Real?

I have a confession.
I succumbed to one of the "Real Housewives of..." shows on Bravo. I recorded The Real Housewives of New Jersey (mainly because I know some - but not like these...er...ladies).
I watched most of the episodes while home sick this week, lying on my sofa, drifting in and out of sleep.

After watching the recorded "Finale" last night, I didn't miss much in my drifting.

These women might exist but who thinks they're real? Real means the norm, the median, what you get when you look under the top-heavy hair of Jersey Girls. "The higher the hair, the closer to God" syndrome. These...uh...ladies are caricatures- stereotypes of what the real housewives in the other 49 states think of New Jersey.

Jersey housewives work just as hard as Iowan housewives to maintain a modest lifestyle that doesn't involve Botox, new bub-bies, or onyx and granite floors in a cavernous house.

Entertaining? Yep.
Real? Nope.
Give me One Life to Live - at least I know that's scripted.

BTW: I'm not a Jersey Girl - but I'm as close to Jersey as one can get without getting my feet wet.

Eye(s) of the Tiger

Orangeville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Bloomsburg, PA had their annual "Animal House" on Friday. Of course I loved the tiger. He was magnificent.

There were donkeys (regular and miniature), llamas, ponies, bunnies, dogs of large sizes, "therapy ducks", peacocks and kangaroo-thingys.

The Center's residents, families and friends loved it.

The Demise of a Local Library?

Easton Branch of the Easton Area Public Library

Local papers having been running stories stating the Easton Area School District, citing shortfall in its finances, is considering pulling its funding for the Easton Area Public Library - one with multiple branches. That would mean a 60% decrease in the library's operating budget and possible closure of the system.

I cannot imagine a community as large as Easton and its suburbs without a public library. When I lived in the Easton area, I visited this library countless times. Each time it would be very busy - people of all ages, education and economic backgrounds would be using all the facilities. I could afford to pay a subscription fee, but what about the kids from the lower income families - the ones that seem to use the library often?

Libraries are the final frontier of education. Anyone can gain free knowledge on almost any subject by spending research and reading time in their local library.

Closing any library in this country is a crime against our future and must not happen. Somehow the library must survive. If it takes subsriptions, then I will pay for one. If it takes volunteers to decrease the costs, sign me up (nothing is better than being around stacks of books).

This cannot be allowed to happen.

Anywhere but here...

I've had the deja vu feeling before but what about a different feeling....
I'm not supposed to be here.
"Here" meaning my place in the world.
That place I've been in for more than forty years.
Maybe there's a parallel universe with a different Mitzi, someone happy about her "world".
It came to me clearly this weekend while thinking about Olivia.
Do I belong here?
If not here, where?
And the big question: would I have health insurance when I get there.
I didn't sleep well in the hotel - yet another hotel. I'm tired and just thinking about a different world.

The Topsy-turvey Tomato Watch - Day 7

...and herbs

My Little Yard...

I owe a lot of the flowers and the lovely miniature gazing ball to Olivia. She picked out and planted most of the flowers. Today I planted the lavender, rose bushes and the rest of the plants from Olivia. She wanted to do something "nice" for me since I'd been so good to her...
I wish I'd been better.

"Spirit Bear"

Explaining that the spirit bear is not albino as many people would first think, Steve says that it is as near to blond as a bear will ever get.

"Very few people have even seen one of these bears," says Mr Kozlowski.

"Nearly 60 per cent of the world's coastal temperate rainforests have been logged or developed. The spirit bear's habitat represents one quarter of what remains.

"It is essential that we put in place moves to protect these extraordinary animals."

(Please click on the blog title for more information and the original website)

England is Calling Me...

Lately I've been dreaming of Glastonbury. I remember walking up the Tor early morning on May 1 and looking down at the mist - the old ones called it "dragon's breath" - that hid the town.

I remember walking around the town and eating in the Blue Note cafe - fresh baked bread loaf filled with mushrooms sauteed in butter.

I remember spending hours in the Avalon Library, reading books on Arthur.

I remember the magick shops, the bookstores, the manor houses.

I remember sitting on a bench inside Glastonbury Abbey and meditating, then going to Arthur's burial place and kneeling beside the marker, wondering where the bones had been scattered or was he still ensconced inside the Tor.

I remember Cadbury Castle - standing on the plateau and looking out over the green land and seeing the Tor in the distance - seeing Avalon.

I am homesick and want to return.

The Great Tomato Watch of 2009

I decided to take pictures of my tomato plant's progress as a hoot. I named the blogs"Topsy-turvey Tomato Watch" from a news program in Seattle that had a "bear watch - day___" everyday while I was visiting Heather.

There will a couple of days that will not have photos: days that I'm on the road for work but I'm sure that I will still capture a tomato plant's growing season - if it stays alive.

BTW: From the reports Heather gave me after I returned home, the bear had traveled north to Everett (where she lives). I guess he's trying to get to Alaska, but with Palin's hunting laws, he just may be safer living in downtown Everett - a lovely spot for any mammal.

Topsy-Turvey Tomato Watch - Day 6

Chester

Frank's puppy is now the office dog.

Topsy-Turvey Tomato Watch - Day 5

Topsy-turvey Tomato Watch - Day 4

Topsy-turvey Tomato Watch - Day 3

Lift the Lid for Me, Momma...

I have no opposable thumbs!

Tomato Watch - Day 2

Topsy-Turvey Tomato Watch - Day 1

This is what the Topsy-Turvey Tomato thingy looked like after planting.

The Saga of theTopsy-Turvy Tomatoes - Part One

Yesterday I planted the world-renown Tospy-Turvy Tomatoes.
Rich put the hanging hook up with cordless screwdriver, so I don't think the weight of the tomatoes will drag it down.
It's next to a fence, so when the vines begin to grow, I can drape them on the fence.
I am looking forward to juicy tomatoes all summer. In fact, I keep looking outside to see if any have magically appeared. They haven't.
There will be pictures of the progress - for any Tomato Fans or Topsy-Turvy Fans or Summer Fun Fans.
Yeah, I know - my "fun" is mild and limited to watching tomatoes grow....and writing about it.
Little things mean a lot these days.