I am going to work hard to start posting more regularly and getting involved in writing events again. This last year, wasn’t really feeling it – though the year passed so quickly not sure I felt anything!
I also want to try and keep up with all your posts, as well. I have missed those! I spent almost all day yesterday catching up with a few. I really enjoyed that!
Mystery Marinade
While cooking dinner, my husband came up and saw several empty bottles on the counter.
Husband: What’s that? Is our marinade a mixture of stuff?
Me: Yep 🙂
Husband: OH, that ought to be good [a little sarcastically, with a twinkle in his eye]
Me: Be glad we have stuff to mix! And something to put in that mystery marinade! [laughing]
BTW – the chicken turned out great, mystery marinade and all LOL!
We wanted to Facetime with the grandkids today, so I called my daughter this morning to tell her. As often happens, it went to voicemail. I knew she was home, as we both share our locations with each other on the Find-A-Friend app. I left her a message. Yeah, she never called back. I’m sure she was busy today, but still.
About 6:30 tonight, I called her again, hoping she would answer and the kids would be able to get their mini iPad and spend a little time with us. Yep, you guessed it, voicemail, again. Again I left her a message.
Me: Well I’m at the hospital, but it was just a minor little heart attack, nothing to worry about. Just call at your earliest convenience . . . [by this time I was laughing, as I finished the message]
Of course, I called from the home phone, so pretty sure she knew I was kidding . . . 😉
I’ve been paying little attention to the news in the last few months, but you just can’t escape the shit.
I missed half of the second Democratic Debate, since I had no idea it was on, a major network station at that. Not sure how that happened other than maybe they did a poor job of promoting it, especially on a Saturday night right before Christmas.
I recorded the third Republican Debate, but just deleted it without watching it. Wasn’t up for being entertained. Seems like I heard a few governments have said they will ban Trump from coming to their countries, and that Cruz may have been born in Canada. But, I have done no real research on those tidbits.
Western Illinois University has a history of predicting the winner of the presidential elections. Guess who they predicted the winner will be – Bernie Sanders . . .
Yep – feeling the Bern!! Time will tell . . .
Heard about the Syrian refuges they arrested in Texas and California for being terrorists. Pretty much exactly what so many feared.
I read in our local paper that gas prices are causing many layoffs in the oil and gas industry, but they followed that statement saying that with raw materials so cheap, the refineries are doing well, by buying in bulk now while prices are low, making their profit margins larger. So in the end, the oil and gas (refineries) company stock holders and CEOs probably aren’t taking that big of a hit. Just the middle class who lost their jobs – most likely a bunch of people in my age group.
Had a lot of company in December, at different times all spread out. It was good to see family we haven’t seen in some time.
Caught up with a few of my blog buds today. Enjoyed that immensely!
Anyway, thought it would be nice to contribute to Just Jot it January, over at Linda G. Hill’s blog. Hope it isn’t my only contribution 😉
Just some things I’ve been thinking about it . . .
I have to start by saying that for the most part, I love my state. It’s big, beautiful, friendly, and where I have lived most of my life. Texans do have a particular mindset, and believe themselves to be independent and rebellious in nature. Having said that, the politics can be mind-blowing — really. And sometimes, I can’t help but think how sheep-like so many of these Texans are — not rebellious and independent as they seem to think.
Reading the paper a few weeks back, it was brought to my attention that in the midst of all the important things going on right now, the Texas Legislature may reconsider HB619. This bill caps the sales taxes on boats and yachts costing more than $250,000, to no more than $15,625. It would also eliminate sales taxes on boats sold to buyers from out of state.
Seriously . . . ???
Apparently, the Texas Gulf Coast yachting industry and associated jobs are ailing. I wonder if that has anything to do with all the unemployed younger baby boomers who should still be working . . .
I’m certainly confused on how that helps the industry as a whole, if they are enticing out of state buyers who will pay no taxes or any other boat-related costs in this state, other than enough fuel to sail away. Again, economics is not my strong suit, to say the least!
I’m sorry, but in my book, if you can afford a boat or yacht that costs more than $250,000, as well as the maintenance, slip, and fuel costs, well than you can probably afford to pay the full amount of the taxes. Y’all let me know if I am being too tough here . . . yeah that was meant to be facetious 😉
I never cease to be amazed at the gall of my state’s government and the entitlements of the top one percent. Do y’all ever feel this way?
So far the bill was defeated, thank goodness – clear minds prevail for now.
As a side note – it’s pretty scary when Donald Trump is the current leader in the polls for Republican nominee. I can’t wait for the debates 🙂 I don’t think there’s a decent candidate coming from this state – they are all crazy, narrow-minded, single-focused zealots. Bat-shit crazy, I tell you 😉
I often question why I still live in this state – but then I remember all my family and lifetime friends I am surrounded by. I took off over 25 years ago living in the Ozarks for a few years, but we came back and times are different now. Most specifically – there are grandchildren ❤
Anyway, just something I was thinking about . . .
(Wow – there’s been some changes on the WP format – I have been away too long!)
Yes, as customary for me lately, I am a day late and probably a dollar short, too – if we were to count and get technical 🙂
Yesterday, January 19, was the birthday of Janis Joplin. I was just an elementary school kid when she was making a name for herself and then burnt up in a star’s cosmic tale tragically dying.
Between Janis, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Duane Allman, Jim Croce, Mama Cass Elliot, and a few others – there was this group of trail blazing musicians/poets/storytellers/performers that graced our presence for a short time, but left us with music and legends that hopefully will live on forever! They will for me, anyway – as I have so many memories connected to their songs.
When my husband and I moved into our first apartment, we didn’t have a lot of money – I was several weeks from turning 18, and he had just tuned 19 several weeks before – so money was tight, and decorating was, well let’s say that of young people. We had two LARGE silk screen prints – one of Janis Joplin and one of Jim Morrison that graced the walls of our living and dining area.
The CD had not been invented yet, and though cassettes existed, albums were still quite desirable. I hit a well known local record store typically once a week for new albums, though some really were old, and other “things” – sometimes the first expenditure from my just received paycheck. (Yes, this was a paper check, as direct deposit didn’t exist back then either – yes now I am laughing, as well!). Damn, times were good back then 🙂
Anyway – realizing it was her birthday brought back some wonderful memories, and since I have been such a slacker lately about writing anything of real substance (this is a blog that is intended to make people think about their world and what’s going on around them after all) – thought I might share a little more about myself and my influences and experiences. At least I am writing 🙂 I’ve been working on the novel a bit, but then got stuck again. It’s a personal thing and I’m working on it.
Here’s a couple videos I hope you will enjoy. Hard choice, as I really love Janis – she speaks to me. I have actually been compared to her a few times, mostly because my voice is deep and raspy – though we really sound nothing alike.
And the one me and my “peeps” know and love, and one I’ve been singing, even
a cappella, since high school . . .
And of course, the ever-famous and another we sang all the words to 🙂
I’ve been trying to catch up here and there the last few weeks – which might I add have absolutely flown by!! Finally getting over the crud that was going around, and trying to get it together to end this semi-crappy year and move on to a new year, and hopefully some wonderful new adventures and opportunities. I say semi-crappy because in the scheme of things, it could’ve been much worse.
My philosophy in life, generally, is if by the end of the day no one has died, no one is terminally ill and no one is scarred for life, it’s been a damn good day – or at least it wasn’t as bad as it may have seemed.
So, though I have spent the last year “job free” against my will, and we have really pillaged our “retirement” savings, which we will pay dearly for – all in all, it could have been a worse year.
Last month, I wrote ~29,000 words of the novel that has been inside me for years. NO, I did not “win” NaNoWriMo, but I still consider it a success for me. I am very happy with how some of it is going, and stuck in a few places, as well. I’m working it out . . . and I do plan on finishing it. (Here’s a few excerpts, if you like a little romance and contemporary fiction.)
I have just reached my one year anniversary on WordPress. This is where I started blogging. I’m just tickled that I have found not only an audience for my musings (72 blogs thus far), but another family — of writers all motivating, inspiring, and encouraging each other. So many of you I miss when I have been away from my blog for any length of time, and I try to find the time to catch up with you when time allows.
Anyway – I wanted to thank you all for making me feel special, for allowing me into your life by spending your precious time with me, and for sharing with and teaching me, as well.I am truly honored!!
So I keep seeing this picture on Facebook, and I’m not sure where exactly it came from or how “authentic” it is. But the first time I saw it, I just had one thought . . .
No mother should have to fear for any of their loved ones lives because someone else’s son robs a store, regardless of race.
Anyway, just something I was thinking about . . .
[Written for Linda Hill’s One-Liner Wednesday, though it’s neither funny or inspirational per say, so I didn’t exactly follow the rules this time.]
Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving – if you celebrate it! I spent mine with my family and we ate until we hurt 😉 Yes, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner!
I doubt seriously that I am going to “win” NaNoWriMo by completing my 50, 000 words, but I managed to get a little over 25,000 words and I am continuing to work it as much as possible through the weekend, but regardless I will keep working on it after, as well. I have made great progress this month – more than I ever have before. I have other pieces to the story that I had written previously that can be incorporated and woven into the overall story – so certainly not a wasted effort by any means! I have gotten some good feedback in various places – and would look forward to more should you decide to peruse a few tidbits I shared and provide comments.
I have so been missing reading your blogs and plan to catch up with everyone next week!!
I also have quite a few topics on my list of future posts that I want to start knocking out 🙂
Thought I might share this song with you – it’s another one of my favs! May we all have someone like this in our lives, be it spouses, lovers, friends, family, kids, grandkids 🙂
Just something I was thinking about, as I’m reflecting on my many blessings today ❤
[This song came on as I’m listening to my iTunes writing my novel – so of course I wanted to share & got distracted LOL!! Hope you enjoy it!]
So my last post got me to thinking about Tupperware®. I love Tupperware® and have many pieces I bought years ago from a party I had. I even have a couple of very old pieces from my grandmas, back from the late 1940s and 1950s. After World War II, Earl Tupper modified his factory machines to mold raw polyethylene (developed for weapons use) into food containers – using a paint can as inspiration for the tight-fitting lids. Originally, Tupperware® was made in the Massachusetts’ plastics industrial complex.
I emailed them last week, using the “Contact Us” link on their website, inquiring about where their products are manufactured. Several emails went back and forth, and I must admit they were very prompt with their responses. I was told that Tupperware® products are made all over the world – Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Portugal, France, Belgium, Greece, India, China, Korea, Japan and United States.
I was assured of their continued history of high quality and design and “all Tupperware® products meet all applicable laws and regulations for product safety in each country they are made.” I’m not sure what that means exactly. Do they mean that all countries manufacture products that meet all U.S. laws and regulations regarding health safety, or are they different in different countries? Pretty sure it was stated that way on their website, too.
Though their home office is in Orlando, Florida, their Customer Care Center is located in Mexico City. You know I asked, and I asked because I could tell from the way the email was composed. Again – that shit just pisses me off, though they were – again – prompt and most informative and polite. But their English writing skills weren’t great. Kind of scares me when big corporations don’t find good clear concise written communication important.
A Google search turned up a WP blog that stated “the Tupperware® factory in the United States is located in Hemmingway, South Carolina.” Debra Todd Jordan, a Tupperware® consultant, went on to say, “Each plant makes the items that are indigenous to their region.” So, if that’s correct, I can get on board with that – if nothing else saves on shipping and props up the economies using the products. Unfortunately, how those corporate taxes are handled I probably would not agree with.
Anyway, since I didn’t have my fingers in enough pies this week, I had to research this 😉 I am a glutton for punishment lately. Just thought I’d share what I found out. I haven’t bought any lately, but read in my research that now they are not marked with where they are made, just the Tupperware® mark. Where our medicines come from is next on my agenda – after . . .
Still working NaNoWriMo . . . still behind, but continuing to work it. I may not meet my goal, but damn it, I will be further along in this story than I have been. I posted a couple of snippets from the novel on my other blog, in the event you are interested in this type of reading. It is very different from this blog – that’s why I have more than one, my interests are varied, random, eclectic for sure. My novel is fiction, with a little romance thrown in, more a story of life and how it plays out sometimes. There’s a lot of dialog. If you check it out, please leave me some feedback. I value and respect all of your opinions as writers in general. Having said that – don’t make me cry now 😉
All of a sudden I have a bunch of people wanting apple butter and this week blackberries are on sale for 88-cents a six-ounce container, so I have a few orders I have to fill this week. Doesn’t make much money, but brings in a little cash and I enjoy doing it. (Though my hands aren’t as good as they used to be and when you make this shit – if you’re doing it right, you’re gonna get burned LOL – seriously! Looking forward to that blackberry jam, though!!)
Listening to this right now – I find this to be good writing music sometimes, depending on my mood . . . plus it’s raining and the wind’s kicking, and the windchimes are singing – n~i~c~e.
Also, trying to keep up with y’all, slowly but surely 😉 I’m definitely becoming a binge reader, seemly stalking sites 🙂
Just some things I was thinking about ☮☮☮
[POSTSCRIPT – OH NO, the video I linked to has been removed . . . that’s never happened to me before. I hope I didnt just get added to some LIST somewhere, ya know what I mean 😉 I’m going to look for another link, but in case I don’t find one, the music was the soundtrack to the movie “Rush” from 1992, mostly instrumentals by Eric Clapton. Soulful, contemplative music for sure!]
I was so excited today when I found these little plastic containers (like Ziplock storage containers) that have snowmen and Merry Christmas and other holiday stuff on them to use for putting cookies, candy, other baked goods in for the holidays. They weren’t on my shopping list, as I was only going for more apples on sale for the apple butter I am making and selling now.
They were only about $1.69 a package (three in one package, and five in the other), BUT what made me so excited about these cheap plastic products is that they were not only BPA-free but MADE IN AMERICA!!! Not made in China, like just about everything else we come in contact with. (Again, let me say, I have nothing against China, per say, I just think we need to be making our own products and putting Americans to work.)
I was going through my grandkids Halloween candy yesterday, and I had to throw away a bunch of candy bracelets and rings and stuff – all made in China. I will not indulge in any food products made there, or pet products either. Especially not for my grandkids – food stuff, not pet stuff. Quite frankly, I can’t help but wonder if China is trying to poison us and the rest of the world with their inferior products – but that’s a whole blog post on its own!
This led me to start thinking about, and not for the first time, where in the hell all of our drugs – name brand and generic are being made, since that is not information we are typically privy to as consumers – though maybe we should be. I know I would like to know where the drugs I may have to take are coming from, since I take that much care in selecting other consumable goods I buy.
Do any of you know where your medications are made? Do you think this is important?
Okay – off to NaNoWriMo land – need to get in an hour or so tonight. Didn’t get much done last night, had to catch up with a few of your blogs – I was blog-jonesin’ 😉 But I am still at it!!
One of the topics on my agenda lately has been this case in Dallas where two men were wrongly accused and convicted spending 15 years behind bars. The Innocence Project worked the case and proved their innocence via DNA evidence. The two men, Dennis Lee Allen and Stanley Orson Mozee, were released from prison Oct. 28.
I know that unfortunately innocent people end up in prison more often then we think. This is why the Innocence Project’s work is so important. I would so love to work for them!
What I find troubling is that Dallas has had more than 30 convictions overturned in the last 10 years, freeing these men after they served years in prison for crimes they didn’t commit.
I realize they try 1000s of cases a year, maybe more, but this number just seems a bit high to me. Am I the only one troubled by that number? I want to do some more research on this when I get some extra time.
NaNoWriMo update: Oh my gosh – I am still at it. Shocked the shit out of me, for sure. So far 13,764 words in, with only 36,236 to go 😉 Fixing to try and work an hour or so tonight. It’s been a busy day! I need to play a little catch-up here, too – family stuff has been calling me away the last few days.
I am way behind on my blog reading, so if I haven’t hit your posts lately, I am planning to catch up soon! Hope you are all doing well!
Just something I was thinking about . . . 