 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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» Sunday, March 24, 2024
Catchup
 Woohoo! Got up on Tuesday and our water pressure was back to normal. It has been a horrible two weeks dealing with dribbling faucets; hell, if somebody's house caught fire last week, I doubt if there would have been enough water pressure to put it out!James had his nose checked again; Dr. Warner says it is healing okay. I wish the dang scab would just fall off. Saturday we had Hair Day. Washed towels because we needed facecloths. Had a nap. I am reading Braiding Sweetgrass, which is lovely and lyrical.  » Saturday, September 10, 2022
Starting With a Bang and Ending With a Whimper
So Sunday was James' birthday. He decided to take the day off, as well as Labor Day. I still did a few chores, but we had dinner at Longhorn (he was very circumspect, only an 8-ounce Renegade and mushrooms and onions; they told him to be good after his hospital stay and he's been trying hard), and they gave him a free dessert (vanilla ice cream with whipped cream, but at least it was decent vanilla, with chocolate syrup on it), and we went to Barnes & Noble afterward.(I also decided I wasn't satisfied with the fluid I was getting from three catherizations a day—James' legs looked a little swollen to me, but his numbers had been fine when he was tested at the infusion clinic on Friday—and I added another, and hoped it would do. This is important to mention.) » Saturday, May 28, 2022
Give Me a Ring, and I'm Not Talking Jewelry
The news from Texas. Oh, God, the news from Texas. This gunman didn't even have a screed. And the police remained outside the school for an hour because they didn't have orders to go in, while a whole fourth grade classroom was under fire. Almost all the kids died. One played dead. Two teachers died. The gunman got in through an unlocked door. The lunatics are coming out of the woodwork."Things fall apart, the center cannot hold, Labels: electronics, food, health, news, shopping, sickness, writing » Saturday, May 14, 2022
The Whole World is Crazy
The bad news: I still have a cold. Now I have lots and lots of phlegm in my throat, with lots and lots of moist coughing. Yeah, it's as annoying as it sounds, and I'm congested as hell. But no fever and no other COVID symptoms.Thursday was the last day I could go do something with a CD I had that, years ago, was giving me two percent interest. Now it was only getting .02 percent, and renewal interest rates weren't any better. So we went to the bank, had to wait a half hour for anyone to talk to us (I had to run back out to the truck for water since I ended up having a coughing fit), and cashed out the silly thing, which I gave to James to pay down on his truck. Plus we finally went to the HOA post office box and the checks we ordered for the account still haven't come. We will be on the last check soon; it's bad enough we got stuck with the HOA account, but to have this happen is freaking annoying. And on Saturday night some moron in a full-size pickup truck ran into the "Trellis Oaks" trellis at the end of our street. He cracked the sign that said "Trellis Oaks," ripped up one of the spotlights, and actually tilted the stone-and-wood trellis back a degree or two. Actually, the people in the house at the end of the street must be still saying their prayers right now because if that Trellis Oaks sign hadn't been there, the pickup would have gone through their downstairs bedroom/sitting room! All this and the nightmare news about the cretin with the 100+ page manifesto who drove for hours to a grocery store in a mostly Black neighborhood and shot up the place, the asshole who shot up a church in California, and the moron who shot up a flea market in Texas. People have no self-control any longer. Someone upsets them, they don't get what they want, the solution is grabbing a gun and killing people. The one good thing about the week was a trip to Canton for lunch at Uncle Maddio's—the owner is still running the place by himself—and a side-journey to Books-a-Million, where I found several nifty books on the remainder shelves, including Ghost: My Thirty Years as an FBI Undercover Agent, which works out well since I've been writing about an FBI agent. On the way home we stopped at BJ's for orange and pineapple cups and various other things. They didn't have any plain Skinny Pop, so I got the buttered kind, and, boy, did I regret that. It tastes like "cheesy-flavored" popcorn and is revoltingly salty. Labels: accidents, books, chores, food, illness, news, shopping » Wednesday, September 20, 2017
James is Home
Wish I had a turkey, because it's just like Thanksgiving.
Labels: news » Sunday, June 12, 2016
What We Can Accept and Where We are Accepted
Woke up with a backache and itchy, runny eyes about nine, so took some ibuprofin and went back to bed until a bit after ten. Things had eased and we dressed. No breakfast; it was too late. We had to get to the grocery stores before it got too warm.Took the car, forgot the handicapped sticker and—guess what, today there were handicapped spaces. Figures. Got through Kroger. Got through Publix. Got home and put the cold things away and turned on the computer and my jaw dropped the moment I logged on Facebook. Some nutcase homophobe who apparently supports ISIS (or ISIL, whatever the degenerates are calling themselves now) shot up a gay club in Orlando and killed fifty people and injured fifty plus more. What in the FUCK, people? Sorry for the language, but who are these .... these ... God, there are no words for anyone who does this. James put up the new shower head we bought and I scrubbed out the bottom of the shower stall, and I treated his sink drain with baking soda and vinegar to help it drain better. Then read the paper, cut out coupons, watched more Lassie to make the afternoon go as slowly as possible. The only excitement (thankfully) was having to rush outside after a clap of thunder to give Tucker his walk. Soon after, we got dressed and got to go to a much happier occasion: the party Mel and Phyllis Boros were throwing for their fiftieth anniversary. This was being held at Pasta Bella; we took over the patio, which was liberally strewn with fans to keep us cool. We still had to move out of the sun twice as it shifted down in the sky. It was so hot even Alice was hot, and Alice never gets hot! It was a grand, grand time. We had a green salad, a buffet supper, and several delicious desserts, but the best part was seeing everyone. Shari had come in from Birmingham and Robb Boros and his family from Iowa, Alex was home from the Bronx (he had been forced to work in place of the striking Verizon workers, even though he is an accountant, climbing telephone poles!), and Claudia was even there. We haven't seen Claudia in years, since she moved to South Carolina to take over her mother's house. She sold it awhile back and now is back at her old house in Douglasville where we used to go out and fly rockets in the pasture. She said maybe we can do it again, but I think perhaps in the fall when it's cooler (and that might not even be October—I remember the Hallowe'en launch where we lost the "Ghostbuster" rocket and it was high 80s that day); I don't think we could stand the heat anymore. The last time I remember going, it was almost 100 degrees and the minute James and I got home, we were so heatsick we fell asleep for a couple of hours. Left about 7:30 and got home to find the Tony Awards on, so that's how we finished out the night. Labels: friends, music, news, television » Wednesday, January 01, 2014
2014 Comes in With an "Eh"
 And of course, after all that, as far as I can tell, no one covering the parade showed the ceremony. Probably didn't want to hurt their ratings. Because, of course, it's not about what's right, it's about what sells. When I got done with the copyright upgrades, I did a full backup of my hard drive. I've only done partials for the last two months, backing up only what needed backing up. I cleared the disk and started clean. Willow kept me busy all afternoon asking to go out, which means I missed most of a treat: they had a hockey game on this afternoon, the Maple Leafs vs. Detroit, and it was being played outside and it was snowing. Reminds me of the old days when football games were played on real fields and the players got muddy or snowy or wet, not like these pampered, steroid-swollen, overpaid oafs who play in the comfort of a covered stadium. Would have been happy to watch it all afternoon. I made turkey thighs for supper. Did feed some small pieces, sans gravy, and from the leanest part of the thigh, to Willow, who is definitely hungry, but who still refuses to eat the Hill's food. She had chicken once again, and some broth. Once James got home, I played the Rose Parade as we had supper; Vin Scully was the Grand Marshall and his voice is as mellifluous as ever. » Thursday, September 13, 2012
Is The Mystery Finally Ended
» Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Remembering Pearl Harbor
I was born long after the attack on Pearl Harbor, but my father, uncles, and older cousins all fought in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Theaters, and I never tired of asking my mom "Tell me the Pearl Harbor story again." (She and her mother had been walking to a cousin's house to "go visiting," and from an upper story of one of the triple-deckers up on Federal Hill, a friend called to them news of the attack. Later the whole family had gone to church; there wasn't a scheduled Mass—they just went there to pray.) One of the always fascinating things in our attic was a box full of newspaper clipping from the era: mostly maps from the newspaper detailing the daily movements of the troops, but also whole newspapers like a tribute to President Roosevelt after his death.
This novel radio special, chronicling the attack from the viewpoint of Hawaiian newspapers and Hawaiian residents is running for the next seven days on BBC 4: Random Edition, Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor attacked: A Witness Remembers, 70 Years Later Pearl Harbor: Three Enduring Mysteries New Book on Pearl Harbor » Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Whither Savings?
"Why Americans Spend So Much, Save So Little"
Interesting article talking about the tipping point as being the 1980s. I remember being encouraged to save in school. We had little savings envelopes from whatever bank we had chosen, pink for Citizens Bank, and blue for the Old Stone Bank (ours). My mom and dad took out a selected amount for "house money" after being paid and the rest went into the bank. I remember Mom keeping track of everything they spent on a "ten cent pad" from Woolworths (about 4x6, white, unruled) which sat in the "money drawer" of their dresser. My parents didn't have a checking account until I got one in the early 1980s...I didn't even know how to write a check when I got my checking account—I looked up how to do it in the World Book! They saved up for everything before they spent their money, including vacations, and Dad's last car, the white Pontiac Phoenix I named "Canrith." It was seven thousand something with tax, and Dad paid for it in cash. Labels: news » Saturday, November 26, 2011
Missal Changes
On Sunday, Catholic Mass Won't Sound the Same
Interesting...I remember when the Mass was in Latin and the priest faced the wall, not the congregation, and also the introduction of the first reading from the Old Testament. It was a great change for the older people, who thought it a bit sacriligious. » Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Atlanta Business Chronicle...
...chronicles Dragoncon in photos: Dragon*Con: Jedis, Trekkers and Steampunks... oh my!
Labels: conventions, news » Saturday, August 27, 2011
Shopping for Two for Two--And a High Wind in the North
We were at the Farmer's Market bright and early. This is the weekend where we have to "buy for two"—two weeks, that is, as DragonCon is next weekend. So we gathered vegetables, desserts...ooooh, and the goat cheese guy was back. I bought onion and chive goat cheese, part of which I had for lunch.
From the market we went to the market...Kroger, that is, to get the remainder of things for the week. All we need for DragonCon is bread; we'll have to pick that up Wednesday. On Labor Day all I want to walk in the supermarket to get is milk and bananas. Quick. Painless. Because we will be flat-out tired. DragonCon released their Android schedule app yesterday. This thing is flat-out wonderful. Back in the "old days" we'd get the pocket program and the schedule grid and highlight panels we wanted to see. Once I got my PDA in 2002, I started putting the names of the panels and their location on my calendar. Last year I used the calendar on my Droid, hand-typing in each panel. On this, each of the tracks has a schedule and there is an internal calendar. If you see a panel you like, you click the star in the right-hand corner and it's added to the calendar. James and I were both done in under a half-hour. Wow. (If registration is as good as the app, it will be impressive. They're trying a new bar-code scan this year. Hopefully no 3 1/2 hour wait like last year!) Anyway, ever single hour is taken. Good thing we bring our food with us. :-) We brought the things home and then chilled out for a while, as it was only 10:30. Went out after noon to go to the hobby shop and then stop at MicroCenter on the way home. I had managed to lose both of the earbud pads on my earphones, which, due to the way the case for my phone is set up, have to dangle outside of the case. So I got a new set, plus a little case meant for memory cards to keep the earphones in. We came home by Dragon 168 to pick up supper for later. We've been spending most of the day watching hurricane coverage on and off. Many of our friends—Emma, Rodney, Kerri, Pat Brimer, etc.—and family—James' niece Nicki, my cousin Carol, and all my folks up in Connecticut and Rhode Island—are in the path of the storm. Corley had the television tuned to the coverage at the hobby shop and they had a report from what Rhode Islanders merely call "the Pier"—everyone knows which one. The surf was already high at Narragansett Pier, and the air was so hazy you could barely see beyond the breakers while standing at the concrete wall. We watched this week's Colour Confidential and Futurama while we ate at five, but then changed to NBC and now are watching MSNBC. New York City was rather eerie; although there were still people out in the street (Brian Williams was teasing Harry Smith about his "fan club"), they showed La Guardia closed, the subway shut down, and Grand Central Terminal with no one in it. Harry Smith also commented that they shut down Starbucks, which will probably drive NYC wild; they live on coffee. And then the news from Boston: they're shutting down the T tomorrow. Holy cats! Meantime, we're watching reporters struggling to stay on their feet in the wind, sand scouring seashore roads, shingles being torn off seaside homes, signs down, light poles toppling. All it is here is hot. We got the tail end of the wind from the storm, which means we had a breeze instead of it being dead calm and stiflingly smothering. Pity that's the way we got some air. » Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Someone Had to Say It!
Parents, Don't Dress Your Girls Like Tramps
A-men, brother! Little girls are supposed to play with toys or dolls or race cars, ride horses, train dogs, jump rope, compete in baseball or soccer or baking contests, grub in the dirt or twirl a baton—not look like sluts! (In a lesser way, I also hate the Disney Princess crap: one hundred years of suffragettes, battles for women's rights and votes, feminism, equal pay for equal work—and what's the thing that's still pushed on little girls? Deck yourself in a pretty dress and get the handsome prince! Sheesh.) Labels: news » Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Amazing!
I didn't know that birds other than psittacines lived this long—especially in the wild!
America's Oldest Wild Bird is a New Mom » Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Comic Relief
Yesterday's "Family Circus." Heck, I feel like this every weekday.
 I believe the Forth family lives near Atlanta, judging by this forecast:  You mean cockroaches aren't already in political office?
» Friday, December 24, 2010
A Joyful Noise
We've had news, lovely news, news I can't tell because all the proper people haven't heard about it yet, yet I can't keep silent. It makes us no richer in money, but so much richer in our hearts, richer in the way that counts. Will be able to tell the news eventually, but right now am just dancing in my heart. Like Scrooge after the visit of the three spirits, "I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world! Hallo here! Whoop! Hallo!" (And hearing this all in Jim Backus' voice—LOL!)
Just let me say: Best Christmas gift ever! Labels: news » Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Farewell
» Monday, September 20, 2010
Holy Cats!
Small Plane Lands on I-85
I drove home via this route tonight and passed this spot not five minutes earlier! » Wednesday, August 04, 2010
'Cause Although I'm Not Generally Interested in Dinosaurs...
...I never did quite get over Jurassic Park (it's all Sam Neill's fault...LOL):
MSU Finds Triceratops/Torosaurus Were Different Stages of One Dinosaur |
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