Friday, September 28, 2007

This Is Where the Title Goes

I find myself not posting because I'm such a visual gal, and being on dial-up, I can't upload pictures. I keep promising myself I'll go to the internet cafe...but who am I kidding? I'm lying like a big dog. Am seriously considering joining the 21st century with a satellite hook-up, even if I don't know how long I'm out here in the wilderness. I've seen scientists in the Amazon rainforest with laptops--it shouldn't be so hard in rural Virginia, right? Hehhhh....

This is what I would show you if I could:

Yesterday while walking Barkley & Remington, I found 11 four-leaf clovers, one right after another. ELEVEN. My favourite Spinal Tap-inspired number...because it's ONE MORE, INNIT?

And here's a picture of The Grasshopper, who sent me a lovely surprise in the mail. I have a Grasshopper journal and tea mug and shirt-that-fits.

And here's a picture of Margot Potter, whom I absolutely adore. I LOVE LOVE LOVE her blog! And she was so sweet to give this Labyrinth Gal some "linky love." Thanks, Madge!

Well. Now I really am inspired to do nothing but upload tons of photos. It shall be done. And soon. Promise, no more lying dogs.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Gone Fishin'

Sunday I caught a rock...not a rock fish, just a rock. I know my friend Willie is wondering how in the world I ever managed to land a 31 inch, 12-pound catfish. Haven't made it out of the RGC to upload any photos of my fishing adventures. I have a picture of that 12-pounder but when Willie told me I'd have to put my hand under its gills, I took his picture with it. I don't bait the hooks and I'm not touching anything icky. Eeeewwwww!

I've been making my way through Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm.

It's preTTy, preTTy, preTTy hilarious.

So. In The Surrogate (Season 4) Larry comes out of a restaurant and hands his valet ticket to a black man standing by the valet sign, but the guy isn't the valet. Larry gets accused of assuming the guy is the valet because he's black. Guess what? Yesterday I was at a Spirit School gathering and met a woman named Wendy at lunch. I was talking about Larry David and she asked, "He's bald with gray hair and glasses, right?" It turns out it was her friend, Dylan, that that happened to. Larry came out of his hotel and handed his keys to Dylan. Then he laughed and said he'd prolly use it for his show. I told her, "I saw that episode!"

Cool, huh? Other than that, I got nothin'.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

I got nothin'

...but I'm getting the lingo down and the buzz words are flying out of my mouth like I know what I'm talking about. We need all avails in your inventory and if you could just go ahead and forgo the spins for the next coupla weeks, that would be SUPER. Altho, today, I did get accused of externalizing my internal auditory...yeah, that'll be funny to at least one person reading this blog.

So like I said, I got nothin'. But I got a great joke from my friend Fairie Elaine. It's a Bono joke and I will say this: I think he's more...earnest than "self-righteous." OK, so here's the joke:

Bono, the lead singer of the band U2, is famous throughout the entertainment industry for being more than just a little self-righteous.At a recent U2 concert in Glasgow , Scotland , he asked the audience for total quiet. Then, in the silence, he started slowly clapping his hands,once every few seconds. Holding the audience in total silence, he said into the microphone, "Every time I clap my hands, a child dies in Africa ."

A voice with a broad Scottish accent, from the front of the crowd, pierces the quiet ........"Well, foockin stop doin' it then!"

Friday, September 14, 2007

Heart of a Mother

I wrote this for Claudette this morning, but I think it's for all mothers. LOVE you, Mum!

From the Heart of a Mother

From the heart of a mother
To daughter and son,
LOVE shines through
From the Holy ONE.

Heavenly Father
Guides and directs
This heavenly mother
Nurtures, protects.

In times of Light
In times of dark
LOVE from a mother
Is never far.

Her hand of kindness
Her hand of LOVE
Guided by God
From up above

In Spirit and flesh
In Light, in Truth
This mother’s LOVE
Follows you

From here to there
From near to far
A mother’s LOVE
Is wherever you are.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

I've Decided to Take up Smoking

What a ridiculous thing to say! But it's funny because it's not. I've been thinking a lot about smoking behaviour and what prompts a person to start...or decide to stop....it's not like other decisions we might make, like what to cook for dinner or if we should buy that new pair of jeans or get the puppy or pot-bellied pig at the fair. It seems to me to be a more other-than-conscious (OTC) response for coping or dealing with stress. Or perhaps it's a response to wanting to fit in with a herd--to be one of the cool people. I remember in one of my trainings with Doug O'Brien, he was doing a smoking therapy on a guy and he asked him what appealed to him about smoking. One of the responses was "it's part of my bad-boy image." And Doug said, "Yeah...'cause that's really important when you're 43 years old."
And I also understand the addictive qualities of it and the chemical responses in the brain; it's sending dopamine to the pre-frontal cortex. But there are other ways to do that as well--exercise, for one. Who said that??? But whatever the reasons, for whatever behaviour, there's always a way to meet the needs of the OTC in a more healthy manner...because shift happens...just like the bumper sticker says. Happy Saturday! :-) H.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

I have the best road karma!

The BEST, Jerry!

You know when you're having a crappy day and think it can only get better? And then you leave your house...and it does get better *because* it got worse? I was driving down my gravel-dirt road and I got a flat tire. ("TAR" as we say in these parts). Not just flat, shredded. YIKES! I looked at my cell phone. No service. Hehhhh....but one of my neighbors-I-didn't-know, Donna, was taking a walk. She stopped & we chatted and then, THEN! Mel, the guy-who-mows-my-lawn just happened to drive by and stopped to help. He changed my tire, told me to go to Reed's Tires in Stanley for the best service & prices.
Once at Reed's Tires, I found out just how lucky I was. My other tire was not far behind the first. You need to replace that other tar, babydoll, Mr. Reed said. When was the last time you got new tars? Um. Never. Did you get them rotated...never mind. We'll get you fixed up.
And they did. 83,000 miles. Honey, you're gonna need new breaks in the back in about 5000 miles. And I know where I'll go. Seth Godin is right: give a great product and service and you don't need any marketing gurus telling you to be viral. And never has anyone called me babydoll and made it so appealing. But it wasn't just me, it was the old woman standing at the counter and someone on the other end of the phone. We're all babydolls. And this babydoll is v. grateful for the whole experience!