Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Unconscious Mutterings

  1. Treadmill :: Painful

  2. Stroke :: me, stroke me!

  3. Exclusively :: all mine

  4. Lash :: out

  5. Red carpet :: Roll it out, baby

  6. Credit card:: debt

  7. Points :: bullets

  8. Domestic :: violence

  9. 21 :: age of consent - for what, I am not sure??

  10. Inject :: humor

Monday, November 5, 2007

Unconscious mutterings

  1. Assets :: Fixed, or personal, not sure I have either

  2. Concern :: caring

  3. Over the top :: Halloween party by local professor

  4. Supplies :: Hurricane, Thank you Lord for sparing our area of any of these for the last two years

  5. Mustache :: my baby has the best one

  6. Doug :: brother-in-law

  7. Coach :: help

  8. Bleachers :: baseball

  9. Stripes :: White - bringing to mind social anxiety

  10. Assortment :: colors



Visit LunaNina to play along

Flusi

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Unconscious Mutterings

  1. Inaugural :: Address - please Lord let us make sure the next one is from a Democrat because I just don't think I can listen to another Bush Republican lie

  2. Pledge :: Allegiance

  3. String :: Beans, cooked with a little sauted bacon and onions, ummm!

  4. Trot :: horse

  5. Fitness :: calendar, I make them endlessly, but soon forget about it

  6. Cinder :: block - growing up, we went to this cinder block house to visit a friend of my father's. They had tons of children and tons of kittens. I wondered where they all slept.

  7. Edge :: of the world.

  8. 31 :: two children and no memory

  9. Blue :: Velvet, bluer than velvet were her eyes

  10. Leather :: whip

Monday, October 1, 2007

First crocheted blanket


Well, I ran out of yarn, so it is done. Rather, to give myself some credit, I knew when to start the last rows so that I would not run out before I finished them. Anyway, it has "character" (code for many flaws, but no one is going to wear it, so who cares) and I am hoping for another grandchild to give it to. Pretty good for the very first!

Unconscious Mutterings

  1. Crook :: thief

  2. Career :: goals

  3. Freckles :: Annie

  4. Scramble :: fumble

  5. Mistake :: error

  6. Telephone :: call

  7. Thank you :: de nada

  8. Obstruction :: bowel

  9. 24/7 :: motherhood

  10. SciFi :: boring



For link to the original, please see previous post!

Monday, September 24, 2007

Unconscious Mutterings

Here are this weeks words:

  1. Singles :: Bar

  2. Blaze :: of GLory

  3. Sandwich :: Ham

  4. Outside :: Sunny

  5. Gooey :: ooey

  6. Industry :: Class

  7. Exclusive :: Wal-Mart

  8. Warranty :: Bullshit

  9. Magical :: Kiss

  10. Heels :: cracked



This is a weekly game from Unconscious Mutterings


Have a good week,
Flusi

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Doulicia's Books

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
3. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
4. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
5. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
8. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
9. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
10. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
11. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
12. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Monday, August 27, 2007

Wonderful words

Two things that were said yesterday that caused my heart to almost burst with delight:

1. We went to the beach yesterday with two of my son's and 2 grandsons who are 3 and 4! For the first time this summer, they saw a boardwalk which has recently been built and as we walked toward the water, my grandson took my hand and looked up at me and said, "Nonnie, I love your hand." Brought tears to my eyes. He is a fantastic little boy and I love him dearly.

2. My other son and his wife came over. His wife is starting college this week and is feeling a bit overwhelmed with the work load. She has a small part-time job and asked my son if he thought she could continue to work and get all of her assignments done. He looked at her lovingly and said, "Remember, I told you if you thought it was too much that I wanted you to quit your job and just go to school." He hates working so it was a generous statement - I know he loves her.

Flusi

Monday, August 20, 2007

Crochet

Finally, I have taught myself how to crochet - well at least the basics. I read on someone's blog that in the beginning, it is more about the process than the final product. Thankfully, that is true. I only have one final product and two in the making.



The multicolored (red, green, blue, eetc) yarn was used to create a scalloped scarf. It is completed and gave me courage to try some other patterns. The teal blue strip in the back is going to be a lap blanket for my daughter (who is 28) - I tried to get her to let me make it a scarf as well and she refused. The baby colors is the most ambitious project I have tried with many different stitch changes. It is going well and by the time any babies are announced and delivered, I should have it completed. I wish that I had used a larger needle...it seems that tightness of stitches is a common problem for beginners. I think my next project will have to be the granny square because the options are endless after that!

Now all I want to do is crochet and read, not together of course, so I wish that someone would make me or my husband independently wealthy so I could buy tons of lovely yarn and play all day! If anyone has a good internet site to purchase yarn, please let me know.

Flusi

Saturday, August 11, 2007

mutterings 2

  1. Voyage :: Maiden

  2. Patricia :: Cornwell, who I don't read; with her new breasts, quite happy

  3. Transformation :: metamorphosis

  4. Vocabulary :: standardized or bastardized

  5. San Francisco:: be sure to wear some flowers in your hair cause you're gona meet some gentle people there

  6. Edward :: Scissorhands

  7. Sawyer :: Tom or Lost

  8. Literary :: criticism

  9. Tiger :: Lily, nickname

  10. Seal :: Kiss from a rose



I think I am about to get this = harder to rein in my answers this week.
Flusi

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Unconscious Mutterings

  • Voices :: calling
  • Have to :: get this shit squared away
  • Machine :: quilting is easier
  • Seventh grade :: first real kiss
  • Beach :: Baby
  • Roommate :: thank goodness that is over
  • Cyclone :: wind
  • Theater :: The Wizard of Oz
  • Pregnant :: Steve dreamed I was, now we both share the same impossible dream
  • Phoebe :: mean aunt on All My Children


  • Please remember to visit http://subliminal.lunanina.com when linking to Unconscious Mutterings to see how you would answer these weekly free associations.

    Monday, June 25, 2007

    A Rose is a Rose is a Rose

    You are a Dark Red Rose
    You represent unconscious beauty and deep passion.
    Your vibe: sophisticated and worldly
    Falling in love with you is: wildly carnal and forbidden

    Wednesday, June 20, 2007

    Pinup Wonder

    My true love is still Marilyn Monroe, but my husband says that Bettie is hot - so I will take it!

    You are Bettie Page
    Girl next door with a wild streakYou're a famous beauty - with unique lookAnd the people like you are cultish about it


    Flusi

    Wednesday, May 16, 2007

    Sorry for the delay

    I have not been writing lately and there is no real good excuse for that except that life has been rolling along as expected. That is a bit of a lie, because I am eternally optimistic and life generally sucks. So there is a huge disconnect between what I think will happen and what does happen. The only constant is that it usually sucks. For instance:

    1. My daughter was supposed to graduate from college this May - long story short, she had a practicum with an absolute bitch and was given an F - this is a girl with a 3.8 GPA (not any more of course due to the F). Then it was suggested that she change majors, so she did and was supposed to take two classes this summer and graduate. Nope, now she has to have three more courses in the fall. So she should graduate in December.

    2. Because of all of this, said daughter is giving up her apartment and moving back to the homestead! This is not inherently a bad thing, but she has cried since April 18!

    3. I love (L-O-V-E) my job and they are talking about closing our library and merging our educational materials with the main library. And I love my job here. Waaaa!

    4. Mother's Day sucked too. My sister is mad at me, so I did not get to go see my mother. And I had breakfast with all of my kids, but no one gave me a gift. I know it isn't all about a gift, but come on! At least some of them helped me do some work around the house.

    5. A spider bit my leg two weeks ago and it still has not healed. I am not happy about that at all.

    6. And finally - today has been one of the weirdest ever. As I have mentioned before, my husband is bipolar and therefore he takes some pretty heavy duty anti-psychotic medications. I am pretty sure that I woke up at some point last night and took one of his pills. I am walking around in a foggy funk that barely allows for intelligent comments. He thinks it is funny - I do not.

    Foggy,
    Flusi

    Tuesday, April 24, 2007

    Nonnie and Poppie



    This is Christmas at our house - with the two little fellas having the time of their lives - our grandsons are 2 and 3 and everything is a wonder to them. My husband, duaghter and I put together a little Santa surprise which they absolutely loved.

    Since my husband has rarely been Santa (my four children were nearly grown when we got married), this was very exciting for him. I hope that these boys will always consider Nonnie and Poppie's house a place of wonder and love.

    Flusi

    Tuesday, April 17, 2007

    Questions only...no stories

    My life is in such disarray that I can barely speak of it. Hubbie and I are ok, but the rest has gone to hell in a hand basket. When things get better (if) then I will post something. In the meantime, I was self-tagged:

    Four places I've lived:
    Pensacola, FL
    Jackson, TN
    Memphis, TN
    Naples, Italy

    Four jobs I've had in my life:
    Librarian
    Pharmacy technician
    Department store clerk
    Ice cream scooper girl

    Four movies I'd watch over and over again:
    Shop on Main Street
    Gone with the Wind
    The English Patient
    Chocolat

    Four of my favorite foods:
    Spaghetti with meat sauce
    Chocolate
    Hungarian goulash
    Shrimp scampi

    Four places I'd rather be right now:
    Home
    Home
    Home
    Home

    Now you have been tagged!
    Flusi

    Saturday, March 17, 2007

    Blinded by love

    Such a hard week with such disappointing results. At least for some of us. My daughter, who had a stroke when she was born and has left side paralysis, lives in an apartment about three blocks from us. She is 27 and will be graduating in May with a degree is Social Work. When my husband and I got married, he bought her a ShihTzu, who turned out to be very large - by that I mean over 25 pounds...bigger than a cocker spaniel. Anyway, he has all sorts of health problems. They include a dry eye which develops a green snotty film over it every few days, severe food allergies, and all other manner of allergies that affect his skin and fur. She is living on student loans and has little spare money. To make everything worse, over the last two months he has developed large (cancerous?) tumors on his back - leading to hair loss and even more smelliness. We had talked with her all week about the fact that it might be time to let him go. He is affecting many aspects of her life - he cannot sleep so he keeps her awake all the time for hours on end. I love all animals, I hate the idea of killing an animal, I hate knowing she is hurting (she really has no friends to speak of, no boyfriends, Just us), and feels like she has failed in "raising" him. OH brother. Now we will have to go through this all again. My daughter-in-law asked me if my daughter understood why we thought it would be the right thing to do. I said, no she is blinded by love and cannot see anything.

    In other news, I am almost caught up with grading. Since there are only six more weeks in the term, this is a good thing. It takes so much of my spare time, I wonder if it is worth it sometimes. But I enjoy working with the students. Next week is Spring Break so I hope I will get completely caught up. We will be so slow at work next week, but my boss will probably have plenty of Break projects and I will only have two students two days and then only one the rest of the week. And one other problem is that I am a basketball nut and it is March Madness from now until April 2nd. And another is that we plan to have a graduation party for my daughter and there are many things that need to be done in the house and backyard. I went to www.43things.com and made a list for us. They will send you reminders whenever you like...and let's just say, we are getting frequent reminders about our lack of progress on the list. At some point, folks will just have to get over it and see our house au naturale!

    Struggling with two books for the Newbery Project - hope to get one finished this weekend.

    Gotta fly,
    Flusi

    Sunday, March 4, 2007

    Love

    My husband is bipolar.

    that sentence can stand alone because it affects every aspect of our life and sometimes is the bane of my existence and sometimes is the magic that keeps the world spinning - sometimes the manic and sometimes the depression - like Jimi Hendrix said, manic depression it touches my soul - the fight against suppression of personality and brillance for the sake of linear and singular thoughts - the desire for more - the self-medication to seek balance - the crawling away to lick wounds self-inflicted - the five radio stations playing in a brain that wants coherence - anger that will not abate for reasons irrational - blame assigned for self-preservation - love that cannot understand - friends who will not stay the course - marriages which fail in almost the 75th percent range - suicide for over 40% - and PAIN, pain of daily living which is only dimmed by strict adherence to medical intervention.

    Because I love this man, and because I said I would be with him through sickness and health, and because I love him with all my heart - all of him - this is our existence. But let me tell you about the side which struggles to be free - he has loved four near adult step-children as if they were his own, he loves all animals and has brought pigs and dogs into our lives, he is Poppie to our two grandsons and is worshipped, compassion for the homeless, love for the Lord. He loves me. I love him.

    Flusi

    Tuesday, February 27, 2007

    Early Bird

    So, I woke up at 3:30 this morning and found dear husband sleeping straight up in a chair in my office. I sent him back to bed and sat down to get some grading done. I only have 9 more in Unit 3. I am still so far behind, but ahead of my co-prof. My plan is to be caught up by the weekend. In between projects, I have been very productive. I boiled some eggs to take for lunch, made both of our sandwiches, did two loads of laundry, and gathered all of the trash to go out to the street. The thing is, he is distracting. When he is with me, I cannot stay focused on grading - that is how I get behind.

    Reasons he is distracting: first he is dead sexy and that is a distraction all to its own; he is terribly funny and even when I try not to listen to his commentary on life, whats on TV, his day, or ANY other visual or aural stimulation, I cannot help but hear him and get tickled; he gets all seven of our dogs going and they are too funny to miss; he suggests a million other things that we could be doing. I usually cave in and give up on any productivity. Then I get up at the butt crack of dawn and do my work in the silence of our sleeping house.

    In other news, I am trying to learn how to crochet. Oh goodness I am so uncoordinated. I bought the book The Happy Hooker and it is great, but cannot reach out and make my fingers work properly. I am not giving up. I might go to classes on Saturday, but I am not a big fan of going solo and don't have anyone to take with me. But the desire is strong so I might fight my natural longing for companionship in all endeavors and go about a mile down the street to the class at the local yarn store. I need to call them though because they say it is for knitters and according to the book, sometimes crochet hooks and knitting needles are not friends!

    I opted to take a demotion in August 2006 to move to a different library and I think it has been perhaps the best decision of my life - except for my divorce of course. I love the Curriculum Library - no more meetings, only direct interaction with the students. I have four students that work for me and they are delightful as well. My immediate boss is a little quirky, but fun to work with and I genuinely love her. I am classifying books, cataloging, ordering, and involved. Much better than Head of Circulation with the daily meetings and problem employees. Thank goodness I was led to that decision - while it was quite painful to give up what I loved about the position, I am so grateful to be on the other side - happy and stress free for the most part. And I get to read Newbery books and call it part of my job assignment. I mean, how can I recommend a book if I haven't read it?

    Time to go check the dryer. Hope the day is bright and the force is with you.
    Flusi

    Wednesday, February 21, 2007

    Calmer but guarded

    I have calmed down considerably from the other day, but I am still a bit guarded. Some things had to be discussed in great detail to make it from day to day, but maybe it is now settled. For good. If it isn't settled, then there will be some major life changes. As in, final and profound changes.

    Starting to get a little nervous for my daughter. She had a stroke when she was born and faced lots of medical issues. However, now she is 27 and is due to graduate with a BS in Social Work in May. This semester she has a 400 hour practicum at a fancy Assisted Living Facility and two other classes. She works at her practicum Monday - Thursday from 8-4:30 and has classes on Tuesday night and Friday. She does not drive although she lives in her own apartment close to us. She had to take out student loans for this final semester but will not have any money left over. So I have been looking for jobs since early February knowing we have a few months to look. NOTHING! Not even something in the ballpark. She wants to work with old people, but will take anything I suppose. The problem is her apartment. She has to give two months written notice to break her lease...which means do it now! She cannot afford to live in her apartment if she does not have a job. She can move back home, which she doesn't really want to do, but she cannot bring her dog with her because we already have seven dogs - chihuahuas...and her dog is much bigger. We could give notice and then move her to another apartment if she had a job, but she is a little stubborn and is probably going to resist any change at all. Anyone have a crystal ball?? Or maybe just pray!

    flabbergasted,
    Flusi

    Friday, February 16, 2007

    Dance Lightly on My Soul

    I would rather be the writer than the story,
    I would rather be the artist than the model.
    I would rather stand in the shadows
    And look out at your light.

    My dream is for synchronous solitude,
    My dream is to last forever.
    To stand in your bright light
    Watching you dance on my soul.

    I would rather be the music than the musician,
    I would rather be the song than the singer.
    The dream is mine to hold
    And it is yours to illuminate.

    Wednesday, February 14, 2007

    Valentine's Day Revisited

    Happy Happy Valentines Day!
    So, we have so many plans for this lover's day and no way to implement any but the most basic. The first plan was to buy each other very small gifts - I of course requested a book. And my sweetheart wanted a DVD - BluRay is the best...I know because we own both HD and BluRay. But we have not had one moments peace to go out to purchase said gifts.

    Then we decided we would go to the MeltingPot for dinner - where we spent many a loving evening while we were dating. Alas, without reservations made a month ago, that too will not happen.

    So we decided upon a very romantic evening at home. Until we remembered that because I had one of my strange and painful headaches (cyclical headaches are maddening) this weekend, we had cancelled plans with my oldest son, his wife, and two young boys. Guess when we postponed to? Tonight of course. Filled with hope, we thought perhaps they would not want to spend Valentine's Day with us - so we called and Yes, they cannot wait to come over tonight. AHHH!

    Valentine's Day at the Flusi House is hereby relocated to another day when we might be able to get our shit together! Or not.
    Much love just the same,
    Flusi

    Friday, January 19, 2007

    Welcome me!

    Finally, after many clicks, I was able to get this set up - just so I could post a comment. However, I have been looking for a change in blogging, so this will be fine.
    I am 53 years old and married to a wonderful man. We have four children, two daughter-in-laws, and two grandsons. I work in a K-12 Curriculum Library at a University in Northwest Florida. I love my family and my job, so it doesn't get much better. Don't let these words convince you that there is no drama, because there is - almost daily. If you continue to read my little blog, you will see what I mean.
    Hope you have a happy day.
    Flusi

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