2002-08-04 - 11:46 p.m. Stay tuned......tomorrow I will tell you all about The Festival of Chariots, the most amazing drum-in and getting henna'd. But for now I must go to bed......festivals are hard!!!! Goodnight all! comments??? (1 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2002-08-04 - 12:38 p.m. In persuit of the perfect cup of instant coffee (hey! I like instant, OK??!).....I have done a little experiment.....and the results are Shocking!!! For the past year, I have been using one of those water filter things that's right on the faucet.....thinking that this would give me cleaner water and therefore, better coffee. But lately I've been noticing that when I put the instant creamer (yes, instant!) it sort of gets a film...it almost looks like it has curdled. So I'm thinking that maybe the water filter needs to be replaced.....but, as it turns out, that particular replacement filter isn't made anymore! This is no big deal, though, because I also have one of those water filter pitchers. So I start making coffee with that water, and I notice that the coffee seems better. Are you still with me here???! Ok, so then one morning, I realize that the water pitcher is empty....and since I'm too lazy to refill it just then, I decide to use tap water!! Yes...the dreaded water straight from the tap....unfiltered! Oh dread! It was the BEST cup of instant coffee I've had in years!!!! I couldn't believe it! I've been using filtered water all this time for nothing!! Still, I wasn't completely convinced....I mean, how could this be?? So this morning I made my coffee with bottled water. It turned out to be the worst cup of coffee yet! Amazing. So there you go.....you can just throw away all those filters! and stop buying all those bottles of mountain spring water! Tap water tastes best. Shocking!!! comments??? (1 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2002-08-03 - 7:54 p.m. Alright...from this point forth, I declare that I will take one day off from blogging each week. And this is because of 2 reasons: 1. I didn't have my camera with me today....otherwise, I would have a fabulous post! (will try again tomorrow). 2. I'm finding that most of you read me during the week.....my stats say that almost nobody checks in on the weekends! Given that...I think I should be allowed a day off once in a while! So I'm going to take Saturdays off...or Sundays....unless I find something absolutely fabulous to post about....which would probably happen, if only I'd carry my camera every where I go! Now stay tuned for my upcoming posts on the Hare Krishna and Tony Bennett!! comments??? (1 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2002-08-02 - 10:00 p.m. There is a neighborhood near where I live in Los Angeles, full of expensive houses....all hanging on the side of a cliff...all overlooking the ocean. I dare say, many of these houses cost well over a million dollars. Often, I'll take walks up there because everything is so beautiful and pristine...every yard is meticulously landscaped with exotic plants, and it's rare to ever see anyone else up there......except "The Swami!" It seems, no matter what time of day I pass by, "The Swami" is always there. He sits all day on the sidewalk in front of one of those expensive houses....looking like a derilect begging for money. (I've often wondered why the owner of that house would just let him sit there day after day.) He has long scraggly hair, long gray beard, looks like he's been in the sun wayyyy too long, and his clothes don't look too clean.....basically, he is really out of place in that exclusive neighborhood. I call him "The Swami" because he just looks like one of those cartoon caricatures (and I don't mean to be politically incorrect here at all!) So I was completely, totally shocked tonight, when I found out that this guy actually owns that million dollar house!!! Yes, I know that old phrase, "You can't judge a book by it's cover." I live by it! But, still, I was amazed. And now it's bothering me that I ever thought those thoughts about that guy! But then again.... the guy sits out on the sidewalk, looking like a beggar (he has a yard, but pefers to sit on the sidewalk....so everyone has to walk around him)........what's up with that?? Hmmmm..... comments??? (0 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2002-08-02 - 12:45 a.m. I was hoping the Friday Five would help pull me out of my "no~nothing~good~to say~writer's block"....but, I must say, the Five is a complicated one this week! Well, here goes anyway...I'll give it a shot! 1. What is your lineage? Where are your ancestors from? No one in my family really knows for sure. On both sides of my family, there were divorces and remarriages way back at the turn of the century...and a couple more along the way....leaving us with a very incomplete history. A lot of people think my family name is French or Belgian...but recently, I found that it might actually be British! There is one bit of trivia in my lineage, however, that I have always treasured: supposedly, somewhere down the line, I had a great uncle who was a brain surgeon....but he was also a gambler. Legend has it that he also owned an amusement park.....until he lost it in a card game!!! 2. Of those countries, which would you most like to visit? Well, I've been to London, and liked it quite a bit....hopefully, I'll go back someday. But I've not yet been to France....so that's on my list of places I should go. 3. Which would you least like to visit? Why? This question doesn't really apply...except that I hate to fly....and all of the European places that my family is supposed to be from, require flying!!!! 4. Do you do anything during the year to celebrate or recognize your heritage? Since my family has such a mixed "heritage", we've never had any "traditions." We get together on holidays, but that's about it. I've always been impressed when my friends have traditions, rituals, or even specific foods that go with their heritage.....I'm always fascinated by that, and wish my family was a little more "together" in this area. 5. Who were the first ancestors to move to your present country (parents, grandparents, etc)? The only thing I really know about, is when my mom moved from Calgary, Canada to Seattle, WA. Beyond that...I have know idea of when my ancestors moved to the US. I only know my mom's story, because she has told it to me one hundred times....but still it is funny. She was led to believe that the streets would all be paved with gold in America (of course, she was just a small child...and really believed it!). And she was sooo disappointed when she got here! comments??? (2 so far...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ previous - next Of course, you know, all of this is copy right protected. None of this information may be reproduced without my permission.