Fingers Crossed

for luck.

The Friday Five

To help with stress, I've been exploring Reiki combined with meditation, Wu Chi and Chi
Gong. I know sounds weird, like voodoo. On Sunday, I completed a level one class. Five affirmations of Reiki. Try them yourself. Just for today:

1. Do not get angry.

2. Do not worry.

3. Show appreciation.

4. Work hard (on yourself)

5. Be kind to others.

Nope, no voodoo there.

ARG

Enjoy games and puzzles? Then visit Marcus Redmont's blog and help him out.

1. This is part of an Alternate Reality Game. Websites, challenges, etc. related to this ARG are not real and should not be considered factual despite any relation to factual people, places, or things.
2. For more information, see http://www.unfiction.com/compendium/2006/11/10/undefining-arg/ to learn about ARGs.

Wordless Wednesday

Dark Shadows

This weekend, I saw the trailer for the Tim Burton - Johnny Depp movie, Dark Shadows based on the late 1960s television soap opera. I loved the show. At 4pm, I'd drop whatever I was doing (usually homework) to watch the latest installment. Sparkly vampires have their charm but can't hold a candle to the elegance that was Barnabas Collins.

I hope the movie is more dark comedy than bumbling schtick of a vampire out of sync with time as the trailer seems to be. I'm equally looking forward to the movie. That's a surprise to me as I usually don't care for remakes. So if you want to kill an afternoon when the movie is released, give me a call.

Did you run home from school to watch Dark Shadows? Will you go see the movie?

The Friday Five

Five things, besides Cacciatore, that have returned to the garden about a month earlier than usual.

1. The clematis at the front light pole. This didn't even sprout last Spring as the Winter was so brutal. I thought it was lost forever. Hmm, looks like the pole and rails need to be painted.

2. the hydrangea is starting to bud

3. a Hollyhock which had been dug up when the sun room was installed is sprouting. At least, I think it's a hollyhock. It could be rhubarb.

4. ants. It's been so dry, I think they are on a quest for water.

5. Mayflies. Clouds of them are swarming in the backyard. Makes me glad I can sit bug free, except for the occasional ant, in the sun room.

What's it like in your back yard?

Poison Ivy

Just before Easter, the daffodils on the slope by the driveway were in riotous bloom. I wanted a few to bring Spring into the sun room. A few days later, not only did I have sunshine in a vase, but I also had an angry red sea of a rash on my shins. Deep sigh. Forlorn look. Grab the calamine lotion.

Wordless Wednesday

Cacciatore

is back. Caught him enjoying a dandelion salad very early this morning. Isn't he cute? Ink thought so, too.

They Deliver

The clerks, N and S, at my post office are the best. They never get upset when I have them hunt through the stamp drawer for pretty or unusual stamps. They understand sometimes a flag or a fish hook just won't do.

N was at the counter Thursday afternoon when I mailed my Graceful Envelope entry. He was on duty earlier in the day when I stopped in to have the envelope weighed so I would be sure to put the correct amount of postage on.

One of the contest suggestions was to print the "to" address on the back of the envelope if the address on the front was not obvious or too decorative for it to be easily read. Since the back of the envelope is not judged, I had decided to hedge my bet and printed the "to" address on the back along with a return address label. N carefully examined my envelope. My design involved layered cutouts. I had glued everything down with "Yes" paste and ran a brayer over the edges to make sure there were no little edges sticking up. N assured me the thickness of the layers would be able to zip through the postal machines. The key contest rule, besides the address being artistically rendered, is the envelope has to go through the U. S. Postal system. The envelope can't be placed inside another envelope or covered in plastic. N flipped the envelope over to make sure I had a return address.

"You probably should put an extra stamp on the back. Someone down the line might mistake the back for the front." (That happened to me with my 2001 entry and it was returned to the post office. The clerk at that time, put the envelope through the system again as she recognized my entry. It was delivered thanks to her extra vigilance)

As I was grabbing my wallet, N told me not to bother. He'd spring for the extra stamp. He even chose the Danny Thomas stamp to fit the letter "D" theme. Thanks, N. I hope your extra attention brings me luck. Coffee's on me.

The Friday Five

and then some. Are you too young to remember these? Give yourself 1 point for each item you remember.

1. Blackjack chewing gum - I remember Bemens and Clove gum
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water - Yup.
3. Candy cigarettes - I only ate them and didn't inhale
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles- and the machine had a bottle opener because the glass bottle didn't have a wussy twist off top. I had a temporary job at a Coca-Cola bottling plant after I got out of computer school. There was a Coke machine for employees that dispensed those sexy hour glass shaped bottles and we only had to pay 10 cents!
5. Coffee shops or diners with tableside juke boxes - yup
6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers - and then Hood came out with a giant plastic milk container with a spigot. Ma stopped buying it after she found the fridge door open, spigot wide open and The Brother lying on the floor guzzling the milk as it streamed from the spigot.
7. Party lines - and you could never use the phone when you wanted because some old lady was always yapping on the phone.
8. Newsreels before the movie - Not sure I remember this. Might not have paid attention. Or maybe was too busy throwing popcorn at the organist. Yes, they still had an organist who played the organ during the intermission at the Seville in E. Boston.
9. P.F. Flyers - Mine were red with rubber toe caps, and I could run my fastest and jump my highest.
10. Butch wax - didn't need it as I didn't have a flat top.
11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix (OLive-6933) Our number began Olympic 3. Himself's number was Olympic 5.
12. Peashooters - yup.
13. Howdy Doody - I barely remember the show. I did work for a boss who was the spitting image of Howdy Doody minus the strings.
14. 45 RPM records - first one I bought was the song "Crystal Chandelier"  Flip side was "1-2-3 Like Taking Candy from a Baby"
15. S & H Green Stamps - I just found a wad of them while cleaning out my parents' house.
16 Hi-fi's and I played  45s, 78s, and LPs on it.
17. Metal ice trays with lever - and the lever always got frozen and you couldn't pull it up to release the ic
18. Mimeograph paper - ah the smell! and the clunk, clunk, as you spun the drum around making copies.
19  Blue flashbulb - and flash cubes!
20. Packards - nope, we had a see #24
21. Roller skate keys - I didn't have skates, Himself did. He would give me one skate, and he'd use the other. We'd adjust the skates with the key
22. Cork popguns - yup
23. Drive-ins - first double feature I saw at the drive-in was Tarzan's Three Chances and El Cid starring Charlton Heston.
24. Studebakers - we had a green Studebaker station wagon.
25. Wash tub wringers - wasn't used after Ma got the brand-new Maytag automatic washer. No more running the clothes through the wringer. Still hung the clothes on a clothesline, though.

If you remembered 0-5 = You're still young
If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older
If you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 16-25 = You're older than dirt!


I'm older than dirt. How'd you do?

D-liver D-Letter

I'll be stopping at the post office later this morning to mail my Graceful Envelope entry. There's still time to enter if you want to play along. This year's theme is "D-liver D-Letter D-Sooner D-Better" or designs based around the letter "D". There are two separate categories for children, too.  Entries need to be postmarked by 30. April 2012.  Contest rules and regulations can be found here.

Notice is not given when or if your envelope arrives. The waiting and not knowing is the hard part. Judging begins in June and winning envelopes will be announced in August. No prize is awarded though winners will receive a nice certificate and the admiration of their peers.

Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott?

TCM is showing his movies all day today! Thanks for the heads up, Andy. I'll be in the sunroom if anyone wants to join me. I've got tons of jelly beans (all flavors not just licorice). Bring some popcorn.

Moo Cards

I've been hearing a lot from colleagues about business cards from Moo Cards. What makes Moo cards different from other business cards is printing on the back side of the card at no extra charge! For artists and creatives this means you can upload samples of your work. Authors, upload your book jackets or selected quotes from your books.

The cards are reasonably priced for small orders and price breaks are offered for larger orders. I placed an order and they arrived a week sooner than expected! Uploading and designing my cards was easy though there are tons of designs to choose from if you don't want to design your own. The cards I chose are a nice weight with a satin finish.  You can even have rounded corners if you want. The cards come in a sturdy box that doubles as a display box. My only disappointment is the cards are just a tad wider than standard business cards so they don't fit in the brass card case I have.

Want some business cards that are not run of the mill? Use this link and get 10% off your first Moo Card order 

Daffodils

Photograph of daffodils run through Corel Paint It using the modern painting filter.

The Friday Five

1. Watching television last night, I was horrified to see there's a remake of The Three Stooges. Say it ain't so, Moe.

2. How can anyone tamper with such a classic? It's not just about substituting a bald guy, a guy with a bird nest hairdo, and a guy with a bowl cut mop.

3. I'm sure the genius of the original Stooge comedy will be reduced to adolescent male, bathroom humor.

4. How can they hope to improve on classic puns like, "Hi Lorna, how ya do'on?", the law firm of Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe, or the fish monger company, Hook, Line, and Sinker?

5. Why it would be as sacrilegious as remaking Ben Hur. Oh, wait, they did that three times. Or remaking the story of the Titantic. Oh, wait, they did that three times. Or remaking the Titanic in 3D. Oh, that remake is coming out, too. Or remaking The Day the Earth Stood Still.  Deep sigh, forlorn look.

Peep Jousting

Peeps. It's what they're good for.

Wordless Wednesday

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our

Savage Amusement

This is your Peep

This is your Peep on microwaves.  1100 watts at 45 seconds.

Peeps. It's what they're good for.

Peep Season

This is a Peep. Do  you like them fresh or stale?