I Just Wanna Go Back to Bed Today

>It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring. Rainy days and Mondays always get me down. Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day. On second thought, don't!

As you have probably surmised, it is raining here. How depressing. I really need to hop in the car and go to the store but I just can't summon the energy or motivation to get out of my chair. I am typing away here to keep myself awake. When I look out the window, all I see is torrential rainfall.

There are those who maintain, "Well, better rain than snow!" I suppose that's true. But when I awake to rain in the morning, the rest of the day just doesn't seem to matter. I can't get motivated and inspired.

In a little while, I'll force myself to go out the door and do those errands. Right now I think I'm going to practice the piano. I now have four lessons under my belt so I know something, even if it's only a little something. I can find middle C. I know the names of all of the white keys. I can play a few notes of Beethoven's Ode to Joy. I know what a half note looks like. And a quarter note. And a rest. But I have miles to go before I sleep. (or master the piano, anyway)

So how about you? Do you do your best work when it's sunny? Or does sunshine make you want to skip work and go lie on a beach somewhere?

And The Winner Is.....

Thank you to everybody for entering my caption contest! It was fun. I enjoyed reading the entries and thought they were all good. But there could only be one winner.

Since I had a hard time choosing the winner, I asked my son to help me out. He has a great sense of humor. We liked them all but there was one that made us laugh the loudest.

Congrats to Matt at Pensive Sarcasm for his caption!

It was:

Kathy: "I am sooo going to eat her cake, too."

Rose: "I'm smashing her cake in her face if she goes for mine."


If you knew my sister, Rose, she probably WOULD say/think something like that! She is a tough cookie.

So, Matt, go to my profile and click on my email to let me know which book you choose and where to send it.

Thanks again, everyone, for playing!

Did you enter my contest?

This is the last day to enter my Caption contest. Just tonight to come up with something clever. I will pick a winner tomorrow, Friday, March 26.

That is all for now.

Of oldies and Barbies...

I've been away from my blog as of late! Sorry about that. Lots to do, people to see, kids to oversee. Before I get to today's topic, here's a reminder that my Caption This contest is still going. You can still enter.

Right now I'm listening to Mick Jagger sing, "I can't get no sat-is-fac-tion." My googling reveals the song was released in 1965. I was 10 years old that year so I only vaguely remember hearing it. I was probably too busy playing with Barbie dolls, creating little stories and getting them into all sorts of mischief. I remember one time deciding my sister's Barbie needed a new hair style. Now this doll had long black hair, nothing wrong with that, but I thought she should go shorter. Who knows, maybe it was a hot day. So I got out the scissors and started cutting! It was going rather well, I thought, when suddenly I put down the scissors and stared at poor dark-haired Barbie. Oops. Her hair was indeed shorter, but unfortunately she now had a big bald spot on the back of her head. I tried to hide my handiwork (probably stuffed Barbie in a hamper or something), but when my sister found her she was livid. "Who did this to my doll?"

But back to Mick Jagger who can't get no satisfaction. Do you remember the song from years ago? Or did you first hear it later down the road as an "oldie"? Do you have any particular memories you associate with the song?

You can also share your Barbie stories here.

Oh, one more thing. For more of my musings on Barbie, you can read my essay on a new blog called, An Army of Ermas. Here is the link: http://armyofermas.blogspot.com/

There are also lots of other funny essays by some very talented women writers. Check it out!

Caption This!

I decided to borrow an idea from a fellow blogger.

Yes, it's a caption contest! And there will be a prize. In fact, you can choose from 4 of them.

Since my sister and I have birthdays coming up in April, I thought I'd use this photo I found of the two of us from about 25 years ago. Our birthdays are two days apart so we always used to celebrate both of them on the same day.

Here's what you have to do: Write a caption telling what either my sister (on the left) or I (on the right) is thinking. Be creative, be witty. If you want, you can write what both of us are thinking (within one comment). Post your caption in the comments section. Only one caption idea per person. I'll let it run for 2 weeks so you have until March 25th. Good luck!

Oh, and if two people happen to come up with the same caption and it turns out to be the one I like best, the person who posted it first will be the one who wins.

Prize is a CHOICE between FOUR books in my book collection (all in good condition):

1. I'd Rather Be Writing (by Marcia Golub) (a guide to finding more time, getting organized, completing more projects and having more fun.) Non-fiction hardcover

2. How to Start and Run a Writing & Editing Business by Herman Holtz (NF paperback)

3. Open House (by Elizabeth Berg) (hardcover novel described as "a love story about what can blossom between a man and a woman, and within a woman herself.")

4. How to Write Tales of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction ( a paperback non-fiction book by the masters of speculative fiction: Ray Bradbury, Dean Koontz, Marion Zimmer Bradley and others.)

Survived a Trip to Hell

The sun has returned! If you take a look out the window you'd swear it's Spring already. But it's not. Quite. The outside thermometer is reading about 67 degrees. I'll take it.

I went to a rock concert on February 27. My son's band was playing at Club Hell, a little night spot in downtown Providence. Yes, Club Hell. Relatives gasped when I told them the name of the place. My kids and I joked that evening that we were all going to hell. And we did.

A nice little family outing. Most of us donned black clothes because it just seemed fitting. I haven't been to a nightclub in God knows how many years so it was quite an experience for me. The first thing I noticed upon entering the joint was how dark it was in there. The second thing I noticed was the sticky floor. What exactly had created the stickiness....I don't even want to know. The third thing was the condition of the rest room. Holy cow! It was dark in there, too, not very clean-looking and seemed to be devoid of paper towels and soap. Were we supposed to bring our own?

We had to wait about two and a half hours for my son's band to take the stage. They were the main attraction. Don't even ask me the names of the songs or even the names of the bands that started things off because I can't recall. Mostly we tried to find a quiet corner to sip our drinks and "talk" above the music. That involved shouting into each other's ears.

At last the guys took the stage and we moved up closer on the dance floor. After a couple of cocktails I was relaxed enough to enjoy the music and leave my worries behind. They played about six songs off their new CD and a few other familiar cover songs. The audience cheered, swayed to the music, applauded and even shouted for more.

My ears are still ringing. No, not really, but they did for a while. I truly enjoyed the show but I must admit the volume was louder than it needed to be. This was a very small building not a football stadium, and I'm sure I could have heard the music just as well if I'd stayed outside.

But all in all it was fun and broke me out of my usual Saturday night routine. And now I can say I've been to hell...

and back!

CDEFG GFEDC CDEFG GFEDC

>Well, in keeping with my New Year's resolutions, I did indeed sign up for piano lessons and had my first one today. I was very nervous. I haven't been a student for a long time.

I discovered I don't have too much trouble using my right fingers, but the left hand is a whole different matter. I don't have trouble TYPING with my left fingers, can hit that q key or z key without much difficulty. But piano keys? For some reason, my fingers do not want to cooperate.

I also found I needed to trim my nails when I got home. Long fingernails are not so good for piano playing. How come nobody tells you that?

So I'm off. I'm doing it. He gave me some exercises to practice at home and I shall practice. I am going to learn to play piano no matter what. Even if I break a nail. Even if arthritis warps my fingers. Even if my left fingers stubbornly refuse to stretch and bend over the keys.

And when I master the piano, I'm gonna learn to play the tuba.

(No, not really)