A Very Odd Thing

Life

I haven't yet found the meaning of life nor what I want to do with my life, but this is the attitude I'd like to have at the end of my life.

Words words words

These are the top 100 words that every high school graduate ought to know.  How many of them are in your vocabulary?  Be truthful now...

Happy Birthday To Me

On May 29th, I  will celebrate my __th birthday.  Just for fun, I wanted to see what other important events - silly and serious -  were being celebrated this month. There certainly are a lot of them. Of course, for me there is really only one of heightened importance...

Is this your lucky number?

As this is the new year, 2007, I thought you might enjoy some interesting facts linked to the number seven.

Pardon Me while I Ramble A Bit...

I haven't posted in a while because, frankly, I haven't had much to say.  So I thought I'd randomly ramble on about nothing in particular.  Feel free to yawn, roll your eyes, stare vacantly into space or repeat " die, die, die" over and over again as many times as you like.  Or you could just click on something relevant and interesting to your world.  Here's what's going on in mine.

Last week I drove to LaPorte Indiana to bring back a stray kitten for some friends of mine.  The only reason he got to go to his new home was because I knew it would be a good one.  Otherwise we would have been a three-cat family.  Why Indiana when we have strays in need of homes here in Ohio?  Well, my daughter found him crying in the woods on the grounds of the school where she teaches.  He was one of several strays found that week, and all the adoptive homes were full by the time they got to him.  He wormed  his way into her heart (but NOT the heart of the cat she already has) and a desperate search went out for a loving family who needed a cat.  I promised to drive out and get him if my friends would take him, but I think it was the free week of cat-sitting I threw in that cinched the deal.

I recently mowed the lawn, and when I looked back on my work, I noticed an unevenly striped pattern in the grass.  Turns out that one of the wheels had slipped out of position, and as a result, one side of the grass was cut shorter than the other with each pass of the mower.  Had I known that would happen, I might have mowed in a zig-zag pattern, or perhaps in loops and circles just to make the pattern more interesting.  Of course, any neighbor watching my erratic movements across the yard would begin to feel sorry for a man whose wife drinks and mows.

My clothes dryer is no longer working with 100% efficiency.  Oh it still dries clothes, it just no longer stops drying when the clothes are done.  It goes through any cycle you set it for, but once it finishes the cool down phase, it won't shut off.  In preparation for the arrival of a repair man, I cleaned the area around my laundry room which included pulling the dryer away from the wall to get behind it.  Apparently, I haven't done that very often.  I probably should.  But amid the mountain of dust back there, I did find some socks.  Makes you wonder...

So far, with the new TV season in full swing, I have found a show that I like, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, another offering by Aaron Sorkin (Sports Night, The West Wing), with Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry. With a great cast, it is fast-paced and thoroughly enjoyable, and should develop into a hit.

Do you have any idea how many apple varieties there are out there?  I didn't either until I went looking for the best cooking apples for a dessert recipe I wanted to try. For the record, I settled on Golden Delicious but the sheer number of varieties out there...who knew?

Well, that's it for me.  If anything exciting occurs in the near future, I'll let you know.  (Yeah, like that's gonna happen...)

Mamma, It's Hot Outside

Things To Consider During a Heat Wave

It is not pleasant to wake up in the middle of the night to find a cat draped around your head and a dog snuggled next to your feet.

Birds do not like the water temperature in their birdbath to exceed ninety degrees F.

Power outages during the hottest part of the day are a bitch.

The closest parking space to any air-conditioned building is at least a mile and a half from the entrance.

The community pool was not designed to hold the entire community at the same time.

Walking barefoot on an asphalt surface is just plain stupid.

It is not easy to put burn pads on the bottom of your feet.

Loading and unloading furniture from a U Haul in the blazing sun is not fun. (Not that it’s ever fun, but especially now.)

This is not the time to see if your new choice in deodorant protection works.

Women, your shorts should at least cover your derriere – and if you’re NOT a Victoria’s Secret model, they should cover a hell of a lot more.

Hearing “Hot today, isn’t it?” for the seventy-fifth time is not grounds for punching a person out.

One hundred degrees in the shade is still one hundred degrees, and, yes, there are other places to stick the thermometer.

(I’m sure there are more items for the list, but it’s too damn hot to think of them)

Where the sun don't shine

You can't make stuff like this up.

Happy Birthday To Me

Yesterday, May 29th, was my birthday - never mind which one (ok, 55th) - and the following is a list of some of the presents I got.

A toilet

A cheese grater

Two jars of salmon eggs bundled in tulle (not for human consumption)

Two cigars.

It was an interesting birthday.

Sleeping Arrangements

It's funny how your brain can go from thought to thought seemingly all on its own and wind up at a destination far removed from where it was when it began wandering.  That said, I was watching a talk show this morning, and the hosts were discussing honeymoons in Niagara Falls.  It got me thinking of my own honeymoon almost thirty-three years ago in Cape Cod and Nantucket Island.  I was happily remembering the quaint and charming places we visited, the bike ride we took around the island, and the small but cozy bedroom in the B&B where we stayed (bathroom down the hall), when my mind came to the question "How did you and your husband decide on which side of the bed you would sleep?"

Now, for those of you who do not share a bed with a significant other, that may seem like a very trivial concern. You can sleep anywhere on the bed that you like.  You can sleep sideways across the mattress, on a diagonal, smack in the middle, or alternate sides on a whim But I assure you, in the majority of married households, where you sleep (and I'm talking about where in the bed.  If you're talking about where else in the house, well, that's a whole other set of circumstances) can be the difference between a good night's sleep or tossing and turning until morning. 

As you stand at the foot looking toward the headboard, I sleep on the right side of the bed, my husband on the left.  I don't remember how we wound up there, but I do know that I cannot sleep anywhere else. This arrangement has never changed.  Which side of the bed I sleep on is not influenced by proximity to the door, window, bathroom, wall, or screaming child, nor does it matter where in the room the bed is located or whether I'm at home or away.  The right side is my side. We tried changing sides once, but both of us were miserable, so the next night we changed back.  Just to feel closer to him, I'd try going to sleep in my husband's place when he was out of town, but in the morning I'd wake up back on my own side.

There must have been studies done on this facet of married life.  Somewhere in the vaults of some government bureau, university research lab, or on Google, there must be statistics, tables and graphs that show what percentage of men vs. women sleep on the left side of the bed. Psychologists have probably established profiles for left or right side sleepers. Pre-nuptial agreements probably have clauses in them regarding determination of sides for sleeping in the bed.  Right after figuring out how many children you want, which side of the bed do you sleep on should be the next major discussion for any engaged couple.

For almost thirty-three years, I have been sublimely happy with my side of the bed.  I know just how to tuck in the covers and fluff the pillows as I settle down for the night. My lamp, phone and alarm clock are all positioned precisely the way I like them. Most importantly of all, I know exactly how far to reach to give the left-side bed sleeper a goodnight hug.

Bird Talk

Be careful what you say when outdoors. Birds (especially Starlings-go figure)everywhere might be listening. Not only that, but they'll apparently go home and repeat everything that they've heard.  And all that chattering out there?  Well, they're just correcting your grammar...