Is It Just Me?

I'll admit that I'm not the most active person. I live by the motto "why walk when you can lay down and take a nap." I know that there are oodles of people out there who are way more productive than I am and are happier for it. But lately it seems to have reached maniacal heights.

These people are tiring me out just listening to them. And it's nearly impossible to not listen since, along with the hyper activity, there also seems to be a need to justify their existence by telling everyone. Hello? I am not in charge of awarding gold stars, keep it to yourself. Am I supposed to be impressed by the person who belongs to three separate running groups? I'm not. I think it's insane. Running with one group could be considered exercise; more than that and I have to wonder what it is they are trying to run from.

If they aren't obsessing about exercise, it's something else. Work two jobs, save the planet and, if there's any time left, raise a back to nature family by growing your own granola. And they want everyone else to join them in jumping on the hamster wheel Squeak, squeak, squeak. Am I the only one noticing that hamsters never actually go anywhere?

I think it's a conspiracy. There's a radical group at work here whose aim is to keep everyone so busy that they never notice that (a) they aren't accomplishing anything other than wearing themselves out, and (b) the planet is being taken over. Probably by a giant rodent species from another planet who think it's amusing to watch humans run around in circles for a change. And we won't be able to fight back because we're all too tired to think straight.

I propose a counter attack. Everyone take a day, once a week, and do nothing. If you really can't do a whole day (some people will need to build up to it slowly) try for an hour. Don't improve yourself, don't join anything, don't start something, don't be productive. Instead, sleep in. Then get up and take a nap. If that gets old, read a book, count raindrops, watch clouds go by or look at the night sky and wonder what drugs the ancients were on when they decided that a group of stars looked just like a bull, fish, goat, whatever.

Slow down. Take a deep breath and relax. Tomorrow will still come, but today won't last forever. Take some time to appreciate it while you can.

The PNW

So I finally got to see something of the Pacific Northwest when I visited the Portland, Oregon area last weekend. The purpose of the trip was a CB gathering. Okay, so we claimed we were celebrating the summer solstice, but I don't recall one person dancing nekkid under the moon the whole weekend, and I think I would have remembered, so clearly that was just a thinly veiled excuse to party.

I got in late afternoon on Thursday. Earlier in the day while I was waiting for my flight I had received a text message from Wapak telling me that she was there waiting for GP and that I should hurry up. Yes, because I have any control whatsoever over the airlines. Does anyone? But I told her I was flapping my arms as hard as I could. So I get to PDX and text Wapak saying that "I am in Portland" to which she responded, "are you in portland yet?" And it went down hill from there. I responded that yes, I was in Portland, but (at that point) still on the plane. And then, because I like to dot my i's and cross my t's, I confirmed that I was in the Portland that is in Oregon. Wapak wanted to know if, since I hadn't deplaned or whatever the term is, if they were supposed to move the party to the airplane. Frankly I didn't think there was room and suggested baggage carousel 8. She told me to be on the lookout for CBs as I left the plane and I was. I was on the lookout as I got off the plane. I was on the lookout as I left the gate area. I was on the lookout as I got on the escalator leading to the baggage area, and still again when I arrived at the location where I expected my bags to show up. Still no CBs. Then my cell phone rings and it's CMS asking where I am. And I responded "at baggage carousel 8" which she seemed to find very funny. Once she stopped laughing she explained that they had been so busy talking that they didn't see me get off the escalator and WALK RIGHT PAST THEM. Ironically, she was there because she was the one who knew what both JenB and I looked like and could pick us out of the crowd. That was a successfull plan.

As the weekend went on, there was much frivolity and merry making, making Mary merrier, one hopes, but as far as I know no marrying, merry or otherwise. Except possibly in Powell's but we never got the whole story on that. At one point our hostess went off (well she went off on several occasions, ostensibly to procure more ice, and we'll just let it go at that) in the company of, I think, JenB. Don't let Jen's sweet face and quiet manner fool you; it's all a facade. They called back to the party to see if anything was needed or wanted and, well, you've already heard that K.L. requested and received her very own pony. I can't remember if GP wanted a camel or an elephant, but whatever it was she got, she seemed happy with it. I, on the other hand, came out way ahead of the pack on account of I got ...

MEN IN UNIFORM

And even though there were plenty of weapon wielding hunks to go around, I did not share. So there.

Look Out!

I have control issues. I've talked about this before. It's the reason I don't volunteer and the reason I won't be in charge of anything. Put me in charge and I'll turn into a tyrant, screeching that people are doing it wrong, wrong, wrong. This is not only unpleasant for people around me, it's also not a whole lot of fun for me. My blood pressure skyrockets, steam comes out of my ears, my heart races ... and I don't like feeling that way. So I try to avoid putting myself into those situations. It's best for everyone concerned. What does this have to do with the title of my post?

Sometimes avoiding those situations is very difficult. There are people in my life that I care a great deal about, and it pains me to watch them make bad decisions. My concern for them meets up with my control tendencies and it's like this double whammy hitting me. If I saw someone was about to step into the path of an oncoming bus, I would naturally yell out a warning. When I see people I care about making choices that I know will just create more problems down the road, or that will make their lives more difficult than necessary, that same instinct kicks in and it's all I can do not to jump in front of the speeding bus of their decisions and knock them out of the way. And they wouldn't appreciate it. People never do. I'm pretty sure I would feel the same way. So what am I supposed to do?

One sure-fire solution would be to eliminate the problem by eliminating the people. From my life that is. Okay, not really; but it's a recurring fantasy I have. My other little dream is the one where I just start smacking people upside the head until they stop screwing around and start doing things my way which is the right way IF THEY WOULD ONLY ADMIT IT! Which would probably bring my first fantasy to life.

Again, I ask you, what am I supposed to do? I don't know if it's the right answer, but I have developed a philosophy. All I can do is remind people to look both ways before crossing the street, advise them to take care not to trip and fall, and then back away and hope for the best.

It's a hard-won philosophy and doesn't do much for my peace of mind, really. Sometimes I still need to vent, to talk to someone who will listen and understand that my words are not an expression of criticism but of concern. If you happen to be one of the people I've vented to, thank you for listening. I'm blessed to have a few people like that in my life. And just smart enough to know how lucky I am.

And that's why, inspite of the lure that first fantasy still has for me, I haven't actually resorted to the second. But please, for me, when you go out into the world I would really appreciate it if you would be careful. Look both ways; don't run with scissors, and call and let me know that you have arrived safely.

Oh look! Company!

Hope you didn't have any trouble finding the place.

Are ya'll hungry? Thirsty? You have to try this great recipe I found for hot buttered rum. This will warm you right up.
Oh yes, this one's for you. Gosh I hope you don't already have one.

And there's some more over this this other pile ... if you wouldn't mind passing them around? Thanks.

All I Have To Do Is Dream ...

I got home from running errands today, which included yarn shopping but that's another story. Got home and it was a lovely Sunday afternoon so of course I decided to take a nap. I woke up from my nap and immediately came to the computer to tell you about it, because I had a dream, folks, and it was a lulu.

First of all, I'm not entirely sure that I'm awake even now because I woke up at least twice in my dream so I could conceivably still be there. Except in the other two occasions when I woke up it was to come downstairs to my grandparents' house. The house that hasn't existed for over 20 years. Yeah. However as I write this I am in my own house so possibly I'm really awake this time.

And in this dream some friends of mine where there. I have no idea why but it's all good because I have great friends and if they want to hang out in my dreams, that's fine with me. One of my friends, oh, we'll just call her friend D, was writing her blog and commenting that when one receives a bag of books from a friend, one should take care to confirm that said books are as advertised. I have no idea what that was about. Really. I asked D, in the dream, what was wrong with the books I had given her but I never got a straight answer. And speaking of books, there was one book (we're still in the dream) which I first mistook for a Nora Roberts but which was really Gena Showalter. At least that's what it said. I have no idea if the back cover photo was really Ms. Showalter. Sadly I don't recall the title of the book. But apparently it reminded me of one of NR's.

And then the dream shifted and we're outside somewhere, possibly up in my parents' home town which would fit the apparent theme, and we're out in a field or something and I'm trying to explain about the reason my grandparents' house isn't there anymore (which must have come as a surprise to the friends in the dream since they were just there, but they didn't mention it). It had to do with the town being located alongside a river and between two mountains and my grandparents house being on low ground and so had a tendency to flood.

FYI, this part is true and the reason my grandparents house isn't there anymore. Waaaay back in the 1970s when Hurricane Agnes struck the east coast my grandparents' house got flooded up to the first floor ceiling. They dried everything out afterwards and it was livable, but the governmental powers that be decided that it would be cheaper to give them a new house on higher ground than to keep paying for flood damage on the old one. So the last years of my grandparents' lives were spent in a nice, new, single story home which my grandmother just loved. Mind you it didn't have near the charm and character of the old house which is probably why I didn't feature it in my dreams. My grandparents passed away many years ago, but in my dream they were still with us ... somewhere in the house. In a neat twist, one of my much younger cousins is now raising her family in it. No, I didn't dream that part, that's true.

But back to the dream. While we're standing there out in a field somewhere "D" (you know who you are) was complaining to the other friend, whom we'll call "R" (you know who you are, too), that she looked and looked for what I wanted (huh?) but couldn't find anything called kneelers. I did not then nor do I now have any idea what she was talking about.

So I spent a little time with good friends in pretty part of the country in a place which held a lot of happy memories for me. And my one wish for you is that as you nod off into slumberland tonight, that your dreams will be just as nice.

Here's Looking at You, Kid

On First Impression Worth a Second Look

A few things have happened recently that have me wondering about the value of first impressions. I am not by any means saying they have no value. If something looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it's just conceivable that it might be an ugly swan. On the otherhand, it just might be a duck. There are people who rail against the unfairness of judging on first impression. Phooey. If you don't know someone or something, then first impressions are all you have to go by. And they should not be ignored entirely even if you find yourself unable to justify the impressions. While I'd never be intentionally rude, I'd rather trust my instincts and impressions than ignore them and pay a price.

That said, I want to tell you about something I witnessed at my home subway stop the other evening. Picture some guy, a big guy, in oversized, baggy trousers nearly falling off his hips, bandana wrapped around his head, dark sunglasses, head jerking to a rythym only he can hear. This guy just screamed 'urban cool.' He looked like a real bad ass who spent his grandmother's social security checks. Fifteen years ago he would have been carrying a boombox on his shoulder (think about that the next time you see someone hooked up to an iPod). Got the picture?

So there we stand waiting for the elevator to come. Normally I take the escalator but it was mobbed and I'd rather wait than feel claustrophobic in the crowd. So this guy is standing there too, right next to the elevator doors. A few other people walk up. The elevator comes and the doors open. This guy grabs the edge of the open door right away ... and then stands back to let in someone pulling a suitcase on wheels. He also lets me and everyone else get on before he does. So. Clearly not the bad ass of my first impression.

That came to mind yesterday as I was rereading Agnes and The Hitman. At the start of the book Agnes idealizes Brenda. Brenda is who she wanted to grow up to be, to the extent that she bought Two Rivers, Brenda's house. She even argues with Lisa Livia who, really, ought to know her mother better than Anges. And when Brenda does something even Agnes can't ignore, Agnes makes excuses for her until finally she sees Brenda for what she really is. Brenda, of course, went off the deep end at the end of the story; but what she was at the core really wasn't any different. What Agnes had really envied all those years was the mask that Brenda wore. Brenda knew how to say and do the right things to ... wait for it ... create an impression. And thinking about it, I've known a few Brendas, and you probably have too. Okay, maybe they didn't sabotage a wedding dress and try to kill you; but I'm betting you know someone who turned out to not be as great as you thought they were. And looking back, you can usually see all the signs you ignored early on. Just like Agnes did. So a first impression can conceal the bad as well as the good.

I was actually thinking about impressions before this, though. I have had the privilege of meeting several CBs now, and it's been amazing just how well we all click in person. A CB meet is just like hanging out at the Bar&Grill, except you probably laugh even longer and harder. I think many of us have marvelled at this. But is it so surprising really? We got to know each other long before we ever met, dispensing with that whole awkward first impressions thing.

And you know, I'd rather have the duck than the swan anyway. I've heard those big, fancy birds can be pretty viscious.

Apropo of many things

I am seriously sleep deprived. I'm saying that right up front so you'll understand if this blog sorta bounces off the walls. Why am I sleep deprived? Several reasons, not the least of which is my trip to Dayton. Dayton, OH. Who knew it was such a fun place? Or at least it is when the Cherrybombs are in town. Come to think of it, we weren't actually in Dayton but rather in Beavercreek, OH, a suburb of Dayton. Beavercreek ... it's Ohio so they have towns named after the local fauna. There's probably a Possumcreek too. I do know this much about Ohio, they've borrowed a lot of town/city names from other cities. Shows a distinct lack of creativity on their party. Which I would worry about except Jennifer Crusie lives there so maybe they are plenty creative in Ohio, they just didn't bother making the effort for place names. Seriously, I was looking at an Ohio map on the drive back and they've got, just to name a few, Newark, Philadelphia, Washington, Ottawa and I believe Richmond. That could be confusing, don't you think?

The people in Beavercreek were really great. The CherryBombs descended like ... I can't think of an appropriate simile. But we never encountered one glare or frown. Bemusement, amusement and astonishment, yes; but no negative reactions, so we're talking about a pretty laid back population. I liked it that they just went with our flow. I could be happy there I think. Also they have good shopping. That's important.

However, during the drive back, somewhere around Columbus I think it was, we had the radio on and there was a report of a murder. Not that Ohio can't have murderers, too. Equal opportunity for all, I say. It's okay, though, because they got the guy who did it. They found him not far from an abandoned car which contained several knives and an arm. Ohio. Nice place, but don't pick up hitch hikers.

What else? Oh, it took me two hours to get home last night. An undefined 'incident' at one of the stations on my subway line. And I was trying to get home early too. See it was my mom's birthday. That morning I had scattered around the house 3 packages and 2 birthday cards. Not hidden, mind you, just placed strategically so that she would encounter them during her daily routine. One gift by the stairs, one next to her chair and one on the bathroom sink. One card was inside the microwave and one next to the milk in the fridge. Apparently she was in and out of both her chair and the bathroom a few times before she noticed the gift bags. And this morning I discovered that the card was still next to the milk in the fridge. The milk she would have used in her coffee yesterday. Coffee I know she had at least two cups of. I wonder if she found it this morning?

Anyway, as I said, it was Mom's birthday and I was taking her out to dinner. My best friend went with us and we had a really nice evening. We laughed a lot and drank wine and ate really good food. I had the chicken Marsala. Oh my Bob was that good. It made me feel like Min in Bet Me.

And on the subject of books, one of mom's gifts was a bag of books, two of which I got signed while in Dayton - excuse me, Beavercreek. One was Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs, and one was Hard Row by Margaret Maron. Both are favorite authors of mine, but because it was her birthday I'm letting Mom read them first. Aren't I nice? The other two, however, the ones I got signed, were Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer, and Lost Girls by Robert Doherty who is actually Bob Mayer. These two I did read because I was going to the signing and I wanted to sound intelligent about the books.

And Mom invited the Aunts over for dinner tomorrow night. We're having what Mom and I call Jasper's Pasta because that's the restaurant where we used to get it. They closed though. A crying shame because it was a good restaurant, and popular. Now it's a sports bar. Anyway the dish includes hot capellini tossed with roasted garlic, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, basil, sun-dried tomatoes and grated parmesan cheese. Served with marinara and pesto sauces. Fabulous.

I don't think I'll be doing any more shoe posts this year. Well, never say never; but I do think I've probably shot my shoe budget all to heck for the year. But I do love my shoes. Sigh. I also have a fabulous new purse which I picked up in Da..., uh, Beavercreek. I told you they had great shopping.

And my friend, the one who joined us for dinner last night, might come over tonight to return/borrow some books.

So I've got great shoes, a fab new purse, a stack of books by fav authors waiting to be read, good memories, a tummy full of yummy food, and time spent with great people.

Life is good.

You May Save a Life

A friend of mine moved into a new house last year. This year she discovered something growing fairly rapidly in her backyard. I told her that if it was growing that well in this drought, chances are pretty good that it is a weed. Last week she told me it was sprouting berries. I told her "It's a weed. Don't eat it, get rid of it." Today she told me they looked awfully tasty and would I please look at the pictures she took and tell her for sure if it's a weed. I told her that if they were okay to eat the birds and the squirrels would have had them gone by now because it's probably a weed. I should tell you that she is not native to the U.S. and so these questions arise periodically. Anyway, she sent me some photos and I sent her back an email saying that I'm even more sure that IT'S A WEED, and ALMOST CERTAINLY POISONOUS. In fact it looks familiar. I was thinking sumac, but it's been so long I don't remember for sure what it looks like.

So if you folks would please take a look and identify this for me, I would appreciate it. See, the thing is now almost taller than she is and she's a tall woman. I figure if she's let it grow this long I'm going to have my hands full convincing her. Of course if it's really that tall, she's going to have her hands full getting rid of it.

Pictures and Other Stuff

First and foremost, a picture of the April 1 (no foolin'!) CB meet in Crystal City, VA. Starting at the left and going around are Dee, RSS, Moe (CC's sister), CC, her friend Karen, JenB and Moi. I take extremely bad pictures so please ignore that corner of the photo. We met up at a restaurant called King Street Blues in the Crystal City Mall. It was nearly the only thing open since the Mall normally caters to the office crowd and this was a Sunday. So if you are planning to visit there sometime, go on a weekday. But we had a great time. Dee, CC and JenB provided presents!! In the form of books, chocolate and bookmarks. Boy do those girls know their CBs or what? Also margaritas were consumed as was bread pudding. We'll be remembering that bread pudding for a long time to come.






Second, take a look at the plant on the right and the close up below this paragraph. This is a plant that my mom grew from a cutting, taken from my sister's plant which she in turn grew from a cutting taken from my aunt. Nobody remembers for sure what its called anymore. I can tell you that mom has been nursing this plant along for a lot of years and it only just recently decided to bloom for her. The flowers are tiny star shapes, as you can see, that bud in the form of a pentagon. They are real as can be but have a waxy feel to them. Also a very strong, kinda spicy smell. If anyone recognizes it we would appreciate it if you'd let us know what its called. My aunt thought it was something like hoya but she's not sure.




















Lastly, and completely unrelated to the photos, I recently reread Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October. I'd read it waaaay back when it first came out in the 80s and enjoyed it. Don't know what possessed me to check it out of the library recently but I'm glad I did because its a darned fine read. Okay, a lot of info dump. But even that doesn't bother me so much because it helps set the mood of the story for me. In fact I would have said that I really didn't care for info dump in a book but I have to say Clancy did a fine job with it. It reminds me of watching CSI on tv and watching them use cool gadgets and mix chemicals and stuff. I have no clue what they are really doing, but I like watching it. Oh, and as an aside, my mother once met a guy who claimed he was Tom Clancy's brother. Mom says he was very convincing so maybe he really was. I don't suppose that's really all that interesting is it?

So anyway

Recently I decided that I would like to learn something new. I like to learn things, even if I never use the information. These days things I learn have a distressing tendency to leave me pretty quickly. This is a new experience for me. I used to have a mind like a ... you know those thingies they put out to catch wild animals. Except I think they've been outlawed as being cruel. Which may be why I can't think of it.

What was I saying? Oh, yes. Learning stuff. The other problem is lack of time. After work I just want to go home and relax. Weekends are usually full of chores and errands. If I have free time then I usually spend it with friends or enjoying doing nothing. I'm really good at doing nothing. Well not really nothing because that would be staring out into space. Which I can be good at also. Except even then I'm usually doing something even if you can't tell. But trust me, my mind is busy. With what? Um ... let me get back to you on that.

I have friends who are writers, and they are always talking about people talking in their heads. I have that. And no they aren't just voices. I have whole story lines going on inside my head. I just don't have the ambition to write them down. Those writer friends talk about the people in their heads bugging them to put it all on paper. Well not on paper, really. Who does that these days? But they put it in their computer. The people in my head seem to be quite content to stay there. I guess they don't have much ambition either.

I guess I don't have much ambition in general or else I would be moved to actually "get out there." Well, I'm not. Out there is too demanding. Out there requires a schedule that you have to stick to which leads to rushing around which feels too much like a job. I have one of those already. And you end up missing TV shows. Not that there's anything good on right now anyway, unless you like basketball. Not a huge sports fan here. I used to go to games in school but that was school spirit stuff. Most of the time I had no clue what was going on.

And speaking of which, where was I? Right, right. Learning stuff.

And I don't even watch a lot of TV either. But I have certain shows I do enjoy and it ticks me off that I only watch a handfull of hours during the week and they've taken that from me.

Huh? Oh yeah. Learning stuff.

See, I don't watch a lot of TV because most of the time I prefer to read. And then there are all those story lines in my head. There's this one in the 13th century. Or maybe 14th? Would it really matter? Its pretty good, if I can only figure out why an intelligent woman would be out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a storm. But I'm working on it.

Okay, OKAY! Geez. So I decided to learn a new language. I took Spanish in school but that was a long time ago. And besides which, what's the fun of learning a language a lot of other people already know? I debated between French and Italian. Italian I thought would be really cool, because who else speaks it? Except Italians, I mean. But then I thought of all the Dorothy Sayers books I've enjoyed and they often have bits of French in them because Lord Peter, that's the character, is both well educated and well read. I'm not sure why knowing French equates with being well read. Anyway I thought it would be cool to learn some French and then when I see stuff like that in books I'll know what they are saying.

So I want to learn French but I don't want the hassle of a scheduled class. Plus which I remember those long ago Spanish classes and they made you learn grammar and other boring stuff. Not that grammar isn't important. Bad grammar bugs me. Bad punctuation bugs me even more. And this deal with text messaging where they type everything lower case and abbreviate everything ... very annoying.

Sorry. Back to learning something. I figured out that what I really wanted was more of a conversational French. I do audio books, downloading and stuff, and I found one that will teach you basic conversational French. And so far its not boring. Also, if I ever get to France I can now order coffee. With milk. Heck, I can even do tea with sugar. I'm still working on bread, cheese and wine. I'll get there.

And speaking of wine, can you tell that I was writing this while drinking a big glass of white? Well I did put the glass down while using the keyboard. Except for those words that only required the right hand.

*sigh* I almost put this under the Midless Rambling category. Put the glass DOWN, McB! And I didn't even have one of those. Categories, I mean. The glass I had. Its empty now. So I guess this blog is done.

Because Dee Told Me To

And if you know Dee then, really, 'nuff said. But seriously, I've read several of Lani's books now and they are all GREAT. She's a fabulous and funny author. Read the book, you won't regret it.



http://deeanddeedish.blogspot.com/2007/03/fab-many-faces-of-romance-week.html

The Fortune Quilt by Lani Diane Rich

Carly McKay's life is going just fine until she produces a television piece on psychic quilt maker Brandywine Seaver and receives a quilt with an enigmatic reading telling her that everything is about to change. Carly blows off the reading until it comes true. Her boss runs off with all the station's assets, leaving her jobless; her best friend, Christopher, proclaims his (unrequited) love for her, leaving her friendless; and her mother, who deserted the family seventeen years ago, returns, sending Carly into a serious tilt.Convinced it's the quilt's fault, Carly races down to the small artists' community of Bilby, Arizona, to confront its maker, and ends up with an unexpected friend in Brandy - and in Will, the laid-back painter who rents the cabin next door. With quirky new buddies and no more deadlines, Carly starts to enjoy her reimagined life, until her old one comes calling. Now Carly has to decide what parts of each world she wants to patchwork in.. and how much she's willing to leave to fate.