Good Day Sunshine

"Information is moving... you know, nightly news is one way, of course, but it's also moving through the blogosphere and through the Internets."

-George W Bush, May 2, 2007

I don't know... lol... this is just funny no matter who it happens to! Welcome to my first YouTube video posting. I was thinking about posting a video of one of the many cat fights that The View has brought us over the last year, but with the announcement Friday, that Rosie O' Donnell has asked for, and been granted, an early release from her contract with ABC... why go there? Although ABC World News Tonight News did feature the conflict between Rosie and Elizabeth Hasselbeck in their weekly feature, A Closer Look. They seem to feel like I do, that we are polarized in this country, and while our voices are getting louder... not much is being accomplished. We don't and sometimes can't talk amongst ourselves. Sigh. I would like to see this disturbing trend change. I would like to see the congress and the senate keep it's promise to end this war, and not bow to pressure from the Bush administration. There will be hope for this again at the end of the summer. In the mean time... there's always time to laugh. Right? :)

-OndineMonet

Steven's Feline Friday: An Update On Elvis

"Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many ailments, but I never heard of one who suffered from insomnia."

-Joseph Wood Krutch

It's Feline Friday Time :)

This cat! Remember a few weeks ago, when Alan and I both had colds? Well, it seems that Elvis took notice, and decided to catch a cold right along with us. The cold passed, but the sinus infection didn't. He has a bad sinus infection. Snnneeeezee, wheeeeeeeze, SnoorrrrrSNORRRRRRE! LOL. He is making the strangest noises, but he is on the road to recovery, thanks to a bottle of the anti-biotic called Clavamox. It smells a little like bubblegum, and the drama factor of giving him his twice a day dose is only a little... well... dramatic. LOL. He is a good boy, with plenty of patience for his mommy forcing him to drink the foul, pasty, white goo. He is doing ok with his diabetes, although after his visit with Dr. "B" this week his dose is now up to 4 units. :(

I am having the hardest time convincing him to eat. He does better if the weather doesn't get too hot, anything over 85 and he becomes little melting kitty. So, I think we are going to replace the air-conditioner in a couple weeks, because Elvis can't take another summer like last year. If it was just us, I think I would try to stick it out another season, but Elvis has never done well in the warmer weather, and with our new adventure, I just need to make him as comfy as possible. He likes his sunglasses, he likes his hats, and like his mommy, he will be happy when autumn is here. :)

Like it says above, it's Feline Friday time! Friday is the day of the week, my friend Steven sets aside to honor the cats in our lives. It's easy to play along, and you can get all the information by visiting his blog, (sometimes) photoblog.

:)

-OndineMonet
"Cool Kitty"
March 14th, 2005
Berkeley, California
Afternoon

John Scalzi's Weekend Assignment #167: Bad TV You Loved As A Kid

"Television is a medium, because anything good on it is rare."

-Fred Allen

Weekend Assignment #167: You watched some bad TV as a kid. Tell us your favorites. Now, this doesn't mean you realized at the time it was bad. Just now, in the fullness of time, you recognized that your viewing choices left something to be desired. For the purposes of this assignment, try to stick with shows that were aimed at kids, although if you can't think of any, prime time shows are okay as well.

Extra Credit: How much TV did you watch when you were a kid? A lot? A little?

-John Scalzi



I loved TV when I was a child, although I didn't watch very much daytime TV, because that was when my mother and sister would watch their favorite soap operas. When I was very little, I could most often be found drawing or outside or riding my bike with my best friend Mike, although I would come back into the house late in the day to watch Dark Shadows with my sister. I don't think that would qualify as a show for children, but what can I say? I loved scary stuff even when I was a little girl. Most of my TV viewing started with the evening news, then whatever prime time had to offer. I loved the sitcoms, and variety shows. Laugh-In, That Girl, The Monkees.

Speaking of monkeys, I did enjoy a Saturday morning show called Lancelot Link , Secret Chimp. It had good guys, bad guys, and each week it was another case for the secret agents at A.P.E (Agency to Prevent Evil). See, they had to thwart the evil doings of C.H.U.M.P (Criminal Headquarters for Underworld Master Plan). The meanest of the mean of that organization was Baron von Butcher, and he was assisted by his fellow evil doers, Creto, Dr, Strangmind, the Dragon Woman, Wang Fu, among others. They didn't get very far with their nefarious plans, thanks to, Lancelot Link, Secret Spy. Yep... it was indeed actual chimpanzees in the roles, with the voices provided by Bernie Koppell, Dayton Allen, Joan Gerber and Malachi Throne. The show was only on the air for two seasons, back in the early 70's, but I watched every week. Was it bad? Well, yes, but gitchy kind of bad, you know? :) Lancelot Link replayed on TV for a short time on Nickelodeon during the 1980's, but recently it was made available on DVD. I might just have to put this on my Amazon wish list for Christmas! LOL. Gosh monkeys are fun! :)

Extra Credit: I watched tons of TV. I was a weird kid, I like everything but westerns. I even watched the Watergate Hearings! LOL.

-OndineMonet
"Television" By Julia Gilmore

She Said/She Said

"One day it's going to dawn on the human race that war is a barbaric means of resolving conflict as cannibalism is as a means of coping with diet deficiencies."

-Bruce Kent

Things have gotten out of hand. Did you happen to catch Wednesday's edition of The View? I only caught the first half of the show, but what I did see left me feeling kind of sick. Not necessarily for the combatants Rosie O' Donnell, and Elizabeth Hasselbeck, but more for the way we Americans in general are responding to things. I have admitted more than once that I tune in because to a degree I like seeing the conflict. I have formed some of my strongest opinions through exchanges of passionate ideals. I told you that when I was a little girl, my father would occasionally ask my siblings and myself, how we felt about different current events, both social and political. It wasn't enough to have an opinion, my father insisted we explain why we felt the way we did about whatever topic we were discussing. If we tried to give the "I don't know why I feel the way I do," out, dad would push us until we figured it out. At times I found his inquiries daunting, because as a kid I would have rather not put a deep effort into it. LOL. It took me years to fully appreciate what he was trying to accomplish, which was to teach us to think things through, and then decided what we believed based on hard facts, not just instinct or emotion.

I was thinking about dad today as Rosie and Elizabeth engaged in what was probably their most volatile exchange of opinions to date. You could see the hurt feelings on both sides, and there was a definite low blow exchanged. And the thing is, what the original catalyst for the argument was, had to do not so much with politics, or religion, or war, or lifestyle choices, but more to do with friendship. The real question seemed to be, when do you stand up for your friends, and should you have to? I have always heard that friends should never discuss politics or religion, but it seems that this list of taboo subjects has grown, especially since 9/11. Now I don't think that those two ladies were, or have been, anything resembling true friends, but how come they can't share their respective thoughts and observations? Why have our individual opinions become so earth shatteringly important, that we are willing to dig in with both heals, and hold righteousness in one hand, and the stone prepared for casting in the other. I keep going back to 9/11 and how scared we all were and still are.

That day divided this nation, just like Osama bin laden wanted. The Bush administration has done nothing to bring us together, indeed, it seems as if at times they had encouraged the breach. It's my opinion, and feel free to disagree if you want to, that we as a nation fell into a lot of traps, because of our sorrow and fear. Who wasn't reeling after that day? How long did it take you to feel some sense of safety? Do you feel safe now? Both women want to feel safe, and both women love their country. That is what drives the strong opinions of both women, their respective views about the way they feel about the direction America is moving in, under the Bush presidency. I can see both views at times, although I will admit, most of the time I find Elzabeth Hasselbeck simplistic in her take on things. I don't understand how she can bring herself to defend the actions of the administration with such childlike admiration. There are a lot of valid questions that need to be asked, and Rosie can be, at times, extremely harsh and impatient in how she asks them.

Questions such as,why did the Bush administration stop actively pursuing Osama Bin Laden, if they knew he was still a dangerous threat? Why was the CIA task force, in charge of tracking him, disbanded?Last July, Bush denied the claims that the task force, searching for bin Laden had been closed, but he did say that funding for the search had been cut back. What? Say it's true that we are still actively searching for Bin Laden... why isn't he our number one war budget priority? Especially since Bush disclosed yesterday, that Bin Laden had some dire plans for us. Funny that Bush chose a Coast Guard commencement ceremony to share that tidbit with us. Doesn't it seem like it should have been a major announcement? Why does he always come up with these scary scenarios, when he is speaking in front of a group of military? If Bin Laden has been up to no good, why have we allowed Al Qaeda to flourish not just in Afghanistan, but now in Iraq, which prior to the U.S. invasion, according to intelligence reports prior to the war, had no ties to that country? How come we always seem to get the number 2 or 3 man in these terror groups, but not Bin Laden? I don't know that we will ever really know the true reason why we invaded Iraq, but it has been proven time and time again, that that the Bush administration has lied.

He lied to ALL of us. If lied is too strong a word, lets just say, mislead. Or how about taking it down an additional notch and say... unintentionally mislead. Or how about we just blame it on flawed intelligence both here and abroad. Maybe we could say it was an Ooooooops moment. In any case, we are supposed to be in Iraq fighting terrorism. Right? With nearly $500 billion already been spent in Iraq, fighting terrorism, why did we stop making the number one reason we are in harm's way a low priority?I know what I think about it, and if you have been reading me for any period of time you know what I think as well. So?

Rosie O' Donnell, and Elizabeth Hasselbeck know how each other feels as well. Every day when they arrive at the ABC studios they know how each other thinks and what triggers each other's hot topic button, and yet they still engage in an all out war of the words between each other. What had me coming back to watch the inevitable conflicts, was that as passionate as each could get defending their respective views, at least they knew why the felt the way they did. Yesterday, the lines blurred between healthy debate for an exchange of opinions and became a perfect example of what Osama bin Laden's goal for all of us in America was on 9/11, the implosion of our society a little painful bit at a time. And it isn't just happening on TV, it's happening all over, a little here and a little there, every single day, spreading like an incurable cancer. Sigh. So sad.

So tell me, do you feel intimidated about sharing your views regarding politics? How about religion? Is there any subject, relevant to current events, that you find yourself deliberately avoiding? Have you ever lost a friend because of a difference of opinion? And if so, why? Tell me what you think. Opinions please.

-OndineMonet
"Fire"
Half Moon Bay, California
October 22nd, 2006
Afternoon

Just Have Sex, And Lots Of It!

"On average, an infant laughs nearly two hundred times a day; an adult, only twelve. Maybe they are laughing so much because they are looking at us. To be able to preserve joyousness of heart and yet to be concerning in thought; in this way we can determine good fortune and misfortune on earth, and bring to perfection everything on earth."

- The I Ching

I am not sure what made me think of it, but yesterday I was thinking about a conversation I had a while back, with the mother of one of my childhood friends. It was back in the late 1990's. Alan and I were still living in our first apartment. It was a third floor walk-up that was only one bedroom, but had a view of the East Bay hills, and a lot of charm. It was our first home, in fact, it was brand new when we signed the papers, we got to start brand new, in a brand new apartment. It was paradise for us. We had such a good time, that our land lady used to get complaints of all the "happy noise" coming from our place. LOL. She didn't tell us, until we moved out that she used to have to deal with our neighbors complain about our laughing too much. LOL.

Our first four years were wonderful, there wasn't a care in the world. I think I might have mentioned that people used compare Alan and I to Paul and Jamie Buchman, on "Mad About You." One of Alan's friends came over for dinner one night, and before he went home he had decided to find himself a wife, because he said he never saw two people like Alan and I, who had so much fun together. He did indeed find a girl and settled down a couple years later. It was quite a compliment, coming from someone I was sure would never settle down. But he did. It felt good to be an example of happiness.

After about four years and six months, things began to change for us. It wasn't he and I, it was all the pressures of life that surrounded us. My parents became ill, and it was up to me to care for them. It was a difficult prospect. I knew my father was going to leave us soon, and my mother, well she was always ill one way or the other. Mostly she had a long history of mental problems, which didn't help dad much. I made it all work, but it was a lot of work to do so. Alan had his own pressures where he worked. We began to drift a little, then over the next couple years, as our various pressures increased, he and I drifted a lot. We very nearly separated in late 1997. And the worst thing that every happened to us, hadn't even happened yet.

I was sitting at Starbuck's one day, thinking about how sad the whole life we had, had become, when Penny, the mother of my best friend as a child, asked if she could join me. It had been years since we had spoken, we just hadn't run into each other, but it was a pleasant diversion to see her that morning, so I welcomed the company. I always had the urge to sit up straight when I was in Penny's presence, even at the age of 36. LOL. It was a parent. You should always be on your best behavior when you are around your friend's parents! LOL. Funny, but I still felt like a little person around her, even at the old age of 37.

As we shared about our lives, she asked about Alan. She had met Alan years earlier, and took an instant liking to him. They talked for hours at one of the parties I had given, just after we got married. "He's fine," I lied. "And how have you been?" She asked me. It wasn't as easy to lie about how I was, but I tried. "I'm ok. Just going one day at a time." Penny sat back in her chair, and looked me square in the eye, "Carly, what's wrong? Is there something or someway I can help." LOL. I guess it was a bit obvious at that point. I found myself telling her everything over the next 45 minutes or so, and she just let me talk, and cry and cry, between sips of my grande sized hot chocolate w/raspberry syrup.

She hadn't said a word the whole time... she just listened. When I was finished, she got a big grin on her face, and leaned in close to me to give me some advice. "Carly," she said, "go home, and have sex with that man. Have sex in the shower, in the garden, on the balcony, in the closet, on the floor, and even the kitchen sink! Don't even worry if there is dishes in the sink... JUST HAVE LOTS AND LOTS OF MESSY SEX!" Well, I may have been 37, and married nearly 8 years, but I knew I was blushing. When you are in the presence of a parent of a childhood friend, you don't really think about sex! You know? LOL. I was completely embarrassed, but I was enthralled with her advice. After all, it probably wasn't the worst advice anyone had ever given me. LOL. Although, sex was not ever a problem for us.

"Well Penny, the thing is, we don't really have problems with sex." I explained. "Yes dear, but if you are having sex in the kitchen sink, and it's good, you can work anything out! I know from experience. As soon as you are done, face the problems in your marriage... talk, touch, talk some more." I couldn't say her advice wouldn't work I had never tried it. I smiled at the thought, and when I went home that day, I tried it. I didn't worry about the sink, or if there was anything in it. And later... we talked. In fact, we talked all night and into the next morning. Alan ended up taking a day off from work, I found someone to check on mom, and we just talked. We got over a lot of problems in the months to come. Not because of sex, but because of the new intimacy we had allowed each other.

I guess the conversation I had with Penny was one of those conversations we all eventually have, the ones that reminds you that you are indeed a grown up. That day I went from thinking of Penny as the grown-up, to my peer. I found out that only 18 years separates us. When you are and old married lady of nearly 45, that is nothing. We are now grown-ups together. :) She is my friend, not just the mother of a friend. Her advice, helped then and it helped in 2000, when the "event which shall remain nameless" happened. It helped. It couldn't fix what broke in me that day in 2000, but it was put to use in the sense of allowing ourselves to remember each other. It gave us memories of other times when we worked things out. Sigh. You never know when someone will give you the advice of a lifetime, do you?

-OndineMonet

Vogue Cover May 15th, 1941

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Postermaking

"There is entirely too much charm around, and something must be done about it."

-Dorothy Parker

For this week's Photo Shoot i thought we might have a little fun with the concept:

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Make a poster of a favorite picture. You can make a fast and easy "poster" using the Motivator online application here - just upload or link to the photo you want to use, and then type in your text. Any photo is game. However, as I've highlighted the Motivator before (although not in a Photo Shoot), don't recycle the posters you may have made before.

-John Scalzi

ROFLMAO! I love Golden Gate Park sometimes! Last summer, on a particularly beautiful day, Alan and I decided to go into San Francisco, and have lunch in the park. We chose the grounds of the Conservatory of Flowers to enjoy the day. It was really beautiful that day, and the temperature seemed to bring the fun out in everyone. This guy was no exception. He was walking along, when all of a sudden, he did a handstand. Perfectly I might add. When he landed on his feet once again, he gave a happy little chuckle and continued on. :) Doesn't it just make your day to see someone having fun, and enjoying a carefree moment? I'm so glad I finally found a way to use this photo, it always makes me smile. Thank you anonymous guy... whoever you are!

-OndineMonet
"Too Cute Anonymous Guy"
Conservatory of Flowers
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
Summer, 2006

A New Meme, Sent To Me By Suzanne :)

"As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat."

-Ellen Perry Berkeley

Oh goody... a new meme. Suzanne, author of the blog, "New Suzanne R's Life," has tagged me to play a 7 and 7 meme. The idea is to list 7 things about myself, and 7 things about my cat Elvis. Sounds like fun... right? Well, the only thing is, I think I have pretty much told you everything relevant about myself, so I am not sure what I might be able to come up with. After you have been blogging for almost 4 years, there's not much new to tell. Hmmm... . As for Elvis, again I might have told you everything there is to know, I suppose I could toss a few lies in and see if you can spot the fibs. LOL. Nah... that wouldn't be very nice of me now would it? Ok, here goes, 7 things about me.

First Me

1. When I was a little girl, I won a penmanship contest, beating out the rest of my class for the blue ribbon for "Best Fifth Grade Penmanship."

2. I am, on occasion, a sleepwalker.

3. I don't snore, and I sleep on my stomach. (Is that 2 things?)

4. I usually blog while wearing only a t-shirt and undies. ;)

5. When they find my horribly mutilated body, they will ID me by the beauty mark I have just above my left boob.

6. I wear a size 7 bracelet and ring and shoe.

7. I have a curved spine. It's shaped like the letter "S."

Now Elvis :)

1. Elvis has one black spot on his right front paw pad.

2. Elvis sometimes wakes me with his snoring.

3. Elvis can't stand a closed door, sometimes to the point of panicking.

4. Elvis can walk backwards... in a straight line.

5. Elvis can drink from a straw.

6. Elvis has to have something under his chin for a brace when he sleeps. Often, he sleeps on a chair with his head resting on the arm.

7. Elvis loves voices, and has been known to play answering machine recordings over and over. Sometimes we call and leave him messages.

Now I am supposed to tag some folks to play along, but this meme is making the rounds pretty quickly, so if you want to join in the fun, please feel free, but be sure to come back here and leave me your link so I know you have played. I would love to come and read your entry! Thank you lovely Suzanne, you know how much I love doing memes! :)

Apropo Of Nothing

"I went down the street to the 24-hour grocery. When I got there the guy was locking the front door. I said, "Hey, the sign says you're open 24 hours." He said, "Yes, but not in a row."

-Steven Wright

I got a lot of emails and comments yesterday, mostly in regards to my last post. Sigh. Yeah, I was in a mood to be sure, it has been, and continues to be, a tough year. I have my moments, but I am doing better today, you guys lifted me back up a good bit. I dunno. I am still thinking about retiring at the end of the summer, but there are some things I am going to try in the mean time. I might cut my blogging days a bit. Maybe just blog Monday thru Friday, and take the weekends for clearing my brain. Inspiration can be difficult, when you feel like you have been in a coma for 6 months. Stupid Fibromyalgia! Anyway, I did some meditation and yoga yesterday, had a nice play session with Elvis, and things seem a lot less stressful. :) Thank you for that.

I drove my car yesterday, for the first time in 3 weeks! I have just been too tired and sore to get out and do things. But the weather was nice, and the temperature was good, so I went to the store and then grabbed a salad for lunch. YUM, salad. LOL. I decided to write a nice long grocery list, so I could get everything I needed in one trip, instead of going in several little store trips. Grocery stores are a lot more fun now, then when I was a child. Stores didn't have flowers or movies or even the gourmet deli sections like they do now. I can't believe I am old enough to remember the good old days of price guns. LOL.

Who knew grocery stores would get to be fun? The flowers yesterday were gorgeous! I saw the Lilly, in the above photo, and I just had to photograph it. Yes, I even take my camera to the grocery store! LOL. Although I have to say, I get the strangest looks when I take it out to photograph a display. I dunno, sometimes I just see stuff that looks interesting... like the dog food. It always looks so darn appetizing to me. Hmmm... that might be something to discuss with Sarah! LOL. Anyway, in a effort to make going to the store a little more interesting, I decided to write my list in French. Why French? I don't know, I guess food just sounds like it would taste better in French. Here is my list, do you know what I purchased?

sauce tomate de 6 bidons

2 remplissages de connexions de clairere (epice de cannelle)

poulet de 2 bidons du thon de mer

1 melange de Cornbread de calendrier de Marie

1 extrait de rhum

5 bananes

creme de 2 bidons de potage de poulet

2ltr. Biere de racine de tasse

boules de 1 coton de bolte

civiere de chat de chat de johnny de sac

1 grande bouteille de MIDOL

2 lances d'aneth de Vlasic de fioles

17 oranges. (Go figure, it's the same in French)

1 eclare de chocolat/fraise

1 sommaire d'opera de savon

It was kind of fun, walking around PW speaking French. It was a silly way to shake off the doldrums I was feeling, just a few hours earlier. And when I got home, Elvis and I had a nice dinner together, and then I gave him his insulin. It was the first time I did it alone. I am doing a lot better with that, I have found my timing, and he is an understanding cat. I don't think I have hurt him yet, but Alan had a difficult time the other day. Elvis hissed a bit, but never jumped or fussed. Like I said, he is an understanding kitty. :) I am going to sleep in today, and when Alan gets home, the three of us are going to BBQ. Right now both of the fellas are snoring the roof off. LOL. Gosh, sometimes Elvis snore louder than Alan. It's too funny! As irritating as the sound of snoring can be, right now, it's a happy sound! :)

-OndineMonet
"At The Store"
Saturday, May 19th, 2007

(Note: Some photos in this entry were taken last December) :)