Bell Kelso Farm

To the person who sent me an email regarding Hallock, Minnesota and the Bell Kelso farm -- yes it is the same farm. I do have some pictures I would be glad to share but you did not give me an email address where I can contact you. Please let me know how to get the pictures to you.

Post-Exam Report

A report from exam room:

First, I apparently am in good shape for an out of shape, calorically-challenged, 57 year old woman. Of course we're still waiting for the lab work so let's not start the parades yet.

Every time I go for my annual physical I have that one moment when I think Freud was right, when I have penis envy -- the moment I have to fill the cup. I wonder if all women have as much trouble as me with the whole aiming situation. Eventually I get it right but there seems to be a lot of trial and error first. It's not pretty. But if you want to get in good with the lab tech here's a hint -- draw a smiley face on the cover. They always like that. One time I happen to have some stickers in my purse so I put those on the cup too. I promise they won't use the rusty needle when they draw blood if you decorate your pee cup first.

Then there's the "breath normally" moment. I'm naked in a room filled with cold steel instruments and you want me to breath normally. That ain't gonna happen. You breath normally and I'll do the best I can.

Good news on the height front -- I'm still 5'-3 1/2" -- I haven't shrunk anymore. I use to be 5' 4" -- oh I remember the days of excessive height so well -- when I could look down on the 5' 3-1/2" people. And I lost a couple of pounds since last year -- go figure. My doctor says to me "What is your exercise and weight loss plan?" like I have one. I've been going to the same doctor of 25 years; you'd think she'd catch on by now. I suppose hope springs eternal in the medical community.

Next Monday I get a mammogram, or as my friend Terry calls it a pancake breakfast. Stay tuned for my report on that event.

A Peeceful Morning Ahead

It's that time of year again. I get to ride the wild stirrups and pee in a cup. Yippee, with an emphasis on the second syllable.

Last night my friends Peter, Sue and Sue/Myrna came over for pizza and, in the case of Peter, to harass me by putting my hair accessories on his big old bald head. Sue brought an old book of questions for youth, written in the 1920s, so we could discover how incredibly dumb we are. By the way if you are ever asked the largest bird is Mozart -- well at least it is Mozart if you go to the back of the book for the answers and don't exactly remember correctly what the number of the question was. Oh, and cows have toes -- did you know that -- two on each foot. Now I can say "I'm happy as a two-toed cow in a field of clover" if anyone ever comes up to me and says "How happy are you?"  Maybe that should be an eight-toed cow -- oh the bovine pressure is too much for me.

Well I have to go and pick out a perfect pair of socks and drink a lot of water so I can deliver when the pressure is on. Later ...

Early Morning Thoughts

It's almost 2 in the morning and I can't get to sleep. Actually I haven't been sleeping much lately so this isn't that unusual. I take Freckles in this morning to have her stitches removed and to talk with the vet about her care. Last week I think I stopped listening at some point and I need to ask questions, to try to find out more about how to care for Freckles. Last night I came into the living room and Freckles was just laying there motionless. I said her name and she didn't respond and my heart just stopped. But when I went over and touched her she moved -- slightly. So I picked her up and we sat together for hours on the couch -- she just wanted to lay there. Finally at 12:30 we went outside since she hadn't been for a while and she is now sleeping on the bed. But I just lay there listening to her breath. I'm like the mother in Terms of Endearment.

But I figured if, and when, I get to sleep I won't have time to write anything before heading out to the vet so I'd say howdy doody -- but kind of quietly so I don't wake you up too.

By the way, Dick Cheney had a heart? Go figure. (You had to know I couldn't let this one go by.)

Let The Games Begin!!!

What a lot of fun it was to be there at midnight with about 500 teenagers. After the show let out there was this long line of cars parked outside waiting to pick up their kids. Those are nice parents. I can't imagine my parents would have done that!!!

Okay the movie ... two thumbs up. I'll be interested to hear what people who haven't read the book thought of it because if you've read the book I think it makes more sense. It was kind of like Swiss cheese with a lot of holes that people who read the book were able to fill in  -- but there was no way they could have remained totally true to the book without doing a five hour movie. If you read the book I will tell you that everything goes really fast to get you to the games.

I also loved, loved, loved that unlike the book that is written in first person so all you ever read are the thoughts of Katniss -- the movie showed things that weren't in the book such as game central. The special effects were fantastic and Stanley Tucci did a fantastic job as the host/commentator. It was like Larry King on steroids hosting The Price Is Right. I will not be able to watch the summer Olympics without thinking of him. Lenny Kravitz was also very good although I kept thinking "hey that's Lenny Kravitz."

Also, the Cornucopia was quite a shock. When reading the book I pictured a gigantic cornucopia like the ones you see at Thanksgiving. This one looks like a miniature Weisman Museum.

Oh and my father-in-law Donald Sutherland was the perfect bastard.

What I found surprising was how seeing faces of real kids put into this horrible situation affected me. At one point, just as the games were about to begin, I felt this knot in my stomach and I actually thought about getting up and leaving -- just for a few seconds -- but still it was an unexpected feeling.

So it is now 3:24 a.m. and Freckles and I are going to go to bed and try to get to sleep.

P.S. -- I wasn't the oldest person there. A nice lady was there with her granddaughter who reminded me a lot of the girl who played Primrose.

I'm Not Obsessed, No I'm Not ...

2 bits - 4 bits - 6 bits - a dollar
All for District 12 stand up and holler. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh yes the day has finally come ... tonight, or perhaps I should say tomorrow, at 12:01 a.m. I will be at the Southdale IMAX to watch The Hunger Games. Oh yes, I'm one of those crazy people. Actually with the exception of The Rocky Horror Picture Show I've never gone to a midnight movie -- oh wait, I guess there were some drive-ins but never mind -- TONIGHT I attend my first, and I'm pretty sure my only, first showing of a movie at 12:01 a.m. on the release date. My friend Lisa, who never sleeps anyways, is going with me. I'm so excited .... I want to go now and get a good seat but I guess I'll have to wait.

I loved the book and I'm anxious to see how they turn it into a movie. I'm also anxious to see if, in fact, I'm not the oldest person there tonight. And I'll bet there will be lots of folks dressed up for the event. I will be wearing my District 12 t-shirt and my mockingjay pin but other than that I'm as normal as the next  person ... who is wearing a District 12 t-shirt and a mockingjay pin. Oh give me a break -- I haven't been this giddy since the start of a season of "24." Speaking of "24" my boyfriend's new show starts tonight, although it says the world premiere so I wonder if it is a rerun of the world premiere last January. But my further father-in-law Donald Sutherland stars in the "Hunger Games" as the evil President Snow. I'll have to kid him about that at Christmas this year (which is four days after my boyfriend's birthday on 12/21). Maybe I'll give him a "snow" globe -- oh how funny. You know it's nice to see that I have a level head about me.

So my next post will be around 4 in the morning, and I'll give you my movie review. Or maybe 3 in the morning. The movie starts at 12:01 and lasts 2 hours and 20 minutes so we won't be out until 2:30 at the earliest and then I have to take Lisa home and when I get home I'll have to take Freckles out for a potty break and hopefully not get mugged in the process so, yes, if all goes well, I should be back at my computer around 3 in the morning. And, yes, I'm taking Friday off as a vacation day so I can bask in the glory of my morning at the theater.

New Show Worth Checking Out

Last night, by sheer accident, I started watching a new British comedy on Channel 2 and I am still laughing. It is called Miranda and it is hysterical. I'm not a big fan of British comedy because half the time I don't understand what they are saying but since I discovered my subtitle button I am loving them. Miranda reminds me of my friend Amanda -- although they don't look even the slightest big alike -- but I can imagine her in the same situations. I recommend you try it. You can record it at 4 in the morning and watch it when you get a chance. Once the Daily Show comes back with new shows again that's what I'll be doing.

At work I have the project from hell. It is learning a whole new program and then making a presentation using the program and if I had nothing else to do it would be fine, but I have lots of other things to do -- I mean there's gossiping, napping, running to the store, talking, checking my Facebook, surfing the internet -- how am I suppose to fit this into my day????? 

On the Freckles front, she seems to be doing fine. She won't eat her dog food -- can you blame her -- but she does enjoy rice and hamburger so rice and hamburger it is. I'm hoping for some warm, dry, sunny days this weekend so we can spend a lot of time at the park rolling in the grass -- this time maybe both of us will roll. I may sell tickets.