Finally, Something that Works

I was at my neurologist's office last week and one of the doctors who was standing too close to me with his uncapped black ballpoint pen in hand made a nice long black ink mark on the sleeve of my bright yellow blouse. I thought that was the end of my blouse because I've never had luck with ink stain removal. I've tried ideas that I've read online (rubbing alcohol, hairspray, laundry pretreatments, etc) and absolutely nothing has worked. I lost a favorite pair of pants a couple of years ago because of a pen that sneaked its way into the laundry.

A friend who is a big Real Simple fan suggested I check Real Simple's website for an idea. Here's their answer to the ballpoint ink dilemma:

Put glycerin on the spot, then treat with a detergent like Woolite and very little water. Gently rub to form suds and rinse.

I got a bottle of glycerin from the drugstore, rushed home and followed their instructions. I was very skeptical but when I pulled my blouse out of the dryer the next morning there was no hint of black ink anywhere. It was a miracle!

Real Simple has a comprehensive stain removal guide here. I'll be keeping this guide handy.

An Entertaining Burns Supper

Sam and I attended the Silver Thistle's Burns Supper this evening. For over 200 years Scots around the world have celebrated Robert Burns's birthday with a Burns Supper. The suppers are fantastic to partake in: there's great music and dancing, entertaining speakers, and of course, the haggis. The guest speaker this evening was Ed Miller, a native of Edinburgh who is a local celebrity, and it's always a pleasure to hear Ed speak and sing.

This evening we were entertained with great stories and jokes, of which I had to share two jokes.

What's the difference between Mick Jagger and a Scot in the Highlands:
Mick Jagger sings "Hey you, get off of my cloud."
A Scot in the Highlands says "Hey MacLeod, get off of my ewe."

About midway through the ceremony there is a salute to the lasses and a response to the laddies. During the exchange we were entertained by this joke:

A Scottish mom was going to return to the workforce after her kids had grown up so she went to her doctor for a physical. When her husband returned home from work she shared her physical's results with him. "My doctor told me I have the body of a 20 year old and the heart of a 16 year old." Her husband responded "Did he say anything about your 50 year old ass?" to which she responded "No, he didn't ask about you." LOL I laughed and laughed at that one.

I'm Old

I feel like a geezer who is stumped by technology. I set up a Facebook page yesterday and first, Google sent friend invites to most of the people in my address book which I wouldn't have done, and second, I just accidentally send an e-card to all of those people which I'm not an e-card sender. So I wonder if I look like a stalker to all of these people. How embarrassing.

I Can't Wait

I can't wait for the new season of Lost to begin, two weeks from tomorrow. It's been a long wait but I'm hopeful Damon Lindelof & Co. have been hard at work on good stories and scripts.

I have so many questions... argh! I can't wait to find out:

-who is on the ship that is off the island's coast especially since we know that it's not Penny's ship
-who is Jacob
-what was going on with Kate and Jack in the flash-forward episode
-how does Naomi have a photo of Penny & Desmond
-who was in the casket in the flash-forward episode
-what is the deal with Richard who doesn't age
-why do some people see deceased persons from their past: Ben seeing his mom, Jack seeing his dad
-what healed Locke and Rose, and does Rose also have a special relationship with the island & possibly Jacob
-was a plane really found near Bali, like Naomi claimed
-where are Walt and Michael, and what's up with Walt
-what's up with the monster smoke and the voices that we heard in season 1

Last fall I enjoyed two new shows on NBC which starred a couple of actors from hit HBO shows: "Life" with Damian Lewis of "Band of Brothers" and "Journeyman" with Kevin McKidd of "Rome". Life is a much better show but Journeyman was entertaining to watch.

I also got hooked on Heroes last fall. I missed the first season so I watched season 1 on dvd last summer and thanks to DVR I got caught up on season 2. What a fun show! "Save the cheerleader, save the world."

But I digress... two weeks until Lost begins.... let the countdown begin.

Florida Sunset

Sam and I spent Christmas with our families in Florida. My youngest brother took me out onto one of the local lakes in his new boat and I took these photos of the beautiful sunset. Florida sunsets are the most beautiful in the world.

Our Rusty Boy

Sam and I went to Santa Fe, NM last fall and we brought our golden Rusty with us. While having Rusty with us limited some of the things we were able to do we had a great time being together. This is one of my favorite photos from our trip.

Remembering Meredith Emerson

While I didn't know Meredith Emerson her disappearance and the subsequent news of her death really shook me up. Eyewitness accounts said that Emerson's alleged murderer was able to get close to her because his dog and her dog were interacting with each other on the north Georgia trail where she was last seen.

That is one thng about having a dog and visiting parks and trails; you tend to let your guard down with people who are also dog owners/lovers because of that common bond. I read somewhere in the coverage of Emerson's disappearance that she probably would not have spoken with Hilton if she'd met him on the street but since they both had dogs she likely let the stranger get close to her.

I walk our dog in the morning darkness (we usually leave the house about 6:15am) and our route takes us through an empty field and past several completely unlit areas such as an overpass several blocks from our house. Some mornings I look into the darkness and wonder if anyone is there, and wonder what would I do if someone approached us from the darkness. If someone approached us and they were walking with a dog I know my guard would be lower than if they were alone.