How hard can it be??

Ahhhhhh, the joys of decorating, motivating, and inspiring my home's appearance and energy!  Since I finally got my antiques from storage, I have had a blast adding accents and lighting!  Nothing is displayed in its finest glory without the  proper lighting!  With that, I added a gorgeous, French Nouveau chandelier to my home's atmosphere.  With high ceilings, installation may be challenging, at best.  But.alas, I believe that if another can install this fabulous fixture, as can I.  My philosophy is that; no one was born with the knowledge.  If they can learn it, so can I...  With that, upon delivery of my fabulous chandelier, I could not wait until the weekend to install... to hang it in the perfect place!  Herein begins the story...

First of all, an electrical piece.. there is a plug, you know, a regular plug coming from the top of the piece.  It is wired to connect via a regular AC plug in the ceiling.  WHAT?  How many of you have an AC/DC plug in your ceiling??  I'm guessing no one. I sure don't. So, I'm thinking... just like any ceiling fan, or light fixture.... just wire positive to positive and negative to negative after cutting the plug part.  I have installed several ceiling fans with the same success.  BUT, there is a distinctive difference here.  The  plug runs up through the chains that make the connection to the fabulous atmospheric lighting effect...  So, how hard can it be??

Well, my trouble began while trying to hang the chandelier with its intricate flowers, vines, and metal chains.  I struggled, more than I care to admit, wiring the power source while cursing the chains entangled in the intricate flowers and vines.  More than once.  More than twice.  I went to bed.

The next morning, with  renewed optimism, I once again, continued the installation process. Stay tuned while I allow my puncture wounds to heal.

To Seed or not To Seed...

My lovely niece, Hayley pictured here with her partner, Terrill:

have been more than generous letting me stay in their home until the Universe gives me a CLUE as to what I am to do next in my life.  (If patience is a virtue, I should be knighted by the royal newlyweds...)

So, in return, I am happy to help out around the house... inside and out. 

There is a particular area in the back yard that needs some TLC.  I invision this particular area looking like this:

So, I painstakingly began to fence off the area, plant grass seed and also plug some existing grass into the barren area.  I was very careful, as there is an enemy out there; 3 of them with 4 legs each.  After much work, training of he enemy and timely watering, here is the results of the intensive labor:

Alas, I never give up, and still hug their dogs... (i.e. the enemy)

My heart... Hidden love appears...

Ok, while I have been over-joyed to think of a possible reunion with past friends (Bill Ervin and Shake Russell)... ok, so
it has been 30 years...   I started looking for other musician friends.... Mike Cancellarie, Gordy Hedley, David Ruthstrom, and Steve Fromholz... I got a BIG ASS JOLT!! 

I lived in Elgin for a short time (read the chapter on "living with MOM" when the unpublishable book comes out)... there was an art gallery uptown near the post office I worked at as a window clerk.  The gallery booked an Austin local to come
sing at an intimate gathering... his name was Steve Fromholz. 

I have a history with Fromholz... suffice it to say, he is (was) one of the finest musicians I ever wrote a paycheck to...
I didn't go.  I thought I would not be as "appealing" to him as I was in the '80s... and I was probably right. 

Much to my dismay, he had a stroke shortly thereafter, and I am heart broken... I didn't get to hug him, or his dog.

To Kill a Mockingbird...

Well, if you haven't seen the movie, you must be punished. 

However, there is a pardon at bay due to the fact that I just realized
that there is a book, which the movie was based on.  The COOL thing
is that this is the only book the author ever wrote, and she won a Pulitzer
Prize for it!  (BTW... I have Gregory Peck's autograph... look for it on ebay)

Anyway, about Mocking Birds... they are the state bird of Texas... why,
I have no idea.  However, any great gramma, or grammas that believe it,
will tell you that the Mocking Bird is named for its talents... mocking the
sounds of other birds.  Por que?  No se .

Scientifically, it sounds cool... Just like the Coo Coo bird that lays its egg(s)
in the nest of another specie... and when the Coo Coo baby grows, it pushes
the invaded nest's baby(s) out of the nest in order to get all the food....  Wait...
I think I know her... Mom?... Sorry... to continue:

[Side bar:  Did you know that the lightening bug flashes it's stuff in order to
attract a mate??  AND at the same time, there is a predator on the ground that
simulates a receptive female's retro-flash, and dies for being a liar??? Hmmmm?
Karma... I don't know!  I don't make the rules!  But interesting, don't you think,
you "fake flashers"?????]

Back to the mocking bird...  As its mate lays an egg, or two, the male sings to her...
all night, every night, day in, day out....  ZZZZZZZZZ  Sorry, anyway AFTER the
eggs are being incubated, (please take a moment to check out the McAllen Incubator
Facebook page for stuff you never imagined, and up-coming FABULOUS events) the
male does not sing anymore... he exhibits aggressive behavior... Turning imitated songs of life
and love into bursts of  screaching warnings ... Wait... Mom?  Sorry.... to continue...

I have seen Mocking Bird daddies DIVE BOMB dogs, cats, Grackles, and... yes... my
ex-husband.  Now, I am beginning to understand the Mocking Bird... and, yes, my
friends,

they do NOT hug dogs...

Un-Bummmed....

Click here while you read on...

For those of you that really know me (to quote one of the most talented people I have the pleasure of calling 'friend'. "Thank you both, very much!"... Mr. Bill Ervin) music is 97.22% of my quintessence, i.e. make up, personality, my Id [not identification, but my Id...); ... maybe 2.7% to 5.83% more... give or take (and yes, I realize that is is beyond 100%).  In short, I love music.  Can't compose, but can express it by either singing, playing, dancing to, or hearing... just a step beyond listening to.  I'm talking about music, not noise.  I think if I had been educated, my musical talents may have evolved, but the chills come from the past, the elite:   Bethoven (deaf), Motzart (composed operas on paper without any corrections), Ray Charles (blind) and, yes, even Michael Jackson.  The music, the sensation, the expression was already in their heads.  They just had to dump it onto paper, and after remix, we get to hear it, dance to it, sing to it, heal with it.

So, duh, right?  Yea, I have a point.  I am 53 and one of the sexiest musicians I have ever appreciated and continue to absorb,  is Prince.  Yeah, Prince.  "Purple Rain" is one of the best albums... ever.  So, when I set up a sound system; for music, I test the SOUND with Purple Rain.  For my self-wired, video surround sound systems, I use Jurrasic Park... the part where they pop the cork in celebration of successful manipulation of dinosaur DNA and reproduction.  ( love that movie ) { Ok, not to forget to metion the intellictually HOT Jeff Goldblum}, I know my surround sound is connected correctly when I can hear the cork pop and bounce around all 4 speakers!

So, WTF, you ask?  Well, when the music speakers, balance, treble and base are perfect, Purple Rain ROCKS.  (maybe just me, but there are some really HOT songs on that soundtrack...)   I just installed a new stereo system and speakers in my '97 Honda, and yes, I did it myself with never-less-than-reliable Google's resources.(ok, so I had a couple of screws left after I disassembled the dashboard...)   I purchased Purple Rain for the sound check.  OH YEAH... perfect. 

Again, SO?  Well, I also use Purple Rain to lift my spirits when played on the perfectly balanced, rockin' , sound system. 
Today, I felt a need to "experience" Prince's music due to a less-than-perfect day.  So, I inserted the CD in the amazing sound system that my niece has, and turned it UP!!

Side note:  My niece has 3 dogs, which I MUST HUG, and a snake, named Butter.  (Don't know, don't care)

I maxed the surround sound, and inserted Purple Rain... 
This was the affect on the snake, Butter... (please note, that he is curled up, reptile-like 24 hrs a day, everyday, all the time.)

I'm not the only one who energizes with Purple Rain.
The dogs danced with me.  Must hug them, so they know it's ok.

It's Genetic...

There is a temperament test for pups... I raised Great Danes for 15 years.  You hold the pup, after its eyes are opened, in your hand on its back and watch what happens.  If the pup recoils, jerks or tries to flip over... the "standard" is that the pup has a bad temperament.  Not good by show standards. 

If the pup lays still with all legs flopped out... kind of a "no worries" limp status... then GREAT by AKC standards.  Ok, so get on a unknown support like a giant hand or railing, with absolutely no sense of trust or security (pretend you were not just born and have no idea WTF is going on) and relax. When you feel like you are about to drop to your death, don't jerk, or utilize the natural "fight or flight" instinct and don't you dare react to the sense of falling. 

These are the same folks that say that dogs have a 7 second memory.  Everyone that believes that... stand on your head and stack beebees.  The rest of us will decline to terrorize a new born pup to the "temperament test".  Rather, we must hug dogs, regardless the age or "standard". 

Slobbers,
Martha