Mimi's Weekend, Mimi's Way

So far it has involved a fifty-one minute walk in the drizzly rain (I wore a hood!), an hour bubble bath with candles (no, the candles were not in the bath) and lots of French Vanilla caffeine.

My next plan of action?

A nap

Mimi In A Minute #18 ~ Name-Calling, Names and No-Names

These things keep me up at night.They give me a headache.I just need sixty seconds of your time to unclog my pencil brain so that I can get some sleep.
Do you mind?
I have a few things to say.

This is Mimi unplugged.
Hide your children.

Can I just say I'm sick and tired of the black on black white on white and black on white on white or rye issue?

Now that we've elected a black president we are debating the issue of the very existence of racism. When we elected a southern president, we didn't debate the existence of inbred ignorance, did we?

Two premises - equally ridiculous.

I resign from my party lines today. I am tired of some liberals calling everybody who doesn't agree with them a racist. Grow up and find another word. Any word. Some word.

Just not that one.

I am equally tired of conservatives assuming all liberals are empty-headed name-calling socialists.
Grow up. Find a debate you can win.

And while I'm at it. I'm tired of the fence-sitting pundits punting with no eggs to lay in the basket. Chickens do that. There's a reason. Grow up and get a position.

Or a blog.

Either one will save your tush from apathy.

"What did you say, Henrietta? "Ahmadinejad........You lie!"

Oh. Sorry. Wrong fence.

If the President wanted to raise awareness of how race relations have impacted this country' s policies, then I'd say he's done his job. We are now in a race to redefine the meaning of the word "race, racial, interracial, bi-racial and optomomegaracial (I just made that one up).

And while I'm at it.....

Send more troops to Afghanistan. Don't send more troops to Afghanistan. But you better have a foolproof plan, Mr. President. The R word is about and the race is on to find a scapegoat. You might have to prove you're not black. Again. (gasp) Or are you? I'm afraid I'll offend somebody saying the colored B word. I can't even say colored in this country anymore!

UC?!! And if I see one more altered image of the President of the United States peppered up with Hitler's moustache and devil horns I'm gonna have to defect to Mars. (There are men there, no?) Grow up and get an
Etch-a-Sketch. Everybody has a moustache on those things. Even your mother.

Does racism exist?Katie Couric held up a picture of Holocaust victims in her interview today with Ahmadine-evil who refuses to acknowledge the orchestrated murders occurred....I swear he had a smirk on his face.

None of the dead did.

But all six million had names.

And speaking of names, I should have cried foul when those awful caricatures of George W. Bush were floating about during his presidency.

That was just as bad.

Equal Opportunity Ignorance if you ask me.

And please. If Quaddafi wants to sleep in a tent, let him. Central Park would have been perfect last night. I hear crime is raging this time of year.

Knock knock. Who's there?

Whew! I feel better.
Thanks for listening.
I think my blogsomnia is cured.
Lights out.

Bloggingham Sunrise

On the way out yesterday morning.....

....... I stopped on the side of the road to take these photos. (Yes, my bloggy friends, I actually stopped this time, put the car in park and got out. I got some strange looks but whatever) Anyway......I was at the top of a little hillside area looking down into a tiny valley. These are cloud lines, not mountains....they came up to meet me at just the right time and looked as though the clouds had turned into another little mountain village right before my eyes. I was surrounded by darkness and little sparks of morning light peeking out.

And then the batteries died.
I know the batteries wouldn't have died if I'd stayed in the car.


I just know it.

Photo credit: Mimi Lenox

The Queen's Meme #11 ~ Not Loud. Not Raucous. Not Poetry.

Welcome to The Queen's Meme #11.
A Tuesday meme
Sometimes silly. Sometimes serious.

Always fun!
Step out of the box. Be creative. Use your imagination.
No one's answers are quite like yours.

And please, stay out of the dungeon.
You don't want to go there.

The directions: This week the questions are sheer poetry. Nonsensical. Cerebral. Challenging. The answers should be too. You can use more than one word to fill the blank but the end words must rhyme appropriately. Now fill in the blanks with the limericks I've given you. Don't think about them too much. Usually the first word that pops in your head can be used to make a very funny poem. Try it! (Hat tip: Edward Lear)

The Poetry Meme: Not Loud. Not Raucous. Not Poetry

1.There was an Old Man of Lune,
Who lived upon the crescent moon;
When that did not shine,
He took lots of red wine,
That nasty Old Man of The Lune.

2. There was a Young Lady whose dishes,
Were unique as to color and fishes;
When she opened them steaming,
People all turned away screaming,
And started away in rude wishes.

3. There was a Young Lady of Bloomers
Who casually sat on a rumor;
When the door squeezed her tail,She exclaimed, 'Where's my mail?'
This courageous Young Lady of Bloomers.

4.There was an Old Man with a pipe,
Who bumped at it day and night;
But they called out, 'Stop now!
You're a horrid old Sow!'
So they smashed that Old Man with a pipe.

5. There was a Young Lady whose sleep,
Came untied when the birds sate on creeps;
But she said: 'I don't care!
All the birds in the lairAre welcome to sit on my sleep!'

6. There was an Old Man of The Tango,
Who never knew what he should mango;
So he tore off his wig,
And behaved like a pig,
That intrinsic Old Man of The Tango.


7. There was an Old Man of the East,
Who had the most curious Beast;
For while he was happy,
He slept on a pappy.
That funny Old Man of The East.


Click here to play The Loud and Raucous Limerick Meme.
I dare ya.

Monday Mimisms ~ September 21st International Day of Peace

The "peace bell" will be rung at the United Nations today, on this the 27th annual International Day of Peace. The 24-hour period is dedicated to peace or more specifically, the absence of war. That's an idea I can get behind. Something we all hope and pray for in our world. The bell is cast of coins donated by children from all continents. The inscription on its side reads, "Long live absolute world peace."

I like Anam Prem's quote at the top of the official website...."Simply the absence of war is not peace." I'd like to follow that thought with a direct quote from one of my favorite peace bloggers. Blue Country Magic from Virginia writes in her June 2007 post, "Peace means more than just dropping guns. It means loving one another, caring for one another, and working together as a society to cure the injustices of the world. It means realizing the importance of each individual, each mind, each heart and extending hands in hopes of healing and comforting."

On this day the question has been raised, "What will you do to promote peace?"

My peaceful contribution to the world today is to continue with the work I started here in 2006. Forty-five days from now we will launch our 6th BlogBlast For Peace (update 2010! The 7th will launch November 4, 2010).

I hope your ideas for writing those award-winning posts are spinning out of control. I hope they are keeping you up at night. I hope you are excited. I hope the creative process comes easy for you and spills effortlessly across the page. And I hope you find new neighbors to shake hands with and new ideas in an exchange of diversified and respectful thought with the blog down the street. I hope you make new friends with folks flung far and away from the likes of your own comfort zones - if only for one day - it is a start.

More than that, I hope you are impassioned and hopeful about your own lives and of those you love.

On a less esoteric and more practical note for today....

I promise not to huff and puff at my neighbors.

I will try to forgive my enemies.

I will refrain from driving like a maniac.

And I will not scream at my imaginary dog.

Little things count ya know.

Who Changed The Calendar??!!

Do you see that countdown clock in the sidebar?
47 days??! 47 days 'til BlogBlast For Peace??!!

Which one of you changed the calendar? Hmmm?

November 5, 2009

My life has been tres crazy lately. But I see little blue banners popping up everywhere I go. My prediction? Facebook is going to explode with peace globes this year. Sort of like we added a new planet to the blogosphere solar system. Twitter is a'twittin as well.
I'm planning a party. Do you realize this means I have to learn to cook in 47 days? I need to take some vitamins.
And somebody needs to pray for Homer.

Connie and The Copy Machine

She was tired. She was frazzled.
She was preoccupied. Focused only on microwaving a cup of hot coffee to take down the hall with the stack of papers under her arm. Too busy for nonsense. Too busy for me.

But did you ever have the feeling that somehow the person standing right in front of you was placed there for a reason?
I was at the copy machine, getting ready to leave work for a harried and unexpected medical appointment - the kind that follows an unnerving phone call at the worst possible time.

You get ready. You go. You think later.

All I could think of at the moment was Connie's praying blonde head standing right in front me - waiting on her coffee and looking oh so busy. Little did I know I waited on Providence.

There are times in your life when you just don't give a flying flip what anybody thinks and you pull from those things you know that you know that you know to be true.

I knew Connie was a praying woman.

She turned to look at me, standing by the water cooler and the paper things flying out of my hand and my sweater all crumpled up around me like I'm freezing to death and no coffee-that-I-desperately-needed in sight with a puzzled look of something akin to terror on my face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I have to leave. I need your prayers today."

Concern. Love. Years of working together. Friendship. Knowledge. History. Love. Did I mention love?

"What's wrong?"

"I need the peace that passes understanding," I said.
Did I mention Connie was a praying woman?

I've said it on this blog before and I'll say it again. Everybody needs at least one person they can get to in a hurry when prayers need to fly to heaven. Today was one of those days. What divine proclamation that this woman happened to be in my path at that exact moment of dread and uncertainty.

I think I mentioned Connie was a praying woman.

I don't know what your beliefs are, if you believe in prayer, what you believe about it or if you even care what my beliefs are - I respect your views - but I'm here to tell you that there are some things in this world you just can't explain. And there are a handful of women in my life who know how to reach God. They would drop everything at a moment's notice and plead my case or yours before The Almighty - and not so quietly, I might add. Over the years it's been children mostly, occasional fits of midlife insanity, trivial annoyances (husbands come to mind), souls in need of settling. I have been the giver of those prayers and the humbled recipient more times than I can count. Nobody kept score. It just flowed between us like an unspoken laser of love and nobody cared what chores awaited or how late the hour. There are moments I remember when the tangible presence of something so unearthly settled in among us - like the sounds of aching soft strings on a well-played cello deeply in tune.

But today, the only utterance Mimi had was fear.

Did I mention Connnie was a praying woman?
I don't even know how she flew over to me that fast - hot coffee melting in the microwave cup all spilling everywhere and the clock ticking way past time for the bell to ring tardy we never even heard while her loving prayers spilled over my shirt and into my hair and around my crumpled sweater that even smelled like fear right straight down into the fibers of my frightened heart.

Connie.
She was a praying woman.
And so my friend took me in her arms and surrounded me with the strongest part of herself.

She didn't know that that phone call held a biopsy result. She didn't need to know - and yet I knew she knew. And somehow I knew that my weakness in that moment was justified, my pride a fleeting nuisance, and that relying on the gift God had stationed right in front of me and the water cooler was the strongest thing I could possibly do for myself. Suddenly, it didn't matter to me what the outcome of that prayer would be. Connie's words were all that mattered and the mercy they held as she pled openly before her God on my behalf. At that moment, there was a peace that passed understanding in the copy machine room that no amount of anything could have taken away from me.

"No, Miss Pencil Skirt, you do not have cancer," I heard the doctor say a short while later. "You can relax now."

I don't know why or how her frazzled cup of morning met my unexpected need precisely at the moment it did, but grace never held a finer moment.

And I never knew a finer friend.

Did I mention Connie was a praying woman?

The Queen's Meme #10 ~ The Tick-Tock Meme

Welcome to The Queen's Meme #10Sometimes silly. Sometimes serious. Always fun!
Step out of the box. Be creative. Use your imagination.

No one's answers are quite like yours.
And please, stay out of the dungeon.
You don't want to go there.

The Tick-Tock Meme

1. Are you a Rolex watch, a Mickey Mouse watch, or a pocket watch?
I am definitely a Rolex. In my dreams. Truthfully, I do not wear a watch. Never have. Never will. Psychologically, I hate being reminded every second of the day what time it is. It makes me want to hurry hurry hurry.....not good for people. If I have to know I'll find out, but I don't want it staring me in the face all the time. Also, when I play piano, I would have to remove it. I don't wear rings either for the same reason.

2. Can you think of a time when you couldn't see the forest for the trees?
Today comes to mind.
(Those of you who know what's going on with me will appreciate this.)

3. Can you think of a time when you were on the outside looking in?
What did you see?
I had just been arrested for meme stealing. It was a sad time in my life and that of my family. I ratted out the rest of the players and left them in jail to rot. Nobody ever said I was a nice Queen ya know. I've had finer days.
4. Go back in time. Maybe a long time ago, maybe today. Pick an hour you'd like to freeze frame forever and tell us why. It doesn't have to be THE most important hour of your life, but make it a good one.

It was the day little Homer was born.

He looked up at me and said, "Are you my new Queen?"

We've had a love/hate relationship ever since.
And he doesn't eat much for a blog dog.

5. If you were a cuckoo clock, what would others say about you?


6. Can you think of a time when time stood still?
I'm so glad you asked, Oh Meme Lady! I can certainly think of a time when Tim stood still. Ahh...the memory. He leaned in for a kiss as he held me against the kitchen counter at the end of the night, a strong-armed guy with long curly eyelashes that tickled my nose when he kissed me. It was my first date with Tim when Tim stood still.... and I hoped it would be the first of.....oh.....never mind. You said Time.

7. Watch this! You are a stopwatch. What would you stop?
I would stop fretting about unimportant things that don't matter in the grand scheme of things.
Ho-hum.
8. Imagine you were just born and have infinite wisdom. After the doctor smacks your newborn dust ruffle you look around and say to the Universe: "Give me a whole lifetime to do "this" and I will bless the day I was born." What did you choose?

Sing. Give me a whole lifetime to sing. I learned recently not to take it for granted.

In my future? More singing. Less fretting.

This is Mimi Pencil Skirt reporting live from the lovely land of the peace globes.

Now that's worth thinking about.....

Monday Mimisms ~ All Roads Lead Somewhere

I know that "things" aren't supposed to make you happy but I found a few today that make me smile. I'm just going to start posting pictures that make me happy and see where this story takes us.

Buckle up.

A sunflower right beside the swing where my dad sits in the sun....

the apple basket on the back porch in front of the swing....
A straight path...
that leads to day lilies and daisies..

Locked mysteries

that lead to....
Antique shopping

that leads to shoe shopping that leads to purse shopping that leads to
hats

all roads lead to

hats

apparentlyDid you notice how I started off all philosophical and serious and then somewhere between red doors and striped shoes the story ran amuck?

Don't even say it.

The Girls In Connecticut and A Clandestine Mission

Two bloggers
Meeting for the first time

Imagine the excitement. Imagine the chit-chat. Imagine the blog gossip.
Imagine the......clandestine mission?
OK. They cheated!

Lois, who writes Lowdown From Lois ,wrote me not long ago when I complained about not having a peace globe from North Dakota, Delaware,Wyoming and Vermont. I so wanted to color in those states and finish the United States map.

She said that she was getting ready to take a trip and that she would be glad to technically bring me back a peace globe from Vermont. I said, "WHAT??!!"

Her logic was that if she submits it while physically in the state of Vermont - if only for a millisecond of time - it's technically a peace globe from Vermont.
Brilliant!

It went something like this: " We'll be in New England in Northern Massachusetts. We'll take a detour on the way home. We'll drive to the Vermont line, make a peace globe and post it on the blog. Voila! There's your Vermont peace globe."

Go for it, I told her. I, in no uncertain terms, encouraged her to cheat.
Oh yes. I did.

So, lo and behold, I got an email from the secret mission peace globe woman this week who was in the tender throes of executing the subversive deed (imagine maniacal laugh). Not only had she accomplished the deed, she had an accomplice!

Here they are. Lois and Tammy

Don't they look like criminals??!

I sure wouldn't want to meet those two in a dark alley.

Hubby, as I understand it, drove the getaway car
in what shall forever be known as The Vermont Peace Globe Caper

They found wild turkey, porcupines, old barns, beaver dams, lovely antique farm implements.......
and one
beautiful
lovely
lone
peace
globe
Made
in
Vermont
"We drove up there specially for you," she said.
I just want to say thank you to Lois and her crew for going the extra mile. Literally.

I love peace bloggers. Now if only someone could cross the lines in Delaware, Wyoming and South Dakota, I'd be happy to put away the Crayolas.


It could happen!


Please visit Lois here:
http://www.themadecuisineart.blogspot.com/
http://www.lowdownfromlois.blogspot.com/
http://www.livinlavidatrella.com/
and
Tammy at Queen-Size Funny Bone

Single File, Please

Sometimes my camera does very weird things. Do these look like people to you? Me, too!

Quite representative of my life as of late.
Endless meetings. Appointments. Responsibilities. Rehearsals. More meetings. Family worry with my dad. One son starting college. Baby Boy starting Kindergarten. Mysterious gentleman callers. Insignificant blog drama. Facebook tags from far-flung strangers. Deadlines. And then there's the guy in the park walking his dogs. Did I tell you about him? I still have his windshield calling card in my purse. It's time to make that call. But when do I have time to call?? I'm significantly snowed under.


My life is a blur.

I promise to write more when the squiggly people reveal themselves.

So to speak. It could take a while.

Meanwhile, direct your questions to the Princely Pup Homer in the sidebar.

He will field your questions and assimilate them for his favorite Queen.

She'll be in the park tomorrow!

The Queen's Meme #9 ~ The W Meme (Channeling the English)

Welcome to The Queen's Meme #9Step out of the box. Be creative. Have fun!
And please, stay out of the dungeon.
It's getting really crowded in there.

The Who, What, When, Where, Why Would You Meme
Who...
is easy to love?
Homer.

do you just wanna smack?
Homer

do you trust?Homer

do you talk to when you're alone?

Homer. We talk about whom to trust

What....
dangerous things do you do while driving?

You mean besides hanging out the car window taking pictures? I don't have much time for anything else. I'm too busy explaining to the nice police officer that I just wanted his handsome mug for my scrapbook. It works if I bat my eyelashes just the right way.

are you allergic to?All things penicillin and a host of other secret agents. People, I can't even take Tylenol without getting sleepy.

is Satan's last name?Taliban

is the last thing that moved you?my car yesterday

is the freakiest thing in your house?

When.....is it time to turn over a new leaf?
when I finish the page

will you be all that you can be?

I can't be anymore. Do you know how many names I have already?

is enough enough?
There can never be enough chocolate or too many peace globes. Go on. I dare ya. Google "peace globe" in images. It's a beautiful sight.

do you go to the dark side?Daily.

Where....
are your pants?
figuratively or literally?

is your last will and testament?I can't tell you 'cause Homer will hear

is your junk food stash?

is Carmen Sandiego?I don't care. She stole my hat!

Why....

was the Lone Ranger alone? He couldn't find a role-playing partner. It was seriously time to take off the mask.

was The Scarlet Letter scarlet?
'cause Scarlet was a bad bad girl.

are musicians sexy and plumbers not?Playing the pipes and cleaning the pipes are not the same thing at all.

....are there no seat belts on school buses?
'Cause no one would have room to put the guns and knives they bring to school.
It's a safety issue.



Would you....

swim the English Channel for a doughnut and coffee? If not that, what? No. But I would channel an Englishmen. It worked for Shirley MacLaine!

forgive someone who deliberately hurt you?Deliberately? In my heart 70x70. In my head, not a chance.

rather believe a lie if it hurt you less than the truth?I'd always rather have the truth. Period.

... still be alive if you were sucked out of an airplane window? Would you just float around in space for while?

I'm used to riding upside down. I'd be fine.