NaBloWriMo #18~~Free Reading~~

Last week I won a phone reading from a psychic...yes, a REAL LIVE psychic. Not like 99 cents a minute either. She does readings on line and she's also a team mate from an online handmade site...do your own homework, I'm not gonna do it for ya, ya lazy bums. 

Well, I had it on Thursday. She was a bit late but it was the phone company's fault...

She reminded me of my husband's cousin...they have the same accent. oy.

She used the DruidCraft Tarot mostly:
And the Silver Era Tarot:

Neato decks. I haven't found MY deck yet...
She wanted to know about what "Historical Accuracy" meant to me...
well, I'm a writer, non-published, and I research the SHITE out of things. 
Even if it's fantasy, I wanna know all that I can about what I'm writing about so that I can describe it accurately.  

She also wanted to know about a lake that was near me. 
I walk at a pond near the house and some of those musings were what made up my most recent novel I'm writing.
She said that I should start doing that again cuz I seem to be blocked and that would help get it going forward.

She went on to say about DH and DS and MIL and SIL...

She ALSO mentioned a female that had passed over in her early 50's with the last name that had a D in it. 
My mother's maiden name had a D in it and she bit the dust 2 days before her 54th bday.

Before you go off on Cold readings and all  that, she had a few more surprises...

Another person that hangs around had a fluffy mutt:
I have my Great Grandmother's taxidermied dog Kinxsie in the cellar. Long story. My Great Grandmother was the one who got me started on the crafting trail.
An older man with Blue Eyes and Blue energy:
My grandfather was the only one in the direct family with blue eyes and one of his Masonic Lodges was the Blue Lodge.
The last one that really absolutely floored me was that there was a man around that had something to do with trains:
My great grandfather, who died in 1950, used to work at a train crossing in my town. Only my friends knew that. 

Freakin freaky isn't it?

I've HAD a cold reading done and watched them being done. I've seen Sylvia Browne, John Edward, James Van Praagh, and good old Miss Cleo. I watch the Mentalist faithfully and understand people's tells when a comment hits the mark. 

I'm a skeptic until proven otherwise and I DO believe in this gal. You KNOW who you ARE!

NaBloWriMo #17~~American Horror Story for Reals~~

Well it started out as one would have expected...messed up!!

Little Latex boy from last season(Tate) played by Evan Peters is a new character.
Jessica Lange is as deliciously evil as she was last year, being a sadistic nun.
Zachary Quinto didn't show up yet. But he was AWESOME last year as part of a gay couple.
Lily Rabe (Nora) the wife of the loony psycho Dr Frankenstein wanna be, is playing a nun.
James Cromwell is new and playing a doctor who makes Nora's hubby look like a boy scout.
Joseph Fiennes plays a Catholic Monsignor.

There's a couple of other new characters, too...We'll see how this unfolds.
Adam Levine was in the first episode too. He sorta got into an armed robbery so to say...

Instead of a creepy gothic house with really neat stained glass in bright sunny California, it's now set in a creepy gothic asylum for the criminally insane...Insane is certainly true.  There's sexual suppression, alien abduction, complete nut jobs, lesbians and all sortsa other lunacy.


I might just enjoy this one even more than last season.  I've read a couple of reviews on line where they didn't like it:
It was too slow.
Poorly acted...
How many liked the first season after the first episode. I mean it's not like this is Mob Doctor or Animal Hospital or any of the other crap that gets cancelled after the first episode.

As for me, I'll be staying up late for the nightmare induction of Asylum. But for now, here's from here.



And it's set on MY coast...hmm. We're typical for creepy asylums...There's one in Danvers, right near where the Witch Trials were. Built in 1878, it closed in 92, only 20 years ago. Eek. The frontal lobotomy was special of the day there.

It's rumoured to be haunted, no shit! Flickering lights, apparitions, footsteps and doors that open and close by themselves...
There was one in Worcester too. It was built even before Danvers,(1870) and closed in 1991.


This one I didn't know about but it's rumoured to be haunted as well. I'm gonna take folks' word on that.
It's in Taunton. I guess it was a hop, skip and jump away from Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen on the atrocity scale.  There were "blood baths" don't even wanna know, and shock therapy. It was sposta have cured the inmates by the green and serenity, but there were murders and suicides galore.  Allegedly you can hear the screams of the escapees who got caught, lights flickering and hands in the windows.


There's sites and books on some of these and other asylums in the States. So feel free to look them up...I've done my part to freak you all out.

NaBloWriMo #16~~Cross THIS off my Bucket List~~

Holy Crap!! There was a bit of an earth shaker, t'other night...For reals, not just a metaphor either...And it wasn't David Ortiz sliding into base.

I was sitting at the dining room table, minding my own beeswax, playing Bingo on Facebook...I know too thrilling for words.

My arm, I thought, started shaking...huh? I don't have Parkinson's or Huntington's Chorea or St Vitus' Dance or any of those...But the time I figured it out, the screen door was flailing on it's hinges, the inside door  was rattling around and the windows were shaking...HOLY SHIT!!

The sound was like a B-17 or a C-130 going over around treetop level. It was most like the rolling of thunder without the lightning...Just look at the SIZE of these things!!!



New England isn't exactly the Earthquake capital of the world, thank the Gods, but we DO get them every now and again.  This was the first time I actually felt it too.

Earthquakes are rare in New England but they're not unheard of. In 2006 there was a series of earthquakes around Maine's Acadia National Park, including one with a magnitude of 4.2 that caused boulders to fall from ledges onto Acadia National Park's loop road. One of the park's trails was closed for three years because of damage from the quake.The strongest earthquake recorded in Maine occurred in 1904 in the Eastport area, near the state's eastern border with Canada, according the Weston Observatory at Boston College. With a magnitude estimated at 5.7 to 5.9, it damaged chimneys and brick walls and could be felt in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.East Coast quakes are rarely strong enough to be felt over a wide area. A quake of magnitude 5.8 on Aug. 23, 2011, was centered in Virginia and felt all along the coast, including in New York City and Boston. Experts say the region's geology can make the effects felt in an area up to 10 times larger than quakes of similar size on the West Coast.

We had a decent sized one in August of last year that was centred in Virginia. A friend down there who makes carved eggs lost most of his inventory, unfortunately. I didn't feel anything.
This one was closer, near Portland, Maine. My sister in an outlaying region of Boston felt it. She said it was like her house was "undulating." Her ex MIL felt it in Rhode Island too. My SIL in Laconia felt it too. My DH in the other room didn't hear/feel anything, nor did my DS who was wandering with a pack of friends. sheesh. Ruddy oblivious human males. pfft.

Originally they said it was a 4.5, but down graded it to a 4.0...
http://www.wickedlocal.com/weymouth/topstories/x1292876872/Local-police-get-plenty-of-calls-after-quake-shakes-South-Shore#axzz29fNhJ1gD

"Experts say the region's geology can make the effects felt in an area up to 10 times larger than quakes of similar size on the West Coast."
That makes me feel more secure...NOT!!!

NaBloWriMo #15~~Swing from the Dinner Gong~~

Well, I haven't had much to say for the past couple of days...
Hadta take DS to the pediatrician for his annual checkup. He's 19 but still can go to the pediatrician. He can go til his 26! He's now 5'10" and 160 pounds. I can still lift him...he TRIES to lift me.  I'm over 200 pounds of attitude.

DH was getting a tooth filled in town...so he was off when we got home.

DS wound up going out with friends while I stayed home and made "cheese ends." It's mac and cheese made with the deli ends of cheese. It's yummy and yummier depending on the type of cheese I get.

I try and make it on Monday nights cuz DH works Monday nights and Mac and Cheese of any type is not his fave.

My version is sorta like the Greek Dish called Pastitsio. It has a Bechamel sauce, which is sorta like an Egg Custard. It's very good.

Since you MIGHT ask, here's how you do it:
Cook Pasta according to package directions. Drain and let sit.  In Pasta Pot, melt butter. Add Flour and cook until golden, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually add Milk, continuing to stir until smooth. Remove pan from heat. Whip Eggs in a bowl until frothy. You can use a blender or a food processor, but I use a wire whip...SLOWLY add 2 Cups of Milk mixture and beat well. Gradually return Egg/Milk mixture to Pasta Pot, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and thick...Return to medium low heat. Add Salt and Pepper and Nutmeg. 
This part takes FOREVER!!! It's at LEAST 10-20 minutes before it cooks and you do have to keep stirring or you burn it... 
I'm usually ready to give up and send for takeout by now. LOL But at that point it thickens up...an easy way to tell is when you're stirring and you can see the bottom of the pan. And it feels like you're stirring pudding... 

Mix everything together...This the easiest way to make it... 
Pour into a Greased 10X15 baking dish. Spread evenly and pat down. Add Grated Cheese to cover the top of the Pasta mixture. Sprinkle with Paprika to make it pretty. 

Bake at 350 for an hour or until top is Golden and Puffed. Cool for 20 minutes before cutting... 

Makes 8 Servings. 

The real Pastitsio has meat and sauce. DS is fussy and doesn't like sauce...but it's still good.

NaBloWriMo #14~~Whatever Happened to "Secret" Ballots?~~

The newest and worst of the scare tactics that some business owners are going to to make sure that their employees are toe-ing the line is really just pissing me off.

A second CEO has declared that if his employees dare to vote for Obama that they are gonna lose their jobs.  Come ON!!! That is so NOT FAIR!!!

The first Bastage sent an email to all his employees:

Subject: Message from David Siegel
Date:Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:58:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: [David Siegel]
To: [All employees]
To All My Valued Employees,
As most of you know our company, Westgate Resorts, has continued to succeed in spite of a very dismal economy. There is no question that the economy has changed for the worse and we have not seen any improvement over the past four years. In spite of all of the challenges we have faced, the good news is this: The economy doesn’t currently pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is another 4 years of the same Presidential administration. Of course, as your employer, I can’t tell you whom to vote for, and I certainly wouldn’t interfere with your right to vote for whomever you choose. In fact, I encourage you to vote for whomever you think will serve your interests the best.
However, let me share a few facts that might help you decide what is in your best interest.
[...]
So where am I going with all this? It’s quite simple. If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company. Rather than grow this company I will be forced to cut back. This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.So, when you make your decision to vote, ask yourself, which candidate understands the economics of business ownership and who doesn’t? Whose policies will endanger your job? Answer those questions and you should know who might be the one capable of protecting and saving your job. While the media wants to tell you to believe the “1 percenters” are bad, I’m telling you they are not. They create most of the jobs. If you lose your job, it won’t be at the hands of the “1%”; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country.

How the HELL can he even do that and sleep at night?!

Now this second Asshat has stepped up to the throne of douche-baggery, also sending his employees an email:

Many of you have been with ASG for over 5, 10, 15, and even 20 years. As you know, together, we have been able to keep ASG an independent company while still growing our revenues and customers. But I can tell you, if the US re-elects President Obama, our chances of staying independent are slim to none. I am already heavily involved in considering options that make our independence go away, and with that all of our lives would change forever. I believe that a new President and administration would give US citizens and the world the renewed confidence and optimism we all need to get the global economies started again, and give ASG a chance to stay independent. If we fail as a nation to make the right choice on November 6th, and we lose our independence as a company, I don’t want to hear any complaints regarding the fallout that will most likely come. [...]
I am asking you to give us one more chance to stay independent by voting in a new President and administration on November 6th. Even then, we still might not be able to remain independent, but it will at least give us a chance. If we don’t, that chance goes away.

To the best of my rather limited knowledge, voting is sposta be a private, secret, thing. There is NO WAY that an employer can threaten, even INDIRECTLY, your jobs if you don't vote HIS way! 

Another blogger wrote this way back in '06:

Talk about coercion usually centers on lead-pipe scenarios, where somebody issues a direct threat to a voter. Nice kneecaps you have there … be a shame if something unfortunate should happen to them.
But coercion needn’t be so direct. Consider this scenario: Big Johnny is a powerful man in town. Disturbing rumors swirl around him, but nothing has ever been proven. Big Johnny is pals with the mayor, and it’s no secret that Big Johnny wants the mayor reelected. The word goes around town that Big Johnny can tell how you vote, though nobody is quite sure how he does it. When you get to the polling place, Big Johnny’s cousin is one of the poll workers. You’re no fan of the mayor, but you don’t know much about his opponent. How do you vote?
What’s interesting about this scenario is that it doesn’t require Big Johnny to do anything. No lawbreaking is necessary, and the scheme works even if Big Johnny can’t actually tell how you vote, as long as the rumor that he can is at all plausible. You’re free to vote for the other guy, but Big Johnny’s influence will tend to push your vote toward the mayor. It’s soft coercion.

Listen to this codswallop,too, from some one of the big money guys:

In These Times also reported today that a company owned by billionaire right-wing activists David and Charles Koch sent pro-Romney mailers to its employees. The mailer gives a veiled warning that, if Obama is reelected, “then many of our more than 50,000 U.S. employees and contractors may suffer the consequences, including higher gasoline prices, runaway inflation, and other ills.”

In my ridiculously black and white vision, these assholes need to be beaten with a whiffle ball bat, and a rubber hose...Or maybe even worse, work at a minimum wage job for six months and see how we actually live!

This is a great bill from Israel describing a way to end this coercion, which is exactly what these bajillionaires are actually doing.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/150039#.UHthFm80WSo


This is just not fucking right!  

These poor people need to decide whether it's better to vote their conscience or to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. 

What a helluva choice to hafta make.

NaBloWriMo #13~~How To Get Double - Takes~~

You all know that moment in time when you're like "What the PEACHES did I just see?!!" And you stop dead and look again...
This is the Wiki definition:

A double-take is a specific body language gesture that sometimes occurs in reaction to a surprise.
The double-take occurs when a person glances at something, turns away, then realizes that what he has just seen is unusual or surprising in some way, and turns back to look at it again, often adding additional body language to express surprise.
Double-takes are used much more frequently by actors during theatrical, film, or television performances than they occur in real life, and double-takes in performance are most often used in comic situations or contexts.

I've double-take'd myself a few times...

Driving down Quincy Avenue and I see in front of me, a guy riding a bike with a really cool shirt that looks likes he's got a parrot's tail painted on the back of it...
I pass him and he really HAS a parrot sitting on his shoulder as he's riding his bike down Quincy Avenue...

Or when I see a man that reminds me of a character in a story that I'm writing...I saw his name on his card. I follow him out of the store and call him. "Ari?" He turns around, smiles and walks away.

Lotsa a times, it's when you go to the store, especially WallyWorld where the true meaning of double-take really comes to live.These are all from Massachusetts so we've got em here too.






This one here is quite local, Hanover, or Plymouth, I think...That really IS Steven Tyler. My DH has waited on him a few times at Lechmere. I waited on his missus/ex-missus at Petco. I've waited on Troy Brown of the Pats, and Ben Orr of the Cars in other stores. And YES they DO cause double takes if you know who they are.



I got Double-Take'd when I went into Petco for the first time with my Pet Chickens: Slifer the Sky Dragon and Obelisk the Tormentor.

I had some women call in and complain that she'd get Psittacosis from having chickens in the petshop. They never touched the floor, and I had newspaper in the bottom of the carriage...so she could just go pound sand. That, and the fact that PARROT family is the usual culprit that give/carry Psittacosis, bloody twit. The mgr that liked me told her that they were leashed and were more than welcome to be in a pet shop since they WERE pets.

I HAVE a picture somewheres, but I can't find it...pfft. This pic of a cute piglet on a leash will hafta suffice...cuz I betch s/he got the same reaction.

 Yesterday I got a couple too. I wore my Black Death T shirt to get my Flu shot.
 

C'mon, you GOTTA see the irony in this! Wearing a piece of clothing advertising an historic pandemic to get a shot to help prevent another pandemic...

My second double-take of the day was when I walked into Papa John's wearing a long, denim duster...It's PERFECT for hiding your sawed off shot gun, axe or blasting rod. 
I mean please, I don't look like one of the Trench Coat Mafia, nor Harry Dresden...Harry's so much cooler though. This duster I think is made out of lead...it's heavy as Hades too. It might just be spell infused or bullet proof, but I'm not gonna take any risks either...

NaBloWriMo #12~~Speaking of Book Hoarding~~

Well, I needed to move some books. They've been on the floor for the past, well, depending on the bag, 6 months to a year to almost 2 years...well I DID have a pretty decent excuse...I've been having surgery when I shoulda been doing other stuff.

In 2010, I wrecked my shoulder moving a fucking tank of evil hamsters off a shelf in the back room of work...They heard me swearing next door I'm sure...what a pain rush...After cortisone shots and stuff like that I had to have surgery on it. ugh

Whilst I was waiting for THAT to heal enough so that I could do Personal Torture, I ended up on the dining room floor. Then had a pacemaker put in because of my wonderful arrythmia...ugh. So I couldn't lift the bags to move the books...

In 2011, I finally bit the bullet and had the work done that my heart needed...double ugh.When you've had your chest taken apart and your giblets rearranged and some things replaced. It took 6 months before I could cough or sneeze without fearing my scar popping open and my guts pouring onto the floor...that and the fact that it hurt like a bastard. So carrying 30+ pounds of books was NOT in the picture, or the frame or anyplace ELSE in this particular art museum.

SO yesterday, I decided that I FINALLY needed to move some of them and put them in the cellar so that I'd have some room to move in the parlour.  So that I didn't forget what I had, I got the lightbulb idea to put them into my Shelfari account! Easier said than done though. Shelfari got bought out by Amazon...great. I could LINK my Shelfari account and my Amazon account...BUT I forgot my Shelfari account password.

I hadta do the old "forgot the password send me a new one" deal. That took a long time...But it finally came through and I was able to put in some of them. I still have 2 bags that had been on the floor, carried 40 pounds of books downstairs in a box, and have another shopping bag full that I took out of the car. The other shopping bag is for my sister's bday and Christmas, so that doesn't count.

Out of the two bags that I listed, there were only TWO that I couldn't get to go in either by ISBN or ISBN 13 or title or by author...I wasn't in the mood to put in a whole thing about them, so I figger that I'll accumulate a pile, then do them all as one batch.

I have, according to Shelfari, all the books that I've listed on my page, is 305! eek...
http://www.shelfari.com/o1518127466/shelf

I think the link will work...if not, take my word for it...

I got a shitload of books...

I'm actually trying to sell some...TopHatter, an auction site has a group that auctions books. I have a flock in this one here with the Enchanted Arts group:
http://tophatter.com/auctions/7151
This was today's for the Book group...I got out bid on the King Tut book...pfft.
http://tophatter.com/auctions/6745

We'll see how things go...

I am a biblioholic...and there is no cure...