Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

Monday Miscellany

Our Lady Mocs beat Elon tonight (80-65). Monday night ballgames pretty much wipe me out - too much stuff on one day. Oh, well…. The season isn’t that long, and we do enjoy watching our Ladies play.
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I have an appointment with the rheumatologist tomorrow for a routine visit and the DexaScan. I've made an appointment for my mammogram next week.
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One of the swimmers is having a hysterectomy & bladder repair next week, so we're taking her out to lunch tomorrow. Then I think I'll crash for the rest of the day.
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There’s going to be a program this week about the “best” super bowl commercials. Want to bet this program has commercials?
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No wonder East Asian food can be so hot.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Saturday 9 on Sunday night

Well, it isn’t Saturday, but here’s a “Saturday 9” meme.

1. How did you cope with your biggest heartache?
Dealing with the death of a loved one is always hard - you just have to muddle through.

2. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital?
My cousin, Ken, who was in MDAnderson for cancer surgery.

3. How many jobs have you held in your life? How many of those were part of your chosen career field?
4-5 - all in medical offices or hospital laboratories, doing secretarial or office manager work. It was all learned on the job.

4. How did you discover Saturday 9?
From Bev and l’empress.

5. If you could take the train from anywhere to anywhere, where would 'anywhere' be?
I have always wanted to take a train through the Canadian Rockies

6. When was the first time you cooked for someone else?
Probably when John and I married and moved into our own apartment.

7. What is the worst beverage you've ever tasted?
Scotch whiskey, hazelnut coffee

8. Is there anything in life you are "certain" about? Firm in your beliefs? Strong in your convictions?
I’m firm in my belief that nothing in this life is certain.

9. Do you know anyone who has as very unusual pet?
Our ex-son-law had an iguana and/or a ferret. Fortunately, they're all long gone.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Ballgame and a movie

Our Lady Mocs won tonight by 19 points over UNCGreensboro; the men lost by a buzzer-beater basket to Georgia Southern. We only went to the women's game, then went to Ruby Tuesday for dinner. And we were still home before 8 - what party animals we are.

When we went to Cambodia next year, we learned about the Khmer Rouge and the Killing Fields. What a terrible time that was, and Cambodia is still struggling to come back from the devastation that the Khmer Rouge inflicted on the country. We’d never seen the movie The Killing Fields and thought we probably should watch it. We finally saw it tonight. It’s an excellent movie, but a difficult one. If I hadn’t learned some the history of this time, I don’t know that I’d have understood all the significance of the events in the movie. I’ll just have to keep working on this one.
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Market Day in Vietnam

 
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Friday, January 27, 2012

Microphone

After having checked around my computer, the swimming/coffee group, and the computer “help” button, someone from the SeniorLearn site was finally able to help me with the muted microphone in the Skype program. At least, she gave me something to try. Now I just have to wait for somebody to call me.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Rain

Nothing but rain today - light rain, heavy rain, thunder - we had 2.1" at our house. At least the wind wasn't blowing, and it wasn't snow.
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We don't have fruit like this in Tennessee.

 
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Painting day

I had a good time at painting this morning. We're learning a lot of new techniques, and will be using them in a painting to complete during the session.

John went to the audiologist this afternoon for evaluation. He hadn't been in about 4-5 years, so thought it was time again. She told him that he really hadn't had much change since the last time he was tested. She didn't recommend aids this time - just to come back in another 2-3 years. I keep the contact information in the calendar, so we'll remember.
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Some familiar veggies, some totally unknown to us.

 

 
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Sunshine

After yesterday's rain and greyness, there's bright sunshine today. With all the warmth, the forsythia is blooming (for about the 3rd time so far). Nothing can hurt it, though, and it'll freeze and bloom probably several more times before spring.

I've always kept the household accounts, paid all the bills, balanced the checkbook, etc., and I'm really starting to hate doing it. I got everything caught up to date this morning. Yuck! I also got the packet ready to send in with my entries for this year's Tennessee Watercolor Society exhibition. I've never gotten in before, and haven't entered in years. I guess I don't really expect to this year, either, but there's always that teeny bit of hope.

The hawks that live out in our "back 40" have been squawking and calling for days now. Guess it's time for them to be looking for their mates and starting the nest-building. We do love having them there in this definitely-not-rural neighborhood, so we enjoy knowing they're still around.
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I hope you watched the State of the Union speech tonight. I thought President Obama did a great job addressing some of the biggest problems and laid out plans to address them.
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The Vietnamese love these tiny fish.

 
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Monday, January 23, 2012

Monday, Monday

Today started off with a bang - literally. Lots of thunder and lightening beginning about 4 a.m. At 5:30, I turned off the alarm, assuming the pool would be closed (as it always is with lightening). We woke up again about 7, and got up to just rain. I decided to call the Y, and of course, the pool was back open. So we headed off to get in our morning exercise.

Of course, the usual coffee and friendship at Panera (with some bagels for breakfast this time) followed, then Aldi and WalMart.

We’ve missed a bunch of our Monday-afternoon bridge games recently because of various holidays falling on Mondays the last few weeks. But, we did go to bridge today and (drum roll, please) John and I both had great cards! We even had good cards when we played with each other - almost 3000 points for one round. We’ll probably be back to our usual lousy cards next week, but we’ll carry this one around for a while.

Both our teams lost tonight. The Lady Mocs lost by only a couple of points. The Lady Vols were humiliated by Notre Dame.
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Rice, etc., at the market.

 
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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. Have you watched American Horror Story?
No

2. Baseball hat or toque?
Toque

3. Do you shampoo or soap up first in the shower?
Soap up

4. Wet the toothbrush or brush dry with the toothpaste?
Sometimes one, sometimes the other.

5. Pen or pencil?
Depends. For notes and checks, roller-ball pen; for puzzles, erasable pens; knitting pattern notes, pencil.

6. Have you ever gambled at a casino?
The first time we went to Las Vegas, we felt we had to at least go into a casino. We each took $5.00. I played the slot machines (still had to use a level then), and lost it all in about 30 minutes. That was enough. Haven't been in a casino since.

7. Have you thrown up on a plane?
No

8. Have you thrown up in a car?
No

9. Have you thrown up at work?
No.

10. Do you scream on roller coasters?
I haven't ridden on a roller coaster in years, but the 1-2 times I’m sure I have done in the past, I probably didn’t scream.

11. How many shoes do you have?
Pairs? I don’t know - not too many. How many do I have that I actually wear? Probably 5-6.

12. Who was your first roommate?
Anne one year at Girl Scout camp. Then Ann (can’t remember her last name), during the summer I worked at a resort hotel in Colorado in 1955.

13. What alcoholic beverage did you drink when you got drunk for the first time?
Bourbon and water

14. What was your first job?
Typing old autopsy reports in a hospital laboratory. I was in my midteens. My father (who had died a couple of years earlier) had been a professor of pathology at a medical school. It was a nepotism sort of job. But it was where I honed my typing skills, learned to transcribe medical records, and learned anatomy terminology and spelling.

15. What was your first car?
I’ve never had a car by myself, but John did insist that I pick out the one I have now - so I did all the looking myself. It’s a 2006 Nissan Altima.

16. When did you go to your first funeral?
When I was in college - a high school friend died.

17. How old were you when you first moved away from your hometown?
25

18. Who was your first grade teacher?
Mrs. Wildermuth. Would you believe John and I had the same first grade teacher at Buder School in St. Louis in the early 1940s, but didn’t meet until we were students at Rice in Houston in the mid 1950s. And we've met a couple of people since then who had her, too.

19. Where did you go on your first airplane ride?
I think I flew from Nashville to Washington DC.

20. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was it with?
I don’t think I ever did sneak out of the house. So dull.

21. Who was your first best friend and are you still friends with them?
Betty Lou was my first best friend (5th grade), and we have rare contact. Anne was my second best friend (met her the summer before high school), and although she lives in Houston and I live in Chattanooga, we see each other once or twice a year.

22. Where did you live the first time you moved out of your parents’ house?
When I moved in with my husband.

23. Who is the first person you call when you have a bad day?
John - don’t have to call him. He’s right there to get the brunt of it.

24. Whose wedding were you in the first time you were a bridesmaid or a groomsmen?
I’ve only been in two weddings, Betty Lou’s and Anne’s - matron of honor in both.

25. What is the first thing you do in the morning?
Go to the bathroom, then have breakfast.

26. What was the first concert you attended?
Jimmy Buffett.

27. First tattoo or piercing?
I didn’t get my ears pierced until the early 1980s. I had bought some gold earrings on our first trip to the Caribbean, and had to get them done. Still only one hole in each ear. My only tattoos are the two blue dots I got when I had radiation for breast cancer.

28. First celebrity crush?
Someone you’ve probably never heard of - Stewart Granger.
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Now THIS is fresh fish!

 

 
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Friday, January 20, 2012

Semi-normal

Today was semi-normal, I guess. I did get to swimming, but maybe didn’t work quite as hard.

I had book store duty at the library this morning, and actually had some sales today. I only screwed up the register once, but the customer and I worked it out. But then I came out $0.40 cents over when I closed out my shift. Oh, well - I guess they can just call it a donation. Or maybe they’ll fire me. Yeah, right!
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Fabulous produce at the riverside market.

 

 
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Thursday, January 19, 2012

A nice day

I’ve felt better today, but still took it easy most of the day. John and Margaret went to Knoxville to the ballgame (Lady Vols 65, LSU 57).

My friend, Carol, and I went to String Theory at the Hunter Museum. This is a lovely small series of concerts in the lobby of the art museum, about 6 per year. The program starts with a short talk about the musicians and the music on the program. Then the music - several pieces, with the concert lasting about an hour or so. Tonight’s program included a piano/violin duet, a violin/cello duet, and two piano/cello duets - just lovely. We adjourned to the pasteria in the museum complex for a light dinner, and were home by 9.

And we made our reservations for a trip in early October.

All in all, a lovely evening.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Non Sequitur



In case you don't get it in your paper, I just had to post the NonSequitur comic strip from 18 January 2012. Click here if you can't read it posted here.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Again?!?

I can't believe I'm coming down with another cold. This is my second one this season - and I don't usually do that. I'll have to see how the night goes before I decide what I'm going to do in the morning. Phooey!
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It's amazing what you can buy at the market.

 
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Monday, January 16, 2012

Pictures only

Mekong River waterfront market - from the river and from the street.

 

 
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Sunday, January 15, 2012

Basketball today

Two basketball games today and choices to make.

John and Margaret went to Knoxville to see the Lady Vols beat Vanderbilt 87-64. I went to see the Lady Mocs beat Furman 71-53.

That was about it for the day. But it’s always a good day when both your teams win.
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Mekong River waterfront market.

 
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Saturday, January 14, 2012

Sunday Stealing

You know how I love my Kindle and my computer. That doesn’t mean that books aren’t wonderful.
Check out this you-tube video.
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Stolen from Sunday Stealing

Cheers to all of us thieves!

1. Did you go to your high school prom?
No. A former boyfriend and I talked about going, but decided to pass it up.

2. Perfect time to wake up?
On days I can sleep in, I usually wake up about 7:30. That’s okay.

3. Perfect time to go to bed?
I usually go to bed about 11:30-midnight. That’s what works for me.

4. Do you use your queen right away in chess?
I’ve never played chess.

5. Ever been in a car accident?
Yes, got rear-ended by a dump truck. Fortunately, the girls and I had only bumps and bruises (even in those pre-seatbelt days), but the car was totaled.

6. Closer to mom or dad…or neither?
My father died when I was 13, so I was much closer to my mother.

7. What age is this exciting life over for you?
I’m not sure I understand this one. My life always seems to be exciting - at least exciting enough for me.

8. What decade during the 20th century would you have chosen to be a teenager?
I was a teenager in the early 1950s, and I guess that was an okay time.

9. Favorite shoes you have EVER owned?
I’m not a big fan of shoes of any kind. Whatever kind is comfortable at the time I wear them.

10. Do you have an article of clothing you have had since you were in high school?
Good grief, no! It’d be in tatters by now, and I would’ve changed sizes umpteen times since then.

11. Were you in track and field?
Nope. And girls didn’t do that when I was in school.

12. Were you ever in a school talent show?
Not a talent show, per se. But I performed in club and school musical revues in college.

13. Have you ever written in a library book?
I have to plead guilty to this one. I get SO annoyed by typographical and grammatical mistakes in books, and I feel I have to make corrections.

14. Allergic to?
No foods (unfortunately). I do have the seasonal pollen, dust, and mold allergies. I’m also allergic to bad grammar, misspellings (see above), most politicians, meanness in any form, stupidity.

15. Favorite fruit?
I love most fruits. We’ve just gotten our winter shipment of Rio Grande Valley (Texas) pink grapefruit, so that’s my favorite at the moment.
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Waterfront market along the Mekong River.

 
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Friday, January 13, 2012

Chili followup

Since it's so cold, we decided to defrost the freezer today, when we could put all the food out on the porch. I threw out a lot of stuff that was dated "10", and we pretty much let it defrost itself while we went out to dinner and to the basketball game (Lady Mocs 74, Wofford 67).

When we got home from the game, the ice was all melted. John got the inside cleaned out, and we’re just leaving it off and open overnight to air out. We’ll put the food back in the morning. That got it done with a minimum amount of work. That's a job we just hate - obviously - since we usually only do it when we absolutely HAVE to. We’ve now put it on the calendar for just before Thanksgiving. Then we’ll be reminded to do it again, when we need the space over the holidays.

I can’t believe we’re being so organized. Now if only we’ll actually do it.
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Folks living on the Mekong River, on the edge of town.

 
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Thursday, January 12, 2012

Thursday's picture

Delivering the goods along the Mekong River.

 
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Rain is still better than snow!

We alternated today between a light drizzle and thunder with torrential rain, including some hail. Not one of the more fun days. We did get in our swim class between pool closures for lightening and, of course, coffee at Panera. And I managed to get my stuff into and out of the painting class venue between downpours. When I got home, I had to leave the stuff in the car for a while until there was a break. All in all, it's not been a great weather day. And they’re predicting snow showers tomorrow with VERY cold temperatures.

But it was good to get back to painting. There are only 5 in the class, and we've all taken from Sandy before. So she has some interesting challenges for us over the six classes. Click here to see her web site and representative work.

John seems to be some better, but still stayed in all day today. We’ve got a basketball game on Friday, so he's working on getting better by then.
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In town along the Mekong River.

 
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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Still gray and rainy

John's feeling a little bit better today. At least he wanted to get out of the house. We went to Costco for some stuff there, and our gourmet $1.50 hotdogs. He was pretty much whipped, though, by the time we got home and he got the stuff in the house. He was back in the bed before I got through putting things away. I fixed some good beef/mushroom/noodle soup for supper. He said he could almost taste it.

Still no sunshine today - they’re saying it’ll be Friday before we see any.
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Life centers along the river in the Mekong Delta.

 
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Monday, January 09, 2012

Rainy days and Mondays

I did my usual stuff today. John spent another day recuperating. He says he’s some better, but not ready to be out and about yet. We had seven tables at bridge, so got a lot of playing in, but I had probably the worst cards I’ve had in a year or more. It was not much fun. Oh, well - it does eventually change. I was too tired to even think about anything for supper tonight. Fortunately, John didn’t really care. So we had left-over meatloaf sandwiches - which is what we had for lunch.

The fog/clouds never did lift today, and we’ve had rain off and on. A dense fog had settled in by 6 p.m. - most unusual.

The Lady Mocs beat Georgia Southern this evening. And the football game goes on. (as I write this)
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Brothers

 
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Sunday, January 08, 2012

Commercials vs Content

Since I don’t pay much attention, I don’t know when the Super Bowl is being played. I do know it’s relatively soon. But it’s been crossing my consciousness, and not for anything about the game.

The amount of hype for the game itself has gotten absolutely ridiculous. But now I’m noticing that they’re starting to hype the commercials. The COMMERCIALS, for heaven’s sake! We’re now getting commercials for commercials. Sheeshhhhhh!

We’ve all noticed that for years, there are ads that are better produced than the shows being advertised. But now they seem to be spending more time, money, effort, and creativity on the commercials than are ever put into the programs. And now, even on commercials touting commercials.

We all know people who say they really don’t want to watch the Super Bowl - they just want to watch the commercials.

Does anybody else out there wonder about this????
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Drying and bagging rice, Vietnam

 
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Saturday, January 07, 2012

Grey and rainy

It was grey and rainy almost all day today. John started getting a cold last night and it had really blossomed by this morning. He's been working on sleeping it off. That's probably the best medicine. I hope he'll be better by tomorrow.
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Happy children!

 
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Friday, January 06, 2012

Hooray!

I worked at the library book store this morning. I took the opportunity to ask the gal at the Research Desk to talk me through checking out an e-book to my Kindle. And when I got home, I actually did it! I'm so proud!
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What a heart-breaker this little one is going to grow up to be.

 
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Thursday, January 05, 2012

Ways to get smarter

In the Newsweek Magazine of 9 & 16 January 2012, there is a list of 31 ways to get smarter in 2012.

Certainly a way to pique our interest. I had no idea what some of their suggestions were about (must be an age thing), some we already do, and I have no intention of doing. I’ll list some, and we’ll see how it goes.

1. Play Words with Friends. I’m certainly up on this one - playing about 8-10 games with various people.

2. Eat tumeric. I know what that is, but it’s not something I’ve ever used.

3. Take tae kwon do. Not bloody likely!

4. Get news from Al Jazeera. I keep meaning to check out their web site. I’ve heard elsewhere that it’s a good place to get international news.

5. Toss your smartphone. Don’t guess I’ll do that, but then I’m not on it all the time, either.

6. Sleep. A lot. Well, I certainly have that one down pat.

10. Learn a language. I have a smattering of French and Spanish, but I don’t think I’ll start another one now.

11. Eat dark chocolate. We have a piece of dark chocolate every night after dinner.

12. Join a knitting circle. Since I knit nearly every day, I guess I have this one under control - even if I don’t do it in a group.

13. Wipe the smile off your face. But I really don’t like to frown.

14 Play violent videogames. Not planning to do that either.

15. Follow these people on Twitter. I don’t do Twitter.

16. Eat yogurt. Got that - several time a week.

18. See a Shakespeare play. Not my favorite thing to do.

20. Hydrate. There’s always a glass of water within my reach - and I actually drink it.

22. Visit MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). I’ve been there twice, but I probably won’t be going to NYC again. I’ll have to make do with our local museum and art museums when we travel.

23. Play an instrument. I don’t guess they mean the radio or a CD player, but that’s all I play.

24. Write by hand. I do still handwrite a few notes, but that’s about all.

26. Zone out. I can handle that one quite well.

27. Drink coffee. I guess my 4-6 cups a day will work.

28. Delay gratification. We certainly went without for a lot of years until we got enough money to get stuff.

29. Become an expert. Don’t know if I’m an expert, but I’m pretty good at knitting, word puzzles, and a few other things.

31. Get out of town. We certainly do that well. Sometimes we even have trouble staying home.

Check out the magazine to see the whole list.

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Only a picture...

Waving to the tourists along the Mekong River.

 
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