Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Sept 19 - Talk Like a Pirate Day

Ahoy Mateys! September 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day it is my favorite bizarre holiday (with Sneak a Zucchini on Your Neighbor’s Porch Night - August 8th coming in as a close second.) I’ve known about, yet not really observed Pirate Day for several years now, but this year it seemed like the right time to show my pirate-y side. My mateys and I decided to talk pirate-y all day at work for a short while there, we thought Pirate Day was 9-17, which is a Thursday. But we found out the actual day was a Saturday! Shiver me timbers!
While contemplating my future as a lily-livered landlubber, I found a treasure map that led the way to truly celebrating the holiday. Just follow the steps, X marks the spot …

Step 1 - Ducks
Deborah (“Deborarrr”), a saucy wench who I work with has been showcasing my rubber ducks each month at her desk here at KDDK because #1) she enjoys it and B) my desk has too many toys on it as it is, so the ducks tend to get lost in the process. (I will, however, maintain custody of the nativity ducks because I like having my nativity scene and I have a bunch of other scurvy dogs that sit in and watch the baby Jesus, including Batman, who protects Him from the Joker, a gnome, Darth Vader duels with Yoda over Him, a bobble-head penguin, and a stuffed vulture. But I digress.) When I asked her what type of ducks she wanted for September, since there’s no big holiday, she pointed out Talk Like a Pirate Day so on September 1st, pirate ducks showed up around her desk.

Step 2 – Chest o’ Booty
As I mentioned in a previous blog, I found the pirate chest/lunch box at Factory Card Outlet. The plan was to buy some chocolate dubloons to have spilling out of the chest but Deborarrr couldn’t find any when she went looking, and I never got back to Factory Card Outlet. But still the treasure chest full of candy has been quite a hit. Deborarrr makes anyone who comes for candy “arrr” for their candy or she forces them to walk the plank!

Step 3 – Inspiration
Then another matey, Kelly, told me that her sister loves Talk Like a Pirate Day and blogs about it every year. As she said this, a light bulb went on in my skull and crossbones. I needed to BLOG about Talk Like a Pirate Day! I had (at that time) 19 days to come up with my high-seas swashbucklin' adventure. But of course I’d need to be able to speak the lingo, so...
Step 4 - I found a website (http://www.talklikeapirateday.com/translate/) that translates anything into pirate-speak. I started my blog and translated it. So the blog was perfect. It only needed one more thing.

Step 5 – The Photograph
Like all truly talented photographers, I had to set the scene. Oh, I could have just posted a quick pic of the treasure chest and the ducks, but how bland.. If only I had a pirate costume.. Hmm… but wait! Do I not have an eye patch from my prior eye-goo problem? Does not a handsome young gnome of my acquaintance who generally dresses up as a pirate for Halloween have a hook? I mentioned my evil scheme to Deborarrr and then all we needed was for someone (me) to remember to bring in my birthday booty, er.. camera.
So long story short, below is photographic evidence of two hot, hip, happenin' pirates protectin' their loot. Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Friday, September 11, 2009

100 Blogs Down... ??? to Go

This is my 100th blog entry and I thought I'd take this moment to take stock. I began my blogging in September 2007. In the past two years, I have lost a total of seven fish, not including all unnumbered fish progeny. And my father. I don't mean to sound flip, there, it's been a main topic. I've taken Sophie to the vet at least five times for hairballs. I've reviewed more than ten movies and correctly chosen one Oscar winner. I have solemnly shared with the world my addiction to both Webkinz (which has been beat, by the way) and to Farm Town (the jury's still out on that one).

I read a book about a woman who got fired and then got divorced and started a blog for 40-something women starting over in life and subsequently solved a couple of murders (my lifelong goal, BTW). And I went to see Julie and Julia (see my review) about this woman who writes a blog while cooking her way thru Julia Child's book. What I took from these two blog-related items was that I really want to become a famous blogger... and to solve a murder.

However, I'm not sure that my blog is famous blog fodder. After all, I don't see that my blog topics are generally very deep. In fact, I take pride in my general shallowness. I don't read books that have redeeming value - I go more for mysteries with some smut (although there has been a slight detour into vampire romances). I don't enjoy movies with a "point," I go more for movies with explosions and Gerard Butler's abs. I don't enjoy educational television, I tend to watch The Simpsons and music videos. I don't enjoy conversations about the economy or politics or, well, I think you get my point.

So what is my point? Well, I can't promise that my next 100 blogs will be filled with perspicacious insights regarding the economy, religion or politics. But I can promise more stories about me, my cats, my researching a decision to buy a new car in the next year or so, and my move back to W-ville. I'll also try to watch and review as many movies as I can afford to go see and Gerard Butler can make. Also, as Mom and I intend to travel some (once she gets her passport), I will attempt to regale you with stories of my travels and show lots of pictures along the way.

I promise you, my faithful readers, that this will NOT be a blog where I dig deep into my inner emotional thoughts. Instead, I will strive to merely scrape the scabby surface. I will not whine about the things I don't have, or try to figure out what could make me happier with my life. I'm generally a glass is half-full person and I try not to cry over spilt milk. And if there are cookies available to go with that glass of milk, and if I'm wearing my fuzzy bunny slippers with a warm cat by my side, my life is as good as it gets. And I'll be ok with that. My friends, this is the dawn of part deux of Rose's Ramblings. This is.. well, this is going on too long.

Thanks for staying with me this far and feel free to join me for future adventures. Feel free to leave comments - where are you from? how did you find my blog? Nothing thrills my shallow little heart like when I find a comment! And does anyone but me feed the fish?? What's up with that?

"You Can't Go Home Again" - Thomas Wolfe

You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right. ~Maya Angelou

Back in February, when Dad got out of the hospital one time. He and I sat down and talked. I've mentioned it before. He told me a variety of things, but one of them was that he thought mom and I should sell the house in Wadesville and buy a condo or something in town and live together. I just sort of assumed that that's what would happen.

Mom and I have discussed it. With the current tax break to first time homeowners (and I would qualify) and the fact that it supposedly is a buyers market, it seemed like maybe this was the time to proceed. Now, I'm not going to say that we've looked hard. The house I grew up in has big rooms, a big backyard, a lot of peace and quiet. I drive around town seeing houses for sale that are so small and right up against its neighbor. Mom has a house full of stuff and I have an apartment full of stuff and collectively we have three cats which are NOT going to want to be close to each other, so a larger, roomier place is going to be necessary.

Mom knew that one of my main reasons for thinking condo was not having to be responsible for yardwork and house maintenance. I admit it, I'm generally lazy. I don't like to sweat or get dirty. I praise God for inventing air-conditioning and I firmly believe in taking advantage of His creation! So Monday, Labor Day, Mom and I went out to dinner at the new Feed Mill Restaurant in Poseyville. We talked about a variety of things, centering on Dad. There were tears, of course, and at one point we got to the topic of living plans and she pointed out that since the house is paid for, if I moved back home, I wouldn't be paying rent; and if I'm not paying rent, I can save up enough money that we could afford to hire someone to take care of the yard and other such things. It was like a lightning bolt hit me. DUH!

I've always been the type of person that I can make certain decisions easily. When I know what feels right, I go with it. What's the point of shilly-shallying? It just hit me that this was the right decision. I even talked it over with Dad on the drive back into the apartment. Mom doesn't want to leave her home.

Mom pointed out that I've been on my own now for 14+ years. Would I be able to handle moving back home. I told her that as long as she understood that the satellite dish and a black cat that sheds like nobody's business and yacks up the occasional hairballs come with me, and that I'm not a good housekeeper, and I am grumpy in the mornings and sometimes I might come home and grunt at her and then hide away on the computer/Facebook (Farm Town Rocks!) with the TV and my cats and not talk to her because I've had to talk to too many people and had too many people wanting too much from me all day and I just need some quiet, sane alone time, then I could handle moving back home.

So once I make a decision, I'm ready to make a plan and put it into action. So the first step of the grand plan is that Mom is going to move from the larger front bedroom where she's been sleeping for the past couple of years into the back bedroom where Dad had been sleeping and where had been their combined room for years before that. Then there's the extraneous furniture, including an organ (if anyone is interested), that needs to be sold or given away. Once the front bedroom is empty we'll have the 40-year old carpet taken up and replaced with something from this century. Meanwhile, mom will be taking her desk from the front room and moving her geneaology research into the computer room. Then I can start taking things out to Wadesville. Maybe if we keep our momentum going, we can get this all done by the end of the year. Sounds exhausting, doesn't it?

Anyway, long blog short, anyone want to help me move?