I got nuthin...

One of those blank days here..rain and gray..

Hey..wait..I LIKE those gray days..

So, is it "grAy" or "grEy"?

"Grey became the established British spelling in the 20th century, pace Dr. Johnson and others[128], and it is but a minor variant in American English, according to dictionaries. Canadians tend to prefer grey. The non-cognate greyhound was never grayhound. Both Grey and Gray are found in proper names everywhere in the English-speaking world. Americans tend to use "gray" in reference to the color and "grey" as the adjective"

huh...

And, what does "ruthless" really mean? I know what the definition is, but if someone is bad, or silly, or mean..they are said to be..ruthless..

Sooo, is the opposite that, you know, a person is good and serious and nice.. full of ruth?

What the heck is that?? "oh, you are such ruthful people.."

***I l.o.v.e this interwebby-thingy! Look what I found:

Did you know?

"Ruthless" can be defined as "without ruth" or "having no ruth." So what, then, is ruth? The noun "ruth," which is now considerably less common than "ruthless," means "compassion for the misery of another," "sorrow for one's own faults," or "remorse." And, just as it is possible for one to be without ruth, it is also possible to be full of ruth. The antonym of "ruthless" is "ruthful," meaning "full of ruth" or "tender." "Ruthful" can also mean "full of sorrow" or "causing sorrow." "Ruth" can be traced back to the Middle English noun "ruthe," itself from "ruen," meaning "to rue" or "to feel regret, remorse, or sorrow.

Yeah, I've wondered about that because one of my silly-fun-favorite old movies is ..wouldn't you know it..

"Ruthless People"...

 

huh.....

I better go to bed before I start thinking again..

-me

I did it! I ate Sushi!

Wait..............WHAT?

No Nooo....nononononoooo..not Sushi...my fish..!!

Sushi...as in..uh..sushi....long rolls..tuna, salmon..you know..

Jeff & Rachael took me, Grandma Evelyn and Mr. B out for an early Mother's Day lunch on Saturday..

To a "real" Sushi place..all Japanese and all..

{no sub-titles..had nooooo idea what he was saying!}

...enjoyed the "etaa{who's-your}ma-mee"

Ever hear of eating Miso Soup with chopsticks??

Me either...

..but I did sorta get the hang of it...sorta..

Oh, I wore my new expensive..{like, $11.00 for the whole ensemble..looooove thrifting!}outfit..

..ok..the shirt is a little too big..I keep forgetting I take a smaller size now..

before...

after...

AND, I modeled it on our brand! new!.......driveway!!

{and you only got flowers...??}

Yeppers..a driveway..several square yards of concrete and gray and..well..concrete!

{not really before..sort of during..}

Ta-flippin'-Da!!

So....who's your Mommy???

-me

My mother’s hands…a re-post from 3 years ago...

I remember when my Mom passed and I went in to say my final good-bye, I was taken by her hands.

Still manicured with strong, pretty nails. The skin on her hands was almost transparent – tissue like.

Almost afraid if I touched them they would tear. You could see the veins clearly. Long thin fingers . I touched them anyway, one more time to feel those hands.

As I look at mine now, although chubby and age-spotted, they are starting to look like my Mother’s.

Not manicured by any means. And not long and thin – but somehow as soft- almost as transparent. I miss her hands. I miss her.

It’s so funny – I really have no features that remind me of my Mother. I look more like my Dad’s side- chubby and pink. White hair and a quick smile... I’ve often thought I look just like my Dad in drag – ..although I NEVER saw him in drag – just to be clear.

I miss them – the both of them . It’s odd to think of one’s self as an orphan, but I guess we are. The Sullivan kids. The 4 of us. Now we’re the elders.

{edited to add..now we are three...}

We have such a beautiful and strong legacy of grandchildren to leave our world to.

I hope they all remember us; the softness in our touch and the love in our hearts.

**I'd like to add something today for my Mother..we were not close when she was alive..I didn't understand all that she had gone through and all that she never had..I was young and foolish ...a "Daddy's girl"...

Mother was gone a lot of the time in my early years..she suffered from what was then called "manic depression" and what now is called "bi-polar depression"..some highs and many many lows..

And, back then, it was something to be quite ashamed of..how embarrassing for anyone to know I spent my Sundays visiting my Mother at the state hospitals..mental institutions no less..

And what I know now..I cannot imagine living..shock treatments, being "committed" to state hell holes, medications that made her catatonic..horrible, horrible state mental hospitals..screaming..crying..people tied in chairs..

I cannot imagine..and I cannot imagine leading the life she did..all because of undiagnosed, (or poorly diagnosed at best) chemical imbalances that today can be rectified with a little pill..One. Little. Pill.

It's true that she was not capable of bringing me home from the hospital as a baby..and I learned later in life I was raised by an Aunt & Uncle for almost the first three years of my life because my Dad could't care for a baby when there were three young children at home already..and a wife that was "unstable"..

So she was over-medicated..mis-understood, unloved by most (no one really knew her except her best friend, Dorothy, who remained her best friend for over 70 years until my Mother's death)..

She was abandoned by an alcoholic father, was the middle child behind a pretty, domineering, very smart older sister and one beloved younger brother.



(it is said my Grandfather beat my Grandmother, and that the whole time she was pregnant with my Uncle, she prayed that the baby would be a son.....not another girl....to make my Grandfather happy.. it was a son, but as far as making him happy - that was not to be..he left and his family never knew what happened to him..)

Just recently,through genealogy, I found his death certificate..he died alone, listed as "divorced" and would never know any of his grandchildren, dying when my brother would have been 6 months old..his only grandSON)

All her life, Mother felt inferior..stayed with a bad tempered {but never abusive..}, many times out of work, silly old Irishman who didn't understand mental illness either..

My Mother never learned to drive, never handled money or responsibility, never knew how to love, deeply..never had hobbies, never read books, never had a chance to escape..except into her illness..

She did the best she could to remember to breathe in and out everyday..

But once in a while..once in a while..she and Daddy would dance...then she smiled..she was light on her feet and they knew each others moves..they glided..I can still see them....closest thing I could see to love..

Mother with her red lipstick and "rouged" cheeks..Daddy, with shined black shoes..and gray hair slicked back..every once in a while, a little "jig" in his step..smiling..both of them..but not at each other..not really..it was the dance...

Oh if I could take back so much of the hurt and withheld emotion from my Mother..

But I can't..and it's taken me the better part of my adult life to even get a brief understanding or glimpse of what her life was like..

And I am sorry..

I loved my Mother. And I am sorry for not letting her know..

-me

Silk - I Can't Stop (Turning You On)

I Can't Stop (Turning You On) is a deep 2-step Philly soul masterpiece with amazingly beautiful vocals by Debra Henry. Pretty close to a perfect tune for lazy Sundays in the bedroom. The track appears on Silk's rare-ish album Midnight Dancer. It's their only album released by Philadelphia International in 1979. Well actually there's another album if you count Songs For Evolution recorded as Anglo Saxon Brown which was basically the same group that formed Silk two years later. Check out Call On Me from Songs For Evolution, another sweet 2-step groover.

If you're in the mood for more classic Philly tunes check out one of my all time favorite mixtapes Disco To Get Drunk To #3 - The Sound Of Philadelphia by DJ Anonymous. It kicks off with I Can't Stop (Turning You On).

Silk - I Can't Stop (Turning You On) [320 kbps, DivShare]

Have you heard of Lake Havasu Arizona?

...it's where my sister Kathy lives...oh, and the London Bridge..

Yeah..the London Bridge. Brick by brick it was disassembled in , well, London.. and then re-assembled in..yes, Arizona!

"London Bridge is a bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA, which is based on the 1831 London Bridge which spanned the River Thames in London, England until it was dismantled in 1967. The Arizona bridge is a reinforced concrete structure clad in the original masonry of the 1830s bridge, which was bought by Robert P. McCulloch from the City of London. McCulloch had exterior granite blocks from the original bridge numbered and transported to America, in order to construct the present bridge in Lake Havasu City, a planned community he established in 1964 on the shore of Lake Havasu. The bridge was completed in 1971 along with a canal, and links an island in the lake with the main part of Lake Havasu City".

And they have a tons of other great things..besides my sister Kathy and the London Bridge..

Activities that are family-friendly and quite creative:

A place where you can float in an inner tube and watch movies..

The "Most Handsome Dog" contest..

 

Owen Lichtenberg came in 2nd place {he was robbed..}

Wonderful sailboats with Christmas lights..

The Blessing of the Animals..

St. Francis started this lovely tradition..well, not in Lake Havasu City per se..

..but it's still a lovely tradition..although, if anything needs blessing less, it's animals..they are a blessing in themselves..so yes, God bless the beasts & the children..

..and lots and lots of other activities..

Just this past week, they had the Cinco de Mayo Chihuahua races.

Lots of folks come out for this activity..

Seriously!

And one of Kathy's good friends {Hi Pauline!} and her little Chihuahua, Mattie, joined in the race.

They have the same smiles!!

Yep, Mattie came in 2nd...but I think 1st Place on the "Most Loved" catagory..

So, if you're ever near Lake Havasu City Arizona, be sure to stop by..probebly not in the summer {120 degrees is "normal"} but the winters and spring?  Beautiful!

Oh, and a Happy Mother's Day tomorrow to you all..

-me

so, yeah..I took the afternoon off..

..however, I didn't just go home like I would normally do..well, I had a dentist appointment first, just a cleaning, and we all received 4 hours of paid-off time {thank you bosses!}, so I figured it would be a good time to take myself to lunch..

So I did. Went to Jason's Deli and had a really good Spinach Veggie Wrap with fresh fruit..Yummy and good for me as well..a double header!

Off to Border's Bookstore for a magazine {Where Women Create} ...beautiful :-)

Then it was thrifting..found a really cute skirt ($6.00) a great linen shirt ($4.00) and 2 darling purses ($1.00 each) as well as a couple of household thingies..

I'm still "in-between" weights and don't want to keep wearing the clothes that are too big (easy to overeat if you don't have that "tight-pants" feeling!) and am reluctant to buy "new-new" clothes that I will not wear all that long.

So, "thrifting" is good..

Have I told you I'm a "purse-nut"? Some people like shoes...I like purses. A lot. A lot a lot a lot..

Mr. B thinks I like shoes because he really doesn't understand there are shoes.(ho hum) .then there are SHOES!!..

So when he complains about how many "pairs of shoes" are out at any given moment..

What he is actually seeing is...

1. slippers...these are not shoes
2. snow boots...these are not shoes
3. flip-flops..really..who could call those "shoes"??
4. Crocs...um...still no..these are my "foot vessels" for weighing in at Weight Watchers..{yeah, they only weigh like an ounce..}
5. white tennis shoes..close..but these are my Zumba shoes..
6. ugly brown tennis shoes..'nuff said..
7. ankle boots...duh......bo-oots??..
8. black mules...OK..that's what I'm talkin' about.. those are shoes..

But..they are ..black..and..um...winter-y...so I may just need to get another pair of shoes...

..after all...I only have one pair..

What's your weakness??

-me

Lenny Williams - Choosing You

The title track of Lenny Williams' third solo album Choosing You is a huge favorite of mine. A great soulful uptempo disco joint that has an excellent breakdown and a superb bassline. The same version of Choosing You can be found as a 12" single but I would go for the album. It's inexpensive but packed with quality tunes produced by a Motown legend Frank Wilson. A nice set of smooth soul (for example Problem Solver) and a bit funkier uptempo tunes all bringing the attention to the excellent and versatile voice of the ex-Tower Of Power lead singer.

Lenny Williams - Choosing You [320 kbps, DivShare]