Sunday, August 28, 2005
Sunday wrap-up: The good, the bad and the odd
Good: I've been listing books pretty steadily. One of the hard things about doing this is getting interested in them and stopping to page through. Some of a lot we are selling on commission are a series of books by John Tyndall, printed in about 1888-9, as an educational series on science of the time. I think my favorite is "Essays on the floating-matter of the air in relation to putrefacation and infection" but the ones on electricity, light and sound are also very cool.
Times have changed in other ways as well. Today they would not publish a book called "What Happened to Johnston" and subtitle it 'A Sequel to "Twenty Years of Hus'ling"'.... (It's about the man's business experiences. And not THAT kind of business, either. Quit it.)
Bad: I'm compulsively following the news about Hurricane Katrina. I don't know anyone down there personally, but I'm upset on general principles anyway. I think this is going to be the US version of the tsunami, and I worry that worse stuff is coming.
Odd: Last night I had a strange dream that I accidentally posted something to someone's LiveJournal that was deemed annoying. (How THAT could ever happen, I can't imagine.) So someone who belonged to a special LJ community mentioned me, and all the members there started spamming me with angry comments, so many and so fast that the incoming emails overloaded my computer and eventually my ISP. It was a very realistic dream, and I can remember trying all sorts of things to shut it down and break out of the loop, except I couldn't because my computer kept freezing up. I half-woke up and couldn't decide for a little bit if I was dreaming or if it had really happened.
Here's one that DID actually happen. My grandson Zach accidentally shut down the D.A.R.E. pool party on Friday. He and his friend spotted a strange animal, later ID'd as a muskrat, and accidentally chased it into the pool. So the pool was evacuated until it was captured. I don't know what exactly was done with the animal afterwards.
Caro points out that my tendency towards weird events gravitating my way apparently breeds true....
Times have changed in other ways as well. Today they would not publish a book called "What Happened to Johnston" and subtitle it 'A Sequel to "Twenty Years of Hus'ling"'.... (It's about the man's business experiences. And not THAT kind of business, either. Quit it.)
Bad: I'm compulsively following the news about Hurricane Katrina. I don't know anyone down there personally, but I'm upset on general principles anyway. I think this is going to be the US version of the tsunami, and I worry that worse stuff is coming.
Odd: Last night I had a strange dream that I accidentally posted something to someone's LiveJournal that was deemed annoying. (How THAT could ever happen, I can't imagine.) So someone who belonged to a special LJ community mentioned me, and all the members there started spamming me with angry comments, so many and so fast that the incoming emails overloaded my computer and eventually my ISP. It was a very realistic dream, and I can remember trying all sorts of things to shut it down and break out of the loop, except I couldn't because my computer kept freezing up. I half-woke up and couldn't decide for a little bit if I was dreaming or if it had really happened.
Here's one that DID actually happen. My grandson Zach accidentally shut down the D.A.R.E. pool party on Friday. He and his friend spotted a strange animal, later ID'd as a muskrat, and accidentally chased it into the pool. So the pool was evacuated until it was captured. I don't know what exactly was done with the animal afterwards.
Caro points out that my tendency towards weird events gravitating my way apparently breeds true....
Summer's lease hath all too brief a date
Something like that, anyway, right? Yes, I COULD Google it, but I'm too busy typing to YOU right now. :)
Yesterday we made our annual pilgrimage to the fabled city of Pueblo, seeking back to school clothes for Caro and Mike. We got pretty lucky in the sales, I am happy to report, which made up for the extra cost of the gas. Also got to eat out at the Golden Corral, my total fave buffet-style restaurant, and since it was a Saturday, they had steak AND shrimp! Yes!
Today Caro is at school, doing as much last minute prep as she can manage before the middle school hordes converge in the am. Mike is at Nigel and Damaris's, where he and Nigel are putting together a model car. I know most likely it is Nigel doing the work and Mike stopping by now and then to check on how the project is going, because Mike has already mastered the advanced skill of delegating. Not to mention micro-managing his 'employees', as I was reminded of just yesterday as he explained to me repeatedly how to drive the car correctly. *sigh*
I'm at home doing my usual routine of part computer stuff, part pecking away at the clearing and rearranging part. While he was here this morning, Super!Nigel carried a big wooden cabinet up out of the basement for us, which we think we will add a closet rod to (I thought there already was one, but see how I am?) and put by the back door for coats and also extra storage.
As I have been saying for twenty years now, with a little more work, we will have us a show place!
Yesterday we made our annual pilgrimage to the fabled city of Pueblo, seeking back to school clothes for Caro and Mike. We got pretty lucky in the sales, I am happy to report, which made up for the extra cost of the gas. Also got to eat out at the Golden Corral, my total fave buffet-style restaurant, and since it was a Saturday, they had steak AND shrimp! Yes!
Today Caro is at school, doing as much last minute prep as she can manage before the middle school hordes converge in the am. Mike is at Nigel and Damaris's, where he and Nigel are putting together a model car. I know most likely it is Nigel doing the work and Mike stopping by now and then to check on how the project is going, because Mike has already mastered the advanced skill of delegating. Not to mention micro-managing his 'employees', as I was reminded of just yesterday as he explained to me repeatedly how to drive the car correctly. *sigh*
I'm at home doing my usual routine of part computer stuff, part pecking away at the clearing and rearranging part. While he was here this morning, Super!Nigel carried a big wooden cabinet up out of the basement for us, which we think we will add a closet rod to (I thought there already was one, but see how I am?) and put by the back door for coats and also extra storage.
As I have been saying for twenty years now, with a little more work, we will have us a show place!
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Some orders fill easier than others
As you know, I sell things online, mostly books.
Would that I could just EMAIL the darn things, but no. I have to be dependent on the kindness of the Post Office strangers...although mostly they do pretty well by me, I have to admit.
But when we have a weird one to deal with, it's a doozie!
I sold a book to a man from Australia, who wanted it shipped to a friend's house in Seattle. Ok, that was easy enough. EXCEPT the book came back with one of those big yellow stickers saying the forwarding order had expired.
So I emailed the buyer and asked what he wanted me to do. I've tried just resending the books, and found that to be basically a really stupid plan I'm not going to do anymore.
He answered me from Qatar and we kicked around some alternate ideas.
At
present I'm travellıng ın Turkey, hence the strange
I's and the ırregularıty of my replıes. Please go
ahead wıth the paypal thıng, and ı,ll pay by credıt
card. Wıll check my emaıl agaın ın Istanbul ın about 5
or 6 days, ıt's a hassle where ı am now but we'll get
there!
Since he was going to be back home in Australia for a few weeks, we made arrangements to try to get the book to him there in his window of opportunity. I mailed it Monday, and hope to hear from him soon that all is well.
Would that I could just EMAIL the darn things, but no. I have to be dependent on the kindness of the Post Office strangers...although mostly they do pretty well by me, I have to admit.
But when we have a weird one to deal with, it's a doozie!
I sold a book to a man from Australia, who wanted it shipped to a friend's house in Seattle. Ok, that was easy enough. EXCEPT the book came back with one of those big yellow stickers saying the forwarding order had expired.
So I emailed the buyer and asked what he wanted me to do. I've tried just resending the books, and found that to be basically a really stupid plan I'm not going to do anymore.
He answered me from Qatar and we kicked around some alternate ideas.
At
present I'm travellıng ın Turkey, hence the strange
I's and the ırregularıty of my replıes. Please go
ahead wıth the paypal thıng, and ı,ll pay by credıt
card. Wıll check my emaıl agaın ın Istanbul ın about 5
or 6 days, ıt's a hassle where ı am now but we'll get
there!
Since he was going to be back home in Australia for a few weeks, we made arrangements to try to get the book to him there in his window of opportunity. I mailed it Monday, and hope to hear from him soon that all is well.
Allergies, anyone?
This is something I've been meaning to post to my general contact list, although some of you have heard me go on about it one on one.
I'm not hugely allergic, happily, but I do have hay fever type reactions to pollen and all the usual suspects. I used to pretty much live on generic Benadryl and Sudafed from May to first good freeze. Then someone on a list I'm on was talking about something called quercetin, "a 'cousin' of the more well-known bioflavonoid rutin, ... one of a thousand or so members of the bioflavonoid family."
Here is the article I got that quote from:
http://www.immunesupport.com/92fal004.htm
To cut to the chase, it's not expensive, as supplements go (I pay roughly $10 for a 120 capsule bottle) and it works great. I've taken a Benadryl once or twice after getting a cat hair in my eye, all summer, and when I accidentally ran out, I had to go back to the Sudafed within a couple of days, until my new supply came again.
Being a food substance, it's pretty safe, although like with anything else, start slowly, eh? I'm sure it isn't equally effective on everyone, but it's sure worth a try if you like to breathe free!
I'm not hugely allergic, happily, but I do have hay fever type reactions to pollen and all the usual suspects. I used to pretty much live on generic Benadryl and Sudafed from May to first good freeze. Then someone on a list I'm on was talking about something called quercetin, "a 'cousin' of the more well-known bioflavonoid rutin, ... one of a thousand or so members of the bioflavonoid family."
Here is the article I got that quote from:
http://www.immunesupport.com/92fal004.htm
To cut to the chase, it's not expensive, as supplements go (I pay roughly $10 for a 120 capsule bottle) and it works great. I've taken a Benadryl once or twice after getting a cat hair in my eye, all summer, and when I accidentally ran out, I had to go back to the Sudafed within a couple of days, until my new supply came again.
Being a food substance, it's pretty safe, although like with anything else, start slowly, eh? I'm sure it isn't equally effective on everyone, but it's sure worth a try if you like to breathe free!
Oh, RIIIIIGHT!
I knew today's date seemed familiar!
Join with me, won't you, in rejoicing that despite marrying this guy,
"Tis me ultra ego here!"
in 1972, a few short years later I escaped with Damaris, Sterling, and a reasonable portion of my sanity.
Re the link, yes, that's a quote from his page. Yes, he is that literate an "author". Yes, Johnny Depp has a lot to answer for.
Join with me, won't you, in rejoicing that despite marrying this guy,
"Tis me ultra ego here!"
in 1972, a few short years later I escaped with Damaris, Sterling, and a reasonable portion of my sanity.
Re the link, yes, that's a quote from his page. Yes, he is that literate an "author". Yes, Johnny Depp has a lot to answer for.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Something nice
For some weird reason, it seems like almost everyone I read something from yesterday, and also much of today, has been smacked with the Bad Times Stick.
It's not much of an antidote, but I have a little pic of something surprising I found in our peach tree.
You might say, "Susan, WHY is it odd to find a peach in your peach tree?"
Well, this IS southeast Colorado, famed for Extreme WeatherZ. It seems like every year, any blossoms that come get hit by snow or frost. And if somehow a peach or two DOES grow, the grasshoppers find it and eat it. So this is a VERY RARE PEACH, even though it is a little squashed up against the branch and probably would not have won a prize at the county fair even if we had noticed it in time.
But still. A peach!
I hope it is a harbinger of better things to come for all of us.
It's not much of an antidote, but I have a little pic of something surprising I found in our peach tree.
You might say, "Susan, WHY is it odd to find a peach in your peach tree?"
Well, this IS southeast Colorado, famed for Extreme WeatherZ. It seems like every year, any blossoms that come get hit by snow or frost. And if somehow a peach or two DOES grow, the grasshoppers find it and eat it. So this is a VERY RARE PEACH, even though it is a little squashed up against the branch and probably would not have won a prize at the county fair even if we had noticed it in time.
But still. A peach!
I hope it is a harbinger of better things to come for all of us.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
One person, making a difference
If you haven't heard about Cindy Sheehan yet, I'm sure you will be soon. Short version, she's a mom, a regular person, whose son was killed in Iraq. As she worked on coming to terms with this, she had a simple and brilliant idea. Go ask Bush exactly why this war is such a "noble cause".
So, despite threats of arrest, 100 degree heat, storms and general hassling, she is camping out on the road leading to Our Vacationtime President's Ranch. (Don't you wish YOU could have a high-paying important job where 20% of your time is awarded as a vacation?)
Thousands of people have been inspired to flock down there to join her. I wish I could too, but I'm having to settle for donating a few bucks to the food and water fund, and signing the petition that MoveOn.org is going to run in a two-page ad in the Waco Tribune Herald, Crawford's closest big paper.
You can too! http://political.moveon.org/meetwithcindy/
For more info, you can go check out the website:
http://www.meetwithcindy.org/
So, despite threats of arrest, 100 degree heat, storms and general hassling, she is camping out on the road leading to Our Vacationtime President's Ranch. (Don't you wish YOU could have a high-paying important job where 20% of your time is awarded as a vacation?)
Thousands of people have been inspired to flock down there to join her. I wish I could too, but I'm having to settle for donating a few bucks to the food and water fund, and signing the petition that MoveOn.org is going to run in a two-page ad in the Waco Tribune Herald, Crawford's closest big paper.
You can too! http://political.moveon.org/meetwithcindy/
For more info, you can go check out the website:
http://www.meetwithcindy.org/
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Steamy
While I was out running my errands we had a weird little rain shower. First of all, it was bright and sunny as all get out--there were big clouds, but they were all rugged individualists doing their own thing far away from each other. The drops, though--THEY merged up good. Big huge splotty drops that must have been the size of marbles before they hit. Good job they weren't hail!
The pool problem(s) have been sorted out. Even though the general consensus was that the black water was not dangerous, I had Mike pump it out anyway, because it just looked so ominous. He bravely cleaned it AGAIN, only to find that somehow during all this activity it had developed a hole. But it was a little one, easily mended with some electrician's tape and plumber's putty.
In other wild, mad excitement, Damaris was declared a hero today by me for volunteering to herd her three kids plus Mike through Kids' Day at our county fair. $5 unlimited rides, free lunch and games, and only in the low 90s! By foisting it off on Damaris I missed the fun, but also the walking around on my very slowly healing-up knees.
Not only that, I got to experience several hours worth of "pieces of quiet", which makes me look forward guiltily to school starting in only 2 1/2 weeks!
The pool problem(s) have been sorted out. Even though the general consensus was that the black water was not dangerous, I had Mike pump it out anyway, because it just looked so ominous. He bravely cleaned it AGAIN, only to find that somehow during all this activity it had developed a hole. But it was a little one, easily mended with some electrician's tape and plumber's putty.
In other wild, mad excitement, Damaris was declared a hero today by me for volunteering to herd her three kids plus Mike through Kids' Day at our county fair. $5 unlimited rides, free lunch and games, and only in the low 90s! By foisting it off on Damaris I missed the fun, but also the walking around on my very slowly healing-up knees.
Not only that, I got to experience several hours worth of "pieces of quiet", which makes me look forward guiltily to school starting in only 2 1/2 weeks!
Friday, August 05, 2005
Wow, that week went by fast!
Whoooosh! And it's the weekend again! I've had some busy days, a bad day, and a good one, which is today. Here's some general fun stuff as a sort of lump celebration:
Click here to see the most hilarious news story I've read all week!
"Cpl. Brent Mason said Gipson, now accused of trying to rob the students and instructors, was beaten with everything inside the shop that wasn't nailed down, including table legs, curling irons and blow dryers, but that a 4-by-4 fence post probably caused the most damage."
Ya think?
I WANT one of these!!!
I have actually toyed with the idea of getting a small motorbike just for going back and forth to the PO, because that would be better than driving Dreamcloud and the ability to just do it on a regular bike is not in my repetoire just now. But it would be WAY cool to have an Envy!
I won't totally rule out the bike thing, because my knees continue to slowly improve. I read an article that pointed out (without saying DUH! anywhere) that for each pound a person lost, it reduced the load-bearing strain on the knee joint four-fold. So I said okay, fine, and decided to try to drop a few pounds. Of which I have lost three this week, meaning 12 pounds less per knee, which is 24 which makes it sound like a really big accomplishment!
One thing I can thank for it is Floof. I highly recommend Floof to anyone who wants to fool themselves with a nutritious and yet low-cal desert.
All you have to do is get some sugar-free jello, non-fat powdered milk, non-fat cottage cheese and light whipped topping. Make the jello, and when it is partly set, plop it into a blender. Add about 1/4 cup of the powdered milk and 1/3 cup of cottage cheese (to taste, eh?) and whir it up. Now pour it into a bowl and put it back in the fridge. When it's firm and creamy, eat it with the whipped topping on top.
Tonight I am making cherry flavor!
Click here to see the most hilarious news story I've read all week!
"Cpl. Brent Mason said Gipson, now accused of trying to rob the students and instructors, was beaten with everything inside the shop that wasn't nailed down, including table legs, curling irons and blow dryers, but that a 4-by-4 fence post probably caused the most damage."
Ya think?
I WANT one of these!!!
I have actually toyed with the idea of getting a small motorbike just for going back and forth to the PO, because that would be better than driving Dreamcloud and the ability to just do it on a regular bike is not in my repetoire just now. But it would be WAY cool to have an Envy!
I won't totally rule out the bike thing, because my knees continue to slowly improve. I read an article that pointed out (without saying DUH! anywhere) that for each pound a person lost, it reduced the load-bearing strain on the knee joint four-fold. So I said okay, fine, and decided to try to drop a few pounds. Of which I have lost three this week, meaning 12 pounds less per knee, which is 24 which makes it sound like a really big accomplishment!
One thing I can thank for it is Floof. I highly recommend Floof to anyone who wants to fool themselves with a nutritious and yet low-cal desert.
All you have to do is get some sugar-free jello, non-fat powdered milk, non-fat cottage cheese and light whipped topping. Make the jello, and when it is partly set, plop it into a blender. Add about 1/4 cup of the powdered milk and 1/3 cup of cottage cheese (to taste, eh?) and whir it up. Now pour it into a bowl and put it back in the fridge. When it's firm and creamy, eat it with the whipped topping on top.
Tonight I am making cherry flavor!
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Too much fun!
I got this from P_o_u_n_c_e_r and Autographedcat.
Directions: Type "(your name) is" , (with the quotes) into a Google search, cut-and-paste the first 10 responses that work. Just pull the answers right out of the excerpt google shows you, don't click the link and search around. The only rule is that each one has to start with "(your name) is".
Susan is a top Florida residential real estate agent.
Susan is spotlighting the websites
Susan is an ethical woman and is refusing to cooperate.
Susan is not only a natural performer, she is also a good songwriter
Susan is now available.
Susan is a member in good standing with the Association of Pet Dog
Susan is credible in the opposition
Susan is not only beautiful but witty and charming.
Susan is married to film producer Ken Wales
Susan is the perfect heroine of this period and of this literary genre.
Man, do I rock or what?
Directions: Type "(your name) is" , (with the quotes) into a Google search, cut-and-paste the first 10 responses that work. Just pull the answers right out of the excerpt google shows you, don't click the link and search around. The only rule is that each one has to start with "(your name) is".
Susan is a top Florida residential real estate agent.
Susan is spotlighting the websites
Susan is an ethical woman and is refusing to cooperate.
Susan is not only a natural performer, she is also a good songwriter
Susan is now available.
Susan is a member in good standing with the Association of Pet Dog
Susan is credible in the opposition
Susan is not only beautiful but witty and charming.
Susan is married to film producer Ken Wales
Susan is the perfect heroine of this period and of this literary genre.
Man, do I rock or what?
