These are pictures of a gorgeous jewelry box my brother Duke made for me. It is made from walnut and cherry woods. Last year he made a smaller one of the same design. I told him it looked like an Eero Saarinen design.
Whenever my brother Les thinks that I am hinting, he performs an exaggerated falling-over, stumbling routine and says with exasperation, "I just about got knocked over by that hint!"
I guess that throwing out the hint, "Oh, I have too much Red Hat jewelry to fit in it" paid off because I now have this one which is twice as big!
I like to look at cards which other people send/receive. It reveals a great deal about people. My friend Patty and I are known to send six or seven cards for our birthdays, as one card just doesn't say it all! My brother Norman has been known to cross out the price of the card on the back, because I'm known to look at the back of the card. Once, he wrote, "None of your business, Nosy!" Another time he wrote, "No, I didn't care enough to send the very best!"
My client celebrated his 90th birthday and he received a large number of cards; the cards ranged from religious to humorous. However, the card from his son was obviously meant to be "funny", but not only was it decidedly NOT funny, but I also felt it was insulting! Of course, he could have sent a birthday card with DAD on it, as there are dozens of those available or he could have found one with "90TH BIRTHDAY", as I saw several selections of those. Instead he sent one which had on the front: "Someone like you is way too special for just a birthday card..." and when opened, it read, "So you can keep the envelope too!"
Does anyone I know think that's funny or appropriate?
What kind of person would send a "funny" card to one's parent on the 90th birthday? I was not surprised as the Christmas card he sent last year was meant to be humorous but it was also NOT funny and very inappropriate to send to a parent!
This person tries to be amusing, but he has no wit! He tries to impress with intellect, but is unbelievably ignorant. As a bigot, he is proud of his bigotry. As another friend asked, "How could that person have come from two such nice people?"
Yesterday, at a party, I was making punch. My sister-in-law asked, "What all do you put in there?" I began to list the ingredients and when I said sherbet, she then asked, "What kind of SHERBERT?"
I thought, "Oh, my God, did she just do what I think she did--pronounce it as "sherbert"-- to try to correct my pronunciation?" I detest that passive-aggressive behavior. I didn't say anything then, but when she said "sherbert" again, for no discernible reason other than to just say the word for my edification, I thought, "Well, Hell, she's just saying that to rub it in!"
I pointed to the sherbet container and said, quietly, "It's sherbet; there's only one R in it!"
She had brought sandwiches which she had labeled, and I had debated earlier whether to tell her that she had pimento spelled as "pimentoe". I said, "Hey, Dan Quayle, you have pimento misspelled!" She didn't "get" the Dan Quayle reference but her daughter did, and laughed appreciatively.
Fox News announced that it has "parted ways" with the former Half-Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin and will not renew her contract which had reportedly been $1 million per year.
Until last week, Palin was in negotiations with Fox News about her contract. It is currently unknown whether the parting was her choice.
As one would expect, Twitter has been overflowing with comments.
Here are some of my favorites:
From RJ:
Failin' Palin
Lyin' Ryan,
Do I detect a trend?
I'm betting on it.
From ANDREW KACZYNSKI:
The Blaze and Al Jazerrah in a bidding war for Palin
From MICHAEL:
How's that lyin' and fear-mongerin' workin' out for ya?
From DAVID FRUM:
The Palin business will be v difficult to explain to future generations, like Boulangerism in France.
From RYAN B:
Sarah Palin quit something; what a shocker!
From JIM NEWELL:
Best of luck to sarah palin as she returns to the meth business.
From BOBBYGATE:
I saw where her latest book was marked down to $2. Your 15 minutes are up, Sarah!
From ERIC KLEEFELD:
Sarah Palin actually lasted longer at Fox News than she did as Governor of Alaska.
From DELRAYSER:
Hey, Sarah, how's that Fox-y, News-y thing workin' out for ya?
From JULIALOFFE:
Now seeking ideas for what Palin will use that Wasilla studio for!
From MICHAEL KIRCHER:
I think she should run for Governor of Newt Gingerich's colony on the moon.
From LOLGOP:
Congratulations, Governor Palin. If I remember the Gospels correctly, Jesus only worked at Fox News for a few years too.
From ELIOT NELSON:
Palin can catch up on her reading.
Palin was an embarrassment to all women, Republican and Democrat. One hopes she will now slink away!
Using simple math, find out who your role model truly is. Mine was a BIG surprise. It certainly wasn't what I would have picked.
FIRST, do the simple math below.
THEN, see below to find your role model.
It is truly remarkable just how accurate this is!
1) Pick your favorite number between 1 and 8
2) Multiply your choice by 3
3) Add 3
4) Multiply again by 3
5) You'll get a 2 digit number (maybe 42, for example)
6) Add the digits together. (Example 4 and 2 = 6)
With that number, see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:
1. Albert Einstein
2. Oprah Winfrey
3. Mother Theresa
4. Ronald Reagan
5. Bill Gates
6. Gandhi
7. Eleanor Roosevelt
8. Babe Ruth
9. Sue Raypole
10. Winston Churchill
11. Barbara Walters
12. The Dalai Lama
I know, I know! I just have that effect on people. One day you too, can be like me. Believe it!
P.S. Stop picking different numbers!! I AM YOUR ROLE MODEL, JUST DEAL WITH IT!
In responding to my article PLUS CA CHANGE, PLUS CES'T LE MEME CHOSE about kids (among them, her grandsons) not wearing their coats in the winter, my friend Patty wrote:
"When I was younger, Mom bought some of our clothes from Goodwill. We were poor like you. Once, Mom brought home the ugliest coat I have ever seen in my life. It was gray with huge shoulder pads and furry tassels on it. Really ugly. I wasn't too picky, but I knew I wasn't going to wear that damn coat. I went off to school in it, and immediately put it in the cloak room where I planned keeping it. At recess I was out in freezing temperature with no coat. The teacher blew me in by calling my mom. I could tell Mom felt very bad when she got home from work, but somehow she had a new, stylish coat for me. I have no idea how much she sacrificed for that coat. I also had a horrid pair of brown shoes (in a tuxedo world) in the 6th grade. Other than that, I think I looked pretty good in my hand-me-downs and Goodwill outfits."
I love to have Patty's comments because they are always very witty. I replied that her message was evocative of the song Scarlet Ribbons by The Browns! I also wrote that the term "cloak room" MUST be removed from our vocabularies because it's another one of those terms which make us sound old!
However, when people come to my home, I do like to say, "May I take your wrap?"
But the best part of Patty's response was this: "I also had a horrid pair of brown shoes (in a tuxedo world)". Of course, this was a reference to an appearance by George Gobel on The Tonight Show. Bob Hope and Dean Martin had already appeared on the show and when Lonesome George came out he asked, "Did you ever feel like life was a tuxedo and you were a pair of brown shoes?"
