USMB Coffee Shop IV

[ricechickie]

I just had a huge scare.

I still wear mine and my husband’s wedding bands (his fits on my left pointer finger). All of a sudden, I realized his ring was missing from my hand. Since the surgery, I’ve lost weight, and it’s slipped off before, but I’ve always felt it.

This time, I don’t know how many hours it was gone. I washed dishes, so I checked the sink. Nothing. I decided to go upstairs to check the shower. But at the foot of the stairs, I saw my purse hanging. I decided on the spur of the moment to check, pull everything out, and there it was, down in the bottom. I was digging in the bag several times as I ran errands this afternoon, and it must have just slid off in there.

Such a small object, that could have been anywhere in the house or out, and I found it in the second place I looked.

If I had lost it, I would have been devastated. It will hang on a necklace from now on.

 

[Foxfyre]

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,
Nosmo's mom,
Rod, GW's partner,
Kat's sister,
The Ringels in difficult transition
Dana, Foxfyre's friend recovering from heart transplant
Mr. and Mrs. Gracie in difficult transition and wellness for Gracie,
Mr. and Mrs. Peach174 for full recovery from setback,
Strength and stamina for gallantwarrior in his relocation project,
Ringel's injured shoulder and general wellness,
Drifter for the best job ever,
ricechickie for trouble free healing and wellness,
BigBlackDog for comfort and effective treatment
Sixfoot for an accurate diagnosis and wellness,
Sherry's Mom for treatment to be successful, and wellness for Sherry's daughter, her dad, and family.
And for our students, job hunters, others in transition.

“Never laugh at live dragons.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

 

[SeaGal]

“Never laugh at live dragons.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

That reminds of this poignant quote by G.K. Chesterton...

Though the complete quote goes as follows...
“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

 

[Toro]

Have a great weekend, Coffee Shoppers!

 

[Montrovant]

“Never laugh at live dragons.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

That reminds of this poignant quote by G.K. Chesterton...

Though the complete quote goes as follows...
“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

I would argue that it's more like fairy tales tell children that dragons eat people.

Fairy tales are often pretty violent and scary!

 

[Foxfyre]

“Never laugh at live dragons.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

That reminds of this poignant quote by G.K. Chesterton...

Though the complete quote goes as follows...
“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

I would argue that it's more like fairy tales tell children that dragons eat people.

Fairy tales are often pretty violent and scary!

Yes, they can be, as were the cartoons that many of us grew up with--think Elmer Fudd always after Bugs Bunny with his shotgun or the Coyote's schemes to do in the Roadrunner--but I think they are also valuable.

Children who grow up with those kinds of cartoons and fairy tales are children who have a strong sense of right and wrong and that right always produces the best outcome. They are blessed with rich imaginations that allows them to envision good witches and bad witches, kings, queens, princes, castles, adventure, magic, and yes dragons that they have never seen--stories fraught with adventure and triumph of good over evil. And no matter how devious or dangerous or threatening the circumstances, the children or the heroes/heroines are always okay in the end. And it has always amazed me that, without ever being told, the children somehow just know that the stories are just wonderful imaginative stories.

I grew up with those stories and I still want all the stories that entertain me to have happy endings.

 

[Montrovant]

“Never laugh at live dragons.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

That reminds of this poignant quote by G.K. Chesterton...

Though the complete quote goes as follows...
“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

I would argue that it's more like fairy tales tell children that dragons eat people.

Fairy tales are often pretty violent and scary!

Yes, they can be, as were the cartoons that many of us grew up with--think Elmer Fudd always after Bugs Bunny with his shotgun or the Coyote's schemes to do in the Roadrunner--but I think they are also valuable.

Children who grow up with those kinds of cartoons and fairy tales are children who have a strong sense of right and wrong and that right always produces the best outcome. They are blessed with rich imaginations that allows them to envision good witches and bad witches, kings, queens, princes, castles, adventure, magic, and yes dragons that they have never seen--stories fraught with adventure and triumph of good over evil. And no matter how devious or dangerous or threatening the circumstances, the children or the heroes/heroines are always okay in the end. And it has always amazed me that, without ever being told, the children somehow just know that the stories are just wonderful imaginative stories.

I grew up with those stories and I still want all the stories that entertain me to have happy endings.

Grimm's fairy tales is an apt name, as many of the older fairy tales are filled with pretty grim content. I've read that originally, that book of stories was not even meant for children; they were adult stories that, somehow, got altered and turned into children's tales over time. Supposedly Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel were actually fairly sexual stories. On the other hand, the Grimm brothers are supposed to have added to the violence and gore in making the stories for children; the evil sisters in Cinderella cut off their toes trying to fit into the slipper, and have their eyes pecked out by birds; the evil queen in Snow White has to dance in red hot shoes of iron.

Looney Tunes were violent, but not the sort of graphic violence you can see in some of the old fairy tales, and not the permanent sort of violent consequences, either.

I've long found the content of older fairy tales surprisingly gruesome.

 

[Ringel05]

Our dirt road is all tore up by our trash truck this morning. Another trash truck came to help and now it's stuck too.
They both got stuck down near the neighbors again and are still there right now.
Our poor road is so tore up, I hope Mr. P doesn't get stranded trying to come home.
That's going to be a mess if I have to lug in the groceries from far away, at least I have my trusted rubber boots.

We were looking at property on the high plains years ago, all dirt roads, every one around had 4 wheel drive, not so much for the snow but for the monsoon season when the roads turn to red molasses. Needless to say we decided against it........

 

[Ringel05]

 

[Foxfyre]

“Never laugh at live dragons.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

That reminds of this poignant quote by G.K. Chesterton...

Though the complete quote goes as follows...
“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

I would argue that it's more like fairy tales tell children that dragons eat people.

Fairy tales are often pretty violent and scary!

Yes, they can be, as were the cartoons that many of us grew up with--think Elmer Fudd always after Bugs Bunny with his shotgun or the Coyote's schemes to do in the Roadrunner--but I think they are also valuable.

Children who grow up with those kinds of cartoons and fairy tales are children who have a strong sense of right and wrong and that right always produces the best outcome. They are blessed with rich imaginations that allows them to envision good witches and bad witches, kings, queens, princes, castles, adventure, magic, and yes dragons that they have never seen--stories fraught with adventure and triumph of good over evil. And no matter how devious or dangerous or threatening the circumstances, the children or the heroes/heroines are always okay in the end. And it has always amazed me that, without ever being told, the children somehow just know that the stories are just wonderful imaginative stories.

I grew up with those stories and I still want all the stories that entertain me to have happy endings.

Grimm's fairy tales is an apt name, as many of the older fairy tales are filled with pretty grim content. I've read that originally, that book of stories was not even meant for children; they were adult stories that, somehow, got altered and turned into children's tales over time. Supposedly Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel were actually fairly sexual stories. On the other hand, the Grimm brothers are supposed to have added to the violence and gore in making the stories for children; the evil sisters in Cinderella cut off their toes trying to fit into the slipper, and have their eyes pecked out by birds; the evil queen in Snow White has to dance in red hot shoes of iron.

Looney Tunes were violent, but not the sort of graphic violence you can see in some of the old fairy tales, and not the permanent sort of violent consequences, either.

I've long found the content of older fairy tales surprisingly gruesome.

Perhaps, but the quite large book of Grimm's Fairy Tales was one of my favorite books that I read over and over and over again. What child would not want to be rescued by the handsome Prince? And though Cinderella is not a Grimm's tale, what child would not see those evil step sisters as deserving of whatever consequences their meanness and stupidity brought them while imagining a fairy godmother who could do wonderful things or being Cinderella at the ball or being whisked away by the Prince to live happily ever after. It was important that the good, kind person won out in the end, however, and that good triumphed over evil.

I grew up to be quite non violent and I hope a reasonably responsible, productive citizen who does her best to be compassionate and treat people with respect (though I'll admit I miss now and then. I don't blame that on the fairy tales though.)

On the other hand, I always felt that nagging sensation that 'this is wrong' when presented the stories of the bad guy or criminally minded that make the criminal or bad guy the sympathetic character that you find yourself emotionally pulling for to succeed. Or the character identified with is the one that is ruthless and merciless which is too often the case these days especially in video games. I think such stories being the norm could have a very negative effect on kids.

Even in my old Microsoft Big Huge Game "Rise of Nations", you can choose several goals, but the most fun one for me is to conquer the world. But your Army is ruthless, attacking other nations and destroying all in its path. And because you are limited to only so many citizens and military units, when you complete building and need more military, you kill off your superfluous citizen population, even scholars in the temples. I hate doing that even as I tell myself it is just a video game. And instinctively I think it might not be healthy for children to be playing this game. It isn't good to win only by doing wrong things.

 

[peach174]

Our dirt road is all tore up by our trash truck this morning. Another trash truck came to help and now it's stuck too.
They both got stuck down near the neighbors again and are still there right now.
Our poor road is so tore up, I hope Mr. P doesn't get stranded trying to come home.
That's going to be a mess if I have to lug in the groceries from far away, at least I have my trusted rubber boots.

We were looking at property on the high plains years ago, all dirt roads, every one around had 4 wheel drive, not so much for the snow but for the monsoon season when the roads turn to red molasses. Needless to say we decided against it........

It's not real bad here during the monsoon because the water runs off faster.
When it rains like this ,the ground gets really soaked, then it's molasses!

 

[Big Black Dog]

It’s that time of the year again. Tax time. I hauled all the documents down to the accountant’s office yesterday. He will call me before long to sign everything and settle up with Uncle Sam. Did I mention that I hate taxes?

 

[Foxfyre]

Our dirt road is all tore up by our trash truck this morning. Another trash truck came to help and now it's stuck too.
They both got stuck down near the neighbors again and are still there right now.
Our poor road is so tore up, I hope Mr. P doesn't get stranded trying to come home.
That's going to be a mess if I have to lug in the groceries from far away, at least I have my trusted rubber boots.

We were looking at property on the high plains years ago, all dirt roads, every one around had 4 wheel drive, not so much for the snow but for the monsoon season when the roads turn to red molasses. Needless to say we decided against it........

It's not real bad here during the monsoon because the water runs off faster.
When it rains like this ,the ground gets really soaked, then it's molasses!

Here in town there are no dirt streets so rain is not a problem in that regard; however, being desert, we don't deal with more than 8 inches or so per year. Thus they didn't spend a lot on storm drain infrastructure. So, when the occasional frog stranglers which are inevitable on the desert come, we do deal with street flooding that can make driving quite interesting. They have now bridged almost all of the water crossings though. When we first moved to Albuquerque almost every big rain resulted in somebody, often in a car, floating off down one of the arroyos.

 

[Foxfyre]

It’s that time of the year again. Tax time. I hauled all the documents down to the accountant’s office yesterday. He will call me before long to sign everything and settle up with Uncle Sam. Did I mention that I hate taxes?

Hey BBD. Hope you are feeling much better. I have done our taxes for many years now, but I agree it sucks. At least since we retired, our taxes are quite a bit simpler than they were when we were running the biz. Hopefully with the new tax reform kicking in this year, they will be even more simple for most folks.

 

[Ringel05]

Our dirt road is all tore up by our trash truck this morning. Another trash truck came to help and now it's stuck too.
They both got stuck down near the neighbors again and are still there right now.
Our poor road is so tore up, I hope Mr. P doesn't get stranded trying to come home.
That's going to be a mess if I have to lug in the groceries from far away, at least I have my trusted rubber boots.

We were looking at property on the high plains years ago, all dirt roads, every one around had 4 wheel drive, not so much for the snow but for the monsoon season when the roads turn to red molasses. Needless to say we decided against it........

It's not real bad here during the monsoon because the water runs off faster.
When it rains like this ,the ground gets really soaked, then it's molasses!

Here in town there are no dirt streets so rain is not a problem in that regard; however, being desert, we don't deal with more than 8 inches or so per year. Thus they didn't spend a lot on storm drain infrastructure. So, when the occasional frog stranglers which are inevitable on the desert come, we do deal with street flooding that can make driving quite interesting. They have now bridged almost all of the water crossings though. When we first moved to Albuquerque almost every big rain resulted in somebody, often in a car, floating off down one of the arroyos.

El Paso has the same problem, never planned for the monsoon season, they've been working (slowly) on installing drainage.

 

[SixFoot]

I think I completed my spiritual journey ahead of schedule. So grateful to the Mojave Shamans... such a beautiful people!

 

[Ringel05]

Our dirt road is all tore up by our trash truck this morning. Another trash truck came to help and now it's stuck too.
They both got stuck down near the neighbors again and are still there right now.
Our poor road is so tore up, I hope Mr. P doesn't get stranded trying to come home.
That's going to be a mess if I have to lug in the groceries from far away, at least I have my trusted rubber boots.

We were looking at property on the high plains years ago, all dirt roads, every one around had 4 wheel drive, not so much for the snow but for the monsoon season when the roads turn to red molasses. Needless to say we decided against it........

It's not real bad here during the monsoon because the water runs off faster.
When it rains like this ,the ground gets really soaked, then it's molasses!

Monsoon season commute......

 

[Foxfyre]

I think I completed my spiritual journey ahead of schedule. So grateful to the Mojave Shamans... such a beautiful people!

Details? And you are feeling better these days Sixfoot?

 

[peach174]

Our dirt road is all tore up by our trash truck this morning. Another trash truck came to help and now it's stuck too.
They both got stuck down near the neighbors again and are still there right now.
Our poor road is so tore up, I hope Mr. P doesn't get stranded trying to come home.
That's going to be a mess if I have to lug in the groceries from far away, at least I have my trusted rubber boots.

We were looking at property on the high plains years ago, all dirt roads, every one around had 4 wheel drive, not so much for the snow but for the monsoon season when the roads turn to red molasses. Needless to say we decided against it........

It's not real bad here during the monsoon because the water runs off faster.
When it rains like this ,the ground gets really soaked, then it's molasses!

Monsoon season commute......

Exactly !
Now triple that mess with two trash trucks and a tow truck.
A great big huge mess.

Luckily one of our neighbors has a huge 4wheel drive pick up and drove up and down over the deep ruts, he had to do it several times in order to get it a little smoother.
Still a mess though .

 

[Foxfyre]

Our dirt road is all tore up by our trash truck this morning. Another trash truck came to help and now it's stuck too.
They both got stuck down near the neighbors again and are still there right now.
Our poor road is so tore up, I hope Mr. P doesn't get stranded trying to come home.
That's going to be a mess if I have to lug in the groceries from far away, at least I have my trusted rubber boots.

We were looking at property on the high plains years ago, all dirt roads, every one around had 4 wheel drive, not so much for the snow but for the monsoon season when the roads turn to red molasses. Needless to say we decided against it........

It's not real bad here during the monsoon because the water runs off faster.
When it rains like this ,the ground gets really soaked, then it's molasses!

Monsoon season commute......

Exactly !
Now triple that mess with two trash trucks and a tow truck.
A great big huge mess.

Luckily one of our neighbors has a huge 4wheel drive pick up and drove up and down over the deep ruts, he had to do it several times in order to get it a little smoother.
Still a mess though .

We were lucky up on the mountain. Our road and driveway was dirt, but the ground was so rocky that the road never got really soft even in the rainiest times. We were far more likely to get stuck in the snow up there than we were in the mud.