Freakin' Merry Movies...

Well.. I won't do that again..  I'm so depressed.. I can't shake it..  it's not only Monday.. but it's a Monday after having watched so-called Christmas movies all weekend..  it's enough to make you want to go play in traffic.. by the time I got done with my Christmas television odessy (that's the word for the week!).. the body count was 15..  alzheimer's victims 3...  heart attacks 2...  broken relationships 12... family drama's freakin' in the hundreds and George still didn't make it out of freakin' Bedford Falls!  By the time I made it around to watching ole' George Bailey I found myself screaming "just jump and get it the hell OVER with" as he stood on the bridge about to end it all..  but no.. Clarence just HAD to show up..  but the topper had to be Frasier Crane singing (and I use the term EXTREMELY loosley here) his way thru A Christmas Carol..  yeah.. I caught the last half hour of that little gem last nite as I drifted off to sleep..  at least that one was funny.. I don't think it was supposed to be funny, but it was..  frankly a nice change from the dead/insane/incarcerated/ill wives/husbands/parents/siblings that I was watching.. 

 

So that's it for Christmas movies and me folks.. if it doesn't have a singing snowman or an animated reindeer it in, I'm NOT watching it.. oh.. Merry Freakin' Christmas!

 

Later...

Alternate routes

So I said I would blog the Route 9 from Ware to Worcester Thanksgiving odessy...  one word can sum it up I guess...   "eh"..  it was ok..  nothing special.. nothing really spectacular..  nothing really noteworthy...  although I did enjoy the quick trip down memory lane as we drove through Spencer, where yours truly was raised..  we even took a quick detour off Route 9 to drive past the old family homestead...  it was rather disappointing.. they are doing alot of work to the place.. an addition..  new siding...  closed in the sun porch (BIG mistake in my opinion.. we spent many a warm summer nite out there sitting on the glider and watching the world go by.. wonderful memories!)  but the place was a mess... crap everywhere.. garage door wide open.. broken down vehicles.. toys..  Dad would have killed all us kids if we had left that kind of mess around there.. so it was kind of sad in a way..  to see something that Dad took such loving care of, resembling a junk yard..  *sigh... you really can't go home again, and I guess you shouldn't drive by it either..

 

The rest of the trip was reasonably cool...  the DQ.. many wasted youthful hours spent in that parking lot!  The High School.. the bowling alley.. fond memories.. and as we drove through Leicester - the Annual T'Day rivalry football game between Prouty and Leicester.. more memories..  indeed, a great start to a great thanksgiving day.. but for a daily commute..  9 2 Bay 2 9 2 10 has it beat by many miles!

Later... 

Thanksgiving Turkey Tales!

So I trust you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Had your fill of turkey and spent quality time with family, did you? Or is it the other way around? Your fill of family and quality time with the turkey? Either way I hope you both enjoyed it and survived it... My Thanksgiving? Well, thanks for asking.. lovely.. and I lost my bets in more ways than one.. it wasn't the turkey that suffered from the slow oven at Sarge's it was the rolls.. crunchy on the outside and gooey on the in.. LOL but everything else was wonderful.. thanks guys..

and the other way I lost my bets? Playing penny Black Jack with 2 sisters, "baby" brother, and Mom.. they kicked the tar out of me, and they wonder why I don't spend time down at Mohegan or Foxwoods.. Oh.. but what fun it was.. and I didn't think I would EVER say this, but it was Mom that made it so much fun.. a quick highlight? Mom's dealing.. I lost my bet.. 'baby' brother won his... as Mom dutifully paid off the baby, I remarked "yeah.. Mom always DID like you better!" Mommy-dearest without even thinking (which is what she does best btw - NOT think).. burst out with "Yeah RIGHT!" LOL it's a good thing the baby has a good sense of humor.. we all almost lost it laughing so hard.. and Mom.. she had no clue what she just said.. but then this is the same woman that after 'baby' had pegged me in the eye with a stick of deoderant one morning as we were readying for school (which turned a lovely shade of black and blue) turned and yelled at me for "not ducking fast enough".. Mom.. gotta love her.. we're related! :)

Anyway.. that was my Thanksgiving.. a lovely day was had by all.. even the man-child remarked "that was fun" on the way home.. "and all is right with the world"..
Look for more
Later...

Happy Thanksgiving!

So it's Thanksgiving morning.. the activity at my house?  I'm blogging in between baking brownies, the man-child is still abed, the little dog is happily running around chewing on my only pair of navy blue pantyhose, and my husband is painting the new room in the cellar in preparation for the wallpaper..  Lucky me, I'm off the hook for cooking the bird this year!  Well actually I've been off the hook for the past couple of years.. My sister and her 'other' (sorry Sarge - we love ya' but what else are we gonna call ya!) are again ponying up the bird!  Woohoo..  So today it's not Route 9 to Easthampton (via Bay and 10 of course), but Route 9 to Worcester..  I'll be sure to blog that opposite version of my commute, you can be sure..

 

Anyway..  the last couple of Thanksgivings with Sarge and Jeannette have been interesting to say the least.. the first year it was dinner at 2pm.. yeah.. I think we ate somewhere around 5pm..  blame it on the oven..  it was previously untried and who knew it ran somewhere around 25 degrees too cool.. dinner was wonderful anyway.. albiet late..  can you say "slllooowww roasted!"..  and last year?  Well last year as all of us gathered around the oven to give the bird that final "is it done" test, Jeannette remarked how little breast meat the turkey seems to have.. looking closely at the nicely browned poultry I noticed - Huh?  They had put the bird in upside-down!  Oh well.. again the bird was still delicious..  so when I got my annual invite this year I of course asked what version of the bird are we having this year?  Late or Inverted?  My sister replied.. "It will be perfect.. we bought an oven thermometer and the butterball with the pop-up timer - no guessing this year when it will be done and which end is up.."   Yeah.. right..  my money is on the thermometer being wrong..  Either way..  it's sure to be a great day..  good food.. good music (courtesy of that musically inclined brother-in-law of mine Fiddlin' Ed).. and good company.. 

 

Later...

Oh.. and I still be cooking a bird - rotissiere style - thank you Ron Popeil.  I'm not in the habit of buying things off an infomercial - but apparently my in-laws are - couple of years ago it was Showtime rotissiere's for everyone!  And thank goodness..  this thing is AWESOME - a couple of Xmas' ago I was expecting more family than available oven room so I did one bird in the oven and one bird in the Showtime..  there was NO competition..  well.. there was competition..  at the dinner table as everyone fought over the Showtime bird..  yummy!

Thankful - Part Dos

Let's try and finish this up...  Things to be thankful for...

• I'm thankful for our troops.. whether you agree with us 'being there' or not.. this T'day hug your local soldier..
• I'm thankful we're almost past that T'day hump.. ok.. bring on the lights.. the carols.. the annual running of "It's a Wonderful Life" maybe George will make it out of Potterville THIS year!
• I'm thankful for a blog-worthy ride (or so I think) everyday.. makes going into the office in the morning a pleasure.. even on a Monday!
• The $2.87 bottles of Wild Vines wine from Walmart that made dinner on the back porch with my family an "event", whether it was a Monday.. Wednesday.. or Saturday..  just add a candle and even Monday nite meatloaf was special..
• Cable internet, a laptop and a wireless router.. can anyone say "blog from the sofa!"  Life is good...

And last but not least...

•  I'm thankful for the television show Survivor...  a bunch of people.. dirty... hungry..  exposed to the elements...  fighting for food, water and sleep while fighting with each other..  makes you appreciate how far humanity has come when people are willing to do this for 'fun'...  makes you appreciate your hot meal, warm bed, and being surrounded by those you love and who love you...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone..  eat too much.. kick back...  and take a moment to tell those that you love how you feel about them...

 

Later...

Things to be thankful for...

Ok.. so here's the obligatory Turkey day blog part one..

Things to be Thankful for:

• family friends - you know who you are
• a recovering economy, we're back to pre-911 levels, people seem to forget the effect that the attack had on the economy, and whether you love Bush or hate him, you gotta at least give him that, the economy has recovered reasonably well and rather quickly - no easy task
• blogs and bloggers - everyone gets a word even if I don't agree with them - rock on!
• the digital camera & camera enabled cell phones - now everyone can grab a quick shot of what they had for dinner last nite and post it to their blog - it's not only a "had a ham sandwich" but now it's illustrated as well - priceless

I had a little more than a ham sandwich!

To be continued...
Later...

The power of music...

Flipping thru the tv channels this morning I came across a guy - standing in a field - playing an accordion for a herd of milk cows (there really IS nothing good on tv these days!).. the bovine really did seem to be interested in the music... if you can call the accordion 'music'.. I suppose it has it's place - in your local Polish American Hall - where I am not likely to be assailed by it's shrill wailing.. but they found something interesting.. the cows produced 21% more milk that week.. was it the power of the music or did the cows all get together in the barn after and agree to crank up the production so that guy with that instrument of torture wouldn't come back again.. ever..

Who knows.. and no.. I don't know why I'm blogging it.. I just found it interesting.. music does really have a 'power' all it's own.. it can calm you - crank you up - make you drive way too fast - move you to tears - make you smile - and apparently increase milk production.. maybe all the dairy farmers need to pick up a cd or two of the Beer Barrel Polka, just try and explain that one to the IRS when they question the expense entry of 10 cd's all from Happy Louie's Polka Extravaganza on next years tax return! Really.. it's for the cows!

Later..

Another possibility..

Another possible explanation for this stupid picture... "She was so elated to receive the nomination she broke out into a rowsing rendition of the Macarena right in the middle of the press conference"..


Later

Internet Travels...

Well..  I guess I've begun the weekend early..  here's ANOTHER interesting tidbit from the news today.. courtesy of MSNBC and Newsweek..  referring to todays generation as "generation tech support"..  how kids are coming home from college for a helping of turkey and good dose of fixing their parents computers.. been there.. done that.. but then I'm the techie in the family.. so in actuality it's not just the 'rents puters that I get to be caretaker of, I've got 5 brothers and sisters, all with various levels of computers that eventually get 'sick'..  this was fine when I was a 'hobby' techie.. I didn't even mind the late nite phone call from Georgia (the STATE) where I was asked to troubleshoot the Mac (ick!) of a friend of a friend of my oldest sister - long distance..  but now that it's my bread and butter it's a little more annoying.. I do this ALL day, and apparently half the nite as well.. (yes.. I wake up with a jolt  and a "THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG WITH XYZ'S NETWORK!).. 

 

Owning your own tech company has it's perks but unfortunately sending a bill for a virus removal to a sibling isn't one of them..  or a friend.. or a friend of a friend of a second cousin twice removed..  family.. love 'em.. but I swear I'm gonna have a t-shirt made up to wear to the family Christmas dinner that reads "Sure, I can fix your computer.. but I'm taking your Christmas present back!"  Which would probably work.. if I gave them Christmas presents.. oh.. but then maybe I do.. their present is the late nite call "it crashed".. "it won't boot"...  "I installed this screen saver and now all I get is porn!" Yeah.. they get gifts alright! 

 

Later...

Crashing Deer...

Actually this is kind of a serious entry today despite the silly title.. there is an article on http://www.MSNBC.com today about the number of crashes between cars and deer.  It seems 4,000 times a day someone hits a deer with their car, resulting in the deaths of 210 people last year. 

 

Driving Bay and Route 9 (especially past the Quabbin) this has always been a concern of mine, especially now that it's dark on the way home.  There are those 'whistler' type attachments that you can put on the front bumper of your vehicle that is supposed to drive the deer away, or even just warn them that you are coming.  I can't say that they work, at least not for my husband.  He drives a GIANT diesel pickup truck that came with a couple of these whistlers on the front bumber.  You would think that between the earthquake volume noise of the engine and the 2 whistles that he wouldn't see a deer standing in the road.. ever..  but not so.. at least once a month he has regaled me with a tale of 'the stupid deer in the road/driveway"..  who knows maybe we have a herd of handicapped deer in the neighborhood that are all deaf as a post.. 

 

Anyway.. lets be careful out there people..  they also stated that November is the peak month for deer crashes.. at various times in my travels on Bay and 9 I have been treated to the site of deer, coyotes, possums, ducks, geese (with babies), raccoons, and even (I swear) a wolf..  Click here for the blog entry on that one!   But the best was probably the time my vehicle was assaulted by a flock of angry turkeys..  but that's a story for another day..

 

Later...

Who picks the pics?

The photo on the front page of CNN.com.. they couldn't come up with a better shot than this? Is he really checking out her manicure?

Random happenings...

Lots of little observances today....

That house on 9 in Belchertown with the 6 foot wicker snowman decoration has added a herd of electric deer interspersed with wire trees to it's yard display.. at least they aren't lighting it at nite yet..

The cows were rioting yesterday.. Nellie was booking it across the field.. running jumping and mooing at all once in a veritable frenzy.. very funny.. and I bet you thought cows just stood around and chewed all day...

Quite the thread on bloggers-block going on at masslive.com weblog forum.. luckily that isn't an issue here.. usually it's the other way around.. sometimes I should just shut up..

Road construction at the Hartsbrook School area.. their ripping up the pipes under the road.. AGAIN.. it seems like they've done that 3 times already this summer.. they even had to build a little earthen dam for the cars to drive over they are ripping up so much of the road.. careful.. it can be a little confusing and it comes up pretty quick from around the corner..

The modern day chain gang was cleaning up the center of the Northampton again this morning.. at least that's what I assume they are.. one of them was wearing a vest that said "Honor Court" on it.. so I'm assuming they are people that got a community service type sentence.. great idea in my humble opinion.. frankly we should put the people in prison to better use as well.. get them all into the schools over summer vacation painting and cleaning.. walk them up and down the highway picking up trash.. some of the worst offenders could get 'sewer plant cleanup' duty.. we had to put up with their shit, they can put up with ours! Renovating the Veterans Hospital.. Start a state run dairy farm that provides milk to school children and put them all to work mucking out the barns.. The possibilities are endless..

ok.. enuf for today..
Later...

In case you misunderstood.. again

The preceding post should have been labeled..

here's something..

I took some crap for making writing a book sound like the 'easy part' in my entry on self-publishing below, although I still stand by my response that if you don't have the book already why would you need a publisher? It's like buying a lawn tractor in case you happen to grow some grass someday.. maybe the instructions with the lawn tractor should go something like..

1. purchase property, which may not be easy, banks don't hand money to just anyone..

2. plant grass seed, which may not be easy, you MUST loosen soil first, rocks will make it difficult..

3. water grass seed, which may not be easy, watch out for leaks and kinks in the hose...

4. fertilize grass seed, which may not be easy, be sure to get your mixture correct..

5. once grass has reached 1 to 2 inches, which isn't easy by the way.. then

6. purchase lawn tractor, which may not be easy, there are alot to choose from..

so whatever, I'll post the blog disclaimers later... here's a pretty picture to look at...


Later...

Internet Travels..

It's the weekend, so it must be time for "Internet Travels" here on 9 2 Bay 2 9 2 10.  So here's a really cool item I found in my online travels...  Self-publish your own book!

 

  That's right, all you budding writers out there.  Cafepress.com has what seems like an awesome deal.  Write your "great American Novel" - convert it to PDF's - design your cover - upload it to them - make a free store to sell it from - set your markup price - and watch the orders roll in.  Cafepress does the printing, order fullfillment, returns, money exchange - everything..  then they send you a check for the markup you specified.  No minimum orders.. no setup fees..  absolutely free..  they set a base price for each book depending on the size of the book..  A 100 page perfect bound book is $10..  you mark it up to $15..  it sells..  they print and ship.. and you get a check for $5..  not a bad deal...  all it takes is your time to write the thing.. (OH.. and they also offer all kinds of other items..  t-shirts, bumperstickers, bags, mousepads all with your designs on them for the same deal.. base price, you set the markup and if it sells you get the difference!)

 

So come on people.. there's never been a better time to get that masterpiece of the written word down in ones and zeros..  get typing!

 

Later...

I can't escape...

With all the complaining I've done lately about the rushing of the Holiday you'd think someone would have heard... but no... what walked in my door tonite?  Santa Claus... courtesy of my husband and Coca Cola Bottling.. all I wanted was a Coke, and I got one.. with a serving of Santa on the side of the bottle!  *sigh.. I'm just gonna have to give in..

 

Later...

It's EVERYWHERE now...

So back on Tuesday I was complaining the "Signs o' the Season" around 9 2 Bay 2 9 10 were popping up a bit early this year..  and I didn't even mention that house on 9 in Belchertown just before Bay that has it's Christmas decorations up.. complete with giant wicker snowman..  but now Mother Nature has gone and gotten into the act..  yes.. the snow is lovely.. a great photo op.. and I'm sure the skiiers and snowboarders are ecstatic.. but it is all still way too early for me..  I prefer a 'fall' looking Thanksgiving..  with the soft brown oak leaves covering the ground with a few last holdouts clinging desperately to the tree limbs..  the last of the pumpkins and corn stalks still visible in peoples yards gaurded by disjointed crooked scarecrows.. the fall harvest of apples, squash, gourds and turnip still fresh from the fields..  fall this year was disappointingly short and this snow is just too 'holiday' for me..  it's too soon.. way too soon.. I don't like it and I shall not go softly into that goodnite.. 

 

Later..

First Snow...

The first snow of the season greeted me at my doorstep today!







Laura

Passing llamas...

I don't know if I just never noticed him or if he's new to the neighborhood but as I drove by the little sheep herd that dwells just after Hampshire College on Bay there was a medium sized (as llama's go) dark brown llama stretching his neck out over the fencing.. a rather scruffy looking fellow (or lady.. who can tell with llamas) but cute just the same.. check him out if you get the chance, it's not everyday you get to see a llama.. but then again, I guess I will get to see a llama everyday now! 

 

Later...

Cool?

Great day in the mornin'..  this blog was just picked up by Masslive.com and added to their Weblog listings under "Cool WMass Weblogs"..  awesome.. thanks so much Masslive..  I'll do my best to keep it updated and current (and on-topic although I do reserve the right to tangent now and again)..  funny though.. it feels a little strange.. "Cool" Weblogs?  Cool..  hhhmm.. I've been called alot of things over the years... but 'cool'... nope.. I don't think so.. 

 

interesting?.. I hope so.. 

fun?..  I know I have fun writing it.. 

informative?.. at times.. 

picturesque?.. I try to put interesting pleasing pictures up there..

 

but "Cool"?  I didn't think I was doing "Cool"..  sounds like a challenge.. I guess I'll have to come up with 'cool' content so that I can fit into that catagory..  maybe a poll?  but then you have to have a readership thats willing to take the poll..  or for that matter.. you have to have a readership..  Oh the dilemma.. alrighty.. so if you've got some 'cool' ideas out there, leave me a comment in here and we'll see if I can live up to the "Cool WMass Weblog" title..

 

Thanks.. and Later....   

Signs o' the Season...

It's definitely beginning to look like late fall on 9, 10 and Bay..  there are signs of it all over the place..  the fountain in the center of Northampton is now dry.. you know the one, it looks like a big pile of rocks with a funnel sticking out of the top of it, and it squirts a single stream of water out of the top..  for such a creative town you'd think the fountain would be a little more.. well.. creative..  but it gets points for simplicity I guess.. rocks.. funnel.. pipe..  just add water..  instant fountain.. okay..

 

A little further down the center of Northampton I swear I heard the tinkle of a bell.. could that have been a Salvation Army bell ringer?  Already??  Not that there isn't a "Holiday Bazaar" sign out on Bay already as well.. television is starting to show some Christmas commercials... the biggest of which seem to be from Target.. it's all I can do to not shut off the tv and run from the room screaming.. "NOT YET!"..  I'm one of the biggest kids when it comes to the holiday but this is too early even for me..

 

Later.. please! 

In honor of Thanksgiving...

I imagine these ladies are just happy I was on a "shoot" of a different kind..

Internet Travels..

Oh.. but did I luck out today.. in my travels thru bloggers recently updated blog listings I came across this gem.. Anne de Haas.. a canadian photographer who has posted alot of her work to her blog.. there are MANY wonderful photographs on here.. definitely worth several minutes of your time.. so check it out if you get the chance..

Off on a tangent...

Well.. I did eventually get to the Town Hall to cast my ballot.. it did take 'tandem voting' of a sorts, my husband circled the block while I ran in and voted (he had managed to vote earlier).. it took all of 30 seconds.. my morning guess did seem to be correct.. there were far more people standing on the sidewalk holding up signs than there were inside actually voting.. so all those cars in those precious few parking spots more than likely belonged to the sign bearing zealots.. and I mean that in the nicest possible way.. zealots for all the candidates.. local and national.. me.. I just don't get it.. has anyone actually walked up to these people and said "I wasn't sure who to vote for, but just seeing you.. in all your over-zealousness.. you've convinced me.. I'll vote for the person on your placard.." I don't think so.. and they were EVERYWHERE.. sitting at the light in the center of Northampton on the ride home was almost claustrophobic.. so MANY zealots with their "Kerry" signs.. it made it difficult to watch out for those "screw the light and the crosswalk I'm gonna run out into traffic and cross right here.. right now!" assholes.. which frankly I WISH someone would at least ticket if not arrest for their sheer stupidity.. they've got freakin' 8 crosswalks to choose from.. stay off the freakin' road cause that area belongs to us drivers.. and NO.. I WILL NOT STOP FOR YOU! Get back in your crosswalk where you belong! I use the road and the crosswalk depending on my mode of transportation and dammit.. you will too! Wow.. major rant tangent!

Anyway.. I did my civic duty.. excersized my rights.. did the proper thing.. I voted.. AND I used the crosswalks to get into the polling place.. I hope you all did too!

Later...

You can Vote.. but you can't park!

So I tried to excersize my rights this morning.. I went down to the polls to cast my vote.. and who did I vote for? Well I didn't.. I couldn't find a parking place.. I circled the Ware Town Hall for over a half hour and there were 3 spots available.. all handicapped.. the rest were taken.. so much for doing the right thing..

Who's brilliant idea was it to make the Ware Town Hall the polling place anyway? It has all of 5 parking spaces behind it and if a 6th car drives in EVERYONE is deadlocked and the only thing that will get them out is 3 tow trucks and dare I say it.. a traffic cop.. Then there's the town parking lot across the street, with its 20 spaces.. all of which were taken up by those people out there holding up their candidate of choices placard.. come on.. if you don't know who your gonna vote for by now, chances are your not gonna be swayed by a cardboard sign.. move your car so we can vote for those candidates.. it would be a more efficient use of your time!

So now I'll have to see if I can get out of the office early tonite so that I can go vote.. then I'll have to wait till my husband gets home so we can go together.. at least that way, one of us can keep circling the block while the other one runs in and casts their ballot, runs out.. takes over driving.. and circles the block while the other one votes.. tandem voting.. only in America!

Frankly, I wanna vote for where we go vote.. Who says it has to be at the 'official Town Hall'.. let's just put up a tent in the Walmart parking lot and everyone go vote there.. at least you can find a parking space and you can pick up a pork roast for dinner at the same time!

Democracy for all.. and parking for none! Lovely!

Later..

I got my own lane!

They finally painted in a right-hand "turning lane" after the Coolidge Bridge for us Bay Road travelers.. It's about time.. not that we all haven't just been using the break-down lane all this time... well.. most of us anyway.. there was always those few that felt they had to merge to the left, only to pull back to the right to go up Bay and frankly they were a hazard to those of us who knew what we were doing..

You know these people.. their the same ones that have never colored outside the lines in their entire life.. they've never chased a rainbow.. gone down a street they didn't know just to see what's there.. they always use coupons and only buy what's on sale..they purchase a mask and put on black sweats and call it a Halloween costume.. they don't 'get' Dali.. a spontaneous change of plans leaves them queasy.. parties are to be planned months in advance - complete with a program of events..

Now I'm not saying these people are wrong.. but I'll take the breakdown lane anyday of the week.. the unknown around the next corner.. the surprise ending.. and I hope to meet you all at the end of the rainbow hunting for that pot of gold, just don't find it before I do!

Later..