Probably Should Keep My Mouth Shut...

(As a female Michael, maybe this is one of those subjects I have no business addressing, but maybe it's for that very reason that I find it of interest...)

I read a story today that included a list of the names that grew the fastest in popularity in 2009.  Three of the top ten are "Twilight names"-- names that (it seems very likely) were chosen more often because of their appearance in the Twilight series.  (The names, in case you're wondering, are Cullen-- #1 on the list!-- Emmett, and Jasper.)

Well, I suppose it's a step up from naming your baby after someone in a soap opera... I mean, they're books, so there's reading involved, which imparts a certain degree of "class"... But still.

Who am I to judge, though?  Go ahead!  Add another little "Cullen" to the world.  For the rest of his life, everyone will know that Mommy has/had a thing for YA vampire fiction, but so be it!  I guess it's no worse than naming a baby after a popular song or a president's daughter.

I can even try to understand.  Maybe you just really liked the name "Jasper"...  "It's so different," you think.  "So fresh!"  And it doesn't hurt that you also like the character.  Of course, now it won't be quite such a unique name, but, eh, it's different enough.  Now to just figure out how to convince your husband that it's a great idea to name your infant son after a sparkly vampire...

(And yes, I realize that this is an old story.  Fortunately, few people read this blog for breaking news.)

Welcome to Conservative Haven, U.S.A. ;o)

I just read a news story that lists four local counties that have made it on The Daily Caller's list of "the top 100 'most conservative-friendly' counties in the United States".  Our county in particular (where I've always lived, by the way) made spot 63 on the list.  (...Which makes me wonder what the top ten are like.  The website is doling them out twenty at a time, and they're not revealing the top twenty until tomorrow.  Oh, and they're doing a top 100 most liberal-friendly counties, next, in case you're interested.)

Here's what they say about my home county:

There are two main areas of settlement in ---------- County. The bulk of the population is part of the suburbs of Mobile, across the bay from the city itself. The new suburbs are prosperous Gulf Coast towns similar to those around Tampa or Houston. The other thrust of development are the resorts along the Gulf. Beaches like G--- S----- are very similar to the white sand beaches in the Florida Panhandle. The county is about 3-to-1 Republican.”

Well, I must admit that I don't quite like my county being referred to as a suburb of Mobile.  Sure, a good number of people live on the Eastern Shore and commute to work in Mobile, but suburbs of Mobile?  I think that's pushing it.  And as for our beaches being "very similar" to those on the Florida Panhandle-- I'm pretty sure they are the same.  There's nothing but a state line separating them, after all.    

Quibbles aside, I think it's fun that we made the list at all.   One more reason to be happy we live here.  ;o)

Absolute Trivia About AL License Plates

Here's one for the "as if there aren't enough more important things to get upset about" file. . .

Alabama's changing to a new state license plate, starting next year (and lasting until 2014). Personally, I welcome some change, because I've never been crazy about the "Stars Fell on Alabama" one we have now. (But Andy Rooney can still just keep his grumpy opinions about it to himself, as far as I'm concerned. Look, dude, it's a song [and a novel] based on a [locally] famous meteor shower. Go find something else to gripe about, ok? . . .I find it amusing to refer to elderly grumps as "dudes". One of those little joys that mercifully abound in life!)

So, anyway, the new plate will feature a beach scene and the words "Sweet Home Alabama". Evidently a tourism official from the northern part of the state feels that the plate should have included their mountains, too.

But. . . wouldn't that make it look like we have beaches and mountains in the same place? (We don't. Mountains are in the north, beaches are down here on the coastal plain.) And even if you could figure a way to get them both on the same plate, mightn't they look a bit cramped?

In a way, I feel sorry for Mr. Mountain-Tourism. It must be hard, knowing that most tourists (if they think of Alabama at all) think of our state's beaches. Then there's the painful fact that most Southeastern mountain-seekers (including those in my own family) aren't satisfied with what Alabama has to offer, and prefer to go further into Appalachia. But please, try to remember that this is just a license plate. Truly, it's not that big of a deal.

And maybe, someday, we'll have one with a picture of a mountain on it. But only if you behave yourself in the meantime. ;o)

Keywords

It's been a few months since my last Google Analytics post, so I thought another one was due. It got a little long, so you may not want to read the whole thing. If you want to see just my favorites, skip down to the bottom. :o)

Here's what people were searching for when they happened upon this blog (since the last Analytics entry):

• Once again, most of them involve rag quilting, with 44 hits from "denim rag quilt(s)" along-- not even touching on all the (many, many) variations on that theme: "rag quilt bag" (9), "rag quilt video" (8), "flannel rag quilts" (5), and so on. (Maybe it's time for me to start actually working on that quilt again. ;o)) To avoid boring you completely to tears, I'll skip the rest of the quilt-related searches, unless something particularly interesting pops up.
  
• "borderline narcolepsy"/"borderline narcoleptic"-- 5 hits
  
• "trollstigen weather"-- 3 hits (Ah, Norway. . . I don't miss the crazy roads, but the views!)
  
• "racing down trollstigen"-- 1 hit
• "trollstigen road raised"-- 1 hit (What does that even mean?)
• "trollstigen youtube"-- 1 hit
  
• "birds attacking cats"-- 2 hits (Poor Skipper. I think I mentioned this after seeing a bird dive-bomb him. . .)
  
• "cockapekapoo"-- 2 hits
  
• "itchy hands after mowing"/"hands itch after digging in the yard"/"hands itch after mowing the lawn"/"mowing itchy"/"my hand vibrate after mowing"/"my palms itch after mowing the lawn"/"numb fingertips after mowing lawn"/"vibrations from lawn mower hands to itch"/"why do i get itchy hands after mowing the lawn"/"why do my palms itch after mowing"-- 11 hits (Obviously it's a common occurrence!)
  
• "after crocheting finger numb"/"crochet numb finger"/"crocheting numb fingers"/"numb finger crochet"-- 4 hits (Again, clearly I'm not the only one. Not that I thought I was. . .)
  
• "numb fingers more:causes risk factors"-- 1 hit
• "numb finger after striking"-- 1 hit (. . .After striking what, exactly. . .?)
  
• "jared polis"-- 2 hits (This is from a question in a meme.)
  
• "odds and ends abbreviation"-- 2 hits (Is there such a thing?)
  
• "sarah michaels extra thick body cream"/"sarah michaels milk and honey"-- 4 hits, total
• "curly sue soundtrack"-- 1 hit for this and all that follow, unless otherwise noted
  
• "emily of new moon: dean priest"
• "grey skin"/"blue gray skin color"/"gray skin"/"grey skin from well water"/"grey skin man"/"grey skin pictures"/"guy with grey skin"/"man with gray skin"/"man with grey skin"/"skin turned a permanent shade of blue-gray after consumption of nutritional supplements"/"the man with the gray skin"-- 11 hits (I guess people are still interested in this story. . .)
  
• "polymer clay + jewelry"
• "sziklai pair"/"adrigole"/"anoglypta" (This is what happens when you do that silly, random Wikipedia meme. . .)
  
• "yellow-bellied water snake split"
• "cassandra wilson - lovely"
• "7 inch granny square"
• "another name/ word for all knowing"-- 2 hits
• "b&w techniques"
• "baldwinreport"
• "canon xsi"
• "coastal fabric designs"
• "clouds moonlight flickr"
• "decorated cake ballerina"/"plastic ballerinas"-- 2 hits
  
• "dicey name pronounce" (I know the book they're thinking of, but I haven't read it-- yet-- myself, and I don't remember mentioning it or this character in my blog. . .)
  
• "eilert pilarm swedish elvis" (Donald was just talking about this again the other day. I'd forgotten about it.)
  
• "felt cake slice pattern" (Again. And I've never even posted one, as far as I can recall. . .)
  
• "flickr children's vintage fashion" (& related queries)-- 5 hits
• "vintage retro scans"
  
• "hejsan pronounced" ("Hay-sawn"-- or something like.)
  
• "how to make a bag out of a button up shirt" (I'm not sure, but it shouldn't be too hard to do.)
  
• "how to use variegated ombre yarn"
  
• "husqvarna correct pronunciation" (Hm. . . As far as I know, it's "HOOSK-varna", but I'm no expert. . . (shrug))
  
• "ike is gonna strike"/"wheres ike"/"wheres ike gonna go"/"wheres ike now"-- 4 hits
  
• "ipod wailin jennys"/"wailin jennys song meanings"-- 4 hits
  
• "it is beautiful the world we live in"/"its a beautiful world we live in"-- 4 hits (Agreed.)
• "lawn mowing gloves" (Again, is there really such a thing as gloves made just for lawn mowing?)
  
• "woolfardisworthy" (At first, I was all "Wha. . .?" And then I remembered this entry.)
  
• "leveson loosen" (See above.)
  
• "pronunciations odd spellings fanshawe" (Yep, one more for that entry.)
  
• "michael strang mowing" (No idea how this one got here. . .)
• "mike oddsandends"
• "moonbeamers cartoon"/"the moonbeamers cartoon"-- 2 hits (I remember it, vaguely. I more remember that my sister and I each had a Moonbeamers "action figure"/doll, and their hair glowed in the dark. I think one of us had a Moonbeamers lunch box, too, one year.)
  
• "trixie-o designs"
  
• "muskmare" ((shudder) Nasty things!)
• "ombre pattern cloth in photoshop" (I'm not sure what they meant by that. . .)
  
• "open slatted patio cover photo" (You're joking, right? Our patio doesn't even have it's "floor" in place, yet. Need to work on that. . .)
  
• "paw print rag quilt bag" (Hey, that's a neat idea!)
• "personality trait of l.m.montgomery" (I could name a few, but you're probably better off looking elsewhere.)
  
• "photo crochet"
• "pin cushion"/"pin cushions with mason jar lids"-- 2 hits
• "peewauket" (Another reference to that book I haven't even read. I can't figure out where I mentioned these things. . .)
  
• "scan cyoa books"
  
• "seizures/weather conditions" (I guess they might be linked, somehow?)
  
• "sewing"
• "sewing kit in a jar"
• "sharpshooter shovel"/"shovel handle refitting"-- 2 hits
• "spelling widget for computer" (Why would you need one? Seems like most programs have one already built in. . .)
• "sweded movies wikipedia"
• "youtube gameron guiron" (Oh, how I hate that movie.)
  

I saved my favorites for last. They're a little more interesting-- and/or amusing-- than the ones listed above.

• "children's book on dog fashion" (Intriguing. . .)
  
• "how do I pronounce st john rivers"/"st john pronounced sinjin" (Yes, it truly is pronounced "sinjin". Weird, huh? But admittedly, it's much easier to say than "saint john".)
  
• "how to crouche granny squares" (Yeah, it's just a spelling error, but it looks funny.)
  
• "how to prevent finches from defecating in birdhouse" (Is that even possible? I think you just have to clean out the house, at the end of the nesting season. That, or let the next bird who comes along take care of it. (g))
  
• "mood killers" (LOL! I wonder if they were looking for a definitive list. And why? Seeking inspiration?)
• "shoe mcan logo resemblance with allah in bangladesh" (I can't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole thing.)
  
• "mom, i'm nearsighted, and need glasses" (This one actually strikes me as kind of sad. Was this person worrying about how to tell "mom" that s/he needs glasses. . .?)
• "mother hubbard etsy golden" (Added to this list because of the sheer weirdness of this seemingly unrelated string of words.)
• "odd style fashion for kids" (Kids, prepare for some good old-fashioned school-yard teasing. . .)
• "rag quilt clog washer" (Uh oh. ;o) Yeah, they say that can happen. Best to take precautions. If possible, wash it the first time or two at the laundromat, and maybe wash it inside a bag, to catch the fluff.)
• "two striped walking stick sprayed in mouth" (Oh, you poor, poor person! Don't worry, though. It shouldn't cause any long-term damage.)
• "unblur a purposely blurred photo" (And just why do you need to do that?)
• "voortman cookies coloring book" (So, is it a coloring book full of drawings of cookies?)
• "i look through the camera viewfinder with my left eye. is this incorrect?" (Dude, relax. Just do whatever feels right. I promise, no-one's gonna call the camera police on you for putting your left eye to the viewfinder. I do it all the time.)
• "koink oil" (What is koink oil?)
• "lawn mowing vocabulary" (There will be a quiz tomorrow, so you'd best study.) ;o)

Well, that concludes this quarter's episode of "Giggle Goofily at That Keyword". ;o) Better go see about doing something slightly more useful. . .

Color IQ

Here's a "color IQ test" I saw some folks tweeting about on Twitter today: FM 100 Hue Test.

(Basically, you have to unscramble little swatches of color until they smoothly bridge the gaps between four pairs of colors.)

I have perfect color vision!

Hurray! ;o) That's more than I can say for my vision in general, but at least my nearsighted eyes can decipher color variation. (g)

By Any Other Name. . .

I've written before about the ups and downs of being a girl named "Michael". I still get the occasional double-take or "Is it 'Michelle'?"-- and just last week the lady renewing our Sam's Club membership was momentarily confused-- but I can't think of myself by any other name. If I had been born in Sweden, the Swedish tax authorities might not have allowed it. (I'd have been "Nicole" or "Holly" or something, then. I think those were two of the alternates. . .)

According to this article on The Local, a Swedish couple won't be allowed to name their daughter "Elvis" because "it is the National Tax Board's view that Elvis is a first name of a masculine type and as such may, in light of standard practice, be considered clearly inappropriate as a first name for a woman".

Now, I wouldn't really want to name a son "Elvis", either, because, well, it feels too "taken". Kind of like naming your daughter "Madonna", though that would be about 1000 times worse, considering what Madonna stands for, IMNSHO. ;o) But their argument seemed to be more that it was a masculine name-- not that the name is strongly associated with a cultural icon.

(Incidentally, is it just me, or is it amusing that the same people who are making judgments about the "appropriateness" of a child's name based solely on his/or gender would probably never let it be said that they make judgments about whether or not someone behaves according to their gender or "identifies" with that gender, etc.? I just find that very interesting. They wouldn't want little Suzy to think that she had to live a "traditionally feminine" life. No, she should be encouraged to do everything the boys do-- from playing with toy trucks to majoring in engineering. And if she should someday decide that she's not really a girl at all, I'm sure they'd think that was ok, too. But in the meantime, it's vitally important that she have a "first name of the feminine type"!)

I'm sure this system of having the government "approve" names was originally kindly meant. I guess it's supposed to protect kids from the weirdest names their eccentric (or merely thoughtless) parents might come up with. Still, it just doesn't sit right with me. I wouldn't appreciate my government telling me that I can't name my child as I see fit. (If s/he hates the name that much, they can go by a nickname or even have it legally changed!) I suspect that the majority of Swedes are fully capable of picking good names for their children without the Tax Board's seal of approval. (Seriously, Sweden, what is it with you and the tax man? (g))

Besides, evidently they still let some kooky names slip through. (There are two Swedish girls named "Mettalica" and "Metallica".)

ETA: I just found another blogger's compilation of a few odd names approved in Sweden, as well as a brief background on the whole process of having names approved.

How is it pronounced?

I remember that at a certain point in school, I became self-conscious about reading aloud. Until that time, I'd always enjoyed it, because I knew I was good at it. (Let's just be honest, shall we? ;o))

I don't remember the details, but a teacher corrected my pronunciation, and I didn't want to further embarrass myself by mispronouncing even more words. I guess it didn't occur to me that the only way I'd learn correct pronunciation was to hear it. Instead, I felt that it would make me look stupid, and that annoyed me-- particularly when I knew what the word meant. (I'm still not really fond of corrections or so-called "constructive criticism", but I suppose few of us are.)

Anyway, I've long been sensitive to issues of pronunciation. (Maybe this has hindered my progress in learning Swedish. Yeah, that must be it. It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that I never practice. . .)

I'm also interested in linguistic curiosities in general, so naturally I was amused to come across this list somewhere out on the vast WWW. Someone made an impromptu list of names whose bizarre pronunciations bear little resemblance to their spellings.

I'll just copy and paste the relevant bit so you don't have to wade through that forum I linked to above (unless you want to, of course):

Cockburn I mentioned above [pronounced "Coburn"], Other food related ones might be Worcester (sauce) pronounced Wooster; Leicester (cheese) pronounced lester
Other examples (not a complete list by any means)
Wymondham (pronounced Wind-am),
Waldergrave (=Wawgrayve),
Mainwaring (=Mannering),
Magdalene (=Maudlin),
Caius (=Keeys),
Auchinlech (=Aflek)
Althorp – pronounced 'Awltrup'
Belvoir – pronounced 'Beever'
Cholmondely – 'Chumli'
Featherstonehaugh – 'Fanshaw'
Leominster – 'Lemster'
Leveson-Gower – 'Loosen-Gaw'
Marjoribanks – 'Marchbanks'
Ralph – 'Rafe'
Ranulph – 'Ralph'
St. John – 'Sin Jin'
Towcester – 'Toaster'
Woolfardisworthy – 'Woolseri'
Wriothesley – 'Roxli'
Menzies - 'Minges'

Some of you will recognize that the pronunciation of one of those names is very similar to my own maiden name. Interesting! Maybe I have some incredibly distant cousins sipping tea in England under that name. Or maybe not. (g)

In the forum, the topic of St. John/Sin Jin's appearance in Jane Eyre came up. Some seemed to think that if you'd read the book, you'd know that "St. John" is pronounced "Sin Jin".

Part of me is (jokingly) offended because I myself read and loved the book, but never had a clue it wasn't pronounced "Saint John" until I saw a film based on the novel. (True, I thought "Saint John" was an awfully weird name-- yes, I do still form opinions on the weirdness of names, even though I have what is arguably an odd name, myself (g)-- but "Sin Jin" doesn't really seem more normal to me. In fact, it reminds me of "Sinbad the Sailor"!)

Another part of me just wants to laugh and say, "You've got to be kidding, right?!" It's a book! How am I supposed to magically "hear" the way a name is pronounced just by reading it? Especially if it's an odd pronunciation, running counter to everything I've ever been taught about phonetics! Unless I'm forgetting a part of the book where his name is rhymed with something else. And I'm pretty sure I'm not. St. John Rivers isn't exactly the type of character who has rhymes written about him by his fellow characters.

Anyway. . . Be careful around those British people. With mismatched spellings and pronunciations like those, they've gotta be crazy. (Or at least mildly cruel, laying traps of this sort.) ;o)

Fabric Designs

I read this morning about a place that prints fabric with patterns of your own design. The cost is prohibitive, of course. It's supposed to get cheaper with time, but I have a feeling that their idea of cheaper is my idea of no-way-not-happening. ;o) Still, it's pretty neat that the option is even out there.

So then I started looking around at the fabric pattern designs people have posted on Flickr. I'm loving the retro patterns, especially, but I can't help wondering how long those retro looks will be "Oh, cool! It's so retro! This is exactly like the wallpaper I remember from my grandma's 50's-era kitchen!" and transform back into "Ugh! I hate those colors! They're so out-dated! They look. . . old!"

Nothing so fickle as fashion, right?

This was pointless, but oh well. (g)

Tangents from a Flickr Greeting...

This morning, Flickr greeted me in Swedish:

Got me to thinking about another way to say "hello" in Swedish: "Hejsan!"

And "hejsan" (pronounced kind of like "hay-son") has always made me think of Japan and the Japanese tradition of adding "san" to someone's name as a sign of respect.

And that reminds me of a couple of other (generalized) similarities between the two cultures. . .

Such as, both have traditions of removing outdoor shoes before entering someone's home.

Both countries are also known for producing quiet, reserved personalities.

I believe I had at one time noted other similarities, but I must've forgotten them. . .

Aha! Here's a link to a "presentation" of the similarities between the Swedish and Japanese cultures / national identity or mentality. It's based on (or taken directly from-- not sure which) a book I've read before-- Åke Daun's Swedish Mentality.

Note: Swedes may not agree with this calculation of their cultural characteristics. (g)

10 Ways the World Has Changed Since I Was in School

This week's prompt from Ten on Tuesday is "10 Ways the World Has Changed Since You’ve Been in School". I'm going to say that means "since I was in high school". I graduated in 1997, which already makes me feel a little frantic at the speedy passage of time. (I can only imagine what it'll feel like when it's been thirty or forty years since I graduated!)

10 Ways the World Has Changed Since I Was in School

1. A new millennium has begun.
   
2. "9/11" happened.
   
3. The whole global warming thing has risen to hysteria levels.
   
4. My area was hit by the worst hurricane (Ivan, 2004) since the one that hit the year of my birth (Frederic, 1979).
   
5. Technology continues to improve. Flat screen TVs are becoming the norm, the iPod (launched in 2001) and similar devices are everywhere, and it is even possible to take photos and access the Internet on many cell phones.
   
6. Almost everyone (including many children) has a cell phone, now.
   
7. The issue of cloning has (temporarily) moved out of the limelight.
   
8. Organically grown food is "all the rage", and some are willing to pay a hefty mark-up for everything "organic".
   
9. Same-sex marriage has become legal in five countries since 2001.
   
10. Public awareness of illegal aliens-- particularly the huge numbers entering the country through our border with Mexico-- has risen, but as yet, not much has been done to address the issue.
    

Those were the first to come to mind. I'm probably missing some of the biggies, though. . .

Let's get analytical. (Again.)

More fun (for me, at least) with Google Analytics!

(If you have a blog or other website and would like to get all sorts of neat statistics about it for free, I recommend Analytics. It's pretty easy to set up, and did I mention that it's free? (g) Hurray for free stuff!)

Let's see. . . The last time I did this was in February. So I guess I'll just look from that point forward.

Keywords--
That is, the words or phrases people were searching for when they found this blog.
Sorry, if everyone already knew that. (g)

• odds and ends polymer clay -- 41 visits
• denim rag quilt -- 20
  
• rag quits -- 10
• denim quilt -- 5
• how to make rag quilts -- 5

I won't list them all, but there are many (soo many!) rag quilt-related keywords throughout this list. Just about every possible search term relating to rag quilts (and every misspelling of "denim") is represented, I think. (g) It's clearly the single subject that draws most of the new visitors to this blog. And I haven't even finished my first rag quilt, yet! (Just a couple of rag quilted bags.)

Back to the list. . .

• flickr polymer clay photostream -- 3 visits
• "congenital cataracts" glasses -- 1 (from here on out, all led to just one visit, unless otherwise noted. . . and in those cases, there was always a slight variation in spelling or wording)
  
• a couple of songs-- "everywhere" moustache / "follow you follow me" gilmore girls
• "i could have killed all of them" fritzl
  
• "jane eyre"
• "la valse des vieux os" translation -- (from Amélie. And then there's another one about that movie, further down. . .) I don't have that translation.
• "making flocking" models -- I have no idea now to make flocking. Sorry.
  
• "odds and ends" cartoon -- Never heard of it.
  
• "odds and ends" quilt
  
• "sarah michaels" extra thick body cream / sarah michaels body cream milk and honey / sarah michaels first light lotion -- Yeah, I heard they discontinued that line of products.
  
• "self help books" -- Uh oh. . . I hope I didn't "dis" that genre too harshly. . . ;o)
• "vintage children's books" blog -- (x2) Sounds interesting, but this isn't one of those.
  
• "wailin' jennys" -- (x2) (It's a musical group.)
• michaels clay sale -- (x6) Actually, they have one going on right now! (g)
• 1920s etiquette
• adrigole -- huh? I have no idea where I might have written this, because I don't know what it is. (g) . . .Ok, it's a village in Ireland. This is one of those random things from the Wikipedia meme.
  
• Ainsbruck -- Yes, I was writing about the Ainsbruck Singers, a Swedish group. There are very few Google hits for this word!
• another word for all-knowing -- Try "omniscient". :o)
• are eye exams scary -- Aw, don't worry! They're really not that bad. :o)
• ashokan farewell mp3 jay ungar
  
• bedroom odds and ends
• blue gray skin / blue-gray man / blue-gray skin man / grey skin man / youtube gray skin man-- He generated a lot of interest!
• cake slice box template / felt cake slice pattern / felt cake slices
• cheese quizzes -- Again?! (This popped up last time, too.)
• child's pattern for making a terry cloth poncho out of a towel
• cindi schramer -- Who's that? Oh, she's one of the people who designed one of the rag quilting projects I linked to. I wonder if she was googling herself, or if this was a loyal fan? ;o)
• clothes made with vintage bits -- Sounds like fun!
• Three different keywords regarding the Curly Sue soundtrack
  
• cute pictures of vintage children's books
• dean priest emily of new moon / dean priest l.m. montgomery -- He really is better than Teddy, isn't he?
  
• decorations polymer clay youtube
• device to pour milk from milk jug -- If you find one, let me know.
  
• dog shaped rag quilt -- I can't really imagine that. . .
• fashion forcast childran illustartion (sic) -- I didn't know there was such a thing!
• flickr catherine's quilt
  
• flickr vintage fashion pictures / vintage fashion illustration
  
• genesis follow you follow me
• grandfathers barn poem -- Doesn't ring any bells. . .
  
• hands vibrate after mowing lawn -- This one came up twice. (g)
• hooked rug whip stitching
• how much clearance is needed for a porch swing -- I wish I could have found a good formula. Seems like you just have to figure it out for yourself!
• i'd rather be quilting
• instructions for large bride figure out of household items -- . . . Do you have any idea what they were looking for? I can't quite figure it out. Unless they wanted to make a homemade dressmaker's form. . .
• it's-a-beautiful-world-we-live-in music
• krispy kreme bear claws -- Please stop! You're making me hungry!!
• lawn cutting gloves -- They make some especially for lawn mowing?
• lawn to a wooded area photos -- You mean like a gradual transformation or "before and after"? Sounds interesting to me, too, but you won't find that here.
  
• little plastic ballerina / plastic ballerina cake toppers -- More hits for that photo I found on Flickr!
• lucia katts -- Look, I told you you're making me hungry. . .
• miss lollipop's lion -- (x2) Yes, we had that book when I was a kid. :o)
• odd old quilt -- (g) That's the honest way to describe a "vintage crazy quilt".
  
• odds & ends fashion magazine -- Trust me, I'm probably not the one to be giving out fashion advice.
  
• odds lawn care
• oddsandends face painting -- Sure, I can do that.
  
• on monday i found a little bug poem -- Never heard of it.
• ow to make a rag bag -- Depends on 'ow ye wannit to look, dearie. ;o)
• photo death "gray skin" -- Um, ok . . . Creepy. You won't be finding that here.
  
• photos, lawnmowing -- It's not really that interesting, is it?
  
• playskool wonderfalls
  
• polyfelt, wool felt -- So, which did you choose? The wool felt's nicer, but the price. . .
• problems with house finches nesting on my back porch again! -- Well, they are messy. If you don't mind being a little mean, I guess you could just remove the beginnings of the nest, as soon as you see it. I don't know if there's anything you can do to make the area less desirable to begin with. . . Get a cat? ;o)
  
• rags: making a little something out of almost nothing
• scans of vintage kids mags / vintage children magazine ads
  
• sziklai pair -- Well, at least this time I know how in the world this keyword led to my blog. It's due to that Wikipedia meme, again.
  
• t shirt rag quilt pattern -- I didn't know you could use t-shirts in any quilt. Or at least I thought they were a bit too stretchy to be a good choice. . .
• tarklin state park -- It's a nice little walk. :o)
• things to make from a rag quilt -- . . . It's already a quilt. You're done. ;o) Seriously, you can make bags, curtains/valances, shower curtains, table runners. . . wall art. . . pillows. . .
  
• thursday memes
  
• trollstigen / weather trollstigen 2008 -- Really interesting spot.
  
• well water gray color -- Ew. I suggest that you don't drink it. Well water is supposed to be nice and clear, in my experience.
  
• where to find rag quilting squares -- You mean pre-cut? I'm not sure. They're pretty easy to cut for yourself. Just use any fabric that tends to fray-- denim, flannel, homespun. . .
  
• winn-dixie -- Not my favorite place to shop, but I'll go when they have good sales.
  
• youtube calico skies

Always amusing. (Again, for me, at least. (g))

Flickr milestone.

I posted my 800th photo at Flickr today.

I haven't been keeping track; I just happened to notice.

So. . . Nothing more to say about that. Only, just 200 more to reach 1000! ;o)

Take5 Tuesday

Prompt from Take5 Tuesday:

1. 5 things you like about spring.

• The first days of warm sunshine. (It's one of the few times of the year when I actually enjoy sunshine, because it's not yet too hot.)
  
• The smell of freshly cut grass and honeysuckle.
• Feeling excited (for a few weeks, maybe?) about the yard. (This is when I make big plans that I later fail to carry through to completion. ;o))
• Gentle springtime breezes.
• Birds building nests all over the place (even on our back porch).
  

2. 5 things you plan to do this summer.

• Work on at least a couple of yard projects. (Pump house, patio, maybe more. . .)
• Keep alive the tomato plants we've purchased. (I hope!)
• Keep an eye open for an ad for Eskie puppies. (There aren't many available, but I'd really love to have another Eskie, one of these days.)
• Do a better job than last year at keeping the yard in order.
• Avoid snakes.
  

3. 5 of your favorite sports to play.
Ha ha ha. You're joking, right? I'm not that sporty.

• Badminton
  
• Bowling (It's been a while. . .)
  
• Bocce (Just the two of us, around the yard-- nothing fancy.)
  
• Volleyball? (It's been so many years, though!)
• Softball (Again, years and years and years!)
  

4. 5 board games you like to play, (or played as a kid.)
I don't play that many board games these days. Not because I don't like to, but because most of the time it's just the two of us, and there aren't many board games (that we like) that work with two people. We need to invite some people over to play board games, sometime. . .

• Scrabble (We do play this one fairly often. Neither of us are champion level, but it's nice for a change from the other games we play.)
  
• Trivial Pursuit (Another one the just the two of us can play.)
  
• Clue (I used to play this a lot as a kid.)
• Pay Day (Same as above. . .)
• Parcheesi (Just to name one more-- we had a lot of games I liked just about as much as this one. I think I like Pit better, but I don't think of that as a board game. . .)

5. 5 sites you visited today.

• Flickr (More specifically, I visited my "home" on the site, with recent photos from my contacts, recent activity on my own photos, etc.)
  
• Google Reader (which helps me keep track of blogs I read)
• Blogger (this blog and my clay blog)
• Google (Almost every search starts with the little Google search bar built into my browser. I end up here several times a day, usually.)
• The Daily Meme's list of Tuesday memes (where I found this one)
  

Blog Cuss-O-Meter

I saw this on another blog today and thought it was kind of funny. . .


Created by OnePlusYou

Of course, knowing that your parents and grandparents will probably see what you write may cut down on cussing. . . ;o) I don't think I'd often be tempted to curse on even a private blog, though. Writing/typing requires you to think about what you're "saying" more than when you're just spouting off.

Widgets!

I've never really gotten into the widget thing before. Oh, sure, I've dabbled. I have a couple of weather widgets-- my Flickr "badge"-- and a couple other things. But it wasn't until tonight that my eyes were truly opened to the vast and wonderful world of widgets. ;o)

LOST fans, check this out: There's a widget that simulates being the person stuck in the hatch, charged with the all-important job of typing in "those" numbers every 108 minutes.


It only accepts the numbers within four minutes of the "deadline"-- and if you miss it, there's supposedly a rather startling "Mission Failure" sound clip. (g) The only problem is that people are reporting problems with entering the numbers. Plus it must be really annoying, having to keep tabs on when you need to be back at the keyboard. Kind of like those little digital toys that were supposed to be "pets". You had to "feed" them or something, didn't you? I never understood the appeal of that-- maybe because they were popular with my youngest sister's age group and probably not aimed at teens. ;o) (Ah, they were called Tamagotchi, I guess.)

Anyway, I imagine you have to be a die-hard fan to willingly subject yourself to this type of thing.

. . . So, how many of you are gonna download it? ;o)

More Keywords. . .

As I mentioned last time, there were more keywords / search terms that I didn't see when I started the last entry, so here's the second installment:

• jeans quilt / jeans quilts / denim jean quilts / denium jeans quilt / jeans hobby /quilt out of jeans / etc.-- Seventeen visits from these. Seems like jeans quilts are a popular proposition!
• hobby quilt
  
• "new glasses"/ "new glasses" nearsighted
  
• al roker use handsaw to save energy-- Two for this one. (g) I wonder if those visitors thought it was as ridiculous (and amusing) as I did. . .
• motorized tree topper-- (g) Must've come from that story about Aunt Cathy's spooky angel tree-topper.
  
• "in these days of indigestion"-- "it is oftentimes a question. . ." ;o) Three people looked for this. At least they must've found what they were looking for-- that poem.
  
• "jane eyre"-- Of all the sites there must be out there that mention Jane Eyre, they clicked mine?!
• "up on a rooftop", christmas song lyrics
• baldwin county polymer clay -- Hm! I wonder if someone's thinking of starting up a local guild or something?
• bronte or bront or brontë or brontes or brontës or "jane eyre" or "wuthering heights"-- Phew! What a mouthful!
  
• chances odds abducted by aliens -- More aliens?!
• children's books from the 80s about a bug family-- Doesn't ring any bells. . .
• eye flick blood pressure-- . . .sounds scary!
• flash back mids the 80s-- You too?? ;o)
• grinch colored cookies and cake-- Yum yum. (?)
  
• how to sew decorations on denim-- Pretty much the same way as you sew anything, I'd imagine. If you're using a machine, you may need to change to a different size needle. (Refer to your manual for more info.)
• hunting land for sale in alabama-- Ok, which of you is planning on moving down here? ;o)
• ich bin she-ra-- It was great, wasn't it?
  
• i'm all knowing in song-- Personally, I know more in prose.
• mrs. roper's poncho-- LOL!
  
• quizzes to determine things-- Try blogthings.com for one source of pointless quizzes. Have fun!
  
• random quiz cheese-- I didn't know you could make cheese out of. . . Ok, ok. That was a bad joke, even for me. ;o) But seriously, two people were looking for cheese quizzes. Now I'm curious. . .
• random things to know about a person quiz-- Oh, is that kind of like that game we used to play at birthday parties? "Who Knows ______ the Best?" Everyone answer questions about the birthday girl/boy's favorite things, then whoever gets the most correct wins a prize.
  
• really nearsighted-- I'm sorry. :o(
  
• rifftrax-- Hope you enjoyed the YouTube video!
• slitherin garter snake-- So much better than a slitherin rattlesnake!
  
• sziklai pair-- . . . Huh? Oh, ok. That was from a wikipedia randomizer meme. 'Cause goodness knows I wouldn't be talking about a sziklai pair in my regular day-to-day blogging! (g)
• winn-dixie-- I wondered when I ever wrote about Winn-Dixie, so I had to look it up. I was mentioning how I didn't like the WD version of Dr. Pepper. I hope I didn't hurt someone's feelings. ;o) How many pages of search results do you think they had to go through before they found that? (Well, maybe they were using a search engine just for blogs. . .)

And there you have it! (I left out some of the less interesting ones and about a bajillion "vintage children's clothes/books/photos" type things.) So, now I just have to wait a few more months to rack up a new batch of keywords. I know you'll be sitting on the edge of your seats until then. ;o)

Content Courtesy of Google Analytics ;o)

Here are some things people have been looking for when they've found this blog:

• slitherin snakes -- Two people came in on this one.
  
• "patterns using towels"-- Yes, I'd noticed several people accessing this blog through that entry, since adding the Feedjit live traffic feed. I never knew that was such a popular craft!
• "yes ma'am" -- See, people still say that, 1920's Etiquette Book Lady! ;o)
• all knowing ipod meme -- Another one I've noticed on my Feedjit widget.
• any colour you like, mid -- Looking for a midi file, I guess? Sorry, none here.
  
• avila jennys meaning -- No idea. I've never paid much attention to the lyrics, before now.
• baldwin and the whiffles sh-boom -- Fun song, isn't it?
  
• curly sue soundtrack -- Several music-related hits, lately!
• figuring out squares for rag quilt-- Depends on how big you want it to be and how "raggy" you want it. Most people figure in a half-inch seam allowance. If that's what you want, decide how big you want the finished quilt to be and how many squares you want (across and down). Divide the desired length and width by the number of squares you'd like to get the size of the finished (quilted and ragged) squares, then cut the squares one inch bigger (in width and length) than that. (That leaves 1/2 inch "spare" on all sides.) If you aren't too picky about the size of the finished quilt, I think it's a lot easier to work with even inches-- or half-inches, at least. When you get down to quarter inches, you're more likely to make a mistake on your calculating or cutting. Besides, one of the main attractions of rag quilts is that it's so quick and easy-- so why complicate matters? Don't forget to double the number of squares so you'll have enough for the front and the back. If they're using flannel and no batting, some people like to triple the number of squares to give the quilt a little more warmth and thickness. In that case, you'll probably want to use your cheapest (or your least favorite) flannel for the middle layer-- but keep in mind that the colors will show in the ragging.) Have fun! :o)
  
• ipod imposter -- You have one, too? ;o)
• kids vintage fashion pics -- (and more similar to this.) Sorry to disappoint.
  
• movie that ends with gnossienne -- No idea, unless it was The Painted Veil, which was the movie I was writing about when I mentioned it. . .
• nearsighted in one eye -- Well, I guess it's better than nearsighted in both eyes (like I am). (g)
• odds on random things -- Like the odds of winning the lottery, getting struck by lighting, finding an honest politician, etc.? None of those here.
  
• plastic ballerinas+cakedecorating -- I hope you liked the picture I found. (g)
• pushing daisies retrospective -- I don't think I've written one. . .
  
• random quizzes about cheese -- (laugh) Are there such things?
• sunnyroad manasseh mix -- (multiple variants of this one.) It's a great mix. I wish it was on the original CD. . .
  
• unique personality traits -- Plenty of those here. ;o)
• what is the chance i have been abducted by aliens quiz -- Speaks for itself.
  

Maybe I ought to write about some of these things. I hate to think how disappointed these folks must've been once they got here. ;o)

Oh, I just realized that I was only looking at the keywords from the last month. (I thought there ought to be more of them!) I'll have to do another post looking back all the way to the beginning of the blog.

Other tidbits of the analytical type*:

• 54% of pageviews are the "index"/main page/the page you get when you type in the URL.
  
• 15% of pageviews are of the entry about "Sweden in 100 Little Pieces". (g)
• 5% of pageviews are of the entry where I first mentioned rag quilting.
  
• Pages of this site have been viewed 1,079 times, with 939 unique visits.
  
• This blog has had 271 absolutely unique visitors.
  
• Sixteen different languages are represented by this blog's visitors. (Of course, I think this is a bit skewed, as there are different categories for English, US English, and UK English, as well as two for Swedish, I think.)
  
• Nearly 34% of my visitors have come here just one time. (Didn't like what they saw, I guess. Maybe they're the disgruntled readers looking for quizzes about cheese, etc. (g)) 12% have visited 26-50 times, and another 12% have read this blog 51-100 times. 5.5% of you have been here over 100 times.
  
• If I understand the Visitor Loyalty report (which is a bit iffy, to tell the truth), that loyal 5.5% is made up of 44 individuals. That more than I would've thought!
  
• Most of my traffic (74.9%) has come from referring sites (mainly mossyowls.com and blogger.com). The rest is fairly evenly divided between direct traffic (people typing in my URL or using a bookmark, etc.) and search engines.
  
• Nearly 55% of visitors are using Internet Explorer, but 42% use Firefox. (We use Firefox. It was Donald's idea, and at first I was resistant, because I'm too lazy to learn new programs a creature of habit, but now that I'm adapted, I'm a faithful Firefox user.)
  

*All stats are based on the entire time I've had this blog-- since November of last year.

It's pretty amazing that you can have all these statistics (and more) for free! Just look up Google Analytics. (There are probably others out there, too, but that's the one I'm using.)

Oh, for simplier times. . . ;o)

Thought I'd share some excerpts from Lillian Eichler's Book of Etiquette. I don't think I'd ever really looked at it before this weekend, but some of it is amusing and/or interesting. Here are some snippets:

From the section on visiting cards:

The Chance Call

If a married woman calls in return for some hospitality shown her and her husband, she leaves two of her own cards and two of his. But if it is just a social call, she leaves only her own card. In this latter case, she asks at the door to see the ladies. If she is informed that they are not at home, she gives the card to the maid and departs. On the other hand, if the ladies are at home, the card is placed on the tray in the hall, and the caller goes into the drawing-room to be welcomed by her friends.

If the maid does not know whether or not the ladies are at home, and says she will see, the caller gives her own card and goes into the drawing-room to wait further word from the maid. Should the ladies be out, she leaves two of her husband's cards on the card tray in the hall before leaving. If the ladies are at home, she does not deposit her husband's cards in the tray until her departure.

Very often a lady will call on a very good friend, more for a friendly little talk and for companionship than for social duty. In this case, she is privileged to send up only one card; and leave it behind, whether that lady is out or in, without any other cards.

Mm-hmmmm. . . Well, obviously. ;o)
. . . Why would you ever need to leave two cards?

Backtracking a bit, I find that there are pages devoted to calling cards-- what size they should be (for ladies, no larger than two and seven-eighths inches in length and two and one-eight inches in width-- but no smaller than two and one-half inches long by one and seven-eighths wide-- unless you want to be the gossip in Town (g))-- what font they should use (nothing too fancy)-- what material they should be-- what information they should include-- how your name should be formatted (no nicknames, please)-- and so on.

There's also a part describing when more than one card should be left. . . But I still don't see an explanation as to why more than one is necessary. (Maybe so both husband and wife would have a copy?) As you might expect, there are rules about when a woman may or may not leave a card for a man. Even a married woman shouldn't leave her husband's card for an unmarried daughter in the house she visits!

Here's something more about the multiple card issue:

In many instances it may seem more courteous to leave more than one card, but a woman calling alone should never leave more than three. It has not been many years since she was almost compelled to leave half a dozen or more but common sense intervened and this custom like most others has been simplified.

Well, thank goodness for that! ;o)

There's a whole section on children, too. For instance. . .

A child should never seat himself until those older than he are in place though not even this should be ostentatious. As soon as the mother or whoever is presiding at the table indicates that it is time for them to be seated they all should take their places almost simultaneously.

Such formality! Sounds more like a military display than a family meal. . .

In addressing elders the child should know exactly the correct forms to use. For instance, it is no longer considered good form for anyone except servants or tradespeople to use the expressions "Yes, ma'am," and "Yes, sir." Still there is some deference due parents and elders, and the correct method of address is, "Yes, mother," or "No, father," or "Thank you, Mr. Gray." The manner of the child is just as important as the form of expression; a courteous, respectful manner should always be used towards elders.

Only "servants and tradespeople" say "sir" and "ma'am"? Even when I was growing up in the early 80s, polite children addressed adults as "sir" and "ma'am" unless instructed otherwise. (Maybe it's a Southern thing? Or maybe my parents were weird? (g)) I still catch myself doing it, sometimes, if I'm talking to a certain type of person-- if they're quite a bit older, not someone I know very well (family/friend), and if they're polite, themselves. I'm not sure how some people will feel about it, and I feel a bit awkward saying it, these days, but sometimes it just pops right out.

There are a couple of pages devoted to mourning dress-- down to such details as jewelry and handkerchiefs! ("Handkerchiefs may have a black border or they may be pure white.") Here are a few paragraphs from those pages:

The length of the mourning period depends upon the tie which existed between the deceased and the bereaved. Except for an elderly woman whose husband has died and who never intends taking off black the longest period is usually two years, the first in deep mourning, the next in "second mourning" during which time gray, lavender, purple and black-and-white may be worn. This may be shortened at discretion to six months of deep mourning followed by six months of semi-mourning or three months of deep mourning and six of half mourning. The change from black to colors should never be so abrupt as to be startling.

A girl does not wear mourning for her fiance except under extenuating circumstances. If he died on the eve of the wedding it is permissible but if the date for the wedding had not been set or if the engagement had not been announced it is questionable form for her to go into mourning for him. It is a very delicate matter and the final court of appeals is the young lady herself. But she should remember that the garments of mourning are after all only a symbol of grief and she should hesitate a long time before assuming them. Her mourning outfit is like that of a widow and she wears it for the same length of time.

Children should never wear black. Upon the death of a parent they may wear white perhaps relieved by lavender for six months or so. They do not use mourning stationery and they do not carry black bordered handkerchiefs. A girl fifteen or sixteen may wear delicate grays, lavenders, and mixed goods as well as white, but she should not wear black.

This bit made the act of "going into mourning" seem a little more logical (to me, at least): "It is a sort of protection, for strangers and thoughtless friends will not be so likely to make remarks that will wound, if they have a black dress to remind them of the bereavement. . ." I still think the extremely structured nature of mourning dress an odd thing, but maybe it's true that it would help others not to speak thoughtlessly. On the other hand, wouldn't the unusual clothing be a constant reminder of the loss-- to the mourner, as well? It seems like it might make it even harder not to dwell on it. . .

I guess it makes sense in a book of this sort that there's a lot about introductions, but somehow it grates on my nerves. In a section on the subject of "speaking without introduction", the author starts out well enough, indicating that it is ridiculous for people to be "indignant when addressed by someone to whom they have not been introduced." However, she goes on to say that "a lady, of course, may not on any condition address a gentleman whom she does not know, nor may a gentleman address a lady who is a stranger to him." Really? Even in the 1920s in America?? It must have been very difficult for "civilized" people to meet one another, if they were not so fortunate as to have a built-in system of friends and family to introduce them! (What percentage of the people do you think truly followed these "rules"?)

Though it's "ok" for one man to talk to another without introduction, it's vital that you know the following: "If a friendship is to be developed later, a formal introduction may be sought; but for the present, though they have never been presented to each other, the men may enjoy a conversation without feeling that they are trespassing beyond the boundaries of etiquette." How reassuring!

Then there's a section on letters of introduction, but I doubt many of you are still reading, at this point, so I'll call it quits. (g)

If you are hungry for more, you'll be happy to know that the ebook is available online. It's free! Enjoy! ;o)

Memes

(Argh! Accidentally published prematurely. . . Sorry if you saw this before it was done.)

Meme meme meme. (In that order.)

Meme the First:
Cult TV--
Untouched means I've never seen it.
Italics means I've seen it at least once.
Bold means I watched it a lot or watched it religiously.
Struck out means I've seen it but didn't like it.
Parenthetical statements are in (parentheses). ;o)
P.S. Older relatives who may be reading: Don't worry-- this has nothing to do with any actual cults-- just tv shows with "cultish"/semi-obsessed fans. (g)

30. Square Pegs (Never even heard of it.)
29. Rags to Riches (No idea what it is.)
28. Wonderfalls (Saw the commercials for the millisecond that it was on TV. . .)
27. The Daily Show (Saw teensy clips of it; think it's overrated.)
26. Firefly (Again, do commercials count?)
25. Freaks and Geeks (Heard it was good, but never saw it.)
24. Absolutely Fabulous (Ditto.)
23. Forever Knight (Sounds vaguely familiar. . .)
22. H. R. Pufnstuf (Not that I know of, but maybe as a kid? In reruns?)
21. Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (Was there really a show by that name?)
20. Twin Peaks (Too young at the time it first ran.)
19. Dark Shadows (I think I've seen bits of it, but not a whole ep.)
18. Doctor Who (Maybe bits of one of the newer series, but not the original.)
17. The Avengers (Nope.)
16. My So-Called Life (Just less-than-1-minute snippets.)
15. Quantum Leap (Again, never a whole episode.)
14. Beauty and the Beast (More than once, but not a lot.)
13. Babylon 5 (Not that I know of.)
12. Family Guy (So, so weird.)
11. Mystery Science Theater 3000 (On DVD, not so much on TV.)
10. Pee-Wee's Playhouse (Stop! You'll give me nightmares!)
9. Xena: Warrior Princess (Not a whole episode, though.)
8. The Twilight Zone (Mostly on "marathons" on SciFi.)
7. The Prisoner (I don't recognize this one. . .)
6. The Simpsons (Only within the past several years; not growing up.)
5. Monty Python's Flying Circus (Ditto.)
4. Farscape (Nope.)
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Not this one, either.)
2. The X-Files (Yeah, but by the time M. left, it just wasn't worth watching.)
1. Star Trek (Saw reruns of the original series when I was younger-- watched the Generations series regularly when it came out-- never really liked the rest of the series as much, though.)

Meme the Second:
Another (5) Book Meme--
1. Take five books off your bookshelf.
2. Book #1 -- first sentence
3. Book #2 -- last sentence on page fifty
4. Book #3 -- second sentence on page one hundred
5. Book #4 -- next to the last sentence on page one hundred fifty
6. Book #5 -- final sentence of the book
7. Make the five sentences into a paragraph.

I'll try to be random with the books-- one off each shelf, picked with eyes shut. (Because it's so very important. It's really worth all this extra effort. Really.) Ok, here we go:

Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs. Ford scrambled round and flung his shoulder uselessly against the reclosing hatchway. The flowers that she had taught me to distinguish by their names, the flowers that I had taught her to paint from, were gone, and the tiny white paths that led between the beds were damp and green already. If the person called upon feels the loss so poignantly that he or she cannot be composed, it is far better to leave a cordial note at the door asking to be excused from all callers, than to greet them and cause embarrassment by a display of emotion. "My dear," replied Valentine, "has not the Count just told us that all human wisdom is contained in the words 'Wait and hope!'"

So. . . Didn't make much sense, did it? I don't suppose you can expect much better, though, from such a random assortment of sentences. It's interesting that the three internal sentences all happened to relate to loss/trouble in some way, while the last was more hopeful.

Books used:
1. Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder
2. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
3. The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins
4. Book of Etiquette, Lillian Eichler (1921)
5. The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas (abridged, but still 500+ pages)

Looking back, I think it might help if the books were at least all in the same tense and told from the same point of view (second person, first person, etc.). Maybe I'll give it another try, but this time only keep five books that have at least that degree of parallelity.

It was a warm, golden-cloudy, lovable afternoon. She was assisted, however, by that perfect indifference and apparent unconsciousness, among the only three of her own friends in the secret of the past, which seemed almost to deny any recollection of it. "I'll never improve," the Turk answered, but his arms began to move faster than before. He said, "If you haven't found it so far, you better look harder. One thing's sure. I better not find it first." And, somehow, Sara felt as if she understood her, though she said so little, and only stood still and looked and looked after her as she went out of the shop with the Indian gentleman, and they got into the carriage and drove away.

Not that much better. Oh well. (g)

Books used:
1. Rilla of Ingleside, L. M. Montgomery
2. Persuasion, Jane Austen (Wow. That was a pretty bad sentence!)
3. The Princess Bride, William Goldman
4. The Bad Seed, William March
5. A Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett

Meme the Third:
Music Meme--
(It's pretty bland, but at least it's short and to the point.)

1. Grab the nearest CD (or your mp3-player, etc.).
2. Put it in your CD-Player (or start your mp3-player, I-tunes, etc.).
3. Skip to Song 3 (or load the 3rd song in your 3rd playlist)
4. Post the first verse in your journal along with these instructions. Don’t name the band, nor the album-title.

Ok, here goes: "Close your eyes; give me your hand, darling." I bet at least a couple of you out there know the song, right? (g)

Well, that ends my Sunday Afternoon MemeFest!
You can now return to your regularly scheduled last-minute weekend business, while I go off to contemplate that eternal question-- What's for supper tonight? ;o)

No memes were harmed in the making of this blog post.
These and other memes may be found at TheDailyMeme.com.

A Couple of Time-Wasters :o)

Apparently, this has been around for a few years (at least), but Donald and I happened upon it just a couple of days ago.

It's pretty weird, and I don't see why they couldn't have given the poor woman something more than skimpy underwear, but it's somewhat amusing (for the first minute or so, at least), if only because it's so strange. (g)

Here's the Bubble Woman. Just click and drag her a bit to get her started, then watch as she "falls", bouncing and sliding over bubbles as she goes. You can grab her with your mouse at any time to reposition her on the screen.

Note: It helps if you think of her as a rag doll instead of a real person. ;o)

If scantily clad Bubble Women aren't your thing ;o) have a look at the singing horses. :o)

There-- consider your time well-wasted.