Today is the last day of 2003. As I sit here in Las Vegas writing this, I am thinking of all the many things that have changed not only my little speck of the world but the entire world. This year is really showing its age. I'm sure that it will be glad when it can finally retire. It would be nice if 2003 can finish its limited time for this world in a quiet and peaceful manner but that isn't the way things look like they're going to happen. I look forward to a bright and shiny New Year, 2004. I recall that I had similar feelings at about this time last year. I watched the ball fall at Time's Square last year here in Las Vegas. I watched the fireworks on the Las Vegas Strip from my window at Sam's Town. I never imagined all the changes this world would experience. Some good changes, some bad. I toasted the New Year in 2003. My oldest daughter taught me how to blog. My youngest daughter got married. I'm building a new house. My son has applied to go to a college in Minnesota. I plan to toast the New Year in 2004. Do you have any idea what will happen in 2004? I'm not sure I care to know at this point but I do know from experience that I'll be surprised. Surprises aren't always bad and they aren't always good but I prefer to be surprised. My good surprises outweighed my bad surprises in 2003. I prefer to greet this shiny New Year with hope and positive expectation rather then dwell in the negative.

From Times Square to the Las Vegas Strip and California's Rose Parade, police were rolling out unprecedented security measures triggered by a hike in the national terrorism alert to orange, its second-highest level. Officials nationwide said there were no specific threats to traditional gatherings and urged people to go forward with celebrations.

In New York, workers sealed manhole Happy New Year everyone! At the midnight hour here in Las Vegas, I will raise my glass and drink a toast not only to the New Year but to the past. One can do nothing to change the past. One can only do what they are willing to do to affect the future.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia will be deferred until I get back to Arizona and home. Instead I thought I'd share some quotes that I've read that seem to fit for this last day of 2003. You may note that these quotes are all from women. I make no apologies for this and none are necessary. My book just fell open to this page titled Wise Women. If the book had fallen open to a page titled Wise Men...?

"You can have it all. You just can't have it all at once." Oprah Winfrey

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that would not have a single talent left and could say, 'I used everything that you gave me.' Erma Bombeck

"The only time a woman really changes a man is when he is a baby." Natalie Wood

"If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're right." Mary Kay Ash

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." Beverly Sills

"I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can't make it through one door, I'll go through another door--or I'll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter what." Joan Rivers

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." Maya Angelou

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face." Eleanor Roosevelt

"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not our circumstances." Martha Washington

"When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you till it seems you could not hold on a minute longer, never give it up--for that is just the place and the time that the tide will turn." Harriet Beecher Stowe

"Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever." Isak Dinesen

We've only got 1 more day in 2003. That may either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your outlook. I prefer to look at it as a good thing.

Today was spent driving from Arizona to Las Vegas. Crossing the Hoover Dam is always interesting. Wow! Tomorrow is the last day of 2003. Actually...come to think of it....today is the last day of 2003. Today is New Year's Eve. I spent too much time down in the casino, only to arrive back in the room too late to blog for December 30th. Sigh.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia?

The word "garnet" comes from the Latin word for "pomegranate" (garnets were thought to resemble pomegranate seeds) I wouldn't know. Maybe I should ask my Mom. She has a pomegranate tree in her backyard that seems to be produces a quantity of fruit.

We've only got 2 more days in 2003. That may either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your outlook. I prefer to look at it as a good thing.

I'm not going to think about all the things that I have to do to get this house ready for sale. Actually, just writing that sentence means that I have been thinking about it. But, I'm going to shove all that stuff into the "Worry about that later" file for right now. One can only live one day at a time. I'm going to ring in the New Year in Las Vegas this year. That means that tomorrow will be spent driving to Las Vegas. Tomorrow is Tuesday. Laundry Day. That means that today will be spent doing the laundry that I won't be home to do tomorrow. I'll worry about packing all the Christmas stuff away, ready for the move, when I get back from Las Vegas. I'm looking forward to the Sam's Town New Year's Eve party and all the shrimp that I can eat. If I were a man, I'd sound exactly like Homer Simpson right now. MMMM, shrimp. I'll try and blog tomorrow night from Las Vegas. Blogging between now and next year depends upon whether my husband and son will let me near the new laptop we got for Christmas. It's hard to get between techies and shiny new computers.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

In all recorded history, an approximate 100,000 tons of gold have been mined.

We've only got 3 more days in 2003. That may either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your outlook. I prefer to look at it as a good thing.

I got a pedometer for Christmas. No. My husband did not commit the ultimate sin and get me this device as a present. I did. I was curious as to how much running around I did on any given day. Apparently, I don't run around as much as I thought I did. I certainly don't step the recommended 10,000 steps a day. Not even close. I think the best I've done so far is 8,000. Right now, I've only walked 4,387 steps today. Part of that is because I've been playing Bingo on the computer but you'd think I would have stepped a few more steps then that since I went shopping and ran some errands. Oh well. 10,000 steps is the goal. Eventually. Not today. And the day isn't over yet either. But somehow I doubt I'll be stepping over 5,000 more steps today. Someone has to cook the supper. Someone has to read that book that is beckoning me from the bedside table. Someone still wants to play a few more games of Pogo Bingo.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

California was not the site of the first U.S. gold rush. The first U.S. gold rush started when a boy found a 17-pound nugget on his father's farm in North Carolina, in 1803. This gold rush supplied all the gold for the nation's mints until 1829.

We've only got 4 more days in 2003. That may either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your outlook. I prefer to look at it as a good thing.

The house is so quiet. My company has left. My husband went to do more genealogy research. And my son went to his music lessons. Oops. The dogs are barking. And the clean dishes need to be put away. I suppose I could put away the Christmas decorations but...I think I'll just sit here a while longer and enjoy the quiet. Oops. There's the phone.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Johnny Depp based his character, Captain Jack Sparrow, in the Pirates of the Carribean on a mix of Rolling Stone quitarist Keith Richards and the amorous cartoon skunk, Pepe LePew. I just watched the movie yesterday. My mother and father, who watched the movie with us, said that our son-in-law reminds them of the character Captain Jack Sparrow.

We've only got 5 more days in 2003. That may either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your outlook. I prefer to look at it as a good thing.

I went out shopping today. A lack of judgement on my part. 1.) I misjudged the amount of powdered creamer that we had available in our house. 2.) I actually thought Waldenbooks might have a genealogy book that my folks were looking for.
On the positive side, I was able to pick up a huge container of powdered creamer that should last me for at least a little while at Costco. I also picked up a huge supply of romaine lettuce hearts for supper tonight and for tomorrow night, and the next night, and the next night too. Good thing we like salads. I was also able to eat a huge 1/4# polish sausage and a 20 oz. drink for $1.50. It's hard to beat that.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Seventeen muscles are used in smiling. The average frown uses 43. So this either means that I should be lazy and smile or get some exercise and frown.

If you have an Advent Calendar, you opened that last little door. Or...you got really impatient and opened it yesterday. Or you got even more impatient and opened them all on that first day. But that's OK. It's Christmas! Tomorrow is the day after Christmas. There are only six more days until next year, 2004. I'm going to get in practice writing 2004. It seems like I just got used to writing 2003 and now I have to get used to writing 2004. Time marches on and waits for no man.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The hyoid bone is the only bone in the body that doesn't touch another bone. It is found above the larynx. It anchors the tongue muscles. That has to be one strong bone.

If you have an Advent Calendar, you opened that last little door. Or...you got really impatient and opened it yesterday. It's Christmas! Tomorrow is the day after Christmas. There are only six more days until next year, 2004. I'm going to get in practice writing 2004. It seems like I just got used to writing 2003 and now I have to get used to writing 2004. Time marches on and waits for no man.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The hyoid bone is the only bone in the body that doesn't touch another bone. It is found above the larynx. It anchors the tongue muscles. That has to be one strong bone.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that twenty-fourth little door. You've only got 1 more little door to open. It's Christmas Eve! But...you can only open door number 24. If you haven't figured it out yet, TOMORROW IS CHRISTMAS! I hope everyone has been good this year because Santa knows who's been naughty or nice. Santa Claus is already on his way to town!

"Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring..." HA! I'm still stirring!

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The funny bone is not a bone. It is part of the ulnar nerve located at the back of the elbow.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that twenty-third little door. You've only got 2 more little doors to open. By now, you will have either cheated and opened all the doors or you've got greater control then I. But...you can only open door number 23. For all the rest of you, you've only got 2 more days before Christmas. Try to be nice to someone today while you're out racing around. Signal your turns and lane changes. Don't talk on your cell phone while you're driving. But if you'd prefer my daughter's advice, keep in mind that if you don't see a speed limit sign posted in the mall's parking lot, there isn't any!

Just because your son is 17 years old doesn't mean that you shouldn't check his pockets before you launder his clothes. I wish I'd followed this little bit of advice this morning when I washed his dress pants...along with all the rest of the dark clothes that needed washing today. If I had checked his pockets, I would have removed the pack of JuicyFruit gum that he had stored in his pocket. If I had removed the pack of JuicyFruit gum from my son's pocket, I wouldn't have had to take the time to clean away gunky gum which stuck itself all over my dryer. If I had removed the pack of JuicyFruit gum from my son's pocket, I wouldn't have to check a whole load of clothes for gunky gum. If I had removed the pack of JuicyFruit gum from my son's pocket, I wouldn't have to rewash half a load of clothes. I suppose I should be happy that I saw the gunky mess in my dryer before I put the second load of clothes into the dryer. I suppose I should be glad that I only have to wash half a load of clothes instead of a whole load of clothes. I suppose that I should be glad that next year my son will be washing his own clothes...most of the time. I suppose I'll miss him while he's at college. But in the meantime, I plan to check his pockets. Better check my husband's pockets too.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Woohoo! Washing dishes by hand is not better for the environment than using an automatic dishwasher! Apparently, dishwashers save energy and water compared to hand washing. OH! Listen to this! Prewashing the dishes before loading them into the dishwasher is a waste of water because most machines can handle even heavily soiled dishes. I feel so vindicated!

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that twenty-second little door. You've only got 3 more little doors to open. By now, you will have either cheated and opened all the doors or you've got greater control then I. But...you can only open door number 22. For all the rest of you, you've only got 3 more days before Christmas. Try to be nice to someone today while you're out racing around. Signal your turns and lane changes. Don't talk on your cell phone while you're driving. But if you'd prefer my daughter's advice, when walking back to your car, if you notice other shoppers walking past your car to get to theirs, press the buttons on your key chain remote so that your car's alarm makes a sudden loud "BLOOP BLEEP" that scares the crap out of them. Pressing the Panic button on your remote to set off the car alarm just as someone walks by can net an even more satisfying result.

So what plans do you all have for today? I'm going to dust...again. Vacuum...again. This house amazes me in its ability to gather all the dust from the surrounding environs of our community. It truly illustrates the statement, "I cleaned my house yesterday...You should have seen it."


Today's Little Bit of Trivia

One 35 to 40 foot tree produces a stack of newspapers four feet thick; this much newspaper must be recycled to save one tree. Please note that I've been saving trees every year since I bought an artificial tree for my Christmas celebrations. I do hope this makes up for the cord of wood stacked up in my Wisconsin garage, awaiting fireplace use in the spring.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that twenty-first little door. You've only got 4 more little doors to open. By now, you will have either cheated and opened all the doors or you've got greater control then I. But...you can only open door number 21. For all the rest of you, you've only got 4 more days before Christmas. Try to be nice to someone today while you're out racing around. Signal your turns and lane changes. Don't talk on your cell phone while you're driving.

My daughter sent me the following "funny". I think it may have been sent to me because of the driving courtesies that I mentioned in yesterday's blog. It's kind of like an advent calendar.

Rules for Parking. One For Every December Shopping Day Before Christmas.

Rule No. 1: When waiting for a parking spot, stop in the middle of the road, don't signal, and orient your car diagonally to prevent others from passing.

Rule No. 2: Always park on the lines, taking up as many spots as possible. Diagonal parking is preferred.


Rule No. 3: In a crowded parking lot, if you find a spot and have the opportunity to pull through to an adjacent one, drive up halfway and stop on the line, taking both.


Rule No. 4: As you pull into a spot, if you see that the space ahead of you is empty and you see another driver signaling to take it, pull though and take it from him.


Rule No. 5: Always park close enough to the adjacent car so that the other driver must grease up with Vaseline to squeeze into his or her car.


Rule No. 6: When getting out of your car, hit the adjacent vehicle with your door really hard.


Rule No. 7: When driving through the parking lot, ignore the painted lanes and drive diagonally from one end to another at a high rate of speed.


Rule No. 8: When stopped in front of a store and waiting for a friend/relative to make a purchase, make sure that you are stopped in the middle of the road. The same rule applies to picking up and discharging passengers.


Rule No. 9: When a vehicle from the opposite direction is signaling and waiting for a parking space, position your car so that you are in his way and let the car behind you take it.


Rule No. 10: If you have handicapped license plates, use up a regular parking spot.


Rule No. 11: If you hit the adjacent car with your door and leave a dent, wait for a car, which is painted the same color as yours, to drive down the aisle looking for a place to park. Then back out, giving up your spot like "Mr. Good Guy," and park somewhere else.


Rule No. 12: If the vehicle in front of you stops to let a pedestrian cross or another vehicle turn, pull into the lane of opposite traffic and attempt to pass him.


Rule No. 13: When exiting a shopping center into a busy road, exit through the narrow "ENTER ONLY" driveway, stick the nose of the car into traffic, and wait.


Rule No. 14: When driving through a parking lot with alternating one-way aisles and angled parking spots, drive the wrong way. Then when you see a parking space, take 20 minutes to do a 12-point turn to pull into it.


Rule No. 15: Always leave your shopping cart behind or tightly between parked vehicles.


Rule No. 16: Empty your ashtrays on the ground in shopping center parking lots. While you're at it, dump out all the garbage, too, including that Wendy's or McDonald's bag sitting in the back seat from breakfast.


Rule No. 17: If you are forced to change an infant's diaper in a parking lot, leave the soiled diaper under the car next to you.


Rule No. 18: When another vehicle is waiting for you to pull out of a spot in a crowded parking lot, take your time. Adjust the mirrors, your seat, and the radio. Roll down your window, light a cigarette, and eat your lunch. Feel free to go through your shopping bags and look at what you just bought.


Rule No. 19: When pulling into a parking spot, if there is a shopping cart in the way, lightly tap it with your bumper and send it rolling into another car. Then, when you step out, if the cart is still too close, push it down the parking lot aisle and let it go. While the cart is flying solo, turn around and walk toward the stores.


Rule No. 20: When walking back to your car in a busy shopping center, gesture to other drivers waiting for a spot to make them think that you are getting in the car and leaving. Then walk between the cars to the next aisle and do it again.


Rule No. 21: When shopping at the mall, which requires you to load your bags into the car and go back in to do more shopping, do NOT tell the driver who is sitting patiently watching you load your car and signaling for your spot.


Rule No. 22: When walking back to your car, if you notice other shoppers walking past your car to get to theirs, press the buttons on your key chain remote so that your car's alarm makes a sudden loud "BLOOP BLEEP" that scares the crap out of them.


Rule No. 23: If you don't see a speed limit sign posted in the mall's parking lot, there isn't any!


Rule No. 24: If you back into a parked car, and the driver isn't with it, take out a piece of paper and start writing. This is especially effective if there are 15-20 witnesses. On a piece of paper write, "There were ___ witnesses when I hit your car. They think I'm writing my name, address, and phone number."


Today's Little Bit of Trivia

A mastodon and a mammoth are not one and the same. The mastodon lived in Africa, Europe, Asia, and North and South America. It appears in teh Oligocene (25-38 million years ago) and survived until less than one million years ago. It stood a maximum of 10 feet tall and was covered with dense woolly hair. Its tusks were straight forward and nearly parallel to each other.
The mammoth evolved less than two million years ago and died out about 10 thousand years ago. It lived in North America, Europe, and Asia. Like the mastodon, the mammoth was covered with dense, woolly hair, with a long, coarse layer of outer hair to protect it from the cold. It was somewhat larger than the mastodon, standing 9-15 feet. The mammoth's tusks tended to spiral outward, then up.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that twentieth little door. You've only got 5 more little doors to open. No cheating! By now, you will have either cheated and opened all the doors or you've got greater control then I. But...you can only open door number 20. For all the rest of you, you've only got 5 more days before Christmas. Be nice to someone today while you're out racing around. Signal your turns and lane changes. Don't talk on your cell phone while you're driving.

My husband did indeed help me with all the present wrapping. It's all done. I made my last batch of cookies this morning. The cake I made for the neighborhood party was a big hit. I was only able to save one small piece for my orphan son who had stayed home to entertain friends with a LAN party and pizza fete. Today will be spent cleaning up after the messy friends and my son. The last of the guest computer systems will be removed by 3 PM and my house will be back to pre-LAN party order. I've never seen so much equipment outside of a college computer lab.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

American naturalist John Muir (1838-1914) was the founder of conservation and the founder of the Sierra Club. He fought for the preservation of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, and the creation of Yosemite National Park.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that nineteenth little door. You've only got 6 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 19. For all the rest of you, you've only got 6 more days before Christmas. That's less then a week people. (As if you need me or anyone else to remind you that there are seven days in a week and six days is definitely less then seven days.) Now's the time to remember the real meaning of Christmas so you don't kill anyone when you're out at the stores.

I have to go to the store this morning. I need green sugar to decorate my cookies. My son went out looking for some but the shelves were bare at the one store he went to. I'll try another store. Maybe a couple other stores. I know that you can make your own colored sugars but somehow they never look quite the same. When going to the store at this time of year, one must bring along a huge amount of patience, understanding, and forgiveness. Tempers are short. There are lots of people out there who are downright cranky! That's why I prefer to avoid shopping at this time of year. Of course, I'm not saying that I don't get cranky when I'm stressed out but, I'm not stressed out right now. I'm almost done. The finish line is within sight. But as my Grandmother D. used to say, "Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back." I think she proceeded this with, "Well, Mama pin a rose on you."

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The Philadelphia Zoological Garden, chartered in 1859, was the first zoo in the United States. It opened in 1874 on 33 acres, and 282 animals were exhibited. I remember visiting the small Como Park Zoo in Minnesota as a child. Monkey Island was a particular favorite.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that eighteenth little door. You've only got 7 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 18. For all the rest of you, you've only got 7 more days before Christmas. That's only one short week people. Time is now speeding by at twice its normal speed, though I'm sure everything will still be just fine. But you only have one week before Christmas so you'd better get moving.

One week! I'm still in control. Just wrapping presents and those last few batches of cookies to make. If I don't make my chocolate mousse cake for the neighborhood Christmas party, people are going to be disappointed. The raspberries are in the fridge. I just have to make the cake today so it'll chill in the fridge overnight. I'll glaze and add the finishing touches tomorrow. Dare I say that my husband has offered to wrap presents today? I'll let you know if this actually comes to pass. If I find a bit of time, I'll even see if I can fit some music into the equation. I really should practice my clarinet since I have to play for two services on Sunday and another service on Christmas Eve. I'll leave the final cleaning of my house for the weekend.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

A barrel of oil weighs about 306 pounds and contains 42 U.S. gallons. This is as political as I plan to get.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that seventeenth little door. You've only got 8 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 17. For all the rest of you, you've only got 8 more days before Christmas. Time is now speeding by at twice its normal speed, though I'm sure everything will be just fine. But you only have a little more then a week before Christmas so you'd better get moving.

OK. I made the pizzelle today. I still have to make the meringues. And now my blog isn't working too well. For some reason my identity and password have been lost. What? This sure is weird. They keep changing things on me. It's like I never existed but I do. Pout!

My daughter fixed it but I had to change my identity. I don't know what happened. Sigh. Now I have to log on as a different person. But I'm still me. Good old stodgy, ultra conservative me. And to top it all off, they changed the format on me for writing this thing and I liked the old way better. Complaints. Nothing but complaints.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The best varieties of wood to use in a wood-burning stove are: hickory, beech, oak, yellow birch, ash, hornbeam, sugar maple, and apple. These types of wood have a high heat value. One cord equals 200-250 gallons of fuel oil or 250-300 cubic feet of natural gas.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that sixteenth little door. You've only got 9 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 16. For all the rest of you, you've only got 9 more days before Christmas. Time is now speeding by at twice its normal speed, though I'm sure everything will be just fine. But you only have a little more then a week before Christmas so you'd better get moving.

I decorated some of the brown sugar cookies today. Just the ones that I plan to give away as gifts. They have to sit out overnight. Herein lies the problem. I have to threaten to kill anyone who eats one of these cookies. They're hard to resist. Even I have a hard time fighting the desire to reach out and grab just one. Maybe I'd better decorate a few more of those little suckers.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Glass building blocks were introduced in 1931.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that fifteenth little door. You've only got 10 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 15. For all the rest of you, you've only got 10 more days before Christmas. Time is now speeding by at twice its normal speed, though I'm sure everything will be just fine. If you're a kid or a chocoholic, you've already opened all those little doors anyway and the Advent Calendar is sitting in the corner all covered with dust.

I made four batches of spritz today and three loaves of lemon bread. I may have to break my diet and try the lemon bread to make sure that it tastes OK. I haven't made that recipe since my oldest daughter was in pre-school. With a whole tree overloaded with lemons in the backyard, I thought I should make some attempt at making something with them. Waste not, want not. I wonder if my Mom and Dad want some lemons...or what about my Aunt and Uncle who live in Las Vegas. I'll have to make sure and bring them some. I may make some more lemon bread. The recipe says it freezes well.

I'll have to make the pizzelle first and the meringues too. My son keeps on reminding me that I need to make the meringues. And then my sister wrote and said she planned to make meringues, so now she's going to think that I got the idea from her but they're my son's absolute favorites and he never lets me forget to make them. I won't put nuts in them though...so I guess my meringues will be different then her meringues.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Glass is a liguid. It just flows really slowly. You've heard of the expression, "He/She/It moves slower then molasses in January"? Glass is a lot slower then that.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that fourteenth little door. You've only got 11 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 14. For all the rest of you, you've only got 11 more days before Christmas. Time is now speeding by at twice its normal speed, though I'm sure everything will be just fine.

I finished the peanut brittle last night. Four batches. And I bought the nuts for the fudge and the lemon bread after church today. My son and I had a short practice too. Added to the calendar is a LAN party to be held at MY house on the 19th with 20 systems. What? Where? Where is everyone going to park? Where are they planning on plugging these systems in? So my house is going to become a huge computer lab on the 19th. OK. I hope the neighbors don't complain about all those cars parked outside. Then on the 20th, I've been told that we're going to have a concert out in our backyard? What? Isn't it going to be a bit cold? Hot chocolate? Cookies? I hope the neighbors don't complain. But it's going to be Christmas music. I know I have one neighbor who will complain, regardless. I'm making my son go out and warn everyone so we can avoid adding the police to the invitation list. Oh, and don't forget about the brass practice at 9 AM on the 20th because I was just told today that my son is going to be playing at church on Christmas Eve at the 6 PM service. I wonder if I can talk my husband into letting us eat out that night. I have to play for the 4 PM service. Apparently we'll be partaking of a fashionably late supper that night. After church. I think eating out that night might be a good idea. One of the best I've ever had. I only have to make the pizzelle, the spritz, and the fudge. And wrap the presents. My husband is going to help me wrap the presents. MY HUSBAND WILL HELP ME WRAP THE PRESENTS!!!!! Hah! But I did get all the presents bought.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Myrrh comes from a tree of the genus Commiphora, a native of Arabia and Northeast Africa. It is a resin obtained from the tree trunk.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that thirteenth little door. You've only got 12 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 13. For all the rest of you, you've only got 12 more days before Christmas. You've passed the halfway mark and if you're at all behind in your preparations, time will speed by at twice its normal speed. However, if you're a young person without a care in the world, time will slow down and pass at a snail's pace.

The snowball cookies are all baked and hidden along with the Jan Hagel. I made the fruitcake bars today but I don't think I'll have to hide those since I'm the only one who really likes them besides my Mom and Dad and they're not here yet. I was going to make the fudge but I ran out of nuts. Nuts! I was just at the store and I forgot the nuts. I'll go get some tomorrow after church. Instead I'll make the peanut brittle. I don't classify peanuts as nuts since they grow under the ground. Kind of like potatoes. I'm not really fond of peanuts, though they do taste pretty good, salted and roasted in their shells with beer. And peanut brittle just isn't peanut brittle without the peanuts. And I do like peanut butter and jam sandwiches if I'm starving to death and can't find anything else to eat.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Frankincense is an aromatic resin obtained by tapping the trunks of trees belonging to the genus Boswellia. The milky resin hardens when exposed to the air and forms irregular lumps--the form in which it is usually marketed.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that twelfth little door. You've got 13 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 12. For all the rest of you, you've got 13 more days before Christmas.

I made a double batch of Jan Hagel today. Most of these cookies are going to good homes. I fully intend to eat at least some of them though, diet or no diet. I sent my daughter a batch of unfrosted brown sugar cookies today. It's a sacred, secret, family recipe. I sent her a kit complete with powdered sugar to make the frosting and decorettes. I hope the cookies make it one piece. But I bet she eats them even if they come in several pieces. Brown sugar cookies are a tradition in our family. I think I'd be lynched if I decided not to make those cookies some year. Hey! Next generation! When are you all going to start making the cookies so I can go play Bingo and wait for my cookies to arrive in the mail? Good thing I like to cook. I'm planning on making another batch of said brown sugar cookies when my son gets home from school. He needs to know how to make them when he's off on his own. I made my first batch of brown sugar cookies, all by my lonesome, when I was an exchange student in Bolivia. Believe you me, it wasn't easy finding brown sugar down in Santa Cruz in the 70's...much less cream of tartar. They turned out great though. I think my youngest daughter made her first batch when she was in Florida last Christmas. I just sent the recipe to my oldest daughter. I wonder if she made a batch this year in Omaha? I still have to make the snowball cookies (Mexican Teacakes or Russian Teacakes), the fudge, the peanut brittle, and the spritz. I wonder what I'm forgetting?

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The presence of a ring (halo) around the sun or, more commonly the moon in the night sky, betrays very high ice crystals composing cirrostratus clouds. The brighter the ring or halo, the greater the odds of precipitation adn the sooner it may be expected. Rain or snow will not always fall, but two times out of three, precipitation will start to fall within twelve to eighteen hours. We got some rain last night but I wasn't watching for any halo's around the moon.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that eleventh little door. You've got 14 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 11. For all the rest of you, you've got 14 more days before Christmas.

Not to panic. My Christmas cards are going into the mail tomorrow. I made one batch of brown sugar cookies today. Of course, since I promised my son that he could help me make the sugar cookies this year, I'll have to make another batch when he's home. Whenever that may be. He's been pretty busy. I have most of my presents bought but none of them wrapped. I still don't know what to get my husband. I never know what to get for him. I don't know what to get for my son either. Anyone have any suggestions?

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

No matter how cold the air gets, it still contains some moisture, and this can fall out of the air in the form of very small snow crystals. The fact that snow piles up, year after year, in Arctic regions illustrates that is is never too cold to snow.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that tenth little door. You've got 15 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 10. For all the rest of you, you've got 15 more days before Christmas.

I unpacked all my snowglobes and found places to put them throughout the house. Usually I only unpack a few to display each Christmas but this year I went all out and unpacked them all. There really is a method to my madness. Since we're going to be selling this house next year I'm really going to have to pack things in a more secure manner for moving. The way I see it. Taking all the snowglobes out is actually a precursor to packing them for the move to the new house. I'm planning on doing the same thing when I pack away the ornaments for the tree. See how efficient I am? Oh. And today I went to Fry's Electronics and I didn't buy anything. Of course, the General was with me at the time so maybe I should pat myself on the back too hard. I definitely wouldn't have been there in the first place if he hadn't needed to buy some computer dohikey.
I did stop at the PetSmart and buy dog food. The guy at the checkout stand was surprised that I was buying a 40# sack of the stuff since all I have are too tiny little chihuahuas. Hey! It's cheaper to buy one 40# sack then buy four 10# sacks. Makes sense to me. Now I won't have to buy dog food until Wisconsin. Meanwhile, while I was hauling sacks of dog food with my daughter (I actually bought another smaller sack of treat dog food too to mix in with the healthy stuff) my husband and my son-in-law drooled over electric guitars at the nearby Guitar Store. One of the Gibson's was actually $6000. I don't think the General needs another guitar...at least not one in that price range.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

An average of 10 inches of snow is equal to one inch of water. Heavy, wet snow has a high water content; four to five inches may contain one inch of water. A dry, powdery snow may require 15 inches of snow to equal one inch of water. We sure could use a bunch of that wet snow up in the high country of Arizona this year. The lakes around here are looking pretty puny.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that ninth little door. You've got 16 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 9. For all the rest of you, you've got 16 more days before Christmas.

I collect snowglobes. My sister-in-law sent me the following SNOWGLOBE in an email. Enjoy!

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Snow is not frozen rain. Snow forms by sublimation of water vapor--the turning of water vapor directly into ice when its temperature reaches the dew point. The result of this sublimation is a crystal of ice, usually hexagonal. Snow begins in the form of these tiny hexagonal ice crystals in the high clouds; the young crystals are the seeds from which snowflakes will grow. As water vapor is pumped up into the air by updrafts, more water is deposited on the ice crystals, causing them to grow. Soon some of the larger crystals fall to the ground as snowflakes.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that eighth little door. You've got 17 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 8. For all the rest of you, you've got 17 more days before Christmas.

Today was completely shot. A dentist appointment. Oh well. All done for another year. I hope. My dentist is a very nice man and does a great job but I'd just a soon not spend too much time with him.

I have most of my out-of-town presents bought and sent. Gotta love the internet. I have to wait until my husband gets his computer back up and running before I can do the Christmas letters. Poor man bought a new mother board and he's been struggling with it for over a week now. He just fried the power supply and went out to get a new one.

I'm all excited because my parents are coming to visit for Christmas. Good thing I didn't send their gifts out to them yet. I can't wait to take them out to see the new house. Actually there isn't too much to see yet but I can at least show them the lot and the footprint.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

I've been listening to talk radio a lot, especially at night. Coast to Coast AM is one of my favorites. That show is really "interesting". Anyway, in honor of that show, UFO expert J. Allen Hynek (1910-1986) developed the following scale to describe encounters with extraterrestrial beings or vessels:

Close Encounter of the First Kind-sighting of a UFO at close range with no other physical evidence.

Close Encounter of the Second Kind-sighting of a UFO at close range , but with some kind of proof, such as a photograph, or an artifact from the UFO.

Close Encounter of the Third Kind-sighting of an actual extraterrestrial being.

Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind-abduction by and extraterrestrial spacecraft.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that seventh little door. You've got 18 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 7. For all the rest of you, you've got 18 more days before Christmas.

Have you ever enjoyed doing something so much that you've totally lost track of time? And then you become totally surprised and bewildered when something draws your attention back to the time that you've spent on that activity? I did that this morning. I love playing my clarinet with our contemporary group at church. There was a practice this morning at 7:45 AM. I arrived five minutes early and I hadn't even had my morning cup of coffee yet. We ran through the music that we were going to be playing on Christmas Eve. There was a lot of music to go through and we went through each piece at least two times. All of a sudden I'm beginning to notice that my reed is starting to act up. Only another person who plays a reeded instrument can understand this concept. The reed was getting "lazy". It had outplayed its alotted time limit and I was frustrated that I'd have to stop and change reeds. Then my lips started acting up. I was loosing air at the corners of my mouth. Frustration. I still wanted to keep playing. I was mad at myself because mouth muscles were way out of shape. Surely I hadn't been practicing enough. But wait a minute! Wake up! It was now 9:45 AM! I'd been playing for two solid hours! Well duh! And guess what? I had to come back at 10:45 AM to practice my clarinet with the church orchestra for another hour. I spent three hours playing my clarinet today. I was enjoying myself so much that I totally lost track of how much time I was playing. Now I have the swollen lip to show for it all. Oh well. I don't have to play anymore today. Tomorrow will do. In the meantime, I'll get this Christmas letter all printed out with my new printer and get the cards all addressed and ready to mail. My next practice will be on Thursday for the choir cantata which plays for two services next Sunday.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The moon has a tail. A glowing 15,000 mile long tail of sodium atoms streams from the moon. The faint, orange glow of sodium cannot be seen by the naked eye but it is detectable by instruments. Astronomers are not certain of the source of those sodium atoms.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that sixth little door. You've got 19 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 6. For all the rest of you, you've got 19 more days before Christmas.

We went to the last Italian class today. I think we need more lessons. I only know enough right now to know that I don't speak Italian...but I can tell you in Italian that I don't speak Italian. That's progress. Oh...and I can ask you what your name is and where the bathroom is. Definite progress.

Progress is being made on the home front too. The new home front. We drove over to our lot to check things out and the footprint of the house is taking shape. They've dug a trench around the entire outline of the house footing and it looks like they plan to put up forms for the slab next. I didn't bring my camera so I'll have to swing by next week to document the progress.

Woohoo! Hamilton High School won their state championship football game tonight! I'm not really a football fan but our son marches in the band so we braved the crowds and the traffic to attend the game at Arizona State University's football arena. The game promised to become really depressing after the opposing team immediately scored two touchdowns but things looked up from there. The game went into overtime(s) with the score at 14-14. Then it was tied at 21-21. Then it was tied at 28-28. It was a real nailbiter. In the last overtime, Hamilton scored another touchdown and then more important, prevented the opposing team from tying the score yet again. Woohoo! The final score was 35-28. Go Hamilton Huskies! The band marched brilliantly and sounded great throughout the game. Go Band! As a senior, this was a great way to finish up the marching season.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Since 29.53 days pass between full moons (a synodial month), there is never a blue moon in February.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that fifth little door. You've got 20 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 5. For all the rest of you, you've got 20 more days before Christmas.

That does it! No more Pogo for me until I get something done. I can't believe how much time I've wasted on getting the badge this week...and nothing to show for it. I don't even know how to play Euchre. I'm going to go out Christmas shopping, do my Italian homework, wrap some presents, order some internet presents, and decorate the tree. Today! If I never see that stupid solitaire game again it will be too soon for me.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Mole Day was organized by the National Mole Foundation to promote the awareness and enthusiasm for chemistry. It is celebrated each year on October 23rd. I can't believe I missed it! Happy belated Mole Day everyone! By the way, a mole is a fundamental measuring unit for the amount of a substance and refers either to a gram atomic weight or a gram molecular weight of said substance.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that fourth little door. You've got 21 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 4. For all the rest of you, you've got 21 more days before Christmas.

I am slowly decorating the house for Christmas. Slowly is the operative word here. I put up the tree today. All four feet of it. I still have to decorate that tree but since the lights came already attached, at least I don't have to dig out strings of lights to test. All I have to do is dig out the ornaments. I also put up my Dicken's 12 Days of Christmas figurines. Maybe I'll tackle putting out the snowglobes tomorrow. At this rate I'll finish decorating the house for Christmas on Christmas and then I'll have to start putting it all away again.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

How to Make a Chemical Garden

Mix 4 Tbsp. of bluing, 4 Tbsp. of salt, and 1 Tbsp. household ammonia. Pour this mixture over pieces of coal in a dish or bowl. Put several drops of red or green ink or mercurochrome on various parts of the coal and leave undisturbed for several days.

A crystal garden, a dishful of crystals that grow like plants and look like coral, will begin to form. How soon the crystals begin to form depends upon the temperatures and humidity in the room.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that third little door. You've got 22 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 3. For all the rest of you, you've got 22 more days before Christmas.

Bill Engvall is one of my favorite comedians. I just learned that he's come out with another CD which I'll have to run out and buy. Not today though. I actually found myself saying something today that made me think about his Here's Your Sign routine. I actually found myself saying, "I hate headaches." What an incredibly stupid thing to say! This is in the same line as saying, "I hate being sick." Unless you're a total masochist, of course you hate headaches, being sick, or any other form of pain and suffering! Dumb! I blame the stupidity today on the headache I've had for the second day running. Not a migraine. I get those too. This is a sinus headache. Not as bad but definitely annoying because you know that you have a cold lurking in the background just waiting to beat you up at the most inopportune time. Of course that's a kind of stupid thing to say too since I really don't think there is an opportune time to get sick. Oh well. At least I can share a "funny" that a friend sent me this morning.

New Medications for Women Only

DAMNITOL

Take 2 and the rest of the world can go to hell for up to 8 hours.

ST. MOMMA'S WORT

Plant extract that treats mom's depression by rendering preschoolers unconscious for up to six hours.

EMPTYNESTROGEN

Highly effective suppository that eliminates melancholy by enhancing the memory of how awful they were as teenagers and how you couldn't wait till they moved out.

PEPTOBIMBO

Liquid silicone for single women. Two full cups swallowed before an evening out increases breast size, decreases intelligence, and improves flirting.

DUMBEROL

When taken with Peptobimbo, can cause dangerously low IQ, resulting in enjoyment of country western music.

FLIPITOR

Increases life expectancy of commuters by controlling road rage and the urge to flip off other drivers.

MENICILLIN

Potent antiboyotic for older women. Increases resistance to such lines as, "You make me want to be a better person ... can we get naked now?"

BUYAGRA

Injectable stimulant taken prior to shopping. Increases potency and duration of spending spree.

Extra Strength BUY-ONE-AL

When combined with Buyagra, can cause an indiscriminate buying frenzy so severe the victim may even come home with a Donnie Osmond CD or a book by
Dr. Laura.

JACKASSPIRIN

Relieves headache caused by a man who can't remember your birthday, anniversary or phone number.

ANTI-TALKSIDENT

A spray carried in a purse or wallet to be used on anyone too eager to share their life stories withtotal strangers.

SEXCEDRIN

More effective than Excedrin in treating the, "Not now, dear, I have a headache" syndrome.

NAGAMENT

When administered to a husband, provides the same irritation as nagging him all weekend, saving the wife the time and trouble of doing it herself.


Today's Little Bit of Trivia

A decibel is a measure of the relative loudness or intensity of sound. Right now I can only tolerate a decibel level of about 10. That's the equivalent to a light whisper. Unfortunately, my husband is currently vacuuming the house (I am not complaining because anytime that I can get my husband to help out is a treasured opportunity), but the decibel level is closer to 80 right now. That's the equivalent to rock music or the sound of a subway. I have a noisy vacuum cleaner.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that second little door. You've got 23 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 2. For all the rest of you, you've got 23 more days before Christmas.

I found some yarn that isn't the exact same color that I need but close enough to avoid a trip to Walmart. One must think of the self preservation aspect of this whole thing. So my new son-in-law's Christmas stocking is all done and waiting to be hung by the fireplace along side my daughter's Christmas stocking. I also finished my Christmas letter but I still have to edit my address file. Actually, I'm going to make my husband to that. In the meantime, it's Tuesday. Laundry day. Also, we had our first meeting with the building supervisor for our new house. We were told that the footprint for the house will be outlined in the dirt this week sometime so I may have to go back out there to take a picture.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The reason golf balls have dimples is because the dimples minimize drag. The dimpled ball can travel farther then a smooth ball. I do not intend to take up golf when I move into our Active Adult Community. I may take some painting classes or even stained glass classes.

If you have an Advent Calendar, today is the day that you should open up that first little door. You've got 24 more little doors to open. No cheating! You can only open door number 1. For all the rest of you, you've got 24 more days before Christmas.

So much time and so little to do. Don't I wish. I did finish the Christmas stocking for my son-in-law. Witness, I didn't blog yesterday. It's almost finished. I still have to find the correct color yarn to embroider his name on it but it's all knitted and the seams are all sewn. I dig around in my yarn collection (doesn't everyone keep a collection of yarn in their closet?) to see if I can find that yarn today. You'd think I'd be able to find something that approximates the correct color in all those bags and tubs of yarn in the closet. Failing that, I'll have to make the life threatening trip to Walmart. Wish me luck!
I didn't just spend my time knitting yesterday. I also started on my annual Christmas letter. I wish I'd kept my father's old Christmas letters so I could look up and see how he handled weddings and son-in-laws in those letters. It sure has been an interesting experience. I wonder if my daughter is going to start her own annual Christmas letter now that she's married? I wrote my first Christmas letter when I got married 25 years ago. I didn't even have a computer back then. Of course, Tina and John don't have a computer yet either. At least I had a typewriter. Maybe I should see if I can find that old typewriter and loan it to them. I think it's in the garage.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

For all you people out there eager to start fireplace fires to chase away the winter chill, you may be interested to know that the paper you plan to use as kindling ignites at 450°F.

Well I'm certainly glad I avoided shopping at Walmart yesterday. Today I'm just going to sit home and knit. A Christmas stocking for my son-in-law. Took me a bit to remember how to "cast on" since I haven't knitted anything for a long long time but it all came back to me. Kind of like riding a bike. I'll worry about the rest of the Christmas stuff next week. There's time. Right?

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Heinke Kamerlingh Omnes, a Dutch physicist, discovered superconductivity in 1911. It wasn't until 1972 that the modern theory regarding the phenomenon was developed by three American physicists. John Bardeen, Leon N. Cooper, and John Robert Schrieffer. Superconductivity is a condition in which many metals, alloys, organic compounds and ceramics conduct electricity without resistance, usually at low temperatures.

I usually restrain myself and avoid "hunting" on the day after Thanksgiving. I got talked into it by my husband. Please note that he slept in while I did the "hunting". I did wake him up by calling him from the field as I shivered in line at Best Buy. Before the store even opened I was notified that the one item I was sent out to retrieve was no longer in existence. Another luckier hunter had caught the prey and I was left empty handed. So...I called the sleeping General to alert him of our (I wasn't hunting alone...I had my married daughter and my semi-conscious son with me) failure. I was directed to the next hunting field. Fry's Electronics. I went a little mad. I sent my daughter and son on ahead while I sought the ever illusive parking spot, which I was able to finally locate. My troops retrieved the prizes but failed to immediately find any shopping carts. My son finally followed a contented shopper out to their car and after helping them load up their purchases into their vehicle, brought back the one of the rare shopping carts. Meanwhile, I and my daughter fortified ourselves with caffeine. My manly son was rewarded with caffeine upon his return with the illusive cart. We then proceeded to see what else Fry's Electronics had to offer at 6:15 AM on the day after Thanksgiving. It was truly amazing. Rebates proliferated the store. I found myself purchasing items that I never knew I needed...just because they were free after the rebate. I bought a paper shredder! I bought an air-compressor! I bought a bunch of other stuff too. I don't really think I was completely sane at the time. I lost my head. The General was back home and in bed after all. I was acting on my own initiative. My troops had gotten out of hand. My son found out that the entire box set of all the 007 movies was on sale! My daughter found a glass chess set! OOOOHHHH! A PDA and it was actually FREE!!!!! Did you know that they make a cordless iron?

OK! No more room in the cart. Wait a minute. The nightmare begins. We are now chasing after a Santa Claus who is holding balloons. He's the guy who is marking the end of the checkout line. And he keeps moving! Farther and farther away from the front of the store. I've never seen anything like it. The line wound all throughout the entire store. Up and down aisles! Through this department and that department! Thankfully I found a place in line before it wound itself right back out the front door! And it did! I could see the balloons bobbing over there by the front door presumably held by Santa from my vantage point in the aisle with the electric toothbrushes. We wove our way back and forth and to and fro, we even went down the battery aisle. And then there was the candy aisle but I restrained myself. The candy bars were a bit too expensive at .69 each. You can buy them 3/$1 at the grocery store afterall. I was hearing horror stories from others in line about previous years. I guess last year at Walmart a fight broke out and paramedics had to be bought in. Two women got into a real hair-puller and they had to call an ambulance for one of them when the dust settled. No one in line could tell me what the prized item that they fought over was but the inference was that Walmart wasn't a very safe place to shop on the day after Thanksgiving. Good thing I hadn't any plans to go there! Good thing I was safe and sound stuck in a Disneyesque line at Fry's Electronics! We finally arrived at the actual checkout (person who scans in your item and is authorized to take your money) at around 8 AM. Not bad. There was actually a person sitting on the top of a 20 foot platform directing the traffic flow through the checkout line. Our poor checkout person womanfully printed out copy after copy of our receipts for the multitude of mail-in rebates that we needed for our many purchases. And then we left the store...after security checked our receipt and unpacked our shopping cart to make sure that we weren't sneaking out with whatever. They like to check and make sure that you've paid for every little item. We had and were free to repack our cart and leave. I stopped my son from selling the cart to a fellow shopper for $5 after we loaded up our vehicle with our purchases.

And so the weary hunters deserved breakfast and coffee before heading on back home. The General is even now filling out rebate forms and entering them into an Exell spreadsheet.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

A 150-pound person burns one calorie per minute during bed rest. I'm going to take a nap.

Happy Thanksgiving! My turkey (free range) is stuffed and baking in the oven. I made the sweet potatoes with brown sugar and pineapple and it's waiting in the fridge for just the right time for the marshmallow topping. The green bean casserole is also waiting in the fridge for just the right time for the French's Onion topping. My son has already made one trip to the store to buy the rolls that I forgot to buy yesterday. Oops! I think I have it all now. I peeled the potatoes and they're resting in a bowl of water waiting for...just the right moment.... to be cooked for the mashed potatoes. Cooking at Thanksgiving is definitely all about timing. Everything has to be cooked at precisely the right time in order for everything to reach the table at the same time...warm would be nice. Oh! And I didn't forget the cranberries. I cooked the cranberries this morning too. They're cooling in the fridge. I made dill pickles three weeks ago. Yes. They're in the fridge too along with the olives (green and black). The butter is sitting out too (just this morning) so people won't have to chip off a piece for their rolls...which my son just bought. My daughter is bringing pie for dessert. I think I'm going to make her set the table for old times sake. The feast will start at 2 PM. Hopefully. If I have the timing right. Not to worry. Today's Thanksgiving and we'll eat when we eat and we'll eat when the food's on the table. Thanksgiving is more then about the food anyway and there's always a lot to be thankful for this year. If we can't be thankful for the things that we do have then maybe we should try being thankful for the things that we don't have. I'm thankful that we don't have snow. Some of you may be thankful that you do have snow. Whatever makes your day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Inertia is the tendency of all objects and matter in the universe to stay still, or if moving, to continue moving in the same direction, unless acted on by some outside force. This seems to be a ruling phenomenon in my life. Either I remain still and inactive or I run around like a speed demon dragging everyone behind me like a speeding comet. Today I'm a comet.

To blog or not to blog that is the question. Whether tis nobler to blog or just go downstairs and shove more money into those stupid addictive slot machines here at the casino. That is always the dilemma. As you see, I'm currently blogging.
We left bright and early yesterday for Las Vegas on a computer rescue mission. The computer has been rescued and revived and is hopefully busily downloading data. The computer's owners, The Old Grey Frog's parents, seem to be happy and relieved. Of course, more work may have to be done to speed up Old Grey Frog's Mom's computer. Today's another day.
So what shall I do today? I don't have a clue when it comes to computer. My husband is the technical genius in the family. I'm sure I've blogged before about my technophobia. Good thing that I'm married to my own personal tech support. What do the rest of you do? NO. We're not going to fly to the frozen northlands to come fix your computer. Driving to Vegas (6 hour drive) wasn't all that bad though. Especially with the reward of a free stay at our favorite casino (Sam's Town) along with their wonderfully comped food and drink. I am currently busy racking up enough comp points to pay for our next stay...well maybe the one after that since our next stay over the New Year has already been comped. I'll probably go down and play on the video poker machines again today. I may spend some time at the day spa (I sure hope that they still exist). Or I may just see if I can go see a movie. After breakfast...after picking up my cafe latte at the Java Hut in the park.
Don't expect me to blog tomorrow though.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The Old Grey Frog is currently compiling data on how many coins one person can shove into a variety of video slot machines in a 48 hour period, allowing for short breaks to eat and sleep and drink.

I don't understand what's going on with my internet server today. It's been working, kinda. Kinda hit or miss. Right now it's kind of missing. Half my blog from yesterday is missing...but not on my main page. I can live with it. My Outlook Express is totally confused. Good thing it checks every minute because some minutes it can't connect. Some minutes it can. I gave up on playing my Pogo game. Good thing I have some books to read.
I tend to slurp down books like a good dish of ice cream. I devour them rapidly as if they'll melt before I finish and then I stare dejectedly at them like one would stare at an empty bowl knowing that the next dish of ice cream is still at some grocery store somewhere in some forgotten world. Sigh. I stock up on "ice cream" whenever possible. Thankfully I have a few books in reserve which I haven't read yet and unlike real ice cream, books can be read over and over again and I have shelves and shelves of my favorites which I keep to my husband's dismay. One of my favorite authors is coming out with a new book next week. I can hardly wait.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

A bucket of water that has been heated or boiled and then allowed to cool then a bucket of cold water at the same temperature. For some reason, previously heated water forms denser ice then unheated water, which is why hot-water pipes tend to burst before cold-water pipes. I am so hoping that the plumber I hired to winterize the water pipes at our lakehome in Wisconsin managed to do his job before this "little" snowstorm hit which I hear has hit the area. Even though we keep the heat on at our lakehome, we have the water turned off and the pipes drained....just in case.

I've never been fond of Spam. My Mother introduced us to this culinary oddity when I was young. Some people love the stuff. I'm not one of those people. I'm not fond of any kind of canned meat. I'm not a vegetarian by any means but this stuff just isn't an exceptable form of meat in my book. Give me a nice juicy steak, a nice bone-in ham, a wonderful stuffed Thanksgiving turkey, or even Kentucky Fried Chicken but please don't give me Spam!
Now I have even more of a reason to hate Spam. Computer Spam. Yuck! I'm ready to change my email address. To think my poor Mother-in-law gets some of this awful stuff. I blush to even mention some of this stuff. All one can do is delete it as fast as it comes over the net. I like the size of every part of my anatomy and have no desire to increase any of my measurements...or those of my husband either. I don't have any interest in buying any prescription drugs for....either.
Yup! Actually, both kinds of Spam are pretty much alike in my book. They kind of slurp out of their can like dog food and smell about the same.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Ever wonder how "absolute zero" defined? Absolute zero is the theoretical temperature at which all substances have zero thermal energy. It was originally conceived as the temperature at which an ideal gas at constant pressure would contract to zero volume. Absolute zero is equivalent to 0°K, -459,67°F, or -273.15°C. The lowest actual temperature ever to be reached was two-billionth of a degree above absolute zero by a team at the Low Temperature Laboratory in the Helsinki University of Technology, Finland, in October, 1989. Now don't you feel better about today's weather? I hear that parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin got some snow today.

Woohoo! No Italian class tomorrow. The teacher is sick. OK. I'm sorry that the teacher is sick. I'm not feeling all that well myself. Colds. What can you do? They're a reality. But I'm happy that I don't have class tomorrow because now I can put off doing my homework that I should have done already but haven't. Procrastination. Gotta love it.
I may just sleep in tomorrow. With a pending cold this may be the perfect solution. Unfortunately dogs still need to be fed, walked and watered. Usually at predawn- thirty. I'm going to prep my coffee-maker tonight so I don't have to think too much tomorrow at predawn-thirty. Did you ever notice how difficult it is to separate those stupid coffee filters (just get one) before your brain has really had an opportunity to wake up? How do they manage to package those suckers so tightly packed together? I actually spent about a half an hour the other day, in the afternoon while I was fully conscious, separating just a few of them so I could be prepared in the predawn mornings to make my coffee. Let's not get ridiculous. I'm not an engineer. I know that if I should read the owner's manual I can "program" the coffeemaker to brew a perfect pot of coffee, ready, waiting for me, in the predawn hours of the morning. Ever have a coffeemaker fail? Did you ever have to clean up after a coffeepot that spewed its contents over the entire surrounding environs of your kitchen? I have. Repeatedly. I'm still cleaning coffee grounds out of my knife drawer. And this is when I've been "watching". I don't trust these suckers. Not a minute. I'll only go so far as to load the thing. I refuse to actually program it to fire.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The Oreo is the world's bestselling cookie. Over five billion are sold every year. And that's just in America. And there's no hiding the fact that you've snuck a couple of those suckers from someone on a diet. The telltale evidence on your tongue and teeth will give you away every time. Kinda like that telltale smell of a McDonald's gourmand meal.

I'm addicted to Pogo. I tried their new game of TriPeaks Solitaire. No time to write this blog. I have to get back to that new game. Indiana Jones meets TriPeaks.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Balboa, the discoverer of the Pacific Ocean, was falsely accused of treason and beheaded in 1517.

I have done absolutely nothing all day. It feels great! I got my Pioneer Super Badge from Pogo and I'm working on my Word Whomp Whackdown.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Smokey the Bear's original name was Hot Foot Teddy.

The repair person came out to fix my oven today. My oven works but I've been cautioned against cleaning it until they can come back and replace some part which controls the locking mechanism. That's OK by me. I already cleaned the oven and don't have any future oven cleaning activities planned. I do have some baking planned...soon. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and then comes serious Christmas baking. I need my oven. I'm told that it will work just fine. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

When a living thing is in a state of suspended animation during the winter, it's known as hibernation. Estivation is the state of suspended animation during the summer. I wonder if a person can both hibernate and estivate?

Today was fun. I went to the dentist and got a temporary crown. Now I have to look forward to going back to the dentist in a few weeks for the permanent crown. Oh well...that visit shouldn't be as traumatic. I have nothing against dentists. I just don't like pain...or torture. I've always felt that it was inhumane to make someone go through that kind of experience while they are conscious. They knock out animals when they take care of their teeth. I suppose it's because they're afraid that the animal will struggle and bite them. If I promise to bite the dentist, maybe they'll knock me unconscious. They're starting to wise up though. They drug me silly to get me through their doors and then they gas me while I'm in the chair. I still break out into a cold sweat though just thinking about dentists and dental work.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Dentophobia is the fear of dentists. I definitely have a mild case of dentophobia as well as odontaphobia...fear of dental surgery.

I gave into temptation. KitchenAid mixers come in a variety of designer colors. After years of owning a basic white KitchenAid mixer, I finally bought myself a red one today. It was on sale. My not that old white KitchenAid went to a new home. It works just fine. KitchenAid mixers are wonderful. My mother still has the KitchenAid mixer that she was given when she got married. I have the KitchenAid mixer that I was given when I got married (It's in Wisconsin). Both work great! My daughter now has the the plain white KitchenAid that used to grace the kitchen of my home here in Arizona. I have great plans for my shiny new red KitchenAid mixer. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Life would not be the same without a KitchenAid mixer. KitchenAid ovens are another story all-together. A repairman will be coming on Tuesday for the bi-annual repair work on my KitchenAid oven. Good thing I extended the warranty.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Balneology is the science of the therapeutic use of bathing. I think I'll go take a bath. I wore myself out shopping today. Good exercise but hard on the legs.

How alarming! Yesterday was one of those days which I could have lived without. Actually, it wasn't all bad. I just could have lived without our smoke alarms. The day would have been perfect if those stupid fire alarms wouldn't have gone off...repeatedly. There was no fire. There was no smoke. The windows were open but the only smell coming in from outside was the smell of new mowed grass. The alarms went off and then stopped. OK. Which fire alarm system went off? Was it our system that calls the fire department automatically? Was it the system that comes built into our house? My husband and I went frantically searching the file cabinets for the information that we keep on both systems. Blessedly the fire alarms had ceased after only a few short moments. No fire engines showed up at our doorstep. No calls came in from our monitoring station (I think it's somewhere in Kansas). Still no smoke smelled, no evidence of fire. All of a sudden the alarms went off again. They were loud. Which alarm was it? We scurried about from one smoke detector to the other, peering anxiously up at them to see if we could see....anything. Nothing. The alarming noise ceased. We determined that the culprit smoke detectors were those that came built into our house after I tested the monitoring system. The alarm given off by the monitor system is loud enough to make your ears bleed. The alarm that we had heard three times now wasn't all that loud. It was loud but it wasn't ear bleed loud. My husband decided to check the batteries in the smoke detectors. From past experience the sound these particular smoke detectors make when they need new backup batteries hasn't ever been alarming...it's more of an irritating, single pulse screech and it's usually only noticeable in the middle of the night when you're trying to get some sleep and they won't stop and they won't let you sleep until you get up, drag out the ladder and replace the stupid batteries. This was nothing like we were experiencing for the fourth time as my husband grabbed the ladder from the garage. None of these detectors are reachable by anything by a 10-foot ladder. Awww!!! There they went off again. We ran around looking for a blinking red LED light on one of the detector units but again failed to reach the culprit in time to see it. We started uninstalling units, one by one. Our house has 9 smoke detectors not counting the one unit that came with our monitoring service. Apparently there are building codes which require smoke detectors in every room and hallway. After the alarms went off yet again (backup batteries), my husband decided to dissect the suckers and see if he could see anything. Could there be a spider infestation? I could just imagine some little tiny spider doing the hoochie-coochie over the sensor of one of my nine smoke detectors, laughing it's little butt off. Do spiders have butts? As my husband dissected smoke detectors looking for who knows what or who knows who, we enjoyed blessed silence. I was given two of the smoke detectors to babysit while I sat at my computer. We were still watching in vain for the red LED sensor that would denoter THE detector that was the cause of our shattered nerves and my poor headache. Silence reigned. No more alarms....until 10PM last night. Darn it! More silence. My husband finally dissected the last smoke detector this afternoon. This last detector was filthy. We're praying that dust was causing it to imagine that there was smoke in the house. I pray for this because my husband cleaned said unit and has finally reinstalled all the smoke detectors back into their proper places in the house. I pray for this because I don't want to hear another smoke detector as long as I live. I pray for this because I still have my headache. If they go off again I'm going to make him go out and buy all new smoke detectors to replace these stupid things...ones that will glow red if they're triggered and wave a red flag of surrender after misfiring so we can kill them.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Where there's smoke there's lunt. That's what the fume from a pipe is called. There was no lunt in my house yesterday.

I have to laugh. After reading the article from Onion yesterday, I read the following on the Blogger Homepage.

The Onion: Mom Finds Out About Blog. Here at Blogger, we have no official stance on what to do when your mom discovers your blog. Maybe we should think about that.

Update: We now have an official stance on this matter.

Blogger's Official Solution to Mom's

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The expression to "mind your p's and q's" comes from old English Pubs. The bartenders had to keep track of how much a customer drank by the pints and quarts in front of them.

Never write in your blog about anything you would be embarrassed to have your Mother see. Good Grief! People! Get Real! You all must have totally missed the Nixon years and Watergate! I am so old. Didn't you guys learn anything from your history lessons? Surely they mentioned something about the Nixon tapes in those history books. Never ever write anything anywhere that may come back and haunt you. Is this a lesson that someone missed? You were absent that day? MY mother reads MY blog and she reads my brother's blog and she reads my daughter's blog. I would never post embarrassing pictures of myself or write about anything doing something that I wouldn't want my mother or my Grandmother to see or know about. I remember my mother telling me to never ever write or say anything that could reach the eyes or ears of anyone that would be offended or embarrassed by it. I try. I really try. I'm not always successful. But no-one's is going to impeach me. I have no presidential or political ambitions but I still know better then to write something that I wouldn't want my mother, father, or preacher to read.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Casanova journeyed with a custom-made portable bath. It was for two.

It's raining. We need the rain here in Arizona. I won't feel so guilty about overseeding my lawn with winter grass if it continues to rain. I try to be environmentally conscious. I made a conscious decision to overseed my lawn this winter. Do I get points because I didn't overseed last winter? Do I get points for moving into a house where the landscaping will be desert friendly and water-efficient? The problem arises that I have to sell this house before I can move into the new house. I've bought and sold houses throughout the 25 years of my marriage. We joke that we put our house up for sale every time the windows need washing. I need to sell this house. In order to do that I have to make things look unnaturally wonderful. No spiderwebs, no toilet bowl rings, no dust, the carpet must look like no-one has ever walked there before, the appliances must look brand-new, the house will look like it has been newly painted because it will have been newly painted, the windows will reflect the beauty of the lake and the grass must be green. If you have ever walked into a Model Home Village to view the homes in a housing developement, you should note that no-one has ever lived in these homes. The TV's if there are TV's are fake. The fruit on the table is fake. The flowers are fake. The house is clean, there are no messy fingerprints and no-one has ever cooked in the kitchen. My goal is to make my house, my home, look like one of these unlived in homes until it sells. I have from now until January to make it look like this. While the house is up for sale our electricity bill will go through the roof because every light will burning whenever a potential buyer stops by. A fire will be kept lite in the fireplace. There will be fresh flowers in vases on the tables. The floor will be vacuumed and swept to erase any sign of habitation. Beds will be made with decorative pillow shams on a daily basis. Even though we're adhereing to a strict no/low carbohydrate diet, there will be the smell of fresh baked bread or cinnamon rolls purmiating the house. No-one will ever know that I own two dogs or that I have a son who isn't the best at cleaning up after himself. All thought of living a normal existance while this house is up for sale will be forgotten. So although I feel guilty about overseeding the lawn this winter because of environmental concerns, I'll just have continue feeling that way until after the house sells. Oh...and I drive an SUV too but that's another whole story.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

"Utopia" is an ancient Greek word meaning "nowhere". I know that I've used this bit of trivia before but it just seemed to fit the theme today.

Yesterday was my brother's birthday. He's even older then I am. Actually, I may call myself The Old Grey Frog, but I really don't think of myself as old. I don't even think of my parents as old. We're all just experienced. Some of us just have a bit more experience then others. I suppose I could list a resume of all the things that I've experieced over my lifetime.

Color TV--I remember when my grandparents got their color TV. My grandmother hated it. She made my grandfather turn off the color so she could enjoy the black and white reception. I remember when we got our first color TV. It sat in our living room next to our "stereo".

Microwave ovens--My husband bought me an Amana RadarRange. Wow! We were given free cooking classes with our purchase. There were microwaves in our dorm building when I went to college but they rarely worked. Someone always tried to heat up a TV dinner in them and they'd blow up. Keep in mind that TV dinners always came in aluminum "trays". Despite written warnings about using metal in the microwave someone always forgot that aluminum was a metal.

The Beatles--I never was much of a fan but they sure had cool hair.

JFK--Yes, I do remember where I was when JFK was assassinated.

Vietnam--I remember one day when I came home from school. There was a note on the fridge. My brother had left to go to the May Day demonstrations in Washington D.C. with a bunch of his friends. I'm sure my parents were thrilled. And yes, he was arrested. I'm sure he's on some government watch list to this day. I remember sitdowns and tear gas. I remember the draft and the lottery system. I remember conscientous objectors.

Car phones--That's relatively recent. Motorola. Hey! I just got my first cell phone.

Cordless phones--It took me forever to learn that I could walk around the house while talking on the phone instead of staying anchored to the base. Of course, new problems arose. Where's the phone?

TV remotes--Where's the remote? I remember when these first came out. Now no-one knows how to change the channels without one. I think there still may be buttons on the TV set, just in case you lose the remote.

VCR's--I used to be able to program them but now DVD players are out and I can't figure out which remote goes to which device.

Records--I remember when we bought 331/3 instead of 48's. You couldn't even play your 78's anymore on some record players.

Tape recorders--Reel to reel. They were expensive too. Then you could get cassette tapes. Wow! Not those little cassettes but those big chunky huge 8-track cassettes. And then I bought myself a new smaller audio cassette player and recorder. Woohoo!

Answering machines--I loved it when they came out with these. Do they still sell the one's with little cassettes? We've gone digital now. My in-laws still refuse to have a cordless phone or and answering machine. I think they may have a VCR but they don't know how to use it.

I could go on and on. Bubble gum. Flavored bubble gum. The shrinking chocolate bar. Lean Cuisine. McDonalds. Burger King. I even remember when smoking became bad for you. Only one problem with experienced people. There are no guarantees that the unexperienced will listen to the experienced. That's something that will never change.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Pop Quiz and we aren't talking Cola Wars. Ratings Below. How many of these things do you remember?

1. Blackjack chewing gum (this stuff was truly yucky)
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water (wax lips too...)
3. Candy cigarettes (before cigarettes were bad for you and at the same time that Popeye was still allowed to beat up the bad guy.)
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed bottles (church basement and camp)
5. Coffee shops with tableside jukeboxes (Clancy's)
6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers (we never signed up for this but I remember telling him to "Get out of Town before Midnight" with my cap gun.)
7. Party lines (They gave us one by mistake when we first moved to Arizona in the 80's)
8. Newsreels before the movie (cartoons before the movie)
9. P.F. Flyers
10. Butch wax
11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix (Olive-6933) (Walnut6-3008)
12. Peashooters
13. Howdy Doody (This and Romper Room)
14. 45 RPM records (Please! If I can remember 78's, I certainly haven't forgotten 45's)
15. S&H Green Stamps (I'm not sure what my mom bought with all those stamps. I'm sure she did use them...eventually...I'd hate to think that she saved them and licked them for all those years and just threw them away. Please tell me that she doesn't still have them stored in the basement of the condo.)
16. Hi-fi's (no comment)
17. Metal ice trays with lever (I wonder if my sister still has hers?)
18. Mimeograph paper (and I think I remember how to use that machine too I can still remember the smell. MMMM)
19. Blue flashbulb (I think I still have eye damage from those things. Remember flashcubes for the instamatics? Remember instamatics?)
20. Packards
21. Roller skate keys (our skates were stored in the orange crate shelves in the garage..the keys were tied neatly to the skates so we couldn't lose them.)
22. Cork popguns
23. Drive-ins (It was real tricky to see if you could still hear the movie but not let in the mosquitoes when you hooked the soundbox to your car.)
24. Studebakers
25. Wash tub wringers

If you remembered 0-5 = You're still young
If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older
If you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 16-25 = You're older than dirt!

It's 9 PM and I still can't think of anything to write about in this darn blog. I just got back from a Veteran's Day concert put on by my son's band. The band was very good. I think they need to hire a publicity agent though. It would have been nice to have more of an audience. Oh well...instead of thinking up an original blog, I'll share a "funny" that a friend sent. Good thing I keep a file of them.

Headline Stories for Year 2035


1. Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking.


2. Spotted Owl plague threatens Western North America crops & livestock.


3. Last remaining Fundamentalist Muslim dies in the American Territory of the Middle East (formerly known as Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon)


4. Afghanistan still closed off; physicists estimate it will take at least ten more years before radioactivity decreases to safe levels.


5. George Z. Bush says he will run for President in 2036.


6. 35 year study: diet and exercise is the key to weight loss.


7. Nursing home event... Bill Clinton denies allegations of affair with candy striper.


8. Texas executes last remaining citizen.


9. Upcoming NFL draft likely to focus on use of mutants.


10. Baby conceived naturally.....scientists stumped.


11. Authentic year 2000 "chad" sells at Sotheby's for $4.6 million.


12. Ozone created by electric cars now killing thousands in Los Angeles.


13. Average height of NBA players now nine foot seven inches.


14. Microsoft announces it has perfected its newest version of Windows so it crashes BEFORE installation is completed.


15. New California law requires that all nail clippers, screwdrivers, and baseball bats be registered by January 2036.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The words loosen and unloosen mean the same thing. On the other hand, cleave and cleave are two completely opposite words. Isn't the English language wonderful. I sure am glad that I don't have to learn it as a second language. Learning Italian is challenging enough.

I got up at 5:30 AM. Church. That explains a lot. I played my clarinet at the first two services. It was pledge Sunday. Amazingly enough the place was packed. This could be a sign of an improving economy. Last year there weren't too many people in the pews for pledge Sunday and the poor minister ended up preaching to the converted. Regardless on how many people showed up today, encouraging as that may be, the minister still ended up preaching to the converted...there just were a lot more of the converted on hand.

A good friend sent me the following "funny" that I just had to pass along. I do dye my hair red but I never concidered myself "blond".

A young redhead goes into the doctor's office and says that her body hurts wherever she touches it.

"Impossible" says the doctor. "Show me!"

She takes her finger and pushes her elbow and screams in agony.

She pushes her knee and screams, she pushes her ankle and screams.

Everywhere she touches makes her scream.

The doctor asks, "You're not really a redhead, are you"

"No" she says, "I'm actually a blonde."

"I thought so," the doctor says. "Your finger is broken."


Today's Little Bit of Trivia

When asked to name a color, three out of five people will say "red".

What? You blinked and missed the picture that I had posted of the Mother-of-the-Bride? OK. For those who failed to read my blog yesterday, here's your last opportunity. Just click on the highlighted word above and you will finally see what The Old Grey Frog looks like after visiting a beauty parlor.

My husband and I stopped by to visit our new home today. It's still a vacant lot. No progress visible as yet though it looked like someone drove their car over the lot because there were tire tracks.

I went outside tonight and viewed the eclipsed moon. Neighbors were oohing and awing over it's beauty from their boats on the lake. It was beautiful. I went back inside. It's cold outside....for my little bit of Arizona.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The average person will catch 140 colds in their lifetime. I don't know how many colds I've had in my lifetime so far. I try to avoid them and, failing that, I strive not to dwell upon my past experiences with them.

Confession is good for the soul. I added a couple of pictures to my blog this morning. A past blog. One of the pictures is the Mother-of-the-Bride which I've since posted for all of you to enjoy. I will be changing it soon. I have this crazed look in my eye and I'm not sure how long I want to have everyone think that I look like that on a daily basis. The other picture is of The Happy Couple which you can now enjoy without checking out past blogs. I promise not to alter past blogs...unless I warn you about it after the fact.

Tomorrow I have Italian class. My husband and I signed up for Italian language classes a while back. We completed the first classes offered and signed up for the second group of classes. Unfortunately we missed the first class of the new series due to the marriage of our daughter. Now we need to quickly see if we can cram for this next class which we'll be attending tomorrow morning. I hate playing catch-up.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The comic strip Peanuts was originally called Li'l Folks. I used to love reading that comic strip. Just as I often feel torn between identifying with Rocky on the one hand and Bullwinkle on the other, I also feel torn between identifying with Snoopy on the one hand and Charlie Brown on the other. My sister was definitely Lucy.