gearing up for gustav

I can't say that I'm doing much of that. I went to T's house for lunch, swimming and alcohol. Then I went to KT's for dinner, board games and alcohol. Now I'm back, restless with watching for our impending doom, and looking for things to distract me. Speaking of alcohol:


...I've been there before. The elephant (about 1:38 in) is the funniest part, front legs clearly out of action but still reaching for another fruit. Enjoy!

I'll be here petsitting until Tuesday night but I don't know anymore beyond that. I don't know where Tucker and Cole's mom went (though I do have contact info if things get dicey) but I live in a mobile home so I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't feel some relief at not being there during the storms when they finally get here. I just don't know if T & C's mom will be able to get back here from whereever...it seems like air travel will most definitely be affected. We'll see I suppose.

night all!

busy, busy

Sorry guys! The library is a pretty crazy place lately and my Amazon business is booming as well. I've had little time to just sit and do this. I have some petsitting coming up so maybe I'll get a chance to be more productive for a few days!

I will be sitting with Tucker (the handsome green-eyed boy) and Cole (Mr. Crookedfoot) until Tuesday, then Thursday through Monday I'll be with these two rascals:

I love all my honorary pups and kitties! I'll be back with Tucker and Cole at the end of the month. Fall is usually my busier time with petsitting as people go on end of the year vacations, then the holidays roll around and off we (or rather, they) go!

It's that time of year again!

I have been waiting on this since last year and it is FINALLY time for Carl V.'s R.I.P. III Reading Challenge (thats Readers Imbibing Peril, for those not in the know). The Challenge runs from September 1 - October 31 and there are three Perils to choose from:

Peril the First - Read four books of any length from any subgenre of scary stories you choose.

Peril the Second - Read two books of any length from any subgenre of scary stories you choose.

Peril the Third - Read one book of any length from any of the following genre's: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror, Supernatural.

I like to live dangerously so I will be going with Peril of the First Order and read four books:

Land of Echoes by Daniel Hecht

Bones of the Barbary Coast by Daniel Hecht

Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper

The Walking Dead: Book One by Robert Kirkman

So, head on over to Carl V.'s R.I.P. III Reading Challenge and sign up!

I feel this way in meetings myself...

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Kenny, for alerting to the presence of Fail Blog. My day is never complete without it!

and a good time was had by all

KT invited me to Essie's family b'day party tonight...she turned a whopping 5 years old! Just think KT, for three days Essie and E will be the same age. Does she realize that I wonder? Something tells me E would be non too pleased to be ousted out of her position as biggest big sister if she knew :) Ah well, nothing to worry about as Saturday will be here in no time and E can reclaim her 6 year old throne of eldest sister.

Fun things:

I wanted a picture with all three girls, which KT graciously agreed to take...especially embarrassing after I wondered aloud where I could sit it to use the timer when there were 4 other adults in the room. KT graciously didn't point this out to me but let me arrive there in my own time. The great part, Toonie (short for Petunia) ended up in the photo with us! Just after the photo, Essie whispered in my ear, "Aunt Holley, your tummy feels like a bean bag."

What I wanted to say - "and it looks like one too"

What I actually said - "That's because I carry my love for everybody around with me instead of leaving some of it at home"

With a sage nod, she scampered off to cause mischief.

What is it about wearing the Birthday Girl tiara that makes you feel special, even if it isn't your birthday? P-toes doesn't know and thinks I shouldn't worry about it either, so we'll just let that one go.

No one is certain what happened here...P-toes would have been a good guess but the rumor was that it was Nana. Unfortunately, she had no testimony on her own behalf. She was witnessed in the vecinity of the cake WITH a fork but she claims that evidence is only circumstantial in nature. It was tasty anyway!

The ravaged paper, the ravaged cake, the ravaged pizza! This all equals a fun birthday party in my book!

and the grand finale:

After the pizza, cake, and presents, the girls were bundled off for baths and then we all sat around and talked over a wonder My Little Ponies video. There was much huffing and puffing on E's part since we were laughing and joking quite loudly. P-toes manage to get both legs in one leg of her new Tinkerbell pj's (all three girls got a matching set). She looked kinda like Vanna White back in the day, except with a pant leg trailing behind her like Barney's tail. Alas, she had no balance and teetered precariously but Auntie got her straightened out. Essie spun around in a office chair until she got dizzy and fell off, waited a few minutes and did it all again. KT's husband D was petting Toonie in his lap but she got into a little-dog-smackdown with Noodle and one of the girls said, "Daddy, you started a dog fight!" Couldn't you just hear that story later on, "It was my birthday, I got presents and we ate cake then Daddy started a dog fight!" It would have been funny for me, no so much for D.

The evening ended too soon, as all good times must. It was past the girls bed time and I had a long drive back home as well. I bundled myself in my car as KT and D got the girls buckled into their minivan and the party was officially done. I would have been sad except for the fact that there'll be a GiAnT PaRtAy for both girls on Saturday complete with water slide, water sprinkler and various lawn games. I'll miss a good bit of it as I have to work but KT has promised to save a blue cheese burger for me.

Now it's past my bedtime too, night ya'll!

perspective

I don't think I'll be complaining about much for a while. One of the members of KT's bookgroup called to say that the 9 year-old grandson of another member died of liver cancer on Saturday. I just read the journal from caringbridge.org and can truly say, I don't have any problems of any real severity. Here is their final entry, and probably what is in the paper also:

-------- was born May 24, 1999. His life was short but well-lived. He was delighted in and cherished. His talents, intelligence, faith, and imagination were nurtured. He loved his extended family and big family gatherings. The church was a big part of his life. He knew the consolation of true friendship and was a loyal, loving friend. He conquered what many fear most—public performance—and was an enthusiastic pianist. He accompanied his parents to music festivals, concerts, plays, and traveled in the U.S. and around the world. He dreamed of being an engineer and inventor. He loved Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lego and monkeys. He loved to read, and when he no longer had the energy to read, often asked to be read to. We shared a rich and happy, interesting and adventurous nine years. In the end, when he was put through a trial that no one should have to endure, his true nature was revealed to be even more gracious, courageous, and faithful than we had known.

From diagnosis to death, that little boy had 3 weeks. Get outside your house, enjoy the sunshine or the rain or Tropical Storm Fay or a hummingbird or the smell of freshly mown grass. Do something and thank someone, anyone (whatever your religious/spiritual flavor), for your healthy time here. I don't have a case of the Mondays, I didn't yesterday, I was just a person who'd lost their perspective.

I have only vague memories of what my own house was like after my brother died. It was two weeks before my 12th birthday and a week before his 20th birthday. I should say before I turned 12 as I don't remember having a birthday party that year. I may very well have been given one by other members of my family, but my parents didn't know me for a little while and I remember no party. The little boy was an only child so I cannot imagine the quietness and solitude of that house. I hope his parents can see their way out of this and avoid divorce as my parents, and many other couples who've lost a child, did not. My mother still gets teary-eyed and loses her voice if my brother comes up in conversation, so I make a point not to do so unless it can't be avoided. I'm a big chicken in that way. I will avoid sad things at nearly any cost as I hate being sad or upset myself. I don't enjoy movies or books where siblings die and I don't watch or read them if I know about it in advance. I have to work hard not to tear up when I see two siblings having a good time or a laugh together, like T and her brother (even though they sometimes don't see eye to eye) or KT and her sister. I do have a half brother (D, who I've blogged about many times, we have my father in common) and we have a great relationship that I cherish. I guess what it comes down to is that with E, we did not have a good relationship and I disliked him (I don't want to say "hate" but that is what it would have been then) up until the day he died, and then I didn't have a chance to like him or not. Would we have been friends? Would he have had kids that I could love like I do S and C? Would I have gone on vacation with him and whoever he may have married? Would I have liked her as much as I do D's wife? Questions never to be answered.

Sorry to sniffle on ya'll's virtual shoulders. I better go now, the patrons are starting to stare.

a bit of old business

I've been holding on to this article in my bloglines account, intending all the while to blog about it but I am just now getting to, exercising my procrastination talents.

One of my favorite blogs is Jonah Lehrer's, Frontal Cortex. He is the author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist, which I've blogged about before.

He doesn't just examine the thoughts and actions of we humans. Back in early July he posted about the miraculous recovery of many of the pit bulls recovered from Michael Vick, the football quarter back busted for conspiring to run a dogfighting operation. Vick kept about 50 pitbulls on his 15 acre estate in horrid conditions and under horrid conditions. In circumstances like this the dogs are usually humanely euthanized but the judge in this case ordered each dog to be individually evaluated and fined Vick nearly $1 million dollars to pay for the lifelong care of the dogs that could be saved.

brings a tear to m'eye...

quiz time!+

can you guess the movie?

I see a few that I know immediately, but most of the rest will require some deep thought on my part...how did you do?

a case of the Mondays

you ever feel like there's just not enough time to get everything you'd like to accomplish...well, accomplished? Except then I start thinking I'm a dweeb for wanting to get so much done in one day...then I start feeling guilty about my crappy Monday work ethic, or the lack thereof. Before you know it, it's lunchtime, I have a little time to myself but I'm feeling too sorry to enjoy it. Why is that? Is there a doctor in the house?

that being said, I did get started on the two biggest projects causing me distress and finished one, mostly finished the other. My major problem is that I pick this crap as a project that takes a pair of freakin' mental tweezers, not something I can do in broad sweeps, and I choose to work on it at the desk. When you're sitting at the only desk on an entire floor of nonfiction, fiction and reference materials wearing a button that says, "Ask Me!" you don't get a whole lot of administrative crap done. I like the mornings, I can concentrate then. When 6pm rolled around tonight I didn't hang on any longer than I had to even though KT had just gotten in and I could have had a lovely chat. I just wanted my nightgown and my hot, honeyed decaf green tea, ya know?

Let me tell you what I am currently burning up, selling crap on Amazon! I've culled my books, dvd's and cd's of things I'm no longer in love with and have sold 17 items in the past week! I've had to go to the postoffice everyday except Sunday and I would have went then but they are closed of course. I'm really enjoying myself and loving that email message that says, "Sold, Ship Now!". Uh-dict-shun, I tell you! (otherwise known as "addiction") The only drawback is that new sellers have to wait 14 days until the first disbursement of profits and that will be on the 23rd, one day after payday. As I'm down to my last $30 bucks (if you don't count the fact that I'll have to fill up put that in the gas tank tomorrow), I could have used my little windfall a bit earlier but I'll just have to make do, drive slow and hope $30 bucks worth of petrol will get me to Friday!

I'm not saying my ends have to meet, but it'd be nice if they could get close enough to see each other and wave :(

Olympic thoughts

Did you all see the little news piece about the douchbag from Sweden who threw his bronze medal to the podium and stomped off like a two-year old. Allegedly there were some ill-feelings on his part about an allegedly poor officiating mishap which resulted his not being able to compete for the gold medal, where he obviously thought his talents lie (lay?). He had to be physically restrained at one point after the ruling, then he was all huffy about being offered the chance to compete for the bronze medal, which his friends/teammates talked him into doing anyway. He won the medal and decided to cinch his crowning achievement with a fit of pique. This really pisses me off because I firmly believe that whoever came in fourth place would have give one (possibly both) testicles to have gladly taken the third spot on that podium...possibly even with a tear in his manly wrestler eye. What an insult to all the wonderful athletes who've won bronze medals in this competition! He basically called them losers without saying a word.

Also, the ICO voted to remove softball and baseball from the games list after this Olympic session because the United States wins too much (okay, because they are considered "too American" to have worldwide appeal). WTF? Look at our gymnastics and swim team coaching staff. Who are they? Professional gymnasts and swimmers who are from other countries with outstanding histories in each sport. Why? Because they are f$%^ing good at what they do and we want to capitalize on that talent. Instead of wah-wah-wahing all the way home, break out some of the money you're spending trying to keep up and hire a U.S. coach for your softball team. It sounds fair to me. If we're taking other nations' coaches/athletes to improve our teams, you should be able to do the same with no censure from anyone. Have at it, but don't get rid of the sport just because you have a hard time winning it.

Anyway, just my 2cents...feel free to let the filleting begin if you have a differing opinion, you are welcome here too!

night ya'll!

htw