Wordzzle, oh Wordzzle - how I love thee, Wordzzle!
As most of you know by now, each week Chatty's creative and imaginative friend Raven comes up with a couple of lists of unrelated (BOY, are they unrelated!) words, and asks her players to form them into a short short story that makes some kind of sense. Well, that is the assignment, anyway - whether or not we manage to do so is a matter of opinion!
Chatty could not resist playing this week, so here we go:
For the ten-word challenge we have:
prefix
art festival
income tax
chicken noodle soup
jump rope
Dutch Treat
flowering plum tree
bats in the belfry
diamond earrings
tigers
"After paying their income tax, Betty realized that she and Bob couldn't even afford to go out to dinner with the neighbors on a Dutch Treat basis, much less pay for the four of them, as she had wanted to do. Nope - it would be staying at home and eating generic chicken noodle soup mix for the foreseeable future. Betty also realized that she must have had bats in the belfry to have even considered buying those diamond earrings she had fallen in love with at the art festival last weekend. Ditto the flowering plum tree Bob had wanted to buy at the home and garden show they had attended yesterday. And going on a photo safari to India next year to see elephants and tigers? Dream on, teenage queen. With a sigh, Betty went back to deciding what items they could cut from their budget. The gym membership could go, for one - she supposed she could just walk every day, do a few push-ups, and jump rope. With luck, she wouldn't hate exercising any more just because she was doing it at home instead of at the gym. She certainly wouldn't miss the long commute across town. And she definitely wouldn't miss the floor-to-ceiling mirrors that magnified her flapping bingo arms - and contrasted her so hideously with the little hard-bodies in expensive designer outfits who waltzed in from neighborhoods with more fashionable prefixes than hers. Betty smiled. She wouldn't miss that at all!"
The mini-challenge words are:
book club
organic tea
the cow jumped over the moon
paragon of virtue
wench
"Madge was tempted. To tell the truth, she was sick and tired of having all and sundry consider her a paragon of virtue. She was fed up with her volunteer work, her book club, and of being one of the ladies who lunch - making polite and meaningless conversation at the Country Club while picking daintily at chicken salad made with low-fat mayonnaise and sipping organic tea until her back teeth floated. What had happened to the carefree girl who lived for adventure? When had she morphed into a Stepford Wife? She looked at the invitation again. Yes, Madge was tempted, all right. What fun it would be to wear a corset that made Victoria's Secret push-up bras look tame; to sing bawdy songs while serving mead; and to flirt shamelessly with dashing men in tights, capes and codpieces. The cow jumped over the moon, didn't she? Nobody saw that one coming, either. Right, then. Madge was going to accept her old college friend's invitation to be a serving wench at this year's Renaissance Faire. She could hardly wait to see the look on her husband's face when she slipped him the glad tidings - he might even look up from his Blackberry..."
That's all for now, folks!
Chatty's First Tomato - re-visited
Do you remember how excited Chatty was about Chatty's First Tomato?
Well, Chatty does, too!
Here is the picture of her first (and only, so far) tomato, which was taken about 3 weeks ago::
The following picture was taken today, of the same tomato:
Can you spot the difference?
Neither can Chatty.
BIG *sigh*
Easter
Yesterday I had a dream about dying
About laying to rest and then flying
How the moment at hand is the only thing
We really own
And I lay in my bed and I wonder
After all has been said and is done for
Why is it thus we are here
And so soon we are gone
Is this life just a path to the place
That we all have come from
Does the heart know the way
And if not, can it ever be found
In a smile or a tear or a prayer
Or a sigh or a song
And if so, then I sing for my father
And ...<< MORE >>
Why Can't We All Just Get Along?
And, spring has definitely sprung! Chatty got her first daffodils...and what better receptacle than Gary's beautiful teapot?
Chatty had a wonderful weekend - what with peace breaking out in the great nations of "CAT" and "DOG" - and is hoping you did, too!
Chatty goes to a Carnival
Chatty had a marvelous birthday weekend - and thanks to all who sent good wishes!
Last Saturday night, Chatty was coming home from a birthday party for a friend whose birthday was one day after hers - and noticed that there was a weekend fair at the local community college.
Chatty just loves these little carnivals - the tinned music, the bright lights, the rides, the carnival food! One of Chatty's first "group dates" was at a carnival such as this...in Arlington, Virginia, when she was 13.
So, she arrived home with excitement, and asked The Wiz if he would take her over for an hour or so. The Wiz does not particularly enjoy these things, and he was already in his "TV-watching" mode when she got home, but he is a good sport - and it WAS Chatty's birthday weekend - so without a moment's hesitation, he said "Sure - let's go!"
The first thing we noticed was that it was easy to park up close. Hmmmm. On a Saturday night, too.
The next thing we noticed was that the midway - a tiny one - was pretty much empty:
Chatty took this picture and the ones that follow with her cell phone, so apologies for the poor quality, but you will get the idea...
The two guys standing in the middle of the picture are not, sadly, customers - they are the operators of two of the booths.
The next thing Chatty noticed was at the "hit the hammer on the plate and ring the bell" booth, where a sign saying "$5" had been replaced with one that advertised the same goodies for less (note the overlay on the sign):
Still, the kids were having fun, and the lady who ran the booth was extremely patient with the little ones...in fact, there were 4 different stations - one for adults, and three of varying sizes for kids. Here is a pre-teen, trying his luck:
We watched for quite a bit, and The Wiz marvelled at the total lack of strength and coordination exhibited by all the kids who tried - none of them rang the bell, and they all got impatient, then bored - almost immediately. The Wiz was of the opinion that this was not a good thing...and Chatty wondered aloud if playing on computers for hours instead of playing outside and running around might be part of the problem. But, she doesn't have any kids of her own (though The Wiz has a grown son, with two sons of his own - making Chatty twice a grandmother - just call her "Mimi"!), so she has no right to judge - especially that age group.
"The Hammer" (known in Chatty's misspent youth as "The Vomit Comet") was the most popular and busy of the rides, especially among the 13-18 set, but even it had to go with each of the two cars half-empty each time, at least while we were watching:
The booth where The Wiz has been known to win Chatty LOTS of prizes at various County Fairs was bereft of customers when we first passed by:
But on our second go-around, some people were there:
And you just KNOW that mom and dad were going to shoot their water pistols VEEERRRY slowly, so that their little boy would win! Chatty hopes that dad took him to the midway later, and, showing his prowess with the rifle (or the baseball, or the basketball), won his son another prize...because you just know it was hard for Dad to hold back on shooting that water pistol, even it it WAS so his son could win!
Chatty really wanted to ride on this one, but The Wiz was not enthusiastic about being swung around and around and back and forth so soon after dinner, and Chatty, having just consumed her favorite carnival food - a giant hot pretzel with mustard - had to admit that his argument had merit (oh, how hard it is to admit that Chatty is no longer a teenager, and has to consider things like that):
The operator would run The Tornado if he could get even three people to ride - Chatty counted.
The merry-go-round was very popular with the little kids (Chatty wished she could have found a stray kid to take on the ride - the way she used to do when she wanted to go to "little kid" movies, but felt silly going on her own - luckily, she has grandchildren now!), but was still only half full each time it started:
All of this emptiness on a Saturday night at a carnival gave Chatty pause. It became clearer, perhaps, when she and The Wiz wandered by the ticket booth (the only one - that's how small this carnival was) and read the "fuel surcharge" notice.
Each ticket was $1.50, and there was a fuel surcharge for buying more than one ticket that, when added, meant there was no discount for buying several tickets. And, most of the rides cost 3 or 4 tickets.
Yes.
Those are State Fair prices, folks!
The piddling ferris wheel was 4 tickets. With no discount for buying multiple tickets, that means it would have cost Chatty and The Wiz ELEVEN DOLLARS to ride the ferris wheel. Did Chatty mention it was a PIDDLING ferris wheel???
The Tornado was also 4 tickets. The merry-go-round was 3 tickets.
The food was very expensive, as it always is.
The Wiz - who would probably have won at the "shooting pool" game - refused to pay the "3 bucks for 1 shot" price, and Chatty doesn't blame him! Nobody else was buying in, either:
The lack of people, the outrageous prices, the "fuel surcharge"...all got Chatty to thinking.
She wonders what it would be like to travel from town to town, moving these huge rides on their giant trucks - setting them up for 3 days, working from 10 AM to midnight, then tearing them down, traveling to the next town, and doing it all over again a few days later - all while living in a trailer and watching fuel prices rise every time you gassed up those behemoths. Paying the insurance against accidents. Raising your family on the road, watching food prices go up - again - every time you turned around. Having to post signs adding a fuel surcharge to the already high price of the tickets, because that's the only way you can make a small profit - or, more likely, break even.
These carnivals are a vibrant part of Chatty's memories - the thrill of seeing a small fair crop up in a parking lot near her - rushing over to ride the rides, try for prizes, eat the food, and giggle with her friends...
Embrace them while you can, folks - despite the high prices - because Chatty has a feeling these local joy-bringers may soon be a distant memory...
Chatty's First Tomato!
Chatty has grown a tomato!
Yes!
She is so excited, she took a picture...
...<< MORE >>
More irises...and Chatty's favorite card
Chatty has two more irises! The first iris to bloom is at the back, with a bud showing, and the one in front has two buds just underneath it that will probably be out by the weekend...
And, Chatty has already received her favorite birthday card - don't ask her how she knows, it's just a feeling...
Note that he draws Chatty as beautifully svelte (because love is blind), with a flower in her hand...and he is the other figure - no doubt he has just given her the flower...
The inside sentiment , simple but sweet, also brought a catch to her throat - plus, there's cake!
Let's just say that this one will be posted on the fridge for a LONG time...
Happy St. Patrick's Day
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Ikebana at the Art Museum - and a brief train ride
Not too long ago, Chatty and her friend JSP had a nice afternoon at the Phoenix Art Museum.
We decided to take the new Metro Rail, even though it entailed driving out of our way so that we could "park and ride" a few stops away from our destination. It would have been faster and easier just to drive to the Museum from JSP's house, but Chatty is all for the new experience!
The station with the park and ride was very nice:
with pretty architectural details like the white "sails"...but both of us wondered a bit about the judgment here. These sails are attractive, to be sure, but in a city where the temperature hovers in the triple digits several months of the year, might more shade and less modernistic architecture have been a brighter idea?
The train is rather futuristic looking, too, with two sets of "accordions" per car for negotiating the street corners, and two cars per train:
Remember that old spoof of disaster movies that shows up on late-night TV occasionally - "The Big Bus"? That's pretty much what it reminds Chatty of...and, it travels along RIGHT NEXT TO the street - in a separate lane, but with virtually no demarcation between it and the cars unless you count the lame-o little "curb":
Chatty cannot begin to tell you how weird it is to have one of these silent behemoths pull up next to you - gliding out of your "blind spot" and then looming over you while you are sitting in your car at a light!
Once aboard, the train was clean, quiet and nicely air-conditioned (although Chatty wonders how cool it will be when the cars are full of passengers in July), but basically like any other train she has ever ridden. JSP agreed, and he has been on trains all over the world. Chatty has only been on trains going from from Chicago to Oklahoma, from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, and in England, Japan and France - but those last three trips were MANY years ago, when she was a mere stripling - and just as unobservant as striplings usually are...
We got off at the stop nearest the Art Museum, and walked back a block. We met JSP's friend, who had two arrangements on display in the Ikebana exhibit, which was in the Asian Gallery.
The exhibit was sponsored by Ikebana of Arizona, a group that formed back in 1973. Ikebana is over 500 years old, and literally translated means "the arrangement of living materials in water." Often described as "sculpting with flowers", there are currently over 3000 schools of Ikebana in Japan, three of which were represented in this exhibition: Ikenobo, Sogetsu, and Ohara. The oldest of these is Ikenobo, and it encompasses many different styles, from "Rikka" - the earliest known formal style of arrangement - to "avant garde" and "free style" - where pretty much anything goes. When Buddhism was introduced in Japan in 538 A.D., the monks began using flowers to decorate the temples. Ikebana is a secular movement that was the eventual progression from those temple arrangements.
The first two pictures below are JSP's friend's arrangements. The others, in no particular order, are Chatty's other favorites. They were beautifully displayed in and around the Oriental art, ceramics and sculptures in the Asian room, and the result was breathtaking!
For some reason, that last one just makes Chatty smile every time she looks at it. Those little flowers look just like yellow ping pong balls!
Afterwards, we went back to JSP's house, and The Wiz and our puppies joined us. JSP made a wonderful spaghetti dinner, and Cleo and Toot played with Winston (aka Chatty's favorite beagle), who is a champion spaghetti-hound:
A good time was had by all. And then we went home.
Heads Up, Bookworms!
Chatty's friend Pat has told her about a nifty new website that you join through your local library. Well, more in conjunction with your local library. What you do is go to the site, join as many of the book "clubs" as you want (they have clubs for lots of genres, including sci fi, mystery, suspense, teen, romance, etc.) and then enter your city and state. Links to your local library system come up. You click on the one closest to you and hey, presto, you are signed up in your area.
The club is an interesting concept. You get "5-minute reads" several times a week in your email box. They will be continuing portions of the first chapter of a book in the genre you have chosen, starting each Monday. Of course, if you are busy, or don't like the book, you just delete the emails. The site stresses the point that this is supposed to be fun and relaxing - not something you MUST do! The ones you do read will give you an idea of whether or not you like the book. It's far better than just reading the description on the dust jacket, because you get a feel for the way the author actually writes, rather than just a plot summary - and the fact that you signed up through your local library means that if you DO like the book, your library will probably have it - or will order it for you. This is Chatty's understanding, anyway.
Also, if you prefer to buy books - this is a way to check out a new author that is more thorough than amazon.com reviews and the like. Because, after all, those are OTHER people's opinions, right? It's much better to be able to form you own opinion. And, Chatty was thinking that this could be a good thing for moms who want to get an idea about a book's content before buying it or getting it from the library for their pre-teens.
They also have a book forum if you like to discuss books, but don't have a group in your area.
It's free, and the woman who runs it also blogs about her life at the start of each email. She's funny and fun to read - but of course you can skip that part and go directly to the 5-minute read if you're in a hurry.
So, when you have a moment, check it out here.
While nothing will ever usurp the place in Chatty's heart occupied now and forever by the "actual" books she loves so dearly, or compete with their qualities - the heft - the smell of ink and paper - the little thrill she gets when opening a book for the first time - the satisfaction of holding and reading it and marking her place with a pretty bookmark...Chatty does want to tell you about something she has discovered that is pretty cool when reading an actual book just isn't feasible - like while you are walking, or cooking, or driving.
Have you heard about "Playaway", available at many public libraries? These are complete, unabridged books that come in MP3 format. You check them out like a regular book or audiobook, and each is a tiny MP3 player with just that book on it. All you have to do is provide your own AAA battery and personal earphones. You keep them as long as a regular book and can renew them like a regular book. The little player remembers where you left off when it turns off, you can fast forward and rewind, and even change the tempo of the reader's voice if you feel it is too fast or too slow.
Chatty loves them! More and more publishers are jumping on this particular bandwagon, and there are new titles available every time she goes to the library, in all sorts of categories.
Ask your library if they have Playaways, and if they don't - ask them why!
That's all from the book nook at the moment...
In a while, crocodiles!
About Chatty
Chatty is an observer of life. And, once she observes, she usually can't resist commenting on its many vicissitudes. Her personal motto is “I digress, therefore I am.” When not observing, reading, reviewing, pontificating, expressing outrage or telling pointless anecdotes, Chatty also enjoys cooking, designing jewelry, making paper, doing needlework, crafting, photography, and referring to herself in the third person. Because the proof of the pudding is in the eating, Chatty invites you to check out her ramblings. Just don’t say she didn’t warn you.