Saturday 9

Happy Saturday!

Here's this week's Saturday 9. Check out Crazy Sam to read other entries or to participate yourself.


1. Is there anything that you tend to do to cheer up when you are having a bad day?  Not really.  I am not very good at pulling myself out of moods, I'm afraid ~ usually have to sleep it off.
 

2.What’s the last card game you played, and with whom did you play?  Taught my little guy how to play Double Solitaire . . . I used to play with my grandma until the wee hours of the morning; he hasn't taken to it the same way.  Drat.


3.What’s the last board game you played, and with whom did you play?  Masterpiece.  Remember that game??  Just found the original version from 1970.  Love it!

4.What’s the last computer game you played, and with whom did you play?  None, I blog -- that's game enough. 


5.Is there somewhere you’d like to visit but have not, and where is it?  Anywhere, really.  Right now, a sleepy little village with great food and friendly people appeals to me.


6.Think of your favorite movie (or a movie you really like, if you can’t think of a favorite). Some people say that the reasons you love your favorite movie are related to what you value in relationships. How is this true or untrue in your case?  Enchanted April.  Lottie's character inspires me to try not to mete out love and measure it to match exactly what I think I receive from the other person, but to love to my own heart's content and with abandon and generosity.  In relationships outside my own family, I need to remember that at times. 


7.What physical attributes do you find the most attractive?  I like a good smile, nice teeth, big hands, broad shoulders; mostly, kind, "listening" eyes.


8.How many people live in your house? Tell us about them.  4.  The usual:  my husband, my son, my daughter, and myself.  I think you know plenty about us.  



9. Ever punch someone in the face?  Only with my eyes!

It's Hot

"How hot is it?"

It is so hot . . .

that the mudroom door I painted THREE weeks ago -- and didn't close for a full 5 days while drying -- seems to have melted shut.

Not budging.

Nope.

No way.

No how.

Happy Feet

I am not a hot-weather girl. 

I burn.

I wilt.  

I frizz.

I whine.

But there is at least one thing I do like more about summer than any other time of year . . . sandals!

How great to slip on a pair and run out the door. 

I just bought myself a pair of Birkenstocks just like this:

LOVE them!  The "break-in period" is over and they are almost as good as going barefoot.

I anticipate wearing these babies down to the cork!

Do you have a favorite summer sandal?

Wordless Wednesday

Boy meets sea turtle ~

My Boy Is 10

My boy turned 10 years old yesterday . . .

And flowers bloomed . . .

(his very first lotus flower in his very own pond)

And the beasts danced . . .

(feeding the animals at local zoo)

And all was right in the world.


Ten years.


Ten more years, and he will be 20.


It's going too quickly.

Earthquake!

I woke up this morning at 5:05am to an earthquake.

An earthquake?

We don't get earthquakes in the D.C. area . . . at least not very often.

It measured 3.6 and the epicenter was thought to be at the largest intersection near my house. We had dinner at a restaurant on that corner just last Saturday night.

It sounded and felt like a big rumble of thunder, but not from the sky. Then the house began shuttering and then a deep, loud boom, and the house seemed to lower and settle back down.

We felt an aftershock 11 minutes later, but no one seems to be reporting on that.

Wild.

Thursday Thunks

How 'bout a few Thursday Thunks while I wait for my daughter to finish her breakfast -- apparently, the new granola cereal is a no-go.

So we have a few moments on our hands . . .

1. Billy Mays died about a year ago. What kitchen gadgets have you bought that you've used less than three times? What are they?  Actually, I can't think of any.  I'm pretty careful about what gets to take up precious real estate in my kitchen. 

2. What celebrity would you like to shake some sense into, and why?  Bristol Palin, if she counts as a celeb.  Bristol, he's a creep!

3. Jimmy Buffett just did on concert to benefit the victims of the Gulf. Name a Buffett song that you like.  Margaritaville, of course!

4. How did you feel about Ringo Starr turned 70?  It has got to be a filthy lie.

5. What sport do you absolute see no point in watching?  I've told you before, curling.  The whole time I'm watching, I keep thinking about all the good these people could be doing for my kitchen floor.

6. How far would an electric car have to go without a recharge before you'd buy one?  1000 miles.  No, I'm not kidding.

7. Did you see that a high court ruled that you can swear on regular TV? What word can you just not wait to hear?  None.  It's just lazy writing, imo.  If you want me to laugh (or pay attention), you need to work harder.

8. What was the last concert that you attended that really sucked?  My husband dragged me to so many.  The Robert Fripp "students" concert was . . . disconcerting.  I think they were all brainwashed zombies -- it was distractingly creepy.

9. What type of accent would you like to have, if you were forced to change yours?  I think a fun little (or big!) Manchester accent would be great.  


By the way, anyone watching "Work of Art?"  I'm not watching, ever again, after what they did to that poor Eric last night!


Off and running . . .

 

Here's Another Song That Gets To Me

Well, now a can of worms has been opened.

Ever since I posted my guess at the song that was my favorite (for yesterday), other songs have been parading through my mind.

Melissa Lambert's "The House That Built Me" gets to me lately.

It's a hard time in my life, right now, and sometimes I feel like I just need to go back to being a little girl and be fortified a little more before I continue.

Do you ever feel that way? Like you're not ready for this? Kinda like a dog who doesn't want to go . . . sitting at the end of a leash being pulled tight.

And then I remember that "you can't go home again." And I don't feel any better.

Oh, to be a little girl again for just a week or so. I swear, I would store up all the peace and the reassurance and the simplicity . . . not waste a crumb of it. I would fill my pockets and my shoes and my socks until I had enough to live off of for a lifetime.

But that's just me.

Favorite Song?

Lynne over at everyday life got me thinking today with her answer to the question:

What is your favorite song?

Now, I've never been good at answering "favorite" questions because I love so many, many things for such different, different reasons. So I usually have to simplify the question by adding "today" to the end of these questions.

What is my favorite song . . . today?

Still a tough one.

So I will go with the song that is playing and replaying in my head lately. It is not a catchy song; it was not a hit; it is not a toe-tapper.

It is not an upbeat song, and if you're flying high today, watching this video may heavy your heart for a time -- it does, me.

But it is almost literally a soul in song form, and I find that moving, beautiful, and unforgettable.

It is quite poignant to note that Jeff Buckley died in a freak accident shortly after this performance.


I know, I know . . . happy day!   But my answer is the truth and it is who I am today.

Saturday 9

It's Saturday.  Time for the Saturday 9.  Check out Crazy Sam for more participants or to participate yourself.

1. When was the last time you were told to go your own way?  Probably when I was in college.  I was trying to decide whether to go on to law school or not, and asked the advice of one of my English professors (who was also a practicing attorney).  He encouraged me, reminding me that you only get one chance at life, to grab what I want.

2. What one experience has strengthened your character the most so far?  Raising my daughter who is a highly traumatized former orphan who cannot feel or accept love.  She challenges who I am, all my parts, every single day.  It is my most fervent wish to help her, to heal her, but it is my deepest concern that we will not be the ones to do it.

3. What's your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?  Get all my "musts" done quickly and then curl up, knit, and watch chick flicks. 

4. How long can you go without your cell phone?  Having it?  Not long at all, because I like to feel like I'm reachable should my small kids need me.  Using it?  I could go quite a while.  I've worked very hard not to become dependent upon it.

5. Do you wish you were somewhere else right now?  Yes, I wish I were off on the outing my son and husband are on, but, alas, only one parent to a child, as usual at these things. 

6. Of all the people you've ever known, who have you most feared?  My mother.

7. Do people tell you that you look your age?  Some people tell me rather emphatically that I look younger, but I don't honestly believe them.

 8. Your ex shows up randomly at your house, what do you say?  Kiss me, you devil!  (kidding, only kidding)

9. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?  No.

Have a weekend!

Hot Dog Days of Summer

It is so hot here, I don't even know what to say about it:  102*F (39*C), gah!

So rather than regale you with descriptions of the searing heat, crunchy grass, and suffocating humidity, I will share what we had for supper last night.  Some recipes are just suited for hot weather, I've always thought.

Chicago Dog Salad*

1/4 cup yellow mustard
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 rounded teaspoon sugar
1 tsp. celery seed
2 tablespoons canola oil

1/2 of a 16-ounce sack shredded cabbage blend for slaw salads
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced 
1 romaine heart, shredded
2 vine ripe tomatoes, diced
3 large half sour or garlic pickles, chopped
Salt and pepper
8 pork or beef hot dogs, cut into 1-inch-thick slices on an angle

 
In the bottom of a large bowl, combine mustard, vinegar, sugar, celery seed, and oil. Add the onions, cabbage, romaine, tomatoes, and pickles and toss the salad. Season with salt and pepper, adjust seasonings, and reserve.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Arrange the sliced dogs in a single layer. Sear them a couple of minutes on each side. Remove to paper towels to drain.

Mound up the salad on plates, top with seared dogs, and serve.

* as found in Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine

You might also notice that if you leave out the sugar and choose your dogs carefully, this is a very, very low carb recipe.



Keep cool!

America The Beautiful

God Bless America . . .
      and all who love her.