Monday, November 14, 2011

Pole Dance, Anyone?

Thought for the day:  You can learn a lot about a person by the way he handles an unexpected detour.



Now that we're back home from our road trip and settled in again, I reckon it's time to come up with a regular post, huh? I must confess, to make sure I got them done, I wrote the Veterans Day post and LST 325  posts weeks ago, so this is the first gotta come up with somethin' post in quite some time.

As luck has it, a couple of you already provided me with what I need to get my blogging engine started again.

The lovely Marcy of Maine Words kindly shared the Versatile Blogger award with me shortly before my hubby and I took off for Florida.


As a recipient of this award, I'm supposed to reveal seven random tidbits of information about myself, and then pass the award to seven other bloggers I admire. Not sure if I can dig up seven things of interest about myself ... OR limit myself to only seven bloggers I admire ... but I'll give it a shot. Thanks, Marcy.

Also, the lovely Julie of What Else is Possible? shared another thingie with me that's going around the blogosphere.

 It isn't exactly an award; it's more of a nudge to get bloggers to reveal themselves. Wait a sec. Maybe that wasn't the best way to explain it. Not reveal as in rip off clothing, wiggle one's derriere, and slither around a pole, but reveal as in tell a little something about oneself. Actually, ten somethings. So, I'm gonna take the liberty of combining this with the Versatile Blogger award, and tell you a total of ten deep dark secrets, and call it a day. (And sorry ... they're neither deep nor dark.)



  • Since the thought for the day is about unexpected detours, I'll start with that. Being a directionally challenged person, and the daughter of parents who were even more talented than I at getting lost, we always stuck our tongues firmly in cheeks and referred to the experience as taking the scenic route. And, to tell the truth, as long as said detours don't make me late for a commitment, I actually like 'em. They've led to some pretty interesting sights, and to some pretty interesting people. Besides, who's to say? Our true destinies may lie in the detours. 
  • I don't give a diddle about diamonds and gold. I prefer wood and leather.
  • I always work the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle in ink. (Erasable, of course.)
  • When I was eleven years old, I inherited two glass powder boxes that had been sitting on my maternal grandmother's dressing table for a bazillion years ... a clear one with an elephant lid, and an amber one with a deer on the lid. Years later, my son accidentally broke one. Fast forward another twenty years or so, and Eureka! Doggone if I didn't spot the broken deer's duplicate at an antique store. (And immediately started crying.) Thankfully, the shop owner didn't take advantage of the tearful situation, and charged a fair price, because there was no way I was leaving that store without it. After that, my hubby, mother, mother-in-law, and a couple aunts turned me into a powder box collector. Now, thanks to their loving generosity, I have quite a few of them, and some are quite beautiful and unique. But (shhhh) I'll tell you a secret: I would've been perfectly happy with the two. They're the ones sitting on the top shelf in the picture below.

  • I love playing most board games, with the exception of Monopoly. Loathe that game! As luck(?) would have it, whenever our family plays that vile game, I'm always the first one eliminated. (Oh, darn! Breaks my heart!) Then I sit back with a cup of tea, and read the newspaper, which is exactly what I wanted to do in the first place.
  •  What can I say? I like to win. So I tend to be a tad too competitive, especially when playing trivia, word games, or cards. In particular, I used to be a cut-throat Pinochle player. My husband, on the other hand, never even played Pinochle until after we got married, and never gave a good diddle about it, or any other game. Still doesn't. Which is a good thing, because his nonchalant attitude tempered my card-counting bloodthirsty ways. (It's just a game, Susan; it's just a game.)
  • Most of the things I consider treasures have little or no monetary value. Like this tiny teacup in the picture below. I found it in my father's house after he died, and it's the last piece from the set of dishes I owned when I was four or five years old.

  • My parents had a pool table in their basement, so I started playing while I was still in elementary school. Being rather competitive even then, I got to be pretty darned good. Could even do a trick shot or two. On my first evening at college, a couple hometown boys, who were big bad jocks in high school, invited my roommate and me to go to the student union with them. Seems they wanted to teach us non-jock nerdy girls how to shoot pool. (heh, heh) Alas, let's just say the evening did not go well for them and their poor widdle egos. (In retrospect, we might've let 'em win a game or two if they hadn't been so bloody condescending.)
  • When I was young, I loved the Clifton Webb movie Cheaper By the Dozen.  So much so, I wanted to have at least a dozen children of my own someday. Didn't work out that way, but whattaya know? Life blessed me with a dozen grandchildren, and that's even better!
  • I still have several dolls. In the middle of the picture below  is ALF, the one and only doll I ever bought for myself. (I LOVED that show  ... and his big feet.) On the left is the angel Ruth doll my wonderful sister-in-law made for me after my mother died, and on the right is another doll named Ruthie. My mother made her, and we laughed like idiots when she gave her to me. (Ugliest doll I ever saw, and I love her to pieces.)


There, is that ten already? That wasn't so bad. Now the harder part. Handing the challenge off to seven other bloggers. Not that I don't admire seven of you guys and gals. Au contraire, mes amies. I admire ALL of you. The difficult part is finding seven of you willing to (ahem) reveal yourselves. (I mean, after all, not everyone wants to wiggle and slither around that pole, or is willing to bare one's soul.)

Ah, what the heck? I'll name seven of you, and if you want to run with it, YAY! If you're too chicken to do a pole dance you'd rather pass, that's okay. Maybe you'll give it a go next time. After a few adult beverages.



The voyeur in me would really enjoy seeing those folks do a little soul-baring, because I'd like to know more about them, but even if they don't, check out their blogs, okay? 

In the meantime, I already showed you mine. Time to reciprocate. How about revealing a tidbit about yourself in the comments? Doesn't have to be ten ... or even seven ogles. Just one little itty bitty peek ...

Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

[Oh yeah, almost forgot. The cute Road Trip picture at the top of the page comes to us courtesy of the cool folks at icanhascheezburger.com]





29 comments:

  1. I was seriously expecting you to confess you pole-danced your way through college at the end there!

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  2. 'Cheaper by the dozen' is fun. I must have seen it at least a dozen times.

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  3. Love your powder boxes! So cool that you came across the same one that was broken. Ah, serendipity. :)

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  4. Nice to have a collection. Does that metal one far left/top play a tune?

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  5. I love your keepsakes... better than diamonds any day. And I can't believe you own an ALF!!! Alien Life Form... oh that is ace!

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  6. I was so excited about Alf I forgot to say thanks. Hehehehhee. Thanks Susan!

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  7. I used to be a pool shark in another life when I lived in Nevada. No pole dancing though. Thanks for the invite. I'll have to dig around in my memories and see what I can come up with.

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  8. Ha! I have that competitive killer instinct when it comes to games too. I hate losing.

    And I think you lucked out with a dozen grandkids. :)

    Thanks for passing on the Ten. Woohoo, something to blog about. :P

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  9. Hi, y'all. Thank you so much for your comments.

    Dianne- HA! ME doing a pole dance when I was in college? THAT would've been a slapstick comedy show.

    Sarah- Thanks. Maybe I'll show some more of them in a later post.

    Cro- Yes, isn't it? The newer version with Steve Martin is better than I expected, but not nearly as good as Clifton Webb.

    Linda- Yes, ma'am. Sometimes, I think Serendipity should've been my middle name.

    Delores- No, that one's not a music box. But it is rather interesting. It appears to be a memento from Yellowstone Park, and on the lid is a picture of a bear chained to a tree, with tears running down his face, and a sign beside him that says, "No hugging allowed." No telling how old it is. But I DO have a music box on one of those shelves, too, that plays an old German song. It's green, similar in design, with a slightly taller lid. It's gotta be from the early 1900s.

    Carrie- AH! A fellow ALF lover! And you're very welcome.

    Anne- Very cool about you being a pool shark, too. When I was growing up, it was very unusual for "nice girls" to shoot pool. Which made it so delicious when those jocks wanted to teach us a thing or two. You probably experienced some of the same sort of experiences.

    L.G.- Yup, winning isn't everything, but losing sucks. Hope you enjoy "revealing" yourself.

    Karen- Hmmm, maybe there's a connection between a creative mind and the enjoyment of games? Could be. After all, playing a game (even-UGH- Monopoly) beats vegging in front of the TV.

    Take care.

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  10. Monopoly, the game that never ends. My son, the greedy one in the family, used to guilt me into playing it and now his son has also inherited that piggish trait (although he is much sweeter about it). Hate this game!

    We play board games when the family is all together. It is about having fun and and making fools of ourselves. There may be some competition, but it is mostly about laughing. Thanksgiving ends with us all sitting around the dinner table playing Balderdash or Catch Phrase. For us, it is a family tradition that, next to the turkey, everyone looks forward to.

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  11. This is a million dollar quote if I ever heard one.

    "Our true destinies may lie in the detours."

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  12. Hi!

    Just stopping by to thank you for dropping by last week and commenting on my interview over on the Piedmont Writer.

    I really appreciate Anne offering her forum. Great lady. Great writer.

    Regards,
    Mac

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  13. Hi, Arleen. Glad I'm not the only one with an aversion to Monopoly. Our family usually ends up playing games when we get together, too, and it always involves a lot of silliness and laughter. Especially when we play Cranium.

    Tina- Seems funny not to call you "Florida" anymore. Glad you liked the quote. Thanks for stopping by.

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  14. Hi-ya, Mac. Thank you so much for stopping by, dear sir. Come on back now, y'heah? (Yeah, I think Anne is pretty darned special, too.)Take care.

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  15. I love board games and hate Monopoly too. Interestingly, when we play it, I'm the first person out (just like you). Amazing how that happens...

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  16. Back just to say thanks for your feedback on my Wheezy cover ;O)

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  17. Hi, Connie. We don't exactly "throw" the game. We just don't care enough about it to even try to be competitive.

    Mac- My pleasure. It's a terrific cover.

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  18. Ha! So you're a pool shark, huh? :-)
    I loathe Monopoly too. It NEVER ends well in our house--and actually, never plain ENDS. We always have to cut it quits before tears start flying. LOL

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  19. Hey, I had an Alf too- gave it to my friend Stevil a few years back! Thanks, Susan. I'm flattered and will get on the pole as soon as I get a night's sleep. It'll be good to wake up and have a ready-made blogpost subject to do. ;)

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  20. I've never been much of a pole dancer (always played in the band) but I'll do my best in a future post. Welcome back.

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  21. Okay, you had me at the post title! ;-)

    I love learning these tidbits about writer friends. And I think those powder boxes are beautiful.

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  22. Hi, Jennifer. I USED to be a pool shark. (Just a little one.)We don't play as often now, so my playing's pretty erratic. Hmmm, maybe Monopoly is more of a "man's thing"?

    Austan- All right! Another ALF lover! I'll look forward to your "dance."

    Mr. C- Time for the musician to dance to the music!

    Liz- I know; sneaky title. Glad you like the powder boxes.

    Take care.

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  23. Lol! I couldn't wait to read this and see what it was about after reading the title...nice grab. :-) I always like these and getting to know people better. Love that you like wood & leather. My parents had a pool table too but I never took it up. Great story!

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  24. You made my evening! I'm directionally challenged too. My hub's bought me maps, a compass, a GPS, you name it - but, somehow, I don't get there like other people do. One time, I sensed (know the feeling?) I was on a wrong road but decided to go to the end, which was a lady's driveway. She very nicely gave me directions to where I should go. Well, somehow, I ended up back in her driveway. Fortunately, she'd had to back into the house for whatever and was going to her car when she saw me. She felt so sorry for me that she led me to where I should be. I couldn't find that lady's driveway again if you gave me a million dollars!

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  25. Hi, Liza. Thanks.

    Tracy- Gotcha!It's never too late to take up pool, ya know ... it's a lotta fun!

    Kittie- Too funny. Maybe we should form a support group for the directionally challenged?

    Take care.

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  26. Oh, Alf. The memories . . .

    Love the pictures. Thanks for telling us a bit about you.

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  27. DOnna- Ah, HA! Another ALF lover ... or at least, a "remember-er"... Glad you liked the pics. It was kinda fun.

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