Showing posts with label Fun stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fun stuff. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Looking Back



This past year was not near what I expected. I know it wasn't, although I can’t remember what I expected.  I’ve forgotten a lot of things, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t expect to break my hip. Nor did I expect to have to learn to walk again. I’ve always heard that if you do it right the first time, you won’t have to do it over. I’d tended to that little walking project eighty-six years ago and I must have done it right because I’ve certainly walked a lot over the years. I guess a person can’t put a lot of faith in some of these old sayings.

Anyway, I’ve learned to walk, and like the first time, it’s taken me almost a year.

Almost as important, I’ve finished two of the manuscripts that I was positive I had finished five times before. This time I’m positively positive that the job is done. I know this because I do not intend to read them again.

So I’m moving on with my writing, I’m now reworking my third story
which is actually my first, but it gets a little complicated at this point, so I’ll spare you any explanations and move on.

In the back of my mind there is a niggling thought that I should be thinking about doing something with these stories other than storing them in my computer files. However, I don’t multitask as well as well as I once did, so instead, I’m continuing to work this third story,
which is really my first.

 Nowadays, I like to finish a project before I go to the next, and I'm
beginning to realized there is a huge problem with this way of doing things. With ten more chapter to revise in this third novel and a sequel under way, I'm looking at two more years before I reach a stopping point. No way, is this acceptable!


Okay, I’ll work on this hitch in my mode of operations tomorrow–or the day after…I may need to make a list of my plans. Or, maybe I need to plan to make a list. That fits my schedule much better.

I'm flexible–this past year proved that. That nice, because I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm stuck in old habits. Of course, most of the changes of this past year were forced upon me, but I never protested, never complained…uh, lets skip this part of the past year.

Anyway, There's been a lot of changing going on, and a few were voluntarily undertaken. This year, for the first time in my life, I went through Christmas without a tree. My choice. I enjoy decorating a tree. Removing those decorations is not on my list of fun things to do. Since removing the decorations is tiresome, and living all year with a fully decorated tree might cause a few people question my state of mind, I chose to do without a tree. I’ve missed it, though.   I guess making this cone "tree" decorated with old junk jewelry could be called a minor  accomplishment of the year. I've intended to make it–or something similar– for years. Finally did it.
One more major time consuming accomplishment for the year is the disposal of over four hundred pieces of the decorative aluminum ware that was filling my closets and shelves. Did the same with some dishes and other odds and ends. Took pictures, measured and wrote descriptions, Wrapped, weighed and mailed each thing. The trouble is, I don’t feel I’ve accomplished anything with this project. The empty shelves have not become a reality. Neither has the hoped for tidy workroom. Instead, more unneeded junk has appeared, and has resisted all my efforts to create an orderly household. The battle continues–me, against all the things accumulated in sixty-nine years of keeping things that might come in handy someday. The keepsakes, our parents’ belongings, and the ‘good stuff’ that came from flea markets and garage sales, because it was priced so low we couldn’t pass it by.



I should do something about this accumulation.  I guess I can throw away the old valentines from the second grade, but what if I wanted to look at them again. What if I can’t remember the name of t                  hat boy that chased me with a little grass snake? No, the valentines are keepers. So is the third grade spelling prize, and that little memory book that everyone wrote icky poems in and told you what a wonderful person you are.

I guess I’d better leave all those things alone and get serious about selling on eBay and see if I can clear out the junk in the garage before it sneaks back into the house. But this is all really good stuff.  It might come in handy some day. There’s a 5-gallon crock jug with a hole in it–actually it may hold eight or 10 gallons. I can’t measure its volume on account of that hole, and there’s a McClellan army saddle and…wait a minute…surely I don’t need that.

Now, I hope no one gets the idea that I’m confused. When I get old I expect I’ll have moments of confusion, but for now, my thinking is as clear as a Texas sky (never you mind that Texas skies get a little hazy at times). Maybe I should say my thinking is as clear as the ding of a bell– no that brings to mind the word dingy. Besides, some bells tinkle, some bong, and some clang, so let's forget about how clear my thinking is and move on to what this post is all about–accomplishments and plans.

Except for rearranging the contents of closets and cabinets time and time again, hoping to find some arrange more suitable for my changed lifestyle, and stocking some extra batteries in preparation for the next power outage, I fear I've covered the year. In writing, it looks a bit short on accomplishments–but I've just remembered, two months of 2013 were spent away from home as a hospital guest and having a grand ole time in learning to stand on one leg, stomp my feet, and play brain games during the required recuperation time in a couple of therapy facilities. I'd much preferred to toss beanbags and practice opening cabinet doors while at home, but then I would have missed those weeks of 4:30 AM meds and all that broccoli and pasta.

Anyway,  I know exactly how I’m going to spend today. First I’ll take a nap, then I’ll hunt a pen that will still write (I have a box full of ones that no longer make a mark but except for that, they look almost new and ought to be good for something)  then I’ll get a sheet of paper–no little notebook with dozens of pages, this time. Just one sheet of paper and a pen that will write, and I’ll start jotting down all that I can remember of those plans I was planning to make.

Oh my goodness! Here I’m already thirteen days into 2014 and this was supposed to have been posted ten days ago. That's what happens when you don't have a list of your plans. I once had a list, but it got longer instead of shorter so I tore it to shreds.


I’m a little concerned that I’ve put off posting this account of my 2013 achievements. I think I had plans to add a few goals for 2014. I'd better get cracking or February will soon be here and I'll still be sitting here wondering what I’m supposed to be doing.

As always, your on on the ball, well organized, sane and happy blogger.

Dannie



Tuesday, April 17, 2012

A Smart Kid

Exam questions and student answers:

Q1. In which battle did Napoleon die?
* his last battle

Q2. Where was the Declaration of Independence signed?
* at the bottom of the  page

Q3. River Ravi flows in which state?
* liquid

Q4. What is the main reason for divorce?
* marriage

Q5. What is the main reason for failure?
* exams

Q6. What can you never eat for breakfast?
* Lunch & dinner

Q7. What looks like half an apple?
* The other half

Q8. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what it will become?
* It will simply become wet

Q9. How can a man go eight days without sleeping ?
* No problem, he sleeps at night.

Q10. How can you lift an elephant with one hand?
* You will never find an elephant that has only one hand..

Q11. If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in other hand, what would you have ?
* Very large hands

Q12. If it took eight men ten hours to build a  wall, how long would it take four men to build it?
* No time at all, the wall is already  built.

Q13. How can u drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
*Any way you want, concrete floors are very hard to crack.



Would you have had a better answer?


Monday, February 27, 2012

Things Saved

CLEANING OUT THE FILES:

Many bits of information have come my way, usually forwarded through Facebook, , some funny, some educational, and some worrisome. And I save them. My files are worthy of the attention of those folks featured on television – the one that shows the homes of hoarders. And just like those hoarders, there’s some good stuff stashed away in my files – if I could just find it.

Tonight, I’m systematically (if you believe that, you don’t know me very well), going through the clearly marked “Fun Stuff” file. I see a lot of 'stuff' in there -everything from cartoons to old worn out jokes, but “systematic” isn’t going to fit this project. No way. Haphazard is a much better word.

The very first thing I opened was a group of fun-poking cartoons about aging. A few were saved the rest discarded.
Next came a file of old Southern sayings listed alphabetically – the  Southern saying, spelled phonically on the left, the meaning on the right.

Many of these have migrated westward and are readily understood by Texans––at least this Texan.  Hm-m-m. This could explain why I get questioning looks when chatting with out-of-state friends.

To name a few that caught my eye:
  
Catty-corner(ed)            Diagonal
Cattywampus                Askew, awry, not straight
Chinchy                        Real stingy
Conniption                    A major fit, a total loss of control of one’s temper
Consarned                     An expression used by those who don’t wish to say “damned” 
Fixins                          What is needed to prepare a dish
Frazzle                         Worn out, fatigue, nervous because of some happening
Heap                            Quanity, a great amount
Holler                          A small valley––also to talk at the top of your voice
Kick up a ruckus           To cause a commotion
Kilt                              Past tense of kill


This dictionery of sayings is a keeper.  My score for the night: one file tossed in the trash, one file saved, and an hour or so browsing and laughing. But I’m curious––Were the meaning of those words clear to you––without reading the definitions?

This project may be too time-consuming to continue. I’ll give it some thought.

Dannie


Friday, July 22, 2011

The Golden Years

WE SENORS...

Are we who have accumulated an excessive number of years, the only group to have so many humorous saying about our predicament?

Small children laugh at the darnest things but their humor isn’t selectively pointed at their age group.

As for teenagers, how many jokes do you hear about not being given extra money to buy the latest electronic gadget or not being allowed to have the car for a spin around town?

Are their parents laughing at their own peculiar ways?  Of course not. If they’re still coping with teenagers they’re thankful they’re not crouched in a corner muttering gibberish; if those years are behind them, they are not yet able to see humor in their lives.

So it is we who have moved over that invisible line, who see humor in all our foibles.  The cardinal rule is that you must be one of us.  This is surely a happy time in our lives for there is humor in all that we do.

We laugh about our frequent naps; we laugh at our relief when adorable but whiney grandkids have gone home, we even laugh at the days our own children were in their teens. Above all, we laugh at our forgetfulness, as in such daily occurrences as hunting your sunshades (which are perched on you head), or that favorite shirt which is hanging in plain sight but somehow invisible.

Then there are the trips to a room and upon getting there, you stand looking around and wondering why you are there. This is very scary if you’re driving and best not mentioned even as a joke, foe one’s precious  liberties might be sharply curtailed. Watch this closely for we’re talking a potentially serious problem!

On the fun side, here are some old favorites:

~You Forget names .... But it's OK because other people forgot they Even knew you!!! 
~You miss the days when everything worked with just an "  ON"  and "  OFF"   Switch.
 ~You tend to use more 4 letter words ....  "   what?"  ....."  when?"... ??? 
~Now that your husband has retired .... You'd give anything if he'd find a job!

Old is good in some things: Old songs, Old movies, even the Good Old days when quality was appreciated, Good morals were respected and Going Out was fun.

AND THEN THERE IS THIS……….

MIDDLE AGE TEXTING CODES:
 ATD -at the doctor. BFF -best friend fell. BTW -bring the wheelchair. BYOT -bring your own teeth. FWIW -forgot where I was. GGPBL -gotta go, pacemaker battery low. GHA -got heartburn again. IMHO -is my hearing aid on? LMDO -laughing my dentures out. OMMR -on my massage recliner. ROFLACGU -rolling on floor laughing and can't get up. TTML -talk to me louder! Share a laugh xx


Have a chuckle along with us!