Pennies in a Coffee Can

This is the phrase I use to describe the state of just having a bunch of random thoughts clattering around in my brain. Such is my state today, and I thought I’d let a few out.

I've been thinking about what I want this project to become and I still don't really know. Probably it will continue along its path of a quilt'o'randomness, which is fine. If I feel like talking about politics on monday and how molasses are better than brown sugar in baked beans on tuesday and how great "Cinderella Man" was on Wednesday and why I believe that when you die you go to Heaven or Hell but also believe in the existence of ghosts on Thursday, I'd like to have a place where it'll all fit. Nothing being off topic because clearly everything is off topic!

Yes, that's it.

Thus, onward ...

I was going to get some bing cherries at the store this morning, but decided to get these other cherries instead. They are called Rainier cherries – they are yellow with a red kind of blush on them and look almost like miniature apples. They kind of look like they’d be sour (what does sour look like?) but they’re great. I might even like them better. Speaking of fruit, the black raspberries at the back of my property are getting ripe at a rapid rate lately. I’ve probably picked 4 cups in the last 2 days, and now I can’t find that awesome berry pie recipe I made so many times last summer. Probably just as well, as I don’t really need to be eating pie when my can’s been eclipsing the sun lately.

I was surfing through blogs last night before bed, as I wasn’t feeling exhausted for a change – and I couldn’t believe how many of the random pullups originated in Singapore. Blogging must be hot in Singapore.

I also noticed the two most annoying things that anyone can do in a blog (in my own opinion, of course) is to either spell stuff with AlTeRnAtInG cApS AnD LoWeR cAsE LeTtErS – geez, talk about instant migraine – and/or to spell things so badly that you can barely even decipher it. What the heck is that mess, ebonics? I guess that’s bloggy slang to do that, but I hate it. Guess I’m no longer young and hip.

I saw a top 5 list blog last night. The cat just listed his top 5 movies or songs or whatever as his posts, inspired by the movie High Fidelity. I loved that movie. Mainly because I love to talk about lists. My lists, your lists, anyone’s lists. Maybe I’ll start doing that occasionally in my lil’ ol’ bloggieblog.

My feelings are hurt about something I don’t really feel like talking about. Therefore I will simply record an ambiguous whine about it. Wah. There.

The horseflies are starting to appear. There’s about a 2-week span here where horseflies are pretty prevalent. You can barely even go outside because some dang horsefly will immediately land on you and bite a big hole in you. Luckily it doesn’t last too terribly long.

There was a big doe in my back yard last night. There was a buck in my back yard a few days ago engaging in a Mexican standoff with the dog, and a doe with a speckled fawn a few days before that. There’s a doe with twins who frequently munch in the soybean field across the road. I see deer all the time on and around our property, but being born and raised a city girl, I can’t get over them.

The worst part about where we live now is the fact that skunks are about. The dog has been sprayed twice since we moved here last summer, and that choking stench that lies somewhere between burning tires and xylene is a mo-fo to get rid of. In case you’re ever in need, I found a recipe on line that does a decent job (please note that tomato juice does NOT work). Here’s the recipe: 1 quart of hydrogen peroxide, ¼ cup of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of dishwashing liquid. Blend well and use immediately. Cover your dog with the mixture, careful to avoid the eyes, nose and mouth as it will sting and peroxide makes dogs throw up more liquid than you’d ever believe they could contain. The little bit of soap in the recipe allows the mixture to adhere to their fur. Let the mixture sit on the dog for 5 minutes, and rinse. Repeat if necessary – one round worked for my dog, though.

I keep musing to myself that I'm hungry, but I don't think I really am. See, I call it the stinky shoe effect. I started my healthy eating plan again this week because I've been feeling so crappy (speaking physically now, not mentally as usual). Anyway, my theory is if you start a diet that says you can't eat any stinky shoes, you'll crave stinky shoes like nobody's business. My friend M-M told me last night as I explained this theory, that she's eaten stinky shoes and they aren't bad. This is of no help to me, to know this. It just makes me hungrier. LOL. Long story short (too late), I think I just want to eat. It's my oral fixation. Speaking of oral fixations, I quit smoking 10 years ago this summer. Yippee!

I’ve still been feeling sad. Not about anything in particular, which is why it’s so annoying. Yes, there's that whole thing from yesterday's post, but it's beyond that. I don't know ... Do you ever just feel that your heart is crammed full of brambles of ambiguous origin?

BTW, I found a recipe for raspberry crisp on line. In the interest of my healthy eating plan I subsitiuted the sugar with Splenda, butter with olive oil, and white flour with wheat flour. It sucked. Oh well, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.