Monday Mimisms ~ I Need a Maid and Fast!

Everything's OK until I do one of these three things - Hang up clothes on hangers in the closet, wash dishes or type. Apparently I've re-injured a previous situation (feels like shades of a bulging disc) and the rotator cuff tear that keeps on giving.

Several weeks ago I picked up a small case of bottled water in the store and put it in my cart. Ouch. I felt that. Weeks later I'm in so much pain that I'm alternating Tylenol Arthritis and Ibuprofen daily, soaking in the tub and using a heating pad. I'm the type of person who just keeps pushing through even if I'm hurting. When I say "enough" you know it's really way past time to sit down.  If you know me at all, you know I can't tolerate any "real" drug for pain. If I took something like oxycodone or the like, I'd be eternally asleep...perhaps for real!
What's so frustrating is that it's suddenly exacerbated by normal activities. I don't wake up in pain. It doesn't even hurt to walk. It happens when I do the aforementioned things after breakfast (laundry, blogging, dishes, real life). But I knew I might be in trouble when I picked up an egg carton last week (just 12 eggs) and the weight of it caused me to hurt. 

I'll see you on the flipside of tomorrow. Right now I need to quickly post some peace and talk to a few friends online (scratch that) on the PHONE. There's just one problem - it hurts to pick up the phone. Yes, the phone is suddenly "HEAVY"...arggh

Somebody get that dog out of here. Where's my heating pad??!!

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The Gratitude Meme

Hosted by Bev Sykes of Funny The World  Click the logo & play along

1. A person I’m glad to have in my life. 

   I can't narrow it down to one, so I'll say...my three best friends. 

They all know where the bodies are buried.

2. Something I find comfort in. 

    Walking in nature

3. My favorite part of the morning 

     My quiet time on the porch

4. My favorite memory 

    My son's little league baseball years 

5. An accomplishment I’m proud of 

    My degree 

6. An opportunity I’m grateful for 

    more publishing 

    

7. My favorite song (and why)

   Songs that evoke memories

 8. A future event I’m excited about. 

     November

9. My favorite area in my home. 

    The music room

10. Something beautiful I saw today.

     A hummingbird outside the kitchen window

 11. My guilty pleasure. 

       Chocolate

12. Something I love about a family member.

      My granddaughter has the most adorable giggle. She just turned one.

 13. A compliment that made me feel good 

      "I really love the chicken dish you make."

14. The item I treasure the most. 

      My piano

15. My favorite part about nature 

      Changing leaves. Solitude

16. A book I loved reading 

      Marianne Williamson's A Return to Love

17. A freedom I’m grateful for 

      Freedom of Speech

18. My favorite part of the evening.

      Sleeping is underrated

 19. One good thing that happened today. 

       I finished some online work

20. How I show gratitude for my friends.

      I've learned that a simple and genuine "thank you" will do. 

Nobody wants me to bake them a cake. 

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Sunday Stealing: Spooning with Dumplings

This meme was featured on the site meme-stealing site Sunday Stealing today (June 2020).  Here are my original answers from 2009 when it was written.

Welcome back to the 3rd edition of The Queen's Meme. Each week the type of meme will change; sometimes silly, sometimes serious, but always fun! Enjoy your time in the castle.
And remember, don't end up in the dungeon.

The Cooking Meme (What Is The Meaning of Thyme and Other Deep Questions) Please join us.

Contrary to popular belief, the Queen has been known to accidentally cook something edible. Although I've given the gift of food poisoning to a boyfriend or two in the past, I actually made the food you see here. Don't ask me how 'cause I could never do it again. I made up the recipe and lived to tell it. Welcome to my Kitchen of Culinary Delights! Dinner is at eight.

1. If you could put thyme in a bottle, what is the first thing that you'd like to do?

Only thyme will tell.

2. Do eggs really crack or do they merely have a nervous breakdown?

I sent mine to the laboratories of Schuster and Scheister for a thorough embryonic cell research analysis. The diagnosis was appalling! They told me that the first six in any dozen are usually crack babies - they, unfortunately, really crack. The others just go to Six-Step Programs
Who knew?!

3. Why are you whipping the butter? What did it ever do to you?

You were sent by the PETA (People For Equal Treament of Margarine and Oleo Association) weren't you?




4. Do your spoons spoon in the drawer? Have you ever noticed? And more importantly, if wooden spoons spoon do they get splinters?


**Mimi girl, you really have an overactive imagination. Maybe you should take a pill for that.** Wait wait......My spoons are special. They met on a dating site. Are they little spoons or big spoons? Size matters in the spoon world. Is this a first date? Is the drawer open or closed? Has there been an exchange of phone numbers? Is alcohol involved?! I need more information if I'm going to counsel my virgin spoons on the fine art of mating. We don't just spoon with anyone here ya know.


5. You hear: "Dumpling, my Dumpling, come hither." The candles are lit, the fondue is dipping, the Godiva is pouring, the scallions are steaming and the music is playing.....but wait, the windows are open.
Why did you close them?

I didn't want the neighbors to see me stir the dumpling.



6. Do you need a recipe to cook or are you a bohemian chef? Show us your reckless and wild side in the kitchen. Don't have one? Here's a recipe I made just for you: You will need a spatula, a whisk, a gallon of Chardonnay, a banana and a rump roast. What is the name of your dish?



Her name was Rhonda Rump. She helped me with my recipe called The Queen's Royal Truffle. After gently seasoning the beef with a Chardonnay-dipped spatula and whisking the banana into a smashed frenzy of mush - I drank the rest of the wine and asked Rhonda if I could borrow her shoes. (If I drank it first I'd pass out and never get any cookin' done ya see)

Am I wearing a cute little chef's hat too?



7. After dinner, the dishes are so dirty that the dishwasher refuses to wash them. What did they say to get in hot water? They cursed the Queen for writing this horrid meme.

8. Is your pot black? My pots are black. My pans are white. We are an interracial kitchen.

9. What is the sexiest spice or condiment in your cabinet?

What makes it so? They're all pretty scandalous but I'm partial to the Virgin Olive Oil. Is that a spice?

I soak my hair in it once a month. Seriously. Want shiny hair? It's fabulous!

10. How much crock is really in your crock pot?

You can never have enough crock when writing a blog.

My crock over-floweth.

See what I mean?

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Do Your Census Answers Count If You're Wearing a Mask??!

Today we're playing the always delightful meme Saturday 9, with your host Sam Winters. Thanks to Bud and Gal for creating and writing this weekly meme. Since we can't go to the movies right now, we'll pretend we're enjoying Gaga and Cooper's version of A Star is Born with a big bowl of popcorn. 

I will put on my usual snarky hat.

Always Remember Us This Way (2018) Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here.
1) In this song, Lady Gaga sings about the Arizona sky and California gold. Have you visited many of our western states?
None of the western states. But I've seen the Bloggingham sky. Does that count?
2) She sings that she's overwhelmed and can't find the words to express herself. Do you find it easier to share your feelings verbally or in writing? 
Writing is like breathing to me....although I will say that I'm not one to hold back much of anything either way. Life's too short to suffer fools.
3) Her real name is Stefani Germanotta. She took her stage name from the Queen song, Radio Gaga. Do you have a favorite Queen song?   God Save the Queen...of course
4) Her dad is Joe Germanotta, president of GuestWifi, a company that enables hotels and restaurants to offer high-speed wifi to their customers. Do you consider yourself tech savvy?
I've been blogging for fifteen years. I think I'm on top of things. 
5) Early in her career, Lady Gaga performed songs for a children's audio book called The Portal in the Park. Tell us about the last book you finished -- did you listen to an audiobook, or read a download to an electronic device or a bound book with pages?
 I'm currently reading The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett It's not for the faint of heart.     
6) She prefers dogs to cats and tea to coffee.  Do you agree with her?

Persian Patticakes

Homer the Palace Dog

I don't have any pets in the real world (except for my precious Homer and Persian Patticakes here on the blog) and I love all pet peace bloggers. Virtual pets are very easy to care for. See how well-behaved she is? Homer is a different story.... Tea and coffee are a tie.
7) Back in 2015, she appeared at the Academy Awards, performing a medley to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Sound of Music. The movie's star, Julie Andrews, graciously came onstage to thank Gaga for her showstopping performance. Whom did you most recently thank?   
The maskless Census Taker. We social distanced in the driveway. By the way, are they going to be able to tell it's really us with our masks on?? How scientific can this be? How will they know it's me without my lipstick?? Forty years from now no one will be able to trace any human beings who lived on earth. The census depends on who we are quarantined with on April 1st...which further complicates things because it's April Fool's Day.   Currently, that consists of five chickens, three exes, four ghosts, a wild raccoon and a few bushy-tailed squirrels for good measure.

Intrusive much??

8) In 2018, when this song was first released, retailer Toys R Us closed all its stores and went out of business. What's the last toy you purchased?  Toys for my grandchildren
9) Random question: How has social media made your life better?   I've formed real friendships with people on Facebook because I either knew them in "real life" or we've blogged together since the days of Noah's Ark.  We've learned to communicate in a new way. I suppose that's "better" in a neighborly internet way.  It is NOT better for my stress level. So much vitriol and political snarkiness on social media. But I think we'll come back 'round full circle to the blog door once again.  In case you haven't noticed, the world's gone a little haywire.


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Sunday Stealing ~ Turtles and Snow Cream

It's the new year and I think I'll do a new thing that's not new at ALL.  A meme! That's right. A meme. Played by Mimi, Queen of Bloggingham, Queen of Peace Globes, and Queen of Memes.

Sunday Stealing stolen from The Queen's Meme (The nerve!!) #67 The Strange January Meme        **dusting off my meme crown**

1. January usually has ample amounts of snowfall in parts of the world. Did you ever make snow cream as a kid?

Yes, we always made snow cream. But not in the cow pasture.

2. January is one of the months with 31 days. What are you going to do with that extra day? 

Ask me on January 30th. 

I'll let you know if I've finished my to-do list.

3.  What is your favorite magazine?

      My mother started sending me magazine subscriptions years ago (even though she denied it was her...)  She died months ago and they keep coming! So, they're all my favorite now...simply because she sent them. There must be something she wants me to read.

4.  If you live to be 99 years old, what would you like your life to be like in that last decade??

I want to be in love with my last and final love. Dancing in the palace and cooking non-healthy recipes. Maybe I'll finally take up smoking and try to look glamorous. 

5. The great world of Wikipedia tells me that scientists claim 99% of all documented species are extinct. Which remaining species in the 1% category would you really like to see extinct.  And which species in the 99% category would you like to bring back?

I would not miss unkind modern Homo 

sapiens. Just be nice.

   Oh, and I never want to see another actual live mouse for the rest of my life.  

THEN I would bring back all 99% of snake varieties to EAT that one pesky 1% of mice that might have escaped. Including Mickey!

6. On January 14, 1986 motorists were required for the first time to wear seat belts?  Do you always buckle up? Why or why not?

While I don't like the government mandating ANYthing about my personal decision-making, this is a good law. I buckle. Because it's safer (most of the time) and I don't want a ticket.

7. Why did the cow jump over the moon?

     To get to the snow cream in the yard

9. Have you said anything in the last 24 hours that you regret?

I've barely said ten words all day. Let me see....nope.

O Meme Queen, you didn't ask what we were THINKING that might be regrettable. Guilty!

10. Have you ever written anything on your blog that you wish you could take back?  

 I paid too much attention to Internet nonsense once upon a time that warranted and deserved no response at all. So, yes...but only in the sense that a blog is not the place to share your silly tantrum. 

11. Are you the blabber or the blabbee? Tell us your most embarrassing blabbermouth moment.

The blabbee.  I was standing in the grocery store listening to a young man complain that his teacher had given him a bad grade. I was the teacher. 

12. How important is a cell phone in your life?

I wish not-so-much. I realized the other day that if you're carrying a handheld mini computer through the house with you all day, you're chained to the machine. 

 I want my landline back.

Mimi's phone from 1930

13. A "cuisine" is typically influenced by and named after geographical regions and cultures. Pretend your blog is a country. What is the name of your cuisine? 

BloggingHAM

14. You are the Blog Paparazzi! Which blogger's real photograph are you most interested in getting?

Most of the bloggers I knew when I first started this blog in 2006 are now on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and I have their faces (or their cat's face) in my little black blogbook, or I've met them in person. All my friends are lovely and decent human beings.  But I'm not really interested in getting anyone's photograph if they want to stay private. 

I thought I was private all these years (notice half-face me) until my grandson peeked over my shoulder and said, "Mimi! What are you doing on the internet??!"   So much for mystery.

15. Are you always on time or just a tad late?

I am never on time. Then I realized it was a control thing and I needed to stop it. Some kind of subconscious rebellion made me want to slide in with 10 seconds to spare on the clock before work. Then I retired.

No more problems.

16. Can you think of a time when you were late for something and it was REALLY a big deal?

Thank goodness I wasn't still in this dress.

Yes. I was a professional church musician for a rather large church in the city and was paid each week to play the Sunday morning worship service. I overslept one Sunday morning, broke all traffic laws, and literally slid onto the piano bench while the entire congregation stood poised and ready to sing - with their hymnals open - waiting on me. Talk about timing!! 

17. If you were on your way to work and had five minutes to get there, would you stop in the road to rescue a crossing turtle?

No. I would stop and wait for the turtle to cross. I would snap a picture of it for evidence to show my boss. And I wouldn't even have to touch the turtle.

18. When you are having a really good day, what usually makes it good?   A good night's sleep the night before

19. What is the most annoying Christmas song?

       All of them. 

20. You are Snow White. Which dwarf is your favorite and why?  
 Bashful. I like to bring people out of their shells.

Just not turtles.

This was fun. Thank you Sunday Stealing for stealing my very own meme.
And good luck in the new year!