Broken Toes and Stubborn People

Apparently Chickie sent me a text around midnight, telling me she might have broken up to three of her toes. The cover for her stockpot fall off the stove and the edge crashed into her foot right at the toes. I imagine she's in some pain, and I also know from experience that toes aren't something that get casted - they get taped and you're told to "suck it up". It basically means she'll be completely useless at the shop today, and maybe for a few days, which might cause all kinds of problems for my schedule. 

We're two stubborn people - neither 
of us give way often or easily. I probably 
would have left him decades ago if I wasn't 
so stubborn, and he's had his chances to walk 
as well, passing them by. 

DH has unbent (slightly) and is (slightly) less prickly. But, he's a German/Scotch/Irish stubborn and things will have to work through his system slowly. I'm still not going to eat whatever he tells me to eat. I'll find things on any menu that will work for me. I actually can out-stubborn him, it's just exhausting to have to do that all of the time. As much as I love this townhouse I'm thinking about, I'm realistic enough to know I can't make any moves on it quickly enough and it will be sold to someone else. Still, I can dream, and maybe even set up a tour just to take a closer look. I'll talk to the realtor today and see what's what. If Chickie can't work on Wednesday, that'll be all kinds of problem for me. So with her stupid broken toes, any planning is suddenly up in the air. 

I've been an addict for "The Curse of Oak Island" for all 
nine seasons so far. It's just always appealed to me - hidden 
treasure, pushing the boundaries of known history, and 
a cast of great characters who have tenacity and (fortunately) 
some money behind them. It's always been a Tuesday night 
favorite for almost a decade now. 

Tonight's the final episode of "The Curse of Oak Island" and everything is hinting to a final finding of the fabled Treasure Vault. It's been a heck of a season - starting out with quarantine because of Covid, and ending up with some spot drilling which seems to be turning up with some intriguing possibilities based on water analysis in previous drill holes. I realize lots of people stream their shows now, not bothering with network or cable TV channels, but I'm old fashioned. I like my TV as it is - shows on a schedule, networks, and the expanded choices offered by cable. I'm not really fond of streaming, although there are times when it's handy. Irregardless, I'll be watching "Oak Island" tonight and I can hardly wait! 

Brothers Rick (L) and Marty (R) Lagina have been the
driving force for the Oak Island treasure hunt. It was a 
story that grabbed hold of Rick in his youth and never 
quite let go. The two of them are like bulldogs - clamping 
onto every clue and not letting go until there's a reason 
to change focus a bit. They're as stubborn as DH is, 
but a bit better about moving from one issue to another. 

 So I'm going to stop this a bit early today. I need to mull over what will happen if Chickie is too injured to come to work for a few days. I don't like working solo, although I have done so in the past. It's much more difficult to get bathroom breaks, etc when I'm on my own - I have to be empty, and then lock the front door with a "Back in 5 Minutes" sign on it. Also, it's hard to give the level of customer service we're known for if only one person is helping customers. But we'll see. I'm not sure she's incapacitated yet. *sigh* Life - always curve balls, all the time. Have a great day, I'll be back tomorrow. And, as always, please be kind, stay safe and please wear your mask. 

Thoughts About TV and A Tiny Bit of Politics (Very Tiny)

Yesterday was Chickie's 50th birthday so we celebrated. By the end of the day she had amassed some cash, a balloon, and several assorted baked goods - cakes, streusel, more cake, a filled horn pastry, and more cake. She had so much (and a duplicate of one), so asked me to please take one home for DH and I to share, which I happily did. We enjoyed our piece of cake while watching the finals of this year's "American Ninja Warrior" which we had missed earlier in the week because of a scheduling conflict. 

I think this was Season 12 of American Ninja 
Warrior and they did a great job working around 
the pandemic by using a single location, restricting 
in-person to competitors only, and using video 
to allow remote viewing by friends and family 
for each athlete. It was a tough course, but 
not quite the same intensity. Instead of a 
million dollar payout, it was only $100,000, 
but that, plus the trophy, were still very 
welcome by the eventual winner. 

Now DH and I can sink into our Fall viewing season - Holiday Baking Championship for me, and The Curse of Oak Island and Forged in Fire for both of us, along with other baking and fun shows. We're pretty low-key, and even though we can stream, we usually don't bother. The bedroom TV is where all the bells and whistles are and that's DH's territory. I might keep him company, but the various remote controls are his responsibility. 

I think this is Season 8 for "The Curse of Oak Island", and 
from what I've been seeing in interviews and previews, it 
will prove to be very exciting, and possibly historical. I'm 
really looking forward to diving back into it once again. 

I'm excited that Oak Island will soon be starting up again. It's been a long quest, and they're getting closer and closer to finding something monumental - something that will change history, and we'll be there watching (along with a LOT of other people). There's something special about buried treasure that captures the imagination, and the Louganis brothers have been willing to spend the money and time to satisfy that itch, and have done it in style. 

For fans of "Forged in Fire", that show is also scheduled 
to resume in November, a bit later in the month on the 18th. 
We'll have the same judges, but according to the talk I've 
been hearing, we'll have a new host! No more Wil Willis! 
I'll be disappointed, but with a new baby in the house, 
maybe he decided doing the show during a pandemic 
with a new kid wasn't a wise idea. I guess we'll 
find out in less than two weeks. 

It's also the last really nice weekend we'll have, so we have steaks defrosting in the refrigerator and we'll fire up the grill one last time before putting it away for the winter. Next week we'll return to normal fall and early winter weather - back to cold, grey skies, and sleet/snow falling from the skies. This week has been a wonderful break from the upcoming winter season, and we've taken full advantage by raking up the leaves and winterizing the house. Now, I guess it's going to be time to deal with ice and snow once again and I'm not really looking forward to it, although I deal with it every year. 

Right now, with Nevada, Georgia and
Pennsylvania still tabulating, Biden has 
264 of the total 270 he needs to win this 
election. I'm darned proud that every state 
I've lived in voted Blue. That's enough 
politics for today - LOL. 

So, maybe by Monday we'll have a decision in states that are still counting their ballots. Of course, some states won't have their cut-off until next week (including my own, which will process ballots until November 10th, as long as they were postmarked on or before Election Day). I'm SO ready for this to be over with, and I just want it ended. So, have a great weekend, be kind, stay safe, and please wear your mask. I'll return on Monday. 

Reality TV Is Hitting High Stride

Just a quick post today since I leave for the pool soon. I'm feeling a bit better, thanks to all of the "get well soon" messages from many of my readers and on-line friends. I purchased a different medication yesterday and it seems to be working much more effectively. I'm still exhausted, but tomorrow I can sleep in. 

City qualifying rounds are usually held in several cities
throughout the nation. This year's event started with the
Dallas, Texas qualifiers last night. The setup was at the
Texas State Fair grounds, a place known for fun and crowds. 

Did anyone catch the beginning of the current season of American Ninja Warriors last night? It was the start of the city competitions and a lot of fun to watch as athletes went head-to-head in Dallas to cull down to the top 30 contestants. I don't know how many regional competitions will be held for this season, but it's always a treat to watch the contestants try and beat the course. 

Face-Off Battle Royale, season 13 of the popular show, will
begin on Tuesday. I've enjoyed the show since its' first season
and will be sorry to see it go, but it's always fun watching the
contestants make phenomenal transformations with their
make-up skills. 

One of my favorite reality competition shows will return for it's final season beginning on Tuesday. Face-Off, a featured special effects makeup competition, will feature some of the best of prior season's competitors as they battle head-to-head. I've loved the show since the beginning, and although I'll be sorry to see it leave, it should be a great competition with which to say good-bye. Check your schedules for Tuesday on the SyFy channel to catch this one. 

Battle Bots pits one fighting robot against another and
parts go flying on occasion. It's hard action and way fun! 

Have you been watching Battle Bots? This engineering competition always is a fun one to watch. The current season is a few episodes in, but it's always great fun. It's on Friday nights on the Discovery channel, so if you haven't been aware that there's a new season ongoing, now you know. 

On MasterChef this season, each chef will mentor eight
home chefs they feel may achieve the ranking of
MasterChef. It's going to be an interesting head-to-head
between the three masters. 

Finally, MasterChef started it's newest season on Fox earlier this week on Wednesday. In a different twist, each of the three judges - Gordon Ramsey, Aaron Sanchez and Joe Bastianich  - have eight aprons they will award to home cheft they feel have the skills and the drive to make them the winner of MasterChef. If a contestant is offered an apron from more than one chef, they can choose whose apron they want. The apron promises mentorship by that particular chef for the eight contestants he has chosen. 

So there's lots of reality TV taking up the front half of my summer and that makes me very happy. I might not be competing in the events, but I can watch and enjoy them. I'm heading out to the outdoor pool and I wish all of you an excellent weekend. I'll be back on Monday. 

Tires and Glasses - Nothing's Inexpensive Any More

Yesterday was exciting - NOT. No problem getting my morning swim in, and the car was fine on the drive out to the dealership, but then it was a lot of "hurry up and wait". Thank goodness for a fully charged cell phone and a library full of ebooks. I think I read through three novellas on my phone while waiting for my car. 

I ended up with four new tires. One tire had been
damaged, but the other three were pretty low o
their tread. It's great to have new tires, but the
expense was a total OUCH. 

Then there was the problem of the tire - one of the two reasons I was at the mechanic's in the first place. The standard checkup and oil change I had budgeted for. The tire issues I had not. Turns out there was "an item" embedded in my tire which was causing the pressure problem. I park my car at work and it's in a parking lot, but the lot has a lot of to and from all day. I've had "stuff" in my tires in the past since I first moved to this location in early 1993. Adding one bad tire to worn treads on the others, equaled a financial tsunami. By the time I walked out around noon (almost five hours wasted waiting for my car), I was a LOT poorer. Well - to be honest, my credit card debt had grown a lot. *sigh* I'll be paying this off for months. 

I hated to add to my credit card debt, but DH said
he'd help with the bill for the four new tires. I know
I'll get it paid off, but it's higher than I want
right now. 

That left a really busy day that was cut almost in half because of my hurry-up-and-wait from the morning. Argh! I did the grocery shopping, picked up my new glasses (which are wonderful for near and far but - of course - suck for the midrange), and managed all of the laundry, pulling the final load from the dryer at 6:00 pm. I made the beds and even, amazingly enough, managed to sweep and wash the kitchen floor and have a lovely, if often interrupted, conversation with Aearwen after all. 

I've been getting my specialty frames fitted with new lenses
for many years now. Since I now have one pair I can
wear with my correct prescription, it's time to get some
new lenses in my favorite frames. 

Highest on my priority list right now is to get a set of my midrange glasses made. I'll be looking up re-lensing later today and see if I want to use the firm I've used in the past, or find a different one. These glasses are single vision, so they won't be expensive. I want to get at least one more set of bifocals too. My credit card is going to be groaning. At least DH said he would help with the car expense. There's nothing inexpensive about four new tires. 

Tonight is the Project Runway All-Stars Season 6 Finale. DH will be relieved when I'm finished with Project Runway for a while, but I'm sure it won't be for long. Fashion is always such fun and I do love watching the Runway. We did start watching the latest season of Iron Chef Gauntlet last night. It's always intense and there's some pretty amazing food being prepared by the chefs who are invited to compete. 

Talk to everyone tomorrow. Have an excellent Thursday! 

Real Life vs Not - Taxes, Baking and Music

I set up our personal income tax appointment for Thursday night. We'll be finished before Project Runway starts, so no problems on that front. It does mean, however, that a large portion of my Wednesday will be spent with paperwork, getting everything together as best as possible. He always sends out an "organizer" beforehand, so I'll probably use that to make sure I have all of the correct information at hand. 

Pay $200? I'd do that in a flash if I could. It would be a
serious savings. But such things only exist in "Monopoly". 

The one thing I'm not sure about is whether we're received our property tax statements yet. We need those to file for that rebate, although we don't always qualify. Next year will be a bit crazy too with the new tax laws plus the fact that we paid off our house early this year. No sense crossing that bridge until we come to it, though. 

One of the donations I made in 2017 was to The
Trevor Project. I'm delighted with what they do to
support kids in crisis and will probably move
them to my permanent donation list within a year
or so. 

Going through tax documents, though, is never a treat. It's good to really see where the money is going, but the smaller receipts, like charitable donations and contributions, can be a pain. I'm hoping I can put my hands on each of those easily. I usually keep my records pretty much in order, but there are always the small things here and there that I either forget to pull aside or just can't find on an initial search. 

One of the really fun things in Lord of the Rings Online are
the impromptu performances by various player groups
at events or in pubs. Sometimes the performers have
similar clothing - matching in style or color, but sometimes
they are just a gathering of musicians. Some of the groups
are quite good. 

In LOTRO, the latest update finally has offered the fiddle as an instrument. There have always been a variety of instruments available for the characters, including lutes, theoboros and bagpipes (although the bagpiper don't really sound like a bagpipe), but they have never offered a fiddle. Needless to say (but of course I'll say it anyway), my High Elf immediately ran off to find a Bard and buy one. I'm looking forward to finding an isolated place and practicing. I want to play some Heavy Metal on my fiddle - LOL. 

Here are the bakers for the Spring Baking Championship Season 4. They
are already reduced by one after last night's episode. 

The Spring Baking Championship, Season 4, started last night. After the preheat challenge of a tie-dyed cheesecake, the main challenge was an ombre cake featuring a savory herb. I had never thought of an ombre cake before, always thinking of ombre in fashion where a gown or top would move through a color spectrum. These cakes were really lovely - those multi-colored layers really bright and cheerful. For me, it's better to watch the calories than indulge - LOL. 

So, I'm off to the pool. I'm almost finished with my current audio book and thinking about which book I want to start next. I'll have to return to the current series when books 3 and 4 have been put onto audio. I do have a long list of audio books to choose from (I've been buying them since 2002), so the choice will be fun. Have a happy Tuesday! 

Holes, Cakes and Owls - Yes, My Brain is That Random

I remembered to bring my drill home from the shop, so I'll mount my new keyboard drawer on Wednesday when I have time to tape it up properly and drill the holes without having DH breathe over my shoulder and tell me how I'm doing everything wrong. I'm not sure why he would feel that commentary necessary, since I mounted the previous drawer successfully and actually know my way around a tool shop, but I know him well and I'm sure he would. I feel that a small wait of a few more days is the better choice. 

Two of these bakers were eliminated last night, eight remain. The
schedule says a total of six episodes, ending on December 21st. I'm
not sure how that works out to a single winner and a runner up,
but I haven't checked my calendar either. 

I'm rather zombie-like today. Last night was the first episode of Season 3 of the "Great American Baking Contest" and it was 2-hours long, keeping me up an hour later than my usual bedtime. It was absolutely worth it, though. Ten American bakers are in England baking in the "Great British Bake-off" tent for judges Paul Hollywood and Johnny Iuzzini. Last night's double episode featured Cake and Morning Treats for the two segments. The structure is the same as the British Bake-off uses and I've always loved their set-up of separate stations and work areas. Every baker has a totally self-contained area within which to work - none of this running around like crazy chickens the way it is with most of the American cooking shows. It was worth staying up for, but I'm exhausted today. 

Among the owls of Minnesota is this one - the
Long-eared Owl. Isn't it a beauty? There's
something so wonderful about owls. 

Yesterday, while writing my blog for all of you, I had an owl serenading me from my next door neighbor's tree for almost an hour. There's something so wonderful and haunting about an owl's "hoot" in the darkness of the night and pre-dawn. I've adored owls since I was a small child, and I'm still totally addicted to their beauty and their amazing skills in the air. Owls fly in complete silence and air-movement studies on flight comparing owls and other birds prove that owls barely disturb the air as they pass, unlike any other bird. 

Owls have a unique structure to their feathers allowing
them to fly in almost complete silence. 

So my post today jumped around from drilling holes to cakes to owls. No theme here, just my cold and sleep-deprived brain firing on odd circuits. Perhaps the swimming pool will help bring my thoughts into some form of stability and order before I head off to work ... or not! In any case, have a wonderful Friday and stay warm. 

Cooking - Love to Watch, Hate to Do

We're getting freezing rain turning into snow today (oh joy!), so driving and walking will be a bit dicey. So this will be short and sweet - I'll need the extra time to get to the pool this morning.

I get a kick out of watching the "Kids Baking Championship". The kids
are innovative, talented, and very supportive of each other. 

This season's competitors have already been dropped down to the
final six - two girls and four boys. There are some really excellent
cooks among them. 

I love watching cooking - at least reality show cooking. Mondays have been a desert for TV shows, so I usually turn on the "Kids Baking Championship" for an hour of sugar, spice, inventive recipes and young kids' angst. The kids are great on the show, and they are super supportive of each other, helping their competitors out when they can so that everyone can be finished on time. It's fun to watch such friendly cooperation under the umbrella of competition.

MasterChef Junior is always fun because it's the softer side (somewhat) of
Gordon Ramsey. He's a lot more encouraging and instructional. He doesn't
yell as much, although he can still be very intense. It's a lot of fun to watch
these pint-sized chefs cook their way to the championship - they're so
very talented. 

On Thursday, February 9th, "MasterChef Junior" begins their fifth season. MasterChef Junior is always a fun watch. I can barely find my way around a kitchen in the best of times, and these kids are making dishes that could be served at a five-star restaurant by the time they are through with the competition. I'm rather envious of such talent, but it's always a treat to watch.

So, short and sweet today because I have to leave early to slowly drive to the gym on icy roads. Be good, be careful, and make something fun to eat today - cookies sound good to me! Happy Tuesday!

Late Can Be Great

Yesterday we celebrated my birthday. Of course, I already had my gift and numerous cards and best-wishes from my friends and acquaintances around the world (so DON'T repeat - this was an extra celebration). DH had decided to celebrate my birthday a week late because my birthday had fallen on Mother's Day this year which meant restaurants were crowded and not what we wanted to experience. So Sunday was "my" day after a little bit of work.

We're actually pretty good with repairs. The problem with the shop
is that our ceilings are twelve feet high and the lights have to be on when
we're open for business. Repairs must take place after hours or on days off. 

Although we started by doing some electrical work at the shop that had to be done on off-time when we wouldn't have customers needing lights to see the merchandise under. That actually went almost well - one problem remains to be resolved, but I'll have to phone the landlord for extra advise on that. But I now have light in two cases again and the new ballast is installed, even though the light fixture is doing things that make us a bit nervous (thus, the call to the landlord).

Springcon had lots of people in costumes of all types. Coming into the
Grandstand, we saw a father dressed as Superman with his two kids, probably
no more than 10 years old each also dressed as a superhero. Dad gets
"Best Dad Ever" nomination from me for escorting his kids in full costume. 

After getting our work out of the way, we went to the State Fairgrounds for Springcon - an annual comic book show with illustrators, costumed attendees, and panel discussions. We had a really fun time wandering the exhibits and looking at things. I'm trying to find the perfect dashboard ornament for the car I'll be buying later this year, but I wasn't overwhelmed by anything I saw just yet. I know I'll find it eventually, though, and it's going to be a fun hunt.

A Yoda bobblehead is a possibility for my dashboard. But...I really
haven't found the perfect thing yet. I keep looking, though. And, of
course, I don't have the new car yet either. Details...details...

After an hour or two at the con, we went down the road to The Source Comics and Games. I collected my latest subscribed comic issue which they had set aside for me, and DH got a lovely mini to paint. Our purchase was discounted because we had our wristbands from Springcon on, so it was a win-win.

Although I had a MUCH SMALLER piece of meat, this is pretty close
to my dinner. I also brought at least half of my meat home for tonight's
dinner, so I wasn't as bad as I could have been. It was REALLY good! 

Finally, to dinner. DH had given me a choice between Red Lobster or Outback Steakhouse. He was sure I would choose Red Lobster, but he was wrong. I ended up at Outback and I was so pleased that I did. We each chose prime rib with a lobster tail, a wonderful salad and a loaded baked potato. So good! And the best part is I have some leftovers for dinner tonight. Score!

One of these four teams won The Amazing Race All-Stars, and I was
really happy with the end result. I also think the taxi driver who
stayed true to his team was awesome. It was a great race - I can't wait for Fall. 

So it was a great, late, birthday celebration, topped off with cupcakes while we watched the final of The Amazing Race All Stars. I was delighted with who won the Race, and my strawberry cupcake was absolutely amazing. All was good. Now to get back to work *sigh* - LOL.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Loose Ends? - NOT!

It's strange but my life is like a vacuum - no sooner does it get emptied then it immediately gets filled again. I posted my B2MeM story into the master list last night. I'm not sure when it will be revealed by the moderators, but for those of you wanting to know, I'll be putting it into my standard archives (Fairie, AO3 and either SWG or MPTT -in this case MPTT) after it has been revealed. No sooner had I done this when I had my next drabble prompt waiting in my mailbox. I also have my LOTR Community Story for the month that I started work on yesterday. So two items for me to write as well as a necklace repair waiting for me to work on. I guess I'll have a full slate for a while.

Can't I just relax and wait for the plots to come to me? Clara Bow
looks wonderfully relaxed and cute in this pic. Unfortunately, I'm
not as cute or young as she was in this pic, so I guess I'll have to
sweat the plots out the hard way...

We have a showing request for my father-by-marriage's house on Wednesday. But we've been very carefully watching to make sure we didn't have more ceiling or attic leaks due to the ice dams. We've had a good melt over the past two days, but I'm not sure I can approve a showing request until next week. I'll have to ask DH if it will be something I can approve. They'll be phoning me for my approval later this morning and I hope I hear from DH before they contact me.

Ice dams can lead to ceiling leaks. We've kept a close eye on
any leaks and have caught them, and we also raked the snow off
the roofs each and every time it snowed. It was so labor
intensive, and we still ended up with a few small leaks *sigh*. 

I don't usually watch the popular vocal contest shows - American Idol and The Voice have never really attracted me. But my Public TV station switched its schedule and instead of Antiques Roadshow on Monday nights, it has something else that I have no interest in, so I've been watching The Voice instead. Last night, the final contestant, Josh Kaufman, on this episode of blind auditions sang George Michael's "One More Try", one of my favorite singers and songs of all time. And he totally NAILED it. Beautiful. All four judges turned for him as well they should have. I've always thought George Michael to be an incredibly sexy man and wonderful vocal talent. It was a joy to hear some of my favorite song again.

The judges for this phase of The Voice Season 6 are: Adam Levine, Usher,
Blake Shelton and Shakira. They play well off each other. 

A young duo from Oklahoma also just wowed me. Alaska and Madi worked together beautifully as they sand "Barton Hollow" and were polished and interlaced like long-time professionals. They ended up with Blake as their coach and I think they'll do very well with him as their guide.

Another contestant to watch (and on Team Blake) is Sisaundra Lewis. She
wowed all four judges with her amazing voice. As a former backup singer for
Celine Dion she has the professional skills and calm. It should be a good season. 

I'm getting sucked in to the show, darn it all. I've watched it three times now and I really like what I'm hearing. I realize that this is Season 6, so I've been way behind the loop, but anyone who can pull me away from my computer screen and writing to turn around and watch them sing is making an impact.

Tonight I'll be watching "Face Off" and eating some Ben & Jerry's
Core Ice Cream. I'm already looking forward to it :-)

Enjoy your Tuesday.

Dragon Flies

I worked hard at my O-fic, "Dragon Seeks a Wife", yesterday, finally finishing up the text shortly before Aearwen phoned me for our weekly chat. We had a totally delightful hour catching up with writing, music and families, finally signing off with a promise to talk again next week. I'm already looking forward to it. After starting the next load of laundry in the dryer, making the bed and checking the mail I began editing the fic. I wanted to send it off last night, but still had three pages to edit when my eyes went bonkers at 9:00 pm. So when I awoke at 3:15 am this morning I went right to my computer and started the final edit. I was able to send the completed story to the publisher at 4:20 am this morning. Now I just hope that they enjoy the story enough to include it in the book. If they don't, I'll check out a couple of other places to submit it, but I also will have time to ask a couple of friends for beta help which would be wonderful. So if it doesn't get accepted, it's both good news and bad news at the same time. Rather like life in micro - LOL.

SPOILERS BELOW FOR SURVIVOR....Then a quick discussion of Ghost Hunters

Zane was voted off as the first in the new season.

Last night was the first episode of Survivor Philippines. By the time I had been watching it for an hour I was already bored. I decided to switch over to watch Ghost Hunters instead, flipping back and forth during commercials. So I was able to watch Zane get voted off before returning to Jason, Adam and the Ghost Hunter crew. My DH said that Zane was really stupid, telling people that he didn't want to put out the effort for some really stupid reason. He was a character and it might have been fun to see him play, but ... really? I mean ... REALLY?

Survivor Returnees L-R Michael Skupin, Johathan Penner and Russel Swan

It was a joy to see Russel Swan (2009 - Samoa) and Michael Skupin (2001 - Australia) return, although I am totally lukewarm about Jonathan Penner (Fan vs Favorites). Jonathan always struck me as annoying and I suspect he still is. But Russel and Michael were both fun to watch in their individual seasons and I think they will pull me in to watch the show as long as it is only 60 minutes long. Then I will happily switch over to Ghost Hunters.

Ghost Hunter Adam Berry

Ghost Hunters was investigating a New Orleans bar and hotel that had been experienced an arson fire in 1973, killing 32 men. It was a gay bar and safe house and allowed Adam Berry to come out of the TV closet on camera in an easy and natural way. He's never hidden his sexual preference in interviews, but it hadn't been explored or utilized on the show before this episode, to my knowledge. He's a nice guy and a good investigator and displayed some real sensitivity to the spirits of these dead men. Now to decide on my next writing project.....

Studio Day - My Computer Is Calling Me

I haven't had a chance to actually compose since late August, with the exception of my blog posts. That changes today, because I am going to sit my overly-cushioned backside in my desk chair and work. I have to finish my O-fic and I have another piece that is due by the end of the week - a very short turn-around for me so I'll have to be focused. I'll also have a chance to share conversation with Aearwen later today, something that I look forward to each week. I have a lot of errands to do this morning though, so I won't be able to start any of this creative process until at least 11am this morning. That will give me five hours of "uninterrupted" time (not counting throwing laundry into the washer, grocery shopping, and phone calls from the shop). I guess, in my life, uninterrupted is a relative term.

Christine Ha surprised everyone with her uncanny palate and her abilities to combine tastes to create flavor. The fact that she is blind made her all the more amazing.

Two of my competition shows ended on Monday night - Hells Kitchen and Masterchef had their finals. I am thrilled that Christine Ha won Masterchef and I can't wait to buy her cookbook. Now, those who know me are probably rolling on the floor totally laughing so hard that they can't draw breath. I don't cook. I usually am just too stressed out from a very long day to want to spend time looking at a stove and a knife, etc. But I appreciate fine food, and she had a wonderful talent for fusing her cultural background with American ingredients to produce an Asian Fusion style of cooking that I think I would like to play around with. So when her cookbook is published, I will take a close look at it with the possibility of purchasing it.

It looks like quite the restaurant. I hope Christina fits in well here. She gets the Head Chef position and a salary of $250,000. Must be nice....

Christina Wilson won Hells Kitchen, managing to pull together a very functional team of prior competitors to help her kitchen push out a nice menu and succeed in winning the position of Head Chef at Gordon Ramsay Steak at Paris Las Vegas over her competitor, Justin. I think either one of them could have done the job, but I do think that Christina kept her head a bit better and was able to get her kitchen to perform despite the usual problems that are bound to come up. Now I'm just involved in Face Off, looking forward to Hot Set, and Survivor should be starting again soon, so I will still have "reality" TV to watch. Oh happy day!

Holiday Wishes and Navajo Cops

For those of my readers who celebrate Easter or Passover, I wish you good holidays. Passover begins at sundown tonight, and today is Good Friday in the Christian calendar. I remember Passover celebrations from when I was a kid quite fondly, it was my favorite holiday. I loved finding the hidden matzoh, I loved leaving the empty chair for Elijah and all of the food - oh my, the food was wonderful. The wine, on the other hand, kosher wine just doesn't cut it. The wine was terrible.

DH was just down here, awakened by the full moon shining in through his bedroom window. It is as bright as a streetlight, you could read from the moon's light this morning. What a wonderful awakening, I didn't even mind the interruption for such a glorious sight.

Monument Valley is one of the stunning vistas on the Navajo Reservation

I'm really tired today, only got 4-1/2 hours of sleep last night because we found a new addiction. DH was flipping through On-Demand the other day and came across a show from the National Geographic channel - Navajo Cops. In the manner of other live-action police shows, it follows a group of individual cops on their rounds. But this takes place on the Navajo indian reservation - the largest reservation in the nation. It encompasses 13 counties spread across portions of three states a huge landscape. The cops deal with usual and unusual problems - not just alcohol and gang problems, but also protecting archaeological materials and investigating witchcraft such as skinwalkers - a very real thing on the reservation. We're addicted, it's like being back home again. Both DH and I spent a lot of time on and in the Navajo Reservation. It's a pleasure to just hear the accents again :-)

Tired and Burned Out

I'm tired. Bone dead, dogged, tired. Part of the reason is because I do have a lighter case of my DH's cold, but the other part is that it is the middle of winter (even though we have escaped snow for the most part this year so far) and I feel like I will never see the spring sun. Next week is Far Tuesday and the beginning of Lent. I don't celebrate Lent, I'm Pagan, not Catholic, but I'm married to a non-practicing Catholic and he enjoys aspects of Lent. So we pay attention to it. What does it mean for me? Fish on Fridays - yum! Either McDonald's fish sandwiches (which many people could argue, successfully, is not fish at all) or sushi (which other people may consider a bit too much fish). Either way, my Fridays will be marvelous.

We are continuing through our rotation of reality TV. Survivor, One World started this week - what a bunch of totally clueless people. Oy! We're still watching Ink Master (Tuesday and signed for a second season now - yippee), Faced Off (Wednesday) and Project Runway All Stars (Thursday and getting down towards the finale). Now we add Survivor on Wednesdays and The Amazing Race on Sundays, additionally there is the new season of Top Shot that just started - same time as Ink Master, so we'll watch Top Shot on on-demand until Ink Master is completed. Watching all of these people suffering through their own problems to achieve their goals, well, it makes me feel a little better as I do my own struggles.

Speaking of which. I am of two minds. I have had a Deviant Art account for years, but have never uploaded to it because the quality of artwork that I like there is so much better than anything I am producing. But, it is impossible to get better without working on something - practice makes perfect, etc., and I am pretty happy with the illustrations that I did for Binky's OEAM Big Bang story which will be released next week. So, I am thinking about finally activating that account and downloading the pics I've done into it. Also, yesterday I treated myself to a heavier-weight drawing pad instead of the light-weight sketch pad, and bought six pencils in varying shades of grey that I found I needed. I have two pictures that I want to try to draw and I want to get going on them fairly quickly. But I also have my presentation and the pictures for that to gather and print. I'm running out of time...tick-tock. How can I feel depressed when I have so much to do!!!????

The Possibilities...

I was running all over town yesterday, but managed to get my errands complete, worked on some writing, figured out where I wanted to go with my latest art project (if this works, it may be a miracle - LOL) and had a lovely phone talk with a friend for an hour late in the afternoon. Three loads of laundry were washed, the vaulted ceiling of the livingroom was dusted, the sheets were changed, and Face Off last night was excellent - body painting at high caliber.

This lovely aquatic creature was from the second episode of Face Off and had to survive both in the studio as well as submerged in a tank of water.

As if life doesn't have enough reality in my life (hmmm, did I ever wish for a dull life?), I love some types of reality television. One new show that my DH and I have fallen in love with is on Tuesday nights called Ink Master. This is a tattoo competition for $100,000 prize and it is the judges that make this show really work. They are brash, confrontative, and they don't back down. I've watched two episodes now, and for entertainment value, it's right up there. The winning tatoo for this week which featured tribal tatoo styles was by James Vaughn and it was nicely done.

They only get six hours to produce their tatoos, and what James was able to do within that timeframe, as well as the quality of the work - awesome!

And for the entertainment disappointment of the year - Heidi Klum and Seal have separated after more than five years of marriage and three children. They were the ultimate romantic couple, getting remarried every year. His proposal, in 2004, was on top of a mountain in an igloo furnished with a bed, candles, roses and rose petals everywhere. He flew her there on a private helicopter. Pretty darned romantic. What a disappointment that they couldn't even reach their 10th anniversary. *sigh*

I Need a Friday...

Yesterday was a lost day. I fell under the baleful influence of a head cold and spent much of the day sleeping and shivering. I had a really hard time getting warm. I fully admit that it's cold outside. When I left the house yesterday morning it was -11F (-23.8C) with a wind chill of -33F (-36.1C), but I was properly bundled up, so that wasn't my problem. This head cold has really hit me hard, though.

I finally gave up on sleeping in bed at 2am this morning. It is highly distracting to hear crackling when I breathe, so I moved downstairs where I could elevate a bit. I may end up sleeping in the recliner for a couple of nights while I try to get over this stupid cold. I have to be at work today, so I'll find out how crummy I really feel. If it is horrible, I'll leave work early and go to the clinic for some meds.

Project Runway All Stars last night had the designers creating a flamboyant cocktail dress for Miss Piggy. Yes, the one and only Miss Piggy of The Muppets. I agree that grey and pink are colors that traditionally go together, but Austin Scarlett's pink was more mauve and it was a horrid choice of color. He was in the bottom three, but is safe for another week. Michael was the winner with a lovely, multicolored dress featuring a flat bow down the right front side. I didn't like Rami's dress at all, but it was Gordana who went home.

Finally Friday

It's been a very busy week at the shop and after hours. That's great, but I'm a bit behind on my beta. I'll finish the latest chapter for Iris tonight and get it sent off to her. But I should have had it done a couple of days ago :-( I did get a story posted for Game of Thrones, have another couple in the works, am continuing to work on drabbles, and when I can find the time and inspiration, work on my H-verse. I am tempted to go back - seriously back - and do some major editing on this.

Thursday nights we reserve for Project Accessory. Yesterday's show was all about handbags. They said that the average woman has six handbags. Six! I adore handbags. I can count six just sitting on ledges around me right now. If I open my closet to see my handbag shelf, I'll have more than 30 more. I adore handbags. I guess I'm not the norm :-) I wanted to put a pic of the winning bag - it was truly beautiful, but their website really sucks and I couldn't grab an image.

However, I did grab an image of the winning shoes from the shoe challenge two weeks ago. Now, many women who may not be that crazy about handbags are bonkers over shoes. Shoes don't do a thing for me - they are something I wear to keep my feet away from broken glass and icky stuff, and because of my orthotics, they also keep me free from pain. But I'm no fashionista when it comes to shoes. These shoes, however, were really wonderfully made and very colorful. Sassy! Enjoy a creative Friday and carry that creativity through into your weekend.