Changes to blogger...

Wow - I have not been a frequent blogger.  The changes made are almost too frustrating.  It just took me  a ridiculous amount of time to figure out how to change the name on my "name of the week" - which yes I know has more become "name of the...when ever Janet thinks about it".  I now understand why people are turning to Tumbler for a creative outlet!

Thanks for listening, I just needed a moment to vent!

Now, homework and football.

So, who loves a great mystery?

Especially a great British mystery, yes you guessed it, not only are we lovers of “britcoms” but seldom is there not a British mystery waiting for us in the DVR. 

There are so many great ones to choose from, if you are looking for a little laughter sprinkled over your suspense then your best bets are: Father Brown, New Tricks, or Death in Paradise, and I almost forgot Pie in the Sky.  

In Father Brown, and New Tricks I find several of the characters to be very endearing. With Death in Paradise I find it almost fascinating to watch characters that are so very different bond so much that it is devastating to their core when one is surprisingly killed. 

There are also several “Inspectors” (Lewis, Morse, Linley, and George Gently) who unweave the baskets that hold the killers secrets.  

Agatha Christie is well known for her mysteries, one we are very fond of watching is Poirot.  David Sauchet is outstanding in his portrayal of the main character.

 

When watching Midsommer Murders, Inspector Barnaby there is thoughtful and humorous, yet seriousness to his character. You meet his wife and daughter, a nice touch to see different aspects of the characters life, personal and professional.

Also worth watching is Zen, to me this seemed a little more tense, sadly there was only one season.

Murdoch Mysteries is set in the 1890's and you will be drawn in by the characters.

If you haven’t discovered at least one of the shows, do look for them, we are fortunate to catch them on our local PBS stations.  Some are also be available on Amazon.

Laughter guaranteed!

Okay, I confess…I’m a lover of “Britcoms”!  Yes we have BBC-America, and PBS shows many great shows!  Yet - I wish there were more available to watch.  I just know I’m missing out on some great laughs…

There are so many great ones, from “Fawlty Towers” to a new one on our local PBS, “Vicious”. I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite, although, perhaps I would say Miranda Hart instantly comes to mind as a favorite! 

Other shows would I recommend? (not in any certain order)

       How could I have
forgotten this one!!

• ·         Waiting for God
• ·         To the Manor Born
• ·         The Vicar of Dibley
• ·         Fresh Fields, which changed to French Fields
• ·         May to December
• ·         Keeping up Appearances
• ·         As Time Goes By
• ·         A Fine Mess
• ·         Super Nova
• ·         The Old Guys
• ·         Butterflies
• ·         Vicious
• ·         The Café

Keeping Up Appearances - The Bouquets!

The Cafe 

The hilarious - Miranda Hart! Now on "Call the Midwife", a drama she is just amazing!

I just know I am forgetting some…but I hope by reading this you might discover one or two of them and add some laughter to your life… 

Not sure what made me look back at my blog, I knew it had been quite awhile since I posted anything but it was much longer than I had realized.  I also took a moment to explore by clicking the “next” to see what seemed to be new in the world of blogs.  I felt better about my blog neglect when I saw I was far from the only one who dropped the blog ball.

I am resolving to tend to many things I have neglected....so here we go with my first blog post in...well here we go! :) it's not much but it is a start!

It seems one of the most popular blog posts I have had was about beards – go figure it is amazing how much attention beards draw.  Even in the exploding world or reality TV beards are popular, “Duck Dynasty”, and one of the new contestants on “Big Brother” sports a beard worth blogging about…

Wonder what it is about beards that we all seem to find so fascinating…

People even style their beards quite creatively…

braided...really?

hm...would it hold a can of beer?

I envision Christmas ornaments hanging from the ends...

Lovin' this so much...deep in my heart!!!

New favorite quote!!!

“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
― Thomas Campbell

Reflection...

I find myself sitting here on the couch, just sitting. Mindlessly bouncing from e-mail, to Facebook, making a play on one of the many games of "Scrabble" that I have going rather than doing things I should be - homework, and housework.

Shame on me!!!

Now, I have been totally neglecting these things. I have done and submitted one assignment, I glanced at the online portion of my Spanish class. I have bagged up trash bin overflow, which made it much easier for my husband to take outside ;). I put boxes of cereal in the "cereal keepers".

You know, it seemed like so much more as I was doing it than it does seeing it written.

I am fast approaching the year of my 6th anniversaries - "6" years (in February) since I packed up my Grand Am and moved Florida to be with the most wonderful man. The man I married "6" years ago in June, hm...the 6th month of the year. Oh, wait lets not forget in may I will have been employed with the state for - yep you guessed it "6" years! Oh, wait since returning to school I have completed "6" courses. Our cat, Lucky, will be six years old soon.

I just glanced a a couple of blogs, you know the ones you stumble upon when you hit "Next Blog", and one that my sisters ex-husband kept. They both just set my mind to wondering back through the years. It is hard for me to believe that I have been in Florida almost 6 years. I was born and raised in Lansing, Michigan. Aside from the house I grew up in, I lived in 6 other places. Of course all in the area I grew up. I sit here in the living room of the home I share with the most loving and caring man who did not give up on me, in Florida!

I do miss a lot from Michigan. Family, and friends, old haunts. But I still get to see them when we go back at the holidays, and during the summer. Eventually I will get the trek down to where it is organized and I visit and see more than I have.

With both my parents gone, it is tough. My niece and nephew now live in my mothers home. It's not the house I grew up in though, my mother bought it a few years after my father passed away.

In one of the blogs I was looking at she mentioned her "haven" was gone. That just kind of struck me. As much as Michigan will always be home, I don't really have a "haven" there anymore. Yes, there is a house there that I am part owner in, that has many of my belongings that did not make the trip down 6 years ago, or since then....where would I put it here? We live the land where houses have no storage...so...that is where my things are basically stored. Someday they and I will be in the same state. But they are just belongings.

My niece Julie, who has a huge piece of my heart. I love her like a daughter she is the other part owner of the house, and now that I think about it I guess I do have a "haven" she is my haven there.

Well, here is to 2012! Please let it be the year where I finally get myself organized. In a lot of ways I am still just spinning from the loss of my mother. When you my dad died, yeah it hurt like hell, and I missed him, and still do. But when your last parent dies it is just a great big double sucker punch! That I am having a hard time recovering from.

Thank you to my husband who has been patient with me, he knows that hurt as he has lost both of his parents as well. I sure wish I had gotten the chance to meet them, because of them, I am loved.

Okay, I confess, this was not written all on the same day...and it is quite a jumbled bit of writing. But, it has been a bit therapeutic.....so...thanks for listening.

Keep your fingers crossed - update ;)

Well, the leftover recipe from my previous post turned out okay, it tasted like Thanksgiving again.

Super easy, which is always great. It was kind of like leftover lasagna. I did not cook it quite as long as I should have so...I had to scoop it off our plates and put it back into the oven.

So, if you opt to try it...cook it as long as it says.

Hm...what other leftovers could you do this with??

Keep your fingers crossed...it included almost all our leftovers ;)

LAYERED LEFTOVER THANKSGIVING CASSEROLE

Leftovers: turkey gravy mashed potatoes stuffing green bean casserole French Fried Onions Grease a casserole dish that will fit the amount of leftovers you have. (I normally have to use a 13x9x2). Put stuffing as a bottom layer first, then place a layer of turkey. Put mashed potatoes (sweet and/or regular mashed potatoes; pour gravy over them. Spoon the green bean casserole over potatoes and gravy, then top with French Fried Onions. Heat in a 350°F oven for 20-30 minutes. Let cool and enjoy! (Great for potlucks as well.)

Beards, beards, beards - part 2!

Well, I must admit that I am amazed at how many hits my post about beards has received. Beards are pretty popular. Why is that? When you do a Google search for beards you could likely spend hours looking through the images. There are a few that jumped out at me in just a few minutes. So, is it creativity, individuality.

This one on the left, well, not just a beard thing for him now is it. My husbands theory on hair is "grow it while ya can" - this man sure is.

This one in the center, is this sideburns gone wild?

I find these curly ones especially interesting. That just has to feel weird to have something extending from your face like that. My dad had a cousin that always, and to this day has a mustache that he waxes into a curl.

This picture above is just a fun angle. I love it!

So, if ya have a minute someday and are looking for some amusement/amazement....do a Google image search for beards....it's worth a few minutes of your time.

Much too late to catch it on the big screen....

but....I do think it would have been "big screen worthy".My current class is Spanish 1. It's a 4 credit class! It could be quite useful...that is if I ever get the hang of it. In class "La profesora" had us watch - "The Mission" with Jeremy Irons, and Robert Dinero (both looking so young). She had us do a research project on the Guarani, a native tribe in South America. The movie touches on the early days when the Jesuits tried to build missions and "save" the Guarani.

I highly recommend this movie. It touched me having just researched them, but, if it doesn't touch you....well...just think about it. Yes it is a Hollywood film, but it is based upon real people. You can catch it I believe on NetFlix, or if you have Amazon and can stream it.....do it.

We had to do a short paper on the movie, answer 2 questions. The other night in class "La profesora" said to me..."Janet, your paper was so good, I have never seen anyone who struggles so much with Spanish write so well in English" ;) I am choosing to take that as a compliment! ;)

Okay, I confess…I do tend to be a bit of a name critic.

Okay, I confess…I do tend to be a bit of a name critic. On my blog I even have a “name of the week”…..well....it is more the name of…...until I change it.

On night my husband told me to look up the roster for the St. Johns basketball team. I’m a bit predictable for him. He asked me to read the names to him, I read the first one and then I paused…and he started laughing.

The first one, plain and simple and others are somewhat common. Ones you have heard before.

2011-12 St. John's Red

• Phil Greene
  
• God's Gift Achiuwa
• Maurice Harkless
• Norvel Pelle
• Nurideen Lindsey
• Jakarr Sampson
• Sir'Dominic Pointer
• Amir Garrett
• Jamal White
• Malik Stith

A couple, well, what were their parents thinking!!!!!

“God’s Gift”….yes a child is a gift from God of that I have no doubt. Why though name your child that? Surely you could find a name that means the same and go with that.

Sir’Dominic….well…makes me think the mother couldn’t decide what pizza she liked best when she was pregnant. “Sir Pizza or Dominos”, and his dad was “Nick”.

I don’t know what people think these days when naming their children. A name is really something that is pretty important. That child has to live with that name, and the harassment that it could bring.

I find it rather hard to believe that those two did not get picked on while they were growing up.

Sometimes I think that the hospitals give out “Boggle” games to expectant parents and they just shake them up and whatever comes out is what the kid gets stuck with!

I can remember sitting at the kitchen table with my dad one day. I asked him why they named us with such plain names. My oldest sister was named, Sally, the middle daughter is Judy and I am Janet. You can’t get much simpler than those names. His reply was “we named you what you were going to be called”.

My father is one of 9 children, and he is named after his father so he was called “Jack” rather than “John”. Of the 9 only my Uncle Lowell was never dubbed with a nickname, or called a shortened version of their name, or known by their middle name.

I wish more parents would think long and hard when naming their children. There is nothing wrong with giving your child a unique name, but, there is a difference between unique and “God’s Gift”…I would not want to be named something you can type into Google and get images of peoples tattoos with my name – I’m just saying!

So, thank you mom and dad, I love you and miss you both dearly and am grateful for my plain and simple name. Janet – “God is gracious”