Thursday Thirteen

My desk is a horror badly in need of cleaning. I have things piled everywhere.

Here are some of them:

1. Eight Pilot G-2 .05 pens, the only pens I write with.

2. A copy of The Roanoke Times.

3. A copy of The Fincastle Herald (the local paper for which I sometimes write).

4. An Ethernet cable.

5. A pair of 1/2 pound dumbbells.

6. A New Balance box with a pair of new sneakers in it.

7. A light box that is supposed to help with mood.

8. A pair of nail clippers.

9. Four Dove chocolate wrappers that I was saving because they have little sayings in them. I was keeping them to see if I could get 13 different ones for another TT.

10. Earphones.

11. An 18-inch stack of magazines consisting of Taste of Home, Oprah, and Writer's Digest.

12. A pair of binoculars.

13. Birthday cards from Monday's birthday celebration.



Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 399th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Live Bait

I saw this sign at one of the convenience stores in Botetourt.

It reminded me that I used to enjoy fishing. However, I don't think I've dipped a pole in the pond in over 20 years.

Fairy Stone State Park

While we were out driving around last week, we stopped in at Fairy Stone State Park. It is located in Patrick County, VA, not far from Stuart, VA.

I have always wanted a Fairy Stone. The little stones, which are cross-shaped, are also called staurolite.

Unfortunately, I took most of these photos out of the car window, so they aren't very good.

Park entrance

Gift shop.

Picnic and recreational area

Lovely little bridge

One of the newer cabins, I think.

They have a lot of cabins.

A nice creek.

Another cabin.

The best view of the big lake I could
get from the car.

One of the earliest cabins.

The Fairy Stones

The park was lovely. We drove through, though, and did not take advantage of anything but the gift shop, where I purchased a couple of little fairy stones.

This park is the largest of one of the six original state parks in Virginia. It opened in 1936. There is a lake with a beach, cabins, and opportunities for hiking, fishing, and camping. The park has 4,868 acres of land.

The park official told us that the park, the lack and many of the cabins that are available for rent were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

They Say It's My Birthday

So yep, another year's gone by. I've spent nine of them writing almost daily on this blog.

I spent the first 20 living at home with my parents, the last 32 living my husband. I took eight years to obtain a BA, and another eight to obtain a masters degree.

I have been writing for The Fincastle Herald is some capacity or another for 31 years. I've written and published literally thousands of articles and photographs. I've managed to be published in about a dozen different venues, but I've yet to write a book.

Twelve years of my life were taken up working at various lawyers' offices.

I've had more than a dozen different surgeries.

My journals take up boxes of space in one of the closets.

My hobbies still include writing, music, and reading. And video games. Mustn't forget that big time-waster. I like to garden, too, but that has become too physical for me in the last two years.

I enjoy fantasy, science fiction, mysteries, mainstream literature, and weird stuff. I am not a "prepper" but I keep a lot of toilet paper around in case there is an apocalypse. Can't have the world coming to end with nothing around to wipe your bum.

My friends on Facebook number about 500, and I am blessed with a number of folks that are true-life in-the-flesh friends.

My husband loves me.

So not bad for 52 years, I suppose.

I guess if one looks hard enough, you can see that young girl in the old woman pictures at the top.

Sunday Stealing: Would You Rather?

From Sunday Stealing

Would You Rather Meme, part one

1. Would you rather go into the past and meet your ancestors or go into the future and meet your great-great grandchildren?

A. I have no children, and thus there will be no great-great-grandchildren. However, I do have a freaky obsession with the fate of humanity, so I'll go with going forward. I can always check up on the great-great-grand nieces and nephews, I suppose.

2. Would you rather have more time or more money?

A. I'd prefer both, but if I must chose, then I would chose time. The older I become, the less I have of it.

3. Would you rather have a rewind button or a pause button on your life?

A. A pause button would have been nice when I was about 44 years old. Now, I'd like a rewind, at least for a few years. I'd go back and never have that gallbladder surgery, that's for sure.

4. Would you rather be able to talk with the animals or speak all foreign languages?

A. Wouldn't being able to talk to animals also be speaking a foreign language? So wouldn't you be able to do both? Wouldn't you be a regular babbling Dr. Doolittle?

5. Would you rather win the lottery or live twice as long?

A. If I could be healthy, I would live twice as long. But if I am going to be an invalid, then I may as well take the lottery and live it up.

6. Would you feel worse if no one showed up to your wedding or to your funeral?

A. I had 350 people at my wedding. I daresay, given my husband's standing in the community, that there will be many people there to support him. So long as he has his needs met, I am good with however the end for me turns out. If nobody comes to my funeral and he doesn't need anybody there, I am okay with that. I'll be dead anyway.

7. Would you rather be without internet for a week, or without your phone?

A.  Without my cellphone would be fine, because I also have a landline. Hence, I would not miss anything, especially since I keep my cellphone in the car because it doesn't work in the house.

8. Would you rather meet George Washington, or the current president?

A. I want to meet the first female president, if that's okay with you. 

9. Would you rather lose your vision or your hearing?

A. How about I keep them both?

10. Would you rather work more hours per day, but fewer days or work fewer hours per day, but more days?

A. That question made my head go around in circles. Mostly, I would like to feel well enough to work. I don't particularly care how many days or hours in the day.

11. Would you rather listen to music from the 70’s or music from today?

A. I confess I am a 70s gal, and I listen to that music more often than not.

12. Would you rather become someone else or just stay you?

A. I suppose it would depend on who I was becoming. Do super powers come with the new me? Will I be able to fly, deflect bullets with my magic bracelets, or travel at the speed of light? Would I be able to keep my brains and lose the old body?

13. Would you rather be Batman or Spiderman?

A. What a sexist question. I would rather be Xena: Warrior Princess. She'd kick both of their asses from here to ancient Greece and back again.

14. Would you rather be stuck on a broken ski lift or in a broken elevator?

A. How about we not get stuck anywhere? I'm not fond of heights and I already have an elevator phobia. You should have seen how white I was every time I got off the elevator at the hospital last year when my husband was hurt. The nurses thought I looked worse than he did.

15. For your birthday, would you rather receive cash or gifts?

A. Another birthday question! My birthday is tomorrow - send amazon gift cards, please. I bought myself the sneakers yesterday.

Saturday 9: You're No Good

Saturday 9: You're No Good (1974)

... because Harriet suggested Linda Ronstadt

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
This is a great song!

1) This week's featured artist, Linda Ronstadt, turns 69 next month. Will you be celebrating any family/friend birthdays this summer?

A. Actually, my birthday is Monday. I will be 52. My husband's birthday was earlier in the week, and my brother's was yesterday. June is a big birthday month for us.

2) Linda sings that she's learned her lesson and it's left a scar. Tell us how you got one of your scars. 

A. I have so many. But one of the more interesting ones is a thin scar just below my thumb joint on the backside of my hand. I hit my hand on a filing cabinet corner at the county courthouse while I was doing some research, and before I realized I had cut myself, I bled all over some public records. So my DNA will forever be ensconced at the courthouse.

3) This song is about a lover who is, obviously, no good. Let's be more positive. Who is the nicest person you know?

A. Most people I know are nice, so I can't really pick out the nicest. However, my physical therapist, Audrey, has been incredibly kind to me over the last year and has gone above and beyond her job to help me feel better, so I will give kudos to her today. I am pretty sure I wouldn't be standing on my own two feet right now if she hadn't helped me make it through the winter.

4) Linda says that she grew up on Mexican music, which was sung by her entire family. Do you speak any Spanish?

A. Yo hablo muy poco español. Yo tome español durante tres años en la escuela secundaria. But I have forgotten most of it and had to look up the words for that second sentence.

5) She toured often throughout her career and is quoted as saying, "they haven't invented a word for that loneliness that everybody goes through on the road." Are you missing someone right now?

A. I spend a great amount of time by myself. My husband works three jobs so he isn't here as much as I might like.

6) Ms. Ronstadt was once involved with George Lucas of Star Wars fame. Who is your favorite Star Wars character?

A. Princess Leia.

7) In 1974, when this song was a hit, The Magic 8 Ball was still a top-seller at toy stores. It retailed for just $1.99, and promised that all you had to do was gaze at it, concentrate, and wait to learn your fate ... "if you dare!" If you could get an answer to one question about the future, what would you ask?

A. How long will it be before humanity destroys itself?

8)1974 is the year when Mikhail Baryshnikov defected to the United States. Have you ever been to the ballet? 

A. I have been to dance recitals for my niece where they performed ballet. Does that count?

9) Random question: What's your shoe size?

A. I wear a 7D in New Balance sneakers, preferably the 928 model, if anybody wants to go to Zappos and send me an expensive birthday present. ;-) (Updated 6/6/15 at 8:25 a.m., I just ordered myself a pair!)

More Woods Brothers Museum

Guitar signed by Ralph Stanly

Wife of Glenn Wood. I did not
get her name, I'm afraid.

Hubby looking at a Bill Elliott car.

Here is a good article about Wood Brothers Racing.

Thursday Thirteen

I love music. I play a little guitar and sing (to myself), and a very long time ago had aspirations to a music career. Had I applied myself and not married instead, who knows? Maybe I'd have been the next Sheryl Crow or something. But that was not my path.

Anyway, here are 13 women musicians that I enjoy, in no particular order. The links will take you to youtube videos of the songs.

1. Aretha Franklin. Born in 1942, this 73-year-old Queen of Soul is still touring and belting out her top hits. My favorite song of hers is RESPECT, but I love hearing her sing regardless of the title.

2. Stevie Nicks. Another older singer, Nicks in her Fleetwood Mac days had (and has) a distinct voice that had me turning up the radio every time I heard her. I still love the sound of her voice, that quavering sound of solitary despair that only she can offer. It is hard for me to pick a favorite Nicks song, but I will go with Landslide, a song that always sticks in my throat when I hear it.

3. Janis Joplin. I don't suppose one can list female musicians without listing Joplin, the greatest white female blues singer ever. I learned to love Janis late in life, particularly after having read a biography. Her life was cut too short by drugs, unfortunately. I wonder what would have happened had she lived? Favorite song: Bobbie McGee.

4. Heart. This band gets me two women - Ann and Nancy Wilson. Ann has vocal chords that are unmatched in range, while Nancy kicks butt on guitar. Favorite song: The Dog and the Butterfly, though I confess that's a hard choice.

5. Melissa Etheridge. MLE captured my heart with her video Come to My Window, but it is her song You Can Sleep While I Drive that brings me to tears when I hear it. I have more of her albums than any single musician and can play many of her tunes on the guitar myself.

6. Sheryl Crow. Crow's early work in particular grabbed me because of its soulful mix of country and pop. She's turned a little country of late but I still listen to her earlier records. My favorite song is one that was not a hit, but the one that touches me most. It's called Weather Channel.

7. Chrissie Hynde is the lead singer of The Pretenders. She's been a rock and roll girl for 40 years and I've always loved the sound of her voice. My favorite song is I'll Stand By You.

8. Linda Ronstadt. While her early songs made her career, it was one of her later albums, the 1989 Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, that made me love her more than ever. That album was a mix of rock, pop, and blues with soulful tunes on it that at that particular time in my life were particularly poignant and meaningful to me. I loved every song on that album, but my favorite was probably Shattered.

9. Carole King. This prolific song writer scored with the album Tapestry and most of her songs resonate still. Some of our best-loved older songs were created by King's prolific pen (You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman, Pleasant Valley Sunday, to name two). My favorite? You've Got A Friend.

10. Pat Benatar. She hit it big as I was finishing high school, and thus her impact upon my final teenage years was huge. Hit Me With Your Best Shot, her megahit, summed how many of us felt about that time, kind of like we were all beaten up but still standing. She also lived in Virginia when she was starting out.

11. Celine Dion. I know, there will be many who will mock this choice, but I truly like her voice. She has a great range and while her style is not one I listen to all the time, occasionally I like to hear her powerful vocals. Her songs are classical love ballads, and you know, sometimes a girl wants to hear something like that. Because You Loved Me is probably my favorite of her songs.

12. Cyndi Lauper. I became a Lauper fan in her later years, not so much for her songs, really, but for her political work and guest appearances on various shows where she supported women's rights, though she is listed as a LGBT activist and not as a feminist on Wikipedia (I see equality issues as human issues - everybody should be equal regardless of gender or sex preferences. But I acknowledge that equality is something certain segments of the population have to constantly fight for). Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is a song (and video) that won many awards.

13. Karen Carpenter. She was another singer who died too young. The Carpenters soft pop songs were part of my tween years and beyond. I imagine We've Only Just Begun has been played at many weddings over the years. Carpenter was also a drummer and I've read that she hated having to move from behind the drums to the forefront to sing. Her voice was another so distinctive that it could not be denied. Rainy Days and Mondays is my favorite Carpenter song.



Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 398th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Woods Brothers Racing Museum

Yesterday, for my husband's birthday, we went to Stuart, VA. It's about a two-hour drive. We went to see the Woods Brothers Racing Museum.

It's a very nice museum with a lot of things to see. I will post more photos on Friday. They let me take all the photos I wanted.

We had a great time.

Happy Birthday to my Sweet Baboo

Today is my husband's birthday!

Best husband in the world!

No Going Back

The other day I was listening to some young people talk about concerts and music. I was struck by two things: (a) I didn't know what they were talking about half the time, and (b) I knew exactly what they were talking about the other half.

Young people do not seem to have groups that tour and attract large crowds like I did when I was growing up. I remember going to see many different musicians at both the Roanoke and Salem Civic Centers. Lakeside also had a summer concert series for many years and I attended a fair number of those events as well.

We all knew the music, too. Local night club bands played cover songs, doing their own rendition of The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, or Alabama.

I don't think there are very many cover bands any more, because the music industry came down on places that allowed cover bands. So garage bands had to write their own songs. And who wanted to hear that, really?

In those old days, we listened to the same sounds. We also watched the same shows on TV (because there were, at most, four channels), and we listened to the American Top 40 every weekend.

When somebody said, "How'd you feel about Who Shot J.R.?" everyone knew what was going on.

We all went to see Star Wars and gaped at the visuals.

Today, though, people watch different shows. Oh, there are hits that millions enjoy - Game of Thrones comes to mind - but even then, with DVDs and Tivo, you have to be careful. I have a friend who is into the show but she's been watching it on DVD and is only up to Season 4. I have to mind what I say because she doesn't want anyone to tell her what happens next.

Sometimes, with my eyes twinkling, I drop inane and innocuous little tidbits, just for fun.

But there are so many show and so many different things out there, each catering to a different niche that sometimes I think we will have nothing to talk about but the weather in a few years. And maybe not even that, because, well, half of us believe in climate change and half of us do not. It's not even safe to talk about sunshine or snow.

Is it any wonder, then, that stations like METV have a notable following? Watching those old shows is like slipping on an old robe and throwing yourself across the bed, the day done, and the night not yet unfolded. It's almost a relief to feel the familiar.

I'm not a fan of the personal bubble we've all created amongst ourselves. We share our entire lives on Facebook or other social media, but we don't actually share our selves, or our truest, most special being. That we keep tightly bound, buried so deep I'm not even sure most of us can find it.

We are divided now because nothing unites us, not even TV shows or rock stars. As a nation (I'm talking U.S. here), we can't even agree on what constitutes a crime. We have sets of rules that depend on variables, such as gender or skin color. We don't have laws, we have, oh, I don't know - guidelines?

In my system of justice, the law is the law, and it is equal regardless of race, creed, sex, etc. Of course not all is black and white and that is what we have judges for, but it seems like now everything is all muddled, and nobody can figure out which end is up, or where anything belongs.

Sometimes it feels to me like our society has been swooped up, placed in a box, shaken around, and dumped out. What fell out was kind of like all of the bad stuff that flew out of Pandora's box. What little good there is creeps in the back doors and valiantly peers out, sometimes putting a toe through the insanity, before somebody slams the door shut again.

So hail hail rock and roll. I rejoice when I hear the young people listening to The Rolling Stones and watching METV. Those people will be able to bridge generation gaps, and relate to the world in a much better way than the ones who have separated themselves and relegated the world to "other."

There's way too much "other" out here, and not enough "brother." I want to be an advocate for kindness, I want to start a new trend.

I want to see a world where good comes out of the closet, and all of this bad shit crawls back under the bed.

Sunday Stealing: Swiped!

From Sunday Stealing

Swiped Meme


1. Do you need to write down things to remember them?

A. I do now more than I used to. My brain cells are full after living for over a half century.

2. Do you keep a diary/journal?

A. I blog. I have kept a diary or journal of some kind since I was about eight years old. I have boxes of them in a closet.
 
3. Are you scared of thunderstorms?

A. I love storms. I like to watch the lightning and feel the thunder shake the ground.
 
4. Do you have any unusual fears or phobias?

A. Dumasaphobia. I'm afraid of stupid people. If that means I am also afraid of myself, I suppose I am really in trouble.
 
5. What's your favorite Disney movie?

A. I don't have one.
 
6. Have you ever painted a house?

A. Yes.

7. What's the tallest tree you've ever climbed?

A. I have no idea. I have those old brain cells and I cannot remember that far back.
 
8. Do you always wear identical socks?

A. Yes.
 
9. Do you live by any motto or philosophy?

A. Do no harm.
 
10. Do you lick the yogurt or dessert lid?

A. Yes, especially if it is chocolate pudding.
 
11. Do you lick the spoon clean after making something sweet?

A. Yes. I also eat raw cookie dough, and it hasn't killed me yet.

12. Have you ever played the bongos?



A. Yes. We tried out many instruments in elementary school, back when they taught music and arts and things that make a person have a life.
 
13. Have you ever handled a snake?

A. I've killed one or two. Does that count?
 
14. Have you ever assembled furniture by yourself?

A. Yes. I put together a pantry cabinet.

15. When did you last go to the beach?

A. October 2012.

My hubby on our last beach outing. I don't know that we
will ever get there again.

16. When, if ever, did you last go to London?

A. I stopped in the London airport on my way to Spain in 1979.
 
17. What do you do to cool down when it's hot?

A. Go inside where the house has air conditioning. 

18. What's the most unusual thing you've ever eaten?

A. I don't know. Probably around here, it would be escargot. This is the south, land of deep fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I know I don't know of too many people who have had escargot in my social circle. Not that I've asked.

19. Do you have a favorite mug?

A. I have one that says "You Rock" that a friend gave me for my 50th birthday, and another that has Hollins (my alma mater) on it. I like them both.

20. Do you know any self-defense or martial arts?

A. I took a self-defense course about 25 years ago. I practice Tai Chi when I am feeling up to it. I don't think you could really hurt anyone with Tai Chi, though.

21. Who's your favorite movie action hero?

A. I'm not sure what this means. I like Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. I don't know if they are action heroes, though.
 
22. Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?

A. Yes. I wrecked the last time I was on one and put the kick stand through my leg. Hurt like hell.

23. Do you collect anything?

A. Apparently unread books and magazines, judging by the piles in my office.
 
24. Is there anything you wish would come back into fashion?

A. I am not into fashion. I don't even know what is in fashion, as far as clothes. However, I do wish that PRIVACY would come back into fashion.

25. Do you stick to conventional fashions or like to try and be original?

A. I must be original since I don't know what is fashionable.

26. Have you ever given someone a handmade present?

A. Yes. I went through a counted-cross stitch phase and gave away some of those works.
 
27. If you could have any feature from an animal what would you want?

A. I would like to be a big giant T-Rex, so I could go around and chew up things and scare people and for once not be a timid little mouse.