Month: July 2021

I inherited a particular skill/talent/ability and like any skill/talent/ability it must be practiced to keep those skills sharp and to broaden their scope.

Unfortunately my skill/talent/ability requires interacting with people. There are aspects of it that I can do alone, which to me is a bit pointless, tho I have to admit it has been a little useful in the past. But my inspiration, so to speak, really comes through people and for the past 12 years I have had very little contact with people.

I’ve totally lost my mojo and I miss it.

(I’ve closed comments…this was just a brain dump to get this off mind.)

We spent the day super-cleaning because the family is coming tomorrow.  So today all I have to offer you are these jokes  (which I totally stole) – I laughed, I hope you do to –

It’s the 1700’s. Two men are standing back to back with their single-shot pistols at the ready.
First man, “Why are we doing this?”
Second man, “Because you dishonored me. And also because I hate your stupid pun jokes!”
First man, “I see. So it’s a duel purpose.”

The first cat was getting ready to fly into space.
Then someone told the cat that space was a vacuum.

Does anyone remember the chiropractor joke I told about a week back?

You know how when you try to pronounce the names of your medications and accidentally summon a demon instead?

I was at a carnival with my grandson and asked him if he wanted to go into the crazy house.
He said save your money, we’ll be home soon.

I walked into a friend’s room and there was a lamp sitting on an IKEA side table box. He said he figured out you don’t actually have to assemble those things.

When a kid says, “Daddy, I want mommy”. That’s the kid version of, “I’d like to speak to your supervisor”.

I don’t need a mood ring.
I have a face.

You know you’re old when you clean to the music you used to drink to.

Did you realize that if you sit on the toilet at 11:59 and the clock strikes midnight, it’s the same shit, different day?

I’m good at sleeping. I can do it with my eyes closed.

As a kid, did you ever knock on people’s doors and run away before they could answer? Well, guess what, UPS is hiring.

Him: I got bitten on my walk by a Great Dane.
Her: My God, imagine if it had been a small child.
Him: I could have fought off a small child.

I’m looking for the book Ventriloquism for Dummies.

If any of you non-rich people want to go to space for 10 minutes, I know a good brownie recipe.

Apparently, it’s rude to poke someone in the forehead and say “skip intro” when they start talking to you.

Last night my husband, voluntarily, opened the windows and I awoke this morning to a crisp cool breeze. I had slept like the dead. Sunshine all day but a breeze, at 4pm it’s only 82º with 31% humidity. So fabulous. Tomorrow the weather will suck but today, ah, TODAY!

I don’t talk in the morning – no talky! Today was an exception:

Me: Who the hell is jack-hammering and making that godawful racket at 7 in the morning?
Husband: That isn’t a jackhammer, it’s a truck.
Me: Okaaay ….Why the hell is a TRUCK making that godawful racket at 7 in the morning?
(Husband buries his nose in the newspaper)

Had a decent experience in the supermarket this morning, despite the deli person slicing $14.99 per pound roast beef into paper thin slices, wadding it up in a ball and shoving it in a plastic bag. Hey, a little respect for the food, we aren’t getting this food for free. And no one asked for shredded roast beef.

But other than that – no salad bar available this week; very little fresh meat, frozen vegetables pretty much non-existent. We all know why – Thursday is ‘Senior Citizen Discount Day’ so they don’t bother re-stocking the shelves, especially with the weekly sale items, because all those old people might buy more stuff and then get a bigger discount.

We bought lots of extra stuff this week because the Baby Princesses and their parents are coming on Sunday – so lots of extra mouths to feed. Fun tho, so much fun. Just to see them in the flesh! So excited!

I got my new keyboard today too. I’ve had this model before but I had to ditch it because, somehow, it got infested with ants! I live on the third floor of an apartment building, I do not have a balcony, I do not eat at my desk. ANTS – crawling all over my desk and in and out of my keyboard; same for my husband’s desk and keyboard (his desk being in a different room than mine). WTH?

So we ditched the keyboards and I bought keyboards with extra large keys – my husband loved his, I hated  mine. So after many months of cursing the keyboard I treated myself to another Matias Mechanical Keyboard. Ahhh –

For one thing it makes that lovely clicky-clicky noise. I love that noise. I can elevate it so it’s at an angle which I prefer and best of all, the very best of all, accessible from the keyboard itself are all those special symbols, accent marks and doodads – no trying to remember codes, shortcuts, or whathaveyou –  This is a MAC keyboard, specifically, they also make PC specific keyboards, and they also make QUIET keyboards, I just happen to like the clicky-clicky.  The company, Matias, appears to make ONLY keyboards – bit of a niche market, but oh my goodness so many to choose from! Then again most of you use your phones for everything and have no need. Us die hard desktop, big screen loving users, we like our keyboards.

Perhaps part of this post sounds a tad grumpy, but you know, just relating how the day went, despite a few irksome things, still a fun sort of day. I’m all happy and upbeat…it’s the weather, I know. Windows Open! Windows Open!

I started writing a post much earlier this afternoon. In retrospect it wasn’t all that interesting but I did some research on stats about the county I live in. During that time my husband got up from his post-lunch nap and I went into the living room and said “Did you know Arlington is the 6th richest county in the United States?  He replied “No, and why would I care?”

We then spent the next two hours talking – about so many things, I wish I could have taped that conversation, I really do. It was amazing.  I’m not going to try and summarize because that would be impossible.

So that’s why there’s no post today – I came back to my office, looked at the drivel I had written and just deleted it.  It was of no interest at all, trust me.

The conversation my husband and I had – now that you would have loved.

 

Rory had some interesting questions today concerning the “About/Bio” page. I can’t say I’ve ever given this much thought. This blog has an “About” page and it reads “The first thing you should know about me is that I’m not you. A lot more will make sense after that.”  Previous blogs never contained an ‘about/bio’ page, I just really like that statement and it says a lot in a few words.  And it should also tell you that I can be more than a little snarky.

Rory’s Questions are:  (1) How important to you is your ‘About Me/Blog Bio’ section?  I think I’ve answered that one in my first paragraph. Of no importance at all. 

The next two questions are pretty much covered under the answer to the first question,
(2) Do you place any emphasis on the updating of it? and (3) Do you actually have one or just a contact page?

(4) Is it to your knowledge viewed often? – I haven’t a clue, wouldn’t even know how to ascertain that, tho I do believe the Stats page would have the answer but then I rarely look at my stats page. 

The thing is – I never read the ‘About/Bio’ page on any blogs I read and/or subscribe to. Ok, never is a strong word. I’m sure I’ve clicked over to an ‘About/Bio’ page but I don’t make a habit of it because I don’t care and quite frankly the ones I’ve read are either boring or inconsequential – adding nothing  of import to my knowledge of the person.

What do I want to see on someone’s ‘About/Bio’ page? Where they live – not their exact address or course, but country/county/state/city/town. For some reason, even if the person doesn’t much write about where they live, this information is important to me.  I used to fantasize about road-tripping across the United States visiting all my blogging friends.

Perhaps because the internet allows us to interact with people from all over the universe, it’s important to me to know just what part of it the person comes from. (And when I say ‘Universe’ I’m somewhat serious – I’ve read blogs where I doubted the writer’s  residence on Planet Earth.)

The blogs I read on a consistent basis are personal blogs, people talking about their quotidian lives. That’s how I get to know people, not by reading their bio but by reading their blog.

Somewhere in Rory’s post it was mentioned that when coming across a new blog the about/bio would be read first to determine if they wanted to read the actual blog – that bugged me. Just read a few posts, that’s going to tell you more about them than their PR page (’cause isn’t that what an ‘about/bio’ page really is?) A person will reveal themselves more clearly and honestly  in the day to day.

All that said – Is there anything any of you want to know about me? Anything? Just ask. As with all questions, there is no guarantee I’ll answer, because some things are none of your business. But – take a chance, ask away – might be fun.

BTW – I live in: Country- United States. State – Virginia. County: Arlington. Born: Bronx, NY

Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

I was out of bed earlier than I needed to be, I think the cool breeze whipping the curtains around woke me. Yes, last night, while rather moist, was relatively cool, the low 80’s, and I opened the windows before I went to bed. Open windows means I can breathe.

It’s just past 8am and I can hear  one of the maintenance staff watering the greenery and washing down the sidewalks around the building. (One of the plusses to this building, there is 7 day maintenance staff on duty.) Yesterday there was thunder throughout the day, it was that humid, major storms all around us but not exactly here.

Melissa aka Zero Space has been commenting on my previous post that she is now reading my old Blogger blog as an aid in managing her ED. First my writing about food helped her with that (she says) and now reading and eating. That made me happy for some reason. I’m helping her, in a small way, without actively trying (tho I would if I could, she’s an interesting lady and I like her).  Me, just being me, doing what I do – someone finds helpful. Doesn’t get much better than that.

One week from today I will get to meet the Baby Princesses for the first time! I’m so excited, and anxious. A two year old and a four year old – quite possibly stuck in an apartment or a hotel suite for too much time. I’ve bought coloring books, crayons, paper to draw on and some lego-like blocks. Their parent’s want to go to the National Zoo. Personally I would never step a foot into D.C. – it’s just too dangerous.  The zoo is free but it costs $30 to park – oho! And you need to get tickets ahead of time. I sent Da Mama a link to the web site so she can decide what she wants to do about that. They are driving down from Vermont, stopping somewhere in New Jersey for a few days to do the beach thing and then down here to Virginia.

Because today is Sunday it is major cleaning day, which just means, in addition to my regular cleaning, my husband vacuums. And I run a duster over the furniture, wipe down the window sills, change the bed sheets, wash the kitchen and bathroom floors. It also means, PIZZA DAY. It’s not like we couldn’t have pizza any other day of the week, or even every day if we wanted, it’s just become SOP. Like Sunday being major cleaning day (as if every day isn’t a cleaning day for me. Yesterday I was doing the on-my-hands-and-knees shower scrubbing – it has now become a standard Saturday chore.)

I wish I had a balcony or patio – it is such a gorgeous morning. The next place I live will have to have “outdoor” space. No compromises. And wouldn’t it be lovely to live in a place that isn’t hot and humid, as if that place even exists any more. At least we have mild Winters, most of the time, periodic snowmageddons, are no more fun than extreme heat and humidity for months at a time.

Look at this – me writing a post early in the day. Most of the time I don’t get a chance to really settle into internet/computer stuff until the middle of the afternoon. But I’m typing on the laptop, which I don’t like – the ‘t’ is wonky – I hit it once and two show up on my screen – what is that about?

Enjoy your day and I hope you dance…

to go back to my Blogger blog and read the posts I deemed worthy of saving. Quite frankly some of them are damn fine writing. What amuses me is that I have been talking about the same things for 20 years – way to be boring Grace. Or is it that some topics just interest me, lots of posts about words and language and usage.  Posts written while I lived in Philadelphia are truly snarky, and funny. Oh, how I hated Filthadelphia!

I’ve been writing about, and sharing, a lot of music in the last week or so, a meander through those old posts shows this is not a new thing for me. I particularly like this one –

Wednesday, October 15, 2008
MUSIC IS MAGIC

People say “Stop and smell the roses”; I say “Stop and listen to the music” but don’t really stop because if there is music then there is movement, there is dance.

Music is everywhere, all the time. You just have to listen. Okay, there is the obvious music – leaves rustling, birds, squirrels chattering; and the sound of the wind. Some of you may hear the music of traffic – different cars make different sounds, even the rhythm of a line of cars going over a speed bump. The cacophony of honking horns, some with high notes, some with low added to the revving of motors – the varoom, varoom and the bleat, bleat – can you feel the beat?

And the magic? I’m always playing music in my head – it’s not imaginary music, it’s real – I hear it, and dance to it. Did you ever watch people walking on a busy street – they are all walking in different rhythms, and don’t you add the melody to the beat – in your head? If you are part of that crowd, don’t you pick up the rhythm and walk along to it: sharing the music, sharing the rhythm. There’s magic in that. In that moment in time you, and all those other people, are communicating, sending, back and forth, calling out to each other, call and response. It’s magic.

I love the music of the city. There’s a church nearby whose bells toll each hour; the Mr. Frosty truck that comes by each afternoon, the sound right this minute of a car going by outside the house – first a low swoosh that crescendos and fades; loud trucks, soft cars; some take longer to fade, and I sway to the swoosh.

People remind me of songs – That song and that person will forever be connected in my mind. Some times it’s their song I hear. The song that is THEM; that is their heart beat, their life force dancing through their body and brain.

We are music. The first sounds we hear are music – the beating of our mother’s heart; of our own. The low notes – we hear them first. Warm, dark, comforting. Rhythm – babies love the rhythm – rock them and they are soothed; swing them gently back and forth; our earliest memories, our first memories, are musical – rhythm and melody. The beat of the heart, the melody of the movement of the fluid we float in…our first memories. We share these memories, tho different rhythms and different melodies, and sing out to each other – hear me, hear my music.

Listen – the world is never silent, nor are we. Clear your mind and then listen – can you hear your song? Can you hear mine?