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Dishing About Me

1. On Sunday, I came away from the antique fair in Moss Landing with eight yards of the above fabric. It was $3/yard, a bargain I could not resist, especially when it's such a cool print. I have no idea what I'm going to do with all that material. Any suggestions? 2. In case some of you are wondering, the huge pile of fabric strips (scroll to xiii) that I cut several weeks ago are still sitting on the bed in L Studio. Molly the Cat seems to enjoy sleeping on top of them. 3.  Carol of Comfort Spring nominated me for The Sunshine Blogger Award . Thank you very much, Carol! As part of receiving the award, I'm to answer Carol's 11 questions.  Here's the first one: How did you begin blogging? I wanted to hear my voice again -- the storyteller, not the writer of educational and reference materials -- so I decided to publish a blog about my hometown, Hollister, California. It became more like a travel blog, which was something else I wanted to try. Since I wa...

Glue Time!

I now own a mini glue gun! And a whole lot of glue sticks. Whoooo-hoooo! I've never had a glue gun before. In fact, I have never used one.  Heee-heee. This morning, The Husband and I went to the new hardware store in the town next door to buy a solution for buffing up brass things. The store had nothing on hand. Being a small shop in a small town, I expected not to find anything appropriate. I also didn't expect to purchase a mini glue gun. It was $5.49. Cheap, I thought. Please don't tell me otherwise. The Husband asked me, "What are you going to use it for?" Chissa? Who knows?  Maybe I'll glue cows to the ground. Just kidding. Vedremo. We shall see.   I'm connecting with Our World Tuesday . Here's the link . Thank you, OWT administrators.  Ciao.

Moving a Bookcase in Six Steps

It's chaos. I'm not talking about what's going on in our country. My chaos is personal and oh so mundane, but real: The chaos I create when I want to move one thing. Just one lousy thing. Doesn't matter what it is, a lamp, a table, a bookcase, or a box of research. To move one thing requires moving a lot of other stuff—before, during, and after moving that one thing. This morning I wanted to move a short, almost empty bookcase from its temporary spot against the wall to a permanent place alongside my desk. A matter of three feet, if that. Step One: Move the bookcase and various piles of paper files, books, and boxes from beneath my desk and the other side of it to whatever surface is available and not in the path of moving objects. Step Two: Remove the floor lamp from the side of the desk to wherever it's not in the way. Step Three: Nudge little by little the desk (a sturdy pine kitchen table, so somewhat nudgable) more towards the wall. Step Four: Re...

Zowie! Such Zoolness.

What a zool cinderella dress, don't you think? Sometimes I see a Cinderella dress in this dressmaker's shop in town that I wonder what a petite, zaftig "young" old fogey woman like myself would look like wearing it. Giggle. I'm hooking up with ABC Wednesday , the fun weekly meme began by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and now hosted by Roger Green and the ABCW team.  Check out the meme here .

Eden Hills Friday's Hunt V2.1

The photo meme, Friday's Hunt , hosted by Teresa of Eden Hills , starts its second ABC round today.  It's a fun one. I made it to the letter L in the first round. Knock on wood, all goes well that I shall make it to the letter Z this time going.  As Jack Gleason used to say, "Away we go." Starts with A and Week's Favorite Our town is holding its annual motorcycle rally this weekend. It comes on or near Fourth of July to commemorate (I guess) the biker "riot" that took place in Hollister in 1947. The The Wild One starring Marlon Brando was loosely based on that incident.  So, for the next three days, we will be hearing and seeing thousands of bikers from all over, who have trekked to the Birthplace of the American Biker.  Many of them will park their bikes on our main street, where the 1947 incident took place.  Want to know more about the 1947 biker "riot"? Click here . This morning I headed down to the rally before it officially ope...

Unconnected

Unconnected is how I feel when I leave our driveway on Tilda-Hilda. The further away we get from neighborhoods and busy streets, well, you can guess, the more my soul smiles bigger. Unconnected has been the Husband's and my world the last few days. Our phone and DSL lines went dead. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Big fat zero. The first day I panicked. The second day I relaxed and watched 1960 caper movies with the Husband in the afternoon. The third day I was a bit more responsible and went to the library to use a computer to access my email. The last email was from the Husband who wrote that the lines were working again. I was relieved, at the same time bummed. Unconnected. It's nice every so often. It's the letter U at ABC Wednesday . Click here to check out other paticipants. This weekly meme was started by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and administered today by the ABCW team under the helm of Roger Green. Thank you, all!

A Pleasure of Mess

Sunflowers from the grocery store. I sprinkled a jar full of seeds throughout the backyard a month ago. As the Mama said about things she planted, "If they grow, they grow." Tiny roses from the roses that the Mama planted in the box I built many years ago and which I demolished on Friday. I should've either reinforced the box or removed the plants and potted them elsewhere for the Mama. Something I thought every time I watered the box the last few years. Bougainvillea and jasmine from the out-of-control vines in the front yard. The Mama would've been pleased to see the jasmine in full bloom, but also would've sighed that the vines had taken over. And, now, it's up to me to figure what to do. "What are you writing?" asked the Husband, looking up from the newspaper. The remains of our lunch sprawled on the kitchen table. "Nothing." A few minutes later, I looked across the flowers on the table at the Husband and said, "I wa...

Warm Hearted Wednesday

Warm Hearted Wednesday is a weekly meme that reminds us to think of the joys that happen in our lives, which range from buying a new colored pencil (yes!) to celebrating an anniversary (whooo-hooo!). The meme is hosted by the delightful Jenny Matlock who started it this week. Want to join in or learn more? Please click here . My positive thing this past week is our lawn. I live in California. For those who don't know, we're in our fourth year of a severe drought. This year, we really let the lawn go. Now and then the Husband hand watered it for about 10 minutes to appease the Mama, who loves her green lawn. But, she had to choose this year:  Either water the lawn or water her flower and vegetable gardens. For the past three or four weeks, we've had one day of steady rain each week. Hurrah! There was enough rain to bring much of the lawn back on its own.  It's nice to see the lawn happy again, for awhile. To read more Warm Hearted Wednesday posts, click here .

My Happy Zone

Today ends the round of Alphabe Thursday hosted by the wonderful Mrs. Jenny Matlock. It's also the final round of the meme.  Jenny has decided to retire it due to her health, which I hope the doctors can resolve very soon. Thank you, Jenny, for being you. My theme this round has been the Places I've Been . Hence, for the letter Z, I give you some of the places that almost always put me in my Happy Zone. In the Water ~ Photo taken by the Husband. In Hawaii ~ Photo taken by the Husband. In the Mama's Garden At a Library (or Bookstore) Wherever the Husband and I Dance ~ Photo taken by Lisa Q. Any W here Tilda-Hilda and I Ride Around the House with Molly the Cat Any Place with the Mama And, Most of All, Everywhere with the Husband ~Photo taken by a friendly woman amused at our antics.   There you go, my letter Z for Alphabe Thursday . To join in or to read other Z posts, ...

Signs of Half Moon Bay

Okay, I have 3 minutes to post something for today. Two minutes now. One minute. Okay. I cheated. I published this post, and have now come back to write more. Simply had to make sure I didn't miss my daily post. Oh, these are signs that I saw in Half Moon Bay, about 25 miles south of San Francisco, which I'll write a bit more about in tomorrow's post.

Gotta Laugh

This is what I saw in one of the Mexican grocery stores in town this morning. Hasta mañana.

The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Hello. I'm participating in a new weekly meme today. The Good. The Random. The Fun.  It's a Monday meme hosted by Random-osity . You blog about a good, random, and fun thing that happened in the past week. Yes, I know today is Tuesday. What can I say. THE GOOD  My high school graduating class—San Benito High School (aka Hollister High School) Class of 1971—established a scholarship about nine years ago. We have the distinction of being the only alumni class at the local high school to sponsor a scholarship, thanks to Rudy, Debbie, and Debbie who had the vision, heart, and diligence to make it happen. In the last eight years, we've given $14,000 in scholarships to 10 Baler graduates. (Baler, or Haybaler, is the high school mascot.) Whooo-hooo! On Saturday we held our annual Class of 1971 Scholarship fundraiser in town. It was another successful luncheon, silent auction, and raffle. Each year, we get a bigger turnout with newer faces showing up. It felt...

Time Flies. . .

When you have much to do. Yup. Time flies. Fly, fly, time. Within the next six hours, I plan to do this: Finish the Husband's tunic. All I need to do is attach the sleeves and sides, then hem it up. Make an appetizer.  The Husband and I are going to a party tonight. Fun. Maybe I'll make cheesy olive balls. They're easy to make, but that means going to the store for olives and cheddar cheese. Put together a photo collage.  It's for a luncheon fundraiser tomorrow. I could probably do that after the party, if I print the photos beforehand. Yeah, that's the ticket. Get this post done.  I threw this in so I can feel like I'll have accomplished something once its published.  Always look for the positive, I say. Thank goodness, I finished reading my novel last night, otherwise I'd forget about doing these things I plan to do. Enchanted  August by Brenda Bowen.  Just like the title, the story was enchanting. I could go for either a cup of coffee ...

Cutie

Anyone else reminded of a young Marge Simpson? Or, maybe a Dr. Seuss character who has a long forehead and tall hairdo topped with a cute barrette?

Seven Things to Do Before Summer Ends

It's time for me to make a list of all domestic diva things I want to accomplish this summer. Otherwise, I will just vaguely think about doing them, which in my world means "I'll do it tomorrow." As we all know, tomorrow really never comes. I shall ring Tilda-Hilda's ding-a-ling bell and...and...and...proclaim my list of things I shall complete before the first day of Autumn. 1. Sew the Husband another tunic. 2. Sew myself a tunic. 3. Sew the Christmas vest for the Husband, which I said I would do....uhm, two Christmases ago. 4. Make lemon extract. 5. Make limoncello. 6. Make candied ginger. 7. Bake energy bars. So, Tilda-Hilda and I can pedal farther and further down roads. I can do these seven things. I can!

Typewriters

Is it redundant to say vintage typewriters? After all, who sells new typewriters these days? For that matter, has anyone invented a new model recently? A girlfriend and I stumbled across this display of typewriters in Downtown Los Altos, California last week. They all looked spic and span. I don't think my fingers are strong enough to make the keys go clickity clack. We have three, maybe four, portable typewriters in the house. One is an electric, two (or one) are (or is) Brother typewriters from the late 1960s, and one is a very old, but not ancient, clunky typewriter like the ones you see in black and white movies. I bought that in a garage sale, thinking I'd use it. Ha! It needed a lot of cleaning so I put it back in its accompanying case. I have no idea where it is now. I took a typing class in high school, which was one of two classes that I learned skills I still use today. The teacher roamed around the classroom, making sure we did not peek at our hands as...

A Ditzy Moment

A couple of weeks ago, the Appliance Guy checked out the burners on our electric stove. We were down to only one working burner. I actually watched the third burner spit up flames as it died. Both the Mama and I were worried that we'd have to get a new stove. All for naught. The Appliance Guy told us that all we needed were burners and immediately called in an order for us. Since the Appliance Guy was there, I asked him if it was possible to calibrate the oven. "It's not working?" he asked, opening the oven door. "Sometimes my dishes come out dry or undercooked, even though I follow the time and temperature on the recipes," I said, watching him take out the oven racks, turn them around, and insert them back. "Were they in backwards?" I asked. The Appliance Guy stood up. "The door wasn't closing properly because of the racks." "Oh." "The stove is also old," the Appliance Guy said, which he most likely...

Television

I admit it. I've watched a lot of TV in my life, ever since the Mickey Mouse Club in the 1950s. But, not enough to call myself a tvholic. Oh, sure there are days or nights when I sit in front of the TV and jump from channel to channel during commercials. That's so I don't think about stuff, including writing projects. These days, I usually fall asleep after an hour of TV, if even that, including on programs that I like. For instance, I rarely make it through Elementary , the show about Holmes and Watson in modern day New York. It could be a genetic trait. The Mama falls asleep in front of the TV after dinner.  Molly the Cat snuggles alongside her and they both snore in front of the TV. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.  I suppose I could stay awake if I wasn't lying down. "Sit up," says the Husband, waving his hand in front of my face. "I'm awake," I mumble. Barely, of course, but I'm not going to say so. And, maybe I shouldn't close my eyes durin...

Priorities

"Su-sieee!" the Mama called from the bottom of the stairs. "Su-sieeeeeeee!" She shouted two seconds later. I had only begun to get my head out of whatever I was writing. "Su-sieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" She yelled louder. "Hold on. Hold on." I called as I stumbled down the hallway to the stairs. "What is it?" Silence. Halfway down the stairs, the Mama held up a bottle and asked, "Do we have Windex?" "Windex?"  I immediately envisioned her standing on the highest step of the tall ladder to clean the windows from outside. I peered at the label over my computer glasses. "This is Windex." "It's not blue." Oh, God, I thought. Will she ask me to go to the store now? Can I get her to use vinegar instead? "Windex comes in different colors now," I said. "This has lemon in it." "Okay," she said, taking the bottle from me. "What are you going to do?...

The Whole World on My Wall

The map of the world hangs on the wall above my cluttered desk and my more-than-often-than-should vacant mind. Above the map hang a few cobwebs. I'm sure Molly the Cat would be fascinated with the cobwebs if she would look up. Fortunately, the desk is too cluttered for her to find a spot to park while I work. The map? Yes, the map. I like maps. Except for topo maps, I can read a map. Reading maps, even street maps, are fun. For me. When I think of Africa, I see the number seven in a serif font. Australia makes me think of a terrier. On this world map, Greenland is orange. As are Brazil, Saudi Arabia, India, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Korea. I see no key for colors so maybe it means nothing more than that's what the creator of the map wished to color those nations. You would think I'd gaze at that map a lot. Nope. I put it up to inspire me. But, it only reminds me that I haven't traveled more than I would've thought I would by now. If I think long a...