Brrrr....cold, damp....brrrrrr

I'm sitting here looking at the photos on my wall - all of which I have taken and then "done" something to. (Damn, that makes me sound like some type of photography psycho/rapist/serial killer) I must admit, I'm getting pretty good at the photo thing -YES, that is me contorting myself into the shape of a pretzel in order to pat myself on the back.

Anyway......I'm sitting here when it dawns on my that I hate the cold! Now- those of you that live close realize that it IS 46 degrees - and 46 degrees is NOT that cold. But it's damp. Not just damp - it's seep into your bones and make everything feel brittle and just yucky damp.

There are a few things about he cold that are good - but then again, I can usually find at least one good thing in any situation. But anyway - good things about the cold.

1.) Cold prolongs the shelf life of milk. Sounds simple, right? Everyone knows that cold - not freezing, just cold - keeps milk fresh. But DOES IT REALLY? Yeah, it keeps it liquid, no nasty chunks or funky oily stuff on top. So that's fresh, right? If so, why aren't cows kept cold? (Just asking, don't expect an answer) And it confuses me that milk is warm when it comes out and we call it fresh. It's cold when we buy it - and we call it fresh. And when it's chunky we call it spoiled. So, what about "clabbered milk"? Is it fresh? I could go on, but you get the idea.

2.) Really cold keeps ice cream solid! (Brilliant, aren't I?) Solid ice cream is good - especially Butter Pecan! Although butter, pecans and liquid cream isn't so good. Don't ask, you really don't want to know and you probably wouldn't believe me anyway!

3.) Cold gives us an excuse to have "hat hair". Not that hat hair is good - it's not. But it does serve as an awesome excuse for those days that your hair just won't behave or when you're just too lazy to "do" something to it.

4.) Cold makes it easy to tell if we are still breathing.

Well- that's about it. I guess I could say something about sweaters - but I just did, so we'll leave it alone.

Now for the downfalls of the cold. In my opinion there is really only one - Cold winters are, have been and always will be the downfall of civilized life. People are just not nice in the cold.

Ii know there are those of you who "LOVE" winter. All I can say to you is, I'd pay for your therapy if I could afford to do so. I know you're not bad people, most of you are nice. I just don't understand what a person could enjoy about wet socks, red noses, chattering teeth and numb fingers. It's hard to be attractive when you're bundled up like the Michelin man.

Wet socks make your shoes stink!

Red noses are NOT a fashion statement!

Chattering teeth are fine if you are a squirrel!

And numb fingers make it difficult to type.

That being said, I'm going to go curl up in front of the heater - as soon as I move the cats out of the way- and wish for Spring to hurry up!

Tata

Dodadaghovi

Snow.....what more needs to be said?

I'm sitting here watching it snow and listening to the wind prowl around the corners of my house, moaning and whining like a hungry wolf looking for a way to get in.

We are at the beginnings of a Winter Storm, or so they tell me. I don't know how much of a storm it is, or will be, but I know it's colder than I care for, and the wind tries to cut you to pieces when you step outside.

So once again, boys and girls, I am trapped in the house. So I thought I would post Version 2 of Teri's Questions that are Just Dying for an Answer!

1.) Why is it that the driver of the snowplow doesn't seem to have a problem getting to work? Has anyone else ever wondered about that? I mean, if the roads are too bad for school, or travel of any type, how does the snowplow driver get to the snowplow? Does he take it home so that it's handy when he needs to clear the roads? Do we have people held prisoner at the State Road Garage and we poke them into snowplows as needed? I mean, they do a pretty good job, the best they can anyway, I'm just wondering how they get to work. If any of you are married to/living with/are related to/know a snowplow driver, please answer this question for me, it's driving me nuts. (or is that nuttier?)

2.) Who is that poor dumb sap that is always sent into the heart of the worse weather ever by his bosses at the Weather Channel? Better yet, what did he do and who did he piss off in order to deserve being sent into the middle of a hurricane/tornado/flood/ice storm. And don't you just love the fact that he aways says the same thing, "It's getting pretty bad down here." Did he piss in someones Wheaties or what?

3.) Why is it that you can try and be nice, send everything your "friends" on Facebook request and still can't get them to send you a single thing? There doesn't seem to be any shame is begging like a bum in the subway for parts, hearts, boxes, nails.....everything, but there must be some type of rule that I'm unaware of, because I send out the things people request almost every time. But, damn it, I still need one heart, 7 nails, 3 paint buckets.....and no one seems to care. I feel so alone and neglected......I think I need an intervention.

4.) What happened to early morning news shows? Is anyone really interested in the latest New York winter fashions? (Which, by the way, look like something you'd wear to a Hustler or Penthouse party, not something you would wear in New York in the winter.) I must be getting old, but I remember when a show had the word NEWS in it you were going to hear what was going on in the world, not what FiFi was wearing when she was carried outside to pee on the curb! Maybe they should change the name to Irrelevant Stuff That No One Cares About Today, instead of just the Today Show.

5.) Will Martha Stewart live forever? Now, I admit I don't like the woman, although she does do some cool stuff with leftover socks, but a person can't help but admire her. She goes to prison for insider trading (like she needed to make any more money), she becomes the butt of way too many emails/stand up comedians/late night talk show host, she gets out of prison and she's still making more money than the Treasury Department! You have to admire that. But damn, how long has this woman been around? I'm 50 and it seems as though there has always been Martha Stewart this, Martha Stewart that. Come on, there is only so many things you can do with a tampon and a glue gun!

Well, that's it for this installment of Teri's Questions that are Just Dying to be Answered. Maybe I'll be back in little while. Right now I'm going to take the pup out to play in the snow!

Dodadaghovi

It is still cold out there......and I'm still trapped in the house.....this can't be good!

So, it's all of 18 degrees out there.....and it's just now 9 p.m. Bet tonight is going to be cold enough to freeze......well, fill in your own analogy here. Anyway....it's bitterly cold out, and I'm still trapped in the house because it's too cold for a skinny little old woman to go roaming around in the big bad world. Once again my day was filled with the wonder that is living alone, having too many pets and needing to vacuum at least once a day just too keep up with the various and sunder "stuff" that seems to collect on the floor when you have pets.

Oh yeah, and thinking about stuff. And therein lays the problem. Teri home alone, wild eyed and stir crazy, left to her own devices. This is the stuff that physiological thrillers are made of! Or perhaps that should be the stuff slasher films are made of. Although I admit there has not been anymore fantasies of becoming an Uzi toting revenge killer....there have been some strange thoughts going through the cold, dark maze that is my mind.

I'm trying to figure out why I continue this stupid blog for one thing. I know there are a few of you that read this.....mostly my friends, which of course makes me ponder the type of people that I befriend, I mean, I love y'all, but if you can read this stuff and still not be afraid of being left alone with me....well, maybe you should be doing some soul searching as well. (I'm just kidding guys, I love y'all and I think that you're wonderful people without whom I would be a raving lunatic.)

Tonight though I'm going to toss out a few questions for y'all. Hopefully someone out there will do me the courtesy of tossing back a few answers. Who knows, maybe we can get a game of virtual baseball going!

So here it is, Teri's list of questions that are just dying to be answered! (version 1)

1.) Does anyone know what possesses a person to go to the Mall (yes, I used that word....please forgive me. Either that or add it to my ever growing list of sins) on the Friday after Thanksgiving? I mean, are there actually that many masochist out there these days? Although I admit, it does warm my heart a little bit to think that I may be receiving a gift which was wrenched from the trembling hands of some wild eyed little teenager who then, in a fit of rage, pushed a rather large woman into a display of chocolates, sending a cascade of nugget filled goodies skidding across the aisle. I mean, the very thought of something like that happening just makes that gift just a little bit more special, now doesn't it?

2.) Do all homeowners become tasteless, color-blind Nyctophobia suffers when the calender starts nearing Dec. 25? (Don't bother looking it up, it means suffering from an abnormal fear of the dark. Or, if you don't believe me, do look up it. I was just trying to save you some time.) I mean, some of these houses would make a bad Vegas show seem to be in good taste. Please folks, don't mix Santa, the elves, a big inflatable snowman and the Christ child all together in your little 8x8 front yard....it ends up looking like an electrical LSD flashback from the 70's.

3.) Who came up with the brilliant idea of tinsel? Was there once a surplus of tin-foil that fell into a shredder somewhere? Or is it all just an evil plot to wipe out all house cats everywhere? (In case you don't realize what I'm talking about, house cats seems to have an uncontrollable urge to ingest tinsel....it's dangerous, not to mention messy. You think hairballs are gross....wait until you clean up a shiny, tinsel laced ball of.....well I don't know what. It takes gross to a whole new level!)

4.) What the hell is going on with the skinny Santas??? Did I miss a memo or something? Did Santa Claus join the cast of The Biggest Loser and no one told me? If I'm not mistaken, the story goes something like this......"He had a broad little face, and a round little belly, that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly....." Somehow that description doesn't fit with the hollow eyed, peaked, emaciated Santas that are showing up more and more often. (If you want the truth of the matter, I figure that after hundreds of years of delivering toys to screaming brats Santa just needed something to take the edge off.....unfortunately he decided that he needed to do something that would allow him to have the energy to continue with this charade......you know, just a bit of crystal meth from time to time.......now it's too late, Santa has become a shaking, scratching, stick thin shadow of his former self. But that's just my thoughts on the subject.)

5.) Who made the first fruitcake and how long as that sucker been bouncing around the world?? I'm not saying ALL fruitcake is bad....I actually like a good Stollen from time to time. (Once again, don't bother looking it up, it's a German bread that has dried fruit in it....and sometimes a shot or two of 100 proof something.) And the darker varieties of fruit cake, if they are moist, are good once or twice a year. There's nothing like sugar glazed dried fruit to start your day out right!! My question is about that one fruitcake that seems to keep circulating around the world. You know the one I mean, it serves as a door stop the other 11 months of the year, only to be picked up off the floor, brushed off and stuck back into a foil pan and wrapped with disgustingly cute wrapping paper and mailed to you from someone who calls herself your Aunt Milly, although you've never met this person or even laid eyes on a photograph of her. Have you ever tried to cut that fruitcake?? A Ginsu knife would not be up to that job. Actually, most chain saws are not up to that particular task. (If any of you are thinking of sending me the above mentioned fruitcake, please don't. I'd hate to have to write a threatening note, attach it to said fruitcake and toss it through your living room window.)

6.) Who's bright idea was it to have only one showing of "It's a wonderful life" on television this year?? I wait 11 1/2 months to watch that movie! I expect to be able to see it all the way through at least twice. I expect it to be on at least one channel every night for weeks before Christmas. WHO'S EVIL PLOT WAS IT TO PREVENT ME FROM WATCHING THIS MOVIE??? If the guilty party would please just step forward, admit their guilt and do everything in their power to fulfill my wishes, I promise there will be no retribution. Well, not much anyway.

7.) How many times do I have to watch the Hollywood Christmas Parade?? WHO wants to watch it in the first place? I mean, it's not exactly Macy's Parade, not to mention that there is just something wrong with Santa in red boxers with bright blue packages on them. (I'm sure there is some type of sexual innuendo mixed up in there somewhere, but come one SANTA in boxers?? Somethings are best left to the dark realms of the imagination.) Besides, I'm sitting here freezing my substantial ass off in the now 11 degree winter and these idiots are on television in shorts and tank tops with Santa hats. It's just wrong!

8.) Is it just me or are more and more people saying "Merry Christmas" like it's some Gypsy evil eye curse or something? There doesn't seem to be much of that "warm fuzzy" feeling in that particular statement these days. Some woman in the drug store the other day actually made some strange design in the air and muttered under her breath just directly after wishing me "Merry Christmas". It was obvious that what she was wishing for me was definitely a lot less than a warm, glowing holiday season. Maybe it's the Masochist thing again, I'm not sure. But then again, I was just a little frightened and ran away with my tail between my legs. (Believe me, with the tail I have that is NOT an easy feat!)

Okay, that's the first installment of Teri's Questions that are Just Dying to be Answered. Please send me your answers, thoughts, complaints or just your particular take on any subject that crosses your little minds!!

Love y'all!

Dodadagohvi

It's early....but Winter is here and I'm stuck in the house.....you know this can't be good!

All I can say is BRRRRR it's cold! The thermometer on the front porch says it's all of 13 degrees out there. That is WAYYY too cold! Time for all of us thin blooded Southern girls to stay inside where it is warm and find something to keep us occupied.

So, what have I been doing to keep myself occupied? Well, housework for one.....you know, that mindless activity that either lulls us into a blank staring Stepford Wife or turns us into an Uzi toting wild eyed homicidal manic. I tend to lean towards the Uzi toter myself, but that is another story entirely.

I have also been trying to figure my tendency toward screwing up everything good in my life. And I'm here to tell you what I have figured out so far. So pull on those hip boots and take one last deep breath of fresh air because the shit is about to get deep!

I have been pondering love, relationships and all things confusing and complicated that are terrifying and heart wrenching as well. In other words I've been trying to decide if I believe in, are you ready?? TRUE LASTING LOVE!! Yes I said it, I said those words that can make a grown man tremble and a young girl faint.

Now, for those of you that have no idea what exactly I mean by TRUE LASTING LOVE, let me elaborate. I mean love between two people that last through thick and thin, good times and bad, rich days and poor night, as well as sickness and health. The type of love that stands strong even when you don't like the person at that moment, the type of love that can withstand those hot, horny nights as well as those days when the closest thing to sex you get is saying screw you as you pass one another in the hallway.

I do know that once upon a time such a love was not an unusual experience. I know that my grandparents went through things that would destroy most relationships these days. I have several friends that have that type of love as well, they have walked through hell together and came out holding hands. So I know it exists. I know that once upon at time a person could find that type of love.

Now a days however, I believe it's an almost extinct experience. I believe that most people don't want to put the work into a relationship that it needs in order to survive all the shit that life can and does throw at us. It's too easy to replace people these days. Once a relationship gets too difficult it's just easier to move on to the next one. I mean, who would want to put out actual hard work, who would want to compromise, who would want to give every ounce of themselves to another person when it's so much easier to move on to someone new. There's even that added bonus of the "new toy" feeling that we all have at the start of a new relationship. When there's a problem, just leave.

Right??

Well, it's not right, but it is reality. At least it's reality for way too many people.

At times I think it's reality for me as well. I have discovered that I have fallen into a pattern of not allowing another person to get close enough to me to cause me any pain. Once they get that close, which is rarely, I do something to make them miserable just so I can be proven correct in my assumption that they were going to leave anyway.

You would think that because I realize this about myself that I could do something to change it. YEAH, RIGHT! Just because I realize it doesn't mean a damn thing other than I realize that I have a particular behavior that needs to be changed. Notice I said needs to be changed. Doesn't mean that I'm going to change it, doesn't even mean that I would if I knew how. Just means that I realize something about myself.

Right?

NO, it means that I'm a chicken shit that has been hurt one time too many by one of those people that find it easier to move on than to work on a relationship. That's what it means. It means that big, bad, "I can handle anything" Teri is too afraid to open herself up in order to give a relationship a chance.

Why is that, you ask.

Well boys and girls, get comfortable and I'll tell you a little story. Maybe it's one you've heard before, as a matter of a fact I'm sure a few of you have heard a similar story, if not lived one yourselves, but this is my blog and I can damn well say what I want.

Once upon a time there was this woman that fall for a wonderful man. (Notice wonderful is in italics? There's a reason for that.) The man supposedly fell for the woman as well. (Once again, notice the italics.) The man was having some problems with depression and such, and wasn't the easiest person in the world to get along with, but the woman was determined to stick it out because she just knew he was the one. ( Notice bold letters)

Well, things went okay for a while. The man got better, the depression slipping away almost as silently as it arrived. And, believe it or not, that is when it all started to go to shit.

Once he wasn't so depressed that he wouldn't leave the house, once he talked and acted more like his old self, the man started running to the bars with his friends. (yes, those pesky italics are still around) He spent less and less time with the woman and she began to feel less and less important and more and more like a convenience instead of someone that is actually loved.

I'm not going to mention the other women, oops, I guess I did, didn't I?

To make a long story short, the woman stayed years longer than she actually should have, ended up having her self esteem and self worth shredded and, in the end, having her believe in love destroyed. Now she is alone and wondering if she will remain that way.

Yes, you guessed it, she is me and I am her. I used to love, may still love, may once again love, may always love this person, and it didn't, doesn't, never will matter. I've accepted that, and actually I'm okay with it. I mean he is the one and all. Of course I thought that meant he was the one that I would be with the rest of my life, the one that I would share that love with. I didn't realize he was the one that would mess me up so bad that I can't seem to break down that wall that suddenly sprang up around my heart.

So kiddies, that is my sad twisted little story. Anyone have any suggestions for this poor screwed up middle aged woman that is getting more and more afraid that she will be alone for the rest of her life?

Or do you think I should just pull up my big girl panties and move on?

Dodadagohvi

So.....here we are again

As we all know, today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America. No surprise, right?

Well, in my not-so-humble opinion, a lot of you reading this would be surprised to find out how many people living in this country view Thanksgiving, myself included. You see, today is one single day that has been appointed as something special by a people that didn’t seem to have understood the very simplest thing about being Thankful. To even think that one, single day has to be appointed in order to remind folks that we should be thankful is, to me at least, an insult.

It all began, in this country, a very long time ago. It all began with one race of people thinking they were superior to another. It all began with a group of people giving thanks in a way that I will never understand.

When the Pilgrims came aground in the “New Land” in 1620 they seemed to have overlooked the fact that the land on which they wanted to settle was already inhabited. But never the less, these men, women and children stayed in makeshift shelters that they hastily built to protect themselves from the harsh winter in what is now New England.

In order to survive the first few weeks, they explored and found “artificial mounds” in which they began to dig. You would think that once they discovered these “mounds” were actually graves of the Native People of the area they would have stopped, but the Pilgrims continued to dig and finally exhumed the offerings of Maize (corn) that had been left behind. They also found several Native built structures from which the inhabitants had run away; from those houses they STOLE more corn and various types of beans.

Then they gave thanks to God for the food that they had "found". (To me this is hypocrisy. To steal from others, be they dead or alive, and then give thanks to God for "blessing" you with the very things that you stole is beyond my comprehension.)

Thus it all began. The White People stepped foot on this land and one of the very first things they did was steal from the Peoples that were already here, both the living and the dead. Do I see a theme developing??

Anyway, shortly thereafter the Pilgrims became ill and more than half of them died that first winter. There were several encounters with Native Peoples during this time. Several times the Pilgrims were fired upon by Natives who had already had some bad experiences with the White People.

(History fact unknown to many: The local people were already familiar with the English, who had intermittently visited the area for fishing and trade before the Mayflower arrived. In the Cape Cod area, relations were poor following a visit several years earlier by Thomas Hunt. Hunt kidnapped twenty people from Patuxet (the place that would become New Plymouth) and another seven from Nausett, and he attempted to sell them as slaves in Europe. Source : Wikipedia)

An ally among the Native People came forward. A Patuxet Native by the name of Tisquantum, now known as Squanto, helped the Pilgrims recover from the bitter and deadly winter they had just survived. Although Tisquantum had been kidnapped by Thomas Hunt for the purpose of being sold into slavery, then rescued by the Monks, thus learning the English language, and had, upon his return to his homeland, found that his People had been wiped out by disease that had been spread by the English, he still found it in his heart to help the settlers. (This very fact makes him a better person than I will ever be.)

Because of his assistance, the Pilgrims were able to not only survive, but to prosper. In 1621 the Pilgrims held a three day feast to celebrate their first successful harvest in the “New World” and to give thanks to God for all of their blessings.

Without the help of Tisquantum, who became the guide and translator for the settlers, the Pilgrims would never have survived. Tisquantum helped them not only learn how to plant, fertilize and harvest the foods that allowed to to feed themselves, but he was also the main reason for the peace between the settlers and the Wampanoag People that lasted for 50 years after his death.

Now, the fact that there was, historically, peace between the two groups for 50 or so years does NOT mean that there were no problems between the settlers and the Native Peoples of the “New World.” There were.

Now that I have given you a brief (or maybe not so brief) history lesson, let me point out a few things.

In return for the assistance the Pilgrims received from the Peoples of this land, their descendants gave assistance in return. They assisted the Peoples by giving them blankets that had been used by victims of smallpox, thus “assisting” the Natives in decreasing their population. They assisted by taking “unsettled” land, thus forcing the Native Peoples to either flee or fight. They assisted by destroying, raping and burning. They assisted by lying, stealing, cheating and murdering. They assisted by destroying the very land they “settled”. All the while, they observed a “day” of Thanksgiving each year.

For the Native Peoples of this land, Thanksgiving is not a noun. It is a verb. Thanksgiving is not a day, it is a concept. The Peoples of this land hold the idea of giving Thanks as a sacred ideal. Every day is a reason for Thanksgiving.

So, as you enjoy your football games, as you complain about how stuffed you are from the turkey, stuffing and gravy, as you enjoy the warmth and comfort of your family and friends, please find time to try one new thing. Try to realize that today is nothing special. It is a LEGAL Holiday, it is a day off of work, a day for friends and family. Thanksgiving, however, is what each and every one of us should do as soon as we wake in the morning. It is something that we should do whenever we see our children, our friends, our family.

Thanksgiving is a way of life. It is NOT a single day to stuff our faces with food and our heads with some mindless game.

Have a blessed day. And remember, I am thankful for each one of you. I am thankful that you allow me to share my opinions with you, that you allow me to rant and rave. I am especially thankful that each and every one of you are alive and well on this not-so-special holiday.

Dodadagohvi (Cherokee (when speaking to many) meaning "Let's see one another again, soon")

Autumn oh don't fall on me!

The first breath of morning lingers for a moment, crisp, clear and hazy with moisture. Red gold leaves glitter like ruby in the foggy morning light. Crystals of ice reflect a rainbow of colors that shimmer in the chilly breeze. Autumn has arrived on a carriage of leaves drawn by horses of diamond light.

Okay, enough of that. I am in a reflective mood today and I was starting to sound like a stoned philosophy student. Sorry about that, it’s just the way Autumn affects me. I am one of those people that truly understand why they call it Fall…..I fall into a funk every year at this time and I never seem to climb out until after Thanksgiving. Thank God I’m not a Turkey, I’d really be screwed then.

So, it’s obviously turning colder. The days still seem to hold the promise of warmth and sunshine, but the nights show the true bitter heart of Autumn. I do admit that I find the first frost of the year to be beautiful, the way it makes everything shimmer and shine. But that beauty wears off almost as quickly as the frost melts, because I know that one morning soon I will look outside and instead of frost I’ll see snow.

Yes Folks, that awful four-letter word has been uttered. Now I realize that there are those of you who, for whatever reason, really enjoy the Winter and all that comes with it. But I am not one of you. Personally I believe that anyone that professes to enjoy Winter should have their heads “shrunk” by the best Psychiatrist available, but to each their own I guess. The only thing I’m sure of is that I hate the prospect of the coming snow and all the bitter cold dampness that comes with it. Not to mention the ice storms, lack of electricity, colds, flu and just general “brrrrrr” things that are lurking just around the corner.

I will admit that some years Autumn proves to be the most beautiful of our West Virginia seasons, although I don’t think this has proven to be one of those years. Mother Nature dresses her lovely mountains in jewels of maple red and oak gold with trim of dark cedar and pine. Then the vindictive bitch sends cold northern winds to rip and tear the glorious colors away until there is nothing left but dull gray trees that moan and cry in the wind. Let’s hear it for Mother Nature.

Well, I guess I’m done bitching and whining about the change of season and weather. So here are a few pictures for you to enjoy and maybe find some beauty in.

Tata!

Pictures, pictures and more pictures~

As most of you may know, I am addicted to taking photographs! (Honestly, it is an addiction, I think I need an intervention!) Here is the shocker though, as much as I'm addicted to taking photographs, I believe that I'm more addicted to working with the photos that I take and adding varied and sunder effects to them.

Right now I have a favorite subject as well as a favorite effect. I'm sort of stuck on nature photos, namely the woods that surround those of us that are lucky (cursed?) enough to live in Calhoun County WV. I'm also loving taking photos of any water that shows reflections of it's surroundings.

Anyway, here are a few of the many photos that I have taken recently. Hope you enjoy looking at them, and please, if you get some pleasure from viewing these photos, leave me a comment and let me know. (It gets really depressing when I go to all of the trouble of posting this stuff and no one seems to notice.)

The following pictures were taken in a hollow close to my friend Esther's home.  We went for a walk and I saw some things that I thought were beautiful, so I took the pictures.  

The first picture in each set is the original picture.  The second picture is the one that I have added the effects.  I personally like the "soft" look of these pictures, I find them much more interesting than the originals.

Please, if you like any of these photos, leave me a comment and let me know!

Well, it's going to be a busy day today, so I have to get off my butt and get showered and dressed.  Maybe I'll be back sooner this time, but then again, maybe it will be a few days/weeks!  LOL

Have a wonderful day!!!

Tata!

Something has been bothering me......

Hi y'all. Sorry I've been MIA for so long, but it's Summertime and I've been busy....and I've also been lazy, and I admit it.

Anyway, it's almost 5 am and I haven't been asleep yet. Why? Well, something has been eating at me for a few days now and the more I think about it the worse I feel, so I decided to sit here and vent for a little bit. So be warned, it's going to be one of those post. (If you read this blog very often you know what I mean)

So, there is this person that I've known for a while, and I like this person (I'm going to refer to this person as "friend 1" for this rant, and I'm going to refer to them as her or she, but that doesn't necessarily mean it really is a woman). I had a lot of respect for her, even though I don't always agree with her thoughts or ideas. But something happened here lately that has caused me to loose bunches of respect for her, and actually question whether or not I really know this person.

Let me sit the situation up for you, it will make it easier to explain that way. We have a good friend in common, actually we have quite a few friends in common but that is neither here nor there. The mutual friend that I'm referring to here is someone that we both love and respect, or at least I thought both of us respected her. Anyway, the mutual friend may be in a situation that could get messy, but that's neither here nor there, and I'm not about to explain any farther because it's none of my business, let alone business of anyone who may be reading this.

Now, before I go on, let me explain a few things about our mutual friend. She is a kind, loving person who is one of the most empathetic people that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. She will go out of her way to help anyone that needs help, be that by feeding them, giving them something they need or simply listening to their problems. She has the biggest, softest heart of anyone I know and it's impossible not to love her if you ever get the privilege of meeting her. She is also one of the toughest people I've ever met. She would face down a rabid bear in order to protect someone (or something) that she cares for. She has defended "friend 1" time and time again.

So, as I was saying our mutual friend is a wonderful person. And "friend 1" is a pretty decent human being as well. And this is where it gets to be a confused mess.

"Friend 1" was talking to yet another mutual friend the other day. (All of us were present and heard what all was being said, so please don't think this is second hand gossip or something.) They were discussing a different situation that involves some people we know. Nothing bad or anything, just personal, private stuff that NO ONE, myself included, have any business prying into. So "friend 1" begins to really, really rag on and on about this other situation. She said some pretty rough stuff and just went on and on.........and on and on....and.....well, you get the idea.

Now, under normal circumstances it wouldn't have bothered me too awful much. I mean, the fact that someone Else's private life was being discussed and they weren't there to defend themselves bothered me, but we all have, from time to time, talked about what someone else is doing or has done in the past. What really got to me was that "friend 1" was saying things like "I've lost a lot of respect for them" and "It's disgusting".........well, quite frankly, what is disgusting is the fact that "friend 1" has done the very same thing that these other people are doing and no one among us has told her that we lost respect for her or that she was disgusting, as a matter of a fact, we have all let her know that we love and respect her despite the fact that she, like all of us, has done thing in the past that the rest of us may not agree with.

It wouldn't have been such a big deal to me except for the fact that the whole thing seemed to be aimed at our mutual friend who was sitting there at the time. She ended up angry and hurt, and quite frankly that pisses me off. Not to mention that it was judgemental and just plain mean.

No one among us, not any of the people I'm talking about nor any of you reading this, have the right to pass judgement on another human being. I know we all do it at some point or another, but that doesn't make it right.

Until a person is actually in a given situation, they have no idea of how they would react or what choices they would make. Even being in the exact same situation, no two people will react the same, their actions and reactions depend on their life experience, their emotional state and their emotional involvement with the other person or persons involved. There is NO way that any of us can actually walk a mile in someone Else's shoes, so there is no way that we can actually say what we would or would not do. And there is no way we can know what is actually going on, we can only assume from what we see and/or hear.

Y'all know what they say about making assumptions right?? If we assume something we are only making an ass out of ourselves. That applies to ALL of us, not just the person that I'm upset with.

Now, I know that the person I'm talking about is reading this, and I'm sorry if I've hurt you or pissed you off, but quite frankly we both know that you aimed a lot of what you said at someone that doesn't deserve to be hurt. You have no idea what is going on and quite frankly it's NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! If you're pissed at me, well so be it, it's not the first time and probably won't be the last. At least I'm not outing you as far as who you are and what was being discussed, you should be thankful for that. I feel as though you need to apologize to her, and if you would think about it, I believe you'd realize that she deserves your love and understanding. She cares deeply for you and you hurt her and made her feel as though you were judging her. You are not a bad person, you are usually pretty understanding and caring yourself, and I've always respected you for that. I know you wouldn't purposely do or say anything to cause her pain, but people were made to feel that you were talking about them as well. (yes, me too, but it doesn't really matter about that. I can take it, and I know she can too, but that's not the point) Please, just think before you start saying things that can/will cause people that care about you to feel badly, okay?

Alright, enough of that. I know I'm going to catch hell for this, but I feel better and I've not really let any "cats" out of any "bags" so to speak.

Earlier I said I was being lazy, well, that's not quite the truth. I've just had a rough week this week and I've not really done too much that I didn't want to do.

You see, this week is the 10th anniversary of my Mom's passing. She passed away in 2000, just a few days before her birthday. She was laid to rest on a day we should have been celebrating her birth. So this week, when I should have been reaching for the phone to call and wish my Mom a Happy Birthday, I was mourning her loss. It doesn't get easier as time goes by, there are so many times that I catch myself reaching for the phone to call and just talk to her about what is going on in my life and the lives of my children and grandchildren.

Those of you that still have your Mother, please, give her a call today. Go see her and tell her you love her, tell her that you realize how blessed you are to still have her. Give her a hug and a kiss, ask her if there is anything that you can do for her. You never know when you may be the one sitting alone in your house missing your Mom.

I just told y'all about what has been going on with me in order to explain why I said I was lazy. But I haven't just been sitting here doing nothing. I have been working on some pictures. Big surprise, right? LOL Anyway, here are a few of the things I've been doing. Let me know what y'all think.

Bridge at Seneca Rock.

Original photo, no filters.

Bridge at Seneca Rock

Enhanced color and contrast.

Bridge at Seneca Rock.

Black and white, aged.

Bridge at Seneca Rock

Black and white with only bridge in color.

Tintii filter.

Blackwater Falls original.

Blackwater Falls

Enhanced color and contrast.

Blackwater Falls

Watercolor

Blackwater Falls

Oil painting.

Walk bridge at Cedar Creek State Park

Original.

Walk bridge at Cedar Creek State Park.

Enhanced color and contrast.

Walk Bridge at Cedar Creek State Park.

Black and white, soft focus on select parts.

Mills Falls

Original.

Mills Falls

Enhanced color and contrast.

Elk River

Original.

Elk River

Enhanced color and contrast.

Elk River

Tintii

(If you really want to see the detail in these pictures, right click and open image. This will give you a larger view which will show the details.)

Anyway, I have a few dozen more that I've worked on this week. I'm learning as I go, so sometimes I'm pretty slow to get the effect that I want, but once I learn how to do it I remember for a very long time! (I also write down the picture number and what I did, complete with settings, so that if I ever want that effect again I can get it rather easily.)

Hopefully one day I'll be able to actually get paid for doing these photos. I really enjoy doing it and I love messing with the effects. I just need a better camera...........but that's for another day.

Y'all take care of yourselves!!

Till next time....TaTa

Music, Men and Mean People

To start with I want to warn y'all that there may be some adult topics in this post, so if you are NOT an adult, or if you refuse to act like one, MOVE ON!! Secondly, I want to apologize to any man that may stumble on this and take insult with the title of this post. Now, that being said, if ya would sit down and read a little bit without referring to me as a "stupid bitch" you may just learn something!

You may have noticed that the title of this post is "Music, Mean and Mean People".....odd correct? Definitely NOT my usual stuff, but shit happens and we must all learn to make fertilizer at one point or another.

So onward my twisted little buddies, lets see what dark, angry things we can meet on the way.

MUSIC.....awwww, the music makes MY life worth living! If I DON'T listen to or play something every day I become a real grump. I don't like to go through a day without music, and I WILL NOT go more than a couple of days without it. I enjoy music more than food, and you all know how I feel about food!!! But today I'm listening to some songs that seem to all have the same theme running through them......what theme is that you ask? Well, it's sort of a F*ck off and Die thing going on! Songs like Takin' off this Pain, Let's try Goodbye, and Pain seem to be the ones that reach me the best. Of course, Takin' Off This Pain is about a woman ready to leave her marriage (the pain is her wedding ring) and I'm not married, and I don't believe I'm going to lose my mind and enter into "wedding bliss" (read HELL) anytime soon. But I'm sure y'all understand what I mean, the songs that are appealing to me are all songs that pretty much say "This isn't working out and I'm going to find something else to do". WHAT isn't working out you may ask.....well, quite frankly it's not anyone's damn business what isn't working out and I'm not here to discuss what, I'm here to discuss the ins and outs of....oh who cares?? It's my blog and I'll talk about whatever I feel like talking about!! Yes, this is me working myself up to a real temper tamtrum, and folks, before it's all over with it won't be pretty!!

But enough of that...back to the music thing, I've been listening to a BUNCH of music today and I've noticed that there aren't many "Love has gone right and it's all hearts and flowers" songs coming out anymore! Is that because we have all become cynical or do we just not give a crap anymore? For myself, I'm cynical, I've been handed enough crap in the recent past to put Solar Environmental Corp out of business. (For those of you that DON'T know, Solar Eviromental Corp sells "organic" fertilizer aka feces!) Now, unlike the old saying "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade" which leaves you smelling fresh and clean like lemons, when life hands you (throws at you, shoots at you, drops on your head) enough crap and you try to make fertilizer there's only one thing you end up smelling like, and believe me it's NOT lemons! And it's DEFINITELY NOT a clean smell! Hence, crap = cynasism! I AM CYNICAL!

I DON'T BELIEVE IN LOVE....well, not love between two people that will ALWAYS be there! If you are with someone there will be times you definetly DON'T love him....there will be times when you don't even LIKE him. And I'm sure it's the same for you men, but I'm NOT one of you so I can't begin to pretend to know what goes on in your empty (opps did I say that)heads let alone what goes on in your little black hearts! Now before any of you male readers shut down because of the last statement, let me explain something to you...I KNOW there are good men out there, I KNOW that men love just like women do, I KNOW that not every man is an asshole......I ALSO KNOW I HAVEN'T MET MANY OF THOSE MEN!

I DO believe that a person can love another person, I just DON'T believe that it's all sugar and spice and everything nice that we've been brainwashed into believing! I believe that LOVE, real love, the thing that can and does keep people together for 50 years or more, that LOVE is a JOB!! It doesn't just happen, it's work. That thing that we confuse with LOVE, that "just happens" crap, that's attraction, and attraction CAN and DOES lead to LOVE, but kiddies, it's NOT Love! The songs on the radio, the sitcoms and the movies on TV, they teach us that it's something that happens...that you just LOVE someone, but that's bullshit!

So all of the above explain why I'm attracted to the F-off and die music! LOL Twisted, right?

Now for subject number two......MEN! I suppose I could just say read the above and you'll understand, but there is soooooo much more than that to it! I'm not actually down on men, I LIKE men, honest, I do. I like to talk to them, I like to look at them, I even like to touch one now and again. What I DON'T like to do is excuse their behavior just BECAUSE they are men! That's a cop-out and it sucks! It devalues men.

Look ladies (and I'm using that term loosely) men are people too! Yes, that's what I said, MEN ARE PEOPLE TOO, they are human, they make mistakes, they get confused, they get angry, sad, horny, hungry.....JUST LIKE WE WOMEN DO!!! Hell, most men don't know what they want anymore than we women do!!! To tell you the truth, with only a few exceptions, I like men BETTER THAN I LIKE MOST WOMEN!! Women can be hateful, cold, abusive creatures that make a badger look like a hamster. But that's another subject.........

Most of the hurts in my life can be traced back to a man.....not the same man, but a male none the less. And did you notice I said MOST of the hurts in my life??? Believe me, I have been hurt by women as well, it's just a different type of hurt. Men seem to be able to do things that leave me bewildered, confused, hurt and really, REALLY, REALLY pissed off!

And what pisses me off worse is that IF I complain to another female I hear things like "What do you expect, he's a man" or "They are ALL like that"!!!!

BULLSHIT, BULLSHIT, BULLSHIT!!!! That's just an excuse!!

The reason men do what they do and act like they act is simple.....WE WOMEN ALLOW AND EVEN ENCOURAGE IT!!!!!

Yes, I said that! I said it's OUR FAULT!! We raise our sons to think a certain way, act a certain way. We expect things from them that we don't expect from our daughters, we tell them "Act like a man"!!

WTF???

We complain about men and then we tell our young sons to ACT LIKE A MAN????? That's like hitting a dog with a rolled up newspaper because he piddled on the floor and then teaching him to piddle on the floor! IT MAKES NO SENSE!!!

I raised two sons. Both of them can be assholes.....but it's not because they are male, it's because I'm their mother and was their role model.....and NOT always a good one!! They are just like me, they have a temper, they are sarcastic, they can and are mouthy a lot of the time.....THEY ARE HUMANS!! And as humans they have faults and things that drive their wives crazy....but so what?? It's not just because they are MEN!!

I will admit though that men and women think differently. They process things differently and they look at things differently. JUST LIKE GOD CREATED US TO DO!! But none of that is the same as saying "He's a man what do you expect?"

Okay, enough of that! I'm tired of MEN....yes I said it, I'm TIRED of men!

Have you seen any angry, scary creatures on our journey yet?? No?? Just wait, it's not over!

Now for the final subject of the day....MEAN PEOPLE!

It's pretty easy to state my feelings on the subject....I HATE MEAN PEOPLE AND THINK THAT THEY SHOULD ALL BE PUT IN STOCKS AND ROTTEN FRUIT (and maybe a few stones) THROWN AT THEM!!

By mean people I mean those of you who sit around and purposely tell lies about other people to ruin their good name (you know who you are.....and so do I), and the ones that just don't give a shit if they cause you harm, and the ones that will abuse a defenseless animal, and most especially the ones of you that are physically, mentally and sexually abusive to other human beings, be they your husband, your wife, your girlfriend, your boyfriend, your child, or someone else's child. I HATE ABUSIVE PEOPLE THE MOST!

Abusive people aren't strong, they are little, weak, scared idiots that don't have enough sense to stand up and act like an adult. They are too lazy to actually work at a relationship, they would rather try to force someone to love them.

ABUSIVE PEOPLE SUCK!! Mean people in general suck, but abusive people suck harder, and not in a good way!

I've been having some unwanted experience with mean people, and I know someone else that is having some unwanted experience with abusive people. Neither of us deserve what we are expected to put up with.

The difference is I am NOT AFRAID to tell the liars and sneaks that I don't care what they think, and that maybe they should look in the mirror before they start talking about others, because there is plenty in their life that could be a tat embarrassing!! I'm not afraid to tell em to kiss my ass, AFTER they sterelize their lips!!

The other person just hasn't reached the point where they can stand up. They haven't reached the point where they can take control of their own life. And the fact that they are going through what they are going through is enough to piss off the best of us and make us want to kick her ass, but the fact of the matter is. WE CAN'T FIX IT!

We can ONLY fix ourselves.

Okay, I'm done. Have a good evening kiddies, and remember, keep the night light on because the monster under the bed is real and he is getting REALLY PISSED OFF about all the noise you make in your sleep!!

Summer, Summer......

I am SOOOOOOO lazy!! It's summertime and I have done NOTHING that I had planned on doing! But I DO have a good excuse!! It's been BLAZING hot around here for the last week or so.....and it's been muggy too....you know what I mean, the type of heat that just drains the energy right out of you.

But today I'm going to DO something! LOL Well, I have PLANS to do something, whether or not it gets done is a totally different story, but I DO have good intentions. (yeah, I know, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.....well, it HAS been hot, just not that hot!)

I'm going to clean and re-arrange my kitchen today. There I said it! Now I just need to DO it! You see, I have an ant problem. I have had an ant problem since the ground thawed out and the little buggers began crawling around. I have tried EVERYTHING, well, everything except an Anteater, and that's ONLY because I don't know where to get an Anteater, (if any of you out there happen to have one laying around gathering dust, please send it my way!!) and nothing has worked. I mean NOTHING!!

It's not those big black ants that are driving me to distraction.....it's those little biting things that have invaded my home. They are not only in the kitchen, the computer room and the bathroom, they are now trooping towards the bedroom. I just don't get it, I mean, I can understand them being interested in the kitchen, there are all kinds of goodies in there, but the bedroom???? There is nothing, and I repeat NOTHING, in my bedroom that any self-respecting ant would have even a glimmer of interest in! At this point in my life there isn't anything in my bedroom that I'M interested in! So I don't understand the ants sudden interest in my bedroom. (Maybe they know something I don't know? It's either that or they figure since I'm not using it to it's fullest extent they should step in and take over???)

Anyway, for whatever reason, the ants are taking over my house and I AM going to do something about it. (Maybe move?) I hate to use poisons, I have WAY too many little furry creatures to risk too much of that crap. And the Boric acid around the windows etc. hasn't worked. Even the outside sprinkle around the foundation stuff hasn't stopped these little invaders. I'm just not sure what else to do, but I'll try any suggestions that y'all may have.

I just don't want to wake up one morning tied up and staked out like Gulliver with thousands of little ants pacing around me trying to figure out exactly what I am and what they should do about me.

Maybe I should just plant a white flag in the middle of the house and try to get them to sign a truce??

Laters!