Goose Update

No new pictures of the Goose so I am posting one of her old ones - pre-cast. She went to the Dr. on Wednesday and he says that her leg looks really good. We are leaving the cast on for another 10 days which means she is at Julie's for another 10 days. That way she can be in out of the cold and there are no stairs. We (that would be the royal we) tried putting a newspaper bag on her leg so she could go outside but she just put her foot right through it!

All in all, she is doing VERY well and we are pleased. I will be glad to have her home again, though. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and words.

Happy New Year

The Christmas Goose

Shorty and I had planned a lot of things for Christmas and for Christmas gifts. This was not one of them but it was what we got.

Goose discovered, 2 days after Bug died, that she is not faster than a cow's hoof. Her knee is not involved, it's just a hairline fracture and she should be fine in a couple of weeks.

Merry Christmas and God bless us, every one.

Merry Christmas

Bug 2005-2009

Today we had Bug put to sleep. It was time. It still hurts.

I currently have 4 dogs and my daughter now has 1. Bug was living with Juls because 2 out of my 4 hate her as much as she hated them. It was a mutual non-admiration society.

Bug was only 4 when she died. It was much too soon. There are good dogs and there are great dogs. Bug was a great dog.

As a puppy, she was thrown out like trash and was found by the guys I used to work with. We adopted her out at the old abandoned plant we were scrapping. She was such a funny puppy and such a great hunter. She spent her days in the office with me and her nights at the guard shack with the guards.

Her greatest joys were "Load up!" and hunting. She was a great hunter. She caught kangaroo rats, pigeons, rabbits, cats, smaller dogs (we discouraged this) and an occasional baby goat. When the guards made rounds of the property in the pickup, Bug preferred to lead the way, not ride or follow...and she could run! I have seen this dog run 25 mph and cut to chase a rabbit I had not even seen. She kept the coyotes away, killed more than one rattlesnake, and provided a sense of security and companionship that could not be measured.

She also loved playing tug of war with semi-trucks and, on one occasion, actually came away with a mud flap. She was always there, good weather and bad, heat and ice, wind and tornado warnings. I loved her.

When she went to live with Juls, she wholeheartedly (and that was a huge heart) adopted my baby and her baby. We thought at one time that she would be happier elsewhere. She walked back, 30 miles in 2 days, to disagree with us. We never tried to make her happier again.

Bug contracted a tick-borne illness and had a cerebral hemorrhage some months back. She had a stroke and ended up blind and crippled. We thought for a while she was making a comeback. We were wrong. Until the very end, she was ecstatic to see us and tried to come to us, tail wagging. Watching her stagger was heart-rending but not as horrible as the possibility of life without her. We finally realized that we will never be without her.

...and, we gave baby Jesus a puppy for Christmas.

Yes, Virginia

I am having one of those days when I need to remind myself that good people abound in this world - and they do.

Example: A gentleman came into the store where I work the other day to pick up a prescription for his wife. He paid for the prescription with a gift card after making sure, several times, that you could pay for prescriptions with a gift card. I reassured him several times that the cards were as good as money. He was delighted.

A while later, he was at the register again, this time with diabetic test supplies. He wanted to know if he could pay for them with a gift card and, once again, I told him that of course he could. He was just so pleased. I commented on what a lovely day he seemed to be having.

He told me that he had just quit his job of 9 years to take care of his wife, who is ill. He then proceeded to tell me about the company Christmas party where his boss had given all of the employees $50.00 gift card. I said that I thought that was very nice. He sort of laughed and told me that what was VERY nice was that 9 of his co-workers had proceeded to give their gift cards to him.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Giving Thanks

This year for Thanksgiving, as is our intermittent tradition, we went out to dinner. Due to my daughter's work schedule, it was an abnormally early dinner. It seems as though at least one of my family has always had an odd schedule. We just adapt.

We went to Furr's and God bless them for being open today. We got there about an hour after they opened and the line was not that bad. We were seated within half an hour of our arrival.

Our waitress, Sondra, took our drink orders and wished us a Happy Thanksgiving. We foraged. We ate. We foraged. We ate.

While we were eating, the table behind Moose and his mom opened up. A man sat down, askew in his chair in the aisle. His companion, a woman, was lodged with her walker at a booth down the row. Our waitress asked which table they wanted and suggested they pick one and settle there before they lost it. She then asked for his ticket so she could get his drinks.

He had no ticket. He told her that the line was too long so they just came in. We (Juls and I) think that they came in the exit door when someone left. The manager came over and spoke but we were busy and did not pay attention. The woman came and sat down. The man took the walker and left. He came back 10-15 minutes later and sat down. He parked the walker, got up and got the woman a plate of food. He then got up, still sans walker, and got his own plate.

He then demanded, and I do mean demanded, that the waitress get them bread. Then that she get them silverware. Then that she get them....etc., etc., etc. I never heard him say "please". I never heard him say "thank you". I never heard an intonation that would have indicated a request.

Through all of this, Sondra cleared plates, replenished drinks, greeted new customers, and said farewell and Happy Thanksgiving to departing customers. She never lost her cool. I was amazed. She never once returned his tone of voice in kind. She never once was anything less than polite.

On behalf of all those who benefitted today from those who worked today in any service industry, may I say, "Thank you" and have a very wonderful Thanksgiving. Please remember those of us who did not demand but requested. Please remember those of us who were polite and not those who weren't. Please know that you are appreciated.

Happy Thanksgiving

One of my very favorite people in the blogdom, Laurie, reminded me to be thankful.

I do not generally need help remembering this but it's been a bugger of a last couple of weeks. Still, my life? Abso-frickin'-lutely marvelous.

One of our (the universal our) other blogging buddies does not have it so easy. I am going to take the easy way and refer you to Laurie's post on Ari. I am going to take the easy way out and refer you to Ari's blog.

I am going to wish each and every one of you a heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving!

Fun Monday 11/16

For those of you who are here for Fun Monday, I apologize. I will have my post up later today, after work. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Fun Monday/Sunday Morning

This week's hostess is Gattina. She wants to know..... "What are you wearing when you get out of your bed on a Sunday morning. Of course I want to see a picture of what you wear, with you inside or not."

...et voila! Enclosed in the frame is what I wear. You are welcome for the discretion exercised in this photo.

Hair - So Very Visible

******Gattina will be hosting next week's Fun Monday. Please remember to stop by and check on Wednesday for the topic*******
For the Mr. Linky listing today's participants, please scroll down to the previous entry. Thanks.

There are no pictures to go with this post so you will have to use your imagination. Back in the day, I was not the person I am now. How do I know this?

My hairdresser, who did my hair every 4 weeks, cut and color and set, was married to a very dear friend of mine.

My hairdresser, who colored my hair beautifully for over a year, discovered how dear a friend her husband was to me.

My hair?

Metallic burgundy red. This was so NOT acceptable back then. Of course, neither was anything else I was doing.

Glad to be me now.

Fun Monday/Hair Today - Gone Tomorrow

Ok, this was going to be about hyphenated people but that will just have to wait for another time. Instead, I would like to hear and/or see hair horror stories. My daughter works with a guy whose sister's brother's cousin's mother-in-law's gardener is going to cosmetology school. This student needed a brave soul with long hair who was not afraid to have short hair.

I can hear the gasps and groans now.

Yep, my child volunteered to not just venture out of her cage but to just smash the whole darn thing down. The cosmetologist cut off the pony tail and all was good. She went to do some edgy layers on top of Juls' head. She forgot to put the guard on.

I can hear the gasps and groans now.

My child did not throw a fit when the scalp glistened through. She merely stated that as long as she (the cosmetologist) was evidently practicing barbering today, she might as well just go ahead and shave it all.

I can hear the gasps and groans now.

We like it. It makes Juls' eyes look bigger. There are no more different colored roots now. Still, I would like to hear about all the terrible, horrible, ill-conceived hair stories out there.

Thanks. In the meantime, just call me Marmee.

Perfect Autumn Weekend

Aside from my husband being under the weather, this has been the perfect autumn weekend. Moose stayed out of trouble in school last week so on Saturday, his mom and I took him to the Amazingly Fun Farm. This is our 3rd year going there and it just keeps getting better and better.

The weather yesterday was cool verging on cold. We left the house to about 36 degrees and finished up at the maze just as the cold front hit and it became about 20 degrees and the air was full of "wintry mix". We warmed up with chili at Wendy's and came home. Juls went to work and Moose and I tackled homework. How do you explain how to do word searches to someone who just doesn't see the words?

This morning, we (Juls, Moose, and I) went to 9:00 Mass. It was Moose's first week singing in the choir. Yep, he is now a Singing Saint. It was a brisk 25 degrees when we left the house. Then we went to Wally World for a few things and to Juls' house to light the pilot light on her heater.

Next we got new shoes for Moose who starts Basketball tomorrow after school. Believe it or not, the shoes that were new when school started are already blown out.

Then Juls went home to get ready for work and Moose and I went home. Grampits had cleaned the kitchen while we were gone so we just leaped right into making oatmeal cookies for the week. If you do them right, they are an absolutely nutritionally perfect, preservative free breakfast. Just ask his mama.

So here I am. My house smells like fresh baked cookies. My grandson is sitting in the chair in the living room with a plate of oatmeal cookies on his lap and a book in his hand. Nascar is on the TV and all is right with my world.

Hope your autumn is as nice as mine.

Mermaids of the World, Unite!

I have written before about not belonging - or feeling out of touch, somehow. I was thinking about this earlier today when I remembered this - Barbara Bush's Commencement Speech at Wellesley, June 1, 1990.

Some members of the university had attempted to rescind their invitation to former First Lady Barbara Bush. They said that she was not relevant.

The entire transcript of her speech can be found here. If you ever need to be reminded what class is, look no further.

The part of her speech that stuck with me is this:

"...related the story by Robert Fulghum about a young pastor, finding himself in charge of some very energetic children, hits upon the game called "Giants, Wizards, and Dwarfs." "You have to decide now," the pastor instructed the children, "which you are a giant, a wizard, or a dwarf?" At that, a small girl tugging at his pants leg, asked, "But where do the mermaids stand?" And the pastor tells her there are no mermaids. And she says, "Oh yes there are. I am a mermaid."

I must try to be that certain of who I am.

Happy Birthday

The Duck is 11 today!

Happy Birthday to my favorite (don't tell the others) dog.

Why We Live Here

Saturday evening, Shorty and I took Moose out to dinner and a movie. It was not a reward for the previous week as the previous week did not merit a reward. It was just that we had not done anything just for fun in a VERY long time.

We had dinner at Furr's and then went to the adjacent theatre complex to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs".

I pulled into the theatre's parking lot and there, on the sidewalk, was parked a police car. Actually, it was a Potter County Constable's car - a shiny new Dodge Charger with all the bells and whistles. Moose was jazzed, as in, "I have never seen one of these except on TV or in books". We all agreed it was a very cool car.

We went in, bought our tickets and proceeded to the ticket-taker station. The gentleman took out tickets and directed us to the correct theatre. Behind the ticket-taker stood two patrolmen, one in navy blue and one in khaki. We all said hello and turned to go to the theatre. Moose turned to me and said, "Oh, I wanted to tell him I liked his car". I said OK and Shorty and I stopped and waited while Moose went and spoke to the officers. They were very nice. The car turned out to belong to the khaki-clad officer who told Moose that he would show him the car when the movie was over. We thanked him (all the while I was thinking, yeah, right) and watched the flick.

The movie was good. The movie was snorting good if you're 9 years old. It ended and we exited the theatre. The officers were still there and, may my cynicism be struck down, remembered their promise.

Constable Jackson escorted us through the theatre lobby. We did get our share of looks from everyone else. Two old fogies and a child are evidently not the normal escortees for the constable.

We went outside and Constable Jackson showed Moose his weaponry, defensive apparel, and even let him sit in the driver's seat of "the fastest police car in Amarillo". Lights were turned on and sirens were heard.

Constable Jackson, sir, you are a hero.

Thank you.

Treasonous Me

I am terribly sorry that the above image did not load even approximately full size. It is a magnificent farm!

This pitiful picture is what I have been doing for the last month. If anyone, and I mean anyone, suggests that you go to facebook and get a farm, RUN!

That's it. No good reason. Just playing around. Should the addiction hit, look me up. I can always use more neighbors.

Scars

This week's Fun Monday hostess is Lil Mouse, who would like us to bare ourselves and present our scars, physical or psychological. Interesting topic, ma'am, and thanks.

My psychological scars are too numerous and too eclectic to even go into here. I spent 12 years in Catholic schools, remember? Just kidding, Sister Blanche!

My very worst physical scar is located on my daughter's body. Yep, she has it and I am responsible. Guilt? Oh, yeah!

When Julie was a toddler, she lived in 'bag-a-baby' sleepers. She could run faster with no actual leg openings than most children could stark raving naked.

We were in the family room and I had just made myself a cup of instant coffee. Back in the day, I used to make instant coffee with boiling hot water. Juls brushed the end table with her arm, the coffee spilled onto her arm and melted the nylon sleeve right into her arm.

I am nauseous just typing that sentence. I can still hear her scream - outrage, pain, disbelief, and anger.

We lived, at the time, 25 miles from the HMO to which we belonged. Thank God it was all freeway. We got to the Emergency Room and they took her right in. They tied her to a backboard, escorted me from the room, and proceeded to remove the nylon pajama that had been melted into her arm. I can still hear her.

Her little arm was SO little that they used a cloth finger cot with a hole cut in the end of it to hold the bandage on. We went to that medical complex every day for 6 weeks so that they could clean and bandage her arm. It got so that she started screaming when I took the freeway off-ramp. I can still hear her.

Her burn was on the outside, upper left arm. As she grew, the scar naturally moved down her arm. When she was in grade school, I had her convinced that it would just slide right off the end of her fingertip as she grew.

She is still ticked that I lied.

Scars

Goose

This is Goose - as in "Duck, duck, goose". This only works because Duck has multiple personalities.

This is the puppy someone dumped at the business next door. I said, for at least 3 days, "this is not our puppy. We will not feed the puppy. We will not pet the puppy. We will not name the puppy. This is not our puppy." I said this often, continuously, and without prompting.

I said this until the morning that I opened the front door and the puppy was sitting on my porch. Someone (any volunteers, Moose?) had left the gate to our yard open. The puppy was sitting there, looking up and smiling. She is ours. She is NOT a house puppy. She is strictly a yard puppy.

She has had her puppy shots and she is on medication for the ringworm she picked up from the cat at the business next door. Yeah, I know. I should have let her in the yard sooner.

She is friendly and bouncy and very, very puppyish. Duck is better with her than I thought she would be. Holly does not like her. Holly does not like anyone else. Bonnie plays with her - a lot. So far, she can sit and stay. She goes out with the other dogs to walk the Dad to the trash can. She knows the word "yard" and runs like heck to get there first.

Bits and Pieces

I have been internetless for the last 13 days. Our service provider upgraded their service and somehow we ended up without any. Imagine that.

12 phone calls later, we are back on line. Hurray! I know that doesn't sound like a lot but when you consider that each phone call was during business hours (ie, my lunch hour), lasted at least an hour and ended with a very nice and very sincere person telling me that the new modem would be shipped immediately, it adds up.

Naturally, during this time, I had to make online arrangements for a Board (Pharmacy Technician) Certification Test. No problem making the arrangements. I used the WiFi at our local coffee shop. The problem? Printing the Authorization letter, the directions from the testing center, and all of the other necessary paperwork. It finally occurred to me (thanks, Julie) to copy the email into a work document and then print it out at home.

I took the test yesterday and hurray! I passed.

We are all (me, Shorty, Juls, and Moose) on vacation this week. We had plans to go to Carlsbad Caverns but life interfered. We are now sitting around in a circle, staring at Juls' dog and contemplating changing the dog's name from Bug to Carlsbad. Yep, she's where the money went.

Bug is doing better. She still lists to the right, walks unsteadily in circles, and oh, did I mention that she has lost her sight? Yep, she's blind. We don't know yet if this is permanent or a transient result of the previous cerebral hemorrhage, but we shall see. She can't but we shall.

All in all, life is pretty darn good. A year and half ago, I became a door greeter for our local megamart. Now, I am a Board Certified Pharmacy Tech for the same store. My family is all healthy, my 4 (oh, gosh, none of y'all know about Goose yet) dogs are good, and Bug is improving.

Hope y'all have a great rest of your week. We are going, in no particular order, to the zoo, the stock car races, a movie or two, the museum, and the teppan grill at the local Kabuki.

Fun Monday - messy, messy, messy

To those of you who are visiting for Fun Monday, I apologize. I think my camera is somewhere in the mess.

Guardedly Optimistic

It has been exactly one week since my daughter called me and told me that Bug was sick. It has been exactly one week since I had any hope that the dog would actually survive.

Oh, I have said that she would. I have prayed that she would. I have managed to convince most of the people who love her that she would.

Today, I actually have hope.

Today, as I sat on the floor, she lurched, lunged, and staggered her way over to me. She managed, with much difficulty, to lower herself next to me and put her front paws across my lap. She stayed there panting and puffing like a fat old woman who had just clambered her way out of a deep-cushioned chair.

I could feel her muscles relax one by one. Finally, she was calm and relaxed and as at-ease as she has been for a while. Then -

she picked her head up and looked at me.

Her head did not quiver. It did not wobble. There were no visible tremors running through the veins on her head.

Her eyes were focused and her head was steady.

I cried and she licked me.

I am guardedly optimistic.

She breaks my heart, she does

Bug is at home.

She spent the weekend at the vet's 30 miles away. Monday morning, Juls and I went and got her and took her to our vet.

She is very ill. She has ehrlichia. Long story short, this is a tick-borne fever that she has been carrying for some time that, possibly exacerbated by the heat we have been experiencing, manifested itself violently and acutely.

The result is that she had a cerebral hemorrhage and has still not regained the use of her hind legs. She is heartbreaking to watch. She has, according to her vet, a guardedly optimistic prognosis.

We are giving her a few weeks of treatment to see how well she is able to respond.

She is now at home with Juls and the Moose. I am still praying and I thank all of you who are praying with us.

We also took the Moose in for bloodwork as he had a tick bite around 2 and 1/2 months ago before we knew she was ill. We will learn the results next week.

Fun? Monday - Tears

So this Monday, our post, as requested by Mariposa, is to be about tears. Sad tears, happy tears,joyous tear, laugh-filled tears, spontaneous tears, eventful tears.

I have had all kind of tears. My nickname, growing up, was faucet-face. I am very quick to tear up. I don't make a huge production of it now that I am an adult. My face just leaks.

I am sitting on my sofa at 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning, weeping, as I write this. Bug, my daugher's dog, who used to be mine, is currently at a vet's office 30 miles away. We do not know what is wrong with her and I am terrified.

Bug is...Bug.

She came into our lives as a throwaway, literally. Some wretch tossed her, as a puppy, from a moving vehicle. The guys I used to work with found her. She was terrified, hungry, cold, terrified, shaking and very, very dirty. I managed to get some food into her and tried to clean her up. I almost cleaned her to death.

Bug has a very unusual marking on her left hindquarter. It looks exactly like tire treads through brindle fur. I'll bet I spent a good 20 minutes trying to clean that tire mark off of her before I realized that it was part of her.

Bug's name is Bug because she bugs EVERYONE! She is very inquisitive and very friendly. She is jut a bug.

We kept her there at work. There were people on premises 24 hours a day. I was there from 7 to 6 every day and, when I was there, Bug was with me. She stayed in the office with me and then, when she was older, she had free range of the 1600 acres we were on. She never left us. At night she would stay in the guard shack (and it was). She loved to curl up under the shelves beneath the desk. It amazed me how small she could make herself.

She was a very playful, good-natured little girl. She never met a stranger and loved children. Part of our operation was a scrap yard. I had customers who would bring their children out just to say hi to the Bug. I never saw her exhibit any kind of aggressive behavior. She is just a sweetheart.

Her very favorite toy? Semi trucks. We had, on average, a dozen trucks a day in and out of our facility. Bug never chased cars but she sure loved semis. She would grab hold of the mud flap, set her feet, brace herself and hold on for all she was worth. She actually won a couple of days and the mud flap came off. I don't know who was move suprised, her or the driver.

She guarded the guards and protected the various strays who came to stay, temporarily, with us. She almost lost her life protecting Sadie from the rattlesnake. She didn't. She is a survivor.

When the scrap yard closed down, we were at a loss as to what to do with the Bug. All of the guys at work who loved her did not want her. I wanted her but I already had the Duck, Holly, and, at the time, Buddy. Duck and Holly tolerate Bug but they do not like her. Nor does she like them.

She is the alpha dog of her kingdom.

Julie came to the rescue and took Bug home with her. We thought, once, that Bug might be happier elsewhere. Bug disagreed with us.

Bug has lived in Julie's backyard ever since. Julie's landlady will not allow dogs in the house. Julie is moving into a new house next month and Bug will, once again, be an inside dog.

We hope.

Friday afternoon, Moose fed Bug and all was well.

Saturday morning, Juls said, "Good Morning" to Bug and all was well.

Saturday afternoon, all was not well.

Moose went to take out the trash and, as is his wont, let Bug off her chain while he was outside. She tried to follow him but was hugging the fence. This was not normal. He got her to come to him and she lost her balance and fell. Turns out the fence was holding her up. She was staggering, unable to stand, and whimpering. Bug does not whimper. She talks occasionally but she does not whimper.

Juls tried to call the vet but got no answer at his house. She called one of his techs at home who called him on his cell phone. He was out of town but suggested two or three other vets. Juls asked the tech which vet she would go to. We went. Through the rain and the gusting winds and with one eye on the "could have tornadic activity" clouds, we went.

When we got to the vet, 30 miles away, Bug still could not stand. Her temp was 103 degrees. The vet, who left his own animals and his own house and gave us his Saturday night, gave Bug an injection of broad spectrum antibiotics, some vitamin K, and a pain reliever. She stayed there.

30 miles has never seemed so far away.

A favorite priest once told me that tear are prayers. You know, the prayers when you can't find the words and your mind is racing and your heart is aching and you just don't know what to say or how to say it or sometimes even Who to say it to.

Tears are prayers.

Happy Birthday, America!

Our hostess this week is Grace. This is her assignment: July 4th is US Independence day, for Fun Monday, please tell how you spend your Independence Day either this year or in the past. Do you have a July 4th funny story you would like to share? Do you have a family tradition for this day?

I grew up in a part of the country that did not allow personal fireworks. I now live in a part of the country that not only allows, but encourages, personal excess of explosive devices. This rocks. We not only have fireworks on the Fourth of July but also on Christmas, New Year's, and whenever our favorite team wins.

My story, however, takes place in California 7 years ago. The Moose was 2 years old. His parents then lived near the coast and we were going to watch the fireworks. We met up with friends and settled our lawn chairs on the grassy knoll. Juls and I took great pains to explain to the Moose what was about to ensue. We told him there would be LOUD noises and BRIGHT explosions. We told him the appropriate response was "ooh, aah". We put him on the chair in between us.

The fireworks began. Moose was watching the fireworks and we were watching Moose. He was good. He did not scream or flinch or cry or any of the other things other people's children were doing. He sat there and watched, transfixed, and said "ooh, aah".

Suddenly, an spectacularly large firework exploded. Juls and I heard, "ooh, aah, HOLY S__T!"

Once we regained our composure, we explained that this was not an appropriate response. It has however become part of our family lexicon. Instead of saying Holy ____, we just say "ooh, aah".

It works.

Hope y'all had a spectacular Fourth. Happy Birthday, America!

Happy 4th of July!

A Belated Happy Father's Day

...and why isn't there a Parent's Day?

Moose's parents are not together. They have been separated for more than half of the little man's life. They are two of the best parents that it has ever been my privilege to know.


Without any legal wrangling or court orders or even a whole lot of acrimony, they decide together what is best for the Moose. As any grandparent will tell you, it is VERY hard to stand back and keep your mouth shut. I manage to do this most of the time, no matter what my daughter says.

My son-in-law recently made a hard decision, one of those decisions that just rip your heart apart. In the end, though, he did what he knew was right for the little guy and I would like to publicly acknowledge his courage.

Thanks, dude. The Moose is learning how to be a man by watching you.

Fun Monday - you want to see what?

Our hostess this week is The Church Lady and this is her request: Post a photo of your purse and if you care to share, describe what's inside your purse. Do you carry everything but the kitchen sink? Or, do you prefer to go light and carry only the necessities, such as your money and cell phone. For the men who would like to participate, post a photo of your wallet and describe what's in your wallet.

Here you are:

Vera Bradley purse filled with

one unclosable wallet, one Vera Bradley make up case, one Vera Bradley pencil case, a checkbook, a rosary, a styrofoam gingerbread man, a cell phone and some tea flavored mints.

Fun Monday - Food, food, food

This week's challenge is from Margaret at M is for Misanthrope.

Our task? If you could choose one “main course” item and one dessert item that would, just for you, contain zero calories for the rest of your life (or zero cholesterol, zero points, or whatever your most important dietary measure is)…what would you choose?

This was harder than I thought. There are a lot of very amazing foods and recipes out there that I enjoy. Then I stopped to think about what I would like to have on a continuous basis.

One of my very favorite things is Wendy's chili. I could eat this plain, over pasta, over rice, on baked potatoes, on salad, pretty much any old way, including over burgers, hot dogs, etc. I make a mean chili myself but there is just something about this chili that I really, really like - every single time.

For the dessert option, I used the same criteria. I LOVE a lot of desserts; creme brulee, tiramisu, any cheesecake, fried ice cream, key lime pie, ad nauseum - and I mean that literally. The thing that I would eat every single day, the thing that I do eat every single day when my grandson comes to have my break with me, is Subway's peanut butter cookies. There is a very nice lady at our local Subway who makes sure that there are always enough slightly under-done peanut butter cookies for me and the Moose. If I could make sure these cookies were 0 everything, my life would be much less stressful.

Crapola

...or the summer doldrums. I am in the midst of a personal yuk and it is spreading into all facets of my life. This is not good for someone whose family nickname is "Polly-f'ing-anna". Evidently the way I have been reacting to stress has decided to turn on me and the karmic kingdom has decided to play along. Thursday I came early from work sick because my body has evidently decided to stop holding things together, too. Friday, I stayed home, venturing out only long enough to return/replenish library books, pay an overdue bill, and get some sick-noodle soup. I got to the library, returned and replenished and got into an argument with my daughter on the phone. Those of you who know me know that I almost NEVER argue with my daughter. I learned long ago that's it's a losing proposition. I went to pay the overdue bill, paid PART of said bill, went out to get in my car and noticed that my passenger side front tire was very low. I drove to the tire shop and learned that not only was that tire not salvageable but that the rear passenger side tire was flat also. God only knows what I drove over. Being that this is a sporty little car with z-rated tires, they did not have one in stock and must order one. It should be in Monday. I left the tire shop and went to the grocery, trading in the soup for some drumsticks. They had evidently been thawed and refrozen as the cone part was chewy. Gross. Of course, this did not stop me from eating them. My head still hurts, my nose is still running, I am still having a "dis" weekend (disgruntled, discouraged, disillusioned, disappointed, disheartened, disturbed, etc.) and am tired of being a whiny ass. Where's Polly when you really need her?

Fun Monday - History Made Personally Relevant

For this week's Fun Monday, lil mouse would like to know about our birthdays - or more specifically the things that occurred on the date that we were born.

Taken from Wikipedia, here you go:

Events
211 – Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies, leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons, Caracalla and Geta.
960 – The coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of Song, initiating the Song Dynasty period of China that would last more than three centuries.
1454 – In the Thirteen Years' War, the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master.
1703 – In Edo (now Tokyo), 46 of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master's death.
1789 – George Washington is unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.
1792 – George Washington is unanimously elected to a second term as President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.
1794 – The French legislature abolishes slavery throughout all territories of the French Republic.
1801 – John Marshall is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.
1810 – The Royal Navy seizes Guadeloupe.
1820 – The Chilean Navy under the command of Lord Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald completes the 2 day long Capture of Valdivia with just 300 men and 2 ships.
1825 – The Ohio Legislature authorizes the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal.
1859 – The Codex Sinaiticus is discovered in Egypt.
1861 – American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, Delegates from six break-away U.S. states meet and form The Confederate States of America.
1899 – The Philippine-American War begins.
1932 – World War II: Japan occupies Harbin, China.
1936 – Radium E becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically.
1941 – World War II: The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.
1945 – World War II: The Yalta Conference begins.
1948 – Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth.
1957 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), logs its 60,000th nautical mile, matching the endurance of the fictional Nautilus described in Jules Verne's novel "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea".
1966 – All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 jet plunges into Tokyo Bay, killing 133.
1967 – Lunar Orbiter program: Lunar Orbiter 3 lifts off from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 13 on its mission to identify possible landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo spacecraft.
1969 – Yasser Arafat takes over as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California.
1975 – Haicheng earthquake (magnitude 7.3 on the Richter scale) occurs in Haicheng, Liaoning, China.
1976 – In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.
1980 – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banisadr as president of Iran.
1992 – A Coup d'état is led by Hugo Chávez Frías, against Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez.
1996 – Major snowstorm paralyzes Midwestern United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin ties all-time record low temperature at -26°F (-32.2°C)
1997 – En route to Lebanon, two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 troop-transport helicopters collide in mid-air over northern Galilee, Israel killing 73.
1997 – After at first contesting the results, Serbian President Slobodan Milošević recognizes opposition victories in the November 1996 elections.
1998 – An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale in northeast Afghanistan kills more than 5,000.
1999 – Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot dead by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race-relations in the city.
1999 – The New Carissa runs aground near Coos Bay, Oregon.
2000 – German extortionist Klaus-Peter Sabotta is jailed for life for attempted murder and extortion in connection with the sabotage of German railway lines.
2003 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is officially renamed to Serbia and Montenegro and adopts a new constitution.
2004 – Facebook, a mainstream online social network is founded by Mark Zuckerberg.
2006 – A stampede occurs in the ULTRA Stadium near Manila killing 71.
2008 – The London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) scheme begins to operate in the UK.

[edit] Births
1524 – Luis de Camões, Portuguese poet (d. 1580)
1575 – Pierre de Bérulle, French cardinal and statesman (d. 1629)
1620 – Gustaf Bonde, Swedish statesman (d. 1667)
1646 – Hans Erasmus Aßmann, Freiherr von Abschatz, German statesman and poet (d. 1699)
1677 – Johann Ludwig Bach, German composer (d. 1731)
1688 – Pierre de Marivaux, French writer (d. 1763)
1725 – Dru Drury, English entomologist (d. 1804)
1746 – Tadeusz Kościuszko, Polish, Belarusian-Lithuanian, and American national hero (d. 1817)
1778 – A. P. de Candolle, Swiss botanist (d. 1841)
1799 – Almeida Garrett, Portuguese writer (d. 1854)
1808 – Josef Kajetán Tyl, Czech playwright, author of the Czech national anthem(d. 1856)
1831 – Oliver Ames, 35th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1895)
1846 – Nikolay Umov, Russian physicist (d. 1915)
1848 – Jean Aicard, French poet (d. 1921)
1849 – Jean Richepin, French poet (d. 1926)
1859 – Timofei Mikhailov, Russian revolutionary, member of Narodnaya Volya (d. 1881)
1871 – Friedrich Ebert, German politician, 1st Reichspräsident of the Weimar Republic (d. 1925)
1872 – Gotse Delchev, a great Macedonian revolutionary, (d. 1903)
1873 – Étienne Desmarteau, Canadian athlete (d. 1905)
1875 – Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist (d. 1953)
1877 – Eddie Cochems, Father of the Forward Pass in American football (d. 1953)
1881 – Fernand Léger, French painter (d. 1955)
1891 – Madabhushi Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, Speaker of Lok Sabha (d. 1978).
1892 – Andreu Nin, Catalan politician (d. 1937)
1892 – E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet (d. 1964)
1895 – Nigel Bruce, English actor (d. 1953)
1896 – Friedrich Glauser, German-language Swiss writer (d. 1938)
1896 – Friedrich Hund, German physicist (d. 1997)
1897 – Ludwig Erhard, 2nd Bundeskanzler of Germany (d. 1977)
1900 – Jacques Prévert, French poet and lyricist (d. 1977)
1902 – Charles Lindbergh, American pilot (d. 1974)
1902 – Hartley Shawcross, British lawyer and politician (d. 2003)
1904 – MacKinlay Kantor, American writer (d. 1977)
1905 – Hylda Baker, English comedy actress (d. 1986)
1906 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian (d. 1945)
1906 – Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer (d. 1997)
1908 – Julian Bell, British poet (d. 1937)
1912 – Ola Skjåk Bræk, Norwegian politician (d. 1999)
1912 – Erich Leinsdorf, Austrian conductor (d. 1993)
1912 – Byron Nelson, American golfer (d. 2006)
1912 – Louis-Albert Cardinal Vachon, archbishop of Quebec (d. 2006)
1913 – Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (d. 2005)
1914 – Alfred Andersch, German writer (d. 1980)
1915 – Ray Evans, American songwriter with Jay Livingston (d. 2007)
1915 – William Talman, American actor (d. 1968)
1915 – Norman Wisdom, English actor and comedian
1917 – Yahya Khan, President of Pakistan (d. 1980)
1918 – Ida Lupino, English film actress and director (d. 1995)
1918 – Luigi Pareyson, Italian philosopher (d. 1991)
1918 – Janet Waldo, American actress
1921 – Betty Friedan, American feminist (d. 2006)
1921 – Lotfi Asker Zadeh, American-Iranian/Russian mathematician and computer scientist and the father of fuzzy logic.
1922 – Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Indian Classical Singer
1923 – Conrad Bain, Canadian-born actor
1925 – Russell Hoban, American writer
1929 – Jerry Adler, American actor
1931 – Isabel Martínez de Perón, third wife of Argentine president Juan Perón
1935 – Martti Talvela, Finnish bass (d. 1989)
1936 – David Brenner, American comedian
1936 – Gary Conway, American actor
1937 – David Newman, American filmmaker (d. 2003)
1940 – George Romero, American director, screenwriter and producer
1940 – John Schuck, American actor
1941 – John Steel, British musician (The Animals)
1943 – Alberto João Jardim, Portuguese president of the regional government of Madeira
1943 – Ken Thompson, American computer scientist
1944 – Florence LaRue, American singer (The Fifth Dimension)
1947 – Dan Quayle, 44th Vice President of the United States
1948 – Alice Cooper, American musician
1949 – Michael Beck, American actor
1950 – Pamela Franklin, British actress
1951 – Patrick Bergin, Irish actor
1951 – Phil Ehart, American musician (Kansas)
1951 – Dariush Eghbali, Iranian singer and musician
1951 – Stan Papi, American baseball player
1952 – Lisa Eichhorn, American actress
1952 – Jerry Shirley, drummer of rock band Humble Pie.
1952 – Li Yinhe, Chinese sexologist
1953 – Kitaro, Japanese composer
1955 – Mikuláš Dzurinda, Slovak Prime minister
1957 – Don Davis, American composer
1957 – Evan Wolfson, American attorney and activist
1958 – Tomasz Pacyński, Polish writer
1959 – Pamelyn Ferdin, American actress
1959 – Lawrence Taylor, American football player.
1960 – Tim Booth, British singer (James)
1960 – Siobhan Dowd, British/Irish author (d. 2007)
1960 – Jenette Goldstein, American actress
1960 – Jonathan Larson, American composer (d. 1996)
1961 – Stewart O'Nan, American author
1961 – Denis Savard, Canadian ice hockey player
1962 – Clint Black, American musician
1962 – Michael Riley, Canadian actor
1962 – Alfred Twardecki, Polish historian
1963 – Pirmin Zurbriggen, Swiss skier
1964 – Noodles, American guitarist (The Offspring)
1965 – Jerome Brown, American football player (d. 1992)
1966 – Viatcheslav Ekimov, Russian cyclist
1966 – Kyōko Koizumi, Japanese actress and singer
1967 – Sergei Grinkov, Russian figure skater (d. 1995)
1968 – Marko Matvere, Estonian actor
1969 – Duncan Coutts, Canadian bassist (Our Lady Peace)
1969 – Dallas Drake, ice hockey player
1969 – Brandy Ledford, American actress and model
1970 – Gabrielle Anwar, English actress
1971 – Rob Corddry, American actor and comedian
1971 – Michael A. Goorjian, American actor
1972 – Giovanni Silva De Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
1973 – Oscar de la Hoya, Mexican-born boxer
1973 – Manny Legacé, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
1974 – Eric Townsend, American musician and record producer
1974 – Mijntje Donners, Dutch hockey international
1975 – Natalie Imbruglia, Australian musician and actress
1975 – Konstantinos Nebegleras, Greek footballer
1976 – Cam'ron, American rapper
1977 – Gavin DeGraw, American musician
1977 – Mitra Hajjar, Iranian actress
1978 – Danna Garcia, Colombian actress
1979 – Andrei Arlovski, Belarussian mixed martial artist
1979 – Giorgio Pantano, Italian racing car driver
1981 – Ben Hendrickson, American baseball player
1981 – Jason Kapono, America professional basketball player
1981 – Tom Mastny, Indonesian baseball player
1981 – Johan Van Summeren, Belgian cyclist
1982 – Chris Sabin, American professional wrestler
1982 – Tomas Vaitkus, Lithuanian professional road racing cyclist
1982 – Kimberly Wyatt, American singer and dancer (Pussycat Dolls)
1983 – Jarrad Waite, Australian rules footballer
1984 – Mauricio Pinilla, Chilean footballer
1985 – Bug Hall, American actor
1986 – Mohammad Mahmudullah, Bangladeshi cricketer
1987 – Lucie Šafářová, Czech tennis player
1988 – Eoin McDowell, Irish rugby player
1988 – Carly Patterson, American gymnast

[edit] Deaths
211 – Septimius Severus, Emperor of Rome (b. 146)
708 – Pope Sisinnius
856 – Rabanus Maurus, Bishop of Mainz (b. c. 780)
869 – Saint Cyril, Greek missionary to the Slavs (b. 827)
1508 – Conrad Celtes, German humanist scholar (b. 1459)
1590 – Gioseffo Zarlino, Italian composer (b. 1517)
1615 – Dom Justo Takayama, Japanese warlord (b. 1552)
1615 – Giovanni Battista della Porta, Italian scholar, polymath and child prodigy (b. 1535)
1617 – Louis Elsevier, Dutch publisher (b. 1546)
1694 – Nataliya Kyrillovna Naryshkina, Tsaritsa of Russia (b. 1651)
1713 – Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician and philosopher (b. 1671)
1774 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (b. 1701)
1799 – Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect (b. 1728)
1781 – Josef Mysliveček, Czech composer (b. 1737)
1894 – Adolphe Sax, Belgian instrument maker (b. 1814)
1912 – Franz Reichelt, Austrian Tailor/Inventor (b. 1800's)
1905 – Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor (b. 1841)
1928 – Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1853)
1933 – Archibald Sayce, English educator (b. 1846)
1936 – Wilhelm Gustloff, German leader of the Swiss Nazi party (b. 1895)
1940 – Nikolai Yezhov, Head of Soviet NKVD (b. 1895)
1943 – Frank Calder, the first NHL President (b. 1877)
1944 – Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (b. 1867)
1944 – Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian writer (b. 1872)
1958 – Henry Kuttner, American author (b. 1915)
1959 – Una O'Connor, Irish actress (b. 1880)
1966 – Gilbert H. Grosvenor, American president of the National Geographic Society (b. 1875)
1967 – Albert Orsborn, 6th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1886)
1968 – Neal Cassady, American writer (b. 1926)
1974 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist (b. 1894)
1975 – Louis Jordan, American musician (b. 1908)
1975 – Howard Hill, American archer (b. 1899)
1977 – Brett Halliday, American writer (b. 1904)
1982 – Alex Harvey, Scottish musician (b. 1935)
1982 – Georg Konrad Morgen, German judge (b. 1909)
1983 – Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (The Carpenters) (b. 1950)
1987 – Meena Keshwar Kamal, Afghan feminist and founder of RAWA (b. 1956)
1987 – Liberace, American musician (b. 1919)
1987 – Carl Rogers, American psychologist (b. 1902)
1990 – Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1917)
1992 – Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish model (b. 1911)
1994 – Fred De Bruyne, Belgian cyclist (b. 1930)
1995 – Godfrey Brown, British athlete and teacher (b. 1915)
1995 – Patricia Highsmith, American author (b. 1921)
2000 – Carl Albert, American politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1908)
2000 – Doris Coley, American singer (Shirelles) (b. 1941)
2000 – Phil Tonken, American radio and television announcer (b. 1919)
2001 – J. J. Johnson, American jazz trombonist and composer (b. 1924)
2001 – Pankaj Roy, Indian cricketer (b. 1928)
2001 – Iannis Xenakis, Greek composer and architect (b. 1922)
2002 – George Nader, American film and television actor (b. 1921)
2003 – Charlie Biddle, Canadian jazz bassist (b. 1926)
2003 – Benyoucef Ben Khedda, Algerian politician (b. 1920)
2003 – André Noyelle, Belgian cyclist (b. 1931)
2005 – Ossie Davis, American actor, activist (b. 1917)
2006 – Betty Friedan, American feminist (b. 1921)
2006 – Myron Waldman, American animator (b. 1908)
2007 – Steve Barber, American baseball pitcher (b. 1938)
2007 – José Carlos Bauer, Brazilian World Cup footballer (b. 1925)
2007 – Ilya Kormiltsev, Russian poet and translator (b. 1959)
2007 – Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (b. 1934)
2007 – Jules Olitski, Ukrainian-born American abstract painter and sculptor (b. 1922)
2008 – Stefan Meller, Polish foreign minister (b. 1942)
2009 – Lux Interior, Frontman of the garage rock band The Cramps (b. 1946)

If you have made it this far, suffice it to say that I was born on that date somewhere between Ceylon's independance and the 60,000th nautical mile of the Nautilus.