Saturday 9

(Link in meme-roll)
I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (2006)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Bette Midler sings about the storm that's raging outside. How's the weather where you are today?

Bright blue, sunny skies, but brutally cold. OK, it's warmer than it was earlier this week, but it's still bloody cold!

2) She mentions her gloves. Tell us about your favorite pair of gloves or mittens.

I have glittens--the things that flip the mitten part back so you can use your fingers.

3) Does your home have a fireplace to keep you warm?

We have a fireplace. I even used it this week...and set my bangs on fire because I forgot the whole damper thing. Dumbass.

4) Bette's father, Fred, supported his family as a house painter. Have you ever held a job that kept you outdoors a great deal of the time?

No, thank God!

5) Her mother, Ruth, was a talented seamstress. How about you? Can you sew on a button? Raise a hem? Darn a hole?

I can do all of those things. I haven't darned in a really long time, but I regularly sew buttons and repair things, apply patches, etc.

6) 2017 was a big year for Bette. At the age of 72, she opened on Broadway in the revival of Hello, Dolly! and won a Tony. As we kick off 2018, what would you like to accomplish this year?

Financial clued-in-ness. I'm not stupid, but I feel completely at sea.

7) Bette and her husband Martin have been married for nearly 34 years. Their wedding was officiated by an Elvis impersonator. Are you looking forward to any weddings in 2018?

I don't think so. Well, I mean Prince Harry's getting married, but... {lol}

8) Bette and Martin are very proud of their daughter, Sophie, now 30, who graduated from Yale in 2008. Do you expect to attend any graduation ceremonies in 2018?

I don't think so. The only people I know that are likely to graduate in anything are in master's degree programs or certification programs which don't always lend themselves to giant parties somehow.

9) Random question: Yesterday, who did you spend the most time with?

I was at work 9 hours yesterday, no break for lunch, mostly at my desk in the workroom. After work I came home. The vast majority of my time I spent in my head (as usual) listening to various podcasts. I spoke at length to a couple of people, but mostly kept myself to myself and got on with my job.

Friday 5

(Link in meme-roll)
Malfunction Junction

1. When have you had a wardrobe malfunction?

   Of late, most of my wardrobe issues have involved spilling food down my front. Maybe I should stop eating in the car?

2. When did you last have a problem with your alarm clock?

   The only problem I have with my alarm clock, i.e. phone, is when I forget to set it.

3. What was your most recent computer problem, and what was the fix?

   The usual: reboot and voilà!

4. What’s something about cars you know specifically because you had to have one repaired?

   Brake shoes make a horrible sound when they are worn out. I'm not going to explain how I know this, except that it was Dad's car and I had to drive on that set of squeaky shoes to pick up Mom from the airport because Dad was busy having a heart attack.

5. Have you had any brain malfunctions this week?

   Oh of course. Every day. I forgot graham crackers at the store earlier, for instance.

Sunday Stealing

(Link in meme-roll)
Mash Up Meme

1. What’s overdue for a good cleaning?

My desk and the immediate area surrounding it. The one at home is always a little untidy at best, and the one at work is a nightmare. I haven't properly cleaned it since my new boss started over 2 years ago. All those bloody slips of paper, notes to myself, tags so I don't forget, projects.... At home it's magazines, mail, and things to file.

2. What’s overdue for some kind of professional examination, service, maintenance, or upkeep?

Sparky's car needs to have new brakes. Beast is getting a new riding mower tomorrow. And we're discussing new kitchen countertops. We also need new flooring out there.

3. Who’s overdue for a phone call or letter to you?

To me? I never expect cards/letters/phone calls. From me? Just about everyone.

4. What’s overdue for an appearance in your neighborhood?

QUIET! It's bloody noisy around here for the weeks leading up to and following Independence Day.

5. Who’s overdue for a good comeuppance?

The entire Bush (II) administration.

6. What’s a gross food you like anyway?

Well, if I thought it was gross, really, would I like it? lol But there was a thing on someone's Facebook wall yesterday about hot dogs being the equivalent of food garbage, and I like them just fine.

7. Who’s an unlikeable person you like anyway?

I find it hard to dislike on a deep level most of the homeless people who use our library. They are, some of them, really fookin' annoying, but they're sort of family at this point.

8. What’s an unpleasant task you enjoy performing anyway?

I don't mind cleaning toilets.

9. What’s a dumb song you enjoy anyway?

Oh, pretty much every pop song I know the lyrics to. Most of the early Jackson 5 oeuvre, for instance.

10. What’s a lousy restaurant you frequent anyway?

McDonalds counts?

11. What's your favourite Sci-fi film/program etc?

Favorite film is probably The Matrix, and TV show has to be Star Trek: The Next Generation.

12. Have you ever had a proper Tarot reading?

No. Nor even an improper one.

13. Have you ever used the phrase "back in my time" to someone younger than you?

Of course I have. It's a prerogative that is required once you hit 50, not to mention for all parents!

14. Have you ever done something really unbelievable, only to have no one around to see it?

All the time. Quiet fist pumps in the air at my desk happen pretty regularly. I don't always feel the need to brag.

15. If you were famous would you want a statue or a building named after you?

Neither really, but if I had to, it would be either modern-art version of me, or a building, like maybe a library? lol

Curious as a Cat

(Link in meme-roll)

1) What is a good cure for insomnia? What do you usually do when you have insomnia?

Exhaustion can help cure insomnia. When I can't sleep, I don't lie there sweating it, I get up and read or do a crossword till I drop off. If things are really dire, I go sleep (or read, or do crosswords) in the living room, or the spare room. Nothing electronic, no TV, just eyeballs. And if it looks like my own body isn't going to cooperate, I'm not above using Tylenol PM or Benedryl to kick me over.

2) Duct tape: love it or hate it?

Love it. Really. I love it a lot. Not as much as my friend Grace who has grown up making things of duct tape and in fact has a full-on rack of every color duct tape made. She intends to win the duct-tape prom dress competition when she's old enough.

3) List the 5 worst pickup lines you've heard.

They are ALL bad. Just be normal, don't be cute.

4) Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.

Public Domain Photo

This is our first year with all-white lights on the tree, because we bought a pre-lit tree. I'm hoping we can replace them a bit at a time over the next few years; I miss my colorful lights like those in the picture.

W.T.F.

(Link in meme-roll)
Whatcha wearin this Wednesday?

1) I keep hearing about some cell phone game called "Angry Birds." I've never played it, but I do know what it's like to deal with angry birds in my office's parking garage. Those things will viciously dive at your head. What do you think makes birds so angry?

I'd bet on people. They piss me off regularly, and I'm not even a bird!

2) You've been asked to house-sit for someone (a friend, coworker, family member, whomever else it may be). Do you go snooping throughout the house or do you totally respect their privacy?

I've learned my lesson the hard way: no snooping.

3) You turn on the news on your television and see the home you grew up in (or spent a large chuck [sic] of your childhood in) going down in flames. Are you sad that the house is on fire or happy that the house will no longer be standing?

Holy shit--my DAD built that house! Shit shit shit--I'd be a wreck. But don't things go "up in flames" not down?

4) Do you eat Oreos by taking them apart and licking out the cream first or do you bite right in? Do you dunk them in milk?

Generally I twist 'em apart. No milk.

5) Have you ever had to call 911 (or whatever emergency system your town has if you don't have 911)? If so, what for?

Yup. I called the rescue squad when Beast blew out his back. And I've called twice in the past 6 months: once when I wrecked my truck, and once when we happened upon a dangerous situation on our way to church in February or March in a blizzard.

6) You and your significant other are out on a date at a fancy restaurant. The waitress brings your bill, and it's $75, but you notice that the waitress forgot to add the $16 dessert that you ordered to the bill. Do you go ahead and just pay the $75 or be honest and say that she forgot to add in the dessert?

I'm unlikely to notice, to be honest. I just pay what's on the check. I know, I know: bad me.

7) Are you a "fix-it-yourself" or a "call-somebody-to-fix-it" type of person?

I call Beast. Otherwise, it sort of depends: some things I can fix myself, some I can't...and a LOT I simply won't.

8) HeroBuilders.com, a company that produces many political themed dolls has released now-ex-Congressman Anthony Weiner dolls -- one has anatomically correct genitals while the other has the freakish no-genitals look. Both are dressed in a gym shirt and shorts with a label that reads "Tweet This." If a company made a doll in your likeness, would you want it to be anatomically correct or not?

I'd rather eat nails than have a doll 'in my likeness' regardless of the genitalia it was built with.

9) If you found an unmarked suitcase full of cash in the middle of the street, what would you do?

I'd probably call the police and turn it in. It's in the middle of the street: what are the odds that no one saw me steal it, eh?

10) It's the middle of the night and you start getting text messages from an unknown number. The first says, "Hey sexy. Im thinkin about you. Whatcha wearin?" When you don't respond, several texts follow. Do you 1) shut off your phone, 2) text back saying they have the wrong number, or 3) play along for a bit and screw with the person?

Shut off the phone. I'm trying to sleep here. If people I actually know want to reach me, they'll call the house!

Multiple Monday

Found here
Fix It

1) Does anyone repair things around the house? Who?

The big stuff is mostly Beast. I fix smaller, girly things: exploded light bulbs, missing buttons, etc.

2) What kinds of things do they fix (plumbing/electric/etc)?

Woops, pays to read ahead... Beast fixes all the mechanical stuff: cars, mowers, furnaces, that sort of thing. I do the things that don't get me dirty. ;-)

3) Is there a division of labor (like you do electric and I do plumbing)?

I'm thinking this through, and for the most part we fix what we find broken unless we don't know how, or don't have time at that moment. For instance, if a light bulb goes out on either of us, we know how to fix it. If the toilet stops up, whoever did it fixes it. If the computer goes nuts, I'll monkey with it till it's fixed or until my patience is gone and then it's Beast's turn.

4) Who decides when it's time to call in the pros?

I'm usually ready to make that call WAY before Beast. He's learning that sometimes it's actually cheaper to have them come do their thing compared to the amount of time we might spend horking around on the problem, potentially making it worse.

5) What's the last thing someone tried to fix around the house?

Beast did some technology stuff on this laptop today. We both did some stuff over the weekend.

Friday Fun

(Link at left)
Fixin’ it Friday

1. Who is the handyman in your house? Or do you call for reinforcements?

That would be Beast in most cases. Sometimes it's me. Depends on what we're fixing.

2. What is the last thing that broke in your house,… and who fixed it?!

Well, I'm not sure this counts, but our fridge needed the water-filter changed last weekend, and I took care of it.

3. What is the most disasterous fix-it story you have?

In our last house, for the first four or so years we lived there EVERY project we started turned into a nightmare because of what we found under the original problem. For instance, removing the falling-down wallpaper in the bathroom? Great...except for the bits that were GLUED TO THE DRYWALL with plain white glue. So, yeah, patching the wallboard around a pipe in the garage in the wall that was shared with the inside of the house? Piece of cake...except there was only insulation at the END of the pipe, not further back, so when winter came, the middle of the pipe freezes and floods the basement.

Is it any wonder why I hated that house?!

4. Ever had one of those fix-it moments that was tragic at the moment, but hysterically funny afterwards?

I dunno about 'tragic' but there've been some killers (see #3) where I thought Beast was going to stroke out. My dad was a builder, so I've been doing this kind of stuff my whole life. For instance, there was the time when our water heater sprung a leak and Dad had me crawl over the top of it with a wrench in my hand to hang upside down and turn off the water behind the heater (it was stuck in the door of the furnace room--don't ask, I have NO idea!). I had bruises on my midsection for a week, and marching and playing in the stands at the football game that night wasn't a lot of fun either.