Category: Ruminations and Crackpot Theories

Observations on life in general.

Lists: 5 Favorite Aromas

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Here are five of my favorite aromas:

  • Earthworms after a spring rain: You can smell the soil and in my part of the world that usually means winter is finally over.
  • Lilacs: The fragrance of lilacs means spring. Sometimes it can be a touch overwhelming, but I love walking outside on a late May morning and having the scent greet my nose.
  • Thanksgiving Dinner (including dessert) being cooked: What’s to explain?
  • A bonfire on a chilly autumn evening: Reminds me of sweatshirts, jeans, and friendship.
  • Sausage, pepper, and onion sandwiches (without green peppers): nothing says summer like the smell of sausage, peppers & onions on the grill. Except green peppers. They smell (and taste) nasty.

 

 

Snarky Sunday: Saying Good Morning

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My Day Job is in the corporate world. I have co-workers and colleagues (unlike my writing job, where I have Facebook & Twitter).

Not many of those co-workers/colleagues say good morning, unless prompted.

I don’t get it.

I think starting the work day out on a cheerful note tries to set the tone for the work day.

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So GOOD MORNING!

New Release: Masks of October

The last thing caterer Skye Schuyler needs is for her crush on sexy baseball catcher Tag Gentry to develop into something more. She craves stability and a home base. Falling for a guy who thrives on road trips will only lead to heartache. But fate isn’t following her line-up. When his team hires Skye to feed him while he recuperates from a severe leg injury, Skye struggles to remain out of play for him.

 Tag’s World Series dream is shattered along with his leg and possibly his career. His only pleasure comes from flirting with Skye. He’s the one who usually calls the plays, but he can’t tell if she’s shaking him off or going for the pitch.

When Tag learns Skye is catering a Halloween party for the team’s notoriously sketchy owner, he steps up to the plate to keep Skye’s involvement from going foul. He doesn’t like batting clean-up, but he goes for the assist because sometimes a player has to sacrifice for the good of the team. And he and Skye have formed a team.

The trick now is convincing the sexy caterer hooking up can be a treat.

Masks of October by MJ Compton

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Available from

 

A Tribute to His Bob-Ness

If you know anything at all about me, you know I am a Bob Dylan fan.

I have been a Bob Dylan fan since there was such a thing to be.

When I was a teenager, I wanted to be Bob Dylan. I wrote a term paper comparing His Bob-ness’s lyrics to those of Paul Simon.

I have actually read–multiple times–Tarantula. I still quote it regularly. And yes, it’s well-loved. (See the red electrical tape on the spine?)

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Yes, I still have the Milton Glaser poster, although it it battered from being hung in so many apartments. Unframed. With thumbtacks. Shoot me now.

On one of our early dates, TV Stevie asked me what my favorite Dylan album was. “Blood on the Tracks,” I replied. “Mine, too,” he said. Turns out the man had every single Dylan album, plus a lot of bootleg stuff. (Remember, music wasn’t as accessible back then as it is now. The bootleg stuff? Was really bootlegged.) I’ve been joking for over 25 years that I married TV Stevie for his Dylan collection.

The first concert to which we took the chromos was Bob Dylan (and Willie Nelson) at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY.  X-Chromo does a fabulous Dylan imitation.

A current co-worker once said, “Everyone back then was a Beatles or Rolling Stone fan.” “Hello?” I said. “Not me. His Bob-ness was my musical mecca.” Co-worker laughed and conceded the point.

I have a mix of songs I call “Dylan Says It Best” that I listen to when I’m angry or upset. If the situation is right, I sing along as loud as I can. I don’t have to worry about being on key.

Imagine my utter delight when I learned His Bob-ness won the Nobel Prize for Literature. I have been saying for years that he is a lyrical genius. Guess I’m not the only one who thinks that.

So, just for fun, I’m resurrecting a post from April 2014.

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions.  Try not to repeat a song title. It’s a lot harder than you think!
Pick your Artist: Bob Dylan
Are you a Male or a Female: JUST LIKE A WOMAN
Describe Yourself: ONLY A PAWN IN THEIR GAME
How do you feel: FOREVER YOUNG
Describe where you currently live: GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: BLACK DIAMOND BAY
Your Favorite form of Transportation: BLOWING IN THE WIND or LIKE A ROLLING STONE
Your Best Friend is: ABSOLUTELY SWEET MARIE
You and your best friends are: RAINY DAY WOMEN
What’s the weather like: A HARD RAIN’S GONNA FALL or HURRICANE
Favorite Time of Day: MEET ME IN THE MORNING
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: WHEN I PAINT MY MASTERPIECE
What is life to you: I SHALL BE FREE
Your last relationship: MR. TAMBOURINE MAN
Your fear: MONEY BLUES
What is the best advice you have to give: DON’T THINK TWICE, IT’S ALL RIGHT
Thought for the day: ONE MORE CUP OF COFFEE
How I would like to die: KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR
My soul’s present condition: BEYOND THE HORIZON
My motto: THE TIMES, THEY ARE A CHANGING

 

 

 

 

 

National Dictionary Day.

Celebrating dictionaries!

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All kinds of dictionaries!

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And yes, I can look that up in my Funk & Wagnall.

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But one thing I’ve never understood: when I used to ask how to spell something, teachers/parents would say, “Look it up in the dictionary.” Hello? How am I supposed to look up something I can’ spell?