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Monday, Apr. 29, 2024

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PORCH PONDERINGS

by QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

Rated: 13+ · Book · Biographical · #2198921

Norma's Wanderings around a small section of Montana

Well, hey there!
Welcome to Roundup, Montana! If it's a nice day, we'll sit a spell on my porch and talk awhile.

"All the resources we need are in the mind.” Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th President of the United States of America.

Another quote I find interesting: "Creativity is intelligence having fun." Albert Einstein

What's on your mind today?

Signature for use by anyone nominated for a Quill Award in 2020

Signature for nominees of the 2019 Quill Awards

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Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Schnujo is Late to Lannister

a day ago
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

I know carpal tunnel can be really bad. My friend's son has it really bad. At only 21, his hands were already numb because his dad wouldn't let him learn to drive so he couldn't go to the doctor and his dad wouldn't take him. He's finally moved out and learned to drive. His hands are better after he got a different job, but he's still got issues.

Have you tried learning to do speech-to-text? I hear it's quite a difficult transition for some folks, but once you get it, everything is a breeze after that. I keep meaning to take a series try at it. I did a few sentences one day, just to test it out, but didn't get too far. I need to really buckle down. It seems slower because the words don't appear on the screen as fast as when I type. But in the end, I can talk faster than I can type and I don't have to wait for it to catch up after ever sentence. lol I do need to figure out how much I can talk before it loses the thread, though.

But then, when writing fiction, I have to stop and think a lot, so it will probably be fine. lol I just need to do it enough that I feel comfortable not watching the screen anymore. I hear that's the real sticky point -- watching the words slowly appear as you are talking can be really distracting, so they recommend you don't do that. I will for a bit, just to get a feel for things and to satisfy my curiosity. But hopefully, if I take this seriously, I can let go of that need with practice and really get going.

Hmmm...I know I talk a lot. And I can talk while doing things I can't do when typing like getting dressed or making dinner or whatever. I wonder if I could actually finish a project through speech-to-text or if being bored sitting there typing isn't the real problem.

It's something to ponder and play with. Thank you! As usual, you've helped me with my writing YET AGAIN!

You're the best!

QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

a day ago
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

schunujo I don't worry about NaNo or OctoPrep. I think that event is far enough in the future. I am bummed that I cannot garden this year. I've been typing and writing all this time with just one hand and three fingers so...

I am excited to get the pain level lessened. Then I found out from my daughter the other day that she suffers from carpal tunnel as well, but as is typical for her, she won't get it treated. The problem with that syndrome is if it gets too severe, you could actually lose total function of your hand. Now that is the worst case scenario of course. I am scared enough by that prospect, I'll endure a few more months of recovery pain to heal the problem.

QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

a day ago
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

When are you arriving back in Montana? And which airport? I'll be tied up for a few days after surgery. But I think once my husband goes back east to get our car, perhaps sometime in May we pray, I could make a road trip.

1 Like

Schnujo is Late to Lannister

Apr 25, 2024 at 7:13pm
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

Wow! You have so much going on!

I'm really sorry all of this is happening at the same time.

But I am super glad the doctor thinks he can fix you, even if you won't be good as new. But new things are too expensive anyway.

I'm certainly glad you'll be in much less (hopefully no) pain in the (hopefully not too distant) future!

I've also had times when a specialist told me I should have seen him sooner. Well, maybe if I hadn't been required to get a referral...

The surgery timing sounds pretty good with a 6-month recovery time. You'll be pushing it for NaNo, but I think you can do it. After all, I need my best cheerleader out there!

In truth, you have a big impact on my success in NaNo, but I could probably do it without you if I had to. Most importantly, I want YOU to be okay -- happy, healthy, and pain-free! If that means you miss a year of NaNo, so be it. YOU are more important.

QPdoll

Apr 25, 2024 at 6:00am
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

and Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

I hope you both can find transportation on Monday! Good luck to you!

Norma, it's good you have your surgery scheduled. I think you'll feel so much better with pain relief. My husband had carpal tunnel surgery and he is happy that his fingers don't go numb anymore.

Safe travels to you both!

1 Like

Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

Apr 25, 2024 at 2:42am
In response to "Oscar and Tony and Grammy winner !!!"

I don't have to explain my trip back to Montana as you get the picture.

I've been stressed for so long...

I can relax at the hostel and in Seoul airport.

Need to arrange a ride home though...

I assume you'll not be available.

1 Like

QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

Apr 25, 2024 at 2:05am
In response to "Drama"

Elycia Lee ☮

Try cutting back your plants. Then try dusting them gently. They breathe through the surface of the leaves.
I found this on Google about rubber plants:
Water when the soil is almost completely dry. ...
Spray with a mister every few days, they like to keep their leaves moist.
Place in a bright room, but keep away from super sunny windows to avoid sunburn Between 15°C to 25°C is their optimum temperature.

Kåre Enga in Udon Thani

Apr 20, 2024 at 11:50am
In response to "Drama"

I should be in Missoula May 1st. Chance of 20° or 70° ... sun, rain, snow, tornadoes, earthquake, Yellowstone blowing up?

Elycia Lee ☮

Apr 20, 2024 at 11:02am
In response to "Drama"

I never overwater them, but I think I'm underwatering them. The leaves are curling. When I put them out, their leaves burn. When I wipe them, lines appear on them... I really wanna start over, but I don't know how to... My rubber plants bottom stem leaves have dropped. Only the top is growing. For one of them, their baby leaf hasn't been growing for over 6 months now... Sounds like you've got quite the green finger there.

QueenNormaJeanGreeneggs&vegham

Apr 20, 2024 at 11:00am
In response to "Drama"

QPdoll

It was good to be out and work in the garden. We were both tired after, but that's okay. Digging in dirt always helps. There is always dirt in our lives. We have to dig up through it to get to the shining world on the other side.

1 Like

December 31, 2020 at 6:30pm

#1001159

Amazing Luck

31. Unlucky Day
Write about a time when you were particularly unlucky.

My son was unlucky every time the moon was full on a Saturday night. Weird. I could always count on an ER visit when that happened.

I had a year when I had three car accidents. Now they weren’t all my fault. One was serious, and I still have the effects to this day. The other two were just bothersome. But I have to say by the time the third happened, I was a basket case.

I found some interesting information on the internet about writers and luck:

Tennessee Williams choked to death on a bottle cap that lodged in his throat, likely after a bout of heavy drinking. Sherwood Anderson accidentally ingested a toothpick, which punctured internal organs; he died of the resulting infection. Lord Byron caught a fatal infection when doctors used leeches while attempting to cure a fever. Stephen King was hit and nearly killed by an inattentive driver while taking a walk on a country road in Maine. King commented about that incident on Twitter, “On June 19th, 1999, I got hit by a van while taking a walk. As I lay unconscious in the hospital, the docs debated amputating my right leg and decided it could stay, on a trial basis. I got better. Every day of the 20 years since has been a gift.”

Most of us live with a reasonable sense of security and stability, ignoring the everyday precariousness of our existence. We live on a planet traveling through space at 67,000 miles per hour that has, over time, been struck by asteroids that eliminated almost all life and been plagued by a variety of viruses and bacteria that challenge our immune systems while climate disruption threatens the survival of humankind.
It’s all fodder for the imaginative writer.

And I have to say, if you cannot find something fun, something interesting, something weird, something unusual to write about this past year, then you just haven’t been paying attention. We've all been pretty lucky, don't you think? So stop feeling sorry for yourself and start looking around. All the clues are there. Piece them all together and write something amazing.

1 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

December 30, 2020 at 9:44pm

#1001088

Fakin' Bacon

30. Bacon Day
The perfect breakfast meat.
Write anything about bacon!

I used to like bacon. Well, actually, I used to love bacon. Really, truly love bacon. When we lived in the dorm up in Yellowstone for a month or two, we ate in the EDR, employee dining room, for our meals. All the bacon you wanted to eat for breakfast. YUM! Filled my plate up every morning. Calories no problem. We hiked 5 miles every night after supper.

But things are different now. I don’t eat bacon. I don’t eat pork of any kind. I am a Seventh-Day Adventist. We consider pork an unclean meat, and as such, I choose not to eat it.

My husband still eats bacon on Saturday. Two pieces. We don’t eat any other pork. If hubby wants pork, he has to eat it when we go out, or eat it somewhere else. I won’t buy it or cook it.

I’ve tried to suggest turkey bacon as an option, but he won’t have any part of that. And really, once I think about it, you’re better off not having that something you love if you're going to substitute with something else. Especially if that something else doesn't resemble the original in looks or taste.

Kind of like the veggie burger craze now. You’re better off not having something pretending to be a burger. Eat a salad or soup instead. You’ll just be disappointed when you don’t get that burger feel between those two pieces of bun.

And then there are those that can justify spending a bunch of money to have that Wagyu beef on a bun. I found an online merchandiser that will sell you two (that is just 2!) frozen Wagyu beef patties for $14.99 - but you cannot buy just two. You have to buy at least 20 for $119.99. Then you have to pay shipping. And the shipping is $40 to $60. I don't know about you folks, but I think my $$ are better spent elsewhere.

I think I will just go to the local supermarket and buy the 80% fat grass-fed beef and make a great hamburger. Then I’ll top it with some really good aged cheddar cheese. No bun. Yum.

3 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

December 29, 2020 at 5:39pm

#1001011

Full Moon and Cincy Trivia

29. December Full Moon (aka Cold Moon
Write something about the full moon.

It is beautifully wonderfully full. You can almost imagine the man in the moon. When I left church last night after our radio broadcast we commented on the full moon. You could almost imagine ‘the man in the moon’.

Procter & Gamble had a cool trademark with the man in the moon, until some numbnuts decided it was satanic. Whatever. People will find any reason to think something is evil. They’d had that trademark for decades. Procter & Gamble logo

I lived near Cincinnati for a time. Even worked downtown some. It is a nice city, right on the Ohio River. It has quite a history. And P&G is a big part of that history.

Ivory soap, Crest toothpaste, Tide, Charmin, Pampers = any of those items ring a bell? All made by P&G. Headquartered in the Ivory Towers downtown.

Cincinnati was known as ‘Porkopolis’ back in the 1800’s. They were a big hog butchering town. And now they have ‘Flying Pigs’ to commemorate that history. I was in Cincinnati when they erected the statues in a riverside park. Fun. the flying pig in Cincinnati

Plus they have riverboats.

And the coolest name for a bank. 5th Third. So the name Fifth Third was chosen over Third Fifth out of deference to the growing temperance movement at the time. Ha. That's pretty funny.

Oh, and Cincinnati chili - can't forget that. What makes it different is the way the meat is cooked. Cincinnati Chili has a thinner consistency and is prepared with an unusual blend of spices that includes cinnamon, chocolate or cocoa, allspice, and Worcestershire. This is truly the unofficial grub of Cincinnati. When I lived there, I had to eat that about once a month. It is served over spaghetti with lots of yellow shredded cheese on top. Or on a hot dog. Truly an acquired taste.

So, when are you going on a road trip? Cincy here we come!

Queen Norma Jean

2 Like • Comment • View 3 comments

December 28, 2020 at 7:40pm

#1000957

At Least I know the Face Cards

28. Card Playing Day!
Do you like playing cards? Which card games do you prefer?
We don’t play cards. I don’t know why. I remember my parents playing cards, and my aunts playing poker at holidays.

When this Covid craziness started, I suggested we play games to pass the time. That lasted a night. So we now mainly watch TV or do computer games alone.

I remember playing Rook.

That was a mean game. Don’t care if I ever play that again. Uno was fun with my kids when they were growing up.

Played a lot of solitaire when I was first married. So many games of solitaire.

And that is the extent of my card playing. Pitiful.

Guess I’m not a card shark. I would be lost in Vegas. Don't send me to the card table. So I guess I wouldn’t have a good poker face. Since I have no idea how to play…

1 Like • Comment • View 2 comments

December 27, 2020 at 6:57pm

#1000912

Nutty Fruitcakes

27. National Fruitcake Day
Write about your opinion of Fruitcake.
If you don't like them, you haven't had mine.

I used to like my mother’s fruitcake. It was made with the real mincemeat you used to be able to find. Wish I knew how she did it. She wasn't a good cook or baker usually. So the fact that I remember anything she cooked or baked is unusual.

I don’t make fruitcake anymore. My husband makes stollen. But the last he made didn’t really rise very much. I think it was the yeast. He seemed to think they were okay. I thought the dough was too heavy. The jury is still deliberating. I did switch out the yeast that was in the refrigerator. I threw it out. So some new from the freezer to replace it should help. But he only makes stollen around Christmas.

I made an Amish Cinnamon Loaf. Now that was good. A sweet quick bread with a cinnamon sugar swirl. Yummy. I like to make easy things. Brownies, cakes, cookies, corn bread, quick breads, muffins, coffee cakes. I really should try to do some more difficult yeasty things. But we don't need the carbs and at this stage of my life, I don't need the aggravation.

We get catalogs starting in October, like everyone else, and lots of places were selling fruitcakes. Now come on, would you seriously pay $50 for a 2# fruitcake? I think not. So if you would buy one of those, you would be nuttier than a fruitcake.

So for all you nutty fruitcakes out there, you evidently are in the minority.

1 Like • Comment • View 2 comments

December 26, 2020 at 7:34pm

#1000867

Oops - You're out of order here

25. Pumpkin Pie Day
Are you a fan? Why or why not.
It’s okay. It’s a good source of Vitamin A - but by the time you put all that whipped creme on top, you’ve ruined it.

We went to a friend’s house. She has a ranch. She and her brother raise cattle, sheep and she has some chickens and a good size garden in the summer. It is pretty ramshackle. She and her husband live in a run-down single-wide trailer. There is stuff, and I am being kind, everywhere. The house is a mess. She is not a good housekeeper. But what we go for is the company, not the environment.

My hubby goes in the spring to help with lambing. He also helps when it is time to shear the sheep. Quite an eye-opening time for a guy that used to commute to NYC each day and work on Wall Street.

She brings us fresh eggs each week. But I think that is just an excuse to sit at our kitchen counter and talk for an hour. Which is just fine.
We need to talk.

1 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

December 26, 2020 at 7:31pm

#1000866

Wining won't help

26. National Whiner's Day
Whiner or winer... you pick.
Maybe you'd like to whine about wine...
Or perhaps you forgot to mention a grievance from Festivus…

Do you want cheese with that whine? I love wine. I know wine is good for you, especially red wine. A glass a day is good for your heart.

But a bottle of wine a day is not.

A box of wine a day is dangerous.
Therein lies the rub.

I got snockered on wine quite a few years back. It was before a funeral. A family event. When I woke up in the morning, I discovered my head as large and bruised as if I had been in a prize fight. Nothing like going to a funeral with a swollen bruised head, especially when it is a family event. When I went to the ER after a few days, they told me, yes, you have a concussion. Seems I hit the wall and the bed frame a few times before hitting the hay that night. I don’t remember any of that.

Oh, and by the way, we see there is a brain tumor on the MRI. So see your doctor when you get home.

I don’t do wine anymore.
To my addled brain, wine = brain tumor = brain surgery = major life change = no more drinking

Queen Norma Jean

1 Like • Comment

December 24, 2020 at 6:19pm

#1000791

No Nog 4 Me

24. Last-Minute Shopper's Day also National Eggnog Day
I should think good strong eggnog would hit the spot after a day of shopping.
See what you can come up with for that one.

I hate eggnog, barf. Eggs you drink?

I’d rather fry mine sunny side up, or in an omelette. Or perhaps in a custard or ice cream.

I don’t shop for more much more than groceries anymore. Anything I buy usually comes from a thrift store. I don’t do presents any more. I regift. Deal with it.

And I don’t drink anymore either.

We went to the Senior Center at 10 AM to watch a movie that was filmed in Roundup some time ago. https://www.montanafilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Montana_Production_List1.... "Christmas Miracle in Caulfield USA". It was filmed in 1977 and revolves around a coal mine. Coal mining was still big business back then. Not so much now. Kurt Russell and Melissa Gilbert were in it, some other actors. But several people there recognized themselves, the old buildings, and remembered the locations. Then we stayed for lunch. Now the sun is setting and nothing is left to do.

I need a really good massage right about now. That would hit the spot. Yeah - that spot right there, right above that trigger point. Perhaps we'll watch "It's a Wonderful Life". Love that movie and George Bailey and mean old Mr. Potter. Frank Capra, now that director could tell a story.

Ho-ho-ho. Merry Christmas to all.

Queen Norma Jean

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December 23, 2020 at 9:00pm

#1000757

Humbug

23. Happy Festivus!
Let the 'Airing of Grievances' commence…

I don’t know what this is about. Really, I don’t.
Humbug.
Buggers.
Grumpasaurus.
Leave me alone.
Go hunker in your bunker.
Mask it or casket.

I’ll be in a better mood soon.

Like • Comment

December 22, 2020 at 10:36pm

#1000697

Beethoven is still popular folks

22. Today in History
Look up some events that happened on December 22nd,
select one, and tell us about it.

In 1808 Beethoven's Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6, Choral Fantasy and Piano Concerto No. 4 (featuring the composer as soloist) premiere at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria. It happened on this day.

Seems the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra had a celebration of this event. Nice.
https://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/tickets-and-events/buy-tickets/cso/1920-cso-s...

I love Beethoven. I think of the wonder of his creativity. The amazing gift he gave us, even with the disability of deafness. To hear the music in his mind and transfer it to paper and then never be able to hear it. Truly remarkable.

Symphony #5 is the famous “da-da-da-DUM”. You’ll recognize the opening notes when you hear them. I found a link to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra that did a recreation of that concert by Beethoven. As I read more about it, seems that Beethoven was almost completely deaf when he performed in that concert.

Classical music is a favorite of ours. I used to listen to it often. Not so much any more, not sure why. I used to listen to it when I went to sleep, but that was when I was single. Hubby is a big classical fan as well. We have dozens of classical CDs. Remember them? Back before streaming music, YouTube. But after cassette tapes, and 8 track tapes, and 45 RPM, and 78s. I really am showing my age now. Now all the music he loves is loaded on his Apple desktop computer.

Beethoven in the modern era.

Classical music is calming. It has been shown to work wonders on babies. I think it is the rhythm, the scales, the lyrical qualities. I listen to it when I drive by myself. I especially loved the ‘1812 Overture’ by Tchaikovsky when I drove home from play practice last summer. When the cannons went off, and you have to have the version with the real cannon fire, I would honk the horn. I know, I’m a geek. So how, you say, is that calming? Well, I felt that it kept the deer away. It worked all but that one time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1812_Overture

But this is about Beethoven, a German composer. His name means “beet root farm”. What’s that saying? “How you gonna keep them down on the farm once they see Paree!” It’s a song popular around the era of WWI and all those GIs coming home from Europe. (And I assume you know that Paree is a referral to Paris. Come on people, don’t you listen or read?)

Check out on YouTube a few entries for this song, pretty fun.

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