Category Archives: Miscellaney

Five Quotes Meme

As seen over at Set Free, I went to this site and went through random quotes until I had five that had “spoken” to me. In this way, through these quotes, you learn a little something about me.

Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function.

–Unknown

I think people don’t place a high enough value on how much they are nurtured by doing whatever it is that totally absorbs them.

–Jean Shinoda Bolen

Sometimes I think we’re alone. Sometimes I think we’re not. In either case, the thought is staggering.

–R. Buckminster Fuller

It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

— Agnes Repplier

Facing it, always facing it, that’s the way to get through. Face it.

–Joseph Conrad

Please Help Me Correct a Mistake

I made the mistake recently of purchasing something that, once I opened and reflected on my intentions for it, isn’t suitable for my purposes. However, I can’t return the item (bought online) because I already opened it and tossed the packaging. Not so smart, eh?

The item is a set of three Moleskine Cahier Extra-large Plain notebooks (with buff colored covers). They are lovely, perfect for writing, but but pages really are too thin to effectively use markers or paint. I purchased the Cahier journal because it had dimensions I like — about 7×10 inches, similar to a composition notebook — and it was sewn instead of spiral-bound. (My current journal is 7×10 with a spiral; I want to try using both pages for one entry, and the spiral visually interferes. Otherwise, I’m very happy with the Cachet sketchbook!)

I’ve decided that the Cahier journal won’t work. They are pristine. Does anyone want them? Email me please, and let me know.

Adjustments

You probably notice that I’ve been changing the font. The Georgia style (all curly and fussy) was harder for me to read. Then I tried Arial, but it felt inelegant. So I settled on Verdana at a font size I like for my laptop; it will still be pretty big for users of regular computers. Of course, you can always adjust text size on your browser.

And… I wrote another poem tonight. Some of you might wonder why I don’t just post them here already. But I’d rather mention it here and provide a link to the other blog. Those who want to read will click through. Those who don’t won’t, and it keeps presentation simpler. The latest poem is here. You may notice a theme… Mortality and Time visit often of late.

Tag, I’m It!

I was tagged by Kat.

Four Jobs YouÂ’ve Had
1. Library book cataloger and purchaser
2. Psychotherapist in a mental health clinic and private practice
3. Dental assistant
4. Clerk at Borders, Lerner clothing, St. Claire Paint & Wallpaper, movie theater, CVS drugstore, Burger King

Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over
1. The Secret of Roan Inish
2. Any Pink Panther movie
3. Gone With the Wind
4. Big Fish

Four Places YouÂ’ve Lived
1. Syracuse, NY
2. Oswego, NY
3. Austin, TX
4. Santa Clara, CA

Four TV Shows You Love To Watch
1. CSI Las Vegas (not Miami or New York, yuk!)
2. The West Wing
3. The Daily Show
4. Nova/Frontline

Four of Your Favorite Books
Oh, come on — just four??!!
1. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
2. The Gift of Therapy by Irvin Yalom
3. The Velveteen Rabbit
4. Anything by May Sarton

Four Places YouÂ’ve Been On Vacation
I am listing places from adulthood; I’m mostly a homebody who likes day trips
1. Package tour of Europe: London, Paris, Innsbruck, Switzerland, Venice, Tuscany, Rome
2. Miami, FL
3. San Francisco, CA
4. Corpus Christi, TX

Four Websites You Visit Daily
1. Bloglines (my subscriptions)
2. San Jose Mercury News
3. New York Times
4. Flickr

Four of Your Favorite Foods
1. Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream
2. dark chocolate
3. anything Italian
4. apple pie

Four Places You Would Rather Be Right Now
1. I
2. like
3. where
4. I am.

Four Bloggers You Are Tagging
1. Chad
2. Winston
3. Diana
4. Nacho
And anyone else who wants to play! Leave your link in the comments so we can take a peek.

The Day After Tomorrow & Memeishness

Time feels compressed to me. Saturday felt like Sunday all day. Thankfully it wasn’t; I still have time to prepare. I’m leaving to fly east — to Syracuse, New York — the day after tomorrow. It’s not that I have immense work to do… just packing and watering the gardens really well. But I’m volunteering on Monday, and then suddenly it will be Tuesday, and I’ll have to catch a noon flight. Get this: I’ll land at midnight. Of course, there’s a three-hour time shift in there, but still, it will be a long journey. I’ll be there one week, so posting will be spotty, if at all.

However, I plan to take lots of pictures, so I’ll have some new material to share.

I spent this evening culling about three dozen books, mostly fiction, from my bookshelves. They’ve been very tight and getting more so. Since I rarely re-read fiction, I targeted those. I’ve emailed close friends and family to offer free reads. I’ll post whatever titles they don’t want so that other readers have a chance. Kat did this awhile back, and I benefited!

That cup of coffee I had at Barnes & Noble this evening after dinner probably wasn’t a wise decision. I’m wide awake now. But I didn’t buy any books (yay self- discipline!). I’ve enough in queue to last me awhile.

Below are a couple of memes I did for fun. One is the Friday Random Ten (a couple of days late, ah well) where you set your music player to “shuffle” then list the last ten songs you heard. The other is a cooking quiz that I found in my blog meanders — can’t remember where.
Continue reading →

Seven by Seven

I’m taking Chad up on his request.
Seven things I plan to do before I die:

  1. write more
  2. read all the books on my shelves
  3. get another tattoo
  4. learn to knit
  5. become a mother
  6. make more art
  7. learn how to speak Spanish

Seven things I can do:

  1. drive a stick-shift
  2. wiggle my ears
  3. bake excellent pies (crusts from scratch)
  4. be punny (intended)
  5. create a comfortable, peaceful home
  6. take risks
  7. be a loving friend

Seven things I cannot do:

  1. write computer code (except bad HTML and butchered CSS)
  2. run a marathon
  3. stand on my head
  4. talk and cook at the same time
  5. sneeze quietly and daintily
  6. leap tall buildings in a single bound
  7. tolerate huge crowds

Seven things that I find really attractive about the opposite sex:

  1. gentleness
  2. skill with electronic gadgetry
  3. sense of personal style
  4. sense of responsibility as a provider
  5. egalitarian attitudes
  6. linear thinking
  7. their pieces/parts are different than mine

Seven things I say the most:

  1. I’m just sayin’
  2. Treats! (high-pitched and shrill to call the cats to get yummies)
  3. I love you
  4. I’m hungry
  5. Did you hear/read about/know….? (followed by trivia)
  6. Various forms of meowing and chirruping at the cats
  7. My chin is not out! (A certain person teases me that when I’m annoyed or mad my chin gets pointy and juts out.)

Seven books I love:

  1. anything by Bill Bryson
  2. Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White
  3. The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
  4. Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott
  5. The Gift of Therapy : An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients, Irvin Yalom
  6. anything by May Sarton
  7. When We Were Very Young/Now We Are Six, A.A. Milne (and The Tao of Pooh/The Te of Piglet, Benjamin Hoff)

Seven people I would like to see take this quiz:

  1. Fran — Sacred Ordinary
  2. Kirsten — Cicada
  3. Euan — The Obvious?
  4. Natalie — Blaugustine
  5. Nacho — Woodmoor Village Zendo
  6. Nathania — Purls Beyond Price
  7. Ronni — Time Goes By

Blog Discoveries & Trivia

I found out about Blogpulse from Euan’s blog. I’ve been trying to wean my ego from paying attention to the number of visitors here or finding who links to me. This program, of course, taps into that vein, but it promises to be an interesting way to track topical trends in blogs. I found myself listed and looked at the blogs considered to be my “neighbors.” A few were appealing, and I shall make a point of visiting more:

  • Pages Turned. A reading journal and commonplace book–a book in which ‘commonplacesÂ’ or passages important for reference are collected, usually under general heads; hence, a book in which one records passages or matters to be especially remembered or referred to, with or without arrangement. Offers an impressive booklist and other snippets.
  • Coffee and Varnish: With Enough Coffee I Could Rule the World. DEFINITION – “Jane Smith”, circa 1969: coffee whore, internet junkie, canine lover, devourer of books, movie fiend, creative, flirt, lazy-ass, smart-mouthed, potato-chip-eater. An interesting collection of reflections.
  • Nothing To Do With Arbroath: No real issues. Just stuff and nonsense. Fun links to interesting tidbits. I especially enjoyed the European Geography quiz, although I admit with chagrin I scored only 56%.

I also, lately, have hopped on the silly quiz bandwagon. This blog has not featured many, but every now and then I give in and take some. Results are below:
Continue reading →

Bad Cat

I rounded the corner from the hallway and found Sophie lounging on my laptop. Very bad idea. The fan was whirring madly. However, both cats adore sunspots and will sprawl wherever they find one.

can't resist a sun spot

My laptop has the ability to take a screenshot — a picture of the computer screen. She managed to take two as she lay there. Below is the better shot. Is she a genius, or what? A bad, smart cat.
Continue reading →