Quotes of Note and a Scary Picture

Bill and Hillary ~ Circa 1970













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The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing -- to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts.

John Keats, poet (1795-1821)

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Fortune does not change men, it unmasks them. (sort of like booze does!)

Suzanne Necker, author (1739-1794)

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The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions.

James Russell Lowell, poet, editor, and diplomat (1819-1891)

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Some people are like Slinkies.

Not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.

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I'm proud of the fact that I never invented weapons to kill.

Thomas Edison, inventor (1847-1931)

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A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and in all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world no one is all knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity.

Eleanor Roosevelt, diplomat and writer (1884-1962)

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The radical novelty of modern science lies precisely in the rejection of the belief that the forces which move the stars and atoms are contingent upon the preferences of the human heart.

Walter Lippman, journalist (1889-1974)

On Saturday, Sept. 30th.....

my blog will be blasted into space. Really.

I am not sure how they do it, but scroll down through my sidebar till you see the green button that says Transmitting.

Click on it, and it will tell you how to cast your blog into space too.

The best shopping bags around....

And a cup!

Remember candy cigarettes?

My mom saved this case and used it to store her name labels for her sewing projects. That's a good re-purposing, isn't it? I think the box was one I had in the mid-fifties. I had forgotten about it until I needed to sew a button this week, and found it in my old sewing box.

Scroll down for another post.

Look at Books

I just finished a book I want to recommend. Published in 2005, "Vanishing Acts" by Jody Picoult is not an easy read, in that it skips back and forth between characters and between their childhoods and current lives, and is sometimes hard to keep straight. But the subject matter is compelling and the story well-written, so it is worth the effort.

This is the first of her books I have read, but I will be looking for the twelve others. She received the 2003 New England Book Award for fiction and the American Library Association's Alex Award for "My Sister's Keeper".

Visit her website at www.jodipicoult.com

Odds and Ends ~ 17

What the heck?
all you Bloggers, that is.
So be careful.....lol.
Uh, oh. She means business!
This makes me sad.

Why Daddy Drinks - and Other Stories

Go here

http://www.thewvsr.com/childrensbooks.htm


to see the covers of the LEAST popular children's books of all time. They were posted by Jeff Kay at the West Virginia Surf Report.

The Perks of Being a Grandmother

You get wonderful bookmarks made for you on Grandparent's Day! 

This was made by my beautiful 10 year old granddaughter. I will treasure it forever. 

Croton Anyone?

Have you ever seen a croton plant blooming? Mine must be happy on my deck, with the lack of rain and very hot temperatures we have had this summer. In the top photo, the blooms are on the left. Toward the lower middle of the pic, you can see another small stem forming in the center of the whorl of leaves, which will also be a bloom spike.

In the middle one, you see the small "starbursts" that open from the little round balls on the right of the stem.
















In the bottom photo, you see some ivy blooms, a few of which have opened from the small round buds. This isn't a good photo. I had to hold the camera over my head - and hope I got the right area. But I wasn't the right distance from the branch, I guess. I'll try to get a better one later, after more of them open. They look like tiny buttercups, but they are yellow-green in color.

 

Oldies, but Goodies

I was thinking about how a status symbol of today is those cell phones that everyone has clipped onto their belt or purse. I can't afford one, so, I'm wearing my garage door opener.

You know, I spent a fortune on deodorant before I realized that people who avoided me just didn't like me.

I was thinking about old age and decided that old age is 'when you still have something on the ball, but you are just too tired to bounce it.

I thought about making a fitness movie, for folks my age, and call it "Pumping Rust."

I have gotten that dreaded furniture disease: That's when your chest is falling into your drawers!

I've come to realize that the secret to a happy life is not looking like Barbie or Ken and suffering through tofu and rice cakes to stay that way! It's eating chocolate, staying chunky and explain that you're really a perfect size 6, but you keep it covered with fat so it doesn't get scratched!


I know, when people see a cat's litter box, they always say, "Oh, have you got a cat?" Just once I want to say, "No, it's for company!"

Employment application blanks always ask 'who is to be notified in case of an emergency' I think you should write, "A Good Doctor!"


Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do -- write to these men? Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen could look for them while they deliver the mail? Or better yet, arrest them while they are taking their pictures!


Just once, when someone says "How are you" (without really wanting to know), I'd like to say " my hair is falling out, I cannot see where the heck I'm going most of the time, my back hurts and I pass gas every time I sneeze (and feel like sneezing right now)! I'll bet that'd cure 'em from asking again!

Received in email!

The Truth About Email Petitions

A word to the wise. I got this in an email, and I thank whomever wrote it!

Email petitions are NOT acceptable to Congress or any other municipality. To be acceptable, petitions must have a signed signature and full address. Almost all email that ask you to add your name and forward on to others are similar to that mass letter years ago that asked people to send business cards to the little kid in Florida who wants to break the Guinness Book of Records for the most cards. All it was (and all this type of email is) is to get names and "cookie" tracking info for tele-marketers and spammers to validate active email accounts for their own purposes.

Any time you see an email that says forward this on to "10" of your friends, sign this petition, or you'll get good luck or whatever, has either an email tracker program attached that tracks the cookies and emails of those folks you forward to or the host sender is getting a copy each time it gets forwarded and then is able to get lists of "active" emails to use in spam emails or sell to others that do.


If you want to forward stuff like this because it's interesting, take off all the "front" info and all the forwards and DON'T add your name to them.


Tell others and you will be providing a good service to your friends and will be rewarded by not getting 30000 spam emails in the future. I always doubted if these email petitions ever accomplished anything. Now I am going to delete all petitions no matter what they promote. If anyone can show me where a petition has ever had any results I will reconsider.


Give everybody a break by not forwarding all those petitions.
Click below to check it out with Truth or Fiction.


http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/p/petitions.htm

I bet you thought you had seen the last of my frogs. No way! Here are 2 more examples. This froggy king is actually a box. His hinged top opens to reveal a small space for any treasure you might wish to
store. At the moment, he is empty, but wouldn't he be just the place to store small candies? My grandchildren would love that (to say nothing of mr. kenju).



Below is a detail of the fabric on my dining room chairs. See - I told you I was nuts about frogs, and these aren't the last of them either. Someday I'll show you the bathroom rug and my frog Christmas ornaments.

 

Sayings

I got this list in email, and some of them are really lame, while others are funny. I thought about removing the bad ones, but I am too lazy to re-number the list - so you get them all.

1. A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two tired.

2. A will is a dead giveaway.

3. Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

4. A backward poet writes inverse.

5. In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.

6. A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.

7. If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.

8. With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.

9. Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.

10. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

11. The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.

12. A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France and resulted in linoleum blownapart.

13. You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

14. Local Area Network in Australia: The LAN down under.

15. He broke into song because he couldn't find the key.

16. A calendar's days are numbered.

17. A lot of money is tainted: 'Taint yours, and 'taint mine.

18. A boiled egg is hard to beat.

19. He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

20. A plateau is a high form of flattery.

21. The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison: a small medium at large.

22 Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

23. When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.

24. If you jump off a Paris bridge, you are in Seine.

25. When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.

26. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.

27. Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.

28. Acupuncture: a jab well done.

29. Marathon runners with bad shoes suffer the agony of de feet.

Note: No trees were killed in the sending of this message, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.

"Tobacco smoke, lead tied to ADHD cases"

This headline topped an article in our morning paper, from the Los Angeles Times.

"One-third of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder cases are linked to prenatal exposures to cigarette smoke or childhood exposures to lead, researchers reported Monday.

The study, lead by researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, was the first to estimate the number of ADHD cases tied to environmental toxins.

The report 'provides further evidence that we need to find ways to dramatically reduce prenatal tobacco smoke exposures and childhood lead exposures,' said lead author Dr. Bruce Lamphear".

Don't smoke, especially if you are pregnant, and don't go places where you can't escape other people's smoke.

The Lion Didn't Sleep Tonight!

If you have the opportunity to see this, seize it! I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful it is; the costumes and puppets are fabulous, the set decor spectacular and the actors are masters at their craft (and it is only the travelling show, not Broadway)!

I was given tickets for tonight's performance (an early birthday present) and they were like manna from Heaven to me. The show itself is a gift in all aspects. I cannot stress enough how good and joyous it is, how interesting the puppets and the skill it takes to make them move in so believeable a way. How fun some of the characters are; for instance, Timon and Puumba, Zazu, Rafiki and the hyena trio. We were literally spellbound for the whole three hours. Don't think because you have seen the animated movie that you don't need to see the live production. They bear no resemblance to each other visually. You deserve a treat, don't you? This is one you won't soon forget.

<---Mr. Kenju








The other day, Mr. kenju and I were headed to AAA, to buy an extension handle for his rolling luggage (he always claims they are too short). Being taller than average can be an impediment sometimes....LOL. So, we get out of the car into beautiful sunshine, a light breeze warmly caressing our skin and he says "Look at those clouds! I thought the weatherman said it would be sunny all day". He's one of those "glass half-empty guys", and the cartoon section above describes him perfectly!

At AAA, we discover they don't carry the extension handles, but it is suggested that we go to one of the two travel stores in the nearest mall. I avoid that mall like the plague, but in the interest of the search we went there (only the second time this year for me). We checked the first store, which had one that I thought was sort of pricey plus a saleswoman who was so bored and uninterested she could hardly bring herself to talk to us. So we went to the second store, where we found the same handle at the same price, but a salesman who was genuinely helpful. We bought it.

As we pulled into the driveway at home, Mr. kenju took the suitcase from the car, extended the handle and proceeded to drag it into the garage, where he stops and says....

"You know, I don't think I really need an extension after all."

Guess who had to go back to the store for a refund?

(not me........LOL)

Cartoonies

No time to post - enjoy the cartoons!
 

Murphy's Other Laws

Light travels faster than sound . This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.


He who laughs last, thinks slowest.


Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.


Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.


Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.


The 50-50-90 rule:Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.


If you lined up all the cars in the world end to end, someone would be stupid enough to try to pass them, five or six at a time, on a hill, in the fog.


If the shoe fits, get another one just like it for the other foot.

The things that come to those who wait, will be the things left by those who got there first.


Flashlight: A case for holding dead batteries.


The shin bone is a device for finding furniture in a dark room.


A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.


When you go into court, you are putting yourself
in the hands of 12 people who are not smart enough to get out of jury duty.

More Pics from the Tabletop Competition

Edit: My boss wanted me to thank all of you who have left/are leaving comments about the table(s). It is very gratifying to know that your work is appreciated and he is very pleased with what all of you had to say.
1 and 2. Mel Day's "Wizard of Oz".
3. "Asian Serenity"

4. "Going Platinum"

5. "Family Reunion" (a Halloweenish theme, with a
casket and other eerie theme elements.


6. "Picture That", in the wedding category.
 

And Speaking of Adoption

The adoption story link that I posted Sunday reminded me of another story similar. A very good friend has a nephew and niece who were both adopted while their adoptive parents lived on one of the Pacific Islands in the 70's. They all now live on the eastern side of the US. About 10 years ago, the adoptive parents were contacted in a letter from an attorney representing the birth family. The birth mother was asking for permission to contact the young man to whom she had given birth many years before. She had contracted a disease which might not allow her to live much longer and she wanted him to know his heritage before she died.

It was a situation that I think most adopted children create in their imaginations at some point during their childhoods: that their birth parents are fabulously wealthy and famous and will come for the child and make amends for giving him/her away. In fact, this birth mother was descended from royalty on this island - the family was wealthy - they were hoping to share all with their newly-found son. Although the birth father was no longer in her life, she was eager to tell the details of his life, so that the son could know his heritage and family medical history.

Since then, the whole adoptive family has been to those islands several times to visit, and they were treated like kings and queens themselves. The last I heard, the birth mother was still alive and she had created a warm link to her child, and he to her. There is a downside, though. His sister had learned of her birth mother several years before all this happened. She was met with indifference and was not able to learn about her birth family. I know she is happy for her brother, but it is so sad that they both could not share in the joy of forging a link to the past.

If you like heartwarming stories.....

go and read this one about an adoptive child finding her birth father and learning what she believes to be her purpose in life.

http://www.dailymail.com/story/News/+/2006091544/W.Va.+native+a+real-life+princess

To the Land of Oz (belatedly)

You have to imagine this wonderful centerpiece sitting on sparkly emerald green linen, with all the extra embellishments a table would need for an excellent dinner presentation.

I took the camera to work with me yesterday so that I could record this for you. It certainly does not approach seeing it as it was on the night of the gala, but it will give you some idea of the detail and hard work put into it.

Note the "tornado". You probably can't see it here, but the tornado had small models of livestock and farm implements attached to it - just as in real life a tornado picks up stuff and slings it hither and yon.

Note the stockinged legs and ruby red slippers emerging from the underside of the house....the small bits of broken green glass.....the house sitting slightly tipped up on the end.

The background in the work shop does not lend itself to seeing anything in its best light - but I hope you enjoy looking at the pics. The man who did this wonderful work is Mel Day, who owns Dogwood Tree Floral (a wedding and special event company) here in Raleigh, and I am privileged to work for him
and learn from him.

You'll note that all the flowers are shades of green. I know that a lot of people don't know that such a thing exists, but there are many varieties: roses, mums, cymbidium and dendrobium orchids, star of Bethlehem, trachellium and there are others as well.

I should remind you that this centerpiece was already 5 days old when I took the photos. It still looked as fresh as the day it was delivered to the gala. Whenever you order flowers from a reputable florist and they don't last at least 5 days - call them and complain. They should never be allowed to get away with using any flowers that are less than the peak of freshness!

If you didn't see the original post about this - go back to 9-14-06.

Quotes of Note plus Bumper Stickers

You do not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harms it would cause if improperly administered.

Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th US president (1908-1973)

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Those who never retract their opinions love themselves more than they love truth.

Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

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The human mind treats a new idea the same way the body treats a strange protein; it rejects it.

Peter. B. Medawar, scientist, Nobel laureate(1915-1987)

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Great Bumper Stickers:


IF YOU CAN'T FEED EM, DON'T BREED EM!

Constipated People Don't Give A Crap.

If You Can Read This, I've Lost My Trailer.

Horn Broken... Watch For Finger.

The Earth Is Full - Go Home.

I Have The Body Of A God - Buddha.

Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult.

If We Quit Voting, Will They All Go Away?

Illiterate? Write For Help.

Honk If Anything Falls Off.

Cover Me, I'm Changing Lanes.

He Who Hesitates Not Only Is Lost, But is Miles From The Next Exit.

I Refuse To Have A Battle Of Wits With An Unarmed Person.

(Seen Upside Down On A Jeep): If You Can Read This, Please Flip Me Back Over...

Body By Nautilus; Brain By Mattel.

How Many Roads Must A Man Travel Down Before He Admits He is Lost?

and my favorite:

"POLITICIANS & DIAPERS BOTH NEED TO BE CHANGED OFTEN, AND FOR THE SAME REASON"

Cartoonies ~ What's Your Favorite?