Part 83

Saturday, March 1, 2008, 1:41am: It's starting to feel a little like even though there are still patches of snow here and there. It's the middle of the night, and the temperature is above freezing, for a change! I don't feel we ever had a REAL winter this year, with a really good snowfall; but I guess I can do without any more sleet and freezing rain. :-)

I think right now I'll give you my monthly reminder: that if you do not see me here, there are various links on the Diary Index page of other places I hang out: Twitter, Utterz, CountryMouse's Refuge, and more.

In case you didn't happen upon mention of it over in CountryMouse's Refuge, I now have my own shelf at Shelfari. I am waaaay behind putting in all the books I've read over the years. Expect to see LOTS more!

Sunday, March 2, 2008, 8:48am: New quiz. :-)

Monday, March 3, 2008, 9am:        National Blog Out - Barack Obama

This is an event that was easy to sign up for. To blog about why I support Barack Obama to be our Democratic nominee and ultimately our President as of November of this year.

DH and I have been listening to Barack Obama's book (in audiobook form) The Audacity of Hope. We are both moved by how Senator Obama addresses the problems of how our nation got into the fix we are in at present and how we can get back to/forward to our true American values. He also addresses, in other forums, how we ALL can help our communities, our nation, to become great again. This is not about him--it's about US.

He is the leader we need who can take us forward into the future, to bring about the changes that will benefit all of us, not a few. He is strong, but he listens. If you have watched any of the debates he has been in, you have witnessed his cool unflappable nature. He is logical, but compassionate. He has concrete plans for helping this country, but he also expects us all to do our part too.

For four years I have clung to Rev. Jesse Jackson's admonition: "Keep hope alive!" because that's all we could do. It felt like a tiny spark in the darkness. Now Senator Obama has said, "WE are the hope we have been waiting for!" What a revelation! With him as our leader, we can accomplish so much! Let us move forward with a true leader we all can be proud of!

To learn more about Barack Obama and where he stands on the issues, visit his website at Barack Obama - Change We Can Believe In.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008, 9:16am: Today are the Presidential Primary elections (and caucuses) in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island, and Vermont. If you are a registered voter:
 

4:01pm: I finished reading Spin yesterday, but I am not going to start another book until Cat'r brings the sequel, Axis, up this coming weekend. Oh, I am still trying to finish The Politics of Jesus (hard going--depressing stuff in the history of the US near the end of the book). I haven't gotten very far in The Gospel of Inclusion, so I should be reading that also, but I got sorta sidetracked. Instead I've just been looking at catalogues and playing Pokemon Yahtzee, a little electronic handheld game I got for Christmas one year. Addictive. :-P

Okay, off to get a nap before watching the election returns this evening.

Saturday, March 8, 2008, 5:21pm:  We had a big snowstorm over the last two days! It lasted 36 hours. If you have been following in CountryMouse's Refuge, then you'll see how it progressed from just a winter storm to a blizzard!

I have updated the Snow Pictures section so that you can see photos of this late-season storm! Also, be sure to check out DarkChilde's excellent photos of the storm!

Sunday, March 9, 2008, 2:38pm: Did you remember to "spring forward" and change your clocks to Daylight Saving Time?

Here's a new quiz: "How Evil Are You?"  hehehe

Thursday, March 13, 2008, 7:04am: Bunnicula and I started watching the 7-part BBC series "Fortunes of War" last night. It stars Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson as a couple in Bucharest (and later in other places) on the eve of WWII and how they become involved in intrigue and danger in a world turned upside-down.

B. and I have been hopping all over the centuries lately, in our DVD-watching: 1930's England ("Gosford Park"); 1660's Restoration England ("The Libertine"); and now 1939 and beyond Romania, Greece, and Egypt.

Monday, March 17, 2008, 6:23pm: Oops, sorry, a bit late in the day! But I hope you're having a great day!
 

Thursday, March 20, 2008, 6:01am:
 

ALSO:

Happy Birthday, Mr. Caterpillar!!

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 2:20pm: A new entry in my Animal Crossing: Wild World diary!

Friday, March 28, 2008, 3:53pm:  Seriously think about doing this!
 

Sunday, March 30, 2008, 6:55am: Here is what we did during Earth Hour 2008 last night:

(cross-posted from CountryMouse's Refuge)  I guess we should've gotten up to something naughty. :-P Instead we played *other* kinds of games. :-D

Bunnicula and I (Cat'r is not here this weekend) played Cribbage: zie beat me 127-109. I didn't get skunked--whew! :-) At one point I had a Double Pair Royal (all Jacks!!).

Then we played the ever-fun dice game Cosmic Wimpout. I won 325-200.

And lastly we played Pickomino (aka Worms on a Barbie). I ended up with 15 worms to B.'s 7 worms (most worms at the end wins).

Our lantern was nice and bright. The breeze coming in from the bedroom window kept us cool enough. The time went fast!

And that's how we spent our Earth Hour 2008. How was yours?

Books: I said I wasn't going to read anything else after Spin until I got Axis to read, but that didn't work out that way. Cat'r didn't get back up here the weekend he was expected; I got bored, so I read the 900+ page Forever Amber. :-P  I've read this before, but so long ago that I had only vague recollections of things. It's a real page-turner. I still can't believe my mother recommended this to me when I was a teenager! But the forward in this edition said all the teenage girls were avidly reading this when it came out in the 40's, even though it was banned in Boston. I don't remember if I had this same reaction the other times I've read it or if I've just gotten to the point of not suffering fools gladly anymore: by the time the book was over, I was so fed-up with Amber that I didn't care *what* happened to her. Sheesh. I do understand loving a man to distraction and doing almost anything to keep him; but sometimes she just got SO ANNOYING towards the end. And her love-object was not that wonderful a person anyway. ::sigh:: The only truly nice and good person didn't show up until 3/4ths of the way through the book. I guess we're supposed to understand that everyone has good and bad in him/her and to try to see beyond that. Also it was a fairly licentious, "wicked" time (Restoration England--1660's). I have to say that this time I learned more about the author, Kathleen Winsor, and how deeply she researched the times (for five years!) before she wrote this. The most difficult part of the book to read, for me, was that dealing with the Black Death. There was a lot of graphic yuck detail. I was *very* glad when I was past that part. I am SO GLAD I did not live in those times!

Anyway: I'm going to start reading Axis Real Soon Now. I have it in my possession. I am just being procrastinate-y and playing Nintendo DS games instead of reading. :-D

Background by Eos Development | Blue buttons by Jelane | March blinkie from StormWillow | St. Pat greeting by CountryMouse