Jim'll Fix It Strikes Again

People living in the United States probably won't be familiar with the old British TV show "Jim'll Fix It." However, since I was born in England, and lived there for the first 26 years of my life, I'm quite familiar with the show.

The other day, a friend sent me a video of some radical new rollercoaster at Cedar Point and for some reason, Jim'll Fix It came right to the forefront of my mind.

Well, I know exactly *why* it did that and I'll explain. Back in the the seventies I think, this show, Jim'll Fix It, used to arrange for people to do things they had always wanted to do, go places they always wanted to go and meet people they had always wanted to meet.

Anyway, this cub scout troop wrote in and asked if they Jim could fix it for them to have their lunch in a very unusual place -- on the Big Dipper rollercoaster at Blackpool in England. The resulting video was absolutely hilarious and, I think, is well remembered by just about everyone who ever saw it.

Well, when I was looking at the video my friend had sent, naturally, the boy scouts came back to my mind and I did a search on YouTube to see if there might be a clip or two. Imagine my delight when I found not one, but several, including this one which is actually the Jim'll Fix It Strikes Back, where he brings the same group of boys (now almost 40 yrs old) and they get to eat lunch on the roller coaster all over again.

It's hysterically funny - I hope you enjoy :)

Children's Science Exam Answers

Every now and then a true gem arrives in my email inbox. As I read through this, I was thankful I wasn't sipping my morning coffee because I surely would have sputtered it all over my keyboard (hence requiring me to replace yet another fried keyboard)

These are just priceless. Here's the email as I received it:

Children's Science Exam Answers

This is really cute. Almost better than a cup of
Coffee to start your morning.... If you need a laugh,
read through these Children's Science Exam Answers.

These are real answers given by children.

Q: Name the four seasons. A: Salt, pepper, mustard and
vinegar.

Q: Explain one of the processes by which Water can be
made safe to drink. A: Flirtation makes water safe to
drink because it removes large pollutants like grit,
sand, dead sheep, and canoeists.

Q: How is dew formed? A: The sun shines down on the
leaves and makes them perspire.

Q: How can you delay milk turning sour? A: Keep it in
the cow.

Q: What causes the tides in the oceans? A: The tides
are a fight between the earth and the moon. All water
tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no
water on the moon, and nature hates a vacuum. I forget
where the sun joins in this fight.

Q: What are steroids? A: Things for keeping carpets
still on the stairs.

Q: What happens to your body as you age? A: When you
get old, so do your bowels and you get
intercontinental.

Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty? A:
He says good-bye to his boyhood and looks forward to
his adultery.

Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes. A:
Premature death.

Q: What is artificial insemination? A: When the farmer
does it to the cow instead of the bull.

Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized?
(e.go., abdomen.) A: The body is consisted into three
parts--- the brainium, the borax and the abdominal
cavity. The brainium contains the brain; the borax
contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominal cavity
contains the five bowels, A, E, I, O, and U.

Q: What is the fibula? A: A small lie.

Q: What does "varicose" mean? A: Nearby.

Q: Give the meaning of the term "Caesarean Section" A:
The Caesarean Section is a district in Rome.

Q: What does the word "benign" mean?' A: Benign is
what you will be after you be eight.

I *Can* Drive Fifty Five!

Unlike Sammy Haggar, I certainly *can* drive 55. My problem is that apparently, I drive that speed regardless of the actual speed limit!

I suppose I should consider myself lucky that in all my fifty years (well, okay, in all my thirty two driving years) I have only got two speeding tickets. But coincidentally, they were both for going 55 in a 35 limit!

That seems to be "my comfort speed," the speed at which my foot rests easily on the accelerator, neither having to be lifted off nor pressed down. It's a happy medium.

Which got me in trouble the other week. Imagine my surprise when I suddenly noticed the flashing lights in my rear view mirror. I'm sure there are things more embarrassing than getting a speeding ticket right outside the door of Walmart on a busy Saturday, but right now I can't think what they might be.

So I did the Defensive Driving course - the dvd you can do at home and, since it had been 20 years since I last took the course, it certainly got me thinking and much more "aware" of what's happening around me on the roads.

And since then I have noticed a couple of things.

Why is it that whenever you make sure you have enough "stopping distance" between you and the car in front, some other car zips into the lane and effectively halves the distance, causing you to have to brake if you hope to maintain a safe distance?

And then why is it, while cruising on a single lane highway at the posted 55 MPH speed limit, am I over taken by one car or truck after another?

Just a couple of life's little annoyances.

Life at Cat's Place

OK - so this is Cat's Place blog and it's no secret that I have cats. Or should I say "I am owned by cats." With this many cats (there are seven of them indoors and a stray outside that knew a good thing when he found it and stayed), one would expect a few scuffles and once or twice I have come home from work to find the place looked like there was a pillow fight and a pillow shed it's stuffing all over the floor. But generally speaking, things are serene. The most "crazy" my brood normally get is when they start thundering back and forth through the house on a five minute racing spree and then they all drape themselves back over the furniture again. Recently, I was reminded how lucky I am when an online friend sent me a video from YouTube:



Which then led me on a tour through the psycho cats of YouTube, each one making realize how blessed I am :)



My cats all love attention and to be petted. In fact, they insist that I give them the attention they desire, unlike the cats in these videos.



But, when they do get into a fight, it's hard to break them up. Perhaps I should invest in a dog, like this one, to act as referee.

The Hormone Hostage

I never had problems with the dreaded PMS until I hit 50. Now I guess it's a combination of PMS and approaching menopause - joy, oh joy!

So anyway, when this arrived in my mailbox, I thought it was particularly appropriate and thought I would share it here :)


******

The hormone hostage knows that there are days in the month when all a man has to do is open his mouth and he takes his life into his own hands! This is a handy guide that should be as common as a driver's license in the wallet of every husband, boyfriend, co-worker or significant other!

Dangerous:	Safer:	Safest:	Ultra Safe:
What's for dinner?	Can I help you with dinner?	Where would you like to go for dinner?	Here, have some wine
Are you wearing that?	Wow, you sure look good in brown!	Wow, look at you!	Here, have some more wine
What are you so worked up about?	Could we be overreacting?	Here's my paycheck	Here, have some wine
Should you be eating that?	You know, there are a lot of apples left	You want some chocolate with that?	Here, have some wine
What did you do all day?	I hope you didn't overdo it today.	I've always loved you in that robe!	Here, have some more wine

13 Things PMS Stands For:

1. Pass My Shotgun
2. Psychotic Mood Swing
3. Perpetual Munching Spree
4. Puffy Mid Section
5. People Make me Sick
6. Provide Me with Sweets
7. Pardon My Sobbing
8. Pimples May Surface
9. Pass My Sweats
10. Pissy Mood Syndrome
11. Poor Men Suck
12. Pack My Stuff
*** And Finally....
13. Potential Murder Suspect

Pass this on to all of your hormonal friends and those who might need a good laugh!!

...or MEN who may need warning!!

I'm a Mac user... there... I said it!

I don't know whether I've ever mentioned this on my blog or not, but I'm a Mac user.

OK - I said it - it's no longer a secret!


Actually I've never kept it a secret that I prefer Macs over PCs any day of the week. Even my personal website has a little "made with Macintosh" button at the bottom of every page.

I started out on Macs when ex-hubby purchased a Performa 6200 on which he planned to learn Quark and other publishing-type software. In fact he never did anything with it at all and when we split up, I kept the Mac.

When I got involved in About.com I was able to purchase a G3 with a bonus I received and although the old 6200 had worked well for what I needed, with my expanding use of the computer, the G3 was much more able to keep pace with my needs.

I used and abused that G3 for at least 7 years and it was still working fine. In fact, "ol' blue and white" as it was called, is still sitting under my desk in my home office, but it's no longer in use.

In January of 2006 I was finally able to upgrade to a G5 iMac and it ROCKS!!! Mine is one of the older models, without the Intel chip and that's why I was able to actually afford it -- got a GREAT price on it on eBay :) It was brand new, still in the box, it was just the non-Intel version but it had everything I was looking for, and more.

One of our online friends, Kev, is always joking about my "paperweight" and I keep telling him "my paperweight can outshine your moo-cow anyday" (he has a Gateway and the moo-cow comment refers to the cow-patterned boxes that the Gateways come in)

Eric, on the other hand, is a PC user, he designs software for the PC and is a database administrator, so you'd think there would be some friction between us over the issue. After all, whenever the topic of Mac's and PC's comes up in online chat groups, there's usually quite a bit of animosity between the two sides. (And, I would add, some pretty stupid remarks from very immature people who are of the opinion that "macs suck, period" - but I won't even go in to that here)

So I think it's a sign of the stability and maturity of Eric and my relationship that we can watch and laugh together at the Get a Mac ads on TV and on the Apple Website.

I love these ads! They are genius!!

National Home Gardening Club

About this time last year I was amused to find myself being invited to join Handy Men of America, on the basis of my having purchased a stud finder, so I could hang a towel rack.

So it really should have been no surprise when I was invited to join the National Home Gardening Club. Although I have no idea what I bought to prompt them to invite me. Had they read my website, I wondered? I'm certainly a keen gardener and have shared the development of my little patch of heaven on my personal website.

But no, I'm sure it was prompted by the purchase of some Weed N Feed or Miracle Gro or something. I *have* been hitting the garden centers the past few weekends.

No matter, I think this is one membership I will enjoy. Members get a monthly magazine and the initial one was very interesting and informative. As with Handy Men of America, you get items sent for you to try out and review - I'm all for that :)

But in the meantime, I'll share with you a photo of my favorite view of my back garden -- as seen from my lounge chair on my covered patio, designed by me and built by my dad (he put in the lawn and the patio pavers) and my neighbor (the shade overhead)

Hello Again!

Well it looks like the blog is pretty much as I left it... can't believe it's been almost six months since I posted anything! My problem is, ideas come to me when I'm driving or on the bus to work and by the time I get home, all inspiration to blog has left me!

So what have I been doing for the past six months? More of the same, actually. Life is pretty much the same as ever. Work is crazier and more hectic, personal life is still up in the air. I say that because, although Eric and I are engaged, we're still really no closer to actually living in the same house in the same city and being married. Having said that, he's been looking in to the possibility of early retirement. Wow - how old does that make me sound? LOL!

Actually, the more he researches it, the possibility of him taking early retirement in July 2008 is not so "out of left field" as we thought and it's actually quite a viable possibility. Might be easier than convincing his bosses that allowing him to relocate to the Pacific Northwest, which they seem to be resisting at the moment.

As for me, well I don't think I ever mentioned it on my blog before, but I'm still waiting to hear some resolution on the class action lawsuit that the homeowners in my subdivision have against the builder. I wouldn't even try to sell before that gets resolved (probably couldn't even if I wanted to) so I'm staying put for now and in the meantime making the most of my house and getting a lot of enjoyment out of it and the garden I've worked so hard on.

So perhaps all the delays will work out for the best, in the end. Eric and I just have to be patient.

And in the meantime, we have our regular weekends together where either he comes here (most usual) or I go there (occasional), our nightly online chats, regular emails and phone calls.

We're in this for the long haul :)