And Now for Something Completely Different...

...allow me, please, to introduce the multi-talented (dare I say ingenious?) Evil Chicken. The name is deceptive, because EC is actually one of the kindest people I know, and he has a degree of moral courage that would put most of us to shame.

In any event, stop by his place, Chicken Scratch, from time to time. You never know just what you'll find there!

Fave Foto Friday

Here's a little something for FFF. I know I've been woefully AWOL lately; sorry! Life's been coming at me fast. I'm on my way out the door in a few minutes, so I don't have time to reply to any comments right now. I hope to have a chance this evening or tomorrow. Hope everyone is well!

Stretched Out

Some Days

(today was one)

I feel like a used paper clip

-form slightly skewed

-less useful than before

I can still function to handle the big things

(for a short while...if I must)

but smaller things

elude my grasp.

Ducks and Drakes

OK, here they are, finally, the real decoy, errrr... McCoy. Anywho, these are the ducks who inhabit the pond outside The Room.

Not the greatest photos, I know. I'll get better ones at a future date.

Allow Me to Introduce...

...my very good friend, the Mommanator! Her blog is up and running, and it's ready for prime time. Stop by and show her the love!

Room With a View

The windows here at The Room overlook a pond occupied by a small flock of Mallard ducks. Recently, a group of Canada Geese has been in residence, as well. Here is a link to the sound I wake to each morning. The pond is just outside of my bedroom, and the ducks seem to favor my side of the water at sunrise. They take a morning stroll across the lawn at about 7:00 am every day; I suspect that one of the neighbors throws out some seed at about that time each morning.

One poor drake has a backwards foot. I don't know whether this is due to a birth defect or an injury. It makes him a bit of a pegleg, and he hobbles when he walks. The social worker in me wants to connect him to services. I wonder if there is a local nature group or veterinarian who might be able to correct his defect. He's still pretty functional, but I wonder how well he will be able to evade the cats lurking around if he's caught any distance from the water when one appears. I guess that's natural selection, but I don't have to like it.

I don't have any photos of my ducks to share right now. I'm posting this at night, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to try to take a picture. I'll shoot for an image of the ducks for Fave Foto Friday this week. Here's an image of a Mallard I found online:

Melting

Photo found at Komo TV website

Global warming is a topic of great interest to me. Frank at iFlipFlop posted recently about the unprecedented high temperatures we're experiencing this January. While one warm January does not a melted planet make, there seems to be an overall trend toward warm winters in the eastern US that is hard to ignore.

An article at cnn.com dated January 4 adds fuel to the fire. According to the article, an ice shelf the size of 11,000 football fields snapped free from Canada's Arctic 16 months ago (August of 2005), something scientists consider to be an alarming occurrence. Global warming is considered to be a, "major contributing factor," and this is seen as evidence that we are, "crossing climate thresholds." Earthquake monitors located 155 miles away picked up the collapse.

Fave Foto Friday

This is a photo of my sweet little Maxine at about age 1. I wanted to end the year with one last remembrance of her.

5 Things You Don't Know About Me (and Maybe Didn't Want To)

OK, here goes with the, "5 Things," meme. I was tagged awhile back by Frank at iFlipFlop to do this meme, but the holidays and Mom's illness slowed me down a bit.

1. I love to travel, but I'm a terrible homebody. Coming home from somewhere (the mall, a party, a vacation) is one of my greatest pleasures.

2. I'm in a bit of a transition period right now, so home doesn't exactly feel like home. I'll probably buy a house sometime in 2007.

3. I'm generally pretty quiet. When I'm home alone, I don't often have the TV or the stereo on. I love music and I love entertainment (I'm going to see Trans Siberian Orchestra in AC tonight), but it usually just doesn't occur to me to make noise. Can't someone invent a truly quiet washer/dryer/dishwasher/heater that's affordable to the masses? One thing my new home is likely to have is a separate laundry room, hopefully far from the main living area!

4. My current digs won't allow dogs, but cats are allowed (for an additional monthly fee). I love all animals, and I had a chance to adopt a kitten on Christmas Eve, but I'm allergic to cats. Another reason to buy a house soon!

5. I doubt very much that I will live in New Jersey after I retire. New Jersey has become crowded, traffic-jammed and noisy since I was a child, and has lost far too much of its woodlands and wetlands, in my opinion. The wide-open spaces of the Midwest beckon.

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday. Christmas was odd for me this year, with Mom sick and the family a bit hectic, but I survived.

I had a lovely dinner out with a friend last night. We dined at a fine restaurant in Millville, of all places! Winfield's is surprisingly chic and urban in decor, and they have quite a martini menu. I had a tartini, which was delicious, and included muddled raspberries in the mix. I also had a nice glass of merlot with my steak au poivre (one of the specials last night), and (the ladies will appreciate this) I had creme brulee for dessert.

Well, time to gear up for the New Year. Here's to a spectacular 2007 for all!

Oh! Christmas Tree

I've been tagged by Frank at iFlipFlop to do a 5 Things You Don't Know About Me meme. I'm working on it, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, here is glimpse of Ms. Merci Humbug's Christmas tree.

Who's A Humbug Now?

The lights are on the tree, following a moment of inspiration on Saturday morning. There are ornaments and candy canes decking her boughs, as well. The garland has yet to be bought and applied, but I'm confident that another moment of inspiration sometime very soon will result in a glorious, finished product.

Now there's more shopping to do, and gifts to wrap, and cards to write, and Christmas dinner to plan...

Who's A Humbug?

Ok, so there's been a fresh cut Christmas tree in my living room for close to a week now. It has a tree skirt at the bottom (which needs to be ironed before anyone actually sees it) and an angel on the top (yeah, I know that should go on last; tough). That's it. I've bought lights to put on it, but so far I've lacked the motivation to start the tedious process of winding them around the tree. I have ornaments (still in boxes), but I haven't purchased any garland yet. I'm not taking any bets as to whether or not there will still be garland available in the stores by the time I get to the point where I need it.

Christmas seems to sneak up on me every year. I'm finding it hard to comprehend that the Big Day is just a little over 2 weeks away. I haven't done any baking yet, and I might not. I still have some shopping to do, and I still don't know for certain what I'm doing on Christmas Day (though it's sure to involve family in some way, shape or form).

Underneath it all, I'm not sure that I care that much. It'll all get done. Or not. In the long run, what difference does it make?

Fave Foto Friday

Here's another photo from my visit to Grounds for Sculpture:

Looks like my posting has pretty much been limited to FFF lately. I've been on the run, with Mom in a nursing/rehab center following a few weeks in the hospital. I've completely lost track of the holiday season,though I hope to shop for a tree this weekend. A Merry Christmas Season to all!

Fave Foto Friday

This photo is a memory of a near-perfect day:

FFF

Here's my contribution to Fave Foto Friday this week:

I took this photo at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ. It's a beautiful place for a walk. Expect to see more photos from my visit on future FFFs.

Just an aside: my Mom is ill and is in the hospital, so my posting here and my visits to other sites are a bit infrequent these days...

Fave Foto Friday!

I love this photo because I took it. I was there.

This is one of my favorite places.

Poem

Wrote this poem in high school. It's not great, and it's a bit too dramatic, but I like it.

End of A Romance

Another torn leaf

Soars from a tree

In a death-crash of grief-

Finally free.

Another Monday

It's 6:45 am. Coffee is brewing in the kitchen as the dawn begins to light the sky ever so gently. I can hear the distant drone of traffic out on the highway. Coming at such an early hour, the noise indicates that this is a weekday, and the world is ready for business.

I have a few brief moments to ponder before I must busy myself with the ordinary Monday things and take myself off to join the masses headed to the workaday world. I feel resistant this morning, wanting to extend the relaxed glow of the weekend a little longer. I don't want to be drawn back into my weekly routine - the sameness of it, the chains it places on me. I am conscious of it now, tugging at me against my will. I will become unaware of it once it has me in its clutches, until I am set free again, albeit briefly, at the end of the week.

Maxine 6/6/90 - 10/6/06

Merthiolate

I had an interesting conversation with a couple of coworkers the other day. We started talking about the joy of skinned knees in childhood. Remember how messed up your knees (and palms and elbows) could get from falling on the cement? How often did we run home yelling, dripping blood all the way?

Our moms were staunch believers in iodine (applied after washing the area thoroughly with a soapy washcloth) as the first line of defense against infection. I wonder, was it really sanitary to use the stick in the bottle (attached to the lid) over and over again on our wounds? They didn't wash it before putting it back into the solution, did they?

My mom had an especially brutal tool in her arsenal: a big red spray bottle of merthiolate. This stuff was bright red in color, went on cold, and, no lie, hurt more than iodine. I remember seeing commercials for Bactine, which was supposed to be painless. I begged Mom to buy it, but she insisted we had to use up all of the merthiolate first. I don't think we ever did, and I'll bet she still has that red bottle somewhere, ready to torment me at the first opportunity.

Turns out that merthiolate is actually one and the same product as thimerosal. Thimerosal is the antibacterial, anti-fungal preservative that is being eliminated from vaccines and other products because of safety concerns. Apparently, it's almost 50% mercury. Thanks mom.

As for the skinned knees, I am told that today's kids mostly miss out on that bit of fun. Seems they play inside more than out, and are less active in general. Pity. Nothing quite beats the glory of skinned knees, wounds earned on the field of childhood play.