 Friends         | I will never understand why Trump got in but, like many things that happen in Wire, I will learn to live with it. All I ask is that you, every single one of you, vote your mind all the time. The truth is always what will set you free.  BugHug: 3 days ago • Report • Link  3  Acidic_Alex: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7TPg2obgmQA 3 days ago • Report 0  BugHug in reply to Acidic_Alex: 2 days ago • Report  0 BugHug: Trying out the new air fryer tonight. I put it off for as long as I could but when everyone is talking about how much they love theirs...well...here we go. Got a good deal on Amazon and it is our Christmas gift to each other. The rest of our "gift fund" is going to the Salvation Army this year. The poverty right now with inflation is insane. I don't know families are putting food on the table let alone buying Christmas gifts! BugHug: Year 3 in a row- Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose Alberta- tickets purchased for August 2024. Headliners- Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson and Keith Urban. Screw seeding our back lawn- hubbie said if Keith Urban was going to be there so will we.   BugHug: Had a bit of a scare last night and this morning. A wind storm blew in fast early last night and the temperature dipped fast. I love a good storm so at first I was enjoying watching the wind whip the trees around and watch the leaves flying everywhere. That's when we heard a "war cry" that a cat makes when the fight is on outside. I realized both our kitties were not in the house which, for 2 eleven year old cats who enjoy warmth and comfort, was very unusual. I went outside and called and called and nothing. I did this several more times through the evening and finally called it a night with the hope that one or both would be in their beds by the morning. I woke up with a start this morning as I clearly heard a cat crying. This time it wasn't a fight cry- it was a "help me" cry. I jumped out of bed and Mark grabbed the flashlight and headed outside to take a look around. I was so afraid of what he would find. Suddenly I heard a cry and it was loud and clearly coming from INSIDE THE HOUSE! The cries led me down into the basement to the door to the canning room. Yep. Both boys had been in that room since 5 pm last night when Mark came home and went down there to check on a leak. I am guessing the initial "war cry" we heard was them deciding who was in charge for the time being ha ha! Aside from some cobwebs on little one's head, they were none the worse for wear. Just a little hungry and VERY thirsty. I am so relieved!!  Corwin: Glad the kitties are okay. I like thunder and lightning. Nature's fireworks. But high winds are NOT our friend.  BugHug: My favourite husband surprised the heck out of me today with some 2nd anniversary bling. Our anniversary is still a couple days away but he couldn't wait any longer lol! My birthstone is in there with a small diamond and white gold band. So pretty! I am one lucky lady   BugHug: Hubby and stepson are off camping for a couple of days before I join them on Thursday. In the meantime I am getting my chick flicks on! So far- The Mirror Has Two Faces and 4 Weddings and a Funeral. Up next- Waiting to Exhale. Not that he wouldn't watch with me if I made him but I might hear snoring halfway through the first one  BugHug: So here in Canada we have a new federal holiday and it is called National Truth and Reconciliation Day or, as some of us call it, orange shirt day. Please read the link https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html I didn't have an orange shirt so I went online to purchase one on Amazon and, of course, the shirt I chose is made in China .This means I had to increase my sizing substantially to get one that would fit. Unfortunately, even with the larger size, they are mass produced to fit a man which means the shoulders are way too wide but there is little allowance in the chest and tummy area which many of us middle-aged women require. I also prefer a v neck to a round neck so I came up with a plan. I would alter my new shirt to my own preferences and haul out ye olde sewing machine. I am not, nor have I ever been, a seamstress. I can barely draw a straight line let alone sew along one but I am determined. I altered the shoulders and brought them in 3 inches on each side. I removed the neck ribbing and sewed a new one in although the bottom of the v has turned into an issue. I cut 3 inches or so off the bottom of the shirt as it was far too long. I still hate it but I will wear it on September 30th and next year I will come up with a better plan. Ugh. BugHug: Fabulous time at the Big Valley Jamboree this year! Parmalee and Bailey Zimmerman were so good- rocked out hard with those guys. Dallas Smith was fantastic!! Joe Nichols was great! Only caught the end of Ashley McBryde unfortunately but she sounded wonderful. Dierks Bentley was good- didn't stay til the end of the his show since we had to get up early to come home yesterday. But the reason for the season, the reason we were there again this year to begin with...the one and only Morgan Wallen was insane!!! Can't say enough about his show. He just effortlessly pumps out the songs and everyone went crazy. The energy was incredible!   View all 14 posts  tmetzinger in reply to Corwin: Austin City Limits is where I discovered so many favorites! I got turned on to David Bromberg and Asleep at the Wheel and Commander Cody in my teens by a Camp Counselor, and that led me to check out Austin City Limits.. Still one of the BEST music programs made today. Corwin: Just thought I'd post this too. How music crosses the genres... Luther Wright and the Wrongs... a version of Pink Floyd, but in Bluegrass format... nothing less than "genius" in my humble opinion.   Corwin: And for an encore... Luther Wright & the Wrongs, and Comfortably Numb.  I can't tell if this is an insult or a tribute. I'm loving it just the same. View all 7 posts  Aliasdaveagain: Hey great picture. You're looking fabulous (Said with a ridiculous lisp and bent wrist) hehee  BugHug: Headed to Camrose Alberta known for farms and other things but mostly for the annual Big Valley Jamboree. This year's headliners are Dallas Smith, Dierks Bentley and....Morgan Wallen!!!  . We are heading out tomorrow morning and camping in the Rockies the first night (5 hours from here) and then another 5 hours the next day to our country festival destination. This year we have reserved seating. Yes, a little spendy but last year we lugged our chairs back and forth to the grounds for every show. Not this year people. We are going in style!!! Camping sheets (what? doesn't everyone have camping sheets?), personal fans with misters and new cowboy hats to round out the experience  Corwin: That sounds awesome! Particularly the camping in the Rockies thing. I haven't been through the Rockies since I was a little kid. And those hats are awesome too. It's so hard to find a decent hat here in Ontario. BugHug: Wow- just enduring my Facebook friends' ignorant posts where they think they're being wonderful human beings "I never thought Aunt Jemima was a racist image- I only thought of her as good cook" Really white friends? Why not look up what Aunt Jemima stood for and how it affects people before you say anything about it. The internet has given us so much information. There is no excuse for being that stupid View all 12 posts Corwin: Hope you don't mind, Charlie... I'm still digging here. But I really wanted to get to the bottom of this, and as per your original post (and you were right) with the internet, there is no excuse to claim ignorance. The information is there... but damn, it's a bit of hard work to do this research, and "peel the layers of the onion"... I feel almost like I'm working on a "school project", and want to get graded well for my effort. I've always been rather fond of Mrs. Butterworth, and those TV commercials I remember as a child that evoke fond memories of watching Saturday morning cartoons. I did this research for HER. I'm going to miss her. Her product branding demise is apparently because of an unsubstantiated rumour. According to ConAgra Foods who created the brand mascot, and I quote, "“The Mrs. Butterworth’s brand, including its syrup packaging, is intended to evoke the images of a loving grandmother." Before the more commonly remembered animated "talking bottle with moving arms" commercials, they had commercials in cartoon format (intended for the Saturday morning time-slot), and "fleshed out" Mrs. Butterworth was portrayed with a neutral "tan" colour of skin, and blonde hair. The original voice-actress for Mrs. Butterworth was Frances Bavier, known for her role as Aunt Bee in the Andy Griffith Show. (who was white). Followed by Mary Kay Bergman, a Jewish-American, and more recently, Edie McClurg who you might remember as the school secretary sniffing white-out in Ferris Beuler, or Herb Tarlek's wife in WKRP (also white women). The "rumour" that began circulating, was that Mrs. Butterworth's persona was based on Prissy, Scarlet's black maid in Gone With The Wind, played by actress Thelma McQueen... her famous tag-line "Lawwdy, Miss Scaaahhlet!" (spoken with a heavy Southern slang 'drawl' ). Okay... sure, THAT would be racist. And McQueen, who began her career as a professional dancer, had the nickname "Butterfly", which just reinforced this "connection"... Butterfly = Butterworth? BUT... there are a few problems with this scenario. For one, Thelma McQueen was an attractive young woman, NOT the "elderly grandmother" type. And, Mrs. Butterworth did NOT speak with an Antebellum-Era stereotypical "black maid" accent as Prissy is portrayed in Gone With The Wind. (as per the voice-actresses mentioned above) The two bear VERY little resemblance. The only reason Mrs. Butterworth is "brown" is because the bottle is clear plastic and the syrup inside is brown. But... the rumour "stuck"... the kangaroo-court had passed their judgment, and "the public had spoken". ConAgra Foods had no choice but to bow to public pressure, and 86 their product branding, for fear of public backlash. A no-win situation... 86'ing their product branding would hurt sales... NOT 86'ing their product branding might kill the whole company. ConAgra Foods issued this statement: "We stand in solidarity with our Black and Brown communities and we can see that our packaging may be interpreted in a way that is wholly inconsistent with our values." ^^^ I'm glad that they didn't issue a formal "apology". They had NOTHING to apologize for. They branded their product with good intentions. The way I see it, they fell victim to "mob-mentality"... and a viscous rumour. My beloved Mrs. Butterworth fell victim to a "lynch-mob"... I have visions of torches and pitch-forks, and the poor old gal burning at the stake. And Charlie... I learned another new word with this digging... "Black-Erasure"... It's not the same as "Cancel-Culture", that means something else... So... this "new" policy... product branding can only have "white" people on the logo?? Is that not racist?? Mrs. Butterworth's only crime was being "brown"... this "lynch mob"... who's side are they on?? Which brings me back to the Cream of Wheat guy... there IS an injustice here... Frank L White, the Chicago Chef who donned their logo for almost a century... he died penniless in an unmarked grave. He was never properly compensated for the use of his "likeness"... if he'd have struck a deal for pennies of "royalty" for every time his image was used, he would have died a rich man. But recently, B&G Foods have replaced that tombstone with a glorious one, paying their respects to a man who deserved that respect. I think too little too late... but respect where respect is due. And now we have to "erase" him from history?? Frank L White's likeness REPLACED a racist one... B&G Foods corrected this issue back in the 1920s... they were AHEAD of this game... how would Chef White feel if he knew that his very "likeness" was considered "racist"? I'd bet that he's rolling over in his grave... how is THIS justice?? A Chef... merely by being black... is racist. What the hell is going on? (Post deleted by BugHug ) BugHug: I loved it. I think Mark did too but he keeps some things close to the chest lol. I knew Margot Robbie would hit it out of the park but Ryan Gosling surprised me. He is SOO GOOD! Like a good singer, a good dancer- everything. He did Ken perfectly! Corwin: I made people unreasonably mad yesterday. Today I think I'll just settle for reasonably mad.  BugHug: Went from painting rainbows and butterflies to watching a documentary about female serial killers. Sounds about right for a Sunday BugHug: Thanks for the ideas Rocky and Corwin. I think you can agree the average 4 yr old has more artistic talent than I do but it was kinda fun. The one on the far left was supposed to be a pride rainbow but it turned out to be the team colours for some rugby team in Great Britain I'm sure.   rockislandred1 in reply to BugHug: not at all. i admire anyone willing to step out of a comfort zone and stretch themselves. especially creatively Corwin: Oh! The one top-center. Looks kind of like an "egg"? Paint it to look like the movie poster for Alien. Or go on some kind of "egg" tangent. Everybody has an artist inside them... you have rocks, you have paint... find the artist within you and PAINT! ... Paint like the wind! BugHug: I hate this heat. It makes me very cranky and I feel guilty for not doing anything because every time I move, I break out in a sweat. American friends- get out your C to F converter. I know it's nothing compared to some southern states but it's a lot to me and it does happen every year here in (gasp!) Canada. I love my AC and the fan with the water mister on the deck. I am happier in late spring and early fall- 25C is perfect for me.  Corwin: Whenever I see the town name Kamloops, I imagine some kind of breakfast cereal. Here in Ontario we have a Moose Factory... I've always wanted to tour their factory floor and see how they put those things together. A marvel of Canadian manufacturing. |
