Such Is Life

holiday greetings

2009-12-22T13:24:03Z

To all my friends on LJ:
I wish you a loving holiday season, full of the good things you've hoped for as well as the good things you need. The fashion today seems to be to list all the timely winter holidays the world has celebrated the past few aeons and that could take pages; instead, I'll just say "Happy Holidays followed by a successful new year."

Just checking in

2009-11-20T15:08:59Z

I've not had much to say lately; so I've not written. However, I do check in daily to read what you all write and occasionally to comment.

I am well and busy, enjoying autumn and looking forward to winter. Life is quieter since I've stopped trying to forecast and control my future which never quite panned out as I planned anyways. :D It's only taken 60+ years to learn that, (long sigh), but I'm thankful I did.

There are many things for which to be thankful and my wish for you this thanksgiving is that you recognize those things in your life that have brought positivity to you this past year and that they increase a thousandfold over the next year.

May this be the beginning of a year better than the one just past, before but only a precursor of good times ahead.

thanks to belgatherialWELL,MORETHAN

2009-08-12T21:07:49Z

Apparently, The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?

Instructions: Look at the list and put an X after those you have read. Tag other book nerds.

I am not tagging anyone. Do it if you wish.
I am marking the ones I have read (X) and also am currently(C) reading.

Here we go.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (X )
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (X )
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (X)
4 Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling (X)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (X)
6 The Bible (X)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (X)
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (X)
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman ()
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (X)

Total so far: 9/10.

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (X)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy (X)
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller (X)
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare ( ) most of his plays, not all of the poems)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier (X)
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (X)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk ( )
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (X)
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger ( )
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot (X)

Total so far: 16/20

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (X)
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (X)
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens (X)
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (X)
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (X)
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (X)
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (X)
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (X)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame (X)

Total so far: 26/30

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (X)
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens (X)
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (X)
34 Emma - Jane Austen (X)
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (X)
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (X)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini ( )
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres (X)
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden ( )
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (X)

Total so far: 34/40

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell (X)
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (X)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (X)
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving (X)
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins (X)
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (X)
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy X)
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood (X)
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding (X)
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan ( )

Total so far: 43/50

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel (X)
52 Dune - Frank Herbert X)
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons ( )
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (X)
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth ( )
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon ( )
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (X)
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (X)
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - Mark Haddon (X)
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (X)

Total so far: 50/60

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (X)
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov (X)
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt ( )
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (X)
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (X)
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac (X)
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy (X)
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding (X)
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie ()
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville (X)

Total so far: 58/70

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens (X)
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker (X)
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (X)
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson ( )
75 Ulysses - James Joyce (X)
76 The Inferno – Dante Alighieri (X)
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome ( )
78 Germinal - Emile Zola ( )
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (X)
80 Possession - AS Byatt ( )

Total so far: 64/80

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (X)
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell ( )
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker (X)
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro (X)
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (X)
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry ( )
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White (X)
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom ()
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (X)
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton ( )

Total so far: 70/90

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad (X)
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (X)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks ( )
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams (X)
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (X)
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute (X)
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (X)
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (X)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (X)
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (X)

Total 79/100

Well, this is more than 6, but not as many as I'd hoped it would turn out! Remember: I'm a sextagenerian! (oooooh, I've been waiting for a chance to use that term :D

Busy Summertime

2009-07-06T00:48:14Z

Laconia NH, if not all of New England, had 48 days of rain the past month. But, somehow, the annual Motorcycle Week went on as scheduled (third week of June) with very few events cancelled. Surprising how many attended, coming from all over the country, given the poor weather. I'm told this weather is practically a tradition after several years in a row of it.

The end of Bike Week (rain all that week seems to be a tradition) was the start of my timeshare week in Western MA. Daughter-in-law, (ellyssian is my son), 11.5 old grand-daughter, R, and nearly 5 year old Mr. B were with me for the week. It rained every day, with a few hours sun in the mornings which allowed pool fun.

By the time the week ended, we'd visited the Norman Rockwell Museum with its very good kid's activity room as well as most if not all his work, played miniature golf in the rain, swam as often as we could, watched a few movies at the resort's theater, won some prizes in the arcade games room and played our version of charades. D and Mr. B left Thursday; R. and I waited till Friday to leave, going first to my younger sister's house, a few hours away, for an overnight, returning to NH Sat. morn.

Mon. R & I prepared a 37th birthday lunch for my younger son -- with his favorite birthday cake. Once upon a time, I used to make train cakes, truck cakes, tiger and bear cakes and for his 10th b'day, a "make peace not war" cake by request, but now he got a traditional store bought... oh well - I doubt I could have made a Harley Davison bike anyways. Dan works 3rd shift, so lunchtime is dinner time. R offered to make garlic mashed potatoes to go with the ham steaks and sweet corn. She did an excellent job, from peeling to cutting to browning the fresh garlic like a pro.

Tues., was a 125 mile trip to Boston for my eye exam appt. early that afternoon. Because driving 's not a good idea after eye dilations so we stayed over. Dinner, at nearby Whole Foods Market, (huge emporium of environmentally safe-raised foods and other products of all sorts and a wonderful cafeteria with a seemingly endless selection of near everything) and R chose tuna salad "NOT,"she said, "on bread!"; I opted for a marvelous brisket roasted in a peach sauce... who knew brisket could be so scrumptious? The inn is near Government Center and the Beacon Hill neighborhood where I had my first apt, (or, hovel, as my Dad called it and wouldn't bring my Mom to see it), a small studio on the "wrong" side of the Hill and as full of students and ancients now as in 1964 -- the"right" side (read: wealthy) of the Hill starts at the top and down to Boston Common and Public Garden. We decided to walk up it to see my old building. I'd forgotten how steep and long the that Hill is, but finally we made it to the correct cross street only to learn I couldn't be sure which old brick building it was! They all looked alike and been modernized.

At the bottom of the Hill's neutral western side is Charles Street, an historic street filled with many genuine antique stores. Sadly, the shop where my husband bought our beautiful, sharp mother-of pearl handled French steak knives now close to 150 years old, is gone replaced by a real estate office. We walked down one side and up the other, finally finding a shop with a book for R. I recalled there used to be several books shops, but, alas, not any more.

All this while, it was getting very foggy and chilly. after eating, we were happy to return to the 8th floor room and check on the fog's development through the window. Within a few hours we could no longer see the tops of tall next-door Mass General Hospital buildings, nor the laser-warning-to-airplanes-light atop a crane atop another building. Thankfully, it lifted overnight, so our return drive was fine if wet.

ellyssian and 17yr old J were driving up Thurs, so we planned a menu and went to the market ... later we read and watched one of R's dvds, "Totoro" which was pretty good. Besides raining, it was still chilly as well and we didn't do much more than read. R was happy to also have uninterrupted computer time. We were happy even though not doing much' of course, we chattered a lot! The guys arrived late, after a long drive due to a big traffic delay in CT.

Friday we lazed a bit, going to a fish and chip spot for lunch then, after trying out for NH's Stone Henge type attraction -- but traffic proved too heavy (Laconia is a vacation destination), instead we decided to go to -- want to guess? -- a bookstore, one of my favorites in Meredith, a town 12-15 miles away. The last time I was there, a few authors were around, signing books, but today was just ordinary... Later, R helped me prepare my version of noodles Alfredo-- she is pretty adept in the kitchen, a grand sous-chef and so dinner was delicious.

Sat., younger son and his lady friend came over for an indoor 4th of July BBQ (no outdoor grills at the condo). It was excellent. The night before, ellyssian told me how to prepare the rump roast for long slow cooking. Arrrgh-- I'd have to get up real early to get it going, but okay, I'd do it. So come 6:31a.m. (gotta love these digital clocks: no more "about" "almost " or "close to" hours!), I got up, groggily opened the fridge and NO RUMP ROAST! Surprised, I found it, all cubed and simmering away in the large crockpot. I went back to bed thankful ellyssian had gotten up earlier and got it cooking. Need I tell you it was delicious, fork tender and just perfect? Everything ellyssian cooks (unless it's too spicy hot for me) is soooo good.

Speaking of "too spicy hot for me," R & I went to market at the time share too. There, above the sweet red peppers, were small scrunched up orange peppers, the likes of which I'd never seen before; deciding to taste one (I'd read of small sweet orange peppers a short while before), I bit into it just as R said, "NO!" Too late. OMG, I thought I'd burn my head off -- I do not like this, no siree! R says, "It's a habenero pepper; I told you not to" and moves away giggling as I grab some grapes which help as long as they're in my mouth, but no good at all if swallowed. I ate about a 1/2 pound of them to little effect. I grabbed some nearby peapods. They worked! 2 handfuls later, I was near normal. There has been one aftereffect due to last awhile: I've another entry in the family stupid doings history -- on all sides; you know how fast those stories travel! Thankfully, ellyssian's BBQ beef was not hot (except for temperature) and perfect with rice pilaf and salad.

Later R and I walked the 2 blocks to town hall for the band concert followed by fireworks off the top of the town parking garage. We wanted to be where the crowd was; the others stayed preferred the condo parking lot (as I said, only 2 blocks from the official site) to watch in comfort. The usual spot is several blocks away at Lake Opechee Park, but ongoing construction there made the area unsafe for a large group. The fireworks set off at 9:30, after a local band's rock concert (excellent). We were back inside in time to watch the televised Boston Pops display at 10:30.

Sadly for me, this morning, ellyssian and his family began their trek southward and home to PA, the trail of which went from NH's White Mtn foothills through VT's Green Mtn Forest and MA's uncolorful Berkshire Mtns and CT's non-mountains before reaching their very own Pocono Mtns.  It was so quiet, too quiet and all the tasks got done too quickly. They called about 6:30 pm, to tell me they were safely home. I'll see them again come the fall.

Happy summertime to all.

patrixa's definition of AWESOME is:

2009-06-16T17:18:16Z

My Grandchildren.

My 3 grandchildren never cease to amaze me with their achievements and, just as important, their dispositions... their sunny smiles... their sense of humor... their love of music... their enquiring minds... their loving and kind ways... well, I could go on and on, as I'm sure you can tell.

Although I don't usually brag about them, today I must, just a little, brag about the eldest of them. Today I learned the eldest ended his high school junior year which included some college classes at a nearby community college. So here it is: he made the college dean's list.

I am so pleased and proud, grinning from ear to ear, joyful, happy, and so glad I'm his grandma!

from Opakele

2009-06-14T13:44:21Z

1. You can ONLY answer 'Yes' or 'No'.

2. You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages or comments you and asks—and, believe me, the temptation to explain some of these will be overwhelming. Nothing is exactly as it seems.

Kissed any one of your LiveJournal friends? — yes

Been arrested? — no

Kissed someone you didn't like? — yes

Slept in until 5 PM? — yes

Fallen asleep at work/school? — no

Held a snake? — yes

Ran a red light? — yes

Been suspended from school? — no

Experienced love at first sight? — yes

Totaled your car in an accident? — no

Been fired from a job? — no

Fired somebody? — yes

Sung karaoke? — no

Pointed a gun at someone? — no

Did something you told yourself you wouldn't? — yes

Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? — yes

Caught a snowflake on your tongue? — yes

Kissed in the rain? — yes

Had a close brush with death (your own)? — yes

Saw someone die? — yes

Played Spin-the-Bottle? — yes

Smoked a cigar? — no

Sat on a rooftop? — yes

Smuggled something into another country? — no

Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? — yes

Broken a bone? — yes

Skipped school? — yes

Eaten a bug? — yes

Sleepwalked? — no

Walked on a moonlit beach? — yes

Ridden a motorcycle? — yes

Dumped someone? — yes

Forgotten your anniversary? — yes

Lied to avoid a ticket? — no

Ridden in a helicopter? — no

Shaved your head? — no

Blacked out from drinking? — yes

Played a prank on someone? — yes

Hit a home run? — no

Felt like killing someone? — yes

Cross-dressed? — no

Been falling-down drunk? — no

Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? — yes

Eaten snake? — no

Marched/Protested? — yes

Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? — yes

Puked on an amusement ride? — no

Seriously & intentionally boycotted something? — yes

Been in a band? — no

Knitted? — no

Been on TV? — yes

Shot a gun? — no

Skinny-dipped? — no

Given someone stitches? — no

Eaten a whole habenero pepper? — no

Ridden a surfboard? — no

Drunk straight from a liquor bottle? — yes

Had surgery? — yes

Streaked? — no

Been taken by ambulance to a hospital? — yes

Tripped on mushrooms? — no

Passed out when NOT drinking? — no

Peed on a bush? — no

Donated Blood? — yes

Grabbed electric fence? — no

Eaten alligator meat? -- no

Eaten cheesecake? — yes

Killed an animal when not hunting? — no

Peed your pants in public? — yes

Snuck into a movie without paying? -- no

Written graffiti? — no

Still love someone you shouldn't? — yes

Think about the future? — yes

Been in handcuffs? — no

Believe in love? — yes

Sleep on a certain side of the bed? — yes

Thanks to Salegamine

2009-06-11T21:29:45Z

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you lovable - even if you don't love them!

You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you

You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil

How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Another Anomaly?

2009-05-01T13:16:02Z

This also happened Thursday -- in the medical building's parking garage.

On entering the parking garage, I stopped to grab the time-ticket on which charges are based. Since I was not quite close enough to the machine, I put the car in park so I could open the door to get the card. Got it, put gear in Drive and took my foot off the brake: didn't move and all dash symbols lit up. Repeated the process -- 2 more times. Cars are lining up and beeping -- arrgggghhh -- as my family would tell you: for me, not a strange happening at all -- I rolled down the window, stuck my head out, and hollered, "Does anybody understand dashboard? Help, please." In the meantime, the line behind me was growing. After 2 more hollers out, a young gentleman sauntered over, looked inside and, laughing gently, turned off the cruise control.At least no guffaws, a more common result. Problem #1 solved.

Now to find a parking slot in a large garage that's always near full. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes to find a space. But not today; today I got one in about 2 minutes, but it was marked for compact cars. However, I wasn't sure my car was one (we'd had full-size or vans for the last 15 years). However, an elderly gentleman assured me my Accord IS a compact and so I parked there and put the ticket in my purse as I exited the car. Well, I thought I'd put it in my purse.

2.5 hours later, as I left the building, I searched my bag for the ticket. Not there. Not in my pants' pockets. Not in the car nor on the floor next to the car. Nowhere to be found. Crap! It would cost me a full day's fee. $22.00 for 2.5 hours was bad enough; twice that + $6.00 more? Beyond bad. When I reached the attendant, I explained that I'd arrived at 12:30 plus/minus a few minutes, parked in space #98 and found I'd lost the ticket. She asked again when did I arrive, then said someone dropped off a ticket they'd found near that space stamped 12:34. Must be mine! Problem #2 solved.

What are the odds, given the amount of time and the amount of garage traffic at a very large medical building, that the ticket would not only be found but also left with the attendant?

Anomalies, again

2009-05-01T02:38:46Z

Last October during a routine eye exam, a freckle was found in the middle of my left eye. Photos were taken and a 6 month follow-up was done today at the ophtalmologist's office in Boston, a 100 mile two hour drive, each way, from Laconia. I've kept with the Boston doctor because she did the cataract surgeries in 2005. October '08 would have been my last trip south for eye exams, except she found a freckle in my left eye. This kind of freckle needs measuring every 6 months to watch for changes. An eye freckle is noticeable only when the eye has been dilated and looked at via eye exam machines, so, even with a 5x magnifying mirror, I cannot spy it.

Now, as my family knows, I have a strange medical history: when a doctor finds something, it seldom follows expectable behavior, other doctors come to look and discuss, often puzzled as to what and why I "present" such a strange whatever. These "whatevers" have occurred from tip to toe and generally are not serious, just annoying. Well, except for when my heart stopped for no known reason in '93 and I needed a pacemaker, or the baby sized left eustachian tube necessitating 3 mastoid surgeries between '65 and '72... then there was -- well enough other stuff to show a pattern of anomalies -- like this eye business.

This freckle should either have stayed as it was or had a shape and/or size change. Instead, a second one appeared on the left eye and a single one, on the other eye. I guess this was not expected as two other doctors came for a look, several more photos were taken and an appointment made with a retinal specialist for the end of June. Best case scenario: freckle check every 4-6 months. Worst case: freckle turns into melanoma into cancer and treatments.

IF my pattern of strange stuff stays true to form, I'll be driving 2 hours each way every 6 months simply for more eyeball measuring photos. Which, if you've never seen any, are very strange, resembling an orange-y planet with strange appurtenances, shadows and red rivers. I always ask for a copy -- and a report. For now, driving that distance for eye care isn't a problem; even though traffic is very heavy, the way is well known. But at some point it may prove too arduous and I will want a doctor close by who will need the information. It's easier to get records as they accumulate than to try to get them at a later date.

Ah, well. I wonder, once this situation gets under control, what will happen next! To quote SNL's Roseanne Rosannadanna*, "... there's always somethin'..."

*aka Gilda Radner

from ellyssian: What Slanguage Do You Speak?

2009-03-18T17:05:51Z

You Speak New England Slang

New England Slang: 100%

Aussie Slang: 50%

Canadian Slang: 50%

Victorian Slang: 50%

British Slang: 25%

Prison Slang: 25%

What Slanguage Do You Speak?

from Opakele: What's Your Celtic Animal?

2009-03-18T11:37:29Z

This, while not mystical like, say a unicorn as I'd have liked to imagine, is spot on. And you know how geese are noisy, err-- loquacious? even though not mentioned below? Well...

Your Animal is the Goose

You are are a resourceful person who needs a lot of stability in life.
You rather save for a rainy day, even if it means on missing out on fun impulses.

When you feel secure, you are incredibly creative and artistic. You are also very witty.
You like to invest in yourself and for the future. You like to always be learning and gaining skills.

What's Your Celtic Animal?

once again, thanks to Saminz

2009-03-17T20:55:14Z

Feeling: fine and dandy

Wearing: Dark purple slacks, olive striped cream jersey, peridot flower eardrops and, as always, LIPSTICK (the world will self-destruct if I forget to put it on -- ask my kids!)

Wishing: That greedy people everywhere have positive changes of heart...

Thinking: I should probably get the paperwork ready for tomorrow's committee meeting

Wondering: If the snow will ever melt away without leaving nasty street-sand underfoot

Ranting About: -- AIG and (shudder) bonuses (boni?)

Fangirling Over: ellyssian's book "Cautionary Tales Warts and All"

Raving About: ellyssian's book "Cautionary Tales Warts and All"

Thankful For: My friends list still being around - and posting great links!

Planning: Condo Transition Commitee Meeting

Looking Forward To: Springtime, Easter and my GRANDKIDS! YAAAY!!!

Dreading: My next weigh-in

Wanting: To magically mysteriously regain (ooh, bad word, sorry) my weight loss if, that is, one can regain a loss

Hoping: That my sons find their rainbows and pots of gold

From Saminz... thanks!

2009-03-15T22:35:56Z

You Are An INFJ

The Protector

You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity.
Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is.
You are an excellent listener with almost infinite patience.
You have complex feelings, and you take great care to express them.

In love, you see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow.
You enjoy relationships when they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation.

At work, you stay motivated and happy... as long as you are working toward a dream you support.
You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable

What's Your Personality Type?

Have you seen

2009-03-06T21:49:37Z

"Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog?"

Well, you just might want to... it's an experience -- a horribly funny show

Just go to: http://drhorrible.com/mushortio.html or www.drhorrible.com

Joss Whedon directed; Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day and Nathan Fillion star. Several other Whedons take part.

I learned of it on "The View" where a clip was shown.

I think it's a hulu production.

explain, please

2009-03-03T22:50:59Z

Why, when I attempt to click on the words "post" or "friends page" etc., does this silly unwanted white box* come popping out at me, doesn't want to disappear and gives several choices akin to and including what I was after which I would need to click on again in order to get. I simply want what I've clicked on; if I wanted any of the other choices, I'd find them on my own.

* sometimes it says "snap", sometimes it shows a miniature page with several topics; they do not want to disappear and are very annoying.

Thanks to trooper557

2009-02-15T16:38:38Z

Sadly, I didn't get the little bit copied that explains how to get to the meme site. I thought I copied it all, yet... and this is not the first time it happened. Some things just confuse me and, sort of like right and left directions. Sorry. I worked on it for nearly 30 minutes and that's time enough. The meme is from: "blogthings" and also given was "RSS Feed".
Some day this stuff will come easy but it takes me so long that I become frustrated and... Sigh and bigger SIGH.

What Metal Are You?

You Are Gold

You are almost universally admired. People strive to be like you.
You are also highly valued. Your friendship, approval, and advice are all considered priceless.

You live an inspiring, fortunate life. Not many people are as lucky as you are.
But you haven't gotten to where you are on luck alone. You are incredibly competitive and ambitious.

thanks to trooper57

2009-02-15T16:28:32Z

<table width=350 align=center border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2><tr><td bgcolor="#EEEEEE" align=center> <font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif" style='color:black; font-size: 14pt;'> <strong>You Are Gold</strong> </font></td></tr> <tr><td bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <center><img src="http://www.blogthingsimages.com/whatmetalareyouquiz/gold.jpg" height="100" width="100"></center> <font color="#000000"> You are almost universally admired. People strive to be like you.<br /> You are also highly valued. Your friendship, approval, and advice are all considered priceless.<br /> <br /> You live an inspiring, fortunate life. Not many people are as lucky as you are.<br /> But you haven't gotten to where you are on luck alone. You are incredibly competitive and ambitious. </font></td></tr></table> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.blogthings.com/whatmetalareyouquiz/">What Metal Are You?</a></div>

Why I've been away from LJ

2009-01-29T00:26:24Z

My two sisters and I are now all widows. My Paul, age 63, died 3 years ago, 26.01.2006; Connie's Bob,age 77, died 22.07.2007 and finally, Susan's Richard, age 65, died 23.01.2009.

Paul's cancer became known Nov., 2005. Bob had a bad fall several years earlier accelerating Alzheimer's. Richard's ordeal began last November after 2 years of various health problems cumulatively causing the final one.

Knowing how ill R was and how hard it was for S to drive the 56 highway miles to the hospital (where he'd been transferred 2 weeks previously), on Wednesday, the 21st, Connie and I decided we'll bring Susan to the hospital on Thursday. And, for some reason, without discussing it, we each packed an overnight bag -- "just in case..." we said.

At the hospital, it was evident R was very bad. S told us to go home before dark and she'd find a way to stay, sleep in a chair and a son could come out Friday after work for her. Money is tight for her right now; R's city pension doesn't go far ; we knew she'd neither eat nor rest if we left her. Simultaneously we said "No. We're staying, too." From a list of nearby hotels with special prices for hospital visitors, I booked a room close by. A short while later her oldest son arrived and the doctors took them off for a chat... the news wasn't good -- more and more pain and failing organs, R was in a coma and on a respirator. We definitely would not, could not, leave her alone overnight, but we told our nephew where to bring her when he went home (he had to go home as his 2yr old was ill with bronchial pneumonia -- but is fine now).

After a light dinner, we retired to our room As we unpacked, we began to laugh: Susan pulled out 3 cans of beer; Connie brought out white wine; I, a bottle of red. between us we brought a bag of fresh sweet black cherries, crackers and cheese and chocolate kisses! We sort of partied, laughing at this, crying at that, then a toast to Richard and, at last, to sleep. Waking early, we ate breakfast and went to the hospital; it was 8:00am.

R was barely alive and not conscious when we began our watch: S holding his hand and stroking his forehead and crooning gently the songs important to their life. C & I took turns holding his other hand or patting a knee. We did not need to talk. R did not respond, but just lay there. This went on until 2:50pm when vital signs slowed, almost stopped. A nurse stood watch with us as a doctor removed tubes and tape from several places. Susan bent forward to kiss him; the rest of us stood at the foot of the bed. Then the miracle: after neither opening his eyes nor moving for 2 days, Richard turned his head to Susan, opened his eyes which were now clear, and gazed at her with such a loving look you wouldn't believe if this was a movie, smiled gently then died.

After a few minutes, Susan said "I imagined I saw a smile." Connie, the nurse and I told her "No, it was not imagination."

A few minutes later, it was time to go home. We left the garage, turning right at the lights onto very busy, always very busy, Huntington Ave for the 8-10 miles to Interstate 95. The avenue is a major thoroughfare, lined with malls, theater, apartments, cross streets every 100 yards or so and traffic lights at every other intersection. It was 3:30 Friday afternoon when rush hour traffic starts. I've never, over many years of driving that road, made more than 2 sets of lights without a red light, rush hour or not. Yet we did not get one red light the whole way to I95! Simultaneously we said: Richard's watching!

A wake was held Monday and the funeral, Tuesday. Most who heard this tale of the gaze, the smile and the traffic lights smiled at us; only a few believed. Too bad so many are skeptics -- they could have a lot of help if only they were aware it was there.

And that's the way it was and is.

A wish for AStrid's birthday

2009-01-03T17:16:12Z

Hippy birdie 2 ewes, Hippie birdie 2 ewes, ... if I could draw on this screen or knew where and how to set up all those neat pictures, etc, I would do so... but I don't, so you are stuck with this simple wish:

May this year be better than the past but only a harbinger of the years to come.

Happy birthday,
Patrixa

with thanks to Saminz

2008-12-30T22:04:09Z

You Are Romanticism

You are likely to see the world as it should be, not as it is.
You prefer to celebrate the great things people do... not the horrors they're capable of.
For you, there is nothing more inspiring than a great hero.
You believe that great art reflects the artist's imagination and true ideals.

Long Time No Post, but

2008-12-23T00:25:43Z

I DO want to wish all my LJ Friends good holidays and a new year better than this one, full of the good stuff you want and need.

I have been busy, but also quiet. My brother-in-law is seriously ill; we are hopeful liver and kidney transplants will become possible sooner rather than later, but for now it's a waiting game. Also, a close friend from childhood died last month of brain cancer. She, her sister and I were quite the neighborhood triumvirate for several years -- from grade school thru high school and, OMG, that was over 50 years ago.

I've been contemplative as I've moved through the past few months, grateful for my 2 wonderful sons, a lovely daughter (officially, daughter-in-law; in my heart, my daughter) and 3 awesome grandchildren. Their love gives me strength and hope.

A toast to all: Health, Love, Wealth and Time to Enjoy Them

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Good Afternoon

2008-10-11T21:34:12Z

It is a glorious crisp fall afternoon here. The sun shines golden and warm; it is for sure a brilliant October day... and has been like this all week. Our summer was not so wonderful, being cool and damp when not positively wet; winter is forecast to be cold and snowy. but today, ahh. it's not to be missed, yet here I am indoors at the computer. I was out in the morning, though, over to the best coffee shop around.

Locally owned, Awakenings is what coffee shops purpoted to be oh so long ago, before chains such as Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks and their ilk came along with standardized looks, service and tastes. Awakenings has come to be a gathering place because the coffee is excellent as are the pastries; service is good and often there is live music. The patrons are friendly and of no particular type because all are welcome. Teens come in for the internet use ($3 an hour -- and the owner has certain sites blocked); newspapers are free; retirees like me appreciate the conversation; business people are in and out as quick as their orders are ready; moms with small kids and even bikers stop by. If the music isn't live, it's usually quiet old stuff; an indoor fountain sursurrates softly in a corner, near two easy chairs and an "exchange" book shelf... Across from the post office and town hall, it's a 10 minute walk for me through a quiet downtown.

After my pleasant, morning walk and coffee, I stopped to chat with some neighbors. "My" condo is along a small fast-moving river (fast this year because of all the rain; other years it's quite shallow and slow) rimmed by a variety of deciduous trees almost at peak color. Beside the humans, there's a variety of pets about. Sydney, a small beagle, brings his frisbee to me and lets me take it from him without contest; if it's not quickly thrown, you'll be confronted with a very sad face. Lambie, a mini poodle, likes to run in circles, around nothing, but very fast. Reisling, a big black retriever pup wants to take one by the hand and go down to the river -- to see if you will let him go for a swim, which he is not supposed to do. So far, no one has fallen for it more than once -- mainly because when Reisling comes bounding out of the river, whoever is near gets awfully wet. Pete, the pit bull, likes to walk about holding HIS 3' branch (it's kept behind a small tree near the doorway; he cannot get it until his owner gives the signal); sometimes he gets himself stuck between 2 somethings and then we enjoy watching him figure out how to get free. He's another water lover and will drop the stick in the current, jump in and swim for it, emerging very happily downstream once he's caught it. Two velvety gray cats come out on leashes; they are old and mostly ignore the dogs only occasionally having to swat one for coming too close. Soon, I collect my mail and come inside.

The day has flown by and now it is quieting down; the sun is lower, although still bright but the sky is paler. I am quieting down, too. Got a book to read and a glass of wine to go with it. The bills can wait a few days as can the vacuuming!

I hope you've enjoyed your day as much as I've enjoyed mine and that tomorrow will be at least as good..

quiz from ellyssian

2008-09-26T14:48:29Z

this is from a "quizzy"s Camelot quiz. I couldn't move the whole shebang over from the answer site; I could only get this picture over, not the statistics. Oh, well

Lady of the Lake

Mistress of the Enchanted Isle (Avalon), you are beautiful, poised and very powerful. You strike fear and love in the heart of your peers.

with thanks to voxwoman via ellyssian

2008-09-15T14:28:07Z

special words first: I tried to copy the code box from the meme site. All that appeared was the exact "copy"box and not the nice entry as you can read below (nice because of the presentation, not necessarily the content, although that's pretty nice also) so I had to go and simply copy the whole of the article, edit out the copy code section and paste the results here. So, it's probably not in the expected form as ellyssian's is and I don't know if the highlighted portions will actually work --- therefore, if you wish to try it you might need to visit ellyssian's or voxwoman's posts to get to the right place.

You Are A:

Lawful Good Human Paladin/Sorcerer (4th/4th Level)

Ability Scores:
Strength- 13
Dexterity- 13
Constitution- 12
Intelligence- 12
Wisdom- 15
Charisma- 13
Alignment:
Lawful Good- A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished. Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion. However, lawful good can be a dangerous alignment because it restricts freedom and criminalizes self-interest.

Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.

Primary Class:
Paladins- Paladins take their adventures seriously, and even a mundane mission is, in the heart of the paladin, a personal test an opportunity to demonstrate bravery, to learn tactics, and to find ways to do good. Divine power protects these warriors of virtue, warding off harm, protecting from disease, healing, and guarding against fear. The paladin can also direct this power to help others, healing wounds or curing diseases, and also use it to destroy evil. Experienced paladins can smite evil foes and turn away undead. A paladin's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that they can cast. Many of the paladin's special abilities also benefit from a high Charisma score.

Secondary Class:
Sorcerers- Sorcerers are arcane spellcasters who manipulate magic energy with imagination and talent rather than studious discipline. They have no books, no mentors, no theories just raw power that they direct at will. Sorcerers know fewer spells than wizards do and acquire them more slowly, but they can cast individual spells more often and have no need to prepare their incantations ahead of time. Also unlike wizards, sorcerers cannot specialize in a school of magic. Since sorcerers gain their powers without undergoing the years of rigorous study that wizards go through, they have more time to learn fighting skills and are proficient with simple weapons. Charisma is very important for sorcerers; the higher their value in this ability, the higher the spell level they can cast.

View Waiting Room for Hall of Heroes

View Hall of Heroes

Neppyman said, 'Like this survey? Copy, paste, and edit the code to make your own! Please give me credit if you do so, of course,' so I'm giving him his due. ^_^

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? E-mail Me!

(close this window)

Good Morning All (and if it's no longer morning where you live, pretend!)

2008-09-13T15:19:04Z

SUBTITLED: Paean to my Sons

Although I haven't written for a while (not much to say), I have checked in daily, read a lot of posts and even made a few comments. But, until a few minutes ago, the urge to speak was zero. Here's what changed: music from an "oldies" radio station, specifically some Queen and Van Halen pieces. Maybe it started yesterday afternoon when I heard the Scorpions "Winds of Change. And I was transported back to the Sunset Rd living room and ellyssian telling me why I must listen to it.** And so when i recognized the "Winds of Change" I returned to that living room and memories of that era. Why do I love it so? Why does WoC make me tearily nostalgic?

One reason: my no-longer-teen sons who, as teens, thought their parents could learn new things that they could teach us -- which they did, even if not always appreciated. And, so far, they've never stopped being involved with improving my education. I love every bit of it. Sometimes life hasn't treated them fairly; both have faced some harsh lessons/times while Paul and I could only fear or cry for them... [OMG, right now another favored piece that makes me cry is playing and I must stop and listen... early Aerosmith this time: "Dream On" which never ages, whether for the instrumental, the lyrics or the projected anguish.] Ok, back to writing. Sometimes life's been kind and good to them. Either way, they persevere.

Another reason: No matter how harsh or nasty, neither son has given up on themselves, the world, or life. They may be more cynical, but they forge on [another OMG song choice: "You Can't Always Get What you Want" ... seems the music is following my thoughts very closely!]

Another reason: Their love and care for me now as I age. You do not know, but I was not exactly a poster mom. I raged often at the world, at their dad, at them. Years of therapy helped, buttressed by Paul's stoic steadfastness, (it was many years before I realized anger wasn't an effective way to solve problems). How fortunate I am, that the boys followed their dad's example towards me and not my example towards the world.

And, lastly: Their present day love is a good part of what keeps me wanting to be alive. Their loving, kind moral support helps me face each day. I count on it. I must add my daughter-by-love, ellyssian's wife, to this part, along with their children. Actually, as I tell Deb, she's as stuck with me as the guys are, because she literally is the reason I still live, but that's another day's tale.

Well, my, my, what rambling on I've done. Thanks for reading and easing me.

last song: "Still Crazy After All These Years"

**He introduced me not only to Queen but to all the groups he admired and to which I still listen, because he always picks music that is good and explains why -- which has changed how I listen, allowing me to understand all kinds of music in depth.