Drumroll please ...

Yay!



I know my blog is fairly schizophrenic, is it about beading? Cats? What I did on my summer vacation? I'm not quite sure. But whatever it's about, it has been 2 years and I'm still here. I'm pretty sure I haven't become any more interesting, my grammar hasn't improved, and my punctuation is still horrendous. So to anybody (that includes you lurkers) who has stuck around - or found me and not run off screaming, THANK YOU!!!

**Edited to add - Obviously I made my own graphic - apparently I can't spell BLOGOVERSARY!!!!Sigh-h-h.

Maxine Monday

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It IS spring, right?

Or almost? You sure couldn't tell in MY neighborhood!





Make it go away!!!

What evil lurks?

Abby is our evil cat. She was abandoned in an apartment somewhere, my daughter brought her home and did the "PLEASE Mom????" Many promises were made and I agreed to let Dani keep her. But Abby never got along with the other cats and the feeling was mutual. While the other cats are lying around the living room or my bedroom, Abby likes to go here - on top of the china cabinet. Tonight my son was walking past, saw her and said "great, a sniper position." I laughed and said "yeah, her very own clock tower!"




Then I looked up. Um yeah, there IS a clock up there. Maybe she's even more evil than I thought.

Have you?

Ever written a post full of happy, shiny words just to change your Google ads? Cause that's what I'm doing right now. Writing about rainbows and cotton candy and clouds that look like horses when I lay on my back and watch them move across the sky. Yeah, and lollipops and puppies and ... and .. Winnie the Pooh! I'm writing about brand new lovely babies and spring flowers and sunshine! Only good things that look nice and smell nice and make me feel wonderful and terrific!

That oughta do it!

Those fleeting thoughts

Do you ever wonder what people think of you? I don't mean obsessively. I don't mean like you seriously worry about it or even care really. But do you have those fleeting thoughts when you are out somewhere and you see someone look at you - and wonder what they are thinking?

I do. And I guess I also form quick opinions as I pass by people I don't know. I might see a woman in what looks to be night-club attire at 10:00 in the morning and think "Oh, inappropriate. I wonder where SHE works!" Or maybe I spot an older man in his slippers shuffling into the drug store and think "Oh I'll bet his wife sent him." Things like that.

It doesn't mean anything, these things aren't consciously thought out they just sort of pop into your mind, little snap judgments you have as you walk by people, forgotten as quickly as you think them.

Mostly I don't care what people think when they see me - I'm sure other people have those odd little thoughts when I walk by too. But there IS one that kind of bothers me.

I frequently stop at my local drug store as it is so close to my house. And sometimes on my way home from work it occurs to me I'm just about out of cat food, so I pull into the parking lot and go in to the store to grab a couple of cans.

I, like most people, have heard the stories about old people eating pet food. And the stories tend to focus on old women. And cat food. So as I stand in line with my tuna pate or turkey and giblets grill - it is inevitable that it will cross my mind - "I hope nobody thinks this is my dinner."

It's NOT. I promise.

Morning and I are not friends.

..and I really believe this.

Do I choose not to remember?

I know my vet's office staff must think I'm the weirdest pet owner ever. Or maybe the worst pet owner. Although I guess not the worst I mean - I go there, right? But I cannot remember how old my cats are. Riley is my crabby old man cat, but if you ask me how old he is I will say - 13, I don't know, maybe 14 this year.

He's 16. And I have no doubt that the look of surprise on my face was enough to show Dr Judy that I really was surprised. Sixteen???? Dr Judy looked back at the chart. Yeah, he was born in '93. Hmmm.

I know I have talked about this before but it's all tied up with my divorce. The beginning of the divorce (the realizations, revelations, etc) did start in '93. My divorce was final in '95. Somewhere in between there my husband, soon to be ex, moved out and I took my kids and got 2 kittens to bring home.

But the '93 thru '95 space of time I have no clear memory of. I have clear memories of SOME things, but there are so many things I have blocked out and it amazes me every time it smacks me in the face again. Now, all these years later, wouldn't you think that self-protective grip on those memories would have let loose by now? I mean - I have NO feelings about my divorce at all anymore. No anger about what happened between us as a couple, he was a cad but I wasn't a joy to live with either. The only trauma I still feel comes from my anger at the kind of father my ex turned out to be. Not one. That's what kind he has been. Not one.

Anyway, I'm just surprised the time frame still plays hide 'n seek with my brain when I look that direction. So Riley is 16, which according to Dr Judy figures out to 80 years old in cat years. They must be different than dog years. So no wonder Riley is my crabby old man cat! He really IS old! Anyway. The small scratch on his eye is healing well, I will continue to treat it until Wednesday and if it stays looking okay - we're done with this malady. Thank goodness. I don't want Riley to suffer but damn! Going to the vet is expensive!! And .. it always kind of spooks me .. not remembering things from a whole space of time, it gives me a minor brush with senility I really don't like the feel of. Shudder..!

Maxine Monday

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I don't understand a lot of things.

Okay so, I need to ask a question. What's with those people who sit on the toilet in a public washroom, in a stall, having long conversations on the phone?? What in hell is that about? I just don't get it. I go in there to do whatever I need to, and that person a couple stalls down isn't hurting me, but it's damned annoying! And half the time the conversation isn't in English so you don't even know what they're talking about.

Is it a cultural thing? They have no problem sharing all those bodily function type things - I mean - just because she was on the phone it didn't stop me from flushing when I was done. Whoever she was talking to had to know she was in a bathroom.

And what about cookies? Sometimes in that public bathroom I look down and see a piece of cookie, or cracker on the floor. What is the assumption there, that somebody had cookies and crackers drop out of their pants when they pulled them down? Or .. or ... they were eating while sitting on a public toilet!

Let's say it together now EE-E-E-W-W-W-W-W-W!!!!!

Anyway, just askin'.

Drama-kitty

He's cute, isn't he? If not a little pathetic.




He was supposed to be done with the eye ointment yesterday but when I came home from work today he looked like this. You think it was a hint? He goes back to the vet tomorrow.




Such a drama queen!

Awareness is key

Does this say something about my sense of humor?

Maxine Monday

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Catnip and typhoid

Sitting here hoping I’m not coming down with some dire disease like typhoid, or cholera maybe. My office- roommate at work (offices are only for managers, we don’t have one) has typhoid, I’m sure of it. And she was sweet enough to come to work and breathe in the office room I share with her for 2 days. I’m pretty sure the half cube wall between us wasn’t enough to stop the spray from her sneezes from crossing the room. And she has a degree in microbiology! But I digress. So now of course I am getting a sore throat and I just don’t feel right. And I made the mistake of announcing today that I may get sick sometimes, but I don’t get colds. I believe I said “I haven’t had a cold in a million years!” Everyone within earshot made sure to reinforce how oh yes – NOW I will.

Yeah, so while my sickness may be in my head (I’m hoping), I have to take the doggone boy cat Riley to the vet again. Now he’s got some nasty goop in his eye and he’s kind of half closing it like the other cat did for a long time after I accidentally pinpoint sprayed water right into her eye. She would squint with one eye for a long time after that. So Riley has to go to the vet and have his goop looked at. Yay me – how I love going to the vet! But I guess Riley hates it more than me. Not sure why though, I always buy him a new catnip toy which he rolls around on and licks and gets all Michael Phelps off of, all the while purring ‘sucker’ under his breath. All I get is the bill.

I’m tired. Really tired, and I’m going to bed. I’m going to take the attitude that tomorrow I will wake up and want to go back to sleep as usual, but I will get out of bed and feel fine. I will take the cat to the the vet, he’ll get some drops for his eye and we will come home and share a can of tuna. Okay, maybe not that last part. But all will be well. Positive thinking, right?

Stop and smell the what?

This week has gone by fast. There is a part of me that is always happy when Friday approaches, yay the weekend! No work!

But the other side of me wants time to slow down. It's moving way too fast and it seems the older I get - the faster it goes. When I was a kid a summer day lasted forever from the time I stepped that first bare foot outdoors, until late in the day when it was approaching darkness and the other kids got called in, and I went home. I never got called in that I recall. The parents of the kids I played with would bellow from their front porches, flash their porch lights, or send a sibling to find a brother or sister. And I always went home when there was no one left to play with. I guess my Mom always knew I'd get there.

Now it seems like the days are over before they begin, kids have grown and are transitioning between being kids and adults when I think I've only recently reconciled with being an adult myself. I'm paying the bills, getting the car fixed, taking the cat with the thyroid disorder and the goopy eye to the vet, and am starting to miss when I don't have any salad fixings or oranges in the house. To me, sugar is a food group so that last bit is strange.

There isn't a way to re-do anything I've done wrong, God knows I have a list. And I've always had trouble living in the moment. It's always been about tomorrow.

But as I sit here thinking about it I realize that tomorrow is here.

And I'm not sure what to do with it.

Hair today ...

Remember the hair thing? Dyed, or not? I mean I know people have been coming from far and wide, checking my blog to see what color my hair turned out to be!

Remember? I decided to go somewhere in between. I dye it, but don't leave the stuff on very long. It doesn't cover all the gray and gives me a more natural salt and pepper look. Or salt and cinnamon or something. So ...

Here were the choices. Dyed - or Not.

And this is the mixed color that results when I do my brand of hair coloring.

Besides looking tired (yes) and angry (no) you may be able to see the variation in color. I KNOW this is what you have been waiting for and I am pleased to be able to satisfy your curiosity.

That's all. You can go back about your regular business. Thank you very much.

Startle me with music!

I'm Stumbling the other day (I may have to uninstall it again) and I come to this blog that looks kind of interesting, I'm skimming it, looking at the pictures and all of a sudden there is noise! Twang! Twang! It's the loud start of some sort of musical accompaniment for the blog. I can see it, read it, now I have background music too!

But here's the thing. I like music. But I may not like the music of the person whose blog I'm reading and I simply may not want to hear music right at that particular moment. They probably wouldn't like the music that I like either. Music is very subjective. But the point is, it is entirely possible that I might have found your blog quite interesting and or enjoyable -until the din started. I am aware that all I have to do is mute my sound, or slide around the page to find the little music player and click the music off. But I'm more likely to click on Stumble again and move on.

There have been a couple of blogs I've run into lately that startled me with their music, and I would just rather not, thank you. I am sure there are things people don't find attractive about my blog - too cluttered, the wrong colors, what are the flowers for? And that's fine, I know I can't please everyone. But the music takes it to a whole new level for me.

I don't know if I'm one of those persnickety people who doesn't like lots of things and am easily annoyed, so I'm asking. How do you feel about blogs with music? I've put up a poll. It's blue, right side bar.

If you want to know the truth - I am actually just trying to find out how neurotic I really am!
Play along, m'kay? Thanks.

** Edited to add - okay, the poll is not blue. I changed it. But there IS a poll.

Maxine Monday

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Time change?

WHAT TIME CHANGE? Am I the only one who didn't realize that this is the weekend that we "spring ahead"? Finding out at 6:30 Sunday evening that it's really 7:30 is disorienting for me! Was this on the news or anything? Somebody oughta set up some kind of notification system or something. I mean really.

What are we doing messing with TIME anyway?? Argh-h-h!!

This is not a cooking blog.

Far from it. But I made these tonight. It may or may not have anything at all to do with hormones or monthly anything. I just wanted them.

Ahem.


No bake cookies. When you don't have all the ingredients for cookies but really need SOMETHING.





No-Bake Cookies
makes about 2 dozen

2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa
pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
3 cups oatmeal


Combine sugar, cocoa, milk and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Cook until the mixture starts to boil and cook for 1 minute.
Add vanilla, salt, peanut butter and oatmeal and quickly stir until combined.
Drop teaspoons onto parchment paper and let cool.

My bad.

This kind of thing just makes me cry.
Cuz I can't stop laughing.






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I hate car stuff.

Spent a good portion of today in this position, looking at my shoes. No, it's not a bathroom.




It's where I took my car today to get some new tires (2 of them) for my car, a serpentine belt, and an oil change. I walked out of there feeling so bad, shaking my head wondering if I ended up getting talked into things and paid so much because I'm a girl. Damn! That's such a bad feeling!!

I cooked tonight.

That's all. It's an event unto itself. But, having a day off work and wasting time Stumbling, I came across a recipe that just looked good. So I made it - it is ridiculously easy but actually might make people think I know what I'm doing when I make it!

Er.. a firetruck pulled up outside while I was cooking and I was afraid they had found out I was attempting that activity but no, it wasn't for me. Whew! Anyway, it's grilled chicken tenderloins (without the grill) and if I can make it, I am sure anyone can. Yum! I found it here.

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So far - my son and I are still alive.

** Although I must admit the shock of finding cooked food when he came home from work was almost enough to put Andy away in itself!

When you care enough to send the very best ..

For those who have a slightly cockeyed view of the world -
this site will help you express those things for which only a card will do.




Enjoy!

Question . . .

So. If you eat it while ON the treadmill ... does it count?




Just asking.

Maxine Monday

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