Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in moon_happy's LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
8:41 pm	What Are The Odds? DH goes for coffee most mornings to have coffee with the guys at a local auto repair garage. So two of the guys have been traveling (separately) and returned today, each sporting new cell phones. One is a known tightwad, so DH asked why he splurged on a new cell phone. Tightwad looks rather sheepish as he explains that he had a hole in his pants pocket, the phone dropped out without his noticing as he was getting in his car, and he backed over it. At which point everyone is chuckling, except for Jay--the other guy with the new phone--who is nearly incapacitated with laughter. "Oh, thank god you did that," he eventually gasped. "Now I can tell everyone I dropped mine in the Gulf of Mexico and not be the biggest fool in the room." (Now I didn't think fool did you? Guy thing? Like who is the smartest in the room?) (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 15th, 2008
8:53 pm	Twenty-three houses stuck at the bridge All our Colorado moisture is being sucked up by the winds and dropped on poor drenched Iowa. In this morning's paper there was a photo of a rail bridge over the Cedar River clogged with twenty-three houses that were awash in the river. One gets the concept of a One-hundred-year Flood; I've never seen debris like that before! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
8:41 pm	The One and Only Cheerios! Oh, those wonderful little oat circles. We used to make faces with them in the bottom of our cereal bowls when we were kids. This morning Kaira's toddler Sunday School class made Cheerio bracelets by stringing them on pipe cleaners. Cute idea; they can safely eat as many as they can string on the pipe cleaner, and then when the lovely oat bead bracelet is twisted around little wrists, they can still eat them. All gone! I wonder what The Lone Ranger would have thought to see those precious cherubs gnawing at their wrists. (Comment on this)
Sunday, June 8th, 2008
11:50 am	Heartwalk 2008 I walked the seven kilometers with my DIL, grandson, and DIL's co-workers. Sherl asks me every year but I've always turned her down and sponsored her efforts with $$ instead. This time I took Thor, drove all the way to Denver, and walked with a small knot of people amid thousands. Austin took Thor's leash and answered the hundreds of queries: What kind of dog is that? Is that a dog or a horse? Do you ever ride him? What's his name, how old is he, how much does he eat, how much does he weigh. All questions a ten-year-old can answer expertly, and since he's one of a minority of attention-seekers in our family, he enjoyed himself and the walk went quickly. I saw and spoke to a few of Erik's co-workers from his insurance investigation days, nurses and technicians from his many hospitalizations and introduced them to Austin, his son. Fortunately Austin likes hearing the, oh-my-goshes! He looks just like Erik. And he does, but Sally lost it while adding, I just loved your dad, and Austin lost it with her for just a second, so guess who did next. Though I don't like the crying part of grief, there's something to be said about the intimacy of crying together, even after almost nine years. There were quilts that honored Erik beautifully displayed, made by co-workers and friends in the year or so after he died, and new quilts honoring other people. Lots of support from healthy living type sponsors (handing out free water, apples, bananas, not pop or chips.) All in all it was nice. But then I had to drive home alone and that was almost as bad as the drive home after he died. If I go again next year, I'll need to rethink that part of it. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 1st, 2008
8:00 pm	No Groaning Allowed... After an hour or more of sitting in those terrible chairs they give you while you autograph books, a bunch of us 50-plus writers started creaking and groaning our ways to our feet, and Walter Jon said, "Shhhhhh! Don't make those noises. There may be predators about scouting the weak and lame!" They do, indeed, do that, you know? But I've always thought of myself as a lioness, since lions, like me, only are alert about five hours in 24. (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
11:24 am	I'll be around... As always in spring, my life changes: grandkids arrive from far places and the ones here are more available to me. But I'll be checking in from time to time to comment and say hi. Meanwhile, don't go far, but do take care. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
6:33 pm	Public Conspiracy Flying out of Denver (gosh, two weeks ago already)the United check-in was so crowded they'd serpentined the line of hundreds into five or six coils in front of the self-check-in kiosks then hooked it around the corner. Though we all knew we'd be standing there for at least 35 minutes (we knew because an employee told everyone where the end of the line was and how long it would take to get to the front) travelers were resigned and patient. Well, all except ThatOneGuy! He got to the rear of the serpentine, hollered, "Half an hour! That's outrageous." Okay, so he didn't really holler, but he sure spoke with loud indignation. So, he finally rounds the corner and gets to the main serpentine, then ducks under the ropes, pushing his suitcases toward the kiosks. They're pretty big suitcases. A traveler in about coil three of the serpentine starts to say, "Oh, you can't..." ThatOneGuy says in that same indignant tone we'd heard earlier, "I'm not cutting the line." Traveler in coil three starts again, "But..." ThatOneGuy says with an edge of frustration in the indignation, "I already told you, I'm not cutting the line...see?" By this point ThatOneGuy had successfully shoved the suitcases under the ropes to that first-person-in-line position, and was returning to his proper place in line. No one says anything else. In fact, many people turn away from him. What? Did he think that hundreds of other people liked shoving their baggage forward a few feet at a time? Predictably, minutes later, a United employee spots the bags, and asks around, then shouts around for whomever to claim their bags. No one claims the bags and not a single by-stander offers the employee any information. Predictably, the employee stood guard over those bags until another employee rolled a cart up and took them away. Twenty minutes later, ThatOneGuy pops up and people if they've seen who took his suitcases; no one knows nothing, especially the guy who tried to warn him earlier. ThatOneGuy asks the closest employee where the bags he put "right there!" have gone, and was told that since they were unattended Security took them away. He's indignant because he just turned his back for one minute! Fellow travelers all looked away, at their paperwork, their suitcases. The employee told ThatOneGuy to wait and she'd find out where Security took the bags so he could collect them. She made him stew for quite some time; no one minded. No one looked at him. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, May 9th, 2008
3:16 pm	Police Station Goes Missing After much mulling, I decided an scary incident that occurred in Palmer Park needed to be brought to the attention of the police. And what better police station than the sub-station on Palmer Park Blvd? So I drove there and pulled in behind the fire station, parked, and got out of the car, only to discover that the police station was gone. The fire station bay doors were open and I saw two paramedics inside. What did you do with the police station? I asked them. One looked at me and said, We moved it about... eighteen years ago. Oh, dear. I know it was just a sub-station, but you would have thought I'd have noticed. Guess I'm not getting an Observant Citizen Award. The paramedics kindly directed me to the police station that covered Palmer Park. More on the police visit another time. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, May 2nd, 2008
7:49 pm	Cloverfield I don't usually do reviews but jeez, save your money. It's Blair filming by such vapid characters ya gotta hope the monster wins. And maybe it does. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
9:32 am	Ever-so-neat Driskill Hotel So on the way back from the Mexican seafood restaurant, Joe and Gay took me through the Driskill Hotel, an Austin, Texas landmark since 1886. I love old buildings (no fair sneering at what we think of as old my European friends!)and I appreciate the effort and money it takes to preserve or restore the original grandeur. Five of us writers went back there for breakfast the next morning; the food was good the surroundings very turn of the last century with its octagonal tile floor, chandeliers, and frosted windows, and after breakfast we toured some more. The artwork on the walls was more plentiful than most western museums, lots of Remington- and Russell-like oils, including many of the hotel with cattle in the street, then horse and buggy, then fewer into the last century. I was back again later in the day, and a workman commented that he'd noticed me earlier, and asked if I'd seen the Maximilian Room, not commonly open to the public. I had not, and then was treated to a private tour by Gene. You could tell he believed he was working in heaven, surrounded by all that history. The Maximilian Room is named for eight massive diamond dust mirrors (I'm guessing the mirror parts were 4'x6' with foot-wide gold gilded frames.) It seems the newly self-proclaimed Emperor of Mexico ordered them from Austria for his bride, but he was shot in an uprising while the mirrors were en route. The crated mirrors were dumped in New Orleans in 1867 (wouldn't you love to know the why of that dumping?) apparently undiscovered and still in their original crates until 1930, when the decorator working on the Driskill asked that the crates be opened. The eight mirrors were purchased for $35,000 by the Driskill. If you have never yet looked at your reflection in a diamond dust mirror, you're in for a treat. I won't forget the sight for the rest of my life. Depth and clarity take on new meanings with diamond dust in the brew. Apparently there are ghosts at the Driskill, and I think Gene was disappointed that I was not all that interested in ghosts (more interested in paintings and wall sconces.) But I did a start when I got on the crowded elevator and I started telling the guests that I'd just had a lovely tour by the gentleman who put me on the elevator and heard about all the ghosts, and asked if anyone had heard a child's ball bouncing in the hall. A tall Texan (with that hat he had to be a Texan) deadpanned, "There was no gentleman who put you on the elevator, Ma'am. You were quite alone." So, who knows. Perhaps my escort was a ghost, or one of the endless reflections in Maximilian's mirrors. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 1st, 2008
11:17 am	First of May! At 6 a.m. I walked the hound in strong wind. By 8:30 I had coffee watching a blizzard! Snow is only a few inches deep as I go up to prepare lunch, but I don't think anyone will be, um, doing anything untoward outdoors today, at least, not around here. Hope your May Day is more promising. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
6:45 pm	Bye for a while... I'm packed. There are ants on the kitchen counter. Will he cope? Or shall I deal before I leave? I'll see some of you tomorrow, and for the rest I'm dark for a week, as I don't have anything portable. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
9:18 am	Connections Returning from the park in the car I chanced on our local KOA radio broadcasting live from Melbourne, Australia. It seems that in honor of ANZAC Day the city is honoring seven Coloradan WWII veterans and the whole radio station went along to help. It was near midnight and 60 balmy degrees. The MC plans to sample many Australian traditions on air over the next few days, including tasting vegemite. (I think I've learned here that could be dangerous to witness.) He said no one over there drinks Foster's? Gosh, is that true? Anyway, thinking of you my Aussie friends. If you see the Colorado contingent, tell them I'm listening! (17 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, April 21st, 2008
11:32 am	Sharing the World Create your own visitor map! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, April 17th, 2008
8:33 am	Snow! The bad nearby grass fire is completely contained! The wind actually turned to blow the fire back on itself and it snowed, a good six inches in my back yard. The air is clear and clean again, thank goodness. The bad news is we had a contractor scheduled to dig up our driveway again to replace the pipe and wiring to the well as well as the ancient pressure tank in the house. Last fall they couldn't do the job properly because the temp dropped, it was snowing, and the hold was full of "steam" so they couldn't see to do the delicate bits. It may not be much better today. And DH really jinxed it by pulling furniture away from the places they'd need access to and filling the bathtubs with water and bringing up some pails. Oh, well, if inconvenience is the worst the day has in store for us I think we'll survive just fine. Note about the above "well as well." The last few years I've found many homonymic alliterations in my writing. (I wonder if close-proximity homonym is a more accurate description?) I've decided to leave them here when they appear (instead of editing) so I can track them. I like to count stuff. I'm feeling much better this morning; the prednisone and/or cough syrup from the doctor visit yesterday is helping enormously. That coughing is just exhausting, and it's not so relentless now. DH went to have "coffee with the guys" so he's perking up, too. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, April 14th, 2008
8:08 pm	So, the good news is that (a)we had a warm spring day and (b)neither DH or I are any worse with our colds. The bad news is that we're not greatly improved, which we wish we were! Patience, of course, is in short supply when you need it the most (like when you're not well but not so sick that you just need to lie abed!) Today's silliness: The hound took his raw chicken breast and buried it. (This convinces me that despite the fact that I can't catch him in the act nor find any remains he is catching and eating baby bunnies.) If I approached his burial spot, he nervously raced ahead, dug it up (he doesn't bury deep) and raced off to find a new spot. After the third time, he crunched it down, dirt and all. (Comment on this)
Saturday, April 12th, 2008
3:15 pm	I get to read! The cough and sore throat seem to have settled into a normal cold, so hopefully I'll feel better in a few days. DH is up and down; we'll see how he does when the meds are gone (another 5 days, I think.) Meanwhile, I am digging into the stack of unread books on my nightstand, which feels rather like being spoiled. :~) My current read is, The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. The man has a wonderful ability to hold the whole picture in his head and to paint it in on the page with just the right words at the right time. This is his best (so far!) (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, April 11th, 2008
12:01 pm	Flying It appears that the American Airline delinquent inspections were to bring the planes in compliance by 2006. (Yes, quite some time ago!) It also appears that the FAA did not ground the planes nor cancel the flights; American did that. I'm just speculating now: They canceled rather than risk of a crash from ANY cause during this period of non-compliance (and in view of recent adverse attention on FAA) because the non-compliance status would have any victims' families owning the airline. Not that any of this makes me feel good about getting on a plane. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, April 10th, 2008
7:10 pm	Moaning and groaning... Wind gusts here to nearly 60 mph, bits of grapple driven by said wind, and my dear Son's greenhouse, completed with his own two little hands (correction, huge hands) only last Sunday and celebrated with a magnificent dinner, broke! The greenhouse frame supplied by the vendor snapped; all his tender tomato plants perished, greenhouse parts are all over the neighborhood. Kids are carrying back the bent and broken panels. The anchors Son devised worked perfectly; all frame snapping happened above the anchors and ties. Sigh. Good news, however, is that the vendor REFUNDED HIS MONEY! I still feel sad, as nothing can replace all those tomato and basil plants, not to mention all the work involved in the interior big heat drums, dark lava rock floor, the raised bed. But, that's not what I wanted to groan about: ( Really Whining Here ) Ah, well. We're fed. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
6:40 pm	Can't Catch a Break.... DH is ill again. ( Read more... ) Today I started coughing. Two weeks of little kids and DH not up to par, I won't be surprised if I come down with a cold. Maybe it's just a sympathy cough. Bleh! (17 Comments |Comment on this)