So yesterday, at one of the big shindig open houses I told you about, my friends were discussing a modern day prophet/eschatologist named Perry Stone. I've seen him as I flipped through channels but have never watched him.
Mr. Stone came to Muncie recently, and one of my friends went to see him. She said that he said he sat between a military official and a medical professional who were discussing a test which has allegedly been tried on 2 million people (don't know what country) that includes placing a microchip either in the forehead of the back of the hand, containing all of the subject's medical history. The procedure is apparently the inevitable wave of the future, and it has been dubbed uberveillance.
The reason they haven't gone global with this? They say there is one blood type resistant to this procedure. We asked her if she remembered which one, and she did not.
I believe I know: it must be the "JC" blood type, which I'm hoping I have! No foreheads or hands marked, please, thank you very much.
I admit I don't pay attention to a lot of end-times prophecy, but I don't think I should be in a stupor, either. So have you heard about uberveillance?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
City-wide rummage sale finds
Rummage sale season is upon us! Here are a few things I found when out-and-about on Saturday!
How adorable is this plant stand...chippy green paint and rusty!? I said, "Hello, sweetheart, you're comin' home with me!"
Love this casserole dish and holder, especially the handles and little "feet"! Seriously, I've always wanted one. The nice lady that sold it said she'd had it for years.
This Hibachi grill is perfectly rusted and has definitely seen better days. It will no longer be a grill when I'm done with it though. I wonder if you'll recognize it after the transformation I have planned when you see it at Junk Fest?
Honestly, I was probably most excited to find myself this nice white Christmas tree for only ten bucks!
So, get out there and rummage-it-up! You just never know what you will find!
How adorable is this plant stand...chippy green paint and rusty!? I said, "Hello, sweetheart, you're comin' home with me!"Love this casserole dish and holder, especially the handles and little "feet"! Seriously, I've always wanted one. The nice lady that sold it said she'd had it for years.This Hibachi grill is perfectly rusted and has definitely seen better days. It will no longer be a grill when I'm done with it though. I wonder if you'll recognize it after the transformation I have planned when you see it at Junk Fest?
Honestly, I was probably most excited to find myself this nice white Christmas tree for only ten bucks!
So, get out there and rummage-it-up! You just never know what you will find! Saturday, May 30, 2009
Project 365 09 ~ Week 20
I could get used to Movie Mornings! Last Saturday we grabbed a coffee and indulged in Terminator Salvation. The movie was mediocre but we had a fantastic time just getting out, being together and relaxing.
The very first thing that went into our fridge was a bottle of champagne. This week we popped it open to celebrate cooking our first real meal in our new kitchen. There's still lots to be done, but it felt like just the right time to mark the moment.
I'm really excited that a couple of blue jays have moved into our neighbourhood.
And there's a new ice cream shop in the 'hood too. We had to go and try it out. Is it true that Tiger ice cream (orange & black licorice) is a Canadian thing?
This week I went out and did a visioning session with an amazing client of mine. These sessions are one of my favourite things to do. We spend 3 hours together with pictures, music, words drawing out and gaining clarity on a project, dream or life purpose. It's amazing work. I love my job!
Our renovations and repairs are almost finished but there is so much cleaning, painting and organizing to do! Do you like the bright, happy colour of our laundry room?
With the complete replacement of an external wall, our living room is in need of a repaint. We're saying goodbye to this amazing gorgeously delicious dark blue. Everyone thought we were crazy to go that dark, but we loved it every day! Now it's being primed away for a fresh colour.
And what a way to end the week. Shannon and I went to see Every Little Step. If you love dance and performance, run, don't walk to this film. This movie really captures the intensity, the power, the beauty, the heartbreak, the magic of the world of dance and theatre. It stirred my soul and I will watch it again and again. (Be wary of watching the previews - some give away too much)
I'm so glad that Shannon, The Movie Moxie, recommended it!How was your week?
Project 365 is my attempt to capture a year in my life through a photograph a day. On Saturday's I'll post the week's pics. At the end of the year, I'll create a video of all these precious moments. Feel free to participate at any time. Yours can be Project 347 or Project 292. It's up to you. See the results of my Project 365 ~ 2008 here.
Coincidences and Corresponding Sound Effects = Stupefication
For posterity, I need to document here that I was watching a TV show when an interview with Cameron Diaz started. At that same moment, I was working a crossword puzzle, and the answer to a clue was "Cameron Diaz."
[This is where you play the sound effect.]
I really wish that in real life, whenever something startling happened, I could summon this sound.
Same day, later in the afternoon:
I was listening to the radio in my master bath, and the song I mentioned last week, "Blinded by the Light" came on, and I heard the lyrics, "Bogart Mozart was checking out the weather chart to see if it was safe outside," when I walked past the TV in my room and who was on the screen but ... Humphrey Bogart.
Perhaps the biggest irony, though, is that when I checked the lyrics to that ridiculous song again, I saw that all these years I've been singing "Bogart Mozart" when it is actually "go-cart Mozart," so there was no coincidence at all, except in my head.
Pooey.
But the Cameron Diaz one, now that's just crazy-ironic.
Honestly, if my writing were any more interesting, could you stand this blog?
[This is where you play the sound effect.]
I really wish that in real life, whenever something startling happened, I could summon this sound.
Same day, later in the afternoon:
I was listening to the radio in my master bath, and the song I mentioned last week, "Blinded by the Light" came on, and I heard the lyrics, "Bogart Mozart was checking out the weather chart to see if it was safe outside," when I walked past the TV in my room and who was on the screen but ... Humphrey Bogart.
Perhaps the biggest irony, though, is that when I checked the lyrics to that ridiculous song again, I saw that all these years I've been singing "Bogart Mozart" when it is actually "go-cart Mozart," so there was no coincidence at all, except in my head.
Pooey.
But the Cameron Diaz one, now that's just crazy-ironic.
Honestly, if my writing were any more interesting, could you stand this blog?
Danny Croteau
A Flashback
Joanne Wade is a true-crime writer who has made a career out of writing about notorious Western Mass murders. Her first book A Thread of Evidence was a thinly fictionalized account of the notorious Chapin murder case, which shocked the city in the 1950's, back when Springfield was still innocent enough to be shocked by crime.
Now Wade has another book No Tomorrows, featuring true life essays on murdered children, which includes a section on Springfield's most infamous unsolved murder, the slaying of Danny Croteau.
It also includes other unsolved child murder mysteries, such as Agawam's Lisa Ziegert. The book doesn't have much in the way of new material regarding these cases, but it is still fascinating to have all the information on these crimes, dribbled out by the media over the years, all collected in one place. Nothing would be better than to have this book jog someone's memory in a way helpful to solving these mysteries.
Many times when I tell people that I knew Danny Croteau there is a pregnant pause, as if they expect me to follow that revelation with some pearl of insight into his murder. If so, then they are always disappointed because I have no insights to offer. For one thing I didn't know Danny that well. He lived in 16 Acres and I in ol' Pine Point, so our paths may not even have crossed at all except that the Boy Scout troop I belonged to was a joint troop of boys from both my church, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, and Danny's which was called Saint Catherine. Danny also attended Our Lady of the Sacred Heart school, which was just a half a block from where I grew up. In fact the most famous picture of him, the one they always run with news accounts, is of Danny posing for a portrait in his OLSH uniform, as shown in the background of the picture below of Danny's parents.
The media always likes to refer to Danny as "an altar boy" but I never knew that about him when he was alive. It would have made no impression on me if I did, lots of kids were altar boys, it was the sort of thing your parents would push you to do and had no real significance. I think the media likes to describe him as an altar boy because it makes the crime seem that more heinous - "Altar Boy Brutally Murdered!" is a catchy headline. From what I remember of Danny he was much more of a hellion than an altar boy, smoking cigarettes and experimenting with marijuana and alcohol even at a very young age. I think this picture more accurately captures his impish and mischievous character:
I sometimes wonder whether I would remember Danny at all if he hadn't been murdered. I was older than him, and he and his friends were dismissed by us older scouts as "the little kids." When I try to recall who the other little kids were I can't do so well, which makes me think that it was Danny's death, and it's violent manner, that burned him permanently into my memory. Danny was the first person in my age group to die, and certainly he was the first person I knew who had been murdered. I can't tell you what my emotions were at the time, I try to remember but it's a blank. The code we lived by as boys would not have allowed any outward display of emotion and we were all pretty much encouraged to bury whatever feelings we had.
Danny's was a very inconvenient murder in many ways, which is why I think it was never solved. For one thing, the only suspect was a Catholic priest, Rev. Richard Lavigne, in an era when the moral authority of the church was never questioned. Lavigne was also a political figure, a leftist priest typical of the time who fought for left-wing causes in the name of "social justice." Therefore the local liberals always wanted the Rev. Lavigne front and center at all their political rallies, his priestly collar providing proof of the moral superiority of their cause. Now all those good Democrats, some of whom went on to play prominent roles in Springfield politics, all behave as if they never knew him.
I also knew Father Lavigne, but there was nothing unique about that. To be a Catholic boy in Springfield of a certain age meant that you were certain to meet Father Lavigne. Frankly, I thought nothing bad about him at the time and can offer no insights into whether or not he was Danny's murderer.
However I will repeat what I always vow whenever I think about Danny Croteau, which is that if there is any justice in this world, then somebody, someday is gonna pay for that crime.
On the Street
A well-known crossguard sent me these early morning pics of her post in Springfield.
Happy Day
Today I went to the UMass Renaissance House to groove to the view.
Big billowy clouds passed majestically overhead.
It was beauty that made ya wanna jump!
Today's Video
Last month I ran into J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. on the streets of Northampton.
Here's the grey-haired man as fair haired boy at UMass in 1986.
Joanne Wade is a true-crime writer who has made a career out of writing about notorious Western Mass murders. Her first book A Thread of Evidence was a thinly fictionalized account of the notorious Chapin murder case, which shocked the city in the 1950's, back when Springfield was still innocent enough to be shocked by crime.
Now Wade has another book No Tomorrows, featuring true life essays on murdered children, which includes a section on Springfield's most infamous unsolved murder, the slaying of Danny Croteau.
It also includes other unsolved child murder mysteries, such as Agawam's Lisa Ziegert. The book doesn't have much in the way of new material regarding these cases, but it is still fascinating to have all the information on these crimes, dribbled out by the media over the years, all collected in one place. Nothing would be better than to have this book jog someone's memory in a way helpful to solving these mysteries.
Many times when I tell people that I knew Danny Croteau there is a pregnant pause, as if they expect me to follow that revelation with some pearl of insight into his murder. If so, then they are always disappointed because I have no insights to offer. For one thing I didn't know Danny that well. He lived in 16 Acres and I in ol' Pine Point, so our paths may not even have crossed at all except that the Boy Scout troop I belonged to was a joint troop of boys from both my church, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, and Danny's which was called Saint Catherine. Danny also attended Our Lady of the Sacred Heart school, which was just a half a block from where I grew up. In fact the most famous picture of him, the one they always run with news accounts, is of Danny posing for a portrait in his OLSH uniform, as shown in the background of the picture below of Danny's parents.
The media always likes to refer to Danny as "an altar boy" but I never knew that about him when he was alive. It would have made no impression on me if I did, lots of kids were altar boys, it was the sort of thing your parents would push you to do and had no real significance. I think the media likes to describe him as an altar boy because it makes the crime seem that more heinous - "Altar Boy Brutally Murdered!" is a catchy headline. From what I remember of Danny he was much more of a hellion than an altar boy, smoking cigarettes and experimenting with marijuana and alcohol even at a very young age. I think this picture more accurately captures his impish and mischievous character:
I sometimes wonder whether I would remember Danny at all if he hadn't been murdered. I was older than him, and he and his friends were dismissed by us older scouts as "the little kids." When I try to recall who the other little kids were I can't do so well, which makes me think that it was Danny's death, and it's violent manner, that burned him permanently into my memory. Danny was the first person in my age group to die, and certainly he was the first person I knew who had been murdered. I can't tell you what my emotions were at the time, I try to remember but it's a blank. The code we lived by as boys would not have allowed any outward display of emotion and we were all pretty much encouraged to bury whatever feelings we had.
Danny's was a very inconvenient murder in many ways, which is why I think it was never solved. For one thing, the only suspect was a Catholic priest, Rev. Richard Lavigne, in an era when the moral authority of the church was never questioned. Lavigne was also a political figure, a leftist priest typical of the time who fought for left-wing causes in the name of "social justice." Therefore the local liberals always wanted the Rev. Lavigne front and center at all their political rallies, his priestly collar providing proof of the moral superiority of their cause. Now all those good Democrats, some of whom went on to play prominent roles in Springfield politics, all behave as if they never knew him.
I also knew Father Lavigne, but there was nothing unique about that. To be a Catholic boy in Springfield of a certain age meant that you were certain to meet Father Lavigne. Frankly, I thought nothing bad about him at the time and can offer no insights into whether or not he was Danny's murderer.
However I will repeat what I always vow whenever I think about Danny Croteau, which is that if there is any justice in this world, then somebody, someday is gonna pay for that crime.
On the Street
A well-known crossguard sent me these early morning pics of her post in Springfield.
Happy Day
Today I went to the UMass Renaissance House to groove to the view.
Big billowy clouds passed majestically overhead.
It was beauty that made ya wanna jump!
Today's Video
Last month I ran into J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. on the streets of Northampton.
Here's the grey-haired man as fair haired boy at UMass in 1986.
Stolen Art Watch, Pink Panther Jelly Wobbles, Dragan Stays Cool and $8 million Chopard Jewels Become Art Hostage !!!
Jewels worth €6 million stolen from Paris storeSaturday 30 May 2009
Jewellery worth some six million euros (8.4 million dollars) was stolen in a hold-up at the elite Chopard store in Paris's Place Vendome, police said. Suspicion fell on the international gang known as the Pink Panthers.
AFP - Jewellery worth some six million euros (8.4 million dollars) was stolen in a hold-up Saturday at the elite Chopard store in Paris's Place Vendome, police said.
The theft happened at around 3 pm (1300 GMT) at the premises near the Ritz Hotel, an official at the Paris police headquarters said, giving no details.
Chopard makes watches and jewels for the stars and has branches in most of the world's capitals.
AFP - Jewellery worth some six million euros (8.4 million dollars) was stolen in a hold-up Saturday at the elite Chopard store in Paris's Place Vendome, police said.
The theft happened at around 3 pm (1300 GMT) at the premises near the Ritz Hotel, an official at the Paris police headquarters said, giving no details.
Chopard makes watches and jewels for the stars and has branches in most of the world's capitals.
-
In December thieves staged a record 100-million-dollar jewel heist at the Harry Winston boutique in the posh Avenue Montaigne of the Champs-Elysees.
Suspicion fell on the international gang known as the Pink Panthers.
Lone robber steals $11m jewels
In December thieves staged a record 100-million-dollar jewel heist at the Harry Winston boutique in the posh Avenue Montaigne of the Champs-Elysees.
Suspicion fell on the international gang known as the Pink Panthers.
Lone robber steals $11m jewels
A LONE robber armed with a handgun got away with jewellery worth around €6.6 million ($11.73 million) in a hold-up at the exclusive Chopard store in central Paris, police said.
The man, in his 50s, dressed in a suit and wearing a Borsalino-style hat, passed himself off as a customer to get in through the security door on Saturday before drawing his weapon, police spokesman Olivier Lebon said.
He ordered staff to give him jewels from the window display.
They did as they were told and the man got away on foot, the whole robbery having taken two minutes, said police.
"A man on his own, well dressed, who could have been a potential client, came into the jewellers, his faced unmasked, at one o'clock," said another source working on the case.
He pulled out a handgun and got staff to give him 12 jewels, said the source. "It happened very quickly," said the source. He did not take the whole contents of the shop window."
Staff in nearby stores in the Place Vendome said they had noticed nothing out of the ordinary at the time.
The theft happened at around 1pm at the premises, which are near the Ritz Hotel.
Later Saturday, only a few leather handbags could be seen in the shop's window.
The robbery took place over the Pentecost weekend, when the city centre was packed with shoppers and tourists. The Place Vendome hosts some of the world's most prestigious jewellery shops.
Chopard makes watches and jewels for the stars and has branches in most of the world's capitals. It also manufactures the distinctive Palme d'Or trophy for the Cannes film festival.
In December thieves staged a record $US100 million ($127.53 million) jewel heist at the Harry Winston boutique in the posh Avenue Montaigne of the Champs-Elysees.
Suspicion fell on the international gang known as the Pink Panthers.
On May 13 two Serbian alleged members of the gang of jewel thieves were arrested in Paris on suspicion of carrying out armed smash-and-grab raids on stores in Monaco, Switzerland and Germany.
On Thursday, a Montenegrin former soldier, believed to be a member of the Pink Panther gang was sentenced to 15 years in jail for a Saint-Tropez heist.
Dusko Martinovic was also fined $US150,000 ($A266,620) for the robbery in which he and accomplices stole €2 million ($3.55 million) worth of goods from a jewellers in the chic French Riviera resort.
The network of Balkan robbers is blamed for the theft of goods worth €110 million ($A195.52 million) in the past decade.
French police have described the group's crimes as "lightning fast hold-ups: daring, but carefully planned down to the smallest detail".
Art Hostage Comments:
A window of opportunity for Police.
As this "gimme heist" was carried out on a Saturday the jewels cannot be moved until start of business Monday.
This gives Police 36 hours to recover this latest haul from the Paris South suburbs where they are currently being held Art Hostage.
to be continued........................
-
Update:
-
News coming in the haul could be worth $20 million but authorities are trying to play down the real value.
-
A man in his fifties, wrong, grey tints that make him appear to be middle aged when in fact he was in his thirties.
Column Today and the Home of the Monkey Nut
This is a re-vamp of the letter I wrote to Katie upon graduation; many of you have already seen it, but if you haven't, I invite you to by clicking on the button.
I have two graduation open houses to attend this weekend and several more to come. In Indiana, these open houses are a very big deal. I'm told that this is a regional thing unique to Hoosiers.
Indiana:
State bird: Cardinal (nice)
State flower: Peony (very nice)
High school graduation open houses (temporary shrines built to honor the graduates)
Home of the "Monkey Nut"
Friday, May 29, 2009
Let there be light...
Think outside the box when entertaining your guests outdoors this summer. Take normally found indoor objects outside to illuminate a special evening.
This $4 heavy candelabra thrift store find shown here sets the scene for a festive evening on the back patio.
Another idea for additional lighting are candles in old silver jello molds. Sand, pebbles or crystals can be added for more visual interest on the jello mold bottom, but just the reflection of the candlelight off the mold is really all you need. It's actually quite stunning, don't you think?
This white three-tiered candleholder was a Minnesota occassional sale find. I actually purchased two of them. Great finds! Instantly I imagined them warming up my patio on a dark night. They can be easily stuck in a plant like I've done here, in a pail of sand or right into the ground. How fun does this look?!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
1 Week Until We Wreck This Journal
The third session of The Next Chapter is almost here. Starting next Friday, our book blogging group will be adventuring through Wreck this Journal by Keri Smith. Wondering whether you'd like to participate? Let's see if this little note from the book helps you make up your mind:
From the first page: "Warning: During the process of this book you will get dirty. You may find yourself covered in paint, or any other number of foreign substances. You will get wet. You may be asked to do things you question. You may grieve for the perfect state that you found the book in. You may begin to see creative destruction everywhere. You may begin to live more recklessly."
To join or to find out more, click here.
Friday's Fave Five--Papa Oom Mow Mow
Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts this lovely weekly meme where I get the opportunity show off my stellar-picture-taking-skills-NOT.
Proof:
This is my daughter, "Blurina" at her spring choral concert. She's the blur on the left.So these kinds of memes are always a challenge for me, especially when I read you moms who just bought your new Nikon Five Million XLG camera and are taking macro shots of your baby's pores. And may I say they are lovely pores. My Blurina has lovely pores, too, but thanks to my pitcher-takin' skilz, you'll never know.
Fave #1: Quakes! Oh.My.Goodness. And I do mean goodness. My favorite flavor is chocolate because they are cocoa-licious; when you taste these, you definitely get your chocolate fix. Seven mini-cakes = 60 calories, and they satisfy the need for crunch and chocolate. YUM. Or as the Beach Boys so eloquently put it: "Papa-oom-mow-mow, papa-oom-mow-mow."
Fave #2: Christmas in May. Look what came to my house yesterday--the 16 Amy Grant CD's that I won at BooMama's place recently.
This is not a pic of Fave #3; this is a pic of my 5 faves out of the 16 [Keeping in mind I have not listened to some of her earliest music, so I'm so grateful to have those.] They are A) Heart in Motion B) Home for Christmas C) A Christmas to Remember D) House of Love, and E) My all-time fave: Behind the Eyes
OK, Fave #3: The Philosophy skin care package that came in the Amy Grant box. For years I've read how celebrities love this stuff, and I just never thought I'd ever try it because I assumed it would be too expensive. Tonight I have to sit down and read through all of the notes and steps. This means that by this time tomorrow I shall look like ... Oprah Winfrey, who is reportedly a fan.
Fave #4: Here's one that will surprise you coming from me: a book. I actually requested this book to review, and I have read it through once and intend on turning the corner and starting from the beginning again. This is Warren Cole Smith's A Lover's Quarrel with the Evangelical Church. It's a sort of deconstruction of the movement, but it's not all about ripping apart the Body for the sake of being critical. It is written with an honest but gentle hand, hence the title. But many churches are re-vamping the way they do church--saying goodbye to "Body-Count Evangelism" and "parachurches" that we have come to know and expect from the Twentieth Century. Only I didn't say that as well as he does. I recommend you read the book. And so would Mr. Smith, I'm sure.
Fave #5: The Indiana state flower: the Peony. Love. Them. Ants and all. This is one perfume I cannot get enough of!
Please go visit Susanne to link up to others who are sharing their Fave Fives this week!
Stolen Art Watch, Sorbet by Irish Decent !!!
Raid on Cirencester antiques saleroom
BURGLARS have hit top Cirencester auctioneers.
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/gloucestershireheadlines/Raid-Cirencester-antiques-saleroom/article-1031666-detail/article.html
Moore Allen & Innocent's salerooms at Norcote have been raided.
http://www.mooreallen.co.uk/furniturefinearts/index.php
BURGLARS have hit top Cirencester auctioneers.
http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/gloucestershireheadlines/Raid-Cirencester-antiques-saleroom/article-1031666-detail/article.html
Moore Allen & Innocent's salerooms at Norcote have been raided.
http://www.mooreallen.co.uk/furniturefinearts/index.php
A haul of antiques, including tables, jewellery and clocks, estimated to run into thousands, were taken.
Police were called at 12.30pm today after the company's security firm reported the break-in.
Officers are currently investigating and are appealing for anyone with any information to contact them as soon as possible on Gloucestershire police 0845 090 1234 or Crimestoppers anonymously 0800 555 111.
Police were called at 12.30pm today after the company's security firm reported the break-in.
Officers are currently investigating and are appealing for anyone with any information to contact them as soon as possible on Gloucestershire police 0845 090 1234 or Crimestoppers anonymously 0800 555 111.
Six things about me?
My de
ar friend, Cassie, a/k/a fellow Junk Fest 1/4 partner-in-junk, has tagged me! You darn girl, you! Gosh, I guess I need to come up with SIX people to "tag", mention them here and notify them on their blog, along with revealing six things about me. This is darn hard, people!
Well, first up I'll try and come up with six things about me...hmmmm...
3) I am the 6th of seven children, raised on a farm with a strict catholic up-bringing. Even so, we had A LOT of fun! I am especially close to my three sisters and to my youngest bro. He and I played together and got along great, as long as he played what I wanted! Poor guy; dolls and all. I like to think we were preparing ourselves for our futures...me having boys...and he has two girls! We named our second son after him.
4) I have worked for the same company for 24 years! Most days I actually still like it, which also amazes me.
5) I am licensed to sell crop and hail insurance in the State of North Dakota. Sounds like no big deal? Well, picture me with a kid on each hip at the time, trying to study for a test I was told loan officers flunked many times...I must love pressure cause I passed it on the first try! That STILL amazes me.
6) Wow! #6 already? I may just make it! I love wine. Mostly Moscoto's and late harvest Rieslings. Also love Italian food. Fortunately it goes well with wine.
7) Cassie, your family really left you at a rest stop? Ouch.
Alrighty, now MY turn to tag some of my favorite folks! Thanks for being you!
1) Sweet Melissa @ Junk-Fest, my junk sista on this site!
2) Mindy @ rockinm.blogspot.com/
Happy blogging!
ar friend, Cassie, a/k/a fellow Junk Fest 1/4 partner-in-junk, has tagged me! You darn girl, you! Gosh, I guess I need to come up with SIX people to "tag", mention them here and notify them on their blog, along with revealing six things about me. This is darn hard, people!Well, first up I'll try and come up with six things about me...hmmmm...
1) I have been happily married for almost 23 years. Holy smokers! I wonder if he's still happily married? I bet he would be if I'd move my junk from his side of our garage! Sorry, dear!
2) The boys. We've got two of them and they are the true joy of our lives. What the heck did we do before they were born? Five years...no idea what we did. We are the type of parents who refuse to re-live our childhoods through them, know what I mean? It is their life and they need to live it; we are just trying to lead them down the right path. (Cross your fingers; it's a work in progress).3) I am the 6th of seven children, raised on a farm with a strict catholic up-bringing. Even so, we had A LOT of fun! I am especially close to my three sisters and to my youngest bro. He and I played together and got along great, as long as he played what I wanted! Poor guy; dolls and all. I like to think we were preparing ourselves for our futures...me having boys...and he has two girls! We named our second son after him.
4) I have worked for the same company for 24 years! Most days I actually still like it, which also amazes me.
5) I am licensed to sell crop and hail insurance in the State of North Dakota. Sounds like no big deal? Well, picture me with a kid on each hip at the time, trying to study for a test I was told loan officers flunked many times...I must love pressure cause I passed it on the first try! That STILL amazes me.
6) Wow! #6 already? I may just make it! I love wine. Mostly Moscoto's and late harvest Rieslings. Also love Italian food. Fortunately it goes well with wine.
7) Cassie, your family really left you at a rest stop? Ouch.
Alrighty, now MY turn to tag some of my favorite folks! Thanks for being you!
1) Sweet Melissa @ Junk-Fest, my junk sista on this site!
2) Mindy @ rockinm.blogspot.com/
Happy blogging!
Barney
A Pine Point Turtle Tale
There is a large dingle near The World Famous Thomas M. Balliet Elementary School in the Pine Point section of Springfield, Massachusetts that we kids used to call "Snake Woods" on account of how you could catch a lot of small snakes there to put in your sister's bed or something. You could sometimes capture other creatures there as well, such as frogs and turtles.
One day when I was about ten years old I saw a black turtle with spots on its back basking in the sun on a rock near the swampy creek that passed through Snake Woods. Ever so quietly I snuck up on the terrapin with that perfect agility we have only as children, and with lightning speed I snatched it up in my hands before it could escape into the water. I thought this spotted turtle was one of the neatest things I ever caught, so I brought it home and decided to make it my pet.
The first problem I faced was where to keep it. I knew it lived in the woods and obviously liked rocks and water since I had captured it near both, but how could I recreate that environment in my cellar near the washing machine, which is where I determined that he should live? Eventually I settled for a very simple decor consisting of a medium sized metal tub in which I placed a sizable rock and some water. That gave my turtle the varied options of either sitting on the rock, swimming in the water, or hovering near the rock half in and half out of the water. Most of the time he seemed to prefer just sitting on the rock.
Next I had to figure out what the turtle ate. I put some lettuce in front of it, and then I tried pieces of fruit, but the turtle was bored by these offerings. Turtles always look bored, but you know what I mean. Finally I was showing one of my cousins the turtle and he said, "That looks just like the kind of turtle I caught fishing one time!" So my cousin and I jumped on our high-handled banana seat bicycles and zoomed off to the nearest worm farm, which was located a few blocks away on Denver Street.
There were quite a few worm farms in Pine Point. A worm farm usually consisted of a large wooden box filled with rich soil and mixed with coffee grounds. Some people claimed that adding little dashes of other ingredients like orange peels or eggshells improved the mix, but it was mostly the dirt and the coffee grounds that mattered since apparently the worms got all agitated and horny off the caffeine and would reproduce like crazy. Then you could sell the worms in a paper cup to folks going fishing at fifty cents a dozen.
It was easier money than running a paper route, as I would surely know, having the largest paper route in all Pine Point! Today you don't see worm farms, since about twenty years ago the government passed ordinances requiring you to have a permit to sell fishing supplies, including bait. That had the effect of ruining the profitability of the homemade worm farm, and thus yet another field of small business was killed by government regulation.
Anyway, when we got back to my house we offered the worm to "Barney" (as I had decided to name him, in honor of my favorite Flintstones character) and he loved it. It was wonderfully gross in a way only ten year olds can appreciate to watch the worm writhing frantically as Barney methodically, in his slow-mo turtle way, sucked the poor earth-borer down his gullet.
I assumed that Barney must be very happy in his new home, swimming, dozing on his rock and enjoying all the fat juicy worms he could eat. But after a week or so of this life of leisure, he started to act out of sorts. He rarely went into the water, and simply sat on his rock with his legs drawn in with just his head sticking out of his shell and his eyes closed. He had even lost interest in the worms, who when fed to him slithered all around the rock untouched until they fell into the water and drowned. I went and told my mother that something seemed to be wrong with Barney.
After examining the turtle, my mother and I had a little talk. She explained to me about how animals that are born wild don't usually take very well to being kept in captivity. She also said that creatures like to be with their own kind, and that Barney probably missed the other turtles he had known in Snake Woods. I knew what she was getting at, so I decided I better do what I had to do.
Placing Barney in a cardboard shoebox, along with a worm in case his appetite was revived by the ride, I got on my bike and rode to Snake Woods. There I returned to the spot where I had first captured Barney and I opened the shoebox. The moment he was exposed to the air and the sunlight and saw where he was, Barney instantly snapped out of his lethargy and began frantically waving his legs. I put him on the ground and he ran towards the water. I'd like to say that he glanced back at me once before diving into the muck, but maybe I just imagine that he did. In any case with a splash he was gone, and of course I never saw him again.
Recently on the front page of the paper there was a picture of a spotted turtle looking very much like Barney. The accompanying article announced that the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board had removed the spotted turtle from its endangered species list. The article went on to say that the habitat of the spotted turtle - marshy wooded areas like Snake Woods - were being destroyed by economic development to the point that the population of spotted turtles had plummeted. Now thanks to conservation efforts the turtle population has revived to the point that it is no longer in danger of extinction.
As for the turtle habitat of Snake Woods, it is still very much there. In fact it is even more wild than it was in my day, since kids don't seem to play in the woods much anymore. The last time I was there the trails had become mostly overgrown. I guess kids these days are too busy with video games and such to fool around in the woods.
When I finished the newspaper article, an odd thought struck me - could Barney still be alive? I know I read somewhere that turtles have some of the longest life expectancies in the animal kingdom, with some turtles being documented as surviving more than a century.
Who knows? But Barney, if you're out there somewhere in the muddy bottom of the wetlands of Snake Woods, I want you to know that I was thinking of you today.
The 2010 Obama
Here's the new model the government is forcing General Motors to build.
This banner in Northampton is actually quite inspiring now that it is no longer being used as a cheap campaign slogan.
Nature's Party House
In Amherst there are two giant pines standing so close together that they appear as one.
They are located behind the Golden Nozzle Car Wash on Route Nine.
This path leads right past the pines.
If you look carefully, you will spot an entranceway to a hidden, natural enclosure created by the trees.
Inside there is this mattress made of a wooden pallet covered with cardboard. It doesn't look very comfortable, but I assume you would put a sleeping bag on top if you had one.
The hideaway was deserted when I stopped in, but the occupant appears to be quite thirsty and very untidy.
Remember to be grateful for what you have, because you don't know how other people have to live.
Today's Video
You do something strange to me baby.
There is a large dingle near The World Famous Thomas M. Balliet Elementary School in the Pine Point section of Springfield, Massachusetts that we kids used to call "Snake Woods" on account of how you could catch a lot of small snakes there to put in your sister's bed or something. You could sometimes capture other creatures there as well, such as frogs and turtles.
One day when I was about ten years old I saw a black turtle with spots on its back basking in the sun on a rock near the swampy creek that passed through Snake Woods. Ever so quietly I snuck up on the terrapin with that perfect agility we have only as children, and with lightning speed I snatched it up in my hands before it could escape into the water. I thought this spotted turtle was one of the neatest things I ever caught, so I brought it home and decided to make it my pet.
The first problem I faced was where to keep it. I knew it lived in the woods and obviously liked rocks and water since I had captured it near both, but how could I recreate that environment in my cellar near the washing machine, which is where I determined that he should live? Eventually I settled for a very simple decor consisting of a medium sized metal tub in which I placed a sizable rock and some water. That gave my turtle the varied options of either sitting on the rock, swimming in the water, or hovering near the rock half in and half out of the water. Most of the time he seemed to prefer just sitting on the rock.
Next I had to figure out what the turtle ate. I put some lettuce in front of it, and then I tried pieces of fruit, but the turtle was bored by these offerings. Turtles always look bored, but you know what I mean. Finally I was showing one of my cousins the turtle and he said, "That looks just like the kind of turtle I caught fishing one time!" So my cousin and I jumped on our high-handled banana seat bicycles and zoomed off to the nearest worm farm, which was located a few blocks away on Denver Street.
There were quite a few worm farms in Pine Point. A worm farm usually consisted of a large wooden box filled with rich soil and mixed with coffee grounds. Some people claimed that adding little dashes of other ingredients like orange peels or eggshells improved the mix, but it was mostly the dirt and the coffee grounds that mattered since apparently the worms got all agitated and horny off the caffeine and would reproduce like crazy. Then you could sell the worms in a paper cup to folks going fishing at fifty cents a dozen.
It was easier money than running a paper route, as I would surely know, having the largest paper route in all Pine Point! Today you don't see worm farms, since about twenty years ago the government passed ordinances requiring you to have a permit to sell fishing supplies, including bait. That had the effect of ruining the profitability of the homemade worm farm, and thus yet another field of small business was killed by government regulation.
Anyway, when we got back to my house we offered the worm to "Barney" (as I had decided to name him, in honor of my favorite Flintstones character) and he loved it. It was wonderfully gross in a way only ten year olds can appreciate to watch the worm writhing frantically as Barney methodically, in his slow-mo turtle way, sucked the poor earth-borer down his gullet.
I assumed that Barney must be very happy in his new home, swimming, dozing on his rock and enjoying all the fat juicy worms he could eat. But after a week or so of this life of leisure, he started to act out of sorts. He rarely went into the water, and simply sat on his rock with his legs drawn in with just his head sticking out of his shell and his eyes closed. He had even lost interest in the worms, who when fed to him slithered all around the rock untouched until they fell into the water and drowned. I went and told my mother that something seemed to be wrong with Barney.
After examining the turtle, my mother and I had a little talk. She explained to me about how animals that are born wild don't usually take very well to being kept in captivity. She also said that creatures like to be with their own kind, and that Barney probably missed the other turtles he had known in Snake Woods. I knew what she was getting at, so I decided I better do what I had to do.
Placing Barney in a cardboard shoebox, along with a worm in case his appetite was revived by the ride, I got on my bike and rode to Snake Woods. There I returned to the spot where I had first captured Barney and I opened the shoebox. The moment he was exposed to the air and the sunlight and saw where he was, Barney instantly snapped out of his lethargy and began frantically waving his legs. I put him on the ground and he ran towards the water. I'd like to say that he glanced back at me once before diving into the muck, but maybe I just imagine that he did. In any case with a splash he was gone, and of course I never saw him again.
Recently on the front page of the paper there was a picture of a spotted turtle looking very much like Barney. The accompanying article announced that the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board had removed the spotted turtle from its endangered species list. The article went on to say that the habitat of the spotted turtle - marshy wooded areas like Snake Woods - were being destroyed by economic development to the point that the population of spotted turtles had plummeted. Now thanks to conservation efforts the turtle population has revived to the point that it is no longer in danger of extinction.
As for the turtle habitat of Snake Woods, it is still very much there. In fact it is even more wild than it was in my day, since kids don't seem to play in the woods much anymore. The last time I was there the trails had become mostly overgrown. I guess kids these days are too busy with video games and such to fool around in the woods.
When I finished the newspaper article, an odd thought struck me - could Barney still be alive? I know I read somewhere that turtles have some of the longest life expectancies in the animal kingdom, with some turtles being documented as surviving more than a century.
Who knows? But Barney, if you're out there somewhere in the muddy bottom of the wetlands of Snake Woods, I want you to know that I was thinking of you today.
The 2010 Obama
Here's the new model the government is forcing General Motors to build.
This banner in Northampton is actually quite inspiring now that it is no longer being used as a cheap campaign slogan.
Nature's Party House
In Amherst there are two giant pines standing so close together that they appear as one.
They are located behind the Golden Nozzle Car Wash on Route Nine.
This path leads right past the pines.
If you look carefully, you will spot an entranceway to a hidden, natural enclosure created by the trees.
Inside there is this mattress made of a wooden pallet covered with cardboard. It doesn't look very comfortable, but I assume you would put a sleeping bag on top if you had one.
The hideaway was deserted when I stopped in, but the occupant appears to be quite thirsty and very untidy.
Remember to be grateful for what you have, because you don't know how other people have to live.
Today's Video
You do something strange to me baby.
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