The person below me 44 -- a woman's most attractive age

The end of the last thread

The person below me would have preferred that I used prime numbers in apposition to the thread number, namely 2 times 2 (my favorite prime number) times 11.

I'm just marveling at how you managed to work a pickup line into it.

TPBM is a smoker.

No.

(I think Robert's thread title is perfect. And he has very good taste.)

TPBM has not yet reached his or her favourite age.

I'm ~always~ at my favorite age.

TPBM is aging as gracefully as one can hope to, and won't attempt to mask it by using hair dyes or plastic surgery.

And, thanks Robert, for the new thread.

Just how gracefully is one supposed to age when one has only been on the planet for 25 years? I do dye my hair with henna, but purely because I like the red shine I get in the light and not because I'm trying to hide any particular color. Henna doesn't really blend well with greys anyway - I do have a few and henna just makes them bright orange!

TPBM will soon start the search for the perfect carving pumpkin.

No. There is no cruelty to pumpkins in this household.

TPBM also likes to deal ethically with our vegetable cousins.

Hmmm. I don't eat as many as are recommended. Does that count?

SRed, my mother used henna. She eventually quit after having lots of orange hair. I like her gray hair better.

The person below me refuses to eat lobster because of the plunging-them-alive-in-boiling-water-cruelty thing.

I'll eat lobster because a) they're bugs and 2) death is probably quicker and less painful than in the wild. I did give up veal after I saw a single photo of a calf in a cage. Too much.

TPBM hunts for the meat.

My motto is:

If we're not supposed to eat animals, how come they're made of meat?

I do not hunt, however, except in the grocery store.

TPBM hopes PETA doesn't see these posts.

Phooey on PETA. I think they started out back in the dark ages with good ideas, but they have gone bonkers.

TPBM is a vegetarian (because of cruelty to animals0, yet wears leather shoes.

No. I don't have varied enough taste as it is.

The person below me is asleep.

N o-o- ZZZZZ, er NO! Iʻm ZZZ ʻknow-it"*
asleep. . .

TPBM follows the old Superstition -- or is it
aesthetic statement -- that one must NEVER read
an H. P. Lovecraft book in a paperback edition.**

*but I am a compulsive vowel-twister, and this
particular twist can be semantically confusing.

** Iʻm impartial on this: Iʻve never read any Lovecraft book in any edition.

I've never read any Lovecraft book in any edition either.

TPBM know better than to wash dishes without rubber gloves when they have a burn on their finger. (Owwww!)

Psah! I even forget to put on gloves when using chlorine, even though it burns my hands badly (I'm allergic), and then I spend days peeling dead skin off them, applying tons of hydrating cream on, and sometimes even ingesting anti-histamines. Silly, silly me.

TPBM is more careful with such things.

Frankly, I just try to stay away from such powerful stuff!

TPBM is at work squeezing a lunch break in.

Aak! Simul post! Bread and butter!

Yepper, it's so nice I'm heading out.

TPBM reads latin.

Anno Domini MMX, etc.

TPBM thinks this is a cool year in Roman Numeral.

Not any more so than any other.

TPBM thinks Roman Numerals, in general, are cool.

No, I think theyʻre on the lukewarm side (and Iʻm a Latinist!-- and not much of a mathematician , so not very aware of the facility and advantage of "Arabic" numerals over Roman.)

I read once an article "proving" that it was possible to do long division in Roman numerals. At the very end, the author said that he didnʻt, however, have any evidence that the Romans actually DID long division--
only that they COULD HAVE -- by the system he outlined.

TPBM understands FACTORING in algebra (which is where my mathematical education broke down) --(It was the education, not me, that broke down, wasnʻt it--?)

Sure! What's not to understand? As long as there's no Currency sign involved, I can do darn near anything with numbers.

TPBM is good at handling money matters.

I'm good at squandering money, but I guess that's not the same...

TPBM has great plans for the weekend.

Yeah, a high definition broadcast of Das Rheingold and church. But my POS Honda could take it all away from me.

The person below me will have a good weekend regardless of how plans play out.

The sun is supposed to shine and the leaves are almost at their peak ... so yes!

Daughter and son-in-law show up tomorrow with a truck and some furniture that I thought we had seen the last of. But no! It's to be stored in our basement until they have further need of it. Good lord, old boomerang furniture!

TPBM has a too-full basement.

I don't even have a basement.

TPBM does.

Nope, I've got stuff in storage.

TPBM's reading list is a plaything of fancy.

Probably because the concept of reading time is a figment of fantasy for me.

The person below me has several shelves of books they haven't yet read.

Nope. Very few. Books, that is. Not shelves. Books unread, that is, not just books. :-)

TPBM will nominate a book they've been "meaning to read for ages"

When We Were Orphans
Stone's Fall
The Swarm
The Tommyknockers

What's happend to the "others" option if the book touchstones to the wrong book? The Swarm by Frank Schatzing, not "Metal Swarm" by Kevin J. Anderson. Sheesh.

Those 4 are sitting on my desk asking to be read. There are also about another thousand (literally) that I have tagged tbr. Too many books, too little time.

TPBM loves Friends of the Library sales.

(The Swarm. I found it twice on the others list, once in German and once in English. But I had to force the touchstone which demanded the German entry.)

I do indeed. I stopped by the local lie-barry and picked up a stack today, including an original edition of The American Way of Death, which I've been meaning to read for years.

TPBM volunteers at their local library.

I don't at the library, but I do at the lie-barry.
Read The American Way of Death and am now considering a green burial.

TPBM is interested in astral travel.

Let's not go there, okay?

TPBM will be starting a new book before the weekend is through, and will kindly tell us what it is, and why it was chosen.

It's Tinkers which I've had on the coffee table for ages and must read for a book club. I think that most people have enjoyed it and it is quite short so I should finish it by weekend's end. Can't think why I've been putting it off.

TPBM has already read Tinkers and will tell us whether it's worth our time.

Haven't read it, so I can't say.

The person below me will tell us what his/her favorite history book is.

Fiction or non-fiction? I love a well-researched historical romance. I've just checked out the audio version of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. My friend says it is good.

31, What is a green burial?

The person below me is planning to attend a birthday party soon.

Well... kind of. My youngest son's SO had a birthday almost 2 weeks ago. Her schedule being what it is, and with the events of last week reprioritizing my brain, we'll be taking them out to dinner maybe Tuesday night. She's a keeper! My son would be a fool if he doesn't marry her, but I'm sure as heck not going to push him into it.

TPBM has been formally trained in how to use a fire extinguisher.

#35 A green burial is cheap and natural. No embalming, no casket (unless maybe a cardboard one), no vault. You can just be buried in a sheet if you want. In your own backyard if you want.
In the book mentioned the author tells how many funeral practices are not necessary and not the law as many people believe them to be.

TPBM is glad the weekend is here.

Having retired, weekends don't stand out as much as they used to but today I am also looking forward to the HD streaming from the Met Robert mentioned in #22. We'll see it in Clapham, south-east London.

TPBM would think more than twice about buying a house with a former occupant buried under the backyard.

As long as they were non-smelly and didn't come out at midnight looking for "Brains, brainsss", then I'd be ok with it.

TPBM took a photograph today. (I took about 900!)

Are you kidding? I haven't even had my coffee yet!

900! That's 1 per second for 15 minutes! What time did you start? It's Saturday, jim. You're supposed to be sleeping in. Get with the program!

TPBM tends to be cranky until s/he's had the morning coffee.

How about we sub tea for coffee? Best not to talk to me till I've had my tea, for I am a very very cranky Sarah before I've had my morning tea fix. (I blame preggo hormones. I didn't used to have this problem.)

TPBM is a chirpy cheery morning person.

Hell no. I made the 6AM bus to Rhinebeck last year on a head cold (within walking distance, mind you), and made a big point of it because someone else kept us waiting. The only reason I didn't sleep 'till 9 is because it was a special event.

The person below me isn't a morning person either.

I am fine in the am and early afternoon; by 4pm, I 'm not that much fun.

The person below me has many blank notebooks available to him or her in which to record their reading notes, thoughts and meditations.

I only have one, but I never use it. Bad Boobalack!

TPBM would like to be buried at sea. I always thought it would be neat just to have a dive belt put on and dumped, so as to feed the fishes and other sea creatures.

I think I prefer the "Ashes to Ashes" route. A nice clean cremation and scattering for me.

TPBM is putting off doing their chores in order to be here on LT

Definitely. Folded laundry, clean toilets, and well-fed children are all vastly over-rated. LT is far more satisfying.

The person below me has a website that they like almost as much as LT.

You mean there are ~other~ web sites on the Internet Machine? Astounding!

TPBM can explain direct trunk dialing.

No, but I do wish that cell phones came with breathalyzers installed. I've gotten some doozies lately. In fact, I think bars should have whatever they install in churches to cut off phone signals.

An aside- The FIRST day of a beautiful, three-day weekend and my left front temp crown comes out. Ack-shully, the MORNING of the first day. I look like Goober Hatfield, but I can spit like a cricket. I hope Polident works because I've got mingle. I've got this fear that I'll be talking with someone and my toof drops in my drink or flies out and hits them in the face.

TPBM has done a lot of thinking about the impact of cell phones on our lives.

I haven't although I haven't ignored that impact entirely. I am a landline free cellular telephone user. I especially like the security the mobile telephone gives me on the road.

The person below me likes the technology of today but despairs of its failures. (When I was a boy a busy signal meant the person being called was using their line; nowadays it means I must dial again.)

Yes. Computers are wonderful, so long as they work.

TPBM has never had a computer crash.

> DeltaQueen, I plan to be cremated, as it is difficult to arrange a burial at sea. My daughter promised to dump her share of my ashes into the ocean.

On 49:
I still use a land line (although my wife has a cell phone) and I donʻt understand your ". . .busy signal
. . . nowadays means that you have to dial again". Well, didnʻt you have to anyway? You mean "dial again"
for reason(s) other than "the person being called was using their line" ?

I have only had a computer crash once.

TPBM ... um... TPBM will make up their own prompt because my brain is too tired to think of one right now.

Yes we can! Or I can, and will.

>40 WholeHouseLibrary: It was actually 1041 captures for the day! #39 was posted about midnight on my Saturday and I'd spent the day shuttling between two cricket matches. Now I've got to cut them down to 80-100 keepers for each game, process them and post them on the club's website. Oh and then there's laundry, dishes, vacuuming, etc, etc...

TPBM is also catching up on domestic chores right now.

No, I'm replying to your TPBM suggestion, silly!

TPBM knew that.

Knew What???? :)

TPBM is going to make French Toast in the morning!

No. I'm too lazy. I'll eat if it somebody makes it for me.

TPBM likes oatmeal with raisins for breakfast.

Oh, yes, please. You can throw in a few dried cranberries too. And a little tofu or protein powder and I'm all set. I love oatmeal! Even when it is just oatmeal.

I think it is illegal here to bury your dead pets in the backyard. Something about the ground water but I'm not sure. I don't think I'd like to be buried in someone's backyard. But a cardboard casket would be just fine.

The person below me can recommend a good potluck dish for an Octoberfest lunch with some older ladies. Brats, sauerkraut, German potato salad and German chocolate cake are all taken. I used to make a good sauerbraten but I'm not sure how good it would be just warm.

Perhaps some gulaschsuppe to start off with. Take some nice rye bread for mopping up.

TPBM doesn't like soups.

Sorry.. I love soup, I love making soup, I love the smell and sight of a pot soup cooking, I love the whole concept of soup. It almost makes winter beabable because it's time to make soup.

TPBM is thinking of giving up the rat race and moving to a tropical island (as long as they have access to LT).

Ahead of you.

TPBM is getting over a cold, too :(

Can't, say that, but I am trying to shake a hangover!

TPBM is getting too old for all-night partying! :\

You mean 'headachy' or 'waking up in a bus station in Canada laying in a pool of what you hope is your own urine'?

TPBM has a favorite teebee show.

Match of the Day - Highlights of Saturday Premier League Football games. I don't have the time or patience to watch matches all the way through, and anyway I'm not paying Rupert Murdoch to stick a satellite dish on my house.

TPBM thinks football (soccer, that is) is a game for girls

I dunno'. Some of those male soccer players look pretty good to me.

All The People Below Me will boogie on over to the "Name That Tune" Thread once in a while and join in the game. http://www.librarything.com/topic/95332 It's fun, and you'll probably learn about some music you've never heard. :-}

Yes, I/We will/shall (depending on your commitment level).

TPBM makes his/her own pasta.

I tried once to make my own pasta. Didn't quite work out and I can find boxed pasta pretty cheap that doesn't require quite so much effort!

TPBM plans to nap today.

God no, it's 81 and sunny.

TPBM can belly dance.

No. No. No. And No.

The person below me is having bratwurst in beer for dinner.

You're so funny, Jill!

TPBM will, on occasion, actually use the webcam, either built into or attached via a USB port, on the computer.

We don't even HAVE a webcam. Used to, but R got rid of the computer that had it and never got an external one.

TPBM has forayed out of doors today.

I went to town this afternoon. We are having Thanksgiving dinner at my brother's house tonight, and I had to buy some cooked turkey so we will be able to have leftovers at our house tomorrow. Does that make sense to anybody?

TPBM loves gravy.

Don't mean to brag, but everyone seems to love ~my~ gravy.

TPBM is hosting Thanksgiving this year (either today, if you're Canadian, or a few weeks from now, if you a USAnian, or the equivalent sort of holiday for the rest of you, whenever it might be).

For the first time in years ... no. We're off to DC so that my sister can host and I'm looking forward to being the guest. Although I'm still making my signature corn chowder.

TPBM has a signature Thanksgiving recipe.

My pumpkin pie. I make the pumpkin pies from scratch every year, and I've had friends place "orders" before!

TPBM is an artiste of a sort.

I'm not, unless having a teaching degree, but not teaching counts?

TPBM loves Halloween.

I do! Bobbing apples, turnip lanterns with candles in, and a spooky evening in listening to ghost stories.

Sadly it seems to have been replaced by End-of-October-Extortion-Night, when all the world's Fagins organise gangs of children to go round to peoples homes demanding money with menaces.

TPBM too remembers an older gentler happier Halloween.

I don't recall ever asking for money; always candy, lol.

Turnip lanterns are new to me. TPBM knows how to make them.

I just take old turnips and rewire them; economical and it's got a nice retro look.

>>After saying that I wasn't going to take a nap, I hit the couch to read and woke up two hours later.

TPBM carries flints to make a fire.

I used to when I carried a Zippo lighter; I'd tuck one under the padding at the bottom of the inside.

The person below me is fascinated by fire and lights more than most people.

Mostly when seen through a telescope.

TPBM has an interest in a specific field of Science.

Virology and epidemiology, only as an enthusiastic amateur. Ditto geology. I also spend a lot of unstructured, ill-informed time thinking about the changes that human understanding may undergo over the next few centuries in order to better understand the universe. (I also suck at anagrams.)

TPBM loves to dance.

Yes: Astronomy -- an interest but not a good background in it.

In the proverbial dentistʻs waiting room,
TPBM wants to tell us which one she/he would pick up
IF the only choices were an old issue of:
Modern language Review

Scientific American

The New Republic (ignore the code# s, if they appear on your screen).

I would look at the covers and dance with the most appealing one, to kill two TPBM's with one stone.

The person below me dances alone if there is no one to dance with.

Definitely - I'll dance anywhere to anything, and I prefer dancing alone!

TPBM agrees that many problems in the world could be solved if people could only hang on to their sense of humour/sense of the ridiculous.

Oh, yes, indeedy.

The person below me received something nice in the mail this weekend.

Mail delivery on the weekend? What Victorian/Dickensian/Steampunk utopia do you live in?

I did order some fun web-comic-based T-shirts a few days ago, so they'll be nice to receive... eventually.

TPBM doesn't see any dichotomy between their love of both fine literature and goofy web comics.

Leave out "goofy web"* and youʻve got a perfect
description of TPBY.

"Dichotomy"? Isnʻt there a proverb: "Dichotomies are odious." (?)

No, I guess itʻs "Comparisons are odious."

*The only comics I know anything about are old-fashion comic-book comics and newspaper comic strips.

TPBM remembers, or has seen revived, at least 1 of the old comic strips: Mutt and Jeff, Blondie (might be still running), or Pogo.

I used to love reading Blondie. I don't get a Sunday newspaper any more (The Los Angeles Time spoiled me for The Raleigh News and Disturber ... oops, Observer...). I also loved Prince Valiant, Beetle Bailey, Doonsbury, Peanuts, and Cathy, among others.

TPBM loves to read the Sunday newspaper.

I do, but can't get it in the 'jungle' where I live. No newsstands for miles and miles. I can only read it if I drive to town, which I try my best not to do on Sundays.

TPBM needs his/her crosswords and comics to survive Sundays.

Not comics so much, but I do Crossword puzzles, 2 or 3 forms of Sudoku, Word Find, Cryptograms, Word Jumbles... whatever else I can find... every day. Then, for the fun of it, I balance my checkbook.

TPBM has trouble sitting still.

No I don't, especially now that I'm not in DC- it's so much quieter and the chances of being a stationary target are reduced.

TPBM has a Super Soaker water gun.

actually I do, it's so old that the plastic might be getting brittle by now though.

TPBM has played paintball

Always wanted to, never got around to doing it.

TPBM has done windsurfing.

No, but I've para-sailed -- don't have nerve enough for windsurfing.

TPBM has a wonderful-smelling roast in the oven.

I will in about 3 hours!

TPBM would rather be napping right about now.

Well, almost. I have to have lunch and go swimming first. And finish the laundry.

justjim, we still get mail on Saturdays and sometimes I don't pick it up until after the poker party on Saturday nights. I got a noodle this weekend (for the pool).

The person below me is drinking something very tasty.

Leaped.

Ginger ale. (Straight.) Love the stuff.

No nap, this time I refuse and I am unanimous in that! I've been off the local radar all weekend because of my missing front toof. I mean I've gotten out, I wore a burka to the grocery store, but it's been a beautiful weekend and I didn't do diddly. I do think that somehow I managed to become some Persian guy's 5th wife. (No. 1 is going DOWN MAN!)

TPBM has white wall tires.

Nnnnope. Plain ol' regular ones that I already can't really afford when they need replacing.

TPBM wants Chinese food.

Nah, I feel like Sushi today. Wanna join me? :-)

TPBM would love to.

I don't think so. How does sushi feel?

TPBM was saddened to hear of the death of Solomon Burke.

I didn't hear about that. I was saddened by the death of Joan Sutherland.

The person below me knows that no man is an island and that one should not send to ask for whom the bell tolls because it tolls for thee.

I only know that I know nothing... and that made all the difference.

>100 Boobalack:: On second thought, I think I'll just have a salad.

TPBM doesn't eat meat.

Haven't eaten meat since I was 12.

TPBM is not picky about food.

>Mr.Durick, I was also saddened by the death of Joan Sutherland but did not know of it when I posted #100.

Yes, yes I do. I love a good hamburger, steak, roast, pork chop, etc.

TPBM likes fried Spam, cheese, mustard and onion sandwiches.

...sorry, I just threw up a little in my mouth...

Nasty! I have three days of food/water, etc. and Spam's on the list, but blech.

TPBM is facing a significant challenge or confrontation sometime this week.

Yes I am. The challenge is getting through the work week. Not really significant, but definitely a challenge sometimes.

TPBM is wondering what the new pandemic scare will be this year.

Bubonic plague.

The person below me needs a new bookcase.

I need A bookcase, period! Most of my books are on a closet shelf at my mom's house, and the few I have here are on my fiance's desk shelf because we don't have space for a bookcase here. When I want a new book, I go raid my old room at my mom's house and swap some of the ones I've read recently with some of the ones I haven't read for a while. Just today I picked up my copies of Phantom of the Opera and Dracula. No idea what I'll swap them with yet.

TPBM has commissioned something lately (artwork, jewelry, etc).

Usually I'm the one being commissioned to do the work. Different woodworking projects. currently I'm working on some Hickory end tables for my dad and fixing an old rocking chair for my sister.

TPBM has commissioned book selves before.

I've got a cousin who's a cabinet maker and I've envied some of the things I've seen in his shop.

TPBM has a piece of furniture they've had since they were a kid.

A lamp in the shape of a 3-masted ship, that used to belong to my father's father.
It sits on the bookcase in the reading area for the kid's books.

TPBM has a place that is especially inviting for the act of reading.

Only in my head. I used to have a nice round papasan chair with a bed canopy hanging over it from the ceiling that was wonderful for reading. No room here, so when I do read I'm usually curled up on the loveseat with my book and either a mug of tea or a glass of ice water, depending on the weather. One of these days when we have the space, I'll be putting up my papasan chair and canopy again.

TPBM is a fan of Mythbusters.

Yes, I am. And I'm happy a new season started.

The person below me, on the other hand, simply doesn't get why anyone would be a fan of Mythbusters.

I don't have a functioning teebee, but if that's the show that blows stuff up and slings others from catapults then, yes, I totally get it. (Over the past month I have watched almost every episode of My Name is Earl on Netflix though.)

>>111 WholeHouseLibrary: whl- I bought two 'Bright White' curly bulbs for the bedside lamps and they are AWESOME. I also installed a halogen lamp over the headboard but the CFLs work so much better than incandescent bulbs that I don't really need it. Plus, it's got that cool 'ground control to major Tom' space station light. Just bringing it up for the group because they really are remarkable and I recommend them. I still hate the Larry David's nutty wife made them mandatory, though.

TPBM reads in a hammock.

I tried that once but decided when the birdie pooped in my head not to do it again.

TPBM knows that bird poop is the most foul-smelling thing in the world.

Worst of all is the poo from a Cockatiel. I've got examples of how disgusting it is in virtually every room in the house. If it ever craps on a book or a bookcase - it's gone, out the door, and I won't give a rat's bottom for MrsHouseLibrary's loss.

TPBM has a breaking point.

I fear that I do, and I fear that I may already be beyond it but still have to face it. I scream.

The person below me is too flexible to break.

I'm definitely breakable, but one of my daughter's friends is like a pretzel.....or a Gumby.....or a noodle.....scary to see the forms she can become....and wondrous!

TPBM spent many years attending dance recitals.

Indeed I did. And why, oh why, did my daughter's group always come on last every time? (Hours of other children dancing is not so entertaining.) When younger daughter complained that "my heels hurt" while dancing, my relief and joy were indescribable.

TPBM still takes dance classes.

Indeed I did. And why, oh why, did my daughter's group always come on last every time? (Hours of other children dancing is not so entertaining.)

TPBM still takes dance classes.

It has been awhile since my last line-dance class. I hoping my schedule will allow me to return.

TPBM is looking forward to a few stolen moments of reading tonight!

As I do every night. Usually around 9 pm or so, daughter is upstairs, husband is killing things on his computer (Vampire Wars, usually), so read until I fall asleep.

TPBM has a fishtank with live, healthy fish in it.

Once. You can read about it here, if you'd like.

TPBM suffers from hay fever.

Used to. It mysteriously disappeared about ten years ago.

TPBM has a head cold.

Well, yes I do. Well, no I don't, it's mid-October! When I was much much younger, just the picture of a flowering grass would make my eyes itch and the interminable sneezing begin. I have whole decades-worth of lost Junes and Julys.

(hayfever)

Just getting over a nasty little bug. It gave me a chill so I suppose you could call it a cold. But no sneezy wheezies, nor catarrh.

(head cold)

TPBM has a different kind of allergy to hayfever

I tend to get congested when my body can't adjust to rapid changes in the weather. Barometric pressure can be a bear at times.

The person below me has a touch of bronchitis.

Heaven forfend! I didn't feel that bad when I had appendicitis. I'm sorry if you've got it and don't feel well. Get to a doc ASAP and drink as much Gatoraid as you can get down.

TPBM thinks that youth is wasted on the young. To coin a phrase.

Only in my jealous moments.

TPBM is watching the 33 Chilean miners being rescued right now.

No, but when I got the New York Times alert about its starting I felt a certain amount of hopeful joy.

The person below me lets their emotions free for public events like this.

Which is exactly why when people on Facebook were mentioning it was being broadcast live on television I intentionally did not watch it! I am getting over one sinus infection and I did not need it to flare up with fresh tears.

TPBM Can look at these things more rationally and would have already worked out most of the ways they would have survived down there all that time.

No sir, not me! I'm too much of a softie to watch such things unmoved.

TPBM is so not a softie.

With adults, not really. I did cheer for those guys, though.

TPBM has recently changed hair styles.

Not since I was 11 years old. I was so tired of crew cuts...

TPBM could probably turn out some decent looking calligraphy, if given the proper tools and a few good examples.

I'm not very artistic. I might be able to do some calligraphy with some instruction and the proper tools. I will be addressing 100 envelopes today so I will be practicing my penmanship.

The person below me has managed to keep a houseplant alive for years.

Miraculously, yes. One. It thrives on benign neglect.

TPBM is addicted to 24/7 news channels.

No, I'm not. (At least, not unless you're counting LT and Twitter as news channels.)

The person below me is addicted to reality shows.

I've only watched and/or followed one- HGTV's Design Star. Dan Vickery was robbed so I stopped watching that.

TPBM knows why some screen names on LT are underlined and some aren't.

You have been to the ones underlined more recently than you have been to the ones not underlined.

The person below me likes jelly on crackers.

Yes, and also peanut butter, jam (better than jelly), cheese, and just plain butter.

TPBM has been more often UNimpressed than impressed by books that were highly recommended to her/him by another frequent reader.

Nope, I am fairly easy to impress when it comes to books.

TPBM reads mostly nonfiction.

Judging by the books I have out of the Public Library the stats are:

Non Fiction: 10

Fiction 5;

(from the University library:
Non Fiction 0 Fiction 0; but the last 10-15 that I returned there were all Non-Fiction.)

TPBM knows of at least 3 authors that are about equally good in fiction and non-ficiton.

Dickens, Twain and Dorothy Parker. (ETA a recent author- Richard Preston.)

>>Jeez, I'm an idiot. Thx M.D.

TPBM favors fiction or non-fiction and will tell why.

Yes I favour fiction or non-fiction. Why? I love reading.

TPBM understands why the sentence "If the colour is not red or blue, you can wear it" allows you to wear any colour :-)

Sure! Blue is not red and red is not blue, so ~any~ color is allowable (as long as your gang members approve).

TPBM is binging on fresh-picked apples this week.

Nope. Too tired to binge tonight or even this week.

The person below me worked so hard today that his/her mind is a blank.

For the record, I do not have bronchitis. My son does. See msgs above #126-127

My mind is often a blank, and I seldom spare any expense to get it that way.

>>Big round of applause to everyone for not hitting me with the opening I gave in #142; I only realized what I had done after I posted it. Well, a big round of applause for everyone EXCEPT Tid. Continue clapping but cast a disapproving glance her way. Tsk tsk tsk.

TPBM is kind to trees.

Not that I'm a tree-hugger or anything, but I'm not UNkind to trees...

TPBM has drawn something recently.

A glass of water from the tap.

TPBM filters her/his water.

We draw from a well on our property and are fortunate to have great drinking water.

TPBM likes suspenders!

It depends on who is wearing them.

TPBM doesn't like to dress up.

Not any more. I used to, in my 30s and early 40s, but now I'm just to tired to bother. Makeup maybe twice a year, anything more complicated than slacks and a nice shirt maybe twice a year too. Lazy, lazy, lazy.

TPBM still has their favorite pair of high heels or wingtips tucked away in a closet.

I do. I used to ballroom dance and had some nice heels for that. Haven't gone for a couple years. Maybe I'll dig them out tonight and dust them off and try a few steps!

TPBM wears stillettos with shorts.

no, my wife is already jealous of my buns...

TPBM has read the web comic Girl Genius.

No. I don't really read comics, web or otherwise.

The person below me wonders how the cat I'm sitting broke into the kibble.

I'm too busy wondering what's a kibble, and how I can protect my cats from breaking those.

TPBM would rather die a slow, painful death than own a cat.

Owning a cat would be a slow painful death.

TPBM secretly reads Harlequin Romances.

I tried to read them. I really did. But the situations were just so hilariously stupid that I couldn't get into them. I spent more time making fun of the characters/situations/"plots" than I did focusing on the story.

TPBM isn't quite so picky about their reading material.

It just seems like the more I read the pickier I get. Not so sure that it is a good thing.

TPBM will share something about their favorite genre.

Just anything?

Er... (think think think...)
Young Adult books are often looked down upon. I don't welcome sweeping generalizations, you see.
Plus, I've stumbled upon surprisingly well-written books within the genre. :-)

TPBM will also share something about his or her favorite genre.

I have come to believe that the attraction of (and my periodic obsession with) mystery novels is that they comfort us. Terrible puzzles are solved, bad-doers get their just rewards, there is order and justice in the universe.

TPBM doesn't care as long as the author doesn't throw in a deus ex machina at the end.

Correct. I don't require plots to be wrapped up and tied with a bow.

TPBM knows why some authors are on Touchstones whilst others are not and will tell us.

#159~I have several YA books that I did not know were YA when I ordered them. I've enjoyed all of them and now at times even look for them.

Probably they haven't been entered, have been incorrectly identified, or someone's combined two or more authors and yours is buried in another's work. Ack-shully, most likely I have no idea.

TPBM takes pleasure the in suffering of his or her enemies. Be honest, show your work.

#146 I am rebuked!

Hm. I'm not sure I have enemies (except - now - SGIV :D ), and if I did, I am not sure the pleasure would be anything but rather hollow. Sorry I can't throw myself fully into this! Having said that, I loathe Manchester United and gloat each time they lose (not often enough). Will that do?

TPBM knows how I can get back in SGIV's good books :-)

Become a bookworm?

TPBM has a better idea.

Make him a peanut butter and ham sandwich.

TPBM is very glad to see cooler weather -- not cold, just cooler.

If it would not also get damp-ish at the same time, I would not have any problems with the change in the weather.

The person below me has read an e-book.

I haven't. I don't have an Apple or Sony reader and I'm not going to use my 'puter.

>>You know I love ya, Tid. No sammich necessary. Although one wouldn't be turned down, either.

It's a good question- TPBM has read an e-book.

Several, since I got a Sony reader for my birthday in the spring. I only download the free stuff, because I mainly wanted if for reading old, out of copyright books, and because I can't see putting out real money for virtual books.

TPBM splurges on something besides books.

Shirts.

The person below me is indifferent to clothes.

Not at all, DC is like Hollywood in that what you wear is both a status marker and protective coloration. (Probably the same in a lot of other places, too. Square states, for example, although we may never know.)

>>In an blatant attempt to garner sympathy and not go gentle into that good night- I have a skull-popping migraine. I think it changes the way one thinks. I know an artist who's best work has been done under a migraine; it seems to give her drawings an added vitality. Would make an interesting study.

ETA several studies have been done and a few cases reported. There may/may not be a link between migraines and altered cognition, including heightened creativity.

TPBM has/has not found another library on LT remarkably like their own.

Iʻve found libraries with as many as 70 or 80
"Books that (we) Share". The average, though, is about 15 or 20 And Iʻm not sure that
"B t w S" catches ALL the applicable titles.

On the other hand, the nmber of matches is expanded by the fact that B t w S takes in titles that, in my "library", are just Wish List items, and the Wish List category far outnumbers the number of "MY Library"-- the books that I actually own, which is nearing the 550 mark.

TPBM dislikes the new way of showing the typical books that come up under a particular
tag: by display of book covers. The covers are nice, but the authorʻs name and even the title is
often illegible. So she/he, that is I, preferred the old unabadhedly statistical way of listing them.

I don't think I've ever (purposely) looked for books by using a tag, so I can't say one way or the other. I'd probably be annoyed, though.

Bummer about the migraines there, SGiV. I've got a sure-fire fix for that, but you have to do it within maybe 15 minutes of the onset.

TPBM is eagerly anticipating the release of a long-waited book.

I wouldn't say long awaited book. There are a few coming out by authors I really like and I am looking forward to those.

The person below me is having phone problems.

Last night. Phone died while talking to a friend. He was quite concerned--thought my time was up.

TPBM is feeling crushed by all the people above him/her.

Hah! Self-employed, and have no one above me! Lordy, but it feels goooooood!

TPBM can tap-dance.

(SGiV: I used to get terrible migraines, but was heartened by the fact that my mother and sister had also suffered with them, only to find that reaching the age of 40 meant they ceased, just like that. And, indeed, when I myself reached 40, same thing happened. It's just a coincidence that this was also when I became self-employed ...!)

No, but I can tap my foot to pretty much any beat.

TPBM can tango.

I can't dance for diddly, but that has never stopped me from hitting the floor. I can tango, in that I recognize the music and am not afraid to look stoopid.

>>Thanks guys. Pretty pain free today after taking a Relpax (almost always works and even though I wouldn't drive on it, it doesn't loop me out so that I can't work.) What's the remedy, whl? And Soph, I'm the exact opposite. I was cast iron until I hit 30 and then the allergies and migraines kicked in. Run in my family; my mom gets them but they have no accompanying pain. I didn't know migraines didn't cause pain, but some types don't. She gets the auras, but that's it. Grandmother got them until 50 then her's stopped, too.)

Sorry for the highjack. TPBM has exhibited in a show something they've made.

To SGIV and anyone who suffers from migraines:

Press into both supra-orbital notches with both thumbs as hard as you can stand it.

Hold for about five minutes, if you can stand it. If not, a shorter time will suffice.

Wait a few minutes, repeat if necessary.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This cured my migraines 95% of the time and only had to be done twice on rare occasions.. I stopped having them after menopause. Yay, menopause! It works on the same principle as acupuncture. Not menopause, the thumb in the notch.

Of course, the supra-orbital notch is what they go through to perform a frontal lobotomy, but not to worry. You won't be pressing that hard, nor will you be using a surgical instrument. Bwa-hahahaha!

Please continue the game. Thanks.

No migraines till marriage (a pure coincidence, I'm sure!) in mid-forties, then I got these weird visual effects like cracked glass all over my field of vision for, like, 20 minutes to an hour. An idiot ophthalmologist was baffled, but I later discovered they were called "occular migraines" and are painless. Happened since maybe three times a year.

TPBM is so near-sighted...

I am so near sighted that I can't see a good thing until it blocks my cell number.

TPBM is going leaf watching this weekend.

#167 iBagel on its way to you as we speak!

I may well enjoy some leaves and all their glorious colours if I can shake this bug. I'm always captivated by clouds but autumn with its leafy colours comes mighty close!

TPBM also loves autumn leaf fall.

I do, and I don't think I've seen it since the mid-eighties.

The person below me travels.

Only from thread to thread, alas. New England in fall sounds nice but only

TPBM can afford it.

Not even if I saved for years.

TPBM is saving for a travel.

No, I'm saving for a baby. "Travel" is one of those "bucket list" things that probably won't happen till the kids are a bit older.

TPBM has a bucket list.

No. At this particular point in my life, I am very content with where I am, and what I'm doing. I take the opportunities as they come, and I don't feel like I'm missing anything important.

TPBM has exciting plans.

You bet! MrsHouseLibrary and I will be at the Texas Book Festival Saturday (5 events) and Sunday (4 events). I'll be the one in the cranberry LibraryThing tee shirt.

TPBM also has exciting plans for this weekend.

I'm going to try to drive my broken car to church twice, maybe.

The person below me has two cars in their family.

Yup. And they both needed work last week. AND the price of gas just spiked. Ah well.

TPBM dreams of a brand new automobile and will tell us which one it is.

I don't have a specific one in mind, but honestly? A minivan with a good engine and working A/C that will make sure everyone gets adequate cooled air. Florida summers with broken A/C in the car is just not a good idea. Rolling down the windows is almost worse because of the humidity! I'd love something I can put my son's wheelchair in without beating up the trunk/hatch/thing, and if it can hold Kidlet's chair and a folded stroller, even better.

Unfortunately, I have a little over a year left of paying my small SUV off. The A/C is iffy (doesn't blow hard, barely blows cold, will cost $1600 to repair), it takes ten minutes to get the wheelchair (which takes up the entire back of the car so you can't fit anything else in with it) situated in such a way that it isn't tearing up the upholstery on the floor, and the back passenger window has just decided that it wants to be slow at going up. I'm not sure what I'll get at trade-in for it, but it certainly won't be enough to buy a new minivan. Hopefully we can get enough to cover at least most of a used one that meets my requirements!

TPBM has a specific "dream car" they'd love to tell us about.

Infinity J-30s, love em, both my wife and I have one. Only the wife "customized" hers on the bumper of another vehicle--her fault, naughty wife. TPBM's message will be longer and more detailed than TPAboveM.

Probably not.

I am looking at cars. I have a 10 year old Acura TL with 150,000 miles. I still love my car, but it is aging. It takes me at least two years to look at options, think about it, test drive, think about it, etc. I don't have any idea what I will get the next time. The new TL has been ruined (for me). Too heavy and ugly. Sigh.

The person below me has a color preference for his/her car.

SGiV, Botox. I hear that it is good for migraines - and wrinkles!

Personally, I'd love a car that was cherry red! But that's never been an option for us.

The person below me is making a grocery list.

Not at the present time, but I do have to make out a grocery list, as my husband does the shopping since I'm no longer able to do so.

TPBM has a wonderful husband.

Indeed I do. A great, great guy.

TPBM never writes a list to go grocery shopping.

I don't always write a list. Sometimes I type it. Occasionally I'll even text it to myself!

TPBM is going to a fall festival of some type this month.

Yes, I will spend several days at the International Festival of Authors which is an annual October event here in Toronto.

TPBM is enjoying a lazy Saturday.

I enjoyed it tremendously, but being at the Texas Book Festival is ~anything~ but a lazy endeavor. The best part is that I get to do it all again tomorrow.

TPBM owns some 78 RPM records.

I don't, but my father does. They're in a dusty old box in the attic, since dad is lacking a means to play them.

TPBM just had a late-night (or early morning, depending on your perspective!) snack.

I did. Melted cheese and crackers. One of my favorites.

The person below me likes to eat sardines.

Ooooh yes, tinned sardines on toast, or fresh sardines if I can get 'em.

TPBM waves at passing trains.

Nope, we only have coal trains coming through.

TPBM mooned a train.

I only seem to come across trains when the engine is way past me already, and all we have are cargo trains here. (Side note... I was responding the 201, lol, but I suppose the answer sorta fits.... though I would never moon a train. Even if I wanted to, I'm always in my car!)

TPBM is all wrapped up in a cozy blanket/sweater because the weather suddenly got chilly.

This is true. I also slept backwards last night to avoid sleeping next to the window. With my cat.

TPBM loves cats and plans on taking in a stray.

I do love cats, but I'm not risking taking in a stray. I have a (cat-friendly small) dog and a small child and bringing a feral cat is just unsafe. Besides, if I found a stray, I'd be more likely to try to find its home! A shelter cat, however, is a whole different story and is a possibility after the baby's born and we're all settled back into a routine.

TPBM has a favorite hobby they'd love to share with us.

My favorite hobby now is reading, but I used to love to collect seashells and have a gazillion of them in baskets, bowls, jars, on wall hangings, etc.

TPBM collects something strange.

Yes - unopened mail. I really MUST sort through that pile, it's staring at me moodily.

TPBM has a stratagem for dealing with junk mail.

If I know it to be junk I tear it in half without opening it and throw it away unless it doesn't tear. If it doesn't tear I open it, look for a business reply envelope, and mail that back empty (sometimes with part of the junk they sent me in it). Once, though, I applied for every credit card that CitiBank offered me. There were plenty of offers, and they had to turn each one down. Finally they stopped sending them.

The person below me has their own mode of fending off solicitations.

Same thing- I mail back every business-paid envelope I get, almost always give out a fake phone number when asked (because I get snippy when I do get the odd call. Well, I mean a solicitation call. Wait...I mean a call from an organization asking me for money)* and fill out subscriber forms with fake data. I'll also insert code into the name field so I can track who sold what list to whom.

TPBM could easily go outside and sing to the moon.

The former is easy; no one has ever accused me of the latter (no matter how hard I try).

TPBM is sentient.

Well, I try to be. Sometimes it doesn't work out so well.

TPBM raises plants.

I would NEVER have a plant in the house. I feel about houseplants the way whl does about pets- no freakin' way. Not even fake plants. Cut flowers, yes. But never fake flowers.

TPBM started a really great book lately.

Yes, The Sword of the Lady. I got into it while I was traveling last weekend, but haven't let myself finish it while I have so much packing left to do. However, I was just considering going to be early and indulging in a chapter or two (or three...)

G'nite, all.

TPBM is just getting started.

That kind of depends on whether my brain settles down or not.
I've been up for 12+ hours now, and am currently cataloging the books we got from the Texas Book Festival. It was a great weekend.

If my mind doesn't settle down soon, I'll be up until dawn.

TPBM hates it when that happens.

Yes, but I need to get up early-ish so I can go get an oil change, get to my volunteer job and then take off for my mother's house. Tonight I am experimenting with my landline phone. I will disconnect the dsl and see if that restores my phone service. Sigh. Maybe it is time to get a real cell phone (I have a 10 year old one with a cheap plan and very few minutes.)

The person below me has given up landline phones.

I haven't had one this millennium at home, and I don't much miss it (there are exceptions). I get my Internet access through cable.

The person below me is off the grid.

No, but I don't take up much room on it. I can't imagine ever giving up the wide wide web, though. Oh, and hell, every time I get an email from some politician I write to give them a performance review, so no, I'm on the grid and prolly a couple of lists. Never mind.

TPBM envies how fast some of their friends can text.

I can keep up with most of them. And some of them are far slower than I am, so I can't really complain!

TPBM likes to have the latest gadget-y type toys.

No. They're too often buggy and I don't have that kind of money to throw around on gadgets. If I want to show off I get out some fancy-pants handknits.

The person below me has another good way to show off.

Edited for showing off link.

#219 - Not necessarily, but I have to admit that, other than the battery-drain, I'm finding that having all the features and apps of the Droid X available has been very nice.

#220 - I'm not a show-offy kind of guy, but give me a guitar, and people seem to like what comes out of it. I often get get requests - mostly for a tune called Get off the D**N Stage, You Jerk! I haven't been able to find the tabs for it, though...

TPBM has a hangnail.

Lots. Side effect of being a nail biter. Can't seem to stop myself - 22-year-long habits are really hard to break!

TPBM has another bad habit they may or may not be trying to break.

>221 WholeHouseLibrary:-222
I make a good-faith attempt to show off and fall victim to a sidestep...

Good lord, how do you make the patterns? It's wizardry! I can't even imagine how something like that is done.

TPBM fought the law and the law lost.

I didn't do any fighting but I got pulled over for speeding the other day. I totally deserved a ticket, I wasn't paying attention. I freely admitted that to the policeman but he let me off with a verbal warning. I think he could tell that I was genuine in my remorse!

TBPM has fought the law more dramatically than I.

AnnaClaire, I'm sorry - I didn't realize that WHL hadn't answered your question and I was half side-tracked by embroidering a onesie for a friend!

Those patters really are gorgeous. Very impressive.

Now, to answer 225, lol ... I have fought the law more dramatically than that, but I'd rather not get into specifics; it was a rather personal thing and parts of it still haunt me. Let's just leave it that I won, and that my ex is damn lucky I don't know where he lives, or there would be several levels of hell to pay for what he did.

TPBM will tell us about their favorite vacation spot.

I went to Barbados and loved it, but I don't think I've found my favorite vacation spot yet. I hope someday I can resume looking for it though.

TPBM needs to re-connect with a friend they've been out of touch with for awhile.

My 40th-year Class reunion is in 3 weeks. We'll be seeing each other then.

TPBM is doing the early-voting thing.

Yes, I have to. My mother will turn 100 the day after the election in another city. I will be with her.

The person below me has a new recipe to try.

Yes, braised chicken with figs. Love figs.

TPBM finds he/she is using the mute button more often when watching TV.

My husband controls the remote, so he mutes frequently. Always during commercials, frequently during half time stuff on the sports he watches.

I could cheerfully live without TV except for tennis Grand Slams, but husband couldn't. Sigh.

TPBM was TV-less for a significant period but now has a TV again.

That'd be me. Ironically, I really missed tennis Grand Slams. Anything else you can catch up on over the Internet, but tennis matches are something else entirely.

TPBM doesn't follow tennis at all.

I don't, but weirdly, I do follow golf. While taking care of an elderly uncle I began to watch golf and football so we could talk about something other than the Depression. My sweet uncle is gone now, but I'm hooked on these two sports!

TPBM follows golf on TV.

No, I'm sorry, but the only thing more boring (to me) would be watching Bass Pro Fishing.

TPBM happily tunes out all sports on tv.

Yup. Not a sports person at all.

TPBM is a bird-watcher.

Naw, I place birds one step up from lobsters on the pecking order (get it!) and if I'm not indifferent to them, I'm throwing rocks at Blue Jays (bully birds) and trying to hit crows with my car.

TPBM has something golden.

Silence! My boss just left the office -he's really sick-, and even though he's a spectacular boss and I really hope he gets well soon, there's something beautiful about being left alone in a quiet office.

TPBM can't stand silence for long.

Wrongo bongo! However, I wouldn't want to live more than 90 minutes from a city because, although I do like still quiet, I also like thunder and lightning.

whl- where's the story? Did I miss a memo?

TPBM is currently reading more than three books.

I'd planned to, but I got really into one and the others have kinda fallen by the wayside till I'm done with it, lol.

TPBM likes to read books in trees.

I would if I could....I like to read books in boats, though.......(I think I sound like a Dr. Seuss book)......

TPBM enjoyed a Dr. Seuss book recently......

Happens when you have young'uns that need to be read to:)

TPBM is shy.

(*blush*) You know me so well!

#238 - still working on the story... several actually. But life (or in this case, death) interrupts.
A friend (more an acquaintance, but one who I admired to a large degree) died last week. I went to the wake, but can't seem to get it together to go to the funeral.

TPBM has no problems with speaking to groups of people.

No problem whatsoever. I actually find it invigorating.

TPBM loathes speaking to groups of people.

Quite the opposite, despite the fact that I ~am~ a very shy person.

The opposite is that groups of people learn to loathe me when I speak to them. It's something I apparently inherited from my father's mother - a condition the family now refers to as "Idaism."

TPBM doesn't want to hear about it.

Of course I want to hear about it, especially if it will cast you in a strange and interesting light.

TPBM agrees.

Totally. So does TPBM.

Yep, as does TPBM.

(This could go on forevah!)

no comment.

TPBM didn't spend the last two days home sick.

Correct. I've been here at work. Not sick either.

TPBM is celebrating an anniversary of some sort.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of my birth, but I am dispirited over some things and may not celebrate. Months ago I had planned to have a serious steak, but that probably won't happen.

The person below me has been married as long as I've been alive.

That depends - it's been a long time though. Next anniversary is the ruby wedding.

TPBM has stopped counting.

ETA - Many happy returns, Mr. D.

nope, we've only been married a quarter as long as you, you were married before I was born anyway.

TPBM has something special planned for their next anniversary.

Let's see, that's paper so it will be a restraining order. (I might actually take a restraining order out on my neighbor. I've got over 50 texts from him starting out with his explaining that he's blasting his stereo because life is about dance and spontaneity and even though we agreed to disagree on the noise issue ((in fact, we didn't)) he treasures me as a neighbor, and ending a few months later with 'I will not be ignored!' I've called the cops, blocked his number and told him I do not want to see or hear from him again. Next step- crazy people's court. When I was a kid and dreaming about being stalked for the first time, it was that hot vampire groupie chic from The Lost Boys and not a middle aged, married bald guy. And it was Tangerine Dream, for crying out loud- of course I was going to call the cops!)

My point, and I do have one, is that there will usually be something, Mr. D., and my advice to you is to do what makes you happy AND have a serious steak. You bring a lot to LT, so you must bring a great deal to those around you and they want you to be happy, too. And if they don't, feck 'em. Have the steak anyway. And if you're POS honda has taken all your cash, DEF have a serious steak.

TPBM makes their own cards.

Well, kind of. I'm disabled so my Xmas cards these days are creatively "cobbled together" in Photoshop and then emailed to as many hapless contacts as I can find addresses for :D

TPBM is looking forward to some nice cold weather.

I should be so lucky!

#s 245/247 - kind of a 1st/2nd draft...

I’m Irish. My mother’s family – {REDACTED} - came from (sort of central) Ireland. Her mother was a {REDACTED} (County Cork - more to the west-northwest). Both families settled in the New Paltz/Newburgh area of NY. In the mid 70’s my grandmother and an aunt went to Ireland to do some genealogy work, and were invited by the relatives to spend a few days at the family castle. They talked about the ancestors going back almost a dozen generations in a way that suggested that my grandmother and aunt had missed seeing them by mere minutes. My father’s side is from Galway, Ireland (west coast), and we are in fact, related to {REDACTED}. Fortunately, he had other sons, and at some point, they came to America and spent at least 2 generations in the Bowery area of NYC. My grandfather lived in various other parts of NYC, owned a (Sapolin) paint store, made tons of money which he invested in stocks, and lost everything in the Crash of ’29. Somewhere along the way, he met Ida {REDACTED}, who, coincidentally was also originally from the New Paltz/Newburgh area of NY.


So, I’m Irish – 100%. At least, that’s what I was led to believe. What my aunt and grandmother learned was that the {REDACTED} are “Englishmen living in Ireland”. It took years for my grandmother to recover. Okay, so I’m 75% Irish. It probably explains my nose. Okay, I’m good with that. Well, come to think of it, {REDACTED cousin's last name} isn’t an Irish name, so I asked my father, and he didn’t give me a straight answer, so I started making inquiries to cousins on my father’s side (and for various reasons, we don’t have much communication with them). So, I got this information from {first cousin once removed}, via her younger brother {REDACTED} who told my younger brother {REDACTED}, so this was 4th-hand (if I’m counting correctly) information, and sounded so convoluted that I’m sure there was the effect of a game of “Telephone” occurring. Ida (my father’s mother) was Jewish. Her parents last name was {REDACTED common Israeli last name}, and they emigrated from Germany. Apparently, about half of Ida’s family, probably under prejudicial pressure of the community, converted to Catholicism and changed their last name, ergo, {REDACTED}. Ida didn’t want ~any~ of her children to know, because of the stigma of being a Jew. I still feel a great deal of sorrow that she felt it was necessary to hide her ancestry like that. It must have been difficult for her. (And that is a hint to the point of all of this.)

My next-older brother, {REDACTED}, has been a Librarian since he was in college. While taking 7 years to complete his Masters in English Literature from Providence College – he made the deadline with one day to spare – he worked at the Brown University Library. Aside - While there, he had access to, and read, ALL of the unpublished manuscripts of H.P. Lovecraft. There’s a good reason, he says, why they weren’t published, and {REDACTED} likens Stephen King’s stories to Mother Goose rhymes relative to these unpublished Lovecraft stories. End-Aside. {REDACTED} decided to join the Peace Corp and spent a couple of years in the Philippines. About 2 weeks after arriving there he called my parents. {REDACTED} - first wife - and I happened to be visiting my folks, and as I was nearest the phone, I answered it. So, it was I who got the news first – {REDACTED} was getting married in 2 weeks, to his Tagalog (native Philippine language) instructor. I suggested to him that, although I was happy for him, perhaps he ought to give the courtship... two months, perhaps, just to be sure, before setting a date maybe a year or more down the road. He apparently took that seriously, because the wedding was 2 months later, and my father actually flew to Manila for the wedding. Dad came back 2 weeks later with emphysema. {REDACTED} came back 2 years later with {REDACTED}, and their maybe 6-month-old daughter, {REDACTED}. It was {REDACTED} who flew in from London to be at my sister's Memorial a week ago. So, {REDACTED} and family (finally) settled in the San Francisco area (where {REDACTED} has some relatives), and {REDACTED} has been a Librarian at the main branch of the SFPL for over 30 years now. He has ~no~ background in computers, but when they get new software (for public use) in, he’s the one who has to figure out how it works (or doesn’t). Well, they got some genealogy software and after he installed it and initiated the session, he typed in “Ida {REDACTED}” and possibly a few other parameters. Sure enough, out pops census records and Change-of-Name records and with a bit of digging around, the immigration records of her parents. It seems that whereas Ida’s father was a German Jew, her mother was a French Jew, and taking it back another generation, ~her~ mother was Italian. So, I’m Irish, but not so much.

And ­that­ is why I didn’t get up and say anything at my sister's memorial. Besides the potential for liver spots, the one thing that I inherited from Ida became quite obvious to those who knew her – I talk too much. I submit, as evidence, the three previous paragraphs, versus the concise four words of my previous sentence. Case closed, QED.

TPBM realized that s/he just lost a few minutes of h/is/er life that can never be recovered.

**Edited to fix a typo or 3...

I don't consider them lost.

TPBM finds the above post interesting.

Well, I did, but it was a fascinating few minutes. Great story!

TPBM has had a paranormal encounter, and will tell us about it.

I hope not. Other than having a "feeling" about something (once saved me from crashing into a ravine). I have a friend that lived with ghosts in her house.

Robert, Happy Birthday! Enjoy everything.

WHL, quite the saga. I like hearing the geneology, but I'm sure glad I don't have to research it.

The person below me was testy with someone today.

Guilty, as charged. And it was MrsHouseLibrary!

I can handle 2 things at once, so while the news is on, I might do a Sudoku puzzle, or respond to an LT post. What I can't handle is 2 different sources working the same sense - especially hearing. MrsHouseLibrary decided that she needed to RE-show (with commentary) a youtube video about hummingbirds DURING THE NEWS - not wait until the commercial, which I usually mute. So, there was the TV, plus the video (that she had shown me last night), plus her talking over both of them.

TPBM thinks I'm in the dog house.

Arff!

TPBM has had a vacation in the doggy domicile recently as well.

Everybody plays the fool, sometime; no exception to the rule.

>>Happy Birthday, Bobert! Have that steak!

TPBM knows how to tap dance.

See message # 176.

TPBM will take a plane to someplace warm this winter.

no, I will be driving to Branson for a week in Feb, and compared to MN that will be quite a bit warmer...

TPBM has never seen a lake frozen over and cars driving on it.

Correct. I have never seen a lake frozen over and cars driving on it. I have, however, seen a lake frozen over and geese walking over it. For this Southern California girl, that was amazing enough.

TPBM loves to go ice fishing.

I don't fish - and I'd have no idea what I'd pack around the ice I might catch to keep it from smelling.

TPBM enjoys the thrill of the hunt.

I enjoy the thrill of the hunt for cute shoes.

TPBM understands the difference between "buying a new pair of shoes" and "shoe shopping".

I do enjoy hunting down a book long wanted in some out-of-the-way second hand bookstore but not chasing dumb animals and ripping out their entrails. Wouldn't have been much good in the Middle Ages, I guess.

>266 theretiredlibrarian: One is what I do, the other is what my wife does. Without demonstrating any gender stereotypy, guess which.

TPBM would like to have lived in more primitive times.

I hope your birthday has exceeded expectations (for the better, that is), Robert, and that you get your steak.

Edited to account for losing by a nose.

No, but my husband says he would.

TPBM likes the "modern" conveniences, such as washing machines.

Happy Birthday, Mr. D!

So much so that when the one in my house died, I started actually carrying my laundry to the laundromat to use theirs.

Thanks everybody for your kind birthday wishes.

The person below me has few problems with the modern technological, to include kitchen appliances as well as mobile telephones and all, conveniences.

Everything except ....
fax machines and unfamiliar microwaves
They always defeat me.

TPBM has one of those 3G mobile phones (even knows what one of those is)

Yes, I got a smart phone about a month ago, and boy, did it make me feel dumb. But I've kinda got the hang of it now.

TPBM is an early adopter.

Yes. It's part of my job to push buttons on new gadgets or new software and see what blows up. But just to confuse things for you, I'm also using a cell phone that is very nearly obsolete.

The person below me is attached to an old version of some software or some device. (Which is entirely understandable unless it's Internet Explorer Version 6 in which case, I'm sorry but we really do need to talk.)

I am--I'm attached to my landline, and do not own a cell phone. Oh, and I love used book shops and cannot imagine having a Kindle, either.

The person below me really wants to open another beer, even though this would be a bad idea. (I do, and I'm finding this a tad scary. Perhaps I do need to talk)

I limit myself (mostly) to one beer a night. Which means I just got a shot of rum.

TPBM thinks life is short.

Yes, most of the time. There are a few things I wish I'd done when I could. And time just flies faster and faster...

The person below me remembers to take time to smell the roses.

Aren't many roses around this time of year but I do take time to marvel at the changing colors of autumn. Takes my breath away.

Happy, happy birthday Mr. D! What a great time of year for a birthday.

TPBM has other reasons to love autumn.

Autumn doesn't occur here until some time on 4-January, lasts for 3 days (maybe) and followed by 2 hours and fourteen minutes of actual wintry weather. Then it's summer again until springtime, followed by 11 months of summer.

TPBM would rather be in Philadelphia.

On the whole.......probably not.

TPBM has already decided what should be written on their memorial stone.

Quite tempted by "I Told You I Was Ill!" as Spike Milligan did (although the cemetery insisted it be in Gaelic).

TPBM has a more original idea.

Not so original, but my husband and I, when we were just friends in Connecticut in 1977, saw a stone at the Stoddard Family cemetary near New London Connecticut. It said:

As I once was
So you are now
As I am now
So you will be
Prepare for Death
And follow me.

We've always liked it in our crazy way. In addition, or alternatively,
"Beloved Wife, Beloved Mother" would work too.

TPBM doesn't like to think about death.

It doesn't bother me. It's been a factor every day of my life, and is not something I fear.

TPBM can still do pushups.

"Still." That's hilarious. I never COULD do pushups!

TPBM has a mostly-healthy diet.

I might manage a push-up.

ETA: eek; leapfrogged!
I do have a mostly healthy diet. Dark chocolate is good for you, but sometimes I also eat milk chocolate.

TPBM listens to the BBC World Service.

Yes, when my local NPR affiliate plays it (though only that part of it that happens to be before about 12:30 AM).

The person below me listens to the BBC World Service over the web.

All the time-- Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7. It's an amazing trove of music, news, comedy, discussions, and radio dramas (I love me some old time/style radio dramas). I wish we had something like it in the US; NPR doesn't even come close.

TPBM has worked at a radio station and will dish.

Nothing to dish about, really. Kind of boring.

(About tombstones: I want on mine -- "Not sleeping, just dead.")

TPBM tries not to think sad things, but they lurk in the back of his/her mind.

I am far more likely to think happy thoughts than sad ones. Sad thoughts come and go, bit they seldom linger. If they seem inclined to stay, reading a good book will usually put them in their place.

The person below me is a pessimist.

Far from it.

TPBM is a pragmatist.

Leaped.

Card carrying member of the Southern Pragmatist Synod.

Don't judge me. Not really, although the past few years have been some of the most challenging. I'd say I was an unsubstantiated optimist.

TPBM can recommend something really scary to read for Halloween. (The newspaper and Stephen King's The Stand don't count. Something mayhaps unknown, or lesser known. In other words, something I haven't read. Now that you know the rules- go!)

The Descent by Jeff Long

TPBM has already bought Halloween candy.

Are you kidding? We've got a pregnant woman, a not-pregnant woman, a man with an intense sweet-tooth, and a preschooler in this house. Candy doesn't last long. We plan to wait till last-minute! (Our roommate's mom sent us a bag of assorted chocolate candy for Halloween at the beginning of the month. It didn't last four days.)

TPBM is able to keep sweet stuff in the house without giving in to temptation.

I pretty much ration what sweets I do have, and I do the rationing when I am not hungry. That isn't to say that my weight is low enough.

The person below me has a full sized tree.

I live on a wooded lot, does that count?

TPBM knows about 'the Larch'

Doesn't everyone?

TPBM knows what Brian is.

Who. Who. "Who" Brian is. Yes, indeed I do. "He's a very naughty boy". :D

TPBM likes something completely different...

A name?

TPBM will give us the 'real' answer.

Oops. Leaped.
Nevermind, nevermind.

LOL. I already did.

Carry on from #295..

Sure! Sir Reginald Perrin's "naugty bits"...

TPBM likes to coat hand tools with a nice thick layer of latex to afford him/herself a better grip, and will tell us what color s/he uses.

Yes. Black.

TPBM won a pumpkin carving contest.

Heavens, no. I'm dangerous with a knife in my hand.

The person below me prefers plastic pumpkins (ideally ones with handles and plenty of room for candy.)

I prefer the contents more, but being diabetic, I can't.

TPBM has a scar with a good story behind it.

On the back of my head, there is a large bump/scar. When I was little my father dropped me down the stairs (all 16 of them) and my mother hasn't let him forget it. So now I can say yes indeed, I was dropped on my head when I was young.

TPBM has something they are teased about constantly.

I'm teased for "the look" I used to shoot at my children when they were misbehaving. Clearly, its effectiveness has expired.

TPBM can take a joke.

What? You trying to start something?

#302 - So, is that the reason for you name here?

TPBM can tell shaggy-dog stories well.

So this dyslexic man walks into a bra...

TPBM thinks that a one-liner is not a shaggy-dog story, and will share a favourite of the latter genre.

I got nothin'.

TPBM is pulling out all the stops for Halloween.

Probably not this year, though many of the local children probably will.

The person below me is already making plans for Halloween 2011.

Absolutely! No candy, no costumes, no parties. We think Halloween is a holiday for children, not adults, so we boycott it. And, our 17 year old daughter got over Halloween when she was 11 so we've been blissfully free for 6 years now from Halloween demands from the kidlet.

TPBM prefers unsweet (iced) tea to sweet (iced) tea.

ACK! A simulpost!

I can't drink tea at all; can't handle the tanic acid.


Sure! Sit up in the Reading Room with MrsHouseLibrary and a pot of coffee and good books.
We don't ~do~ the Halloween thing anymore; but that might all change if my youngest son and his SO plan on bringing her daughter around our neighborhood.


TPBM reads in a rocking chair.

I'd like to spend some time reading in my rocking chair and sipping UNsweet iced tea.

TPBM is going to a costume party this weekend.

No, but we might go to the Pumpkin Festival because Kidlet enjoys it. Well, everything but the cornfield labyrinth-type maze. That bores him :-/

TPBM would also be bored in a cornfield maze.

Yes, unless I'm allowed to pluck some corn and take them with me.

TPBM can't stand corn.

True - I've never learned the trick to keep an ear upright.

TPBM has recently been in touch with an old friend.

The other day I forwarded a couple of entertaining e-mails to a fellow I hung out with somewhat twenty years ago.

The person below me isn't in that kind of e-mail loop where entertaining e-mails get passed around and doesn't want to be.

Nope. I don't forward emails, no matter how interesting they are. I do get the same ones over and over again, though.

> 313: LOL I guess I had it coming.

TPBM has only one e-mail account.

nope, 3 active ones and 2-3 I use for special things.

TPBM remembers every email address they've ever had. (I don't, couldn't even tell you how many I've had!)

Yes, pretty much! (Except perhaps the first one ever.) I still have about half a dozen I use regularly. No woman should ever be online without a series of email addresses to use for different reasons. ;-)

TPBM gets spam and knows how to deal with it.

Yup, with a flame thrower.

TPBM knows how to shoot a gun.

Of course. That is, if you mean a glue gun or a water gun.

TPBM plays drums.

I can. I used to. As far as percussion instruments, I'm most proficient at the Vast Belly Drum, and the Steering Wheel.

TPBM always keeps a kazoo nearby just in case a flash kazoo concert breaks out.

No. In fact I keep a shotgun for just that purpose! ;)

TPBM will argue the validity of a kazoo as a musical instrument.

Humming through a Kazoo ought to count as a musical instrument, because most musicians consider the human voice to be an instrument.

The person below me likes to listen to skilled players exercise those skills on bagpipes.

Actually, I do. I especially like the kilts.

The person below me has listened to a saw concert.

I can't think of one I've seen since any of seveal times on the Ed Sullivan show.

TPBM remembers Philo Kvetch.

Never heard of the guy, don't know nothin' about him, and last Tuesday I was in Boston.

>>My creepy, loud neighbor has, as far as I can tell, flown the coop! Yee-HA!

TPBM sings beautifully.

Thinking about singing makes me long to be
70 again.

Happens I do sing beautifully-- well, maybe not as beautifully as Burl Ives, maybe but as beautifully as Carl Sandburg --aren't they the only ones to emulate?

TPBM knows what the first 5 words of God Bless America are (I'm confident, although I never did know of anyone in the AOL Trivia Room who knew them -- the verse not the refrain.)

I'm Canadian so I'd be better at "The Maple Leaf Forever". but I think it goes - "God Bless America, land that I love"
All this talk of "God Bless America" and Ed Sullivan makes me think of Kate Smith.

TPBM also remembers Kate Smith

Well, maybe not the same Kate Smith you're talking about, but there's a Kate Smith at my mom's church whom I've known since I was ten.

TPBM is feeling sentimental today.

I'm trying not to be. I have too much packing to do, and the more sentimental I get, the bigger the U-Haul truck and the smaller the Goodwill pile.

Edited to add: TPBM is not as distracted as I am.

On 326-327 (not as a TPBM):

My doubtful distinction of never having found anyone online who knows the 1st 5 words of "God Bless America" survives:

The words are: "As the storm clouds gather . . ."

DeltaQueen you gave the usual answer -- the refrain (aka the "Chorus") not the verse.

I am a tad distracted because I'm hungry.

While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,
Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,
Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,
As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.
I thought it was "while," not "as."

TPBM is not going to eat, yet.

Yes, I am. I'm starving. Haven't eaten since 9 this morning and my stomach is protesting.

TPBM plans to go outside this weekend since the weather's nice.

Leaped. Altered to match.

Nope, I'm going plow through some reading this weekend and eat early today because I've got to bleach my teef. I get my permanent front crowns on Monday and I'm almost beside myself with glee. (I would be actually beside myself but one part of my isn't speaking with the other. And he knows why!)

>>330 rolandperkins: roland- I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of the communist party.

TPBM has already voted in the upcoming US elections.

Sure did! I want my vote to count, even if I die before Election day.

TPBM doesn't want to discuss politics (and thank you for that).

I never want to discuss politics. My fiance's best friend was a political science major in college and is OBSESSED with politics, so sometimes it's just inescapable.

TPBM has been fishing lately.

No, but if somebody else catches, cleans and fries them, I'll be more than happy to eat them.

TPBM doesn't like to go fishing, either.

What??? You've forgotten my #265 post already?

TPBM can't recall what s/he had for breakfast.

Today I've been to a funeral - followed by a spread afterward - and then to a college reunion and so was confronted all day by platters of food from which I tried to choose carefully. Between the tears (A.M) and the chatter (P.M), breakfast seems weeks ago.

TPBM has a reunion coming up.

In two weeks! My 40th year high school CR.
Prior to that, I'm going to drive up to Shreveport to visit my best friend from high school. He won't be able to make it there, and it's been almost 20 years since I've seen him.

I was supposed to get together with another friend prior to the festivities on Saturday, to play guitar for a couple of hours at his house. Then, word got out and others wanted to join. It's now a mini-Woodstock that will be going on all afternoon in an empty warehouse, and we're headlining it!

TPBM loves hearing snowball-rolls-downhill stories.

Who doesn't? My favorites, though, are things-run-up-flagpole stories, and anything having to do with pomegranates.

TPBM is the kind who sensibly closes doors and straightens pictures that have gone crooked.

Not in my house, but like around church and stuff.

The person below me has somewhere else that they treat more or less like home.

Hmmm. Maybe my car. I'm not always tidy at home, but I do try to be elsewhere. I am always surprised by how neat I am when I travel (except by car).

The person below me is planing to see a movie this week.

Yes. I plan to get around to watching one of the 4 DVDs I borrowed from my mother.

TPBM wants to go back to bed.

Not just yet. As I type I have just left old England's shores (well, Wales's if one wants to be picky) on a short voyage to the Emerald Isle for a few days of opera. Time for bed later.

TPBM is also somewhere unusual for them.

No, but I would like to invite Mr. & Mrs. House to go fishing after his high-school reunion.

TPBM would love to go to the Emerald Isle, but not Northern Ireland.

I've actually BEEN there - about 4 years ago, for 2 weeks. Lovely place.

And, thanks Boo, but neither MrsHouseLibrary nor I enjoy fishing. On the other hand, if you'd like to get together and talk about books...

TPBM has met other LT members somewhere.

Well, I met a friend of a friend who subsequently joined and friended me here on LT.

The person below me has sought out other LT-ers in real life.

Nope, although I think it would be fun to meet some a youse if we were at the same event (I'm planning on attending the Stewart/Colbert rallies next weekend, but some of the gang are going soft on the idea.) There are a lot of LT members in my area (DC metro) but none that hang out on the threads I do. Some hooge libraries, too.

TPBM married someone they met online.

No, I met my husband the old-fashioned way. I was drunk in a bar. Seriously.

TPBM met their significant other in a much less uncouth manner.

Would you believe I also met my husband in a bar? But I wasn't drunk, I was working there on the weekends whilst attending college. My cousin and her husband met online. Who knew that really worked?

Mr. House I don't like to go fishing, either. lol

TPBM wouldn't have nerve enough to meet somebody online.

Are you kidding? I HIGHLY recommend it!

That's how I met MrsHouseLibrary.

TPBM avoids socializing with coworkers.

I am married to the owner of the company and I think it is the coworkers who avoid socializing with me!

TPBM met their spouse at work.

Yes I did. And we managed to keep it a secret for a year before announcing our engagement. Ah, sweet subterfuge!

TPBM is newly engaged.

Newp.

>>349 theretiredlibrarian: tel- Bwahaha!

TPBM is a Buddhist monk.

No, but I fantasize about becoming a nun in an Episcopal religious order.

The person below me heard a story about Africa today.

I was half listening to a human interest story during the football game Mr. Exiled was watching...one of the Minnesota Vikings named something Williams (I think) gives away millions to his native country in Africa...Sierra Leone I think. (I told you I was only half listening, as I was reading a book at the time.) It caught my interest only b/c it's so rare football players make news by doing something good, rather than landing in hot water (or jail).

TPBM actually cares about NFL football.

Well, no. I don't even care about CFL football.

TPBM has been to Africa. (Or lives there.)

I have been to Africa.

TPBM speaks German.

Ach du lieber. Or something. I wish I could. Good day and yes is about it.

The person below me has tried the Rosetta Stone language learning system or knows someone who has and can tell us if it works.

Nine (told you!) I only speak English and Mandarin.

Jumped!

I'm afraid I've never heard of that system. Off to google now.

TPBM is polyglot.

As a child, I learned to speak with English and German (German nanny, looked like Marlo Thomas as That Girl.) Forgot almost all the German. Picked up Portuguese and can still read it without embarrassing myself. Too badly. So, to answer your question: no.

>>355 jillmwo: jill- what do Episcopalian nuns do? Write thank you cards and hand out the wine list during communion? Does Gucci even make a wimple?

TPBM hopes to go to Heaven to spend some time talking with Sister Wendy.

I hope to go to heaven to sit among the trees with the cats listening to good music.

The person below me believes that a trillion years of anything will grow tedious.

Possibly. Depends on if the good authors are still writing. And I'm not sure we don't come back until we get it right.

The person below me has had a reading of his or her past lives. (For fun or for serious.)

I have not. Because I don't much care; this life keeps me plenty busy without my worrying about what happened in a past one. I also don't bother with tarot readings, crystal-ball-lookers, or anything else of the sort.

TPBM does bother with that sort of thing.

Not even bibles.

TPBM is experiencing some unusual weather for this time of year.

Not at the moment, but we had some wild weather just over a month ago.

The person below me is confused about something.

I'm sorry, what were you asking again?

TPBM doesn't need caffeine to have a good day.

Certainly I don't need caffeine, but it sure comes in handy some days!! :)

TPBM relies on something other than caffeine to get through the day.

I rely on my nebulizer.

TPBM eats too much and needs to lose some weight.

Sometimes and yes. Managing my Diabetes is a tricky business.

TPBM snores.

How is one to know? You would have to take
someone else's word for it.

TPBM has dreams in which she/he considers the possibility that "maybe this IS a dream".*

*a thought that Edgar Alan Poe(drawing on Novalis somewhere says
that NOBODy ever has during a dream

fairly often, more often than not I do realize I'm dreaming, I also generally dream in color, which is also supposed to be rare.

TPBM r.e.m. sleep is not going to sleep listening to the radio...

Yes, I knew that, though I do need noise to sleep. I have awakened on purpose more than once from a dream. For example, once I dreamed I was drowning and told myself, "This is just a dream" several times before I finally awoke. I was having a terrible time breathing, so that must be why I had the dream. I also dream quite frequently in color.

TPBM has also awakened on purpose from a dream.

Yeah, those dreams where I'm being chased by something. Brrr.

>>368 hemlokgang: hg- I don't need the caffeine. It's the others who need me to have the caffeine. Apparently I'm a wee bit cranky in the am. Which is ABSURD!

I got crowned today. Dentist asks me if I've ever been married. I said 'No, which is why I plan on living longer than you.' He laughed, and right then his wife calls him to remind him to pick the kids up from school. When he hung up he went after my mouth like something out of Saw.

TPBM learned early who not to yell at. (Mechanics, accountants, etc.)

well certainly not before they've completed the job. I do have a habit of pissing of bosses though. I do need to work on that one.

TPBM understands telling a boss why he's wrong can cause problems.

Certainly. And I also know that letting your boss(es) step all over you is as bad as telling them they're wrong. I do need to work on that one.

TPBM is self-employed.

Yes, it sounds so much better than unemployed. Make that...Freelance! Yeah, that's it!

TPBM looks forward to going to work.

I look forward to getting out and working with people. My current super is a freakin' whack job, and not in the good way. I'd be glad if someone would throw a bucket of water on her already so she'd melt away.

TPBM would be happy working alone all day.

Yes. Then there are no other people to talk, instead of working, and mess up so many things that you must correct. Yecch!

TPBM understands, perfectly.

I do, perfectly, but without perfect agreement.

The person below me is not superstitious but pays attention to the omens.

I'm not sure I'd recognize one if I saw it.

TPBM is a patron of the Arts.

Gosh, no! I'd never patronise any art form! I'm sure they're all quite lovely in their own way, for them as likes that sort of thing ...

TPBM frequently has to rein in a sarcastic tongue (their own or someone else's).

You talkin' to me?

TPBM is all sweetness and light.

Sure, when I'm sleeping or out in public. Nobody's perfect, after all *bats eyelashes sweetly*

Ohkay, that's enough of that. Yish.

TPBM has an imaginary friend.

just because no one else has ever seen him doesn't mean he's imaginary!!

TPBM knows that 'they' are out to get them...

Yeah, and they always call during dinner time.

TPBM is blissfully...something.

I'm blissfully LibraryThinging!

The person below me has been to a good booksale lately.

It was in September, so "lately" is pushing it a bit, but I got some outstanding books at the Friends of the Pittsboro Library sale.

And last night I got Tana French's new book Faithful Place at the PTSA Thrift Store for $1.30. New hardcover, dust jacket in great shape. Score!!!

TPBM is waiting for book they really want to read to come out in paperback.

It's already out, but I haven't had the extra money to buy it yet, so I have to wait still.

TPBM makes their own vegetable stock.

No, I'm not a foody and anything involving the oven means guests, and that means dinner out, so it's win/win. Left to my own devices, I am perfectly happy with frying a steak or making a peanut butter sammich for dinner. And vitamins, which I take by the handful. But only in the morning because they tend to keep me awake. Because I'm all delicate and stuff.

**Does anyone know the ratio of librarians on LT to readers?

TPBM is thinking of dramatically expanding their library.

I am planning on expanding my book shelves, I need to do that first before any major purchasing.

TPBM knows where to get all the good deals.

390 > **Does anyone know the ratio of librarians on LT to readers?

Librarians who librarything has 7,676 members, the homepage states 'A community of 1,000,000 book lovers.' (If that's any help).

TPBM knows where to get all the good deals.

Probably* in Las Vegas, because the percentage is so much in favor of the House that it would be unnecessary for the dealers to cheat (if that qualifies as "good").

*I say "probably" because this is only something I deduced --not based on personal experience.

TPBM has invented a variant of a card or board game--with significantly changed rules.

There's 52 pick up. I just leave them there.

The person below me can play either chess or the game of go well.

I've got this story about learning to play chess... another time.
Suffice to say, I ~used to~ be a very good Chess player.
I haven't played regularly in over 30 years, and must admit I almost always lose now.

TPBM is from a board-game-playing family.

I play chess terribly (if at all) and Go not at all.
My son Kele Perkins is a very good chess player, and
my grandson Joaquin Perkins was rated 1st of his age geoup when he was 5. He is now a very high-rated 6-year old.

YPBM has a favorite competitor (past or present) in either chess, bridge or golf. ( I'm also terrible at those last 2.)

Oh, dear, no. I have made a stab at all three but w/o much success. And that means almost anyone could be a winning competitor against me.

The person below me is big on playing Solitaire.

I play lots of Sol on the computer when I'm a tad bored. Hearts, too.

TPBM never gets bored.

You're never alone when you're schizophrenic.

TPBM will tell us about his/her imaginary playmate.

I didn't have one but my sister did. His name was Luke. She sat on him one day and that was the end of him.

TPBM has weird dreams and will tell us about one.

I dreamed I was in a Hollywood movie... and that I was the star of that movie. This really blew my mind. The fact that me, an overfed, long haired leaping gnome, should be the star of a Hollywood movie hmmmm... But there I was.

Anyway, I forget the rest.

TPBM has had the same dream.

Nope, I had a dream where a race of space wizards, called Tadcasters, took over the earth. After waking, I looked Tadcaster up and it's a town in the UK famous for brewing beer. Of course, I don't ever remember hearing of it before the dream.

TPBM sleep walks.

Not me, but I knew a fellow who did. Every night, his wife had to hide the car keys and booby-trap the doors so she'd know if he tried to go outside while he was in that state.

#401 - I hope you don't spill the wine too much in that dream...

TPBM has a relatively benign addiction.

Pepsi. But I've cut down to one mug of it per day, which equals about 2-1/2 cans, or about a pint. I used to drink it all day long, but now drink water, except for the one treat of Pepsi.

TPBM loves Pepsi.

I know I shouldn't, but I do.

TPBM doesn't.

No, I've never liked any of the colas and I have given up all soft drinks. I don't miss them at all.

TPBM would hate not drinking some sugared refreshment.

Sweetened, that is. Recently every morning after my green tea I've been drinking a bottle of Fuze Slenderize which has two grams of sugar. I just wish that its primary sweetener were Splenda.

The person below me says 'bah, humbug' to all that and drinks strong coffee in the morning.

Yup. A huge mug of strong and sweet coffee every morning, actually.

TPBM leads a 100% caffeine-free life.

almost, I like chocolate

TPBM would have severe withdrawal if their caffeine intake were interrupted for more than 6 hours.

I can go 6 hours without, but not much longer. I prefer my caffeine in coffee form and can leave the chocolate.

#403 I don't spill the wine, but I do take that pearl.

TPBM wears his/her grandmother's pearls.

Yes, a 2+ Coke a day addiction, will certainly lead to withdrawal; I know b/c it was what I gave up for Lent one year. Longest 40 days of my life.

TPBM wears a uniform to work.

Aak! Leaped.

Vassar drag- sack suit and a repp tie. Also hiking boots if I can get away with it.

Not 6, but I know for a fact that by 48 I would rip right through a barista to get to the urn. (I can't say more than that, but the guy is a total whiner and I feel certain the courts will vindicate me.)

TPBM knows someone who died because of an addiction.

# 410 & 411: I do wear a uniform to work, which is -fortunately- classy enough to match with pearly accessories... but I didn't inherit my grandmother's pearls. :-(

#412: An aunt's ex-husband. Died of lung cancer due to a severe tobacco addiction. I can't say that I 'know' him, though, with him having passed away and all...

TPBM owns a perfect LBS (Little Black Suit).

Erm, okay then. I repeat:

"An aunt's ex-husband. Died of lung cancer due to a severe tobacco addiction. I can't say that I 'know' him, though, with him having passed away and all...

TPBM owns a perfect LBS (Little Black Suit)."

Hope we're fine now. =)

Sadly, none of my business suits can be called 'little', but I do have a black one.

TPBM can wear more casual clothing to work.

eta: wow, hectic thread at the moment!

"Casual" is rather an understatement for the clothes I wear to the barn.

TPBM owns an item of purple clothing.

Yes -- a purple tee-shirt and a silk scarf that actually matches the shade of the tee shirt. Perfectly. I mean, seen together the two are a source of envy experienced by many women at my train station in the morning.

The person below me matches shades of clothing precisely.

Uh-uh, one of the great things about men's clothing it that they're mix and match. I simplify it by only wearing solid color shirts. One from column A, one from column B...and I'm out the door.

TPBM has a good rule of thumb on when to dress up or dress down (the Brits should get this one cold.)

I tend to dress down when I take a shower; after that any dressing is do is considered "up".

TPBM knows someone who owns a tuxedo.

Yes, me! I'll be wearing it on Saturday night as well. Will be colour matching bow tie and cummerbund.

TPBM doesn't do 'formal'.

Haven't had an occasion to do so since I can't remember when. High school? My step-granddaughter had a white-tie wedding, but they changed the date when her husband was sent to Afghanistan, so I was unable to attend. I did have some fancy wear picked out, too.

The real problem is the shoes. Girly shoes don't work for me. I can barely stand in them, much less walk or spend the evening in them. I've got arch problems, ankle problems, toe problems, you name it, made only worse by getting a foot smooshed in a car accident. As it is, I've twisted an ankle and fallen three times in the last month (once down a flight of stairs) while wearing reasonably sensible shoes. Luckily, no real damage, just bruises. Sometimes the ankle just falls right over.

An old boyfriend had the nerve to look at my shoe pile and call me Imelda. It's not for fashion, it's the endless search for shoes that are comfortable for my quirky feet.

TPBM has a foot fetish.

Not as a rule - even on my wedding day I was wearing a second-hand dress (which cost £29) and a pair of ballet shoes ...!

Ack - leapfrogged!

I don't have a foot fetish, but I am rather fond of my own aristocratic-looking feet!

TPBM understands the importance of a properly-fitted bra.

Yes, I do. And I imagine that most women understand that, which is why it baffles me that most wear the wrong size!

TPBM has a long list of housework today and is avoiding it.

I don't know about the importance, but I can certainly appreciate it.

leaped!
I have a long list of yard work, my wife generally prefers to do the housework the 'right' way. I don't argue.

TPBM has long given up fashion for comfort, but still appreciates when the two converge.

Why, yes! Although every now and then, I see my reflection and think either a) who is that short, chunky old lady? or b) what was I thinking!

On a bad day, both.

TPBM is having a good day.

Better than it was this morning, when I was too tired to move and my keyboard was acting up. Now that I've gotten the miscreant keys under control and somehow mustered up enough energy to clean the living room and kitchen and get the laundry started... I'm feeling pretty good:)

TPBM is going to eat lunch soon.

I don't know yet. Probably not.

TPBM has recently looked at a government form and though they must have grabbed it from the Tamil-lingo stack.

Right on SomeGuyinV! I had to fill out a government form out the other day and I know I messed it up - it was impossible for mere mortals to decifer!

TPBM is going to visit with family members today.

No, but I will this weekend.

The person below me will explain his/her pet peeve.

A pet peeve and --unlike most of my peeves
not a petty one:

This is somewhat in line with 428-429:
I hate to fill out a form of any kind on line.
There always seems to be nowhere to write what you are intending to write.

Related, but petty: I'm peeved by the menu of
languages given by LT for cataloging purposes. Many of the languages that my books are in don't even appear on it. And I can see no way of correcting a wrong language that has already been put in for the book.
The same -- and worse --is true of the menus in UNILANG, another group that I joined. Unlike LT, the Unilang menu format can give rise to many other errors in the data generaed from it.

TPBM belongs to UNILANG or to some language/language learning related group.

Read about it here.

My language skills are currently rusting in peace.

TPBM is fighting the forces of something or other.

Puddleshark, we've moved on to the thread at the link at #432. Come along over.

>433 puddleshark:
*taps on shoulder*
Good morning, puddleshark.
I was going to remark on the early hour and how that makes us muzzy headed, but you've been up for a while.
Come join us here. (see 432)