Makes me go “Hmmm…”

Everyday Life
Shot along the Newport, RI coast one fine day.

I’ve been compiling a list of things that make me wonder. These are just mental observations that I’ve made over time (long time readers may remember some of them from before) and I figured I’d share them, put them all together and see if anyone else feels the same way. I’ll keep adding to this list as I think of more things that make me ponder. Feel free to comment to add your own or if you think I’m just whack nuts!

Have you ever noticed you can turn any movie into a Broadway production just by adding an exclamation point on the end? Hustlers! The Breakfast Club! Kramer vs. Kramer!

While watching Wheel of Fortune one evening, I noticed something. Vanna doesn’t appear to be necessary anymore since the letters are electronic now and no spinning of tiles is needed, so why is she still there? She still taps the letters to show them but when contestants solve the puzzle all letters appear without her touching them. Wasteful!

Why does it seem that the thicker a woman’s eyebrows are, the more they want to be in control?

Why is it that flies seem to have no problem flying into a door of the house that was opened for a second, but can’t seem to fly out of the house the same way? Even if you make it as simple as possible they seem to not choose the most obvious path. WHY NOT??

If I got a tattoo of a Rorschach inkblot, then when people ask me what it is, I could say it’s whatever you see it is? Surprised those kind of tats aren’t more popular? I guess because tats are representative of the person wearing it and not the person looking at it. HAH!

Things that all people can agree on: Pizza and Music. I’ve never heard of anyone saying they don’t like pizza or music. Like, whoever said “I hate music”? No such thing. Hmm, maybe if we could tie into that which make us all connect on that level we’d all get along better.

If the show “Hoarders” was in 3D it would be awesome. Just saying. Maybe VR too. Also, maybe it’s the cynicism in me, but wouldn’t it be really easy for the cleaned up place to get trashed again over time? Wonder if that’s why I never see episodes of updates on the folks that were helped out?

Why is it called Planet Earth when it’s mostly water? Planet Water just doesn’t have the same ring to it though. Planet Hydro? Planet Etche Two Oh.

When do oldies stop being oldies? Like, when you put on an oldies station and they play music from the 50s, well, when does that stop getting played and then it’d be music from a different decade? If it does, what do you call the previous oldies then? Older oldies? Also, no one ever plays ragtime anywhere, anymore, except maybe in some old saloon in a movie. Talk about a musical genre that went belly up.

I remember awaking from a dream that I had insomnia and couldn’t sleep. In the dream! While I’m really sleeping! That was whack. Who does that? What could it mean??

Why do I always mix up the following in my mind?

  • Judas Priest and Iron Maiden
  • Gwyneth Paltrow and Lisa Kudrow 
  • What “on the wagon” and “off the wagon” means.

Overdoing It and Goat Love

Everyday Life, Goat Love, Memories, Scenic Photography, Wildlife
Goat pals!

What the hell happened to my right forearm? Woke up this morning with it feeling really sore. I suspect it had to do with the shoveling from two days ago, but I usually feel the effects of activity such as that the next day, not two days after! Must be a part of getting older? Also, strange that that’s the only part of my body that’s sore, everything else appears fine to me. Must have twisted it in some way while I was doing it is the only thing I can think of. I think I might have to actually ice it, or place something warm on it, as I prefer that better.

Lately I like to post a photo to go along with the blog posts. I don’t really have any at the moment to reflect the status of my arm (it’s not swollen or anything), so I’m transitioning to an enjoyable pic of Bean and Buckley from the sanctuary! They have interesting stories, as do all the animals there.

Bean came to the farm at two weeks old. He was rescued from slaughter. He needed to be bottle fed when he first came. He is a mischievous little boy, liking to chew on visitor’s shoe laces. Bean doesn’t seem to realize he is a goat. He is being socialized with the other goats nowadays as before he was actually living in the owner’s house. He probably thought he was either a human or possibly a dog for a while.

Buckley, as a baby, was rescued from slaughter too. He was cared for and when his rescuer could no longer care for him as he got older, he was brought to the farm. He is very attached to the volunteers, following them around, and visitors too – especially if he senses a snack around! I find he can be a little pushy. He’s been known to butt me and others at times, but not in a malicious way. Those horns are killer! It’s just the goat way. He and Bean, as can be seen in the photo, have become good companions.

I consider these two to be rather handsome goats! I’ve grown to have a fondness for goats in general now. Growing up in the city, I didn’t have many opportunities to hang out with animals like this, and I find them to very soulful animals.

First Snow

Everyday Life, Memories, Scenic Photography
First snow of the season! Brrrr!

After waking up early and shoveling out over at Earth-1, I decided to head into the office. I was kind of expecting the snowfall to be worse but I didn’t think it was all that bad. I actually have some stuff I could get done so maybe things are looking up a little bit. My plan was to go in around 10 but I actually ended up finishing up earlier than I though and got in around 9. Keep sending me the light, people!

I never really liked winter. I hate snow now. Back when I was little, maybe it was fun to play in it. Maybe. But nowadays, forget it. Between shoveling, scraping, slipping on ice, getting frozen, taking longer to do anything.. real f’in pain. Do any of you like winter? I mean, it’s scenic when it first falls and all. I’m done with it now though. And it’s only just begun!

Not Snow Ready

Everyday Life, Memories, Scenic Photography
Copley Square

So not ready for the first snow to fall today. Heard conflicting reports, lots of snow, then not so much. I swear the better the meteorological technology gets, the worse the weather predicting.

However, one thing to get my mind off of the snow, at least for a little bit, is going to see the new Tom Hanks movie with friends this afternoon. Will update later with more. Update: The movie was pretty good, not what I was expecting. Not so much about Fred as it was about this reporter who has to interview him. Interesting take.

The Puzzle

Everyday Life, Memories, Scenic Photography

The puzzle of my being has pieces missing here and there. Some were lost long ago, some more recently, and some pieces never fit, no matter how hard or what direction I try to connect them. And I did try to fit them, as best I could anyway. But some things will never fit, no matter how hard you try to force it to. And sometimes when I think I have it together, only a few spots left to go, some unknown hand comes down and drops the puzzle to the floor and the pieces scatter all about. And it’s then that I realize, I need to pick up the pieces that I can… and start again.

Black Friday

Everyday Life, Memories
Making a new friend.

Started the day off by driving to my mom’s this morning. She had to bring one of her cats in for a nail trim, and her cats are rather large and heavy, so I obliged to help her take them. That went pretty well and quick, although while I was there I saw a little dog patient who looked like he broke his leg. I could actually see his bone poking out through the skin. Gross! Hopefully he’ll get fixed up real quick – poor thing.

We had a great day yesterday. We cooked for my mom and sister and I think they had fun. I had a pretty good time, talking, eating, playing the man cave games, etc.

This afternoon we were meeting a friend and her kids at the sanctuary and then out for lunch to celebrate her belated birthday. That was also a lot of fun, I think the kids really enjoyed it and as you can see from above, I made a new friend! I even went ahead and picked up a chicken on my own and handed it around to them. Might not sound like much, but this city boy has gotten a little more country apparently. They actually like to be held and you can feel their little hearts beating when you do. It’s a pretty wild feeling.

In other news, I’ve started to create a jukebox database finally to keep track of all the records we have, whether they are in rotation, and the condition of each disc. Something I should have done long ago, of course as usual the data entry is the worst part, but it’s got to be done!

Happy National Jukebox Day

Everyday Life, Jukebox, Memories, Wildlife
Jukebox in the house

I know I’ve posted this before but it being National Jukebox Day and all I just had to get it up again. Yes, we will most likely be using this tonight as we prepare for the gathering tomorrow. We need to create some kind of database to keep track of all the records we have and their condition. It would be good to get a census of what he have versus what we’d like to get in there, and could help with rotating the songs in and out. I’ve written the story about how we got this machine before so I won’t rehash that here. Needless to say it’s a great conversation piece and we love it – even if the technology is so mechanical and freakin’ heavy! Moving this thing is a beast!

Made a quick visit to the market this morning, mostly getting some different fruits and veggies, planning on making some kind of cute looking turkey things out of them, much like we made the vegetable skeleton for Halloween a while back. Naturally I’ll be doing all the prep work on that. If it comes out well I’ll take a pic and share it with everyone. Sometimes those things can come out hit or miss, but either way I’ll be eating it anyway. Good to get those things already as the store although wasn’t too crazy, it will probably get worse as the day progresses in terms of activity.

I went ahead and put up the light-up reindeer on the front lawn this morning. I’ll have to consult with LD as to my placement of them but I’m pleased to report that they all move and light up still. Always a challenge trying to figure out the placement and the electrical outlets. Since it’s kinda warm today I figure it’d be good to get them up and out of the basement. I didn’t put them up last year but since we’re having guests tomorrow thought it would be nice to show the setup. Definitely getting into the holiday spirit early this year. Does this mean the tree will come down before February ala last year? Probably not! While I was out there I scared “Squibbs” the squirrel away from his ‘mealtime.’

I was going to work a half day today but lately since losing the contract I was on I haven’t been all that busy so I decided to take the day. Just as well too, it’s amazing how much one can actually get done when you don’t have to spend most of your nine to five someplace else. More updates as the day progresses perhaps, stay tuned…