December 7, 2007

A quick note

I’ve been without power and an internet connection since a storm blew through on Tuesday night. I have clients backed up and need to re-stock the fridge while I’m out since I lost everything. I’ll try to do a real post later today if I can get back home in time. There’s still power poles and debris on highway, so I’ll be gone for hours, I’m sure. Just wanted to let everyone know I’m back will try to catch up on comments and do a real post later today.

Technorati Tags: absence, power outage

November 27, 2007

I’ve lost my street cred!

The board of directors for our community finally found a contractor to repair and repave our roads. They’re supposed to be out there working right now, but they haven’t shown up yet. Some of the prep happened yesterday, though. You would think that with dozens of spots to place this lovely little gem, the delivery man would have put it somewhere a bit out of the way where it wouldn’t offend too many folks, right? Wrong! The idiot put it in the entrance to my driveway, blocking access to the extra stall my friends park in when they visit. I stared at it all afternoon and then decided I just had to do something about it. I called a friend on the board and she assured me that the arrangement called or the portapottie to be positioned outside of the park fence down the road. She gave me the number of the paving contractors and I called them first thing this morning. They, too, were surprised that the rental company had not followed the work order instructing them to park it at the park. Within half an hour the jobber showed up and moved it.

I need to upgrade my landscaping. Curb appeal is everything, you know? I appreciate the guy trying to help me out, but I’m thinking a gazebo for the front yard would be a little more appropriate.

Technorati Tags: home, humor, just stuff, portapottie

November 26, 2007

Gratitude

I’m so very grateful that my old Buddy dog has decided that he’s going to stick around a while longer. I’m grateful for over ten years of loving devotion from him, and will repay it soon by helping him through that last dark passage. Not today, though. We still have some good times to share.

I’m grateful to all of my friends who shared my joy when I was able to cancel Buddy’s final appointment. Your support and fellowship mean the world to me. Mahalo!

I’m grateful for the two friends who shared Thanksgiving in my home. My ohana. Two of the dearest people in the world to me. They fill my heart and make me want to be a better person.

I’m grateful that my son has turned out to be such a great guy. I fumbled through his young years, making a lot of mistakes that he was able to overcome. His honesty, his morality, his infinite capacity for love thrill me. I love you, son.

I’m grateful for the group of women who have been the core of my online community for so many years. We’ve shared our daily lives for so long and so intimately that we know each other better than some of our family members know us. You help me stay centered and your friendship is one of my most valuable assets.

I’m grateful for the other online friends who have become a part of my life since I started blogging. You’ve become a part of my daily bread. I feed on your joys and triumphs, feast on your imaginations and intellects, am downcast by your miseries and am humbled that you share your lives with me. I’m also very grateful that most of you don’t seem to need drug rehabilitation.

I’m grateful that my Thanksgiving turkey this year was the best I’ve ever cooked. I realize that sets the bar impossibly high and that all future turkeys are likely to be very poor imitation, but I’m glad to have reached the pinnacle just this once.

I’m grateful for my little home. It’s not a palace, but it fills my needs. It gives me shelter, provides the boys with a place to rest and play and has room for all of my stuff - well, most of it. I’m well aware that many are not so blessed.

I am grateful that I have work that I enjoy, and that it is adequate to provide for me and the boys. Again, many are not so fortunate.

I’m grateful for this life I have. Many would find it a bit boring. That’s too bad. I’m content.

Technorati Tags: dogs, family, friends, gratitude, thankfulness

November 23, 2007

Day after - damage control

Why do we call them holidays, those days when we celebrate with family and friends and over-indulge in all the good stuff? I’m not asking that in the literal sense; I know the term originated with the ‘holy days” on various religious calendars. I’m talking of the way we use the word in relation to the other busy days of our lives. We use the term to signify “days off of work,” yet end up working harder for ourselves on these days than some of us generally work in our paid jobs. I have a termite inspection to do today whenever I’m ready to do it - it’s a vacant place on a lock box, so I didn’t have to rush out to meet someone for admittance at the crack of dawn. I have a lot of other work to do today, too, though, and it’s all within my own home. The geniuses who do market research tell me that many of you will spend today out shopping, taking advantage of Black Friday sales. How do you do it? I’ve never had time for anything other than cleaning on the day after a “holiday.”

My guests at yesterday’s feast washed dishes during the few minutes that I was back here in the office doing my apology post last night. I very much appreciate that, though I’m never really comfortable when someone else does the clean-up for me. As you can see, the dish drainer is full. There’s another whole load of dishes left to do. I’ll get to them shortly.

After those dishes are done, I’ll tackle the leftover pots and pans. There wasn’t even room for them on the countertop, so they’re still stacked on the stove. I’ll need to give the stovetop a good scrubbing, too. I’m a clean-as-you-cook kinda gal, but there’s so much going on during the preparation of a big holiday meal that it gets pretty overwheliming if I try to keep up with that habit.

Then there’s this. I loaded my guests up with as much as they could carry. I also issued an order that they’re to come back today or tomorrow and take more. I hope they took that seriously. I plan on de-boning the turkey later today - probably after I do that one little inspection I’ve got scheduled. I’ll get all of the meat into a couple of zip-lock bags and try to persuade my friends to take at least half of it. I might make turkey soup from the bones, but the freezer is full, too, so where would I put it? I bought the smallest turkey I could find (a little over twelve pounds) but it’s still way too much for two people to consume (our third is a vegetarian, so he’s no help with the excess.) Maybe I should give the boys a turkey dinner tonight instead of their usual kibble. Buddy is failing rapidly and won’t be with us much longer. Yeah, I think I’ll ignore conventional wisdom about “people food” just this once, and treat them both to a feast. The old boy deserves that!

Technorati Tags: chores, excess, family, holidays

November 22, 2007

Share some good stuff

Well, the good stuff has been going on all day in my house, as I know it has in many of yours. My holiday guests are still here and I have decided not to neglect them in order to put together a post. To those of you who shared some good stuff this week, your posts will be featured next week, along with any new submissions. I hope you have all been enjoying a happy Thanksgiving Day filled with family, friends, good food and good times. I also hope you’ll forgive me for placing those things above the entry you were expecting from me. I think most of you will. I’ll see you all back here next Thursday. Until then, keep looking for the Good Stuff. It’ll do you good!

Technorati Tags: apology, good stuff, holiday hiatus

November 19, 2007

Are posties the best or what?

I didn’t get to go to PostieCon. I’d like to have gone. There were a lot of speakers addressing ways to become a better blogger, a lot of revelations about new features coming to PPP (Argus, IZEA, SocialSpark!) and a lot of good times to be had. The primary reason I wanted to go was because it would have been an opportunity to actually meet some of the people I’ve been interacting with online for over a year now. I don’t want to imply that the sessions weren’t an attractive draw or that I’d not have appreciated all of the blogging tips. Those are good things too that I’d like to have partken of, but it’s the people that make PPP special and it was the chance to spend some time with them that made it tough to not go. I’ve enjoyed all of the pictures and blog posts they’ve shared which made it seem more real to the rest of us, but, let’s face it: being there would have been better.

Most of the folks who attended PostiCon also attended BlogWorld, so they were there for a couple of days before PostieCon actually started. And they were posting stories and pictures before PositeCon. I started seeing all of the goodies they were gathering in their swag bags and realized there was yet another good reason for going. Stuff! I saw some stuff with the new IZEA logo on it and my stuff detector started ringing loud and clear. I really, really need more stuff! I really, really wanted something, anything with that pretty new IZEA logo. So I swallowed hard and shot off a couple of PMs to posties I had spotted online during the gathering and I asked. Could I please, pretty, pretty please have one fo those IZEA mousepads if they could get an extra one? I figured it would be rude to ask for all of the stuff, so I pretended I don’t have a greedy heart and asked for just one logo item, one that would be easy to shove into an envelope and mail to Hawaii. I gotta tell you, these are folks who know all about me and stuff, lol! It seems several of them got together and, acknowledging my greed and my love of stuff, decided to be incredibly accommodating and generous. They filled up a swag bag for me and persuaded Techie to deliver it personally when he came to island after leaving PostiCon.

There you see that beautiful new IZEA logo on my shiny new mousepad. You also see a long-sleeved SocialSpark tee, a Car Guys tee packaged up in a block shaped like a car, a SocialSpark button (on the mousepad,) an IZEA cup cozy and a Travelodge Sleepy Bear complete with pajamas, nightcap and slippers. I ask you, did I score? I scored!

Mahalo for Robyn and Lisa who responded graciously to my greedy PMs. And to Cass and Jules (Happy Anniversary, Julie & Michael!) who were, I think, in on the conspiracy. And to Techie and Mrs.Techie for bringing the goods and for sharing their beautiful keiki and a wonderful afternoon with me. If anyone else was involved I hope you’ll let me know so I can give you some of my worthless linky-love and a big mahalo! Y’all da bes!

Technorati Tags: friends, postiecon, posties, stuff, swag

November 17, 2007

What’s on your desktop?

My pal Sprite at Homespun Honolulu has tagged me to tell you what’s on my desktop. No one who knows me will be surprised by my choice. Books are an important part of my life and I love quirky art. It was only natural that I fell in love with Written Worlds by Ron Gonsalves the first time I saw it. Its depiction of a library offering entry into the worlds of our imagination speaks to my heart and my intellect, besides being delicious eye candy. Canadian artist Gonslaves, though inspired by the works of Magritte and Escher (my “other” favorite artist) has a style distinctly his own, blending the surreal with the mundane to create what he says is best described as Magical Realism. I don’t care what he calls it. I just love that he does it!

I’ve been hesitant to tag folks in the past, not wanting anyone to feel that they “had to” respond in kind. These are perilous times to be linking anyone to my blog, which the Big G has apparently identified as a “bad neighborhood” because I’ve had the audacity to write for sponsors through networks other than their own. They’ve become quite concerned with how I keep my checking account healthy and have demoted me to a zero. I’d be flattered at their personal attention if I didn’t know that I was only one of thousands thus blessed. The call is yours, my friends. I won’t give you a “valuless link” unless you request it. If you’d like to play along just let me know in your comments and I’ll hook you up. Just don’t say that I didn’t warn you!

And Cass is the first to step up to the plate. She ain’t afraid of no g-monster! Line forms to the rear, folks. Who else has the courage to thumb their nose at G by asking me to link them? (This is not a slam at the courage of anyone who is avoiding risks until the dust settles. We all understand and I know that many are not so much scared as they are confused as to what’s “allowed.” I’ll still respect you if you avoid links for a while! )

And I’m happy to report we have two more players. I honestly didn’t know what to expect this time around, considering the recent carnage. Beth, about whom I will have something to say soon, will boldly share her desktop with the world! So will Val, who plays my games and lets me play at her place! Yah! Are we all getting back to “life as usual” in the blogosphere?

Edit:

Since Blueyes was bold enough to criticize me in my own home I thought I should take a look at what she had to say. Well, yes, Blueyes, I had way too many icons on my desktop, especially considering that I rarely use any of them. I’ve repented. I’ve kept the icons for a few trouble-shooting programs that I like to get to quickly when things go wrong. I’ve kept Rhapsody because I’ve just installed it and it’s convenient to have it right there as I explore. I’ve kept my Netscape icon because I use it frequetnly to compare browser views of my blog. Everthing else was just fluff & stuff and is gone.

Technorati Tags: art, desktop, meme

November 16, 2007

Oh, the tangled web we weave

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Sir Walter Scott

If I were still young and perky I wouldn’t need enhancements. Perhaps there are women in their fifties who don’t need the “slightly padded” look supported by straps of iron. I’m not one of them. Giving birth while still in my teens gave me a lucious fullness which promptly deflated to a reasonably firm but slightly sagging chest once my mammaries were to longer needed for their designed purpose. I fooled myself for a while, but my mirror refused to allow me to live the lie. I gave up strapless in my thirties and never went back. I’ve gotten a little fuller in the last ten years or so, but without support you certainly can’t tell it. So I have straps, nice sturdy hardware to hoist the slightly padded feminine features back up to where they belong. Straps that dance around each other inside their net bag on laundry day, pair up and entangle their fates one with the other. An hour of so of frustrated pulling and tugging and tracing of sources usually restores order without the need to resort to scissors. I’m tempted to chuck them all, but as I approach the possible need for plus size lingerie I suspect I’ll need more rather than less of them. Yeah, I could handwash them separately and solve the dilemma, but I’m not quite aggrevated enough to make that change yet.

How do you do it? Toss them in loose with everything else? Throw one in each washload to minimize the risk of permanent melding? Net bag? Surely there’s a solution that won’t require me to go the handwashing route? Isn’t there?

Technorati Tags: bras, laundry nightmares, lingerie

November 11, 2007

Broke my favorite kitchen gadget

I love kitchen gadgets. Peelers and slicers and dicers and ricers, strainers and things that make stuff easy to pour, whisks and bottles openers - love them all! A couple of years back my son and I were having a conversation about stocking stuffers for Christmas. I get pretty imaginative with such things, but he admitted to having no clue. So I did what any good mom would do (or at least any mom who likes stuff, lol) and I made him a list. Right at the top of the list - kitchen gadgets! So what did he get for stocking stuffers that year? Two large Pyrex measuring cups and a set of scoops for my canisters. Now the scoops kinda qualify as gadgets, but the cups - no way. I use them a lot and am really glad to have them, but they don’t feel like “gadgets” to me. I’m not sure how to define a gadget, but I know one when I see it. They’re utensils and tools (as are measruing cups) but they’re specialized and different from the everyday stuff. Maybe someone can come up with a definition for me?

So anyway - the picture. That’s my oil sprayer. I use it every day. Well, I did until I dropped it right on the button that you depress to spray. It broke the little plastic chamber that forces air into the bottle, so it’s no use now. I’m going to town in a few hours to see a play, so I’ll have to stop at the really huge, gazillion-square-foot mall that I hate and get me a new one. I’d rather pull all of my teeth without anesthesia or climb the North Face in my underwear than go into the teeming masses at that place, but the only store I know of that carries my oil sprayer is there. So I guess I have to go. Totally aside from hating the mall, though, that presents a real dilemma. I love the kitchen gadget store. It’s got all of the best stuff. I’m trying to cut back on stuff, thank-you-very-much, but I already know I’ll see things I didn’t plan on buying when I get there and will realize that they could change my life forever and I just have to have them.

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers, folks. I’m going in and this may not be pretty.

Technorati Tags: gadgets, just stuff, kitchen gadgets, kitchen tools, oil sprayer

November 8, 2007

Lights out!

The power went out tonight just at sunset and was out for a couple of hours. The power also went out last night around the same time and was out for about an hour. I hope this isn’t the new pattern of our lives. I’m beginning to wonder. Sunset is around 6:30. Dinnertime. Maybe someone at the power company is plugging into the wrong thing to heat up their frozen entree? Perhaps someone is worried about the corrupting influence of prime time programming on TV and is exercising a new form of censorship? Maybe there are ghosts in the machines and they come out to play at sunset? What’s your whacky reason for such a bizarre occurrance? How worried do you think should I be if the lights go out tomorrow night right around sunset? Cue the music, Rod Serling!

Technorati Tags: dark night, power outage, strange phenomenon