A World of Magnets and Miracles

you're what--?

Whatever it takes to get you to look up at the camera, Jim.
--Jim sounded a slight concerned when I told him I'd figured out how to post pictures. He asked if I'd posted any pictures of him yet. Not yet. He almost sounded like he was worried that I had an embarassing picture of him. I think this is a very nice picture of Jim. Besides, why would I want to post an embarrassing picture?
I do seem to recall a certain bearded fellow telling me last night that he can't be embarrassed.

We went to see the Meet the Fockers last night. Dustin Hoffman was brilliant!(As usual) Jim said that he thought it was funnier than Meet the Parents. It's on his "must buy" list of DVD's now.
It was great. It was actually a date. I loved it.

Today's Wednesday, right? So far the week is going slowly. Parfait. I don't need time moving too quickly on me. Every minute is precious. 's funny. When I was a kid, I couldn't wait for time to get moving. Now I wish it'd take a lude or something and slow down. Such is life.

Burning Daylight

bon jour!
I'm up early this morning.(And Jim said he wanted me to be able to sleep in before we got together)... I'm trying to brainstorm on things to do in case Jim asks the infamous question: "What d'you want to do?" Because I don't want to answer him with: "Ida know. What d'you want to do?" Not good.
"Please don't answer a question with a question," Jim pleads, "If I already had something in mind, I wouldn't have asked you."
Sound logic, really.

Noelle and I had a gift exchange last night. I gave her the scarf and she got me a rose-scented candle and made me a ring. We watched Seinfeld and French & Saunders. Good stuff.
"We're goin' with 'Jerk Store'!!"

Well, it's getting to be about that time. I'm still in my jammies and Jim will be calling soon.

ciao!

The hills are alive!!

With the Sound of Music!

I do like this new background. I do, I do. Of course, if I knew more about html, I could fudge with it and customize it even more. But--

I don't know--
My music project that I'd finished a couple years ago is MIA... Which if it remains MIA, it'll be retitled: "The Lost Recordings"... Which is almost better becuz it sounds much cooler. The composing program I used for it is now obsolete, which means I have to learn new software in order to make the third album. On the brighter side, the new software that's out there would probably help the music sound more professional and not so "home-made". I find myself worrying about anyone taking the music seriously and not looking at me like I've got lobsters in my ears. But then some of the music wasn't anything anyone could take seriously. (90% of the tracks on the 1st album I couldn't listen to without laughing at it)... But then maybe that's what I wanted.(A subconscious inside joke)
But I don't even know what the 3rd album will be. I've often toyed with the idea of a dance album. And I've come to the conclusion that it wouldn't take long to make. We'll see where the creative process takes me....... . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . ..

J'ai une montre

it's such a beautiful day... The snow makes it seem brighter out by virtue of reflection. I Must remind myself of the time as this day passes. I can't believe it's lunch time already.
I wonder how accurate babelfish is for translations. It's so odd to think that "table" is the same in French as in English. Or maybe I misspelled table. is it tabel? NO. it's table. hmm. In Spanish it's "Mesa". Idaknow. It's a long road to that metropolis called "Multi-Lingual". But we'll get there. It's a wonderful place, really. Particularly for anyone who likes the writing game. Something about having more than one way to express yourself.

I'm not sure. Noelle can correct me if I'm wrong. Or perhaps she can help clarify.

Then again, I might not be making any sense at all.

Froggy went a'courtin & he did ride

uh-huh!.

Suddenly I'm in a learning mode again. Which is cool, really. I don't ever want to lose my "Learning Mode". I've heard it said so many times that one of the major keys to remaining active is to keep learning & keeping your mind active is the best way to ward of alzheimer's.
But not just for my health. I just dig learning certain things. Like languages. And reading. I've always been a bookworm. But I see myself applying what I know about analysis to both books and movies.(Identifying a plot devices in Halloween, or shaking my head at the duex machina(I've probably spelled that wrong) in Uncle Buck.)
But you know what I mean, right? There you go, just nod your head vaguely and smile.

We 3 kings of Orient are-- Smoking on a Rubber Cigar

Christmas. Que tiempo ser vivo.
On the plus side, the holiday fell on a Saturday which qualified me for holiday pay at work.(Hurrah!)

But it's over now. The hoopla has passed. Hoopla's such an odd word. Doncha think? Of course, I've always been a fan of 'heebeejeebees'. It's just as fun to say as it is to look at on the page. But 'heebeejeebees' has no place in the great American Novel. Lest you can slide it into the dialogue. To paraphrase Darryl Hannah, the sexy cyclops(Kill Bill): It's such a great word, but I so seldom get to use it.

I'm giving myself a refresher in Spanish. As well as learning new vocabulary. I don't want to forget it. Plus it's cool to speak another language. I got a $20 Borders Gift Card for Christmas and I'm thinking one of the things I'll get is a English/French Dictionary. But I'm sure this will change once I get in the store and start salivating over the plethora of books.
Plethora's another one of those words that's cool but you seldom get to use without sounding odd. OH! And don't forget "behoove".

Oh Doctor Please. Some more of these!

Oh yes. It's that time of year once again. Time for candy and cookies and presents. My mother boasts an over abundance of Bailey's and coffee. But I'll take my coffee straight.
My sister's asleep on the couch upstairs, so I'm not sure how I want to go about wrapping presents this morning. I thought it'd be a piece of cake given the different hours we keep.

Surprises are essential every holiday season. If you can see it coming, what's the point? "I can't tell you that." Is the clever phrase heard over and over again. Or: "You'll just have to wait and see."
Of course, every jaded mother who's at odds with her boy will say: "If you don't behave, Santa won't bring you nothing but coal this year!" And then run off to have herself a Bailey's to calm her nerves. Or perhaps Mother's Little Helper. You know.. that little yellow pill. Outside the door, she took four more. What a drag it is getting old...

But what a time to be alive, eh?!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I'd like to try that bread.

Lordy, Lordy. Lookout! I've figured out how to post picutres! No one is safe now! Muwahahahaha. This is really getting to be an addiction. Oh boyohboyohboyohboy.
I definately need more coffee.
One would think if you loaded up on enough coffee the heat would keep you warm for quite sometime. But I'm not sure. There are many theories for perpetual warmth, but none work quite so well as a plain jane fire.(Lest of course it rains.. or you're under a tree loaded down with snow and the wind's blowing)
But I digress.

Oh hell.. was there a point to digress from?

Chico the Wonder Pup 

Separation of Family

Well my Mom just chewed my ass for visiting our uncle(her brother) yesterday. Not sure if she's trying to tell me not to associate myself with them- but screw her. I have no quarrel with Uncle Tom. He and Terry are my favorite uncles. Reguardless of my mom's greivances and personal hard-ons. I mean, she has her reasons for being miffed with her siblings. But why should that affect me and whether or not I can visit my relatives?

Christmas is intended to be a time for family. A time for peace. Not a sordid soap opera. And yes, it's a time for giving- But not a contest to see who can score the most elaborate gift, either. As far as gift-giving is concerned, it shouldn't be a mind game. You should know your gift recipient well enough to know what they do and don't like. Otherwise, why are you giving the gift? Just because it's expected? It's like Christmas cards. They're supposed to be to let someone know you're thinking of them this holiday season. Most people these days, however, view it as an ugly chore. I've heard many jokes about being taken off someone's "Christmas Card List" Because they pissed the person off. hahaha.
The only family Christmases that I remember fondly were when my Gramma was still alive. And these were Christmases when the entire family gathered, contributing to the monster buffet and extensive dessert trays. The men played cards in the living room, the women chatted in the kitchen, and the kids ran 'round looking for things to get into, occasionally stopping in the kitchen for a cookie or two.(or 3 or 4) They were good times. But they're gone now.
Christmas has become a pressure cooker fuled by the almighty dollar.
I'm going to stop there before this starts sounding cliche or trite.

Gotta getta Buck!

Well, we had our Christmas dinner. The pie was a sad joke. But the rest was all good.
Jim got me a Buck knife. What I thought was especially cute was the band-aids he'd included in the box. He also got me a box of mint chocolates. Yummers!
Rather than draw it out, I told him that I was working on a Voyager hat for him.

I thought I'd do some baking this afternoon, but the only flour we have is Bread Flour and I'm thinking that's what screwed up the pie.

I think the high today was 5. Yes, 5 degrees. Started out at below zero earlier today. Ho-lee Jeezus was it cold! I may just manage to quit smoking if this keeps up. (No smoking allowed indoors) Or start spending 20 minutes getting bundled up so I can step outside for a 10 minute cigarette. Insane.
Chico the Wonder Pup hates this cold weather. Takes an act of God and Congress to get him outside.(I'm not sure I used that expression right) But we can't let him revert to using the paper indoors just cuz he gets cold pooties. That'd make it hard to get him back in the habit of going outside come spring. Or not. Maybe the boy's smarter than I give him credit for. Dunno.

ANYway...
We had a wonderful little candle-lit Christmas. No tree, nor lights. But that's okay.
Would've liked to find some mistletoe, but-- What can you do?

You'll loose all your horses and half your hair.

Well... It's been done:

http://6degreesofslimpickens.blogspot.com

The novel now has its own blog. Here you will find all sorts of tidbits and free writing about the novel.

Jim and I are going to celebrate Christmas tomorrow. I've got a boneless turkey thawing in the sink at the moment for our Christmas dinner. Hope it thaws in time. Those things take a long time to cook! Hen turkey or not... I've got acorn squash and Jim tells me about cooking it with brown sugar. I've never had squash with brown sugar.... He was going to bring in brown sugar but I have some here. (Provided I remember to bring the brown sugar)
I didn't manage to get Jim's Christmas present done in time, but he tells me not to worry about it. But I'll at least get it done before the weather changes and he can't use it any more.

Aside from that, I'm needing to keep myself focused on "The Novel". All these little distractions filter through(Bop It! being foremost)... But I must return to center.
Oh yes, I'm learning knitting. It's fabulous. I guess you could call it a potential distraction. But it's something to do when Writer's Block strikes. I'm not going to become obsessed with knitting. Oh no. Just a nice hobby on the side. Jim has permission to smack me if I should let it become a full-fledged addiction.(where I can't even kick back in a social setting because I'm absorbed in my knitting~ The knitting version of my sister ~) Just a nice hobby on the side. Yes.

So today we're preparing for Catherine's. Needing to stop at Wal-Mart to get one of those basic gift sets. Trying to time it right so we're not stuck there having dinner. But since this trip will probably take us most of the day, Jim says he's taking off 1/2 a day. This will give him time to get his truck running and hopefully still have time to venture into the woods to get the buck he saw last night.
Good Luck, Jim!

Could it be a white Christmas?

It's colder than a witch's tit out there. But we finally got some snow.
Chico the Wonder Pup took a run across the driveway but found out he couldn't do the sudden stops like he used to without sliding. I can't wait to see what he does when it starts drifting.

We're supposed to go see my grandmother today for the prefunctory Christmas visit. And we have no gift. bleh.

I'm being a good little writer. Really I am. Getting myself psyched about this novel. And after having discovered the many bells and whistles of this blog site, it looks like I could set up an additional yet separate blog for the novel. And if it works like I hope, it'll help stir up things in my brain for writing.

Oh thank you Noelle for showing me blogger.com!

BOP IT!

Yes, yes.
Christmasis rearing it's ugly head. Just like it does every year.
Stopped in a Toys "R" Us tonight and I found myself wondering: "Where was this toy when I was a kid" .. or "I can't believe they still make this toy"... Then I begin to wish I weren't so poor. Tinkertoys, Lincoln Logs, Etcha Sketches, and View Masters... And then BopIt!..... I'd never had one before. Noelle told me about them, and when I saw it, I decided to splurge. I'm since hooked on it. Which is counterproductive, because I'm supposed to be working on my novel. (I'm such a bad writer) But then aren't most writers uber-procastinators?

Twist it! Twist it! Bop it! Pull it! Bop it! Bop it! Pull it! ~AAAH~