Seattle Wins This One

Gee Oklahoma, I expected better of you.  You call this a slug??  In Seattle all our slugs were the size of Ball Park Franks as babies and just grew bigger with age.  (Might have been all the beer we fed them, believing that old Wives Tale about them getting so drunk that they painlessly drown in it.)  No wonder the Bermuda Grass is taking over.

Really OPI, Really?

OPI makes expensive nail polish but the color selection is wonderful.  Their names are usually very cute, but I draw the line at the KardashianKolor Kollection by Nicole (OPI).  I don't want even 1/10th of a cent per bottle to go to these people.  Here are some of the names copied from the display at my local CVS Store:  Kendall On The Catwalk, Listen To Your Momanager, Follow Me On Glitter, One Big Happy Fame-ily, Ladies In The Limelight, Paparazzi Don't Preach, Strike A Pose, Smile For The Glam-era, Back To Reality...TV, Our Fushia's Looking Bright, All About The Glam, All Kendalled Up, Kim-pletelly In Love, Sealed With A Kris, Rainbow In The S-Kylie, Wear Something Spar-Kylie, Kourtney Is Red-y For A Pedi, Hard-Kourt Fashionista, Khloé Had A Little Lam-Lam, Disco Dolls.  Heck, some of these girls are not even Kardashians, they're Jenners.

Raw Potatoes

Spending tonight at the Embassy Suites in Kansas City, but surprisingly, not in the state of Kansas.  The Internet has not been kind tonight and I am giving up on reading, commenting, or even uploading pictures.  Had a great day with John's boss's girlfriend Pam.  She is a walking ray of sunshine.  You always feel good around her.  We bought shoes, so you know that the good time just got better.  We even met up with her childhood friend, Maggie, who cracked my husband up most of the evening.  Basically just Good Times!
OK, since the Internet hasn't gone out on me yet, I will add my view on Sushi, specifically the raw fish stuff.  If I was really hungry, if it would be a social gaff to refuse, if I had a friend who wouldn't believe my preference and insisted I try it again - I would eat potatoes raw.  But I know they are much better (to my palate) cooked.  That's how I feel eating fish raw.

I Grew Delicious Beans! Anyone Have An Answer For Me On Another Subject?

OK, I'm tired of asking stupid questions.  Well, questions that are stupid to ask Midwest people.  So before I embarrass myself again, would someone please explain what they mean when they keep having sales of "Hail Damaged" cars.  (Or could the ads be for "hale damaged" cars?)  I understand Tent sales - we have those on the West Coast.  I understand Fire sales, where there has not been a fire; it's just an expression meant to evoke the feeling that there is a pressing reason not to wait around, but to buy right away.  But cars are big hunks of steel and really strong plastics, and while they would burn, I just don't see how little ice balls could be that big an issue.  I'm thinking of coining a new phrase for all these new regional things I need to know - maybe a midqwestion?
Oh, and the beans were amazing.  Being on the balcony meant they were closer to the kitchen.  So they were the freshest beans I've ever had.  Delicious!

I Grew Actual Food!

 My plants have behaved very well.  A surprise for me, since I never actually expected anything to happen with these 20 cent Walmart seeds.  I stuck them in the dirt, covered them with a clear plastic dome and left them alone for 3 weeks.  And here is my first Nasturtium flower!  Beautiful. 

 And there are enough beans to have eaten them for dinner, just on the few plants I left on the small back porch.  But I didn't have to cook tonight, since all John's work friends (plus me) went out for Sushi.  That's right, it might not be on the coast, but Oklahoma has some of the best, freshest fish, both cooked and raw, you can imagine. 

Not the best picture, but it was a fun evening.  90% business, but that's to be expected.  You can see Juliette pretty well, and Frank and Ricky - all of whom have been mentioned here before.  Frank is the man who was on the other side of the Elvis statue in Las Vegas, with my husband, all crooning into the mike.  Ricky is the guy who makes my husband's life so much easier because he was such a quick study and could pick up all the West Coast so fast.  I would have used his name before, but I was unsure how he spelled Ricky (Rickie), which is the height of absurdity, since my husband gave him the nickname and no one else calls him that.  I should have just asked John how to spell it.  Which is what I did tonight, and you can see what he decided.  You only get to see Jerry's hands, which is a shame, because he is ex-marine handsome - kind of like Gibbs on NCIS.  He's in my last year's birthday post pictures.  (He sent me that incredible B-17.)  And there is a new guy named Richard, who evidently lost some contest my husband devised where there was competitive proofreading.  Yes, John knows how to motivate.   

New Bug In Town

This strange bug was underground in one of the raised beds at the Community Center.  (Not mine!)  I took these pictures over a 3 hour period.  It was still on the table let when we went in to lunch, but eventually flew off.

 Took most of the plants from the balcony and transplanted them into my raised bed at the community center.  These Nasturtiums were just so happy here, that I let them stay.  Should be some flowers soon.

 Here are some of plants I started from seed in their new home.  I have lots of extra tomato and bean plants that I gave to the other gardeners.  I kept all the okra plants for myself.  John did a great job of spacing out the stuff.  Those cages are for the plants to climb up.  It was just a surprise to find them in yellow and red.

This is Jennifer who seems to be running the whole community center.  She has the most interesting accent - a British woman who has been in Oklahoma a long, long time.  And the most beautiful personality.  She is hammering some giant black metal numbers on the raised beds that are not called The Pea Patch.  Mine is number 17.

Don't You Love Taking A Picture Of People Taking A Picture?

This is Juliette, an engineer from China.  She is here on her first trip to the US learning about the products manufactured by the company my husband works for.  She will represent the company for all of China.  Big job.  But today was Sunday and so we took her to dinner and sightseeing.  Don't you love seeing your town from the perspective of a visitor? 

Designing Invitation

I had an idea for invitations for Amanda's wedding, but then I had a few more ideas.  And as long as I stay within her color scheme, who's to say that all the invitations must be the same?  The wording will be, and that is all that is left to do at this point.  But (I know this is a little hard to believe), I don't know how to spell Mike's parents' names.  Her wedding is on the 9th of June, so as long as I get these mailed by next Saturday, I'm within the 6 week window. 

It Wasn't Even On Sale

Someone asked me today if I really liked blogging.  I immediately thought of this picture.  Why?  Because it is the first picture including that little 6 egg ceramic container.  I bought it from Target and (this is important) I didn't even wait for it to go on sale.  I wanted it so I could take pictures while I was cooking without worrying about all my eggs rolling around on the counter.  And it is cute, right?  So, yes, I do like blogging, or I would have no real use for this little indulgence.  

I might as well explain what these pictures are about, while I'm at it.  I made brownies this week for my Stamp Club.  I topped them while hot with some left over White and Dark Chocolate Dove Easter Eggs, and covered them with foil until they made a melty delicious mess.  One of the ladies at Stamp Club (all fabulously talented, creative women) asked if I did something special to have made a Fudge Style Brownie that actually raised like a cake.  So I told her how I separated the eggs and mixed everything together with just the yolks, whipped the egg whites stiff and then folded them in just before baking.  When she asked if it would work with a mix, I just had to take the challenge and try it.  Seemed a good Midnight Snack for Terri's Slumber Party.  Worked just as well.  But now I'm sorry to have used up all the Easter Eggs!

Mah Jong Thursday And Fabulous Life Guard

My friend Carol does a lot of stuff and is very generous in inviting everyone to come along. This time she went above her usual, and relocated one of her fun activities to our local Community Center. She brought a few of her friends and their equipment to teach us to play Mah Jong. Our teachers, Jane and Julia have known each other for 35+ years (in other words, since 5Th grade, I figured). Jane was so smart and funny that I actually wrote a few notes - since I'm never going to remember her comment that she finally figured out that the mouse pee in New Hampshire has such a high pH that it melts the wiring in her car's air conditioning units and that's why she never goes to her vacation place in the Summer. And that's why she does the scorching Oklahoma Summer when she has a place in New England available. And the story about her house being struck by lightning and that she figured out that the strange smoky electrically smell was coming from the big black new hole in the wall of her spare room. So she calls up the small town (Oklahoma, of course) fire department, only to be told, "Finally! We've been waiting for your call!" But back to Mah Jong - very fun and nothing like the computer game. I can see how it could be addictive. I got a terrific set of tiles and by sheer luck won the only game we played. Not the best outcome, since I am OK with losing, but one of the other ladies isn't. I really wish I'd lost.

So, here is Daniel, one of the best lifeguards at the Y. He and a few others rotate mornings, keeping eagle eye on the Water Aerobics classes. And thanks to his diligence, not one of us has died! High praise. And he mimes the words (with gestures) while we exercise to the song, Sisters, from that old 40's movie, My Sister Ruth. Yesterday, while helping with the lane divider, one of the regular lady's daughter-in-law (so she is quite a bit younger than most of the class) gave a playful tug on the fancy rope thing marking the lane, and caught it just right, so that Daniel slipped right into the pool, just a few feet from me. I never saw two people look so surprised. The kid in me laughed. The adult in me should have worried about someone hitting their head on the side of the pool or some other disastrous outcome, but I didn't. Am I finally outgrowing that overdeveloped mothering/worrying complex that sees an accident around every corner?

B-17 Model Flying Over The DIning Room

We had dinner with one of John's friends a while ago and the topic of WWII airplanes came up. We all agreed that the B-17 was the best. It doesn't hurt that my father was on a crew (398th)out of England. What a shock to come home today and find this in the mail - a gorgeous model of the B-17 G, The Flying Fortress. Best surprise present ever! Thanks, Jerry!

Dark Shadows, The Movie - I Can Hardly Wait!!

Most of the movies I've enjoyed have been happy accidents that someone else has wanted to see. My favorite move is Cold Comfort Farm, and my friend Judy had to convince me not to leave the theatre during the first five minutes, which were very dark and scary. Most recently there was Mirror, Mirror which John picked, with the greatest Evil Stepmother Spa Scene, which is reason enough for every woman to own that movie. But I can't remember the last time I was excited for a movie to come out. Might have been Clive Cussler's book, Raise The Titanic, which must have been so much harder to make into that terrible movie, than it would have been to make it a good one. The Avengers would have qualified, but no one could have taken Ulma Thurman seriously as Mrs. Peel, so I knew ahead of time that it would be pretty bad. Well, I am jazzed for this one! The charms of Johnny Depp are not lost on me. The fact that someone decided to cast him in the movie version of that blast from my past "Dark Shadows" has me almost dancing. I'm serious - it's like I'm watching my oldest brother perfect his dance moves to American Band Stand all over again. In those days, I wouldn't consider missing even one episode of Dark Shadows. What was Barnabas going to do next? This preoccupation with a TV show was a surprise to me. Most of my life, I've been a book geek, (with the exception of British TV - The Avengers, in particular), until having kids, when TV gave my family a chance to bond with a group entertainment experience. (Remember those days before Reality TV took over the airwaves; remember those days when you could count on TV to be entertaining?) So, I plan on enjoying the novelty of anticipation until Dark Shadows comes out. If you hear anything bad about it - don't tell me. Just this once.

There's A New Moth God In Town!

Ok, I was fooled the last time - that huge moth only pretended to be the one and only Moth God. How can I be sure? Now that I have lived a while (16 months) in Tulsa, I have become less surprised by truly enormous insects. But wow! Look at this guy! Do you think he knows he looks just like a leaf? He was sitting on the ground right in front of my garage. So I gave him his tribute (what, you thought that coin was for scale? I have silks and woolens to protect!), and backed over him into the garage. Yes, I remember all that stuff I wrote about backing into a garage being silly, like how it is easier to pour milk out of a bottle than to pour it back in, but it makes John happy on the odd occasion that he takes my car out. Well, Green Moth God didn't even budge. He (She?) just wiggled those long antennae in acknowledgement of the coin.

How Visiting Dallas Has More Benefits Than Just IKEA Bookcases

I remember not being able to properly relate to Fried Green Tomatoes, neither the book nor the movie. Couldn't get all the way through them - they just confused me. Well after only one year in Tulsa, I am going to try again. Yes, I know that Tulsa isn't actually considered "The South", but it has given me a much wider perspective. I am amazed at the diverse populations that work together to make the USA. Don't get me started on Texas. That state is a whole other country. Which brings me to my point, and I do have one - I now am ready to read GCB (Good Christian Bitches. or Belles) (not to be confused with Good Catholic Girls - one of my favorite subjects, I'm sure you know). GCB is the basis for a Sunday night show on ABC that is my new guilty pleasure. It's set in Texas and I know I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much without the frequent trips John and I take to Dallas.

100 Years Ago

Every once in a while my husband and I will look at each other after some comment one of us has made and say "That's why we're married!"Just now, John looked at the clock and looked over at me and said, "At almost this exact moment, 100 years ago, the Titanic struck the Iceberg". He still can give me goose bumps, after all these years.

Don't Go Golfing At 2am In Tulsa And Other Advice I Give My Husband

Last night there was the most amazing storm here. The thunder and lightning was at its most majestic best! When we got up this morning, I had to give John a few words of advice. I could just see him getting restless and going out with his clubs and being struck by lightning. No, no, no!! After all, my life is right where I want it now, and him doing some deadly "guy thing" without thinking would mess that all up. You know the kind of stuff I mean - don't drink expired milk and don't leave your car window down in the garage because the scorpions can crawl in and surprise you when you're driving on the freeway. Hmm - I wonder if I have warned him about botulism? A woman's work is never done!

Frothy, Creamy Deliousiness - Tomorrow I'm Going Back For One Of Those Chai Tea Lattes!

I thought my Lenten resolve to give up my Small Smug Frugalitites would be misunderstood by the people it was meant to affect, but I found out today that was not the case. The woman who started me thinking about all those serving people negatively impacted by her small act of giving up her morning Starbuck's latte stopped me this morning for a quick hug. She said that when she went back for her first treat after Lent, they welcomed her back, and said that they were happy her friend (me) had taken up the slack and that the Tip jar had not suffered while she was gone. And I discovered the Chai Tea Latte. But I am so glad Lent is over, because it was so much harder to find someone to tip everyday than to just give up Chocolate. Wait - I didn't mean Chocolate, I think I meant meat. Or Peanut Butter. Or was it sauerkraut?

Oklahoma In Pictures

Spring in Oklahoma can be breathtakingly beautiful. I try to capture it in pictures, but today I'm giving you a link to Catherine's blog, because she is the woman who really does it justice. Go HERE and be impressed! Add an ocean and get rid of the tornadoes and everyone would live here.

Now, if my picture was a little clearer, you would be able to see that there are a few Canadian Geese on this little pond. We used to have Canadian Geese in Seattle. Either they are protected or no one is armed, but the Canadian Geese got out of control in Seattle. The grass in the parks was slick with goose poop and if your child was trying to feed the ducks some bread, these geese would hunt them (the children with bread, not the ducks) down and didn't take no for an answer even when the bread was gone. They became such a problem that Seattle was up in arms. What to do? Somehow they got special permission to shoot 600 of them. (Estimated to be 1% of the total Seattle geese population.) But only if they fed them to the poor. No one knows how they got these geese dispatched so quickly, but before the protesters could file the injunction, almost 300 geese had been sent to the soup kitchens. That was over 10 years ago, and the Canadian Geese have not returned. They know better! Did they come to your town?

Reasonable Speed Limits and Being Late

Water Aerobics was cancelled this morning due to lightning. You know how the covered slide into the pool protrudes from the building, a perfect target for lightning to strike, turning the pool into a jumbo lobster pot. I didn't find out it was cancelled until I got to the Y, perfectly on time. I note, perfectly on time, because I hate the first 10 minutes of class, when we just walk back and forth in the pool, sometimes forward, sometimes sideways, so I try to get into the pool just after this activity ends. At this point, I have so many friends in the pool it's become a distraction to the class, as everyone wants to stop and say "Hi!' and critique my peculiar method of entering the pool. Like most Leos, I am not the biggest fan of getting wet - being wet is fine, it's just the process that I don't enjoy. If the water is even the tiniest bit cold, I won't get in the pool, so I have to just jump in and get 100% wet before anyone has a chance to warn me. My point, and I do have one, is that being there before class starts has become a priority. Which brings me to Speed Limits - actually it brings me to my first months in Seattle, where I had a difficult time getting places on time. So I investigated the possible reasons for excess tardiness. Resentment - nope, I was late for stuff I was excited about; control - nope, I am a follower, generally don't need control, since I have just as much fun when someone else chooses what we do; center-of-attentionism (for lack of a better word) - nope, please just let me sneak in unnoticed. My research was pretty much exhausted at this point, since this was pre Internet and I couldn't access all the nutjob theories that abound on almost every subject today. With no other options, I did what any rational person would do - I started timing how long it took me to get places. Anyone who know me, knows that when I say I'm a follower, that includes rules and laws, including the Speed Limits. I grew up with the freeways of California and had never made the necessary correction for the 25 to 30 mph Speed Limit of Seattle. I either had to start speeding or allow more time to get places. Problem solved. Now in Tulsa, the Speed Limits make driving in Seattle seem like riding in a golf cart.

Something Just Doesn't Feel Right This April 15th - But I'm Not Complaining

Don't get me wrong - I am exceedingly comfortable with the concept of "trade-offs", I have never, ever complained about paying Federal Taxes, and I love being a Renter. Confused about how I am going to link this together? Here's the deal - since I an a Renter, I don't pay any mortgage interest. Since I don't pay any mortgage interest, I am not itemizing my deductions and just taking the standard deduction for a married couple. So my trade-off for the ease and carefree life of a renter is that I am not getting a Refund. Not even one cent. For the first time in my entire life. Of course, I don't have to save that refund for the eventual house repair.

Lent Is Over, So What The Heck Am I Doing Letting Starbucks Make Tea For Me?

Remember a couple of days ago when I was excitedly awaiting the end of Lent and saying that I was going to make my own tea for a whole week? Oops! I seem to have gotten too comfortable with the whole indulgence thing.

Will anyone be going to see the Stooges Movie?

Hot Cross Buns

Happy Easter!

Dallas

Ice Skating at the Galleria Shopping Center. And a peculiar place called Neiman's Last Call which has a little bit of everything - all of it expensive still. I think Eric Javit's hats are amazing, but have your seen his purses?

The More I See You

We have XM Radio in the cars. With the twist of the knob, we can have all 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, or 90's music. We can also be reminded of which decade a certain favorite song was released. Today we heard the old Chris Montez hit, "The More I See You, The More I Want You". This was the first record I ever owned, I told John. I asked him if I'd ever told him that story. Now, John and I have been together for over 30 years and you'd think there wouldn't be any surprises. But the truth is that unless it got talked about before the kids came along, it's all new. So, anyway, I told him how I won the 45 (Google "45rpm record" if need be), when I was in grade school. My sister Claire who is 2 1/2 years younger than I am, had discovered call in radio quizzes. And she knew all (yes, ALL) the answers. So it wasn't long before she got banned from call in radio quizzes for winning too much. So she handed me the phone on a question where I could actually give a correct answer and I won. The prize turned out to be the Chris Montez record - in fact all the prizes were the same record. And when our unusual last name registered with the DJ, our whole family got banned from call in radio quizzes. As he said, it's only fair that someone else gets to win occasionally. Here's a tip for any woman lucky enough to be married to someone with as warped a sense of humor as my John - Never ever tell him you've been Banned from anything! Good Times!

Lent Is Almost Over!

Just two more days - Friday and Saturday! I am so ready for Lent ot be over. I am planning on spending an entire week making my own tea.

Crickets, Mosquitoes, and Ticks, Oh My!

Who is giving those Oklahoma Insects steroids? I just don't get it - these guys are not just big, but they are tough. Luckily they don't appear to be any smarter, which is why I'm thinking it's steroids. (Although without a chance to check their teeny tiny little goodies, I am working with incomplete data.) Just last night I saw a mosquito sitting on the wall. I snuck up and whacked him. Result? Small dent in the wall. Even thought I hit him with more than enough force to dispatch a Seattle mosquito, this Oklahoma bug wasn't even dazed. But at least they hate my L'ocitant Verbena toilet water spray, just like the others.

John bought me these 10 toes Water shoes at REI in Dallas today. Aren't they odd?

Do Pigs Like Peeps And Jelly Beans? Easter Baskets On Their Way

I have been slightly under the weather lately - tired and cranky. Dr's diagnosis was a sinus infection and after just a few pills, I can tell I'm on the mend. Just this morning, I caught myself before I made a rookie Oklahoma mistake. I had two packages full of Easter Chocolate to mail. So I threw them in my trunk in the morning to mail in the afternoon. Whoops! Luckily, I realized that the 90 degree weather we've been having would turn my cute Easter Baskets into a basket of chocolate soup. So I mailed them first thing. My only regret is that I didn't make up a basket with all the rest of the candy and send it to Audrey the pig who lives on my friend Catherine's farm! Pigs like jelly beans and Peeps, don't they?

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Happy Birthday to my Sweetie! Tomorrow is John's birthday. I have already given him his present. Anyone who knows me, knows that I want to give presents the moment I buy them. So when the Rowenta Steamer arrived, it only spent one week in the garage before I gave it to him. It's a wonderful device and I think everyone should own one. You can't believe how easy it is to freshen up a jacket after wearing it. And to disinfect a "Dry Clean Only" Goodwill find.

It's an odd present that I can bring home and put in an easily accessible spot, without dragging it out and giving it that very second. Consequently, I have been known to hide things in really remote spots. And then forget where they are. When we moved two years ago, I found the CD I got for John for Christmas 15 years earlier. Surprise!

Mirror, Mirror - You Must Go And See This Movie!

Every woman who has ever suffered for beauty must see this movie - just for the Evil Queen (played by Julia Roberts) "spa" scene. I can't say anything else without spoiling it for you, so that all for now. Except for the part where I admit to having my hand over my eyes at the very beginning and maybe missed just a bit of the start, and still think it the best scene in the history of movies. Promise you'll report back after watching it, please!