I am the poisonwood bible, coo coo caachooo, like as in I am the Walrus coo coo caachooo (I’m already bummed enough being the poisonwood bible don’t tell me I have the words wrong?)

I was checking out new blogs (we call it making friends and gaining knowledge here, not wasting time!! ) I found on The Quiet Life this handy dandy little quiz below and I tried it.   Lou from New Zeland whose blog it is got to be Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird.  I thought oh gosh golly gee, maybe I can be Scout too (see old pixie haircut picture @ the end, circa early 80s, weren’t the girls cute?) or someone almost as cool?  I am the Poisonwood Bible and it is right in that I see many many viewpoints, devils advocate BUT…….useless perspectives?  They do not know they are talking about the most stubborn logical person on earth? Or do they?  And a Belgian Waffle?  That is ok, the rest is?????

You’re The Poisonwood Bible!

by Barbara Kingsolver

Deeply rooted in a religious background, you have since become both
isolated and schizophrenic. You were naively sure that your actions would help people,
but of course they were resistant to your message and ultimately disaster ensued. Since
you can see so many sides of the same issue, you are both wise beyond your years and
tied to worthless perspectives. If you were a type of waffle, it would be
Belgian.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Not really new, one has been around since 2006 but I, being slow of mind and body, I just found them.

The Thrift Shop Romantic, check this out. I look @ it and see my childhood and sometimes my decorating now.  As we all know I have impeccable taste (how else would I have raised a member of the fashion police?)  JK JJ

By the same author, Of Cabbages and Kings, anyone who puts her paintings on the internet and then makes fun of them (as in 4 roses and 3 stems) has my vote.

I too have my artwork which in the spirit of showing good art gone bad I will share.  See photo belowof said painting which was never finished but I envisioned as being the start of my international art career.  I’ve worked on it since then, it’s worse.  It’s taken from a photo of a Russian woman but I thought of it as being Mrs. Moore although she was actually prettier and more petite.  (Mrs. Moore and Mr. Moore came to my mom and dads wedding in bare feet, walked 1/2 mile from town and NO we are NOT hillbillies, not much anyway, my mom and dad were fully clothed and shod with corsages and all LOL)

Either Mrs. Moore from Florence or a Russian woman

The next blog has only 8 posts but 357 followers.  WWWaphorismscom.  Two quotes from it:

I wasn’t in Buffalo when it snowed but it snowed anyway.

Appreciation, not possession, makes a thing ours.

Both are food for thought in a way.

Yes I’ve been surfing today, we are @ our destination, supposed to have freezing rain in Northern IL tonight possibly and I’m actually making blog posts ahead of time!!  Till my husband took the laptop to play solitaire that is.  I can see we need to go home and get another laptop?

Also titled This is True Love or Hell Is For Children.

This morning @ 4 am as I was standing in an almost blizzard trying to hold a flashlight for my husband while he was fixing the truck I’m thinking I am too OLD for this crap it’s like dying cold.  (I’m being PG here ok? an f word seemed appropriate but I don’t say that……much……mostly under my breath)

What were we doing?  We were @ a fuel stop in Northern Illinois fixing the dipstick tube on a semi.  You ask how and why did the dipstick tube get loose?  Silly Silly people.  Don’t ya know, the tire hit it when the wheel fell off two days before that.  That is a different story.  We are fine, the truck is now fine… no one else was hurt and it really wasn’t anyone’s fault other than the people who designed modern axles on trucks or anything that is sealed where you can’t check it the old fashioned way and mechanics that tell you things are fine when they aren’t.  The fuel filter gelling up you can’t blame on the tire though, that was later this afternoon.  What is the point of all of this drivel?  I was thinking this morning as I was holding the flashlight for my husband and shaking uncontrollably because it was 10 and the wind was 35 mph and I’m a wuss (my words, he told me to get back in where it was warm but I ignored him)…. Anyway I was thinking what an impossible situation we were in, he was trying to get a tube stuck back on a huge block of metal with another piece in between so it would all go together.  So far so good but it didn’t want to stay, he had to reach his LONG arms way in the engine compartment @ an impossible angle without gloves, it’s 4 am and we were already a day late delivering the load, plus the wind chill of something way below zero.  But yet I had almost complete confidence that he could eventually get it all to work again and I actually felt young again and in control.  Why?  Because I’m an optimistic idiot?  Perhaps, but he usually can fix anything given enough time and a little duct tape or thread providing he didn’t throw the parts too far when he got disgusted the first or tenth time.  Even if he couldn’t have fixed it he was trying and I was just so much in love in the middle of the blizzard it was pathetic.  Did I mention it was snowing and the roads were poop?  And while I was slogging into the truck stop to buy some $25 a gallon oil (yes you read right) I’m thinking this would make an excellent blogging story, how sick is THAT?

I bought doughnuts  this afternoon even though we are on a low carb, low fat diet for health and his high blood sugar.  Husband asked why I did it, I told him pastries were better than drinking and it was getting to the point it was one or the other.  The truck hadn’t even gelled up yet though then.  I was still an innocent as to truly how bad things could get.

So I’ve had some sleep now and some doughnuts and the world is a rosier place.  I’ll tell the rest of the story later.  The tire landing in the woods and leaning out a foot while going down the road was a beauty of a feeling, I was actually standing up in the sleeper when it hit, so much for seat belts.  That was right before the truck hit the pavement.

What is Tiger Woods famous for?  Playing Golf.  Is he famous for being a moral compass for America or the world?  Is he famous for sharing his life philosophy for others to share (you could argue that one but the guy is a golfer).  Does Tiger play golf well now.  We suppose since no harm has came to his coordination and he didn’t have any broken bones.   How many people did he seriously hurt?  his family and the women he had affairs with.  His public perhaps but if you were truly hurt by his affair you are BEYOND needing to get a life.  He didn’t steal, he didn’t murder, he didn’t drive drunk and hurt someone, and he didn’t drive texting which is next to driving drunk in my book.  What is Tigers role in sports?  To play golf.  Did we idolize him for his family life and the shining example he provided.  Nope, we idolized him before he got married, the supposedly happy marriage added to his charisma but was not his whole identity.

I know the guy is a dog.  Many men are dogs.  Many men are dogs that you wouldn’t guess are dogs.  Take it from a woman who was sometimes propositioned by them.  Now I’m going to really confuse you and tell you I’m Polyanna.  I really didn’t take any man up on a proposition that was his idea.  Get the drift?  AND I’ve been more chaste than MANY women my age.  So I’m not saying this as the other woman or the harlot.  I’m saying this as a realist.

And here we go…… men can change…it’s not likely and they have to be led by the nose sometimes kicking and screaming but it is possible.  I can swear to that fact without going into details.   I’ve also known many men who were dogs.  Thank goodness I wasn’t married to them but were they charming and great guys?  Yes but they were still dogs.

I feel for Tigers wife.  Her shame was broadcast around the world.  You say she should have no shame?  Take it from one who was the cheated on wife many many times, you feel shame and anger and disgust and horror in the pit of your stomach.  I didn’t get a divorce because of the cheating but that provided me ample ammunition, it was the lying about other things, the continuous not knowing where you stood.  We won’t go into all of that, it’s water under the bridge but you can overcome being cheated on.  I’m not saying Tigers wife should overcome it but you CAN overcome it.

I feel that enough attention has been given to the whole thing, it should die down.  They will get divorced or not and find other partners whom they will treat differently or not.  I don’t think either one of them are horrible people.  He really didn’t have any reason to cheat except he COULD and he could in so many ways with so many women.  How many men could resist that tempation? I know if men are honest probably 75% would say the thought has seriously crossed their minds.

In closing I’m all for monogamy.  I practice it daily.  I also allow my husband to look @ other women, he’s going to anyway so….he can’t touch and he really shouldn’t talk to them either if he wants to remain whole but he is going to look.  Sometimes this is really funny as he will go on and on about a girl and I will be talking to someone else and eventually I will tell him, you can shut up about her already, I heard you.  Now just look in quiet, I don’t want to share the moment with you.

Just look into your own heart and he who has not sinned can cast the first stone.  Sorry for whom disagree and I have offended but it’s the truth as I see it.

I am sorry I didn’t visit blogs or write while I was gone.  I had internet service.  I am lazy.  lazy lazy.  But I did think while going down the road.

I was thinking about how this is my blog and I write what I want and how because it’s MY BLOG.  Sometimes people don’t understand I use sentences that run together and And @ the beginning of a sentence or aint because it suits my purposes.  (OK sometimes I don’t know any better but we can pretend I catch all my mistakes can’t we?)

I also use hyperbole, rhetorical questions, allusion, illusion, preparation h, simile, and ky jelly if necessary to get my point slid across.

I also tilt @ windmills, the rebel without a cause, I spawned two conservative children and I have NO idea how but they think I am nuts.  BUT I play Don Quixote sometimes here BECAUSE I CAN, because it’s MY BLOG!!  And yes I had to look up how to spell Quixote.

I know the last 3 paragraphs have nothing to do with thanksgiving but I thought of the ky jelly line and it seemed too good not to share? I also thought of a blog post about how I lack the farming gene and my families ability to tell the crop and planting date of any field while I’m doing good to even notice them much less identify them but we will save that for another day.

What I’m grateful  for Thanksgiving day 2009:

The ability to blog and to read others blogs and my dear friends I’ve “met” blogging.

The free internet, news services, and press we have in this country.

Of course family and friends, I do have friends, I was just having trouble remembering some of their names because I hadn’t seen them since July?  LOL

Our family having survived the ups and downs of the previous year.  It’s been triumph and tragedy.  Some lost companies because of lost contracts through no fault of their own.  Some lost jobs because they were too temperamental.  (sorry if I scoff @ that one, they spoke up and told the truth and it hurt so they lost their job, imagine my relative having a big mouth? Moi?)  It was over a year ago that I started but I worked outside the home @ a job for the first time in 19 years.   Anyway I did a “real” job and I took orders from people and was a good employee which is not easy after years of “self” employment.  My husband also got a “job” for the first time in 20+ years when he leased his truck onto construction.  From what I hear he was a model employee (except for the time he asked permission to knock somone’s block off from the foreman, foreman said OK?) and was always ahead of everyone else even though he was the oldest one doing what he did. We are back to self employed but you always “work” for someone, if you are boss you “work” for the employees sometimes I think.   Also my brother is shall we say a senior citizen, I don’t know if he’s in like in his second childhood or what (I have doubts he ever left the first) but for an old man he’s not old.  Maybe it’s the race car he has?  He doesn’t drive it anymore but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.  My husband is of an age where I remember my parents well and I was going through my teenage rebellion.  He’s not old.  I’m thinking we are oblivious or just not aging like previous generations did (due to superior health care or the bilssful oblivion of many drug trips, JUST KIDDING)

Basically we have triumphed over adversity and turned around and made life better and realized what was important and what wasn’t  because of it and I’m thankful for the opportunity and the ability and the health to do it, especially during this time of financial difficulty.  (this is starting to sound like one of those bragging Christmas letters, little Johnnie is now the president of the cub scouts in North America and little Sally has been voted high school prom queen while in kindergarten and they will both attend Yale next year on a full ride scholarship, those kind of letters)

I’m grateful for my home and the ability to not live too close to people most of the time.  I’m grateful for all the “luck” and blessings that have enabled me to enjoy some(most) of lifes riches.

I’m grateful our relatives are still with us this year that were with us last year for the most part. I will miss Lester and Louella (my moms first cousin who married the widow of my dads best friend, got that?) because they were one of the links to my past.  I’m grateful that I was here when one of the closest family friends died.  I’m glad I got the opportunity to know our dog Mugsey.

I’m grateful I’ve sort of beat the fat genes that run in our family and have never seriously been over 160.  I shouldn’t say that because I will blossom (my brother has called me squatty body (say it it rhymes, he’s sometimes amusing, this isn’t one of those times) for years, we cant all be 6′4″ BRO!).  The last time I had a skinny woman ancestor was my great grandmother and her having no teeth may have had something to do with that?

I’m grateful for the man who is sleeping in my bed, (it’s my husband silly) and the dog who is sleeping in the chair, the dog sleeping on the porch, and the cat sleeping in the log cabin.

I’m grateful for the ability to overcome the health problems we have faced over the past year and the ability to “get healthy” disgusting and boring but we are doing it.  No drink, no smoke, no fatty foods, vegetables, very few sweets, sleep regularly, walk, drink water, blaaaahhhh.   BTW I never said I ever quit drinking, I’m the type of person who can have one and quit, or one potato chip.  I’m a sick sick puppy I know.  My husband will tell you how healthy he is and now he’s losing weight.  Did I mention the term ad nauseum?  I would never say those words? 

I’m grateful for the ability to go and stuff ourselves silly tomorrow with many of our close relatives and talk to the others. I am also grateful I can now distinguish most of  my grand-children’s voices over the phone and not call the boys by their mothers names which makes me NOT favorite grandma.  I’m also thankful we all have a way of making a living and/or our driving privledges left.  You know who I’m talking to.

Donnie Osmond won Dancing With The Stars and we missed it!  Sorry but I just couldn’t get behind Mya, I even sent a text vote for Kelley, first time I’ve ever done that and Johanna was GOOD and I think Derek is my nephew, that’s good and clean isn’t it?  When the show came on I thought it was the stupidest thing ever.  Now I’m usually pretty close with guessing how the judges are going to score the couples and how they will criticize them.  I know NOTHING about ballroom dancing or didn’t.  Just thought I”d throw that in there.

I’m grateful I learned how to spell quixote.

I’m on an angels on twitter list! Thanks Starlingpoet!  My family would say if she only knew me……..

I’d better quit.

Happy TURKEY DAY amigos!!

I wrote about Dispatches truck trip on animals that give pause.

Night:

No I didn’t find the keywords for adsense (did you know no matter how many ways you try to spell adsense spell check doesn’t like it? it’s late, sleeping pill already) $100 clicks or guaranteed clicking or SEO optimization (I’ve got so many meta this and key that I’m thinking google is going go off with a crazy crazy blog rejected when it crawls my blog). Now that I’ve made absolutely no sense and made you think I have no idea of what I’m talking about I will prove it!
Seriously I hit blogger gold the other day with some good links, I’m reading all these links, some I just found, some are old friends some from blog catalog.  So with no further preamble, (see I could write something sensible maybe, if I tried, if it was a good day and the meds kicked in?) here are my Blogging Gold Links for today. I’m warning my more conservative readers some of these sites curse and talk about bodily functions, that’s not ALL they are about though (what? you REALLY think I’m a sick puppy? Don’t answer that.) They are just what I’ve spent the most time on lately.
The Balance Beam
just kicken it around
Attack of the Redneck Mommy
Tampons and Chocolate

Of course there are my old friends,

Weather Vane

Squirrel Queen

Mizz Lily and

AL. I’ve left off Monaliza  for how to visualize and Mistaya’s M.O.M. in The  Life of a Rescued Pound Puppy but you can find all of these people in my links on Animals that give pause (paws, get it? I know bad pun or catchy name depending on how you look @ it or feel).
Also I love Percy’s Adventures (start @ the beginning of the blog and read forward) and I know I’m like the slowest person on the planet or was too busy to watch tv for years but I’m just now reading Dooce.

Morning:

Not a comprehensive list and I’ve found some really good blogging technique sites too but that will have to come later.
The Naturally Thin diet thing is going pretty well.  I’m further in the book where she gives more recipes.  Tonight we are having Mexican and people over so that will be a challenge.  Yesterday I had a large bowl of oatmeal, a banana, a protein drink, a baked potato and part of my husbands baked potato, and then a bit of tofu.  Yes I can eat tofu.  I put brown sugar on it, just a bit.  I was hungry for something about bedtime, probably cereal but I knew I didn’t need any more starch!

It was all good but I did dream last night I was picking up my car which suddenly turned inflatable to get over big rocks on a hillside driving through a pasture, @ the top of the other hill was a deer and I made fun of it, then there was another deer but it was an elk.  There were three elk all of a sudden and they were NOT happy with me (evidently you shouldn’t make fun of deer?).  Suddenly there was a building there and I tried to crawl under the porch but the elk could reach under there and they tried to strangle me with their antlers by trying to press my neck down.   I woke up then and no you can’t have my drugs.  I think I had the covers twisted around my neck pretty tight.  Didn’t go back to sleep for a bit after that one but vivid dreams are the norm for me.  I’m so used to my dead relatives being in them I don’t even think about it. Something about selling sewing machines and my MIL hadn’t sold one in so long she couldn’t find the book and it was ALL my fault too?  MIL doesn’t and has never had a job selling anything.

Now that I think about it I saw an angry deer on TV the other night.  I told my husband look out!  There’s a mad doe!  He was attacked by a mother deer once which was really funny because it all turned out well and my husband is this macho guy.  But that is a story for another day.

In case no one heard (I’ve been plastering it everywhere people say it’s cold) here in SE TX the ac just kicked on, 92 today but that isn’t the news, heat index is supposed to be 102 today, in October.  From what I gather that’s hot for here even.  Oh well.  Actually I feel sorry for the people who have to work outside.  We’ve pretty well come to the conclusion they don’t need weathermen down here @ least for the summer and anything close to summer.  Forecast is hot and it will probably rain sometime, if not today tomorrow and some of that rain will be heavy.  Basically that’s it from April through October evidently?

This award is based on friendship. My friend SquirrelQueen passed it on to me on her blog Through Squirrel Eyes . Thank you very much SquirrelQueen I am honored. I would like to change the rules and pass it back to who gave it to me but that’s not the idea!
These are the rules in accepting this award:

Deliver this award to eight bloggers who then must choose and deliver the award to eight more and include the following text into the award.

“These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.”

I would like to honor the following bloggers. As noted in the text above, my aim is to find them as friends. These are blogs that I hope everyone will visit and follow.

Oranmental, by Nina.

aMusings Blog, by aMusing.

Drawing and Painting, by Poet.

Hypnotic Visualization, by Monaliza.

Checkers The Peek A Poo, by Checkers.

A Majority of Two, by Jo.

Eduardo The Snuggle Puggle, by Eduardo.

My Fire Hydrant, by Bev and Bailey.

Once again thanks SquirrelQueen, and for those who read my other blog Animals that give pause I didn’t make a mistake, I won the award twice!!!

The award is:

1) a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.
2) to seek the reasons why we all love blogging.
And I received the award from……. Monaliza M. Amid she said it was for my beautiful garden home that inspires her to get one one day, my husbands and my combined hobby is our yard so that sentiment is very precious.

The aims of this award:

1. As a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.
2. To seek the reasons why we all love blogging.
3. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.
4. Don’t forget to mention the person who gives you the award.
5. Answer the award’s question by writing the reason why you love blogging.
6. Tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.
7. Don’t forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.

THE NENO’S AWARD IS NOW PASSED ON TO:

aMusings Blog because she makes me think.

Suze my cousin who doesn’t blog but should, hint hint.

My cousin Peggi who is a guest writer sometimes! She designs web sites, me blogging was her idea.

CJ @ ShoppingKharma because she give me courage.

AND the reasons I love blogging?

1. Exposure to new ideas through others comments and blogs and “meeting” so many interesting people. I’ve even had an author of a book comment on my Missouri Books when I wrote about his book, scary.
2. Ability to vent @ times or share what I’m thinking, I think my relatives and friends are rather relieved they don’t have so many lengthy emails to wade through, my daughter admits she scans them.
3. I can take pretty pictures and share.
4. I can share experiences.
5. I found I can write which I never thought I could do, sure if it was an ebay ad or I was venting I could write but I can actually write about any given subject, who knew? Mom would be proud, then she would correct my grammar. Maybe not in that order.
6. I can talk about my 3 favorite subjects, animals, books, and my views/stories, what more could you ask for?

TC

have been MEME tagged by SquirrelQueen.

Rules of the meme. Respond and rework. Answer questions on your own blog. Replace one question. Add one question. Tag 6 people, more or less. And here we go . . .

What are your current obsessions? Blogging, reading on facebook, FML if you’re on there, trying to get my house as organized as they seem to think I am @ work.
Which item from your wardrobe do you wear most often? 3 smocky t shirts from 2 summers ago.
Last dream you had? I was driving a semi (I can BTW) up the hill by the barn, my daughter was with me and she was going to drive when we got on highway (like I’m going to let that happen in real life?) I misjudged and hit my father in laws pickup which was sitting in front of the house we used to live in and knocked it forward, then I woke up.
Last thing you bought? Dog Collar and Leash for my Lab.
What are you listening to? Dogs barking @ imaginary intruders, probably cat like intruders.
Favorite holiday spots? Home with family, beach, mountains. I motel quite well with good movies and room service also.
Reading right now? I started the Tending Instinct.
Four words to describe yourself. OK, I’ll say what others have said, bubbly, outgoing, pollyanna, obsessive @ times.
Guilty pleasure? Computer in general, fudge brownies too.
Who or what makes you laugh until you’re weak? My husband, sometimes he’s trying to be funny.
Best spring thing to do? Getting the lawn looking like humans live here.
Favorite drink? Coffee with cream and Margaritas for fun.
What I’m afraid of? Snakes, bad bad storms, abandonment, clowns.
Favorite ever film? Two For The Road, Albert Finney, Audrey Hepburn
Care to share some wisdom? Don’t think your life is boring, things will change and it might not be!
Song you can’t get out of your head? Any teenybopper one from the 70s.
Something you are looking forward to? Going to Louisiana soon.
What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten? Fried bananas and cheese, my own creation.

And I am tagging … Drum roll please!!!

Monaliza @ hypnoticvisualization

K2comfort @ Ksquared Comfort

Carolyn @ dogs in my bed

MizLilly @ becoming an author….my journey

Crystal Jigsaw @ Crystal Jigsaw

rickbischoff @ rickbischoff rustic

I know some folk aren’t into this sort of game (probably the ones that don’t answer the 20 question emails!) so it’s up to you to pass it on or not, I was tagged so now you are if you so choose!

OK, here’s the link.
I’m still reading it but have lots of work to do evidently. SEO, and blogging ethics are about as far as I’ve gotten. This is a great how to site, how to use Digg, StumbleUpon, Technorati, what to really do to get your site noticed, besides writing good content of course. I could go on but I’m reading.
Now I need to go to enhanced image search on webmaster tools. Go to the link and you will find out all about it.
Happy SUNDAY!! Grandkids are here, I’ll have a post on my animals blog later.