Scarlett

Ok, I'll break in. I can't leave Carolina Clay hanging...

Sending lots of white light to keepingfaith, gbmifan, and anyone who needs it!!!

<< insert white light icon >>

Well, white light is actually a rainbow... (image from the Tao of Photography)

or discolights...

or better yet...

ETA:

FYI, looks like LauraQ is rendering some old clack from DCAT/SRHP & JNT05, CH has just posted a bunch of clack alerts. I love old clack! *waves to Scarlett*

I hear ya, Luckiest! I'll finish up Minnesota 12/20 tonight (saves 12/19 for another day), but is it still Merrillville07 that's next? Or are you switching to Vancouver05?

Yay, FromClaygary!!! *does the Snoopy dance*

Speaking of Snoopy & Peanuts.... where are you? my sweet babbooo! .... hope you didn't feel bad that I find Red Zin too tannic...

(don't care that you don't have the genes to fix a car -- you should hear what Solo has to say about me and car manuals)

'cuz I know some people here are going...and I'm not. *sniff*

from PoisonIvy at CV...

I just got a confirmation email from Aron Hall at the BAF about my ticket purchase. At the end, he said this -- heads up to Yahoo users!!

PS. Unfortunately, many Yahoo users will not get this email. If you post that you have received something from us on a message board, please also include that Foundation emails do not generally make it to Yahoo users and they should feel free to contact us directly for confirmation or to provide us an alternative email.

So if you are on Yahoo and haven't gotten this mail -- check your spam folders or contact the BAF!

Eeek! It's lightning and I have to run, but wanted to get this in before I forgot....yes, I qualify....but HOW do you contact BAF???? Emails not answered, no phone.....???

I just forwarded Aron's e-mail to you -- it has a phone.

From Clayperfect at the CB

.. my cousin.. the Clay Aiken Protecter.

I love that.

Couchie, I had a wacky dream last night and you were in it. You were eating breakfast and poured warm pancake batter over the platter, insisting that I taste it because it was really good.... and it was.

There was a brand of pancake batter mix called White King (Ansa, do you remember this?) that was so good that I'd do this on my own. I guess this is related to why my kids love cookie dough ice cream.

ETA:

{{{{gbmifan}}} I know how you feel.My youngest also left at 3 months (exactly 12 weeks) to become our baby angel. :thbighug-1:

Anyone here on Yahoo e-mail, going to the Gala and didn't receive a reminder to reconfirm about the Volunteer Roundtable on the morning of the 18th? The note said that Yahoo users should either contact TBAF directly or provide an alternate e-mail address.

Scarlett....the trick with names ending with consonants? prolong the vowel right before. My daughter has always been...SAAAAAAAAAAAM.

Nothing else to say other than I had some of THEEEEE worst Chinese food evah tonite. Blechhhh.

That picture from Paula's Party is soooo cute. I'm dying to find out what it is he's supposedly helping her cook. Odds are it isn't Hot Pineapple Salad.

Rule of thumb for Asian restaurants: The better the ambiance the worse the food...and vice-versa

Paula's party dish? I'm guessing vegetables...

He's so adorable.....

I miss him!!!

We're OK here...just a little shook up!!

What an endlessly gorgeous banner, cindilu!!! These are some of my most favorite looks -- thx for bringing back 'The Way'

Scarlettttttttttttttttttttttt.....................must I come looking for you?

When the kids had grown a bit I realized that I missed an excellent opportunity in not picking names that ended with a vowel sound. There's a certain satisfaction at being able to stick your head out the door and yell up and down the street, "Iseemeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeiiiiiiieeeeeeeiiiiiiiiieeeeeee, come back in here and look what you've done!!!" that you can't get with a child whose name ends in a consonant (or worse, 2 or 3 consonants). You can still make do, but there's nothing like an ending vowel sound to let you really get into the spirit, even throw your entire upper body into the sing-song "iiiiieeeeiiiieeeee"'s, while shaking your head back and forth.

My sympathies go to the moms who picked names like 'Lawrence' or 'Trent' -- they can still work on the middle vowels but it's nowhere near as satisfying. Guess that's why 'William' turned into Billy or John into 'Johnny', etc. I'm just glad most of my nicknames end in a consonant. Hee!

*imagines Marlon Brando attempting to yell 'Scarlettttttttttttttttttttttt'*

No gala for me... my oldest niece is getting married that day. So no sitting at the computer either awaiting reports... it's a good thing she's my favorite...

Yay, Cotton!!!! Congratulations on making exec producer -- maybe you should have converted the craft room into a nursery instead of just re-painting.

I'm going to see you and couchie too?!!! Eeeeeeee!!!

Bookwhore, when you do see him I want be there. We need clack of the ravishing.

Gibby, I lurve the Good News pic beyond reason. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

KAndre, I'd forgotten about the "Dirty Minds" game -- we're both going to lose spectacularly, you know that!

How 'bout posting a couple of samples (like the one PerusingOne answered correctly), since we won't be at merrieeee's until mid-August? It's too good to keep.

Iseeme, Well not all red wines, Pinot Noir especially the Willamette Valley ones though Monterey and Santa Barbara are great too!

I like Sangioveses but Zinfandel is too much for me, unfortunately. 'k? :F_05BL17blowkiss:

The thought I was trying to convey here is that Josh Groban is like Cabernet Sauvignon -- good and expensive and nice to name drop: "I got this spectacular Opus One" or "I took her to a Josh Groban show". Pinot Noir and Pinot drinkers seem to be a lot like us/someone, somehow -- the part where no one is really sure what Pinot is "supposed to be like", how it can be different year after year, how it can be touch and go a lot but when it's great it's wonderful beyond all reason, etc. (ETA: I'm sure that Josh's core fans are like any fandom; I'm talking about non- or casual- fans)

Claymatron, Pls. tell us more!!!

Did we just kill the thread? Copying pics from previous page...

Hee - okay! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Scarlettttttttttttttttttttttt.....................must I come looking for you?

I was just desperately trying to compose my ode to my favorite wine but I gave up and will quote a lot of wine lovers instead...

(with apologies to Char -- references to Chardonnay are about the wine, not someone as nice as you)

Winemakers the world over get themselves in an almighty tizz over how their Pinot Noirs should taste. Is it pale, ethereal, with a scent as sweet as half-forgotten childhood summer memories? Is it sensual or heady, swirling with the intoxicating excitement of the super-ripe cherries and strawberries and blackberries of the gardens of Paradise? Is it bitter sweet as black cherries and licorice and yet invaded with an insidious exotic scent? While it's relatively simple to put a stylistic straitjacket on Chardonnay and Cabernet, putting a stylistic harness on Pinot is as tricky as wrestling with an eel.

While a host of talented but mainstream producers are perfectly happy to excel at Cab and Chardonnay in accepted styles, Pinot Noir attracts a much wilder bunch. A crowd who don't like being told what to do, a crowd who don't like a marketing manager to have more say in a wine than a winemaker. A self-indulgent crew of men and woment who love flavor, who love perfume, who love the silky tactile expereinces of a wine like Pinot, seductive, sultry, steamy, sinful if possible.

Pinot Noir requires a slow cool growing season. Plant it on a warm hillside with endless sunshine and you'll end up with a mess not unlike flat cherry coke. The best season for Pinot is when there is just barely enough sunshine each day to coax just a teeny bit more growth and ripening. During vintage years, it could be late in August and the grapes are still a long, long way from harvest and then everyone in the area will be wringing their hands, praying daily for sunshine, looking at the sky every so often and just willing it to warm up. Then come September there still hasn't been much improvement and people will be tearing their hair in frustration, swearing that next year they will plow the vines under and plant summer squash instead, shaking their fists angrily at the stubborn clouds and despairing that all is lost -- then, at the last moment, right before the harvest is declared a total disaster, the clouds break and 2 weeks of gentle sunshine follow, just enough to get the grapes to that perfect point of ripeness, no more no less. And every drop of wine produced that year will be of the sweetest perfection that people will speak of it for years to come.

Pinot Noir reflects the terrior more than any other -- the grains of sand, the bits of crushed limestone, the gentle spring rains, the number of foggy mornings in the summer, the occasional bird or butterfly -- the sum total of its environment is reflected in Pinot Noir. Great Pinot Noir is impossible to pigeon-hole but google for descriptions of wine and you'll find that more than any other wine, Pinot is described in sensual terms. Pinot Noir's association with sensuality derives from the remarkable supple, silky textures and erotically earthy aromas that great Pinot Noirs display. When people speak passionately of wines that they would take to a dessert island, Pinots are usually at the top of the list.

Of all the classic grapes, pinot is the most difficult to make into wine. It is highly sensitive to climate changes and variations in soil composition and is unstable during winemaking. All this makes Pinot Noir a riskier proposition for the winegrower, the winemaker and the wine drinker, than say, Cabernet Sauvignon. But it's precisely this enological gamble that makes Pinot Noir all the more fascinating and irresistible.

Pinot Noir breaks the rules. Red wine goes with meat and white wine goes with fish but the perfect match for Oregon Pinot is wild Pacific Salmon, the kind that scales waterfalls to return to their breeding ground. The rich fattiness and light char of grilled salmon could have no better partner than an earthy Oregon Pinot Noir, with its relatively high acidity and low tannin -- thus it doesn't interfere with the beautiful flavors of the fish.

I was going to render more clips tonight but y'all are having too much fun here! And besides, Gibby's luscious pics have grabbed hold of me and won't let go!

Before I forget... Bella, thanks for identifying Meryl's Shawl. Yes, it was gorgeous wasn't it! Didn't it look similar to Nefertiri's shawl in the Ten Commandments?

FromClaygary, only a fiber person would notice all those details, huh?

One thing about HP - their technical HelpDesk is in India!!! "Bob" or "Steve" may answer the phone but you'll be talking to Ranjit or Vinod and they're very difficult to understand. I spent nearly 3 hours one day talking to various departments, repeating the same information over and over - just to get a blown out monitor replaced. They kept asking me what the error message was and I kept saying the screen is black - there IS no error message! I must have given the serial number about 5 times before I finally started yelling "read the trouble ticket!" But I have used HP equipment for quite awhile - even when I was working - and never had much of a problem with it. When I bought my home computer after I retired, I actually went through CostCo and picked out the components. It was a pretty good deal. And you get the usual warrantees.

Scarlett - are you counting the ants or have you sent them to ant heaven yet?? And no, I don't line up my milk bottles because I don't drink milk. My wine bottles, on the other hand.......

LOL on your HP experiences! I can vouch for HP's servers though in that they come with 5-year warranties and most of them last way beyond 5 years w/o needing repairs.

I only send off the ones that absolutely need to to ant heaven. Wine bottles? Time to write about my favorite wine... <next post>

anna, I recently got a perfectly lovely new HP laptop at Best Buy. It has a purdy 17 inch screen so I can make Clay bigger.

See?

Wheeeee!!! It would be great to roll around in your photobucket account!!!

*sigh!* Unfortunately, I'm the sort who won't change who I am (a hopeless one-Bucket gal) because others are into multiples. [see siggy]

But drooling looking is ok, isn't it?!!

There have been so many first for me, and hopefully there will be so many more. Hoping to meet up with all of you and maybe even get a chance to sleep with Scarlett someday.

ETA:

I just noticed that Iseeme is trying to be a fame-ho in my notes tonight....

Are you the one waiting in the wings?

Scarlett Darlin' - Iseeme's house has been inundated with ants for several months and in spite of many trips by the bug guy. To no avail. What I do is spritz them with Windex. It kills them instantly and it's easy to clean up! And it smells clean. I hatesssss ants. Try to see where they're coming into the house.

Unfortunately I don't have Windex either. Would WD40 work? (I guess my homemaker qualities are showing, huh? I hope you're not the neatness nutcase overly tidy type who aligns milk bottles and such..... hmm.... you have ants too! ah!)

(fortunately I'm the forgiving type!)

That's what's so sweet about you!

liney, thanks! I guess having to clean them up would make that a bad thing.

========================================================

ETA: I have this cleaner mix called NOW in a spray bottle and it worked like a charm, after I tossed the main thing into a ziploc bag like Liney said. (Ewww, it was literally covered with ants. Like that scene from the last Indy movie) Thanks a bunch!!!

ETAA: Eeeeee, I got my e-mail confirmation!

EYATA: So glad that's done, I'm off to render some more Clack and get some supper! (which I will not absentmindedly leave on the counter just because the clip I rendered was thudalicious...) MUAH!!!

Hi, Honies!

I'm Ho-o-o-ome!!!

Two baseball games in this heat and humidity nearly did me in!

But my 70+ Aunt was out in the heat and she just had heart surgery two days after Christmas, so I really shouldn't complain! She's a member of "The Zipper Club"! hee

I'm in dire need of a shower. But I need food first!

Honies, I'm Ho-o-o-o-me too! Er, make that Honey! *whispers sorry*

Well my sweet Babbooo - it is not ME that's been sleeping around and standing at windows nekkid. And planning future sleepwiths.

The window, I can't explain. It's a bad habit that I keep forgetting to draw the drapes. But our room in SF was overlooking water so only the fishies were happy.

Sleeping with fans.... well, isn't it a good thing to enable people? So that we could all get to go to these Clay events for half (or one-third, or better yet one-fournt) the price of a hotel room? And if once in a while I make the mistake of inviting the wrong mix (like during one of the JBT's where the 2 people I invited were KAndre and someone in the FakeClay business, so I had to stay up all night because I just knew that the minute I closed my eyes they would be at each other's throats), there's always the opportunity to bring people together!!! Ok now? :26:

-----------------------------------------

I need some household advice! I just got home and someone (ok, me) left part of a hamburger on the counter last night and forgot about it this morning so when I got back this evening it was covered with ants. I don't have any bug spray in the place -- should I just quickly toss the thing into the microwave, ants and all?

My work laptop is a Dell but we got a great service agreement with them. My personal one is an HP, it's been chugging along for four and a half years. High time I replaced it but it's been with me on just about every trip in the fandom -- bought it on sale just before the IT. For years it's all I ever used to render and burn everything I ever sent out. These days I use a workstation to render because it's more efficient but this old thing has been through too much spilled liquids from reading hilarious board posts; the hinge is broken from when I kicked it off the bed the only time I was in a hotel room by myself (in Orlando the night before Fort Myers because KAndre warned me to get out of Texas before a storm hit), the screen may be somewhat grimy from stroking, shmoopie moments have left some salt deposits here and there, it's 2 operating systems and several CPU generations behind, but it's still chugging along. I really ought to upgrade already and there was a great one on sale at Best Buy a couple of weeks ago -- with an NVidia 8800 video card built in, but it's not going to be easy to let this one go.

ETA:

And FakeClay chick could only dream of reaching my throat - I woulda totally accidentally smothered her in sleep.

And believe it or not, I shall finish more of the saga of SF tomorrow (because I just got back from the chiropractor who for some strange reason didn't believe me about the damn carousel horse).

Yes, I know that. I didn't even lie down that night -- just kept one hand on a bucket of water and the other on the phone poised over 911.

Chiropractor didn't believe that the carousel horse bucked and threw you off?!! *there, there*

BTW, Solo said she would post something about how you seemed to imply in Recap Part#1 that the Mazda 6 was her choice dream car.

Well today has not been right up there with the best. My car needs a new clutch! And I am not a happy camper. Since I live 20+ miles from town I'll have to rent a car for 2 days.....on my dime, of course. The mechanic said I could probably drive another 20,000 miles without it breaking down. Now how does he know that? And why does he think I'll have $1000 then that I don't have now.

I'm depressed.

But then I'm not pregnant and I'm not contemplating buying a Dell laptop so there is something to smile about today.

And you have someone waiting in the wings -- that should cheer one of us up.

*sniffle*

ETA: I can explain! But I have to drive home now (oops!) hop along home now since I can't see anything in photobucket. See ya! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

OK - this might be a dumb question!! But I have downloaded the Original Cast recording of Mamma Mia. It says "Abba" in the artist column. But it's the cast singing right? Not Abba?? (told you it was dumb!) But I'm confused!!

Yes, it's the original Broadway cast. I wish you had told me before buying, I have 2 of those CD's. I hope you like it because it won't have the "familiar" (and probably "happier") sound of the original songs.

Scarlett - I think you're two-timing me. Fortunately I have someone waiting in the wings....

Wait a sec, what's this about someone waiting in the wings?!! *looks about suspiciously*

Not a problem! I have a room at the hotel! Now I see many people (EXcluding me) have gotten a confirmation email.....MORE stress!! AAAAAaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! MORE primal scream therapy!!

me myb did you get an email?

Oh, MAN!! Ticket stress! Couldn't get in until 12:06, but my order processed so I hope that's good news.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! (Primal scream therapy) :lmaosmiley-1:

Ok, last week while driving in SF, everyone ELSE in the car EXCEPT me said that they were gonna go. (according to KAndre, Ron the God of Irony is loosening up his hammer)... Well today I kinda logged on out of habit...fingers moved on their own... and then what do I find -- no one else in that car has gotten any tickets yet!

FromClaygary, you may have to adopt me in case my order gets processed. Besides, we haven't slept together yet, have we? *winks*

Abba has been on my mind this week, since I first saw Mama Mia on Wednesday, and again on Saturday. On Wednesday, it was me and my sister and 30 or 40 senior citizens! We were lumped in with them and my sister even got the senior rate ticket! So I guess we blended right in.

I saw it twice yesterday. Someone in out bunco group suggested brunch at IHoP and a 12:30 PMshow. We couldn't believe it, but the theatre was almost all filled up!!

When I told mrchach what we had seen, he said he wanted to see it! So we ended up going to a midnight show last night! It was quite a contrast, as we were the only ones in the place! We got up and danced a couple of times, and I looked over at him a few times and he was just grinning!

I asked him his favorite scene, and he said in the beginning when Donna sings "Mama Mia" when she first sees Sam, Bill, and Harry. My favorites are when Donna, Rosie, and Tanya sing together, Dancing Queen, and Super Trooper, and at the end. I thought Meryl S did a great job, and I love Pierce B, even if he can't sing, he looks great in tight blue jeans!!

Now I want to go to NYC and see the play!!

Onstage, it's the 3 friends who steal the show and these were also the scenes that stuck in my mind the most. I think that in the movie, they expanded the 3 guys' parts to balance things out a bit. It was the girls that I liked on stage and I missed that a lot with the movie.

Be warned, though, that some people who watched the show in NY last February didn't like it -- not sure if it was because of the cast or maybe it was because they would've rather have been at Spamalot. Casts change and though I was v. happy with the 3 shows I've seen, I guess things can vary somewhat.

Just scrolling through my Spamalot pictures tonight and I thought I would share this. Mr. Salt took lots of pictures, but we desperately need a new camera, so this is one of the better ones.

Thanks for sharing! I think I was there too, so that'll be a nice memory.

BTW, JazzyMedley and MCWL are up too.

In case anyone's interested, I've started to upload the Minneapolis JNT07 files to the CH/CU vaults. The mp3's, mp4's and XviDs are also available here. (just WTOW, CW, "Jesus" Medley, Jazzy Medley & MCWL so far)

playbiller, yay you made it!

ETA: goldarngirl, maybe I'm doing something wrong. Do you want the possible bonus clips first or should I have been working on my Merrillville?

{{{gbmifan}}} Glad you're taking care of things for your mom & hope she gets better soon!

So, I guess nobody's interested in cotton dishcloths, eh?

Claymatron, me! :PickMe-1: How about donating them to the SSS sale this year?!!!

'nite, Cotton! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

FromClaygary, yes you're right. It was Miyuki. *wipes egg off face* I made the mistake of grabbing a few vials of those while they were NOT on sale for an evening bag that I was hoping to make for the StripedSockSirens fundraiser -- never again, or at least never w/o a discount!

Did anyone who knows fabrics watch Mamma Mia and notice the type of material (silk?) that Meryl Streep's shawl was made of at the cliff during "The Winner Takes It All"? She was luminous in that scene and if ever I have to do that in real life I want to look exactly like she did (including the dramatic scenery and the wind from the sea behind her, hee!... by some strange coincidence I already have a blouse that looks like the one she wore)

'nite, Bella! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Hey, you can always come up for a visit to TO and hang with us!

Eeeeeee, I'd love to come!!! ...assuming someone's not yet touring, of course! Well, unless he has a show in Toronto because I'm still not over missing the JBT in Ontario Place -- I was there the year before the show and should have been there for the JBT.

Claymatron - Yes, our other boyfriend, Mr. Firth was good in Mamma Mia. Interesting twist with his character at the end of the movie too.

That part was always there in the musical though some folks who'd seen it told me about a "surprise" at the end of the movie -- I'm assuming they didn't notice it when they watched it on stage. And that was strange because in the musical Harry actually talked about it way before the "wedding"; I thought that part wasn't as subtle nor as interesting on stage as it was in the movie (ie. a quick nod and smile instead of an 'ooooh' of realization and bigger smile). Of course, Mr. Darcy may have had something to do with it -- normally isn't it a dreary thing to hear that you will be "the last"? -- but he says it in such a way to make one feel like the most special girl in the world.

ETA: 'night Caro! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Chardonnay, congratulations & best wishes for your DD & her DH. What a lovely song for their wedding! You have a beautiful family.

FromClaygary, Cotton, I saw a lot of beads on sale including some pretty Japanese (Murakami?) ones at the IQF last year. Let me know if you want me to scout out some for you this year -- or better yet come visit!

ETA: Bella, tell us more about the Spring CSNF! When it is and what'll be there?

ETA: The latest auction items I've just finished:

Snowflakes for UNICEF:

BAF Tennis Bracelet:

All of them are here:

FCs photobucket

FromClaygary, Wow!!! Those are just exquisite!!! I especially love the TBAF one because I think the new colors really go well together. You found the perfect size and shade of beads for it.

I don't wear a lot of things but if I manage to grab these at the auctions, I will! dangling earrings and anklets sound great! One thing I use are cellphone fobs -- the ones that are like mini-earrings that are meant to hang off the little bar at the end of cellphones.

{{{Aikim}}} on the vacation that didn't happen.

Glad you're home safe, luckiest1!

Carolina Clay, thanks for posting you link and for finding the montage! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

It's 96 degrees outside on a hot July afternoon but it's Christmasy in here while I'm rendering the Minneapolis JNT07. Solo did such a great job and I can't wait to get this out. I'm glad for the push from goldarngirl and luckiest.

Thanks for the joy in my new T-rex pal -- it was a struggle to get the flipflops on (or maybe I'm not used to BAB) but with everyone's kind words about them, she seems to have grown into them. treenuts, I think the outfit is a B-A-B set from Limited Too that started this summer.

Hee Scarlett I was in The Wooldlands Mall yesterday and the guy in B-A-B was holding the T-Rex, It is cute.

We were in Willowbrook Mall but I was trying to decide between there and The Woodlands Mall. We wound up in Willowbrook because of the Japanese buffet. Have fun on your trip with DD!

Cotton - I'm impressed. For me to clean my sewing room out would take a loooooong time - just hauling all the fabric stash alone. Isn't it true that she who dies with most fabric wins???? I think I'm ahead at this point......hee!

Thing is - I haven't gotten to the CLOSET!!!

And that's where the fabric is!!! Yeah - I think DS might say I win whenever I kick it and he has to clean out all my crap! LOL!

I have - again - big plastic tubs - stacked on top of each other!!!

Thnks for the link, Cotton!

FromClaygary, love the bracelets! Do you have a photo of the gorgeous red and white Christmas one you made ? Personally, I love earrings, think you could make a couple that look like little bunches of grapes for me? (In keeping with my wine shop job, of course!)

You guys are all so creative. The only thing I've ever done is knit those cotton dishcloths, which I started doing to keep me from snacking after I quit smoking. (Anyone need any, I have lots and lots of the cotton and can match just about any kitchen?)

Here's the pic of the CITH one...

Yes, I could probably do some grape earrings for you! We should get our heads together in August when I'm there, and I'll get you to show me what you're visualizing.

Awwwww, that one's going to make me wear bracelets. Is there any chance of a similar one this year?

HBD, KAndre and Crazy For Clay!!! :bday:

Oh, and