iPod Roulette - September 2010

Here's what came up in the shuffle this month. Any of these bring back memories for you?


1. Newborn Friend (Seal) - His first two albums were my favorites, this one coming from the second.

2. You Send Me (Sam Cooke) - I don't think I ever knew the tragic circumstances of Sam Cooke's death until I read his Wiki-bio.

3. Time For Me To Fly (REO Speedwagon) - From 1978. I prefer their music from the early to mid 70s.

4. MMM MMM MMMM (Crash Test Dummies) - My kids and I loved this song when it was popular.

5. Amazing Journey/Sparks (The Who) - A track from the rock opera Tommy.

6. Saxuality (Candy Dulfer) - Amazing the things I learn by doing these posts! I didn't realize Candy Dulfer was Dutch.

7. If I Can't Have You (Bee Gees) - This was the "Count Da Money Remix" version.

8. China Grove (Doobie Brothers) - The Doobies have a new album out and a single from it is available for free on iTunes this week. They still sound good!

9. Janie's Got a Gun (Aerosmith) - Great Classic Rock.

10. Seven Whole Days (Toni Braxton) - Evidently she is also known for being on Dancing With The Stars.

11. I Wanna Learn a Love Song (Harry Chapin) - Mention Harry Chapin and most folks automatically think of Cat's in the Cradle. That song might have gotten the most airplay, but he was a great storyteller and put out many other wonderful songs including this one. Another tragic death.

12. Dolphin Dreams (Lee Ritenour) - I love it when a song comes up in the rotation that I haven't heard in ages! Did you know that Ritenour appeared in one of the songs on Pink Floyd's The Wall album?

13. Lonesome Loser (Little River Band) - I like this one, but nothing beats Reminiscing.

14. Ballad of Big (Genesis) - This is from their album And Then There Were Three, which was released after the departure of Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett. Not the progressive alt/rock of their early days, but before they descended into pop.

15. Ghetto Child (The Spinners) - It horrifies my daughter when I say this, but I like The Spinners better than The Temptations or The Four Tops.

Rottweilers

Six months have passed since we lost our Esther girl and I still miss her. I'll try not to look at the wall calendar in the kitchen next week where her birthday is still noted in red. A friend sent me a link over the weekend to a wonderful article about a Rottweiler honored in England for saving a woman from an attacker. Click here if you would like to read the story. I love seeing Rottweilers portrayed in a positive light!

I miss having a Rottie in the house. *sigh*

Six dogs are enough for now, but someday I'll have another Rottweiler. That's a promise.

Fair Tax

I normally stay away from political posts, but I came across an editorial I thought was interesting and felt was worth sharing. I'm not a Mike Huckabee fan. I didn't particularly care for him when he was Governor of Arkansas or when he ran for president in 2008. But the editorial he recently contributed to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette made sense to me.

Facts and the Fair Tax

Feel free to leave comments with your thoughts, but keep in mind I'm not a debater and will probably not attempt to counter your opinions if they differ from mine.

Stiff by Mary Roach

Mary Roach use to write a monthly column for Reader's Digest called "My Planet". It was often informative, occasionally irreverent, and always funny. She sometimes contributed to another favorite magazine of mine, Discover, and it was there I saw a review for Stiff. I requested the book for Christmas that year and it's been sitting on my shelf ever since (seven years!!).

While perusing my shelves for books that would fit the RIP V Challenge (click on sidebar image for details), I realized Stiff would be perfect. Consider the full title: Stiff - The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. This is not fiction, folks, and not for the squeamish or faint of heart. However, Mary Roach has a knack of being able to tackle a sobering topic like this with enough humor to keep it interesting and not too dry, yet not so much that it becomes flippant or disrespectful. I was entertained, informed, and yes...a bit grossed out in a few places. Actually, it was the parts which described experiments using live dogs that disturbed me the most.

The book is divided into twelve chapters covering a variety of topics. For example, Chapter One deals with using cadaver heads for learning (or brushing up on) surgical procedures, often by plastic surgeons. Chapter Two looks back into the history of human dissection and body snatching. Chapter Three focuses on the science of what happens to the body after death and takes a visit to the "Body Farm" at the University of Tennessee. Other chapters cover things like what can be learned from bodies in plane crashes, their use by the military and auto safety industry, religious experiments and the search for the soul, transplants, cannibalism, and of course... options for what to do with your body after you're through living in it.

With the exception of a few "insecty" things, I'm not a squeamish person and have a fairly strong stomach. I remember being grossly fascinated by my older (by 12 years) brother's textbooks when he was in medical school. (Ironically, he was a pathologist and therefore dealt with more than his share of cadavers) So, I'll admit I thought this was a very interesting book. I learned a lot (maybe more than I really needed to know in some cases) and laughed a lot in the process.

Open your eyes!

You never know what you're going to see when you make the effort to really notice things! You should be able to click on these to enlarge them.

This little guy barely slowed down to get his picture snapped!

I prefer green lizards to this kind.

These died off in the middle of the summer, but came back beautifully later.

This little grasshopper thought he was hidden.

These green dragonflies are my favorites. They love to pose!

My camera never would focus on the flower.

I hate worms, so it was difficult for me to take this one. Ugh!

These flowers (weeds) are everywhere!

Want a closer look?

Another weed, but still quite pretty.

This thing turned its head to look at me. How creepy is that!?

I have no idea what this plant is, but it's sure interesting!

Coordinating

Okay. So I admitted in the 8 Questions post that I'm not exactly a fashion maven. My wardrobe consists of mostly shorts, capris, t-shirts, and the like. Winter brings out the jeans and fleece. However, just because I rarely dress up and don't always adhere to the latest trends, that doesn't mean I don't try to look nice. I like to wear fun jewelry and coordinate my accessories with my clothing. One of my favorite ways to do this is with my nifty glasses I told you about here.

I now have a new way to accessorize: The Miche Bag. This has to be the most fun purse I've ever had! "How can a purse be fun?", you might ask. Because I can change the outer shell to match my outfit in the blink of an eye! I always loved the styles of my mother's time when women would match their handbags and shoes to their dresses, but in reality it's a pain to switch purses. Now I can do that without having to move the "innards". Speaking of innards... I've always been quite picky about my purses. I don't like the hobo or satchel types where everything ends up in the bottom. I also don't like a purse that is so big it could include the kitchen sink along with everything else. When I first saw an ad for the Miche Bag I couldn't tell what the inside looked like as far as compartments and I wasn't sure which size I wanted. That kept me from ordering online. While on vacation this summer we walked past a Miche Bag kiosk in one of the hotels and I had the opportunity to examine one in real life. It was everything I had hoped it would be! After a little haggling, I walked out with a purse and four shells. My husband treated me to two more shells for my birthday. I may never have to buy another purse again!

Today I wore a red t-shirt. That called for my red frames and the shell pictured here.

The old swimming hole

When my husband and I married 25 years ago, we decided to move to the country to raise our kids. We preferred the county school system and liked the idea of having some "space" around us. Our next big decision was to put in a swimming pool. We liked swimming as kids, both of us swimming by age two, and wanted our kids to have that same opportunity.

We never regretted the decision. Though my husband rarely swam (except to cool down occasionally after mowing the lawn), the kids and I used it every summer. When they got older and I knew they didn't always want "mom" out there, I could watch from the window. It was enjoyed on a regular basis.

Things changed once the kids finished high school. They no longer came home for long stretches and it became obvious how costly it was (both in time and money) to keep the pool up and running, only to get very little use. The past two summers it didn't get opened at all.

We knew the practical thing to do. Fill it in. I was 100% in agreement with the decision. It will make a wonderful garden spot next summer. Still....now that the deed is done, I'm feeling a bit sad.

Shortly after the pool was put in.

Today.


*Sigh*

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

The Crossing Places is the first in a new crime series by Elly Griffiths introducing Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist. The story takes place in a remote fictional area of Norfolk, England known as the Saltmarsh and begins with the discovery of a child's bones, possibly those of a girl who disappeared ten years earlier. Ruth is brought in for consultation by Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson, whose inability to solve the case has weighed heavily on him over the years. Galloway and Nelson make an interesting team as they set out to solve the mystery. Things become more complicated when another child goes missing. Mysterious letters with Pagan, Christian, literary and archaeological references lead them to question whether the two disappearances are connected and if they were modeled on the ritual human sacrifices of the Iron Age.

One of my favorite things about this novel was the "likability" of the central character, Dr. Ruth Galloway. She is portrayed as slightly overweight, a bit of a loner, and a touch insecure. In other words, she isn't your typical heroine. I found her very easy to relate to. It's an exciting, well written debut and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks to Dorte for introducing me to this series. You can read her excellent review here.

This novel is my sixth for the Typically British Reading Challenge and my second for the RIP V Challenge.

Our stinky visitor

We had a visitor recently and I think it was a stressful 24 hour visit for him. It was no bed of roses for us, either.

It all began in the wee hours of Friday morning. Our outside dogs had been barking unceasingly and Suzy decided to join in, unceasingly. She has a shrill, piercing bark and it finally reached the point that my husband had to get up and tell her to be quiet. As we lay there in the dark, trying to go back to sleep my husband suddenly said, "Skunk! Do you smell it??" Sure enough...I caught the faintest whiff of "perfume". We knew the outside dogs must have cornered one and the smell was somehow getting into the house.

Friday morning we found it. He (she? I wasn't getting close enough to identify the sex) was huddled in the corner of the flower bed, hiding behind a waterhose caddy. If you look closely at this photo you'll see him.

We tried the keep the dogs away in hopes he'd take the opportunity to escape. No luck. Skunks tend to be nocturnal, so he wasn't planning to go anywhere for awhile. Throughout the day the dogs would get close and bark at him. Fortunately they stayed out of range and never got sprayed directly. Still....he was warning them and the perfume lingered.

Around 3:30 Saturday morning my husband heard them barking again. This time he went outside and used the waterhose to keep the dogs away from him. Then he sprayed in the skunk's general direction hoping to drive him out. It must have worked since he was gone at daybreak....and it must have been an uneventful exit since none of the dogs got targeted.

Whew! I'm glad that's over! I'm sure our visitor is glad, too.

8 Questions

Okay.....I've been tagged. Thanks to Dorte at DJs Krimiblog I am to answer the following questions then tag three others. Let's see what I can come up with.

1. If you could have any superpower, what would you have? Why?
My kids use to ask me this when they were little. I always had trouble coming up with an answer then, but I think I've finally figured it out. I would like to be able to teleport! It would be great to go anywhere in the world with the blink of an eye.

2. Who is your style icon?
Those who know me in real life know I'm not big on "fashion". I dress for comfort and to suit myself.

3. What is your favorite quote?
The Bible verse from 2 Corinthians that I have in my profile. It speaks volumes about my life.

4. What is the best compliment you've ever received?
Perhaps that I'm a good listener. So often saying the "right" thing is to say "nothing".

5. What playlist/cd is in your CD player right now?
Mmmm..that changes with my moods. I've been on a 70s Rock kick lately.

6. Are you a night owl or a morning person?
For the most part I'd say I'm a morning person.

7. Do you prefer dogs or cats?
I'm definitely a dog person (though I have nothing against cats)

8. What is the meaning behind your blog name?
My blog doesn't stick to one topic such as books, cooking, photography or whatever. I'm not much of a writer, either. So....it's just a collection of my "thoughts and ramblings". Believe me, it's a challenge sometimes to keep my entries "readable" rather than just "random".


Now, which bloggers will I tag? (and will those I tag participate?) Even if I don't tag you specifically, feel free to join in!

Marion, Quid, Tracy.......you're IT! (or still it considering Tracy just did a different tag game today)