O.M.G. You guys. Mercury is in serious RETROGRADE and my computer has taken a Viruscrappitycrapcrap so bad that it is out-smelling the Wastewater plant we’re going to work on today. I can’t access anything and for some weird reason the program will let me type in the headline – but that’s it.
I could investigate but, seriously? I’m scared to death that Skynet is lurking in this virus and if I poke it too hard it will wake up and unleash havoc on us alllll! So I’m not gonna. My nerves are shot, so I’m going to rush through this post before Skyne…um…my ‘computer’ decides to eliminate it – or me~
Fwiw, I will announce the ‘haulette’ winner next week.
Okay – Wastewater! I’m wearing Geranium pour Monsieur for this aromatic event. Funny, that. Every time I’m going to a Smelly I pick either something minty or citrusy. Probably has to do with some atavistic doohickey but since I can’t look anything up, you guys let me know if I got it right. Luckily, this is a ‘dry’ project so it shouldn’t be too olfactorially painful. But still: Geranium. Just in case.
Books: I’m reading ‘Delicious’ by Ruth Reichel. I just started it and already every tastebud is going bonkers!!! ‘Tender at the Bone’ (one of her early books) is always at or near my bedside. Add to that, a James Beard cookbook. I was considering doing my own Julie Powell (Julie & Julia) but we all know that ain’t gonna happen because I don’t have time. Though I do have time to dry my herbs. Wow! Talk about aromatic!!! Lemon verbena, peppermint, spearmint, basil, parsley, lavender…and I just harvested the most incredible bronze fennel, with its licorice-y fabulosity…..I feel like making sausage. And I don’t even like sausage!!! I like to snap my herbs by hand, which gives the one-two punch. That fennel smells phenomenal – and it lingered on my hands for hours! Ruth Reichel’s character muses on how cumin and fennel seed look identical but the tastes are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Anybody who has mistaken one for the other in food prep knows this is a stone truth! And mixing them up can end in tears.
Okay – guys? Skynet – I mean, um, this computer – is threatening to shut me right the hell down. I’m going to try to get this onto the blog, then I’m out! See you next week! Tell me what you’re reading and I will pick another winner, just for helping save me from Skynet, which uses the negative retrograde energy to build up its stores…….yep! You heard it here first!
We all know by now, that when you make a habit of connecting with
potential customers little and often, on topics that they care about,
you increase the likelihood of them doing business with you.
While that mantra may have worked for Kevin Costner in “Field of Dreams,” it doesn’t necessarily work for
credit union websites. The more powerful the image, the
more interest you will provoke in visitors to your profile which in turn will
result in your profile attracting more followers.
I just finished Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson, and I really liked it! I am supposedly reading “The Boys In The Boat” now, but I’m not into it yet, but I think I’m only on page 3 or something absurd. I’m sure I’ll love it once I let it grab me, but I usually read at the end of the day in bed and lately I’ve just been going to sleep!
I’m pretty used to computer problems but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to throw the thing out of the window sometimes 🙂
I’ve picked up Perfume, the story of a Murderer to slowly get through.
As usual, Weird Al Yankovic cuts to the heart of the matter…
http://youtu.be/zvfD5rnkTws
The phrase “mercury is in retrograde!” always reminds me of my wonderful, slightly wacky sister 🙂 Perfect timing, I just started reading a book for the first time in what seems like months! “One more Thing,” a book of mostly funny short stories by B.J. Novak. They are also EXTREMELY short, which will make it easy to read in chunks. I hope your computer recovers from whatever ails it!
Thank you for demystifying the whole craziness thing. I could top your computer thing with my sudden unwanted and totally weird information in my credit report thing. You know, the kind of thing that makes no sense, shouldn’t be there, and will take and act of God (or more likely, expensive act of lawyer) to straighten out. The kind where all pertinent information is on a computer that crapped out three years ago.
I’ve been reading old crud dug out of my file cabinet and ancient bank statements (do you know how long ago they even stopped sending those?), otherwise I’ve retreated into my Terry Pratchett and P.G. Wodehouse lined padded cell. I have read almost every story by both authors so many times, and accompanying familiar fictional characters as they are chased by dragons or have their engagement ruined by meddling aunts makes me feel slightly better about my life ;). Also, perfume and cooking blogs, the comics I’m dedicated to, and the occasional bit of a manga. It will take a lot to cut me off from those.
Hope your computer returns to normal, mine has been acting a bit shady lately and is getting long in the tooth so I share your paranoia.
I’m going to have to get my hands on some Terry Pratchett. That’s the second time I’ve seen someone recommend both his books and Wodehouse’s. Is there any book you particularly recommend?
There are several different story lines, all set in the same universe. My husband’s favorites are the night watch series but I like them all. If I had to choose favorites, I would say the young adult Tiffany Aching books or the Death series. I would probably recommend that you start with the first two books (The Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic) as they lay out the universe a bit. Here’s a link to a fairly current reading order map http://i.imgur.com/56qMlHR.jpg
Hope this helps.
Wow! Complicated. Starting at the beginning sounds good. Thanks!
Oh, babydoll, grrrr on the computer issues! Hope things straighten out pronto!! And I’m with you — something’s definitely going on; been getting funny vibes all day. Thank heavens, as others have said. for books. Just finished the cute/funny “Austenland,” and right after it, the very poignant and bittersweet “The Painted Veil,” by W. Somerset Maugham. Should have read the Maugham first and then let my mood be lightened by “Austenland.” Oh well.
I just bought Tad Williams’ Sleeping Late on Judgement Day. I have listened to the 1st 2 Bobby Dollar books on audio, so I am interested to see if the format changes impinges on my ability to enjoy the story.
I’ve just started the Orchard Mysteries, so was glad to find out there are more books out there in this series. I know I’ll like reading about all of the desserts, etc. that are described, too.
We’re book twins! I’m reading Delicious right now. Last night I read about Billie’s Thanksgiving dinner with Sammy. The dessert of poached pears with chocolate-caramel sauce almost did me in. I want to eat and smell everything in the story so far.
Forgot to mention that I am doing a little light reading right now. I am about to start One Bad Apple by Sheila Connolly. It’s apple season and I thought it would be fun.
Sorry to hear that you are having computer issues. That’s always frustrating!
With Mercury in retrograde, so far (knock on wood) I haven’t had any similar problems, but I must say that a few other unusual things have happened. Got e-mails from people who don’t send me them regularly, and all of them brought up topics I didn’t expect them to mention. Lunch plans fell through with someone who never cancels out. And the neighbor’s chicken are up on my deck; they’ve never done that before. They were looking at me inside my house as though I was the one doing something odd.
Bwhahahaha! Was it wrong of me to have the “Jaws” theme playing in my head when I pictured the chickens looking in the window at you???? ….
SallyM, I giggled so hard when I saw the chickens and heard the Jaws theme in my head. Thanks for the laugh!
Ditto. I really, really needed a laugh.
I hear ya on Skynet, M! At least my precious books won’t become self-aware and return from the future…. :p. I just finished a book last night by YA author John Green called ‘Looking for Alaska’.
I’ve only read two of his books so far (The Fault in Our Stars, Papertowns), but I can already see why he has so many fans. Snappy dialogue, serious moments, strong female protagonist, big questions that preoccupy teens (and adults).
Sorry about virus land. That’s the worst!!! Makes you want to toss it right out the window. I get all sorts of mags delivered which is fun and I also have some books that I try to finish. It’s hard to get all the reading done though.
I enjoy the style of Charles Dickens and I have just started reading ‘David Copperfield’.
Thanks for checkin’ in, Musette! I wish everyone a safe passage thru the Mercury retrograde thing…I’m feelin’ it too. Wearing Fumerie Turque, out of pure obstinacy, even though it is going to be very warm here today. XOX
Reading Epicurus’ letter to Menaceus, the one about a happy life.
Computer issues are beyond frustrating. It’s at that very time that you realize just how dependent you are on technology. We lost our computers and the phones at work last week. They went with some service where the phone is through the Internet. Used to be if you lost one you had the other, not anymore. It took almost two hours to get them working again. The even funnier part of this is the reason they weren’t working is because our IT manager never sent the bill to accounting to pay. They have money to waste on ugly artwork but they can’t pay the data bill. Brilliant.
Musette I hope your computer glitch is fixed quickly. I’m sending you another note but just wanted to say thank you for being you.
I was gonna front, but I have not picked up a book in weeks. I’ve been reading mostly perfume blogs and Survivor nonsense (online) and magazines (offline). My nerves have been a little frayed, and concentrating all the way through Masterpiece Mystery is challenge enough lately.
Has anyone else out there started getting magazines you didn’t order or pay for? It started about a year-and-a-half ago, not long after my grandmother died, and was a little eerie, because it used to be that if a magazine subscription showed up out of the blue, it was because my grandmother had succumbed to a “gift subscription with early renewal” offer. (My mother has a Better Homes and Gardens subscription paid up through 2018 thanks to her.) I have asked everyone I can think of, and no one has admitted to sending them. Is the state of print magazines so dire that subscriptions are being sent out at random in order to boost ad revenues? Would that even make sense financially? The most recent arrivals are Cosmopolitan, Cosmopolitan for Latinas, and Every Day with Rachael Ray. (Was Cosmo always this filthy? I feel as though the cover copy has gotten much less euphemistic in the twenty or so years since I last read it. I feel I need to hide it when my nephews come over.)
Sorry for blathering. Good luck with you hopefully-not-too-smelly job. And I think worrying about Skynet messing with your computer is sort of sweetly nostalgic, in this age of the national security state.
Laurels, I get magazines I didn’t order too. I’m guessing that they were some sort of gift with online purchase. At least that’s how a few of them started. I don’t know why I just started getting Elle though. I was annoyed by that one because I had actually already bought the issue.
I remember Cosmo was already pretty racy when I was 12 (and full of bad advices, come to think of it :)). I can only imagine how it is now!
Apparently Fragrancenet signs up customers for magazine subscriptions, so if you have ever ordered from them’ that might be the explanation.
The mystery may be solved.