blue brain

Your Brain is Blue

Of all the brain types, yours is the most mellow. You tend to be in a meditative state most of the time. You don't try to think away your troubles. Your thoughts are realistic, fresh, and honest. You truly see things as how they are. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about your friends, your surroundings, and your life.

What Color Is Your Brain?

70's child, maybe 80's

You might be a child of the 70's or 80's if...(Or you might be my age, give/take, if...)
You know the profound meaning of "Wax On Wax Off".
You ever wore Fluorescent, neon clothing.
You remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and when he was still black.
You have worn a Banana Clip.
You knew what Willis was "talkin' 'bout".
You hold a special place in your heart for "Back to the Future"
You know where to go if you "wanna go where everybody knows your name."
You thought "Dirty Dancing" was a good movie.
Punks actually "shocked" people.
You remember when ATARI was a state of the art video game.
You own many cassettes.
Poltergeist freaked you out.
You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the ONLY female smurf.
You remember when Saturday Night Live was funny.
You know what PacMan is.
You know who shot J.R.
You had a crush on Shawn Cassidy.
You ever said, "Gag me with a spoon."
You wore leg warmers.
You ever had a Dorothy Hamill or Short and Sassy haircut.
You know who Nadia Comeniche is. (I think it's safe to say I massacred the spelling of her last name.)
You can sing that McDonald's song, "Two all beef patties, special sauce...."
You remember when the oldies said Olivia Newton John promoted bestiality because of her song "Let's get physical."
You ever rented a VCR the size of an end table.

Feel free to add to my list.

Just wondering

My dear sister-in-law recently sent this to me. Now she is years and years and years older than me so I've deleted from her list some of the things I couldn't remember and added a few of my own. When one stops to think about it, there have been lots of changes in my life.

DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN ...?

It took a few minutes for the TV warm up? We had a clothes hanger on the channel knob to better the reception. Sometimes when the static would be bad we'd argue over who had to get up to hit the side of the tv.
Nobody owned a purebred dog? I take exception to this. I am quite sure our dogs were purebreds. Purebred hounds. Is there such a thing? :-)
Your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces? Hey, those are back and I bought some. Fortunately they don't require that awful belt at the top with the little snappy dilly.
All your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done every day and wore high heels? Well my teachers didn't necessarily wear high heels, but they dressed nicely.
You got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, all for free, every time? And you didn't pay for air? "Fill 'er up," is what Mama always said.
Quaker oats had little gifts in the canister. Mama's favorite cup, plastic white with green swirlies on top, came from Quaker oats.
It was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents? It was such a privilege that I never got it, not till I was a teenager.
When people went steady? Kids these days call it "going out" even if they don't go anywhere. I think the kids are trying to mess with our minds. Then too, I remember using the phrase "going with." But even back in my day, I occasionally got stumped with that one. One day my friend told me she was "going with Jeff" and I said, "going where?"
No one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked?
Lying on your back in the grass with your friends and saying things like, 'That cloud looks like a ..."
Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger?
Candy cigarettes?
Home milk delivery in glass bottles. I don't think this ever happened in my area, but maybe it did and I didn't know. It certainly didn't happen in the country. However, just for the thrill of telling it, my house has a milk cupboard by the back door. This cupboard opens from the outside, where the milk man would leave the bottles, and from the inside, where the lady of the house would retrieve the milk. Isn't that quaint? It's not unusual up here, though I'd never seen it before moving here.
Party lines. We shared a line with Mrs Nash. She and Stacie gave each other a run for their money. They were both quite the telly-gabbers.
45 RPM records. Gordon still has loads of these. I married a sentimental man who can't part with his youthful hobbies.
Green Stamps. I loved it when Mama would take her green stamp books and we'd go redeem them in Fort Smith.
Metal ice cubes trays with levers. Man did I ever lose lots of tongue skin on those babies.
Carbon paper. That stuff was a thrill to have. I found some once and it was a treasure. I made all kinds of tests for friends to do. I got to be the teacher when we played school because I was the one with the carbon paper.
Roller-skates. Gordon was the king of roller skating. He still has them and no matter how many garage sales I've tried to put them in, I've never been allowed.
Drive in movies. I miss these. I think we'd have some great family fun at one of these. And I'm serious.
Lincoln Logs. I never owned any of these, but I loved playing with them during recesses at school on rainy days.
5 cent packs of baseball cards with a pink slab of bubble gum.
Jiffy Pop popcorn. I remember the commercials although we never bought any. The commercial sure did the trick making me want some though.
Decisions were made by going 'eeny-meeny-miney-moe'?
Catching the fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening? We don't have "lightening bugs" here, but often on summer nights I think about them and wish I could see some and see my girls catching them like I did.
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was 'cooties'?
Spinning around, getting dizzy, and falling down was cause for giggles?
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team? This happened to me more than once and yes, it was very embarrassing.

7 wonders

Years ago, probably in Junior High, I did an essay on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. I think I still have it. Bozo Brain teacher gave me a B-. It was easily an A. Anyway, the "wonders" of the world have always intrigued me.

Last year I learned there was another list being compiled. This list is the New Seven Wonders of the World. I quickly cast my votes and encouraged all my family members to do likewise. I thought it was a cool way to influence history.

Well, today they released the winners of the New Seven Wonders contest. Of course these don't replace the ancient seven wonders, the are merely newer.

There were 21 contenders for the prize. I'm mildly disappointed by some of the results. As you'll see, only 3 of my choices made the cut.

The contest has been in the making for at least 6 years and received millions and millions of voters.

The winners are: (imagine the drum roll here)

• The Great Wall of China (I voted for this one)
• Petra in Jordan
• Brazil's statue of Christ the Redeemer
• Peru's Machu Picchu (I voted for this one)
• Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid
• The Colosseum in Rome (I voted for this one)
• India's Taj Mahal

When I voted, I easily chose my first 5, but I struggled with the last two. I actually did some reading as it was an important decision for me. My seventh choice was difficult, and unfortunately I don't remember what I finally decided on. In all honesty, my 7th vote could have been anything as they were all equally impressive, but none stood out like my first 6.

I voted for:

The Great Wall of China
The Colosseum in Rome
The Acropolis in Athens
The Pyramids in Egypt
Stonehedge in England
Machu Picchu in Peru
don't remember what #7 was

These should have won, but I'm going to be a good sport about this.

Poor Billy

Poor poor Bill Gates. He's been shoved out of the title "richest person in the world." Seems a Mexican fella named Slim has more stuff to strut now. Something like 67 billion bucks. Poor Bill only has a mere 58 billion. Must really suck to be in the poor house like that.

58 billion? 67 billion? Truth be told, either is a fair chunk of change, don't you think?

trivia, again (Because it's Canada Day)

Facts about Canada

Canada is the second largest country in the world, with 9,971,000 square kilometres of land.

The baseball glove was invented in Canada in 1883.

With only three people per square kilometer, Canada has the fourth lowest population density in the world.

Vancouver Canada is tied with Zurich Switzerland for the highest quality of life of any city in the world.

Canada has the ninth biggest economy of the world

According to the United Nations Human Development Index, Canada has the highest quality of life in the world.

Canada does not own the North Pole. The North Pole is not owned by any country. It is believed, however, that Santa Claus is from Canada.

Canadian Quiz

I've been reading Canadian Trivia for the past hour. Hey, it's Canada Day! Because I know a few of you like trivia, I'm posting this for your entertainment. I hope Canadian trivia does something for you.

What is the origin of the name "Canada"?
Canada is a name derived from the Huron-Iroquois kanata meaning, a village or settlement

Who was the first Prime Minister of Canada?
Sir John A. Macdonald

What animal is on the Canadian quarter?
the CARIBOU

How many oceans touch Canada?
THREE - the Atlantic on the east, the Pacific on the west and the Arctic to the north

How many countries border Canada?
ONE - the United States of America

How many provinces in Canada?
TEN - from west to east they are: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland

What is the capital city of Canada (the national capital)?
Ottawa

True or False? Canada is the world's second largest country, by land mass?
TRUE

What is the Canadian $1 coin called?
the Loonie (the loon is a Canadian bird and is pictured on the coin, thus the name)

How many territories in Canada?
THREE - from west to east they are: Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut

What is the most recent territory in Canada called?
Nunavut

When was the most recent territory in Canada formed?
April 1, 1999

True or False? Superman was created by a Canadian?
TRUE

Who were the first people to live in Canada?
(a) Europeans, (b) Americans, (c) Aboriginals, or (d) Norsemen
(c) the aboriginals or first nations peoples were the first inhabitants of Canada

What is the leader of Canada called?
the Prime Minister

What leaf is on the Canadian flag?
the maple leaf - it is the national emblem of Canada

What is the Canadian national anthem called?
O Canada

What rodent is described by the Canadian Encyclopedia as having "had a greater impact on the history and exploration of Canada than any other animal or plant species"?
the BEAVER

What measurement is used in Canada to measure temperature?
Celsius

How many national languages does Canada have?
TWO

What are Canada's national languages?
English and French

What was the name of the system of safe passages and safehouses that allowed American slaves to escape to freedom in Canada?
The Underground Railroad

What is Laura Secord famous for?
Laura Secord warned the British of the impending attack on Canada by the Americans during the war of 1812 and because of this warning the British won the battle

How many time zones in Canada?
SIX

What is the name of the highest mountain in Canada?
Mount Logan

You Deserve to Know

I copied this directly, I am only reporting what I read.

"Boogers are mucus (myoo-kuss). Mucus is the thin, slippery material that is found inside your nose. Many people call mucus snot. Your nose makes nearly a cupful of snot every day. Snot is produced by the mucous membranes in the nose, which it moistens and protects.

When you inhale air through your nose, it contains lots of tiny particles, like dust, dirt, germs, and pollen. If these particles made it all the way to the lungs, the lungs could get damaged and it would be difficult to breathe. Snot works by trapping the particles and keeping them in the nose.

After these particles get stuck inside the nose, the mucus surrounds them along with some of the tiny hairs inside the nose called cilia. The mucus dries around the particles. When the particles and dried-out mucus clump together, you're left with a booger!

Boogers can be squishy and slimy or tough and crumbly. In fact, boogers are a sign that your nose is working properly."

I hope you enjoyed the reading.

Last Words

This is the last of earth! I am content.
~~ John Quincy Adams, US President, d. February 21, 1848

See in what peace a Christian can die.
~~ Joseph Addison, writer, d. June 17, 1719

Is it not meningitis?
~~ Louisa M. Alcott, writer, d. 1888

Oh, I am not going to die, am I? He will not separate us, we have been so happy.
Spoken to her husband of 9 months, Rev. Arthur Nicholls.
~~ Charlotte Bronte, writer, d. March 31, 1855

I'm bored with it all.
Before slipping into a coma. He died 9 days later.
~~ Winston Churchill, statesman, d. January 24, 1965

Now, oh Lord, set Thy servant free.
~~ Nicholaus Copernicus, astronomer, d 1543


Trust in God and you need not fear.
~~ Jonathan Edwards, theologian, d. 1758

Never heed! The Lord's power is over all weakness and death.
~~ George Fox, founder of the Quakers, d. 1691

Come my little one, and give me your hand.
Spoken to his daughter, Ottilie.
~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, writer, d. March 22, 1832

I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark.
~~ Thomas Hobbes, writer, d. 1679

Farewell, my children, forever. I am going to your father.
~~ Marie Antoinette, queen of France, d. 1793

My soul I resign to God, my body to the earth, my worldly goods to my next of kin.
~~ Michaelangelo, artist, d. 1564

Lord help my poor soul.
~~ Edgar Allan Poe, writer, d. October 7, 1849

I love you Sarah. For all eternity, I love you.
Spoken to his wife.
~~ James K. Polk, US President, d. 1849

Here am I, dying of a hundred good symptoms.
~~ Alexander Pope, writer, d. May 30, 1744

It matters little how the head lies, so the heart be right.
~~ Walter Raleigh, professor, d. 1618

Lord open the eyes of the King of England.
~~ William Tyndale, reformer and scholar, d. 1536

Life, life! Death, death! How curious it is!
~~ Daniel Webster,statesman, d. 1852

Go away. I'm all right.
~~ H. G. Wells, novelist, d. 1946

Either that wallpaper goes, or I do.
~~ Oscar Wilde, writer, d. November 30, 1900

The machinery is just worn out. I am ready.
~~ Woodrow Wilson, US President, d. 1924

Trivia

You remember how much I like trivia? Well these are some of the latest things I've learned. I hope they're all true as I hate it when someone (Stacie) corrects me.

Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible.

Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature.

Ohio is the only US state without a rectangular flag. Ohio's flag is a pennant.

Swans are the only birds with penises.

Teeth are the only parts of the human body that can't repair themselves.

The first graves in Arlington National Cemetery were dug by James Parks, a former Arlington Estate slave. He is the only person buried in Arlington National Cemetery who was also born on the property.

The only active diamond mine in the United States is in Arkansas.

The only river that flows both north and south of the equator is the Congo. It crosses the equator twice.

The only wood used by famed London cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale was mahogany.

According to the Kinsey Institute, the biggest erect penis on record measures 13 inches. The smallest tops off at 1 3/4 inches.

An average person uses the bathroom 6 times per day.

In 1945 a computer at Harvard malfunctioned and Grace Hopper, who was working on the computer, investigated, found a moth in one of the circuits and removed it. Ever since, when something goes wrong with a computer, it is said to have a bug in it.

Midgets and dwarfs almost always have normal-sized children, even if both parents are midgets or dwarfs.

Offered a new pen to write with, 97% of all people will write their own name.

Do those things interest anyone else?

Perhaps tomorrow I'll share the "last words" of some famous people. I read some and found them quite interesting.

For Amusement

Last night I couldn't sleep so I ended up at the computer searching for things to make me laugh, smile, or generally amuse me. Here are some things that did at least one of those.

http://www.vidilife.com/index.cfm?f=media.play&vchrMediaProgramIDCryp=DED7ADA7-E082-4BC0-A4EA-1

I laughed out loud when I watched that and I could see myself in just about every one of those women, sparing a couple of course.

Now for a challenge:

1. While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand.

Were you able to keep that foot going clockwise? Me neither.

Last, check this out when you have a few minutes to kill, like when you have caffeine late in the day and are cruising the internet in the wee morning hours. It's the "episode" section on the side that is amusing.

http://dogblogtv.com

Cute, eh?

For some reason, I couldn't get either of the above websites to become links. So select them and put them in your browser window and then you can watch them.

A - Z

Another stolen idea from Jones

A - Animals. I love them.
B - Bran Flakes, my new vice.
C - My maiden initial
D - Dogs, Lucy and Bear
E - Elaine, a friend I had lunch with
F - Forsythias, I miss forsythias.
G - Gordo, my Babo. I appreciate him.
H - Heaven, won't that be nice!
I - Indifferent, my emotion of late
J - Johnny Cash, he's been on my mind.
K - Kathleen is Hannah's middle name. When she was 6 weeks old we met a vicious Kathleen and Gordon hasn't liked the name since.
L - Lacy our cat, may she rest in peace.
M - Mena, my home town
N - New medicines, I'm sleeping too much because of them.
O - Orangutan, I have got a good orangutan story but I'm too embarrassed to tell it.
P - Paint, what color shall we paint the living room?
Q - Quilts, I love quilts.
R - Rivalry, two of my girls are really into it.
S - Sewing. I cut out a camo skirt for Rachael today.
T - Trust in the Lord Valerie. Trust in the Lord.
U - Unmotivated, I'm looking forward to it passing.
V- Vegetable Stew, it's for supper.
W - Weary, I feel a little weary.
X - Xcess weight? Nuh, uh. Not here!
Y - Youth Group, "Amazing Race" was Friday
Z - Zimbabwe. I saw an East Indian doctor last week and he asked if my accent was Zimbabwe.

Thursday Thirteen

Tonight my girls and a couple of their friends are going to a Jars of Clay concert. Doesn't that sound fun?

Thursday Thirteen is a bunch of trivia that I found interesting.

1. The names of the continents all end with the same letter with which they start.

2. The word "listen" contains the same letters as the word "silent".

3. "Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.

4. 55 per cent of people yawn within 5 minutes of seeing someone else yawn. Reading about yawning makes most people yawn. Did you yawn when you read that?

5. The term "devil's advocate" comes from the Roman Catholic Church. When deciding if someone should be sainted, a devil's advocate is always appointed to give an alternative view.

6. The word 'news' did not come about because it was the plural of 'new.' It came from the first letters of the words North, East, West and South. This was because information was being gathered from all different directions.

7. Alma mater means bountiful mother.

8. The most common name in the world is Mohammad.

9. The term, "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" is from Ancient Rome. The only rule during wrestling matches was, "No eye gouging." Everything else was allowed, but the only way to be disqualified was to poke some one's eye out.

10. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

11. Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

12. A survey of people's greatest fears had the following results: a.) Heights, b.) Snakes, c.) Spiders, d.) Public speaking.

13. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of where they grew up.

Hairy Heartburn

Trivia.

A Johns Hopkins University study found a correlation between babies born with lots of hair and their mothers having heartburn while they were pregnant. Evidently, a hormone that relaxes the bottom of the esophagus - thereby causes heartburn - is also influential in fetal hair growth.

I love snippets of information like this.

My heartburn pregnancy was Stephanie. She had a good amount of hair.

Just so I can say I posted something

Hello from way up here. By the way, do my readers know that Edmonton is the northernmost major center in North America? "Major" is debatable, as our population doesn't break 1,000,000. I don't know why I tell you that at this juncture, it just seems like an interesting bit trivia to share.

Creatively speaking, I'm a little on the dry side. I've been expending energies in other areas and blogging hasn't taken priority as it should. A University of Calgary professor riled me recently by writing that bloggers are lonely people, preferring virtual reality over real, thinking by blogging they get a dose of fame and feel really "heard". Poor professor, must be really lonely being him. But just to clarify and free myself from his asinine judgements I will purge:

Firstly, I'm not lonely.
Secondly, I have two realities. The virtual and the real. I do not see why they must be mutually exclusive. I can think of many things worse. Generally speaking, the two cohabit quite nicely. :-)
Thirdly, fame, from blogging? Give me a break. Mom, the sibs, various family members, and a few stray readers hardly qualify as fame. (If you're one of the stray readers, please know I appreciate you. Stray is a term of endearment. I use to always bring home strays.)

I said all that to debunk the fine professor. On the other hand, have you ever clicked on "next blog" at the top of the blog page? I've done that a few times and let me tell you, bloggers appear lonely and like they have no lives. I've thought, I bet you're a danger to society, more than once when I've read random blogs.

Another piece of trivia: Did you know that 77% of email traffic is spam? Now in my email box, it's more like 90%. I don't know what I did, but I got on some hot mailing list and now get a deluge of spam everyday. Occasionally I go to my spam garbage to see who is frequenting me with their projections of what I need. Fortunately the penile rings don't rank on my "must have" list, nor Viagra, not even the "we'll loan you everything you need to get debt-free" el'creepos. I hate spam.

Well, I have spewed a little and now you know my mood. My mood is actually more jovial than this post appears. I just wanted to post something and this is what came out. Don't you just hate feeling like you need to say something, but not really having anything to say. That reminds me of a story I might like to share next time I post.

Thursday Thirteen

Things I smiled when I read today:

1) As I let go of my feelings of guilt, I can get in touch with my Inner Sociopath.
2) I have the power to channel my imagination into ever-soaring levels of suspicion and paranoia.
3) In some cultures what I do would be considered normal.
4) My intuition nearly makes up for my lack of good judgment.
5) I honor my personality flaws, for without them I would have no personality at all.
6) I need not suffer in silence while I can still moan, whimper and complain.
7) All of me is beautiful and valuable, even the ugly, stupid, and disgusting parts.
8) I am at one with my duality.
9) Only a lack of imagination saves me from immobilizing myself with imaginary fears.
10) The complete lack of evidence is the surest sign that the conspiracy is working.
11) Becoming aware of my character defects leads me to the next step -- blaming my parents.
12) I will find humor in my everyday life by looking for people I can laugh at.
13) To have a successful relationship I must learn to make it look like I'm giving as much as I'm getting.

Just Trivia

"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand and "lollipop" with your right.
Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.
"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet. The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are spelled the same whether they are read left to right or right to left. They are called "Palindromes".
There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious."
TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the typewriter keyboard.
All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.
A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.
A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
A snail can sleep for three years.
Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
Almonds are a member of the peach family.
An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
Babies are born without kneecaps. None, until a child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.
February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would never end because of the China birthrate.
If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an average of 6 months in your car waiting at red lights.
Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.
On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an American flag. Peanuts are one of the ingredients of Dynamite !
Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.
The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.
There are more chickens than people in the world.
Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Why is it?

Have you ever noticed these things in the movies?

--All grocery shopping bags contain at least one stick of French bread.
--It's easy for anyone to land a plane, providing there is someone in the control tower to talk you down.
--The ventilation system of any building is a perfect hiding place. No one will ever think of looking for you in there and you can travel to any other part of the building without difficulty.
--The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window of any building in Paris.
--People on TV never finish their drinks.
--A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.
--During all police investigations, it will be necessary to visit a strip club at least once.
--Mothers routinely cook eggs, bacon and waffles for their family every morning, even though the husband and children never have time to eat them.
--Any person waking from a nightmare will sit bolt upright and pant.
--Even when driving down a perfectly straight road, it is necessary to turn the steering wheel vigorously from left to right every few moments.
--If a phone line is broken, communication can be restored by frantically beating the cradle and saying, "Hello?, Hello?"
--Most people keep a scrapbook of newspaper cutting - especially if any of their family or friends has died in a strange boating accident.
--During a very emotional confrontation, instead of facing the person you are speaking to, it is customary to stand behind them and talk to their back.
--Dogs always know who's bad and will naturally bark at them.
--If there is a deranged killer on the loose, this will coincide with a thunderstorm that has brought down all the power and phone lines in the vicinity.
--It is always possible to park directly outside the building you are visiting.
--Guns are like disposable razers - if you run out of bullets, just throw the gun away. You can always buy a new one.
--A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from duty.

Boxing Day

Today is Boxing Day. Every country settled by the English, except the US, celebrates Boxing Day. I had never heard of Boxing Day till I met Gordon. But now I recognize it nearly with as much celebratory gusto as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Boxing Day originated in England and some say it was the day that servants were given off. They worked Christmas Day, but were given a boxed gift from their employers on the day after Christmas. Hence the name, Boxing Day.

Another theory is that it's the day that people gave boxed gifts to those who had served them throughout the year; postal workers, milk men, porters, etc.

The tried and true facts, I really don't know. But Boxing Day, December 26, is a holiday up here.

Today we had our big Christmas meal. Gordon's mother joined us. It's been a really good day. We think we are onto a Christmas rhythm that we want to remember for the future. It's been one of the most relaxing, deeply fulfilling Christmases I can remember. Blissfully low key, yet totally satisfying.

I did a serious no-no though. Unknowingly, I dealt my family grief. Here's how. I have never ever bought Stove Top Stuffing. But I've been served Stove Top quite a few times and have grown accustomed to it and even kind of like it. I always make cornbread dressing, all from scratch. I didn't realize till today that my family is committed to the Southern style of dressing.

The trouble started when the kids came from the pantry wanting to know why we had Stove Top boxes. I told them they were on sale 50% off and I thought, Heck, why not. No one will care and it will make my day lots easier. The groaned like I told them we drinking strychnine for cocktails.

Later Gordon was on the phone to our friends in Calgary who are coming to Edmonton tomorrow. Gordon was telling them we would eat leftovers tomorrow. "Valerie makes this cornbread dressing like you wouldn't believe..."

At this point, much too late to start the cornbread dressing, I realized, Oh shoot, it really does matter to my family. So with shame, I served my Stove Top Stuffing. I really felt like a cheater. The time and effort saved were not worth it.

As we hashed all this over at the table, I remembered a conversation I had with my family when I was in Arkansas recently. We were discussing dressing and how it comes in two versions: Yankee and Southern. We discussed our tastes, all of us, being from the South, agreed that Southern dressing is the only way to go. I however told them I had had some good Yankee (Northern) dressing.

My brother mockingly rebuked me for my lack of loyalty. He sighed and said, "Valerie, there was a war fought for this cause."

(Just in case you don't get it, he was joking that the Civil War was about Northern versus Southern Dressing.)

In the News

Interesting things that grabbed me from the paper today:

-- By 2024 NASA plans to have a base on the moon. Yes, a place where astronauts will live. Now that is way out there.... The things that are possible. Wow.

-- Queen Elizabeth's English is changing. Since becoming queen in the 1950's many of her speeches are on film. AND there are people who analyze the Queen's speech patterns (and make money from it, no less). These "researchers" can prove that her speech has changed. In the past she would have said "citae" or "dutae." Now she says city or duty. I wonder if she is watching too much American TV.

-- In Johannesburg South Africa, a prisoner Vaselined himself up really slick-like and escaped out a prison window between bars. He was apprehended later. Imagine that, sliding between prison bars.

-- I am a minority. Over 80% of married mothers are in charge of the family finances. I find that fascinating. I'm very happy to NOT carry that responsibility.

And finally, this wasn't in the news, but informative nonetheless. Bear is turning black. I purposely chose 2 dogs that matched the furniture. It is not good that he is turning black. Now I can't brag about the fur on the sofa actually blending in with it. Sigh.