bored and full of snot...

Surfing is about the only thing I can muster from my Mighty Phlegm-bubble of Doom. Anyway, I saw this over at Twilight Cafe and it made me laugh out loud. Her results were funnier than mine. I'm just a damn soup. WTF?

You are Inspiration Soup!! You live to Inspire
those around you with your green beany, white
chunky, red soupy goodness. Many have come and
lit candles in your honor. You've inspired
them to become better people. Thank you,
Inspiration Soup... thank you.


What Weight Watchers recipe card from 1974 are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

oh yeah? scumble this...

Ever seen scumbling? You crocheters and knitters will like this if you have not been exposed to it already.

The master, Prudence Mapstone at www.knotjustknitting.com is pretty amazing...my hat from a few posts ago will be in Prudence's next Virtual Hat Gallery. Oh, and it's for sale at $95 plus shipping. The client I made it for wanted different colors. Oh well.

Back to mumbling about scumbling...here's some more scumblers from all over the world at this gallery...

Speaking of hats you should visit Nini K...she has some very unique and lovely styles...they are knitted and beaded...


AND, you MUST SEE the YARN CAR!! Tim Klein, art car creator, has covered a vintage 1967 Imperial with four miles of yarn. Believe it or not, it's beautiful!


Me? I'm still down and out with the crud...I've had to stick my lung back in at least twice tonight...tastes a lot like liver...soy liver that is (you know I'm a vegetarian!)

who peed in my pool (and watched it go down)?

Life has been very serious lately, which is quite irritating. It triples the final zit headcount, not to mention encouraging obsessive-compulsive behavior such as chewing off my cuticles like a ravenous opposum until I'm using a box of Band-A1ds every week. Hell, who am I kidding? I don't buy "Band-A1d brand bandages," I buy corner drugstore "used-only-twice" bandages. "Laden with toxic substances and an extra layer of latex for allergy-sufferers." What's wrong with recyling? Ok fine. The truth is I just wrap bathroom tissue around them and hope they stop bleeding before I'm put in the lock-down ward.

Well enough about me and my curmudgeon-ness. Yuki, our newest feline, also now known as "Yuki-padookie," is completely obsessed with the inner workings of our toilet. Apparently treasures previously unknown to kittydom exist just past the disappearing of the dookie. Yuki does not understand when things disappear they do not implode, self-destruct or cease to exist. They just go somewhere else and stink just as bad as before.

Yuki also likes to watch my husband's pee stream hit the water. Yesterday he had to stop peeing and close the lid to keep from dousing Yuki's head. "The hole! The hole!" Yuki says, "I must know what is beyond the hole!"

Life is not nearly as interesting when I do my elimination dance and he only gets excited when I am up and ready to flush. You can almost see him tingle with anticipation. "Meee-ooooowwwww! What a show! Where does yonder water go I must ask? What's that brown boat doing in there? Watch it go around, around, AROUND! How can this be?!"

Well, that's enough of that nonsense. I have a terrible cold and I don't feel like doing shit...not even on the toilet to entertain Yuki-padookie.

maybe this has already landed in your e-mail, but...

...it's still pretty funny (even if you like the war-mongering nut).

Q. How many Bush Administration officials does it take to change a light
bulb?

A. None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb, and its conditions
are improving every day. Any reports of its lack of incandescence are a
delusional spin from the liberal media. That light bulb has served
honorably and anything you say undermines the lighting effect. Why do you
hate freedom?

And please, please, please write to your representative and ask them to support the newly introduced bill (HR 297) which would protect our wild horses from slaughter!

feeling fine and felty...

I was glad to finish (almost except for details like hat band, etc) this custom hat. After sweating through December with pet death, sickness and general worry oozing out every pore, it was good to finish something. I do like the colors and I'm not a navy sort of gal. Hopefully the client will like it and I'll send it off. If not, I'll offer this one up for sale and make another for her. Hey, I am soooo flexible, no?

a little foresight never hurt anyone...

Markham has a good post today on thinking beyond today when it comes to behavioral services. I am not sure why common sense tends to elude those who oversee or reimburse mental health services. You can't grow a garden if you take the seeds from the ground. You just have to pay to replant over and over.

title withheld for security reasons...

(decided to delete...)

What did you wear to the ball...a backless gown?

Some thoughts for a day like today...

Not until the creation and maintenance of decent conditions of life for all people are recognized and accepted as a common obligation of all people and all countries - not until then shall we, with a certain degree of justification, be able to speak of humankind as civilized.
--Albert Einstein

It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.
--Eleanor Roosevelt

The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.
--Albert Einstein

The sole advantage of power is that you can do more good.
--Baltasar Gracian, The Art of Worldly Wisdom, 1647

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.
--Albert Einstein

You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war.
--Albert Einstein

Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.
--John F. Kennedy

A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.
--John F. Kennedy

Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.
--Albert Einstein

Are bombs the only way of setting fire to the spirit of a people? Is the human will as inert as the past two world-wide wars would indicate?
--Gregory Clark

Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.
--Albert Einstein

I have always held firmly to the thought that each one of us can do a little to bring some portion of misery to an end.
--Albert Schweitzer

The awareness that we are all human beings together has become lost in war and through politics. We have reached the point of regarding each other only as members of a people either allied with us or against us and our approach; prejudice, sympathy, or antipathy are all conditioned by that. Now we must rediscover the fact that we--all together--are human beings, and that we must strive to concede to each other what moral capacity we must have.
--Albert Schweitzer

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
--Jiddu Krishnamurti

Man can hardly even recognize the devils of his own creation.
--Albert Schweitzer

the epitome of tolerance...

That would be me. Think I'm a braggart? An arrogant, self-serving smartass? Well, let me tell you, I haven't been on a vacation in more than four years and my husband is coming home tonight after week in Paris, Interloken and Zurich. Now, capitalize that "e" on Epitome will you? No, not Paris, Tennessee (there is one, you know); Paris, France. How do you say "I'm gonna kick your ass" in French?

Even though we are broke as hell...wait, capitalize that "h," too...we're about six months out from making normal money again. Hubby's training period will be over and commissions will increase. I just hope I can hang on for this last little bit without having something repossessed.

Anyway, I am actually happy he got to go, although I was insanely jealous when he called me from The Louvre and said he was about to walk over to the Eiffel Tower.

How did he go considering our paltry resources? His boss takes the guys on trips about twice a year. So, dear hubby has been to the Florida coast several times, Vail and now an international trip. Yes, honey, you will be taking me on many, many wonderful trips when things get back to normal.

Who takes a "guy" trip to Paris? I just told him to keep his hands off all those braless French broads. I will be very happy to have him back tonight. Warm hugs all around.

it's okay, my time is worth nothing...

Yesterday, I had to go to the gyn-oh-no for a consult. I had a hormone study done and an ultrasound a while back and I had returned to talk about the results. My appointment was at 2:15. I parked at 2:13, waited for the elevator for nearly five minutes and signed in about 2:19. I expected my consult to take about 10 minutes and it did...at 4:15.

At 4:15 p.m.

Did I tell you my appointment was at 2:15?

The main waiting room had three GOLF magazines in it. Apparently, some staff-whack has a sadistic sense of humor.

The second waiting room (there's a second tier of waiting rooms for specific doctors) had better magazines, but not by much. The exam room I waited in had some good magazines, but by then I was pissed off, playing with the exam table lights and noticing the permanent creases in my pants from sitting for so long.

My doc came in and said my estrogen was a little low so she changed my prescription. She said my fibroids were back--one about the size of a "50-cent piece" (a GOLF ball size no less) and one about the size of a dime. "Keep track of everything on the calendar and come back in March," she said. I told her I struggle with PMS. She wrote it down on the chart so I could see it. Before leaving she gave me a big smile and said, "Sorry about your wait today."

Four-fifteen. And I didn't complain because I knew no one would care. And I paid for it because I had to.

Doc, this hemmorhoid is for you.

today...

	"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction....The chain reaction of evil--hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars--must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation."
"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." --Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963
Still worth reading. Still not heeded by many from common folk to world leaders.

Yuki this, Yuki that...

Well, the new kitty got a name--Yuki! (Yoo-kee). It's a Japanese name meaning "snow" or "lucky." I had originally named him "Yukiko," which means "snow child," but I found out it was a female name. Fortunately, Yuki was a male name. He's a pretty funny cat and is just starting to really show his personality. When he wants to check something out above eye-level, Yuki stands up on his haunches with his forelimbs hanging limp just like a meerkat. Nighttime is fun because he loves to chase your toes through the covers. He also thinks he's completely hidden if his head is covered. Uh, Yuki, I can still see about 14 pounds of you... And, speaking of poundage, Yuki REALLY likes to eat. Rooney is the only one who's not totally adjusted. He walks up to Yuki and meow-yells at him. Then he walks off in a huff. I think he'll be all right though. It doesn't help that he's still not feeling great. Yuki was assimilated into the menagerie with nary one fight! :-)

The name Yuki A history-buff friend of mine sent me some interesting tidbits about the name Yuki. She writes: "Yuki was a mixed breed dog found by President Johnson's daughter, Luci Nugent, at a gas station in Texas on Thanksgiving Day in 1966, while on her way to the LBJ Ranch. Luci named the dog "Yuki" from "Yukimas," which means "snow" in Japanese. At first, Yuki lived with Luci, but while visiting the White House, Yuki won the President's heart and became his faithful companion. On the President's birthday, August 27, 1967, Luci told her father that he could keep Yuki. When President Johnson left office on January 20, 1969, Yuki returned to LBJ Ranch with the President on Air Force One. After Johnson's death in January 1973, Yuki went to live with Luci Johnson Nugent and her family. Yuki died in 1979. I read somewhere where Yuki even made a recording...singing, of course."

40 my ass...

You Are 33 Years Old

33 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

lest we forget "never again"...

I hope the movie Hotel Rwanda gets released close enough for me to go see it. Rather than re-hash what Me and Ophelia has done so well, I'll point you in her direction. I find the review she excerpts especially poignant and he asks some of the same questions I have asked...what about "never again?" When do we decide mass murder is worth our troops or aid? There seems to be some disparity.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY WISHES. IT MADE GETTING OLD AND CREAKY THAT MUCH MORE FUN! :-)

so much for that...

	Despite buying ruby slippers and crossing my fingers, toes and unsightly nosehairs, I turned 40 anyway. We went to dinner last night with my mom, brother and his wife and my brother was "kind" enough to bring a huge bouquet of black balloons into the crowded restaurant. Gonna' getcha' sucka!
And we did in fact welcome a new kitty into our home (a birthday gift from hubby). I still can't find the right name for him, but he is a big (15 lb. or so!) love lump. We thought we'd get a younger cat to keep our older kitties active, but so far he's lazier than they are! No major spats have occurred but we've had some rolling of the eyes and pissy hissing. He's going to fit in just fine though.
	We didn't set out to get a kitty like Baxter, but when we met him, we just fell in love with him. He's a big galoot and very cuddly. He's solid white except for the two grey smudges on his head. As you can see in the photo to the left, Atticus was NOT amused when we brought him home. He is watching us as we let the new kitty out of the carrier downstairs.
Thirty-nine yesterday; 40 today. What the hell. I took the day off (a present to myself!) and tonight hubby and I are going to dinner at one my favorite restaurants. We'll whoop it up like middle-aged people do. Har. Har? THANKS FOR ALL THE BIRTHDAY WISHES! THAT LESLIE!

PLEASE WRITE NOW...

Our lawmakers are back in session. Now is the time to send a letter urging your senators and representatives to support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (HR 857 in the House) and (bill S. 2352 in the Senate).

Start with this letter:

in Word

Plain Text

Customize it and send it to your REPRESENTATIVES and SENATORS.

IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION, LOOK ON THE NAV BAR TO THE LEFT. Don't that cocksucker Burns get away with sneaking repulsive riders into a freakin' appropriations bill.

PHOTOS HERE

this and that...

Noted: Bloggers bloggin' the news are making changes in media institutions. Link
In far more important news, we are meeting a little kitty named "Comet" tonight for possible adoption. We're JUST looking...
If you haven't been there, and I almost hesitate to give you the link, go see waveofdestruction.org. The photos of the tsunami as it happened are pretty amazing. The unsorted photos have a warning on them and quite frankly I wouldn't go there. Some of the images will be burned into my mind forever. DON'T BE A BUTTHOLE AND LEAVE THE SITE WITHOUT DONATING A LITTLE BIT (unless of course you've already done your part). They have all the links to the proper organizations right there for you. If my broke ass can give a little anyone can--even if it's the price of a fast-food lunch.
	You'll have to answer to Van G0gh and Jack if you take without giving.

the Ralphie report...

Sorry you didn't get the Ralphie report yesterday. It seemed as though the lima beans were not the problem, but a stomach virus--either that or the lima beans were filled with laxatives. Anyway.
Ralphie has a girlfriend. We named her Manilow because her nose is longer than Ralphie's. We know Manilow is a girl because we caught them having a great time together right in our fireplace. Unfortunately, I couldn't get to my camera fast enough to capture the moment. The funny thing was Manilow was completely bored by Ralphie's tremendous efforts. She ate sunflower seeds while he did the work. Even the squirrels...
Ralphie is also a great communicator. When he runs out of water he jumps on the chain screen inside the fireplace door and causes a clatter. When you walk over he jumps down to the empty saucer and then jumps up on the top of the logs and looks at you while he swishes his tail as if to say, "Get me my water, you slacker! Chop! Chop!" Then he zips up the hole and lets us fill up the saucer. Down he (and sometimes Manilow with him) comes afterward to fresh water. He's a demanding little rodent. Truth be known, my husband does most of the Ralphie-tending.
	Rooney is quite spitooney these days. He's still not his old self, but he's definitely better. We're keeping the litterboxes super clean to encourage as much pooping as possible. He hates getting medicine twice a day, but that's the way the dookie crumbles.
Grayson got his third colloidal oatmeal sponge bath last night and is doing a lot better. He doesn't even fight much when I sponge him down--apparently it feels very soothing. He seems to be doing okay eating Rooney's super-high-fiber-poop-producing food (in fact, everyone is eating it, with vet approval of course). And, I turn 40 next Monday (about which I could not care less). And, I'm very behind in getting a custom hat done for someone. Grrr! And, I'm still broke. But, I'm not as angst-ridden about it as I was. And that's good.

take me to lima...

No, not Peru, lima, as in lima beans. I ate a whole can of them at lunch. I feel my world moving forward at a pace faster than before. I know, TMI.

Rooney is not quite feeling spitooney just yet, but when I delivered his super-high-fiber-poopin'-fuel to the door during my lunch break today...lest his highness wait until the end of the day to get his colon rollin'--we ran out last night...he met me at the front door. That's spitooney behavior...pre-concrete-colon-Rooney-behavior. Yip! Yip! Dear Philanthropist footed the bill today for the $25 bag of food (available only from the vet, of course), with the rest applied to the remaining vet bill--thank you, again, whoever you are.

I got about two hours of sleep last night and rolled to and fro thinking about how to make ends meet, about how I can get Rooney to take a crap, and how I can stop Grayson from ripping his skin off. Yes, Grayson has joined in to provide extra angst by having an allergic reaction to the expensive food I bought to HELP his skin. Note, it said on the bag in large letters "Sensitive Skin" and yammered on about how the proteins used in the food are uniquely formulated for cats with food allergies and itching. Grayson was almost scab-free when I proudly set down the bowl of yummy brown crunchies. Then, poof! His cheeks and eyes got red and swollen and he launched a scratching campaign that left his neck bald and raw, his sides scabby and his right ear scratched up. I'm trying to get him squared away without creating another huge vet bill--sprays, wipes, aloe vera, change of food, etc. If he shows any signs of infection, I'll haul his hairy ass off to the vet, but I haven't tried everything--yet. I'm going to give him an colloidal oatmeal BATH tonight.

No, I do NOT jest.

The cat WILL receive an oatmeal bath. I shall prevail over the itch.

(By the way, I think my bloodtype is A-positive if you'd like to donate tomorrow.)

New Year's Report: Gave Rooney his twice-daily laxative and colon-moistener-upper-goo, stared at wall, attempted to catch snippets of television programs while husband sped through channels, stared at wall again to orient myself to a constant point, watched rented movie "Open Water," thought about throwing myself from a bridge afterward, drank really cheap red wine, toasted no one but felt pretty toasty, kissed some half-asleep man holding a remote who looked like my husband at midnight, placed pajamas on body, slept like limestone, woke up like gravel.

Tune in tomorrow for the Ralphie (and Manilow) report...