Early October

I shot these photos Saturday morning (October 4, 2013) with my Nikon Coolpix P500.

Potato Chips and Root Beer

From Sunday Stealing

1.Name your favorite movie actor:

  Orlando Bloom (especially as Legolas in the Lord of the Rings movies)

2.Name your favorite movie actress:

  Meg Ryan or Sandra Bullock. It's a tie.
  
3.Name your favorite tv actor:

  Jeff Daniels at the moment.

4.Name your favorite tv actress:

  I don't think I have one right now.
 
5.Name your favorite television show right now:

  The Big Bang Theory

6.Name a few really cool movies you’ve recently seen:

  Um. Um. Um. I don't watch many movies or much TV for that matter. I think the last movie I watched was Hitch with Will Smith in it.

7.Your favorite canceled television show:

  Cagney and Lacey
  
8.Name one movie you wish you hadn’t wasted time/money on recently:

  Anything with Adam Sandler in it would be mostly unwatchable for me.

9.You would never watch a movie with:

  Pornography. Yes, I'm a prude.
  
10.Favorite candy/food to watch movies with:

  Potato chips and root beer. Except I never eat either of those any more.
  
11.Three favorite tv channels:

  TLC, Discovery, and HBO

12.Favorite reality or competition show:

  Survivor is the only one I watch that falls into this category.
  
13.Cable or satellite?

  Satellite. Can't get cable here.

14.Do you watch more movies at home or at the theater?

  Since I am lucky if I go to the theater once a year, definitely at home.

15.Is there a time of year that you watch more tv?

  Probably from September until April. But I really don't watch that much TV at any time.

Spider Webs

This Is What They Tell Me

They tell me I am not dying, anyway.

The "they" being a number of doctors I have seen in the last six weeks.

I have been quiet about it, but my gallbladder surgery has had complications. Or at least, the after-effects of the surgery have certainly complicated my life.

The pain is nigh unbearable in my right side at times. Other times it is just an ache, but it's always there.

It hurts to walk. It hurts to move up and down. I have nausea and no energy.

Early in September I spent a day in the emergency room again. Initially they thought I had appendicitis, but finally decided I didn't. They gave me pain killers and sent me home.

One doctor has diagnosed me as having a rare occurrence, something to do with nerves and scar tissue which interfere with the abdominal muscles. His theory is that the muscles clench up like when you have a Charlie horse in your calf muscle, only they kind of stay that way. And it's in your belly, not your calf.

Muscle relaxers have helped, but just a little, and I have to keep taking them. They make me dopey and slow.

To say this has become life-changing is an understatement. It is tough to focus when your belly hurts. I've had to stop exercising, which makes other body parts hurt - I need to move, after all.

The worst part is no one can say that the diagnosis is right, or how long this might last. That's scary, for sure. What if it never stops?

They tell me I am not dying, but I have to say it kind of feels like it sometimes.

Early Rising

Thursday Thirteen

Our Evolving Language

This Post is Not Yet Rated, but I Suggest It Is At Least PG-13: Read At Your Own Risk.


Recently I heard this in a children's commercial: "You suck!" and I thought to myself, my, how things have changed. There was a time when had I said that aloud I'd have had my ears boxed, but how could one fault a child for saying something he sees other young folks say whilst playing with toys?

So I thought I'd look up the history of some of our more, um, casual sayings. (I have used that convention of placing a period on some words in order to keep the search engines from locking onto them, and abbreviated other words. I swear a lot out loud sometimes but I really don't like to see it in writing.)


1. To say "You suck" in today's world means to say something is bad or not good. But the origin is a bit worse - it refers to "fell.a tio" (1928). It did not come into its more modern use until the 1970s, and apparently is now completely acceptable, even for children.

2. While the "F" word is considered a bad word today (yet used with great frequency by nearly everyone), there was a time when it was even more acceptable. Prior to the mid-1800s, the word was used frequently in legal pleadings, as I have personally seen in the annals of my county courthouse. There are numerous divorce proceedings from those long-ago days that use the word to describe exactly what it was the husband was caught doing with the house maid. However, the word was no longer allowed in print in the US by the Comstock Act of 1873. Later, challenges to the law in the 20th century ended that. Up until 1965, the word did not appear in dictionaries at all. 

3. "Damn" is another one of those words for which I would have eaten lye soap, but I am not sure that is the case anymore. This word has been around since the late 13th century, and you haven't been worth a damn since about 1817, but from the 18th century to about 1930, it was not used in print. However, Gone With the Wind broke that taboo.

4. Calling someone a "dick" or a "dickhead" is another nearly acceptable yet once taboo title one can bestow upon friend or foe. The word of course is short for Richard but at some point it came to mean a male sex organ, as far back as 1891, at least. I have often wondered what Richard did what to whom in order to deserve the comparison. The word penis, by the way, dates back to the 1600s.

5. These days we all consider getting a "poke" on Facebook to be an act of love (or something) from an acquaintance we barely know, but not so long ago (1902) a "pokey" was what a guy did to a girl when they were in the throes of whoopee. The first time I ever heard a variation of this use for the word was on Lonesome Dove when the miniseries aired in 1989.

6. Balls to the wall, boys is a familiar phrase, one I've heard on TV and elsewhere. They aren't talking about plastic bouncing things, either, unless some poor fellow has had some work done. To have balls means to have courage or nerves, from about 1928, and the first phrase probably dates back to WWII. A ball-buster, i.e., one of us difficult females, dates back to 1974.

7. How many times have you said that "S" word that means excrement? It's been used to mean an obnoxious person since at least 1508 - how's that for longevity in swearing, eh? To "not give a S" dates to 1922, while to be "S-faced" dates back only to the 1960s. The grand ol' saying of "Same S different day" apparently only dates back to 1997 though I could swear I've heard that all of my life. The word is not common on TV but still sometimes heard uncensored. My favorite etymology of this word? Shitticism is Robert Frost's word for scatological writing (writing that deals with bodily functions).

8. "P.iss" meaning to go pee or urinate, dates all the way back to the 13th century. To p. away something dates back to 1811, while to be p. poor dates back to WWII. My mom used to tell me I was full of p. and vinegar, a saying that goes back to 1942 or so. The word has been commonly used on TV since the 1980s. I once was interviewed by a newspaper writer whilst I was on painkillers (I'd broken my ankle) and I used the word in a sentence; she printed the quote and then she got into trouble for it. I learned never to give interviews while I was high on something, even if it was prescription.

9. The "A" word became slang for backside in the mid-1800s, and prior to that it meant donkey. However, donkeys were known for being stubborn and clumsy, so to make an A of one's self dates as far back as 1580, and it refers to the animal, not the body part. Since the mid-1930s to be an "A-hole" is to be a contemptible person (I know a few of those) and I am presuming that an "A-wipe," an expression I have heard my brother use, (fortunately not directed at me), is somewhere below contemptible.

10. The b.itch word is not one I am at all fond of, as it expresses contempt for women. It actually means a female dog, but using it to imply females are contemptible dates back to the 1400s. There really is nothing new under the sun.

11. Cock is a word with many meanings. The bad association with a male sex organ dates all the way back to 1610. But to go off half-cocked refers to the use of a gun, not the other thing, as of the 1500s. To cock an ear (1600s) refers to chickens, as does cocking a hat. However, it's an insult to call someone a c.sucker, as that refers to #1 in this list (1890s).

12. Vagina is not a bad word, though apparently some folks in various corners of legislation seem to think it is. I kid you not, in 2012 in Michigan a female legislator was reprimanded for using the word on the legislative floor. Our journalistic friends across the waters dubbed it "vaginagate." The word use originally meant sheath, as in a sword, and its etymology dates back to the 1600s. It's medical or scientific use dates back to 1908. Today you hear women calling it the V-jayjay or something like that. Maybe "lady parts" is the new term, I think I heard that on TV not long ago.

13.  Last, but not least, because gosh I had no idea there are so many swear words, I will offer up the word b.astard, which since the 13th century has meant "illegitimate child." It began being used as a vulgar term for a fellow around 1830. I have never liked the word because of its implication towards women, however distant that might be.


I took the etymologies from this website. Great place to look stuff up.


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 312th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Sun Rising Through Fog

Read the Label

Out of step again, I am.

In the old days when I bought clothes - which must have been years ago from the way things have changed - tags had washing instructions on them. Machine wash warm, tumble dry low, that sort of thing.

The last few new items I have purchased don't have those instructions. I hunted everywhere. I peered through my progressive lenses until my eyes crossed, but I couldn't find the washing instructions.

Then tonight - moments ago, really, when I came home with some new clothes and once again couldn't find washing instructions - I realized that the labels had funky little symbols on them. Aha!

But I had no clue what the symbols meant.

Thank heavens for the Internet. I found this site here that offers a guide to common household laundering and dry cleaning symbols. It is three pages long! How am I supposed to know all of this?

Now I know why some of my clothes weren't doing as well as I'd expected. I have been washing them wrong. Because I didn't know what the instructions were! I had no idea that line of triangles and squiggly lines actually meant something.

So how long has this been going on, anyway, and where have I been?

Fog Rising

Apple Butter Cake

So my friend Rebecca over at Shenandoah Gateway Farm had a recipe for an apple butter spice cake on her blog a few weeks ago.

I am always on the lookout for good spice cake recipes. My husband loves things like zucchini bread, which I make with lots of good spices, and I make an Irish spice cake sometimes that is okay but not quite what I want. It crumbles too much.

Apparently I am unable to follow a recipe to the letter. Rebecca's recipe called for plain ol' sour cream, and I used fat free. She did not use self-rising flour and I did (that is what I always use). Also she suggested pecans and I opted instead for golden raisins. I also didn't have any cardamom (I don't even know what that is) so I just left that out.

All in all this was a very good cake. It must have been decent because my husband ate most of it. I took a piece to my physical therapist and she pronounced it "awesome."

It got better as the days progressed, too, which I found unusual. It did not dry out but instead seemed to grow more moist.

I think I will give this another go over the holidays.

Many thanks to Rebecca for posting the recipe.

I Want It All Just Right

My Random Randomness Meme

From Sunday Stealing

1. How did you choose your baby's or pet's names?

A. I haven't had a pet in years. My dog that died in 2001 was named Ginger, and I picked that name just because I liked it.

2. Have you ever been fishing?

A. Yes. When I was about 10 years old I won a bag of chips at the Salem Fishing Rodeo for catching a catfish in the trout pond.

3. Have you ever had your national flag painted on your face?

A. No.

4. What was the last social faux pas you made?

A. I have no idea. I probably talked with my mouth full or wiped my nose on my sleeve or something gross like that.

5. What makes you nostalgic?

A. Smells - wood burning, chocolate chip cookies, old people odors.

6. What's the scariest thing you've ever done?

A. I went up in a hot air balloon once. I rode a motorcycle. I have shot guns. I went into surgery. Okay, that last one is the scariest, hands down.

7. What fairy tale character would you most associate with?

A. The princess in the Princess and the Pea. I am a little OCD and I have to have everything just so. So maybe also Goldilocks in the Three Bears, who wanted it all just right.

8. How much do you tend to swear in public?

A. Not as much as I do in private.

9. If you ruled your own country, who would you get to writer your national anthem?

A. Well, not you, O person who asked this question, since your sentence has a typo in it. I think Melissa Etheridge, though, could write a good national anthem for my country.

10. Who is the most intelligent person you know?

A. My friend in England is probably the most intelligent person I know. But I know a lot of very smart people.

11. What's the craziest thing you've ever done for someone?

A. Chasing cows for my husband is pretty crazy, especially at my age.

12. What's the worst piece of advice anyone has ever given you?

A. To do anything for money.

13. If you had to describe yourself as a flavor, what would it be?

A. Blue Raspberry.

14. If you had to describe yourself as a car, what would it be?

A. Toyota Prius.

15. If you had to describe yourself as an animal, what would it be?

A. Deer.

16. Do you think laughing at someone else's misfortune is wrong?

A. Yes. Of course it is wrong.

17. If a loved one was to serenade you, what song would you most like them to sing?

A. Anything with "I love you" in it. Or maybe "Annie's Song" by John Denver.

18. Would you ever let your parents pick out a partner for you?

A. No.

19. Have you ever tried spam? (the meat product)

A. Yes, and I actually like it. It is also good to have on the shelf in the event of an apocalypse.

Deer, Deer, What Can the Matter Be?

Dang, my leg itches! 

Whew, I gotta take a nap!

You know I ain't givin' you a minute's peace, woman! Here I come!

Whatdaya mean, get away from me! You know I'm the king of the forest! Mom said so!

Down Sugar Tree Hollow Road

Earlier in the week I helped my husband move his digging equipment for a septic tank job on Sugar Tree Hollow Road.

That's him in front of me, pulling his backhoe with the dump truck, as we headed down Blacksburg Road near Fincastle.

A view of the Blue Ridge Mountains through my car window as I drove along (at 8:00 a.m. or thereabouts). It was quite foggy.

I spied this old structure, which looks to me like an old church now used as a barn, as we drove down Sugar Tree Hollow Road.

My husband unloading his equipment. He had to drive the backhoe up a very long, crooked and vertical dirt road, and he didn't think the dump truck could pull the backhoe. My job was to follow along and ferry him back and forth for a bit, until he had everything at his job site.

The woods were beautiful and still. I couldn't help but admire the flicker of light as the fog began to lift and the sun began to dazzle the changing leaves.

This little church was on our route. I didn't catch the name of it but I thought it was a lovely structure. (According to the county's GIS map it's Forest Grove Baptist Church on Mt. Moriah Road.) I wondered if this was the congregation that had once met in the other old church that is now a barn.

Thursday Thirteen

I figure I must be getting desperate when I resort to 13 things inside my fridge, but here goes:

1. Cucumbers from my garden, some of which are shriveling. Earlier this week I picked what I presume will be the last ones for the year.

2. Zucchini, also from the garden, and again I just picked what I presume will be the last ones. I have never picked zucchini from my little patch so late in the season.

3. Fudge that I made yesterday to take today to the Fincastle Library for their book and bake sale. I like to support their endeavors as much as I can.

4. Apples from Ikenberry Orchards. This local orchard has been in business for five generations, and I buy my apples from them instead of the supermarket. The locally grown taste a whole lot better, I must say. I love their ginger gold.

5. Baked roasted chicken from the supermarket. Very tender and tasty. I am dieting so I peel the skin off. I've had a rough week and some days you just don't want to cook.

6. McCutcheon's Apple Butter. This is a family owned venture, too, but in Maryland. They make my husband's favorite kind of apple butter; we usually travel up into the Shenandoah Valley for it a few times a year. That's his last quart (I just noticed he has two of them in there, one needs to be thrown out, I think) so it is time for another trip. I don't know why we can't find it in the Roanoke area, but The Cheese Shop in Stuarts Draft carries it.

7. Cranberry Juice. Just Cranberry, it's called. No sweetener. I have to cut it with a little grape juice to down it, I'm afraid. It's supposed to be good for me. I drink it 4 ozs at a time.

8. Probiotics. Somewhere in there is a bottle of Ultimate Flora, which I take daily. This is supposed to help keep yeast infections away and keep my gut working properly and things like that.

9. Water. I keep a big picture of water filtered with a Brita filter in the refrigerator at all times. I usually fill it at least once, if not twice, a day. It is important to stay hydrated.

10. Fat-free pudding. This is one of my few treats these days. Fat free pudding is 3 points in Weight Watchers. I don't eat it often but sometimes you need a little something different.

11. Fage 0% fat yogurt. I like the cherry kind the best. It is also 3 points in Weight Watchers.

12. The diet Dr. Pepper and the regular mayo belong to my husband, along with the regular salad dressings. The "light" Miracle Whip and the fat free salad dressings are mine. He won't eat "fat free" at all, hence we have two of everything. I won't drink diet sodas; I think that artificial sweeteners are bad for you.

13. Flax seed oil. This is supposed to be one of those "good" fats that people with poor lipid numbers take. I have taken the capsules for a long time and frankly don't see that it helps, so I thought I'd try the liquid form for a while.


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 312th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Early Autumn Delight

Sunset

We had this beautiful sunset Saturday evening after a day of rain. The sky suddenly burst open with color; I understand there was a rainbow behind me that I couldn't see through the trees.

On Sunday we had a bit of excitement here. My husband and I were in Rocky Mount trying to spend some time together and relax. His cell phone rang and it was a neighbor telling us the cows were out.

We raced home in record time and arrived to find two deputy cars here and several neighbors wandering around trying to round up wayward animals. People were excited and waving their arms. A woman I did not know kept talking about seeing a cow wander through her backyard (there are a number of small homes bordering the farm).

My husband, who was a little aggravated and frustrated by this whole scenario, sent me down the road to open one of the big gates, which I did. I then walked across a field and told a neighbor who had corralled a cow that we could get her through that gate, but he wanted me to open a smaller gate at the loading pen so he could try to put her in there. I opened the small gate and stepped back so he could shoo the cow on into the pen.



Older picture of a cow with a newborn.

The cow did not like that and she turned and charged at me. I shrieked and jumped up and tried to scare her to stop her and get out of the way at the same time. Such shenanigans in an old overweight lady are not to be, and my feet went out from under me in the damp grass. I hit the ground hard but since there was a 1,600 pound cow coming at me I climbed back up on my feet immediately, cursing as I did.

The cow swerved and headed for the road. I made a small effort to limp along after her but it was useless and I did not get far.

This animal was not going to be taken easily, and ultimately one of the neighbors on a utility vehicle and a policeman in his vehicle managed to get her through the gate. I certainly wasn't up to chasing after her.

I ended up with a sprained wrist, a big bruise on my lower leg, and another on my hip. It could have been worse, I suppose.

Ultimately we learned that the report was of two cows out, but we only found the one. My husband counted the cows and said they were all in the field. Perhaps one of them found her way back through the fence without help. In any event, he patrolled the fence and patched the hole he thought the cows went through, and that was the end of that.

On the Lookout

We End Up Somewhere Quiet

From Sunday Stealing

Fall/Autumn Meme

Q. First of all, is autumn your favorite season? Why or why not?

A. Autumn IS my favorite season! That's because it is cooler and it's pretty. It also heralded the start of the school year and I was a nerd who loved school. What am I saying? I'm still a nerd who loves school. Autumn means new notebooks and school books, new clothes and shoes, and new people in your life. What's not to love?

Q. Is it ‘autumn’ or ‘fall’, to you?

A. I actually use both.

Q. What kind of weather does your area get during this season?

A. It turns cold and we have chilly rains.

Q. Were you born in an autumn month?

A. No.

Q. Do you pay attention to any ‘fall fashions’?

A. No, but I look my best in "fall" colors - purples, browns, blues. A very long time ago when women did their "colors" (do they do that anymore?) I was an Autumn.

Q. Which leaf color is your favorite?

A. Red. I love it when the trees look like the hills are jumping with fire.

Q. Is it still fun to rake the leaves and jump in piles of them?

A. No. Actually that never was fun, it is only fun in the comic strips.

Q. When can you really tell that it’s autumn?

A. When the weather turns cooler and leaves begin to fall. Rather like today.

Q. Do you enjoy carving pumpkins?

A. Yes, though we seldom do it. We live far off the road and have no trick or treaters.

Q. Do you eat the pumpkin seeds? If so, do you put any kind of flavoring on it?

A. I don't eat them.

Q. Are you planning to go to a pumpkin patch this year?

A. Not particularly, but Ikenberry Orchards usually has loads of pumpkins and I visit there frequently.

Q. Which was your favorite Halloween costume to wear?

A. I always enjoyed being either a witch or a hobo. I was not the fairy princess type.

Q. Are you planning to go trick-or-treating? Why or why not?

A. No. I am old. A few years ago I donned a witchy costume and drove to FIncastle with bags of goodies, which I handed out to children throughout the town. I got a lot of strange looks. I am not sure anyone knew who I was, even my friends.

Q. Are there any county fairs or festivals held nearby during this time?

A. Buchanan has a Mountain Magic festival. Salem last week had its Olde Salem Days. The Craftsman Classic is at the Roanoke Civic Center in October.

Q. What is your favorite dessert for this time of year?

A. I don't have favorite desserts by season, but the apples are good in the fall.

Q. Is your Thanksgiving Day in October or November, if you even celebrate it?

A. It's in November.

Q. If you do celebrate it, where do you usually have Thanksgiving dinner?

A. At my mother-in-law's house.

Q. Do you remember any crafts you used to do that were autumn-themed?

A. Not really, but I remember when I was in the 7th grade, right at the first of school, we were given an assignment to collect leaves and label them, and turn it in at the end of the first six weeks semester. The teacher warned us that he would know who put it off until the last minute because the leaves would be changing, and the people who had green leaves instead of brown or colored ones would get the best grades. Guess what. I completely forgot about the assignment, and then raced around examining leaves to try to find whatever green ones I could. It was not one of my better classroom performances.

Q. Are any of your favorite bands doing a fall tour this year?

A. I am not aware of it if they are.

Q. Which new TV show are you looking forward to this season?

A. I watched Sleepy Hollow when it came on, and the new season of Survivor. Sleepy Hollow was a little gory so I don't know that I will watch it.

Q. How does autumn typically make you feel?

A. Fine.

Q. What color do you always associate with autumn?

A. Red.

Q. Is there a song that always reminds you of this season?

A. Not especially.

Q. Do you have any seasonal traditions?

A. No.

Q. Do you spend a lot of time outside during this time of the year?

A. Are you kidding me? Until there is frost on the pumpkins I can barely stand to be outside. The ragweed is killer this year.

Q. How can you tell that fall is over?

A. Santa Claus is nigh.  

Q. What is a typical autumn outfit that you wear?

A. Blue jeans and a sweater.

Q. Describe a perfect autumn day:

A. It's a lovely crisp 60 degrees, the sun is shining, the sky is a brilliant periwinkle blue, and I am outdoors working to clear up my flower beds. An hour or so later, I come in and shower, and my husband and I go to a fall festival. We hold hands as we peruse the goods, and eventually we end up somewhere quiet where we can chat over a nice bowl of spaghetti.  

Q. Do you hate it when stores start promoting Christmas early?

A. Yes.

Q. What is your favorite thing about this season?

A. That it comes and I'm still alive to enjoy it.

Magic Pills

When I was a child, so very long ago now, my brother, my young uncle, and I would pretend that we had magic pills.

Generally these were either M&Ms - usually the red ones - or a Smartie. Smarties are sugar candies that come in rolls of pastel colors, information I add because it seems to me not everyone eats these.

Anyway, I think the purple Smartie was the ultimate "magic pill" in our play.

Rather like Alice when she would drink something, the "pills" would "change" us somehow - make us smarter, or able to leap from tall buildings (which meant jumping from a chair with a towel for a cape). I think I usually went for the "make me smarter" pills, leaving the cavorting to the boys. I think I fancied myself the smart one, sort of like Velma in Scooby Doo.

We also took a children's multivitamin, which I remember as Flintstones even though they weren't around until 1968 according to Wikipedia. These were also magic pills, handed out daily by my grandmother, who kept my brother and me until we began school, and then again during the summers. Grandma would give us the vitamins and we'd run around like crazy superhuman beings for about five minutes afterwards, because the "magic" had to wear off.

So even back in the 1960s, the hunt was on for the magic pill. These days, here in my golden years, the magic pill would be the one that cures the asthma, eases the allergies, halts the pain. And there are no magic pills for those conditions. Most medication is really some kind of poison and side effects can be killers. It is something to keep in mind.

My mother believed that doctors could fix everything, and she gave me whatever they offered. That was frequent because I was a sickly child. I am fairly certain that up until I was married, I had imbibed in every antibiotic potion known to mankind. That is no longer the case, thanks to new drugs that I eschew and to a mindset that I keep that says "buyer beware" when I am offered a new drug.

Even so, I take far too many medications. I don't search for the happy pills, or the smart pills, or the weight loss pills, but the doctors have handed me instead blood pressure pills, thyroid pills, and allergy medication that I take year-round. Here a drug, there a drug, everywhere a drug drug.

None of them are magic pills, little round droplets that cure what ails me. They may help or control but they aren't fixes. Medication seldom fixes or cures, I fear. I'm not sure that anything does.

This morning as I took a 30-minute walk on the treadmill I was thinking of those times so long ago when I was naïve enough to think that just by believing it I could make an M&M be the magic pill that would make me smart. I learned long ago it takes hard work and lots of study to increase my knowledge. It takes hard work and lots of sweat to make a body healthy (something I am still not very good at). Pill-popping is a long-lived habit that I wish I had never learned.

This also came to mind because I have been reading that even Tylenol isn't safe. I have long known it could damage your liver and have been judicious in my consumption of that particular drug, but as I age I suspect I will be taking more of it. I don't tolerate the NSAIDS or aspirin, and that leaves acetaminophen. I'm not sure what has made the drug a topic for discussion all of a sudden, but it doesn't bode well for a pain-free old age.

I wonder if I tossed some magic M&Ms in the air, and made a wish, if anything would change.

Across the Valley

This Little Light

Thursday Thirteen

Where and when to read a book . . .

Barn and silo, stylized. This has
nothing to do with reading books.

1. While on hold when you're on the phone.

2. During TV commercials.

3. While you're waiting on the computer to boot up.

4. While you're waiting on cookies (or whatever) to bake.

Hollins University Chapel. This has
nothing to do with reading books.

5. While you're walking on the treadmill.

6. Anytime you're eating at the table.

7. While you're waiting at the doctor's office.

8. While you're waiting in line.

An old farm implement. Also nothing
to do with reading books.

9. While you're in the bathroom doing, well, you know.

10. While you're waiting on a website or whatever to download.

Autumn colors from a previous year.
Also nothing to do with reading books.

11. During TV programs you've already seen.

12. During boring meetings.

13. While you're riding in a car/bus/plane/train/etc.


Where do you read your books?


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 311th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Along the Fence

Full Barn

Shadows

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Books: Flight Behavior

Flight Behavior
By Barbara Kingsolver
Copyright 2012
436 pages


Barbara Kingsolver is one of those authors I am supposed to love - but don't. I don't hate her but I have attempted to read several of her books and this is the first one I have actually finished.

It is very good, though as with her other books I did not connect with it on an emotional level. This is more a book for the intellect, I think.

The book was on the bestseller list for a while, as most of Kingsolver's books are.

The story, told in the third person, takes place in the fictional town of Feathertown, TN. Dellarobia is an unhappy wife and mother of two who, after a decade of marriage, would like for something to change. She goes about this in the wrong way at first, looking for passion outside the marriage.

On her way to a secret tryst in a shack on the family farm, she stumbles upon a magnificent sight that forces her to rethink her entire life. Monarch butterflies have settled in the valley on the family's acreage - millions of them. Instead of flying to Mexico as they have in the past, for whatever reason the butterflies have ended up in Tennessee.

The novel takes on climate change in a rather spooky way - the book seems to foretell the summer we've had here in 2013 - too wet, too cool, too wrong for Virginia's mid-Atlantic climate. Dellarobia's husband, Cub, is a farmer from a farming family - and too much rain, too much of the wrong weather, wrecks the farming community (much as it has done in reality this summer). Her father-in-law wants to log the farm, which would destroy this new butterfly habitat.

The butterflies create a sensation as word spreads, and a scientist, Ovid, comes to study the insects. The novel investigates the differences between science and religion, education and the lack thereof, as well as class and other issues, all in one tidy bundle. However, Kingsolver does not preach nor does she make her characters do handstands to get the points across. Instead she weaves a fine tapestry that, when unfolded, shows us the whole of the issues.

If you already like Kingsolver I imagine you will love this book. If you like to read books about the issues of the day, you will love this book. Based on the reviews, some people will be turned off by the implied environmental lecture - probably the ones who most need to hear it but aren't listening anyway.

And I still don't "love" Kingsolver, but I must admit that she is a fine writer, and after finishing this book I like her better than I did.

I Want to See Them Coming

From Sunday Stealing. Care to join in?


Q. Most daring Dare you have ever done?

A. I don't know that I have ever done one. If I have, it wasn't memorable.

Q. When is the last time you did something you knew was wrong?

A. Earlier this week we bought some filing cabinets to use in the bedroom. I don't like them much and knew I wouldn't when my husband bought them, but I didn't speak up. That was wrong, but I don't think that's the kind of "wrong" you're talking about. For that type of wrong, I'd have to go back like 20 years or something.

Q. What was on your mind most today?

A. My health.

Q. Have a best friend?

A. My husband is my best friend.

Q. If you were upset, who’ s the first person you would go to?

A. My husband.

Q. When was the last time someone yelled at you?

A. It has been months and months.

Q. What have you done today, so far?

A. Piddled at the computer, ran the vacuum, changed the bed, cleaned the bathrooms. It's just midday (on Saturday).

Q. What did last weekend consist of?

A. I can't remember. Oh, we ran errands in the city and had lunch out.
 
Q. What are you listening to?

A. House noises. The hum of the air purifier, the washing machine, my fingers clicking on the keyboard.

Q. Who were you last in a car with?

A. My husband.

Q. Have you ever been called cute?

A. Can't say that I have.

Q. Describe how you feel right now in one word:

A. Concerned.

Q. Has anybody ever told you that you talk too fast?

A. I'm from the south. No one talks fast down here (unless they are from somewhere else).

Q. Did you have fun yesterday?

A. Not particularly.

Q. Do you like to cuddle?

A. Sure.

Q. Do you think someone is thinking about you?

A. Maybe.

Q. Are you stubborn?

A. Sometimes.

Q. Is there a friend, boyfriend/ girlfriend, or ex that you will never forget?

A. There are old friends that I miss, yes. But not boyfriends.

Q. Thinking back, are there people you have no idea why you hung out with?

A. Yes.

Q. How’s your heart?

A. Ticking right along.

Q. Are you easily amused?

A. Sometimes.

Q. Do you speak more than 2 languages?

A. No.

Q. Are you doing anything tonight?

A. I hope to finish reading a book.

Q. Is there a person of the same sex who means a lot to you?

A. Several, actually. I love my friends.

Q. Is your hair naturally straight?

A. No.

Q. What happened at 10:00 am?

A. I read the newspaper.

Q. What were you doing at ten last night?

A. Going to bed.

Q. Have you made someone happy today?

A. I have been alone all day.

Q. Is it hard for you to get over someone?

A. I am married and old,it's not a problem I generally have.

Q. Think it’s disgusting when girls get really wasted?

A. Yes.

Q. How long did it take you to get over you last ex?

A. I don't have an ex. I've been married for 30 years!

Q. When you are home alone do you still close the door when you shower?

A. No. I never close the door. If someone is going to get me while I'm in the shower, I want to see them coming.