Miss Manners

There is a house that has been converted to office space.

I'm always a little puzzled - does one just walk in like you would a normal business office or stop at the front door and knock? When needing a signature from them I've opted for knocking and it seems to work as they always come promptly and answer my inquiries.

Best to err on the side of caution, yes?

Keeping that in mind...

I go into a convenience store yesterday. I need the wash room and inquire if I might use it. The clerk smiles, nods & waves her hand toward the back of the store. The door to the men's and women's rooms are both open. I can see that each is a single seater with no 'stalls'. I enter the women's, close the door and lock it.

So far, so good. However, I have tried to lock doors before only to find that they spring open when the knob is turned from the outside. And frankly, there are few things as uncomfortable as having yer britches down around your ankles when a door pops open leaving you and your disheveled self on view to the world.

Never happened to you? Well, just wait. You live long enough and go to the bathroom often enough and it'll happen sooner or later, a time or two or three.

As I sit down I eye the lock with skepticism, but really, I have other matters to attend to ...

Not more than a minute later I hear footsteps and a body collides with the door as the knob is turned.

The lock holds and I let out the breath I was unaware I was holding and sang out...."occupied".

There are no retreating footsteps and not 10 seconds later another person approaches and vigorously works the door knob.

Again... "occupied!"

Okay ladies...Lets review the facts.

There is another bathroom directly across the hall (marked MENS) that has the door WIDE open. One can not miss it. There is one toilet. Chances are the room you are trying to enter is the same design. So if the door is closed there may be someone in there.

Next I'm sure woman #2 was not personally acquainted with woman #1. Unless you're someplace where there are a lot of creepers, if another woman is standing in front of the women's restroom and not going in? Once again, it could be a clue that it is in use. Trying to wrench the door off of its frame is just brutish.

Finally, I must say, in my defense, that I was tending to matters as quickly as possible. Bad form to camp in the water closet, eh old chap?

But what I really want to know is: what ever happened to the nicety of knocking before one tries to barge thru a closed door?
-

Ode To "Having A Moment"

This is me - heaving a BIG sigh....

My, my. Where to begin?

It's been a nice week. Really - enjoyed the kid people, ate tasty food, played...

But it can't all be fun and games.

Reality has to rear it's ugly head, the world intrudes and I find that I'm spending way too much time shaking my head over other people who have to stop, and have "a moment."

You know the guys I'm talking about. The ones who insist on pitching a fit when things don't go their way. They pout, shout, stomp and in general carry on over circumstances that just...are.

And really, it wouldn't be that big of a deal - if they'd do it on their own time, preferable some place far away from me but...

No. Instead of putting their shoulder to the wheel and getting "it" completed/finished, I look over to see them flailing their tiny fists and drumming their little feet on the floor. Production has stopped and while I'd love to be able to have super powers and do everything by myself...

 I'm left looking around, saying, "A little help here?"

Do you ever feel like you got dropped into a movie set of "Princessville"? The excuses run the gamut from "I might chip a nail/muss my hair' to "I'm special" or my personal favorite... "That's a job for the little people."

????

DO I LOOK LIKE A LITTLE PERSON TO YOU?

Think. Carefully. Before. You. Answer.

Yessssssss.

Now get off your butt and get back to work.

-

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Pooh Bah

Yeah!!!!!

#1 Daughter is home!

Monster & Blackie have both given her the official seal of approval. Chub Chub, the shy one, even deigned to walk into the same room with her. (He goes into hiding when there is anyone or anything new or unusual.)

Padwon says to scratch a little to the right.

The Youngest just jumped on her, or maybe she jumped on him. It was hard to tell thru the tangle of limbs. But they were making happy noises.

Farm Boy cranked the heat up about 20 degrees when he noticed she seemed a bit chilly...

Isn't it nice that some people can make everyone else happy just by being?

-

A Word To The Wise

A friend sent me this email...funny.  

Men take heed.

NINE "WORDS" WOMEN USE

(1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

(2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means one-half hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

(3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

(4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't
Do It!

(5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

(6) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a woman can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

(7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint.. Just say you're welcome. (This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - which is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome' -- that will bring on a 'whatever'.)

(8) Whatever: Is a woman's way of saying Screw YOU!

(9) Don't worry about it, I've got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has asked a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking, 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response, refer to # 3.

The email ended w/ the following notes:


* Send this to the men you know, to warn them about arguments they can avoid if they remember the terminology.

* Send this to all the women you know to give them a good laugh because they know it's true!!!

I'm thinking that pretty much covers it and I have to laugh because Farm Boy, bless his soul, is no closer to understanding this now than he was 28 years ago!
-

T-Shirt Time!

A Difference of Opinion

Will Rogers said: "The more you read and observe about this Politics thing, you got to admit that each party is worse than the other. The one that's out always looks the best."

I, for one, am glad/relieved this years election is past/done/gone. I can't say I look forward to 2012. Robocalls kept the phone ringing off the hook until the polls "closed" last Tuesday, even tho we vote with 'mail in ballets' in this area.
  
We, the Farm Boy & I, voted early. The college kids, (who still use our home address) were a different story. Unfortunately by the time the ballots were forwarded to them and got back to the county auditor we apparently remained on the list of those who hadn't voted yet and thus were deserving of encouraging calls reminding us to do our duty.

Arrggghhh - MAKE IT STOP!



Now there is an uncharitable type of GLEE from some conservatives for their candidates who have unseated liberals. While I'm quite conservative, I find myself wishing they'd quit doing their end zone celebration as I'm not expecting miracles from anyone, or any particular party. Resolving the nations economic and moral woes is not going to be a short term project. Finding compromises that everyone can live with will be difficult...Those who fail will be subjected to Will Rogers truth that: the ones who are out will always look the best. If the new congress does not succeed in righting the ship the pendulum will swing and the next crop of politicians will scramble madly to appease the American public.

And the cold, hard fact is: there just ain't no pleasing some people.

That said, I want to talk about one of my facebook friends. He is one of Farm Boys co-workers. He is a nice man. An educated man. A talented man.

What's not to like?

He's also extremely liberal. Usually not in an "in your face" kind of way but one does pick up the patronizing attitude that smacks of "if you were a little more intelligent you'd see things my way." And yes, indeed, that 'intelligent' word appears just often enough in his posts...

Anyway.

Because I'm  aware of my limited ability to 'control' or influence someone else's opinion or accountability I will never be counted as a rabid 'pro-lifer'. Not because I have any vestige of doubt that a child is a living entity from the moment of conception...if the fertilized cells are capable of dividing and growing, ummm, let me check the definition, yup! "It's" living.

Ah, but not viable some say. Can't survive outside the womb. Ergo, a "non-person."

Really?

A newborn kitten, eyes sealed shut, wet & scruffy, can drag itself to its mothers teats, nurse and grow.

A newborn human, eyes open and squalling, can not do the same. It is unable to move itself to its mother's side, latch on and nurse and sustain itself unless lifted, guided & held to its mother's breast.

Hmm, outside the womb and still can't survive without help.  I'm soooo not a fan of that 'viablity' thing.

Anyway, back to facebook.

This election season some pictures have surfaced from the pro-life camp in an effort to help persuade one to the selection of anti-abortion candidates. Some provide food for thought:

Others are graphic and will.break.your.heart. I'll not post these but they may be found here: http://www.priestsforlife.org/resources/abortionimages/index.htm

Again, these are GRAPHIC, be cautious about following this link.)

Back to our liberal friend. He has a son who is recently married. The new daughter-in-law and family appear to be conservative Catholics. One of her brother-in-laws, Andrew Ellis, has posted the above pictures.

Mr. Liberal can't help himself and has to comment. Tells them he doesn't agree but hopes 'they' can respect his opinion as well.

Another family member (apparently knowing Andrew) quickly chimes in to mediate, asking for respect for all opinions...

A switch was flipped. A young man who has the courage of his convictions takes a stand. Rage overwhelms political correctness and 'respect'. Following is Andrew Ellis' reply:

"To the general audience: So a woman in Iran is about to be brutally stoned to death because her husband's brother raped her and that makes her an adulteress. Am I supposed to stand by and say, "Well, these men are entitled to their opinion. ...I have a different view, but this isn't my business or my place to judge."

Sorry people. They are NOT "entitled" to that opinion. They sure as HELL aren't entitled to ACT on it. And don't ANYONE tell me it's unchristian or uncharitable of me to be incensed with rage and put up an unholy stink. To stand by in silence, or to turn away and pretend it's not happening, or to tell yourself it's not your business and take the easy way out of the situation - THAT is the unchristian and uncharitable thing.

Is ANYONE going to take a good hard look at some of those abhorrent images of dismembered human children and honestly tell me that mother, or that doctor, was "entitled to their opinion?" Go back a hundred years or so. Majority opinion held a consensus that black people weren't whole persons. Who is going to tell me that was just fine and dandy? That they were entitled to those opinions? That while you are "personally opposed" to it, it's not your place to say YOU'RE DEAD WRONG - and say it loudly, and publicly.

Who is going to tell me that if I were a German farmer, or banker, or student, that the young men and women of the Nazis were entitled to their opinions? Or that I would have been mean and unchristian and uncharitable to seek out the graphic evidence of what was going on, (note: he's speaking of concentration camps, Hitler's atrocities) publish it far and wide, and publicly descry it as the unholy travesty that it was? Or that I really ought to pipe down and learn to respect these people and their heinously misguided "opinions." As if it's not hard enough just to respect the life of the soldier executing a Jewish child.

In the name of sanity and reason, people, am I entitled to the opinion that any one of you, or a class of you, with eyes too far apart or missing an appendix or loosing your marbles due to old age - am I entitled to the opinion that you're just not enough of a person to matter anymore, or that you ever did, and that if I felt it would better suit my well-being or my child's well-being that you were terminated, that I ought to be able to just go ahead and pull your limbs off one by one? If you're going to reduce this down to a matter of opinion, THAT IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.

If you're going to tell me it's a matter of opinion whether or not an unborn child is a baby, that is what you're saying. Your damned opinions have no bearing whatsoever on whether a person is a person. And I have to say, it is utterly beyond my comprehension how any sane person can witness with their own two seeing eyes WHAT ABORTION IS and STILL DEFEND IT. That is not an opinion I respect, or ever will respect. No one is entitled to it any more than a man is entitled to the opinion that some attractive woman over there can be pinned down and violently raped. How much more obvious does it have to be?

LOOK AT THE DAMN PICTURES. People are constantly ripping on Catholic bishops in Germany for doing little or nothing for the Jewish people during the holocaust. Inaccurate though that is, do you think anyone in Germany believed what was happening before the photos started popping up? The rest of the world sat idle because they could not believe it was true - UNTIL THE IMAGES STARTED FLOWING.

Genocide after genocide in Africa has gotten little tidbit headlines and no one cares or becomes enraged until the photos and the videos come out FORCING PEOPLE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE HUMANITY OF THE VICTIMS, THE INHUMANITY OF THE OPPRESSORS, AND THE REALITY OF WHAT PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF DOING TO THEIR FELLOW MAN. And you wanna know what else is VERY interesting? The men and women in Africa who butchered men, women, and children from other tribes have been interviewed - how did you come to be capable of this? And a consistent theme is that they are convinced by their leaders and other members of their group that THE OTHER SIDE AREN'T REALLY PEOPLE. They cease to recognize the humanity in the other group.

Isn't that interesting? Doesn't that sound strikingly similar to Nazi Germany. And strikingly similar to our own treatment of abortion? Excuse me for being frustrated. Excuse me for being angry. Excuse me for not letting this go. What does it take to help a person acknowledge the perfectly obvious?

What in God's name makes it so damnably difficult to simply look at a child, acknowledge that child, and acknowledge that it is an atrocity to kill that child?

What exactly does one stand to lose by being honest with oneself? What the hell is it? And whatever it is, is it worth sanctioning and defending the brutal murder of 53 million American children and 43% of the world population? Is it worth ripping the arms and legs off of ONE innocent little child?

Is your pride worth that? Is your esteem for "opinion" worth that? Is your political persuasion worth that? Is your job, or your house, or your car, worth that?

What in God's name is in a person's head, that they will not let go of, that induces them to persist in feeble attempts to justify the murder of innocent children, or to justify sanctioning it and protecting it, or to deny the humanity of another person and stand by idly while they are butchered?"

He finishes with:

"No one need comment on this. Go to the album Imagery as Political Commentary. Look at the photos. And you can do one of two things: be enraged and compelled to act, or lie to yourself. If you don't look at the photos, you're already lying to yourself.

I make no apologies for publishing these photos. I do not, and will not, respect an opinion that diminishes or denies the humanity and the dignity of my fellow man."
-

Complaint Line To The Right

Checked in with the family doctor. What a sweetie! Guy is turning into my own private cheering section.

Every time I see him I have NEVER lost enough weight for my own satisifaction. He on the other hand is jumping up and down. 10 pounds this month!!!!! Yeah!!!

Bless him. :)

Anyway, I go to check out and he comes out and says, "Oh, by the way - did you want a flu shot?"

Ummmm.

You know I've never had one before and every winter I get some type of cold, achy, sicky kind of thing going on...so, probably not a "bad" idea.

But it involves a needle.

Suck it up, right?

"Okay." I reluctantly say. I've already written the check for my co-pay so I'll have to write a new one to cover the cost of the shot. I ask the receptionist what my new total will be.

"Oh! Insurance pays for it. You don't owe anything extra!"

FREE! Better yet.

I barely turn around and the nurse gives me the injection where I stand.

She grins.

No changing my mind on that one!

The next day I'm pleased to note that the injection site is normal, no reaction. Wow, what was I fussing about?

48 hours later, I brush my shoulder.

Ouch.

Insert sad face here.

-

Standard Daylight Time

Switching back & forth from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Daylight Time has always been a bit like jet lag to me.  Some people try to "work" it, mess with their schedules, tell themselves it's really not time to get up, take extra naps etc.

I say, just go for it. Switch your clocks and go with the current time.

Padwon is NOT on board with this idea.

It's 5:30 a.m. I am up, the house lights are on and I'm preparing breakfast for the humans. Thru the darkness outside, the lights reflect off her white mane. I see the ghost of her outline.

Standing at the fence.

Staring at me.

In her world, breakfast. is. late.

I usually try to feed at 6 - 6:15 in the morning, and 6 at night. Someone doesn't cotton to the idea of the time change.

When I finally show up, I get the horsey head toss.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I give her some extra scratches to make up for her inconvenience. I must have been doing a really good job too because she actually STOPPED eating and lifted her head so I could get just the right spot under her neck.

That doesn't happen very often!

 She goes back to her hay and I turn to leave. As I start to close the dutch doors, she stops eating again and walks over and sticks her head over the bottom half of the door.

????

"See you at dinner I say as I stroke her nose..."

Then I grin and say, "Like, ummm, 5:30 tonight?" And I whisper "Pacific Standard Time?"

There is another horsey head toss. She turns and I get the cold butt. And as I shoved the bolt home on the top half of the door I swear I heard...

"Don't even think about it."

????
- 

Careful - I Think They Speak The Language!

Have you ever tried to find "catnip"? You know, just the dried herb? They have basil, oregano, thyme, etc. But catnip? Fresh catnip?

Not so much.

Sure there are catnip toys but like all herbs that sit and grow old and lose their savor, the toys are interesting but just not that interesting to cats.

So I decided to grow my own this summer.

Again.

I've not had a lot of luck with catnip plants as our local cat people turn into the mafia when they see them.

Must. Rub. It. Out!

Farm Boy is perplexed as to why I don't just plant miles of catnip for his beloved little felines. I end up waving my arms and growing a bit red in the face as I try to explain that they just kill them. Eat them, chew them up, lie on them and rub their tiny new green leaves into non-existence.

Wait. New plan. If I can't keep the cats away from the catnip, I'll keep the catnip away from the cats!

So Farm Boy gets out the welder and expanded metal plate and makes a made to order, STURDY, cat resistant cage.

I buy one lonely plant, select a nice sunny spot for it, plop the cage on top of it and wait.

One hour later I look out the window. Monster is stretched out on her side, stealthily digging thru the bark, trying to get under the edge of the cage to get at the catnip. She finally gives up and lays there staring at it.

Score one for Momma Newy!

The summer wears on. Farm Boy has doubts about the cage. "You know, the minute the leaves poke thru the openings the cats chew them off. I don't think it's going to make it..."

But what he doesn't understand is that the catnip is part of the mint family. It has an invasive growth pattern and once the root system is established it spreads fairly rapidly. As long as the cats can't get at the central part of the plant it will have enough leaves and roots to sustain itself. The cats can "self harvest" anything that grows outside the box and it will be a win/win situation. The plant will survive and the cats will have their catnip.

Finally, a week ago. The catnip has enuf growth that there is actually some that I can harvest. I carefully pick the extra leaves and bring them in the house to dry.

I hadn't counted on the smell driving the cats crazy. I make the mistake of rubbing a few leaves on areas that I wanted the cats lay on. (Like - not on my chair so I have a place to sit instead of it always being occupied by a cat!)

Chub Chub & Ack Ack had been asleep in the other room. They both come out, their noses twitching as they sniff and try to locate the source of the smell. They travel unerringly to the cat bed. Jump up, sniff, start eating the catnip and then, when it's gone, start pulling on the fabric with their teeth.

NO!!!

Do not eat the cat bed!

Jeez!

Note to self. Fresh catnip causes cats to o.d.

So I dry the rest of it.

This morning I'm bagging the dried pieces. I set a plate, with little pieces remaining, on the floor. Chub Chub sniffs and starts to lick the plate. Monster comes over, sniffs, shoves Chub Chub out of the way and lays down and begins to roll all over it.

"Monster!" I say, "Get out of there! It is uncouth to wallow in the plate!"

She stops and glares at me. There is a certain gleam in her eye. Then sits up abruptly, gives her coat a few quick licks, stalks away and sits with her back to me, ignoring me.

Hmmm....

Sprecken sie Deutsch?
-

What's Your Point

The tag line of a genealogist I once knew was:

What's the point? To get it done, or get it done right?

This was one heck of a researcher. The gal's stuff was solid gold. She wasn't in the habit of making or posting mistakes. I appreciated her, her talent and her generosity. She passed away a couple of years ago and I adopted her tag line in honor of her memory.

I've found it applies to many aspects of life.

Just the other day, a sweet lady I was working with was asking me some questions. She has the biggest heart but can sometimes be a little "fluffy." She also has a tendency to cut corners and when adding two plus two can come up with a bewildering variety of answers.

She was leaving a few important components out of an equation. I remember telling her: "verify, verify, verify!" Then I started, "What's the point..."

She heaved a sigh, interrupted me and finished with: "To get it done, or get it done right..."

Oh.

Apparently I've repeated myself.

A time, or two.
-

Chilling Out

Stayed up way. too. late. last nite.

Getting up at 5:15am to get The Youngest to school?

Shoot me now.

I am bushed. And man, it is cold in the house!!! The thermostat keeps resetting itself to the mid sixties...Brrrr!

I'm freezing and I could grab a sweater, ride my exercise bike, push a vacuum around or start baking but...nahhh. Sleep calls.

Wait, my bed is fixed. I don't want to mess it up.

But!

Ah, just as I thought. The Youngest did not make his bed before he went to school. (No surprise there.) I throw back the covers to crawl in.

Why that little stink!

This is where my blanket is! (We have a couple of lap blankets that we keep in the family room to snuggle under while we're watching TV and my favorite had disappeared. It's a soft, plush, beige throw that feels so good to curl up in. It tends to be a source of contention as everyone wants it...one blanket, three people = no bueno! Now the little twink has confiscated it...)

Fine for now. I'm going to sleep. The blanket will leave when I do.

I'm curled in a ball, waiting for the bedding to start retaining body heat.

This is taking forever.

There is a small bounce on the mattress. A kittah has come to snuggle beside me. Welcome friend!! You're warm.

I start to doze off. Another bounce on the mattress. Feline #2 picks his way across the bed and settles on my back.

Finally, I wake momentarily and feel a warm, heavy weight on the back of my knees.

Some people have 'dog days', others smoke 'camels', still other's have 'horses' in their engines.

Me?

I gots a 3 cat heater.

It's all good.

Domestic Goddess

I have been so domestic lately. End of October is always the time to clear the garden. Then one has to dice/chop/freeze/can the final gifts of the season.

Plus, friends like to cheerfully ditch their excess garden produce. They don't want it to go to waste. I appreciate that, but it makes for a late nite or two or... trying to get everything processed.

Still I have found that I'm excited by one thing above all else...Fuji Apples!

Folks started dropping apples by and when it looked like I was stockpiling for a national emergency I finally pulled my dehydrator out, borrowed another one from a friend and got to work.

Weather conditions this year have produced an apple that is intensely sweet and flavorful. Dried - these apples are insanely tasty!

Padwon gets the cores, peels and any rejects. The only down side to this is, as I take a small bowl to her morning & night, she enjoys it so much that she slobbers and slurps and ends up with apple juice/foam running down the sides of her mouth.

This is a problem you say?

Well, only because I groom her when she's eating and usually end up giving her a short belly scratch. She likes this a lot and has a tendency to run her muzzle thru my hair as I'm bent over. I guess it's her form of encouraging me? (more, more!) Kinda has the opposite effect tho when big, sticky, gooey, globs of used apple foam are being wiped all over my head.

Anyway...

Some of my friends who have orchards have noted that while the flavor of the apples this year is good, the overall yield has been down. Add to this the criteria for marketable sizing and it's not looking to be a very profitable year.

Americans are spoiled, aren't we? Look at our supermarkets. We demand perfection in color, size & taste. While some of us are willing to pay a premium for excellence, most of us want it, want it now, and want it for a reallllly good price...

As I prepare these wonderfully tasty Fuji's for the dryer  I find there is not a size or shape that I can not utilize. Lunch box to extra fancy? Bring 'em on!

Farm Boy once mentioned that one of our neighbors was compelled to tell him how impressed he was by me.

"And," I inquired - "Why is that?"

"Because," he said, "when he offered you apples, you didn't pick thru them, just took them as they came."

????

Really?

That's all it took to impress him?

Y'know, they all eats the same. Doesn't it strike anyone else as incredibly RUDE to sit and pick thru a box of free apples/produce and say, "I'll have this & this, oh - not that!"

???

Besides, if I can't use them, well...

I don't believe Padwon has ever met an apple she didn't like.

Losing My Mind

Arggh!!!

Okay, been one of those mornings. Playing Becky Ho-mecky, being all domesticated...

Got up early, fixed breakfast, fed the horse, showered, fixed the bed then took The Youngest to school. Stopped by the grocery store and came home. Then I started unloading the dishwasher, washing clothes, began cooking and preparing freezer lunches for Farm Boy to take to work, drying apples, taking out garbage, cleaning the frig and the cat box (not at the same time), scrubbing pots, and preparing a birthday box for the mail.

Then the timer went off. (I always set it to remind me to do/get back to, or finish "stuff".)

???

I walk to the microwave, stand in front of it and stare at the timer.

Gee, it sure would be nice if I could remember what I set that timer for.

Oh well.

Must be time to take a little break and go play on the computer. Let's see what's going on with my facebook friends. I'll have an early lunch and maybe somewhere in there I'll remember what that timer was for.

Great.

Is someone messing with me?

It just went off again.
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