Writer's Block

...Yep.

Surely you know days like this

Daddy Fell into the Pond.
~~Alfred Noyes

Everyone grumbled.
The sky was grey.
We had nothing to do and nothing to say.
We were nearing the end of a dismal day,
And there seemed to be nothing beyond,
THEN Daddy fell into the pond!

And everyone's face grew merry and bright,
And Timothy danced for sheer delight.
"Give me the camera, quick, oh quick! He's crawling out of the duckweed."
Click!

Then the gardener suddenly slapped his knee,
And doubled up, shaking silently,
And the ducks all quacked as if they were daft
And is sounded as if the old drake laughed.

O, there wasn't a thing that didn't respond

WHEN Daddy fell into the pond!

What comes next?

A 4 month old chubby baby boy named Alex Lange has been denied health care because he has been declared "too fat". The child was born at 8 1/4 pounds and is on a diet of only breast milk, according to the article.

They are calling it a pre-existing condition --

"Alex's pre-existing condition — "obesity" — makes him a financial risk. Health insurance reform measures are trying to do away with such denials that come from a process called "underwriting."

I am baffled. He's a baby. It's not like he needs to stop going to McDonald's or something.
I never thought I would live to see the day that Baby Fat was actually a preexisting condition.

Never get to full of yourself

I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top.
~English Professor (Name Unknown), Ohio University

Be obscure clearly. ~E.B. White

A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one. ~Baltasar Gracián

When you are describing,
A shape, or sound, or tint;
Don't state the matter plainly,
But put it in a hint;
And learn to look at all things,
With a sort of mental squint.
~Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll)

Every author in some way portrays himself in his works, even if it be against his will.
~Goethe

On this day...What are you saying?

This is a sign posted in a store in Key West. I have no idea how old it is or what it really means other than if you are not Spanish, English or Bahamian, you can talk while reading is in progress.

People talk a lot. People say things when they don't even realize that others may be influenced by what they say. Words are reactionary, arbitrary, but never stationary. They are twisted and folded and hung out to dry, used wrongly, sometimes to sparingly in truth and taken out of context just so a person can admire the way they strung them together.

They are written on subway walls, tenement halls - oh wait that's Simon and Garfunkel - but it's true. Words are written in a lot of places you wouldn't think they would be found.

Some people use words of encouragement as often as they can, looking for ways to uplift someone's spirits. Others might lean toward a black hole of cynicism, for reasons none other than that they can. Some try to express love in words that people just won't take from them, and there are those who spew hateful words into the universe because someone hurt them as a child.

The world is filled up with words in songs of all sorts, books of all kinds, notes on refrigerators and in lunch boxes, blogs, letters, and threats in a past due notice. legal papers, and precious misspelled words from a child to a parent on a crumpled, stained piece of paper that is worth it's weight in gold,

and the world will still hold a trillion zillion more words in places unknown and unnamed before we have exhausted our stay here, and what am I going on about?

I just want to ask:

What are you saying? What are you saying to people when you speak, when you write, when you sing? If anyone listens to you or reads your words, you are taking up space in their brain. That is a responsibility of a sort.

Be smart. Be kind. Don't scare people. Don't be mean to people. Be prayful. Be encouraging. Be good. Be diligent to make this world a better place. And, why not? After all, it's the only place we have for this moment in time. There may be no words in the next world. But what if there are only your words in the next world? Will you enjoy hearing them?


Other than that, it's a Friday on the planet and today

Jackson Browne, classic rock's eternally young poet of choosing badly in relationships and then going forward in your life, is 61.

President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize.

And, good grief, we bombed the moon. Google it.

Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.
~Nathaniel Hawthorne

At the altar of cats

These are two of my daughter's cats. Jasper and Shadus. They think they are her real parents. Each morning - and oh this is so gross -- but each morning, there is a dead little creature on our front porch.



We really think it's Jasper who is doing this.

He is sneakier than the others. Doesn't show the same open affection as the others, and stalks my daughter more than the others.

Perhaps he is rebelling because she once tried to keep him on a leash.

But we really don't know. We just know, that every morning, there is one or more small dead creature on our porch. (May they rest in peace)

There are several schools of thought about this.

1. Your cat loves you dearly, worships you so much that he is bringing you an offering.

2. Your cat thinks you are a total inept human bean who can't take care of themselves.

3. Your cat is reminding you to feed him.

4. Your cat takes great pleasure in dining at home.

The weird thing about this is, it just started a few weeks ago. So what I am thinking is, they think (one of them or all, as you never know with cats, as they could have formed an alliance to get their message across), they think someone should be there with their food very first thing in the AM. Which we are not. (Cats were gods in Egypt, you know, and they have never forgotten that)

And, we have found out that if you leave their food there for them the night before, they don't like *that* food in the morning. Their food must be poured fresh out of that bag, and they are much happier about the whole thing, if they hear the sound of it coming out of the bag, and they can bump your arm, so that it spills everywhere. Oh joy, they do a happy dance for that one act of rebellion. I did read a head butt from a cat is suppose to represent love, but you know, I'm not sure I buy that.

These cats are not mine. They belong to my daughter, or she belongs to them, not sure which. Her dad and I were never animal people. We love animals, of course, who doesn't love animals? -- we just love them in their natural habitat. We love other peoples' animals. We have, many times, taken care of other people's animals and done a very good job.

But, our daughter is crazy smiten for animals. She is a vegetarian (and would own every little kitty within her reach if she could). When she and I go for walks, we see more cats than I ever, ever see when I walk with someone else. It is to the point of weird. Cat radar or something ....

How do people get like that?

I suppose it's one of those things I will never know the answer, too.

"I got shot off my horse,

So what, I'm up again"* ...

Everything is supposed to happen in threes, say the old legends and tales, and stories from the twilight zone, and old ladies in airports.

The end of last week, I fell over my dishwasher. Well, actually, I flew over my dishwasher, as the door was down and I was walking while reading, which I thought was not as bad as running with scissors, but as truths are told in fables, alas, it is probably the same thing, as some part of my body hit something foreign and large, and then the standard line beginning 'next thing I knew' enters my story...

I was on the floor, somewhere in the kitchen, while various parts of my body began wondering what had happened, as my brain began to register the feel of the signals of pain and send messages under lined with the subtext of 'you idiot'.

Yet, I have to say, 'my egregious error', as it had been I who left the dishwasher door open, prone to the multitasking gene that would probably function better with medication that I have always refused to take, thinking myself better than most at multi-tasking, but certainly proving by my life that is not even so in the slightest regard. Perhaps I should, again, weigh the good and bad of that decision.

Blathering on, I was to discover, that was one of two because yesterday, I was stabbed by the silverware in my dishwasher. It was a direct hit with a very sharp knife, most likely the only one I own, and the penetration of said weapon entered in the finger, again most likely, the only place where blood would profusely flow at a great speed making one unable to find the wound directly upon observation, and so causing a peril of panic in the mind. I mean ~*blood* ~ so, surely, we are perhaps maybe could be dying.

While addressing that wound, that's when it hit me ~ I am on the count down of doom list, as everyone knows --Things happen in threes.


Threes. One, two ....


Oh dread, now I must wait for the one more thing that might kill me. Perhaps, I should go to bed and stay there.

As it happens, according to all who gather statistics and put them in places where you can find them easily with a quick Goggle search just in case you should wish to scare yourself with something that day, and, myself already knowing the grand total of most accidents happen in the home, and, I am standing there, in the place where I had, on many occasions, considered myself safe, but was now on my way to bearing out two of the most dreaded statements we all live with:

1. Things (always) happen in threes.

2. Most (the majority of) accidents happen in the home.

And with the most serious accidents being credited to the kitchen (look it up)! My thinking was, after being flailed across the kitchen and stabbed by my dishwasher, I should go work outside today.

Hah! It didn't take long for the strings in the universe to connect the dots belonging to human behavior and zero in on keeping with those strange truths that we pass on for generation to generation.... And, bingo!

My hand clippers chopped off a piece of my thumb.

But, tedious as it may have been, it's over now, and I am out of the legend of curses loop and ready to live another day.

Have a safe and happy day,


Miss Roxie

*Mark Knopfler ~ Everybody pays to play

Put out there what you want...

Giving is supposed to be the way to get what you need. Empty a place and a place will be filled with the *things* you need.

So, today, I will put it out there. I will give gifts of *something* and see what comes back to me.

Top 10 Reasons for choosing a wine

10. Someone brought the bottle to your house. To be polite you try it even though you are sure you saw this exact bottle in the markdown bin at the Dollar General. (Even though you think it unusual to find wine on your front porch. Already opened...)

9. You thought you were going to be invited to a party, so you bought some wine you thought would be appropriate i.e. cheap and on sale cheaper, and had a nice label, and you didn't go to the party because, actually, well, you weren't invited, so might as well drink the wine.

8. It was cheap. And right in the end cap so you didn't have far to walk. Made it easy to grab a bag of chips on the way out. Maybe some M & M's.

7. It was a small store and your choices were limited., and you only had that $10.00 you stole.

6. You read the back of the bottle and the story seemed interesting enough to be enticing. (Do you read those stories? They are like little novellas! I mean, that's why I bought Goats Do Roam.)

5. It came with a coupon for $1.00 off chicken or fish or a $10.00 rebate (that you thought was for one bottle, but really was for purchasing 10 bottles. You are wondering does your boss care you haven't been to work all week.)

4. You thought someone might have told you about this wine. If it was a good friend, you are thinking this might be a good wine. Usually, it is.

3. The get-a-way car was running and the line on the gas gauge says E in red.

2. Someone left it in a grocery cart.

1. The name of the wine is Xplorador and since Dora the Explorer is the only show your granddaughter is allowed to watch, you think "hey, you know it's got to be good!" (This is actually a true story. It was a Chilean wine ~ merlot, from French grapes vines the Spaniards brought to Chili -- I read the story on the back . And, I added the *a* at the end. Clever...)

"Speak in terms of belief and belonging"

One of our Senators, Mel Martinez, has stepped down. He is quoted as saying, "There's no impending reason, it's just my desire to move on," ...and I have no reason to dispute that except that the party he respresents is not the Republican party of Barry Goldwater.

If I was going to take a guess at another reason, I would guess that the Republican Party is becoming a sad state of affairs in what they are beginning to represent regarding the ideologies of the far right.

I am leaning toward agreeing with Frank Schaeffer about things.

But, I could be totally wrong, and Martinez's reason for leaving early, as he had already said he wasn't seeking reelection, could be absolutely spot on. This is all conjecture on my part.

I would also say, if someone should be stepping down, it should be Glenn Beck. That is not conjecture.

"Speak in terms of belief and belonging" ~ Jackson Browne

Who is right and who is wrong?

I don't know. Those are probably words to a song. I just know there are so many different thoughts and ideas out in the world about how to live. The whys of why that is could be a list a zillion things long.

But, what I can't understand is things like:

1. Why everyone thinks they are right.

Monday, Monday

The days don't have a particular meaning any more, but I still love Fridays and cherish Sundays. Taking care of my nephew(s) calls for such a crazy schedule now. When the school year starts, then all will be different again.

I will make myself available to help out with my grand daughter, if I am needed. Unfortunately, I need some kind of employee, but I will eat toast and water rather than let her go into a daycare, as I know both her parents will need to work, also. And, the New Mama will be doing her internship starting in September anyway. Together, we will all work something out. Right now, the ideal is that my granddaughter is next store , and that is just the most delightful life!

It's hot and humid. The plants are thirsty all the time, but one good rain pops them up again. Oh, I am waiting for that one good rain.

Car needs work. Probably take care of that next week. It'll have to be a professional this time. Mr. B can handle most things, but the old bus is getting on in years and sometimes need a doctor with a license to help her along.

I am headed to the Keys next week. Little family vacation and I am looking forward to it.

The Sonic Boom

Last Friday the Space Shuttle Endeavor reentered the earth's atmosphere and broke the sound barrier. There was a loud boom heard around here. We knew something major had happened when we heard it, but after looking around outside and seeing nothing and hearing no sirens, we went on with our day figuring we'd hear about something on the news later.

We did notice two odd things. My son's gutter looked like it had been ripped off the house. And two shrubs at my Mother In Laws were burnt to a crisp. Weird, we thought.

I learned about what the boom was from the newspaper on Saturday. Interesting.

Spinach Quiche with Cream Cheese

1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
1 cup pet evaporated milk
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
1 pkg (10 oz.) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained
1/2 cup diced ham and/or chopped onion1 prepared deep-dish pie crust, frozen

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer until creamy. Beat in eggs, evaporated milk and red pepper.

Squeeze spinach between paper towels until almost dry. Stir spinach and ham or onion into egg mixture.

Pour into frozen pie crust. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F. oven on a preheated baking sheet for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes 6 servings.

Kashi stands by their product

I like to have something on hand for the vegetarian in our family and just recently picked up two Kashi Pizzas. They sounded great, made by hand, and looks great, so I bought a Roasted Vegetable and a Mushroom Trio & Spinach.

Both pizzas were tasty, but did not match the photo on the product box. We were very disappointed, as there were so few toppings, so,

I called Kashi. They were very nice, assured us that they take this stuff very seriously, and they are sending me coupons for two free pizzas.

Thumbs up on Kashi products! I am certainly not afraid to try them knowing for sure there is a money back guarantee.

Although, I'm sure that my store would have refunded me my money, but thought it best to call Kashi direct.

On other companies that have stood by their products:

Betty Crocker sent me a free coupon for a pound cake mix that didn't seem to follow the direction time, and Tide sent me a free coupon for a Tide laundry product and a $5.00 coupon for laundry soap when I called and told them I couldn't read the cap lines very well. So, good on them as well!

From Word of the Day

The Word of the Day for July 19 is:

bardolater \bar-DAH-luh-ter\ noun : a person who idolizes Shakespeare

Example sentence: "[Abraham] Lincoln was a lifelong Bardolater and serial Shakespeare-quoter, as Mr. [Barack] Obama noted in remarks at the recent reopening of Ford's Theater." (Barry Edelstein, The New York Times, April 26, 2009)

Did you know? George Bernard Shaw once described a Shakespeare play as "stagy trash." Another time, Shaw said he'd like to dig Shakespeare from the grave and throw stones at him. Shaw could be equally scathing toward Shakespeare's adoring fans. He called them "foolish Bardolaters," wrote of "Bardolatrous" ignoramuses, and called blind Shakespeare worship "Bardolatry." Oddly enough, Shaw didn't despise Shakespeare or his work (on the contrary, he was, by his own admission, an admirer), but he disdained those who placed the man beyond reproach. The word "bardolater," which Shaw coined by blending Shakespeare's epithet -- "the Bard" -- with an affix that calls to mind "idolater," has stuck with us to this day, though it has lost some of its original critical sting.

The above is cut and pasted from the Word for the Day. I had no idea this word existed until today.

I don't know if one can call me a bardolator, but I greatly admire the works of William Shakespeare, and have no idea, at all, why someone would feel the need to dig up Shakespeare and throw stones at him. But, I could see where I might feel that Shakespeare was beyond reproach. Given all things of the times, he did amazingly well in the entertainment field and literary field. The amount of words and phrases he coined is still being discussed and researched.

My personal opinion is that William Shakespeare is my favorite playwright, and I can't remember when I didn't love him. So, maybe I am a bardolater? but I really think that's okay!

In Doing Nothing...

My favorite place to do nothing, so to speak as in the sense of things that are, we are always doing something, but that set aside, outside is the ideal place to be the most relaxed.

Here are somethings to try:

1. Take a turn about your house. Look at the boarders of your home. Admire flowers and shrubs. Take a clipper with you and cut some flowers to bring inside. Look for caterpillars. Don't clip them. Only clip things for your bouquet. Or, save a flower to give to someone. It will make them smile.

2. Look up at the clouds. If you are comfortable, sit on the grass, or get a blanket or a chair. Bring a beverage of your choice with you, and just gaze at the clouds looking for shapes. If you have a burning need to make this educational, go ahead and identify the shapes with their scientific names, but feel free to call them a bunny or a puppy, or dragons and unicorns.

3. Sweep your porch. Slowly. Watch the broom move the debris to it's proper place. Listen to the sound of one broom sweeping.

4. Explore your sense of sound. Stand outside and close your eyes. What do you hear? If it's only the noise in your head, turn it down and listen to the nature around you. If you can't hear any, go somewhere that you can.

5. Study the colors of a flower.

There are some things to begin your thought process towards the upside of doing nothing.

And, if you are trying to make sense of the photos I use relating to the text of my post,
stop.

I love and admire Winnie the Pooh

Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.
~~Winnie the Pooh

Some people just don't understand this as a necessary concept. They can't think of anything that could fall comfortably under the guise of doing nothing, not bothering, that would be valuable.

I'll help them tomorrow.

Good Night for now.

Little known facts, what else and who cares

1. My husband says if I had an Indian name it would be Walks in Many Shoes. Because I always lose my shoes, and I will put anyone else's shoes on to walk around outside. (I hate looking for things. One must allow oneself some unforgivable sin...)

2. I spend a couple of hours in the library reading up and writing down nutritional recipes and ideas, and then come home and eat hummus, chips and red wine for dinner. (I guess I'm gearing up...one must cultivate taste...)

3. I know kids always want their way. I deal with them from there. Things mostly work out. (I overhead my 5 year old nephew in the back seat singing, "I love my mommy, she is the best....I love my Aunt Sasha (me), she is the best"...and that is good enough for me, as he was in the third seat back and didn't know I was listening)

4. I just found out that DIY means Do It Yourself. (I didn't read it, I just *finally* figured it out on my own. That sign Slow Children was in my neighborhood...)

5. I am constantly amazed at the amount of people who cannot figure out what to eat and how much to eat, so they won't gain weight...so now, companies that package food are doing the thinking for them! They go ahead and package up the (junk) food in little packets marked *100 calories* ~ "oh, happy day," the buyers say, "we don't have to count or think!" Oh darlins, why? So, sad ...

6. I've learned that one half of the world always laughs at or dislikes the other. I wish it wasn't so, but it always seems to be like that. Just be happy with what you've got, and be nice. Don't give someone a reason to dislike you, as they will probably find one for themselves soon enough.

7. If things are over, go ahead and make nice. What reason could there possibly be to leave things on a sour note? These frequent trips around the sun I have made, have shown me none.

8. There are no new things, except for the morning. Just begin again, and try to be a saint.

A butterfly day....

I wasn't intending to do any gardening this morning, as there was much to be done around the inside of the home, but alas, a few visits outside, and I (let's face it) really did not want to come in!

And, it was hot. And, it was humid. What was that word I made up ~ hottimud? Yeah, that.

But anyway, I got a bottle of water, and tried to rest when I felt like I was going to pass out, and I got some things done out there! I got some morning glories around this saw palmetto! That's going to be great.

One of the reasons I love gardening is that you are making a picture that is yet to be seen. It keeps changing in a beautiful way, as long as you are attending it...and if you attend it with love, it shows itself differently than if you attend it with just necessity.

I found two caterpillars on the ground, no place in particular, just in the dirt, and they were just going around in circles, so I wasn't sure what to do, so I put them on a big leaf and took them over to one of the plants they were most likely from, but just in case not, as these butterflies do that mimicry thing to escape getting eaten.... I put the two of them on the plant that seemed like they would choose (a parsley plant) but also put the other plant (a milkweed) right next to it.

I went out later to check them, as they were so still when I moved them I thought they might be dead, but they weren't and were eating away at the milkweed.

more later