On a limb with Claudia

May your week be filled with seeing the gorgeous creatures around you!

Happy Monday

Continue Reading

(video is less than 3 minutes)

In case you wondered….

Continue Reading

Last weekend, D went camping so I thought I would start scanning all of our files with my NEW scanner.

Nope. Didn’t happen.

The new scanner is broken.

As a public service, I want to share with you things that will not fix your scanner:

1. Yelling and/or cursing out loud will not make the scanner work.

2.? Calling the place you bought it will never work.

3. Nor does expecting a call back from their technical support.

4.? Screaming at the top of your lungs: “WHY CAN’T YOU JUST WORK?!?!?!?” might work in some cases, but did not work in my case.

5.? Turning it on and off does not work.

6.? Re-installing the driver does not work.

7.? Reading the on-line documentation and/or the printed documentation does not work.

8.? Begging the house ghosts, spirit guides, God or other spiritual intervention works for most things, but not when your scanner is broken.

I just thought you needed to know.

Oh, what does work?

Calling the manufacturer and having them send a new one.

Ok, you can return to your regularly scheduled programming.

Thanks for reading.

Continue Reading

Things have been a bit dank around here lately. I saw this post and thought it would make a great Thursday Thirteen. (I stole some of his ideas and added some of my own.) Please add your favorites and I’ll put them in the post!

Thursday Thirteen #36 – 13 on-line things to do to unwind

1. Exciting ways to fold U.S. Money!
Revealing hidden messages? Secret predictions? Who knows? Fold Dollars into amazing illusions.

2. Convert your English into Pig Latin!
The Dialectizer to the rescue of all authors and bored people. Amoose yo’seff fo’ hours! (Redneck)

3. Predict your future!
This site is scary accurate. I was dorking around one day and asked about the plot of my first book (the Fey). The tarot reading was absolutely spot on. Scared the crap out of me!

4. Doing acid? Wish you were doing acid?
Crazy Images is for you! Put your feet up and relax to the weirdness.

5. Feeling a bit skanky? Maybe a makeover is in order!
This site allows you to upload your own picture then change the hair color, add make up. This is awfully fun using your last boyfriend or your sister’s photo. I’d show you but….

6. Of course there’s always Good Reads.
This site allows you to review books. There are also a lot of authors on Good Reads. You can interact and learn more about the author. (I’m there at ClaudiaHallChristian – I’ll be friend you if you befriend me!)

7. Want to talk like a Brit?
Admit it, you think British people are cool because they sound so cool. Don’t be a stupid American with your “sorry” and “pint of lager” find out how they really talk! Here’s a great dictionary to while away your hours…. (I use it for words when I’m working with British people and Nicholas is on vacation.)

8. Be shocked and amazed!
The Cave of Magic will control your mind with wicked card tricks. You don’t have to play mind games with your spouse or your boss. Play them right here!

9. IM with strangers!
It’s Cajun Vegan‘s fault. She has me completely hooked on Plurk. If you twitter, plurk is better. It’s easier to read. You meet people and find out about their lives. While there’s some of the Myspace nonsense (“you are deleted from my top friends!”), overall, I’ve had a great experience there. (My first day someone told me I was old and uncool – shrugging – I am old and I haven’t cared about cool in a long time so….) If you plurk here’s my link.

10. Determine your IChing without any boring details!
The I Ching is a complicated system of Tao. Who cares? With this site, you can get a great reading about your situation without all those pesky details. Try it! (They also have Runes but come on? The I Ching is science while the Runes are creepy rocks!)

11. Vent your frustrations with an on-line food fight!
Why waste that expensive food when you can just cyber food fight. This site is the answer to your food fight woes. No clean up! No waste! Frustrations vented! How can you go wrong??

12. Real blog quizes about what YOU want to know!
Come on, you don’t really care about your crushes do you? You want to know what your blog is rated. (G here! Short sentences rule!) This site gives you all the dope on what you want to know.

13. Now it’s your turn – what do you do on-line when you need to unwind?

• LoopyKd – I like to play Flight of the Hampster or Puzzle Farter at Dig Your Own Grave.com.
• Susan Helen Gottfried – I catch up on my reader to unwind?
• Ornery’s wife – I am web surfing, it is usually looking for recipes or reading blogs. I also love stumble?could spend many hours with that!
• Tommie – I am web surfing, it is usually looking for recipes or reading blogs. I also love stumble?could spend many hours with that!
• The Gal Herself – My favorite online timekiller is playing game after game on Pogo.
• Pamela Kramer – I actually will take a silly quiz!
• Adelle Lauden – I?ve taken to playing scrabble online, I love learning new words
• Forgetfulone – My mindless fun is playing games on candystand.com.
• Grace at Sandier Pastures – I type away my boredom in this site: http://speedtest.10-fast-fingers.com
• TWMark – I now consistently beat Pebble Beach at POGO
• Tempest Knight – One of my favorite places to unwind is Llewellyn.com. I love throwing the cards.
• She -I pop bubble wrap.
• Heart in San Francisco -I sometimes track old friends on the various people-finding organs, even if I have no intention of contacting them. Or I look up stuff, play on eBay, or read blogs.
• CelticLibrarian – When I?m online and need to unwind I just go over to Facebook and play Text Twirl or surf YouTube.com
• Shaunesay – I have to admit I get sucked into Neopets for a lot longer than I really intend to a lot of the time
• Julia – My online chilling is basically visiting other bloggers and watching my own YouTube playlists. As in the playlists I?ve put together of other people?s videos. And searching for new videos to add to my playlists. Very relaxing.
• Colleen at Loose Leaf Notes – Here is my most favorite fun blog site. Click mouse to change colors: http://www.jacksonpollock.org/

Happy TT!

~~~~~~~~

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Continue Reading

Outside a McCain “town meeting” in Denver, my friend Molly’s mother, Carol Kreck, held a sign that said: McCain = Bush. She was ticketed, escorted from the property and given a court date. Click here to see the video:

A defense fund has been set up to help her fight this bogus charge. Help if you can.

Personally, I’m not sure what’s more unbelievable :

1. the ticket and court date,
2. or the cute Denver Police. (Denver Police average about 60 extra donut pounds.)

UPDATE:

• Secret Service “emphatically denies” any involvement.
• “A representative of Senator John McCain’s staff respectfully asked that the venue for its July 7 Town Hall Meeting, The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, not allow persons to display signage within the Arts Complex,” DCPA officials said in a statement.

Link to Ms. Kreck’s blog post on her arrest

Continue Reading

VOTE FOR ME!! VOTE FOR ME!! VOTE FOR ME!! VOTE FOR ME!! VOTE FOR ME!!
(please)

After one too many serious TTs, I thought we should play a little scrabble. Here’s how:

1. Create a word from the previous word by changing only one letter.

2. No foreign words or letters. Don’t add a letter unless indicated.

3. You may choose from any length 1-13, but you must create the word from the previous word.

4. Put your word in the comments.

5. I’ll put your word and a link to your blog in the comments.

Easy Peasy right? Here’s the starter words:

1. One letter word: A

• I (Toni at It’s Nap Time)

2. Two letter word: To

• So (Toni at It’s Nap Time)
• Ta (Celtic Librarian)

3. Three letter word: Fat

• Fit (Citizen Janey)

4. Four letter word: Take

• Tale (Toni at It’s Nap Time)

5. Five letter word: State

• Stale (Toni at It’s Nap Time)

6. Six letter word: Success

• Courts (Janet at Fond of Snape)

7. Seven letter word: Fearless

• Locate (Mark at the Walking Man)

8. Eight letter word: (any of above words) + additional letters

• Mistaken (Sandy Carlson)
• Stateside (Grace at Sandier Pastures)
• Fatalism, Fatigued (Grace at Sandier Pastures)
• Takeover, Takeaway, Takeout (Grace at Sandier Pastures)
• Toboggan (Mark at The Walking Man)
• Toadstool, tolerable, tolerably (Grace at Sandier Pastures)

9. Nine letter word: (any of above words) + additional letters

• Mistakenly (Jenny McBride)
• Statement (Tommie at Tuesday Update)
• Statehood, Stateless, Stateroom, Statewide (Grace at Sandier Pastures)
• Fattening, Fatuously (Grace at Sandier Pastures)
• Take-over (Grace at Sandier Pastures)
• Toastmaster, Tobacconist, Tobogganing (Grace at Sandier Pastures)

10. Ten letter word: (any of above words) + additional letters

• Mysterious (Jill at Live your life)
• Fearlessly (Jenny McBride)
• Testaments (Lillibeth)
• Succession (Carol at She-lives)
• Fatherhood, Fatherland, Fatherless (Grace at Sandier Pastures)
• Fathomless, Topography (Vixen at Vixen’s Den)

11. Eleven letter word: (any of above words) + additional letters

• Successfully (Jenny McBride)

12. Twelve letter word: (any of above words) + additional letters

• Fearlessness (Carol at She-lives)
• Mysteriously (Carol at She-lives)
• Togetherness (Grace at Sandier Pastures)
• Unsuccessful (Toni at It’s Nap Time)

13. Thirteen letter word: (any of above words) + additional letters

• Unsuccessfully (Jenny McBride)
• Statelessness, Statesmanlike, Statesmanship (Grace at Sandier Pastures)

14. Fourteen letter word (just for Sarah and Cajun Vegan! and Nic, of course.)

• Stalwartnesses (Sarah at Puss ReBoots)
• Understatement (Cajun Vegan)
• Successfulness (Nicole Austin)

Good luck! Leave your word in the comments and I’ll post them fast as I can!

~~~~~~~~
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Continue Reading

My buddy, Moobs, is running his fabulous Tenuous Connection contest. I am in the running!!!!!

Here is my tenuous connection to fame:

?I was introduced to Dax Moy the celebrity trainer who used to mock Moobs? paunch.?

Of course, Moobs exaggerates. Dax didn’t mock his paunch, just his (I hate to say this because Moobs hates them) Burpees. In fact, there’s a vid somewhere….

This is my second year in the running – I need YOUR HELP to win!

Here’s what you do:

Click on this button or go to this link.

Write: International: Claudia, of course.

Then let me know you voted. I’ll add your name to this post so we can make sure Moobs’s accounting is accurate. (He’s a lawyer, not a number cruncher.)

I don’t have any votes yet – so help me out! PLEEEEZZZEEE!

Those who have voted so far!

• Heart in San Francsico
• The Walking Man
• Yellowflower Mo
• Citizen Jane
• Ivanhoe
• FuriousBall
• Janet
• Vixen
• Storyteller
• Cajun Vegan
• Dr.? John
• Janeywan
• She became a butterfly
• Los Angelista

Continue Reading

Here’s the set up:

Let’s say that you are a billionaire singer, song writer and actress.? Before you leave the house, a professional styles your hair and does your make up.? You have children, but you never take them in public. Further, you have people who do the nasties – change diapers, feed them, etc.? One last check at the door by a professional stylist, and you enter the paparazzi pubic.

Now for the profound question:

What the HELL is in your handbag?

See what I mean? Look at the weight of these bags!

If you have any thoughts, suggestions, stories or fantasies, please let me know.

Continue Reading

United States Special Operations is running a “drill” in Denver this week. Of course, it has “not one thing” to do with the Democratic Convention coming in two months. I mean really, you think Special Operations cares about the Democratic Convention. Pfft.

They start flying in the afternoon and fly until 11 p.m.

(I stole the photos from the Rocky Mountain News – shh don’t tell…)

Thursday Thirteen #33 – I love helicopters buzzing my house.

1. Cute guys. They are so friendly that they buzzed our bar-be-que last night…. four times. Finally we started waving to them. I actually think they waved back.

2. When five helicopters raced ten feet off the street, they did a better job clearing the street of debris than the street sweepers.

3. It’s been hot, so the wind from the helicopters cools the house a little bit.

4. Finally people are talking about something other than gasoline prices.

Yeah, like that’s gonna work.

5. I can finally cash in on the cracks in my plaster!!

6. Well, Hello!

7. When they fly really low, they shake the dust off the unreachable places. Thanks US Army!!

8. After years of hearing about the “black helicopters” that spray (fill in the blank – mind control drugs, experimental viruses, blah, blah, blah), there’s finally PROOF of their existence.

9. I get another chance to practice my 2008 goal of being more flexible. Thanks US ARMY!!

OK here’s the positiive side:

10. They have been very polite to the press and the city government. Yes, the US Army is trying to steal a bunch of land in Southeastern Colorado. So they kind of have to be nice. Still.

11. In most of the world, Black Hawks fly every single night. I can tolerate a few days.

12. It’s pretty freakin’ cool. Check out this video of them flying around. Wow.

13. Now it’s your turn. What positive or light side can you make of some incredibly annoying thing that’s happened?

• Shaunesay says, “I?m being laid off at the end of September from my job, so that REALLY annoying, BUT I may finally get that extended vacation that I?ve wanted for a long time!”
• Susan Helen Gottfried says, “Trevor?s not in print yet, right? Yet the longer it takes, as annoying as it is, the closer I?ll be to having the next one done.”
• Adelle Lauden says, ” I?d take out my hearing aids and grab my camera”
• Journeywoman says, “Well we sat in traffic for 4 and a half hours after sitting in the rain for one and a half hours?I made the best of it by singing Muppet songs.”
• Grace at Sandier Pastures reminds me, “at least you know your ears are fully functional (to hear all the buzz) !”
• Kay says, “We have a military base in our area?BIG helicopter training facility, so we have the birds in the air every day and night, but they don?t seem to fly low or bother us much. I stay positive by remembering how much economic development that base brings to our area.”
• Celtic Librarian says, “Well, as a result of people parking their truck/car/van to dump their trash very slowly, and thus blocking my parking space. I have discovered that I am better at maneuvering my car than my husband is. At leat when it comes to parking and backing out in such a situation. So there.”
• Heart in San Francisco says, “In keeping with your airborne theme, it?s almost time for the Blue Angels to do their show here again. They fly over our neighborhood by the Bay for hours every day for about two weeks, and the noise is deafening as they break the sound barrier four million times a minute.? But on the positive side, they are amazing flyers and despite my not being blazingly jingoistic, they make me proud.”
• Dr.? John reminded me that “You have to admit it gave you something to blog about.”

~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~

I’m still annoyed with Mr. Linky. Until I figure out a way to make it work for everyone (and not just Mr. Linky), I’ll add them again!

Continue Reading

If you are a published author, I need your help – please help with my new project. Click here for details.

I love baking bread. I have since I was a little girl. I like the feeling of holding an entire universe in my hands. I thought I’d share my love of bread making with you!

Thursday Thirteen #30

Sourdough bread that is!

Facts

1. All bread was made with “wild yeast” prior to 1950s. In the 1950′s brewers yeast became commercially available as bread yeast. Of course, brewer’s yeast was never intended to rise bread.

2. People coveted their yeast. They bought their yeast when they emigrated to the United States. Sourdough arrived in the West via wagon train.

3. Every line of sourdough is different, and depending on how it’s treated, changes as it lives in your home.

What is sourdough?

4. Wild yeast is naturally occurring yeast. When people say, “wild yeast” they mean “not brewer’s yeast”.

5. Sourdough starter is a mixture of yeast and bacteria cultures (similar to those in yogurt).

How does it work?

6. I received a starter for free in the mail. (It looks like powdered milk!) I reconsituted the starter and let it grow.

7. I keep the starter in a pyrex dish in the refrigerator. When I am going to use it, I take out a 1/4 cup, add water and flour, and leave it over night. If I don’t bake one week, I just feed the starter.

8. Because I like to make a lot of bread at once, I usually create starter over the course of a number of days.

9. Almost any bread recipe can be converted to sourdough. There’s a million great recipes at Sourdough Home.

Why make bread?

10. There is a large body of research that suggests that food changes properties depending on how it’s created and who creates it. For example, blessed wine actually tastes better. I create the bread with love – I think you can taste it.

11. Sourdough is easier on the human body than brewer’s yeast.

12. I can control the ingredients in my bread – I use organic flour from an employee owned mill. I use sea salt and olive oil. I also filter the water. These high quality ingredients create a high quality product.

13. Now it’s your turn. What do you love to bake? Leave your favorites in the comments and I’ll add them to this post.

• Michelle at My Crazy Life with a Toddler bakes bread when she makes homemade soup – usually in the fall and winter.
• Miss Sarah at Puss Reboots bakes “soda breads, biscuits and pies mostly.”
• Sandy Carlson “love(s) to bake cookies–any kind at all.”
• FuriousBall baked himself in college.
• Shaunesay bakes break in her bread machine.
• Briggie says, “When I got married (many many many years ago) my Mom gave me a Betty Crocker cookbook and there is a recipe for Casserole Bread. I love making it because it?s so easy, lots of variations and everyone loves it.”
• Colleen “used to bake my son a blueberry pie for his birthday each year.”
• Jameil “can bake anything following a recipe. If peach cobbler is considered baking but i make mine with crust from scratch and people always rave over it. it?s sooo easy, though.”
• Popping Bubbles says, “Cookies and cupcakes are my usuals, but lately I have been baking these fantastic loaves of Artisan bread.”
• Grace in Dubai “love(s) to bake chiffon cake because it?s easy and my husband loves it.”
• Winter “make(s) Irish soda bread and baking powder biscuits. Sometimes cookies and brownies.”
• Odat makes ?no bake? cheesecake.
• Adelle Lauden “make(s) my own bread as well, but I mix and rise in the bread maker. Much easier on the hands. I bake it in the oven thought”
• Alice Audrey has “a bread machine and just toss(es) things in willy-nilly.”
• Sassy Mama Bear says, “Actually my husband is the big baker in the family and I am going to share this with him as he has wanted to start baking sourdough. He makes the best cinnamon rolls ever.
  I bake mainly cookies and cakes.”
• Darla “love(s) baking bread?kneading is a great stress reliever?and experimenting with changing the recipes.”
• Jennifer McKenzie “love(s) making my own bread. I have dinner rolls I?ve started making with whole wheat flour and sea salt. They?re awesome!!!!”
• Hazelnut says, “Being Scottish, I really do bake oat scones, lots of butter, eat warm with a drizzle of honey, great with a pot of tea.”
• Los Angelista says, “I know how to bake a fabulous apple crisp and I also can bake a delicious coffee cake.”
• When CEO baked, “my favorite was baking an old fashioned sour cream chocolate cake with old fashioned sour cream chocolate icing, just like the turn of the 20th Century.”
• Mary Alice says, “I bake bread as well, but not as often as my mother did. I like to make my own dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, cakes and pies.”
• Heart in SF says, “I bake pies, quick breads and cookies all the time but would love to begin making my own bread again. I?ve made French baguette and also honey whole wheat bread, but not for a long time.”
• Melanie “love(s) to bake cookies.”
• Michelle says, “I am on a mission to become the mom who makes the best chocolate cookies in the neighborhood. Practicing is fun.”

Continue Reading