I know there are a lot of people out there who appreciate modern art.  I appreciate modern art ... if I know what I'm looking at.  It's the stuff that makes absolutely no sense to me that I find difficult to appreciate.

Like an unfinished wooden chair.  Nothing else. Just the chair. Roped off, just like the other pieces of art.  Or a wooden box, painted green, sitting in the middle of the floor.  Different artists. Both titled "Untitled".

So. What am I missing?  And how do these artists manage to get their pieces of "art" into a show at the Museum of Modern Art? 

Granted, there were a couple of interesting, intriguing pieces ... the ladder that seemed to wind it's way to the stars, the huge canvas with the jar of olives splattered in one corner ... but for the most part, I saw nothing that I would make space for in my house.

The trip did however, manage to ignite my creative side and it may even spark a renewed interest in picking up the old paint brushes since I have several unfinished canvases laying around.

Then again, maybe I should leave them as they are and make another trip to the Museum.  I could show my creativity by naming them something other than "Untitled" ... "Unfinished" touches a chord, don't you think?

I just wish I still had the various pieces of unfinished furniture I've had at one time or the other.  Had I known they might be priceless museum pieces, I never would have sold them at garage sales.

Pets become an important part of the family, especially after children are grown and gone.  Pets seem to take you back to the days when you awoke to the pitter-patter of little feet running down the hallway and the inevitable lunge into the middle of the bed.

At least that's how it feels around here with our 50-pound-four-legged-golden-haired-bundle of energy. 

Angel was finally allowed on the bed one Saturday morning and has since decided that this must be a morning ritual.  I did manage to win the argument of where she sleeps at night, but first thing in the morning I now wake to a cold, wet nose, wiggling rear end and sloppy-wet-doggy-kisses. Of course, Sarah-the-cat is already there, purring loudly and nudging my hand for her morning petting.

These two have become our "children" (don't worry, Michelle ... you still get the jewelery!) which is why, when one of them is sick or hurt, we worry.  So when a wart-looking lump appeared on Angel's nose, seemingly overnight, and our first thought was cancer (OMG! Our-little-girl-is-going-to-die-type-cancer!), a visit to the vet became a priority.

The doctor looked at her nose yesterday and then asked if she has been scratching a lot, particularly her feet, ears and face.  Well, yes she has ... in fact, she somehow manages to get her entire foot in her mouth, sometimes all the way up to the "elbow" ... lately her scratching has been driving me crazy (her collar comes off at night so I don't have to listen to the clink-clank-clink of the tags when she scratches) and there are no fleas.  I've been threatening to get some sheep dip.

"No, no need. She has allergies. Very common with Labs and for some reason, Golden Labs in particular. Not so much for black Labs.  Give her Benedryl. Over the counter, made-for-people-but-dogs-can-take-it-too Benedryl."

*sigh* Allergies.

What's she allergic to?  Dog hair?

Yes, I did it again. I stole a meme from someone (aka SweetOne) because I have that big black hole in my little brain again. *sigh* 

But look on the bright side ... there's not a whole lot you don't know about me by now!

If you could grant one wish to someone what would it be and why?
For my son-in-law ... that he would get over his fear of flying so whether he wanted to visit or not, he'd at least let Michelle, The Monkey and The Bean fly out to visit!

How much cash do you currently have on hand (not in the bank!)?
Ummmm, counting all the change in jars & my car?  Do I have to count it? Can I guess? Yeah? Okay, probably a couple hundred dollars.

How much (per gallon) did you pay for gasoline the last time you stopped?
WOO-HOO! $1.88 (which included my 10 cent/gallon discount because I've spent hundreds on groceries ... but I'm saving on gas!)

What is the most unusual food you have ever eaten?
Unusual? Is Escargot "unusual"? How about alligator?

Have you ever done anything with integrity even though you knew no one else would know?
I try to do everything with integrity ... is this a trick question?

What are you currently wearing?
White fleece robe (it's still early)

What is the best thing you've done this summer?
Went to Vegas and saw my grandbabies!

How many countries have you visited? (Which ones?)
Two - Mexico (Mexico City, Cuernavaca, Mazatlan); England (London & surrounding areas)

The phone rang sometime earlier… who was the last person to call?
No, it didn't!  Rang yesterday. Does that count? Last person to call was Uncle Jerry.

Who do you think serves the best cheeseburger in the world?
In the world? I don't know ... I haven't tried all of them!  In my experience, I'd have to say In-n-Out (and I wish they would get to Texas!)

When is the last time you took a bubble bath?
Pffffftttt! About thirty years ago!  I'm allergic to all that smell-good-foo-foo-bubbly stuff.  I stick to showers.

What is the biggest lie you ever told and what was your reason for telling that lie?
Now, if I tell you, the person I lied to will know I lied and that wouldn't be good! Besides, I really don't remember ... Honest!

What specific song/musician/group, etc. has touched your life at one time or another? Please elaborate.
The Grateful Dead - Truckin' (and someday, I'll elaborate! Maybe).

If you could bring one person back from the dead and spend one day with them, who would it be and why?
My mom. Why? To be able to say all the things I should have said while she was alive.

What do you think makes someone a "good" person?
Honesty. Compassion. Integrity.

Describe one thing in your life that was totally unexpected and how it changed you.
The birth of my daughter (well, the birth wasn't unexpected but the pregnancy was). It taught me how to love.

What is a decision you made on a quick judgment that you regretted?
Taking the job in Fresno ... never should have done that!

What is the biggest lie that someone has ever told you and how did you react upon finding it out?
Well, wasn't actually an outright lie to me, but it was extremely dis-honest. A friend continued to receive SSI checks for her mother after her mother's death. It destroyed the friendship.

What has been the happiest memory in your life to date?
The day my daughter was born ... and then the day my granddaughter was born ... and then the day my second granddaughter was born.

What is something that all people realize about you?
That I have a lousy sense of humor ...

When was the last time you romantically kissed someone, and who was it?
If I don't say Tom, I may be in trouble here! Of course it was him!

What's one thing you REALLY want for Christmas this year?
Well, it would be nice if we could have all of the kids and grandkids here together but I seriously doubt if that's going to happen ... other than that, there's really nothing I want or need. Hmmm ... how about a tummy-tuck?

Growing up, what pets did you have as a child, and what were their names?
Ah, jeez!  There were too many to remember! I know there were a lot of cats and we always had German Shepards (I do remember Friday and Lady); and a mean little basset hound. 

When was the last time you experienced synchronicity in your life?
Synchronicity??? Is this like that integrity question? If I ever have synchronicity in my life, I'm going to start looking over my shoulder for that black-hooded-scythe-wielding-character!

What was the last thing you ate?
Bite-size Butterfinger and bite-size Almond Joy!

Do you have any plans for the next hour? How about the next week? Or perhaps even the next month?
Next hour: Take a shower; Next week: Get ready for the kids visit (woo-hoo!); Next month: Let's not push it, ok?

What's the last thing that made you smile?
Waking up this morning!  It's always a good thing, when you wake up in the morning!

What's the last book you read? What was it about? Would you recommend it to anyone else?
Night by Elie Wiesel ... true story of his family and the Holocaust.  Already recommended it (Steph took it home with her).

By the way, any and all questions are still welcome if you're curious about anything I haven't answered here.  I may even answer them seriously.

No, you aren't hallucinating ... there was a different post here earlier and it will be back tomorrow. But for now, there's something much more important.

Please visit Jules and/or say a prayer for her son who was in a serious auto accident yesterday.  His best friend, who was with him, was killed.

And take a minute today to hug your family & friends and tell them that you love them.

I used to love Halloween.  The costumes. The kids. The candy. The Black cats.  The full moon. The wine.

*Wait! What did she say? The wine????*

Yes, the wine.  I always believed that adults should enjoy the evening as much as the kids so when Michelle was young, a friend and I would take her around the neighborhood for the usual Trick-or-Treat.

Except my friend and I would accompany Michelle to the door and after her "Trick-or-Treat!" greeting and the expected handout of tooth-decaying sweets, we would hold out our wine glasses and intone to the unsuspecting candy provider, "Trick-or-Drink!"

Sure, there were your standard stick-in-the-mud-teetotaler-sourpusses who looked at us as though we were the neighborhood chainsaw-wielding-hockey-masked-killers; but more often than not, our glasses were filled and we went merrily on our way.

By the end of the evening we were in no pain and somehow found our way home, much to the credit of Michelle I'm sure. 

Now, this was in the days before poisoned apples and heroin-injected-Snickers-bars, but nonetheless, Michelle's candy had to be checked before she was allowed to dive in and I was able to convince her that by the time she woke up the next morning, her candy would be safe to eat.

At least that's what I always told her.  The truth was that mom was in no shape to clean up the inevitable mess of candy wrappers or deal with an energetic-sugar-filled-wild-child.

I think she was a little skeptical however, that every year, all of the Almond Joy bars were poisoned and had to be "thrown" away.

People always enjoy those "Help Desk" questions from the computer-challenged bozos out there ... the ones who get up to physically open a window in the room when asked if they have Windows open.

Lately however, I have discovered that this challenge works both ways.  Either that or when dealing with an on-line help desk, the "help-operator" is either using a canned question & answer manual or they don't understand the English language because they are located somewhere in India or China or some other country.

This morning I attempted to access my Monster.com account.  Because it's been a few years (and a few email addresses) ago, I had no idea which email address was on the account and after a couple of attempts I gave up and went for the on-line chat help.

The on-line chat went something like this:

Rashmi: Good morning. Thank you for using Monster.com. How can I be of assistance today?
Me:  Good morning, Rashmi.  It's been several years since I used my Monster.com account and I don't remember what email address and password I last used.
Rashmi:  No problem. I can help you with that.  I need your full name and email address.
Me:  My current email address?
Rashmi:  The email address associated with your Monster.com account.
Me:  Is this a trick question?
Rashmi:  No. Can you please give me the email address?
Me:  If I knew that email address, why would I be asking YOU for it?
Rashmi:  Okay. Can I have your full name, please?
Me:  Penny S******
Rashmi:  Thank you. I will see what I can find for you.

After several other questions, such as "please tell me some of your work experiences" and "What is your favorite pet's name?"  my new friend Rashmi found the account and the conversation continued.

Rashmi:  Great!  I've found your account.  Would you like it emailed to the email address associated with the account?
Me:  Is this another trick question, Rashmi? That email is no longer valid. Which is the whole reason we've struck up this friendship, remember?
Rashmi:  Okay.  Would you like to change the email account?
Me:  Well, hey!  There's a thought!

Okay, so maybe I'm a tad bit sarcastic when it comes to this type of stuff. 

And I probably shouldn't look for a job at the Help Desk.

The New Serenity Prayer

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I cannot accept,
and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had
to kill today because they pissed me off;

Ya know, it really sucks when a friend drives across country to visit you and pretty much the entire time she's there, one or the other of you is sick and as such, pretty much the entire time she's there, you do nothing but stay home and try to get well.

That's pretty much how sister-friend Stephanie's visit went.  She's leaving today, heading back to the solitude of the Maine woods and I'll miss having her around. The good news is that she's leaving much healthier than she arrived.

We did manage to get out of the house over the past few days and do some shopping, even managing to visit one of our favorite-type stores (Hobby Lobby).  Yesterday we decided to venture further than two miles from home and went to the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (if you live in the area and have never been there, it's worth a visit).  Someday when she visits, we're going to get out and actually go do something!

Anyway, after Steph leaves, I get to return to my regularly scheduled programming.  Except, I am seriously considering changing channels.

Not in a life-changing-new-experiences-OMG-you-did-what-kind of way. No, I'm just considering going back to work.

Tom doesn't really want me to work full time, however in order to have benefits (such as health insurance), it's going to have to be full-time. Retail generally doesn't hire full-time with benefits as far as I know (tell me differently if I'm wrong!) and getting back into the food industry isn't especially appealing.  I hate accounting even though I did it for over twenty-five years.

But in a sick sort of way, I kinda miss the construction business.  So that's what I'm going to look in to. Even though I'm in a completely new area from where I spent all my time in the industry, construction is an extremely small world. However, I will accept any leads ...

... Any body know somebody who may know a friend of a cousin of his sister-in-law's brother who just might be in the construction business? And has no ties to the mafia?

Every body is accusing the media of sensationalism … I'm still waiting for intelligence!  Real headlines from across the country:

"Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says" (Guess that's why he's the expert, huh?)

"Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers" (Wonder how you apply for the job?)

"Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?" (Debris?! Good gawd, I hope not!)

"Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over" (I always wondered how those new species pop up!)

"Miners Refuse to Work after Death" (Well, duh … do you blame them?)

"Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant" (Obviously the community service bit didn't work!)

"War Dims Hope for Peace" (Yep, sounds like a political statement to me!) 

"If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile" (Wait! Didn't Dubya say this about war or something?)

"Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures" (Yep, one more rocket scientist in our midst!)

"Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide" (Huh … wonder what gave it away?) 

"Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges" (Well, I suppose it's better than Elmer's glue)

"Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge" (I'm guessing he already had his battery charged!)

"New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group" (Yoo-hoo! Open your eyes! You don't have to look far!)

"Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas In Spacecraft" (Exactly why I don't drink Tang!)

"Kids Make Nutritious Snacks" (Mmmmmm! Especially with a little mustard and onion!)

"Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half" (WOW! And I thought my high school was tough!)

"Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors"  (Probably some new mutant strain of growth hormone … or too many kid snacks)
"Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead" (But it's sure gonna save on funeral costs!)

Happy birthday, my dear blog-friend Deirdre!