Whoa! It's weird Wednesday again!

"Bride, n. A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her."

"Coward, n. One who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs."

"Imagination, n. A warehouse of facts with a poet and liar in joint ownership."

All by: Ambrose Bierce ( from his satiric "dictionary"; known as "The Devil's Dictionary" published in 1911)

Bierce who was born on this day in 1842 wrote his definitions as comic satire in columns for several different newspapers before finally publishing the collection. I chose his quotes today because they are so delightfully weird. I have read a great many of them and find most of them to be very accurate... I am often thought by others to be satirical myself... I just state the facts as I see them.. For some weird reason a lot of people don't like it when one does that! For more weird definitions you can search for "The Devil's Dictionary".. I might just be weird but I quiet enjoyed reading over the examples I found on-line! I know it's weird but I'd love to have a copy of that book! Maybe I'll find one in an antique book store somewhere; sometimes!

Now on to the weird questions for today!

Wednesday Weirdness #60
Questions By: Anonymous

1.) To you, what makes the perfect body the perfect body? ~ Well, you can call me weird, but I actually don't think anyone has a perfect body. I am really more of an eye person myself. There are parts of people's bodies that I have found to be near perfect.. I'd have to cut up all the men I ever new and stick parts together to have a man with a perfect body.. ( I am assuming that you meant for me to think in terms of a man!) then he would look all weird and the parts might not fit good.. so .. Yea.. I'm more of an eye person myself.. I like beards too.. but the eyes have to speak to me or the body never gets a glance.. I know three men with beautiful blue eyes.. (besides My sons and brothers! I can't say they have sexy eyes ~ that would make me weird!)
I really like green or greenish eyes the best.. Sometimes Dave's are green sometimes they are almost gold. I like his eyes when he laughs.. He used to walk over at night with his hair in a pony tail.... eyes sparkling.. STOP!!!!! Nope I can't go any where with that.. it would be too weird for my kids!

2.) What part of your body do you obsess about the most? ~ I don't obsess about my body.. Maybe I should.. I do want my hair long and fixed though.. and yes My hair is too fixed.. it's brushed a few times a day and braided back or put back up.... it's long it's hot.. It's mine and I like the way it's fixed.. you wear your hair like you wanna don't you? I wouldn't say I like my body type exactly but I work with what the Lord gave me.. we are getting along pretty good my old tired body and me..

3.) What makes a house a warm, welcoming, comfortable home? ~ This is easy.. It's the people who live with-in.. Call me weird if you want too.. A house can be huge and have fancy things inside and be the place of every night parties and events but Love has to live there for it to feel warm and safe and secure to me. My own house is filled to the brim with stuff.. my own stuff and Dave's stuff and the stuff the kids left here and stuff we are keeping for people and stuff; stuff and more stuff.. Once a guy friend of Dave's was here and he was looking around with his eyes wide and I apologized to him.. saying "I know I have a lot of junk here.."~ He smiled and said.. "never ever change a thing.. it feels like coming home!" I was so tickled.. I didn't even feel weird about all my stuff any more! He later told me that for us to find even the tiniest baby shoes worth keeping and the children's books and the blending of all our stuff on shelves and in every nook and cranny made him feel as if he could almost imagine the happy times we have had here.

4.) What fabric feels sexiest against bare skin?~ Well I could say bare skin but I guess that isn't fabric huh? Well unless you're a weirdo.. If it's sheets you're talking about I want flannel.. satin slides off the bed.. Flannel is soft and soothing and I like them.. If it's fabric that someone is wearing then why are only one of us Bare? Who is bare me or him? Who decided which of us was going to be bare.. can we take turns being bare? Can we afford some silk... I want real silk not that fake stuff... Or am I being weird and you just meant my bare hand? then I don't care... it all feels the same to me.. my hand doesn't care either it's weird like that!

5.) What is the lamest lie you have heard in the last month?~ "I forgot to tell them you worked here!" Yep!! My job didn't pay me one week till the following Monday because they forgot to tell the accountant that I worked there.. Now mind you I have been there several months and always got paid before.. I couldn't decide which was weirder, that they thought I would buy that, or that they couldn't make up a better story than that.. I had a lot of hours that week.. I am told that they wanted to go out of town that week end.. What ever!! I finally got my money on Monday... I Like my job or at least I like parts of it.. I love talking to the people that come in for the breakfast and I kinda like seeing who rents rooms.. It's kinda weird though when someone from Church rents a room with his girlfriend.... I don't even mind doing laundry and I love the housekeepers.. But I hope next time they wanna go out of town they just say they will pay me Monday.. It is way too weird when they forget I work there!!! I ask you~ If I worked for you could you forget me????? I thought NOT!

6.) What always makes you feel better when you're upset?~ chocolate doesn't hurt, nor does a good warm hug.. But KUM BA YAH always works.... When Cooper was little he would see me upset and he would say.."Mommy KUM BA YAH!" If he was scared or couldn't go to sleep or for whatever weird reason kids can come up with I would have to sing to him and no other song would ever work. We sang KUM BA YAH in the cancer clinic and while we fished for supper.. We sang KUM BA YAH laying in bed and swinging on swings at the park... Dave's Kids and Dave too later learned KUM BA YAH and sang with us... I find myself singing it sometimes as I dig in the garden or even while I'm just doing all the things wives do.. I even sing it to myself at the hotel.. I bet they would think I was weird if I sang it out loud in the laundry huh? I don't care.. I feel better right now just singing it here by myself.. You should try it.. You might feel better too..

~ For those of you who don't know.. KUM BA YAH is an African-American spiritual song first sung by slaves. KUM BA YAH meaning Come by here.. a prayer song asking that God Come by Here.. The song has always been soothing to me and to my children.. You should try singing it yourself.. If you don't like it; Just quit singing! It isn't weird.. just try a few verses.. I have even put the lyrics on here for you.. Me and my kids always added a few others to the list we made ours up as we went sometimes.. Cooper even once sang "someone is drawing" Lord.. Kum BA Yah... I guess he thought he needed a little help with his picture!

LYRICS:

(chorus)~ sing first and then between every other verse and at the end; when you are tired of singing!
Kum ba yah, my Lord, kum ba yah!
Kum ba yah, my Lord, kum ba yah!
Kum ba yah, my Lord, kum ba yah!
O Lord, kum ba yah!

Someone's laughing, Lord, kum ba yah!
Someone's laughing, Lord, kum ba yah!
Someone's laughing, Lord, kum ba yah!
O Lord, kum ba yah!

Someone's crying, Lord, kum ba yah!
Someone's crying, Lord, kum ba yah!
Someone's crying, Lord, kum ba yah!
O Lord, kum ba yah!

Someone's singing, Lord, kum ba yah!
Someone's singing, Lord, kum ba yah!
Someone's singing, Lord, kum ba yah!
O Lord, kum ba yah!

And those are the weird questions for today.. They weren't even too Racy for me to answer. I managed to answer every one of them.. I guess that is a little weird for me.... Hopefully a few of you will get a laugh from my answers.. I know people think I'm weird.. I even think I am a little weird.. But I like me anyway.. Now I'm going to eat me a bite or two of chocolate and swing in my swinging chair and sing KUM BAH YA while I contemplate all the weird mysteries of life.. Have a wonderfully weird Wednesday..
Patsy

I Love Sesame Street!

"Me do anything for cookie!" ~ Cookie Monster

"This is Sesame Street. A place where people, birds, monsters all live in perfect harmony."
~ Phil Donahue

"It's not easy being green." ~Kermit the Frog

"Sesame Street has been brought to you today by the letters W, S and E, and by the numbers 2 and 3." ~Mr. Hooper


On this day, November tenth, in 1969, the very first episode of Sesame Street was aired on public television. I was almost ten years old, but I loved it. It came on at 5 o'clock in the afternoon back then. We watched it on channel 14, the public television station. I had never seen anything like this new show with people and giant fuzzy things called Muppets. I would learn a lot through the years from those crazy creatures. I had found myself a new favorite television show. Apparently a lot of other children loved it too. Sesame Street has become the longest running children's program on American television. The show is now produced in the United States by the non-profit organization Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), founded by Joan Ganz Cooney and Ralph Rogers.


Because of its positive influence, Sesame Street has become one of the most highly regarded educational shows for children in the world. No other children's show has matched its level of international success. The original series has been televised in more than 120 countries, and 25 independent versions have been produced. It is the most viewed children's program in the world. Sesame Street uses combinations of animation, puppets, and live actors to stimulate young children's minds, improve their letter and word recognition, basic math , shapes, simple problem solving, and socialization by showing children or people in their daily lives. Since the shows beginning, they have also added basic life skills, such as how to cross the street safely, proper hygiene, healthy eating habits, and social skills.


The show displays a subtle sense of humor that has appealed to older viewers since it first began ; this was devised as a means to encourage parents and older siblings to watch the series with younger children, and becoming involved in the learning process, rather than having Sesame Street act as a babysitter. A 1996 survey found that 95% of American preschoolers have watched the show by the time they are three years old. I loved the show myself and all of my children watched it. Anthony and I especially loved Oscar the grouch. Cooper always loved Cookie monster the "very best". Emily , David , and Jennifer all loved Kermit the frog. In honor of today being a birthday of sorts for one of our Favorite shows, I will share with you some fast facts about Sesame Street!


1.) ~Big Bird is 8'2" tall.

2.) ~Barkley was originally called Woof-Woof.

3.) ~The Count was born on 9 October 1,830,653 B.C.- ( I love the count too!)

4.) ~ Oscar the Grouch was inspired by two people. His attitude comes from a nasty waiter that served Jim Henson and former director Jon Stone at a restaurant called Oscar's Tavern in Manhattan. The voice was inspired by a cab-driver that used to drive 'Carroll Spinney' to the set every day during the first season.

5.) ~In 2004, Cookie Monster revealed that, before trying cookies for the first time, his name was Sid. ( Mason and I watched that show. Along with other children I was babysitting at the time. Who would have ever guessed his name was Sid?)

6.) ~Snuffy's baby sister is named Alice.

7.) ~ Elmo's goldfish is named Dorothy. ( Mason loves Elmo and he once named a goldfish here Dorothy after Elmo's fish.)

8.) ~Ernie originally had his own bedroom instead of sharing a bedroom with Bert. ( I remember that actually.. I wonder why they changed it?)

9.) ~ After the death of Jim Henson in 1990, the show stopped producing new sketches featuring Kermit the Frog. Kermit appeared only in reruns of old sketches until 1998, when he popped up to do a Sesame Street News Flash when Oscar the Grouch's pet worm Slimy went into space. He appeared again in 2001, reporting on a hurricane with Al Roker. Kermit is now voiced by Steve Whitmire, who has also assumed the role of Ernie since Henson's passing. ( didn't Y'all wonder what had happened to Kermit.. I did!)

10.) ~ To answer the immortal question, here is how to get to Sesame Street: Take the "R" or "V" train to Steinway Street. Stay on back of train. Walk west on 34th Avenue, three blocks to 36th Street. Turn left on 36th Street. The entrance to Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens is mid-block (between 34th & 35th Avenues). And there you shall find Sesame Street! ( or at least the sets where it is filmed!)


I hope you have enjoyed our visit to Sesame Street today. I watched it with my children and we would count and spell and learn together. We would sing and laugh together at the muppets and at each other. Mason still watches it when he is here and sits down long enough to watch Television. Sometimes I just turn it on and enjoy it all by myself. You can laugh at me if you want to. I won't care. I'll be too busy laughing at all the funny creatures That enjoy a good life together down On Sesame Street. If you have small children or any children, I invite you to watch TV with them. If you truly hate Sesame Street~ ( yes, I have met people who do!)~ then choose something else. But sit and relax and simply enjoy the show just for a little while. Give them just a small amount of your time. You might even enjoy it. I promise you that you will build memories and a special bond with your children by sharing fun time with them. Have a wonderful Day and as Cookie monster always says ~ Cowabunga!
Patsy

A Housework Holiday!

Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don't do it. ~Author Unknown~

Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy. ~Author Unknown~


“Life is denied by lack of attention, whether it be to cleaning windows or trying to write a masterpiece.” ~Nadia Boulanger~

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~ Phyllis Diller~


Guess what today is? Today is NO HOUSE WORK DAY!!
Finally a day that I will be happy to celebrate. Tickled to death in fact. I don't have to buy a gift or wear a funny hat. I don't have to bring any special food or wear a shirt of any particular color. This is a day to celebrate!One of my favorite days. A holiday from housework.


Years ago when my kids were small I developed a plan for housework. It came right in the middle between I'm busy with a child and I'll finish this later. That's the way it worked for me.I always managed to keep the dishes all washed and the floors clean. Everything else got done when I found a spare moment. If you have small kids you will understand that spare minutes are very rare. If you ever find one an emergency will immediately arrive to gobble it up.

I personally know women who drives themselves nuts trying to keep their house spotlessly clean. They sweep or dust every single day. They carry a cloth and polish of some kind with them every where seeking out and destroying every speck of dust of dirt. Making themselves and their families miserable. Dust happens, dirt happens, even spills happen. Sometimes I want to say to them. " Girl, put your feet up and relax. Take a day off. Give a cobweb a chance to start. It won't destroy your life, It might even enrich it.

I see tips and hints on-line all the time. I read most of them because if I can get a job done faster I'm all for that! I honestly hate most house work. It's not the job itself that I hate. It's the loss of the time it takes.Time that I could spend writing or reading a good book. Time that I could spend With my husband or children or My sweet Grand-children.. I hate to give valuable time to cleaning. I know cleaning is important but it shouldn't always be the most important. I always read over the hints and tips but I have never found a wonderful easy way to clean a house. It takes work and a plan to get that work accomplished. Once you have a plan you execute it in what ever way works for you and your house. Maybe you have time in the afternoon or maybe your time is at midnight. No two of us can follow the same plan. No two of our lives are exact.


When my children were small I did floors on Monday and laundry on Tuesday. Dusting on Wednesday and on Thursday I did a little of everything. I Did what ever I had to on the other days to keep everything in good shape. It was right then when I got a routine established that I decided to get married again and I doubled my household size instantly. Let me assure you that eight people use an awful lot of towels . I needed one whole day each week just to wash bath towels. Then there were sheets and blankets and rugs.. Not to mention clothes for all those people. So for many years every days plan included laundry. Every days plan included washing bath towels!

I now live in the smallest household I have ever in my life lived. Dave and I make very little mess. We do live in an old home on a dirt road so dust will always be an issue here. I really could skip days and days here and there and simply ignore all house keeping and get away with it. No one would notice. The truth is that I don't really need a holiday from housekeeping. I have been taking those holidays with-out permission for years and years. When I missed a day of house cleaning, no one cared. If the children wanted to go fishing or on a picnic at the lake, the floors would still be needing a sweeping when we got back. The dishes would wait to be washed after the bedtime stories were told and retold and the songs sang a thousand times and then once more. I always managed to get it all done.. eventually.

We lived in our house and it reflected that fact. I always cleaned the kitchen every night before I went to bed myself.. I have a thing about dirty dishes. I'm not going to bed with them in my house. Another trick I had was to get up a few minutes early and do laundry before the rest of the house was awake. I could get a load started while my coffee made. Them move on to something else while it washed. I also gave the older kids an extra amount of allowance for any chores they did.. You would be surprised at how much it helps when someone else folds a load of towels or dusts the bookshelves. I always welcomed their help and they always loved the extra money they got for doing chores. When you have eight people in your house, you have no choice but to figure out a way to get it all done. We had a lot of chores but we took days off for relaxing and play. We took whole weeks off for camping trips or trips to the beach. If you have children, remember that housework will wait. Nothing is as important as children. Not the load of dirty clothes, the breakfast dishes, or the cobweb hiding behind the screen porch door. Give your self a NO HOUSEWORK Holiday often. Put down that broom and have a great day!
Patsy.