I don't know why anyone else has not thought of this idea. Maybe others have but have been reluctant to voice it, but I will not be reticent. In a series of nested ifs, I am suggesting the following:
If the national agency in charge of traveler safety remains firm in its policy to have its agents aggressively pat-down travelers who choose public groping over X-rated see-through machines, and if the traveling public revolts, choosing the X-rated see-through machines over public groping, and if airport security lines become hopelessly snarled, thereby causing travelers to miss flights to get home to family and loved ones, then why not choose a Skype-familiy dinner and get-together over crowded airports, congested and unsecured airport security check-points, cranky travelers, rude airline employees who have had it with complaining and also-rude travelers, weather-related delays, and tired youngsters who would rather be sleeping in their own beds anyway?
We all know the feeling of that unmistakable draw that most families feel to be together at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is one of the strongest, unidentifiable connections in the universe, making gravitational pull and polar attractions pale in comparison. It is what caused my SO and I to endure all-night drives through two states and dangerous winter-driving conditions to get 'home' for holiday gatherings in years past. However, if situations preclude getting to Uncle Harry's and Aunt Hortense's home for that fabulous Thanksgiving meal, then consider Skype-dining.
While there can be no substitute for hugging Uncle Harry and Aunt Hortense in person and taking in the aromas of her thirty-two menu offerings, Skype-dining does allow for a few alterations in tradition that could be seen as positive. With Skype-dining, all the participants would gather around their own dining tables, snack bars, tv trays, card tables, patio deck tables.....wherever they chose to eat......connect the little camera to their laptops, and.......presto......have instant, live communication. Participants could remain in their pajamas and no one would be the wiser. All you have to do is keep the angle of the camera high and all the other people can see is your face. Every participating family could serve their own cuisine choices and, if Uncle Fred really prefers to eat two dozen oysters on the half-shell, well then, he can. Or, if cousin Smiley prefers to eat a pound of limburger cheese on saltine crackers, then, he, too can eat to his heart's content and no one's nose needs to be offended. Even cats and dogs could have seats at the table and no one would ever know. Cleaning before the big dinner? No problem, since the camera could easily be pointed at the one neat and shining area in the home. Clean Fluffy's litter box? A chore of the past, too.
I just don't see the need for traveler tension, when the solution can be sitting right on top of your laptop, staring you in the face. Let the little camera bring people together if air travel becomes too frustrating. After all, since we humans are beginning to substitute texting, tweeting and messaging for voice-to-voice phone calls, why not Skype-dine together, too?
Ancora imparo
Monday, November 22, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Lovin' The Weather!
I really like this weather......the gray, overcast, dark skies that portend the weather to come......which I will not be fond of! The gray skies of November do foretell the meteorological future, don't they? It won't be long until these skies and low-hanging clouds will open up and spew forth white snow flakes that will royally mess up our winter driving weather and make us watch our footsteps carefully. But, in the meantime, cloudy skies energize me to work inside, much like a bear must feel just before hibernation. I can sense the approaching season as if it were hung upon a giant banner in my living room or glaringly obvious in neon across the top of my garage door.
"I am winter and I am coming, ready or not!", is what the sign says to me. Here I sit with my hot cup of tea, happily typing away at my laptop, not feeling guilty about not getting out-of-doors this afternoon, because the threat of a misty rain appears imminent. Instead I am rushing about from task to task, an accomplishing-cylone, whirling from room to room. If anyone reading this is old enough to remember a children's cartoon show from the 1950's, called "Tom Terrific", that is what I feel like - a dervish moving rapidly about in a whirlwind of dust. Even though I have to go back out tonight, which I detest, I am content in my woman-cave (otherwise known as my office) for now, working diligently at checking off a long list of tasks awaiting my attention.
An earlier-in-the-day crisis was averted, much to my relief. This minor-but-major crisis involved the loss of the i-Pod cloth cover that I have used, for some time now, to cover my cell phone. The little black, slip-on case had probably used up its nine lives as I have routinely dropped it over the years but, heretofore always managed to notice its absence and retrieve it from an unseemly demise. Not so this time. Wherever it has fallen has become its final resting place unless another person picked it up and adopted the case as his/or her own. However, I can report a happy ending due to the gray skies and my cup of tea giving me the relaxation attitude to keep tackling long-procrastinated household odd jobs. I harnessed my excess energy and went online to the Apple Store and - voila! - discovered an alternative cover that should work just fine for my cell phone!
I embrace the gloomy outdoor weather because, indoors, there is an atmosphere of energy and anticipation, which is exactly what the meteorological doctor ordered.
Bring it on, November!
Ancora imparo
"I am winter and I am coming, ready or not!", is what the sign says to me. Here I sit with my hot cup of tea, happily typing away at my laptop, not feeling guilty about not getting out-of-doors this afternoon, because the threat of a misty rain appears imminent. Instead I am rushing about from task to task, an accomplishing-cylone, whirling from room to room. If anyone reading this is old enough to remember a children's cartoon show from the 1950's, called "Tom Terrific", that is what I feel like - a dervish moving rapidly about in a whirlwind of dust. Even though I have to go back out tonight, which I detest, I am content in my woman-cave (otherwise known as my office) for now, working diligently at checking off a long list of tasks awaiting my attention.
An earlier-in-the-day crisis was averted, much to my relief. This minor-but-major crisis involved the loss of the i-Pod cloth cover that I have used, for some time now, to cover my cell phone. The little black, slip-on case had probably used up its nine lives as I have routinely dropped it over the years but, heretofore always managed to notice its absence and retrieve it from an unseemly demise. Not so this time. Wherever it has fallen has become its final resting place unless another person picked it up and adopted the case as his/or her own. However, I can report a happy ending due to the gray skies and my cup of tea giving me the relaxation attitude to keep tackling long-procrastinated household odd jobs. I harnessed my excess energy and went online to the Apple Store and - voila! - discovered an alternative cover that should work just fine for my cell phone!
I embrace the gloomy outdoor weather because, indoors, there is an atmosphere of energy and anticipation, which is exactly what the meteorological doctor ordered.
Bring it on, November!
Ancora imparo
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Put A Lid On It
My purpose, here online today, is to reveal a cookware-industry conspiracy: It almost impossible to find a 10" or smaller frying pan, with a lid, that is not part of a set. I'll repeat myself another way. If you are looking to buy a 10" or smaller frying pan without a lid, you will find plenty of choices, but - add a lid to the purchase requirement - and you have sent yourself on a search equaling the difficulty that Indiana Jones had locating the Holy Grail.
You have a wide array of cookware-set choices, all the way from the very cheap to the very expensive and in every conceivable type of pan from ceramic to non-stick, to aluminum to stainless steel to cast iron. Amazing choices.....but most in sets. Oh, you can find the occasional frying pan that is sold independent of a set but it is almost always WITHOUT A LID.
So, what gives cookware industry? Are you afraid that if you put a lid on your pan that we, the American public will become so enamored with the one-pan concept that sales of your sets will dwindle? What could possibly be the issue of selling 10" and smaller frying pans with lids? Let me assure you that smaller frying pans need lids just as much as the larger frying and sauce pans. They are no less apt to boil over and spew grease droplets than larger pans. Bring on the lids, all you designers of pots, pans and other culinary cooking contraptions.
Just put a lid on it!
Ancora imparo
You have a wide array of cookware-set choices, all the way from the very cheap to the very expensive and in every conceivable type of pan from ceramic to non-stick, to aluminum to stainless steel to cast iron. Amazing choices.....but most in sets. Oh, you can find the occasional frying pan that is sold independent of a set but it is almost always WITHOUT A LID.
So, what gives cookware industry? Are you afraid that if you put a lid on your pan that we, the American public will become so enamored with the one-pan concept that sales of your sets will dwindle? What could possibly be the issue of selling 10" and smaller frying pans with lids? Let me assure you that smaller frying pans need lids just as much as the larger frying and sauce pans. They are no less apt to boil over and spew grease droplets than larger pans. Bring on the lids, all you designers of pots, pans and other culinary cooking contraptions.
Just put a lid on it!
Ancora imparo
Friday, November 19, 2010
Useful Tip
Have you ever heard the impertinent retort at a restaurant - 'You want a tip.....don't eat yellow snow.'? I can remember thinking how funny this was when I was in high school, hearing it for the first time. Other 'useful' tips came from my mother and other mothers as they exhorted their children, male and female, to: don't make that face, it will freeze that way; be sure to change your underwear every day in case you end up in the hospital; keep the light over your right shoulder to save your eyesight; eat plenty of carrots to improve your eyesight; don't sit too close to the television, it will harm your eyesight (Ever notice how many of these exhortations had to do with eyesight?); don't run with scissors, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I can remember a friend whose mother was always giving us 'motherisms', often yelled from another room, and this friend would cover her ears, squeeze her eyes shut and blow air out loudly so as not to hear anything her mother said. I wonder if this childhood friend remembers anything her mother ever said?
A tip that I'd like to pass along is this: Read the expiration dates on all food packaging. I'm consistent about reading the expiration dates on dairy products and meat products and I'm learning to read the expiration dates on soda cans simply because we do not consume many carbonated beverages and once these products loose their carbonation, the flat taste can be disgusting, but outdates on cardboard packaging? Not so good at and it came back to bite me in spades last night.
I had a tasty meal planned: Lightly breaded flounder fillets, fresh broccoli, and couscous. The couscous, which turned out to be the offending food, was the pine nut variety, one of our favorites. We sat down to eat and I took one bite of the couscous and said to my SO, "Does this taste funny to you?" He tried it but in his first bite he had no pine nuts. A subsequent bite brought a screwed- p face and we both decided that the pine nuts tasted rancid. A quick look at the box by the person who has his masters degree in food engineering brought an "OMG" response. He wouldn't tell me what the outdate on the box was but he insisted that we throw out the rest of the couscous and he NEVER throws out food.
So, do read the expiration dates on all of your packages. Save yourself from having to see the screwed-up face on your SO. After all, it might freeze that way!
Ancora imparo
A tip that I'd like to pass along is this: Read the expiration dates on all food packaging. I'm consistent about reading the expiration dates on dairy products and meat products and I'm learning to read the expiration dates on soda cans simply because we do not consume many carbonated beverages and once these products loose their carbonation, the flat taste can be disgusting, but outdates on cardboard packaging? Not so good at and it came back to bite me in spades last night.
I had a tasty meal planned: Lightly breaded flounder fillets, fresh broccoli, and couscous. The couscous, which turned out to be the offending food, was the pine nut variety, one of our favorites. We sat down to eat and I took one bite of the couscous and said to my SO, "Does this taste funny to you?" He tried it but in his first bite he had no pine nuts. A subsequent bite brought a screwed- p face and we both decided that the pine nuts tasted rancid. A quick look at the box by the person who has his masters degree in food engineering brought an "OMG" response. He wouldn't tell me what the outdate on the box was but he insisted that we throw out the rest of the couscous and he NEVER throws out food.
So, do read the expiration dates on all of your packages. Save yourself from having to see the screwed-up face on your SO. After all, it might freeze that way!
Ancora imparo
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Swirling Thoughts
"Good grief, Charlie Brown!" That is what I feel like sayin' to myself. How did I get myself into this quagmire of 'over-something-ed'? At least my morning coffee is delicious and I liked the breakfast I fixed for myself. Score two for moi!
Perhaps it is the weather. Our local skies are gray and gloomy once again. Typically this does not bother me because I love natural light and, if it was sunny, I'd have the blinds down until the direct sunlight passed over, trying to preserve the leather furniture, wood floors/furniture and upholstery colors.
More likely though, I am anticipating not enjoying an activity that I signed up for and am now wishing I'd never said 'yes'. I've been preparing for this activity as much as time has permitted and I still feel unprepared. Past personal-participations have proven to raise my stress level rather than lower it. I know, I know, I got myself into this and will not be a 'quitter' but if circumstances are such that my stress level is elevated to a Sears-Tower height, then I will have to do some serious re-considering. After all, life is too short to subject ourselves or others to unpleasant experiences on purpose. There are cardinals in my backyard to watch, books to read, music to listen to, friends to chat with, events (fondly anticipated ones) to plan, pants that need hemming, magic wands to design, walks to take, a cat that needs brushing (this, I call relaxing?) and more coffee to consume.
Yes, my thoughts are swirling but for the most part the swirling thoughts are positively anticipated ones, not dreaded ones, and, as I type, my resolve is strengthening to feel empowered to participate in my un-anticipated activity with a positive attitude, knowing that if history repeats itself, I'll just smile, tell the organizer the truth, and release myself from further stress and tension. Life always brings along another stress and tension producer. One at a time is enough.
In this rapidly approaching Holly Daze season, empower yourself to remember that "one at a time is enough"!
Ancora imparo
Perhaps it is the weather. Our local skies are gray and gloomy once again. Typically this does not bother me because I love natural light and, if it was sunny, I'd have the blinds down until the direct sunlight passed over, trying to preserve the leather furniture, wood floors/furniture and upholstery colors.
More likely though, I am anticipating not enjoying an activity that I signed up for and am now wishing I'd never said 'yes'. I've been preparing for this activity as much as time has permitted and I still feel unprepared. Past personal-participations have proven to raise my stress level rather than lower it. I know, I know, I got myself into this and will not be a 'quitter' but if circumstances are such that my stress level is elevated to a Sears-Tower height, then I will have to do some serious re-considering. After all, life is too short to subject ourselves or others to unpleasant experiences on purpose. There are cardinals in my backyard to watch, books to read, music to listen to, friends to chat with, events (fondly anticipated ones) to plan, pants that need hemming, magic wands to design, walks to take, a cat that needs brushing (this, I call relaxing?) and more coffee to consume.
Yes, my thoughts are swirling but for the most part the swirling thoughts are positively anticipated ones, not dreaded ones, and, as I type, my resolve is strengthening to feel empowered to participate in my un-anticipated activity with a positive attitude, knowing that if history repeats itself, I'll just smile, tell the organizer the truth, and release myself from further stress and tension. Life always brings along another stress and tension producer. One at a time is enough.
In this rapidly approaching Holly Daze season, empower yourself to remember that "one at a time is enough"!
Ancora imparo
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Borrowed Time?
My laptop has been acting weird lately and it has me concerned so I called the Computer Doctor and he made a house call this morning. Although I had to leave before he announced his final prognosis, he did indicate that it did not look as if 'it' had a virus or any other type of disease. He was busy running a complete computer MRI as he did his usual thorough diagnosis when I walked out the door. My last words to him were, "Fix it please, Doc!" I then drove off to lunch in the dismally cloudy weather and had the time to reflect on life without my computer.
As I was driving along the relatively quiet state highway, I was struck by two things, No.1: I would really miss not having regular access to a computer OF MY OWN and, No. 2: This weather pattern just shouts, "Winter is approaching!" - neither of which is appealing to me. A few years ago when my computer, at the time, had died, my SO and I had to share his computer and it was not fun. He and I do many things well together but sharing a computer is not one of them. Plus, he uses his laptop for work purposes and so his time on the machine naturally trumped any time I had......and rightly so. It was exactly because of this memory that I called the Computer Doctor and asked him to come give my machine a complete physical. He made a few changes that we hope will help but the bottom line is exactly what my medical doctor says to me when I voice a complaint about this or that: "It's your age." And so it is that I must realize my laptop is aging and that older computers do not take well to new software and programs that the internet is constantly telling 'us' that we need to update. My gosh, nearly every day I get a message that says some program I'm using has a free upgrade and all I have to do is click here to download the latest and greatest version of 'something'.
Just like my body and my laptop, the weather is 'aging' to the point that I know my time to walk about safely and comfortably in the great outdoors is waning. The weather is also on borrowed time.and the sky reflects that looming fact. Snow, sleet and ice cannot be far behind. I wish the weather doctor could come, wave a wand, and simply let the seasons fast forward to March 21 and spring would spring forth.
We're all on borrowed time....man and machine alike. Cherry thought, isn't it?!
Ancora imparo
As I was driving along the relatively quiet state highway, I was struck by two things, No.1: I would really miss not having regular access to a computer OF MY OWN and, No. 2: This weather pattern just shouts, "Winter is approaching!" - neither of which is appealing to me. A few years ago when my computer, at the time, had died, my SO and I had to share his computer and it was not fun. He and I do many things well together but sharing a computer is not one of them. Plus, he uses his laptop for work purposes and so his time on the machine naturally trumped any time I had......and rightly so. It was exactly because of this memory that I called the Computer Doctor and asked him to come give my machine a complete physical. He made a few changes that we hope will help but the bottom line is exactly what my medical doctor says to me when I voice a complaint about this or that: "It's your age." And so it is that I must realize my laptop is aging and that older computers do not take well to new software and programs that the internet is constantly telling 'us' that we need to update. My gosh, nearly every day I get a message that says some program I'm using has a free upgrade and all I have to do is click here to download the latest and greatest version of 'something'.
Just like my body and my laptop, the weather is 'aging' to the point that I know my time to walk about safely and comfortably in the great outdoors is waning. The weather is also on borrowed time.and the sky reflects that looming fact. Snow, sleet and ice cannot be far behind. I wish the weather doctor could come, wave a wand, and simply let the seasons fast forward to March 21 and spring would spring forth.
We're all on borrowed time....man and machine alike. Cherry thought, isn't it?!
Ancora imparo
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Is Self-Belief Available On-line?
Self-belief is a curious commodity. Some people have it in spades, to the point of offensive self-adulation. Others have just the right amount to be self-assured without being obnoxious. There are those who possess very little self-confidence and there are yet others who have so little self-belief (or confidence) that a DNA test would probably reveal none present in their bodies. And then there is the curious category of the person who proclaims self-confidence and acts as if he/she has an over-abundance of the precious commodity, when in reality, there is nothing present but an outward bravado masking an inward level of severe self-doubt.
If we think long enough, we would all be able to identify at least one person we know that would fit into each category. Some categories might have multiple acquaintances in them. Likewise, every person who reads this would fit into one of the descriptions.
I have a friend who falls under the category of the latter: An appearance of strong-to-excessive self-confidence, when the opposite is actually the case. I used to see this type of persona frequently when I was teaching and even as far back as high school. My friend, I'll call her 'Brenda Bravado', comes across as highly self-assured. She has many reasons to be self-assured. She is uber-skilled at what she does, is physically beautiful and has a giving, caring spirit that comes across soon after you know her well. What troubles me deeply about her is her total lack of genuine self-belief. She simply does not see her self-worth nor does she see any reason for anyone else to find her worthy. I've known this woman for a while now and, despite frequent supportive conversations and exhortations to her to accept herself as worthy, I have had little or no influence on her to see herself as others see her.
I cannot give up, nor will I give up. There is too much at stake to write her off as a lost cause. I know that prayers for her are the answer but I would really like there to be a web site where I could go to purchase self-confidence and place it in an account with her name on it. We can purchase just about everything else known to mankind ('personkind' just doesn't make it) online, much of which is deleterious to our physical and mental health, so why can't we purchase those traits which would be beneficial to our bodies and minds?
I can hug her, cajole her, plead with her, send her cards, and pray for her, but in the end it is she that has to just believe........in herself. No web purchase, no magic potions, no prescriptions and no pills to swallow are available. Come on, Amazon, you sell everything else, why not self-belief?
Ancora imparo
If we think long enough, we would all be able to identify at least one person we know that would fit into each category. Some categories might have multiple acquaintances in them. Likewise, every person who reads this would fit into one of the descriptions.
I have a friend who falls under the category of the latter: An appearance of strong-to-excessive self-confidence, when the opposite is actually the case. I used to see this type of persona frequently when I was teaching and even as far back as high school. My friend, I'll call her 'Brenda Bravado', comes across as highly self-assured. She has many reasons to be self-assured. She is uber-skilled at what she does, is physically beautiful and has a giving, caring spirit that comes across soon after you know her well. What troubles me deeply about her is her total lack of genuine self-belief. She simply does not see her self-worth nor does she see any reason for anyone else to find her worthy. I've known this woman for a while now and, despite frequent supportive conversations and exhortations to her to accept herself as worthy, I have had little or no influence on her to see herself as others see her.
I cannot give up, nor will I give up. There is too much at stake to write her off as a lost cause. I know that prayers for her are the answer but I would really like there to be a web site where I could go to purchase self-confidence and place it in an account with her name on it. We can purchase just about everything else known to mankind ('personkind' just doesn't make it) online, much of which is deleterious to our physical and mental health, so why can't we purchase those traits which would be beneficial to our bodies and minds?
I can hug her, cajole her, plead with her, send her cards, and pray for her, but in the end it is she that has to just believe........in herself. No web purchase, no magic potions, no prescriptions and no pills to swallow are available. Come on, Amazon, you sell everything else, why not self-belief?
Ancora imparo
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