Where Did I Get The Name TechnoBabe

My then boyfriend who is now my husband and I were living together. We converted the living room of the delightful little house we were renting into our "office/music room". I had one side of the room for my home office which consisted of my computer and 5 printer/fax/scanners. The other side of the room was conveniently sized for the boyfriend's computer and music equipment.

My Dell computer died. Boyfriend was strictly a mac guy and I had used his computer some and liked it, so we ordered an iMac for me. When it arrived, the first thing I noticed was how simple it is to plug something into it. One step (plug in) and the printer could be used or the iPod as opposed to three or more steps with the Dell.

It took a little adjusting and experimenting with the iMac to learn how easy it is but each step during the learning process boyfriend would cheer me on with "Way to go, TechnoBabe", or "You rock, TechnoBabe" each time I learned and used something on the new computer.

While we were living in that house I decided I was ready to have a blog. I had been surfing blogs for about six months and liked so many of them and felt the urge to investigate the blogging process from the blogger side. I did not have confidence in my writing ability, but I felt sure that blogging would be enjoyable for me. We talked about what name I would want and that just wasn't as important as what would be in the actual blog. Boyfriend suggested TechnoBabe and that was already familiar and comfortable for me so that seemed a natural choice. And then I added Adventures because I have had enough adventures in my life to fill ten lives and the adventures are still filling my life.

It didn't occur to me what the reader's impression would be. Some kind people have left comments on this blog voicing their surprise when they learn I have grown children and grandchildren. I have just been bee bopping along writing in my little hippie blog and not realizing that I had not made it clear that I am a mom and grandma.

Traveling around reading various blogs is a good experience. Some blogs are such beautiful pieces of art. The headers on some blogs are gorgeous and sometimes I think, Hey, that could be my little blog. I could update and turn it into a sophisticated artful blog and change the name to reflect the development. But I am sentimental. My boyfriend who is now my hubby helped me pick the name. I like a clean look on this blog. I have had so many changes in my life so it is strange that I prefer to keep something like it is. My first post was September 4 2006. During that time I changed the background once and appreciated the beauty of the background, but felt it took away from the simple look I want here.

We are each attracted to specific blogs for our own reasons. The fact that some people are reading my blog is a delight and warms my soul. Thank you.

Note: TechnoBabe is five years old in the picture.

The Way Preschoolers Think

Which way is the bus below traveling?

To the left or to the right?

Can't make up your mind?

Look carefully at the picture again.

Still don't know?

Preschoolers all over the United States were shown this picture and asked the same question. 90% of the preschoolers gave this answer: "The bus is traveling to the left."

When asked "Why do you think the bus is traveling to the left?" they answered:

"Because you can't see the door to get on the bus."

Someone sent this to me, isn't this great?

I Can Out Wait You

The four of them were sitting at the kitchen table eating the last meal of the day. She didn't want to eat. The mother and father were raising their voices in anger and she was the target. Her older brother had witnessed this scene many times and he chewed his food quickly and pretended he was invisible.

She was eight years old. The stress and turmoil that she lived with was a secret. She and her brother did not talk about it to each other and knew instinctively not to share any of their private home life with outsiders.

Meals were not happy times. So sitting still and eating the food put in front of her was difficult for her. Her stomach made noises. If she accidentally belched she would be knocked out of her chair. So she maintained a rigid back and tried to eat small amounts.

When the mother and father were ready to leave the table, they told the brother to go to his room. Their parting words to her as they left the kitchen were "You eat all your food. You are going to sit here until you do, even if it takes all night." That was not new to her. She had heard those same words many times in her young life.

Hour after hour she sat on her chair and daydreamed until she became sleepy. She could hear her brother going to bed for the night. She heard her mother go into the bathroom to prepare for bed and her father was in the living room watching television.

She scooped the food into her paper napkin, ran from the kitchen out the back door past the patio and hid the napkin of food and ran back to the kitchen. When her mother came into the kitchen to check on her, she coincidentally ate the last fork of food.

Tag

Cheryl at Life Is What You Make It tagged this little hippie blog.

Here's how it works:

1. Open the first photo folder
2. Scroll down to the 10th photo
3. Post the 10th photo and tell the story about it
4. Pass this along to 5 other blogs

The photo is of my dog, Bree. I don't have her any more, but she is happy with a family with lots of kids to play with her and throw the balls and toys all day for her.
Bree is a Papillon.

Now I have to pass this along to five bloggers. Get ready, here it goes, catch!

1. Susy at The Undertaker Down Under
2. Terri at Terri Terri Quite Contrary
3. Sassy Pants Freckle Face
4. Charlie at Professor B. Worm
5. Jill at Elemental, my dear

Learning Curve

I was always a sucker for sweet nothings until I learned they are only zeroes dipped in sugar.

It is not wise to take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

The best form of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.

A conscience is what hurts when all the other body parts feel so good.

Experience enables us to recognize a mistake when we make it again.

Try not to weigh more than the refrigerator.

Never lick a steak knife.

Some good things I have learned. Hah.

People, You Need To Stay On The Trail !!!

It was a three day weekend. They had been planning the camping weekend for a couple months. The first to arrive at the campground secured a good camp site and started setting up camp. Folding chairs under the awning and the barbeque ready to start the first night's dinner when the other two got there. Radio adjusted to relaxing music since this was what they all wanted this weekend.

As the other two friends arrived in their cars, the dinner was cooking so they could eat before it was dark. After dinner, a stroll around the campground helped loosen the kinks from a hard week at their individual jobs. They all agreed they would like to get to sleep so they could get up with the sun and take a long hike before making breakfast.

The morning hike was invigorating and a good workout in the mountainous terrain. The coffee aroma and breakfast smells were the reward. Then they played cards and relaxed into the weekend. A couple hours before time for lunch, one of the friends said she felt like a little more hiking and was going to walk some. The other friends reminded her to stay on the trail since she was the only one who had not been at this campground before and she might get lost. She said she felt confident she could find her way easily but she did agree to stay on the trail. It was agreed that she would be back within two hours and no longer.

As the lunch preparations began the two friends asked each other if one of them should follow the path and walk back with their other friend. They decided to wait another hour.

At the end of that hour one person headed to the trail with water and the other person walked to the ranger station. Cell phones did not work anywhere on the campground property. The ranger organized a small search team of the workers in the kitchen and camp store and they began a search. The friend who notified the rangers returned to the camp site to wait.

A couple hours later they all came walking into the camp site. The friend had wandered off the trail and had gotten turned around and panicked which caused her to walk into a thicket. She had nicks and cuts all over her bare legs and arms from trying to move through the thorny brambles. After a shower and some first aid she was feeling calm and more like her self again.

This was the second time in my life that I tried to warn a friend to stay on the trail and my caution was not heeded. The first time was the story in this post. Fortunately, in this instance the friend's wounds were not as severe as the first one.

Along Came A Spider OMG!!!

I do not like spiders. I know they must have a purpose in nature and I am ever so grateful for their fulfilling their natural instinctual purpose. Just not around me. I wasn't even able to put a picture of a spider in this post. Uh uh. Even Lucy is in shock when she sees one!!

The first time a spider almost gave me a heart attack was right after my daughter and I moved into a house we called the tree house. She was 14 years old and her siblings weren't living at home by then. The upstairs addition was built like a tree house and the tall windows welcomed views of huge tree branches 360 degrees. It was great. Of course, the upstairs was my dominion.

One afternoon I bought a car load of groceries and parked the car by the back door to make it handier to shuttle the packages into the kitchen. On the next to last trip I stopped to talk to my daughter and we began putting the food away. It didn't seem like a long break, but when I opened the door to walk to the car for the rest of the groceries my nose touched the belly of a huge hairy spider. While I was inside that little while, the spider wove a criss cross web over the entire doorway! And was laying in wait for me to walk outside. It surprised me (and scared me) so much, I started panting for air and slowly backed up and could not speak. MY NOSE HAD TOUCHED A FRIGGIN' SPIDER! My eyes were so blurry by that time I couldn't describe the spider but I kept saying it was green and hairy. AND HUGE. That's all it took for me to never use the back door again. I know I am a woos, but I am the only one who can prevent me from having a heart attack. (That's why I don't do roller coasters or bungy jump). I only live like this for my good health.

Quite a few years later I was living in a townhouse by myself. Feeling pretty good about myself that I accomplished what looked like the impossible task sometimes: My kids were grown and on their own! I had my own place. I was renting a townhouse for awhile until I found a place to buy and fix up. (Oh yeah, I am into the fixing up stuff).

The downstairs half bath was large and the full size washer and dryer were stacked in that room. I worked from home and was always bare foot. Casual lifestyle and home office contributed to the attraction of working at home.

A week after I moved into the place, I ran downstairs to get a cup of coffee and ran into that downstairs bathroom for a quick stop. Just as I sat down, a brown spider ran out from under the washer. RAN. Not scurried. Ran right for my bare foot. I ran out of the bathroom. When I peeked around the corner later I didn't see the spider. I talked to some friends about that spider. This time I could give a good spidery description. My friends decided it must be a brown recluse spider. That's like telling someone who can't swim there is a man eating shark in their bath tub. I started wearing closed toe shoes to wash clothes and I stopped using that bathroom. When friends came over I told them to use the upstairs bathroom. I lived there for a year and a half and for the first time in my life wore shoes in the house. That spider had the power. And I was the one who gave it to him.

Take Time To Listen To The Music

It was a cold January morning in 2007 at Washington DC Metro Station. A man played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately 2,000 people walked through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed and stopped for a few seconds, then hurried to keep his schedule.

4 minutes later the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, continued walking.

At the 6 minute mark a young man leaned against the wall to listen to the playing, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

On the 10 minute mark a three year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several children. Every parent, without exception, forced them to move on.

45 minutes after he started playing, only six people stopped and stayed for awhile. About twenty people gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace.

He collected $32.

He stopped playing after one hour and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments, how many other things are we missing?

This story is verified on Snopes.com. The picture is of Joshua Bell.

2010 Winter Paralympics

Torchbearer Daniel Wesley carries the Paralympic flame during the Torch Relay at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Paralympic Games at BC Place on March 12, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. (Hannah Johnston/Getty Images)

"Over 500 athletes from 44 countries around the world have once again descended on Vancouver Canada, for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Paralympic Games, (officially known as the X Paralympic Winter Games). After a separate torch relay and opening ceremony, competitors faced off in five different sports: Sledge hockey, Wheelchair curling, Alpine skiing, Biathlon, and Cross-country skiing - the last three broken into classes of sitting, standing and visually impaired. Currently Russia is leading the medals race, with Canada and Ukraine tied for second place. The Winter Paralympics continue until the Closing Ceremony on Sunday March 21st."

There is a wonderful array of photos in the Boston Globe. You really need to see them. I can't add more. The photos speak for themselves.

Happy St Patrick's Day

"Why should you never iron a 4-leaf clover? You don't want to press your luck."
~~Daryl Stout

Irish Blessing

May you always walk in sunshine.
May you never want for more.
May Irish angels rest their wings right beside your door.

Enjoy your St Patrick's Day. I'm wearing green: Green shirt, green socks!

Thank You, Mrs. 4444

Mrs. 4444 (pronounced Mrs Fours) at Half-Past Kissin' Time and her other blog Mrs. Fours Cooks, was so kind to share something new with me. It is new to me anyway. Maybe there are lots of others like Mrs. 4444 who are familiar with this, but I was way behind the times.


Not Anymore!!!

In the mail yesterday I received a package of Lawry's Guacamole Spices and Seasoning Mix from Mrs. 4444.

This afternoon I have two errands to run and will stop at the store for some avocados so dinner tonight will be guacamole!! There will be some dancing in the kitchen tonight.

A big thank you shout out to Mrs. 4444 for your kind and generous disposition.

Some Things A Mother Will Never Know

She was in the first grade. Her brother was in the second grade. The brother and sister had been dropped in front of the convent next to their school in the still dark of the early morning. Their mother drove from the country where they lived to the city, dropped them off, and returned to the country to work.

The brother pushed the bell at the front door and after the usual wait the nun opened the door and ushered the children to the front parlor, leaving them with the usual "Don't touch anything" admonition.

Looking around the parlor, both children were overcome with reverence of richness. The nuns much be rich to live in such luxury. They had never seen such deep piled oriental carpets or richly polished furniture and sparkling shiny class doors on cabinets.

Taking a seat next to each other on the settee, they folded their hands so they would remember "not to touch anything".

They were aware of not being good enough to be in that room and what a privilege it was to be admitted to the inner sanctum of the convent.

The agreement was that the mother would be allowed to leave the children in the early mornings and they would have a place to wait until it was time for school to begin. So five days a week this was where they sat in quiet hushed whispers and "not touching anything".

One morning the two hour wait was beginning to cause the little girl to squirm. "I have to pee really bad" she told her brother. "Shhh", he said, "remember we "can't touch anything". The squirming turned into one leg crossing over the other and trying to hold it. It wouldn't do any good to knock on the door that the nun locked on her way out.

Finally, a decision made, she got down off the settee, walked determinedly to where the corner of the beautiful thick piled mauve oriental rug left an edge of shiny wood plank floor. She bent over, lifted up the heavy corner of the thick piled rug, pulled down her panties and peed on the floor. After setting the corner of the rug back down, she returned to the settee. Her brother looked like he wasn't even breathing. Fear was written all over his face. She smiled. She hadn't really "touched anything", just the edge of the corner of the thick piled carpet. She realized the smile was becoming a laugh from somewhere way deep inside her, but they weren't supposed to make any noise, so she held the laugh in check. She knew she had a very long time to laugh about this. So today is one of those times.

This Could Happen To You Too

My thighs were stolen from me during the night a few years ago. I went to sleep and woke up with someone else's thighs. The replacements had the texture of cooked oatmeal. Whose thighs were these and what happened to mine? I spent the summer looking for my thighs.

Then the thieves struck again. My rear end was next. I knew it was the same gang, because they took pains to match my new rear end to the thighs they had stuck me with earlier. But my new rear end was attached at least three inches lower than my original!

Two years ago I realized my arms had been switched. This was really scary, my body was being replaced one section at a time. What could they do to me next?

When my neck disappeared and was replaced with a turkey neck, and hair migrated from the head to the chin and upper lip, I decided to tell everyone my story. Women of the world, wake up and smell the coffee! Those plastic surgeons are using real replacement body parts--stolen from you and me! The next time someone you know has something "lifted", look again--was it lifted from you?

Last year I thought someone had stolen my breasts. I was lying in bed and they were gone! But when I jumped out of bed, I was relieved to see that they had just been hiding in my armpits as I slept. Now I keep them hidden in my waistband!!!

Note: This was in an article in a newspaper in a little New York town but the person who sent it cut all the newspaper information off. So I don't know who to credit this to but it is not me. Also, the cartoon is Gibson. Just throwing some more humor into the mix.

"Laughter is an instant vacation." ~Milton Berle

Hope you had a mini vacation when you visited this little hippie blog today!

There Is A Reason To Let It Go

Turn away. Do not engage
Don't take things personally
If things escalate too far
It could become dangerous

Watch what you are doing
Stay sane and calm
Keep things safe in your own space
You have control of only this

Stay focused straight ahead
Using your peripheral vision
Do not engage in eye contact
that would seem threatening

Stay within the lines
Follow the rules of the road
Ignore the honking and jeers
Do not give notice to hand gestures

Let them pass. Let them go.
Better to have them far away
than tailgating you for miles
and causing others to swerve

Turn away. Do not engage.
Do not give in to road rage.

Some Things I Cannot Speak Of

Only some things
cannot be replayed
the pain too deep
the memory too near
only some things

But other things
oh so many other things
come easily to the pen
softly remembered
So many other things

Some things still so raw
the tears still fresh
even of many years past
the gut recoils in spasms
only some things

And yet so many things
fly freely to the page
so much laughter
humor to be shared
wonderful things

But some things....

High Flyers

They are a tight unit.
Not a social club.
Not as close as siblings.
Nevertheless, a team.

Lives depend on them.
For Information,
for directions,
for timeliness.

There is one captain.
Omnipotent in the air.
A crew of varying levels,
Trained to precision.

The next time you see
them pulling their wagons
across the tarmac
seemingly all talking at once


Don't think of them
as merely a gaggle of uniforms
Give a silent thanks
to the powers that be

The training and discipline
it takes to achieve their level
is beyond mere mortals
in most ways to mention

They do more than merely
look good in their uniforms.
They know which buttons to push.
And they know where the booze is.

Nice flying with you, Captain.
Thanks to your entire crew.
My bag of peanuts was fresh
And my coffee was magic brew.

I wrote this after I read a post by Maggie at Moonstruck about her flight and a last minute trip she and her friends enjoyed recently. Thanks, Maggie for the idea. Instead of using a graphic of a real airplane I chose instead the paper airplane!

Solemn Supplication

Give me a sense of humor, Lord.
Give me the grace to see a joke.
To get some humor out of life,
And pass it on to other folks.

I did not write this; author unknown.

A sense of humor is necessary to good health!
The way the body relaxes and the mind is joyful after a huge fit of laughter encourages me to invite laughter and humor into my life.

The Wanderer

He carried his darts in his pocket
Like an old friend kept close to his heart
They were the calibrated weight he demanded
Ready to perform to his specifications

He roamed from town to town unattached
Looking for his next mark
He perfected his innocent look
Then proceeded to hustle them all

In his mind he was living the good life
His work was this chosen field
His life was cash and carry only
No luggage to slow him down