Wordless Wednesday

"A rooster was chasing the mayor in front of Town Hall, a hog rodeo was in progress on the town green and, above everything, a small man in a model dirigible floated over the square, dropping firecrackers."

"The Shroud of the Thwacker" -- page 139

Week #334


1. divorce: bad, sad, John minus Kate
2. napkin: cloth
3. camera: never leave home without it
4. leather: jacket, Fonzie
5. fractures: fairy tales, Laugh In (for some reason)
6. flip out: Rollie
7. coroner: I don't know what to say, I don't think about the coroner
8. atomic: clock, bomb
9. Liz: Claiborne, Houston, Taylor
10. Leave: go, vamoose, vacate, get along lil doggie

Simple Woman's Day Book -- June 22, 2009


Outside my window I am watching my husband head off to work. Now it is all quiet out there.

I am thinking about what my day holds -- mostly ironing.

I am thankful for today, my family, Swedish Bitters Capsaisin ointment and Tylenol Arthritis

From the kitchen I am thinking about making soup for dinner.

I am wearing shorts and a tshirt, DOK cross and again, no shoes (hey, I am a southern girl -- it is hot here!)

I am reading "The Shroud of the Thwacker" still --- haven't had much time for reading this last week but hopefully I intend to catch up in the next few days.

I am hoping that my knee continues to improve -- at least I can bend it some now.

I am creating a clean counter in the laundry room -- time to relocate all that quilting stuff.

I am praying for the ACNA Assembly being held today through Wednesday.

Around the house I am thinking about a major decluttering project.

One of my favorite things and most unfavorite things at the same time is Monday! I really hate for the weekend to end and yet it is nice to get back on my regular routine even if that does involve copious amounts of ironing.

A few plans for the rest of the week include crafts and reading -- I absolutely have to use up some of this quilt stash I have -- see, I need to shop and I can't because of THE STASH so I have to do something about THE STASH.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you

#129

I have to say that this weeks fill-ins are a lot more in thought provoking -- I will see what I come up with --

1. All children alarm their parents, if only because you are forever expecting THE PHONE CALL -- this could mean many, many things.

2. Show me a good loser and I will show you a personal in denial (I didn't really want to say liar).

3. Finding something that fits at the first store is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs at one time.

4. Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy being wives and mothers.

5. I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine getting lost and asking for directions.

6. It is impossible to think of any good meal, no matter how plain or elegant without my husband or potatoes in it. Hahahah! My husband and potatoes -- my two favorite things!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I am looking forward to watching "W" and icing my knee, tomorrow my plans include icing my knee and Sunday I want to be able to walk unaided.

Science Fiction or Fantasy?

I have never been a reader of science fiction. It just never caught my attention even though my father was a comic book artist that drew LOTS of science fiction. I don't know why I never tried it, I just didn't.

As far as fantasy goes, I would have to say the closest I ever came was "The Wizard of Oz", "Alice In Wonderland" and "Stargirl". Do those even count? I did love those books but that is about the extent of my fantasy reading.However, I do believe that "The Shroud of the Thwacker" would fall into this catagory.

I guess I am just more of a dramatic or historical fiction reader. Even as a child I would seek out things like the "Little House" books and the Kate Seredy books. Now, I still read those sorts of books -- I have never read a chicklit book.

I am wondering if I should expand my horizons?

Another Evening at Barnes and Noble

It seems my husband and I are magnetically attracted to book stores. Last night we planned our whole evening around going to B&N -- when we were going, which restaurant was closest, what we were looking for -- well, what he was looking for. I went with an open mind and I came home with quite a variety of goodies.

I had received a gift card from my son and daughter in law for Mother's Day that I still had a balance on so I felt like I could splurge a little bit. The first thing I looked at was the section with Monica Ferris books. I have never read Monica Ferris but keep picking up her titles and giving them a look. I went looking for her first title in the Needlecraft Mysteries -- "Crewel World". I don't like reading things out of sequence so I figured that would be a good place to start. Naturally, they didn't have it. Nor did they have the second, "Framed in Lace". They did have a compilation of the first three titles in the series -- the two previously mentioned plus "A Stitch in Time". Even though it was twice the price of the two individual copies it was a third less expensive than buying them separately -- buy one get one free so to speak. Snatched it up immediately -- they only had one copy and I was sure everyone in the store wanted it!

A couple of other titles caught my eye and I walked into the store and I decided to grab those, too. The first is "The Madonnas of Leningrad" by Debra Dean. It is the story of an aging woman who struggles to remember current details but can vividly recount her time in World War II Leningrad. It is the first novel for author Debra Dean and it boasts rave reviews from the like of Isabel Allende, NPR, USA Today, New York Times and the Seattle Post.

The third book I picked up is "Ghosts Among Us" by James Van Praagh. I don't know why I gravitate to books of this nature but I do. I sat down and read a few pages before I added it to my stack and it caught my interest so I am going to give it a go. It is a short book and will be an easy read.

So, a few more to add to my ever growing stack of TBR's -- my husband didn't find what he was looking for -- something about automobile suspensions but I can't worry about that -- I have a lot of reading to do.

#333

nudity: rather not
domestic: goddess, diva
burp: baby, cloth
baby: burp
dateline: tv show, news
retract: remove
suppose: guess
surreal: dreamy
infidelity: bad, cheat
token: affection, bus

"The grim place was filed with every conceivable variety of brainstick unfortunate. Some wantered about giggling to themselves, some were embroiled in debates with invisible partners, some were confined to small cages on the floor, and still others were bound in the latest archaic fetters from the 'Inquisition's Surplus Torture Paraphenialia and Swimwear catalogue.'"


"The Shroud of the Thwacker", page 185

THE PLAN -- Day 1

Today is the first day of MY cleaning plan -- an altered form of a popular tutorial on cleaning. I am taking one area each day and cleaning -- each room should be completed once a week and, in my book, that is clean enough. Today I started with my bedroom and bathroom. It has taken me about four hours but that four hours included, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, gathering laundry, changing sheets, cleaning out from under my vanity and part of the closet. It also included cleaning the tub which is jetted and requires running for 15 minutes with a mixture of bleach/dishwasher detergent and hot water. It is then rinsed with plain water by filling the tub again and running for another 15 minutes. So.. I don't know if four hours is good but it is what it is. I took several breaks -- just can't focus on drudgery very well -- but, now I am done and I can reward myself with some fun time -- I think it will be reading time while I have some lunch.

So, tomorrow -- the living area and kitchen/dining. That is the largest area in the house so it might take a while but, maybe not considering it doesn't involve laundry and such. Hmm..I feel accomplished -- sort of.

What Dreams May Come -- Again

A previously posted, I had requested the movie "What Dreams May Come" from Netflix and when it arrived it was defective and I couldn't watch it. I returned it for a replacement which came last week. The movie was recommended to me by my son and I usually trust his judgment. I had heard conflicting reports about it being depressing and "ughy" and all sorts of things which didn't deter me but rather made me want to watch it more. So, I did. Here is my take on it.

The cinematography and special effects were outstanding. They even managed to make Robin Williams looks convincingly younger - I need to find their make up person. I have to say that Williams must have been taking his ritalin because he was CALM. I really like Robin Williams but find that his hyperactivity is sometimes a big overwhelming. That wasn't the case in this movie.

I didn't find this movie to be sad. Or depressing. I found it to be hopeful and uplifting. From the love story perspective it was a soulmate sort of thing. From the parent/child perspective it was representative of things we all have done as parents -- and children -- that we have regretted and learned from, questions about how different the outcomes would be if we had made different choices -- all that real life stuff. From a spiritual perspective I found it to be very hopeful. It was boldly religious yet I was surprised about references to non-Christian beliefs until I realized that this wasn't necessarily a movie just for Christian beliefs.

There were parts of it that I found boring. A small teaser here -- there was just too much time spent sliding around in paint! I won't say anymore, don't want to spoil it for those who may not have seen it.

I would recommend it to anybody who isn't offended by religion or anybody who isn't offended by a couple of non-Christian references.