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Sunday, January 29th 2012

7:27 PM

The low-rollers come out on top

AD, I couldn't comment over on your blog, so I'll put my comment here: While the notion of stuffing raw pork up my nose seems like a good idea, I worry it would make me sneeze. So far, my nosebleeds always stop using more recently traditional methods, but I'll keep this one in mind. Thanks for the tip. 

Animated kids' movies are perfect for watching at home on our TV. Whether it's BluRay or just streaming HD, they are magnificent. The colors are just so gorgeous. I'm watching "Tangled" right now. Hubs won't go see them with me in the theater, and he always falls asleep when I watch them at home, so I usually watch them after he's gone to bed. I think I've watched "Gnomeo and Juliet" about four times so far on Netflix streaming. I love the Elton John music, and all the inside jokes.

Hubs and I went north to a casino where I had a coupon for one night's stay for $20. I mean, $20! You can't beat that, right? We had a good time gambling, had a couple of good meals, and a good night's sleep, and we came away $255 to the good! That never happens to us. I look at slot machine gambling as a sometimes win-sometimes lose form of entertainment. Hubs and I play the same machine together, so we save money that way. But this was unusual for us to win that much. We definitely are not high rollers and don't bet much at a time. Pretty fun.

And lijebeck, they have a heckuva lot more snow up north than they do in our little valley. The roads were fine, but there is still a ton of snow in the fields up there. That's good for the winter wheat, that it.

And now it's back to reality tomorrow.
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Wednesday, January 25th 2012

7:46 PM

In which I go sports bananas

DD, I agree with you that people get too out of control when it comes to sports. I cheer out loud at the TV, but the lengths some people go to is just ridiculous. I was pulling for the Packers this year, just because I'd like to have seen them repeat. Last year's game was so great because I absolutely hate the Steal-ers. This year I don't have any real emotion about either team or players from either team, and that leads to one big yawn.

AD, you never hear that said because, as you said, you're not into sports. I watch a lot of live sports on TV, as well as listen to quite a bit of sports talk on radio and TV, and I read a ton of sports in a variety of newspapers, and online. My favorite radio shows are "The Dan Patrick Show" (simulcast on radio and TV) which is based in Milford, Conn., and "The Tony Kornheiser Show" which is based in Washington, D.C. I also watch "Pardon the Interruption" on ESPN, which is also based in D.C. (I listen to them every day via podcast a day late.) I read ESPN.com, SI.com and Grantland.com.

I don't know of any national sports talk shows based on the West Coast, and the regional shows are all in the big cities. For example, there are local talk radio shows that focus on the Seahawks and Mariners, but because I live so far from Seattle, I can't get those shows. 

The worst one of the bunch is TK (he just rails about it like crazy and even his PTI partner, Mike Wilbon constantly says TK has the proverbial "East Coast bias), but the others usually chime in as well. And because the majority of population is in the East, they all say the television ratings for a championship featuring two West Coast teams will be in the toilet. I don't know if they are or not, but that's what they say.

And from their perspective, when they say they aren't interested in two West Coast teams, I'm sure they're not making it up. But the opposite also is true. The columnists out here are giving a big ol' collective yawn at this year's Super Bowl matchup. And I am as well. I look forward to the games usually, but this is a matchup we've seen fairly recently, and ... I dunno. Just boring, boring, boring. 

In another example, Edgar Martinez has been eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame the last couple of years, but it's doubtful he'll ever get in, because he played his whole life in Seattle, and Seattle might as well be the middle of nowhere as far as the Eastern sportswriters are concerned. It's why my heart will forever belong to Bob Ryan, a sportswriter for the Boston Globe who also votes for the HOF, because he voted for Edgar and gave an impassioned commentary on TK's show about how he could not believe that Edgar didn't get more votes.

So yeah ... sports. It's an addiction. I love to hate it, sometimes. 

Lijebeck, our snow is just about gone. This morning I woke up to see grass visible in our yard for the first time in more than a week, and it's been so warm the last couple of days (mid 40s) that it will all be gone pretty soon. I'm really ready for some more now, though I think the white-knuckle drivers probably need a rest from driving in snow. We do need the snowpack up in the mountains, though, and it had been way too late in coming, so I hope we get a lot more, at least in the higher elevations, because it gets too much later in the season.

And now that everyone is thoroughly bored to tears with all the sports talk, I must move along now. There's nothing to see here.
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Friday, January 20th 2012

9:22 PM

Talkin' 'bout football and snow

Thanks for your most recent comments lijebeck and Afton.

Sorry Afton, but yes I can't stand that NO team. I cheered my guts out last year when the Hawks sent 'em packing and I cheered this year when SF gave 'em the boot. But I'm confident we can still be friends. 

lijebeck, I'm not a huge Pats fan, but I don't hate them. So that's something. If the Giants and the Pats are in the Super Bowl, that's going to be one damn boring game for me. Last year I was so invested because I absolutely HATE the Steal-ers and so I was pulling hard for GB. We had to watch the game in a hotel room because we were two hours north for hubs' skin cancer surgery the next day. I hope we can watch the game at home this year.

You know how everyone always says where there are two West Coast teams playing in either the World Series or the Super Bowl that no one will be interested? They mean no one in the East. And so when it's two teams from the East playing, a lot of us out here just aren't interested.

For example, that POS supposed National Championship this year? Holy cow, how terrible was that? We didn't even watch it. Who cares?

My goodness, I must stop talking about football before I have a coronary episode. 

So, in other news we have gotten some of the storms that have covered the PNW. We got some snow Monday, and then Tuesday it arrived in earnest. Then we had freezing rain and everything was coated in ice. It's been warming up a bit during the day, and that makes things even messier when it freezes hard again at night. There was just a lot of snow, which I have enjoyed, but which does make things harder for some people. I just like having something different. I do fine in the snow with my Forester, though I did drive to work at 15 mph the other morning.

I wish we could have had the best of the snow on the weekend so I could enjoy a nice walk in it. We got three more inches of fresh snow this morning, but it's supposed to start raining here soon. I hope we don't get any flooding.

Over where all my family lives, lots of people are without power, including some of my family members. They're on day two now, and it could be several more days. It's because of ice. So bummer for them.
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Sunday, January 15th 2012

7:58 PM

Missing all of them

I've been working over the last year or so scanning family photos. My father was a photographer all his life -- he proudly got his first 35 mm camera while he was in high school and he took a lot of photos of all of his cousins and aunts and uncles. He came from a very close-knit extended family, and all five of his aunts and uncles lived in the same neighborhood as his parents, so all the many, many cousins were back and forth to each others' houses all the time.

Because Dad took so many photos, we have a lot of photos of family that no one else in the family has. And, before I started scanning them and sharing them, many of my cousins had never seen photos of our great-aunts and great-uncles when they were younger and, most surprising, some of them had never seen a photo of our great-grandparents. That one blew me away.

So I'm lucky Dad took and saved so many photos. I love them.

However, every single dang time I get out the box to scan some more in, I can't help but cry. I miss all of them. I was looking at a photo of my sister (she's now 60, and she was a toddler in the photo) in the arms of one of my dad's first cousin, and it just hits me. It's not sad, particularly, but happy. I mean, we were all so close and all the greats and aunts and uncles and dad's cousins were so nice to us. I don't remember any of them ever being mean, or angry. I doubt I'd have the same patience as all of them did.

Anyway, they all bring back wonderful memories that make me cry. I miss them. I hope they're all having a good time together in heaven. 
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Saturday, January 14th 2012

5:46 PM

Time to move along again

Fantastic news, Sierra. Glad to hear you plan to start a new blog; can't wait to hear what's been going on in your life. 

OK, first off: Way to go, Niners! During the regular season, I don't pull for them because they're in the Seahawks' division, but once it's playoff time, this West Coast girl has to go with the West Coast team. Add that to my deep-seated hatred of that team from New Orleans, and I am pretty happy with the outcome of the first game today. I don't really care about any of the other games, now that the Steal-ers have been ousted.

Amazing game, no? Holy cow, I haven't seen one like that in some time. Wow.

Hubs and I went to a concert last night of Irish-Scottish folk music. There was a story in our newspaper about it and once I mentioned it to hubs, he was all for it. We both get a kick out of that kind of music, and these musicians were pretty funny with lots of stories and jokes from the stage in between songs. All in all, it was a great concert, and close to home and hassle-free, which is just the way I like it.

We went to our small college basketball doubleheader Thursday night and the women won but the men lost. What really sucked is the leading scorer for the women's team got taken out on a lay-in and now is out for probably 10 weeks, which means the end of her season. This team goes to the national tournament every year, and last year made the final four, but this injury probably means they won't go this year. Dang it.

There's another doubleheader tonight, but we've opted to watch football tonight instead. Instead of $14 to get into the game, we'll stay home and watch football for free (or at least a pro-rated cost of our cable subscription).

I'm reading Susan Orlean's book about Rin-Tin-Tin and now I want to watch one of his movies. Most of his movies were destroyed or left to decay so I'm not sure there are any of them left. What a drag.

Sometimes I'll read a story in the newspaper or in a book and just marvel at it. I wish I could write like that. I'm not talking about that florid crap that passes for literature. Some of that garbage just amazes me because I think people just get so caught up in their snobbishness they can't see the forest for the trees. I remember reading a passage that was just so ridiculous, it was embarrassing, and the person I was reading it too agreed, and he was very surprised when I told him who the author was (it was a local author who has had big national success and been nominated for a Pulitzer). Once authors are accepted as "important," people just tend to give them a pass and drool all over anything that comes from their fingers, without really paying attention to how bad it is.

Did anyone read the Washington Post/Sally Jenkins interview with Joe Paterno? What do you think?

I honestly don't know why everyone is going crazy over how Paterno should have done something when the freakin' police department there had a complaint lodged against JS by a mother of one of the boys in his charity program, and they did nothing. JS actually apologized to the mother for what he'd done and said he wished he was dead within the hearing of a police officer. And the police did nothing and the prosecutor did not bring charges. WTF? This happened in 1998 (read the entire grand jury report -- it's online, and should be read before forming any opinion). 

So where is the outrage for that? He was allowed to continue attacking children for years because they did nothing to stop it.

I really had tried to put this case out of my mind, because it really upsets me, and I'd stopped reading anything or following it, but that WaPo story just brought it all back. I can hardly stand to think about it, so I'm going to try to let it go again for now.
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Thursday, January 5th 2012

8:46 PM

Sunshine, blue skies and river walks

We have had some sunshiny days this week. I even got out and went for a walk along the river Tuesday. It was just so gorgeous I couldn't resist. It's the first time I've walked any distance since my knee surgery, and it was OK, though it was a little sore the next day. And today, I got a nice sharp, shooting pain that scared me quite a bit. But I had to walk, dang it! The sun ... it was shining! The sky ... it was blue!

I had a talk with my sister tonight about how we wish we'd done things differently when my dad was dying. We both agreed there were things we just didn't do because we were under such stress, but I really wish I had done a few things differently.

Dang, there was so much death right around then. It really was a drag.

I cannot for the life of me understand how anyone can really think the old "trickle down" theory is going to work. It didn't work when Ronnie Raygun was president and it ain't gonna work now. Rich people are going to keep their money. They're going to give as little as possible of it to you.
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Tuesday, January 3rd 2012

9:08 PM

I'll do whatever it takes to stop it

Thanks for the tip, DD.  Did you mean a humidifier instead of dehumidifier? Because I need more humidity in the air this time of year. I had another nosebleed tonight but it was a short one this time, like most of them are. 

There's no way I could lean over the toilet and just let my nose bleed. I tried that exactly once when I was a little kid (except I stood over the bathroom sink) and it would not stop. I finally got really scared and woke up my parents to help me get it stopped. They were discussing whether or not to take me to the hospital when it finally started to slow down and we eventually got it stopped. 

So I won't be trying that again. It was probably 40 years ago and it still scares me silly.

I have been missing my favorite daily radio show podcasts because they've been taking a break over the holidays. Tomorrow one of them will be back and the next day the other will return. I have several weekly podcasts I listen to but I'm missing my daily ones to make my days bearable.

"I beg your pardon; I never promised you a rose garden."
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Monday, January 2nd 2012

12:03 AM

Dream a little dream

Many thanks, Holliday, AD and CC, for the New Year wishes. The same right back to you! 

OK, so I've watched a few episodes of "Portlandia." Weird (just like Portland), but kind of funny. And really ... Portland deserves it. The only problem is I really hate Fred Armisen and I have since the first time I saw him on SNL. 

I had a worse-than-usual nosebleed tonight. Dang, I hate that. I always get a lot of nosebleeds, but this time of year, it's even worse. I think it's just because the air is so dry with the heat on indoors and being able to spend so little time outdoors. I always know it's bad when it won't stop after several minutes. I've had them since I was a little kid, and when I get a bad one, it's always kind of scary. I always wonder what happens if they don't stop.

This one was after hubs went off to bed, so I prepared to go tell him what was going on just in case. I mean, I'd hate to pass out or something and bleed to death while he's upstairs sleeping. That would be kind of a gory thing to wake up to. But it finally stopped, so I didn't have to wake him up, which I'm glad about because he tends to freak out about those kinds of things, and by freak out, I mean he'd want to take me to the hospital immediately.

We went to pick up MIL today to bring her back over here to have some pizza and watch football. I don't like her to sit home by herself on a holiday and I don't think anyone else in hubs' family gives it any thought. We don't really have to entertain her; I just don't like her to be alone in her apartment.

We always want her little dog to come as well because it gives the pooch a chance to run around our fenced yard. At the apartment, she always has to go out on a leash, so it's fun for her to get to race around the yard.

Last night I dreamed about my dad for the first time since he died. I used to dream about him a lot after he got sick. I'd dream about him and he could walk, which would always leave me a little sad, but also happy because I'd get to see him walk again.

But last night I dreamed he had come back to life. We had to go to the hospital and get him and he still couldn't walk great (he had to use a cane) but he walked out with my sister and I. I just was having a really hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that he had come back to life. I kept telling my sister that I didn't understand how that could be. My dad didn't seem to concerned and as we walked outside, he told us to just go home because he was going to his union hall where they were offering free computer classes.

When I woke up, that part of it just cracked me up because it didn't seem like he was that blown away about being alive again if he was heading off to take computer lessons. He was so matter-of-fact about it and I just could not get over the fact that he was alive again. I kept telling my sister, "But we buried him! I saw him in his casket!"

I had two friends tell me they had experiences after their dads died where they felt someone pat them on the arm while they were sleeping. One told me she believes when we dream about people who have died, it means they have passed over and are letting us know they're OK.

I dunno. I do take some comfort from dreaming about him again finally. I missed the dreams I used to have about him. I hope it happens again.
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Saturday, December 31st 2011

5:41 PM

Look at me, posting twice in two days

Have all of you seen this? Because I saw it a long time ago, and I still continue to go back and watch it over and over. Never fails to make me laugh and now I've been singing it all day.

Jimmy Fallon as Neil Young singing "Whip My Hair."

Hubs and I picked up MIL this morning at a little before 9 a.m. I don't know why hubs wanted to go out to breakfast so early (10 a.m. would have been great for me) but he did, and now I'm all tired out. We had a great time, though. We met hubs' brother and SIL there as well, so the five of us ate and visited for quite awhile. I had a coupon (I'm big on restaurant coupons) so we even ate fairly cheap.

After that, we went and looked at e-book readers and tablets. I want something (note I said want and not need). I shouldn't, but I still have Christmas money from my folks from two years ago that I never spent. It was the last year they gave us gifts, and I feel like I should save it for when we need it, but then again, I know they wanted me to buy something to enjoy, so that's why I'm leaning that way.

I've been going back and forth between something like a Kindle or Nook, and a Samsung Galaxy. I really want it to work well with Netflix, so I'll have to look around.

Then we went shopping, then back home where I am now cooking dinner for hubs. He wanted a T-bone steak, which was $10 a freakin' pound. I know better than to argue with him, but really. I would rather have had the Dungeness crab like we had last weekend again. I guess I could have gone surf and turf, but I just got a cheaper cut ($4.50 a pound) for myself. Dungeness is at the top of the season now and they're absolutely delicious. I won't eat any of the other crab like snow or king. They can't compare.

So looks like the steaks are about done. I already roasted some red potatoes so they're ready and I already made the salads, so time to eat!

Happy New Year to all!


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Friday, December 30th 2011

11:52 PM

Adding some sunshine

Sierra! I want to know how you are and how things are going for you! Please either update or start a new blog. LOL! I'm so glad you checked in.

Sorry everyone else ... I just really wanted to get her attention.

First off, thank you to all of you who have commented here and in emails to me. I feel bad because I don't mean to worry or upset anyone. And I have refrained from posting because I often don't feel like posting anything happy. So I've stayed away because whenever I think about posting, I just can't think of anything upbeat at that time. But I've decided I'm going to try to post more often and just let it out if it needs to come out. I haven't wanted to bring people down or worry anyone because I'm fine, but I think it really would help to pour it out here, so please don't be alarmed.

I am fine, but I am sad a lot of the time and I cry a lot. A lot. It's just a rough time, with everything that's happened so far. I just need to get stuff out. Getting the bad stuff out hopefully will let some good stuff come out as well.

CC, I'm sorry  you didn't have any good Christmases particularly. I keep my wonderful Christmas memories tucked away and I get them out every year, dust them off and they glow in my heart. I had the absolute best Christmases that any kid could have, and I don't mean just gifts. We got gifts, of course, but they rarely were expensive or huge (one year I got a used three-speed bike that my mom bought from a coworker). It was the effort my parents put out to make them special.

We had big extended family meals both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (not always at our house, but moved around to different aunts and uncles) and always went to midnight Mass as a family. Gifts from Santa always came in the night (and were left in our living room unwrapped), so Christmas morning was when we got those as well as opened our wrapped gifts from Mom and Dad and sibs. We'd wake at the crack of dawn and then creep around upstairs trying to be quiet, but not really so our parents would wake up and say it was time to go into the living room and see our gifts. We couldn't go in until Mom and Dad were up. We went around to my great-aunts' houses on Christmas Day and visited with all our cousins.

I swear, I don't know how my parents did it. They worked so hard to make it magical and special for us. It amazes me to this day.

This year hubs and I took his mom out to dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant for dinner. Then we took her downtown to the park where they wrapped all the trees and set up all kinds of other cool light displays. They have a gas fireplace there and tiled benches that are warmed, and holiday music playing over speakers. It's just a really cool place to hang out, and hubs' mom had never stopped (it's on a main drag, so it's impossible to not at least drive by it). At one point, they played "Christmas in Killarney" by the Irish Rovers and MIL started dancing a little jig (she's 75) and so did I, and I sang along as well, because I have a recording of Bing Crosby singing that and so I have every word memorized. Hubs couldn't believe it. He said he'd never seen his mom dance. So that was a good time. Definitely different from any of my childhood Christmases, but still good. 

Hubs said, "How do you know all the words? I've never even heard that song." I told him, "There's still a lot you don't know about me." Gotta keep 'em guessing.

I worked Dec. 26 even though that was our official holiday. I thought I'd have to work Jan. 2 as well, but things conspired so that I was able to work ahead enough tonight that I can have Monday off. I worked until 7 tonight to make it happen, so yay. Last week, several key people were on vacation so I knew I'd have to shoulder portions of their jobs (three different people/jobs) so I really had to get a jump on things, and I barely made it through Tuesday as it was.

Next week, no one's on vacation, so my Tuesday should be more manageable. So yay again.

OK, I'm done for awhile. And it's almost midnight so I'm going to bed. We're taking MIL out to breakfast tomorrow morning. Yawn.
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