Updates and Stuff

I have stopped reading the Daily Bible online. Not intentionally. Stuff just happens. One day you're too tired so you skip and promise to catch up, then some time goes by while you're in denial, then finally you admit that you've given up. It seems too hard to catch up since the reading is divided by calendar days, so I'd have to figure out the last day I read and then go back and try to catch up. It would be easier if, instead of starting on January 1st, it just started at "Day One" and continued from there. Maybe I'll contact the folks and suggest that they add that method to the daily reading.

I'm still taking the Verma-Plus and will start taking the Para-Key soon. I was supposed to take three doses of the Verma-Plus each day, and on an empty stomach. I think I said before that that's harder than it sounds. I usually ended up taking two at the most. Sometimes only one. So it has lasted longer than expected. It's in liquid form, which makes it harder to transport, so I never carried it to work with me. The Para-Key is capsules, so I will be better about taking that.

I completely forgot about the Activia. There are four servings left in my fridge that I will eat, eventually.

I haven't noticed any difference in my, um, intestinal goings on. And I haven't been any less sleepy. That's the reason I started this regimen. I read that chronic fatigue could be caused by intestinal parasites. And the Verma-Plus and Para-Key are supposed to eliminate them. Of course I'll report back once I've started and/or finished the Para-Key.

My "The View" blog isn't going as well as I'd hoped. Before the election I had a LOT to say about the "Hot Topics," especially some of the things Elisabeth said. Now it seems there really isn't that much to say. But I'll keep it up. Eventually Elisabeth someone will say something stupid, or omit something important, or wear something that should have stayed in the back of the closet, and I'll have something to rant about.

Some folks have commented that they don't like the look of my personal website, so I'm going to design a more upbeat, alternative version. When you visit my website, you'll have the choice of the minimalist version or the cheery version! Hey, why not? I love using my computer for that sort of thing. (Which reminds me that I was going to design some signs for work but have forgotten.) I'd love to do something like the home page on Dolly Parton's website, but I don't have that sort of talent or that sort of software! Her intro is very sparkly! I like sparkly!

Happy Birthday William Shatner!

He's 78 years old, and doesn't look a day over 77!

No, seriously, he looks pretty good for 78.

(His birthday was Sunday.)

Movie: Milk

"The story of Harvey Milk, and his struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California's first openly gay elected official."

One could argue that this is a pro-gay film. I don't know if it is or not. I know it's a well-written and well-acted insight into a bit of history that I'd heard about but never really knew details about. It's the case that made the "Twinkie Defense" famous.

It's very relevant today, considering what's going on in California concerning gay rights.

And Sean Penn deserved that Oscar!

Movie: The US vs. John Lennon

I had an epiphany while watching this movie. I really like documentaries!! Doesn't seem like much of an epiphany, does it? But I've realize that documentaries entertain and teach at the same time. That's a good thing, no? It's never too late to learn. If you'd asked me some time ago, I probably would have said that I don't particularly like documentaries. I'd have been wrong!

I'd always heard that there was this thing between the government and John Lennon. I never realized how far it went or how serious it was.

I strongly recommend this movie for anyone interested in the life of John Lennon, or the paranoia of our government.

Mom's Song

I just realized that I've been calling it "Dad's Song" all this time. Now that I've heard it, I think I should have been calling it "Mom's Song." After all, dad wrote it for mom.

The song has been running through my head ever since I first heard it.

Dad's Song!!!!!!

It's here!! Ken finally sent the records (and I love him for that). There were two. I expected one. But there was an Annette Warren version and a version sung by a male singer. I like them both. I'm attaching the Annette Warren version for your listening pleasure. The title is "Did I Ever Tell You."

Here's the photo that came with the records:

Male Enhancement

It's good to know that men can be as self-centered and as gullible as women. You all know those male enhancement products don't work. Right?

I have often wondered about one of those commercials. It's the one where the woman buys the stuff for her boyfriend or husband. How do you do that? How do you present your partner with male enhancement stuff without causing him to suffer from immediate erectile dysfunction?

"You want me to what?!!" he asks. Leading to all sorts of questions about his attributes and her responses, et cetera, et cetera.

Might be a good way to break up with a guy, if you want to. Might be a good thing to send to your ex-husband! Especially if he left you for another woman!

Friday the 13th, and stuff

I'm amazed that I haven't heard anyone remark that today is "Friday the 13th." I didn't hear anyone mention it last month, either. I'm pleased. It's a silly superstition.

It has been very cold and very wet in central Texas. Wet is good. We need it. Cold is not. These people (the indigenous people and/or natives) are not used to cold. Me? I'm overweight and menopausal. I like the cold. I don't like the wet because it turns my backyard into a pond, and then mud. Lots and lots of mud. Mud is not a friend to a dog owner. One day I'm going to haul in lots of dirt and raise my backyard so all the water goes into the neighbors' yards. (Heh, heh.)

Met the new District Manager at work today. I'd heard he was a hard ass, but he seems like a nice, reasonable guy. When he left he said he had a good feeling about our store.

Men never know how to shake a woman's hand. Used to be we women didn't give firm handshakes. Now we do. I'm usually not sure, either, how to shake a man's hand. I had time to think about it today and, when the DM introduced himself, my handshake was "firmer" than his! I guess we both probably surprised each other with that!

Men: If you're meeting a business woman, give a firm handshake. Don't try to break bones. If you're meeting a queen (male or female), not quite so firm! If you need more instruction than that, contact me directly for advice!

Women: Learn to shake hands firmly, like a man. Really. Even when shaking the hand of another woman. But don't try to break bones.

I ate a whole bag of Hostess "Donettes" Powdered Mini Donuts today. The damned things are very good, and very addictive. I especially love how the powdered sugar coating feels cool on your tongue. I just read on the web that you don't gain any weight from them. And you can believe everything you read on the web.

I heard about a great website today: Wish Upon a Hero. You can go there and grant wishes. If you need to, you can also make a wish. Go there and see what you can do. Some of the wishes are very simple, like asking to send a card.

Get to sleep late tomorrow. Don't have to be at work until 4:00 p.m. And I'll probably be late!!

Can't Sleep

Woke up at 5:00 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep. I was lying there enjoying my Punkin beard. I was lying on my back. Punkin was lying on my chest with his body wrapped around my chin. I feel very special when he does that. I feel that he and I have a special bond. He's not always that loving. Touch him the wrong way and he'll hiss, spit, and even bite (but not hard). When he wraps his body around my head I know how much he loves me.

When I lie on my side, he wraps his body around my head. When I'm on my back, he lies on my chest with his body around my chin.

Here's how he likes to sleep:

Rain, Cold, More Rain

I like the cold. I prefer it to the hot summer months. We need the rain. It has been raining most of the day and is supposed to continue through tomorrow. I know a lot of farmers and ranchers who are very happy tonight!

My letter to the editor wasn't in today's paper. There were two others. Maybe Saturday. (Our little paper only comes out twice a week.) I hope they print it. People are so dumb about hummingbirds. I talked to someone today who told me her husband absolutely insists that their home-made nectar has red food coloring because "that's the way we used to do it." Well, we used to use lead-based paint and asbestos, among other things. I told her to tell her husband that I'm pissed off about his red food coloring. I should mention that these folks are friends of mine!

I'm still doing my intestinal parasite thing. I'm about half-way through the Verma-Plus and have ordered the Para-Key. I also still have pumpkin seeds and I'm still drinking cranberry juice. I figure it can't hurt.

I'm also still eating the Activia yogurt. I skipped a couple of days, though. Just forgot about it. Not going to start over from day one! Just going to finish what I have.

This all hasn't had any effect on my chronic fatigue, which is why I started it. But when I'm done, my intestinal tract should be working excellently!!

That's all for now. I'm pretty sleepy. I've been laying off the caffeine somewhat, drinking much less than normal, and none at all later in the day. Consequently, I'm sleepier when I get in front of the computer at night.

Did I mention I've been working 10-hour days for several weeks now?

New Blog

I've started a new blog. I'm going to write down the things I think about while watching "The View." I Tivo and watch every day, so I thought it might be interesting to start a View blog. We'll see how it goes. Click on the title of this post to find the new View blog.

Movie: Spartan (2004)

Because I subscribe to Netflix, I will order movies that I'm not real sure about. Some of them I've never even heard of. But something, somewhere, will cause me to put the movie on my list. Most of the time I'm happy with the movie. Sometimes, not so much. Spartan is one of the latter.

The plot idea wasn't bad. But the acting was. Val Kilmer starred, and just wasn't very good. Throughout the movie I wondered if I should blame him or the director.

I'm not a movie reviewer for a reason. I'm not very good at explaining why I did or didn't like something. But I do know that Val Kilmer can do better.

Put this movie on your "watch it when there's nothing else to watch" list.

Bye Twitter

Since twitter is supposed to be for short, real-time updates, there's really no point in using it if you can't connect your mobile device, whatever that device might be. I'm not at my computer 24/7, and that's currently the only way I can tweet. So what's the point?!

The info on their website assures me that I can use my cell phone (Virgin Mobile) with twitter, but it's not working. Looking at the posts, it seems that a lot of people are having this problem. I don't see the twitter people addressing it anywhere. So bye, bye twitter.

I'll try again some day.

Daylight Savings Time

When I got up today I'd forgotten about DST, so all my clocks were wrong. It's later than it feels! I still haven't changed my clocks, but will soon. I'm off work for two more days, so time isn't an issue until Wednesday!

Twitter

Okay, I signed up on Twitter. I think it's a semi-dumb idea, but there are a lot of folks there, including some "celebrities." The problem is, I can't get it to sync up with my cell phone, and there's really no reason to tweet if you can't do some real-time tweeting. According to the site, my cell phone should work, but it doesn't. I've tried three or four times to get it set up. If I can't get my cell set up, I'll probably give up the whole idea. (Barbara Walters was talking about twitter on The View, and I figured I should be at least as cool as she is. For goodness sake.)

Follow me.

God is incredibly nice to me

He knows that I enjoy and appreciate simple things. He knows that they entertain me. So He provides simple things for me. Yesterday evening I was out on the front porch for just a few minutes. I'd hung some potted flowers the day before. Suddenly here comes a small hummingbird moth (a sphinx moth) eating the nectar from those flowers. It stayed for several minutes, and allowed me to get very close to watch it. What a treat! Thank You, God, for that experience. Here's a great video of a hummingbird moth in action.

Letter to the Editor

I sent a letter to the editor of our local paper in an attempt to educate people about hummingbirds. Many people incorrectly believe that they need "nectar" with red dye. Just the opposite is true. Some experts believe that red dye could actually harm hummingbirds. Just because something is safe for humans doesn't make it safe for animals. Take Tylenol, for example. It's okay for humans, but will kill a dog or cat.

The most widely accepted formula for creating a nectar that most resembles what the hummers find in flowers is this one: one part pure cane sugar to four parts water. You don't need to boil the water. You can heat it to make the sugar dissolve faster if you like. It will keep in your refrigerator for up to two weeks. Change the nectar in your feeder when it starts to look cloudy.

If you buy commercial nectar mix, you're wasting your money. Honestly!

Buy a clear feeder so you can keep an eye on the nectar, and make sure it has some red on it somewhere. A hummingbird can see a small amount of red from quite a distance. Clean the feeder at least once a month with bleach and water. Don't use soap or anything else that can leave residue on the feeder. Especially don't put the feeder in the dishwasher. Just a small amount of bleach mixed with water, rinse thoroughly, and refill.

Most bottle type feeders will drip. Bee guards just give the bees something to hang onto! Buy a bowl-type feeder if you can get one. I use the Best-1 feeder that I buy at the local grocery store. As long as the hummers are using it, it has never dripped, and bees and wasps can get to the nectar.

That's just the basics. Please go to this website to find out more about how to attract and feed hummingbirds and how to keep them healthy!!

BTW, I just sent the letter yesterday, so I don't expect to see it published until Wednesday, if it gets published.

Bad Booze

Don't ever buy TGI Friday's Piña Colada. It's pre-mixed, including rum, in a bottle. It's horrible. It's very, very, very, VERY, VERY sweet. Blah! I took a sip and poured the whole lot down the drain. Horrible.

To clear things up, this is not what I drank at mom's house. What I meant in my earlier post was that I'd had some sort of piña colada at mom's house and hoped to have that same taste experience. TGI Friday's Piña Coloda was NOT it! I think mom used that frozen Bacardi piña colada mix.

Forgetting

I bet a lot of us do it. We'll be away from our blog and think about something that we want to blog about, then when we're here, we've forgotten whatever it was. Or maybe it's just us old people. Or maybe it's just me.

I don't drink much alcohol. I just don't have a reason to drink. I live alone and don't go out much. I never go "out drinking." I do sometimes enjoy a cold beer (Coors Light) on a hot day. If alcohol were more convenient for me to buy, I'd probably drink more wine. I live in a "dry city" where alcohol isn't sold, except in clubs where you have to purchase a "membership." There are, I think, two liquor stores in the city, but they were grandfathered in. They were originally in a different city that my city annexed, and have, therefore, been allowed to stay.

About a week ago I decided to stop in at one of those liquor stores. I bought some fresh Coors Light. (The stuff in my fridge was two years old and had expired!) I also bought a bottle of TGIFriday's Piña Colada, because I'd tasted one at mom's house last July and it was pretty good. I bought a bottle of wine, because I think wine is a good thing for a couple of reasons. And I bought a bottle of DeKuyper Peachtree Schnapps. I like to pour a little over an ice cube and sip it.

All that booze. So far all I've consumed was two glasses of the wine - on two different nights.

But I'm looking forward to the rest!!! I have the next three days off, and I'll probably be sampling the Piña Colada during this time. I'll keep you posted!!

Unless I forget.

Remember that record?

I wrote some time back about my dad's having written lyrics to a song many, many years ago, and I was trying to find a copy of the song, or at least the lyrics. I was ready to fork out about $300 for the Library of Congress to research the copyright holder when I found out that my older brother actually has a copy of the record.

Well, after much harrassing he has finally found which box it was in and is going to send it to me. At least, that's what mom said. I'm very anxious to hear it.

(Thanks, BroKen!)

A few things

Okay, first, I've been eating the Activia. Today I forgot, but I suspect it's okay to skip one day.

I got the Verma-Plus in the mail and have started using that. I'm supposed to take it twice a day on an empty stomach (which is harder than one might think) and again before bed. I don't know how long it will last, but before it's gone I will order the Para-Key so I'll have it when the V-P is used up.

The V-P is a liquid that probably tastes awful, but I add the 1/4 teaspoon dose to about a half cup of water and drink it quickly. It doesn't taste bad that way.

I quit drinking the cranberry juice and eating the pumpkin seeds, although I still have some left and will finish them off. I've come to like my little 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds treat.

Incidently, for a very refreshing drink, mix equal parts of (diet) 7-Up and cranberry juice and serve on the rocks!

By reading the label carefully, I have come to realize that "100% juice" doesn't mean 100% cranberry juice. I've always been careful to buy the 100% juice thinking I was only getting the juice that was listed on the front of the bottle - cranberry, or cranberry raspberry, or cranberry grape, etc. Not so.

Other Stuff

I got a new toy. I have all these fun things that I can do with my iMac, but was limited because the iMac doesn't have a DVD burner. Well, mine doesn't. I guess the more expensive ones do. A couple of days ago I got a DVD burner with Lightscribe. Now I have to do creative things so I have a reason to burn DVDs.

One thing that I have decided to do - which doesn't require a DVD burner, but that I think might be fun and interesting - is to record my life story. I will sit at my computer and video myself talking about my life so far, starting from the beginning. And I'm not going to pull any punches. I don't even care whether anyone will ever be interested. I'm just going to do it. And then I'll burn it onto a DVD (or two) with a cool Lightscribe label!! I'll put it somewhere obvious so it will be found whenever I finally kick the bucket. (Hopefully that won't be any time in the near future.)

Teeth

I have finally made an appointment to see a dentist. When I was in the Army I used to see the dentist regularly. I never had any problem with dental visits. I went to my semi-annual exams willingly, and would make an appointment whenever I had the first signs of a toothache.

I retired 15 years ago. I haven't been to a dentist since, except to have my last wisdom tooth pulled several years ago. My mouth is an embarrassing mess. One tooth has broken down to the root. Two others are on their way to doing the same. Still others have started chipping and breaking.

I have been paying for dental insurance since I retired, but have never taken advantage of it. I can't say why not. I just haven't.

Oh wait. Maybe I do know. When I left the Army I was part way through gum surgery. They had fixed half of my mouth, but half still needed surgery. I HATE gum surgery. I'd rather have double root canals on all my teeth than to have gum surgery. And I know when I go back to the dentist that gum surgery crap will come up. Yeah. So that's it. It's the surgery. But I'll go to this appointment because I don't want to look like a poor southern woman - in other words, toothless!

The wrap-up

Okay, that's all for now. I'm very sleepy. I've tried to cut down my caffeine intake, hoping that, too, will further my pursuit of good (intestinal) health!! And of course I'm getting sleepier, earlier.

G'nite.

Not an Update

Or a non-update.

Just checking in to say nothing important.

One of the cats chewed through the phone wire that goes to my modem. I had three days off and didn't feel like going out for a new phone cord, so I was offline for those three days. My workdays are ten hours long, so I don't often want to spend a lot of time blogging when I get home. I usually have other things to do. Consequently, I haven't kept the blog current with my intestinal parasite "experiments."

I'm still eating stuff and drinking stuff, and I'll catch you up with that eventually, but not tonight. I'm going to wrap this little note up and then go to bed. It's nearly midnight.