USMB Coffee Shop IV

Mom ventured down to the Masonic Temple on Broadway this evening to accept her fifty year pin from the Order of the Eastern Star. Fifty years of baked steak dinners, fifty years of working her way through the chairs.

When she joined in 1967, one of the Masons who mentored the local chapter was a veteran of World War II. He served in the Marine Corp and held on to the discipline and training and tried his damndest to instil those values on every group he associated himself with. I remember him as a Scoutmaster in another troop. But when we all got together for campouts, he wanted to drill the boys as if they were raw recruits at Parris Islamd. His own troop chaffed under his strict discipline and my troop largely ignored and resented him.

He drilled the ladies of the Eastern Star too, as if they might accept and ultimately benefit from turning on a dime during their ceremonies and rising and sitting as one. These women did not appreciate his imposition of military precision over their rites, but no one, not Boy Scout nor Eastern Star ever spoke out to his face. But there was plenty of eye rolling behind his back.

I never served in the Armed Forces. I do appreciate the service others gave to our country. But it has occurred to me on more than one occasion that to some, military service unalterably changes their outlook. Maybe it was truly dire circumstances of war, maybe it was a personal epiphany of the virtues of martial discipline. But not every organization, social, commercial, fraternal can be improved by imposing a strict template of discipline. Again, I appreciate and am deeply thankful to our veterans. But as the sainted Warren Oates once said, 'Lighten up, Francis!'!

But tonight was Mom's night. The ladies of the Eastern Star gathered to honor her years of service. I'm proud of her.

Meanwhile, I bought three different varieties of coleus times two so I can plant them in the large containers flanking the front door of the Big House for the coming season. I also bought four racks of baby back ribs for my brother to put on the smoker and serve as dinner on Mother's Day on Sunday. Last night I installed a new set of blinds in Mom's bathroom. I have to go back and shorten them tomorrow evening.
 
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Here are the foxes after I zoomed in on them
What are they doing?

Foxes typically chase each other around and spar with one another as part of their mating rituals. I got up at 5.30 am again today looking for them but none turned up so I went back to bed at 7am
No kits yet, then?

No sign of new cubs, I check every day. Cubs come out during the day looking for their mother to feed them, but adult foxes usually only come out at dusk and go to ground at dawn, making it hard to get enough light to photograph them.
Interesting.
I had a pair of foxes that raised families for a couple of years on my old place. They made a den under a large car-hauler trailer. Adults and kits would be out during the day, and I was surprised when they cleaned out my strawberry patch the first year they were there. I did my best to keep the cats inside, but one did get out and I heard the fox-cat fight a couple of days later. The cat lost. I just could not persuade her to come back inside, though. I hope she enjoyed her brief adventure.
Here's a bit of foxy trivia: what is the proper name for a fox tail?

Kurama :) (Unless we're speaking of the wild grass called fox tail.)
 
Good night darlinks. I really do love you guys.

And we continue to pray and/or send good vibes and/or positive thoughts and/or keep vigil for:

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
Freedombecki,
Noomi!!!
Nosmo's mom,
Ernie's stop smoking project,
Rod, GW's partner,
The Ringels in difficult transition,
Foxfyre's friend Dana and Aunt Betty,
Etherion and his grandma,
Kat's sister,
Gallant Warrior's chilly goats,
The Ringel's Gizmo and wellness for Ringel,
Special prayers and/or positive thoughts for Sherry's mom and her life saving medical treatment.
GW's daughter, her friend Sachendra, and Sachendra's husband Bob and son Gary in what is probably Sachendra's last days.
Mrs. Saveliberty with her knee surgery.
The Gracies just because,
Special prayers and/or positive thoughts for Mr. Peach and Peach143 in the coming days and wellness for them both.
Ernie!!!
Boedicca, her dad, brother, and family,
Hombre for wellness.
All of us and those we care about who are looking for work,

And the light is left on for Noomi, Freedombecki, Oddball, Spoonman, Ernie S. and all others we hope will return.

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Housemate is really bummed about us going home when the apt is ready. I feel bad for him. I asked MrG if he really wanted to stay IF there were some kind of clause that protects us if housemate gets ill or worse..dies. He said only if I would. I said as much as it is tempting...I cannot. I want to go home.
 
"Timmy" loves all of you equally and without reservation. Go in eternal peace, joy and contentment. Been in the Rubber Room, too long. Please forgive me.
 
"Timmy" loves all of you equally and without reservation. Go in eternal peace, joy and contentment. Been in the Rubber Room, too long. Please forgive me.

Welcome to the Coffee Shop I amso IR. The perspective here is no doubt quite different than the Rubber Room. :)

First timers receive a complimentary beverage and here's yours:

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Now here is something interesting in the news today. Having had the tendency to gain weight all my life, I've always gone by the fashion rule to avoid horizontal stripes in my clothing. Vertical makes you look taller and thinner, right?

Not according to Science magazine but I'm not sure their graphic is entirely convincing but maybe it is?.

psc0617_headtrip_02.jpg


. . .]In 2011, psychologists at the University of York in England tested whether the illusion seen in the 2-D version was also true in 3-D. Two identical female mannequins wore either horizontal- or vertical-striped outfits. The team found that the figure sporting vertical stripes appeared wider; in fact, the one donning horizontal stripes would need to be 10.7 percent broader for the two to visually match up. A reminder that fashion is as much a science as it is an art.
Horizontal stripes make you look thinner, not wider

What do you think?
 
Now here is something interesting in the news today. Having had the tendency to gain weight all my life, I've always gone by the fashion rule to avoid horizontal stripes in my clothing. Vertical makes you look taller and thinner, right?

Not according to Science magazine but I'm not sure their graphic is entirely convincing but maybe it is?.

psc0617_headtrip_02.jpg


. . .]In 2011, psychologists at the University of York in England tested whether the illusion seen in the 2-D version was also true in 3-D. Two identical female mannequins wore either horizontal- or vertical-striped outfits. The team found that the figure sporting vertical stripes appeared wider; in fact, the one donning horizontal stripes would need to be 10.7 percent broader for the two to visually match up. A reminder that fashion is as much a science as it is an art.
Horizontal stripes make you look thinner, not wider

What do you think?


I say fook the world and wear what makes you feel the feels you're feeling for.
 
What's even worse is paying for 200 channels and not watching anything except reruns of Big Bang Theory to fall asleep on...I record them.

My contract with them should be over soon..I think and then I'm cancelling TV...that was my plan before the current contact I have with Direct TV.

I was paying $188 a month for the AT&T Uverse bundle...was going to cancel the tv part but they talked me into switching to Direct for my TV...so for two years I'm paying about $135 for the same thing I paid $188 for and that's even too much.

I hear that. We have 800 channels with Comcast and watch maybe 3 or 4 of those on any kind of regular basis and maybe a total of 20 during the year. I would sure love a cable service that would allow us to choose up to say 30 channels that we wanted access to and pay only for those.



Sherry and I got a 90 dollar DVD/Blue Ray player that has free Netflix and other streaming services. I am beginning to wonder why we have cable.
 
What's even worse is paying for 200 channels and not watching anything except reruns of Big Bang Theory to fall asleep on...I record them.

My contract with them should be over soon..I think and then I'm cancelling TV...that was my plan before the current contact I have with Direct TV.

I was paying $188 a month for the AT&T Uverse bundle...was going to cancel the tv part but they talked me into switching to Direct for my TV...so for two years I'm paying about $135 for the same thing I paid $188 for and that's even too much.

I hear that. We have 800 channels with Comcast and watch maybe 3 or 4 of those on any kind of regular basis and maybe a total of 20 during the year. I would sure love a cable service that would allow us to choose up to say 30 channels that we wanted access to and pay only for those.



Sherry and I got a 90 dollar DVD/Blue Ray player that has free Netflix and other streaming services. I am beginning to wonder why we have cable.

Does it come with a free year of Netflix or something like that?
 
Back from another two day trip to Albuquerque........ God willing the house we applied for will be ours but won't know till next week. There was another application on it but the property manager claimed it was a weak application (financially) and we were number one on the list to get the house. Nice older house but well kept up in NE and when we get the nod we can move in immediately, a major plus. Most of the other homes we liked wouldn't be available for viewing until June so that was a definite negative.
 
I am wishy washying, myself. We are set here. Sorta. But, I am still crammed in this room with MrG and have no privacy at all and he is always cold so the heater is blasting in here when it is 85 outside. I would like the room next to this one as my own, but it is to the ceiling with boxes, junk, papers, magazines, and a path that leads to the hall. So...no can do. I am stuck.
Still..I am continuing to muse on it all.
 
What's even worse is paying for 200 channels and not watching anything except reruns of Big Bang Theory to fall asleep on...I record them.

My contract with them should be over soon..I think and then I'm cancelling TV...that was my plan before the current contact I have with Direct TV.

I was paying $188 a month for the AT&T Uverse bundle...was going to cancel the tv part but they talked me into switching to Direct for my TV...so for two years I'm paying about $135 for the same thing I paid $188 for and that's even too much.

I hear that. We have 800 channels with Comcast and watch maybe 3 or 4 of those on any kind of regular basis and maybe a total of 20 during the year. I would sure love a cable service that would allow us to choose up to say 30 channels that we wanted access to and pay only for those.



Sherry and I got a 90 dollar DVD/Blue Ray player that has free Netflix and other streaming services. I am beginning to wonder why we have cable.

We watch a lot of movies too, but television does offer some programming that we really do enjoy too.
 
Back from another two day trip to Albuquerque........ God willing the house we applied for will be ours but won't know till next week. There was another application on it but the property manager claimed it was a weak application (financially) and we were number one on the list to get the house. Nice older house but well kept up in NE and when we get the nod we can move in immediately, a major plus. Most of the other homes we liked wouldn't be available for viewing until June so that was a definite negative.

Roughly where in the NE? (Just wondering if we are going to be neighbors?)
 

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