Well, I skipped town and didn't tell ya.  :)  I moved back to LiveJournal!  I had friends of many years over there and I missed them, so that's where I am!

You'll have to join to comment -- I don't allow anonymous comments because it's easier to get spammed that way, among other reasons, and I have to read their crap even if I screen it.  If you join and I know and like you -- I'll friend you.  Otherwise, feel free to read my public entries -- they're pretty much along the lines of what I was posting here.

Hope to see some of you there!

Here's a song I composed, performed, and recorded on my electronic keyboard back in 2003.  It's been sitting there for three years because I never had a way to get the song into my computer.  Tonight I realized:  I have a webcam!  That will record audio!  After several tries, I came up with the following recording.  You'll probably need to turn your speakers all the way up, because, even blasting the sound at full volume from the keyboard, the recording turned out soft.

It WAS named "For All That Seems Lost," but tonight I renamed it "Unquenchable Hope" because it's an unaccountably joyful song written during a very dark time in my life.

Unquenchable Hope

Amy Cahill

Larvae Take Up Residence On Man's Head|wcco.com

(AP) CARBONDALE, Colo. Doctors thought the strange, bleeding bumps on Aaron Dallas' head might be from gnat bites or shingles. Then the bumps started moving.

A doctor found five active bot fly larvae living beneath the skin atop Dallas' head.

There's a reason for English class, honestly and truly.  It's so you don't write ads like these:

"A superb and inexpensive restaurant. Fine food expertly served by waitresses in appetizing forms."

"Dinner Special -- Turkey $2.35; Chicken or Beef $2.25; Children $2.00."

"Government employer looking for candidates. Criminal background required."

"We do not tear your clothing with machinery. We do it carefully by hand."

"Tired of cleaning yourself? Let me do it."

"Dog for sale: eats anything and is fond of children."

"Sheer stockings. Designed for fancy dress, but so serviceable that lots of women wear nothing else."

"Stock up and save. Limit: one."

"Wanted to buy: fishing net, must have no holes."

"TO LET: 4 bedroom house close to town. No poets."

"This house has been fully insulted."

"Used Cars: Why go elsewhere to be cheated? Come here first!"

"Wanted. Man to take care of cow that does not smoke or drink."

"3-year-old teacher need for pre-school. Experience preferred."

"Illiterate? Write today for free help."

"Mixing bowl set designed to please a cook with round bottom for efficient beating."

"And now, the Superstore--unequaled in size, unmatched in variety, unrivaled inconvenience."

"German Shepherd 85 lbs. Neutered. Speaks German. Free."

"2 wire mesh butchering gloves: 1 5-finger, 1 3-finger, pair: $15"

"For sale: Lee Majors (6 Million Dollar Man) - $50"

"Georgia peaches, California grown - 89 cents lb."

"Tired of working for only $9.75 per hour? We offer profit sharing and flexible hours. Starting pay: $7 - $9 per hour."

"Vacation Special: have your home exterminated."

"Get rid of aunts: Zap does the job in 24 hours."

"Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - Free Sample!"

"Toaster: A gift that every member of the family appreciates. Automatically burns toast."

How to Wreck Your Car By Overloading It.

As a tease:

Overloadedcar

Who would you trust with your life?

That's easy.  My husband.  I've done just that for many, many years now.  He is a jewel beyond price.  :)

Off building this website.

Yes, I've built websites before -- and built an earlier version of this one -- but NEVER from scratch.  To do this, I had to really learn HTML and CSS.  I knew a bit of HTML, but not enough to build a website.  CSS I didn't know at all when I started.

I did the graphics, too.  :)

Known issue:  in IE7, the table on the front page has this nasty black border I can't get rid of.  In literally every other browser I looked at it in -- Firefox, Netscape, Opera, Safari -- no problem.  I also had to hardcode certain characters that were displaying improperly in IE7.  Add to that all the crashes (which is why I switched to Firefox in the first place), and I have concluded IE7 sucks monkey balls.  Many people, however, STILL use it, so...*sigh*

Anyhow, I designed it deliberately so that you can get anywhere on the site from any page.  The nav and sidebars are static -- only the content is different from page to page, and that scrolls.  :)

Let me know what you think, and if you find any problems.  :)

Do you have a green thumb?

I have been known to kill cactii.  That is all.

And got an "A+" rating from my mother-in-law.  Yay!

I had told them I could cook, and I don't think they really believed me.  Well, now they do.  :)

What was on tonight's menu:

Appetizer:  Cheese and crackers.

Entree:  Marinaded grilled sirloin kabobs with purple basil leaves and lemon slices, served with a yogurt-mint sauce. (Mint was from the garden, picked today.)

Veggie:  A fresh yellow squash from the garden, cut up and sauteed in butter.

Bread:  Fresh-baked French bread from the grocery store, heated up in the oven until it was crunchy on the outside.  Served with real butter.

Dessert:  Strawberries soaked in Grand Marnier with whipped cream.

Drink:  Ice water.

Bay & Lemon Beef Kabobs
Macerated Strawberries

Modifications to kabobs:  I don't like bay leaves, so I used fresh basil leaves instead.  I used purple basil because they were out of regular basil.  Also, I marinaded the beef overnight because I like a good, hard marinade.  I also didn't turn the beef as instructed -- I just let it soak.  Didn't put lemon juice in marinade, either.  My brother suggested that I cook the kabobs four minutes on each side, basting them in marinade when I turned them, and that turned out pretty well.  I  ended up using 2 lemons.

Modifications to yogurt:  I just mixed it up to taste.  At first I added some lemon juice and found out why you don't do that.  :)  So I added sugar until it wasn't quite so sour.  Then I had added a little too much sugar, so I added a bit of lime juice because I was out of lemon.  I did add about 2 tbsp. minced mint.  No salt and pepper.  I'd follow the recipe and then modify to taste.

Modifications to strawberries:  I used 1 lb. strawberries and dumped in a whole SMALL bottle (the kind you get at the front of the liquor stores -- the miniature bottles, okay?) of Grand Marnier.  Any more booze, and your guests won't be able to leave the table!  Other than that, followed the recipe.  I made the strawberries the night before and let them soak up the booze for 24 hours.  I served with regular whipped cream and no mint garnish.

Have fun with these recipes!

I had entirely too much fun with those personals.  So I decided to check out the "women seeking men" section.  (I may eventually get to the gays and lesbians, but I'm honestly not qualified to judge either of those, although I may try.)

Here are my top picks:

I'm about to give birth, will always love my dog more than you, and I'm a crazy bigot.  Seeking skinny non-abusive non-bigot.  (Good luck, honey.)

Art? Sex? Answer this ad if you understand what the hell I'm talking about.

A day in the life of a harried single mom, complete with nitty-gritty details.  Was this a diary entry or a personals ad?  You decide. (In the beginning, she has an edit asking if it's that bad?  Answer:  Yes.)

Renting a room.  In the personals section.  For $700/mo..  Lady, I can rent a whole apartment for $700.  C'mon, what are you REALLY expecting for your $700?

Worst advertising by a friend.  Submits pic of the back of her friend's head.  Describes friend's profession as "chopping up dead bodies."  Suggests you get friend drunk to know her better.  No fat guys.  No small penises.  (Friend finally submits pics of herself, one with some guy.  She's really cute, so she just MIGHT have a chance with this uber-lame ad.)

Okay, I'm tired, so enough for now!