Tuesday, December 31, 2013

On The Seventh Day Of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me


Seven Swans A Swimming

Six Geese A Laying

Five Golden Rings

Four Calling Birds

Three French Hens

Two Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Monday, December 30, 2013

On The Sixth Day Of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me


Six Geese A Laying

Five Golden Rings

Four Calling Birds

Three French Hens

Two Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Sunday, December 29, 2013

On The Fifth Day Of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me


Five Golden Rings

Four Calling Birds

Three French Hens

Two Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Saturday, December 28, 2013

On The Fourth Day Of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me


Four Calling Birds


Three French Hens

Two Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Friday, December 27, 2013

On The Third Day Of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me


Three French Hens

Two Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Thursday, December 26, 2013

On The Second Day Of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me


Two Turtle Doves


and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Monday, December 23, 2013

Light Shadows 13

Run, run Rudolph, Santa's got to make it to town,
Santa make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down,
Run, run Rudolph 'cause I'm reelin' like a merry-go-round

-Chuck Berry


Saturday, December 21, 2013

Winter Solstice

I will love the light for it shows me the way. Yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.
Og Mandino




Friday, December 20, 2013

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas


-Bing Crosby

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go
Take a look in the five-and-ten
Glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in every store
But the prettiest sight to see
Is the holly that will be
On your own front door.

A pair of Hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots
Is the wish of Barney and Ben
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk
Is the hope of Janice and Jen
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again.

(It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go)

There's a tree in the Grand Hotel
One in the park as well
The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow.

(It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas)

Soon the bells will start
And the thing that will make them ring
Is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in every store
But the prettiest sight to see
Is the holly that will be
On your own front door.

Sure it's Christmas once more
.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Women

We are damned if we do and damned if we don't.


Monday, December 16, 2013

Rescue Me

We have a guest staying with us for the next few weeks until he gets adopted through American Brittany Rescue, Inc.  His name is Copper, he is six  five years old, and he is a big old sweetheart.


Thursday, December 12, 2013

Tchotcheke, Knickknack Or Kitsch?



I saw this little beauty at the Goodwill Store up in Loveland. It was about six inches long and very heavy. It portrays a Native American Indian sitting in a birch bark canoe along with a wolf and a Bald Eagle. The trifecta of white society's romantic view of Native Americans. Noble savages more in touch with nature- represented by the wolf- and having a purer spirituality-represented by the eagle- than we baser humans. I found it tacky enough to consider buying but when I turned it over it had Made In China written of the bottom so I decided to give it a pass.  Plus it was so damned heavy I did not want to carry it around and risk breaking it.

Monday, December 09, 2013

The Passing Of A Great Man

The whole world is coming to South Africa.
- Clayson Monyela, South Africa foreign ministry spokesman


(Photo from The Washington Post.)

Tomorrow is the funeral and Mr. Monyela is correct, the whole world is coming the South Africa.

Friday, December 06, 2013

We Went To A Funeral Today

The brother of a close friend of my husband killed himself on Thanksgiving Day at the age of twenty-six.
Make yourself familiar with the Angels and behold them frequently in Spirit; for without being seen, they are present with you.
- Saint Francis de Sales


What is depression?
Suicide Hotline here.

Thursday, December 05, 2013

Mosaic Theory

A method of analysis used by security analysts to gather information about a corporation. Mosaic theory involves collecting public, non-public and non-material information about a company in order to determine the underlying value of the company's securities and to enable the analyst to make recommendations to clients based on that information.
-Investopedia

In advertising this is known as data-mining. Does it work?

The New York Times ran a story last year about how a man angrily confronted a Target stor manager to complain that the company was sending his teenage daughter coupons for baby goods. Were they trying to encourage her to get pregnant? Nope. Target's data-mining operation had found a strong correlation between purchases of about 24 items- scent free lotions, certain nutritional supplements, and so on- and different stages of pregnancy. The teenager's purchases had fit the pattern. The teenager's father apologized to Target a few days later, when it turned out that his daughter was, in fact, pregnant.
-Glenn Harlan Reynolds, December/January issue of Popular Mechanics

I guess it works but where could it lead? The real question is where shouldn't it lead? Big brother is already spying on us although Microsoft seems to be doing something to counteract that.

Wednesday, December 04, 2013

What To Do On A Cold, Cold Day

Stay inside and listen to a great singer.


-Blossom Dearie

Tuesday, December 03, 2013

There'll Be Some Changes Made

At noon today the outside temperature was at 48F/8.9C.   Now, three hours later, it is 27F/-2.8C.   The  Arctic Express is roaring our way.  

Low tonight 11F/-11.6C.
Low tomorrow night -5F/-20C.
Low Thursday night -9F/-22.8C.
 It's going to be cooold out there.

 
Friday night's low expected to be -6F/-21.1C.
Saturday night -3F/-19.4C.
 Oooh, a warming trend.  I'm looking forward to that.

Monday, December 02, 2013

Dot To Dot


 What could it be?




 
 O, I C.

(Extreme Dot to Dot: Around the USA)

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Curiouser And Curiouser

This is my new "between chilly and very cold" coat.
 

This is the pocket inside my new coat showing the zipper pull tab.
 

This is the open pocket showing another zipper pull tab inside the pocket.
 

Question, just what do they think I am going to put in the pocket that will need to get out?

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Shopping In America

Look! A 50% OFF coupon for Any One Regular Price Item in the store!



Wait....it seems to be valid only if I don't actually buy anything.

Legal Disclaimer:
Not valid on: As Seen on TV, MiDesign@Miichaels(tm), Silhouette and Cricut brands; Custom special order product, services and package pricing, Tulip Screenil, Fiskars Fuse Creativity System Machine, Rainbow Look & rubber bands, sewing machines, all Lego Friends, Lego Creator and Lego For Young Builders Product, 4' and taller Christmas Trees, books, magazines, CD/DVDs, gift cards and debit card products; Buy More, Save More offers; sale, clearance or buy & get item; Buy the Bunch(tm) orders; online purchases' class, in-store, birthday party, shipping, delivery, or installatior (sp) fees. Limit one coupon per customer per day; no combining offers. Original coupon must be surrendered at purchase. Not applicable to prior purchases. Limited to stock on hand.

Void where prohibited. Valid only in US.

Exclusions subject to change. See store associate for details.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

This Could Be A Long Winter For Me

A winter's day, in a deep and dark December November
I am alone, gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow
I am a rock, I am an island

-Paul Simon

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

How To Make Vases Out Of Empty Bottles Of Tequila

Tequila by The Champs


1. Drink all or have someone drink all the Tequila.

2. Start boiling water in a kettle.

3. Remove labels by:

   a. Rinsing out empty bottle and then filling it with hot water from the kitchen faucet. This heats up   the bottle and helps keep the glass from cracking when you perform step c.

   b. Pour hot water out of bottle.

   c. Pour boiling water into bottle.

   d. Let bottle sit for maybe five minutes and then gently pull a corner of the label to see if it can be removed cleanly. If not wait a few minutes more and try again.


Ta-da! Beautiful flower vases.


Tuesday, November 19, 2013

All The Crazy People

Where do they all come from?

Friday, November 15, 2013

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

All I Need Is The Air That I Breathe

Yesterday morning we had a cleaning company here vacuuming out the air ducts. I've been wanting to do it since we moved in but my husband had been hesitant to do it. I was sure there was drywall dust and who knew what else in the ducts from the remodeling that had been done to the basement by the previous owners. I told him I was tired of having to clean the thin layer of dust that appeared on everything and the bouts of sneezing I suffered from whenever the furnace turned on. He admitted it was probably a good idea but the main reason he was reluctant to do so was because it didn't know of a reliable company. After some research he finally found a company who seemed trustworthy and set-up an appointment.

It took about 3 hours and my husband like the fact that the man he hired told him he did not mind if my husband followed him around, observed what he was doing, and asked questions. When they finished I asked them if the dirt level in our ducts were considered light, average, heavy or "Oh, My God!" The man got a pained look on his face and said, "Trust me, you don't want to know what 'Oh, My God!' is."
I kind of did but I was afraid to ask him. As they say, you can't unring a bell.

Our ducts were average and according to him we would not have to have the ducts cleaned again for  another 5 to 7 years no matter what any other duct cleaning service told us. If you start seeing dust on everything in a year or two it is probably means the dirt in your carpets getting into the air when you vacuum. He said the way to keep this dust down is to turn on the air conditioner/heating fan when you do vacuum. This will draw the dust into the return air vents and then into the a/c-furnace filter. You make have to change the furnace filter a bit more often but it's still a cheap way to keep the air inside your house cleaner.   A good tip, wouldn't you say?

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Monday, November 11, 2013

Friday, November 08, 2013

It's Herrman Rorschach's Birthday!

And Google is celebrating it with ink blots. My results:

1. Two bears chilling.

2. Two bears playing jump rope with a frog.

3. Two bears sitting on a couch.

4. A bear showing the size of a fish he caught.

5. Two bears dancing.

6. A bear in gymnastics doing the splits.

7. Two bears pretending to be unicorns.

8. I got nothing.

9. Two bears hiding behind a hedge.

10. Two bear heads.

11. A very buff bear conducting an orchestra.

12.  Two bears sleeping.  

13. A Teddy Bear.

14. A bear wearing a raccoon coat and Elton John glasses holding two firecrackers.