Now that’s a bright idea!

I live on a cul de sac and since there are no streetlights it’s pretty dark.  I have neighbors all around but  most of the time they don’t even turn on their porch lights.  I guess saving electricity is more important than illuminating their lives. 

Anyhow, I have two lights on my porch and I usually turn them on at dusk and a lot of times leave them on all night.  One problem with these lights is(since they are mostly the lone guardians of light) that they attract a wide assortment of insects.  So when I open the door to let the dog out to do her business I am entering an entomologists dream.

I’m not too squeamish where moths are concerned but the light is a dinner bell for a varied assortment arachnids. (Yes, that means big, hairy spiders)  And when summer is in full swing, hornets will join th party. I don’t get it. I have never seen a hornet anywhere at night except flying around my porch lights. 

So this year, with the extremely warm winter weather the insects are appearing much earlier than usual.  My husband suggested bug light bulbs.  I know I must seem as if I have lived in a cave, but really lights that do not attract bugs?  How can that be?

Well, I went shopping and purchased two yellow tinted bug light bulbs.  I went for the cheaper (under $3) versions. To my surprise they are working amazingly well!  I think I will return to the store and buy the energy efficient bulbs that cost quite a bit more, but worth it since they will last 7 years. 

So to sum it all up, I’m all set.  Although…in a few short weeks the 17-year cicada will be making an appearance.  Those creepy, green-eyed insects will be my daytime nightmare, but at least they won’t be haunting my nights.

Brobdingnagian

The present tense of brobdinagian...and the future

The title word grabbed you didn’t it? I’ll be honest. It got me too.

I pride myself with having a pretty sizeable vocabulary.  In fact when my daughter was little she didn’t go to Merriam Webster for her definitions, she just asked mom. And now that she is grown, it is not unusual to receive a phone call from her asking me to define a word.  That’s me, good old mom the walking dictionary.

Being the conceited wordsmith I imagine myself to be, it took me aback when watching one of my favorite TV shows, “The big bang theory," one of the characters tossed out the word... “Brobdingnagian.”

I thought, hmmmm this is a TV show, and it can’t be a real word, so I looked it up and sure as shooting Mr. Webster disagreed.  It is a word and it means marked by tremendous size.  The origins are appropriately related to "Brobdingnag" the imaginary land of giants in Gulliver’s Travels. 

I guess you really can learn something new from television, even if it isn’t on the discovery channel. Excepting reality TV shows, the descriptive phrase "Boob tube" is steadily becoming a brobdingnagian fallacy.

When my daughter and I play Words with friends (which we do all the time since I am such a nerd at heart) and she uses one of her off the wall words that no one has ever heard of, I will simply pull out brobdinagian and walk away with the win. 

No fooling!

Nope it's not an alien...it's a flower bud

Yes, it's April fool's day so I am posting some quotes to help you get your day started the right way!

"April 1.  This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four."  ~Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson, 1894

"Let us be thankful for the fools.  But for them the rest of us could not succeed."  ~Mark Twain

"We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance."  ~Japanese Proverb

"The trouble with practical jokes is that very often they get elected."  ~Will Rogers

"I have great faith in fools - self-confidence, my friends call it."  ~Edgar Allan Poe

"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes."  ~Winston Churchill

There you have it...I thank all my blogging friends for reading my sometimes rambling mess.  I thank you all for commenting and following...NO FOOLING!

In like a lion, lamb, lion, lamb, lion, lamb...

In like a lion

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words and honestly that is the only way to describe this entire month. We had a pretty warm winter in Virginia this year and then the lion called March showed up for a day and was gone the next.  But that lion wasn't done yet and the entire month pretty much went like this...

Lamb

Lion

Lamb

Lion

Lamb

Lion

And finally...

Rainy days and Monday

It’s no secret.  I don’t care for dreary, cold, rainy days.  Last Sunday night started off with rain that turned to snow and then on Monday turned back to rain again. It was cold. It was the kind of cold that goes right through a person no matter many layers they are wearing.  To top it off, it just happened to be Monday as well, not one of my favorite days. My list of “should do’s” were turning into “must do’s” and I started to get the feeling one has when they would just like to add one more hour to the 24 all the time knowing that it still wouldn’t be enough.  Ever had a day like that?  I know you have.  And add to the never-ending list---- two blogs that take up more time than most people would realize and you have my day in nutshell. 

Actually lately I have tossed around the notion of removing some of the demands upon myself.  I have even thought about ending the blogs.  Maybe it’s that infernal rain and darkness that is steadily drenching me.  Maybe it’s Monday, but on this particular day I’ve thought about it more than usual. 

And then I arrive home. I am tired, bedraggled and need I say, soaking wet?  I open my mailbox and sitting there, under a magazine and between some junk mail is a package. The package is from someone in Canada who has always read and commented on my blog.

Now in my three years of blogging I have made many friends from all over the world.  Some have stuck with me right from the start, even when I didn't have the time to comment on their blogs as much as I'd like.  I opened the package and found a small painting and a hand knitted dishcloth along with a sweet note about how one of my posts helped her and her mother to do something a bit easier than anticipated.  I smiled.  For the first time that day I sat back and smiled. 

And I knew that all the hours that I have put into those blogs were not in vain.  I made many friends and although I may never meet them face to face, I am a happier and better person for having known them. 

Just when I needed a shot in arm and a kick in the pants so to speak I realized that blogging has broadened my life in immeasurable ways and I guess if I am to cut back on some things it won’t be my blogs.  Maybe I’ll cut out a yoga class.

Thank you Stacey and Stacey’s mom for the gifts and most of all-- for the smile.

Surprise on a rainy Monday

Happy St. Patrick's Day

They say that on St. Patrick's Day everyone is Irish for a day, and old Irish proverb states that

"If your lucky enough to be Irish...

your lucky enough."

Greek or American…Easter

Let me state right off the bat, I am American, born in the good old U S of A but I am 100% of Greek descent.  So that makes me Greek Orthodox. 

Now growing up in the south there weren’t too many Greeks around and we had to travel 50 miles to go to church.  Going to church became an all day event.  I know, I know, that was a bit excessive but Greek parents are nothing if not devout. 

Things have changed through the years, and there are now many more Greeks in the town and a church nearby.  The thing that hasn’t changed in that time is Easter.  I don’t know all the logistics of it; I just know that once in a while Greek Easter co-insides with American Easter but most of the time it is a bit later. Usually it’s the following week, but sometimes it is way later. 

Take this year…American Easter is March 31. Greek Easter is…May…5^th.

Now trying to explain this to a non-Greek is a bit difficult, but there are benefits.

When we were kids we had two Easters.  We had two Easter baskets, because our parents wanted us to fit in.  We colored eggs two times and our parents always got their candy ½ price.  And if we were lucky we had two Easter egg hunts in the backyard.

When I grew up I married an Irishman. So now I am Greek-Irish.  And I still celebrate Eater twice.  After all it doesn’t matter if your Easter bunny says “Opa” or “ speaks with a brogue, it’s still—Easter.

Auto incorrect 2

You know that automatic spelling corrector on my cell phone just keeps getting sassier and sassier. 

Yesterday I wanted to meet my daughter for lunch.  I was running late so I figured I would shoot her a text to let her know I would be there in a bit, and this is the ridiculous text that resulted:

Me:  Ok, I'll be there in a habit

She:  You're coming dressed as a nurse?

Me:  Ha ha very funny didn't you mean nun?

She:  Alright I guess auto correct got us both!

This is not as embarrasing as some things we have said to each other, but my blog is G-rated so I'll just leave it to your imagination.

Moral of the story:  Always make sure you approve your text before hitting send.

By the way, the sun shined all day yesterday and the temps jumped well into the sixties, three days after the major snowfall of 2013.  Virginia you gotta love it.  

Not crying wolf today!

You know this has been the warmest winter in Va. and we’ve had maybe six flakes of snow.  Oh, yes, they’ve predicted snow many times but the snow beast bypassed the old dominion. New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania spent the winter in a cover of white. I looked on as Kansas and the Midwest took a good dose of the white stuff.  I won’t even mention Canada and the northwest.

I took these photos a while ago and since then the flakes have turned into virtual snowballs and the accumulation is rising.

Most people hate this white wet stuff, but as for me I’m jumping up and down.  Even if you are a hater you have to admit it sure looks nicer than a ton of rain!  And somehow people are just nicer when it snows.  They are helpful to neighbors and many get a day off of work and school.  Hater or not you must realize that a March snow is the best kind of snow...here to today and gone tomorrow.  It only sticks around for a day and later this week it is going to hit the high 50’s.  Soon this snow will be a distant memory. 

But…if you want to build a Va. Snowman today it will be a more life-sized version.

Firmoo eyeglasses reviewed

My daughter, Mary and her new eyewear

A few weeks back the Firmoo Company contacted me and asked me to review a pair of their prescription eyeglasses.  Well I had just purchased a new pair of glasses for myself from my local optician at a very high cost, but my daughter needed a new pair so we ordered one for her. All we had to do was input her prescription and have her select a frame, which was hard because the choices are all so adorable.

Now I’ve always thought that frames for glasses are way too expensive, but I found that the frames offered by firmoo are surprisingly inexpensive.  I admit I was a bit apprehensive, but all reservations flew right out the window when we received these adorable, fashionable and high quality eyeglasses. 

Their frame selection is extensive, and they even have a virtual try on feature.  You simply upload a photo and you are able to try on the eyewear.  Best of all new customers can get their first pair free…simply pay for shipping!  First pair free

And the little extras included with the glasses are an added benefit.  You receive a hard case, microfiber cloth, a soft case, and even a little tool for repair!

In my humble opinion there are two things we all buy that are usually overpriced…eyeglasses and bathing suits.  Firmoo has changed that and quality eyewear is now affordable.  Now, about those bathing suits...

Next pair for me will definitely come from Firmoo. I may even get two pairs!

If you have any questions just click this link

Note:  I received a free pair of eyeglasses in exchange for this review.  My opinions, however, are 100%truthful.