The White Patch

I was deleting pics out of my phone when I came across the picture below. Mitchell Lamar got into something a few weeks ago.  For right smack dab in between his shoulder blades was a white patch.

I thought he was growing a patch of white hair on the back of his perfect tuxedo. But I looked closely and he lost some hair.

I had no idea what happened. He didn't look sickly or anything, as he was running around being his usual playful self. There was a little redness, but I swabbed it with some alcohol and dabbed it with some neosporin.

I decided to watch him for a couple of weeks. The hair is growing back.

And he is sleeping well.  Or so I think he is.

I'm not sure how he is comfortable all stretched out like that. But at least the missing patch of hair is not a symptom of sickness.

Thank goodness for that. 

Monday Evening Randoms

Good Monday Evening...

I hope you had a fabulous weekend. I had a pretty good one. It was sunny and hot on Saturday, and warm and rainy on Sunday.  On Saturday, I went to the movies. I went to see Hunger Games, Part III.

We have the "Dollar Movies" here. So I paid a dollar to see it. Well, I didn't pay, LadyTee did. I smashed her popcorn, so it was a free day for me, lol. She and her family hadn't seen the movie, and I hadn't either. I read the book and it was the SADDEST, most depressing book I've ever read. So I didn't run out and see the movie when it came out.  But LadyTee convinced me to go with them. And knowing the American movie culture, they were going to clean the movie up real good and make it different from the book. It was, just like I thought. It was good, but not as good as the first one.

Afterwards I came hope and got to cleaning.  On Sunday, my sister came over in the morning to help me. Sister Callie Jo was not happy about this. She hid under the covers of the bed in the upstairs bedroom.

Poor Sista Callie. She is waaaay afraid of people. She is still shell-shocked from vet visits and spay. She thinks everyone is a vetenarian. So she hides.

Luckily I've bought a new quilt set for the upstairs bedroom. And new sheets. I will close that room off to the cats. They think that is their room.

I needed my sister's help cleaning up a bookcase area. Here's the picture of it now after we'd finished.

It looks... better. And don't get me going on my bootleg "2 televisions" scenario. That one is going back upstairs. I was thinking of buying another one and leaving it upstairs but uh... that would be finanically wrong. (I suppose).

So I got rid of 30% of my books. I will take those on over to the thrift store. I had a TON of crap just laying over/stacked up in the corner.  Let's just say I need to spend a whole night just shredding a bunch of stuff. I threw out a lot of trash. We spent a good 4 hours just cleaning. I was so grateful for her help. I think it was helpful just having someone help me think about how to organize. And it was nice to just spend time with her. We put on a couple of shows and just organized. So I will continue to throw out books. And I think I need to throw out that old VCR/DVD player too!

She wouldn't take any cash for her help. But I baked some cookies for her to take to school.

That's a good trade off, ain't it.

That was cool. So after she left, I was all tuckered out. I cleaned up for a couple of more hours, then I took a 2 hour nap.  I think it was all that rain. I slept so hard that I didn't know what time it was or where I was at when I woke up. Even the cats were sleeping hard, lol.

So today I had a bright idea.  I like salad, but I don't like making salad. Well, I do, but let's just say I don't like making it more than once a day. So this morning, I made a mixing bowl full of salad.  

I covered packed a little of it, and covered the bowl with clear wrap and sat it in the fridge. This worked out really well since I'd just cleaned out the fridge the day before. (Yes, I'm doing some supreme spring cleaning).

Here is today's salad.

I added some sliced strawberries and cubed nectarines. It was quite tasty. And now I can just go home and eat a little more with my dinner. It may just be my dinner. I see this week being more of a raw food week. Not sure.

That salad was awesome. Maybe it was just that I was hungry. I didn't eat 'til 2:30 pm. That is a bit late for me. Sigh.

I am looking forward to a good week. There was NO traffic this morning. I think I got to work in 10 minutes flat. Usually it is 15 minutes, lol. But I like the light traffic. I think that school is out or something, hunh? I guess the holiday has started early. That is good for me. I am considering taking Thursday and Friday off. I already informed my boss already, but it is all dependent on how I feel about what I get done this week. We'll see. I hope it works out.

Song of the Week. "You Can't Stop the Rain" by Loose Ends.



I am compiling a list of my favorite songs. THAT song is on the list.

And it's raining cats and dogs in the ATL right now. That's a good rainy day song.

"You can't stop the rain... when it starts to fall... there's no one else to blame...if you go out that door!"

Yo del leah!! Yo de leah! yo yo yo you doooh!!

Whatever. I don't know lyrics. I just know the song is FIRE.

That is all.

I am looking forward to a great week. Hopefully a short week.

Whether long or short... It will be good. On purpose.

Just putting it out there!

Friday Afternoon Funk

It is FRIDAY.

This week went by super fast. FAST.

And that's fine by me.

Now I need the weekend to go by extra slow. Like that's gonna happen. Humph.

This week has been scatter scatter. I was about to put a short story up on the blog... then I found out that I'd put it up a couple of years ago. So I decided not to put it up, although a repost would've been cool. The name of the story is "A Random Act of Kindness" if you want to go and read it. I found it in this old binder I used for a writing workshop back then, and I thought it was pretty cool.

I am still pondering my past weekend. It was a rough weekend. I don't do all the well around Mother's day. You would never know it. I kind of just keep to myself. It's really difficult having a mother that I don't mesh well with. So I spend much of my time... pontificating. (Yes, that's a proper word... pontificating). I even spent some time journalling about things.

And then my favorite author, Tayari Jones, put up an article she found on mothers' day about those who have toxic mothers and have had the courage to walk away. And it was such a relief to read about people who had the same issues I have. I didn't feel alone. It was the best thing anyone could even do for me. I texted her and thanked her for thinking of such, because I had been really struggling with my mental for a few days, and I can't really talk to anyone about it. And as a bonus, we spent the evening texting back and forth. She knows how to keep me laughing.  Somehow I made it through the weekend.

What was even more interesting was the writing workshop I attended on Saturday. The lady who invited me, Miss J, who is also VP of the group, got up and talked about writing. I met her in an old writing class, and I critique her stories from time to time. Anyway, she began talking about that (my critiquing). Then she got all teary-eyed and started talking about how she was so glad that I was in her life.

O_o.

I was sitting there listening, but looking at my blog on my cellphone. I heard my name and looked up and saw her all weepy. Yikes.

I don't know, I just don't think I'm that special or important. I'm special and important to myself, but I don't look for anyone to think of me that way.

Well heck, it's better than being a burden or a detriment to others. That ain't nothing nice.

Miss J had so many good things to say about me that I thought she was going to break out and sanging that song that Shug Avery sang to Miss Celie in the juke joint:  "Sista... you been on my mind, oh sista... we're too of a kind... "

LOL

But she didn't. Thank goodness for that.

Anyway, they are trying to get together an anthology. And it's a Christian writing group. I was concerned about that, because I don't write Christian fiction. You know me, I like to write about folks shooting folks, cussing folks out, just crazy stuff. It has a thin spiritual thread weaved throughout, but uh... not nothing that I would give to them to look at.

They are taking blog and inspirational pieces. I was looking around on my blog, and I have a ton of Food for Thought that I can rework. Since my microwave is busted, I was thinking about submitting a longer version of this blog post: "Microwaves and Crockpots".

I will work on that over the Memorial Day weekend. If it doesn't work out, I will work on something else. I have some 200 Food-for-Thought posts over here. I'm sure I can craft something lovely and inspirational.

This is a nice group to be a part of. I think I will continue. And they like me, since Miss J has them believing I walk on water.

Song of the Week. So, I have a spotify account. New CDs come out every Tuesday. This excites me, as I am always looking for some new music. And these days, I don't only like new music, I like something a little more abstract and out of the usual trendy lane.

I came across Alabama Shakes. "MAN," I hollered several times. "This whole CD is off the hinges! This dude sound a like a mix between Prince and Janis Joplin. I need to run over to youtube and see if they have any videos!"

Here's a video. "Sound and Color" by Alabama Shakes. 



Wowwwww! What a story. I looked up more videos. And I came across THIS:



Imagine my reaction when I saw that it was a SISTA singing.

A sister... singing Southern rock?????

*ladylee cartwheels all around the living room*

Wow.  This has to be one of the best groups I've heard in the last decade.  And the whole CD is great, top to bottom.

I looked to see if their tour is coming through Atlanta. It is, but it's way out on the Northside, some 40 miles from me. And the tickets are around  $200.

NO. Won't be seeing you, sista. I will watch the concerts on youtube. That's good enough  for me.

One more song.





*ladylee stands up and applauds feverishly*

No, I'm not a big southern rock fan. It has always felt so... confederate, and not for me.  But I love Janis Joplin. This young lady's inspiration is David Bowie and Nina Simone. O_o.  What a combo indeed.

That's it for me. I am looking forward to a busy weekend. I have a ton of chores to do around the house, so that's the first order of the day.  I may catch a movie with LadyTee. But I will be keeping as close to the house as possible. Don't want to wear myself completely out.

I will have a good weekend, on purpose. And you do the same.

Just seen at Wal-mart...

So I was hanging out at Wal-mart on the Southside on Sunday... Deeeeep on the southside, that is, some 30 miles from my house. The only reason I was out yonder was just to drive Pam. I am STILL trying to get her to pass emissions.

So I have to drive her... and drive her dirty.

*ladylee looking out for police*

Anyway, she needs a little 30 weight oil from time to time, and I like to keep a quart or two off in the trunk, just in case I need it.

While in the automotive department I saw this:

Rims.

I had to go over and touch them.

Uh... when did Wal-mart start selling rims?

I looked down at the price tags. They start at $230 per rim.

O_o.

So now, let's see. I can pick up makeup, groceries, a pack of panties AND a set of phat rims.

All at my local Wal-mart.

I thought about paying $1000 for a set of those on the left in the middle row.  Not for Lucy Jr., the Lexus, but for the lovely Pam.

Wooo weee! Pam sho nuff would be FLY.

Alas, that's doing too much. She's fine just the way she is.

But it's good to know that I can get a nice set of rims at my local Wal-mart!

Friday Afternoon Freestyles

It's FRIDAY.

And it's PAYDAY.

Man... that's not a great combination.  Let's just say the shades of my mind are lowered halfway right about now. I don't want to be at work.

Actually, I've gotten a few things done today. I am happy for that.

Time to take a break.

So I am actually sitting down right now having LUNCH at 3:30 pm. That can't be...healthy.  But I wasn't all that hungry around my usual 1:00 pm lunchtime. Someone blessed me with a apple cinnamon muffin from a little bakeshop/coffee house over in my 'hood. (A place I've turned folks around here onto. I must do a post about the place if I haven't already.

But Lady M, who sits in the cubicle across from mine, brought me some WONDERFUL vegetable soup earlier this week, and I'm just now eating the last of it.

 Well, right now, it's more stew than soup. Still good.  And such a blessing for someone to think of me. Wonderful.

I'm also working on a salad. 

 This one is baby greens with diced pears, diced green apples, sliced strawberries, diced mangoes, blueberries and pecans.

It's one of those salads where I throw in whatever is in the fridge. I didn't do my usual grocery shopping on Wednesday, so I am clearing and making a little room. Diced fruit for toppings it is!

It's too much salad. And on Fridays, especially on payday, everyone is ghost right about now. So I transferred a little to a bowl for now, and I will eat some later.

So that's that.

Funny Stuff. So... my workplace is hiring like crazy. There have to be at least 20 new people in the building. A couple of new folks, some youngsters, started in my group this week. A guy and a young lady. Both are really nice.

But the guy... WOW.

He (and we will call him "Joey") has been a source of sheer HILARITY this week.

So what's so hilarious?

He's super charming. And yes that's a nice thing to say about someone, but it's the type of suave charm that takes you aback. Charm turnt WAY up.

I went over and introduced myself (his cubicle is in a room next to the room where my cubicle is located). And after a couple of times talking to him, I've been like...

Now wait a minute. Am I being hypnotized?

*Ladylee walks away*

He always has nice compliments. And that's fine. But he just really lays it on extra thick. EXTRA. Like I said, it really takes you aback. He has a killer smile and a voice smooth as velvet.

I thought it was just me. But I took a couple of the other ladies in my cubicle area to meet them. The young lady wasn't around.

But the guy. That Joey.

He immediately jumps up. I introduce him to them... and he lays it on thick.

To Dr. Hazel Eyes he said, "Oh my, you have such beautiful eyes."

To YoYo, he said "Oh, your name is Yolanda? Yolanda Adams, she's my favorite gospel singer."

And it went on and on... He asked how long we had been there.

Another guy in that cubicle area, Donny... well, I don't think he liked all the attention Joey was getting... "Decades," he said, before we could answer.

"We've been here around 13 years," I said, ignoring Donny.

"Oh my," Joey said. "You all look so young. I would've never guessed such."

This caused much giggling.

At this time, Dr. Ibrahim., a researcher, stuck his head out of his own cubicle. "Hey, what about me?" he wailed.

He too was hating on the sly. Or maybe that was a little jealousy. We spoke to Dr. Ibrahim. That made him happy.

Joey got a lot of attention in that hour, because after we came back to our cubicle area full of giggles, Dr. HazelEyes took a few more of the ladies over to meet this Joey.

More hilarity ensued.

One young lady asked him where he was from. He said, "I'm from Ohio, I've lived in New York, I've from the military, I from the Caribbean... I'm from the earth. I'm the salt of the earth."

What.the.hell.

We were looking for a part carribean chick from out cubicle area to send over there (since Joey is Caribbean). She walked around the corner with Joey in tow... which caused us all to fall out laughing.

"No," she said later. "No, no. That's just him, his manner. That's just the way he is."

Whatever. I didn't buy it. Nobody's that smooth. Compliments lathered on top of compliments. That smooth carribean voice and the winning smile. NO.

I told him later (several times, every time I saw him), "Now look. I'ma need you to take your tail to your room  and stay in your cubicle because you have thoroughly entertained us today. And whatever you do, don't go over to the other building..

(That's where the thirsty chickens are.)

"You can't lock me up in a cage," he said smoothly. He clinched his fists and flexed. "You can't lock me up like I'm some wild animal."

*crickets*

Wow.

Stop it. 

"Okay, dude," I said as I walked away.

Later on, he was talking to someone else in my cubicle area, and he came to my cubicle and said, "LadyLee, you have a good night. You have a most wonderful evening."

*ladylee kicks the hard eye roll*

"Bye Joey. You have a good night, too," I said.

He walked away giggling.

I can already tell that he will have these women falling completely OUT over him.

"He's the type that, if you're in a room full of people, he will make you feel like you're the only woman  in the room,"  Dr.  Hazel Eyes said.





"All ya'll broads gonna get wrote up for se.xual  har.rasment," I hollered in the middle of our giggles.

That brought on MORE laughter.


I'm just waiting for him to start in my lab so he can show me what he's really working with...

...on that scientific level.

THAT'S what's up.

And if a bunch of chickens come sniffing around my lab after him, it's on and popping. Don't interfere with work. Please and thank-you. Ya'll can line up to be wooed by him during his lunch hour.

He should be a good addition to the group. And the young lady also. That's what I'm hoping.

Amen!

Song of the Day. My listening tastes are a bit abstract these days. So last week I put up some "Noise hop", a genre that's a hybrid between industrial noise and hip hop. Interesting stuff,  but the music I put up was tame in relation to other groups in the genre.

Today, I wanna put up some jazz/hip hop. Badbadnotgood, a jazz group and Ghostface Killah. I think this group tends to do work with rappers. The new CD  with Ghostface is titled Sour Soul. It has the feel of a concept album, and you know I like that.  Here are a couple of cuts I like.





I like that. It has that hard edge to it... but with a 60s jazz feel. It is different. Not really thot music. And you can't quite twerk to it. Well,  I don't know about that. Hmm.

Loved-ed it!!

That's it for me. I am looking forward to a great weekend. It hasn't rained in a good 8 days, and the temps have been in the high 70s/low 80s.  PERFECT weather.  I hope that lasts through the weekend. That's the type of weather that makes me wanna open up the sunroof and let the wind flow through my hair!

I have a writing workshop/meeting. I'm really looking forward to that. We're suppose to break up into groups and work on our projects. So looking forward to that!

That's it for me! You have a great weekend.

Not by default, but by design... and ON purpose.

Microwave Oven Blues

My microwave is out...

Sigh.

It's dead. There was a lightning storm inside. And no, there was no aluminum pan or utensils mistakenly placed inside.  I figured I best turn it off before it exploded and burned the house down.

It lasted 9.5 years. And I guess that's a good thing. And now there's the hunt for a new one. And that should be relatively easy, right?

Humph. NO.

I am having trouble because I want one JUST like the one pictured above.

Long ago, my sister Kentucky figured out how to do all that special stuff with the microwave, like hit one button to cook rice. You know, that type of fancy stuff.  I thought it was all silly at the time, but for the last 9 years I have gotten use to all that.

Now, I'm doing some old Color Purple type of thing. I'm having to cook my grits, rice, and everything else in a pot or skillet. And I can't forget about this small aluminum pan I use to heat up random food in the oven. I buy those for twenty cents a piece at the local distribution warehouse. I usually throw them away. I only have one left now, and I treat that flimsy thing like it's  made out of solid gold. I will wash and reuse it. Really.

I never realized how convenient the microwave oven is. I remember when microwave ovens first became available to the public. I believe we first got ours in 1983. It was a big boxy thing. It was also very loud.

Now, we can't live without them. And I don't think all the electromagnetic waves they emit are all that healthy.

My sister said "Why don't you just order that same one off the internet?"

"NO!" was my answer. "I wanna go on to the store and buy it. I have to touch it and play with the buttons."

She is quiet. She doesn't waste anytime arguing with me.

I've come a long way over the years. The conversation use to be:

"I need to look up a phone number!"

"Why don't you just look up the phone number on the internet, Lisa?" My sister would calmly suggest.

"NO! Hand me the telephone book!"

She'd retrieve the phone book from my bookshelf and watch as I flip through the super thin yellow pages.

"It's easier to look it up on the internet," she'd say again.

"NO! That's what the phone book is for!"

(My goodness. How has she dealt with me all these years. Yikes).

So... I've been on the hunt for a microwave like the one above. I finally found a similar one, brand Sharp and all black to match my kitchen. But the electronics store was all out of them. Even the warehouse was out. And I drove FAR down some 30 miles to the Southside to find it. I paid $90 for the one above all those years ago at that same store. This one will be $109. I made them print out the information, and I will call down there before I drive out there. (I didn't really mind, though. I had to do a yarn run, so I killed 2 birds with one stone).

I will drive back down there when it comes in. 

But as for now, I will cook the way we cooked back in the 70s and early 80s.

I will warm  my food in a pot. And in my old skillet. And in  my flimsy aluminum pan.

High class problem all day.

Our stoves are better than they were in Color Purple days. In those days,  you had to go get wood for the stove.

Can you imagine doing that now?  Hmm.

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

So when I arrived to my beloved cubicle this morning, I found something quite lovely on my desk:

A bamboo plant. (Is that what it's called?)

Not sure who left it... but thank you to whoevver did :)

Happy Cinco De Mayo

To all ya'll going to eat tacos and drink tequila tonight... You're not Mexican.

Oh well. That's okay.

What I'm most concerned about is that you drink responsibly. If you must get wasted, do it at the house. If you get wasted at the Mexican restaurant, make sure there's a designated driver.

Don't drink and drive. Period.

Enjoy yourselves. And Happy Cinco De Mayo.

Friday Freestyles

Ahoy!

It's Friday.

Tell me something.  What is this weird three days a week posting I'm doing? What is that about?

I don't like it, not one bit. I have a ton of quotes to put up. But I've been super busy. I need to figure out something on the weekend. I may spend a couple of hours planning my posts for the week. This should be a pretty quiet weekend.

This week has been busy. More training, more training.  At least we've had a few sunny days in the ATL. For a moment there I thought I was going to have to buy a canoe to get around.

The grass needs cut this weekend. I MAY get out there and tackle it. I haven't decided.

Blog of the Week. So, while over at another agency getting some training, I met a few nice people. The most interesting person was a young chemist. We talked for a bit and it turns out she has a blog. (So you know we were REALLY talking then, lol.

Check this out when you have some time.

Adara Monet - A Style Blog

She writes really well. I like her commentary and her optimistic spin on various subjects, whether spiritual, social or political. Her blog is a good lunchtime read. I can learn a thing or two to get me through the rest of my day. And she is very stylish, too.
I need to email her and figure out what kind of camera she uses for pictures. That's definitely not a camera phone she's working with.

My pics are coming out all fuzzy. So it looks like I will be turning in this samsung galaxy 3 and upgrading to the Galaxy Note 4. I'm waiting to see when the Note 5 is coming out. But I'm not sure that's going to happen anytime soon. So time for a new phone. I need better pictures!

Songs of the Week. My music tastes have gone a bit off the rails lately. I've just come across different things that I like. I'd never heard of industrial noise rap before, but I came across a group that's a bit... interesting.  The name of the group is Clipping. I like their CD tittled "Clppng". I'm not sure how to pronounce that, but I like their music.

I  like the song  "Get Up".  They use the alarm clock beep as their beat. (warning: language)



Now that's some twisted commentary in the light of what's going on in the news.

I also like "Work Work" (warning:  language)



I'm not sure what noise that is... bells or teacups. I have no idea.. I'm a little lost with the visual of the rapper rapping while biting on the parking curb. Who thought of that?

I'm just not that creative.

I think I will just stay creative in my own way... and be happy with that.

I am looking forward to a good weekend, as always. I've gotten to the point that if I get just one thing done on my to-do list, I'm going to celebrate like it's many. Yep. Be happy about it anyway... on purpose.

Ya'll have a great weekend. Hopefully I'll be back up to par next week! :)