Spam Comments

I’ve gotten spam comments in the past, usually up to 3 a day.  But this one made it through the filter on my TGI… what day is it? post.  It’s just kind of funny, so I copied and pasted it in its entirety.  Sorry to bore but I couldn’t delete it without sharing it and I didn’t want to give them the pleasure of approving it as a comment.    It’s like someone spammed me 80 times!  Goodness.  The blog they commented on is surely not worthy of this much praise.

Enjoy? Or just delete. Happy Thursday/weekend to me!

Danette

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Colors

I am Danette and I love color.

When I moved into my town home I told myself that I would try to choose neutral colored furnishings because I used to have a purple couch and a bold colored chair in my living room and a red couch and beautiful yellow walls in my new addition and poppy colored walls in my bedroom and orange walls in my bathroom and purple painted cupboards with grapes for handles and sage green walls in my kitchen.

It was a riot of color. And I loved it!

So why did I think suddenly I would be attracted to neutrals.

I tried. Really.

I found a dark brown and stone colored sofa that I could have lived with.

This was the couch, or something close to it.

But then I found this:

20121013-114543.jpg

 

Who can resist this soft and comfy pink striped couch?  Not me!  I had to have it.

And then I found this roasted pepper color, which matched the pillows on the couch.  Trust me.  It’s perfect.

 

 

 

 

20121013-114654.jpg

 

And then I loved this Cheery Cherry color for my upstairs “library” and my family adored me for choosing such a fun and cheery color to paint on my big tall stairway!  It took a few coats to cover, thanks to the (wrong) advice given to me by the Lowe’s guy regarding priming the white walls.  Oh well.  It looks great now.

20121013-114729.jpg

 

20121013-114740.jpg

 

Can you see the pink and green clock in the above pic?  Love it.

 

And I had such fun shopping for lamps at Kismet and Refurnish – no matching sets for this girl!  Just good pink and gold fun!

20121013-114747.jpg

 

And then when in NYC I picked out this lovely Coach bag – no neutral color for me!  Go Big and Bold or Go Home!  May become my new motto.  20121013-114755.jpg

I just can’t do neutrals.

I am going to repaint my upstairs bathroom, because it has a pale yellow color on the walls and it really drives me nuts.  Just not bold enough.  So I’m looking for a good pigment.  It will be a fun winter project.

Ideas welcome, just don’t say “beige”!

 

44

Go 44

Go 44 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

One week ago today I had a birthday – my 44th!  It’s a great number and I’m certain it’s going to be a great year.  I’ll write about my birthday festivities later, but wanted to let you know what I’m thinking of doing to celebrate these 44 years.

 

Wikipedia

 

I researched the number 44 on Wikipedia and learned that  “Forty-four is a tribonacci number, a happy number, an octahedral number and a palindromic number.”  I LOVE that it’s a happy number! I’m not sure I fully understand what it means to be a happy number but it was fun to read about!

 

I also learned that it’s the retired number for Hank Aaron and Reggie Jackson, so it’s known as the “hitter’s number.”  44 is the international calling code for Great Britain, Wyoming is the 44th state and Obama is the 44th president.  Victor French played Agent 44 on Get Smart and +44 used to be a band.

 

I already did a “40 things to do before turning 40 list” and doing one for 50 sounds daunting (and it’s too early to be thinking about 50!), so I decided that I am going to make a list of 11 things to do or look forward to in the 4 seasons of my 44th year!  One year I had a party for each season of the year and that was a lot of fun, and celebrating smaller chunks of the year sounds like a great idea to me!  Here’s my start.  Maybe I’ll incorporate some of the above interesting facts into my lists!

 

Autumn trees

 

11 Things to Do or Look Forward to in the Fall (October November December)

 

  1. Celebrate my birthday in NYC – check!
  2. Go to 4 Daughters Winery
  3. Go to Door County to celebrate birthdays and trivia wins!
  4. Go to Bruce Springsteen concert
  5. Choir gigs and holiday concerts
  6. Read … something classic or new?
  7. Write … poetry or themed blogs?
  8. Plan … a dinner party or ??
  9. Shop early for Christmas gifts
  10. Play accordion weekly and give piano lessons as regularly as possible
  11. and something else that I’ll think of eventually!

 

Let me know if you have ideas that I can steal for my list or for the future lists!

 

Today I found this quote from L. M. Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables:

 

I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

 

In looking for the quote reference I found a TON of great quotes from the book.  I listened to it on audio years ago – probably the very first audiobook I listened to – and I should read it with my eyes sometime!  Great positive quotes!

 

Personification of Autumn (Currier & Ives lith...

 

Have a great week!

 

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And I’m Ready to Go!

I’m excited for the adventures to come this week!

First Ave Danceteria

Adventures begin Saturday with Kieran’s Irish Pub and First Ave for Glen Hansard!  I’m excited to see him in concert for the second time!  Someone was tweeting during a concert in Washington DC last week and they were amazed so I am prepared to be amazed.

My bags are packed!

Thankfully I am packing slightly lighter than this – but only slightly!  🙂  How many clothes does one need for four days and nights in NYC?? And how many pairs of shoes to go with those clothes?  And how many purses to wear with those outfits?

Goodness.

I know that I overpacked, I always do, but I will have choices.  I haven’t even checked the 10 day forecast yet, so I packed for most eventualities.  Most.  I am not ready for cold or snow.  That won’t happen this week, although they are talking about some of that crazy weather for MN next weekend!

Things on the agenda for this NYC trip:

  • The movie “Pitch Perfect” – looks like a fun movie for music-loving people!
  • Depending on the weather, maybe a trip to the top of the Empire State Building (I haven’t been during the day) or a walk over the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge!
  • A walking foodie tour of Greenwich Village with Adriana Trigiani‘s tour group!
  • Central Park in the Fall!
  • The High Line in the Fall!
  • Avenue Q off-Broadway!
  • The Strand book store!
  • Forbidden Broadway!
  • Once – for the second time!
  • Bring It On!
  • Any other adventures that may come my way on my birthday week in New York City!

Sounds like I will need lots of energy for the City that Never Sleeps – So I’d best be getting sleep now – if I can!  I’m so excited to be on my way…

print by Mae Chevrette – She does beautiful work and I want them all! http://www.etsy.com/listing/110518539/limited-edition-14-x-11-paper-print-the

 

Our Musical Monday

Last Monday we had tickets to a unique concert experience.  A very cool musician was starting a Supper Club Tour – performing in people’s homes all across the United States with the concert-goers bringing the supper.  He is wrapping up the Midwest portion of his tour this weekend, I believe, and then starting the West Coast portion in Des Moines (Des Moines = West Coast? Who knew?) in October.  He asked for people to open their homes for the event.  I wanted to volunteer either my parent’s home or my brother’s home for a concert spot but decided that my life is chaotic enough – so we just made it our mission to get tickets.

Tickets obtained (the show was sold out!) so we needed to figure out what to bring for supper!  I finally thought of cheesy potatoes and Marissa agreed that was the perfect Midwestern potluck food.  Then that day I realized that the bow-tie wearing Jeremy also warranted a little bowtie pasta salad!  His handmade bow-ties were part of his merch, after all.

The address of the venue was emailed out on Sunday and ours was an art studio downtown Rochester – not a home but a cool space.

Fagan Studios for the Supper Club Tour

We arrived and found our names on the guest list (no tickets issued) and tried to find space for our food!  What an incredible amount of food! When lining up, it was hard to decide what to eat, as there were four full tables of deliciousness to choose from.

Supper: Table 1 of 4 = good stuff!

We got our yummy food and then Jeremy began playing.  He played for 90 minutes, which just flew by!

Singing one of his smart and quirky songs, I’m sure.

I asked about his writing process, because that always interests me.  I know I’m a writer-wanna-be.  He says he will just obsess about a lyric or a melody until he’s done with it or sick of it.  He finds deadlines to be helpful and wrote a beautiful song for his wife.  On Valentine’s Day.

Here’s the lyrics to one of his songs that I like:

Beautiful Children lyrics

Warm house, cold hand
I was standing outside,
Trying to find your doorbell
At 2 am
Ran all the way,
Hope that you weren’t sleeping

You rubbed your eyes
Gently with the palm of your left hand
We talked a while
And you told me how much you appreciate me
and I knew that it was time for me to stay or leave
So I started walking home,
Sawing teardrops in the snow
We’ll be friends forever
But i’m afraid that you’ll never love me

You met someone
At the show when you went home for the weekend
And he makes you laugh
Somehow I remind you little of him

Two perfect hands
A part time job that says that he loves children
I lost my tongue
Until now you never felt that you missed anyone
And even tough it’s early,
You think it could be love

Another heartsick lullaby
But i can’t seem to make you cry
We’ll be friends forever
But i’m afraid that you’ll never love me

Does he love you?
Does he love you?
I hope he loves you
If he doesn’t,
At least you’ll have beautiful children, beautiful children

He played a couple of new songs, including “Someday Someone” and “I Want to be Your One Night Stand.”  Very fun and clever. Afterwards we got our photo taken with him and bought some Merch (from him, not a Merch Girl – another of his songs).

Good times

We had such a great time.  And the cheesy potatoes were a HIT as the pan was empty when I picked it up!  Not many people can say that.

Looking forward to our next Musical Adventure – as soon as next Saturday!  Glen Hansard at First Ave…

Ah, life is good.

Friday Night Lights!

I just started creating collages of photos that I have taken with my phone.  

A little late to the game? Probably.

Does my phone take collage-worthy photos? Probably not. 

Is my phone battery conducive to relying on it for memorializing my day?  Ack.  No way.

Is my day too trivial to be memorialized?  Debatable 🙂  

But there you have it.  I made a TERRIBLE collage of our MN State Fair trip, but it isn’t share-worthy.  Maybe I’ll try again.  

Practice makes perfect, right?

My first phone photo collage!

The collage above is a fun glimpse into my first football game of the season.  

I love football season. Crisp fall nights turning into crisper fall nights.
Hot chocolate and popcorn.  Good stuff. 

I look forward to another night under the lights watching my nephew and his friends.  Football is always better when you have a personal relationship with someone on the field.  

What are you doing this Friday night? 

Do you have a favorite photo collage app?

Another thing on my list!

Goals for 2012

Towards the bottom of my list is “write – letters.”  So when I read about the website moreloveletters.com, I signed up for their email updates right away.  Their premise is that the world needs more love letters – handwritten letters written to encourage or lift up people who need them.  They collect the handwritten missives and then mail bundles of letters to new college students, people who give and give to others and then find themselves to be in need of support or anyone who is nominated to be a recipient of a bundle.

I’m planning to participate by simply writing brief and uplifting notes including favorite quotes.  I’m not too artsy so I won’t be getting out the glitter guns or making paper origami to mail to a lucky recipient, but I love getting personal mail so  I figure the beauty of the writing won’t matter.

My first quote, a favorite today, is from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.

What would you include in an uplifting handwritten love letter to a stranger?

A perforated Penny Red with letters in four co...

A perforated Penny Red with letters in four corners and plate 148, therefore printed 1871 or later. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ferragosto Food Memories

Delicious Italian Moscato for Drinks on the Dock!

Ferragosto 2012 is a beautiful memory!  It was hard to leave on Friday, as the sky was blue, that sun was warm and the air was cool… perfect for basking!  So bask I did… and when I got home I was exhausted!  All that sunshine wears a person out!

I mostly took pictures of the deliciousness that we all prepared… from the first bottle of bubbly (pictured above, which will definitely be purchased again! So delicious!), to …

Chunks of chicken with pesto pasta salad – oh my! Grilled peaches and homemade lemon sorbet not pictured (we ate them too fast to photograph!).

Antipasto platter for supper

Build-your-own-breakfast – always add chocolate (in the form of zucchini bread!)

 

Eggs in pepper shells – delicious!

 

Creamy cheesy and cucumber sandwiches on the softest pumpernickel!

Margaritas with beautiful garnishes!

More bubbly before the day ends…

I know I took pictures of people, too, but the food and drink were so delicious that we had to capture every bit!

But the most priceless thing about Ferragosto is the quiet time and the laugh out loud  moments, the serious talks and the silliness.  It was great to have people there all week – it just meant that I didn’t get as much reading done as I did last year when I was there alone!

Life is good.

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Ready for Ferragosto!

Close to what I’ll be doing!

From my first Ferragosto invitation:

What is Ferragosto, you ask?  Ferragosto is an Italian holiday celebrated on August 15.  Originally, it was related to a celebration of the middle of the summer and the end of hard labor in the fields.  In later times, the Roman Catholics adopted this date as the Holy Day of Obligation to commemorate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Before the Catholics, however, this holiday was celebrated in the Roman Empire to honor the gods – in particular Diana – and the cycle of fertility and ripening.  And that’s where it gets its name – “Feriae Augusti” = Festival of Augustus. 

In present days, Ferragosto is mainly a short holiday when Italians take brief vacations.  The holiday often coincides with the Perseid meteor showers which must be viewed in the pre-dawn hours.  

I am not Italian, going to Italy, or wanting to celebrate my fertility and ripeness!  But I do want to have a “holiday” time with friends and family! 

Monday night I am heading out for my 3rd annual Ferragosto vacation.  My suitcase is filled with sweats and swimming suits.  One decent outfit in case I want to be seen in public.  And cute pajamas.

Groceries include Italian wine and moscato, cheeses and crackers, fruit and cookies and bread.  Italian grapefruit soda and salami.  Others will bring tomatoes, peppers and salad.  We’ll see if we get around to grilling chicken or if it will just be tomatoes and zucchini and peaches on the grill.  🙂

Also packing magazines, books, and movies (Italian and non-Italian chick-flicks); the iPad is loaded with Italian music and my favorite Italian movie. The sunscreen and nail polish will be tossed in for discretionary use.

Looking forward to being at the end of the dock, hanging with beautiful friends and family, and being lazy on the water.  Good talks, good food and drinks, good times…

Come and join!

Maybe you’ll want to join me next year – put it on your calendars!  August 14-19, 2013!  I already put in for vacation!

Wherever you are, have a Buon Ferragosto!

Happiness is… my own domain name?

According to the Secret Society of Happy People today is the 13th Annual Happiness Happens Day.  August is Happiness Happens Month.  Or something.  But I’m all about Happiness, so I’ll buy in to anything that may make others think about happiness and what makes them happy and how to make others happy.  🙂

So for today, here’s what’s making me happy:

  • My own domain name.  Yes, I dropped the .wordpress.com and am now simply walkietalkiebookclub.com.  For $18 per year, why not?  Makes me feel legitimate or something.  I’ll check with my email subscribers to see if they still receive the email, but otherwise you’ll have to bookmark the very first website that I ever owned!
  • I got 7 hours of sleep today!  I worked overnight and was sooooooo tired this morning. I almost dozed off TWICE at work.  I fell asleep shortly after 7 and woke up at 10 and was worried… but next thing I knew it was after 2!  Yay! Bring on night two!
  • Planning and preparing for Ferragosto!  I’ll blog more about Ferragosto later this week…
  • Planning things, in general, makes me happy.  Right now I’m planning events for Cosmo Girls and my townhome community, another trip to NYC for my birthday, concerts (Jeremy Messersmith and Glen Hansard in September and Bruce Springsteen in November!), a Door County B&B stay with my fellow trivia contest winner in October, and maybe a spring adventure!  I seriously have a piece of paper by my computer with my upcoming days off listed and possible events to check into.  (I want to get to 4Daughters Winery!)

    He doesn’t look so happy!

  • The UPS brought my latest purchases from B&N yesterday, including a frame with the quote by Victor Borga, ” Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” I can’t wait to put a fun picture in there! Other purchases included the When Harry Met Sally DVD (where did mine go???) and the book “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed for Marissa (I’m sure I’ll read it sometime, too!).

Well, that’s a snippet.  I’m sure I’ll think of more.  I love the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast and they end every show with “What’s Making You Happy this Week.”  I’ll try to do more of that!  SO much to be happy about…

What’s making you happy this week?

Off to get ready for work!