Annual Thanksgiving Rant or What's Your Thanks in Thanksgiving?

Does the thought of stores open for business on Thanksgiving make you see red or at least a vibrant pink? Does hearing K-Mart will be open at 6 a.m., Walmart and Best Buy at 6 p.m., and Target, Sears, Macy's at 8 p.m., to name just a few, make you want to hand in your membership card to the human  race? Okay, maybe not to that extreme, there are far more important situations to hand in your card for but you get the idea. And I'm right along with you when it comes to these stores.

But I can't vilify and lay the whole blame on the retail sector.  Like the movie Field of Dreams, corporate America heard the little voice say, "if you open, they will come".  And the public did . . .  in droves.  Let's face it, if the consumers weren't there, the doors would stay shut.  So why? According to a RetailMeNot email survey one in five consumers said it gave people a fun activity to do on Thanksgiving.   They haven't talked to my husband. "Families often like to do more than just eat on Thanksgiving. Some go to movies. Some go bowling. Some go to football games or to restaurants," says Bill Thorne, senior vice president of the National Retail Federation.   They couldn't buy or borrow a DVD or play some games at home? It's not like there's not going to be another sale until Christmas! I just don't get it.

When I was a kid, the men would watch  football games, except for my dad who'd go down stairs to play pool with anyone who'd like to challenge him, and the mothers would congregate in the kitchen to help prepare the meal.  When everyone was gathered at the bountiful table, my grandmother would say a short grace that was followed by the noise of platters being passed around and requests for favorite foods.  Then came the silence broken by the clanks of silverware as we enjoyed the results of their labor.  Like a wave,  conversations would rise and fall throughout.  Afterwards, the adults would gather at the table and play penny poker while the cousins, all girls and most of us within four years range of each other, would talk and listen to music. 

Most of those adults have passed on now and the cousins are scattered across the US.  We'll never have those times again.  I miss them.  And I have to ask, what kind of memories are the families of these shoppers and workers going to have to look back on; laughter and sharing or long lines, fighting for a parking space and/or a missing family member at the Thanksgiving table?

Okay, if you feel stores should be closed on Thanksgiving, raise your left hand and  place your right hand on your credit/debit card or any thing else you use to get yourself into debt then repeat after me:

        I, say your name, solemnly swear not venture forth into any store, mall or on-line shopping site to make any purchases on Thanksgiving Day. I shall respect the ideals of Thanksgiving by spending it with family and/or friends and shall not force anyone to work because of my selfish wants.

Good for you.  Now please share what you're thankful for besides family,  friends, employment, health etc.  One of the things I, and this might sound a little strange, am amazed at times and grateful for the ability to turn on my faucet and have hot and cold, clean water whenever I want it.  So many people around the world don't have this simple feature.  We take it for granted like so many other things and we shouldn't.

May you have a wonderful, happy, and safe Thanksgiving.

Sources: Huff Post, USA Today,

The Black Thumb of Death

Thank God for supermarkets.  I mean it.  If my family and I were pioneers, we'd surely starve.  I'm not lying here.

A while back I blogged how I had planted ten strawberry plants.  With the help of the neighborhood feral cats and my own black thumb, they never took.  But four pumpkins plants popped up surprising me, giving me hope. (The seeds were from pumpkin innards I threw in the compost pile the year before.)

Then  the middle of summer came and so did powdery mildew.  The poor plants didn't stand a chance.  It was a pitiful sight. At the end, I solemnly stood by the row of withered vines and blew taps.

Before the demise of the pumpkins, I had bought a tomato plant, figuring we're only a family of three, how many tomatoes do we really need.  I planted it in a container so I could move it around to the sunniest spots in my yard and to be able to get it out of the way when my husband mows the lawn.

Well, that one plant produced one tomato throughout the whole growing season. Yep, one tomato. Disappointed?  Ooooh yeah.  When it became ripe, I picked it, and proudly announced, at supper, that the tomato in the salad was our own home grown. After some cheers and smiles from my family, mainly to make me feel good, we partook in enjoying the fruit of my labor.

Then the months turned to October and I thought it would start to die back.  But what should I see one morning?  The dang plant had a small tomato hanging off one of its branches and a week later another appeared.  What the hell?   Did it realize its biological clock was about to tick its last tock and decided to push out two more before winter?

 The nights are now about 35 - 40 degrees and most days are in the middle fifties.  Not exactly the best growing temperature.  But I'm determined to see these orbs grow to their potential.  The plant now resides in the shower of my smaller bathroom at night and if it's sunny and the temp. is in the higher fifties, I carry it outside.  Hey, if the plant is willing to try, so am  I.

I will be triumphant and the tomatoes shall be mine!

Has anyone else ever had a bad vegetable garden?  Tell me please, it will make me feel a bit better. : )

7 Reasons to open a book

"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." 
~Joseph Brodsky

As writers we hope everyone would pick up a book (especially our own), crack open its pages and find delight in its well chosen words.
                                               BUT . . .
In a Pew Internet report it states 19% of those eighteen years and older questioned didn't read, up from 8% from a 1978 Gallup poll. Those who read 1-5 books increased from 29% to 32% and those who read 6-10 and 11-50 changed little though the numbers in 2011 were a bit lower than 1978. It also stated "Our question was somewhat different from Gallup’s in that we asked respondents whether they had read any books in the past 12 months in print, via audiobook, or an e-book. We also asked 16- and 17-year-olds. Some 78% of those 16 and older had read at least one book in any format in the previous 12 months, compared with 88% in the 1978 Gallup survey of adults. 

In our December survey, looking at the general population, 72% of Americans age 16 and older read at least one book in the past year in print; 16% read at least one e-book; 11% listened to at least one audiobook. The figures for adults 18 and older in that survey were the same, except it was 17% who had read an e-book.

So what are some of these people missing out on but others are gaining?

Brain-stimulating activities, such as reading, at any age may preserve memory
In a Science Daily article it states in a study  published in an online issue of Neurology that "research found that people who participated in mentally stimulating activities both early and late in life had a slower rate of decline in memory compared to those who did not participate in such activities across their lifetime."

Reading can make you smarter

Non-fiction books offer an abundance of information without having to take courses. duh : }

Better verbal abilities

Though reading doesn't guarantee you'll be a communicator, readers tend to have a more varied vocabulary enabling them to express their feelings and ideas better.

It improves your imagination

When reading a description of a location or event, your mind creates an image in your head thus reinforcing its creative side.

Reduces stress

In a The Telegraph article it stated research  at the University of Sussex showed "subjects only needed to read, silently, for six minutes to slow down the heart rate and ease tension in the muscles, he found. In fact it got subjects to stress levels lower than before they started."

And here's two reasons for writers.

It inspires

Besides creating an image, as stated above, it can spur other thoughts and ideas.

Instruction

By reading you learn how to craft your story. By dissecting the work you can find out how the author created a scene that moved you in some way, how to move your characters through a plot and how word choices make a difference.

You probably read because of one or most of these reasons.   But just in case I missed  something, share why you read.  Thanks.

 "Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant, and interesting." 
~ Aldous Huxley

P.S.  If you're considering participating in NaNoWriMo, check out Kristen Lamb's blog,
http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2013/10/16/fueling-the-muse-for-nanowrimo-part-one/
Fueling the Muse for NaNoWriMo gives great tips on structure by using movies as examples.

Make it Stop

Have you ever had a song stuck in your head?  I mean, REALLY stuck, like every blank moment is consumed by lyrics or you're thinking of something and realize there's background music so you tune into it and when it comes to the fore front you scream ACK, no, not that again! That's what has been happening to me for the past two weeks.  When I'm on the computer - it's there.  When I'm driving - it's there. When I'm cooking , at work, trying to write  - it's there.

Patsy Cline's Sweet Dreams, Loretta Lynn's Coal Miner's Daughter, Cher's Half Breed and Abba's Dancing Queen, all have taken turns to tilt me over to crazy. And it's not like it's the whole song, it's just the chorus or two or three lines played over and over and OVER again.  Some times I get a break and another singer gets a few moments but that reprieve doesn't last long.

I've had this problem before but not usually this bad.  What I do to counteract this is hum Schubert's Unfinished Symphony #8.  I hear you snickering.  Stop it. Hey, whatever works, right? The thing is,  I hum what was presented in an old Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoon; the section of music you hear when Casper first meets Schubert.  Okay you can laugh now. (I wanted to include the cartoon but it wouldn't let me load the video.   Here's the link.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbDqon8-804&list=PL25B80D600F5715C4 )
Go on , check it out, it's short.  I'll wait.  Hmm hmmm hm hm h  hmm

Oh good you're back. Isn't that a beautiful, catchy tune? It helps to block out the uninvited songs without getting lodged in my brain.

I know you probably have had a song that just won't let go.  What kind of tricks did you do to get rid of it? Tell me - please. Hurry, I hear Aretha singing R-E-S-P-E-C-T and Sly and the Family Stone is right behind with Baby baby baby light my fire.  Boom shaka-laka-laka Boom shaka-laka-laka.    Help!

PS. How many of you remember that particular Casper cartoon?

Whoa - Thirty Years!

It's amazing to think of being with someone for thirty years.  In fact it's longer if you count the seven years we were together before we married. We've had our good and hard times.  Times where you wish it would end and more times you wish it never would.  But that's what marriage is about.  It's about compromise and compassion; overcoming challenges; friendship and understanding, growing together, family and having love, like a silk ribbon woven through the different strands of life, bind it all together.

 Billy, Fred, Don, me, my sister Bonnie and Jeannine

(My  mother made the bouquets and the bride's maids head pieces.)

One of many candids capturing our guests enjoying themselves.

                                          

                  

               With love, to my husband, Don.  Happy 30th anniversary.

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                          And now for something complete different.

You probably know I don't like to cook but I do like to bake goodies.  Debora Dennis, a LIRW member who writes romantic,sexy time travel, brought these delicious brownies to the meeting.  Everyone who tried them really liked them so I'd like to share the recipe with you.  Instead of making the brownies from scratch she got a mix, made that up and went on from step 3.  Hope you enjoy.

~*~Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies~*~

Ingredients...

BROWNIE:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

COOKIE DOUGH:
3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

DRIZZLE:
1/2 cup semisweet chips
1 teaspoon shortening


Directions

1 Prepare the brownies: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray. In a medium glass bowl, melt chocolate in the microwave in short bursts of 30 seconds; stir after each burst and remove from microwave when melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

2 In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk those in too. Mix in melted chocolate. Whisk in the flour and mix just until combined (don't over-mix). Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake 25 to 35 minutes. Watch closely and remove from oven when toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely.

3 Prepare the cookie dough: In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to combine butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Mix in milk and vanilla. Mix in flour just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

4 Spread cookie dough over the cooled brownies. Refrigerate until the dough is quite firm. It's okay to speed up the process and place it in the freezer too.

5 If you'd like to add chocolate drizzle on top, melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon of shortening in the microwave; stir until smooth. Place chocolate into a zip baggie and snip off the corner. Squeeze the bag to drizzle the chocolate on top of each brownie. Sprinkle additional chocolate chips on top, if desired.

Aug. 26th - National Dog Day

In 2004, Colleen Paige founded National Dog Day as a way to show appreciation to dogs for their steadfast love and for all the ways they have helped us.  It was also "to encourage dog ownership of all breeds, mixed and pure - and embraces the opportunity for all dogs to live a happy, safe and ”abuse-free life”.

Having been adopted by several dogs and cats over the years (they always seem to find us and after awhile we can't let them go), I really like this idea.  There's too much abuse, abandonment and neglect. This situation should be continually brought to everyone's attention so a change might be possible.

Bonapart (Great Dane)and our daughter, Jennifer.  He was such a gentle, protective dog, who loved the couch. 

Cookie (Dalmatian) was sweet, smart and energetic.  Both dogs were adopted from the pound. 

I can't find the pictures for our other dogs, Shadow (Cocker Spaniel) and Penny (Beagle)  right now but we had taken them off the street, tried to find their owners but had no luck. They then became part of our family.   And there was also Barney and Brittany (mutts) who came as a package deal with my husband

What are some of your best memories with your pets?



Editors note: Colleen has also founded several other days including National Cat Day, National Horse Protection Day and National Wildlife Day.

C'mon Pat, which is it?

By now most of you probably have heard or have seen the clip of Televangelist Pat Robertson telling a woman how she can forgive her cheating husband. He advises her to stop dwelling on the past deed and look for the good within him - the positive. And though I'm not a Robertson supporter, I feel, that's pretty logical advice 

if you're trying to forgive.

 BUT he drops the ball when he says "well he's a man" and "males have a tendency to wander a little bit". He states it like it's a plausible excuse and goes on citing all the salacious trappings that men can fall prey to. He also suggests women should "make a home so wonderful that he doesn't want to wander." Wait a minute , doesn't the Ten Commandments say Thou shall not commit adultery? I mean they are simple laws. Does that mean men get a little wiggle room because of their nature?   Ahhhh, I don't think so.

 Mr. Robertson speaks, in another segment, how God will punish the U.S. for supporting gay rights.  At the end of this clip he says,"This country can not continue to violate God's principles and to make a mockery of his laws and think we're going to get away with it."  

Who's making a mockery?  In a Huff Post article it states "Pat Robertson doesn't think General David Petraeus should be condemned for his affair with writer Paula Broadwell. After all, she is "an extremely good looking woman" and "he's a man."   (Again with that term.  Get a better writer, will you please).   And then he thumps on his Bible declaring it's against God's law for a man to lie with another.  Hey Pat, does that thumpthump infraction have more weight than breaking the laws given to Moses?     

I'm not trying to advocate any side of the gay issue.  My point is if you have compassion and understanding towards a transgression shouldn't all transgressions receive that same insight and if you were strident towards a violation of God's law shouldn't all violations get the same condemnation?

To me, if you don't, it's hypocrisy,that's what I see here and it's a shame he has so many people's ears.