Thursday Thirteen #225 - Eclectic!

1. This week, I learned two new words and they both came from husband. The words are loblolly and haymow. A loblolly is a mud mire or mud hole, and a haymow is a loft where you store hay in a barn.

2. My work on my thesis has stalled yet again. Mostly I think about it, I look at it, and then I put it away. I need to have a first draft to my professor on January 31, so I really need to get my tail wagging. Procrastination is my middle name.

3. A little good news on the freelancing front: I've picked up a bit of steady work, at least for the time being. It begins next week.

4. Earlier this week, I spent time looking at the list of bills before the Virginia legislature this session. I was appalled at some of the really stupid things that these representatives bring to the table in hopes of having them pass as bills. There are bills ranging from deer hunting to regulations on the medical field to redefining the definition of a cemetery, and those are relatively minor ones. Some of these bills can do serious and lasting damage to families, lifestyles, the environment, and businesses. There are over 1,000 of these things listed at this site, if you live in the state and want to have a truly head-shaking and gut-wrenching (in the manner of what you might feel when you see how truly abysmal leadership is these days). This is how bad legislation is passed.

5. Asthma control has been foremost on my mind since the beginning of the year. Mine is currently a little out-of-control and I am hoping that a visit to my physician yesterday, which resulted in a change of medication, will sort this out. I find it hard to work on projects such as my thesis when I don't feel well.

6. My Nikon D40 DSLR camera has developed an issue. It is my favorite camera, though it is old (for an electronic device) and takes only 6.1 mb photos. My new Nikon P500 whips it in many ways but the Nikon D40 is like putting on my favorite slippers. I need to decide if I want to spend money to get it fixed, though. I have a feeling it could get expensive. And of course, Nikon doesn't make it anymore.

7. Some people do not blog enough. Some maybe blog too much. Others do it just right. Me, I just do what I want. I don't really know what other people think of what I do, but I do hope that my readers enjoy it.

8. I am still doing Weight Watchers, but after six months my enthusiasm has waned. I lost my motivation over the holidays. Any suggestions?

9. I recently had a marathon viewing of the extended versions of all three Lord of the Rings videos. I had not seen the extended version of The Two Towers and was very pleased with the additions it brought to the overall experience. These are my favorite films. I am very excited about premiere of The Hobbit, which comes to your movie theater in December.


10. My supermarket has competing candy aisles. One is filled with hearts for Valentine's Day and the other has Cadbury eggs for Easter. There is something profane about that.

11. A story last month about people dying from neti pot use has changed the way I create my own home-made nasal spray. I used to use water right out of the spigot but now I use distilled water. According to the article, some little critter in tap water crawled up in people's brains and killed them. I worry about a lot of things, but this was not one of them. Who knew?

12. One for the Money, a movie about Janet Evanovich's heroine, Stephanie Plum, opens soon. Advertisements for it are now on TV. I am hoping to go see it with a friend. We both have read all of the books. There's a trailer at the link.

13. Recently I have seen geese, robins, redbirds, cedar waxwings, sparrows, starlings, blue jays, and bluebirds. I think migration is on!

A cedar waxwing

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 225th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.