Spicedogs

A Dream and a Nightmare

2009-07-10T16:29:39Z

The Dream

I dreamt that Chef Mark of Remarkable Palate came over my house to cook a wonderful dinner. Besides my regular friends, many people from the GSPN community were there. I was a bit upset because Cliff and Stephanie Ravenscraft were not able to make it. Well, anyway, Mark told me what he was going to make, and I was just salivating. It was some sort of chicken meal that sounded divine.

I went into the dining room to start setting the table and Mark was hanging new banner-like curtains on our cathedral-size windows. (Folks, my house is a regular colonial-style architecture and it does not have cathedral ceilings or windows—it must have been my wishful thinking for an upgrade in the house.) I saw Mark hanging onto the venetian blinds as he was hanging the banners, and I got worried about his safety. I kept asking him whether he wouldn't mind using a ladder, and he kept telling me that he liked working this way. I looked on the walls and saw that he had stapled blue and green velvet wall coverings over my wallpaper. One wall was blue, the next one green, and so forth. My husband was very upset that he was ruining the wallpaper by making holes with the staples. I told him to go our bedroom to discuss his concerns because I didn’t want to have everyone, including Mark, hear what we were talking about.

We went in the bedroom, and I told him that holes in the wall were a small price to pay for the great meal we were getting to savor. Hubby agreed, and I turned to open the door of the bedroom to go back to my guests and found myself on the commuter train station getting ready to go to work. I guess that, as my return to work is approaching, I am going to start having anxious dreams about it.

The Nighmare

As I found myself on the train station’s platform, we were told that the train was coming on the opposite track. I had to grab my stuff to cross the tracks. I kept telling myself that crossing the tracks was going to be hard for me, as I was carrying three heavy bags. Anyway, I looked on the tracks, and Carrie was there sleeping on a pillow. I got totally distressed because the train was coming and I couldn’t run fast enough to grab her and besides, I was carrying three bags, and I didn’t have enough hands to grab her. I was screaming to Carrie to get off the tracks. But, being a basset hound, she was stubborn and refused to listen to me. (Interestingly, in real life, Carrie is my most obedient dog. She always listens to my commands.) I saw the train coming and thankfully woke up.

Why am I having these bad dreams about my baby?

Cute Commercial

2009-07-09T19:03:08Z

I love this commercial:

Lampião de Gaz

2009-07-09T15:30:01Z

The video I am presenting here, unless you speak Portuguese, will not do much for you. I was reminded about this old Brazilian song of my youth when I was looking at pictures to post in my http://spicedogs.blogspot.com blog. While looking for the right picture, I stumbled on this one:

It immediately reminded me of the old-fashioned-turn-of-the-century street gas lights. The song that is featured in the video is exactly about street gas lights and how thinking about it, the poet gets nostalgic for the good old days of quieter life styles, grandmas sitting on rockers, and the grandiose city of São Paulo still being a small city, yet a large city in the person's heart. The singers are old people (I know that Inezita—the woman—is in her 80s) who still have powerful voices. If, for nothing else, enjoy their voices.

My Horrible Dream

2009-07-09T14:22:34Z

I dreamt that I was in my house (which didn’t look at all like my house), talking to someone whom I don’t know in real life, but I knew in my dream. Hubby came by and opened the door to let the dogs out. Both Basil and Carrie went out, and we kept talking. Then I realized that he had opened the door to the front yard and not to the fenced-in backyard.

We ran into the front yard and called the dogs. The yard was not really my yard, but in my dream I accepted it as my yard. Anyway, we called the dogs, and we managed to get a hold of Basil. He is older and slower (so we rationalized in my dream), and we were able to grab him. No matter how hard we looked, Carrie was gone. I started crying. Carrie was gone for good. She didn’t have an ID on, as I'd taken off her collar because she had a horrible heat rash from it. (This really is true right now. Carrie and Basil are walking around without collars. We tease them and tell them that they are naked. LOL.) I cried so hard. I missed my Carrie and was imagining how she must be feeling not being with me. (Carrie, in real life, is really very attached to me. She is my Velcro dog.) Then hubby mentioned that we had the dogs microchipped, and she would be returned to me once their Vet found out that she is our dog. I felt better and woke up. Carrie, who usually sleeps by my foot, was snuggled up next to me. I wonder whether she felt that I was having a bad dream. I was so happy to see her next to me. I hugged and kissed her.

My Favorite Annoying Commercial

2009-07-07T16:06:45Z

Icons, Icons.....

2009-07-07T02:47:28Z

I started a new community. Right now, I am the only one who will contribute to it. If I find that there's interest from others to join and participate, I will open it up. Let me know though if you'd like to join. Anyway, I am posting some older icons that I showcased in my journal before and there are some icons that I made for contents. Hope you enjoy them. You are welcome to snag icons, but please credit accordingly. None of the icons are bases, please don't change them.

( Details here. )

Attention!

2009-07-05T03:09:57Z

Hi,

Did you know that the military is still discharging soldiers who are gay and want to serve their country?

One of these soldiers is California's Lt. Dan Choi -- an Iraq War veteran and Arabic linguist. Lt. Choi is fighting the discharge and fighting the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. And he needs your help as soon as possible.

Lt. Choi goes on trial on Tuesday. I just signed a letter of support via the Courage Campaign for Lt. Choi, which he will bring with him to his trial. With just a few hours left before Lt. Choi's trial, more than 150,000 people have also signed on to his letter.

It's important that Lt. Choi walks into the courtroom holding as many signatures of support as possible for his fight to continue serving his country, no matter who he loves.

Will you join me in signing and urge your friends to do the same before Tuesday's trial?:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/SupportDan

Thanks!

Team Darlton talk 'Lost'!

2009-07-04T15:36:59Z

Friday, July 3 2009, 9:42am EDT

By Neil Wilkes, Editor

Yesterday we caught up with Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof - otherwise known as Team Darlton - and they told us how Lost will end!!!!

No, of course they didn't. These guys are experienced in the art of the slow tease, the enigmatic riddle and the saying-something-but-not-really-saying-anything.

We did manage to chat to them for 12 minutes though, so maybe some of their words did have some substance. Click 'play' below to watch:

Check back in early next week for our interview with producer/director Jack Bender.

Source: Digital Spy

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T03:48:29Z

New Layout Picture

2009-07-03T21:56:18Z

Inspired by divka , I made a new picture for my layout.

Happy Canada Day!

2009-07-02T02:40:38Z

Spicedog's Daily Tweets

2009-06-30T04:30:18Z

My attempts in communicating by using only up to 140 characters.

14:07 Today, I am celebrating my 3rd-month anniversary of not consuming soda, chocolate, and caffeine. Yay me! #PABL #

14:17 Started my new photo blog: spicedogs.blogspot.com/ #

19:57 At the Red Soxx and Orioles game. #

20:27 Red Soxx are winning. Go Red. #

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Spicedog's Daily Tweets

2009-06-28T04:30:17Z

My attempts in communicating by using only up to 140 characters.

08:15 ♫Oh! how I hate to get up in the morning. Oh! how Id love to remain in bed. ♫
But, alas, I can't. We're cleaning the basement. TTYL #

09:12 @PedanticBohemia Have you received my PM? #

10:40 @joaovsantos Well, I'm sticking my head in the danger zone: MJ was an entertainer. That's it. Get over it. Let's not make him into a god. #

10:46 Well, I'm sticking my head in the danger zone: MJ was an entertainer. That's it. Get over it. Let's not make him into a god. #

11:14 @stephsmith I have no idea whether Iran exists. CNN and MSNBC are too busy dissecting Michael Jackson's life. #

13:23 @stephsmith So.... If it's not Michael Jackson, then it's Mark Sanford? Great! #

13:25 @FullTimeMom Whoohoo! #

13:46 @joaovsantos He needed the money to support his lavish spending. The man was Peter Pan. He never grew up. #

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Spicedog's Daily Tweets

2009-06-27T04:30:14Z

My attempts in communicating by using only up to 140 characters.

10:13 @AlYaGotaDo God is God. If you're Jew, a Muslim, a Budhist, God luvs you. We've religious freedom in this country. Your attitude's bigotted. #

10:14 @RadioDaniel IPhone was smart, but now it's brilliant. #

12:27 @PedanticBohemia Keeping you in my thoughts. #

21:00 @greyrider Someone posted that he hoped Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcet, and Michael Jackson had known Jesus. #

21:50 @greyrider I take offense at that. We are not Christians and to offend us that way is against our country's freedom of religion. #

23:06 If I hear or read another thing about Michael Jackson, I am going to scream. Most of us didn't care about him yesterday and today, he's God. #

23:31 Thank you all who DM'd your opposition to constant MJ news. Today, CNN had nothing on but MJ. What happened to real news? North Korea? Iran? #

23:52 @CamilleMoriarty No, he is now elevated to God. Hmmm, I think Presley was the same way. He lived with Priscilla when she was 14. #

00:19 Good Night. #

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Spicedog's Daily Tweets

2009-06-26T04:30:17Z

My attempts in communicating by using only up to 140 characters.

10:41 Hello tweeps. I'm alive and well. #

22:13 Spent the day babysitting my granddaughter and the evening eating out with daughter, son-in-law, granddaughter, mom, and hubby. Great day. #

22:19 Do we have he right to assume that our religion is the only way to know God? Does a Jew have no chance with God bc s/he doesn't know Jesus? #

22:25 @julie_333 That's the role of a pet: to be cute and give us heart attacks. LOL #

23:05 Good night. Today was a sad day for celebrities. Farrah Fawcet and Michael Jackson, rest in peace. #

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Spicedog's Daily Tweets

2009-06-25T04:30:18Z

My attempts in communicating by using only up to 140 characters.

09:56 @ilea02 Wasn't it creepy seeing it live? It's one thing seeing it in pictures. #

09:59 @SheikhThenBake Have magical fun there. #

10:02 @SheikhThenBake And they still refuse to fix those trains. Maybe dad Is right to claim that it's safer on the MARC. #

10:11 @ffluvssg1 Fred, Long Island has lots of history--fior example, I lived there. ☺ LOL #

11:10 @dakodasara Congratulations/ #

11:11 @nevrothwen I forgot, do you live in Brussels? #

11:12 @KimPointBlank Sounds like someone was not nice to you. Here are some virtual hugs. #

11:14 @angelcure twitpic.com/8a7ml - That is so funny. #

11:15 @ilea02 I made up my mind, I will never sit in the first or last car from now on. I wonder how many others are thinking like me. #

11:17 @dakodasara Your new job sounds dreamy. #

15:48 Had a great lunch with mom & my daughter & her family. My granddaughter knows how to make mince pie out of me, & she is only 15 months old #

15:49 @kaiterskates twitpic.com/8az1a - Wow. A great shot. #

21:05 Cardiac therapy just about killed me today. Killed me. I am totally dead. They're killing us in order to keep us alive. #

21:56 @julie_333 ♫Back to back, ghoul, belly to belly. Well, I don't give a damn 'cause I'm stone dead already. ♫ #

21:57 ♫Back to back, ghoul, belly to belly. Well, I don't give a damn 'cause I'm stone dead already. ♫ #

23:58 @L8yFingers607 Miss you, too. #

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Spicedog's Daily Tweets

2009-06-24T04:30:16Z

My attempts in communicating by using only up to 140 characters.

10:41 I may be a bit silent today. But I am alive and well. Working hard. #

17:13 On the way to the gym. Marveling at how beautiful nature is. This picture does not do justice to how beautiful the sky looks. #PABL (cont… #

17:13 …cont) twitpic.com/87zpc #

18:58 It's a nice surprise to hear your name on a PABL podcast of @GSPN. Cliff, I'm glad I made your day. You are made of win. #PABL #

19:29 @scoopie77 I think Jon wants out. He got sick & tired of being emasculated. That's my humble opinion. #

20:28 @Catch0ftheday Silence was a must. I was working for work and $$. #

22:57 Good night. #

00:00 @McCainBlogette If you have cable, you can watch True Blood in demand. #

00:02 @McCainBlogette I actually find it a shallow show. The director put the vampire teeth on the incisors. It should on the canines. #

00:05 @ilea02 Isn't SS out the was for you? #

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The Washington, DC Metro Accident

2009-06-24T02:56:12Z

Amazingly, only 9 people died.

Spicedog's Daily Tweets

2009-06-23T05:34:30Z

My attempts in communicating by using only up to 140 characters.

11:39 @JoyVBehar Kudos for you for speaking out. Anyone who hits a child is just exercising power control. Spanking is not the way to go. #

14:44 @xgirl30 ♫Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Melissa. Happy birthday to you.♫ #

14:56 twitpic.com/84cid - Run, Carrie, run. #

14:58 twitpic.com/84cp9 - Ears flying, legs on the air. #

15:00 Caught my dog Carrie running. Great photos. Some are ready for another contest. twitpic.com/84cid #

15:02 twitpic.com/84d4y - Pure muscle. #

15:03 twitpic.com/84d7k - Ears and body up on the air. #

18:23 Two metro trains collided in Washington, DC. I hope no one I know was onboard. #

18:26 Hubby is stuck in DC. He was not involved in the accident. We take commuter train, not the metro. This is an awful accident. #

18:32 RT @cnnbrk9 people injured, 2 dead in D.C. Metro train collision, Metro spokesman says. bit.ly/dctrain #

18:34 @ilea02 Glad your mom is OK. Looking at the accident, I think the conductor may have been the one who died. I am stunned at the accident. #

18:35 Son rides the red line. Luckily, he took an earlier train. He was not onboard. He's OK. #

18:36 @ilea02 I am glued to the TV. I may need to pick up my husband. He is stuck in DC. I was supposed to go to a lecture about heart. Not going. #

18:40 Train update. Looks like a train was stopped and the other ran into it. How awful. Don't they communicate? #

18:40 @L8yFingers607 Oh, no, but George and Dan don't take the red line. #

18:41 @L8yFingers607 I think my son is picking him up. How are you going home? #

18:42 @L8yFingers607 I can't believe that in this day and age, some people still have no cells. Not even an emergency one. There are no pay phones #

18:46 @ilea02 Heard what? That one train was stopped and the other was speeding? ABC speculated that. And from what I see, I agree. #

18:49 @ilea02 It makes sense. They were both going in the same direction, and one train was on top of the other. Mere physics explains it. #

18:52 RT @anamariecoxWash City Paper basically live-blogging the #redline #metro tragedy --& U want local, not politwits. tr.im/po4C #

19:26 @julie_333 Glad to hear that he is OK. Does he normally ride that train? #

19:32 Train Update #redline First train was stopped waiting for clearance. Second train plowed into the train. Female operator of 2nd train died. #

19:33 @julie_333 Brian is struck in DC. Ethan is picking him up. No commuter train. #

19:35 rt @anamariecox police ask those concerned about someone who may have been in the #redline crash call 202 727 9099. DO NOT GO TO THE SITE. #

19:38 @xforce11 Geoff, you look like my son. Every time I look at your icon, I think I am looking at his Twitter account. #

19:39 @julie_333 Yeah, be prepared for a long ride. Brian estimates that he will be home at around 9. Ethan went to pick him up at 6 pm. #

19:41 RT @anamariecoxCNN producer helping to coordinate coverage. RT @fchershey: follow @mclcnn for the best #metro coverage #redline #

19:45 @julie_333 Never thought about that. Maybe Brian will stay home. #

19:47 New followers heed my warning, if I don't know you and you don't have a bio, I will not follow you. #

20:12 #redline. If you live in DC and are worried about your loved one, Mayor Fenty asks you to dial 311. #

20:48 Why am I watching Jon and Kate + 8? Kate makes me want to puke. She is such a phony. #

20:48 @Colleen84 LOL. He is too young not to notice an available ass. #

21:07 @L8yFingers607 Glad you are home. Brian is almost here. #

21:08 @debinKY I think that the big reveal will be at the last moment: We're getting a divorce, but will do the show tg. We want the $$$. #

21:27 @jaffy Awww, Jenn. You're made of win. #

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Train Accident in DC

2009-06-22T23:51:14Z

For my f-list who do not follow me on Twitter, just letting you know that everyone in my family is OK. None of us was on that that train.

Happy Birthday, xgirl30

2009-06-22T18:42:14Z

Action Shots

2009-06-22T16:24:30Z

Carrie was going crazy, running around Basil and the yard. I took my camera out and got some great action shots:

I'm entering one of them in the photo contest. I have not attended the photo group for so long now (ever since mom fell and broke her femur, back in January). I can't decide which photo to enter. These are the contenders:

Here you can see her leaping off the air.

Here, here ears are in the air and she is off the ground. ( I wold definitely need to clean the background)

It will look like this:

Or this one:

You can see her muscles working on this one. What a cutie. (I know, I know, I'm prejudiced.)

If you notice there's a dumpster in my driveway. We are cleaning out our basement and will start renovating our house next year: new kitchen and wooden flooring in the living and dining room. I can hardly wait. Although I don't want to be through the mess.

Speaking of Carrie. Here she is on the couch and reflecting on mischief:

Finally, get a load of the size of this strawberry:

Spicedog's Daily Tweets

2009-06-22T04:30:16Z

My attempts in communicating by using only up to 140 characters.

00:48 Watched the movie Chocolat. Joanne Harris should've sued the movie company for changing the book to such an extent. #

01:00 @mommymadonna I just saw your entry. Sorry about your loss. #

09:52 @BlogWellDone This place will green your avi for you. I, personally, just made a especial green one for myself. bit.ly/aGWLW #

10:09 @fearandloathin Congratulations. I think that I congratulated you on MEFB already. If not, my apologies. #

10:10 @fearandloathin He is hot in any movie. The impact of the story was changed with the plot chnge. #chocolat #

10:12 Phew. Caught up with tweets. #

10:14 I will be off a while. Doing beta reading of short stories. #

10:42 Happy birthday, @angelsteph #

13:27 @MrTweet If Twitter is asking to do secure stuff , why is that, and how can it be bypassed? #

14:04 @miss_primavera Raisins are nature's boogers. #

14:30 @theRamenNoodle OMG, I def want to download PABL 410. Sounds great. Running to iTunes. #

15:13 @EvePhoenix I agree with you that line is priceless: "Jack and Locke are too busy worrying about Locke and Jack." #LOST #

15:19 Gah, CW in my area is playing baseball and not LOST. Don't they know that LOST is more important?#LOST #

15:22 @EvePhoenix "You guys got any milk?" I can't believe you got rid of Season 2 LOST DVDs. #

15:24 I'm not a bright lightbulb today. Put HBO on. Darknight was the middle of playing. Was awed by Joker speaking Spanish. It was HBO Spanish. #

15:28 The thing about the Joker speaking Spanish is that I thought that he did speak Spanish in the movie itself. Thought his accent was great. #

15:32 Was Nestor (Mr. Maybelle) in Darknight? I never saw the movie before. Just started watching it on HBO smack in the middle. #LOST #Darknigh #

16:32 @stephsmith Shouldn't Internet be capitalized? It is a grammatical rule. #

16:33 @kilinahe That is ironic.Steak house replaces vegetarian restaurant. #

16:35 @PedanticBohemia You're not hiding? Make sure that you alert someone about him. As long as he keeps lurk on Internet, it's OK. #

16:37 Argh, my glasses broke. Luckily, I have another pair. #

20:00 Just entered another avi-making contest. Will see how I'll fare. I won for two of my avies last time. And these have to be cartoon avies. #

20:06 @miss_primavera I don't believe in father's day. Everyday is father's day. #

21:24 I'm no prude and may make some enemies with this:True Blood is the biggest piece of crap I ever did see. The pornography is Y it's a hit. #

21:27 @Catch0ftheday i93.photobucket.com/albums/l58/esbaker/avi/Contest/happyfrog.png #

21:27 @Catch0ftheday And & i93.photobucket.com/albums/l58/esbaker/avi/Contest/sadfrog.png #

21:38 @ilea02 Congratulations on getting in grad school. #

23:26 Good night #

00:03 @TIWWH Wayne, you know you made geekdom when you get that T-shirt. Congratulations. #

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Spicedog's Daily Tweets

2009-06-21T04:30:14Z

My attempts in communicating by using only up to 140 characters.

10:22 Morning, tweeps. Cleaning out cat litter is a great jolt on a Saturday Morning. #

10:25 ♫Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, @mommymadonna. Happy birthday to you.♫ Hope you have a wonderful day. #

10:40 Happy birthday, @cyberpr #

11:04 @meegat ooo, hope your niece is OK. #

11:06 @angelcure Bah, it's raining here. #

12:56 @FullTimeMom Aw, looks like you need a hug, Stephanie. #

12:56 @MsIndigo Is today your birthday, too? #

13:31 @greyrider Don't you wish it was your real bank account? #

13:31 RT @steveagee for those who keep asking me why everyone is turning their pictures green - It's because it's St. Patrick's Day in Iran. #

13:33 @GSPN Sorry for being such a twit, but where's the pco09 being held? #

14:37 @ChefMark The food started sounding great till I read it has bacon. I don't eat pork on principle. (They are smart animals.) #

14:53 @Knitnmom Oh, no. Maybe it was just something he ate. #

14:55 Why do the older members of society do nothing but watch courageous college students do the hard work for them? I know, I was once there. #

14:57 @MsIndigo No, I turned 60 on May 13. #

14:57 @angelcure We had sun a few days ago. #

15:15 @nlcast Just because you get not comments, it doesn't mean that you have no readers. Wish we could have placement cards: Was here & read it. #

17:36 @ffluvssg1 Aw, Fred that sucks, losing your shows like that. #

17:38 @nlcast i hope that you have a nice gift. #

19:47 Had a great time. Went out with daughter, granddaughter, son, daughter-in-law, mom, & hubby. Son-in-law was on call. Had Chinese food. #

19:51 @TIWWH the photos are amazing. #

22:02 Watching Chocolat with hubby. #

22:16 @greyrider Yes, I did finish. I want to watch the movie and see how they compare. The book was excellent. #

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Flickr News

2009-06-20T17:40:55Z

I had a scary remark about Meghan posted on my Flicker account. Hence, I am closing off all personal photos to the public. If you are someone I know and would like to have access to my account, just create a Flicker account and I will add you. My nonfamily and pet photos will still be available for public viewing. Let me tell you that this is a very long and tedious work that I am about to undertake. I have a few thousand pictures uploaded.