Frankie and Slim

Frankie and Slim
Happy New Year

Thursday, February 26, 2009

GOOD DOSE OF THE HEEBIE JEEBIES

My phobias are multiple. I fear carnival rides, fast cars, motorcycles, crossing bridges, turning left and leaving the house. Well, not really so much since Ron, but certainly BR (Before Ron).

How then, you might ask, do I get that good old adrenaline surge that we all need for thrills and chills? Scary movies do it for me.

There are not many suspense filled scary movies these days. Yesterday I found one. THE ORPHANAGE. It is subtitled and is a Spanish film. I was literally on the edge of my seat, riding that roller coaster of fright at each curve. (Slim abandoned me, leaving me to watch alone.) You are left at the end to pull out some crazy stuff and wind up with a very sensible story even with a sentimental ending that made me cry. It was not a cheesy HALLOWEEN, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, or FRIDAY THE 13TH type of thriller. It was what I would call a Masterpiece in terror.

So, if there are any of you out there who thrive on this kind of movie, give it a look. Also, I am loving foreign films of all types. My goddaughter, Jessi, introduced me to them and you don't even notice the subtitles after a while. Most are very well written and beautifully portrayed.

Plus, when I rent foreign films I don't feel like I'm putting money in the pockets of those Hollywood sell outs! (You know, the ones who moved to their positions of wealth, fame and glory on the money votes of ALL Americans and then used their fame to spit in the faces of many of us who got them there.)

By the way, today and tomorrow are the last days to find good news for my sidebar HNS postings. Be sure and read the contributions I already have. Yep, good news is hard to find.

As much as I hate to get my hopes up, we are having dish satellite internet hooked up on Tuesday. My PC seems to be running well and virus free (plus I have the wonderful laptop to back me up), so I took the plunge and paid the big bucks to get the installation. Actually it was not as expensive when I called Dish direct instead of calling Wild Blue and Hughes network. Anyway, I'm putting off making comments now because I believe I will be able to perform at high (at least higher) speed on Tuesday. We can only hope. I've been so disappointed so many times.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

ONE STAR AT THE OSCARS


The one with the little star over her head -- my goddaughter Jessi! This is her third year at the Oscars and she has been captured in photos every year.

Monday, February 23, 2009

IT'S OUT THERE SOMEWHERE

Tune your eyes and ears to something good. Dig through your local papers or listen carefully to your TV and Radio news and see if you can't find some Happy News Stories (HNS). If you do, email them to me and I will post them on my sidebar (see sample today) with a link to your Blog. You will be surprised how difficult it is to find a story about something good these days but we need to be reminded those stories are out there.

If you only read a bloggers daily posts, here are my weekend links to posts you may have missed:

FRIDAY NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

TWO SHINY PENNY DAYS

Yep, it's Monday. Let's get into a great new week together!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

TWO SHINY PENNY DAYS

This is a reminder of a special "shiny penny day" in 1979. My best friend Pat came to my house and rearranged my furniture and plants to set up photo shoots of me and my children. You can tell from our faces how much fun we were having.

I got this photo yesterday from my sister on another "shiny penny day". Ron and I took a spontaneous trip to my sister's home for a lovely meal of cornbread, beans, fried potatoes, salad and homemade cookies. It is a joy to sit at their table.

Read this to learn what I shall forever call "shiny penny days".

Friday, February 20, 2009

FRIDAY NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT







And what did you do tonight? Not to worry, this was a controlled fire. At least you get to see all your neighbors this way. Everyone shows up for a good fire:)



Wednesday, February 18, 2009

OUR WEDDING SONG

FIRST OUR WEDDING SONG
This was dedicated to us by friends as our perfect wedding song:
IN SPITE OF OURSELVES duet written by John Prine

(SING ALONG)

She don't like her eggs all runny
She thinks crossin' her legs is funny
She looks down her nose at money
She gets it on like the Easter Bunny
She's my babyI'm her honey
I'm never gonna let her go

He ain't got laid in a month of Sundays
I caught him once and he was sniffin' my undies
He ain't too sharp but he gets things done
Drinks his beer like it's oxygen
He's my baby
And I'm his honey
Never gonna let him go

In spite of ourselves
We'll end up a'sittin' on a rainbow
Against all odds
Honey, we're the big door prize
We're gonna spite our noses
Right off of our faces
There won't be nothin' but big old hearts
Dancin' in our eyes.

She thinks all my jokes are corny
Convict movies make her horny
She likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs
Swears like a sailor when shaves her legs
She takes a lickin'
And keeps on tickin'
I'm never gonna let her go.

He's got more balls than a big brass monkey
He's a wacked out werido and a lovebug junkie
Sly as a fox and crazy as a loon
Payday comes and he's howlin' at the moon
He's my baby
I don't mean maybe
Never gonna let him go

In spite of ourselves
We'll end up a'sittin' on a rainbow
Against all odds
Honey, we're the big door prize
We're gonna spite our noses
Right off of our faces
There won't be nothin' but big old hearts
Dancin' in our eyes.
There won't be nothin' but big old hearts
Dancin' in our eyes.

(spoken) In spite of ourselves

(This is where the interest in Brass Monkeys came up in the previous post just in case you wondered.)

SOUNDS REASONABLE TO ME

CANNON BALLS !!! DID YOU HEAR THIS RUMOR?

It was necessary to keep a good supply of cannon balls near the cannon on old war ships. But how to prevent them from rolling about the deck was the problem. The best storage method devised was to stack them as a square based pyramid, with one ball on top, resting on four, resting on nine, which rested on sixteen.Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon.

There was only one problem -- how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding/rolling from under the others.The solution was a metal plate with 16 round indentations, called, for reasons unknown, a Monkey. But if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make them of brass - hence, Brass Monkeys.

Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannon balls would come right off the monkey.

Thus, it was quite literally, cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. And all this time, you thought that was just a vulgar expression, didn't you? I am pleased to share this fabulous bit of historical knowledge with you.

The above explanation of big brass monkey balLs is false. Okay click here it was fun while it lasted:)

Sunday, February 15, 2009

DON'T IGNORE THE GLOVES




My spouse is frugal. I'm quite sure I have mentioned that before. Yesterday he came home with candy and flowers and he paid full price for both. Usually he waits to get my gift the day after Valentine's so he can buy on sale:) I was delighted with the gifts and he was delighted with the added gift. Yes, he gave me those gloves. It seems he found them on the ground in the parking lot and knew I could clean them up. This seemed to make full price for the candy and flowers easier on him.

For his Valentine's gift from me, we did NOT attend the church supper and I cooked him fried fish and jalepeno cornbread with strawberry shortcake for dessert.
P.S. You must read my cousin Becky's recent Journey Of The Heart.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

MY FUNNY VALENTINE

It is not a menage a trois but my husband and I do share a third love. Our computer. This Dell PC keeps us busy with news from around the world and keeps me in contact with all my blog friends. Our computer has it's own room in the house and it is probably the busiest room in our house.

Yesterday a welcome interloper arrived in the form of a laptop. It was sent to our rescue by my niece and her husband. They were getting a new laptop and offered this to us to keep us alive as I made attempts to heal our live-in computer. Plus they offered some technical support if I get stumped.

This is my final blog post as I begin surgery on our beloved friend. Hopefully once our PC is healed, I can get back to visiting everyone and commenting on everyone and posting all my mind farts for your reading pleasure.

If I cannot return on our PC, at least I will be able to stay in touch on the laptop.

5 -4- 3 - 2 - 1 BLAST OFF!

Friday, February 13, 2009

QUESTION FOR THE DAY

What would our world be like today if the majestic and great Hollywood leaders of our society had decided to base their religion on Ayn Rand instead of L. Ron Hubbard?

Oh, here's another question. What is worse -- the fact that I lost one follower or the fact that I don't know which follower it was? It's a sad feeling either way. Hello -- are you out there? Why did you leave me?

Thursday, February 12, 2009

DISCOVERY TIME







Slim and I went for a walk to see the work Ron has done clearing the back of the property. (No, he is not cutting down trees. We have an "L" of trees, rocks and brush around our property and he is clearing the brush and rocks out.) You can see the lake through the trees in the third picture. It was on this walk that we found the cookie factory. Be sure and look at the previous picture.
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HERE IT IS!

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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

ART TABLE


My late, Great Uncle Howard made this card table. I've had it so long that I fail to look at it for the beauty of his work and the variety of wood he used. Isn't it great!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Q-TIPS AND SANDWICH BAGS

How poor have you been before? I felt that we were poor but some would say we were not poor at all. Never on the street but hanging by a thread I believed.

My daughter ask for a Q-Tip the last time she was here. I brought her one and she looked at it and said, "We can't live without Q-Tips, yet I never remember using them when I was growing up."

"We couldn't afford them." I replied and she looked at me in shock.

As a single parent, head-of-household, I learned to pay it backward. In two years I worked my way out of State support for daycare and in four years I earned enough to no longer qualify for subsidized housing. But once you accept assistance, you feel like you're taking two steps forward and three steps back and can never manage to break even. Every raise I made in my career was going to reduce some debt.

Every day I had to make decisions about what to spend our budgeted funds on. Aluminum foil had to serve a multi-purpose. Lunch sandwiches were wrapped in foil because I could not afford both foil and sandwich bags and foil could be used for a lot of things.

God forbid we run out of toilet paper but we always had extra napkins from McDonalds to use.

We had laundry detergent but rarely had fabric softner, spot remover or other laundry products that would be luxuries to me.

Gift giving was a difficult task. Of course the kids were given birthday and Christmas gifts but I could not afford special gifts for my siblings or extended family because I needed a reserve in my gift budget to pay for baby showers and wedding showers of my co-workers. Neglecting family for strangers really pissed me off.

Sometimes when I open our pantry today, I am overwhelmed. It is full. I have baking products and lots of vegetables, soups, meats, cereal, chips, etc.

The children and I dressed nicely. It was important for me to look the part of an executive and important for my children to be able to compete with their peers. Others might judge me and say I was putting on airs while I simply was taking on a role in my fight to get ahead.

When some idiot created casual Fridays it was almost the death of me. I did not own casual clothes. Well, I had tacky shorts and slacks that could be worn around home for yardwork and such, but I never wasted money on classy casual things. At first we were given a choice to dress casual or wear regular work atire. I opted to wear my normal work clothes. Our bank President, in a performance appraisal of mine, mentioned that the others thought I was acting upity by not dressing down on casual Friday. I went out that weekend and purchase a classy casual outfit for $110.00 and blew the rest of our budget for the month.

My children knew we had to stretch the treats and they knew their lives depended on not taking the last of anything. They could help themselves to what they wanted but they had to know it would be a while before we could shop and it would be replaced. And they knew I was very protective of my portion by saving the last piece for me. They can tell you how crazy I would go when they could not resist taking that last piece.

As the years moved on I believed I was reaching a place to get ahead. Then it was time for the children's college. The irony was, if I had remained on State assistance in the 70's and stayed at home to raise my children on welfare, their college would have been paid. Instead I pulled myself up (surrounded and helped by loving parents and family members) only to earn too much to receive assistance the for the children's school and it was back to broke town for me.

This tale could go on and on. Primarily I was asking how poor you've been? They say those on Wall Street and those in Washington cannot even begin to relate to the various stages of day-to-day life American's struggle to endure. Do you think they could manage without Q-Tips?


Monday, February 09, 2009

154.9 ROUNDS TO 155

Michael Phelps vs Sully
Robert Downy Jr. vs Sully
Barbara Streisand vs Sully
Sean Penn vs Sully
A Rod vs Sully
Barry Bonds vs Sully

Chris Brown vs Sully
Clint Eastwood vs Sully
We dare to call athletes, musicians and movie stars "Heroes" vs Sully......?


Now we have a hero to hold up as an example for our children and grandchildren, Captain C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger.

Can you spot a hero? If you watched 60 Minutes last night and heard the events of the crash of flight 1549 into the Hudson River, you know who a real hero is.

Kati Couric asked Captain Sullenberger if he prayed during the five minute event and he said, "I left that to someone in the back. I had to concentrate on landing that plane." He is the pilot I want under similar circumstances. Keep your eye on the ball and do what your years of training taught you to do. Thank God he didn't throw up his hands and cry "Jesus take the wheel". He believes his 42 years flying aircraft was to prepare him for this moment in time.


All 155 passengers and crew were saved in that crash. Two were injured but not life threatening. The crew worked with the Captain like a well oiled machine. It was a magical five minutes.

We have given up watching 60 minutes but I'm glad I made an exception for this episode. If you have missed any of the interviews with Captain Sully, try to catch him on another. He says he is not comfortable with the label of "Hero" but he will accept it because this has given people a story of "good news" and we all need more of that in this day and time.

At the end of the interview I couldn't help but notice if the flight #1549 had a decimal point before the nine and was then rounded off, the number would be 155, the number of lives saved. Not really a point just a number thing.


Hooray Captain Sullenberger and the crew of 1549!

ILYB link for the next couple of days.

ILYB link for past few days.

Sunday, February 08, 2009

YOU SAID WHAT TO WHO?!!!

I have had a lot on my mind since Friday so I haven't been stirred to do any posting. (Let me just say regarding trauma, as bad as it is, it could always be worse. I give thanks to God for the safety of my sister and bil. Not my story to tell but my thanks to give.) Anyway, I just read some comments that I made on other blogs and I truly sound insane. Since a lot of us read the same bloggers, see if you can guess who I said what to in some of these comments:

"Because of the government bailout we determined to regulate the salaries of the executives in the companies that received bailout funds. The same should apply to recipients of government welfare bailouts -- we, the taxpayers, should be able to demand regulation on the number of children we will support before we insist on some form of mandatory birth control."

"I can still see some kind of erotic bondage potential for the neighbors to envision:) "

"Send him our way. We live on dirty country roads and have two vans completely covered in dust. Hum, I just might try something myself -- i.e. stick figures:)"

"You can slap a big turd on your blog and I'm still gonna read it cause you're one of the best:)"

"I'll dedicate all my drinking to you!"

"They only want to expand to the "work ethic of our citizenry" because they want to understand the meaning of ethics and in the process, destroy it."

"First question: Is it "found" money or "lost" money?"

"Yes those are all things I would keep too. Plus, I keep fortunes in a bowl near the front door for everyone to draw one out as they leave."

"I wonder how many I would need to order for my chickens? LOL "

"There is no other way to say it -- grandchildren are petri dishes! "

"My husband has always insists cookies and strawberry ice cream are an okay breakfast for the grandchildren because you've got bread, milk and fruit just like a bowl of cereal. (omit name) any chance you can show us a picture of yourself at each of these establishments. I'd love to know their dress code. Not sure my jeans and boots would be appropriate."

Thursday, February 05, 2009

THIS FRIDAY GO RED

Heart Disease is the no. 1 cause of death among women according to the latest statistics.

My primary care physician in 2003 was treating me for a long list of complaints. I was taking 400 mg Celebrex for arthritis, I was being referred to a Neurologist for my unexplained blackouts and strange, sudden pain in my left arm, my blood pressure didn't really concern my doctor though it was 162 over 99 quite often and he laughed at my concern over my cholesterol being 252. He had been physician for my mother and my grandmother and neither of them had heart disease so I didn't need to worry. My annual physical yielded nothing to concern him and the very next day, not even 24 hours later, I was being treated for a near fatal MI (Myocardial Infarction aka Heart Attack).

If your physician ignores your symptoms, don't be afraid to insist you be examined for possible heart disease. Because most women are misdiagnosed and left to suffer heart attacks with little chance of getting the necessary help within the first six minutes, we die and no one is left to fight the fight against the number one killer of women.

This Friday, Go Red with your wardrobe! Whether it's a red dress, a red T-shirt, a red dress pin or red lipstick, show the world you support Go Red For Women, the American Heart Association's movement to help save women's lives.

Every minute, some one's mother, daughter, wife or sister dies from heart disease and stroke in the United States. Reducing these diseases in women must become a national priority. Ask your lawmaker to support the HEART for Women Act. Women's lives depend on it.




There is another Granny Annie out there and she is also promoting Go Red Friday so she's on my "I Love Your Blog" link today. Be sure and take a look at her blog.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

TRIED AND TRUE

I am looking for slow cooker/crock pot recipes that have actually been tried and approved by my fellow bloggers. If you will send me your favorite recipe, I'll send you one of mine. Also, I have put a reminder on my sidebar with my email address and I have created a link to crock pot recipes from COOKS.com. Those all look good but I find it's usually best to have a testimonial for the real good stuff.

Did you read my blog yesterday? If not, you must at least read the comments. Nancy even came back twice to comment and you guys did a better job with things you shared than I did with my story.

Instead of repeating my "I Love Your Blog" link, I'm going to leave each one a couple of days so you an still catch them while they are posted. If I'm featuring your blog, I'll try to remember to at least tell you.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

DOWN THE AISLE

The children always went to the grocery store with me. Given a choice, I would have left them at home, but single parents do not have that luxury.

Actually this first event occurred while I was married to the children's father but he traveled a lot so I might as well have been a single parent even then. My son and daughter were 15 months apart. Tandy, my son, was about two and and Chelle, nine months old, when we strolled through the store doing about a month's worth of shopping. The baby rode in the basket while I pushed the basket with one hand and held onto my son with the other. Suddenly Tandy wanted in the overfilled basket and when I explained there was no room, he sat down in the aisle and began to kick and scream. That was it. He refused to budge or be quiet. What's a mother to do? I took his arm and drug him screaming down every aisle of the store. We got our shopping done and he dusted the store floors with his butt. Today someone would have turned me in for child abuse.

The next aisle story was a quickie. Chelle was about three when she heard me say pickles were on the list. I turned in time to see her lifting one of those jumbo jars of whole pickles. The jar was almost as big as Chelle. It slipped through her tiny little hands and pickle brine and huge, fat Vlasic's went tumbling all over the aisle.

Then they day came that Chelle has always describes as the most embarrassing moment of her life. She had to be about five and her brother six. Tandy had violent allergies to a certain red food dye and I had to watch his diet very carefully. That day at school he had managed to eat a cupcake at a friend's birthday party that was filled with the dreaded dye. It hit him in the grocery store and without warning, he began to spew in the grocery store aisle. I had to rush him outside and left little Chelle to -- you guessed it -- guard the vomit. When I returned to the store to take care of the mess, there stood my humiliated little girl waving people around the puddle and politely telling them "Be careful. My brother puked." "Watch your step. My brother puked."

The store manager assured us they would take care of the mess and we could just leave. We hear the booming announcement as we walked out, "CLEAN UP ON AISLE FIVE!"

Sunday, February 01, 2009

OUT OF THE BOX

Where's Elizabeth?
Here she is!

Dillon's turn. Nope, Ryan wouldn't go for it.


So, when are you too old to climb into an empty box? I believe my 38 year old son envied his children.