Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt

Red ,
White,
& Blue


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Well, I just happened to notice that my brand new niece's (see previous post) hospital blanket was red white & blue...

















As is her big brother's soccer uniform...















And, just to round things out, their daddy, my big brother, almost 30 years ago, wearing a sailor's uniform, just like our daddy.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

And remember the fallen in your own way.

Baby Girl is Finally HERE!!!

Well, Youngest Nephew is finally a big brother - his sister was born Sunday, the 21st, at 7:03 p.m. She is healthy, and was 7lbs 15 oz, 20 inches long when she was born. And her parents did (eventually) come up with a very beautiful & sweet name for her ...

Unfortunately, I'm still not as comfortable as most of the blogosphere seems to be with posting real names & pictures. I'm getting there, as it does seem kind of silly to be using "code names" for my family, but I guess I'm a little bit too paranoid still.

But (even if I'm not yet willing to post her name), I can't deprive you of ANY baby pictures...













and LOOK at these little piggies....

A Flowery Sort of Post

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Today's theme is flowers. If we had any flowers around here, they have all drowned, because it has been raining for over a week. (The sun did make an appearance today, but mud is definitely the reigining theme outside).

So instead of real life flowers, I must again resort to searching through the pictures I've been scanning to see what I can come up with.

Be afraid.

Why afraid, you ask?

Behold:




What could that hideous pattern be? A couch perhaps? Wallpaper?

No. If only we could be that lucky.





It's a dress - a fancy one apparently, as my grandmother wore it to her daughter's wedding. I'll grant you that the wedding did take place in 1976, but could this ever have been fashionable?

Which is not to say that my grandmother didn't have excellent taste in wallpaper and couches. No, that doesn't prove that at all....

These do:

That's right folks... flowers and pigeons ...quail...pheasants, maybe? Some sort of bird, at any rate.

And, while she may have bought this couch in 1976, it's now 2006 and the couch is still in her living room.


Even better is that they inhabited the same room as
these curtains.















This picture ---that makes us all grateful that there wasn't color film in this camera (circa 1949)--- proves that bad taste was not limited to my gene pool (they're from my stepdad's parents).



There seems to be some sort of jungle flower wallpaper, and yet... the couch? It seems to be a completely unrelated, and yet flowery, pattern. I can only guess at what sort of color scheme this might work in.







And one last picture, which would probably have been better off in black and white, shows that perhaps, it might be best NOT to buy furniture that people will clash with no matter what they are wearing. These two flower patterns? We're obviously doubly blessed.


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So there's my bouquet for you today... I'm looking forward to seeing all your entries.

And a big thanks for all of your support last week. It really means a lot!

Not too much to report

I think I'm a bit behind here, but I have very little to talk about right now, and wonder at the idea of posting just for the sake of posting.

So instead, a quick round up of what I know (that you may or may not):

If you live in another part of the world/country, you may not know it, but Massachusetts and the surrounding areas? Are kind of drowning. Although I consider the sun to be an enemy of sorts (with my FM, comes sun sensitivity), it is awfully strange not to have seen any sign of it for more than a week. And the sound of rain on the windows, which usually is comforting, has moved past annoying. And schools have been closed on account of the rain. My grandmother, who's worked in the public schools here for more than 60 years, doesn't ever remember that happening before. Ever.


Thankfully, my family lives in areas where they've been mostly unaffected by the flooding (the hills of our city have to come in handy sometime), but I've missed a doctor's appointment already b/c there was just no way to get there.

Which adds a little bit of extra worry to my next tidbit - the fact that we are still waiting for my first niece to be born.

Most of the bets in the baby pool have already passed, and yet, no sign of baby. At yesterday's checkup, Mum & babe were both doing fine, and "can go at any time." The actual due date has been moved around so much, that no one's really sure if baby girl is late or just taking her time. I wouldn't mind so much if my SIL didn't seem so uncomfortable.

Here's a belly picture from two weeks ago....

Trust me when I say that it is much bigger now. And, while she looks incredibly cute pregnant, you can see how uncomfortable my poor SIL is.

But babykins is determined to take her time, and we're all just going to have to deal with that.

Having the hardest time dealing with that, is her older brother. Age 6, and previous only child. The bigger Mum's belly gets, the more frantic and agressive my nephew becomes. His buzzing is driving a lot of us very crazy, and even my fabled patience is starting to wear a bit thin.

And I have all the child development knowledge and experience that his father doesn't.
I know how hard a transition this is going to be for him, and have made some changes in my interactions with him(& suggestions for changes to others), but still.

Last week, he told us that we were "old & boring & mean" and he wasn't coming back the next day (we watch him afterschool).

I was "unfair" for making him eat his dinner & refusing to allow him to have dessert when he still chose not to do so.
My sister was "horrible mean" because she tried to talk to me about something that didn't include him.

I tried so hard to stay calm, but wound up telling him that, since he couldn't say anything nice to any of us, he should not say anything at all.

It was going home time, and I told him to get his shoes and coat. Of course, there was another round of how mean we all were. My mom said I practically shoved them both out the door, saying I hoped he'd bring a better attitude with him the next day.

I didn't exactly lose my temper, but I wasn't exactly keeping my cool either.

I'm trying very hard to keep in mind that this kid's entire life is changing & he doesn't know how to deal with it. We're reading lots of big brother books, and focusing on the things that will be the same & the things that will be different for him, but the waiting is grating on his nerves (more so than anyone else's - but SIL, that is) & he wants to "GET ON WITH IT ALREADY!!!"

Can't exactly blame him.

And tomorrow's his day in the baby pool, so he may just get his wish - and a couple of bucks to go with it, if he's really lucky.

Any suggestions for how to best help big brother? Most of the books talk about older siblings that are 2-4 years older than the new arrival, & 6 is a whole different place, developmentally. I'd love to hear any ideas or experiences you could share.

Keep your fingers crossed for baby girl, cuz they still don't have a name picked out, either.

Celebrating (of a sort)

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Today's topic is celebrating.

Well, I'm taking adding my own little twist here, because what I'll be celebrating this weekend is National CFIDS Awareness Day. (Technically, it was May 12th, yesterday, but today's the day I get the most traffic here, and I'd love to use it as best I can.)

CFIDS = Chronic Fatigue & Immune Dysfunction Syndrome.
People who suffer from CFIDS also have higher rates of
Fibromyalgia. Since there is a high rate of co-morbidity, May 12th (smack dab in the middle of National Arthritis Awareness Month) also happens to be Fibromyalgia Awareness Day.

Fibromyalgia & CFIDS are life altering, debilitating illnesses.
For which, there are no known causes or cures.
Treatments are varied and limited to management of disease symptoms, not the underlying issues.
Theories abound,
funding is minimal,
and the patients who suffer from these diseases are often misdiagnosed.

Public support for these illnesses - both because there is little known about them (at one time, CFIDS was dubbed "the Yuppie Flu;") and because of their belittling names (go here for a discussion on how much of a misnomer "fatigue" really is) has varied - although, as research continues to show a biological basis for the illnesses, the medical community, the media and the public seem to FINALLY be catching on to the horror of living with these diseases.

At the end of this post, I'm going to be full of link-y goodness for you to check out, so that, if you so wish, you can learn a lot more about CFIDS/ME. I hope you check some of them out.

But, since we're looking for pictures, here are some of the best CFIDS &/or FM related pictures I've found on the web:

These t-shirts are produced by various individuals and illness related groups,

& are all available for purchase from cafe press.


I hope they can give you some idea of what these diseases are like





And why it's so important



that we fund





& find



a cure

NOW.

A big thank you to all of those who've supported me during my battle with these dreadful illness: 12 years into this mess, and I wouldn't have made it a day without all of you. (Including my new blogging friends, who've been more supportive than I could've expected!)

And a special Mother's Day thanks to my mom. For more than I could ever say. (Now, if only she knew I had a blog...)
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Here's the link-y goodness I promised you:

Learning to Live With CFS: We Are Here, We Are Here! *

Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscut, discusses her initial fall into illness

Autumn, a fabulous blogger, does her usual fabulous job of connecting the dots over on perfection on a curve. How many degrees away are you?

A good a reason as any for cake, right?

Support groups I've found helpful include But You Don't
Look Sick & SleepyDust.org

For More Information Check Out:

Co-Cure

The CFIDS Association

The International CFS Association

The Fibromyalgia Network

& The National Fibromyalgia Association.

Things I am not

1) Secretary = WHY am I the only one who can answer the phone here? Why is it that people can't tell their boyfriends that they aren't going to be home so that they don't call and ask me "Is J there?" or "Do you know what time M will be home?" No; No, I don't know. And what's more? I don't really care either. I am not in charge of their social calendars, nor do I want to be.

2) Walking dictionary = There are such things as dictionaries: They are books in which you can find the spellings and meanings of various words. Here is how you can tell the difference between me and them - I am not a book. And I will spit at you if you ask me how to spell something else today (unless you are 6: if you are six, I will respond kindly and help you complete your birthday thank you notes - but you must be 6).

3) House IT = Listen, I'll admit that I am semi-computer literate. But I don't know how to fix your 7 year old computer when it goes blue screen; we've already talked about this. And no, I don't really know how much memory you need to illegally copy DVD's - and no, you can't try it on my laptop. And, yes, I do know how to search the internet. No, I won't search it for you. No, I won't book your trip to some fabulous place that I can't go.

4) Thin = I tried on clothes today. It was horrible - I seriously considered trying on maternity clothes, as they were much cuter than the fat people clothes. Why are fat people clothes ugly? Old Navy has cute (ish) & comfy bigger outfits. But they are not dressy enough for a wedding. Which I have to go to TOMORROW!!! I will be wearing, who knows what. Parts of other people's old outfits, it looks like.

5) Happy = I am very conflicted about going to this wedding - on the one hand, I will see PEOPLE! Friend-type people! That I haven't seen in a while! On the other, there will be smells, and pain (during and post), and exhaustion, and meds to take that will screw me up even more, and just too many things to have to think about.

I can not simply GO to a wedding.

I have to think about all these stupid things that I don't want to think about.

I have to think about whether or not I will be able to breathe in a church full of flowers and people who forgot that perfume is not for bathing.
I have to think about how sore I will get sitting in my stupid wheelchair for more than five minutes, and how I will need to take meds before that will make me feel loopy.
I need to think about how much pain I will be in afterwards, how I won't be able to make it even to the bathroom for a few days, and whether or not it is worth all that effort just to see some friends.
I have to think about how depressed I will be if I talk myself out of going because some bad things might (ok, will) happen.
I have to think about What if the baby is born on Sunday or Monday or Tuesday and I am too tired to get out of bed? And I will miss my first niece's first day on the planet.
I have to think about why I am being so bitchy to people who haven't done anything except try to help me figure all this shit out.


6)Giving Up I know that this is just for today. This is just right now. I do not always feel this way. But tonight, it sucks.

BADD (part 1)

BADD = Blogging Against Disablism Day (which I missed, so this is my round up of everybody's FABULOUS posts!) Disablism, in case you don't know is discrimination based on illness/disabilites.


"What I wish folks would understand is that all human institutions and structures were built with a nondisabled population in mind. When people with disabilities ask for accommodations, they're just asking you to think about them, too." A more lawyerly perspective over at diability law.

Among the strengths of this text, the publisher touts, "a balanced perspective that reveals the diversity of American women." Or maybe this example of a "balanced perspective" reveals something else. More things I never really thought of regarding history & disability.

Angel Moon Art had some wit & wisdom I appreciated:Seems the hardest thing for any disabled person to gain access to, is not the library/cinema/shop etc.... but a little common decency and respect.
Anyone got a ramp for that????

Under the "why didn't I write something like this?" catagory -
But the interesting thing about prejudice to this group (of which I'm one) is that oftentimes disablism is mistaken for kindness

A theme that popped up quite a few times was that of daycare for disabled children.
Dream Mom had a particularly moving post on the topic


And I'm absolutely in love with a chronic illness bill of rights over at billiesdiary.

Ok, I'm really only about halfway through the alphabet here people, and I'm outta energy. I'll try to post some more tomorrow, but, if you get the chance, check out the whole list here.

Today's Topic = Old

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I figured I'd start with the oldest paper I've found (so far) in my job as family archivist. It's the original mortage for the house my great-grandparents bought - and my grandmother, my family & I still live in. In a little over a month, this piece of paper will be 100 years old:
.



Among the many papers I've been searching through(believe me when I say I come by the whole packrat thing naturally), there've been random mass cards. The only time I see mass cards nowadays is at funerals, but, apparently, there wasn't an occasion that didn't warrant one. I like this one because of the words in it:

Seriously, when was the last time you heard "propitous" or "unction"?








I mentioned, a while back, how much I loved the older wedding announcements, particularly for their detail. Here's another one, this time, my maternal great-grandparents:

When they were married on September 12, 1921, "flowered georgettes," "pin roses," & "bronze picture hats" were apparently in fashion. I had to look up what most of those things (a picture hat is one of those wide brimmed hats, btw.), but I think it's so interesting!

And because I need some people in this post, here's one of my maternal grandfather's mother & father (my great-grandmother & great-great grandfather) circa 1920

Thanks for visiting (especially since Blogger's been misbehaving all day)... I'm going on my rounds right now: looking forward to see what you guys have done!

Where to find random 80's actors

In case you were wondering, it's House.


A few weeks ago, it was Lance Guest. Star of fabulously cheezy 80's movieThe Last Starfighter. Perhaps, if you did not have a 9-yr-old, older brother in 1985, this was not a movie you saw 65 times in a row. Consider yourself lucky.

After that, Facts-of-Life youngster (child of Patty Duke & John Astin, brother of Sean Astin) Mackenzie Astin played a sick kid's father.

This week? None other than the Greatest American Hero - Willaim Katt.

And this, of course, doesn't take into account the fabulous return of Robert Sean Leonard

I can't wait to see who'll be on next week!

Today's Theme = Silly

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Here's what I got for you

My first foray into balloon animal making, courtesy of the Easter Bunny (and some really twisted instruction sheets) --->



The other pictures (of Youngest Nephew's first attempt at balloon animals - picture an octopus... with 3 legs) did not come out as planned. Since I don't have my brother's permission to post YN's face (and am not sure I would even if I did), you're sadly just going to have to take my word for it. It rocked!

We also made a light saber - the weapon of choice for any Star Wars obsessed soon to be 6 year-old. That didn't rock. In fact, it popped. Immediately upon completion. Now picture tears - well, near tears.

BUT... the day was saved by these


fabulous cookies.

Of course, now I have no more Thin Mints.


Now picture tears again.
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Have a great week everybody!

AITOO #3

Welcome to yet another installment of "Am I The Only One?"

Today we focus on something I've been wondering for quite a while -

Am I The Only One who still writes to their congressperson?

It seems it's easier than ever these days to write to our elected officials - I know that just about every charity website I check, or every e-newsletter I receive from them, has links for contacting congress. And, if you're not one to check out charities online, you can always get the information yourself, just by entering your zip code here. In addition to the e-mail addresses for your local representation, they can also give you their snail mail addresses & phone numbers (in case you work better that way). So, it's not that difficult to get in touch with them. But I wonder just how many people actually do.

I don't want this to turn into some right-wing/left-wing rant, but I do want to say that it seems to me that only certain people are taking the time to tell their officials what they want them to do. And that the vast majority of "average" Americans (You know, the ones the polls say want something
different the next time around, or that some of our current leaders are WAY off base in their current policies?) just aren't saying much of anything.

Oh, they're complaining to their families, or their friends, or their blogs. But are they telling the people who really need to hear it?

I just don't know.

I live in Massachusetts. It's considered, I think, (by the way I've heard people talk about us on TV and from what I've read about us from outsiders)to be quite liberal. And it mostly is: overall. There are probably more than the average number of liberal minded communities, policies ( Gay marriage anyone?), and politicians (see Frank, Barney or Kennedy, Edward). I went to a liberal college (Ok - liberal may even be understating it a bit), and was both witness & participant to lots of activism on campus.

And now, given my health situation, I don't get out all that much (ok... ever-ish, but still), so I'm sure that things are happening that I'm just not seeing or hearing about, but I still feel there's an overwhelming gap between the changes people want to be made and the effort their willing to make to see that change come about.

One of the issues here is that "average" people - everyday people - have everyday lives. And they spend the majority of their time living them - going to work, feeding their kids, taking out the trash, etc. But, while this argument has some merit, I wonder if it actually holds up against scrutiny. Don't "average" people also spend some of their time watching Friends reruns on TBS? Or playing Grand Theft Auto 3 or Halo on their PSPs? Or downloading another 500 songs onto their IPODs?

(Just a side note here - I had NO idea what the hot computer game is right now. I had to look it up. Seriously. The thing that popped into my head as I was first writing the sentence? Mortal Kombat. Which I never played, but somehow knew it was big. Still - isn't that like 15 years ago now? Sad. )

So, yes, I think, perhaps, they might be able to find a moment or two to write to the people who are in charge of our country, let them know where their going wrong, what they're doing right & what needs to come next. (For example, I am currently downloading music and urging you all to contact your representatives - multitasking rules!)

Another issue is that a lot of people, myself included, sometimes feel that it doesn't matter what they say or who they say it to - things are how they are, and one person's voice isn't really going to count too much. I'll spare you all the "one person, one vote, makes a difference" speech, (even though I mostly try to believe it) since I doubt you've never heard it before. Instead, all I can say is that if it doesn't matter, even if it does turn out to be a huge waste of your time, how are you going to know? It isn't like your congressman is going to write you back and say "Listen: your letter? Yeah, we threw that right in the trash."

And isn't there just enough of a chance that since what you're saying matters to you, and therefore might matter to other people (who also might write in), that it may just have an impact on what happens in our country that you'd be willing to waste the 10 minutes it would take you to point and click your way through an e-mail, or the little bit longer (only one Everybody Loves Raymond episode you've already seen 6 times) it might take you to actually write a letter yourself?

I hope so, b/c it sometimes really does feel like I'm The Only One.

Must go shopping

Internet people... I have a wedding to go to in less than three weeks. I have no clothes.


Not literally - I am not running around half naked all the time.

But mostly? The clothes I own? Are pajamas.

I spent most of my time in bed (ugh) & hardly ever leave the house. And dressing up? Well, if my doctor saw me in something other than my comfy Old Navy clothes, he might pass out.

The last time I wore a dress was almost 2 years ago for a cousin's wedding. I wore a dress that I didn't like then, but ran out of time to look for something better.

I am not skinny. Dress shopping is therefore, very little fun.

Also, my clothes have to be pretty particular: Something that I can wear my thick strapped bra with. Something that has little weight, because, sometimes, just the weight of clothes on my body is painful. Something that hides the numerous heating & Fentanyl patches I have to wear if I am leaving the house.

And, preferably, something that doesn't make me look like a big fat cow.

I have been browsing on-line, and found a few things. But I am leery of buying clothes online - the whole "I didn't try it on" thing. I know you can send it back, but still...

So, I think an actual trip to an actual store is in order here. This, of course, requires conservation of energy & exquisite timing (a 2 hour outing = at least 2 days recuperation). I think today is probably my best shot.

Cross your fingers for me, and if you have any suggestions about dresses or websites to look at, I'd love to hear from you. Cuz, even if I only get to be there for a half an hour, I'd like to look like a live person, rather than the scrub I feel like.

Thanks! Enjoy your Wednesday!

The Easter Massacre

It was hideous.

Bunnies lay everywhere, unmoving:

Weapons were employed:



Reinforcements were brought in:



And in the end, there was one, lone survivor:




Ok, this turns out not to be true, b/c the things have been sticking to the bottom of people's feet ever since, and now can be found in any room of the house.

They are an unconquerable enemy.

Happy Easter Everybody!

Recommended (& probably not that new)

But new to me:

On Amazon recently, I was flipping through the "So You'd Like to..."s, the ones prepared by artists, with their reccomendations for other artists. It was there I found Stacey Kent. I think if you've hung out here for any length of time, you know that I'm a big fan of standards: Frankie et al are just my cup of tea. My obsession with the beautiful and very talentedMichael Buble knows no end. This is why Stacey Kent is a new & exciting addition to my Media Player Shuffle. Her voice is smooth, jazzy, old-fashioned (which, for me, is a huge compliment). Check her out. She seems to be traveling the world. Maybe you're one of the lucky ones close enough to catch a concert.

During my wanderings

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I happened upon this photo scavenger hunt. The theme for this week: Round (at least I think so - I think it started on the 8th, rather than ended).

Flipping thru my pictures (what else do I do?), the roundest things - besides our heads, as we were some very round babies - are birthday cakes. Here's a couple of the best, from over the years.


Here's Only Brother's SuperFriends themed birthday party, circa 1983. Notice, also... round plates (Big shocker!); some very nice round pepper mills; wine glass & blender (the grownups at this party were obviously having a good time); and random batteries.

Next comes Not Youngest Sis' Wishniky Cake, I'm going to guess it was either 88-9. And yes, I know that some people call them Trolls, or Treasure Trolls - those people would be wrong


And last little homemade number for Next Sister's 21st Bday. Lemon Poppy seed - yum.


The challenge for this Saturday is feet - So keep your eyes peeled and join in!

Letter to Senator Joseph Biden

Senator Biden -

I watched your recent appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher, and was quite impressed. Although I am not familiar with your politics or record (ok, I basically knew your name and face - that's about it), I will certainly be looking into them now. Not only were you knowledgable, and pretty funny, but you managed to explain complex issues in fairly simple ways (without making it feel like you were lecturing a particularly slow learner).

Most impressive, to me, was the fact that you understood what so many other politicians seem completely unaware of: People want to help; they're just waiting for someone to tell them HOW.

There are a million ways to contribute to society; a million different causes and campaigns where people can (& should) be volunteering their time, skills, &/or money. And that's part of the problem - There are so many things that need to be fixed, it's hard to figure out where to start.

But if our leaders were saying "Listen, we're at war. It may not be a war we wanted, or a war that we all agree with, but we're there. HERE's what we should be doing to support our soldiers." or "The environment is in big trouble here, people. I don't think you realize that there is so much more YOU as an individual can be doing to help solve the problem. We need your help: do XYZ, and we'll start turning this thing around - for all of us."

A lack of trust in our current leaders is also a major issue, because Bush could ask for the cooperation of our nation, but I'm not sure that we'd all follow him. We need leaders who are strong, trustworthy, intelligent and willing to both listen to & lead the people of our country.

I hope that you are just this kind of a leader, and look forward to learning more about you and your stand on issues that are vital to our country and our world.

As official family... archivist, I guess...

I've been going through some of my grandmother's papers. These are just a few of the things I've learned today:
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1) Wedding Announcements were much more interesting around the turn of the century. Evidence:


"With pleasing grace?" How cool is that? And also... What the heck is a coronet of orange blossoms? (ETA: Oh, look. If you use the dictionary, you don't have to be stupid! A coronet turns out to be a tiara. Even better.)

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2) My great-grandfather (my grandmother's father) served in the Navy during World War I. Which I semi-knew. What I didn't know?

He served on this ship. That's the USS Mt. Vernon. He was on it, traveling to Europe, when this great big hole got put in it. He was uninjured, thankfully, and was honorably discharged in August of 1919.


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3) In honor of my grandmother, who will be 83 next week, here's one of the stories the Boston Daily Globe thought was important enough to put on their front page the day she was born:

It's the Maury Show, circa 1923. "He claims he is not the father.

The daily paper cost 2 cents back then. Other interesting stories that (because I am crazy) I would have liked to read more about included:


First off, where do you find deserted monkeys?

And secondly... What's up with the secret weddings? Seriously, the paper was a bit more tabloid-ish than I expected.

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That's a round-up of today's lessons. I take an insane pleasure in this sort of thing - digging through papers and pictures, putting names to random faces, reading the lifestories of people I never knew, but am, still, somehow, connected to.

Hope you're enjoying your Fridays - the rain here is a bit gloomy, but at least it's not snow, right?

A Bunch of Randomness

Just for YOU!

In an effort to not lose the two or three people who are actually reading this blog, I have a whole bunch of random things to comment on. (Seriously, I'm so glad you've stuck around: I can't imagine it's very interesting "NTE is sick. NTE is battling back from being sicker. NTE's brain & creativity have taken a vacation without her." Big, huge thanks for sticking with me!)

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First up:

Did anybody else see the boy from The Boy Who Could Fly in an Advil commercial? I did not actually pay attention the commercial (as is my usual way of watching commercials), but the voice sort of rang a bell in my head, and I looked up at the screen, only to be amazed that The Boy Who Could Fly (actual name:Jay Underwood is sitting there on the couch. He was all grown up (well, duh), and now that I read his IMDB profile, I do remember seeing him on my West Wing DVD's. But still - it was a nice little surprise. (More that I could remember the name of that really stupid movie. Imagine my thinking process here: "Oh! He was that guy who was in that movie where the kid who could fly... Wait The Boy Who Could Fly! " Yeah, it took some mental aerobics there.)

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Next, a tiny bit of linkage.


An apt and awesomely expressed quote from


this post over at Bonanza Jellybean. While discussing the funeral of her friend Steve, Bonanza Jellybean manages to sum up how every one of us feels when dealing with difficulties:


It's not fucking fair.
And I know no one ever said life was fair.
But whoever said it was an ASSHOLE, because every once in a while, it should be.


It should be - and we all think, that maybe just this once, maybe, somehow, just for me, it'll turn out that way this time. And it almost never does.

I'm so sorry for your pain, Bonanza.

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Next up - how many people know about the Dropkick Murphys? I don't know too much. I downloaded a bunch of songs last month, during my rush to create a musical background to our St. Patrick's Day festivities that wouldn't embarrass or overwhelm everybody. (We actually wound up not listening to the CD at all, as the people were their usual loud selves and required no accompaniment.) I would recommend their "Irish Drinking Song" & "The Pub with No Beer;" the rest was a bit too punkish for my taste.


However, if you live in the Boston area, there's another song of theirs that I'm sure you've heard: Tessie (which spellcheck wants me to call "tissue" . It's one of the Red Sox's most memorable anthems (and originally from a Broadway show - who knew?) and has wound up shuffling into my Media Player 3 times today.

I like the song and all - but the repeating? Not so much.

Besides, it reminds me that baseball has started again.

You can't hear me, but I'm sighing. Loudly. Trust me.
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Ok - how's that for randomness?

I'm trying hard to get up the energy to post every day or so; this blogging thing is turning out to be more important to me than I thought it would be. So, if you're reading... just a last big THANK YOU!

Till next time...

Hell-o Every-bod-eeeeeeee!

The title for today's post comes from the always lovable, furry old Grover, who I feel is too often being overlooked for the more effervescent Elmo. Not that I have a problem with Elmo, just that I think Grover is underappreciated. His fine work in this book alone should endear him to us all. Trust me, if you've got an under 8 year-old, this is a Fabulous book.


So, I got a little linkage for you:

For you April Fools out there, here's a look at other people who looked to see if gullible was still in the dictionary.


Also of interest, if you happen to be on Weight Watchers and can only enjoy such things vicariously, check out this cupcake heaven.

Oh, by the way, Blogger. CUPCAKE IS A WORD. LEARN IT. LEARN IT NOW!!!!

(I should not be surprised: also not words? "Elmo", "Blogger", and "Every-bod-eeeeee". Ok, I'll give them that last one. )

Off the top of my head....

Twice recently, someone has asked me about car commercials. Here's the thing I've realized: even though I've seen the commercials a million times, I will never remember the names of the cars they are about. I just don't care about that sort of thing. Cars are of zero interest to me, so while I may notice the "Stupid Fairy" aspect of the commercial, the name of the car (which is supposedly the entire point of the commercial)will always escape me.

Quoteworthy Saturday

"I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later."
Mitch Hedberg, Mitch All Together
American comedian (1968 - 2005)

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Me: I need a haircut: my hair is getting so long."
Youngest Nephew(age 5("and3/4!")): Oh good, then you can cut out all those silver ones!"

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Riddle me this, Batman

Is there some sort of drawer shortage I am unaware of?

Drawers: plain old, bureau drawers.

You know, the kind you put your socks in?

Sister #2 put out a chest of drawers yesterday, as she is doing some changing around of her room. It was a perfectly nice chest of drawers - no scratches or anything: She only got rid of it for 2 reasons. First, it was from her ex-fiance's family. Second, there is zero storage space left in our basement. So she put it behind the hedges of our front yard, closer to the curb for trash night. And, perhaps, in the hopes that someone would come along and claim it before then.

That was Sunday.

Yesterday a young man came to the door and asked if it was trash. I said "sure, help yourself." He pulled out his cell phone, talked for a while, and then drove away with nothing. About 11:30 last night, I heard voices in the yard, and looked out the window to see that the young man was back with a big white van. Hooray, I thought... Now we won't have to worry about moving it out to the sidewalk & calling the city for pickup.

But when I checked this morning?

The shell of the piece was still there. All 9 drawers were missing.

Internet Peoples: What's up with that? What do you do with 9 drawers?

I couldn't really think of anything at all.

Picture pages, picture pages, come and get your picture pages....

And, I'm totally the only one who knows what the hellthat is, but big deal :O)

So, I feel like I am skimping on pictures lately, and this is odd. Odd because I have begun the monumental project of scanning EVERY FRICKIN picture in our house into the computer, and onto disks. Just in case. (In case what? I don't know. And it isn't as if I was in the middle of 64 other monumental projects either. I'm such a dope.)

N-E ways....

So, the question becomes, how to show you pictures without actually showing any pictures. Enter the Blooper Book

You know all those really bad pictures that (normal) people usually throw out? Yeah, I don't do that: I file them. I display them. I find them intriguing, and often spend time trying to decipher just what the hell is going on in them. Yes, I realize I am strange. Deal.

So... Voila! Some pictures:

Here's Youngest Sis & Youngest Nephew. I really like the silhouette, but everybody else thinks I'm crazy.

Here's a classic (circa 1960 something) from the ever popular "Finger-in-the-way" genre:



Yeah, I can't get this one to rotate onto it's side, but, this is Sis #2 with Youngest Nephew - Tickle Torture.

And, lastly, just in case you wanted to know, here's me: (sort of)




A couple of pictures to liven things up a bit.

Now I've got to go and get this song out of my head (... time to grab your crayons and your pen-cils)

Pass it on over, please

My Grandmother has a unique view of the world. We do not usually agree on things... I often find myself rolling my eyes at what she calls her "old-fashioned" ideas. (To me, there is a difference between a traditional viewpoint and a racist one, but she seems to think they are synonymous).

She also has a lot of sayings that drive me crazy, mostly because they are meaningless - "A little bit of this, a little bit of that, a whole lot of nothing" is the current front runner, followed closely by the admonishment to "Never get old" (because the alternative is so appealing?). I know that when she is no longer with us that I will miss these little gems, but right now they drive me nuts.

However, one of her sayings that I am totally sympatico with is

"Anybody who buys that should have their money taken away from them."

I'll even take it a step further - Not only should their money be taken away from them, there should be a requirement (maybe even a law), that it should be given to me.



I'm sorry, but is there anyone who actually needs

"Gold Plated Cuticle Nippers?"


How about a

"Diamond Nail File?"


If you have this kind of money to waste on these kind of items, may I recommend a nice charity instead? (Or, failing that, personal contributions to the "Never That Easy" fund? )

Coming Up... Our second "Am I the Only One...?"

So... people, am I the only one who things that t.v. shows need to stop it with all the "coming up" stuff?

I mean, the show is only however long (an hour, a half hour, whatever): do I really need the previews for what's coming after the commercial break? If I'm not into the show already, I'm not going to stick around for after the commercial, no matter what you show me. And if I am into the show, you are ruining what comes next!

Personally, I'm getting a bit frustrated with all these previews: the American Inventor show I'm watching right now has just shown yet another preview for what happens after the break. I'm enjoying the show (it's a bit weird, but it's new and different, and some of these people have really good ideas), but if they've already shown me what's going to happen next: why bother to keep watching?

Other repeat offenders include Dr.Phil (who I have mostly stopped watching anyways, because it seems like he gave all his advice during the first season), Project Runway (note to producers for next season: STOP DOING THIS), the news (Oh, my goodness, newspeople - just tell me the news in the order you're going to tell it and stop hinting at what comes later!) and all those E-Access-Entertainment-Hollywood tabloid shows (who I've noticed go so far as to say "Coming up at 7:53" or "Coming up in 7 minutes", as if it were a piece of vital information that I need to know E_X_A_C_T_L_Y when it will be shown).

I'm pretty sure these "coming up"s are called teasers, but I think a better name would be annoyers. For me, they accomplish the exact opposite of what they are intended to do - they only make me want to change the channel.

So tell me people - Am I the Only One?

Bagpipes

I live across the street from a church, and am a silent witness to some of the happiest - and some of the saddest - days of people’s lives. They do not see me, usually, peeking through the blinds of my room to scope out the bridesmaid’s dresses, to watch the stoic procession behind the casket. This witnessing affects me in ways it is hard to describe.

Today there is, as every so often happens, a bagpipe player playing for the funeral across the way. I do not understand bagpipes – they seem like the only instrument that is made to ruin good music. I most especially do not understand bagpipes at weddings. The screeching tones do not enhance any song, at least not that I have ever heard. And I cannot seem to hear the difference between a “good” bagpipe player and a “bad” one.

But the sound is plaintive and wailing and utterly fitting for grief.

Bagpipes must have been specifically made for funerals - the notes hang in the air and rend my heart. I dare not look across the street, in fear that the pain and loss they are feeling will further infect me. It is hard enough, sometimes, just to hear the music.

I say a silent prayer when I hear it – in sympathy, with empathy, for the poor family that is standing, suffering, trudging through this awful mass, and in gratitude for myself, that it is not me who is suffering so. At least not today.

Creativity = not so much

I'm still trying to get back on track after this last flare, so my brain cells aren't exactly fully functioning yet. Which is why I am glad that I have stockpiled a few topics that need very little extra explanation. For example, today's post:

Did you know where the name of my blog came from? Not the first name, which I apparently hijacked from the very nice Amy, but the current "Never that Easy?" Well, I'm so glad you asked. It's actually from a song, originally from a musical revue called Closer than Ever. I've never seen the show (actually, the only show I've ever seen live is A Chorus Line, about 14 years ago), but thanks to Standing Room Only (which I've raved about here), I've got a pretty extensive knowledge of musical theatre. Although I've always loved musicals, now I've heard a much wider variety of them. So, here's the lyrics to the excellent song I've taken my title from. Also, a link at the end where you can hear an excerpt, if you so choose.

Oh, and just, before I forget again, Mel you're welcome for the linkage... I hope you'll come back & read me... it gets better, I promise!


It's Never That Easy / I've been Here Before
WOMAN 1
YOU JUST MET HIM, YES, I KNOW
THIS IS LASTING, THIS WILL GROW
BUT OH, IT'S NEVER THAT EASY
BELIEVE ME, IT ISN'T AT ALL

YOU ARE STARSTRUCK, SO WAS I
I WOULD LOVE HIM, TILL I DIE
BUT OH, IT'S NEVER THAT EASY
MY DARLING, NOT EASY AT ALL

ALL YOUR LIFE YOU'LL BE WITH HIM
THINK OF THAT, THINK IT THROUGH
HE MAY CHASE SOME CRAZY WHIM
WHEN HE DOES, YOU'LL GO TOO

AND YOU'LL LOSE HIM NOW AND THEN
BUT EACH MORNING START AGAIN
AND OH, SOME DAYS YOU'LL BE HAPPY
BUT IT WON'T BE EASY
IT'S NEVER THAT EASY
YOU THINK SO, BUT NO
OH NO, I KNOW
IT ISN'T AT ALL.

WOMAN 2
THE MAN SAYS THINGS HE NEEDS TO SAY
TURNS TO SMILE AS HE STANDS AT MY DOOR
AND THEN I SEE HIS EYES ARE GREY
OH GOD I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE

TO WANT HIM MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL
THEN WE TALK AND OUT HIS FEELINGS POUR
INSIDE ALL MY DEFENCES FALL
OH YES I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE

THE MAN'S ALL WRONG
THAT'S ALL THAT'S TRUE
AND WHAT IS WORSE
THIS TIME GOOD GOD HE'S TWENTY-TWO
AND SINCE IT'S WRONG, BEFORE WE START
WHY SHOULD I RUSH TO PROVE THAT I CAN BREAK MY HEART ALL OVER?
THE MAN LEAVES AND I'M ON MY OWN
I SIT HERE AND SIMPLY WATCH THE DOOR
AND TELL MYSELF I'M FINE ALONE
OH YES, I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE
OH YES, I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE

WOMAN 2 WOMAN 1
THE MAN'S ALL WRONG BUT OH
THAT'S ALL THAT'S TRUE IT'S NEVER THAT EASY
AND WHAT IS WORSE BELIEVE ME
THIS TIME, GOOD GOD,
HE'S TWENTY-TWO IT ISN'T AT ALL
AND SINCE IT'S WRONG HE MAY CHASE
BEFORE WE START SOME CRAZY WHIM
WHY SHOULD I RUSH LET HIM GO
TO PROVE OR HE'LL
THAT I CAN BREAK MY HEART ALL OVER BREAK YOUR HEART

THE MAN LEAVES AND I'M ON MY OWN I'M FINE ALONE WITHOUT HIM
I SIT HERE AND SIMPLY WATCH THE DOOR AND YOU'LL MISS HIM NOW AND THEN
THEN TELL MYSELF I'M FINE ALONE I'M FINE ALONE

OH YES I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE OH YES I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE
BUT IT WON'T BE EASY
SOME DAYS YOU'LL BE HAPPY
NO NEVER THAT EASY
BUT IT WON'T BE EASY
YOU THINK SO BUT NO
OH, NO

BOTH
I KNOW
I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE

Closer Than Ever CD

Movies

So I've been brewing a post about the difference between watching a movie in a theater and watching it at home, but it's not done yet, so instead, I've got linkage for you today.


I've been watching trailers online this morning (and, apparently, afternoon, since it's 1:00 already). I don't know why I bother, as I haven't been to the movie theater to see a movie since the first Harry Potter came out (2001: thanks IMDB), but there seem to be a lot of interesting things coming out this year.

Of course, there's X-Men 3, whose trailer I saw on TV yesterday and was forced to find it again online this morning in order to figure out what Jean Grey was saying at the end. ("Kill Me" in case you cared). I loved the first two, and am already adding this to my Netflix Queue, even though it's not even in the theater yet. Just so I won't forget.

So X-Men 3 started it, but there were a bunch of other things I want to see now too:

Since the success of Chicago a few years back, musicals are popular again. I am a big fan of this trend, since the musicals of Hollywood's Golden age are among my favorite movies of all time. So a second crop of musicals is only fab-u-lous in my opinion. The ones I saw trailers for included

Dreamgirls - "And I am Telling You," sung by Jennifer Holliday was the only thing on the trailer, but it was enough for me. I don't know about the cast, but, as I wasn't even alive when the show was on Broadway, I'd love to see the storyline to go with the songs I know.

Idelwild - Roaring Twenties with an Outkast beat? Something to see, I'm sure.

Romance & Cigarettes Aside from the all-star cast and the interesting storyline, the trailer made it seem like the musical numbers were Blues Brothers or Moulin Rouge style: pop music of different eras all jumbled into the storyline.

In the Guilty Pleasures category were:

Just My Luck Guilty b/c it looks just too much like every other Lindsay Lohan movie, and yet I still thought "I'd see that."


Poseidon Because I so love the original and all its 70's disaster movie splendor (and hated that crappy TV version they did last fall).

In the Movies My Nephew will want to see (and I wouldn't cry at having to sit through)category:

RV

Happy Feet Isn't the penguin just too cute?

And, finally, in the why haven't I heard more about these category:

Catch & Release Cast include Jennifer Garner & Kevin Smith... and the trailer looked different (good different, as in, "I haven't seen this movie 72 different ways" different)

Lonesome Jim Well, this is an "independent" movie, so that's why we haven't heard anything about it. But it looks good.

Click I'm pretty sure the only reason we haven't heard anything about this yet is that it's not out till June. Adam Sandler is hit or miss with me (hit - Big Daddy, Spanglish; miss -Punch Drunk Love, the Waterboy), but this looks promising.


So that's what I've been doing all day. (I've got a PET Scan manana and am trying to take it easy so as not to cause a huge flare again.) How bout you guys... up to anything interesting?

I've got flare (yes, I know it's spelled wrong)

And that's because it's not the good kind of flair. I think we all know I'm running pretty low on that kind of flair... well, maybe you don't since you can't see me, but anyone in my actual life would laugh hysterically at the mere suggestion that I have style of anykind. Fashion is so not my forte.

But Flare? Sadly, I've got flare to spare.

I'm talking Fibro Flare, my friends. As in flare-up of symptoms.

I know I haven't really gone into depth here about my illnesses, (partly because I don't want this to be just a "sick blog" and partly because I haven't figured out exactly what to say), but since I've been out of commission for about a week due to a major flare, and have probably lost any readers who were coming here with any regularity anyways, I figured what the hell.

So - What the heck am I talking about?

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition that has a wide variety of symptoms, and, sadly, no cure or regularlized treatment plan. Basically what this means is that there are about a million and a half ideas about what causes it or how it could be treated, but, right now, no proven cause or effect or cure.

And I've got it. (And a couple of other particularly nasty things. But let's focus on Fibro for today, shall we?)

When you're dealing with a chronic illness, you have a baseline - a level of "normal" that you exist at in whatever way you can. Over the course of my illness (12 years this October ... crap), I've had a lot of different baselines. I've been completely bedridden, able to go to school full days, able to go to school half days, hospitalized, able to attend college full-time, able to attend part-time, etc.

For the past year or so, my overall baseline had been improving: I've been moving up from almost complete bedrest to a semi-mobile lifestyle. I have to use a wheelchair to get around, can't stay up right for too long (about 2 hours is my max), but I was able to participate in some of the more minor triumphs of everyday life: getting dressed, eating at the table instead of from bed, baking a pie at Thanksgiving.

It hasn't been exactly fabulous, but it was a bit better than I had been. I've been coping - And then last week.... Total crash.


I mean I couldn't move. I couldn't think. I couldn't... anything.

Pain was my whole existence for about 5 days.

And I haven't exaggerated that in anyway. I mean exactly that: for 5 days, nothing existed besides pain. Every lymph node in my body was swollen, every muscle ached as if I'd stretched them to their breaking points. My face was just a ball of fire - cheeks flushed such a bright red that my mother could see in the dark.


And I have no idea what set it off this time: as usual, I hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. But I've managed to pick up yet another infection somehow (I think from the Doc's office, since that's the only place I ever go), and it ran me over.

The only plus has been how quickly I've improved: I've had severe flares last for months, and this one is already improving. (as evidenced by the fact that I had enough focus and energy to turn on the computer and hammer this out today - even if it did take me more than 5 hours to finish it).

I've heard that the blogosphere is a fickle place - that you can lose your readers if you don't post often and regularly. I suppose that could be true, and I'd rather not find out, but I can honestly say the word blog didn't even occur to me until yesterday - a good week after my last post. Oh well. I'll just keep hoping that people will wind up here and be interested enough to stick it out with me.

I'm feeling a bit better, as I said, so I doubt it'll be too long before the next post, but if you've got some time, you might want to check out these sites about fibromyalgia.

FM Aware
Arthritis Foundation