I am a music instructor/radio DJ/singer-songwriter and book author who enjoys speculating on the future. When I was a child I used to walk around with a little microphone. It was square. It was not operative, but in my mind I used it as a walkie talkie to talk to myself. I turned out to be a radio broadcaster. I do like to observe the world and come up with opinions about where it is heading.
I feel the reason the Hamish Macbeth series is so readable and likable is because the author grew up in the very country Hamish is from!
I love mystery doused with comedy, and if you do too, Hamish Macbeth is for you!
Whether you are on Team Agatha or Team Hamish, keep in mind the books are always way better than the shows on TV!
I like Ashley Jenner and I like Robert Carlyle as actors, nevertheless, I think perky, blonde Ashley Jenner would be an ideal in the character’s mind, but bears little resemblance to the close-set, bearlike-eyed, thick-waisted, and brown-haired Agatha Raisin of the Agatha Raisin novels!
Also, 5’8″ Robert Carlyle is no 6 foot plus tall police constable Hamish Macbeth. 6′ 1″ David Tennant would probably suit the role of Hamish Macbeth a whole lot better.
I imagine it would mean hiring shorter actors amd lowering ceilings to see the gangly Hamish bumping his head on door entrances!
(No. Unrelated to all this, I am not pleased with Anna Chancellor playing Lord Veternari either in Terry Pratchett’s TV rendition of, “The Watch.”)
To summarize, the books are way better, and sorry if I was harsh in my critique.
Nevertheless, M.C. Beaton is a fine writer and her books are a lot of fun!
Question: Have you ever been disappointed with a character’s film portrayal in comparison to the book?
I call it the obesity cycle: overeat, repent, repeat.
Once you get to a certain weight or a certain BMI, it can be very hard to change to get slim again.
For many people, getting fat only leads to getting fatter.
To make significant weightloss happen, it is clear that the solution to obesity is far more harder to achieve than prominent Weightloss Companies may promise, to say the least.
Yes, it’s true that exercise is the key to a healthier body, but so is what we eat on a daily and nightly basis.
Too many calories can make us fail in our quest to get fit and trim.
Today I am in the repentant phase of the obesity cycle.
For over a month I counted every little calorie that went into my mouth. Suddenly, counting calories began to be very tiresome.
So, after stepping on the scale at the orthodontist clinic yesterday, I saw that I was up 3 pounds because I recently quit counting calories.
I need to start counting my calorie intake again!
I had oral surgery yesterday and I’m kind of spent.
Keep fighting the fine fight and don’t let yourself get too fat.
If you’re already too fat, continue to get proper nourishment and lots of exercise, fresh air and rest, but continue to count calories and if you can stand it, be sure to get on the scale to check your weight.
If you fell off the weight reduction track, get back on-board
P.S. All diet advice by me is my opinion and does not reflect on any professional advice. Lose weight at your own risk.
I walked to the New Ulm public library on Monday morning to attend my first Memoir Writing meeting.
I saw my old friend, retired school teacher, Nancy Busse with her friend Jan.
Nancy and Jan
I listened to other people read or talk about their memoirs.
Tom and Benny
Tom is 95. He was born in 1927! Benny is a trumpet player who traveled with many popular dance bands!
Our Librarian/Technician spoke of the Memory Lab where you can preserve all your old photos, Lps, 18mm film and other memories on digital media for free!.
Librarian and Memory Lab Expert LeRoy Harris
If you want you can read my memoir I read to the group, here it is!
“The Distinguished Dropout,ā by Amy Zents
When I was 15 years old I was fed up with school. I had desperately tried to be a good student, but to no avail. I was either tardy or absent. I even tried changing schools, going from an eilite collegiate high school to a few other not-so-elite ones.Ā
Living in downtown Toronto I could not focus.Little did I know I had ADHD, and the stimulation of city-life overwhelmed my brain.At the time I could not understand why I couldnāt focus, and why I felt like such a failure.
After changing high schools to try and find the right fit, I quit school altogether and went to work.I kept changing jobs over and over again. I worked as a chambermaid, or housekeeper in downtown hotelsĀ Once while cleaning in the Sheraton, a guy claiming to be a Maple Leafs Hockey coach tried to pick me up stating his credentials.Ā I just ignored his advances.
In my later teens, I worked in a fancy travel agency. Although I had no experience I was put in the Accounts Payable department located in the prestigious Toronto Star Building. The job was not for someone like me. The pay was excellent, but I made too many errors because math was not my strong suit.
For awhile I ventured into working in retail. I learned how to use a cash register, albeit poorly, and I had a locker. The job was so slow and so boring, I could not bear it, so I quit.
Later on, I worked at Sears in the mail room, where I delivered mail to the different departments. I felt invisible and degraded there for some reason.One day I saw an old lady lying flat on her back near the shoe department, and I alerted staff.. All they did was call the EMTās while she lay there unconscious. She died at Sears.That incident upset me a lot, so I quit.
The last job, and the one I held the longest, was in catering and cafeteria food service at the Canada Life Insurance company. We served lawyers at their breakfasts, and banquets and each noon in their private dining room we filled their lunch orders that they checked off with a pencil from a daily menu.
At some point in my job search, I went to Canadian Man Power and took an employment aptitude test. The results showed my ideal job was a cook.Shortly before I got married, Man Power invited to pay for me to take a commercial cooking course. I declined.I was also contacted by the new IKEA store asking me come work for them.Ā
There seemed to be a lot of employment opportunities for me in spite of my work record. But I chose to leave that all behind.
At the tender age of 19 I got married and left the big city for a small town in Northern Minnesota.Ā After eight long miserable years living in Sauk Center, earning two dollars an hour babysitting, I finally realized that in order to get ahead, I needed to get my GED!Ā
I learned to drive in a manual transmission car and it took me 3 tries to get my driverās license at age 25, now I was ready to try to get a high school equivalency diploma.
I took classes at Melrose high school to review old subjects to prepare for my GED.I had to take the GED test in Alexandria, MN. I was so nervous, epecially since I remembered it took me three times to pass my driverās road test. I hoped I would only need to take the GED test once and for all.
After the test, I waited to receive my notice in the mail, I was proud to find out I had passed!
Along with the verification that I had succeeded in getting my GED, was a special note.
It was a gold-embossed card that stated, āCongratulations to Amalia for Excellence in Adult Education.ā I learned I had nearly perfect scores in all the areas of the test! I felt so amazed. I was a distinguished dropout!
Memoir resources were handed outPersonal experience is the ingredients of a good menoir
Disney Channel streams this enjoyable series of 16 episodes set in the Royal Courts of China.
Food and cooking holds a central role in this show and so does the Delicacy Kitchen Head chef!
Modest Head Chef Ling
Also, slow-motion eating, combined with expressive sounds and moans of pleasure make you vicariously feel as if you are eating what you see on your screen.
Hubby and me will often eat and watch the show. Whether it’s a big steaming bowl of stirfried rice or a delicious tapioca pudding like this I had at lunchtime, Delicacies Destiny is always sure to satisfy your taste for good viewing.
My only phenomena was surviving two car accidents in two months that totaled both cars!
When I graduated I had over 500 credits from my University spanning 14 years.
I took a double major in Music and in English, along with a number of other credits in subjects ranging from anatomy, science fiction, film studies, to sailing, theater arts, chemistry, horsemanship and many, many more classes.
I took morning, noon and night classes.
I attended classes Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer.
My thirst for knowledge was driven by the fact I dropped out of high school at age 15.
I was a non-traditional student who began college at age 29. When I graduated I was in my forties!
Zents Music Studio 