M is for Magnetism

Magnetism, as you recall from physics class, is a powerful force that causes certain items to be attracted to refrigerators.

Dave Barry

This quote was brought to you by Alphabe-Thursday's letter M. To read other M links, just click here.

Alphabe-Thursday's Letter M

Good morning class.

And now, welcome to round three of Alphabe-Thursday! Today we will be studying the magical letter:


Please link directly to your Alphabe-Thursday URL (if you don't know how to do this let me know!) and please continue to visit the five links before and after your link and leave a comment. Minimum of 10 links visited please. You can visit more if you like, of course.

I also want to let you know that each week I visit every blog. If it appears I haven't visited your blog by the following Thursday morning, please let me know! (This week I will be late visiting all the L's - my sincere apologies!)

If you have any difficulties with your link, please make sure to include the number of the link when you e-mail me. It is really difficult for me to find you easily otherwise.

If you have any questions about Alphabe-Thursday or problems doing your link just post it in a comment or send me an e-mail. I'll do my best to help you as quickly as I can.

The McLinkey will be live from 1:00 pm MST time Wednesday afternoon in an effort to assist our lovely "friends across the pond" and continue through 10:00 am MST time Friday morning!

And remember.... link back to this post, you need to be registered as a follower of my blog, PG posts only, and you must visit at least 10 other posts...perhaps consider starting from the last posts and work backwards. The links will stay live after the final post deadline has passed so you can even wait and visit over the weekend or whenever you have more time.

Please share your majestic link for the letter "M" now, class:

Stomp, stomp...grrrr...snarl...

Oops.

Sorry you had to see my temper like this.

I can't help it, though.

I was internet-less almost all day Tuesday.

Mr. Jenny has been working with our internet service provider and this is what he told me is wrong:

Blah, blah, blah packet loss blah, blah, blah splitter doing something blah, blah, blah, etc.

I think that translates to mean:

Stupid internet service provider and their ridiculous blah, blah packet loss means no internet for Jenny for almost two days. Yes, you read that right. Two. Days.

So...

I will be late visiting the rest of last weeks Alphabe-Thursday links...

And I will be crabby...


So...

...it's probably a good thing I can't come visit you anyway!

I'm going to go use someone elses computer to put up A-T for this week, so don't you worry you pretty little head about that.

For now, though, I will just stiffen my upper lip, straighten my shoulders and soldier on...

sniff, sniff...

See you on the other side of blah, blah packet loss blah, blah.

Sigh...

Story-Time Tuesday - Living Fiction

If you missed where this story started just click here to read it or simply click on the Story-Time Tuesday link at the top of my blog to take you to previous chapters.

Living Fiction - Chapter 43

Here's where Chapter 42 left you.

How do you learn that skill?

How do you learn to talk so people listen? And to get your own way in almost every circumstance? How do just steam roll over everyone like that? Up until now, I’d always thought of Millie as an irritant, but maybe Millie actually had something to teach me.

But I still wasn’t going to go around wearing bright yellow bird feathers and sequins. No matter what.

I turned around and knocked loudly on the door. If I was going to learn from Millie, I needed to fortify myself with caffeine before she arrived. I knocked again, even more loudly.

Edgar’s happy bark let me know Jessie would soon be there to let me back inside my own house.

And now, Chapter 43 Continues.

A moment later I saw Jessie walk into the kitchen with a quizzical look on her face. She looked even more surprised when she saw it was me framed in the window of the kitchen door.

Her incredulous, “Mom?” accompanied the opening of the door, as Edgar added his barking query.

“Thanks! I just locked myself out and now Millie is on the way over with a coffee cake! Quick! You still have about two minutes to escape!”

“Mom, how did you lock yourself out…again?”

Obviously, she had missed my panicked instructions to flee. “Well…it’s like this…I went outside and I forgot to UNLOCK the door, which means when I closed it behind me I got locked out.” Geez, that girl is so nosy. She always has to question every little detail.

She rolled her eyes at me.

Nosy AND disrespectful. Or maybe I was just taking her personally because I was crabby and a little embarrassed.

“Did you hear me? Millie is coming over in a few minutes…you need to make a break for it while you still …”

The knock at the door made the words ‘have a chance’ unnecessary. Escape was now out of the question. Jessie was trapped in the vortex of Millie’s irritating personality right along with me.

I plastered a smile on my face and invited her in. Princess yipped and yapped at me and then leapt nimbly from Millie’s arms to go terrorize Edgar. Have you ever noticed how dogs seem to take on the same characteristics of their owners? I don’t know too much about canines, but even I could see that Princess was really a mini-Millie.

Oddly, Jessie and Millie seemed almost happy to see each other. I was surprised to see the warm hugs they exchanged. Millie took the foil off the coffee cake and Jessie squeaked with delight. “Thank heavens you brought this over, Millie. I called off work this morning so I could finish a conversation with my Mom, and I was starving.”

When Millie turned to set the coffee cake pan on the counter, Jessie gave me a narrow eyed glance that I was certain translated to, ‘Yeah, try to wiggle out of this Mom.”

With great strength of will, I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at her. After all, maybe she wasn’t really giving me the stink eye. Perhaps her eyes were just tired or something.

I set out the container of fat-free half and half and three mugs, including the ‘From Texas with Love’ one that had been the catalyst for this morning’s circus. Throwing some plates, forks and napkins onto the table along with the glass carafe of fragrant coffee was the least I could do as the hostess of this impromptu get together.

Millie asked for a knife to cut her cake, and when I got up to grab one, she rudely took my Texas coffee mug.

It figures.

But at least her selfish act of grabbing the best mug reminded me that I was going to try to learn a few lessons from her about being assertive.

I took a bite of Millie’s cinammon fragrant coffee cake which was almost, but not quite, as good as my own recipe, and then I dove right in.

“Millie? You always seem like a person who knows what she wants…”

Millie looked up from sipping her coffee and seemed a little surprised. “Heavens, Pearl. I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Welllll…I guess I mean…ummm…okay…like this morning, when I said it was too early for company and you just ignored me and…”

Jessie looked surprised.

Millie looked hurt. “Pearl? Didn’t you want me to come over…I so, so, so remember asking you if you wouldn’t like to share my coffee cake and…”

I interrupted her, and tried to soften my observation. “No, no, I did want you to come over…well…okay…maybe I didn’t, but then I thought of how darned bossy you are and…”

Jessie’s startled, “Mom!” stopped me for a second, but then I remembered I was trying to learn to say what I mean and mean what I say.

“Okay, Millie. I didn’t really mean bossy…what I meant to say is that you always know what you want and you don’t care who you have to steamroll over to get it and…OUCH!”

Jessie had kicked me, hard, under the table. She made a slashing motion across her throat. It took me a micro-second to realize she wanted me to shut up.

I started to back down and then I told myself, “No, Pearl. You need to be more assertive. Quit letting people tell you what to do!”

Despite the throbbing in my shin, I continued fearlessly, “Millie? Listen. I don’t think I’m saying this right. What I want to ask you is…well…I think I need some help. You just seem to have everything all together. You know your style! You know what you want! You know how to talk so people listen! You know how to get your own way! You know? Millie? Millie! Are you…oh my gosh, are you crying? Millie! No, no! I’m complimenting you…oh Millie!”

But Millie’s tears continued to drip, which given the sheer volume of mascara she was wearing was not a pretty sight.

I jumped up to get some Kleenex and in the process knocked my coffee cup over. It spread across the table like a tsunami heading for Millie’s yellow rayon clad lap! Frankly, I was worried. What would happen if the hot coffee made contact? Spontaneous combustion? Fortunately, I didn’t find out because Jessie, with the quick reflexes of youth, threw a pile of napkins onto the hot liquid.

All three of us let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Now, what were we talking about?” Jessie said in a perky voice after she had thrown the soggy pile of napkins into the sink, “Oh, yes! We were talking about the weather. Right, Mom?”

I almost took the easy way out. I almost just said, “Why, yes, Jessie. Yes, we were talking about the weather.” Millie had quit crying while Jessie and I had cleaned up the coffee. When I glanced at her mascara smeared face, I almost remarked on the barometer but I couldn’t do it. I’d spent too much time ‘cupcaking’ out of my emotions for far too long. And I knew from past experience that seeing a teary face wouldn’t stop Millie from steamrolling over ME!

“No, Jessie. We weren’t talking about the weather. I was asking for Millie’s help.”

Millie leaned forward on her chair looking like she was planning to flee. Jessie leaned forward on her chair like she was ready to stuff a piece of coffee cake into my mouth to shut me up.

I leaned forward on my own chair and continued.

To be continued on Tuesday, July 19.

(c) 2010 Jennifer R. Matlock
This publication is the exclusive property of Jennifer R. Matlock and is protected
under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Jennifer R. Matlock. All rights reserved.

Obviously, Confucius was a man...

...and I bet Mrs. Confucius got pretty fed up with him, too.

The reason I know this is because just a few days ago, Mr. Jenny decided he was going on a diet.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I said, in a semi-moderately supportive way.

BUT...

I didn't realize his diet was going to impact me quite so much.

BECAUSE...

...today I was moping around, missing my Grandlittles (they're on vacation for THIRTEEN DAYS!!!!)...

...and I very sweetly said, "How about if we go out for dinner?"

And Mr. Jenny replied, "Wellll...we have a lot of leftovers AND I am trying to be on a diet..."

...and I very sweetly said, "Yeah, but I feel like getting a margarita. I'm kind of down in the dumps with the girls gone..."

And Mr. Jenny replied, "Wellll...I think there might be a beer down in the fridge by the pool AND I'm trying to be on a diet..."

...and I very sweetly said, "Welll...yeah...but how about if I order a thin crust pizza with light cheese and all veggies because I'm kind of down in the dumps with the girls gone and leftovers don't sound too great..."

And Mr. Jenny replied, "Wellll...I'd rather not if you don't mind because I'm trying to be ona diet..."

And I very not-sweetly said, "Wellll...obviously I am the only one who misses the Grandlittles AND obviously you don't love me anymore AND..."

And Mr. Jenny interrupted me and said, "Look, I'd rather not go out to eat but if you really, really want to we can..."

And I said, "Fine, just fine, then...never mind...I'll eat leftovers..."

Grrrrr...

BUT...

After I ate the very not-satisfying stupid-low-stupid-fat-stupid-healthy leftovers, I realized that Mr. Jenny is EXACTLY like Confucius...

Because I'm certain that when Mrs. Confucius said,


"Seriously, C, I am sick to death of rice and vegetables especially when I'm feeling blue. Can't we go out for Mexican?", he came up with THIS quote:

“The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common woman thinks of comfort.”


Hmphhh...

Men!

Some things just never change.

...

...

Sigh...

Sundays with Steve - Arizona Haboobs

Mrs. Steve (Mrs. Jenny to most of you) asked me to answer some of your questions about Arizona weather, which generated considerable national and world-wide news this week, with photos and film clips everywhere.


This massive wall of dust blew into our valley last Tuesday evening about 7 pm, riding 60 mile per hour winds that originated about 100 miles south of the Phoenix metro area where we live.

These dust storms are common in the Southwest, we get three, four, maybe more each summer during what we call the monsoon season. The dust storms are called “haboobs”, which comes from Middle East Arabic for “phenomena”.


Haboobs look more scary than they really are. These are not natural disasters. They are not the destructive tornados or historic floods that have hit our country this year, but they are massive clouds of dirt, moving very fast. They cut visibility down to about zero, they can clog filters, air conditioners, and they can (but not always) make a mess of swimming pools, streets, and landscaping everywhere.


These dust storms originate with powerful thunderstorms that characterize our monsoon season, which is when we get a good portion of our rain in the desert. These thunderstorms build through the heat of the day, and then unleash in late afternoon or evening. The monsoon means a change in wind patterns, and that is when we lose our very dry humidity. We are flooded with humidity that originates in Mexico and the oceans around it. July and August in Arizona is no longer the “dry heat” that we kid about the rest of the year. You can turn on the radio or TV most morning here, and the announcer may say ‘The high today is 115F and rain...’ Another day in paradise.

The haboobs can be dangerous when they lower visibility to near zero, which can cause auto accidents. Their winds can knock down trees and power lines. But generally, the haboobs are precursors to the fun that follows.


We can get tremendous thunder and lightning storms during the monsoon season, usually accompanied by heavy and fierce downpours, rains that can drop an inch of water in 20 or 30 minutes. The downdrafts of these storms create the haboobs, and drive them in front of the rain storms. Typically (not always, and not this week when no rain came) the downpours will wash away the dirt dropped by the haboob. What makes the thunderstorms dangerous is that you can have two or three or four different storms that have been building in the heat all day, that then converge over the same spot, creating a massive shows of lightening, heavy rains, and an orchestra of heavy thunder that can sometimes last hours. These storms clean the air, the streets, the houses, and our lawns, but these storms can also be quite destructive with their heavy lightening and strong winds.

In Arizona, we have what is called the “Stupid Motorist Law” (really, that’s its legal name) which says that if you drive into streets posted with signs that say ‘Do not drive when flooded’ you will be billed for your rescue. That happens numerous times every summer during our monsoon storms that flood our streets for short periods of time.

OK, quickly then, your questions about the haboob that hit us this week:

• It’s dirt picked up from the desert floor, and sometimes from agricultural areas.
• No, it doesn’t smell.
• Yes, it is dirty and it can get into everything if your home is not well sealed.
• The dust is still in the air here, latched on to our humid air. It will last until we get rain, or until the air dries out and humidity recedes in late August. It looks to me that we may get rain in the next couple of hours, and wash all of the left-over dirt and dust away.
• Yes, sometimes the Federal agencies have suggested that we should be able to control the haboobs and the deteriorated air quality they generate. Maybe they think we have a direct line to God with special requests for the weather.
• The haboobs can come in very quickly, this week’s storm was tracked at 60-70 miles per hour. The storm was massive, 60 miles across and five miles high. It blew for about 45 minutes before moving on, another 100 miles to the north of us. It was one of the largest haboobs Arizona has seen in decades.
• This week’s storm was a little spooky, in that we could not see across our street to our neighbor’s home, and the air seemed to be filled with brown fog. It reminded me of the Mount St Helen’s volcanic ash fall-out of the 1980s in the Northwest.


So that’s weather for this week, from our not so small town.

(c) 2010 Stephen J. Matlock
This publication is the exclusive property of Stephen J. Matlock and is protected
under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Stephen J. Matlock. All rights reserved.

Saturday Centus -

Welcome to week sixty-two of Saturday Centus.

Just so you know...I think I'm being waaaayyyy too nice. I need to do a shake-up because I know you all love that.

Right?

Hey, how come nobody answered that question?

Geez.

But...

The good news is, I'm not going to do it this week.

Maybe next week. Or possibly the week after.

But this week...you are safe...

And it's gonna be a 'normal' prompt with the usual 100 words.

The prompt this week is:

"..and the sign read..."

You can use up to 100 words PLUS the four word prompt in any style of story you choose. The only restriction is that your post must be PG!

Please try to visit as many of the other links as possible. If you get a chance, perhaps you can visit the last five or so from last weeks challenge as well.

Please display link button or just a hyper-link back to Saturday Centus. Be careful to link your SC URL to the Linky and not just link to your main blog.

E-mail me directly with ???'s or ask your question in a comment and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.

Feel free to link up anytime between now and next Saturday!