 Nostalgia, DVDs, old movies, television, OTR, fandom, good news and bad, picks, pans, cute budgie stories, cute terrier stories, and anything else I can think of. Contact me at theyoungfamily (at) earthlink (dot) net . . . . . . . . . .
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» Thursday, May 31, 2012
The Illustrated Waltons Episode Guide
I've never seen this site before! Nice screen caps!
The Illustrated Waltons Episode Guide Labels: television  » Monday, May 28, 2012
Quiet  Thankfully, it's been a very quiet day. We tried to sleep late, but Willow needed to go out and James was sleeping so soundly he didn't hear her barking. So I threw something on—I must have looked a sight, with my head all frowzy—and took her out, and then refilled the bird feeder. By that time James was sitting on the edge of the bed. I scrubbed my hands, put my night things back on and crawled into bed, but it was no use. Fifteen minutes later I was up again, getting ready for work tomorrow by putting my clothes out and resetting the alarm clock.We had a leisurely breakfast, then went to Kroger to do the weekly shopping, and then came home. I've been doing little things all day, copying my photos off the storage disk, posting some to Facebook, and doing some other things. It was a nice quiet day, which I appreciated. James made some beef strips in gravy with cheese macaroni on the side, and we had those great Eskimo Pie sugar-free ice cream bars for dessert. We watched the usual news and then found Airport on Retroplex. Dean Martin projected that devil-may-care half-drunken personality so often that you may be surprised at what a good solid job he does in the role of Vernon Demarest. Incidentally, I have updated all the Timegate entries and Saturday is now complete, if you're so inclined. Labels: conventions, food, movies, shopping » Sunday, May 27, 2012
Timegate, Day 3
Once again, I hardly got a lick of sleep. Can't say I wasn't tired. And we went to bed late, no earlier than 1 a.m. But I couldn't fall asleep. The room is quiet. I can't even blame the A/C. So what the hell was it? Well, besides the absolutely wretched pillows in the hotel. Whether labeled soft or firm, they're too small area-wise and two are too much and one isn't enough. Gah.Well, we had two ideas: go eat breakfast, see a ten o'clock panel, then bring the critters home and come back. Or just go now and miss the ten o'clock panel and hit the eleven instead. We decided to do the former. Unlike Friday, James could find a luggage cart, and we loaded it up, tied Wil to the cart, and I carried Schuyler, and we went down to the car. The key fob wasn't working. Huh? So James opened the door with the key, and our horrible suspicion was confirmed: the battery is dead. Hmn. Must fall back on idea three. Trouble is, we didn't know what that was. What we did was stuff the suitcase, crate, and tray in the trunk and then go back inside. At first we thought someone might jump us off. We asked Bill, but he had a panel in fifteen minutes. Plus James had already taken his pills for the morning and needed to eat within 30 minutes. We'd planned to pick up something at Burger King on the way back. So we set Schuyler's cage on the ottoman in the little lounge area right next to the restaurant. It's open between them. James went outside because we didn't have the number on our phones, and called AAA. I held onto Wil, and when James got back, he went to get something off the buffet. (The wait staff was overworked as always and there was no one to ask, so he just went. And I just went, but didn't eat much because I was already sleepless and upset.) We ate at the lounge, where Schuyler begged for and got a piece of watermelon, Willow, too. We had just finished when AAA called to say they were outside. James paid the bill, then went out again and they couldn't even use the portable battery to jump it off. It was gone. (I can't complain. That's the battery that came with the car. I bought it in late July 2004. If not eight years old, almost. Got good mileage out of it.) So we drove home without incident, put Schuyler back in her place, filled Willow's food dish, and deserted them for the rest of the day, taking the truck back with us. And it was a great day despite the events of the morning. We went to see Caitlin Blackwood again. This time she was sans Mum on stage, but very poised and self-contained. She told many of the stories from yesterday, and Alan Siler presented her with a figure from her favorite Pixar film, a minion from Despicable Me. I'll tell you, this kid is adorable. She'll be a heartbreaker in a few more years. At 1 p.m. we went to the panel I was afraid we might miss because of the car, the Sherlock Holmes in films panel. Louis Robinson was one of the panelists, as well as Kim Holec, and it was a great chat about Sherlock movies past and present. The general concensus was that the best version to present a new fan would be Jeremy Brett, but many of the newer versions (Robert Downey and Sherlock) were bringing in fans. We even shared a few choice words about the Gareth David-Lloyd version of Holmes, which Louis had us laughing about his discovery of it. I also won a door prize, a Sherlock Holmes in films book from the 70s. It was time for the Ken Spivey Band concert, but we were both starving, so on our way to the events room we got a hot dog (me) and a burger (James) to tide us over and munched it during the first few songs. It was pretty much the same concert as last year, including "the Dalek dance" and a young woman having a song written for her (with the infamous "bridge" that bears no resemblance to the rest of the song...LOL). They saved my favorite song, "The Companion's Lament," for last, where it is definitely appropriate (especially nearing the end of the con). We then went to the final lit panel, about what book panels folks would like to see next year. Very small crowd and it didn't last long. I was surprised to hear two people complaining about the preponderance of YA lit this year. There was only one YA in the schedule, although the writers that came were YA writers, but there weren't a lot of YA panels. So we wandered about for a few minutes, said hi to Bill, did one more turn around the dealer's room, and then went to a panel about traveling to Great Britain to see Doctor Who sites and events. Both the moderators had been there in last few years; Mark had seen the "Doctor Who Experience" in London as well as going to Cardiff, and the other man had gone to Cardiff. There was much discussion about how to bring money there, as apparently now credit card companies are throttling use of American credit cards overseas! Ironically some type of Walmart card apparently works the best there. Also some discussion of the good theatre in London. We ended up going to the penultimate panel because we wanted to see the final panel, the wrapup. We were both getting hungry by this time, so I went out to the truck to fetch some trail mix. This next-to-last panel, Doctor Who v. Star Wars v. Stargate, basically discussed the relative merits and detractions of each series and what type of influence each had (such as Star Wars making a large-budget science fiction film respectable and bringing back classic film scores), sending the odd jab to Space: 1999, Lost in Space, and the original Battlestar Galactica. The final panel, as always, is bittersweet. All the track coordinators were thanked as well as other members of the convention. Then came commentary about the hotel, mostly good, some bad, especially about the restaurant employees running themselves ragged and there not being enough of them to take care of the crowds. Our A/C worked fine this weekend, but some weren't so lucky, and one couple had water leaking into their room. Once that was taken care of, the suggestions began to fly, from extending the convention to Monday, or just letting it run later on Sunday (especially since next year is the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who), suggestions for some child-oriented science exhibitions or even panels. By 7:30, everyone was tired and it all just broke up. We quietly exited through the back, where we were parked, went to Kroger to get some supper (chicken soup comfort food for me), and relaxed and restored at home, watching the rest of the National Memorial Day concert, which was actually last year's version since there was a bad storm in Washington, DC, and then a weird show on the Science Channel about an antique shop in New York, Oddities. Really weird. There's something missing in this narrative, but it's deserving of its own special place. People often twit internet friendships, say they're not real, or superficial, especially with Facebook, that you're "counting how many friends you can have." Well, while online friendships may not be as invested with the emotional ties of families or close friends, one can still feel a strong friendship with someone they've only communicated with online. Some time ago I found "Collecting Children's Books," the blog of Peter D. Sieruta. I was immediately taken in by his columns; his posts discussed books I loved and books I had never read, and his entries were filled with information, bibliophilia, and wit. A year or so ago he bought his own home, and posted stories about furnishing it, about a wonderful blue clock that was left behind by the former owners, and of putting up his first hummingbird feeder and being startled at how territorial the little birds were. Sometime later I "friended" him on Facebook, where lately he was posting vintage family photographs and telling stories of parents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. Some were funny, some thoughtful, some sorrowful, but all were filled with love. Last week I had read a startling post from Peter about his having badly broken his ankle and having a hurried trip to the emergency room, and the difficulty he was having getting around. I was so busy with work that I hadn't had a chance to send him a get-well message, but did check his Facebook page periodically for any updates. This morning when I opened Facebook as we were on the way back to the hotel I was shocked to see a post from Peter's brother John letting people know that Peter had passed away on Friday. I sat in the cab of the truck in tears. There are no boundaries on friendships. Even though I had never met Peter I considered him a friend. And I will miss him. Labels: conventions, friends, obituary » Saturday, May 26, 2012
Timegate Day 2
What a wretched night. For some reason (well, besides the rotten pillows), I couldn't fall asleep. At quarter until three I was still awake. Used the bathroom, read a little, it didn't help. Getting up just made me hungry. Finally about 3:45 I ate a small snack, and, after that, I was able to sleep, but by then there were only four hours left. Very annoyed, as we had a lot planned today and I wanted to be fresh.So James walked Willow and then we went down to breakfast. Sue came by as we were eating and sat down to have breakfast with us. The hotel usually has a good breakfast, but they don't seem to have any oatmeal this year. I had corn flakes, some bacon, potatoes, two slices of toast, and fruit, with skim milk. At ten, we had a panel, "YA Lit: Why Has It Gotten So Big?" I hadn't read any of the authors' books, but they were all fantasy-based, which is the trend these days. We discussed censorship of children's books—one writer was astonished when a parent criticized her use of a gay character, but didn't mind her child reading about people being killed by an evil character in a ritualistic murder. We also talked about e-book piracy, appropriate reading for different ages, and the difference between "writing a young adult book" and writing about a character who just happens to be young adult. At eleven I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I wandered about a bit and found one of the authors selling his book Doctor Who and Philosophy, but he couldn't take a credit card. So I found James sitting in the conference era and borrowed the cash from him. The author autographed the book for me, too. I ended up going to the remainder of the Tom Baker panel, amused by the division of his seven years into three eras (solid SF/fantasy, the silly period, and then the more somber final year), and the merits of each (i.e. the silly got pretty silly, but we also got Douglas Adams). James was on a panel at noon, "Fragmented Genres" in the Literature track, but I wanted to see "Doctor Who: Countdown to 50," about next year's fiftieth anniversary of the series. Panelists talked about what they wanted to see in a 50th anniversary special: all surviving Doctors, an adult Susan, Jamie, were some of the suggestions made. Lars Pearson said he would leave if anyone had any spoilers, but no one does. If there are anniversary plans, the BBC is keeping it close to their vest! The next panel was one I was looking forward to: Caitlin Blackwood. Caitlin played the young Amelia Pond in Matt Smith's debut episode (and in three other episodes following) back when she was ten years old. They were looking for a red-headed child who resembled Karen Gillan, who played the older Amy, and Gillan, although she had never met Caitlin, suggested her cousin, whom, her aunt told her, resembled her a lot. Caitlin is twelve now, and this is her second convention appearance; she is going to another convention this summer and one in Orlando in November, so by the end of the year she will be quite a veteran. You kind of wonder what a 12-year-old would make of all this, but Caitlin, accompanied by her "mum" Linda, was remarkably poised and often very blunt and funny. So it was a great panel, with Caitlin sometimes giving her mother the same looks all children give to their parents who are embarrassing them or just talking too much for their comfort. The Blackwoods are from Inverness, and her father is a trombonist in an Army band (she also plays trombone and studies ballet). She goes to a Catholic school, St. Joseph's, likes Pixar films (her favorite is Despicable Me), Friends and Glee, and a Scottish show which I couldn't quite make out (the microphone had trouble picking up her quiet voice). Her favorite actor is Anne Hathaway and she loves Lady Gaga. Of course the first question had to be about the fish fingers and custard, and it was. She got ice cream, but poor Matt Smith actually did eat the fish fingers with custard and hated it. Apparently he's forever breaking things on the set, and she said the funniest thing that happened on the set was that in a scene where he had to pick her up, his trousers split, and he got a chewing out from the wardrobe people! She said the creepiest place they filmed was the house and garden that was supposed to be Amelia Pond's home, and it was freezing cold when they filmed it (she was wearing nine blankets between takes). She says she has one classmate who talks nothing but Doctor Who and she has had teachers ask her to autograph things, especially the action figure, which she found "rather creepy" (the figure, not the autograph). Altogether delightful! I had a free hour, and took the opportunity to go upstairs, check on the animals, and have a half hour nap after I ate the hot dog that James brought to me. Then at three I went skittering downstairs for the first of two Sherlock Holmes panels I was waiting for. This was about the literary Holmes, and the panel members talked about what stories they had read first and what were the circumstances. Of course, it seemed we couldn't talk about the literary Holmes without the media version making an appearance, so the names "Brett, Rathbone," and "Cumberbatch" were batted about, as well as "Cushing" and "Wontner." The consensus is that children being introduced to Holmes will probably find Hound of the Baskervilles the ideal gateway. James had taken Willow out and then remained downstairs, so I found them in the convention area. "Willow's fan club" was in full swing, and she was being petted and cooed over. We walked through the dealer's room with her, and were flat flabbergasted when she challenged Princess, the big husky who has been coming to this convention practically since its inception. Princess was in a mood today, and tried to come after her, but surprisingly Wil held her ground. James later took her to the Urban Fantasy panel while I went to watch "Frocks on the Box," about BBC costume dramas, with the conversation mainly about Downton Abbey. I really must watch that! By now it was five o'clock and we had supper in the hotel restaurant with the Spiveys (Aubrey was finished with all her friends' graduations and was finally in attendance) and Sue. It was a good dinner, talking about all and sundry, and the food was considerably less spicy than yesterday. After dinner, Sue had some things to do, but we wandered around with the Spiveys, eventually going up to the fifth floor to the con suite for something to drink and sat down to watch two episodes of The Big Bang Theory. (Oh, Caitlin likes that show, too.) We went downstairs about eight to get into the cabaret line. The cabaret is always a blast and only costs $5, which goes to charity and is a pittance compared with similar events at other conventions. I ran upstairs to check on Schuyler and let Willow out really quickly to get a drink. But when I put her back in her crate she started to bark, and I realized she needed to go out. So I brought her back down, and James took her out, and I thought he would take her back upstairs afterward and then catch up with me, but he never came back. Turned out he was sitting near the doors to the room, intending to bring her in with us. (She behaved beautifully, although she kept getting up every time James moved his legs.) Much fun: we had song from two different women, one who sang a piece in German from Schubert which was his last published piece of writing. She had a fantastic operatic range. Then it was time for some humor with Lt. Moxie Magnus, who is supposed to be a beehive-hairdo'd, short skirted Enterprise crewmember from the 1960s who is actually a guy in drag who is hilarious. She did a very funny Marlene Dietrich imitation. The Ken Spivey band played, and Louis Robinson did a piece on his guitar and then was joined by Danica (whose last name I can't remember) from Ragamuffin Music Hall. She sang two of the 40s songs we had to miss due to Atomicon: "Bluebirds Over the White Cliffs of Dover" and "We'll Meet Again." The latter song always brings me to mind of a friend who died some time ago and I was sitting there crying. The entire show, as always, was emceed by Mike Langford as "Professor Satyre," who well mixes movies and television and entire genres to come up with crazy mashups, done one after the other with gunfire speed. After the show there was a giveaway of some prizes awarded by the number of the tickets given out at the door. Alice won a Blake's 7 tape which she nicely gave to me, and Ken got a goodie back full of stuff from Starz to publicize Torchwood, including a neat flashing bracelet and a T-shirt and some plastic cups. There was a tiny little girl sitting across the aisle from us who had a high old time through the whole thing, didn't fuss at all. Willow was fascinated by her. She was given the chance to pull several of the raffle tickets and was delighted. Once the cabaret was over, several people came up on stage for the masquerade. The masquerade at Timegate is very informal; there are no cards or big announcements. There was a Tharil, a female Seventh Doctor and a male Ace, someone dressed as John Nathan Turner in bright purple (where's the Hawaiian shirt?), and several others. Everyone showed off his outfit to applause. We went to take Willow upstairs and then came back downstairs for the radio theatre presentation. They had obtained one of the scripts that were written for a proposed Doctor Who movie back in the 1990s, the one which eventually became the Paul McGann television movie of 1996. This was called The Time Lord and had the Doctor exiled over a charge that he was complicit in the destruction of a planet (when it was in reality an evil being called Varnax), rescued by his niece and later aided by an Earth human, a young man. He and the Doctor's niece eventually get together, if you know what I mean. ::wink:: I had my chat program open and who should show up but Rodney, and we chatted for a little while, then he went off to bed. We didn't get to hear the end, which may have been a good thing since the plot was ridiculous and we heard later that it ran until 1 a.m.! Labels: conventions, food, friends, pets » Friday, May 25, 2012
Timegate, Day 1
Drat! the usual complaint: I didn't sleep enough. Major grrr. Couldn't fall asleep since I was so geared up and then woke up early. We had breakfast and did some chores, then went to Walmart, since James needed new diabetic socks. I also got a couple of things to go along with the mischief that was managed. ;-)We also went to the hobby shop to show off James' new kilt (yes, he has a black kilt from "Amerikilts," and I've never seen him so excited about a piece of clothing) and had lunch at Panera. So we were getting ready to pack up the critters to leave (we had packed the car after breakfast) when the call came that my glasses were ready. That meant a detour to Cumberland Mall, and a stop at Costco since I had only a quarter tank of gas. Since it was Friday, we were racing time and traffic, and sure enough, when we passed GA400, traffic came to an almost dead stop. Good thing our exit was only a mile onward. Another problem: when we got to the hotel, no luggage carts. So we checked in with Schuyler's cage sitting on the check in desk as all the forms were filled. We got her set up in the room watching TV, then took Willow back downstairs with us to get the big suitcase (we'd stuffed everything in the big one rather than carrying lots of little things) and her crate. Schuyler was happily watching Anderson Cooper when we got back. Then we just sat till registration because just putting the critters in the car was exhausting and the room was blissfully cool after being out in 90 degree heat. I should have napped! Met the Spiveys in the registration line, and chatted for a bit with them and with Caran. Had to wait until 5:30 for the buffet to be ready, then ate in good company with Sue. James took Miss Wil for a walk before we began panels: the remainder of opening ceremonies, then a stroll around the dealers room. Cute stuff, but I really shouldn't buy anything with the glasses purchase and getting the truck fixed. Caitlin Blackwood, young Amelia Pond, who is one of the guests, was in the room with her mum, just looking at all the cool stuff with everyone else. We then attended the rest of a panel about the Star Wars saga by a gentleman who has written one of the tie-in books and two graphic novels. He was allowed to name the slug creature from Empire Strikes Back when he did a graphic novel of a Star Wars story. Following that, we went to "Who 101," ostensibly a panel of questions from newbies in the audience, but much a discussion about Doctors new vs. old, and which ones each panelist liked, and summing each up. Then we went upstairs to see how Willow and Schuyler were, sitting a few minutes so Willow could be cuddled. I sat in the big chair next to Schuyler's cage, and she ate it up, clambering on the bars for a kiss. We went back downstairs about 10:30 and stopped to chat a bit with Kim and Mike. Our last panel was "Doctor Who and the New British Invasion," talking about the latest resurgence of interest in the show, what triggered it, past days of fandom and how fans were initially exposed to the show (two words: camera copies), when it began, etc. Like the "Who 101" panel, this was lively and funny, but gosh, we are bushed, so we are now in the room and off to bed after a nice shower. Labels: conventions, friends, pets, shopping » Tuesday, May 22, 2012
 FOR TODAY, MAY 22, 2012 Outside my window... ...still cloudy. We had some rain last night, sadly some of it at the beginning of the House retrospective so we lost a bit of it. No birds at the feeder yet...odd. I am thinking... ...sorry...of the weekend! (And the book and tripod due from Amazon Vine. I really shouldn't have gotten the book, but it sounded like a good mystery.) I am thankful... ...for new glasses, or will be when I get them. The frames will be very light. The less weight on my poor abused nose the better. In the kitchen... ...no idea, haven't been in there yet. Hope James took something out for supper. I am wearing... ...my "multicolor blue" tank top and aqua shorts and the purple-flower scuffs. I am creating... ...more purchase orders; it's just that time of year. I am going... ...to make a decision on something today. News at eleven. Or tomorrow. Or Thursday. I am wondering... ...what I can do to make more time for myself. It seems like I spend so much time not doing what I want. I am reading... ...Literary Landscapes, a book I picked up at the Cobb County Library book sale. It's about English landmarks as represented in books. Just finished the section about the London of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dickens, through Virginia Woolf, and am now on Bath. I am hoping... ...the new glasses help the headaches I've been getting, although when I told the eye doctor where they were he said it wasn't eyestrain, it was sinus. In any case, fresh anti-glare coating can't hurt! I am looking forward to... ...Timegate!!!! Two Sherlock Holmes' panels! What richness! Around the house... ...quiet, soon to be noisy with perpetual typing sounds, podcasts, budgie chirps, and printer sounds. Right now even the A/C isn't on...yay! I am pondering... ...absent friends. A favorite quote for today... Ah, I would love my little birds at the feeder to do this! "I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn." . . . . Henry David Thoreau: One of my favorite things... ...Schuyler, who is climbing on the bars kissing me, trying to attract my attention. It is hard to explain to her that when I am at home during the week it must be devoted to work and not to play. Birds don't understand having to "earn seed." A few plans for the rest of the week: ...waiting for the mailman! Amazon Vine! A peek into my day... ...Nostalgia: Louis Robinson doing his always enjoyable Sherlock Holmes panel at Timegate 2009.  If you'd like to participate, check out The Simple Woman's Daybook. Labels: Simple Woman's Daybook » Monday, May 21, 2012
A House No Longer at Home
My mom never had cable. There was a good selection of stations between those from Providence and those from Boston, and she enjoyed a bunch of network shows like NCIS, CSI, etc. So when we visited her for Thanksgiving in 2004, we had to watch what was on as opposed to something on the History Channel, or HGTV, or Animal Planet.
So probably if we hadn't been on vacation at her home we might not have tried out the new show that had premiered on Fox the previous week, the story of a grumpy and acerbic doctor who, nevertheless, was a superb diagnostician. The series starred Hugh Laurie, who I mostly knew as a British comic actor who was partnered with Stephen Fry, especially in the series Jeeves and Wooster. Surprisingly, he did a brilliant American accent and played an infuriating, but complex and interesting character. When we came home, back with the lures of cable, we continued watching House. And now it's eight years later and it's over. It was a wistful leavetaking, a case of laughing and crying at the same time, and, since the original episode that I saw is tied in my mind with my mother's last year of life, some of the tears were not just for the ending of a television program. Oh, I have to admit, there were many times when I was frustrated with the stories on House, or the story decisions—I found the whole Detective Tritter business especially painful—and there were other times I liked what frustrated others—I liked the whole fourth season "vote 'em off the island" plotline and I liked Charlene Yi's character, thank you very much—but now that the ride is over I find that it's one that I will miss very much. Tonight's episode, proceeded by a fun retrospective done in quirky style, reminded me a little of the series finale of Monk, all the pieces fitting together in what was, in the end, a very logical manner. But then, as a reader of Sherlock Holmes, which served as an inspiration for House, I should have guessed the ending. Laurie even made a point of mentioning Holmes in the retrospective! How funny that the second series finale of Sherlock, with the same essential plot point based on a key incident in the life of the literary Sherlock Holmes, aired last night on Masterpiece Mystery! Amusing indeed! Thank you to the cast and crew of a unique television series. Labels: television » Sunday, May 20, 2012
I Can See Clearly Now...
James was off to work at seven, and I was thankfully back to sleep. Not there very long, though—things to do, places to go. Next it was preparing for the week: pills sorted into the pill container, clothes set out for work, alarm back on. Finally it was breakfast and checking e-mail, vacuuming the carpet and treating spots on it until it was time to go out to the wilds of Cumberland Mall.I started the great glasses hunt at Sears. Sears Optical isn't open on Sundays, so I could survey the glasses frames in peace. A few looked promising (and not pink). I then walked through the mall, because it's always good to include a brisk walk with a shopping expedition. Looked through Lenscrafters and really didn't see anything I liked, then went downstairs to Visionworks, where they had had a pair of glasses frames I did like when James went last month. (Although the ones I really liked were...pink.) Well, the short of the long of it was that I was able to get an eye exam immediately—the doctor was a bit of a curmudgeon, but nice—and then I went back to looking at frames. What I finally ended up with were the ones I liked second-best last time. They are brown, not pink. :-) And I found a second pair exactly like the first, so when they worked their magic and made me a two-for-one deal, I was able to get a pair and a spare. However, he told me the headaches I have been getting are not from eyestrain, but from my sinuses. Sigh. I hate the glaucoma test, though; my eyes watered for ages afterwards. The doctor did tell me my prescription had not really changed, which surprised me. He could not correct my left eye enough for it really to be sharp enough at 20/20, though. I thought it was my right eye that was the weaker one. Or maybe they've now swapped. After all James is now farsighted in one eye and nearsighted in the other. Glasses promised within two weeks; hope it's less like it was for James. Anyway, I walked back via the Hallmark store, and that was done with. On the way home I stopped at Best Buy to check out something. Also H.H. Gregg. Confirmed things for me. Surprisingly, when I stopped by Dollar Tree, they had exactly what I had been looking for. The last time I was in Dollar Tree, back in February or March, I saw some Pears soap that I wanted to try for washing my face. I've been quite satisfied with it; where I still get pimples, they're not as often as before. But the Dollar Tree where I originally bought them (East/West Connector) didn't stock them any longer. This Dollar Tree (Hargrove Plaza) had many bars; I got ten. Picked up a newspaper, got home, finished getting ready for work (including a stitching job I'd been putting off), vacuumed the stairs...and by that time all that was done, it was time for James to get home. We had some great boneless barbecue ribs for supper that we had picked up at Sam's on Saturday, with enough in the package for a second meal, and watched "The Hounds of Baskerville" that we had missed last Sunday. Very intense! Also watched Hugh Laurie on last week's Tonight Show. You can tell House is finished with as he has shaved the stubble he's had for the past eight years. Some talk about the elder Laurie who won an Olympic Gold Medal for crewing in 1948. Later it was time for "The Reichenbach Fall," the last in this series of Sherlock. Even though I knew what would happen at the end, it was a great trip getting to that point. They never do just "leave it" as Conan Doyle did, though, do they? And I do like the little messages spelt out in the credits. Is that original to the UK series? (Okay, brief pause for hormonal outburst...Martin Freeman is so cute! There, that's done with, and it's bedtime. LOL.) Labels: food, shopping, television » Saturday, May 19, 2012
Headache Today, Still Here Tomorrow
Out of nowhere Wednesday, I started coughing, not the tickle-in-the-throat kind of coughing that is cured by a good drink of water, but the kind that comes on after you've had a headcold and post-nasal drip. Since I hadn't had either, it was additionally annoying. Between doing orders and putting forms together, I drank and drank water and couldn't seem to make it go away, and when I went outside for lunch and stepped into the sunlight—it felt good. Now that is not a good sign. Finally I was feeling so wretched I left work 45 minutes early to make sure I wasn't stuck in traffic. The moment I got home I took three ibuprofin and crawled on the futon, since 45 minutes of sun and the freeway had done its work and I had a splitting headache as well.I felt a little better after supper, but was still headachy and coughing at bedtime. When the alarm went off Thursday morning, I hit the snooze alarm eight times, and when it went off again I got up, called in sick, uncovered Schuyler and turned on the television and the light for her, and then retreated to bed and slept until after noon. I'd planned on teleworking if I felt good enough, but my head was still cottony and my right ear was still ringing, so I settled for swallowing ibuprofin and dubbing off the last three Castle episodes. After sleeping badly, I got into work and managed pretty well until about two o'clock, when the headache started coming back. Despite wearing sunglasses, the sun again did a number on me. I know what it is; I simply have to bite the bullet and go looking for glasses frames. I don't mind the eye exam, or paying the money, despite the way it makes my wallet scream. But it's almost as bad buying glasses frames as it is buying shoes: I hate most of the styles and if I don't hate the style I hate the color. The last frames I found that I liked were pink. Urgh. We had supper at Giovanni's and the carbs in the spaghetti quelled most of the headache, so we were able to go on to Walmart. I needed a few more pants hangers. We picked up a couple of other things, including the new TV Guide with the House cover. I've thought I was comfortable with the idea of House ending its run, but I confess that it's made me a bit sad. The first time we watched House we were visiting my mother. It was the week of Thanksgiving, just before she went through her last illness, so the series is tied very closely to her in my mind. I will probably be sniffling through the final minutes, for more reasons than one. It was a quiet day today. We slept in instead of going to the Farmer's Market, had a leisurely breakfast, then went to the hobby shop for a while, followed by a walk around Sam's Club and a short trip to Aldi, since milk was least expensive there. We put these purchases away and then completed our grocery shopping at Kroger, since James will be working tomorrow. Had supper at home watching Pawn Stars; what interesting things they have in that shop! I'm used to the pawn shops around here, which pretty much carry old, worn-out things. The Andrew Jackson signature was particularly cool. Now James has gone downstairs to work in "the Man Cave" and I am watching Edward the Seventh. I first saw this back in the summer of 1983...what a cast!: Annette Crosbie, Timothy West, Jean Lapotaire, Robert Hardy, Sir John Gielgud, Michael Hordern, Felicity Kendal, Christopher Neame, Francesca Annis, and even future director Charles Sturridge as the teenage Bertie. I noticed Timothy West's children played Prince Eddy and Prince George. Labels: illness, shopping, television » Tuesday, May 15, 2012
FOR TODAY, MAY 15, 2012 Outside my window... ...very foggy! If we were near the shore, there would be foghorns plaintively bellowing. As it is, white mist flows ghostly from tree to tree. I am thinking... ...of all the work I have! Goodness, when the year turns, it turns. Or per Galaxy Quest: "And it exploded!" I am thankful... ...for shuttle service. In a bit I have to take James' truck to the mechanic to try to get the blower fixed. It's going back up to the 80s in a day or two and it's no fun riding in a car with no interior air circulation at all. In the morning it may be okay, but in late afternoon it's miserable. In the kitchen... ...I ought to take this option out. I don't cook. However, something is cooking: we're simmering some chevon (that's the goat equivalent of "mutton" or "beef") in the little crock pot with Hawaiian marinade, ginger, and other goodies. I am wearing... ...turquoise scrub slacks and a purple shirt because when I finish my breakfast I'm going out. When I get home I'll change into black tank top and shorts. I am creating... ...wish I was creating "zzzzzzzz." I had an unsettled night. The dog barked in the wee hours of the morning. Then I had one of my weird dreams, involving walking to work down a dark path, forgetting something and having to go back, finding work was canceled... Just bizarre. I always awaken from these dreams feeling distant and confused. I am going... ...LOL...already said that one, take the truck to the mechanic. Otherwise: ...crazy! I am wondering... ...why I must get these dreams? They really wig me out. I wake up feeling as if I have not slept properly, and even a little drugged, like I'm on a sedative. I am reading... ...How the States Got Their Shapes Too by Mark Stein and a Daisy Dalrymple mystery, Styx and Stones. I'm finding the village people a little bit of a bore so far, unlike Sayers' village people, who sparkle from the start. I am hoping... ...to feel better soon, but since it's emotional rather than physical, who knows? I am glad I finally cleared up those floppy disks! I am looking forward to... ...Timegate! Two Sherlock Holmes panels! A richness! Around the house... ...quiet. Schuyler is sitting fluffed up watching me and Willow is asleep. What else is a doggie to do when her daddy is gone? I am pondering... ...scholarly errors. If someone is writing a scholarly book, isn't it essential that the facts be correct? I have just finished a book about how U.S. children's books changed in response to how children were perceived in each era (sinful, redemptive, innocent, carefree, reflecting real life). The errors about some children's books cited are quite annoying. Even though the point the author makes isn't changed by these mistakes, shouldn't the facts (names of characters, basic facts about the plots) be correct? A favorite quote for today... From "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock": The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes, The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening, Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains, Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys, Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap, And seeing that it was a soft October night, Curled once about the house, and fell asleep. One of my favorite things... ...WordPerfect! There is no better word processing system. Microslop Word is not fit to lick its boots. A few plans for the rest of the week: ...more purchase orders. A staff meeting. Need Chex mix and Mandarin oranges. No pictures today; need to get to the repair place. If you'd like to participate, check out The Simple Woman's Daybook. Labels: Simple Woman's Daybook » Sunday, May 13, 2012
A Switch in Time
It was up early Saturday morning for the Farmer's Market. Oddly, there were lowering clouds when the forecast was for partly cloudy. By the time we got to the Square the partly cloudy was getting us wet. Nevertheless, we made the rounds: cucumbers, tomatoes, scallions ("...some people call 'em green onions, but they're really scallions..."), an apple turnover each, and some apple bread to take to Hair Day (I bought blue corn chips and roasted garlic hummus yesterday as well for this purpose), Then the usual nice drive down Polk Avenue to Dallas Highway to Villa Rica Road: old homes followed by developments and smallholdings. Since it was raining, of course they were having a gymkhana at the stables!The usual nice time at Hair Day: we grilled out and had snacks. The Boyers had to come and go since they were heading to visit Terica's mother, and Juanita was also "hair today" and gone a little later. :-) By one we were on our way home so James could pick up the model he was taking to the meeting. I continued the "Operation Get Rid of Floppy Disks." I had done a couple of dozen, but was frankly feeling a bit off. I never know what will set me off anymore. I know it couldn't be the buns, so it had to be either the hot dogs—and they were good ones, Hebrew National!—or the hummus. Took something and lay down. James was home rather early, so we decided to get the shopping done to have tomorrow free. The rain had cleared up earlier, but it was still nice and cool, although the clouds preceding tomorrow's rainstorm were already starting to pile in like big fluffy pillows (yes, this reference means something). I picked up my prescription, and we both got something for supper, chicken soup and chili, respectively, some more goat meat, thin-sliced steaks, bread and bananas for my lunch, more yogurt and milk, sugar-free pudding for James, and something that sounded very yummy, no sugar added Eskimo ice cream bars. We had our suppers once we got home, and, as expected, the ice cream bars were delicious! We spent the evening watching three parts of Murdoch Mysteries. One was a family story about a young woman with multiple personalities, and I couldn't figure out why the mother looked so familiar until I looked her up: it was "Katherine Brooke" from Anne of Green Gables, The Sequel. There was also a mystery over a stolen Rembrandt painting (with a very gruesome method of murder!) that introduced a bete noire for Murdoch, and a story involving circus performers and a big-cat trainer eaten by her own tiger. Erich showed up on chat, but had to leave before Mike and Emma arrived. Jen was absent due to vacation Bible camp. I think it's nice that the Navy allows her to attend when she's not on duty. Well, it was my second night with the new pillows, and I can't say I have been very pleased. As I feared, the quilted pillow cover makes the pillows very stiff. The whole charm of feather pillows is being able to arrange the feathers as you need, and you can't do that with these—to be honest they are as hard as that proverbial rock! I still had the plastic wrappers, and the tags, and the receipt, and I just packed them back up to return them. I'm glad I filled the bird feeders last night, as this morning dawned rainy, grey, drippy, greyer, and wavering between "damp" and "humid." The birds at the feeders were sopped and seed was stuck all over the metal openings and perches. After eating breakfast, we decided to take a ride out to Fry's. I bundled the pillows in the cab of the truck with me, put on an episode of "The Splendid Table" for us to listen to on the trip out to Alpharetta, and was heartily glad when we got to Bed, Bath & Beyond at East Cobb; by then my left leg was asleep from the pressure of the pillows. These were returned with no problems. Now, James has been having trouble with switches all weekend. Friday night he thought the bulb was burnt out in the light on his side of the headboard.So we replaced it and then the light wouldn't turn off! So he ended up replacing it with the mag flashlight on its stand that I got from Amazon Vine. (I'm upset about the light; I don't think the Vermont Country Store sells them anymore.) So, as we got back into the truck after returning the pillows, James turned the blower up to clear the mist on the windshield. Nothing happened. No air was blowing at all! And it had been working fine when we stopped. Bother. Well, we opened the windows a bit and went on to Fry's. They were having an arts and crafts festival in Roswell, but the rain had put quite a damper on the event (pun intended). We were both a bit peckish, so when we arrived in Alpharetta, we turned on Windward Parkway instead of going directly to Fry's and had lunch at Panda Express. For some reason, I have been craving lo mein. I had chow mein noodles with mandarin chicken and Angus beef strips. Yum. So we walked around Fry's. Stopped and played with a bunch of tablets.Looked through the discount books and magazines. James was looking for another Microsoft keyboard like the one he has to take to work, but they didn't have the model we do. I found a discount Blu-Ray of a BBC documentary series called The Secret Life of Birds. Poor Schuyler; it will drive her crazy. On the way home I said to James, "What if it's only a fuse?" So when we stopped at Kroger for gas, we looked at the fuse box in the truck. Unfortunately, the entire guide to the fuses are in unintelligible abbreviations. We thought it might be the one marked "ACC," but we couldn't get it out for love or money, not with our fingers or with James' multitool plier. So when he finished getting gasoline, we went to Advance Auto Parts near the house and bought a fuse puller. Surprise! It didn't work either. However, they loaned us a needle-nose plier and I was able to get it out and replace it. It either wasn't the correct fuse or it's not the fuse, because the blower is still off. However, there are apparently more fuses under the hood. Haven't tried them yet. In the meantime, it's a good thing it's going to be cool tomorrow! And then finally we were home! I pulled out my old pillows and put them back in the pillowcases, then sat down at the computer and finished the floppy disk disposal project. James made our summer chicken salad supper, which was quite yummy; just what I was craving, and we had a chaser in the form of the Eskimo ice cream bars. These are the best sugarless ice cream bars I've ever tasted! Oh, and we saw a male goldfinch on the bird feeder that was so brilliantly yellow that he looked neon! What a beauty! Labels: computers, food, friends, repairs, shopping, weather » Friday, May 11, 2012
Bright Sunshiny Day
It was a lovely lie-in this morning! I enjoy any sleep that counts to eight! :-) But then it was time to get things done. Before I ate breakfast, I stripped the bed and started the bedclothes washing. An oatmeal and yogurt and milk later, I was dressed and out the door, deciding to head for East Cobb. We haven't been out there a lot since Borders closed (::sob::), except to go to Trader Joe's.It was a lovely day to go. If it must get warm in the summer, this is the way it should be always: a cool night good for sleeping, temps rising only into the low 70s during the day, the lovely green scent carried through the screens by the breeze. One could occupy the time on the long route just taking note of all the different shades of green for all the different kinds of trees and brush, or watching for flashes of white as mockingbirds darted here and there, perching on traffic signs to survey their domain or to belt out a song. The privet is past bloom, but the air is still sweet with the scent of fresh growth. At first at Bed, Bath and Beyond, I didn't see anything I wanted to pay for. All the feather pillows appeared to be $69 or more, the ones I wanted, for side-sleeping, an extra $10 tacked on. Gah. They had even less of a selection than the Akers Mill store. Then, near the front, I found some side-sleeper feather pillows for only $20 each. The difference seems to be that the expensive pillows are all down. I don't need all down. I just want feather pillows. I've been sleeping on feather pillows since I graduated from a crib to a bed. These have a quilted polyester top. I hope that doesn't destroy the feel. We'll see. (The Borders is still empty. Well, at least it isn't a shoe store.) Made a brief stop at Michaels looking for extra-fine point Sharpies, but they had none. Did get a small item for a craft project as well as more floral wire. The reel I use for hanging up decorations is almost empty. Next a nice "romp" at Trader Joe's. Sampled some watermelon and a piece of corn dog, and gathered ingredients for Sunday night supper (baby greens and chicken slices, to which chow mein noodles, almonds, and mandarin oranges will be added), lunch (chicken salad for work and some mixed Italian cold cuts and a demi-baguette), turkey burgers for James, and bits and bobs of other things. Spent too much but it will last a while. Had a nice ride home listening to "City Cafe" on WABE, which featured Peter Pan music: a selection from John Williams' score for Hook and Disney's "Second Star to the Right" arranged and performed in the style of Thomas Tallis. (On the way there I had listened to George Winston, windows wide open along with the sunroof—nice!). Came home, put the food away, and made myself a proscuitto sandwich while starting on another project: getting rid of a pile of 3 1/4 floppy disks. I had to check each of them to make sure I had copies of everything on them. It was when I got into the photo disks from the Mavica camera that it got really tedious: some of them I had cleaned the photos off, some I hadn't, so I had to spot-check to make sure they were. I also put the new pillows in pillowcases (James will have to help me change the bed tonight because the mattress is so heavy) and kept turning the bedclothes in the dryer until they were all dry, Wasn't even half done with the floppies when James got home from work. We had supper at Shane's barbecue, then tried to check out something at Best Buy—boy, what a rotten selection—and also made a quick trip to Costco. Stopped at Publix to pick up a Mother's Day card and some money for the Farmer's Market tomorrow. Ended up half watching "A Scandal in Belgravia" again and half reading the book Shelf Discoveries, which is a series of essays about young adult and children's books still remembered fondly by adult women. (Lots of Lois Duncan and Deenie, of course, but anyone who includes Understood Betsy and The Secret Garden in a list of books you'll never forget and writes so nicely about Meg Murry/Poly O'Keefe/Vicky Austin is okay in my book. :-) » Tuesday, May 08, 2012
FOR TODAY, MAY 8, 2012 Outside my window... ...cloudy and grey. It looks as if it will rain again. I am thinking... ...of the nice dream I was having when the alarm went off. It was cold enough to wear a jacket and a hat, and someone had a snow machine going, so it was snowing without any of the problems of snow. Bliss. I am thankful... ...for a sleep-in this morning. I can't seem to get eight hours sleep anymore on weekend, and weekdays are impossible. I can't go to sleep early, as I'm not tired at nine or even at ten! In fact, I have most of my energy at night. Morning is the big problem! In the kitchen... ...James forgot to get something out, I think. I shall have to pull some beef; I believe that's what we're "on." I am wearing... ...my new blue/purple on black "leopard" top and aqua shorts and the purple flower scuffs. I am creating... ...exhaustion. Really. That's all I can think of. I feel like a slug. I am going... ...to wash clothes today along with working. That's the exciting bit for the day, folding clothes. ::snore:: I am wondering... ...no, it's more thinking...some friends of mine are in Boston. I am positively green-eyed. A good long stroll, lunch, another stroll... ::sigh:: I am reading... ...Charles Finch's A Stranger in Mayfair and have rarely been so frustrated by a book in my life. I picked out the "secret" of one character so early that when Lenox finally realized it I shouted aloud, "Well, it's about time you got it, you git!" I am hoping... ...for relief. If only I knew what from and how to do it. I am looking forward to... ...Timegate. Already jonesing for a good Sherlock Holmes panel. I am learning... ...nothing, apparently. I'm feeling stagnant at all points. It's really quite depressing. Around the house... ...it's still dark. I wish I could go back to sleep, but it's off to face those forty purchase orders. I should meet them with a sword, but, alas, it will only be with a whimper. I am pondering... ...I won't. It's too disturbing. One of my favorite things... ...woods, lovely, dark and deep. "But I have promises to keep..." A few plans for the rest of the week: I must start looking for glasses. Maybe if I get new ones these blasted headaches will go away. The trouble is not the exam, or the money, it's the damn frames. Very rarely ones I like, or ones that I like that fit my stupid nose, or are the right color. I found a great pair when James was shopping for his, but they were PINK. I hate pink. Despise pink. Loathe pink. When will marketing people notice that all women DO NOT LIKE PINK? And I need new pillows. A peek into my day... Alas (glancing at pile of waiting purchase orders at my left)...I would only put you to sleep. If you'd like to participate, check out The Simple Woman's Daybook. Labels: Simple Woman's Daybook » Sunday, May 06, 2012
The usual shopping this morning, as we headed out to Publix to do the twofers. We got boneless skinless chicken breast, which I usually loathe, but at two-for-one we can't afford to ignore it. James will marinate it this afternoon for tomorrow night. Georgia Monsoon Season broke out as we entered the store and it was still raining steadily when we emerged. A gentleman—in the full sense of the word—walked me to the truck with an umbrella, and of course I had to worry, until I got into the cab, that he was some sort of mugger. Doesn't it suck that in this modern society we have to be afraid of things like that?So we went to Kroger and it was still raining, and I said suddenly to James, "We have to go to Costco, don't we? So if we do go there, do we still need to go here?" I mean, I had yogurt and bread, and had gotten bananas at Publix because Kroger's are always green, and we had plenty of food and veggies in the house. So James got gasoline and we went home to put it all away, then we drove up to the Town Center Kroger because I wanted to go by CD Warehouse. At this time (11:30) it was already full, but not crowded. We hadn't had any breakfast but a NutTritious bar each, so we made the most of the samples. We both even ate a spinach and cheese filled ravioli. (Tomato sauce covers a lot of sins.) Got milk, chili, parsley flakes, ibuprofin, canned beef, and a few other things. Since it was already 80°F at noon, even though we had the milk in the insulated bag, we didn't spend much time in CD Warehouse. James did find some CDs and I got the Blu-Ray of The Poseidon Adventure. I also ran into Barnes & Noble to see if the May British "Country Living" was out, but it wasn't. I did notice that Earlene Fowler's latest Benni Harper mystery was out in paperback, so I tried to pull up the B&N coupon on my phone. Grrr! The image of the coupon had been removed. Anyway, we came home to get into cooler things. I am wearing one of my new tank tops, which has a leopard pattern on it in lilac/purple/indigo/blue/aqua horizontals against black. Yes, it is pretty wild looking. We finished watching the rest of the extras on Lady and the Tramp. These were outstanding; they included an edited version the Disneyland episode "The Story of Dogs" which publicized the film, and "Cavalcade of Songs," a segment of which showed how Peggy Lee and her partner wrote the songs. The neatest extra may have been the original storyboards for Lady, the first story treatment they did. Tramp was not in the story, just a scruffy dog named Homer who was courting her. She was the one who killed the rat and was blamed for attacking the baby. I then hitched the Blu-Ray up to the network, since the wireless appears terminal, and watched a few things on Netflix. The first was something called It's Showtime!, a compilation of animal scenes from movies. There are montages of the action from Flipper, Lassie Come-Home, National Velvet, bits from the "Dogtown" (dogs dressed up in human clothes) shorts from the 1930s, the funny antics of "Daisy" from the "Blondie" movies and Asta from the "Thin Man" films, a ::yawn:: compilation of chimpanzee clips, Keystone Kops "klips," and various other things, including horse clips that often didn't show anything more interesting than the horse galloping or rearing. There were little of the clever horse clips like Tom Mix's "Tony" leading bad guys on a chase or Trigger climbing stairs and doing the bed routine with Bob Hope. The main draw, I thought, of this film was seeing some footage of the original Rin Tin Tin, the lovely, mostly black original dog that Lee Duncan brought home from the trenches of World War I-era Europe, who climbed tall walls and cliffs with ease. There was an extended clip shown from Falsely Accused, a film where Rinty is a suspected sheep killer. He outwits a band of hunters on horseback and then returns to his master's cabin, where he is also suspected. There is a heartrending scene where he tries to get his master and mistress to acknowledge him, with big, pleading eyes. The only person on his side is the baby. Then I put on a documentary about Disneyland, part of the "Disney Parks" series, made two years ago. I watched it with more and more dismay; all the new rides are thrill rides, which I don't do. I was also a bit pissed to find out they have put Disney cartoon characters in "It's a Small World." That isn't what the ride is supposed to be about. ::grump:: Also watched six "Fractured Fairy Tales," including the Sleeping Beauty one which is a spoof of Disneyland, and three episodes of Shaun the Sheep. Finally I put on something I had queued that was supposedly an affectionate documentary about the development of the automobile. Well, what a surprise! This was from 1961 and was hosted by Groucho Marx, one of a series of specials called NBC's Project Twenty. I'm pretty sure I remember this mostly from old TV Guides, but I'm also pretty certain my folks used to watch it (it was after my bedtime, I'm sure). These were one-hour documentaries about different aspects of the American life, like the first World War, the Depression, the Old West, etc. Some of them are released on DVD, and Netflix seems to have all or most of them. I've queued the rest: "The Jazz Age," "The Innocent Years," "Life in the Thirties," "The Great War," "Not So Long Ago," and "The Story of Will Rogers," which is narrated by Bob Hope. Had to stop watching then because it was almost time for the new series of Sherlock. This completely absorbed us until 65 minutes into the show when yet another thunderstorm (these had been rumbling since early evening) stomped in and killed the DVR. And of course of all the local channels, GPB is the only one that doesn't come in on broadcast television. Of course. Yeah, we missed the end; just got to the point where Sherlock was one guess away from being locked out of Irene's phone. Geez, GPB, if you're going to nag us now for money every freakin' two months, put up a better antenna! » Saturday, May 05, 2012
I wasn't exactly awake this morning.Last night after work, we went to Golden Corral for supper. I had some steak and "crab salad," as well as some grilled shrimp with a light scampi sauce over linguini. I had no problem with it, and we went on to get some air for the truck tires (there is a very sl-o-w-w-w leak in the right rear tire) and some cash for the Farmer's Market this morning. I have sadly noted in the last year or two that I have become "sensitive" to shrimp. No violent reactions, thankfully, but I was awakened in the wee hours. My Nook kept me company for forty minutes (no having to put on the light to read, thankfully, because I couldn't stand the thought of 180 watts burning my eyeballs out), and then it was hard to fall back asleep because I was cold, despite having bundled myself in furry slippers and a bathrobe. So I was not at my best this morning, especially since we had to get up early. There was an arts festival on the Square this morning, so to find parking we'd have to get there earlier than usual. The Farmers Market stalls were crammed on Mill Street, spilling out over the railroad tracks, because of the arts festival, and we had to thread our way through the crowd. It was very Parisian! We got a big cucumber, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, two small pork pies for tomorrow's supper, two cupcakes for dessert, and some cookies for another dessert. Then we put the veggies up in the truck and walked around the arts show. Lots of cute stuff, but nothing we wanted to buy, except when we found "the button girl" from the Jonquil Festival last week. We bought a few more gift buttons and she remembered me and came up with a Sherlock button! Yay. We delivered everything home, then went to Walmart. James needed rubber bungee cords for the truck and we are completely out of wild birdseed. It was nil on the proper kind of bungee cords, but I also found some tank tops to wear around the house; the ones I have are getting worn. Then we rushed it all home because it was spritzing rain—which stopped by the time we got home, of course. Had lunch at Panera, which was just what my abused system needed: chicken soup with a baguette, and we split a chocolate cookie for dessert. Then we went to the hobby shop for about 90 minutes, and finished up at MicroCenter. James was looking for a larger keyboard to take to work, but they didn't have any Microsoft keyboards like we have. I love this keyboard; it has pre-programmed buttons for volume, the calculator, and you can program other buttons to bring up documents, or files, or web pages. He did buy a stylus for his Nook. Don't faint; I was looking at an IPad2. They are so cheap now that the IPad3 is out. I think it's too heavy to read with, but magazines probably look nice on it. We came home and just had whatever for supper; I ate breakfast, oatmeal and blueberry yogurt and milk. Wished I had a baguette, though. We watched Mythbusters from last week, and when James went down to the "man cave," I dubbed off the rest of the Barrington episodes of This Old House, and then put on the used Blu-Ray copy of Lady and the Tramp I got at CD Warehouse. It looks lovely, a sharp, colorful picture and great sound. The extras are also wonderful, with photos of Walt and Roy Disney's visit to their childhood home in Marceline, the inspiration for Main Street USA at the Disney Parks and the neighborhood in Lady and the Tramp. Labels: computers, food, shopping, television » Thursday, May 03, 2012
FOR TODAY, MAY 3, 2012 Outside my window... ...the sun is still struggling up from behind the trees. For all I care, he can stay back there. It will be another day in the 80s. Ugh. Thank God the A/C works better at home than it does at work. I am thinking... ...LOL. Summer always makes me think of moving to Alaska. But they eventually have summer up there, too. And mosquitoes. Legendary ones, I hear. :-) I am thankful... ...for Tylenol. I woke up this morning with a burgeoning migraine. Tylenol helped tame it. In the kitchen... ...I'm burning a cafe au lait Yankee Candle. Heaven must smell of coffee and fresh-baked Italian bread. I am wearing... ...black shorts and tank top, purple-flowered scuffs. I am creating... ...nothing these days. I need new glasses and am having problems with headaches. Having looked at some frames when James was doing the new glasses route, I'm now on the search for decent frames. I found a nice pair of the flexible ones at Vision Works, but they were PINK. I despise pink. I loathe pink. Barf! I am going... ...looking for other glasses frames, obviously. I don't want big glasses anymore; it can't take it where I broke my nose any longer. The pain can get quite intense. But I hate the little narrow John Lennon type. And don't get me started on the David Tennant type; I hate plastic frames almost as much as I hate pink. My skin is oily and the plastic frames get all greasy. Ugh. I am wondering... ...what to do with the turkey thighs I'm cooking for supper. But then plain old turkey with gravy is perfect just as it is. I am reading... ...an ARC of Superman by Larry Tye and enjoying it very much. I've spotted at least one mistake—Mighty Mouse from Disney? No, hon, that was Terrytoons—but I love that they're talking about Robert Maxwell, who worked at the comics end of the Superman franchise before doing the first season of the television series—before he went on to do the first two seasons of Lassie. I am hoping... ...it will get cooler. But I am Not Holding My Breath. :-) It's May, after all, and it's usually in the 80s in May here. I am looking forward to... ...well, I was going to say sleeping late on Saturday, but since they're having an arts and crafts show on the Square, if we want to go to the Farmer's Market, we'll have to go early. I am learning... ...lots about Superman that I didn't know. I haven't read much about his creators, though; there is probably information I've missed. Around the house... ...quiet now. Have a Tech Guy podcast and This Week in Tech to listen to later. I am pondering... ...how the days go by so slowly and the weeks and months go by so quickly. My God, how did it get to be May already? A favorite quote for today... "I couldn't live a week without a private library - indeed, I'd part with all my furniture and squat and sleep on the floor before I'd let go of the 1500 or so books I possess." H. P. Lovecraft One of my favorite things... ...House, MD, which is heading for its series finale in just three weeks. I think the series has lost its edge, and I haven't always liked where they went with things, but Hugh Laurie has always been magnificent. Meanwhile, I want to take Dr. Wilson home with me... A few plans for the rest of the week: Work, work, work. And some sleep, I hope. No sun, please. A peek into my day... Willow over the years (how time flies!). Click for larger version.  If you'd like to participate, check out The Simple Woman's Daybook. Labels: Simple Woman's Daybook |
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