tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96790892011-04-21T23:10:03.882-04:00it's a start - writing's a discipline and I'm undisciplined at heartNIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.comBlogger451100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1124081187042077852005-08-15T00:46:00.000-04:002007-08-04T19:41:15.001-04:00

Today I feel better than I have in a while. Partly because when I accidentally grabbed a pair of shorts that haven't fit in a year and thought, "what the hell, try them on," they fit, zipped, and were comfortable enough to wear all afternoon.I am spending a lot of time sitting, not only at the computer but also doing needlework. I've started doing some isometric exercises I made up :) which

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1123288664700275992005-08-05T20:37:00.000-04:002007-07-27T11:14:57.137-04:00

Tried grep again today - for the first time without either looking in a book or at documentation. th'Mr asked me to email him th'Son's address. I knew I've put it in my journal, and my journal is spread out over separate files for each month. My files are named something like 200503 (for March of this year), etc. I cd'd into the journal directory and did:cat 2005* | grep -i "john doe" -A

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1123277655820884212005-08-05T17:34:00.000-04:002007-08-04T19:43:44.600-04:00

I am wondering if, by using postfix for a single-user system, I'm not using a chainsaw to butter my bread.I've finished chapter one of the perl tutorial. At the end it tells me to "go read my perl documentation." This is the point at which my internal engine normally stalls.I'm totally charmed by the knowledge that if we used binary instead of decimal, we could count to 1023 on our fingers. I

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1123251322447946422005-08-05T10:10:00.000-04:002005-08-05T10:15:22.456-04:00

as I mentioned last night, google is my friend.Not only "my .muttrc" but "favorite .muttrc" "my irssi settings" "my postfix config" et cetera get good fast results when I'm just trying to get over a hump that's blocking my view of the learning curve.It's like trying to grill out while battling mosquitoes. If I light a citronella candle to drive away the bugs I can stop swatting and concentrate

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1123218991921949382005-08-05T01:10:00.000-04:002005-08-05T08:48:22.983-04:00

Mutt has been irritating me in lots of small ways. The documentation is huge and will take several thorough readings to sink in, and in the meanwhile I am straining my eyes trying to read small white text on a black background.Today I found this lifesaver: http://www.spinnaker.de/mutt/muttrc-1.4 which I saved as ~/.mutt-example and from which I pulled several lines to configure the coloration of

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1123218644424945912005-08-05T00:54:00.000-04:002007-08-04T19:45:17.723-04:00

For months I've been whining to myself, "this is too hard! I can't learn it! I don't understand anything!" in regards to the world of linux.I've always been good at seeming to understand. This is not deliberate at all, but what I (think I) do is pick up some jargon, use it, and everyone assumes I know much more than I do. So they quit explaining things to me, and I don't ask ...because frankly,

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1122217447053383572005-07-24T11:04:00.000-04:002005-07-24T11:42:37.036-04:00

If you need me, I'll be going through the archives...

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1121086441098799632005-07-11T08:53:00.000-04:002005-07-11T08:54:01.100-04:00

I'm Lisa, who are you? by NoHomers.net

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1121085963632945972005-07-11T08:44:00.000-04:002005-07-11T08:46:03.636-04:00

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1115822420928985742005-05-11T10:25:00.000-04:002005-05-30T22:03:32.996-04:00

In our community -our county-seat-city of 7000 nestled in our county of 20000- jury duty policy is such that we serve for six months at a time. My six months will be up the end of June. So far I haven't served; I've been called from the galley to the jury box a time or two but both times I had reasons which disqualified me. It's a distasteful business, this deciding guilt or innocence, this

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1115821547656607762005-05-11T10:21:00.000-04:002005-05-11T10:25:47.693-04:00

Make a list. Make it a numbered list. Every item has a number, but they don't need to be done in numerical order.The first item on the list is #1) Make a list.When I have all the items I could *hope* to get done in this one day on the list (including inconsequential items like 8)take a shower 9)make a sandwich 10)eat a sandwich and some chips ) I make the last item on the list like so:#xx) make

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1115765686353147852005-05-06T19:49:00.000-04:002005-05-10T18:54:46.376-04:00

This guy in a county truck pulled up by my mailbox. He had a weedeater and if previous years were any indication would have taken the grass around my mailbox to the ground (to *below* ground, to be exact) - and I yelled "Hey. Hey! HEY! Don't do that! Don't do that please! I have flowers planted there!"He looked at the dandelions and crabgrass, and said, "around your MAILbox?""Uh huh."He

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1115314132953995862005-05-05T13:15:00.000-04:002007-07-27T11:10:38.807-04:00

I think if I lived a thousand years ago I'd be a doctor of some sort, because for one thing I don't get sick often, and for another I have a -what seems almost instinctive- feel for what needs to be done in case of illness or injury. So this bug -or whatever it is I've got- took me by surprise and threw me for a loop. About a week now. First lots of coughing & scratchy throat but no achiness,

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1115312326972220242005-05-04T18:40:00.000-04:002005-05-05T12:58:47.010-04:00

I give you today's miracle:...and doesn't there always seem to be a miracle when you look for one?All the morels I've found have been near, or under, old apple trees, though a cousin says he finds them near poplars. Our nights have been in the forties, with frost advisories, and our days have been in the sixties.

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1115311701102401202005-05-03T21:30:00.000-04:002007-08-04T19:51:01.354-04:00

We have several cats.Earlier today the one we call Klutz-the-Silent, because whenever she opens her mouth to yell, the noise that comes out is more like "eh" than "meow", came to me and, mouth firmly shut on several green feathers sticking out to the side, made a noise something like YOOWWWLLL. I had a hint something was up.I replied, "Klutz, let me have it," placed a hand on her back and

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1115312757354779242005-04-28T16:44:00.000-04:002007-08-04T19:53:01.050-04:00

I've heard they return to where they were born. We had several hatches here last year, and the year before that, so maybe this one knows who I am. I've rescued and tossed out a couple the cats brought in; maybe this was one or those. Or maybe not.At any rate, as I was hanging sheets on the line this morning, one landed on the clothesline not eighteen inches away from my nose. I said something

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1115312025874478922005-04-28T12:20:00.000-04:002007-08-04T19:53:12.876-04:00

Radishes came up yesterday. I thought when we planted that we were probably late on radishes and carrots, because they do like "a little frost" but Sunday's snow seems to have pleased them. Haven't been out to the garden yet today, so I don't know if the corn or carrots or pepppers or onions or squash or cataloupe or cucumbers or marigolds or chamomille came up yet :-P yes I'm bragging.Guess

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1115311298332174472005-04-24T10:23:00.000-04:002005-05-05T12:41:38.340-04:00

Eastern Kentucky.Forsythia has bloomed. Redbud trees are in the ugly lime/rose transition period between beautiful pink flowers and beautiful green heart-shaped leaves.Dogwood is blooming.Fruit trees are blooming.Sarvis dots the hillsides in frothy white patches.There are buds on my clematis.Maple leaves are fully open (but not yet full-sized).And outside my south-facing window a red-banded

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1114352196795121322005-04-24T10:13:00.000-04:002007-08-04T19:59:28.947-04:00

I'm having a serious "wish I had a great digital camera" moment - but if I did, I'd still probably not have had it pointed in the right direction when the bossdaddy hummingbird drank from the back porch feeder with snow falling thick behind him.Across the street is a young redbud still in its rose-lavender spring dress - one of the few, as most of those toward town (and out of this north-facing

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1114124099314006132005-04-21T18:22:00.000-04:002007-08-04T20:11:26.260-04:00

28 MarchI found out th'Son's next court date is June 30. His bond is high, so he'll be there for the duration. My daughter-in-law J's due to have H's baby sister or brother --my second grandchild-- in August or September; maybe th'Son will get "time served" on the probation violation and the rest will be dropped - so that he gets to be with his family then.I think I'm finally clawing my way out

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1112754846939151302005-04-04T19:15:00.000-04:002007-08-04T20:17:03.303-04:00

I don't know if it's I forget that being in the woods heals me, or I don't realize I need healing.With quiet tears and a drink in my hand (there's always a drink) I picked up that tool I still don't know the name of and pulled out a few dandelions. I don't dislike the dandelions. Their bright yellow cheers me.forsythia, daffodil, jonquil, buttercup...The first month of the year - I've

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1112455607644860212005-04-01T18:35:00.000-05:002005-04-02T10:26:47.646-05:00

It's been miserable wet and chill today, enough so we didn't get any work done outside and the brush- and- cardboard pile waits to burn another time. BUT... but I see a red haze around the oaks and a yellow one around the maples that's the first hint of leafing out. Forty-degree days or no, there's no stopping Lady Spring now.

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1112455086763643272005-03-31T19:38:00.000-05:002007-08-04T20:17:53.598-04:00

The last of the daylight's fading; I can still see a washed- denim- blue backdrop behind bare-tree silhouettes. There's a whole lotta chirping going on, but I'm not familiar with enough of the calls I can tell you what flavor bird is monopolizing the conversation. I think I'll remedy that ignorance this summer.Didn't get a whole lot done today, but I did lop the sawbriar that's snuck into the

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1112454533231092132005-03-31T10:06:00.000-05:002007-08-04T20:21:23.190-04:00

Hi all,I was a regular here in the late nineties, but the group became a spam & flame magnet about the same time I got real busy with other things, and I drifted off for four or five years. Poked my head in here the other day and saw a few familiar faces, and it being the time of year when stuff is poppin and chirpin outside I thought I might venture back and share what observations I manage to

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1112454141112491142005-03-28T17:47:00.000-05:002007-08-04T20:26:30.108-04:00

I'm a lazy gardener. Look at my yard on a good day and you'll see perennials and self-seeding annuals, a casual jumble of mostly accidental occurrences.In early summer I'm an enthusiastic mower, enjoying the spectacle of precise paths I cut in the grass, but toward fall the anticipation has faded and I'm content to let yellowing blades grow long and bend into tufts, protecting the earth and next

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1111693446532616802005-03-23T10:43:00.000-05:002007-08-04T20:41:16.444-04:00

Last night I had the strangest experience. Because of it I'm sitting here in my robe, drinking my second cup of coffee of the morning, with a doubleshot of SouthernComfort in a glass beside the coffee. I'm hoping to repeat the experience.I'd dropped th'Mr at the new coffeeshop, where he's decided to hold his workshop for a while. From there I went to the Post Office to drop a letter to th'Son in

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1111384380846105112005-03-21T00:53:00.000-05:002005-03-21T17:06:38.670-05:00

Hi, I'm Roadie. Mom will tell the story of how I came by my name some other time, but for now let me tell you I am not spoiled. I just don't like to have my picture taken. When anyone sneaks up on me with a camera I sneak out the window. But mom put bubblewrap on the kitchen table and a towel on the bubblewrap, so I guess I'll lay still for just one.

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1111207291996026292005-03-18T23:40:00.000-05:002005-03-18T23:41:31.996-05:00

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1111100172676863392005-03-17T17:54:00.000-05:002005-03-17T17:56:12.676-05:00

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1110857798457080212005-03-14T22:36:00.000-05:002005-03-20T10:13:25.703-05:00

1) I like filling out questionnaires, surveys, and silly email forwards2) I constantly analyze everything I do, and often worry about my motives3) I prefer cats to dogs because dogs are emotional and needy4) I am an only child5) I don't know off the top of my head how many times I've been arrested6) I collect "how to" books on many subjects but rarely finish reading one7) I've never screamed; I'm

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1110834751183115212005-03-14T16:12:00.000-05:002005-03-17T17:42:19.940-05:00

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1110782739228061052005-03-14T01:39:00.000-05:002005-03-14T01:45:39.233-05:00

It's nice to hear from you, but to be perfectly honest, I skim over the religious bits, the prayer and all. I wouldn't have brought it up, but since you asked, my religious views differ from yours by a long shot. Frankly, I think yours are pretty weird, but that's okay. If it works for you, that's fine. Religion is a tool humanity uses to explain and rationalize, and to take comfort from. If

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1110782918333985092005-02-27T12:12:00.000-05:002005-03-15T11:24:34.626-05:00

Advice to young women living with young men: If he complains you take too long in the shower, offer to stop shaving.

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1110783127820911032005-02-24T13:30:00.000-05:002005-03-14T01:52:07.820-05:00

In 30 years of driving I've had two speeding tickets and two minor "fender bender" type wrecks. I can drive a stick and a forklift. I've worked as a carpenter, roofer, concrete worker and completed an electrical apprenticeship, though I'd rather not work as an electrician: the union gave me the electrical training and it would be a breach of faith to use it commercially in a non-union setting.

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1106816632714430972005-01-27T04:02:00.000-05:002005-03-15T12:11:21.226-05:00

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1105814713666132472005-01-15T13:43:00.000-05:002007-08-05T06:50:44.015-04:00

Monday, as we were leaving the courtroom, MC (th;Mr's lawyer) said something to the effect that I'd be testifying at th'Mr's trial regardless the outcome of mine. That's fine with me. Wednesday was my court date; the charge was Alcohol Intoxication. The statute, in a nutshell, says someone is guilty of A.I. if they appear in a public place manifestly (which I think means obviously) under the

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1110784748545314122005-01-03T20:14:00.000-05:002007-08-04T20:51:47.062-04:00

Eight days ago an earthquake caused a tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The first reports estimated twenty thousand dead. The toll is over a hundred and fifty thousand now. Mom's friend Regina was with an archaeological tour in Sri Lanka, but after a couple of tense days Uncle Dee emailed Mom the news Regina's group is safe.When the news reports new numbers of dead th'Mr tells me. I'm not sure

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1103732105871979422004-12-22T11:13:00.000-05:002004-12-24T09:53:18.773-05:00

Oh great - post something stating I lived on pizza and tacos and next thing in my mailbox is this: Do you care much that greasy ol' Pizza Hut gave tens of thousands in PAC money to the GOP last year? How about the fact that Taco Bell stopped pumping out their happily toxic semirancid meatlike substances just long enough to write a fat check to the conservative Right? Isn't that weirdly

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1103731823809995712004-12-22T11:01:00.000-05:002004-12-22T11:11:05.280-05:00

When I got married at age 19 (four years, followed by 15 years of singlehood) I knew how to scramble eggs and pan-fry a steak or a hamburger. I couldn't cook potatoes because my method was put the potatoes in a pot of water, turn on high and leave the room. When the black cloud rolling through the apartment indicated the potatoes were burnt again, it was time to order a pizza. It's almost 30

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1103410701443709462004-12-18T17:57:00.000-05:002007-08-05T06:55:39.735-04:00

So now here's this blog. And why? I'll address that later, if. For now, a rule: No angst. No pre-menopausal paranoia, no "hi, I'm suicidal but you can call me Sue." Just a nice, happy blog, with nice, happy thoughts and good grammar oh fer fuck's sake, I just may puke.That's better.Here's the me me meme, as applied to me me me:Three names you go by:1. Sparky2. Toots3. TripThree screennames you

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1103399957089899892004-12-18T14:49:00.000-05:002005-03-21T17:10:59.036-05:00

What Number Are You?this thing was kinder than I expected.You Are the Investigator5You're independent - and a logical analytical thinker.You love learning and ideas... and know things no one else does.Bored by small talk, you refuse to participate in boring conversations.You are open minded. A visionary. You understand the world and may change it.

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1111338630978713312004-04-15T12:06:00.000-04:002005-03-20T12:21:56.460-05:00

Tonight, April 15th 2004, I gave a half-hour "reading" at the Kentucky Folk Art Center in Morehead. I've never felt comfortable speaking in front of crowds, but a year earlier I'd volunteered to participate in the "reading series" put on by the MSU English Department, and tonight it was my turn. I'm not affiliated with the university in any way. These readings are free and open to the public.

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1111336107884589502003-12-21T11:27:00.000-05:002007-08-05T07:06:29.472-04:00

december 14-21 '3 - - a week-long total fast Monday, Dec 15 2003 It would surprise a lot of people - maybe - to learn that I'm in fact very shy. I do hide it well, by being outspokenly opinionated. Is that why I hide in dark colors and camouflage? The party Saturday night took a lot out of me. Two hours among dressed-up strangers and I was crying by the time we got home. I think I

NIT TO PEARL TOOhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17085040838137200243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9679089.post-1111336467810099592003-11-29T11:33:00.000-05:002007-08-05T07:08:27.100-04:00

We ordered fruit from Florida; what's left of the first box is starting to go soft. I stood at the counter slicing the peel and the "white" out of pink grapefruit, putting cut sections into a jar and popping the occasional stray piece into my mouth. When the microwave dinged I turned to see th'Mr sitting down to a plate heaped with turkey & oyster dressing smothered in gravy, and decided I

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Sunday...November 23, 2003 I got to bed just a little after midnight last night. Sometime later Roadie came in, under the covers with cold damp paws and snuggled in between us like into his personal cave. Maybe he'd been living in a cave, a tight overhang on the river where we found him, and close covered places have come to mean comfort to him. The circumstances under which he joined our

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