Spent nine days in Chicago over the Thanksgiving holidays, several of those days spent with good friends of mine who have a son who entered the Project Direct film competition. I'll be blogging about that trip in the days to come, but for now, I want to ensure that y'all see this short film before voting shuts down.
Their son's entry is:
If you like it, go to Project Direct, click on the VOTE tab and cast a YES vote for The Next Stop. The way you cast a (YES) vote is to click on the thumbs up icon for the film. Click on "next video" until you see the subway scene shown above.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
How'd Halloween Go For You?
No. 1 came with Ekans tonight to "charm" the trick-or-treaters.
She did a "pet the snake and get a piece of candy" hawk. lol.
Angelina Jolie as a child showed up at my doorstep so cute that I took 2 photos of her.
I'd say we had 100 kids this year; could have had more adolescent interlopers had we left the light on longer, but we were down to the last bag and a half of three musketeers (which are always saved for last because Em and No. 1 love them), so shut down the operation at 8:51. Em got home from work about 10 minutes after we shut down. He still hurts some, but hasn't had repeats of those spasms. That means life is good.
She did a "pet the snake and get a piece of candy" hawk. lol.
Angelina Jolie as a child showed up at my doorstep so cute that I took 2 photos of her.
I'd say we had 100 kids this year; could have had more adolescent interlopers had we left the light on longer, but we were down to the last bag and a half of three musketeers (which are always saved for last because Em and No. 1 love them), so shut down the operation at 8:51. Em got home from work about 10 minutes after we shut down. He still hurts some, but hasn't had repeats of those spasms. That means life is good.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Your Mama Said There'd be Days Like This; There'll be Days Like This, Your Mama Said.
Forgot all about the wheat berries I've had soaking in the pantry for several days. The bushes are still sitting outside on the patio in their pots (which is okay for maybe up to 7 more days), and I have ALMOST 2 holes dug. 2 more holes plus soil amendments and we can plant those puppies.
It seemed kinda strange that Em had really bad cold symptoms last Sunday that went away by Monday morning (I'd thought) through the shotgun approach I took supplying remedies. He was fine the whole week up until Friday when his back started to bother him. Big day at the Racetrack on Saturday, working 9-9. His back was still bothering him in the morning, but he thought he could do the shift. Simply put, he couldn't. They drove him home about 2:30pm with spasms in his back. They'd wanted to take him to a hospital, but we're not hospital people.
We've been attacking the back problem probably as much as we can (or should) while it's still in the spasm phase. I have some familiarity with back problems having suffered from them over 20 years ago. We figure he'll be okay, but I'll be wondering for a while why he got this at this time and did it have something to do with the cold that he lost within a day that's lingered on in me for a full week now. Who Knows, right?
No. 1 came today to work on a paper for school. She has a plethora of papers due in the next few weeks, all in APA format. The one due this week is for her most anal-retentive professor, so it was kindof the test case and one that really required the services of anal-retentive mama. Who knew THAT feature of my personality would come in handy some day? APA format and Microsoft Word mix like oil and water. Her prof warned her, and we saw first-hand today. Frustrating doesn't quite describe the experience, but after a whole day we thought the product "good enough" and actually managed to save a copy without Word modifying the format. If she wants to (if she's anal-retentive enough), No. 1 will hunt down where the tab is 3 spaces instead of 5 and where the reference source is font 10 instead of 12). She's the one who needs to keep the 3.5 GPA to sustain her scholarship. Or, she can hope her anal-retentive prof is too busy or unforgiving to notice/care. Feeling lucky?
She stopped at the store for a few things for us on her way over and had the realization (fantasy?) that she's become part of the sandwiched generation without the bottom half of her sandwich. Now she's totally worried about us and talking about getting us on her cell phone plan. Of course, Em looked to be about 140 years old with his bad back and I had to ask her to help him out of the chair to come to the phone when his grandson called. The boy suggested he could call back. I had to tell him, "You don't want to get your grandfather out of the chair and then hang up." lol. Good times;good times.
Em's son mentioned coming to town next weekend. Might need to get the guestroom bed made up in case he spends the night here.
In the puzzle/game department, I've found online jigsaws. Right now I'm limiting myself to puzzles within the 50-70 piece category because they take less than 30 minutes to solve. That works for me. I like to mix my more obvious productive time with short sessions of non-obvious productivity and it's really kewl how online puzzles don't require any space in the home.
It seemed kinda strange that Em had really bad cold symptoms last Sunday that went away by Monday morning (I'd thought) through the shotgun approach I took supplying remedies. He was fine the whole week up until Friday when his back started to bother him. Big day at the Racetrack on Saturday, working 9-9. His back was still bothering him in the morning, but he thought he could do the shift. Simply put, he couldn't. They drove him home about 2:30pm with spasms in his back. They'd wanted to take him to a hospital, but we're not hospital people.
We've been attacking the back problem probably as much as we can (or should) while it's still in the spasm phase. I have some familiarity with back problems having suffered from them over 20 years ago. We figure he'll be okay, but I'll be wondering for a while why he got this at this time and did it have something to do with the cold that he lost within a day that's lingered on in me for a full week now. Who Knows, right?
No. 1 came today to work on a paper for school. She has a plethora of papers due in the next few weeks, all in APA format. The one due this week is for her most anal-retentive professor, so it was kindof the test case and one that really required the services of anal-retentive mama. Who knew THAT feature of my personality would come in handy some day? APA format and Microsoft Word mix like oil and water. Her prof warned her, and we saw first-hand today. Frustrating doesn't quite describe the experience, but after a whole day we thought the product "good enough" and actually managed to save a copy without Word modifying the format. If she wants to (if she's anal-retentive enough), No. 1 will hunt down where the tab is 3 spaces instead of 5 and where the reference source is font 10 instead of 12). She's the one who needs to keep the 3.5 GPA to sustain her scholarship. Or, she can hope her anal-retentive prof is too busy or unforgiving to notice/care. Feeling lucky?
She stopped at the store for a few things for us on her way over and had the realization (fantasy?) that she's become part of the sandwiched generation without the bottom half of her sandwich. Now she's totally worried about us and talking about getting us on her cell phone plan. Of course, Em looked to be about 140 years old with his bad back and I had to ask her to help him out of the chair to come to the phone when his grandson called. The boy suggested he could call back. I had to tell him, "You don't want to get your grandfather out of the chair and then hang up." lol. Good times;good times.
Em's son mentioned coming to town next weekend. Might need to get the guestroom bed made up in case he spends the night here.
In the puzzle/game department, I've found online jigsaws. Right now I'm limiting myself to puzzles within the 50-70 piece category because they take less than 30 minutes to solve. That works for me. I like to mix my more obvious productive time with short sessions of non-obvious productivity and it's really kewl how online puzzles don't require any space in the home.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Wheatgrass and Other Stuff.
Em teases me because I think it's important for us to eat from all the colors in a crayon box. Not the BIG 64 crayon box, but the small one with the 8 colors. The 8th color is green "other". Seriously; I read this. So, as mentioned previously, I decided to get "into" wheat grass juicing.
It takes a while to get the wheat berries "going", and it doesn't help when you soak 1/2 cup of wheat berries and put them into a container that will only accommodate 1/4 cup, then decide (2 days later) that there are too many wheat berries and rip the poor things out and put them into a second container. We live and learn, though. The roots on those things went through the drainage holes on the bottom after only a few days.
So, the process goes something like: soak the wheat berries for 24 hours (or 3 days if you're too lazy to move on to the next step). Drain them and lay them onto soil with good drainage. Cover. I drained and resoaked them every 8 or so hours using an old instant coffee jar with a knee-high nylon stocking and rubber band.
In just a day or two the sprouting grasses started forcing their way through the small holes atop the containers. I waited until they got really forceful to open the lids permanently, but I still rinse them every 8 or so hours. I put the green grass outside if the weather is clear. Developmentally, here's the process from front to back:
In other news, there's absolutely NO TRUTH to the rumor being spread about how I panicked when the fanbelt broke off the car on the way to Oklahoma last Monday. I heard Em say that he couldn't stop or steer the car and didn't scream ONCE. I spent the whole time (while miracle man drove to the car repair place) looking out the passenger window at the lovely Texas scenery. I was even so calm that we continued to Oklahoma once the fanbelt was replaced. We forgot to turn off the hazard lights when we got there, so killed the battery while we were there, but Casinos are good about fixing things like that.
Lots of things are going on this month and next if you look to the right of the blog for information. Em's job precludes us from attending most of these things, but maybe you can attend things in your area.
I've ordered a number of fruit plants to help us maintain our crayola diet. Ordered mostly 2 of stuff so they could pollinate each other a little... 2 peach trees, 2 blueberry bushes, 2 blackberry bushes, 2 raspberry bushes, 6 strawberry plants. Some repetition isn't necessary; for instance, the peach trees are self-pollinating, but we've been looking to put some trees in our backyard for a while now and one at each end worked for us. We'll receive the stuff when it's time to plant them.
Tomorrow or the next day we'll begin "harvesting" the wheatgrass for juice. I'll let you know how it tastes (plain, mixed with other juices, etc.) I'll also let you know if we can leap tall fences in a single bound after drinking a shot of the stuff.
Don't forget Halloween is this month. Lots of kids look forward to the community afforded by neighbors oohing and aahing over their costumes while stuffing their bags with treats.
It takes a while to get the wheat berries "going", and it doesn't help when you soak 1/2 cup of wheat berries and put them into a container that will only accommodate 1/4 cup, then decide (2 days later) that there are too many wheat berries and rip the poor things out and put them into a second container. We live and learn, though. The roots on those things went through the drainage holes on the bottom after only a few days.
So, the process goes something like: soak the wheat berries for 24 hours (or 3 days if you're too lazy to move on to the next step). Drain them and lay them onto soil with good drainage. Cover. I drained and resoaked them every 8 or so hours using an old instant coffee jar with a knee-high nylon stocking and rubber band.
In just a day or two the sprouting grasses started forcing their way through the small holes atop the containers. I waited until they got really forceful to open the lids permanently, but I still rinse them every 8 or so hours. I put the green grass outside if the weather is clear. Developmentally, here's the process from front to back:
In other news, there's absolutely NO TRUTH to the rumor being spread about how I panicked when the fanbelt broke off the car on the way to Oklahoma last Monday. I heard Em say that he couldn't stop or steer the car and didn't scream ONCE. I spent the whole time (while miracle man drove to the car repair place) looking out the passenger window at the lovely Texas scenery. I was even so calm that we continued to Oklahoma once the fanbelt was replaced. We forgot to turn off the hazard lights when we got there, so killed the battery while we were there, but Casinos are good about fixing things like that.
Lots of things are going on this month and next if you look to the right of the blog for information. Em's job precludes us from attending most of these things, but maybe you can attend things in your area.
I've ordered a number of fruit plants to help us maintain our crayola diet. Ordered mostly 2 of stuff so they could pollinate each other a little... 2 peach trees, 2 blueberry bushes, 2 blackberry bushes, 2 raspberry bushes, 6 strawberry plants. Some repetition isn't necessary; for instance, the peach trees are self-pollinating, but we've been looking to put some trees in our backyard for a while now and one at each end worked for us. We'll receive the stuff when it's time to plant them.
Tomorrow or the next day we'll begin "harvesting" the wheatgrass for juice. I'll let you know how it tastes (plain, mixed with other juices, etc.) I'll also let you know if we can leap tall fences in a single bound after drinking a shot of the stuff.
Don't forget Halloween is this month. Lots of kids look forward to the community afforded by neighbors oohing and aahing over their costumes while stuffing their bags with treats.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Entertainment Week, Conspicuous Consumption, and Miscellany.
Em's going back to work at the end of next week, so we tried to concentrate on just having fun this week. We caught that Jodie Foster
movie and enjoyed it. Drove up to Oklahoma for a day of gaming, and actually came home with more money than we took by some magnitudes
for cheapskating gamblers. That was icing on the cake for us, because we just assume that $40.00 each is the price we pay for 9 hours of entertainment
there. In the gaming department, I spent $20.00 on a PC game (my first) called "Cradles of Rome". I'd been playing the demo version (to my frustration), No. 3 advised me AGAINST buying this game, and I bought it anyway. No matter how much I try and how much time I throw at it, I haven't been able to get beyond level 3 or 4. The game has 100 levels, so I think I've got the game that'll see me through the rest of my life. lol.
Went out to dinner and a play. "FEED ME!" (giggle)
Em's grandson was selling the DFW Entertainment Passbook through his school, so we had coupons for dinner AND the play. One evening out paid for the book. Thanks again, Steff! We were gonna go to the American Airlines Center last night to listen to some free jazz outdoors, but we did a lot of grocery shopping yesterday and didn't really feel like it AND we couldn't bring any food/drink into the Center. THAT turns "free" into "need to buy a water" after a few hours and I didn't want to buy a water. No.1 gave us some reusable water bottles that she got free at school. Here they are, pictured with my "prize" canteloupe and a few cucumbers from the garden (BOTH volunteers from last year's planting). I'm meeting new neighbors giving away cucumbers lately when my "regular customers" aren't home.
There's free jazz again Monday evening at UTA; their faculty is playing. Wednesday is "Drinking Liberally" again, and Thursday I'd like to attend a free landscaping class that our city offers. It's all over Friday, as Em goes back to work for two months.
I'm just about out of the "propellant"-sprayed oil (FINALLY...dang, that stuff lasts a long time!). Bob and Judy introduced me to their method last year, and it's definitely more environmentally conscious, so I've ordered one of these for No. 1, No. 2, and myself. It's not as easy to use as the stuff with the propellant, but if you think ahead to "I need to lift the pan so that I spray in a forward motion rather than a downward motion" and "I need to release the pressure on the nozzle when I'm done so the thing doesn't clog" and OF COURSE read the instructions on how the thing is only supposed to be filled HALFWAY or LESS, problems SHOULD be minimal or nonexistent and you never need to buy the "propellant" sprayed oil again. Just wash and refill.
Speaking of washing and refilling, if you're not yet to the point of using vinegar and baking soda for all your cleaning needs (Em still craves commercial glass cleaner), refills exist that are more environmentally friendly. Coupons are also available for those environmentally friendly refills fulfilling my cheapskating requirements.
Last in the conspicuous consumption department for me this week is THIS. My last visit to Illinois included No. 2 and I attending her gym and then stopping by a health bar to get juice. I think (like I can remember that far back) that we both got some protein-laden juice drinks and (in addition) No. 2 got a shot of wheat grass juice. So, I was reading Chile Chews one day and realized that I have wheat berries in my cupboard and could grow my OWN wheatgrass. Really, I'm just envious that Aunt Claire jumps over fences and I've never really thought about jumping over a fence (if I could FIND a fence), but... HEY... I wouldn't mind going bionic, too! So, I'm gonna try some of this juicing, and (by default) Em's gonna try some of this juicing, too. (smile). The dry pulp will go on the compost pile.
Last in the other department today is buying from China. When Lucky (my mom) was alive, she'd cringe at the thought of buying anything that wasn't made in the USA, but it's gotten to the point where it's pretty difficult to buy things made ONLY in the US, so we kindof (if we're channeling our mothers and/or entertain even the slightest jingoism) need to decide what countries we'll support and which ones we won't. I think OXO makes the cutest cooking things, but I refuse to buy their stuff because it's made in China. Yesterday, we went to Albertson's (one of three stores this week) with the thought of buying (for one thing) tilapia. "From China"? An Asian woman (customer in front of me) was the first to mention to the butcher that she didn't want to buy tilapia if it was from China. I was primarily interested in the chicken sale and asked if the chicken had been imported from China, too. The butcher marked down some tilapia (frozen in bags) to the price of the "from China" stuff because "We want you to come back." SHEESH! I forgot I need to separate and rewrap that chicken today. Later...
Went out to dinner and a play. "FEED ME!" (giggle)
Em's grandson was selling the DFW Entertainment Passbook through his school, so we had coupons for dinner AND the play. One evening out paid for the book. Thanks again, Steff! We were gonna go to the American Airlines Center last night to listen to some free jazz outdoors, but we did a lot of grocery shopping yesterday and didn't really feel like it AND we couldn't bring any food/drink into the Center. THAT turns "free" into "need to buy a water" after a few hours and I didn't want to buy a water. No.1 gave us some reusable water bottles that she got free at school. Here they are, pictured with my "prize" canteloupe and a few cucumbers from the garden (BOTH volunteers from last year's planting). I'm meeting new neighbors giving away cucumbers lately when my "regular customers" aren't home.
There's free jazz again Monday evening at UTA; their faculty is playing. Wednesday is "Drinking Liberally" again, and Thursday I'd like to attend a free landscaping class that our city offers. It's all over Friday, as Em goes back to work for two months.
I'm just about out of the "propellant"-sprayed oil (FINALLY...dang, that stuff lasts a long time!). Bob and Judy introduced me to their method last year, and it's definitely more environmentally conscious, so I've ordered one of these for No. 1, No. 2, and myself. It's not as easy to use as the stuff with the propellant, but if you think ahead to "I need to lift the pan so that I spray in a forward motion rather than a downward motion" and "I need to release the pressure on the nozzle when I'm done so the thing doesn't clog" and OF COURSE read the instructions on how the thing is only supposed to be filled HALFWAY or LESS, problems SHOULD be minimal or nonexistent and you never need to buy the "propellant" sprayed oil again. Just wash and refill.
Speaking of washing and refilling, if you're not yet to the point of using vinegar and baking soda for all your cleaning needs (Em still craves commercial glass cleaner), refills exist that are more environmentally friendly. Coupons are also available for those environmentally friendly refills fulfilling my cheapskating requirements.
Last in the conspicuous consumption department for me this week is THIS. My last visit to Illinois included No. 2 and I attending her gym and then stopping by a health bar to get juice. I think (like I can remember that far back) that we both got some protein-laden juice drinks and (in addition) No. 2 got a shot of wheat grass juice. So, I was reading Chile Chews one day and realized that I have wheat berries in my cupboard and could grow my OWN wheatgrass. Really, I'm just envious that Aunt Claire jumps over fences and I've never really thought about jumping over a fence (if I could FIND a fence), but... HEY... I wouldn't mind going bionic, too! So, I'm gonna try some of this juicing, and (by default) Em's gonna try some of this juicing, too. (smile). The dry pulp will go on the compost pile.
Last in the other department today is buying from China. When Lucky (my mom) was alive, she'd cringe at the thought of buying anything that wasn't made in the USA, but it's gotten to the point where it's pretty difficult to buy things made ONLY in the US, so we kindof (if we're channeling our mothers and/or entertain even the slightest jingoism) need to decide what countries we'll support and which ones we won't. I think OXO makes the cutest cooking things, but I refuse to buy their stuff because it's made in China. Yesterday, we went to Albertson's (one of three stores this week) with the thought of buying (for one thing) tilapia. "From China"? An Asian woman (customer in front of me) was the first to mention to the butcher that she didn't want to buy tilapia if it was from China. I was primarily interested in the chicken sale and asked if the chicken had been imported from China, too. The butcher marked down some tilapia (frozen in bags) to the price of the "from China" stuff because "We want you to come back." SHEESH! I forgot I need to separate and rewrap that chicken today. Later...
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Who Knew?
Strange Stuff Worth More Than You Imagine. Did You Know About This?
Excerpt: "Ambergris (Whale Vomit): I come across an article in the news about whale vomit every few years. A person is walking along the beach and comes across some disgusting blob and for some unexplainable reason has an irresistible notion to pick it up (while I’m sure hundreds of others have walked by it with absolutely no thought of ever touching it). Later they find out it’s whale vomit (also called ambergris) which is a highly sought after ingredient for perfume. If it is good-quality vomit (I have to laugh writing that), the ambergris can be sold for up to $10 per gram, with the finest grades fetching many times more than this."
Hat tip to Dawn C.
Hat tip to Dawn C.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Obscenity runs in my family.
My mother was obscene and what she told me was that obscene was the ONLY way to be. I was obscene for many years, and if given the opportunity to go back in time, I'd be obscene for many years again. What's WRONG with some people?
Saturday, September 15, 2007
September 15, 2007 - National Day of Peace and Protest.
If you're so inclined, look for an activity near you.
Em's competition for my heart reviews the General Betray Us/Crock report:
Update for Bruce:
Em's competition for my heart reviews the General Betray Us/Crock report:
Update for Bruce:
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Bush Trellis; nature lends a helping hand.
We have two bushes in our backyard that get HUGE. We had one (not the one shown, but the same species) cut down to the ground and it grew right back. They take up space that could be used for growing vegetables, but I hadn't thought of them in a positive way until Em asked me what was growing up the side of one this summer. I didn't know at the time, as they were volunteers from last year's planting. NOW, I know, and my plan is to use these bushes (maybe trimmed up a bit) as trellises for heavy-fruited vining plants. Maybe we could shape them into Mickey Mouse heads with cantaloupe earrings?
In other news,
In other news,
Saturday, September 08, 2007
LOOK, LOOK; See No. 1's "new" car!
Leftside, rightside, inside, outside, backside, frontside, here's No. 1's "new" car:
It's a 1997 Honda Accord EX, sporting 117,000 miles. Our nextdoor neighbor, Bill, (Thank you, Bill!) told us about it being in his "network". He'd told me that it was gold, and it turned out to be silver, but anyone could confuse precious metal colors, right? (smile)
There it is...across the street! That black hulk in the driveway is the rental car Em's driving while the Mustang is in the shop. It's HUGE, bulky, and we don't know how to work anything, but it was all they had left to rent on the day he went. We went grocery shopping yesterday and couldn't figure out how to open the trunk. Then, on the way home, with the groceries in the back seat, we noticed the "Trunk is open" light was on. SURE! NOW you open up! D'OH!
The interior is all leather and in perfect condition. It also has what they call a moonroof, but I can't say I know the difference between that and a sunroof.
If No. 1 still loves the car when she finishes school (2.5 yrs from now), maybe she'll decide to get the car's few warts fixed (as shown in the next few images). Right now, though, I suspect those warts have a little bit to do with why we didn't pay anywhere near the book value.
We took it for an oil change before we let her take it home. Next week, Em will take it away from her while he gets the coolant flushed and the brakes checked.
It has fancy wheel thingees that No. 1 feared would get stolen. The car guy started to demonstrate how easy these things are to steal using just a screwdriver (insisting, of course, that he knew this by word of mouth only), but he learned that there's a lock in place. That makes it hard to change a tire, but No. 1 doesn't change her own tires anyway.
She'd removed her CD player from the car that was totaled and put it in this "new" one. She said the sound system is WONDERFUL and that she totally LOVES this car. Bill thought you might love it, No. 1. Thanks again, Bill!
It's a 1997 Honda Accord EX, sporting 117,000 miles. Our nextdoor neighbor, Bill, (Thank you, Bill!) told us about it being in his "network". He'd told me that it was gold, and it turned out to be silver, but anyone could confuse precious metal colors, right? (smile)
There it is...across the street! That black hulk in the driveway is the rental car Em's driving while the Mustang is in the shop. It's HUGE, bulky, and we don't know how to work anything, but it was all they had left to rent on the day he went. We went grocery shopping yesterday and couldn't figure out how to open the trunk. Then, on the way home, with the groceries in the back seat, we noticed the "Trunk is open" light was on. SURE! NOW you open up! D'OH!
The interior is all leather and in perfect condition. It also has what they call a moonroof, but I can't say I know the difference between that and a sunroof.
If No. 1 still loves the car when she finishes school (2.5 yrs from now), maybe she'll decide to get the car's few warts fixed (as shown in the next few images). Right now, though, I suspect those warts have a little bit to do with why we didn't pay anywhere near the book value.
We took it for an oil change before we let her take it home. Next week, Em will take it away from her while he gets the coolant flushed and the brakes checked.
It has fancy wheel thingees that No. 1 feared would get stolen. The car guy started to demonstrate how easy these things are to steal using just a screwdriver (insisting, of course, that he knew this by word of mouth only), but he learned that there's a lock in place. That makes it hard to change a tire, but No. 1 doesn't change her own tires anyway.
She'd removed her CD player from the car that was totaled and put it in this "new" one. She said the sound system is WONDERFUL and that she totally LOVES this car. Bill thought you might love it, No. 1. Thanks again, Bill!
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