Our Ladies of Perpetual H.O.P.E.

rethinking aluminum christmas trees

2008-12-22T08:47:00.004-07:00

Not really. Maybe a chrome tree; now wouldn't that be spectacular?

The reason I find myself actually contemplating a artificial tree is that because I need to go string the lights on our SECOND christmas tree of this year.

We frequently buy living christmas trees in pots and then plant them afterwards. We have probably a 30% sucess rate with the trees living beyond christmas. One year my darling husband waited until april to plant the tree. By april the tree was a lovely rust color and weighed next to nothing. I suspect this was because it was dead! But darling husband insisted it just needed water and mulch. It sat there a long long long time just being dry and brown. Darling husband still thinks it died because of residual weed killer in the ground. When the weeds got taller than the tree we gave up and mulched it.

Anyway - - - - this year the selection of living trees was very grim. They were stunted and pricklier than normal. So we bought the 7 foot Nobel Fir. One of the kids asked about the name 'Nobel' and I told them they were named after Alfred Nobel - the same guy all those gasses were named after.

The truth about Nobel Firs according to the folks at Sparky's Christmas Trees is:

Nobel Fir (Abies Procera)
The Nobel Fir is often called the King of the Christmas trees. With a silvery sheen and blue/green needles, it has excellent needle retention plus a lovely fragrance. It is quite a heavy tree and lots of work goes in to growing a great nobel. They are usually trimmed each year to give an even shape and are chosen for their density.
The Nobel Fir is also used in the greenery business, to make wreaths and garlands. Indeed, it is what we use primarily in our own wreath-making department.

Excuse me: Sparky's? Who would name a Christmas tree company Sparky's??? Maybe in the United Kingdom that sort of association is not macabre - but here in the desert southwest everyone knows that real Christmas trees are one hot breath away from being the tinder needed to burn your house to the ground!

Okay - I exaggerate slightly. Many folks around here have cut trees every year with absolutely no problems. We usually have the living trees but have also had several cut trees over the year. Just keep them watered and get them out of the house by New Year and there are no problems.

So we watered our beautiful Nobel tree regularly. It kept drinking the water, which is usually a good sign. Except the tree kept getting drier and drier. To the point of being scary dry. The needles weren't just prickly - they were crumbly. So darling husband called up Home Depot and esplained the problem to them. They said "bring it back and we'll replace it." Yea Home Depot! Of course that meant undressing the old one and now dressing the new one. But that's better than living with a seven foot open fuel structure in the living room!

The lights wouldn't be so difficult except that I made the mistake of watching Martha Stewart several years ago demonstrate the 'proper' way to hang lights. It's not hanging so much as it is wrapping carefully around the entire trunk and then wrapping the individual branches. It's ridiculously time consuming but boy howdy, it does look spectacular!

That's the true danger of Martha - she's frequently right! If she were just a nutjob pushy homemaker with OCD we could just smile sympathetically and get on with our lives. Unfortunately she is a nutjob pushy homemaker with OCD that happens to really know the best way to do everything!

You know - in honor of our newer, moister tree; I think this christmas should be a little more Alfred Nobel and a little less Martha Stewart!

(I dearly hope I remember correctly that Neon is one of the Nobels - otherwise the visual humor misses!)

Aluminum Christmas Tree I Would Seriously Consider

2008-12-17T13:57:00.003-07:00

"Tonight's the Night" Revisited

2008-12-10T05:24:00.002-07:00

I am very happy this cold blustery morning! Every year we have a gathering at our house sometime between Christmas and New Years to celebrate all that is sweet and buttery and sugary. I've quit doing the home made eggnog as I have been convinced by our media that it will kill everyone. (via salmonella, not heart disease!) But we do have hot-buttered rum and store bought eggnog and what not.

And sweets; lots of sweets. I have two new tart recipes I'm anxious to make and am looking forward to seeing friends I don't see as often as I would like. And even friends that I see fairly often but always in a work mode, like Jeannie and Kristine. Jeannie has RSVP'd that she will come. I'm glad because she missed last year's. (I think that is a correct apostrophe. How can something so simple and small be so difficult for me and half the English speaking world?!?!?!)

Did I digress again? Sorry bout that. I was talking about Jeanie being out of town last year. Apparently she and her husband went to one of those church sponsored weekend marriage retreats. Not because there was anything wrong with their marriage - - - they just hadn't understood the flier. The retreat was called "Marriage Survival Weekend!" Jeannie's husband was apparently the first member in 20 years of these things to bring a hunting rifle and a crossbow to the 'ready, aim, communicate!' class. Jeannie was embarrassed because she knew it wasn't a survivalist thing! She was even more embarrassed when she found out it wasn't a contest either! Well, not really embarrassed; more like seriously irked that there would be no ribbons or medals or trophies. We've learned not to talk about it to them. The only reason I'm even bringing this up is because of something that Jeannie told us about about one of the sessions.

Apparently the group facilitator was giving his spiel about how sex is not the most important part of a marriage but that it can be a barometer. He said that the quality of a couples sex-life is much more important than the frequency - but that frequency is a factor both for diagnosing problems and for ensuring that intimacy isn't lost.

He then asked the group to answer by raising hands if they had sex every single night. Two of the couples raised their hands. Then he asked for a show of hands of the people who had sex 3 to 4 times a week. A fairly large number raised their hands. About the same number raised their hands for the once a week answer. When the facilitator asked how many people had sex 3-4 times a month there was still a substantial number of folks. Even the once a month group was represented by more than a couple of the couples.

He asked about a few more time spans and when he got to the last category and asked if anyone in the room had sex just once a year, there was one couple raising their hands. The husband was waving his arm wildly and had a big smile on his face and seemed quite proud. The facilitator thought this was odd but also realized this could help prove his point about not obsessing about the frequency and concentrating on the quality.

So he asks the man to stand up and said to him, "You seem like a happy and contented husband even though you do not have sex as often as others. Can you share with us why you are happy and content with sex once a year?" The husband grinned even wider and said, "Tonight's the night! Tonight's the night!"

Okay, I admit it. That isn't a true story. It's just that I had used the punchline as a title in a previous posting and so now google sends people looking for the joke to our site - and I thought we would help.

We will get back to Breast Cancer talk at some point. There are two sub-topics that we need to cover when we have more time and are in a more serious mood. We have not signed up for the 2009 3-day walk but we haven't completely rejected the idea yet. We do have something else in the works that will be unveiled soon. How do y'all like purple????

Have a sweet day filled with your favorite indulgences!

Pink Seven

2008-12-08T21:40:00.004-07:00

As y'all know we are using this time between walks to finish up unfinished business - including answering your questions.

So I go to Google analytics to see what folks were searching for when they hit our site. Wow, I did not know there were so many people interested in black christmas ornaments! And just as many wanting pink!

So I noticed that someone was searching for "Pink 7 Black ornaments". And someone else was searching for "Pink 7 brown" something or the other. So I go google to find out what this Pink 7 is, fully expecting it to be the latest trendy brand name that everyone has heard of but me.

There is a new pink 7-up - but that has nothing to do with black ornaments.

There is a pink nokia 7390

(and you can get a pink silicone cover for it~ and we have had lots of folks here looking for silicone of one sort or another!)

but again - does not seem to be related to black ornaments or whatever the Pink 7 brown thing was.

Now I know some of y'all have figured it out already. So I will not say how long it took me. In my defense I should tell you that I have never learned to type. I use two fingers and pretty much have to keep my eyes on the keyboard the whole time. (Which some folks would say means I should have figured it out even sooner than I did!)

I now believe that the people searching for Pink 7 Black ornaments and Pink 7 brown whatever were actually looking for Pink & Black ornaments and Pink & Brown something. So I refer these folks to the earlier discussions regarding Christmas decor that is not red, green, and sparkly. (Yes, in my house 'sparkly' counts as a color!)

I was going to tell you a funny Jeannie story, but time is running short.

Instead I will show you the keyboard I want for my computer for Christmas. I bet I would never make typos if I had one of these!

http://steampunkworkshop.com/keyboard.shtml

Or maybe this one:

http://www.datamancer.net/keyboards/ergo1/ergo1.htm

I of the beholder!

2008-12-05T13:47:00.002-07:00

Hmmmmn?

Apparently not everyone thinks a drunken, unshaven Billy Bob Thorton is all that sexy. Go figure.

We're going to continue to answer your questions. Well you know - except for the people who arrive here searching for hot ladies brest. Or big foot ladies. I don't even want to know!

But the poor folks who do an honest search for something important to them and suddenly find themselves caught in perpetual H.O.P.E. and don't know what hit them ~ ~ ~ I figure we can help out a little bit!

Many folks have searched variations of "walk like a camel" and ended up here. I don't know if folks are lookin to download the song, lookin for the lyrics, or - help us all - trying to find out what the song means.

"You make me wanna walk like a Camel" was recorded by a fun group named Southern Culture On The Skids. Or SCOTS if you prefer.

If you want to listen to the song you can CLICK JANGO HERE. I was going to imbed the youtube video but to be perfectly honest - SCOTS is a rather strange looking/acting group and I did not want to turn y'all off of them before you had a chance to hear their musical genius. Their absolute best song in my opinion is Voodoo Cadilac. Which I think you can HEAR HERE.

Without further ado - here are the lyrics:

Baby, Would you eat that there snack cracker
In your special outfit for me, please?
owwwWEEEEE!!!!!

Yo ye pharoahs, let us walk
Through this barren desert, in search of truth
And some pointy boots, and maybe a few snack crackers.
OWWWW WEEE baby, you make me wanna walk like a camel.
OWWWW WEEE, walk!

Who's in charge here, where's my Captain's wafers?
Don't go around hungry now, the way you eat that oatmeal pie,
Makes me just wanna die, baby, OWWWW
You make me wanna walk like a camel.
OWWWW WEEE, walk!

Say, you don't think there's any way I could get that quarter
From underneath your pointy boot, do ya?
All I want is just one more oatmeal pie.
OWWWW WEEE, Little Debbie, Little Debbie
I'm a comin on home, baby, 'cause you make me wanna walk
Like a camel, OWWWW WEEE

Trust me - it makes more sense when put to music.

Wellllllll, not really. But it's a fun song to listen to.

As for what it means? I don't know. One gentleman put forth the opinion that walking like a camel is slang for a guy walking funny because he is responding in a physically uncomfortably manner to being attracted to someone.

Yes, a little oblique - but if you think I'm going to use the right words to explain this you are crazier than the folks looking for big foot ladies. And either way I think the guy who said this is wrong because I've been looking and I can't find any other reference to that. I guess I could write to the band and ask them. We'll see.

So you have the lyrics, we don't know the meaning, and this ain't itunes. Hope we were of some help!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Apparently Miss Jeannie found her way home; I recieved an email from her this afternoon and I'm pretty sure she isn't a hot-spottin kinda gal so I assume she was at her house!

And I found out which Santa she was visiting. . .

I guess she had a good time. . .

and wasn't as cold as she thought she would be. . . .

and is considering joining the elf training program. . .

. . .

. . . .

Where's Miss Jeannie????

2008-12-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

I emailed Jeannie yesterday to discuss a scout meeting we had to go to and recieved this breezy reply:

I will not be at the leaders' meeting. I will be at the North Pole enjoying hot chocolate and cookies with Santa Clause.

Ho Ho Ho!!!

Well isn't that special?

Which Santa?

This one. . . . . .

who wouldn't even give poor Ralphie a B.B. Gun?

Or this one,. . . . . . .

who looks like he could give a girl everything she's wanting - and more?

Jeannie is a complex person.

She's all wholesome and sweet most of the time.

But as much as she enjoys mini-marshmallows in her cocoa. . . .

she enjoys this more!

So we will have to see.

Meanwhile if you see Miss Jeannie out there please tell her to come home!

Get the biggest aluminum tree you can find, Charlie Brown, maybe painted pink.

2008-12-03T13:47:00.006-07:00

Remember the other day when we addressed the second most common search term that brought people here? Well today we are going to tackle the very most common search. Most common depending on how you count, and what time period you are looking at.

During the week leading up to the 3-day walk the most common search was from people trying to find a map of the route. So I feel sort of bad that folks were directed to the post that had this map.

I had so many people hitting that picture that I actually looked up what exactly it was a map of. It is a map of the New Alresford town ship just outside of Winchester England. Winchester? See? I told you everything is connected! Not only is this township near Winchester - they are most famous for their Duck Races.

Okay - newcomers to this blog might wonder why I posted the map of an obscure town in England when I was discussing a route in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Loyal readers know the answer; it was pink!

Which leads us in an almost logical fashion to the actual question we are addressing today. But first a word about our statistical methods here at Team H.O.P.E.

We glance at the Google report and see what looks to be the most common question. Every now and then we actually look closer and count the entries (you can see our lips move while we count). But that whole counting thing is overrated. Partly because there are so many ways to ask the same question. The question today is "where can I find inappropriately colored Christmas decorations?"

No, nobody actually phrased it exactly like that. Many people came searching for black ornaments. Or pink trees. Or pink and brown ornaments. Or black and pink ornaments. Or pink wreaths. You get the idea.

As we have already established here - black Christmas tree ornaments are wrong. It’s like raisins in Cole Slaw. Or catsup on eggs! We don't care how 'elegant' or 'stylish' or 'sophisticated' it might be. (the black ornaments – obviously there is nothing sophisticated about catsup, anywhere)

Our opinion regarding pink ornaments? Well that one is a little tricky because we sold a ton of pink Christmas tree ornaments at our fundraisers. But you have to understand, they were PINK RIBBON ornaments. And for the last umpteen months we have been slaves to the PINK RIBBON.

But now that that walk is over and we are trying to figure out where to walk to next, we can admit that pink is not exactly a traditional Christmas color.

For those of you as yet unconvinced that black Christmas tree ornaments are wrong I have found a loophole for you! If you were to make the ornaments yourself; that would be a traditional Christmassy thing to do and the color choice would be irrelevant. And for those of you with teenagers this would be a fun way to spend time with them - without the eye rolling and the scorn that teens feel the need to exhibit when something might possibly be less than cool.

If you are bound and determined to have sophisticated storebought black ornaments (or hot pink, or lime green) then Hobby Lobby on Greenfield road and the Superstition Freeway is probably going to be your best bet here in town.

If you are visiting here from some other state looking for the best place to buy black ornaments I’m afraid we can’t help you. But we do have some great recipes and some useful product reviews if you want to hang around awhile.

While we are talking about Christmas tree ornaments ~ ~ ~ we've also had people arrive at Team H.O.P.E. looking for Harley Davidson Christmas Ornaments. I know for a fact that Chester's Harley Davidson on Country Club has the official HD 2008 ornament and many other nice gifts and decorations.

You are wondering why we have a problem with black (or pink, or lime green) ornaments and don't seem to have a problem with Harley Davidson ornaments?

Well first of all - we are not a huge fan of motorcycle ornaments - this Hemi V8 ornament is so much cuter!

The thing with the Harley Davidson or Hemi ornament is that it is a specialty ornament rather than a motif or theme.

How would we feel about a themed Harley tree? Well now. . . . seeing as how Black and Orange are the official Harley colors. . . what does that suggest to you?

If you do want a black Christmas tree with orange lights,

or if you would prefer this tree:

or if you would like a pink tree (Or lemon-lime. Or purple. Or upside down. Etc.) we might suggest Treetopia.

(But please remember – we are NOT the better business bureau. We are a group of moms walking around having fun and trying to make a small difference in the world. We have never ordered a product from Treetopia and make no claims regarding their delivery schedule or anything else about them)

And lastly; (Yeah that’s what I usually say about half-way through to keep you reading) we have to share something with y’all. As you are looking for something sleek and stylish and cutting edge for your Christmas décor you might keep in mind that what is sleek and stylish today will be kitschy and campy tomorrow.

Remember the pink aluminumun tree that Lucy wanted? Well it’s not only sought after by the retro campy melmac people; but apparently many children of the late 60’s and early 70’s want the tree because it represents tradition and warmth and childhood memories. That, friends and neighbors, is what we call irony.

We had another Christmas tree to share but this is already quite long enough and we want to give the other tree the time and verbiage it deserves!

So until then, have a holly jolly day!

Oh, and before y'all write to me to gently and kindly inform me that I misspelled that particular metal alloy - it's not exactly spelled wrong, I just spelled it the way I pronounce it!

The Explanation

2008-11-30T12:33:00.003-07:00

I hope y'all had a happy thanksgiving!

The other day we had a few pictures and challenged y'all to figure out the connection here. (and always remember - everything is connected!)

The fist picture was of the Quaker Oatmeal guy. The second picture was of a pink circular saw. The third picture was of a Shaker Bonnet Shaper. And lastly a little thanksgiving clip art featuring a Native American and two pilgrims.

So here's the story:

The other day I was teaching y'all how to properly use an apostrophe. At least that's the way I remember it.

I mentioned pluralizing skills, which reminded me of something else I have been meaning to discuss here that is very pertinent to the point of this blog.

. . .

The point of this blog being to share the fundraising and training antics of a group of women; remember?

So while doing a little background research for this future column I found a picture of a pink circular saw. Because we tend to have an all pink, all the time slant here I had to use the picture!

When I finished the apostrophe lesson I continued with the circular saw resarch. And discovered something fascinating:

The first circular saw used in a saw mill was invented in 1813 (or 1810 depending on which article you’re reading) in the United States by Tabitha Babbitt. Ms. Babbitt also invented an early cut-nail, an improved spinning wheel head, and a new style of false teeth. Ms. Babbitt did not patent these inventions because apparently that would go against her Shaker faith.

Since we were so close to thanksgiving I thought this would be a fun thing to mention; even though I recognized that Shakers aren't exactly Quakers. Well, come to find out - Quakers aren't the same as Puritans. And the Pilgrims were puritanical - but weren't exactly Puritans.

Puritans – determined Calvinist reformers working to "purify" Church of England so as to be consistent with Calvinist principles, began during the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547)

Pilgrims – Separatists who fled to Holland (1607/8) and sailed on Mayflower in 1620

Quakers – independent reformers practicing austere Protestantism; their missionaries and followers were repressed by the Puritans in the Bay Colony

Shakers - Originally referred to as Shaking Quakers; an offshoot of Quakerism founded by Mother Ann Lee in 1741.

Another big difference here is that the Shakers were celibate. Which apparently leads to excellent basket and chair making skills - - - but is seemingly bad for sustainability. As Anita Bryant would say - Shakers can't reproduce so they must recruit! Can you imagine the recruitment posters? But I'm about to wander off topic again.

So Ms. Babbitt and her circular saw has absolutely nothing to do with thanksgiving. Nor did the Quaker Oat Dude. But since I discovered that many many people have the same confusion I did, it seemed nice to share with y'all.

In conclusion: The point is that my ladies and I are very thankful for the example set by countless other women throughout history (many of whom were shakers, quakers, pilgrims, and puritans) that women can do anything!

As for Miss Oakley; she was a Quaker. As was Richard Milhouse Nixon - but I think we should quit while we're ahead!

Happy Filled With Graditude Day!

2008-11-27T06:23:00.001-07:00

Explanation to Follow

2008-11-26T13:15:00.005-07:00

Bonus points to anyone

who has an idea

of what we were thinking

when we posted these pics!

ἡ ἀπόστροφος

2008-11-24T14:15:00.006-07:00

All righty then. I will try to keep this short and on-topic. But given that everything is connected (as I may have mentioned before!) it is sometimes difficult to sharply define the so-called topic.

In looking at our analytics, I see that many people have come here in search of something that we do not have – and yet it would make sense for Google and/or Yahoo to point them this way. So I feel a certain obligation to help folks with what they are seeking here.

We are naturally going to start with our second most common request. We’ll answer the number one request in a few days. Maybe.

Apparently, many people have come to Perpetual H.O.P.E. seeking grammar advice.

Okay – stop with the hooting and the jeering and pay attention. People are not seeking general grammar advice; they specifically want to know what the plural of ‘Christmas’ is. I suspect Google sends them here because one of our posts was titled, What’s the Plural of Christmas?

The common rule regarding plurals is so easy that it’s amazing so many of us get it wrong;

you add an S to the end of the word.

Unless the word ends in an S or a Z. Or a CH or an SH. Or a X.

Then you add an ES.

Unless the word is ‘ox’ in which case you add an EN.

Other than that just add an S.

Unless the word ends with an O.

In which case you add an ES. As in Dan Quayle's least favorite tuber.

Unless it is one of the words like ‘auto’ or ‘memo’ that doesn’t need the E.

Memo is short for memorandum, which is the singular form of the word memoranda.

Which is similar to the word Data.

Data is one of those ‘special’ words that have been abused to the point of grammar people almost giving up on it. In fact, some style guides suggest that using the correct singular of Data sounds affected. Or dare we say it, elite. Therefore, if you are in a job interview your best bet is to not use the word at all. If you must – here is a simple guide that will fit on a sticky note:

datum is, data are,
this datum, these data

However, since nobody came to Perpetual H.O.P.E. seeking datum, we must return to Christmas.

We’ve established that words that end in S get an ES to make them plural.

Unless it is a word like Cactus. Which becomes Cacti. I used to live in Vegas – the home of the Flying Elvi. And my first editor used to talk about a radio preacher in Del Rio Texas that would offer his listeners glow in the dark Jesi. So a person could be forgiven for wanting to pluralize Christmas into Christmi. Forgiven, yet still mistaken.

Yes, two whole pages just to tell you unequivocally that:

The Plural of Christmas is Christmases!

Yeah, it looks wrong. But what would you suggest, just throwing an apostrophe at it?

Many of us are okay on plurals but bad with apostrophes. In fact we are so bad with apostrophes that it interferes with our otherwise decent pluralizing skills.

Which reminds me of something else we need to talk about. But I don’t want this post to get long and convoluted so just a little visual reminder for me and a hint for you:

Okay, where were we?

Wear we’re wii?

Ware whirr wee?

Oh yeah, discussing how simple English grammar is! I must confess that I made a heretofore-uncorrected grammar error in a previous post. We were discussing Isla ñ Rum and I used the phrase:

a friend of my husbands'

Well apparently, this implies I have more than one husband.

When the error was pointed out to me, I decided I would rather have people think I was a bigamist than completely ignorant of basic grammar.

Actually, I looked up the proper use of apostrophes and became quite boggled down by the subject.

Here is one example I found:

Those things over there are my husband's.
(Those things over there belong to my husband.)

Those things over there are my husbands.
(I'm married to those men over there.)

So apparently I am not the only one with this particular difficulty.

Even after visiting The Humble Apostrophe I still had doubts as to how to refer to the singular (yet married) friend of my one and only husband. This really shouldn’t be so difficult but I’m not the only one struggling here.

Many people use an apostrophe s when they simply want to make a noun plural. This is referred to as a grocer's apostrophe – named after the common sight of Apple’s 1.49 a pound.

There are entire websites devoted to mocking people who get this and other grammar ‘basics’ wrong. Everybody needs a hobby I guess. There is even an Apostrophe Preservation Society, or something like that. Two of its members were recently arrested for defacing a sign at the Grand Canyon.

Its members?

Yes, Its members. The apostrophe is used to denote possession, except in this example. According to something I found on the Internet:

Its is one of the few words that indicates possession without an apostrophe. For example, “The dog is eating its bone”. This may seem confusing, but it follows the same pattern as other possessive pronouns: his, hers, its, yours, ours, theirs.

I found one site that said the only time you use an apostrophe is to denote a missing letter. Then he went on to explain that if you look at Chaucer’s English and even older German that there is an es missing from possessive words. Which would almost work for me except when we start talking about plural possessives.

When, among other things I learned:

The final tricky situation here is whether possessive nouns that end in s get an apostrophe only, or the apostrophe-s. Unless they're Moses or Jesus, or some other Biblical entity, they get an apostrophe-s.

Matthew 15:30 (K J V)— And great multitudes came unto Him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and He healed them.

An example of another word that frequently vexes me:

princess = princess' tiara

Okay. What if her brothers were cross dressers? Would that be The Princes’s Tiaras. Or the Princess Tiaras?

Then there are my brothers-in-law and their wives. That would be my brothers-in-law’s wives. And since they are girly-girls I could even talk about my brothers-in-law’s wives’ tiaras.

Note – I only have one brother-in-law and I would bet a hundred bucks his wife does not wear a tiara.

So I tried. I sincerely tried to understand enough that I could explain it simply. I give up. I’m just going to sticky note the following examples to my monitor and hope all my future sentences fit these formulae!

Ø      My husband’s friend’s brothers.

(the brothers of the friend of my husband)

Ø      My husband’s friends’ brothers.

(the brothers of several of the friends of my husband)

Ø      My husbands’ friend’s brothers.

(the brothers of a friend of several of my husbands)

Ø      My husbands’ friends’ brothers.

(the brothers of several of the friends of several of my husbands)

(And yes, I did just turn sticky note into a verb. You might even say I verbified it! And it felt good!) But why all these possessive apostrophes when we were discussing the plural of Christmas? Because people tend to throw apostrophes at words they are unsure of. And it’s not just me.

There is a new movie being released now called Four Christmases. Fine. When you first show a movie you must have a special opening night presentation called a premier. The premier technically belongs to the movie. So there have been recent news stories about The Four Christmases’ Premier. Which is fine if this info is just copied directly from the PR folks. But some folks rearrange the sentence to read The Four Christmases’ Premier.

What adds to the difficulty here is that the apostrophe, the single quotation mark, and the single prime all share one key on the typewriter. Remember when we used to underline proper titles? Well, with the common practice of underlining hyperlinks that is no longer the convention and we are all free to do what we want with titles – including putting them in single quotes. But Word and WordPerfect and other word processors will automatically change the symbol to the one they think you want. So some mis-punctuation is actually the result of pushy computer programs. Yep, I think from now on I will claim that all my errors are the result of auto-correct and auto-format and smart-quote.

Oh, and most apostrophe fiends think it’s wrong to use an apostrophe for initials such as Straight A’s or a Collection of CD’s or even numbers as in That 70’s Show. I’m thinking they should just take a deep breath and save their scorn for people who mix up their, there and they’re.

In any case, Christmas’s coming so I hope all your Christmases are bright. I may even wish some of our overseas friends a merry Christmass.

PS - I have no desire to point out other people's errors. But I did find it funny that when I was looking up the Flying Elvi to include a link I noticed they had a button on their page for the Flying Santa's. If we weren't in a Christmas mode and we weren't discussing the use of apostrophes when going from plural to possesive I would never mention this - but it made me laugh today!

3rd day of 3-day walk pictures!

2008-11-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

No, not just pictures of the third day - the third (and last) day we are posting pictures from all three days. Makes more sense that way?

Without further ado:

I like the way they keep them all corralled together - these are dangerous women!

Here is the whole passel of them! Except for Denise. If I get Denise permission I will explain in a later posting!

Sword fighting? Don't you ladies have somewhere to walk to?

Oh, I should probably mention: these pics are not in chronological order. Not alphabetical order. Not in order of how much I like them. They are pretty much random. If I manage not to include gingerbread and cub scouting pics I figure I'm doing a semi professional job! I also don't know if I have an equal number of pictures of everyone. I know we don't have enough pics of Wendy because she was too fast. And it's not like anyone is going to count. . . . . Oh please please please I hope I have as many pics of Jeannie as I do everyone else! If not I'll just tell her she was to fast for the camera! Yeah, that's the ticket.

We've met Krintines mom, and adore her. We've met Jeannies mom, and adore her. Unfortunately we never got to meet Barb's mom. But given that Barb is such a dear person (seriously - of all the Team H.O.P.E. and Simply the Breast ladies and the support staff - Barb is easily the sweetest natured of us all) I imagine her mom did many thing right! So thank you Barb Mom!

Yes, Jeannie - that's us. There are dozens of these signs all over town - do we have to stop at each one?

Apparently so. But that was all I could upload for now.

Never thought I would say this but, "Cool ambulance"

I say this alot, "Cool Firefighters"

I didn't take this picture and at first I was confused. I thought maybe Jeannie got caught coming out of a motel and hid behind these people. . . . .

Then I realized I knew them! They are Jeannie in laws! Wade and Lani! I expect to see Jeannies fouth grade teacher somewhere in these photos!

Oh good - proof that Jeannie did not sleep at motel!

Is it just me or is it criminal for someone to look so good waking up in a tent after walking 20 miles the day before?

The other Tina looks good too - but we can pretend her hair is an absolute mess under the cute hat!

Here's 'brown jeep guy' again. Boy howdy, he had to be the strangest character out there.

Or maybe not

Don't panic. I know that looks like a thought bubble above Jeannies head. And I know the idea of Jeannie being able to project her thoughts like that is cartoon scary - but I've been assurred that that is simply a light up sign. They swear.

I agree with Linda - there is something suspicious about this much cheeriness!

Although they did get to be in some of the prettier parts of town.

And they did get to meet so many nice people.

And the walk was well run:

"Okay, If you have to use the restroom bfore we leave, raise your hand"

How could a person not want to join up with these two?

Have a wonderful day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2008-11-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

Someone I know has a birthday today! But I can't tell you who, because he is in a professional place right now where he has to be careful who he associates with and I wouldn't want the feds to google him and find my post about the ceramic knife and airport security. Or the post about the vulgar buttons. Or the line about Country&Western murder ballads. Or the love of rum from argentina. Even the breast cake - as innocent as it was - could conceivably raise a few eybrows among certain buttoned down fed types. As could my veiled hostility toward Zero-Tolerance policies and how they relate to Sharpie Sniffing. Ironically - one of the few topics we've covered thus far that would be completely and totally unsuspicious to even the most diligent NSA type would be our Israeli Pilot bit.

More Arizona 3-day walk pictures!

2008-11-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

I should have mentioned yesterday that TNieto retains copyright of all these photos. If you want to use any of them just drop us a line (threedaywalkaz at yahoo dot com) I'm sure she would be okay with it but ya hafta ask first!

If I tried to climb up the bleachers in a long dress I would still be in the hospital!

I know why she's crying. Makes me want to cry too. And go hug my mom!

We didn't have the heart to tell Jeannie that the banner reading 'HOPE' wasn't referring to us!

Not as pleasant a smell as fresh cut grass but considering the circumstances no one complained.

That's a lot of pink people.

This is the famous 'guy in the brown jeep'

I would know that ribbon anywhere! Hi Dave!

This is Jeannie telling the person who is flagging down the sweep bus that they are going to get their tukas back in gear and keep walking. Or else!

The good part is the person did keep walking. The bad part is that the person wasn't on our team!

A quiet moment to contemplate. And to hide from Jeannie.

A little shade, a little snack, and she is good as new!

Handing our assignments? Kicking butt and taking names?

Miss Tina always manages to appear calm and serene and contented. I want to know what she's really thinking!

Okaaaaaay. Jeannie thought this guy was a hoot. At this point in the walk they had passed into Scottsdale but were still in Lower Scottsdale - where you can't get arrested just for being tacky!

Cute kid. And loyal too. And still several years from teenagehood! Yea!

Another cute kid!

So very nice to see a yard sign that has NOTHING to do with politics!

Yep, that would be Team H.O.P.E. getting a perfect score, naturally.

I sometimes think I really do have to learn how to ride a horse or a motorcycle! Because otherwise wearing chaps would just be kinky!

More tomorrow about motorcycle riding. Heck, we may even include horseback riding!

Arizona 3-Day Walk Pictures!

2008-11-19T12:34:00.003-07:00

Suddenly all those sports drinks are seeming like a BAD idea!

Pink Tent City - No green bologna here!

I hope they are using official Sharpie Markers!

If you enjoy drums with your bagpipes you really must see/hear The Wicked Tinkers!

I'll have pie ala mode, thank you!

The pure unbridled joy of one who has made it to the end and did not have to face the wrath of Jeannie for getting on the sweep bus!

It looks like she is relaxing. . . she's just doing her pilates because the walk isn't quite enough of a work out.

Be vewy vewy quiet. . . . Kristine is sleeping.

Wendy isn't in this picture because she thought it would be more challenging to swing across the bottom of the bridge like tarzan.

Nos dames de danse et de fendage perpétuels.

One of the many signs of encouragment in our neighborhood. Thanks Deanna!

Much much nicer than the way I had phrased the same sentiment.

Don't ya just want to hug them? Or invite them to your next party?

Otter Pop People Rock!

2008-11-17T13:20:00.003-07:00

So Team H.O.P.E. and Simply the Breast have returned triumphant! None of them had to ride the sweep bus. Not that there would be any shame in riding the sweep bus the last couple miles but I guess Jeannie ~~threatened to pull them off the bus and to beat them senseless if they did~~ motivated everyone to keep walking.

My ladies did not lose any toenails - which I guess is a fairly common malady of 3-day walkers. (and of people who get run over by sweep buses) There were some aches and pains but nothing that immobilized or demoralized them! Unsurprisingly, Wendy walked a little too fast to stay with the group. She apparently arrived at the lunch stop a full half hour before it opened on the second day. I didn't even know Wendy ate lunch!

The ladies were incredibly touched and inspired by all the support of the community. I guess all the official cheering stations were packed full of well wishers. And I guess some of the well-wishers even ventured away from the official cheer stations and just greeted and cheered and gave them refreshments all along the walk.

They were thankful for all the support and all the refreshments; but the ones they mentioned by name more than once were the Otter Pops. Otter Pops are apparently the perfect size and sweetness and everything. I am not discounting the generosity of companies that provide refreshments to events like this - but there is something so incredibly generous about a private person buying, freezing, and distributing Otter Pops just because.

Did you know that Otter Pops have characters for each flavor? I have a ton of other Otter Pop info to share with y’all later – but right now we are focused on the people providing the Otter Pops, not the pops themselves!

We don’t know who these people were but we are thankful and grateful!

We were so indebted to so many before the sun even came up Friday morning; and the kindness continues. Our ladies were very impressed with the motorcycle and bicycle teams. They also liked this guy:

They want to thank the lady who passed out Trivial Pursuit cards, whoever she is. (Hmmpf! If I had known it was going to be a walking trivia game I might have signed up to walk. But then I would have tried to get on the sweep bus and then it would have turned ugly)

I hope to have more pictures soon!

On a final note. I do not ever like to intrude upon another persons grief. I almost didn’t mention this because it seems private ~ but this is why folks are out there raising money and awareness so . . .

Our ladies saw a woman along the walk that just melted their hearts. This woman was wearing a pink t-shirt in honor of her two daughters who had both died of breast cancer. That is just unimaginable to me and when Jeannie told me about it I cried at the absolute tragedy of that, but also the hope and the love evidenced by this woman’s support of the walkers.

And on the third day. . .

2008-11-16T06:35:00.002-07:00

It is cold out there right now. And dark! And expected to be 82 degrees later; so long underwear is probably illadvised. Yeah, yeah, yeah I know some of y'all don't think 40-50 degrees calls for thermal long johns but around here it does.

So today our ladies walk through Tempe and into Scottsdale. I don't have pictures yet of yesterdays adventure through Guadalupe and Awautukee but I'll try to get those as soon as possible.

I like the route that the walkers are on. If I were actually walking I would want Saturday to be a point A to Point B thing rather than a loop. Which is odd since I'm much more loopy than I am linear!

Much of the Phoenix area is under construction at any given time - the three day walk folks have pulled off a small miracle in setting up a 60 mile course that does not go through multiple construction zones. I also understand that they have supplied enough port-a-potties. That is something some of these 5K walk planners could think about.

I know most people can walk the 5K in an hour or so and one wouldn't think a person would need a rest stop, but it's not like you step out of the port-a-john and walk 3 miles and that's it. You arrive at the event early, you drink some coffee while waiting to check in, you hit the port-a-potties and then you stand around with your group near the starting area for a while and then you drink some water and next thing you know you are 3 miles from the nearest restroom and walking a bit faster. Which leads me to believe the absence of port-a-potties along the route is a deliberate attempt to make slow people keep up with the herd!

I can't go to the Mill Avenue cheering station today since I'm up to my neck in gingerbread but I'll be think about our ladies! I am just flat out amazed that everyday people (not that my ladies are not exceptional!) can do this. When I look at the marathons and triathlons and such I just sort of dismiss those people as being freakishly in good shape. Yesterday I saw a lady walking in this 3day that is my size! (She wasn't smoking so she had that edge on me!) The notion of being able to do something extremely difficult and challenging and yet still doable for a 'normal' person is such a great concept!

Since today is the final day I will post the official 3day "tips on how to help your walker make a smooth transition back to their daily routine " It's not as if they have Stockholm syndrome here! But nonetheless here they are:

After the Event
Your participant has participated in two emotional celebrations, a challenging 60-mile journey and a life-changing experience in just three days. Now, it’s time to go back home. Here are some tips on how to help your walker make a smooth transition back to their daily routine.

Have a welcome home meal prepared and make it an evening of rest and relaxation.
Encourage your participant to share the Breast Cancer 3-Day experience.
If you can’t attend the Closing Ceremony, be sure to ask how much money was raised!
Unpack, clean and put away gear.
Share the newspaper articles or news footage that you’ve collected over the weekend.
The following day, give your participant a massage or schedule a day of pampering at a spa.
In the days to come, help your participant write thank you notes.
Print pictures and assemble a scrapbook.
Help your participant plan a reunion party to keep in touch with other walkers.
Get ready to do it all over again! Maybe you’ll be joining the Breast Cancer 3-Day in 2009!

I can't wait to see the scrapbook Mr. Moore has made for Jeannie! As for the welcome home meal; well let's just say that Jeannie's mother is in town so that is covered. I am not slamming Mr. Moore here. Not at all. If Jeannie asked him to weld a 20 foot ribbon to the front gate he would happily (and skillfully) do it.

Yep, this definitely feels more like girlfriend advice than husband advice! Yes, I'm definitely up for planning a reunion party! Details to follow!

And they're off!

2008-11-14T13:49:00.005-07:00

No, seriously ~ these ladies are off. The weather outside is perfect; for light gardening or maybe reading a book. It is currently 81 degrees, which is apparently a bit warm for walking 20 miles in.

You know how I mentioned that the actual route is very hush hush? Well come to find out the walk goes right past our local grade school! And look who was out supporting the walkers:

This is the new vice principal of the school. He encouraged all the kids to wear pink today and has just been wonderful. I've known the principal of the school for years but this was my first opportunity to meet the veep. So far so good! This is the same school that allowed Team H.O.P.E. to sell t-shirts at their fall festival. A school that encourages all the students to wear halloween costumes, AND has a little halloween parade. Not that they shirk the academics; they are very focused on making sure the children learn what they need to. But they get that students are children and allow them childhood experiences! The school has great retention of teachers. The first three teachers my son had were all 20+ years at this school. I'll get back to the walk in a second but I just have to say that if you are moving to Chandler and want a genuine neighborhood school for your kids to attend you should definitely check out the Pomeroy Elementary School neighborhood!

Now back to the walk. A local junior high school allowed some of their students to come to the #4 pit stop to cheer on the teams. These were the Hendrix Huskies - which is why we have a picture of Kristine and Jeannie wearing Huskies t-shirts. I did not know there would be costume changes as part of the walk!

And as an added bonus ~ today only ~ we actually have a picture of Mr. Moore!

After the pics here we will list the OFFICIAL cheering stations for tomorrow and Sunday.

This picture is a little deceptive.

Tina was standing on a box on her tippy toes and

Wendy had her knees bent at a 30 degree angle!

Saturday, November 15:

8:00 am - 10:00 am
de Las Lomas Elementary School
11820 S Warner- Elliot Loop
Phoenix, AZ

11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Joann, Etc
5021 E Ray Rd.
Phoenix, AZ

Sunday, November 16:

8:30 am - 11:00 am
Mill Ave.
East side of the road, between 7th Street and 3rd Street
Tempe, AZ

10:00 am- 1:30 pm
Papago Complex
1557 N Scottsdale Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ