Senile Virus

This is frightening. When I read this warning, I recognized that some of my friends are afflicted with it (you know who you are). But what's worse is, I think I might be, too!

Just got this in from a reliable source It seems that there is a virus out there called the Senile Virus that even the latest Norton AV cannot take care of, so be warned. It appears to affect those of us who were born before 1950!

Symptoms of Senile Virus

1. Causes you to send same e-mail twice.

2. Causes you to send blank e-mail.

3. Causes you to send to wrong person.

4. Causes you to send back to person who sent it to you.

5. Causes you to forget to attach the attachment.

6. Causes you to hit "SEND" before you've finished the

Ads.com, RIP...Joe Boxer Lives On

Ads.com, say it isn't so! What do you mean you "weren't able to raise the funding necessary"? You were a website featuring nothing but corporate commercials, for the love of Rosie! I am so bummed. But at least the reason I went to Ads.com just now is still out there. Joe Boxer just tickles me!

By the way, do any of you use the K-Mart's Bluelight.com internet, or know someone who does? We're shopping for a new low-cost ISP for the folks, neither of which are online much at all. Bluelight even has a local access number for our town - wooo.

Scavengers

Remember the Chevy I listed on eBay for one of Howie's coworkers? Well, it sold offline to one of the people who'd seen the listing, so this fella decided to have us get him a laptop on eBay for his daughter. We bought an a used IBM Thinkpad 600 and had it shipped here so we could get everything configured on it for the friend. The display on that IBM is so much brighter and nicer than the one on my hubby's Micron - you can tell it was a lot better made to begin with.

Well, combine that obvious disparity with the realization that my old Sony monitor is still functional, and what do you get? A scavenger, that's what! Quick as a wink, Howie had his wingback chair and cart re-arranged so the old monitor was hooked up to the Micron and perched atop The Cockpit. Hey, it was easier than carrying it down to the basement. Plus, with the headphones on and the room lights dimmed, it makes for a pretty darned nice movie experience, all curled up in the wingback chair there.

Old Dog. New Trick.

Well, it's new to me, anyway! Here's my mom's cat Tigger, in a nifty little pop-up window. I peeked at somebody's code and learned something new tonight - woooo!

Freezing Rain'll Do That To Ya

I am bummin', I admit it. I'm really missing my spot on Lisa's porch right about now. The weather's been cruddy in Ohio and I've been missing the rope hammock and the nice sunny days in the 60's and 70's. Whimper. If I were magically teleported there right now, I'd plant my behind in that comfy hammock chair and read. Little anole lizards would again creep out from their hiding places in the ginger plant on the porch and join me in sunning. Oh, and all the sweet birds! The titmice and chickadees, especially, would again come to the feeder hanging right above me, chittering their gossip to all who'd listen. *sigh* And Miss Sally could teach me new things from her five-year-old perspective. Ahhhhhh....I've gotta quit this!

But we Ohioans are made of strong stuff (though not nearly so strong as Minnesotans) so we'll muddle through this somehow. Sometimes I can see why people become snowbirds!

Barely Blooming Yet

I read this in today's Dave's Garden newsletter and loved it:

"As seedlings of God, we barely blossom on earth; we fully flower in heaven."

-- Russell M. Nelson

This-N-That

I'm overdue in posting Tuesday's This-N-That from the Passionate Ailurophile, but here goes!

1. Real or artificial tree?
Artificial for us - no needles, no waste, virtually non-existant risk of lights igniting a fire, and stronger branches for holding ornaments!

2. Real or artificial wreath?
Artificial, though I wouldn't mind having a real one made with the trimmings from a fir tree (hmmmmm....have two of those out back).

3. Open gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day (or do you do another holiday such as Hannukkah)?
Some of each, usually. As a kid, we'd have dinner, go to the midnight Christmas Eve service in town, then drive around looking at Christmas lights. Magically, Santa always came while we were away from grandma's house. ;)

4. "It's A Wonderful Life" or "Miracle on 34th Street"?
They're both great, but I guess "It's a Wonderful Life" - I love Clarence.

5. Outdoor decorations, or just indoors?
Both! Bummed that the basement work this year is keeping us from putting up indoor decorations (save a tiny 2' tree on the table). We're "on call" for having the work done, so there's no telling when they'll be here to do it, and we're afraid of extra dust making the tree into a nightmare clean-up job!

6. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" or "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"?
Rudolph, always. I like "Here Comes Santa Clause", too. It's all fun!

7. Miniature lights or the larger ones?
Miniature inside, big fat ones outside (plus miniatures!).

8. Store-bought or hand-made ornaments?
Both. We have a really eclectic tree, full of ornaments both gaudy and lovely - all memorable and cherished.

9. TV Specials: The Grinch or Charlie Brown?
Another tough choice! We just watched Charlie Brown Monday evening and loved it, all over again. Gotta love those dancing kids at rehearsal. But the Grinch is a classic - I'd probably go with him.

10. Will you be staying at home for the holiday, or going visiting?
Well, considering we went to Louisiana for Thanksgiving, I think we'll just stick close to home. We always do, anyway, since both my folks and my MIL live in the same town. It makes things very simple! When I was a kid, I lived in Illinois and we travelled to my grandma's in Ohio each year for Christmas. *sigh* - I miss those times at grandma's.

PromoGuy's Monday Mission

I'm finally getting back into my blogging routine after vacation. And here is the most regular of the regular, Promoguy's Monday Mission. Hey, as I typed Promoguy, I accidently spelled it Promogoy. He's not Jewish, right? So either name would technically be considered correct, right? It's not often typos work out that well. Kinda reminds me of The Missing Consonant. ;)

1. Do you get sick very often? What illness do you find that you've had most frequently?

I am the sinusitis poster child, but other than that I get a few colds per year. I'm weathering one of those infrequent treasures right now, actually.

2. I know a man who flat out refuses to go to the Doctor's office. You'd need an ambulance to get him near a hospital. Not me, I'd rather go as soon as I feel sick so I can get better. Do you mind going to see the Doctor when you get sick? Do you know anyone who just refuses to go to a Doctor when they get ill? Any idea why they are like that?

Yes, I know several people like that. Part of it could be the fear of finding out something worse is wrong with them than they thought, I think. Some refuse to go because of costs involved. And some are just stubbornly prideful that they just don't need anyone's help (though I suspect that's rooted in fear a lot of the time).

3. How about visiting the Dentist? Do you go get a check-up every 6 months? Or do you dread going?

When we had insurance, we did. When we didn't have dental insurance, we didn't. Now that we have coverage again, we do. My toofers got a clean bill of health this last time, but Howie's gums are in poor shape. He has to go for deep cleaning/scraping appointments, and they hope his gums will heal up well following all of that. No fun!

4. I've heard about a diet pill called "Thermolift" that allegedly gives you quite an energy rush (oh boy mentioning this will surely bring us all a ton of Google hits won't it?). Although I've thought about getting some of these pill for the times I need a boost, I'm probably not going to take the plunge. Have you ever taken any diet pills, energy pills or energy drinks? How did they make you feel? Do you still take them? How come?

When I was in high school, I took Dexatrim. It gave me plenty of energy, but made me nervous as heck (not a good thing for an already angst-filled, messed up teenage girl). I've never consumed energy drinks, just SlimFast when I've wanted to jump-start a diet.

5. Have you heard about "Gastric Bypass" surgery that many celebrities are doing to loose weight? (The process reduces the size of your stomach to facilitate weight loss) What are your thoughts on this procedure? Would you ever consider it? How would you feel if a relative were to decide to undergo the procedure?

I am not one to have elective surgery, except for things which cause me great pain (i.e. hernia and a funky gallbladder). My husband and I are both very overweight and need to get back to a healthy routine. We did it once before, and lost weight, but lapsed into old habits and gained a lot of it back. I don't think such surgery would be of benefit to us -- we just need to do the right thing, and stick to it. I suppose that, in cases of extremely obese individuals, this prodedure would be helpful in weight loss. But it is so extreme!

6. What do you think the opposite sex needs to experience to fully understand what it is like to be your gender?

Every man should experience the unbridled joy of stopping to ask for directions, and being able to drive straight to his destination. Also, men need to experience a good bout of anxious, depressed PMS. It's the pits. They joke about the anger and erratic behavior, as do us women (if we didn't laugh, we'd cry...Or kill), but boy do they need to experience it!

7. And to lighten things up a bit before we go...What's the most worthless gadget, infomercial item or "looked like a bargain" item you have ever purchased or owned?

The Butter Butler. That's is the hands-down worst thing we've ever bought. In theory, it's supposed dispense a thin ribbon of butter as you turn its handle. If your butter is unrefrigerated, it might work for this, but it sure doesn't when the butter's in its next-best-thing-to-ice state. The handle is very hard to turn, and once the butter finally starts squeezing through the little slit at the end of the tube, it's hard to stop. I e-mailed the company we got it from (The Gadget Source) and they were as nice as pie about it, giving me a full refund without even asking I send it back first. I still have that stupid thing in the cabinet - all cleaned and re-packaged. How sad is that? I could re-gift it, but I wouldn't give that thing to anyone I liked.

BONUS: Why can't every day be like Christmas?
Elllllllvis!! Whatta guy.

Today's Comment Question: I have a new, faster computer and I am ready run some new programs and have fun. What do you like to do (games, programs, etc.) on your computer for entertainment?
I'm a photogeek. I love editing digital pictures and doing creative stuff with them. You'd never know it from my website, though, because I procrastinate and never quite get my online gallery ready and uploaded. Next to that, I love watching movie trailers and short films online -- I sure missed this broadband while we were on vacation!

Sushi Cues

If you're trying to find just the right gift for your favorite sushi lover, look no further. Where else can you get a sushi clock, sushi candy, and a host of other (more normal) Japanese stuff?

He Got His TV, I Got Mine

My Christmas present is right in front of me as I type. Howie got me a new monitor for the desktop today, my early Christmas gift. My old 17" Sony Multiscan 200sx has been a real workhorse since we got it in 1996, but it's days are numbered. The display is so dim and flickering, I could no longer edit photos and know they were true-to-color. I'd bring up my photos on other peoples' computers and think, woah - who took this??.

HH Gregg has a sale on Envison 19" monitors this week, $199 with a $50 mail-in rebate, so we picked up the Envision EN-910e. One selling point, other than the price, was the product's warranty. It's 3 year parts and labor. The salesguy at the store didn't even try to change my mind when I said right off that we didn't want to buy the store's extended warranty. It's like he said, for something only costing $150 to begin with, with that long of a full warranty, it would be crazy to purchase something extra. By the time three years is up, 19" CRT monitors will probably sell for $50 brand new, you know? Food for thought.

My initial reaction to this monitor is very positive. The text is crisp and the colors bright. And it's huge. Huuuuuge. It's quite a jump going from the 15.9" viewable on the old one to the 18" viewable on this. I still have the new one set at 1024x768, but it can go as far up as 1600x1200 with a 75mHz refresh rate.

Well, I won't bore you with the specs; go to Envision's site to read them if you are interested. I'm happy. :)

Everyone's a PUNdit

"I think that over the years my puns about eyes have got cornea and cornea." -- Graham Rawle

Profundity of a Five-Year-Old

What is it about kids? They can just be rambling, chattering about all sorts of trivial stuff (trivial to most adults, anyway), when suddenly some pearl of wisdom just pops right out. A friend's daughter and I were talking about assorted things last Friday when she piped up and said, very solemnly,

"I remember my dreams, my feelings, and my friends."

Woah. The deeper meanings of that simple sentence washed over me and I rushed to type her words into a document so I would not forget them! Do I remember my dreams? Not just the ones I had last night, but the dreams I had as a child? Do I still have aspirations? Do I remember my feelings? Not just the hurt ones, but the marvelous ones which came as surprises along the way? Do I remember others' feelings to the exclusion of my own sometimes? Do I listen to my gut feelings, those God-given ones that tug us in the right direction? And do I remember my friends, both near and far away? What do I do about it when I do remember them, when they stick in my mind?

No wonder Jesus said we are to come to God as little children.

Back in my cockpit

This entry is bound to be long, so sit back and get comfortable or bookmark it so you can finish it later. ;) Finally, after a nearly 24-hour odyssey, I am back blogging in my cockpit (aka my desk). The desk and office are clean, thanks to my last-minute cleaning frenzy before vacation. Aaaaah. It is SO good to be home.

Lisa and family dropped us off at the airport around 6:30pm Monday, right on time for early arrival. Howie and I had our pre-printed boarding passes all ready and headed for the curbside check-in when we saw how long the Northwest Airlines line was inside. The guy there tried to access our information on the computer, but couldn't get it to come up right for him. He had us follow him inside to the regular check-in and instructed us to wait at the side while he had someone there print our luggage tags. It was not to be...Our 7:00pm flight out to Memphis was delayed, so our boarding passes were useless and we had to wait in line. It was a long line. Howie sat things out on the sidelines, guarding our carry-on luggage, and I pulled the two large, wheeled suitcases behind me, two great teal canvas dogs on short leashes.

Flash forward about 20 minutes and several chapters of my Dean Koontz novel. The NWA clerk, Paul, tells us the chances of our catching our connecting flight in Memphis are slim to none, that we can either spend the night here in New Orleans, or spend it there in Memphis. I asked if the airline would provide lodging, and Paul told us they would not - it was weather-related and not mechanical. We would get distressed traveler's rates, however. Not cool, but it could be worse, we thought. We were trying very hard to make lemonade with the lemons, you know?

Waiting for the plane, we spoke with a few other passengers and actually had an enjoyable time. One couple, Jody and Emily, is expecting a baby in March AND getting ready to move to Africa next summer; Jody is in seminary, and they are going to be missionaries there. We traded e-mail addresses and look forward to hearing how they do.

Our flight finally taxied out the runway and into the air about 8:15pm. By the time we got to Memphis, our connecting flight to Columbus had left. Making our way up to the ticket counters at Memphis, we waited in line to make arrangements for our overnight stay and flight home Tuesday. The lady in front of me had many, many piercings and a really interesting hair-do with little braids scattered around her head. She was in bohemian sort of clothes and had funky glasses. When she learned I was from Ohio, she told me she'd just bought a car from someone on eBay, and had flown to Dayton to pick it up. She was on her way to Amsterdam this night, but like us, had missed her connecting plane due to the delay.

She said she'd been told the airline would not cover the rooms, too, but she said some people were told they would. So, armed with that information, I walked up to the next available clerk, smiled, and said "some of us were told in New Orleans that Northwest would pay for our hotel room here." The little clerk, Norma, couldn't have been more helpful and friendly. She arranged for us to stay for free at the Marriott, and gave us $26 in dinner vouchers and $10 in breakfast vouchers. When she saw the 8:20am flight only had one seat avaialble, and that the next available flight wasn't until 9:20pm, she scurried off to her supervisor and got permission to book us on the two emergency row seats (normally not assigned until just before the flight) so we would definitely have seats in the morning.

Within a half hour we were on our way to the Marriott in their shuttle van, with Clarence at the helm. He was really outgoing and friendly with everyone, a great ambassador for his employer. When we got to to the hotel, it was nearly 11pm and the restaurant was closed. We'd not eaten since about 2:00pm, and we were hungry! Knowing we had meal vouchers, Clarence took it upon himself to call a restaurant within walking distance and ask if they accepted the airline vouchers. When he learned they didn't, he went up to the hotel's bartender and found out we could still order dinner from the bar for another five minutes.

When you are hungry and tired, nothing tastes quite as good as meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes, and steamed veggies at 11:15pm. Especially when it's free. We ordered a couple of draft beers, thinking they'd be maybe $3 or $4 each, and were flabbergasted when we saw they were $7.50 each. We could almost get our two complete dinners for that much in Ohio! But they went down sweet and helped us untangle the knotted muscles in our shoulders and backs. The room was beautiful, complete with an attractive wooden TV armoir/dresser combo, desk, reading chair with ottoman, and desk with an executive chair. The hotel definitely caters to business travelers, and it was nicely appointed for them. When we'd checked in, the clerk asked if we wanted phone service, and we declined, thinking it meant voicemail and all of that. Turns out you have to pay a $30 ammenity fee to even be able to dial toll-free numbers from the rooms, and there is a per-call charge on local calls and a $1.00 per-call charge on modem calls. I can't imagine what the average room tab ends up being there!

We stretched out to sleep around midnight, each of us sprawled in a full-size bed and more comfortable than a human being has a right to be. Howie slept well, but I was coughing all night and five o'clock came around far too soon. This was supposed to be the morning we slept in late, dogless, in our own bed at home, remember? That's what ran through my mind when the phone rang for our wake-up call.

We made coffee in the little complimentary coffee pot and watched some local news, showered and dressed in the previous days' clothes again (yuck!), then headed downstairs for the 6:30am shuttle back to the airport. Another friendly shuttle driver loaded up our little band of displaced passengers and drove us through the beautiful sunrise to the awaiting planes.

We made our way back to the gate and waited for our 8:20am flight to begin boarding. Then came the announcement that the flight had been oversold. Considering us displaced folks who missed our flight last night, this didn't come as a big surprise, I guess. We were bumped from the flight, but it wasn't such a terrible thing...They gave us each a voucher good for free round-trip airfare anywhere in the continental US! We also received $20 in meal vouchers since we'd be at airports all day.

They were able to book us on an 11:50am flight to Cleveland with a 5:05pm connecting flight to Columbus. It was a pretty round-about way to get home, but considering we'd still be home by 6pm and now held vouchers for travel anywhere we want, we dealt with it. We caught our last two planes, on time, and with no problems. When we got to Columbus, our suitcases were waiting for us by the baggage claim office (remember, the suitcases went to Columbus back at 8:20am!).

Mom and dad took us to Pizza Hut for dinner, and we brought the dogs home from my BIL's house an hour or so after we got back in town. Dogs and bedding bathed, new TV in its cabinet, Howie headed to bed about 2:30am. I'd been snoozing since midnight, too zonked to stay up with him, especially once I took some NiQuil.

So, that's the saga...24 hours in airports and two round-trip tickets ahead of the game, we're home and happy!

Dream Byte

By the way...I dreamed last night that I was getting pummeled by potatoes; someone was throwing them at me (probably Lisa). I could feel these things hitting my chest, really hitting hard! I woke up pretty quickly, let me tell you. It was just Stinky Leroy, one of Lisa's cats. I'd rolled over on my back in my sleep, and the dear kitty had walked up on my chest. His icepick-pointy feet made their way into my dream. When the mental fog cleared and I saw it was him, I broke out giggling and Howie about it (sorry if I woke you, hon). Sometimes the reality is funnier than the dream itself.

Homeward Bound

We went out in the bayou and to a lake with Jesse in the boat today, then we enjoyed some great live Cajun music at a local place. What a way to end things! Yep, our southern getaway has reached its end, and we fly back to Ohio tonight at 7pm. We're going to miss these folks so much! But we have a standing invitation to come back, so the parting is a sweet one. :) I don't even know where to begin when it comes to encapsulating a ten-day respite into a blog entry or two. I sure am not going to tackle that until we're back in Ohio and I've slept a good eight or ten hours. These are just some random thoughts before I crash for the night.

Howie's a good doggie daddy; three new Hartz chewy bones are going in the suitecase so our pups have goodies when we bring them back home Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday morning we will happily sleep late while the dogs are walked at my BIL's home. Hey, our flight doesn't get into Columbus until just before midnight Monday night...We're sure not showing up to get the dogs at 2am, ya know?

Lisa's packed us a bit of turducken and we bought some andouille sausage to bring home; both are frozen and ready to pop in the suitcase at the last moment before we leave. Oh, we're leaving....waaaaaah! :(

Still, it will be good to get home and unpack, unfurl, and stretch out in our own bed. It has nice clean sheets on it and we can sleep until we just wake up rested. Aaaaaah. As great as vacations are, it's always nice to be home. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz has it right.

We have a goodie to come home to: A whoppin' big 27" TV. This makes The H-Man verrrry happy. OSU beat Michigan, so he's very psyched about watching the big January 3rd Ohio State game on a big ol' screen. Argh-argh-argh. So, thanks to a great Day-After-Thanksgiving sale at Wal-Mart and a way-cool dad who braved Wal-Mart at 5:30am, this is reality.

Hey, get this: He even struck up a conversation with someone in line ("how long have you been in line?"), then just waltzed right on in the store with this stranger when the door opened. No, as my mother said, it was certainly unBOBlike! We didn't have anything to do with the line-jumping strategy, though we roared when we heard his methodology and appreciate his getting there to get us the goods in our absence.

Aiyeeee, I'd better go hit the pillows myself; it's late and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. He bought some of that Breathe Right snore spray at Wally World tonight, so in a few moments I will see if it's working. He's been in bed a while now, and has had a chance to work up to his full schronking, roaring glory. And he had the nerve to say I need to spray some in my throat, too. The nerve! ;)

Testing

I can't get my webpage to come up. If you can read this, will you take a moment and e-mail me with the link at left? Aaaaaargh!

Crab Bawlin'

We had our first boiled crab Sunday night, and it was pretty good! A bag of seasoning, including whole allspice, is put in a kettle of boiling water along with corn, onion, peppers, potatoes, and spices. Then the crabs are dropped in and boiled for abour 20 minutes. They then sit in the hot water for a bit and are then put in an insulated container to keep warm. The potatoes and corn come out quite spicy, but the crab doesn't pick up much of that flavor. It was just sweet and good. It sure is a lot of work for a little bit of meat, though; it's good the meat is very tasty! We also had speckled trout, fresh oysters, shrimp and soft-shelled crab, all deep fried in various breadings. Those were wonderful! I knew Lisa could cook great, but she also makes it look so easy. We kidded her, saying they're just fattening us up to feed to the gators.

Ironically, we've not seen one gator since we got here. We've seen anoles, egrets and one lone pelican, but no gators. Friday or Saturday, we're going out on the bayou with our friends in their boat, so maybe THEN we'll see them. Lisa says it's cool here, and the gators are sluggish. To us, these temps in the upper 60's to lower 70's are lovely and spring-like, but to folks (and reptiles) used to weather up over 100 degrees, I guess it is chilly. It's snowing in Ohio, though. Hee hee hee.

We've already picked up the turducken (complete with seafood stuffing), and that will be baked Thanksgiving day; we're also deep-frying a turkey. I am so on food sensory overload. I can't believe how good it is here. Even the buffets are good here. At home they taste drab and homogenized, just assembly-line food. But here, there are spices in the food. Amazing. And have I mentioned Lisa can really cook?

Not only that, but their house just feels loving and welcoming; it's been the nicest vacation ever, just spending time with friends. The surroundings and history, the wildlife...it's all interesting, all beautiful...But feeling so at home is the best thing of all. And to think our paths probably would never have crossed were it not for Dave's Garden. It's just mind-boggling, this whole Internet thing. Almost as mind-boggling to me as the sightings here of plastic snowmen and Santa Clauses standing next to planted banana trees and tropicals in folks' front yards down here. But in a good way. ;)

The Mile High Club (Blogger Style)

Well, we're heeeeere! We've been hanging out and relaxing with Lisa's family, so I just haven't gotten online much. Like smarty-pants says, "Kimberley's got a life!", LOL. But I was thinking about my blog on the first flight, and I typed this on the laptop while heading to Memphis, Tennessee.

We’re cruising at xx feet, on our way to Memphis, and I’m so excited! The airport experience was great. I printed boarding passes right from Northwest Airlines’ site yesterday, and we just cruised right on through.

As we took off, I couldn’t hide my excitement. Yes, I know I look like a tourist, folks. Gee, maybe that’s because I’ve only flown four times or so in my life and I LOVE it. Going from cold, rainy dismal Columbus to a place high above the clouds is incredible. I had my face pressed to the window for a long time, just looking at the clouds below us. They look like snow, so beautiful. And it’s sunny up here. Aaaaaaah.

Really, our flights could not have gone more smoothly. I had our receipts and boarding passes printed and ready, so when my folks dropped us off at their airport, we just checked our bags at curbside, and proceeded unobstructed from there. We are fortunate we didn't fly out just before Thanksgiving - I can't imagine what a crazy place it will be then; we don't fly home until Monday, December 2, so that should be slower, too.

The first plane was a fairly small one, and our view from the window was predominantly of a big engine. The row of windows were beneath the wings. But that didn't dampen my enthusiasm, for I really love flying. I love the sensation of acceleration and lift-off, the sensation and sight of the earth slipping away behind us. There's nothing like it! And it's so neat to go from a cloudy, cold day and suddenly break through the clouds to unubstructed sunlight.

The connecting flight from Memphis was on a slightly larger plane. And, thanks to a rather odd man, that flight was quite memorable. Across the aisle from us was a pretty strange guy. I could tell he was really nervous about flying, for he kept putting his face in his hands while the plane taxied down the runway. When the flight was underway, he counted -- and recounted -- a wad of cash. Not the brightest bulb in the lamp, I'd say. It was more than showing off, though; he seemed more obsessive compulsive, complete with repeated hand movements.

A little later, he reached down and grabbed a large plastic bag, the type you'd get at a gift store. He opened it and peered inside.I was afraid he was going to throw up.

But he didn't hurl his lunch, thank goodness. He did, however, floss his teeth with the edge of the bag. Ugh. It was quite a production, too. He got both his upper and lower front teeth with the edge of that plastic bag. I had a hard time not staring at him. After a while, he took a piece of paper and rolled it into a little tube. This tube was perfect for a number of things, but what he chose to do with it was pick at his ears. I don't know how his seatmate could stand it. She had her eyes closed a lot of the time, probably feigning sleep and wishing to God the flight would be over soon.

Refreshments were served, wee packages of salted pretzels and our choice of beverages. Mr. Strange bought a wee bottle of something with a percentage on the label. By the time we landed, he was loosened up (probably relieved he survived the flight, too) and very talkative. By then, his seatmate got to be regaled with his stories and expansive hand gestures. Oh, my.

Really Crunch Time

I am taking a breather here. With the exception of stuff that's out because it belongs in other rooms of the house, the office is really clean. O Heaven! O sweet rapture! The vacuum is defnitely on its last life, though. O phoey! There was a loud buzzing noise coming from the rotary brush, and I noticed there were pretty normal-size pieces of cat fuzz still on the carpet after I'd made several passes. Closer inspection showed me that (1) the plastic housing of the vacuum is very loose and (2) there was a stray bracket banging around above the brush, and this loose bracket was keeping the brush from spinning. Presumably, this bracket normally sits above the brush and guides it...But no more. It's sitting on the footstool now, and the vacuum seems to be running okay without it. At least for now. ::sigh:: I hate unexpected expenses.

One the other hand, I love getting a new gadget, even if it is a vacuum cleaner. Maybe I'll be more motivated to clean, right, Naomi? ;) I am going to get a bagless one, maybe the new Eureka they advertise with the little dust wand that has its own nifty de-dusting tube on the vacuum. I'll have to scout around Epinions and see which vacuums have the best ratings. By the way, I saw on Eureka's site that they have a new Pet Stain and Odor Remover...It says it's non-enzyme based, so I wonder just how effective it could be on odors, really.

Well, break's up. I'm sure this is thrilling reading for you all. I just didn't want to start surfing the forums at Dave's Garden or checking my e-mail or I'd never get back to work!

Crunch Time

We leave for Louisiana in less than two days. Man, oh, man...I've been cleaning, finally. Even with our departure looming, it's been so hard to get motivated to clean and get ready. I hate cleaning, anyway (at least until I get started, then it's okay), but this has been bad. Some of this has to do with sinus headaches verging on migraines early this week, some has to do with the shorter days having me a little blue, and some is just plain old procrastination.

Tonight I tackled the worst of the cleaning first, knowing the rest would be easy once this was done. The bathroom? No. The kitchen? No. The office. I started with the ceiling fan, using that wonder of wonders, the ceiling fan blade attachment for the ShopVac. I was set. I doubt if Angie or any of our friends know the Lucite wasn't supposed to look frosted. Boy, are they in for a surprise next time they visit:

Next to be conquered was my desk. Once I recovered from the initial shock of seeing the surface again, I was motivated. I've been working my way around the office's perimeter, alternating between the ShopVac's handy attachements and a nifty dust-clinging dust rag. I'm maybe half way done, and I have the rest of the house to go tomorrow. At least I have the laundry done so packing won't be a crazy-making thing. But the last-minute cleaning and details...Aaaaaaaargh!

But at least the fan looks pretty! I'm tired, though, so the rest is waiting until tomorrow. I have 12 hours to kick some house cleaning butt! If I'm smart, I will power down the PC as soon as I post this tidbit, and I won't reboot until I'm done with what I need to do!