Back to Thread #30

TPBM will kindly start posting here now.

Message edited by its author, Nov 9, 2009, 7:31pm.

Sure.

The person below me is too old to be trusted now.

Guilty, as charged.

TPBM knows the origin of the phrase "You can't trust anyone over thirty".

Panama Red.

TPBM let their freak flag fly.

oops too slow, sorry.

>#3: Jack Weinberger (whoever that is), according to answers.com, although also attributed to Bob Dylan (whoever that is), the beatles (whatever that is), and jerry rubin (one of the inventors of ice-cream).

I would have gone with "an actor from Logan's Run", myself.

TPBM knows what Logan's Run is, and thier crystal has therefore changed colour.

>#4: no way, man.

TPBM knows semaphore.

Edited because i'm slow.

Message edited by its author, Nov 9, 2009, 8:01pm.

I've got a long-standing crush for Jenny Agutter because of that movie.

I used to know semaphore when I was a youngster in Scouts. It hasn't been in the Boy Scout Handbook for over 20 years.

TPBM does the FaceBook thing.

No, but people keep asking me to. I can't believe my 50-year-old daughter has a farm. lol

TPBM does the MySpace thing.

No, Library Thing seems to take up all my spare time these days.

TPBM spends more than two hours a day on LT

Whenever possible.

TPBM lives with someone who understands about LT addiction.

Sorta. No matter how hard I try, I can't convince my mother to show her face here. But she is a recovering librarian.

The person below me will tell us his/her/its favorite song.

I think I don't actually have one, although Greensleeves comes to mind, words and music.

The person below me thinks that because music is recreational they don't actually have to pay attention to it

SHHHH!!!! Mozart...

TPBM know what I mean.

Yes, I do, but my husband wouldn't.

TPBM loves the voice of Andrea Bocelli.

PeeEss~I agree with the over thirty thing but think we should eliminate the zero.

Message edited by its author, Nov 10, 2009, 2:39am.

Bocelli is OK, but he's not operatic enough for me - he seems to need a microphone. I think by far the best bel canto tenor around at the moment is Juan Diego Florez - magnifico!

TPBM has heard one of the "Three Tenors" sing live.

Good grief no, I wouldn’t pay $1,000 if a performer came to my house, though I’d think about going for Cecilia Bartoli.

TPBM always/never dresses for the theater.

Being as there is no theater in my little city the answer to that one is - no. However, I do cover my nakedness in order to go to the movies.

TPBM is looking forward to seeing a midnight viewing of stupid "New Moon".

Message edited by its author, Nov 10, 2009, 12:31pm.

Good grief no. I'm not into vampires, so it's a good thing I don't have one of those nutjob all-things-remotely-Twilight fans around to pester me about it. (I hope that if I did, said nutjob would be a non-knitter. I'm a rabid enough knitter to have gotten an entire set of interchangable circular knitting needles through airport security without the TSA screeners batting an eye -- I suspect they saw how much yarn I had insulating the needles.)

The person below me has also gotten something interesting through airport security.

Message edited by its author, Nov 10, 2009, 12:41pm.

Well, 20 years ago I headed off to Hamburg to see a friend, and we heard something was happening up in Berlin, so we hitched up there - lo and behold, the Wall was coming down! It was only when I got back to Manchester that I realised I had a lump of cannabis resin in the pocket of my biker's jacket that I'd completely forgotten about ... a lucky escape, really!

TPBM loves motorbikes.

Maybe, the only time I've ever been on one I was a passenger and almost got splattered all over Rt. 7. If I move out west or to a more rural area I'd be more likely to get one but the drivers around DC are too nutjobbish to even consider it.

>>Soph- Wow, you were actually there? That must have been amazing.

TPBM has also witnessed history.

Love may be too strong a word. I used to ride a motorcycle - an off-road bike, really. It was my sole mode of transportation for about a year. Then someone backed out of a parking space and broke my right hip in five places. At the time, I was going a screaming ten mph. I drove a motorcycle just once after that, two years later, after I finished up my physical therapy. I like motorcycles, but am painfully aware of how vulnerable the rider is to injury.

Probably, but I haven't had any coffee today, so I can't be sure.

TPBM has never had a broken bone.

Message edited by its author, Nov 10, 2009, 1:27pm.

Not yet, anyway. But my husband has, at various times, broken both thumbs and one arm. All during recreational activities.

TPBM prefers recreational activities that do not involve broken bones.

Only in that I can engage in them more frequently.

TPBM has a weather station set up on the house or in the yard.

Yes, we do. It's near the Leland cypresses on the other side of the wax myrtles. Unfortunately, birds like to sit on it and if we get lots of rain but it only registers .2 inches, we know that bird poop is clogging it up.

It feeds data into the 2 weather monitors in the house. My daughter checks it first thing in the morning so she knows how many layers to put on to go feed the horses at 6 a.m. (now that it's fall, she's rigging for arctic more frequently).

TPBM loves sudoku.

I do the one in our paper every morning. I like how they start easy on Monday and get harder as the week progresses. Saturday they have a random one.

TPBM can actually name the person who writes the crossword puzzle in their paper.

I'll never name names! Never!

TPBM is related to somebody famous.

I keep meaning to get that DNA check which will show that I am descended from Genghis Khan (like some ridiculous percentage of those of European origin). He was obviously a busy boy with the rape and pillage thing.

Otherwise, I think it was the wife of my great-grandfather's younger brother who could find a connection to Dwight D Eisenhower. How's that?

TPBM spends time on genealogical websites.

Not by choice. I work in a public library so get lots of genealogy questions. They are not my favourite.

TPBM will be going to Remembrance Day ceremonies tomorrow

Not being Canadian, I'm not quite sure what it's about.
On the other hand, tomorrow is Veterans Day in the U.S., and there's a strong probability I'll be going to a ceremony for the still-living that have served in our Armed Forces. It all depends on what time my son will be returning my truck to me.

TPBM has served or is currently serving in the Armed Forces, and if so, please consider this a slightly premature salute to you.

No, but I agree with you completely. It's the men and women of the Armed Forces that make it possible for me to be a silly bastard and the nation, the world, owe you an unpayable debt. Thank you all.

As WHL wrote- TPBM has served or is currently serving in the Armed Forces, and if so, please consider this a slightly premature salute to you.

Nope, my only (tangential) contact with the armed forces was that, during WWII, my mother - a woman who loathed and detested numbers - was put into the wages corps. Round peg, square hole!

(SomeGuy - yes, it was pretty remarkable to be in Berlin then. My favourite graffito on the Wall was "Don't worry, DDR - Baldrick has a cunning plan!")

TPBM wishes the armed forces were better equipped, on the grounds that if they're going to be sent to fight for unclear reasons, they should at least have equipment that does its job.

Sadly, it's way, way too late for all those U.S. soldiers in Iraq who were killed or maimed by IEDs while traveling in Humvees lacking armored plates.

Having learned from experience, TPBM wisely avoids political discourse.

I wisely avoid some and not so wisely engage in others.

TPBM avoids buying furniture made from particle board, or as I affectionately call it 'Beaver puke'

Don't buy no Beaver puke.

I've always either done without or bought solid wood. We inherited a lot of beautiful furniture from my MiL too - when she closed her house and went into a retirement community it all came to us. My favorite is an antique pine corner hutch.

TPBM also has a favorite piece of furniture.

My reading chair...naturally...although it has recently become covered with cat hair which, I assume, means that our 23 pound cat sleeps there when I am not home.

TPBM is more of a dog person (like me)

I like critters, dogs included.

TPBM has had H1N1.

I am writing this, therefore I haven't.

I'm in the high-risk category, but there hasn't been any of the vaccine available in the Austin area. I have gotten the standard flu shot, though.

TPBM is a writer.

Yes. I write letters, an anomaly now.

TPBM is over 64, therefore isn't eligible for the H1N1 flu vaccine. Does this mean he/she should die quickly? He/She also has not had a seasonal flu vaccine because there is none available where he/she lives.

Let's see -- I am under 64 so that eliminates me from the high risk group. Philosophically speaking, if I have to go, I want to go quickly. And no, I haven't had a flu vaccine simply because I have not (hitherto) gotten the flu. I am pretty good about getting rest as necessary and I chiefly deal with the public in an online environment so tend not to be exposed to particularly bad bugs. That said, my son did get the flu this past month.

The person below me isn't really worried about getting the flu.

I can't say I'm terribly concerned. I don't enjoy getting sick, but, hey, it happens. As far as H1N1 specifically goes, the reports are that it is pretty mild, as long as you have no underlying medical conditions. If a vaccination clinic is convenient I'll probably get vaccinated, but I won't go far out of my way for it.

TPBM thinks I am tempting providence.

I don't think anyone in Rhode Island's capitol city is taking the bait.

TPBM hasn't seen a music video on television since Madonna was a brunette.

I was quite charmed by Madonna's "Crazy For You" video, but she lost me after that.

TPBM misses '80s MTV.

Message edited by its author, Nov 11, 2009, 11:45pm.

Edit: I'm very, very slow.

No, never saw any.

The person below me has had Mexican food recently and/or will tell us your favorite Mexican dish.

Message edited by its author, Nov 11, 2009, 11:48pm.

Beans.

The person below me remembers what Rocket Morton was powered by and for whom he played.

A misplaced confidence in the power of a feather boa to cover a multitude of sins, and the boys at St. Crispin’s?

TPBM is taking a class.

I am taking two online classes. One is about ethics and the other is programming in html.

TPBM has class.

Yes, in 2½ hours. (And yes, I meant that in response to #45.) It's a bookkeeping class.

The person below me agrees that bookkeeping is probably more recession-proof than many other possible career paths.

Nope, politics is the most recession-proof career. More's the pity.

TPBM thinks something dreadful will happen in 2012.

Sure something expensive will break and it'll cost me a fortune to fix. Really I'm just hoping for a world wide paradigm shift. It was the end of the Aztec world last time.

TPBM enjoys conspiracy stuff for fun, not from some strong deeply held belief.

Actually I could write seriously at length about how I have fun with the notion of grand conspiracies, but that would not be much fun right now.

The person below me realizes that we are in the times before the death of the universe.

Yes. We have always been in the times before the death of the universe.

TPBM is a history buff.

I was a history major in college; senior thesis had to do with Louisa May Alcott, Little Women, and the Cult of the Lady.

The person below me doesn't like the book Little Women

It's ok. I liked the movie with Katherine Hepburn better than the more recent one.

"Beth dies!"

TPBM knows what best-selling memoir included that revelation.

No, I cried buckets when I read the book years and years ago, but I haven't read anything recently that references Beth's life or death. There was another movie version where Peter Lawford played Laurie and Elizabeth Taylor played the self centered sister (I can't remember her name). Jo was miscast in that version.

The person below me does not enjoy watching various movie versions of books.

Generally, no - they always leave too much out! I did enjoy the film of The Hotel New Hampshire, though ...

TPBM is myopic.

Without glasses, I certainly am.

The person below me can "listen to the rhythm of the fallin rain" and fill in the next set of lyrics. (Think 1960's)

You shouldn't do things like that, Jill - I had to google the lyrics "Telling me just what a fool I've been" but the damn tune has been going round and round and round....

It'll stop soon, I expect, but just to rub in the problem, TPBM will carry on with "Met him on a Monday and my heart stood still..." from the same vintage.

Da doo ron ron ron, da doo ron ron.

TPBM will carry on with "All the kids in the marketplace say" (From the 80s.)

Da do ron ron ron, da do ron ron!

Too late!

Sadly, I know nothing about music from the 1980s.

*answer to the quiz in #52, it was in Betty MacDonald's memoir, The Egg and I. She tells how, as she was reading Little Women for the first time, her sister dramatically announced Beth's demise just to torture Betty. Ah, sisters!

TPBM has singing sisters.

Message edited by its author, Nov 13, 2009, 10:33am.

Sadly, I don't have ANY sisters, only brothers. But my mom and her sisters sing all the time!

TPBM has at least 5 siblings.

actually I do, 1 brother and 4 sisters.

TPBM knows at least one person who has at least 13 other siblings, (I happen to know 3 people from 3 separate families)

I know of such a family -- but only because they have a show on TV. I don't watch it, but I've seen the commercials.

The person below me is the middle child in his/her/its family.

Why, yes, I am. One sister on either side. Which is why I understand the sister thing.

TPBM is an only child.

As a child I thoght so - later I discovered a small quiverful of half siblings. I'm glad to have met them and maintained contact but I don't think I regret not having known them as a child.

TPBM has ceased to be amazed how folk get themselves into all sorts of difficulties all compounded by the need to keep such things secret.

Nope. Still amazes me.

The person below me gossips.

Nope, but I know a TON of people who do.

TPBM has an identical twin.

Yes, but we're not related.

Another ~me~, born the same day, took our driver's test on the same day (about 100 miles apart, in the same State), and at the time were the same height and weight, same color hair and eyes. We both ended up with the SAME drivers license number.

About a year and a half later, I was rear-ended in a car accident, and an hour or so later, ~he~ was arrested for something like doing 95 mph in a school zone. Both incidents (and points) ended up on MY drivers record. It took about 2 years to get it straightened out.

TPBM is anxiously awaiting for 5:00 so that s/he can begin the weekend.

Too late. This is going to be a nice, quiet weekend for me. (Famous last words.) I'm also moving to an apartment on the top floor. I knew I was going to move when I got rid of all those books- it's a sure sign. I signed the lease this afternoon and I'm ready to GO, baby.

TPBM is always ready to help a complete stranger move, wouldn't even think of saying no.

Of course I am. You just get started without me, and I'll get there in time to unpack your books.

TPBM has lived in the same place all their life.

My children have lived in the same county, my daughter in the same house. I, however, had more adventurous parents.

TPBM has lived on opposite sides of whatever country they inhabit (at different times, of course).

Yup! Have lived in the Northeast Corridor of the United States (Wash DC, Phila, NYC) and have also lived in California. Occasional stops mid-way...

The person below me likes living in the middle of their country (on whatever continent).

I live in the Southwest. I'm not sure how to define middle of the US. Anything east of El Paso is "back east." I do live in the middle of Arizona, come to think of it, but not the US.

The person below me is middle of the road.

I've got a 4-1/2" stripe painted on me to prove it.

TPBM has driven at night with the headlights off.

Once, in Las Vegas. The car was a rental and I never even noticed until I parked and reached to turn the lights off.

TPBM went to Las Vegas back when the mob ran it.

Never been there, but I believe you've made the false assumption that it's run by some ~other~ entity now.

TPBM cheats at solitaire.

If you play it online, you can't cheat. If you play it with *real* cards and cheat, it kind of takes the joy out of it.

The person below me is curious about chemin-de-fer.

As in Burt? Oh, wait, that's Bacharrach, not baccarat.
Never have played that game, but I have played a lot of Bacharrach records.

TPBM's favorite non-operatic singer is Dan Fogelberg.

Too slow...

You stepped in WHAT????

No idea (so yeah, you've piqued my curiosity...), something to do with iron, in a French-ish sort of way? Oh! it's an iron supplement that you put on escargot to mask the sliminess and lack of taste!

TPBM will verify this for us.

I like Fogelberg, but can't say he's my favorite. I prefer John Gorka or Richard Shindell; or if I must choose from the deceased, Stan Rogers.

TPBM wonders how we got from the French to Folk Music.

Message edited by its author, Nov 14, 2009, 5:25pm.

I don't know how we got here, but I'm happy if we get to talk about Stan Rogers.

The person below me thinks that how you get there is more important than where you end up.

I subscribe to the observation the late Harry Chapin used in his song, Greyhound --
"Stepping off of this dirty bus, first time I understood
got to be the going, not the getting there that's good.
That's a thought for keeping if I could
It's got to be the going, not the getting there - that's good."

The chorus begins with, "When you take the Greyhound, it's a dog of a way to get around..."

"How do you remember this?", you might ask. I played it on the guitar just yesterday.

TPBM has traveled long-distance (more than a few hours) by bus.

Message edited by its author, Nov 14, 2009, 11:47pm.

Yes. I used to travel from Chickasha, OK to Columbus, GA and back a lot. It used to be fun, but I'm not able to do that, now. My daughter and granddaughter went with me several times, and we'd go to Panama City Beach with relatives for a week or so (not on the bus). Fun times.

TPBM doesn't like to travel very much.

PeeEss~Ah, Harry Chapin! My favorite by him is "Mr. Tanner," followed closely by "30,000 Pounds of Bananas."

Message edited by its author, Nov 14, 2009, 11:58pm.

Nope, I love to travel.

TPBM likes adventure travel better than hotel hopping.

If, by adventure travel, you mean roughing it in a tent with bears and raccoons and snakes, then I definitely prefer hotel hopping.

The person below me likes the idea of hotels in exotic locations.

As I age I have become a bigger fan of hotel hopping as well, particularly in exotic places. It is always an adventure!

TPBM has run into an interesting creature in a hotel room.

I ran into a hermit crab in Florida, but not to worry, I didn't hurt it. Actually, it was a condo, but I suppose that counts.

TPBM loves watching hermit crabs eat peanut butter.

I used to but after a while, you've seen one hermit crab eating peanut butter you've seen them all.

TPBM can present a good argument why anyone should get cable teevee when the taxes on it are around 40%. Be specific and show your work.

We have satellite TV now. No more annoying pixelating.

BTW >83 The Virgin Islands National Park in St. John has warnings about donkeys posted around their campgrounds. They create almost as much havoc as the bears of Yosemite.

TPBM has been to St. John or Yosemite.

re #392 (other thread)

That pest (the flagged post) was guilty of spamming which is bad enough. But they were not trolling. A troll is a different matter entirely, and of the two I detest the spammer least.

I'm still alive so haven't faced St John yet, and as for the Y place, that's in Russia, right? Nope, never been there.

TPBM knows where on earth those places are.

St. John is out in the middle of some water lower right on your map of North America. Yosemite is a volcano caldera in the western United States; some of us are curious about its potential to destroy civilization, such as it is, in North America.

The person below me is a compass dyslexic.

I'm fine with compasses. Left and right confuse me.

TPBM is cold.

Yes, I have just turned up the heat so should be warmer in a little while.

TPBM gets cold very easily.

Not hardly, I can't get to sleep if it more than 55 degrees in the apartment. I also sleep under a fan and some mornings my hands are so cold they ache. Now that's living. (How the fan got into my room and why this insistence on such a weird sleeping arrangement I do not know.) I've also lived in the alps and the Rockies and never had any problem; I also love snow.

>>89- SC: Left and right always get me, too. I bet I was 6 or more before I finally got it down, sort of. I took a geology minor and anytime I had to give a compass point on a test I sat there it made the sign of the cross- N,S,E,W, so I could answer the question.

Edited for content and to fit your screen.

TPBM has a nighttime ritual that others think is odd but they can't sleep without it.

Message edited by its author, Nov 16, 2009, 6:06pm.

I really should pop into the abbey for compline, but it disturbs the Abbess so I just have to lie there nursing my guilt.

TPBM has never taken a sleeping pill.

Hell, I keep them in a Pez dispenser. But not Bozo the clown, oh dear god that's just too scary. That lurid clown face with the wild grin barely visible in the green light of the alarm clock, the head snaps back and this pill comes sliding out of his neck. Never again! Give me Superman anytime.

TPBM is afraid of clowns.

I'm not, but my daughter is.

TPBM has never been to a circus.

I have: my elementary school made a field trip of one in particular when it passed through.

The person below me knows a way to get rid of blisters. (I have one on my big toe. It would be worse if I hadn't been clever enough not to wear my new boots to work.)

The First Aid manual say to leave it alone, wrap it in gauze and otherwise keep it clean.

From personal experience (perhaps a dozen times), sterilize a needle, wash and dry your foot, pop that sucker (doesn't hurt because it's all dead skin), wash it, dry it, apply an antibiotic ointment, and loosely wrap it up. Because it's on your foot, repeat everything from "wash it" to the period at least once a day.

TPBM would rather not think about the "pop that sucker" part.

I'm more of the 'cover it up and hope it goes away' tendency...

TPBM has seen a UFO.

Back when I was in university, the cafeteria used to serve unidentified fried objects all the time.

TPBM has a cast-iron stomach.

Yes, pretty much. Perhaps once a year something disagrees with me. I'm lucky, I know.

BTW SylviaC, we called the "unidentified fried objects" mystery meat.

TPBM has to be careful when they eat/drink caffeine - it disrupts their sleep.

I usually don't drink coffee after lunch because it can keep me awake, but I always have a few cups in the morning. There used to be an Italian restaurant on K St. that made the most perfect espresso. It took them five minutes to make a single cup but it was worth it- each shot was the avatar of creamy smooth caffeine goodness. Anyway, the Italian place closed and there’s a chain sandwich shop there now.

>>95 Hey AC- Once the blister pops, remember to put antibiotic ointment on it and loosely cover it with a band aid. You don't want to risk an infection.

TPBM can recommend a rare kind of coffee.

Message edited by its author, Nov 17, 2009, 1:57pm.

Monsieur swears by Jamaican Blue Mountain, my friend always brings me Kona from Hawaii, but I always come back to *quelle surprise* French Roast.

Mr. Durick - Yellowstone is the home of the caldera, Yosemite is in the Sierras and is the home of incredibly beautiful Half Dome and El Capitan.

TPBM eschews St**bucks.

Message edited by its author, Nov 17, 2009, 3:15pm.

Pretty much. I'll go in if I need tea and baked goods and there's nothing else around that I know to look for. But otherwise I don't go there. Which isn't hard, really, since I haven't acquired the taste for coffee. (I like fizzy.)

The person below me will share an unusual acquired taste.

Edited to add: that blister is shrinking on its own, and doesn't hurt today when put under normal circumstances.

Message edited by its author, Nov 17, 2009, 4:17pm.

No-one has answered the question in 43!! I don't know what Rockette Morton was powered by (lighter fuel or cocaine, at a guess) but he played for the one, the only, the immortal, CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & HIS MAGIC BAND. (Oh yes, that's what he was powered by - magic...)

So my unusual acquired taste is Trout Mask Replica - it only took me 30 years! and there are still parts of it that sound like so much noise.

TPBM will tell us of some music (artist or album) that took years to get a taste for.

Not so specific, but I had to work at getting opera. I still pretty much want to see it in order to enjoy it.

Mamzel, I've always needed a fact checker, and as I get older I think I need one more.

Tid, I do believe he was powered by beans.

The person below me rarely misspeaks.

Message edited by its author, Nov 17, 2009, 5:12pm.

I think in my case I would call it mis-thinking.

TPBM has been known to speak out of turn.

In the face of outrageous fortune, and then only for good.

TPBM has been thrown out of a bar or restaurant. Getting cut off doesn't count, being chucked out the door does.

Yes, I've been known to speak out of turn. :-)

TPBM is laughing out loud.

I would laugh out loud, but I'm working in a library and would, therefore, have to shush myself.

TPBM has a library book so overdue and is too embarrassed to return it.

No, but I was mortified when my teenage son lost a book to the extent that we had to pay for the loss. Then we found the book literally buried in a box in the living room. Then I felt *awful*.

The person below me is wired from a late afternoon cup of coffee (which is really bad when now that it is bedtime).

Yes, I'm wired; but no, coffee has nothing to do with it. I've ALWAYS been a night person.

TPBM is experiencing unusually cold weather today.

Considering it's November, no. It's actually pretty nice - cool and sunny. This time last year we were already into the third week of a long, long winter.

TPBM enjoys long, long winters.

The longer the better, esp. if we get snowed in. Then I can't work and get extra hours of reading time. A warm fire, hot chocolate, fuzzy blankets, and good books...it doesn't get better than that.

TPBM thinks it does get better than that.

I actually prefer a spring day with my sliding glass door open and a gentle breeze wafts in bringing with it the sounds of birds returning from their winter digs and the smell of newly opened flowers.

TPBM thinks it can get even better.

Yes -- it could be a nice day for a walk in the park, but without everyone else taking a walk at the same time I am.

The person below me, yes, thinks it can get even better.

Edited to add: This would not be a walk in the park in brand-spankin'-new boots.

Message edited by its author, Nov 18, 2009, 11:07am.

I'm not sure it gets better than what has already been described--unless it's that even when there's a blizzard with 9-12 inches of snow and -44 windchill, neighbors I've never met help me shovel out the driveway. It does NOT get any better than that.

TPBM still can't wait to make snow angels.

Not so much. But I am looking forward to really cold days so that I can see if my new 95% efficient furnace makes a difference to my little igloo.

TPBM also has a new furnace.

If we got enough of an accumulation to actually make one, I would. I'm sure the neighbors would call for an ambulance, seeing a 57 y.o. writhing (more or less) on the ground.

TPBM doesn't feel as old as s/he actually is.

I still feel like an 18 year old; this is both a blessing and a curse.

TPBM has attended a séance.

No, but I swear that a ghost or spirit came to my apartment when my roommate and I were listening to Abraxas in college..... major spooky.

TPBM believes in ghosts.

I swear there is one in my dryer that eats socks.

TPBM has a cold spot in their house.

I used to, but I divorced her over 10 years ago.

TPBM owns dozens of movie videos/DVDs.

Snort!

I do, when I see those 50 classic mysteries/sci-fi/horror for $12 I usually buy them. Sometimes they're pretty good.

TPBM has been in a movie.

No. The closest I've come to fame is my father an extra in Great White Hope and my brother in a television commercial for cars. I did sing a lead part in a 6th grade play.

The person below me excelled at school theatricals.

Apparently the director didn't think so. In Cinderella, I was the only cast member not given a speaking role and not part of the ballroom scene. Everyone else had at least one or the other.

TPBM has taken ballroom dance lessons.

No. But I do think I'd enjoy it.

The person below me has never worked with a choreographer.

Newp. I got talked into practicing with a dance troop right after college. I was pretty bad, but I could jump high and far and lift girls up. These were the only requirements- strength I had, grace I had not. In buckets.

However, a friend of mine worked at the National Theater and gave me a tour when the house was empty. A big stage, a dead body buried somewhere among the building foundation, the lights- I walked out and sang something from Les Mis. There was nobody in the audience but I liked to think I could hear the thunderous applause of the angels. In buckets.

TPBM likes to go out dancing.

Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2009, 10:23am.

You must be talking about someone else. I don't dance, period!

I sang (sort of) once, on stage at Carnegie Hall - part of a PDQ Bach tune titled The Seasonings - S.1/2 tsp - By the Leeks of Babylon. The fellow standing alone in the balcony told me (in hardly more than a whisper) to stop. It was fun while it lasted. I was there because I was helping to move in a 17th Century French harpsichord that was going to be used in a performance a few days later. I grab opportunities when I can.

TPBM is an able canoeist.

I'm able (just) to get into a canoe - I am also able to fall out. I last demonstrated that ability from a Canadian-type canoe in the Ardeche Gorge in southern France some years ago. It was not fun. It was not dignified. I lost my glasses. I have left all this behind.

TPBM has flown (in) a glider

(snickering at abbottthomas' story above; my sympathies, but such dignified humanity does charm me immensely...)

In response to his challenge --> No, although I did go up in a very small plane with a friend who had just gotten his pilot's license.

The person below me loses his or her glasses with some regularity.

Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2009, 12:41pm.

I have only one pair of glasses. I put them on before I get out of bed and take them off again after I have returned to bed. The only time I *lost* them was when they dropped in the pool. The combination of facts that I am near sighted and they were frameless made them difficult to find.

Like Monsieur, TPBM needs glasses for reading and has a pair of glasses in every room.

No, but I drop stitches with some regularity.

I do have glasses that I wear for reading (and would certainly need them for driving if I did any of that). But I don't need a pair in every room. They have a home in a particular bag, and I'd be screwed anyway if that bag were lost.

The person below me spills food on their freshly-laundered clothing with some regularity.

Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2009, 12:51pm.

I do, I'm a messy eater. I don't form attachments to ties any more.

TPBM has a favorite article of clothing.

It's an old pair of sweatpants -- really comfortable.

TPBM never wears sweatpants.

Oh dear, what are sweatpants? Are they like joggers? Ski pants? Slacks? Translate for the Brits please :-)

TPBM actually does know what sweatpants are.

This Brit thinks they are what we would have called trainer (suit) bottoms at school. I do seem to recall magazine ads for impervious garments, including pants, which were supposed to induce localised sweating and hence localised weight reduction - 'recontouring' I think was the aim.

TPBM will confess an acquaintance with such a garment and will say whether they work.

I'm unable to confess to something I have had no part of.

Where have I said that before? ... Oh, yeah! I said that (under oath) when my now-ex's lawyer asked (during the divorce) when I had stopped abusing her.

TPBM hates deceptive tactics like the lawyer used.

I refuse to answer on the grounds that I may incriminate myself.

TPBM incriminates themselves regularly.

Acquitted!

TPBM plans on sleeping late this weekend.

Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2009, 3:41pm.

{hijack}Sweatpants are simply pants made out of fleece. They are nice and warm to wear around the house during the winter and/or to wear when jogging, also during the winter. Sweatshirts are comfy, also. Many items are made from fleece, such as throws. One would not wear sweatpants to dinner, etc, but my doc recommends that I wear sweatpants when I get my bone density test since they are comfy and have no metal in them. I also wear them when we go to my son's on a cold winter's day/night if we are only going to sit around and play cards or watch football but not if we're going out. Eta link: http://www.championusa.com/champion/Prod...

Please continue from post 136. Thanks.

Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2009, 3:49pm.

???

I sleep late every day - no plans are made for this !!!

TPBM is an early bird.

I used to be an early bird, but now, not so much.

TPBM stays up much too late at night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tid, are the ??? at the top of your post because of my previous post? If so, the hijack was to answer your question as to what sweatpants are.

abbottthomas, the sweatpants I wear are not for localized weight reduction nor for 'recontouring' the body. I think those things are made from some other material, and besides, from all I've read, I don't think they work. Mine are for lounging around in and/or wearing to the gym or whilst jogging.

Sorry for the interruption, but I thought it was a serious question and was trying to answer.

Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2009, 4:29pm.

Not even close, my internal alarm clocks wakes me up at 9:30 unless the electronic one does earlier. Stinkin' electronic alarm.

Yes, I am a night owl.

I can't wear sweat pants, too I Dream of Jeanie.

TPBM ownes a pair of shoes that cost $500 or more (that's 10 pounds for the Brits.)

Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2009, 4:33pm.

Well, here's another hijack. Jeanie didn't wear sweat pants. She wore harem pants. lol

No because you can buy a lot of sweatpants for $500. ‹(^¿^)›

TPBM lives in Oregon.

Boobalack, no my ??? were because you were asking us to continue from 136, when there was a 137 and a 138 that seemed ok to me!

No I've never even been to the States. Unless you mean Oregon, Liverpool :-)

TPBM collects something and will tell us what.

Thanks. I didn't even see the other two posts. They apparently were entered as I was typing mine. Sorry.

I collect seashells.

TPBM also collects something and will tell us what.

Oh, way too many things. I do especially like my collection of snowman fairy lights (candle holders for those who don't know what fairy lights are). They make me smile. I have lots of fairy lights but those are my favorites.

I collect bookmarks and rulers too. I have to downsize to move and will be getting rid of stuff I bought but didn't mean to collect. And then there's the books...

The person below me is more restrained in his/her collecting.

I don't think restraint and collecting are compatible. My husband collects toy tractors. He has fewer tractors than I have books, but one toy tractor takes up more shelf space than one book. So a few hundred tractors + a couple of thousand books + a couple of kids and all their paraphernalia + small house = *sigh*

TPBM has a big house.

Define "big".

I've got a 2-story, 4-bedroom house. When the kids were still here, it sometimes seemed very small. Now, most of the wall space is occluded by bookcases, so, still small, but in a big way.

TPBM has done time in the Big House.

Indeed, I have. For two long years, in my youth, I toiled mightily - and idealistically - as a Registered Nurse in a maximum security psychiatric prison hospital.

TPBM has also personally experienced The Big House.

No, but it sounds like it ought to be good for some interesting tales over coffee. (Yes, that's an invitation to share -- unless you think it would be too horrifying for general sensibilities. As indeed it might.)

The person below me is looking for lighter conversation.

Yes! Helium, perhaps, or star magnutudes...

TPBM will expound enlightenment upon us with information about either.

I thought it was mugnatudes...

Also Helium 3 mentioned in the movie Moon is real and does have the potential to provide lots of energy in fusion. We don't do much fusion yet though.

The person below me likes to sort out what is possible and what is not in speculation.

Yes, maybe, perhaps...

My bad - it's magnitudes...

TPBM watches Fringe.

Message edited by its author, Nov 19, 2009, 10:37pm.

This message has been flagged by multiple users and is no longer displayed.

Flag the Spammer! #153 still needs a response.

I used to enjoy looking at the fringe on my aunt's lampshade. (Now whatever could have made me think of lamps?)

TPBM knows more than I do about the Fringe to which WHL referred.

Yes. I look at the fringe of a skirt if the legs below it merit attention.

The person below me watches teevee.

Yes, but not so much since "JAG" went off the air.

TPBM fondly remembers "China Beach."

Sorry--can't think of "China Beach" because I'm too busy daydreaming of my crush, David James Elliot from "JAG". Sigh.

TPBM has met a tv or movie star.

Would Carol Channing or George Burns count?
If so, HELL YEAH! We had dinner together!

TPBM doesn't believe me.

I'd like not to believe you, but I know you're an honest and upstanding chap who would never fib about such a thing (and quite a lucky beast, too!).

TPBM has a famous ancestor.

Possibly, but off hand, I can't recall any particular name.

The person below me is experiencing popsicle toes.

Yep! I feel like placing them on the edge of the counter, snapping them in half and put one in the freezer for later...

TPBM prefers fudgesicles.

I turned the A/C off last night, but only because it froze up. If I had any chocolate in the joint it would be a fudgesicle so I guess 'yes' as long as there are no toes in it.

TPBM has met a head hunter.

Yes, but probably not the kind you're thinking of. Recruiters are called head hunters, and I've met my share of them.

TPBM has been to the Grand Canyon.

Not yet - I'd love to walk on the glass balcony.

TPBM has a fear of heights.

I've never been sure if it's a fear of heights or a fear of falling. Are they different?

TPBM has bungee jumped.

Not an abnormal fear, no. (I didn't mind the Space Needle or the London Eye, but I wouldn't want to get too close to the edge of a cliff.)
I have not.

The person below me has worn a pair of hand-knitted socks.

Message edited by its author, Nov 20, 2009, 1:34pm.

Nu-uh. Sounds all scratchy and ghastly.

TPBM has a favorite tree, either one on their property or one they’ve adopted.

Yes, I do. It's by the back deck at my aunt's house.

TPBM also loves trees.

I love trees. I think it's genetic. My dad lives in St. Thomas and for a while was on a crusade to repopulate mahogany trees. He would watch for the seed pods to fall off the few remaining trees, pick them up, start the seeds in milk cartons and then hand them out in the park in town to anyone who wanted one.

Sorry -

The person below me is more of a bush fan.

omg NO! I've been celebrating with joy since the happy day when Obama got elected, and I'm not even American...

TPBM wants to avoid talking politics

You betcha'!

TPBM doesn't like to discuss religion, either.

The only issue with that is that it means the only thing left to discuss is s*x. And THAT would be indelicate.

The person below me is mentally casting about for a safe topic. May I suggest a non-sequitor such as -- oh, why K-Mart commercials still employ that annoying little talking blue light bulb?

K-Y jelly has a blue lightbulb mascot now? Oh! Never mind.

I gave up on teevee when Uncle Sugar made it cable-only, five months now and all I get is snow. I've really picked up on my reading.

TPBM also doesn't watch teevee.

I'm with you; the digital channels don't get this far over the air. I do, however, from time to time watch a DVD, the vee without the tee.

The person below me is more of a bush fan.

I do watch tv, mostly to justify the money I had to spend to get an HD/digital set and new rabbit ears. I'm too frugal (let's be honest: cheap) to get cable. Imagine how much tv I'd watch if I had cable!!!!

TPBM doesn't want to admit it but is addicted to a specific daytime soap.

Actually, I can't stand soaps. Or most other things on TV. Mostly I only choose to watch the news and Rick Mercer any more.

TPBM has no time for TV because they spend far too much time on LT.

Unfortunately, I watch way too much tv. I like NCIS, Bones, The Next Iron Chef, Top Chef, Project Runway and a bunch of the decorating shows. I try not to watch any new series because it just adds to my viewing burden.

The person below me likes one of the "reality" contestant shows like Top Chef. (Top Chef Masters was a great series.)

Nope. In theory, yes, but I could get way too addicted so I leave the whole lot of 'em alone.

TPBM has never watched Big Brother (on TV).

Never even once. My guilty pleasures are similar to xorscape's. I also like the dance programs: Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance.

TPBM has, like me, never seen American Idol (or Pop Star or whatever they call it in your neighborhood).

Nope, I have watched American Idol and even voted. (Don't.) I never got into reality tv other than one show- Charm School, the one with Mo'nique. I did love me some Charm School.

TPBM has already bought Christmas presents.

Only for myself! That's how I define book purchases after the decorations go up in the shops. I don't wrap them up, of course, because I alread know what they are.

TPBM would be happier if the Christmas season was confined to Christmas Eve and the following 12 days

I knew you were a kindred spirit, abbottthomas! Advent is a distinct season in the church and I wish folks would quit using it as an excuse to sell more *stuff*.

The person below me has encountered the movement known as the Advent Conspiracy.

Message edited by its author, Nov 21, 2009, 1:39pm.

No. I never heard of it. Sounds bad.

The person below me will participate in LT's Santathing.

No, not this year.

TPBM, on the other hand, has in the past, and will do so again this year.

No, I didn't last year, because I was just new to LT. (Today is the first anniversary of my membership!) But I am participating this year.

TPBM did participate in SantaThing last year, and will tell us the title of a book that they either gave or received.

Non sequitur...

>169 Some hand knit socks are actually quite lovely. Try some made with bamboo yarn - very soft!

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled TPBM...

I just got some hand knit bootie socks. Very nice and warm, but slippery on my tiles.

Year before last I received the pop-up version of Moby Dick. Awesome book. I am ashamed to say that I haven't read last year's books. One sounded depressing and the other was by an author I just can't seem to get into.

The site related group (I think) has a thread for people who are donating to LT'ers who can't afford to participate in Santathing this year. What a very Christmas-y thing to do!

The person below me is thankful for the nice people on LT and the opportunity to socially network! (And is constantly surprised at how the language is changing.)

edit: Please go to Santathing and make recommendations! I read a book I really enjoyed from one of the recommendations of a book I didn't get!

Message edited by its author, Nov 22, 2009, 9:12pm.

My daughter got me on Facebook and it was fun when she was away at college but now she's back (attending college closer to home) so I don't pay much attention to it any more. Way too commercial.

I love the interchanges with my new companions on LT.

TPBM is also on Facebook.

I am. Stupid apps is why I neglected my blog for six months after I signed up. (Sick computers accounts for the remaining blog-neglect.)

The person below me doesn't keep a blog, nor does he/she/it see why anyone else might.

*rude buzzer noise* Sorry, AnnaClaire, I have both a personal and a professional blog and I encourage others to communicate that way.

The person below me is doing a happy dance over something.

Yep - I had eight books arrive in the mail this morning!!

TPBM has completed their Christmas shopping.

Yup! Last year's shopping all done!

TPBM is tired of seeing Valentine's Day stuff in the store before Thanksgiving.

I haven't seen any of that yet (though it may be that the shock of Christmas stuff at Halloween hasn't worn off yet).

The person below me wonders who in their right minds would go to the mall at 3AM.

Everyone has their price. Toasters and teevee sets would have to be free and come with a five pound box of money for me to be anywhere near them at 3 am. BUT...I'd pay cash and show up at 3 am to see Janis Joplin live. I love ya darlin', wherever you are.

TPBM did see Janis perform and will tell.

Message edited by its author, Nov 23, 2009, 5:25pm.

I did not, but would you believe that I am still in possession of an LP of Cheap Thrills' Big Brother And The Holding Company?

TPBM will tell us about a memorable musical performance that he/she attended.

In 1966 when I was stationed at NAS New York (Floyd Bennett Field) I owned a motorcycle and could get easily to Greenwich Village. I saw the Village Fugs live. Tuli Kupferburg kept changing his clothes.

I could also have mentioned my two experiences of Carmina Burana. We had liftoff.

The person below me had or has hopes of being a celebrity.

I quickly gave them up. I like to be the center of attention, but only when I can decide when and where.

I was talked into being an extra in a commercial when our governor was up for election. So for that entire election season, and 4 years later when he ran again, I had to put up with people telling me, "Oh, I saw you in a commercial." It was fun the first time or two, but then it got old.

TPBM has also been on television.

Yeah but they couldn't prove a thing.

TPBM has had a dream come true.

Pretty much... I'm married to her.

TPBM knows someone who has an unusual spelling to his/her name.

Yes, my niece. Her name is Maurynne (pronounced Maureen).

The person below me is looking forward to having turkey this coming Thursday.

Oh yes. My family of 6 is flying out from California on a red eye right now and will arrive in 5 hours. My husband's family always come over - 8 of them - so there will be 17 of us this year.

I love it.

And, to answer your question with more detail, I bought a 24 pound turkey from the local co-op. I've cooked bigger, but not by much.

The person below me is NOT having turkey on Thursday. (not in the US or just not a turkey lover)

No, no Thanksgiving here but we will have turkey for Christmas dinner, about half the size of yours, karenmarie.

TPBM thinks I might do better with a Christmas goose.

Not sure, as I've never tried goose - but it does sound tasty! Hint: add as many bulbs of garlic as you desire, with the top sliced off, in ramekins half-filled with olive oil and water to whatever you're roasting in the oven, and then just squish them and eat them. Yummy! Also, it may be a chore, but freshly-peeled chestnuts really do result in a superior stuffing ...

TPBM adds garlic to almost everything they cook, too.

Can't live without garlic! Just last weekend I was snacking on huge olives stuffed with garlic cloves - yummy!

TPBM has volunteered time in a charity kitchen at a holiday time.

I would be lying to you if I said yes, although, I've done lots of other types of charity work.

We are quite opposite of each other - garlic is a quick (albeit painful) way to kill myself (something I have absolutely no intention of ever doing).

TPBM will reveal to us her/his 'perfect stuffing' ingredients.

A box of Stovetop.

TPBM prefers the prestuffed turkeys that you just put in the oven without even thawing.

Oh, no! I don't like stuffed turkeys at all. It increases both the cooking time and the possibility of harmful bacteria, though people do it all the time and survive. lol I much prefer to make dressing, cooked in a separate pan. We have ham for those who aren't fond of turkey.

TPBM would rather have ham.

I'm from the South and you have to have at least two meats on the big holidays. We had turkey, goose and ham or lamb. (And then we had turkey, goose and ham or lamb every night until Christmas.) It's not an insult to serve just one meat when you've got guests, it's just Not Done. This may explain why Thanksgiving morphed into a fishing weekend after I got out of college. We’re going to have a big crowd this Turkledee; we’re also going out for dinner.

TPBM has other plans for Thanksgiving.

Message edited by its author, Nov 24, 2009, 2:49pm.

{hijack}I was born at Ft. Benning, GA and raised in Georgia, Alabama and Texas, with relatives in Louisiana. Now in Oklahoma. Have relatives and friends in Virginia. So I know what you mean about Southerners and food on a holiday (or any day, for that matter ;-)).{/hijack}

TPBM will tell us about other plans for T-giving.

Both boys home, but only at the same time for Wed-Thursday; turkey w/ traditional sides, both apple and pumpkin pies. Quick bread (cinnamon raisin) for breakfast. Other baking (pecan pumpkin bars, perhaps...)

Would have liked to find a decent movie to go see this weekend, but there's not much available is there?

The person below me isn't really having fun.

I dunno. I have the day off today, but it's been chores and taking hubby for radiation treatment. I do like cooking, and dinner is almost ready. Later I may make pumpkin cookies to take to the landlady upstairs for when we crash her Thanksgiving party.

TPBM wants to know who is going to win on the dance show tonight.

The person/s with the most points/votes/friends, I imagine. I couldn't care less about it.

TPBM scuba dives.

Nope, nope, nope. My brother's friend died, even though he was an expert. I can't even think about it.

TPBM would settle for good snorkeling.

I went snorkeling once as part of an excursion when I was on a cruise. There I was, enjoying the ride on the sailboat to the snorkel location and excited to see the fish, when suddenly it dawned on me: I never passed beginner-level swimming lessons, and I hate to put my face in the water. But the guide (a very cute one, I may add) made sure my snorkel vest was inflated properly, which helped. I stepped off the side of the boat and had a great time. I'd like to try it again.

TPBM taught swimming lessons.

Nope. Hey, why'd at take down the naked pic of himself?

TPBM has their Christmas decorations already out and ready to put up.

I'm going to have to give the decorations and tree a miss this year due to the attention-seeking, hyper-destructive force that is my new dog. I just haven't got the energy to be pursuing tinsel and baubles around the house...

TPBM goes the whole hog.

No, I had a Yamaha 180. My ~cousin~ though... He sold 3 Harleys he owned, walked into the dealer, picked out a new top-of-the-line model, told the dealer to put every accessory in the catalog on to it, and paid cash, full, in advance. ~HE~ went whole hog!

TPBM rides the bus.

(#219 - I decided it didn't show my best side, SGiV)

Yes, I ride the bus - largely because it's free (as an aged person).

Late last night on my way home I came across a Member of Parliament and his wfe also waiting for a bus. See, they aren't all milking their expenses!

TPBM likes Marmite

I confess that I've never tasted it; it gets such mixed reviews from people that I'm a little hesitant. But the next time I get to Tea & Sympathy in NYC, I'll pick some up.

The person below me (TPBM) has a pair of jeans that shrank in its last go round of the wash/dry cycle.

Well, that's my excuse anyway...

TPBM enjoys movies of the zombie-variety.

P.S. - Happy turkey day (tomorrow) to my neighbours to the south.

Thanks Deedledee.

I.LOVE.zombie.movies. And they still scare the hell out of me.

TPBM likes b&w movies.

Message edited by its author, Nov 25, 2009, 2:48pm.

I love classic b&w movies! Thank heavens for Turner Classics, I PVR and watch at my leisure.

TPBM thinks it's a sign of old age that most of the current movies just don't appeal to me.

Not at all. It's a sign of good taste.

TPBM knows what sort of establishment has their busiest day today.

(And Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, as well.)

Since the spouse is working in the grocery store today (and I'm sure will be coming home exhausted), I'm going to say that the grocery store is the busiest establishment today with the local bakery being a close second. I actually also hit up other food emporiums today as well (Harry and David and Williams-Sonoma). Gobble, gobble, gobble We're wishing the world a Happy Thanksgiving today!

The person below me is in a part of the world that is NOT doing a Thanksgiving Day celebration tomorrow.

No, I'm cobbling apples tonight, and tomorrow I have to get them out to New Jersey by public transportation.

The person below me is cooking an elaborate dinner tomorrow, but not because of the holiday.

Edited to add appropriate emphasis.

Message edited by its author, Nov 25, 2009, 4:22pm.

Wrong! I'm cooking for 9 for Thanksgiving.

Regarding my #227 - the answer is: Pizza Delivery

More pizza is ordered for delivery tonight than ~ANY~ other time - by a LOT!

TPBM is salivating at the thought of yams.

Love yams, but you know what I'm really looking forward to? These leetle tiny bundt cakes with chocolate truffle centers. Oh.mah.gawd.

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go, got my old lady cart filled by the d'oh...
Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

SomeGuy didn't do a TPBM, so I'm replying to WholeHouse.

No, but I do like sweet potatoes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

TPBM would rather just have a regular meal for Thanksgiving, instead of all the other stuff -- like roast and potatoes or goulash and cornbread or hamburgers and potato salad or…

I am just cooking for four so it's not a big thing. However, what I cook tomorrow will last us for the rest of the week and beyond so it's actually quite economical.

TPBM loves turkey soup with veggies and barley.

Never had turkey soup, but when we have a chicken, the carcass goes into a big pot of water with black peppercorns (but no salt), an unpeeled carrot, an unpeeled onion, a leek, two bay leaves and lots of garlic cloves - bring to the boil and then simmer for an hour, strain - and you have a fab stock for risotto or a soup base!

TPBM has discovered that they actually enjoy cooking, after years of a "The Only Man Who Could Ever Reach Me - Home Delivery Pizza Man" lifestyle.

We were away in Mexico for both Thanksgiving and Christmas last year, but I'm back stirring in the pots here at home. Which is potentially fraught with disaster. The pumpkin pie that I baked last night didn't "set", so it's back in the oven now. As for how the brined turkey breast will turn out..............

TPBM has a story to tell about a holiday dinner disaster - their own, or someone else's.

My own, I think. We were in France, in a restaurant, and I decided to show off by (1) assuming that there is no such thing as a bad French meal and (2) ordering something from the menu with a grand flourish.

The item in question was "tête de veau". What could possibly go wrong? Ignorance, that's what. Tête de veau is a kind of pickled cross section through a cow's head, served with vinaigrette and lots of oil and chopped hard boiled egg.

I was ill for hours. 24 hours later I finally managed something. Something German, though we were still in France.

TPBM will tell us the most revolting thing they ever ate, when out to dine.

Message edited by its author, Nov 26, 2009, 4:03pm.

Probably a grey stew of animal feet and slices of bowel selected in the kitchen of a taverna in Gythion, a small port in Sparta, in the days when you reallly had to look at what was cooking before you ordered. It says much for the other offerings that I chose this stew. The only thing that could be said for it was that it was chewy.

TPBM has visited Greece and enjoyed retsina.

No to both. I haven't been to Greece and I seem to recall that retsina was fairly potent stuff.

The person below me is stuffed and comfy.

Like a plush teddy bear!

TPBM behaved her/him-self in a dietary way, as much as humanly possible.

I've checked my blood sugar before and 2 hours after every meal, and the range spans than 15 points - only 1 triple digit number (so far). Yay!! No meds, either!

Good for you WHL! Being a Canadian, I didn't have to worry about the "big" dinner today, but I have been trying to be careful all day as I have to go for blood tests tomorrow morning.

TPBM is gearing up for a big shopping day tomorrow.

Yes, ma'am! We're going to get breakfast downtown, and ~maybe~ go to a large antique shop to look for nothing in particular. After that, we're coming right home. We'll probably stop at every book store along the way...

TPBM isn't going to be even ~that~ adventurous.

Probably not. I had my big day of shopping yesterday, and I'm still recovering. And the weather forecast is not good, so I'll probably just stay in and hibernate.

TPBM has to go to work tomorrow.

Yep. I was supposed to work from 7 am to 4 pm, but I traded with a co-worker so I can take my hubby for radiation treatment at 8:30 am, chemotherapy at 11:30, then work from 2 pm till 11 pm. Gee, I love working retail

TPBM likes their job.

I'm retired which I do love. I don't understand people who retire and then get another job (unless they need the money - that I understand).

The person below me buys him/her self a holiday gift every year and already knows what it will be this year.

Yes indeed. I'm going to get my car fixed if it's fixable. That will be a huge gift to myself.

TPBM also avoids malls and shopping centers completely this time of year.

That me! I won't do Festivus shopping until the morning of 24-Dec, maybe.

TPBM has plenty of leftovers.

Oh, yes, we have leftovers. But tonight is Steak in honor of carnivorous college student son.

The person below me is thinking about how to use up all those leftovers.

I used up my leftovers last month. Fried rice or soup are always good.

TPBM has found the perfect Christmas present for someone.

Yes, I have. I knitted a beautiful shawl for my elderly mother.

TPBM has inventoried last year's Christmas decorations and is grateful that a trip to the store isn't necessary to buy more.

Message edited by its author, Nov 27, 2009, 10:33am.

I haven't gone to that extent, but the bauble box in the attic will come down a few days before Christmas and a (real) tree will get decorated - there was enough last year so we should be OK. The oldest thing hanging from the tree will be a tinplate monoplane - propellor of course - dating from the early 1940s.

TPBM hangs something even older on their tree.

I have some ornaments that used to belong to my grandparents, and a picture taken long before I was born that shows the ornaments on their tree. I get nostalgic at the continuity.

TPBM is avoiding the mayhem by staying at home to put up the lights on the house.

I am avoiding mayhem by staying in the house while hubby is outside putting up the lights! We've learned over the years when it's best to leave each other alone.

TPBM is doing something else beside thinking about Christmas today.

Yes, not thinking about much further than today. I like to live in the moment.

TPBM is planning to spend some time this weekend reading.

Yes, yes, yes! I read almost every day. I didn't get to read any yesterday and almost went crazy.

TPBM is not eating turkey the rest of this week.

Oh, I hope not. Our church opera group, with potluck, meets tonight. We have encouraged participants to bring leftovers. The leader of the group in her announcement of the event said, "Robert wants dark meat." I remain ever hopeful. We also are going to have lots of pie.

The person below me doesn't get too involved with the holidays.

Message edited by its author, Nov 27, 2009, 5:19pm.

Oh, Robert, I dearly hope you get your dark meat! I believe in celebrating Advent before Christmas so, while I celebrate the holidays, I don't plunge in too dramatically. No lights up yet, no tree, no carols ringing through the house. Not yet.

The person below me is loving the long weekend!

It feels like a very long weekend as I have to work most of it, and I can't say I am loving it...

TPBM is a master of the art of procrastination.

I would be, if I could only get around to developing my skills.

Ah well, one day........ maybe.......

TPBM thinks 'self-help' books are the way forward

No. I'm of the school that recommends a discipline of Grit-Your-Teeth-And-Bear-It. Of course, I'm still faking a sense of adulthood and I'm nearly in my dotage.

The person below me thinks the directions provided on the box containing Real Life Adulthood were sadly lacking. "Just add water" didn't do it.

I totally agree. Here I am still planning what I am going to do when I grow up, and my body is falling apart from old age!

TPBM has no problem acting like an adult and can give the rest of us some tips.

Why would anyone deliberately do something like that? - the acting part, I mean...

TPBM will now hold his/her breath until s/he turns blue in the face.
Please submit a photo as proof.

Luckily I have no idea how to submit a photo to these posts! Luckily, I do know how to paste a URL so...

http://www.topnews.in/light/files/Smurfs...

(I'm the one in the middle rofl)

TPBM knows who The Jumblies are.

Far and few are the lands where they live and they went to sea in a sieve but I don't remember if they are oddly coloured

TPBM knows more.

I have no idea who The Jumblies are. Le sigh.

TPBM has a cold and feels awful.

Message edited by its author, Nov 28, 2009, 5:04pm.

No, no cold (although my sympathies if you have one, Boobalack).

>>#262, #263 With regard to the Jumblies (of the poem by Edward Lear), their heads are green and their hands are blue and they went to sea in a sieve...

The person below me knew that!

Thank you, jillmwo.

Please continue from 265.

I've read it before now, but I didn't actually know it, not as I know that Tweedledee and Tweedledum come from what's his name.

The person below me memorizes poetry.

The only poetry I have memorized is "The time has come, the Walrus said, to speak of many things, of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings, of why the sea is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings". Also, one for sorrow, two for joy, etc (several versions). Otherwise, only song lyrics.

The person below me will tell us their favorite board game.

Message edited by its author, Nov 28, 2009, 8:06pm.

Chess, if I can find someone else to play it with; followed closely by Backgammon.

TPBM will tell us his/her favorite game to keep from getting bored.

I like puzzles- words, numbers, images, concepts. If it's more than just me any drinking game will do.

I left a day early to beat the crowds. The crowds had the same idea.

TPBM has a photographic memory. (Did we already do that one?)

What was the question?

TPBM keeps a scrapbook.

I haven't since grade school. I do love all the new scrapbooking crafty things though. I bought some supplies and they remain in their bags and boxes. Sigh.

Speaking of leftovers, (yes, I know we aren't anymore but) I think turkey enchiladas are one of the best uses for leftover turkey. Tacos work well too. I am cooking my turkey tonight.

The person below me prefers mild salsa to hot.

Yuppers! I have never been a fan of highly spiced food and my spouse must have destroyed his taste buds early in life because he finds anything but the hottest salsa to be utterly bland.

The person below me can point to another familial mismatch of some sort.

I love Brussels sprouts -- my husband doesn't.
He loves asparagus -- I don't.
He's an outdoors person -- I'm not.
Etc., etc., etc.

TPBM feels better today. Yay!

Message edited by its author, Nov 29, 2009, 3:34pm.

I felt fine yesterday, and I feel fine today, too. And I feel happy for anyone who is feeling better today.

TPBM feels hungry.

Well, I don't feel worse . . . yes, I guess I feel better, in that someone bought something I had for sale on half.com, which means $5 more to spend on groceries. Yay for that.

TPBM knows all about the challenge of grocery shopping on a limited budget and has some good tricks for making the most of the money.

(275) I am hungry, and (276) ice cream offers plenty of calories for the dollar.

The person below me has never been on an ice cream diet.

I have! I love to hunker down on the couch in the middle of winter, put a scary movie in the DVD player and eat a bowl of ice cream- it's nature's perfect food.

TPBM's favorite movie off all time is Black Christmas, the 1974 version.

Not for me - I'd have to say the Magnificent Seven.

"Nobody throws me my guns and says run, nobody!"

TPBM can recall more of Britt's eight (I think) lines.

Nuh-uh, I've never seen it. But I do think it was rated as 'Sweatiest Movie Ever' on the teevee show Cheers.

TPBM is a film buff.

I never watch movies in the buff but it might be fun! I love the old romantic comedies and musicals. I found Singin' in the Rain on TV this weekend and smiled the whole movie through!

TPBM loves slasher movies.

Splasher movies, do you mean? Singing in the Rain is certainly the best of that genre!

TPBM has a 'home cinema'.

If that refers to the 20" tv on a swivel mount in our bedroom, then yes I do. The completely wired for sound room with comfy seats for all is still just a fantasy.

TPBM will share one of their home decorating/remodelling fantasies with us.

In our next house (snicker), I want to have a full size refrigerator AND a full size freezer in the kitchen. I also want two microwaves, in addition to the two ovens I already have in this one.

I also want a bigger library, oh, say 15' x 25' with floor to ceiling bookcases and 9' ceilings(like I have now, but in a much smaller room), a small office space at one end, a rolling ladder to get to the top shelves, gorgeous oriental carpets on hardwood floors, and huge comfy sofas and reading chairs and lots and lots of light. I'll also need thousands more books to add to the ones I've already got to fill the shelves.

TPBM has a different home decorating/remodelling fantasy to share with us.

Well, I've got almost the same library fantasy, add a fireplace at one end of the room and a billiards table. But my other home decorating fantasy has to do with changing the outdoors--say, from boring small town upstate NY with crappy winters to the coast of California somewhere between Santa Barbara and San Francisco. Could I just have my current home moved there, please?

TPBM has some other fantasy about changing his or her life completely.

My fantasy involves having a family compound on a lake. I would live there year-round, the family would come and go, but always be there on holidays. Of course my lakeside retreat would also have the above described library, with fireplace.

TPBM has property with a shoreline - be it ocean, lake or river.

I wish! I don't even rent a shoebox.

The person below me lives in an apartment.

Not now.

TPBM will describe the view out their nearest window.

A grand piano-shaped patio surrounded by five Live Oak trees that are at least a hundred years old; an eighty-foot tall Afghan Pine (not at all native to the region); a hanging bird feeder being pillaged by two young squirrels, four wind chimes; atypically wet and green grass; a large shed; an assortment of potted plants that will be coming indoors for six months because MrsHouseLibrary thinks they won't survive the two hours and forty-seven minutes of actual winter weather we'll have this year; a hundred or so piles of deer poo. Thank you for asking.

TPBM has begun rehearsals for a (Handel's) Messiah concert.

*Edited because the Afghan Pine was foreshortened by an order of magnitude.

Message edited by its author, Nov 30, 2009, 4:22pm.

I find that I can sit through it contentedly without rehearsal. It might pay to listen to a version or two on CD before actually going to the performance, though.

The person below me prefers Messiah at Easter.

I'm afraid that it is plugged into Advent / Christmas for me, anyway that leaves more room at Easter for Bach Passions - St John has the edge as far as I am concerned. A resolute atheist, I still can raise a sense of wonder at the extraordinary music that has been composed in God's name.

TPBM gets on better with guitars, tambourines and happy singing in church.

No. I'd rather have piano and organ music in church.

TPBM has never wondered if atheists backslide. ‹(^¿^)›

Message edited by its author, Nov 30, 2009, 6:01pm.

One day when I was waiting in line to pay, the checkout guy asked me how I was. I said tired and crabby. He said at least that was the truth and the truth will set you free. So I said 'Yeah, but it will usually make you wish you were dead first.' I'm not lucky enough for there not to be a G-D.

>>291 at- Pueri Concinite always takes my breath away. There are a couple of others.

TPBM doesn't want tambourines and guitars in church- they want the whole floor show and a wine list.

Some do; some don't. I've known both. There are many more religious-turned-atheists than the opposite, though. But that's to be expected since there are fewer free-thinkers than those who are 'born into the fold'.

The only reason I would be in a church would be attend either a wedding or a funeral. I prefer folk music as long as there's no religious overtone to it, and I don't touch alcohol.

TPBM wants to change the subject to something seemingly less volatile.

Message edited by its author, Nov 30, 2009, 6:27pm.

The person above me read my mind! I guess I could change the topic to sex or politics and then we'd have the "big three" covered, but those topics hardly seem less volatile.

TPBM will admit to eavesdropping on strangers' conversations while in a restaurant or on a bus, etc.

I wouldn't exactly call it eavesdropping -- it's usually when said strangers are talking so loudly that one cannot help hearing them. lol

TPBM lives in Oklahoma.

No, I've never even been there. I live in Arizona and am enjoying this time of year very, very much. I did have to turn the heat on in my house last night though. It has turned chilly.

The person below me wears warm pajamas to bed.

Nothing gets between me and my sheets, except MrsHouseLibrary.

Oh dear! That ~does~ read rather rudely, doesn't it! Not my intention...

TPBM will quickly and deftly cover for me.

Message edited by its author, Nov 30, 2009, 7:30pm.

I am absolutely NOT going to go there.

TPBM will change the subject yet again.

Message edited by its author, Nov 30, 2009, 8:22pm.

OK - let's go hastily to politics.

I heard that Sarah Palin said that if God hadn't wanted us to eat animals he wouldn't have made them out of meat.

TPBM will reassure me that she could never run for President.

#293 Pueri concinite is new to me - never even heard of the composer - but it is indeed lovely. (You Tube is a boon sometimes)

Isn't it nice, the things we find out here? (Pueri)

Okay, I laughed at the Palin remark. She could run for president, but I don't think she could win (however, I get surprised all the time.)

America will not elect a woman president for some time yet. It was the same with the vote.

The person below me has been known to shake his or her head over the results of an election. Wait, too easy and probably too volatile.

The person below me never talks politics because of the ensuing arguments, even when the participants agree.

You read me like a book!

SP was not the first person to make that statement. I've used it several times over the years, and I first heard it from folk singer, Tom Rush. He doesn't talk about politics (too much) in his shows. He complained once about his Manager insisting that he get a cell phone. Tom's response was, "What?! Like there's going to be some kind of folk music emergency?"

TPBM enjoys witty remarks like that one.

Yes. Stephen Wright is one of my favorites.

Just to clear up, 291-abottthomas said he was a resolute atheist, and my joke in 292 was just that -- a joke. I meant no offense and didn't realize it would be volatile. Sorry.

TPBM likes to go para-sailing.

Message edited by its author, Nov 30, 2009, 8:41pm.

Is that like kite-surfing? My daughter and son-in-law do that (in the US) but it would be too much for my old bones.

I liked your comment about backsliding atheists - made me think of an Alternative Inquisition keeping order. (I also like your smiley very much - I missed it first time round.) I was rather afraid it was my tambourines that were 'volatile'.

TPBM will confess involvement in some extreme sport or another.

I'm SO tempted to refer you back to #298... but, I'll pass.

TPBM finds mathematics easy to do in her/his head.

Oh, dear, no. I'm constantly embarrassing myself at work.

The nuns said if I didn't do my arithmetic homework, I'd never learn arithmetic. They were right, damn them.

TPBM had teachers who were right about about something, too.

Yes, indeedy. My seventh-grade teacher said that if one learned correct English grammar, one would never regret it.

TPBM had a crush on one of his/her teachers. ::blush::

(abottthomas, thank you, and yes, I think it might be kite surfing.)

My memory seems to be playing tricks on me. I'm sure my teachers can't all have worn beards and corduroy (some of them were women for one thing), but I can't seem to recall that any of them possessed god-like beauty (and I was too shallow to admire erudition at that age...)

TPBM has been day-dreaming.

Sometimes, but not right now.

Sarah Palin, again. On the news tonight: People started lining up this evening to have SP sign her book for them beginning at 11 am tomorrow! I am amazed...

The person below me participates in Early Reviewer books here on LT.

Yes I do and have gotten several good books and more blech books. I am owed my October book, The Three Stooges Scrapbook, and just got a comment that I got The Silent Governess in November.

Like my first two ER books ever, they'll probably show up on the same day.

Back to SP for just a second - if any of you like totally off-the-wall very-left-wing commentary and want to learn 10 ways to use SP's book if a very conservative family member gives it to you, look up Mark Morford's Notes & Errata column on sfgate.com. Of course, if you're the conservative family member giving the book to other family members, you'll be totally offended and really shouldn't read it.

TPBM is a BookMoocher and proud of it.

Message edited by its author, Dec 1, 2009, 4:26am.

I certainly am! I joined BM not long after it launched, and it has been a joy through and through - my TBR pile never lessens, which is a Good Thing (I have nightmares about being stuck with nothing to read).

TPBM has realised that their mother was right all along. Tucking your vest into your knickers DOES make you feel warmer!

I discovered that very thing the other day! I'm nice and toasty warm now! :)

TPBM has not started their Christmas shopping yet.

No need to, since I have a shopping mall right next to where I work.

TPBM is thinking about SP and an old remark by Bob Hope about Spiro Agnew's library.

Yes, it was a good line. I have heard it used to denigrate orthopaedic surgeons -"The Orthopaedic department library burned down ......."

TPBM thinks the old jokes are the best jokes

This past Halloween we regaled the trick or treaters with the oldest, moldiest jokes found on Laffy Taffy wrappers.
Why did the ghost not cross the road? Because he didn't have the guts! *roar with forced laughter*

re good ol' SP - I read yesterday that she didn't have an index in her book so William F. Buckley (if memory serves me right) wrote one for her. Hysterical.

TPBM has enjoyed the satire of The Onion.

Yes, it's amazing. Didn't they just come out with a movie?

TPBM collects humorous books.

I've got several, but I'm not ~actively~ collecting them.

TPBM, however, ~does~ obsess over certain types of books/literature/genre.

I do recently seem to have collected numerous Bible translations, but not because I'm obsessed necessarily. Three of the four most recent acquisitions have been review copies (are you listening, dear FTC?) and I think I bought the fourth because of the lovely smell of leather.

The person below me has a proliferation of a different genre in their library.

I have a shelf full of tea books. Lately there has been a plentitude of them with absolutely nothing new inside, except maybe a recipe for cucumber sandwich (i.e. something that has very little to do with tea).

I think the idea in 318 is too good to be done only once, so:

The person below me has a proliferation of a different genre in their library.

Yes - I collect fantasy series (there is always one or more missing at the library).

TPBM also loves their local library.

Yes, I DO love my local library. Good books, nice people, free wireless, built-in coffee shop.... But I need to admit that most of the time, I check out old movies instead of books. (Hope I don't get banned from LibraryThing for admitting that!)

Sidenote: When I wrote #295, I was teasing about the "big three" topics. Somehow we managed to get them all covered within a short span!

TPBM prefers to buy books rather than borrow them from a library.

Message edited by its author, Dec 1, 2009, 3:20pm.

Yes, I do! I have this odd compulsion to keep books I have read. I love books -- books to have, to look at, to read, to dust. Years ago, I (gasp!) gave away some books and have lived to regret it. Le sigh.

TPBM also (big surprise!) loves books. lol

Oops!

Message edited by its author, Dec 1, 2009, 3:34pm.

Um. Let me think...
Why, yes I do. I do love books!

TPBM is shocked by this revelation.

Love can be considered a very strong emotion, but answer this question - could you live without them? If not, then one could easily put books up on the same shelf (?) with air, food, your significant other, etc.

TPBM thinks that Boobalack needs help thinking up new TPBMs.

Not sure.

TPBM wishes mamzel would explain why Boobalack needs help thinking up new TPBMs.

PeeEss~Yeah, I know. You love people, you like inanimate objects. At times figures of speech aren't exactly correct. ;-)

Let's play nice now.............

TPBM is a bit weary of all the gadgets needing to be charged.

Right now, I only have a cell phone that needs charging. About every other month. It's old and the battery lasts a long time. Of course, I don't use it very often either. About 10 minutes a month or less.

I keep seeing "charging stations" for sale. Seems to be a handy device for people who actually live in this century and have electronics. I'm not sure though, gadgets and gadgets-for-gadgets...

The person below me does have charging problems.

(Wide open or what!?!)

edit: karenmarie, let me know if you like the Governess book. It sounded good to me.

Message edited by its author, Dec 1, 2009, 6:53pm.

Yes I do. I don't have a land line at home so I use my cell exclusively. It's 5 years old and looks like something the spaceman found in that cave in Planet of the Apes. It keeps a charge for a few days, but goes from almost full charge to critical beep in about a nanosecond. It's so old I don't think they even make chargers to fit it any more so I have to treat the one I've got now with care bordering on reverence. And nope, I'm not going to buy another until the cover falls off just like I did on the last one.

TPBM will tell what their favorite Christmas song is (for me it’s Eartha Kitt singing ‘Santa Baby’.)

It's either "The Holly and the Ivy" or Barry Manilow (yes, really!) singing "I Guess There Ain't No Santa Claus."

TPBM will also tell what their favorite Christmas song is (this could be its own thread, actually--and then there's the favorite Christmas movie . . .).

*goes to start that thread*

"The Little Drummer Boy", especially when sung by Tom Jackson. You can feel it right down to your toes.

TPBM has a book they like to read every Christmas.

My mother used to read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore * to me every Christmas when I was young: I did the same for my children. It doesn't do too much for me now, though. I guess a good ghost story around the fire is the best bet. The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, perhaps?

*It seems that Mr. Moore may have undeserved credit.
http://www.iment.com/maida/familytree/he...

TPBM is dreaming of a White Christmas.

I love Christmas books. I can't say that I re-read any of them with regularity. I look for new ones every year. And I watch a bunch of the Scrooge movies. I can't even imagine how many of them there are! Sigh. I love the happy endings.

My cell phone is so old my niece thought it was a joke when I pulled it out. My brother assured her that it was really a telephone...

The person below me also likes the books and movies associated with the holiday seaon.

Mostly movies. We usually try to watch George C. Scott's Scrooge, cartoon and Jim Carey Grinch, Charlie Brown Christmas, and one or two others. The only Christmas book I really like is Christmas Carol.

TPBM keeps a spreadsheet of their Christmas Card mailing list.

Nope, I generally write it down in my agenda & then promptly forget to send cards. It's my Christmas card intentions list.

TPBM is tracking the number of books they've read this year (I'm at 102).

I am keeping track, but barring a warp in the space/time continuum that frees up a couple of months in 2009, I won't break 100 this year.

>>335 Dld- Snort. I found the perfect Christmas cards two years ago. They're so good I don't want to use them, so last year I didn't send out any.

TPBM is also going to break the 100 barrier this year.

I am at 98 and counting. I think I will just make it.

TPBM has been trying to complete the LT 999 Challenge.

Nope! As a mater of fact, anytime some starts a new 'Challenge' Group, I set the 'Ignore' flag on it. I have enough other points of stress in my life that I don't want to make ~reading~ one of them. Besides, I am a pathetically slow reader, so that would just add to the pressure.

In stark contrast to me, TPBM thrives on the thrill of facing a challenge. ...(and good for you!)

Once upon a time, I did. But then as dear WHL points out, the reading becomes a chore or yet another obligation and that takes a lot of the fun of it out. I will barely make 25 books read this year and I feel like such a slacker!

The person below me wishes that they could get a sabbatical from work so that s/he could spend more time reading and thinking.

That would be awesome.

>>338/339- I know how you feel, I had to stop requesting books on early reviewers because no matter how interested in them I was, when they got here I couldn't even start reading them. Dropping telebizhun did more than anything else to free up time.

TPBM has had their life saved by someone else.

Yes - when I had my daughter she was upside down and stuck and even 50 years ago we both probably would have died. So Dr. Lane and the nurses at Durham Regional Hospital saved my life and the life of my now-16-year-old daughter.

TPBM is grateful for some of the amazing things doctors can do now.

Absolutely. Grateful for others, grateful for me (having sustained a nasty fracture of the radius which was skillfully pieced together by an ace orthopedic surgeon}. Now if only by some miracle of modern medicine a friend of mine could recover from brain cancer (metastasized from a lung). She never smoked.

TPBM has recently observed first hand the chaotic circumstances of an inner city emergency room.

Message edited by its author, Dec 2, 2009, 6:52pm.

No. Our rural hospital is a little different. A typical phone call to our family doctor:

Worried mother: My son has a bad cough.

Receptionist: The doctor has no appointments available for six weeks.
Take your son to emergency.

Mother: Well, it's not an emergency.

Receptionist: That's okay. Emergency takes our overflow.

So I end up feeling like a fraud, sitting in emergency for 4 hours with a sick, tired, cranky 9 year old so he can see a doctor for the two minutes that it takes to renew an inhaler prescription.

TPBM is in the process of selecting books for a stranger.

Yes. I donate every year to Books for Tots.

TPBM also does things for children, other than his/her own for Christmas.

Message edited by its author, Dec 2, 2009, 9:20pm.

Not just during the holidays - I read to them, at MrsHouseLibrary's elementary school.

Keep it going...
TPBM also does things for children (or others) at various times throughout the year.

Edited- d'oh! Leapfrogged!

There are no kids in my family; it's one of the reasons my branch will become extinct when I lay doon and dee. If a friend of mine has a kid less than a year old, I send something silver. More than a year old and it's time to get outta that crib and make their way in the world. "Well Timmy, today you're five years old. My my, they said it wouldn’t last. Go make me a bloody mary the way I showed you and let’s read the editorials in funny voices."

Keep it going...
TPBM also does things for children (or others) at various times throughout the year.

Message edited by its author, Dec 2, 2009, 11:30pm.

I do! And he's grown and married and has kids of his own.
The weird part is that his mother is a fairly religious (more so now than when we dated) ex-girlfriend of mine, and despite the fact I'm an atheist, was okayed by her minister to be her son's godfather.

TPBM has contemplated the deeper meaning of his/her naval.

ETA: My response looks out of sync because SGiV changed his challenge AFTER THE FACT!
It had something to do with having a godson or godddaughter.

Message edited by its author, Dec 3, 2009, 1:06am.

Nope. I'd have to look in a mirror and I try not to. And it sits on that poofy thing that isn't as flat as it is supposed to be.

The person below me is tired of "celebrity news." I mean something that happens to a celebrity that isn't worth more than a mention but becomes a media blitz for days. There is real news out there, some of it even good!

A-Tiger-men!

TPBM has decided not to even watch the news, except for weather forecasts, for several days.

I never watch the news deliberately. I actively dislike TV news and haven't watched it since I was in high school - a very long time ago. Sometimes I'm going through the living room when my husband has it on and I can hear it when I'm in the kitchen, but I try to tune it out. I get my news from NPR and the internet.

TPBM still has leftovers from Thanksgiving.

I had to throw out the last of the pie last night. There is still a bit of meat in the fridge but I believe it will go to the garbage tonight.

TPBM loves the magazines with Christmas cookies that get published every year.

Edited Aaak! Leapfrogged. Must be the lunch rush. Mamzel and I have cookies on the brain.

Nope, we had dinner in my parent's mess hall (they live in a geezerpalooza) so there was no cooking and no leftovers.

TPBM makes 7 kinds of cookies at Christmas.

TPBM loves the magazines with Christmas cookies that get published every year.

Message edited by its author, Dec 3, 2009, 12:31pm.

I used to always buy those magazines. I also used to make at least 7 different kinds of cookies. But since the kids have grown up and left home, I don't bother much with Christmas baking, my husband and I aren't big sweet eaters so most it would end up be thrown away.

TPBM loves christmas cookies!

Especially those made by my aunt. I haven't made Christmas cookies in a very long time.

TPBM really likes (laffin' at mamzel, in a friendly way, natch) peanut butter cookies, homemade, of course.

My favorites are sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies with icing. Really it’s anything I don’t have to make and isn’t so sweet that it makes the hinges on my jaw ache.

TPBM makes snow cream.

No. I don't think I have even heard of it. (Unless its ice cream made with snow?)

The person below me isn't in a region that gets much snow.

Northern VA typically doesn't get a lot of snow, that falls more to the north and west. I'm hoping since we've had a wet fall that we'll get snow.

Snow cream is an old southern treat- Get a hooge mixing bowl full of fresh clean snow. Mix in condensed milk, sugar and vanilla to taste. It should have the consistency of chunky Italian ice and is tres uber yummie.

TPBM knows of another regional winter delicacy.

I'm not sure we have one. I did have some cactus ice cream the other day that was very, very good. Next year I may harvest my prickly pear fruit and try to make some of my own.

The person below me has seen SomeGuyinVirginia's profile page and laughed at the picture.

Yes, and I have an animated version of the same, as well as one that is captioned "I swear to you, that mouse was this freakin' big!"

TPBM likes pics and other things with cute animals.

I do. My first stop online each day after I check my e-mail is Cute Overload.

The person below me prefers babies to kitties, puppies, cubs, an' so forth.

Message edited by its author, Dec 4, 2009, 12:31am.

I believe that my status of NOT being a pet Person has been established as one of the canons of this collection of threads over the years.

TPBM also has some LT-based notoriety.

Gosh, not that I know of.

I've just spent an hour looking at cute kitties over on Cute Overload. I have to stop now or I'll never go to bed!

The person below me has a favorite dish made with leftovers. (Mine is hash.)

Bubble and squeak. (Fried up potato and cabbage, if it's not known outside the UK).

TPBM once got lost and found themselves somewhere far more interesting than their intended destination.

I frequently get "creatively lost" in Paris - it pays dividends (except I can never remember how to get back to my accidental discoveries next time I'm there!).

TPBM loves peeping into lit windows and critiquing other people's design choices.

Acquitted!

TPBM rarely gets caught, either.

*Edited so I wouldn't get pulled over by the Spelling Police...

Message edited by its author, Dec 4, 2009, 11:04am.

Wouldn't that require getting thrown? <ducks under desk>

The person below me is at lunch.

Just took my first bite..............

TPBM gets more than 30 minutes for lunch.

On the rare occasion I leave for lunch I TAKE more than 30 minutes.

TPBM eats lunch at their desk.

I just finished the last bite of bread. I had a grilled chicken salad with oil & vinegar dressing, bread, and an unsweet tea. It's what I have 3 or 4 days a week.

I usually read for a while, eat lunch, check the Internet a bit, then read a bit more, then return to work.

A very satisfying lunch.

TPBM can't stand to eat at their desk.

No, I have a relatively high tolerance for it (which is good since that's usually where I eat lunch.) But like mamzel in 368 above, when I leave the office for lunch, it's usually for a long one.

The person below me is partial to bringing his/her lunch to the office.

I almost always eat at my desk, although I think it's healthier to get out and mingle. I am a big one for the afternoon coffee break, wherein I form a gang and storm a local Star$$.

>>Where's PhaedraB, at and readafew? And Tid? Plotting world domination?

TPBM works someplace where they still have Friday happy hour with dancing. (Are there any places like that anymore?)

I don't work anywhere at the moment. I ~used to~ work for a company that had a weekly beer bash, an extra day of vacation for each year you worked there, ~AND~ a 6-week paid sabbatical every 4 years.

TPBM can top that.

Can't top that and I have to wonder, as I am sure many are, why did your leave????

TPBM is in a use-it-or-lose-it position with their vacation leave time.

Not yet, but I may end up finding myself in one sooner or later. (I have a week from last year I didn't use, and I haven't taken any this year.) But they're effectively paying me in health insurance and the right to call myself employed -- which means I can't afford a vacation anyway -- so putting me in a use-it-or-lose-it situation is pretty much indefensible. If they want me to take my vacation time, they ought to pay me enough to do something with it.

The person below me will give me a few suggestions for cheap vacations.

Message edited by its author, Dec 4, 2009, 4:07pm.

Just stay at home and enjoy not having to get dressed and go to work every day. Have some friends in for a potluck dinner. Have some friends in to play Scrabble, Bridge or Spades, etc. Do some things you usually don't have time to do -- go to a movie, bake some cookies, read all day, whatever blows you skirt up.

ETA: You might investigate museums or other attractions in your area, thus eliminating the expense of buying a lol of extra gasoline.

TPBM is always very tired when returning from a vacation, but it's worth it!

Message edited by its author, Dec 4, 2009, 4:23pm.

Yeah, I love vacations. Unfortunately, I can't remember the last one that wasn't either a medical leave or a working vacation. I only have off work today because of a medical emergency.

I do love to travel, even though I seldom have the chance any more. I really like being places I've never been. The last two working vacations were in foreign cities that I've never visited before, which made them all the more delightful.

What I don't like is eight or twelve hours of boring highway before I get somewhere I haven't been before.

TPBM hates unfamiliar destinations.

I would be quite content just going to the same places over and over. Especially if there are bookstores there.

The person below me went somewhere brand new this year.

ETA: I hope things are okay, PhaedraB.

Message edited by its author, Dec 4, 2009, 5:19pm.

Yup, I went to Ireland. My very first trip to Europe and hopefully not my last. I stayed with some friends of mine there and toured about the country a bit. It was AWESOME!!!

TPBM is going to a potluck this weekend

Nope and when I do go to one I bring a bottle of wine; I don't know of a decent deli in the area, though there must be one, and I just discovered a bakery so maybe I'll try something from there. I ain't cooking nuthin, it's simple christian charity.

TPBM lives close to a decent, real, deli. Supermercado delis don't count unless it is exceptional. (Oh crap, that reminds me I wanted to pick up some Norwegian goat cheese for the weekend!)

Yes, we have a wonderful European deli close to our shopping area. We also have a great bakery and a vegtable market and a butcher's. I like to buy my things from local merchants, it nice when they get to know you and save you things that they know you will like.

TPBM prefers the one stop shopping of a supermarket.

Only if it's a really, really good supermarket, and mostly because I have limited time to shop. Lately, I've been finding things I used to have to go to specialty stores to get right in the supermarket. However, I do have a handful of local favorite shops that I visit when I can.

377 > My beloved hubby is six weeks into cancer treatment. Things are going well, but the physical stresses of radiation and chemo got the better of him the last few days. This morning he was in bad shape, but a couple of IV bags of fluids and new pain meds have helped tremendously. So the emergency is over, and I got a day off (unpaid) from it. Could be worse. Far, far worse.

TPBM has had it worse.

Not me personally, just the number of people, including a sister, that I've lost to cancer. I hope that the fact that things are going well with your husband's treatment means that the radiation and chemo are kicking the cancer's ass and he'll be in remission for a long, long, long, long time after it's over. Like, so long it never comes back.

TPBM has tried a new (to them) food recently.

I tried a bite of my husband's meal when we went out to eat last night - pigeon! Very nice it was too ...

381 - phaedrab, hope all continues well for you and your hubby.

TPBM loves old black-and-white films (esp. with Cary Grant in them!).

Yes - in fact, I was thinking of Cary Grant the other day. I love his funny ones - Bringing up Baby, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Philadelphia Story, His Girl Friday. I even remember seeing the 1932 Alice in Wonderland where he was The Mock Turtle.

But I also love old William Powell movies, It's a Wonderful Life, Harvey, and lots of others. I also like the really old stuff, especially silent films: Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, the Keystone Cops, Oliver and Hardy, W.C. Fields.... you get the idea.

TPBM remembers the first time they saw color TV in a black and white TV world.

We had black and white TV for a long time past when most people had changed to colour. So I was a teenager when I discovered that Big Bird really was yellow.

The person below me remembers another technological breakthrough.

Teflon and crock pots. Great technology for the modern woman (as she existed in the 1970's)

TPBM is distracted by the thought of food.

Nope! By SNOW! Three cheers for the flaky white stuff!

On second thought, does hot chocolate count as food?

TPBM is (also) just a fool in love with snow.

No! Oh my god I am SO BORED! I knew I should have moved to Old Town.

TPBM is sick of being cooped up already.

Not me! I've always been a stay-at-home person.

TPBM likes to stay at home, too.

PhaedraB, best wishes to your husband, to you and to the rest of your family.

Are you kidding? (Boo and I responded approximately simultaneously...) Actually, I prefer being at home rather than getting out.

This is the first I've been home since about 7:30 this morning! And now, MrsHouseLibrary wants us to go out ~again~.

TPBM is still dealing with leftovers from Thanksgiving.

Message edited by its author, Dec 5, 2009, 4:25pm.

Yes, I am actually going to make some turkey soup tomorrow to get rid of a lot of it. Although I made lasagna this evening, just to have something new and different. Warm hearty substantive food!

The person below me is grateful for friends and general mild-mannered silliness this evening.

Yep. They are both wonderful get-well pills. We've been watching silly movies as therapy.

TPBM has a favorite silly movie.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail, hands down.

TPBM loves The Lumberjack Song.

I don't know it. I do think I could sing a little of the spam song, though. Monty Python wasn't on tv here much. That and Second City were things I only caught rarely, to my sorrow.

Arsenic and Old Lace always makes me laugh. "I'm the son of a sea cook!"

The person below me has tv, book, or movie moments that make him/her laugh out loud, just by thinking about them.

Oh, absolutely, it's a wonder I haven't been locked up yet for laughing to myself for no apparent reason.

TPBM also finds some of the sentimental holiday commercials revolting (Kay Jewelers is my personal most hated, ugh).

We have a horrible one here for Swiss Chalet restaurant, featuring a father/daughter "moment". I shudder whenever it comes on.

TPBM has a holiday commercial that they like.

Such things exist?

TPBM already knew that there are only eleven days left until Beethoven's birthday.

I didn't, but I've marked it on my calendar and will celebrate musically. Hi all, I've been among the missing. I've been wandering about in 19th century Texas, watching my great-great-great grandfather fight in the battle of San Jacinto. That was after I checked out Madoc Ap Howel Vychan in thirteenth century Wales. It seems no matter where any of my family ended up in the US, Canada, England, France, Germany and other points of the world, they all started out in Wales, with people whose names are not easily pronounced. I'm having a lot of fun with it. I've missed all of you though, so thought I'd pop in and surprise you.

TPBM doesn't know who the heck I am and cares even less. (>:

Ha! I do too know who you are! Welcome back.

The person below me is checking out siubhank's profile to ensure that he/she also remember siubhank.

Of course I remember you!

TPBM has a poor memory for faces.

Yes, but it wasn't always that way.
I used to be able to name and describe every kid I ever went to school with, all of my teachers, people I met only once...

Then, I had a trauma. It came in the form of coming to grips with the absolute imperative that I had to divorce my first wife. It was something that I didn't want to do, despite all of the justification and sane reasons for getting as far away from her as possible. So, something snapped, and I went through several months of not being able to recognise ~anyone~. It eased up with familiarity - people I'd see every day, took just several weeks for me to relearn the name-to-face relationship.

I'm much better now, but there are still hundreds of memories of people whirling around in my head, and I have no idea who they are anymore. Sometimes, I have a breakthrough - names and faces will fall back into place, and I just have to stop everything I'm doing while I process it all. The worst are the nuns! They all look the same, except for facial features.

TPBM can't remember what s/he had for dinner last night; never mind what the Kindergarten teacher looked like.

I do remember because I was here. Caged like an animal or college kids in a zombie flick only there were no zombies or even a cage, only ice. Cereal.

>>401 I'm glad you brought it up. You owe me money. A lot.

TPBM has a nun story.

OK - if you insist! This is from The Vicar of Dibley, a UK sitcom which may not travel well. Each episode ends with the vicar (Dawn French) telling a joke to her gormless churchwardeness.

A nun is lying in her chilly weekly bath in a chilly convent bathroom. There is a knock on the door. "Who's there?" says the nun. "It's the blind man." comes the reply. After a moments thought the nun, thinking herself safe, says "Come in." A workman enters carrying a stepladder, looks her over appreciatively, and says "I've come to fix the blind." Ta-daa!

TPBM knows its not the story but the way you tell it that matters.

It's true, but I'll give it a shot with my nun story: I spent 2.5 years in a Catholic high school and made a trip to France in my junior year with Sisters Maryanne and Ida. When we arrived at our French hotel and saw our French bathroom, the sisters told us the extra appliance in the bathroom was a foot bath. I found out what a bidet was for later in life.

TPBM also has a story about nuns, priests, or rabbis to share.

The only nun story I know is one about an ex-boyfriend - Michael always told me that when he misbehaved in school, the nuns would hit his knuckles with a ruler, metal side down. He'd go home bleeding. Nobody thought much of this except Michael - it was common practice in the 60s.

TPBM is starting to panic because Christmas is only 18 days away.

Doubly so, because we're off to stay with the in-laws from 22-29 December - and they live in Dubai!

If you tried specifically to construct a place full of all the things I loathe (except for sunshine) you couldn't do better than Dubai - shopping as a metaphor for life, seriously rich people employing seriously poor people, desert, high-rise buildings - shudder. I'll miss our kittens, too.

I know I shouldn't complain and I'll probably have a brilliant time, but still ....

TPBM will have a more relaxed Christmas.

I sincerely hope so. It will be just family, included the extended members. No gifts except for one for the exchange game and some cheap, but practical, stocking stuffers (everyone has downsized and now I give disposible gifts, bars of soap, cans of soup, and yes, they laugh when we open our stockings). And my sister-in-law is hosting!

Dubai looked cool from the air on the Amazing Race, but my brother says there's a slave market there?

Siub! Welcome back. I was thinking about you after a previous post noticed some absent friends.

The person below me has a favorite ceramic animal.

I do not! I don't even have a favorite ceramic mug. I do have a wooden New Guinea head hunter totem that I like. It’s supposed to protect the bearer but if it got away then I guess not so much. Aaak!

TPBM is about to buy another book case.

'About'? I'm not sure. I have plans but I've got to get them past the abbess. If this were a decent abbey there would be a proper library with chained books and a duty monk to keep things in order and dusted. Like the one in The Name of the Rose, perhaps. But, hey ho, another bookcase will have to do when I can work out where to put it.

TPBM hankers after incunabula.

No, I prefer books I can actually read. But I wouldn't mind some monks to do the dusting.

TPBM owns a book that is too delicate to handle.

Message edited by its author, Dec 7, 2009, 11:35am.

My library has a collection of yearbooks. The ones from the early 1900s are delicate. We discovered a copy of the Rubaiyat published in 1937. It was inscribed by several people including Gregory Peck. We're trying to find out if it is indeed THE Gregory Peck.

TPBM has a book with a famous person's signature.

Yep, I've got a sketchbook signed by a lot of the Lees (of Robert E. fame.)

TPBM has found something marvelous.

My feet!

I've lost a lot of weight over the past year and I can see my feet again.

TPBM has recently reacquainted him/herself with a long-lost friend.

Only a couple of cherished grievances.

TPBM has asked for a Christmas present that they dearly want.

I never ask for gifts and feel strange when people ask me what I want.

TPBM is very happy.

No, I am actually seriously worried about the wiring in the ceiling of my kitchen. (Either that or its a bad florescent light)

The person below me is has a certain level of skepticism about his/her's spouse's confidence in dealing with such issues...

Update: I was wrong and he was right. Just an old florescent light at the end of its life cycle!

Message edited by its author, Dec 7, 2009, 7:28pm.

No, as I lack a spouse.

The person below me had no trouble choosing a gift for their SantaThing recipient. Unlike me.

I was lucky. My recipient's tastes were made very clear by their library. My main problem was narrowing down the choices to keep within the price limit.

TPBM makes fruitcake.

Sorry, I follow the adage that one should never make anything nuttier than yourself.

TPBM feels free to make anything s/he wants.

The nice thing about being the cook and baker in the family is that I get to make the things I like and NOT make the things I don't like. Works for me.

TPBM will be doing a lot of baking this holiday season.

No she won't!! She will visiting her mother, who will be doing a lot of baking this holiday season...

TPBM will be spending Xmas away from home.

Not this year, very elderly M-I-L and the good friend who lives in our backyard cabana (he smokes, so not in my house) is not doing well. So we will be staying in place. We will probably go up to WA after New Years, easier to get care givers then.
Thanks for the welcome back.
I make a killer fruit cake from my great-grandmother's recipe, lots of fruit, not so much nuts, oh and you make it in October and weekly douse it with rum until Christmas time. Good eating.
Tid, I recently discovered my great grandfather's nickname was Tid, funny coincidence, yes?
TPBM also has an old family recipe in their possession.

Message edited by its author, Dec 8, 2009, 8:27am.

I have a stupendous Irish Soda Bread recipe from my sister-in-law. (Can't be sure how old it actually might be...)

The person below me makes quick breads during the holidays.

I do! I tell the guy behind the counter "Yeah, gimme one of those..."

I'm going to put up Christmas lights tonight. Whoo-hoo!

TPBM has a plastic Santa on their roof.

Two things might make Monsieur consider continuing our marriage: cats and roof Santas.

TPBM has tried to make candy.

Message edited by its author, Dec 8, 2009, 10:40am.

In the past, my husband and I have made peanut brittle and fudge. however, that was back in the day.....when we could afford the calories.

TPBM says forget the calories, just do it.

In the past, my husband and I have made peanut brittle and fudge.....back in the days we could afford the calories.

TPBM says forget the calories and just do it!

New thread:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/78640&...