Who cares to play TJBM game, The Jelly Below Me, #70?

Moving right along…

TJBM is not very subtle when they know they are right.

Sure! But I can’t use that policy with my parents and relatives. They don’t appreciate a younger person being right unfortunately :p
TJBM knows a good way to persuade people.

With a smile, charm and initial agreement to get your opponent to say yes to a lot of things you know they find agreeable. Then insert a subtle “but” and, often out of a desire to maintain the mood, they might agree to the “but”. Then, after a time, insert another. A logical argument is your ally, a not so logical argument isn’t as effective. After a little more time, you have changed their side of the conversation. Then walk away without blatantly pushing for them to contradict themselves and let them cook. A day or two later, if you’ve been successful, you may have changed their minds just a bit. It’s an opening, an opportunity to change it further—always begining with agreement, an affinity. Eventually, without your opponent losing face, your logic should prevail as it will seem to them to be their idea.

This requires no authority on the part of the persuader and has been used by powerless wives, servants, conmen and subordinates for centuries.

It sounds terribly clandestine, underhanded, even oily, but sometimes it’s the only way and is often used as a last resort. I call it the Machiavelli Method and can recognize it from a mile away. It is nothing new.

TJBM will be doing something unique tomorrow.

Unlikely, on the face.
In reality, is there a day moment that goes by the isn’t unique?
I, @Espiritus_Corvus, have never lived this moment of my life before. I will not again.
Whoa.

TJBM prefers shades to blinds.

Yes, I’d much rather sit in the shade than hang out in a duck blind.

TJBM has a close relative who’s a sociopath.

Nope

TJBM wonders what the heck is wrong with Fluther.

Very much so, hope they can get a handle on it SOOOOOOOOON!
TJBM, likes PBJ .

Sure, but I haven’t had it a quite a while.

TJBM is going to stay on Fluther a while, but Molly must go to sleep now at 1:45 AM. Goodnight. :)

Ugh..I must go to sleep too, it is 1:06 here, boy am I going to pay at 7 am tomorrow. haha

TJBM has stayed up waaay to late for many reasons tonight.

I’m here. Is that considered late?
TJBM is the only one here.

On this thread right now? Yes.

TJBM did not/will not attend a church service today (Sunday).

Correct. I usually don’t being an agnostic but I do love churches architecturally. I also find them peaceful.

TJBM would like to hang out with a Sea Otter.

Of course, they are adorable.

TJBM has seen the new movie ” Saving Dory.” I took my little 9 yr. old friend last night, super cute movie, with sea otters. haha

I have not. BUT I’m rewatching “Milo and Otis,” sans kids, because my husband has never seen it!

TJBM is about ready for all the festivities to end.

What festivities, and why wasn’t I invited?!?!

TJBM is mad about white wine but doesn’t like red wine.

Last weekend was a big, huge blow out for my Dad’s wife who came to visit. This weekend is father’s day, at my husband’s daughter’s. Consider yourself invited!...But only if you’re at a particular socioeconomic level in society… ;)

I much prefer white wine over red, but I wouldn’t say I was really crazy about it. I’m more beer, or rum. Yum.

TJBM is in the WRONG socioeconomic level.

No, I’m where I am.

TJBM is already waiting for next weekend.

Nope, but I am recovering from this one. Just had fifteen people over for a barbecue.

TJBM likes to barbecue, even in bad weather.

I don’t have any barbecue equipment. But speaking of barbecue, my family used to have an obsession for grilled meat noodleún_thịt_nướng. We would bring our grill equipment outside and grill every morning, regardless of the weather. The grilling process required working together and I liked it when we were so close.
TJBM had a cooking story.

I’m notorious for burning garlic bread and once, years ago, when I worked in a small assisted living home with 6 elderly ladies, it was my turn to cook.
I had made a delicious soup and was making garlic bread when It caught on fire and activated the fire alarms. We had to evacuate all the ladies per procedure and the fire dept. showed up. Very embarrassing. haha

TJBM has a fire story.

Here I am again, too late.

Pied Pfeffer is still crafting a response so I won’t address the fire story.

TJBM caused a disturbance in the last few days in a public place.

Hmm…a fire story. Since it’s Father’s Day, this one is appropriate. Dad woke me up in the middle of the night and carried me downstairs to the living room to watch the house up on the hill behind our property as it was burning. He finally put me down to go out in the back yard and fend off the cinders blowing our way with the garden hose.

TJBM: See @MollyMcGuire‘s statement.

I see it. haha

TJBM is experiencing scheduling issues, too many people wanting a piece of your time.

Ah, yes. I vaguely remember those days—and don’t miss them at all.

TJBM just got back from a family thing.

I spent yesterday woth my daughter, so, actually she was the one that got back from seeing family as she came to my house.

TJBM is starving and can’t decide what to eat for brunch.

Brunch? Is it breakfast? Is it lunch? Why can’t that meal simply make a choice and commit fully?

TJBM refers to those little sprinkles on ice cream as “jimmies.”

No, I just call them sprinkles. haha

TJBM’s car has a quirk
’ All of a sudden my gas flap won;t pop open when I push the button, so I have had to ask strangers at the pump to push on it when I push the button and then it pops open. Gah..I keep forgetting to get it looked at so today was like the 10th time in the last month or so that I had to solicit a stranger to push the flappy. lol

I don’t have a car. And I don’t really remember any particular thing about my old car except that it was very short and that it broke down a lot.
TJBM is annoyed by their own car.

True. My fan has broken so I will have to get it fixed. My air con has never worked so now I’ve got nothing but my windows to get fresh air

TJBM has a red car

Yes, I do. It is “Candy Apple Red”.

TJBM remembers a a car with a special color, when they were younger.

Yep, I had a gold Corvair as a teenager. It was a 1962.
I loved that little car!

TJBM likes classic cars

THAT! And classic guns. Don’t know why I find these things so exotic and the modern one dull. Maybe it has something to do with my obsession to film noir…
TJBM still doesn’t know how to drive.

Untrue. I have been driving about 40 miles a day for over twenty years now.

TJBM has ridden a unicycle.

Ridden? No. Tried to ride? Yes. Failed to ride? Yes.
TJBM has ridden another kind of unusual bicycle

Nope, just the usual bike, bmx.
TJBM can ride a motorbike :D

How could I live if I couldn’t, given that I have nothing else other than my motorbike?
But really, motorbikes are the only things to move around in my country. Cars are too expensive and bicycles are too slow. A motorbike license is equal to a driving licence in the US. So you see, I just can’t refuse to learn how to ride.
TJBM is aware that not all countries in the world use cars that much.

Yes, trains and scooters are a very popular mode of transportation in many countries, iver cars. TJBM has a motorcycle.

Not yet! I want to get one sometime soon though :D
TJBM has broken the law before

In small ways yes, in big ways no.
Jaywalking, not coming to a complete stop at stop signs if nobody is around, the occasional imbibing of a little herbal essence, grown a plant or 2 over the years, discreetly. The usual small stuff. haha

TJBM has broken the law in a BIG way?

Hm. M. Not since I was in 4th grade. Or maybe 18. Actually…yes. There was a time when I seriously broke the law because my future ex-husband asked me to. I was stupid. And that could have been bad, bad, bad.

TJBM is in the Friday doldrums.

More like the Friday tired-drums. I want to go to see the new ” Free state of Jones” tonight but might not make it. haha

TJBM keeps a bird feeder outside.

False. Not a huge fan of birds. They do sing pretty though.

TJBM enjoys jazz music.

Yes, made good money in high school and college playing jazz, rock, R&B and folk.

TJBM has a good sized record/CD collection.

I have two large bookcases full of LPs. At least for me, music sounds best on vinyl.

TJBM would rather cook meals than eat at a restaurant.

When I run out of money, yes.
TJBM eats with music on.

Sometimes and I love my cool little wicker lamp on the table with a red cone insert. It is like eating at an Italian restaurant at my table. lol

TJBM is being kept awake by the full moons brightness.

It’s raining here. It’ll be raining until September. ;)

TJBM can’t stand to read black text on white background. Something with less contrast is much more comfortable. Even on here; the blue background areas are much easier on my eyes that the areas with white background.

I agree. As a graphic designer, I never set type on a white background in full black (K). I usually set it at 80%-90% black. sometimes with a hint of blue added in.

TJBM finds the details of typography (leading, kerning, rag, widows/orphans, etc.) incredibly sexy.

I love art and design but am woefully ignorant about typography, other than composing colorful email backgrounds and colorful fonts. haha

TJBM has heard of the insane, 100 million dollar replica of Noahs Ark being built as a tourist attraction. I think it should be used as a homeless shelter not a freaking museum with a %48.00 entry price. Gawwwwd!

The entry fee is 48% of the cost of the Ark? Sorry, but that bitch won’t float.

TJBM is going to the Fluther is back up! party on Meta.

Yes! I’ll bring the guacamole!!!

TJBM has been to Nebraska.

Surprisingly, yes. It was a business trip to Omaha to conduct a training class. I met my future boss there, had the best steak I’ve ever had, and ended up with an inner ear infection that was so painful that I cried on the flight home due to cabin pressure.

TJBM has skinny-dipped.

I don’t have a chance to.
TJBM has some unusual leisure.

I like lizard watching. haha
I also just hung up a bird feeder for my cats entertainment.

TJBM is hot, as in physically too warm.

It’s not bad today. About 82F at 8am, mild humidity blown off by a steady 12kt wind from the ENE. Beautiful red sky in the morning—sailor’s warning. We’ll have our daily shower around 4pm. It’s nice up here with the breeze. It’ll get a lot warmer down below on the shoreline. There is a hot, upper level wind from Africa that carries white Saharan sand with it. It’s called the Harmattan, like the Sirocco that blows from North Africa to Europe. The Harmattan traps the lower, cooler maritime trades (locally, the Alizé Maritime) on the surface. For the past few days the sky has been unusually pale. North Africa must be having a drought this year.

TJBM watches the weather like a hawk.

On occasion, during extremes of heat and cold. We are in the red fag fire zone right now, always smelling for smoke, checking the local fire reports, tis the season.

TJBM has been in a wildfire situation before.

That is probably the only natural disaster that I’ve not experienced. Thank the gods for that.

Are there any fires near TJBM?

Not near me, so far, but the Lake Isabella fire in Kern Co. down near Bakersfield has destroyed over 100 homes and killed 2 people since it broke out Thurs. Here is a clip.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMwA0uVp0UM

TJBM has an emergency evacuation plan in case of natural disaster.

You made me wish school was more practical.
TJBM has to suffer from annual disaster.

Does my birthday count? ;>)

TJBM can tell a funny story about one of their birthdays.

My birthday is the day after Christmas. The family’s beloved homemade fruitcake was always served as a birthday cake. When I was about five or six, a slice of the cake was offered. The response was, “No, thank you.” “What? You love fruitcake!” was Mom’s reply. According to family lore, my retort was, “No I don’t. I just never knew I had a choice before.” It’s probably true. I’ve never touched the stuff since, despite Mom making it every year and a sister using it as her wedding cake.

TJBM feels the need to go on an adventure.

I just have. I just moved to a new property 2 weeks ago and am still acclimating.
I just had my fisrt Titmouse come to the new bird feeder I hung a few days ago. :-)
@Pied_Pfeffer My birthday is Dec. 26 too! Yay Capricorns!

TJBM is tired this morning and moving s-l-o-w.

LOL. The Christmas Girls! Sounds like a Nancy Drew mystery. The Christmas Girls Solve the Case of the Missing Fruitcake.

Yes. I guess working the deck of that boat woke up some muscles I hadn’t used for awhile. Forgetting to bring in some coffee doesn’t help either. Ho-hum, taking it slow today. I’ll take shy for a ride, then putter around in the kitchen.

TJBM has a plan for today.

No, other than beating the heat. I am now, at 9:56 am, having a bowl of strawberries and vanilla yogurt then going to run the vac around and go over to get the run down on my house sitting duties tomorrow through Weds. After that, I am going to repose in my berth with the AC and fans on and watch a movie to emerge later, after dark to do some things. haha

TJBM is a verbose type and always gives long answers to short questions. haha

Yes. Strange, though. I am very quiet in real life. My verbosity is restricted mainly to writing. I guess I’m compensating.

TJBM has a penchant for something.

I hope everyone has a penchant for at least something. Life would be rather meaningless without any likings, preferences, passions, and desires.

TJBM enjoys a rainy day.

Yes. I love a rainy day.

TJBM likes thunderstorms.

I love crazy, wild T-storms, I especially like thunder snow!

TJBM has access to walls of wild blackberries. Going out to pick tonight, we have a wall of blackberries in the garden zone here.

@Espiritus_Corvus I am in the middle, but do enjoy intellectual banter.
It was funny, the other day, when someone asked me how a movie I went to see was.
I gave them a quick synopsis and then realized they were actually walking away from me. Well shit…I guess the correct answer would have just been “it was good” but I ass-umed they might want some details, like maybe the title, at least. lol

I do not have access to wild blackberries.

TJBM has a recipe or two that they would like to enter in a contest.

Last September, my vegetarian chili won the “Where’s the Beef” prize at a contest. (What’s my secret ingredient? Bulgur wheat, which gives a nice texture and flavor.)

TJBM has had the same employer for 25+ years.

Ha! Whoo…that’s a good one.
At 44, I’m on my 7th or 8th FT employer (not too mention numerous freelance gigs).

TJBM would like to swim with dolphins.

Sure why not?
TJBM has no idea that high quality firearms are a great investment, example a revolver bought in 92 for $600 is worth over $4000 today.

I didn’t no, I’d rather buy classic cars but I have no investment monies at this time.

TJBM had a junk food moment recently.

I’m drinking the leftover milk from my family’s cooking. Does that count?
TJBM loves leftovers.

True actually, have em for breakfast
TJBM thinks cooking should be taught as an essential skill

Yes I do, along with household budgeting, the ins-and-outs of insurance, how to buy a house or just talk to a mortgage officer and basic investing for retirement. These are essential for financial survival in our society and it is a goddamned shame they aren’t mandatory classes in high school. Call it Home Ec, if you will. Only this time around make it real Home Ec—for everyone.

TJBM remembers when average and below average female students were relegated to Home Ec courses and boys to Shop.

Haha, yes.

TJBM graduated school decades ago now.

I dropped out in late November, 1970, a few months into 10th grade, hitchhiked from Florida to California, lied about my age, passed the GED and was in Sonoma State College (now U.C. Sonoma) the following September. No regrets.

TJBM dropped out of high school.

Haha, why yes I did.
In the 2nd semester of my senior year, took the GED as well and never looked back. That was the summer of ‘77 and I was 17.5 years old.
I moved to a 200 acre lakefront property in the hills here as a caretaker for friends that were going to Europe.

I lived alone in a one bedroom cabin with spring water, no electricity 3 cats, 2 dogs and rode my friends horse to the campground about 5 miles away if I wanted to use a phone. I had a nightly check in with a ranger that patrolled the lake at dusk in a boat and he would look for me and wave to make sure I was okay. I was a regular little Annie Oakley, could ride bareback like an indian, tanned, long pigtails flying in the wind, sporting a 22 rifle in case I confronted fire making trespassers illegally camping on the property by way of boating access. Good times!

TJBM will share an adventure they have had.

Where has everyone gone?

TJBM knows where everyone is hiding.

The USA jellies are getting ready for the Fourth of July.

TJBM knows what the rest of the jellies are doing.

The rest are like me, still hovering around.
TJBM doesn’t celebrate the Fouth of July care to fill me in what celebration it is?

The 4ht if July is when the new country of America gained its independence from the British in 1776. People clebrate with fireworks and BBQ’s and outdoor activities. It is also known as Independence day.

TJBM will share a holiday from their zone.

Patriots Day. Anyone who grew up in Massachusetts, Maine, or nearby knows all about it.

TJBM tries to avoid white flour, white rice, white pasta, and other refined carbohydrates.

Yes. I have been on a meat, fish & veggies diet since March and have gone down three pant sizes and been taken off of 2 out of 3 diabetes meds and my heart medication. My hemoglobin A1c has gone down from an 8 to a 5.

My next doctor visit in July he should be taking me off my blood pressure and colesterol meds too.

I am less of a big guy.

TJBM loves good barbecue with brisket, ribs, pulled pork, greens, and corn.

@Coloma I kind of guess the same. Thank you for confirming that.
CALL ME IN! BARBERCUE!!!!
TJBM wants to join the jellies with barbercue parties.

Sure, do we get to have haircuts while we eat our burgers and hot dogs too? lol ;-)

TJBM is sick of the hot weather.

Not my favorite weather, that’s for sure. 75F/24C and humidity under 50% is perfect for me. Moro Bay or Maui year round. I’ve known for awhile that I was on the wrong side of the Mississippi and way too far south. But what to do, what to do… It is beautiful here, though. And the Atlantic breeze keeps the 90F/32C livable and blows off the humidity. If I lived in the interior, I’d be miserable. We’re talkin’ tropical jungle with everything but poisonous spiders, poisonous snakes and monkeys. Thank goodness for that.

TJBM likes a special kind of BBQ from a specific area.

I like BBQs but there’s always too much meat and not enough veggies. I like veggie kebabs so maybe a middle eastern BBQs?
TJBM likes Mediterranean cuisine

Big time. Spanish Maritime, French Provencal, Italian, Greek. Haven’t done much N. African or Levant. I hear they do excellent things with lamb, mutton and goat—especially those cultures influenced heavily by the French like Morocco, Algeria, Syria and Lebanon.

TJBM has a favorite North African dish that they love.

I’ve only been to Morocco, and specifically Marakesh. The food there was incredible.

TJBM has a favourite sports team.

I do not. I am not a sports type, at all.

TJBM is a sports fanatic.

I’m a lifelong baseball fan. I closely follow 3 teams and watch all their games. If the 3 teams are playing simultaneously, I flip channels like a maniac.

TJBM remembers the days before the remote control, when changing channels meant getting up and walking to the TV, and channel-surfing and channel-flipping were nonexistent.

Unfortunately that was before I was born.
TJBM remembers the days before the internet and mobile phones, when the telephone was everything and people still had to write letters and relied on magazines for information.

Yes I do. The upside was that things moved slower and I believe most people were less stressed. You had to be home or in the office to get a phone call. This was before pagers and answering machines. Initially, pagers were thought to be a good idea, but soon people relized what they really were—invasive, 24/7 electronic dog leashes. And If you called a government office, you usually got a live person right away. I don’t ever remember being put on hold and forced to listen to crappy Muzak.

Long distance calls outside of your immediate area—later defined by area codes—were very expensive. Four dollars for the first three minutes from Sacramento to Chicago—at a time when minimum wage was $0.90 per hour and $20k per year was a fortune. A person-to-person call was much more expensive. I remember paying $15 for the first three minutes to accept a non-person-to-person call from my brother in Vietnam in 1970 when I was making $1 per hour in a high school restaurant job.

You were accustomed to waiting for postal replies. It took from 4 to 7 days to get a letter across the US by Airmail, if it didn’t get lost on the way. There was Special Delivery which sped things up a bit, but the person on the other end had to be home too accept it—otherwise it would arrive about the same time as Airmail. There was Overnight Mail, but this was expensive and usually only big big businesses used it.

It was common to wait 4 to 6 weeks for something you ordered from a domestic company like Sears or Monkey Ward. You could wait forever if you ordered something foreign. There was always a notice at the bottom of every order sheet, “Expect 4 to 6 weeks for delivery.” Nobody but kids felt inconvenienced. It was like waiting for Christmas to come. You had to just put it out of your mind. We knew nothing different. During our grandparent’s time, it took 90 days to get a letter to California from New York—and they were quick to remind us whippersnappers of it— so we thought we were in high cotton.

Another downside was that people only had newspapers and magazines for information. If you wanted to do in-depth research, you had to go to a library with a good reference section and, even then, you might have to order a specific book—and wait the customary 4 to 6 weeks. Or you could go and dig through the local newspaper’s morgue. In this respect, it really paid to live in a University town.

Being able to access the world’s libraries in English from my home is still an incredible thing for me. It is absolutely amazing. Being able to download instantaneously any movie or film to watch or read in my own study is incredible. Communicating with family and people thousands of miles away in real time for free is just—really, I have no words for this. This one area of modern life is a great thing, an amazing thing! You whippersnappers have no idea!

TJBM remembers when you had to call an operator to order a long distance call, then when the operator was able to put the call through they would ring you back and make the connection.

Yes, but I was pretty young still. I do remember much of what you mention from the 60’s and early 70’s. “Monkey wards” OMG..I haven’t heard that in decades. haha

TJBM remembers the neighborhood ice cream truck and how exciting it was t hear their music coming from a block away. ” Mom, mom, the ice cream man is coming can I have some money?”

Yes, I do. If I didn’t have any money, I’d just stand there, looking as sad and pathetic as possible, hoping the ice cream man would have pity and give me something for free. Guess what – my ploy never worked…not even once.

TJBM is a mature gentleman (senior citizen or elderly) with a full head of hair.

I think I am, but you won’t think the same because of my gender.
TJBM has lived long enough to enjoy the good oldie I’ve experienced what @Espiritus_Corvus and @Coloma said. I remember pestering for money when the ice cream song was nearby and when I saw it in front of the school after lessons. It was a fun time.

Yes, a lot of oldies now.

TJBM likes Koi fish.

To eat,or to have in a pond?
TJBM likes Mcdonalds fish burgers.

That’s true, I do. Crispy with extra tartar sauce. I can eat a bunch of them. Show me a Southern boy who can pass up deep fried food and I’ll show y’all a Yankee in disguise.

TJBM will be riding a bicycle somewhere today.

No, too hot and too many killer hills out here for bicycling.

TJBM is thinking of going to see the new “Tarzan” movie.

No theatres here. But I saw a trailer and it looks good. Let me know what you think of it, will you?

TJBM saw a really, really good film recently.

This one just kicks ass! I love it when movies keep things ambiguous. In the end you still don’t know who to trust.
TJBM has just seen an unusual movie.

I just saw the new ” Free State of Jones” last week, very good and I am planning on watching the Olivia De Havilland movie ” The Heiress ” this weekend too.

TJBM loves cucumbers!

@Espiritus_Corvus Will do captain!

@Love_my_doggie Haha, my first crush was on the ice cream man, well, boy. I was 13 he was probably 17–18. Go figure! To this day I would get in a strangers car if they have ice cream, or cheesecake. lol

I do. I do love cucumbers.

TJBM has pickled cucumbers (or perhaps beats, or some other vegetable)

Yes, there’s a jar of pickles in my refrigerator. And, I was recently given a bag of pickling spices; sometime next week, I’m going to try making pickles. I won’t stop with cucumbers; I’ll use a variety of vegetative matter. (I say “vegetative matter,” and not “vegetables,” because cucumbers are fruit.)

TJBM puts ice cubes in his/her glass of white wine.

YUK ! and I don’t put A-1 or HP sauce on my overdone steaks.

TJBM likes rare or super-rare (cool in the middle) beef steaks

YUK! I haven’t eaten meat in 30 years!!! But, I am sitting here sipping a glass of white wine with ice cubes.

TJBM never cared much for the Montreal Expos but is a fan of the Washington Nationals.

I’m going to take a wild guess here…are those the names of hockey teams?

TJBM has traveled to some exotic place.

Yeah, I’ve been to Cleveland.

TJBM is often told that he/she resembles someone famous.

lol @Love_my_doggie You need to get out more.

^^^ You have no idea how right you are!

Someone told me I looked like a serial killer in asylum :(
TJBM takes praises with a grain of salt.

I used to, but I’ve learned to appreciate compliments now.

Now, I will give a compliment…

TJBM is a wonderful, thoughtful jelly.

I’d like to think so but that’s up to the collective to decide. haha

TJBM likes the “Tiny Hamsters ” eating tiny food videos.

Yes. I saw you posted that on the 4th of July thread. Very cute.

TJBM has had a rodent of some kind as a pet.

Not anymore, but I had pet rats for years. They are so smart and cute. I used to make them tiny TV dinners, a little foil “plate” with a bit of whatever we had for dinner. A couple peas, a bit of stuffing, a bite of cranberry sauce. haha

TJBM loves Thanksgiving dinner.

Yes! I like a big table groaning with food surrounded by friends and family. It has become my favorite holiday when I’m in the States and I try to replicate it wherever I am. I do the cooking and recruit helpers who also like to cook and set a table, or want to learn how. It becomes a pre-event party in the kitchen and cleanup is the afterparty. Lots of wine, yapping and good times.

TJBM loves a table of twelve.

With all you jellies, then yeah!
TJBM loves socializing.

I do, as long as others can socialize back. Being an extrovert I am very comfortable engaging in new social situations but it can be a burden trying to initiate and keep a conversation going with mute types. haha
Extroverts have their crosses to bear as well. Either worrying you are talking too much or, when you go silent everyone hovers around asking of you are okay. lol

TJBM is a playful type.

Yeah, I am, after I get to know someone.

@Love_my_doggie Awwww. I just read your ice cream thing where you would stand all misbegotten… what a little heartbreaker you must have been. How in the world could an ice cream man not give a kid like that a freebee? Heartless

It’s hot. Let’s get back to ice cream.

TJBM’s favorite treat off the ice cream truck was…

Missile Pops and Ice Cream Sandwiches!

TJBM has a birthmark somewhere on their body.

@Coloma Oh, yeah, I-scream sandwiches! Mmmm. Haven’t had one in a million years. I saw some in a grocery a few years ago and they looked so SMALL. And a rootbeer float. I would really like a rootbeer float right now. I think I’m going down the hill and get some rootbeer and vanilla ice cream and make one.

I did have a big oxblood birthmark over my left eye when I was a baby, but it was painfully removed before I was three. All gone!

TJBM loves rootbeer floats.

Oh wow…remembering the old A&W places, they are all gone now. So good!
One of my favorites is to buy Rocky Road and add extra chopped walnuts to make it even rockier. haha

TJBM is biding their time today until they launch their evening plans.

I’m biding my time for my tomorrow plan.
TJBM has just picked up a new hobby.

…Thinking….no. But I’m revisiting an old one. Working on an old, antique 5 paneled wood door which I’m going to chop in half, sand down, stain, varnish and use as a half door to the stairs to keep the little kids and animals from going up stairs. I haven’t worked with wood in that capacity for a long, long time. I even got a new sander!

TJBM misses someone all the time.

Yes, this jelly misses someone constantly, and my heart is full of love for them.

The jelly below me is planning their retirement and counting down the days.

You have no idea how much! Living my life just to get old so I don’t have to work any more… I do try not to think about it too much but it is my dream to retire to France. (Slightly scuppered by Brexit but plan B – Irish passport!)
TJBM has far flung ancestry

Well, when you look at the globe, my ancestry doesn’t cover much of it. Mostly British Isles—English, Irish and Welsh—and a few Germans including one Jewish lady, a Swede and a Cherokee—all contributed in the past 200 years to what is me. They were mostly a long line of fierce Catholics escaping either the tyranny of the protestant English, the Kulturkampf of Bismark, or that of the Church itself.

TJBM finds history in relation to their family extremely interesting.

It may be, but my grandma never tells me the full story, or at least can’t make it interesting. All I know is that the first person known in my family tree was a soldier under Nguyen Hue’s command in the fight against the Chinese invaders. After Nguyen Hue died and another emperor took place, he went south as a settler like several people back then (the south at that time was mostly deserted. Think about the European settlers in America and you’ll get the picture). And that’s it for him.
I don’t know anything that happened next. Then there is the story about the ancestors of the previous 3rd generation. Grandpa’s parents were traders, gandma’s dad was an old-school teacher and mom was a housewife who died at 36. All of them lived during the French invasion. Grandpa’s mom was the one who lived the longest, she even got to see her grandchildren. Somehow grandpa became a devoted communist and during one mission met his wife.
TJBM has something to say about their family tree.

I don’t have any children, so I guess I’m the last branch on this limb.

TJBM can name the 57 million square mile (146 square Km) continent, that existed about 800 million years ago.

Hell no, I haven’t even finished my first cup of coffee. haha

TJBM will answer the morning brain strain geography question for me.

What was Pangaea, Alex?

@Mimishu1995 I would love to read more about your ancestors under Hue and later, under the French occupation. I have a strong interest in the century-long French occupation of Vietnam. But I understand completely if it has not been handed down to you.

TJBM has a family history, too.

I assume so, or I would not exist. haha
Yep, mostly Welsh and Scottish with a dash of German.
I was the only blue eyed blonde in the family ever, the Milkman jokes were abundant as a child. I am also a daughter of the american revolution and we have a family member that was actually tarred and feathered for misappropriate conduct with a young women back in the 1800’s.

My great aunt was friends with Bascom Clark, who was orphaned during the Civil War at age 10 and wrote a book entitled ” Southern Refugee.” He was taken in by Union troops as a mascot.

TJBM likes history.

Hates it, and doesn’t understand it. Have a mental age of 1 when it comes to History. I don’t even know the basics. I got a G.C.S.E grade of U!

The jelly below me has lots of grown bamboo’s in their garden.

I used too, and..I was JUST looking at bamboo varieties for sale on Craigslist this morning in the farm & garden section. I love bamboo and want to plant some in bug pots here at my new place.

TJBM likes water gardens.

We did! We designed our garden into an island, looked beautiful. SO says it’s too hard to look after and he doesn’t like mowing an island lawn!

The jelly below me would like to live on an island.

Hell no! I very much dislike island weather. Unless, of course, you meant “the island of Manhattan”. In that case, sure.

TJBM loves big cities.

I do. I was in London last weekend. Fun times
TJBM has been to London and will tell us a tale about it

No sorry. Only ever been to Victoria Bus station, and hated every second. Far too many people. Hate cities, hate busy, hate lots of people.

The jelly below me can’t cope with being out the city.

“Out into the city” or “Out of the city”? I don’t want to be out of the city. My house locates in the city, now you see why. Although I can cope with living in a rural place if the condition isn’t so harsh.
@Espiritus_Corvus Yeah, I don’t have access to the family history beyong the third generation. But the third generation is the closest you can get about the French occupation. Grandpa’s dad was a teacher who taught traditional Vietnamese writing (well, that was a pretty hard and dangerous work under the French occupation. Maybe that was what motivated grandpa to be a communist). Grandma lived in Hanoi so she got the best of the French education system. At time she was even an anti-communism. I’d like to learn about my family history but the record is kept by grandma and the family’s alpha male.
TJBM can adapt easily.

I’m adaptable yes, but I don’t like cities either. Spoiled living on rural properties. This area is busy enough when I “go to town.” haha

TJBM is more of a country person than a city person.

I like both. I like the quiet of the countryside and the buzz of the city. Having a family is noisy enough so it’s the rural life for me at the moment but if I were living on my own I would prefer to be in a city for the company
TJBM smiles at strangers

Pointedly not in the city, but I do sometimes in the country. We wave to strangers a lot. Most people in rural settings where I’ve lived do that. You can also smile at a pretty woman without having her run down the road as if her hair was on fire. You might even get a smile back. Guess where I prefer to live.

TJBM has had some success studying drawing.

I never studied drawing, well, some books on form and composition as a kid but I can draw, fairly well, all on my own. I draw horses really well and other animals, some landscapes, and I am quite the cartoonist. I used to draw my ex husband in drag, perfect likeness and told him if he pissed me off I would send all of his cross dressing drawings to his work. LMAO!

He was not a cross dresser and I have no idea how I hit upon drawing his charicature in that venue, it just happened. haha
I could never paint well but my daughter is a natural, she paints beautifully and can copy anything by sight alone.

TJBM likes abstract art.

That’s a negatory Goose Lady, or at least an indifference.

TJBM has touched the waters of at least one ocean.

Two oceans! I grew up in Rhode Island and spent summers on Cape Cod; I hate to admit this, but I was so accustomed to the Atlantic that I took it for granted. The first time I saw the Pacific, while visiting some people in Pacific Palisades, I jumped in while fully dressed. My hosts were not impressed. Instead of appreciating my excitement and spontaneity, they were very annoyed about having this sodden mess in their car and house. After that moment, they were both very cool to me. (Jerks!)

TJBM has some rosebushes, which are currently in full bloom.

No, but there are rose bushes in bloom on the property I live on. red, yellow, fluffy bush roses in white. There is some amazing, bright orange like Gladiola type thing out front. I want to plant jasmine or a Trumpet vine of my little fence.

TJBM just cleaned house.

I cleaned the upstairs this morning, will clean the downstairs tomorrow morning. I enjoy cleaning, I like the house clean. Like to come home to a clean home.

The jelly below me is a hoarder.

I cleaned this morning too, but no, I am not a hoarder. I do not like clutter. I throw away almost everything or donate things that I no longer want. I know two people that hoard paper. Bills, magazines, coupons, flyers, crap everywhere. Box lids all over the counter tops filled with paper stuff. Gah!

TJBM hates vacuuming specifically.

Yes, I hate the noise. Even though my Miele vacuum cleaning is relatively quiet, it’s still too loud for my own senses.

TJBM has sanded and refinished some items of furniture and would love to post the beautiful results.

@Love_my_doggie I have a Miele too! I love it, as far as vacuums go, but it;s still a damn vacuum. haha

Not recently but, I just finished refurbishing an RV, I’ll put a pic in my avatar for a bit.

Here’s my little berth. Painted the whole interior white, with turquoise kitchen and red, turquoise and orange accents. Came out super cute!

TJBM likes makeover projects.

Did you know I’m nortorious for not being able to use makeup?
TJBM doesn’t care for appearance.

Mostly not, as long as you are clean and smell tolerable I don;t care what you’re wearing. haha

TJBM shaves their pussy.

<——-Myles got a shave today, doesn’t he look dapper? haha

@Mimishu1995 Not makeup, makeover, like making over/re-doing, an old house. :-)

I rarely shave anything
TJBM cuts other people’s hair AND makes a good job of it

I cut my boyfriends hair, and I think i do a good job, I can see him getting nervous as I move round the ears, but he’s never complained yet.

The jelly below me is a hairdresser/barber.

Read my statement above.
TJBM has a good taste for art.

His name is Paul, not Art, and he’s quite tasty indeed.

TJBM owns at least one item of Black Dog merchandise.

Nope, never heard of Black Dog.

TJBM has heard of Black Dog.

Nope. Except a pub in Glasgow called Black Dog.
TJBM likes pubs

I do, but don’t go out for drinks anymore, once in a great while.

TJBM is a light drinker.

http://www.theblackdog.com/home.php?s=gaw&kw=[black+dog]&gclid=CJjK5LT76c0CFYJZhgodT80KfQ I’m guessing everyone’s at least seen the iconic black Labrador at some point, perhaps on a t-shirt.

When I put my mother’s R.I. house on the market for sale, it needed a doormat. This was during wintertime, and I didn’t want people dragging snow, rain, and salt over the new oak floors. I went with this doormat: http://www.theblackdog.com/Coirmat.html. Mom had a classic New England house, and it really needed a classic New England greeting.

Yep, just a glass or two of mild, white wine, or perhaps a watery beer such as Bud Light. I just never took to the taste of alcohol.

Now that TJBM is familiar with Black Dog paraphernalia, he/she plans to redo his/her entire wardrobe and home in Black Dog motif!

Honestly? They are nice but seem very expensive. A kid’s top for $38? That’s about £30. That’s a lot to me. Maybe I’m just living up to my national stereotype of a parsimonious Scot!
TJBM has a characteristic of their national stereotype

Yes, overweight (US). Fortunately, not obese, but it still fits in the stereotype.

TJBM has a passport and has used it for travel to another country in the past five years.

That’s my mom. She used to use her passport to go to China for a short trip, and that was the only instance when she used her passport.
TJBM has never travelled abroad.

False, I have, several times.

TJBM hangs there clothes out to dry in the nice weather.

Not any more. But I used to hang them out in bad weather, as well, because I didn’t have a dryer for a couple of years. I do still hang bedding and sheets out, though.

TJBM is going to change their life today.

TJBM hangs their clothes out to dry in the nice weather.^^^

Nope, I just did change it moving a few weeks ago. haha

TJBM has a pet they shave in the summers.

Not any more. The housemate used to take our Sheltie in to the groomer every summer to be shaved. The dog was eventually put to sleep due to old age and health issues.

TJBM feels that euthanasia should be legal for humans if all of the appropriate legal and medical “T“s are crossed and the “I“s dotted.

I… kind of lost it at the “T” and “I”.
TJBM knows what @Pied_Pfeffer is talking about.

Yes, she means as long as all the proper legal and medical documents are in order. Crossing your “T’s” and dotting your “i’s” is an American expression meaning to have your affairs in order.

TJBM has their affairs in order.

@Mimishu1995 Please accept my apology for once again using an American phrase that isn’t clear to non-US Jellies. Here is an explanation of the phrase.

Not all of my affairs are in order right now. I am working on it.

TJBM deserves a vacation.

Always.

TJBM is in the planning stages for their next vacation.

I wish, but no. I might get away for a weekend with a friend this fall, but nothing big.

TJBM loves chocolate chip cookies.

CHOCOLATE CHIP? WHERE? WHERE?
@Pied_Pfeffer your apology has been accepted. Another new knowledge for me too.
TJBM is eating chocolate chip cookies and won’t share to anyone!

Nope, just had eggs.

TJBM is going to some kind of reunion this Summer.

No, I am an only child and divorced with an only daughter. Everyone is dead, no reunions with the dead. lol

TJBM is an only child.

Nope, eldest of 5.
TJBM is moving forward and feels good about life

I feel better than I have the last 3 years after being tanked in the recession. I am in my own little place again after 3 years of house mates for the 1st time in my adult life. Ugh!
All my creative efforts have paid off handsomely and my little place is adorable!
Yes, I am feeling much better, not perfect, but much better.

TJBM has undergone a major hardship in recent years.

Not as major as things I’ve gone through in years past, but yeah. I need a damn job.

TJBM needs a damn job.

I need a damn job, after I graduate.
TJBM remember how they graduated.

Of course I do. I just looked at the website for my alma mater and 97% of graduates are employed within three months of graduating. Not bad!!!! Hope your university helps you find employment.

TJBM is planning a home project.

Oh, I think about it a LOT!

TJBM ate a store bought seafood salad and now they don’t feel good.

Oh no. I never buy store seafood or any other kind of salad. I know people who buy potato salad; I just wouldn’t. Hope it passes. I know what you mean about projects….............there is always one on the horizon.

TJBM eats popsicles daily. (like Molly)

Nah, but that’s a good idea in this unrelenting southern US heat.

TJBM has seen a newly released movie in the past month.

I never see movies until they are on Netflix. And I don’t watch that much. Screen entertainment has become less than exciting to me.

TJBM has a video camera and makes her own movies.

I made one short one.

TJBM finds this video breath taking.

Yes, stunning! The art of Dressage is a very hard skill to master for both horse & rider.

TJBM knows the world will end on July 29th.

Nah, I was clueless about that until looking it up just now. We’ve got 14 days left. @Coloma, there’s a great separate question lurking in that tidbit of conspiracy trivia.

TJBM is a night owl (someone who prefers to stay up late at night versus going to bed at a reasonable time early.)

I have been lately because it is too hot to go to bed before 11 or midnight. I was up til 12:30 last night and then, just as I was falling sleep I heard water running and had to get up and go outside and turn off the hose. haha

TJBM forgets to turn off the water sometimes.

Maybe the only thing that helps me remember is the knowledge that my family isn’t that rich.
TJBM is vey self-aware.

Mostly yes.

TJBM loves fresh strawberries in summer with either vanilla ice cream, cool whip or yogurt on them.

Yes! The family used to go pick them at a local farm when they were in season. We would make hand-cranked strawberry ice cream. Now I prefer them in homemade yogurt or on top of cereal.

TJBM doesn’t own a car/truck.

False, I own one car, but I drive pretty minimally most of the time.

TJBM lives within a few miles of everything they need.

Define few! I think I have everything within a twenty mile radius but driving for 20 minutes to the supermarket seems a lot to me.

TJBM can buy milk within a five minute walk

In the US, no. The closest convenience store is a ~20 min. walk away, but still doable.

In the UK, the neighborhood shop is across the street and ten terraced houses down. Several of the neighbors still have their milk delivered, and there is something charming about listening to the early morning rattle of glass milk bottles as the lorry driver comes to a stop to restock the metal basket that sits on the neighbors’ stoops.

TJBM grows herbs (edible ones @Coloma).

Nah. I have a couple of tomato plants. That’s my garden.

TJBM is going to go some place they’ve never been before in a couple of weeks St Louis.

No, that would be nice though.

TJBM has really hot weather in their zone right now.

Help! I’m being boiled to death!
TJBM has to go out in hot weather.

Yes, I did some heavy-duty gardening in yesterday’s and today’s heat. I’ve been long overdue for dividing some large beds of irises, and I’m finally tackling the project. I’m so happy about this, I haven’t let the hot sun and 98F/37C deter me. Yeah, maybe this isn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done, but I feel very good about the accomplishment.

TJBM is making travel plans for a family wedding.

No wedding but travel plans to my lovely French house to see the work my dear husband has been doing.

TJBM has been catching up with some DIY

I just completed my DIY RV project here about a month ago and am enjoying the fruits of my labor. Next will be another round of painting and carpeting in the apartment here that I will move into sometime in the next 3–12 months or so. I am looking forward to that but really, I don’t want it to happen too soon as I am enjoying the final product here in the moment.

TJBM has moved in the last few months.

Where IS everybody?!
Have we all just abandoned this zone? haha

They all MOVED lol

TJBM likes fried chicken.

I do!

TJBM likes Eggs Benedict!

I never unfollowed any good question, so I’m still here :D
I don’t know what it is but anything with eggs sound good :)
TJBM likes BBQ!

I do! I love BBQ Chicken and veggies and Shish Kebab!

TJBM is glad that @Mimishu1995 hasn’t left the fluther building.

@Mimishu1995 Eggs Benedict is poached eggs with ham or Canadian Bacon ( like ham ) over english muffins with a Hollandaise sauce. Like this.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HSISMCynKs

I like to have @Mimishu1995 in the “building”.

TJBM has a favorite breakfast food and will tell all the jellies what it is,

Honey Nut Cheerios!

TJBM loves Italian Ices.

I had gelato in Italy but do not buy ices here.

@MollyMcGuire You forgot to ask next question.

I wonder what @Tropical_Willie means by “building” :p
TJBM has tried Italian ice-cream and will tell us what it tastes like.

Italian “ice cream” is gelato. Here is the difference between ice cream and gelato., courtesy of my nephew-in-law’s gelato shop. Italian ice is more like sorbet; no fat (no milk or cream), and made from ice and flavoring, often fruit juice.

I prefer gelato over ice cream, although it’s difficult to tell the difference.

@Mimishu1995 There is a saying, Elvis (Presley) has left the building. When @Tropical_Willie said that he likes you in the building, it he means that he likes it when you are on Fluther, as do we all.

TJBM slept in today (Sunday).

I did, until about 7:45 a.m. Only been up for about 30 minutes now, it is 8:15 am PDT.

TJBM is in the middle of a heat wave.

@Coloma @Tropical_Willie @Pied_Pfeffer you are making me cry :)
Yeah, both literally and figurately. Today is supposed to be the day we choose our subjects for the next school year, but the school’s website is acting like an asshole! First the time was announced to be 5 a.m, then after 2 hours of waiting it changed to 8:15 a.m, and now 10 a.m! Does the school even have any idea how to maintain a site? The heat wave I receive from both the weather and angry students on Facebook are intense.
TJBM is pissed off by incompetence lately.

Every day it’s something with someone.

TJBM is ready for football season.

No, not a football fan.

TJBM is ready for bed. haha

Nope. It’s 6:00 pm EDT. There’s still plenty of both day and daylight.

TJBM recently ate a ripe, juicy, heavenly peach.

I did! Just this morning and one yesterday. I need more of those luscious peaches soon!

TJBM will describe their view right now.

From the veranda, 4:40 am: It is still dark like black velvet with a blanket of stars spread over a black sea between windblown palms high on a hill over the ocean. It’s a new moon. I can hear the breakers against the rocks and the wind pushing up from the abyss below.

TJBM will describe their view right now.

In my room. In front of the phone typing this response.
TJBM will describe their view.

2 large oak tree trunks just a few feet from my little dining room window, with Nuthatches and Titmice scurrying up and down the trunks.
The tack barn on the big lawn near a pine tree about 75 feet away, a white little barn building with dark brown trim and the classic barn X on the door.
To the right of that the white vinyl horse paddocks and “Mozie” the stout Palomino Halflinger. Next to the paddocks is the little road down to the hay barn, mill, garden area and pond.

TJBM slept like a baby last night.

I did. I sleep like a baby every night. Wake up and pee. Wake up and cry. Wake up and cry cuz I’m hungry.

TJBM took their own damn stitches out cuz they didn’t want to wait until Wednesday and the stitches were becoming annoying.

I’ve never had stitches.

TJBM has broken at least one bone in his.her body.

Amazingly no. Well..my nose, but that’s not really a bone.
I have had surgery for a badly dislocated shoulder, Kidney surgery, tons of muscle injuries, sprains, strains, etc. but somehow I have never broken a bone, yet. My daughter fell and broke her ankle when she was 10.

TJBM is ready to spraw out and relax for the rest of their Sunday afternoon/evening.

I’ve got enough rest yesterday. It’s time to go back to school.
TJBM has run out of free time.

I manage to get enough, usually. I tend to work in blocks of major activity then get a block of down time.

TJBM has hurt themselves recently. I tweaked my wrist today, I’m not sure how, but it;s killing me, ow! haha

I hurt my wrist yesterday too.

TJBM is graceful and rarely causes injury to him/herself.

Haha…no, I can be, but I am a bit of a bull in a china shop type sometimes.

TJBM will share the most gruesome thing they have ever seen.

The first most gruesome thing I ever saw was when I worked for the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1973. It was winter and the tracks froze just outside of Chicago making them rigid and unable to give under the weight of the train. So sometimes,in frigid weather, if the engineer doesn’t stay on top of it, the train will derail, which one did about two months after I started the job as brakeman. A passenger train. It was a mess. I was recruited along with a few other RR workers to go out and bag body parts in the snow. That has stuck with me all these years.

TJBM will describe today’s weather.

Midlands of England 20*C light clouds. Normal summer weather

TJBM has seen a good film recently

The Big Short (2015). It’s a fast moving drama about how the mortgage bond market was manipulated in 2007–8 that caused the world-wide recession that we are supposedly just now recovering. It’s a great film even if you can’t quite follow what these guys are up to, but the reason I wanted the film was because I do want to understand what exactly happened. So, I’ve watched it three times and I think I have a pretty good handle on what actually happened and how out-of-control CDO traders (CDOs = large bundles of good and bad mortgages) got in the end. It’s a good film, it really is. Steve Corell, Ryan Gosling.

TJBM saw a great film recently.

I took my little 9 yr. old friend to see the new “Ice Age Collision Course”, it was cute, not great but amusing. I just bought the original “Magnificent Seven” and am looking forward to the new re-make coming out next year.

TJBM has bird shit all over their car. Man, the birds around here are in hyper shit mode. lol

Luckily I don’t have cars.
TJBM refuses to buy something everyone has.

If you mean the latest trend on something, then yes, that is very true.

TJBM has been fishing and caught one.

Yes. Redfish are hiding in the deep, cool holes in the lagoon on the warmer, calmer days. These are good days for redfish.

TJBM has gone diving.

Snorkling but never diving.

TJBM loves Key Lime pie

I adore key lime pie, although I’m not sure if I’ve ever had it when made with real key limes.

TJBM has been to Key West or any of the islands in the Keys.

My father took my big brother and I to Key West for the first time in 1966. It was still a small post-depression fishing village then. When I was 21, in 1974, I moved down there in hopes of getting a diving job with Mel Fisher’s crew, the guy who eventually found the Spanish goldship, the Atocha. I didn’t get the job, but I watched as Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote moved down there with their Fire Island coterie and converted the sleepy little smuggling town into an international party mecca. It was wild. It’s a lot more settled now. I’ve since sailed down there many times, spent days fishing off Marathon, Matecumba, Noname Key, dove off Key Largo and other places and explored old, deserted Plantation Key before the state park boys took it over. A girlfriend and I camped on Plantation for about a week. It’s still quite nice down there in some places.

TJBM has a favorite little corner of the world they will always remember.

Yes, aside from my home zone here the Toroko National Park in Hualien Taiwan. Beaches like Hawaii and marble mountains and beautiful buddhist temples.

TJBM can’t believe they ate the whole thing!

What whole thing? I ate a lot of “whole thing” throughout my life. It’s so frequent I’m not surprised anymore.
TJBM is a master eater.

I am.

TJBM has been in a fist fight.

Oh dear. I’m not sure if this counts, but I’ve been punched twice. Once by a female classmate over a piece of photography class equipment and another while in college by a female roommate over a dispute on the volume of the stereo while we both were studying. The latter resulted in a black eye. In both cases, I didn’t hit back.

TJBM has some sort of artistic talent.

Yes, I draw pretty well, and love interior design and designing rooms and homes. My dad was an Architect and I inherited his designing eye.

TJBM has been a busy little beaver already this morning.

No. I did put a dish in the dishwasher, though. Amazing how clean my house stays when hubby is out of town.

TJBM would trade a clean house for a houseful of grandkids any day.

I don’t want a houseful of any living beings but I enjoy seeing my grandkids. I’m 800 miles always from them. I always have a clean house though.

TJBM went to the library this week.

Yes, to return an Annie Proulx novel I’d just finished.

TJBM enjoys a summertime bowl of chilled vegetable soup.

No, that doesn’t sound good to me at all. A chilled V-8 juice yes, sliced chilled tomatoes yes, chilled watermelon yes, chilled veggie soup, no. haha

TJBM is going grocery shopping today. see ya later :-)

Yes, I went to the market today. Among other items, I bought the ingredients for my (amazing, if I say so myself) cold blueberry soup!

TJBM is bittersweet about A-Rod’s final game.

No. I don’t care.

Occasionally TJBM stumbles upon the most perfect avatar in the world for them (or sometimes for others, which they then send to them.)

Mine are usually my children so they are always perfect for me ♥️
TJBM has a story about a kitten

Yes. My old kitty “Gadwicke” that passed away in 2010 at age 14.5. from complications of Thyroid disease. He was a semi-feral kitten born under a shed on a friends walnut ranch. He was very sickly and I got him when he was only 3 weeks old. he pulled through with medication and TLC and grew into the most stunning cat. He looked like a purebred Himalayan, minus the flat face. Fluffy seal point with crossed blue eyes.

We were very bonded and he would go on walks with me and even would jump on my shoulder when I was swimming in the pool. He was a great cat and I still miss the “Madman” after all these years.

TJBM has a pet story.

For a very long time, I had Casey, an extremely friendly, orange-and-white cat who was missing a back leg. Casey grew old, got sick, and passed away. Several years after then, my husband and I were vacationing on the island of St. Martin. What shows up at our villa door? A stray cat who looked exactly like Casey, was just as affectionate, and was missing the same back leg!! Yes, it was almost eerie. Yes, you know where this is going; we rescued the doppelganger and brought him home. His name is Martin, and we’ve had him for 11 years.

TJMB has had at least one cosmetic surgery and won’t mind sharing the story.

Nope, no cosmetic surgery for me. However, after gaining some weight the last few years I would love to just chop off my breasts. A breast reduction would be great, but not going to happen for many reasons.
I want my small busted teen boobs back and do not like having C+, close to D boobs.

I hate wearing bras, they annoy me and I feel that boobs should just shrink away after their useful and recreational life has waned. I have always thought smaller busted women were more attractive. Who wants another ass on their chest. haha

TJBM thinks small breasted women are more attractive.

I do agree that small boobs are more convenient
TJBM like big butts and cannot lie

TJBM could live in cotton T-shirts

Which should I respond to now?
I don’t have to lie because the truth is I don’t and I could wear cotton T-shirts all day.
TJBM can multitask.

Except for the sympathetic and parasympathic systems that keep the body’d various systems running, multitasking doesn’t exist. Humans do things one thing at a time. Some do these things in a quick series, then call that multitasking, but it really isn’t. Getting a sailboat underway alone in adverse weather from dock to open sea can appear to be multitasking, but in reality it is a practiced series of actions done in quick succession—and best done in proper order with good time management.

TJBM thinks multitasking is overrated.

Wow! Thanks for such a new perspective on multitasking. And no, I don’t know about you but I seem to see it being underrated more. I can write, listen and talk at the same time, but some people see that and say I’m too shallow. Some even go so far as to say I need a life.
TJBM has a skill that is underrated.

I’m really good at making toys talk to children. The words that come out of my mouth are crazy. I have no idea where they come from in my brain
TJBM has a more useful talent

Um. Well. I manage to still think like a child and come up with excuses to do stuff based on that. Here is a “hidden glen” I’m crafting from the stump of a tree we cut down last year. It started sprouting new, young branches that totally encircled it. I cut some away to make an entrance to the hidden glen. I still have other magic things to do to it. The tree log is all that’s left of the tree, and it is now called “The Frith and Forth Bridge.” I wanted to call it “The Bridge to Teribethia,” but my adult kids nixed that idea. I threw down corn seeds on either side of the bridge, to make a forest on either side, so the bridge would be hidden in the middle, but the corn didn’t do so good. There’s always next year.

TJBM has an even more useful talent than that!

I’m not sure about that.

TjBm has a bandage somewhere on his or her body.

No, but, I have a really sore heel. I stepped on a shark stick that punctured my heel about a week ago and it is taking a long time to heal. The healing heel.

TJBM is trying to muster up some motivation to tackle some boring chores.

The only time I ever wear bandages is for cosmetic reasons, cuz something just looks so awful that people would run away and be unable to eat! I don’t believe in bandages. Except I have a whole bunch of neon colored ones to stick on the grandkids they come over.

Yeah, like, going to the dentist in 3 hours. Really psyching myself up for that trip!

TJBM has all the windows open and is enjoying the 4th beautiful day in a row.

Not when I’m surrounded by 3 construction sites at all 3 sides!
TJBM is dealing with lots of noise.

No, just dealing with the hot weather.

TJBM likes to watch the ” Chopped.”

I don’t know what that is so I have to say no. :)

TJBM enjoys British TV series.

” Chopped” is a cooking show.

I used to watch All Creatures Great and Small years ago but no, I do’;t watch any British Shows.

TJBM is off to dreamland.

In just a bit.

TJBM has seen a ghost.

In my dreamland.
TJBM is still in dreamland.

Nope. I have been up for about an hour and 15 minutes and have already fed horses, given medicine, fed dogs here, took chickens leftover salad, cantaloupe and chow mien. haha
Chicken chow mein. haha

TJBM has outdoor chores to do every morning.

Outdoor chores only a couple of days a week.

TJBM is planning a trip this weekend.

No, but next weekend. I’ll be traveling across the country, to spend an extra-long Labor Day weekend in Seattle. Can’t wait! I’m going to my cousin’s wedding, plus I’ll see my brother for the first time in several years.

TJBM regularly volunteers for a political candidate or organization.

Can’t say that I do. haha

TJBM gets fall allergies.

@Love my doggie..have a great time!

Fall allergies? As in “autumn allergies” or “falling allergies”?
TJBM can see multiple meaning.

Yes, I can understand the confusion for anyone using English as a second language. Perhaps a better statement would have been, TJBM gets seasonal allergies.

TJBM has a pet.

Yes, 2 cats, ” Mia & Myles”, my old goose that lives around the corner now and I also live with 4 dogs and 5 horses and 22 hens and a rooster named “Herman” on this property. haha

TJBM has been out and about for hours already.

Would that be Herrman Goring? Haha. Little totalitarian bastards all.

Been up since about 0200 your time. Checking the Scuba gear, messing with the satcomms so we have internet on the way home (Millennials can’t seem to survive two minutes without it), checking the local chart for a tricky dive site I’ve never been to, casting for baitfish to catch today’s lunch (I’m hoping for Red Snapper), catching the local bakery as soon as they open, food shopping to stock the galley larder for the trip back to St. Lucia, etc., etc.

TJBM will tell us their favorite seafood and how they like it prepared.

Crab. Hands down. I think I would like it best grilled, but I don’t know that I’ve ever had it grilled. Crab with a touch of lemon and real butter to dip it in.

TJBM doesn’t understand why flash frozen crab one would buy in a grocery store in the state where it’s caught, Massachusetts, for example, would be any fresher than flash frozen crab flown in from Mass. to Kansas?

As someone who has never eaten a crab in her life, I really don’t understand a single word of what you just wrote.

TJBM whines about shows s/he never watched.

If I would have known I was directing my TJBM directly to you, @Sneki9, and that you’d never eaten crab, I would have gone into more detail. I was simply answering the question above me.

I’ve never watched Seinfield, except for a spot here and there, but, for reasons I don’t understand, it was immensely popular. Nothing to whine about.

TJBM has been enjoying severe thunderstorms every night for the last week!

@Sneki95 Here. Maybe this will help. I assume you’ve eaten fish before.

Enjoying one right now as I write this about a mile offshore Dominica. Rockin’ and rollin’ here.

TJBM can describe the sky where they are right now.

Crystal, clean washed, shining blue. But it’s early yet.

TJBM will share with us what their favorite meal is.

Oh my, well….I think I have to go with Thanksgiving fare. Turkey, my killer cranberry/apple relish, mashed potatoe string beans, brussel sprouts, stuffing, maybe roasted cabbage and onions, Pumpkin, Pecan and/or Cherry pie. Oooh mama, my heart be still!

TJBM is pouring a wee bit of vino and relaxing now.

Not another American reference again! :p
TJBM learns more about culture from interaction with foreigners than any book.

@Mimishu1995 It means, the person is drinking a glass of wine (“vino” in Italian).

Yes! Three girls moved to my small hometown in the US. One was from China, one from Germany and another from Australia. My brother married a woman from Colombia, a niece married a man from Korea, and my partner is from England. They all are good about sharing their country’s culture.

I have been to about 15 different countries. Spending time in them provides more insight about the culture than any tour book can.

TJBM has a pet peeve (silly complaint) that they have experienced recently.

Oh gee, well, I have a few, but…yes, I am highly annoyed by those that drive like 40mph in parking lots and refuse to stop for others crossing. Bah humbug!

TJBM likes a shot of Baileys or Kahlua in coffee.

Man, that sounds way too sweet. How about a shot of Maker’s Mark in your espresso? BAM! Shoot it right down. It’s called a Shark Bite.

TJBM will tell us their favorite coffee drink.

Frappucino from Starbucks. Yes yes I know, Starbucks. But it’s a slush puppie for adults! Coffee and ice. Nice. I want one…

TJBM likes icy drinks

Not so much drinks but..I have been addicted to getting Italian Ices all summer.

TJBM is having a friend or other company over today.

I have a full crew of five, two couples including myself. Our heading is south for St. Lucia under a patchy sky with a stop in Fort de France, Martinique. My niece, NIL and their two friends would like to do some shopping and, as the French say, some “window licking.” Bloody French. It’s all about the tongue with them.

TJBM has been to the Caribbean.

Unfortunately, not yet. The closest was a couple of trips to Key West.

TJBM has been to France.

My wife and I took our vacations in the Loire and along the Aix-de-Province in ‘83 & 84. In 1985 I bicycled solo from Cologne to Lausanne, then south to Paris via Rheims, then to Straussburg via Sedan and Metz. At the Alps, I finally admitted defeat and took a train to Italy, riding comfortably in my own coupe. I loved those French trips. I spent two weeks in Paris. I will never forget it. If I were wealthy, I would consider somewhere in the south to live. It’s no wonder so many American writers, artists and musicians adopt France as their home. It’s beautiful, is much more liberal than the States, and is rich and respective of the arts and culture. @Stinley has the right idea to retire there, for sure.

TJBM knows France well.

I only know one thing about France: I see London, I see France…..
Also something about a hootchie cootchie dance all the way to France.

TJBM just found out there are no salmon in Kansas.

Haha..that sounds like the title of a book. ” There are no Salmon in Kansas.”

TJBM just found out there are rarely Tornados in California.

—or a Richard Brautigan spoof, Salmon Fishing in Kansas.

I never thought about it before, but it makes sense. Tornadoes don’t form in mountains and the only viable place would be in the San Joaquin Valley which is surrounded by the Sierras and the Coastal Range and hasn’t enough breadth. It’s truly is a treasure of a place.

TJBM knows California.

@Espiritus_Corvus OMG..you totally nailed it, I was wracking my brain for Brautigans name in reference to Trout Fishing in America and it escaped me!

I do know California, pretty well anyway.

TJBM needs to get a move on.

I like the idea of Salmon Fishing in Kansas. It could be about all the exercises in futility that @Dutchess_III sees, that we all see around us. It could be quite funny. You like to write, D. Think about it.

@Espiritus_Corvus yeah, like The Trade Winds of The Sierras. haha

Move on to another thread? We haven’t reached 500 responses yet.
TJBM will,stay until the end.

Looks like it :-)
I missed the France bit above so…
TJBM is a francophone and or a Francophile

Nope, I’m a mountain mama.

TJBM likes the mountains better than the ocean, for the most part.

Having grown up in a valley between two mountain ranges and spending a week each summer at an Atlantic Ocean beach, the appreciation of both is about equal.

TJBM has heard the whole Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Many times. I have a copy of it on my harddrive, refer to it and quote it often. It really is a great, unifying speech in its entirety—something rare and extraordinary nowadays.

TJBM has a couple of favorite references they like to go back to now and then.

@Stinley I missed your France response too. I’ve been a Francophile since I started watching French movies. I’m pretty much alone here because no one I talk to seems to like France. At least I’m not alone here.
I have some jokes for myself. I often go back to them to amuse myself. I don’t share them to anyone though because no one will understand.
TJBM tells jokes no one can understand.

Oh, yeah. Big time. And one of the hardest things to do is tell a joke in one language and make it funny in another. I fail at that all the time. There are Swedish and Spanish jokes that are hilarious, but few English speakers get them. What’s funny in one language often elicits puzzled looks in another. But I’m sure you’ve found that out the hard way.

BTW, I really admire your language skills. You are one sharp Lady. And I’m glad that you feel comfortable asking when we go off into our slang, terms and colloquialisms. There is a new girl here, a Serb, who is very good with her English. I hope she eventually feels as comfortable with us as you do. Sneki95. She’s your age, too. She’s another sharp one and very nice.

TJBM enjoys people from other places and cultures.

I do! I had the same cab driver on quite a few occasions when I was in Taiwan a few years back. We had a running joke, based on his Engrish pronunciation of the Sherwood Hotel where I requested pick up. His version was ” The She-Wa” so after a few encounters I would joke with him and say, after an excursion, ” To the She-Wa!” lol

This guy was great, turned me on to all the best dumpling houses in Taipei city and we chewed some Betlenut together.
He was my go to guy for several weeks.

TJBM put a blanket on the bed last night. OMG…I actually needed a blanket after a hot summer!

Not yet. It’s still hot here. Today’s heat index is 105F. Welcome to Memphis, y’all!

TJBM likes goats’ cheese.

Actually, I do not, it’s okay but I prefer cows milk cheeses. @Pied_Pfeffer Ugh…you poor thing, we had a week+ of 103–106 here about a month ago. Brutal!

TJBM is starving and about to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Oooh no, I’m in trouble now. haha

No. I rarely grocery shop. Hubs does all of that. He does most of the cooking, too. And none of it is the way I would do it.

TJBM wishes it was bed time.

Yeah, wish it was still bedtime so that I could delay going to school :p
@Espiritus_Corvus thanks :) and I met Sneki twice in the chatroom. She sounded nice enough and I like her too.
TJBM has been up for a long time.

I’ve had about eight hours good sleep in the last 72. Sudden squalls here, rough seas and inexperienced sailors onboard. I have to keep one eye open at all times. But tonight we’ll secure at a good berth near Fort de France, so I should get some sleep. Getting kinda goofy.

TJBM thinks it very interesting that Homo Sapiens, Neanderthals and Homo Erectus all existed at the same time for about 5,000 years and have contributed their DNA to the modern Humans that come from Melanesia, West Asia and Europe.

Since I wasn’t aware of that, yes, it is interesting.

TJBM has seen this video regarding DNA test results.

Well, I could just spit, LOL. That was very inspiring. Thank you, Pepper. I really like living in the 21st Century sometimes. I wish I could see the vids, but my net on this boat is kind of jury-rigged and the band is extremely narrow. I’ve bookmarked the article for later viewing. The text almost brought me to tears. I’m going to get DNA tested as soon as possible. I’m pretty sure that I’m European, but who knows? The people in the article were pretty sure, too. A surprise or two would be very interesting. And I’m extremely curious to see how much Neanderthal I have in me and what that means. I dig being proto-man on horseback with dogs. I’m much happier as a pastoral than I was as the denizen of a cubicle.

TJBM is very curious about their DNA map.

True. Super duper curious.

TJBM knows some humans are more Neanderthal than others.

Ha, yeah. I’ve been reading about Neanderthal for a couple of weeks now and a few people have come to mind. Heavy brows, sloped forehead, deep-set eyes, wide mouths, big teeth, large jutting mandibles, unusually large occipitals, short about 5’5’’—5’7”, broad shoulders, barrel chested, rambling walk, heavily muscled bodies, powerful arms and legs, size EE flat feet, wide spaces between the big toe and other digits… not very smart and prone to violence.

TJBM has known someone who fits the above description.

I’ve noticed some in passing, but never actually known someone. I’ve known people with slightly heavier features than most, but that’s about it.

TJBM sometimes wonder if there was some autism gene that switched on, in a long ago ancestor, that accounts for our superior intelligence.

True! And I believe that autism is nothing new. It’s something that has always accompanied human for a long time and managed to survive and contribute to the society.
TJBM has a strange fascination.

Well, I wouldn’t call it “strange.” I’m fascinated by a lot of things. Like, the universe.

TJBM has a class reunion coming up and is not sure how she feels about it.

False, though my 40th H.S. reunion is next year and I know exactly how I feel about class reunions. Fuck no! I didn’t care 40 years ago and I do not care now. lol

TJBM is medicating a pet or animal right now.

Well, Ibuprofen for old Dakota every three days or so. That’s all.

TJBM is having a hard time getting motivated today.

Haha, yes. I have had a busy last 6–7 days, but, I only have about an hour of actual “work” to do today, just finished one task, and deciding if I am going to do the other soon or later today.

TJBM is enjoying some nice moderate weather after a summer heat wave.

Oh, yeah. It’s is simply beautiful outside. It hasn’t even rained in 3 whole days!

TJBM is washing clothes.

No. Washed a shirt and a pair of shorts in the galley sink last night to wear today.

TJBM is near a body of water.

—@Espiritus_Corvus I did some hand washing in the sink too.

TJBM knows the tragic inspiration for Eric Claptons song, ” Tears in Heaven”.

Yes. Yes I do. So sad.

TJBM signed up for some volunteer work coming up at an annual event in town.

Yup, two events actually.

TJBM has the air conditioning turned on.

Yes, the AC is on. It’s ~100F here at 5pm.

TJBM has enjoyed a glass of wine at a vineyard.

Yeah, it’s been years. No vineyards where I’m at, unless you count the wild sea grapes. They make a very good marmalade.

TJBM sometimes makes their own favorite jam, jelly, marmalade or preserve.

I have, but not recently. I did just get given some fresh apricot preserves from my neighbor here. I haven’t spend the jar yet but it looks beautiful.

TJBM wants to go see ” War Dogs.”

I had to look it up. My internet can’t handle two things at once, evidently, so this is all I got:
“Comedy · Based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a $300 million contract from the Pentagon to arm America’s…” and that’s all folks. It sounds good, I guess. I can always use a good comedy.

TJBM will tell us about the funniest film they’ve ever seen.

Oh gosh, no, I can’t, there are quite a few but I’d have to think about it for awhile and I am pussy watching right now, gotta go get the pussy cats before the Coyotes come out. haha

TJBM is a bird watcher.

When I’m bored and in a wide space.
TJBM begins to take up a new genre.

@Mimishu1995 I do not understand the statement. Can you help me out?

@Espiritus_Corvus The most brilliant comedy I have ever seen is Playtime. Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” is another, but it has to do more with making a fool out of Hitler before the truth of what was actually going on came out.

TJBM will respond to @Mimishu1995‘s post.

Oh sorry, I didn’t make myself clear enough :p I meant “TJBM begins to take up a new movie/book genre they weren’t interested before”
TJBM will respond to me.

-Thanks @Mimishu1995! WWII is the most recent genre/theme that has been of interest. Dad fought in it for the Allies, and yet I grew up knowing nothing about it. Movies/documentaries and books are good ways to supplement the education process.

TJBM recycles.

Ha. Trash pick-up is quite rudimentary here. What I do is produce most of my own mundane needs, such as food, etc. So, I don’t have much of a trash problem because I don’t have a lot of packaging to throw away and any organic waste becomes either food scraps for the animals or compost. I re-purpose a lot. I cannibalize things and use the parts in other things, especially in electronics which are extremely expensive here. I make a trip to the dump about once a year. One load, usually. Small carbon footprint by default, actually.

@Mimishu1995 I’ve recently taken an intense interest in pre-historic man vs. my life-long interest in the history of modern man. It all began with something I read by HG Wells that he’d written about 1920, The Grizzly Folk, where he described what we later called Neanderthal Man and that they lived at the same time as Homo Sapiens in western Europe. I was shocked by that as I hadn’t known that before. I had to check it out, of course, to make sure it wasn’t a device of fiction performed by this great writer and that’s how I found out that around 1993 anthropologists found good evidence that Homo Erectus co-existed with the other two as well.

This opens a whole new prospective on Early Man for me. Many of the weird folk tales of ogres, “The Others,” wolf-men coming out of the forest to steal children and eat them, etc., that I encountered in Europe, including long-existing xenophobia from a specific geographic direction, fears and prejudices rife in all our societies may now have tangible origins, traceable to these short, physically powerful people so like and unlike ourselves—and that we now carry their genes as well. It is all very new and fascinating to me.

TJBM will tell us about the last book they read.

This. great story.
www.goodreads.com/book/show/10340846-the-eighty-dollar-champion

TJBM likes non-fiction more than fiction.

LOL. Horses. I might have guessed. It does look interesting, C.

It’s not that I have anything against fiction, it’s more because there are only 24 hours in a day. About a quarter of what I read is fiction, mostly written during the eras of history and in places I find fascinating. For example, I was reading HG Wells as mentioned above because he was an Englishman living in the late Victorian era through the first few decades of the 20th century, a period and culture I find interesting. So, among other things, I look at the art they created as their own commentary of the period in which they lived. The art I find most informative is fictional writing because it is easier for me to interpret than, say, a painting or a piece of sculpture.

TJBM has seen the party of Misfits in Meta.

Haha, Yes. I too love the Victorian era history.

TJBM has found an interesting bug recently. WTH IS this bizarre little creature sitting on my squash I just picked from the garden?

I don’t like bugs!

TJBM is waiting for someone
my family have been away and coming back tonight. Can’t wait

Actually yes, a friend is coming by to visit in about 45 minutes, I have to jump in the shower, been doing things and just realized the time is dwindling. haha

TJBM is easily distracted.

@Coloma and you smell!! Kidding – only of rose petals of course
Oh look a butterfly
TJBM is a butterfly expert

No, but I like them.

TJBM likes Koi fish

Very much, but I’ve never kept them. I read that a white koi with a perfectly round red disk on both sides like the Japanese rising sun sold for over a million dollars in Japan.

TJBM is waiting for something in the mail.

Oddly, not mail, but a notice from a local service was taped to the mail box today. They paint the house number on the curb in front of homes in reflective paint so it can be seen at night. Mine is desperately due for a touch-up, and I was hoping that they would show up before I head out of town. Does that count?

TJBM likes wasabi.

I don’t like it a all. It’s too hot and I can’t taste anything else when I use it. Maybe I’m just doing it wrong.

@Pied_Pfeffer About the curb thing. I used to do that for awhile. It was the summer when the movie Jaws came out. A friend and I came across a 55 gallon drum of silver reflective paint for free from some old guy that was cleaning out his storage unit. We stenciled address numbers on your curb with a brush for five bucks a throw which was the hourly wage for a carpenter in those days. It took less than a minute. We made good money until we ran out of paint. We used the money to rent an old abandoned 1920’s skating rink for pennies per month, built our own apartments inside, made furniture, high-end hybrid touring bikes and experimented with solar collectors in the center of the rink and sublet office “area” to the local underground newspaper in exchange for free, full page advertising. We were hippies. Those were good days.

TJBM knows the photography of David Attie

He didn’t make it to my country I’m afraid :p
@Espiritus_Corvus Shall I feed your interest a little? I was going through materials to teach my friend when I found this reading text. Basically scientists have claimed that Neanderthals were more emotional than we thought, and they actually had a beautiful voice. That’s really something.
TJBM has another shocking new discovery.

I do, and it involves the following notice:

TJBM knows that Fluther will be down for maintenance on Friday, September 2 from 7–10AM Pacific time.

I know it already. It’s the first thing that slapped on my face this morning. Luckily it’s the Independent Day today so I won’t be here tonight and won’t have to worry about missing everything.
TJBM knows when Fluther will be back on.

10 a.m. San Francisco, California time = 1300hrs Hanoi time.

TJBM wonders if we should have a mustering point if something ever happens to FLuther.

^^Edit: 12 midnight Hanoi time, Saturday, September 3. ( 0000hrs.)

What the hell will I do while having my morning coffee tomorrow? haha

I think anyone that anyone doesn’t want to lose touch with, should archive their private email addresses. I have a few in my address book for this very reason.

TJBM has seen ” War Dogs”. Excellent, humor, drama and an amazing story! I want to be 20 something again and do something crazy! haha

Not yet. In order to see it now, I would have to drag it off the torrents to see it and if I used the narrow band internet on this boat, it could take anywhere from 14 to 30 hours to download. Maybe when I get back to St. Lucia.

TJBM has seen both Barry Sondheim action/comedies, Big Trouble and Get Shorty.

I’m assuming you mean Barry Sonnenfeld. Yes, both have been seen. I liked Big Trouble which was based on a Dave Barry book. Get Shorty was a disappointment.

TJBM has worn a dress at least once in their life.

Haha, I wear dresses almost every day and skirts.

TJBM needs a shower.

I’m going to the bathroom in a minute.
TJBM is still waiting for some important Fluther features to come back.

I think Fluther owes me a few Circumnavigators which I’ve never received. (I’d like to know how to get a Robot Crush, which I’m told is broken)

TJBM knows how to get a Robot Crush

I do not, but that’s okay, I’m happy with my greeting for the day ” sit back, relax, we will do the dishes today.” haha

TJBM remembers what their last fortune cookies fortune was.

I do. I laminated it to my desk. All your efforts will soon come to fruition. 19–22-27–34-35–48. I won over $200 playing those numbers in the Florida Lottery.

TJBM has won lottery money.

Never. Lotteries hold zero interest.

TJBM has held a snake.

Many times, but never a dangerous one.

TJBM is looking at some bad weather coming.

Just got up, haven’t seen anything. It’s better that bad weather isn’t something that slaps on my face in this state :p
TJBM has never tasted fortune cookies.

True!! Never. I nearly did once but someone else took it.
TJBM has had their fortune told

True; at least three times. Pure rubbish.

TJBM has ridden a camel or elephant.

No, but my daughter rode an elephant once.

TJBM put on a sweater for the first time in months this morning. deliciously cool morning

I rode an elephant once.

Nope. Not yet. Not quite.

TJBM seriously partied all weekend.

Not at all. I did eat some good BBQ though. :)

TJBM is taking a vacation day tomorrow to make the long weekend even longer.

I’m unemployed so…..

TJBM is employed.

It’s complicated. :)

TJBM will get a flu shot soon.

No.

TJBM is going to change their avatar now.

Nope. I’m still a Mafioso!
TJBM never changes their avatar.

No, I like to change things up.
<——- Here is the latest pic of my darling goose “Marwyn”, enjoying being ” up.” He likes to be up, better to see his surroundings. When you are only 2.5 feet tall you like a vantage point. haha

TJBM thinks my goose is adorable.

Yes, Marwyn is so adorable, and a fowl weather friend indeed!

This past summer, TJBM took a sentimental journey home.

No, my childhood home is only 50 miles away but it hasn’t been in the family for years now.

TJBM loves the look of sunlight illuminating spider webs.

I do. But that same sunlight illuminates the dust in the house!

TJBM is scrambling for money.

Nah, I’m in okay shape. Part of it has to do with living a fairly simple life.

TJBM has enjoyed at least one crisp, cool evening with friends or family sitting outside.

It’s been months since I last sat together with my family. These days I sit together with my textbooks.
TJBM has a busy life.

It has it’s hills and valleys. I was recently very busy sailing two couples to nearby islands on short notice and now I’m home getting hit with back-to-back tropical storms shooting off West Africa like rounds from a machine gun. So, now there is a lot of time for film, books and the net as the animals snuggle in the barn against the thunder and lightening.

TJBM is extremely busy at the moment.

Actually, other than my babysitting gig this afternoon I have enjoyed a couple of relaxing days after about 10 days of being quite busy and another double round of pet/house sitting next week, 2 overlapping gigs so I will be very busy again from the 13th through the 17th. This is why I got a massage yesterday knowing I would have a couple of easy days to let it soak in. haha

TJBM has fruit trees on their property. Just had a wonderful Golden delicious Apple from one of the apple trees here.

Damn I miss apples. Won’t grow here. I miss peaches, too.

I sure do! Mango, Papaya, Loquat, Kumquat, Lilikoi (Passion Fruit) and about six varieties of citrus including my favorites, Mandarine and Tangerine. They are all for the hotels in the area. They can’t get enough fresh fruit. Many of the better hotels like to have fruit baskets waiting in the room for the guests.

And then there is the experiment with Vanilla and the Melipona bees. The hotels can’t get enough real vanilla either.

TJBM prefers fruit over candy.

Sometimes, but I do have a sweet tooth, or, teeth. I try to behave but sometimes I just have to indulge in something decadent, like Pistachio Ice cream. Not real big on candy or cake but ice cream, pie and pastries are hard to resist.
Your fruit trees sound wonderful @Espiritus_Corvus , there are 2 apple varieties here, plums, apricots, blackberries and the Cantaloupes from grandpas garden were amazing!

TJBM has baby wildlife around this summer. Just saw mama Doe and her twin fawns scuttling by. So far both fawns are still alive and nobody has been preyed upon by a Coyote or Cougar.

I have ‘t seen many babies lately. We are South of where Hermain hit and my canal was full of jelly fish. I’ve never seen such a thing. In flood conditions like that a fresh water lake spills into my canal which is a salt water tidal canal. They are gone now but it was like a scarry movie.

TJBM?

TJBM has a typo.

No, I don’t have a typoe.

TJBM never forgot some very good advice learned during childhood, which he/she would like to share at Fluther.

Actually, no. I pretty much raised myself on my own advice. haha

TJBM has rattlesnakes in their area.

Thankfully, no.

TJBM has used a bidet.

Yes, and..I perfected the fine art of squatting over Chinese toilet basins in the floor on moving trains. haha

TJBM often has non-breakfasty things for breakfast. I am having a baked potato with broccoli and cheese sauce this morning.

Sometimes. Food is food, energy is energy. I’ll often mic last night’s leftovers the next morning just to get out of the house and get going.

TJBM has a cat event to tell about.

Yes, my neighbors little Lynx Point Snowshow kitty “Cricket,” was bitten on the face by a rattlesnake the night before last. She took a direct 2 fang bite over her right eye and a one fang bite to her lip. Poor little pussy. Her owners, a darling elderly couple, did not notice her grossly swollen face until morning as she came in and went to her usual bed and curled up and fell asleep, so they thought.

They rushed her to the vet yesterday morning to discover what the problem was and she is getting IV fluids, pain meds. and kitty intensive care. Last word, she was doing a little better last night but there is still danger of necrotic tissue damage, so time will tell. My cat survived a bite to the paw a few years ago and apparently cats tend to do better than dogs a lot of the time for unknown reasons and they rarely administer anti-venom as they often do with dogs. Boy did I get an education in rattlesnake bites.

TJBM tries to watch their posture but still slouches over the computer at times.

Yep. Sometimes, I actually write, “Sit up straight at your desk” on my daily to-do list. A small reminder can help.

TJBM has nursed an animal companion from near-death back to health. Yes, there’s a reason why I posted this last sentence

Humans, many times. Animal companions, no. I’ve been very lucky in that department.

TJBM has a story to tell of how they nursed an animal companion back to health.