SCARY MOVIE

 

Boy, it’s amazing how my mind works and manages to retrieve memories that had long been filed away prior to computers. I like to think those memories reside in my old 286 and that’s why they don’t reach the forefront very often…takes too long and the 286 was so slow.

Anyway, when I started thinking about Goofy’s and the gang that hung out there, another memory surfaced. It’s also amazing how some of the names are right there and others are just a shadowy figure in the background. These were men and women who occupied a large portion of my life way back then.

Anyway, the movie The Exorcist came out and was discussed by everyone. I had read the book and it scared the shit out of me. I almost wanted to sleep with the lights on. Anyway, one late afternoon the Goofy’s gang decided it would be a good thing to go down to the Cinerama and see The Exorcist.

We carpooled down in a couple of cars and found we’d have to wait for the next showing. We bought tickets and retired to a nearby bar, had drinks and played pool. When the time came, we returned to the Cinerama and found our seats. I don’t remember any of us purchasing drinks or popcorn.

Like I said, I had read the movie so I knew what was coming. John sat ono one side of me and Dennis on the other. Whenever I knew things were getting a little scary, I’d rock my seat…the seats rocked back then. Dennis would put his hand on my knee and whisper, “Stop.”

The movie was just as scary as the book. When it was over, we returned to Goofy’s. There wasn’t much discussion about the movie in the car I was in and when we got to Goofy’s, none of the guys had a lot to say. In fact, I don’t think any of them had more than a beer if that before deciding it was time to call it a night…it wasn’t even midnight.

Some of the guys may have been raised Catholic, but even so, I think the movie either scared them or gave them something to think or not think about. I don’t remember any of them discussing the movie even later on.

STRAWBERRY HILL

 

My brain is still working in the background to figure out the next steps for Maddie and Spence, but at the forefront are a couple of experiences from my misbegotten (actually wasn’t) youth which jumped from the depths just yesterday.

I was talking to a couple of people at the Senior Center and one of them told me to go home and have three margaritas. I responded that I couldn’t drink tequila because I once got sick on it. I also can’t drink rum or strawberry hill. Once of the women knew what strawberry hill was and laughed. This led me to regale them with the following experience.

Long ago when John and I were separated, he took to hanging out at Goofy’s which was a tavern on Ballinger Way. When we reconnected, I automatically became one of the gang which consisted of other males and now and then a female or two were included. The guys always treated me well.

One summer we all went camping in eastern Washington. Our campsite was at the corner where two roads intersected. John and one of the other guys, Brad, got seriously drunk Friday night and made a horrendous amount of noise. I cannot now remember if the ranger came to our campsite that night or if he just let us know the following morning he received a lot of complaints.

John and Brad were both very hung-over the next morning and I demanded Brad give me equal time no matter how he felt. So, he walked me into town to the local bar and I began to drink strawberry hill. I was a cheap and easy drunk so it didn’t take much. By the time I was verging on drunk, a young cowboy came into the tavern. It was obvious he was a cowboy because he was wearing a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and one of those belt buckles.

Well, I was just drunk enough to make an ass out of myself. I, fortunately, don’t remember everything I said and did, but I know I made the very young man uncomfortable. I do remember saying things like, “Is your horse outside? I want to ride your horse.”

Brad was eventually able to drag me away from the cowboy and the tavern. I was seriously drunk. He managed to get me back to the campsite to my sleeping bag and I passed out.

I don’t remember this part either, but there were a couple of other females with us that weekend. They thanked me (sarcastically) later for driving away an entire truckload of men. They’d stopped at the stop sign and were flirting with the women when I suddenly sat up, vomited up all that strawberry hill and passed out again. The truckload of men immediately left.

I didn’t feel so good the remainder of that day, but John was PISSED. He was so pissed, he barely talked to me the rest of the weekend. I was his wife and as such, he expected a certain type of behavior and I had really crossed the line. I have to admit that hurt my feelings, but it also made me angry.

The rest of the crew could tell how pissed John was and Brad was kind enough to take me aside when John wasn’t looking and tell me more or less that what’s good for the gander is good for the goose. The gang didn’t think any less of me for my little escapade but I think they might have thought John was a bit of an ass.

NEW EROTIC NOVEL???

 

Yesterday I didn’t prepare a blog post and I’m having trouble getting one done today. I don’t have an excuse for today (yet), but I have a good one for yesterday.

Instead of writing, I spent the time reading the six (thought I only had four) chapters I’d written last year for my next erotic romance novel. I was pleasantly surprised by finding two extra chapters plus how well they all tied together. Now, I have to figure out where my protagonists (Madeline and Spencer) go from here. I think I’ve written them into a corner which may be why I stopped, so I need to find a way to yank them back to the center so they can move on.

In a few words, Maddie applies for an EA job at Spence’s company. His current EA made inappropriate advances toward Spence after working for him for eight years and he can no longer work with her. With the first handshake, both Maddie and Spence feel a “zing” which only increases when Maddie has to attend a dress-up function with her boss the first weekend they know each other. The outgoing EA has told Maddie why she’s lost a job she loves, so how can Maddie react to the electricity between her and Spence. And Spence, how can he continue to ignore how he feels and his body’s response to Maddie when it’s totally against his conviction about dating/sex in the workplace.

So, any ideas on how to get them back to the center and having wild, crazy sex would be most appreciated. Meanwhile, I’ll think about them as I go to sleep and perhaps dream the next chapter.

And, just as an aside, I looked for "Erotic Novel Clipart" on the internet and had to choose to turn off a "safe" button. OMG, the clipart images that appeared on my screen after that weren't exactly erotic, or at least my definition of erotic, more like pornography. Won't be asking for those clipart images again.

NOT MY FAVORITES

           Today I’m writing about a couple of things…plants…that are not my favorites

There are alliums and there are alliums. I’ve always loved those huge ones that look like big purple balls while blooming and then look sort of stiff balls of stars when the blooms die off. What I don’t like, in fact, what I absolutely hate are the little tiny alliums. It’s been decades since I first ordered those bulbs. The fact they sent me ten or twenty for almost nothing, or maybe even free, should have been a clue, but I was a new gardener then and had no idea that each of those bulbs would produce what seems like thousands of other little bulbs.

          It was either last year or the year before, but I think last year, I decided I was going to sit there and sift those damn things out of the dirt so they wouldn’t come up the following year. I have no idea how much time I spent doing this, but a lot. I ended up with enough of those things to fill a three-pound coffee can. I didn’t throw them away, but buried them in another location where if they grow and reproduce, I simply won’t care. I just checked that area and there are a few spindly shoots, but it's apparent not every single one of those bulbs survived which makes me wonder…

          how does the garden look this spring with all those pesky bulbs gone? Like I didn’t spend any time at all cleaning them out last year. If anything, there are even more than before although the new growth has skinny stems as opposed to thicker ones. I’m also not sure they’ll produce any blooms this year which will be just fine. Apparently, missing even a tiny bulb the size of a grain of sand doesn’t eliminate those little alliums from your garden. Which makes me wonder why that pile of much larger bulbs I stuffed in the ground has barely produced anything.

          So far, I’ve either pulled the leaves/stems out of the ground or cut them off. They’re preventing plants I want to grow from growing. Perhaps doing this will kill them off…at least I can hope.

         Another plant that is problematic is the bluebell. I swear the moles must move the bulbs from place to place. I also swear that every single blossom produces a seed which then falls to the ground and produces another plant the following spring. As far as my memory goes, I do not remember ever purchasing these bulbs, receiving them as a gift or planting them in my yard. 

And, okay, unlike those little alliums, they do produce a beautiful stalk of blue blossoms, and sometimes even pink or white, but after that, nothing very lovely at all. Over the years, I’ve pulled them out here and there, but it’s almost a waste of time. Like the alliums, there always seems to be something left behind to spring up the following year.

I've lived in this house for fifty-five years and gardened more or less seriously for at least forty-five of those years. My garden has gone through various stages from being a huge vegetable garden in my hippy days to lots of lilies in the past few years. What I'd love is to hire a landscape architect and have both the front and back gardens totally redone. Of course, that's not in the budget and never has been, so I'll just keep mucking about on my own. It's not the perfect garden I've always envisioned, but its  mine and does bring me lots of enjoyment. I even enjoy yanking those alliums and bluebells out of the ground. 

MEA CULPA

 

Well, my face is red but I’m extremely pleased I was totally wrong. I don’t remember quite when I bought the ThePhotoStick Omni, but I was exceedingly disappointed in the product. I even gave it a scathing review on Facebook. It’s been sitting in the organizer on my desk since then.

Lately, I’ve had a bit of trouble with my computer plus I wanted to make sure I didn’t lose any data from my FitBit files on my phone so I pulled it out and plugged it in. I was totally AMAZED.

I don’t know how I missed all the available information the first time I plugged it into my computer, but I certainly did. This time I found a prompt on my screen, clicked on it and an entire program came up. I followed the instructions; and, while it took a while, every single file on my computer is now backed up on ThePhotoStick Omni.

There was even a ninety-four-page instruction manual available and I printed it out so I could figure out how to back up my phone information. I did that as well, so now I can return my FitBit to its factory settings and not lose all the data it had acquired during the time I’ve worn it.

And I guess the next time I see a post on FaceBook about ThePhotoStick Omni, I’ll have to plead mea culpa and say nice things about this excellent product.

THE APPLE I-PAD...

 

is an amazing piece of equipment; however, I really hadn’t given it much thought or looked at it as one of my favorite things. That all changed yesterday.

I was maybe a chapter from finishing a book on my I-pad and I knew the battery was low. Still, I persevered, hoping to reach THE END. Instead, the screen suddenly turned black, an indication the battery was dead. Okay, fine, I’ll just plug it in and get back to the end of the book by the end of the day. HAH.

Late evening, I went to get my I-pad. I had checked to be sure it was charging when I plugged it in, but now, the screen remained black. Nothing I tried would bring that damn thing to life. I was a bit distraught.

Now, I’m the kind of person who always said I HAD to read the book by holding the actual book in my hands. Ten years ago, when I went on a trip by myself, I downloaded books to my I-pad and took it with me. Traveling by myself, it was the best companion possible when it came to the end of the day and I was in my room alone.

My original I-pad died in 2020 and I bought a new I-pad Air. It has so many different utilization possibilities, I haven’t even begun to figure the majority of them out. I can do my email, go on the internet, and, best of all, read books I download from the library. I keep telling myself I’m going to spend some time figuring out how to use the various programs and apps on this I-pad, but I haven’t yet.

Anyway, this morning I went online to see if I could figure out what was wrong with my I-pad, all to no avail. I did find out there’s a program that will help me learn how to use this I-pad and I’m going to check back at some point and see what it can help me with. Now, the only alternative was a trip to Alderwood to the Apple store.

I arrived a bit before 11:00 am, was signed in and told I would have to wait thirty minutes at the most for assistance. I sat out in front of the store in the sunshine and played with my phone. When I went back in, it was maybe another five minutes before one of the store managers came to help. He used a different cord to plug my I-pad in and then did something magical…at least it seemed magical to me because suddenly the black screen was filled with my stuff. YAY.

He then turned me over to a young woman and told her to run a diagnostic. She did so and found absolutely nothing wrong. She told me that sometimes when an update is being installed, the I-pad will hiccup and freeze. Then she asked if the manager had told me how to do a hard start. He hadn’t, so she told me what to do. Press the up volume button, then the down volume button, then hold the on button for about sixty seconds. The magic the manager had performed wasn’t magic at all.

Anyway, back home, I made my lunch and settled down to finish the book. It was more than a few pages, but all-in-all very good. I just wish the protagonist would stop smoking cigarettes.

I CHOSE...

 

to pull up my big-girl panties after my pity-party yesterday and spent some time making an effort to look nice. That was because I had a date to have lunch with my eldest son. On the way to pick him up, I stopped at business Costco and bought gas…hadn’t even put that on my to-do list.

AJ directed me to a Mexican restaurant called Avacados which is on Hiway 99 in south Everett. We had a very good lunch and the prices were more in accordance with what they used to be prior covid…all the other restaurants I’ve been to before this one ran me close to $24 for one entrée without a tip. Not ony did we have a good lunch, but AJ ordered deep-fried ice cream with strawberry topping. I was going to have one bite just to see how it tasted because I’d never had it before…let’s just say there wasn’t much left when we put our spoons down.

After dropping AJ at his house, I stopped at the store for milk and yogurt and went to the pet store for more yummy frozen bones. That’s two more errands that were not on my list.

At home, I took Kuma out front and we played bally-ball until he was almost too tired to chase the ball one more time. I swear, he’d keep chasing until he fell over if I didn’t call a halt.

Then I changed into gardening clothes, got Kuma a frozen boney-bone and we went out to the back yard. I worked for a while, sitting on my little stool so I don’t have to bend a lot, pulling weeds out of my flowerbeds. Kuma licked and gnawed his boney-bone. I didn’t work long or hard, but stopped feeling as though I’d made some progress.

That’s what happened when I CHOSE to pull up my big girl panties and get on with my day. It ended with me feeling quite good plus I have yummy left-overs for lunch today.