tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17973780079837423552024-03-05T07:29:38.422-06:00Few Bricks ShyWorking things out, using woefully incomplete information, in 300 words or less.Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.comBlogger344125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-43181973039517623442020-02-28T17:42:00.000-06:002020-03-08T11:59:39.238-05:00A Time I Quit<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
recently quit drinking coffee.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZqWL9XSz-LJq6VLHptqedDGJ1_6tzJeaxCQ3SJRvRhQSYrEwHLfPiGyP5MLE-ey9jSekuulMbxhbav2GnmYZ2q3wePbAHAM0-CU_2jFZZJ7pNMsEUCN7ZHBbXzrfgPndEWnz35mQNRc/s1600/Coffee+Mug.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ZqWL9XSz-LJq6VLHptqedDGJ1_6tzJeaxCQ3SJRvRhQSYrEwHLfPiGyP5MLE-ey9jSekuulMbxhbav2GnmYZ2q3wePbAHAM0-CU_2jFZZJ7pNMsEUCN7ZHBbXzrfgPndEWnz35mQNRc/s200/Coffee+Mug.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A favorite coffee mug, gift from my husband.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
took me months. I did it slowly to avoid withdrawal symptoms: hangover-like
headache, fatigue, mental fogginess, the strong drive to kill the people around
me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Following
advice I had read in a magazine article, I slowly worked my way down, one step at a
time, from venti to grande to tall, from two a day to one, then made with
three-quarters caffeinated, one quarter decaf, then half and half (I discovered
you can order this at a coffee bar), then to one-quarter caffeinated, three-quarters
decaf, then finally to all decaf.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My husband pronounced this whole process “bonkers.”
“Hush,” I said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
was doing this because of an upcoming trip. Long flights. Jet lag. I didn’t
know if there would be coffee where we were going. I didn’t want to miss out on
anything, and I didn’t want to be a grumpy travel companion. Plus, I figured,
if I ever needed a boost, I could administer a jolt of caffeine to my decaffeinated
self and it would have an effect.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
all worked. I had no withdrawal symptoms, though my husband declared my last
coffee order, “One small nonfat decaf latte,” to be the saddest one he’d ever
heard. I was suddenly able to bound out of bed, into the shower, into clothes, and
out the door early in the morning, something that seemed crazy to me before. I
didn’t miss out on anything, and I was, I hope, a cheerful travel companion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
before I even felt the need, I was drinking coffee on the trip. They did,
indeed, have it there. They even had an espresso machine. And we were able to introduce
the bartender to the concept of iced latte.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And so, I'm back where I started.</span>
</div>
Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-88646536302035645012019-11-15T13:04:00.001-06:002019-11-15T13:04:40.114-06:00Bedazzled<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JkEmt_AP4YMiZgtPQopPbjaeP24WO1sGkDVYXPhiR_Kx-DXfC0bgKyOCk6FiRTB7sVcH2IxMs8Kn6sL-83KcoQPKWC2t1qPuwwh9FrUKmQBiK-OkqUb2-PpB7Dc2o98g2b09GrpQ9L0/s1600/Rainbow+Sneakers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1325" data-original-width="1600" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JkEmt_AP4YMiZgtPQopPbjaeP24WO1sGkDVYXPhiR_Kx-DXfC0bgKyOCk6FiRTB7sVcH2IxMs8Kn6sL-83KcoQPKWC2t1qPuwwh9FrUKmQBiK-OkqUb2-PpB7Dc2o98g2b09GrpQ9L0/s200/Rainbow+Sneakers.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was late and I was on Amazon.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
have no clue about <a href="https://fewbricksshy.blogspot.com/2013/06/my-closet.html">fashion</a>. I
wear t-shirts with sayings on them (often hand-me-downs from my kids) and hoodies.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh,
and I have a zippered garment bag of my “normal-person disguises,” clothes I wear
when I am not allowed to dress like an 8-year-old boy. The garment bag is
necessary to protect them from dust. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Imagine
my surprise, then, when I realized this past weekend that I dress (sort of, in
a distorted way) like a Texan woman. Go to a mall in Houston and you will see clothes
bedazzled with rhinestones, topped off with marabou feathers, in tiger and
zebra prints. And no, you are not in the little girls’ section (I checked), you
are in the section meant for adult women.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
went to visit my son at college in Oregon. Arriving for the parents’ tour,
wearing my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078W56WV6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1">rainbow-colored
sneakers</a> and my bright purple down jacket (for Texans, cold weather is novel
and fun), I realized that all the other parents were wearing expensive hiking
gear in earth tones. Oops.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Place
has a definite effect on your clothes. I remember, when our kids were small and
we lived in New York City, we went to <a href="https://fewbricksshy.blogspot.com/2017/11/disneyfied.html">Disney World
in Florida</a>. My husband and I laughed when we got back to the city. People
at Disney World wore pastel colors, were super-friendly and also, sorry to say,
fat; people back in Manhattan were skinny and wore scowls and black.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Also,
in New York, I remember seeing an elderly woman on the bus, wearing her coat, just
so, accented by a pretty pin. I thought, I hope I dress like her when I’m old …
but that’s not looking likely. At the rate I'm going, I’ll probably be the little old lady in the
bedazzled baseball cap.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-60701217703894962302019-11-03T19:34:00.001-06:002019-11-03T19:34:22.283-06:00Now, I Want A Kitchen Garden<a href="https://thebuzzmagazines.com/tags/kitchen-gardens">https://thebuzzmagazines.com/tags/kitchen-gardens</a>Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-69997508364741322312019-11-03T19:33:00.000-06:002019-11-03T19:33:08.330-06:00The Self of My To-Do List<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
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Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
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Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
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Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
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Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 6"/>
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Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Mention"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Smart Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hashtag"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Unresolved Mention"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Smart Link"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->If I were the self depicted in my to-do lists, I’d have
already done a morning yoga class rather than be sitting here at mid-day in
thermal-underwear pajamas, my husband’s cast-off flannel, tartan-plaid robe and
fuzzy slippers with pom poms.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My dog would be well-trained and well-behaved, wouldn’t
pee in excitement when people came over, wouldn’t pull like a maniac on his
leash, wouldn’t bark and growl at passing small children and strollers. He’d be
an agility dog and a therapy dog.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’d have taught myself French long ago and be fluent in
it.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Ditto Spanish.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Also guitar.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And piano.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’d do triathlons, be able to do all the poses of yoga and
weigh quite a bit less.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
My house would be organized. At the very least, I’d
change all the burned-out lightbulbs I’ve been ignoring. And my closets would
be so organized, like the ones in magazines, that they’d look like little shrines.
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’d have <a href="https://thebuzzmagazines.com/articles/2019/10/kitchen-garden">a kitchen
garden</a>. Also, I’d know all the names of the things growing in my yard and
they’d all be flowering, which is good, because I’d also have a hive of bees.
Well-behaved bees.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’d have more dogs, all rescues, and they’d be
well-behaved too.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’d be wildly successful in some sort of creative field.
I might be a little famous, in a beloved, low-key kind of way, and I’d have
made gobs of money. I’d have a pied-à-terre in New York. (I have one picked
out: a certain teeny-tiny room on the top floor, in the corner, of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Beacon">the Beacon Hotel</a>). I’d
also have a summer house at which I would, indeed, spend the entire summer.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Too bad my to-do list is complete fiction. <span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol-ext; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">☹</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
And P.S., I thought I was being so efficient this morning,
but turns out it’s “fall back.”
</div>
Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-42696505982045019452019-10-02T13:50:00.002-05:002019-10-02T13:50:26.187-05:00I Can Hear That Whistle Blowing ...Did you know you can take a cross-country passenger train out of Houston? It's called the Sunset Express.<br />
<br />
Yeah, no one else knows either. <br />
<br />
But everybody should, so I wrote about it for The <i>Buzz</i> Magazines. You can see that article <a href="https://thebuzzmagazines.com/articles/2019/10/track" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Going by train takes longer, doesn't, if you get a sleeper, save you any money, and it generally doesn't arrive on time.<br />
<br />
But it's really fun. :)<br />
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-17251594742399130322019-08-18T14:42:00.000-05:002019-08-18T14:42:15.148-05:00Close Calls<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I was walking.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I am such a caricature of myself: the doctor’s wife, in
my yoga clothes, with my yoga mat slung behind me, in flip flops, clutching a
latte … but I digress.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
There was a lot of construction. On one side of the
street, there was a fenced-off lot with a backhoe working and on the other
side, a big truck was slowly backing into a driveway.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Since the sidewalk along the fence wasn’t closed, I was
walking there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The fence was about 8 feet tall. The heap of rubble
behind it was much taller. It had been a brick building that morning. And it
was shaking. The backhoe, which I couldn’t see, was working behind it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It began to occur to me that, perhaps, I shouldn’t be there.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The construction worker directing the truck saw me and
waved me to the other side of the street. “Just in case,” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Of course, he was right.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
(Also, that sidewalk should have been blocked off, hello.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
After I had walked on, I turned. As I watched, that pile
of bricks tumbled over, flattening the fence and spilling all over the
sidewalk.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Whew, a close call.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We all have them and have more of them, the older we get.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Once you become a certain age, it seems, doctors are
always finding things that could be terrible<a href="https://fewbricksshy.blogspot.com/2017/08/sick-of-fear.html">. I continue
to have doctors monitor me for possibly horrific things.</a> In fact, I just got
another all-clear after a week of worry.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Even with all these all-clears (thank God), I am left
with residual fear. What about next time?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Because something will eventually get you, right?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
How are we supposed to deal with <i>that</i>?</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Yet, the bricks didn’t bother me … I am going to buy that
construction worker a coffee, though.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-53932295270148661102019-06-25T15:40:00.000-05:002019-06-25T15:40:47.632-05:00Those Poor Children<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Just wrote to my representatives about the children on the border, the ones the US government says it doesn't have to provide food and water and soap for (all while Trump charges the Secret Service, whose job it is to protect him and his family, rent at his properties). Disgusting.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Anyway, here's what I wrote:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am writing to you today as one decent human being, one
decent American, to another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The migrant children, some as young as 5 months, having
not only been ripped away from their families, but now being held without
access to proper food, water, medical care, need to be taken care of.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Period.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Full-stop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do not use them as a bargaining chip to get funding for any
other thing, including immigration enforcement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do not use them to complain, as I have keep hearing politicians
do, that it’s “the other side’s” fault or that the children’s parents broke the
law. I don’t care if their father is Jeffrey Dahmer and their mother is Ted
Bundy. Which, incidentally, these people are not. They are refugees. Maybe ones
that fit our asylum requirements, maybe not. Maybe they are “only” economic
refugees. Maybe they are fleeing climate change or violence. But they are
people and they, particularly their children, now artificially orphaned by the
Trump Administration’s cruel policies, are in distress. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are Americans. We take care of children. We take care
of people in distress. It is the decent thing to do and Americans are decent
people. Those there, on the ground, including government workers, are trying, even
coming in on their off hours to help. Other Americans are coming with donations
of diapers and soap and toothbrushes and paste – only to be turned away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other countries take care of such influxes with refugee
camps and invite in organizations like the Red Cross. Why aren’t we doing something
like that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We used to be a country that could handle things like
this, would even help other countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please do whatever you can to take care of these
children. And do it without delay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-56606046252391487312019-06-12T13:41:00.000-05:002020-02-28T17:48:11.677-06:00Tchotchkes<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxa9sU_WCbI9mxrwQgVxPTdq0qEZRlWa4FpmirkwSTNll37WjOUNlxCUDEzte0uwXYEmvsm3sDN8JxtR5x8pR_jNz13QnRTR0wLfdi78uRVj0poBj_bADUxYr35WqX0bQQ9cw-LCYvjmk/s1600/58032326419--A767BDBE-D903-4622-ADFF-EAE70109AF98.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1415" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxa9sU_WCbI9mxrwQgVxPTdq0qEZRlWa4FpmirkwSTNll37WjOUNlxCUDEzte0uwXYEmvsm3sDN8JxtR5x8pR_jNz13QnRTR0wLfdi78uRVj0poBj_bADUxYr35WqX0bQQ9cw-LCYvjmk/s320/58032326419--A767BDBE-D903-4622-ADFF-EAE70109AF98.JPG" width="283" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
apologize to the college friend to whom I gave two life-sized, carved, wooden
geese as a wedding present.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
don’t know what I was thinking.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Tchotchkes.
Gimcracks. Doodads. Baubles. Gee Gaws. Knick Knacks. Dust Collectors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Utterly
useless. Oftentimes, ugly and cheap.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(I
thought the geese were nice, though.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEODI7dLSx7AY-B6vO7_pMXj5oUu0_EYrL34NIvuO-D3lRJ_fnWKiecwvEyr7tByxNFwoA_OwMXuEgv8NfnH7-dl5F4KmZCUn33KGGIADicsLZ5N4wrTehDTYNBB_W3SZNm4okgK-uSPo/s1600/58032334888--B21370EB-C56C-4603-8B32-D51A40DFDF21.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1077" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEODI7dLSx7AY-B6vO7_pMXj5oUu0_EYrL34NIvuO-D3lRJ_fnWKiecwvEyr7tByxNFwoA_OwMXuEgv8NfnH7-dl5F4KmZCUn33KGGIADicsLZ5N4wrTehDTYNBB_W3SZNm4okgK-uSPo/s200/58032334888--B21370EB-C56C-4603-8B32-D51A40DFDF21.JPG" width="134" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We
all end up with such things, often for decades.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
some reason, they can be hard to get rid of.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">These
photos were taken by my daughter at a thrift store. The people who donated
these … things … couldn’t bear to just throw them in the trash. They felt like
someone else might … want? need? collect? … them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
watch those shows, <i><a href="https://www.history.com/shows/american-pickers/about">American Pickers</a></i>
and <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_Wars">Storage Wars</a> </i>and
even the one that started it all, on television at least,<i> <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/">Antiques Roadshow</a>, </i>and when
they quote some tantalizing price that some “collector” somewhere might pay, I
think, “Yeah, show me that collector, right here, right now, with cash in hand,
or I am throwing it out.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElZdz1JDth4g0bVSUtPAxTBIrZG7iueQ5BIEFkWRG0DJ5am8F39CyDy9m1Ykzw6lqOXehk_n3FBt3hvjfzcnU87aGDTfWnG-b5Qh5G9UMIUZZlTXxK49RpLPLBkPgZE00GcDH-ujUpAM/s1600/58032338349--1A0D25F3-6296-4436-B605-23EAAA402F0C.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1479" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElZdz1JDth4g0bVSUtPAxTBIrZG7iueQ5BIEFkWRG0DJ5am8F39CyDy9m1Ykzw6lqOXehk_n3FBt3hvjfzcnU87aGDTfWnG-b5Qh5G9UMIUZZlTXxK49RpLPLBkPgZE00GcDH-ujUpAM/s200/58032338349--1A0D25F3-6296-4436-B605-23EAAA402F0C.JPG" width="184" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://konmari.com/">Marie Kondo</a> said something in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Life-Changing-Magic-Tidying-Decluttering-Organizing-ebook/dp/B00KK0PICK/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Tidying+UP&qid=1560363484&s=gateway&sr=8-1">her
first book</a> that stuck with me: When (I am paraphrasing here) you are
contemplating something someone gave you as a gift but you don’t want, realize
that it has served its purpose: that moment, when they gave it to you, a symbol
that they had been thinking of you. Marie Kondo would have you thank the thing –
and then throw it out!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Note:
For anything that might be useful or desirable to someone, I do post it to give
away on <a href="https://nextdoor.com/manifesto/">Nextdoor</a> (and get
anywhere from two to a bazillion responses; so, obviously, other people feel differently
than me) or I donate it to Salvation Army.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So,
my old friend, on whom I poxed those geese: If you haven’t already, please feel
free to let them go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-86421668156545572632019-06-08T17:06:00.000-05:002019-06-08T17:06:35.554-05:00A Dachshund Conundrum<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gBhSt14M842n7YJUcuUzP9tM7xLm220LoxQcv6OC3Z6VDZjuaaJWWDLE0h9Wxs8Q4w5hk3zO-mr2f5qgVUFFLEkPZAxf6cLIjsvVJPb2RuQ3Fi3cn1XKIgGheGkXFFpm-dl8n7izUT0/s1600/Tony+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="563" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gBhSt14M842n7YJUcuUzP9tM7xLm220LoxQcv6OC3Z6VDZjuaaJWWDLE0h9Wxs8Q4w5hk3zO-mr2f5qgVUFFLEkPZAxf6cLIjsvVJPb2RuQ3Fi3cn1XKIgGheGkXFFpm-dl8n7izUT0/s200/Tony+cropped.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony is lucky he's cute.<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dachshunds are notorious for several things: They are difficult
to house-train, they hate rain and they are stubborn.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">E.B. White wrote of his dachshund: “When I address Fred I
never have to raise either my voice or my hopes. He even disobeys me when I
instruct him in something that he wants to do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I have run headlong into all these traits in our dachshund mix
rescue, Tony. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I did manage to house-train Tony, more or less. You know
those dogs who, once house-trained, would rather bust than pee in the house?
Not Tony. When left alone, uncrated, I’m pretty sure he rings the bells on our door
(how he lets us know he needs to go out), and when no one appears, shrugs his
little dachshund shoulders, figures “I did my part” and pees on the floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Another charming dachshund trait: He pees when he’s excited. That’s
a totally different thing, I tell my skeptical husband. Tony can’t help that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Tony does hate to go out in the rain. He won’t go out alone,
and when I go with him, he used to stand, miserable, getting wet, not doing the
business he badly needed to do. We could be in that stand-off for hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I decided I’d make that better. I’d teach him the command guide
dogs are taught: “Get busy.” Yup, seeing guide dogs are taught to relieve
themselves on command.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It was not an onerous lesson. I’d
just say the command and give him a treat, once he went. He figured it out
quickly. Now, he knew what to do to get to go back in AND he got a treat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Well … being a stubborn dachshund, he has decided he doesn’t
like being told what to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He now hates to go outside, period. </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol-ext; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji";">☹</span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-591094278398399412019-05-16T12:10:00.001-05:002019-05-16T12:21:43.066-05:00Blasts from the PastWell, so, yeah, when I couldn't get up enough energy to go to bed last night, I Googled myself and came up with these two ancient clips. :)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/04/style/game-not-cattle-on-texas-ranch.html">https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/04/style/game-not-cattle-on-texas-ranch.html</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/food/1993/10/20/food-newsletters-eating-between-the-lines/cef0fbf1-598f-45a3-96ba-0442b0631e05/?utm_term=.b9211b8ae28a">https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/food/1993/10/20/food-newsletters-eating-between-the-lines/cef0fbf1-598f-45a3-96ba-0442b0631e05/?utm_term=.b9211b8ae28a</a><br />
<br />
Things really don't ever disappear from the internet. :oCheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-1132304285504574602019-05-01T12:37:00.000-05:002019-05-01T12:37:57.980-05:00Yes, and ....Really, improv is fun -- if scary -- to do.<br /><br />Wrote about <a href="https://thebuzzmagazines.com/articles/2019/05/yes-and" target="_blank">my experiences with it and Houston's improv scene recently for The <i>Buzz </i>Magazines</a>.Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-33733158399634864202019-04-27T17:15:00.000-05:002019-04-27T17:15:55.685-05:00Out and Back<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOHHY2BbV85m5ipC5iX94QJCdv_iKPwiVhFimaOJ0y4TtikjvmXnki5jW0aNG-yEaDlxtaUAbylhJAwvSfnORWeul7Dztk97YUW20iY2yGU4rjmYhuagJBOdD44kQw02LOxeUPpw2igHQ/s1600/Crescent+Beach%252C+Oregon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1600" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOHHY2BbV85m5ipC5iX94QJCdv_iKPwiVhFimaOJ0y4TtikjvmXnki5jW0aNG-yEaDlxtaUAbylhJAwvSfnORWeul7Dztk97YUW20iY2yGU4rjmYhuagJBOdD44kQw02LOxeUPpw2igHQ/s320/Crescent+Beach%252C+Oregon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crescent Beach, Oregon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">My
family is getting into hiking. Though we remain rank amateurs, we are learning.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
terminology: out and back (you go out, get to the end and turn around to end up
at your starting point), loop (as the name suggests, you go in a big circle and
end up back where you started) and point-to-point (you end up at a different
place than where you started).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
difficulty rankings: easy, moderate, difficult. Though people have done <a href="http://www.rockymountainhikingtrails.com/about-us.htm">studies</a> and even
<a href="https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/how-to-determine-hiking-difficulty.htm">math</a>
(!) to determine a ranking scale, it’s, of course, kind of a subjective thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Easy
is easy. Usually short (as short as ¼ of a mile, no longer than 2), flat, this
is the trail for strollers and wheelchairs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Moderate
is a leap up from that. Longer: the ones we’ve been on have been 5-6 miles. Some
changes in elevation. My phone tells me, when I do one of these, that I’ve
climbed anywhere from 40 to 60 flights of stairs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Moderate
is currently our sweet spot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m
a little hesitant to try difficult. These trails cover longer distances (8+
miles), with more elevation changes and more difficult terrain, requiring
things like “scrambling,” using your hands as well as your feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGxh6CJpPyT_poAX96OLk-UXWYR-h7v9eu7iJ2es4E_CRZ981hKV30uJiP06maBBZrVvzmHDhiZYwmdwTBVkOfwDqV5YQsF76cbWHWmqsFWPxPoi4ZZzsOc4bUJAIvVK3QwIvVzOEVp2o/s1600/Hot+Springs+Trail+Big+Bend.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="1600" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGxh6CJpPyT_poAX96OLk-UXWYR-h7v9eu7iJ2es4E_CRZ981hKV30uJiP06maBBZrVvzmHDhiZYwmdwTBVkOfwDqV5YQsF76cbWHWmqsFWPxPoi4ZZzsOc4bUJAIvVK3QwIvVzOEVp2o/s400/Hot+Springs+Trail+Big+Bend.HEIC" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hot Springs Trail, Big Bend, Texas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
once wrote <a href="https://thebuzzmagazines.com/articles/2018/01/going-distance">an article
about thru-hikers</a>, who hike for months at a time. Once they’ve hit their
stride, so to speak, they hike around 20 miles a day, carrying all their stuff,
then sleep in a tent on the ground, to get up in the morning and do it all over
again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nah,
I’m a proud “slack-packer.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
feel I am roughing it if my hotel doesn’t have a spa. </span><span style="font-family: "segoe ui emoji" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">😊</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNF17WyP1b-oDL68e0RxNYnO0vfR3KRkpNxSDvPoUYSMjz4UKO1K8-As4-SNJZwHI1OBg_p98gFIVr2JeXvEfw0UQsTzohsxvsGEezkDMRKt-5DRTelFRZ_KGJIsmo0WOllihHMxpt0h4/s1600/Husband+and+daughter+Hood+River+Oregon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNF17WyP1b-oDL68e0RxNYnO0vfR3KRkpNxSDvPoUYSMjz4UKO1K8-As4-SNJZwHI1OBg_p98gFIVr2JeXvEfw0UQsTzohsxvsGEezkDMRKt-5DRTelFRZ_KGJIsmo0WOllihHMxpt0h4/s320/Husband+and+daughter+Hood+River+Oregon.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My husband and daughter at Hood River, Oregon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nice
day hiking, a shower, dinner at a restaurant serving locally sourced produce in
some sort of cuisine before sleeping in a bed. Perfect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-76221635879173983812019-04-26T15:35:00.001-05:002019-04-26T15:35:10.356-05:00That’s Not How Any of This Works<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XNZFdZnYR44/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XNZFdZnYR44?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">At
least, it’s not supposed to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">How
can Russian intelligence use social media to interfere with American elections?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Because,
apparently, a significant percentage of people lose sight of reality when they
get online. They get ugly, nasty and scary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
like there’s lead in our water supply.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Like
the guy who threatened to use his Second Amendment right on me because I said I
thought gun owners should have to carry liability insurance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hey,
in case you are wondering why many of us are frightened of gun owners, there’s
your Exhibit A.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Or
the little old lady mentioned in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/nothing-on-this-page-is-real-how-lies-become-truth-in-online-america/2018/11/17/edd44cc8-e85a-11e8-bbdb-72fdbf9d4fed_story.html?utm_term=.4f86b4bb6c38">this
Washington <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Post</i> article</a>. At
first, I felt bad for her. A smarty-pants blogger is making his living fooling simpletons
on Facebook. The blogger, Christopher Blair, a liberal, makes up the most
ridiculous “news items” he can and sees if he can fool (and humiliate) right-wing
conservatives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And
he can: millions of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Like
Shirley Chapian, a lonely 76-year-old living in a trailer in Pahrump, Nevada.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
look at what Shirley, looking like someone’s grandma, likes on Facebook:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“A Muslim woman with her burqa on fire: like. A
policeman using a baton to beat a masked antifa protester: like. Hillary
Clinton looking gaunt and pale: like. A military helicopter armed with machine
guns and headed toward the caravan of immigrants: like.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What
the hell?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">According
to <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/anatomy-of-a-fake-news-scandal-125877/">this
superb and frightening 2017 <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rolling Stone</i>
article</a>, rather ordinary people are used by everyone from Russian
intelligence to Trump campaign officials to Alex Jones to teenagers in
Macedonia looking to make a buck, to spread bizarre and hate-filled conspiracy
theories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And
this has already had, predictably, real and awful consequences. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/15/world/asia/new-zealand-shooting-brenton-tarrant.html">After
all, the New Zealand massacre, which killed 50 people, was planned by its
perpetrator specifically to go viral</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What
is wrong with us?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-3230149538039835822019-03-20T17:00:00.000-05:002019-03-21T11:03:11.971-05:00Listen for a Change<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ozVMA5UhEuQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ozVMA5UhEuQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
30-second commercial, has been fascinating me for months.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
see it when I do my <a href="https://www.duolingo.com/">Duolingo</a> Spanish lessons.
I am such a nerd for this app. I do Duolingo every day, and while I am far,
far, far from understanding Spanish, every once in a while, someone will say
something and I will understand a word or two!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
am also a total sucker for this app’s tricks. Currently, I have186 crowns and
3,765 gems and I am on an 8-day unbroken streak. I feel a pang when I miss a
day and mess up a streak but I don’t, though the app always tells me I could,
spend a dollar or two to reinstate my streak.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
the commercial.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
Audible, the audio book company.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
just so well done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
see it often because I am a cheapie and use the free Duolingo version, which
requires me to watch ads. I always even agree to watch more ads to get more
gems just because gems must be good, right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Pretty
slick that I am using Duolingo to learn Spanish and I get the commercial where
a trucker is using Audible to learn Spanish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
there’s this whole other story going on. The cute-as-a-button trucker is
learning Spanish because he has a crush on an equally adorable waitress at a diner
he apparently stops at a lot, and she on him. The commercial starts with his
Audible book explaining that “para” is used "when you are talking about something for
someone.” He goes into the diner and nervously asks her, in Spanish, for a table for dinner.
She, beaming at him, says his attempt is “pretty good.” The ad finishes, as they
walk away together, by asking, “Could Audible inspire you to start something new?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Aww.
Love it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-75008628370305791202018-08-16T16:22:00.000-05:002018-08-16T16:22:21.027-05:00By Hand<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Neither my husband’s car nor mine is equipped
with spare tires, something I’m told is now normal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">When we got a flat recently, we ended up
stranded for the night in Corsicana, TX*, till the tire shop opened in the
morning.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I have zero idea how to change a tire and think
the world is safer if I don't try. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My husband did once change the tire of a rental
car on the Cross-Bronx Expressway, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/20/nyregion/hell-on-wheels-and-nerves-if-ever-there-was-a-mean-street-it-s-the-cross-bronx.html">an
awful stretch of pavement</a>. Yes, everyone who hears this story wonders why
he just didn’t call the rental company. He said when he turned the car in, he
told the guy at the rental counter he had changed the tire and the guy just
shrugged. Sure hope that tire was on right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My point is we all seem to be moving away from
doing things with our own hands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s not just flat tires. Lots of things aren’t
fixable; either they are disposable or you need specialized tools, including,
maybe, a diagnostic computer, to even open them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/science/whats-lost-as-handwriting-fades.html">Children
aren’t even taught handwriting in school anymore, which, research shows, may
have some broad negative impacts on their abilities to learn.</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Weirdly, there are games you can get for your
phone where you play at cleaning a house or planting a garden by tapping your
screen. It’s not the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Patience is required to do things with your own
hands, an acceptance that things aren't perfect and won’t come together
perfectly, a tolerance for frustration.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">And when you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are</i>
able to fix something, you feel accomplished.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">*One thing to recommend in the tiny town of Corsicana:
</span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.collinstreet.com/">Collins Street Bakery</a></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, world-famous for its fruitcakes. The tow truck driver and tire-shop
guys, all gruff and heavily tattooed, recommend the cherry refrigerator cookies
– hot-pink little confections</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> – and they’re right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-700693872352363322018-07-14T13:13:00.000-05:002018-07-14T13:13:27.849-05:00Mental Maintenance<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">I once actually read how-to books about housecleaning. My
goal, sort of realized, was to figure out the least I could do yet stay in the “normal”
range.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I realized I've done the same when it comes to "mental
maintenance."</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Our minds are not machines, and even if they were, machines
need maintenance, too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Be kind to your mind!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Hokey as these sound, they work.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://fewbricksshy.blogspot.com/2014/06/to-think-or-not-to-think.html">Keeping
a Journal.</a></span></b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> I've done this since I was 12 years old. Spent
a lot of time scribbling away, but the benefits outweigh the costs. It is the
best way to learn how to write. And you think through your thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">From the author <a href="http://juliacameronlive.com/">Julia Cameron</a>, keep a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ta Da List</b>. Write down the things you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">did</i> do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Write down 5+
things you are grateful for.</span></span></b><span style="background: white;"> Some of
mine -- "I'm grateful I'm not her" -- are clearly not in the spirit,
but even they work. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Any</i> focus on the positive
helps.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Meditation</span></span></b><span style="background: white;">: Literally 5 minutes. Just breathe. And it’s not so
much clearing your mind as it is simply trying to let your mind be clear. My favorite
book on the subject: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/10-Happier-Self-Help-Actually-Works/dp/0062265431">10%
Happier</a></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Learn Something Different</span></span></b><span style="background: white;">: I spend about 5 minutes a day using a phone app (<a href="https://www.duolingo.com/">Duolingo</a>) to learn a few words of Spanish.
I got excited in the supermarket yesterday when I realized the people in front
of me were talking about onions (cebollas)! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Exercise</span></span></b><span style="background: white;"> ... Particularly yoga ... Exercise helps emotionally
as well as physically. <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201310/25-studies-confirm-exercise-prevents-depression">Studies</a>
show that exercise can be as effective for alleviating depression as medications.
The yoga pose <a href="https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/proper-pigeon-pose">half-pigeon</a>,
which is done near the end of yoga class and stretches things deep in your hips,
seems to dispel stress especially well.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;"><a href="http://fewbricksshy.blogspot.com/2013/06/sleep-is-wonderful-thing.html">Sleep</a></span></b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. It is shocking how much better you can feel simply from
getting enough sleep.</span></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-7830400089336167502018-07-07T17:05:00.000-05:002018-07-07T17:05:17.726-05:00My Husband Wrote a Haiku!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEx2SARsQl8fMk_KnXbIy7M5VQfxRQhs6o4nvJVDfxln5Jzt-F4oQoya5BnFVUdhYbdTRSWO7Hf_IXxcxZfSPfYWBxJ2HIoGPGuwnC3_DvfOfwUVTRPnIloXR4uh9p4WBjRhyphenhyphenXRrpqftE/s1600/Tony+pee+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1134" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEx2SARsQl8fMk_KnXbIy7M5VQfxRQhs6o4nvJVDfxln5Jzt-F4oQoya5BnFVUdhYbdTRSWO7Hf_IXxcxZfSPfYWBxJ2HIoGPGuwnC3_DvfOfwUVTRPnIloXR4uh9p4WBjRhyphenhyphenXRrpqftE/s320/Tony+pee+2.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Happy homecoming</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">A</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">lert and excited,
woops!</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Poor nozzle
control <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:)</span></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-74775671603671888802018-07-01T13:18:00.001-05:002018-07-13T09:49:23.163-05:00Winning at Yoga<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Is feeling competitive a good thing?</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I used to think “Hell, no.” I used to avoid it in all
things, at all costs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I was the uncoordinated kid who was always picked last
for teams. I wasn’t competitive as a kid in gym and sports, I came to loathe
them, because I didn’t have a chance of “winning.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Being forced into competitive situations then, when it
didn’t fit, did harm.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I think this happens to a lot of people. How else do you
explain <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-80-percent-of-american-adults-dont-get-recommended-exercise/">why
over 80% of all American adults don’t exercise</a>?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
So often, people have such bad memories that it leads to
a lifelong aversion to any exercise, which is sad. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Who is at fault? The adults – gym teachers, coaches and
parents – who get so caught up in vicarious competition that they forget the
point. Shouldn’t we be teaching and encouraging <i>all</i> children about physical fitness?</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I was lucky. I eventually discovered exercise can be fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Because my college had a PE requirement, I signed up for
a student-taught dancercise class. (Hush, that was all the rage in the ‘80s.) The
teacher, apparently a dancer, was just a good teacher, a nice person.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I wish I could remember her name. That class was
life-changing, no exaggeration.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I have to laugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recently,
I asked a trainer at the local Y for advice. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told him I wanted to be able to do the yoga
poses that the most advanced students in my classes can do. <a href="https://youtu.be/SZCxKjgReQ4">You know, stuff like this. </a>Which I am,
incidentally, nowhere near doing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
“Wants to win at yoga,” wrote the trainer in his notes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Yup, I’m finally good enough at a physical endeavor,
which doesn’t even have to be that good, to experience feeling competitive as
motivation.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Yay!</div>
Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-10531662349240604752018-06-30T13:50:00.002-05:002022-12-07T17:29:01.487-06:00Crushes<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFh0DInH4eYPDCnRjkji7ZXduVfnFcJubOIHEwtMimYPf6ZK8yBoKfIrJzP7pW7ZjJizH4NYUtjkapsKiFVgXPUvIOFd678q26nXmia67z9w09_s3stYS3Iq7UnWdFXOIY4l-JSRtx5jE/s1600/Heart.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFh0DInH4eYPDCnRjkji7ZXduVfnFcJubOIHEwtMimYPf6ZK8yBoKfIrJzP7pW7ZjJizH4NYUtjkapsKiFVgXPUvIOFd678q26nXmia67z9w09_s3stYS3Iq7UnWdFXOIY4l-JSRtx5jE/s1600/Heart.jpg" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">[Wow, so this super-duper didn't age well. Avenatti was just sentenced to 14 years in prison (12/5/22) for embezzling millions of dollars from clients and Elon Musk has clearly lost his freaking mind.]<br /> </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> [O.K., so this clearly didn't age well. Michael Avenatti, how could you?] </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I know a woman who told her husband that she'd never cheat,
except if Bruce Springsteen were a possibility, then all bets were off.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Who you have a crush on, like <a href="http://fewbricksshy.blogspot.com/2018/06/favorite-movies-of-all-time.html">any
all-time favorites list you might have</a>, says something about you, I think.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">My crushes, for example, make it pretty clear I’m
liberal. Also, I like the good guys. And I like them smart. Also, fearless. And funny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">They are currently:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><a href="https://youtu.be/VWz4SFpB_Lo"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Michael Avenatti</span></a>.
I know, I know, he'd make a terrible boyfriend. I don't think he can turn that testosterone-fueled
aggression and competitiveness off. Still, he and Stormy Daniels just might
save the country.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><a href="https://youtu.be/79AwSDzz8H0"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Elon Musk.</span></a> Yes,
he's probably super-odd. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-id-like-a-girlfriend-2012-9">Musk
once asked a reporter how much time he should pencil in for a girlfriend: “How
much time does a woman want a week? Maybe 10 hours?"</a> Maybe it’s because
I’m not that girlfriend, but I find that cluelessness in an otherwise super-genius
kind of endearing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">And no, no crush of mine is about money. I’m not
that practical; also, I’m not Melania Trump. (And I don't think even she likes Trump.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">It's just that Musk just might save the human race. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><a href="https://youtu.be/aFQFB5YpDZE"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="mso-comment-date: 20180630T1239; mso-comment-parent: 1; mso-comment-reference: CU_2;"><span style="mso-comment-date: 20180630T1239; mso-comment-reference: CU_1;">Jon
Stewart.</span></span></span></a></span></span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Nope, he's not on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Daily Show</i> anymore, though many of his protégés continue what he started:
Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Trevor Noah. Maybe it's a matter of me imprinting
like a baby duck on the first because it’s Jon Stewart who I have a crush on. <a href="https://youtu.be/PYCPZrOkZx0">And he is still around and kicking.</a> Yay!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">How about you? :)</span></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-18613691153949895972018-06-26T16:55:00.000-05:002018-06-26T16:55:52.838-05:00Tony's Bucket List<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXTJoS0HBAELXiLeEtcqB3DJsd9Rs4bjWkOG5BslC0DQETq2GsbnJr3HwKPOc5KlhhBV83LOn7NQAYL_nw3ZQoIAnitOi8bdiYhG_zampJVLy_F58F71Aj2VciCVBzCYadl1oUTV6-c-0/s1600/Tony+Baloney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1529" data-original-width="1600" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXTJoS0HBAELXiLeEtcqB3DJsd9Rs4bjWkOG5BslC0DQETq2GsbnJr3HwKPOc5KlhhBV83LOn7NQAYL_nw3ZQoIAnitOi8bdiYhG_zampJVLy_F58F71Aj2VciCVBzCYadl1oUTV6-c-0/s200/Tony+Baloney.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony's always thinking.<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">It boggles my mind to think there are people who believe <a href="https://www.catholic.com/qa/do-animals-have-souls-like-human-beings">animals’
souls are not as good as ours</a>, that <a href="http://theweek.com/articles/577618/what-animals-think">they don’t have
emotions like ours</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2018/05/24/scientists-say-fish-feel-pain-it-could-lead-to-major-changes-in-the-fishing-industry/?utm_term=.1e3df8cddb1d">even
that they don't feel pain</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Take Tony. (Please ... ba da dum.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He feels Christmas-morning-level joy and excitement at least
three times a day: Breakfast, Dinner and Walk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">He tries to do right. When I tell my husband that, he
sputters, "No, he doesn't! He doesn't try at all." (To be fair, this
is usually after Tony has peed on my husband's shoe out of excitement. Totally
not Tony’s fault.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">As for barking at passers-by, chewing up our dish towels,
getting into the recyclable bin, leaping up to nip our butts: he's trying to do
right, he's just not sure what that is.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">After all, getting after the recyclable stuff has become
Tony's official job. You know how you are supposed to clean those jars and
cans? I defy you to find a better, easier, more thorough way to clean that
peanut-butter jar than to give it to a dachshund. For Tony, it's better than a <a href="https://www.kongcompany.com/products/for-dogs/rubber-toys/classic-rubber-toys/classic/">Kong</a>,
and when he's done, it'll be pristine.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Tony’s Bucket List</span><br />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">1. To be eating, always.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">2. Barring that, to chew and shake things to make sure
they're dead: toys, socks, dish towels, pizzle sticks. <a href="http://www.doggybakery.org/the-benefits-of-bull-pizzle-treats/">(What's a
pizzle stick, you ask?)</a></span><br />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">3. To be in a lap.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">4. To pee and/or poop in the garage.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">5. To be in a car. Doesn't matter where, or if, it's going
anywhere.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">6. The holy grail: To pee or poop in my husband's fancy car.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">7. To be outside … or maybe inside … or maybe outside …
or maybe inside ….</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: white;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">9. To catch the neighborhood possum. (He thinks.)</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">10. To be the boss of all he surveys.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-61139970462848582252018-06-22T15:10:00.002-05:002018-06-22T15:10:45.568-05:00Favorite Movies of All Time<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">All-time favorites – of anything, really, music,
books, places you’ve been – are things that really made a lasting impression on
you. And whenever you make a list of your all-time favorites of something, it
ends up showing you something about yourself, I think.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">So, movies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">The first movie that made my all-time list was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://youtu.be/PKryo4iafls">Butch
Cassidy & the Sundance Kid</a></i>. That movie came out in 1969, when I was
four. I didn't see it till it came out on television years later, when I was
about 10 or 11, at just that age when I didn’t know whether I wanted to be the
Sundance Kid or sleep with him. (My present-day self says, Why not both? And also
now, I appreciate the charms of Butch as much, if not more.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Next was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://youtu.be/ORTv3jORX-I">Paper Moon</a></i>, with Ryan O'Neil and a
young Tatum O'Neil.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">In college, we were all fascinated by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://youtu.be/Ua-MspPHTtI">The
Big Chill</a></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">I stole a tradition from a friend (Hi, Jared!)
and now we always watch <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://youtu.be/M01_2CKL6PU">Moonstruck</a></i> on Valentine's Day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Speaking of holidays, for Halloween:
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://youtu.be/mOPTriLG5cU">Young
Frankenstein</a> </i>(I don't do horror movies), for Christmas, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://youtu.be/cfjEZ88NHBw">A Christmas Story</a></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white;"><a href="https://youtu.be/cd-go0oBF4Y">The Big Lebowski</a></span></i><span style="background: white;">: My brother-in-law, in a stroke of genius, introduced
this movie to our father-in-law.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white;"><a href="ttps://youtu.be/1Fg5iWmQjwk">The Hotel Budapest</a></span></i><span style="background: white;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: white;"><a href="https://youtu.be/2AIfVoGUs6c">Raising Arizona</a></span></i><span style="background: white;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">I liked going to (most) children’s movies with
my own kids. Some are amazingly good, like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://youtu.be/W37DlG1i61s">Shrek</a></i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://youtu.be/MsAniqGowKE">Mulan</a></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">And just recently, my daughter gave my husband <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://youtu.be/HszfdNS0JSc">Florence
Foster Jenkins</a></i> for Father's Day. Days later, I continue to think about
this movie, based on a true story and so carefully written, acted and
constructed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">So, I like funny movies, clever movies, movies
with a touch of the absurd, movies in which the characters let their
eccentricities all hang out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Yeah, sounds about right.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">What movies make your all-time list?<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-25398830005562325212018-05-15T13:54:00.000-05:002018-05-15T13:54:41.280-05:00To Do Lists<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhthImEQyTSinkzy3D3a4kwo9t7jrXsHAtiMMtcxAbw7QS7thPYZ8X5tbshBZke_Sxk7HUEp0VKYWwuFnkugkWh7U3yzIWMg-XMIrJCCWnU_ThbubGoQp3Lxr6Pgmi1EKh0uTboXqAMjQE/s1600/to+do+list.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhthImEQyTSinkzy3D3a4kwo9t7jrXsHAtiMMtcxAbw7QS7thPYZ8X5tbshBZke_Sxk7HUEp0VKYWwuFnkugkWh7U3yzIWMg-XMIrJCCWnU_ThbubGoQp3Lxr6Pgmi1EKh0uTboXqAMjQE/s200/to+do+list.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nutty.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I have ridiculous to-do lists. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I am trying to be organized.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But even my lists are a mess. A day’s list for me is really
several lists written on a Google calendar page. There are arrows, stars,
exclamation points. Some things are circled, others underlined, some, but not
all, numbered. This is what it’s like inside my head.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Still, I think it helps to write it down.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I work on my own. I often have
several long-term projects going with lots of deadlines. And somehow, I
managed to become <a href="https://fewbricksshy.blogspot.com/2013/08/whose-schedule-are-we-on-and-when-did.html">the
scheduler for our entire family</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I went through a phase where I read a lot of what my
husband calls “productivity porn.” While reading a book about how to be
efficient might feel like you are being efficient, spoiler alert, you’re really
not.</div>
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<br /></div>
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However, once in a while, I would come across an idea that
appealed. I’ve incorporated these into my to-do list, which might explain some
of its complexity. <a href="http://fewbricksshy.blogspot.com/2015/02/what-to-do.html">I’ve written
about this before.</a><o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I even read books about how to clean your house (really) and figured out how to do the least amount possible as quickly as possible to avoid ending up on the television show <i>Hoarders</i>.<br />
<br /></div>
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Interestingly, one of the guys who wrote a book I liked, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all">Tony
Schwartz, turns out to be the guy who ghost-wrote <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Art of the Deal </i>for Donald Trump and is now abjectly sorry.</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Another idea I like: Julia Cameron, who wrote a number of books about being creative (I liked
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-25th-Anniversary/dp/0143129252/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525985583&sr=8-1&keywords=julia+cameron+the+artists+way&dpID=51%252BzJL6EsjL&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch">her
first such book</a> the best), recommends, not a to-do list, but a <i>ta-da</i> list: Think about what you <i>did</i> get done, after you’ve finished your
day. More often than not, although I <i>feel</i>
like I didn’t do squat, I realize that I did do quite a lot. Yay!<br />
<br />
Hey, whatever works.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-48866189444747029552018-04-26T15:16:00.000-05:002018-04-26T17:07:28.637-05:00Spiciness<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFGlRebswEigzjt5sx4NmxaibvRdZQ3Kv26Py6l9nGWJqqC96nP_FCMUcQ8M2K5ntVrsOPoiIYYGbAc18rXoaA6GnTFFENia7G01TeRYoDBt10vDs_zYWMRzdsuZ0TlkOZleupsza-Es/s1600/cayenne-peppers-2779828_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFGlRebswEigzjt5sx4NmxaibvRdZQ3Kv26Py6l9nGWJqqC96nP_FCMUcQ8M2K5ntVrsOPoiIYYGbAc18rXoaA6GnTFFENia7G01TeRYoDBt10vDs_zYWMRzdsuZ0TlkOZleupsza-Es/s200/cayenne-peppers-2779828_1920.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't get it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sure, some can be nice,
but too much can make food inedible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Recently, I had a
jambalaya so spicy, it left my lips chapped. I hate when I order something that
would be wonderful but someone, probably in the very last step, wrecked by
adding too much spice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Other people seem to love
it, though.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It seems like a
"prove your manhood" kind of thing. Take my husband. He will eat
spicy food so hot, he will happily point out that his head is sweating. At <a href="https://tarkaindiankitchen.com/">a nearby Indian restaurant</a>, where
you order at a counter and are asked whether you want the spiciness level "mild" (garnished, to
keep things straight, I noticed, with cilantro), "medium" (one
slice of jalapeño) or "hot" (two jalapeño slices), my husband ordered "hot" the first couple times. I suspect it was because, at least
in part, he had to make his choice publicly. (Since then, even he has quietly
backed off to "medium.")<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">What else but misdirected
competitiveness can explain <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/09/health/hot-pepper-thunderclap-headaches.html">this
guy who ate the hottest pepper in the world</a> (which clocks in, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2018/04/12/a-chile-pepper-as-dangerous-as-cocaine-researchers-disagree-on-the-effects-of-the-carolina-reaper/?utm_term=.97c9fbd94027">according
to the Washington <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Post</i></a>, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>at 1.64 <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">million</i>
Scoville heat units (SHUs) compared to the 8,000 SHUs of a jalapeno) in a
hot-pepper eating contest. (What the hell?) He not only suffered dry heaves (to
be expected, the New York <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Times</i> article
notes) but also the poetically named “thunderclap headache,” which is so intensely
painful he had to be hospitalized. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/10/18/he-ate-an-extremely-spicy-ghost-pepper-hours-later-doctors-found-a-hole-in-his-throat/?utm_term=.26889fc2dd67">Or
this guy</a>, who, after eating ghost pepper, retched so violently, he tore a
hole in his esophagus?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.thrillist.com/health/nation/what-makes-some-people-like-spicy-food-and-others-hate-it"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As
I strongly suspected, liking spicy foods has everything to do with screwing
around with the pain receptors in your mouth for the thrill of it.</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">No thanks.</span></div>
Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-68028528130625789542018-04-17T12:41:00.000-05:002018-04-17T12:41:28.177-05:00Favorite Quotations On Writing<br />
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Writers, unsurprisingly, come up with the best quotes.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Some of my favorites:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/57688-i-hate-writing-i-love-having-written">“I
hate writing; I love having written.” –Dorothy Parker</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/22534-i-write-entirely-to-find-out-what-i-m-thinking-what">“I
write entirely to find out what I'm thinking ….” –Joan Didion</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/stephen_king_427020">“I have the heart
of a small boy. It is in a glass jar on my desk.” –Stephen King</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/99/03/21/specials/lecarre-interrogation.html?oref=login">"’The
cat sat on the mat’ is not a story. ‘The cat sat on the dog's mat’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> a story.” –John le Carr<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“Most grown-up behavior, when you come right down to it,
is decidedly second-class. People don’t drive their cars as well, or wash their
ears as well, or eat as well, or even play the harmonica as well as they would
if they had any sense …[F]or the serious young writer who wants to get
published, it is encouraging to know that most of the professional writers out
there are push-overs.” –John Gardner, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Art of Fiction</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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What quotes about writing do you like?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797378007983742355.post-3244774487424055502018-04-04T10:14:00.000-05:002018-04-04T10:14:11.474-05:00By The Book<br />
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I’ve been volunteering at a local school through a program
called <a href="http://www.houstonisd.org/readhoustonread">Read Houston Read</a>.
If you’re looking for a volunteer opportunity, I’d recommend it.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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You spend a half-hour each week reading with each child.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I think the kids, first-graders who are as cute as
buttons, like it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Read Houston Read books are about things like a boy in
Africa who saves up his money to buy a bicycle so he can help his mother or a
Chinese-American boy who gives his New Year’s money to a homeless guy with no
shoes. There was one about the life cycle of a butterfly. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s fine, they’re well-written and their illustrations
are well-done, but … meh.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This week, there was a book fair going on in the library,
blocking access to the Read Houston Read books. The librarian suggested bringing
books from home. So, I did: some of my own kids’ favorites.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of my students picked <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Wave-Catherine-Cowan/dp/0060562005/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522853669&sr=8-1&keywords=my+life+with+the+wave">My
Life with The Wave</a></i>. The other picked <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Elberts-Bad-Word-Audrey-Wood/dp/0152013679/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1522853708&sr=1-1&keywords=elbert">Elbert’s
Bad Word</a></i>. I also brought <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Dream-Pie-Audrey-Wood/dp/0590962043/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1522853743&sr=1-1&keywords=sweet+dream+pie">Sweet
Dream Pie</a></i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Silly-Eaters-Mary-Hoberman/dp/0152024409/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1522853796&sr=1-1&keywords=seven+silly+eaters+children%27s+book">Seven
Silly Eaters</a></i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Harvey-Potters-Balloon-Farm-Buehner/dp/0688158455/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1522853839&sr=1-1&keywords=harvey+potter%27s+balloon+farm">Harvey
Potter’s Balloon Farm</a></i> and, in case they wanted something to read to me,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Fat-Cat-Dav-Pilkey/dp/0531070689/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1522853882&sr=1-1&keywords=dragon%27s+fat+cat">Dragon’s
Fat Cat</a></i> by Dav Pilkey, author of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/New-Captain-Underpants-Collection-Books/dp/0439417848/ref=la_B000APCYV8_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1522853917&sr=1-7">Captain
Underpants</a></i> books.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When my own kids were small, we used to go to the library
and check out piles of children’s books, whatever caught any of our fancies. Many
turned out to be “meh,” but some fascinated my kids, we read them over and
over. Those ones we bought to keep.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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These books tended to trust the children more. Their
story lines were more complex, contained magical elements and were told with
wry humor. They didn’t hit you over the head with “life lessons,” but my kids,
now 22 and 19, and even my husband still remember them. They were better.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Cheryl Ursinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04922520656253488465noreply@blogger.com0