My seizure inducing Christmas tree

1,250 minilights plus the star. What a wonder it is! Happy new Year!!

TSA

The old cliche gets even worse...

You know the old cliche: "Life sucks and then you die" How about this: "Life sucks and then you die and then you are fossilized dying"
Never say "Things can't get any worse", fate has ears you know...

Making Geology Sexy!

More like a Monday today...

Here I sit with nothing to blog. So needless to say I am going to blog anyway as not having anything to blog about hasn't stopped me before. I have been enjoying a rather interesting little wine from Pennsylvania that a dear friend gave to me. Who knew they made wine in Pennsy?! Anyway it's called Tall Ships and it's not so bad because it really doesn't taste so winey. It's a blush and methinks it's not so overpowering. I'm rather liking it. My better half just brought to my attention that I finished the bottle in a half hour. Hmmm I suppose that's a testament to how good it is? Mind you this is the same person who told me this morning that one of the reasons he loves me is that I am not normal. So I just went to the winemakers website and they call this a "country blush" and describe it as medium dry and fruity. I'm not getting fruity but then again I'm a beer chick and not a wine woman. Formally a vodka vixen and Malibu Maven, but I suppose those days are over ;)

Today we bought a bottle of vodka and it's a watered down version. I know there is plenty wrong with this state but watering down alcohol seems rather perverted to me. Cheaper maybe, but really?! This state is more fruity than this wine seems.

I just checked the website again and the vinyard carries peach, cherry and raspberry wines also... Yum! That wouldn't be a bad version to try. The fruitier the better!!

Gratuitous volcano post

OK so I just had to anyway.... Here are a couple of photos taken as screen saves on my iPad. They are of Merapi


Daytime covered in volcanic ash


Night time eruption

I am a volcano webcam addict....

Here's Colima on November 4th:


Geology rocks!

Huh!

OK so another volcano is erupting, that means I'll be writing a new post or adding pictures right?! Well, almost right. I'll get to the earth burping in a future post perhaps but not this one. I'll let the major news networks do the heavy stuff today.
Right now i am going to go on about one thing. And only one thing. One thing that is near and dear to my little ticking heart ~ Christmas lights. It's that time of year again (don't give me that "It's only November 5th" schtuff!!) Let's face it nowadays Christmas season begins when the munchkins go back to school. This year I was watching to see who would advertise first, who would end Fall early and rush us into Winter before we were ready? Kmart did. Not Wallyworld suprisingly enough. Hello, blue light special on patience already... Ooops sorry, all out!! Maybe next year.

But getting back to my Christmas lights, I have decided to do something a little different and quite radical for me. Every year I try to coat every available wall with those wonderful, brilliant little lights but not this year. By now I must have thousands of lights on heaven knows how many strings... Steady on lights, chaser lights, blinky lights, fade in/out lights and whatever else it have. (Holiday Intereior Illumination is my thing). This year they won't be going on the walls or even the windows, they are all going on my not quite 6 foot scrawny plastic Christmas tree (Ahem! That's a Walmart Aspen Fir with realistic bendable branches if you please). I thought about it and figured "Why should I be the only one having hot flashes here?!" This year my little fake tree victim is going to be covered - no, slathered in billions and billions of hot mini Christmas lights in a festival of color and action. My aim is to have the first tree in Christmas history to be seziure inducing.
Needless to say the prospect is very exciting but not so excited about having to take it all apart after the New Year.. But that's a bridge to be crossed at another time so we won't be thinking about it right now. Just imagine, sitting on my couch with a nice mug of hot cocoa, with sunglasses on and getting a tan from my tree. Come on Thanksgiving arrive,I can't wait all month now can I?!?!

Mount Sinabung

A volcano has erupted on Indonesia's island of Sumatra, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes as black smoke and ash shot up 1,500 meters into the air.

Mount Sinabung in the north of Sumatra began erupting around Saturday midnight after rumbling for several days.

A red alert was issued for the region after the Sinabung volcano thundered back to life for the first time in 400 years.

According to Surono, head of Indonesia's Volcanology center, lava was overflowing the volcano's crater.

"This is the first time in history since 1600 that Sinabung erupted and we have little knowledge about it," Reuters quoted Surono as saying.

Authorities evacuated at least 12,000 people from high risk areas on the slopes of the 2,460-meter volcano to temporary shelters. The area around the volcano is largely agricultural.

Local people have been urged to wear face masks to avoid health problems from the volcanic ash. And those living along rivers have been told to be on alert for lava-induced floods.

There are at least 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is part of the Asia-Pacific "Ring of Fire", a series of volcanoes and fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and South East Asia.

Reflections on turning 40

For some reason I think 29 was the most stressful for me. Letting go of my youth I suppose. In my family by 29 you should have been married with 2 or 3 kids, have a mortgage and car payments. Ooops... I so missed that boat with glee. At 33 I ran off to Europe, eloped with the man of my dreams and never looked back. Since tonight is my last night of my 30s decade I'll bore you with my non-mid-life crisis.

Oddly enough I'm looking forward to my forties. Mortality is a fact of life and we are all bound for heaven so to speak. A few women friends have told me that I will like being 40, because at this point in my life I won't give a darn anymore. One said that there is a confidence that comes along with age and experience. And I blamed all that apathy on my recent major surgery, that kind of gives you a sense that you're bulletproof. I didn't feel like drinking beer much either after that bit of work... Thank goodness this evening I've gotten past that too!

3 minutes left and it's still cool. Tomorrow will be another day and then the one after. Thank God for letting me get this far. I have a great husband, great family, great friends, my health and a job. In my eyes that means I have a very rich life, I am very blessed and I look forward to being a 40 year old or a whatever year old! :)

At least it can be pronounced!

LONDON - A second, much larger volcano in Iceland is showing signs that it may be about to erupt, scientists have warned.

Since the start of the Eyjafjallajökull eruption, which caused cancellations of thousands of flights in Europe because of a giant ash cloud, there has been much speculation about neighboring Katla.

An initial research paper by the University College of London Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction said: "Analysis of the seismic energy released around Katla over the last decade or so is interpreted as providing evidence of a rising ... intrusive magma body on the western flank of the volcano."


"Earlier seismic energy release at Katla is associated with the inflation of the volcano, which indicates it is close to failure, although this does not appear to be linked to seismicity around Eyjafjallajökull," it added.

"We conclude that given the high frequency of Katla activity, an eruption in the short term is a strong possibility," the report said. "It is likely to be preceded by new earthquake activity. Presently there is no unusual seismicity under Katla."

Icelandic President Ólafur Grímsson has warned governments around Europe that a significant eruption at the volcano is close. "We [Iceland] have prepared ... it is high time for European governments and airline authorities all over Europe and the world to start planning for the eventual Katla eruption," he said.

And according to the "Global Volcanism Program" website:
Katla volcano, located near the southern end of Iceland's eastern volcanic zone, is hidden beneath the Myrdalsjökull icecap. The subglacial basaltic-to-rhyolitic volcano is one of Iceland's most active and is a frequent producer of damaging jökulhlaups, or glacier-outburst floods. A large 10 x 14 km subglacial caldera with a long axis in a NW-SE direction is up to 750 m deep. Its high point reaches 1380 m, and three major outlet glaciers have breached its rim. Although most historical eruptions have taken place from fissures inside the caldera, the Eldgjá fissure system, which extends about 60 km to the NE from the current ice margin towards Grímsvötn volcano, has been the source of major Holocene eruptions. An eruption from the Eldgjá fissure system about 934 AD produced a voluminous lava flow of about 18 cu km, one of the world's largest known Holocene lava flows. Katla has been the source of frequent subglacial basaltic explosive eruptions that have been among the largest tephra-producers in Iceland during historical time and has also produced numerous dacitic explosive eruptions during the Holocene.

If you thought that "That which can not be pronounced" was a heck of a volcanic ride, this'll be a bit more hair-raising methinks....

Dear Lord....

An Ode to Granny Panties

This morning while getting dressed I looked at my underwear collection and thought how sad it really has become. What used to be filled with shiny things from Fredrick's of Hollywood is now loaded with mostly white cotton comfort things from Walmart. One little imperfection on one of those shiny pairs of undies and out it went ~ and new ones were bought to replace the offending pair immediately. But now, a well worn, somewhat greying pair of granny's with elastic on it's last leg is a treasure to hang onto til that leg finally goes and it needs to finally be put out of it's misery. Then there is the mourning and a few stages of grief after the tossing out. How things change as you get older...

Since it's Saturday and I have nothing to do (except laundry, dishes, vacuuming, floor washing, toilet scrubbing, dusting, gardening and duck feeding) I looked Granny Panties up on Google and found something entertaining at the Urban Dictionary website. This is what it says:

1. A term to describe the kind of women's underpants that are considered "uncool" if you're under the age of 60, or something. In this aspect they are similar to tightie whities for boys. Granny pants are usually high cut, with a highly elastic waistband that will come up to at least your belly button. They may also come in floral patterns, pink patterns, or other "old lady" looking styles- just like any other type of underwear, actually, anything's possible stylewise.

People who wear granny underwear usually wear it because:
A) their mom bought it for them
B) they don't like thongs or bikini cuts
C) they're playing some kind of sport (oh, c'mon, you don't seriously think that all female athletes wear thongs, do you? Most "sporty" girls underpants are NOT thongs or really low cut.)
D) they just like them and don't care what others think.

Locker room:
-"Ew, you wear granny panties?"
-"Yeah, that's right, I do. Get over it. At least they don't go up my a** like thongs."

2. A pair of underwear which are usually A) larger than the woman who wears them. B) Very stretchy and elastic. C) The best pair of undies you'll ever wear.
Most people frown upon them because, as we all know, the smaller your undies are, the cooler you are. But in terms of comfort and practicality they beat thongs by a mile or more.

I wear granny panties because I'd rather have baggy undies than a string in my ass.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=granny%20panties

Duran Duran, Nagel and the potty lady...

One of my most favorite bands as a teenager was Duran Duran. Loved them and couldn't hear them or see them enough. Oooo and that Simon LeBon, he was quite the hottie to my then teenage eyes, oh yeah he was the cat's meow! That was quite a while ago and finally getting to see them 2 years ago was still quite a thrill to me. Like a dream come true over twenty years later... Well better later then never I suppose. Whoa! A few months ago he turned something like 52 years old or whatever ~ THAT made me feel really really old! Sigh.

Anyway, so it was their album Rio that introduced me to the artist Patrick Nagel who did the cover art. You know the one who did all those beautiful, sleek art deco like ladies. And Rio was a lovely lady, no?:

So the other night I'm surfing the web as usual and came across more pictures of women by the same artist, all in style similar to our friend Rio here. Very sleek, elegant ladies that you would expect from Mr Nagel. Finally I came across one that I had never seen before and couldn't believe my eyes ~ I had to laugh as it caught me completely off guard. Never expected to see one like this!! But I must say, Nagel even made something as mundane as usuing the toilet very elegant indeed!

"You know you're something special and you look like you're the best..."

Cute Silent Film Blurb

You know, just thinking about it makes me wish I had some good New York Cheesecake right about now... Oooo and a hot cup of tea too. Yummo!

Hoppy & Gabby together again...

Before you start singing "Back in the saddle again..." wait til you read the rest. This is quite the coinkydink if I don't say so myself. Last Friday I went to Hendrysburg to see the actual house that William Hopalong Cassidy Boyd was born in. It's a quaint rather unassuming, bit smallish box on the side of an impossible to find (almost) country road. Thus a few hundred feet and a short busride back is this sign:

Sweet, huh? I think so. The fun part is this: Stand in front of the William Boyd birthplace sign and take your picture. Then all you have to do is turn 180 degrees around and you will see this sign:

Now, how can any Hopalong or Gabby Hayes fan NOT appreciate that?! Too fun!

Flappers and the Roaring 20's

Just so you know...

Here's how it's pronounced:
Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yah-FYAH-lah-yer-kuhl) volcano
Consider this a public service.

Girly girl things

Admittedly I am not a girly girl. Though I do have an occasional passing fancy for something greatly girly girl or positively princess. Occasionally divine diva. And then there are those certain things that warm my chachki loving heart. Especially when it comes to fingernails. I LOVE having my nails done! There is nothing like a polished French Manicure to feminize a nail chewers fingertips. Yes, I am a nail chewer and have been as long as I can remember. Stress, anger, nerves or just plain boredom are enough to start me a chewin'. Gross perhaps, but maybe that's why I have such an awesome immune system? I have probably ingested more germs than I care to think about, but I digress... This morning whilst pulling clothes out of the dryer, I banged my poor thumbkins right into the darn machine and now this evening it is still angry at me. Good thing I wasn't planning on having the nails done anytime soon. OK I'll be honest, I am just too cheap to get the needed refills after the original set. Sigh. Maybe if I had this cute set done I wouldn't mind paying for the upkeep?

Gratuitous Potty Humor

Life or Death?

OK so I'm watching the LIFE series on the Discovery Channel this past Sunday (as I have been since the beginning) and once again I had to turn it off and walk away. Not that this hadn't occured to me in earlier episodes but this weeks show just solidified it in my mind: This series should not be called "Life" ~ more appropriately it should be called "Death" As most of the critters seem to get stalked and eaten on these programs.

Was it well filmed? Yes. Was it well presented? Yes. Was the information interesting? Yes. Do I want to see more dancing birds? Yes please. Do I want to see any more pelicans eating baby birds? No thank you. Would I like to see another starfish having a leg torn off? Hell No!

Call me a weenie, I just see enough blood and gore on the normal stations and the news. The last thing I need to see before I go to bed is a spider the size of my car devouring sweet little frogs. Think I'll go back to surfing the internet on Sunday nights. Sorry Oprah.

Where the heck is this?!

It's raining cows! Halleluia it's raining cows!

Things that make you go 'Eeeeeeewwww....'

With a "Free 10 day home trial" I think the real (and un-nerving) question here is: What the heck did they do with the unwanted used/returned Love Maids?! Actually on second thought, maybe some things are better left to the unknown...

The higher the hair, the closer to God!

Amen to that sister!!

Cabin Fever

AAACKK is right! I have got to get the heck out of here! I mean really... OK so the month and a half has gone really quickly since my surgery but sitting on the love seat getting really grumpy at the dismal choice of TV shows my cable company happily overcharges me for has really gotten old. The most exciting flicks I have watched in the last week were from my DVD collection ~ or from the library. OMG - one was The Land of the Lost movie. That was hysterical, glad I had my staples out or those things would have shot across the living room as I laughed so hard. A clever T-Rex!

Really, ask yourself this: how many times can you watch the same show on the 'On Demand' channels?! Twice and then it's like put some darn new ones up already (this is from experience...) Uugh. Paranormal documentaries are no fun the second time around. Sorry there's no ghost in this room, and not that one either. You folks are going home with nothing this show, saw it last night.... Sigh. Even the ghosts are bored.


I want to go back to work. It's not like I want to work, I mean personally I'd rather be out on a ginormous yacht taking sun in the Mediterranean while someone serves me dinner and cocktails with frilly little umbrellas in them. BUT at least while I'm at work, I can be around people much more miserable than myself. My job, like most, comes with so much entertaining drama. Utter silliness, I have flashbacks to grade school way too often there.

And what's even worse, all this sitting around healing. And eating. And watching TV. And reading. And eating. They took a huge mass out of me and yet I PUT ON SOME WEIGHT. That's how that works for me. I figured out that there was this newly created empty space so I had to put food there and quickly. Not thinking that maybe some vital organs needed to go back to where they belonged? I'm just thinking here.

OMG it is time to get out among the living and be active and vibrant again. OK maybe 'vibrant' is pushing it a little but you get the picture. Like the great philosophers The Muppets once sang in their film classic "Treasure Island" ~ "Cabin fever has grabbed us all aboard, this once proud vessel has become a floating psycho ward. We were sailing, sailing heading who knows where, and now though we're all here, we're not all there." Makes you think, doesn't it?

Yeah, it makes you think that I really do need to get out of this house or at least step away from the computer, no?!

The Muppets searching for their sanity also...

Wallpaper Nightmare

Ma! Come help me! Your wallpaper is so loud I cannot hear myself play Christmas music!

Parade of Peacocks

Aren't peacocks so fascinating? I first ran into one in person while on my honeymoon in Crete. Visiting Knossos, right next door was a fenced in area with a bunch of peacocks all just milling around and squawking (they are VERY loud!) But what beautiful creatures they are, in their blue green finery.

And the albino ones are so devastatingly lovely too. Really amazing animals.

Along with my fascination of this majestic creature I also adore silent films, and that is my bridge to explain why I am sharing the next few photos.. Silent film stars in peacock finery.
Pauline Starke
Mae Murray

Thank you Captain Obvious....

Funny!

Caller : Hi, our printer isn't working.

Technician: What's wrong with it?

Caller : The mouse is stuck.

Technician: Mouse? M'am, printers don't have a mouse!

Caller : Oh really?... well I just sent you a picture ...