1. Container Arrivals.

We've had nothing but grief over the shipment of this latest container from Egypt to the US, which explains why the AED has been in Cairo since the beginning of October and won't be back home until next Tuesday. At long last, however, the doggone thing -- complete with dozens of damaged cartons and yards of green US Customs tape -- was delivered to our warehouses at 9 this morning. Now all the brother-in-law and I need to do is to get this 40-foot monstrosity unloaded within 24 hours, LOL! Did I mention that I am also very grateful for forklifts, pallets, plenty of warehouse space, and the friends who are willing to help get all

of those boxes out of the monstrosity?

2. Spayed Kitties.

Wilbur, the runt of the litter of rescue kittens I found in my backyard last July, became so attached to me that I had to keep him. With an already very quiet and squeaky voice, Wilbur began making very strange chirping noises, climbing up on the counters in the kitchen, hanging out on top of the fridge, and knocking the plants over when he "needed" a bird's eye view out the kitchen windows a couple of weeks ago. Turns out Wilbur is a girl and that (s)he was looking for some lovin'! Being the responsible pet owner that I am, I nipped that right in the bud!

As of Tuesday morning, Wilbur is no longer looking for love in all the wrong places. Wilbur is now a member of the nipped and tucked club. Just in case you're wondering about her name, I have no plans to change it. She knows it too well for me to do that now. Johnny Cash had a boy named Sue, so why can't I have a girl named Wilbur?

3. Netflix.

Ok, so I am a bit behind the times as far as this one goes; I didn't get a Netflix account until December 2. Since we did away with all the satellites that lined our roof and have been using only the free-to-air satellite channels in conjunction with our local ones, I have been a much happier camper. With the Netflix account and a nifty wi-fi hookup thingy, I can watch the BBC shows I love, as well as hundreds of documentaries, whenever I want. And when the AED comes home and finds all the old TV shows with cowboys that are available, he'll think he's died and gone straight to Roy Rodgers heaven, I'm sure.

4. Peach Rings.

Gummy Bears hold the key to my heart, but the peach rings sold at 7-11 rock my world! I'm sure that my dentist loves them just as much as I do, LOL! If there is a 7-11 near you and you haven't tried them already, then you should. These little gummy delights are simply amazing! I have never tasted an artificial peach anything that comes so close to the real fruit. Mmmmm....my mouth is watering just from writing about them!

5. Fridays.

'Nuff said on that one!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and that I actually make it through next week to post again!

Random Thought #1

I've been itching to change my blog template for a very long time and even added myself to a professional designer's incredibly long queue last summer. Unfortunately for me, that designer made some significant life changes, before my place in the queue came up, and is no longer designing blog templates. Despite hours of scouring the web for just the right freebie template, I haven't had any luck. Maybe out of sheer desperation for a change, I will resort to using Blogger's new design your own template feature thingy. Has anybody used it yet?


Random Thought #2

All three rescue kittens are still with me. Wilbur, the runt of the litter, is quite attached to me and with each passing day, I get more attached to him. This is exactly what I (and the AED) was afraid would happen. With such an adorable creature shadowing my every move, how could I possibly give him up?!

A few days ago, I sat on the couch to fold some laundry. Before I even had a chance to get myself and the laundry basked situated comfortably, I was surrounded by fur monsters. In the photo at the left are Dolly (top left), Charlotte (top right), Templeton (bottom left), and Maggie (bottom right). Wilbur isn't in the photo because he had buried himself in the warm clothes in the basket. Even with four "assistants," I didn't get much laundry folded for a while.

Random Thought #3

For anyone looking for an awesome iPhone speaker dock, let me recommend the one that Altec Lansing makes. I am incredibly impressed with the company. Let me tell you why.

The AED bought me this speaker dock for my birthday last year. I love, love, love this speaker! But when I brought home my new iPhone and tried to put it in the dock to charge, the darn thing didn't fit. All I could think of was that I would have to shell out another couple of hundred bucks for a new speaker dock when the one I had worked just fine. Being cheap, I quickly trashed that idea and began surfing Google to see if others who had the dock experienced the same problem. What I discovered was that Altec Lansing had a fix -- and a free fix to boot!

The new part arrived yesterday, and now my new iPhone fits perfectly in the speaker dock. How's that for a company standing behind its products? Go, Altec Lansing!

Today's random thoughts aren't completely random; they are things that have been stuck in my head for a few days and now need an escape. Lucky you!

Random Thought #1

After three years of flawless duty, I retired my iPhone 2G and bought a 32-gig iPhone 3GS last Friday. The decision to retire the 2G didn't come easy -- it works fine and does everything that I need it to do when I need it done. However, with the launch of iPhone 4, I learned that Apple would no longer support my trusty 2G, leaving it stuck with an outdated operating system. Considering all the nifty things that the iPhone OS4 is supposed to impress me with, it didn't make sense to hang onto what is now an outdated phone.

I know that patience is a virtue -- one that I need to work more seriously on improving in myself -- but waiting for an iPhone 4 was not on my agenda. Yes, it is the newest model and thus offers more time before becoming outdated like the 2G, but both Apple and AT&T have a backlog of orders for them. Besides, there's an issue with the antenna and reception and signal strength with the 4 that doesn't exist with the previous models. And seriously, what was Apple thinking in making both the front and the back of the phone out of the glass that is usually only on the front? I'd be terrified of cracking the darn thing because since it is so new, couture cases aren't readily available for it yet. And a lady has to have an awesome case for her iPhone!

So far, I'm thrilled with the new phone. Although I'm still in the process of adding wallpapers, music, and apps, what I have put on the phone so far works like a charm. But best of all, the newest Apple operating system, which I LOVE, is compatible with the 3GS! Now my gorgeous phone displays the wallpaper at all times, makes videos, and lets me organize apps into folders for a relatively clutter free screen. Oh, the joys of technology!

Random Thought #2

The rescue kittens are ready for new homes. Honestly, I have never given away kittens before and have no clue how to go about doing it. I posted on Facebook that they were ready for forever homes, but the only response I got was from dear friends who (1) live in different states and (2) already have enough pets. The AED says to put them on Craigslist, but I am concerned about the weirdos who thrive there. Any suggestions on how to get the word out that I've got three litter-trained, affectionate, purr machines in search of loving homes?

Random Thought #3

I think that a tribe of dirt-tracking ghosts lives in my house. Honestly, with only the AED and I at home these days, I am amazed to find that I can sweep and mop on Monday morning and find the ceramic tiled floors that the AED insisted we need looking like they haven't been touched for weeks by Tuesday afternoon! At least with the rugs (commonly called "Persian" carpets, but ours came from Egypt), I can attribute the need for daily vacuuming to the cats because they roll around and play on them and leave behind traces of their antics in the form of hair. But the ceramic tile? Where does all the dirt come from?! It's time for a seance to out the ghosts who seem to think that I need to go through life with a broom and mop attached to my hips!

Random Thought #4

I have the sweetest husband ever! For the past week, I have been in the throes of a cluster headache cycle with some of them being so intense that I now understand why this type is called the "suicide headache." With headaches coming several times throughout the day and lasting anywhere from 10-15 minutes to several hours, life hasn't been a lot of fun these past several days. Twice last week, I was completely down for the count and unable to go to the warehouse with the AED. Both times, he came home with a gift that he knew would make even a cluster headache seem inconsequential -- ice-cold Coca-Cola in a tall glass bottle. What a guy, and what a lucky woman I am to have him!

On September 4th, two very important members of my family had a birthday: Aunt Nola and Marlowe. I'm too polite to reveal Aunt Nola's age, but I can tell you that Marlowe is now 7 years old.

When I first brought Marlowe home from the breeder, he was 7 weeks old. The breeder didn't want to let him go for at least another week but after talking to me and learning that I had plenty of experience with cats, she let Iman and me bring the little fluff ball home ahead of schedule. At first, it was hard to tell who was more attached to whom -- he to me or me to him. So laid back, even as a kitten, Marlowe loved to be groomed, quickly adapted to regular baths, and didn't protest when he had to wear the bib to help keep his ruff clean.


As an adult, Marlowe is a a gentle giant. He may be twice the size of his housemates, but he doesn't bully anyone about it. His favorite pasttime is being brushed to the point of drooling ecstasy.



And when he's had enough attention for a while, he'll curl up on the coffee table and show the world what a truly sweet kitty looks like.

Here we go . . .

what are your most common nicknames?

I don't really have a nickname, unless you consider that my favorite uncle has always called me by my middle name and that Thom calls me Zip.

what is today's weather?

Currently, at 4:14 AM in my part of Orange County, California, it is 75 degrees F with an expected daytime high temperature of 90 as the day progresses.

where did go on vacation this year?

I didn't take a vacation this year; I retired instead.

what did you do there?

I played Farm Town on Facebook a lot and had surgery.

where did you stay?

Either at home or in the office at our business. The accommodations at home are more comfortable when the weather is hot, so I've stayed in the luxury of central air for a few weeks.

what job do you do?

It would be easier to tell you what job I don't do. I don't do windows.

describe where you live.

I live in a city that is swallowed up by two others that are much more famous: Anaheim (home of Disneyland) and Santa Ana (once voted the "Great American City"). Garden Grove is best known for its annual Strawberry Festival and for being conveniently located near everything else that is important.

what do you usually do on weekends?

The same things I do on week days -- work.

what food hits your 'bliss spot'?

Spinach cooked just about any way you can imagine.

what drink really does it for you?

Coffee with hazelnut cream

describe the first friend that comes to your head.

The Amazing Egyptian Dude (aka my husband)

what was the last restaurant you went to?

I think it was Red Robin, but I don't remember for sure.

where would you like to live if you had unlimited moneys and nothing stopping your dreams?

Somewhere in the mountains between Pagosa Springs and Silverton, Colorado.

what is the likeliness of you achieving this dream home?

Not likely at all -- the Amazing Egyptian Dude balks at the idea of touching snow let alone living in a place where it is a daily part of life for several months of the year.

what do you like to do in your spare time?

Read, crochet, play with the cats, crossword puzzles, and watch documentaries

what's your favorite genre for TV programs?

My favorite TV programming is on PBS because it's mostly documentaries; on network television, though, it would have to be the talent competitions like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.

what's your favorite genre for music?

Country

what's your favorite song that's sad?

I've got a whole list of them here: Songs to Cry By.

what's your favorite soppy film?

A Walk to Remember

how about your favorite chick flick?

Right now it's Music and Lyrics; however, it changes every few days.

what are you looking forward to at the moment?

A reduction in the swelling at the incision site of the surgery I had on Friday morning.

what are you dreading at the moment?

The swelling not going down and having to make a trip to Urgent Care to get it checked.

how would you describe your personality?

Sheesh, these questions are quite random, aren't they?! Anyway, I'd describe my personality as friendly and easy to get along with.

if you had a personality eraser, what part of yours might you erase?

The stubborn parts.

you are given $5000 to spend in 1 day, what do you do with it? remember, no limitations!

Providing, of course, that it has been invented, I'd buy a robot that does the laundry. If one isn't available, then I'd use the money to buy some gold as an investment.

what is your biggest fear?

That my husband will die before I do.

Jientje from Heaven Is in Belgium, the creator of this meme, writes: "As long as people have been around, they have tried to communicate with each other. As a means of getting the message across as clearly as possible, idioms and sayings have found their way into our language. Now, because "a picture paints a thousand words", I thought it would be nice to make this a new photo challenge. The idea is to choose an idiom, or a saying, ( even slang is allowed) and illustrate it with a picture.

My theme for the week is cats.

Here we go!

If someone is in the catbird seat, they are in an advantageous or superior position. By virtue of his superior handsomeness and unbeatable charm, Marlowe lives in the catbird seat! Well, until Maggie, the undisputed Queen of the World, comes along to put him in his place, that is.



Something that is the cat's pajamas is excellent. In this case, the something is actually someone -- three of them. From left to right, my cat's pajamas are: Rania, the niece who visited us from Egypt; Iman, our daughter who followed in her mother's footsteps and married an Awesome Egyptian Dude (mine is Amazing, hers is Awesome); and Basma, the tortured teenage niece who is my travel partner and bestest buddy -- when I don't have to harass her about school, that is!

It was fun being a baby boomer until now. Some of the artists of the 60's and 70's are revising their hits with new lyrics to accommodate aging Baby Boomers. They include:

• Herman's Hermits - Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker.

• Ringo Starr - I Get By With a Little Help From Depends.

• The Bee Gees - How Can You Mend a Broken Hip.

• Bobby Darin - Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash.

• Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face.

• Johnny Nash - I Can't See Clearly Now.

• Paul Simon - Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver.

• The Commodores - Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom.

• Procol Harem - A Whiter Shade of Hair.

• Leo Sayer - You Make Me Feel Like Napping.

• The Temptations - Papa's Got a Kidney Stone.

• Abba - Denture Queen.

• Tony Orlando - Knock 3 Times On The Ceiling If You Hear Me Fall.

• Helen Reddy - I Am Woman, Hear Me Snore.

• Leslie Gore - It's My Procedure, and I'll Cry If I Want To.

• Willie Nelson - On the Commode Again

Of course, I can't relate to any of them, LMAO!


2. Something to look forward to. Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows that I am crazy for documentaries. My favorite documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns, has a new 12-hour, 6-part film that will air on PBS this fall! The National Parks: America's Best Idea, "is the story of an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical: that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone. As such, it follows in the tradition of Burns’s exploration of other American inventions, such as baseball and jazz" (source).


3. Words of wisdom for the week:

“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” -- John Quincy Adams

This has not been a good week for me, but I refuse to get on the pity pot. Not yet, anyway. The Brain has been giving me some serious grief since Tuesday night, with each day getting progressively worse and the seizures stronger. I can't eat because eating is the trigger this time around; I'm hungry, but I know that as soon as I try to eat something, I'll have a seizure. And as bad as the nausea from the seizures has been, I'd much rather have a growling stomach, thank you! I've already had one this morning but am hopeful that it was a fluke and that the rest of the day will be seizure free. So for now, at least, the glass is half full.


4. Anticipation. Back in June, I posted about having chosen a designer to make me a new blog layout only to discover that her queue was closed until sometime in July. Well, July passed and the queue didn't open. And August is nearly gone without the queue opening, either. On the positive side, I'd say this is a testament to the quality of her work -- she is obviously very, very busy. On the anticipation side, I'm anxiously waiting for a turn to get in line! Just yesterday I learned that the queue will reopen mid-September, when she brings in a partner to help with all the work. Yeah -- I may have a newly designed blog before the year is over!

5. Feline Humor. Cats are goofy creatures, but they sure do provide plenty of entertainment!

To see entries from other participants or to play along, click here.

With the computer goblins getting my week off to really bad start, I was genuinely hard pressed to come up with five positive things to write about for this week's post. But once I remembered about the first one, it provided just enough inspiration that the others kind of fell into place. That's the power of music and a good story.


1. The power of music and story. My best friend sent me an email with a link to an Il Divo video. Thinking that I'd like to use it for a future Music Monday post, I tabbed over to You Tube and began to search for it there. "Amazing Grace" is such a popular song that finding versions of it by singers from Willie Nelson to Elvis Presley was quite easy to do. But one video in particular caught my attention for a few reasons: (1) I did not recognize the name of the artist, (2) the performance was at Carnegie Hall, so I knew he was not a nobody despite my ignorance, and (3) the video is three times as long as all the others for the same song. Curiosity piqued, I had to check it out. I am soooooooo glad that I did! Not only does Wintley Phipps have an astonishingly powerful voice, but he has the uncanny talent to tell a story in such a powerful way as to captivate an audience with the magic of his words. My only complaint about the video is that he doesn't sing as much as he tells the story behind the song. I do hope you'll take a moment to be spellbound like me!





2. Feline friends. When everything else in the world seems to be going wrong, I can always count on my cats to lift my spirits. They don't have to "do" anything, really -- they just need to "be." Like Maggie stealing my napping spot on the couch for her own nap.


3. Simple meals shared with special people. It's always a pleasure to have the kids over to just hang out with the old folks. On Sunday, we had a girls' day at my house with me, Basma, and Iman. The Amazing Egyptian Dude had things to do at the business and the Awesome Egyptian Dude was meeting up with a friend he hadn't seen in eight years, so we girls just hung around the house, watching movies and playing dominoes. When Magdy came back in the evening, he brought dinner with him -- the most amazingly huge pizza that I have ever seen in my entire life! When he put the box on the dining table, it quickly swallowed up half of it.


In addition the ginormous pizza, he brought a smaller one. Just to give you some perspective on the size here, the smaller pizza, which is a LARGE according to the pizza shop, a Pizza Hut large pan pizza is only half its size! The kids took home half the leftovers and we kept half. We ate pizza for lunch the next day at the office.

4. Tolerable weather. The temperature hasn't climbed much higher than 85 or 86 degrees all week here in the OC, and for that I am genuinely grateful. It has meant that while the power company won't love me, the Amazing Egyptian Dude and our bank account will because the need to use the a/c has significantly diminished.

5. Computer humor. Because even in the middle of a meltdown, crash, crisis, whatever you want to call it, laughter is the best medicine.


A Spanish Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

House for instance, is feminine: la casa.
Pencil however, is masculine: el lapiz.

A student asked, "What gender is computer?"

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether computer should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that computer should definitely be of the feminine gender (la computadora), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2 The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.


The women's group, however, concluded that computer should be Masculine (el computador), because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.


The women won.


Happy Friday, everyone! And don't forget tomorrow's Small World Saturday theme is SCHOOL.

Random Thought #1

Remember

by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 – 1894)

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.


Yesterday, the Amazing Egyptian Dude lost a good friend, the Old Fart's Club lost an active participant in its Friday night "class," and most sadly, my friend lost her husband. His death was quite unexpected. Muslims bury the dead within 24 hours whenever possible, but our friend wanted to be buried in Egypt as is quite common among Egyptian ex-pats. A funeral prayer service will be held for him here on Thursday, and the plane with his body will leave for his final resting place in Egypt on Friday.


Random Thought #2

Dolly had a restful night with no seizures. I wish that I could say the same for myself! The inability to stay asleep is exacerbated by the Topamax tinglies which, truth be told, are driving me bonkers this time around. I managed to fall asleep shortly before midnight but shortly after 2, the Topamax tinglies must have invaded my mind because I woke up with a strangely painful left hand only to discover that I had scratched the living daylights out of it while sleeping. Perhaps I'll have the chance to take a nap later on today. . .

Random Thought #3

A while back I did a Thursday Thirteen list of Podcasts to Learn By and unless The Brain is completely uncooperative today, Bill Moyer's Journal was on that list. For anyone who is interested in healthcare reform and what all the hoopla is about, you seriously need to take a look at this now twice run episode of the Journal: Wendell Potter on Profits Before Patients. Potter was a Cigna insurance executive who left the company on very good terms, so he has no axe to grind with them. He explains how the for-profit private health insurance companies planned the strategy to prevent health care reform under the Clinton administration and now, to avoid it under Obama's. There's some pretty incredible stuff here, and definitely worth the watch!

For more Wordless Wednesday participants, or to play along, click here.

For more Wordless Wednesday participants, or to play along, click here.

Post about 5 favorite things from the past week. It can be anything that tickled your fancy: favorite quotes, posts, happenings, scriptures, recipes, pictures, great internet finds, etc., etc. Be as detailed as you like, the more detail the more fun for those of us visiting. Susanne, the hostess, just asks that it be kept family friendly. Click here to play along with us.


1. This week, I'm grateful for my baby sister and America's Got Talent. I've had a week full of seizures, most of them worse than normal, so I haven't been feeling as optimistic as I usually do. In fact, I slept away much of the week as always happens when The Brain takes charge. My sister called me yesterday to check in and knowing how much I enjoyed Britain's Got Talent, she asked what I thought of this season of America's Got Talent. Well, D-U-H, I didn't even know that it was on! After we finished chatting, I visited the NBC website and got caught up with the show. I have two favorites so far: Barbara Padilla, whose YouTube videos have the embed feature disabled, and




2. When the Amazing Egyptian Dude was acid washing, cleaning, then refilling our swimming pool on Sunday, he sent me to Home Depot for some additional supplies. Since the pool supplies are in the garden center, it provided me with the perfect opportunity to look at house plants. I was thrilled to find a new orchid plant for just $6.98!



3. Camry has fully recovered from her spay surgery and is back to her old tricks. Having had cats all my life, I know that they are fascinated by bags and boxes. Camry takes this fascination to the level of an obsessive-compulsive disorder, though! No box, no bag is safe when Camry is around.


Typically, we reuse the plastic shopping bags for the trash cans in the bathrooms and bedrooms. But after seeing Camry's latest misadventure, I'll have to remember to cut the handles so that if she grabs one, she doesn't become entangled in it.

4. My brother-in-law makes some mean felafel so when he made a huge batch on Wednesday and shared a freezer bag full of the raw mix with us, I was a quite the happy camper. Egyptians eat felafel any time, but it's especially popular as a breakfast food, like this:


Clockwise on the plate, starting at 9 o'clock is felafel, tomato, gargeer (I think this is watercress in English, but I'm not sure), parsley (beneath the gargeer), pickled turnip, and chili peppers. A dish of tahini sits at the center of the plate.

5. I am really looking forward to tomorrow! A local Shakespeare Company has a summer stock type show season at a park on the beach. Attendance is free, and the park has a picnic area. Ever since I had the brain surgery, we haven't gone. I decided that we will go this year and invited one of the Third Grade BFFs and spouse, along with some other friends and family to join us. I'll do my best to remember to take the camera along with me and get some shots of us as we picnic and enjoy Julius Caesar.