Yep, That About Sums it Up

Heh

I was surfing an old file this evening, looking for something I thought I tucked away there, only to be distracted by this pic.  It is from the 365 picture a day challenge some friends set up awhile back.

I remember that day.  It was hotter than the hinges of hell, as my grandfather would have said.  On days like that I put my hair up instantly once I'm home from work.  Usually it ends up as an off-center ponytail but not that day.  Then it turned out like I always want it to when I attempt to put my hair up to go out.  I really like it like that.  Never managed to duplicate it.

The point?  You think there is one?  I'm sorry but no, not today.  Just a good hair moment picture. 

It's Time

And my own fault.  I've been very irresponsible lately with my meals.  Yes, pretty much eating anything and everything I wanted.  Bad Barb.  Bad, bad Barb!

Now it is time to pay.  If you've been around for a long time then you will know that I used to suffer from terrible migraines.  I finally cured them on my own.  By juicing.  No more drugs that could kill a horse at twenty paces.

Or so I thought.  Last week I would have killed for some of those drugs.  I had a choice to make.  Go back to the whole doctor ritual, including a slew of drugs or have some more juice.  I chose juice.

You may be wondering why I even hesitated.  Simple.  The juice that works best includes kale.  Have you ever had raw kale juice?  Trust me.  It's truly nasty!  As in one tiny sip is enough to make my skin crawl for three minutes.  Drinking a whole glass is a true challenge.  But still, in the long run, it is better than endless migraines.

So here, on the outside of the pic are my breakfast and lunch tomorrow.  Kale, cucumber, celery, ginger, apple and a splash of pure, natural orange juice.  I've discovered that OJ makes it slightly more palatable.  Tonight's dinner is a treat.  Kale, cucumber, celery, banana and super sweet pineapple!  Much better but not really as effective when it comes to eliminating migraines quickly.

One interesting thing I learned with tonight's dinner combination - Banana brings out the taste of celery.  Had no clue it would do that but I'm eternally grateful it didn't enhance the kale.

Did You Know?

Opossums are exceptionally good groomers.  I can hear you thinking, "So?  Why should I care?"  You should and I'll tell you why.

I realize that we're still in the midst of an extended deep freeze here but believe it or not, spring really is coming.  And with spring comes tick season.  Ticks that carry Lyme disease.  Nasty stuff, that.  I recommend avoiding it if at all possible.

That's where possums, cute but nasty buggers that they are, come in.  Being so fastidious, they gobble up an extremely high percentage of ticks that attempt to feast on them.  As in every tick they eat is one less that will eventually find its way to you.

Ah, now you get it.  So although I don't necessarily recommend that you invite them to nest under your porch it might not be such a bad thing if they live in your neighborhood.  Keep areas they might decide to seek shelter in closed up and your trash out of reach and you can coexist, no problem.  Unless you have neighbors like mine but that was a topic of an older blog.

Bittersweet

A million years ago, when I first moved into my house I decided I needed a place to go.  You know what I mean.  Someplace comfortable.  Someplace where I was known and could go without worrying about anything.  Someplace to hang out.

Back then the Pike hadn’t begun its metamorphoses and was still pretty much of a dive.  It was definitely not a place where I could go alone.  So I roamed my new neighborhood and stumbled on Ronies.  A few blocks from home.  Back then it was safe to walk at all hours so it was perfect.

Ronie was a character.  If he liked you, he delayed taking your money so you were unable to leave.  If he didn’t, you never got served.  I was fortunate.  Ronie and his wife, Donna liked me.  One of the early years I ended up with way too much vacation.  I used it up one Friday afternoon at a time, at Ronies, eating fresh sliced Delmonico cheese steaks with spicy fries.  By the time the summer was over I was family.  Over the years, I stored up a lot of memories from there.  Mostly good, a few not so much.

A month ago a for sale sign appeared on the railing.  I hadn’t been there in quite some time but that didn’t stop me from feeling a little sad.  After forty-eight years in business Ronies was closing.  The end of an era.   One less place for me to feel at home.

Today some friends and I went for what will be the last time.  There is a deal pending.  Someone else will step in and change things.  No, there is nothing wrong with change.  But in this case even if the new place is fantastic it still won’t be good.   Ronies was an old fashioned corner bar that I’m sure is very similar to how it looked the day it opened, only not as shiny.  Ronie and Donna are much the same as the first time I walked in.  They’re not as shiny either but then neither am I.

I’d like to say thank you for all the time I spent there.  And wish them both all the best in the world.  Cheers!

A Question

Waiting

Waiting

Always waiting

Wondering why I wasn’t enough

Never enough

Disposable

Expendable

An acceptable casualty

Collateral damage to others’ lives

Unseen as I passed

Unnoticed if I stayed

So easily overlooked

Was I ever here?

Good Morning to You Too

It snowed again this morning.  Not a lot.  But enough to make people testy.

Howie was bringing me to work.  We were on the street leading to the parking lot.  He had his turn signal on and was about to turn.  A full-sized pickup truck was coming towards us.  There should have been plenty of time for us to turn safely.  However the S.O.B. driving the truck sped up and blocked the entrance.

He proceeded to gesture at me.  When I didn’t react as he wanted, he put down his window and screamed at me to back up and let him by.  He insisted I had to see him coming and should have already gotten out of his way.  Yes, that is the cleaned up version of it.

I stared for a moment, during which he became more abusive and obscene.  If I saw him then surely he saw Howie as well.  Which brings the question to mind why he sped up instead of pausing?

I had several responses in mind but bit my tongue.  He had a child with him and none of them would have been appropriate for her to hear.  I doubt I made an impression but I attempted to show that not everyone is a bullying prick. 

Howie backed up and let him pass.  As I choose to see it, that indicates that we have class whereas he does not.

More snow over the weekend.  I think we’ll stay in and leave the idiots to themselves.

Sometimes, You All You Can Do is Laugh!

"We are watching the March 3-4 time frame for a big storm system that has the potential to produce a lot of snow for some locations. The storm signal is strong and has the support of all 3 major global models. The European and Canadian model are the most aggressive on the snowfall potential, while the GFS is warmer and shifts the snow further north."

Happy Dance!

One of my older books, Drake's Rules is available in print on February 20th!  I'm extremely happy about that because I adore that book.  I reread it when I found out it was being released and there was so much I had forgotten.  Cool stuff that I don't remember writing!  I truly enjoyed the story as I read.  How awesome is that!

Although this is an erotic book there is a little girl in the story who steal just about every scene she is in.  The group of minor characters are great and the book ends with a happy sigh.  The rules of couplehood that Drake comes up with throughout the book are pretty nifty too.  Yeah, they are some of what I don't recall creating.

If you haven't read it yet, you really should!  Click here to find it.  I'd love to hear what you think!

Blurb ~

Megan Lewis has been alone ever since a bad experience in college left her afraid to trust her instincts about men. When she comes home from her morning bike ride to find her neighbor’s young daughter alone in the hallway, the last thing she expects is overwhelming surge of desire she feels the moment her panicked neighbor joins them.

When Professor Drake Edwards loses his wife and son in a horrible accident he moves his daughter to a new town for a fresh start. He has no intention of getting involved with anyone. But when he finds his neighbor, Megan, watching over his daughter, his body has plans of its own. Can his heart and mind overcome the guilt he feels?

A few of Drake's Rules ~

Rule number one of couplehood. Never let the other person deal with a situation alone when you were both responsible for creating it.”

Rule number two of couplehood. Nothing terrible will happen if you both give yourselves permission to put all your concerns on hold and take a break for a few hours to enjoy what’s right in front of you.”

Plus ten more!

Snow, Snow and More Snow!

I'm going to be very sad when I can't go to a fair with my friends on the Fourth of July because I've used up all my time on snow days.  Could someone please go find the groundhog and explain that six more weeks of winter could be just cold.  It does not have to be six more weeks of constant snow.

Yesterday began with a foot of snow.  I cleaned off my car.  Then we had hours of rain/sleet/snow mix.  Then we had seven more inches of snow overnight. 

Howie was not happy this morning.  Not until I gave him a snowhawk!  They haven't even attempted to plow my street.  I considered hiking in to work but under the seven inches of snow are two inches of frozen sleet/rain/snow mix that accumulated after they plowed yesterday.  So I am not walking anywhere.

Tomorrow I will again clean off my car as we are to have more snow tonight.  Yes, definitely time to have a talk with that damn groundhog!

Off to watch more Olympics, the only good part about all of this.  Happy weekend, all!