Good TV Viewing Sunday Night
Well, I hit the 'trifecta' last night on television. Not earth-shattering tv, but semi-entertaining. I watched three good shows in a row. And I usually don't watch a lot of tv, but Sunday evenings the tv just seems to beckon to me. First I saw the new, "American Dream" on NBC at 8:00. That was a pretty good show. Sure took me down memory lane when the dishes the family used at dinner are the same dishes [green, gold, & brown stipes] I grew up using in the 60's. Next, was "The Sopranos". Not their best episode. I believe it was because I was repulsed by the display between Janice and Ralphie. Gross. Next was "Boomtown" and it was pretty entertaining. Especially with Jason Gedrich in it. He's been around a long time and I believe he's due a commercial hit. I guess the other shows I'm interested in are "Will and Grace", and I still watch "Survivor". Although, I like each one less and less. But it's such a great study in human nature and that's what interests me most of all. It's all still over and above all the news programs. I am such a news junkie. That's the first channels I turn to--all the 24 hour news shows. I mean, ALL of them. After I'm assured that I'm all caught up on all the latest, I can tune in and watch the other stuff. Update: This might explain why this episode of 'The Sopranos' was a little "off". Michael Imperioli [Christopher] wrote it.

Taking The Violence Out Of Videos
There's a website called Clean Flicks where you can order videos and have them "clean" it first before they send it to you. By "cleaning" it, they'll take out the profanity, nudity, excessive violence, etc, and send it to you. I forgot where I saw this, but they were talking about how mad the studios and the writers---the entertainment industry was because the movies were being altered. Can you just imagine something like The Godfather without violence? What's the point? I mean, if you don't like kind of thing, aren't there alternative movies for you to watch?

Apartment For Rent
Our tennant is moving out today. We have a detached garage apartment that was with the house when we bought it. We had the option of asking her to leave or letting her stay on. So we had no problem with her staying. And she was dependable about paying us. There was a time when my husband had to talk to her about the possibility of her selling weed. He explained that we don't mind you smoking it, just don't sell it out of our apartment and get us all in trouble. That's not too much to ask, right? Anyway, she's moving and we'll probably rent it again, since we don't really need if for ourselves. Someday we will, but for now, $400 extra sure helps pay the mortgage each month. Anybody need a cute little garage apartment in North Carolina? Inquire within.

What A Perfect Day!
I could stand about 1,000 more days like this one. 68� outside and the wind is breezing by at 15 mph, so it feels like 60�. Welcome, perfect day. How long I have waited for your arrival. Previous rains have left the air crisp and clear and I believe that October is trying to show up before it's due.

FYI
I found these neat little clocks for your web site. And they come in all sorts of styles. Mouse over my little clock on the right for the address and check it out to see if you could use one someplace.

Fall Clothes? No Sweat
I got some sweaters and outfits out of storage this morning and opened up some goodies that I'd forgotten about. A Christmas sweater, a jogging suit bought on sale [does anyone except the cast of the Sopranos still wear those things?] black bags and shoes. Ah, black... My favorite color. I've tried to wear black shoes and carry a black bag/backpack all throughout the year, but I feel like I'm in mourning. I am in mourning, actually, for fall and winter. I don't particularly like the summer weather. It's my least favorite time of year. I just don't like to sweat. [Pigs sweat, men perspire, and ladies glisten. Or so said my grandmother] Back to the fall clothes. I changed over my brown backpack to a black one. And laid out a black sweater and black clogs to wear with jeans later when I go out. I don't even mind that it's pouring rain outside. Better go look for a black umbrella. . .

Isidore Heading For Gulf Coast
Isidore moved back into the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday and forecasters issued a hurricane watch for the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts, expecting the weakened tropical storm to pick up strength over the warm waters. I hope everyone is able to find safe shelter from the storm. I'm sure Alabama, Texas, Georgia and Florida will feel the brunt of Isidore's wrath as well. Stay safe, everyone.


Getting It Together [someday...]
I recall having some big plans for this fall. That I'd have lost some weight and taken better care of myself by now.Fall is here; I still could lose some weight, I still smoke like a chimney and I consume way too many carbohydrates. So, I'm on my third day of no sugar. And very little fat. A little angel food cake for my sweet tooth, some equal in my coffee, or honey in my tea.....that's not too bad. And drink more water. Something I seldom do. I need to take better care of this temple that is my body. Like yesterday.

Banger Sisters Review
I guess I'd have to give this movie a "C". Thankfully, I didn't have big expectations before I saw it, so I wasn't disappointed. It was fodder for a Saturday afternoon and for me to enjoy the company of my daughter. Goldie was better in her role, or maybe I could empathize with her character better. Susan Sarandon's character trying to be hip was laughable to me. Geoffrey Rush's character had most of the best lines in the movie and the kids characters were decent, too. The Banger Sisters is what it is....a grade "C" movie. In my little ol' humble opinion, that is. What did you think about it? I know Shirl saw it.

Could you live off the land if you had to? Eustace Conway, now 40, has for the past twenty years and is doing quite well. He's bought hundreds of acres of beautiful pristine land in the Appalachian mountains here in western North Carolina where he has built his home.

Thoughts On A Sunday Morning...
Robin's dog is hanging in there. She's giving her anti-biotics and tagamet, for her tummy, I suppose. My daughter took that and other meds for allergies before when she had hives. Head to toe hives. Thank goodness, that's finally cleared up. It came out of the blue and then just vanished one day. She and I went to see "The Banger Sisters" yesterday, and we had lunch and went to the mall. We had a nice time together. She even walked beside me and sat with me. When I was fourteen, I walked ten paces behind my mother, and would never have sat beside of her someplace. Looking back, I guess I was an angry young woman. I hope she never becomes the girl that I was to my mother. I was a real hellion. Damn, I really gave my parents a rough time. How do you ever make that up to them?

Missy
My sister has a very sick dog right now. She's been up for two nights watching over her, administering meds and in and out of the vet's office. Her dog is a black and white cocker spaniel named "Missy". And Missy is about 12 years old, I believe. The vet didn't tell Robin exactly what was wrong except to say that she is terminal. This dog has been my sister's best friend and pal forever. My heart just aches for Robin and the hurt she must be going through right now. Unfortunately, there are some things big sisters just can't fix.

Cyber Cigarette Smoking

Do you find it odd that people actually go to these type of sites and virtually smoke a cigarette? You choose your style, regular or menthol, and the duration of your virtual smoke and watch a cigarette actually smoke down. I believe the audience is smokers at work and unable to go for a cigarette break or previous smokers who still need a visual aid since they've quit smoking. And this site will tell you the best time to catch the smoking cigarette is from 6 pm to 10 pm EST. This world wide web is so huge, that there's something for everyone here. But I think I'll just stick to my very real cancer sticks for now, thank you.

A handbag?!

The average woman's handbag contains twenty-five items, apparently.
Let's see....

1) Wallet
2) Cell phone
3) advil
4) sunglasses
5) a crystal my son gave me
6) pepto bismo tablets
7) visine
8) kleenex
9) day planner
10) hand lotion
11) key ring
12) tinted lip balm

I sure have pared down over the years. There was a time when I probably had 50 items in a huge bag.

That Said... [another great gif I swiped from Maggie =)

If I hear one more person say, "...that said", I may just lose it. WTF does that add to the conversation? Ok, I'm think I'm better now.


Jamie Lee Curtis Keeps It Real

I can't find a better photo to illustrate Ms Curtis's picture in More Magazine this September, but this pic on MSNBC is the same photo, just hard to see the details that were intended. But she decided to pose without makeup, and without being retouched on the photo. So you see a soft tummy and not too great hips. �This is who I am. This is the reality. When I wake up in the morning and take a shower and I look in the mirror, this is what I see.�� �Every commercial, every magazine, every TV show, movie, there are nothing but beautifully coiffed, fabulously thin, toned people,� says Curtis. �And I think that constant reminder that they aren�t � that there�s something wrong with them, is the reason I think people are high-fiving me in stores.� It's a very gutsy thing that she's done, at age 43, and a testament to her new found self-esteem. Good for her!

I'm the tie dye Doc Marten...
play me some Grateful Dead,
alter my consciousness a little
and I'm a happy camper!

Which Doc Marten are you?
(by *coffeebean*)
I saw this on Maggie's site today.

Is Birth Order Important?
Do you believe your birth order plays an important part in who you are? It's interesting to take a look at it...
The Firstborn: is an achiever; and is responsible, intelligent, ambitious, agreeable, conscientious, sometimes rigid. Other first borns, Bill and Hillary Clinton.
The Middle Child: charismatic entertainer; and is laid back, friendly, works to achieve uniqueness, and is sometimes a perfectionist. Other middles are Tom Cruise and Madonna.
The Youngest: the comedian; is very social, charming, playful, and comedic; sometimes has trouble being taken seriously. Other youngest are Jerry Seinfeld, Mike Myers.
The Only Child: confidant soloist; is self confident, creative, responsible, a high achiever, at times uncompromising. Other Onlies are Oprah Winfrey and Albert Einstein.

I'm a first born and I guess I was an achiever at one time in my life, but it certainly doesn't define who I am now.

Coke, Soda, Or Pop?
The site, created eight years ago as a college project, asks visitors to enter their childhood zip code and the soft drink term they use. Their vote is then placed on a map as a colored dot.

What has emerged is a swath of Coke votes across the South, pop votes in the Midwest and Canada, and soda votes in the Northeast and California, and -- curiously -- in St. Louis and Milwaukee.

My dear grandmother introduced me to "Coke" when I was young and told me of a time when it was used medicinally. Of course, I later learned it contained cocaine and other so-called hang over remedies and initially was sold by druggists. Real old timers used to call is "sodi-dope" because of the old qualities.

September 11, 2002
Paul McCartney, Sting and U2's Bono are among the celebrities quoted on a website commemorating the Sept. 11 tragedies.

Top Ten Better Things To Do Today
According to Rob Morse from sfgate.com. "By now, most of you want to escape the tearjerker music and video of flames and dust. The media and the politicians have gone too far. We're just one step away from making this date a national holiday, which is two steps away from moving it to a Monday so we can have a three-day weekend with department store terror-day sales." Then he goes on to list his 'top ten better things to do today' list. I'm not advocating any particular way to honor this day. That's certainly an individual choice. The only thing I subscribe to is the "Whatever gets you through the night" philosophy.

Last Whine, I Promise!
I suppose I should peak my head out of my self-imposed shell and see what's going on in 'blogtopia', as Skippy always says. This cold/flu has quite literally laid me out and today I feel like the worse has peaked and I'm on the down side of a healing. What a hell of a ride. <./whining>

Arrrrrrrrrghhhhhh.
My husband is so afraid he's going to end up with an estranged relationship with our daughter that he gives in to her all the time. There's no repurcussions for her at all when she misbehaves, except giving her a 'good talking to'. So we constantly butt heads on child-rearing ideas. We've never spanked her; and have always found other ways to discipline her. She's been in school [ninth grade] for three weeks now, and got her first progress report today. She's been saying all along that she doesn't have any homework. "I did it at school." So we've been saying, "Fine. If your progress report reflects you've been studying appropriately, no problem." But when we saw it today.....big problem. Husband and I jointly decided she couldn't go to the ballgame tonight. I would have liked to have restricted her telephone use or something else for a while, too. So I go out awhile and come home to find that she's not at home. And then I find out that my husband caved and let her go to the ballgame. He's such a pushover. He argues that it'll just make her resent us when we punish her. And I say that it's taking the easy way out. Let her resent me. I'm a parent. It's likely she'll resent me often. Now I feel that she thinks it doesn't matter what she does, because no one's going to do a damn thing about it. OK, I feel a little bit better now...

Whole Earth Catalog
Anyone remember this book? There's an old link online, but I believe it's still in print. I think it was just the one catalog initially. It may have updated occasionally. Anyway, it was the pretty much the Hippy Bible back in 1968 on up. Everyone I knew had one in their tent, dorm room, or backpack back in the day. My husband and I learned how to grow many wonderful things :D and live off the land economically and organically, use solar heat, and make our own furniture from reading it. And the book even had instructions for midwivery in it. Come to think of it, I may still have that book around here someplace.

Around Blog World...
kd always has something good to read on her site. She's in California and has a wee one who's just learning to crawl. I really enjoy these sites that are always posting pictures of their day. Shirl does that well, also. And so does Maggie and Susan on BobtheCorgi. And Lynn takes it to another level with her professional photography. I want a digital camera, too. Hell, I also want to get rid of these damn ads on Blogspot. Maybe if I wasn't so tight, I'd upgrade to Blogger Pro, at least. And just maybe, get my very own web site one day. But for now, I draw the line at that. If I spent any more time online than I do now, I'd probably get fired, divorced, etc.

Change Of Seasons

It's such a beautiful day today. I am reminded of why I chose to live here in the first place. It's a day that makes you want to take a picnic lunch and a go on a nice hike in the beautiful mountains. It's still technically summer until the 23rd, but the sunlight is slanting a little lower, casting a glow on the fields ready for harvest. Cooler days make comfortable excursions through coloring forests. There's plenty of adventures to be had. It's my favorite time of the year. And my part of the world enjoys the autumn onslaught of changing leaves and tourists that is a huge industry here in Asheville, NC, near the Blue Ridge Mountains. Taking a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway is what many tourists and natives enjoy. Nature's annual autumn color festival is certainly one of the greatest shows on earth.


Close by is also the Biltmore House, and also Chimney Rock that you can visit. The peak "Leaf Season" is usually the middle of October, and is pretty much over by Oct 31.

A Wise Old Crone
Main Entry: crone
Pronunciation: 'krOn
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old North French carogne, literally, carrion, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin caronia �more at CARRION
Date: 14th century
: a withered old woman

I have a huge birthday coming up next month and I have been thinking about many things lately. How I don't sweat the small stuff nearly as much as I did when I was much younger. And how I try to surround myself with people that have sweet spirits and lots of soul. No superficial friends for me. And just an all around sense of inner peace that comes with time, I guess. I understand now why old people are known to be wise. I sure as hell feel much wiser. A wise-ass old crone. That'll be me.

Are You Watching American Idol?

Either Kelly Clarkson or Justin Guarini will win the title of "American Idol" this Wednesday on Fox. This has fast become a favorite show of mine on television. It's hard to read the public to guess who they'll call in to vote for. But, I've been rooting for Kelly all along. To me, her voice is the absolute best. And she consistently gives me chills when she sings, and that surely doesn't happen very often.

I don't think winning the American Idol title matters very much as far as she's concerned. Producers will be phoning up her rep regardless. I'll definitely be tuning in this week.