The Curtains Came Down

For as long as I can remember, I have seen things in designs. My grandmother's tile in her bathroom was particularly colorful, but unremarkable. The design was little multi-colored squares, strewn about in no discernable pattern.

And yet, when I visited her bathroom, I would find people and objects in the linoleum. I even talked to them.

Along the bus route, I found a dinosaur in a tree stump and visited with it every day as we passed by. How sad I was when the following year I realized the stump had been removed by the landowner, and the dinosaur was no more.

It is like finding shapes in clouds, something most of us do as children, only I tend to see them in places where they do not exist - or are not supposed to exist. I see lines that, if I could draw, would magically become art. A unicorn here, a sobbing woman there, a guitar elsewhere.

Nothing with a design is safe from my imagination. As a child I feared electric sockets not because they shocked me, but because they had a face - two eyes and a mouth. When we built our house, my father, who was helping us wire it (you could do that 32 years ago), asked if we wanted the receptacles "monkey face up or monkey face down." I immediately responded "monkey face up" because when the receptacles are upside down I don't see the face. At the time most things were two-pronged plug-in items anyway. How was I to know that in the not-so-distant future most everything would have three prongs, and sometimes the monkey-face-up thing can be a pain?

Anyway, this ability, if one wants to call it that, has followed me into my middle age (Is 55 middle-aged?). The new tile we put down in the kitchen has no obvious designs in it, yet I see a woman. A dolphin shows itself in the tile in the bathroom. Even the new hardwood floors has little critters in them. Fortunately, I only seem them in passing, fleeting images as I walk over. If asked, I could not find it again.



Do you see the woman in this tile? Or maybe it looks more like a bird.

And so it is we come to the curtains. I bought them about two years ago at Lowes to replace some aged ones that had faded. They were a solid dark blue and I thought it made the room look dark, too. The new curtains had a huge initial problem: they were supposed to be 84" long but were only about 78" long, so that my sheers were too long. (Yes, I use sheers. I see my reflection in the windows at night and it scares me. So, sheers.)

The new curtains were a nice shade of dark blue in design on a whitish background. But they weren't up long before I realized there were faces in the things. Everywhere. And not nice faces, either. Evil faces.

Do you see the multiple tribe of people in this design?

I ignored the faces as best I could, but finally I decided I couldn't deal with it anymore, and the curtains yesterday came down. They've been replaced with an aqua blue solid (and they are 84" long), and I told my husband that there would be no more curtains or bedspreads or anything else with designs in them in the bedroom.

He thinks I am silly, but I am glad to be rid of those curtains.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. If you had to teach something, what would you teach?

A. Creative writing.

2. What would you regret not fully doing, being or having in your life?

A. I regret not being able to have children and have for a long time, but I've learned to live with the fact.

3. Are you holding onto something that you need to let go of?

A. Who isn't?

4. When you are 80 years old, what will matter to you the most?

A. Whether or not my husband is beside me.

5. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards and just do what you know is right?

A. When someone stops writing these weird kind of questions.

6. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?

A. I'd be about 35 mentally and apparently 212 physically.

7. Would you break the law to save a loved one?

A. Yes.

8. What makes you smile?

A. My husband.

9. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

A. No.

10. If you had the opportunity to get a message across to a large group of people, what would your message be?

A. That we are all joined together; no man is an island unto himself.

11. If the average human lifespan was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?

A. That depends. Is it a healthy 40 years and then you drop dead on your birthday? Do you start aging and deteriorating at 20?

12. What do we all have in common besides our genes that makes us human?

A. Thumbs.

13. If you could choose one book as a mandatory read for all high school students, which book would you choose?

A. 1984, by George Orwell

14. Would you rather have less work or more work you actually enjoy doing?

A. More work that I actually enjoy doing.

15. What is important enough to go to war over?

A. Absolutely nothing.

16. Which is worse, failing or never trying?

A. Never trying. Although by never trying you avoid the failing part, so it's kind of a duel-edged sword. It's also part of my conundrum.

17. When was the last time you listened to the sound of your own breathing?

A. I do breathing exercises at night when I have a hard time falling asleep, so not too long ago.

18. What’s something you know you do differently than most people?

A. Think.

19. What does ‘The American Dream’ mean to you?

A. It used to mean marriage, two kids, a house, a yard, a white picket fence, and enough. We don't have that anymore. I don't believe in the American Dream now.

20. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?

A. I'm already a worried genius. I guess I'll stick with what I know.
__________

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 9: Fool on the Hill

Saturday 9: The Fool on the Hill (1968)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

Chosen because Monday is April Fool's Day.

1) As an April Fool's prank, Taco Bell once announced they had purchased The Liberty Bell and renamed it The Taco Liberty Bell. Describe your perfect taco.

A. I don't eat tacos. Actually, I'm not sure I've ever had a taco.

2) Similarly, as an April Fool's prank, the Ford Motor Co. was supposed to wipe out the national deficit by purchasing the naming rites to a beloved monument, renaming it the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial. What model car do you drive?

A. I drive a Toyota Camry.

3) In 1998, Burger King got in on the April Fool's Day fun by promoting a special "Left-Handed Whopper," designed to be easier for a leftie to hold. Describe your perfect burger.

A. Two all beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onion on a sesame seed bun. Have it your way! Not really. My perfect burger would be a regular ol' white bun, a beef patty, ketchup, mustard, pickles, lettuce, and bacon.

4) In 1962, when color TV was still new, a Swedish station pranked viewers by telling them they could convert their black/white sets tocolor by cutting up a nylon stocking and stretching it across the screen. Of course, in 1962, more women wore nylons and screens were smaller. How big is your TV? Are there any nylon stockings in your home?

A. My TV is 50" or something like that. There may be some nylons in my drawer but I think I recently threw them all out. I may have kept a few to use as tomato dusters.

5) In 1957, the BBC ran an April Fool's story about how the Swiss were enjoying a "bumper spaghetti crop," with spaghetti literally growing on trees. Viewers who called the station, asking how to grow a spaghetti tree of their own, were told to place a sprig of spaghetti in a can of tomato sauce and hope for the best. Have you ever fallen for an April Fool's prank?

A. Not that I recall. Maybe when I was young I did.

6) When Crazy Sam was growing up, her mother would surprise her on April Fool's Day by slipping a rubber worm or plastic spider in her lunch box. When you were in school, did you more frequently brown bag it or buy your lunch in the cafeteria line?

A. About half and half.

7) This week's song was an international hit for Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66. Because of the song's bossa nova arrangement, everyone assumed the lead singer, Lani Hall, was Brazilian. She was a folk singer from Chicago. Sergio Mendes discovered her at a charity benefit. Can you think of a time when doing good really paid off for you?

A. I have volunteered and done a lot of community activities, but I can't say I've ever had it pay off for me. I don't do it for a pay off anyway. (Good thing, huh.)

8) In 1968, when this record was popular, Pierre Trudeau became Prime Minister of Canada. Today his son holds that office. When did you most recently visit our neighbor to the north?

A. I have never been to Canada.

9) Random question: Name three websites you visit every day.

A. Facebook, AOL, Google (gmail), New York Times, YouTube, Amazon. That's more than three but there you go.

___________

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 Thirteen

A round up of old photos from Marches long gone.

March 2007

March 2007

March 2008

March 2009

March 2009

March 2010

March 2011

March 2012

March 2013

March 2014

March 2015
 

March 2015

March 2016

Birds

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Male cardinal

Female cardinal

Hairy Woodpecker (I think)

Be Nice!

Yesterday my husband and I went to an auction preview to look at farm machinery.

This wasn't my thing, really. It was dusty and there were people smoking and way more people there than I'd anticipated.

We ran into my father and I walked with him back to my car, leaving my husband to mill around looking at tractors and fence posts. My dad left, and I sat in the car listening to an audiobook.

The road was a single lane dirt road. I was pulled off to the side on the passenger's side, facing into the area of the farm machinery. People were coming and going, pulling over and riding big SUVs down into fields.

Then came the stand off.

A huge red truck with two men in it came roaring up the drive on the way out. In my rearview mirror, I saw a big white truck coming in.

The white truck had a handicapped sticker hanging from its mirror.

The big red truck was not moving over. The white truck was not moving.

Both sat there, engines revving. I saw the heavily bearded guy in the red truck give the guy in the white truck the finger.

I didn't look in my rear view mirror quickly enough to see the other man's reaction.

This went on for a while, the two trucks sitting there about three car lengths apart, each revving its engine. Traffic began to back up behind both. Finally the man in the white truck drove off to the side and the red truck passed, only to have to pull off into the field anyway because there were so many other vehicles behind the white truck trying to enter the farm auction area.

I'm not sure who the jerk was in that scenario but I think probably the guy in the red truck simply because he was younger and the guy in the white truck had a handicapped sticker. The handicapped sticker alone should have meant the guy in the red truck should have given way, in my opinion (which I know counts as nothing).

But we don't live in days of courtesy anymore. We live in the days of who has the biggest truck, I guess.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. When was the last time you tried something new?

A. Yesterday. I learned how to use the spreadsheet program available with google.

2. Who do you sometimes compare yourself to?

A. Nancy Drew

3. What’s the most sensible thing you’ve ever heard someone say?

A. We all end up dead anyway.

4. What gets you excited about life?

A. Goals, projects, having my husband at home.

5. What life lesson did you learn the hard way?

A. All of them.

6. What do you wish you spent more time doing five years ago?

A. Well, it was more like six years ago now, but I wish I had listened to myself and not the doctors and tried to cure my gallbladder issues with diet, acupuncture, etc. before agreeing so readily to surgery.

7. Do you ask enough questions or do you settle for what you know?

A. I ask a LOT of questions.

8. Who do you love and what are you doing about it?

A. I love my husband. I do his laundry.

9. What’s a belief that you hold with which many people disagree?

A. That unregulated capitalism is evil. Note the adjective.

10. What can you do today that you were not capable of a year ago?

A. I can move around better.

11. Do you think crying is a sign of weakness or strength?

A. I think it is a sign of an upset person (or maybe a really happy one). It doesn't have anything to do with weakness or strength.

12. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

A. If I had the money, I'd go on and get my Ph.D. even though I'd in my 60s by the time I finished it.

13. Do you celebrate the things you do have?

A. I don't take them out for walks or anything, but I appreciate that I am more fortunate than some.

14. What is the difference between living and existing?

A. Living is understanding that you are part of the greater world around you, and that your place in it, miniscule though it may be, is special. Existing is just going through the motions.

15. If not now, then when?

A. When somebody makes a question #15 that makes sense.

16. Have you done anything lately worth remembering?

A. Yes, I have. I've been a good citizen.

17. What does your joy look like today?

A. It looks like blue skies and slightly greening grass.

18. Is it possible to lie without saying a word?

A. Of course.

19. If you had a friend who spoke to you in the same way that you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you allow this person to be your friend?

A. Depends on how much I thought the person needed me.

20. Which activities make you lose track of time?

A. Writing, reading, video games, playing music.

__________

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 9: Young and Beautiful

Saturday 9: Young and Beautiful (2013)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Lana Del Rey wrote this song for the soundtrack of The Great Gatsby. She wanted it to reflect the feelings of Daisy Buchanan. Have you read The Great Gatsby?

A. I read it in high school. I don't remember much about it, to be honest. I am thinking of going back and rereading the classics.

2) In the 1970s, Robert Redford portrayed Jay Gatsby. In the 2013 version, Leonardo di Caprio played the part. In real life, both "Gatsbys" have helped raised funds for the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). Are you careful about recycling and conserving water/electricity?

A. I recycle and I turn off the lights.

3) Lana Del Rey admits that she dropped out of college because she simply could not get the required math credits. When confronted with basic addition, subtraction, multiplication or division, do you do it in your head? Reach for pencil and paper? Or do you take advantage of the calculator that's on your desktop or phone?

A. These days I ask Alexa. Before that, though, I used a calculator or pencil and paper if I couldn't do it in my head. I can do most basic math in my head, though.

4) She enjoys Kurt Cobain, Eminem, Elvis and Sinatra. Which of those four gentlemen did you listen to most recently?

A. None of them.

5) Speaking of Sinatras, she has described her high maintenance look -- big hair, long nails, elaborate eye makeup, full lips -- as "Gangster Nancy Sinatra." How long does it take you, on an average day, to prepare to face the world?

A. If you mean showering, dressing, putting on makeup - about 45 minutes. If you mean the time it takes for me to wake up, have my medication kick in, and all of that - longer.

6) She's a big soccer fan, and her favorite team is Liverpool FC. Here in the US, college basketball fans are currently obsessed with March Madness. What's the last sporting event that you watched?

A. I watched a little basketball the other night.

7) Her younger sister, Caroline, studied photography and is responsible for some of Lana's publicity pictures. Have you ever gotten a job because of a relative?

A. Yes, when I was younger.

8) In 2013, when this song came out, Pope Francis became the first pope from a Latin American country. Latin America generally includes Mexico, most of Central and South America, and in the Caribbean, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. What's the farthest south that you've ever traveled?

A. Florida.

9) Random question -- What button would you prefer your life to have: rewind, fast forward or a pause?

A. I'd like a rewind and then a pause, please.

___________

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.

Yard Flowers

No clue what this is. I consider it a weed. After it's bloomed, it sends out spikes when you touch it.

Who doesn't love a daffodil?

Not sure what this is, either. Maybe a bluet.

Thursday Thirteen

I read Facebook more than I post on it. I have to stop myself from responding most days. It is better to simply move on than engage.

But that doesn't mean I can't respond here, in my spot that's a bit more of my own.

1. On the post where VA Governor Northam signs a bill knocking off the tax off of feminine hygiene products, a man asks who doesn't have access to feminine hygiene products and who can't pay for them? Answer: poor women who have to choose between feeding their kids, or medication, or whatever, and using tampons or folding up a washcloth and hoping nothing bad happens. Until you've had the embarrassment of having blood-soaked pants or having menstrual blood flow down your leg, you, mister, have no say in this matter.

2. To the 1,000+ commenters on a story about vandalism at a Jewish cemetery: have some respect for the dead. Arguing over whether or not the vandalism can be laid at #45s feet because it is "anti-sematic" overlooks the fact that it is vandalism, pure and simple, and a total disrespect for humanity.

3.  To the male commenters denying that the first female winner of the Nobel Prize in Math is actually a woman - what the hell is wrong with you? Are you so insecure that you can't see a woman winning a math prize? Are you that arrogant and so sure of yourselves? Did your mother not teach you that being a judgmental asshole is a sure sign of insecurity and a small penis?

4. To the sarcastic and on-the-spot commenters on a story about the New Zealand ban on semi-automatic assault rifles following a horrible mass shooters - the ones who wonder why that government didn't just offer up "thoughts and prayers" and move on: bravo to you.

5. To the people who think it's perfectly fine to be disrespectful at Auschwitz: How quickly we forget. Reverence is necessary. Thinking is mandatory. Figure it out.

6. Bravo to San Francisco for banning the sale of plastic bottles, although I am the first to raise my hand and say I use them. I recycle them, though. I don't send them to the landfill.

7. On the story about Virginia now having less smokers than the national average: it's about damn time.

8. Applause to this quote:



I am highly amused that this came up as I am offering my own opinion on issues. The irony is not lost on me.

9. To the people questioning if Arkansas will also offer courses on the Quran, the Torah, or other religions if requested after Arkansas passed a bill allowing public schools to teach Christianity: thank you for remembering that we are not a singular religious nation and that we are multi-faceted and separate of church and state serves a real purpose. It's not just a line. To the ones applauding the decision: think!

10. To the people laughing at a study that says Congress would be better if they had pay raises - applause. To the ones saying what we need is an entirely new Congress: agreed!

11. And … once again I'm out of time. I really need to stop waiting until Thursday morning to do this.

12. So I am off because I have an appointment.

13. But there's a list of 13 here. It's just a little incomplete.


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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 596th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

What the #$@# is an ASP.NET?

Last night my computer suddenly went bonkers on me, and reverted itself back to the tiled desktop of Windows 8.1.

My computer updated on March 13, so I assume it had something to do with the update, but I'm not sure.

At any rate, I realized my computer was showing a new account called ASP.NET machine account. Ever heard of that?

Me neither.

Apparently this is some kind of developer thing that has shown up as a problem for folks since Windows XP. Yep, that far back, and apparently Windows still has issues with it.

Really, Microsoft?

This is what Microsoft says about it: "ASP.NET Machine Account is created when the 1.1 is installed onto a Windows machine."

I don't know what the 1.1 is, nor do I know how to install it or uninstall it. I don't even know what that sentence means.

After snooping around and looking at various responses to other concerns about this issue, I decided first to try removing the account in my settings. That didn't help.

I rebooted a couple of times. That didn't help either.

The instructions to fix this issue talks about going into the REGSTRY to make changes. I am not big on doing that, though I have.

One thing I do that many people do not do is I set a restore point every time Microsoft tells me it is going to update my computer. I learn that the update is on its way either by a message from Microsoft that says "Hi, we have an update for you that will take place at such-and-such a time" or by noticing when I go to shut down my computer that it says "Update and shut down." There is no option not to accept an update from Microsoft anymore.

What I do when an update is imminent is this: I go into the control panel and create a restore point. You can figure out how to do this by typing "create restore point" in Cortana if you're using Windows 10. It is easier on older operating systems like Windows 7. I honestly don't know if all Windows 10 users can create a restore point or if I can do it because I upgraded from Windows 8.1.

Anyway, since I had a restore point from March 13, I simply went back to that to restore the system, and when it finished sometime around 2 a.m. this morning (when I woke up and checked), things looked normal. I shut the computer down and when I woke the first thing I did was double check my backups on documents and photos.

This thing of downloading updates just to update is getting old. I have made peace with Windows 10 after its second or third upgrade made it more stable, but it remains a source of aggravation. I don't need development codes or things to code or whatever. I just use software on the computer like most people and do my writing on it. This kind of update should be optional for us normal folks who don't care to be developmental IT engineers.

Sunday Stealing: Cookies!

Sunday Stealing

1. Do you eat Oreos?

A. Not often. I can't recall the last time I had any.

2. If you eat Oreos, which are your favorite – original, double stuff, golden original, golden double stuff, Oreo brownies, Oreo ice cream?

A. I would guess the double stuff, since that is what I like about an Oreo.

3.  Do you twist your Oreos apart?

A. Yes, and then I eat the inside and throw away the rest.

4.  Are you able to pass by a plate of cookies and not take one or are you a bit of a 'Cookie Monster'?

A. I can pass, usually.

5. Tell us about your favorite cookie. Crunchy, soft, chewy, crumbly, other?

A. Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip cookie is my favorite, slightly chewy, a little crumbly and uncommonly good.

6. Have your tastes changed since you were a kid?

A. Apparently I still have the palate of a five year old child.

7. Enquiring minds want to know if you are a dunker and, if so, do you dunk in milk, coffee, or tea?

A. Not a dunker.

8. It is that time of year and they are selling them on every corner and in front of every store!  Do you buy Girl Scout cookies and if you do, which is your favorite? 

A. I do not generally buy them. No one ever offers to sell me any.

9. Raw cookie dough.  Yay or Nay?

A. Yay, if I'm making it myself. I don't (generally) eat the raw cookie dough that is from the store. 

10. Do you like cookies with filling?

A. So long as someone else has made them, yes.

11. Do you prefer organic cookies?

A. I have no preference, although I can't say I've actually eaten an "organic" cookie that tastes good.

12.  Large cookies, or small cookies?

A. Small cookies.

13. Do you like familiar flavours in cookies?

A. Yes.

14. Do you make your own cookies, or buy them?

A. Both.

15. Please tell us something random about your week!!

A. Monday I had a meeting with local officials because I was unhappy with the way they were conducting the public's business. I was pleasantly surprised when they took my concerns seriously. We had a 45-minute discussion about various issues relating to FOIA and the wording of motions and closed-session meeting requirements, and in addressing my concerns I have been assured there will be a few policy changes and the officials will be more cognizant of how the public perceives what they do and when and why they do it. It was very stressful and quite difficult to speak out even though I've done it before when I was a news reporter. This time I had no news media standing behind me; it was just me, a citizen. It is hard to speak out against the system and I know why people simply go along and allow things to happen, because it is hard to say something. Sometimes, though, one must examine the conscious and take action. I could not in good conscious not say anything about issues that I felt were, if not actually a violation of the law, at least actions that looked suspect. I want my county government to be a bright shining star of virtuous governmental goodness amongst the stench that surrounds us at the state and federal level, and that will only happen when people such as myself raise their hands and speak up if they have concerns. It's part of being a good citizen and being an adult.

__________

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. (#275)

Saturday 9: Molly Malone

Saturday 9: Molly Malone
 
Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1) Are you of Irish descent?

A. I thought I was, but my brother did his DNA test and it came back 53% Great Britain and only 13% Irish. So I may be a wee bit Irish, but apparently I'm more of Her Majesty's Subject than I ever knew.

2) Legend has it that the heroine of this week's Irish ballad was a real lass. 17th century birth and burial records confirm that a woman with that name lived in Dublin. Can you think of another song about a real historic figure?

A. The first thing that comes to mind is Molly Turgish, which is a song they sang on Green Acres about a woman who was ugly, and I suppose the whole thing was fictional. But there is also Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley, though I'm not sure he was real but I think he was.

3) Molly sold fish from a cart that she wheeled through the streets. What's the last seafood you ate?

A. It has been years since I ate fish. I started developing a reaction to fish and shell food products around 2012 and I stopped eating them.

4) The lyrics tell us that, after her death, her ghost continues to wander the streets of Dublin with her wheel barrow. Do you believe in ghosts?

A. I think there are things that go in the world that we know nothing about. Whether they are ghosts or dimensional portals or alternate universes that have seeped through - who knows?

5) This week's featured band, The Dubliners, are obviously from Dublin. They were introduced to American audiences on The Ed Sullivan Show. Today, Stephen Colbert tapes his show in The Ed Sullivan Theater. Who hosted the last talk show you watched?

A. Bill Maher.
 
6) Corned beef and cabbage is a traditional St. Patrick's Day dish. Is it a favorite of yours?

A. No.

7) According to Irish legend, leprechauns earned the gold in the pot they guard by repairing shoes. Crazy Sam can't remember the last time she got a pair of shoes repaired. When the heels wear away, she discards the shoes and buys new ones. What about you? Do you get your shoes fixed (either by leprechauns or just by ordinary repairmen)?

A. I usually throw them away and buy new ones, although I have occasionally resorted to Krazy Glue to fix a sole on a sneaker. My husband has had work boots repaired by a repairman. Unfortunately there is only one shoe repairman in our area and I'm not even sure he's still in business.

8) Do you look good in green, the signature color of St. Patrick's Day?

A. It's not a bad color on me, but I don't wear it much.

9) Random question: Did you more recently sneeze or cough?

A. Coughed.

___________

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.