Sunday Stealing
1. How has your life most benefitted from the Internet? Whether it’s meeting people, cutting business overhead, finding rare collectibles, or simply sharing funny cat pictures, share how the web has made life easier.
A. It has allowed me to work from home, to make money, to connect with people (for good or ill) and to shop. Mostly, though, it is a large time consumption machine and sometimes I wish I didn't have it.
2. How do you deal with negative comments on your blog?
A. If they are not profane or pornographic, I usually leave them. If they are spam, I delete them. If they fall into the first two listed categories, I delete them. If they upset me for some reason, I delete them. Fortunately this does not happen often, except for spam.
3. There’s never enough time, is there? What would you do with an extra three hours today?
A. I have no idea. I am tired enough as it is with just 24 hours in a day.
4. The getaway car is waiting outside – where is it taking you?
A. To the airport so I can fly to Norway.
5. Who was your "arch enemy" in high school? Do you have any enemies today?
A. I don't know that I had an "arch enemy" in high school. I was not one of the popular crowd but I also didn't go around with a chip on my shoulder. My brother can correct me if I am wrong about that. Today, I am sure I have enemies that I do not know about simply from my work with the newspaper - I could not have made 20,000 readers happy all the time. There are people I avoid because they are not nice, but I don't consider them enemies. They're just assholes.
6. You’re giving the keynote address to the graduating seniors of a high school today. What’s your advice to them?
A. The thing that you are most worried about will not be the thing that most interrupts your life. So don't worry. Be happy.
7. Thinking of words of wisdom: What's the worst advice you've ever received?
A. To follow my heart in matters of career.
8. Tell us about the best summer vacation you EVER had.
A. The best vacation I ever had was one year when my husband and I went to Myrtle Beach and for once had money to spend on activities. We were able to go to Ripley's Museum, ride the go-carts, spend time at the Pavilion, and eat out at nice restaurants. We have since had nice vacations but that was the first one where we felt financially stable enough to do the things we wanted without worrying about how to pay for it later.
9. What do you have to have with you when you travel? Why?
A. I have to have a slanted wedge to sleep on, because I can't rest flat on a mattress due to a scar tissue issue in my abdomen.
10. Would you accept $1,000,000 tax free, if it meant you had to leave the country and never come back?
A. Yes. I wouldn't hesitate at all, so long as my husband comes with me.
11. Do you believe the world will be a better, or worse, place 100 years from now?
A. I don't believe the world will be here in 100 years. We will have blown it up. Or maybe the Vogons will have blown it up to make a freeway for alien space traffic.
12. Do you expect to buy a new winter coat this year?
A. No.
13. If you could spend one year in perfect happiness but afterward would remember nothing of the experience, would you do so?
A. Do I get an extra year added on because I don't remember that one I lose? If so, then yes. If not, then no. I spend enough time in a fog as it is.
__________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Saturday, November 25, 2017
Saturday 9: The Man in Black
Saturday 9: The Man in Black (1971)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) Black is this week's signature color because Friday, November 24, was "Black Friday," when retailers cut their prices and consumers flock to the stores. Did you score any "Black Friday" bargains?
A. Nothing worth writing home about. I think the "bargains" this year were not very good. I did better last year. (I shopped online.)
2) Among the biggest the Black Friday advertisers are Target, Kohl's, Macy's and Best Buy. If you could have a $100 gift card to any one of those stores, which would you choose? What would you buy?
A. Best Buy, to purchase new ink cartridges for my printer. Those things are expensive.
3) Feasting and football are also popular Thanksgiving weekend pastimes. Do your Thursday-Sunday plans include pigging out or watching a game?
A. We had a rather mild Thanksgiving dinner and we don't watch the ball games.
4) Thanksgiving weekend is a major time for travel. How far did you venture from home for the holiday?
A. I never stepped a foot out the door.
5) This week's song, "Man in Black," is about a singer who refuses to wear bright colors. What color are you wearing as you answer these questions?
A. Dark blue.
6) Johnny Cash first performed this song at Nashville's Vanderbilt University. When were you last on a college campus? What brought you there?
A. In October 2015, we went to Virginia Tech and stood at the memorial for the 32 young people shot in a mass shooting there in 2007. We paid our respects to the dead. We are at war here, an undeclared war against one another, and I wonder when "the people in charge" will wake up.
7) The average American man wears a 10.5 size shoe, the average woman wears a 7.5. Johnny Cash wore a size 13. Are your shoes bigger or smaller than the national average?
A. I wear a size 7 in women's shoes, though I need a wide size because I have big flat boat feet. My husband wears a size 13. My nephew wears a 16!
8) He preferred his coffee very strong. To make sure what he was drank was to his liking, he carried a jar of instant coffee with him and would ladle it into his cup in restaurants. What about you? What's your standard coffee order?
A. I don't drink coffee. It stunts your growth. Although maybe if it stunts your girth I should take it up, but I don't think my ulcers would like it.
9) While in the air force, Cash wrote short stories under the pseudonym "Johnny Dollar." Make up a pen name for yourself.
A. I already use CountryDew on this blog. I have published under the pen name Ida Know a time or two. Also Ida B. Knowing. But I think any other pen name I might wish to use, I shall keep to myself for the moment.
_____________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) Black is this week's signature color because Friday, November 24, was "Black Friday," when retailers cut their prices and consumers flock to the stores. Did you score any "Black Friday" bargains?
A. Nothing worth writing home about. I think the "bargains" this year were not very good. I did better last year. (I shopped online.)
2) Among the biggest the Black Friday advertisers are Target, Kohl's, Macy's and Best Buy. If you could have a $100 gift card to any one of those stores, which would you choose? What would you buy?
A. Best Buy, to purchase new ink cartridges for my printer. Those things are expensive.
3) Feasting and football are also popular Thanksgiving weekend pastimes. Do your Thursday-Sunday plans include pigging out or watching a game?
A. We had a rather mild Thanksgiving dinner and we don't watch the ball games.
4) Thanksgiving weekend is a major time for travel. How far did you venture from home for the holiday?
A. I never stepped a foot out the door.
5) This week's song, "Man in Black," is about a singer who refuses to wear bright colors. What color are you wearing as you answer these questions?
A. Dark blue.
6) Johnny Cash first performed this song at Nashville's Vanderbilt University. When were you last on a college campus? What brought you there?
A. In October 2015, we went to Virginia Tech and stood at the memorial for the 32 young people shot in a mass shooting there in 2007. We paid our respects to the dead. We are at war here, an undeclared war against one another, and I wonder when "the people in charge" will wake up.
7) The average American man wears a 10.5 size shoe, the average woman wears a 7.5. Johnny Cash wore a size 13. Are your shoes bigger or smaller than the national average?
A. I wear a size 7 in women's shoes, though I need a wide size because I have big flat boat feet. My husband wears a size 13. My nephew wears a 16!
8) He preferred his coffee very strong. To make sure what he was drank was to his liking, he carried a jar of instant coffee with him and would ladle it into his cup in restaurants. What about you? What's your standard coffee order?
A. I don't drink coffee. It stunts your growth. Although maybe if it stunts your girth I should take it up, but I don't think my ulcers would like it.
9) While in the air force, Cash wrote short stories under the pseudonym "Johnny Dollar." Make up a pen name for yourself.
A. I already use CountryDew on this blog. I have published under the pen name Ida Know a time or two. Also Ida B. Knowing. But I think any other pen name I might wish to use, I shall keep to myself for the moment.
_____________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
Thursday, November 23, 2017
Thursday Thirteen
Happy Thanksgiving to my readers in the United States! To the rest of the world, cross your fingers and hope for the best for this nation, which is now in the hands of some of the worst people I've had had the misfortune to read and learn about. May whatever spirit it is that guides our souls turn toward the light - or at least figure out that there is a light.
For Thursday Thirteen, I offer up turkey:
________
For Thursday Thirteen, I offer up turkey:
 |
| My favorite turkey. |
________
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 527th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Monday, November 20, 2017
Boats and Ships
Something we saw a lot of at Virginia Beach that we don't normally see at Myrtle Beach was boats and ships. Everyday we watched cargo and other boats sail across the horizon. It's not a sight we see often, so we enjoyed sitting on our hotel deck and watching them.
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Sunday Stealing: Thanksgiving Thoughts
Sunday Stealing
1. What made you feel patriotic this year?
A. I love the mountains and the countryside around me.
2 . What do you value most about your life?
A. My husband.
3. What do you appreciate about your friendships?
A. My friends make me laugh and smile, but mostly they care about me as a person, and they know me as I am and not who they think I should be, and they accept me for those qualities, and do not deride me for the ones I lack.
4. Name one person who can make you laugh, even months later. Why?
A. My brother.
5. What is the funniest thing you remember about a Thanksgiving past?
A. My mother made pumpkin pie that did not "set up" one year. We called it pumpkin puddin'.
6. Do you have any unusual traditions, rituals or habits around Thanksgiving?
A. No.
7. Name one ancestor that you think about on Thanksgiving and tell us why.
A. I think about my mother and how much she hated the holidays.
8. Is there a family heirloom at the Thanksgiving table? What its story?
A. No. No story.
9. What is your favorite part about Thanksgiving Day?
A. Getting it over with.
10. What random act of kindness did you perform or that was done to you this year that makes you feel grateful?
A. I try to take carts from people in handicapped spots when they unload their groceries so they don't have to haul them off to the distant spots that stupid engineers designed so that people who can't walk have to walk a mile to put away a grocery cart. I also appreciate it when someone takes one from me, since I use a handicapped spot myself.
11. What do you appreciate about the change of seasons?
A. I love the beauty of Autumn. The colors of the trees are spectacular even in a "bad" year.
12. Name five things that make you happy about today.
A. (1) Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our anniversary. (2) It's Sunday so if I don't get much accomplished, it's a pass. (3) My husband helped me change the bed this morning, so we have clean sheets. (4) I had hot chocolate to drink. (5) I heard from an old friend.
13. How has the celebration of Thanksgiving today changed from when you were little?
A. It's a lot calmer now.
14. If you could share Thanksgiving dinner today with one person in history who would it be? Why? (Note: it can be a relative)
A. Joan of Arc, because she was Joan of Arc.
15. What is one wish you have for the next generation as they begin to establish their own Thanksgiving traditions?
A. That they do away with it entirely.
__________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.
1. What made you feel patriotic this year?
A. I love the mountains and the countryside around me.
2 . What do you value most about your life?
A. My husband.
3. What do you appreciate about your friendships?
A. My friends make me laugh and smile, but mostly they care about me as a person, and they know me as I am and not who they think I should be, and they accept me for those qualities, and do not deride me for the ones I lack.
4. Name one person who can make you laugh, even months later. Why?
A. My brother.
5. What is the funniest thing you remember about a Thanksgiving past?
A. My mother made pumpkin pie that did not "set up" one year. We called it pumpkin puddin'.
6. Do you have any unusual traditions, rituals or habits around Thanksgiving?
A. No.
7. Name one ancestor that you think about on Thanksgiving and tell us why.
A. I think about my mother and how much she hated the holidays.
8. Is there a family heirloom at the Thanksgiving table? What its story?
A. No. No story.
9. What is your favorite part about Thanksgiving Day?
A. Getting it over with.
10. What random act of kindness did you perform or that was done to you this year that makes you feel grateful?
A. I try to take carts from people in handicapped spots when they unload their groceries so they don't have to haul them off to the distant spots that stupid engineers designed so that people who can't walk have to walk a mile to put away a grocery cart. I also appreciate it when someone takes one from me, since I use a handicapped spot myself.
11. What do you appreciate about the change of seasons?
A. I love the beauty of Autumn. The colors of the trees are spectacular even in a "bad" year.
12. Name five things that make you happy about today.
A. (1) Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our anniversary. (2) It's Sunday so if I don't get much accomplished, it's a pass. (3) My husband helped me change the bed this morning, so we have clean sheets. (4) I had hot chocolate to drink. (5) I heard from an old friend.
13. How has the celebration of Thanksgiving today changed from when you were little?
A. It's a lot calmer now.
14. If you could share Thanksgiving dinner today with one person in history who would it be? Why? (Note: it can be a relative)
A. Joan of Arc, because she was Joan of Arc.
15. What is one wish you have for the next generation as they begin to establish their own Thanksgiving traditions?
A. That they do away with it entirely.
__________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Saturday 9: Son of Preacher Man
Saturday 9: Son of a Preacher Man (1968)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) This song was originally offered to Aretha Franklin, who turned it down. What's the most recent thing that you said "no" to?
A. I can't think of anything off hand. I sure wish I could say "no" to sweets and chocolate, though.
2) Two years later, Aretha recorded "Son of a Preacher Man." What's something you changed your mind about?
A. We used to be Ford people. Now I drive a Toyota.
3) This song tells the tale of Billy Ray, a young man who could be very persuasive. If we wanted to change your mind about something, would you be more easily swayed by an emotional argument, or with verifiable facts?
A. Facts.
4) If you ordered a "Son of a Preacher Man" in a bar, you'd get a cocktail made with peppermint schnapps, gin and lemonade. When did you last have lemonade? Was it just lemonade, or was it spiked with alcohol?
A. It would have been just lemonade, and I can't remember when I last had any.
5) Dusty had a thing for maps. She admired them artistically and enjoyed using them to take long car trips. Do you use printed maps? Or do you rely on technology, like GPS or Google Maps?
A. We still use printed maps but also use the GPS in the car. It is not the most reliable thing and can take you on some weird trails sometimes. Plus it thinks my driveway is about 300 feet before it really is.
6) As a girl, she attended convent school. There, one of the nuns discouraged Dusty from performing, telling her that if she would do better to be a mother or a librarian. When you were growing up, did the adults in your world encourage your dreams?
A. Heavens no. Well, my teachers did. "You're going to be a writer," they all said. My professors in college were also encouraging. My mother, on the other hand, wanted me to be sure I took secretarial courses because I wouldn't be able to make a living being a writer. I did make a living being a writer for 20 years, though. Maybe not the best living, but it was enough. My father wanted me to work for him but I could not do that. Otherwise, I suppose he expected me to marry.
7) That nun inspired Dusty's first major act of rebellion. In an attempt to make herself look less like a future librarian or housewife, she bleached her hair platinum blonde. In school, were you much of a rebel? Or did you conform to the expectations adults had of you?
A. I had my rebel moments, which always surprised the adults because I was an A student and teacher's pet otherwise. But I was also an A student who occasionally skipped classes.
8) Early in her career, Dusty provided the entertainment at a family summer camp. She appeared on the bill with a clown, a fire-eater and a hypnotist. Have you ever been hypnotized?
A. Yes, I have.
9) Random question: Have you ever played matchmaker to your friends? If yes, did your efforts lead to romance?
A. I don't think I have ever done that. I tend not to meddle in other people's lives if I can help it.
Today is my 34th wedding anniversary. My husband is not the son of a preacher man; he is a beautiful, caring, loving human being. I am lucky to have him and grateful to him for loving me. He says he has no regrets, and I think that is about the best compliment he could give me. We have had our share of troubles and concerns just like everyone has, but we have always managed to weather it all together. Love is not easy; it takes a great deal of work. But we are now on the other side, and heading into our old age together. If I can die with him holding my hand, all will be good.
_____________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) This song was originally offered to Aretha Franklin, who turned it down. What's the most recent thing that you said "no" to?
A. I can't think of anything off hand. I sure wish I could say "no" to sweets and chocolate, though.
2) Two years later, Aretha recorded "Son of a Preacher Man." What's something you changed your mind about?
A. We used to be Ford people. Now I drive a Toyota.
3) This song tells the tale of Billy Ray, a young man who could be very persuasive. If we wanted to change your mind about something, would you be more easily swayed by an emotional argument, or with verifiable facts?
A. Facts.
4) If you ordered a "Son of a Preacher Man" in a bar, you'd get a cocktail made with peppermint schnapps, gin and lemonade. When did you last have lemonade? Was it just lemonade, or was it spiked with alcohol?
A. It would have been just lemonade, and I can't remember when I last had any.
5) Dusty had a thing for maps. She admired them artistically and enjoyed using them to take long car trips. Do you use printed maps? Or do you rely on technology, like GPS or Google Maps?
A. We still use printed maps but also use the GPS in the car. It is not the most reliable thing and can take you on some weird trails sometimes. Plus it thinks my driveway is about 300 feet before it really is.
6) As a girl, she attended convent school. There, one of the nuns discouraged Dusty from performing, telling her that if she would do better to be a mother or a librarian. When you were growing up, did the adults in your world encourage your dreams?
A. Heavens no. Well, my teachers did. "You're going to be a writer," they all said. My professors in college were also encouraging. My mother, on the other hand, wanted me to be sure I took secretarial courses because I wouldn't be able to make a living being a writer. I did make a living being a writer for 20 years, though. Maybe not the best living, but it was enough. My father wanted me to work for him but I could not do that. Otherwise, I suppose he expected me to marry.
7) That nun inspired Dusty's first major act of rebellion. In an attempt to make herself look less like a future librarian or housewife, she bleached her hair platinum blonde. In school, were you much of a rebel? Or did you conform to the expectations adults had of you?
A. I had my rebel moments, which always surprised the adults because I was an A student and teacher's pet otherwise. But I was also an A student who occasionally skipped classes.
8) Early in her career, Dusty provided the entertainment at a family summer camp. She appeared on the bill with a clown, a fire-eater and a hypnotist. Have you ever been hypnotized?
A. Yes, I have.
9) Random question: Have you ever played matchmaker to your friends? If yes, did your efforts lead to romance?
A. I don't think I have ever done that. I tend not to meddle in other people's lives if I can help it.
Today is my 34th wedding anniversary. My husband is not the son of a preacher man; he is a beautiful, caring, loving human being. I am lucky to have him and grateful to him for loving me. He says he has no regrets, and I think that is about the best compliment he could give me. We have had our share of troubles and concerns just like everyone has, but we have always managed to weather it all together. Love is not easy; it takes a great deal of work. But we are now on the other side, and heading into our old age together. If I can die with him holding my hand, all will be good.
_____________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Thursday Thirteen
1. Sometimes Thursdays sneak up on you. When did it become Thursday, you ask? Here it is, and I have nothing ready.
2. My major accomplishment this week: I finished editing a manuscript for a client.
3. My brother's major accomplishment: he killed a big buck and a bear yesterday. Congratulations to him on some mighty fine hunting.
4. My husband's major accomplishment thus far: he killed a buck and sprained his ankle.
5. The GOP's major accomplishment: putting forth a tax plan that would ruin retirees and underinsured people, as well as anyone not wealthy. This is according to Forbes. I don't consider them to be fake news.
6. The Dem's major accomplishment: still existing. Although I must say that last week's wins in Virginia were sweet.
7. I read a book for my book club that was incredibly depressing. It was the kind of book that would validate an alien's reason for destroying the Earth, because there was very little redemption of humanity in the thing.
8. My glass of water is empty, but I can fill it up again. In some parts of the world, people can't say that. Even in some parts of the United States, people can't say that.
9. Husbands are hard to buy things for. Actually, guys in general are hard to buy for. A woman is easy - buy her a piece of jewelry and you're done. But guys? How many hammers can one fellow own?
10. On Saturday I will celebrate my 34th wedding anniversary. Why does it seem like less than two years ago?
11. My office needs a cleaning and a remodeling. For 20 years it has been a news reporter's workspace. But I am no longer a news reporter. Now I want to turn it into a writer's workspace. What's the difference? Beauty. And hopefully less research material.
12. I am a real fiend for tech toys. The other day I bought something called a Boogie Board, which is basically an LED Etch-A-Sketch. You write or draw on it, then click a button, and it disappears. I used it to draw this. I'm not a very good artist but I expect an artist might enjoy this, at least, for a while.
13. I saw pocket transistor radios for sale in one of my Christmas catalogs. I am thinking of buying one for myself. I don't know why, as I can listen to radio stations on my computer and do. I just like the idea of it.
________
2. My major accomplishment this week: I finished editing a manuscript for a client.
3. My brother's major accomplishment: he killed a big buck and a bear yesterday. Congratulations to him on some mighty fine hunting.
4. My husband's major accomplishment thus far: he killed a buck and sprained his ankle.
5. The GOP's major accomplishment: putting forth a tax plan that would ruin retirees and underinsured people, as well as anyone not wealthy. This is according to Forbes. I don't consider them to be fake news.
6. The Dem's major accomplishment: still existing. Although I must say that last week's wins in Virginia were sweet.
7. I read a book for my book club that was incredibly depressing. It was the kind of book that would validate an alien's reason for destroying the Earth, because there was very little redemption of humanity in the thing.
8. My glass of water is empty, but I can fill it up again. In some parts of the world, people can't say that. Even in some parts of the United States, people can't say that.
9. Husbands are hard to buy things for. Actually, guys in general are hard to buy for. A woman is easy - buy her a piece of jewelry and you're done. But guys? How many hammers can one fellow own?
10. On Saturday I will celebrate my 34th wedding anniversary. Why does it seem like less than two years ago?
11. My office needs a cleaning and a remodeling. For 20 years it has been a news reporter's workspace. But I am no longer a news reporter. Now I want to turn it into a writer's workspace. What's the difference? Beauty. And hopefully less research material.
12. I am a real fiend for tech toys. The other day I bought something called a Boogie Board, which is basically an LED Etch-A-Sketch. You write or draw on it, then click a button, and it disappears. I used it to draw this. I'm not a very good artist but I expect an artist might enjoy this, at least, for a while.
13. I saw pocket transistor radios for sale in one of my Christmas catalogs. I am thinking of buying one for myself. I don't know why, as I can listen to radio stations on my computer and do. I just like the idea of it.
________
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 526th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)