Thursday Thirteen - My Favourite Sailboats

Thirteen Things about MASGBLOG This is my first Thursday Thirteen....have patience with my screw-ups. Thx! Note: Images courtesy of Yachtworld.com 1…. Bavaria 50 2….Cabo Rico 56 3….Catalina 42 4….CS 40 5….Dufour 56 6….Hallberg-Rassy 56 7….Hinckley 56 8….Hunter Passage 45 9….J/160 10….J/65 11….Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 47 12….Oyster 61 13….Tayana 58 Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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Christmas Tags (nyah another pun!)

I looked at the bottom of Skittles' post, and there was my blog name......so I have been tagged ....yet again...not Christmas tags, at least not the kind of tags that go on gifties. I wish! Guess it's nice to be thought of though, so for that I am thankful.

So for this exercise, we need to name 5 of our fave Xmas songs and then tag approximately five of your favorite Christmas tunes and tag (at least) five of your favorite blog friends.

My Favorite Christmas Songs

1. "Feed The World....Do They Know It's Christmas Time" (The big British tune)


2. "The Little Drummer Boy"


3. "Luleelula Thou Little Tiny Child" (I sang this when I was in a company choir)


4. "Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire"


5. "Rockin Around The Christmas Tree"

Now, Tag! You're next...please :-)

Calabar Gal.
Mairin Verthandi,
lattegirl,
Dirk_Star,
Terry.

....and thank you.....

Blanksheetitis

Today I have blanksheetitis. Yes, that's right, the dreaded blanksheetitis. I wanted to post something today. I even went to my little notepad where I store my ideas. I still managed to come up empty handed. I can't even write an update about the creature who lives above my head, because the pest control people have not called, and we were too busy to call them. The tchtchtchtch sound has not returned.

Well, at least, not the tchtchtchtch from above my head. There was one from inside my recycle bin though. It was in the shape of a feline Calico named CoCo, who wanted to be close by this morning, and so she decided that burrowing inside of my paper recycle bin would be a purrrrrfect idea. And so it was. Except that I didn't know that she was there, so when I started to hear the tchtchtchtch sound, I immediately thought that it was my friend from above.

Nope, still CoCo.

You can determine for yourself how content she was in this hovel.

So, Who's It Going To Be?............

For anyone following The Bachelor: Rome...........

Sadie or Jen

Speaking of Christmas Lights

Almost every year we go through the same routine. You go through it too. You know you do. We try to decide how we want to do the exterior Christmas lights. What color do we want? What style do we want? How do we want to place them? But there is always one thing guaranteed. It will be freezing bloody cold the day that we decide to hang the lights outside. Cold enough to freeze the......you get my drift (ha ha I made a funny...drift...snow...oh well).

Except this year. Nyah nyah!

We got smart and got the lights bought and sorted out and hung way early. We didn't turn them on at that time, but we got them up and ready to go. From that point on, we had our big eye on the street, watching to see who would be the first to actually turn on those suckers. We knew that other people had been out there doing the same planning and hanging, but no one else had been brave enough to actually flip the switch.

One particular house had been very busy, practically hanging themselves from the roof with the work that they had been doing. Then tonight, it happened.

They flipped on the big one.

Their house looked pretty amazing, almost just like the Christmas Lights mwave that I adore and which tales-from-the-trenches currently has on their site. Very cool.

So, with 20 something odd days til Christmas, at least our lights are done.

Now, if only we had known a month ago that it was going to be 14 degrees with no snow outside, we could have put our lights up wearing our shorts and T-shirts.

That would have been a sight.

All Over My Head

As usual, the title is a Fleetwood Mac song (another brain worm, Skittles). The reason that I am writing about this, is because there is a noise. Actually, it is a scratching noise, above my head..... in the ceiling, which means that it is in the attic.

A little background.

This morning was me time. Time to visit some blogs, add links to my site, clean up things, check up on new stuff, try to finish my book......(soooo close too). While I was doing this, I heard a rustling sound. tchtchtchtchtcht. At first I thought it was a mouse, in MY room/office, rustling around in the recycle bin or in the closet. This thought was quickly abandoned, (A) since we have two kitties who would have batted the life out out of anything rustling anywhere in the house, and (B) I identified the sound as coming from the ceiling fan.

I froze. There is no other word for it. I am a big chicken when it comes to any strange being, who is not supposed to be there, inhabiting my space. I am not a fan of spiders, or earwigs, or mice, or rats, or anything else that you'd like to add.

EEEEEK!

Now, why it is always in MY room, I don't know. The same thing happened in our previous house. I had heard a noise, except that it was more of a heavy body walking over my head. thudthudthudthud.

It turned out to be a raccoon in the attic.

So now, I am sitting here, writing my little post, while this thing scratches it's little filthy claws into my attic floor. It's probably pooping up there too. eeeeyuuuu.

*waiting for the return call from the pest people*

Headset and instructions BOTH made in China...

My Sweetie has a replacement "bluetooth" headset for his Blackberry.

It comes with detailed and entertaining instructions.

The choicest piece is as follows: "Warning: Make sure not to distort the ear hook always for a long time with large extent while adjusting the hook, otherwise may damage the Ear hook".

Do not adjust your screens - this is NOT a typo.

Another, more "circular" suggestion, goes as follows: "In order to get the best function, please put the headset and the phone on the same side of your body, as the function is always the best without any obstruction (including part of your body) between the headset and the phone".

Any questions?

Chasing Cars (The Sequel)

In an early post Chasing Cars I mentioned how I love cars, and that I have only owned three cars in my lifetime, and that My Sweetie has driven (not necessarily owned) zillions. Actually, I lied. I never owned any of the three cars, since, for whatever reason, they have always been in My Sweetie's name. I have merely had the opportunity of driving them...endlessly.

But I digress.

Back to the zillions of cars. Today, zillions became zillions plus one.
Now, I am not jealous or anything (yeah right), because this is a truck, and too big for me to ever consider driving anything like that. It's a nice truck. It feels like a truck, and rides like a truck, but it looks like a really nice truck. A big boy truck. It even has heated car seats (yay me!).........(I sense a future post coming, but I have to work on the semantics first).

Zillions. Okay, so over the past 30 years, we figured that, on average, he managed to have a different car every 2 years. Not bad I say. And, since we are still young enough to have our memory in tact, we were able to recount the cars of the past.

So here's the list:

1. Fiesta Ghia


2. VW bug


3. Impala


4. Ford Escort Author's note: these first 4 were actually owned!!


5. Eurosport


6. Chevy Corsica


7. Pontiac 6000


8. Eagle Premier


9. Intrepid (Green)


10. Intrepid (Blue)


11. Intrepid (Silver)


12. Toyota Sienna


13. VW Golf (also owned!)


14. Chrysler 300


15. Explorer Sport Trac Adrenalin

Wow. I thought that we had forgotten one there, and we probably did, but no matter. This is the tally as it currently stands. Now, next year he will probably be getting a new company vehicle, again. *sigh*

Now, I just found him in the garage, bonding with the new vehicle, reading the Owner's Manual. *sigh*

It's going to be a long year.....

You Want To Speak To Who?!?!?

It was a dark and stormy night, actually come to think of it, it wasn't dark, nor was it nighttime, but it was a bit stormy...somewhat steamy (NOT THAT KIND!).

A little background.

Many years ago, My Sweetie had the opportunity to travel somewhere warm on business. This was not something new. He would do his travel thing, and I would go shopping. Typically, it would be a quiet at-home time spent with the cats, or reading, or catching up on house things....or shopping.

So, My Sweetie had been gone maybe a half hour, and the phone rang. Wrong number. Within 15 minutes, the phone rang again. Wrong number. This was starting to happen with great regularity, and I was getting pretty freaked out at this point. Call display was something new to the world, and it came in the form of an external box that sat beside the phone (you guys remember this...don't give me that!). So I began to scroll back, and record the numbers that I had received. I had received 25 calls in one evening. Now, for some of you, this might be normal, but in our house, sometimes we have to pick up the phone to make sure it's still working! We don't get that many phone calls, so this was a large number of calls in an evening. To complicate matters further, the phone calls continued through the night, so that I had to go through the house and turn down all of the ringers, because I couldn't get any sleep.


That had been Friday night. Saturday continued in the same pattern. Many calls, all wrong numbers. I called My Sweetie and told him what was happening, and he couldn't figure it out. I called the phone company and they were totally devoid of helpful information.

Then something really creepy happened. (I hear Skittles thinking here we go again).

The phone rang (yeah so?). It was a guy who had basically said "Hi...I'd like a date." Well, that was it for me. My stomach turned flip flops and I thought that I had just received my first official obscene phone call. Trying to settle myself down, I tried to think (not the best time to try and do that, mind you).

Then, another creepy.

This time, the call was from a guy who had disguised his voice and was talking like Donald Duck! I am not kidding!!! AND, he TOO was asking for a date.

*sigh*

What to do. What to do. Me. Alone with the cats in a big house (which I never really felt safe in anyway). Another night of turning all the phones off. (there goes whatever safety net I had).

On Sunday morning, I was having breakfast, when a light bulb went off. PING! What if these jokers (all men) were trying to reach a number similar to mine. What if it was like a 1-900 number or something like that? Well, I started to look through the Adult Ad section of the newspaper (you know...escorts, massages, and stuff).

Now, you really won't believe this, BUT, there was an ad which displayed the last seven digits of our phone number, but with a 1-900 prefix.

And what, pray tell, was this number associated with?

THE FANTASY HOTEL!!!! And how do I know? Because I called to find out (although it could have very well been hooker paradise or something like that). People were calling my area code and phone number, thinking that they could get the ahem 'service' without paying the 1-900 call fee. (el cheapos).

I called My Sweetie to tell him of my find. He was ecstatic. Of course we had to change our phone number. Somewhere, I still have the clipping of that ad from the paper.

So, if you ever get a call from a guy who sounds like Donald Duck, and is asking for a date, save yourself the time and effort that I went through.

Change your number, pronto!

My Sudoku

I was having a pretty special time, and decided to add something that I love to do (besides watch my neighbours and play newspaper Bingo).

You may have noticed on my sidebar My Current Sudoku. In addition to my other passions, I also adore Sudoku puzzles. In fact, I have a 365 day calendar full of them. The sidebar is an attempt to re-create one of those puzzles. Now I am still working on the table code, and this particular table came out to be pretty basic, and in need of work (my next project).

In case you are not familiar with Sudoku (and there are numerous sites that will explain more fully than I could ever hope to), the puzzle is made up of nine big squares. Within each of these squares is nine small squares. The idea is to insert the numbers 1 through 9 in each square. Easy right? Heh! Of course there's a trick. You cannot have the same number more than once in the same row or column,

The Sudoku pictured here is a level 2 (not the easiest, but certainly not the most difficult either).

Try it....you might like it

nite!

My Blog Is Worth How Much??!?

Holy macaroni, Batman! I certainly wasn't expecting this!!!

My blog is worth $94,842.72.
How much is your blog worth?

Where Oh Where Did My Bingo Go?

Another song beats its way through my head. And this is a very old one, from my childhood (oh where oh where has my little dog gone, oh where oh where can he be.....ENOUGH!).

Where was I going with this?

My weekdays start off with a routine. Usually there is a struggle to open my eyes, followed by stumbling to the loo, scrambling for a housecoat, fiddling for the laptop lid and turning it on to really get the day going, sauntering downstairs for juice and tea, and of course creatively feeding the kitties (who have usually led me down the stairs with their own typical run ahead of mommy routine).

One of us (not the kitties) gets the newspapers (plural because we get a local paper and the big city paper). But the highlight has the be the enclosure found in the local paper.....BINGO! That's right. BINGO! I'm a closet bingo geek. Not the kind that can be found in the local bingo hall on a Friday night. No no! Just the kind of geek that likes to hunt through the paper for the daily bingo letters.


A little background.

The local newspaper runs bingo every so often. They enclose a bingo card with six games on it, and for a week, they publish bingo numbers. You can actually win money, but that's not why I play. It's really just because of the bingo.

Today was supposed to be the start of a new bingo game. I opened the paper and found the new numbers, but could not locate the new game card. Panic! How can I play with no card? What am I going to do? Stop the presses! Earth shattering, I know. I kept flipping through the paper, but could not find it.

Then, I gave it one more good shake, and out it fell. Yay! Bingo still rules!

As they say sometimes....small things amuse small minds....go figure!

Thanksgiving Theme and Blogging Chicks

Even though Canadian Thanksgiving has come and gone, I thought that, since I am , I could post something.....especially since barb at Skittles' Place
buzzed my ear as a petit reminder.

Thanksgiving is always a time when we can reflect on our lives, and give thanks. Thanks for being a part of the world. Thanks for having a loving family. Thanks for who we are.

A little thought.

"You can always get more money but you can never buy more time. Seize the opportunity when the opportunity is there, and always be thankful."

Look Through Any Window

Does anyone else remember that song by The Hollies? That was a neat song, surely to put a worm in many a mind.

With that said, a post, with thanks to one SL who recalled this as a blast from the past. I thought it might make a good post. We'll see. You be the judge.

Years ago, we lived in a house where our kitchen window was situated almost directly in front of our neighbour's kitchen window. People might say that the properties were so close, that there wasn't much privacy, blah blah blah, but we didn't mind it. In fact, it kind of kept us in touch with the world around us, because the world and its inhabitants was indeed right there beside and in front of us.

Now, from one of our upstairs bedrooms, we could also see the neighbouring kitchen window. On this particular night, we had been installing mini blinds in that window, and noticed the lady of the house standing at the kitchen sink. She had her finger in her nose. For quite a long time. And we saw it, but she didn't know that we saw.

I know what you're going to say. Bad peeping toms or so what? Everybody picks their nose (although no one is supposed to admit to it OR ever get caught doing it).

Well, there is only one thing worse than picking your nose, and that....is....eating the booger that you've picked! This is what she was doing, in a pretty repetitive fashion. Pick, eat, pick, eat, lick fingers, pick more, eat more. Gross....gross....gross.....gross.

Like if she needed some food, we had plenty! We could have brought her something nourishing, but maybe this just was soooo much better. But now imagine, if you will, the possibility that one of these little critters could have made its way into any of the food that she was preparing. Double gross!@!@!@

The funny part was that, later, when we would see her on the street, or talk to her, we would always have this lasting memory of her in her kitchen.

With her booger friend.

I do believe I hear the dinner bell ringing, but before I do, I leave you with the following....

Pick Your Nose Inconspicuously
A recent poll alleges that a majority of people admit to picking their noses in public. Although not socially accepted, nose picking can , at times, be necessary. When something in your nose needs help finding its way out, you can be ready to respond by following one of these basic stealth techniques for public nasal manicuring.

The Thumb-Finger Method (Super Advanced)<

1. Position the index finger of the opposite-side hand alongside the exterior of the obstructed channel.


2. Nonchalantly slip the thumb as deep as necessary into the nostril.


3. Using the thumbnail, delicately clamp onto the dried mucous mass.


4. Slowly withdraw the thumb and it's payload from the nostril. At this step in the process be particularly vigilant for any trailing mucous which might be attached to the payload. These un-noticed "stringers" can jeopardize the entire operation.


5. Return the hand to a more natural position and discreetly execute a flicking motion with the thumb. This should launch the material sufficiently far away from you that it becomes someone else's problem.

The Advanced Hand-Guard Method (A novice method)

1. Slightly cup the left hand and position it so that your forefinger is below your right eye and your thumb is below your left eye. The palm will be hiding the nostrils from onlookers who will be convinced that you are rubbing your cheeks as one does when trying to ease the symptoms of a headache, or of weariness, (simutaneously closing one's eyes makes the tactic even more effective).


2. In a natural, confident motion bring the right hand up and under the left hand. Use the right index finger to probe, acquire and extract the residual material. After returning the right hand to a secure location execute a flicking maneuver to eject the material.

Almost Dying In A Restaurant....Of Embarrassment

Welcome to the weekend. And to welcome the weekend, we typically go out for dinner on Friday night. Last night was no exception.

We went to a cozy little Indian restaurant situated in downtown Sleepy Hollow. Sleepy Hollow claims it to be the best Indian restaurant (but it also just might be the ONLY Indian restaurant in Sleepy Hollow).

But I digress.

It's a very casual place, not very fancy, but the food is authentic Indian cuisine, and quite comforting. We were settling in, taking in the menu and the crowd, and I had noticed a lady friend from the gym. It appeared that she recognized me, and so I waved to her, and she waved back. Casual hellos were shouted and giggled across the room (which is not very big mind you.....imagine a very large living room) and I figured that was the end of it, and we would return to our immediate company....her with her large crowd at the table and me with My Sweetie.

It was what happened next that completely blew me away.

She yelled the following out loud (and in case it was not heard, another member of her table reiterated it)....'So how come you're not with your regular partner?' I was aghast. Quite embarrassed. I looked at My Sweetie, looked at the table, looked over at their table, and proceeded to turn a thousand shades of red.

You see, I don't go anywhere without My Sweetie. We are always together, always have been, and probably always will be, so this statement about where my other partner was caught me off guard, and I was totally confused. I told My Sweetie that there is no one else, and I didn't know what they were talking about.

We proceeded to order and have dinner. Later on, my lady friend came over to say hello (in a quieter and more personal fashion), and apologize. She had made a mistake. She knew who I was, but also admitted that she thought that I was someone else that she knew......someone who looks very much like me. That other lady's husband does not look like My Sweetie.

Can you now imagine if this had happened to some other couple, perhaps a couple with an unstable relationship, or a couple who have infidelity problems, or your typical jealous beyond belief couple?

It's probably best not to even venture there.

Happy Weekend......

Chasing Cars

Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol was playing today and triggered a suitable post. It's about cars.

Now I have only owned three cars so far. The first was a Pontiac Phoenix, then a Sunbird, and now a Dodge Stratus. My Sweetie has had (not necessarily owned) a zillion cars, probably too numerous to mention, and it appears that he will be owning something different next week. I get dizzy when I think of how many different types of vehicles he has been privy to.

Now, I have always had an infatuation with cars...and motorcycles. It probably stems back to my childhood, where my Dad had a love of cars as well. He usually bought second hand cars, pre-owned jobbies, and they were all pretty neat. Then one day he had the idea that he wanted a new car, a brand spanking new car, never owned. I think it was a red Maverick that caught his fancy. I remember going to the showroom, and walking amidst the sparkle and glitter and new fandangled-ness of everything. I would peer into each car, and open the door, and wait to 'be permitted' to sit inside and dream of the one day where I would eventually get to own one of these babies. While I dreamed, my parents dealt with their own dream of the car, and the paperwork, and then the wait.

Til delivery day approached.

When the new red baby finally arrived, my Dad received a phone call from the dealer, but they didn't exactly say to come right down and pick it up. We later found out why. My Dad was too excited. He couldn't wait. He wanted to go down and see the flaming red engine. So we hopped in the jalopy to go and have a sneak peek...after hours, when the dealer was closed. We roamed around the lot until we finally found his car. It was red alright, but the windows were all smashed and the interior of the card was full of glass. We were later told that these things happen during shipment. Most people don't even know that. The dealer was aware that this had happened, hence the request for my Dad to not rush down right away. They didn't want him to see that.

*now I have to figure out how to put a music player on my site*......heh.

lyrics - chasing cars

It's Ticker Time

At my other blog, I wrote the following post Teddy Bear Ticker, about the days remaining until Christmas, 38 days as of today. This year I am in more of a Christmas spirit than I was last year.

A little background (and keep in mind recommended stress levels).

Last year, 2005, was the year from hell. My beloved Mother had become ill in late 2004, and passed away in March. There was a tumultuous amount of paperwork to be done to settle the estate. We needed to pack up and clean out her apartment, and get things in order.

In April, we decided to put our house on the market, and move further out of town. The real estate market was pretty good, and we did well. So we packed everything up and moved at the end of May.

A week after we moved in, My Sweetie had a scope on his knee, which was meant purely to clean things up, but his knee had presented other problems, so they booked him for surgery and sent him home.....to worry.

At the end of June, My Sweetie lost his job, and the company car. At the same time, my work was going through some trying times, so we were both on a roller coaster ride going somewhere unknown.

In July, we took some vacation time on the boat, but the time was pretty screwed up due to pre-op physio appointments.

In August, My Sweetie had knee surgery, and ended up with 18 staples and a post-op
infection resulting in nurses coming to see him for a week to change his dressing and administer IV drugs.

Come September, My Sweetie had enrolled in a 1-year program at the nearby College, designed for people with degrees. So, for the first day of school, he hobbled on his crutches (getting himself to school in his beater car).

The things started to look up. My Sweetie had settled into school, and was doing quite well, when a blast from his past contacted him with a job opportunity. We had to think about a few things of course.....continue with school or take the job. He made the right choice in taking the job, and has never looked back in regret. My work situation also improved significantly.

We had been pretty much on-the-go with everything that happened, and by all counts both of us should have been hanging from a bridge with a noose around our necks! It was very hard to be around the so-called Christmas spirit in all of the retail establishments. I had no interest in doing cards (and I only sent to people who managed to find us). We didn't even put a tree up.

With that, we had decided early on that we would put Christmas on hold for once, and runaway...to Mexico...which was absolutely amazing. Maybe it appeared heartless, and uncaring, and maybe it was, but we needed that time to heal, and give our heads a much needed rest.

Last night, I bought my first Christmas present. Things continue to look up.

My Definitive Authors

When I first started up this blog, My Profile information was one of those things that I knew I should get to, but didn't really put much thought. Since that time, I have posted over 100 posts Today Is My 100th Post, and things seem to be clearer with each post. So, I must revisit My Profile. I also paid a visit to my bookcase. So what you say?

A little background.

The basement contains a bookcase, made out of tin. It's not very pretty, kind of beat up, cheap looking. But it belonged to my parents, and it was in better shape when they had it (we've moved so any times...no wonder it's pretty shagged). So, said bookcase has a special place in the basement laundry room. I know. Not the most exciting place for a bookcase, but that space is really a catch-all spot for photo albums, extraneous folder keeps, boat paraphernalia, and of course the washer, dryer, folding table, furnace etc etc etc. The cozey part of the basement is very very near, so if we really wanted to, we could grab a book and curl up in a comfy chair and disappear for awhile.

Now, where was I going with this. Oh yeah! The bookcase. One of my happy traits is organization. I am an organization nut. If I ever had to start another career it would be as an organizational consultant, or whatever they call those people. If you ever watch HGTV, there are two programs called Neat and Mission: Organization. I could watch these programs for hours. In fact My Beloved PVR gets a huge workout through recording these shows.

Back to the bookcase.

So, I looked at the poor bookcase, and was trying to figure out what books I had and what was missing. The books were neat, but displayed in no paticular pattern, and so I spent some time organizing them by author. It turns out that I do indeed have a collection (remember this post??? I'm A Collector by a few cherished authors:

• Lilliam Jackson Braun


• Agatha Christie


• Robertson Davies


• Robert Fulghum


• Stephen King


• Sophie Kinsella


• Dean Koontz


• Anne Rice


• Lauren Weisberger

Now, I know that I have read many of these books, but I am also unsure of the ones that I have not read. And those I have not read, I will read, and those I have read, perhaps I will re-read, but those I am unsure of reading, I may re-read, and try to remember which ones I have read and which ones I haven't.

Or maybe it's time to re-read all of them.

*this reminds me of something that I want to post...later*

Scrambled Brain

*WARNING - THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL POST NOR A RANT*

So my brain is scrambled today, but obviously not as foggy as the brains of some folks who get their 5 minutes of TV fame.

A short while ago, I wrote something called Tired Terms. This new post is similar to that....but not quite.

Some background.

I have been following the World news about environmental greenhouse gases, and Kyoto, and listening to the various experts comment on the state of the world, and the state of Canada within that world. It's pretty interesting stuff, and I seem to learn something new all the time. Today was no exception, with a certain individual discussing the situation, using very long sentences with almost unpronounceable words (and, at times, losing me in the process). However, amidst the intelligence, the long sentences and the eloquence of the words came the following.....

"This is an intregal part....blah blah blah....."

INTREGAL?!@? What the heck is INTREGAL? There is no such word! Now, there is integral, as in "This is an integral part....." BUT NOT INTREGAL!!!

Now to be fair, I have to thank the person who used this word, because without that, there would be no post today. But, also, as things would have it, this jettisoned a slew of other baddies.

NUCULAR as opposed to NUCLEAR (we've all heard that one to be sure).
ORIENTATED as opposed to ORIENTED (a common baddy).
EXSCAPED as opposed to ESCAPED (this one, however, curls my toes).
LUCKED OUT as opposed to LUCKED IN (people are always confusing these 2, using Lucked Out when they got lucky and Lucked In when they actually lost out on something).

Maybe I am too picky. Maybe I am fussy about language. But geez, louise, get it right!

So with that, I leave you with this. I am going to exscape from my drab daily life, and get orientated into a nucular society, where speaking well is an intregal part of everyday happenings, and I may even luck out and win a million bucks in the process.

The Cousin Get-Together

Yesterday was the the 2nd Cousin Get-Together. The day was rainy and messy and cold, but the warmth from the get-together overshadowed that. This special day had been in the planning stages for a few weeks, and now sadly it is over, and it went way too quickly. Today, I feel sad that it is over, and am going through withdrawal......

A little history.

We are some of the cousins on my Dad's side of the family, who are within travelling distance to visit each other. As children, my fondest memory is of course Christmas, where the tradition was to visit each of these cousins at Christmas time. We have all grown up, and we all have busy lives. We work, we do stuff, and so we carry on with life. We try to keep in contact via email and web cam, and some visiting.

Last summer, 3 of the cousins and their spouses came to Sleepy Hollow for a small gathering of the clan you could say. We had just moved here about a month prior, and we weren't entirely settled, but it didn't matter. The visit was nice and comfortable, and I think we all had a nice time.

This year was extra special, because our cousin who lives in BC planned to come east for a visit. For myself, I think it must have been about 40 years since I last saw her with the exception of our web cam nights of course). Hence this year's gathering of the clan. Five cousins and spouses congregated at a central location, about a 3 hour drive for everyone, from different parts of the province.

Once we got there, it was instant connection.....lots of huggies and smoochies and some tears. We had lunch, then got down to business, family business.

We were in a corner of a cozy restaurant, and this corner had a corner table set up where one of my cousins set up his laptop and scanner. We brought family photo albums, along with blank CDs and flash sticks. We looked impressive, I must say. So much technology, so little time.

Four hours went by so quickly. But I think we all left with a sense of comfort, and belonging, and family, and some new memories to add to our collection. Now I am looking forward to our next visit.

Time To Remember

England, 1943

What a handsome bunch. This photo is special because it is of My Dad (bottom left), and of his Brother (standing behind him). My Dad and My Uncle both served their time in World War II, and were fortunate to come home and spend the remainder of their lives with their families. For me, this is a priceless picture, and I wanted to post it today, Remembrance Day.

A very simple picture with a very simple message.....
Please take time out to Remember at the 11th hour of today, the 11th day, of the 11th month..

Thank you to you-know-who for the photo. You know that I will always cherish this.

Today Is My 100th Post

On June 20th of this year, I wrote my first post. It was called The First Time and was really a scrambled post, with not much content. But I knew that I wanted to do something with it. I didn't really know what I would do, or what I would write, or how it would be received. I was certainly shy, and cautious, and, quite frankly, a little scared.

But 100 posts later, things have changed. I have changed, and I have never looked back with any sort of regret. I think that I have blogged almost every day. Through blogging, I've met some really fine people, and reconnected with some familiar faces (although I really didn't expect them to show up here, but am glad they did). Heck, I'm even a Blogging Chick! This blog thing has a hold on me, one that is not easy to shake, and that's all goodness.

Some days seem challenging to find something to write about, while other days provide a fountain of ideas. Wherever they come from, they are all real. Visiting blog land allows me to leave my baggage at the door, and when the visit ends, that baggage is forgotten.

So cheers to post number 100, and to number 101 plus.....and to my fellow bloggers who stop by.

It's About Time is about me, and my time on this earth, and time flies as they say.

It's about time. Really! It IS about time. Time to start a blog. Time to do housework, or homework, or just plain work. Time to......whatever. It's about time.

CHELSEA and I

Remaining Upright

With nothing planned for a blog topic tonight, I fretted that today would be postless. Oh sure, I had worked on my 'other' blog WeightLessInBarrie, a topic which is near and dear to my being, but is really a separate entity to the blog which you are currently viewing (if, in fact, there really IS someone viewing this. Then I went for my scheduled Personal Training session, the purpose of which is to improve my posture, strengthen my core, and ensure that I remain in an upright position well into my golden years. The subsequent BodyAttack class, which is high intensity insanity, is a mind and body blowout, and right now my body is screaming for a soothing massage and bubble bath (mmmm bubbles). Screaming, at this particular time, is probably a mild word. I actually feel as though someone else is inhabiting my body right now, and pulling my joints in a variety of directions. That bubble bath is starting to sound very good.

So it would seem that I found something to blog about. Tomorrow I already know what I am going to write. It's already in the cards. It's special, and it will be a surprise, maybe even to me!

Now I need to go and see who will get booted off America's Next Top Model (gosh I hope it's Melrose....argh).

In the meantime, I leave you with this little clip, which a kind and thoughtful blogger provided for me to enjoy whenever I want, since I absolutely adore this young fella.....and so I bring you .....Mr. Taylor Hicks. Enjoy chickies (I sure will)......

My Sweetie's One Year Anniversary

It's been one year since My Sweetie left his temporary school placement, and returned to the wonderful working world.

His being out of work greatly affected both of us, and his return to work was one of the more positive things that happened during a very challenged year.

Congratulations Sweetie! Take the day off (um maybe not!).

I'm Going To Be A Blogging Chick!

Cute graphic eh? It's what Blogging Chicks is all about. Blogging Chicks is a non-denominational group, comprised of women who blog. That would be me (and countless others).

My sidebar has been updated with the Blogging Chicks link (which displays the blog roll of all registered Blogging Chicks). If you are interested in joining, or just plain interested, click on the image to go to the web page.

Pleased To Meet You, Hope You Guess My Name

....Except that I don't have one...a name that is...at least not yet.

My owner found me yesterday in a very popular store. I was sitting on the shelf, minding my own business, keeping an eye on the comings and goings of shoppers. I was singled out (probably because I was so darn cute), purchased, and taken home to meet the gang. This portrait was taken while I was perched on the piano. Not a bad shot eh? I think that I am supposed to be the Christmas Welcome Mascot.

Hopefully I'll have a name soon.

Any and all suggestions are welcomed.

It's Meme Time

Mike, from Mike's Place, tagged me. Here is what you have to do (I'm a pro now):

1. Grab the nearest book. If you are currently reading something, that'll be fine too.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 4 sentences on your Blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag 5 people

The Taking by Dean Koontz
Indeed, when Molly considered the swiftness with which the usual order seemed to have given way to chaos, a jittering terror crawled the darker hallways of her mind. Could human civilization crumble significantly, worldwide, in a matter of hours, in but a quarter of a day, as suddenly as the planet itself might convulse if struck by an asteroid the size of Texas? If their as yet unseen adversary, come down from the stars, could topple centuries-old kingdoms and overturn all of history so swiftly, without meaningful resistance, then surely it was easy to foresee - and impossible to prevent - the eradication of every human life, in every low habitation and high redoubt on Earth, in just twenty-four hours,.

If the technology of a greatly advanced extraterrestrial race would seem like purest magic to any civilization a thousand years its inferior, then the masters of that technology would be as gods - but perhaps gods with enigmatic desires and strange needs, gods without compassion, without mercy, offering no redemption, no viaticum, and utterly unresponsive to prayer.

ME => Holy cow that last sentence was a doozy!!!!! Man!

To the following 5 bloggers.....TAG....you're it! (Happy Birthday, muffin!!):
Calabar Gal.
Mairin Verthandi,
Miss Daday,
muffin53,
Terry.

An Alarming Situation

Things have been pretty quiet around here lately, since the Creepy Person (sorry barb) visited. Except for the other night.

It was a cold and windy day here in Sleepy Hollow. We both had a busy day at work, and bedtime was near. We were just about to crawl into bed, when our house alarm went off. That deafening, ear splitting sound that is sure to leave your ears ringing for some time later.

So much to describe at that particular moment. First, we were stunned, and imagined that there were people in our home who were not supposed to be there (and that is a sickening feeling). Then, after we looked at each other confusedly, and terrified out of our little skulls, My Sweetie called the police. I don't recall exactly what he said to them, it is now a blur, but I do remember that our adrenaline levels had skyrocketed at that point, and I was shaking, and thought that I was going to be sick.

We looked over the upstairs railing to see if we could see or hear anything. Nothing. We made our way down the stairs, so that we could get to the alarm box, and see what code was displayed. Then, we had to find the book that had the code information (Note to self: must remember to put that information on the box itself). The code indicated that it was the back sliding door. We could see that door from where we stood. Nothing was amiss. We walked over to the door and inspected. Nothing wrong. Then My Sweetie asked me to go downstairs to check on things. NO WAY!!!! Talk about spooky.

So we spent some time talking to the alarm people, and the police people, and the service people for the alarm, who are going to come and inspect things, since it is likely that the wind caused the alarm to go off (sensitive little bugger).

Satisfied that all was under control, we went back upstairs to go to bed, but our hearts were still thumping, we were still shaking, and our ears were still ringing.

Bonne Fête A Ma Petite Cousine

I think that might be as far as my French might take me. Je pense que c'est la fin du chemin pour moi et le français pour le moment.

Happy Birthday, P! You who are 4 years my junior. I remember us as young children, when our families used to spend every Christmas together.

Remember the trip to PEI? That was so much fun, and brings back nice memories for me.

I have an old picture somewhere of us having a pillow fight at our house.

Wow, the years go by so fast, and we are getting older. But I hope that we are getting better too!

Bonne fete, ma petite!

Happy Birthday!

Here is a little quiz thingy that I found for your birthday:

Your Birthdate: November 2

You're so intuitive, it's like you have a sixth, seventh, and eighth sense. You connect with others freely and easily - and you tend to have many best friends. Warm and caring, it's hard for you to close your heart to anyone. Affection is like air for you - you need to give and receive it to survive. Your strength: Your universal compassion Your weakness: Your unpredictable mood swings Your power color: Mauve Your power symbol: Butterfly Your power month: February

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

I Am 27 Years Old

This is what it says that I am.....am I? Whatever...I'm loving it!

You Are 27 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

The Creepy Person => Short Update

Well, I was hoping that the Creepy Person would have disappeared once Halloween was over, but it appears not. Meetings kept me pretty busy this morning, when I heard the home phone ringing. Later, I had a chance to check and see who had called. It was The Creepy Person. No message was left. He probably likes the personal approach when he does follow-ups. No talky to machine.

Guess what buddy....no follow-up here....and he better not show up at the door!

Yucko!