Meanderings in Peyton Place

HE DID IT

2010-06-10T12:27:00.005-05:00

YAHOOOOO!

My youngest son Ethan has passed, as of noon time today, all of his requirments and will be marching with his class on Saturday to receive his High School Diploma.

This is one proud, exhausted and giddy MOM!

Please Fasten Your Seatbelts

2010-05-27T10:40:00.003-05:00

“Sure, I’d love to see your record collection”, Prudence said as she took another long pull of the long neck and let that liquid courage spill down her throat. She mostly meant it but it was mostly beer doing the talking. How long had it been since she’d been in a bar and how long since she had made herself available to be “picked up”? Thirteen years, if her beer soaked brain was working correctly. That’s a long time to “keep” your self for someone, who in the end never showed. Her head kept playing that Brandi Carlile song, “Someday Never Comes”. She had memorized every word to that song she had played it so much and now she was starting to second guess her ability to follow through on tonight’s plan. He smiled at her as he walked across the room towards her, cowboy hat and all. This east coast transplant was more comfortable in a nightclub in Boston was letting a cowboy pick her up in a honky-tonk in Oklahoma and take her home.

Prudence thought of all that had happened in the last year. Her youngest graduated high school and had landed a pretty sweet job. Her oldest had his first baby, now starting an adventure of his own and her daughter moved into her own apartment. The nest was empty, her mothering job finally finished, at least the biggest part. Now it was time to focus her attention on herself for the first time in seventeen years. The kids were just 8, 4 and 3 when she divorced their dad, moving them all into a 12x48, 1976 mobile home. Sacrifice became the new norm those first few years. She sacrificed time with them to start a new career that demanded 12-hour days to provide for the second income that was also sacrificed in the divorce. Her parents sacrificed afternoons for pick up, delivery, homework and bath time for their grandchild. But in the last seventeen years she had more than made up for the rough start. A custom built home, an income that exceed the two-income household they had left and now, all of them grown, graduated and working towards their own futures.

She didn't realized they had made it out of the bar until she was standing outside. The sky had opened up, clearing the air briefly of the humidity that she had come to hate since arriving in Oklahoma. He asked her to wait at the door while he went and got his ride. A gentleman, well hopefully not too much of one, she giggled to herself. Then it hit her, that moment of realization. The last 13 years of her life had been spent without any physical contact, if you know what I mean. Did it just come back, you know like riding a bike? She wondered what kind of pickup he drove? Cowboys and pickups, right? That’s when a fully restored, two door, two toned blue and cream, 1955 Chevy Bel Air, V-8 pulled up to the curb. Rumbling almost as loud as her pulse. The passenger door swung open, and a strong hand was offered, she slid in. She didn’t know where she was headed exactly. Hell, she hadn’t really known that since she left New Hampshire six months ago but if his car was any indication of the ride to come she was going to need a seat belt!

A Mothers Day Present for My Sons Beloved

2010-05-13T14:30:00.011-05:00

I decided to try and be a little artistic. I took these pictures of Carmen, after of course I bought all the props! Then framed them and delivered them on Mothers Day.

Chelsea, Carmen's mom, cried! Jackpot!

Cuter By The Minute

2010-04-20T08:46:00.011-05:00

You can call me NANA!

2010-03-29T08:27:00.006-05:00

On Friday, 3/26/10 at 5:57pm our family welcomed Carmen Jayne Lutz into our clan.

She weighed 8lbs 1oz and is 21 inches long. My son is beyond beaming and mom and baby are doing great.

She looks just like Cory when he was born.

And then there were three!

2010-02-04T13:43:00.004-05:00

I didn't want to. I had no intention of it. Sometimes the universe just thrusts itself at you and the next thing you know ......

You have Stewart in your life. His mom is the same mom of my oldest Jack Stella. The breeder called me a couple weeks ago and she had discovered through hospitalization and subsequent testing that she is very, very allergic to dogs, cats and horses. All of which she has. So, she called me up and offered him to me.. for FREE, knowing the kind of home he would have. See, that's what I'm saying.... it's the universes fault. He is four months old and the sweetest little man I have ever met. Of course I get to bring him to work! How cool is that. Crazy cat/dog lady!

When Things Went Sideways

2010-02-04T13:28:00.007-05:00

It wasn’t a big deal she kept telling herself. It was just hanging out, unwinding. She had a Friday night party every other week when her kids went to see their dad. It was the only personal time she got each month. Every Monday he would ask her what she had done that weekend. A little office banter back and forth, nothing special. For over a month he had been threatening to join the party but had never showed or even asked for directions. Why would he this time? Why did her stomach fold over on itself, origami style?

Rosamond couldn’t wrap her head around it. What the hell was she thinking? She, newly divorce, he was married, she knew better. At least her head did, her gut was another matter. Ok, maybe the part of her that spoke so loudly was a bit south of her gut but in any case she should have her head examined. Yet there was something, electricity, a pull that brought them to the edge and tonight if he showed might well send them hurtling over it.

Five O’clock rolled around; she grabbed her purse and headed towards the door. “Hey, I should be done here around seven, see ya then” he said. “Cool” she managed to spit out, “Shit”, is what her head said. Arrogant was her first impression of this guy; cocky could also sum it up. Handsome, that was in your face, but for her it had to be more. She hadn’t give him a second thought for months but as time went on it seemed they had more in common than she thought. A quick wit and sharp mind was hard for her to ignore. Music another commonality and one that spoke to her deeply. She kept herself occupied with a “toy” she had met a few months ago. A no stings, no questions asked kind of thing, which suited her newly single-mom lifestyle and fulfilled “that” need.

Having changed into something more suitable for a warm July night, she cranked up stereo and popped open a beer. Within the hour the usual suspects arrived. Her best friend and a couple she’d known for several years, her clan. Joints were smoked, stories from the week told and a warm familiar buzz was shared. At 7:05 he pulled up, at 7:06 panic set in.

The evening passed as easily as the joints, the curtains waving in the breeze keeping time to the music. They found themselves alone. She knew she had too much to drink and he needed to leave. She couldn’t remember how he'd ended up at the door. She stood on the landing. "Thanks that was fun” he said. Two steps and her lips coverd his mouth, her body pushing him back against the door. Hands running rampantly, her mind shut off to that now distant voice of reason, “I suppose it would be unprofessional”' said Rosamond, dimpling. She stripped off her shirt and headed down the hall and he was hot on her heels.

To be continued...

My Baby-The Senior

2009-12-18T09:01:00.014-05:00

Dear Friends I present to you my baby, my last child at home, my little boy. These are some of the proofs for his Senior Picture. Just thought I would share.

And to close, me and my baby.

Davy & Golioth

2009-12-17T10:15:00.001-05:00

500 Words-I'm Back!

2009-11-11T15:26:00.001-05:00

At Seventeen

Through the rusted bars, tastes, rather than glimpses, were caught of the jumbled neighborhood; and nothing within range, nearer or lower than the summits of the two-great towers of Notre-Dame, had any promise on it of healthy life or wholesome aspirations. Cicely stared intently out the tiny basement window watching the people passing, marching past her window, well their feet anyway. To amuse herself she would make up stories of those who slapped, clapped, skipped and thudded past it, using only their shoes as the catalyst for her imagination. Mr. Brown Oxford’s steps were quick, firm and purposeful, a banker, and father of three, married to a woman whose lips puckered sourly as she sipped her morning tea. Ms. Black and White Sling Backs whose steps were delicate, graceful, almost skimming over the filth on the cobbles on delicate paten leather spikes that were pointed enough to puncture the morning fog; clicking rhythmically past, headed to one of those fancy stores where she waited on the uppity-ups. The twins skipping in step, laced uptight in their Le Loup Blanc’s, held firmly by the hand one on each side of the nanny heading off to school, where they would learn how to be “proper” but when the teacher turned her back would spit balls of paper through the end of a straw and giggle into their sleeves.

Cicely hadn’t paid much attention to the life outside that window as a young girl as much as she did now, it didn’t seem that important then. Sure she had noticed it, the way the room would turn pink as the sun kissed the city bonsoir each evening. Oh, how she longed to be kissed. Blushing even as the thought ran through her mind, her cheeks now the same shade as the evening sun. At seventeen you thought of such things. She noticed how the rain freckled the panes of glass making the floor a maze of poke-a-dots, just like the dress she had seen flit past the window just last week. She could imagine how magical it would it be like to wear such a beautiful dress, watching it swirl around as you glided across the dance floor in the arms of a fine young man. But these days, these days she noticed everything. The brioche vendor pushing his heavy cart each morning, in his old dirty boots with the small hole in the toe, to the corner and sliding it almost effortlessly back again in the evening when its load had been lightened from the sales of the day. That everyday hustle and bustle, the little things that no one ever looked at, the movement of life, it had escaped her then.

Cicely’s mother came in carrying a large sack of groceries. She put them down on the kitchen table and walked over to her daughter, leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “Well, are you ready?” Cicely’s mom asked. “Ready as ever” was her reply. Cicely’s mother pulled back the covers. Cicely turned her head towards the window, a tear steeling it's way down her cheek, as her mom started to unwrap the bandages that covered her newly amputated legs.

When Push Comes To Shove

2009-08-26T07:55:00.003-05:00

Denise had been at her job for nearly fifteen years. When she started, it was just herself and the boss’s wife supporting a then half a million-dollar company. Now a decade and a half later, at close to seven million, she managed six others and had seen a lot of changes. She was even introduced to clients as the General Manager a time or two by the owner himself. But as time tells all, when a title is just a title it means little.

Over the years Denise had watched newly hired superstars get cars, expense accounts and perks too numerous to count. Outlay of cash was never in question if it were to ease their efforts; make their divisions more profitable. However, each time she would ask for upgrades in software, a new computer for one that had long ago outlived it’s usefulness it was like pulling teeth. She watched one or two of the other managers get compensated with “at cost” work around their homes. She had the company do work on her new home, that she paid for and after 13 years and 3 different attempts to resolve the issue of her front steps, they continued to pitch and sink and were now unusable. Was it a small thing? Yes, but small things over time add up.

On one occasion she had taken her car to a garage for inspection. The mechanic told her it would not pass. This was broke, that needed to be replaced etc. the entire bill would be around $2,700.00. She hadn’t been having trouble with her car and was suspicious. She brought it home and talked to her husband, who was usually less than supportive but on this occasion said he would take it to his mechanic and see what was going on. The outcome was significantly different. $2.45 for a new bulb and a turn or two of a wrench to tighten up the O2 sensor. She was enraged.

In restaurants it was her husband that was chatted up by the maître d’, if she dined alone she was stuck at a table in the corner by the kitchen. Taxi cabs, forget about it. She stood in the rain more times than she could count while the other guy got in the cab sporting a condecending grin.

The ultimate insult was when her husband left her for someone else. During her divorce he had the nerve to ask why she was surprised, afterall the other woman was a huge success in her field and she was no more than a glorified secretary and was obviously, after 15 years was never going really make anything of herself. That was the crushing blow, the catalyst of things to come.

Still groggy from the the anethesia a line from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein came to mind. “When I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ it". Sliding a hand under the hospital sheets for the first time, Dennis touched himself down there and smiled. Now he had his future firmly in his grip. His new job starts on Monday.

The Comeuppance

2009-08-20T09:38:00.004-05:00

At this intelligence, in which he seemingly evinced little interest, Mr. Bloom gazed abstractedly for the space of a half a second or so in the direction of a bucketdredger, rejoicing in the farfamed name of Eblana, moored alongside Customhouse quay and quite possibly out of repair, whereupon he observed evasively: "Everybody gets their own ration of luck, they say."

Four bodies had already been found. Weighted down, wrapped in sheets, their throats garroted by a burgundy ascot and dumped in the harbor. Judging from the condition of the women they had been there for some time. It would take time to identify them but Bloom’s instincts told him they were some of the missing prostitutes.

Across the channel at the end of the pier Mr. Bloom could see his nemesis Horace Blackstone III. Horace had always lived his life to suit himself and his dark pleasures. He had enough money to buy his way out of trouble. Drunk and disorderly, petty larcenies were just a few of the offenses skirted, all bought off with daddy’s money. This time would be no different, Horace thought smugly.

Bloom looked up just as another body was deposited on the pier. Cheryl Morgan, this one was still in good enough shape for him to recognize. She was a pretty girl and much to young to have ended up at the bottom of the harbor. She had no family, no one to morn her death; she was just another prostitute who paid for her sins with her life. When Bloom looked back to where Blackstone had been standing he had evaporated along with the mornings mist.

Mr. Bloom walked into the Haberdashery on Gold Street. He had a hunch. The ascot was of an exceptional quality and fabric. It wasn’t off the rack. Although the ocean water and rotting flesh had degraded the fabric he hoped Mr. Singer could identify it and more to the point who it had been made for. It was mere moments and Mr. Bloom had his answer. Stuffing the soggy ascot in his pocket he walked straight to Blackstone’s Brownstone. The maid informed Bloom that Mr. Blackstone was not in nor did she know when to expect him. Bloom turned away from the door and walked back along the waterfront. Something was off. He scanned the ships in the harbor, not sure what he was looking for. Just then the clipper Lucks Lady sailed out from behind the Eblana. Standing on the bow was Horace, smiling from ear to ear giving Bloom a vigorous wave. Blackstone was getting away with murder. But what he didn’t realize, due to his grandstanding, was that he was only inches away from the bow of the frigate Comeuppance. The jolt sent Blackstone tumbling ass over teakettle, catching him as he tumbled in the bowline. Now it was Blooms turn to grin. Blackstone swung, hung by the neck, bouncing against the sides of the boat. Luck sure is a fickle mistress.

The Torcedores

2009-08-13T14:44:00.007-05:00

Since the age of eleven Lucho had worked in the factory hauling tobacco leaves off the carts as they pulled up to the dock. Now at seventeen, with his newly discovered talent he had ascended the ranks and had been given the title of Torcedores, expert cigar roller. It was a big deal. Many of his relatives worked there too, his father, two uncles and three brothers, all just laborers. All of them, with the exception of Lucho belonged to the Federacion de Grupos Anarquistas de Cuba and fought against the Caudillo, Gerardo Machado. It wasn’t that Lucho didn’t believe in the cause but he had seen first hand the some of the “accidents” of those who did belong. In his own way he thought of himself as a talisman, being the only one not in the Federacion and being the owners favorite Torcedores, so far his family had escaped any overt retribution and he wanted to keep it that way but he also wanted out. Out of the mediocre existence that his family had lived in for generations but most of all out of Cuba.

Each evening Lucho would walk to meet his best friend outside the gates of his home. They would make their way down to the cantina where they would entertain the rest of the patrons. Lucho played his guitar while his friend would croon for the ladies. There they thrived. He and his friend were complete opposites on the outside. Lucho came from humble factory workers, his best friend the son of the Mayor of Santiago. Lucho was not what some would call attractive but he was no slouch either, he could pass in the daylight. His friend on the other hand always had a bevy of beauties buzzing around him. On the inside though, the playing field was far more level. It was their love of music that erased their socio-economic differences and made them equals. It was also their desire to find a better life that kept then tight. They spent hours talking about the what if's.

Lucho would never forget that morning in June 1934, the day the factory burnt to the ground. An "accident" was the official report. As he walked towards the charred remains the air was thick with smoke; pungent, acrid, it smelled of Machado. At that same time, three blocks away the Caudillo’s men arrested the Mayor, stripped him of his office and stole most of their property. The family it was reported was being deported.

Lucho ran the three blocks to his friend’s home just as the gates swung open. He ran straight into the front end of the Mayors Cadillac V-16, which knocked him on his ass, nearly knocking him out. His friend, his best friend, the one he thought he might never see again, stuck his head around the open back door with a smile a mile wide. Not a word passed between them, just seconds. Lucho scrambled to his feet and jumped in. He would write his folk on the way to Miami.

Pulling his Coconut Fedora lower on his forehead Lucho, Desi and the rest of the band walked onto the stage and the crowd erupted. But with the passage of the years Lucho Abril Marroquin was to tell himself that of all the instructive experiences of that morning the most unforgettable had not been either the first or the second accident but what happened afterwards.

500 Words#2-A Little Early

2009-07-30T16:36:00.004-05:00

I am taking tomorrow off from work. I contacted the all powerful OZ and he said I could have the sentance a bit early (Thanks Dive) as I will have limited access to a comptuer over the weekend. So here is my contribution.

The Stranger

The whistle snuck up on him as he walked down Reflection Street, a tune from his twenties, “We all fall in love, but we disregard the danger, something, something, something, why were you so surprised that you never saw the stranger? Did you ever let your lover see the stranger in yourself” Then, suddenly, with great clarity and precision, he saw Bartleby's window and the blank brick wall before him. The whitewash that obscured the view inside was the glaringly similar to his own outlook, the blankness of the wall, not unlike his heart. Bartleby’s had succumbed to the inevitable and gone out of business. Leaving an empty shell of what had once been thriving, alive and magical. Those similarities to his life pissed in his ear as he wandered home.

She had come into his life unexpectedly, a coworker, no one special. Oh, how wrong he’d been. She shook him up, his insides liquefied. He was no longer in control of himself, no longer solid and no longer blank. She tore away the veil of his run-of-the-mill life and she had seen him for the man he was and as no one else ever had, not even himself. She has awoken the stranger. That year they spent together, the promise they made to each other while coupled on the sofa that Labor Day afternoon were real and deep and at the time, life altering for both of them. She had moved him, touched him, consumed him and oh how she made his teeth rattle!

But his life was set. The job, the one he had been chasing for year was finally his. After all a job is what defines the man; at least that is what his father had always told him. It was at the core of his self-esteem. His family; the status quo. A stay at home wife who no longer acknowledged his needs or most of the time his existence, two great boys, a sprawling house in the ‘Burbs, a couple of dogs and a the brand new sports car. You know, all that things that humans are supposed to accumulate to measure their worth. From the outside it worked. The twelve plus hours a day he spent between work and commuting left little time for a home life, which, since her he had come to realize was exactly why he kept those hours. It all came down to less awake time. Less time to be bored, less time to think about the life he had worked so hard to create and that had turned so unbearably mundane. The house, his stuff, the outward manifestation of his success, he was finally better off than the Jones. For once his dad was proud. But she was always on his mind and just hearing her voice could send shock waves to that place that lay dormant in his everyday life, sending him on a wild ride of heat and heart. To her and only her he’d showed the stranger, with her and only her, he had been alive.

He never intended for it to happen, he never expected he would have to make a choice. In the end, when that choice had to be made, he like Bartleby’s took whitewash to his heart, rebuilt his wall, moved the dog and settled into his recliner, because when all was said and done, for him it was all about the stuff.

500 Words- Ok really 556

2009-07-28T09:22:00.003-05:00

Well, count me in on this one at least. Here goes...

And again next day a thinly populated sky, losing its blue to the heat, would melt overhead, and the car inside would be a furnace when we got in again, and the road shimmered ahead, with a remote car changing its shape mirage-like in the surface glare, and seeming to hang for a moment, old-fashionedly square and high, in the hot haze. As the road crawled away we continued to chase it down. Mile after mile, the air clawing its way down our throats trailing its aridness into our chests and absorbing what moisture remained in our lungs. The confinement of the car was intolerable for Lo. I could see it in her eyes, that is, when she would look my way. The window being her constant companion, she very rarely took her eyes off the brownness that seemed to absorb the life around us, let alone speak. This bareness was taking its toll. The insufferable length of time caged in this heap of rusting metal was seeping into her, seeming to incinerate what was left of her fragile frame. As the cars ahead shifted shape in the burning heat of the day so did Lo.

As we plunged through the cleavage of Twin Mountains just outside of Sapulpa the heaviness that had weighted us down began to lift. Mile after mile of nothingness had crushed itself against our bodies like apples in a press, leaving behind bruised flesh darkened by the blistering sun that spit on our skin as we hung out the windows trying to catch some relief from the furnace in which we rode. Just as the wipers stripped away the murk that collected on the windshield, the gradual greening of the roadsides gave me hope that Lo too would brighten. She never spoke much anyway, but the 200 miles of silence was loud. I knew her well enough that I took no offense, knowing it best to keep my thoughts to myself. Her tongue being pointed, adding the nothingness of our drive would lend a sharpness that I was not likely to recover from. The heat always took its toll on her.

So, I drove and she sat, quietly mulling whatever thoughts tripped around her skull. With her it was impossible to tell exactly what was in there and the fact that when she did open her mouth you were never sure where the conversation would land you, I usually just went along for the ride. Not unlike our trip thus far. Odd comments, disjointed to the moment seemed to be her favorite way to pass the time. Randomness, not unlike the way we had met was the force behind her thoughts. She did it to amuse herself. If my car had not broke down, in that town, on that day, at that hour, just as she was ending her shift at the diner, I would be in LA. Alone. But randomness insinuated itself upon me that day, stripping away what anyone would consider an ordinary life. If anyone had told me six months ago that I would fall this hard, this fast and this deep for a woman I had literally bumped into on the street, in a shit-hole little town on the outskirts of life, I would have thought them mad.

For Dive and Katie

2009-06-22T08:16:00.001-05:00

God Bless

Before They Are All Gone

2009-06-22T08:00:00.003-05:00

My mother and I spent an enjoyable friday evening with HIM

There is something to be said for singing along with the man who wrote this.

Just Sharing

2009-06-12T09:43:00.004-05:00

May 29, 2009 was my parents 50th wedding anniversary. As is customary with a milestone of this magnitude most families would have had a big hurrah for this great event. Most families is not what we are. As most of you know my dad has Alzheimer's as did his dad. We have a photograph of my grand parents on their 50th anniversary and at that time we were just beginning to hear about the difficulties my Noni was having with my Big Pa. Looking at the photograph now, knowing what was brewing you can see the difference in cognition in his eyes. When we, myself and my brothers started discussing what might work, my mother was included as she is really NOT a big fan fare type of person. She simply stated that she didn't want a picture of them like "THAT". No big party, a small cookout with only family would surf ice. So, that is what we did. Three hours of celebrating for 50 years of dedication. Somehow it seems piddly and so very insignificant for the sacrifice and devotion my parents have given not only to their three children but also to their blood and marriage-included grandchildren.
So, I wrote this for them, printed it and had it framed-of course it took three frames.
It made my mom cry in front of people which pissed her off and my dad laugh in a spot or two.
Just thought I would share so you all wouldn't think I have left the planet. Sorry it is long and you all know I have no grammar skills!

Mom and Dad
Five decades now have sang their song
Some years seemed quick and some were long
From a chance meeting one day on the street
Grew a great love, so strong and so sweet
Each year has brought change to both their lives
He her husband and She his wife

Their journey together had just began
When off to Huntsville they both ran
He to serve our great nation
And in those first years came a new “Creation”
They named him Paul, their first born son
From that day on he was the One
A few years there and home they came
They’d make a life where the streets were the same
The same as they ran when first they met
Where their family ties were strong and set.

He worked in a shop to support his new wife
She in the Halls helping bring forth new life
Friends were made and life went fast
In another year, a new chapter cast
A baby girl, they name her Leslie
Her Big Pa John became quite testy
He did not like the name they picked
But she won him over lickity split

They found a new home with room for four
On top of a hill but still close to the shore
Between both of the Grand Parents this little house sat
With them close by, they helped with this and with that
In no time at all that house was a home
They all settled in and the kids could roam

Life had it’s own rhythm, it’s ebb and it’s flow
The kids getting older, teeth now out in a row
The kids went to school, they played down the street
Then came the day a new sibling they’d meet
It was boy, his name was Jason
Now off to the doctor, daddy did hasten.
Three kids is enough the house grew much tighter
So they’d pack off to the Camp where the air was much lighter

They spent summers at camp where the children could play
And a big fuzzy puppy joined the family one day
Sugar, dear Sugar was that sweet puppy’s name
They hugged her and kissed her, they pulled till she came
She followed the kids and kept them from harm
Each night she’d curl up in one of their arms.

Now a family of five with a Nonie and Nanny and Pas Big and Little
This family was growing, busting out in the middle
The City grew scary, no place for the kids
So off to the country they moved, yes they did.

No home for some months and kids starting school
They both wondered if they’d been taken for fools.
The house finally ready with moving day here
Again thoughts of doubt filled their hearts with great fear
It rained and it rained down the living room wall
And the sides of the house were going to fall.

With strength and with courage they worked long and hard
And the kids, they grew taller than the weeds in the yard.
Not just for the country did they all move
You see He had a new job that was set to improve
Improve their lives and their ways to enjoy,
The growing up of their girl and their boys

Years spent working and the land he did tend
Made him quite happy, him and his friend
Together they planted rows of green beans
The corn stalks grew tall, the kids can’t be seen
Turkeys and chickens were also the rage
Many of them often escaping their cage

Years flitted fast and His mind kept on moving
His name will live on in the Hall –Patent Pending
The children now older and heading off in all directions
She grew more restless looking at life’s reflections
To fulfill a deep need, a want, a desire
Magna Cum Laude is to what she'd aspire.
Fulfill it she did with much strength and devotion
What she has learned there could now fill an ocean.

Work for him ended but fiddle he did
Making memories and goodies for each of his kids
Furniture, houses and boxes he built
Never stopping to notice His legacy quilt.
She found her joy, her peace, her desire
For many a year her job was her fire

Marriages, births, divorces and deaths
It happened it seems in just a few breaths
Grand Children are here, now you’re Pa and Granny
Where not long ago there was a Pa and a Nanny

Life moves so quickly, not stopping, not caring
Moving swiftly in swaths of life as it’s tearing
Parents are lost but never forgotten
Children are spoiled, some cute and some rotten
They’ve loved each of them not matter their stage
It just gets a little bit harder with age

Fifty years had gone by in the blink of an eye
Then again it depends what you see, from what side

Euphemism

2009-04-06T11:15:00.005-05:00

Each morning as I head to work and each night on my way back home I pass this certain spot. I have been watching with amazement and little girl giddiness as they progress in their effort to build and remodel this and that around their home each day. I muse of their busyness and work weary little hands. They toil relentlessly trying to make sure the each piece of the landscape is just so for themselves and their little ones. They do all this in the middle of the night with only the stars and sometime the moon to illuminate their task. Each morning I see how busy they have been the night before. What perseverance it must take to keep-on-keeping-on! They do, night after night. They must, they are parents, a husband, a wife who have loved ones to provide for and to protect. To give them shelter and sustenance. There is always work to do when you have a family. I try to keep this thought for myself and apply it to my own days and nights. (When the radio in your car doesn’t work you have a lot of time to think! Just try to keep clear of the voices.)

Then one morning you wake up, head out the door like every other morning for the last few months and as you round the corner THIS is what you see....

Maria had left me a comment back in March that she misses my posts…

I am afraid this kind of sums up how the last 4 months of my life has been. So, until I can pull myself out of my funk and things start to turn around I just can’t. Life seems futile at times. This is one of those times and I am having a hard time shaking it.

I do stop by and visit each of you and try to comment when I can. I will continue to do so. I really enjoy being part of this special little group and look forward each day to catching up with all of you.

Pru

Global Warming My ASS

2009-01-16T09:04:00.001-05:00

The thermostat in my car that was sitting in the driveway of my home read -28F when I got in to go to work this morning. Looks like a two bottles of wine night.

The best Christmas Present Ever

2008-12-24T10:49:00.000-05:00

Ok, may that wasn't the best I could do!

2008-12-24T09:34:00.001-05:00

Be safe out there!

Yep this is the best I can do.

2008-12-24T09:26:00.004-05:00

To all of my favorite Blogger, accept this as my well wishings for a glorious Holiday Season.

XXOO
Pru

Two of My Favorite "Things"

2008-09-16T10:47:00.009-05:00

Today is a great day if you ask me. Go ahead ask me why. Ok, I will tell you, today Lindsay Buckingham came out with a new CD, Gift of Screws. It is similar to his 2006 release Under the Skin, in a few instances. Time Precious Time is very much like Not Too Late (2006) in it's picking style and crescendos, but hey if you stop and picture that beautiful man stroking each string effortlessly making that guitar writhe in ever increasing adulation, hell it is easily forgiven Bel Air Rain from Screws and Shut Us Down from Skin are similar as well. Did You Miss Me is a very nice track as is Love Runs Deeper. Gift of Screws the title song is pretty rockin’ a bit B-52ish if you listen close. I like it when Lindsey makes animal noises. All in all, it’s a good effort for his second CD in as many years. I will take anything that man has to offer. "Lindsay

Secondly, another favorite of mine, Ray Lamontange a native of Maine who has only been on the world radar since 2004 with his debut CD Trouble (which I bought the day after hearing the title track) is finally set to release his third CD Gossip In The Grain in October. His single, You Are The Best Thing is catchy, upbeat but with Ray’s unmistakable gravely intonations. I am very anxious to get my hands on this gem. His second CD Till The Sun Turns Black, was just that… black and very, very soulful almost cavernous in it’s ability to suck you into it’s depths. I already have enough trouble keeping up my sunny disposition so I wasn’t too thrilled with this CD. I am hoping that this new CD follows suit in its emotional journey from the single. "Ray LaMontange

A bit of trivia about Mr. LaMontange.. he became a singer because of Stephen Stills and his song Tree Top Flyer. It was hearing that song one night that made him decide to take up the guitar and sing. Thanks Stephen for lighting this man on fire.

Go ahead and take a listen I think you will like both.

Childhood Memories

2008-08-21T08:54:00.007-05:00

After reading "Maria's post and having salivated over Dive's new cooking adventures I will share with you my Grandmothers recipe for Eight Layer Dinner. As a little girl of 4 or five I can remember going to her very tidy, almost sterile house every Sunday for dinner, after church of course. The moment her door opened we were welcomed in, almost dragged by our noses by the smell of her cooking. This is a very easy recipe and it is done in one pot so clean up is a breeze. You also get all of your food groups at once. Give it a try I think you will enjoy.

In a large Ducth Oven ( I use a 8 quart Ducth Oven)
Layer #1-Dice 4 med/large Potatos into the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper.
Layer #2-Slice in rings 3 large onions-salt & pepper
Layer #3-Slice in rings 3 large green peppers-salt & pepper
Layer #4-1 cup of uncooked rice-I use Jasmine rice-salt & pepper
Layer #5-1 1/2-2 pounds lean ground beef 85% works well and adds a good flavor. Spread over the top like a lid and salt & pepper
Layer #6- 1 large can of diced tomatoes, spread evenly over the ground beef and you know the drill- salt and pepper.
Layer #7- 1 can of tomato soup mixed with one can of water poured over the top. I usually use a knife to pry the side so the liquid gets down in the dish.
Layer #8- 8 strips of raw bacon. I usually crisscross them so they look pretty and salt and pepper.
Cover and bake for +/- 1.5 hours at 350F. Depending on the rice, you might have to dig a bit to see how it is doing. Uncover and crank the oven to about 450 to crip the bacon. Take out and let sit for 20-30 min. before serving.
You may think that salt and peppering every layer ist overkill but trust me, I have tried to cut it down and the difference in the end product is not the same.
Well, have a go and let me know what you think. Next time maybe I will share her Drunken Potroast recipe. Oh my!

To My Daughter -Milestones

2008-06-13T10:39:00.005-05:00

I will be leaving the office today, in fact in 20 minutes to start the preparations for my daughter’s next milestone. Tomorrow at 10:00 am she will be graduating from High School. Not so long ago I was dropping her off at the sitters for the first time and later meeting said sitter at the hospital because her big brother had left the cellar door open and she had taken a terrible tumble down the cellar stairs in her walker. Oh, many tears I must say. Fortunately there were not any long-term scars or worse from her trip.

Then it was the first day on the school bus. Watching her in her little dress trying to climb up on that 1st big step was hard. I had wanted a little girl and the Midwife and my mom, who was an OBGYN Nurse both, insisted she was a he. HA HA! to them.

Then all the woes of High School, boyfriends- “Scary Monsters and Super Creeps” driving miles to AAU basketball games and pick up from late night dances. Sometimes I truly believed she hated me. The drivers license and speeding ticket fiasco and now it is all in the past.

She is a very bright spot in my life, heart and soul. She and I have gotten very close over that last year. Closer than I ever expected or hoped, you know how teenagers are. She shares a lot with me now and we hang with each other and really enjoy each other. I am so proud of her. She managed to complete all her required credits (and then some) and has officially been out of school since March. She is still waffling about what she wants to do but that will come.

Today and tomorrow I will just savor her achievements and glow with love and admiration.

Congratulations Haleigh! YOU DID IT!!

Love MOM.

It's My Birthday, It's My Birthday

2008-06-05T15:31:00.006-05:00

Dear Blog Pals,

I can't believe it's been a year already since I talked about being "Five Years From Fifty". It has been quite a year indeed. I really don't have time to do a year in review right now but I will be back tomorrow and fess up. I will have a glass of Cab Sav for each of you this evening to be sure!

I will leave you with a two pictures.

This one you have seen before of the beautiful, sleeping, sweet new baby Seamus when I first brought him home.

This one is last week's welcome home from the same sweet, DEVIL! That's the stuffing from one of the pillows on my couch!

Good Night All!

Thanks for reminding me M Benaut.

2008-04-09T13:44:00.006-05:00

While strolling through Adelaide Daily Photos complements of M Benaut I noticed his picture of some very strange looking trees in his post of 4/4/08. My mind immediately went skipping back through time to a visit I had made to Ohio. I was there on business and found myself a bit lost on the way back to my hotel. While trying to remember my way I came across this field and in it stood the following. I thought it was one of the weirdest, remarkable and silly things I had run across in a long time. Hope you get a giggle.

It is an art/sculptural piece by Malcolm Cochran in 1994 with funding from the Dublin Ohio's Arts Council and is a tribute to Sam Frantz, who developed hybrid corn in the area from the 30’s through the 60’s. These ears of corn are over 7 ft tall if I remember correctly and there are 109 of them. Quite a sight.

R.I.P. Tigger

2008-03-27T11:07:00.004-05:00

Today, in one hour I have to take my 17 year old pal to the vets where they will send him off to his quiet rest. I love him. That is all I can say right now.

Sometimes I am Smucking Fart!

2008-02-01T12:59:00.000-05:00

As you all have figured out by my posts on music, I spend a lot of time listening to many things. Since I have met Dive, even more so! I finally figured out how to put an audio stream on my blog. I have selected 45 songs that make me smile, cry, giggle, scream out loud, well you get the picture. I will change them up when I can. I hope you enjoy.

PS.. that lovely old man is fine. He just had a low blood sugar issue!

Occasionally You See The Face of Humanity

2008-01-23T15:40:00.000-05:00

Last evening I made my usual stop at the grocery store on my way home from work. It seems that everyday there is something that turns up empty or low in the pantry and fridge. Some of you know how it is with teenagers in the house. We consume (not me mind you) on average a gallon of milk a day! Let’s not talk about the 3-4 boxes of cereal, cartons of frozen waffles and peanut butter. Tonights stop is for paper towels and trash bags, so far! Anyway, as I wandered around the isles of the grocery store I noticed at one of the registers a small gathering of people. One young man was on a cell phone, two or three others were standing near him and looking at the isle between two of the registers. As I got closer I could see Kim, one of the regular cashiers and the front-end manager. Kim is always making small talk; she is full of life and has the most amazing, blazing red hair. She was kneeling on the floor cradling an old man in her arms. His head was leaning in the crook of her arm with the rest of him sprawled on the floor. He was ashy, breathing shallow and speaking very softly. Kim was speaking to him and also to an elderly lady who appeared to be his wife. The ambulance arrived and they determined they would take him to the hospital. I was in the check out as this was going on. I watched as one of the EMT’s (Emergency Medical Technician-for my British Friends) spoke to his wife. Anyone who watches people often can read things on peoples faces that most people never notice. As this EMT asked the wife for his date of birth, medical history etc. I watched her relive moments of her life with him making it difficult for her to focus on what the EMT was asking her. They brought in the stretcher and because of his location between the isles, they asked if he thought he could stand. He nodded, but with his eyes closed and his breath a bit labored. One of the other EMT’s tried to get into the isle to help but Kim waved him off and helped him up by herself. Kim is no taller than 5 feet and just a bit of a woman. She walked with him to the stretcher, asked him his name, told him she would pray for him and kissed him on the very top of his head. It is important to notice this type of thing. The norm seems to be to go about your everyday noticing only the assholes that you have to deal with. Usually it is because they are in your face or in your space. It is nice when you are treated to a bit of humanity.

A Man, His Penis and Barry Manilow?

2008-01-16T14:16:00.000-05:00

Dive,
Honey,This one's for you!

Go Here

or Here

Now who says it isn't cute?

Whose Knuckles are Draggin?

2008-01-15T13:14:00.000-05:00

I’ve not much time but did want to address not just Dive but also Maria’s post of today, from a slightly different perspective.

“Right-wingers are evolutionarily retarded.” “exposure to anything remotely advanced in the way of evolutionary traits such as individual freedom, civil rights, women's rights, workers' rights, social empathy, sharing, sexual freedom, charity (I mean real charity, not tax write-offs) … causes them to band together, bare their fangs and screech like the frightened apes they are.” “It exists outside their scared little group and must be pathologically hated and feared in that it doesn't embrace the right-wing group ethos of sexist misogyny, bigotry, racism, homophobia, greed, profiteering, warmongering, religious intolerance and pathetic bunker mentality …”

A lot of the people on the “right” believe in GOD. It’s a belief system Dive, whether you think it is right or wrong. With that belief system comes some basic rules for living ones life in the manner of Christ. You know this because you have mentioned the Beatitudes in a previous comment on my blog. Most individuals who have this belief system also know enough to believe what they believe and let GOD sort it all out in the end. “Judge not lest you be judged”. It is how I choose to live. Do I have a 100% track record? No, I am human and in that we are faulty. If taken that ALL people have the right to believe whatever they choose, how can you fault anyone for those beliefs? How can any “enlightened” individual sling nasty monikers at anyone? If in fact those who believe in all those traits you malign the right for not believing in are move evolved, why the rant?

There are injustices against one group or another served up all over the planet every hour of every day. You cannot lump an entire political group into the adjectives you described above. It’s not fair. America is not all of those ugly things. There are many decent, tolerant people who live here and vote Republican but like anything else the negative gets the most coverage!

I can say that many problems arise with these issues because those of us who do have a Divine belief system get tired of being told what we can or cannot believe by those who hold different views. We are told over and over through protest marches, legislative doings and the media that it is us who are in the wrong and we must change. Sure there are fanatics out there who make a bad name for us, but they are a small % of the group.
I might suggest that we are becoming the minority and perhaps it is time that we file for “minority status” so we can become a protected group and Hate Speech can be then addressed for what it is from this side of the issues! Belief is an individual freedom. We are forced to accept things in the public sector that goes against those beliefs and we are expected to shut up about it otherwise we are sexist, bigots, and homophobes. How is it that “we” must be tolerant but those who live lifestyles we may not agree with don’t have to be? Big deals are made of redneck, homophobes etc but seldom do I see it coming from this side. Mostly I hear rants, pointing fingers and hurling insults coming from the supposedly more evolved side of the fence. Seems a bit two faced doesn’t it? If you believe you are more evolved because you believe in individual freedoms in all aspects of existence, why do you point a finger at anyone else that believes differently from you? Because I may not believe how you believe it somehow makes me less of an evolved person? You rant about non-tolerance but you are not tolerant of those who don’t believe as you do.

Perhaps your knuckles are still draggin brother!

Oh Boy... I am really a GUY!!???

2008-01-10T13:05:00.000-05:00

The New Hampshire Primary According to Prudence

2008-01-07T14:14:00.000-05:00

Ok you asked for it. Here is Dear Prudence’s take on the Primary and those who are trying to woo me.

First of all let me say that I am a registered Independent. I like that about our State. As you have all heard “We” are the ones everyone is clambering to impress. So far, not so impressed. There have been political adds running here since last winter. It is just an annoyance. How long can you really pay attention when it is rammed down your throat for over a year? If I see Hillbillery on my television screen one more time I will toss it out the freakn’ window.

Saturday night was a creature double feature here in NH with a Republican debate followed by the Democrat debate. Yes I made it through the Repubs before the last of the wine kicked in and told me to go to bed. However, even sober I would not have watched the Dems because of the deep-seated distain for the “smartest woman on the earth”. I am sick of hearing about her 35 years of experience. That is such a load of shit.

But I digress; here is Dear Prudence’s take on Politics in New Hampshire, USA

Let’s start with Republicans

Huckabee-Twofaced, Bible Thumpin’, lying, dirt slinging as usual Politician. He can say what he wants about being an outsider, check his record on clemency sure looks like the norm to me. I dislike anyone who uses their faith as a tool to persuade and delude people.

McCain- He is a Liberal in Republican clothing. He was the Co-Author of the Amnesty Bill that the citizens’ of this country said no to.

Mitt Romney-He is the former Gov. of our next-door neighbor, Massachusetts or as we in NH like to call it Taxachusetts. He and I agree on many issues and I do like the fact he isn’t really a Washington boy and that he has actual business experience. After all America is one big business.

Fred Thompson- He shouldn’t have stopped acting cuz the real guy is a bore. He has no chance and will be done by South Carolina. He had nothing to add to the entire debate. Not even a funny line.

Rudy-Well he did fine while he held NY together after 9/11 but that is all that is coming through. Yes he is very vocal about Illegal Immigration and I am with him on it, however, he is running an add here that could be used as a movie trailer. It contains nothing but scare tactics to trick voters into thinking tomorrow the world is coming to an end and it is all Muslims that are going to make it happen. It is really quite scary to watch and the way is shot and how they used background music to add to the hysteria.

Ron Paul-He was at least amusing. He is off his freakn nut but has the right idea on minding our own business and fixing our economic infrastructure- but he is too “out there” for anyone to take seriously. I do agree with him on many points- here are a few
Would you roll back tax cuts that were supported by the Bush administration?
No. I would seek to broaden the tax cuts by pressuring Congress to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment and permanently end the income tax, and I would also seek the end of any taxes not expressly authorized by the Constitution, including the death tax and payroll taxes. My administration will work with Congress to end the IRS.

Should the federal government have a role in seeking an end to poverty? What would you do, specifically, to deal with poverty?
The misguided federal 'War on Poverty' has proven disastrous to our nation. Federal intervention only resulted in more poverty, as the welfare rolls grew while employment shrank and mothers were encouraged to have children out-of-wedlock because the more children they had, the bigger the check they got from the federal government. I propose getting the federal government out of the way of private charities and institutions that wish to deal with the impoverished, and I want to end federal regulations and subsidies that restrict businesses, discourage renovation and expansion, and further the plight of the poor. Eliminating many taxes and regulations will allow businesses to hire more workers, and make it easier for impoverished areas to be renovated with private and corporate money. True compassionate conservatism means letting individuals, churches, and other groups, not indifferent federal bureaucracies, provide help.

Do you support the No Child Left Behind program? Why or why not?
"No. No Child Left Behind leaves all children behind by tying the hands of teachers and encouraging them to teach to the test instead of educating their students. It only more deeply involves the federal government in controlling schools and children's lives.

I would bet he will fade out after tomorrow. Just wish it was wrapped in a tighter package!

So as you can see I am not wooed by any Republicans so much that I have made up my mind.

Now for the Dems

Hillbillery- Guess you don’t need to ask my opinion. Any woman who would continue to stand by her MAN while he behaves the way he does deserves NO RESPECT or my vote, in my humble opinion. Beside think about this.. if “SHE” were to get in and stay for 2 terms we would have 24 years of Bush/Clinton. Who in their right mind who actually is looking for CHANGE would want to go down that road. Talk about Washington Insiders!

John Edwards- He is the other canidate for CHANGE just ask him. Of course he started that mantra after Barack got going. He claims he is not one of them. He is all about being different from the rest but did you know -"Edwards home totaling 28,200 square feet of connected space. The main house is 10,400 square feet and has two garages. The recreation building, a red, barn-like building containing 15,600 square feet, is connected to the house by a closed-in and roofed structure of varying widths and elevations that totals 2,200 square feet. The main house is all on one level except for a 600-square-foot bedroom and bath area above the guest garage. The carbon footprint of his home is the same as roughly 28 Habitat for Humanity homes." Wonder howmay carbon offsets he's bought since he built that mansion? None I bet! Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with him spending his money the way he wants but Do as I say, not as I do has never sat well with me. He is more of the SAME.

Gravel, Richardson and Kucinich are not worth getting into as they will be pulling out soon.

That leaves you know who-Obama. He is definitely charismatic, carries himself well and does not seem to be One of the Boys. “From the beginning, we've run this campaign the right way -- without negative attacks or distortions, without taking money from Washington lobbyists or PACs, and without listening to the cynics who said it couldn't be done.” That is the truth. Not one negative attack add, at least as I have seen. I would like to vote for him for those reasons. Perhaps it is new blood we need but I am afraid the usual Washington pack of hyenas will eat him up in his 1st 100 days. It would be nice to think about “Vertical Politics” and not the usual party dogma. Although he is talking raising taxes and letting ILLEGAL immigrants stay, is he the lesser of all evils?

So, I guess until I walk into that booth and close the curtain and I am still unsure. You will have to wait until tomorrow to find out. Yes I will tell you. I am not of my parents’ generation where it was a big secrete.

We are a STUPID Country

2007-12-27T10:07:00.000-05:00

Pakistan's Bhutto assassinated at rally.

We actually think we have influance over those we negotiate with, support both politically and finacially.

WE A STUPID COUNTRY.

May All Your Christmases Be White

2007-12-21T09:28:00.000-05:00

Wishing all my Pals in Blogville a Very Merry Christmas (even you Dive)!

Pussy Galore

2007-11-27T13:40:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't remember her. I always giggled at her name even when I was too young to know exactly why I was giggling! I needed to use up some film a bit ago and decided to take some pictures of those who greet me each morning and evening when I arrive in the kitchen as well as some other shots. Yes, I am the CRAZY CAT LADY!

This is Tigger. He is the Patriarch of the family. He is 16 years old. He has taught all of our cats how to hunt over the years. He never meows and minds his own business. Sad to say he is on his last life. Over the summer he has lost almost 12 pounds and now is a shadow of himself. He is not sick he is just old. I will be sad when he goes.

This is his favorite thing to do. While all the other kitties eat or wait in line for their turn at the food dish, Tigger gets the can. He will stay dipping his paw and licking it off until the can is clean. I indulge him.
Here is a group photo. This is what my breakfast bar looks like each morning and evening when it is feeding time. From left to right, Junior (Bug); he has 7 toes on each of his front feet, next to him is his sister Malory, she has 6 toes on each front foot. Behind her is Dudley, better picture to follow, next to Malory is Tipper, he has the smallest white tip on the end of his tail and lastly is Tig. The one you can only see the tail end of is Willamina-we call her Miana.Another shot showing the boys being sweet.

This is Dudley when he was a kitten. He is now 9. He has no front teeth, top or bottom so his tongue is always hanging out. His fur is so soft it feels like an angora sweater. He is very sweet and will hold your face with both of his paws to give you a kiss. I know, I know.. I need to be hospitalized.

This is "Teddy-Bear" Guess why we named him that! He is the son of Mallory. Really! She weighs about 4 lbs, he weighs 22. He is solid muscle and has a habit of reaching out to touch you as you walk by. Teddy is 5.

This is Samantha, she is the sister of Miana. They are both annoyingly affectionate. Perhaps they are still grateful to me for saving them from a place where hunks of raw meat was thrown on the floor for these 5 week old kittens to chew on. Samantha's trick is when she wants your attention she will take one nail and lightly touch you with it. Never enough to hurt but enough to get your attention. She has striking stripes. She and her sister are 7.

This is Cleopatra. This picture does not do her justice. She is really quite lovely. She was given away as a kitten with her brother to a work mate. After 3 weeks he asked if he could give her back. It seems she didn't like them very much and she kept peeing in their daughters toys. I brought her home and she has been my constant companions since. She has not since done the dirty deed in the house. Maybe it was them and not her! Cleo is 4 and the mother of the next two.
Tipper on the left you have seen in the first photo. On the right is Pippy, like Pippy Long Stockings because her left front leg is totally Orange. I tried to find homes for them but they are content to live with me. This is about 2 years ago.

This is Tipper today, all grown up. He is a talker. He can be annoying. He is very loving and can be insistent about it.

This is Pippy all grown up and her son Lovey. He is grown now and he is not, lovey, except at 3:00am and he thinks he is a dog. He eats out of the dogs dish and sleep under the covers with the Jacks.

Well that ends the animal show for today folks. Have a great day.

Happy Thanksgiving People

2007-11-20T17:00:00.000-05:00

Whew, after my reivew of Bill, I am exhausted by my own emtions. I almost forgot to wish those here in the States a Happy Thanksgiving. I am off until next Monday and will need the time to recoup as I am the hostess.

Good night to you all! See you Monday.

Fantasy Meets Reality

2007-11-20T16:22:00.000-05:00

Sunday night, I have been looking forward to this one for months. I was going to see one of my favorite artists perform. The place The Stone Church a small intimate setting in a town that could have been plucked off the front of a Currier and Ives Christmas card. Narrow streets lined with hundred-year-old mill building now turned into tastefully landscaped condos. Small shops catering to whimsical creations beautifully lit to attract the early Christmas shoppers. The perfect setting to see Bill Morrissey, a two time Grammy nominated folk singer that resides in a picturesque town not far from my own here in New Hampshire. I guess having him so close by further solidifies my solidarity with him. He sings of small town life and the struggles of the average “Joe”, the Birches that are so common place here of love lost, found and damaged to its root, all the things common to my life. His alliterations in Party at the UN will make you laugh out loud. He can send you into a tail spin when he takes his old dog out behind the barn with a borrowed 22 on These Cold Fingers. I discovered Bill about 2 years ago although he has been busy since the early 80’s. Although I have lived in NH since 1972 I had never heard of him until I ran across his music by chance.

When I purchased the tickets I was giddy. Not unlike my trip to see Lindsey Buckingham. Lindsey amazes me with his guitar work but Bill does this with his words. I took my mom with me she likes folk music. We rode to Newmarket in her VW Bug and we listened to Bill all the way there. She hadn’t heard him before so I pointed out those lyrics that to me were poignant, “Strangers don’t do favors and nothing comes for free you gotta pay for everything, it’s just with different currency” or “There’s only so much snow and cold that you can take, so many strangers eyes before you have to get yourself back home and fill your family full of lies” “He said you know this rides a trade-off”, she says “Yea, isn’t everything?” Powerful words for me and the life I lived in my twenties and those things I did that are still partitioned off in my mind. Things I could never tell some of my friends never mind telling my folks. His sense of loss and damage touches me. Perhaps part of me wanted to share some of those things with my mom without admitting he was singing about me. I wonder if she got it? She didn’t say and I didn’t ask.

We arrived an hour before the show, enough time to have a bite; they have a nice little kitchen there too. I had Curry with shrimp. It was great. Mom had the nachos. We chatted about family situations, Thanksgiving and she mentioned wanting to take a road trip to Alaska and not wanting to travel that far alone. My mind raced frantically to come up with a way to back out of having to being her traveling companion. This concert will be one of the biggest chunks of time I have spent with my mom alone in quite some time; years in fact. It’s better for us that way, sad but true. Bill was due on stage at 7:00pm. We were the 2nd couple there. I had ordered tickets on line in the first moments they went on sale, we were seated practically on stage. I couldn’t have been more pleased. Finally a stagehand placed two guitars on stage; Bill appeared in the doorway. I had known he had put himself in rehab last winter to try and get a grip on his drinking. I was unprepared for the wisp of a man that now stood in front of us. No, I had never seen him in person before. I had only album covers and his website pictures to go by. His Manager Ellen, who also happens to be his ex-wife, spoke of how much better he was looking since he stopped drinking. He gained back some weight and had color in his cheeks again. He was feeling healthy. I wondered how bad he had looked then! He wore faded green Dickey workpants speckled with stains. A pinstriped green collared shirt coved by an LL Bean fleece that had more dog hair on it than the floor of a kennel. His hair was much too long for a man his age and was askew under the tattered, grimy baseball cap. What really threw me were his eyes. They no longer contained a pupil and an iris. They had seeped into each other creating a dark deep hole, not light seemed to penetrate. They were deep, dark and flat. No glimmer of the man I imagined had penned, “ Fix your hair the way you used to”. I have always been someone who notices hands, so much so that my parents bought me a photography book of hands once for Christmas. As he picked up his guitar and started to pick out the notes of his first song, “Inside” my eyes were drawn to his hands. His fingernails on his picking hand understandably long, almost as long as mine, were grimy from the strings, enough so you might think he was a mechanic not a musician. The skin on his fingers was transparent and papery. His fingers were narrow and bone thin; hands of an 80 year old, much to old for his 56 years. He looked like he had been released on a work detail from the local jail. He didn’t look like a Grammy Award Nominee by a long shot.

His first notes were sweet though. His crackly, cagey voice so familiar to me from hours of listening made me smile. He winked as I mouthed each word, yes we were that close to him. Two more song and another musician joined him on stage. His name oddly enough was Cormack McCarthy. He is a superb harmonica player who just happenes to have the same name as the famous writer.. He and Bill bantered back and forth performing 3 or so songs together, they had played together for years. Bill reminisced about when they toured with Johnny Cunningham, the famous Scottish fiddler in his best Scottish accent, "We played at a convention in Austin, Texas, and he spent most of the night teaching the members of a punk band how to drink," he said. The next afternoon, when their tour bus arrived in Houston, a harp festival was in progress at the venue at which they were to play that night. "There were about 11 harps on stage," said Morrissey, and the musicians asked if Mr. Cunningham would honor them by sitting in. Mr. Cunningham was back in the bus sleeping off the previous night's excess. Morrissey woke him. Mr. Cunningham quickly got dressed and stepped out from his hangover and onto the stage. "I'm not at my best," he explained to the audience in his thick Scottish accent. "I had 36 margaritas last night. I was lying in me bunk and heard this beautiful harp music and I thought me liver had gone out for good this time." (Boston Globe-2003) We all laughed loudly. Bill did one more song after Cormack took his leave and then a short intermission.

Returning to the stage Bill seemed tentative, almost timid of being there alone and unsure about what was he should do next. He told a few more stories, read, more like stumbled through the first paragraph of his book Edson and sang a few of his new songs off his Come Running cd. He told us of the evolution of By The Grave of Baudelaire which was amusing. As he sang I watched his face and singing style noticing some words seemed to hang up in his throat and he would squinch up his face as he forced them out into the air. He seemed to have to force his concentration too. By this time it was close to 10pm and he began to forget the words to some of his older songs. His playing faltered and his speech would trail off like it was chasing after his thoughts. By the end of the show, he simply apologized for being almost 56.

I met him in the back where he was hoping to peddle some of his stuff. I told him I wanted the copy of Edson he read from and he graciously made it out to me and signed his name. Sadly there were less than 30 people in attendance and his ticket price was an insulting $15.00 a head. At least I feel he should have been insulted. That’s not much for a Grammy Nominee.

I am not sure how to express how my heart feels about having seen this man, this legend in my mind, the frail shell of what he must have been to have written and given birth to beautiful tender songs I know so well. I can only say, it makes me sad that this man who has touched me so may not be around for much longer. This is the feeling I have.

His rehab may have been to late.

Eagles-Long Road Out of Eden

2007-11-16T14:24:00.001-05:00

Dive asked for a review of the Eagles new CD. My moto regarding labor is "Work smarter not harder". I found this review and it is exactly what I would have written. So, here ya go Dive.

Eagles' 'Long Road Out of Eden' is a bit too slick -Jim Farber

There's an oppressive competence to the Eagles' first album of new material in - yes, folks - 28 years. The close harmonies still hold. The sweet melodies continue to flow. And the words uphold a vintage mix of sentimentality and indignation. No true Eagles fan will walk away from these 20 tracks feeling wholly ripped off or misled.

But where's the spark? The inspiration? In their stead, we find a grinding craft, a dutiful resolve to deliver just what's expected and nothing more.

Such blandness and calculation have always laid at the Eagles' heart. They were conceived in the early '70s with the steely purpose of malling late '60s country-rock, of planing down all the edge and dust off guys like Gram Parsons until his style ended up sounding more like Bread. But the care of the Eagles' vocals, and the singability of their tunes, forgave a decent amount of their smugness, slickness and greed ( I am not so sure I agree with this paragraph).

"Long Road Out of Eden" ups that slick element considerably. The sound is so well-oiled, it makes their '70s efforts sound like the Sex Pistols by comparison. Many of the ballads suggest as much a reunion of Air Supply as the Eagles, especially Glenn Frey's "I Love to Watch a Woman Dance," which, if possible, is even sappier than its title.

Such corn contrasts tartly with Henley's prickly speeches against humanity. A true oracle of the obvious, Henley piles up the usual suspects (America's arrogance, consumerism and ignorance of the consequences of war) like he's telling us something we don't know.

For comic relief, the group shoehorns in two songs from Joe Walsh, one of which, "Last Good Time in Town," boasts a fetching little bass line.

Timothy B. Schmit's voice has such innocence, it forgives the gooeyness of the material he sings. But old fans will probably be most charmed by the songs that blatantly reference the past. "How Long," written by J.D. Souther, has whiffs of the brisk country rock of "Take It Easy," while the final, "It's Your World Now," harks back to "Tequila Sunrise."

It's telling, though, that the latter song, addressing death, sounds so free of consequence. It epitomizes the tradeoff on "Long Road": Sweet tunes, professional playing and earnest intent in exchange for anything like a deep or uneasy feeling.

Where Is The Outrage?

2007-11-14T10:09:00.000-05:00

Judge: Remove 10 Commandments From Alabama Judicial Bldg.-11/18/02

Newdow sued the Elk Grove Unified School District in Sacramento County, California, which his daughter attended, claiming public recitation by students violated her religious liberty. While legal precedent makes reciting the pledge voluntary, Newdow said it becomes unconstitutional when students are forced to hear it. He argued that the teacher-led recitations carry the stamp of government approval.

SAN FRANCISCO — In pursuit of his goal to kick God out of government, atheist Michael Newdow has filed a lawsuit in federal court in an effort to remove the words "In God We Trust" from all U.S. coins and bills.

"IN GOD WE TRUST" -- STAMPING OUT RELIGION ON NATIONAL CURRENCY

On June 19, 2000 the United States Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on SANTA FE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DIST. v. DOE (99-62) that student-led, student-initiated public prayer before football games violates the separation of church and state, and is not private speech protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. The result of the Santa Fe ISD v. Doe eliminated Public School sanctioned pre-game prayers in all States.

Here we are yesterday:

ATLANTA -- Bowing his head outside the Georgia Capitol on Tuesday, Gov. Sonny Perdue cut a newly repentant figure as he publicly prayed for rain to end the region's historic drought."Oh father, we acknowledge our wastefulness," Perdue said. "But we're doing better. And I thought it was time to acknowledge that to the creator, the provider of water and land, and to tell him that we will do better."

Yes there were some protesters but all of the major TV networks presented this story in a more than "favorable-acceptable" light.

"We the People" are a bunch of Hypocrites!

R.I.P. Common Sense

2007-11-09T14:26:00.000-05:00

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend morethan you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Aspirin, sun lotion or a sticky plaster to a student; but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He survived by three stepbrothers; I Know my Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm a Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

Author unknown

This is why I worry so....

2007-11-07T13:31:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share some of the proofs of my daughter for her Senior Pictures. I would have picked out the one with the tree but she decided on the black and white one. I also had the woman take one of her and I . I told my daughter it would be a Christmas present for my mom. (maybe it was really for me)

Boy is my hair getting gray!

Another Twist on Monday Melee

2007-10-29T09:24:00.000-05:00

I was driving back to the grocery store on Saturday night to retrieve 2 bottles of wine that had mysteriously gone missing from my grocery cart while I ran back to the car for alternate funding (long story-#1 Son in VA. Emergency). Evidently while my cart sat waiting for me, someone stole my 2 bottles of wine right out of the cart. Anyway, as I was driving back, a commercial came on for a play in Boston. That got my mind wandering and I thought, cool let's do a Melee based on Plays. So here is mine.

1: The Misanthropic.(Name something - about humanity - you absolutely hate).
One pair of arms is like another
I don't know why or who's to blame,
I'll go with you or with your brother
It's all the same, it's all the same.
This I have learned: That when the light's out,
No man will bum with special flame,
You'll prove to me before the night's out,
You're all the same, you're all the same.
So do not talk to me of love,
I'm not a fool with starry eyes,
Just put your money in my hand,
And you will get what money buys!
One pair of arms is like another,
I don't know why or who's to blame,
I'll go with you or with your brother
It's all the same, it's all the same.
This I have learned: That when the light's out,
No man will bum with special flame,
You'll prove to me before the night's out,
You're all the same, you're all the same.

2: The Meretricious:(Expose someone or something that's phony, fraudulent or bogus).
A little gossip
A little chat
A little idol talk of this
And that
I'll tell him all
The troubles I have had
And since he doesn't hear
At least he won't feel bad
A... little gossip
A little chat
A little idol talk of this
And that
If no one listens
Then it's just as well
At least I won't get caught
In any lies I tell

3: The Malcontent:(Name something you're unhappy with).
Why does he do the things he does?
Why does he do these things?
Why does he march Through that dream that he's in,
Covered with glory and rusty old tin?
Why does he live in a world that can't be,
And what does he want of me...
What does he want of me?
Why does he say the things he says?
Why does he say these things?
"Sweet Dulcinea" and "missive" and such,
"Nethermost hem of thy garment I touch,"
No one can be what he wants me to be,
Oh, what does he want of me...
What does he want of me?

4: The Meritorious.(Give someone credit for something and name it if you can).
ALDONZA
Why do you do these things?
DON QUIXOTE What things?
ALDONZA These ridiculous... the things you do!
DON QUIXOTE I hope to add some measure of grace to the world.
ALDONZA The world's a dung heap and we are maggots that crawl on it!
DON QUIXOTE My Lady knows better in her heart.
ALDONZA What's in my heart will get me halfway to hell. And you, Señor Don Quixote-you're going to take such a beating!
DON QUIXOTE Whether I win or lose does not matter.
ALDONZA What does?
DON QUIXOTE Only that I follow the quest.

5: The Mirror.(See something good about yourself and name it).
I like him!
I really like him.
Tear out my fingernails one by one
I like him!
I don't have a very good reason
Since I've been with him cuckoonuts have been
In season!
But there is nothing I can do
Chop me up for onion stew
Still I'll yell to the sky
Though I can't tell you why
That I like him

I like him!
I really like him
Pluck me as a scolded chicken!
I like him!
Don't ask me for a why or wherefore
Since I don't have a very good because
Or therefore
You can barbecue my nose
Make a giblet of my toes
Make me freeze
Make me fry
Make me sigh
Make me cry
Still I'll yell to the sky
Though I can't tell you why
That I... like... him!

6: The Make-Believe:(Name something you wish for).
To dream the impossible dream,
To fight the unbeatable foe,
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go;
To right the unrightable wrong.
To love, pure and chaste, from afar,
To try, when your arms are too weary,
To reach the unreachable star!
This is my Quest to follow that star,
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far,
To fight for the right Without question or pause,
To be willing to march into hell
For a heavenly cause!
And I know, if I'll only be true
To this glorious Quest,
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest.
And the world will be better for this,
That one man, scorned and covered with scars,
Still strove, with his last ounce of courage,
To reach the unreachable stars!

My 14 Mile Trip To Work

2007-10-26T13:41:00.001-05:00

Here is the photo tour of my horrible, boring, uneventful ride to work each day. This is the view standing by my car looking out at the end of my driveway at 7:30am this morning.

Here we go, right turn out of the driveway. Stop at the end of the road (just into the fog) and turn right onto the first 7 mile leg of our journey.

This is the Price Farm and has been around for quite some time. It is a rather large dairy farm that is self-sustained. That in itself is great these days. I will tell you, come the heat of mid-August the smell of the composting fertilizer is enough to make your eyes water and sticks with you for a while.

This is Gilmanton 1st Year-Round Library, ever! It is still in the process of being constructed and is completelyfunded by donations. I appreciate that they are keeping up the appearances of the town as a whole by making it look like a barn. A beautiful barn at that!

7 miles of this to go before we reach the 2nd leg of our journey.

My daughter told me once that every time she passes this farm it gives her the creeps. It reminds her of an old plantation and she can almost see slaves in the field. Now there are only a couple of horses.

We have now arrived at what we (the locals) call the Corners. It is properly known as Lower Gilmanton. This is the Baptist Church that was erected in 1826. I think it is simply (simple) beautiful. I also took it through my window so the colors are off! Yes, I was being lazy.

This is the Historic Temperance Tavern. Dive it is still for sale and now the price has been reduced!

This is our Town Hall. Where they steal $4,000.00/yr from me in property tax! Good thing I like the architecture of the building. I did get out of the car for this shot and it has not been altered. I think the blue is the reflection of the sky off the pure white, fresh paint. Kind of cool.

This is the beginning of the second 7 miles to work. Sucks I know!

This is the house that is behind the fence above. If I could pick one place I would like to live this would be it. I like the way it feels.

A bit further and you run into a cute little gathering of old homes. The one sitting behind the fence is the home of Parsonage Day Lilies. You can imagine thousands of lilies blooming each summer and the fragrance in the air.

In that little picket fence is one of the several little cemeteries I pass on my way to work. Hey, Kate come on over and dig up a dead guy!

More of the same. Are you bored yet?
Finally, signs of civilization.

This is my exit to work. It is only another 2 or so miles, as the crow flies.

It was a bit foggy this morning as you can tell.

This is just on the other side of the fog.

This is on the downhill side of that hill in the previous picture. Usually on a clear day you can see a big part of the Presidential Mountain Range and it is breathtaking.

A bit further around the bend and a bit clearer.

Back down into the fog. Just past where you can not see, the road just ends! There have been several times when people miss the signs and end up in the pond that boarders this road.

This is a picture of that pond and the aircraft warning lights they have put in.

Finally the end of the line. Hope you enjoyed your ride and thanks for flying with us.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Hi Ho, Hi, Ho On A Rant I GO!

2007-10-18T10:29:00.000-05:00

I have tried, really tried not to go off on a political rant this week. However, sometimes people are so STUPID! I apologize in advance for dropping all the “F” bombs but it is the only word that fits.

Headline: Maine school to offer contraceptives-10-18-07
After an outbreak of pregnancies among middle school girls, education officials in this city have decided to allow a school health center to make birth control pills available to girls as young as 11.

Here is what they define as an outbreak!
Portland's three middle schools reported 17 pregnancies during the last four years, not counting miscarriages or terminated pregnancies that weren't reported to the school nurse. (ok if we are not counting and there is no statistical data given why make that statement?)

Let’s do some math
17/4= 4.25 which is the reported # of Pregnancies per year over the last four years
4.25/1746(total # of kids enrolled in 3 schools) = .002% of the Middle School Population.

OUTBREAK?? MY ASS! (The terminology is specific to the agenda!) how can .002% be an outbreak?

Students need parental permission to access the school's health center. But treatment is confidential under state law, which allows the students to decide whether to inform their parents about the services they receive.

There is the freak’n kicker. Now these little kids can go and ask for birth control and their parents cannot, under any circumstances be told. Who in the fucking world would think that this is a good idea? The age of consent in Maine is 16! Where is the fucking logic? So you tell them they can have birth control but then you can also throw the boys in jail for statutory rape!

I have had a personal experience with this “Confidentiality” bullshit. Last summer, my daughter’s best friend (16) went for her yearly exam. A week or so later the clinic kept calling her cell phone but of course would not leave any info except to call them back. She was in school at the time so after the 4th message she called her mom and asked her to call them and find out what they wanted. Her mom called and she was told that under no circumstances could they discuss her MINOR daughters medical issues with her. She would have to get written permissions from her daughter for that to happen. Finally, the daughter was able to speak to the clinic where some asshole told her she had HPV, which was the virus that is linked to cervical cancer! What do you think this 16 year old heard? She heard she had cancer and lost her mind! Who wouldn’t? She called her mom at work sobbing hysterically. Can you blame the kid? Had her mom been able to get this info and all related facts she could have sat her daughter down and explained things in a way that would not have cause such emotional upset.

I am not saying that little children having sex and getting pregnant isn’t something to be concerned about. I am saying what happened to advising the parents so they can a.) talk, b.) get the kid into counseling if that is what is needed or c.) any other logical solution. What happened to parents being allowed to be parents?

I am held accountable for my kids until they are 18 if they do something wrong. But the Government has no problem taking my parental responsibilities away when it comes to my kid’s reproductive health. That is BULLSHIT!

This is why I keep saying we are on a very slippery slope and have such a problem with Government sticking its nose in my personal life. Give the Goverment more control of healthcare... slippery, slippery slope!

The Many Colors Of Fall

2007-10-15T13:59:00.000-05:00

Honestly, I am in a funk. I haven't even picked my camera up since the spring. Here are some other peoples pictures of the NH foliage because it is beautiful and I don't feel like pissing anyone off today... Happy little trees, and happy little clouds.

Congress to kill thousands with new S-CHIP funding

2007-10-01T13:31:00.000-05:00

In Sassy Sundries Week In Review She sites the following:

“W has no problem throwing billions and billions of dollars down the drain in Iraq but can’t bring himself to sign off on an extension of the S-CHIP program to cover uninsured children. Compassionate conservatism much? Minus Three”

What Sassy did not address is how this Program is to be funded and the broader net cast for income eligibility being the reason that the President does not want to sign this Bill.

This Program was originally intended to provide coverage to those children whose are low-income, whose families earn too much to be eligible for Medicaid but lack private health insurance. Vulnerable children—minorities, children and adolescents with special health care needs, and the long-term uninsured. If you ask me that description covers a large majority of our countries children and those it does not cover are usually carried on their parents insurance. Besides there are more insurance options for those families who fall between those cracks, Healthy Kids is just one example here in NH. They offer reduced Health Insurance costs but not free insurance!

Let me share with you how the Congress plans on funding this Program for the next five years. The major source of additional income to fund the Bill will be from taxing those who smoke with an average cost increase of $.61 per pack. Cigarettes in NH now cost an average of $4.25 per pack.

Increasing the tobacco tax is an asinine way to fund this Program because the largest portion of the increase would fall on poor and low-income families and young people. Statistics say that smokers are more likely to be poor or low-income than wealthy.

By expanded tobacco tax, SCHIP expansion to a higher income levels would largely be funded by lower income people. The very people who can least afford it. The very people the Democrats continue to rally to SAVE! The very people that are being paraded in front of the White House today in an effort to shame the President into signing a Bill that is inherently flawed. Please read the following:

The Heritage Foundation: July 11, 2007
Forty-three percent of smokers are ages 24 to 44. Placing the burden of expanding this program on the shoulders of any small subset of the population is unfair. Neither low-income families nor young adults should be held responsible for funding an unnecessary expansion of SCHIP

Not only are some policymakers considering imposing a large, new burden on a small portion of the population, but they have chosen a revenue source that is in decline and will decrease even faster if the tax rate rises. Due to the sensitivity of consumers to increases in the price of tobacco products (known as "price elasticity"), the average consumer purchases fewer cigarettes when the price increases.

Consequently, the additional revenue generated from increasing the tax will decline over time Due to this price elasticity, policymakers will somehow need to recruit new smokers if they insist on using the tobacco tax revenue to support SCHIP at proposed funding levels over the long term. In just five years, Congress will need over 9 million new smokers. Reauthorizing the program for 2013 to 2017 would require almost 22.4 million new smokers by the end of that period.

We all know that smoking in on the decline. You can’t smoke anywhere anymore and soon the cost of cigarettes will be so high people will just quit. So when that happens and those poor children’s health care is no longer funded what will happen. Yes, that is a rhetorical question. With a Dem sure to be at the helm of this Country the next time this funding comes around and a majority Dem Congress also in charge, the rest of us will again get the TAX SHAFT! They will raise taxes. So with all due respect Sassy, there is a GOOD reason that W does not want to sign this Bill. I hope he doesn't cave to the "Popular" consensus on this one!

MONDAY MELEE

2007-09-10T12:03:00.000-05:00

1: The Misanthropic.(Name something - about humanity - you absolutely hate).

I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something-something I can use
People love it when you lose,
They love dirty laundry

Well, I coulda been an actor, but I wound up here
I just have to look good, I dont have to be clear
Come and whisper in my ear
Give us dirty laundry

We got the bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who
Comes on at five
She can tell you bout the plane crash with a gleam
In her eyeIts interesting when people die-
Give us dirty laundry

Can we film the operation?
Is the head dead yet?
You know, the boys in the
newsroom got a Running bet
Get the widow on the set!
We need dirty laundry

You dont really need to find out whats going on
You dont really want to know just how far its gone
Just leave well enough alone
Eat your dirty laundry

Dirty little secrets
Dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybodys pie
We love to cut you down to size
We love dirty laundry

We can do the innuendo
We can dance and sing
When its said and done we haven't told you a thing
We all know that crap is king
Give us dirty laundry!

Don Henley – I Can’t Stand Still-Dirty Laundry

2: The Meretricious:
(Expose someone or something that's phony, fraudulent or bogus).
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do Fate is kind
She brings to those to love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true

Performed by: Jimini Cricket-Quick Robyn Step on Him Too!

3: The Malcontent:(Name something you're unhappy with).
Well baby, there you stand
With your little head, down in your hand
Oh, my God, you can't believe it's happening again
Your baby's gone, and you're all alone and it looks like the end.
And you're back out on the street.
And you're tryin' to remember.
How will you start it over?
You don't know what became.
You don't care much for a stranger's touch,
But you can't hold your man.
You never thought you'd be alone this far down the line
And I know what's been on your mind
You're afraid it's all been wasted time

The autumn leaves have got you thinking about the first time that you fell
You didn't love the boy too much, no, no you just loved the boy to well,
So you live from day to day, and you dream about tomorrow, oh.
And the hours go by like minutes and the shadows come to stay
So you take a little something to make them go away
And I could have done so many things, baby
If I could only stop my mind from wondrin' what I left behind and
from worrying 'bout this wasted time

The Eagles-Wasted Time

4: The Meritorious.
(Give someone credit for something and name it if you can).

Cold late night so long ago
When I was not so strong you know
Oh one man came to me
Never seen eyes so blue
You know I could not run away
It seemed we'd seen each other in a dream
It seemed like he knew me
He looked right through me, yeah
"Come on home, girl" he said with a smile
"You don't have to love me and
Let's get high awhile
But try to understand
Try to understand
Try try try to understand
I'm a magic man."

Winter nights we sang in tune
Played inside the months of moon
Never think of never
Let this spell last forever
Summer lover passed to fall
Tried to realize it all
Mama says she's worried
Growing up in a hurry, yeah
"Come on home, girl" mama cried on the phone
"Too soon to lose my baby and my girl should be at home!"
"But try to understand, try to understand
Try try try to understand
He's a magic man, mama, ah ...
He's a magic man"

"Come on home, girl" he said with a smile
"I cast my spell of love on you, a woman from a child!
But try to understand, try to understand, oh ... oh ...
Try to understand
Try try try to understand
He's a magic man!" oh yeah
Oh, you've got the magic hands

"Come on home, girl" he said with a smile
"You don't have to love me and
Let's get high awhile
But try to understand
Try to understand
Try try try to understand
He's a magic man." yeah ... oh ...

Heart- Magic Man

5: The Mirror.
(See something good about yourself and name it).

Her hair is Harlow gold
Her lips a sweet surprise
Her hands are never cold
She's got Betty Davis eyes
She'll turn her music on you
You won't have to think twice
She's pure as New York snow
She's got Betty Davis eyes

And she'll tease you
She'll unease you
All the better just to please you
She's precocious and she knows
Just what it takes to make a pro blush
She's got Greta Garbo stand off sighs
She's got Betty Davis eyes

She'll let you take her home
It wets her appetite
She'll lay you on the throne
She's got Betty Davis Eyes
She'll take a tumble on you
Roll you like you were dice
Until you come out blue
She's got Betty Davis eyes

She'll expose you
When she snows you
Hope you're pleased
With the crumbs she'll throw you
She's ferocious and she knows
Just what it takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy
She's got Betty Davis eyes

Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes

6: The Make-Believe:(Name something you wish for).

Tired of my beeper, tired of my phone
Tired of this tired ol' tie I got on
Sick of this traffic jam that I'm in
We all get sick of it all now and then
When I've had it up to here I go down there
To guitars, tiki bars and a whole lotta love
Mangoes and Marley, you know, fit me like a glove
Sixth gear with nowhere to steer
When enough is enough
It's guitars, tiki bars and a whole lotta love
I feel like a fish jerked out of the sea
Or a bird in a cage that's never seen a key
Sick of this grind and I think that I ought
To bring this grind to a grinding halt
Now I've had it up to here
Let's go down there
To guitars, tiki bars and a whole lotta love
Mangoes and Marley, you know, fit me like a glove
Sixth gear with nowhere to steer
When enough is enough
It's guitars, tiki bars and a whole lotta love.

KENNY CHESNEY-Guitars and Tiki Bars

My New Pal

2007-08-23T13:01:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone, I would like to introduce you to my new pal.

His name is Seamus. He is 7-1/2 weeks old, weighs 3.5 lbs and is an Irish Jack Russell ( Puddin Jack).

I picked him up last Friday night and have fallen in love. I am fortunate that my boss allows me to bring him to work with me as I did with Stella for the first 4 months I had her.

This is Stella my other Jack. She is not so in love.

She is feeling a bit displaced. She is the Queen and has had my constant attention for the last 2 1/2 years. She is getting better with him but still growls when he tries to cuddle with her. But she growls at me when I try to cuddle with her too. I will post better pics when I can. Oh, I love Jacks!

Half Naked Thursday......a day late

2007-08-17T10:58:00.000-05:00

Sorry guys, forgot all about it due to my rantings about my children.

HNT!

I Should Be In Rehab....

2007-08-16T11:27:00.000-05:00

Maria has a wonderful, positive outcome, post about "“This Parenting Shit" and her adventures in this world of stress, love, laughter and torment that is parenting. Having said that, this is what I am up against today and many other days when my children, the little fuck-nuts, (thanks Terroni) are getting a talkn’ to because of things they are or are not doing around the house.

My eldest (21) called my ex today to complain about the other two (17 & 16) not doing there chores and fighting, as siblings will do, hurling obscenities at each other and slamming doors. The only reason he was complaining is because the other two didn't do their chores, the hosue is messy and he wants his GF over tonight so I can cook them dinner she will be somehow impressed with him! Now this meal has been a plan since Monday and he lost his other job last Friday and has just been wandering to and fro doing as he pleases. As mentioned in my previous post about my eldest, he is moving to Virginia on Sunday. Being a single mom with and Ex who is usually in arrears with his child support (as is the case yet again) I told my eldest he could move back home for a month or so to save his $400.00 rent which, he could take with him for his move as I wouldn’t be able to just hand him a wad of cash. We discussed his dog (a Pit Bull) and the fact that I already had two dogs and was not interested in any way, shape or form, watching or dealing with his dog. It is not housebroken! “Not a problem, Ma! I will take care of him, he’s my buddy!” Great, glad that’s straight. Also, “We don’t’ have to set up chores or things, if I see something, like the trash that needs to be taken out I will just take care of it.” Why do we, as parents fall into that same old trap of wishful thinking? He has been home since 7/20/07. He has taken the trash out one time and only after I made a snide remark. That is his entire contribution to the running of my house in a month. Never mind the 5-6 trash bags full of dirty cloths that are thrown around his room and smell of dog pee. He has left his dog more than he has watched him and the dog has chewed his way (literally) through two doors, destroyed a $150.00 metal dog crate trying to free himself and one door jam. The dog has bad separation anxieties issues and did I mention at 11mothns old is still not fixed or house trained. He cannot be left alone for one minute! He, th edlest leaves the dog with the other two kids who promise they will watch him (yea right) and I come home to find piles of dog shit in MY room!

Now having said all that, my eldest is now stuck picking up the house today for "our" dinner date and is pissed about it. I am not sure what the Ex said to him but evidently it wasn't to his liking because he then proceeds to tell the Ex that a big reason everything is so out of control is because … are you ready for this….I come home from work every night, throw some kind of pasta in a pot and drink myself into oblivion every night and hide in my room. I don’t do any housework or make anyone behave and they are all running amuck. Please someone, come and take my children away from me because I am a horrible mother and awful role model, no really I mean it...please.. please come and take them away!

Do I go home at night, after working all day. Monday - Friday, running errands for football, taking time off of work for court dates for speed-demon children, grocery shopping, school shopping,vet appointments etc. and have a drink or two while I fix dinner, vacuum, clean up the mess that has been left while I was at work and deal with all the animals, YOU FUCKING BET I DO! On weekends (when the kids are at their dads) I might even get pretty trashed.

But do I deserve to be made to look like a raging alcoholic by my children every time they get spoken to about holding up their end of the bargain? NO! I do not deserve that, not for one second. This has been going on for a few years now as they have gotten older and at first I used to laugh it off but it is really starting to piss me off. The funny part, it is the Ex who truly has a drinking problem and he's calling me concerned. WTF I told the Ex today that every time he hears them say those things and he doesn’t call them on their shit he is reinforcing to them that he believes it. But that is the kind of help his is anyway.

So, Maria, I am glad you had a positive outcome with Liv yesterday and I sure hope she does turn out to be one of the those low-stress, easy going kids, cuz when they are not it is so hard to remember how much you really love them, especially when they hurt you so much.

I'm Pissed Off and I Don't Even Live There

2007-08-15T12:46:00.000-05:00

On my way home yesterday, listening to Talk Radio as usual the topic of discussion was the following;

The Daily Express: DOCTORS GIVE IN TO MUSLIMS-

DOCTORS and health workers have been banned from eating lunch at their desks - in case it offends their Muslim colleagues. Health chiefs believe the sight of food will upset Muslim workers when they are celebrating the religious festival Ramadan. The lunch trolley is also to be wheeled out of bounds as the 30-day fast begins next month.

You have got to be freaking kidding me!

Na’eem Raza, a senior consultant with the firm, said he was thrilled that the health boards had formally adopted the guidance. He added: “The idea is to get faith in the workplace out in the open. “In the current climate, people need to understand where communities are coming from and what people are feeling. “After the Glasgow attack this is very important. This is about educating people and making them more aware and more confident when dealing with issues surrounding the Muslim community.

Hello! Evidently in Scotland terrorism is working!

Why is it that everyone but Muslims are expected to be tolerant and change? Unfortunately, these types of things are not just happening in Scotland. Here in the USA we no longer have Christmas Programs in school, Christmas decorations in offices and the Greeters at Wal-Mart have been told not to say Merry Christmas but Happy Holidays. This is all so no other Religious Factions will be insulted by Christianity. How about we all just do our thing with what we believe and be tolerant of everyone else’s thing? Why is it that this is even an issue? An entire workforce is having reverse prejudice thrust on them. They are being singled out and penalized because they are not Muslim. Since when did Scotland become a Muslim nation?

A very small minority is terrorizing us as a civilization and we are bending over backwards to be "politically correct" trying to "understand" them. FUCK THAT! No one's basic right to freedom should be put on the back burner for any other persons freedoms. It is as though, because we are afraid "they" will set off another car bomb, we will give all Muslims supremacy over all of us, when in reality it is a small portion of terrorists that are indeed in charge!

We all better stop and take a good look at what is going on before it is too late.

Humor Provided To You By Your Children

2007-08-10T14:04:00.000-05:00

As you all know, from time to time I have "issues" with my children. They stress me out, make me cry, make me proud and from time to time really make me laugh. The following story is "one" of those times!

The BORING part of the story!

My eldest son who is now 21 has decided to move to Virginia where his best friend and girlfriend moved last fall. He flew down at the beginning of July, loved it and even spoke to a potential employer while there. This is huge for him. He showed real forethought and I am proud. He had to fly back down for a face-to-face interview with said employer. All went well, they practically handed him the job. Proud Mama! He even set up an apartment while down there and signed a lease.

OH, boy things were going so well, until the Employer informed my child he would need to take a drug test within 48 hrs of returning home to NH. He would not pass. I know my child. We (yes me too) called all over the State trying to find the "JUNK" (pee-test altering stuff), we finally found it, for $50.00. Off he went to take the test. The results were not available for 48 hrs and that took it over last weekend. Finally on Monday the clinic called and his urine was so diluted and corrupted it was unreadable and he had to retest.

The FUNNY part of the story!
Number one son, being a very bright boy decided to ask his brother to pee in a condom for him and he would strap to his leg to keep it warm (yes they check the temperature). Well younger brother came up short and couldn't give enough of a sample (hey, at least he tried). Oldest child then called a "BUDDY" (that must be some kind of friend) and asked him to meet him in the Mall and perform the same scenario as he had asked of younger brother. This guy performed up to snuff. Eldest child then taped the filled condom to his scrotum (to keep it warm) and headed to the Clinic.

It has been very hot and very humid here in New Hampshire lately. Humidity and tape don't mix as the Eldest discovered and he found said "package" loose in his BVD's. Eldest never wears BVD's, always a boxer boy. Lucky for him that day he thought ahead. As he was walking down the hall of the clinic to the bathroom with the Nurse right behind him it started to slip down his leg.

He finally reached the door and closed it quickly behind and breathed a sigh of relief. He had also thought ahead enough to store a thumbtack under his tongue to puncture the "package". While the package was wandering about in his BVDs it had lost significant heat that would be noticed by the nurse waiting outside the door. My very bright and anxious son realized he must warm up the PEE... so.......

He stuck the condom full of someone elses pee in his mouth to warm it up!

NO I am not kidding! I don't think I will ever get over giggling about this one. This will be forever discussed at inopportune moments for the rest of his life.

It makes me think of an old song about a Man and his Boy..

Bobby Goldsboro- Watching $#@% Grow! "THAT'S MY BOY"

P.S. IT worked.. he got the job and is moving next week.
Happy Friday everyone!

Half Naked Thurdsay First Timer!

2007-08-09T14:58:00.000-05:00

I saw this melee on Vic and another's blog and thought.. ooooo , I like that idea. I am a bit of a naked nut. As a matter of fact my bathing suit top is at the bottom of the lake from this past Sunday. At least I saved the bottoms!

Say It With Lyrics

2007-08-06T10:15:00.000-05:00

Here is my picks for this round:

1. The Misanthropic.
(Name something - about humanity - you absolutely hate).
Hey little girl would you like some candyyour momma said that it's OK
The door is open come on outside
no I can't come out today
it's not the wind that cracked your shoulder
and threw you to the ground
who's there that makes you so afraid
you're shaken to the bone
and I don't understand
you deserve so much more than this.

Good Enough-Sarah McLachlan

2: The Meretricious: (Expose someone or something that's phony, fraudulent or bogus).

I thought I'd won your heart when I held you hand in mine
I thought it was true love the way we complemented each other
But my right is your wrong
And when you're right then I'm left with nothing
Your light and your heat have all been spent
Leaving only smoke and ashes
Only smoke and ashes baby

I've got a red hot heart
And your heart's as blue as the blood in your veins
I say there's fire down below
You say it's only smoke and ashes baby
I was blinded by devotion
My unwavering love for you
So blinded that I thought all your lies were true
But now I know for certain since you've gone away
It was just a smoldering fire I mistook for a blaze
Only smoke and ashes baby

I've got a red hot heart
And your heart's as blue as the blood in your veins
I say there's fire down below
You say it's only smoke and ashes baby
Only smoke and ashes baby, baby ...

“Smoke and Ashes” Tracy Chapman

3: The Malcontent:(Name something you're unhappy with).

Hard to be sure
Some times I feel so insecure
And love so distant and obscure
Remains the cure

All by myself
Dont wanna be
All by myself anymore
All by myself
Dont wanna live
All by myself anymore

Eric Carmen-All By Myslef

4: The Meritorious.(Give someone credit for something and name it if you can).

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line
I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day is through
Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you
Because you're mine, I walk the line
As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
Because you're mine, I walk the line
You've got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can't hide
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide
Because you're mine, I walk the line
I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line.

Johnny Cash "I Walk The Line"-For getting and keeping his shit together!

5: The Mirror.(See something good about yourself and name it).
Mona lisa, mona lisa, men have named you
You're so like the lady with the mystic smile
Is it only cause you're lonely they have blamed you? For that mona lisa strangeness in your smile? Do you smile to tempt a lover, mona lisa? Or is this your way to hide a broken heart? Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep
They just lie there and they die there
Are you warm, are you real, mona lisa? Or just a cold and lonely lovely work of art?

Mona Lisa- Nat King Cole

6: The Make-Believe:(Name something you wish for).

You are the woman that I've always dreamed of
I knew it from the start
I saw your face and that's the last I've seen of my heart
It's not so much the things you say to me
It's not the things you do
It's how I feel each time you're close to me
That keeps me close to you
You are the woman that I've always dreamed ofI knew it from the start
I saw your face and that's the last I've seen of my heart
It's not so much your pretty face I see
It's not the clothes you wear
It's more that special way you look at me
That always keeps me there,
You are the woman that I've always dreamed of
I knew it from the start
I saw your face and that's the last I've seen of my heart
It's hard to tell you all the love I'm feeling
That's just not my style
You've got a way to send my senses reeling
Every time you smile,
You are the woman that I've always dreamed of
I knew it from the start
I saw your face and that's the last I've seen of my heart

Firefall - You Are The Woman Lyrics

Or ………

If you really want to please me you know you have to stake a claim
And make hot love to me boy till I wanna wear your name
So if you wanna make some time you gotta keep one thing in mind
You got to bone me like you own me
You got to bone me like you own me
If you wanna satisfy me that’s the only way
You gotta bone me like you own me
If you really want to make my day

Barbara Carr-Bone Me Like You Own Me.

My contribution to Blogville

2007-08-02T09:33:00.001-05:00

Well folks, here I am with my new sassy haircut! Count me in.

Sometimes Things Are Worth Waiting For...

2007-07-27T15:49:00.000-05:00

This just in from Variety: Depp lights up 'Dark Shadows'

Johnny Depp is looking to bite into the Jonathan Frid-originated character Barnabas Collins of 'Dark Shadows.'Johnny Depp is getting in touch with his inner vampire.
Warner Bros. is teaming with Depp's Infinitum-Nihil and Graham King's GK Films to develop a feature based on the '60s daytime supernatural sudser "Dark Shadows."
Depp has said in interviews that he has always been obsessed with "Dark Shadows" and had, as a child, wanted to be Barnabas Collins, the vampire patriarch of the series. The role was originated by Jonathan Frid.

Whooo Hoooo! I Can't Wait. I loved that show!

A Little Fluff on Hump Day!

2007-07-25T13:30:00.000-05:00

Hospital Chart Notes

Actual Writings In Hospital Charts
1. The patient refused autopsy.
2. The patient has no previous history of suicides.
3. Patient has left white blood cells at another hospital.
4. She has no rigors or shaking chills, but her husband states she was very hot in bed last night.
5. Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.
6. On the second day the knee was better, and on the third day it disappeared.
7. The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.
8. The patient has been depressed since she began seeing me in 1993.
9. Discharge status: Alive but without permission.
10. Healthy appearing decrepit 69-year old male, mentally alert but forgetful.
11. Patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.
12. She is numb from her toes down.
13. While in ER, she was examined, X-rated and sent home.
14. The skin was moist and dry.
15. Occasional, constant infrequent headaches.
16. Patient was alert and unresponsive.
17. Rectal examination revealed a normal size thyroid.
18. She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life, until she got a divorce.
19. I saw your patient today, who is still under our car for physical therapy.
20. Both breasts are equal and reactive to light and accommodation.
21. Examination of genitalia reveals that he is circus sized.
22. The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.
23. Skin: somewhat pale but present.
24. The pelvic exam will be done later on the floor.
25. Patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities.

Talk About A Brother From Another Mother

2007-07-20T14:25:00.000-05:00

I was sitting around last week watching a bit of mindless tv and on the screen was a picture of Clay Aiken and at that very moment my minds eye flipped over to a stored image of K.D. Lang. Is it just me or do you see the unmistakable similarities between these two? It is really kind of freaky don't you think. Have you noticed any other Celbs that share such remarkable, similar features?

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO... WHAT THE FUCK

2007-07-16T11:34:00.000-05:00

I really have nothing to add to this story except to Mr. Killen who said. "It's easy for someone to get addicted to something and neglect their children." Give me a fuckn break. IT speaks volumes to the personal responsibility factor here in the USA! Additiction my fucking ass!

RENO, Nev. - A couple who authorities say were so obsessed with the Internet and video games that they left their babies starving and suffering other health problems have pleaded guilty to child neglect.

The children of Michael and Iana Straw, a boy age 22 months and a girl age 11 months, were severely malnourished and near death last month when doctors saw them after social workers took them to a hospital, authorities said. Both children are doing well and gaining weight in foster care, prosecutor Kelli Ann Viloria told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Michael Straw, 25, and Iana Straw, 23, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts each of child neglect. Each faces a maximum 12-year prison sentence.

Viloria said the Reno couple were too distracted by online video games, mainly the fantasy role-playing "Dungeons & Dragons" series, to give their children proper care.
"They had food; they just chose not to give it to their kids because they were too busy playing video games," Viloria told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Police said hospital staff had to shave the head of the girl because her hair was matted with cat urine. The 10-pound girl also had a mouth infection, dry skin and severe dehydration.
Her brother had to be treated for starvation and a genital infection. His lack of muscle development caused him difficulty in walking, investigators said.

The Straws have been given public defenders. Jeremy Bosler, head of the county public defender's office, declined to comment to The Associated Press on Saturday.

Michael Straw is an unemployed cashier, and his wife worked for a temporary staffing agency doing warehouse work, according to court records. He received a $50,000 inheritance that he spent on computer equipment and a large plasma television, authorities said.

While child abuse because of drug addiction is common, abuse rooted in video game addiction is rare, Viloria said.

Last month, experts at an American Medical Association meeting backed away from a proposal to designate video game addiction as a mental disorder, saying it had to be studied further. Some said the issue is like alcoholism, while others said there was no concrete evidence it's a psychological disease.

Patrick Killen, spokesman for Nevada Child Abuse Prevention, said video game addiction's correlation to child abuse is "a new spin on an old problem.""As we become more technologically advanced, there's more distractions," Killen said. "It's easy for someone to get addicted to something and neglect their children. Whether it's video games or meth, it's a serious issue, and (we) need to become more aware of it."

PEON-THE MOMENT YOU DISCOVER YOU ARE ONE

2007-06-29T14:23:00.000-05:00

As I have mentioned in the past, I love seeing live music and do so whenever I can afford it or in the case of last evening, when the BOSS has tickets he is trying to give away! We have a beautiful little venue here in the sticks of New Hampshire called Meadowbrook. It holds close to 6,500 people, though I don’t think they have ever sold out. It also isn’t that old, circa 1996 it has grown from a stage in the middle of a field with 2,500 folding chairs to what it is today.

The menu last night consisted of The Doobie Brothers, sans Michael McDonald, opening for Lynard Skynyrd. I am not much of a Skynyd fan. I grew up hearing them all over the place. Weather it was the radio, any school dance you went to (Freebird was the mantra of all high school kids in my day) and most any bar with mediocre entertainment. One of the girls from the office also came. She is not to unlike our Sassy, smart, sassy and generally fun to hang with. We headed over to the bosses to discover that we were actually going to ride with someone else and try and squeeze 8 of us into a Jeep Cherokee. You see the guy driving had an “All Access” pass to Meadowbrook and we were going in the very, very , very VIP entrance. You know the place nobody gets to go.
How cool is that! Express lane into the venue, private parking and 30 steps to the VIP drinking tent! Things were going well. The VIP tent is quite close to the stage and the vantage point is great.

The front of the stage is on the right in the picture. Pretty close from the VIP tent.
We arrived at the Other Guys house; his name is Greg and owns a large Asphalt Paving Co here. Also at his place was another man named Jim and his wife (Cindy Lou-I kid you not) who owns a rather big well drilling company. The final guest, Alex arrived after a few minutes. He owns a conglomerate of restaurants throughout NH and is very well known and quite well to do. So, there sits Pricilla (the office girl) and myself in the middle of all these Mucky-mucks feeling really out of place. Later we would discover exactly where we fit in the food chain! We climbed into the jeep and headed for the show.
Priscilla and I headed for the VIP tent to grab a couple of beers while The Doobies took the stage. The boss and wife finally showed up and we hung with them until the boss had to be escorted by his wife out of the tent and towards some food to help moderate the booze he had consumed. It wasn’t helping, he was wobblin’. Sassy has seen first hand the boss when he has had a few too many. All the other people we came with disappeared into the crowd, leaving Priscilla and I pretty much on our own. We didn’t mind. The Doobies finished and we wandered around a bit until it was time for Skynyrd to hit the stage.

About 2/3rd of the way through their set Priscilla and I noticed that off to the left of the stage, between the stage and the VIP tent was an interesting orange glow in the woods, near where we had parked. As we watched and listened the glow grew and grew finally reaching above the very tall pine trees. There is a Condo/Resort directly behind the stage and it was on FIRE. I mean FIRE!

Yes that is the actual fire! It hasn’t rained here in quite a while, the fire danger is very high and we are in the middle of the woods with one exit road. We watched quite intently to see if the Fire Dept had shown up yet. The black, billowing smoke was as high as you could see into the night sky and filled with burning embers. This is all taking place while Skynyrd is in the throws of Freebird! Their guitars are screaming so loudly we never heard the fire truck arrive. It wasn’t until I saw the water shooting up into the trees trying to prevent the spread that I began to breath a little easier. The majority of the concertgoers didn’t even realize what was happening. They couldn't’t see it from their vantage point.

As Skynard hit the last wailing guitar licks I suggested to Priscilla that we head to the jeep because we might have trouble trying to get out. We walked to where the jeep was but it was gone. Really, it was gone! Priscilla and I just stood there looking at each other in disbelief. Had they really left us there, in an inferno, and gone home? I called the bosses wife and through the crackle of bad cell service, she confirmed they had indeed left us behind. I couldn’t quite get the gist of their reasoning for leaving us but it boiled down to Greg thought they better get while the getting was good. So much for Leave no Man Behind! She then suggested we walk from the concert about a mile to a restaurant (they wouldn’t allow traffic back that way due to the fire) and when they picked up their vehicle they would come back around and pick us up there. This is at 11:15pm, so with sand filled sandals, Priscilla and I hoofed it to the pick up point where they sat all cozy waiting for us. The really bizarre part of all of this is neither of them really apologized for leaving us behind. It was as though we were a just a second thought and not quite as important. It is interesting when your finally realize you are just a PEE-ON!

Now for some random shots of Performers and of course a few guitar shots for Dive!

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Montgomery Gentry

Charlie Daniels-Yes he is still alive!

Chris Isaak

WMD's-I think I figured it out!

2007-06-21T14:32:00.000-05:00

Here is an interesting story that I believe explains where the WMD's went! See Jorge W. wasn't lying after all. If a whole lake can just disappear why not WMD's?

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A lake in southern Chile has mysteriously disappeared, prompting speculation the ground has simply opened up and swallowed it whole.

It had a surface area of between 4 and 5 hectares (10-12 acres) -- about the size of 10 soccer pitches.
"In March we patrolled the area and everything was normal ... we went again in May and to our surprise we found the lake had completely disappeared," said Juan Jose Romero, regional director of Chile's National Forestry Corporation CONAF.
"The only things left were chunks of ice on the dry lake-bed and an enormous fissure," he told Reuters.
CONAF is investigating the disappearance.
One theory is that the area was hit by an earth tremor that opened a crack in the ground which acted like a drain.
Southern Chile has been shaken by thousands of minor earth tremors this year.

Before: After

The Joke

2007-06-05T13:22:00.000-05:00

What is the definition of indecent?

When your balls are slapping up against her ass, you know it's in decent!

Five Years From Fifty

2007-06-04T15:07:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I will be 45. Thinking in terms of time frames my life can be broken down like this:

1-22 well I suppose you could call it the usual. Diapers, pooping, drooling, smiling, walking (I never crawled, just got up and walked), running, falling, school, boys, parents just don’t understand, Maui. Yeah, that about sums up those years.

23-29: Children: Had my oldest when I was 24 then filed for divorce twice while 25 & 26, made nice again and had middle child when I was 28 and found out when she was 9 months I was expecting my youngest. Had him at 29, life was a blur for the next year or two.

31-38: Finding my footing: Tried to hang on to a bad marriage until I was 32. Got a divorce, lived in meager housing with kids trying to keep us going. Sometimes we ran out of fuel for heat and sometimes the fridge was sparse but we hung in there. Found myself a great job. Made up my mind to provide better living arrangements for my kids. Built my house when I turned 38.

38-44: Struggles. I think that is the best word to describe these last six years. My oldest and I didn’t see eye to eye and he moved out when he was 16. We are better now and he will be 21 on Saturday. My daughter and I don’t see eye to eye and she told me today she was going to find someplace else to live. My youngest and I don’t talk more than superficially. He was alone in the house last week and I found my toy drawer open, my shower floor still wet and a wadded up crusty facecloth on my bed. There is something wrong when your personal space is used by someone else, even if they are your children. Somethings are just wrong. Tropical Storm Barry is overhead and it has been drizzling for 2 days. I don’t want to go home. I don’t want to be a mom, I don’t want to be the heavy, I don’t want to be diligent. I don’t want to be 45 tomorrow.

45-???: Who knows? I may be alone. It may make me happy. I guess I will see tomorrow.

It's The Freakn Weekend Baby, Gonna Have Me Some Fun!

2007-06-01T15:41:00.000-05:00

Nothing of excitable proportions happened in Pru's life this week. Well, maybe one thing but I don't wanna talk about it.
In an effort to leave on a jovial note I present the following news(not) items.

Yahoo News: Succeeding where the Mongols failed for years, a Chinese mining company ripped a hole in the Great Wall so their trucks could avoid paying tolls.

The Mecury News: Dead whale spotted near Golden Gate. Coast Guard said it isn't Delta or Dawn, just some stupid anonymous whale that doesn't love you like they do

KTRC-Houston:What do you do when you are drunk and get kicked out of a party for trying to steal an Xbox 360? You set fire to the beer of course

This one is for Old K: Herald Tribune:Ugly-ass rare baby red-ruffed lemurs born at Lemur Conservation Foundation. It was a double triple (w/pics)

BBC:"Lucky man survives lightning hit" or "Unlucky man struck by lightning" - the choice is yours

Boston Herald:If you're thinking of drinking sangria/Don't go driving where someone can see ya/It's also not best/To skip DUI tests/Even if your pop's Justice Scalia

Newsday: Arsonist claims his rough sex technique killed woman, not the fire

ABC News:Sudanese government responds to U.S. sanctions with a threat that really hurts; banning export of gum arabica, the ingredient that makes your soda fizzy

AP:Clean air study in Rome finds residents are breathing cocaine and cannabis

WFAA:Mom gives birth to twins. Her third set of twins. Oh, and she's only 20 years old. And unemployed. As is her 21 year old boyfriend. Hurray reproductive freedom!

Yahoo News:U.S. Baghdad embassy floor plans appear online, with everything except the little caption "put bomb here"

The Sun:Nearly half of all men think their ween is too small according to study from the Is It In Yet? Institute

And my favorite:

Slate:Wine is now more popular than beer in the USA!!

I am off to make sure this trend continues!
Have a great weekend everyone!

Pru

THE LONG WEEKEND-What are your plans?

2007-05-25T07:34:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't love to hear those words? It is the topic of office chatter for an entire week. What are you plans, doing anything fun, planning a cookout or going away? You all know how it goes. It is the first Long Weekend since New Years and everyone is itching to get started.

I am leaving early today so I can pick up my flowers for my annual flower box extravaganza. This is the task that really drives home, for me at least that summer is finally here. Way up north it is generally known by us gardening types that you will be wasting your money if you plant anything that is tender much before Memorial Day. We still get frost on the occasional night way up here. It is difficult to wait that long but it really is necessary. This is a picture of my deck 2 summers ago.

Last year I tried a different blend of annuals, and English Garden variety of plants, and because my deck gets full sun most of the day, they were stunted and leggy, not full and flowing like 2005! So, I am going back to that mix and keep my fingers crossed. This is my favorite place to be on an early Sunday morning, sipping a great cup of freshly ground, dark roast coffee listening to something playing quietly on the stereo and watching the birds at the feeder. (note to self-don't forget the bird seed today). I will have them all installed in their new summer home by noon tomorrow and enjoying them by evening. Them and a couple of bottles of Cab/Sav!

More than likely I will spend the rest of Saturday afternoon picking up the house. The kids are with their dad for the weekend so it will stay clean once it's done. Housework doesn't take a long weekend.

I will be lazy Sunday morning, after all isn't it supposed to be "The Day of Rest?" I will put Norah Jones, James Taylor, Richard Hawley (thanks again Dive) and maybe a little Michael Franks on and sip my coffee, on the deck, until the pot is empty. I have tickets for Akon and Ciara for Sunday night. I will have to leave by 4:00pm to get a good spot in the VIP tent. This is a general admission show so there are no assigned seats. But with the VIP tickets ( yes folks I am a VIP) you can get into the VIP drinking tent and pull up a picnic table and be closer to the stage than you might be with an assigned seat. Plus you don't have to fight the hordes to get to the bar. The show ends at 11:00pm as the town has noise ordinances. One would think that when it was proposed to build this concert venue, people would have realized it would be noisy. The venue generates quite an tax incentive to the town, lighten up people.

Monday I have no plans. I am sure one of my friends is having a cookout that I will attend. I will bring something amazing, maybe brushcetta, it is always a hit and maybe I will bring the fresh corn/mango salsa I made the other night. I will relax with many adult beverages and wander home and wait for the kids to come home.

That is the end of the LONG WEEKEND! I hate that part! What are your plans?

PROM! I must be getting OLD!

2007-05-23T13:20:00.001-05:00

The Prom is finally over and I must say, what is up with these kids? After spending close to $500.00 on this glorious affair, we meet to take pictures with her date and friends and her date shows up in a tux jacket, pants, a long white t-shirt (untucked), the tie, loosely hung around his neck (if I had an opportunity it wouldn't have been loose) and sneakers. My poor mother almost collapsed. Her best friends boyfriend had a friend spray paint "I'm hot cuz I'm FLY" on the back of his white tux. Now, maybe some people think that is cool, funny, creative etc... but he wore this to an ALL WHITE High School and he is Brazilian... Brave? So, all the girls looked beautiful in their expensive get-ups and many of the guys looked like they stole their outfits from the Salvation Army because they were cold. I could have saved a lot of money and dressed her in a potato sack and be done with it. Here are the pictures:

At least his ride was cool!

Is it me? Or is it Memorex?

2007-05-17T10:26:00.000-05:00

Hi Folks,
I apologize for my long absence from Blogville. Things have been quite busy at work. i have been trying to catching up on the all the things not done while I was away. Life at home is busy as well with spring cleanups, daughter meltdowns and the need to chaperone my son and his girlfriend. So, in chronological order I present for you review, my life since my return, in word and picture! Or in the words of Arlo: "twenty seven, eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circlesand arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what eachone was to be used as evidence against me!"

May 1-4th- returned to work to the expected stack of stuff that no one else accomplished while I was away. There were proposals to write, invoice to bill out and filing up the wazzoo! Of course the vacation lag was difficult to deal with and picking up the house after leaving it and the animals in my 21 year olds hands for 10 days. Can you say house party?? I found another couple of beer cans under the deck just this past weekend. Never mind the condom wrappers left on the bathroom floor, ewww!

May 5 & 6: try and catch up on the yard work and clean out all the perennials beds that were still piled with leaves. Rake, rake and rake some more. Whew, only one more bed to go will get it next weekend. Sunday night fight with daughter, who stayed at her dads on Saturday night, about slipping off to the Mall. Mom’s gut instincts said, make her turn around and come home. Big fight ensued, she came home and a day ot two later found out she was going to meet that “GUY” again. The same one she lost her car for a month by lying and sneaking! Will they never learn? So, mom is an asshole and the house was quiet for because she wouldn’t talk to me! At least it is peaceful!

May 7th-9th- still busy at work with end of month billings and the usual employee stuff. Make sure daughter gets her prom dress to the alteration lady. Beautiful isn't it? She looks stunning in it. Prom pictures hopefully (read on) to follow.

You know it is really interesting to be in my particular “Child” situation at the moment. On one hand you have my very beautiful, just turned 17, year old daughter, who I am trying like hell to guide and keep safe, not only safe from “whomever” but also safe from herself.

Teenagers can make such stupid decisions in the name of love. Wait a minute, so do adults but that is another story! We have had, on several occasions, weeping conversations about my duty to watch out for her and sometimes make decisions for her that she does not and will not like. She actually told me that she wished I didn’t care about her so she could just live her own life. Those conversations are hard and draining.

(Keep eye on son and girlfriend. He isn't even 16 until August!)

On the other hand I have my 16 year old son’s, girlfriend’s dad on the phone making sure that I will be at home to chaperone my son and his daughter because, “well you know”. Oh, boy, do I. Now not only do I have to be diligent about my daughters foray into sexuality but also be the guard for someone else’s little girl and protect her from my own son! How come? I am tired to being diligent. But I must, it is my promise to my children, the one not often spoken but that all parents (ok except Madeleine McCann's) understand. Protect them and guide them at all cost. I guess it also applies to other people’s children to some degree.

May 10th- Wrote off my happily ever after again! Will I never learn? I sure hope I do and pretty damn quick! Go listen to Brandi Carlisle "Someday Never Comes", you will understand.

May 11th- had dinner with my best friend! Boy I miss her! Drank too much!

May 12 & 13th: Finally the first weekend since vacation that my children will be with their dad. YIPPEE! Not feeling all that well from the night before festivities but did manage to clean the house and even washed the kitchen floor. Sunday was Mothers Day. Took my mom and dad to breakfast and went home to find the kids home already (damn I wasn’t done being alone yet) because they were going to help with yard work for my Mothers Day present. Nice concept, frustrating in reality. With 2 boys over 6’3” they are a formidable eating machine. So, the yard work was done piecemeal because the refrigerator had just been stocked the day before. On a side note, not only is it expensive to go on vacation it is also expensive when you return. Two weeks of $250.00 grocery bills (that's right folks $500.00 in two weeks) to restock the house. Yikes! The yard eventually was done and I even managed to get the flower boxes emptied of last year’s soils and the deck cleaned off from the winter debris. Glad weekends are for resting, RIGHT!

At 10:30pm on Mothers Day my daughter decided it was time to push the limits of my sanity again. She asked if I would talk to “The GUY” because he really wants to work things out. Ok, I lost my fucking mind. She didn’t realize I knew about the Mall scenario or the many phone calls while on vacation between them and I let loose. I had told her that they were all done and she was to stop, silly me! I did talk to him, it wasn’t pretty and my daughter again hates me. Guys, you just know when someone is full of shit. I just wish she could see it. So much for sleep that night!

May 14th- just the usual Monday stuff. Work is work and home was again quiet. Made dinner, opened daughters door to let her know dinner was ready. She never responded, she was sleeping. I assumed it was my punishment, the being ignored part, for putting my foot down again. I am ok with that and retire to my room. Well, I lied I am not ok with she and I not being ok. I am very sensitive to shifts in my energy and that of my house and it really gets me all twisted inside. It is a throw back from my marriage. I don't feel riight when there is negative energy in my home.

May 15th- kids off to school as usual. Having my 1st cup of coffee when the phone rang. It was the school nurse. Daughter is running a fever of 101 and her tonsils are swollen and oozing white stuff. Make an appointment with the Dr. Daughter has Mono and now she wants her Mommy to be nice to her and take care of her. Spend 2 hrs at the clinic, $30.00 for drinks, medicine, throat lozenges, broth, etc and send daughter home. This is what my daughters throat looks.

Go back to work and spend the day trying to work while worrying about daughter. Get home to find her in a puddle on the couch, crying and sobbing because her fever is so high and her throat is so sore and she just wants to die. Comfort daughter, give her meds, fix dinner, feed the animals, open the cell phone bill from our trip, flip out ($800.00) cater to daughter some more and finally crash about 11pm. Wake up at 3am to daughter in my room sobbing and again wishing for death. Get up, get medicine, get cold drink and tuck daughter in bed with the dog and me. Fall back asleep at some point.

May 16th – Drag my ass out of bed. Get daughter more medicine and me a cup of coffee. Chat with daughter while awake and remind her she needs to go the alteration shop as they have altered her Prom dress and she needs to pick it up. She nods. Head to work, dragging my ass still clearly 4 feet behind me. Go to my office and pull my chair out to sit and find Romeo (the little yellow kitty) dead under my desk. FUCK!

He was still warm and floppy. Pick him up and hold him for a bit and let the other girls in the office say goodbye to him. He had a bad heart murmur and I think he was growing so fast that his little heart couldn’t keep up and just gave out. He was peaceful when I found him (lying very similar to the photo). I was sad. He was my buddy. Pull my shit together, do some work, meet daughter at seamstress (she has no money because she got fired from her job because she got her nose pierced while we were on vacation-she knew in advance it might happen) to pay for the alterations. Daughter looks like shit! She is pale and has big black circles under her eyes. Daughter went back home to bed and mom went back to work. Finished out the day and headed home. Got home to find daughter on the couch, sobbing. She had slept through the effectiveness of the meds and was in sever pain again. Medicate daughter, comfort her, wait until the meds kick in and prepare dinner. Poor son, he is being ignored. Thank him for understanding and not giving me any trouble. Clean up dinner, do some laundry, feed animals and finally sit down and watch a bit of TV. Stay up for next dosing of meds (11:30pm) so daughter doesn’t melt down, fall asleep, wake up to alarm at 3:30am for next medication round and fall back into bed.

Which brings us up to today! FUCK I am tired. No more vacations for me. It is too much work when you come back.

Ps. The Prom is Saturday and daughter may not be well enough to go. Prom Dress $275.00, Shoes $45.00, Hair $65.00, Nails $31.00-

Propping daughter up against a wall at the Prom;

You're fucking right!

DRUNK

2007-04-27T19:36:00.000-05:00

ok not totally..I am on Cocoa Beach in FL. I have been having a wonderful time I think. I have a hell of a tan and I look great. I have also determined that no one loves me more than me. I thought that my knight in shinning armor had finally returned from his quest only to discover that he really only only wanted at booty call. Well, at least I got something out of it. So, I will update you all when I return on Tuesday. I really look good in my tan! Thanks for all the wondering! I miss ya all!
Prudence!

Ps. I think I might miss Knudsen.but maybe I am drunk!

Rhyme-It-Challenge

2007-04-10T13:32:00.000-05:00

Someone asked me to describe what I want in a "Mate". This is my challenge to all my blogger friends. Describe your "Someone" and you must rhyme your description. Here is mine.

He must have imagination with concentration to get me to my destination. He need not have an invitation nor does he need an application as he is sure of his vocation when showing me his adaptations. He'll make me squeal in anticipation eyeing him with fascination. Waiting for that sweet sensation that births itself from collaboration. He will not show hesitation or look for any explanation. His efforts will be a combination of dedication and cooperation.

Signs of Spring

2007-04-10T10:08:00.000-05:00

Way up here in the beautiful North we gauge the coming of spring by those who produce Maple Syrup. When we see the trees tapped, the veil of winter is about to lift and one can again begin to envision the glories of spring. These are a few Pictures I took a few weeks back. In fact, the film was in being developed while we were getting 13" of snow dumped on us.

The production of maple syrup has been an activity of early spring since the pre-Colombian era in America. American natives would gash the trees, collect the sap, let it partially freeze to enrich the sap and then boil it down, sometimes by dropping heated stones into the sap.

To have maple sap flow from maple trees requires below freezing temperatures at night (24 to 30 degrees) and above freezing during the days (38 to 44 degrees). Maple trees should be 10 inches in diameter or larger to be tapped. It takes approximately 40 years for a maple tree to grow to that size.

The New England states- New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine and Connecticut account for 57% of all the taps in the United States. In 2006 the United States produced 1.45 million gallons of Maple syrup. That translates into 5,800,000,000.00 gallons of sap. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Vermont is the highest producing state followed by Maine and New York.

This is the "Old" way of collecting sap. Although many maple producers still use the traditional bucket-with-spout-and-cover system for tapping their trees, others use high technology plastic tubing and pipeline systems, some of which include vacuum extraction to increase the amount of sap collected. This doesn't hurt trees and keeps the sap-lines empty which helps produce a higher quality sap for high quality maple syrup. Today's maple producers are also using "health spouts" to lessen the impact of tree-tapping. With the new spouts, trees now heal over in less than one growing season. Regardless of the method of gathering sap, it must be collected after each "run" and boiled as soon and as fast as possible to make the best quality maple syrup.

Maple sap is about 97.5 percent water, 2.4 percent sugar, and 0.1 percent minerals. Sap is made into maple syrup by boiling off the water and concentrating the sugar and minerals in the presence of heat. During the process of evaporation heat causes chemical reactions in the concentrated sap resulting in the characteristic flavor we know as maple syrup. The color and flavor of maple syrup is determined by the freshness of the sap and the speed of boiling.

My dad and his best friend had a Sugar Bush and each spring we would gather at the Sap House and scoop up fresh snow and pour the hot syrup over it and devour it. Good memories.

Hope you enjoyed our little trip though NH's spring time right of passage. Oh, by the way.. another snow storm is headed our way for Thursday. Prepare for a barrage of cussing!

My Celebrity Look-alikes

2007-04-05T13:09:00.001-05:00

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.

"GOD" really does have a sense of humor!

2007-04-05T09:40:00.000-05:00

SILLY ME! I thought the last time I posted winter pics would be the last time I posted winter pics. NOT! This is what I awoke to this morning, April 5, 2007.. do you understand.. APRIL! I love New England 99.999% of the time but enough is enough. There is 13+ inches of snow at my house!

The front of our office building where the little daffodils were poking their little heads up through the soil, just yesterday!

A close up of the branches. It is beautiful!

Frosted Flakes?? NO, frosted Trees.

Imagine my ride to work this morning. Every inch of life is covered in a blanket of snow.

Alright-as the sign says... STOP already!

I am really going to enjoy Florida in just 15 days. The weather report for NH until then is in the low 40's. Perhaps it is natures way of making me really appreciate the steamy south!

Sassy's IPOD Shuffle "The Extended Version"

2007-03-28T15:06:00.000-05:00

Ok this is what I have been listening to recently.

Billy Bob Thornton: Private Radio- Believe it or not he is pretty damn good. Track #2 has a great line in it. "Yea I'm sitting here at the waffle house, smothered and covered".

Loreena McKennitt:Dante's Prayer and Mummer Dance and the Bonny Swans- She is just fabulous. I think I find her music so enthralling because she actually researches ancient poems and writing and travels to these places and writes songs.

Richie Spice: Crying For Love- I have listened to this song several times today. My oldest asked me to find the CD for him, not for this song but for another and I found this one. Also, Reggae Music= Summer, fun, sun and hot men.

Michael Franks: Passion Fruit-This entire CD is great. It has wonderful memories attached to it for me. The manager of the clothing boutique I worked at while I lived on Maui used to play it all the time. I always worked at night and the entire building was open to the street, which sat on the ocean. The breezes would blow through and the cloths would dance while Michael sang.

Electric Light Orchestra: Discovery-Wishing- Takes me back, back , back... sometimes not a bad place to go.

Nanci Griffith-The Dust Bowl Symphony- Love at the Five and Dime: I have mentioned this on one of Robyn's posts. It truly captures the quaintness of a Five and Dime and small town America.

The Januaries: Chocolate and Strawberries, All Systems A-Go-Go, Summer Love-all groovy. Too bad they were a one album band, I like them.

Lyle Lovett: My Baby Don't Tolerate-Title song is great and has some wonderful lyrics. In my own mind is a good one too. "I live in my own mind, ain't nothing but a good time, no rain just sunshine out here in my own mind."

Groover's Meme

2007-03-27T08:51:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Groover's for this neat Meme.
You.
Can.
Only.
Type.
One.
Word.
No.
Explanations.

Here we go then:
1. Yourself: sensual
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend: imaginative
3. Your hair: stylish
4. Your mother/stepmother: sad
5. Your dog: joyous
6. Your favorite item: Knife
7. Your dream last night: didn’t
8. Your favorite drink: Wine
9. Your dream car: Truck
10. The room you are in: Office
12. Your fear: snakes
13. What you want to be in 10 years: free
14. Who you hung out with last night: son
15. What you're not: pessimistic
16. Muffin: Pina Colada
17: One of your wish list items: Wildlife
18: Time: Mid-morning
19. The last thing you did: adjusted
20. What you are wearing: plunging
21. Your favorite weather: Fall
22. Your favorite book: The Secret
23. The last thing you ate: Mashed Potatoes
24. Your life: revving
25. Your mood: blissful
26. Your best friend/s: Quirky
27. What are you thinking about right now? Summer
28. Your car: Old
29. What are you doing at the moment?: Playing
30. Your summer: Full
31. Your relationship status: Open
32. What is on your TV?: Nothing
33. What is the weather like?: Sunny
34. When is the last time you laughed?: 3/26/07

Your turn.

Building Beauty in the Lakes Region

2007-03-22T12:01:00.000-05:00

I thought I would post some of the work my company does around the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. It is difficult to improve on the beauty of the State as it stands, but I believe we do a pretty good job. We are a large Design/Build Landscape Co. although we do modify landscapes that are already established. It is really neat to see a landscape develop from a design to the finished product and I thought you would enjoy seeing the pictures. We also provide maintenance services, hence the nice striped lawn!

This was a complete landscape job, start to finish. You can imagine the view straight to the lake.

Lawn install and Planting Berm.

One of our signature Compass Patios. There are actually larger stones in the circle that represent N,S,E & W and it is set correctly. How could you not relax with a view like that .

We actually do a lot of work "on" the lakefront. It requires lots of red-taped paperwork and our boss is very conservation minded.

Our Hardscape Division (stonework) has grown by leaps and bounds since our Sassy worked here. This is a really neat fire pit and we installed all the stone that is vi sable.

One of the chimney after construction and the client had made thins homey.

A few planting pictures. This is a Japanese Maple. One of the bosses favorites to plant.

Ahhh who wouldn't love a Niko Blue Hydrangea?

Nice Irregular Tight Fit Bluestone walkway and plantings.

Nice Entryway. We also did all the stone columns holding up the terrace.

We didn't put in the pool but we did fill in all the landscape around it, including the patio work.

Hope you enjoyed it.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING

2007-03-20T15:35:00.000-05:00

Ranty Prudence has returned. While I was at lunch, minding my own business, buying my youngest son (15) new, size 14 sneakers, I was listening to the radio. This is what I heard..

“Believe it or not folks there is a Non-Profit Support Group who is now offering e-cards for those who have had abortions.” What the fuck? So me being me had to see for myself. This is what I found.

How can these people do this with a straight face?

A loss is something that happens unexpectedly and without forethought. At least in Ranty Prudences’ brain. It isn’t a loss if it is an actual ABORTION, as we all understand the term to be. Medically necessary terminations are not typically referred to as abortion. So, they can’t be talking about that, can they?

Throw in the Religious Factor… You have got to be kidding me. How could you possibly, truly believe in God and then think he is going to be support you after you’ve decided to terminate the life he blessed you with. What bullshit.

“A total of 848,163 legal induced abortions were reported in the United States for 2003 from 47 states, DC, and NYC” This statistic is from the CDC’s website. Trust me folks the numbers haven't gone down in the following years. Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina (PPCNC) charges $375 for a medication abortion. Prices rise substantially from there, with PPCNC charging as much as $1475 for an invasive, or “surgical,” abortion.

Just some quick math: 848,163 x 375 =$318,061,125.00/year and that on the low side of charges.

Planned Parenthood’s 2004-2005 annual report, the non-profit received $882 million in revenue (generated from such services as emergency contraception kits, STD examinations, and abortion procedures) and showed a $63 million excess of revenue over expenses.

I am not trying to pick on PPH. I think that they do offer some good education and help for those who need it in contraceptive practises. However, they are making a killing, killing! They have made a fortune out of abortions.

It really fries my ass sometimes when my blog pals get all ranty about Iraq, Bush and the Illegal War we are in and all the needless losses. While here in the good ole USA, we kill close to a million babies every year because we can. I don’t care what anyone says, go with a woman to her 8 week maternity check up and listen to the babies heart beat and then tell me it just a mass of jelly that isn’t really LIVING.

Ok I am done.

Here We Go Again

2007-03-16T15:08:00.000-05:00

It seems that we are in for another Holiday Storm. St. Patty's Day will not be green in these part but white, white, white. They are calling for another Nor'easter all told 12 to18 inches of accumulation is possible. These are some pictures from the last storm that I forgot to pick up from the photo store until today. Check out the picnic table!

My POOR LITTLE TREES!

OK This is looking out my bedroom window that is at ground level.

My Poor Hot Tub that is not working at the moment.

Gosh that's a lot of white!

This is just one of the views I get to enjoy on my way to work.

I think it is time to head to the liquor store and stock up on a few bottles of Cab and Zin, grab a grocery or two and head home. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Reflections

2007-03-12T14:55:00.000-05:00

It appears, in our little group, that moments of reflection keep creeping into our blogs time and time again. Remember these:

Dive: Daphne Rubbernoids, the old outside privy, Providence Place, Zerafa St and laying on Dad in my big pants. (that last part doesn’t sound quite right does it?)

Robyn: her masterful task of “I am From” What’s in an age, Coffee Me, Fat Girl, a postcard my grandfather sent to my grandmother before they were married, sometime before 1920, My First Movie and lest not forget all of her B-day remembrances.

Sassy Memories of Montana, Mr. Dearborn, My Pop-Pop had given me this new hat, , Fluff Goes to Washington, Goody Good Doughnuts and one of the funniest ever, Thanksgiving with the Dead (and a Chihuahua)

Kate Isis: Bubonic man, Dr Seuss method of sex, SO I"M WONDERING ABOUT SUICIDE, I've just surveyed my Queendom. It's a god awful mess.
Question is, where do I even start?, Déjà vu G - I have to go and check on my joint (that’s funny, I don’t’ care who you are), I don't want it to burn., WEAPONS OF MASS INSTRUCTION, What did your parents hit you with?

Rich: Mr. Beantown in Washington, I remember my parents saying this phrase to me when I was quite young - whenever someone would knock on our door at home-Open the dam door, , I worked in a bomb factory and lets not forget, I’m from the “Fine” family.

Then of course we have Old K: where to start or how to end.. so let’s just say his remembrances at any given time can cause phlegm to gurgle in up your throat, hives to pop around your middle and even on occasion you may find yourself becoming all unnecessary (giggle). Old K, if I were to list just a handful of your musings it would take up this whole post. Trust that we all know who is King!

I thought I would share with you something that was running through my mind last evening in regards to reflections. Reflection on the past, reflections of people of importance, memories that make you feel connected, loved, cherished and a wishing to revisit those times and places.

Reflections

I can stand in one spot in the middle of my mind
I can see where I’ve been and what I've left far behind.
Stopping to note as scenes flicker past
Moving and fading like snakes in the grass.
I see days of youth, carefree, no stress.
There to one side is my Dad in a dress.
The giggles from the wiggles of worms in my hand
Never considering life slips, slide away just like sand.
This snip of a girl who is hardly ever afraid
Has no recollection of the impact I’d made.
Her dad floats around her on a cushion of air
His life has been lifted for the fact that’s she there.

Half woman, half child I’d snickers at boys
Who in the near future would bring me some joy,
Joys of first kissing’s and holding of hands
Of whisper of sweetness and the bulging of glands.
I’m growing and changing before my own eyes
I’m finally a woman at least tween my thighs.

Time gets really muddy with hormones and age
Now a child is coming, another turn of the page.
My dads in the kitchen doing the dishes that night.
I sit in his driveway afraid that I might,
Might tear up his heart with the news I must share.
A grandchild is coming, I can’t see through the tears.
Two more and much anguish and moving about.
His strength never lessened, his love near in doubt.

I stand on that acre now a mother of three.
My Dad right beside as always he’ll be.
A home we will build, my daddy and I.
Where his dreams for my future are at last satisfied.
He has seen me through troubles and victories galore
Through choices and voices sometimes I’d ignore.

His face now has lines, the creases much deeper
How many from me and from the Grim Reaper?
His mind is now ravaged with disease now apparent
My name he’ll forget, you see is inherent.
Toady is a mystery, time in and time out
He wanders through gardens that now show the drought.
The drought of his attention to care and to tend
It won’t be much longer before he’s rounding the bend.
He cannot remember what chores he must do
Or if the dogs eaten for one or for two.

It’s happened so slowly or so it does seem.
He’s watched as I’ve grown as I’ve followed my dream.
He’s been my anchor, my harbor, my port.
I think of our time, it is growing so short.
He forgets what he’s eaten and where are his keys?
It will be when he forgets me I’ll fall to my knees.
He has been my protector, my knight oh so rare.
I’ll not make it without him that thought I can’t bear.

To love him right now is the best I can do.
He knows me today through his mind’s changing hue.
We talk everyday, sometime three or four times.
He knows what is happening, it is not sublime.
He sits and he waits for the days to slip past.
Not really living, watching hours elapse.

I wish I could fix him, give him back what is gone.
I’m not ready to live without him
I’m not done with our song.

Brad Delp, 55, Lead Singer for Boston, Dies

2007-03-12T07:45:00.000-05:00

Brad Delp, the lead singer for the rock band Boston, was found dead on Friday in his home in Atkinson, N.H. The Associated Press reported that a police spokesman said Mr. Delp apparently died alone and that there was no indication of foul play. The cause of death is under investigation and a report is to be released Monday, The A.P. reported. Mr. Delp was 55.

Mr. Delp’s vocals, overdubbed into group harmonies and grand chorales for songs like “More Than a Feeling,” were a vital ingredient in the sound of Boston, a band whose multilayered tracks were created in the studio by its guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, Tom Scholz. Boston’s elaborate songs were ubiquitous on radio stations during the 1970s, and its 1976 debut album, “Boston,” largely recorded in Mr. Scholz’s basement, has sold more than 17 million copies in the United States.
Mr. Delp was born in 1951 in Danvers, Mass., and discovered music as a Beatles fan. He started singing in bands as a teenager, and met Mr. Scholz as the 1960s ended. In an interview with Classic Rock Revisited, Mr. Delp said, “I am just lucky to be the guy who was there.”
Their band played cover songs in clubs for the early part of the 1970s while working with Mr. Scholz on the homemade recordings that became Boston’s debut album.
“The nice thing about Brad,” Mr. Scholz said in a 1986 interview with Musician magazine, “was his incredible ability in the studio. He was a master at controlling his voice — he could do things over and over, changing one note and doing everything else the same. He’s a natural overdubber, he can perfectly match what’s on tape, he can sing harmonies with himself and keep dozens of parts in his mind.”
Mr. Delp’s stacked vocal tracks, from earnest tenor to wailing falsetto, were so central to the music that in Boston’s first management and recording contracts, Mr. Scholz and Mr. Delp were the only official members of the band; Barry Goudreau on guitar, Fran Sheehan on bass and Sib Hashian on drums were soon added. Mr. Scholz wrote all the songs on Boston’s debut except “Smokin’,” written with Mr. Delp, and “Let Me Take You Home Tonight,” credited to Mr. Delp alone.

Although Boston’s first album was derided by critics as derivative and calculated, it was immediately embraced by radio stations. The band’s first tour after its release started in clubs and ended in arenas. Mr. Scholz, a painstaking songwriter who had worked for seven years on what became the debut album, rushed to complete a follow-up, “Don’t Look Back,” released in 1978. It eventually sold seven million copies in the United States.

In 1980, Mr. Delp, along with Mr. Hashian, appeared on Mr. Goudreau’s album of his own songs, “Barry Goudreau.” Mr. Goudreau and Mr. Delp left Boston and worked together in the early 1980s under the band name Orion the Hunter; it released an album in 1984 with Mr. Delp as background vocalist and songwriting collaborator. (Fran Cosmo, who would later join Boston, was the lead singer.) But Mr. Delp rejoined Boston in 1985 to sing on the album “Third Stage,” which was released in 1986 and has sold four million copies in the United States.

As the 1990s began, Mr. Delp worked again with Mr. Goudreau in a band called RTZ, for Return to Zero. He was replaced in Boston by Mr. Cosmo, the lead singer on Boston’s 1994 album “Walk On.” But Mr. Delp toured with Boston after the release of “Walk On,” sharing vocals with Mr. Cosmo, and sang three new songs on Boston’s “Greatest Hits” collection in 1997. He remained with Boston ever since, touring and singing lead on Boston’s 2002 album “Corporate America.”
Between Boston tours, Mr. Delp performed in New England clubs with a band called Beatle Juice, playing faithful copies of Beatles songs.

Bradd was a local guy and lived "locally". He participated in his community and lived amongst the masses. He appeared often on our local radio station and help with a variety of fundraisers for local charities. He was an "Ordinary Average Guy" and will be missed around these parts!

What's On Your Desk?

2007-03-07T10:36:00.000-05:00

Thought I would share with you what I currently have on my desk. I have a cool boss! We had a rodent problem this fall and I just happened to have the solution at home. We now have office kitties. Everyone here loves them and no one is allergic so it's all good. It makes the office atmosphere more enjoyable at least that seems to be the consensus.

The yellow tiger is Romeo and the Calico is Juliet. She has a black spot on her chest that is shaped like a heart. AWWWW..

They snuggle like this with eachother all the time. They were the only two in the litter so they are very bonded.

I know it is kind of a lame post but they bring such joy around here with their silly kitten antics. They do make it difficult at times to get things done. I have had several documents deleted and messed up from them walking over my keyboard.

Prudence Needs

2007-03-07T09:52:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm in!

Prudence needs to employ all her charms

Prudence needs to buy a present for her friend Dirty Dermot's B-day. (This is funny cuz I actually have a friend and his nickname is Dirty)

Prudence needs a job.

Prudence needs to be exercised.. ok there is more to the statement but left this way it is funny!

Prudence needs to employ all her charm.

Prudence needs to be seconded by fortune.

Prudence needs to be set aside

America Needs Prudence-(I like this one too)

Prudence needs to include fortitude.

A Need for Prudence in the Persian Gulf.

So it looks like I need to don my Super Hero outfit and save the world!

Real Time Snow Storm

2007-03-02T12:13:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone,

Just stepped out the front door of my work and this is what things look like. Mind you, all the cars were clear of snow just a short time ago. Everything looks so clean. The weather report is that this will continue until sometime this evening. It is so quiet when it snows.

Today

Summer!

This is what our sign looks like today

Cool Huh! Well, I think I am going to be a good boss and let everyone go home now. Sometimes it's good to be King! Hope you all have a great weekend.

The Calm Before The Storm x's 2

2007-03-01T16:27:00.000-05:00

The weather report for Peyton Place is as follows; Central NH: "The battle of the colder air coming south out of Canada and warmer air surging northward from the south will meet up close to the Lakes Region/Upper Valley/Lake Sunapee Region. That will mean even a slight shift in the track of the storm could mean a big change in accumulation potential. If you mix with some sleet and/or freezing rain amounts would be lower. The best information right now says the area stays mostly all snow. 10-20" of snowfall should occur in this situation... depending on how much (if any) sleet mixes in, will determine whether we hit the top of bottom of that range."

Right now the sun is shining, the sky is crystal blue and it is about 37F. When I awake tomorrow all will be white.

On another note, there is also a calm before the storm on the home front.

Today my daughter,

8th Grade Graduation (14-see why I have to protect her)

who will be17 next month, has the week of for school vacation, told me very cheerily ( she is not a morning person-1st clue) this morning that her girlfriend had text her and wanted her to run some errands with her and then go catch a mid-day movie. Interesting thing is my daughter doesn't get out of bed in the morning on vacation before noon for most anyone. My "Mother Alarm" went off. I made a call to her cell when I arrived at work and asked her to pick something up for me while she was down south. She hesitated and then agreed. Yet another flag raised in my always-suspicious mommy mind. I then dialed *69, which, here in the States makes the number you are calling from appear unlisted (incase the other people have caller id) and her girlfriend answered the phone. I asked to speak with said daughter. That poor girl almost passed out but did give her friend up. My daughter had never been there. You see, my daughter was in Dover at her now ex-boyfriends house, where I had forbidden her to be. Long story short, this kid (not sure if he is 19 or 22, no one seems to know for sure) is a loser! No job, ran his moms phone bill up and their phone was shut off, no way to get back and forth to see my daughter unless she drives the 40 miles to get him, never pitches in for gas cuz he’s got no job, etc... I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt in the beginning, had him over several times but the more he opened his mouth the more bullshit spewed forth. Of course she is "In Love" and can't see any of it. So she is now home waiting for me to arrive.

Sever Weather Alert: A gale force is about to strike Peyton Place!

Repeat after me. I love my children, I love my children, I love my children, I love my children,
I love my children, I love my children, I love my children, I love my children,I love my children, I love my children, I love my children, I love my children,I love my children, I love my children, I love my children, I love my children,I love my children, I love my children, I love my children, I love my children,I love my children, I love my children, I love my children, I love my children,I love my children, I love my children, I love my children, I love my children,I love my children, I love my children, I love my children, I love my children,I love my children, I love my children, I love my children, I love my children,I love my children, I love my children, I love my children, I love my children,I love my children, I love my children, I love my children, I love my children,I love my children, I love my children, I love my children, I love my children,I love my children, I love my children, I love my children, I love my children,I love my children, I love my children, I love my children, I love my children,

It Appears I've Been The Target of Identity Theft

2007-02-28T09:54:00.000-05:00

Imagine my surprise this morning when I arrived at work and pulled up my Blogger account to discover that some ranty, obviously mentally unstable,wackjob had posted some vile, venomous expulsions on my blog. I have filed a formal complaint with Blogger and hired an IT Tech to hunt her down. She will surly be sorry for the vomiting of putrid utterances the like I have not seen before. Except on Old K’s site, where you would expect it.

To all my Blog pals I offer my apologies that my good, morally reserved character and clean-mouthed persona was hijacked and used to spout such excrement. I can assure you I have changed my password and put a double secret access code on my account so as to avoid this unpleasantry in the future.

If by any chance this should ever happen again would one of you please do me the favor and e-mail me directly so I can make sure the deviant is ousted. You can send your email to DearPrudence@heywoodyablowme.com
Thanks guys!

Kate, Sassy and Dive.. What have you done?

2007-02-27T14:02:00.000-05:00

Kate asked us to write our post in a strange environment today in 15 minutes. Here is mine and I am apologizing now for the content but it is what is in my strange environment called my brain today.

Fifteen minutes in the brain of middle aged, menstruating woman. Turn back those who have a weak constitution! Fair warning.

What the fuck is up with all these cramps. Isn’t it bad enough that Eve fucked things up and now we have to endure the pain of childbirth, which by the way can never be summed up in any words conjured up by the mortal man. I haven’t slept in 2 nights because not only do you have back breaking cramps, bloating and the ability to spin your head completely around while spewing pea soup, but the hormonal moanings in my body keep me dreaming like I’ve had one too many hit of acid. Acid, remember the time when you and Nathaniel were driving around with David in the back seat, passed out drunk, on one of Nathaniel’s trips back from Maui? We must have dropped 3 hits of acid that night and drank well over 2 cases of beer just driving around looking at the oddness of the night-lights. Then we drive into that sand pit and Nathaniel and I saw what we believed was a murdered women with her head cut off. Funny part was neither of us told the other what we had seen until we were back in town sitting in public where we thought we would be safe. The next day we returned to the pit to discover it was a doll that someone had ripped the head off and thrown it beside the body. Aghhh fuck back to the cramps, cuz they don’t let up no matter how many drugs I take and it’s offsetting my ability to type or even think in a cohesive stream, shit I gotta pee again, another annoyance during “That Time”, just like drinking too much beer or coffee, peeing every 20 min. I think that when you are done with childbearing………………,

Fuck kids, mine are being such assholes today. Ever just not wanna go home? They have so much to be pissy about don’t they. Nice roof over their heads, food in the fridge, I spent the last two weekends cleaning up their dirty laundry ( they clened their rooms) they both dumped in the utility room cuz who the fuck else is going to do it and I am sick of stepping over it to do my own. Why the fuck do they get to steal my bath towels, all the while they get a freakn week off from school and sleep till noon and then call my work over and over to bitch about each other. I still have to get up and get myself off to work so they can enjoy their leisurely lives. I so can’t wait until Ethan is 18. I am out of here! My dad used to call me Leisurely. Funny that.

…………….you should be able to have all the plumbing ripped out and be done with it. Why do you have to continue to suffer until sometime in your 50’s? Women have the CHOICE over one of the most thought provoking Options on the universe but we can't say, just rip the shit out. Why is that?
Well my 15 minutes are up and I gotta pee. Be careful what you ask for.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2007-02-16T09:16:00.000-05:00

Although we were originally supposed to get 15"-30" of snow from the VD Blizzard, in reality the area I live in only received 13". I know some of you are wondering why I say only. If you have never been "snowed in" you are really missing something. It is peaceful, beautiful and for me at least a welcome reprieve from the day to day grind. I really do enjoy it. However, the northeast is so well equipped to deal with large amounts of snow it rarely happens. Things are cleaned up quickly and life again moves at that hectic pace. The school buses were even on time!

These are a few photo's I took of the beginning of the storm (7:30am)-when I arrived home around 2:30pm and them the next morning after the plow guy had come and the storm was over. Hope you enjoy them.

No the lense isn't dirty it is snowing at a pretty good clip.

In the picture above you can see quite a bit of the little tree to the left of the front door.-

Not for long!

This is looking up the road from my driveway before I left for work

Down the road

This is what things looked like when I returned home from work around 2:30pm

Picture of the barn around 2:30pmThursday Morning you can see the reflection of the sun on the left side of the house-7:15am

Down the Road After

Up, see almost no sign of over a foot of snow.

This is from my living room window looking down at the front steps aroudn 3:00pm Wednesday- poor little trees-

This was in the moring on Thursday. The marks in the snow are from a cat or two trying to get in my bedroom window! Sneaky little shits!

Well that's all folks. Not great shots but I did say I would so I did!

Hey Where Did I Park That Sled?

2007-02-14T12:49:00.000-05:00

Ok, folks it is officially winter! We, at the moment, are in a lull in the Nor'easter that is blanketing the area with 15-30" of white stuff. Living 25 minutes from work is usually a nice ride. It gives you enough time to get your work hat on or your mom hat on. Today will not be quiet so leisurely. It will most likely take a good hour to get back to the old homestead. I know, Dive, waaa waaa. I certainly don't have much to complain about compared to your trek. Still, add the 6" of snow already on the ground, to the 30 mph winds that kick it back over the plowed roads and it makes for a white knuckle ride. So, off I go. Till tomorrow! Ciao.

P.s. I took some pics of the front of my house this morning and will take some after the storm so you can compare. It really is beautiful.

Reflections of Sunday Past

2007-02-13T10:56:00.000-05:00

While I work fervently on a rather lengthy post I thought I would share my Sunday past with my blog pals. Just a quiet Sunday that started at 6:15am when the dogs decided they wanted to pee. Margret is the big one and Stella is the little one.

Had they not insisted on going out I would have surely missed this!

Back to bed for an hour, then upstairs for coffee and smoke (I know I am trying!) I love the way smoke plays with light. Its not a great capture but it looks cool none the less.
The picture is of my Great Grandmother (bottom left), my Grandmother Nana Pat (top left), Aunt Dot (top right) and Uncle Donald who died before I was born.

As I wandered back downstairs to dress and put in some laundry I notice the reflections from my front door as they slid down the wall. I thought it would be interesting to chronicle the passing of day with the passing of the reflection. Here goes:

I always thought the glass looked like a Persian cat. This is about 9:00am.

10ish

Noonish

This is from standing in my room at the bottom of the stairs, looking up around 1:30pm

2:30ish as it almost reachesthe bottom steps down to my bedroom door.

This is the last of it as it ran across my bedroom door about 3:30pm. I missed catching it in the middle of the door. I must have been busy doing something. Moms are always doing something!

After the sun had left the front side of my house.

Going, going, gone.

That's all folks!

Monday Melee

2007-02-12T10:39:00.000-05:00

1.) The Misanthropic.(Name something - about humanity - you absolutely hate).

Paying good money for a great bottle of wine only to find it is "Corked". Meaning, at some point the seal has been compromised and the wine has gone bad, the liquor store is 30 min away and it is Saturday night. Fuck a duck and make it quack!

2: The Meretricious:(Expose someone or something that's phony, fraudulent or bogus).

All of the stars who "Firstly, want to thank GOD". Sorry, I am not buying it. If that is the case, live the life.

3: The Malcontent:(Name something you're unhappy with).

That I will be unable to share with my 17-year-old daughter what a loser her new boyfriend is, at least while she is still interested in him.

4: The Meritorious.(Give someone credit for something and name it if you can).

The new Operations Manger we hired who is slowly seeing who is full of shit and who is not!

5: The Mirror.(See something good about yourself and name it).

Not today! Too much dreaming last night, I need a nap.

6: The Make-Believe:(Name something you wish for).That April 21st would be here tomorrow so I could sit on Coco Beach, FL and work on my tan lines.

Lyrically Speaking

2007-02-07T11:21:00.000-05:00

The idea for this post comes from a “Group” I belong to, Birches. It is a fan site/blog for the artist Bill Morrissey. For those of you who are not familiar with him here is a little info.

“Since 1984, Bill Morrissey has released a series of albums of original songs that have startled and delighted the following he's built up in touring around the Northeast. By the second one, North, he'd been picked up by the Philo division of Rounder Records. Bill sings in a surprisingly flexible deep voice (somewhat reminiscent of Leon Redbone’s croak, but more supple). His songs are full of humor and pathos, expressed in keenly observed details. This is small-town life, sometimes desperate, sometimes hopeful, but always presented in new, unexpected ways on releases including 1989's Standing Eight, 1992's Inside, 1994's Night Train, and 1996's You'll Never Get to Heaven. Something I Saw or Thought I Saw continued that tradition in 2001.” ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Bill is currently in Rehab (alcohol) in NY and will be returning to Tamworth, NH (about an hour from me) where he lives, in the middle of February. Now, in my Monday Melee I mentioned I hate people who use Rehab as the “All Forgiven” This is not the case with Bill. There were no blunders, dunders or otherwise tawdry instances that he needed rescuing from, other than his own demons. He had just finished working on his newest album, which will be released in March. I can’t wait!

Anyway, long story short, some of his fans have been sharing their favorite lines from his past works. If you haven’t ever listened to his music, it is quintessentially small town. You know these people he sings about, they live in your town too, or they are at some point in your life..YOU! Here is the assignment, list five lyrics that stick out in your mind and their significance to you. It can be as zany, quirky or catchy to having had an influence or impact on some aspect of your life.

Here are mine: (Not necessary in order of significance)

1.) Long Gone-Bill Morrissey- Inside: “I’ve been long gone, now I am standing in the doorway of your front hall. Ain’t this better than a letter or a phone call, tell me once again that your still mine.”

Significance: My recent reconnecting-this whole song is “Us”.

2.) Different Currency- Bill Morrissey-You’ll Never Get To Heaven: “She knew strangers don’t do favors and nothing is for free. You gotta pay for everything it’s just with different currency.” “He wasn’t much to look at but she didn’t really care. She was pretty sure his car was good enough to get her all the way down there. She leaned back in her seat, just another bird on the wing . He said “you know this rides a trade off?” she said “Yeah, isn’t everything”.

Significance: My life in general. I have paid a lot of dues, sometimes with different currency.

3.) Ordinary Average Guy-Joe Walsh: “And every Saturday we work in the yard. Pick up the dog doo, hope that it's hard (woof-woof)”.

Significance: It is just freakn’ funny!

4.) Little Head-John Hiatt: “I’m loyal as a dog but I’m a hog for that sexual attraction.It starts up in my mind and makes a bee line below the belt no consequences just satisfaction. Baby in my heart I’m faithful. This two headed monster is so distasteful. Forgive me when my instincts start stinkin, I’m just so easily led when the little head does the thinkin’”

Significance: Aren’t we all a bit “Doggish” when the Little Head does the thinking!

5.) Keep Me In Your Heart-Warren Zevon-The Wind: “Sometimes when you're doing simple things around the house, maybe you'll think of me and smile. You know I'm tied to you like the buttons on your blouse. Keep me in your heart for awhile. Hold me in your thoughts, take me to your dreams touch me as I fall into view. When the winter comes keep the fires lit and I will be right next to you.”

Significance: I will have this played at my dad’s funeral. He has Alzheimers. That is all I can say about that.

O.K. I’ve shown you mine, now show me yours!

Dam It!

2007-02-06T16:27:00.000-05:00

These are some pictures I have taken at the dam a short distance from my house. There are pictures of the same areas during the calm of an early Sunday morning, the May Floods of 2006 and just this past weekend on my way to a Superbowl Party.

This is the Bowl/Basin side of the dam. Notice the pointy rock during the spring it is barely visable.

Notice the brown house in the mist, tucked serenely away in the lushness of green that envelopes it and protects it from prying eyes.

Not so protected anymore! There is the pointy rock very noticeable now.

This is the looking up from the basin of the dam during the floods. The basin itself is about 20 feet deep and usually 1/2 full during any point in a normal summer.

The water was actually about 2 feet over the cement lip of the dam. Pretty amazing show of force swirling around in that bowl.

This is the next afternoon. You can barely see the tip of the pointy rock.

This is the outsource of the dam during the flooding.

This little row boat actually made it through the dam itself and out the other side and got caught up in the trees that were about 8 feet underwater.

Same spot this past weekend. Hope you enjoyed the tour of the Gilmanton Dam!

The Monday Melee

2007-02-05T16:25:00.000-05:00

1. The Misanthtropic: Name something (about humanity) you absolutely hate.
A lot of people are not genuinely kind to old people.

2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
All the freakin twats (thanks my British Friends for that cool word) that use re-hab as the “All Forgiven” sign.

3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
The day’s are not getting long enough, fast enough. I need sunlight!

4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit for something and name it if you can.
My son, for being honest about eating all the cherry, cream cheese Danish. Hey at 15 honesty is a big thing even if it is a small thing!

5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I am usually smiling.

6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
My boss would trust that the people he has put in charge will look out for his/company’s best interest.

The Temperance Tavern & The Corners

2007-02-02T13:54:00.000-05:00

The house was built in 1793 and was known as the most noted public house in all this part of the country. It served travellers on the Old Province Road which ran from Boston to Portsmouth, to northern New England and Canada. It was named The Temperance Tavern in 1815 when the temperance movement swept New England. "The Tavern" as it is known today continued to serve guests until 1849 when it was bought by Cyrus Gilman and used as a grand private residence.

In 1946, it as acquired by Richard and Eleanor Small, who discovered and restored much of the original wall stenciling still preserved and seen in the house today.

In the 1960's, John Collins lived in and further restored "The Tavern," and for more than two decades, maintained the Tavern as a warm and friendly bed and breakfast. In the 1990's, Boston attorney Jacob Atwood acquired the Tavern and modernized some aspects of the operation, while sensitively and painstakingly assuring its preservation and authentic 18th century New England charm. It is currently for sale, $799,000.00

The Corners, as we locals like to call it, is truely a picture post card of Old New England. These arer a couple of shots I took this summer of a couple of my favorite houses. If you look to the right of this home you can see the Tavern in the background. A gentleman bought this home ,back about when I started to build mine in 2000, and has painstakingly renovated it back to period including the Oil Lamp Lights going up the drive. Very breathtaking!

This is called "The Brick House". It is also one of the most picturesque homes in the Corners.

They run a Reproduction Furniture Store out of the barn. It is for sale, only $775,000.00.

Well this ends the tour of The Corners. After the "I Am" assignment I thought I would just cleanse the brain with some lite Meanderings. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Neil Diamond Said It Best

2007-02-01T16:48:00.000-05:00

I AM.. I SAID....

I am from my Noni and of Lynn, MA I am from the taste of gravy (spaghetti sauces for those not Italian) at one day old. I am from her kitchen with the odors of periwinkles, artichokes, sausage and squid. From the smell of the ocean just outside the window and the circus of family that paraded through her kitchen on a daily basis. I am from my Big Pa and the smell of his uniform after coming home from the sewer treatment plant. From his stogies, fresh tomatoes, basil, mint and big fat green tomato worms that he would squish between his fingers and cuss at while we played in his garden. I am from the Blue Note where Big Pa worked his second job as bartender and served me Sarsaparillas till I could hold no more. I am from listening to Yiddish, Italian and thick Irish, lyrically spoken and the clinking of glass. I am from immigrant, low-class, working stiffs who were loud and sometimes raunchy, warm, comforting and knew the meaning of family and cherished their young ones. Where hugs were abundant and everyone loved everyone.

I am from Nicholson Street where my Nana Pat lived and from her kitchen that you could smell as you turned down her street. From her Pot Roast, her Rum Cake and immaculately kept house. From her starched aprons and her pinned hair. From the old washtub with the rubber roller that she kept in her spotless basement that fascinated me as a child. Where not a single cuss word spoken nor a voice raised or any true sense of affection ever found it's way out into the light. I am from my Little Pa who believed children should be seen and not heard. I guess he believed that about himself as well. I can’t remember ever hearing him speak. I am from the smell of his pipe, his Vicks inhaler I used to steal from the top of his bureau to whiff and the funny little squishy white beads that grew on his immaculately kept hedge that surrounded his immaculately kept yard. I am from sterility of spirit. I am from the hospital parking lot where I waved hello to my Little Pa not knowing I was really waving goodbye as children were not allowed in ICU back in 1972.

I am from Walnut Street in Lynn, MA where summers were sweet and filled with wonder. I am from the grapes in Old Lady Murphy’s yard that was forbidden to enter because her son was a murderer of children who trespassed. I am from Mr. O’Brien-the Pigeon Man, who would bulge out his throat and make funny sounds while he stroked his pigeons, calling them all by name. I am from all the little pigeon eggs that you could hold in your tiny hands in wonder of their smallness. I am from the bonfires at the bottom of the hill every Fourth of July and the all night parties that my Mom and Dad would throw for their friends. From the bands they would hire to play in our living room till all hours of the night. From sneaking downstairs and stepping over the bodies, passed out on the floor, to sneak a sip of whiskey sours. I am from the Doors, Louie Armstrong, The Beatles, The Mama & The Papa's and the Lovin Spoonfulls. I am from the Callahan School that was in the middle of the Projects, where I was the minority. I am from my very first boyfriend who happened to be Black and from my mother who was disgusted and made me promise not to ever do that again! “Your father would have a heart attack, is that what you want?” I am from wondering where they learned to hate. I am from the many bumps and bruises a young girl gets from tagging along with her big brother who didn’t appreciate her adoration. I am from Walnut Street where my dad’s Best Man bought our house for himself and his new bride and two months later he shot her dead and hung himself. I am from disbelief.

I am from Belmont, NH were my folks moved us so we would have a better life, in a safer place, away from the influences of the Big City and “those people”. Where my dad’s new job would jettison us into Middle Class. Where we chased butterflies and lightning bugs through acres of corn and beans. I am from 500 chickens to kill and dress every summer and the 50 turkeys that followed the same demise come fall. From the punishments of weeding acres of string beans in the height of a hot summer day because I spoke my mind or maybe it was because I rolled my eyes when my mother spoke to me. I am from the Black Angus Cows that came to live with us from an Island somewhere in Maine and the 3 calves I watched come into this world during that hot summer and the litters of kittens that were always bouncing around the farm. I am from the newness of life and the finalness of death that farm life instills. I am from being kissed by a boy for the first time in the basement when I was supposed to be stacking wood.

I am from the First Baptist Church and Concord Christian School and the Wednesday Bible Service, the Vacation Bible School and the Choir. From the Word of Life Bible Institute and the 5 days a week devoted to all things Christian. I am from the disillusionment of watching our Pastor have an affair with the organist. From out next Pastors wife who had an affair with a Deacon and from the Deacon who was excommunicated in the middle of the Sunday service because he wanted to divorce his wife. I am from being banned from Marrying in my church because my soon to be husband was not “Saved”. I am from running as fast as I could from those two-faced sonsabitches and believing what I believe when I talk to my God.

I am from Maui, Charleston, SC and the several other places I have wandered through during my 20’s. From the home full of lesbian, on the shore of NC, that took me in when I had no place to stay and helped me get back on my feet so I could crawl back to NH, to my home, where I knew what was what. Where my dad would be sitting in his recliner, in his slippers with the paper in hand waiting for me to come home. Where my mom would be working to deliver new life, she was an OBGYN Nurse, and where I knew she would look at me with worry and disapproval because of the choices I had made. But also where I knew I was safe and could find peace of mind, in my old room. Where my Flower Power wallpaper would be waiting and my headphone and me would buffer the world that was the confusion of my 20s.

I am from the many places I lived with my ex-husband and the turmoil that was our life. The things we bought, the things he sold. The gallons of Vodka, the splintering of wood and the inevitable apologies come daylight. I am from my three kids, two who were born at my childhood home so they could always find their roots. I am from divorce and rebirth, from strength of spirit and cries in the night, so as not to alarm the kids. From persistence and determination that I would be fine and so would they. I am from making sure I hugged them and kissed them every chance I get so they will never wonder why their mom never hugged them. I am from showing them what love FEELS like and that my arms are always there to support and guide them.

I am from finding the love of my life. I am from watching him go because life is just that way sometimes. I am from rediscovering him and knowing things will work out… someday. I am from having learned enough patience to wait!

I am from finding a great job and the nausea that I felt knowing I had bullshitteded my way into it. I am from mastering my job and becoming #3 in the company. I am from Peyton Place where I built a home. Where my kids could develop friendships, memories and know what Home means. Swimming at the damn on a hot summer day, watching the fireworks off the deck and sitting on the deck on a quiet Sunday morning listening to Norah Jones and watching the birds fly by. Wandering around town at 11:00pm and not worrying about a drive by shooting. I am from leaving my door unlocked, my keys in my car and every window in the house open if the weathers good and knowing all is well.

I am from peace of spirit and fullness of soul. I am from understanding that life and love takes time and time is what we have!

The Name Game!

2007-01-30T10:08:00.000-05:00

1. The Misanthtropic: Name something you absolutely hate.

Well after my "reconnecting" of Friday, I hate having to wait for my everafter and now, (9 years later) being "Grown-up" enough to realize I have to wait.

2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.

The biased liberal media, nuff said.

3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.

Not having enough money left over each week to not stess about next week.

4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit for something and name it if you can.

Sassy for the Reconnecting Post!

5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.

I have the most sexy, steamy ,green eyes that can cause a man to get weak in the knees along with a wickedly seductive smile and beautiful teeth.

6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.

My turn for ultimate happiness.

Walking round' in Womens Underwear

2007-01-25T13:30:00.000-05:00

Ok so the title was just to snag old K's attention.

I really just wanted to share some pictures of what New Hampshire typically looks like during the winter. Not that it looks that way this winter. Walking in a Winter Wonderland. Enjoy!

Short and sweet I know but things are really busy here today and I am taking tomorrow off to do some "Reconnecting" (thanks Sassy for the inspiration). Have great weekend everyone!

P.S. Sorry, I'm just not that mean.. this is for Old K