Toad Time

Toad found some optical illusions while hopping around the internets.. Enjoy

h/t TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee") by Minnesotastan h/t Don M

The Worst Thing In Life

Well I can tell you I have experienced what he is talking about and I agree with him. I have been there also.

I don't mind being alone. I enjoy the company of others but I also enjoy my own company.

 As an only child I did not have many friends to play with.  I had cousins that I played with and we had fun. The picture below was posed.  I am in the middle and my cousins Janet and Loren are on either side. The pictures were posed for use in a magazine or something.

 Beside Janet and Loren I had other cousins,  Bud who was older and Chris, Rick and John who were younger.

I can remember either my aunt Jean (Janet and Loren's mom) or my mom making the comment that we played together all right but it was usually two against one.  The two of them would gang up on me or I would join one of them to gang up on the other but by in large we played together when the family was together.

John lived out of town and it was fun to go visit him because he lived on a farm and had neat things like a pony and a barn. Bud, the older cousin was married and had two boys Mike and Randy who were our age but they weren't around as much as the others. Randy was in my class when I first came back to Ames to teach. We still give each other a bad time about that.

A lot of the time I was alone because we lived out in the country and there weren't many other kids around.  I did have a couple of friends I played with notably Dennis Wendell and Nick Nolte but it was not as if I could go outside and play with them at any time.

Another friend was Loren Larson but I suppose he just put up with me because he lived upstairs in my great uncle and aunt's home. I would spend Wednesday nights at their home and go up to listen to the radio and hang around with him.  He was a few years older.

 When my sister was born things changed.  We moved and I had a playmate.  Of course I had to wait for her to grow up a little She was ten years younger than I was but we did have a lot of fun growing up - at first I got to do a lot of baby sitting.

She had a lot of friends because by that time we were in a neighborhood where there were some other kids around and then we moved in town and she had some good friends to hang out with.

Even with all those cousins the feeling of aloneness has been with me all my life and I can feel alone in a crowed room and I have some friends who, on occasion, have made me feel all alone.  

I am sure that the fact that my new recliner broke and I do not have one comfortable place to sit is giving me a case of rectitus tonight. Bummer. I am going to have to sleep in Molly's bed.  That won't be fun.  (BTW - rectitus is when your optic nerve gets crossed with your rectal nerve and it gives you a shitty outlook on life.

The Greatest Commercial ever made

h/t/ Darryl
JUST SO YOU KNOW - This brings tears to my eyes each time I watch it.

Molly on Monday

Molly here,

Well the Big Guy has been messing with the computer again.  He installed something called Mavericks and we are not sure we like it.  But as they say, we are stuck with it so I guess we are going to have to live with it.

In the meantime let me tell you about Miss Cassie.  It seems that she does not understand what a window is.  For that matter neither do birds, they are always flying into it and bumping their heads.

Miss Cassie finds that endlessly fascinating.  She will go to the window and stand up on her back legs and stare out at them.

First she looks to the left -

Then she looks to the right.

There are more of them over to the right so she keeps her eyes on them longer.



Then she turns around and sits sweetly as if she did not have murder on her mind.  Cats!

I don't understand them.  I have a few pictures of me which B G took while I was listening to a video on his computer.

I was curious as to what was going on.  I could hear barking and a springing noise but sold not see it.  So I just listened.  He got some good pictures of me.  He tried to take a video but as usual he messed up... Oh well, typical!

For now that is all except for the picture which John took and photoshopped a fox into it.  He and B G have been discussing the song "What does the Fox Say?"  I think it is silly.

Here is the link to what I was listening to.

But they say people have always had silly songs.  Like "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Polka Dot Bikini."  

And B G's Favorite just click below to listen.

Sunday

  "...after the example of the bee, extract the honey of every sect." 

Thomas Jefferson

 "Just as the light of a candle has the power to dispel darkness in a room, so also the light developed in a person can help dispel darkness in others."*

~Sayagyi U Ba Khin

 We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same." ~ Carlos Castaneda

 “The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”

-Søren Kierkegaard

 "Be blissful and enjoy your life; do not let yourself become obsessed with anything. Determine to use the rest of your life to benefit others as much as possible."

~Lama Yeshe

Unconditional love really exists in each of us. It is part of our deep inner being. It is not so much an active emotion as a state of being. It’s not “I love you” for this or that reason, not “I love you if you love me.” It’s love for no reason, love without an object. It’s just sitting in love, a love that incorporates the chair and the room and permeates everything around. The thinking mind is extinguished in love.

 Ram Dass, Love Serve Remember

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.

~ Albert Einstein

 My soul is racing ahead of me.

It says, The body is too slow for me -

I am going.

Rumi

 I said Somebody should do something about that. Then I realized I am somebody.

~ Lily Tomlin (September 1, 1939) 

is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer.

Mark 12:28:

“The most important commandment,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

The Beverly Hills Divorcee Saint.

Surprising Saturday

Ben Aaron has a twisted sense of humor. He is ready for Halloween - a little early Over at the Rainforest Site (Click every day) there is a short article and video about restoring Whoopinc Cranes to the US. It is worth three minutes of your time. You can watch the vdeo here. Below is a link to a Russell Brand Interview that is making the rounds. A friend shared this. I find it surprising. The more I see of Russell the more interesting I find him.

Post by Sustainable Earth.

Found For Friday

 Continued from last week:

 12. IF A PARSLEY FARMER  IS SUED, CAN THEY GARNISH HIS WAGES?

 

 13. WOULD A FLY WITHOUT  WINGS BE CALLED A WALK?

14. WHY DO THEY LOCK GAS  STATION BATHROOMS? ARE THEY AFRAID SOMEONE WILL BREAK-IN AND  CLEAN THEM?

 15. IF A TURTLE DOESN'T  HAVE A SHELL, IS HE HOMELESS OR NAKED?

 

 16. CAN VEGETARIANS EAT  ANIMAL CRACKERS?

17. IF THE POLICE ARREST  A MUTE, DO THEY TELL HIM HE HAS THE RIGHT TO REMAIN  SILENT?

 

 18. WHY DO THEY PUT  BRAILLE ON THE DRIVE-THROUGH BANK MACHINES?

19. HOW DO THEY GET DEER  TO CROSS THE ROAD ONLY AT THOSE YELLOW ROAD SIGNS?

 

 20. WHAT WAS THE BEST  THING BEFORE SLICED BREAD?

 21. ONE NICE THING ABOUT  EGOTISTS: THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE.

22. DOES THE LITTLE  MERMAID WEAR AN ALGEBRA?

23. DO INFANTS ENJOY  INFANCY AS MUCH AS ADULTS ENJOY ADULTERY?

 

 24. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE  TO HAVE A CIVIL WAR?

 25. IF ONE SYNCHRONIZED  SWIMMER DROWNS, DO THE REST DROWN TOO?

 

 26. IF YOU ATE BOTH  PASTA AND ANTIPASTO, WOULD YOU STILL BE HUNGRY?

 27. IF YOU TRY TO FAIL,  AND SUCCEED, WHICH HAVE YOU DONE?

 

 28. WHOSE CRUEL IDEA WAS  IT FOR THE WORD 'LISP' TO HAVE 'S' IN IT?

 29. WHY ARE HEMORRHOIDS  CALLED "HEMORRHOIDS" INSTEAD OF "ASSTEROIDS"?

 

 30. WHY IS IT CALLED  TOURIST SEASON IF WE CAN'T SHOOT AT THEM?

31. WHY IS THERE AN  EXPIRATION DATE ON SOUR CREAM?

 

 32. IF YOU SPIN AN  ORIENTAL MAN IN A CIRCLE THREE TIMES, DOES HE BECOME  DISORIENTED?

  33. CAN AN ATHEIST GET  INSURANCE AGAINST ACTS OF GOD?

Have a great week-end.

Thursday This 'N That

Do you have your Halloween costume picked out?  This horse does.

I am not a baseball fan, too many hours watching it in the cafeteria at my High School in the 50s but I am a music fan and this is wonderful (BTW some of the buildings in the back of the Boston players are the Christian Science Mother Church and Extension as well as the Mary Baker Eddy Library)

I found this on Americablog - It is a story of how a goat led a blind horse around for 16 years.  The more I hear about things like this the more sure I am that there is something good in the Universe.  It is an amazing story, I hope you will take a few minutes to watch it.

Musings

I took this out the bathroom window. Usually both sides of the street have cars parked on it because of the duplexes with not enough parking. The street is a T street and we get a lot of traffic but it really is a good spot to live.  I am within two miles of downtown and the Interstate and so it is easy to get places.  If I went to the Mall it is also fairly close.  The only place that is not close is the movie theater but if I go east to Dayton and then south I can skirt all of the traffic on the way down there. Oh and it is also close to the Lodge. I like where I live.

I also like that my yard is fairly private.  I am sure you have seen pictures of Molly in the back yard and you can see that it too is fairly private.  I used to have bushes along the South side but my neighbor took them out so now I am open in that direction.  I don't like that much but I hung a blind there so when I sit on the porch it is still private. It is one of my favorite places to be. Unfortunately it has gotten to cold to sit out there now.  36 degrees  - Brrrr!

John makes these for me.  I appreciate them (and I do like oatmeal) but it is a running joke on Found For Friday. So he has made all of the Oatmeal MEMEs and I need to thank him. He also sends me a lot of other stuff and occasionally catches my errors (mistakes, goofs, etc) and I really appreciate his help.  Here is another one.

So let's have a round of applause for John.

We are halfway to the week-end folks.  It is downhill from here on.

Tripping with Toad - and the Fox and finally the Cat.

Well it is Tuesday.  I read a book this week-end The Heavens Rise by Christopher Rice.

Rice is an excellent author and the descriptions in the book are fully drawn. (There is something special about Southern writers) He draws pictures with words which is not an easy thing to accomplish.  Rice's premise involves three friends and a protagonist who is pure evil.  One of the friends is changed along with the protagonist and through all of the twists and turns in the plot Rice kept me guessing as to how the book would turn out.  I was very satisfied overall with the ending and the book kept me reading both days. I read until 2 AM one day and most of the day while I watched the office at the Scottish Rite on Saturday.  I finished it early Sunday and slept until 11 AM and woke up thinking about it. There are things to ponder in it.  Rice is the son of two literary figures and I have always loved his mother's Vampire books.  It is obvious that he has inherited talent.

And now a very special earworm for all of you.

And in case you want to know what the fox says click below.

And then there is this...

Molly on Monday

Molly here,

It has been a different sort of week.  B G let me sit outside in the sun for hours the first part of the week.  It was nice to lay there and soak up the rays but I don't usually get to lay around out there.  I enjoyed being able to be outside. 

We did have a couple of thunderstorms which I did not like but B G held me and whispered to me and that helped.

My yard is nice I enjoy exploring it and chasing the bunnies.

B G says he thinks the grass needs mowing but his lawn mower guy is back in school so he doesn't think it will get done.  Oh well, I don't mind

Sometimes I sit at B G's feet and stare at him until he puts the computer away.

Cassie stares out the window at the birdies.  Cats are like that.  She was standing up trying to get out to get them but B G did not get the camera out in time. He is slow like that sometimes.

His diet is working.. He can take his belt in a notch now.

I sneak up on the footstool

And then slowly ease my way onto his lap

Then I can sit there and watch the birdies also..

We like looking out the window.

It is kind of fun and B G scratches my ears. Then I take a nap.

 It is a good thing he let me do that because on Thursday and Saturday he was gone all day.

There were big meetings in Des Moines and he had to go there.  But it was nice Ginny came over to see me and let me out on Saturday. I like to see her.

B G took a great picture of me with my flying ears.  He loves it so he says I have to make it big.  Also he took a nice picture of the moon when he came home Saturday night to share.

Have a wonderful week.  WOOF!