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Greetings
Quotaholics,
Is it as hard for everyone else as it is for me to refocus on getting
back to real life after the holidays? Maybe it’s because I’ve had one
of the best holiday seasons ever in nearly five years and I really don’t
want it to end. I got to spend a lot of quality time with family and
friends. We didn’t do anything special, just played a couple of board
games, enjoy a good conversation or two and had some good snacks, watched
a football game or two (and finally some basketball!) AND… my new
dog Nigel was given the official okie dokie to live in my complex. He
is a Choclate Pocket Pibble.
I’m hesitating on taking down all the Christmas trees. No big tree but
several little fake trees this year all decorated in their own special
way. I think I’m just going to stick to small trees now unless I have
smalll children in the house for the holiday. Getting a tree into the
house and all decorated with the H & O guage train set circling under
the pine boughs is not an easy task. Especially with a 1 yr. old Pibble.
Much easier to sit at the table decorating three or four small fake
trees and arranging the other small decorations. I did put Christmas
lights on my cactuses…cacti?…this year. Way cool if I do say so
meself. I have a couple other friends who decided to do without the
big Christmas tree…or in one case “The Hanukah Bush”…and go with
a more spiritual approach to the occasion. I have a lifelong friend
who is an athesit who decorates in the traditional motif because its
a family custom that way. Her logic is that it was a pagan celebration
long before Chrisitanity…pssst…don’t even get her started on Easter!
But I broke down and have a fake fireplace. Well, it’s a dvd of a real
fireplace. Its a good fire to stare at, allegedly shot in a log cabin
in the Sierra Nevada mountians. I bought it years ago on a whim. I put
it on to watch yesterday so I could have something in the background
to crochet by. I have been without broadcast or cable tv for over a
year. I thought it would play for two or three hours then I would have
to find something else to play. Imagine my surprise when I realized
I had lost track of time and it had been playing for about five hours.
I had crocheted for a bit then gone on to do something else and lost
track. So just for fun I decided to let it go and just see how long
it would run.
Nine and a half hours later I finally decided I had just about enough
of that and stopped the video. It was really a case of self defense.
That fake fire had mesmerized me and I sat there staring at it for the
longest time saying to myself,…I need to get up off this couch and
do something. Between the sedative properties that imbue my overstuffed
sofa and the hypnotic skills of the ‘fire-movie’ I was feeling a distinct
inability to motivate off of my glutes. I’m wondering, is this a usual
post holiday letdown or am I just suffering from an advanced case of
senioritis?
So how are you all feeling now after the holidays? Are you suffering
from post holiday letdown? Or is it still the holidays for you? Do you
even celebrate around this time of year for anything? Kwanzaa? Atheists,
how do you feel about all this holiday nonsense? If you are Muslim,
how do you handle all our holiday cheer? What do you tell your children?
Or, if you celebrate the holiday at all, do you go traditional for the
tree? If you go artifical do you go for an evergreen or get an aluminum
one? Flocked anyone? Do you decorate and how much? What to put on your
lawn, a Charlie Brown Christmas, a Nativity Scene, or a neutral snowman
and tree theme? How about on the top of the tree…angel or star?
What about taking down the decorations…any particular tradition there?
I heard one person tell of a superstition to take the decorations all
down and get the tree out of the house before the New Years bells at
the end of the countdown begin to chime or you will bring all the bad
luck from the old year, into the new.
It was my mothers custom to take them down on New Years Eve morning,
at least most of the biggest ones. No reason given just her habit.
I’d like to get my house back to normal (echoes of Mom), and get all
the decoration boxes back into the storage shed but I don’t want the
holidays to end. New Years Eve is coming up quickly…too quickly.
Happy New Year dear readers,
Back to reality but kicking and screaming all the way,
GrammieSammie
~I don’t know, maybe it was the roses.~
Grateful Dead
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| Today’s
Quotes |
It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass
window. - Raymond Chandler
If only we’d stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time.
- Edith Wharton
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| Today’s
Chuckle |
Memories!
[Thanks Bonnie]
Curious when I found
two black-and-white negatives in a drawer, I had them made into prints.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were of a younger, slimmer
me, taken on one of my first dates with my husband.
When I showed him the photos, his face lit up. “Wow, look at that!”
he said. “It’s my old Plymouth!”
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| Life
Sentences |
There are myriad opportunities to be amazed, to be thrilled, to be engaged
in the world - savoring all the goodness found therein.
Service providers, we service consumers really do appreciate a warm
smile and a helpful attitude. Keep up the good work.
“Art?” LL [Luminescent Light] whispered. “What is the price of art?”
- all from Patricia Hysell, American author, born on this day in 1952
(Yes RGQers, it’s my birthday. The first two quotes are from my
blog and the last is from a published short story. I thought they might
count.)
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| Image’n
That! |
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It
Feels Like It!
[Thanks Tesser]
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| My
Most Embarrassing Moment
My Scariest Moment |
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Speak right up!
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| Cliff’s
Notes
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Solitude
Some people are only comfortable in highly populated areas. Look
at the large cities of the world. There are literally masses of
people bumping into each other as they try to traverse from where they
are to where they wish to be. They cram into "in spots"
to see and be seen. Sporting arenas often hold more people within
their walls than inhabit many small towns and villages.
A gravity seems to be created as small towns succeed and attract more
people to the jobs and opportunities. More of each attracts more
of the other, and, before you know it, the crossroads watering hole
has become a metropolis.
Although the cities draw a lot of people and actually contain the bulk
of the country’s inhabitants, they take up a disproportionate amount
of land. Most of any country in the world is farm land, or what
can be loosely defined as cultivated lands. Only the most inhospitable
areas of the world are mostly devoid of human inhabitants, and even
they are home to some. But those rural areas feel the attractive
gravity of the cities as young people leave the farms and head to the
bright lights and promises.
Not everyone is comfortable in crowds. Many "city folk"
pull up stakes and head to the small towns where everyone knows your
name, and a few know all your business. It used to be difficult
to become an "ian" when you moved to a small town. You
can move to Miami and become a Miamian immediately. Not so with
Terrysburg. To be a Terryburgian, you had to be born and raised
there. People moving into a small town found themselves living
in someone else’s house. When introduced, they comment that you
are the ones now living in the Smith house. After many years,
you are still introduced to visiting family members as the people who
moved into the Smith house. It isn’t that difficult these days.
You may not become instant BFF’s, but the influx of strangers has eased
the nerves of small town denizens.
There is still that small percentage of people who simply want to be
left alone. Finding an isolated niche in what’s left of the planet’s
frontiers, they set up a homestead in whatever works best for the climate,
and live happily with minimal human contact. Interacting only
when supplies are needed, or to assist their "next door neighbor"
that lives farther away than they can see. They are happy to know
any tracks in the snow/sand are there because they put them there.
Personally, I am somewhere in between. I abhor being alone.
I detest being in crowds. Give me a place in suburbia, or even
a small town within a reasonable distance of a decent business market
and I am as happy as the proverbial clam. Let me be with a few
friends in an outdoor setting and I am in hog heaven. Make my
evening be with someone who needs and wants to be with me and there
will be a fireworks show in my mind.
Here’s your quiz:
Are you more of a mall person, or is Jones’ General Store more your
speed?
Do you prefer to watch your favorite home team on television, or is
the roar of the stadium more to your liking?
Is your dream home a penthouse, or a farmhouse?
Solitude - A Singular Word With A Plural Sounding Ending
Cliff (the High-Tech Redneck who doesn’t rate a fancy ’signature pic’)
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| BJ’s
Ponderings |
Challenges, A Roadblock Or a Building Block
When in the Air Force I received a head injury that caused me to have
seizures. It kept me from making the Air Force a career. I served
my one hitch, four years but was discharged with a normal discharge
with an ‘*’ on my discharge papers meaning with medical circumstances.
I found out that ‘*’ kept me from obtaining jobs..factory jobs, driving
jobs, construction jobs. I became depressed. So I searched inward
and decided to not look at what I could not do, but what I could do.
I have been in the ISD business since 1971, I got discharged from
the military in 1966. I also have done consulting work and even preached
at four churches. I am a certified lay counselor (Stephen Minister).
I feel that I came to the fork in the road and my disability offered
opportunities not limitations. I also have written stories that have
been in several books…so I can say from experience our limitations
are in our mind.
Oh yes, I have 27 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren and a loving
spouse.
BJ Cassady
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Kirsten’s
Krazy Kaleidoscope |
Email Kirsten
“New Year’s Day:
Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions.
Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”
~ Mark Twain ~
My husband does not believe in New Years resolutions. He says that if
people want to make changes in their lives, they shouldn’t wait until
January 1st to do it. I agree with him on that point. Very few of the
positive decisions I’ve made over the course of my life have corresponded
with the beginning of the calendar year. I took up running (for the
first time) in March 1996. I quit smoking in June of the same year.
I moved to Canada in August 2000. I took up running (for the second
time) in April 2009. The point being that if something has needed to
be done, I’ve done it, regardless of the month.
At the same time, though, the New Year is a convenient time for me to
re-evaluate my goals, or if I’ve been procrastinating about something,
to finally get down and do it. I don’t believe New Years resolutions
are a time for big life decisions. (This year I’m going to lose 147
pounds! This year I’m going to climb Mount Everest! This year I’m going
to leave my husband to join a cult of rabbit-worshippers in Nova Scotia!)
No, this is a time to look at projects you already have underway, to
set smaller goals that may ultimately be in pursuit of something bigger.
(This year I’m going to see a doctor and get started on a healthy weight-loss
program! This year I’m going to join that hiking group I’ve always wanted
to join, and maybe we’ll go mountain-climbing someday! This year I’m
going to get a pet rabbit!)
For myself, there are some areas of my life that I want to improve on.
I have set myself a goal to beat 2:10:00 in my 2012 Run for Autism.
To that end, I have recruited a running friend to coach me, and I will
be starting a new running program in January (the timing was purely
coincidental). I want to be better organized, so I am going to start
making better use of calendars at home. I want to have more time in
the evenings, and I am looking at ways to do that.
I don’t have lofty New Years resolutions, because I don’t want to set
myself up for failure. I want to set goals that are achievable, so that
I can feel good about myself when I check them off on my list.
Do you believe in New Years resolutions? Do you have any going into
2012?
Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten
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| Lucille’s
Lunacy |
This year, I got my mom an earthing pad for Christmas. The way it is
supposed to work is that it eliminates the excess free radicals that
are associated with diseases such as congestive heart, kidney disease
and arthritis. She is following the instructions that came with the
pad, but it is too early to say what benefits it may be giving her.
Mom has never been easy to shop for. When we kids would ask her what
she wanted while we were growing up, she would say, "Don’t spend
your money on me." Of course, we did, and Mom always acted grateful
for whatever we gave her. When I got older, and could afford more then
a box of "Good’n Plenty" or "bit’o Honey", I would
have Mom pick her own presents, and she would act surprised when she
opened her selections on the big day.
One year, I decided to surprise her with a bath spa. The stores were
wall to wall with people when I went shopping with a friend of mine.
We looked all over the mall for the spa I wanted. We finally found it,
and had to get in a line of 100 people to pay for it. No matter, I was
happy to have a gift I thought Mom would really appreciate.
"Thanks," Mom said when she opened the results of my shopping.
"I might use this."
A few days later, I was in our local K-Mart with a friend of mine. They
were running a blue light special in housewares, and I asked my friend
to take me there. Mom liked a certain kind of trash bag, and I thought
it might be one of the sale items. It was. In fact, it was selling two
for the price of one. I loaded up on them.
I got home, and displayed the results of my excursion on our kitchen
table. The food and paper products for our upcoming New Year’s Day party
met maternal approval. The yarn I bought for an afghan I planned to
crochet was lovely, according to the female parent. However, nothing
I brought was as well recieved as:
"Trash bags!" I’ve been looking all over for them! You thoughtful
child! Oh, Lou, I’m so glad you got those. The kind I’ve been using
just don’t hold enough! –." You get the general idea.
I hope the earthing pad brings the relief its adds say it will. There
were plenty of testimonials from people who swore the system was the
best thing since sliced bread. But, if for any reason, Mom is disappointed,
I know what I’ll do. I’ll have Ma Kettle or Radar take me over to Walmart,
and help me buy her the one gift that is sure to please. I only hope
they have a 2 for one price sale when I get there.
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| Poet-Tree |
The New Year is soon here. Let 2012 be the best year yet!
…
and may you all think up good limericks!
The new year rang in with a roar…
Hints:
Here’s a great new rhyming/composition tool. http://www.writerhymes.com/
There’s also a great rhyming dictionary at http://www.rhymezone.com/
Limerick rules. http://freespace.virgin.net/merrick.sheldon/limerickrules.htm
Submit
Opening Line
Submit
Limerick
My
eggnog was made out of beer
I know, and ingredient that’s queer
It was so sad
‘Cause it tasted real bad
No one could drink it I fear.
- Bonnie >^..^< |
My
eggnog was made out of Coke.
Did they think this was a big joke!
It sure made a fizz
when shook by mad Liz.
I think I’ll go have me a toke.
- LDO from OH |
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Reader Comments |
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Re: Records
Around
the time I was born, Roger Bannister ran the first four-minute mile,
while maintaining a casual attitude to training. I saw the first official
run breaking 55 MPH on a streamlined tandem recumbent trike, and now
the record for a single rider bicycle is over 80. When I first started
following car racing, a hot lap at Indy was 120, and drag races all
took over ten seconds. I’m still not used to seeing a load of hay
pull onto the highway at close range and not having to brake. A lot
of that actually comes from metallurgy, and other knowledge of the
microscopic realities. Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier soon after
I was born, and, about fifty years later, some nerd finally spotted
a small error in that calculation, in the pre-electronic era. Earth
orbits and moon travel are certainly significant milestones, but information
availability and exchange is probably the most significant change
in my life. I hope we will now achieve true democracy. - Bob of the
North
Hank AAron broke Babe Ruth’s
home run record, - dEE
Re:
Wino
I"d
be more wary of a teacher who volunteered at a Bible Camp than one
who had an occasional drink. I don’t have occasion to drink alcohol
most years, but I’m wary of those who avoid it on principle. There
are probably some rather good teachers who happen to need a few ounces
a day to help them cope with the kids. -@Kirsten - Without Facebonk,
you’d have had Time to remember the date. - Bob of the North
The school HAD to have been
a religious school that doesn’t believe in drinking alcoholic beverages
of any kind. But how in the world would the school know that she drank
a glass of wine if the bottle wasn’t in the picture? Even so, unless
she was questioned, they were jumping to conclusions as anything could
be served in a wine glass - water, soda, apple juice, etc.
If this is a public school that we’re talking about, did she sign
a contract saying she wouldn’t imbibe? Still, if she wasn’t breaking
any laws, I wouldn’t think it was the school’s business what she did
on her own free time. - Noella
Re:
Advice
Most
people are honest and helpful, but they don’t bother trying to give
that impression. Watch out for those who easily give that impression,
but are not.
In a relationship, talk about the little stuff as it comes up. It
gives you something to say, and gets things resolved before a misunderstanding
escalates. Hoping you can ignore all the little stuff is like sweeping
all the dust under the carpet.
Everyone is smart about something, and everyone is wrong about something.
A few are smart about many things, and some are usually wrong. Reasonable
people are neither rigid nor capricious; they change their minds as
new information comes in, and explain their corrections. There are
also a lot of people who can’t tell logic from rhetoric, but pretend
that they do. Don’t include them when calculating the benefit of the
doubt.
Every day, remember your connection to people more than a thousand
miles distant, and those and a hundred years away.
You are headed for turbulent times, and your own true welfare is more
dependent on saving your own morals than your own life. Stick with
the Golden Rule, do your best work, and try to do the most good for
the greatest number of people. - Bob of the North - 53 deg N @ 63
y old.
One bit of advice I would
add is : MEET PEOPLE EYE TO EYE . When you meet someone new, look
them in the eye and ignore everything else. That way, you will get
past skin color, deformities, sex, ideologies or any other item about
them that far too many people use to categorize folks. Then you can
move forward and discover each person’s unique qualities. Some will
become good friends. Others will always think well of you as they
pass by your life. - Nancy L in Ohio
My mom’s sage advice
was never to pass up an opportunity to pee. - Lola
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Disclaimer- All quotes printed in this publication are believed to be
accurately attributed, but no guarantees are made that some incorrectly
attributed, or even outright false quotes won’t get in here from time
to time. I assure readers that I will do my best to weed out incorrect
quotes, and will print a retraction as soon as I become aware of any errors.
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