Sickness

ok, so mm had to get up out of church because she was suddenly sick to her stomach and......well.....i needn't bore you with the gruesome details.................but a person has to be pretty miserable to get up out of church.......must have been something i ate............

Smoke

ok, so mm and ecw went to a party last night....3 doors down, at the shack in the bend in the circle......22 years we have lived here, and this was the first time we had ever been inside this particular place.......the new owners plan to tear it down and build again sometime next year........which is just as well now that we have seen it up close........they plan to reposition the house for better views of the creek and sunsets, etc.........one note of circle trivia.......their place is right on the wagon trail going into the creek bottom that we see going up out of the creek across from our house.......(when the lake was not here, wagons had to ford the creek ) .......they had a bonfire at the spot where the old trail meets the new lake.............we used to have bonfires with and without our neighbors when we were still cleaning up our property........it was always a cold weather event.........as the foilage had died down and the snakes were burrowed in for the winter..........anyway, we enjoyed the bonfire last night, except for the smoke........this morning my eyes are almost swollen shut and are red/itchy from the smoke.......my hair smells like smoke........my clothes on the closet floor smell like smoke.................ah well.........the price of a good time

salmonids

ok, so mm had to look up in the s-section of the dictionary for this title.........she has gone beyond her knowledge of s-words and is taking advantage of the websters..........but this is ok, because it might expand my meagre vocabulary.....anyway, salmonids are a family of fishes that include salmon and trout........we are having trout for supper, along with potatoes and creamed spinach and leftover sweet and sour red cabbage...............ooh, ooh..........i was unaware that trout and salmon were related at all....in fact, trout are sometimes called salmon trout...............now you know...........

Song and Dance

ok, so last night the c-w's finally rented chicago, the academyawardwinning musical......we had no idea what to expect, other than catherine zeta-jones performed well enough for a supporting actress oscar, and neither renee nor richard nor queen latifah managed the same feat.....my, but they could sing and dance...........i enjoyed those parts even though i didn't quite get whether they were really happening or imagined on everyone's part as the reality of the murder, incarceration, and trial played out.............regardless, i thought it was nicely done, and was pleased that it won best picture......this year i have hopes that best picture will be the return of the king, as a reward for the triliogy's outstanding everything.......cinematography, costumes, script, storyline, soundtrack, casting ...............peter jackson's vision has been gloriously filmed.........the good news about this group of movies is that we know how it will end.............and this frees jackson to devote his time and talent to putting together a movie that plays that out, rather than figuring out where his movie is going and how it should end.....so many movies end pitifully...............i am so looking forward to watching sam gamgee throw the ring into the flames, and frodo defeating the spider, and the rest of the cast waging the war for middle earth.............so grand an epic deserves ultimate recognition............

Socks

ok, so mm spent a bit of time sorting through her laundry, so far as to match socks........this is a task far down on mm's list of things to do with her spare time, ..........this round did not go well...there were no fewer than 3 remaining socks when the others had been put in the drawer............so where are the mates?..........mm did look about to no avail.......the location of the 3 lost socks may consume the rest of my free time this weekend.........maybe i will find the pair of khaki's that i have not seen in weeks.....i suspect they are in someone else's closet.........

sauvignon blanc

ok, so mm is running out of s-words...........she has also run out of sauvignon blanc and is forced to drink pinot grigio, though a very good bottle i must say.............we have just finished watching legally blonde 2:red, white and blonde............which we enjoyed (we being those over 40 and those under 11)..........the others left after a few moments.........but there is something about an insipiod feel-good movie......these folks had the saaavvvy to include a few clips from mr. smith goes to washington, which means that they realize that jimmy stewart and reese witherspoon have a lot in common......or reese wants to have a lot in common with jimmy .............and that is ok...we do need our buttondown, non-cutting edge people.......in the public eye.....those people who are NOT WEIRD, OR WIRED, OR PHYSICALLY DEFORMED..................i guess that elle woods is the anti-michael...and that is also good.........

Singer Beth Orton

ok, so on the way home one day this week mm heard an interview with beth orton, a british folkie with a sultry voice.......of all the cuts to include on air, the producers chose the one i would most want to hear, her cover of ooh, child........a 60's piece that had been played at the end of a recent episode of alias.........the lyrics and the soulfulness of the song were perfect for the alias storyline.......and the 60's flashback was also welcome....i cannot connect myself to any particularly memory with this song, i only know that i remember it from the radio............anyway, it is recorded on her album called ________ ________Daybreak....i cannot quite remember the name, but daybreak is included in the album title and as a song.........it is in my head today, this song.................

Ooh Child by Five Stairsteps
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Some day, yeah
We'll get it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna be easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get be brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna be easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get be brighter
Some day, yeah
We'll get it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter
Some day, yeah
We'll get it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Right now, right now
(you just wait and see how things are gonna be)

Salute

ok, so mm needs to give kudos to her marvelous spouse who cleaned up after yesterday's dinner, as well as to the single child who helped clear the table..........when i say cleaned up i mean did the dishes and put things away....things like the silverplate that hides deep inside a cabinet, and the crystal waterglasses that also have an out of the way place to be between infreuqent uses..........i did not get out my grandmother's china, mostly because i do not like it and also because it did not 'go' with the tablecloth.....these are granny art deco/floral and mm prefers plain white plates that do not interfere with the food on them.........artistically or spiritually................i still have 12 water goblets presented by my mother when we got married, as well as 12 champagne flutes......and 12 sherbert/ice cream stems.......but only 3 wine goblets remain..............they were used much more often so the chance of breakage of increased dramatically............those who drink wine are much more likely to break the glass than people who drink water...........since our guests stayed only a short while, there was little of anything consumed yesterday..............the 3 wine goblets survived for another day................

Serita

ok, so just before the guests came, serita figueroa, esq. a friend of ecw's mother called...to wish us well on thanksgiving...........now serita is quite a person, a lawyer from chile, who worked for chiquita banana out of cincinnati......she met my mother-in-law at a catholic senior citizen function of some sort, and they traveled some together........ecw's sisters always seemed somewhat jealous, and there was some talk of not inviting her to the wake after my mother-in-law's funeral....in fact, when i told my sister-in-law that serita had called, she laughed and asked 'what for?' i was taken aback by that comment, as i always thought that she was a breath of fresh air on the scene......always trying to get my mother-in-law out of the house and into something interesting...............she once brought my mother-in-law to danville for the band festival, and they stayed with us for a few days..............to the last she was trying to get my mother-in-law to commit to a cruise of some sort..............it was this decisive nature that my spouse's family had a hard time accepting.........they were suspicious of it, which was laughable, as serita had education and income far above that of my mother-in-law.....but she saw in my mother-in-law the desire to see the world and experience more than the television set had to offer.....i was really happy to talk to her today...when she asked about recent trips, i told her about spain, and then about my upcoming trip to paris....she said ' you always liked paris the best'.......you have to love a woman who knows that paris is your favorite place..........i am not sure that my own family quite understands that.............

Satiety

ok, so mm ate far too much dressing, turkey, potatoes, red cabbage, et al...........so much food...............

Sister Lisa

ok, so ecw's sister lisa, and her husband, and her 3 children and her mother-in-law will be here for lunch in approximately 4.5 hours........i have yet to set up the table, or put away strewn magazines and books, but we are far from panic-time as i sit and blog..........they will stay only 3-4 hours, as they are on their way to ecw's brother james place near gatlinburg for the weekend...........brother james is in upstate ny at sister marilynn's house.................you get the picture........to my recollection, my brother has never been to ky for thanksgiving.............in my youth my family went to my grandmother's house in cleveland (of the million dollar houses........)......when i met up with my spouse-to-be i started to go to their thanksgiving in cincinnatti, which was held at either sister elaines or brother james or sister lisa's house......never at my mother-in-law's house...............we will have a bit of traditional fare from my side of the family.....relish tray that includes pickled beets, pickled onions, several kinds of pickled cucumbers and olives as well as our new southern fave- pickled okra.........the legacy of ecw's family to this year's thanksgiving? the sweet and sour red cabbage and the creamed spinach.........i had never tasted either until i became a hyphenated weber............so i am glad that sister lisa is coming, even if for a short while.................thanksgiving is a family event, and i am grateful to have family, both the crowns and the webers...........

Sister Schubert

ok, so this thanksgiving, mm is having sister schubert make the yeast rolls..........she does such a nice job, and mm is not in the mood........having already cooked most of thursday's dinner....i am down to the creamed spinach and the mashed potatoes at this point.........my goal is to lounge around in my jammies thursday morning, drinking coffee, reading the paper, and playing solitaire for awhile rather than cooking........about 11:00 am i will spring into action.....set the table, and warm up everything that i have previously prepared in the microwaves.........not like your grannie (greasy or otherwise) would have done it, but....................

Series Finale-The Next Joe Millionaire

ok, so mm loved watching that cheesy show.......especially the romantic finale last night whereupon david picked linda rather than the evil caterina (cat), and though she initially rejected him because he lied to her about his money, she was waiting for him on his new 90 acre texas 'ranch'......of course, she pocketed $250,000 for accepting, but she does seem pure of heart, and david is so pure of heart as well..........i know, i know....it could be so cheesy, but i did so enjoy every cheesy minute of it,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Snow

ok, so it only snowed for the briefest of moments yesterday, but i saw it, and it is now officially winter...at least in my standard for such..........i do not seem to have a winter 'jacket' that suits me...i may have to start scouting out the one that i would wear in a perfect world........

More S-words

ok, so mm has figured out how to make her descriptives 'stick'..........but at a price......in a template called green pea soup...........this is so silly, to publish in green pea soup..........i rarely make green pea soup because it does not sell........which brings me to what seems to sell.........kentucky burgoo.....which i made over the weekend as a special request.....this a roadkill special.....with lamb, beef and chicken.....i leave out the squirrel................ just because..................i had a food flashback today..........someone asked for a tomato stuffed with chicken salad.......a simple request except i started to tear-up......... i can recall a special day in which my dad took me to work with him, and we went shopping, and he bought me a yellow easter dress (longwaisted, sleeveless, with a flounce........) and took me to lunch in portsmouth, ohio...we had chicken salad stuffed tomatoes..............my dad only bought me one dress in my lifetime...and that was the dress........no need, as my mother sewed, and i sewed.........but that day he bought me a dress.....i could not have been over the age of 10............i really miss my dad..............

S-words

mm has spent an insane amount of time trying to modify the templet to this blog....which has changed dramatically without my knowledge........so the s-words come to mind...those words which we tell our children not to say............

Shortage

ok, so mm is suffering a serious fiction shortage........i even stopped by the library today to troll the book sale remainders, to no avail.........i even snuck down to scw's room to see if there were any books on his numerous shelves that i cared to read......to no avail......acw has the life of samuel pepys, for which i am not in the mood.....i have read all of the book club books......i am almost to the point of rereading jane austin....this is serious................

Survival

ok, so mm has survived the annual church dinner, having cooked and carved 14 turkeys for the event.....next year, gentle readers, help me remember that the throng can be fed with only 12...................

Surprise

ok, so when mm got home from work last night, she was delighted to find her oldest's car in the drive....having one's family together under one roof is fast becoming a rare occurrence.......i will enjoy thanksgiving all the more because we will be together yet again

Success

ok, so mm has finally figured out how to edit user profile (under the topic of how to keep your mamma from reading your blog......) i had the option of making up an alias, or inserting my initials rather than a last name.........just using my first name was not an option, for some reason...........now i will republish all of my archives to remove my last name.......

To Kill A Mockingbird

ok, so last night we watched a video of the classic film, one that has been passed around book club since we discussed the book.........as a 60's film it is interesting that it was shot in black and white, rather than color........and the story is so compelling that i am surprised that no one has remade it as a blockbuster with an all-star cast...........i was in error when i looked up the oscars for the film.....without my glasses i did not see that gregory peck won for best actor in 1962 for this film, which also won for best director and best set decoration..........the little guy who played Dill was a hoot........... the actress who played Scout did ok, but she got on my nerves after a while.........

ok, so mm had a good laugh when she read the newest new yorker....an ad for tiffany's elsa peretti sterling silver 3x handheld magnifying glass.......the price of $175 cannot be discerned by semi-blind people like me without their glasses on...........

ok, so mm is not surprised about michael jackson's latest legal woes............anybody foolish enough to admit that they still sleep with little boys after paying out a financial settlement to a boy's family who cried molestation......is just plain stupid, or believes himself to be above the law......at this point it would be hard for a jury to separate m's crazy behavior from immoral behavior, because he crossed that line years ago.....cnn.com described his fan base as 'dwindling'...........i cannot imagine that he has any fans under the age of 25 or 30, who were young when thriller came out.......and the plastic surgury.........my gracious sakes......what has he done to himself........baby dangling? .............shopping frenzies followed by returns or lawsuit for nonpayment when the cameras are switched off.........sounds like m. has a whole lot of 'splaining' to do........

ok, so mm's back feels so much better these days.....in fact, last night was the best night's sleep i have had in some time..........strange dreams, but a good sleep.............i am worried about my spouse.......who disclosed that he almost choked yesterday at work eating an english muffin with peanut butter without a glass of something to drink...his throat was a bit too dry, and a bite got caught, and he said that he was worried that the end was near...........this is scary stuff..............

ok, so mm has had a marvelous nap this afternoon....rainy days were made for naps...............

ok, so something has happened to our computor........the newer version of blogger is on my screen as we speak..........the version where i can read most of my last post without having to switch screens.........this has been a particularly confounding week, both at work and at home.........most of which isn't worth discussing............i do have a few bones to pick on certain issues......for starters, i was appauled to see a god-awful yellow humvee picking up a student at dhs this week.....a student who lives right across the street from bchs, by the way.....such an embrassment for the poor child......the ultimate in fuel-wasteful suv's in the worst possible color...whatever happened to buying a sporty bmw or mercedes as a way of bragging about disposabe income?............mm did not bother watching any of the heavily promoted interviews this week.......britney, tom cruise, jessica lynch......there is little they have to say that i care to hear about....i am sorry that i missed the special that dealt with the davinci code content......that would have been interesting.....mm is irritated that her sunday evening routine (alias at 9:00) has been pre-empted by yet another awards show.......i did get into watching the ohio state/purdue football game yesterday after work......i was overcome with memories of attending games with my dad in the horseshoe stadium.........osu/big ten footbal is an experience unlike any other..........i really missed him yesterday...luckily osu won despite looking quite amatuerish.....yeah.....college sports are supposed to be amatuerish, but they should not look quite so inept.........

ok, so mm enjoyed a lovely, unexpected evening last night.....for starts....a couple of good friends were sharing a bottle of wine at trc as i was trying to sneak away about 5:45 pm......i joined them with the intention of staying for just a bit....then another couple arrived, and we changed to a bigger table, then it got to be 6:00 when the bike shop closes, so they called my spouse on a cell phone, and he joined us for a beer.....they ate supper while we sat and chatted........and we took home carryout, with the intention of sharing with our beloved live-at-home children.........but who should be at grandma's....but our darling college-age child.........grandma had ordered a pizza...so they brought the pizza back to our house, and we had basil-crusted veal chops, trout almondine, and a large papa john's as dinner choices.........after grandma went home we watched whale rider on dvd.......such a plesant evening...........

ok, so mm enjoyed the onion article about your mamma finding out about your blog.......i would be horrified if my mamma read my blog, and yet i read scw's blog.............such a conundrum........

did mm mention that she is going to paris? yes, for the 1th time......there are some places that deserve another look-see and paris is the ultimate place for a repeat visit........there will be three of us now, all of us wine-drinkers......which is a relief.....a long weekend with someone who was opposed to drinking would be dismal, to say the least............so now to devise the perfect itinterary......for the uniniated..mm lives to devise timeframes.......in that way i am like my dad, who planned out vacations down to the nanosecond......he hated to be late, and he wanted to know where he would be at any givien moment, so.........i was in paris with my dad for a few days in 1972....though not really out on the street with him, as he had broken his leg in switzerland, and he basically joined us for meals.......i recall seeing the louvre with my cousin nancy and my mother and brother, particularly the big iranian stone gates that are in the basement somewhere...as well as eating at a vietnamese restaurant with cellophane noodles.....i only remember my dad in the car, as my mother stopped the rental car somewhere near the arch of triumph....when my mother exclaimed that she was not driving 'another damn foot'.......there was complete silence in the car, as my mother does not swear.........but my dad could not drive, and i could not drive, and so my mother finally found the hotel,and got my dad up 6 flights of steps.................somewhere in france my dad and my cousin nancy debated about who should get the last order of 'brains'....i think my dad go them.....quite ironic for a man who would be senile by age 65........

i am printing out a list of paris restaurants as we speak....ones with views, and i have neglected to cut and paste this list, which is wasting valuable printer's ink, according to those who are concerned about waste..........for that i am sorry..............

ok, so mm has now 2 traveling companions for paris...............i think three will work out well...more to talk about

tomorrow appears to be 1 year since my dad died.......so fast this year has gone.......

ok, so mm was a bit nostalgic about paris today, veteran's day........one of my trips to paris was in november, and i went to a memorial service at notre dame on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.......it was put on by the british embassy, but no matter.........i reread the ending of the de vinci code last night, just to make sure i got it right before i reread the whole thing.......i can't wait to see the movie....which i hope is faithful to the story line.............again, mm is waiting inpatiently (impatiently?) for december 17........for the return fo the king.........just cannot wait........

ok, so mm is still fixated on the da vinci code.........and cannot wait to see the paintings in question in the louvre...or the other paris sites mentioned..........i have had a back-flash that is relevant....i once went with my aunt and uncle in cleveland to an 'installation' of someone in a top-rank in eastern star...it was held in a church...and the place was packed, including the balconies...like this was some sort of big deal........it seems from this book that eastern star is the female version of the knights templar, which are centrally featured in this book as the guardians of the holy grail......who knew? my grandfather broughton was alo a mason....and the masons replaced the knights templar when the pope at the time inthe 1500's decided that the knights templar were too powerful, and accused them all of sodomy and had them basically burned out.........supposedly the knights templar were blackmailing the pope over their 'secret' and he was tired of paying........so many possibilities.......what is clear from this book, despite it's nature as a novel rather than non-fiction....is that it is entirely possible.....that jesus was married, just like all the other male jews of his age...and that he procreated....and that the line of jesus can be traced back................just like the c-w's to charlemagne....maybe we are also related to jesus..........nice thought, i suppose. to be related to a radically-thinking 1st century jew........anyway.....i may have to make a pilgrimage to see the original last supper fresco by davinci...also a centerpeice in this book.......to see the things i had not noticed before.............. in a world of predictable fiction, this book was a blessed releif......

ok, so mm read the devinci code yesterday.......the entire book...because it really was a can't put it down thriller..........i even sat with it on my lap during supper, looking for the mannerly moment when i could commence to open it back up.......the premise is an interesting one........what if the holy grail was more than just the cup of christ...what if it were a person rather than a thing........and what if there were people who were pledged to protect this secret...for the past 2000 years.......and what a secret it turned out to be.........i can't wait to reread it to pick p what i missed the first go-round.........

ok, so mm hears that the latest flack in d.c. over the recently signed/surely to be overturned abortion bill has to do with the signing photo-op......where gw was pictured signing, backed by white men in suits......no women, no ethnic minorities.....nobody except white males.........the image will be perfect for the opposition's fund raising...........'do you want your reproductive decisions to be made by white men in suits in washington?'.........which is kind of like ellen goodman's article today about the schiavo right to die case in fla........do you want jeb to make your end-of-life decisions? her article made good points......a spouse is much more likely to choose her spouse over her parents to disclose her wishes on end-of-life matters, and choose this spouse to make these decisions when the time comes.........yes, the parents bore her, but when a child grows up and chooses a mate, the parental relationship is replaced by the spousal relationship......in fla, the shiavos cannot let go of their daughter, and desire to make decisions for her like she was still a child at home.........after the daughter's years of marriage prior to her accident, plus the 13 years in this vegetative state......they need to let her go......

ok, so the mm reserved herself a plane ticket to paris for a long january weekend........3.5 days of parisian goodness............something fine to loom forward to.........

ok, so mm went to hear the jane austin talk last night at centre.......the jane austin's mafia talk, rather.........making connections between characters in emma with mafia 'text' in 4 media venues...the godfather, goodfellows, you have got mail, and the sopranos........relationship between emma and harriet was discussed as being similar to a godfather relationship......emma called the shots, but made it look like harriet made her own decisions.......also emma's relationship with her father, Mr. Woodhouse, was similar to tony sooprano's relationship with his uncle junior........emma is reallyn in charge, but makes it look like her father is in charge.......as does tony make it look like uncle junior is in charge.......both mr woodhouse and uncle junior are addled enough to think that they really are in charge......issues about manners in both the mafia 'text' and in austen's novels were pointed out..........as well as the knowing what should be done and will be done versus not knowing on the part of the players was observed........the you've got mail part revolved around quotes by the tom hanks character from the godfather, which other males in the movie understood but that were not understood by ryan.....conversely, ryan's jane austin references were meant to be understood only by women, yet hanks was familiar with them and used that preknowledge to his advantage.......ah well......i had a good time, despiute the fact that i could find no working water fountain in the rac.........

ok, so i am over the election and onto other things.........like answering 'no' when people ask me if i am going to open a restaurant in harrodsburg now that it is wet.........this is all i can handle, unless someone offers real 'incentives'...................

ok, so mm has just returned from the perpetutal election eve party at the neighbors....and after 3 beers she can tell you that the best man lost............we have been going to this same party for the past 20 years of elections............and rarely have the dems done well..............the more beer to cry into......................

ok, so mm is going to vote on her way to work.....no point in tellin' who (whom?) i will vote for.........if you don't know by now ...............

ok, so mm has a potential co-traveler for early january to paris......paris is always a good place to go....the part i like about paris in this situation is the freedom to see things at leisure...i have been to paris 10 times.......three times with family on a schedule......3 times with school children, and 4 times with full-freedom but meager funding.........this time i will have meager funding but a more mature use for that funding...........i cannot wait.........

ok, so mm is not working today.....i repeat....not working today........

ok, so mm is proud mamma for the day.........her boy placed third in the regional cross-country meet...and will compete next saturday at the horse park at the state meet......