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#1: Marie-Louise Ambrey (Marz) on May 26, 2007

This is my mothers first creation that I helped her think of. I like evil pictures, this one was made for me!

cute cute yet so evil I like it

Funny.

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Twisted Sister, er I mean, good job Marz :O

Ha ha, awesome picture! Also quick and easy, which is sometimes just what the doctor ordered.

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But do your eyes glow red in the dark? And the wee hours of the morning after the new year's party doesn't count!

Yes, when I get caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. :)

Here's a question, now that you mention driving -- what side of the road do you drive on? And which way are the titles printed on the book spines, top of the words closest to the beginning or the end of the book? I know these are kind of trivial, but i don't trust my folks to remember to find out while they are over there. Actually they should be in the air right now. Anyway, just curious.

We drive on the right side of the road here and the titles start from the top of the book. We call ketchup tomato sauce. My favourite colour is pink.

LOL Sweet!

What do you call tomato sauce then? What spaghetti sauce is made from*. The unseasoned tomato product that is not as thick as paste or puree or thin as juice, just seedless tomato squeezin's. And I'm not going to believe you if say "squeezin's" is what you call it.
In many parts of Europe, the right side to drive on is the left.
I guess my favorite color is pourple.

*In a full circle sort of way, an old roommate made really horrid spaghetti using ketchup (no takers on catsup out there?) poured over noodles -- he was a deadhead.

We call it pasta sauce, it is made of tomatoes not pasta. I didn't name it so don't blame me. Maybe we should rename it "Tomato Squeezins" might make more sense.

Pesto and Alfredo are also pasta sauces just to name two of an infinite list. We have spaghetti sauce which is made of tomato, onions garlic herbs and spices, sometimes olive oil, wine, sugar and/or anchovies. There are a kajillion different ways of making what the Italians refer to as Marinara sauce. But you'd never put just straight, unadulterated tomato sauce on pasta.
Your comment reminded me of a story (true or not) of the troubles the Gerber baby food company had in some third world countries. Since many of the people could not read, they bought canned food based on the pictures on the label. When they saw a picture of a baby on the jar, well, they must have had some pretty outrageous ideas about the eating habits of the Western nations.

The Italian side of my family (northern Italy near Torino) refer to pasta sauce as gravy. Not sure if that meant all sauces or just red ones.
I knew a guy who poured plain tomato sauce on pasta, sprinkled cheese in a green can on top and proudly called it instant spaghetti. Of course he also tested the pasta for "done-ness" by throwing it on the kitchen wall. Not quite a head but he did enjoy the Dead.
Heard the same Gerber baby food story (rumor?). Speaking of corporate "charity" in third world countries, Nestles (now owned by Stouffers) gave away (wrote off at tax time) tons of powdered baby formula to the starving masses. Unfortunately it made the babies deathly ill. The didn't have potable water to mix it with. Instead of sending water, Nestles pulled the formula.

I knew about the doneness test. We served spaghetti every wednesday, and the cook use this method. It really does work. The guy never took it down until the supervisor came through one day and found a year of old pasta sticking to the wall (the wall was kind of hidden, and you didn't really notice it unless you wedged back in). Oh yeah, did I mention that I was the cook and only 17 at the time?

Some chefs think that "gravy" is an insulting term, and will fire anyone who calls any sauce a gravy. Amazing the confusion that abounds, and we all speak the same language!

No you didn't. Where were you a cook? And why is age 17 significant?

17? just 'cause most people are kinda 'young and dumb' at that age. At that time I was at the John Purdue Cafeteria, which was base for the training school for Purdue's RHI program. One of the first in the country that really went beyond glorifying Home Ec. Another byproduct of the Reagan years. But over the years I've gone from truck stops to four star places, mostly Chicago area. Never got to make the big money, so went back to school.

17, young and dumb sums it up!
RHI program?

Restaurant/Hotel Institution. I'm pretty sure its called something else by now, but that was the cat's knees at that time

I thought it was the cat's pajamas and the bee's knees?

Just making sure everybody's awake. ;)

Hi J.C, well I just woke up, it's Saturday morning here in Australia :)

Too funny. I'm just wrapping up with a couple puzzles before I read and hit the hay on a Friday night.

Ohhhh, okay, I just went back and read the previous comments. Man, my brain is dead. I've been solving Aiden's puzzles all week and just put 2 & 2 together, that y'all have the same last name. Duh! Well have a cuppa, and great the day! What time is it there by the way? It'll be exactly 9:35 riiiiiight.............................NOw!
What part of Aus are you in N, S, coast, inland?

I meant greet the day. But you can make a great one if you want though. Are the kids in school this time of year? Ours are just getting ready to go back after summer break, some have already started, depending where they are. Midwest tends to start and end sooner in the year (farm work?), way way north midwest get off for hunting season in Nov.

Hi JC, it is Saturday night here now. We live on the Central Eastern coast of Australia, in a little suburb called Noraville. We have a lake on one side (salt water) and the beach on the other. Is is so very beautiful here and even though it is still winter, most days we can go around in tee-shirts and shorts, not today though, it was a real winter day, we dont have many of them. Yes, the kids are at school at the moment, they have some spring holidays coming up soon. I have 4 children, the oldest is 17, then I have 12 year old twins and my youngest is 5. You were a bit out with the time which is just as well, cause then you would have known how late I slept in this morning. Well it was a Saturday morning after all, didn't have to get kids to school and they can make their own breakfast. Plus I was up until 2am doing these puzzles :)

Wow Marz! Last time I google mapped you I was in the totally wrong spot. Looks like you're only a couple of blocks from the beach!! Yay :D. Gorgeous. Is the lake to the west (?) a series of lakes or maybe one big lake with what looks like a dam? Are you able to use the lake for recreation? Can't say that I've been in a saltwater lake. I've been to the saltlake in utah but didn't go in.
Just beautiful Marz! You really are a great goodwill ambassador for your home country! Were you born in Australia?

I just figured this out! If you google map me in Pacifica, you can get a street view from on the highway. It's called Cabrillo Hwy. If you went North you'd reach San Francisco, south you'd pass through Devil's Slide and eventually reach Half Moon Bay. Doesn't it seem that almost every coast line has a Half Moon Bay? I am well south of the pier jutting out and am nestled away from the beach up against the mountain (start of Devil's Slide) and trees. I can actually see my roof and 2 of our 4 trees!!
I looked for street view at your place but the option wasn't available :(

To Gypso, sounds like you have the right spot, I forgot to say in my previous message that I lived in NSW, small detail really. But I think you found it fine, I am just a 10 minute walk to the beach and a 5 minute walk to the lake which is to the west. The lakes are called Tuggerah Lakes and they are a couple of lakes joined together. They would be a lot better for recreation if they had of been taken care of better, the government has just promised 20 mil to fix up the waterways here, it's coming up to election time. I sincerely hope they do something and very soon too. I won't let my kids swim in it at its present state, lucky we have the beach in the other direction. Yes, I was born in Australia, Sydney to be precise, I grew up in cold but beautiful Tasmania for 16 years. I will try to check out where you are now, thanx Gypso :)

What's wrong with the lake? When do you hold elections? Do your kids boogie board or surf? From this distance it looks like something in the water, maybe a reef? How warm is your water, do you need wetsuits? Sorry, I'm bombarding you *_* (this is honor of your son who inspired me to play!)

To Gypso. Many years ago they decided to close off the entrance to the lakes at the northern end, it must have been easier than building a bridge or something, there is so many bad decisions concerning the environment around here, and they are just starting to see the ill effects of these decisions and the politicians are using environmental factors to gain votes for the election this October. I will vote for the dude who is going to fix the Lakes. Anyway they left one opening to the sea to the south of the Lakes and called that place The Entrance, very original, The Entrance is a beautiful spot, the only place on the Lakes that you can enjoy water recreation, well it use to be anyway. Because they closed the northern entrance there was no flushing of the Lakes water and it has become smelly, dirty and silted up, its literally dying. They use to dredge out parts of the Lake that were becoming silted up but they stopped doing that about a year ago. I went to visit The Entrance a month ago, this was one of the spots where they would regulary dredge the sand out so as to keep the waterways open, but for some stupid reason, probably financial, they have stopped and I couldn't believe the difference, it is blocking up, I was horrified at what I saw and then I understood why, about 6 weeks ago people living around the Lakes got flooded out when we had torrential rains, the Lakes are becoming a dam, there was no where for the water to escape, I have lived here for 10 years and have never seen anything like it or heard of it before either. There are also some nasty little mites in the water called Pelican Itch, It doesn't really come from pelicans, it just likes the still water amongst the reeds along the Lakes edge, and most people who go swimming in the Lake (usually only tourist who dont know any better) get this itch, sort of like a flea bite but worse, as the mite buries into the skin and continues to irritate for about a week. I swam in the lake ONCE!!!
So, the beach is the place to swim here, the kids do a bit of boogie boarding, there are some pretty good surfing beaches here and you do need a wetsuit in winter, but the waters do get nice and warm in summer. I think the reef like stucture is just a bunch of rocks. I checked out where you live, looks like a great place too. Lots of lovely coastal spots to enjoy, I could never live to far from a beach, probably because I am I Pisces. Bye for now :)

I'm a Pisces too! I couldn't agree more about coastal living. Since we're in a valley the beautiful music of the crashing surf can be heard nearly every night. Lulls me to sleep ^*^ (your son's so cute!).

I switched back and forth between your description and the map of the lakes and I can clearly see the exit to the sea. What a shame! I would be steaming mad too! I hope your guy wins the election. Let me know how it turns out. I'm rooting for your lakes. Never heard of Pelican Itch- how creepy! We have had our share of environmental battles here too. On one hand it's sad to hear that you would also have these types of problems but on the other hand it's reassuring to know that people like you are fighting to keep your corner of the world healthy. We may only be small bands of concerned citizens scattered throughout the world, but put each of our little victories together and we're making a huge difference. Thank you so much keeping up the good fight. I'm so impressed with you! Sometime I'll write you a huge epistle on our 25 year running gun battle over coastal development and resulting traffic concerns which is now finally coming to a happy solution. Take heart, don't give up.
My first born was the biggest beach baby of my 3 sons. Don't get me wrong, they all LOVE the ocean! Not uncommon to see at least one of us cry over a gorgeous sunset just from the shear joy of being privileged to witness it! Back to my first born. His name is Graff, age 30, (yes I was a mother at 12!) and he loved boogie boarding. He never got comfortable surfing. We must wear wetsuits around here as the water temp. runs in the mid 50's. Lol I just reread that, I said "we" haha. I danced in the foam, leaving a trail lace on the beach! Alas, I can no longer play water baby in the sun so my visits to the beach are either early am or shortly before sunset. No, I am not a vampire. I just run in shadows!
Back to Graff. When he was around 17 he started getting strange rashes (*hears theme to Jaws*) and running fevers, joint aches etc. Yes indeed! Some mental midget thought that a large sewage overflow pipe on the beach was just the thing! We have a fairly active and vocal surfing community in town that took up that fight and won. Thank goodness as I was too busy fighting the school district. Who knew all the things we'd get into when we agreed to motherhood! Fatherhood too for all you great Dads out there! And villagehood to all of you other wonder people who make improving the human condition your business too! Aren't we all just, well, AWESOME?
Thanks so much for taking the time to tell me your story. I will share it with my enviro neighbors and friends. It will make their day to know that you are on the other side of the marble fight for the same issues as them!

Greetings everyone! Sorry I've not been in touch, I have a house full of people who have just got back from Australia, ages 7 to 67, all of whom have been hungry, very jet lagged, and stomping around announcing loudly "I'm not cranky, I don't need a nap!" Naturally, the adults are the worst. The kids, just put them in the pool or break out the old model train stuff and their happy as clams at high tide. When they are truly tired, they just drop off to sleep.
All had a great time, never got to Brisbane, which is where ithink you are near, Marz. They didn't bring back any -mite spreads, instead (and despite my pleas not to), they brought kangaroo and emu jerky. I was quite surprised at the cost of some everyday things, they said they paid anywhere from 4 to 6 $ for a dozen eggs. Here about a buck and a half is the norm. Luckily they didn't get those pelican mites, but again they only swam at the GBR. Good to have them back, but now I've got to get used to swimming with a bathing suit on again (I'm sure this is what Gypso meant, too, when she indicated that she didn't wear a wetsuit).
The local water disaster here is the Salton sea, an inland salt lake. The water levels in the area have been steadily lowering, adn there is no natural replenishing source for the sea. One of the problems is that since only the water evaporates, the salinity in climbing, meaning fewer and fewer species can live comfortably there. Last March, the entire shore was littered with dead, rotted talapia; you smell the stench for miles if you were downwind. With the fish dying, the pelicans are not using it as a migratory stopover as much. Oh and supposedly the area is a huge methanphetemine making/using area, so reviving the area for tourism is not so attractive. But according the Friends of the Desert (sort of the local version of the Nature Conservancy), the sea is not in as bad a shape as it has been painted, and is infact vital to preserve from a political sstandpoint in that virtually all of the water from the Colorado river is coming here adn we need more. Therefore there is no choice but to save it. We do have Mary Bono in our corner, who apparently has done some pretty impressive work for the area.

Got to run, this is the most quiet time I've had in a couple days, but i am at work and have to get back to it!

JC are you sure the runoff from the meth production isn't contributing to the fish dying? Disgusting what people will do. Sounds like you're having a busy yet happy time at your home. Never ate kangaroo or emu jerky, what's it taste like? How about you Marz? And don't tell me chicken!
BTW I didn't mean that I skinny dip on a public beach, only that I don't normally go out into the big waves. I save skinny dipping for private ponds.
Marz, I just remembered, tell your surfing/boogie boarding kids that Mavericks is just about 10 miles south of Pacifica. It's on the other side of the bluffs from a tiny airport. I don't know if you can see the satelite dish on top of the hill, but if you can, it's right near there!
Oh, oh, oh wanted to remind you all that there will be a full lunar eclipse this coming am (Tuesday 8/28/07). Partial starts @ 1:30am thru 5:30am with the "red" moon effect somewhere between @ 2:45am to 3:30am. All these times are PST. This type of eclipse is always spectacular. ^0^ I hope that I haven't told you this too late Marz. Check your newspaper.

is that eclipse for all of us or just Marz' slice of earth?

I don't know about the meth Q, it is a good one. I had always thought they were just a bunch of small operations like moonshiners in Briar country. I really don't know that much about meth making, even though the local law enforcement back in Indiana had a handout a few years ago. In order to help John Q. Citizen recognize and turn in meth ops, the handbook detailed step-by-step, complete with color photos and illustrations, how the stuff was processed in a homelab. Then it was pointed out that they had just instructed every citizen in the county what the raw supplies were, where they were to be found, adn how to actually make the junk. The book were quickly withdrawn from circulation and destroyed.
But as to the fish, from what I've heard, the salinity is a major factor, and some speculate that the sea will actually dry up and get to the point that the area will become a dustbowl like the Great Plains in the 1930's.

My pocket astrologer says: "Beginning of the umbral phase is visible in North America, South America except in the extreme east, Antartica except for Enderby Land, New Zealand, eastern Australia (yay! Marz, Gen and other Aussie friends), the extreme NE of of Asia, the Pacific Ocean, and western Atlantic Ocean." It goes on (and on) to state that the end is also visible in both Australia and North America as well as other locations. My question is whether I'm a day late for Marz. After all, I'm an enthusiastic observer Jim not an astronomer!

Hi Gypso, thanx for info on eclipse, I heard about it the other day and it's happening tonight(it's 10.28am now) starting at 6.51pm, and Im so excited, I love this stuff, and I am in an excellent position to see it, I could even walk down to the beach to watch :)

I'm sooo glad that you'll get to see it as well! Be prepared, magical things happen during a red moon.

Gypso, the moon is apparently in the sign of Pisces tonight, how wonderful, cant wait to see if something amazing and wonderful will happen, that's just my Pisces day dreaming taking over now, but you never know. Enjoy and have fun, not much longer now. :)

You're right Marz! It is in Pisces, you made my night! You'll never believe this but the fog moved in on me. Right now it's just thin enough around the moon to see a glowing form. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Sending best moon wishes from here! ^*^

Woke up at 3am, purely by chance, and went outside to a beautiful, dim red full moon. Thank you, Gypso!

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. It's pretty magical, isn't it? I doubt that it was chance that woke you up. *:* (picture of someone moonstruck)
I thought of both you and Marz as my sons and I stood vigil until 4am waiting for the sky to clear. Saw the very beginning of the earth's shadow, but sadly no red moon. Had a great time though, giggling in the fog with my guys. Lots of South Park stories to cheer me up. That was magical too! Not so much South Park, but the shared laughter.

I hope that your red moon was lovely Marz. Was your sky clear?

Anyone else see it?

Nice recovery on the South Park part! Almost missed it with thinking of 2am still being part of the same day if you stay up long enough, that is, for you, Gypso, if I had been you I would have thought of this morning as yesterday night, and looked for the eclipse tonight, which will be tomorrow am. Clear as a bay area fog at midnight, yes?

The moon was magical and red, I took the kids down to the beach, we stayed there and watched until it had fully eclipsed and when it did two shooting stars zoomed past, absolutey amazing. The sky was pretty clear, just a few whispy fluff clouds here and there, but nothing to hinder the view, and in fact they made it all the more magical, all misty and mysterious, it was quite ethereal really. The kids played killer bunnies in the sand dunes, I almost wanted to play with them, but there were other people on the beach, so I behaved myself. I caught Mars before it disappeared to the other side of the earth, at the moment it is huge and so red, it is close to earth, has anyone else seen it? I am glad you guys saw the moon too, I was thinking of the time that you had to get up or wait up for it, but it was so worth it and at least it was still dark where you are :)

Oh Marz! Shooting stars, that's so awesome. What a beautiful description. We don't normally have so much fog this late in August. Wouldn't you know it, this morning the sky was clear. Very frustrating, but your moon report more than made up for it. Thank you so much :)
I haven't seen Mars lately. I think it's visible in the early am sky here right now. We have had the very gorgeous Venus headlining until about a week ago. For a couple of weeks in July (I think?) Saturn stepped in to perform some astronomical dance. It was beautiful. The bottom tip of the crescent moon formed the top point of a triangle with Saturn and Venus completing the 2 bottom points. And just at dusk when the sky is that heart grabbing blue. Absolutely breathtaking! Is Mars your personal favorite?

As JC described so very well, my sleep deprived brain is addled, but it was worth the effort. Giggling in the fog at 4am with 2 of my favorite people was a definite good time. Sounds like we could of stood for a good romp at killer bunnies. How does that go?

Killer Bunnies. Well when you play killer bunnies, you get down to the ground like a bunny and behave like a vicious, bad tempered crazy blood thirsty rabbit. You attack other bunnies, dig holes in the dunes, stalk humans, watch out for dogs,they are the killer bunnies only natural enemy, but the bunnies can give the dogs a run for their money. It's so fun watching the killer bunnies, I see two killer bunnies in a death grip rolling down a dune with sand flying everywhere. The best thing with killer bunnies is they have to be silent, so no noise, just actions, and they only come out at night. Beware the Killer Bunnies!!! :)

LOL I take it that Killer Bunnies are your creation. What a fun Mom you are! Can I apply for adoption? Can't wait to share with my boys! I don't get why you couldn't play though. Wasn't it dark? Throw caution to the wind Marz. You know that all your neighbors call you the "Killer Bunnies lady" already. What do you have to lose?

I know, I should have let my bunny hairs down, my 17 year old daughter was playing, but she was playing it with her boyfriend, Luke, and killer bunnies takes on a whole new meaning, I think it just becomes plain old normal bunnies then, although I did hear boyfriend bunny cry out in pain when daughter bunny tried to kill him for being a bad bunny, If I did play, I might have had to be a protective killer mummy bunny. Killer Bunnies was my 12 year old twins creation, Izzy and Aiden, they have a very warped imagination, or they just like to invent games where they can beat up on each other, and not only will I not tell them off, I will encourage and laugh at it, they are smart little bunnies I think :)

LOL Yes, they are smart little bunnies!
Promise me that you'll never miss an opportunity to let your bunny hairs down again. ^>^

Oh, ok Gypso, we have made a plan to go down to the beach on the next full moon, even killer bunnies need a bit of light, so I will be one then, the kids will love it, but they won't know what hit them, I have some secret killer bunny manoeuvres that they don't know about yet :)

Excellent!
Please report when maneuvers have been completed. ^*^

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LOL! I like that idea J.C, it's such a pitty we have such strict gun laws in Australia. Just joking, Im happy with our gun laws as they are :)

Every night about now (10pm'ish), as I'm trying to tear myself away and go to bed, I think about you greeting the kids home from school and want to ask:
Can the kids come out and play. Ah, come on mum, let them make just one more puzzle. Very bad of me. Enjoy your afternoon. Time for me to snuggle down.
Maybe just one more puzzle... ^<^

Marz, Bill Ingersol (?) a comedian in the States, maybe you've heard of him, has a bit that when he meet his teenage daughter's date, he tells the young man, "I AM willing to back to prison"
Gyps, I don't know about you but I've found myself pbn'ing in my dreams lately!

JC, I still wonder if there is a 12 step program for this addiction?

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your brother lives very close to Gypso :)

Sort of <smile>. We were closer when we actually lived in the City (SF) and my Dad actually once considered a job in Pacifica.

Marz, please complete in this week's WC, we need your talent !!!

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