A Difficult Task

I admire anyone who can sustain a blog for a long time.  There ARE blogs that get updated on a very regular basis--sadly, this isn't one of them.  I try, but I just can't do it.  My life isn't such that many people would be interested in the day to day minutiae and I am very grateful for those who come back time and again to read my boring posts.  And, I can't think of many things to write about right now.

Looking over the subjects I could write about does no good for me to come up with interesting posts.  I could write about the way the Red Wings season is going, but I have a hockey blog where I could do that.  And I don't keep THAT blog current, either.  There is always the gym that I could blog about, but it's 'same old, same old' basically, so that won't work.  I could write about The Oldest and her busy world, but that just makes ME look lazy, so I won't.  ;)  The Youngest and her husband's new house and move could be somewhat interesting, but other than people who personally know them, probably not.  (I DO have pictures, but since I rarely post anything close to identifying, I think that's out.)  Religion, politics, etc, are mostly off-limits for me, so that won't do.  I don't follow celebrities, TV shows, movies, or music on a conscious level, so none of those are fodder for this blog.  Oh, well.

I'm not ready to give up this blog completely.  It is nice to have an outlet when, and if, I ever need one.  Sadly, the posts might be a bit on the dull side for a while, but, knowing life, I'm sure that will change sooner rather than later.  :D  So stay tuned--the best is just around the corner.

Bits and Pieces

We don't get many Christmas cards.  We also don't SEND any Christmas cards, so it isn't a wonder that we don't receive many.  But, there still are a few die-hards that send cards.  This year we got around a half-dozen or so.  I knew most of the people who sent cards, but one came from K's boss, who I have never met.  One card came with NO signature and no return address, so we will never know who sent it.  This is going to bug me for some time...

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As far as husbands go, I am very lucky to have K.  He is quite thoughtful and does almost everything asked of him.  He even does grocery shopping, but that isn't always a good thing.  The problem is that he IS a man and does things the way men do.  First, he will open the refrigerator/cupboard door and expect food to jump up and announce where it is.  Surprisingly, the food rarely does this.  And this is why he thinks we don't have certain things in the house and goes to the grocery store.  Today he came home with two bags of food--most of which we already have and that he couldn't 'find'--as if I purposely hide food from him.  (Okay, I have done so in the past, but usually candy bars, etc--NOT loaves of bread, Ritz crackers, or English muffins.)  So now we have two of things we don't normally eat much of in the first place.  Unfortunately, if I want him to go to get groceries ever again, I can't say too many negative things or he'll tell me to do it myself the next time.  ;)

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For the past few days a lot of traffic has been sent to this blog because people searched for 'blessed new year.'  I guess I never realized that so many people would search for that term.  And I find it a bit odd.

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About two months ago I broke down and bought myself a tablet.  I got the Asus Nexus 7, which runs on Android Jelly Bean.  And I am LOVING it.  I find that I'm not necessarily using the desktop or laptop nearly as much as I used to--the tablet is sufficient for most of what I do online or with a computer.  I still do find it much easier to use a computer to do a lot of typing and for shopping, but other than that the tablet works almost as well.  The last time we went on a road trip, I didn't even take the laptop--one less thing to carry.  Considering we are out of our hotel room so much when we go out of town, the tablet worked just fine for the time I needed it.  And I didn't need to take my NOOK, as I have the NOOK app on the tablet!  It is getting easier and easier to pack these days.

On Christmas, Blogging, and the New Year

I hope that everyone had a good Christmas.  While I had big hopes for this year--and really wasn't depressed or 'scrinchy' at all--it fell a bit short of my expectations.  Don't get me wrong, I had a very nice time at our friends' on Christmas Eve and enjoyed having The Youngest and her husband here, but 'something' was missing/not quite right.  It has been a long, long time since I felt this way about Christmas--probably because I have kept myself from having any expectations for so long.  Again, I just can't explain what went 'wrong,' just that something did.  But, I am moving on and leaving that all behind.  I put all of the Christmas decorations away yesterday and am throwing myself full force into the winter season.  HOORAY!

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There aren't a whole bunch of blogs that I follow, but of the ones I do, the updates have been pretty slim.  A big bunch of blogs that I have--in the past--read everyday, are hockey ones.  Of course, with the lockout, there really hasn't been a lot for the writers to write about, so not much activity has been going on.  Unfortunately, as the lockout has continued, more and more of the hockey blogs I follow are going on hiatus--and most of them aren't even sure if they will come back whenever the lockout ends.  This is just one of the side-effects of this 'millionaires vs billionaires' thing that is going on.  Of course, the biggest tragedy in all of this is the effect it has had on the 'little people.'  Sports' bars, vendors, security at the arenas, merchandise sellers, etc, etc, etc are the ones that are hurting today because of the stubbornness and need to win of the representatives on both sides.  It is very disgusting, to say the least.

Several of the 'regular people' blogs that I follow are looking forward to getting back into the swing of things with the new year.  I so enjoy reading the updates on all of their lives and consider them to be friends, even though I have never met them or talked to them in real life.  This is one aspect of the interwebs that I like very much.  

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I, too, am going to try to update at a more regular pace than I have been doing lately.  There are a couple of new things going on in my/our lives and I will share--probably in my next post.  ;)  The new year IS a time of starting over and wiping away the past, so I will be looking at several aspects of my life to try and modify.  I HATE New Year's resolutions and don't make them, but it IS a good time to try and change some stuff for the better.  I am hoping to finally get-it-together and finish some of the many, many started projects I have hanging around the house.  And speaking about the house, I hope to get deeper into organizing and cleaning cupboards, closets, and our basement.  I think it just may be time to downsize a bit--but if I finish the started projects, I may not NEED to downsize, as I'll have more storage space than I will know what to do with.  :D

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So, to all who may stumble upon this little piece of my world, I want to wish you a very happy and blessed new year.  May we ALL enjoy health, happiness, and good times!

Yes, It's Been Some Time...

Hello!  Anyone out there?  Do I even have any more regulars?  Other than my dear, dear Meleah, I don't know if there is anyone who comes here regularly anymore.  Although, I have quite a few people coming to this site lately, but that mostly is a result of searching for 'Santa Claus.'  And so, as soon as the season is done, I will have much fewer visitors.  This, of course, makes me realize that I need to update things a lot more often if this little corner of the interwebs is going to survive for much longer.  I am here today to do an update.

--For anyone who knows me, you will be surprised to find out that I am NOT doing a 'Scrinchy' Christmas post this year.  There have been some changes in my life lately--and I WILL be writing about them in due time--and my mood is much better than has been in a long, long time.  I pretty much am completely done with my shopping--and, actually, have been almost done for close to a month already.  I don't really buy that much, or for that many people, and that helps get the shopping out of the way quite easily.  We only get books for the grandkids--and THEY provide the list of what they want--so there is none of that wondering 'what piece of crap is popular this year and how much will it cost me?' dilemma that so many people have.  For our girls and their husbands, we give money as their main gift, so anything else that we get them is on a smaller scale.  We only exchange gifts with one of our neighbors--and have for years and years--and with two sets of close friends, so we don't do a lot of gift buying.  I cut our list to the bare-bones minimum a few years ago and have only added a couple of names to that since.  And I am a much happier person because of it!

--A number of people have been coming to this site after searching for how to get the shingles vaccine while on Enbrel.  While most people who come here aren't all that interested in the subject, I will be doing a post to wrap up my experiences with the whole process.  This will give anyone who is considering the vaccine one more place to get some information--even if it is only anecdotal.  I certainly know there is very little info on the subject and it always helps to have one more viewpoint.

--We should have quite a bit of snow here already--and we don't.  As a matter of fact, it has been raining today and pretty much all of what we DID have has melted.  The forecast for the next ten days is calling for temperatures to slowly fall to the mid-20s, but there is no big-time snow called for.  It will be very interesting to see what we get in January and February--our, historically, worst months for snow and cold.

--Our youngest and her husband will be here again for Christmas.  They will get here on the 22nd and will leave sometime on the 26th.  K will come home this Wednesday after his last night shift and not have to go back to work until the 3rd.  It is always great to have people around to do last minute running around.  ;)

--For anyone who isn't aware, there has been no hockey for me this year.  The contract ended between the NHL and the players and the owners/NHL decided to lockout the players while the 'negotiations' proceeded.  I write the word negotiations the way I did because the entire process has been pretty much a farce.  When one side says "Do it OUR way or there is no deal--no ifs, and, or buts about it." the negotiation process is really not going very well.  So far, only games through the end of this month have been canceled, but I really don't see them salvaging even part of a season.  From what it sounds like, if a deal can't be made by the 15th of January, the entire season will be canceled.  It's really too bad, because this is not good in any way for the league.  Many people--even quite a few die-hard, fanatic fans--are promising to not go back to the NHL when this is all over with.  Surprisingly, I haven't really missed the NHL all that much--although I DO miss watching the game itself.  As for me?  I probably will go back to being as fanatic and obsessed with the Red Wings as I ever was--I won't lie.  But I DO wonder how exactly this will affect me in the long run.

--Another thing that is different in my life right now is the fact that we have NO concerts, plays, events on our calendar to attend.  We did so many events this past spring and summer, but there really hasn't been anything that we felt was 'must see' coming up in the near future.  Fleetwood Mac and Foreigner are going to be performing close to us, but with K having to work for both concerts, I don't see where he will take time off so that we can go.  I have no problem missing Foreigner--they DO have a new lead singer--but I am a bit bummed about missing Fleetwood Mac.  I'm not sure we will ever have the opportunity to see them again.  But, they will be in St Paul and that isn't a leisurely drive for us.  Eric Clapton has announced a new North American tour, but so far there are no dates that are close to us.  I am assuming--hopefully I am correct--that he will have a second leg of the tour and come to St Paul or Minneapolis later in 2013.  And I WILL do my best to get to see him again.  I may have my work cut out for me trying to convince K, though.  After all, I am the HUGE Clapton fan, not him.

--So, what has everyone else been up to?  If you haven't updated YOUR blog in a while, let me know how your life is going.  While I won't promise, I do hope to be here more often for a while...

Trying Something New

I probably am the only person left in the world to allow only Blogger comments on a blog, but today I decided to add Disqus here.  Is it going to work?  Who knows.  After a few days I will see what is what and whether I can tweak things to the way I like, soooooo...  For now, Disqus is enabled--I hope this makes everyone's life a little easier.  :)

It's 'THAT' Time, Again

For those who don't follow, the NHL playoffs began this past Wednesday.  And the Red Wings are in the playoffs for the 21st year in a row, thankyouforasking.  This, of course, puts my mindset just a little bit worse than a mother black bear when someone threatens her cubs.  So, for the foreseeable future, my posts here will probably NOT be very amusing.  I find when I'm in this kind of a mood, things that have been 'irking' me for a time come to the forefront of my mind.  And when this happens, I usually post here.  Just a warning to the two (three?) people who come to visit regularly.  ;D

Changing For The Better?

Hi there.  Yes, you have gotten to my blog and I have changed things up, again.  Well, actually, Blogger has made it easy for me to change things, so I did.  They have come up with something called Dynamic Views for blogs and I decided to try it out.  So, what do you think?  I like it--kind of a cool, new look.

While it seems to be much easier to navigate through this blog, the reader can change up how s/he explores.  Look up ^ and to the left< and you will see several terms like Classic, Flipcard, Magazine, etc.  You can click on any one of them and give this blog a new look--one which you might feel more comfortable using.  It's kind of fun.  Go on, play around with the different views, I'll wait.

Now I have to ask:  What do you think?  Is this as much fun and as cool as I think it is?  Leave a comment.  (You have to open a post to get to the comment section--might wind up being a pain in the ass.  Hmmm.)

Blogger Problem--Again?

Once again, comments seem to be disappearing from this blog.  And now I'm wondering if they might not even be showing up at all?  Is anyone having problems with commenting?  Let me know at chrkos@gmail.com if there have been any problems lately.  Thank you.

Hello Blogger!!!! (updated)

I'm having problems with Blogger and I don't know what to do about correcting them.  First, I'm not able to put every link that I want in my posts.  I'm doing everything the way I always have done them--and never had problems before.  These last few days/weeks I find that only SOME of the links actually make it into my posts.  Very frustrating!  And the other thing that has been going on is that 'anonymous' comments don't show up in my comment section.  Okay, so most 'anonymous' comments ARE unwelcome, but I have had a few that are legitimate.  The only way I even KNOW that there are comments is that I get a copy sent to my email.  And yes, I do allow 'anonymous' comments and have the settings set properly. ;)



****Okay, now the link I couldn't get to work in my last post seems to BE working.  This is getting beyond ridiculous!  I HATE computer/interweb problems!!!

The End of Blogging?

When I look back on my life, I seem to have cycles of 5-10 years where I am gung-ho about something and then my interest wanes.  Right now, my interest in blogging is getting smaller by the day--and it seems to be that way across the blogosphere.  Along with Facebook, it seems as if people I follow are less and less inclined to do many posts or status updates.  The only thing that is going strong right now is Twitter and some of the Red Wing blogs.  (I am one of the 3,967,542 Wing fans with a blog and I am seriously thinking about closing up shop.  With so many people talking about the same thing, I have next to nothing new or interesting to add to the conversation.)  I think blogging and Facebook have reached their peak and are on the downslide.  And, to a great extent, it makes me sad.  I very much enjoy the people I have gotten to 'know' online and really am interested in what is going on with them.  I would hate to lose touch with a lot of the 'imaginary, fake' friends I have come to know.  Through the years, I have lost several regular readers and often wonder what has happened to them.  And when you don't know real names, it is impossible to contact them.

I haven't decided to close this blog--I will continue on.  I'm still not sure whether I will just blog when the spirit moves me or if I will force myself to post more frequently.  Forcing myself might bring the fire back, but it also may make me hate this whole thing.  The whole thing is a dilemma that I have to work through.  Hopefully it will work out quickly.  :)

(And watch, starting tomorrow the thoughts will start pouring out of me like diarrhea and I will post multiple times per day for the next six years.  That's just the way things seem to happen, at times.  :D)

A Milestone

I just checked my Site Meter account and it told me that there have been more than 20,000 visits to this blog--my tiny little piece of The Gore.  Obviously, there haven't been 20,000 PEOPLE, as I DO have about three regular readers who come here regularly.  :)  But, no matter how many people find themselves here, I want to say THANK YOU to each and every one.  I truly appreciate the time--no matter how long or short--that you spend reading what I have written.  And I know that it isn't always very easy to read my oftentimes boring ramblings.  ;)

A Tiny Rant!

Why in the world do I have problems with the formatting on this blog?  There are some bugs that crop up now and then--NOT always, so you can't duplicate them and complain--just sometimes.  It is rather annoying.

Trolls

I MUST be moving up in the world because I got myself my very own spammer troll today.  A lot of 'comments' were left on some of my older posts--all in some Oriental characters.  (NOT sure if it is Chinese or something else.)  And here I thought someone else had found all of my writing inspiring enough to comment on, only to find out it was nothing but spam.  :D

Changing

I get caught up in not changing. It usually is because I'm comfortable with the way things are, so I stay the same. Thankfully, I get dragged kicking and screaming--but rarely do I go voluntarily--into new things. And that is the same with my blogs: I get stuck in a rut and 'leave well enough alone.' But, as you can see, I didn't leave well enough alone. Blogger has introduced a new feature called 'Blogger in Draft' and you can change things around quite easily--and so I have. This is what I came up with for the time being. I'll leave it like this for a while and then reevaluate how I feel. If you find these changes hard to navigate, or if this is hard to read, let me know. Any suggestions will be considered.

Over 15,000

At some point during the last couple of days, the 15,000th visitor came to this blog. And I'm sure, once they read a little while, MOST of them never came back. ;D

A Lot Of Nothing Much

On 29 May 2004, I began this blog. This is now my 1500 post. I thought long and hard--okay, it was only about five minutes--as to what I should write and I decided on only a slight recap of these five+ years.

During these five years, I haven't done anything earth shattering. I haven't been a hero, I haven't helped save anyone's life, I haven't become famous. I have, however, become a grandmother three more times and a mother-in-law again. I have renewed my love for hockey and seen it become an obsession. I have become closer to my girls than I ever would have thought possible ten years ago. And I have distanced myself from The Family and found it is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I have lived my life without any fanfare whatsoever.

I have realized that I am just a small cog in a very big world and I will never influence anyone or anything outside of my very little circle. I will not be remembered by the world when I am no longer here. And I am very comfortable with that. My fate was never to be famous or rich--just to live a good life and be a decent person. I hope I have accomplished this and have shown as much through this blog.

I have 'met' some wonderful people these many years. I don't believe I have any of my original readers, but I DO have regulars who have been around for quite a while. I appreciate every person who has visited this little part of my world and, possibly, has enjoyed the visit. I love all of you and hope I will meet more as I continue this journey through my unexciting life. Thank you one and all.

And I hope I will add another 1500 posts--or more--in the coming years. :)

I Did It

I went and started a second blog. I realize not everyone that comes here--okay, almost NO ONE who comes here--cares one bit about the Wings, or hockey in general. So, I will no longer do hockey posts here--or very few. My new blog is ONLY hockey and that should be good--I can separate my two worlds. Or as much as is possible, seeing as I don't have a life outside of the Red Wings. ;) The name of the new blog is Out Of My Mind Over Hockey. Check it out if you want.

Some Ramblings

I'm almost done with the Russian novel I have been reading. Now I can get to some brain candy--the next Dresden Files book and the last two Twilight books! While the novel hasn't been a difficult read, it is very different from what I am used to reading. I'm hoping the whole thing will be wrapped up nicely in the epilogue OR the translator notes. I WILL, however, have to wait a week or two and think about what I read--so that I can decide whether I liked the book or not. Hmmmm.

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For two days in a row, I have seen a robin in the yard. I guess this means that spring is finally coming. Next week the temps are supposed to be at least 50, so things are looking up.

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Today I took a walk around the back yard--at least the parts that weren't still snow-covered--and saw that the chipmunks are excavating again. (At least I THINK they are chipmunks--they might be some other nasty little rodents, actually.) I will have to do SOMETHING this summer to keep the little buggers away from the tomatoes. I think K will have to do some target shooting before the summer is over with.

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The youngest daughter has a new kitten to take care of. Now for the story. Someone brought this kitten to the clinic--it had a nasty cut and a broken back leg. And it was only about two weeks old. The vet bandaged the cut and couldn't do anything with the leg because of the kitten's size, so the leg was left. Because the kitten wasn't litter trained--duh!--the bandages wouldn't stay clean, so they were disposed of. Unfortunately, the kitten developed an infection and wouldn't eat. After a few days of watching the poor thing get worse, the vet decided that the best chance for it to get better was to remove the leg, which he did. That night, A took the kitten home and had to deal with it having seizures all night. Tonight I talked to her and the kitten is finally eating and moving around. It just may make it. And I think A will fall in love with the little thing and decide to make it part of her family. Good grief. But, that is my daughter--she just can't turn her back on ANY animal! And I love her to bits and pieces for her kind heart.

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My oldest finally bullied me enough and I now am on Facebook. I have to keep this blog and my Facebook separate, as both of my girls and TONS of my nieces, nephews, and cousins kids are also on Facebook. I am not ready--if I ever will be--to have anyone in my family read this blog. Oh, the horrors!

I also have a Twitter account and am not sure if I will continue with it. It is like universal text messaging, seen by the entire world. I suppose I would like Twitter better if more people I know were actually using it.

Now, back to Facebook. To me, Facebook seems to be somewhere between blogging and Twitter--and in many instances, I like Facebook better than either of the others. That might be one of the reasons I'm not on Blogger as much as I used to be. And uploading pictures to Facebook takes a fraction of the time that Blogger does. But it doesn't look as if I will give up ANY of them any time soon. Just more time for me to spend on the computer. :/

So, anyone else on Facebook or Twitter? How do you like it? And how do you think it compares to blogging and/or Twitter?

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

My dear, sweet, wonderful, online daughter, burg, has presented me with a new award--and I am THRILLED! She so very nicely says: "I enjoy everything she writes, I truly do.. I'm even learning a little more about hockey too.. ;)" How sweet. (By the way, burg, if you keep it up you WILL be discussing the necessity of subscribing to the NHL Center Ice package with your hubby--just so you can REALLY understand what I'm talking about! :))

While I cannot give this award back to burg, I do have five people I want to pass this along to. Here are the rules:


1. Pick five blogs you consider deserving of this award, whether for creativity, design, interesting material, or contributions to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Name each nominee and link to his/her blog.

3. Show the award and include the name (and link to his/her blog) of whoever presented you with this award.

4. Link to the Arte y Pico blog so everyone knows the origin of this award.

5. Post these rules.

And now my five picks:

1. First, as always, is meleah. Not only does she have a very fascinating life story, she is one gifted writer. From laughing out loud to crying real tears, I run the gamut of emotions with her posts. She is a good friend.

2. I have to give this award to janet. I'm sure she doesn't feel as if her deafness defines her--and I hope she doesn't mind that I bring it up--but every time I remember that she is, I am amazed by her all over again. Anyone living well with a 'condition' or 'disability' that would cause the rest of us to curl up in a fetal position and hide in the corner, are my heroes. And, besides, she is a mid-westerner, so she qualifies as 'family.' :)

3. I must, must, must give this award to Olga, the traveling bra. Olga travels the world and blogs about it--as simple as that. It is always a 'trip' to read about her adventures.

4. Kristi is being given this award because she makes some beautiful stained-glass creations. And if that wasn't enough, she, also, is a mid-westerner, so it goes without saying that she gets an award. :)

5. I'm sending this to Virgina Belle, also. She is a single, young female making her way in this world with a job, boyfriend, dog, and house--and she lets us into her life with her blog. As I never was any of these things--well, I WAS young once--I find myself living vicariously through her. Her blog is private, but if you ask her very politely, she just may let you read it, too.


Make sure and visit all of these blogs--they all are great places to visit.

Sisu Award

'Sisu' is a Finnish word that cannot be translated easily. To have 'sisu,' one has guts, stubbornness, stick-to-it-iveness all rolled into one--but in a positive way. It is perseverance and determination. I once, tongue-in-cheek, described 'sisu' as "giving birth to 11 girls and getting pregnant for the 12th time because THIS one HAS to be a boy." 'Sisu' is what we Finns have in order to live here in the north country--a place where we can have -20 degree temps in the winter (NOT counting wind chills) and 90+ degree temps in the summer (NOT counting the heat index/humidity factor.) (To read the 'official' definition, go to Wikipedia.)

I decided to make my own award after recieving such nice ones from so many people. (See the sidebar under 'My ME, ME, ME Gallery'.) Today I will give the first 'Sisu Award.' The one I will give this to is a very good friend of mine--even though we have never met. I began reading her blog about a year ago and she completely amazes me. She has done a lot in her young life and has gone through a lot. Her health problems are something I don't know if I could live with--and she always tries to keep her sense of humor throughout her relapses/flares. She has completely changed her life and is raising a son as a single mother. Because she has shown true 'sisu,' I am pleased to give the 'Sisu Award' for the first time to meleah! You deserve it, my dear!