Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Got Me A Ticket on an Airplane!


Heading to San Francisco and Golden Gate Park's Bluegrass Festival, October 1st, 2nd & 3rd. I can't wait for the music to begin! Some of the headliners are Joan Baez, Earl Scruggs, Elvis Costello and more and the best part (besides being with family for 4 days) it's all FREE.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

(Mt. Baker with the only clouds to be seen for miles)
(Gulls, Herons and Canadian Geese galore)
After a few weeks of record breaking rain (it's fall after all) yesterday we had a perfect fall day to enjoy. 71 degrees, sunshine, blue skies and a day to celebrate. If you know the farthest northern corner of the NW USA, you know about Semi-ah-moo, if not -- it's a wonderful resort-spa-w/golf course near by, sitting on a long spit in Puget Sound. You can see the US/Canadian Peace Arch just across the water, with a water tumbled rocky beach, surrounded by majestic mountains with the Canadian islands dotting the western horizon -- the perfect NW experience.
And we took it all in.

It was a perfect 39th anniversary!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

39 years ago ........

The year was 1971..........
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 4.3%
Average Cost of new house: $25,250.00
Average Income per year: $9,028.00
Average Monthly Rent: $150.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas: 36 cents
cost of a gallon of milk: $1.18
United States postage Stamp: 8 cents
Movie Ticket: $1.50
New VW Beetle cost $1,909.95

Richard Nixon - President
Spiro T. Agnew - Vice President

*The Voting Age in the United States is lowered to 18 yrs old when the
26th Amendment to the US constitution is ratified.
*Women are granted the right to vote in Switzerland
*Harris public opinion poll claims that 60% of Americans are against the war in Vietnam
*National Public Radio (NPR) broadcasts for the first time in April 1971
*The New York Times begins to publish sections of the Pentagon Papers
showing the US Government had been lying to the American People.

The oscars went to The French Connection for best movie, Gene Hackman in The French Connection, Jane Fonda in Klute, Ben Johnson supporting role in The Last Picture Show, Cloris Leachman supporting role in The Last Picture Show.

Top 11 Songs (had to do 11 to get one of our favorites on the list):
1. Joy to the World, Three Dog Night
2. Maggie May/Find a Reason to Believe, Rod Stewart
3. It's Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move, Carole King
4. One Bad Apple, Osmonds
5. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?, Bee Gees
6. Indian Reservation, Raiders
7. Go Away Little Girl, Donny Osmond
8. Take Me Home, Country Roads, John Denver
9. Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me), Temptations
10. Knock Three Times, Dawn
11. Me and Bobby McGee, Janis Joplin

and we were married --- Happy Anniversary Honey!

Friday, September 24, 2010

It's hot cider time ......

The leaves are turning color, the nights are longer, there's a chill in the air and we're surrounded with autumn smells along with our northwest rain. There is firewood stacked in the fireplace, the afghans are out along with sweaters, socks and a pile of books ready to read. It's fall and it's time to sip some hot cider and enjoy the waffling of apple fragrances throughout the house.

2 quarts apple cider or juice
3-4 cinnamon sticks - broken into 2" pieces
*if not on hand, 2 t (more or less to taste)
of ground cinnamon is OK
1/4 Cup brown sugar
a dash of nutmeg
a dash of allspice (only if you have some on hand)
a tab of butter
a small piece of orange peel added, if on hand
Heat and serve

Thursday, September 23, 2010


I love wearing red shoes and stripe socks!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Some individuals seem to have an inexplicable abundance of good fortune. They are successful in matters of love, in their careers, in their finances, and in leading happy and meaningful lives. Yet these people don't seem to work particularly hard, nor do they posses extraordinary intelligence or other gifts. Of course there are also the natural opposites of the superfortunate; people who repeatedly fail despite their efforts and talents.
As is true with so many human problems, people tend to deal with this difficult-to-quantify inequality by giving it a name -- "luck" -- and then disclaiming any responsibility for how much of it they are apportioned. Luck is considered by many to be a force of nature, coming and going as inevitably as the tide. But Richard Wiseman, a professor at Britain's University of Hertfordshire, has conducted some experiments which indicate to him that we have a lot more influence on our own good fortune than we realize.
Professor Wiseman executed a ten-year study to determine the nature of luck, and published his findings in a book called The Luck Factor: The Scientific Study of the Lucky Mind.

He concludes that luck is an artifact of psychology, where a person is lucky not because of cosmic accidents, but because one achieves a particular mindset which precipitates and amplifies "lucky" events. While this observation may seem obvious, there are many interesting particulars in his findings.

During his long study on the nature of luck, he has found that "lucky" individuals usually posses many intersecting qualities, including extroverted personalities, a lack of anxiety, open-mindedness, and optimism. Each of these play an important role in one's luck production.
test, the good professor asked participants to count the number of photographs in a sample newspaper, and subjects who has described themselves as "lucky" were much more likely to notice a message on page two (within seconds), disguised as a half-page advertisement with large block letters: STOP COUNTING–THERE ARE 43 PHOTOGRAPHS IN THIS NEWSPAPER. The “unlucky” participants didn’t see the notice and kept counting.
Obviously some measure of luck is based on chance, but this experiment and many others have led Wiseman to conclude that a significant portion of one's good fortune is not random, but rather due to one's state of mind and behaviors.

Principle One: Maximise Chance Opportunities

Lucky people are skilled at creating, noticing and acting upon chance opportunities. They do this in various ways, including networking, adopting a relaxed attitude to life and by being open to new experiences.
Principle Two: Listening to Lucky Hunches

Lucky people make effective decisions by listening to their intuition and gut feelings. In addition, they take steps to actively boost their intuitive abilities by, for example, meditating and clearing their mind of other thoughts.
Principle Three: Expect Good Fortune

Lucky people are certain that the future is going to be full of good fortune. These expectations become self-fulfilling prophecies by helping lucky people persist in the face of failure, and shape their interactions with others in a positive way.
Principle Four: Turn Bad Luck to Good

Lucky people employ various psychological techniques to cope with, and often even thrive upon, the ill fortune that comes their way. For example, they spontaneously imagine how things could have been worse, do not dwell on the ill fortune, and take control of the situation.

Unsurprisingly, optimism plays a key role in luckiness, since it strongly affects luck production and luck perception. Wiseman's study shows that a lucky, optimistic person is far more satisfied with all areas of their lives than an unlucky, pessimistic person. An optimist feels lucky for spotting a silver lining, however gray the cloud… yet a pessimist will curse their luck even in the face of good fortune, because they can't see past the green grass on the other side of the fence.
Fortunately, one's mindset is entirely within one's control. An unlucky person who resolves to change their luck can become more social; they can make a conscious effort to be optimistic and make the best of any situation; and they can be more open to new ideas and experiences. In short, if you go looking for luck, you'll probably find it… or so says the professor.
With any luck, he's right.
article by Alan Bellows - How to Make Your Own Luck

Monday, September 13, 2010

TNT Gets It Right -- again!

News Flash!!!
Untitled Allan Loeb Project – Executive producer/writer Allan Loeb, whose recent screenplays include The Switch and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, has crafted this drama based on The Rabbit Factory by novelist Marshall Karp. Recently widowed police Detective Mike Lomax and his newly married partner, Terry Biggs, delve into a world of mystery, intrigue and occasional hijinks. Lomax, who continues to receive humorous and heartfelt weekly letters from his wife a year after her death, tries to navigate the singles world while also maintaining his pedigree as one of L.A.’s finest. This pilot comes to TNT from Lionsgate Television. It was was originally featured on TBS’ development slate announced at the Turner networks’ upfront presentation in May.
..................................................................................................

One of my very favorite authors, Marshall Karp, has kept this secret for a whole year while he continues to write the funny stuff that Lomax and Biggs speak on the pages of his books. And TNT continues to bring us the good stuff to watch, get hooked on and look forward to shows that are well written, original and with superb casts. It's a good match! I can not wait to see Lomax and Biggs on the little screen (and can't wait to see who (or is it whom) Hollywood will cast for these two funny, funny guys).

I just finished reading Mr. Karp's latest book: Cut, Paste, Kill with Lomax and Biggs hot on the trail of a murdering scrapbooker. My kinda read (I gotta love this guy): Murder-Funny-Scrapbooking-and the name of the Victim is Bellingham --- that's all I'm going to tell you --- you have to read it for yourself and enjoy this mix of perfection. (or wait for my September book reports.)


I discovered TNT's line of shows when I recently stumbled across Leverage and instantly became a fan (I've got the first 2 series DVD's to prove it) plus it's filmed in Portland, Oregon -- It's fantastic cast zips out one liners and banter while playing modern day Robin Hood's. Pure entertainment and fun!

TNT bringing us Lomax and Biggs on the little screen -- Perfect!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Thursday, September 2, 2010


This month's LO for Project12
Great month and fun to scrapbook and even more fun to be a part of the mix.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

It's been a glorious 2 weeks of Family Fun Time! We danced at a friend's wedding, we had early morning latte's on the bay, we went to the county fair, we played games and then more games, breakfast, lunch and dinner out on the town, we talked and laughed, we stayed up late and got up early, we completed the "honey do list", a didgeridoo was created, we camped and hiked, we explored, we had a glorious 2 weeks of Family Fun Time! and I can't wait to do it all over, again.