Tribulations of Halloweens Past

Happy Halloween

Halloween is a big deal at our house. It is Pan’s favorite holiday and he goes all out in decorating. Not that the family hasn’t contributed a lot. For the Christmases past, Bug and Brains bought Pan, Death and a skeleton for his makeshift graveyard (which just happen to be cement and not Styrofoam) and a smoke machine. Mom stepped in a couple of years ago with a load of rats and bats, skeletons, medieval sconces and a walking hand. My contributions: a bubble machine and a three-foot tarantula. Now combine all this with strobes and black lights, an oscilloscope and a jacob’s ladder.

So you get the picture. And you will get to see pictures, later. But this should have given you some indication of what our house is like on Halloween. We have fun; spend way to much money on candy and other give-always, but fun.

As I look back at all that we have done on Halloween though, one really stands out in my mind. It was when the children were still home. Nuke was always a big Halloween fan and loved planning with Pan. But one particular year, they set up some tables in our garage. On one they put a pair of Nuke’s jeans and stuffed them with old t-shirts. Put socks and shoes on the legs. On the other laid Nuke with his legs tucked under the first table. Over the body goes a sheet. A big bowl of candy is laid to rest next to this Frankenstein’s monster. Are you seeing it yet? Pretty cool, huh?

Here come the trick or treaters. A young mother with child in tow comes in explaining how it is not real when Nuke pipes up with Happy Halloween. The mother ran out screaming. And so goes the evening. Except (saw this one coming didn’t you?) for one little boy. He did not want to go into the garage. Personally I would never make a child do something like this if they didn’t want to, but apparently his mother wanted him to overcome his fear. She walked in with him, talking to him the entire time, pointing everything out and explaining. She walked up to the “dummy” and pinched his “leg.” Nothing happened. See nothing to be afraid off. He took his candy and was walking out when he glanced around. Nuke turned his head and winked. The poor child turned white as a ghost, took off running as fast as he could to get away.

Scary moment tribulations

Tuesday Blog Prompt: In honor of Halloween, write about a time you were scared.

I am sure there a loads of times that I have been scared but only one really stands out in my mind (okay two). First time was when ddpup and I talked mom into letting us ride the Bullet. They had to stop it to let us off, lol.

But remember when I was married to my first husband and was pregnant with the Nuke. I always have had night terrors but they were worse when I was pregnant. I made the mistake of telling one of them to my ex.

To set the scene, we lived out in the middle of nowhere. There was a cow pasture behind the house filled with Brahma bulls who always got out and came up to the windows. We didn't have any a/c, so we left the windows open all the time. The head of the bed was up against one of these open windows. And I was seven months pregnant.

After several weeks while we (read I) were sleeping he put his hand behind my head and spider crawled it over me. Needless to say, I woke up screaming my head off; ex did not expect that reaction and tried to get off the bed to turn on the light, but I was to terrified to let him. So he had to sit there for 15 minutes with me screaming at the top of the lungs.

Word of the Week - CLERISY (n)

Disclaimer: All words that I choose come from the 1968 edition of the Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition. It's close and also nearly 40 years old so we may come across some words that are no longer in general use or have completely changed definitions. But that is part of the fun.

clerisy (n)
educated people as a class.

And what in the world can you do with this word? Well, you could write a sentence using it. You could look it up in another dictionary or reference book. (several dictionary searches available in my sidebar for your use.) Use it as a jump start for a short story. If applicable, find a picture of it. Whatever you do, post a link in my comments so I can check it out and put a link back to your post. And have fun.

UPDATE: (for Karen) The artist, the scholar, and, in general, the clerisy, wins their way up into these places and get represented here, somewhat on this footing of conquest. ~Essays, Second Series by Emerson, Ralph Waldo

Hints, Tips and Tribuations

Monday Blog Prompt: Since we're all scrapbookers & photographers, let's share some of the tips we've learned. OR, if you're new to all of this, ask a question so we can leave ideas in your comments. The tips can be for scrapbooking, photography, or general computer use.

Gosh, I don't know if I really know anything, you guys don't already know. Though there seems to be some question about dpi (computer) and ppi (printer) and I do know something about that. Nothing complicated mind you.

I use to work for the newspaper as more than an accountant, but as their graphic artist as well (it is not like scrapbooking, believe me); and was sent to several Photoshop seminars. I did learn quite a bit about quick mask and printing. As I am sure you are aware printing on newspaper is quite different than printing on glossy paper or photo paper.

But the general rule of thumb was that your dpi (dots per inch) should be no higher than 1/4 to 1/3 of your ppi (pixels per inch); edging on the downward side for paper that spreads the ink.

More to the point, let's say you have a 600 ppi printer... then you should save your graphics, photos, etc., as 150 dpi but no higher than 200 dpi; any more and it is just wasted. Now if you have a 1200 ppi printer go ahead and save at 300 dpi.

Now I am not saying that you have to conform to this rule of thumb; and I don't, kind of. When I am scanning, I always scan at 600 dpi. "Why?" you say. Because I have a couple of large back-up drives to save them to as well as a dvd burner (doesn't hurt to have more than one source). But I duplicate the project and reduce the dpi before I work on it or print it.

Always take the time to see what your printer's ppi is and what type of paper you are going to be using. See, I really don't want to cause my printer sensory overload.

Clothing tribulations

Weekend prompt: What is your favorite item of clothing/shoes/accessories in your closet right now?

My absolute favorite comes out of a drawer and is the Greeneville T that Nuke got me while he was stationed on the sub. It is old now, but oh so comfortable. My next favorite would be my Tink T since the Princess says I look just like the Disney Tink when I wear it. The eyes of a child, you know; LOL.

I only have two pair of shoes, a pair of heels and a pair of tennies. Just had to through my sandals away. I have had my heels for nearly 10 years; the sandals were more than three years old and the tennies are just going on a year and I need to toss them soon as they are coming apart already.

I hate buying shoes and clothes. Let's face it, I hate shopping.

Tribulations that Strong Women Carry

Friday Blog Prompt: To ready ourselves for that, share any stories you may have about strong women in your life, women you've known with breast cancer, or, if you have no connection there, any cause about which you would like to share information.

I can't say if I have known women with breast cancer. I may have, but they didn't see fit to let me know, so I am going to blog about the strongest woman I know... my mom.

She has had a hard life and hasn't complained or blamed society for it. That's pretty rare these days. Her parents divorced when she was very young; then her mother died while she was still pretty young. She had to live in foster homes until her father (my grandfather) remarried.

Now she doesn't have breast cancer but she does have Crohn's disease and has lived with it since I was a young adult. For a long while it meant she had to give up foods that she loved. But she did it and didn't make a big deal about it.

It meant some very bad days, but she made it through them without anyone knowing how bad it really was for her. It has getting better for her and she has been able to eat a bigger variety of foods in the last couple of years, including an occasional glass of wine.

The other strong person I know is my sister, ddpup. She gets migraine headaches, really bad ones. The kind that make you wish you were dead. And she can't take any kind of narcotic. Yet she still manages to get through each and every day with a smile on her face, at least in public. She's pretty amazing, I can't even imagine the pain that she goes through on most days.

Tribulations of being Married to a Director

Well it seems the black cloud may be turning a softer grey. I got a new truck today. A 2003 Ford F-150 Supercrew. Now I have to get use to driving an automatic again. I think I really like it. Also T-Mobile came out with the Dash today, so I got a new cell phone; combo phone, camera and pda. Neat little keypad.

The bug messaged me tonight to see if her video was working and discovered that mine was actually plugged in and working too. Fortunately it was pointing at the back of my monitor.

So what does all this have to do with the subject. Not much, other than we drove to Barnes & Nobles to pick up the books Pan ordered in the new truck and stopped to pick up the phones first.

Anyway, we get up to the counter to get and pay for the books with Pan whips out his credit card and the cashier takes a look at it and then at Pan; back to the credit card and back to Pan.

"You, You're PAN!" exclaims the young man. Pan (& I assume the young man is being factitious) so he responds in kind, "Sure am." (Of course, I know he is, you know he is and can you see where this is going yet?)

Young man: "Are you here for a movie?" Pan: "I don't keep up with them." Still thinking the guy is teasing with him, he mentions that he once worked with George Lucas. Before you say, oh yeah right, let me tell you, Pan really did, just wasn't THE George Lucas with Star Wars.

Upon seeing the guy's eyes getting as big as quarters, Pan realizes that he was being perfectly serious. And apparently reads the credits. There is a director who has the same exact name as Pan, and this young man recognized it and even knew said director was going to come to our area to do a film at one time.

So how is that for making your day?

Television Tribulations

Wednesday Blog Prompt: TV-Scourge of the devil, necessary evil, or love it, want to marry it?

When my favorite shows are on, of course, I love it. Yet it seems to be a necessary evil in these days and times. With a toddler underfoot most of the day, it is nice to have something on that will catch his attention for a short span. But wouldn't you know, his favorite show (next to the movie "Curious George") is one that drives me nutso. He absolutely loves "Wonder Pets" and now has discovered he can watch it on the computer too. Pulling my hair out here.

But it is a nice reprieve for me too. We kind of have a schedule:

Wednesdays - Mythbusters or Histories Mysteries
Thursdays - Smallville and Decoding the Past (tomorrow night may end up watching National Geographic though)
Fridays - This is an easy day... Stargate SG-1; Stargate Atlantis; Monk or Numb3rs
Saturdays - any of the discovery channels
Sundays - House and Boston Legal
Mondays - any of the discovery channels
Tuesdays - The Closer and Saved

If our favorite shows are not showing then we either put in a dvd; watch one of the discovery channels or turn it off.

Inherited Tribulations

Tuesday Blog Prompt: Inherited Traits: What do you see in yourself that has come from your ancestors? If you have children, what have you handed down?

I'm not sure I should even attempt to answer this one right now, lol. From my previous posts, I suppose you can see it has not been a good weekend and the week has not gotten any better. I have to buy a new vehicle. My precious Explorer has to be put down. It will cost us more to fix it than what it is worth. Still I guess I should ignore all those bad traits I have inherited and which have show up all weekend long and go for the more pleasant ones.

My great grandfather was Native American Indian and from him I have inherited the high checkbones, straight dark hair (which is just now starting to turn grey. Pan who is 8 1/2 years younger than I has more grey hair than I have). Both of my parents were extremely smart and I believe I have inherited their intelligence. I may have even gotten some of their common sense, but not much. ddpup got most of that while bug got none.

NavyNuke resembles me more than Bombshell (who looks like my mother did at her age) and Scamp (who favors his father only better looking). All of them have inherited the intelligence, but only the Nuke has gotten the common sense.

The Princess favors her father but I think that is because the filipino genes are dominate. Although she did get her mother's tiny porcelain features. Indy completely looks like his uncle NavyNuke and has his uncle Scamp's temperment. Ballerina is like the Princess, she favors her mother Japanese culture, but she is going to be much taller.

Tribulations of a Scrapbooker's Halloween

All you scrapbookers need to check out Swap Blog's post of October 21. I think it rather hits home.

Word of the Week - ABRANCHIATE

Disclaimer: All words that I choose come from the 1968 edition of the Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition. It's close and also nearly 40 years old so we may come across some words that are no longer in general use or have completely changed definitions. But that is part of the fun.

abranchiate (adj)
[GR] without gills. -n. an animal without gills.

And what in the world can you do with this word? Well, you could write a sentence using it. You could look it up in another dictionary or reference book. (several dictionary searches available in my sidebar for your use.) Use it as a jump start for a short story. If applicable, find a picture of it. Whatever you do, post a link in my comments so I can check it out and put a link back to your post. And have fun.

Artsy Tribulations

Monday Blog Prompt: What type of art do you like best? Do you have a favorite artist?

I like all types of art.. paintings, sculptures, etc. My home is full of paintings since it seems that most of my family got inherited the painting genes (self excluded). We have a lot of paintings from Pan's grandmother, one of which is a painting of her paintings. Nuke use to paint all the time and has a degree in fine art, so we have one or two of his around as well. Although he was really more into pen & ink than actual oil or pastel painting. I'll have to see if I can find the picture of the painting he was commissioned to do for the Fred Astair Studio here.

Bombshell's art was more abstract and her favorite artist is Monet. Scamp always favored photography and even took classes in developing film. Scamp's wife, Honey, is multi-talented. She made her wedding dress and makes all her own formals. For Christmas one year, she made me a glass mold of Ballerina's hand.

As far as what artist I like best. I would have to say it is everyone in my family. They are very talented and while they may never become famous for it, their work will always have a place in my home.

As far as the What Famous Work of Art I am... It is pretty accurate today. Pan's black cloud has spread over to the beginning of this week. Looks like my transmission is gone and will have to be replaced.

You Are Best Described By...

The Scream By Edvard Munch

What Famous Work of Art Are You?

More on Weekend Tribulations

You know yesterday when I said I was going out of town for the weekend?

Welllll, we left last night. Pan was driving, I was up front with him and Indy was safely ensconced in the backseat. Now we were leaving when Pan got off from work so we are not talking about an early morning start here.

Less than five miles from the interstate's bay bridge my car decides to stop working. (I am hoping it is just the clutch and not the entire transmission.) Still it is night, we are stopped on the side of the interstate with a toddler in the backseat.

By now I think you have figured out we got somewhere. Nuke was behind us and I managed to get him on his cell before he passed us... just. He pulled up and the two guys took a look at my suv while Indy and I sat in it.

Finally I suggested that we put the car seat in the front seat of Nuke's jeep (not kosher I know, but just listen) and then meet my sister on the other side of the bridge while Pan calls for a tow.

This we did and ddpup takes Indy, while I stay with Nuke so he won't get lost on the way to mom's house. On the way there Pan calls and says the tow will be at least an hour getting to him.

Finally everyone gets to mom's. The car is towed to Pep Boys (my absolutely favorite place .... NOT. Another story) and this morning we will find out if I can get it back this weekend. So if you don't hear from me tomorrow...

Weekend Tribulations!

Friday Blog Prompt: Tell us five things you plan to accomplish this weekend!

Don't know when I will get this posted as I am having a hard time getting to the dashboard.

Five things that I will accomplish this weekend, huh?

(1) I will get up early to drive to my mom's house.

(2) We will probably head out to the state fair at some time during the day to spend time with Pan's parents who are participating in some activities there. Not sure what MIL's group is doing, probably some kind of arts & crafts; while FIL is part of the model aircraft club and will be flying planes. (3) We will also spend time with Pan's sister and BIL who flew in from Texas yesterday.

(4) Tomorrow night I will spend several hours trying to get Indy to sleep as he is going with us.

(5) Sunday morning will be getting up and spending more time with mom and then with Pan's family before we drive back home.

Friendship vs. Tribulations

Thursday Blog Prompt: How did you meet your closest female friend?

I met her at work. I had been working for the newspaper for 5 or 6 years when she was hired as a sales rep. I really wasn't sure how it was going to work out as she was pretty gruff, headstrong and loud. But as the years went by, she started meeting Pan & I at the boat after work on Fridays for our weekly dock parties.

She was still gruff, headstrong and loud, but loyal to a fault. We are still very good friends but don't see one another as much as we use to. I'll have to give her a call and see if we can rectify that once Nuke is gone.

The Tribulations of Princess Pumpkin Face

The Princess had a project for school. She had to get a medium size pumpkin and decorate it to look like herself.



Don't see the resemblance yet? Maybe this picture will help:



The instructions said parents (or in the Princess' case Tink and Uncle Nuke) could help but the child was do most of it themself. And the Princess did. We took close up pictures of her eyes, nose, mouth and ears and printed them out on full page sticker sheets. She cut them out and put them on the pumpkin herself and then with a little help from Uncle Nuke colored in the hair.

I think she did a pretty good job, don't you?

Living tribulations

Wednesday Blog Prompt: If you could live in any era of history, what would it be, and why?

My first reply would be right now is fine. Maybe a little in the future if I was sure everything was going to good, like now war or famine, child abuse and that sort of thing. I like having the luxuries now available; cars, planes, computers, indoor plumbing, grocery stores and did I say computers? :)

If I could "visit" any era, I would like to check out ancient Rome or maybe the era of Alexander the Great. I would love to visit the great library of Alexandria before it was destroyed.

But I like living in the era we are living now, even with its faults. It could be worse.

Extracurricular Tribulations

Tuesday Blog Prompt: If you were back in school and could join any extracurricular activity (no try-outs or cool kids ), which club, sport, or other activity would you choose?

No brainer here, I would still join the one I was in while in school... the Latin Club. I actually wish I had kept up with my Latin after getting out of school. We had so much fun in our "club," planning Roman activities during school field days. It seems to me that we had more time off from subjects in the high school I attended than they do now and still learned a whole lot more, lol.

But we also spent our time talking to one another in Latin, writing letters to each other in Latin and just being Roman. One of the things we had to do in class was to assume a persona and write a journal of our day to day life. This is included our jobs; housing; spouse; children; servants, if any. These personas spilled over into our club.

Word of the Week - DOLMEN

Disclaimer: All words that I choose come from the 1968 edition of the Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition. It's close and also nearly 40 years old so we may come across some words that are no longer in general use or have completely changed definitions. But that is part of the fun.

dolmen (n) a prehistoric tomb or monument consisting of a large flat stone laid across upright stones.

And what in the world can you do with this word? Well, you could write a sentence using it. You could look it up in another dictionary or reference book. (several dictionary searches available on my sidebar for your use.) Use it as a jump start for a short story. If applicable, find a picture of it. Whatever you do, post a link in my comments so I can check it out and put a link back to your post. And have fun.

Tribulations of Shush Like a Turtle Day

Monday Blog Prompt: Create a new holiday (e.g. Talk Like a Pirate Day). Include the origins and any special rituals of your day.

Oh this one is a hard one, I think. Maybe I should wait to see what everyone else comes up with or maybe not.

My holiday is Shush Like a Turtle Day. On this day everyone will have to talk in soft inside voices all day.

Shush like a Turtle Day always starts out with a very quiet breakfast of oatmeal with sugar and milk. Not instant oatmeal either but the real thing, with sliced bananas in it. Lunch has to be equally quiet with cheese sandwiches and cantaloupe slices. Shhhhhhh... Dinner is fast approaching and must include homemade chicken 'n' dumplings with sliced peaches.

During the day small quiet gifts will be awarded to the winners of the "Tag the Turtle." And since everyone will get to be tagged, everyone will get a gift.

What is "Tag the Turtle?" you say. I get to start the game first thing in the morning (well I will be the first on up) and I get to tag the first person to come out. They must not make a sound for five minutes, after which they get to tag someone else.

After dinner we sit around the living room floor in a circle and exchange stories. Then just before bed everyone will get to yell out hip hip hooray.

Driving Tribulations

Weekend Blog Prompt: What sort of car do you drive? For what reason do you use it the most? (eg. work/shopping/etc) Do you like driving? Why/why not? What sort of driver are you? What condition is the car in? Any accident/anecdotes from your driving history? Do you have a picture of your car to share? (Does it need cleaning right now.....? LOL) And anything else you can think of on this topic!!! GREEN LIGHT - GO! and write!

I have a Ford Explorer SUV. Gosh it is hard to believe I have had it for nearly 13 years. And it is in terrible condition, lol. Oh it runs great, just the ceiling cover is torn and coming down, I'm still carting a computer desk around in it and their are children's clothes and toys all over. So yes it definitely needs to be cleaned, terribly. Though I'm afraid if I do it will fall apart, it is probably the dirt holding it together.



Can't say that I have any funny or exciting anedotes about the vehicle. It is a good work horse and has gotten us everywhere we wanted to go. And I love it.

And More Birthday Tribulations

I heard from a little bird named Tammi that today was someone special's birthday.

Eric of That Straight White Guy is celebrating another birthday on this most aspicious date. So go by and wish him a Happy Birthday.

Did You Say Occupation Tribulations?

Friday Blog Prompt: Would you choose differently if you could choose your occupation again? Why? How?

I have always wanted to be an astronomer, so if I could choose differently that is what I would chose to be. I could still do it, just by going back to college. Right now that is finding time around the little ones. Always seems to little ones running around, lol. Still the opportunity is there.

I really have enjoyed the jobs I have had in the past. And I am glad that I have had the experiences that each provided, so I am not sure that I would want to give that up just to be an astronomer.

Tribulations of the Clutter Queen

Thursday Blog Prompt: How big a role does clutter play in your life? Do you worry about it at all? Why or why not?

My middle name is clutter. I save everything but am not not one those that has a place for everything so it ends up in bags stacked under other things or stuffed in a drawer or closet. If it is something one of the kids have done, I have to save it. You may never know when I might get around to scrapbooking with it or scanning it in. I have a stack of drawings I need to get scanned in just so I can throw the originals out. Aghhhhh, when and where does it end? I need help.......

Do I worry about it? Of course I do. I hate clutter. I detest it, but get so frustrated when I try to do something about it. I would love to be able to buy all the neat organizers to put stuff in, but then I would just end up with cluttered organizers. Mainly, I just have to force myself to start throwing things away. This is one of those procrastination things which I have no excuse for, except I just don't want to do it.

Procrastination Tribulations

Wednesday Blog Prompt: If you procrastinate, what is your most popular excuse
and why?

I don't procrastinate. Nope, not me. And if you believe that I have a bridge to sell you.

But I don't know that I really have an excuse that I use. If I do use one it is probably "I don't want to."

Just never seemed to be a reason for offering an explanation or excuse for why you procrastinate. Kind of like getting stopped for speeding, there really is not valid excuse other than you were doing it or in the case of procrastination, you weren't.

I'm sure that as a kid, I did it all the time. Will have to get with mom on that one.

Television Tribulations

Tuesday Blog Prompt: Of all the TV programs, which one have you watched the most? Why?Is it connected in some way to your life and/or perspective?

It's funny that as I have gotten older I really have started watching television more. And everyone has opinions about what the best show is. My mom will let me know about shows she really likes (that's how I got hooked on NCIS); the Princess is just as bizarre as her mother and really likes watching House (another I wait anxiously for the next episode; then there's The Closer, Monk and Boston Legal. But they are all dramas or comedies, wherein my real love happens to be science fiction. And now we have Smallville, Dr. Who (the new one) and the #1 all time favorite show: Stargate SG-1.

Pan and I have been watching it since it started on Showtime some 10 years ago. We have followed the live and deaths and rebirths of the characters. I love the camaraderie between them all and how the military is portrayed in a positive light. Besides who hasn't liked Richard Dean Anderson since he played MacGyver?

Is it connected to my way of life or perspective? I doubt it. I watch it for fun. I watch it to be transported into a different reality and perspective from my own. I don't want to watch a show about me, that would be too boring (well, parts anyway).

The Tribulations of Catching Up

First, I am recovering (I think). The throat isn't as sore although there seems to still be some of those white pustules on the left side that hurt like heck when I swallow certain things. Hot bread and butter are okay. Sugar is out. Ears are fine.

Still this has just not been my week. I opened the door to call the Princess in this evening and I got bitten by a mosquito at the corner of my eye. Now my eye is all puffy and swollen.

But I would really like to get caught up on the blog prompts so I'm going to start with the weekend:

Weekend Blog Prompt: Describe/talk about your relationship with a sibling. Did you fight as children? Now? What similarities or differences do you have....? What do you like about them.. or anything else you want to write about them. Or, if you don't have any siblings, would you want one and why?

As most of you know, I have two sisters, the Bug and ddpup. Me? I'm the oldest, 2 years older than ddpup and 8 years older than the Bug.

ddpup and I were pretty close growing up. Oh we had the usual sibling fights and disagreements, but on the whole we got along great. We had to. Sometimes there just wasn't anyone else but each other. See, we were AF Brats. Lot of traveling, lot of different places and sometimes the transfer didn't last as long as we thought it would. On the honest side of it though, if there was going to be trouble, I started it.

She was just the sweetest little thing. She was my own personal walking and talking doll. And we stayed pretty close up until I got married and moved out of state. I think those things just happen. We are close again and speak whenever possible, though not nearly as frequently as the bug and I. I think ddpup knows it is because I love her. If not, I'm telling it to you know sis.

The bug on the other hand, was still a child when I left home. She did all the buggy little sister things, like dumping out a whole bottle of perfume that a third grade class I had been helping in bought me. Shouting out a window "I'm telling mom" when I was kissing a date good-night. You get the picture. She was a pest then too. LOL.

Now we are much closer as she is going through an experience I have been through and am doomed to repeat again. Raising children. Her two sons ages fall between the Princess' and Indy's. Actually the Princess is quite a bit older than all of them. But it gives us more to talk about now than we had previously and I find I really enjoy listening to the prattle that I know I put our mother through.

Monday Blog Prompt: Let's share recipes today or talk about seasonal foods you look forward to at this time of year.

Hey, I live in Florida. What seasonal foods? Okay enough of the silliness (must be the meds). It is funny this came up today, since I tried out a new weight watchers recipe on the Nuke. Actually it was for me, but he likes experimenting and it sounded good. (it was by the way, I just couldn't eat much because it irritated my sore throat).

White Bean-Tomato Pasta
Prep: 5 minutes Cook: 10 minutes

6 oz. uncooked penne pasta
1 (19 oz) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed & drained
1 1/2 cups halved grape tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped, pitted Kalamata olives
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Basil sprig (optional)

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
2. Place beans in colander; drain pasta over beans, reserving 2 tablespoons pasta water. Combine beans, pasta, reserved water, tomatoes and next 6 ingredients in a bowl; toss well. Garnish with basil if desired.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 3/4 cups)
Weight Watchers five ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook

Very tasty with hot bread and butter.

Pan's First Weird Tribulation Explanation

Boy, did I ever open a can of worms with that one. I can see an explanation is in order. Pan, however endearing, can be frustrating, especially when he and Nuke gang up together on these kind of things.

It should be noted that Pan is the stepfather of NavyNuke, ScampMarine and Bombshell. This is a good thing. He has been a better father than most natural fathers have been. But it can lead to an awkward look or two when someone knows how old he is and then he introduces his "children."

So before you call out the police, there was nothing untowardward in our relationship until he was in his late 20's. Hey, there was nothing untoward then, either. We just decided to get married.

Pan's Weird Tribulations

List 5 weird (odd?) things about yourself and then list 5 friends to tag.

1. I'm thirteen years older than my oldest son.

2. I carry an ice chest with me whenever I travel. (Had to stay in too many dry counties while traveling for my company.)

3. I enjoy solving a good programming problem.

4. I would really enjoy having my own particle collider

5. Actually, I think I'm normal, it's everyone that thinks these things are weird that are weird.

Pharyngitis Tribulations

Fortunately, our doctor's office is open on Saturdays. I ended up having to make an appointment after feeling rather ill for a day or two.

I have an ear infection in both ears and pharyngitis. I can't ever remember feeling this bad, even when I had bronchitis. I will try to get the weekend post done later this afternoon.

Word of the Week - AB OVO

Disclaimer: All words that I choose come from the 1968 edition of the Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd college edition. It's close and also nearly 40 years old so we may come across some words that are no longer in general use or have completely changed definitions. But that is part of the fun.

ab ovo [L] from the beginning or origin.

And what in the world can you do with this word? Well, you could write a sentence using it. You could look it up in another dictionary or reference book. (several dictionary searches available in my sidebar for your use.) Use it as a jump start for a short story. If applicable, find a picture of it. Whatever you do, post a link in my comments so I can check it out and put a link back to your post. And have fun.

Hearing Tribulations

Thursday Blog Prompt: What can you hear right now, right where you're sitting? See how detailed you can get.

First and foremost I hear the television. "Ghost in a Shell" is on. Nuke is watching it while he looks up information for parts for his jeep. Occasionally he will chortle, or murmur something so low it is hard to hear.

In addition, I hear the a/c running. Actually it is the fan of the a/c. I think there might be a problem if I actually heard the a/c.

I also hear ringing. Yep I have ringing in the ears. Sometimes it is louder, sometimes softer, but always there. Below that I can hear some kind of music. Not from the house but like the radio waves of a song floating through the air.

I expect the refrigerator will kick in soon or the ice maker will dump another load of ice, but not yet.

Yet if I am very still, very quiet I can hear a bird warbling in the neighborhood. Oops not anymore, a plane flew by. Better a plane than the bombs dropping at the bomb range down the street. They usually do that in the morning, the mornings I want to sleep late and can.

The bird is back now. Must be next door though as it is very faint.

5 Minute Tribulations

Wednesday Blog Prompt: Let go and write whatever!!! But only for five minutes. After that put your pen, errrr, your fingers down and don't go back to fix anything!

Five minutes of writing whatever... No changing the answers; no fixing the mistakes. Let's see... I watched Eureka last night. It was interesting from the standpoint of what would you do if time warped. If something was fixed that should not have been fixed.

In the story, Kim lives but shouldn't have. Carter has to go back to the October 3, 2006 and let her die. Could you do it? I would like to think I made the same decision Carter did. I would like to think I was that noble and would put the world first instead of my best friend's wife. But could I do it? I just don't know and thankfully, at this time I don't have to put it to the test.

But it can get you to wondering how you might react if you could. I think I would leave things the way they are. Because who knows you might just make it worse. Seems that the Sci Fi channel had a movie a couple of years ago about the same thing. Everytime they went back in time to fix something, it just got worse.

Boy can I ramble or what?

Relationships and Tribulations

Tuesday Blog Prompt: Celebrate your relationship with someone in your life. It doesn't have to be a spouse, it could be kids, parents, or even the mail carrier that waves to you everyday!

I think I'm still tired, my mind is a complete blank. Really... Totally... Blank.

I think every is aware of just how special Pan is to me. As I once mentioned, he taught me that there really is magic surrounding us. He also showed me that romance has not died.

After we married, I was working in one city and he in the town where we lived. Once or twice a month he would call to ask me to meet him for dinner in the city between the two. He always got there first. I would show up and out would come the waiter or waitress with my drink and a rose. On my birthdays or our anniversaries he always took the rose up ahead of time, since we would be going together.

Periodically, for a week or so, I will get in my car and there would be a card. Just an "I love you" card. Not because of a holiday, birthday or anniversary, just because.

When he orders flowers, it is always from my favorite florist. Part is because he knows it annoys the boss' wife and that tickles me and part, because the florist has the most beautiful and unusual arrangements. Pan has him on speed dial, along with my favorite restaurant.

For being married to such a man, I am sadly lacking in the romance department. Oh, I indulge his quirks, boost his confidence, love him dearly and try to get him anything his heart desires (still working on that particle collider), but I could never be the romantic that he is.

So a toast to Pan, may our lives together always hold the magic, romance and love that you bring to it on a daily basis.

Autumn Tribulations

Monday Blog Prompt: Here are a bunch of "autumn" words to get you started. Pick one or many! Season, autumn, acorns, leaves, colors, red, yellow, orange, green, brown, branches, twigs, aroma, burning leaves, smells, sights, sounds, color, vibrant, energy, beauty, pumpkins, Halloween, ghosts, vampires, costumes, dressing up, candy, trick-or-treat, turkey, Thanksgiving, family, dinner, pilgrims, corn, popcorn, arts and crafts, gifts, pumpkin pie, whip cream, apples, orchard, cranberry sauce, stuffing, cooking, warm, aroma, cinnamon, apple pie, food, abundance, thankful, cold, frost, snow, football, snowflakes, raking, leaf piles, campfires, hiking, nature, forest.

There is not much of a difference in seasons in Florida. Some, but not much. Considering today it is still up to 82 degrees. Ugh. Though as the month progresses it will be time to start getting ready for Halloween. Pumpkins to carve and tranform into to Borg pumpkins. Three foot spiders to dig out of the closet along with the skeletons, ghosts, smoke machine and bubble machine. It also means I have already started purchasing candy and such to give out.

We love Halloween. Pan and Nuke are like big kids at this time of year and I am hoping that Nuke will be able to be here for Halloween this year. There are some really great stories of the Halloweens we have had and I will share some as we get closer to All Hallow's Day.

Weird tribulations

I had been tagged and didn't even know it. Now how weird is that, a late delay in the comment post. So sorry Sharia (of Scrapilicious Designs), I really just got it. Honest.

Here are the rules:

List 5 weird (odd?) things about yourself and then list 5 friends to tag.

1. My feet have to be clean before I get into bed. Even if I don't have time or am to tired to take a shower, I have to wash my feet. Go figure.
2. I love to have my feet tickled.
3. I hate to have my back touched.
4. I'm afraid I'll miss something really great if I sleep.
5. I LOVE turnips greens with onions and cantaloupe with salt and pepper. I think I could live off them if the side effects weren't so uncomfortable.

And I tag:

Roses of Ack! Thbbbt!
Bou of Boudicca's Voice
Mrs. Who of the House of Zathras
Lisa of Lisa's Little Blog Spot
Pan, better half of Tink's Tribulations (he doesn't have a blog so he can post them in the comments or I can do a special post just for him.

The Tribulations of a Maniacal Newlywed

Last Bug story for a while. I promise (that is unless something really funny comes up).

How well do you really know your spouse? If you have been married for some time, you probably know him or her quite well. If not so long, give it time, you will. That is unless you have married the Maniacal Newlywed.

Pan and I had just gotten back from our honeymoon and were settling into the routine of married life. Easier for me as I had been married before and pretty much knew what to expect. I thought.

So it is our first night home, we crawl into bed so that we can get a good night's sleep before having to go back to work in the morning. Did I mention we had a waterbed? One of those full wave ones, in fact. So when I was being bounced around in the middle of the night, I woke up.

And there was my prince in shining armor sans the armor, buck nekkid, jumping up and down on the bed and waving a machete around, the only thing I could think of was how could I sneak out of bed and out the door without him noticing. When suddenly he noticed I was awake. He very carefully put the machete down as I warily watched his every move and then explained to me that a:

Cockroach had crawled across him. Oookay, things to remember: The machete gets locked up and I must remember NOT to touch him in his sleep.

It has been 17 1/2 years now and we are still happily married, but for you youngsters out there, do you know where your spouse keeps the machete?

And speaking of bugs, you need to check out the slideshow at the Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. No, it's not all bugs, just one in fact, but very interesting with a cool download.

Tribulations of Sleeping Well

Weekend Blog Prompt: "I'll sleep well tonight because..."

I got a good night's sleep last night.
Don't have the Princess or Indy today or tonight.
One son is out of the military and the other is still in Hawaii instead of Afghanistan or Iraq.
I deserve it.