The definiton of you

This week, one of my fellow Fun Monday participants, Jeanna, posed this question:

Are we defined by nationality or region, looks, profession or lack thereof? What defines you: Your job, your family, your desires, your roots—what?

One half of my family, my Dad's side, has been in America, forever, since the 1700's, my Mom's side has been here for 3-4 generations. I'm an American, but I'm also half Norwegian and half everything else. I also think I'm defined by my actions. I'm a daughter, sister, wife, aunt mother, grandmother, friend, animal lover. I'm a bookseller, artist, gardener, cook, photographer, blogger, writer. I'm no longer a seamstress, but I'm an knitter, crocheter and beader.

Obviously, I thought this was an interesting question. What about you, how are you defined?

A rat's tale

This tale, started last Monday. I was sitting at the computer and I heard a noise overhead, it sounded as if some one had hurled gravel across the ceiling. Since this was unusual, I called the local pest control company, that we use for ant control, and once, because there was a rat in our attic. When they'd taken care of the previous rat problem, they'd given us a one year guarantee, because they're professional and thought they'd sealed up any access to the crawl space. They couldn't send their guy, Tony, out until Friday.

In the meantime, we had no more gravel sounds but we had knocking sounds over the guest bedroom. Intermittent knocking, around the clock, started on Tuesday, and was still going strong when Tony arrived on Friday.

When Tony accessed the crawl space, he said, "Holy Cow, this is one tough rat. He's caught in a trap right across his neck and he's still banging around." So, Super Rat's been caught for 5 days, and is still alive and kicking. Tony asked us for a box to put him in. When Tony put him in the box, he jumped out, still with the trap around his neck! Tony put him back in the box, sealed the box and disposed of Super Rat. Amazing.

Now, here's the kicker. I as am typing this post, what do I hear, gravel being sprayed across the ceiling, again. Here we go, again.

Picture This

These are a couple of shots I took before my lunch with Annie Barrows, on Thursday. I took them at the Marina, in Long Beach. I posted them yesterday on Picture This. The theme was Shadows and Reflections. Today, the theme changed to Rusty, Broken or Abandoned, and I posted these:

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If you're interested what everyone else posted on Picture This, or even joining, be sure to check it out. If you want to join, just email Dot, the esteemed leader.

Another how to do it....

I stole this. I did, I stole this idea from my daughter, Carrie. Today she posted her avatar, so of course I had to give it a try. I tried this on another program, once, and I ended up feeling stupid; but this one I could do! Yipee! I even did one for Bob, of course. Create your own here.

How'd you do that..

Yesterday, Daryl told how to do a double exposure using Picasa, so of course I had to give it a try. I was working on some shots of an abandoned Little League field; so, that's what I combined.

First, here is the finished product, what do you think?

These are the two images I used, a padlocked gate and the bleachers.

This was fairly easy, after Daryl explained it, of course. Go to Picasa's desktop application and upload two or more photos, then click on the Collage option and chose Multi Exposure. I was about as easy as falling off a log!

Do you Etsy?

Whenever I want something unique I shop at Etsy. Carrie does, too, and I'm often the lucky recipient. Here are the bracelets she gave me for my birthday:

Aren't they wonderful. I get mega compliments each and every time I wear them. She got them at the Etsy shop, annie & olive. So, my point is, if you don't want to search for that perfect gift for some one, even yourself, give Etsy a try.

It's only a bloody book

I don't know what Rushdie could be thinking, but, I agree with the Guardian reporter, Tim Footman, "He needs to take a deep breath and repeat to himself the mantra that should have been drummed into the wielders of the fatwa, the burners of effigies and wannabe assassins: it's only a bloody book."

John Blake Publishing has delayed publication of On Her Majesty's Service by Ron Evans after Salman Rushdie threatened legal action over the memoir by a former Special Branch officer who had served on a special detail protecting Rushdie.

According to the Guardian, Evans "claimed that the security guards protecting Rushdie during the fatwa against him 'got so fed up with his attitude that they locked him in a cupboard under the stairs and all went to the local pub for a pint or two.' Evans also claimed that the guards nicknamed Rushdie Scruffy, which Rushdie said was untrue."

The publishers' managing director, John Blake, said, "If anyone should be defending freedom of speech it should be him . . . I can't believe that he'd really want to ban a book because it says that detectives named him Scruffy--in a way that's almost affectionate."

Rushdie told the Guardian he is "not trying to prevent him from publishing his stupid book but if they publish it as it is there will be consequences and there will be a libel action."

Word Graphics

I was asked by a couple of people how I did the word graphics for my Fun Monday post, this week. It's really simple.

First you need to know, like Mrs. G, I learned everything I know about computers from the Amish. Second, I'm not afraid of much, so I get in there and just do things. My son-in-law, Ole and my computer guy Mike, will attest to this.

Now, here's how I did mine:

First, go to wordle - (http://wordle.net/) and create you word cloud. You can either copy and paste a bunch of words or enter a URL of any blog. If you do the URL, it will grab the words from your most recent posts. It doesn't do any good to specify a particular post, for that you need to copy and paste. At the bottom, click on save to gallery.

Second, to to the gallery and save your word cloud(s) to a folder in you pictures file, maybe call it Wordle, so it's easy to find. I did so many (7) because they are small, and I wanted a bigger presentation.

Third, go to Mosaic Maker - (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php) and put together a mosaic of your little wordles, to make a larger presentation. I did one with 2 rows x 2 columns, and one with 1 row x 3 columns. Save this to your computer.

Now from your saved mosaic(s), you can upload to your post.

Here are examples using the words from this post, only.

Here's a different mosaic, of us being goofy at the minor league baseball game.

Life is a Cabaret, old chum...

Yesterday, went to Cabaret. It was a fantastic presentation by our local Community Theater. They did a great job. Sally Bowles was played by a local 17 year old high schooler, I see great things in her future. We've always supported the theater, both professional and community; but with community theater, we're never sure what will happen. That's part of the fun.

My World in Black and White

Here are some of my recent contributions to The World in Black and White, the photo blog I belong to. We had such fun at the circus, last week.

frustrated with Blogger

Yesterday, I started having trouble with Blogger. I first noticed it in my Reader; I wasn't able to access about 1/2 of those I wanted to leave a comment on. This morning is about the same and I'm frustrated. I'm not a compulsive commenter; I'm more the type that leaves a comment when I have something to say. In other words, I try not to just comment just for the sake of commenting; kinda like I try to not be on of those who "talks just to hear herself talk". So, I'll be around to comment, whenever this gets straightened out.

Plus, I can't even access the two photo blogs I contribute to. Oddly, I can post, from my dashboard, but not view! Maybe you can: they're The World in Black and White and Picture This. Hope this gets fixed, fast.

Photo by gin_able, on flickr

Mystery Shopper

Talk about a surprise, I helped a customer at the bookstore and it turned out to be some one I know! One of my blog pals was in the area, took a chance that I'd be at B&N, and stopped by to meet me. I was truly surprised. It was Katney, of Katney's Kaboodle. She and her husband are visiting her brother, and I got to meet them all. As I said, it was a surprise, and it left a smile on my face that lasted all day.

Would you do this to your child?

This is from yesterday's LA Times:

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND -- A family court judge in New Zealand has had enough with parents giving their children bizarre names here, and did something about it.

Just ask Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii. He had her renamed.

Judge Rob Murfitt made the 9-year-old girl a ward of the court so that her name could be changed, he said in a ruling made public today. The girl was involved in a custody battle, he said.
The new name was not made public to protect the girl's privacy.

"The court is profoundly concerned about the very poor judgment which this child's parents have shown in choosing this name," he wrote. "It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily."

The girl had been so embarrassed at the name that she had never told her closest friends what it was. She told people to call her "K" instead, the girl's lawyer, Colleen MacLeod, told the court.

In his ruling, Murfitt cited a list of the unfortunate names.

Registration officials blocked some names, including Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit, he said. But others were allowed, including Number 16 Bus Shelter "and tragically, Violence," he said.

New Zealand law does not allow names that would cause offense to a reasonable person, among other conditions, said Brian Clarke, the registrar general of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

Clarke said officials usually talked to parents who proposed unusual names to convince them about the potential for embarrassment.

Amazing. Of course, New Zealand isn't the only place this happens.

Saturday Night

Last night Sharon met us at the Storm game. Oden is staying with us this week and it was Storm Hat Give Away night, so we all go a brand new white baseball cap. When we first got there, before the stands filled up, I tried to get a group shot of the four of us, using the tried and true, extend the arm method. Of course, it didn't work! No, kidding. Plus, Oden got weird with a pen, and his nose.

The Storm professional photographer, a nice young man walked by,

and offered to snap a photo.

Much better, but still with the damn pen!!!

When I threatened Oden with his well-being, he relented for this shot. Good thing, too.

The stadium was a sea of white hats.

Where I live

When we moved here, 10 years ago, because of retirement, we were ready for a change. Boy did we get a change. Part of it was great, part has been weird. When we moved to Murrieta, we left a very liberal city, Long Beach. I was born there, and Bob lived there since he was in Jr. High. Long Beach is so liberal it has the 2nd largest gay and lesbian population in the U.S., more than S.F. , but less than NYC.

I'm pretty liberal, and Bob's pretty conservative; as I’ve stated previously, we have a mixed marriage. Oh, he's in the right spot when it comes to really important things, like women's rights; after all, he has me and two fiery daughters; and discrimination.

One of the first sights we beheld was anti-abortion marchers. They were marching in front of the neighborhood Carl’s Jr., that bastion of conservative philanthropy. (It's been 30 years since I've eaten at Carl's Jr.) In addition to marching back and forth, they were carrying graphic signs and wearing ketchup soaked clothing; very gruesome appearing, but handy if you get fries with your order. I turned to Bob and said, “Oh, we may have made a mistake.” I’m all for freedom of speech, but this made me very uncomfortable. I’ve marched for the other side, and had similarly attired spectators shout nasty things at me.

So, fast forward, 10 years, moving to Murrieta has been great for both of us. It truly is a great community, and Bob and I have made many wonderful friends. Our lives are full, retirement really isn’t for sissies. Yesterday, when I was driving home from work, I noticed this truck in front of me.

They're still out there. They're the same people who come into the bookstore and turn every book by a liberal author over, so the cover doesn't show; or they accuse the staff or hiding conservative titles. They place Christian Inspiration books in the Gay and Lesbian Cultural Studies section, and in the New Age section. They attempt "conversions" in the aisles. True. They just don't get it. We're in business to sell books. We don't care which books, but the more books we sell, the longer we can stay in business, the more payroll budget we have to keep everyone employed. People are amazing.

Small World

I was working at the Customer Service desk at Barnes and Noble, last week, when I saw a woman I thought I recognized. She kept looking my way, too, so I thought there was a good chance we really did know each other. Finally, it dawned on me who she was. I approached her and asked, "Did you work for me 20 years ago at Victoria's Secret?" "Yes," she said, "I couldn't figure out where I knew you from." "Your name is Kara, and you're a ballerina."

Kara is now 39, no longer a ballerina, but she is a Mom of three beautiful girls, who she proudly introduced me to. I was a retail manager for over 7 years, and Kara is one of the few sales associates I actually remember. She was a hard worker, a nice teenager, she was an Angel in the Glory of Christmas Pageant at the Crystal Cathedral, and she was, and is, beautiful; the kind of beauty that glows, from the inside. We spent a few minutes catching up, and I went back to work, and she rounded up her daughters, and went to find her husband.

It really is a small world.

Why Guys Marry Some Girls (but Not Others)

Tie-the-Knot-Trait 1: She's Exciting and Always Evolving
Tie-the-Knot-Trait 2: She Really, Really Loves Sex
Tie-the-Knot-Trait 3: She Makes It Clear He's Not Her Entire Life
Tie-the-Knot-Trait 4: ...Yet She Still Conveys How Very Important He Is to Her
Tie-the-Knot-Trait 5: She Wants Him to Be the Best Man He Can Be

This list is from lifestyle.msn.com, recently. It really made a lot of sense to me. The article was about how men chose their brides, but I think it's just as important for long term marriage.

photos by: abbietabbie, srokamandy

Phishing

The following is hilarious, like I care if they've blocked my "online banking". I don't have, and never have had, an account with B of A! I do have a PayPal account and received a similar phishing notice last week. Crazy out there. They'd really like me to update my non-existent account!

From : Bank of America Support
Sent : Monday, June 23, 2008 1:29 PM
Subject : Notification from Bank of America


Your Online Banking is Blocked

We recently reviewed your account, and suspect that your Bank Of America
account
may have been accessed by an unauthorized third party. Protecting the
security of
your account and of the Bank Of America network is our primary concern.
Therefore,
as a preventative measure, we have temporarily limited access to
sensitive account features.

To restore your account access, please take the following steps to
ensure that your account
has not been compromised:

http://www.bankofamerica.com.sitekey.using.ssl.upsys738.org/sitekey/system.htm?UPDATE


We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and appreciate your
assistance in helping
us maintain the integrity of the entire Bank Of America system.

Thank you.

Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender
© 2008 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

Blog Pals

Lots of children have pen pals. It's something I never did. I had plenty of friends and cousins to hang out with. I also don't remember my daughters ever having pen pals.

A friend of my friend Carolyn was trying to explain to her about why he blogs. He's in his 60's and a widower, and he compared blogging to having pen pals; and I think that is a good analogy. It is a way to 'meet' new people, many who share a commonality.

I started blogging after my daughter moved across the country. She started a blog as a way to keep in touch, and I followed suit. It doesn't replace a visit or a phone call, but it's a good substitute, with visuals.

I've made a couple of good blog friends, and I've sure there are more in the offing. I enjoy discovering a new blog that seems interesting. I'll put it in my reader and see if the interest holds up. Sometimes it's a short ‘friendship’, sometimes it's lengthy. If I find myself looking forward to the next post, that blog will probably never leave my reader. If I find myself getting bored, I delete it. This is pretty pain-free for me and the other blogger.

I also strive to make my blog a lot like me, hard to pigeon-hole. I also, try to keep the prose clean, something I don't worry about, normally.

This is an odd post, I know, but I'm odd, and I'll just keep blogging about what I like.

Created by OnePlusYou

Things you don't know

• My nose has been broken 3 times. The first time, I was 3, my Mom was in the hospital for surgery, and I was staying with friends.


• I'm a book snob, I read too many books to waste my time on the plot-less or poorly written. I'd give you examples, famous ones, but I try to keep this positive.


• I'm also a hair snob. I hate when older men and women, dye their hair. As we age our faces, and other parts, soften; and the harsh colors of black, dark brown, bright red, etc. just do nothing to enhance our beauty.


• I'm allergic to cats. I like all animals, to varying degrees, so this is too bad.


• Most of my pets have been dogs, but we have also owned a rabbit, a tortoise, mice, parrots, love birds, finches, and many fish.


• I have very few regrets, one is I've never been to Europe.


• I've traveled to all the States, many, multiple times, except Alaska. We may do that soon.


• I've only lived in Southern California, my entire life; in reverse order, the last 10 years in Murrieta, 30 years in Long Beach, 4 years of apartment living, Paramount, Bell Gardens Downey - when newly married, 19 years in Long Beach before I was married.


• I remember most of my addresses: 2035, 6618, 8141, 3226, 40612.


• I use very colorful language on a regular basis; never at work, except in the backroom.


• My favorite food is Mexican, I do live in Southern California, after all, and Japanese food, not sushi. At home I like simple fare, and soups are a year round favorite.


• My first job, I was a bookkeeper in a bank. This was in the olden days, 1962. None of the checks we posted to customers accounts had account numbers, names or any other ID on them. We sorted and posted by signature alone.


• I'm frequently asked if I'm a librarian, or a retired librarian, this has been going on for 40 years. I don't know why. I know lots of librarians, and I don't look like any of them.


• For 10 years I rode Harleys, I didn't drive them, I rode in the co-pilot position. We rode every weekend, weather permitting, year round. I loved it. This was before helmet laws. During this time, I never rode with a helmet.