The Person Below Me - thread #63 - If it was chromosomes, we'd be talking about mules or hinnys

TPBM knows the difference between the two.

The way back

Yes! It's a trick question. There is no difference between 'the two', only space.

TPBM is on the radar.

Depends. Whose radar?

TPBM also feels like Thread 62 went by awfully fast (even if it didn't, really).

I agree it did seem to go by quickly. .

TPBM knows how to make a really good drink

Yes, I do.

TPBM will tell us what said good drink is.

Um, you make a great smoothie. Or margarita. Or sangria. Or iced tea.

The person below me will tell us what he or she would like Boo to make, or would just like to be drinking.

I would really like a large vodka, valium margarita, but it's too early in the morning for drinking. What I'd really like, just for a few hours, to be the kind of woman who yells, stomps and generally behaves badly to get her own way. Sadly, I'm not wired that way.

TPBM will tell of a civilized way to deal with with disillusionment of a large nature.

Don't go all 'Valley of the Dolls'; that didn't work in the book and I've never known it to cure anything in life, either. If you've been shafted, figure out what you want and then make your decision known. Control whatever aspects you can, turn the shit fan off/around whenever you can, and it's all right to go ape shit, too.

TPBM has something really unusual in the house or outside of it.

On the patio in my back yard, I have, and still use, the redwood picnic table and benches that my parents bought back in the '60s, in New Jersey.

Congratulations goes out to RockStarNinja for posting the 25,000th message (overall) - #4.

As for the speed at which the threads have been reaching 400 (more or less), both of the last two threads have taken 26 days to reach the threshold, slower than any of the previous 19 threads. Our fastest thread was #2, where we averaged 44 messages per day; our slowest was #10, at less than 9 messages per day.

Clearly, the perception of time is... fleeting.

TPBM knows what is "special" about today.

Besides the fact that it is United Nations Day? It is the day I finally got hubby to help me clean and polish the hardwood floor in the living room.

TPBM knows what is happening in New Zealand today.

Rugby news seemed to top the list...

TPBM has a fish tank and actually has live fish in it.

Nope, but my sister has three tanks and 18 fish among the three; 9 in one tank, 8 in another, and a solitary make betta in the third.

TPBM is what they wanted to be when the were growing up.

Well, I'm a happy person with a lot of books. In the matter of careers, though, things worked out a little differently than expected.

The person below me tried something new today.

Not yet, but I'm going to a quasi-political event tonight that may cause me to say something that I've never said before -- I don't know what that might be.

The person below me is politically active in their community.

I was at one time, but, heck, it was all politics.

TPBM volunteers with the community literacy program.

No. Perhaps I should.

TPBM misses reading aloud since their children grew up

I used to but my first student/victim slipped my wallet out of my purse (I got it back when I drove him home) and my second wanted nothing to do with reading, just wanted a baby sitter.

TPBM also has an interesting experience with volunteering.

Wow, I go away for the weekend and miss so much. Two birthdays (Happy belated to Boo and Mr. D.) and a new thread. I too had a birthday over the weekend and spent it with my daughter. We had a great time and while there I went with her to do recycling and they have a building at the center that people can recycle books, so of course I came home with another stack of to-be-reads. It's getting out of control.

As for volunteering experiences, I think the last voluntering I did was for the local wildlife rehabilitation group. I volunteered to serve at their annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser and somehow got sucked in to chairing it for the next 3 years until I said enough. I'm getting better at saying no now.

TPBM has also said yes and regretted it.

//belated Happy Birthday to morningwalker
And, thanks!//

Said "yes" and regretted it? I'd say so. I've been married four times. Of course, the last one was a keeper, but he up and died on me, darn him.

TPBM has said "yes" even more often.

I always feel honesty is the best policy so if I don't want to do something I just tell them no.

TPBM knows the fine art of subterfuge.

I suck at it.

TPBM is practically perfect in every way.

How did you know?

TPBM has many faults.

The short answer is: Who, ME?!"

The long answer is: I tried to figure out if "many" is the right word, but my calculator isnʻt working.

TPBM now faults her/himself for something which he/she wouldnʻt have thought of as a fault a few years (or decades) ago.

In school I thought I had all the time in the world.

>>14 Mr.Durick: So, Mr. D, did you speak last night?

TPBM did junior year abroad (work-release doesn't count.)

No, I haven't.

The person below me is out of town.

Not for another hour.

TPBM is hungry.

Just finishing breakfast now.

TPBM is trying to learn or memorize something (I'm working on music for a couple of concerts coming up).

Not memorize, but trying to stuff my head with plumbing detail and make it make sense. Some progress being made, but it's slow going.

TPBM is trying to forget.

Must have worked.

TPBM rides a bike everywhere.

Used to.
From northern NJ to western Fla.
From Geneseo, NY to northern NJ.
Commuted 22 miles, round trip, even in winter, in NJ.
And 9 miles, round trip, here in Texas.
Then it became too dangerous, so I gave away my custom-frame bike.

TPBM never gives anything away for free.

Isn't that the only way to give something away? For free?

TPBM does not like the phrase "free gift." lol

Well, now that you mention it and now that I actually think about it, it's rather illogical and silly, isn't it?

TPBM loves oxymorons.

I am almost totally tickled by oxymora. I think they are awfully good fun and often conspicuously absent from modern discourse.

TPBM has a good example

Yes, I don't.

TPBM has made dipped candles.

I haven't, but I bought some that I loved a few weeks ago, and after they burned down I took the excess wax from the holders and put it into a glass container and put it on the stove so it melts when the stove gets hot.

TPBM is cheap and proud of it.

Not cheap, but - as the Scots term it - canny. I certainly hate wasting money, and I actually prefer second-hand clothes, books, etc!

TPBM has a good money-saving tip.

Buy books at thrift stores. They're usually about 10% of the cover price. Also, go to Friends of the Library sales. You can get current hardcover fiction for $5/less per book and it's been my experience that you can get almost-new-looking copies.

TPBM has more than 100 books in their house that they haven't read yet.

At a guess, there must be at least that many. Some I know I will probably never read, the phase or interest passed before I got to it. The ones I'm determined to read have a little baker's rack of their own. I was only going to add one when I had read one, but I found there is room to lay books sideways on top of other books.

TPBM loves to give books as presents, especially to children.

I do, but with the coolness factor of pop-up books rising dramatically, I sometimes find I keep the book and write them a check instead.

>>Jeez, I've hundreds of books in my apartment I haven't read. I give almost all fiction away once I've read it; I'm trying to winnow down.

TPBM has strong feelings about not giving children gift cards.

Absoblumin'lutely. I even pre-unpackage the toys so there is no time delay before we can play.

TPBM can still win at tiddley-winks or pickemup sticks or marbles.

I never learned to play marbles, but I loved pick-em-up sticks and tiddley-winks and jacks (played jacks all the time). Don't know if I could still win though. Recently got beat at a new game called Querkle. Sort of follows scrabble rules but with colors and shapes rather than words, if that makes sense???

TPBM needs ______.

strong anti-anxiety and anti-depression drugs.

TPBM needs ________.

A joint and two fingers of Jack. Man, I've come to have highly ambivalent feelings about October like it's a leper carrying a five pound box of money.

TPBM endures.

So far, yes.

TPBM can identity classifications of clouds.

White all-over, grey all-over, black with rain, black with lightning, The Simpsons-Sky....

Is that enough?

TPBM can be much more sensible

Than whom, or than what? Oh, well, forget it: I probably CANʻT be, anyway.

TPBM has been in situations where she/he feels surprised at being the most intelligent one in the group.

Yeah, almost every month in our work HOD meetings.

TPBM has just finished planting their garlic crop for next year.

No. I thought garlic came in those little packages at the grocery.

TPBM is usually the most intelligent one in the group.

Lately, it seems like I'm usually the oldest one in the group.

TPBM has less to whine about.

Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good. Few aches and pains, allergies under control; a little money in the bank, hubby & I are both employed; most debt paid off; only one car payment'; no children in the house; a beautiful granddaughter. So I really have nothing to whine about.

TPBM has stayed at a haunted hotel.

Actually, I have lived in one that was purported to be haunted. My father was stationed at Fort McNair in Washington DC and we lived in the house on post that had been the jail for Mary Suratt following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln before she was hung for her participation. She was said to walk the house with an infant in arms (her grandchild). I never saw her, but she supposedly haunted the room in which I slept.

The person below me believes Civil War ghosts are entirely plausible.

Well, if other ghosts are plausible, why not Civil War ghosts?

TPBM ain't afraid of no ghosts.

Not as far as I know, but I haven't (knowingly) met one yet. However, when I was seven, my parents moved house, and my mum ended up using me as a kind of pit canary - if I came rushing out of a prospective home shrieking, then my parents didn't bother checking it out any further. I was probably very good at smelling out damp, or radon gas, or something, but some places Just Did Not Feel Good.

TPBM trusts their instincts.

Most of the time, and I have bitterly regretted a few times that I did not.

TPBM is going to wear a costume to great the trick or treaters on Monday.

Of course I am. It's part of the fun for me.

TPBM always dresses up for Halloween too.

I always have in the past, but didn't last year. Probably won't tonight either (I live in a place that has trick-or-treat on the last Thursday of October, rather than the true Hallowen). It depends on my mood and energy level when I get home from work. I did carve pumpkins last night.

TPBM will pay forward a good deed.

Eh, why not.

//54 Sophie- that was brilliant. I'm totally stealing it.//

TPBM will provide their own call and response.

TPBM wonders where the time has gone.

Why, yes. Yes I do.

SomeGuy will tell us what to do now. ;-}

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. (My one shot at Heaven, nobody laugh.)

TPBM is a victim of fashion.

No, I'm a victim of a severe LACK of fashion, due to motherhood and (relative) poverty. I think the last time I bought anything "fashionable" was when Kidlet was an infant, and now I just wear the clothes I have until they wear out before replacing them!

(Which reminds me, I need jeans...)

TPBM feeds wild animals.

Not deliberately, but they sometimes help themselves to the ducks and guinea hens.

TPBM has shot at some varmint.

Only so there is feed for the wild animals.
Raccoons and opossum try to eat the corn for the deer, and the dozen or more squirrels in my immediate vicinity will eat whatever bird feed they can get at. I've got a single-shot BB gun that will do nothing more than sting them.

TPBM has picked apples from a tree.

We had a an apple tree outside the den when I was a lad. My parents did nothing to see that the apples flourished, but sometimes one gnarled specimen would be pluckable, and I have plucked more than one -- ate them too although they were one of the less sweet varieties. After I left home my parents took to seeing that the fruit was protected from insects, etc., cleaned out the flue so that they could have a fire in the living room, and did several other things that they hadn't wanted to bother sharing with their kids.

I have never picked cultivated strawberries, but the person below me has.

I've picked them from a neighbors yard, if that counts.

//53 - no, I ain't afraid of no ghosts, duh nuh nuh nuh nuh duh nuh duh nuh GHOSTBUSTERS!!//

TPBM knows what's wrong with my clock. . and it's not the battery

It thinks it's a frisbee, not a clock?

TPBM is wondering when we will admit we're really back in a recession

I donʻt wonder very much, because Iʻm very used to
changes of terminology, and arguments about what is
the correct term for an economic situation.
Harry Truman said that a recession is when your next door neighbor is out of work. A depression is when YOUʻRE out of work.

TPBM knows what "Depression/Recession" was called before the
1930s (and there were several of them); itʻs a 5-letter word,
today used more by psychologists than by economicst.

Slump? Sounds like what I do after a long hard day's typing ...

TPBM wonders why wages are going down and prices are going up, and who exactly is making money out of the current "economic downturn".

I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were the effing bankers and other predators in the financial services industry. As the old song has it - "It's the same the whole world over, it's the poor what gets the blame. It's the rich what gets the gravy, Ain't it all a bleedin' shame?"

TPBM knows the tune and the words of the Internationale and sometimes sings it in the bath.

ETC tmi. No, but if you hum a few bars...

TPBM wonders how America will cope with austerity measures, remembering that we are a nation that calls 911 when McDonald's gets our fry order wrong.

I predict there will be gnashing of teeth and wailing in the dark. Actually, most of us will just keep soldiering on, like there's a choice. One nice thing about having Scots thrift drilled to the bone is that we have rarely lived beyond our means (trip to Europe) so we are not going to be much worse off.

TPBM has a different take on the matter.

No, I agree with you. I think we want our cake and eat it too. Living within our means, using common sense, and being accountable for our own actions are a few things we need to bone up on.

TPBM is a real fanatic about something.

Moderation.

TPBM enjoys the little things in life.

Yes, I do. Or, as I put it, simple pleasures for simple minds.

Even when the big things are going great. But especially when the big things AREN'T going great.

TPBM has got a song in their head that they just can't get rid of and it's driving them crazy.

I'm already crazy, but the song it "Dance with Me" by Johnny Reid.

TPBM also likes Johnny Reid.

Edit to add link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBuaNbRHFNY

Either the Johnny Reid fans are 'out-of-office' or they are all mooning over YouTube.

TPBM has read their horoscope and is expecting something to their advantage from a dark stranger.

Haven't read my horoscope, but some of my recent encounters with strangers have involved: (i) having a large stone flung at my windshield, (ii) my husband's truck being stolen, (iii) my children's school being threatened with closure. Granted, the stone incident was accidental. Nonetheless, at this point, I believe it would be safest to lock myself in my house, go to sleep for 5 months (thus missing winter, too), and avoid all strangers, dark or otherwise.

TPBM has had a run of good luck lately, and will share.

I'm nursing a head cold so I'm not sure. Not necessarily bad luck but too many annoying things...

The person below me had a nice thing happen today.

edit: Happy belated birthday, morningwalker!

Boy, howdy! Remember me going on about editing a book, and how I wasn't going the author get away with one of the characters driving nine hundred miles of back roads in less than ten hours? We met today; I'm about one third of the way through his book, and he's decided he's going to pay me (an unspecified amount) more than we agreed upon for the work I'm doing for him. I'm the fifth person to read through his manuscript, and I'm finding more issues than the first four people combined.

TPBM read the above, and plans on buying lots of stock in a company that makes red ink.

No, but I do plan to congratulate you for being such a good editor. So, congratulations!

TPBM wishes Mr. House had edited some of the books he or she has read.

//It is rather disappointing, though, to think that authors are not more careful in the first place.

I had a nice thing happen to me today. Hubby went to the Library Book Sale, as I'm unable to go, and bought 15 books, only two of which I already have. Not to worry, I'll give them to my daughter. Also, he picked out some books that I'd probably have chosen. Bless his heart, he went before I got out of bed -- came in and told me he was going to the library if I thought I'd be okay. I think I'll keep him.//

Yes. yes, I do. He sounds like a very thorough editor.

TPBM has been somewhere fun lately.

Yes indeed. Although our daughter graduated from high school in June and is at college, ysterday husband and I went to her high school's 4th band competition of the season (she was in Marching Band for 3 years). Got to see some good bands, some old friends, and we watched her high school marching band win Grand Champion A/AA and Best Music of the Competition, beating AAA and AAAA schools!!! Fun day.

TPBM was in Marching Band in high school.

I wasn't but both of my sons were. Good discipline, and great training in learning to work in both a small and very large group situations. (The flutes were never focused or particularly punctual, a fact they both found trying...) And band comps were great, karenmarie!

The person below me is trying a whole new thing this evening - a recipe, an author, participation in NaNoWriMo -- and will tell us what that might be.

I'm afraid my head cold is interfering with doing anything. Right now all I want is another nap. With company coming this coming weekend, I should be cleaning. I guess that sort of follows the new thing (well the seldom thing).

The person below me has failed to open child-proof, tamper proof tops and needed help.

Nope. Those contraptions can't stand up to the scrutiny of a hacksaw.

//I was in Marching Band - until, during a soccer game, a fellow nicknamed 'Leadfoot' relocated my kneecap about half-way up my thigh.//

TPBM cooked something out-of-the-ordinary for dinner tonight.

I was going to, but nobody was home to cook for, or to keep my kids entertained while I cooked. So we had leftovers.

TPBM never makes enough for leftovers.

So not true! I usually cook enough to have leftovers once and put a couple of portions in the freezer.

TPBM has never learned to cook for just two people.

I do cook for just 2 people, but it's not necessarily for just 2 meals. When I cook I like my dinners to be able to last that dinner and hopefully for mine and my BF's lunches the next day.

TPBM knows a great recipe that can make it through a couple days.

Loads and loads - but cullen skink (a fine Scottish soup) is my favourite. Saute a couple of onions, then add a couple of pints of milk, season lightly, add chunks of smoked (undyed if you can get it) haddock and peeled cubed potoates - quantities are up to you - bring to the boil and then simmer until the potatoes are cooked through. Stir a little double cream through before serving. Tastes even better the second day!

#80 - yes, I do wish Mr House had edited some of the books I read! When will authors learn that cars have brakes, not breaks?!

TPBM is pedantic.

Someone's got to be. My daughter kept refering to her alternator as an altimeter this weekend. Who knows what her truck would now be capable of if I hadn't been along!

TPBM has spilled the beans.

Well, I did spill a few adzuki beans when I was soaking them to make some Moon Time Restaurant burgers. Don't worry, I didn't use the ones that spilled on the floor. Luckily I had enough and didn't need to resort to that (although everyone knows there is a 5 second rule).

TPBM has used the 5 second rule before.

Who hasn't? The funniest time was when son and I both dropped something at the same time, in our kitchen, we both yelled '' five seconds'' picked it up and popped it into our mouths, almost at the same time. Hubby is standing there, looking horrified."Are you crazy? That was on the FLOOR. Spit it out.'' His mama didn't believe in the five second rule.

TPBM agrees with hubby.

I don't believe in the 5 second rule either.

Rrk. Got leaped looking for a link! But it still works :)

TPBM is ready for Halloween.

Yep! I've got a new book at the ready. The only lights that will be on in this house will be in the Reading Room.

TPBM creates 'moments'.

Yes. Moments for me to read quietly, with a kitty or two in my lap, no sound in the house.

TPBM can't read unless the TV or radio is on quietly in the background.

No!

TPBM has a song stuck in his/her head.

Monster Mash. Good day for it.

#93 - RAM good research, Mythbusters are great, but we all know the 5 second rule is really about:
1. who's watching,
2. what floor it fell on, and
3. how badly do I want/need said object

TPBM will dutifully finish off any left over candy tonight.

Well, whatever candy survives to 6 pm is getting handed out, and whatever candy survives after that is obviously fair game!

TPBM believes that holiday calories don't count.

You mean they don't?!?!?!?

TPBM didn't have a single trick or treater tonight - like me :-(

It isn't time for them yet here. I'll be at a chamber concert, but I have a box of Hershey bars in case a trick or treater catches me before or after.

The person below me is always away from home on Halloween.

Seems like it...not by design though. We have TorT at school, and one year I went to a wedding. (Currently sitting here in the library in my costume waiting for kiddos to show up)

TPBM always stole the good candy from their kids' bags (Me!)

No, but I sometimes talked them out of a piece or three!

TPBM hasn't done Halloween in a few years.

We got dropped off the standard route some years back.

The person below me worries about Halloween candy that gets left round 'til Christmas.

Well, no, but it seldom survives that long. Heck, it barely survives the first week of November!

TPBM makes their own candy.

Aak! No! I usually don't like home-made candy, other than rice krispy bars. Which are awesome.

TPBM wore something Halloween-y to work today.

No, I somehow managed to get through an entire Halloween without wearing a costume and I have no idea how I did that.

TPBM remembered to blow out the candle in the jack-o-lantern.

Didn't carve any pumpkins this year, though it is something I enjoy.

Spend the lead-up to the midnight hour wandering through the crazy-costumed, oft-drunken crowds in Salem, MA. Nice fireworks display, which they do over the train station. Theory is, it's to lead people back to the train station so they get the hint and get out of town. Then we went back to the World of Witches Museum and toasted the end of the holiday season. Translation: we shared a little champagne, and then those of us who had a mind to got a little drunk on the liquid refreshment of our choice.

Now I'm back in my hotel room wondering if it's worth the effort to do laundry before I go home, or just pack stuff as it is.

TPBM is celebrating Beltane instead.

Nope, All Saints Day.

TPBM has a sugar belly today.

No, but I am about to head off to work at an elementary school where I expect to deal with kids on sugar highs all day.

TPBM expects to deal with a "high" of some sort today.

Well, my M-I-L is coming to Luncheon today to celebrate her 95th birthday. I've make eggplant parmesan, which is her favorite birthday dish, been making it for her for 25 years. I expect by the time we get her and her care giver fed, birthday caked and back home, I'll get ''high'' on a very nice bottle of merlot I have tucked away.

TPBM cannot stand eggplant in any form.

I love eggplant parmesan, birthday cake and merlot. Any room at the table??

TPBM always takes the path less traveled.

Path? What path?

TPBM has been there.

I've been many places, but never "There." I'm always "Here."

TPBM saw WHL wandering around too.

Not unless he was wandering around at the pool during my aquacize class. Which seems unlikely as it sounds like he was wandering in the Pathless Land.

TPBM does not agree with Krishnamurti that the Truth is a "pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect."

Too deep for my fuzzy head-cold brain today.

The person below me thinks I need a nap, some drugs and chicken noodle soup. Not necessarily in that order. Or wants to answer carod.

I do think you need chicken noodle soup and a nap. I think the month of November absolutely cries out for those two things. Everyone! Soup and blanket!

The person below me has had the forethought to supply him/herself with those two necessities.

We had chicken noodle soup for lunch, but only the baby agreed to nap; the older kids are still going strong. Actually, the baby passed out on the floor after we hiked up the road. (And she hitched a ride on my hip most of the way)

TPBM knows how to nap in spite of the kids.

Naps put me into a foul mood so I avoid them unless I get hit with a sleepy stick. A friend and his wife are about to have a kid; all I can think is, 'Big change from that weekend in Vegas, huh?' Eh, maybe not- both events cost a lot and involve nudity, drugs, and screaming. (His wife hates me. Most of my friends' wives hate me, but I get it with her. Oddly, most parents love me.)

TPBM is eidetic.

Not reliably, if I read you right, but sometimes usefully.

The person below me knows their lines before the first rehearsal.

You mean this is just the rehearsal????? Ugh....I don't want to go through it all again.

TPBM wishes they still had a milkman.

Not really, I live very close to my local store.

TPBM just ate a hot dog.

Last night I had turkey kielbasa - close?

TPBM has just discovered a new author they're nuts over.

Yes, poet Troy Jollimore about whom I know nothing except what can be gleaned from the (public Library) book I have of him right now: At Lake Scugog* Princeton U., 2011).. Quite a few quirky items in it; but he is also good at making the entire poem be a unit and more than just a series of metaphorical surprises. Almost makes quirkiness seem like the rule rather than the exception.

TPBM has a Wish List Collection in L T that outnumbers
her/his "Your Library" Collection.

* I am making this a Wish List item

Leaped! No, I've outsourced my wish list to Amazon. What I like about the categories is that it gives me a true count of what's here and has been here. For me, adding a wish list would not be useful.

I like the question, though, so I'll kick it down- TPBM has just discovered a new author they're nuts over.

No, I haven't even had enough time lately to read old favorite authors.

TPBM wants to read Lost Horizon again.

Er ... Haven't read it yet.

TPBM is having a great week!

Monday I went to a chamber concert where the main piece was Pierrot Lunaire. Wednesday I saw the movie Margin Call then went on to a book discussion at church (On Second Thought). Last night I saw the National Theatres screening of The Kitchen. Tomorrow the Met Live in HD screens Siegfried, and I expect to be there. I hope to get some shopping done today. My cat has been affectionate most of the week, a rarity for him.

The person below me will have a great weekend.

Well, a busy one, at any rate!

TPBM has an oversupply of pumpkin and will share what they plan to do with it.

I believe my husband's preferred solution is to take the former jack-o-lanterns out to the field and let the children run over them with the tractor.

TPBM has started preparing for Christmas.

Nope. It's too early. But I do play Christmas Carols in June or July some times.

TPBM does that, also, or has another little odd thing he or she does to share with us.

One time, at Band Camp...

TPBM doesn't want to know.

Since I have a daughter who took 3 years of Marching Band in high school (she's now a college freshman), I definitely don't want to know. Even the things she mentioned made my hair curl, and I'm sure I heard the PG rated version of things.

TPBM has fond memories of a favorite piece of clothing from years gone by that would now bring out the fashion police.

Just about everything I have ever worn would bring out the fashion police at some point or another. I'm not bothered by that because I understand that there is a time cycle to clothing. I just pat the glaring fashionista on her head and move on.

The person below me believes that practicality in one's garb is more important than whether it is "in".

Practicality and comfort. I never have the money to buy what's "in" anyway, so as long as my clothes fit well, look good on me, and don't get in my way, I don't worry so much about them.

TPBM doesn't worry about other peoples' opinions.

I do, but I also have an 'off' switch.

//107 PB- did you read the tarot in Salem?//

TPBM has something precious in a cabinet. (Dead hookers don't count. Neither does granddad's false teeth.)

Grandma's pin collection. And Grandma's necklace. And Daughter's first Easter dress (in lieu of her coming-home outfit, since she was born at home and Easter was only 19 days after her birth).

TPBM also collects mementos.

I have, and over the years I've lost them to movers, cockroaches, disasters, carelessness, and stuff.

The person below me collects automobiles.

Only in the sense that by the time I can afford to buy it, it's got one tire either in the junkyard or the collectible market. Mostly the former.

//135 - SomeGuy, yep, I spent October reading Tarot in Salem, MA. And a good time was had by all.//

TPBM buys new cars.

I used to when I was young and stupid. Now I know that they depreciate rapidly as soon as you sign your name on the line.

TPBM has to make something special for Sunday Dinner.

Not for Sunday Dinner, but I have to make something special tomorrow for work. It's one of my employee's birthday & I always bake cake & never the same cake twice, so I need to find a new recipe to make tomorrow.

TPBM would rather have store-bought cake

Have you ever made an orange juice cake? Google for a recipe. It's yummy!

Nope, I'd rather have pie. I would rather have store-bought cake if it's good. No mess.

TPBM likes pie more than cake, too.

I do. I think because my Mom made great pies from scratch but always used boxed mixes to make cakes when I was growing up. I can't bake pie but make great cookies.
Go figure.

TPBM has already started, or will soon start, their Christmas baking and will share their favourite recipe.

I have 2 that I do for christmas, jam cookies and gingerbread.

Jam/Thumbprint Cookies
1 C butter (2 sticks)
1/2 c sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-1/2 c all-purpose flour
Jam of choice

Directions

Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until fluffy.
Add egg yolks and vanilla and beat again
Gradually add flour, beating at a low speed
Cover and refrigerate dough at least 2 hours - abt 45 min in freezer

Bake

Preheat oven to 350°F
Roll dough into balls, flatten, and place on cookie sheets
Make an indentation and fill with jam
Bake for 15 min or until golden

Gingerbread

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
3 tablespoons molasses
1 egg
2 tablespoons water or milk
3 1/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

1. Beat granulated sugar, butter and molasses in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon, until well mixed. Beat in egg and water until blended. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cardamom and cloves. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.

2. Heat oven to 350°F. Roll 1/3 of dough at a time on floured surface to 1/8­inch thickness. (Keep remaining dough refrigerated until ready to roll.) Cut with floured 2 1/2­inch gingerbread boy or girl cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate with currants or candies. Sprinkle with colored sugar.

3. Bake 6 to 7 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool.

The gingerbread is the best when you buy whole cardamom seeds and ground them yourself.

TPBM bakes something else.

Pecan Puffs, and "Best Brown Sugar Cookies".

Pecan Puffs from Joy of Cooking 1971 edition

“Rich and devastating.”
Preheat oven to 300F.

Beat until soft:
½ cup butter
Add and blend until creamy:
2 T sugar (yes, only two tablespoons)
Add:
1 t vanilla
Measure, then grind in a nut grinder:
1 cup pecan meats
Sift before measuring:
1 cup cake flour (I just use regular unbleached white flour)

Stir the pecans and the flour into the butter mixture. Roll the dough into small balls. Place balls on a greased cookie sheet or non-stick cookie sheet and bake about 30 minutes. Roll the balls in confectioners’ sugar while still hot, but leave on counter to cool. When cool, roll again in confectioners’ sugar.

Best Brown Sugar Cookies

Sift together:
4 cups unsifted all purpose unbleached flour
½ t baking soda
1 t cream of tartar

In large bowl, mix well, use hands:
1 cup butter, 2 sticks
2 cups brown sugar, 16 ounces

Add 1 ½ cups roughly chopped pecans, 2 slightly beaten eggs, and flour mixture to butter/sugar mixture. Dough will be very stiff.

Refrigerate about 30 minutes.

Make dough into rolls about 1 ¼ inches in diameter. Roll up in Saran Wrap, tightly close ends. Refrigerate several hours or until needed.

Pre-heat oven to 325F. Cut rolls into thin slices (1/8” to about 3/16”) and placed on non-stick cookie sheets, about ½ inches apart. Bake for approximately 16 or 17 minutes until bottoms are lightly browned.

Remove to counter and cool. Cookies will crisp up. (Lately I've been using my stand mixer because my hands aren't as strong as they used to be).

TPBM is getting excited about Thanksgiving.

Of course I am - it's my favorite holiday!

I baked, pureed, and drained the pumpkin for the pies yesterday. (Yes, I use real pumpkins. I could use canned, but fresh pumpkin is cheaper, I enjoy that part of the process, and I get the seeds to toast!) It's in my freezer, waiting for three days before Thanksgiving to be thawed and baked into pies. I might need to buy another pumpkin or two; I lost two to powdery mildew and I got more pie requests than usual this year. I'm not sure I'll have enough with the three pumpkins that survived!

TPBM is getting excited about something else.

No, this is the time of year I hit my winter down cycle, even though I live in AZ. I think my body is just used to shutting down for winter, I did spend 28 years in Chicago. Round Thanksgiving, I'll start perking up. The good side of this is that I clean when I'm depressed and I now have newly waxed hard wood floors in one room, the cleanest kitchen in the west and several other projects, including removing all the books from one bookcase and moving them to another in another room, pending.

TPBM never has mood cycles with the seasons.

I cycle up, but the last week really got me down. I'm out of it now and sort of digging the Christmas vibe. I always string lights on the balcony and get a wreath, but I've never put up a Christmas tree. I might get a table-top this year; put it on the lie-berry table where the S/M collar props up the seed pot. I'm going to play craps over Thanksgiving; I love my folks but we drive each other nuts. I was down there for 5 days this week while she was in hospital and we parted ways Wednesday with the irresistible force of two like magnets repelling each other.

TPBM weaves their own baskets.

I have, in the past, but not recently.

TPBM wanes nostalgic.

There are places in my past that if I could be spirited to them for an hour or two I would go to, but mostly I don't want to repeat it and have no eagerness to pursue my past. That's been for a while now, though, so I think my nostalgia is low and steady state rather than waning.

The person below me would do it all over again the same way.

No way, Jose!! Life is soooooo much better now & there is no way I would go back to that!

TPBM has no regrets.

A few, but then again, too few to mention.

TPBM sings.

Only if nobody can hear me. Really. Nobody. Stage fright, even when I'm not on a stage.

TPBM has no such fear.

Oh, but I do -- not about singing, but about playing the piano. When I'm alone, I amaze myself at the things I can do, but let just one person come in, and I start making mistakes and getting nervous. I used to leave my door open in the summer, but ever since the postman rang the bell to tell me he could hear me all the way down the street and wanted to tell me how beautifully I played, I have only played with the door closed. Irrational, yes?

TPBM understands.

I'm the same way with my violin.

TPBM cooked today.

No; I went out to a place that grills over a mesquite fire and got some lamb to bring home to eat in front of my cat. If I had cooked I would have cooked fresh meat, cured meat, fish, eggs, and cheese, but my kitchen is broken.

The person below me spends all their spare time in the kitchen.

No, I spend all my spare time reading or sitting in front of the computer, playing with LibraryThing. Actually, I spend a lot of time sitting in front of the computer, reading a book. That way I can check LibraryThing whenever there's a break in the action. Plus, there's no TV in the computer room. And my books are in here.

TPBM has a perfect reading spot.

I have no tv so every room has a perfect reading spot.

TPBM reads while watching tv.

No, I record everything I watch so there is no dead time to read.

The person below me is listening to the rain.

Great post !!
Very usefull
Thanx for sharing.

Rain? What's that?

TPBM can explain.

Leaped!

Rain is the stuff that falls from the sky here more often than anything else.

>159 onlinefashion: What?

>158 xorscape: No, it was a lovely sunny day today. Unfortunately, the rain is expected tomorrow and the next few days as well.

TPBM is expecting something better than rain tomorrow.

I never thought I'd be able to use the title of a Firesign Theater album as a response, but I'm...

Waiting for the Electrician, or Someone Like Him.

Go figure!

TPBM likes to listen to bluegrass music.

No. I like all kinds of music, except bluegrass and twang-twang. I like C&W, just not twang-twang.

TPBM would rather listen to classical music than any other genre.

Edit: I don't like rap but don't consider it to be music. Also don't like heavy metal, but light metal is okay.

I love classical and have a large collection, on vinyl, but I'm really crazy about the music from the big band era. I bought from Time-Life Books the Big Band Collection, one at a time. I barely earned enough to pay my bills, but cut back on things to afford them. Hours of enjoyment and when hubby and I were first married and semi-broke, we'd buy a bottle of wine for Saturday night dinner and then dance to the Big Bands. It was a good time.

TPBM also likes to take their fun when they find it instead of spending big bucks.

The best things in life are free. Or so I've been told.

No, really I'm quite frugal anyway, but some of the best memories and times in my life haven't cost me anything. I don't think I could even be extravagant, but wouldn't mind the opportunity to try it..

TPBM will share some of their most frugal practices.

I was out the heavy plastic bags that milk comes in and use them to wrap books that I'm mailing.

TPBM will share some other frugal practice.

?Your milk comes in plastic bags?

I use the slightly sour milk to make puddings rather than throw it away.

TPBM will tell of one super extravegance.

I have been thinking of going away for a couple of days after Christmas and actually staying in a hotel.

>166 Jenni_Canuck: you can still find milk in plastic bags? I haven't seen that in a while out here on the Wet Coast. I'll have to look in the bigger stores, I guess.

TPBM enjoyed an extra hour of sleep on the week-end.

No, I stayed up later and managed to get the tender herbs potted up to stay inside for the winter, and made beef stew for later in the week suppers. Went to bed early Sunday night to make up for it.

TPBM lives where there is no difference between summer and winter time.

// 167 & 168 Yes, here in Ontario, we still get milk in bags //

I do, I do! I'm so glad we hated Daylight Savings Time and only had to do it once. But it is annoying when the self-setting clocks change.

I never saw milk in a bag (bottle delivery when I was young). Thanks for the pic!

The person below me remembers the milkman delivering dairy products.

Yes, he left glass jugs with cardboard caps in an aluminum insulated box on the front porch. I still have the box!

Yes, thanks for the picture, Jenni. Do you pour into another container or does the bag fit into somthing?

TPBM knows all.

I don't know about that...

TPBM is sometimes surprised by the breadth of subjects s/he is fairly knowledgeable about.

// 172: There are plastic and ceramic pitchers made to fit the milk bags. Each milk bag holds approx. 1.3 litres of milk and are sold in 4 litre packages (3 milk bags in one larger bag). //

Yes; but only sometimes. I'm quite surprised by the breadth of subjects I used to be knowledgeable about (declining Latin verbs, for instance. Now I'm not even sure of the meaning of 'decline')

But I tell my kids "Mamma knows everything"; though my older one is starting to twig to the fact it might not quite be true....

That's interesting about the milk. We used to have ours delivered in glass bottles with aluminium caps. On very cold days, we'd find cylinders of ice would expand up through the necks of the bottles and push the caps off.

TPBM will share some memories (nice ones) of bygone days.

When I was 18 my family & I took a trip from New Brunswick to Toronto, through the states. We went through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont Massachussets, New York & into Ontario. We stopped anywhere that looked fun (had my forst ever Ben & Jerry's in New Hampshire because we couldn't find anywhere to get a cone) & we went to Canada's Wonderland & Marineland = the best vacation ever!

Jenno_Canuck - we got our milk in bags in NB, too & now you can get it in bags here in the UK!

TPBM has an extensive composting programme at home.

extensive? I don't know- but kitchen garbage except meat and grease all go into compost bins with weeds, leaves, some of the grass cuttigns and any other dead plant material that shows up. We have two bins - four foot cubes with wood and wire mesh sides and bottoms. They fill up about once a year and get emptied onto garden in the fall- stuff sits there until spring- gets redistributed. bins get filled with new leaves as they fall. Lather, rinse, repeat..

TPBM has a container or windowsill garden

I have an old galvanized washtub just outside my kitchen door. It receives kitchen veggie scraps and grows a tomato plant in season. A two-fer.

TPBM has clean windows.

No, my windows are covered in nose-prints from the critters.

No, but my sister is planning to relocate one of her fish tanks to the kitchen to start an aquaponics tank for fresh herbs.

TPBM has grown plants using a a fish tank.

No, that's a new one.

The person below me has opened their front door to find irises blooming.

No, all I find when I open
my front door is a hallway. Unless you conisder the "Front door" to be the main entrance to the whole complex. On leaving that door I do see --on bushes--flowers, sooner than you might expect in "rural O'ahu" which has become
just an extension of Suburbia.

TPBM has lived in a climate where seeing spring flowers in MARCH is quite a find.

Reply to #181
Well we usually have snowdrops, squill and crocus by late March, but enjoy them so much that they count as quite a find..

TPBM is enjoying autumn leaves and colors.

Yes, I am. I especially love our maple and plum trees.

Plus all the colors as I drive to and from work.

TPBM loves homemade buttermilk waffles with real butter and maple syrup.

Not as often as I would like, but more often than is good for me.

TPBM has something else they indulge in less than they would like.

Call me ascetic, will you? Little do you know...

TPBM has a favorite plant which symbolizes....

There's the power plant a couple of miles up the road which symbolizes capitalism at its dirtiest. But I'm glad it's there; my neighborhood tends not to have power failures when the rest of the town does.

The person below me thinks plants are pretty.

Some are pretty -some are tasty. Crown vetch that covers up the nice rocks in the road cuts is neither.

TPBM is not feeling grumpy today.

Why, no, not at all. Just received a whole bunch of books I ordered from two different places, and most of my work is done for the day, so I'm pretty happy.

The person below me knows what to read next.

I'm still trying to finish the last book I started. It's in a box somewhere and I've not touched it in months.

TPBM thinks it might be time to give up on finding it and start a new one...

Yes! How can you stand to go that long without reading?

TPBM reads every day.

Sometimes. Sometimes it's only the computer monitor. Plus I do a lot of crossword puzzles using my phone app.

TPBM apps nothing.

Correct. I app nothing. I am a non-apper. Apper of nons.

Silliness has struck.

TPBM occasionally has a silly streak and just can't stop laughing.

Very often. This had me laughing so hard I had to catch my breath. Not safe for work, and not PC. A clip of Triumph the puppet dog interviewing people at Occupy Wall Street.

http://teamcoco.com/video/triumph-occupy-wall-st

TPBM has done stand up comedy.

No, probably to everyone's relief. I have trouble telling a joke correctly. Darn it.

The person below me will share something funny.

I'd be happy to.

TPBM found a ten dollar bill in an unexpected place recently.

My wallet. Now if I could just multiply it by 20,000 I would be pretty secure in my house.

The person below me has paid off their mortgage, and if they pay their taxes will live there for the rest of there life.

Yes, pretty much. I live in a ground floor apartment (which I own, mortgage free) in a nice quiet building which will suit me just fine when I retire in 13 years or so. Unless the back-up plan of winning a lottery happens. Then, who knows where I will end up!

TPBM also has their retirement planned out.

Retirement? What's that? I think I'd get bored if I retired - I'll keep typing stuff for lawyers as long as my hands hold out (and civilisation, in the form of a reliable electricity supply and internet access, survives).

TPBM is remarkably __________ today.

Tired. Two nights in a row, my son has decided that he'd rather have temper tantrums than sleep all night. It isn't nightmares, because he'll settle down quickly. He's just waking up whiny multiple times, and when I can't determine why he's whining, he has a fit.

As you can imagine, this is making sleep difficult to come by.

TPBM builds things.

I build my dreamhouse in my imaginagion. I'm stuck in this one, though, because it's mortgage-free.

TPBM is thankful he/she doesn't have to live in a box under a bridge and so appreciates his/her house most of the time.

There is a strong possibility that I will lose my house to the owner of the land underneath it and that I will be living in a box under a bridge until government thugs force me to move on. I like my house to wish that I could live here for the rest of my life -- I own the house but cannot take it with me when they throw me out.

The person below me lives in the moment.

Funny, that was the plan my ex had for me! I appreciate my house so much, I'm shelling out a couple of thousand dollars to have some electrical issues fixed.

TPBM has someone come in and clean the place up occasionally.

I do. Me. I don't get paid enough and my boss is a total asshole. I think the Swiffer is one of the COOLEST inventions EVER! I'm a fresh air fiend so I have to dust a lot. After I've done a 'hard clean', I get the same 'aah' feeling I do when my hair is shaggy and I get it cut.

TPBM always knows the phases of the moon.

I know that tonight is the full moon. Working in a hospital, you learn to pay attention to such things.

TPBM believes that things are 'strange' during a full moon

I used to teach in a school where about half the students had severe behaviour problems. We could usually tell when when there was a full moon--even though it was daytime.

The person below me likes the wind. (I don't, and it is howling around the house tonight. Brrr.)

Halcyon breezes are fine and even a brisk blow for a downland walk is OK but I draw the line at howling.

TPBM knows why they call the wind Maria.

Because the person who wrote the song had a nasty break-up with Maria? I lived in Oklahoma for years and the wind there can be fierce, then I lived in Chicago, where, when I was young and thin, I nearly got blown off my feet on Michigan Ave. Now I live in AZ and what to my surprise have I encountered? Winds so strong I can't leave my wind chimes hanging most of the summer.

TPBM has another weather issue with the place of their abode.

I live in a very old house, with a flat roof over the kitchen. Every time it rains hard, you need an umbrella in my kitchen, and I have to put all my cooking pots out to catch the rain dripping through. If it rains heavily for several days at a time, the water table in my garden rises and the water then comes up through the floor too, once to a level of 6 inches. The cat was not impressed!

TPBM has a dry, warm, nicely decorated home.

I live on the top floor of a high rise, which has its pluses and minuses. Plus- view, nobody above me so I don't hear elephant feet and if there's a fire or somebody's tub overflows I don't have to worry about water running down into my place. Minuses- it's always warmer and more humid than any other floor, and if there is a fire or an elevator problem I have to hoof it. As for decoration- I like it but it's been called everything from cool to 'interesting', which is southern-speak for 'My god, has your mother seen this?'

TPBM will describe their place of abode.

8 acres at the end of a cul-de-sac in the middle of nowhere, North Carolina. We're behind one of two tree-lines on our property. We have a creek. Pretty big house, 2 barns, and we're currently boarding 5 horses. (We do none of the work, get paid a small amount by our friend Larry who does ALL the work).

House has 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, library (was officially a bedroom but when we built, we removed the closet and put in 2 walls of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves), sunroom, rec room, home office, media room plus all the other standard-type rooms (kitchen, dining room, breakfast room, living room, utility room).

I love my house.

TPBM has downsized their abode and is perfectly happy with less responsibility.

No. Since my husband and I both have collections that take up a lot of space (toy tractors and books), and the kids have all the stuff that kids have, it will be a long time before we do any voluntary downsizing. Upsizing would be rather nice though.

TPBM has cold hands and a warm heart.

Well, I try. I'm afraid some parts of my heart are pretty icy, but those are related to very specific people...

TPBM has no ice in their soul anywhere.

Generally no, but sometimes it can be extremely icy.

TPBM has a fondness for oddity.

Yessir! I have a circus gaff (several) of a Fiji mermaid and a two-headed baby in a glass jar. (The mermaid is out, the THB is in a kitchen cabinet because it is, really, kind of 'ew'.) The guy who makes them is a pro working for freakshows and he sells his lower end stuff on eBay. Some are ok, and some a remarkably authentic looking. I saw a girl on the subway yesterday- black, short afro that was half bleached and half natural, high-heeled boots and Crayola green lipstick. She was also very pretty. I wanted to say how good she looked but chickened out. I like freaks, I have a high tolerance for non-traditional behavior, but I'll go toe to toe with a mean person in a minute. Hate bullies.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/bsdhd77/m.html?hash=item4ab0a571fb&item=320791212539...

TPBM IS the freak.

I say! It may be true, but still ....

TPBM has it all.

According to Adele, we could have...

TPBM has no regrets.

Leaped. I thought Whole stayed up all night!

Yes, I have regrets. 217>I have all I need. Does that count?

The person below me should be doing something else.

Yes, but I've been cleaning and dealing with a tantrumy child and wriggly baby all day and my back hurts, so I'm taking a break.

TPBM is indulging in something.

My cat has picked this as his affectionate week of the year, at least for part of the day, and I am indulging in sitting under him until he decides to go away. His lying on my right arm makes it harder to type, but I manage.

The person below me has similar affection but from a person.

Yes - the aforementioned wriggly baby is now all cuddles. I suspect it's because she wants to play with my jewelry, but at least she's not trying to dive-bomb off the couch for the time being.

TPBM has done something difficult today.

Yes, get out of bed to face about 4 inches of snow, shovel, walk, get dressed, and drive to work on roads that weren't yet plowed. Okay, I'm tired of winter.

TPBM has something special planned for 11/11/11.

Not really, we are going to early Mass and then just our regular routine. I'm toying with the idea of cleaning the inside of the fridge, but that's not solid and may not happen, as I do have a new book.

TPBM enjoys just letting some days happen as they will.

Oh, yes. Since retirement, that is most of my days. The result being I am so far behind on everything!

The person below can recognize a serious case of procrastination.

As I suffer from the same ailment, I certainly can. I am contemplating bestirring myself to make a second cup of coffee at the moment.

TPBM has something far more ambitious planned for the week-end.

The usual hectic schedule on Saturday, plus a birthday party, and ...

TPBM watches Dr Who.

Happy Poppy Day!

Shouldn't that be 'Dr. WHOM"?

TPBM watches re-runs of at least one of the following*:
Ellen, Wings Friends

*my favorite sit-coms

If I watched very much television, I'd like to watch reruns of all of those, but mostly I'd love to see "China Beach" again.

TPBM also loves "China Beach."

I do love China Beach!!
Sing along if you know the words . . .

Through the mirror of my mind
Time after time
I see reflections of you and me

Reflections of
The way life used to be
Reflections of
The love you took from me

Oh, I’m all alone now
No love to shield me
Trapped in a world
That’s a distorted reality

Happiness you took from me
And left me alone
With only memories

Through the mirror of my mind
Through these tears that I’m crying
Reflects a hurt I can’t control
’cause although you’re gone
I keep holding on
To the happy times
Oh, when you were mine

As I peer through the window
Of lost time
Looking over my yesterdays
And all the love I gave all in vain
(all the love) all the love
That I’ve waisted
(all the tears) all the tears
That I’ve taisted
All in vain

Through the hollow of my tears
I see a dream that’s lost
From the hurt
That you have caused

Everywhere I turn
Seems like everything I see
Reflects the love that used to be

In you I put
All my faith and trust
Right before my eyes
My world has turned to dust

After all the nights
I sat alone and wept
Just a handful of promises
Are all that’s left of loving you

Reflections of
The way life used to be
Reflections of
The love you took from me

In you I put
All my faith and trust
Right before my eyes
My world has turned to dust...

TPBM has a show they love but couldn't tell you what or if it has a theme song

//I love the instrumental theme song and finally found a legally downloadable copy of it a couple of years ago. I loved "Dodger."//

Love, hum. I really like 'My Name is Earl' but I couldn't tell you if it opens with a song or not.

TPBM is building something this weekend.

Courage, maybe? I have to go check on my unsold house and I don't wanna. My mother's 101st birthday has kept me away for two weeks, so I don't know what I'll find.

The person below me is building something more tangible.

It must be an awfully pretty day out for everyone to be drawn away from LT for so long.

I'm finishing up installing a cistern. Completed the overflow line today and we're ready for rain.

TPBM wants to be more off-grid.

Oh, yes! Off-grid is just what I want - and what I'll get. Right now I am at the keyboard for an after-breakfast look at LT. It's sunny and mild outside and I am listening to the sound of continuous gunfire. No revolution, just a clay-pigeon shoot a mile away.

TPBM enjoys huntin', shootin' and fishin'.

Yee-HA! I like target shooting and fishing when you keep what you catch. I take no pleasure in hunting, but will if the economy reverts to a barter system or the dead rise up to feast on the living.

(I'm sure I heard an exchange of gunfire Sat morning (4:09 am) followed by arrival of several police cars, but I can't find anything in the news or police reports. It might not make the news and police reports lag 24-48 hours. Gunfire was common when I lived in DC, but not here. Wackiness. I woke suddenly when I heard 4-5 consecutive shots, followed by 4 returns from a larger gun (1-2-1). I was lying there wondering if I should call it in and what kind of list I'd get put on if I was dreaming when I heard the cops.)

TPBM lives in a house with a tile roof.

No, green asphalt shingles.

The person below me has an assistant.

No! And given my title at work, you'd think I would get one! Harrumph. I feel gypped. I don't even have a personal *digital* assistant.

The person below me has ordered Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet.

Having only just bought a Kindle 3G, no. The internet connect with that is barely functional (except for buying things from Amazon, which it does fluently) but, once you've swallowed the premium on the price, it's free. I don't suppose they will give away 3G connection with the Fire - or am I being too cynical. I would like a touch screen, though. After using the abbess' iPad it took me a while to stop stroking my Kindle hopefully.

TPBM will wait for an ebook that will read you to sleep sounding like Mariella Frostrup rather than Stephen Hawking.

ETA It will also have to sense when you doze off and add a bookmark.

Maybe not Mariella; haven't watched anything of hers for years, but I seem to recall she didn't stop for grammatical pauses. Mind you, that probably would put me to sleep.

I do like the bookmark idea, though.

TPBM is looking forward to the week ahead.

One day at the laundromat. An afternoon doing the AOAO's business. An afternoon paying bills and reconciling accounts. Then I guess I can go to movies. So it'll be an okay week.

The person below me is looking happily back over last week.

I've racked my brain (for about 30 seconds) and can't find anything to look back over that made me that happy to remember, so I guess my answer would be no. I am looking forward to next week (can you look any other way to next week than forward??) because I am going to test a new cake recipe that is flourless and will cost about $15 to make. If it is good, it will be on the menu for Thanksgiving.

TPBM will tell about their most non-traditional Thanksgiving.

I don't remember it, but my mother tells of a time they were so broke we had pizza for Thanksgiving dinner. This was in the early 60s, and she made it herself from the Chef-Boy-R-D box mix. It was probably the mid-70's before we ever had a restaurant pizza; our town got a Pizza Hut about that time.

TPBM remembers the first movie they ever saw in the theater.

It was "Song of the South."

TPBM has also seen that movie.

I think I saw it on "The Wonderful World of Disney".

TPBM remembers the first play they ever saw in live theatre.

It was probably a pantomime put on by the British Council, and my sister's classmate was in it. Apart from the school plays, of course.

TPBM is determined to change their life for the better. Today. Soon. As soon as they can get around to it.

C.
Improving my life means changing jobs. And there aren't that many to be had. I'm sticking with this one till I'm debt-free again. It's called the three year plan.

TPBM has a 5 year plan.

I tore up my 5-year plan when I was told I had only weeks left - around eight years ago. Best decision I ever made, even over the one to spend the rest of a lifetime with MrsHouseLibrary.

TPBM is an avid chess player.

Not at all. My son taught me to play two years ago, and I decided I would rather dedicate my brain cells to reading that to playing chess.

The person below me plays video games.

Not really, but my BF does, he's pretty good, if he really wanted to he could prob go pro on one of the ones he plays.

TPBM has a career that is not something just anyone would enjoy.

I'm a SAHM, and quite happy not to be the bread-winner. I suspect it wouldn't appeal to people like SomeGuy or WholeHouse. Wrong gender, for starters. (Apologies if I cast a slur on anyone's character)

TPBM watched the Tintin film this week.

It hasn't opened here yet. I've seen a 3D IMAX trailer and wasn't sure I'd be interested at all or enough to pay a premium for the big screen. I'll wait for the review in the local paper.

The person below me thinks of movies as light entertainment not to be deliberated over.

That depends on the movie.

Re: #251 - humouress, no offense taken. Oddly enough, I've been the stay-at-home-person for most of the past six years now. I've done a couple of contract programming gigs (mainframes) where I've been out-of-state, but when the economy went south, I was out of work. I've just recently gotten into doing editing-for pay (from home), and I like it very much, but at this point, I'm not making nearly enough to call it a job, and certainly not enough to be considered a dinner-roll winner, never mind bread-winner.

TPBM hates to watch documentaries.

Pretty much. They take an hour or two, show the same video or photos 10 or 20 times each, repeat themselves endlessly, and could have said everything interesting, with videos and photos, in about 15 minutes instead of leading you on and being all dramatic.

TPBM loves to watch documentaries.

I do! We watch them all the time in our house.

TPBM had something interesting for dinner tonight

I haven't had diner tonight. Dinner, either. lol

TPBM wants bacon and eggs for dinner tonight.

That would be pretty good, but I have no bacon. And I had eggs last night. The rest of my family are having pizza, but I think I'll have cheese and crackers. I have a meeting after supper, and it will be tedious enough without heartburn.

TPBM knows a good strategy for convincing a school board not to close a small rural school.

Demand an environmental impact study of the small school's closing or the changes brought about by building/adding onto another school. That could slow it down for decades.

TPBM would rather fight than switch.

Once my dander gets up, yes. Some things are seriously worth fighting for.

TPBM would have definitely been a Browncoat.

I would hope my courage would rise to the ocassion. Yes!

TPBM knows some chinese words.

Only food-related words - chow mein, chop suey, etc.. Thinking of which,....

TPBM has looked at the picture gallery of the Boston LT meet and thought that this - http://www.librarything.com/pic/264862 - was a pair of dead squirrels.

I wish! Squirrels are good eating! That appears to be an American h'orderve, or horse diver when I was growing up.

TPBM has a junk room.

Yeah. Unfortunately, I live in it. This winter's project is a thorough clean-up.

TPBM can't get a car into the garage 'cause of "stuff".

True. But I built it with that intention. Why does a car need shelter?

TPBM has a color coordinated/matched car and home.

Well, I never really thought about it before, but my maroon Volvo XC 70 does closely match the dark maroon shutters on the house. Live and learn.

TPBM eschews color coordination.

My socks match, but that's about as far as it goes.

TPBM will describe their favourite warm and cozy article of clothing.

DD-in-college learned how to knit last year and knitted me a soft cozy navy blue scarf for last Christmas.

TPBM has a better-than-average snow shovel.

No snow, no snow-shovel, sorry.

TPBM is expecting thunder, lightening and heavy rain before the end of the week.

> 253 : Actually, WholeHouse, I should have been clearer; I was referring to the M part of SAHM; I'm quite happy to stay at home and look after the kids, rather than get a paying job (sometimes, I wish I could get paid for it, it's frustrating enough), but knowing your fondness for pets, I wasn't sure how you'd feel about small children underfoot.

Nope. Well, not that I know of, anyway. Supposed to be clear-ish and sunny.

TPBM knows when to leave well enough alone (and will remind me how, because I seem to have forgotten.)

Like En Vogue said in their song, 'Free your mind, and the rest will follow.'

Everything TPBM needs to know they learned watching zombie movies.

I may be the only American of my age group who has
NEVER read a zombie or vampire book and has NEVER
seen a zombie or vampire movie.

TPBM is a fan of at least one of the following movie genres:
Court room yarns, Infiltration yarns*, Fugitive yarns

*There must be some, but I canʻt think of one off hand.

No, for amusement of that sort (horror and disbelief, actually), one need only watch the evening news.

TPBM has mixed feelings about our informational age.

It's one of the most exciting developments in human history and could usher in a renaissance of creativity, fundamentally alter society, and provide for a quantum leap in cognition and our understanding of the universe. Plus, porn and music are free. What's not to love?

//271 Roland. I absolutely refuse to believe that you've never seen a zombie or vampire movie. Roland.//

TPBM will tell us what place they'd like to occupy.

>271 rolandperkins: Roland I think we are not exactly the same age, but I am with you on the zombie/vampire avoidance- No zombie/vampire books or movies for me- I think my son has also so far avoided them, but he is not here to ask right now.

Somewhere warm and dry ... but I don't think that was exactly the answer you were looking for!

(PS: I thought I'd never seen a zombie movie, but then I remembered 'Shaun of the Dead' ...)

TPBM is planning to do something radical.

Well, I'm planning to breathe.

TPBM knows that's not what Sophie meant, and will answer her properly.

I am currently reading more demanding books than I have for most of the past few years. It's been in the planning stage for several years. If I were going to do something politically radical, I'd sit in front of Michael Moore's house until he wrote me a fat check and shared that damn foot long hoagie he was eating with someone who was hungry. Damn leech. Damn leeches- Moore, Bar, Sarandon, Pelosi, Boehner. Names to indict with. I hate it when someone is so egregiously, grievously, gravidly wrong that they make me appear sympathetic of politicians and financial institutions.

//ETA- 275 Soph- I started #OccupyLibraryThing on twitter. Table for one but Tim didn't hate it. But you're right, the correct answer was 'Angelina Jolie's vagina.'

TPBM was politically active in 1968 and can compare these protests to those protests.

No I wasn't. 1968 is a decade and change before I was born.

The person below me reads books off Project Gutenberg.

Occasionally. I used to use Plucker to put them on my old Zire 71 PDA, but I haven't figured out how to do that on my smart phone (which often makes me feel not-so-smart).

I think I've got Polidori's The Vampyre somewhere on this laptop, though. Haven't been in the mood for it yet.

TPBM forgot about Shaun of the Dead, too.

I actually saw that. Quite funny. I can't believe that there are some older folks that never saw Bella Lugosi in Drakula, or Boris Karloff in Frankenstein!

The person below me looks at book recommendations before buying.

It happens, but it is rare that I buy a book on speculation, that is judging from its cover. So some sort of recommendation is behind most book purchases, and I buy a lot of books. I'm guessing then that the person above me is mostly correct. I don't make a point out of looking at book recommendations before I buy, say, shoes.

The person below me rarely buys books but buys plenty of shoes.

Not! I have one pair of shoes. Actually, I have three but can only wear sneakers, now, because of my feet. I do have a gazillion pairs of house slippers, though.

TPBM is about to stop buying books until he/she has read all he/she has in the house.

That would mean not buying another book for about 11 years. Sheer torture. Can't do it.

TPBM is planning to reorganize their bookshelves.

Not reorganizing, because the current system is working well, but I am doing some discarding in order to make room for all the recently acquired books that are stacked on the floor. Pretty soon they'll fall and crush me.

TPBM read a book today.

It took several days for me to finish the profoundly wonderful Shadow Of The Silk Road by Colin Thubron. I'm going to miss it very much. Today I started When The Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka.

TPBM has read at least one book a week during 2011.

Well, some of one. I don't have enough time on my hands to get through several hundred pages of nonfiction (the kind aimed at grownups, anyway) in one 24-hour okay, 7-day period. I might be able to pull it off with a (substantially) longer commute, but then I would be reading the want ads, not a book.

The person below me, therefore, thinks I should either quit my day job or else take to reading kids' books.

Not at all. It's not about how many books you have read in the course of a year (52 books = 52 weeks). It's what you take away from the ones you do finish.

The person below me hasn't tracked his/her reading this year.

I started to. Stopped trying...

TPBM watches cooking shows.

No. Life's too short and I can read a basic recipe.

The person below me has a favorite cookbook, and cooks from it at least once a week.

No, but I should start. Let's say I don't normally eat a balanced diet, but I'm trying to improve

The person below me does eat a balanced diet.

Surely you jest! I guess it's pretty balanced, though, as the food usually doesn't fall off the fork on the way to my mouth.

TPBM knows he or she should eat more vegetables. Le sigh.

No, I eat a fair amount of veg (especially if garlic counts) - and I love broccoli, unlike Dubya!

TPBM will tell us something interesting.

Two termite tracks are wending their way up the wall behind the couch of our beautiful vacation rental.

TPBM has witnessed termites in action.

I was in the crawlspace of a friend's house that was densely festooned with termite tunnels. They could not make any headway into the structure, as it was made of locust. They did manage to eat through the oak flooring.

TPBM dreams of houses.

Yes, but I can't decide if it's a city house or a country house.

TPBM dreams about something else (straight query.)

Yes, last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again.

TPBM is having second thoughts about _______.

Answering this.

TPBM owns a battery-powered screwdriver or drill.

The original Makita set from 20 plus years ago. Thinking about treating myself to new ones. Vroom, vroom.

TPBM has multiple hammers for various jobs.

I have the hammer of my wrath, but I don't see it actually completing any jobs.

The person below me was as delighted with 'last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again,' in 296 as I.

Yes, I'm still laughing at the cleverness.

TPBM loses tools with great regularity.

HELL no! Pbbxt! Even the idea!

TPBM has recently gotten a chance to catch up with an old _________.

". . . habit of keeping track of Major League baseball managers. I
was wondering who the St. Louis Cardinals would name to
replace tony LaRussa -- Terry Francona is they're but then who ever said a Major League owner could be smart? Anyway, their new mgr. came from within the Organization. My keeping track is breaking down now that I read in the BostonGlobe Online that
Dale Sveum is the most probabl candidate to replace Franc ona with the Boston Red Sox -- AND that he is just about signed by the Chicago Cubs}!

TPBM has a favorite current or past Major League manager, college or pro football coach, hockey or basketball coach, etc.

Not a coach necessarily, but if I had my way I'd be best friends with both Chris Collinsworth and Peyton Manning.

TPBM can't find anything to read right now either.

I have many things to read. My problem is deciding which book to start next. There are so MANY!

TPBM has that problem, too, and loves it.

Yup, afraid so. My tag 'tbr' has 1242 books. And those are the ones I seriously want to read. A great problem to have.

TPBM has an unusual way of storing their books.

OMG, karenmarie, I would be so stressed out knowing I couldn't possibly live long enough to read that many tbrs. But then I guess it's the journey, not the final destination, right. I try to keep mine at a nice manageble number, like 100 or so but I'm sure it will continue to grow. Wow, I'm impressed by your lofty goals.

Oh, no I don't have an unusual way of storing books. Book shelves, stacks here and there, you know, the usual.

TPBM is already feeling the holiday crazies.

No, we'll still be here in coastal Mexico, kayaking and eating tacos.

TPBM is already rehearsing responses to annoying family members that he/she will be encountering during the Holidays.

I dealt with all that months ago by being firm in my resolve not to give in and agree to take the ferry and spend Christmas on top of the mountain (where I have been snowed in in past years) with my father. I think he has realized if he wants to see us he has to come here to civilization.

//>305 karenmarie: do under bed storage boxes qualify as unusual? Not counting boxes, stacks and shelves of course//

TPBM has awoken to a winter wonderland today.

editied for clarity

Nope, it was 16 degrees here in Nottingham today! I'm pretty sure we haven't even had our first frost yet...

TPBM is loking forward to making snow angels this winter

With what snow? Florida's too warm for snow angels, and I like it that way.

TPBM hums at random just because they can.

Oh yes, all the time. But usually when nobody else is around. Right now, though, I'm listening to the musical Hair on my iPod with my great headphones. Husband is in the living room watching the end of a show, and I think I'm actually singing out loud occasionally....

I'm listening to Walking in Space........ so cool. "All the clouds are cumulus, walking in space..."

Ahem.

TPBM has a different defining musical/movie/song from their high school or college years.

Nope, the same one. I've seen it in several productions over the decades. The scary part is what has stayed relevant.

To further tie in, my late husband was at one time married to a member of the original cast.

TPBM has another musical in mind.

Well my favorite all time movie, which is also a musical is Meet Me in St. Louis.

TPBM has a favorite painter.

Christopher Pratt who creates incredibly ethereal images by adding magic to everyday objects.

TPBM is a performance artist.

Well I sing in a couple of choirs if that counts. I have four concerts coming up in the next couple of weeks.

TPBM also has some important engagements coming up.

Except where I bring desert I'm not an important part of any of them, but yes.

The person below me is an important part of something coming up.

I'm treasurer of the parent council at my kids school, and there's a meeting next week. I don't know that my role is all that important, since no one really cares about the financial report, as long as I can just assure them that there is enough money there to fulfill our commitments.

The person below me will buy books this weekend.

No, but I have to finish two. I wish I'd worked harder in school.

TPBM has to work next Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the US and a national holiday/frenzy. (I do, I'll be on the road 9 hours to spend 14 hours with the fam.)

I don't work outside the home, but my mother has to work that Friday. Silly me thought banksand credit unions were closed that particular day, but I guess hers isn't!

TPBM preens.

Not that I know of. Anymore.

The person below me has a favorite _________.

cat

The person below me likes jewelry and wears it.

Not my style - don't even have a wedding ring. I have a set of gold shirt studs that were my father's but my dress shirt doesn't have the right button hole arrangement so they stay in the drawer.

TPBM has got some gold stashed away against the collapse of Wall Street.

No, but rumor has it a close family member has quite a few diamonds in his safe deposit box; and we have a copy of the key. Fortunately, we are quite the trustworthy type. :)

TPBM has a family heirloom they cherish.

It's not really a heirloom, but I have a pitcher that was my mother's. I love it.

TPBM has a more valuable family heirloom -- monetary, not sentimental.

Nothing valuable, but I have a jelly cupboard that my great3x grandfather made from salvage after the union army burned every damn house in the valley. Abingdon, VA, was the next town of any size to the south and surrendered to union forces, sparing everything but the courthouse from the torch. As a boy, my great uncle carved his initials into the jelly cupboard and they're still there. He was a known pedophile and an outcast, and two summers ago blew his brains out to spite his son over some financial lawsuit between them; it's generally felt that that was the only decent thing he ever did.

TPBM has a dog.

She's not very smart or well behaved, and she's not allowed inside the house, but yes, we definitely have a dog.

TPBM has been to Venice.

Venice (Beach), California - sure! Being a native Southern Californian, I wouldn't miss the quirkiness of Venice/SaMo. Used to ride my bike from there to Playa Del Rey of a Sunday morning.

TPBM has a cat.

Sure, like ~that~ will ever happen!

TPBM lives in a single-species household. (Lucky B*****d!)

Hardly - as well as a couple of homo sapiens, along with their bacterial and fungal hangers-on, there are tegenaria domestica, armadillidium vulgare, musca domestica just for starters. Usually it's live and let live.

TPBM has raised alpacas.

No, but my granddaughter's mom and step-dad did until recently.

TPBM used to play with rolly pollies when he/she was a child.

Yup!

TPBM never played with any living creature that didn't have fur.

As a child I was enchanted by my grandmother's chickens, who weren't all that pleased about my desire to relentlessly pursue them.

TPBM no longer eats chicken.

On the contrary, I DO still eat chicken. Giving up hamburger after a gall-bladder operation was bad enough (so bad, in fact that I DIDN'T completely give it up).

TPBM does not sprinkle sugar on cereal.

It depends on the cereal.

TPBM wonders why Roland had to give up hamburger after a gall bladder operation.

I have no idea (due to having no experience of said operation, I'm relieved to say!).

TPBM has never spent a night in hospital.

You are correct, I never have. Actually I don't think I've ever been for longer than a regular appointment.

TPBM has had their very own Goonie adventure.

Um, I'm not even sure what that is?

The person below me wants to just bury him- or herself in a book right now.

Oh, yes!

TPBM just finished a book.

Hounded by Kevin Hearne. And started the next book, Hammered. So much fun, I just bought the trilogy in Audio. And I don't do that often.

TPBM has deep pockets for book buying.

Oh heck no. Unless they're .25 cents at a lie-berry sale I get buyer's remorse. However, I've got a little Christmas list...

TPBM recently aquired a large number of books.

Today. My dear friend Marie mailed me a box of books. There are 30 books. I haven't even had a chance to go through them yet. Tra la!

TPBM is considering buying an e-book reader.

NO! *hiss, spit*
And I just brought a box of old (circa 1910) novels home. Their bindings are just wonderful.

TPBM has no books on the floor.

They are not directly on the floor, they are in boxes. Pretty much. May be one or two on the floor. Temporarily.

TPBM doesn't have a book hoarding problem either.

No, not at all. It is perfectly normal for my family to have to climb over a wall of books if they want to make physical contact with me. Isn't it?

TPBM is signing up for SantaThing.

No, I've even blocked the discussion about it.

The person below me has books coming and going among loved ones during the holidays.

Not much action for a family with several great readers.
Except that I will be returning our sister-in-law's
Magnolia:* a Brief History by Lisa Peck Ramos.

TPBM has a favorite among all books that she/he has unexpectedly and serendipitously obtained from a thrift shop or informal sale

*an area on Massachusetts's North Shore, the municipal status of which has long been argued back and forth.

I went to the Arlington county lie-berry semi-annual book sale and found a bunch of John Dickson Carr books for .50 cents. I'd been thinking of some of the same titles a few days before.

ETA //341 KM- I'm thinking about getting a Kindle for Christmas. .99 cents books are too good to pass up.//

TPBM has been to one of those hooge book sales, with +200,000 books.

Not hooge, but plenty crowded. One of our local churches stages an annual booksale that lasts an entire week. Monday morning, I've been known to get into line at 6am with all the other crazies waiting for the doors to open at 9:00. Be sure to dress warm and bring a folding umbrella! The first hours are wild, like the fabled bargain basement sales. It's best to be small and agile to slip between the bodies, perhaps under the tables if you can climb past all of the boxes of books still stashed underneath. Cloth bags and backpacks are recommended, though finding the elbow room to manuveur said treasures into the bags is another matter. If your hand touches a book at the same time as another it is the less polite finder who wins. Dealers from out of town are particularly aggressive.
This year, I was only able to browse in the evenings, and so I only came home with a couple of boxes. Nonetheless, I scarfed up a complete shelf of one of my favorite obscure authors for 25Cents per.

TPBM will tell of bigger book sales.

Anyone wanna rummage through my storage locker? Name your price.

TPBM can't bear to give up a book.

I don't like to. I sold some of my high school science fiction acquisitions that I would never again have read, but I've never been happy about it since.

The person below me keeps old stuff they'll never use again.

Unfortunately. I am trying to teach myself better, but it is hard. The patrat's motto? "You never know..."

The person below me is hungry for turkey.

I had turkey for lunch here at the Co-op, and have turkey soup in the crockpot at home. I'll probably have a steak on Thursday.

TPBM does do US Thanksgiving.

Yes, at our house. There will be 11 or 12 for dinner Thursday. I make the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, marinated corn salad, 2 pies, appetizers, and most drinks. Family brings the rest. We love having Thanksgiving at our house.

TPBM has just started a new and exciting book.

I just started The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood by Helene Cooper
It is very informative -- at times funny, at times sad, at times distressing.

TPBM thinks that sounds like a good book to buy.

Meh, although I read and loved Maya Angelou's autobiographies.

//OK, I'm gearing up for the long road back home. Happy Turkle-dee, everybody!//

TPBM can built a house of cards.

No, but I once worked with a boy who could build really elaborate ones. But only when he was on very strong drugs for his behaviour. I much preferred him when he was running around trying to figure out how to make things explode (although others found him a bit trying).

TPBM has someone in their life they think would be improved by strong drugs.

She's already on them. MrsHouseLibrary is bipolar, and it's easy to tell when she's forgotten her meds. It's like bigamy - I'm married to two completely different people!

TPBM is looking forward to Black Friday.

I may buy a Nook for $79 that day, but I may also decide that the low price requires too many compromises in features, so I won't know until I actually leave the counter.

The person below me will hide out at home on Black Friday, my other option.

Yes - if I can convince my son to stay asleep.

We did Black Friday shopping last year. 3 am drive to Ft Myers, took 3 hours, with a bouncy hyper 4-year-old, while I was almost 4 months pregnant. This year I don't feel like braving the stores with a bouncy hyper 5-year-old and a sick 7-month-old. We are staying HOME.

TPBM is also staying home.

Yes! I've never gone shopping during Thanksgiving week. I don't enjoy crowds very much.

//SomeGuy, have a safe trip. That book is quite different from Angelou's books.//

TPBM is staying home for Thanksgiving, too.

Absolutely! If I don't, there's going to be nineteen people really upset with me! I'm cooking the bird.

TPBM has an opinion.

Indeed, I have many, and on many topics.

TPBM couldn't care less about my opinions, but has strong ones about proper grammar.

I have very strong opinions indeed! I want a T-shirt bearing the logo "Pedantic Society - Accuracy Before Tact".

TPBM exfoliates.

(ETA: Your opinions are valued, RockStar!)

That's kind of a creepy word, when you try to answer.
I find it interesting that female young adults do legs and not underarms now, when it was the reverse when I was younger.
it goes around...

TPBM knows how to respond without answering.

Oh, that is indeed a skill I wish I possessed! I'm way to open. Sigh.

(For those of you looking at ereaders - I bought one for a trip. I am now hooked and have over 150 titles to be read. I still read print books, but my ereader is addictive.)

The person below me is sure glad someone invented a way to harness electricity.

Oh, yes, that would be me. I'm also grateful to the person who invented indoor plumbing, antibiotics, and automobiles. The "good old days" included the outhouse, pumping water or getting it from the nearest body of water, dying of (now) curable diseases, and cleaning up after horses.

TPBM will tell us their favorite way to use leftover turkey.

I like to eat it.

The person below me is looking forward to Christmas dinner.

Shhhh! Thanksgiving first, THEN Christmas. And Thanksgiving isn't till TOMORROW!

*grumbling something about Christmas encroaching on other holidays' time*

TPBM is also irked by Christmas's invasion of Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Definitely. HallothankChris is just too much.

TPBM remembers when sports didn't overlap, and holidays were separate, rather than all run together.

Yeah. We used to say if baseball, football, basketball and hockey were all happening at the same time, it would signify the end of the world. We weren't so lucky.

TPBM has a good Thanksgiving book to recommend.

Circle of Thanks by Susi Gregg Fowler. Not exactly a Thanksgiving book but a great book about giving thanks.

TPBM celebrated Thanksgiving back in October like a reasonable person.

Nope, I'm celebrating it today with a bottle of seltzer. I have bread and cheese for later.

The person below me will celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow by not going to work and scoring at Black Friday sales.

No such luck for me, I work at 4:30am and the only other thing I'm gonna do is make my car payment.

TPBM has other ideas about how to spend Black Friday.

Yes, but I'll be working too.

//News flash- BookCloseouts.com is currently having a 50% off sale with free shipping on order over $35 US (that's 50 p or a half loonie our British and Canadian cousins, no idea about the rest of you lot.) Last year I bought a few shipments from them and they were fine.//

TPBM has two jobs.

Do they have to be paying jobs? I do farm work during the busy seasons and volunteer at a school several times a week.

//SGIV--I ordered 17 books from them yesterday. //

TPBM has never bought books online.

Hahahahahaha. You must be joking. I've bought a gazillion online. And I don't seem to be slowing down.

The person below me is judicious with his or her use of credit cards.

For the most part, yes. There are times we purchase things frivolously, but we pay our credit cards in full every month.

TPBM is still groaning from eating too much today.

I managed to pace myself, but I'm definitely full. We had two Thanksgiving Dinners today. Took the kids to see R in the morning, then my sister’s place for lunch-dinner, then my dad’s place for dinner-dinner, and then home to put the kids to bed.

TPBM believes that it is not Thanksgiving until _________________________ (in our house, it is not Thanksgiving until you have burnt the marshmallows on the sweet potatoes. Happened at both houses today!)

Growing up, it was not Thanksgiving till Mama burnt the rolls. Happened every year. Now we do not have an 'until'.

TPBM has productive plans for today.

Kinda. My roommates are out of town leaving me in charge of livestock and a diminished dog pack (only eleven; they took the rest to a dog show in Virginia). I have discovered we are out of dog food. Ruh-roh. Black Friday at the feed store for me.

TPBM pities the poor puppies.

Only if you don't make it back. I'm envisioning crazed crowds at the feed store.

TPBM has decided to not leave the house today.

Easiest commute of the year and it's going to be a pretty quiet day. I will not be going to any malls tonight.

TPBM made the black Friday scene.

Nope, I've boycotted 'Black Friday' for years, I don't even buy online. I have my Christmas shopping lists made and I will spend tomorrow obtaining them. I might add that I have one brother and five sisters, 14 nieces and nephews and three great-grand nephews. I have to mail everything back east, so it takes an early start.

TPBM has a managable sized family.

Just four of us in the immediate family, and one brother with a wife and two kids. There is another sister-in-law with a very small family, but while we have a Christmas dinner with them, we no longer exchange gifts.

TPBM has already finished Christmas shopping.

I haven't even started. It's all going to be stuff I can buy online. Probably.

TPBM buys a year's worth of cards (birthday, Christmas, holiday, etc.) at one time. Like a sensible person. Or so I've heard.

As far as I'm concerned cards are a commercial substitute for a handwritten expression of personal good will. I gave up cards some years ago.

The person below me no longer sends a thank you note when someone has done something for them.

Robert

Nope, I sent one to a work colleague at another (sister) hotel the other day.

TPBM will be away for Christmas

,,,,,with the fairies, probably. But it's my role to cook the bird before descending into an alcoholic haze. I hanker after a goose but the abbess, a bird-watcher, thinks of geese like heron, magpies, blue tits and robins. Turkeys are lumped in with cows and pigs, presumably because they don't fly.

TPBM would happily eat goose.

No, I wouldn't. But then, I'm a vegetarian.

(Ostriches, emus, and penguins don't fly; would they be lumped in with cows and pigs too?)

TBPM understands that vegetarians aren't vegetarians because we love animals, but because we hate vegetables.

That's funny, RAoM! I tried to be a vegetarian once, but my craving for beef was much too strong.

TPBM could never be a vegetarian for a similar reason.

//SomeGuy, I looked and saw a few books I'd like but, unfortunately, am a tad short of $$.//

I don't believe nature selected humans to maintain a vegetarian diet, and God was merciful enough to make cows both stupid and slow. I gave up veal and pate, though. Too expensive.

//I hear you, Boo. Things is tough all over. I got a call from Citibank last weekend, they had been tracking me on my phone and wanted to know why I wasn't working. (Not really.) Bastards, I've got half a mind to default on the card and take the two-year ding to my credit rating. It's going to be that long before I can get back my down payment I had in hand when I lost it overnight back in 08- still I don't want to be a lame as the financial industry. I'm asking for a Kindle for Christmas, but I've decided to get the cheapest model. I also want a Sig Sauer P556 SWAT pistol. Imagine the monster from Alien and it spits bullets and you've got it, but I'm going to have to kick in half for that. I've got a mild tremor in my hands, so I need a heavy gun with a long barrel that has built-in stability. First gun I bought was a S&W snub nosed .38 which was the worst I could have chosen; kicks and I still haven't gotten to the point where I can consistently squeeze the trigger without jarring the barrel . I've got a Lugar .22 long rifle that puts the bullet wherever I want it, but the damn thing is a pain in the ass to reassemble. I mention this because I'm heading to the range now and have shootin' on my mind.//

TPBM regularly practices shooting.

No, but I did get a chance to shoot with my great grandfather's Colt revolver. He was a sheriff in Texas. That is a heavy gun. I'm pretty good with a rifle, but am basically a city girl, so don't own any.

TPBM has great plans for the weekend.

Finishing up a dress and cleaning my house. I derno if those qualify as "great" plans but they're plans!

TPBM knows how to get an infant to stop hitting and pinching.

Booze? Sorry, but I never had to deal with that.

SGiV> Target had the $139 Kindle for $85 today. I was surprised.

The person below me is grateful for leftovers.

Very much so. I like to have leftovers for lunch the next day so I can have a hot lunch at work. I eat lunch at 1:00 after being outside supervising children and appreciate a hot lunch.

It's my birthday today and I splurged and had dinner out, so no leftovers for tomorrow.

//would someone explain to me why Canadian stores are having "Black Friday" sales?//

TPBM splurged on something today (or yesterday, depending on the time zone).

(I hope you had a merry birthday.

Robert)

I actually got a great deal on Amazon for something I was specifically looking for - a DVD for a cousin for Christmas. I got it for $6.99. With Amazon Prime, that's what i t cost - $6.99 - no shipping, no tax. Sweet.

//SGiV - on Thanksgiving a cousin brought his air rifle. Daughter brought out her Ruger .22, 12-gauge shotgun, and .22 pistol, and various family members and friends shot at diet Dr. Pepper cans and into the distance. Since we live on 8 acres at the end of a cul-de-sac in the middle of nowhere, we were in no danger of hitting anything living. I was too busy with Thanksgiving prep, but yesterday daughter brought out the shotgun and pistol and I got to fire them. Loud fun, even with ear protection. Husband and daughter said that my grin got bigger with each round fired on the .22. And the kick from the shotgun was amazingly powerful. Had the butt firmly tucked into my shoulder so didn't bruise, fortunately, but was still surprised at the power. Fun and games in the country.//

TPBM has a refrigerator full of leftovers.

No, cause for me, thanksgiving was in October.

TPBM has leftover pumpkin pie (oh how I want some pumpkin pie!)

No leftovers here at all. I ate at my mom's retirement center. No cooking, no cleaning.

Happy birthday, carod!

The person below me is pricing items in anticipation of Cyber Monday.

Aaaaah! Yes! Aaaaah! I'm still trying to judge between the 1st gen Kindle and the newer touch screen Kindle. I'm leaning toward the touch just because the screen/e-ink contrast is supposed to be better than the 1st gen. That's a great price, Xor, for the keyboard version. I live close to a Target but it's not on sale today; keeping fingers crossed for Monday.

//Carod! Happy Birf Dee!//

TPBM recently revisited an old haunt. Tell us about it here.