Call me Neanderthal, but I just made my first Red Box movie rental. This is a red-letter day here. (pun intended) We, of the fifteen-year old television set that measures more than two inches deep, are moving ever-so-slowly into the digital age. While we were driving home from our afternoon errand-outing, my SO commented about the technology involved with the Red Box concept. That, with a swipe of plastic just to rent a movie, 'they' know so much about us. Just one plastic card connects so many personal information points about a household that it is mind-boggling.......and he and I are so very far behind the digital curve it is not funny. Scarier still is the notion that as far as technology, we are not in the bottom third, although we feel like we are in the bottom tenth.
Capt. SO and I were born in the antique, Bell-telephone-on-the-wall era where you had to crank a handle rapidly to speak into a mouthpiece of sorts to get 'Central'. Not too long into our childhoods, technology discovered our rural area and Ma Bell's household telephones became the iconic black-box model, while the party-line was established, often with three, four, or five homes on one line and each household had their own 'ring' identity. People today think they are so modern and hip with their 'ring tones' but people my age had the original ring tones. One family's ring might be two shorts and a long while another's would be two longs and a short. The party system could be very vexing, especially if there were household 'talkers' that would make it practically impossible to ever 'get a line'.
Capt. SO also remarked that we might have never rented our Red Box movie today had not our scion showed him how over the Holly Daze. We also recognized that just about all of our technology learning curve is a result of someone younger than thirty showing us how. While we might wistfully reminisce about the days of 'two longs and a short', without our digital progress we could have never watched Princess Leia play with her baby doll during a video chat today.
Thank you, Ma Bell. You helped start this revolution that is moving at warp speed.
Ancora imparo
Sunday, January 30, 2011
The Grandaddy of All Outrageousness
As I was researching, both online and in my trusty dictionary, how to spell grandaddy, I began laughing to myself thinking things like: Get a life! Does anyone really care? If this is the biggest problem you have today, you are one lucky person! As it turns out, the spelling of the word grandaddy is not universally agreed upon so I am safe with either four d's or three.
This morning, on the radio, I heard a southern-state governor say that his state, drastically in the red, would be taking certain steps to reduce the deficit. One of the cost-cutting measures he touted was that, under his leadership, the state would not be filling a very large number of vacant jobs. I, thinking for certain that I must have misunderstood him, gave the statement no further thought. A few minutes later my SO came into the room and said, "Did you hear that interview with so-and-so, where he said his state would not be filling vacant jobs?"
Do politicians really believe the American public is so ignorant as to not see through this type of hype? How, in God's little green earth, can an elected official say, with a straight face, that he or she will save money by not filling vacant jobs.....and, oh by the way, we have not been paying any one in these positions anyway?
This condescending attitude is not much different than a recently overheard conversation where a local leader suggested that an important document be written no higher than an eight-grade reading level, using no 'big' words.
If we as a society are, indeed, this obtuse, moronic, and ignorant, then we'd all best get back to readin', ritin' and rhymitic in order to lift ourselves out of the grip of shallow, imbecilic density. Let's get those Dick and Jane readers back into the hands of each and every American....child and adult. Let's bring back the abacus and slide rule with its stylus. Better yet, let's give anyone who wants to run for elected office a basic skills test. Perhaps these are the people who can't read, write or cipher.
Maybe, just maybe, it's not us.......but them.
Ancora imparo
This morning, on the radio, I heard a southern-state governor say that his state, drastically in the red, would be taking certain steps to reduce the deficit. One of the cost-cutting measures he touted was that, under his leadership, the state would not be filling a very large number of vacant jobs. I, thinking for certain that I must have misunderstood him, gave the statement no further thought. A few minutes later my SO came into the room and said, "Did you hear that interview with so-and-so, where he said his state would not be filling vacant jobs?"
Do politicians really believe the American public is so ignorant as to not see through this type of hype? How, in God's little green earth, can an elected official say, with a straight face, that he or she will save money by not filling vacant jobs.....and, oh by the way, we have not been paying any one in these positions anyway?
This condescending attitude is not much different than a recently overheard conversation where a local leader suggested that an important document be written no higher than an eight-grade reading level, using no 'big' words.
If we as a society are, indeed, this obtuse, moronic, and ignorant, then we'd all best get back to readin', ritin' and rhymitic in order to lift ourselves out of the grip of shallow, imbecilic density. Let's get those Dick and Jane readers back into the hands of each and every American....child and adult. Let's bring back the abacus and slide rule with its stylus. Better yet, let's give anyone who wants to run for elected office a basic skills test. Perhaps these are the people who can't read, write or cipher.
Maybe, just maybe, it's not us.......but them.
Ancora imparo
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Aired Myself Out
Years ago, when my offspring were young, an aunt of theirs had a phrase that she would use when her kids, or a collection of kids, were becoming more energized than the space they were in could handle. She would say, "Mandatory air!" All the adults would laugh, share a common, knowing look, and shoo the kids outdoors. The kids loved it, the adults needed it and everyone benefited. A win-win situation.
This afternoon, after a frustrating twenty-four hours, my inner parent was shouting, "Air, air, air!", just like a submarine commander shouts "Dive, dive, dive!" in the movies when enemy torpedoes are whizzing toward his boat. At first I resisted the urge to get out and away. My rationalization was that I had this list of chores to accomplish at home and, by golly, if I made the list for today then how could I possibly ignore my own list? Fortunately, my inner-parent voice became louder than my Sergeant-Pepper voice and I took leave of the condo. It turned out to be just what my psychologist voice told me I needed.
While out, I observed that the roadways were quite populated with other drivers, presumably out doing the same thing as I - running errands, perhaps to escape cabin fever or whatever you want to call the lethargy that grips most of us at this time of year. The holidays have been over for a month now, the beauty of a winter's day is growing old, the roadways are littered with large-and-ever-growing potholes, pavement seams have buckled enough to produce a constant washboard effect that jars the body as well as the automobile, the snow has melted just enough to create a dull, gray and dirty landscape, and our cars carry so much road grime that we grimace each time our clothing rubs against them.
Yes, this is the time of year to air ourselves out......maybe multiple times per day, if necessary. If I had screens on my windows, I would open some up just to let in outside air. If there was more snow cover, I would wish I had cross-country skis. The plus about winter is that because the foliage is off the trees, all the male, Northern Cardinals stand out like laser spots on a target. Their red is spectacular.....more spectacular than any man-made vignette could ever be.
There, I found one good thing about being cooped up inside. Watching the sentinels of the forest cavort about in the trees behind the condo.
Thanks, boys. I needed that!
Ancora imparo
This afternoon, after a frustrating twenty-four hours, my inner parent was shouting, "Air, air, air!", just like a submarine commander shouts "Dive, dive, dive!" in the movies when enemy torpedoes are whizzing toward his boat. At first I resisted the urge to get out and away. My rationalization was that I had this list of chores to accomplish at home and, by golly, if I made the list for today then how could I possibly ignore my own list? Fortunately, my inner-parent voice became louder than my Sergeant-Pepper voice and I took leave of the condo. It turned out to be just what my psychologist voice told me I needed.
While out, I observed that the roadways were quite populated with other drivers, presumably out doing the same thing as I - running errands, perhaps to escape cabin fever or whatever you want to call the lethargy that grips most of us at this time of year. The holidays have been over for a month now, the beauty of a winter's day is growing old, the roadways are littered with large-and-ever-growing potholes, pavement seams have buckled enough to produce a constant washboard effect that jars the body as well as the automobile, the snow has melted just enough to create a dull, gray and dirty landscape, and our cars carry so much road grime that we grimace each time our clothing rubs against them.
Yes, this is the time of year to air ourselves out......maybe multiple times per day, if necessary. If I had screens on my windows, I would open some up just to let in outside air. If there was more snow cover, I would wish I had cross-country skis. The plus about winter is that because the foliage is off the trees, all the male, Northern Cardinals stand out like laser spots on a target. Their red is spectacular.....more spectacular than any man-made vignette could ever be.
There, I found one good thing about being cooped up inside. Watching the sentinels of the forest cavort about in the trees behind the condo.
Thanks, boys. I needed that!
Ancora imparo
Friday, January 28, 2011
No Longer Evitable
Evitable is one of those words that you just do not see in print very much. Inevitable, its antonym, is commonly used and is familiar to most people; inevitable, of course, meaning NOT capable of being avoided. And so it is that my SO and I have come to the inevitable fork in the road that many find themselves in regarding diet, exercise, and the dreaded cholesterol readings. I have flirted with high cholesterol for years, escaping the pharmaceutical fall-back by the skin on my chinny-chin-chin, but now both of us are facing the inevitable words from our physician, "This is your last chance. Get it down in three months, or else!"
We went through the predictable refrigerator purge just a few hours ago and so now the effort begins in earnest, with no more do-overs. Fortunately my personal cookbook-library is full of cookbooks on how to cook without this and that ingredient. Unfortunately, the medical, health, and dietetic communities are not united in what helps to create higher-than-desired cholesterol readings. Some experts argue that it is fats yet other experts argue that it is carbohydrates and then there is the pharmaceutical industry who would like us to believe that a pill or two can solve the entire problem.
Not too long ago I came across an article that listed some of the more, modern bizarre diets that have been promoted throughout the last four-or-so decades. Here are some examples that I can remember:
For now, we are trying to avoid the rush to consume only water and beans, both of which can be problematic when out in public, or, at least anywhere other than home. I guess the good news from a water and beans diet is that we wouldn't be hard to find in a crowd......or anywhere else, for that matter.
Ancora imparo
We went through the predictable refrigerator purge just a few hours ago and so now the effort begins in earnest, with no more do-overs. Fortunately my personal cookbook-library is full of cookbooks on how to cook without this and that ingredient. Unfortunately, the medical, health, and dietetic communities are not united in what helps to create higher-than-desired cholesterol readings. Some experts argue that it is fats yet other experts argue that it is carbohydrates and then there is the pharmaceutical industry who would like us to believe that a pill or two can solve the entire problem.
Not too long ago I came across an article that listed some of the more, modern bizarre diets that have been promoted throughout the last four-or-so decades. Here are some examples that I can remember:
- pineapple diet
- grapefruit diet
- air diet (No kidding. You get to put whatever you want on a spoon or a fork and bring it to your lips but you cannot put the food in your mouth.)
- sandwich diet (You can eat anything you can put between two loaves of bread, but nothing else.)
- baby food diet
- morning-banana-and-glass-of-warm-water diet
For now, we are trying to avoid the rush to consume only water and beans, both of which can be problematic when out in public, or, at least anywhere other than home. I guess the good news from a water and beans diet is that we wouldn't be hard to find in a crowd......or anywhere else, for that matter.
Ancora imparo
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
"You Did What Today?"
Today I had more hours to fill with tasks than days of late. My long-term subbing job ended yesterday, which was a good sign for the person I was filling in for during a medical leave. I left feeling that I had done a decent job of keeping the program going and teaching to the best of my ability. A friend called today, later in the afternoon and asked how my first day back at home was going. She wondered if I had been bored and quizzed me, as only a good friend can do, on what I did to fill my time during this particular day. I prattled on about all of the tasks I accomplished, being the extreme accomplisher that I am, but when I got to the part of trimming around the edges of all the coupons I'd clipped in the recent past, she said, "You did what?" We had a good laugh and a few more minutes of chatter before we ended the call. As I returned to the table where I am working on finishing a children's book for the Three Musketeers, I paused to rewind the day's activities in my mind.
True, I had spend almost three hours working on illustrations for the book, but, I asked myself, "What had I done with the rest of my time?" Yes, I did all my exercising. Yes, I read the newspaper. Yes, I composed a blog posting in the morning. Yes my SO and I enjoyed some conversation. But when I came to the part where I had been seated at my desk, tidying up the paperwork that had overspread nearly every inch, and I actually spent time trimming little pieces of paper so they would fit more readily in my wallet, I thought, "You were bored, weren't you?"
I'll admit that the change of routine was most certainly challenging in one way, yet it was refreshing in another. While I have zero artistic ability, creating illustrations for the twenty-page book has been artfully vexing and has kept my concentration at a high level, keeping my mind off other, more pressing matters. Of course, I realize that as the days pass, working back in a classroom will become a distant, fuzzy memory and soon I'll find the rhythm of no rhythm at all.
Being back at home every day is like the ultimate case of A.D.D. where I can flit from task to task, moving from room to room, seeing one thing that needs attending to which will lead to another, which will lead to another........well, you get the picture. Yesterday a friend inquired as to what I'd do with my time and I told her I had no plans.......that the world would be my oyster.
Yes, I know that oysters produce pearls. I just hope that I get that grain of sand planted sooner than later. I do not want to be known as the person with the barren oyster shell. May mine spawn pearl after pearl!
Ancora imparo
True, I had spend almost three hours working on illustrations for the book, but, I asked myself, "What had I done with the rest of my time?" Yes, I did all my exercising. Yes, I read the newspaper. Yes, I composed a blog posting in the morning. Yes my SO and I enjoyed some conversation. But when I came to the part where I had been seated at my desk, tidying up the paperwork that had overspread nearly every inch, and I actually spent time trimming little pieces of paper so they would fit more readily in my wallet, I thought, "You were bored, weren't you?"
I'll admit that the change of routine was most certainly challenging in one way, yet it was refreshing in another. While I have zero artistic ability, creating illustrations for the twenty-page book has been artfully vexing and has kept my concentration at a high level, keeping my mind off other, more pressing matters. Of course, I realize that as the days pass, working back in a classroom will become a distant, fuzzy memory and soon I'll find the rhythm of no rhythm at all.
Being back at home every day is like the ultimate case of A.D.D. where I can flit from task to task, moving from room to room, seeing one thing that needs attending to which will lead to another, which will lead to another........well, you get the picture. Yesterday a friend inquired as to what I'd do with my time and I told her I had no plans.......that the world would be my oyster.
Yes, I know that oysters produce pearls. I just hope that I get that grain of sand planted sooner than later. I do not want to be known as the person with the barren oyster shell. May mine spawn pearl after pearl!
Ancora imparo
A Plethora of Partisanship
par.ti.san n 1: a firm adherent to a party, faction, cause, or person; esp : one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance (courtesy of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition)
I once believed that partisan related only to politics, probably because the phrase partisan politics has been bandied about for decades. However, seeing my nationally elected politicians seated side-by-side last night in the House Chamber has given me much cause for hope. Surely, due to the fact that they mixed and mingled during the State of the Union Address means that they can overcome their ideological differences today and move forward. Right?
As I was ruminating about partisan, I came to the realization that partisanship is everywhere and not limited to politics. (Although I must consider the idea that, perhaps, politics permeates most institutions.) My surrounding geographic area is dealing with education-related issues of the highest magnitude. Possible staff layoffs, school closings, increasing class sizes, shortened school day, elimination of curricula.....the scenarios go on adnauseam. Sadly, the only cost-cutting measure that seldom, if ever, is proffered is the elimination of administrative positions. Somewhere, in this quagmire, stands the student, looking bewildered, confused, angry and falling rapidly behind in the world's education pecking order. Partisanship often reigns supreme during decision-making and the only loser is the student.
Ironically, partisanship is even present in religion and has been since before the time of Jesus. Partisanship has fueled great wars throughout history and continues to do so today. Not only do sects of believers become hopeless enemies along partisan lines but congregations become rent because partisanship rears its ugly head within the walls of worship. Hubris is often the fuel-source for partisan religious squabbles, with all parties insisting that 'they' were (or are) right. Occasionally the self-righteous will proclaim that "the only issue is your weak belief, or lack thereof", an attitude that only adds more flammable liquid to the flames.
If I am not 'on fire' ( i.e. exhibiting blind, prejudiced or unreasoning allegiance) within my belief system, whether it is regarding politics, education, or religion, and YOU are, it does not make you right, nor me wrong. YOU do not have the right, nor do I, to force-feed a blind, prejudiced or unreasoning allegiance onto another human being. Sometimes both sides of the 'aisle' are wrong but first they must admit it.
Who will step up and utter the word "Uncle" first?
Ancora imparo
I once believed that partisan related only to politics, probably because the phrase partisan politics has been bandied about for decades. However, seeing my nationally elected politicians seated side-by-side last night in the House Chamber has given me much cause for hope. Surely, due to the fact that they mixed and mingled during the State of the Union Address means that they can overcome their ideological differences today and move forward. Right?
As I was ruminating about partisan, I came to the realization that partisanship is everywhere and not limited to politics. (Although I must consider the idea that, perhaps, politics permeates most institutions.) My surrounding geographic area is dealing with education-related issues of the highest magnitude. Possible staff layoffs, school closings, increasing class sizes, shortened school day, elimination of curricula.....the scenarios go on adnauseam. Sadly, the only cost-cutting measure that seldom, if ever, is proffered is the elimination of administrative positions. Somewhere, in this quagmire, stands the student, looking bewildered, confused, angry and falling rapidly behind in the world's education pecking order. Partisanship often reigns supreme during decision-making and the only loser is the student.
Ironically, partisanship is even present in religion and has been since before the time of Jesus. Partisanship has fueled great wars throughout history and continues to do so today. Not only do sects of believers become hopeless enemies along partisan lines but congregations become rent because partisanship rears its ugly head within the walls of worship. Hubris is often the fuel-source for partisan religious squabbles, with all parties insisting that 'they' were (or are) right. Occasionally the self-righteous will proclaim that "the only issue is your weak belief, or lack thereof", an attitude that only adds more flammable liquid to the flames.
If I am not 'on fire' ( i.e. exhibiting blind, prejudiced or unreasoning allegiance) within my belief system, whether it is regarding politics, education, or religion, and YOU are, it does not make you right, nor me wrong. YOU do not have the right, nor do I, to force-feed a blind, prejudiced or unreasoning allegiance onto another human being. Sometimes both sides of the 'aisle' are wrong but first they must admit it.
Who will step up and utter the word "Uncle" first?
Ancora imparo
Monday, January 24, 2011
Can't Wrap My Head Around This One
Terry Gross, radio personality and host(ess) of National Public Radio's "Fresh Air" interviewed Brian Greene, author of a book entitled The Fabric of the Cosmos. I heard most of the interview and, afterward my head, already pulsating from other, more pressing matters, hurt even more. The Fabric of the Cosmos deals with very high-level science and, remember, I was the high school student who spent most of her science classes inking in the blue line on her deck tennies. But, the author's answers to Gross' questions made me 'sit up and take notice'.
His topic was quantum physics and quantum mechanics - two topics I do not spend much time thinking about as a rule. He was talking about electrons and the space they take up and how in one test an electron might be in one place and with the next, very same test, the same electron would be 'somewhere else'.......or something like that. As you can read, my understanding of his topic is elemental, at best. But I did hear his supposition that instead of a 'uni' verse, there might be multi-verses......that parallel universes might exist.
This is exceptionally difficult for me to conceptualize. I have enough trouble with this universe, let alone thinking that there might be a parallel 'one' lurking about, or even next to me and I do not know it. Is it possible that there is a "mini-me' somewhere, maybe in the next room, typing simultaneously, yet we are totally unaware of each other? Is it possible that when I think I am home, from time to time, from the Aqua RV that my quantumly-mechanized double is actually on my Aqua RV, enjoying the wind and the waves? Is it possible that my QMD (quantumly-mechanized double) is lazy and could actually be vacuuming and dusting when I am not?
And, if I have rogue electrons that are somewhere else right now, then where are they? Will Scotty be beaming one of us upward any time soon? Is this really the beginning of a fourth dimension? A fifth dimension. I heard the real "Fifth Dimension" in person and when we "let the sunshine in", will it be real sunshine or simply some electrons being in a different place?
These are mind-boggling questions, are they not? All the things I hold dear in this world might just be figments of my dual-electroned (my word) brain. Those chocolate chip cookies I baked recently could be figamental (my word) replicas......in which case I want to know where the originals went? Did my body-double eat them?
I am signing off and my QMD had better, also.
Ancora imparo
His topic was quantum physics and quantum mechanics - two topics I do not spend much time thinking about as a rule. He was talking about electrons and the space they take up and how in one test an electron might be in one place and with the next, very same test, the same electron would be 'somewhere else'.......or something like that. As you can read, my understanding of his topic is elemental, at best. But I did hear his supposition that instead of a 'uni' verse, there might be multi-verses......that parallel universes might exist.
This is exceptionally difficult for me to conceptualize. I have enough trouble with this universe, let alone thinking that there might be a parallel 'one' lurking about, or even next to me and I do not know it. Is it possible that there is a "mini-me' somewhere, maybe in the next room, typing simultaneously, yet we are totally unaware of each other? Is it possible that when I think I am home, from time to time, from the Aqua RV that my quantumly-mechanized double is actually on my Aqua RV, enjoying the wind and the waves? Is it possible that my QMD (quantumly-mechanized double) is lazy and could actually be vacuuming and dusting when I am not?
And, if I have rogue electrons that are somewhere else right now, then where are they? Will Scotty be beaming one of us upward any time soon? Is this really the beginning of a fourth dimension? A fifth dimension. I heard the real "Fifth Dimension" in person and when we "let the sunshine in", will it be real sunshine or simply some electrons being in a different place?
These are mind-boggling questions, are they not? All the things I hold dear in this world might just be figments of my dual-electroned (my word) brain. Those chocolate chip cookies I baked recently could be figamental (my word) replicas......in which case I want to know where the originals went? Did my body-double eat them?
I am signing off and my QMD had better, also.
Ancora imparo
A Fine Time For Cocooning
I just discovered that Cranky Kitty and I had the same idea. Hole up in my office and let the world pass us by, if only for a little while. CK is under my desk, on the baby-quilt bed I provided for her. Usually she stirs when I sit down and clunk around on the desktop above her but today she did not move, so I just spent thirty or more seconds observing her with a flashlight to see if she is breathing. Her belly is moving ever so imperceptibly, so I know she is simply sleeping soundly.
I envy CK, laying there zoned out, warm, safe, comfortable and oblivious to what is happening around her. Watching her made me wish I was a member of the bear family. No, not the Bears who couldn't catch their cheese yesterday but the bears who are smart enough to hibernate for months at a time. The natural instinct that bears have to remove themselves from their outside environs and find a dark, quiet and temperate climate is one that I wish humans were blessed with. Oh, we do cocoon, just as I am doing at present, but the world still swirls around us at a dizzying speed and with ferocious intensity.
Unless we are in a fifties-style bomb shelter, a cat deep in sleep, or a bear in its cave, it is virtually impossible to ignore the world. On one level, that may be a good thing, but on deeper levels, the world and all of its foibles seems more damaging than positive. True, grandchildren, our own children, football games and puppies bring smiles, happiness and unabashed joy but then reality sets in. Media bombards us with too much information, we listen to people pontificate, we hear, read and see deception put forth by deluded individuals, and hubris rears its head on a daily basis......all of which can be joy-busting.
A friend of mine used to be a member of a mainstream, Protestant religion and it just wasn't working for him. Eight years ago he became a Buddhist and six years ago he adopted an English Springer Spaniel. I like the way this man thinks. Plus, he knows how to brew really good coffee and he appreciates fine cheese and carrot cake. Does his inner peace come from his faith, his dog, cheese, carrot cake or caffeine? He is a Bears fan but I cannot fault him for that. We all have our own personal crosses to Bear.
Ancora imparo
I envy CK, laying there zoned out, warm, safe, comfortable and oblivious to what is happening around her. Watching her made me wish I was a member of the bear family. No, not the Bears who couldn't catch their cheese yesterday but the bears who are smart enough to hibernate for months at a time. The natural instinct that bears have to remove themselves from their outside environs and find a dark, quiet and temperate climate is one that I wish humans were blessed with. Oh, we do cocoon, just as I am doing at present, but the world still swirls around us at a dizzying speed and with ferocious intensity.
Unless we are in a fifties-style bomb shelter, a cat deep in sleep, or a bear in its cave, it is virtually impossible to ignore the world. On one level, that may be a good thing, but on deeper levels, the world and all of its foibles seems more damaging than positive. True, grandchildren, our own children, football games and puppies bring smiles, happiness and unabashed joy but then reality sets in. Media bombards us with too much information, we listen to people pontificate, we hear, read and see deception put forth by deluded individuals, and hubris rears its head on a daily basis......all of which can be joy-busting.
A friend of mine used to be a member of a mainstream, Protestant religion and it just wasn't working for him. Eight years ago he became a Buddhist and six years ago he adopted an English Springer Spaniel. I like the way this man thinks. Plus, he knows how to brew really good coffee and he appreciates fine cheese and carrot cake. Does his inner peace come from his faith, his dog, cheese, carrot cake or caffeine? He is a Bears fan but I cannot fault him for that. We all have our own personal crosses to Bear.
Ancora imparo
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The BIG Game
It's just a football game. Really. A sporting event held outside in the cruelest of Mother Nature's conditions. Men, who are in the finest of physical conditioning, will make buckets of money in a single game running around, running into each other, falling down and getting back up, only to repeat the same movements and plays over and over again. The crowd will roar with either approval, disappointment, disapproval or all three. Cheers and boos may be heard simultaneously. Copious amounts of beer, nachos, peanuts and hot dogs will be purchased and consumed.......and that is only in the stadium. Posh sky boxes will be filled with wealthy spectators dining on the finest of foods and alcoholic beverages while in relative comfort compared to the common masses seated on stadium benches, bundled up like Nanooks of the North.
There will be the hundreds, maybe thousands of home gatherings while the game plays on small screens, flat screens, computer screens, and mega screens in home theater rooms. Gallons of beverages of all types will be imbibed, tons of food eaten, and municipalities will feel the sewer effects of entire communities flushing toilets every time a commercial plays or half time occurs. Other football fanatics will travel to their favorite watering holes and watch the BIG game with fellow patrons crowded around television screens that would make home theater systems pale in comparison.
Yet others will ignore the game completely by napping, reading, cleaning, working, quilting or, my favorite......shopping. Yes, the football widows will have the last laugh, while cash registers ring continuously and car trunks fill up with shopping bags. No matter how the afternoon is spent, the economy will be the BIG winner as will the victorious team. All hail the power of football!
Here's to the BIG game. I wonder which food will be the most popular? Cheese or bear claws?
Ancora imparo
There will be the hundreds, maybe thousands of home gatherings while the game plays on small screens, flat screens, computer screens, and mega screens in home theater rooms. Gallons of beverages of all types will be imbibed, tons of food eaten, and municipalities will feel the sewer effects of entire communities flushing toilets every time a commercial plays or half time occurs. Other football fanatics will travel to their favorite watering holes and watch the BIG game with fellow patrons crowded around television screens that would make home theater systems pale in comparison.
Yet others will ignore the game completely by napping, reading, cleaning, working, quilting or, my favorite......shopping. Yes, the football widows will have the last laugh, while cash registers ring continuously and car trunks fill up with shopping bags. No matter how the afternoon is spent, the economy will be the BIG winner as will the victorious team. All hail the power of football!
Here's to the BIG game. I wonder which food will be the most popular? Cheese or bear claws?
Ancora imparo
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Venerable Vernacular
Today's title, "Venerable Vernacular" is an oxymoron. There is no such concept as venerable vernacular because the words of the day, year or decade are in a constant state of flux. I was reminded of this when I read a recent excerpt from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, New Words, 2009. Keep in mind these are new words included in a 2009 edition, which makes them now outdated by two years. How quickly the buzz-words of the 'day' change. Is it not fascinating that one word can morph from meaning to meaning, depending on the year? For instance:
Chillax. One of my gal pals is really a cougar and, although she seems to be a frenemy, I will not tweet about how she is a cheeseball seeking to promote her flash mob, playing her vuvuzela on a webisode financed by her zombie bank and ignored by big media in a flyover state.
Ancora imparo
- Rock: To do something in a confident, flamboyant way; as in, "You rock!" Funny how once upon a time.....it meant a large particle of sedimentary material or a style of music.
- Heart: To like very much; love; as in "I heart you!" Facebook even has the heart symbol that you can 'send' to a friend. I'd like to know what happened to plain ol' "I love you!"
- Friend: To add to a list of personal associates on a website. While I understand that the word 'acquaintance' is too long and awkward to use on a social networking site, 'friending' someone has diluted the meaning of the word 'friend'. I see too many people using 'air quotes' when saying the word friend.
- Viral: Circulating rapidly on the Internet; as in "The video went viral!" While the new meaning is listed as an adjective, it most certainly has more of a negative connotation than a positive one. Viral used to mean "of, relating to, or caused by a virus". Granted this meaning deals with a web virus but when did any virus ever have a positive meaning?
- Bargainous: Costing less than expected. What was wrong with 'cheap'?
- Catastrophize: To present a situation as worse than it is. I thought 'exaggerate' worked just fine.
- Exit strategy: Planned means of extricating oneself from a situation. Weren't the words 'plan', 'leave', or 'quit' adequate?
- Overleveraged: Having taken on too much debt. Didn't we already know about 'spendthrifts'?
- Truthiness: Quality of seeming true. Really? Where I live there is no 'seeming' quality of truth. It either is or is not. Period.
Chillax. One of my gal pals is really a cougar and, although she seems to be a frenemy, I will not tweet about how she is a cheeseball seeking to promote her flash mob, playing her vuvuzela on a webisode financed by her zombie bank and ignored by big media in a flyover state.
Ancora imparo
Thursday, January 20, 2011
What Do You Mean You Don't Carry Broccoli?
There are just some things that should not be tampered with in this world. By "tampered with" I mean changed, modified, altered, etc. We all know what a grocery store or supermarket is. Over the course of the last forty to fifty years, 'mega-markets' have sprung up all over the country. These are 'super stores' where you can find a grocery store, drug store, clothing store, hardware store, maybe a dry cleaning establishment, bakery, floral shop, coffee shop, and, sometimes, a US Postal Shoppe under one roof. Truly everything from A to Z. As a nation, we have become accustomed to this type of store.
Then there is the Big Box type of home-improvement store where one can find everything to build a home or undertake a remodeling project, large or small. Need some duct tape or caulk? Head to your local Big Box Home Improvement Store and you will find just what you need. What doesn't fit into this equation is the Big Box Home Improvement Store/Grocery-Store-Wannabe. Within the past year, I became aware that some of these types of businesses now have what they call 'grocery departments'. Excuse me? A grocery department inside a Big Box Home Improvement Store? This makes as much sense to me as being able to buy crown molding or rebar at my grocery store. If I'm a tradesman running in to purchase more nails for the nail gun and I haven't had a thing to eat since breakfast, I might be tempted to hustle over to the 'grocery department' and grab some beef jerky and a two-litre bottle of pop, but if I am shopping there to purchase some drop cloths for my painting project, it is unlikely that I would consider purchasing the ingredients for the beef stroganoff I am planning for dinner.
What made me decide to write about this retail oxymoron was a recent advertisement in my daily newspaper. A national Big Box Home Improvement Store included a grocery-sized sack promoting the (paraphrase) "Celebration of our grocery department's second anniversary". The sack also said, "20% off anything you can eat or drink AND you can fit inside this bag!" It listed candy, pop, bottles water, beef jerky, nuts, chips, soups, sauces and more as being available. This seems like an example of my SO's strategy for me to drive through large cities: "Pick a lane and stick with it." Big Box Home Improvement Stores should stick with what they do best. Leave the groceries to the grocery stores.
Besides, someone just might want to purchase broccoli.
Ancora imparo
Then there is the Big Box type of home-improvement store where one can find everything to build a home or undertake a remodeling project, large or small. Need some duct tape or caulk? Head to your local Big Box Home Improvement Store and you will find just what you need. What doesn't fit into this equation is the Big Box Home Improvement Store/Grocery-Store-Wannabe. Within the past year, I became aware that some of these types of businesses now have what they call 'grocery departments'. Excuse me? A grocery department inside a Big Box Home Improvement Store? This makes as much sense to me as being able to buy crown molding or rebar at my grocery store. If I'm a tradesman running in to purchase more nails for the nail gun and I haven't had a thing to eat since breakfast, I might be tempted to hustle over to the 'grocery department' and grab some beef jerky and a two-litre bottle of pop, but if I am shopping there to purchase some drop cloths for my painting project, it is unlikely that I would consider purchasing the ingredients for the beef stroganoff I am planning for dinner.
What made me decide to write about this retail oxymoron was a recent advertisement in my daily newspaper. A national Big Box Home Improvement Store included a grocery-sized sack promoting the (paraphrase) "Celebration of our grocery department's second anniversary". The sack also said, "20% off anything you can eat or drink AND you can fit inside this bag!" It listed candy, pop, bottles water, beef jerky, nuts, chips, soups, sauces and more as being available. This seems like an example of my SO's strategy for me to drive through large cities: "Pick a lane and stick with it." Big Box Home Improvement Stores should stick with what they do best. Leave the groceries to the grocery stores.
Besides, someone just might want to purchase broccoli.
Ancora imparo
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Should There Be An Age Limit?
I am finding myself doing something more and more the older I get and I am wondering, publicly, if there should be an age limit on eye-rolling. There are days my eyes seem to be rolled back in their sockets more than looking straight forward.
To justify my ever-increasing eye rolling however, I must say that I am finding more and more to roll my eyes about and this is disturbing as well. I roll my eyes at television commercials that are adult-oriented but seem to be written for four-year olds, I roll my eyes at the inane statements that local and and national politicians make, I roll my eyes at expounding people do who seemingly know everything....I just cannot stop. For instance, a local business man was pontificating about his business, on television no less, and when I heard him say that an upcoming event was "micro-huge", my eyes went so far back in my head that I feared they would never roll back down. Now American Idol has started and there will be even more opportunities for eye-rolling.
I try to be very discreet about my eye-rolling, making a point to not draw attention to my bad habit, but someone usually catches my ocular reaction. I have also noted that, in a group setting, there will almost always be an eye-rolling partner.........another whose eyes roll precisely at the same time mine do and our eyes will meet with a silent but understanding look that passes between us.
Eye-rolling seems to know no age boundaries. Of course, younger eye-rollers are much more adept at the skill because they have almost constant practice. I try to limit my eye-rolling reactions simply to maintain some sense of decorum, but tweens, pre-teens, teens, twenty and thirty-somethings do not, as a rule, feel any compulsions to control what seems to be a natural response to most adult comments, requests, or thoughts. There are those people with whom I have phone conversations that I am prompted to tell I can hear their eyes rolling back in their heads. I just know.
As with all bad or ingrained habits, I am aware that I can reverse my natural response to roll my eyes. What takes it place, however, is somewhat worrisome. I will have to be vigilant, watching for increasing responses such as shouting, yelling or gesturing. But wait, the Packers/Bears game is just a few days away. I guess this is a bad time to be on the lookout for inappropriate, spontaneous responses.
Ancora imparo
To justify my ever-increasing eye rolling however, I must say that I am finding more and more to roll my eyes about and this is disturbing as well. I roll my eyes at television commercials that are adult-oriented but seem to be written for four-year olds, I roll my eyes at the inane statements that local and and national politicians make, I roll my eyes at expounding people do who seemingly know everything....I just cannot stop. For instance, a local business man was pontificating about his business, on television no less, and when I heard him say that an upcoming event was "micro-huge", my eyes went so far back in my head that I feared they would never roll back down. Now American Idol has started and there will be even more opportunities for eye-rolling.
I try to be very discreet about my eye-rolling, making a point to not draw attention to my bad habit, but someone usually catches my ocular reaction. I have also noted that, in a group setting, there will almost always be an eye-rolling partner.........another whose eyes roll precisely at the same time mine do and our eyes will meet with a silent but understanding look that passes between us.
Eye-rolling seems to know no age boundaries. Of course, younger eye-rollers are much more adept at the skill because they have almost constant practice. I try to limit my eye-rolling reactions simply to maintain some sense of decorum, but tweens, pre-teens, teens, twenty and thirty-somethings do not, as a rule, feel any compulsions to control what seems to be a natural response to most adult comments, requests, or thoughts. There are those people with whom I have phone conversations that I am prompted to tell I can hear their eyes rolling back in their heads. I just know.
As with all bad or ingrained habits, I am aware that I can reverse my natural response to roll my eyes. What takes it place, however, is somewhat worrisome. I will have to be vigilant, watching for increasing responses such as shouting, yelling or gesturing. But wait, the Packers/Bears game is just a few days away. I guess this is a bad time to be on the lookout for inappropriate, spontaneous responses.
Ancora imparo
This One Is Fried
I am currently in my third week of being a longer-term substitute teacher. Whenever I utter the word 'sub', most people groan, give me their condolences, and make a statement to the effect that "you wouldn't catch me dead as a sub". Those that have taught or are teaching nod their heads knowingly, understanding just what the 'gig' is like. Those who have never taught cannot imagine leading a classroom, in the first place, but there is one common thread that all share - we all had substitute teachers at some point in our school-lives and we all know what 'we' behaved like when we had a sub......and it wasn't pretty.
Yes, being a substitute teacher is akin to wearing a lime-green vest that makes you stick out in a crowd as if you have some communicable disease. News of a classroom sub spreads quickly during the course of a school day. In fact, the news is usually widely distributed among the student network well before class begins. It is always spoken in a whispered tone, "Mr.or Mrs. Smith is 'out' today and there is a sub!", often accompanied by chuckles, followed - at times - by unspoken plans to 'sink the sub'. Any person working as a substitute teacher who does not understand this phenomenon should find another line of employment.
Granted, in any classroom, there will always be the student, or group of students if the sub is lucky, that is 'there' to learn and will behave respectfully and attentively........as long as the substitute respects the students and has some identifiable level of competency. I believe that most classrooms, when relating to a substitute, will fall into three categories.....roughly a third, third, third: One third is able to remain focused, one third will go 'either way', and another third will have decided that anything goes. Even among the 'anything goes' group the division lines will fall between those who will respond to expectations of civil behavior and those who will resist most attempts to counter the desire for a party atmosphere to reign supreme.
Every day, working as a substitute, is fluid in nature. Heavens, every day as the regular classroom teacher is fluid. The smallest of factors can affect the classroom atmosphere. As yesterday proved, even an upcoming football game between rival giants can influence the barometer in the classroom. A day off coming in the near future? Students can smell this day off more than a week before the day actually comes. A major holiday break? Fugeddaboudit.
My lime-green vest is getting a workout. Fortunately, I still have my sense of humor although yesterday proved how close my brain is getting to the age level I am working with. During the course of a class the bass guitar player, a very fine young fellow who plays well, announced loudly - while waving something about - "This one is fried.". I subsequently learned that he was waving an amplifier cable that was no longer working. I burst into laughter, not because he interrupted class, not because I needed to find another working cable (which I did) but because I was thinking of my brain, which felt - at that moment - as if it had been filleted, coated with panko crumbs and lowered into a vat of bubbling oil.
I am happy to report that, as of today, my brain does not feel as if it has been filleted, but I am still finding panko crumbs among my cerebrum. I must close. It is time to don the lime-green vest.
Ancora imparo
Yes, being a substitute teacher is akin to wearing a lime-green vest that makes you stick out in a crowd as if you have some communicable disease. News of a classroom sub spreads quickly during the course of a school day. In fact, the news is usually widely distributed among the student network well before class begins. It is always spoken in a whispered tone, "Mr.or Mrs. Smith is 'out' today and there is a sub!", often accompanied by chuckles, followed - at times - by unspoken plans to 'sink the sub'. Any person working as a substitute teacher who does not understand this phenomenon should find another line of employment.
Granted, in any classroom, there will always be the student, or group of students if the sub is lucky, that is 'there' to learn and will behave respectfully and attentively........as long as the substitute respects the students and has some identifiable level of competency. I believe that most classrooms, when relating to a substitute, will fall into three categories.....roughly a third, third, third: One third is able to remain focused, one third will go 'either way', and another third will have decided that anything goes. Even among the 'anything goes' group the division lines will fall between those who will respond to expectations of civil behavior and those who will resist most attempts to counter the desire for a party atmosphere to reign supreme.
Every day, working as a substitute, is fluid in nature. Heavens, every day as the regular classroom teacher is fluid. The smallest of factors can affect the classroom atmosphere. As yesterday proved, even an upcoming football game between rival giants can influence the barometer in the classroom. A day off coming in the near future? Students can smell this day off more than a week before the day actually comes. A major holiday break? Fugeddaboudit.
My lime-green vest is getting a workout. Fortunately, I still have my sense of humor although yesterday proved how close my brain is getting to the age level I am working with. During the course of a class the bass guitar player, a very fine young fellow who plays well, announced loudly - while waving something about - "This one is fried.". I subsequently learned that he was waving an amplifier cable that was no longer working. I burst into laughter, not because he interrupted class, not because I needed to find another working cable (which I did) but because I was thinking of my brain, which felt - at that moment - as if it had been filleted, coated with panko crumbs and lowered into a vat of bubbling oil.
I am happy to report that, as of today, my brain does not feel as if it has been filleted, but I am still finding panko crumbs among my cerebrum. I must close. It is time to don the lime-green vest.
Ancora imparo
Monday, January 17, 2011
What Does It All Say?
I had a day off from work today. I had some plans but they were altered due to weather conditions so I had to change gears and take a different tack. It wasn't hard to decide where to begin. My office looked like a whirling dervish had moved through it with little regard for surface or floor space. The floor was littered with music that needed sorting, counting, and filing. My work table had bills, lists, and birthday cards that needed attending to. My desk's left hand corner was suffering from magazine collection and article-tearing-out syndrome, at which I am only too adept. Here and there were other scraps of paper that simply needed filing in my filing cabinet, newly purchased greeting cards that needed to be placed in the proper-category folder, and countless pieces of paper that simply needed the decision to discard. There was a pile of Christmas cards that sat, waiting for my fantasy of replying to the notes and letters still inside. After sorting through the pile for one last time, I threw all out but two, which have now been moved to the right side of my desk, where, theoretically, I will see them every day and somehow remember that I need to write personal notes to the senders of the cards. Then there are the multiple post-it notes, all notated with what must be vital information such as a change of email address, the title to a piece of music that might be good for the choir that I lead, the fact that my new black sweat pants need mending, a coupon for two dollars off a meal at my favorite breakfast haunt, three cents-off coupons clipped from Sunday's paper, and four reward cards from area retailers. Oh, yes, there is also a snack-sized, zippered plastic bag containing a broken-up granola bar that I did not consume yesterday while at church. There had been lots of dust bunnies lurking about but I managed to dust my desktop off, as well as my laptop's screen and keyboard.
Such is the minutiae of life, is it not? Am I defined by what is atop all of the surfaces in my office, as well as what sits on the surrounding shelves? If I never returned to my office, what would subsequent visitors to 'my space' think about its former occupant? What conclusions could be drawn by looking at what hangs on my walls and what books occupy the bookshelves? What message would be sent by the contents of my desk drawers and my ridiculously big collection of pens, markers, and Ticonderoga Number Two pencils? Not to mention the numerous pads of Post-it notes waiting about for my thoughts to be recorded before I forget some detail?
Tomorrow I head back to work, not knowing for how many more days I'll be gainfully employed but pathetically financially rewarded. At least I leave home tomorrow knowing my office is clean. What is it they say about a clean desk being the sign of a sick mind......or something like that?
Ancora imparo
Such is the minutiae of life, is it not? Am I defined by what is atop all of the surfaces in my office, as well as what sits on the surrounding shelves? If I never returned to my office, what would subsequent visitors to 'my space' think about its former occupant? What conclusions could be drawn by looking at what hangs on my walls and what books occupy the bookshelves? What message would be sent by the contents of my desk drawers and my ridiculously big collection of pens, markers, and Ticonderoga Number Two pencils? Not to mention the numerous pads of Post-it notes waiting about for my thoughts to be recorded before I forget some detail?
Tomorrow I head back to work, not knowing for how many more days I'll be gainfully employed but pathetically financially rewarded. At least I leave home tomorrow knowing my office is clean. What is it they say about a clean desk being the sign of a sick mind......or something like that?
Ancora imparo
If I Could Just Stop Sneezing Long Enough
Wonders will just never cease. Every time I think my brain cannot possibly hold more useless trivia, along comes more information that I deem absolutely necessary to my store of facts-that-no-one-cares-about-but-me.
First case-in-point: The word poiema. I am a lover of words and when I see a word in print that I have never seen or heard before I become curious as to its origin and meaning. To my great surprise, poiema was not in my beloved dictionary so I had to resort to Googling, which, as everyone knows, has the latest, greatest, and most accurate information of any search engine on the planet. (Just ask Google.) I discovered that poiema is an ancient Greek word, meaning a masterpiece, work of art by God, referenced in two books of the Bible - Romans and Ephesians. I'm certain that learning about this new word, poiema, may simmer in my brain and become the topic of a future Ancora imparo posting. For today, it is simply a reference.
Second case-in-point: All the attention given to what the celebrities wore at last night's Golden Globe Awards. I'll confess right now, I watched the entire segment on NBC's Today Show. I was doing kitchen duties such as emptying the dishwasher and other exciting household chores so I was paying minimal attention but occasionally I would find myself actually looking at the television screen. When the segment was done I found myself wondering why? Why, Ancora imparo, did you pay any attention to what so-and-so wore and who designed so-and-so's gown and why Miss So-and-So wore shoes of differing colors?
I have no intelligent answer to my own question.
Last case-in-point: I learned, just this very morning, that black pepper actually possesses nutritional qualities, anti-oxidants for one. My ears perked up when I heard this, although I maintained a fair amount of skepticism because the commercial was paid for my a producer of spices, black pepper being one of them. As usual, my curiosity got the best of me and I, of course, Googled black pepper. The sponsor of the television ad was accurate.....for a change. Where I have trouble is understanding how anyone could possibly ingest enough black pepper, at one setting, to take advantage of its beneficial properties. One-quarter teaspoon on my scrambled eggs? Do these people realize how much ground, black pepper is in one-quarter teaspoon? It has only been in the last fifteen years that I could stand more than three specks of black pepper on any one piece of food, let alone eating scrambled eggs 'peppered' (pun intended) with pepper. I would spend more time sneezing and coughing that I would eating the eggs. Maybe that is where the advertiser can get away with the statement that one-quarter teaspoon of ground black pepper contains a healthy dose of antioxidants. Just because they tell consumers to put that much pepper on the eggs in order to be healthy, doesn't mean that the consumer will actually be able to eat the pepper-peppered eggs. But......in the minds of those brilliant and highly paid Madison Avenue moguls, they didn't tell a untruth. It is not their responsibility to force the consumer to actually EAT the eggs.
I think, perhaps, I should go into hibernation now, lest I learn any more useless trivia. I've peppered the reader with enough shared/useless information for one day.
Ancora imparo
First case-in-point: The word poiema. I am a lover of words and when I see a word in print that I have never seen or heard before I become curious as to its origin and meaning. To my great surprise, poiema was not in my beloved dictionary so I had to resort to Googling, which, as everyone knows, has the latest, greatest, and most accurate information of any search engine on the planet. (Just ask Google.) I discovered that poiema is an ancient Greek word, meaning a masterpiece, work of art by God, referenced in two books of the Bible - Romans and Ephesians. I'm certain that learning about this new word, poiema, may simmer in my brain and become the topic of a future Ancora imparo posting. For today, it is simply a reference.
Second case-in-point: All the attention given to what the celebrities wore at last night's Golden Globe Awards. I'll confess right now, I watched the entire segment on NBC's Today Show. I was doing kitchen duties such as emptying the dishwasher and other exciting household chores so I was paying minimal attention but occasionally I would find myself actually looking at the television screen. When the segment was done I found myself wondering why? Why, Ancora imparo, did you pay any attention to what so-and-so wore and who designed so-and-so's gown and why Miss So-and-So wore shoes of differing colors?
I have no intelligent answer to my own question.
Last case-in-point: I learned, just this very morning, that black pepper actually possesses nutritional qualities, anti-oxidants for one. My ears perked up when I heard this, although I maintained a fair amount of skepticism because the commercial was paid for my a producer of spices, black pepper being one of them. As usual, my curiosity got the best of me and I, of course, Googled black pepper. The sponsor of the television ad was accurate.....for a change. Where I have trouble is understanding how anyone could possibly ingest enough black pepper, at one setting, to take advantage of its beneficial properties. One-quarter teaspoon on my scrambled eggs? Do these people realize how much ground, black pepper is in one-quarter teaspoon? It has only been in the last fifteen years that I could stand more than three specks of black pepper on any one piece of food, let alone eating scrambled eggs 'peppered' (pun intended) with pepper. I would spend more time sneezing and coughing that I would eating the eggs. Maybe that is where the advertiser can get away with the statement that one-quarter teaspoon of ground black pepper contains a healthy dose of antioxidants. Just because they tell consumers to put that much pepper on the eggs in order to be healthy, doesn't mean that the consumer will actually be able to eat the pepper-peppered eggs. But......in the minds of those brilliant and highly paid Madison Avenue moguls, they didn't tell a untruth. It is not their responsibility to force the consumer to actually EAT the eggs.
I think, perhaps, I should go into hibernation now, lest I learn any more useless trivia. I've peppered the reader with enough shared/useless information for one day.
Ancora imparo
Sunday, January 16, 2011
These Truths Are My Evidence
I have some 'truths' I feel compelled to share with the readers of Ancora imparo. Perhaps one or two, some or none will resonate with you.
- Carrot cake freezes well but eats better when thawed.
- Good singers sound even better with fabulous instrumentalists backing them up.
- If you are going to 'use' instrumentalists, get the best you can find. I did and I'm glad.
- Putting the last load of laundered clothing into the dryer is a good feeling.
- Coffee from six hours ago is still drinkable if you warm it up and consume it with carrot cake.
- Falling asleep at the keyboard, while posting, may incur airors.
- I live in a corrupt, bankrupt state. (That would be a state in the union, not a personal state.)
- Two days off are not enough.
- Grandchildren are naturally cute.
- Pulling the hanging thread on the sleeve of my turtleneck was not a good idea.
- Constant hand washing may help prevent the spread of germs but it makes for very dry skin.
- Falling asleep in one's desk chair makes one prone to falling out of the chair.
- A totally empty dirty-clothes basket doesn't stay that way very long.
- Winter is too long.
- I'm glad my SO and I dated before there was texting, twittering and Facebooking.
- Whoever decided that the astrological charts should be changed should be sent to a gulag somewhere in upper Mongolia.
- Think of all of the marriages that are no longer perfect 'fits' because the astrological charts got changed.
- How can I possibly go from being a Scorpio to a Libra?
- Now that I have had a few days to contemplate moving from being a Scorpio to a Libra, I have decided to refuse.
- I hold this truth to be self-evident: I am a Scorpio now and forever.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Value Judgements
I heard a radio personality say, today, that he did not make value judgements. Well, thought I to myself, yes, you do. We all do each and every day. I made a value judgement just yesterday on the value of gasoline. I saw the price at $2.98.9 per gallon and decided that I should stop and fill up. That was a value judgement.
(Here is a fascinating aside having zero to do with value judgements, but rather the spelling of judgement. The spell-check feature on blogger.com keeps highlighting judgement as a misspelling so I did what any student of curiosity would do, I went to my 'final answer book', Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, and to my great surprise, it lists first - the word judgment without an e after the 'g'. Judgement with the 'e' is listed acceptable, but second. I learned yet another bit of trivia today!)
But I digress.
I baked a very large batch of chocolate-chip cookies today and had to make a value judgement on the done-ness of each pan when I removed it from the oven. My SO and I have a value-judgement disparity on every cookie I bake. He prefers cookies that are a bit more done and therefore crispy. I prefer my cookies soft and chewy. Since I am the baker in this household, our cookies are soft and chewy. End of discussion.
Today, I heard a value judgement passed on a value judgement. Apparently, the Today Show recently made a value judgement to discuss a book out by a pop-culture important-person-wannabe from a state on the Atlantic shoreline rather than highlight books that have been selected to receive prestigious literary awards such as the Caldecott Medal or the Newberry Medal. The speaker found that NBC choice to be questionable and that made his opinion a value judgement regarding an NBC value judgement.
The very fact that a person chooses to read books rather than to clean is a value judgement based on a personal choice, yet the decision is a value judgement.......valuing relaxation over lint removal. I say, "Brava!" The woman who was wearing an aviator hat in the supermarket yesterday made a value judgement on style. That was her personal choice even though I found it to be a bit odd-looking........a value judgement on my part. And now I feel I must choose running the vacuum sweeper over continuing to blather on about value judgements.
Choices, choices.
Ancora imparo
(Here is a fascinating aside having zero to do with value judgements, but rather the spelling of judgement. The spell-check feature on blogger.com keeps highlighting judgement as a misspelling so I did what any student of curiosity would do, I went to my 'final answer book', Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, and to my great surprise, it lists first - the word judgment without an e after the 'g'. Judgement with the 'e' is listed acceptable, but second. I learned yet another bit of trivia today!)
But I digress.
I baked a very large batch of chocolate-chip cookies today and had to make a value judgement on the done-ness of each pan when I removed it from the oven. My SO and I have a value-judgement disparity on every cookie I bake. He prefers cookies that are a bit more done and therefore crispy. I prefer my cookies soft and chewy. Since I am the baker in this household, our cookies are soft and chewy. End of discussion.
Today, I heard a value judgement passed on a value judgement. Apparently, the Today Show recently made a value judgement to discuss a book out by a pop-culture important-person-wannabe from a state on the Atlantic shoreline rather than highlight books that have been selected to receive prestigious literary awards such as the Caldecott Medal or the Newberry Medal. The speaker found that NBC choice to be questionable and that made his opinion a value judgement regarding an NBC value judgement.
The very fact that a person chooses to read books rather than to clean is a value judgement based on a personal choice, yet the decision is a value judgement.......valuing relaxation over lint removal. I say, "Brava!" The woman who was wearing an aviator hat in the supermarket yesterday made a value judgement on style. That was her personal choice even though I found it to be a bit odd-looking........a value judgement on my part. And now I feel I must choose running the vacuum sweeper over continuing to blather on about value judgements.
Choices, choices.
Ancora imparo
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Takin' Care Of Business
Circa 1973. Bachman Turner Overdrive sang this classic tune about working constantly, no matter the task or situation. It does ring true, doesn't it? Readers know I am a list-maker but, even as a list-maker, I feel like I can never catch up. One list simply replaces another.
Today I was part of a conversation about working constantly. The group was comprised of both males and females and I was struck by how each sex thought they were never able to 'finish the to-do list' as one man put it. He attributed his endless work to the tasks his SO kept adding to the list, while the women attributed their constant workload to their day jobs and night jobs as wives and mothers. When a new party entered the conversation (a single, younger male) and asked why no one in the discussion group ever relaxed, the looks he received could have withered all the orchids in the world with one single chilling blast. The curious part of this story is that the chilling-blast looks lasted all of a milli-second then everyone laughed and made jokes about never relaxing. I could see that it was a rather raw topic but no one wanted to delve any further into it.
What I found fascinating about all of the conversation's participants was that, to a person, the most common form of relaxation came from television. Granted, some of the program preferences were vastly different from mine. For instance, I do not find the show, "A Thousand Ways To Die", or some such inane title, interesting. You could not pay me to watch the show beyond the sixty seconds or so that I've see thus far. My SO and I do not see eye-to-eye regarding our television programming tastes but the television is not the only form of relaxation for either one of us.
Perhaps it is a generational difference. I cannot imagine being tied to my TiVo but most of the conversationalists today were frequent TiVo users. In fact, several said they could not possibly 'live' without their TiVos. Several others caught their favorite television shows on their smart phones. While this is not my bailiwick, I can, at least, say that these people are relaxing and that they are not constantly 'takin' care of business.
I hearby declare a moratorium on the never-ending-takin'-care-of-business syndrome. Let us, one and all, eye our dusty pianos, our books-waiting-to-be-read, call the friend for a coffee, or pick the knitting needles and finish that scarf that has been sitting in the basket on the floor next to the sofa.
I'm game if you are!
Ancora imparo
Today I was part of a conversation about working constantly. The group was comprised of both males and females and I was struck by how each sex thought they were never able to 'finish the to-do list' as one man put it. He attributed his endless work to the tasks his SO kept adding to the list, while the women attributed their constant workload to their day jobs and night jobs as wives and mothers. When a new party entered the conversation (a single, younger male) and asked why no one in the discussion group ever relaxed, the looks he received could have withered all the orchids in the world with one single chilling blast. The curious part of this story is that the chilling-blast looks lasted all of a milli-second then everyone laughed and made jokes about never relaxing. I could see that it was a rather raw topic but no one wanted to delve any further into it.
What I found fascinating about all of the conversation's participants was that, to a person, the most common form of relaxation came from television. Granted, some of the program preferences were vastly different from mine. For instance, I do not find the show, "A Thousand Ways To Die", or some such inane title, interesting. You could not pay me to watch the show beyond the sixty seconds or so that I've see thus far. My SO and I do not see eye-to-eye regarding our television programming tastes but the television is not the only form of relaxation for either one of us.
Perhaps it is a generational difference. I cannot imagine being tied to my TiVo but most of the conversationalists today were frequent TiVo users. In fact, several said they could not possibly 'live' without their TiVos. Several others caught their favorite television shows on their smart phones. While this is not my bailiwick, I can, at least, say that these people are relaxing and that they are not constantly 'takin' care of business.
I hearby declare a moratorium on the never-ending-takin'-care-of-business syndrome. Let us, one and all, eye our dusty pianos, our books-waiting-to-be-read, call the friend for a coffee, or pick the knitting needles and finish that scarf that has been sitting in the basket on the floor next to the sofa.
I'm game if you are!
Ancora imparo
Thinking Twice About This Idea
Does anyone recognize these phrases? "She's just checked out." "He's in la-la land." "His head's in the clouds." I know there are dozens more phrases that all mean the same thing: A person's brain just doesn't want to participate any longer.
I was reminded of this human ability to 'check out' while having to click on either 'log-in' or 'log out' for the umpteenth time after being in online sites. Just clicking a spot on a menu bar is so much more efficient than having to turn one's brain on or off. I want that ability. Like Staples "Easy Button", having an embedded button in my body that says 'logged in' or 'logged out' would just be clearer to everyone around me, including myself. There would be no room for confusion about whether I was engaged or disengaged in a discussion or activity. Sometimes I am not clear about whether I am engrossed in whatever present surroundings I find myself in. By having to chose what the button says, my own participation would not be open for conjecture. I'd be either 'in' or 'out'.
Now that I am pondering this important life-question, I could, perhaps, see the need for a third choice to push on my embedded button: Ambivalent. The 'ambivalent' choice could buy a person a bit more time in which to decide if he or she is either logged in or logged out. By choosing 'ambivalent', those around the undecided person might know to give wider berth until the action-choice button has been selected. Of course, with the way technology is now moving at the speed of light, this embedded-button idea could be expanded to include a wide-array of behavioral choices and messages that a person could select from. The problem would come when some genius figures out a way for the button to simply say what the person is thinking, in which case, I, along with countless others, could be in deep doggy-doo.
This button concept is probably being tested in a sheep somewhere in the heart of the British Isles. I think I'd better be careful what I wish for, don't you?
Just to let the reader know: I am now logging out.
Ancora imparo
I was reminded of this human ability to 'check out' while having to click on either 'log-in' or 'log out' for the umpteenth time after being in online sites. Just clicking a spot on a menu bar is so much more efficient than having to turn one's brain on or off. I want that ability. Like Staples "Easy Button", having an embedded button in my body that says 'logged in' or 'logged out' would just be clearer to everyone around me, including myself. There would be no room for confusion about whether I was engaged or disengaged in a discussion or activity. Sometimes I am not clear about whether I am engrossed in whatever present surroundings I find myself in. By having to chose what the button says, my own participation would not be open for conjecture. I'd be either 'in' or 'out'.
Now that I am pondering this important life-question, I could, perhaps, see the need for a third choice to push on my embedded button: Ambivalent. The 'ambivalent' choice could buy a person a bit more time in which to decide if he or she is either logged in or logged out. By choosing 'ambivalent', those around the undecided person might know to give wider berth until the action-choice button has been selected. Of course, with the way technology is now moving at the speed of light, this embedded-button idea could be expanded to include a wide-array of behavioral choices and messages that a person could select from. The problem would come when some genius figures out a way for the button to simply say what the person is thinking, in which case, I, along with countless others, could be in deep doggy-doo.
This button concept is probably being tested in a sheep somewhere in the heart of the British Isles. I think I'd better be careful what I wish for, don't you?
Just to let the reader know: I am now logging out.
Ancora imparo
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Eggs and Fabric-softener Sheets Do Belong In the Same Sentence
You know the adage, "Oil and water do not mix very well.", or some variation thereof. It's an obvious fact to a cook who has a recipe that says to take one cup of water, add 1/2 cup of cooking oil, and two eggs (beaten) and mix well. If you start with the water and oil and trying beating or whisking them together, you may think you see blending but after a second or two of the cessation of movement, little bubbles of oil will begin to meld back together and float to the top of the liquid. When the third 'agent', i.e. the eggs, are added to the mix then the liquid has an ingredient that can, indeed, stay blended together.
If I wanted to take this example of oil and water to an extreme level of fanciful, I could use the analogy of washing my clothes in the washing machine then drying them without the aid of a fabric softener sheet. Without the aid of a fabric softener sheet, the combination of the dryer's interior configuration, the wet clothes, and heat will result in very wrinkled clothes when dry. However, if I add a fabric softener sheet, whatever 'stuff' (I do not wish to know what the 'stuff' really is.) is on the sheet coats the clothes and helps to prevent wrinkles from forming.
So what can the 'egg' be for our society, our lives......whatever oil and vinegar situations we find ourselves in? What action, what words, even what punishment can we construct that will act as a societal fabric-softener sheet to help smooth out the wrinkles and help to mitigate the effects of agitation and high heat? Can we logically overcome the ideological differences between the 'left' and the 'right', the generational-needs differences between the old and the young, the passionate-belief differences between the proponents of round-a-bouts versus traffic lights at intersections, or the self-proclaimed zealots for Dunkin' Doughnuts coffee versus Starbucks coffee? No matter the topic, there will always be 'sides' in any discussion. Heavens, my dad and I were never able to agree on white versus yellow popcorn or the perfect degree of the ripeness of bananas. My mom and I were never able to agree on how to make a bed......and these were trivial topics in relation to the real matters of concern hanging over our human heads today.
I do not have any earth-shattering recommendations for what makes the perfect 'fabric-softener sheet' for the calming of the fabric of our lives and society today. I have some personal suspicions and preferences but that is just what they are: personal. It seems that everywhere I turn, from politics to church to our schools to family matters, fabric-softener sheets are needed......and in large amounts.
On the other hand, using the egg as the example of a substance that can bind other substances together, the egg industry does advertise it as, "The incredible, edible egg."
Both the fabric-softener sheet and eggs are readily available at your local supermarket or corner store. Let's all stock up. It's the Year-of-the-Lemon.
Ancora imparo
If I wanted to take this example of oil and water to an extreme level of fanciful, I could use the analogy of washing my clothes in the washing machine then drying them without the aid of a fabric softener sheet. Without the aid of a fabric softener sheet, the combination of the dryer's interior configuration, the wet clothes, and heat will result in very wrinkled clothes when dry. However, if I add a fabric softener sheet, whatever 'stuff' (I do not wish to know what the 'stuff' really is.) is on the sheet coats the clothes and helps to prevent wrinkles from forming.
So what can the 'egg' be for our society, our lives......whatever oil and vinegar situations we find ourselves in? What action, what words, even what punishment can we construct that will act as a societal fabric-softener sheet to help smooth out the wrinkles and help to mitigate the effects of agitation and high heat? Can we logically overcome the ideological differences between the 'left' and the 'right', the generational-needs differences between the old and the young, the passionate-belief differences between the proponents of round-a-bouts versus traffic lights at intersections, or the self-proclaimed zealots for Dunkin' Doughnuts coffee versus Starbucks coffee? No matter the topic, there will always be 'sides' in any discussion. Heavens, my dad and I were never able to agree on white versus yellow popcorn or the perfect degree of the ripeness of bananas. My mom and I were never able to agree on how to make a bed......and these were trivial topics in relation to the real matters of concern hanging over our human heads today.
I do not have any earth-shattering recommendations for what makes the perfect 'fabric-softener sheet' for the calming of the fabric of our lives and society today. I have some personal suspicions and preferences but that is just what they are: personal. It seems that everywhere I turn, from politics to church to our schools to family matters, fabric-softener sheets are needed......and in large amounts.
On the other hand, using the egg as the example of a substance that can bind other substances together, the egg industry does advertise it as, "The incredible, edible egg."
Both the fabric-softener sheet and eggs are readily available at your local supermarket or corner store. Let's all stock up. It's the Year-of-the-Lemon.
Ancora imparo
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Seeking Out A Recipe
I like to cook. Rather, I like to cook when 1: I have time to cook and 2: I am cooking for a purpose - be it a special meal for my SO and I, a family gathering, grandchildren, dinner guests or some other requested reason. I equate cooking with relaxation and fun.
Cooking, however, from my perspective, must involve a recipe. Rarely do I cook without one. Half the fun of cooking is the recipe search and then trying the recipe for the first time. I have found that if I follow the recipe exactly, nine point nine times out of ten, the end result is delicious. I will never be a recipe 'producer'. My knowledge of combining ingredients is not strong enough to compose a recipe on my own. I will always be the cook who follows directions.......compiled by someone else.
Perhaps that is why I am having trouble locating a recipe for lemonade these days. Perhaps it is because this is January and the weather looks bleak most of the time......but I have too many lemons right now and not one single recipe for lemonade. I've been seeking out lemonade recipes but not one seems logical nor practical. My usual sources for lemonade-making directions are just not bringin' it and I am finding that I might actually have to compose my own recipe. Perhaps my first task should be to simply throw out the lemons, thereby removing the need to make lemonade in the first place. I could choose to ignore the lemons. This strategy of sticking my head in the sand is usually successful.....for a short amount of time. But, after a while, I need to come up for air and there are the same lemons staring me in the face. Consequently, ignoring is only a temporary fix but does nothing, long term, to address the issue of being over-stocked in the lemon department.
My internal inventory-control manager says to just wait out the lemon problem. "After a while", this voice says, "the lemons will spoil and turn into compost". I suppose this is the most environmentally friendly course of action.......to simply wait out the 'year of the lemon' and see what my lemon-composting project can produce or improve. Maybe a lemon-dehydrator would be helpful?
For now, I am looking for a lemonade recipe. Any readers have one they would care to share?
Ancora imparo
Cooking, however, from my perspective, must involve a recipe. Rarely do I cook without one. Half the fun of cooking is the recipe search and then trying the recipe for the first time. I have found that if I follow the recipe exactly, nine point nine times out of ten, the end result is delicious. I will never be a recipe 'producer'. My knowledge of combining ingredients is not strong enough to compose a recipe on my own. I will always be the cook who follows directions.......compiled by someone else.
Perhaps that is why I am having trouble locating a recipe for lemonade these days. Perhaps it is because this is January and the weather looks bleak most of the time......but I have too many lemons right now and not one single recipe for lemonade. I've been seeking out lemonade recipes but not one seems logical nor practical. My usual sources for lemonade-making directions are just not bringin' it and I am finding that I might actually have to compose my own recipe. Perhaps my first task should be to simply throw out the lemons, thereby removing the need to make lemonade in the first place. I could choose to ignore the lemons. This strategy of sticking my head in the sand is usually successful.....for a short amount of time. But, after a while, I need to come up for air and there are the same lemons staring me in the face. Consequently, ignoring is only a temporary fix but does nothing, long term, to address the issue of being over-stocked in the lemon department.
My internal inventory-control manager says to just wait out the lemon problem. "After a while", this voice says, "the lemons will spoil and turn into compost". I suppose this is the most environmentally friendly course of action.......to simply wait out the 'year of the lemon' and see what my lemon-composting project can produce or improve. Maybe a lemon-dehydrator would be helpful?
For now, I am looking for a lemonade recipe. Any readers have one they would care to share?
Ancora imparo
Monday, January 10, 2011
Tea, Myself and I
There are just some days, for me, where nothing but tea will do. This is definitely one of them.
I tried coffee earlier this morning. I really enjoy my morning coffee and today seemed to be no different. I sipped my cuppa joe in my favorite chair while reading the Monday newspaper, which took all of about six minutes, if that. Having galloped through the news and comics it was time to move on to getting ready for the day and the tasks that the morning called for. I galloped through those and thought, "This is great but is that all there is? Where is the fun in what I just did?" I looked long and hard at our splendid, insulated coffee carafe, almost reaching for its handle but my state of zen said, "No!" Unfortunately, for me, frustration still lingered and, at this mid-morning point, I realized that tea was definitely what doctor "Zen" was calling for.
I am very good at looking too far ahead in a day....a week....a month.....or longer and borrowing stress and frustration. Once again, today was no different and I realized that I needed the calming and quieting qualities of tea. As quickly as I could, I boiled some water and dropped the tea bag into the bubbling liquid to begin the steeping process as soon as possible. Once that mission was accomplished my need for zen took me to my 'woman-cave'; i.e. my office and my laptop and soon my my fingers were typing away, each stroke taking me closer to some sense of inner peace.
Yes, today's title is a take-off on an old 'saying' that my friends and I used to have in high school, no less: "Me, myself and I." It meant that at times that was all there was and that, at times, that was all there should be. This morning proved to be no different.
I found what I was needing and looking for........tea, myself and I.
Ancora imparo
I tried coffee earlier this morning. I really enjoy my morning coffee and today seemed to be no different. I sipped my cuppa joe in my favorite chair while reading the Monday newspaper, which took all of about six minutes, if that. Having galloped through the news and comics it was time to move on to getting ready for the day and the tasks that the morning called for. I galloped through those and thought, "This is great but is that all there is? Where is the fun in what I just did?" I looked long and hard at our splendid, insulated coffee carafe, almost reaching for its handle but my state of zen said, "No!" Unfortunately, for me, frustration still lingered and, at this mid-morning point, I realized that tea was definitely what doctor "Zen" was calling for.
I am very good at looking too far ahead in a day....a week....a month.....or longer and borrowing stress and frustration. Once again, today was no different and I realized that I needed the calming and quieting qualities of tea. As quickly as I could, I boiled some water and dropped the tea bag into the bubbling liquid to begin the steeping process as soon as possible. Once that mission was accomplished my need for zen took me to my 'woman-cave'; i.e. my office and my laptop and soon my my fingers were typing away, each stroke taking me closer to some sense of inner peace.
Yes, today's title is a take-off on an old 'saying' that my friends and I used to have in high school, no less: "Me, myself and I." It meant that at times that was all there was and that, at times, that was all there should be. This morning proved to be no different.
I found what I was needing and looking for........tea, myself and I.
Ancora imparo
Saturday, January 8, 2011
The Learning Just Never Stops
Last night I was in a particularly prickly mood - end of work week, tired, discouraged, tired, etc. - and Capt. SO was feeling similarly inspired with life so after dinner we each went our separate ways in the condo. He retreated to comfy furniture in the lower level and his favorite cable channel, AMC. His and my tastes in television programs are polar opposites, and that is as opposite as one can get with another so I remained upstairs and retreated to my office sanctuary. Being toasty and warm, surrounded by my favorite and familiar belongings, my stress began to dissipate and my creative juices and natural curiosity returned. After accomplishing some routine office tasks that needed completion, I turned my attention to anything on my desk that smelled even remotely 'fun'. My eye fell to a recent copy of a magazine whose content reflects a certain age level and up. Several days ago, while flipping through the pages, I had discovered its crossword puzzle page and had folded the magazine to mark that page.
With number one across filled in successfully, I was hooked and I knew I'd be working on it until either the cows came home, I had completed the entire puzzle or I took my last breath. One of the three possibilities.....it was just too early in the evening to know which one. I muddled through all that I could fill in without thinking and then went back to those 'clues' that would require a bit more thought, when one caught my eye: Number 18 down......divagation. Now I know what a diva is. In fact, a direct descendant of mine is a diva so I thought I had this one down. To me, this was a no-brainer, as they say. Of course, the answer would have to have something to do with the action or actions of a female. There were six spaces given and I knew that the first letter was a 'd' (I peeked) so I began thinking of a six-letter word having to do with female performing personalities that began with a 'd'. Try as I might, I could not come up with an answer and subsequent words filled in did little to help. As a last resort, I turned to.....you guessed it.....my Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the word divagate has nothing to do with divas. Divagate means to wander, detour (the word the puzzle was looking for), diverge or digress (Something I am very good at, I must confess.).
I found myself with a burst bubble. I thought, for sure, when my direct descendant behaved as a diva, that I would be able to say to her, "Are you going to divagate, right here, right now?" or, "Can you save your divagation for later?" I realize that neither of these comments would serve any real, constructive purpose but they would have been fun to utter and might have, at least, elicited a look of curiosity from her.
For now, I must be content knowing that I have not divagated from my practice of blogging about nothing in particular and all things trivial. Before I close, I must ask one pressing question: Is it possible to divagate from divagation?
Ancora imparo
With number one across filled in successfully, I was hooked and I knew I'd be working on it until either the cows came home, I had completed the entire puzzle or I took my last breath. One of the three possibilities.....it was just too early in the evening to know which one. I muddled through all that I could fill in without thinking and then went back to those 'clues' that would require a bit more thought, when one caught my eye: Number 18 down......divagation. Now I know what a diva is. In fact, a direct descendant of mine is a diva so I thought I had this one down. To me, this was a no-brainer, as they say. Of course, the answer would have to have something to do with the action or actions of a female. There were six spaces given and I knew that the first letter was a 'd' (I peeked) so I began thinking of a six-letter word having to do with female performing personalities that began with a 'd'. Try as I might, I could not come up with an answer and subsequent words filled in did little to help. As a last resort, I turned to.....you guessed it.....my Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the word divagate has nothing to do with divas. Divagate means to wander, detour (the word the puzzle was looking for), diverge or digress (Something I am very good at, I must confess.).
I found myself with a burst bubble. I thought, for sure, when my direct descendant behaved as a diva, that I would be able to say to her, "Are you going to divagate, right here, right now?" or, "Can you save your divagation for later?" I realize that neither of these comments would serve any real, constructive purpose but they would have been fun to utter and might have, at least, elicited a look of curiosity from her.
For now, I must be content knowing that I have not divagated from my practice of blogging about nothing in particular and all things trivial. Before I close, I must ask one pressing question: Is it possible to divagate from divagation?
Ancora imparo
Friday, January 7, 2011
1 4 the Recordbks
i thought my seven-hundreth posting should b special and so ive dcided 2 write it as if i were txting some1.
uc this past year ive bcome a txter and in fact bgan txting so much that i had 2 go 2 an unlimited plan. u will note that i do at least use , and . 2 demonstr8 the ends of sentences or thoughts. frequently i do make spelling goofs plus i m not consistent w/ my abbreviations. but i m able 2 get my ideas across 2 those 2 whom i txt.
txting is a very curious 4rm of communication. i find that 'real' txtrs really like 2 txt and will keep on txting 4ever. their replies never stop. if i want 2 stop txting w/ certain people i have 2 finally say "i m going 2 bed. goodnite." if i do not say this they will keep txting and i will never get 2 sleep. i have 2 sleep bcuz i m old and, most often, the ppl i m txting w/ r not old like me. ppl my age will stop txting. not those who r young. they go on and on and on.....
i do c a problem w/ txting and that is that we will b raising a whole generation of poor spellers. even now i must think carefully b4 typing or writing something. i constantly catch myself starting 2 abbrev8 words in stuff i write or type. it would not b cool 4 me to write a note 2 the principal of the school where i am subbing and say 2 her that 'here is an article 4 u that u ask me 2 send." not cool at all. thusly i find myself having 2 catch myself constantly 2 avoid a misspelled word....or 2 or 3.
i was thinking that bcuz i starting txting la8er in life, my tombstone could read this:
here lies ancora imparo. she was 2 tired 2 stay alive 4ever.
so how r u coming w/ ur txting life? do u have 1? if u dont think about getting 1. it can b fun.
Ancora imparo, who apologies profusely 2 her Merriam-Webster Collegi8 Dictionary, 11th edition
uc this past year ive bcome a txter and in fact bgan txting so much that i had 2 go 2 an unlimited plan. u will note that i do at least use , and . 2 demonstr8 the ends of sentences or thoughts. frequently i do make spelling goofs plus i m not consistent w/ my abbreviations. but i m able 2 get my ideas across 2 those 2 whom i txt.
txting is a very curious 4rm of communication. i find that 'real' txtrs really like 2 txt and will keep on txting 4ever. their replies never stop. if i want 2 stop txting w/ certain people i have 2 finally say "i m going 2 bed. goodnite." if i do not say this they will keep txting and i will never get 2 sleep. i have 2 sleep bcuz i m old and, most often, the ppl i m txting w/ r not old like me. ppl my age will stop txting. not those who r young. they go on and on and on.....
i do c a problem w/ txting and that is that we will b raising a whole generation of poor spellers. even now i must think carefully b4 typing or writing something. i constantly catch myself starting 2 abbrev8 words in stuff i write or type. it would not b cool 4 me to write a note 2 the principal of the school where i am subbing and say 2 her that 'here is an article 4 u that u ask me 2 send." not cool at all. thusly i find myself having 2 catch myself constantly 2 avoid a misspelled word....or 2 or 3.
i was thinking that bcuz i starting txting la8er in life, my tombstone could read this:
here lies ancora imparo. she was 2 tired 2 stay alive 4ever.
so how r u coming w/ ur txting life? do u have 1? if u dont think about getting 1. it can b fun.
Ancora imparo, who apologies profusely 2 her Merriam-Webster Collegi8 Dictionary, 11th edition
Thursday, January 6, 2011
The Wait Is On
I removed the ornaments from the Christmas tree tonight. The tree would look very denuded except that it is an artificial, pre-lit tree so the lights remain on year 'round. Nevertheless, in a very short amount of time, the tree went from beautiful to pitiful.
As I was taking off each ornament and searching for the box it was to get packed in, I was thinking about how taking the tree apart is so very different from decorating the tree before the Holly Daze. Decorating the tree at our place is usually accompanied by Christmas music playing in the background and a glass of wine or Bailey's lurking somewhere nearby........plus it requires painstaking care. Care to open each box, care to remove the ornament, care to place it on the tree in just the right place, care to mix up the ornaments to make just the perfect mix of colors and themes. Care to create that magical combination of ornaments and lights that make adults' and children's eyes glow with delight.
Removing the ornaments is another matter. This is a task that is often performed with much more hurried manner than decorating the tree and is often carried out after a long day of accomplishing other jobs. Somehow, locating the exact box that should house a particular ornament is not a simple job and often requires rooting through a maze of boxes, tissue paper and bubble wrap.
There is also a sense of sadness when putting the decorations away. Holiday decorations are usually brightly colored and may have whimsical appearances that bring smiles to those who look at them. Even the children's creche characters have whimsical-appearing faces that blend right in with the snowmen, Santa Claus statues, and other assorted bells, bangles and baubles.
Now the reality of winter settles into our minds, eyes, bones and joints. This is truly the doldrums of winter.....a time that requires imagination and extra energy just to withstand the cold days and nights. The Rubbermaid bins that hold the ornaments stand ready, lids off, waiting to receive their precious contents. Waiting through spring, summer's heat and autumn blazing beauty.
The wait is on, indeed.
Ancora imparo
As I was taking off each ornament and searching for the box it was to get packed in, I was thinking about how taking the tree apart is so very different from decorating the tree before the Holly Daze. Decorating the tree at our place is usually accompanied by Christmas music playing in the background and a glass of wine or Bailey's lurking somewhere nearby........plus it requires painstaking care. Care to open each box, care to remove the ornament, care to place it on the tree in just the right place, care to mix up the ornaments to make just the perfect mix of colors and themes. Care to create that magical combination of ornaments and lights that make adults' and children's eyes glow with delight.
Removing the ornaments is another matter. This is a task that is often performed with much more hurried manner than decorating the tree and is often carried out after a long day of accomplishing other jobs. Somehow, locating the exact box that should house a particular ornament is not a simple job and often requires rooting through a maze of boxes, tissue paper and bubble wrap.
There is also a sense of sadness when putting the decorations away. Holiday decorations are usually brightly colored and may have whimsical appearances that bring smiles to those who look at them. Even the children's creche characters have whimsical-appearing faces that blend right in with the snowmen, Santa Claus statues, and other assorted bells, bangles and baubles.
Now the reality of winter settles into our minds, eyes, bones and joints. This is truly the doldrums of winter.....a time that requires imagination and extra energy just to withstand the cold days and nights. The Rubbermaid bins that hold the ornaments stand ready, lids off, waiting to receive their precious contents. Waiting through spring, summer's heat and autumn blazing beauty.
The wait is on, indeed.
Ancora imparo
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
How Did I Ever Live Without This Information?
My news sources were bottomless pits of information and knowledge today. This morning I blogged about what I learned from the television. I have been a better person throughout this day because of my interaction with the tiny screen earlier in the day. Then tonight, just when I thought my brain could hold no further bits of information, I turned a page on my daily newspaper and, voila! More facts and knowledge.
The following, from an article written by Alex Gary in the Rockford-Register Star, appeared in today's edition. Mr. Gary details many of the causes and groups that claim January as 'their' month. And I quote:
Who knew that this month highlighted so many important, as well as trivial, causes. Some of these are no-brainers for the month of January - such as National Soup Month, National Diet Month and National Get Organized Month. As far as National Fiber Month - I didn't know that this important dietary additive knew any monthly bounds. I would have thought that we need fiber every month! I will sleep better tonight knowing that hot tea, oatmeal, dried plums, prunes, wheat bread, eggs, skating, and seed-order catalogs are elevated to a higher thought-conscious state in the month of January.
You know this will spawn my own list of January 'importants'. Stay tuned!
Ancora imparo
The following, from an article written by Alex Gary in the Rockford-Register Star, appeared in today's edition. Mr. Gary details many of the causes and groups that claim January as 'their' month. And I quote:
- National Bath Safety Month
- National Blood Donor Month
- National Braille Literacy Month
- National Hobby Month
- National Hot Tea Month
- National Oatmeal Month
- National Soup Month
- National Bread Machine Baking Month
- Nation Dried Plum Breakfast Month
- National Fat-Free Living Month
- National Book Month
- National Diet Month
- National Egg Month
- National Eye Health Care Month
- National Fiber Focus Month
- National Mail Order Gardening Month
- National Retail Bakers Month
- National Prune Breakfast Month
- National Wheat Bread Month
- National Birth Defects Month
- Celebration of Life Month
- Cervical Cancer Screening Month
- Financial Wellness Month
- Nation Clean Up Your Computer Month
- National Get Organized Month
- National Glaucoma Awareness Month
- National Mentoring Month
- National Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month
- National Poverty in American Awareness Month
- National Skating Month
Who knew that this month highlighted so many important, as well as trivial, causes. Some of these are no-brainers for the month of January - such as National Soup Month, National Diet Month and National Get Organized Month. As far as National Fiber Month - I didn't know that this important dietary additive knew any monthly bounds. I would have thought that we need fiber every month! I will sleep better tonight knowing that hot tea, oatmeal, dried plums, prunes, wheat bread, eggs, skating, and seed-order catalogs are elevated to a higher thought-conscious state in the month of January.
You know this will spawn my own list of January 'importants'. Stay tuned!
Ancora imparo
Unfathomable
The word unfathomable came to mind this morning as I treadmilled my way through the morning's television news. Once done, I naturally went to my favorite tome, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition to learn more about the root of the word fathom. To fathom 'something' means to measure, as in a length equal to six feet (1.83 meters) used especially for measuring the depth of water or to simply comprehend. Unfathomable can, therefore, mean incapable of comprehension. The dictionary also lists fathomless as incapable of being fathomed.
Now, while I'm sure that all my blathering on about fathoms, unfathomable, and fathomless is about as engrossing as watching the proverbial paint dry, I find those words particularly applicable to three things on my mind today:
Ancora imparo
Now, while I'm sure that all my blathering on about fathoms, unfathomable, and fathomless is about as engrossing as watching the proverbial paint dry, I find those words particularly applicable to three things on my mind today:
- How does so much lint get between the keys on my laptop? This is one of life's persistent questions. I find it fascinating that I can brush the lint off my keys and the next day, there it is again! Unfathomable.
- How can our newly elected national Congressmen and women look Diane Sawyer in the face, with any shred of decency, and rationalize why they deserve better health care than the rest of the national public? Sawyer's question, posed to a group of ten, elicited one respondent that said, unequivocally, that nationally elected politicians should be held to the same health-care parameters that the House and Senate will decide WE, the people, are to be given. Another freshman Congressman actually had the nerve to attempt to rationalize, on national television, why he should receive better health care than you and I. The rest sat silent in response to her query. Fathomless.
- The Mega-Millions Lottery Jackpot, or whatever it is officially called. Two tickets had the winning numbers. It is unknown how many people will actually split the money. The lives of the winners will be changed forever, and, history has proven, may not be changed for the positive. It is possible to be prudent with unfathomable amounts of money suddenly thrust in one's direction? Only time will tell. I cannot fathom having this dilemma, nor can I fathom how many friends the winners will suddenly have. Relatives, four, five and six times removed, will suddenly recall all of the wonderful 'times' they have had with the winners. It would be easier to measure the deepest part of the ocean than to fathom the quandary of sudden, mega-wealth.
Ancora imparo
Monday, January 3, 2011
I Hope This Isn't Permanent
I think I have a malady: Permanent Annoyance, otherwise known in the health field as PA. This affliction seems to be becoming more of an issue the older I get. My dad always referred to his permanent annoyance as being PO'd.
I never really understood what PO'd meant until I became an older adult. There is a cartoon strip called "The Middletons", that has a permanently PO'd grandmother as one of its characters. She is constantly smashing, hitting, trashing or conking someone or something. She coaches a team of youngsters but her permanently-annoyed personality gets in the way of just about everything and she will never win a Miss Congeniality contest.
What is scary is that the look on her face is a look I think I've seen in recent months.......on my own face when I look in the mirror. I fear that someday I will be the old woman riding in the passenger seat of a vehicle, lower jaw thrust forward, scowl lines etched in her forehead, leaning forward tightly clutching a purse balanced on the middle of her lap.
Recently I paid a not-so-small price for a small jar of some cream that is supposed to soften facial lines. I've used it, faithfully and as instructed, for about two weeks now and I still see no visible difference. The only difference I see is that the volume of cream is diminishing, along with my life savings, while my facial lines seem to be doing just fine, thank you very much. It is no wonder that old women, like the Granny in the "Bumper" strip, have grouchy looks permanently etched upon their faces. I'll bet that Granny tried those costly,expensive creams with no greater success than mine and fell victim to my dad's PO'd-ness.
I just hope that my scowl isn't permanent!
Ancora imparo
An addendum: There are two tried-and-true remedies for maladies such as mine. Puppies and grandchildren.
I never really understood what PO'd meant until I became an older adult. There is a cartoon strip called "The Middletons", that has a permanently PO'd grandmother as one of its characters. She is constantly smashing, hitting, trashing or conking someone or something. She coaches a team of youngsters but her permanently-annoyed personality gets in the way of just about everything and she will never win a Miss Congeniality contest.
What is scary is that the look on her face is a look I think I've seen in recent months.......on my own face when I look in the mirror. I fear that someday I will be the old woman riding in the passenger seat of a vehicle, lower jaw thrust forward, scowl lines etched in her forehead, leaning forward tightly clutching a purse balanced on the middle of her lap.
Recently I paid a not-so-small price for a small jar of some cream that is supposed to soften facial lines. I've used it, faithfully and as instructed, for about two weeks now and I still see no visible difference. The only difference I see is that the volume of cream is diminishing, along with my life savings, while my facial lines seem to be doing just fine, thank you very much. It is no wonder that old women, like the Granny in the "Bumper" strip, have grouchy looks permanently etched upon their faces. I'll bet that Granny tried those costly,expensive creams with no greater success than mine and fell victim to my dad's PO'd-ness.
I just hope that my scowl isn't permanent!
Ancora imparo
An addendum: There are two tried-and-true remedies for maladies such as mine. Puppies and grandchildren.
A Good Once-Over
The start of a new year.
This idea inspires many resolutions, hopes, dreams, goals, proclamations, etc. For my SO and I, it meant a visit, this morning, from our HVAC technician to give the furnace a good once-over, hopefully to insure that the condo will stay internally comfortable during these cold-weather months. The gentleman was very thorough, according to my SO, and performed checks that other past technicians have not done.
The furnace check caused me to think about what needs a 'good once-over' in my life, or body, or brain, or all three. Since I've already faced my sock-demon, my too-many-boxes demon, my hole-filled-favorite-sweat-pants demon, I'm left wondering just what is there for me to work on? I know if I asked my SO he would have a long list, perhaps beginning with his desire that I learn (and remember how) to tie nautical knots. The whole idea of this projects ties my insides in knots because knot-tying is not one of the gifts that God gave me. Capt. SO can - and does - teach me different knots throughout the Aqua RV season but I will forget the procedure about five minutes after our instruction lesson. So maybe knot-tying is not the place for me to begin a 'once-over'. I'm also certain that knife-sharpening, learning how to operate the gas grill, making boxes in Excel, remember important passwords and zipper repair would be on his list for my 'once-over'.
On the other hand, I have made it this far in life without much, or any, skill in the aforementioned areas, so I'm not likely to begin with any of those. Rather, I think I'll consider starting with more personally useful areas such as puppy training, actually using my phone's bells and whistles, THINKING about learning how to make boxes in Excel, selling unwanted 'stuff' on E-Bay or Craig's List, brushing Cranky Kitty more, puppy training, weaning myself off from coffee (this may not be do-able), seeing myself without contacts (pun definitely intended), beginning to finish my children's book in February (oxymoron intended), expanding my Yoga moves, and, did I mention, puppy training? Perhaps I should add reading at least one book per year that has some redeeming social or moral value? I'll have to think hard about this one. I'm pretty fond of fictional best-sellers.
Perhaps my plan should simply be to not have a plan, but to take each day as it comes. Being a compulsive planner this could be my greatest challenge ever......to not have a plan. I'll have to plan on how to not have a plan. Wish me luck.
May your day be plan-free........if you desire.
Ancora imparo
This idea inspires many resolutions, hopes, dreams, goals, proclamations, etc. For my SO and I, it meant a visit, this morning, from our HVAC technician to give the furnace a good once-over, hopefully to insure that the condo will stay internally comfortable during these cold-weather months. The gentleman was very thorough, according to my SO, and performed checks that other past technicians have not done.
The furnace check caused me to think about what needs a 'good once-over' in my life, or body, or brain, or all three. Since I've already faced my sock-demon, my too-many-boxes demon, my hole-filled-favorite-sweat-pants demon, I'm left wondering just what is there for me to work on? I know if I asked my SO he would have a long list, perhaps beginning with his desire that I learn (and remember how) to tie nautical knots. The whole idea of this projects ties my insides in knots because knot-tying is not one of the gifts that God gave me. Capt. SO can - and does - teach me different knots throughout the Aqua RV season but I will forget the procedure about five minutes after our instruction lesson. So maybe knot-tying is not the place for me to begin a 'once-over'. I'm also certain that knife-sharpening, learning how to operate the gas grill, making boxes in Excel, remember important passwords and zipper repair would be on his list for my 'once-over'.
On the other hand, I have made it this far in life without much, or any, skill in the aforementioned areas, so I'm not likely to begin with any of those. Rather, I think I'll consider starting with more personally useful areas such as puppy training, actually using my phone's bells and whistles, THINKING about learning how to make boxes in Excel, selling unwanted 'stuff' on E-Bay or Craig's List, brushing Cranky Kitty more, puppy training, weaning myself off from coffee (this may not be do-able), seeing myself without contacts (pun definitely intended), beginning to finish my children's book in February (oxymoron intended), expanding my Yoga moves, and, did I mention, puppy training? Perhaps I should add reading at least one book per year that has some redeeming social or moral value? I'll have to think hard about this one. I'm pretty fond of fictional best-sellers.
Perhaps my plan should simply be to not have a plan, but to take each day as it comes. Being a compulsive planner this could be my greatest challenge ever......to not have a plan. I'll have to plan on how to not have a plan. Wish me luck.
May your day be plan-free........if you desire.
Ancora imparo
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Tinkering With The Recipe
"Sometimes ya just gotta tinker, do'n cha?"
Someone said that to me this morning when a particularly frustrating bit of news was delivered to me in front of others. Even though I tried to hide my surprise and displeasure upon receiving this important information third hand, one of the 'others' noted my irritation, patted me on the shoulder, and stated the obvious. In other words, just go with the flow. Roll with the punches. Be flexible. Cool your jets. Chill out!
It took me a while and a video conference session with The Three Musketeers and their parents, but I was able to lose my mind (pun intended AND do not laugh too loudly) in the video call and, by the time we were done, my mind had moved on to other pressing matters of great import! (Only in my mind!)
Segue to early afternoon and a baking project for a friend who needs more fiber in her diet.
I decided to make some bran muffins to take to this friend and went in search of a bran muffin recipe, since there was none printed on the bran cereal box. I finally settled on a recipe and set about making the muffin batter. However, when all was said and done, the final batter consistency resembled more of a concrete mixture than anything that might be edible. After I re-checked the recipe's ingredients, coming to believe that I followed the recipe exactly as printed, I gathered my thoughts and began tinkering with the recipe. As I was making decisions about what to add and how much, my mind was drawn to the person's observation earlier in the day: "Sometimes ya just gotta tinker, do'n cha?"
I came to the conclusion, standing in the kitchen, surrounded by muffin tins, bran cereal, canola oil, sugar, flour, baking powder, and other baking ingredients, that 'tinkering' with the recipe to make the muffins turn out to be edible, was not unlike my morning lesson of simply going with the flow. Deal the hand I am dealt. Make lemonade out lemons, chocolate ice cream out of shattered bars of chocolate, etc.
I can proudly report that the end-result bran muffins, after tinkering, are delectable. If I can take batter, the consistency of concrete, and coax it into deliciously edible, then I can take the morning's information, however frustrating, and deal with it.
I've found my zen again.
Ancora imparo
Someone said that to me this morning when a particularly frustrating bit of news was delivered to me in front of others. Even though I tried to hide my surprise and displeasure upon receiving this important information third hand, one of the 'others' noted my irritation, patted me on the shoulder, and stated the obvious. In other words, just go with the flow. Roll with the punches. Be flexible. Cool your jets. Chill out!
It took me a while and a video conference session with The Three Musketeers and their parents, but I was able to lose my mind (pun intended AND do not laugh too loudly) in the video call and, by the time we were done, my mind had moved on to other pressing matters of great import! (Only in my mind!)
Segue to early afternoon and a baking project for a friend who needs more fiber in her diet.
I decided to make some bran muffins to take to this friend and went in search of a bran muffin recipe, since there was none printed on the bran cereal box. I finally settled on a recipe and set about making the muffin batter. However, when all was said and done, the final batter consistency resembled more of a concrete mixture than anything that might be edible. After I re-checked the recipe's ingredients, coming to believe that I followed the recipe exactly as printed, I gathered my thoughts and began tinkering with the recipe. As I was making decisions about what to add and how much, my mind was drawn to the person's observation earlier in the day: "Sometimes ya just gotta tinker, do'n cha?"
I came to the conclusion, standing in the kitchen, surrounded by muffin tins, bran cereal, canola oil, sugar, flour, baking powder, and other baking ingredients, that 'tinkering' with the recipe to make the muffins turn out to be edible, was not unlike my morning lesson of simply going with the flow. Deal the hand I am dealt. Make lemonade out lemons, chocolate ice cream out of shattered bars of chocolate, etc.
I can proudly report that the end-result bran muffins, after tinkering, are delectable. If I can take batter, the consistency of concrete, and coax it into deliciously edible, then I can take the morning's information, however frustrating, and deal with it.
I've found my zen again.
Ancora imparo
Saturday, January 1, 2011
How Did You Celebrate?
The big question of this day, if you are stout enough to brave the stiff wind and low wind-chill and be out among people is, "What did you do last night?" Many of those we know well chose to stay in last night, preferring to be at home with some special food and a movie instead of heading out to revel with others or among others. Perhaps it is the economy that kept some of us in, perhaps it is the attitude of 'we've done that for years, it's time to change things up', and, unfortunately for others, an ailment or two forced people to stay within the confines of their homes, electing to keep their maladies to themselves.
Whatever the choice of celebration, the method of celebration or the place of celebration, the new year arrived, with or without noise-makers and horns. Whether 'we' were asleep in our beds or twelve-deep in a crowded nightclub, the calendar page turned anyway. Despite our best efforts to keep from aging, or to appear less aged, or our desire to stay younger, time does march on....and on....and on.
My SO and I celebrated, in rather odd fashion, with a mis-matched but delicious series of food courses, appealing probably only to our palettes. Wine with fresh shrimp, followed by creamed herring and crackers, followed by a lettuce wedge with delicious home-made bleu cheese dressing (made by my SO!), some apple slices to cleanse our palettes, followed by boiled red potatoes served with dollops of sour cream. Two hours later, the kitchen served up mini ice cream/pecan/hot chocolate balls and about an hour after that an aperitif of Bailey's Irish Cream to conclude the evening. In between, some quiet conversation and our annual calendar-planning session where we try to carve out as much time on our aqua RV as possible, while still staying connected to the real world.
Yes, the new year is here and with it, who knows what? Hopefully a series of delightful life-courses, served up to please our life-palettes. Today is good and, ideally, tomorrow will be as good or better. Just like the big pot of turkey vegetable soup that is simmering on the stove as I type! Good today, but the flavors will be better blended tomorrow.
Happy New Year from Ancora imparo
Whatever the choice of celebration, the method of celebration or the place of celebration, the new year arrived, with or without noise-makers and horns. Whether 'we' were asleep in our beds or twelve-deep in a crowded nightclub, the calendar page turned anyway. Despite our best efforts to keep from aging, or to appear less aged, or our desire to stay younger, time does march on....and on....and on.
My SO and I celebrated, in rather odd fashion, with a mis-matched but delicious series of food courses, appealing probably only to our palettes. Wine with fresh shrimp, followed by creamed herring and crackers, followed by a lettuce wedge with delicious home-made bleu cheese dressing (made by my SO!), some apple slices to cleanse our palettes, followed by boiled red potatoes served with dollops of sour cream. Two hours later, the kitchen served up mini ice cream/pecan/hot chocolate balls and about an hour after that an aperitif of Bailey's Irish Cream to conclude the evening. In between, some quiet conversation and our annual calendar-planning session where we try to carve out as much time on our aqua RV as possible, while still staying connected to the real world.
Yes, the new year is here and with it, who knows what? Hopefully a series of delightful life-courses, served up to please our life-palettes. Today is good and, ideally, tomorrow will be as good or better. Just like the big pot of turkey vegetable soup that is simmering on the stove as I type! Good today, but the flavors will be better blended tomorrow.
Happy New Year from Ancora imparo
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