A to Z Challenge post - F is for Floromancy and Fargo

 

Howdy do, all! Hope you are enjoying the A to Z Challenge so far. I am very proud of the fact that I have been able to keep up with the daily posts; although I probably just set myself up for failure by mentioning that out loud!

Today's word is: floromancy. If you have any knowledge of word roots, you can probably tell this has something to do with flowers, and you would be right! Floromancy is the act of divination by flowers or plants. For example, trying to determine if someone loves you by pulling off the petals of a flower (he loves me, he loves me not). It is based on the belief that flowers and plants radiate vibrations, react to a sympathetic or hostile environment, and are affected by electrical shocks. 

One of the most obvious popular uses is for love or romance. According to Occultpedia, in Victorian England two flowers that had not yet blossomed would be paired, and the initials of certain lovers names would be placed on the stems. After placing the flowers in a secret place for 10 days, the diviner would then observe certain portents; for example, if any flower twined the other, it would indicate that the man and woman whose initials were used were going to be married.

The term floromancy is also sometimes used to indicate the belief that flowers can cure disease.

So, there you have it. 

Today's "F" movie is Fargo. Oh my goodness, I love this movie. It's mostly for the accents. This 1996 Ethan and Joel Coen movie stars William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, and Peter Stormare. The plot is about an inept car salesman's attempt to extort money from his wealthy father-in-law by getting two even more inept guys to kidnap his wife and hold her for ransom. Things go badly pretty quickly, and what was supposed to be a non-violent affair turns violent, bloody, and more violent and bloody by the minute. The extremely pregnant sheriff of Brainerd, MN, gets wind of the crimes and tenaciously follows the clues to the very bloody end. Did I mention that the film is bloody? There's also a sex scene thrown in that I don't really think is necessary, but I guess it sheds some light on the two thugs' personalities. Also, the F-word is used pretty profusely. The film won two Oscars in 1997: Best Actress in a Leading Role (Frances McDormand) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Ethan and Joel Coen).

And in some sort of weird epilogue, once you have watched the movie, check out this story about a Japanese woman who left her life in Tokyo to come to the US to search for the ransom money that was buried in the snow outside of Brainerd. The article is called, "Death In The Snow", and details the story of Takako Konishi, her quest to find the buried ransom money, her pointless death, and how Paul Berczeller retraced her last days. Sometimes, truth is definitely stranger than fiction.

Well, that's it for today. TTFN!

A to Z Challenge post – E is for Epilate and Eastern Promises

Happy Monday all! Today is my extra day off and I’m down in Portland to take Mom to the dentist today. Last Monday I took her in to see a doctor about hearing aids – talk about an eye opener. Holy budget-breaker, Batman! The pair she tried on was $6500. Yep. And does Medicare cover any of it? Not a dime. Jerks.

But, I digress.

Today’s fun word is: epilate. Definition: to remove hair from by means of physical, chemical, or radiological agents (that last one seems a bit extreme, but there you go). This reminds me of a funny story.

How many of you out there remember that hit of the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s – The Epilady?

 

This fabulous little bastard contraption cooed promises of silky smooth skin, WITH NO PAIN! AT ALL! Seriously – ignore the wicked looking metal coil and listen to my calm voice – we swear it won’t hurt! There just some mild discomfort as your leg, face and/or underarm hair is mercilessly yanked out by the root! No – wait – come back! It probably won’t even bleed (much)!
My sister and I fell for it; then after getting it home, argued who would have to use it first. Eventually Sissy lost out in an epic two out of three Rock, Sissors, Paper challenge and fired that little sucker up. Now, keep in mind that my sister had given birth to three children – two of them at home with NO DRUGS. She only managed to handle a spot on her leg about the size of a quarter. The kids were found later hiding in the bathroom, standing in the tub with the shower curtain drawn around them. The girls used to threaten their brother with it when he was giving them a hard time; Alisha actually pinned Jeremy to the floor one night and stuck it in his arm pit, then threatened to turn it on. Even now, on the cusp of his 40^th birthday, you can whisper “Epilady” to him and he will fall to the ground in a fetal position. Suffice it to say, that thing never really caught on in our house.

And now, today’s film choice: Eastern Promises.

This 2007 film stars Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, and Armin Mueller-Stahl. Viggo plays the mysterious and ruthless Nikolai, who is tied to one of London’s most notorious organized crime families. His carefully maintained existence is jarred when he crosses paths with Anna (Naomi), an innocent midwife trying to right a wrong, who accidentally uncovers potential evidence against the family. Now Nikolai must put into motion a harrowing chain of murder, deceit, and retribution.

Some nice twists; it is worth watching the extra material on the DVD. Something interesting – Viggo is covered with (temporary) Russian prison and organized crime tattoos. One day after shooting, he went to a local pub without removing any of them (they cover his body, including his hands as in the picture above). Apparently an elderly couple saw his tats and recognized them. They very quickly and quietly got the hell out of there.

This film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Viggo Mortensen). I loved it, and not just because you get to see *ahem* all of Mr. Mortensen’s…erm…assets while he fends off assassins in a bath house. Just a warning there.

Well, I hope you all had nice weekends, and here’s hoping we all have a great week. Thanks again for stopping by, and thank you so much to all who leave comments. I try to answer or leave comments on your blog, but I’m not completely sure they are going through. I promise I’m not ignoring you!

TTFN.

A to Z Challenge Post - D is for dumberdash and Death At A Funeral

Hello campers.

Today's D word is: dumberdash. This is a wonderful term refering to a sudden heavy downpour of rain; sometimes "dunderdash" is used. I love this word, but I'm not exactly sure why. Living here in the great Pacific Northwest, we experience these on a fairly regular basis. There is a spot on I-5, between Kelso and Kalama, that seems to generate its own independent weather. It can be gently raining, or not even raining at all, when suddenly you can see this wall of water appearing on the road in front of you; it's like driving into a car wash that has been set to "apocalyptic". Suddenly you can't see a single thing and it's raining hard enough to take the paint off your car. If you're lucky, you will see the brake lights of the vehicle immediately in front of you before you plow into them; and if you're REALLY lucky, the vehicle behind you will see your brake lights before they plow into you, etc. It would be funny, if it didn't make you want to shart yourself.

Today's D movie is: Death At A Funeral (british version). Stars Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, Andy Nyman, Ewen Bremner, Daisy Donovan, and Alan Tudyk.

I couldn't have summed up the plot any better than Guy Bellinger did over on IMDb: Daniel is a decent young man, married to Jane, still living at his father's home. When his father dies, it is up to him to organize his funeral. On this painful morning, the suitable grave expression on his face, Daniel is ready to welcome his father's friends and relatives. But preserving the dignity inherent in such circumstances will be a hard task. Particularly with an undertaker who botches his work, the return from the USA of his famous but selfish brother, his cousin's fiancé who has accidentally ingested drugs, the presence a moron who takes advantage of the sad event to win back the heart (or rather the body) of a woman who is about to marry another, of a handicapped old uncle who is also the most unbearable pain in the neck. To cap it all, Daniel notices the presence among the mourners of a mysterious dwarf nobody else seems to know... Written by Guy Bellinger

This movie made me laugh so hard in so many places. Alan Tudyk really steals the show in my opinion. There was a remake in the US a few years later that is also pretty good, but this is much better, I think.

Hope you are enjoying the A to Z Challenge so far!

TTFN.

A to Z Challenge Post – C is for Caboched and Cabin Fever

Hello, and welcome to day three of the A to Z Challenge.

Today’s letter is C, and our word today is caboched. The definition is: showing the full face, but nothing of the neck; the head of a beast in armorial bearing. Please to enjoy the following image example:

And there you have it.

Today’s “C” movie is Cabin Fever.

 

Released in 2003, this comedy/horror film has the following plot:  Five college graduates rent a remote mountain cabin in the woods and begin to fall victim to a horrifying flesh-eating virus, which attracts the unwanted attention of the homicidal locals. As it spreads among the friends, their true personalities emerge as they struggle to survive the virus, the homicidal locals, and each other. Stars Rider Strong, Jordan Ladd, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent and Joey Kern. This movie had the lowest budget of any Lion’s Gate Film released in 2003 ($1.5 million) and was their highest grossing film of 2003 ($22 million). It was also the most profitable horror film released in 2003. Watch all the way to the end (I can’t remember if it is before, after, or during the credits) to see Matthew Helms do some great stuff with a stick.

Again, nothing Oscar worthy happening here, but if you’re in the mood for some gore and a bit of dark humor, this would fit the bill.

TTFN!

A to Z Challenge post - B is for bahuvrihi and Babylon A.D.

Howdy! Today's blog challenge "B" word is: bahuvrihi. Pronounced bah-hoo-vree-hee, a bahuvrihi is a compound noun or adjective consisting of two constituents: the first is adjectival and describes the person or object denoted by the second, which is nominal: the compound as a whole denotes or describes a person or object having what is denoted by the second element. Here are a few examples: sabretooth (a sabretooth is neither a sabre nor a tooth, but a feline with sabre-like teeth), heavy-handed, boneheaded and redcoat.

Alllllllrighty then. 

My "B" movie choice for today is Babylon A.D. (not to be confused with a B movie. Although, some people may disagree). This movie stars my husband one of my favorite hunky crushes, Vin Diesel. 

Here is the description from IMBd: 

"In a near future, the mercenary Toorop is hired by the powerful criminal Gorsky to take a woman named Aurora from a Noelite Convent in Central Asia to New York. In return, he will receive a large amount of money and a clear passport. Toorop joins Aurora and her guardian Sister Rebeka as they cross the dangerous Russian landscape chased by mercenaries that also want Aurora. On their journey, Toorop discovers that Aurora has special abilities and once in New York, they see on the news that the Noelite Convent has just been bombed. When Aurora discloses that she is a virgin and pregnant with twins, Toorop realizes that there is something sinister behind his mission and that he and Sister Rebeka are not part of Gorsky's plans." 

It also stars Michelle Yeoh and Melanie Thierry, with even Charlotte Rampling and Gerard Depardieu thrown in for good measure. Oscar worthy? Hardly. But a good solid sci-fi flick. 

Thanks for stopping by! TTFN.

A to Z blog post - A is for aardwolf and Absolutely Fabulous

OK - here we go. The first post of the A to Z Challenge (claps and rubs hands together). If you are new to my blog, I guess I would classify it as eclectic. I write about a bunch of stuff: my life, my crafts - mostly cross stitch and card making, and anything else that comes to mind. My A to Z subjects are unusual or not very well known words and either movies or TV programs that I personally own copies of or are my favorites. You never know, you may find a new movie to watch or learn a word that may win you some serious money on Jeopardy!

A is for aardwolf. An aardwolf is not a cross between an aardvark and a wolf - which is probably a good thing because I think something like that might haunt my nightmares! Here is what they look like:

Photo: hyenasanctuary.com

If you think he looks a lot like a hyena, you are right. The aardwolf is actually a kissing cousin of the more bone-crushing group that we normally think of. There are two ranges where they can be found; the first involves South Africa, Zambia and Botswana. The second consists of the East African countries of Ethiopia, Central Tanzania, Kenya, and Somalia. They only eat termites, which I thought was interesting. Some choose to mate for life, or a male may mate with a number of females; however, he will help raise the cubs with only one select female. 

If you are interested in learning more, I got my information from hyenasanctuary.com.

Now for the other part of the letter A today: Absolutely Fabulous. This is hands down one of my favorite Britcoms (if not THE favorite). 

                                       

This hilarious series stars Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Julia Swahala, June Whitfield, and Jane Horrocks. The show is brilliant in its uncensored bad behavior and satirical humor. The series features Edina (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy (Joanna Lumley) as two hard drinking, drug taking, completely and outrageously selfish middle-aged women. Julia Swahala plays Edina's moral and conservative daughter, Saffron, who is the bane of Patsy's existence. Jane Horrocks plays Edina's bubble-headed fashion nightmare of a PA; June Whitfield is Edina's oblivious mother. The series ran from 1991-2012, with several specials and years in between seasons. In fact, there is almost 10 years between season 5 and season 6. Very different from American TV shows; here we run anywhere from 10-25 episodes per seasons, and we run the seasons every year.

I own all the DVDs of this show with the exception of the 6th season. It's on my Amazon wish list; I need to skip ordering craft stuff and just buy it! I have seen only the first episode of that season, and I'm dying to see the rest. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed this first installment of the A to Z Challenge! Thanks for stopping by; please leave me a comment (I love them!) and if you'd like to follow me, I'd be honored. I look forward to checking out all the participating blogs; and it looks like there will be well over 1,000 participants! YAY!

TTFN.

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Yay! Crafty Mini-Haul

I hate going to the post office to get our mail. It’s inconvenient, kinda creepy, and I usually have to pee by the time I get there, and there aren’t any restrooms around. Well, there is a nasty port-a-potty in the parking lot of the grocery store next door, but…no. However, when I know there are crafting goodies waiting for me, I can’t wait to get there.

I’m on a pretty strict budget; I get paid every week so I try to break up my budgeted amount so that I order something every other week or so. Sometimes I order just once from one retailer so that I save on shipping costs; sometimes I order from several different retailers because I can’t get everything I want from one place.

I received some cool stuff on Tuesday from Sweet Stamp Shop, and then yesterday from Simon Says Stamp and Stampendous. Here is what I bought this month:

From the Sweet Stamp Shop I bought the Beer Wishes and Handcrafted stamp sets. From Stampendous I got this adorable dog die from Dreamweaver Stencils. And from Simon Says Stamp I got the new Abandoned Coral Distress Marker by Tim Holtz, PrimaFlowers Brush Strokes stamp set, and Mama Elephant’s Hello Script die.  Sorry for all of the links, but I am cheating and posting this from work, and I can't get pictures to post. Shhhh....

I can’t wait to get busy creating with these new goodies! I also have the SSS card kits from January – March to play with; the March kit has my head spinning like you would not believe! I have to get my room cleaned up (current status: looks like a F5 tornado hit it) so that Les and Jim can hang my new (to me) ceiling fan/light. I am so excited!! Imagine, I’ll actually have an overhead light in my room at last. No more getting to work to discover my shirt has stains on it that I couldn’t see when I got dressed, or that my socks actually match. It is a really cool looking fan too; it will go with my ultimate décor once I finally get to start on that. I will post a picture when it’s installed.

Before I go, I wanted to say WELCOME! to my two newest followers: Karen Hasheck and Darnell Knauss. Thanks so much for following my blog; it really means so much to me. Please take a moment to check out their great blogs!

Well, gotta go. I plan to make something for this week’s Monday Mojo’s blog challenge, so I’ll get creative tomorrow! As soon as I get up! Which hopefully will be before Noon! I’ve got to say, while I am very grateful for the new work schedule (Tues-Fri, 7am-6pm), combining it with the new Daylight Savings Time is just about to kill me. Yesterday I went to the bathroom and fell asleep in there. I was dreaming and everything! I didn’t even know I had fallen asleep until I woke up because I hit my head on the toilet paper dispenser. Sheesh. Oh well; I’m sure it will get better with time.

TTFN!

A to Z Challenge – Am I Nuts?

Once again I am going to join the A to Z Blog Challenge. I really enjoyed doing it last year, even if I only made it about halfway through. It was fun and I made some new blogging friends. I really hope to complete it this year! I think I will stick with a similar theme as last time: random words/thoughts pertaining to the day’s assigned letter, along with a movie, TV show, or book that starts with that same letter. I now know something this year that I didn’t know last year – you can type up blogs in advance and then set them to post at certain times/dates. That will help me out a lot!!

Wish me luck!

Mojo Monday #389

Woo hoo! I did another challenge! And this time, I'm posting more than an hour before it closes.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my interpretation:

Gaahhh!! I just noticed the "Your text here" thingy from iPiccy - how the heck did I miss that? Please ignore. Sheesh.

And here is the inside:

Sorry for the picture quality; it isn't too bad, but the best light in the house today is in the bathroom! The card is on the window sill; fortunately I was able to crop out all the dead flies.

I'm only sort of happy with this card; the sentiment is crooked for starters. The tan paper is not what I wanted to use; I was sure (and I still am) that I had some cream paper in my stash - this is more of a tan and it's a little too dark to coordinate with the patterned paper. 

I made this a 6" x 6" card. (I'm thinking about doing this exact same card over again, but in the classic A2 size.) I switched the side that the diamond and flower area are on to hide a boo-boo I made with the ribbon. I'm still learning about embellishments; I don't quite have the knack for knowing what type, how many, etc. to put on my cards. Since I'm not a huge user of flowers, I used several little paper ones I've had in my stash for years in lieu of the one large one; I also used some sequins, which is waaaaay out of my comfort zone!

I'd also like to enter this card in Darnell Knauss's NBUS (never before used schtuff) challenge. She left me the nicest comment on my last post; please check out her blog - she is super talented and super funny! Pretty much everything on the card is a NBUS, but my favorite is the DP. Isn't it gorgeous? I have been dying to use it ever since it arrived in my PO box!

Well, that's it for now. I am very happy that I had a chance to do something crafty this weekend. I read (and follow) tons of blogs, look at cards on Pinterest, and watch videos on YouTube. and it makes me crazy that I can't carve out more time to make things right now. I think about them when I'm at work, while I'm driving, and I even dream about them! But when it comes time to actually make something, I seem to freeze up. I think I'm afraid of wasting paper and other things by making something that I hate, or that just doesn't work. I also sometimes feel intimidated by all the other crafters out there that are so much better than I am; but I am determined to get over that. I just need to practice, and I know that others that are tops in the crafting world make mistakes or wind up with stuff they aren't happy with but they keep going. And can I just say how AWESOME the crafting community is? Everyone is so encouraging and positive; I have never seen a mean or cutting comment left for someone. I really appreciate that. It can be hard to put yourself out there, especially if it is something you made yourself and you are proud of it.

Here is what I used to make the card. Thanks for taking the time to stop by - I appreciate it! 

• Card base: some cool lavender stock I had in my stash
• Designer paper: Docrafts Papermania Capsule collection - French Lavender 8x8 paper pad
• Yucky tan paper: Recollections Neutral paper pack
• Ribbon: Tempo Celebrate It - purchased at Michael's
• Sentiment: Hampton Art Jillibean Soup clear stamps - Handwritten Sentiments
• Small paper flowers: EK Success Jolee's By You - have had these for a million years
• Sequins: Doodlebug Design rainbow assortment pack - the bottles are teeny but you get about a billion sequins in each bottle!
• Paper punch used inside the card: The Paper Studio flower chain border punch

TTFN!

Mojo Monday 388 - Whew!

I did it! I managed to get a card made, uploaded, and posted! And only 2 hours before the deadline!

Sheesh.

Anyhoo, here is the sketch I used from Mojo Monday:


And here is my card:

Sorry that the picture is a little wonky. I hope you like it!

The card base is a not-quite-black from Recollections; the yellow "Woof" background, paw prints, and hearts are all from Bo Bunny - Happy Tails; the large circle is white card stock that I accidentally dropped by foam ink blender tool on, so it has Antique Photo distress ink blended on it; the stamp is from a Hero Arts Operation Write Home stamp set. I fussy cut the dog collar out of some more Happy Tails paper, and the two copper dots are from All That Bling.

Thanks for looking!

I Think I'm Back in the Saddle Again!

Woo hoo! I think I am back online again.

Remember when I said that my computer died a few months ago? I had been researching what kind of computer to get - that I could afford - to replace it. I was checking on HSN and QVC, mostly because you can make 4-6 payments, which would work great with my budget constraints. I was also checking out Amazon. One thing that keep coming up in my Amazon searches was something called a Chromebox. I wasn't really sure what it did, and generally kept ignoring it. Then, one day, I was reading a New-to-me craft blog that I follow and was reading some of her past posts. Her post was talking about how their home PC died and they replaced it with a Chromebox, and how much she was loving it. So, I went back to Amazon and took a closer look at it.

To make a long story short, I decided that would work for me; and at $150 vs. $400-500, the price was right as well. I asked Sis if I could borrow the money from them, and Les decided that they would just buy it for me - no loan required. I got it the other day, and I'm now up and running! I had to buy a cordless keyboard and mouse ($40 at BestBuy) and an adapter cable for my older monitor ($50), but it was totally worth it. If you want to know more about it, leave me a comment and I'll try to answer any questions you may have.

Now I should be able to post pictures, etc. without problems, and without trying to do it on the sly at work. It bothered my conscience to do that; that's why there haven't been many posts lately. I can't wait to be able to share things again!

I can't remember if I mentioned in my last post that Mom fell and broke her collarbone? Well, it turns out that she broke it in two places, with one of them being a subluxation - meaning that the bones are misaligned. She has a large lump near her throat, which is the end of the fracture that is subluxated. They don't do surgery or anything for that; you just get to live with it. Sis is still having trouble with her own health and we decided that I need to help her out with Mom. Sis goes down to Mom's (150 miles from here) on Thursday evening and often stays until Monday evening or Tuesday afternoon. Then she comes home for a few partial days and one full day - depending on when she gets here - and she cannot get anything accomplished at home, and she doesn't get to spend any quality time with her husband.

I asked for and was (very surprisingly) granted a change in my work schedule. I'm now working four 10-hour days with Mondays off. Sis comes home on Sunday nights, I go down Sunday afternoon and stay through Tuesday morning. I get Mom off to work Monday morning (yep, she still works at 79! Full days Monday and Friday, half a day Saturday), pick her up from work Monday evening, and I head to work Tuesday morning from her house. I get a three-day weekend and get to spend more time with Mom; Sis gets to spend three full and one partial day at home with hubby and the fur-kids. So far, everyone is happy with the arrangement.

Well, thanks for listening, and I hope to participate in some card making challenges where I can actually link the picture to my blog! I really enjoy the challenge blogs; I've started following several new ones and love all the creative people and inspiration I'm getting from them. Hopefully, maybe, perhaps I'll gain a few new followers as well. It might make dealing with stupid daylight "savings" time a little more pleasant. *grump*

TTFN!