Wordless Wednesday ~ Garden

If you would like to join in on Wordless Wednesday, visit Dixie at Frnch Lique, Texas!

My Letter "P"

Anni over at Hootin' Anni's played a game on her blog that seemed like huge fun, so I thought I'd play along. The rules of the game are simple. You are assigned a random letter and you should then post 10 things that you love that begin with that letter. If you read this and want to play, leave a comment that says so, and I'll assign you a random letter.

Anni gave me "P"

Pecans ~ Yum: each half nut covered and baked in caramel cinnamon; or topping the rich, decadence of a Pecan Pie.

Pony ~When I was small I learned to ride on a small horse, a pony like Misty of Chincoteague. His name was Cricket. Ponies have alot of personality and can be quite stubborn.

Pals ~ Another name for dear friends, both real life and bloglanders (who have real lives, too, but I just don't know them in real-time!).

Pemberley ~ The simply gorgeous English Estate of Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice which I first saw in the Colin Firth movie version of the book. Scads and scads of rooms, and enough servants so I could enjoy it all and not worry a wit about cleaning!

Pillow ~ I have been known to take my own pillow on every road trip, plane trip or campout I've ever been on. I eschew (great word) hotel/motel pillows.

Pine Trees ~ Completely love the heady scent of a pine forest on a warm day. The canned spray scent is nowhere near the same LOL.

Pirates ~ A total fan of the Pirates of the Carribean movies. Captain Jack Sparrow ~~ swoon!

Porkskins ~ Blame my southern husband for introducing me to a such a salty, crunchy wonder!

Puddles ~ Made by the rain, reflecting the sky, made to be walked through or jumped in.

Paws ~ Talking about cats and dogs and how they can be such a large part of your life. I have had the chance to be adopted by several wonderful fur babies in my life.

Hope you had fun reading about me, through my one letter Biography! If you want to play I promise not to assign a "q" or "x"!!

Guilt

This is Guilty Gizmo. She doesn't realize she's been caught red-handed (so to speak), but the evidence of the Kleenex Krime is stuck on the side of her face LOL! It looks like a feather but it's not, it's her addiction to picking kleenex tissues out of the trash (ewwww!) and then ripping them to shreds under the bed. This time she forgot to tidy up before she settled onto the sofa. After this I moved all the trash bins to higher places.


Actually with those gleaming eyes she looks like a creature from outer space ~~

she's really a Lhasa Apso with a tremendous underbite. My camera just has a STRONG flash!

Have you got a pet that does something sneaky and won't own up to it?

I "heart" IMDB

I was watching an episode of Law and Order the other day and one of the supporting actors in the story was oddly familiar. Who was he? Where had I seen him? His face was familiar but different, maybe older...what in the devil had he been in before?? At the end of the episode I stared down the credits and found the name "Bronson Pinchot". Quite a name, I vaguely remember it, but still can't place him. My brain is caught up in the chase.

Now, in years past, BI (Before Internet), I would have racked my brain, trying to get the image out of my head (to no avail), then I would have called a friend and tried to explain what this guy looked like (not tall, medium dark brown hair, brown eyes...Oh yeah that narrows it down). So I would be left with an unanswerred question. A haunting. burning question. No answer. Not unless it came to me in a dream.

BUT, Oh Joy, I have lived long enough that now it is AI (you know, After Internet) and there is a terrific site and you probably all know it, but I must sing its praises: IMDB.COM, The International Movie Database-dot-com, because without it I would be more of a basket case than I already am LOL.

In a flurry I can run to the computer, get onto the magical site, type in Bronson Pinchot and find he has been a very busy actor since the 1980s and the sitcom where I finally remember him from. My brain cools down...I KNOW, I KNOW!!

Has it happened to you? Watching a movie or watching an episode where a semi-familiar actor shows up and your mind just will not bring up where you know him from? You MUST find out...it's like a mystery story...and it's IMDB to the rescue!!

Law and Order (2005): Bronson Pinchot as Dr. Greg Ross (Bad Doctor):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629509/

And where did I remember him from?:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090501/

He starred in Perfect Strangers as Balki Bartokomous (1986-1993).

HA! Like I would have remembered that on my own!!

Let me know if this has happened to you!

Tagged!

Well, I was tagged quite awhile ago by dear Kelly-Marie and here I am responding...but better late than never! I am to reveal 6 things about myself:

1. I learned to swim by taking a College Beginning Swimming course...it was a real bonding experience to be with other "old" people who waited til their 20s to learn!

2. My blonde hair was down to my waist and I didn't cut it until in my 20's. Friends signed my high school yearbook saying "Don't EVER cut your hair!" But THEY didn't have to take care of it! It took HOURS to dry!

3. I am hooked on coffee, a complete addict. Hot, strong, high-octane, but with a swig of sugar and creamer. When I open a new coffee can, the aroma almost makes me giddy!

4. I am a cat person. I like dogs, and we have a small one right now, but love cats. Had my Nikki cat for 19 years before she passed away 2 years ago, and I'm not ready for another. To compensate, my daughter and I sponsor a cat in a No-Kill Shelter back in Tucson.

5. I am also hooked on Digital Photography. I always enjoyed taking photos with the old regular camera, but now that I can fill up a 2 mb disk...watch out!

6. I am a Barry Manillow fan from 'way back. Many jokes have been said about his singing style and songs, but I love him. And I'm NOT alone!! (His concerts have sold out...LOL)

Thanks for reading! If you haven't been tagged for this and want to play, please consider yourself TAGGED!!

Truth in Advertising??

I'm so confused! I move to Mississippi and find that AriZona (where I lived for about 40 years) can manufacture genuine (Real Brewed, it says) Sweet Tea, which I KNOW is a beloved product of the South. Then I look to see where it IS produced and find a web page address, http://www.drinkarizona.com/ . Being of a curious nature I go to the webpage and find out that it is packaged in....New York City!

On the plus side, it is a tasty drink! But it is not as good as my southern mother-in-law can brew, of course.

Anybody out there who loves Sweet Tea?

Warm Words for 2009

This was emailed to me by a dear friend. It has the feeling of an Irish Blessing.


A TOAST TO BRING IN THE NEW YEAR!

May your home never be too small
To hold all of your friends.
May you live as long as you want
And never want as long as you live.
May the good Lord take a liking to you,
But not too soon.
May you have warm words on a cold evening,
A full moon on a dark night,
And the road downhill all the way to your door.
May your neighbors respect you,
Trouble neglect you,
The angels protect you, and heaven accept you.
Dance as if no one were watching,
Sing as if no one were listening
And live every day as if it were your last.

Here's To You, My Friends...... ....All Things Blessed, Joyous and Wonderful in 2009...

The Housing Market

House Available
Quaint, recently painted, one bedroom in country setting. Perfect first home! Mature vegetation, strong foundation pole. Stunning views from doorway. Some slight renovation required.

A Cardinal pair discuss the possibilities of this fixer-upper...the price has just been radically reduced. In fact the owner will pay the buyer to move in with unlimited access to sunflower seeds.

Pretty please??

Changing Two Habits

One of the things about moving to a new place is that the schedules you were used to are just enough different to catch you off guard. Especially those important two that are governed by...well...the Government! Here's what I mean:

1. Trash Pick-Up: Here it's once a week on Monday. And it's a VERY bad idea to put out your garbage before that day because it has the potential to become a Racoon Buffet. So the garbage goes out of the house into secure plastic bins and on Monday morning hubby wheels them down the l-o-n-g driveway to the Highway. I was used to a Friday pick-up and a HUGE trash container in the alley (owned by the City) that happily received garbage everyday..from several families and the occassional drive-by who would stop and hurriedly deposit his own excessive garbage. The thing smelled putrid and had a huge, mishapen lid that never opened quite wide enough to take the sack in one fell swoop. Nobody cleaned it or replaced it. Therefore, our few sacks here in a couple of small, cleanish containers on wheels are not so bad :o)

2. Mail Delivery: A very nice man drives by in the morning by at least 9:30. If there's a package he'll turn in the driveway and come right up to the door. It's just that I was used to a late afternoon pick-up and so had plenty of time to procrastinate into getting those pesky checks written and out!

How many weeks does it take to change a habit? Is it something like 21 days??...so pretty soon I'll be able to stop leaving Yellow Stickies all over the place!! Oh, who am I kidding, I've been using YellowStickies for years to remind myself of every little thing.

Hmmm...did you ever put up a Sticky to remind you to read another Sticky?? LOL

It's Here!

Hello 2009!! Here's the sun rising through my diningroom window.




Red is the Chinese color of luck and here's my cardinal to bring some my way! It looks like snow, but that's just a trick of the light or... my excellect photographic technique LOL

Welcome to the newest roller coaster ride: "Two-Thousand-Nine", guaranteed to be a completely unique experience, not like last year, not like next year, in fact not like anybody elses year ...!

It's your own, so please enjoy. May it bring you happiness.

Melting away...

"The Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dali. I place it here as a signal of the last days of 2008, soon to be memory. This was an intense roller coaster ride of a year for me and my family and I know that other blogger friends have experienced it too; stomach churning dips and corkscrew turns. I really wouldn't have bought a ticket to this ride if I'd known what it was going to be like...and yet, and yet, I am truly awed by this mystery called Living. I draw a breath, my heart beats, the next moment awaits....I fear a bit what it holds, but then remember what joy can be there, too. That is the beauty of memory, fill the mind with the thoughts of happiness shared, loved ones close, laughter and silliness abounding. No matter the stress, that time was real.

May we all have the strength, courage, love and laughter to forge into 2009. I'm standing in line for Thunder Mountain at Disneyland, another roller-coaster of a ride! Let's go and lift up our arms!!

Hi Y'all

What do you do when you have just moved into a new house and it's almost Christmas and you don't have a tree yet and the ornaments are packed...somewhere??

But you do have:

1. An unadorned white refrigerator

2. A mom/grandma who sends an Advent Calendar each year

What you get is a clever gift from mom of an Advent Calendar that turns out to be a Magnetic Tree that attaches to the front of the bare, boring white fridge and transforms it into a Holiday Ornament! Each day of December, a new numbered ornament gently clings to the "tree", until the magic day of December 25 when the tree is completely decorated!

How clever! And, as mom said, "No needles to vacuum up!"

Happy Holidays to all!!

Promising to Come Back as Soon as I can...

It's been awhile since my last post and I miss putting things up here, but the reason I've had to take a long break is that we're MOVING and moving big...long distance from Arizona to Mississippi!!

We're in the midst of packing and sorting and packing some more. The professional packers arrive next week and then we leave right after Halloween, a favorite holiday that we couldn't miss spending with our dear friends here.

So, I'll see you sometime in later November, once I figure out how to hook-up to the internet, while living on an acre in the country! I've been a city girl for so long...!

P.S. I know this area of Mississippi because it is my husband's growing up place, and we have visited every year since we were marrried 15 years ago. He has LOTS of family and Dear Daughter will have cousins nearby. It's very beautiful, green, trees, actual lakes. So different from our desert...my emotions are kind of all over the board...from looking happily forward, to looking wistfully back. I'll be so glad when we are there and concentrating on settling down.

Peace be with you all and have a Happy Halloween.

Senior Parrot

There is a small pet shop that my daughter and I visit and this Parrot lives there permanently...we always go by to talk to him and he talks back...mostly he says "Hello Birdo", but somtimes he'll tell a very short joke (it's garbled so can't tell what he's saying), but then he laughs as if delighted with his funny old self.

Oh, who were your owners, dear Birdo? Did a child name you? How many places and people have you known?

Click on the photo so you can read the note in his cage...and see why he is a SENIOR Parrot!




I think he's allowed to be as cranky as he wants, but I'll stay away from that beak!

An Award... my Very First!

My heart is so very touched by being part of Kelly-Maria's life and for her to be happy to be a part of mine! Please check out her blog because she is a word-weaver of great talent...as she gently brings you into her world. Thank you so much for sending me this award...I love Autumn and am very happy to be your friend.

On another note...(tra-la-la!), I haven't been posting recently because we are in the middle of a BIG BIG move....across the state, across the country...from Arizona to Mississippi!! It has brought together all the angst and joy that such a journey of adventure brings. I'll post more as things progress, like the whys and the wherefores, and such. It will be a good thing.

Hope you are enjoying some cooler weather...and are beginning to think about what face to carve onto your pumpkin!!

Elizabeth Ann

No fish for dinner tonight...

Have you ever caught a sand trout? Most probably not, because none have been seen in many an era. They used to live in the washes of the desert, (no not the kind of wash that you put in a machine LOL), but a wash that is a dry desert streambed. and only becomes a Stream or in bigger cases a River, when there is rain. Then they become raging, dangerous torrents until the rain stops, upon which they return to being the everpresent sandy and benign "wash", home to lizards and rabbits.

Sadly, it is now fairly certain that the Sand Trout has reached extinction. A few may survive, however, as the sign says "NO FISHING FROM THE BRIDGE", so my daughter looks sadly at the sand and thinks of the end of the Sand Trout. **sigh** It's hard to be a fisherwoman in the desert.


P.S. I may have stretched the truth here just a little. **grin**

When it all began...

A, ES, Dee, Ef, Jay, Kay, El, Sem. Over and over again. Sound familiar, anyone? I learned to type in high school on a manual typewriter. It was very good finger exercise because you had to really push down hard with the pinkie finger in order to get the capital letters to come up. Then there was reaching up to the top of the machine with the right hand and giving that carriage return lever a good, solid shove to the left. And you were rewarded with the sound of the tinny bell as the paper moved up and the next line was ready for typing.

Seems like alot of physical labor, yet the keys had to be arranged in a difficult pattern because women (I'm not being sexist here...this was a machine for the secretary and at that time it was a female dominated field!) became too adept at typing and so had to be thwarted by an alphabet pattern that would slow them down.

It didn't work. I remember battling on timed drills to see who was the fastest (oh, and ACCURATE, don't forget that, LOL) typist in the class. I even got an award for my typing skills!!

So many changes since then. But look down at your computer keyboard. It is fundamentally the same. A strange mix of past and present. An alphabet that is not in any recognizable order. But now your fingers don't have to be as strong!

Hmmmm. I wonder if the mouse lived inside of the original??!!

Have a phun day. (Well, I might have been a fast typer, but I never was a very good speller, LOL!)

8th Grade is Here

Our tradition on the first day of school is to take a snapshot where Amanda shows the grade with a finger-count. (It's not a gang sign LOL) She's in a new school this year and wears a uniform. It's a much, much smaller school than the public system she's been in and we are hoping for a happy, exciting year. She's still my little girl; I'm so proud of her...she's got a sassy sense of humor and we laugh together alot. She's also got some teenage attitude (some??!) and so we also push each other's buttons and tempers flare. But isn't that the way of it? I'm happy that she has such strength of character and expresses her strong views. They're good skills to have as life moves on.

Have a great day my dear daughter. I love you.

In the hot seat...

(Just a reminder: Click on Pic for bigger view.)

On the other side of the Kanawha River in West Virginia sits a house high up on the riverbank...this could be just a photo where I was trying to be clever by using a tree limb as a frame...the house, from this far away, doesn't look too spectactular...



But the close-up view gives away why I thought this was an unusual shot...LOOK at that slide!! For a moment it appears to be something out of a waterpark, but wait...it's METAL! And it's 90 degrees out there...OUCH !!! No wonder nobody's playing there! We figure that they must run a hose at the top to create a water slide, otherwise this just wouldn't be any fun at all.
Hmmmm...Now that I think of it...when I was growing up these were the only kind of slides that we had in the park (I lived in the time of B.P. : Before Plastic) and it sure never stopped us from using them...you just learned not to touch the sides and to lift your legs so you slid completely on your shorts. So this slide probably did get alot of use in its heyday!

Laugh often :o)

Dangerous Doggie

Edit: Sorry, if these pictures made anyone uncomfortable about the doggie's safety. He just seemed to be enjoying his place and view.