Sunday, October 21, 2007
Playing Catch-Up
Golly! I've been away for days. During that time, I've been tagged by Kim at Knit Whimsies, which I will deliver on in another post, my family and I have helped a friend move, I've gone to work, I've read more stories in "Logorrhea," I've checked Jeffrey Eugenides' book "Middlesex" out of the library, I've almost finished knitting a bath mitt, and I've gotten my new issue of Wired magazine in the mail. Such a useful magazine, Wired is. There's not a single issue wherein I haven't learned something. Since their redesign, they've made it a point to publish even more letters from readers, which I appreciate. Hey, there are some experts out here! I just wish I knew who wrote the smart-ass intros that lead off reader letters.
We've had rain, rain, and more rain in central Minnesota. It makes me think back to high school French class, where I learned to say "Il pleut," which means "It's raining." You say "pleut" as "plu" - kind of a short "u," but with some "e" mixed in. It almost sounds like rain when you say it, especially the sort of gray, plodding rain we've had. My mom told me that she had heard that if all the rain we've had lately were snow, we'd have 180 inches. Bring it on, baby! The white stuff, please, not more rain. Have we turned into Portland or Seattle?
We've had rain, rain, and more rain in central Minnesota. It makes me think back to high school French class, where I learned to say "Il pleut," which means "It's raining." You say "pleut" as "plu" - kind of a short "u," but with some "e" mixed in. It almost sounds like rain when you say it, especially the sort of gray, plodding rain we've had. My mom told me that she had heard that if all the rain we've had lately were snow, we'd have 180 inches. Bring it on, baby! The white stuff, please, not more rain. Have we turned into Portland or Seattle?
Labels: family, french, friend, jeffrey eugenides, knit whimsies, knitting, logorrhea, middlesex, minnesota, mom, portland, rain, seattle, snow, weather, wired magazine
Monday, August 06, 2007
My Queendom for a Meme
It is Monday and I haven't written a word on my latest Greenville story. Shucks, anyway! But I was involved with writing and creating art for another project, so I have been productive. Maybe I can add a few sentences to my story later tonight. In any case, today's post is another meme. I was tagged for this (after some minor groveling) by Reeva Dubois, so you must go check out his answers to the meme.
A Harmless Meme . . .
10 Firsts
First best friend - Amy
First screen name - mosiewarner
First pet name - Edward - a black cat my sister gave me when I went off to college - I couldn't take him with me, though.
First piercing - one of my two ears - I forget which
First crush - Middle School - C.L.
First CD - Are you kidding? Let's try vinyl albums, baby. That'd be Mickey Mouse Club or Sean Cassidy. I got them around the same time.
First school - Lincoln - funny/tragic story about that - when walking to school one day, I saw a dead blackbird and felt sorry for it, so I put it in my school bag and brought it home later - my mom about died when I showed her.
First house location - We moved a lot before I was in kindergarten, so I don't remember. I was born while we were living in St. Cloud and I do have a vivid memory of a storm from when I was 6 months old.
First kiss - My darling husband
First car - My own? Volkswagon Quantum
9 Lasts
Last time you smoked - Never, never, never! Yuck! Unless you count second-hand smoke - a couple days ago.
Last food you ate - Grapes - red ones, three of them. I didn't peel them though.
Last car ride - to grocery store and Mom's house this morning
Last movie you watched - My Big Fat Greek Wedding - required for my hubby's Sociology class
Last phone call - My mom's landlord
Last CD you listened to - Dave Matthews Band - Everyday - it's in right now, last song
Last bubble bath you took - Don't take them for fear of irritation down there
Last song you listened to - Everyday - see above for last CD
Last words you said - I say so many, I can't remember specifically - hubby and I did discuss dinner a bit ago
8 Have You Evers
Dated a best friend - absolutely! It's hubby! My bestest friend in the whoooooole world.
Been arrested - nope
Been on TV - Does local access channel count? If so, yes.
Eaten sushi - yep - a dinner treat once from my brother - mmm, mmm, good
Cheated on your b/f or g/f - nope
Been on a blind date - nope
Been out of the country - yep, if you count Canada as being out of the country
Been in love - yep - see that dated best friend entry
7 Things You Are Wearing
2 shoes
2 socks
shirt
undies
shorts
6 Things You've Done Today
1. Washed dishes
2. Taken Mom on errands
3. Answered several phone calls
4. Started a new blog
5. Created a banner for that blog - yeah! art projects!
6. Kissed my hubby
5 Favorite Things (not in any order)
1. My hubby
2. My three children
3. Reading
4. Writing
5. The music of Dave Matthews Band
4 People You Most Trust
1. My hubby
2. My children
3. My siblings
4. My in-laws
(Yes, I cheated. When you count them up, that's more than four.)
3 Things You Want to Do Before You Die
1. Write a book that gets made into a movie
2. Write a song
3. Work on a project with the Dave Matthews Band - because it sounds like an impossible goal
2 Choices
Vanilla or chocolate - chocolate
Hugs or Kisses - Yes, please
1 Person You Want to See Right Now
My hubby - I think I'll wander down to the living room and give him a kiss.
Time for tagging. You know the routine. If you've got a blog, use it. If not, use the comments. I tag O.W., A.K., Rianna, Jody, if she's reading, and Kim at Knit Whimsies. I'd tag Joanne at Poppy Seed Heart, but she's a little busy with her baby right now. We're still thinking of you, Joanne!
A Harmless Meme . . .
10 Firsts
First best friend - Amy
First screen name - mosiewarner
First pet name - Edward - a black cat my sister gave me when I went off to college - I couldn't take him with me, though.
First piercing - one of my two ears - I forget which
First crush - Middle School - C.L.
First CD - Are you kidding? Let's try vinyl albums, baby. That'd be Mickey Mouse Club or Sean Cassidy. I got them around the same time.
First school - Lincoln - funny/tragic story about that - when walking to school one day, I saw a dead blackbird and felt sorry for it, so I put it in my school bag and brought it home later - my mom about died when I showed her.
First house location - We moved a lot before I was in kindergarten, so I don't remember. I was born while we were living in St. Cloud and I do have a vivid memory of a storm from when I was 6 months old.
First kiss - My darling husband
First car - My own? Volkswagon Quantum
9 Lasts
Last time you smoked - Never, never, never! Yuck! Unless you count second-hand smoke - a couple days ago.
Last food you ate - Grapes - red ones, three of them. I didn't peel them though.
Last car ride - to grocery store and Mom's house this morning
Last movie you watched - My Big Fat Greek Wedding - required for my hubby's Sociology class
Last phone call - My mom's landlord
Last CD you listened to - Dave Matthews Band - Everyday - it's in right now, last song
Last bubble bath you took - Don't take them for fear of irritation down there
Last song you listened to - Everyday - see above for last CD
Last words you said - I say so many, I can't remember specifically - hubby and I did discuss dinner a bit ago
8 Have You Evers
Dated a best friend - absolutely! It's hubby! My bestest friend in the whoooooole world.
Been arrested - nope
Been on TV - Does local access channel count? If so, yes.
Eaten sushi - yep - a dinner treat once from my brother - mmm, mmm, good
Cheated on your b/f or g/f - nope
Been on a blind date - nope
Been out of the country - yep, if you count Canada as being out of the country
Been in love - yep - see that dated best friend entry
7 Things You Are Wearing
2 shoes
2 socks
shirt
undies
shorts
6 Things You've Done Today
1. Washed dishes
2. Taken Mom on errands
3. Answered several phone calls
4. Started a new blog
5. Created a banner for that blog - yeah! art projects!
6. Kissed my hubby
5 Favorite Things (not in any order)
1. My hubby
2. My three children
3. Reading
4. Writing
5. The music of Dave Matthews Band
4 People You Most Trust
1. My hubby
2. My children
3. My siblings
4. My in-laws
(Yes, I cheated. When you count them up, that's more than four.)
3 Things You Want to Do Before You Die
1. Write a book that gets made into a movie
2. Write a song
3. Work on a project with the Dave Matthews Band - because it sounds like an impossible goal
2 Choices
Vanilla or chocolate - chocolate
Hugs or Kisses - Yes, please
1 Person You Want to See Right Now
My hubby - I think I'll wander down to the living room and give him a kiss.
Time for tagging. You know the routine. If you've got a blog, use it. If not, use the comments. I tag O.W., A.K., Rianna, Jody, if she's reading, and Kim at Knit Whimsies. I'd tag Joanne at Poppy Seed Heart, but she's a little busy with her baby right now. We're still thinking of you, Joanne!
Labels: children, dave matthews band, dmb, family, husband, knit whimsies, meme, poppy seed heart, reeva dubois
Thursday, June 21, 2007
A Birthday Meme
Kim at Knit Whimsies tagged me with another meme. This one is a birthday meme. To fulfill the meme, you go to Wikipedia and type in your birth month and day and list, on your blog (if you have one) or in the comments (if you don't), three events that happened on your birthday, two people born that day (besides you!), and one holiday celebrated that day.
My answers are below, but first I'm tagging O.W., A.K., Rianna (all without blogs), Reeva Dubois and Kevin at Copyrightings, although he might be on vacation.
On my birthday, October 11 -
Events: (Yes, I can count. I added a fourth.)
1582 - Due to the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
1809 - Along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee, explorer Meriwether Lewis dies under mysterious circumstances at an inn called Grinder's Stand.
1899 - Second Boer War begins: In South Africa, a war between the United Kingdom and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State erupts.
1987 - March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights attracts an estimated 200,000 people to protest the Bowers v. Hardwick decision and the U.S. government's handling of the AIDSNAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.
People born on October 11:
1884 - Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States (d. 1962)
1926 - Thich Nhat Hanh, religious leader
There were no holidays listed on Wikipedia for my birthday, however, I can tell you that sometimes Columbus Day falls on my birthday and I believe it is also National Coming Out Day.
What a fun meme!
My answers are below, but first I'm tagging O.W., A.K., Rianna (all without blogs), Reeva Dubois and Kevin at Copyrightings, although he might be on vacation.
On my birthday, October 11 -
Events: (Yes, I can count. I added a fourth.)
1582 - Due to the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
1809 - Along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee, explorer Meriwether Lewis dies under mysterious circumstances at an inn called Grinder's Stand.
1899 - Second Boer War begins: In South Africa, a war between the United Kingdom and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State erupts.
1987 - March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights attracts an estimated 200,000 people to protest the Bowers v. Hardwick decision and the U.S. government's handling of the AIDSNAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.
People born on October 11:
1884 - Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States (d. 1962)
1926 - Thich Nhat Hanh, religious leader
There were no holidays listed on Wikipedia for my birthday, however, I can tell you that sometimes Columbus Day falls on my birthday and I believe it is also National Coming Out Day.
What a fun meme!
Labels: astrology, birthday, copyrightings, events, holidays, knit whimsies, meme, reeva dubois, wikipedia
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Blog Housekeeping
Now that I'm online, I feel obligated to post something, anything, just so I don't miss the opportunity and then not get around to it later today. That's the way posting goes sometimes. So, not being able to come up with anything right away, I did a bit of blog housekeeping, dropped a few links on my sidebar, added a couple new ones, shuffled a couple around, got rid of the "How Much Is This Blog Worth?" widget.
One of the new blogs I've found is Reeva Dubois: Very Much the Queen Bee. He has an engaging style that hooked me right away. Humorous, too.
The good news, first gotten from Kim at Knit Whimsies, and then from Joanne herself at Poppy Seed Heart, is that Joanne had her baby. My daughter and I have been reading her blog faithfully to check her pregnancy progress and all is well. The baby is a boy, named Declan, and he and Mommy can be seen on Poppy Seed Heart. Congrats to Joanne and Hone!
One of the new blogs I've found is Reeva Dubois: Very Much the Queen Bee. He has an engaging style that hooked me right away. Humorous, too.
The good news, first gotten from Kim at Knit Whimsies, and then from Joanne herself at Poppy Seed Heart, is that Joanne had her baby. My daughter and I have been reading her blog faithfully to check her pregnancy progress and all is well. The baby is a boy, named Declan, and he and Mommy can be seen on Poppy Seed Heart. Congrats to Joanne and Hone!
Labels: baby, blogging, housekeeping, knit whimsies, poppy seed heart, reeva dubois
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Ooh, Goody! I've Been Tagged!
Kim, over at the Knit Whimsies blog, has tagged me. It's my first meme ever. The theme of the meme (how's that for a rhyme?) is to list 8 random things about me. Then I'm supposed to tag 8 more people. That last bit may be hard, but here goes with the
8 Random Things About Me . . .
1. I love birds, but free birds, not captive ones, so I won't ever own a bird as a pet.
2. I once gave myself an acupunture treatment - at the direction of a naturopath - to liven up the dead area around my C-section scar. It worked.
3. It is my greatest desire to be musical in some way and my goal is to eventually write a song.
4. When I was in middle school, I had a friend who was the oldest girl among three siblings. Her middle sibling was a boy and her youngest sibling was a girl. I thought that was the best arrangement for children because each was in a special place - oldest girl - middle only boy - youngest girl. I wished for that arrangement of children and I got it - only in the boy, girl, boy version.
5. I was taught not to talk back to anyone and, consequently, openly and verbally disagreeing with someone is something I have great trouble doing.
6. That whole free bird thing? That's the reason I like cats instead of dogs. I don't want to control animals and dogs won't listen to me anyway.
7. Almost every work day for lunch I eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Mostly because they travel well.
8. I've kept a daily calendar journal since 1996 and hope they will be useful when I go down in history. (Is "going down in history" a euphemism for dying? If so, eek! Not to worry. I'm not dying until I'm at least 97.)
As for that tagging part, I don't know too many people who read this blog who also have their own blogs, so I'm going to tag
Rianna - who can answer in the comments section.
I'm also tagging
Kevin at Copyrightings
and
Erich at Dangerous Intersection
although I can't be sure that they check in here. The two people I would tag, Kim and Joanne, have already been tagged, so it'd be kind of silly for me to tag them again.
I'm dreadful at tagging because I read a bunch of giganto blogs that don't take comments. Sheesh! I do enjoy the memes, though.
8 Random Things About Me . . .
1. I love birds, but free birds, not captive ones, so I won't ever own a bird as a pet.
2. I once gave myself an acupunture treatment - at the direction of a naturopath - to liven up the dead area around my C-section scar. It worked.
3. It is my greatest desire to be musical in some way and my goal is to eventually write a song.
4. When I was in middle school, I had a friend who was the oldest girl among three siblings. Her middle sibling was a boy and her youngest sibling was a girl. I thought that was the best arrangement for children because each was in a special place - oldest girl - middle only boy - youngest girl. I wished for that arrangement of children and I got it - only in the boy, girl, boy version.
5. I was taught not to talk back to anyone and, consequently, openly and verbally disagreeing with someone is something I have great trouble doing.
6. That whole free bird thing? That's the reason I like cats instead of dogs. I don't want to control animals and dogs won't listen to me anyway.
7. Almost every work day for lunch I eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Mostly because they travel well.
8. I've kept a daily calendar journal since 1996 and hope they will be useful when I go down in history. (Is "going down in history" a euphemism for dying? If so, eek! Not to worry. I'm not dying until I'm at least 97.)
As for that tagging part, I don't know too many people who read this blog who also have their own blogs, so I'm going to tag
Rianna - who can answer in the comments section.
I'm also tagging
Kevin at Copyrightings
and
Erich at Dangerous Intersection
although I can't be sure that they check in here. The two people I would tag, Kim and Joanne, have already been tagged, so it'd be kind of silly for me to tag them again.
I'm dreadful at tagging because I read a bunch of giganto blogs that don't take comments. Sheesh! I do enjoy the memes, though.
Labels: acupuncture, birds, blog, cats, copyrightings, dangerous intersection, family, journal, knit whimsies, meme, music, poppy seed heart, tagging
Saturday, April 07, 2007
More on Favorite Books
My post on favorite books, based on an MPR program, had two takers. Kim at Knit Whimsies and Joanne at Poppy Seed Heart both posted about their favorite literature. Kim did it with a twist, choosing to highlight her favorite authors. Joanne gave a nice summary of why each book was her favorite. This is a difficult little exercise. While my list is pretty firm - only two are ones that I could switch out for something else (My Lord Bag of Rice and Fahrenheit 451), the rest are definite - I have many other favorite writers. (Just figure that I pretty much enjoy all the other works of the writers on the first list.) I decided that my other favorite writers should get their due as well, so here goes:
Michael Crichton - The guy really knows how to tell a story, always with a scientific bent, which I really like.
Edgar Allan Poe - The original master of horror. My absolute favorite of his is the poem "The Raven." Nothing beats reading this aloud.
J.K. Rowling - Imaginative, able to write about a gazillion characters and somehow readers manage to keep them all straight. I've only read books 1-4, so I have some catching up to do.
Amulya Malladi - I have loved both of the books I've read of hers - "The Mango Season" and "Serving Crazy with Curry." I think perhaps I've been reincarnated from India. I have always had an affinity for the country. Maybe it's just because I read and loved Frances Hodgson Burnett's books as a kid ("The Secret Garden" and "A Little Princess").
Stephen King - For as prolific as this guy is, I've only read two of his books - "On Writing" and "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon." Both are fabulous. I shy away from his horror because I'm not a horror fan, except for Poe, of course.
Margaret Atwood - She's an excellent writer, and she's here for that reason. The endings of her stories are dark and leave me very unsettled, which is why they didn't make my very best list.
Kate DiCamillo - "Because of Winn Dixie" and "The Tale of Despereaux" are simply wonderful children's stories. They hooked me.
Growing up, I was a huge mystery reader. Agatha Christie, the Nancy Drew series, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Alfred Hitchcock's compilations of short stories were the thing. I'm a big fan of Dr. Seuss, but more so as an adult than I was as a kid. My all-time favorite children's book was a Little Golden Book called "The Saggy Baggy Elephant." One-two-three, kick! One-two-three, kick! He danced through the forest, and then someone made fun of him and he hid in a cave. Eventually, he is told by other elephants that he is beautiful and he is happy again.
This list and my previous one barely scratch the surface of all the reading I've done in my life. There's nothing in here that's nonfiction, for one. My other problem is that I've read many marvelous books over the years, but they don't stick with me. In order to keep track (which helped me with today's post), I've been recording the books I read in a small notebook since 2003. It's annotated, which jogs my memory. It also shows me that I've spent a lot of time reading. Yeah!
Michael Crichton - The guy really knows how to tell a story, always with a scientific bent, which I really like.
Edgar Allan Poe - The original master of horror. My absolute favorite of his is the poem "The Raven." Nothing beats reading this aloud.
J.K. Rowling - Imaginative, able to write about a gazillion characters and somehow readers manage to keep them all straight. I've only read books 1-4, so I have some catching up to do.
Amulya Malladi - I have loved both of the books I've read of hers - "The Mango Season" and "Serving Crazy with Curry." I think perhaps I've been reincarnated from India. I have always had an affinity for the country. Maybe it's just because I read and loved Frances Hodgson Burnett's books as a kid ("The Secret Garden" and "A Little Princess").
Stephen King - For as prolific as this guy is, I've only read two of his books - "On Writing" and "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon." Both are fabulous. I shy away from his horror because I'm not a horror fan, except for Poe, of course.
Margaret Atwood - She's an excellent writer, and she's here for that reason. The endings of her stories are dark and leave me very unsettled, which is why they didn't make my very best list.
Kate DiCamillo - "Because of Winn Dixie" and "The Tale of Despereaux" are simply wonderful children's stories. They hooked me.
Growing up, I was a huge mystery reader. Agatha Christie, the Nancy Drew series, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Alfred Hitchcock's compilations of short stories were the thing. I'm a big fan of Dr. Seuss, but more so as an adult than I was as a kid. My all-time favorite children's book was a Little Golden Book called "The Saggy Baggy Elephant." One-two-three, kick! One-two-three, kick! He danced through the forest, and then someone made fun of him and he hid in a cave. Eventually, he is told by other elephants that he is beautiful and he is happy again.
This list and my previous one barely scratch the surface of all the reading I've done in my life. There's nothing in here that's nonfiction, for one. My other problem is that I've read many marvelous books over the years, but they don't stick with me. In order to keep track (which helped me with today's post), I've been recording the books I read in a small notebook since 2003. It's annotated, which jogs my memory. It also shows me that I've spent a lot of time reading. Yeah!
Labels: authors, blog, books, children, fiction, knit whimsies, memory, mpr, nonfiction, poppy seed heart, reading, writers
Monday, March 19, 2007
Visual DNA
Kim, over at the Knit Whimsies blog, posted this cute, quirky website called Visual DNA - or, rather, she posted her results from it. I decided to give it a try. Here are my results:
Labels: kim, knit whimsies, visual dna
