They're Mammatus!

These Mammatus clouds on Friday night here in NYC were the talk of the town. They apparently come after thunderstorms, but I've never seen them here before and we sure get a lot of thunderstorms. The clouds are magnificent. It looked like an alien planet outside.



In other news, I've been feeling pretty good the last 2 weeks, almost human, so I'm cautiously optimistic that the corner has been turned on the route to health. I can't say the same about my bones, but at this point, I'm happy. Work is... well, work. 'Nuff said.

A number of celebrities died recently, and I hate blogging about that unless I was a big fan of the person, because I don't like the whole media circus, and that's certainly true about Michael Jackson's death. He had enormous talent, a sad life, and I'm sorry to hear he died. That's it.

Feeling: chipper

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: clouds

Summer Finally

So now, it's at least warm instead of cold when it's raining. And when it's not raining, it's humid. We call that summer here in NYC.

Actually felt almost normal last week and this week hasn't been too bad, either, so maybe I've turned a corner getting this gastro problem under control. I sure hope so.

Work is about to get interesting, and by interesting, I mean more stressful, with 2 retirements in my staff, and they're not likely to be replaced due to budget issues, though I can hope. If just one gets replaced, that would be a big help. With people going on vacation in the summer, we will be seriously understaffed some weeks this summer.

I still haven't tired of playing with my new camera, but due to all the rain on my days off (aka Sunday and another day, usually Wednesday), I haven't had it outside yet, so I don't know how well it does with scenery, flowers, etc. Maybe this Sunday.

Still woefully behind on pretty much everything, including reading. And that pretty much covers what's new around here.

Feeling: okay

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: miscellany

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Hubby and I went to the Mets game today. The sun came out, unexpectedly, but then it rained, a deluge of water, and since the Mets were losing at that point, we left. They did resume the game after we left, and the Mets lost. Still, a good time was had. I had my first hotdog since before I got sick last November, along with a potato knish, and I took pics (with my point & shoot, because I was not taking the new dslr to the ballpark with rain in the forecast).

Feeling: okay

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: baseball

I'm a Sucker for These

Had a pretty good week and played with my new digital slr camera today, trying to learn it, and now I'm capping off the day with one of these questionnaires we see everywhere online. I found this one on Facebook.


1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My paternal grandmother.

2.WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Uh, I have no idea. That's not something I keep track of.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
I used to. These days, not so much as it's looking more and more like my father's scrawl.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Assuming this means cold cuts, kosher salami.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
No.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Maybe.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Sure. It runs in my family.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Not since I was 5.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Not for anything.

10. NAKED?
Is this referring to bungee jumping? Because the answer is still no. If something else, I have no clue what this is referring to.

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Kellogg's Honey Smacks.

12. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Yes.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Chocolate.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Depends on the person, meaning, whatever is most striking about them is what I'm likely to first notice.

15. RED OR PINK
Red.

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
I sometimes say the wrong thing. Let's just say I'm not the most socially ept person out there.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My mother.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
It's up to everyone else whether they do this or not.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Blue sweats and black slides.

20. DESCRIBE WHAT IT IS THAT YOU CANNOT RESPECT?
Dishonesty.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Just shut the TV, so, the sound of me typing.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Midnight blue or black.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Chocolate, bacon, fresh bread, vanilla, Old Spice (my father has always used it).

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
A library patron yesterday.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
I do like the person whose FB page I took this from.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH
Baseball, hockey.

27. HAIR COLOR?
Dark brown with white.

28. EYES?
Dark brown.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Chocolate, cheese, pizza, bacon cheeseburgers, not necessarily at the same time. ;)

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Scary movies can have happy endings. I prefer good movies.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
The new Star Trek movie.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Purple.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Spring. But I'll take summer over winter if it's not too hot.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs.

36. YOU ARE MOST COMFORTABLE-WHEN?
I'm walking around NYC, snapping pics, or sitting in comfy clothes at the computer or doing craftwork.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Beats me, especially since I'm not tagging anyone.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
See above.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
It's one of the Mouse Rug designs.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
Mets game, then David Letterman.

42. FAVORITE SOUND(S)
Music (rock, folk, etc).

43. MYSPACE OR TWITTER?
Twitter.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Hawaii.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I have talents, not sure how special they are. ;)

46. FAVORITE PLACE VISITED?
Tie: Hawaii and San Francisco.

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Beats me.

48. TRAITS YOU LOOK FOR IN A PERSON?
Honesty, trustworthiness, intelligence, sense of humor.

49. WHAT DO YOU DRIVE?
I don't, but hubby and I do own a car.

50. Thanks!!!!!!
Uh, you're welcome, whoever you are who came up with these questions.

Feeling: okay

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: questionnaires

One of Those Days

A day of good and bad. Felt okay, but had annual gyn appointment and she did a bone density test and my osteopenia has progressed to osteoporosis, which was not unexpected, but still, annoying. So treatment needs to start for that.

I did get my new dslr, which was very nice. Now I need to learn how to use it. Got my Kindle set up, too, but now need to download my first book, once I choose one. So many new electronic toys to play with!

Feeling: okay

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: personal

Jay Black in Concert

Hubby and I saw Jay Black in concert at Westbury last night. It was his usual show. Lots of raunchy jokes and the usual songs. He'd had to cancel back in April due to throat problems, and while his voice cracked a few times last night, he sounded good. And he lost some weight, which is even better. He'd gotten way too heavy in recent years. I just hate when he gets political. He's a Conservative Republican and proud of it. Which is fine, but it's the way the crowd gets behind him when he makes political statements that makes this Liberal Democrat cringe at times. I wish some people would realize that being against a war doesn't make you unpatriotic. Part of a democracy and feedom is being allowed to protest.

Okay, enough politics for this blog. Today, I did laundry and now am about to resume cleaning from yesterday.

Feeling: okay

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: concerts

Four Things

Saw this on Bill Crider's blog. I've done so many of these, I can't remember if I've done this one. For most if not all of these, it was hard to limit to just four.

Four Movies You Can See Over and Over (I've seen the first two more times than I can count. There are so many others I could list here.)

• Laura
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
• The new Star Trek
• Serenity
  

Four Places You Have Lived
In order:

• Brooklyn, NY
• Queens, NY
• Long Island, NY
• Manhattan (technically, NY, NY)

(and I'm back in Queens)

Four TV Shows You Love to Watch (To keep down the choices, I considered current shows only, and this is still only a partial list.)

• NCIS
• How I Met Your Mother
• Primeval
• Burn Notice
  

Four Places You Have Been on a Vacation

• San Francisco
• Los Angeles
• Hawaii
• Colorado
  

Four of Your Favorite Foods

• Chocolate (Well, duh, what did you think would be first? heh)
  
• Cheese
• Hamburgers
• Pizza
  

Four Websites You Visit Daily (out of at least a dozen, and not counting work)

• Bloglines
• flickr
• Facebook
• LiveJournal
  

Four Places You Would Rather Be

• New York City (Hey, I love it here!)
• Hawaii (where maybe, it isn't actually raining now as it is here in NYC)
• San Francisco
• The state of retirement
  

Four Things You Hope to Do Before You Die

• Read all my books (Hardly likely, given how many I own.)
• Watch all my DVDs (Within the realm of possibility, but not if I keep buying new ones.)
• Finish my novel and get it published.
• Sell my photos
  

Four Novels You Wish You Were Reading for the First Time
(This is a tough one.)

• Watership Down by Richard Adams (to see if it could still inspire such a sense of wonder in me.)
• A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller (because I'd be coming to it with an older, more mature perspective.)
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (because I was too young the first time to fully appreciate the nuances, or to remember the details all that well now, 40 years later.)
• The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (so I could fall in love with science fiction all over again.)
  

Tag Four People You Believe Will Respond.

Ah, tag yourself if you want. Go on. You know you wanna. :)

Meanwhile, I've been indulging my love of Italian charms by shopping on eBay.


Feeling: okay

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: questionnaires

Forgive Me, Blogosphere

I failed to blog, for days! I wish I had a good excuse, but it's just been more health issues. I had a CT scan of my abdomen yesterday and all looked fine. Which means, the doctor now has no idea what's causing the colitis symptoms to linger and is throwing all sorts of remedies at it in the hopes something will work. It's been frustrating and tiring. Stress at work isn't helping.

So, nothing exciting. Just more of the same old same old.

But I did get together with a couple of friends for picture-taking on Sunday. Here's one of the shots.



Feeling: blah

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: personal

Last Day of Vacation

I went to see Star Trek with a friend. Her first time, my second. The movie still rocked. I still missed seeing the tribble on Scotty's desk. I can't wait to get the dvd.

After, we had a snack. I got a chocolate chip scone. It was tasty.



Feeling: sad vacation is over

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: vacation