Saturday, May 31, 2014

Katie Elizabeth: Wedding Etiquette

Katie Elizabeth: Wedding Etiquette: Okay, first of all I would like to say that yesterday, Jessi from Jumping JE informed me of something that I had NO idea about... the fact t...

Thursday, May 29, 2014

M.E. is the Brits name for 'Chronic Fatigue'

Wheelingalong24: Bulls*** People Say About M.E.: I've had M.E. for about 3 & a half years, it feels like a lot longer. It's not fun but it's who I am, I barely remember my...

Wheelingalong24: Wheelchair Fashion: Broken Ballerina

Wheelingalong24: Wheelchair Fashion: Broken Ballerina: This is the first outfit, ever I've not had to ask for help with naming. Tulle skirts have that obvious connection to ballerinas......

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The Girl God : If you are female. By Terre Spencer

This is a link from the Twitter hashtag #YesAllWomen ... while I don't subscribe to everything written here - in general, it fits, so I'm reposting it on my blog.  ~ Jeannee



The Girl God : If you are female. By Terre Spencer: If you are female, the 6000+ year existence of patriarchy is a long war of terror upon you and every one of your sisters with untold milli...

Monday, May 26, 2014

Sunday, May 25, 2014

It's about more than purchasing old tv episodes to view ....

When I was up overnight, every time I got the Yahoo front-page screen back up, I became aware of yet another shooting -- this time, in California; this time, the son of someone famous ... so I glanced at it, and, I was curious about Elliot Rodger's YouTube video - so, ok - I clicked on that; and --

I actually looked at alot of his videos.  What was intriguing me was this:  here was this 22 year old kid, using music in his videos that was from my day! that would have been used in 1981 to background teen angst and social isolation .... so, I continued to click on news articles, and

There was one news source (the L.A. Times, maybe?) that printed the whole of his so-called manifesto ... and so I sat here, and I read all of it - well into the early morning hours, yes, well into when my Delilah started scratching me to go to bed, Mom! ...

Actually, it was his autobiography.

As perceptive & insightful as Elliot was - he was also clueless.  

It was a fascinating read ; towards the end - when he started talking about his Day of Retribution, and planning it out - it was like watching a car accident happen - like watching someone open a bottle of soda that you knew was shook-up and was going to spray you down .... 

Yes, it was horrifying ... and as hard to read as things about abortion, or Nazi's, or sex traffic.

Which was why I'm so grateful I have my computer back online!!!

Because this computer is more than being about the ability to watch tv shows, and buy shoes for my friend Kevin who has an odd size foot to fit ... its about my connection to the world - no, more than that - its about my ability to comprehend, to try to make sense of things that happened, that are insensible to my mind ...

And I knew that had helped me, when I was able to sit down this mid-afternoon-into-evening, and write a fictional story based on this event - which is how I process --

and which happened far faster than it would have, had I been computerless.

LET'S REMEMBER ALL THE VICTIMS, INCLUDING THE RELATIVES OF ELLIOT RODGERS, AND HIS FRIENDS, NAMED IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY, WHO TRIED TO STICK BY HIM UNTIL HE GOT TOO DISTURBED FOR THEM TO HANDLE ... GOD BLESS US ALL +

Saturday, May 24, 2014

#1 from Regina Brett .... and my take on it

A friend sent me the 45 life lessons of 90 year old Regina Brett, of Cleveland ... some of these do match (like the first and the last), but they're still good ones!  .... I held on to this, on top of my desk, in anticipation of my computer being back online, so that I could share them one at a time and then my thoughts on it ... so - without further ado! -

1.  Life isn't fair, but its still good!

You would look askance at me if I told you the following fact:  my GMC Envoy parked in front of my apartment is vehicle #9 for me, but - its only the third vehicle I ever purchased on my own.....

My Dad, a long time ago, figured something out about me:  I couldn't handle very complicated things in life - like things to do w/ cars!  Sure, I knew about gas and a rough idea of maint. ... but the bigger stuff (including purchasing vehicles) he took car of :  my 76 Dodge Aspen, my Olds Omega with the 8 horses under the engine & in two-tone green, my Cutlass Supreme, my Blazer, and my swindled-out-of-me Grand Caravan, were either Dad purchases or passalongs.

My Buick Park Ave. was a passalong from a then-dear friend who subscribed to Dad's beliefs.

As did I ... and ... I saw them reinforced .... the first vehicle I bought on my own, was from a friend - it was a nice vehicle, yeahhh, but it was too much vehicle for me ... the second purchase was essentially a Hail Mary on my part and a whole other story - let's just say - it wasn't a good experience! ....

So by the time I got to my third purchase - honestly -- I was scared.

I was scared because life wasn't fair :  not only was my beloved father deceased -- his belief in life that I would fall in love with someone, who would then also be a 'dad continued' in my life - never happened.  Despite relationships with all types of people - two marriages, and another engagement besides - it never happened.

And now I was buying a vehicle on my own -- this time, from a dealership.

In the middle of this transaction, a friend called me to tell me that what I was buying was so poorly rated by Consumer Reports -- well, I was making another bomb .... and I lost it.  I started to scream and curse at him -- I basically told him if he couldn't be in my life, standing by my side to help me with this -- then -- screw you!  leave me alone!

Yeahhh, I was even MORE SCARED, if that was possible ;-  

Life isn't fair -- BUT ITS STILL GOOD :)  No matter what C.D. wrote, and no matter how off-putting my prior two experiences were ---

My GMC  Envoy has not done any of the things C.D. warned me about.  In fact, when the battery died - I went out one morning & it gave me that telltale noise - the guy from Triple A told me it was the original factory-installed battery - which had been done in 2004, which I bought the truck used, which now it was 7-8 years later!!!  The guy was astonished!!!   It has transported me from Kentucky, to Virginia, to NJ, and back again, with nary a hitch.  It has hauled everything from groceries to things I was moving that I didn't dare entrust to a moving van to doggys to innumerable cups of coffee that I love to sit in there to drink while I enjoy respites & peoplewatch.  It has even forged a friendship w/ the only other person who owns the same year, the same color, the same make & model, in this small town!  

YEAHHH, LIFE ISN'T FAIR, BUT IT'S STILL GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, May 23, 2014

Why Lauren is one of my favorite bloggers ...

Someone Like You: You're Makin' Me Blush.



I especially like Lauren not only because she is an extraordinary stylist (a very sweet young lady, not one of the Kardashian wannabe's!), but because she is very intelligent & mature for her age - and not just this post!  I've followed her for several years now, and she really does have a good head on her shoulders!  I like to share my favorited bloggers on my personal webpage - i.e. I shared my friend Debbie's blog, "All About Purple"; and now, I'm sharing Lauren with you.  Enjoy!

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

"My First Time" tag

Do you still talk to your FIRST love?  No way!
What was your FIRST job? The usual for teenage girls: babysitting
What was your FIRST car? A pumpkin-orange 76 Dodge Aspen
Who was the FIRST person to text you today? TracPhone, w/ an advert 
Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning? Three, actually:  the three whose snail-mail letters I'm overdue to write ;-
Who was your FIRST grade teacher? Miss Kaseta
Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? California
Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk? Cathy Steinbach & sadly, no ... can't even find her online & doubt she'd want to talk to me, anyway ;-
Where was your FIRST sleep over? see above!
Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? My cats ;)
Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time? That had to be Sean & Lisa, when I was just 21 ... they're still together!  Ahhhh ....
What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? Probably fed the cats ;)  that is starting to supercede the bathroom or even the coffee pot <gasp!>
What was the FIRST concert you ever went to? Styx
FIRST broken bone? not yet!
FIRST piercing? ears ....
FIRST foreign country you've gone to? Canada
FIRST movie you remember seeing? Voyage to the bottom of  the sea ... Lassie ???
When was your FIRST detention? That had to be high school ... Mrs. Korman, for home ec : folded towels
Who was your FIRST roommate? I've been married ... well, some of that was like having a bad roommate ;---
What were the FIRST lessons you ever took? guitar

Cat Lover Leaves Animal Shelters Huge Posthumous Donations

Cat Lover Leaves Animal Shelters Huge Posthumous Donations - Pet360 Pet Parenting Simplified



They ushered in joy for this blessed woman ("The cats she had were strays. They would kind of find her and come up to her door and she’d take them in,”) just as my Delilah and yes! even Big Mama!, have done for me <3

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Disposable to some ... gifted & talented to many!

I went over to the 'flea' connected to the spring festival here in my little town, and one of the vendors I was looking for was this nice guy who sells discounted kitchen towels and etc., as his retirement project ...

Well, today he had these beautiful framed lighthouse portraits!!!  I nearly bought the box (and ya know I'm still debating about going back & doing so :)  ) 

When I went to pay for them, he told me the story behind them :

Several years back now, he was introduced (through his girlfriend) to a nice couple who had a daughter that was multi-handicapped - not so sure of all the particulars, just that amongst many things she has got going on there, she has one arm ... she was just a teenager then ... shy, quiet ... but when she heard that he sells assorted items through the 'flea circuit', with her painful speech, she managed to ask "Do you have old calenders?"  ... he figured -sure, what the hell?, and he gave her a stack ...

The next time he went back to visit, he was stunned speechless when he saw how professionally she had cut the pictures out and placed them in frames!  "It's her little hobby, you know," her daddy smiled proudly.

"Forget hobby!" he exclaimed.  "Young lady, you have a business!" and he began selling her pictures ... giving a gravely disabled person an actual income out of something she can create!!!

She was not well enough to be there at this event, but he's hopeful:  she was there last year ... and... she's still creating!!!

Promote This Patrol

Promote This Patrol

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Sad, & prayerful, for a friend .... who doesn't know my name

I get it, I really do, because I went through my own version of events - just out of the eye of the National Enquirer and TMZ :  a parent who is the pillar of your life dies, and - you go nuts :  you start edging closer to drinking again - until you actually plunge headfirst off the sobriety cliff; you start to act out in other ways - maybe not sexually, or - maybe so ...

My friend is Trace Adkins.  And after reading up on what the hell has happened to my friend, I can see how the train started to slide off the tracks:

He has a celebrity impersonator of himself - who has become a stalker - who shows up on a cruise ship where he is, no less, so its not like Trace can step out of the room.

Apparently his dad was sick for some time ... after the cruise ship incident, Trace checked into rehab and received permission to be with his dad on his deathbed.

And then there's the whole flirtation spilling over into probable contact, with that slutty-looking actress ... that has derailed the marriage of a lifetime, the love of a lifetime, the woman who raised his 2 girls just like there 3 girls ....

Jeez, Trace - I get it, I get it!!!  

I'm just prayin' you do, too.  +

An incredible testimony!

2 definitions of 'fair' ...

(1)  Starting midweek is the Elkton Spring - well, technically yes they do call it the Spring Festival, but - ya know???  Carnival food and rides - hey, this could be a FAIR ;)  I didn't even like rides as a kid ... so you're asking why I'm so excited?!  Because it ALSO has a flea that opens every day at noon! and the flea people (and there pets) are, in general, those who work a circuit of such shows and live out of there campers - and almost all of them fascinating :)  I can't wait!  Sure, ok, there are even cheaper (and ahem better) kitchen towels than the dollar stores ... and it's where I picked-up my Casablanca pocketbook! ... but the stories they tell are even better :)

(2)  The second 'fair' is a whiny, luxury-problem///first world, rant of ITS NOT FAIR!!!  It took me a year to get back online ...ok, I don't expect a ticker tape parade ... but twice - in 24 hours - I had a misunderstanding///miscommunication with an online friend with two different online friends ... which, honestly???  You know that old adage that if 99 people compliment your new dress - but 1 hates it - you'll never wear that again?! ... Even with all the good things and reconnections - having this now happen twice makes me kind of long for the unconnected days --

Ok, rant over.

Black Cats Are Awesome

Monday, May 12, 2014

Saturday, May 10, 2014

TMI tag

1: What are you wearing?   A housecoat ... yeahhh, I'm one of those  ;)
2: Ever been in love?  Oh, sure!
3: Ever had a terrible breakup?  Oh, sure!!!
4: How tall are you?  5 foot 9
5: How much do you weigh?  More than I care to admit ;)
6: Any tattoos? Not yet
7: Any piercings? No
8: OTP?  Ezra & Aria ... that whole doomed love deal, yeahhh ... how about Teddy, the deaf wife, and the detective-husband, in that old 50s detective series ??? ....
9: Favourite show?  Just one?!  Right now, 'The Naked City'
10: Favourite bands?  Just one?!!
11: Something you miss? .My parents embodied, walking around on this earth
12: Favourite song?  'I'd Really Love to See You Tonight'
13: How old are you?  50
14: Zodiac sign? Gemini
15: Quality you look for in a partner? Honesty
16: Favourite Quote? I believe in fairies, not fairy tales!
17: Favourite actor? Just one?!
18: Favourite color? PURPLE!
19: Loud music or soft?  Soft
20: Where do you go when you're sad?  To pen & paper
21: How long does it take you to shower? 15, 20 minutes
22: How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?  Well ...
23: Ever been in a physical fight?  I've been beaten - does that count?!
24: Turn on?  Vintage!
25: Turn off?  Con's
26: The reason I went online?  Looong story - essentially, it all started to save money on long-distance telephone bills ...
27: Fears? Poverty; being invisible
28: Last thing that made you cry? The movie 'Hitler's Children'
29: Last time you said you loved someone? In what sense???  Today ...
30: Meaning behind your online name?  Read these answers ... you'll get it, I know you will ;)
31: Last book you read? All the way?!  everything I own has bookmarks, you see ....
32: The book you're currently reading?  See above ...
33: Last show you watched? Marie Wern
34: Last person you talked to? Kevin
35: The relationship between you and the person you last texted? BFFs
36: Favourite food? Pasta!
37: Place you want to visit?  NJ
38: Last place you were? The kitchen 
39: Do you have a crush?  No
40: Last time you kissed someone?  2.5 years ago
41: Last time you were insulted? Within the last several weeks
42: Favourite flavour of sweet? Chocolate!
43: What instruments do you play?? I don't, but I have a special love for the harp & the flute
44: Favourite piece of jewellery?  Look at me head-on & u will get it!
45: Last sport you played? Ha, ha!  'Indoor yoga' ;)~~~
46: Last song you sang? Hmmmm
49: Last time you hung out with anyone? The last Lifegroup - so that was -- April

Gratitude, on it-finally-cooled-off!, Saturday, May 10th 2:21 afternoon ... in no particular order

I have electric.

I can hear. I can clearly hear bird songs.  I canspeak (spoken, written, AND typed).  I can learn!!!

Being back online, I can easily access communities of prayer, and people who pray .... also, I can watch cosmetic videos :) ! 

I have food & clothing ... and friends <3

I have books!



Friday, May 9, 2014

The most beautiful post on pet passing I've ever read ...

Everyday is a Holiday: We really really really miss you little baby Jack: Our sweet little Jack passed yesterday, so please forgive me if I ramble or if I don’t make much sense. I’m having a lot of troub...

"If I Were" tag

I saw this on someone's blog and thought it was so wonderful, I had to try it :)

If I were a gemstone, I’d be an amethyst.
If I were a scent, I’d be coffee!
If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be a pair of black high heels.
If I were the weather, I’d be a Warm Sunny Day, 70 degrees.
If I were a facial expression, I’d be a Mona Lisa smile.
If I were a car, I’d be a Cruz-in vintage car.
If I were a time of day, I’d be now.
If I were a month, I’d be May.
If I were a place, I’d be the beach... with a lighthouse on it.
If I were a liquid, I’d be Coffee!.
If I were a taste, I’d be the real good, homemade foods of no longer with me, loved ones.
If I were a sea animal, I’d be a manatee (I already have  the whiskers!).
If I were a food, I’d be pasta.
If I were a color, I’d be purple.
If I were a musical instrument, I’d be either a harp or a flute.
If I were a flower, I’d be a tulip.
If I were a planet, I’d be earth.
If I were an object, I’d be a pen.
If I were a fruit, I’d be a banana.
If I were a sound, I’d be crashing waves.
If I were a day of the week, I’d be yesterday.
If I were a musical, I'd be .
If I were a board game, I'd be Trivial Pursuit.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Gratitude .... 9:30 Weds (April 7th) morning ... in no particular order

1.  Yes, I am grateful for Delilah and Big Mama! even tho Delilah is in this fussy feline stage where she's turning her nose up at her usual food (adding more as well as dishchanging have been fails this time around) and then scratching the side of my chair because she's hungry and so why don't I just get up and give her food?!  Whaddya mean, I have a full dish of food - different food - go buy it !!!  This gets really comical if you remember she is a stray who ate anything to survive until ... well, until she got fussy ;)  Of course, you know, the one way to make her eat is to put her dish outside for the other strays ... then OF COURSE! she'll have to run outside and eat that because THEY GET BETTER STUFF ;)~~~

2.  I am very grateful to have my computer back!!!  I am connecting with people, websurfing, and watching television again :)  I am even shopping for non-computered friends :)  

3.  An online friend is celebrating 13 years married today ... and there wedding was on "A Wedding Story" back then!!!  What I am especially grateful for in this case is that I'm not in the situation I was in, when her wedding was broadcasted:  living with an angry husband who ranted and raved and shook his index finger in my face - followed by the silent treatment, with the required pouty face - upon realizing that I had those type of friends (he deliberately cut his college classes to come home and 'catch me' watching it, even tho I thought I had hidden it well).

4.  Being in my own apartment ... I don't know if I can extend the lease for another year ($$$) - with that comes issues of moving again, what happens to cats that are partially outdoor types when you take them to new locations, the prospect of cinderblock walls (I don't have esteem issues with public housing - but I do have issues with cinderblock interior walls), and just feeling like I don't have a permanent place.

4, part b.  That I can actually smoke cigarettes - a legal product - inside my own apartment.  Pot is suddenly legal everywhere, but GOD FORBID! you should want to smoke a cigarette!  Well, here, I still can do that - alot of apartments nowadays and pratically all public housing - nada.  Let's not talk about how its okay to have drunks and bratty kids in there, but GOD FORBID ...

5.  Food in the house, and the ability to purchase more (not that I've been eating like I should ...).  Even the ability to dine out of the house if I wish (I've been wishing too much ...).  Even food for cats!

5, part b.  The basics:  Electric, running water, food & shelter, a running vehicle, money in my handbag - even the choice of more than one handbag if I wanted it!, clean underwear, writing supplies.

2, part B.  I was catching up with Lana in Indiana, and if a breathtakingly beautiful blonde woman who dresses well and has a snazzy black special-edition Caddy and a snowbird house has trouble finding a decent date ... hey, I don't feel so bad ;)


Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Something bad happened here ....

Back somewhere in the 80s, I had a friend that I met at work ... this guy was, in my humble opinion, a Renaissance man:  he could sing (he sang at my wedding in 95) ... he could cook///cater, and cut hair ... he was a wonderful person to sit and have a conversation with! - he was not only intelligent enough to hold a real conversation - he was insightful - like having my own Marianne Williamson or Oprah (or you insert the name - you get the idea)because he pushed me to be a better version of myself (which led to some screaming matches, as I resisted) ... even with the multiple jobs he held, he always had alot of friends from all different walks from life AND he kept up with them ... he even insisted on supporting his former wife's children and being in there life, too (the judge said he had never met a man like him), treating them like his own biological children, which he also did w/ his niece & nephew... he was the guy who introduced me to CD101.9 jazz, and Tracey Chapman, and whether or not to actually eat in a new restaurant (another story there) ....

We didn't have a falling out - we moved apart:  I was going to be married and moving to Maine in 95, and he was chasing this bad boy and moving to Florida with him .... with a really common name, I've looked for him online over the years but 'good luck Chuck' there --

until today

He and my Dad always got along well, and that's a good thing, because they're together .... with the brevity of this notice - with it not even talking about all the things he did that were so fantastic, and loving, and talented - I can only say something really bad happened here:

Douglas L. Greene

AGE: 54 • Metuchen

Douglas L. Greene of Metuchen NJ, residing in Tamarac Fla. passed Monday, Feb. 11, 2013. He was 54 years of age.

Douglas was preceded in death by his parents, Dolores and Vernard A. Greene Sr. Surviving siblings are Vernard A. Greene Jr. of Perth Amboy, NJ and Donna R. Greene-Stout of Hamilton Twp.; niece, Desiree Greene and nephew, Jonathan Greene of Fords NJ.
-

Saturday, May 3, 2014

A Practical Solution ....

I've been offline for almost a year ... and unfortunately cannot figure out how to post to my previous blog - most likely, because my email address had to change, too ... ergo, the practical solution is to simply begin again .... and let me open with the answer to the question - So where the heck have you been?!  Why did it take you A YEAR?!! to get your computer fixed, girl?!!

The week my computer died - in fact, within just about 48 hours - CoCo got sick, I had bronchitis, AND my computer died (!) ... so I addressed 'health' and literally pushed the computer to one side of my desk ....

CoCo actually recovered faster than I did :) ... but then it was the bloody hot summer, and I just did not want to be outside, running around, trying to find a computer fixit person - so I figured, ok ... soon it's going to cool off and THEN --

Then CoCo, age 17, died on September 12th.

Recently a friend passed a rather insensitive comment that I handled CoCo's death 'well', because I wasn't screaming-crying-hysterical ... yeahhh, I do that... but more often, especially as I get older, the way that I grieve is - well - the wind is pulled out of my sails :  its hard to remember to shower once a week, or brush my teeth every other day, or change my clothes a few times a week - or change them at all from what I've slept in, when I do decide to leave the house --- in other words:  'major depressive episode'.

When CoCo passed, I said 'no more pets!' - not just the wrenching loss (which is very hard!) but the financial expen$e ... but apparently God (and my beloved Myndie and CoCo) had other plans ...

There are some stray cats that hang around this bldg - one of my neighbor-friends, feeds them; provides outdoor shelter ... one especially - all black except for white on her chest - was always especially friendly - but wary of men and dogs ...

The very night after I lost CoCo, I was sitting outside my apartment and this then-kitten walked over cautiously, glancing around ..."No more big dog,"  I sighed.  And the cat came over, rubbed herself against me, looked at me, and sat down.  And here she was.  Here she was!

I named her Delilah because - like the famous nighttime radio host - I would (at least in the beginning) see her only after dark ... We moved from lapsitting and chatting, to 'here do you like this cat food?', to her recognizing her name and streaking across the parking lot towards me when I called it out, to her teaching herself how to knock on my door (not kidding!) to -- yeah, you knew that was coming, right :)  She has a food dish and a water dish, toys all over, a scratching post, and yeahhh she now sleeps in the bed with me <3  And something else, too:  Delilah used to leave at dawn, when her mom would come to the door to collect her ... well, I'm not supposed to have two cats in this place... and I tried to shoo 'Big Mama' as I took to calling her, out of our lives... but, ya know???  It's like when you get married and get in-laws ;)~~  So Big Mama has HER food and water dishes and her favorite blanket here, too :)  Yes, I know I need to buy a cat carrier and  get them vetted (hey, I did check two stores and they didn't carry them - I'm trying!) ... and ... we're all doing the best we can here!  We have each other, and together we shuddered through the polar vortex when I was having problems with the heat and developed mild hypothermia, by sleeping all clumped together ... the girls go outside and come back in on a regular basis - but this is home base, now <3

In fact, time to call them in and see if I can't get a few hours of shuteye before Sunday sunrise!