Weblog 258

January 23, 2011~ 12:00 am
One week into wearing these new choppers and I couldn't be happier. Isn't it amazing when something that had SO occupied your thoughts- had weighed you down like cement blocks -just lifts and goes away? Have you had a similiar situation that miraculously disappeared and you suddenly felt weightless and giddy with relief? My thoughts for so long have been tangled up in worries about my teeth that it grew into a gnarly forest of fears.... even shame.



Then suddenly an OPENING appeared... and I saw a way out. For all of you having similar concerns, I hope you find a way out-- as I have.

There's a terrific online group I've joined-- in fact, it was the first site I happened on the day I was told I'd be having full extractions --and these folks with their advice and especially with sharing their BEFORE and AFTER pictures, boosted my mood tremendously. If you're facing losing your own teeth and are all knotted up in concerns, I urge you to visit Dentures~ A New Smile, and grab a boost of confidence from these folks. Sometimes.......



we just need someone to hang onto, someone who will carry us along till we get our 'sea legs'. (Isn't that a great picture?) Of course my family and grandkids- and in particular, my 'mate' Wayne -have made this journey easier, even enjoyable. Thank GOODNESS for support. We all need it... we all need people to lean on and I've been very fortunate.

(You know, Saturday evening was PIZZA NIGHT and YES! I bit into my pizza with my front teeth for the first time in FOUR YEARS!!! The kids BEAMED at me and finally we were all laughing. (I've been afraid to do that but thought, "Oh, what the hell. If they pull out, I'm among friends." LOL!!)

And what awaited us at Holly's house on Saturday? A NEW EXOTIC PET!! Get a look at



ZIGGY!

I couldn't begin to describe this new one as well as Holly, in her email to me earlier this week:

"Here is a picture of my newest animal family member. He is a Sunburst Baboon tarantula named Ziggy. He is an Old World species from Africa. Very aggressive and fast...but extremely handsome:) Notice the sunburst pattern on the cephalothorax, hence the name. When I purchased Goob, the girl simply had to nudge her and she slowly moved into the container. Different experience with Ziggy. He reared up angrily and repeatedly struck out with fangs blazing. This spider is hands off-observation only. Maintenance will be a bit tricky, but I am up for the challenge. Mike (Holly's corn snake) seems pleased with his next door neighbor."

I must confess I have a soft spot for GOOB. She's so fuzzily beautiful... and CALM. I love her rosy color, and how shy she is......



She's BIGGER than Ziggy (whom I never did get to see on Saturday.) He was in his 'half a coconut shell'- and apparently these Sunburst Baboon types are reclusive as all get out. He had BARRICADED himself in there by mounding quite a pile of dirt in front of his door. LOL! Not a partier, that little guy. He's a loner. (Goob was basking under her tank lamp, looking lovely and peaceful.) Holly handles her with no problems. She said:

"Goob just does what she does...sits and patiently waits for food."

(My kinda gal.) Methinks the male is going to be tricky, but if anyone can find their way around his skittishness, it's Holly, that's for sure.

Friday I stayed home from work. It snowed all Thursday night into Friday morning and when I got up at 4:00 a.m., those roads looked HORRIBLE. I've had a 3 day weekend, and it's been terrific. Tomorrow the Steeler play the Jets- the games starts at 6:30, and it'll make a later night than I usually allow myself when I'm going to work the next day, but what the heck? (I even bought a long-sleeved Steeler shirt to wear tomorrow.) Hope it brings us luck! GO POLAMALU!! (Again...... my favorite Steeler. He's a doll.) I'm keeping my fingers tightly crossed and my hopes high. This may yet be another one of 'our years'......I hope, I hope.

Oooooooooo...and here is my newest wind-up toy.



I coerced my boss into giving it to me when he got it out of his own office and placed it on my desk, laughing. "You should give that to me," I said. He looked longingly at the thing, then pushed it toward me. (We've been giving each other gag gifts over the years. I once gave him a 'Boxing Nun' puppet and a Whoopie Cushion... and a book about farts. LOL!!) It cheers me, that little jumping tooth-guy. (I also have a hopping, wind-up penis given to me by another co-worker when she visited New Orleans. For propriety's sake, I shall not post it here. But it's charming as all get out!) I love such silliness. Always have...... and now.......I'm NOT AFRAID TO GRIN BIG GRINS ABOUT IT! Viva la teeth, acrylic or not, they look great!




January 23, 2011~ 8:30 am
Browsing the net this morning, sipping coffee and enjoying a snowy, lazy Sunday morning, I came across a magnificently quirky photo calendar at the 'Tom and Lorenzo' pop culture site.



It features the fashion photography of Mumbai photographer Tejal Patni, in a definitely different 2011 calendar. (Personally, I call the darkly humorous image above- "Hand Farm". LOL!) And what a feast for the eyes! Just click on it to see his images for each month. (I think the Addams Family would have snatched such a thing up in a heartbeat.) I love stuff that shakes a person out of the expected to launch them into an entirely foreign realm of pure imagination; this calendar does just that. (And for those of you who actually do have Flash) you can watch the video as well. I'll have to wait for Monday when I'm back at work. LOL!! 'Old Nellie', my 1998 computer here says, "NO WAY HOSE! NO CAN DO." - (but I love her anyway. She runs 'clean'.)




January 24, 2011~ 4:45 am




We WON THE AFC! I watched the first half of the game, then headed up to bed when the score was 24-3. I felt comfortable enough with that to put a Steeler victory right on my pillow and sleep nicely through morning. LOL!! When I got up this morning, I thought, "What if my computer chooses today to act up and I can't get online....who won? But this old horse broke into a trot nicely, and there it was: "STEELERS AT THE GATES OF SEVEN"......and I whooped!

Reading the highlights of the game, I'm certain the second half would have given me a heart attack, so it's good I went up early and hit the hay, our pounding of the Jets in the first half made for easy sleep. GO GUYS!!! February 6th, Arlington Texas here we come!




January 25, 2011~ 7:30 pm
After listening to the Sting Winter album for better than 2 weeks, today I opened the packaging on another Christmas gift from Wayne.......



and the excitement and intimacy of a live concert with Leonard Cohen raised goosebumps-- the man is a marvel. In his 70's and still touring, with a voice that is by turns, 'gravel/growl rough' that quickly turns to a full-rounded, haunting and plaintive baritone in the blink of an eye. (I'm amazed at what he's able to communicate with that strange instrument of his.) He's a fine poet as well....those lyrics and rhymes are as true and surprising as any you'll find anywhere. By the time it came to 'Hallelujah' I was unable to control the crying. It was like being transported by the Angel Gabriel himself and lifted aloft, deeply, deeply PLEASED by ALL THINGS great and small-- foolish and stumbling, magnificent and lowly. It gets to me like Beethoven's 9th, his 'Ode To Joy' with full chorus. I can't quit bawling when I listen to that, and it was a like response today.

Now for the surprise! When I opened the CD packaging, inside was something I haven't seen since I was a kid. I remember these given out as prizes at the amusement park a long, long time ago.



The Fortune Teller MIRACLE FISH! lol!!! Oh what a delight to find that! A little red cellophane fish that you lay in the palm of your hand -and watch it MOVE. (Here's the 'key' printed on the back of the plastic envelope)



So how did I fare? Well..........



IN LOVE.... what else?
(With Wayne.... and Leonard. LOL!)





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