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More Morse
4 Days Ago

My first season DVDs of Endeavour arrived. Yay!!! Loved the pilot, so ordered season one as soon as it was available. I like the way it is referencing some things in the original series, like the broken love affair with Susan, his relationship with his father, step-mother and step-sister, the injury leading to the limp, the classical music, crosswords and booze.

(13 replies, Latest reply: 11 Hours Ago)

Tea Time
6 Days Ago

Tomorrow afternoon is the library's annual spring tea. Last year we got a bit carried away and had a lot of food left over, so this year we're scaling back. This afternoon I'm baking two cakes rather than the four last year. My semi-famous pound cake and a chocolate amaretto with toasted almonds. I'm also going to bake scones and rock cakes tomorrow morning and am in charge of the tea sandwiches. I'm cutting back to two varieties of those. I'm also taking lemon and coconut petite fours, but I cheated and ordered them.

My children's librarian is the other baker. She's fixing up a lot of those cute little tasting plates and bowls. I think she's doing tiny trifles and a variety of canapés. And she's making Russian tea cakes.

This is the first year we won't be having live music. We're trying to stick with a 20s jazz theme as part of 20s month for the centennial. So I'm going to play some Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong in the background. That will at least be authentic.

This is also the first year that I'm not enjoying it. It's a chore to drum up any enthusiasm for some reason. I'll be glad when it's done and dusted.

(34 replies, Latest reply: 4 Days Ago)

Deja Vu
Last Week

Ok, I know we've seen these before, but it's been a while. So enjoy.


1. Is it good if a vacuum really sucks?

2. Why is the third hand On the watch
Called the second hand?

3. If a word is misspelled In the dictionary,
How would we ever know?

4. If Webster wrote the first dictionary,
Where did he find the words?

5. Why do we say something is out of whack?
What is a whack?

6. Why does "slow down" and
"slow up" mean the same thing?

7. Why do "fat chance" and "slim chance"
Mean the same thing?

8. Why do "tug" boats push their barges?

9. Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game"
When we are already there?

10. Why are they called " stands"
When they are made for sitting?

11. Why is it called "after dark"
When it really is "after light"?

12.. Doesn't "expecting the unexpected"
Make the unexpected expected?

13.. Why are a "wise man" and
A "wise guy" opposites?

14. Why do "overlook" and "oversee"
Mean opposite things?

15. Why is "phonics" Not spelled
The way it sounds?

16. If work is so terrific,
Why do they have to pay you to do it?

17.. If all the world is a stage,
Where is the audience sitting?

18.. If love is blind,
Why is lingerie so popular?

19. If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia,
Can you read all right?

20. Why is bra singular
And panties plural?

21.. Why do you press harder On the buttons of a remote control
When you know the batteries are dead?

22. Why do we put suits in garment bags
And garments in a suitcase?

23. How come abbreviated
Is such a long word?

24. Why do we wash bath towels?
Aren't we clean when we use them?

25.. Why doesn't glue
Stick to the inside of the bottle?

26. Why do they call it a TV set
When you only have one?

27. Christmas - What other time of the year
Do you sit in front of a dead tree And eat candy out of your socks?

28. Why do we drive on a parkway
And park on a driveway?

(5 replies, Latest reply: 6 Days Ago)

Reflections on Mom
Last Week

This is the first Mother's Day since my mom died. It is more bittersweet than sad for me. As most of you know, my relationship with her was sometimes a difficult one. We were very different people. She did have good qualities. I don't want you to think she was a horrible person, because she wasn't. But for the most part, her self-absorption and general negativity was a constant source of angst for me. How my father, who was the exact opposite, managed to stay happily married to her for 51 years has always totally puzzled me.

For many years I spent Mother's Day shopping for plants for her porch boxes and then setting them out. She was an excellent gardener when she was healthy. To be perfectly honest, that's the only thing I can think of that she genuinely enjoyed. Well, that and crossword puzzles. She was seriously good at those and complained about not being able to find any that were challenging enough to suit her. She was also an accomplished seamstress, but I think she considered sewing more of a chore than a pleasure.

She was a good country cook and hosted most of the dinners for her side of the family. But in spite of always doing it, she rather resented it and in later years complained about everyone piling in on her all the time. I think this is a great example of her general attitude. She could take any event and find a way to turn it into a burden of sorts. She loved feeling put upon because that meant it was all about her. No matter what the situation, there was always something wrong, some reason for her not to enjoy it.

Her mood worsened during my dad's final illness and after his death. She turned herself into a professional widow. Life wasn't worth living. There were moments when she seemingly forgot she was supposed to be depressed, and we would have a good day together. Then she'd revert to doom and gloom again. It was extremely tiresome.

The last couple of years her health deteriorated to the point where she legitimately had something to be depressed about. Her decline was far more prolonged than any of us wish for, for ourselves or anyone we love. Her mind was also deteriorating, making her moods more pronounced and causing her a lot of worry and fear. Her life became a burden to her.

Death isn't always an enemy. In my mother's case, it released her from physical pain and severe depression. So, no I didn't actually want her to die, but I didn't want her to live in that condition, either. When there is no hope for improvement and a return to independence, then death can be a friend. It was so in her case.

Today I'm going to plant flowers at my own house in her memory. It seems like a good way to acknowledge the day.

(6 replies, Latest reply: Last Week)

Never too old to learn
3 Weeks Ago

What, you may very well ask, if the old gal learning now? Quite a lot, actually. For one thing, I have learned more about probate than I ever wanted to know. (Did we ever get a pounding head against wall smiley?)

I now know why my neighbor threatens to throw her yorkie to the lions on a regular basis, and Winston is only half yorkie. He is without a doubt the most hyper, smart-ass puppy I've ever met. The shelties have to double team him to keep him under control. His latest trick is to try to drag Bart by his tail. Bart is very gentle and good-natured, but he finally had enough this morning and thumped Winston, who quite honestly needed a good thumping. He learned to avoid Minerva early on. She won't put up with him the way Bart and the shelties do.

I have learned that the old addage that if you cut the top off of a plant often enough, the root will eventually die does ~not~ apply to bermuda grass. I've pulled, I've hoed, I've dug down a good three feet and manually removed as many roots as I can find and I still have bermuda grass everywhere, choking out my vegetables and flowers. In a fit of desperation, I covered my cucumber and squash beds with heavy black plastic and straw then built hills on top of this in hopes of smothering it long enough to get a crop this summer.

I have learned that no matter who is on the executive board of the Friends of the Library, they have no intention of actually doing anything that benefits the library. They have fundraisers and then put the money raised in the bank where it stays. What I have not yet learned is what exactly they think their function is. But hey, I'm about it. The only sensible approach is to never count on them for anything. This way I'm not disappointed and they aren't forced into a position of refusing to help.

One of the most amazing things I've learned recently is that I am not a complete Luddite, after all. I am cutting back on print at the library and going digital. It's the only way we can stay relevant. And I even bought myself an iPad. I know! Me! What's the world coming to?

(10 replies, Latest reply: 3 Weeks Ago)