Wayward Hand

If I hadn't been with other people when I found this, I would have kept it for my collection of shiny things with which to play. Instead, I left it in hopes its owner would find it. The pattern of colors, though not the colors themselves, remind me of the native art seen along the western coast of Canada and up into Alaska. Now, I sort of wish I'd kept it.

What Went in the Mail

I recently sent some mutated Beanie Babies to Australia. Now that they've arrived, I'll post a photo of one, a kangaroo with the head of a rabbit and a platypus in its pouch. Playing god or just having some creative fun?

Things in the Mail

I've gotten various quilting magazines over the years. I get them for a while, and then I stop. This is one I don't plan to stop getting.

Remembering Those Who Serve(d)

A red, white, and blue buffalo seemed appropriate for this Memorial Day. Plus, I took this photo last fall in Montana, while there to scatter my dad's ashes. Memorial Day was one of his favorite holidays for two reasons. First, it was a day to remember his older (and only) brother who died in the Korean War. Second, the Indianapolis 500 is always run on the day before Memorial Day. Dad loved the Indy, and one year drove out to watch the time trials. Dad wasn't a veteran, but this seems as good a day as any to remember him a bit more closely.

The Aftermath

Bread is rising, and the cookies on top of brownies are baking. The house smells pretty darn good. Now to wash those dishes!

How Do They Do That?

I find it amazing how a cat can perch so demurely and so precisely on almost any surface, as exemplified by Scully's using the new tablet as her throne. Would that I could sit so comfortably and primly.

Seeing Double

Yeah, it's the same tablet as shown a couple of days ago. Today I listened to several radio stations and didn't listen to others that just didn't seem to want to play. I also downloaded a book for reading when I'm donating platelets on Monday. A couple of apps I tried to download didn't come through due to some flakiness with whatever Google Play thing I was using. That's okay. If I need them, I'll figure out a way to get them. If not, no worries. (No, I have not been drinking or otherwise altering my consciousness.)

Shades of Green

It's raining a lot lately, and this afternoon's shower left the outside squeakingly and cleanly green. I think blue is supposed to be a calming color, but I find these greens calming as well. Calm is a good thing. Green is a good color.

Scaling the Learning Curve

For Mother's Day I got to select a tablet, and the winner was a Toshiba Thrive. It's nice, but learning a new operative system does come with a new set of frustrations. I supposedly downloaded a free CNN app last night, but I'll be damned if I can find it to use it. When I try to download it again, I'm told I already have it. Cue the music? "We Shall Overcome," anyone?

About Monday's Post

So I posted something for Monday yesterday and forgot about yesterday. Yeah, there have been some issues lately that I discussed with the doc at my annual maintenance check yesterday. While I wait for the results of the bloodwork, I'm supposed to cut my caffeine intake. Don't ask how high it's been, but it could be contributing to several things the doc and I aren't happy about. This can't happen overnight without severe pain, so the above is my first and what I hope will be my penultimate cup of coffee for the day. Yeah, this might not end well.

My Life Has No Honor Code

So this is an old photo and a day-late post. Life is like that lately in that I feel more than ever that I am impersonating a competent adult and only rarely successfully, a fact I discussed in general terms with my doc today at my annual maintenance check-up. Now I return to trying to determine, before I put on a screen protecting sheet, if there is a static cling thing on the screen of the tablet that just arrived. A fully competent adult would look at it and quickly say, no, there is not one; the directions lied, and put on the screen protector. I look at it and ask why I am so stupid as to not be able to see an edge here or a corner there because they would not have lied and said to remove something that wasn't there. Keep in mind here that the directions that say there is a static cling thing are those for the screen protector; nowhere is a static cling thing mentioned in the table literature. Yes, I'm sucking at life today.

She Only Looks Angelic

This is the devil cat that disrupted my sleep big-time last night. When she wasn't trying to sleep on my face, she was trying to puch me out of the bed. Needless to say, I will not be nice and let her stay in the bedroom tonight. She can sleep alone, and I can, well, sleep.

We went shooting this morning, the calm before the storm of entertaining tomorrow night. Now, well into the night before, with a long list of things I can't do, prepare, make tonight, I'm coming to terms with missing my normal three hours or more of martial arts on Sunday morning. Oh well, I guess. There are worse reasons for having to miss it than playing grown-up.

Just Another Work-in-Progress

Being lazy, I chose this photo somewhat randomly. It's something I started in a class in February. I only hope that when I finally get back to working on it I remember the technique. Such is life in the median strip.

It's the Little Things

The somewhat overexposed table seems a metaphor for the clutter in my life. I can't see the big things for the little things cluttering the view. Things that should be done, want to be done, need to be done, are totally unnecessary. It's hard to tell the difference sometimes.

Worth Repeating?

I have a sneaky feeling I may have used an image like this before, but I'm tired yet hanging in there, so if I have, so what. It's my blog, and I'll repeat if I want to. Besides, how does one go wrong with an extra dose of Horny Goat Weed? Oh, wait, what if one is not a goat? Or a weed? Yeah, I see where this is going. It has made me smile, and that is all that matters right now.

With a Little Luck

I can never find four-leaf clovers, though my kids can with just a glance. I should feel luckier after winning a raffle yesterday, but I don't. I guess I need to find my own four-leaf clover, unlike this one which was given to me.

We Have a Winner

At the play I attended Saturday night (The Wedding Singer, at the high school from which the sons graduated), I bought one raffle ticket for each dollar bill I had in my wallet. Had I had one more dollar bill, I would have won a can of peanuts. As it was, the ticket above has won earrings from a local art studio, not peanuts by any means.

Many Things Are Better with a Possum Gun

Recipe for a rocking Mother's Day: Take one already dead possum. Make it a cape marked "SP" for Super Possum. Attach a Happy Mother's Day banner to its tail. Shoot it from a possum gun (which some people call a potato gun). Shoot it again ... and again ... and again. When done, dispose of it in Viking fashion using a flamethrower.

In the Wee Hours

Bread rising at 6:00 a.m.? Younger son is on his way home for a visit, and this is his favorite bread. I'm hoping it will just be coming out of the oven or still be warm when he gets here. Yeah, he took the redeye. The things a mother does for her offspring!

And Now for Something Completely Different

I don't have a good track record of supporting presidential candidates early on. Yeah, I backed John Edwards for a while, and Bill Bradley. I still think Bradley would have been a good president, which is why his new book is in the reading queue after the one I showed yesterday. Culture shock? Yeah, after the Bloggess, it will be.

Let's Pretend I'm Not Reading This

What I''m currently reading. It's hysterical but will offend anyone offended by the f-word ... or most other profanity. Fortunately, I am not. Did I say that this book is hysterical? It is. Really. Even that parts that may or may not have happened.

Just Hanging Around

While we were away, the kid hung our three replica swords on the upstairs wall. One can never have too many swords hanging around, I say. There are still plenty of swords in the downstairs just in case they're needed. One can never have too many swords period.

In Case of Need, Open Carefully

What's better than chocolate bunnies? Chocolate wombats! When it comes time to open these babies, it will be done with great care to preserve the foil wombat wrappers. Note that I said "when" not "if." There will be a time when the contents are needed; it's just not yet.

Smoothies!

I'm going to Tropical Smoothie Cafe for lunch, but somehow want a smoothie for breakfast, too. My homemade ones are simple--fruit, plain yogurt, a bit of splenda, and Mr. Blender. Not at all fancy but simply satisfying.

New Best Friend

Before I could get over jet lag, the coffee maker breathed its last. This is the replacement, chosen for the thermal carafe and for the way water gets added--no pouring! I go through phases of meaning to decrease the amount of caffeine I consume, but they usually don't last for long. The t-shirt showing people worshiping the coffee maker would be relevant here.

Walkies!

Biscuit does like having her "secondary human" back and gullible enough to fall for the "I need an extra walk" routine. For a 13-year-old dog, she certainly has her energy, and if the extra walks keep mine up, all the better.

Favorite Hauntings

What I did not eat today (or yesterday, since I'm posting this a day late and a dollar short), but I really should get back to our favorite burger joint soon. I tend not to have burgers there, but perhaps I should make an exception soon. Burger. Mmmm.

It Was a Hot Time in the Driveway Last Night

The kid made himself a flamethrower. It's not the most useful item there is, but it will do if we encounter a ground wasp nest. Or a hunk of beef that needs cooking, though I'm not sure how practical that would be. I could make a sexist comment about males and fire, but I greatly enjoyed playing with matches as a child. Still do, though I haven't yet asked the kid if I can borrow his new toy.

The High Life

They say that sleep deprivation rivals intoxication in terms of the effects. Having now slept just three of the last 39.25 hours, I can attest that they are right. Of course, intoxication usually results from a better time than marathon and redeye air travel offer, but what the heck. I might as well enjoy whatever high I can manage for as long as I can until I can't.

reLAXing

The stars were not out at Los Angeles International Airport except for this one on a ceiling. It was a long day killing time after missing a connection. There is only so much one can do on little sleep. I resisted buying Hello Kitty merchandise for one friend (sorry, Ellobie!) and chocolate for myself, not wanting to carry extra things now or pounds later.