I had a dream....

It's sad that many of us have to get old before we can look back and see all of the missed dreams we may have had.

I think one of my first dreams was to be in a band. I played the drums. I did play in a band for a short time.. and I was sooooo blown away that someone would pay me for something I had so much fun doing that I would have done it for free!

This happened about the same time I met my future husband. We were dating at the time. Came a time when he gave me an ultimatum... either I left the band and we would get married... or I stayed with the band and he would not marry me.

The mind works funny... I couldn't understand why I couldn't have both. I only played on weekends, and always within driving distance of where I lived. I didn't "travel".. we were a "local" band. I actually felt guilty that I had to "think about it". One of many guilts that I have put on myself over the years.

I thought about my mother raising two children alone (divorced). And I thought about how she never seemed really happy. I deemed that this would be my only chance at something she didn't have.. to be happily married. And so I gave up my dream.

I never for a moment regretted getting married, it wasn't a matter of loving him or not, or having our children....never.

But if you ask me if I ever wondered about being a drummer the answer would be yes. I wondered if I ever would have been really good at it. I wasn't "bad" but I had a way to go to be "good" lol..

And yet another very large dream I always had dealt with is the Grand Canyon. As I learned about it over the years I would dream of going there and taking the mule ride down into the beautiful canyon to spend the night in a tent. To be able to climb around and explore this most fascinating piece of nature at it's best. I have had that dream for so long that the one time I got to see the canyon (about 20 minutes in all) that I cried thru the entire time I was there. It's still a dream I can't let go of, though now it would be much different.

They are unfinished dreams... I believe we all have dreams that never happened. Both men and woman.. but I think woman more then men. Mostly because, once married and with a family, women tend to stop thinking about their self and any dreams they may have had.

Maybe men do to.. but I think if it was something they really, really wanted.. they'd find a way to get it or do it. Woman dedicate their life to the husband and family, so much so... that when they get older, and find that time is no longer a factor .. they have no idea what to do with it. Their dreams have all, long ago, disappeared.

Did you have an unfinished dream? Do you ever think about it? Maybe you could blog about it and leave a link so I could read your dreams.

Addendum:

Sassy left a great link to her unfinished dreams!

Fantasy at it's best..

Knightbek's recent post, over at the Wildcat's Lair, was about one of my favorite authors David Eddings and his series of books The Belgaraid. I read these books years ago.. and reread them.. and I know it's time to read them again, that is if i ever finish reading Margaret Weiss books dealing with Dragonlance, (Raistlin, Caramon and Tasslehoff Burrfoot keep getting into trouble!) never ending!!

It's always the characters that keep me reading their stories. Then when they have written about as much as they can using the same characters, they move on.. but for whatever reason, I have great difficulty with their new direction, or their new characters.

I guess it's like old friends. They remain with you and sometimes, there isn't a lot of room for new ones. Or the new ones just don't live up to your expectations. (or a combination of both)

I think we've become really lucky in that special effects for the movies has come far enough to finally engulf "fantasy fiction"! It gives us a chance to see and hear some of the characters we've grown to know so well.

For me, it's the sorcerer's.. magical in many ways, not the least of the fact they do more then anyone in the stories but are old old men! I wish I had even a tiny fraction of their energy!!! And don't they seem to look like a father figure? But "daddy" I sure promise not to tick YOU off!! heh.

You shall not pass!" ..s'ok with me, heh didn't want to go anyway! Looks sure can be deceiving huh?!

I think i just lost my appetite for Italian food!

Anyone who can conjure up Dragons Breath... you really want to keep as a friend .. not an enemy!

I feel really lucky that special effects became good enough to put 'fantasy" in it's rightful place. It's so nice because you get to put a face, a voice and even more personality to those you enjoy in books.

The sorcerers will always remain a favorite of mine.. even when the story is focused around other characters such as Bilbo or Frodo.. the name Gandalf whispers in the back of your mind. He's never very far away.

Maybe someday they will make the movie of the Belgariad and a true face will be put to Belgarath... Or they might choose the Dragonlance series and we'd meet Raistlin... not that I'd particularly want to! ..heh.

But if they make those movies.. you can bet I'll be first in line!! Until then.. the books will carries us into their lands and through their journeys... it's a good place to be.. far away in your mind with some of your favorite friends.

Mid-life...

I've seen two shows lately that went on and on about how mid-life is a
great time for women. Just last week Oprah had a whole show on how great
menopause is....

Puhle-e-e-e-e-e-eze!

I've had a few thoughts of my own and would like to share them with you.
Whether you are pushing 40, 50, 60 (or maybe even just pushing your luck)
you'll probably relate.

Mid-life is when the growth of hair on our legs slows down. This gives us
plenty of time to care for our newly acquired mustache.

In mid-life women no longer have upper arms, we have wingspans. We are no
longer women in sleeveless shirts, we are flying squirrels in drag.

Mid-life is when you can stand naked in front of a mirror and you can see
your rear without turning around.

Mid-life is when you go for a mammogram and you realize that this is the
only time someone will ask you to appear topless.

Mid-life is when you want to grab every firm young lovely in a tube top and
scream, "Listen honey, even the Roman empire fell and those will too."

Mid-life brings wisdom to know that life throws us curves and we're sitting
on our biggest ones.

Mid-life is when you look at your-know-it-all, beeper-wearing teenager and
think: "For this I have stretch marks?"

In mid-life your memory starts to go. In fact the only thing we can retain
is water.

Mid-life means that your Body By Jake now includes Legs By Rand McNally --
more red and blue lines than an accurately scaled map of Wisconsin.

Mid-life means that you become more reflective...You start pondering the
"big" questions. What is life? Why am I here? How much Healthy Choice
ice cream can I eat before it's no longer a healthy choice?

But mid-life also brings with it an appreciation for what is important.

We realize that breasts sag, hips expand and chins double, but our loved
ones make the journey worthwhile. Would any of you trade the knowledge
that you have now for the body you had way back when?

Maybe our bodies simply have to expand to hold all the wisdom and love
we've acquired.

Patrick's Saturday Six

Here are this week's "Saturday Six" questions. Either answer the questions in a comment here, or put the answers in an entry on your journal

1. What food do you most enjoy cooking? How many people have you cooked this dish for?

well.. i went through the "isn't it fun to cook" period of my life for a long time... and then finally exited it with "I no longer have to cook"! period of my life! I'd just assume eat a sandwich !

2. If you could go behind the scenes at any television show to get a look at how things worked, which show would you choose and why?

I was blessed with being on a set once.. but it was for a movie not tv.. so.. all things considered: LOST ! (ok tell me who wouldn't want to go to Hawaii?)

3. Besides your bed, what's the easiest place in your home for you to take a nap? When was the last time you fell asleep there?

I'm afraid "bed" is it.. I rarely nap, if I do it's because I am sick..then i can sleep almost anywhere

4. Take the quiz: What time of day are you? (Found at Shelly's Cyber Chocolate.)

***You Are Sunrise***

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary.
You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward.
Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts.
All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

5. What time of year do you usually read the most books?

Hmmm.. I guess winter. There's just more that needs to be taken care of in the nicer months.

6. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #89 from Jamilynn: What is your favorite article of clothing? Is there a story behind it?

I can't say that I have one. I'm not a person who thinks much past being comfy.

I used to be indecisive.. now I'm not sure.

I think at one time or another we have all had a breakdown in communication when the form we are using is "typing". Re: someone misunderstanding what you were trying to say. I think yesterday I had one of those times...

I don't know if i should laugh or what.. I mentioned in a previous post about the convention that I am thinking of attending.. and that I sent an email to the convention folks .. this was my email:

Hello,
I am thinking of purchasting a ticket for the Elf Convention in Secaucause NJ (239.00)

My problem is, I can only attend one day, so I would like to find out the day that the guests will be autographing? (to be sure that's the day I attend)
Thank you

I thought it was pretty straight forward... what would you think i am asking?? I thought i was asking what day the guests would be autographing...?

Here is the response..

Hello Pat,

We will offer single day tickets closer to the convention date. Please visit our website at www.creationent.com

I know I mentioned I can only go one day.. but I did tell them I was going to purchase the "expensive ticket".. since it's the only one you can buy and still get autographs!.. One day tickets do not offer a chance to get the autographs!!..

Ok.. I took a deep breath after mumbling something to myself about the fact that I did NOT ask about a one day ticket..sigh. I sent a second email.. this is what it said:

Hello Leticia..

I'm sorry, I guess I didn't make it clear.. I need to know which day will the guests be doing the autographs.

I realize that you have one day tickets but those do not allow you to get autographs. I can only make it to the con on ONE day, although I will purchase a 3 day ticket. I want to be sure I go on the day I can obtain the autographs.

I'm sorry if i confused you.

And my response is:

Hello Pat,

All of the ticket information is listed on the web site at www.creationent.com. Since we do many conventions and you're not being specific, please visit our web site.

Am I not speaking English? Did I ask for ticket information? Or did I ask when the guests were going to autograph? Was I not specific? hmm, could have sworn my first Email included the fact it was the Elf convention in Secaucas NJ.. how much more specific can I get?

I sent off one "last" email to which I have no response as yet.. if that doesn't work I guess a phone call to California is my next attempt to find out the information. I did go to the web site a few times and really looked hard to see if i missed them saying which day autographs take place..but to no avail.

Years ago when Creations prices when so high I swore I would never go to another of their conventions. (however I did go a few times.. but.. big but here only because DeForest insisted because he was the guest and also produced me a ticket.. therefore I never dealt with Creation) My main reason for not dealing with them anymore was strictly their outrageous prices.. now I'm beginning to wonder how they've managed to stay in business!

On their site they had a number of email addresses you could write to for "more information" pertaining to a number of different things.. which is where i found the address to write to.. I "assumed" the folks on the other end would be informative and helpful.. heh.

Ah well.. on the other hand.. it's raining and miserably cold here in New Jersey today..brrrr. The temperatures resemble a rollarcoaster, going up and down drastically.

Is it me or does the weather, in general, seem like it's out of control? I am 62 yrs old.. I do not remember hearing about so many tornadoes or hurricanes or just plain bad weather as we have had the past 2 -3 years. It just seems like one catastrophe after another.. or is it just me?

Feline Friday... plus

Happy Friday... at least to those to go to work everyday. Friday is almost always a good day, at least as good psychologically as Monday is "bad" ..heh.

Once again I feel a contribution of a cat picture (or two) for Feline Fridays, so here they are: This first picture I like to call "It's time for dad to come home".. this occurs at the kitchen window every evening. When I begin to cook, they know David will come home... and when he does... FOOD! Then the begging begins! (this is a shot of BooBoo Kitty, Frickey, and Winkey)

As most know there are 9 cats in this house. One resides only in Davids room, which makes it more like 8 cats. Of the 8 cats most are up in age and don't do much but hide and sleep, which is why you seem to see the same 3 cats over and over again.. BooBoo, Winkey and Peanut are the youngest and came to live here only 3 yrs ago.. so they are the ones up and around most. Ocasionally, I get a rare shot of one of the others, I keep a folder just of cat pics so that when that happens I'll choose them instead !!

The next pic is BooBoo Kitty.. He loves being in the windows..any window! And I think he's beginning to like his picture taken as he seems to now and then "strike a pose".

*********************************************************

The "plus" part of this entry is going to refer to yesterday's post about the upcoming convention and a comment or two that was left for me.

It seems mutualaide of Life on Flamingo Row has the same problem I do when it comes to temptation and the end results of it.. "surely, as soon as the money leaves my hands a high priority "thing" happens and I'm wishing I had just not give in" Boy, Howdy!! That has my name written all over it!! It sure makes you wonder where you went wrong in life that any little enjoyment you find can turn and bite you on the butt and make you feel like you were greedy for even considering yourself worthy of the enjoyment you had.

She goes on to suggest: skip the convention, write for the autographs and slip them into your picture book. Yeah, the value won't be the same, but heck, you won't regret it! Which is something I have to say flitted through my mind ...briefly. The reason it was so brief is when the actors are busy ones like these people, the chances of getting a signed photo by writing to them dwindles to a really low percentage.. and then IF you get one, there's a good chance it's not "real".. that a machine did it or a secretary.. Which is also why if you write for someone who's no longer very busy, will get you the real thing.

Then I had an email from a dear friend.. she was .. well.. blunt! lol lol

I read your blog today the hell with it you only live ONCE go to that damn convention!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to admit.. it made me laugh. This is from a person who lives in New Orleans.. she went through Katrina... and after all these months she just NOW received a trailer from FEMA! Which could easily explain why she says to enjoy life... you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Big *sigh* here... there has been no reply to the email i sent to the convention folks asking what day the autographs are to be held, and I am doubtful they will respond over a weekend... so... it's still my excuse not to decide while in the frame of mind of "what the heck" and just do it. Maybe over the weekend I'll think more on it. (maybe? cha!)

Meanwhile there's laundry to be done, you know.. the "fun" part of the day..heh. Have a good Friday!

News and more news..

Well, if you live in or near New York I imagine you are as sick as I am about hearing of the Tram that got stuck with people in it.. gads! Gimme a break! The news makes it sound like a life and death situation! Ummm hello? The electric cut off and the generator didn't work.. they were stuck.. not hurt.. not hanging on a rope waiting for it to snap! These news people really get to me sometimes!

Yes, it is news.. but it wasn't earth shattering! yet no one could stop talking about it! Sometimes i really wonder...

The other big news yesterday was the 100 anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake (7.4 in size) I listened to that with some interest since, I myself, lived through a 6.7 quake. It was interesting... but scary as heck! I don't know if anyone else listened to it but 100 years ago 3,000 people died in that quake. The estimate that if the same size quake hit in San Francisco now.. 27,000 people would die.. gulp.. say what? That's due to two facts: One, the obvious one, is because of how many people live there now compared to 100 years ago.

And the other you ask? Well.. 100 years ago they still didn't know how to make buildings safer during a quake.. and they rebuilt that town bigger and bigger.. and they estimate that all that rebuilding will come down in another big quake! Nice huh? It's only been the past 20 yrs or so that they know some ways to help prevent that from happening.. so all the rebuilding they did back then is no safer then the original building were that came down.

They say it's common knowledge out there.. ahhhhhhhh soooooo thennnnnn why would you want to live there?? It's not like they are saying "if" it happens again.. this IS California after all.. it's WHEN will it happen? duh.. even my one brain cell can wrap around that much information!!

And with all this knowledge of how it will all fall down again... do they ..ohhhh say, tear down one building at a time and rebuild it with the new knowledge of how to make it safe?? Of course not! That would make too much sense!

I've got to stop listening to the news.. it either depresses me or gets me frustrated!!! I felt as if I wanted to smack someone on the cheek and tell them to wake up and smell the roses! ..sigh..

Oh..I almost forgot (since the "big news" Tram that got stuck) It seems that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes got pushed out of the headlines for having their baby ..heh.. I better not get into that one either!

I hope tomorrow is a better day all the way around.. or that I remember to turn OFF the news.. either way works huh?! heh!

40 Years of Star Trek?!!

As you probably know.. I keep an eye out for conventions and autograph shows. It came to my attention that this year is the 40th Anniversary of Star Trek! Gads! 40 years of Star Trek!.. how sad that it falls on the first year that there is actually no version of Star Trek on television anymore.

After finding this out I just had to pull out my binders and look for what I had saved from when I went to the 30th Anniversary Celebration that took place in Huntsville Alabama. (my only time in that state) Wow.. the memories that pulled up!

One of the things I had saved and came across was a "report" I had written about the weekend I spent there. For a brief moment I thought "ohhh, maybe I can scan this and put it in for my journal post!"... quickly followed by: "ummm, I guess not its 9 typed pages long!" heh.. ah well it was just an idea after all lol.

I spent that weekend with two girlfriends.. One was Sue Keenan, the president of DeForests Fan Club who is still a friend of mine. The other was a girlfriend I had from when I lived in Ft. Pierce Florida, her name is Ruth. When I read my "report" I found myself with a big grin on my face as I read how we all acted like "kids" when in reality we were no where near being a kid! Things like turning off the light in the hotel only to start talking in the dark, followed by a bad case of the giggles.. lord.. shades of when you would have a friend spend the night at your home when you were a kid and you'd giggle most of the night instead of sleeping!

The Anniversary of Star Trek was put on by Creations Convention with the aid of Paramount Studio and it was a biggie! They had guests from all the series of Star Trek AND a number of Astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo flights.

When I first began going to Star Trek conventions they were really fun and the best! Now many of the people doing the cons (most especially Creation Conventions) have made it so that only the rich can afford a good seat and a good time. We are talking tickets for 350.00 and above!! This verses the 25.00 a day and first come first serve. First come first serve was the best part of the old conventions (even Creations had that back then). We'd wake up at 3 in the morning to be among the first 10 people in line!! Many friends were made sitting in those lines all sharing their convention stories. What a time that was!

Now.. you "buy your seat" sometimes as much as a year in advance (hoping you aren't sick and can still go) for prices like 3-4 hundred dollars, plus your flight to wherever the con is .. plus your hotel ... plus your food.. plus spending money.. getting the picture yet? Your Star Trek weekend can easily cost you over 1,000. !!! It's so sad when your fun is taken away because you can now, no longer afford it.

It was nice going to them.. getting to hear stories the guests told, (sometimes really funny stories... De told some hysterical stories of his cowboy days!) and then a question and answer time so maybe, if you raised your hand, they chose you and you got to ask a question. Even if you weren't chosen it was interesting to hear answers to many of the questions asked.

Ah well.. memories... thank goodness for them!!

This year Creation is doing a 40th Anniversary at the Hilton in Las Vegas in August. Here's a list of the stars you get to see for your 324.00 ticket (not including your hotel and seated behind the gold tickets and the captains tickets.. heh..

WILLIAM SHATNER / AVERY BROOKS / KATE MULGREW / JONATHAN FRAKES / NICHELLE NICHOLS / ROBERT PICARDO / ROBERT FOXWORTH / BRENT SPINER / BARBARA MARCH / LOUISE FLETCHER / ANDREA MARTIN / ROBERT DUNCAN McNEILL / CONNOR TRINNEER / ARON EISENBERG / ARMIN SHIMERMAN / ALEXANDER SIDDIG / GEORGE TAKEI / WALTER KOENIG / DIANA MULDAUR / TIM RUSS / GRACE LEE WHITNEY / ETHAN PHILLIPS / MICHAEL WESTMORE / ROBERT JUSTMAN / GARRETT WANG / JEFFREY COMBS / GARY GRAHAM / MARC ALAIMO / JAMES DARREN

If anyone goes to it I hope you do a "con report" in the journal!!..

They told me I was gullible ... and I believed them.

I Found it!..

Just because a few of you seemed concerned about that movie that I couldn't remember the title of...

.. after Karen suggested googling "gay theme movies", and finding many lists of them.. and spending more hours then i care to.. I DID find the name of the movie and I'm going to get it again on half.com for a whole 1.50 lol.. It's called Carrington.. and is a well made movie and a nice story to it.. it starred Emma Thompson and Jonathan Pryce.

When generally speaking, if there are times that you can't remember a name to title, and if you wait long enough it will generally pop into your head when you least expect it.... this was NOT happening on it's own so........ you can't imagine the relief of finding the name.

The first thing I do when I can't remember a name is go through the alphabet.. sometimes finding the first letter of the name will make it unexpectedly spew out of your mouth. Had this happened I wouldn't have spent hours looking at lists of movie titles..sigh.

I do want to say that any Emma Thompson fan who hasn't seen this movie should. She is a fantastic actress, and is at her best in parts i call "period pieces". Though I don't say this is exactly a period piece it does come across similiar.

Ok, that finally taken care of and out of the way... I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter weekend !

In my comments section of my journal from Easter Day Karen threw in a little "funny" but I'm sure it went unnoticed to anymone but me..heh.. she says: "As long as he didn't think you were a Lepus! Happy Easter!" For those of you who do not "get it"... it's a referral to the movie "Night of the Lepus" in which DeForest Kelley had a part. The movie was about experiments on rabbits that produced giant man-eating rabbits.. yes, (head hanging) DeForest had one of "those" movies! Bill Shatner had giant spiders.. and De had giant bunny rabbits..heh.. I guess I could have made some sort of post about the Lepus on easter but... well.. I thought the 5'4" one was big enough don't you?

Ah well. .. spring has sprung and Easter's done..
.. and now it's time for summer fun!

Sure hard to believe another winter is behind us.. and soon we will be cooking outside (and i don't mean the grill!). Since I don't get a vacation there's not much to look forward to that is different from "everyday".

Aside from the one autograph show that changed from spring to summer and will be coming June 2-4.. And I just saw that my buddy Kevin McCarthy is signed to be coming to it! Woohoo!.. I sent off an email to see if he wants me to help him again.. if i don't hear from him I'll give him a phone call when it gets closer. The only reason I wouldn't hear from him is because it seems his email may have some problems.. ah well.. we'll see...

Have a good Monday everyone!..

Is it my imagination, or do buffalo wings taste like chicken?

Good Friday

Well.. it's Good Friday. I hope all of you have the day off of work to rest and enjoy the Holiday that's about to descend upon us.

I hope those of you with kids, or grandkids, or neighbors kids who celebrate Easter in the traditional way (Easter eggs, candy etc) all manage to have some fun along with celebrating it Religiously. So I hope everyone has a great Good Friday and Easter!! ( I will post an "easter bunny" that visited DeForest and Carolyn one year on Sunday)

Meanwhile.. I'm more then glad yesterday is over. It was one of those days I dread, when just about everything I did "was not good enough".. I know that's my lot in life but the times it slams you in the face gets really hard to deal with, even after all these years of knowing it's true.. it still hurts.

That along with Blogspot problems (my mirrored journal) seem to be ended .. for the moment.. I sure hope so anyway.

Wow.. I was just looking out my window and between a house and a large shed for the marble company across the street.. I can see yellow! It's a Forsythia Bush!! I tried to grow Forsythia in Florida once.. guess what.. without a winter freeze it got smaller each year until it just died.. sigh.. so i grew Crepe Myrtles just because they look so much like Lilacs lol..

I will tell you my most favorite flower of all ...Lilacs!! I had two bushes, one purple and one white when i was first married and lived in New Jersey.. each time they would bloom I would pick one and walk around with it all day smelling it!! A note here: the artificial sprays to smell like lilac.. make me sick! go figure huh? Which brings to mind something my mother always did and I could not figure out "why"! Everytime she'd ummm.. well... use the bathroom, she would spray it with one of those sprays that are supposed to smell like roses or lilacs, ya know what I mean? For the life of me I could never figure out why she did that... all it did was make it smell like poopy roses or poopy lilacs!! And for some reason she never noticed.. sigh.

Ok enough of that talk! heh.. I guess it's time I get a move on here and do something.. Here's wishing everyone a safe and happy Holiday!

so..

So... I've tried and tried with changing the comment section.. it seems to work, in that if i put it for crazy letters to show and then go click on comments on an old post they show up and then reset it differently for moderation and take off crazy letters .. when i go back to check the crazy letters are gone.. so the settings "do" change... but the comment link remains gone..

I even copied and pasted the entire template to another site to be sure it wasn't something in there... and when i do that and add the post with tim conway in it (the first post without the comment word beneath it).. it shows up just fine.

Anyone know how i can move 248 posts in one swoop?

I seem to have 2 glitches... the comment link is missing when i do a post... and that spammers email that will neither let me reject it (when in moderation mode) or even add it so that i can then go and delete it... both say what i mentioned below in the other post.. it makes me wonder if it's related in anyway to that spammers email.. but how i have no idea.. why won't blogspot let me add or reject it???? it does others just fine.

Any ideas please?? you can either email me or leave it in comments on a post below where the comment link still shows.. Even if there's a way to move all the posts at once , though everyone having to change an address isn't very appealing. I'm at a loss.



OK SO I POSTED THIS AND THEN "VIEWED" IT AND IT APPEARS THE COMMENT BUTTON IS BACK.!! HOW OR WHY I HAVE NO IDEA BUT IF YOU THINK I WILL DELETE THIS MESSAGE..GUESS AGAIN! JUST IN CASE .. THIS STAYS!.. now i hope new posts keep the comment link!!

missing button??

Hmmmm, my last post seems to be missing the comment button... ? so I am just posting this to see if one appears.. if not i guess i have a problem!

I seem to have a problem!.. i went into settings and comments to check it all.. i have "moderations" off now and the "letters" on.. i also clicked save and refurbish.. still no button for comment.. so.. i guess even though I thought we had the spammer taken care of with the "letters" no on.. without the comment button I doubt i will put any more posts here.. if anyone reads this and can figure out what may be wrong email me.. Karen and Carly and a few others know my email and my second journal on aol ..

sure hope someone knows what i can do, i'd like to keep this journal going now that the spammer is taken care of..

In settings: comments is set to "show".. moderate is set at "no" and the letters set at "yes" I saved and referbished more then once.

oh..btw.. in case it has anything to do with anything.. that spammer sent me two "comments" the other day.. one i rejected, no problem.. the other one will not "reject or publish"... so it sits in my emails yet. I keep getting a sign saying: we're sorry we cannot complete your request.

Last try.. and other stuff..

I finally finished my Margaret Weis book (Dragons Summer Flame) last night (only moments before LOST came on!). It was a rather fat book for paperback being nearly 600 pages.. and it ended "semi-happily"...?.. meaning, some things were a good ending and others made you sad. I won't delve into it in case some of you read the Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman Dragonlance series. (well, it's not "just theirs".. but they do an awful lot of writing for it )

Now I have a decision to make.. I have Angela Lansbury's biography I want to read (especially since I just obtained her autograph) but.. I also have another trilogy written by Margaret Weis, and at the moment I haven't let go of her characters, and I don't know if this trilogy deals with the same characters or not. Decisions, decisions....

After I finished the book I watched Lost.. boy.. I know I've said it before but..I am NOT looking forward to summer reruns .. more and more they take their time building on things and make you wait through reruns to find the answers.. that's not nice to do to us "elders".. after all we can't take the stress as easily as you young folks can! Last night they left a cliff hanger with Michael appearing and then of course passing out so no one knows what happened to him! All I have to say is .. they have some good writers, they always leave you hanging!

I don't know if anyone remembers me mentioning that I am on AOL dialup..heh.. ok nuff said huh? Well.. because of their most "generous" timer that will boot you off line, I am forced to keep the aol radio on.. which in turn, slows the dialup down so much that it can take 5 minutes (yes 5 minutes!) to upload some of the journals i read! Anyway.. every so often when I am "done" being at the computer i will actually turn up the aol radio and listen a bit. I found this comedy station.. wow talk about bringing back memories! The were playing parts of Bob Newhart from his ancient album "The Button down mind of Bob Newhart".. I hadn't heard that routine since I was maybe a teenager! That wouldn't be so bad but I still laughed at it!! Gosh, he is a funny, funny man! If anyone remembers the Bob Newhart Show you have an idea of what I mean.

Tim Conway is another comedian that I can't watch without almost wetting my pants laughing. He always reminded me of Red Skelton in that he had a hard time not laughing at his own antics. (which in turn just made me laugh all the more.) I guess I'll have to put that comedy station on more often.. by the way who's your favorite comedian??

Why

Tell me why...

After today's post, in which I describe an anonymous comment person who constantly tries to leave a comment with a link "to earn money", they very nicely posted yet another, on to that very post. (then again later on two more.. I've deleted this person 6 times so far today)

Why?

Why does this person keep posting when they can already see their comments are not showing?

Why does someone invade my little space? (yes invade)

Why would someone want to be where they are not wanted?

Why would someone purposely destroy what little joy a 62 yr old woman gets by keeping a journal by insisting on trying to advertise in my comments?

Did I do something to this person?

It seems vicious to send the same comment on a post that lets them know it is upsetting.

why? why are they doing this?

I am trying to calm down before I decide..but I think my decision has been made for me, that I will soon delete all my posts and give this person one less blog to intrude upon.

I don't need to spend my time deleting comments that advertise, that wasn't the purpose of my journal. The purpose was to give myself an outlet to write. Maybe I will calm down enough to rethink this but I'm afraid this person has pointed me in the direction of eliminating my journal.

I hope that anyone else that reads this and has had the same intrusive person makes sure that their comment posts never show. I have tomorrow's Round Robin ready so I will post it tomorrow.. sometime after that I will close this blog.. Addendum: 2 more were added last night after i logged off.. that makes 8 in 24 hrs... why?

I want to thank those of you that read my journal and have treated me like a human being... I'll still come around and read those that I normally do.. thanks again.

And lastly I'd like to thank the person who keeps posting those comments in my journal.......I'm sure that this makes your day... whoever you are..

A Nice Surprise..

Wow!.. well I promised I would let everyone know if I ever heard from either of the two letters I wrote for autographs. (one was to Angela Lansbury the other to Meryl Streep)

Taadaaa! Monday's mail (snail mail) revealed an answer to one of the letters! I was truly shocked because responses to autographs can take a few months!

Here's the photo that Angela Lansbury sent to me....

I was concerned when I first opened it and saw the signature.. the glare off of the photo looked as if it might be a photo copy of her signature. When I came to my room I pulled out a special erasor I have for ink and touched the very end of the signature.. indeed if it was a photo copy nothing would disappear.. and to my pleasure.. it's a real signature!

I'm really glad she responded.. besides wanting the autograph I had just purchased her biography... now I am more then anxious to finish the book I am reading so that I can read about Angela.

When I showed the photograph to my brother and David, they informed me that they saw Angela Lansbury on Broadway when she did Mame!! Boy.. talk about feeling envy!! Not only didn't I ever see Ms Lansbury on Broadway, but I've never seen ANY Broadway play!

Just in case there is anyone out there who might be interested in collecting autographs and is interested in Angela Lansbury here is the address that I wrote to: (this is her agents address.. on the bottom of the envelope i wrote: please forward to Angela Lansbury. I also sent a stamped self addressed 8x10 envelope with a piece of cardboard so if she sent a photo it would stand a better chance of not being bent by the post office.)

Angela Lansbury
C/O Corymore Entertainment
9171 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 400
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

It was a sunny day Monday.. the temperatures rose into the 60's and I received Angela's autograph.. not a bad day! It's just too bad Tuesday won't be as nice... I sure wish I knew why the person who keeps putting 2 and 3 comments in my posts about "earning extra money, click here" would STOP! It's made me have to read the comments before they are posted and to find 2 and 3 from "anonymous" each day is really upsetting. Why does someone want to deface my journal? I've never done anything to them. And they see the comment isn't getting posted so why more then one every day? If their endeavor is to make me quit blogspot.. they may well be winning.. then they can post all they want.

Spring has sprung and summer's comin'

 Sunday was sunny but still pretty cold here in NJ, but my thoughts went to the fact that summer will be here soon. That's when we go from complaining about the cold to complaining about the heat. (and you wonder why spring and fall are my favorite seasons??)

Summer upsets me for other reasons then just the heat though.. it's called "re-runs" *sigh*.. how I hate when 99% of television is reruns! To know why you have to know that television is like my "company".. since i can rarely leave this house and stay in my room when I am not doing something for my brother downstairs (or some housework).. I am alone in this room. But even when I lived alone the television would always be on even when I wasn't watching it. (which is actually, quite a bit of the time)

Reruns came to mind because last night was Greys Anatomy, and you guessed it... it was a rerun. That show and Lost are my favorites and it really gets to me when they pop reruns in without warning, let alone for the entire summer! ugh!




















Recently, my girlfriend, Annie gave me a gift certificate for Amazon.com for my birthday.. so I ordered some books. At least now I have plenty to read for a while during those reruns ! Most of the books I ordered were by Margaret Weis and belong to the Dragonlance series. (I am beginning to think that's a nonstop series!) The one good thing about them is that I am hooked on a number of the characters..so that means I always like them no matter what the story line is about. The one book I purchased that wasn't Margaret Weis was a biography of Angela Lansbury, which I am looking forward to reading.

I also think I am slowly starting to write a fourth edition to the stories that I wrote.. I actually managed 6 pages yesterday and today..nearly 1,500 words.. I guess I can consider that a beginning... but the first chapter isn't finished yet, so we'll see.

I hope I can get back to the writing.. it's really hard when I am interrupted so frequently by my brother calling me downstairs to get him something. Part of me knows where I am going with the chapter but then there's the part that I remember from writing before when suddenly the characters take on a life of their own and go somewhere I didn't know it was going. When that happens, if I get interrupted, the ideas are gone by the time I get back... and those are the times I relish the most. So, I think I am entering this new write with a lot of trepidation. I just hope I can hold it together once I really get going on it.

It was easier when I wrote my first stories a few years ago.. my brother could still get around somewhat and do some things for himself.. now he never leaves the sofa and I have to get him all his needs. It sure doesn't help my stress and depression any... which is another reason I hope I can get into writing again. It helps me escape for moments at a time. I look forward to being in Kesterwood Forest once again, surrounded by familiar characters and at the same time i'm afraid to reach out for them not knowing if I can finish my thoughts each time I am with them.

Knightbek over at The Wildcats Lair is setting a goal of writing 1,250 words a day... I would probably have to stay awake day AND night to do that ! As one grows older not only the brain needs sleep.. but the falling apart body does too!! heh, so staying up later isn't an option.. it wouldn't do me any good to be brain dead while I try to write ... however, it might be interesting to see what sort of dribble I wrote the next day haha.

I guess it all boils down to the fact I've been down again... wishing I could have a life of my own instead of living someone else's life. But that's not an option either.

I'd better start trying to keep my mind in Kesterwood Forest, at least there I have full control of things... well... sometimes :o)

Two meme's for the price of one..

I'm going to do two meme's i found while reading journals.. two for the price of one! ya can't beat that! haha..

First is Stephen over at (sometimes) Photoblog has Feline Friday.. last week we had a few nice days (before the snow) and having the porch door opened was an invitation to the cats to come out running to get that one bit of sunbeam to lay or sit in. Peanutchew thought the clay pot that still had dirt in it was a good sitting spot. It gave her a clear view out the glass in the door to the bird feeder, but at times it looked as if the warm sunbeam was winning the contest and she'd close her eyes and just drink in the warmth.

Then, Plittle over at Aurora Walking Vacation sent out a challenge meme to go to Wikipedia and pick three interesting historical events that occurred on your birth date, plus two births, and one death. Here's what I found happened on March 24th of a few different years.

history..

1944- In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape, 76 prisoners begin breaking out of Stalag Luft III.

1965 - NASA spacecraft Ranger 9, equipped to convert its signals into a form suitable for showing on domestic television, brings images of the Moon into ordinary homes before crash-landing.

2006 - Pope Benedict XVI adds 15 men to the College of Cardinals, in the first consistory of his Pontificate.

births..

1924 - Norman Fell, American actor (d. 1998) (I once aided Norm at a show.. never knew his birthday was the same as mine!)

1930 - Steve McQueen, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1980)

deaths..

1905 - Jules Verne, French author (b. 1828) (wow!)

Pretty interesting stuff don'tcha think?

Did you Dream?

A number of times i've read journals and people talk about dreams they've had and wonder what they mean.

It made me think of dreams I had as a kid. There was one scary dream that I had over and over, even into being an adult.. I guess it wasn't that many years ago that it finally stopped.
Mostly though, I was thinking of dreams like what you would want to be when you grow up. I didn't have a whole lot of them. I remember for a number of years I wanted to be a musician (which I did for a short time!) and the other dream of a career I had was to be a Veterinarian. That's one I think many girls have because of their love of animals.
I think that because of that dream I enjoyed Biology in HS , and even would walk in after school to the biology club and watched them dissect a dead cat. I think that pretty much made me realize that maaaaaybeeee I really didn't want to be a Vet after all ..heh.
But because of those childhood dreams I did have a big interest in music for many many years. And I still have an interest in Animals..though I don't want to operate on them.
I don't really remember having other dreams of a career, but that could be because when I was young most woman just wanted to grow up and get married and be a mother like their mother had done. Everything seemed to be directed towards Marriage instead of career. There just wasn't enough money around to put a son AND a daughter through college, not when they'd wind up married and it would be wasted anyway... which is the way it was thought of back then.
But ask me if I would like to have more schooling even at my old age.. go ahead.. ask. The answer is yep! I would... IF I could study just what interested me. (and IF I had the money to do it and means to get to the school.. slight difficulty there)
So, what would I want to learn more about? Ohhh, well I'd take some creative writing most likely, and some art classes, and some computer classes... and if they had any here on the east coast, I'd do voiceover again (that was too much fun not to repeat!)
What were your career dreams as a child? If you're a female, were you raised wanting to be a "mommy"? Did any of you men want to be a policeman or fireman? What did you want to grow up to be? Would you like to return to school if you could take some classes that interested you? And what would they be?

Where I am from...

I found Where I'm From on Donna's site and decided to try it.. you should too!

***************************************************************
I am from an Irish father and a English mother.
I am from a small town in the eastern state of New Jersey. A small town that had only one traffic light, one elementary school and no high school. I'm from wild Tiger Lilies lining a creek that flowed thru part of the town. I'm from a 4 family house with a chicken farm next to it and a home with a small sheep pasture next to it.. I am from a town that had no movie theaters, or things to do. I am from an after school playground going higher then the bar on the swing.
I am from a family without a father. I am from a mother did a man's job in a nearby factory but did not get the same wages the man next to her, doing the same thing I am from a mother who raised two children by herself. I am from an unknown family. I am from a mother who was adopted and from a father who was a singer and a musician.
I am from the poor side of the tracks and thrift shop clothes. I am from never having said the word "daddy".
From hearing that my birth grandparents on my mothers side was someone of some distinction: a "Lord" in England. And that my grandmother by birth came back when my mother was 7 and wanted her back, but the court asked the child who she wanted to live with, and of course chose the only mother she knew. I am from coal and wood burning stoves and irons that had changing handles.
I am from by birth an Episcopalian, by choice Methodists and Presbyterian and now none at all.
I'm from Salvation Army camps, eating home made cookies at my neighbors, playing "pretend" under the front porch, and reading used Zane Grey books.
I am from puppies and turtles and kittens born on windowsills, from wild strawberries and wild violets, and fromcatching frogs in streams. From big band and rock and roll music and the Syncopated Clock on t.v.
I am..... me.
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Patrick's Saturday Six

Here are this week's "Saturday Six" questions.

1. Assuming you have a DVD player and a show you used to enjoy becomes available on DVD...what is the deciding factor on whether or not you'll actually buy it?

Unfortunately it is the cost, but it shouldn't be because I do watch my movies many times so they are really, always worth the price.

2. What do you find generally more offensive: the average prime time television show or the people who want their own personal standards of decency to be the guidelines the networks must follow?

Hmm, well.. with the new parental controls and the fact that if you don't like it.. then don't watch it. I guess it would be everyone trying to put their own standards on the shows.

3. If you were in charge of the FCC, which of the following would be your priority when it comes to decency on the airwaves: cutting down on violence, sex or profanity?

Another hard one.. since i do think that constant repetition of any of them eventually has some effect on everyone. If i HAVE to choose one I guess, Violence.

4. Take this quiz (if you haven't already!): What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?

You will be smothered under a rug. You're a little anti-social, and may want to start gaining new social skills by making prank phone calls.

5. One of those crazy remodeling shows appears at your door one day and offers to redo any room of your house or apartment for free, but that it can only be one single room that gets a makeover. Would you let them in, and if so, which room would you choose and why?

Right now i would choose the kitchen because they always include new appliances and this house needs them bad! (if it were MY home I would choose the livingroom and hope that I would get a HUGE widescreen thin television! lol.. i love movies and the bigger the screen the more it would be like being at the movies)

6. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #86 from cdmmw2: Do you recall your first kiss? Did you think that kissing was worth all the hype??

Yep I do remember... and i don't remember being "overwhelmed" lol..