Well, I am getting a late start today and I am still way behind on my bookclub assignment. I have just been so distracted lately. Wednesday, the maid pointed out that one of the bathtubs (the one I use) was in bad condition. I had noticed that there was rust around the drain, but I had not realized how bad it had gotten. The maid pointed out that it was completely rusted through. Had I realized that, I would have stopped using it a long time ago. We called up a company that has the capability to place a new tub over the old one. That guy showed up yesterday and the time spent watching his video presentation and looking over his samples further cut into my reading time. I will be darn lucky if I am able to finish my book by Tuesday.
I am going to look over the 'Settings' options for this blog and see if there isn't some way that I can authorize anybody to be an 'author' and have the ability to make new, original posts while still retaining sole ownership of the blog so that I don't lose complete control of it. I hope there is a way to do that because it would help make it more of what I had originally envisioned the blog to be.
18 comments:
WM,
The cruise we will be going on is not a river cruise. Rich and I have discussed taking one of those. I would very much like to take one that goes from Amsterdam to Budapest. That will have to wait for another time, though. The one we are taking in June is this one.
Good morning All,
This will be another day of relative absence for me. I'll be outside where I really live. I did post earlier to the previous thread, this more or less screwing up the recent continuity, but it was a response to WM from late (EDT) last night.
I'll try to avoid that in the future, because it creates the problem I complained about last week.
PMT:
I think I and CA & WM are grateful to for creating this very open space. Whatever you choose to do with it, except ending it, will be fine.
Thanks.
Windhover
Hi PMT, Your June cruise looks wonderful. It is very similar to one an American cousin and her husband took two years ago. She's on the Russian side of the family, so she was very interested in going to St. Petersburg.
I've been to London, Copenhagen and Amsterdam, as well as Stockholm, but I've never been to Russia. My grandparents on my father's side came from the Kiev area, so it would be fun to visit. At least I think it would be. One of my Swedish cousins, who travels extensively in Europe and Asia for his job, says that the Russians are the most unfriendly people and the Danes are the most friendly. But he was speaking from a Swedish perspective, so it might be better (or worse) for an American. You'll have to let us know.
You may already know that most Swedes under the age of 50 speak passable to very good English. So you shouldn't have a problem getting around Stockholm. Get a map and a subway pass and you'll have a wonderful time. Other than wandering around Gamla Stan (Old Town), the Vasa Museum is not to be missed. If it is a nice day, and in June it probably will be, I recommend the Skansen outdoor museum. There are several wonderful art museums in the Gamla Stan area. You won't want for things to see. I won't go into all the other fascinating places outside of Stockholm, although just thinking about them, the country and the people makes me want to start planning another visit.
PMT...That is just absolutely lovely...I think my mom and dad took something similar years ago, before Russia was really opened up, because I remember her talking about all the convolutions they had to go through to actually get into Russia. You will have an awesome time...take lots of pictures and make a Picassa link or something for your album.
Windhover...My oh my...it is incredibly lovely and I love the photo of the Percherons! If I lived near you I would definitely be ordering lamb! Locally, the little family grocery store that I shop at has just brought in grass fed beef...so excited! We used to go up to OR once a year and have a beef slaughtered at my father-in-law's. They had a custom butcher in the area that would age the meat then cut it and freeze so that we could bring it home. It was all free range and of course the cuts were smaller but it had such a wonderful flavor.I spent some time reading a butchering book so that I could get the cuts I wanted. I can still bone things out pretty well all these years later. We really missed it when he decided to sell off all his cows/bulls(he hated to band them, so we always got bulls)...I had a really tough time getting used to supermarket meat again.
It's one of the things that I like about good raw-milk cheeses...you can taste the grasses and flowers and herbs. I have also eaten that wonderful lamb from Brittany that eats herbs that have been salted from the Bay Mont St.Michele as the extreme tides come in and out and leave salt deposits...also the oysters. I "interned" in a restaurant there for 7 days and learned so much from the chef. It is a 2-star restaurant and I did get to return once to go back and see everyone. I hope that this continues to be a success for you both as people begin to understand again the connection between the land and their food.Do you have any chef's in the area that buy from you?
I admire you both so much for what you do and sincerely hope that the next 4 years will see small farmers get the help they need and make it possible for others to return to land.
Soapbox again...time to go get busy.
And WH...Thanks you SO much for the link...just awesome!
WM, your post about finding a long lost cousin was kind of familiar to me. Several years ago my youngest sister was on an AOL chat site and amazingly, she got a message from someone asking if she was "so-and-so", the daughter of "what's his name". It turned out that he was the son of our father's half sister. We had met the family when we were younger, but they hadn't kept in touch and we lost track. Now after a 45 year lapse, we are all back in the loop. They live in the Chicago area, so we haven't seen them, but we get regular email updates with photos of themselves and new grandchildren.
Windhover, please post your link here. I would love to see it.
ClearAyes: obviously you thought I was kidding when I said I was functionally illiterate; I have no damned idea how to post a link. But I have sent the page link to your gmail.
PMT: please don't try to teach me anything, like most Americans, I have grown accustomed to ignorance.
Windhover
WH...I forward CA you email...save you more fiddling with the iPhone...which is WAY beyond my understanding how you manage all this!
Here's a little comment about something that was inappropriate to pursue in the alternate universe.
A discussion came up a couple of days ago about religion. I felt a unspoken attitude coming through when one poster, an obvious Christian fundamentalist, said something to the effect that "there is room here for all of us". The unspoken was that, although there may be room here on earth, when it is all over, I am going to Heaven and you are going to Hell.
The Christian fundamentalist focuses on Armageddon and the Rapture and the role of a war between Muslims and Jews in bringing about the Second Coming. What happens to the non-Christian population of the world is not of any particular interest to them. After all, we are all going to Hell.
That is the problem I have with any fundamentalist or evangelical. They can be friendly, kind and generous, but behind it all is a surety of eternal superiority.
And I agree with every genuine Jewish rabbi out there, that any group who follows Judaic teaching, but has accepted Jesus as the Messiah is not a Jew and never will be.
There, I feel better now that I've gotten that off my chest.
Gee, LOL, I wonder who is reading this blog's posts?
Windhover and WM, Thanks so much for the link. It does look wonderful. I'm going back to read more. I am also impressed with the iPhone. I wouldn't have any idea how to use that device!
CA...I wouldn't worry about who might sneak over to check this out. I think we have evolved ourselves into an open forum where we can be honest and actually discuss things and share stories.
I would have to agree with your 4:36 comments and have sensed some disapproval. I love the things Lemonade and others have to share and I thought it a bit interesting that there was a sort of Parallel Universe discussion going on yesterday...of most of the world's religions, I dislike the radical sects,of which extreme right wing Christian groups are a part. I can abide by anyone's beliefs until they start trying to shove it down my throat...pleasantly or not. I think one of the most dangerous things about the religious right these days is the hold they have on the politically extreme right...2 groups that should, by Constitutional law, be mutually exclusive and I'm not sure why that hasn't been challenged.
I really dislike when people hold up the bible as truth...I ask...whose? It is a long-lasting collection of stories and myths that have been added to and copied by hand over centuries. That fact alone should cast doubt on its veracity. The stories also come from long ago and things are done much differently and customes and ideolgy have changed...i.e. at least in this country we aren't still lopping off hands and plucking out eyes that offend us.
I do have one bone to pick with the virgin birth thing...I think it is unfair that one unwed mother was so clever as to think THAT story up and get away with..."No...really...it was angel!" Get serious! She really messed it up for all those that followed...who could top that one?
You know...I seem to have more soapboxes than I previously thought.80)
Just taking a break while the canvases dry...It takes about 1 whole day to gesso a big canvas(3 coats) and then tone ground it. I have 4 I am moving through so that I can paint for a bit w/o having to stop and do this all the time...it is really time consuming, but I really get a product that I can control. When I was working with smaller canvases, I could do about 4-5 in a couple of days. Now, it is at least 1 day for each one. :0P
Check back in later at wine time.
WM
WM, :o) I must not care who is reading these blog posts. It is pretty much too late for that. I'm just glad that we have found a forum....THANK YOU PMT, where we don't have concern ourselves with offending others with our honesty.
PMT, I understand you wanting to hand over some day to day authoring to anybody who wants a "say". I hope it is possible. If anything too out of line was posted, you could always delete it. Being a blog owner can be very time consuming. I hope you are enjoying the freedom of thought/write enough to make it worth your while.
You guys are really running with this and I think that's great. That was my hope, to turn this blog over to the people. I had not really envisioned this to be a place that was contrary to C.C.'s blog. Quite the opposite, I just thought that, since there was a post limit over there and, since her blog is about the crossword, it might be nice if there was a place where people could go to either discuss things in depth or discuss things that were possibly too far off-topic. I thought that this would be something she might appreciate as it would help keep her blog more focused. That being said, I have no problem with anything that has been discussed here so far and I still have no intention of censoring this blog in any way. I am going to make everyone who has participated over here an Author. This will mean that you can start your own unique posts, such as the ones I have been doing in the morning where I have included a picture. Basically, you will be able to start new topics. Blogger limits the number of Authors to 100, but that restriction will not pose a problem for some time. By making you guys Authors, you will be able to offer an initial daily post in my absence (for example, in June, while I am in Northern Europe).
ClearAyes, Thank you for the wonderful tips about what to see in Stockholm. Having never been there, this is very useful information. Is the photo of Stockholm that I used for this morning's post Gamla Stan?
I am sure I won't want for things to see. I am looking forward to ogling all the gorgeous Swedish boys.
Can you post the Percherons link?
WM, Thank you for the Picassa suggestion. I should do that for my many, many photos of the Orient, as well.
Yes, the trip should be lovely and you would appreciate the particular cruise line we are taking. One of the major selling points of Oceania Cruises is the quality of their food. The cruise line boasts none other than Jacques Pépin, former personal chef to Charles De Gaulle, as their executive chef.
Now, for something a bit different. A psychologist friend of mine sent me this yesterday. My particular favorite is #17 :)
Good evening congregants,
I've enjoyed reading your earlier comments. They dovetail neatly with an experience I had last night. My wife works two days a week in the College of Public Health at UK. (it buys our health insurance + about $300 a month in beer money). Her group had a paper published in a professional journal, and this was a mini celebration. Among her coworkers is a guy whose entire persona revolves around being Jewish. He's a likeable guy, but he believes Israel has a claim to Palistine because God gave it to them 3000 years ago. This claim legitamizes any action the nation of Israel takes, including the slaughter of innocents. We had that conversation several months ago, and we have agreed to disagree in the interest of civility.
Mark knows I am a bit of a Luddite, and was asking about the iPhone,which I have only had for about 3 months (no cell or computer prior to that). That led to a discussion of our blogs, in which I described some of
Lemonades interesting theological points last week, and some of the subliminal Christian reaction. That led him to remark that while he didn't agree with any Christian doctrine, he was grateful for their support of Israel. I
Guess my facial expression revealed my reaction to that, so I was forced to explain.
I told him that Christian right support is for Israel, not for Jews. I explained the rapture and tribulation, and that Jews who do not convert will be slain along with other nonbelievers. When the various prophecies that lead to the culmination of the end time, Christians and Christ will have no further use for the Jews nor Israel. Mark's response: "Well, I guess I subscribe to the 'any port in a storm theory'". I gave up.
One of the maddening things I can't stand is when people quote the bible as a reference book. I have found that most people approach the Bible as if it was originally written in American English, and that every word and idea are literal truths, to be read and applied as if they were written in anticipation of this mornings headline.
I am mostly tolerant or at least silent in the face of these beliefs. Two of my very best friends are Christian ministers, but both of them actually live the ideals they espouse, unlike most. I'm sure I occasionally appear in their prayers, but they accept who I am and we rarely discuss or differences. I know very few Christians who are that accepting. I have told them that I often wish they were right, because the idea of Cheney in hell really appeals to me.
This rant doesn't seem to have a lot of coherence, so I'm going to bail and read your later thoughts. I'll try again later, maybe a lot later. My index finger needs a rest. Have at it, all of you. I'm going to the propane refrigerator for a Murphy's. Did I mention we don't have electricity in the house? Luddites, remember?
Windhover
ClearAyes:
Was that the same Christian Fundamentalist who referred to me as an 'agnastic' and then denied it? I actually liked the word and the definition (touchy nonbeliever). It fit me to a T, especially that day.
Windhover
Sorry...I deleted my previous post..just being pissy and to no avail.
PMT...loved the little kid Catholic stuff...#10 LMAO.
I really liked some of WH's comments and find myself in complete agreement...
Have to go fix dinner...might check in one more time later.
Also...PMT I got a del. Staus Notif. on that email...StickANeedleInYourEye@google.com...Are you sure it wasn't gmail.com? and do you have to have the caps? Remember...I am computer illiterate. If you like, you could contact me through gmail(avatar link) or my hotmail acct and I will attach the link to WH's Farm...
WM
I'll have to go back and read today's comments in detail. But for now, how about this? LED Sheep Art. I don't think Windhover will be able to see the link, but given the admiration of sheep I have seen displayed here, I had to share. The dogs are the real stars of this show, AND Welsh sheep farmers obviously have too much time on their hands, LOL.
WM,
Sorry about that. It is StickANeedleInYourEye@gmail.com and I only spell it with the caps to make it more readable. For me, it makes it easier to visualize when trying to recall it. The caps are not necessary, though. It makes no difference.
PMT...thanks. I will forward the link to you.
CA...I actually saw the video of the sheep...I can't begin to imagine what it takes to train the dogs to do that! It is just so amazing...silly sheep!
See y'all mañana...WM
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