Misinterpretation

You know when you're little sometimes things don't always mean what you think they do?

Let me share a story with you.

When I was a kid, I loved riding in the back of the car.  Didn't really matter which one...we had the Monza when I was really little.

Then, when I was a little older, we had the Celebrity Wagon...

And right around that time, too, we also inherited my grandpa's old van...

(Check out that sweet, sweet ride...and my mom's awesomely 80's perm...)






 But, no matter which vehicle we were in, I always looked forward to a trip into Greenville.

Because, you see, even though the destination and the act of leaving the house in itself was a treat...I was looking forward to something else.  Something, I hoped, time and again, that we might see for ourselves.

Like a train passing in the night, I had no idea when this mystical site would meet my eyes, but I knew, I *knew* if I had enough patience, then one day...one day I would see the cable cars.

I knew they were there.  There were warning signs on 18, letting me know that there was the chance they'd snap off the line and come crashing down onto the pavement.

Look out below, little cars!  Falling cable car hazard!

I wondered where people boarded- I wondered where the cable cars took them.  I figured it was into town- where else would one want to go, after all!

Secretly, a little part of me wanted to ride in them- I knew we lived in a rural area.  I figured the cable cars going to Greenville couldn't hold more than ten.  Certainly nothing like the majestic things I'd glimpsed at briefly on TV.

This would be no tourist-trap! Oh no. This was a practical, reliable (if somewhat mysterious) way to get about in Pennsylvania.  No mountain peaks for us to view, thankyouverymuch!  It was business as usual- just picking up typical sundries; eggs, milk, and the like.




And so, I waited.  I waited and I watched.  I watched for years, never seeing, never really comprehending.  When I was about 8, I started wondering if the falling cable car signs were disastrously out of date and I'd missed the whole thing by only a few years.

Disappointment met my eyes each and every time I'd see that sign on the curve of PA 18.

I wondered how many souls had been lost in the cable car accidents...I wondered if had been reported on the news.  After all, there's no need to place a sign unless a tragedy had occurred before, right?  It all made sense in my mind...

So now, dear reader, I leave you with the sign.  I expect you've seen one a time or two in your life, as well.  Now you can see it through my eyes- as a curious child, peering out at the world around her from the back seat of a familiar vehicle.

Note the lone rider, calmly waiting his demise, cable car wires snapped and flapping in the breeze as he plummets to his untimely death.  He seems calm.  I hope the end wasn't unnecessarily painful or gory. 

So, the next time you're out driving, and you see this sign, slow down, take a deep breath, and say a prayer for the victims of the cable car tragedy.

And who knows?  One day, you may look up, and find yourself watching a sturdy group of hearty Americans on their way into town via one of the coolest ways to get to the store- via cable car. 

Till next time,

Mandy

The Casserole

This casserole made me cry tonight.

I didn't really feel like making it- been in a bit of a mood all day.  You know how it is.  Feeling empty and lost and such...

Sunday night we had tacos for dinner- that and a Knorr (or whoever's making it right now) packet of Spanish Rice.  But there was still a lot of taco meat left.  Maybe a cup or so.  Something like that.  And about the same amount of rice.

I knew I had refried beans, cheese, more rice, salsa, and olives at home.  Maybe not everything that I wanted, but still the makings of a decent leftover extravaganza.

So, I came home, boiled the rice, drained it (boil in bag, suckas!), added a jar of salsa, stirred in the leftovers, added some black beans and black olives, then layered it up in the casserole with refried beans and cheese.

Fast forward thirty minutes.  I take it out of the oven and scoop some into a small bowl.  I started eating it...and crying.

Because at that moment in time, that stupid casserole defined my life.  My job.  My *LIFE*.  I get one life.  It isn't very long, really.  And I'm just wasting it cooking pathetic casseroles.  Who needs a life when you could be in my kitchen trying to reuse leftovers??

Look.  I'm 36.  My body will fade and die...it is a fact.  One day I will no longer be breathing.  No one will remember me.  ...and this- THIS- is what I'm doing with the little time I have?  Pathetic.

So I cried.  Because sometimes I want to feel like I'm getting a little more out of my life than a casserole. 

I don't really know how to fix that.  I actually don't think it can be fixed.  It's not that there's really anything wrong with my life, it's more along the lines of there being something wrong with my head at the moment.

So, I sighed.  And I rationalized.  And it didn't make it any better.

I suppose that will have to do for now.  Patting myself on the head and saying, "You'll feel differently some other day."

But...it's not what I want to hear right now.  Because right now, I just want something to matter or seem important -more important than fixed up leftovers. 

Maybe it's why I've been writing so much lately?  I don't know.  I suppose it doesn't really matter.

At any rate, I'm going to go blubber the night away.  At least the dishes are washed.  I put the loathsome casserole away so I don't have to look at it anymore.

It gave me heartburn. 

Things you see...

We went camping this weekend.  Overall, I'd say it was a positive experience. 

Here are some observations-

I could give up just about everything modern with the exception of air-conditioning.  When we sat up the tent it was 93 degrees and humid.  I thought I might die- not due to heart failure, but do to my utter misery and crankiness.  I am a girl who thrives in a dry, comfortable climate.  This tropical stuff is just bull.  Thank you, but no.    

I saw a 60+ year old man in a giant camper who had a 20 foot antenna on some sort of a tri-pod.  I can only guess he was some sort of short-wave radio operator and couldn't bear to give up his hobby while camping.  I'd also like to add that he was rocking jeggings all weekend.  Yes, his knobby knees and everything else was all on display in some of the tightest jeggings I've ever seen.  It was quite a show. 

Just as we were packing down and I was all grouchy and hot again, I found a tick half burrowed into my leg, enjoying a nice refreshing glass of Mandy blood.  *Thankfully*, it was a tiny deer tick, so with any luck I'm now the proud recipient of Lyme Disease.
  /sarcasm

 Seriously, I don't think it was attached long enough, but it something fun to ponder over for a bit.  Lucky me! 


I was thinking of you all while I was hanging out in my tent.  The campground was full and I could hear bits and pieces of conversations from the adjoining sites, so I wrote some of them down to share: 

"You heard about Bruce and Kim, right?  How they were having sex in the shower?"
- "Gross.  They're like 50.  They don't need to be doing that at their age."
"Yeah, but they're a young 50.  You know?  Young love and all that."  *laughs* "Anyway, the asshole, he fell.  Right in the shower.  Broke two ribs in two places."  *laughs uproariously*
-"So he's okay now?"
*still laughing*  "Well, he's out of the hospital...*laughing harder* "can't even drive his truck!!" 


He didn't have much sympathy for Bruce...

And, the story of the camper backing into the site across from ours...  The wife is outside with their older daughter, trying to give directions on where she wants it in the site.

-"You're too far back!"
(Tires crunch on gravel as he pulls the camper forward)
-"No, now you're too close to Rachel.  Bring it my way!  No!  My way!"
(Tires again crunch on gravel)
-"Yeah, better to just pull it out and start over again."
(Truck pulls forward, begins backing up again)
-"No, you're still not doing it right."
--(Rachel) No, Dad, this looks pretty good.  You're good." 
-(interrupting) No, you're still too close to me!  Start over again!"
Exasperated man:  "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME???!!!"
*pauses* - "Well, now that I look at it, I guess it's okay.

Twenty minutes later, as they're setting up the camper:
- "I still wish it was closer this way..." 
(Rachel) "OMG, mom, drop it!!"


Later that night a pop-up camper full of drunken school teachers were boasting to each other about the countries they'd traveled to.  One teacher was appalled that Germany didn't serve diabetic friendly meals (she also mentioned several times, "Not that I'm diabetic, but there was so much bread!  It was all bread!).  Another tried to outdo her by shouting about Lichtenstein.  Several times.  He just kept saying it in each sentence, as though we may have forgotten what country he was in.  That ended on a sour note when a husband/wife duo got into an argument about who was the most pathetic drunk.  lol

Yep.

So, once the neighbors all piped down and I got into the actual meat of the weekend, we had a nice time.  Friday night everyone was all rowdy, but apparently they had calmed down considerably after that as I didn't hear much from anyone on Saturday or Sunday.

I didn't see one red-spotted newt all weekend.  Considering we were camped 50 feet away from a creek and it rained off and on all weekend, I was really disappointed.  I mean, come on!  It was prime newt territory and prime newt weather, yet there were no newts.  Psshht.

Well, I could keep going, but I'm really tired and...yeah.  I'm just really tired now.  :)

Hope you had a lovely weekend!

Till next time,

Mandy  

Starlight

Well, hello again.  How's it going?  I haven't posted in a few days, and I'm sorry about that, but it was the weekend.  You know how it is.  Places to go and people to see and all that. 

When is the last time you went outside at night and just looked at the stars?  For me, it was Saturday- and it was spectacular.  I saw one shooting star and two satellites as I stared up into space while we sat in the boat.  We were at Hunter's Lake, which I feel, is pretty remote.  It's about 10 miles from World's End State Park and I think it's in Sullivan County, but I could be wrong about that. 

It's calm there.  Tranquil, quiet, and even when it's "busy" it's not so bad.  Funny thing is, I didn't want to go.  I thought it would be a waste of fuel and just extra travel time on the car.  I was all grouchy about it, but something funny happened.  We launched the boat and everything was so still.  We launched right around 8:30 and there were only two other boats on the lake in addition to 2 kayaks. 

The parking lot is stone and it's relatively small.  Here's a photo of the lake looking west.  It's about halfway down the lake- the dam is on the east side.  It's relatively long and is electric motor only, which is super duper nice. 

 

I will have to say that it was a little piece of heaven, floating in the boat and watching the stars come out one at a time.  Some are very twinkly, some bright.  I knew the names of none of them, sadly.  What I can tell you is that there, in that silence, stillness, darkness, and loveliness, that I realized what I'd been missing out on.  I must do that again, and soon.  Not just looking at stars, but sitting quietly and being still in the presence of nature.  

In other news, I wish I had a bowl of Count Chocula.  Because it's delicious.  

Do you remember what the Count looked like when we were kids?  

Ahh-ahh, remember me, kids?  

I'm a friendly cartoon vampire with a delicious chocolatey cereal!  Ahh-ahh! 

I saw good old Count Chocula in the grocery store a few days ago, and eegads is he icky looking..  Time has not been kind to this breakfast icon.

Um...see what I mean?  Yeowza. 

I'll leave you to chew on that for awhile.  ;) 

Till next time,

Mandy

 

Aware

There's no other explanation for it- I'm firmly convinced that the long, leggy weeds in our yard are aware.  They stand brave and tall, unfaltering until the mower comes within inches of them...then they duck.  They stay down for an hour or two, till the coast is clear, then they pop their stupid long stalks back up again. 

Proof: 

You see?  No other explanation.  They're aware.  Be afraid.

This is off topic, but does anyone else have a laptop that's seemingly possessed, making your screen bigger and small as you go along?  I learned a long time ago that Control and the minus sign makes it smaller again, but still.  It's annoying.  Also, when I'm using Word, it'll make the print huge and/or small depending on it's mood.  (I'm sure I must have a part of my hand or something on the mouse pad while I'm typing and that's doing it, but I prefer the possessed theory better.)

While I was outside, I took a picture of our spacious growing patch out back.  Let's jokingly refer to it as my garden.  

Check it out-

I know what you're thinking.  Well, I think I do.  

1. Your "garden" needs weeded.  

(Yes it does.  Don't judge me.  Back off, pal!)  

2. What are you going to do with all that extra space?

(Wait for the tomatoes to fill out and overtake the yard, slowly encroach on the grill, and finally grow up through the porch railing and invade that space, too.) 

3. This space is impressive. 

(I know.  Try not to be too jealous.)  

4. What is that rusty metal thing on the cement slab?

(It's a chain.  We used to live in Berwick and chained the grill to the porch since it was on the 1st floor and we didn't want the grill to walk off.  We moved here in 2009 and didn't know what to do with the chain..so it's decorating the back porch area.  The rusty hunk of metal really adds that certain something, right?)  

So, jumping around again, guess what?  I feel pretty accomplished tonight already.  I've packaged up the two trash bags full of clothes I don't want anymore and stuck them in my car.  I'm going to drop them off at a local church that has a drop off bin on my way into work tomorrow.  

I've stripped the bed, changed the sheets, put the summer quilt on, and folded up the heavier blankets we won't be needing anymore.  

I trekked down to the cellar to get rid of the recycling that's been hanging out on our counter top for a week!  Huzzah!  

Now I'm waiting for my clothes to finish up in the washer so I can dry them and then (ha-ha) put them away. (Ain't gonna happen tonight.  lol!)  

So, other than that, I need to cook supper.  We're having sloppy joes and bean soup.  Have you ever tried a sloppy joe with a piece of American cheese on it?  It's pretty much deliciousness multiplied.  You should really do it.  

Look at me, telling you all what to do.  Pssht.  Don't take food tips from me.  You're going to end up looking like me, and you don't want that!!  lol

I finished editing chapter 1 last night- it's finalized and ready to publish.  Huzzah!  I sorta feel like I'm kicking myself in the rear end by editing before I finish drafting out the rest of the story, but...editing is so much easier!  :P   I think I'm going to focus on writing a page or so of the next chapter as a draft tonight.  I'll feel better when I've got the whole thing written.  I'm kind of notorious for starting stuff and then just letting it hang.  Bad Mandy!  

Soo...the sun is shining, the birds are singing (they're getting on my nerves, actually...), there's a light breeze, and the windows are open.  It's a great day!  Yay!  

I hope your day was lovely, too!  

Till next time,

Mandy 

 

Geronimo!

I have this personality quirk...

Instead of trying to explain it, I'll give you an example or two.

In about 2004/2005, I started watching Bonanza.  I'm not even sure why, but I started watching it, and I liked it.  A lot.

Then I started taping it.  In order.  I had nice little markings on all my VCR tapes.  It'd go a little something like this:
"Name of the Episode", NC, Joe  (NC stood for no-commercials as I'd edited them out.  Joe was the character the episode was written around.) 
Then I found some Bonanza stuff online and ordered it on Ebay...which is why we have a framed map of the Ponderosa in the upstairs bedroom. 
Then I found out everything I possibly could about the actors. 
Off the top of my head, I can tell you that Pernell Roberts was born in Georgia in 1928, that Lorne Greene is from Canada and used to anchor the news, that Dan Blocker is from Texas and was the only actor on the show to have a college degree (and started the Bonanza/Ponderosa Restaurant chain), and that Michael Landon's real name is Eugene Orowitz and he found the name Michael Landon in a phone book.

I also joined a forum called Bonanza World, met a heap of other really nice fans from around the states who shared by affinity for Adam Cartwright, and I can likely still name many of the Bonanza episodes.  I also wrote some Fanfiction for that site- my first attempt at it.

Fast forward to the present day.  It's the same dealio with Doctor Who.  It's like I'm physically unable to just watch something and enjoy it.  I have to completely immerse myself in the entire culture that IS that show- read every book, fanfiction, find out what's canon and not canon, buy the figures, read the stories, analyze the episodes, write fanfiction...more, more, more!!  lol

I will say that my Dr. Who knowledge is truly limited to 2005 to the present.  I've tried watching the old ones and...yeah...they're just not the same.  Plus, netflix only has a limited selection of 3-4 episodes/season of the old ones, so it'd be pretty tough to get into anyway. 

I'm pretty much in love with Eccleston.  It's funny, because I don't necessarily like those episodes the best- some of them were kinda lame- but I like Chris' Doctor the best.  Can't quite put my finger on it, because I seriously love Tennant's and Matt's Doctor's, too.  I haven't had a chance to see Capaldi yet, but I'm guessing I'll love him, too.  lol  

Everyone's gotta have a hobby, I guess.  I just pick mine one at a time. 

Do I still love Bonanza?  Yes.  Not in the same way, but yes, I still like it.  I miss the Bonanza World site...it was fun to have a place to go where others sort of understood your obsession...understood it and embraced it.  lol  It is no more, so sadly, I cannot go back to visit.

So that's my quirk.  I'm not good at being a passive fan, I suppose.  I feel like I probably should have grown out of this by now.  I'm 36 (how is that possible?) years old, after all. 

Do you ever have a hard time trying to cry?  I've truly needed to for like a week and I just can't.  I'll maybe get like one dry sob out before my brain kicks in and is like, "this is stupid, give it up, it isn't going to happen."  It's kind of a crummy feeling.  Like...when you know your back needs cracked, but it just won't crack.  That kind of a thing.  Odd, really, as I'm not particularly sad about anything.  It just needs to happen.  :P 

I made stromboli tonight for supper and man was it delicious!  I used ham, hard salami, pepperoni, hot banana peppers, and cheese.  Noms!  It came out golden and delicious.  It was maybe 60 degrees outside when I came home so turning on the oven wasn't an issue, but boy is it tough to come up with things to make when it's 80 degrees in the house and you'd just as soon shoot yourself than turn on the oven.  I mean, realistically, you can only eat tacos so often. 

Well, my head hurts and I desperately need to work on some editing, so this is going to be it for tonight.  I hope you had a lovely day.  :)

Till next time,

Mandy