Another lovely Tuesday. A rainy Tuesday.

My husband absolutely LOVES rainy days. When Skyler was small, she'd always want to go outside and play in the rain. As her Mother, I'd call her back indoors for fear she'd catch a cold or worse. But Shemp taught me to pick my battles as a Mother early on. The rain brought her so much joy, that I soon silently relented.

I still play the game and give her the disapproving Mother look as I watch her joyously streak outdoors into her own liquid world as dark clouds unleash their bounty. A safe port inside the storm where she will forever be young.

At 15 she still walks out in the rain. The wet drops still splat onto her cheeks and eyes as she opens her mouth to catch more of the bouncing, magic drops. Quenching her thirst against a Mother's fruitless wishes and defiantly playing in the childhood rain.

Tuesdays. Do-over Monday. Did you know that work productivity is highest on Tuesdays?

Virtual Rosary? A free download.

{Today's Quote} No tree has branchs so foolish as to fight amongst.

How exciting. I'm gonna play Unconscious Mutterings today. Well, it IS the best one of these thingies.

I Say....And you think....?

1. Wife:: me--I really hate this answer, but it was the first thing I thought of.
   
2. Criminal:: intent
   
3. Campaign:: finance reform
   
4. Infection:: erection....rhymes with? ...sorry.
   
5. Portland:: let's move there. Stew Albert lives there & bsti also lives there, I think.
   
6. NASCAR:: rednecks
   
7. IMAX:: Magic Johnson, Atlanta
   
8. Martian:: My Favorite...
   
9. Nike:: sweatshops
   
10. Trial:: by fire
    

Recipes and Basketball

I uploaded a folder of Recipes, about 15 or so, for starters. They're in .doc and .txt files. Let me know if there's any problems with the links. I need to update and add to the collection, but these are a few recipes I've either made or would like to make.

In the top 64 teams in the nation, there are 32 games to begin with. And they play down to the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight, the Final Four, and then playoffs and the NCAA Championship game.

The NCAA basketball tourney is a great winter/spring time diversion. Basketball play-offs can be so exciting and almost fickle. If you lose one game... you're out of it. Unlike the baseball World Series where you play the best 4 out of 7 games. And there's mounting pressure on these young guys to win, win, win. The human nature element is always fascinating to me, especially in sports.

It was almost a "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" thing with my love for basketball since moving to North Carolina. We have the North Carolina Tarheels (UNC, Michael Jordan's alma mater), NC State, Wake Forest, Duke. In a small state, that's a lot of good basketball rivalry.

I was 25 years old, and working 8:00am - 4:00pm in a credit department. My day uniform consisted of tweed and linen suits, Dupioni silk blouses, "How About A Nooner?" pumps, and a gam's best friend: L'Eggs hose. And from 9:00pm - 2:00am, I worked as a bartender in a short black leather skirt and white tux shirt, black bow-tie, black L'Eggs, and "Me Love You Long Time" pumps. (At one bar, we wore these outfits in black, except the bottom came to the waist and we had black hose underneath.)

I worked two jobs like this for eleven years on very little sleep. I was driven. I was a young divorced Mother. And I was an addict.

(This is the latest little blurb I'm working on. I like to write memory blips and keep them for a possible attempt at a book someday, or at the very least, for my children or children's children to read. I can only write in baby steps when it comes to writing about myself. But each time I read another blogging friend's truth or emotion, it encourages me to continue. )

I'm a two fisted drinker today. Coffee in my right hand, carrot juice in my left. (What, typing with my nose? ) And I had a glass of oj, too. Each time Schlomo gets himself something to drink, he offers me something, too. Since he's on the insulin shots now, his diabetes in under control. In the 120-140 range, which is normal. Now, if I could just get his excessive talking under control.

He's been in and out this morning running errands and he knows how I feel about his gabbing. So he offered to make a tape of him talking about his childhood years, or his high school years, or make tapes by the decade for me to listen to while he's away. Funny. Very funny. He says, "You're going to miss me when I'm gone." And he's right; although a wee bit dramatic about it. But when he also says, "Who else would you have?", my silence answers him.

Murderous Mary
The bizarre true story of "Murderous Mary" - the only circus elephant in American history to be convicted and executed for murder. (WARNING: This story and its photographs may be too disturbing for young children.)

This is a fun site about American South Folklore including this one about Murderous Mary that I heard as a child growing up in Tennessee. Hope you enjoy it and the other tales on the site.