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Monday, November 30, 2009

Monday Morning Mush

So here we are, the Monday after Thanksgiving, hopefully recovered from our tryptophan hangovers, (those of us that chose to eat Turkey). I am struggling with the fact that it is nearly December, for 2 reasons.

The weather is just kind of too good. That isn't a complaint, in any way, because it's been pretty nice. We've had some rain, and it is cold, but its a sunny cold.
The other reason is that time is just going by, way, too fast.
Anyhow. Despite my protests, 'tis the season.
We kicked it off this weekend, by going to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra in concert. Can I just encourage you all now to do that if you have the opportunity? Their ticket prices are very good, and they put on a laser and fire show that is very entertaining. You won't regret it. And they performed for well over two hours. What surprised me the most, was, in the end, during some of the band introductions, was to learn that they were started by two men from Brooklyn. Impressive.
Right now I am watching the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert. Jerry Lee Lewis just pushed over his piano bench. Troublemaker. He could of at least set the piano on fire. Crosby, Stills and Nash is on right now... they may be older, but they still pull it off...
Happy Monday, Everyone

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Unless your a Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

So how do you like your Turkey?

Smoked

Baked
BBq
Tofurky
Turducken
deep fried

or what?

We're having bbq Turkey this year. And I am counting the days! mmmmmmmmm

Monday, November 23, 2009

Busy week

Ah, its Thanksgiving week..

I do really like Thanksgiving. But I am working for the next three nights.
I'll be off the actual day, but having worked the night before means that I will be minimally awake for it.
Luckily for us, we are going to spend the afternoon and evening with our very good friends, and they are doing the hard part of the meal, the Turkey. We will bring plenty of side dishes and our lovely selves. (After I get in a nap, of course).
Yesterday, we went and saw The Nutcracker, with our afore-mentioned friends daughter dancing in it. Same as last year, except she is a year older now. It is so much fun watching the kids dance. Another benefit is that 2 men of the family were also in it, Mr. Kilt (who wore a kilt) and J, their middle son. They were in the "party" scene, if that means anything to anyone.
So, despite my objections, the holiday season is descending upon us.
I am not ready.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Friday Mieography


This one is short, because frankly, I don't feel well.


Bette Clair McMurray was born in Dallas Texas, in 1924. She dropped out of high school and married Warren Nesmith, before he left for World War II, but they were divorced by 1946. He had abandoned his family. They had one son, Michael, whom she had sole custody of. Needing to support them, she got a job as a bank secretary, and rose to the level of Executive Secretary. She had always intended to be an artist, but you do what you have to do to support your family.
She was having a hard time making ends meet, so she made extra money painting windows at the bank. She was also having a difficult time correcting mistakes she made using her electric typewriter. While she was painting a window, she had an epiphany, about how an artist corrects their errors by painting over the error, not erasing it. So, she took some tempera water based paint in a bottle, (which she had mixed up in her kitchen blender) and started using it to correct her mistakes. She used this, secretly, for five years, and made some improvements on the recipe with the help of her son's chemistry teacher. Some of her bosses admonished her for using it, but her co workers frequently asked her if they could use it, too. In 1956 she began marketing the the stuff, calling it "Mistake Out". The name was later changed to Liquid Paper when she started her own company. She was using her own kitchen as a laboratory, and mixing the product now in her electric mixer. She was using this to try and make money, on the side. She ended up making a mistake at work that she couldn't correct, and got fired. She then had the opportunity to devote all her time to Liquid Paper, and the business took off. By 1967 it was a million dollar business. She finally moved into her own plant in 1968.
In 1979, she sold Liquid Paper, for 47.5 million dollars. She died in 1980, at the young age 56. She left half her money to her son, Michael, (whom some of you may know as Mike Nesmith, of Monkee fame..) and used the remainder to finance the "Council on Ideas", a think tank devoted to exploring world problems. She believed money to be a tool, not a solution to a problem.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Eight!

Its coming up, soon.

One of my favorite days of the year.
One I await with anticipation. One of the few days I sit and watch
college football.

My beloved Navy team is coming up on the *most* important game of the season.
The Navy-Army game.
We've won the last seven times.
Last year?
a 34-0 shut out.
Thats right. The Army couldn't even get a field goal.
Not one point.
I love the Midshipmen!

So, lets make it eight, Middies, lets make it eight.
I've got some bragging to do.....

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Lets see if I can get out of the dungeon....

1. Tell us about your superstitions. Do you have any? Do you "x out" black cats on the windshield of your car, avoid cracks in the sidewalk or practice other rituals that make you feel safer?
Don't have any? Come on now! Make up some....Well I happen to have two black cats in my household, and I actually think they are pretty lucky. I will admit that I don't like Friday 13th. I have had a few bad things happen to me on that day, so I tend to just stay home and avoid them if I can...

2. Has anything paranormal ever happened to you that you can write about?Once, when I was spending the night at my sister's house, I had gone to bed in the guest room, and I "felt" a small dog jump onto the foot of my bed, circle a few times, then lay down. They have a small dog, so I turned on the light, and she wasn't there. "Your imagining things", I thought. A few minutes later, as I was dropping off to sleep, I felt the same thing.... my brother in law thinks it was the spirit of one of his old beagles...



3. Have you ever had a near-death experience?
Care to share? I almost drowned when I was a kid, but I don't really remember anything, except the finality of that last sinking, and then the sweet taste of the air when the lady who saved me pulled me out of the lake.

4. Pheromones...aka "love fireworks" (I think I remember those)...are a force to be reckoned with. Do you believe that two people can have an uncontrollable chemical reaction to each other? How do you know this to be true? Wow, this one is kind of tough. I've never really had what I would consider a chemical reaction to anyone. Attraction? yeah... I think I prefer the 'slow burn' kind that you know will last longer then that quick "boom!"





5. Do you believe that modern day witches can put spells on people?
If so, who would you like to hoodoo and why? Sorry, I don't really buy into this one, I am not convinced anyone can spell another. I guess I would put my hoodoo on the dungeon door so I could get out and get warm!


6. ESP! What do those letters stand for in your life? Everlasting Sensitive Platypus!

7. Do you ever hear strange noises in your house?
If so, what do they sound like? The strange noises heard in my house sound suspiciously like said black cats terrorizing each other, and trying to get into my fishtanks...


8. Tell us about a time you "knew" something was going to happened before it did. Are you one of those intuitive types or do you know someone who is ? Do tell. I once knew that my (now ex) husband was going to have a car accident on his way to work. He went to leave, and I just had this feeling. I told him to please be extra careful, and he kind of laughed at me. Until I got that phone call that someone had side swiped him on the freeway, causing extensive damage to his classic car. He wasn't laughing then....

9. I'm a tad gifted in the dream department. Really. Sometimes my dreams are prophetic and come true. It can be a blessing and a curse. Has this ever happened to you? If not, would you like to have this gift? (Be careful what you wish for. It can be freaky at times.) You know, I really wouldn't like for this gift to be given to me. I do have premonitions at times, and that is freaky enough for me. My dreams are so bright and vivid, I usually remember them all very well, and if they started coming true I think that I might be afraid to go to sleep, and it would make my insomnia problem worse... so, no thanks!!!


As usual, to see more participants, go here

Monday, November 16, 2009

The Parental Units

We had a road trip this weekend, down to visit my parents. My mom, Aunt Tuna, has recently had surgery on her foot, and she had a serious case of cabin fever. She's been holed up for a few weeks, and still has her foot in this ugly shoe thingy that she has to wear, but she needed to be OUT!
My Dad has been under the weather, too. He has been having some throat issues, and it involves him having a biopsy and cat scans and all of that. I am really hoping and praying that it is something minor. And not something else. The word we are all thinking, but NOT ready to say, yet. NOT ready to say.
Anyhow. So we went to visit, to get my Mom out of the house, to end her cabin fever. MG and I took her to the store, and around, and then we went back and got all the men, and went to dinner. It was a nice trip down. MG got to see where I grew up, even the room I lived in for years. (too many years!).
I am working Thanksgiving, so we won't be making it down there for Turkey day, so it was nice to be able to get a short visit in...

Friday, November 13, 2009

Friday Mieography


For the first time in my mieography history, I am going to repeat someone.

I did this lady before I was "officially" doing the mieographies.
I chose her, (and choose her again) because what she did for women was SO VERY important,
and I am re-doing her because I wasn't too very thorough the first time.
She is so one of my favorite women. I just admire the hell out of her!

So, another Margaret.
Margaret Sanger was born in Corning, New York. Her mother was a devout Roman Catholic, who experienced eighteen pregnancies, (with eleven live births) before she died of tuberculosis and cervical cancer. Her father earned his living chiseling tombstones, and was, surprisingly, an advocate for suffrage, free public education, and, socialism. Being the sixth of the eleven surviving siblings, Margaret spent much of her time doing household chores, and taking care of her younger siblings. Her older sisters managed to get her out, for awhile, to be educated for two years, but when her mother got sick, she needed to come home. She nursed her mother until she died, then she went into a nursing program, and married an architect. She settled in NYC with her husband, but soon developed tuberculosis herself. The couple moved, to Saranac, NY, where she gave birth to her first baby, Stuart.
Their family home burnt down, and back to NYC they went. She went to work on the East Side of Manhattan, and also started writing a column for "The New York Call" called what Every Girl Should Know". Risking imprisonment, she also distributed a pamphlet called Family Limitation. The Comstock Law of 1873 was still in place, and enforced, and this outlawed the dissemination of contraceptive information and devices.
Margaret felt like women needed to be able to decide when they wanted to be pregnant, and, that women should be able to enjoy sexual relations without the fear of getting pregnant. She was working with the poor women on the Lower East Side who were constantly suffering through frequent childbirths, induced abortions, and miscarriages. She became more verbal in her demands that women become knowledgeable about birth control. The only birth control advice given by doctors at this time was abstinence. Margaret had made a friend, Sadie, and this was the advice that Sadie's doctor gave her. A few months after, Sadie was found dead, from a self induced abortion. This was a turning point in Margarets life.
She separated from her husband, and in 1914, she began a monthly newsletter entitled "The Woman Rebel", which promoted contraception. The slogan of the magazine was "No Gods and No Masters". She coined the term "birth control in this newsletter as well.
She was indicted for violating US postal obscenity laws, but she jumped bail, and went to England as "Bertha Watson". She returned to the united states, however, in time to see her daughter, Peggy, who died not soon after at the age of five.
Her husband was jailed for thirty days for distributing "Family Limitations" to an undercover postal worker. While she was traveling in Europe, Margaret saw, for the first time, a diaphragm, and she was convinced that it was more effective than the suppositories and douches that she had been distributing. She began smuggling them in after she returned home, being the first to introduce them to the United States.
1916 found "What Every Girl Should Know" turn into a book. It was followed by "What Every Mother Should Know". She launched another periodical, called The Birth Control Review and Birth Control News", and opened a family planning clinic in Brooklyn. It was raided on its ninth day of operation. She went to prison for a month. Not soon after, a Judge finally wrote an opinion allowing doctors to prescribe birth control.
She then founded the American Birth Control League, and traveled to Japan to promote birth control there, as well. She and her first husband had divorced, by this time, and she married an oil tycoon, James Slee. With the help of money, she was finally able to open a legal birth control clinic, the first of its kind. It had an all female staff of doctors and social workers. She continued on with her work, traveling, providing information about birth control, and continued to write for her own publications, and others. In the 1960's, she actively promoted the birth control pill. She toured Europe, Asia, and Africa lecturing, and establishing clinics.
She died in 1966, in Tucson, Arizona, eight days before her 87th birthday. A few months before, her life goal had been realized. A legal decision had been passed allowing for married couples in the United States to use birth control...

Thursday, November 12, 2009

so this is how that feels...

Last night, MM and I went to meet some of his old friends from high school for drinks and dinner. One of them was visiting from out of state, so it seemed like too nice of an opportunity to pass up. Plus, I don't often pass up the chances at a good mojito...

Anyhow, we managed to get to where we needed to, and I met the friends. 2 of them were single women. One of them very newly single. And that's when it kind of dawned on me. For once, (and it hasn't happened in a long, long time), I was the happily taken woman of the group. Secure in my relationship, and not in any way, shape or form looking for love. They had some discussion of what it's like to be newly single, some giddy talk of men, (or lack of), and such.
And I had nothing to contribute!
MM and I have been together for a little over two years, now. And there I sat, acting like the old, stuffy happily married woman. (though we're not married)
and you know? I was, and am perfectly happy in that role. Didn't bother me in the slightest.
I know, and remember how hard it is to find someone in this day and age
and it makes me value MM all the more :)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Wordless Wednesday


Happy Veterans Day, to all.

Especially the ones who have served, and still serve our country.

the Queen hath returned

1. How do you find your own personal peace/nirvana? I go someplace quiet, if I can find one, and try to empty my mind of all that is causing me stress. I will admit, sometimes, I am not able to get where I need to. Then I lay awake and grumble

2. Where do you go to find respite and solace? If the weather is good, my hammock in the back yard. If the weather is not so good, well, I really like rainfall, and a warm fire, so I will usually relax in the quiet house
Is there a particular place, city, country, room in your house? Oh if only my hammock were it's own country. Usually, anywhere near a body of water I can find some internal peace and relaxation

3. Who is the most peace-loving person you know? What makes them so? Ah, peace loving? Honestly I think everyone I know loves peace. This is a hard one for me... Probably my friend, Mrs. Kilt (not her real name) because she has made peace with so many things in her life that I think would be difficult to make peace with.

4. What do you do when your inner peace is threatened? Retreat! Retreat! Honestly? Retreat! I stick my head in the ground like an Ostrich.
Do you have a strategy, a routine, religious faith, a mantra......to calm yourself down? I remind myself that I am not alone, and know that whatever happens, is what happens. Sometimes we just have to go with it, and find that open window. If all else fails, a hot shower usually does me some good.

5. What is your favorite comfort food? It depends, really. Usually something starchy.

6. Do you have a pet that brings you happiness and peace? If not, what type of animals bring you peaceful thoughts? My fish tank calms me nicely. Something about those nice, floaty fish

7. What is your favorite peace song? Oh, dang another tough question. The Christmas song "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me", or, possibly Imagine. Too hard to call

8. Did you post a peace globe on November 5th-Here is where I get tossed in the dungeon. I did not post a peace globe. But not because I didn't want to! Life, these last few weeks has been, uh, kind of rough, and honestly? I wasn't in the best frame of mind to write any kind of blog post on peace. I don't want to 'half ass' anything, so I actually took the high road (I think) and left the peace talk to the ones who could be more eloquent and heart felt than I was. When things even out, and I can sit back and find that right spot, I will get a peace globe. But I want to mean it.


for more players, go here


Monday, November 9, 2009

Ready for New Years.

Can I just admit, here and now, that I am really ready for this year to draw to an end?

I won't miss it.

Truthfully, it hasn't been really the best of years. It hasn't been the worst, either, but, things have just kind of happened this year that I could have lived without.

Work things

family things.

Every things.

I can give some examples.

January second found MM and I off the road in his jeep. Now, yes, jeeps are made for offroad, but not for SLIDING off the road, ending up in the middle of a clump of trees.

In February? It snowed. A lot. And a tree fell dangerously close to the house, actually hitting it in a narrow miss.

Hmmm.



OH, the mustang was wrapped around a pole by some guy taking it to the sandblaster in preparation for painting it.

We also have a dead Lincoln Continental. It may be revive-able, though.

I cut sections off the tips of two of my fingers with an evil work razor.

2 weeks later I stabbed myself in the palm with a knife.

MM got his first speeding ticket in years.

I could go on, but I won't. Because it is counter productive...


Don't get me wrong, I am not miserable, not unhappy, not un-satisfied. I have things and people to be grateful for, I can usually find something to smile about every day. If I can't, I go and google Calvin and Hobbes and look at the snowman series. That always brightens me. And I have the best friends a girl could ask for, and I wouldn't trade either MM or MG for anything.


But this year has kind of been a bitch.

And I am going to be happy to count down its end.

Come on, 2010.

I know it's going to be a good one....

Friday, November 6, 2009

Friday Mieography


How about another Margaret?

Margaret Mead was the eldest of five children born to a Quaker family, in Pennsylvania. Her father was a professor of finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pa, and her mother was a sociologist, who studied Italian immigrants.
Her family moved frequently, and because of this, her early education was kind of fractured, she was both home schooled, and traditional schooled. She was accepted at De Pauw University, where she studied for one year, then transitioned over to Barnard College, where she earned a Bachelor's degree, in 1923. In 1924 she obtained her Masters from Columbia University, and in 1925, she set out to do fieldwork in Polynesia. She came back from that, and ended up working at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC, as an assistant curator, while she worked on her Ph.D, which she got from Columbia in 1929.
She was married to Luther Cressman, a theological student during this time. They divorced in 1928. She often referred to this marriage as "my student marriage". She next married a New Zealand native, Reo Fortune. He was also an anthropologist. They were married until 1935. Interestingly, she describes this marriage as more passionate. She had been told she could not have children, but when, in 1935 a different doctor told her that she might be able to have children, they divorced.
She married, again, in 1936 (no grass grew under her feet), and kept this man, (a British anthropologist named Gregory Bateson) until 1950. They had a daughter, Mary, who grew up to be an anthropologist, as well. Interestingly, Dr. Benjamin Spock was Mary's pediatrician, and Margarets views, and experiences from observing other cultures, and implimenting some of what she liked (such as breastfeeding on the baby's demand, instead of a set schedule) influenced Dr. Spock, and ended up in his writings. Her husband, whom she loved dearly, left her in 1950, and she was heartbroken. They remained friends, and she took his picture with her on every trip, and even had it at her deathbed
She also had a close, and, many claim (including her daughter Mary) a sexual relationship with Ruth Benedict. She never outwardly proclaimed her bisexual ness, but said, instead that it is to be expected that an individuals sexual orientation may evolve throughout life. She had a second female partner, Rhoda Metraux, also an anthropologist. They combined their professional lives, as well. Their personal (romantic) letters were printed in book form in 2006.
As far as her career, she did much. She was a curator of ethnology at the Natural History Museum from 46-69, she taught at Columbia as an adjunct professor from 54-78, she was the professor of anthropology and the chair of the Division of Social Sciences at Fordham University from 68-70, she founded their anthropology department. She has also held numerous positions in the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
She also wrote some important research books, her first about Samoa, "Coming of Age in Samoa", which was very controversial when it was published, in 1928, after she had spent time there studying. She also wrote a book called "Sex and the Temperament in Three Primative Societies, where she documented female dominancy in some of these tribes, shocking the then male dominant world.
She also spent much time researching the European Shtetl, this study financed by the American Jewish Committee. She spent much time interviewing many European born Jews about their family structures and experiences. Some blame this study for the "Jewish Mother" stereotype.
Margaret died, of Pancreatic Cancer in 1978, and is buried in Buckingham, Pa.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Unease.....

sometimes, it never goes away.


I guess this is the time for my brain to revisit boyfriends past.
Honestly, usually once they are past, I don't usually give them much thought, they are PAST for a reason.
But somethings, just don't fade.
Up until a bit over three years ago, I had never had a boyfriend who scared me. Sure, I had a few end bad, with modicums of animosity, but, I was never scared.
Thus, I am sure I was fairly naive about that, uh, aspect.
I will actually call him out by name, because, frankly, he's not smart enough to find my blog, and if he did, well, more power to him. He may scare me, but he won't limit me.
Anyhow. His name was Jeff. Commonly referred to now as "The Village Drunk". (I have also dated The Village Idiot.)
I knew, when I met him, that he was probably going to be a problem. On our first date, he drank a lot of beer, then, came to my apartment, and drank more.
Still, he had personality, he had a job, and at the time he seemed well, stable. Oh, how little I knew.
Within short order he lost his apartment, and went to live with family, about 3 hours away from where I was. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, and so I did, and, he'd come up here every weekend, and usually end up passed out on my couch each night. More of his stuff showed up in my apartment, including a fax machine where he got work orders. After about a month of this, bottles of Jack Daniels started showing up, too. And disappearing as quickly as they showed up.
Then, we started having to go out only to places that served hard liquor. I found myself drinking more than I had in a long time. And it did not feel good. I wasn't happy. I recognized my own drinking was increasing, and cut myself off. He didn't care, at this point I was a pretty handy designated driver for him.
He was so drunk on Thanksgiving, around my FAMILY that he went out to his van and passed out. I was super embarrassed. I was searching for the person that I thought he was. I KNEW I wasn't going to change him. The "relationship" was surprisingly platonic, (booze is a serious mood killer, at least booze in excess is...) for which I am forever grateful. He does not have intimate knowledge of me.
It blew up badly, while he was drunk (no surprise) and involved him getting behind the wheel and ME threatening to call the cops if he did. Cell phone in hand. I had to work that night, and went to work shook up, but resolute. He slept his drunk off in my apartment, then left. I never saw him again.
But I heard from him. He had a fun time, calling my phone, both cell and land line, threatening me, telling me I needed anger management classes, and wanting his stuff. One night, while I as at work, he called my phone, every 15 minutes, for over 6 hours. I bet my neighbors were thrilled. I changed my numbers, changed my locks, and put all his stuff out on my stoop for his collection. That REALLY pissed him off, let me tell you. That, and the fact that I refused to go have dinner with him after he picked it up.
"We could have been friends" he said.
"Not on your life" I thought, glad I had changed the locks.
Because of the nature of his threats, I looked over my shoulder for weeks. He knew where I lived, where I worked, and what I drove. I knew what he drove. A windowless, beat up white work van. Every time I saw one, it scared me. I envisioned a drunk Jeff, carrying out his threats. I saw a white van at work one evening and got so scared I called in for security to walk me in.
I gradually got over that. I met MM a year later, and, well, things have obviously progressed. I've moved, I drive a different car, I have a different (and much happier) life. I occasionally reference Jeff, especially to show Monkey Girl that we don't settle for unstable men. We don't accept this kind of behavior. But I never really sit and think about it.
Unless a dirty white work van shows up in my rear view mirror.
And a part of me still thinks
Did he find me?

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Creepy old man!

Way back when in 67
I was the dandy
Of Gamma Chi
Sweet things from Boston
So young and willing
Moved down to Scarsdale
And where the hell am I

Hey Nineteen
No we can't dance together
No we can't talk at all
Please take me along
When you slide on down

Hey Nineteen
That's 'Retha Franklin
She don't remember the Queen of Soul
It's hard times befallen
The sole survivors
She thinks I'm crazy
But I'm just growing old

Hey Nineteen
No we got nothing in common
No we can't talk at all
Please take me along
When you slide on down

The Cuervo Gold
The fine Colombian
Make tonight a wonderful thing
We can't dance together
No we can't talk at all


Heard this in the car today. I had forgotten about this one....
Creepy old man!

Monday, November 2, 2009

I give love a bad name

I was running some errands the other day, listening to this radio station, (call letters are Jack, ironically).

It usually plays a fairly decent mix of music, though MM has warned me that they like to play blocks of Bon Jovi on monday mornings. (So I avoid monday mornings). So far, I had heard some good stuff, like "Last Dance For Mary Jane", "Just Like Heaven" by the Cure, and other things. Its a very eclectic radio station.
After a commercial, they started playing, well. Bon Jovi. "You Give Love A Bad Name." And bang. There it was. Suddenly, I was a junior in high school again, riding the school bus, listening to all the kids giggle because a boy I had broken up with was singing this AT me.
He was bitter, I guess. But let me give the back story.
I never liked this boy.
Sure, he was nice enough. He sure liked me. My friends poked and pestered me about him, constantly. His name was Marcus. Pick pick pick, nagging me to give him a chance. I did what a lot of kids do, I gave in. I dated him, because my friends so desperately wanted me to. Stupid.
Well, it lasted less than 2 weeks. During that two weeks, I was gifted with candy, stuffed animals, even a dozen roses. For no good reason. (found out later he stole the money to buy me those things.) I was hung upon, never left alone. Pestered, to death. Called constantly. Never ending.
At the end of one of those phone calls, he told me he loved me.
I said
No you don't. ( I was seventeen. I knew the truth, even if HE didn't)
the next day I broke up with him
and that was the day I gave love a bad name.
And now? How many years later? (almost 23)
I still think of Marcus when I hear that damned song.