I have nothing of artistic merit or theme to share at this time.

I simply wanted to point out that my husband Rob managed to create another fire on the stove top this evening.

The man's ability to create fires where they are not intended and do not belong simply boggles the mind.



And that's all I'm going to say about it.

♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

Cheeses love me, this I know,
for my waistline tells me so.
Tiny waistlines don't belong
to the ones who sing this song.

Yes, cheeses love me,
Yes, cheeses love me,
Yes, cheeses love me,
My waistline tells me so.

♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫

Possibly the most well-known event of 1906 was the San Francisco earthquake.

Lesser-known, but more significant to me personally, on November 18, 1906, my grandpa (whom I call "Pa") was born.  

In the same year, a dog was born who would be Pa's childhood doggie pal, and he was named Frisco.

Pa was an exceedingly hard worker , kind, thoughtful, generous and loving.

He was also the original MacGyver, able to fix anything with anything.  

He loved music, particularly big band.  In his early years, he played cornet.  

He always encouraged my love of music, and before every orchestra concert in which I played, he gave me the same advice:  "Play pretty for the people."  

Back in 2008, my dear friend recreated a photo of Pa which I took in his workshop, the place where he always seemed happiest:



  Thank you, Far.  You know how much I treasure this magnificent work of art.

Pa's been gone for quite some time now, but wherever you may be, Pa, I hope you have a very happy birthday.  Eat some extra cake for me.  

arduous

ar·du·ous
adj ˈär-jə-wəs, -dyu̇-, -jü-əs

1. Demanding great effort or labor; difficult: "Living with DobbyKnits for an extended period of time is an extremely arduous feat."

24 years ago, in the cold wee hours of the morning, Bob-Stah arrived in Denver, along with his faithful compadre, Fresno.

Fresno is still in our hearts, and trooper that he is, Bob-Stah is still by my side.

Happy anniversary, my sweetheart, my Pumpkin Pie Boy, my very best friend.



PS: By the way, if you'd care to listen to the same music I'm listening to, you can find it here.  It's from a concert in which I played in the orchestra in 1982.  Also qualifies as an arduous task.

Howdy, y'all.

Bobby finally got a car again!  

I told him he had to name it before he drove it off the lot.

He didn't.

So I named it instead.

And I'm glad I got the opportunity.

Because I picked THE GREATEST CAR NAME OF ALL TIME.

The car's name is Vlad.

Because...

...

...

it's an Impala.



Oh, MAN, I'm lovin' it.

Hope you're all doing well - physically, emotionally, spiritually (if so inclined), artistically, etc.

Lots of love and very best wishes,

- Linda

In a nutshell, The Legend of 1900: A guy is born aboard an ocean liner, becomes a virtuoso piano player and never sets foot on land. He goes so far as to remain on board when he knows full well the ship is going to be destroyed by dynamite charges placed throughout the ship.  BOOM!!!  -Fin-

Okay.

Everyone who recommended this film cautioned me that I'd need Kleenex.

Has my heart turned to stone, or did I just miss something?  Did they mean that the disc would need cleaning?  'Cause I'll tell you what, I never even got misty.  Not once.

Now, The Iron Giant, I re-watched again a few days ago.

"You stay.  No following."  (the tears begin to roll down my face)

The giant soars up into the heavens, his intent to meet the missile in order to save the town (and heck, the surrounding towns - it's a nuke, after all).  And the music becomes VERY dramatic.

(I'm crying audibly now.)

The missile separates from its launching equipment and begins its descent toward the land below.

Hogarth's words, in slight echo, are heard:  "You are who you choose to be," and in response, the giant says, "Sooooperrrrmaaaaan."

(I'm sobbing.  Not "boo-hoo-hoo."  SOBBING.  Shoulders shaking, tears streaming, nose running...)

My point in all this is to inquire: What is it about "1900" that went over my head?  Or, at the very least, failed to touch my heart?

I just don't get it.



Oh well.

On to the next film.  Not a Kleenex film.  More of a Bounty Paper Towels flick.  A gory flick.  Probably won't make me cry.  We'll see.

So, until next time, save me the aisle seat.

Last Monday, Bobby and I went down to the Social Security office.

I'd gotten a letter stating that they wanted me to bring someone who was reliable, responsible and in whom I could trust in handling my disability benefits.

(WA-HOO!  This meant that my claim had finally been APPROVED!!!  After four years of wrestling with the system, the ordeal was FINISHED.)

Turns out the purpose of the office visit was just to get Rob set up as the payee for my benefits.

Clearly, the folks who reviewed my case must be well aware of the dangers of giving someone with bipolar a hyoooooooge chunk of money. In a manic phase, I just might go and buy the 10 most expensive Barbie dolls in the world, and we'd be broke again.

I kid, but only partly. In a manic episode, extravagant and pointless spending of excessive amounts of money is common. I can speak from my own experience on that.

We weren't told how much I'll be getting, but were told to expect something in the mail within the next month or so.

Lo and behold (Lo and behold, lookin' for my lo and behold...), we get home and find a "Notice of Award" in the mailbox.

Beginning date April 2007: $1,462.30 - entitlement began
Beginning date December 2007: $1,495.90 - cost-of-living adjustment
Beginning date December 2008: $1,582.60 - cost-of-living adjustment

So, let's do the math, shall we?

Apr. 2007 to Nov. 2007 = 8 mos. @ $1,462.30 = $11,698.40
Dec. 2007 to Nov. 2008 = 12 mos. @ $1,495.90 = $17,950.80
Dec. 2008 to Aug. 2010 = 21 mos. @ $1,582.60 = $33,234.60

Which brings us to the total...and that causes me to quote a line by Stephen Baldwin from "Usual Suspects" in his role as Michael McManus:

"There's more here than I thought."

Are you sitting down? Are you ready?

A drum roll, if you please...

DUH-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh...

$62,883.80

-k-PSHHHHHH!

So, no more worrying about "which one, rent or food?"  

We are finally going to be okay.    AND I won't have to fill out another 37-page questionnaire about "when were you hospitalized? for how long? what medications are you currently taking?"   

Yesterday, I was just mulling over the silliest possible thing on which I could spend my disability back pay...



$62,000 worth of wax lips. (Styrofoam peanuts was my first thought, but wax lips...THAT MANY OF THEM...IN ONE PLACE...that's just freakin' hilarious.)

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

"Thou shalt not covet Jim Nabors' wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass. I mean, really. Coveting Jim Nabors' ass is just kinda creepy."

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

I'll close with one really cool thing -- the website of Papageno Mechanic is now "live."  It's the site created by my dear pal Vincent Merkhajeb and it's his online-only release of his new album, Papageno Mechanic.  He's a brilliant guy and a wonderful musician.

All the songs and videos are available for download free o'charge.  Can't beat that with a stick.

It was for this website that I designed the Papageno Music-Machine-O.



Click the title below to visit the website.  Feel free to send me your comments and I'll pass them along to Vincent for you.  He'd love to know what you think!

Papageno Mechanic Performance Page