NabloWriMo

I am not going to post much today, just a reminder that Saturday is the start of NaBloWriMo!!! That is National Blog Writer's Month in case you weren't aware of this national celebratory event. Sometimes all it entails is: "Hi lovelies! I'm not going to be able to blog much today, hope your all having a lovely day!!!" but the point is to participate, have fun and meet new bloggers. Some are writers, some crafters, mommies, in fact there's a range of people that sign up for this bloggy event. So click on the link and email the hostess that you want to sign up and then plan on posting each day (and if you don't, nobody is going to hunt you down!!!)-- it's just that easy!!!  
Have a lovely day!!!

Spirit Animals

Many years ago (seems like a lifetime now) I took a personality test that put the test taker in one of four categories. I can't remember what the actual test was called but you were either a lion...

didn't know I was such a buddy to the lions did you?

a Golden Retriever...

Conchscooter's English Golden Retriever 'Cheyenne' 

and an otter or a beaver  (sorry, don't have any pictures... but you can picture the otter frolicking and the beaver busily building...). That's it. Those four. 

At the time, I scored heavily as a Golden Retriever. It was depressing because the Retriever is a nice enough pet, but not something I aspired to be as a human being. I wouldn't have minded if I had scored as a lion. After all, there is Aslan. He is the great lion who is "dangerous" "not a tame lion." But he is good and throughout the Narnia chronicles he is gentle and wise. So, being a lion wouldn't be a bad thing. 

But I didn't score as a lion. 

I was a Golden Retriever. *sigh* A house pet.

Later, I did various other personality tests and my view of myself broadened. I realized that wasn't the whole picture. And I realized that first test had presented  a very limited (and limiting!) view of myself and of anyone else who I might try to put into those four categories. People are as varied as the animal kingdom itself!

A few years ago I decided to choose the animal that I would emulate, the one that speaks to the spirit that I wanted to have and the one that corresponded to the spirit I already had. It wasn't hard to choose. I knew myself well enough that when I read the description of this creature, I knew I had found my match: 

• Change
• Wisdom
• Balance
• Harmony
• Communication skills
• Freedom
• Trust
• Understanding the power of rhythm in your life
• Use of breath to release intense emotions

Remember, some of these I strive to meet, others I think are already part of my personality. This is the wisdom of the...

  What is your spirit animal? If you don't know, you can go here to choose one! 

What I did on my summer vacation...

Mr. Michael from In Time... has asked me to write a 300-500 word report on what I did on my summer vacation. There are lots of other reports that you can read if you go back to his blog here. They'll be great so you should check them out!

Planned obsolescence? Planned murder, more like!

Computers are the ultimate model in planned obsolescence which is frustrating but it means I have learned to take care of my computer. And I pride myself in being a self-taught computer tech- the techies downtown are generally happy with me because when they give me directions over the phone I can carry them out with little or no angst. But today, I may have met my match. My computer is having some sort of issue where it doesn't communicate with the USB ports which means that my cordless mouse no longer works and the light of my life, my digital camera, will not communicate with my computer. AHHHHHHHH!!!! I cannot express to you how frustrating this is. I LOVE my digital camera and how easy it is to take pictures, download them and then post them on my blog. Not to mention that as I was checking out the problems on the HP website, it appears the problem is not only expensive but could become worse if not fixed. It could mean my ipod shuffle won't communicate with my computer and eventually the disc drive I burn discs from might not work. The whole situation makes me to do this...

All in all folks, I feel they have us coming and going. The banks and oil barons own the politicians and can get whatever they want in Washington. Meanwhile the people we buy our stuff from: potato chips, shoes, computers, etc. make the common stuff we buy more cheaply so they don't last half as long (and in the case of potato chips has anyone else noticed how few potato chips are actually in a bag of potato chips while you are paying more???). I haven't had a pair of comfortable shoes for tennis or exercising in for ages! I try them on, they feel great and then get them home and they're torture (and I am not buying Walmart specials, folks!) Now my computer is giving me fits after two years and I have done everything I could to take care of this damn machine!!! 

Any techies out there know how to fix this problem? 

I'm desperate!!! 

Update: It appears the problem is fixed-- FOR NOW. I'm not holding my breath because it wasn't anything I really did so the problem could come back as easily it went away. But I much thank Michael Offut for trying to help me out! Thanks Michael!!! You're a real sweet heart. 

meeting place

NaBloWriMo

All right kids the leaves in the backyard are changing and you know what that means! Danette is going to curl up into a corner (not what I mean to say) Fall is right around the corner, pretty leaves, crisp air, but bigger and better is NaBloWriMo. What's that? What's that you ask??? (because you've been living under a rock for the past four years or so!!!) Why it's National Blog Writer's Month, OF COURSE! Hosted by Not Hannah of I'm Not Hannah blogsomeness but originally created by Amy of Crafte-Revolution as a way to encourage bloggers to write every day. "What do you do to participate in said NaBloWriMo???" you ask. Just drop in on the blog and sign up (you'll see the instructions on the September 7th entry.) 

Participation is easy- easier than the A-Z challenge and can be incorporated into the Writer's Campaign so don't be worried that you're already committed to too much: All it is daily blogging for the month of October and if you don't make it all the way through nobody is going to carve a pumpkin face into you! It's an opportunity to meet more bloggers and win some prizes (Miz Amy of aforementioned Crafte-Revolution is giving away ebooks for bloggers and there will be more!) so sign up, meet new friends and just Have Fun!  

Oh and the pumpkin is cute but isn't the button. We'll be seeing that soon. This is from last year. For a bit of continuity I thought I'd post it so you'd see it when you went to the official NaBloWriMo blog. But Let's make it a real National-- scratch that INTERNATIONAL event, bloggers! 
Sign up today!!! (even if all you write that day is "Don't have much to blog on today, need to get some writing done. See you all tomorrow! *waves*) 

A geek?

Maybe a bit...
The other day I was bemoaning the fact that my new red car doesn't have a CD player in it while my older car had at least a tape player in it (A tape player!?! I know, right?) And I said, I missed listening to Books on Tape like I used to, that I had listened to a whole series on Quantum Physics when I was doing research for 'Death and Politics at the End of the World.' My boss said, "Danette did you just hear yourself? *repeats sentence* I couldn't really fix it without sounding geeky and like a nerd. Sorry. Perhaps I should have gone into science and become a total nerd. Instead I've come at it late in life and incorporate bits and pieces in my writing. And now I am going to share it with you!!!
I came across this video on another blog but it was on YouTube and wanted to share it.

Union Busting

August 1, Mo and I took a day trip to southern Colorado to see the town where his mother had been born and lived in her early years. On our way back, we took the opportunity to see a little ghost town and to view a bit of Americana- albeit the progressive and lesser known Americana. 

Welcome to paradise!

The characters and events in this post are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

His  rattletrap car only just gasped over the seven mile Overseas Highway and finally let out it's last groan on Stock Island. He ditched the pathetic deathtrap next to what looked like a trailer park and walked on to the island at the End of the World. He was grateful the car had gotten him as far it it had. He'd known the car was going to going be DOA but had risked it anyway because he had "no intention of never going back no how." And that's what he'd told his wife as he walked out the door. Her kids blinked at him blearily from where they curlicued on the doorstep, watching as he threw his bag into the backseat, understanding his flight but clearly longing for their own rescue.