Always...

Woohoo!

A storm rolled through the area in the wee hours this morning.  It was magnificent!  Non-stop lightning for well over an hour.  Sizzles and zaps, thunder and fresh rain.  Mmm.  Perfect.

Okay, perfect for me as far as storms go.  So what if I’ve been up since 3:45 this morning?  We haven’t had a show like that in forever.  Definitely worth losing a little sleep over. 

Funny thing was the cats woke me early today.  Slightly annoying until I realized they’d decided they needed to eat before the storm since Quinn is petrified and goes into hiding.  Poor kitty did not enjoy this morning at all.  But, to keep him from going completely nuts, I restrained myself and did not go out to sit on the porch and watch.  Yes, he panics and cries when I do that so I’ve been staying in to keep him as calm as can be.

It’s tremendously hot and humid today.  Should be all weekend so there’s a good chance of more storms rumbling by.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Happy Weekend!

Why Is It?

That prunes are now hyped as dried plums?  And, if that's the way of things, raisins aren't dried grapes?

That there is never any food in my house that I want to eat?

That people think it's acceptable to begin a conversation with "I need?"

That someone who backs in to the side of a stranger's car, smooshing it, thinks it's okay to just drive off without leaving a note even though there is someone else sitting there watching who very likely knows who the car belongs to and is capable of recording a license plate number?

That cats suddenly decide they must eat canned food for breakfast at 4:00 AM or they will perish instantly even though there is dry food left in their bowls which is perfectly acceptable at any other time of day?

That ice cream trucks never ever cruise your neighborhood on days when you've done gobs of physical labor and will permit yourself to flag them down for the first time in two years?

Yeah, it's like this some days.

Bzzz!

The thing about not feeling dreadful all the time is I'm a busy, busy B.  Yay me!  I'll be back.  Perhaps over the weekend...

Someone Forgot...

...to wind me.  Back tomorrow.  Maybe...

I Learned Something

About myself.  All this time, ever since I was a child, I believed I hated hot weather because it made my head hurt worse than normal.  I thought that’s why summer depresses me.  Um, nope.  My head has been just fine for over a month now, nothing short of miraculous, and I still hate summer.  It’s the heat that depresses me.  Which means unless I find a way to pack up and move someplace with shorter summers, there’s really not a heck of a lot I can do about this.

Not having a constant migraine does mean I am more functional this year than I’ve ever been in the summer so I suppose that’s a good thing.  Still, I’m a bit disappointed.  I know, I know.  My head doesn’t hurt and that should be enough, right?  It is a truly wonderful thing, to be sure.  But I wanted more.  Silly me.

Variation on a Theme V

Original

Pencil Sketch

Heat Mapped

Duo Tone

Focal Zoom

Happy Weekend!

Cheesy Ziti with mini meatballs from the Pike Cafe. All this plus salad - $10.95. I call, they cook, 10 minutes to dinner.

Remembering

This week is the 40^th anniversary of Hurricane Anges.  I know it was a tragedy and very costly natural disaster but personally, I have good memories about the occurrence.

I was just a kid and was spending the week in Carlisle with my great aunt, always a wonderful time.  Her next door neighbors had a daughter my age and I looked forward to spending time with her.  Her mom babysat small children, four and under so Crystal and I were generally sent out to fend for ourselves.  It was a safe and friendly neighborhood at the time.  We’d been roaming during my visits for years so everyone knew us and where we belonged so we were given pretty much freedom.  If we were going further than around the block, either walking or roller skating, we had to check in first although there was a pre-approved corner store on the same street a few blocks away that we didn’t need permission to go to.

The year of Agnes it rained.  Non-stop.  Not that we let that stop us from meandering.  But it rained so hard we were required to wear high rain boots and slickers.  The boots, we kept on even when splashing in puddles that were extremely deep with water pouring in over the top.  The slickers, more often than not, were left behind on the porch where we’d been sent to get us out from underfoot of Crystal’s mom and the kids she watched.  Yeah, I admit it.  We were really no help to her.  We were too involved in our own games which the other kids were too young to include.  Irva took us to ladies luncheons with her and my grandmother visited, teaching us to knit as we sat on the porch and watched it rain.

Fun but that only lasted so long before we were off to play in the never-ending storm.  In the evenings, Crystal’s dad would come home with news of the latest flooded areas around town which led to excited chatter, okay outright begging, until he piled us in the car and took us out to see for ourselves.

The trip home was fascinating.  We had to cross the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg.  I can still remember the feeling of awe when I saw the extent of the area the floodwaters had claimed.  I’m not certain but I believe I had to stay a few extra days that year, waiting for route 81 to be passable around the bridge.

Yes, Agnes did a tremendous amount of damage and was a horrific event for so many people.  For that I’m sorry but I must admit I enjoyed it.  It’s all in the perspective.

Today...

...Would have been my great aunt Irva’s 96^th birthday.  I miss her tremendously.  She was the one I could, without any hesitation, count on her to have faith in me my entire life before she passed away a year and a half ago.  It’s a bittersweet day, full of memories.

Irva was the quiet one in the family.  She went about her business, accomplishing everything she set out to do without making a fuss or drawing attention to herself.  She was a sixth-grade teacher her entire working life.  I remember going to lunch with her forever and having a handful of people stop to chat with her about the impact she had on there lives.  It happened no matter where we went in Carlisle.  Those that didn’t know her from school knew her for her lovely voice.  She spent 70 years in the church choir and over the years sang at many weddings.  Between the two occupations, she left a wonderful legacy.  I’m sure I could go back to the places she frequented and still find people missing her.

In her honor, I took today off and did fun things.  As a child, I remember going to the Carlisle Farmers Market.  I couldn’t get there today but I did go wander the Leesport Farmers Market, a place I know she would have enjoyed.  I even found a few orange and white kittens who resembled her cat, Puffy, to "fuzz" while I was there. I had lunch with the Little One who has adopted me as her aunt.  I even had a few bites of a decadent double chocolate brownie with hot fudge and ice cream.  I know Irva would have liked that.

As long as I have my memories, I know Irva will not ever be truly gone.  So happy birthday, Irva.  I love you.

Power of the Mind

I’ve had very weird dreams the past two nights.  It’s been a rather nice change, not having anyone trying to kill me.  Not directly anyway.

I’m not sure where I am or what I’m doing there.  All I know is that I’m outside and it’s cold.  Frigid even.  I’m somewhere surrounded by ice.  I keep waking myself up, I’m shivering that hard.  Sadly, I drift right back into the dream as soon as I doze off again.

Monday morning, I woke up with the cats pressed against me.  Very unusual to have all of them at once.  Generally there are one or two and they seem to take turns.  It was as if they were trying to keep me warm since even when they’re in the bed they snuggle for a bit but then move off to their own spots.

Today, I woke up burrowed under the down comforter that I keep folded up at the end of the bed during warm weather.  So in my sleep I managed to reach it, unfold it and get it spread out on top of the bed.  In the dreams, I was still freezing although the comforter helped.  Awake, I was damn near suffocating and hot as could be.

It’s going to be in the upper 90’s/low 100’s the rest of the week which means my house will be very, very warm.  It’ll be interesting to see if my mind can convince me that I’m cold then too.

I Am Angry

I have opinions.  Lots of them.  Agree or disagree, understand them or not, they are entirely mine.  I have the right to have them, just as I believe everyone else is entitled to their own opinions.

When someone specifically asks my opinion on something, I will supply it.  I stress the “asks” here.  Today I was asked directly.  I commented.  And was instantly blasted for being utterly and completely wrong.  Repeatedly and in not so nice terms. 

Um, no.  My opinion, in my opinion, is completely correct as it’s my opinion.  Others may differ and are welcome to.  I will happily agree to disagree on things.  I have no problem with that.  Differences make us interesting.  What fun would it be if we were all clones?

But declaring that I am WRONG when all I’ve done is respond honestly to a sincere inquiry is disrespectful and not something I take well.  If I’m expected to blindly agree with whatever statements are being made then inform me of that upfront and don’t even bother asking what I think about something.  Just make clear what you require me to parrot and I will, if necessitated.

Sadly, the individual is someone I used to have a fairly decent rapport with.  Used to.  Yes, it only takes seconds of being attacked for a barrier to form and me to revert to polite and distant.  I suppose I’m wrong for protecting myself now too.

Variations on a Theme IV

Original with Vignette

Pencil Sketch

Inverted Colors

Holga-ish

Duo-Tone

 

Hydrangea Blossoms

Close to Forever

I know Close to Forever has been out for a bit but I still really like the story even if I did write it myself.  If you haven't read it yet please do.  It's sweet not erotic, with hostility caused by a long ago misunderstanding and a twist at the end.

Blurb -
 

Marc is stuck teaching basic mechanics, but he isn’t happy about it.  He’s even less thrilled to discover Chloe in his class. Marc hasn’t seen her since the day she ruined his family.  He should hate her, but the more he learns, the more he feels there’s something that just doesn’t add up.

Chloe is ten minutes late for the first class, and the instructor decides to hold it against her. She’s never met a ruder man. Or a more dangerously attractive one. She doesn’t understand his animosity or the attraction between them.  When Marc has a change of heart, Chloe must decide if he can be trusted.

Oops!

Sorry for being AWOL without warning.  I had some things to do.  Yep, they’re done and nope, not telling what they were.  Hahaha!  Hey, a girl has to have some mystery, right?

There’s very little I dislike more than someone who doesn’t know me at all telling me what I want without bothering to ask.  And then, when confronted with the possibility of having a choice, trying to do a quick shuffle, making it seem as if there really isn’t one.  And again, when questioned, flat out lying to me about something I’ve researched.  I don’t know.  Perhaps I was wearing my “stupid” face the other day which inspired a baby clerk to give it a shot.  What I find truly annoying is that he more than likely does the same for everyone which means people who haven’t bothered to check before walking into the store are sold the more expensive option without knowing they had a choice.  Upgraded is not always the best solution for everyone.

I pondered the empty space where the willow tree used to be today.  It definitely needs something in it.  I’m thinking a butterfly bush.  It’ll give the little birds a place to play once it grows up and be pretty without getting too big for the space.  Now all I have to do is decide what color blossoms I want so I can go get one.

Farewell

Unbelievable!

I was looking for something else and stumbled on something that astounded me.  Brand name Excedrin is now costing a dollar or more a tablet.  Seriously!  A bottle of 100 tablets was listed at $115.95.  Or you could buy 5 packets of 2 tablets each for $16.50.  What amazes me more is that I bet there are some people willing to pay that much.

I guess they’ve never compared the ingredient list on a generic box.  Same stuff.  Same quantities.   200 tablets for $8.12 with free shipping.  At my significantly reduced rate of ingestion, the 200 I bought when Excedrin was first recall will likely last me a year. 

Sure wish I had some “real” unopened boxes.  I’d sell them and take all my friends on a cruise.

Variations on a Theme III

Prickly Pear - Original

Prickly Pear - HDR

Prickly Pear - Holga-ish

Prickly Pear - Heat Mapped

Prickly Pear - Sepia, Lomo-ish

Yeah

Smiling

Started the day with a headache.  How very upsetting!  I spent the first half hour I was awake fighting tears.

But then I forced myself out of bed.  Last night’s almost two inched of rain washed away the heat.  There was very little humidity and the temperature topped out at 70.  It was still in the 50’s when I started out this morning. 

I spent the entire day digging in the dirt.  Once I reclaimed my gardening shoes from Kya.  Yes, I admit it.  I was off planting flowers in yards where the home owners weren’t home again.  It’s a really fun thing to do.  You should try it sometime.

Believe it or not by the time I wandered back home after snagging some home grown sugar peas and garden lettuce, my headache was gone.  Now that’s a good day!