Platitude Paradise

Yeah ... so I took a little trip down memory lane via You Tube today.  My first stop actually happened on my drive to work this morning with The Dream Academy's Life in a Northern Town. I don't know if it is the kettle drums, the oboe or a combo of all of the wonderfully melodious sounds emitted from this talented group ...   but this song gives me goose flesh. I just love it! (I didn't include it as you are perfectly capable of You Tubing it yourself should you have the urge to walk with me). I then stopped by some Pink Floyd. Oh how I love me some Floyd! Time, Wish You Were Here, Comfortably Numb, Mother, Hey You, Learning to Fly (just to name a few) ... I couldn't decide which one I liked the best ... so I didn't include a clip for this either. Nor did I include any of the Paul Simon I was listening to ... but 50 Ways to Leave a Lover is a CLASSIC!. Though, the Muppets' version of this one was pretty darned funny - I must say. Yes, I am all o...

I am in a crabby mood ... no ... "bitchy" better describes it. I am not premenstrual, not suffering from insomnia and don't have any good reason for feeling so rotten in my core. I have been avoiding my blog for this very reason. I thought you all could do without my sharing. I guess my opinion regarding sparing all of you my bitchy-ness has been overruled by my desire to be cheered up. Sorry. In an attempt to bolster my own spirits, I am looking to you - my bloggy bleeps to partake in a survey of sorts. You aren't required to participate, but you will make my day a happier place if you do. (No pressure) Fall is a bit of a mixed bag for many of us ... I am certainly not exempt from that list. I could go on for hours about all the negatives associated with Fall for me ... but the purpose of this exercise is to find the positives. So - without further ado, I give you: A Few of My Favorite Things, Autumn Edition 1) School goes back in... and the ...

So ... we are sitting down as a family Saturday night past, watching a movie: Ice Age 3, Dawn of the Dinosaurs - or "Donna, the dinosaur as my children call it). For any of you familiar with this franchise, Scrat finds love (of sorts) in this installment. My youngest child, 'Shorty' (who isn't very short these days ... she's taken quite a spurt since starting school) pipes up at one point and says (and I quote): "NOOOO, SCRAT!!! DON'T DO IT!!! WIVES CAN BE VERY FRUSTRATING!!! I thought sure there would be a wet spot under my husband (or me, for that matter) when he stood up, he laughed so hard. Then, last night she was playing a game on line and my mother was watching her. Mom pipes up and says: "Geezzzz ... I have a hard time following this game of yours." To which, Shorty replies: "Well ... of course you do, Gamma - this web site is for K-I-D-Z (yes, she spelled it out) not adults!" This kid makes me laugh. The other ...

I know I have said many a time that I am not a fan of organized religion and I have difficulty buying the whole "Jesus Christ, Our Lord" scenario ... but listening to this song this morning shows me how desperately my soul cries out to believe. This lady is from PEI. Give a listen.

Ahh Friday. I do love the Christmas Eve of the week!! This has been a very long week. I'm not entirely sure why ... well except for the fact that my tenant hasn't paid her rent for the month of October yet and it is almost November ... and she lost her job ... which I found out only because I tried  hunting her ass down through her employer and stumbled across this fact quite by accident.  She's been dodging us since the beginning of the month ... coming home after midnight and leaving before I do in the morning. Sneaky little bitch. We wound up locking her out last Thursday night and posting a note to her door that she needed to speak with us. That's how my husband came to be talking to her at 12:20am ... and when she promised she'd have our rent by the next day ... which came and went with no call and no appearance of cash. On Saturday, she stuck an envelope to our door with $190.00 (of the $550.00 she owes) and a note saying she'd get the rest to us by the...

I love your furry little tootsies that sound like wooden pegs on the hardwood as you trot down the hallway in your heavy-tootsied way. I love how you purr so big, it's enough to wake the dead. I love your velvet soft exterior coating. I love your melodious singing voice ... ahem caterwauling . I love that you talk to us ... all.the.time. I love that you 'don't "take no shit" off no dumbass dawg' (sorry, Cooper ... you know you are the dog in my heart). I love that you are so gentle with the children. I love that you love everybody in the house ... but love me the best. I love your GREAT BIG puss-onality. I love (secretly, of course) that you terrorize Mom's badass cat like she used to do to my precious Chloe. But most of all, I love that when I get ready for bed and look up the stairs to the upper landing (where you are perusing your kingdom) - all I have to say is: "I'm goin' to bed, buddy ... you comin'?" ...and...

No wonder I feel so hopeful.  New love is exquisite... and all powerful. It makes so many unpleasant things seem so much less important. He's pudgy, black, furry ... and a badass of epic proportion. The quintessential "Tom-cat" ... or "Thomas Pussy" as my eloquent mother would say. His name is Woodstock ... or 'Woody' for short (I didn't name him or it would be Jocko ... he looks more like a Jocko than a Woody). I adopted him last weekend and he is the new love of my life. My camera is suffering a psychotic break right now and I can not get it to hold a charge long enough to snap a pic ... but there will be pics of my booful new kitty-man... you just hang in and there will be plenty snaps of the most recent "thing that poops" to call our funny farm home. Welcome Jocko Woody.

That's about the size of it. Anyone familiar with the Sesame Street that I grew up with in the 70's would know this little ditty well. Of all the lessons I learned (or chose to ignore ...) from that iconic program, THIS one is, by far, the most pertinent and poignant. It's a song about perspective. . Even as a child, I found this meaningful. I mean there is no way I could fully grasp the enormity of the concept at the ripe old age of 7... but I knew it was important. This year, I am finding this to be particularly pertinent. After the past year and a half or so, what with going bankrupt, limping through last winter, the adventure that is Narci and a few other tid-bits that have not necessarily been shared - I see life a little differently than I used to. Normally, I would find Autumn somewhat depressing. By October, I would start feeling that sense of an ending. A time to crawl within myself and hibernate for the long, cold winter. I am someone that suffers from the ...

--An actual letter from an  Austin ,  Texas  woman sent to Proctor and Gamble regarding one of their feminine hygiene products. She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. This was PC Magazine's 2009 "Editors' Choice award-winner" for the best letter sent via e-mail.  Dear Mr. Thatcher; I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi-pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants. Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? I'm gue...