you, but the weekends need to last just a little longer. The cold is still hanging on to me. I am fighting it, and, at times, it feels as if it is consistently winning, but Hubby says I am better so therefore I must be-although I really don't feel better.

Along with feeling like crap, the classes I am taking are just dragging along. If there was more physical well-being for me then perhaps the classes would progress at a more normal rate. Right now all I can say is that I am having to force myself to do them. However, today I did nothing except sleep late, watch television (I had recorded a movie I wanted to watch on the DVR), and just relax. I thought if there was actually rest and relaxation then perhaps I'd start feeling better and give my body some more strength to fight this cold.

I think not doing too much of anything actually helped me to feel a little better. Therefore supper will probably be some chicken broth and noodles, which will help me to get over this cold even faster it is hoped.

More interesting material will follow later on. Right now, the Editor needs her rest.

i have the ick no more

The cold contracted last weekend is still with me. It simply refuses to go away. So, as of today, about three hours ago, I made a proclamation to the universe and everyone within ear shot: I am no longer sick. That's it. End of story. End of sounding like I'm talking through cotton. End of hacking up ugly things. End of snorting and blowing the nose. It is over. My sinuses, however, are determined to confuse everyone else by making me sound like I'm still sick. Silly sinuses. They fool you.

A Bit O' News

The war in Iraq is still raging. Like most wars I've read about, this one has its ebb and flow just like all of the others. Michael Yon is a freelance journalist that has been reporting from the front and blogging about it. I find his articles sad, somehow uplifting, and always focusing on the fighting men and women in a positive light, because what they are doing is anything BUT easy. One of his latest articles, The Battle Over Body Armor, as usual, made me sit back and think. I highly encourage you to read it.

Monday's Arrival

Today just so happened to be Monday. It wasn't a bad Monday. Here in Lexington the sun burst through the cold gray clouds to warm the earth and make life feel like it was ready for Spring...already. No kidding. It got up to a little over 60*F I think, if I'm not mistaken. It didn't feel like January at all. It felt more like March or April. And what did I do during the midst of this beautifully warm, un-January like day? I sat inside nursing a horrible cold and feeling somewhat like death warmed over. Yeah, it could've been better, but it will be...soon...I hope.

The Universe and Internets Have Made a Decision for Me

For those of you who have been reading The Personal Side I hate to inform you it is no more. All that remains now is The News and my LJ. I guess interesting and use(less)ful posts will continue to be made in these two formats.

I just went to log in and post to TPS and it was no more. I was told it had been deleted. I don't remember deleting it, but, well, I am falling victim to some sort of crud. I've been feeling ill since yesterday, but after getting out today and seeing National Treasure 2 (which was a very good movie by the way) I came home to do my management class assignment and have slipped down some slippery slope of ick that has me feeling...not happy.

More later, folks. Happy Saturday and probably Sunday.

The Eagle, A Fable

The Eagle, A Fable
By Lyn Perry

Copyright (c) 2008 by Lyn Perry

It was raining in the forest. It had been raining for days, and all the birds and animals were drenched. The eagle, too, was drenched, and his spirit dampened as well, for his mate lay with a chill, a victim of the constant rain. He could not keep her dry, and so looked on with despair as her life slowly drained away. His tears mingled with the rain when she died.

It was raining in the forest. The eagle could not stand the rain. It brought back memories too painful for him to bear. He rose up from the trees, hoping in flight to escape his thoughts. Higher and higher he climbed until finally he broke through the dark clouds into the dazzling sunlight that shone above the despair. As the warm sun dried his wings, he suddenly realized that the healing sun had been there all the time his mate had needed it. The pain of knowledge learned too late was more than he could bear, and there were tears for the sun to dry.

It was raining in the forest. It had been raining for days, and all the birds and animals were drenched. The rabbit, too, was drenched, and her spirit dampened as well, for her child lay with a chill, a victim of the constant rain. She poured out her sad tale to all who would listen, but the other creatures, too, were victims of the rain, and none could help.

An eagle happened by, and the rabbit began to tell her tale to him. She'd hardly started her story when the eagle suddenly lifted the rabbit's dying child onto his wings and began to circle quickly up into the dark and stormy clouds on an errand he did not take time to explain.

All rights to current piece belong to Lyn Perry and should not be reproduced except by the express permission of the author.

Friday's Arrival

It is amazing how quickly this week has gone. It came with big expectations, being the new year and all, and it has actually ended up being a fantastic week of accomplishments on the small household front. Happily I can also say it has made headway in the creative front. Come tomorrow there will be a creative piece by a young author by the name of Lyn Perry for all to read. Any and all comments are, as always, accepted.

On the personal creative front, there is the spark of an idea that just may end up being the first novel for 2008 roaming around inside this brain of mine. This time I can honestly say there is excitement about it, as well as a deep down determination I have not experienced to date. As soon as words begin to go down there will be updates here letting everyone know exactly how it is progressing.

Also, class has begun for me. Again. Since all of my classes are on-line classes, I realize I am going to have to come up with a routine and plan in order to get everything done on time. It will be done, however.

Happy Thought

You know, sometimes when you are so down the weight of the world and the pressure of the Universe is too much to take one more step, I bet if you would let them, a friend could at least help take some of the weight and pressure away-even if that friend is an animal. And, what is most amazing, is that YOU are the perfect person who can help a friend in those same times, even if that friend is an animal!

moar cute puppy pictures

Welcome New Year! Submissions Now Welcome!

A Few Personal Notes
The year 2008 has begun! It has actually been quite a good day for the new year to begin on for this household and Editor: As of today, Hubby and I are officially moved. As far as I know, there is nothing left over at the old house. We are free and clear of that cold, drafty place and life is looking quite positive and good, at least as far as house matters are concerned.

We have also celebrated Christmas and New Year's with some of our most loved friends and, as of merely a few hours ago, the house is empty of company and Hubby is snoring loudly from the living room couch. There is a bucket of mop water ready, but I just simply don't have the heart to wake him up and get him to move the couch for me. So, he snores while he is surrounded by loving dogs who are also soundly sleeping and snoring.

Submissions Are Now Being Taken at The News
As I said earlier, I am hoping to The News back on track as far as creativity is concerned. On this note, The News accepts fiction and non-fiction pieces 5000 words or less. No bondage stories, or stories of rape or torture are accepted. The News offers a by-line since it is copyrighted; however, no monetary payment can be offered, nor are any rights purchased: Your work remains completely and totally your own. Poetry is also accepted. Length of poetry varies, which means-it is up to the poem, not necessarily its length that encourages the acceptance, however, poems over 50 lines are a little iffy.

To submit a piece of fiction, non-fiction, or poetry, or even if you would like to guest blog for a day, submit the piece in the body of an e-mail, or explain why you would like to be a guest blogger for a day to hahwriter@yahoo.com and I will attempt to get you as prompt a reply as is humanly possible.