Saturday, January 8, 2011

Things We Love and Loathe

by Caren Crane

It's officially winter. Snow expected in the next few days, bitter cold wind blowing, bare trees and weak, pale sunshine. It's also time - okay, past time - to take down the Christmas decorations. I love to have them up and loathe taking them down. Which leads me to today's topic: Things We Love and Loathe.

These don't have to be big things, or even things that annoy or thrill others: just you. I'll give you some of my Loves and Loathes to kick things off:

LOVES

1. Baked Goods - Most all of them, really. I adore all of them, even if they're full of things I try to avoid, like white sugar, white flour and saturated fat. I especially love whole grain goodies, full of nuts and dried fruit and whatnot, but I also care greatly for their sinfully bad-for-you cousins. If it's baked, bring it on!


2. Warm Food on Cold Days - Chili, soup, casserole, pasta, oatmeal or a steaming bowl of grits. If it's warm and the temp outside is below 50 F, I want it!


3. Great Visual Entertainment - We stream so many Netflix movies and TV shows through our Roku that the poor thing should be paid overtime. The nice thing is, they have new content all the time! We watch it so much that we completely canceled our cable TV and got a digital antenna and receiver instead. Once we sign up for Hulu Plus, we'll be set for life!


4. Great Books - Whatever your preferred method of consumption - print or e-book, there is something out there for you. Again, new content all the time! A juicy read is a real find and something I savor like a fine wine.

LOATHES

1. Road Runners - Those annoying people who zip up merge lanes (or those that end in 100 ft) as if they are the only ones clever enough to have thought of doing it. Uh, no. Everyone else is simply courteous enough to go ahead and merge at the appropriate time. I also loathe the people who let the Road Runners merge after they pull this trick. By all means, encourage them!


2. Commercials - No matter how clever they are, I detest them popping up on TV and radio. All that video streaming and listening to non-commercial radio has ruined me! I want my entertainment uninterrupted. WORST OFFENDERS: Commercials AT THE MOVIE THEATER and, most recently, ON A DVD!! Quelle horreur!


3. Packaging - First off, most companies use far too much of it. Second, some of it is almost impenetrable. WORST OFFENDER: Those plastic containers molded around the product. There is no way to get them out short of a hacksaw or the jaws of life. Ack!

Okay, now it's your turn. Give us some of your loves and loathes. I'm always up for picking up a new bad habit and I love to reinforce someone that their pet peeve is really peeve-worthy. Bring them on!

54 comments:

Fedora said...

Loves--kids laughing, ice cream, great books...

Loathes--kids bickering, seeing recyclables in the trash, unsupervised kids (or worse, kids who are clearly misbehaving right in front of their parents, who are either ignoring them or who don't see a problem...)

Fedora said...

Oh, and I have to agree--huge thumbs up to baked goods (I'll take 'em sweet or savory!) and warm foods on cold days--also warm drinks! Hot cocoa, come to mama! ;)

Anna Campbell said...

Hey, Fedora, he's back with you today!

Caren, what a fun post. I'm with you on loving baked goods. I did a driving holiday in France back in the mid-80s and I was in heaven - even the tiniest little village had a patisserie that put anything I saw in Australia to shame. And I think I sampled products from every one of them! Good books too - can't get anything better.

Loathe? Let me think of my current bugbears. Cellphones in social situations or in theatres. Litter. Drives me wild when I see plastic rubbish left on the ground when there's a bin within a few yards (or even when there's not! Pick it up, people!). Infomercials. No more need be said.

Unknown said...

Totally..and I MEAN I totally LOVE Fuzzy Socks!!! OMG!!! I have a drawer full of them, all colors, even some that make funny noises...LOL
Followed by Spanish Hot Coco...the one with a bit of spice...Yummy!!!!
Now to my pet peeves...
People that have their cart on one side of the isle and are on the other side and look at you like WTH when you say excuse me to get by...Like "Hello??" the isle was just made for you.
Also, Parents that let their kids run amok in stores like it's a playground...I have a 3yr old and she's even telling me "mommy that's bad".
And last my Hubby trying to get the last word when I'm mad at him....LOL
He should totally know better!!!

Laurie Logan said...

Loves - the first days of spring, homemade bread and soup on a cold winters day, a stack of books I can't wait to read on my bedside (and I get to decide which to read first), chocolate, travel, beautiful unspoiled places, and spending time with my girls.

Loathes - I have to agree with you with the overuse of packaging. My granddaughter brought me some of her Christmas toys to liberate and I swear it took me a half an hour to get one set of pocket pets out of the packaging. Good gad! Why is it necessary to bolt down each tiny accessory that much?! Not to mention that much of it ends up in a landfill. If you drive around after Christmas on trash day, you'll see what I mean. :(

Excessive noise! Commercials, motorcycle group rides past our house, bass turned up too high, angry yelling...

People using or ripping off others, especially the elderly.

Big companies trying to control the internet and crimes against the environment!

Laurie Logan said...

Great Visual Entertainment - We stream so many Netflix movies and TV shows through our Roku that the poor thing should be paid overtime. The nice thing is, they have new content all the time! We watch it so much that we completely canceled our cable TV and got a digital antenna and receiver instead. Once we sign up for Hulu Plus, we'll be set for life!

Oh, I meant to ask, what is Roku and Hulu Plus?

Carol L. said...

Great post..
My Loves..Laughter,Children's giggles:)
chocolate Ganache with raspberry.
Pepsi Cola--addicted to it
Romance Bandits :)
****A kilted Highlander*****
Books,books and books
Balmy breezes while with a Highlander lol

Loathe..
Mice..shudders
Cell phone users in libraries,movies etc.
Inconsiderate people
and I agree about the unsupervised children running in stores,libraries etc.
Undercooked and runny eggs.
And not having my own kilted Highlander. lol

Carol L
Lucky4750@aol.com

Jane said...

My loves include fried food, carbonated drinks, raunchy comedies and crossword puzzles. Loathes- litterbugs, people who promote hate and lottery scams and those pesky phishing emails.

Congrats on the GR, Fedora.

Donna MacMeans said...

Caren - We share the same loves and loathes so let me add some others -

Love cuddly pets, laughter with friends, romance in its many shapes and forms

Loathe: those energy -saving lights that have to warm up and even then don't ever seem bright enough.
Car problems - there is simply nothing more inconvenient and if it occurs in the wintertime - add an extra grrr.
People getting passports at the post office at their busiest times. Now this really isn't the fault of the people getting the passport. You'd think there'd be an easier, more efficient way to do this than take half an hour filing paperwork in front of the sole postal clerk. Seriously, there should be more clerks available. But it's easy to blame the people causing the line to back up because they are planning to go someplace exotic and warm - and I'm standing in a long line waiting...and waiting....and waiting....and knowing that I'm not going anywhere but back home in the snow.
Thank you - I feel better now.

Helen said...

Well done Fedora have fun with him

Caren
Great post LOL

I love all food not much I don't like I do love salads and fresh fruit on a hot summers day. I also love hot soup and crusty bread on a cold winters day.

Love the pile of books I have on the TBR pile as well as the ones stocked up on the e reader. I am also with Fedora on loving kids laughing and playing happily together. I love getting cuddles and kisses from my grandchildren.

What I loathe
Not having enough time to read my books and having to go to work these days it is misserable there especially when I know I have some awesome books to read LOL. Agree with Fedora again children bickering and parents who let their children do as they please. I also do not like mangoes.

Have Fun
Helen

Keira Soleore said...

Caren: What a fun blog post. I agree with your love of baked goods. After all, what's not to love: flour, sugar, butter...all heavenly things. Combine those with talent and you have my loyal custom.

My loves are an engrossing book that's well-written and tells a good tale.

Attending superb classical concerts with performers who're themselves enthralled with the music that's pouring out of them. I can't stand the prima donnas who're more interested in engaging the audience.

Ethnic street festivals in the summer with food, music, arts, and crafts. We try to go to one every weekend.

A long, voluminous, hot shower with endless water. "What a waste of precious resources of our Mother Earth!" you gasp. Why, yes, that's me. A despoiler of nature. But I looove my long, voluminous, hot shower.

My dislikes include shopping for clothes. In fact, shopping, period. I'm so thankful for online shopping!!

Not enough time to read all the books I want to read. Given that I read 173 books last year, that's an odd thing to claim.

Bar Har Har. Anyone with small children hates product packaging. Theft prevention and product safety from damage is one thing, Fort Knox quite another.

Anna Campbell: Fo, just yesterday, I was about to be sucked into buying something from an infomercial when I reminded myself why I hate them. They suck you right in and lickety-split part you from your money.


Congrats, Fedora, for nabbing the naughty wotten wooster.

Deb Marlowe said...

Hi Caren,

Fun post, as usual!

Things I love:
--You! And good friends, who bring out the best in you, but know your weaknesses and forgive them.
--anyone who can engage me in good conversation. I swear, this is a lost art and it makes me so sad!
--opening a brand new book--so much potential and anticipation!

Things I don't love:
--obnoxious bikers on the roads--if you want the same privileges, you have to follow the same rules!
--parents who don't pay attention to where their children are/what they are doing. No, I am not a sociopath, but how would you know if you make no effort to find out?
--the fact that all those yummy baked goods are so bad for you!

Caren Crane said...

Fedora, congrats (?) on taking away the GR. Is he a love or a loather, I wonder? *g*

I love kids laughing, too. Those little kid belly laughs are the best!

Ooh, I forgot about recyclables in the trash. I take plastic bottles out of co-workers' trash cans all the time at work. Grr.

New loathe: kids running through restaurants. Mine were never allowed to misbehave in a restaurant!

Caren Crane said...

Fedora, you'll be glad to hear that older daughter and I baked muffins last night to have this morning. Whole wheat banana bran with golden raisins, Craisins and cinnamon. Yummy!

Caren Crane said...

Anna, I obviously need to do a driving tour of France and hit those patisseries! We have very few decent bakeries of any sort here in the southern U.S. My Yankee friends tell me there are wonderful bakeries up north, but my trips to northern bakeries have been disappointing. I need a local to take me on a trip of New York bakeries!

Cell phones - ack! Since so many people now have iPhones (or similar), people are texting and playing with phones constantly - even while at lunch with me! Makes me want to work on phone-blocking technology in my basement. Except, you know, it's probably illegal. =:-0

Caren Crane said...

BJ, I'm jealous of your fuzzy sock collection. I have some really cute red ones with green frogs that my nieces gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago. My current love is SmartWool socks. So warm! So thin!

Yes, the running, screaming kids again. I think the kids whose Boomer parents were so permissive are now procreating and allowing their children to act like heathens. Again, my children were NEVER allowed to run in a store. Of course, my husband and I tag-teamed the grocery shopping and necessities shopping, so we avoided taking them with as much as possible. I think their parents are too busy texting friends to notice what their kids are doing!

Caren Crane said...

Wow, Laurie, you have great lists of loves and loathes. I can really get behind both!

You know, I love my son dearly and completely, but there is something about daughters. My mother has four daughters and one son. While she adores my brother, the time we spend bonding over meals, kids, memories, or even shopping after-Christmas sales is the best. I have one son and two daughters and I LOATHE the thought of the girls leaving my nest empty. I missed my son, but the house will be empty in many ways when the girls are gone in a couple of years. Sorry, I think I need a muffin, I'm getting verklempt!

Caren Crane said...

Laurie, you'll be so sorry you asked about the Roku and Hulu Plus! *g*

The Roku is just a black box that you buy and hook into your TV (like you do a DVD player or game system). You connect it to your LAN (our at home is wireless) so it can pick up video transmissions from the internet and show them on your TV. Okay, there are some more steps in there, but it isn't hard to do. We ordered ours for around $70. Instead of watching streaming content (like Netflix) on a PC, we now have it on TV. It's kind of like crack cocaine!

Hulu Plus is an upgraded pay service of Hulu.com. Hulu streams network TV shows and lets you catch up on episodes you miss. Hulu Plus gives you access to full seasons (including decades of long-running shows), so you can spend full weekends doing nothing but watching, say, back-to-back episodes of Saturday Night Live. Not that I would do such a thing! ;)

Caren Crane said...

Carol, have you ever tried to make chocolate ganache? I understand it takes hours and loads of patience. Um...that may be why I've never made it. I love eating other people's, though, especially with raspberries or strawberries. Yummy!

My personal soda love is Coke Zero. I gave it mostly up since I mostly gave up caffeine several years ago, but every once in a while I hear its siren song and must indulge. Evil brew! I don't know if they make it caffeine-free, but I wish they would and sell it in North Carolina!

Runny eggs - EEEEWWWW!

Oh, and if you find a stash of kilted Highlanders, please do let us know first. I could use one! *g*

Caren Crane said...

Jane, you're so brave to own your fried food love. *g* Most of us have turned our backs firmly to the lightly-battered, golden deliciousness of, oh, Krispy Kreme doughnuts? Onion rings? Hush puppies? Fried pork rinds?!

Please excuse. I may need another bran muffin to exorcise the saliva-inducing memories from my brain...

Caren Crane said...

Jane, you also hit on one of my big old loathes: people who promote hate. While everyone has freedom of speech here in the U.S.A., that freedom comes with serious responsibilities for the consequences of its misuse. We seem to have seen a bit of that yesterday in Arizona. My prayers for all involved in that, especially that deluded and obviously imbalanced young man.

Caren Crane said...

Donna, I second your additional loves! As to the passport thing, in our area you can only apply for passports at certain designated post offices. The ones where you can, they have special staff who do that and they take you to a special area (usually back in the offices). This may be something controlled at a state or regional level, but it works out great here. Maybe you can suggest it to your Postmaster! *g*

Caren Crane said...

Helen, sadly, my love of food shows distinctly on my hips and thighs. I am trying to figure out how I can fall out of love with it. If anyone knows - short of cholera or something - please share!

Oh, and baby kisees and little kid hugs are the very best. They are so sweet and open-hearted, just as we wish we could be to everyone. It's sad to see them grow up and close up to stay safe from the hurts of the world. I know you're surrounded by adorable grandchildren, so enjoy every kiss and cuddle!

Caren Crane said...

Helen, I'm so relieved to hear someone else doesn't enjoy mangoes! I have never cared for them and recently they put them in everything. I don't like the taste, the texture or the acidity. They burn my mouth, for some reason, though other people think I'm nuts for saying that. No mango for me!

I'm sorry your work sitch hasn't gotten any better. I know all too well the lure of a great book, calling to you whilst you slave away at the day job. It's probably worse now that you have an e-reader, since it makes all those stories so portable!

Caren Crane said...

Keira, darling, when I open a bakery (as I've threatened to do many times), I will be sure to let you know! :)

I adore ethnic festivals, too. We don't have as many here, but have a really great Greek festival in spring, a large Indian one also in spring, then a huge Diwali festival in October, always followed closely by and Eid festival. Really, though, I could wander around, eat food and ogle handcrafts every weekend, for sure. Which is your favorite?

Oh, and my BFF shares your love of long, voluminous, hot showers. It's really her one big indulgence. She's also very much an environmental and eco-friendly activist, so her long showers are her secret shame. It seems a smallish sin against Nature to me, as rabid as I am about these things. Don't get me started about people driving SUVs on the beach!

Caren Crane said...

Deb, I love you, too! Yes, I had occasion to reflect on the lost art of conversation recently. Some people simply have nothing to talk about or do, but it's something dead dull to the rest of the world. How is it that people don't understand their children are simply not as fascinating to everyone else? I try not to let the kids dominate my conversations, but it's hard to fight the urge. At least I realize NO ONE else cares as much as I do! *g*

As to the parents who will drop their kids off anywhere, with anyone and never check on the first detail, this just gets worse as they get older. Even in high school, we would try to at least go to the door and meet the parents if we were dropping one off for, say, a birthday party. As for sleepovers, etc., that was clearly out until we knew the family. You can't really know what people are like inside, but you can at least make the effort to find out!

Gillian Layne said...

I loathe people who start out the day complaining. Especially if you work in close proximity to them. Complaining about having to work is inexcusable laziness. Hello, headphones! :)

I love dear older people who tell stories about their lives, shelling peas while sitting on a breezeway and talking about nothing important at all, kids who laugh loudly, bird dogs, the sound the wind makes blowing through the trees by our deck, and really funny cartoons. And I dearly love romance novels (and their writers!), no matter the genre.

Caren Crane said...

Gillian, I know those co-workers of whom you speak! The thing that currently bugs me about mine (besides the recyclables in the trash) is the country music played at "sharing" volume through the cube wall. Maybe I wouldn't mind as much if I cared for country music, but in general I don't. Okay, Tayor Swift is fine, but she's hardly country. :)

You know, I was thinking about older people sharing stories over Christmas. My darling little grandmother just turned 91 three days ago. Her short-term memory is very poor, but if you talk to her long enough she starts to recall things from her earlier life. Those stories are precious to me, because she didn't speak much about it when I was younger.

I recently found out that my great-grandmother was sort of the local healer and nursed the whole community through a typhoid fever epidemic in the early 1920s. My great-grand kept going, even though THREE of her children died of it. My grandmother and a couple of her sisters also had it, but they recovered. Grandma Tester was a strong, strong woman. Stories like that make my own troubles seem so minor.

hrdwrkdmom aka Dianna said...

Loves:
Great books, kids (qualify, well behaved kids), food I don't have to cook but tasty.

Loathes:
People driving with a cell phone to their ear (they do make earpieces for those you know) Line jumpers, excuse me?, your time is more valuable than mine?, false advertising! there is nothing worse than getting a child something for Christmas only to see the abject disappointment on their faces when it doesn't do like it says it does.

Janga said...

I love the smell of earth after spring rain, the first daffodil, October blue skies, sleeping babies, old quilts, chicken and dumplings, lemon ice cream, the feeling I get just after I’ve finished a really good book, driving down the road and singing with the playlist, the light in the eyes of someone who’s just learned something important to them, the power of happy memories.

I loathe the rhetoric of hatred, bullies, arrogance combined with ignorance, the whites of boiled eggs, mean-spirited jokes, power outages, silences that shout.

Caren Crane said...

Dianna, there is a definite charm in being served delicious food I didn't prepare. Of course, being served food by my husband or mother qualifies - except, I usually end up doing dishes. *g*

Line jumpers are the same lot as the road runners, IMO. Actually, someone accused me of line-jumping yesterday. I had to explain to her that it was a beverage-only line to my understanding. Then lots of other people chimed in that yes, indeed, it was a beverage-only line. I was relieved, frankly, because I was afraid maybe I misunderstood all along!

Caren Crane said...

Janga, what great lists you have and so beautifully stated, too. I have nothing to add except...what in the world did the whites of boiled eggs do to make you loathe them so? *g*

Caren Crane said...

Dianna, isn't the disappoint of a child with a much-anticipated gift just heart breaking? I have seen that a few times. Once, one of my daughters got a terrific playhouse-type toy with lots of parts. Something significant on it was broken within the first week. She was crushed, but there was nothing we could do to fix it. That was a huge crusher!

Louisa Cornell said...

Obviously the GR loves Fedora !!

I used to love all of those baked goods until I started having to deal with them on a daily basis at work. Still the smell of those rolls and bread as they come out of the oven is heavenly.

I love romance novels. I love to curl up in bed with one surrounded by my dogs and cats. Perfect way to spend an afternoon.

I love writing when the words come to me and refuse to stop.

I love my dogs and cats because they are always glad to see me and they love me no matter what.

I love a beautiful Spring day when I have nothing to do but enjoy it.

I love sweeping orchestral music when it surrounds me and soaks into my soul.


I loathe badly behaved children and parents who seem to be completely unconcerned about it.

I loathe people who dump their pets at shelters because the pet isn't cute anymore or because the pet had accidents on the floor or any of a hundred other STUPID reasons people dump pets.

I loathe people who butcher the English language, who refuse to speak the language as it was intended and use idiotic popular slang because they think it makes them sound politically correct or cool.

I loathe snobs and people who constantly look at the negative side of any situation.

RFTC Blog said...

Loves-Books, Boyfriend and family, music, period dramas, comedies, and television

Hates-People that don't use signals when turning, drivers that feel the need to ride my bumper, and the drivers that wait until the last moment to get over. Ugh!!
I also hate when people don't know what they want to order and hold up an entire line. Don't get in line if you don't know what you want.
Oh, almost forgot. I LOATHE Kay Jeweler commercials. So cheesy. It's like instant nausea for me.

Laurie Logan said...

Laurie, you'll be so sorry you asked about the Roku and Hulu Plus! *g*

Actually I'm not. :) Sounds really cool and I think my husband would love it. He really gets into old sitcoms and loves to find new ones to tape while he's at work for watching on the weekends. We do have Netflix so that would be awesome to be able to watch movies that way. I doubt we'd be able to get rid of the satellite though, unfortunately. He needs his sports fix. You can't get games, can you? And to my despair, we don't have access to high speed internet here. I'm stuck with dialup. :(

catslady said...

Love: my purring cats
books of course
good surprises

Loathe: people who yell for no reason
people who always want their way
people who are never on time

Caren Crane said...

Louisa, you and Keira both mentioned gorgeous orchestral music. I have rediscovered my love of classical music recently, listening to The Classic Station (which you can stream online at The Classical Station. I played violin for 10 years while I was in school. I keep telling myself I'll pick it back up when the girls graduate and I have time. I plan to!

I'll give you an AMEN and a hanky wave for people using popular slang or, in my case, business buzz phrases, because they think it makes them sound "with it". Two of my least favorites follow.

1) People in certain counties east of here like to say they are "looking" something rather than "looking for" it. For instance, "Bob came by earlier. He was looking that business case you drafted for him." Really, people?

2) Business terms that just sound dumb, like "speak to" rather than "speak about". As in, "I'm not familiar with the details of the issue, but Bob can speak to that." What? It doesn't even make sense!

Caren Crane said...

Laurie, the dial-up may mean you can't use the Roku effectively. I think to do video streaming, you need a high speed connection or it drops the connection pretty often and you have to restart from where you were, which gets annoying. We have high speed internet, so it only drops every now and then. Too bad you can't drop satellite. We are enjoying the reduced cable bill! Of course, we're still paying for high speed internet and phone service. Slaves to Time Warner!

Caren Crane said...

Catslady, aren't purring cats like a spa treatment? They are incredibly relaxing to me.

You know, I live with a certain someone who enjoys his own way, every once in a while yells for no reason and is sometimes tardy - again, for no reason. I fully understand your NOT enjoying any of those things! *g*

Caren Crane said...

New Loathe: my husband "helping" with the Christmas decorations. He "helped" take them down last year, which means he crammed everything will-nilly into boxes while I was at work one day. This year, when I went to put up the decorations, several things were damaged and several broken because they weren't properly stored.

Today, he wanted to "help" again and got in a snit because I was sorting tree decorations into groups based on what they were made of and how they needed to be stored. My way, you see, takes too long.

I'm happy to report that he found something else to do for a while (though NOT clean the gutters, unfortunately) and they are now safely stored. So much drama for no reason. I really need less "help" sometimes! *g*

pjpuppymom said...

Caren, what a wonderful post! May I just say "ditto" to what Janga and Louisa wrote? They both hit on many of my likes/dislikes. Except for Janga's egg white aversion. I love all parts of boiled eggs. ;-)

I love...

The open minds of small children before they learn prejudice and exclusion.

The stories told by older generations. My dad was our family storyteller. When he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, I started video-recording his stories and was amazed at all the new information about our family and ancestors that I gathered. Those tapes of him telling the stories of our history are precious to me.

Laughter!

My dogs and the unconditional love and affection they shower me with daily.

Hot chocolate with a splash of Kahlua and with the snow that's predicted to reach us tonight that sounds especially good.

The smell and taste of warm, homemade bread.

The music of the wind chimes on my front porch. I'm so glad I paid the extra money to get good quality chimes that soothe me to sleep many a night.

50's Rock & Roll.

Books!

...and so much more.

I loathe...

The hatred and intolerance that is so prevalent in our world today.

People who talk on their cell phones while expecting me to wait on them. Extreme rudeness!

People who allow children to run around in stores. A boy, about six years old, who was running wild through our department while his mother shopped tripped me the week before Christmas and sent me tumbling into a six foot table filled with jewelry. The jewelry survived but my arm is still tender and the bruising is just now starting to fade.

Litter. Honestly, how difficult is it to drop something into a trash can?

The lack of reading time now that I've returned to work. I miss my books!

Nancy said...

Fedora, congrats on the bird!

Caren, I also love baked goods, especially those involving sugar. As you note, these are terrible for us, but they really are incredibly, seductively yummy.

Kind of like the bad boy you know is going to dump you on your butt but can't resist anyway.

Other loves:

Hot chocolate on a cold day

Movies and TV shows with stuff blowing up AND great characters

Glass art (not that I can afford it, but I do like to look at it)

Dogs

Sunset over the ocean

A good book on a rainy afternoon when I don't have to go anywhere

Loathings:

Housecleaning

Grading papers, especially bad papers, which take so much longer than good ones!

Movies or TV shows where "the girl" does little that matters besides getting rescued

People who think everyone else needs to hear their choice of music or their side of their cellphone conversations

Nancy said...

BJ, I'm with you on the children running amok. We didn't let the boy do it, and we don't like having to dodge other people's knee-high children in the aisles.

Caren Crane said...

PJ, I adore wind chimes! My mother has a wonderful set outside her back door that are incredibly musical and soothing. I hope someday to have a beautiful, inviting deck and a great pair of windchimes.

I'm so sorry to hear about your arm. A completely preventable incident, IMO! Especially when stores are so busy and crowded at Christmas, children should be watching for others. Most six year olds have little patience for shopping and should only be subjected to their limit. It would save everyone lots of stress!

Caren Crane said...

Nancy, you and PJ both got the hot chocolate in there. Believe it or not, I have never tried Kahlua in hot chocolate. For some reason, I rarely make hot chocolate for myself. I love hot chocolate and Kahlua, so PJ's suggestion rang bells all over for me. I may make some tonight!

I also love sunset over the ocean - any body of water, really. *sigh* The extreme cold we're having is making me wistful for summer and ALL of you know I do not care for summer or its horrible heat. I know, I make the South look bad, but I prefer cold weather, even on bitterly cold days like today!

Your loathing for grading papers makes me really, truly grateful I don't have to do such things. Critiquing is bad enough and I think everyone I critique for or with is incredibly talented! I think you deserve calorie-free pastries and hot chocolate for having to grade papers, Nancy, especially for having to grade bad ones!

Caren Crane said...

Nancy, housecleaning gets an extra pfffft! from me today. All the decorations are down and the hubby and I are happy about that. Even with all the extra "help", it wasn't too bad. The dust and pine needles, however, are working my nerves. I may suggest he really tomorrow by vacuuming and dusting! *eg*

Caren Crane said...

Okay, everyone, we went to the second-run $1.50 theater this evening and saw Morning Glory (a terrible title for this movie, btw). It's the one where Rachel McAdams is the new executive producer of a morning news show and Dianne Keaton and a super-grumpy, hard-news-lovin' Harrison Ford are co-anchors.

We gave it two thumbs up! It's entertaining, funny and you really want them all to turn the show around, work together and make the show a success. Which, of course, they do. BUT it's not at all a given that they will and things are dicey right up until the last minute. We were charmed and thought it was well worth the price of popcorn. Okay, we have the refill-it-cheap bucket, so even the corn didn't push the price up much, but still, it's well worth seeing!

Fedora said...

Ooh, just got back from out and have to add a couple more loathes--folks who feel the need to share their music with the world (the guy behind me had speakers pumping his stuff so loudly that I could feel the beat even though my windows were closed; every time there was a break in the heavy bass, my ears cheered briefly before the onslaught began again)--music is NOT a weapon! And another car related one--driving while talking on your cell-phone here is illegal, but I passed a woman who was crawling in the fast lane while she did exactly that. Grrrr!!!

Caren Crane said...

Fedora, hopefully you were not traveling with the GR. He, um, carries, you know. He might have popped a cap in someone! *g*

I share your loathing for both the music sharers and the cell phone drivers. They've done a big ad campaign here, so I see less people texting while driving. It's illegal but that doesn't seem to stop some people!

Nancy said...

Caren, it's good to know Morning Glory is worth a look. I don't think it's still showing here, but there's always video.

Yeah, housecleaning pretty much bites. We have company periodically so we're forced to do it.

Caren Crane said...

Nancy, I sometimes threaten to invite guests or throw a party so that we'll have to clean the house really good, instead of doing the piecemeal cleaning we normally do. Good thing no one is coming tonight - pine needles are still everywhere! *g*

lgm52 said...

Loves....a warm house after being out in the cold, hot summer sunshine,
peaceful retreat of a cabin in the Smokies
Loathes...arguments, garbage along the roadside, arrogant people

Margay Leah Justice said...

Loves: Swoon-worthy heroes in great books and movies, chocolate and coffee.

Loathes: People who talk on their cell phones while driving, rudeness in general, bullying.

Margay