BooksRule

It's hard to believe that it's been 50 years since the first moon landing. I was a pre-teen and didn't really understand what all the fuss was about. I do remember that some cousins from out of state were visiting and my brother and I were more interested in playing with them (we only saw them once a year) than watching TV. I also vaguely remember that we were busy putting together toy lunar landers that our parents bought somewhere (maybe at a gas station? That rings a bell somehow). They were printed on sheets of thick paper and you cut (or maybe punched) them out (like paper dolls) and put the pieces together with tabs to make a 3-D lander. It's so funny that I don't remember the lunar landing itself, but I remember putting that paper toy together! I know that my mom sat us kids down and made us watch the landing on TV. She said that even if we weren't interested, we would regret it someday if we didn't watch. Even though I really don't remember the actual event, I thought that was very smart of her. 2019 is also the 50th anniversary of Woodstock (I need to watch some of documentaries about it. I know we have the academy award winning one in my library's collection. PBS has one, too), and the 50th of Hurricane Camille (which is the first hurricane I experienced). Camille was the 'big one' around here until Katrina.

I know! Any time I see a woman walking around with lumps and bumps under too-tight clothes, I say to myself 'It looks like two pigs fightin' under a blanket!' (and it's made me change clothes on occasion after looking at myself in the mirror) 🙂 Some of you might remember my occasional postings about my noisy neighbor (the 'Music man'). I think the last time I posted he had moved out for a while (at the request of his wife, I think). Well, he moved out near the end of March and it's been nothing but peace and quiet since then. Selfishly, I hope it lasts--but seriously, she seems happier living there with just her and the kids (and the dog). He was showing up once or twice a week to visit the kids or take them out for the day, but I haven't seen him as much lately and one of the other neighbors told me that he had taken a job out of town that paid better than what he was making here (aren't we a gossipy bunch?). She's been doing some yard work by herself (instead of him coming over and doing it) and she and I chatted the other day about finding time to clean out flower beds and what to plant (in the past, she didn't seem to have any interest in the yard--but left it all up to him--which was basically mowing the main parts of the yard and trimming/edging about every third time he mowed). She's seems like a nice lady, so I hope she's happy. And I'm happy, too, and basking in the quiet.

I'm grateful that at least one of my cats allows me to pick her up, cradle her in my arms like a baby, scratch her under her chin, kiss her on the head and blow raspberries in her soft belly fur. (The other cat is good-natured, but doesn't care to be held. She just tolerates it until I put her down.)

I was watching a couple of old episodes on A&E while I did some housework (the episodes are over, but the housework continues!) and laughed at this remark from Matt: 'One of my biggest challenges is Grandma. She's copping an attitude.'

I hope everyone is staying safe from Hurricane Barry. Even though it's barely a hurricane, it looks like it will be a big rain-maker (and rain can be worse than the wind some times) all the way up north--a long way from the coast. I'm east of the bad parts, but it's raining here and will probably keep raining through tomorrow. That's fine, though, because I'm concentrating on doing a major house-cleaning this weekend and planned to stay inside anyway.

I know that most of the 'old' (pre-'ER') medical shows are dated, but I would still love to see them, including 'St. Elsewhere'. For a while, one of my local stations showed some of the line-up on 'CoziTV', including 'Marcus Welby, MD' and 'The Bold Ones-Doctors'. I would really like to see 'Medical Center'. I know there are some nostalgia channels that air 'Emergency' and 'Quincy, ME', but I don't get any of them. I want to see those, too. Commenting on some of the other posts above, I work in an academic library for a university that has a film studies program, so I get to order a lot of DVDs. I think they tend to last longer in our library than in the public library setting, but I have seen some that look like they were used as coasters (or Frisbees!). I'm able to get a lot of non-mainstream films, but not as much television as I like (since the film faculty want feature films more than TV shows), but I have been able to add a few for other departments, including all seasons of 'Dr. Quinn', both the original and re-boot of 'Twin Peaks' and at least a season or two of 'Blossom', 'Northern Exposure', 'Moonlighting' and 'Mork & Mindy' (the last two were donations). If I could justify getting some of the other TV shows, I would, but most of them have never been released on DVD, which is a shame. Is 'My three sons' aired anywhere? That's one I would like to see again.

The episode where Homer needs heart surgery: Homer (to Dr. Hibbert): 'Remember your Hippopotamus Oath!'

Two or three times a year I buy a can of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and got a craving this week. I chose a can (of 8 rolls) because they had the buttercream icing (which I figured would be better than the 'plain'). I didn't realize until I had baked them and tried one that they are the kind marketed as 'flaky cinnamon rolls'. They were really, really good. (I like the taste of cinnamon rolls, but sometimes they can be a little 'bready'. And tough if you leave them baking too long.) I took these out at the minimum baking time and they were brown on top, soft in the middle and definitely flaky around the outside (kind of like sweet crescent rolls). My diet won't let me buy them often, but when I do want to splurge, I'll have to be careful to get those.

I'm hoping that it's just the thermostat. That would be much less expensive than major work on the outside unit. (The system has been cycling on and off just like clockwork for the last several hours. I guess because it's gotten cooler outside. I don't know.)

I don't like having my photo taken either or being on TV. I've been interviewed once or twice for the local news (work-related stories) and I hated every minute (and have never watched myself on TV. Others have commented that I 'did just fine' in the interview, but I refuse to watch it myself). I always look grumpy or unhappy when I have my photo taken. A friend told me once that the way they get a good photo taken is to smile much wider than you want to--until it feels unnatural. When they do that, the photo actually comes out with a good smile. I tried that when I had to have a photo taken for the directory at work and it actually worked. I grinned until my cheeks hurt, but the photo looks decent. (I still hate having my photo taken, though!) I do have a friend who loves being interviewed on TV. She is president of our local historical society, so she's always wanting to promote it. She's a natural, but i would hate it. Kind of a funny story: I remember going to an art exhibit a few years ago and the local news was there covering it. There was a cameraman going around videotaping the exhibits and the people. However, most people were trying hard not to be on camera, so there was a crowd of people maneuvering to stay behind him--they looked like a herd. Funny! Well, my A/C cycled off for a few minutes after running for hours (keeping the temperature at a steady 77). I still need to call someone to check it (I don't want to damage the system and rack up more of a huge summer electric bill than I already do here in the hot, humid south), but if I have to have an A/C problem, at least it's one where the system keeps cooling instead of not running at all and I'm (and my two furbabies) are sweating to death.

Pet peeve: Having to call a professional repair person to come fix something. I'm not a good repair person myself, but I can sometimes troubleshoot things by googling it (I got my washing machine to quit stopping on the final rinse cycle instead of going on to final spin by googling the problem and finding a video on how to reset the system. So far, so good). But, there are some things you can't fix yourself. I noticed that my house seemed hot yesterday and checked the thermostat. It said it was 80 in the house when I had it set for 78 (I know that 78 seems hot to some, but I actually get too cool sometimes, since almost every place in the house where I sit or lie down is under a vent so I stay cool). The first thing I did was to check the filters and noticed that they were filthy. I changed them out and the house almost immediately got cooler and the thermostat said 78 in the house. But, it doesn't seem to want to shut off when the correct temperature is reached. I know that when it's hot outside, the system will have to work hard to keep the house cool, but it should shut off sometimes (or maybe during the day it won't. I haven't noticed it). If I set it one degree up, it will shut off until that temperature is reached, but seems to keep running afterwards. I did set it for 79 last night after the sun went down and it had cooled off a little outside and it cycled off. I moved the temp setting to 78 and I don't think it constantly ran during the night. It seemed to cycle on and off a few times this morning, but I've heard it constantly running all afternoon. Maybe the outside coils (??) need cleaning or maybe it's a bad thermostat. Or, maybe there's nothing wrong at all. At any rate, I need to call someone out to check it out, since I know it's been a couple of years since I've had it checked and regular maintenance done on it (yes, I know I should have it done once a year). It's a pain, especially since my house is messy right now and I hate having strangers in the house when it's not as neat as I would like.

Great! I haven't seen the schedule, but I'm a big fan, too. Speaking of: Do any of you catch any of the films that are shown as part of the 'TCM Underground' series? I've enjoyed watching some movies that I probably wouldn't have watched otherwise. I'm glad that I've been able to see some of the earlier films from some well-known directors, but I do have to say that most of them aren't movies that I want to watch again (Cronenberg's 'Scanners' and 'Rabid', for example). A few days ago I recorded 'The Bed Sitting Room' (Richard Lester), because I had seen references to it in science fiction film books, but had never seen it. If you've never seen it, it is about the 20 English survivors of a nuclear war. One is transforming into a bed sitting room (due to radiation), a family lives on a subway car (the Circle Line that continuously runs the same route every day), a young woman who is 17 months pregnant with 'something' (we never see what it is). It was definitely interesting, but very odd. Mainly a series of black comedy sketches that kind of combine and tie together at the end. It did have it moments--I think my favorite parts were the BBC newscaster who still presents the evening news and that they no longer sing 'God save our gracious Queen...', but now sing 'God save Mr. Ethel Shroake of 393A High Street, Leytonshire' (Mrs. Shroake being the last surviving heir to the throne).

It's 'only' 84 degrees right now (with 67% humidity), so I decided to mow the yard (I have the day off). I hadn't planned on mowing until maybe Wednesday, because there was a 60% chance of rain today. Well, it rained this morning and although it's overcast, no more rain for a few more days. I'm exhausted, but I'm glad I got it done. Now, I can go outside after work for the next few days and get other yard work done (trimming some limbs, edging, weeding, etc.). With rain not expected until right after July 4th, the grass won't grow much for a while. And, I remembered to wear my step-tracker, and it showed that I added about 3,100 steps to my day's total. I can't quite get the 10,000 recommended steps per day, but anywhere near 5,000 is good for me (with my bad knees). I do better when I'm at work than at home, because even though I technically have a 'desk job', I do make a point of getting up often and walking around my library (and pushing book carts don't hurt). I have a bad habit of postponing or canceling doctor's appointments until I absolutely have to go (translated to mean 'I have no more refills on my BP medication!). I postpone because I always tell myself that I want to show some progress in weight loss before I go back, but I never do. I did it again this time. I was supposed to go in for blood work this morning with a follow-up next week, but I called last week and canceled (I said I was going out of town and would reschedule. I did do an errand in the next city over this morning, so technically I didn't lie). This time, though, I should have enough BP medication to last me for 5 more months (with the one remaining refill I have). I am going to work very, very hard to lose as much weight (safely) as I can. I want to let my doctor know that the reason I delayed going back was that I hadn't lost any weight and didn't want to see him until I showed some progress. I have to do it this time. If not, I'll probably have to find another doctor because I don't think I could face him again (he scolded me last time for having the habit of postponing my appointments). I sometimes eat foods that are bad for me, but I generally eat healthy. My main problem is that I'm not very active, so my metabolism is horrible. Mowing the yard today is getting me off to a good start.

I finally got my hair cut today. I don't know why I put it off. It only takes about 20 minutes and all I get is a cut. No wash, no style. Just a cut. I thought maybe I put it off because the last cut I got wasn't the best. It was okay in the back and on top, but the sides were too short. I think I posted somewhere here that I had Ralphie's 'do from 'A Christmas Story' (which wouldn't have been too bad if I were a young boy, but I'm a woman of a certain age). But that can't be it, because I think I always put it off. I usually get it cut really short, but since my last cut was right before Christmas, it was really starting to flop in my face and hang down my collar (I have a lot of hair, but it's fine, so I can't do a lot with it). I got a really good cut today, really short. I feel like I lost three pounds! That's one thing I can cross off my list of things to do.

I used to feel that way about brown rice when I switched from white rice (I still have white rice occasionally, when brown rice just won't do--such as with gumbo). I think it was all the extra chewing I had to do with brown rice. I like it now. I haven't tried quinoa yet. Maybe I'll like it when I get used to it (sometimes I get tired of brown rice).