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text: From Wed Feb 16 15:09:22 2005 Return-Path: Delivered-To: Received: (qmail 21890 invoked from network); 16 Feb 2005 15:09:22 -0000 Received: from (HELO ( by with SMTP; 16 Feb 2005 15:09:21 -0000 Received: (qmail 61793 invoked by uid 500); 16 Feb 2005 15:09:19 -0000 Delivered-To: Received: (qmail 61752 invoked by uid 500); 16 Feb 2005 15:09:17 -0000 Mailing-List: contact; run by ezmlm Precedence: bulk list-help: list-unsubscribe: list-post: Reply-To: Delivered-To: mailing list Received: (qmail 61738 invoked by uid 99); 16 Feb 2005 15:09:17 -0000 X-ASF-Spam-Status: No, hits=-0.0 required=10.0 tests=SPF_HELO_PASS X-Spam-Check-By: Received-SPF: neutral ( local policy) Received: from (HELO ( by (qpsmtpd/0.28) with SMTP; Wed, 16 Feb 2005 07:09:17 -0800 Received: from [] ([]) by (8.12.11/8.12.11) with ESMTP id j1GF97kv008468 for ; Wed, 16 Feb 2005 08:09:10 -0700 Message-ID: <> Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 08:09:03 -0700 From: Jeff Genender Reply-To: Organization: Apache Geronimo User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 0.9 (Macintosh/20041103) X-Accept-Language: en-us, en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: Subject: Re: A Tomcat deployment question References: <> In-Reply-To: <> X-Enigmail-Version: X-Enigmail-Supports: pgp-inline, pgp-mime Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Spam-Status: No, hits=-100.4 required=5.6 tests=AWL,BAYES_44, USER_IN_WHITELIST autolearn=no version=2.63 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63 (2004-01-11) on X-Virus-Scanned: clamd / ClamAV version 0.74, clamav-milter version 0.74a on X-Virus-Status: Clean X-Virus-Checked: Checked X-Spam-Rating: 1.6.2 0/1000/N anita kulshreshtha wrote: > Oops! I apologize for the keyboard malfunction. Please > ignore my other mail. > --- Jeff Genender wrote: > > >> >>anita kulshreshtha wrote: >> >>>--- Jeff Genender wrote: >>> >> >>the jetty like webapp classloader would not work. > > > Thanks for the info., I will dig deeper into this. > > >>We should be able to use Tomcat's security. Its >>just a matter of >>declaring the proper realm. The realm model >>supports pluggable security >>components, so this should work fine. > > > I do not see why we need to do that. Geronimo > already provides equivalents of memory, JDBC and JAAS > realms. Earlier there was a conversation about > Geronimo providing LDAP based authentication. Am I > missing something? The point is that the security model is pluggable. If you want to use Geronimo's security, then the Realms have been created for you to do so (i.e. TomcatJAASRealm for JAAS and TomcatGeronimoRealm for JACC). If you wish to use another (non-Geronimo) security model, just be sure there is an appropriate Realm class. If you want to use Tomcat's security only, then feel free to use those Tomcat Realms (although the Tomcat's version of the JAAS Realm...JAASRealm...will not use JAAS correctly with Geronimo, thus the TomcatJAASRealm object has been created, which does). Your question about why we need to do this is answered more from the perspective that Tomcat was written to allow a declarative, pluggable, security model. I guess this is a good feature that comes with Tomcat and I surely would not want to make an effort to remove it. As for LDAP, I cannot directly answer that as I was not a part of the conversation in the past. But I can answer, that from a Geronimo/Tomcat security perspective, the easiest route here is to write a Geronimo client Login Module. No code changes would be needed in Tomcat at all. The TomcatJAASRealm and/or TomcatGeronimoRealm will be happy to interface with this login module. > > Thanks > Anita > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Meet the all-new My Yahoo! - Try it today! > > -- Jeff Genender


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From "Geir Magnusson Jr." <g...@pobox.com>
Subject Re: [classlib] Preprocessor - CHECKPOINT
Date Thu, 02 Nov 2006 04:01:42 GMT

Etienne Gagnon wrote:
> Mikhail Fursov wrote:
>> On 11/1/06, Etienne Gagnon <egagnon@sablevm.org> wrote:
>>> For comfortable IDE development, one could imagine that the IDE editor
>>> can reduce to "one-line visible" comments (or better, specially
>>> formatted ones) so that it gives you the impression that you are really
>>> wearing target-specific spectacles.  [I know Eclipse allows for such
>>> things already].
>>> ...
>> Etienne,
>> What is 'comfortable IDE development' if you can't modify the Y? Am I
>> missing something here?
> Maybe my text was wrongly formatted...  You looked at the wrong example.
>  Comfortable development happens only using "development targets".  E.g.
> 1- process(X, devtarget) -> Z
> 2- edit Z in IDE using comfortable development, where you see a single
>    commented line for every hidden stream code chunk, keeping you aware
>    that other streams have related code there [you click on the "+" in
>    Eclipse if you want to see the complete chunk].  Of course, you
>    should never delete a chunk without consulting other stream
>    developers first.
>    So:  edit Z -> Z'

See, I'm hoping for something a tad different :

1) For building : process() (and revert() for fun) for cmd line use for
the build scripts, so we just do

   $ ant -Dtarget=java5

and  what pops out is the java5 classlib jars, natives, includes, etc
for java5.  And would use the "version definition" metadata to choose
the fileset, and then use process() to xform the code to the target sources.

2) For development : IDE plugin where

   a) I can tell plugin that my project def/configuration is whatever,
      it using metadata in a file, only consider the code that is
      defined (or not excluded - whatever is easier)

   b) I can tell plugin to look at X, know that I want
      "java5" and in situ, it shows me what Z would look like.
      I edit this, but I'm really editing X.  And I want to
      be sure, I push a button or have a split screen that
      shows me what X really looks like.

      I can edit in X, or in "virtual Z", or both at the same
      time, as I'm just really editing X.

I think it's key that our solution can work in an IDE, not just on a
command line.

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From "Justin Erenkrantz" <>
Subject Re: Configuration change for cvs@httpd?
Date Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:32:37 GMT
On Fri, Jan 2, 2009 at 8:58 AM, Joe Schaefer <> wrote:
> So, is that better or worse than getting a bounce message?  I'll point out
> that Yahoo! used to have a similar problem, but have since resolved it.  I
> wonder what gmail does now?

When you hit 'reply-all' now, GMail adds in:

list not shown <Recipient>

and then gives an error complaining about the address when you hit
'send'.  -- justin

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text: #132: Error rendering widget TicketFieldValues ------------------------+------------------------------------- Reporter: gjm | Owner: gjm Type: defect | Status: accepted Priority: major | Milestone: RC1 for initial release Component: dashboard | Version: Resolution: | Keywords: ------------------------+------------------------------------- Changes (by gjm): * status: new => accepted Comment: Note that this appeared when poking around using a postgres install. A quick check suggests that the fix may be as simple as the HINT suggests. -- Ticket URL: Apache Bloodhound The Apache Bloodhound (incubating) issue tracker


text: From Sun Nov 08 04:00:23 2009 Return-Path: Delivered-To: Received: (qmail 44430 invoked from network); 8 Nov 2009 04:00:22 -0000 Received: from (HELO ( by with SMTP; 8 Nov 2009 04:00:22 -0000 Received: (qmail 71868 invoked by uid 500); 8 Nov 2009 04:00:21 -0000 Delivered-To: Received: (qmail 71808 invoked by uid 500); 8 Nov 2009 04:00:21 -0000 Mailing-List: contact; run by ezmlm Precedence: bulk List-Help: List-Unsubscribe: List-Post: List-Id: Reply-To: Delivered-To: mailing list Received: (qmail 71798 invoked by uid 99); 8 Nov 2009 04:00:21 -0000 Received: from (HELO ( by (qpsmtpd/0.29) with ESMTP; Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:00:21 +0000 X-ASF-Spam-Status: No, hits=-0.0 required=10.0 tests=SPF_PASS X-Spam-Check-By: Received-SPF: pass ( domain of designates as permitted sender) Received: from [] (HELO ( by (qpsmtpd/0.29) with ESMTP; Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:00:13 +0000 Received: by gxk7 with SMTP id 7so396216gxk.12 for ; Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:59:52 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed;; s=gamma; h=domainkey-signature:mime-version:received:in-reply-to:references :from:date:message-id:subject:to:content-type :content-transfer-encoding; bh=89qwAs6BXqyBFbMr1lP0Mn9HuzAFEr+oehGoW80YDgQ=; b=j3Jn10rS3SaJl9eC4QV5j3cI6ILdBfn81LRdp1jGKmaXkKpIP7+YLFpdWsoyx9nkIv yaAmKydDJCaeitYVKGfOI+oitYxfaTWf9iKypYy61p0ap83gxXVKXIAHz4Z9Guym9bgE Ew3OVFPus5rf+KX1gbZJtLo7/eGDFTj/XHpHw= DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws;; s=gamma; h=mime-version:in-reply-to:references:from:date:message-id:subject:to :content-type:content-transfer-encoding; b=fzLnTodzwTOE59mW8IQ8gBM5xB2OijGO4uCMjjcZ2+mD/4OaIbla2Klpq09dKEeF7H 4xaXd1k4L/rX3JUXHEqXf92/d7yQxWqg2R//VGUaFUT5n87E110mwbXg/ZXBEIcJitz9 QTSAHTQsZJclSpXZg7XNiy81QvC64xb/+zcvw= MIME-Version: 1.0 Received: by with SMTP id w3mr5661374anh.118.1257652792056; Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:59:52 -0800 (PST) In-Reply-To: References: From: Paul Davis Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2009 22:59:32 -0500 Message-ID: Subject: Re: calling views in Erlang To: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Virus-Checked: Checked by ClamAV on On Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 10:57 PM, Paul Davis w= rote: > Norman, > >> I have written some code to query a view within Erlang and it seems >> too simple :-) > > Welcome to CouchDB. Simple is the implementation corollary of Relax. :) > >> Am I really just looping through a view and returning >> {ok, State} if a key matches a particular input KeyId and calling >> {stop, State} when I want the iteration to stop? >> >> I appreciate there is an index behind the view which makes things >> fast, but the looping seems really simple. =A0Verification of this >> approach would be very much appreciated as I go forward! > > Even in advanced algorithms indexes are basically just sorted lists at > the core. Couch's view interface makes that pretty plain. So yes, you > can just iterate over the views as you see fit. The key to why this is > quick and delicious is that seeking to the start of iteration (when > you provide a startkey) is that you only do a log(N) seek to the first > key. > > HTH, > Paul Davis > I should mention, that even with no startkey, its still a log(N) seek, just that its seeking to a special key that sorts before all keys. The seeking part is important because its assumed that most view iterations are over small subsets of the index not starting near the head of the index on average. Paul Davis


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Subject Re: frameworks/tools for couchdb development
Date Wed, 27 Feb 2013 22:46:28 GMT
If you look at you will see it is actively maintained.  I have been
using for a while an really like it.  I have learned a lot from the packages.

You can automate pushes with

The example apps are nicely structured and should give you a good place to start.

Also, includes some nice helpers for dealing with importing data.

Any other couchapp / package managers for couchdb?
Jeff Charette | Principal
We Are Charetteweb / identity / packaging

m  415.298.2707

 From: Alessandro <>
Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2013 6:29 PM
Subject: frameworks/tools for couchdb development
Hi all,
  I'd like to use couchdb for a small project and I like to know which kind of tools or framework
can help me with it.
For example I gave a look at "kanso", but it seems abandoned since almost nine month ago.
I found few other tools, but they were older.

I need to write files locally, and test them on my pc before to publish the changes on the
server.. a very basic job, I think.

Which kind of tools can I use?

Thanks for your advices

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From Mike Marino <>
Subject Re: Installing CouchDB from Source: Problem Installing SpiderMonkey1.8.5
Date Thu, 17 Apr 2014 14:37:25 GMT
Hi Omar,

This is really a question for the SpiderMonkey list, though chances are
that fixing this problem will also mean your environment will be (better)
set up to build couchdb.  As a caveat, I have limited experience with
cygwin, but I can still tell you what that error message means.

configure runs and determines if it can actual compile/generate executables
on your system.  What that error message is telling you is that it can't,
which normally means:

1.  a compiler is not installed

2.  It can't find the compiler (it's not in your path, or perhaps the CC
environment variable is not getting automatically set)

Have a look at config.log to figure out which command was actually run and
failed.  Without knowing this, I can only guess what the problem is, but I
would guess you may need to define CC directly:

./configure CC=/path/to/your/compiler

On Thu, Apr 17, 2014 at 4:21 PM, Omer Yousaf <> wrote:

> Hi,
> In installing CouchDB from source I am stuck at the installing
> SpiderMonkey1.8.5 step. In order to run the ./configure command for couchdb
> I must specify paths "--with-js-lib" and "--with-js-include" but failing to
> install SpiderMonkey prevents me from doing so. I have tried to install
> spidermonkey by doing following steps:
> 1) unpack js185-1.0.0.tar.gz and libmozjs185-devel-1.0.0-3.tar.bz2 packages
> 2) cd to js-1.8.5\js\src folder
> 3) run the command: ./configure
>     or:  ./configure
> --with-js-lib=/cygdrive/c/cygwin/home/omer.yousaf/src/js-1.8.5/js/src/usr/lib
> --with-js-include=/cygdrive/c/cygwin/home/omer.yousaf/src/js-1.8.5/js/src/usr/include
> I get the error "configure: error: installation or configuration problem:
> C++ compiler cannot create executables".
> Can you guide me as to how to get spidermonkey installed. Just FYI, I am
> using this page for instructions on how to build couchdb from source
> Best Regards,
> Omer Yousaf
> NorthBay Solutions, Lahore

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text: On 5/1/2012 8:18 PM, Alex Harui wrote: > > > On 5/1/12 4:54 PM, "Jeffry Houser" wrote: > >> It shouldn't violate copyright; because we are writing our own code >> from scratch. Unless Adobe wants to claim copyright on the API which is >> possible. I know I read about a API related lawsuit at one point, but I >> have no idea what the results were. > Again, I'm not a lawyer, but here's my logic: If we were writing actual > code that did something, then I would agree, starting from scratch shouldn't > be a violation of copyright. But to try to create an exact replica of an > API is to me the equivalent of hearing a song, but not having the sheet > music, re-creating the song exactly. I don't think you can do that in the > music business. You certainly can do that in the music business. Independent creation is a copyright defense (even if it isn't a patent defense). The "infringed" party has to prove that you had access to their song and copied it in order to receive any damages. This is extremely difficult to do. I remember reading a case where the drummer of an unknown band went on to play for a well known artist. Even though the drummer testified that he gave their demo to the 'big artist' that included the song in question; the original band lost the case based on the "big artists" testimony that he didn't remember that The only way to protected a song is to be the one who makes it famous. It'd be a lot easier to prove that someone heard "HollaBack Girl" by Gwen Stefani than say, "Read it on the Radio" by 22nd Century. I think this is covered in this book somewhere: http://www.amazon.com/Need-About-Music-Business-Edition/dp/0743293185 By the same token, Adobe would [in theory] have to prove we copied their code as opposed to writing our own. Of course, once again, I am not advocating this as a route we should consider. Sometimes I like to make decisions on things that are least likely to get me sued.


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From "Travis Vitek" <>
Subject RE: string concatenation trouble under Nanodesktop PSPE
Date Sat, 07 Jun 2008 00:02:35 GMT

pegasus2000 wrote:
>Consider the following program:
>#include <nanodesktop.h>
>// of the string class which is part of the
>// Standard Template Library
>#include <string>
>#include <cstdlib>
>#include <iostream>
>using namespace std;
>// concat - return the concatenation of two strings
>string concat(string s1, string s2)
>   return s1 + s2;
>int main(int argc, char* pArgs[])
>    ndInitSystem ();
>    // create a string that is the sum of two smaller strings
>    cout << "string1 + string2 = "
>    << concat("string1 ", "string2")
>    << endl;
>The program crashes when executes s1+s2.
>I need the stack trace at that point, so I can check in which
>routine the trouble is localized.

I have no way to tell where the program is crashing so I can't really
give you much more information. All I can tell you is that most of the
string functionality is implemented in `include/string' and
`include/'. But you already knew that, right?

BTW, it seems to me that it would make debugging much simpler if you had
built a debug version of the libraries for the PC. Then you could take
the code that fails on the PSP and step into it on the PC.

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From Stephen Connolly <>
Subject Re: Best way to retrieve multiple subsets from SVN?
Date Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:35:04 GMT
On Thursday, 24 January 2013, Joachim Durchholz wrote:

> Am 24.01.2013 05:39, schrieb Ron Wheeler:
>> You manually put the jars in your Maven repo through its manual upload
>> procedure with some version number (nice if it relates to the version
>> that the authors gave them) and reference them as dependencies.
> That's 13 jars to be built from their sources, and 10 jars that they
> bundle as external dependencies.
> And since they're in pre-beta, I want to do that on a more-or-less daily
> basis.
> I don't think manual extraction is a good option for that.
>  Maven does not really deal with SVN as a jar source.
> I have settled on this plan:
> a) Have one project per jar. (Place commonalities in a parent pom.)
> b) bind an svn export goal to the package phase
> c) configure it to extract the intended jar to target.
My answer to the above is inverse of what you are trying to do

What you want to do is create a series of shim projects for each of these
"external" libs, and then just have your CI server roll a release nightly

Don't try to make it all one project, that way madness lies

I'd have the version number of each shim project be the svn revision it is
faking a build of

> Unless there's anything in that could come back and bite me, that looks
> like Maven can use SVN as a jar source right out of the box.
> Regards,
> Jo
> ------------------------------**------------------------------**---------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail:
> For additional commands, e-mail:

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From Divyaprakash Y <>
Subject RE: Packet misses in Tomcat
Date Tue, 07 Jan 2014 11:03:51 GMT
>>>> Issue: Few packets do not reach the application servlet but tomcat receives
them. The missing packets reach the HTTP layer and thereafter they disappear.
>>>> This issue is not frequent but occasionally consistent. For the POSTs of
missing packet I am not able to find the entry in localhost_access_log.
>>>> How do you know that the packet reaches tomcat if there is no matching entry
in localhost_access.log? Does all other access appear in this file?
>>> I could see the packet in the wireshark capture and it has reached HTTP layer
so I thought it has reached Tomcat; I may be wrong here. Also, as far as my observation, every
hit to the application URLs was getting logged in local access log.
>> And is there anything in the Tomcat error logs ?
>> (Or the Windows Event logs)
>> A HTTP request might be discarded by Tomcat for various reasons (*)
>> before it is ever mapped to an application.
>> In such a case, there is probably also no log of the request in the Access log.
>> But I would expect some error message in the Tomcat error logs.
>> (*) Invalid HTTP request, incomplete request, etc..
>> If there are really packets being lost somewhere, then for POST
>> requests the request size would not match the Content-length header, and that may
be one of these cases.
>> I must say that the "packets lost" hypothesis sound a bit iffy to me.
>> This is TCP, which should detect missing packets and cause a client
>> connection abort if it was the case.  The invalid HTTP request being rejected by
Tomcat sounds more probable to me.
>> i
>> I could not find anything (Exception) in tomcat std error log file or any file in
the log folder. But I  have not checked the Windows event logs. Will do that.
>> Regarding the content length, there is no mismatch as I have validated using Wireshark
and also the same packets(In terms of structure) have reached the application previously.
>> W.r.t. the last point, I could see TCP ACK for the received packet in the wireshark
and the packet has reached HTTP layer which goes missing thereafter.
>> What do you mean exactly by "the packet has reached HTTP layer" ?
> Are you using the word "packet" in the TCP/IP sense here, or do you mean "HTTP request"
> (composed of one or more TCP/IP packets) ?
> Does one complete HTTP POST request (headers and body) fit into one TCP packet ?
> And how exactly do you recognise that some particular packet (or HTTP request) has not
been processed by the application ?
> Do these disappearing requests have some special characteristic that allows you to distinguish
them from other requests to the same application ?
> Or is it so that all the requests for that same application "disappear" ?
> Do all the ones that disappear have something in common, that other
> requests (which do not
> disappear) do not have ?
> Suggestion : paste the content of your Tomcat's "server.xml" file in your next message,
after removing any private information such as host name or IP, passwords etc.
> (Do not send it as attachment, this list often removes them).
> Actually, I meant "HTTP request has reached HTTP Layer".
> I could recognise the miss as some noticeable activity will happen upon the reception
of the request in the application because of which it is easy to identify the misses in this
case when compared to other requests.
> For the query regarding "All requests", all requests do not disappear. More importantly,
sometimes all requests  reach the application when I POST same set of requests. To give a
rough picture, 1-2 requests fail in a set of 45-50 requests and this behaviour varies [The
request which failed in my one test cycle succeeds in another cycle].
> I could see this in Tomcat 7.0 and Tomcat 7.0.42.
> Here is the server.xml details:
> <?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
> <!--
>   Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
>   contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
>   this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
>   The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
>   (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
>   the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
>   Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
>   distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
>   WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
>   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
>   limitations under the License.
> -->
> <!-- Note:  A "Server" is not itself a "Container", so you may not
>      define subcomponents such as "Valves" at this level.
>      Documentation at /docs/config/server.html  --> <Server
> port="8105" shutdown="SHUTDOWN">
>   <!-- Security listener. Documentation at /docs/config/listeners.html
>   <Listener className="" />
>   -->
>   <!--APR library loader. Documentation at /docs/apr.html -->
>   <!---->
>   <Listener className="org.apache.catalina.core.AprLifecycleListener"
> SSLEngine="on" />
>   <!--Initialize Jasper prior to webapps are loaded. Documentation at /docs/jasper-howto.html
>   <Listener className="org.apache.catalina.core.JasperListener" />
>   <!-- Prevent memory leaks due to use of particular java/javax APIs-->
>   <Listener className="org.apache.catalina.core.JreMemoryLeakPreventionListener" />
>   <Listener className="org.apache.catalina.mbeans.GlobalResourcesLifecycleListener"
>   <Listener
> className="org.apache.catalina.core.ThreadLocalLeakPreventionListener"
> />
>   <!-- Global JNDI resources
>        Documentation at /docs/jndi-resources-howto.html
>   -->
>   <GlobalNamingResources>
>     <!-- Editable user database that can also be used by
>          UserDatabaseRealm to authenticate users
>     -->
>     <Resource name="UserDatabase" auth="Container"
>               type="org.apache.catalina.UserDatabase"
>               description="User database that can be updated and saved"
>               factory="org.apache.catalina.users.MemoryUserDatabaseFactory"
>               pathname="conf/tomcat-users.xml" />
>   </GlobalNamingResources>
>   <!-- A "Service" is a collection of one or more "Connectors" that share
>        a single "Container" Note:  A "Service" is not itself a "Container",
>        so you may not define subcomponents such as "Valves" at this level.
>        Documentation at /docs/config/service.html
>    -->
>   <Service name="Catalina">
>     <!--The connectors can use a shared executor, you can define one or more named
thread pools-->
>     <!--
>     <Executor name="tomcatThreadPool" namePrefix="catalina-exec-"
>         maxThreads="150" minSpareThreads="4"/>
>     -->
>     <!-- A "Connector" represents an endpoint by which requests are received
>          and responses are returned. Documentation at :
>          Java HTTP Connector: /docs/config/http.html (blocking & non-blocking)
>          Java AJP  Connector: /docs/config/ajp.html
>          APR (HTTP/AJP) Connector: /docs/apr.html
>          Define a non-SSL HTTP/1.1 Connector on port 8080
>     -->
>  <!--  -->
>     <Connector port="8080" protocol="HTTP/1.1"
>                connectionTimeout="20000"
>                redirectPort="8443" allowTrace="true"/>
>     <!-- A "Connector" using the shared thread pool-->
>     <!--
>     <Connector executor="tomcatThreadPool"
>                port="8080" protocol="HTTP/1.1"
>                connectionTimeout="20000"
>                redirectPort="8443" />
>     -->
> <!-- Define an AJP 1.3 Connector on port 8009 -->
>     <Connector port="8009" protocol="AJP/1.3" redirectPort="8443" />
>     <!-- An Engine represents the entry point (within Catalina) that processes
>          every request.  The Engine implementation for Tomcat stand alone
>          analyzes the HTTP headers included with the request, and passes them
>          on to the appropriate Host (virtual host).
>          Documentation at /docs/config/engine.html -->
>     <!-- You should set jvmRoute to support load-balancing via AJP ie :
>     <Engine name="Catalina" defaultHost="localhost" jvmRoute="jvm1">
>     -->
>     <Engine name="Catalina" defaultHost="localhost">
>       <!--For clustering, please take a look at documentation at:
>           /docs/cluster-howto.html  (simple how to)
>           /docs/config/cluster.html (reference documentation) -->
>       <!--
>       <Cluster className="org.apache.catalina.ha.tcp.SimpleTcpCluster"/>
>       -->
>       <!-- Use the LockOutRealm to prevent attempts to guess user passwords
>            via a brute-force attack -->
>       <Realm className="org.apache.catalina.realm.LockOutRealm">
>         <!-- This Realm uses the UserDatabase configured in the global JNDI
>              resources under the key "UserDatabase".  Any edits
>              that are performed against this UserDatabase are immediately
>              available for use by the Realm.  -->
>         <Realm className="org.apache.catalina.realm.UserDatabaseRealm"
>                resourceName="UserDatabase"/>
>       </Realm>
>       <Host name="localhost"  appBase="webapps"
>             unpackWARs="false" autoDeploy="true">
>         <!-- SingleSignOn valve, share authentication between web applications
>              Documentation at: /docs/config/valve.html -->
>         <!--
>         <Valve className="org.apache.catalina.authenticator.SingleSignOn" />
>         -->
>         <!-- Access log processes all example.
>              Documentation at: /docs/config/valve.html
>              Note: The pattern used is equivalent to using pattern="common" -->
>         <Valve className="org.apache.catalina.valves.AccessLogValve" directory="logs"
>                prefix="localhost_access_log." suffix=".txt"
>                pattern="%h %l %u %t "%r" %s %b" />
>       </Host>
>     </Engine>
>   </Service>
> </Server>

There is nothing in the above server.xml that strikes me as particularly remarkable or wrong.

I do not pretend to know your system, nor your application, nor that the following is a definite
explanation.  But on the base of the currently available data, I would say :
- it is quite unlikely that Tomcat 7 is randomly "dropping requests".  If it was, then I would
imagine that this list would be overflowing with cries for help.
There is quite a bit of traffic on this list related to Tomcat 7, but I don't recall seeing
any significant number of issues mentioning "dropped requests".
- it also doesn't seem, from your wireshark-related observations, that the requests are being
lost outside of Tomcat.
- so I would say at this point, that the most likely place for requests to disappear is in
your own application.

I am far from being an expert in that area, but I remember seeing multiple threads in this
list that tended to indicate that this kind of thing can happen if you keep improper references
to Request/Response objects in your applications.

Maybe someone else more qualified could take over at this point, to give you tips about how
you could diagnose this kind of thing.

Thanks André Warnier for your time.

Fyi, I deployed the same application in Jetty server and JBoss7 just to validate the behaviour
and I could see all the requests reaching the application. Planning run the application in
Jetty server overnight to check the issues in receiving the requests in the application if

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From "" <>
Subject Resource loader event listener
Date Wed, 18 Dec 2002 05:42:11 GMT
Hello all,

I wondered if there are plans to implement a resource loader event listener?

What I would like to do is create an event listener that would get fired when a template has
been touched and is reloaded. I need to sync to given templates, however I would prefer to
avoid checking getLastModified() each time in the critical code, instead implementing a listener
and have the resource loader issue a callback.

Thanks for your consideration!

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text:
Monday, October 18, 2004

Paul Wolfowitz's Future

"I gotta get off this squid base and hit the Viceroy, search the universe for a habitable planet to colonize." He popped a boner so fast that he had to bend over to avoid hurting himself.

She plucked a king-sized Viceroy from the pack and placed it between her lips.

"Just to make sure that America ends up with a boner big enough for the Viceroy's vast intergalactic Hong Kong, the Free Trade Federation."

He swore at the garlicky stench on the breath of a pretty young wench, Lord Viceroy limericking a "classic student boner" with a "christened man in the gutter with crumbs on his face."

"When she gives a radio to Burma, they say she falls asleep on the sofa with a lit cigarette."

Some of it was anger but some of it was giving him a boner. Trying not to look, he tried thinking of other things but his own cock betrayed him as it turned from flaccid to a full fledged boner in a matter of seconds. Now he could see why most everyone had a boner, it was just a given.

"Ostrich feathers and eggs, leopard skins, copper, amethyst, carnelian, feldspar, oils, gum." He was not a big fan of the extra hands but did like all the other goodies. "Your visit to Hyderabad will be considered incomplete without shopping for the pearls."

A very favorable exchange rate makes shopping for colorful handicrafts, bodies and other locally produced products a great bargain. This makes them distasteful to birds who avoid not only the monarch, but also the viceroy, which mimics the monarch patterns.

"Shopping for someone who has everything?"

"If you come round the supermarket with me, I'll drive you out to Avebury, and you can deliver the shopping for me, ok ... we're going to see the Viceroy. Also on the weekend I came in second in the Viceroy's Jewels tourney."

"Somehow, I think the Viceroy will remember that."

I explained our frequent absences by the need to do some shopping for the hacienda while we were in the city. "Blood wine is a very good substitute ... bit me and forced me to share." He called for wine, and drank with his old tiny leather sack of fouled blood and garlic. "The viceroy wipes at his mouth tastes of wine and some breath and the harsh sound of my blood coursing through."

With the permission of the viceroy, the corpse was exhumed. He then told her all about the Viceroy's usage of those tanks of blood to counter their wine, all because the practitioners had only sexual strangers who "eat hunks of white stone."

"Do you think the Viceroy will overlook that--the wooden horse as if it was stopping her from drowning ... sort of a way of holding a brown skinned erection in each Cambridge History of Egypt?"

There were numerous drowning accidents. A Trust Fund for the erection of a new church dedicated was seen to be in no danger.

Saturday, October 02, 2004

Why Are You Still a Floundering Poet?

It may seem like every poet except you has committed, caring relationships with publishers and critics who love, trust and respect their work. With this kind of attitude, it's easy to see why unsuccessful poets occasionally wonder why they're still photocopying and stapling their books at work, howling the question at an uncaring sky. The question is "Why am I a totally unknown 33-year-old writer?" but really what poets want to know is if they're merely unlucky or if there's something seriously wrong with them. Take this quiz to find out:

1. When you read your poetry in public, you usually:

- Bust your funk with confidence (Score = 1)
- Mention Jorie a lot (Score = 2)
- Show off a just barely-acceptable delivery (Score = 3)
- Lurk on stage and self-consciously mumble repressed passive-aggressive word salad into the microphone (Score = 4)
- "read--" I do not "read," I "become the words" (Score = 5)

2. When considering why your work is consistently rejected from appealing, glossy magazines and reputable well-distributed publishers, you generally:

- Feel honest and rational about the fact that you didn't fit their racial/gender demographic (Score = 1)
- Feel somewhat bitter, but the Iliad wasn't written in a day ... your poem only took 20 minutes! (Score = 2)
- Capable of at least some self-deception in assigning no blame to yourself for the obnoxious, superfluous personal insult you recently delivered to the editor's face (Score = 3)
- Announce to the world that you were the innocent victim of a plot to eliminate white males from the face of the earth (Score = 4)
- Put on a Tom Waits CD and pretend you made better early life decisions.

4. When pressuring an editor to include a review of your latest self-published chapbook. you usually:

- Smile and say, "hey maybe include a note in the next issue if you like it, no biggy, actually never mind, it's okay" (Score = 1)
- Smile nervously and say, "would, uh, you know, if you want to, you know, please review this, I'm dyin' here." (Score = 2)
- Do nothing and bitch to your significant other about how it's all rigged by MFA programs. (Score = 3)
- Ask someone else the editor likes better if they'd please "mention it." to them "sometime" (Score = 4)
- Email the editor a note with a short, weirdly angry request, then refuse to follow up. Boil with despairing rage for two and a half years. (Score = 5).

5. When it comes to close-talking, you:

- Always keep a respectful distance from the arts administratoror or attractive student you're talking to. (Score = 1)
- Talk a little too close when genuinely excited but always back off a little when you notice how uncomfortable you're making the person. (Score = 2)
- Have been known to force the listener to a corner without realizing it. (Score
= 3)
- Violently push people away when beginning a conversation (Score = 4)
- "Take it to next level" (Score = 5)

Now total up your score and consult this chart to determine who's at fault--you or fate:

0-5: If you're floundering, it's neither for lack of trying nor any glaring flaws. Lady Luck just doesn't seem to like you--or, more likely, you haven't been floundering for long and probably won't be.

6-10: You're a pretty normal poet. Being floundering is a short-term situation for you, and the current run of bad luck probably won't hold. Keep it up, and be sure that your mounting anger and resentment don't cause you to slip the next rung.

11-15: You have a few off-putting quirks. It's nothing that a little self improvement can't fix, but your luck could stand to be better as well. Patience and tenacity will get you through in time.

16-20: You might want to consider actually enjoying poetry, anger management, broadening your horizons, building some self confidence and cleaning your filthy bathroom. Lots of poets out there fall into this category, but you can't just blame bad luck for your floundering status.

21-25: It's you. Lady Luck (being a lady, after all), took one look at you and threw her hands up in despair. You have a simple binary choice: either work to conceal your shortcomings from potential publishers, or resign yourself to oblivion. It's possible that you could be saved, and maybe claw your way up into the 11-15 range or even better, but it's going to require a lot of work. Stick with listservs.


text:
Karen's Story

We all attended the same high school, Grosvenor Girls High on the Bluff, Durban. So we’ve known each other since 1975. Janet I’ve known since 1967! We started school together way back then! After leaving school and finding our own paths in life, we continued to keep in touch over the years by having regular school reunions. Believe it or not, there are about 30 of us who still keep in touch one way or another.

After committing to the walk, I went through moments where I wondered whether I needed my head read! I’m not half as active as I used to be in my youth, but my commitment to this adventure prompted me to dust my takkies off and start walking. I tried to walk every day and have to admit that it felt good to be out and about and I felt a small sense of achievement at actually motivating myself to get out there and do it. I worried that the longer distances would be a challenge. The last time I did a long distance walk of 22.5km was way back in 1978! The thought of exploring a new country, which from the photos we’d seen looked absolutely amazing is what kept me going. I also trusted my determination to see it through as it was for a good cause.

Even though it sometimes felt as if we had to make the decision to begin on a daily basis! When our resolve faltered, Sharon reminded us of her motto.

“Every Achievement Starts with the Decision to Begin”.

Our collective motto for the walk was:
“Walking to make a difference in a child’s life”


text:
Friday, July 20, 2012

Tutorial: How to Make a Tie Onsie

Okay so this is probably one of my last baby projects for awhile and it is so cute it makes me want a little man... sometime in the far far away future of course.  It is super easy to do and yet another great and personalized baby shower gift.

There are a few ways to make the shape of the tie and it really depends on preference.  I like the more box-y look but google search tie onsies and pick the one that floats your boat.  If you also like this look, feel free to download my pattern, which I used for 0-3 month onsies.  You can get the image from HERE on flicker, download the large size and print.  You can also download the PDF version from HERE on scribd.
Once you have your pattern, cut it out and set it aside.  We are first going to turn the tie into an iron on.  You will need three pieces; fabric, fusible web [which fuses two pieces of fabric together], and lightweight interfacing.  The interfacing helps to make the thin fabric a little more sturdy and makes it easier to sew onto the shirt.  Lay the pieces in order one on top of the other and iron it together.

Then, pin the pattern onto the now one piece of fabric and cut.  As you can see, the back is the lightweight interfacing.
Now cut more fusible web the shape of the tie and we are going to iron on the tie to the onsie.  Be sure to center it and tuck the bottom of the tie under the top.  Ironing it on will help keep it in one place when you sew.
Now for the fun.  Sew around the entire thing and in between the top knot and tie.
Once you are done it should look like this.  I got a little crazy and used a fun stitch I never get to use.
Before you know it, you will have some adorable little tie onsies for any little man in your life.

  1. okay, seriously, did you know how bad I needed this? I think you were reading my mind :) Parker's 1st birthday party theme is going to be little man :)

  2. This is so cute! I'm visiting from - found you on the Busy Monday Linky Party. I hope you'll come visit me, too :)

Please leave your email so I can repsond to your comment.


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Ideas to Make Money Online

|Ideas To Make Money Online|

|Ideas to make money online| will take you down many avenues and give you pause to consider different types of opportunities. Taking the time to research any idea that catches your attention and imagination will save you time and money in the long run. Keep in mind that you will need customers to make your business flourish. Any product that you consider should have mass appeal in the marketplace. Thinking like a business owner will eliminate many off the wall business opportunity as you consider the |ideas to make money online|.

Most people have multiple |ideas to make money online|, but its not going to be easy, despite what the so called superstore network marketers will tell you. All you have to do is put up a website, sit back and wait for the money to roll in. Well it is not that easy. Making money is hard and time consuming work, but you deserve the truth up front, rather than getting lied too.

Sure there are a lot of big time networkers who have developed slick websites, systems and/or methods on |ideas to make money online| for them. But they generally had a lot of money and experience to begin with and can pay to have their web sites and systems developed by professionals.

Unfortunately most of us cannot hire professionals and generally speaking have neither money nor experience when starting out or a lot of |ideas to make money online| when first starting off in the MLM industry. Without these two assets we will soon find out that the success so vividly advertised in many of the business opportunities cannot be easily duplicated by us newbie?s. The end results are a lot of unhappy people who end up losing their investment and giving the web a bad name.

The only way that you can make money in a business opportunity is by being lucky or taking the time to gain the knowledge you require. There is no other way. To start with you should have a basic knowledge of computers. Then you must become knowledgeable about the internet and how to market on line. You must also develop skills in how to do proper research.

Do you have any |ideas to make money online|, because if not, just go online and check out Google and the thousands of choices online. If you put your trust in the many make money online business opportunities found on the web without first having the knowledge to do basic research on these opportunities there is a good chance that you are going to get burned. Arming yourself with these tools will protect you from being hurt too badly while trying to start up your business.

Of course you could get lucky and find an honest individual that is willing to become your mentor or a company that has the right product and the necessary tools, training and systems to give you the knowledge that you require so you increase your chances to make money. However the chances of doing that are very slim.

So take your time on the various ways and |ideas to make money online|. Learn as much as you can about this new and fascinating industry. Do your research. Do not afraid of making mistakes. We all did. Look at these mistakes as an opportunity to learn.

For more information Read More.

Tom Murray

Skype: atom111160

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text:
Welcome to my Maker's blog, where I feature my own unique creative projects. I'm six years out from breast cancer and counting my blessings.

Top Projects

Don't Miss My TOP Projects!

Monday, September 26, 2016

Is That Chair Leather? No, It's Painted Fabric!!

This chair really looks like fine red leather. But it's not.

I painted the upholstery on this chair then sanded it to make it into this beautiful red piece that feels soft as suede and totally perks up my living room.

Here she is at the start. The local St. Vincent store had two of these chairs but I only needed one. I am now KICKING MYSELF for not buying both!

The frame and fabric were in excellent condition. Very tight joints, comfortable seat. I figured I could re upholster it or...as my Pinterest board says,

Paint That Chair!

I won't do a tutorial since the DIY info is all over the web. Literally....videos, Martha Stewart, Better Homes & Gardens, HGTV, Hometalk!

I decided to use acrylic paint in bright red and liquid textile medium. I mixed two parts paint to one part textile medium. I used a full 8 ounce bottle of craft paint and 4 ounces of the textile medium and mixed them well.

Then I sprayed the fabric with water in a spray bottle (mixed with a bit of fabric softener). I dampened each area just before I painted it using chip brushes. I also masked the wooden areas.
I painted on my back deck on a 90 degree day. Excellent light and weather for painting! But I have to tell you ladies, even after multiple coats I was feeling very very iffy on this project.

Very iffy.

I was already calculating if I had enough red fabric in my stash to go ahead and re upholster this chair, I was very undecided about the appearance.

And then after three coats the fabric started looking pretty good.
Lovely color retention, really good texture of the original woven pattern and
I was using less and less paint for each layer.

Of course, I let each coat dry for an hour in the hot sun before adding the next coat.

Urg. Here's what I used.

I know most blogs have neat photos and a concise list of brand name products plus links for purchasing, but I was ready to PAINT so I just dove right in.

I didn't buy anything since I already had it all in my stash.

Here's the painted and sanded fabric up close.
It looks just like leather and after sanding it feels like a very soft and sumptuous suede.

I am totally pleased with the way this project turned out!

I cleaned the wood with Murphy's Oil Soap then polished
 it up with Olde English lemon oil polish.

And the paint does NOT rub off.
Even if you are wearing white jeans as a test.

This was totally worth the time and money to get myself
 a bright and comfy chair for our living room.

Would I do it again? YES!


text:
In the Kitchen

By Katie Goodman
Organizing can be a daunting task for anyone, but especially those who are limited on space. I don’t consider organizing fun, though I love when my space is organized. Sometimes I’m just overwhelmed at the task at hand because there are so many questions to answer. Where should all these things go? How do I justify what stays and what will go if I just don’t have room for it all? How can I make it more fun? How can I get the organization to last? And more importantly, how do you get started?
First, turn on some music, talk to a friend, listen to a pod cast, catch up on your favorite TV program and work during the commercial breaks, listen to a book on tape, basically anything that will make the task seem more fun. Maybe fun isn’t the word you’re thinking of, how about less boring?
Read the full Kitchen 101 article


text: Even if you don’t fancy the idea of a fork, knife, spoon, spork, spife, knork or other eating utensil with an acrylic screwdriver handle, I was interested to learn, in this Instructable by user Patenteux du Nord, that these common tool handles can be easily removed and (at least to some extent) interchanged by first softening the plastic with heat.


text:
036 - 5/13/10

In exactly one month, I will be on a plane headed for Florida! I honestly cannot wait for this month to be over! Do any of you have any ideas for what I should do with J? I'm completely stuck. This ABCs business is way more difficult than I thought. Oddly enough, I've gotten all the crazy letters like Q and Z figured out. Today, however, is the letter I! I apologize that so many of my posts are about food, but I like to eat!

My New Year’s Resolution this year was to stop eating fast food, but In-N-Out is my weakness. If only there were any within a day’s drive from here! Honestly, In-N-Out is hands down, my favorite place to eat. I always get a number two, no tomato - with onions and animal style fries. If you’ve never eaten there, I suggest you try it. If you have eaten there, I’m sure you understand how delicious it is. The closest one to Carnegie is about a ten minute drive, and the area is a little sketchy. I loved going at midnight with a car full of people, but that’s usually when the drive thru lines are the longest. If you’re wondering what I’m even talking about right now, google it. Animal style is the way to go. The menu is simple, but their “not so secret menu” has some pretty good things on it. Boy oh boy do I miss those burgers and fries.

Inn Between

Between Main Street USA and Tomorrowland, there is a large CM eatery known as the Inn Between. I’m assuming it has that name because it is in between the two lands. This is probably the nicest of CM dining options, next to the Eat Ticket (I’ll talk about that when we get to T) of course. The Inn Between seems to have the most variety of food, at least from what I remember. They have a grill, for burgers and such, as well as a salad/wrap station and an always changing menu of specials. There is also a nice selection of quick food, like pre-packaged salads and snack foods. I loved getting the daily special for about $2 I believe. My favorite were the enchiladas. The chicken sandwich was pretty good too. If you’re working in Tomorrowland, Main Street USA, or even the main costuming building, this is probably your best bet for a decent meal. The building has two or three time clocks around it, as well as a really large eating area. There is seating inside, as well as on the porch. Below the porch is more seating, which is usually were the smokers like to hang out. If you look closely at this picture, you can see the Inn Between. It’s slightly to the left of the middle of the picture.

035 - 5/9/10

Happy Mother's Day! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! The weather is slowly getting nice here in Washington, but not nice enough! Tomorrow it's only supposed to be 60 AND it's going to rain. However, by Friday we are supposed to be in the 80s. Anyways, today's letter is H!

I’ve been to Hollywood quite a few times prior to DCP, so to me it really isn’t any big deal. However, if you’ve never been, it is definitely worth going. Going to see a movie at  El Capitan is a really cool experience. It’s right on Hollywood Boulevard, you can’t miss it. Jaime, my mom, and I saw Bolt there when it was playing. The tickets definitely aren’t cheap, but it’s a fun off-property Disney experience. Toy Story 3 will be running from June 18 - August 29. If you’re there in time, check it out! It’s also fun to see the stars on Hollywood Boulevard. I’m pretty sure Walt Disney has a star, along with a few Disney stars. If you have a car and want a fun adventure, buy a map of the stars’ homes and go on the hunt for a few of your favorite! The maps are about $10-20, but they’re pretty fun.

Haunted Mansion

If you’re doing the fall program, then most of the time your in California the Haunted Mansion will be all decked out in Nightmare Before Christmas attire. Before my DCP, I had never seen the Haunted Mansion Holiday, so it was a really awesome experience. Try to catch it once, before the change over happens in late September/early October. It amazes me how they can transform the Haunted Mansion into a completely different ride, practically overnight. I will say that the fall version is a lot less scary, at least in my opinion. Everything is more colorful, and all the Nightmare Before Christmas characters are hanging out. Another cool feature about the HMH is that every week, for thirteen weeks, a new advent is revealed on a huge advent calendar behind the loading area. Trust me, you can’t miss it!


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Live Portrait Painting Demonstration by Kerry Dunn

Event Description

Renowned Painter & Instructor

Will present a live portrait painting demonstration on the evening of

Tuesday, April 25

from 6 - 9 p.m.

The Malibu Playhouse

29243 Pacific Coast Hwy

Malibu, CA 902656

Pay at the door or...

To purchase tickets online, copy and paste link into your browser. You will be redirected to a secure payment gateway.

 Thank you!

General Admission: $20

Malibu Chamber Members: $15

Students: $10

Register to study with Kerry during a

5-Day Masterclass Portrait Painting Workshop
 Wed, April 26 - Sun. April 30

9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
 @ THE MALIBU PLAYHOUSE

CONTACT US for more information:


text:
20 June 2005

the weight of my decisions were impossible to hold... but they were never yours

there is something insanely sad about driving past your best friend's house and seeing the FOR SALE sign at the end of the driveway. damn, i'm gonna miss that pool... (sigh)

sometimes i wish there was a photographer that followed me around everywhere, taking pictures of moments that will mean much more long after they've happened. not like a lunatic paparazzi-like photographer, just someone who'd quietly follow me and take my picture without being seen. he'd have to be with me every second of the day, though, cause you never know when you're about to do something that will change your life forever. i want a record of those moments, i want to hold them in my hands and look at them and smile and hang them on the fridge. i want something concrete, something i can show people later, when i'm telling a story.

i'm obsessed with documenting things. you must know this by now... i'm still here, still posting, even thought this journal has gotten me into more than a little trouble. sometimes i wake up in the middle of the night and just HAVE to write SOMETHING, lest i forget by morning... you never know, it could be the most important and relevant and profound thing i'm ever going to think!

or i'll be driving and i'll be spacing out, right, and then suddenly i'll have this idea, this crazy awesome idea, like how to start the first paragraph of that novel i keep meaning to write... and i'll try to just kick it around in my head until i can't stop and write it down... especially if i have to be somewhere, you know? i can't just pull over... and then usually by the time i get to where i'm going, the idea is gone, that first paragraph is still unwritten, still a big question mark.

but when i can, i write down everything. at work, right after i get out of the shower, before bed, while i'm watching The Daily Show... it makes me crazy cause the words are screaming to get out. sometimes when i'm not alone and i'm trying to be quiet, i can hear the thoughts clawing the inside of my skull. i'm not crazy. i just need to bleed these thoughts before they overwhelm me.

i'm going off on a tangent. what i really wanted to mull over is that photographer... wouldn't that be great? i could look at those pictures later and be able to remember EVERYTHING, cause i'd have that visual, and the rest would just fall into place. i'd have everything else, the smells, tastes, sounds... i'd have this beautiful memory, enhanced by the photos... and i'd never forget anything.

so if you could have a photographer follow you around, what photos would be on your fridge?

i've got a couple i want to hang on to. see if you can figure who all is in them.

and i told you i'd warn you: now i'm going to reflect:

it was after school and we had just broken up and i was sitting on the front steps, crying in the sunshine. i called him because he was my best friend then and there was no one else i wanted to see more than him. his older brother drove him to my house and dropped him off and he came to the steps to sit with me. i asked him if he was thirsty and without waiting for his answer, i went into the house and brought out two glasses of Sunny Delight. we sat there on the steps for a long while and he listened to me while i talked and cried. there was a lull in the conversation and he put his drink down and wrapped his arms around me. SNAP.

we were sitting outside on his porch playing scrabble. the movie had just ended and we were talking about what we thought it was about. he was wearing his Eddie Bower tee shirt, the same one he was wearing last summer when i decided i didn't hate him. it was nice outside and he was winning and i lit a cigarette, only the third or so i'd had all day. inside, before the movie ended, i'd put on this silly straw cowboy hat that was sitting on the end-table next to the futon. he smiled at me, out there playing scrabble, and told me the hat suited me. SNAP.

it was hot and muggy and we were standing out on the causeway, it was dark. we were talking about the moon and how pretty is was reflecting over the water, and he said i was like the moon. i thought he was being a little sappy. we looked some more and talked and leaned against the concrete where people always go fishing. we were looking at the sky, and i spotted a shooting star, and pointed, so that he would see it too. he came forward and hugged me and i rested my head on his chest and breathed in the night air and thought that there wasn't a single other place on this planet i would have rather been at that second. SNAP.

he was leaving the next morning and i'd had too much to drink, WAY too much. i was so sick... i've never been as sick as i was then. he found me in his bedroom while the party was going on in the other room, just me and Peace Pipe, sharing a bottle of vodka. he knew i was going to be sick and he picked me up, carried me like a child to the bathroom, where he sat me down next to the toilet. i didn't want to throw up but he was forcing me to drink some milk, i just wanted to lay down and sleep. he was so worried. i threw up a little and rested my head on the toilet seat, trying to calm my stomach. he sat on the floor next to me, his back against the bathroom door, his head in his hands, and he was crying. SNAP.

we had been out that night, at the mall i think, i don't remember, it doesn't matter. it was dark and i had to be back and anyway we were both tired. we were driving thought the gate and i gave him my ID, which he handed to the MP, the MP looked at them and handed them back and we were on post. and he was telling me that he'd never spent time alone with a girl whom he was only friends with. and we were alone, we'd been alone all evening, and i didn't catch what he was trying to say so i asked him, as he was handing me back my ID. our hands touched and he grasped my fingers and held on. i looked over from our hands to his eyes and understood. SNAP.

From: _______
to: Starfish1130
Subject: Opposite of guilt
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 9:10:40 PM Eastern Standard Time

I am glad that you blush. That makes me happy. It's not that I am walking on eggshells, it's more like carrying eggs. I know you will hate to hear this, but I think you are fragile. Not little girl fragile. Not weak fragile. Like puppy fragile. You like to play rough, but you still need lots of love and affection. And I want to give you that love and affection. That and kisses.

next time you see me, give me a hug.

- Taking Back Sunday "This Photograph Is Proof" -

No comments:


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Friday, October 31, 2008

Weird? Strange? Funny? ME? Surely not....

Kathy says, " Okay, I've now tagged you to post 7 strange, weird or funny things about yourself. Have at it."

Weird? Strange? Funny? ME? Surely not....

1. When I go to buy a book, a newspaper, a magazine, or anything else like that (for that matter, a carton of cream at the store), I will NEVER take the top one. I'll dig down in the stack to find the perfect one. If it's a book or a newspaper or a magazine, it needs to be PRISTINE---no curled edges or dog-eared corners or messed-up pages. PRISTINE. Obviously, this does not apply to used books, which I just love and have no issue with any of the above if present in a used book. Correspondingly, if I get a magazine or newspaper at home, it makes me mad as hell if anybody touches it before I get it (but I'll be glad to pick up somebody ELSE'S *USED* one and thumb through it, doesn't bother me at all.)

I won't buy the dairy product in the front of the case, I dig back further in for a "really cold" one. This tends to annoy the dairy manager at the local H-E-B.

2. I can't stand for the sheets to be tucked in. Cannot stand it. The very first thing I do upon arrival at a hotel (well, second thing, see #3 below) is pull all the sheets out loose. I never tuck the sheets in on the unusual occasion of making my bed at home, either.

3. I'm allergic to feathers (well, I'm allergic to many things). All the hotels have gone to "luxurious" feather pillows, and I can't sleep with them in the room. I have to call a porter to have them taken out. I carry my own foam pillow in my suitcase with my CPAP wrapped in it. (Yes, I've tried calling in advance to have the feathers removed, but that's never worked yet.). Oh, and some "high end" hotels think goose-down duvets are the ticket. Not for me.

4. I love "I Love Lucy". It's still one of my favourite shows. I've seen them all at least 1,000,000 times (and counting). My TiVo is set to record it. I can tune in any time and still just guffaw. I watched one last night; they were leaving Hollywood, Ricky sold the car, and forgot to buy the Mertz's train tickets home. Fred Mertz bought a motorcycle with a sidecar and they were preparing to drive off on it (in full leather and goggles) when Fred got it into reverse and backed up into a wall. Hirarious.

My two dogs are "Lucy and Ethel". Go figure.

5. I was supposed to be born on February 1. I was born February 11 and have been late ever since. There is no reason. Contrary to all the psych textbooks, it's not an attempt to assert dominance. I'm just lazy and push my time limits right up TO the limit. I'm supposed to be at work at 8:00, so I head for the shower at 7:30, roll in around 8:20. Everybody tells me I'll be late to my own funeral.

I certainly hope so.

6. (i think this is a "getting old" thing, but nevertheless...) I have my little routine in the mornings and I do not like it varied AT ALL. Not even a little. It needs to be the SAME.

Alarm at 6:00. I get up, go to bathroom, head to kitchen. "Hello, dogs, hello, dogs" (they are always glad to see me), "do y'all want to go out?" (they always do). Let them out.

Make coffee (this MUST be EXACT). Coffee brand: Community (Red Label, Dark Roast, Whole Bean). Grind Coffee. While coffee is grinding, pour in water from Brita pitcher (not the damn tap! Ewww!). Put in filter, coffee, push "brew".

Head for sink. I do not like to do dishes after eating at night, so they're in there in the morning. I don't mind doing them in the A.M. so do that, cleaning up kitchen generally.

Head for dog food. Dish out dog food. Let dogs back in. "Hello, dogs, hello, dogs, are you hungry?" (they always are).

Dogs must be fed in this wise: CoCo has to go back in his "house" because he grouches everybody else. Ethel will lie down to eat hers, with one leg on each side of the bowl. Maggie will only eat if Lucy is in my lap, so she has to wait till I get situated.

Go back to back part of house, knock on Nathan's door, get a growled/moaned/face in pillow "I'm up, I'm up!" (he's not).

Back to kitchen, pour cup of coffee (5 splenda's, heavy cream, coffee), head for den/recliner. Hit recliner, invite Lucy into lap (so Maggie can eat), turn on "Morning Joe" on MSNBC.

(around this time, Nathan staggers in semi-consciously, pours his own, and plops down in the other recliner).

Once Ethel and Maggie are done, put Lucy down and let her eat. Then let CoCo out and let him eat. Mayhem ensues when CoCo and Lucy try to kill each other.

Nathan kindly fixes breakfast. I eat. Let ALL dogs out again (to run and bark) and head for bathroom to get ready (it's now 7:30 and I'm late again).

When on the road, I replicate this as closely as possible, right down to taking my own coffee and coffee maker if I'm in the car.

7. I make a mean bloody mary, but these days I tend toward plain old Dewars and water.

The Fourth

Ok, KBeau tagged me, so I'll play. This should be a snap, right? Just post the 4th picture in the 4th album and tell about it. What could be more simple?

Yeah, well, ok.

I have this thing about photography. I love pictures. I love taking them and I love looking at both mine and those of other people.

I also have two computers, home and work. I also have two external hard drives at home. They are supposed to be mirrored (but they aren't...). Additionally, I have two different Picasa Web Albums (it's a long story and very boring...) and a Photobucket account with a "main" album and many sub-albums.

So, like Kathy, I'll just post them ALL.

Work computer (the one from which I'm posting now):

This is probably the most interesting out of the whole bunch. I took this with my Blackberry in downtown Detroit, Michigan when I was there last (some time in September, 2008). Our company has a big Detroit operation, so there is a sizeable Detroit contingent in the Corporate Office in Houston. One of them is a good friend of mine. I told him, when I go to a city, I like to go to something that really captures the "feel" of the city. I've been to Detroit many times while working for U. S. Concrete (I seem to have more problems up there than in NYC, LA, or Dallas), but most of the time, I stay out in the burbs* and eat at the J. Alexander's on 7 Mile across 275 from the hotel.

I like J. Alexander's just fine, but there's one down Westheimer from my house in Houston that is almost identical to the one at Perimeter Mall in Atlanta which is almost identical to the one in Addison which is almost identical to the one in Century City which is almost identical to the one in Brentwood, TN---well, you get the point.

Anyway, I asked my buddy Tom (a native of Grosse Pointe), "Where would you send me to get the "Ultimate Detroit Experience"? And this is where he sent me---Lafayette's Coney Island. Not the other place next door---Lafayette's. He also told me exactly what to order---3 Coney Dogs with chili, cheese, and onion (I tended to think the term "Coney" came from Coney Island, where Nathan's invented the Hot Dog, but Detroit claims it for their own). Each of these two crazy little hole-in-the-wall places has its own passionate fans, and before a Red Wings game the place is supposed to be insane. I went after work on a Tuesday and it was deserted. Still, a slice of Detroit (which is different from the south....).

*NOBODY is "from" Detroit. If you ask any of them where they are from, it's ALWAYS "I'm from Farmington Hills" "I'm from Grosse Pointe" "I'm from Auburn Hills" "I'm from NOVI"**
"I'm from Livonia". NOBODY says, "Detroit". When somebody asks me where I'm from, I just say, "Houston", not "Westchase" or "West Houston" or "the Energy Corridor" (all of which apply). They don't want to be associated with Detroit at all.

**NOVI (pronounced Nov-eye) was the 6th stop on the train from downtown Detroit---No. VI. It's now a "chic" burb.

Home Computer:

Home Sweet Home. I went out and took a bunch of pictures the day before Hurricane Ike hit (in case I needed to prove anything to the insurance company). I'm sure glad this nice shot of the front was the 4th picture, I took pictures of everything inside including the closets. No need for everybody in the world to see my messy closet (or to know that Imelda Marcos has nothin' on me in the shoe department).

External Hard Drive Number 1:

Dad, at Aunt Shorty's, with her "dog". That is not much of a "dog"; JR Marlow would refer to it as "snake food". Nevertheless, there it is. The dog's name is "Punkin". ALL of Aunt Shorty's dogs for the last 20 years have been "Punkin". This is either Punkin III or Punkin IV, I'm not sure which.

External Hard Drive #2:

If you don't know where this is, there is a sign in the middle of the upper deck (on the front of what was the old pressbox before there WAS an upper deck) that will give you a clue.

Last spring, I signed up for an industry conference that was going to be held at Walt Disney World the last week in September/First week of October. I thought, since I already had MY trip paid for, it would be fun to take Nathan (who is a WDW freak) along as a tour guide.

Well, after we got all the plans made, the company pulled the plug on the trip (and all other non-essential travel; the economy sucks). I had really gotten myself all fired up and ready to go, and Nathan wanted to go too, so we just took a week vacation and went to Walt Disney World. I LOVED it and would recommend it to anyone (I was surprised, really; I thought I was "over" that sort of thing but I guess not).

My favourites (you'll be surprised): Soarin, The Carousel of Progress, It's a Small World, and the Rockin RollerCoaster.

Soarin' is absolutely one of the most fun things I've ever done, and I wanted to just stay there and go again and again and again. Nathan was accomodating and we must've ridden that thing 25-30 times while there. It's an amazing ride; you strap into an airline-like seat; the hoist cantilevers you up into the middle of a half-sphere IMAX 360 screen, where you then "Soar" (hang glide) over California. It's just plain amazing. I couldn't get enough.

Carousel of Progress and It's a Small World were rides "imagineered" by Walt Disney himself, for the 1964 World's Fair. Both were just charming.

The Rockin' RollerCoaster--0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds (same as an F-14), then immediately into an upside-down in-the-dark loop while Aerosmith screams in the background. 'Nuff said.

(And I did take the picture; it was one of the first I took; the fourth, in fact...).

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Travels with my CPAP

First, let's get this established: a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) device is the coolest thing since sliced bread (ok, even I at my advanced age really don't remember UN-sliced bread, but I digress). I call it the "Magic Sleep Machine".

In 2006, I thought I was at the end of my rope. I could not lie down in the bed at all. My airflow would be cut off and I would panic. I had multiple panic attacks per night. This, if you've never had one, is a bad thing.

Because I wasn't sleeping, I couldn't perform many of the normal functions of life. I had progressed from sleeping in the bed (like a normal person) to sleeping on the couch, to sleeping on the couch propped up on many pillows, to sleeping in the recliner, to sleeping in the recliner straight-up, to just plain not sleeping. I was in a stupor most of the time.

I finally broke down and let the doctor run a sleep study; it changed my life. I woke up from it feeling WONDERFUL. Why? It was the first time I'd actually SLEPT in over TWO YEARS.

The day I got out of my sleep study was October 31, 2006. I went to the medical supply place and picked up my CPAP machine, and I have spent less than 5 nights without it since (those 5 nights being when I had forgotten it).

Which brings us to the topic: Travels with my CPAP, or, my Magic Sleep Machine.

First, forgetting it is a really bad thing. I literally will turn around and drive back home for it if I am within *100* miles of home and realize it is not in the car. It's that important.

Now, try to take a CPAP on an AIRPLANE----well, all hell breaks loose.

First, it's a rather ungainly device, pictured here. There's this long hose with a mask attached, and (one of my pet peeves about everything electronic) why, oh why must the adapter be the size of a small loaf of bread!??!

Since the thing costs over $1,000, you wouldn't dare check it; you have to carry it on.

When I travel, it's on business. I've got my little plastic baggie (thanks, Homeland Security, I feel all safe now....) full of tiny sizes of deodorant, toothpaste, and other essentials which cost the same as the giant econo-sized versions I have at home; I have my briefcase, with laptop (and adaptor, and air card, and phone charger (wall and car) and all the man-purse stuff I carry like my inhaler and dental floss and tic-tac (spearmint, if you must know). Plus, I'm superstitious enough about the airlines losing my bag that I carry on a change of underwear and one clean shirt.

This leaves me just enough room for the CPAP.

Ok, so i get to the security area, show my ID and boarding pass (to a very suspicious TSA rentacop! He done gradiated the 6th grade, like Jethro Bodine, and he's responsible for my SAFETY!), and get to the staging area.

America is still a wide and varied land. You think the airports are all standardized, but trust me, they are not. Some (like Houston Hobby) have these nice, long tables for your undressing ease. Others, like LAX, have these incredibly tiny little staging areas.

The CPAP has to go in its own little tub. No sharing, nosirree!

When you get the CPAP in its tub, the laptop in its tub, the personal articles including belt and shoes in their own tub, the real fun begins.

A wild-eyed TSA rentacop shouts (at the absolute top of their lungs) "WHOSE CPAP IS THIS!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!" "Mine", I mutter meekly (You will be assimilated; resistance is futile). "SIR, I'M GOING TO HAVE TO CHECK THIS "DEVICE" OUT, PLEASE FOLLOW ME!!!" (I'm standing right here, you don't have to shout it to the entire airport; besides (here it comes, but don't tell anybody) I've traveled before.

After they're done, they throw the CPAP at you and want you gone and like now. The magic happens when you get the hose (which acts like a vacuum cleaner hose) caught in the zipper of your bag and you get a hole (that right there is a new hose, $75).

While I'm on this particular subject, I've figured out what it is I hate about air travel. First, I used to LOVE air travel. I still love the sensation of flight. On our recent trip to Walt Disney World, I couldn't get enough of "Soarin". We did it 25 times or more in a week.

What I hate about modern plane travel, I've finally decided, is the shouting.

From the moment you arrive at the airport until the moment you are safely away, you are shouted at.

IF YOU HAVE A LAPTOP, YOU MUST TAKE THE LAPTOP OUT OF THE BAG. SIR!!! SIR!!!! IS THAT A LAPTOP?! (Yes, you freaking moron, I've got it out of the bag and am placing my horribly expensive computer with my irreplaceable data on it on the conveyor for you to throw around like it was a rag doll).

All this has made me tired. I think I'll go turn my Magic Sleep Machine and drift off to La-La Land.

(Malvie is traveling this weekend, and for the next two weeks, but he's going via Chrysler, which doesn't care if he has a Magic Sleep Machine or not)

One more thing

Mother loved the beach. When we were going through her things, there were boxes upon boxes of shells she'd picked up at the beach when they lived in Corpus Christi. She was crazy about the south Texas beaches---until she discovered Florida.

Navarre Beach, Florida made her happier and more content than I have ever seen her. She loved it there (we all did).

Here's a picture from the last "good" Navarre trip, before the big stroke that began the penultimate chapter of her life (2004---2008).

Speaking of going through their things, do your children a favour: get rid of ALL of it before they have to do it. We sifted through literally hundreds of boxes of Mother and Dad's things (mostly Mother's). There was the Santa Claus collection (she loved Christmas, she loved Santa, she loved Santa figurines, and there were hundreds of them). There was the bunny collection (she loved bunnies, she loved bunny figurines, and she collected thousands of them).

I have a large house, twice the size of Mother and Dad's in Malvern; my sister has a much larger house than mine. We filled ours up with those family mementos without which we couldn't live---and still there were more cartons. Hundreds. Boxes and boxes. I have 3 boxes full of pictures that I know are family---but they aren't labeled and I don't know who they are.

It's amazing what we accumulate and why. I had a huge garage sale earlier this year (over $1,000) and still have tons of junque.

I figure, it's a Rachel-David-Nathan problem.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

How odd

Somehow, I had the idea that my first blog post would be uplifting, or funny, or a subtle jab at life's funny little moments.

Instead, I find myself writing from a point of wistful sadness. As I write, my mother lies strapped to a bed in a hospital in San Antonio, Texas, launched on the journey on which we all must travel---or should I say, approaching the end of the journey on which we all are traveling.

Her brain---that brain which could cause fingers to fly over a keyboard, launch a thousand wisecracks, outwit and outsmart those lesser endowed---is in an "advancing state of atrophy." This is cool medical talk for "shutting down" or, more appropriately, "dying". She will live out her last days on this earth in one of three modes: intense pain from sources as yet undiagnosed; under the influence of drugs which eliminate the pain but cause hallucinations (there are spiders on the bed, snakes on the ceiling, her gown is burning, a huge spider is sitting on her legs), or completely unconscious, feeling no pain but feeling----nothing----

The kind doctors and nurses have done their best; even now, they are working to find some combination of drugs that will enable her to be semi-conscious as she lives out her remaining few days. She's receiving excellent care; unfortunately, the doctors have been so far unsuccessful in their quest.

We elected to refuse to allow them to insert a feeding tube. We're going to spare her that little indignity.

As long as I think of the lady lying in the bed, I'm fine.

It's when I remember "My Mother" that I get into deep water.

"Tootsie" Tarkington (pronounced "toot" as in, "toot toot went the train whistle") was a freaking hoot. She had this funny, warped sense of humor and could crack wise with the best of them. She liked fast cars and football and dogs. She loved a good party. She loved to dance and was good at it. She had friends all over, never met a stranger, and could talk a blue streak with anyone and everyone. She never met a stranger.

She married my Dad when she was 16 and he was 19; they'd known each other two whole weeks (and they eloped---on Valentine's Day). Her stepfather met my Dad on the steps holding a shotgun; she walked past him with her suitcase, got on Dad's Harley, and never looked back.

She worked at the bomb factory in North Little Rock, Arkansas during the war, making bombs. She endured the death of her first child, moved to Texas with Dad, and went to work for Southwestern Bell as an operator. He had a bell-shaped locket made, inscribed "Love my telephone girl" that she wore forever. Until last Monday, when she fell and was taken to the hospital, she wore her "original" wedding ring---his high school class ring.

As of this writing, they've been married 66 years.

Church was something (we found out later) she endured for Dad's sake. She'd get up on Sunday morning and start getting ready on time, but somehow the time would slip away from her and she'd get late. It took one hour and one can of Self-Styling Adorn to get her hair ready to go; then there was all of the other paraphernalia she had to endure to get ready. Of course, she also had to fix her own mother's hair, her daughter's, and try to make sure her son was at least reasonably presentable. Dad, meanwhile, would put on the roast (this took him about 15 minutes), do his own prep work (another 15), and read the Sunday paper. He'd start checking his watch (more on this aspect in another post) about an hour prior to "drop dead" drive-out time, and would remind her (with gentle bellows from the den) of the time she had remaining. By the time we actually got in the car, we were of course late; my sister and I had likely run into "the hairbrush" (see below), and Grannie was (in her own words) "sulled up". Mother, of course, would be mad as a hornet and Dad oblivious.

The hairbrush. It was pearl-coloured, large, and really had a serious tendency to hurt when it came in contact with your posterior or whatever part of your anatomy she could reach with it. Dad preferred that she refer discipline problems to him; really, you'd prefer that she used the hairbrush and got it over with.

She had that big hairbrush because she had that beautiful hair. As long as I remember, she had a long ponytail (usually down to her waist) that she'd style up into a french twist for dress-up. She tried every hairdresser everywhere we lived, but she never found one she liked (indeed, she found many she despised), so she wound up growing it out and doing it herself. Even now, she still has that long snow white hair. It started out reddish-auburn-brown, then salt-and-pepper, then white. Mine is the same colour (I'm in the salt-and-pepper stage); in fact, it used to amuse both of us that she could comb her long hair into mine and you couldn't tell where hers started and mine stopped.

She loved dogs and was never without one except for the last couple of years (she made do with mine). "One" is an interesting number, because occasionally it really was "one" but usually was 3 or 4, however many she could talk Dad into letting her keep.

Mother loved popcorn and Coca-Cola's. On Sunday night we'd all pile up in the den and watch (in LIVING COLOR!) in order: Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, Bonanza, and Ed Sullivan. Mother would pop up a bunch of popcorn (everybody got their own bowl!) and we would get our WEEKLY (wonder what the kids would say to this now!?) "King Size" Coca-Cola.

Fast cars: she never was without one. Whatever the biggest, baddest engine Chevrolet put in an automobile, she wanted it. When she wanted to go, she wanted to GO. She'd lay a peal a block long in a Chevrolet Station Wagon (her favourite, and mine, was the 1970 Kingswood Estate with the 454 4-barrel Turbo-Jet V8) heading out with the kids in the car. Her favorite speed was "floored until I come upon something I can pass." Now, this did not extend to her SON; she wanted me to toe the straight and narrow; threatened to divorce Dad if he allowed me to go off to college in the SS 396---so he got me a VEGA---but for herself, well, hell's bells, she knew how to handle the power!

Her last car was a 2003 5.0 Mustang; we immediately dubbed her "Mustang Sally", telling her she'd "better slow that Mustang down". Her car before that was an 89 Lincoln, the "Hot Rod Lincoln", also with a 5.0. Dad gave up on the tickets.

Funny---when I got in ticket trouble (which was frequent), it was Mother I called to bail me out. She would grumble and bitch and give me the money and say, "You're lucky I don't tell your Daddy about this." And I was....

When I was 5, my father came outside in the back yard to work with his bird dog (Sheba). I, as usual, was riding on my swingset, and hollering (at the top of my lungs) my new word for the day: SHIT! "Shit shit shit, shit shit shit, shit SHIT shit shit shit!" (Jingle bells tune). Dad: "WHAT are you saying????" "Shit!" "Where did you learn that!?" (Roaring). "Um, Mother says it?"

And now she's lying there in the hospital.

I miss you, Mom.


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Friday, August 2, 2013

Rocking my world Friday

Well I am a bit late posting this week, but if I get this done and dusted within the next hour, then it will still be Friday, so here goes!
We continue to have weather too hot to be doing much, so firstly I am thankful that I don't have too much that has to be done! This week we have had late lunches, lots of siestas, and a few nice outings to break the time up.

On Monday we went across to Cucador (twenty minutes drive from here) to visit some friends. We spent a pleasant hour on their porch, drinking tea (very English of us!), and putting the world to rights.

Most afternoons I sit out on our porch for a couple of
hours. It is shady there, so I let the dogs into the fly-screened area, and I either do some crocheting or cross-stitch. So I am including this photo for my sister. She bought the kit for me in UK and sent it out, so I thought I'd let her see how I am getting on with it. I expect my hot hands are making it a bit grubby so I will need to give it a wash when it is finished. Not that that will be any time soon. It is a monochrome picture. Talk about 50 shades of grey! I need my eyes to be functioning and my brain to be in gear to work on it! You can just see my blue-eyed friend Foxy peeking over the arm of the settee to see what the camera is out for this time!

After my sewing group on a Wednesday morning, some of the girls go on to a bar for lunch, but normally I go straight home because myLife Group meets in the afternoon. But we are having a short break for the summer, so this week I joined them. This is my lunch. Brie and bacon in a ciabatta roll with quails eggs, and red cabbage coleslaw. Isn't it fun? I think it's looking at me!

Here is a little visitor to my garden this week. It is a baby praying mantis. They are very welcome because they eat the bugs, (as long as my cats don't eat them first!). This little one was jumping around on a terra-cotta pot. She measures less than half a centimetre but she's perfect in every way!

When I had finished my shopping in Turre I decided to drive on a futher few kilometres to Mojacar Pueblo. This is a little white, Moorish village set on top of a hill, overlooking Mojacar Playa. (It took me a while to learn this one, but Mojacar actually sounds like Mo-hacker). I always park in a designated area below the back of the village and walk up, but I was very surprised when I rounded the first corner to see this sign.

It is saying that they are sorry for the disruption  caused while they build an escalator to make the village more accessible. I had read about this project, but in the current financial climate I expected it to remain a pipe dream for a few years yet. But the men were hard at work on it for now.

It will indeed be a real asset. Normally I climb up a long flight of steep, uneven stone steps where this building site is, and then collapse on the wall at the top to recover! The alternative is quite a long walk round the side of the village, which is, of course, what I had to do today.
I had a little browse around the shops. The village is a tourist destination for coach trips, so many of the shops cater for these visitors, but tucked in between them there are some lovely little independent shops which are a treasure trove of goodies once your eyes have adjusted from the bright sunlight to the dark interiors.

Then I found myself outside Iglesia de Santa Maria. Dating from 1560, it is an unprepossessing square building, not overly sensitively renovated, but I happened to pass just at midday and the bells started to chime. I stopped to listen and they played 'Ave Maria,, which was lovely.

As I left the village to walk back down to the car, I took a photo of this view. It is looking down from the plaza to the agricultural land around the hill, and on to sea at the Playa.

I have done some craft this week and one thing I am pleased about is that I have successfully done my first piece of vinyl cutting on my Silhouette machine. I talked to a lovely Spanish lady from my village who, with her partner, runs a sign making company, from their home. She gave me some off-cuts of vinyl to experiment with and I took my finished card up to show her. She was not used to seeing work on this scale, as they mainly make signage for cars and vans, and I had fun trying to explain transfer paper to her in my limited Spanish. Nuria speaks no English. But I think we got there! This is the card I made which is for my brother's birthday next week.

On my craft blog this week I showed another double-spread for a week in my Project Life album. Lots of people were interested in it, so, to end with, I'll show a different week here. I have picked one at random from my file and it happens to be the week my grandson was out here in May.

I just have to tidy up the last page I made and then I will be right up to date with it again.
Well I have finished with 15 minutes to spare, so I will rush over to Celtic House and link this up. I hope you have plenty of positive thoughts to rock your world too.

  1. Sounds like another busy week for you and how lovely to be sitting in the shade on your porch doing your sewing

  2. What a lovely part of the world you live in. I agree with Suzy, lovely to sew in the shade!

  3. Gosh, what a busy week but at least you were able to be 'busy' at your own pace.
    Super photos and wonderful to be able to sit outside and stitch.

    Toni xx

  4. Wow fabulous week, I love the little village and that the independent shops are surviving in amongst the tourist places. The escalator sounds like an amazing idea - we've often jokingly said such a thing when we've visited hard to reach places, didn't think anyone would make it a reality! I love the photo of the tiny praying mantis - how cute is her (or she). Loving also what you did with your silhouette machine - the card is amazing! Your project life book looks fabulous! Hope the next week is as beautiful and blessed! Hugs

  5. A great week! Even if that Praying Mantis did eat the bugs I don't think I could bear it around me - creepy! Some lovely photos - wishing you another great week :)

  6. I so love reading your Rocking Fridays - it's so informative. I thought praying mantis's were so much bigger and I'm so impressed at your living in another culture and getting on like that (and learning the language! it peeves me when people don't bother when they move to another country.)I bet those bells sounded beautiful

    Gorgeous card so intricate and delicate and yet perfect for a man card :)

    Have a lovely week Kate.

    p.s Love the Project Life - I keep wanting to try that!

  7. Hi Kate very interesting post .
    Love reading about your travels .Thanks for sharing these titbits

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Monday, August 2, 2010

Life Lessons by The Spice Girls

As a little girl I sang Spice Girls songs at the top of my lungs every possible moment of my life. Walking to school, waiting in line to go into class, at recess, at detention, in the shower, at dinner, probably even in my sleep. I had no idea what they were even singing about half the time. 10+ years later, I am still in love! I went to their concert in college & balled my eyes out. hehe. I was listening to their music this morning, and their music still touches me, if not more. Songs on repeat and why...

Never Give Up On the Goodtimes

"Never give up on the goodtimes, believe in the love you find. Never give up on the goodtimes, Livin' it up is a state of mind. "

The words speak for themselves. A lovely mantra that anyone would benefit from.

"She used to be my enemy and never let me be free. Catching me in places I shouldn't be. Every other day, I'd cross the line. I didn't mean to be so bad. I never thought you would become the friend I never had. I had alot of time to think about, about the way I used to be. Never had a sense of my responsibility. "

'Cuz I just about killed my momma with my crazy antics, and in the end she's always the last man standing.

"Goodbye my friend. It's not the end. The times when we would play about, The way we use to scream and shout. We never drempt you'd go your own sweet way."

To all the bitches who used to be in my life. I miss them and wish them all well.

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