Thank you Deputy, and to you as well. Still in a reflective (if not slightly unhinged) mood on this cloudy Saturday. The 'grammar fairy' noticed that you had a couple of misspellings in your last post. As such, I thought perhaps you may appreciate these:

 

Is it Spring yet? This January thaw feels soooo loverly – thank you Mother Earth/Apollo Helios! It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep can do for the psyche. Hand in hand I’m ready to be led into a more temperate season – a time for rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection and regrowth. Ok.. the word ‘resurrection’ may be a little strong but you get the drift….

I.

Am.

Ready.



Personally, I’m glad my funk didn’t last very long. I have to admit that I was in a really bad way when I stormed out of my session last week. While the therapist consulted with his cronies, about what to do next, I had visions of group therapy - much akin to a weight watcher meeting where everyone has a different idea of what works best. If you’ve ever been curious as to what a weight watcher meeting is like… don’t. There is no announcer that gives a PSA as soon as you step on the scale. ‘May I have your attention please… Ms. Danbury Mint has topped the scales and her value is going up… ding, ding, ding, ding!’

Nah.. It’s fairly discreet, low key and friendly. You go in…. step on the scale, they quietly write your weight down in a log book and tell you if you’ve lost or gained. One half hour later, after listening to stories from others who struggle with similar issues, one calmly tells themselves ‘I can do this’ -ready to take on the new week with an exemplary, renewed vigor.

Seeing as it's Sunday - I'm sentimental - and I appear to be in a somewhat good mood, I thought I’d revisit a post from a few years ago. It’s called Ode to a forum. Thank you.

'I didn't think much about anything the first time I saw you, other than you were there, soft spoken and wearing a t-shirt. You seemed small in stature but big on detail. I was at your mercy and I told you that the first time we spoke, not knowing what was wrong with my Rover 'this time'. We talked a long time about life and Rovers, where you grew up and what you had been through. I wanted to help but didn't know how I could contribute. I could feel your pain and see the person(s) behind the shield. I couldn't get you out of my mind after we had parted, wondering if you were going to be ok, if there was anything that I could do to assist. You had helped me and I wanted to help you.

I wasn't like this with any other forum. You were so convincing. It was obvious that you had either been thru a lot or that you were a well versed, rehearsed machine. I chose to believe the former and you stayed on my mind and in my person over the next year. My confidant, sighing in despair, told me to give up my mission of wanting to help. He didn’t have the patience for my passion and his passivity perturbed me to no end. So I put you on the backburner of my brain and went about my daily life, catching up from time to time with you as life permitted and when my Rover drove me crazy rather than down the road.

I always thought of you as a friend and was thankful for you that you held my hand when I needed it the most.You were always there and I felt like a major pain in your side, the annoying ‘tag along too-loo’ that was looking for help 24/7. Never having my act together, putting off fixes til the cows came home, and you were always there to answer my questions with respect, courtesy and kindness without another thought as to what was in it for you.

It’s nice to hang out where everyone knows your name. It’s nice to think that someone can like me for me regardless of my childish antics, idiosyncrasies or slightly perturbing behavior and off-topic rants. I feel that with you. So I thank you, forum, for being there for me. It’s a good ‘older brother’ feeling – feeling protected, like someone has my back, someone is looking out for me.

Respectively and appreciatively signed,
Ms. Slightly Crazy'

 

 

Well I didn’t get around to taking a photo of the Prude billboard last week as it’s a hard intersection to play tourist. Too many vehicles to stop and gawk. I did notice today, however, that the proprietor changed the sign to advertise their world famous polish sausage, haha.. world famous huh? I bet they taste good.

Dang.. New Year’s resolution number 582… stop thinking/talking/obsessing about food… and your thighs… and think about positive things. I can do this.

So as you may have guessed, I moseyed over to the gym this afternoon for another session of sweaty male transference but I just wasn’t feeling it. I walked up the stairs, gym bag in hand, and peeked in and there were FIVE people working out. Too big of a crowd for me and I didn’t see Richard Simmons anywhere in sight. I was hoping – I need a little pep talk and it would be good to see him. ‘Best to keep to myself today’, I thought, and take a walk outside in the drizzle. So that’s what I did and let me tell you.. there is something so fine about being all dressed up with nowhere to go, analyzing someone else’s neighborhood while singing in the rain. My sunglasses still have condensation on the lenses. That’s right boys and girls.. sunglasses in the rain – a very stylish, multi-functional hair accessory in the New Year of 2017.

Speaking of which.. how many of you are following thru with your New Year Rover resolutions? Do you have six dollars tucked away in a coffee can, fishing tackle box or car part somewhere? We’re up to week 4 now.. by the end of the week you should have $10 safely tucked away. Just remember, ‘don’t tell your wife,’ because we all know what they do with extra money or inoperable vehicles kicking around. Cash out or cash in. Oh! And I forgot to mention that you can actually hack the 52 week savings plan too by contributing to the kitty in an ‘out of order’ fashion. Nothing states that you ‘have to’ add your notes in an orderly fashion (ie; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.). Go crazy and put the $52 in next week if you want or whenever you have some extra dough. I dunno.. after you have a garage sale, or sell a spare part or two or maybe when you get 3 paychecks a month or something… it can be fun to mix it up. If you do that though, just remember to cross them off as you go so you recall which one you’re adding and don’t duplicate your efforts. Another thought is you could start out with 52 and work your way down to 1 by the end of the year so it gets easier with time but I tend to feel broke in January so I just do it the chaotic way.. which is so like me, as long as I get it done within a specified amount of time. Six and one half dozen the other.

Alright.. enough rambling for one day. But before I go I thought it interesting that I received an e-mail from my ‘billboard colleague’ the other day asking how I liked my vest and ‘did I try it on?’. He then proceeded to say that if mine was too big he had some medium and large on order (I kid you not) and that I was welcome to one of those if I was so inclined. Hmmm…. interesting turn of events.

Tootles!

 

A "cat lover" birthday...something I thought I'd never experience...or for that matter...even witness. But, thank you.

Doing the challenge backwards. Prefer a task that starts difficult and ends easily.

Still not getting my misspelled words in my last post, but that's fine...being old, semi-intelligent, tired from working 11 hours a day and typing responses at 3:30 am will cause such issues. How's that for a bunch of excuses...lol.

Walking is an excellent exercise, and so is thinking...and the two usually go very well together.

Brian.

 

Well, apparently, Deputy, you misspell and I’m chaotic.. lol.. as Deepak Chopra once said ‘all great things are preceded by chaos’ and chaotic would well describe my mind at times. I believe I should have said that there were some misspellings in your previous post. Nothing like the present to make a girl think..

…or walk…in a political dissent march. Were there many bouts of ‘organized crime’ this past weekend where you live? Another one is in the works for here. So much for a peaceful transition of power.

I hope you enjoyed your day yesterday

So what you’re telling me is that you like doing things the ‘backward induction’ way, hm?.... reminds me of my walk yesterday, kept turning around to see who was coming up behind me and decided to continue walking that way – working different muscles and all…you know – mixing it up. A little of this, a little of that and therefore am feeling a little sore today. It got me thinking…about the human brain.. and how it isn’t a muscle but rather an organ with many cognitive skills, one which needs training and continued lessons (in order) to be ready for that next game of chess. Subgame perfect equilibrium has always been a topic that has fascinated me.

Speaking of which…I had a nice conversation with my dad this past weekend while visiting the ‘rents. He told me that he used to play chess with his comrades and, after some time, no one would play with him anymore. I asked him ‘why?’ and he replied that he taught himself to play the game backwards and won every game thereafter. Best not to mess with my dad – he’s the type to start kicking *** and taking names every chance he gets. Kind of like Trump but in a good way. He informed me that pawns cannot move backwards so I guess I have no other option than to march forward

Ok.. so enough political talk for one day. Time for me to go look at some missed connection postings. I enjoy doing that. I equate it to throwing a bottle out to sea or finding/sending a note tied to a balloon going up to the heavens.

 

still reading missed connections..but I found this little ditty in the process..



Kind of what I feel like at 3:15 in the afternoon.. snack time! No.. not snack time.. snack time! No, not snack time..

no, no, no, no, no.. No snacks for you! Well you... yes.. me? no, no, no.. that's a big no no..

 

Hmm…a little perplexed here today and oh, by the way.. I lied on Monday.
I wasn’t singing in the rain on my walk. I broke a sweat, got winded, felt weak at the knees, almost had a melt down, had to stop, cursed a small hill and thought about taking a short cut through a field back to the Rover.

But I didn’t.

I forged ahead much like the protesters at the political dissent march and was slightly proud of myself in the process.

‘I can do this,’ I say…

I was winded, and at one point I thought I was going to faint because I was booking at such a pace. Do you know how hard it is to try and act normal when all you want to do is keel over and stare at the sky? Yeah, I thought so… Visions of being a ‘femme fatale seductress wrenching extraordinaire’ flashed thru my mind which motivated me enough to break out into a sprint. Well not really, but you know.. it sounds good and she looks cool:



Except my knees don’t look like hers, I don’t have short hair either or her pixie little body. But, again, I digress. Apparently I’m thinking about the wrong things here and need to focus on my Rover.

ROVER.

Check.

Not mate.

Just check.

And while I’m at it.. I mustn’t think about anything (or anyone) else – just focus on the most important thing in my life – which is ‘my’ Rover and the issue at hand right now.

And what is the issue at hand?.....

She apparently is dirty, stinks and isn’t running right.

No.. no.. that’s not it. I gave her a bath on Sunday… cleaned her out too but she does smell - something funny. It’s coming from the rear well area, I dunno what it is. According to my search on the forum here, it could be a plethora of issues at hand. My fan shroud could be hitting the fan and melting, it could be an old squirrel’s nest near the exhaust (lighting a fire, or two, when the moment is right), OR, it could be something stuck on my rear braking mechanism (caliper, rotor, pad issue). This seems to be the most likely issue and after a little dirty detective work (not unlike a scorned older wife finding out that her husband is still talking to a young 20-something-year-old) - she is hot (and do I dare say smokin’).

Gotta love brake issues. I just had them replaced last year (no.. I didn’t do them myself) so I guess I’ll be heading back to the mechanic to see what the problem really is and why this continues to happen.

Did I tell you that I hate winter? It seems like my calipers/rotors or brakes get gummed up every single year and the Rave isn’t much help to me. Don’t get me wrong.. I’m happy that it’s available but find it hard to diagnose issues when reading it. I mean where does one start with a funky odor? That’s not in the Rave. At least not from what I’ve seen. Besides.. my brain tends to work on pattern recognition and I haven’t seen any patterns in the Rave other than I haven’t wanted to use it. Ok, I take it back.. there are some pretty etch a sketch drawings in the ETM portion but nothing about odors that I can see.

And if I was reaaaaaally being open and honest today, I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that my brain sometimes freaks me out with its pattern recognition identifier abilities. What does Cartman, Shipman and searching for a funny get well card on the internet have in common? I really don’t know either but whatever it is freaked me out so bad that it stopped me dead in my tracks.

 

I think I need to stop reading ‘The Snacking Dead’ cookbook that I picked up, recently, at the dollar store. It’s making me think all sorts of crazy things.. and making me want to eat.

‘Pam ran hard with Ronnie until the walker swarm was far behind them. But what were they running to? They had no shelter. What would they eat? How would they cook? (sounds like they need a Jack Pine Savage to the rescue)

Ronnie stopped dead and looked upward. Out of the morning midst, just behind a line of trees, loomed two crenellated towers. Between them was an open drawbridge with a portcullis.

Pam shook her head in disbelief. “This can’t be for real,” she said.

“It can be, and it is,” said a low voice.

Pam spun around. Behind them stood two men dressed in knight’s armor and helmets with visors. One held a rifle on her.

“What the hell is this place?” Pam demanded when their captor removed the blindfold.

They found themselves in a banquet hall right out of medieval times, its walls hung with axes and banners. Half a dozen people in modern dress were calmly setting a long table with pewter plates and mugs, as if for a sumptuous meal. There were armored guards at the door. (Presumably to keep me from running to the buffet table to plate up all of the fattening food).

“The King will answer your questions,” said the man. He removed his armor and helmet (oooo.. removal of clothing) to reveal a flannel work shirt and jeans (Oh darn..well at least I know where my jack pine savage is..).

“For now, you two need to rest. All I can tell you is, you’re safe here. We keep the walkers outside, and we lead normal lives inside. At least, as normal as you can when you’re shut in a medieval theme restaurant."

A tall good-looking man strode into the room (who I paid absolutely no attention to) and whispered to the man who brought them in. He nodded twice and looked closely at Pam.

“Welcome to Canterbury Times,” he announced.

Ronnie glared at him as he held out a tray.

“Would you ladies care for a popper?”’

“OH YES PLEASE!” I gushed.. (of course I still wasn’t looking at him, just eyeing the jalapeno popper like a rabid animal in heat - hot & cheesy, just the way I like it).

Bedtime story and/or Super Bowl snack idea. The decision is all yours:

Secretly Sadistic Jalapeno Poppers

Makes 32 Jalapeno Poppers

16 large jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise
8 ounces cream cheese (about 1 cup), at room temperature
4 ounces Jack or sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
½ cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
¼ cup minced yellow onion
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
Pinch of Cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick Spray
Lime wedges (for serving) or for doing lime shots (again your decision)

1) Preheat the oven to 375 F.

2) Using a spoon, carve out the guts, veins, and seeds of the jalapenos. Rinse under cold water to loosen any remaining seeds and let dry hollow side down on paper towels.

3) Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a small bowl, smash together the cream cheese, shredded cheese, corn, onion, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, and salt until smooth.

4) Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray and distribute the jalapeno boats, hollow side up. Depending on the size of the pepper, fill each jalapeno with 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of the cheese filling. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the poppers are tender and the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the top and serve hot.

Nighty night!

OH.. PS.. don't worry, I didn't try out the recipe, just drooled on a page or two as I flipped thru them reading. Besides, I just read it for the bedtime stories.. nothing else - but for those of you who like pictures......enjoy!