TPBM #96 - Curium and Messier 96, or the natural number following 95 and preceding 97.

Okay, guys, here it is.

TPBM is glad that we have a new thread.

I'm especially glad that I didn't have to come up with a cute title.

TPBM has never continued a thread in Talk.

Well, never without glitches, unlike Karen. Yay Karen!

TPBM misses being paged.

I do - we all had pagers, back in the day, and devised a system of message codes - important stuff like 888 = "meet at Dennys" and the like.

TPBM is a codebreaker.

//thank you, Larry. I just finally thought that if I didn't do it, it would get to 500. Gotta thank @ArmyAngel1986 for her contributions, too!//

//Your mention of Curium made me think of this: https://www.cs.rochester.edu/~nelson/cesium/cesium_songs.html

I'm sure I wouldn't have got the answer to 888. 88 in bingo calling is 'two fat ladies' - surely nothing to do with that?

TPBM plays bingo, or bongo, or banjo....

I tried to learn bongos back in the '60s, but it turns out I'm rhythmically challenged.

TPBM faces a challenge, too.

I'm moving. I hurt my quad muscle which has made me throw my hip out. It's annoying not being functional when I need to be. And it's going to get worse as I get even older!

The person below me thinks whining is just plain sad.

(I'm just catching up. The last joke on the previous thread was great, politician, cow, rooster, etc. I shared with my relatives. I don't remember who to thank, but thank you to the contributor!)

Edit: Tid! Thank you for the laugh. I went back and looked.

Nah. A good whine may be all you get out of a given situation.

TPBM had to chip ice this morning.

Nope. That's why I love my garage.

TPBM likes ____________for breakfast.

Lovely golden fluffy pancakes, with butter and maple syrup. Anything more is just crazy talk.

TPBM eats breakfast every day.

I always eat at least a little bit, otherwise I have an unfortunate habit of fainting.

TPBM bakes their own bread.

I have in the past, but not so much now. I'm perfectly happy with the healthy grain bread I get from the grocery store.

TPBM makes/bakes their own _______ from scratch.

Lots of stuff, but my favorites are desserts: brownies, beignets, poundcake.

TPBM prefers a particular subset of the culinary arts (pastries, molecular gastronomy, farm to table, French, etc).

Casseroles and one pot meals. I live alone. If I'm going to fuss over cooking something, there'd better by leftovers.

TPBM is more refined.

French is hard to beat - if I don't have to make it myself!

TPBM's favourite cuisine is..........

Hmmm. I love Indian, but maybe that is because I have to drive 40 miles to get it. There's a really good local Italian restaurant that has fresh bread loaves with everything. Oh, and then there is a local Chinese restaurant that is really fresh and not greasy and has delicious hot and sour soup. Well, I just can't decide on a favorite. I'm kind of with >16 PhaedraB: though about the leftover thing. Maybe that's why I like to make soup.

TPBM has read Stone Soup.

We did Stone Soup as a play in fourth grade. I even remember parts of it.

TPBM was in another play.

I was a guard in a children's workhouse in Oliver! It's funny but I still have so many vivid memories of that time, even though much of high school was a blur.

TPBM played on Broadway.

I worked on Broadway. 72nd and Broadway, upper West Side.

TPBM has a Broadway story.

I was living in Connecticut and my then-friend-Bill, now husband-Bill and my friend Marie and I went to see A Chorus Line in NYC on Broadway. It was absolutely fabulous, I'd seen it in Los Angeles, and it was just as fabulous in NYC. We went to Ma Bell's Restaurant and I had the smallest dessert with the bigget name, Chocolate Hazelnut Torte, for a little dinky thing about 1" x 2" and my friend Marie had the smallest named dessert Trifle, which came in a huge, huge glass dish and was big enough for all three of us.

TPBM has seen Hamilton.

I haven't. I was planning on spending a long weekend in New York to catch up on shows, but that's been canceled for now. Maybe in the fall.

TPBM ushers at their local theater.

No, but I did attend a Bit of Broadway show there last month. If featured local singers doing various tunes from Broadway shows. We have some talented locals. The theater is a very nice one left over from Vaudeville days.

TPBM is going to see a movie at the theater this weekend.

Define "theater" (aka "theatre" 😃) - we have a Saturday night film club in the community where I live, and this Saturday it's "These Dangerous Years", a 50s musical I'd never heard of before. We have a screen and a DVD projector and a programme so I suppose you could call it a "theatre"?

TPBM is going out somewhere this weekend.

yes, to a greek food restaurant. The World's Greatest Niece is having a birthday :)

TPBM is also celebrating.

I am not, I'm mourning. I've sending P-Bitty to kitten camp for two weeks while I get my apartment worked on. He'd better write every day! (I missed my weekly letter home once while living in Europe and my Mom called the local authorities to make sure I was not sick and not inconvenienced (arrested). It was legendary, briefly.)

TPBM is not without charity.

//Poor P-Bitty! Poor cat daddy. Just think what a sweet reunion it will be.//

Parker will tear his eyes out! Sweet he doesn't do very well. Charity he has not.

TPBM understands our new thread title.

Only because I looked in Wikipedia before I wrote post #418 in the last thread. ArmyAngel set it out in post #419. I kept coming back to soixante-neuf and could only see a couple who had tired of all that sort of thing.

TPBM is still frisky

Still frisky??? Hmmm I'll have to get back to you on that one.

TPBM needs a new ______________.

Leg, hip, magic wand?

The person below me would also like a magic wand.

Yes, please.

TPBM casts their own spell.

Didn't work. He's now President.

TPBM thinks we should all say our prayers for the next 4 years.

Eh. If spells didn't work, prayers probably won't either.

TPBM is battening down the hatches.

Already did but my periscope is dirty. . .

TPBM knows how to clean it without opening the hatch. . .

Yeah - that's what the internet is for!

TPBM has another method to "clean their (metaphorical) periscope"

Use it to look at something very very clean indeed?

TPBM sends up a flair.

Yeah, about a dozen, and with flair (and due warning to the water cops). When I sold our boat I used the pistol to burn off all the out-of-date flares with great flair. Only over open water of course, we did not want an aflair with fires.

TPBM cleans their windows with internet.

I'm lazy and wait for it to rain. A good nor'easter washes the front windows nicely.

The person below me buttplants over their own tongue.

I couldn't find a definition for buttplants, but now I know what buttplates are.

The person below me is sometimes perplexed.

We live in perplexing times.

TPBM will be specific.

Syria

TPBM nods knowingly

I greatly fear that we are entering a very dark time, and one day soon we'll wish our problems were the travel ban, and Obamacare, and the Brexit.

TPBM is more upbeat.

Nope.

TPBM is keeping his/her head below the parapet.

And wearing a helmet.

TPBM stockpiles (and is armed).

We don't stockpile exactly, but do have a big pantry and a freezer in the garage. We are armed, too. 'Nuff said.

TPBM has inherited rifles, shotguns, and/or handguns.

I'm British. 'Nuff said.

TPBM, on the other hand, ......

I'm Southern. 'Nuff said.

TPBM rages against the dying of the light.

Nope. I welcome the dusk with open arms. I also like walking early in the morning before daylight when the rest of the world still slumbers and all is quiet and calm.

//with all the doomsday talk, did I miss something big, or is it just the world these days as usual???//

TPBM avoids conflict.

I try. But these days it seems to be harder and harder.

The person below me has tried out an adult coloring book. (I'm changing the subject to the very, very light.)

I have have a couple sitting in a pile beside my chair. Under a few things.

TPBM has artistic talent.

Nope. That's why I have adult coloring books, gel pens, and colored pencils.

TPBM can see blue skies.

Not today but Saturday and Sunday with the temp up to 60F!

TPBM will join us outside on Saturday or Sunday spraying the stinky stuff to keep the deer (aka long legged rats) away from the plants! Can't hunt around here.

Our plants are still buried under two feet of snow. I haven't seen the deer in a few weeks, but we have a flock of about 50 turkeys roaming around our land.

Turkeys looked pitiful out there wading through deep snow trying to find food, so I threw out some peanuts but that caused a huge screaming turkey battle.

TPBM doesn't feed the animals.

I always feed the animals.

TPBM plays for the love of the game.

........ not for the sake of a ribboned coat,
Or the selfish hope of a season's fame,
But his captain's hand on his shoulder smote
'Play up! play up! and play the game! '

TPBM keeps a stiff upper lip

No. That sounds downright painful.

TPBM keeps his/her chin up.

I do my best, what with gravity and all pulling it down.

TPBM has broad shoulders.

I wish - I have to use shoulder pads to get my cape to flare like Vader's does.

TPBM has falsies.

The days when it mattered are long past.

TPBM is taller than the average height for age/gender

No, pretty much average, but people always think that I'm taller than I really am.

TPBM has a superpower.

Huh?

What's a superpower?

TPBM knows!!

Don't play the innocent with me - I can see right through you.

TPBM has a different superpower

I knew you would say something like that!

TPBM has yet another superpower.

Sorry - same superpower : I knew you knew I would say something like that..

TPBM really does have a different superpower.

Nope. No superpower. And a serious lack of any power when it comes to dealing with major idiots at utilities, banks, and funeral homes in California. Harrumph.

TPBM knows that as soon as their daffodils/forsythia/redbuds bloom, they will get a late frost.

Um, no? I don't have any. And I think it is too late for a frost now. Even though we are getting down in the 40's at night again which meant I had to put on a jacket last night. (I love Arizona!)

The person below me has flowers blooming already.

Yes! I'm happy with the Winter Aconites, Snowdrops and one little pink outdoor cyclamen.
Spring is in the air.

TPBM sees, or hears, other signs of Spring

Spring!? Wait. I'm still enjoying our Florida "winter". Being able to breath and even walk a little... don't rush it!

TPBM is in a blooming rush

I'm not personally, but our forsythia is, darn it. Our last frost date is near the end of April, so I anticipate at least one more overnight temp in the mid-high 20Fs and several right around freezing. Too many plants and trees think it's spring. This will not go well.

TPBM is perfectly happy with the season they are currently experiencing.

//>70 John_Vaughan: can imagine that, Seems that your winter is warmer than our early spring //

Yes, I think so. It's getting milder (not necessarily a good thing..) but also sunnier and the flowers are beginning to show. Lots of daffs.

TPBM has begun to garden.

I have! I have a tiny jungle of seedlings on the dining table under a seed light: Three types of tomatoes, mixed bell peppers, basil, cucumbers, and jalapenos. This is my second attempt at gardening, hopefully it doesn't end with a collection of withered plants, like last time.

TPBM doesn't forget that all things need water.

Aak! Leaped!

No, it seems cruel to let things dry up.

TPBM doesn't forget that some things need scotch.

Friend Larry. *smile* I'm more of a red wine person.

TPBM has a favorite winery.

I'm not much for wine. Beer or bourbon for me. And sometimes margaritas or bloody Mary's.

The person below me likes to drink milk.

Blech. For my entire adult life, I have found the idea of drinking straight milk disgusting. Unless it's chocolate, because chocolate fixes everything.

TPBM likes chocolate _______________.

YES!!! (No need for the _______________, except to dismiss ornery cheapo quasi-chocolate like Cadburys, Hershey, and the rest; I'm talking about high-cocoa Continental style REAL chocolate full of extra scrummy things like rum or cherry brandy or praline or truffle or orange or strawberry or coffee or nuts or caramel with sea salt or blueberry or even chilli)

Oh, did I say that out loud?

TPBM also _____ chocolate ( insert addictive verb of choice - I drew an arrow pointing left, but for some reason LT thinks "ah, a left pointing arrow - know what, I'll delete it and everything that follows it..." )

is allergic to chocolate. I know, it's a curse. I must have been really bad in a former life.

TPBM is also consoled by cheesecake.

I'm not much of a dessert person or a chocolate person. I like Swedish fish once in a while. I know, weird.

TPBM has a favorite childhood candy.

Look bars. They are nougat with almonds covered with dark chocolate.

TPBM also has a favorite childhood candy.

//Stop! I have nothing in my stash drawer this morning. I will have to do a snack run now.//

There were so many! I was very fond of Lik-M-Aid, which had a candy stick to dip into pouches of flavoured sugar.

TPBM has another favourite childhood candy to taunt 2wonderY with.

My grandmother used to make wonderful marzipan candy. There is a nice candy shop in town that makes a decent version.

TPBM feeds their sweet tooth.

Yes, with scotch. (as a fatty and a diabetic I shrink from sugary sweets (candies) except dark choc with sea salt).

TPBM has followed the green thumb and chocolate theme with _____

Girl Scout cookies. Tis the season!

TPBM gets over with __________.

Well I want to get over this stupid cold with plenty of liquids, vitamin C, rest, and lots of tissues. I'm really mad because I had yesterday off from work and blue skies and sunshine in February, and I was stuck coughing, aching and sneezing on the couch all day.

TPBM has an abundance of sunshine and blue skies.

I got back from vacation on Sunday. Not only was it sunny and beautiful on my cruise and in Florida, it was beautiful and sunny when we landed in Pennsylvania.

TPBM is having a great day.

a great long weekend, actually! It included our first trip of the year to our favorite deli for the best pastrami in the world, and ended with our first trip of the year to the raptor hospital to visit the hawks and owls.

I had to get back to work today, but came home to the new Neil Gaiman book in my mailbox, so today is also a good day.

TPBM is planning a vacation.

Just came back from a long Con weekend which was wonderful but I am so exhausted I'm about to go back to bed for a nap.

TPBM has a vacation sooner rather than later.

I need one, but no- later rather than sooner.

TPBM has bells on.

No bells, but I happen to be wearing button jewelry today.

TPBM is a gypsy, inside or out.

I guess I'm a gypsy on the inside. The idea of a freestyle gypsy life greatly appeals to me. However, the reality of the inconveniences that would arise keep me rooted.

TPBM has checked something off their bucket list.

Retirement. I retired a year ago and am just getting into the swing of things. I wake up most mornings wondering which day it is and wake up all mornings grateful.

TPBM has an unusual item on their bucket list.

I'm attempting to visit every National Park in the US. So far I've been to 23 out of 59. Some are in remote areas and will take some planning.

TPBM also has an interesting bucket list.

I have one made of plastic but try to avoid situations where I have to use it. It stands upright, and doesn't list or its contents would spill out.

TPBM is, was, or will be, a hippy.

No need to comment on my anatomy. I'm a little sensitive about it.

TPBM is, was, or will be, a hippie.

The abbess was in Haight-Ashbury in 1967 despite which she has never, in my sight, worn flowers in her hair nor ingested psychoactive substances (apart from the occasional Sauvignon Blanc).

TPBM often goes against the flow

I don't so much go against the flow as I stay out of the stream.

//>96 Darth-Heather: Wow! What's your next destination?//

TPBM is a news junkie (fake or real).

//>100 morningwalker: This summer we are visiting my dad in Minneapolis, and will spend a week camping around the north part of the state, where we can visit a National Park called Isle Royale on an island in Lake Superior, so we expect to check that one off the list this year.

Next year will be Yellowstone!//

I am a real news junkie, therefore I discount most of what is offered by the Republican Regime. I don't watch TV news; rather, I get info from NPR and cellphone apps.

TPBM has cut back their news intake in recent months.

I have. It's nauseating. I just watch the recaps from the late show hosts. Seth Meyers is funny.

TPBM keeps up with current events.

Leeped!

Nope. I am. I'm fascinated by the spectacle.

TPBM still watches cartoons.

Yes, I love them. All types, although I don't have a tee-bee so my knowledge is spotty.

TPBM has a cabinet full of old plastic food containers.

Even though I have purged them with every move (I've moved a lot) after four and a half years here, I have a stash of empty plastic food containers. I used to use them in the freezer (when you cook for one there are a lot of leftovers) but my son got me one of those vacuum freezer bag things. Which I love.

TPBM knows how plastic food containers breed.

Apparently they do so by running off together to someplace private and leaving the lids behind.

TPBM doesn't use plastic.

Working very hard to eliminate as much plastic from my life as I can. I carry my own ceramic cup to places where I expect to be offered styrofoam. Blech-y stuff melts into the drink.

TPBM has a sensitive set of taste buds.

I think soda from a can tastes gross, does that count? I try to avoid styrofoam, too, but more because it outlasts the pyramids in a landfill. I wonder what people in 500 years will think of us?

TPBM has thrown a watermelon from a building roof.

not off a roof, no, but we did sling some from the trebuchet my brother built. it turns out that frozen ones go further than warm ones.

TPBM prefers to use a catapult.

//Have we had this conversation before? I don't know why it always comes back to me throwing watermelons off buildings. I was defenestrated in a past life, probably. I know my dad swears I'll be shot in this one.//

// I guess you must have been really impressed by the result. Didn't Frederick Forsyth's Jackal assassin shoot a watermelon with an explosive round when he was practicing to take out Dr Gaulle? That wasn't bad.//

No catapult, but the best thing I have defenestrated was an upright piano from a fourth floor window. Unforgettable - I can still hear the BOING!!!

TPBM will share the memory of some gratuitously destructive act.

TPBM & Friends might enjoy reading poem HORSE SAYS GOOD-BYE (AND GOOD RIDDANCE)
TO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (by Clarence Major) - easy to find via online Search.

I worked in the same office as my ex-husband. He fell in love with his boss. She had to take a job elsewhere (rules, you know). I took the nameplate from her old office and buried it in used cat litter. She is allergic to cats. Not really super destructive but satisfying.

The person below me can easily top this.

(I did accidentally destroy a bottle of ketchup. Back when they were made of glass. I dropped it on the tile floor. What a mess!)

Not me. I was brought up in the 60s. "Peace and love, man" (at least, that's what I thought until I discovered an archive of all the issues of OZ Magazine and remembered what violently anti-establishment anarchic times they were...).

TPBM really does a have satisfying tale of gratuitous violence or even better, revenge.

// xorscape! How fiendish! I love it! Another excellent use for cat litter. //

This is kinda awful, but I have to confess. I had a customer who behaved extremely abusive on the phone, over something pretty inconsequential. She called several times one week, shouting obscenities at anyone who answered the phone. We all handled it as well as we could, and were glad when it was done, because the service we provide isn't something people do repeatedly so we wouldn't be hearing from her again.

But it was bothering me to have to take that attitude from anyone. Soooo since her cell phone number was on our caller ID, I signed her up for an anonymous text message through the CDC website that notifys her that someone she has been with has herpes and that she should get tested.

I know, it's bad. But there is a lesson to be learned - do not abuse people who have your personal info. I could have done much worse. But I felt better after that and can let it go now, except for the occasional mean-spirited snickering.

TPBM has done worse.

I regret that I once did. It was called the Steward's Secret Revenge and its effect was dramatic. But I can not tell you what it was as it is a secret.

TPBM knows how many Billy bookcases rolled off the production line of the Gyllensvaans Mobler factory in Kattilstorp in the few seconds of my typing.

//Come on, John. You really shouldn't tantalise us. We promise not to tell. And, I suppose, being a confession I could offer some sort of absolution ;-)//

//Dude. Seriously.//

I believe there were 12 Billy bookcases that rolled off the production line of the Gyllensvaans Mobler factory in Kattilstorp in the few seconds of your typing. It should have been less, but >118 John_Vaughan: is a notoriously slow typist.

TPBM is slow at __________.

Reading. I'm a slow reader. I didn't know that until I looked my times up online. Like remedial English class slow.

//>112 abbottthomas: I can hear it in my head, this grand concordant Bong! Nice. Of course, I do have to ask why you threw an upright piano out a fourth floor window. Other than it was there and you had the time.//

TPBM flies through books.

I used to, but children stopped believing in fairies and my wings fell off.

TPBM has their own reading speed.

//>122 SomeGuyInVirginia: It was easier than carrying it down all those stairs ;-)//

My reading speed is directly proportional to how much I'm enjoying a book. If it slows to molasses in wintertime, I abandon it. Fortunately I've had a lot of good books this month so have been going like crazy.

TPBM uses bookmarks.

I collect 'em. I might have more bookmarks than books on the TBR shelf.

TPBM has a _____________ shelf.

I have a shelf of child-sized watering cans up behind my desk at work. Twelve of them, as I now count them. No! It's not a collection! No it isn't.

TPBM has got seeds sprouting.

No, I'll probably just buy plants from local greenhouse.

TPBM needs new shoes.

New sneakers for work actually. The ones I wear are both ready to fall apart given the right circumstances.

TPBM needs to step it up on completing something.

I've been toying with the idea of giving up coffee. I dunno, maybe there will still be a reason for living after that I just can't see in my caffeine fueled state.

TPBM has a new toy.

(slowly types) Yes a Nespresso Pod Espresso Machine. to go with our Cafeteria, in support of our Filter machine. Give up coffee ?! What an idea.

TPBM knew my secret revenge involved tomato soup.

//Give up coffee, Larry? Yipes. Too horrible to even contemplate, as I sip my second cup of the morning.//

No, I want more detail John_Vaughan, mwahahaha

TPBM concurs.

yes please! I didn't want to be the only one needing absolution from the Abbott...

TPBM has questions.

Yes I do. Come on >131 John_Vaughan:, spill the beans.

TPBM has answers.

Loads of them. I just need to be asked the questions they belong to.

TPBM has reservations.

Yes, we do. For a cruise for our fiftieth wedding in April, just a quickie around our local pond (the Gulf).

TPBM knows the secret revenge has no beans.

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"

TPBM shares my wish for calm seas in April (although John may be OK in the teeth of a gale)

//Aye Abbott, I do like a bit o' wind and shipping 'green ones'.//

Yes, yes I do hope for calm seas in April because I don't want to be the recipient of secret tomato revenge! "We have to convince the little housewife out there that the tomato that ate the family pet is not dangerous!"- Ted Swan, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978)

TPBM has been the recipient of double secret tomato revenge.

No, I bloody haven't!

TPBM thinks I'm getting warm...

Yes, the soup had to be hot to dissolve the added powder. It was also served with a swirl of "cream". Actually, at sea it was tinned milk.

TPBM knows how to clean silver.

Yes, tell the butler to do it.

TPBM smokes menthols.

I don't smoke anything anymore. But I used to like Salems.

TPBM is giving up something for Lent.

Austerity.

TPBM has had enough of mortification of the flesh, and spirit.

It has long been my contention that the purpose of incarnation is to experience incarnation fully. I would have pursued experiencing it even more fully, but lack of funds has limited my access.

TPBM has a purpose.

Yes, it's to keep my cats supplied with catnip on a regular basis (if I don't I pay the price).

TPBM lives with an unruly beast.

I'm not sure exactly what it is. Something in the wall sounds bigger than a mouse, unless it is multiple mice. Whatever it is, the cats are pretty excited about it.

//>146 PhaedraB: I concur.//

TPBM tames the beast.

What's a world without beasts?

//>128 morningwalker: Parker, every now and then, will sit and stare at a spot on the wall just below the ceiling. I have seen way to many horror movies to be ok with that. Last time I told him 'You're just doing that to freak me out!'//

TPBM is having a fry up.

With a wedge and a mug.

TPBM knows what Parker can see.

Oh God no! I never want to know what goes on those devious little minds.

//>149 SomeGuyInVirginia: Is Parker back home? If he is, have you been punished yet?//

TPBM saw the puppy with the selfie on her ear.

No, but I saw Colonel Mustard in the Library with the Gun.

TPBM loves board games.

I'm too board to answer this, sorry.

TPBM will answer instead.

I only play games when I'm aboard.

151> Parker is not back yet, the window installation has gone through several delays but should be finished tomorrow and P-Bitty back home Sunday. I just think about contractors and my head explodes in confetti.

TPBM is above board.

No, my room is just off the kitchen. See that door next to the fridge? Anyway, breakfast is super convenient.

The person below me pays room & board.

Sort of, it's called a mortgage.

>154 SomeGuyInVirginia: Yes windows will be a must for Parker's return.//

TPBM is head over heels.

According to my yoga instructor, my posture alignment is more "head-over-toes", which is bad and I'm supposed to be reminding myself to stop leaning forward when I walk.

TPBM gets it straight.

╿╤

TPBM is even straighter.

Sure, OK.

TPBM thinks everyone is cuter when they're in IKEA.

I wouldn't know; by complete chance, I have never been in an Ikea in my life, despite moving in with someone once who had tons of Ikea furniture.

TPBM has been, and will tell.

Well I've only been in IKEA a couple times, and not for a few years now, but I don't remember seeing anyone who struck me as cute while I was there. That's not saying people are not cuter while in IKEA, it's more saying I don't have a very good memory. Sorry I couldn't be more help on this issue.

TPBM knows for a fact people are cuter in IKEA, or someplace else.

I don't know about the people, but I have one word for you - "Swedish meatballs."

TPBM has an IKEA kitchen.

I have a kitchen?!

TPBM has discovered a wonderful new author.

Yes! For me at least. George Saunders. Apparently he's a brilliant short story writer, but I just read Lincoln in the Bardo, his first novel, and loved it and gave it 5 stars.

TPBM is generous with 5 stars.

No, I'm pretty stingy with my 5 stars. The book has to be something I absolutely loved.

//>164 karenmarie: I've been hearing about that book and wondered if I would like it. If you think it's worthy of 5 stars, I might have to add it to TBR pile.//

TPBM is stingy with _______.

my stuff. Don't touch.

TPBM is biased against _______.

Am I allowed to use the T word here? Or would I be accused of Trumpfism?

TPBM has thoughts about this...

I'd say run all the bums out of town, except that if the zombie apocalypse has taught us anything it's that governments only have downhill to go.

TPBM goes with the flow.

You bet your sweet bippy! I am not going to draw attention to myself in these uncertain times.

TPBM throws pots

I've never thrown a pot. I have thrown a hissy fit (not for years though).

The person below me has some lovely pottery.

(I think there was an earlier post about Billy bookcases from IKEA. I need some extra shelves for my paperbacks and ran across this statement: "It is estimated that every five seconds, one BILLY bookcase is sold somewhere in the world.")

(Oh, and I love the IKEA tea lights. Cheap and a good burn.)

I like plain simple pottery such as stoneware, as long as it's finished with an attractive colour. I'd also find houseroom for Clarice Cliff but prices are way beyond me. Sigh. On the other hand, if you meant ornamental pottery, I think you'd go a long way to beat the Ancient Greek vases ("vahziz", please...), though I also have a stunning Spanish vase - terracotta with an elegantly quite wide body, but a very thin neck widening out a little to a rim.

TPBM can wax lyrical about glassware.

Nah, I'm more of a recipe lyrical waxer.

TPBM can wax lyrically about _______.

Cognac and its difference from Brandy and how and where it is created.
//>169 abbottthomas: Werry interesting, but not werry funny. Say goodnight Dick//

TPBM remembers who Radar and Hot Lips were

My brother and I could only watch MASH when my mom wasn't looking - she did not approve of that sort of humour.

TPBM knows why.

Gad, MASH. A great series that eventually choked to death on its own smug. I had an uncle who got tanked at bar at Dulles airport with William Christopher, the guy who played Father Mulcahy.

TPBM got the rockin' pneumonia and the boogie woogie flu.

//Fantastic way to put it, Larry! Choked to death on its own smug. Oh, yeah! I didn't like the TV show MASH nearly as much as the original movie. And the original book, MASH was fantastic.//

Not I but SWMBO had walking pneumonia. Went to bed on her birthday (poor lass) and stayed there nearly 3 weeks. Keeps asking me where February went.

TPBM will explain the fascinations and details of their own favorite soap.

Coronation Street, though its fascinations aren't immediately obvious beyond a sometimes witty script.

TPBM wonders why >173 John_Vaughan: asked about M*A*S*H when he'd just referenced Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In...

Our John works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform.

//Sorry Darth, I leaped. Because MASH could be lewd and questioned the status quo, at least when the series was still worth watching.//

TPBM comes on little cat feet.

Of course.

TPBM rambles.

I do. Because now is the time, and the time is now.

TPBM has rolled and called the tumblin' dice.

Only in board games ... though I did re-record said song as it is half a semitone too slow.

TPBM will name their favourite Rolling Stones track.

Gimme Shelter or Rip This Joint, it's a toss up.

TPBM has a song they love so much they turn it off when it plays on the radio so it won't get stale.

Not really, not now.

TPBM recently binge watched ________.

The 2005 BBC miniseries Bleak House, in honor of reading the book in February.

TPBM recently binge watched ___________.

The Clone Wars series on Netflix - found out they would no longer be available after March 7th, so I blasted through the remaining 50 episodes in one week.

TPBM's favorite binge watch is _______

Just watched the recent BBC drama series 'Taboo' - all 8 hour-long episodes over 5 days. Quite the most stunning historical (or drama, period) series I've seen in ages. Though last year's 'Night Manager' was also brilliant. So was 'Undercover'!

TPBM's favourite recent drama series was __________

Work. I don't know why it has to be like that either.

TPBM recognized the wheel of Fortune turning turning.

//We've been watching Taboo, too, Larry. It's rather amazing and certainly not for the faint of heart. We'll check out Night Manager and Undercover.//

The wheel keeps turning and you can't slow down, you can't let go and you can't hold on. You can't go back, and you can't stand still, but if the thunder don't get you then the lightning will.

TPBM is also aware of a no-win situation.

//>189 karenmarie: I loved the Night Manager and highly recommend it. I will have to take a look at Taboo.//

I think the US is living one right now.

The person below me wants something sweet.

There's one brownie left from Wednesday's 9" x 13" pan, wrapped in aluminum foil. Husband hasn't noticed it, so I think it's mine and I will eat it as a reading snack.

TPBM would prefer something salty.

Thinking about making an early dinner just to get the thought of potato chips out of my head.

TPBM is out of their head over ___________.

Well, potato chips. They're kind of the food that holds all other foods together.

TPBM doesn't want to end up like __________.

A crazy old cat lady who wears a purple cardigan covered in cat hair and smells like cat urine.

TPBM knows someone who marches to a different drummer.

Yes, we all do. And we are wondering how T. Parker's homecoming is going. With or without windows.

TPBM IS that Different Drummer.

I don't do drums and I don't march. (That must qualify as Different).

TPBM is wary of the ides of March.

yes, it's my boss' birthday and he is one of those who insists that he doesn't want his birthday acknowledged but then mopes if nobody wishes him a happy one.

TPBM is celebrating Pi Day tomorrow.

God I hope so. If by 'celebrating' you mean 'enjoying a snow day home' and by 'Pi' you mean 'actual pie'. Except I don't have pie but I do have honey crisp apples and steak. And potato chips because, what, I'm a barbarian?

>197 John_Vaughan: P-Bitty is home and loving it. He doesn't care much for the new windows and neither do I. He doesn't like them because they're different and I don't like them because what I had to go through for the five gawddamn weeks it took to get them installed amounted to trauma. Certainly there was a lot of yelling on the phone. It's like some government bureaucracy was responsible for installing my windows.

It is so good to have his furry butt back home.

TPBM doesn't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows.

Maybe a weather woman?

I am but mad north-north-west.

When the wind is southerly, TPBM knows a hawk from a handsaw.

I always know a hawk from a handsaw, though I don't use or own either.

TPBM recognises an obscure saying in what the Abbott said and will explain it.

Obscure sayings go right over my head. No, I don't have a clue.

TPBM has a clue.

I'm sorry I haven't a clue, either.

TPBM seas awl, nos awl.

I do. Hamlet: Act 2, Scene 2, Page 16.

TPBM (like our dear Abbott) knew that without Google.

I knew the source, though I couldn't have named chapter and verse.

TPBM is an expert on ___________.

Accidentally buying duplicates and even sometimes triplicates of books. I have started logging onto LT on my cellphone to check, but still get lazy sometimes and have an Ooops! moment when I get home.

TPBM has also accidentally bought duplicates of books.

No, but my late husband was a pro at it. One of the reasons I started cataloging our books.

TPBM hits doubles or triples.

Used to when I was in little league.

TPBM also learned how to catch batting practice because he couldn't hit a curve worth beans!

// >208 karenmarie: You are not a true book collector if you haven't bought the same book twice several times!//

"he"?

TPBM assumes the gender of the TPBT

Nope. Always iffy. But back when I was a tyke, we were taught that "he" was acceptable when gender is unknown. Now, I'm never sure what is acceptable. It seems to change when I'm not looking.

The person below me is feeling warm and cozy.

Yeah, all that snow shoveling warms me up fast.

TPBM is on a 2 hour delay.

Nope, we're open for business and business is good! Whoo-hoo! (I got here soooo early today.)

TPBM feels that we are on the cusp of a new age.

Could be. As Tom Lehrer sang, "Soon we'll be sliding down the razor blade of life."

TPBM prepares for unknown unknowns

Sure do. Usually at about 3am when I should be sleeping. Not by choice.

TPBM plans ahead.

Also usually at 3am. Unfortunately, I never remember any of those plans after I get out of bed.

TPBM is planning a vacation.

Yes, four of us going to Malaga in Spain.

TPBM is planning a vacation on a different scale.

I'm putting together a week in Buenos Aires, but I don't yet know when I'm going.

TPBM has been to Good Airs and can recommend something, or some other Airs entirely.

Air On A G String by Johann Sebastian.

TPBM can recommend other airs...

'fraid not, I wouldn't know my Airs from a hole in the ground.

TPBM is celebrating St. Green Beer Day!

I hope so! Going for Girls Night with some buddies at a place called "The Tap Room Grille" - I am assuming a place with "tap room" in the name can hook me up with Guinness on draft.

TPBM is Irish today too.

I'm always Irish-American, but I don't know the degree, with Patricks in my direct line back at least to 1828 here in the US.

TPBM loves corned beef and cabbage.

>221 SomeGuyInVirginia: // Redneck??//

>224 abbottthomas: //...white socks, and bluuueeee ribbon beer. At your service.//

>225 SomeGuyInVirginia: //I had Randy Newman in mind. "He may be a fool, but he's our fool....."//

I'm more of a bubble-and-squeak-plus-bacon girl myself.

TPBM will describe their favourite 'quick pan fry' meal.

Stir-fried sliced meat and frozen veg, with rice made in the rice cooker so I don't even have to watch it. I get an "Asian mix" veg package with a spicy powder for sauce included. Sometimes I add a tablespoon of peanut butter or tahini for a different Asian flavor.

TPBM has another.

My favorite quick meal is to season and sear thin boneless pork chops in a skillet and then add sliced potatoes and veggies then add beef broth and simmer until done. Yummy

TPBM uses their crock pot always and wants to make PhaedraB's recipe. (I do!)

Nope, I have one pan which, for reasons that escape me, has been in my refrigerator for the past three years.



Today is National Alien Abduction Day! TPBM will share their abduction story.

I would but every time I try to talk about it I get a searing pain in my left temple for some reason. Hmmm.

TPBM can talk freely about their abduction. (Ouch there's that pain again!)

No, it is a tort or felony so I could incriminate myself. Or you.

TPBM is feeling much better now ...and courts the night.

The only thing I can catch is a cold (see what I did there?)

TPBM thinks conspiracy theories are barmy but endlessly amusing.

Way too aggravating to be amusing.

TPBM has a theory of their own.

Yes, but it is staying close to my chest.

TPBM can remember being wrapped in vinegar and brown paper or red flannel or goose grease.

Why did it have to be red? Yes it was a cozy way to go to bed, at least while the wet flannel was hot; but the cold wet flannel was a bit icky later on.

TPBM stays safe with safety pins.

There was a time when I always kept one pinned inside my lapel or hem, just in case of an emergency. Now I'm not even sure where to find a safety pin in the house.

TPBM is prepared for ___________.

The zombie apocalypse, 'natch. Not really. I could make it through a week with the canned goods I've got, but I'm not ready for system breakdown or anything.

TPBM is a survivalist.

Hey, I harvest my own water.

TPBM wouldn't drink the stuff.

god no. Do you realize what's in that stuff? Hydrogen is dangerous, you know. Ever see footage of the Hindenburg disaster?

TPBM prefers two oxygen molecules.

Funnily enough, I have hyperbaric oxygen therapy every week.

TPBM likes their oxygen on the rocks.

You know they sell it in ingestible form as a nutritional supplement, eh?
S'truth!

TPBM likes most things on the rocks.

Not when caught on a lee shore.

TPBM knows their orlop from their top-gallant yard

Yes, faintly. Saw an orlop on the rocks once, drinking oxygen supplement.

TPBM has just started a new book and ....

... I'd have finished it, too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids bosses.

TPBM wants a cheeseburger in paradise.

Aak! Leaped! That's what I get for opening computer windows then getting sidetracked.

Yes, but I better hurry before they pave paradise and put in a parking lot (o-whoo whoo whoo whoo).

the writing is better than the content. Heads in Beds; every country that doesn't have compulsory military service should require its yute to work for a year in a large hotel. It's better than an MBA degree.

TPBM blogs.

Nope.

TPBM escapes life for a while by __________.

Listening to Wagner.

TPBM couldn't stomach that.

My stomach is normally pretty good. It's my eardrums I'd worry about with Wagner.

The person below me is nosy.

I prefer to think of it as 'engaged.'

Naw, honestly, I usually figger that if I don't know the whole story, it's because it's none of my business. If it was my business, someone would have already told me.

TPBM engages otherwise.

I am, and always have been. I want to know what and why.

TPBM turns a blind eye.

wink, wink, nudge, nudge... say no more!

TPBM likes photography.

Oh yes! You chose the right PBY.. I wish my talent was even a fraction of my enthusiasm. Currently using the Lumix LX100.

TPBM shoots with...

A Bazooka. This is Floriduh after all.

TPBM lives in the nation's Blah and climbs fences.

It was just a test!

TPBM breaks down walls.

And heads toward Mexico.

Accompanied by?

//It probably says something about our times, but my first reaction, now, whenever there's a terrorist attack is not to wonder if my friends are OK but to curse those who attempted it and pointedly avoid the news for 48 hours. at and Tid, I hope you're both well.//

//Fine thank you. It was a horrible attack, but there seems to be so many these days. Definitely not the right time to be leaving Europe though, they've been more than ready to stand by us (and our allies over your way too, of course).//

// Me too, thanks SGIV. I walked over Westminster Bridge a couple of weeks ago and was thinking then about the extraordinarily wide range of nationalities represented by the visitors and now reflected in Wednesday's casualties. This was no way to treat guests.//

Graham Greene.
Oh dear, its another Moanday.

TPBM likes Mondays.

Oh yes, I dearly love Mondays since I retired last year. They represent freedom.

TPBM probably prefers Fridays after work.

Yes, but the weekend's lease hath all too short a date.

TPBM isn't at all sure that 9 to 5 jobs are better than the hunter/gatherer lifestyle they replaced.

It depends on the commute.

TPBM walks to work, or at least cycles.

Yes!, cycling it's the easiest, most flexible and often fastest way to do ànd i am aware of the surroundings.

TPBM Walks a dog

Sometimes, but only as a favor to a friend who travels. It's a Big Favor since she has three very rowdy beagles, so it's like walking a tornado.

TPBM has multiple pets.

Three cats, and my brother's dog until he finds an apartment. For the last two weeks, we also had a friend's dog while he was on vacation. Madness, I tell you.

TPBM has that beat.

No, but I was just wondering if >266 AngelaB86: you could watch my dog and 3 cats for a little while. Thanks bunches in advance...

TPBM is a sucker.

Not according to the stray cats, raccoon, possum, skunk, and multiple bachelor friends that I have been feeding on a regular basis for years.... hey, wait...

TPBM sees it coming.

Yes. I have nightmares. Though in one of them (a dream surely, not a nightmare?) Trump was evicted from the White House by the Armed Forces, who went on TV to declare there would be a new Presidential election and in the meantime, Congress and the Senate would run things.

TPBM has had a lucid dream and will tell us about it.

I haven't had a lucid dream in perhaps a quarter of a century. It's a skill that comes naturally to my sisters but one I can only achieve with diligent practice.

TPBM has one to tell us about.

Sorry, my daytime life isn't even very lucid sometimes, so I don't think I can come up with a dream that's lucid.

//>269 Tid: I like the first part of your dream, but second part about Congress and Senate running things may be more of a nightmare too.//

TPBM thinks most politicians are over inflated, over paid, over insured and overly confident in their abilities.

We should send them all "over there" to Tid and AT.
//With Congress and Senate running things there are two questions we should ask ... would they ever agree and would we notice.//

TPBM had a happier scenario for us.

No way. Prime Minister Teresa May has written the letter to trigger Brexit today. She will apparently ask the country to "come together" tomorrow. Make of that what you will. I shall not cease to be a Remoaner.

TPBM would like to be able to make a difference

Boy, would I! I just don't understand how intelligent people can believe the things they do... (They should believe the same things I do!) On the other hand, I do believe that little things can make a difference.

The person below me has been kind to someone recently.

Yes! Why just this during this morning's commute there were several idiots I refrained from bludgeoning to death. I'm sure this evening's drive home will be equally fruitful.

TPBM believes in karma.

// A few minutes ago - in our National Blah - a lady lacking your restraint and kindness attempted to do just that with the White House police.//

Mostly the "What goes around comes around variety".

TPBM is worried that their next incarnation might be as a Jerusalem cricket or boll-weevil.

Even worse - a direct descendant of Donald Trump. (Shakes herself and shudders).

TPBM is in a reincarnation that doesn't believe in reincarnation.

Of course I'm coming back, we're all coming back, people. The Zombie Apocalypse. Not just pretty words.

TPBM would rather be a vampire.

Since I work nights in a supermarket, (and have been doing so for almost 30 years now,) I basically am one already. When I try to keep "normal" hours while on vacation I just don't "feel right" being up and about with the sun.

TPBM has a yearning for something.

power, mystery, and the hammer of the gods. doesn't everyone?

TPBM has at least two of those.

I saw that hammer of the gods at the flea market, but it's neck was bent; so I passed on it.

TPBM puts ketchup on everything.

I have mystery novels, power cuts, and a hammer for getting frozen paella to pour into a pan. Does that count?

leaped! aaargh. No, I HATE ketchup.

TPBM has a Second Life...

Is a Second Life like a second chance? If so, I hope so. I hope so.

TPBM likes apple fritters. (I mean really, can anyone honestly say no to apple fritters?)

If someone else makes them, fine, but you really do need a deep fryer (don't you?)and the thought of pints of hot and possibly unhealthy vegetable oil with an associated fire risk puts me off.

TPBM is braver than I and deep fries lots of things. Mars bars??

Mars Bars? No. Though apparently I do have a little Scottish blood in me. I don't even possess a deep frier. I buy gourmet chips from the Co-op and bake them in the oven.

TPBM also likes chips done a particular way (NB By 'chips' I mean hot sticks of fried potato, not cold crisp salted flakes of potato in a bag; you may call them French Fries your way, but I don't count MacDonalds' type of reconstituted powdered rubbish 'chips').

Mmmmmm. With brown gravy!

TPBM has tried the new honey barbeque potato chip in a bag.

I have but my preference is just good old fashioned regular Lays. Yum. They have the perfect amount of grease and salt.

TPBM has a favorite snack food.

Popcorn. Oh man I loves me some popcorn.

TPBM is sweet rather than salty.

Usually, but I do admit that a bowl of fresh air-popped corn with melted real butter and salt is one of the joys of life.

TPBM loves sweets but not chocolate.

I am actually allergic to cocoa. So, no chocolate but plenty of cheesecake, and I like things with frosting.

TPBM is vanilla.

IF it's Haagen-Dazs vanilla, yes. It's perfect and I like that better than their chocolate. All other national makers crap up their vanilla with fillers and guar gum and it's garbage. GARBAGE! I want them dead! Their family! Dead!

TPBM is less emotional than I on the subject.

nope not at all. I completely concur. I demand actual vanilla beans and am not above using the Force Choke to get them.

TPBM likes Hoodsie Cups.

//Excusing myself because I have no idea what a "hoodsie cup" could be I just want to bid you all Adieu as we are going on a Caribe cruise for our 50th. anniversary. Laptops forbidden (by SWMBO). See y'all later!//

//John It's a specific brand of Ice Cream cups. See below//



I like them, but don't eat one very often. I prefer buying at least a pint of Ice Cream at a time, and more diverse flavors depending on my mood and what is in stock when I'm shopping.

TPBM likes a hard to find flavor of Ice Cream

Fudge ripple that tasted like it used to taste instead of something that looks like fudge ripple but has little chocolate flavor.

TPBM knows something else they don't make like they used to.

The gardening group was just talking about marshmallows made from the plant marsh mallow, and how different they were from our sugar blobs of today. So now I'm curious and nostalgic for something I've never experienced.

TPBM has first hand knowledge of said marshmallows.

Nope.

TPBM, on the other hand..

...always wondered growing up what exactly marshmallows were made of.

TPBM knew all along.

White fluffy stuff, of course.

TPBM likes Peeps.

ugh, no. My mom used to put them in our easter baskets, and one time I ate a ridiculous amount of them and got sick. Feeling a little queasy now, just looking at the picture.

TPBM prefers Circus Peanuts.

Despite they are Orange... Sorry, no thank you!
I prefer:


I've never met that special taste in Europe.

TBPM likes something else out of a box.

Yes! Target's Christmas toffee popcorn flavors. Although it's Target, so they're Holiday popcorn flavors. They are the bomb!



TPBM gets bombed on something else.

Many things, most of which are chocolate. My last job was in a mall which had a Lindt Chocolates store. One year we did a cross promotion with them for Valentine's Day, so they gave us a case of truffles. Life is good.

TPBM finds something else good.

Life is good, and I'm pretty sure it's better than the alternative.

TPBM lives in service to others.

Mostly just letting cats in and out, in and out, in and out.

TPBM says no to (sorry >301 Darth-Heather:) Circus Peanuts (gag) and Peeps (gag).

They won't take NO for an answer!

TPBM slept well last night.

I did, after the 'Heels beat Gonzaga. I was wired until 1 a.m., but got to sleep until 9.

TPBM used to have insomnia.

No. I'm usually asleep within 5 minutes of my head hitting the old pillow. And after Mattie cat has settled in.

TPBM has a nightly routine.

I play with Parker every night, unless I've been running since 0Dark30 and am going straight to bed. If I don't play with him, he does that big eyed hunker down front, raised butt tail wag Play With Me! thing that breaks my heart and convinces me I'm a bad cat dad. And yes, Parker thinks he's a dog, we even play fetch (his idea.) He's my sweet bae Shit Head.

//John! How was the Caribbeano?//

TPBM is more of a Budgie person.

Nope, because they breed in the sewers and eventually you get huge evil smelling flocks of soiled
budgies flying out of peoples lavatories infringing their personal freedom.

TPBM has or had a legless pet

nope, but I have a toothless one. Hobo's first 8-ish years as a stray caused a lot of tooth damage, likely from his penchant of eating small, bone-containing creatures. He was delighted to adopt a life of pillow-reclining ease as an indoor boy, but the vet had to remove all but two of his teeth. (and some other bits. he's now a "boy")

As the two remaining teeth aren't even close to each other, they serve no real purpose. Doesn't seem to slow him down when served a bowl of nice, soft kitty food. Nor does it inhibit him from helping himself to his room-mates' kitty food either.

TPBM has tasted cat or dog food.

My younger sister will never forgive our grandma for offering kibble as a snack once when we were very small. I knew better, but Jean tasted it.

At our other grandma's, we came upon her stock of rock salt and mistook it for rock candy. Ooops.

TPBM has made such a mistake.

yes. Baker's chocolate and bouillon cubes are both a mean trick when you aren't old enough to read - they are packaged in shiny foil and look delicious.

TPBM has done it too.

Yes. I was put up overnight for a workshop, and was shown the cupboard with all the breakfast stuff in. Next morning I helped myself to a bowl of muesli and found it rather gritty. When I mentioned this, I was told I'd eaten the hedgehog food (which also contained dried insects...)

TPBM will continue this very entertaining meme.

//Just something to go along with the theme of miseating something//

Well it wasn't something I ate but it sort of goes with the theme. As teenagers my cousin and I read in a beauty magazine that putting lanolin in your hair would make it soft and luxurious. I found a bottle in my mom's stuff and on a Saturday night we lavishly doused our hair in pure lanolin, believing, more is better. Word to the wise, a drop or two is sufficient, a bottle will make your waist long hair stringy and greasy for about a week. No amount of shampoo seemed to touch it. Ugh. The things you learn through first hand experience are remembered for a lifetime.

TPBM will continue.

My brother and I were about 3 and 4 and helping my dad in the garden. Brother grabbed an earthworm from the dirt and popped it in his mouth. Dad, shocked, asked 'How could you do that??!!'. Brother said 'Like this', and popped another into his mouth.

TPBM has worse.

Not worse, but amusing. One time we went to a series of 3 day-time-fishing-only lakes, somewhere in Los Angeles County, 'easy', 'medium', 'hard'. You had to rent the poles and buy the bait. We were fishing and using the cheese bait and having fun and all of a sudden there wasn't any more bait - my little sister had eaten it all.

TPBM has another fishing or bait story.

I wondered for years and years what 'jail bait' was. Then one day I found out, when I was too old to be...

TPBM will skate on even thinner ice.

No, I don't like any outdoor winter activities.

TPBM has walked in someone else's shoes.

Gah! No! I went through a vintage clothing phase in college but old shoes are just gross.

TPBM upcycles.

Is that the really tall one with one big wheel and one small one? I don't think I have the coordination for that. How do you even get in the seat?

TPBM knows how.

Go take a running jump!

TPBM has a hobby-horse

Or "obby-oss" if you live in the Black Country. No, I don't!

TPBM hasn't the faintest idea what or where the Black Country is, or if it even exists (outside Tolkein).

I didn't until I searched Wikipedia. Know I know - The 14-mile (23 km) road between Wolverhampton and Birmingham was described as "one continuous town" in 1785.3 The first trace of "The Black Country" as an expression dates from the 1840s.4 The name is believed to come from the soot from the heavy industries that covered the area, although the 30-foot-thick coal seam close to the surface is another possible origin. Sounds like a place down on it's luck with the absence of coal, similar to West Virginia and other southern states in the US.

TPBM eats the ______first on the chocolate Easter bunny.

The ears, the way God intended.

TPBM gets a chocolate Cthulhu.

I wish! My brother used to have a girlfriend who made creative cakes, and one year for his birthday she decorated a cheesecake with a chocolate Cthulu that she sculpted - it was awesome! it even had little peanut butter people being torn apart by the tentacles.

TPBM likes Cadbury creme eggs.

SWMBO does and buys dozens to send to "the kids" in Seattle and Africa.
//Our 50th Wedding Caribeano cruise was with “the K-Mart of the Caribbean” so it was the usual trio – a private cay, Nassau, Freeport – but we enjoyed it. Practically every restaurant sang a “appyversary” and gave us a cake. Our steward had decorated our mirror and gave us a discount card- it seemed that every crew member had been briefed and acknowledge our event. It was made special by our room – extreme aft portside with an L-shaped double balcony. I could stand ‘on watch” over the wake and check the helm, or lean over the rail to port, under the bridge wing, and check our course. (The Captain never did thank me for my watches.) I did get a splendid salute and a :toot: from a BDF Frigate (mind I saluted first.)
It was warm, calm blue seas and a steady breeze every day, the sea only promised to redeem itself on the last leg as we had Beaufort Force 7 gusting 8, but as -unusually – there was no swell in the Gulf Stream – that turned into a smooth ride too, I never did get the promised storm.//

TPBM thinks it strange to "celebrate" Easter - given its original reason.

Not at all. Since the original reason for Easter is the same word we get "oestrogen" from, i.e. a pagan festival to celebrate the bountiful new season of growth and abundance, what's not to celebrate!

//I LOATHE Cadburys creme eggs. Yucky over-sweet things and shameful that they even exist in the same world where Hotel Chocolat exists! About as 'real chocolate' as Hershey bars. Oh, perhaps not quite THAT bad..//

TPBM does celebrate the pagan

yep. I revere my planet and commemorate all her cycles.

Full Pink Moon tomorrow.

TPBM is honoring Passover.

Sure, why not? Hail Passover!

//Welcome back, John! The sea prolly figured it was useless acting up with you on watch!//

TPBM is laying low.

Maybe if I keep quiet all the nasty things will go away.

TBPM is riding high

Well, I've just been prescribed Prozac, so I guess the answer is "relatively - yes!"

TPBM is riding a natural high

Yea sure, let's go with that.

TPBM seeks high and low.

no, rollercoasters give me migraines.

TPBM loves the thrill rides.

No and no. Daughter still laughs when she remembers me screaming and holding on for dear life at the rides at Disneyworld in 2011 when her jazz band competed down there. My back didn't appreciate them either. Nasty things.

TPBM has never been on a rollercoaster.

Coo! Leapt!
Yes in my yuff - scared the heck outta me.

//With my walker to the mail-box?//

TPBM is a biker (and has a ponytail and is bald on top).

No, I'm not a biker, although I do own a bicycle. I wear my hair in a ponytail when I walk or if I am cleaning. I'm not bald on top or back or around the sides.

//>338 John_Vaughan: glad you had a safe voyage. Glad you're back.//

TPBM is feeling the effects of the full moon tonight.

I'll check. No, no hair growing on the backs of my hands. Canine teeth still in normal order. Looks like I've got away with it again.

TPBM was once bitten, twice shy.

Yes I was once bitten, 'ere I let fly a blow, I rained on that cougar, there were two don't you know. Or was it a dozen, why would I lie?, in the city I live it pays not to be shy.

TPBM is a tall tale teller.

O
n
c
e

u
p
o
n

a

t
i
m
e

t
h
e
r
e

l
i
v
e
d

a

p
r
i
n
c
e
s
s

w
h
o

TPBM will continue

Yeah, yeah - married a frog, we know.

TPBM will continue or decline to continue.

but this frog, when she kissed him, changed into ...

TPBM knows

He never changed. That's the problem with most marriages, people think they will be able to change the other person.

TPBM has a better ending.

He did turn back into a prince. They got married, had as many or few kids as they wanted, won the lottery, and survived President Tweet's abomination of an administration.

TPBM has something special they want to tell us.

What is fear of laundry called, because I think I have that.

TPBM is on top of things.

Well, I'm on top of the laundry, anyway. The washing machine is in the basement in the room over which I am currently sitting.

TPBM gets to the bottom of things.

>347 SomeGuyInVirginia: //Assuming that it is the washing that you fear rather than the establishment, I offer you bougadaphobia. A superb representation of an intellectual reduced to a gibbering idiot by some old bedsheets can be seen here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7dXKxzHZWE - a TV movie of M R James's Whistle and I'll come to you directed by Jonathan Miller in 1968. Well worth a look.//

I have just clicked on 'Jump to bottom' at the top of this thread. I will share a new (for me) word learned today from a radio programme about the origins of insurance - bottomry - a loan taken by the master of a ship against the vessel. If the ship returns safely the loan is repaid with interest but should it sink the lender loses his capital.

TPBM has another 'new' word.

Indeed. One I coined myself! Nonebrity, which I hope is self-explanatory.

TPBM has also invented a word.

I added: obsoletify to the checklist of activities that can be done to stored documents. It's not an actual word, but sounds enough like it should be that nobody has questioned it so far.

TPBM has a better checklist.

I added intermituns, the situation that arises when two movie nazis each take an arm and drag the spy to gestapo headquarters.

//Oh! Thanks at, I've heard of that and always wanted to watch it, it's supposed to be a classic shocker. I'll check it out tonight!//

TPBM has otherwise.

?? Not sure I understand the question?? However, >353 SomeGuyInVirginia: do you mean similar to the way they remove people from planes these days?

TPBM is giddy with thoughts of spring.

Oh yes. As a new bird watcher, I'm thrilled with the migratory birds coming through and the vibrant colors of the males in all their breeding splendor. Less thrilled with the pollen, of course.

TPBM is giddy with thoughts of spring for a different reason.

Our kids are coming home, First time we see them all for two years.

//>337 karenmarie: Did you know that roller-coasters are 200 years old this week? Paris apparently//

TPBM is often springy

We certainly are. My wife is out with a friend buying the early plants (annuals and perennials) before the thundering herds hit all the nurseries! I'm out raking up the last of the junk in the yard so I can cut the grass for the first time (not counting where the dogs are - that is on it's 3rd cut already).

TPBM has a ways to go before cutting for the first time.

Yes, it's going to involve moving. Apartment living has its charms.

TPBM mows it down.

>354 morningwalker: Oh hell, I cannot believe that happened. We are living in a police state.

Husband mows it down. I watch from the safety of the house.

TPBM is enjoying a nice spring day.

It was lovely today, albeit unseasonably chilly. This evening I had several eye-level flybys by honking geese, a phenomenon not previously experienced but now due to the balcony that came with my new 3rd floor digs. Gotta get some bird feeders.

TPBM feeds other things.

The squirrels that live around my building. Unsalted peanuts. Cute little critters.

TPBM does it with a news feed.

I do mainline that stuff.

TPBM is eating Easter peeps at work.

Ewww, Gawd no. No peeps were sacrificed for my pleasure this Easter (only because I hate marshmallows, not because I've taken up a new cause). In fact no chocolate bunnies were consumed either. I did see 2 bunnies on my walk on Sunday morning though.

TPBM likes the spiced jellybeans.

yes! I also like the spice drop gumdrops, especially the clove ones. I am totally that person who picks out the good ones and leaves the rest for someone else...

TPBM also picks out the good flavors.

Of course I pick out the good ones! I leave the coconut, popcorn, cinnamon and strange green ones.

TPBM doesn't understand why anybody would like watermelon-flavored candy.

I don't like watermelon anything. Except for when my brother bought tamarind taffy - it comes in plain tamarind flavor, and also in tamarind with a watermelon stripe. the watermelon was the BEST part of that.

My brother also thinks it's funny to put durian fruit candy in the candy bowl.

TPBM actually likes durian.

I haven't even the faintest beginning of an idea what durian is.

TPBM will explain.

I first ate it in Indonesia and - with minimal gagging at the dead corpse smell enjoyed it. A similar fruit - smaller and without odor - is known as The Banquet Fruit. Durian is about the size of a cantaloupe but has a hard thorny skin, soft creamy centre - a strange fruit. The smell - no, odour- is so strong you would see in the better hotels out East - Marco Polo, Raffles, Interconts- a sign forbidding their entry or consumption in the hotel!

TPBM also likes a strange fruit

Can't think of any strange fruit I like. I'm not much of a fruit eater but do love Honey Crisp apples when in season. They have the perfect blend of juicy and crispy without being too sweet.

TPBM will share a favorite memory from childhood.

My paternal grandfather always wore a white shirt and bow tie, smoked a cigar, and he never saw me when he didn't give me 5 dollars. So I made sure he saw me. A lot. "There's the little demon. Here son," and he gave me five dollars. I'd run around the house and come back. "My first grandchild! Here," and another 5 dollars. Another quick run around the house, maybe a stop at the lake so I didn't look -too- greedy. (By the time I was in my 30s it was hardly worth the effort.) He was an interesting man but not warm, not the kind that appreciative grandsons sat next to and cooed.

TPBM has another childhood memory.

And when I was twelve years old
My daddy took me to a circus
“The Greatest Show on Earth”
There were clowns and elephants and dancing bears
And a beautiful lady in pink tights flew high above our heads
And as I sat there watching
I had the feeling that something was missing
I don't know what
But when it was all over, I said to myself
“Is that all there is to a circus”

Is that all there is
Is that all there is
If that's all there is, my friends
Then let's keep dancing
Let's break out the booze and have a ball
If that's all there is

(Ok, not my memories...)

TPBM has another inspiring lyric

Shaka laka boom boom shaka laka boom boom.

TPBM is way cool.

Sure! The roads are freezing here tonight.

TPBM has a warm heart.

Oh I do!

TPBM is the salt of the earth.

Well a salt certainly, but not the only one.

TPBM is the cumin of the earth. Spicy with it.

Maybe I'm more like the allspice of the earth. I love most spicy food, except jellybeans - >365 Darth-Heather: I'll leave those for you, along with the licorice, blech, yuck, I hate when I think the licorice one is grape and bite into and then have to spit it out and wipe my tongue to get that flavor out of my mouth.

TPBM is ready for lunch.

Lunch TOMORROW! (I plan to take mum out for lunch in town). Today's lunch has 'been and gorn'.

TPBM is ready for tea.

no, it's after 2pm, which is my Tea Cutoff Time. No matter how badly I want it, I have to resist or I won't sleep well. I've apparently reached a really fun age.

TPBM has a cutoff for something else.

Apparently not.

TPBM has been banned.

Again!! What did I do this time?

TPBM has been burned.

Yes, once again, burned by First Citizens Bank! Our bank is less than stellar in providing customer service by telling me that they would hold a Cashier's Check for 7 days if I opened a new account with it. Since I needed to be reimbursed for some money I fronted to work on Mom's estate and needed it before 7 days, I went back to Mom's bank and opened the account there, got immediate access to the funds deposited, and got the cash I needed. All in about 15 minutes.

TPBM doesn't like to think about their bank because it raises their blood pressure.

My bank is okay, it's the utility companies, insurance companies and phone companies that get my dander up. Errr....now I'm thinking about those unknown hidden fees again.

TPBM is being productive today.

Kinda sorta. I'm really tired and it's raining, so zzzzzzzz.

TPBM doesn't cut logs they cut the cheese.

What - like...
Where e'er thou be,
let thy wind blow free.
In BED, church or chapel,
let it rattle!

TPBM cuts the rug.

Like Jerry Mouse in Anchors Aweigh, I can't dance. 'Bad knees' is my excuse. I can sing a bit, though.

TPBM cuts to the chase.

let's just get to it then.

TPBM cuts _____.

_________

TPBM.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

TPBM On the other hand

TPBM passes.

...out from the wonderfulness of that image.

I did take my now-deceased cat Bennie lots of places while he was on a leash. But he didn't really walk on it, more like accepted its limits. Mostly he let me carry him without complaint.

TPBM has complaints about limits.

not really a complaint, but am curious whether there is a limit to how long this thread can get before we have to start a new topic?

TPBM knows.

400 posts. Because it's tradition!

If TPBM were a rich TPBM they'd .... all day.

sleep, waking occasionally to eat magnificent varieties of cuisine, then watch a good film before going back to sleep.

TPBM, on the other hand...

I'd like to travel, as long as I got lots of sleep during the boring bits on planes.

TPBM would rather...

If I were a rich (wo)man I'd biddy-biddy-bum.
(I think. I'm not just sure what that implies)
Anyway, if I were a wealthy (wo)man
I wouldn't have to work hard.
(which would be nice. Work's getting me down these days).

TPBM has a different favorite musical.

Wow! There are so many. Let's see. Chicago for the jazziness, Singing in the Rain for nostalgia, West Side Story for romance, etc.

//>396 Darth-Heather: same here about the work thing. It must be Monday.//

TPBM really does have one favorite musical.

Cabaret. It sets my heart on fire every time I watch it.

TPBM has a favorite ______.

new thread.

It seems like it's time. I guess I'll create this one, but hope someone else will create the next one!

A new thread at 399 posts??!! Tradition is now fulfilled as this makes 400.