Farm Fun

It appears that Dr. Phat Tony has exacted his revenge on Jack for cheating him out of his plan to kill Jill.

His post reminded me of some of the fun I had growing up on a sheep farm. Mind you, if you're city-folk, you'll likely find this more disgusting than fun(ny).

My family had the largest sheep farm in the county - Jackson Co, KS to be exact. I used to help with castrating the lambs & my job was to give 'em the shots after Dad used the nippers & before Grandpa banded their tails (to make them fall off).

I always liked to "help" Grandpa butcher. My idea of helping was playing with the innards after he gutted the sheep. See, you hang em up by their back feet, cut the throat & let the blood drain out before slicing them from stem to stern. The internal organs would fall out onto an empty feed sack where I'd get to learn about anatomy by cutting them up. The four stomachs were always cool but my favourite was the liver. Not sure why, but boy, they sure taste good fried up with onions & topped with a little mustard - yummy!

My cousins (all girls) & I would pretend to cook when we were younger, using mulberries, dirt, leaves, water, a little feed &, of course, placenta from recent births. My friend Pooky has taken to calling that concoction "placenta pie".

Mom used to open the freezer to find snakes, frogs, etc in ziploc bags that I had found on the dead on the road & saved to dissect. And of course, there were the frog legs & the time Flanders & I got a bunch of frog eyes in a jar...

Ah, good times... ;)

Happy Blogiversary To Me!

I almost missed it! Today is my first blogiversary. For those of you who wish to torture yourselves by reading some very crappy writing, my very first post is here.

It's Time For A Little Culture, My Dahlings

Right now, I am sitting in the back of the church during a performance of The Hiding Place by Ballet Magnificat.

The Hiding Place is the true story of Corrie ten Boom & her family from the Netherlands. During WWII, they hid numerous fugitives - Jewish & Dutch underground - in their home before being betrayed in 1944. Corrie & Betsy's father Casper died quickly in a prison & Betsy, Corrie's sister, later died after 10 months in different concentration camps.

I've not read the Corrie's book The Hiding Place for years, but after this, I'll have to make sure to do that.

(Heh - most people live-blog elections or sports stuff. I live-blog ballet. Always gotta be different...)

Tomorrow night I'm off to the Wichita Symphony. The first chair trumpet used to be our Worship Pastor & our family helped him move this past summer so we all got free tickets.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'd forgotten that Corrie later met one of the guards from Ravensbruck & was able to forgive him, after a little prayer.

If you ever get the opportunity to go see these dancers, do it. It is truly awesome.

Extra! Extra! Get Your Kalashnikitty T-shirts Now!

This is your one & only shot to order a Kalashnikitty t-shirt. Greywolf is doing a final batch. Any of my so-called family members who are interested in one, let me know. I'm ordering one for Peanut & one for myself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This email goes out to all those who have ordered Kalashnikitty shirts from me in the past or who have emailed me about how to get them. I have gotten a lot of emails in the past few months about people wanting Kalashnikitty shirts and have decided to do up another run. Since I first starting doing these 3 years ago, I have not had to change the pricing, even though every year my costs have gone up. For this one last time, I will keep the prices at what they were. One of the main reasons I was going to have to change the pricing was due to the fact that I can no longer advertise these shirts (or post at all for that matter) on ar15.com, where about 40% of my orders came from. So, this is the last time I can do this.

Here's the procedure for getting the shirts (this makes it a LOT easier for me to track and ship these things ASAP)

Email me ( grey2112 ) - @ - ( tampabay.rr.com ) with the following:

Number and sizes you want - sizes are Child's Medium, Child's Large, Adult Small, Adult Medium, Adult Large, Adult XL, Adult 2XL, and Adult 3XL. Sorry, ladies - no "baby-doll" tees - just too expensive to retool for the shirt-maker.

Only one color - a light ash grey (very nice) - shirts are high-quality, do not fade or shrink, long lasting, very soft. Image is screen printed, NOT iron on or transfers.

Any size up to XL is $20, 2XL is $21.50 and 3XL is $22.00

Shipping via 2-3 day Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation is $5.00 for 1-2 shirts, and an extra $2.50 per shirt after that.

Check, MO, or Paypal is good for payments. If using Paypal, add 4% to the total payment, including the shipping.

***When you email me your order, include your full name and mailing address. I will email you back with the total.

Taking orders until November 12th (Sunday night), and then the estimated ship date of the shirts will be the first week of December - usually it takes about 3 weeks from the end of order-taking until the shirts start to ship.

Below are some pictures of the graphic (that one's above ~ LG) and various people wearing them. Thanks again to everyone and spread the word!


http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b296/greywolf2112/agirlandhergun2.jpg

Fluffiness

1. What time did you get up this morning? Went to bed at 3pm, awake at 8pm, back to bed at 9pm, up at 11pm
2. Diamonds or pearls? Pearls, preferrably pink, black or blue
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Pirates of the Caribbean & Cars at the drive-in
5. What did you have for breakfast? An ice cream bar & a brownie - I know, I know, I'm bad...
6. What is your middle name? My mother's first name :)
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Chinese
8. What foods do you dislike? Ones I have to pay for... ;P
9. Your favorite Potato chip? Plain with French Onion dip
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Brian Regan Live
11. What kind of car do you drive? '98 red Dodge Avenger
12. Favorite sandwich? Turkey Club
13. What characteristics do you despise? Nosiness, bossiness, being mean just 'cause you want to be... (current major problems with the kids at work)
14. Favorite item of clothing? Do shoes count as clothing? If yes, then high heels, if not, then my long teal & brown houndstooth jacket that I got on clearance
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Scotland/Great Britain
16. What color is your bathroom? Sky blue with white fixtures & rubber duckies
17. Favorite brand of clothing? Whatever fits & is on sale
18. Where would you want to retire to? A Victorian house out in the country with several horses, cats & dogs & family somewhat nearby
19. Favorite time of day? Whatever time I happen to be sleeping
20. Where were you born? In a hospital - I wanted to be close to my mother ;D Topeka, KS
21. Favorite sport to watch? Drag racing or horse show stuff
22. Who do you least expect to send this back? Pffft! (By the way, thanks Kat for the vote of confidence! :) Does this count as sending it back?)
23. Person you expect to send it back first? Pffft!
24. What laundry detergent do you use? Era (I think)
25. Coke or Pepsi? Cherry Vanilla Diet Dr. Pepper or root beer
26. Are you a morning person or night owl? Neither
27. What size shoe do you wear? 9
28. Do you have pets? My dog Rumsfeld & my puddy-tat Sydney Anne Bristow
29. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? Niece # 1 was recently born & nephew # 3 is on the way!
30. What did you want to be when you were little? A horse trainer
31. Favorite Candy Bar ? Dove Dark Chocolate
32. What is your best childhood memory? Riding my horses, especially Pal, out in the back 40 with no one else around
33. What are the different jobs you have had in your life? Stable hand, fry cook/head cook/manager, retail sales person, farm hand/horse breeder, Dillon's checkout clerk - worst. job. ever., motel desk clerk, sheet metal assembler, Youth Care Worker
34. What color underwear are you wearing? I ain't sayin'...
35. Nicknames: Lala, Marnie, Auntie Amama (loved that one), the divine Miss M, Myrtle
36. Piercings? 3 in my left ear, 2 in my right
37. Eye color? Usually blue/grey
38. Ever been to Africa ? No
39. Ever been toilet papering? Kinda - I didn't do the TP, but I helped fork the pastor's yard
40. Love someone so much it made you cry? Yep
41. Been in a car accident? Sorta - a car hit me, it was already coming to a stop but it twisted my knee pretty good
42. Croutons or bacon bits? Bacon bits
43. Favorite day of the week? Friday
44. Favorite restaurant? I don't know - whatever I happen to be in the mood for at the moment...
45. Favorite flower? Poppy
46. Favorite ice cream? Dark chocolate with more chocolate & fudge & more chocolate ;D
47. Disney or Warner Brothers? Either, both, whatever
49. What color is your bedroom carpet? No carpet - hardwood floor
50. How many times did you fail your driver's test? None. Hey I'm a farm girl - we start driving early...
51. Before this one, from whom did you get your last email? The Mothership
52. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Do I have to pay the bill? 'Cause if I do, I ain't gonna do it. However, if it's a freebie, Lowe's - I still need to redo my kitchen.
53.What do you do most often when you are bored? Watch TV or play on the 'puter
54. Bedtime? Whenever I can
55. Last person you went to dinner with? My ratty little friends from church (that's what the Mothership calls them)
56. What are you listening to right now? Nothin' but the wheels turnin' in my noggin
57. What is your favorite color? Right now? Umm... teal, I guess, or red, or purple. Oooh, don't forget blue... Yes, I'm fickle.
58. Lake, ocean or river? Probably lake. I get to thinking about all the nothingness that would be below me when I think about the ocean. Still want to go out in a sailboat though...
59. How many tattoos do you have? Let me count - Nothin' plus nothin', carry the nothin'...
60. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Chicken
62. How many people are you sending this email to? I ain't gonna
63. Who sent this to you and what is something you didn't know about him/her? Kat. I didn't know her favourite flower was a blue iris.
64. What is one thing about her that others wished they knew? She will be a very good mommy.
65. What time did you finish this email post? 4:15

The World's Cutest Nephews

And no, I'm not biased at all... ;D

We had a baby shower for Kat & Ramone & their new little boy who will be making an appearance the beginning of December. Flanders & his two little boys - Bobo & Little Man - came down for the goings-on & the boys are staying here with Grammie & Papa (also known as the Mothership & Viking Dad).

We had some very fun conversations on the way to & from the shower, especially with Bobo. Trains are a big thing for him since Papa works for the railroad.

Bobo - "I will not work in the office. I will work in the twain."
Grammie - "Oh, you are?"
Bobo - "Yeah, so I can get money!"

Good little capitalist...

And on the way home, they were both tired so there was a little crankiness goin' on. Especially regarding the lights:

Bobo - "I want the lights on!"
Grammie - "You'll live."
Bobo (in a dramatic manner only a 3-year-old can do) - "No, I won't live!"

And later, to Grammie & Auntie LG:

"Hey! I want to throw you two out the window!"

Peanut & Jer later got that threat as well, after they were accused of smooching. What is the world coming to these days, when a married couple is caught smooching... Oh horrors!

To keep Little Man awake on the way home, I was forced to resort to threats. Every time I was afraid he was going to doze off, he was tickled mercilessly. It got to where I would say "Oh no! I think Little Man is going to sleep!" and he would close his eyes & tilt his head to the side. Then a little smile would start creeping across his face. So cute...

I'll be taking Rumsfeld over the parental units today to play with the hobbits, so there may be more stories to come. Stay tuned...

A Travesty

Why is today not a national, nay international holiday?!?

On this glorious day in 1903, one of the greatest men who ever lived, a man who has greatly impacted countless lives (and I must add, the man of my dreams) was born.

That's right, this is the birthday of the one, the only Curly Howard.

The fact that this day is not a galactic holiday is a travesty indeed.

Don't Step On My Blue Suede.. Heels

From Leslie...

Your Halloween Costume Should Be

Elvis

What Should You Be For Halloween?

I laughed out loud when I saw this result. Guess I need to get started on those sideburns...

Did I ever tell you that Flanders used to have a pair of Elvis boxer shorts the Mothership made for him? He was always going around saying "thank ya, thank ya very much" & calling people hound dogs...

Rumsfeld

I don't think I told y'all that Rumsfeld ran off last week.

On Thursday I got home from work, put Rummy outside for several hours on his cable-thingy & when I went to load the car & grab him to go up to the farm, he was gone. He had broken his collar. I called 911 to report him while driving around looking for him. (One creepy guy fishing by the creek asked where I lived in case he found him. Yeah, like I was gonna tell him...) After over an hour of looking, I went & talked to the animal control lady & then headed out of town.

On Friday morning I got a call from Mom She was sitting in my driveway, looking at Rummy who was just hanging out on the front step. There was a green dog cable tied to his choke chain & a broken board on the other end of the cable. I thought that was rather interesting. Mom & I both think that someone found him wandering & decided to keep him. Otherwise, they would've likely called animal control or 911.

Anyway, last night I put him out on his cable for less than half an hour while I got ready for work. When I went to bring him inside, he was gone. His collar was laying on the ground, still tied to the cable. It was unlatched, not broken. I called 911 & told them I think he was stolen due to the collar latch being too tight-fitting to come undone on its own.

Dad doesn't think anyone would want to keep him since he's so big & eats a lot. I told him that I know how much it costs to feed him & still want him. I keep forgetting to remind him that Ramone's dogs - Larry, Moe & Curly - were all as big, if not bigger than Rummy.

So, basically, some blankety-blank evil-doer stole my dog.

Umm, yeah... ignore that last line. I ran by home just in case & he was hanging out in the neighbor's yard. I haven't a clue as to how he unlatched his collar, but it looks like we're gonna have to try a harness or something. My dog the escape artist...

Well, at least we can enjoy a few pictures from Rummy's play-day with Riley, Ramone & Kat's beagle.

Riley running off with Rumsfeld's purple monkey.

Poor little monkey is stuck in the middle of a tug of war.

"Boy, all this playing sure is hard work..."

Ewww Ewww Ewww...

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

A girl here gave herself a bloody nose, kept the blood & tried to give it to one of the other girls. Staff are thinkin' the second girl was going to DRINK! the blood.

Ewww ewww ewww... *gag*

How To Wash A Maine Coon Cat

Go over yonder to Red Ink: Texas for an instruction manual on how to bathe a Maine Coon cat. Flippin' hilarious!

Found through El Capitan via Walrilla via Straight White Guy...

Meowoof!

You Are: 30% Dog, 70% Cat

You and cats have a lot in common. You're both smart and in charge - with a good amount of attitude. However, you do have a very playful side that occasionally comes out!

Are You More Cat or Dog?

Today I howled, whined & barked at Rumsfeld. He perked his ears up & went over to the window to see if there was another dog outside. He looked a little weirded out. Growing up I would go outside on a clear night & howl to get all the dogs in town going. I used to be able to neigh & get my horses to answer. I meow to my kitty & purr to calm down baby kittens.

Yup, I can talk to animals... that right there is talent, my friends. (Haven't a clue as to what I'm saying, but what does that matter...)

Update on The End of the Rope

I went to see my physician's assistant Monday & got an appointment set up for a consultation with a sleep specialist. The closest appointment they had was November 22, so I'll just have to deal until then.

By the way, yesterday I had 2 whole hours of sleep. Got off work at 9am, had to be back for a mandatory meeting from Noon to 2:30 & another mandatory training from 5:30 to 6:30. Of course, after I got to each of the "mandatory" meetings, I was informed that they weren't actually mandatory or they were videotaping it for the other overnights. Thanks for that info ahead of time guys...

Ah well, it's all good...

The Impressive Clergyman

I recently rewatched The Princess Bride & remembered plans I had made for my future (maybe) wedding. I'd like to have someone dressed as the bishopy fella come out & do the beginning of the wedding from the movie - funny lisp & all.

A Victoriany, shabby-chic wedding with the Impressive Clergyman - yeah, that sounds about right...

The End of the Rope

Well, it's time. I've got to see about going to a sleep specialist.

Yesterday morning I did my usual sleep-for-3-or-4-hours-then-wake-up thing (that was with 150mg of Trazodone.) I managed to fall back asleep around 8pm. When I woke up, the clock said 3:01. My first thought was "I thought we already had 3 o'clock today" and then of course I realized it was now 3 AM. My shift started at midnight.

Not good.

I'm getting very tired of being tired all the time. This sucks.

Ya Know You're Tired When...

... You're driving along & suddenly realize your eyes are closed.

... You're 3 blocks from home but still want to pull over to the side of the road & sleep NOW.

... You find yourself driving 20mph in a 45mph zone & you're hunched over, peering out the windshield like a little old lady..

... You keep walking into door jambs & walls while doing rounds at work.

... You space out in the middle of a thoug....

An Old Friend

I would like you all to know that I am wearing one of my favourite shirts. It's the one I had the picture for my learner's permit taken in at age 14. And after all these years, it's finally perfect. Never mind the holes from the times I got the dotco caught in it at Cessna or the paint specks, from both aircraft primer & house paint. It's so soft & comfy. I'm just afraid it's gonna have to be laid to rest soon.

More Medication, Please

I'm a fan of Anne Taintor's stuff. I used to have a mug with the above picture on it (2 of them actually, both broken at work).

Anyway, can't sleep again. Tried 200mg of Trazodone instead of the prescribed 50 or 100mg. That got me about 5 or 6 hours. Better than the 3 or 4 I've been getting every day. Even when I'm so tired that I'm about walking into walls at work, I still can't sleep. I'm too worn out to do anything worthwhile at home, so I've been watching a lot of movies. Family Video is renting 2 movies for $1, one a new release. (The Lakehouse is good.) Of course I always get sleepy at about 10 or 10:30pm. I have to be up at 11-ish so I can be at work at midnight.

Oh well, I'm only working 5 days this week instead of the 6 I've been doing. Gonna go see my new niece for a day or 2.

Cable

The other night a lady I was working with asked if I had dish. My first thought was "Uh, yeah, I have dishes - what else would I eat off of." Turns out she meant Dish Network or cable. She sounded positively shocked when I answered in the negative.

I'm not going to pay 20 or 30-some dollars each month for something I would hardly use. If they ever come out with a system that allows to you to get just the channels you want, with no minimum, then I'll think about it.

I wouldn't mind having the History channel, Food Network, TV Land, Nick at Nite, TLC, AMC, Turner Classic Movies & Fox News, maybe a few others, but I have no use for 95% of the channels.

Although I would probably waste too much time on the History channel. Dad used to come over on Wednesday nights when I had cable in my first apartment. I would have dinner ready for him when he was done dropping kids off after AWANA & then he'd watch Weapons of War while I went to bed. Half the time I was asleep by the time he left.

I did get hooked on Nick at Nite when I worked night shift at the front desk of a motel in college. I'd watch Gilligan's Island, Bewitched & The Wild, Wild West while setting up the breakfast.

Zorro Was Here

Scot just came over & told me that Zorro was here. I went outside & sure enough, the only cloud in the sky was a giant Z shape. Sweet...

Whoa...

Straight White Eric is a fan of Robert W. Service, and after the poem he posted (a while ago, but with a new link to it) so am I.

Go read The Law of the Yukon. My favourite lines follow:

Wild and wide are my borders, stern as death is my sway,
And I wait for the men who will win me -- and I will not be won in a day;
And I will not be won by weaklings, subtle, suave and mild,
But by men with the hearts of Vikings, and the simple faith of a child;
Desperate, strong and resistless, unthrottled by fear or defeat,
Them will I gild with my treasure, them will I glut with my meat.

It makes me think of the book Wild at Heart by John Eldredge and how he talks of every man needing 3 things in life - a battle to fight, an adventure to live and a beauty to rescue. Men, especially Christian men, have been trained to be "nice guys" and have lost sight of what life is meant to be. Men should be dangerous. That's the way they were created. Society, and far too often the church, are doing their best to tell men and boys to be nice, don't be bold & daring. Sit quietly, don't play with guns, don't even point a stick and say "bang!" Fighting is bad.

Well, sometimes a fight is what is needed. A fight for life, for love, for a marriage, for what is right. A woman's heart thrills when a man is able and willing to stand and fight for her. (Speaking of women, John & his wife Staci wrote a similar book for women called Captivating. It is honestly one of the best and most life-changing books I have ever read. I believe both men & women should read both books to get a better handle on what the other sex thinks & needs.) I don't pray for my future husband (if God has one out there for me) near as often as I should, but I do pray that I will be a Godly woman worthy of a Godly and yet dangerous man. God & I are working on it...

The poem also reminded me of standing on a rock at the top of Pike's Peak, above a steep drop-off (not smart for someone with vertigo issues, but oh well - what's life without a little risk, right?) and just drinking in the sheer awesomeness of the view. Getting a glimpse of how small I am in relation to the rest of the world and yet knowing that I belong to the Great God who made those mountains & lakes.

One quick quote from Wild at Heart - The only way to live in this adventure ... with all its danger and unpredictability and immensely high stakes ... is in an ongoing, intimate relationship with God.

Seriously, even if you're not a Christian and don't believe in God, these books are still great for digging into your heart and soul and giving you the freedom to live as we were created to.

(And once again, I've gone off on a bunny trail. I'd meant this to be some quick linky-love & the poem snippet, but ah, well...)

*sigh*

What is with all these teenaged girls wanting to have babies? We have several at work now who run & have unprotected sex with men they don't know (the men who do this are a whole 'nother issue) in hopes of getting pregnant. They say that they want someone to love them, but they don't think past the "Oh a cute little baby & it's all mine!" stage. They don't get that a child is a lifelong commitment, especially for the first 18 years. These kids can't even manage the very basics of their own lives & yet they want to bring another child into this world, screw that one up & send him/her to us to fix, just like we're supposed to fix them.

One girl just did the whole run-away-&-have-sex-with-strange-men thing on Monday & is now claiming that she can tell when she ovulates (which was supposedly Monday) & 'knows' that she's pregnant. She's even faking morning sickness & stomach pain.

It's so scary that this is the next generation. If you look at their parents, you can see the downward progression. The next generation after this one... *shakes head*

I do realize that there are kids out there who have been raised right & have their heads screwed on straight. I just never get to see those ones.

Colorado, Part Deux

Yeah, yeah, I know... I've been back from vacation for over a month & only have 1 post up about it. Blogger was being difficult & then I changed to Beta & had to re-redo everything & work has been busy sooo... Anyway, enough excuses.

After the Mollie Kathleen mine & train tours, we drove over to Victor & found the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company & drove up to have a look-see at their current operation.

Dad was enamored with the dump trucks we saw moving rocks down below us. We thought "Oh, those are big" and then we saw this little white thing go by one. When we realized that little white thing was a 1/2 ton pickup, "big" turned to "sweet fancy Moses, those trucks are monstrous!" We figure those trucks are as big as two of my houses stacked on top of each other.

See that little white thing - yeah, that's a 1/2 ton pick-em-up truck.

Dad just had fun watching those trucks move huge piles of rock around. There was also a dozer down there & said it was a D-11 Cat or something, which is the biggest dozer Caterpillar makes.

We headed up the mountain some more & saw these two deer just hangin' out by the road. I got out & tried to visit but they took off. How very rude of them... Sure were purty, though.

Up on the top of the mountain , there was an old mining site - the American Eagles. After using the binoculars to spy on more of the strip mining operation, we wandered through the buildings & equipment. Dad had me stand in front of the headframe to show it's size. Orange spot = my "I've gone to find myself. If I'm not back before I return, keep me here" t-shirt.
This was the hoist that was used to lug stuff up & down the shaft. It had huge cables that went up to the top of the headframe. Dad & I had to see if there were any moving parts, of course. Stinkin' rust...


'Twas much fun & we picked up some rocks on the way down for Mom. By the way, just so ya know, it's a felony to take rocks from a National Park. We learned that after our last trip 7-ish years ago when we returned to Kansas with our pretty souvenir rocks from Pike's Peak & Garden of the Gods. Some of them got stolen from Mom's garden & others were accidentally left at one of the old rentals.

The New Look

So, whadda y'all think of the new look?

I finally got everything categorized & hopefully my blogrolls are all set up now. (Please let me know if they are initially hidden or expanded.)

Mom doesn't like the knight in the picture up top. She says he looks like he's on something. That painting is based on a Keats poem.

La Belle Dame Sans Merci.

O what can ail thee, Knight at arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge is withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.

O what can ail thee, Knight at arms,
So haggard and so woebegone
The squirrel's granary is full,
And the harvest's done.

I see a lily on thy brow
With anguish moist and fever dew,
And on thy cheek a fading rose
Fast withereth too.

I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful, a faery's child:
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.

I made a Garland for her head,
And bracelets too, and fragrant Zone;
She looked at me as she did love
And made sweet moan.

I set her on my pacing steed,
And nothing else saw all day long;
For sidelong would she bend, and sing
A faery's song.

She found me roots of relish sweet,
And honey wild, and manna dew,
And sure in language strange she said,
"I love thee true!"

She took me to her elfin grot,
And there she gazed and sighed full sore,
And there I shut her wild wild eyes--
With kisses four.

And there she lulled me asleep,
And there I dreamed, ah! woe betide!
The latest dream I ever dreamed
On the cold hill side.

I saw pale kings, and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
They cried, "La belle Dame sans merci
Hath thee in thrall!"

I saw their starved lips in the gloam,
With horrid warning gaped wide,
And I awoke and found me here,
On the cold hill side.

And that is why I sojourn here,
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.

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I really wanted a painting from John William Waterhouse, but most of his are taller than wide & wouldn't work well with the header. My favourites are The Lady of Shalott, Ophelia, Circe Invidiosa & Boreas.

Other People's Genius

'Cause genius doesn't strike here very often...

(I was going through & categorizing all my old posts & found this draft from March 3rd.)

There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt. - Erma Bombeck

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once. - Robert A. Heinlein

No matter how calmly you try to referee, parenting will eventually produce bizarre behavior, and I'm not talking about the kids. Their behavior is always normal. - Bill Cosby

I have a theory about the human mind. A brain is a lot like a computer. It will only take so many facts, and then it will go on overload and blow up. - Erma Bombeck

Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss. - Robert A. Heinlein

Everything But The Kitchen Sink Cookies

I had to make cookies for the kids' family day at work last week, so I got online & looked for a new recipe. Boy, did I hit the jackpot. Random people on campus the next day were saying they heard about my cookies & I got an email from another lady saying they were voted as the best. So, without further adieu, I give you:

Kitchen Sink Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Food Network.

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed (I used light brown sugar because a lady in the review section said they came out better.)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon. salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup toffee chips
1/2 cup mini-marshmallows
2 cups imported semisweet chocolate chunks

Cream butter in an upright mixer until fluffy. Add brown and white sugar and mix until thoroughly blended with butter, scraping sides and bottom of bowl from time to time.

Add eggs, l at a time, and mix until thoroughly blended, scraping sides and bottom of bowl from time to time.

Add vanilla extract and mix at low speed (to avoid splashing) to combine well. In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking soda. Add flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture and mix at low speed, until thoroughly blended, scraping sides and bottom of bowl from time to time. Mix briefly at medium speed until completely combined.

Add peanut butter chips and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Add toffee ships and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Add mini-marshmallows and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Add chocolate chunks and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate batter for a few hours or overnight until cold. (They're perkier if the batter is chilled.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (300 degrees F if using convection oven). Line baking sheet with parchment paper and drop heaping teaspoonfuls of batter 2 inches apart. (I didn't use the parchment paper & they came out just fine.) Bake for approximately 12 to 18 minutes (depending on type of oven), turning tray once during baking. Cookies are done when they are golden brown around edges and soft (not bubbly) on top. Let cool on wire rack.

Serving Suggestions: Fill 2 cookies with your favorite ice cream or gelato and freeze for the "perfect" ice cream sandwich or fill with chocolate butter for an utterly divine sandwich cookie. Serve with a cold glass of milk.