Heard it Through the Grapevine

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As you know, some of my favorite hobbies are reading, cafe hopping, and recreational shopping, though I’m not at all opposed to sipping froufrou drinks or seeing fantastic shows, either. You may not know that I was also a fan of “Sex and the City,” but I was, and that’s why I was intrigued when I learned about Grapevine.

More than just a shopping site, Grapevine uses the Grapevine Girls, characters in webisodes – web episodes – featuring product reviews, nights on the town, etc. As we follow their adventures, we can interact – checking out prices of their accessories, reading about where they go, etc.

Grapevine is based in Chicago, but webisodes can take place anywhere and the choice of products and services they recommend and link to certainly isn’t limited to the windy city. Personally, I think it’s a great way to involve people in shopping – blurring the lines of entertainment and advertising and making it fun in the process.

Check it out!

Friday’s Feast (Catching Up)

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I never did last week’s Friday’s Feast, so I’m catching up with this post, and later tonight / early tomorrow, you’ll see the new one.

Appetizer
How are you today?
Mostly good. The day started fabulously, but energy is waning, and my shoulders are tight, and I want to kill Bank of America.

Soup
Name 3 television shows you watch on a regular basis.
This changes as seasons change. Earlier this summer, I was watching:
Army Wives
Eureka
Side Order of Life

but with all but the last on hiatus, and the last ending next week, it will change to:
Blood Ties (it returns on the 11th.)
House
Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style

Salad
What’s the scariest weather situation you’ve experienced?
There was a bad bad storm here earlier this year that ripped a tree out of our front yard – a mature plum tree – and did a whole bunch of other damage. It wasn’t quite a tornado, but almost. That frightened me. But only briefly.

Main Course
If you could wake up tomorrow morning in another country, where would you want to be?
Most people pick exotic locales, or major European locations. Me? I’m in the mood to hang out in Toronto or Montreal, so I’d have to say Canada.

Dessert
What do you usually wear to sleep?
A scrunchie.

Money Money Money Money!

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We have all, at some point in our lives, been a little strapped for cash, even while gainfully employed. Maybe it’s because we overspent, or maybe it’s because your bank is holding a three thousand dollar reimbursement check for ten days because they can, the point is, it happens, even to the best of us.

Rather than kiting checks, or paying the guilt-interest at the Bank of Mom, one solution to temporary cash flow issues is to get an instant payday loan. Those are the loans where you get cash almost immediately, and they expect you to pay it back on your next payday. They have high fees, but in an emergency – when you don’t want a credit check, or want your employer to know, they’re amazingly useful.

But how do you tell the reputable companies from the disreputable ones? And what exactly are you getting into when you apply for this kind of cash advance?

CashAdvance1500.com can help you with that. They don’t offer money directly. Instead they offer a wealth of information – how loans work, what information you need, etc, so that you can make an informed decision. As well, they have referrals depending on your cash needs, with special deals for women, or those who need total confidentiality. Of course, you can do it all from the comfort of your living room as well.

Most sites flash “borrow money now!!!” at you.
CashAdvance1500.com does not.

I think that says a lot about them.

Thursday 13: 0710.03

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Thirteen Things about MISS MELISS
Things that Begin with U

  1. UFO: I don’t really believe that there are aliens who borrow people for experiments, but I have to admit that I often stare up at the skies and wonder. Don’t we all?
  2. UHF: I grew up before remote controls were ubiquitous, and before cable television was widespread (in fact, because my parents were anti-television, we really didn’t have cable until I was in high school, and even then, it was only basic). The first television I remember had two channel selection dials, and there were often really interesting things on the UHF channels.
  3. Ulalume: One of my favorite of Poe’s offerings, and appropriate for this month.

    The skies they were ashen and sober;
    The leaves they were crisped and sere-
    The leaves they were withering and sere;
    It was night in the lonesome October
    Of my most immemorial year;
    It was hard by the dim lake of Auber,
    In the misty mid region of Weir-
    It was down by the dank tarn of Auber,
    In the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.

  4. Umber: I like the word, it reminds me of the deepest notes of a cello. I like the richness of the colors this clay-y pigment produces: Raw Umber and Burnt Umber. I like the autumnal feel of both those color names, as well.
  5. Umbra: The darkest part of a shadow, where the source of light is blocked completely. It’s such a mysterious and romantic word, even if it is dark.
  6. Umbrellas: I’ve had favorite umbrellas – black ones that opened automatically and a clear bubble-style one leftover from the early seventies, with yellow trim and a white handle that just screamed for Go-Go boots to go with it. I also like the use of umbrellas in movies and novels – Gene Kelly’s dance in “Singin’ in the Rain,” Julie Andrews using one as “Mary Poppins,” and the scene in Little Women where Friedrich and Jo finally admit their feelings, under the umbrella, in the rain.
  7. Undertow: I always thought the undertow was a sort of deep sea monster, and I never quite believed in its power until I was caught in one at Half Moon Bay when I was thirteen. Wet denim, in case you were unaware, is one of the most uncomfortable fabrics on Earth. Being rolled in white water is scary, but coming out of it, figuring out which way is up again, and making it to shore alive – that’s just exhilarating.
  8. Underwear: I like pretty underwear. True, no one sees it except me, and maybe Fuzzy, but it makes me happy. Also, it has to coordinate with my outfit. This is important. I blame my mother for this fetish.
  9. Undine:

    In Teutonic folklore, undines are female water-spirits who like to associate with humans. They often join villagers in their dances and merry-making. An undine was created without a soul, but by marrying a mortal and bearing him a child she obtained a soul and with it all the pains and penalties of the human race.

    Undines, like all mythological water-beings, have always fascinated me.

  10. Undulate: This word is visual onomatopoeia. It just sounds like a writhing, sensual dance with swaying hips and bare feet and sweat and spice and firelight.
  11. Unicorn: I went through the requisite unicorn phase at the end of elementary school and beginning of junior high school – about the same time that those shirts with a rainbow arcing from sleeve to sleeve across the chest were popular. In a dish on my dresser I have a pair of sterling silver unicorn earrings that I just can’t toss, even though I’ve no intention of ever wearing them again.
  12. Unicycles: I’ve never ridden one, I’ve always wanted to. Like juggling, riding a unicycle is one of my unvoiced circus trick dreams.
  13. Unique: I would rather be unique than boring, any day. I have moments where I am only interesting inside my head, but I hope I’m never average.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Mounted

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There’s a sushi place Fuzzy and I used to frequent, and a pizza place we go to now, that have Sony plasma televisions mounted on the walls. I’m familiar with the mounting regular televisions – all that metal tubing and all those big screws, but I’d never paid much attention to how to mount plasma screens until I’d seen a tv wall mounting bracket from DekoMount.

Now, I must caution you that there are some pages of DekoMount’s site that are clearly under construction. However, if you contact them directly they’ll answer any question, and they also offer an 18-month warranty on their product, which is more than I expected from a company that specializes in bracketing systems.

I learned that their products are universal – as long as you get the right size, it doesn’t matter if your television is a Sony, a Pioneer, or any other brand, and that residents of London can pick up their brackets rather than waiting for delivery, if they so desire. To make it easier, you can pick your bracket by television brand or television dimensions, but they do recommend that you know the VESA specs and the wright as well.

The instructions that come with the wall mounting bracket are concise, and easy to follow, and there’s no fear at all of your television dropping onto your head.

Again, their website needs tweaking in a few places, but, if you’ll pardon the pun, DekoMount is going to really amount to something.

October

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Welcome to October…our weather is still cresting in the low nineties and we haven’t had real rain in over a week, but cool temperatures are approaching (cool for here) and it’s a new month, and I’m all inspired.

I spent the day with Season 4 West Wing on DVD playing while I wrote and did research. I prefer season one, but I finally have season 7 en route and thought I should watch 4-6 in preparation. I do like the debate camp episodes.

Yesterday, I moved all the games out of the cube in the kitchen so I could use the cube to store the bread machine and crock pot, so I could use their former home to store the baking tins that don’t fit in the drawer under the oven.

I’m trying to decide if I want to take a bubble bath now, or later.

And, because I forgot to mention it, I’ve now had both my 1500th and 2000th comments, and both those people will be getting thank-you trinkets. A formal announcement will happen later this week.

This is my random, unthemed entry because I’m trying to post daily, and it’s almost midnight.

Food for Thought?

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Hey folks.

My friend Cynthia has come up with this nifty idea called A Week in Food, in which people agree to:

– chronicle a week of their eating in photos and text
– share the chronicle at the blog she set up
– calculate how much they spent on food during that week
– donate the equivalent amount of money to the charity of their choice.

I think this is a nifty idea, and I plan to participate, but I’m also encouraging all of you to do so as well. Visit her blog to join the fun.

Cozy

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It may still be summery outside, but clouds keep occluding the sun, making the day feel cooler than it is, and reminding us that despite what the thermometer may say, Fall actually has arrived.

I love Autumn. It is quite possibly my favorite season, with Spring running a close second. I remember being very small, and tucked into the pink gingham sheets in the bottom bunk of the unfinished, unpainted bunk beds that were in my room, with the soft lamplight illuminating whatever book I was reading, and my cotton flannel pajamas keeping me toasty and warm.

Today, I’m wearing jeans that are too big, and a hospital-scrubs green t-shirt that I don’t remember buying, but is so comfortable I can’t part with it, and I’ve got the same sense of coziness that I used to have as a pig-tailed child reading in bed.

Even though I’m cleaning.

Sometimes household chores aren’t torture, but a form of nesting, and there’s a sense of accomplishment in tidying the kitchen, re-arranging the living room, putting out the Fall decorations.

Yes, I have Fall decorations. I change the candles. I have a “Happy Fall” wreath for the door. I bring each season throughout the house, so the turning of the year is with us wherever we are. It’s an important element of my life.

I got it from my mother.
Who got it from her mother.

And somehow, that’s fitting.
Appropriate.

Cozy.

Castles in the Air

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Palaceta Cazulas

Sometimes, even though Fuzzy and I have been married for twelve and a half years, I like to browse the web for exotic wedding locations. We eloped, and then had a funky family reception a few months later, where all of our friends brought traditional wedding foods from their culture of origin, which we had as a picnic pot-luck. And that’s cool, but sometimes I wish that instead of eloping in Brookings, South Dakota, we’d gone someplace amazing.

Someplace like Spain.

My idea of the Perfect wedding location in Spain is the Palacete Cazulas, an Andalucian villa that you can rent for weddings, or even just family holidays (it has a capacity of 24, and they say the average group staying there is around 16 people). Looking at the pictures, it’s easy to imagine a morning spent sipping sangria by the pool, followed by an evening wedding surrounded by mountains and starlight. It’s not the beach, but it has drama and flair, as well as a backdrop of mountains, and tropical weather.

While only limited staff services are provided – a gardener, and basic maid service in the communal areas – the management company will arrange for more maids, as well as a cook, for an hourly rate paid directly to the staff. Having grown up without regular maid service, I have to say that sometimes I’m a little creeped out just having Merry Maids in my house, but I’m sure in a villa it’s a bit different.

Besides, the whole point of renting a villa in Spain is to step outside your own life, and live in one of the castles in the air we all dreamed up during childhood.

According to the website at http://www.cazulas.com, Palacete Cazulas is rented by the week, though three-day rentals are sometimes available between November and April, except on holidays. There is free wifi (bring your own computer) and phone and fax can be provided on request.

I’ve spent a week in a house in France…now I’m dreaming of spending one in a villa in Spain.

I’ll even share the sangria.