Yes, that is The Dodger, from when we were all a bit younger--or not even thought of, in some cases!I'm tagging fellow Cowboys fans Robin and Opal, along with Carol, Dani, and Tabitha.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Desktop
I got tagged by Buck. The Meme is simple. Post your desktop photo. I have mine set to cycle every hour. This is the current desktop:
Yes, that is The Dodger, from when we were all a bit younger--or not even thought of, in some cases!
I'm tagging fellow Cowboys fans Robin and Opal, along with Carol, Dani, and Tabitha.
Yes, that is The Dodger, from when we were all a bit younger--or not even thought of, in some cases!I'm tagging fellow Cowboys fans Robin and Opal, along with Carol, Dani, and Tabitha.
Got Your Towel?
You're The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!
by Douglas Adams
Considered by many to be one of the funniest people around, you are
quite an entertainer. You've also traveled to the far reaches of what you deem possible,
often confused and unsure of yourself. Life continues to jostle you around like a marble,
but it's shown you so much of the world that you don't care. Wacky adventures continue to
lie ahead. Your favorite number is 42.
Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.
You have to have read the book to understand the towel comment.
Monday, April 14, 2008
A Surprise
We've had Katie for 12 years now. She is a well trained dog--not given to having accidents or to destructive behavior. I can leave her in the house all day and not worry that she will have torn anything up. Imagine my surprise when I got home from work and discovered this:
It had to have been Katie because she was the only one in the house. Rylea was outside. Yes, there are teeth marks in the blinds. I just can't imagine what possessed her to do this. I can't imagine her doing it at all as a matter of fact. It's just so not like her. The blinds themselves aren't that big a deal--they're cheap at Wal-Mart. It's just that this is such unusual behavior for Katie.
After the initial shock, I consoled myself with a little knitting and Talking Cowboys.
This is the second charity scarf I cast on yesterday. Lion Brand Fun Fur yarn in Raspberry and size 13 needles. These knit up really quickly.
Tonight's black belt class was a little weird. We started off going over seisan bunkai so that we could help teach it to the lower ranks. The last few minutes of class were spent going over kata. Joshua worked with the two brown belts on kusanku kata. And I -- I spent the class teaching bo kata to the one who beat me with it in the tournament. It just felt weird. She beat me with the kata on Saturday and now I'm teaching it to her. She said she couldn't remember how it went, so she'd added a few things, and left a few things out, and got through the kata the best she could.
"Yes," I said, "but you did it convincingly!"
I apologize if I sounded a bit like sour grapes in yesterday's post. Yeah, I was a bit upset about it. I did a good kata and yet I lost to someone who didn't even know the kata. But I'm over it now.
Mostly...
It had to have been Katie because she was the only one in the house. Rylea was outside. Yes, there are teeth marks in the blinds. I just can't imagine what possessed her to do this. I can't imagine her doing it at all as a matter of fact. It's just so not like her. The blinds themselves aren't that big a deal--they're cheap at Wal-Mart. It's just that this is such unusual behavior for Katie. After the initial shock, I consoled myself with a little knitting and Talking Cowboys.
This is the second charity scarf I cast on yesterday. Lion Brand Fun Fur yarn in Raspberry and size 13 needles. These knit up really quickly. Tonight's black belt class was a little weird. We started off going over seisan bunkai so that we could help teach it to the lower ranks. The last few minutes of class were spent going over kata. Joshua worked with the two brown belts on kusanku kata. And I -- I spent the class teaching bo kata to the one who beat me with it in the tournament. It just felt weird. She beat me with the kata on Saturday and now I'm teaching it to her. She said she couldn't remember how it went, so she'd added a few things, and left a few things out, and got through the kata the best she could.
"Yes," I said, "but you did it convincingly!"
I apologize if I sounded a bit like sour grapes in yesterday's post. Yeah, I was a bit upset about it. I did a good kata and yet I lost to someone who didn't even know the kata. But I'm over it now.
Mostly...
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Tournaments
Cody used to compete in karate tournaments all the time. A few years ago, though, he just seemed to lose interest. Last year he wanted to start competing again, but I just didn't have the money. This year, since I got such a big tax return, I told him that if he wanted to compete again, I'd set aside the money for his entrance fees. The first tournament of the spring season was actually last month, but we forgot all about it.
Yesterday, we remembered. Somehow I'd managed to promise sensei that I would compete. Why I don't know. I've never competed in a tournament before, so it was a first for me. I woke up that morning wondering why I'd ever told him that I would compete. When all was said and done, I still wondered why I'd told him I would compete, because I finished dead last in both of my divisions. Those judges don't know a good kata if one hit them upside the head. I mean, in my weapons division, another competitor did the same bo kata as I did and she totally messed it up. I mean, I was feeling sorry for her for doing such a bad job on it, yet wonder of wonders, she won first place. My bo kata wasn't perfect, but at least I made it through without stopping and going "wait a minute" and looking all confused, yet I placed last in the division.
Once I was done with that, I was asked to help judge kata--also a new experience for me. I actually enjoyed that more than anything else. Some of the kids I got to judge were only 4 to 5 years old. They were so cute! They were the first ones who competed, and I wasn't sure how to score them. I was sitting beside Sensei, so I listened to what he was giving them, and tried to pick a score not too far off from his. After a while, I got the hang of it, and really enjoyed myself.
After kata was done, came the sparring. I didn't have to help judge that because sparring only takes three judges, while kata takes five. (I didn't have to help judge weapons either, because not all of the people compete in weapons and they had enough judges.)
I was finally able to take some pictures.
Cody fought this kid, and was eliminated right away. This kid was really good, and ended up winning the division.
I told Cody that at least he lost to the one that won it all. He's been out of the tournament loop for quite a while. By next month, he ought to be better prepared.
I took yarn to knit while I was there, but didn't really have time to do anything. So I cast on this charity scarf after I got home and finished it up this afternoon.
The actual scarf is a deep purple--much darker than this shows. I took a picture out in the sunlight, but it looked blue. I don't know what was up with that.
Today the weather turned cold again, so I spent the afternoon watching DVDs and knitting. After finishing the purple scarf, I cast on another just like it in hot pink. No pictures, yet.
Maybe tomorrow.
Yesterday, we remembered. Somehow I'd managed to promise sensei that I would compete. Why I don't know. I've never competed in a tournament before, so it was a first for me. I woke up that morning wondering why I'd ever told him that I would compete. When all was said and done, I still wondered why I'd told him I would compete, because I finished dead last in both of my divisions. Those judges don't know a good kata if one hit them upside the head. I mean, in my weapons division, another competitor did the same bo kata as I did and she totally messed it up. I mean, I was feeling sorry for her for doing such a bad job on it, yet wonder of wonders, she won first place. My bo kata wasn't perfect, but at least I made it through without stopping and going "wait a minute" and looking all confused, yet I placed last in the division.
Once I was done with that, I was asked to help judge kata--also a new experience for me. I actually enjoyed that more than anything else. Some of the kids I got to judge were only 4 to 5 years old. They were so cute! They were the first ones who competed, and I wasn't sure how to score them. I was sitting beside Sensei, so I listened to what he was giving them, and tried to pick a score not too far off from his. After a while, I got the hang of it, and really enjoyed myself.
After kata was done, came the sparring. I didn't have to help judge that because sparring only takes three judges, while kata takes five. (I didn't have to help judge weapons either, because not all of the people compete in weapons and they had enough judges.)
I was finally able to take some pictures. 
Cody fought this kid, and was eliminated right away. This kid was really good, and ended up winning the division. 
I told Cody that at least he lost to the one that won it all. He's been out of the tournament loop for quite a while. By next month, he ought to be better prepared. I took yarn to knit while I was there, but didn't really have time to do anything. So I cast on this charity scarf after I got home and finished it up this afternoon.
The actual scarf is a deep purple--much darker than this shows. I took a picture out in the sunlight, but it looked blue. I don't know what was up with that.
Today the weather turned cold again, so I spent the afternoon watching DVDs and knitting. After finishing the purple scarf, I cast on another just like it in hot pink. No pictures, yet.
Maybe tomorrow.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
It's Time
It can't be avoided any longer.
It'll take both of us to do it, but it must be done. It won't be done without sweat, tears, and yes, even a little blood, but it must be done.
There's no putting it off any longer. We must steel our resolve, set our wills, hitch up our britches and get her done.
It's time to put flea stuff on the cat.
Squeaky says, "Bring it on!"
It'll take both of us to do it, but it must be done. It won't be done without sweat, tears, and yes, even a little blood, but it must be done.
There's no putting it off any longer. We must steel our resolve, set our wills, hitch up our britches and get her done.
It's time to put flea stuff on the cat.
Squeaky says, "Bring it on!"
Thursday, April 10, 2008
More NFL Nicknames
Mr Darnall, of Shutdown Corner, has finally posted the next entry in his list of nicknames for NFL players. I'd begun to think he'd abandoned the idea. This post highlights the AFC North division. He chose the following nicknames:
Granite Reed , Burger Hampton, Paddles Winslow, and Cornhole Palmer
So far, I am as unimpressed with these as I was with the first ones he came up with. In case you've forgotten, I'll list them again:
AFC East:
Doo Doo Brown, Koolaid Maroney, Dusty Rhodes, Beast Mode Lynch.
AFC South:
Meathooks Johnson, Junkyard Jones-Drew, Mount Haynesworth, Sawed-Off Sanders
I just hope he doesn't wait another month to post the next entry, or this series may take a while.
Granite Reed , Burger Hampton, Paddles Winslow, and Cornhole Palmer
So far, I am as unimpressed with these as I was with the first ones he came up with. In case you've forgotten, I'll list them again:
AFC East:
Doo Doo Brown, Koolaid Maroney, Dusty Rhodes, Beast Mode Lynch.
AFC South:
Meathooks Johnson, Junkyard Jones-Drew, Mount Haynesworth, Sawed-Off Sanders
I just hope he doesn't wait another month to post the next entry, or this series may take a while.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Karate
Sensei's older daughter is pregnant. Last night, her mother had to take her to the hospital. Sensei didn't say what was going on, and I didn't pry. He stayed at the dojo, but was tasked with watching his two youngest children and his grandson. They are from 3-6 years old. That means that, though he popped in and out, I had the adult class to myself for the most part.
The first half consisted of doing a few basics to warm up, then we went over all of our kata. I split the class into two groups--higher ranks and lower ranks. I had each group come out in turn and do kata--up to the highest one they knew.
After a quick break, Barrett took the majority of the class and worked with them on their next kata--which was niahanchi. Sensei took two of the brown belts into the back and worked on stuff with them, while I had the rest of the class.
"Oh, no!" I said to sensei, "you're leaving me with The Mouth!" Sensei kind of laughed, and I said, "Maybe Mrs. W can deal with The Mouth, that way I won't have to. She can teach him the first part of his next kata."
"No," sensei replied. "I want one of us to teach. That way we'll know that the students are being taught correctly." Now, he doesn't mean to say that the way she does things is wrong, but we need to make sure our students are taught things the way we do them.
"What am I going to do with her, then...I know! I'll work with her on Urashi Bo and let Brad teach The Mouth the first part on seiunchin kata."
"That'll work," sensei agreed. So that's what we did. I went over and over Urashi Bo with Mrs. W, while supervising Brad and The Mouth at one end of the dojo and Cody working on his two highest kata at the other end. And that was class.
After class, I came home and took some Benadryl and went to bed. I hate taking Benadryl because, though it works wonders on allergic reactions, I feel groggy for about 12 hours after I've taken it. The poison Ivy is much better today. The rash is still there, but it isn't itching as much.
No pictures today. I spent this evening reinstalling my drivers on my computer. And watching Magnum P.I.
I had a weird dream the other night. I dreamed that the lady who bought my old trailer house called me up and wanted me to take her somewhere so she could get her hair done. So being the kindly person I am, I did so.
Strange dreams abound in my life...
The first half consisted of doing a few basics to warm up, then we went over all of our kata. I split the class into two groups--higher ranks and lower ranks. I had each group come out in turn and do kata--up to the highest one they knew.
After a quick break, Barrett took the majority of the class and worked with them on their next kata--which was niahanchi. Sensei took two of the brown belts into the back and worked on stuff with them, while I had the rest of the class.
"Oh, no!" I said to sensei, "you're leaving me with The Mouth!" Sensei kind of laughed, and I said, "Maybe Mrs. W can deal with The Mouth, that way I won't have to. She can teach him the first part of his next kata."
"No," sensei replied. "I want one of us to teach. That way we'll know that the students are being taught correctly." Now, he doesn't mean to say that the way she does things is wrong, but we need to make sure our students are taught things the way we do them.
"What am I going to do with her, then...I know! I'll work with her on Urashi Bo and let Brad teach The Mouth the first part on seiunchin kata."
"That'll work," sensei agreed. So that's what we did. I went over and over Urashi Bo with Mrs. W, while supervising Brad and The Mouth at one end of the dojo and Cody working on his two highest kata at the other end. And that was class.
After class, I came home and took some Benadryl and went to bed. I hate taking Benadryl because, though it works wonders on allergic reactions, I feel groggy for about 12 hours after I've taken it. The poison Ivy is much better today. The rash is still there, but it isn't itching as much.
No pictures today. I spent this evening reinstalling my drivers on my computer. And watching Magnum P.I.
I had a weird dream the other night. I dreamed that the lady who bought my old trailer house called me up and wanted me to take her somewhere so she could get her hair done. So being the kindly person I am, I did so.
Strange dreams abound in my life...
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Brevity
Brief post today because I am so sleepy I can hardly stand it! I was working in the yard Sunday and got into some poison ivy. I've woken up two or three times the last couple of nights just itching. I've been using the topical Benadryl cream, but tonight I think I'm going to take some regular Benadryl. Maybe that'll help.
Here is another of my composition photos:
There are several composition rules discussed in the first lesson. I'm going to try to get examples of each one. I don't know when I will get to it, though. It's supposed to start raining tonight and rain for the rest of the week.
Oh Joy.
Here is another of my composition photos:
There are several composition rules discussed in the first lesson. I'm going to try to get examples of each one. I don't know when I will get to it, though. It's supposed to start raining tonight and rain for the rest of the week.
Oh Joy.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Photography Course
Blog Buddy Ashley mentioned an online photography course that she is working her way through. After much intense questioning and threats of torture, she cracked and let slip where this course can be found. Ok, really, I just asked and she was happy to tell me.
I have loved photography since I was 4 years old and my daddy gave me my very first camera. It was an old Polaroid (I think) 110 instamatic. Anyone else remember those? I took pictures of everything. When I got a little older, I began swiping my dad's Pentax K1000 Single Lens Reflex, and eventually bought one of my own.
A few years ago, I dipped my toe into the digital photography world and bought a Kodak EasyShare CX6330 point and shoot. Like my instamatic of old, it took decent pictures, but didn't quite do all that I wanted it to. After wanting one for years, I took the plunge into the Digital SLR world. I bought one of the lower end DSLRs--mainly because it's all I can afford--but it's a decent camera. I'm happy with it, though I'm still figuring out how to work all the bells and whistles.
Still, I've always felt that there was something missing from my photos. I felt that they lacked a certain quality that I see in other people's photos. I'm hoping this course can help me figure out what that quality is and improve my photography skills.
The first assignment was to take some abstract photos based on some of the compositional rules discussed in the lesson. These are my first attempts. Let me make my excuses first by saying that abstract is not my strong suit, and that I don't have a macro lens on my camera. I can still take some pretty close up shots, but I have to focus manually, and well, I'm blind as a bat--even with my glasses on. Therefore the focus on these photos is questionable. (I'm so blind I can't even tell if they are in focus, so help me out here!)
1.
2.
3.
Can you guess what these are? I think I'll work on this assignment a little more. I think I've got a fairly good grasp of composition. It's the abstract thing that's throwing me.
I have loved photography since I was 4 years old and my daddy gave me my very first camera. It was an old Polaroid (I think) 110 instamatic. Anyone else remember those? I took pictures of everything. When I got a little older, I began swiping my dad's Pentax K1000 Single Lens Reflex, and eventually bought one of my own.
A few years ago, I dipped my toe into the digital photography world and bought a Kodak EasyShare CX6330 point and shoot. Like my instamatic of old, it took decent pictures, but didn't quite do all that I wanted it to. After wanting one for years, I took the plunge into the Digital SLR world. I bought one of the lower end DSLRs--mainly because it's all I can afford--but it's a decent camera. I'm happy with it, though I'm still figuring out how to work all the bells and whistles.
Still, I've always felt that there was something missing from my photos. I felt that they lacked a certain quality that I see in other people's photos. I'm hoping this course can help me figure out what that quality is and improve my photography skills.
The first assignment was to take some abstract photos based on some of the compositional rules discussed in the lesson. These are my first attempts. Let me make my excuses first by saying that abstract is not my strong suit, and that I don't have a macro lens on my camera. I can still take some pretty close up shots, but I have to focus manually, and well, I'm blind as a bat--even with my glasses on. Therefore the focus on these photos is questionable. (I'm so blind I can't even tell if they are in focus, so help me out here!)
1.
2.
3.
Can you guess what these are? I think I'll work on this assignment a little more. I think I've got a fairly good grasp of composition. It's the abstract thing that's throwing me.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Meme Answers
I guess no one is interested in playing anymore, so here are the answers.
1. Don't leave me here alone. Don't go where I can't follow.--Lord of the Rings: Return Of The King, Sam said it to Frodo
2.They don't belong to the state they belong to ME! When they were babies I never saw the state comin' around here with a spare tit! Shenandoah--Robin
3. It's the world, dear. Did you expect it to be small?--The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Mrs. Beaver said it to Susan
4.My sons were better men. The Patriot--Robin
5.You mistake me, my dear. I have the utmost respect for your nerves. They've been my constant companion these twenty years. Pride and Prejudice--Tiffany
6. This is no time to talk about time. We don't have the time!--Star Trek: First Contact--Counselor Deanna Troi to Ryker
7. There's way too much estrogen on television these days. --What Women Want, Nick Marshall
8. No buts about it... I'm dealing with enough butts as it is.--The Rookie, Jim Morris to his son while changing his infant daughter's diaper
9. I don't know where we're goin', but there's no sense bein' late.--Quigley Down Under--Matthew Quigley to Crazy Cora
10. The dead remember our indifference. The dead remember our silence.--Air Force One, President Marshall in a speech
So there you have it. That's the answers.
1. Don't leave me here alone. Don't go where I can't follow.--Lord of the Rings: Return Of The King, Sam said it to Frodo
2.
3. It's the world, dear. Did you expect it to be small?--The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Mrs. Beaver said it to Susan
4.
5.
6. This is no time to talk about time. We don't have the time!--Star Trek: First Contact--Counselor Deanna Troi to Ryker
7. There's way too much estrogen on television these days. --What Women Want, Nick Marshall
8. No buts about it... I'm dealing with enough butts as it is.--The Rookie, Jim Morris to his son while changing his infant daughter's diaper
9. I don't know where we're goin', but there's no sense bein' late.--Quigley Down Under--Matthew Quigley to Crazy Cora
10. The dead remember our indifference. The dead remember our silence.--Air Force One, President Marshall in a speech
So there you have it. That's the answers.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Blue Saturday Skies
smiling at me. Nothing but blue Saturday Skies do I see...
Ok, and a green leafy tree to break up the monotony. After a solid week of clouds, I was glad to see the sun come out--even if it took until nearly sunset for it to appear.
The leaf I posted last week looks like this now.
And the iris are blooming. I don't have many of them in my yard, and the ones I have are a real treasure.
The iris was my dad's favorite flower. He liked the blue ones, though. I tried growing several different varieties of them, but they've all died. Except for these white ones, which ironically enough, grow wild here. Which also, ironically enough, is probably why I haven't killed them yet. I tried gardening many years ago, when Cody was small and I hadn't lived here very long. I had iris, roses, coneflowers, daisies, gladiolus, crocuses, tulips, lilies, and several other varieties of flowers in my gardens. It didn't take long for me to realize that gardening just wasn't my strong suit and I'd be better off just enjoying the flowers that God planted for me.
So I do. And I hope you've enjoyed them, too.
Ok, and a green leafy tree to break up the monotony. After a solid week of clouds, I was glad to see the sun come out--even if it took until nearly sunset for it to appear.The leaf I posted last week looks like this now.
And the iris are blooming. I don't have many of them in my yard, and the ones I have are a real treasure.
The iris was my dad's favorite flower. He liked the blue ones, though. I tried growing several different varieties of them, but they've all died. Except for these white ones, which ironically enough, grow wild here. Which also, ironically enough, is probably why I haven't killed them yet. I tried gardening many years ago, when Cody was small and I hadn't lived here very long. I had iris, roses, coneflowers, daisies, gladiolus, crocuses, tulips, lilies, and several other varieties of flowers in my gardens. It didn't take long for me to realize that gardening just wasn't my strong suit and I'd be better off just enjoying the flowers that God planted for me.
So I do. And I hope you've enjoyed them, too.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Rain, Rain Go Away!
It has rained all day long. And I mean all. day. long. And thus ends a week of it raining every single day. And I mean every. single. day. But it is supposed to clear up tomorrow, and we will have three days of sunshine before it starts raining again. Tuesday.
Tuesday it is forecast to start raining again. And it is predicted to rain Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. That's as far as my forecast goes.
But don't let me rain on your parade.
I thought and thought about what to do with my toe up socks. I searched and searched for a pattern, but in the end, I decided that the coloring of the yarn was just too strong. It would overwhelm any pattern I knit into the socks, so I will just do a plain foot and a garter rib leg.
Well, my meme has been posted for an entire week, and only two people have guessed any of my quotes. They've only gotten three. I guess my quotes were too hard! I'll give you a couple more days, then I'm going to reveal the answers.
I've been a member of Netflix for a year now, and I don't know why I ever waited so long to sign up. I am totally enjoying this. Most of what we've been watching is old TV shows. Here just a few days ago, I was able to see the original Star Trek episode Space Seed. It's made me want to watch The Wrath Of Khan.
Which I think I will do.
Live long and prosper.
Tuesday it is forecast to start raining again. And it is predicted to rain Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. That's as far as my forecast goes.
But don't let me rain on your parade.
I thought and thought about what to do with my toe up socks. I searched and searched for a pattern, but in the end, I decided that the coloring of the yarn was just too strong. It would overwhelm any pattern I knit into the socks, so I will just do a plain foot and a garter rib leg.
Well, my meme has been posted for an entire week, and only two people have guessed any of my quotes. They've only gotten three. I guess my quotes were too hard! I'll give you a couple more days, then I'm going to reveal the answers.
I've been a member of Netflix for a year now, and I don't know why I ever waited so long to sign up. I am totally enjoying this. Most of what we've been watching is old TV shows. Here just a few days ago, I was able to see the original Star Trek episode Space Seed. It's made me want to watch The Wrath Of Khan.
Which I think I will do.
Live long and prosper.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)