This morning I finished reading "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, and just now I viewed the video of the meteor that fell to the earth in Calgary Canada the other night.
Had the asteroid hit the earth in a populated area, the resulting carnage and devastation might have matched that of the post-apocalyptic world described in the book.
Very disturbing.
"We are all going to hell in a hand basket" comes to my mind. Not sure about the origin of that saying, but I'll be looking it up.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Grandma Irene's coffee in seven easy steps
I was reminded of my grandmother's coffee routine recently when having a conversation about "the old days" (circa 'anything before 1960')
She lived in a second-floor apartment that had no central heat and linoleum-covered floors.
I stayed at Gram's house frequently on weekends and summer days. She was an early riser, and I remember always waking up around 6:30 a.m. to the delicious smell of coffee percolating.
The old-fashioned, cast-iron stove loomed large in Gram's kitchen. (When she wasn't looking, my cousins and I liked to watch our spit dance across the top of the griddle - very amusing.)
Once the coffee was finished, Gram's routine went like this:
1. For each grandkid, pour a glass of milk in a jelly jar and add a small amount of coffee. We LOVED the coffee milk with a little sugar and a fresh jelly donut.
Once the grandkids were occupied, she set about her own coffee.
2. Place an empty coffee cup inside a soup bowl
3. Fill the cup with fresh, hot coffee, leaving a little room for cream
4. Top the coffee with cream until it overflows into the bowl
5. Pour the coffee from the mug into the bowl
6. Lose the cup
7. Drink the coffee out of the bowl
Why?
The coffee cooled more quickly in the bowl than in the cup.
Genius
She lived in a second-floor apartment that had no central heat and linoleum-covered floors.
I stayed at Gram's house frequently on weekends and summer days. She was an early riser, and I remember always waking up around 6:30 a.m. to the delicious smell of coffee percolating.
The old-fashioned, cast-iron stove loomed large in Gram's kitchen. (When she wasn't looking, my cousins and I liked to watch our spit dance across the top of the griddle - very amusing.)
Once the coffee was finished, Gram's routine went like this:
1. For each grandkid, pour a glass of milk in a jelly jar and add a small amount of coffee. We LOVED the coffee milk with a little sugar and a fresh jelly donut.
Once the grandkids were occupied, she set about her own coffee.
2. Place an empty coffee cup inside a soup bowl
3. Fill the cup with fresh, hot coffee, leaving a little room for cream
4. Top the coffee with cream until it overflows into the bowl
5. Pour the coffee from the mug into the bowl
6. Lose the cup
7. Drink the coffee out of the bowl
Why?
The coffee cooled more quickly in the bowl than in the cup.
Genius
Friday, November 21, 2008
Aunt Millie
Aunt Millie is in the hospital. My father's sister, the last of my blood-related aunts and uncles. She's 79, and fighting stomach cancer.
My cousins and I gathered around her bed last night in her new digs on the oncology floor.
She had just come down from the medical ICU, where she spent 3 weeks with a breathing tube taped to her mouth.
I saw her last week with the tube, and thought she would not make it. I saw her last night without the tube, and with her family, and she was beautiful.
She knows her cancer is inoperable, but as the new nurse told her, she's seen miracles and there's no reason why it can't happen to her.
Pray for Aunt Millie.
My cousins and I gathered around her bed last night in her new digs on the oncology floor.
She had just come down from the medical ICU, where she spent 3 weeks with a breathing tube taped to her mouth.
I saw her last week with the tube, and thought she would not make it. I saw her last night without the tube, and with her family, and she was beautiful.
She knows her cancer is inoperable, but as the new nurse told her, she's seen miracles and there's no reason why it can't happen to her.
Pray for Aunt Millie.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Wallet-Challenged
How many times have you ever lost your wallet and had to cancel all your credit cards?
I've stopped counting, but if I had to guess, it might be a double-digit number.
I prefer to think of the multiple losses as my Credit Card Fraud Prevention Strategy (CCFPS). My account numbers change so frequently that the odds of a successful charge by a thief are practically nil.
I lost my wallet Halloween night. The next morning, the conversation with the AmEx customer service agent went something like this:
Her: "What are the last four digits of your card?"
Me: "I don't know, if I had my card I could tell you!"
Her: "No problem, I'll look it up. I see two accounts -- do you remember your last purchase on the card that you lost?"
Me: "No, I don't, but there should only be one account. Not sure why you're showing two."
Her: "Oh, I see now, the other one was closed in 2007 when you reported a lost card."
Of course, less than an hour later, I figured out where I lost the wallet. It was fully intact, including the $2 cash that was in it, when I retrieved it from bar #2 .
Handy Tip: Always start a tab at a bar by giving your debit card to the bartender. That way, if you lose your wallet before cashing out, you at least have the debit card to use the next day.
Places I've found or retrieved my wallet: 1) under my car in the driveway: 2) in my car on the floor next to the passenger's side door (that's a great hiding spot for cell phones, wallets, and eyeglass cases); 3) under my sofa where the cat pushed it so far back that I didn't see it when I leaned down to look there the first time; 4) in my office drawer at work; 5) in the pocketbook I last used before I switched to another pocketbook; 6) at the Police Department from a kind officer that got it from the honest person who found it on the ground.
Next up: Places that I've found my jewelry
I've stopped counting, but if I had to guess, it might be a double-digit number.
I prefer to think of the multiple losses as my Credit Card Fraud Prevention Strategy (CCFPS). My account numbers change so frequently that the odds of a successful charge by a thief are practically nil.
I lost my wallet Halloween night. The next morning, the conversation with the AmEx customer service agent went something like this:
Her: "What are the last four digits of your card?"
Me: "I don't know, if I had my card I could tell you!"
Her: "No problem, I'll look it up. I see two accounts -- do you remember your last purchase on the card that you lost?"
Me: "No, I don't, but there should only be one account. Not sure why you're showing two."
Her: "Oh, I see now, the other one was closed in 2007 when you reported a lost card."
Of course, less than an hour later, I figured out where I lost the wallet. It was fully intact, including the $2 cash that was in it, when I retrieved it from bar #2 .
Handy Tip: Always start a tab at a bar by giving your debit card to the bartender. That way, if you lose your wallet before cashing out, you at least have the debit card to use the next day.
Places I've found or retrieved my wallet: 1) under my car in the driveway: 2) in my car on the floor next to the passenger's side door (that's a great hiding spot for cell phones, wallets, and eyeglass cases); 3) under my sofa where the cat pushed it so far back that I didn't see it when I leaned down to look there the first time; 4) in my office drawer at work; 5) in the pocketbook I last used before I switched to another pocketbook; 6) at the Police Department from a kind officer that got it from the honest person who found it on the ground.
Next up: Places that I've found my jewelry
Friday, November 7, 2008
Sleep patterns
My mom used to fall asleep on the couch at night while watching TV, and then come upstairs to bed in the middle of the night.
When I fell asleep on the couch at night, she used to wake me up and say "Get up and go to sleep."
If I were George Carlin, I would analyze the oddity of that statement during a comedy routine -- "So, am I getting up or going to sleep?"
If my mother had a computer back in the day, I imagine she'd be writing at 5:50 a.m. too, not having gone to sleep yet.
When I fell asleep on the couch at night, she used to wake me up and say "Get up and go to sleep."
If I were George Carlin, I would analyze the oddity of that statement during a comedy routine -- "So, am I getting up or going to sleep?"
If my mother had a computer back in the day, I imagine she'd be writing at 5:50 a.m. too, not having gone to sleep yet.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
O Happy Day -- Solid like Barack!
Funny how those red states match the same shape as the Bible belt.
What's up with that?
What's up with that?
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Obama and Joe
O and J. Barack and Biden.
Hope and experience in the same sentence. What a concept.
J and S. McCain and Palin.
POW and beauty queen. I don't know, strikes me as another "bring it on" mentality, doubled. Shoot first, and act diplomatic later.
Michael Palin would have been FAR more acceptable than Sarah as a candidate.
Hope and experience in the same sentence. What a concept.
J and S. McCain and Palin.
POW and beauty queen. I don't know, strikes me as another "bring it on" mentality, doubled. Shoot first, and act diplomatic later.
Michael Palin would have been FAR more acceptable than Sarah as a candidate.
R.I.P D.S.T
Sunday, daylight savings time is over and done with.
It will be light when I wake up at 6:15 a.m., and maybe motivate me to get my sorry ass out of bed to take a morning walk before work.
Kathy, are you listening?
It will be light when I wake up at 6:15 a.m., and maybe motivate me to get my sorry ass out of bed to take a morning walk before work.
Kathy, are you listening?
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