Glimpses through the blog

A Wordzlle a Week...that's all we ask

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:06:36 GMT

Hard to believe, but it's the 40th week for Wordzzles over at Raven's Nest.

The idea is to use a set of random words in a way that makes sense to create a short short story - often just a paragraph - so here are Chatty's offerings.

    The ten word challenge this week:

pipe organ,
ravages of time,
lottery tickets,
angelic music,
five x five,
boxes of books,
flattery will get you nowhere,
yodelling,
pig tails,
knitting needles

    "The church’s annual Board of Directors meeting was off to a slow start. Hoping to move things along, I started with the obvious, pointing out that twenty-five x five years had not been kind to the pipe organ. The ravages of time had made what used to be angelic music issuing from its depths sound more like the yodelling that results when one steps on pig tails – knitting needles through the ears would be preferable, I continued, warming to my theme. “Flattery will get you nowhere” snarled the organ master sarcastically. “What we need to do is raise money for repairs,” I went on, sticking with the obvious. “I’ve got boxes of books I could donate to a white elephant sale. I’m sure everyone here has things they don’t need but that other people would buy. And if we could find some company to offer a big prize, we could sell lottery tickets.” The organ master’s face brightened perceptibly, hands were raised enthusiastically, and I grabbed a pencil to start making notes."

    The five word Mini challenge:

canary yellow,
grizzly bear,
out of the frying pan into the fire,
simpleton,
Ministry of Crazy Walks

    "The grizzly bear reeled out of the undergrowth, lurching madly from side to side like the Minister of Crazy Walks. Out of the frying pan, into the fire, I noted bitterly, having just dragged myself out of the lake after capsizing my canoe. What a simpleton I was – nothing like wearing a canary yellow slicker into the woods to draw the attention of the local wildlife. Of course, I hadn’t planned to be in the woods – but the lake had had other ideas."

    That's all Chatty's got - what did you come up with?

Color her blue and call her Braveheart - Part 2

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:01:57 GMT

    Frankly, we never thought there would be a "Part 2" when it came to "Color her blue and call her 'Braveheart'"!

    But, as those of you who have read the previous post know, our baby went through more bad times.

    Since many of you wanted an update, here is our baby - brave as always...and beautiful in blue...



    It was happenstance, really - those blue bandages from the vet - but so appropriate.

    She is in a lot of pain, but she is brave.

    She is hanging in there, and we truly believe she will be OK - although she will be left with a big old bald spot *sigh*. Plus, it will be a month or more for the wound to heal - and that means bandaging EVERY day.

    Cleo is not happy about that. Neither are Chatty and The Wiz. But, it must be done.

     Thanks to all of you who have taken time to write or leave a comment.

    And so it is.

When bad things happen to good animals...

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:46:00 GMT

    We had a wonderful time in Mexico.

    But, we came back to very bad circumstances.

    I found Fluffy, the cat I have loved for 16 years - the sweetheart I had taken into my home when she was 10 weeks old – dead in my closet.

    She had been lying there for 6 days when I found her. I know this…because I know this. I won’t go into details, except to say that she tried to fight the pet-sitter’s dog, and obviously lost.

    The thing that haunts us most is that she died alone, and terrified. John and I would have done anything to prevent that, but we weren’t there when she needed us.

    Our little "Braveheart" Cleo, also did not fare well while we were gone. She was “bullied” (the pet-sitter’s word) last Thursday – a week ago - by the larger dog owned by the pet-sitter. For whatever reason, Cleo was not taken to a vet - until we arrived home late Sunday afternoon and realized that she was in bad trouble.

    The person who was staying at our house brought her dog to stay with her in the house while we were gone. It is a large dog when compared to a 4-pound Chihuahua, and to a frail, 16-year-old cat. I’m sure the dog was only “playing”, dogs being dogs and all.

    Obviously, things did not go well.

    However, we are fairly certain that - although we have lost our beloved cat, Fluffy - Cleo is going to live.

    That’s what we must concentrate on at the moment. Her injuries are horrible – we have to give her a shot of “doggie” morphine to change her bandages every day - and will be doing so for at least a month. Thanks to the drugs, she sleeps most of the time, and rest is what she needs.

    We do not blame the person who took care of our animals while we were gone.

    We do not blame her dog.

    We cannot help but question her judgment, but we realize that this is any pet-sitter’s nightmare - and so we are moving on.

    But, we are still suffering.

    You will, I hope, now understand why I have not been blogging since we got back on Sunday.

    I know you all wish us well.

    I will be back soon.

    In the meantime, thank you for the support I know each and every one of you who read this post will be giving us.

    Love,

    Chatty and The Wiz

Chatty is off to Arizona's Riviera...

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 02:24:10 GMT

   Chatty is going to Arizona’s Riviera for a WHOLE WEEK.

    Yes!

    To those of you unfamiliar with Arizona, or our “Riviera” – it’s Rocky Point/Puerto Penasco, which is about 4 hours south of Phoenix.

    Puerto Penasco is one of Mexico’s main fishing ports. All together now – SHRIMP! Chatty will be eating shrimp AT LEAST once a day.

    Chatty’s resort (pictured above - and that brown area is a gorgeous waterfall, btw) is on the Sea of Cortes, with 4 miles of private beach.

    Chatty can walk for an hour and still be on resort property. Then, she can walk an hour back and get a margarita at the bar by the pool.

    All that walking – and on vacation, too - but Chatty is up to the challenge.

    Chatty has packed EVERYTHING she can think of…and will be traveling what her mother used to refer to as “Okie-style”. Translated, this is carrying everything with you but the kitchen sink. Now, Chatty’s mom was allowed to say that, politically incorrect though it may be, because she was born and raised in Oklahoma – and was therefore an “Okie” herself. This reminds Chatty of the time that Oklahoma decided to make the term “Okie” a positive thing for Oklahoma. They made little pins that said “OKIE” – OKLAHOMA, KEY to INDUSTRY and EDUCATION. Pretty cute, yes? The pins were pretty cute, too. Chatty still has one.

    Anyway, we are going to Rocky Point with two friends. Our suite has a full kitchen. Chatty likes to cook. She is sure she can find “fresh” stuff once she gets to Rocky Point and peruses the markets there. And no, Chatty doesn’t worry about the quality. In Arizona, most of our fresh stuff comes from Mexico anyway - and it's all GOOD stuff.

    However, Chatty being Chatty, she must take her spices, her condiments (Chatty is probably the only person in the world who brings her own hot sauce to Mexico), her cooking utensils, her “big pot” (because we plan to boil up about 5 pounds of shrimp in beer), breakfast food, lunch food…are you getting Chatty’s drift?

    Plus, she has to take clothes for herself and The Wiz, games to play (Backgammon, cards, Mexican Dominoes…the list goes on), and “Chatty stuff” – crochet, rug-hooking, books, Sudoku, Spanish-English dictionary – you know – the usual…

    So, because Chatty didn’t have a “big” suitcase, she went out and found one. A great deal, btw - $65 for a (formerly) $220 Samsonite at Ross. That takes care of the clothes (and the extra pillows).

    She has wrestled EVERYTHING ELSE into a mere 6 bags.

    Yes!

    Chatty is so proud!

    Well, when Chatty says “everything”, she may have misled her readers. There are still a few things that must be put into receptacles: the “big pot”, the games, and several pairs of shoes belonging to The Wiz, without which he cannot LIVE for 7 days.

    And, she forgot to mention the styrofoam cooler for transporting shrimp and other (smelly) delicacies back and forth from Rocky Point to the resort – because Chatty is not ABOUT to risk having her nice fabric coolers tainted with shrimp smells that cannot be expunged no matter how much cleaner and bleach she uses.

    Happily, our friends have a BIG TRUCK.

    Chatty can already envision the looks on the faces of the valets when we pull up to the (truly luxurious) resort with all of our “stuff”.

    Because, Chatty’s friends – the ones with the BIG TRUCK – have a lot of stuff, too.

    Their own suitcases, extra pillows, a giant cooler…

    Oh, yes, we are going to be VERY popular at the Grand Mayan Resort! Actually, Chatty has been there before, having the time-share there and all, and they are always more than hospitable.

    However, just for fun, check out the Mayan Palace in Puerto Penasco, and you will understand why eyebrows will no doubt be raised…

    But, Chatty is Chatty. She has her own style, and travels with it. Not the usual definition of “style”, of course…as the folks at the Mayan Palace are about to find out…again!

    Chatty’s timeshare is for one of the “grand suites”. That’s how she knows that the kitchen, bedrooms, baths, living room, dining area and balconies are…so very swell…

    Chatty kinda feels for them.

    But hey, we’re staying for 7 days, and Chatty likes to feel at home. So does The Wiz. Are we wrong about wanting that?

    Nah.

    Because, you know what? When we pull up, in truth we will be welcomed with open arms and big smiles. Real smiles. Chatty has traveled all over (though with less baggage than she is taking on this particular trip), and has found Mexico to be one of the most welcoming places in the world. Granted, Chatty sticks to “the tourist zone”, but still…Mexico is a beautiful country.

    If you get the feeling that Chatty is very excited about this vacation – you’re right! It’s been two years since she’s been to Puerto Penasco, and she plans to enjoy every single minute while at this gorgeous place!

    The people are charming and friendly. The food is exquisite. The sea is calm, tranquil, and beautiful. And, the margaritas are the best in the world.

    Chatty will be back on the 9th of November.

    Until then…many smiles, crocodiles!

The Wordzzles Will Get You If You Don't Watch Out!

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:45:07 GMT

    Once again, it's time to Wordzzle, a little writing game brought to you by Raven. Each Friday, we are given two sets of words, and must work them all into a short paragraph that makes as much sense as possible. It's like writing two short short stories a week, and keeps Chatty and all the other players on our toes.

    This week, the 5 Mini Challenge words are:

glamour,
rocking chair,
cormorant,
objective,
symbolism

    And the Ten Word Challenge words are:

squeaky toy,
perpendicular,
olives,
shanty,
howling at the moon,
soul,
bow and arrow,
uniform,
statistics,
praying mantis

    Chatty has read and appreciated the Mega Challenges (using all 15 words) that others have done, but has not attempted one herself until now. Just for fun, Chatty kept them separated to the extent that the 5 words for the mini are first, followed by those for the 10-word challenge.

    Here’s what she came up with:

    “Granny Boyd agitated back and forth in her rocking chair, appalled by all the gaiety surrounding her. That kid dressed up as a pelican, for instance - shoving his treat down the costume’s gullet. Shameful! Christian symbolism dictated that the pelican was a sacred symbol of self-sacrifice and the Eucharist - and she had told him so in no uncertain terms. Little smart aleck had informed her he wasn’t a pelican – he was a cormorant – and had stuck his tongue out at her before he ran away. And who is this miniature glamour puss sashaying up the porch steps? Britney Spears, she says. Ha! Little trollop-in-training expects candy for dressing up like that godless hussy? Not on Granny’s watch! But, best keep her thoughts to herself – her daughter had already scolded her once for not being objective or tolerant enough of all the little hellions infesting the neighborhood. To heck with being tolerant and objective - at her age, she figured she’d earned the right not to be! She glared as a five-foot bottle of olive oil shuffled by with two large green olives (sporting red flannel pimiento stuffing) in tow, muttering “Mom said for you guys to hold hands!” in an aggrieved tone of voice. A Roman archer was fighting a losing battle trying to hold onto his bow and arrow and adjust his uniform tunic at the same time. The collie dressed as a wolf was resolutely gripping a squeaky toy sheep, but was just as resolutely rejecting any pleas to start howling at the moon - no matter how much its small owner encouraged and cajoled. A shanty – or possibly an outhouse – propelled by four sneakered feet staggered along, no side even close to being perpendicular to its roof; and some poor soul, who had unwisely seen fit to array himself as a giant praying mantis, had already lost an antenna and two legs. Laughter and squeals of delight filled the air. Even Granny Boyd, who thoroughly disapproved, didn’t need to consult any statistics to confirm that fun runs rampant on All Hallows Eve!”

    Happy Halloween – here’s hoping you have a ghoulishly good time, too!

Then and Now

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 01:09:50 GMT

    This week we are offering our pictorial thoughts about “then” and “now” for the Weekly Word Challenge, brought to us by the lovely bride-to-be, Tink.

    Well, Chatty already used her best then and now here , so she had to come up with some other ideas.

    Here’s a picture of the breakfast/bar area of our kitchen the day we moved in:



    And, here are pictures of it now:





    Some of you have expressed interest in Chatty’s olive-making experiment - about which she will write in more detail soon. But, for the moment, here are the olives then:



    And here they are now:



    They may have looked prettier then, but they definitely taste better now!

    We think our Miss Toot looks particularly adorable when she is (to be kind) a tad unkempt, but every once in a while she has to be clipped so that the hair doesn’t flop in her eyes so much that she can’t see. Now, Chatty can sort of trim her, but ever since the fiasco that resulted in Chatty's shaving off half of Toot’s moustache and one of her EYEBROWS , Chatty is frankly afraid to trim her face. So occasionally, Toot takes a trip to the groomer to get another “puppy cut” - which happened last week.

    So, here was our own little Shaggy Dog then:



    And, here is the elegant (for at least 10 minutes) Miss Toot now:



    Cleo doesn’t ever need a trim – except for her toenails. Therefore, she doesn’t fit into either category - but I’m putting her picture in anyway, to avoid ruffled feathers and hurt feelings (because dogs SO care about and notice that kind of thing in Chatty’s anthropomorphic little world):



    Later, alligators!

Locks of Love, Part 2: or, when Chatty finally got her hair cut...

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 10:24:11 GMT

    A few months ago, some of you may remember that Chatty went to get her hair cut, but didn't - because her hair was not QUITE long enough to donate to the organization Locks of Love, which makes wigs for children suffering from hair loss. So, she decided to wait.

    She kept growing it through the summer, and last week decided that by ANY calculation, her hair at last was long enough - so she made the appointment.

    Chatty has thin, fine hair. But, ANY hair is useful to a young person with none, so...

    Here's Chatty's hair - thin and fine, to be sure, but definitely LONG:



    Chatty headed over to the salon, and her cousin whipped out the scissors:



    Chatty's cousin has assured her that, pathetic little pig tail though this is, it will be useful:



    Chatty is now trying to get accustomed to the fact that she can no longer just pull her hair back into a ponytail - she is going to have to STYLE it. This could be tricky, because Chatty has never been able to manage a brush and a hair dryer at the same time - heck, she usually needs both hands just to hold a camera:



    But, so far, so good:



   Chatty is pleased with her new look (at least as of this post - she hasn't had to wash and style it from scratch yet), but The Wiz still isn't sure. It's a big change, after all. He thinks it's "kinda cute", but...only time will tell.

    However, Chatty is definitely glad she did it!

Wordzzle Me This...

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:12:00 GMT

    This week's Wordzzles really live up to the term "challenge" - but Chatty did the best she could with the words Raven provided.

    For the mini-challenge, we had to use

moisturizing
pickles
seat belt
flip-flop
Chicago

    "After moisturizing her legs and putting on her shorts and top, Midge slipped into her flip-flops and headed for the door, car keys in hand. As she adjusted her seat belt, she was still pondering the advantages of thick versus thin crust, because her choice would determine which pizzeria she chose. Backing out of the driveway, she settled on Chicago-style thick crust, because Martino’s also served up really good deep-fried pickles, and she had a hankering for those as well."

    The 10-word Mega Challenge needed to incorporate

build-a-bear workshop
man bites dog
opulent
disparaging
lipstick stain
preponderance
smoky quartz
clothes pin
meticulous
falling leaves

    "Thea realized that raising money for underprivileged children by holding a build-a-bear workshop was hardly a man bites dog story, but the reporter need not have been quite so disparaging when she called the newspaper to find out if anyone wanted to cover the event. Even without the publicity, however, they were well on their way toward raising enough money to meet the club’s annual goal. This morning, she needed to concentrate on the centerpiece for the luncheon that would precede the workshop. She had decided to keep it seasonal, and to incorporate the opulent colors of autumn’s falling leaves – because, while there was a preponderance of brown ones the shade of smoky quartz, many were a lovely mottled yellow, a few were still green - and some were so red they looked like Mother Nature’s lipstick stains. She plucked some clothespins out of her bag and went to work, meticulously choosing and pinning the most beautiful leaves to the line to dry so that she would be able to use them in her floral arrangement."

    That's all she wrote, folks - and Chatty means that literarily (ahem)!

Plain and Adorned

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:32:07 GMT

    This week, Tink wants us to give our pictorial impressions "plain" and "adorned" for the Weekly Word Challenge.

    Well, when Chatty first thinks of "adorned", she thinks jewelry!

    So...

    This may not look like much - it's very plain, after all - but her friend N'awlins Nurse showed her how to stretch lace over a picture frame, like this:




    Pretty, but - as previously mentioned - PLAIN.

    However, ADORN it with your dangling earrings, and suddenly, it is not only pretty, but useful:



    Chatty has found that she wears her dangly earring much more frequently now that they are now out on display, looking pretty - and very easy to grab (when before they were tangled up in her jewelry box and often not worth the effort of untangling). Chatty had seen various devices for displaying post-type earrings - stuck through cloth in embroidery hoops, stuck through small metal screens, etc. - but found this simple lace treatment to be very effective for drop earrings. So, thanks, N'awlins Nurse!

    Now, as anyone who knows her will tell you, Chatty loves her snacks - especially crunchy ones.

    She is particularly fond of little bites offered by Crum Creek , some of which are PLAIN:



and some of which are adorned with all sorts of lovely "ups and extras" like garlic, poppy seeds, onion bits and sesame seeds:



    Chatty could find more examples for plain and adorned, but she has to get busy writing brief biographies of George Reeves and Jimmy Stewart for her friend's site. Chatty has already written the bios for Rudolph Valentino and Jayne Mansfield there. If you want to check them out, just go to the site and click on their names...or any others that you might find interesting at this fascinating site!

Wordzzles Will Out

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:52:55 GMT

    Hard as it is to believe, it's time for more Wordzzles. Chatty missed last week, being out of town - but she's back in the groove this week!

    Raven (and Melli) gave us these 5 words for the mini challenge:

static
floppy hat
penguin
cinnamon
alphabetical

so here's Chatty's entry:

    "The lines at the passport office in the Federal Building had been static for what seemed like an hour now. They were split into two alphabetical groups, but that didn’t help – her last name started with a “T”. She sure hoped Peru was worth all this hassle. Popping her cinnamon-flavored gum, Maureen speculated idly as to why the guy in front of her was wearing a kid’s backpack shaped like a big penguin. Suddenly, he pulled a gun out of it and she stopped wondering and hit the floor, her floppy hat flying off her head - and just enough into his field of vision to throw off his aim. The bullets hit a ceiling light, officers wrestled him to the ground, and Maureen wondered if her hat would end up being used in evidence. And to think, she only wore it today because she was out of sunscreen..."

    For the 10-word challenge, we were given:

blinking
cellulite
crescent
ship-shape
homonym
suffering
packer
wind chime
scissors
necklace

    So, here we go:

    "Tiffany kept squinting and blinking as she twisted and turned before the mirror, hoping that crescent-shaped bulge on her thigh wasn’t cellulite. Maybe it was the unforgiving lighting in the bathroom. She hoped so – because these days she wasn’t allowed to have any flaws. In addition to being expected to be physically perfect, she was also suffering through endless poker nights – when the house had to be ship-shape, the beer cold - and her thoughts (though not her boobs and butt) kept to herself. Thoughts like – the bastard could afford a maid - but said why should he? She didn’t have anything else to do during the day…Now, she was apparently expected to be the perfect little packer, as well – even though she had no idea what he liked to take on these weekend jaunts that did NOT include her. She was getting fed up with all of this – but when she glanced at the diamond necklace he had given her last night…she kept packing. Suddenly he roared into the room, screaming “Those damned wind chimes are giving me a migraine – get rid of them NOW!” Sighing, Tiffany took the scissors from the drawer and headed out on the balcony to cut its strings, thereby silencing the only thing she had brought with her when she moved in. Cutting strings…how she wished she could cut the ones that tied her to him. But, it seemed her life had become a homonym. She had made a hit with the hit man when she had given him a lap dance at the strip club, and now life as she had known it was over."

    That's all, folks!

Me and Them, or...What Horses Think About

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:53:22 GMT

    Time again for Tink's photo game, the Weekly Word Challenge.

    The words this time are "me" and "them". Once again, Chatty is turning this post over to a guest blogger. Her name is Tilly, and here's what she had to say the day we met:

    Welcome to Mormon Lake, Arizona. This is the village. All of it.



    And, here we all are, waitin’ for the signal to get things rolling.



    Practically everybody but ME has a two-legger and is all set to go.

    Look at THEM. Practically bunny-hoppin’ across the road - all excited to go on a nature walk!



    But what about ME? Where’s my two-legger? Nowhere to be found. They don’t let you go on a nature walk lessen you got a two-legger to go with you. And here I am, wearin’ my new saddle blanket and rarin’ to go – but no two-legger. To tell you the truth, I'm feelin' kinda sad.



    There’s the last of them, headin' into the woods.



    It’s nice in the woods. Pretty. Smells good, too. And there’s a stream you can drink out of. There'll be a picnic. And apples. Lots of apples. Maybe some lumps of sugar. Two-leggers talkin’ to you nice and pattin’ your neck and all, too.

    I love me those nature walks. Them two-leggers have a lot of fun, too – really whoop it up, most of them being from the city, and all – don’t see much nature, I guess. This here's almost the last nature walk of the year – it’s gettin’ too cold, plus they turn off the water so the pipes don’t freeze. Me and my friends will be headed down to our winter quarters in a day or so. Nice down there, too – lots of grass, big tank full of water, nice warm barn. No nature walks. Corn, though. I like me that corn, too. But not quite as much as I like apples.

    Well, guess I’ll mosey over and get me a drink from the tank. Scratch on the fence a little, maybe nap for a bit.

    Sure wish a two-legger had shown up to go on the nature walk with me, though.

    There would'a been apples, I bet. Maybe some lumps of sugar, too.

Clear and Distorted

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:12:42 GMT

    This week has flown by, and it's hard to believe it's time for another Weekly Word Challenge. The words provided by Tink this week are "clear" and "distorted".

    Chatty still isn't feeling up to snuff (and is, among other things, "kinda cranky" according to The Wiz, who is correct), so these pictures were just taken around the house. When ~~tinking~~ thinking about clear and distorted, what sprang to mind was water and glass, so here are the nominees.

    Clear water:



    Now, water distorted by banging on the surface of it with a flotation device ("noodle" would be the technical term for said device):



    View out the front door through the clear glass in the middle (that's Chatty's beautiful olive tree, from which she has gotten and is processing a ton of olives - both green and ripe - as we speak):



    View out the front door with the frosted and beveled glass creating the desired distortion:



    A bottle of clear nail polish:



    Same bottle of clear nail polish after pushing the "glass distort" button in Photoshop:



    OK, that's probably cheating (but pretty). So, here's distorting of a clear bottle of nail polish the old-fashioned way - by shooting it through crumpled plastic wrap:



    That's all Chatty has for this week's challenge.

    She and The Wiz will be out of town for a few days - having been invited up north to the mountains and woods where it is cool and beautiful and there is frost in the mornings!

    Back for the weekend - talk to you then!

When is a Wordzzle not a Wordzzle?

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:53:36 GMT

    When is a Wordzzle not a Wordzzle?

    When it’s a pain in the neck!

    And, it’s ALL Chatty’s fault. She opened her big mouth and volunteered to come up with some miscellaneous words for Raven - momentarily forgetting that she, too, would be expected to use those words in a a couple of short short stories.

    Yes.

    Naturally, Chatty felt honor-bound to contribute a couple of paragraphs, since it was she who had dumped these words on her unsuspecting playmates - but the going wasn’t easy.

    However, she persevered, and here’s what she came up with.

    The mini-challenge required the use of these words:

Washing machine
Cholesterol
Blatantly
Birdman of Alcatraz
Poltergeist

    “Burt glanced up from the miniscule list of “acceptable” foods he’d been studying and realized he should have been paying more attention. So, what else was new? The Laundromat was hardly his favorite place to be – and he was in a lousy mood, anyway. His doctor had told him he had to lose weight and lower his cholesterol immediately, if not sooner. How was he going to do that on his favorite diet of cheeseburgers and fries? Now, some guy with a parrot on his shoulder (who did he think he was, The Birdman of Alcatraz?) was gesticulating wildly, bouncing up and down, and gibbering at him from across the washing machine Burt was using. Plus, someone had either blatantly removed his whites from the dryer while they were still wet, or else there was a poltergeist at work.”

    The 10-word challenge required us to use these words (thanks a LOT, Chatty!):

Tattletale
Homogeneous
Flighty
Cornucopia
Plethora
Militant
Lovelorn
Myopic
Digitalized
Mute

    “In addition to being flighty and a notorious tattletale, Jessica had a plethora of other faults. In fact, she embodied a veritable cornucopia of sins, both venial and mortal. But Edgar - a myopic and lovelorn dweeb lost in his world of digitalized daydreams wherein he was the militant hero of worlds unknown - stood mute before her beauty, which encompassed that homogeneous all-American ideal of blonde hair, blue eyes, and Barbie-like dimensions. His abiding hope was that someday she might actually deign to speak to him in study hall. With a sigh, he turned away from the many candid shots of Jessica adorning his bedroom walls and toward the 22-inch computer monitor, clicking his mouse to start streaming the latest episode of The Big Bang Theory.”

Time and Place

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:11:52 GMT

    This week, Tink wants us to show examples of “time” and “place” for the Weekly Word Challenge

    Well, let’s talk about what TIME can do to a PLACE…

    Grand Canyon is one of the most studied geologic landscapes in the world. It offers a vivid record of three of the four eras of geological time.

    It is generally accepted that the Colorado River began carving Grand Canyon between 2 and 2.5 billion years ago.

    Yes.

    BILLION.

    So, when you look down – WAY down – where the Colorado runs now, the rock bed it flows through is over 2 billion years old. The Colorado River looks SO small from a mile above, and yet, it is responsible for all the glory that is Grand Canyon.

    To Chatty, this is almost incomprehensible. As you look up through the layers, you eventually come to the top, which is at least 250 MILLION years old.

    To put that in perspective, if one were to ask whether the dinosaurs left fossils, or even footprints, at the top of Grand Canyon - the answer would be a resounding NO.

    Dinosaurs may well have ranged around the current rim of the canyon, but they would have been there FAR too late to leave any imprints.

    Chatty finds that amazing.

    So, here’s Chatty’s entry for the week – what enough “time” does to a “place”:

    Two of these pictures were taken in panoramic view – Chatty’s camera has the ability to stitch 3 pictures together to make one shot. They are truly amazing when seen full-size, but for the purposes of Chatty’s blog, she has to reduce them to 550 - they are still quite nice, though.

    This is a panoramic shot from the southeast rim, including the Watch Tower:



    These were taken at the southern rim:





    Chatty can only assure you that if you haven’t been there, you can’t comprehend the vast spaces pictured above. It truly has to be seen to be believed. For instance, from the tree in the foreground to the far edge of the canyon beyond - is about 10 miles...(Chatty is now humming "On A Clear Day, You Can See Forever"...)

    Lest we forget, there are those who trek the one mile down to the bottom of the canyon - and many (wisely, in Chatty’s opinion) choose to do that on the back of a trusty mule. It isn’t so much the going down – it’s the coming back UP!

    Here are the mules on their "R & R" day – aren’t they sweet?



    Looking at where the Colorado River is now, and where it started 2.5 billion years ago, Chatty is thinking that she should not ignore that leaky faucet - because water is relentless, and with enough time…

A little wordzzle here, a little wordzzle there...

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:53:49 GMT

    Chatty still only gets out of bed to go to the bathroom and then wander briefly into the family room to whine to The Wiz about how lousy she feels.

    So, nothing to report chez Chatty - except that she really needs to change the sheets if she plans to continue sleeping on them day in and day out...and that a shower might be a good idea, too. Maybe tomorrow.

    But, she raised her aching head long enough to complete the mini wordzzle for what it's worth:

    The words for the mini-challenge were:

         crocodile
         special
         sleep
         droll
         turn around

    "The crocodile was so tired. He turned around and around, trying to get comfortable enough to sleep, but to no avail. This was a special sort of torture. The other crocs were finding his situation droll, but he was pissed. Where was that damned 'tick tock' noise coming from, anyway?"

    That's all Chatty has...so, in a while, crocodiles! (Does she get extra points for working two words in twice???)

Primitive and Modern

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:22:28 GMT

    Chatty is back from her fabulous trip back through time in Northern Arizona. She came home (it felt good to be home); she kissed The Wiz (it felt good to kiss The Wiz); then she noticed that The Wiz was coughing his head off, sneezing, trembling like an aspen, puffing like a grampus, and altogether QUITE unwell.

    Sadly, Chatty noticed this AFTER she had kissed him…

    The upshot is that we are now both as sick as dogs (but not OUR dogs, who are perfectly healthy - and wondering why we spend so much time groaning and ignoring them), so a run-down of Chatty’s trip will have to wait until she can sit up and face her monitor with a bit of enjoyment and enthusiasm.

    Meanwhile, since one of her pictures fit beautifully with Tink's Word Challenge for the week, here is Chatty’s brief entry for the words “primitive” and “modern”:

   Please note: Chatty is posting early for the Weekly Word Challenge, because she is going to sleep as soon as she posts this!

    Primitive – 20-room abode for 35 people, hewn into a solid rock cliff overlooking a beautiful stream - built circa 1100 A.D. – which has lasted 9 centuries to date, and shows no signs of deteriorating:



    Modern - 1 giant box crammed with necessary and unnecessary items for sale to the multitudes - built circa 2004 – projected to last at least 7 years (maybe even 10!), before breakdown of all plywood and plastic used in construction necessitates complete re-furbish…and new bank loan…



    And – to those of you who cry:

    “But who could live without running water? What about flush toilets?”

    Chatty replies:

    Well, they weren’t called The Sinagua (“without water”) Indians for nothing!

    Besides, you haven’t been to her local WalMart - where on any given trip to its restroom one often finds neither…

    Ah, progress!

_____________________________________

    And, although Chatty is more than a day late and a dollar short here, she has a Wordzzle...just the mini this week, considering her weakened state, but still...for what it's worth...

    The words for the mini-Wordzzle were:

    mercury
    investments
    purring
    death penalty
    convalescent homes


    "Even though the babe du jour had informed him that she didn’t start new relationships when Mercury was in retrograde, she had quickly succumbed to the charms of his bank account and was practically purring now, being filled as she was with the champagne and caviar he had ordered from room service. He looked over at her and smirked – she smiled back seductively as she lounged on the satin sheets. He wondered briefly about the hundreds of clients he had counseled to make those investments in convalescent homes, knowing full well that those investments would tank, but what the heck – so far giving bad investment advice didn’t result in the death penalty. Besides, his bags were packed, his plane ticket was tucked in his wallet, his Swiss bank account was bulging…and the babe was willing. Life was good.

    His reverie was suddenly interrupted.

    Who the hell was knocking on the door at this time of night?"

Chatty Goes North

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:07:33 GMT

    Chatty is headed out of town again. For those of you keeping score, that’s twice in one month – just call her peripatetic (she has always wanted to use that word in a sentence…)

    Last time, she went south with Book Girl, this time she's headed north.

    Chatty’s good friend N’awlins Nurse has arrived for a visit, which in itself is cause for celebration. Ike having bypassed New Orleans (although NN had to evacuate for Gustav…), she was able to make her trip as scheduled. Of course, our hearts go out to the victims of Ike, but Chatty is really glad her friend didn’t have to evacuate twice in two weeks…

    So, NN and Chatty are heading north to see what there is to be seen – and that’s a lot!

    On our way up, we may stop in Black Canyon City for brunch at the Four Bees Café. Chatty has heard that this is a funky mom-and-pop place made famous by columnist Paul Harvey about 20 years ago, when he wrote that it had the best coffee and the best and biggest pancakes in the entire country. These pancakes do have quite a reputation - being so large that they hang off a dinner plate - and even hearty trenchermen can rarely eat more than one.

    However, there’s another family-run place in Black Canyon City - Byler’s Amish Kitchen - which also gets enthusiastic reviews. They are supposed to have fantastic fresh fruit pies.

    Both places get high marks for their biscuits and gravy.

    It’s going to be a tough choice – but we are tough gals. If Kid Chilleen’s Bad Ass BBQ is ALSO open when we pass through around 11 am, our choice will be even more difficult.

    After we waddle out of whichever restaurant we finally decide upon, we will head up to Mormon Lake for a couple of nights, where Chatty’s cousins have a nice cabin in the middle of a forest. On the way up, we will stop at Montezuma Castle (Indian ruins that are not a castle and have absolutely nothing to do with Montezuma, btw), and the nearby Montezuma Well (ditto).

    Mormon Lake is only 30 miles southeast of Flagstaff, where we will be catching a deluxe bus for an all-day trip to the Grand Canyon the next morning.

    Chatty is very excited, as is NN, because neither of us has ever been to the Grand Canyon. We’re all about new experiences and spectacular vistas!

    We will have lunch at the El Tovar Hotel - itself a historic landmark that is located only 20 feet from the Canyon rim. The view from the dining room ought to be spectacular.

    While at the Canyon, Chatty also hopes to locate the historic marker on the South Rim that was “corrected” by those two goofballs who went around the country fixing typos on historic signs with White-Out…and who managed to get themselves fined and barred from all National Parks for a year as a result. Chatty just loves goofballs with a mission!

    After the Grand Canyon, we will head south for two nights in Sedona, taking the scenic route through Oak Creek Canyon.

    Most of one day will be devoted to the Verde Canyon Railway Tour, which is particularly exciting - because not only is the journey through mountain scenery gorgeous, but they are also rumored to serve liquid refreshments and tasty little bits of things on sticks during our four-hour trip. Most of all, Chatty just LOVES a train ride!

    We will head home the “back” way – through Cottonwood, Jerome (which Chatty has heard is a quirky, artistic old mining town), and Prescott. Also known as “Arizona’s Christmas City”, Chatty and NN visited there last December, so we will probably just drive on through this time on our way back to Phoenix.

    It’s a full four days, but Chatty knows we will have a blast – and with luck, she may even manage to remember her cameras this time! In fact, she's brushing up on the instructions and may even break out the VIDEO camera on this trip...

    Once again, all thanks to The Wiz - who is staying home to watch over “the girls” (Fluffy, Cleo and Toot). Chatty cooked a giant brisket on Friday, and The Wiz can pretty much eat brisket until there is no brisket left to eat (and so can “the girls”), so with that and a few huge tomatoes and some nice rolls he’s set food-wise, at least. Also, he has football Monday night, and his trail bike still needs a bit of tinkering (although it’s running nicely). With luck, he won’t realize Chatty is gone until around noon of the day she gets home *smile*

    Chatty will be back in touch over the weekend, when she’s recuperated from her travels.

    Until we meet again, Happy Trails!

Another Week, Another Wordzzle...

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:54:07 GMT

    It’s time for more Wordzzles!

    This week’s mini-challenge asks us to use the following five words in a short short story:

drag race
poppy seed
swing from a star
John Denver
diagram

    Here’s Chatty’s entry:

    “Madge quivered with anger when the tinny loudspeakers belched forth Frank Sinatra’s version of “Would You Like to Swing from a Star”…because that was Bing Crosby’s song! It was as painful as listening to someone else singing John Denver’s ”Rocky Mountain High” – or eating poppy seed cake with loose dentures. Speaking of painful, she mused - glaring sideways at the man who had brought her to the drag races - perhaps she should have drawn him a diagram of first date protocol. As Leroy rose to scream his support for car number 37, Madge realized that this relationship had died aborning…”

    The 10-word entry asks us to use these words:

spam
problematic
flower girl
splurge
milk
orphanage
lyrics
politics
ice cream cone

    Is Chatty just math-challenged, or are there only 9 words this week?

    In any case, here’s her 9-word entry:

    “The whole situation was problematic. As a social worker, Jane felt the politics of her job obligated her to keep things simple, and to choose a flower girl from the orphanage where she spent so much time doling out milk, Spam™, and the occasional ice cream cone. But, in her heart of hearts, she had wanted to splurge – to have a fabulous wedding - with her nieces and nephew preceding her down the aisle bearing baskets of flowers and the wedding rings on a velvet pillow; a magnificent multi-layered cake; and Josh Groban serenading the happy couple with his own music and lyrics. But, Jane didn’t have the money for a grand cake, or for a fabulous party; her family lived thousands of miles away…and she certainly didn’t know Josh Groban. Actually, the best she could hope for was that little Lucy wouldn’t gorge on the cheese-and-cracker appetizers and throw up during the reception in the church basement…”

    That’s all Chatty’s got, Wordzzle-wise. If you want to play, there are details at Raven's site. Everyone is welcome!

    Finally:

    As Hurricane Ike fast approaches the coast, I know we all continue to hold the people of Texas in our thoughts. May they ride out this devastating storm with no injuries or loss of life…

As we wait for land-fall

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 06:45:55 GMT

    Mother Nature is a stern taskmaster, and she brooks no interference.

    I now wait and hope that this new hurricane will lose strength and not lay waste to the coast of Texas.

    However, hurricanes being what they are - and meteorology being as exact as it is - this is probably a vain hope.

    So, I pray that those who need to evacuate - especially those who fear to do so because they are in this country without proper validation - will take heed, trust the government of the state of Texas, and LEAVE while there is still time.

    I have friends in Florida and New Orleans who had to evacuate because of Gustav, and I have friends living near Galveston, who as I write are packing up to travel north.

    My thoughts and prayers go out to those who are facing damage, and possibly homelessness.

    It is my hope that whatever the physical damage, all lives will be spared.

    I know you join me in this hope, and that those of you who believe in prayer are on your knees, as I am tonight.

DeGrazia's Little Chapel

ccc@chattycraftycook.com (CCC) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:06:56 GMT

    Chatty and Book Girl had a wonderful time in Tucson.

    We ate at one "so-so" vegetarian restaurant (so-so because the hype had led us to believe it was more than just your average Indian restaurant, and it wasn't...it was OK Indian food, but Chatty can get EXCELLENT Indian food right here in Glendale - and moreover, the food is HOT, rather than lukewarm - but still - the atmosphere was calming and pleasant, and how many restaurants can you say that about?). The other place was a really good vegetarian restaurant - so good that we had dinner there and then went back for breakfast the next day before we headed out of town.

    But Chatty, who lives to take photographs - FORGOT to take EITHER of her digital cameras.

    Yes.

    Sad, isn't it?

    Luckily, her cell phone has a decent camera in it, so at least she was able to capture a few memories!

    Our accomodations were lovely (as they should have been, considering the prices listed - Chatty did it as a timeshare, luckily - or she would never have been able to afford it!):

(that whole building was ours, don'tcha know...and Chatty couldn't get all of it in the picture no matter how far back she stood)

    This is a portion of the main room - we had bedrooms on either side, two bathrooms, and a kitchen and laundry room...and the room was MUCH prettier than this looks!

    View of golf course from our patio

    View from Chatty's bedroom window

    We went to DeGrazia's Gallery in the Sun:

    Entrance gate

    Chatty took MANY pictures of the chapel, so she is just going to show most of them to you here:

    The chapel is open to the sky, day and night, 365 days a year. Through the open skylight, you can see the little cross at the top of the chapel, the hills beyond and the sky above. Pictures cannot do his chapel justice - especially when taken with Chatty's cell phone -

but Chatty feels DeGrazia's whimsical yet spiritual wall paintings should be viewed by as many people as possible - despite the fact that her pictures fall far short of their vibrant reality:

    Chatty was thrilled to be able to see this little chapel again after so many years. It is a peaceful, friendly place.

    It soothed her soul and brought back happy memories.

UPDATE:

    For those of you who go on to read the comments for this post and are therefore interested in meeting Winston, the bi-lingual-DeGrazia-loving beagle, he has kindly forwarded this photograph of himself. It is of his eyes only, as he wants us to concentrate on the "windows of his soul" as he thinks about his favorite artist - which he assures Chatty he WAS doing when this photo was taken. DeGrazia, who passed away in 1982, was a native Arizonan, and will always be one of our state's greatest treasures...at least, that is what Chatty THINKS Winston said in his email to her enclosing this picture...she is not as fluent in "beagle" as she should be...