Italian Priest

I can finally enjoy Christmas. No more cleaning and cooking and fussing. It is over for the muggle born.  Do not get me wrong I love the frenzy of before Christmas. I love the action while it is happening but what I love most are the 12 days of Christmas that follow Christmas. No stress, no fuss. Relaxing, reflecting, knowing that most people are putting it behind them and back in its box and putting it out with the trash. Some will leave it all up until after January 1^st. A very few like me will leave it up until Epiphany. Even fewer will actually celebrate the visit of the Maji with gifts and the telling of the tale. Members of three Royal houses of Persia traveled many miles to greet a King and give him gifts that though strange and symbolic would provide the much needed income to safely keep Jesus and his family in Egypt.

We went to midnight Mass Christmas eve at a local Catholic Church. It is a tradition I have been doing for years. There is something very sacred and magical in the traditions of Christmas Mass at midnight. The ritual of the Mass that people hundreds of years ago did the same thing. You grow up with family members and traditions are adapted to include you and for years they exist and then family members pass on and the tradition changes and you adapt and new traditions are born and you do them every year and then family members pass on and again traditions change. Midnight Mass has not changed since I have been attending just the church I attend it in but then there is a great comfort in that too.

This one however, was different. I was gifted with a flask of Scotch early in the evening. I would take a wee sip now and then as the evening progressed. My favorite Shoe and J invited a lonely friend over to spend Christmas Eve with us and he was excited about attending Mass with us. So he arrived early evening and brought whiskey and beer. The merriment started. We loaded into the car and some of the occupants lit up cigarettes. We rolled up into church smelling of beer, whiskey and cigarettes. Not how I had envisioned this. Well we were there. I do not think the lady sitting behind us was very impressed with our Irish pub scented arrival…or feeling tolerant GOD bless her. Now she was either cursing us or praying for us. Shoe thought it sounded like cursing I was thinking it could have been more like “Oh Lord help these sinful people”. Either way lady it was Christmas and GOD bless us …Everyone…even you. Perhaps I should have introduced myself to her as Lady Tamara www.LairdOfLochaber.com    and she could have excused it as we were part of some crazy aristocracy from New England, New Jersey of Rhode Island. It would have seemed OK had the priest been Irish but he was Italian and the entire experience turned freakishly surreal. Suddenly we were transported to Romania and I had the sudden urge to search out who in the audience was a Vampire. In all my years of Mass it had always been spoken by an English speaking priest. The sanctuary was packed and he was very warm and welcoming to the parish members as well as guests. It was lovely.

I had asked a daughter to bring eggs and cucumbers because I needed them for Christmas dinner. I prepped dinner on Christmas Eve so I needed them sooner than Christmas day and I had not heard back from my daughter as to whether she got my message or not so I asked another daughter who arrived on Friday to get them. So…. Does anyone have any idea what I can do with eggs and cucumbers?

Death of my eggs

I just spent the last 28 minutes writing a story about the idiot woman who attempted to kill me, my daughter, my car and 11 other people and their vehicles all so she could cross 4 lanes of traffic, fail to yield and make a left turn she could have made from at least 2 other safer alternatives. Thank GOD for my horn. However, that did not detour her from her stupid headlong dive into exiting traffic. She did manage to kill two of my dozen eggs. The Butterfly lost the document I had just created and for some reason brought up the deleted one from yesterday.  SO for the shorter version…. Those red and white triangular signs that are on the roadways do apply to you! They mean …give way to, abdicate, and submit to oncoming traffic. Looking over at me and making eye contact and then charging over in front of me slamming on your brakes as you pull in front of me is not how that is done. You jeopardized my daughter, me and at least 11 other drivers and their cars. Then looking at me with your large ugly eyes as if to say “ what did I do?....” may work on Daddy or mommy or boyfriend or husband and probably your daffy friends definitely works at the Quarry and Stone Oak but does not work over here. You will obey the rules of engagement over here!  It was like you said….”ooooo chicken!!!!!”  and proceeded to lay chase to it heedless of your surroundings.

Lady Tamara www.LochaberHighlandEstates.com  needs a driver for the Holidays!

I do not have my tolerance for stupid engaged. I am trying to enjoy my Holidays! Stupid is not an option.

Breakfast Letters: Whoa ho ho

Breakfast Letters: Whoa ho ho: I took a long hard look at my printer, which was still not scanning I had tried everything. Talking nice, threatening, unplugging, tur...

Whoa ho ho

I took a long hard look at my printer, which was still not scanning I had tried everything. Talking nice, threatening, unplugging, turning off, shaking, reassigning it a wireless. It refused to scan and it was not talking to the Butterfly any longer. I had five choices, accept this situation (I am not good at this option), donate the thing to Goodwill and let them refurbish and sell (which is what usually happens), call in the Fin (which would require payment in cookies), uninstall the program and attempt a reinstall (this would require backtracking, an adventure in itself, patience which I was already very short on but, would offer me an intense amount of control and satisfaction if it worked), or retrieve my sword from the wall and go all William Wallace on the thing. The last one of course being my favorite option since I am very aware I have some displaced aggression just waiting to be unleashed. Then it dawned on me uninstalling is a form of destruction and required less energy. I opened the control panel and started. There were five programs that had to be killed. I was practically drooling with the anticipation of it. I envisioned myself like one of Frank Frazetta’s women, not, Lady Tamara http://www.highlandtitles.com/ more like Tamara Empress  Warrior . I named each program and one by one killed them. I was so exhilarated I could hardly wait to install the program.  I was practically daring it to not work right again. It asked me to do a test scan and so I placed a photo on the plate closed the lid and clicked the scan icon. It rattled and hummed and there before my eyes appeared a photo of me armed with a pistol . It was like TRON. I am sooo happy!!!!

There I was at a Christmas party with friends from a former job, teammates and ladies who worked there before me. We were having a wonderful time when the hostesses man comes home and is attempting to get from the dining room to the bedroom and he walks up to a group of woman and says “OK ladies spread” and waves open his arms. I stopped dead in my tracks. Had anyone else heard him through all the chatter?  The Ladies moved aside without skipping a beat and I looked at Moon and she was looking at me like I am sure I was looking at her. Spread Ladies? Are we in a Bordello? Is he inspecting? The visual in my head was like a drill sergeant walking past all the “ladies” with their goods spread for inspection. He was dressed like Napoleon but looked like Hitler. I just giggled.

What happened next was the best part of the afternoon. We heard sirens down the street. We all ran outside to look and there at the start of her street were fire trucks and they were slowly making their way up the street. Could it be Santa coming to town in a fire truck? I had not seen that since my oldest children were toddlers and we lived in Alaska. This was so exciting.  I looked over at Moon and there she stood with a huge grin on her face and a glass of wine in her hands. We all laughed at what the reaction of Santa and the firemen would be and the thought of presents of a different type came to mind. We waved; they grinned and threw us some candy. Santa laughed as he waved back and “Whoa! …… Ho Ho…HO” at us. The sweet faced fireman behind him smiled and starred at us as we faded into the distance.

Moon and I dashed to the street and picked up pieces of candy that had been touched by firemen. The treats are in my purse. Where I will pull one out now and then and show Shaggy and say “Look Shaggs a fireman touched this.” Mom!!

Shaggy and I went to a movie last night and saw New Year’s Eve. Loved it! Shaggy loved it and now has kicked Shia to the curb and is stalking Zach. It was very cute and fun and romantic and had a few surprises. To my surprise that little tiny flame known as hope that lives in the caves of my heart flickered. I suppressed it with a glass of wine when I got home. I feel safer but less human and very sad and shame on each one who attempted to destroy it. But now I know it is still there and that changes things. This is exciting.

Is your flame of hope still there?

Breakfast Letters: The scan

Breakfast Letters: The scan: This season is rushing past. Slow down Christmas. You are the one month I wish to savor, to linger over like a very fine wine shared wit...

The scan

This season is rushing past. Slow down Christmas. You are the one month I wish to savor, to linger over like a very fine wine shared with someone I love.

It had been lightly raining off and on throughout the day. I had come home and at the front door I turned back to gaze out on my roses to see if there were any blossoms or buds I could bring into the house when I saw it There was no sunlight streaming through, just the light of the overcast day, but there strung up looking like garland were diamonds. Just off my porch and only I could see a spider had created an invisible circling of silk and hanging on to the tiny threads were little drops of water. It was beautiful and had I the camera that could capture the scene I would share it with you.

Sprint!!!! Are you married to your equipment? You price the stuff like you do NOT want to get rid of it. Really?? $39.99 for a charger? It is NOT tipped in gold, there are no emeralds or rare black sapphires. You know I should have reconsidered buying from the guy in the van on the corner of Zarzamora Street. At this point I feel I am now in possession of a rare, highly sought after treasure. I should insure the charger with Lloyds of London or something.

I have been arguing and fussing and flat out having a serious battle with my scanner. I have talked with it, and to it, I have unplugged and replugged and unconnected and reconnected and still it (the scanner) tells me to scan through the computer. The computer does not recognize the scanner. It knows the printer is there and they are the same machine. I went to a sight that gives me live trouble shooting via a live chat and before Alan would talk to me he wanted me to give him $49.00. His name was probably not really even Alan. I immediately hit the box on top of the screen with the X. I have now uninstalled the program on the advice of the program. I will reinstall it today. Needless to say this has affected my entire week. I did nothing to the device that would cause it to behave this way. So I fail to understand why it would do this to me. But I never understand these behaviors of ugliness in kind for not being ugly. Maybe, my printer, scan, fax machine is possessed by an ornery little demon and all I need is a priest. Or a witch doctor.

We had game night. We played Outburst. It is my 18 year old daughter and I against my favorite Shoe and J. They are not 25.The category 1960 Political figures comes up. We are playing the adult version of the game. For what adults? None of us were old enough to have been even the least bit interested in politics in the 60s. Another question was to name electronic devices made by Sony. We named more products that had not been invented yet than the 10 required answers. So the adult version should say senior edition. However playing with Jack Daniels while naming 10 songs performed by the Beach Boys was musically brilliant. We made the cast of Glee sound like screeching owls.

I need to refill my tea cup and since this Lady Tamara www.HighlandTitles.com,does not at the moment have staff I must go do it myself. Savor your day!

Breakfast Letters: I heart Cartier

Breakfast Letters: I heart Cartier: There was a Horatio sighting the other day. I did not see him, it was phoned into me.  I love it. I have not seen much of him lately and a...

I heart Cartier

There was a Horatio sighting the other day. I did not see him, it was phoned into me.  I love it. I have not seen much of him lately and assumed he had moved onto another city but, no he is here or at least he was moving with great speed toward a crime scene on San Pedro Avenue.

I finally became a cheerleader yesterday. Another lifelong dream fulfilled. I was even caught on film and if I knew if it had been uploaded yet to our website I would send you there, maybe tomorrow.  We had cheer practice for an hour yesterday and it was some very hard work with giggles along the way. Reminded me of dance team, and road trips to away games and always being the officer on bathroom duty before we left, knowing there would be that one Cadet who would refuse to go and then need to on the trip. Then that total freak out right before you stepped off and could not remember the routine. I forgot it as I pranced through the door. Aaaarrgghhhh!!!!

There is a jumble of corporate style restaurants headed our way. You know the chain store types that appear at every mall, crossroad and shopping Mecca. Chili, Olive Garden. Etc…..  I am far less than thrilled. I do not like those national public feeding troughs. Give me a real restaurant where a real chef prepares real food and there is an interesting selection of fares of the day. Where there is care and detail added to my experience. Where I know in Denver or Phoenix or San Jose someone else is not sitting down to exactly what I am. However, when it has been one of those days and I want to curl up into the memories of childhood when all was wonderful and my biggest worry was which horse on my shelf was really my favorite I want MacDonald’s.  

Speaking of yummy comfort food I made a Texas Shepherd’s Pie the other night. Sautéed the ground beef with onions and cayenne and cumin. Added the vegetables and a jalapeno tomato sauce, smashed the potatoes, put it all in a casserole topped with cheddar, jalapeno cheese and baked. Best Shepherd Pie EVER!!!!!!  It was cold and chilly outside and warm and cozy inside and Shaggy and I watched a Christmas movie. A romantic Christmas movie….. What is it about Christmas that brings me to think romance…..LOL…. Probably all of the jewelry store adds. This year I love Cartier’shttp://www.wintertale.cartier.us/#/en-us/precious-objects-for-her snow leopard ad…Brilliant.

Dawn is peeking through the window and I need to refill my tea cup. www.HighlandTitles.com Lady Tamara has Christmas cards to write today. What is awaiting you today?

Breakfast Letters: Christmas Cookies

Breakfast Letters: Christmas Cookies: I have a delightful tea tray this morning. I smelled Christmas cookies all day yesterday. So when Shaggy and I got home from the trauma of...

Christmas Cookies

I have a delightful tea tray this morning. I smelled Christmas cookies all day yesterday. So when Shaggy and I got home from the trauma of shopping yesterday I marched into the kitchen and made a batch of Christmas cookies.  I took Shaggy to work and settled in to do some ghost hunting; the first of the weekend which, was now about over. I could not get comfortable in this big old chair so I paused to consider what was troubling me and the answer came, go bake! Baking was once upon a time my therapy. My way of coping, the one thing I had any control over and I baked all the time. Homemade bread, pizza dough, muffins, cakes, cookies, you name it I baked it. I baked last night. I have Christmas cookies with frosting and red sprinkles, Molasses spice bars, (yes Val there is cinnamon in them) and Mochalouscious Brownies. Today I am thinking coconut macaroons, Oatmeal Jumbles and ……? Back to my tea tray… I have one of each of the treats on a small Christmas tree decorated dessert plate. Orchestral Christmas music playing, the tree is twinkling, the heater is humming, Goblin is on the back of my chair purring and Lady Tamara www.HighlandTitles.comis feeling more like Christmas.

Ok, people…..you all need to slow down and enjoy the Holiday. This driving like an insane blood crazed Zombie through a parking lot has to stop. You care going to hurt someone and since it is very obvious you care only for yourself let me just point out that you are going to get hurt. No one in your family or anyone else’s family really want to spend the Christmas Holidays in the ER or Hospital. Driving at mach 6 through the parking lot to get to Best Buy and grab that last MW3 game is NOT a guarantee it will be there. Then driving like an angry cheated blood crazed zombie down to Game Stop to see if they have it will not guarantee that they have it. Perhaps it means that you should drive over to Anything Goes with Glass and you and your child sign up for stained glass classes and make gifts for everyone for Valentine ’s Day. Spend some together time together creating. They can always buy the game later with the cash Grandma will give them. Me you ask? I was on a treasure hunt with a $5 limit. So I was not frantic I was sifting and hunting and enjoying the surprise of what is available with a budget.

Sometimes, just when you are feeling fluffy in a bad way and you are out of makeup and black eyeliner and pink eye shadow are your only tools; you step outside and a fire truck is cruising past and they honk their horn and blast their siren for a second and wave, you realize that GOD thinks you are a hottie and he sent a squad to tell you that. I am still smiling……LOL

Is there anything better on a blistery chilly,  day than fish and chips? Mmmmmm…..

What is the deal with Shoe stores? Remember last year about this time Shaggy and I went into Macy’s to buy boots and shoes? We had money and we were on a shoe buying mission and we were ignored for 15 minutes and I then called management and left a message wanting a return phone call and not getting one. Being ignored on top of being ignored and I have boycott them ever since. Imagine a whole year and NOT shopping at Macy’s…..LOL…… it can be done! Well, yesterday in another department store Shaggy and I are being ignored in the shoe department. Deja-Vu! We look at each other as I make the comment and we smile. She raises her hand, like she was in school, like she did last year at Macy’s, we giggle. I decide we will give them a couple more moments. We are in no hurry but it is a respect issue. We bought one pair. Had we been treated with more respect it would have been 3 pair. So ….dear department store CEO when you are looking at your December and your numbers are down call me I will explain about customer service and the consequences of none.

In case any of you are wondering if men work at anything Shaggy found the answer on her new pair of shoes. They say “All man made”……LOL Many men worked on making her a pair of shoes. She is feeling quite special and appreciates the labor.

One more thing before I go. When you are in a store and you are blocking the entire aisle and someone says excuse me and needs by do not just lean forward. Move a step or two out of the way. Remember….I did not barge through or bump into you. I said excuse me and waited for you to move. Trust me I am NOT shopping for what you are. I am NOT going to take that the minute you put it down. From the look on your husband’s face he is right now NOT thinking about what you are thinking about buying for his mother. His is definitely thinking about me. So you see it is in your best interest sister to move out of my way.

I am shopping for a gift to send to California today what are you shopping for?

Breakfast Letters: Claymore

Breakfast Letters: Claymore: I have left my devotional book upstairs. I suppose I have not yet gotten used to bringing everything for my morning routine down with me. ...

Claymore

I have left my devotional book upstairs. I suppose I have not yet gotten used to bringing everything for my morning routine down with me. I did not get by the market to get a little   cream yesterday but I did bring home a wee bit of milk from Mothers. Not that this is a full blown complaint, I am grateful I have it but, it is NOT cream and tea I just some simpering brown liquid without a shot of cream. Spoiled? …. Maybe. Deserve to be spoiled? …..uh….Lady Tamara!www.LairdOfLochaber.com

I usually decorate my house for Christmas by putting a everything everywhere. I like the “mash-up” look and feel of it. This year it felt all wrong and so I have the snowman display, the Santa display, the Christmas tea set display, the candy display, and of course my beloved nutcracker display. I gravitate to the tall muscular looking nutcrackers.  My daughter Shaggy who is 6’2” seems to prefer to buy me the short, squatty, rounder, jollier more whimsical nutcrackers. Is there some psychological, subconscious thing going on there, or is she attracted to their jovial appearance. If I ask her I do not think she could tell me so, it must be visually they are more appealing to her. It does not matter to me. They are all wonderful. The Rat King, the Scotsman with his bagpipe, the German man with his sausages, the Mariachi man, the Chimney sweep, all of them, I adore them.

Shaggy’s phone went black screen on her last night. One minute it was fine and the next gone. The phone is only a few months old. She was very upset and came fussing to me, I am not a phone repair man. I know nothing about the inner workings of a cell phone. Shaking it is the first thing that came to mind. Then snapping to the frustration and the anger and fear in her voice, that mother thing kicked in and my first thought was to kill that which was causing my child distress.  I love that brief moment when the attack signal goes off and the adrenaline surges. I pull my Claymore from its scabbard and assume a pflug position. Giggle at myself and my amazing ability to visualize while at the same time calling Samuel and ordering an airstrike on a little phone. These amusing scenarios bring me back to practical and my response is we are going in the morning to Verizon and they will buy back their defective piece of (insert word here). She calms a bit and I ask her if I can order the airstrike to stand down. She replies “let’s wait and see what Verizon says first.” Well, OK.  As soon as we get home she gets on her computer and does a search on troubleshooting. The advice it offers does not fix the problem. She is once again standing before me fussed up. I can hear the slide of a round being chambered in my Glock, I am wondering what a 4G android looks like with a bullet in it….. I smile, Verizon? Tomorrow? “Yes mom”. There is a wicked grin on her face. If we could have gone last night I am sure those people would have gotten a verbal lashing from her.

 Two items are on my list for today, cream and Verizon. What is on your list?

Breakfast Letters: Bank of the West

Breakfast Letters: Bank of the West: Good morning. My mouse seems to have taken on a life all its own this morning. I roll over it in one direction and it goes another. But th...

Bank of the West

Good morning. My mouse seems to have taken on a life all its own this morning. I roll over it in one direction and it goes another. But then I have also misspelled every word I have typed so far including the little ones. Did I have a stroke while I slept? I am thinking peaceful happy thoughts and am about to tell a story and the mouse is fussing me up. Not what I planned….LOL…but therein lies the joyous albeit almost morbid curiosity I have for my plans going awry. It is as though I challenge them to…LOL

Shaggy needed to deposit the money for her phone bill into her friend’s bank account so he could make the payment. We went to our bank and she withdrew the money from her account. We drove to Wells Fargo, which was his bank. Keep in mind that the young man lives in California, and always has. He probably banks where his parental units banked. She fills in the deposit slip and passes the monies over to the teller, Cody. He is very interested in helping her and has assumed the gentle authority of a competent male. It is refreshing and adorable. Why has this young lad learned a simple skill most men never do? His mom?  His Dad?  Cody cannot locate the account. He tries several times. He tries using the phone number and name and city and state and Chris has no bank account. Cody asks Shaggy if perhaps she wrote the number wrong. She shows him the text message. He keeps trying. I admire his dedicated patience at helping her. Meanwhile Shaggy insists he has an account at Wells Fargo and texts Chris again. He responds with yes I have a bank account at Bank of the West.  Shaggy asks Cody what bank she at. He smiles and replies Wells Fargo we have the horses. She grins and “…uhhh….my bad! He banks at Bank of the West. There is not one of those anywhere near here.” She is embarrassed and I say to her “Honey don’t worry they both have a W in them.” Cody agrees.  He advises her to tell Chris to open an account at his nearest Wells Fargo so she can continue to come in and do business. His reason was probably two-fold…..LOL Her and Chris now have to work out a solution.

I am out of cream this morning. I made a casserole last night with vegetables, pasta, and fresh cheeses.  It was very cold winters night creamy deliciousness. So, now no tea, I am drinking coffee with peppermint mocha creamer. Shaggy loves it.  I am looking over at my Christmas tree twinkling back at me sipping warm pepperminty mocha joy. It tastes like Christmas. Not that I have associated that particular flavor combo with the Holiday ever before. It just right now smells and tastes like Christmas.  If I were writing this at night it would have to be a charming 21 year old Scotch I would share the moment with.

I was just now pausing to gaze at the Christmas tree when I noticed something, ( which is why I gaze at the tree). I have an ornament I got years and years ago, so long ago I do not quite remember where exactly he came from. Jack Frost, a beautiful fairy dressed in blues and silvers and whites. Lovely gossamer wings and he carries, of course, a wand and at the end of his wand is a frozen icicle crystal. He is about 8” tall and soft like a doll.   He has had the honor of adorning the top part of my tree for several Christmases. I have always tried to position him so the light will reflect itself off the icicle he carries. It never has, until now. Jack is sitting on a branch near the top. His wand is at a right angle to him pointing away from the tree and the icicle is hanging out into the air and the very tip of it is capturing the light of the tree and holding it. As though it was electric and connected to the rest of the lights upon the tree. It is just a brilliant and gives the illusion that it is melting and at any moment a drop of water will slide off the tip of it. That it and it alone is responsible for the lights and the twinkling not the electrical current. After all these years Lady Tamara www.LairdOfLochaber.com has been blessed with seeing Jack light the Christmas tree. Magic!

What magic will you discover today?

Breakfast Letters: Loch Duich

Breakfast Letters: Loch Duich: I am writing form a new location this morning. No, I have not gone out of town again. I have moved the butterfly and my morning tea downs...

Loch Duich

I am writing form a new location this morning. No, I have not gone out of town again.  I have moved the butterfly and my morning tea downstairs to the living room where the Christmas tree is located. I can now enjoy the beauty of the tree while I also listen to my beloved Christmas music. I miss the fireplace now though.  The ideal would be a Christmas tree in my room or a fireplace in the living room…..or both!  This new arrangement of my morning routine had fussed up the cats….LOL…. They are stopping by my char to stare up at me as if to say…”so are we going back upstairs not now?”  They are pacing and are restless. Not that I am cruel or mean spirited but this is a little amusing….. I can hear Goblin grumbling somewhere in the kitchen.

Excuse me a moment I must go check on my Haggis hunting grounds. There is snow on the ground at Inverness, Must be warm in London there is a girl standing o a street corner in a mini skirt. Someone needs to clean the gutters on the Royal Mile at Edinburgh, the view from Loch Duich is amazing this morning. No Haggis, I will keep checking.  I hunted all last Christmas and won not even a bag of Haggis flavored crisps. I shall endeavor to persevere…..LOL…. I can hunt Haggis as well as those winners from last year! HA…. Caught one!

Shaggy and I were out running a few errands on Saturday when my stray cat daughter Lovey called from Austin and said she needed to pay her rent. Well, how nice! I have a house payment to make also. “No Mom I do not need you to pay my rent I need you to write a check for my rent.” ….uhm….Great! Lovey!! Do they need real money? “Mom! I have money.” Well OK baby thank you for calling. Have a nice day. “MOM! I need to pay it by tonight.” Well sweetheart you should so that. “Mom…. (Panic in her voice now) I did not get to the bank in time and I do not have checks and I need to pay with a check. Can you meet me in San Marcus and write me a check I have money?”  Road trip was not on my list of errands…..”I will pay you for the gas”.  See you in an hour. Shaggy and I looked at each other and together said “Road Trip!!!!” we put fuel in Charles and headed north to find what adventure lay ahead for us. We got to the meeting sight before she did so we wandered into a little boutique we found and were greeted by a wonderful caring staff. We were offered cookies and warm apple cider. I shopped for the perfect gift for Mother. Lovey soon arrived and we went to the parking lot to count money and write a check. I gave her a box that Grandpa had mailed her. It felt and probably looked like some back street drug deal. She left and we left and now I have to go to the bank this morning. At least they decorated for Christmas this year and have cookies and coffee.

While I was ghost hunting this weekend I came across a relative who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I. He was given land in Monmouthshire Wales. A few have been calling him a Baron.  However he does not appear in some ancient peerage book so the rumor has been dismissed by some hunters. Sir or not for him I am still Lady Tamara www.HighlandTitles.com,.

What adventure will your next phone call send you on?

Breakfast Letters: Man vs Nature

Breakfast Letters: Man vs Nature: Happy Christmas! It is the first day of the month of December. I am going to pray it drags by me unlike the past few months which have s...

Man vs Nature

Happy Christmas!

It is the first day of the month of December. I am going to pray it drags by me unlike the past few months which have seemed to fly by on magical wings. I can feel the tendrils of wishes, hopes, dreams, magic and the anticipation of the unknown meandering toward me.My father always wanted to take my mom to London for Christmas and ride in a horse drawn sleigh in the snow. She never wanted to go. Sounds like a lovely way for a Ladywww.LairdOfLochaber.com to spend Christmas eve.

Prague update.

We have set aside the Prague Idea. I do not know if we shall ever revisit it. I am not a planner or a goal setter so to say it is on my 5 year plan and we will be there in 2014 is just plain crazy to me. We are now dreaming of Hogwarts. Shaggy has decided we will go to Hogwarts for her birthday. Well this sounds like a big adventure so now her sights are set on Hogwarts in May. 

Tonight is game night and my favorite Shoe and her Johnny are coming over. I am cooking vegetable soup, cheese biscuits and pumpkin pie. Star Wars Trivial Pursuit!! Ooooo maybe I should buy a Guinness for the soup…..

Shaggy and I got to see a live version of Man VS Nature on the side of the road. There was a large white truck pulled over and in the rocky pilled garden a man had a grip on a young sapling and was twisting and pulling and shoving the sapling all around. I am not sure what he was really trying to do but if it was a random attack on Nature , Nature was winning. You could just sense the more the man pushed the tighter the grip the roots took. I kept looking at the scene in my rear view mirror expecting that at any moment the tree would start acting like the Whomping Willow. We were tickled over the memory and the possibilities for about 15 minutes.

I all of a sudden have a intense craving for eggnog…..I will stop by the store while I am out. Do you need anything picked up?

Breakfast Letters: Goat Shepherdess

Breakfast Letters: Goat Shepherdess: It has come to me at last. The great puzzle of why most of the women in my Fathers line seem to have no provable past. It is as the other ...

Goat Shepherdess

It has come to me at last. The great puzzle of why most of the women in my Fathers line seem to have no provable past. It is as the other “experts” in the field have concluded…..they do not, did not ever exist. My father did not exist either. My grandfather or his father and his medical certificate is not real and neither are the photographs.  There, do you “experts” feel better about the world now, your world? Bullocks! What I cannot understand is your inability to understand human nature. That people are not going to behave in ways you would assume or expect. That not everything is black and white or will fit into a category, that seeing is not always believing. I have read your theories, and the one thing you leave out is the one thing that makes us different from snails. Can I bring to your attention that all of the tracing of the line of Jesus to the beginning of time still does not make Joseph his father? Of course you can turn that around as proof of his inexistence also…..LOL. Let us think about Phebe. She is not listed in the will of the man who she claimed as father. She is not listed in the mothers will or brothers or grandparents either. This does not mean she did not exist. This could mean she did something so horrible her family disowned her. She could have married into the family of her families sworn enemy ( the idea of Romeo and Juliet came from somewhere no matter who really wrote it). She could be the child of any of the male family members and a serving girl, tavern wench, mistress, or any female not married into the family. She could be the daughter of a male family member whose wife died during the birth, at the birth, after the birth and she was brought to a family member to raise. Her mother could have died and the father stricken with grief left the village to become an angry pirate or priest or soldier or never wanted to lay eyes again on the child that caused the death of his beloved wife.  Both of her parents could have died from any number of diseases and another family took her in because she was…… 7 months old and had no one else. She could just simply be the daughter of any couple who died and the family she grew up in gave her their name and raised her and since she was not of their blood and she had married well not written her into a will. I could go on. It also seems to me that the girls this happened to were all born in England and married or died in Virginia. No proof of their parents except what family tradition says.  One more thing….. Servants were not always listed on ship manifests by name just as servant and children were not always listed by name either.  Dr. Clay lied about his roots but that is ok. However because you cannot find any for a girl named Mary she did not exist. John having a manor in 1420 does not mean he is not the John awarded a manor he never gets in 1461. Why do you believe they are 2 different Johns? There is no proof of that. Maybe it is a son or father, cousin? I am glad I am still enraptured by the romance of the mystery of tracing heritage. I pray I never loose it. I wish I had the gift of storytelling and could write beautiful novels about these people. Most of them would make for a romping good read with just a little help from my imagination.

My brother has decided he is a long lost Arabian prince and I am a goat herder…….LOL…..Apparently we did not have the same mom…….LOL. One thing I am very sure of about me .... I am Tamara, Lady Pearis   www.LairdOfLochaber.com  I do have paperwork for that!

I am off to find my missing goats……what will you find today?

Breakfast Letters: Glencoe

Breakfast Letters: Glencoe: It is one of those frosty mornings I crave all year. The air is crisp and chilled. I know that if I step on the grass it will crunch. Ther...

Glencoe

It is one of those frosty mornings I crave all year. The air is crisp and chilled. I know that if I step on the grass it will crunch. There is a sparkly sheen of ice on Charles. I have my pot of tea and the fireplace is on. Downstairs the Christmas tree is lit. Now I have the dilemma of write in my room with the fireplace or write downstairs with the tree which will only be up and lit for the next 75 days, which sounds like a long time but will not be anywhere near that long. I woke up early and thought about a walk and then I thought a walk when the sun is up and warming on my face will be even better. So I will be productive now and then later go.

I brought the trash bin down to the curb this morning and the guy across the street was out warming his truck. So I said hello and do you know what he said?...... Nothing GOD love him. No, this is no surprise to me, I knew he would not respond and that is just a little bit of the reason I said anything. A neighbor who had never met us came by the other day while my favorite Shoe was outside and started chatting her and John up as thought they were new moving in here. He was surprised I had lived here for three years and wanted to know why we had not met. Of course I giggled and thought “really?” He started asking if we had met any of the other neighbors and it was about then I started to desperately find a way to leave the conversation. He did not want to start me up about the neighbors. I was as polite as I could be. I mentioned the man across the street being smacked by his wife one day as he waved over and we waved back, the crazy man who brings dead cats to my house, he could not believe that and did not understand why the neighbors did not appear to like us. Well, why ask me?  Most people react with fear toward us and it has puzzled me for so many years.

I received an early Christmas present in the mail. It came all the way from Scotland. I was so thrilled. There is a CD and a magnet and a sticker and a pin and a pen all proclaiming me as a Lady of Glencoe www.HighlandTitles.com . LOVE it!!! Now I want stationary that proclaims it for my Christmas letters……hmmmm….. Can I copy and paste the logo, crest, seal, over to my letter and use it? The letter they enclosed in my present has it. I have added a photo of my tartan in case any of you are interested in getting me something Scottish.

I am going to finish up the last of the Christmas decorating today.

Are you decorated?

Breakfast Letters: Pumpkin Pie

Breakfast Letters: Pumpkin Pie: My favorite Shoe called me last night all in fuss about pumpkin pie and demanding to know my location. It was 11:30 at night. After much i...

Pumpkin Pie

My favorite Shoe called me last night all in fuss about pumpkin pie and demanding to know my location. It was 11:30 at night. After much incoherent blathering and tears I discerned that the problem was this…. She had been looking forward to a pumpkin on Thanksgiving. She had asked me what the plan was for that day. I had explained to her a week ago that Shaggy and I were going to Grammy’s house. She was welcome to come with us. Shoe has no desire to see Grammy. I am NOT changing my plans. Grammy was looking forward to our visit and a puzzle. Apparently the pumpkin pie that was purchased from an “upscale” grocery store was not to her liking. It was not creamy and it was missing that one ingredient that I add to everything I cook. Love.  After explaining to me that she is my daughter (as If I could forget) and that I am supposed to make Thanksgiving feast for my family (by the way Grammy is my mother) and not anyone else she asks me to make her a pie. But that is not all. She was dis-satisfied with the stuffing they had bought also. The problem I see is some foods are supposed to taste a certain way for special occasions any deviation from that no matter how good it may really be it is just not “as good” or more honestly right. My Grandmother made homemade pimento cheese, my mother learned to make it the same way. She once tried to change the recipe and make it her own version, it was NOT received well. I make it the same way however, mine does not taste like my mothers or my Grandmothers. It is missing that one ingredient. Love. Other pimento cheese spreads can be good, are good, may be good, but none are as delicious or creamy as theirs.  I understand this in a way Shoe does not. Shaggy felt the same way last night but did not know how to express it. All she could say was “Mom next year can we just stay home and you make dinner.” She had not enjoyed the chef’s version of a perfectly normal traditional food.  I do not make stuffing like my mother. My children love my recipe for stuffing. I do not cook the turkey like her or make gravy like her. My conclusion is the Love ingredient.  To be honest having a huge family gathering and traditional Thanksgiving feast without my dad carving the turkey is just NOT fun anymore.  He is supposed to be in the kitchen, not dressed for dinner yet, slicing. Maybe I associate the aroma with my dad…..LOL…  So while my children are dissatisfied with pie and stuffing from other places I am associating the entire Holiday with my deceased father. If he is not here than I don’t want to be either. Is Pizza Hut open? Can I just go visit my estatewww.LochaberHighlandEstates.com in Scotland and skip the whole Holiday next year. 

Not only were my children and myself at odds with the day my mother was too. She was cranky at dinner and dissatisfied with her meal. This is her second Holiday in her new location. That first year it was overwhelming newness. This year it was melancholy. She realized what it was way before I did. But it dawned on me last night when Shaggy wanted to watch football in the living room where mother and I were putting together a puzzle so I could join her in supporting a team I care nothing about. She used to watch football with her Gramps. She was trying to cope her way through her loss by continuing the football tradition. She knows nothing about the game but likes to watch her favorite team play. Gramps would have patiently explained aspects of the game as she had questions. As she switched the channel to the game channel Grammy very tersely said “NO, you can watch it in the bedroom!”  Sam looked fallen and left the room. I was attempting to explain to Grammy when she said in a very melancholy voice with tears in her eyes “it reminds me too much of your dad and I can bear the sound today”.   So there I was stuck in the middle of …. Being a mom and a daughter?  Wanting to give my daughter what she needed and also allowing my mother what she needed. All of a sudden I hear a squeal from the bedroom. I jump up, run in and there she is all smiling and cheerful. As I am asking her what happened I hear it. That voice… her favorite movie star is talking about the last game between rival teams and football. There is Tom Cruise.  The answer to my dilemma is on the TV in that velvety voice talking about her favorite team. I was asking GOD for guidance through the challenge and Tom whether you believe in GOD or not HE placed you right where you needed to be at the right moment and I was thankful. That was my biggest Thanksgiving prayer of the day, Tom. I am Thankful for Tom Cruise.

I will be cooking stuffing and pumpkin pie on Saturday if anyone has not yet had enough or just needs some Love. 

Effen Cucumber

My children came screaming into the house last night that Armageddon was happening and I needed to come downstairs now. At first I think it is them being dramatic but the tone of their voices is oddly not funny. I go down the stairs and out the door and they are pointing toward two very bright lights in the distance that do not appear to being moving but are coming at us. I must admit it did look odd. But that was not all that was going on. They were also telling me to look up something else was going on in the sky. Right as I looked up I saw a brilliant light going streaking by and, then another one. I could only asses one imminent threat at a time so let’s focus on the lights to the east. They certainly did look as though they were not moving like a plane would. They were not on the flight paths to either the airport or the base. Standing still I established their position with the house across the street and realized that they were coming toward us but also moving slowly from west to south. Then the first one made a southern turn and vanished. Moments later the second one did the same. I listened. They came no further in our direction and since they were lower on the horizon I could not see them. My conclusion was helicopters and they did land at the base. The next threat to my otherwise calm and drama free children was the terror is the sky. As Shaggy saw two more and then a third whizz by I realized, meteorites. We were seeing a meteor shower. I dashed upstairs to check it out on Stardate and sure enough we were seeing the tail end of the Leonides. They had peeked on the 17 and were moving on. Mystery all solved and everyone calm again.

I am really confused.  Men will not give me the time, open a door or be polite. However I seem to have no problem with young men, as in late teens (almost creepy). They open doors while standing as tall and straight as they can, they smile at me, they stare at me, they grin, they let me go ahead of them.  I have them showing off like little man on the bicycle yesterday. He sees me and decides to cruise by and attempt to pop a wheelie on his bike. He gets it off the ground but it is a little. He is embarrassed and scoots off as fast as he can.  It was cute and I very much appreciated the gesture. He thought I was worth his time and energy to perform a daring feat. I Lady Tamarawww.LairdOfLochaber.com was flattered.

MOMS!!!!!! I know the kids are on vacation. I know you want  them out of your hair or picking up last minute items for your Thanksgiving feast however, giving your 16 year old son the family oversized year old Suburban with the glamour package and sending them out…not a good idea. Have you ever seen your kids drive when you are not watching?  Let me tell you. He came roaring (is that a V-8?) through the parking lot and had to slam on your brakes before he hit a very steep curb. After a stop he makes an abrupt left jerk stomps on the gas pedal and zooms further through the parking lot looking for an exit. He spies it as he is passing it and now with another jerk on the steering wheel without letting any pressure up off the gas pedal he turns sharply right. He sees his goal the exit. Does he stop? Does he slow down? I would say he may have let off the pressure on the gas pedal but he did not apply the brakes and without looking makes a right turn, ends up on the other side of the street while accelerating and left a few inches of your tires on the pavement. I believe he was attempting to “drift” your vehicle through the turn. He was not driving a Veilside Fortune RX-7. It was a suburban made by Chevrolet. But that is not the end. He slammed down on the accelerator and careened off down the alley swerving from left to right as he did so in an attempt to copy some fishtailing. I pray he made it home safely.

My exciting day is not over. I go out to lunch with my girlfriends and what is served? A bit of undercooked salmon (there seems to be a trend in the restaurant business to undercook fish…STOP!!!!!)  and, an artificial vegetable. They call it a broccolini. It is un-cutable and tasteless and just lies there limply hanging off the edge of my plate. The salad was divine!  The company delightful, the artificial side dish…really? How about you trade in the broccolini for the ever pretty purple broccoli and really add some color and shock value to your entrees.

But wait, there is more. This restaurant has taken twitters about themselves and turned them into what is supposed to be a marketing gimmick table topper. Really? Do you people even read the twitters you use? The one at our table makes no sense. What is gaaaaaa? It sounds as though the author of the tweet is hacking a hairball. Like the sound Golum makes when he is dislodging a fish scale from his throat. She also speaks in her twitter (yes it is a female her photo and twitter name are on the table tent) of an Effen Cucumber. Is this a kindred species to the broccolini?  Dear educators of American children see what your lack of educating and total dedication to test preparation has done to our children? They are ……. (Thumpers mom is glaring at me…….LOL)

What new vegetables shall I encounter today?

Breakfast Letters: Full hands

Breakfast Letters: Full hands: I have downloaded an application to the Butterfly. It is supposed to be a chocolate Lab named Chudleigh. He is mine now and he is a Lab/W...

Full hands

I have downloaded an application to the Butterfly. It is supposed to be a chocolate Lab named Chudleigh.  He is mine now and he is a Lab/Weimaraner; A sort of Lab the color of charcoal. His name is Baxter. He is now lying on the edge of this letter sleeping. He ate a moment ago and when he was finished he carried off his food bowl and put it at an undisclosed location in the Butterfly. He just now got up and brought me a pair of slippers laid them down and is sitting there watching me. It is adorable. He is like a real dog. He dreams as he sleeps moving to scratch his ear or breathe deeply. Baxter was sent to me in a Thanksgiving card yesterday (thank you Kelly). 

I know this is NOT what you are expecting from me today. What you will get today is Thanksgiving. My hands will be full of blessings today therefore they will be too full to hold on to your sins.

1.   I can write and read. I have a wonderful education from teachers who were not so busy preparing me for a series of tests that they could actually take the time to teach. They enjoyed it and most were very creative and encouraged that creativity in me. I did not just write an interview for English I performed one in costume with a soundtrack.

2.   My father was a tea drinker. He is responsible for my love of the tea ritual. He did not use a pot he made it in a cup for him and me every morning. Refusing coffee because it “stunts your growth” he would say. I am 5’10”. It must have worked.

3.   I have a love for dance. All dance. I was first introduced to ballet when I was 4. Then to jazz, waltz, “Go-Go”, dance team, Turkish Belly dance.

4.   I have lived in Paris. I have been taken to market in the mornings and I can still remember the sounds and sights and the energetic feel of it. But most of all I can remember the smell of freshly baking bread. It wafted down every inch of Market Street, into every store front. I was given a small roll each time by the baker where our maid (don’t all Ladies have maids?www.HighlandTitles.com)shopped for our bread. Sometimes I would be handed an apple or orange or strawberry. I was treated like a princess as I strolled with her through the carts and stores.

5.   I have slept in an igloo. It was huge. I am not saying that because I was 7. The father of my friend who built it was a giant and he could stand straight up in it. There were 5 of us that slept in it that night. It was awesome and I remember my head was cold but I was warm.

6.   I work with the most amazing company. I am treated as a human female. Respect.  I just come up with a possibility and spout out “what if” and the next thing I know it has become a plan, goal, objective, target and we are attempting it. I had told them no at the beginning but they sent their closer to convince me that I was just the ingredient to complete the recipe. No I am not driving an Audi yet but give me a few months.

7.   I have a wonderful home.

8.   I can think of 6 impossible things during breakfast.

9.   I know some very amazing people and they are strong and brave and trustworthy, honest, loyal, encouraging. Defenders of right, granters of mercy. They have humor and tenderness and best of all they know my name.

10.       I have a remarkable ex-wifey (housemate) and her fiancé is a good man. Now that I think about it. I call her ex-wife and she is marrying a guy named Lynn……LOL….. I had her listed as wife on facebook in my family section because it humors us both. I then noticed something a few days later as I was adding to my profile that all options for a man relationship had been removed from my selections. There was wife, there was female companion, sister, cousin, brother….etc …. no husband, no boyfriend. Facebook assumed I was Lesbian.  It was funny. I realized the add parameters had changed also that I was being fed. Nothing male oriented, nothing romantic, AIDS awareness and coalitions for women. I have since changed her status. Things are back to normal on facebook.

There are so many many more.

What do you count as blessings?

Twins

In order to keep to the dream to go to Prague for Christmas we started Christmas of last year I looked in all 48 continental states for any state that had a city named Prague. I was not going to allow a few villains who stole my money over employment to steal our dream also. We were going to Prague. I found a Prague Minnesota, one hotel with very bad reviews and a Prague Oklahoma, no hotels but known for the annual kolache festival. We will not being going to any of the Prague’s here. Because Lady Tamara www.LairdOfLochaber.com is a Lady descended from Scotland and filled with Norse thunder I am now considering get a title loan on my car and going to THE Prague.  I would sell my hair like Jo in Little Women if there was a market for it. I will welcome suggestions.

I am being escorted out on a date tomorrow evening by twins. 22or 23 year old twins. Male twins. Red headed very attractive in a Boondock Saints sort of way twins. I am not a cougar. I am a jaguar! I am what cougars desire to be. If you are a Lady of a certain age and you date gorgeous twins raise your hand……No?  I see a few jealous men and professional ball players in the crowd. You Mr. Puerto Rico turn around I want to get a better look…..sit down!  Tony, I will explain to you in a private conversation. Shoe, I will not be explaining to you. Twins, I would like to repeat this performance on my Birthday…….LOL…..

Have a great weekend all; I am going to search online for the cheapest way to go to and stay in Prague. Somewhere near a market with a kitchen so I can cook and we do not have to spend money on expensive food. This now feels like a treasure hunt….excited!

Tiangong 1

 I was there and heard the words of your frustration that flowed from your lips and do you know what I did with them?........

Why do people portray angels as soft fluffy beautiful female creations when the Bible does not actually portray them all that way? Wouldn’t we all like to think they are like Michael and smell like chocolate chip cookies, or even want them to be like Nicholas Cage and just smile at us all the time? Some may even want them to be like Michael from Legion. Maybe they are more like the other angels from the movie Legion. What about those heads with wings some artists painted? Or little naked toddlers with little wings. Maybe they look like that old lady who had fallen in her front yard and you ran down the street to help. Maybe they look like that man behind you in line who covered the 23 cents you were short for your water bill. Maybe they look like that flock of birds sitting in your tree annoying you with what to you sounds like horrible squawking but to GOD and them sounds like beautiful praises. Maybe some of them are soft beautiful fluffy female creatures. But I do not think they are 5’7” tall wearing an $80.00 bra weighing in at 112 and have a thong on……..no I just do not see that.

Did any of you step outside last night and take a look at the Chinese Space Station  Tiangong 1?  It was fun. We waved from my mother’s balcony. She was very excited about the entire thing, going outside often all dusk and checking on its progress as the sun set further and further from it. Until one time she looked and it was no longer alight with the reflection of the sun. They say it is as bright as Polaris. I am here to say that is very accurate. Jupiter is also up there making an appearance but he is on the eastern horizon instead of the western. I have not gone out to look but Mars shows up very early in the morning. Sometimes I wish I had a telescope but I would probably be glued to it for hours. There was also a meteor shower peeking about 3 nights ago. They could not be seen by us because sister moon was so bright.

I read the most romantic love story last night. Maybe it should be in a teachable format. It said so much in about 2 pages. Not a love story in the sense of a romantic novel more of a romancing of you the reader. It was enlightening and wonderful and here it is if you want to read it. http://www.angelfire.com/tx/morninglory/lingo.html

Lady Tamarawww.LairdOfLochaber.com   is in need every other day of a hair-dresser. I have shampooed and fluffed with a magic curling gel and then twisted large sections upon my head to dry. Hopefully they will cascade down my neck and back in a froth of wild tendrils and look glorious. Or, not.

Is Dolly Parton bald up under her wigs?

Breakfast Letters: Tabitha

Breakfast Letters: Tabitha: I awoke this morning to what sounded like the rumbling of thunder. But often while I half-sleep I believe I hear thunder and rain. My ceil...

Tabitha

I awoke this morning to what sounded like the rumbling of thunder. But often while I half-sleep I believe I hear thunder and rain. My ceiling fan makes just enough noise to mimic the falling of rain and when a train goes rumbling over the tracks in the distance it sounds like thunder and I drift back off to sleep. But this morning it is real. There is a light falling of rain every couple of moments but the ground is not really wet. There is thunder rolling around over my head. Not the crashing cacophony of a storm, no, just grumbling; slow and steady like the stream we played with in Colorado. Every 10 minutes or so a flare of lightning without the crack to startle and send a surge of adrenalin speeding through your system. It is hazy in the distant hill as though only it is draped in fog. My tea tastes better this morning probably due to the weather.  I have just witnessed the same elderly man walk down the street for the 3^rd time. He probably does not want to stray too far from home in case it should decide to rain. So instead of pacing the neighborhood he is walking the block, good idea. I have opened my curtains and put up the window so I can hear better the thunder and the rain. I can feel the fresh air. I can hear a frightened cat (raccoon) in my yard. I suppose I could put the little guy in my garage for a while. There is a litter box in there and some old cushions. He is presently under the Oleander bushes and they offer a good amount of protection.

    My favorite Shoe came over last night with Jonathon and Jameson.  I was on my way to relaxing with a book of love stories chosen by a man and put in a collection. Odd but interesting. I could not go down and not visit with them. I filled a glass with ice opened the Jameson and filled it up (I did not want to have to come back down the stairs again after another visit with Jameson).  I chatted a bit with them and left her to gossip with her little sister. Good night, good visit, good seeing Jonathon and Jameson and Shoe.

It is seriously raining now but do not get fussed up. I went to get the cat (raccoon) and he was not out back so I looked out front and he is nestled on my porch. I got an old cushion and put it out there for him.

I decided to investigate a little further into Tabitha because I cannot find a source in America or England that actually gives me her father’s name. There are several “well it could be Richard for this reason…..or it could be William for this reason or it might be a fellow named Robert and this is why we think this….” I have no Birth or Baptism or passenger manifests with her name. She is believed to have been born in Warwick, married on the Isle of Wight, Virginia and died in Virginia.  So all that chasing a line on Sunday night I deleted. Am I upset by it? No, it was all fascinating and there were stories from a lot of research attached to most of it. Stories school text books will not talk about and some that will. There were some stories that were little windows into moments in the lives of people that allowed me to know them, like we had met and chatted over dinner and wine. I had believed her dad was Richard but he is listed as living (birth and death) in Ernle, Sussex. Tabitha is from Warwick. I want her real father to step forward please!!!   Shaggy was informed of this tragic series of events and is now looking into other avenues to marry Prince Henry.www.LochaberHighlandEstates.com

My work server quit serving me yesterday at 11:37 so I am about to go Ninja on it. What are you doing?

Breakfast Letters: King Olaf

Breakfast Letters: King Olaf: I decided to give myself a little gift this morning and not set the alarm. I am not prone to sleeping late so I knew it would be well befo...

King Olaf

I decided to give myself a little gift this morning and not set the alarm. I am not prone to sleeping late so I knew it would be well before 8 that I would awaken. It was 7ish. It feels luxurious and decadent to do this on a work day and I may be behind the power curve by I feel on track with my curves. The reason?....many things…I was chasing ghosts yesterday as usual on a weekend when I came across a line of kin that were granted holdings by Henry II this peaked my curiosity and so for a bit of fun I followed the line of descendants. What a wonderful surprise! I am related to Eleanor of Aquitaine, William the Conqueror, The Earls of Hertford, The Dukes of Normandy thanks to the first Duke marrying his mistress, all of the Kings of Norway and of Sweden. Mix in some royalty via the marrying of daughters of Denmark. We even reigned over all of Wales courtesy of taking the castle at Fontenay. I have not even scratched the surface of the wives and their lineage. This all through one little woman named Tabitha to her father and beyond. Tabitha is my 9^th great Grandmother. I told my daughter with a history like that she could marry Prince Henry. www.HighlandTitles.com Lady Tamara……of course I am. My great Grandfather King Olaf took a fancy to Alt Clut and wanted to possess it. Many years later another great Grandfather who had arranged a wedding between baby Queen Mary and Henry VI hid her there. Such intrigue and adventure…I LOVE it!!!

There was a Horatio sighting yesterday in town. I was sent a photo from one of my Horatio watching clan members. He was on Pat Booker Road.

Is there anything better to eat than fried cabbage and mashed potatoes? Except maybe grilled cheese and tomato soup….mmmmm

Speaking of food I must get to my kitchen and start and a Marinara sauce……

Ninja ad

I am sitting here staring at a blank sheet of paper and wondering what I have to say today. I am strangely silent. This fusses me up a wee bit. I seldom am just silent. Perhaps I am in mourning for what I cannot do. Perhaps I am just exhausted from my week, Perhaps I have wandered once again into a stand of trees and cannot see that it is just a few and not the whole of a forest. I do have a photo safari later ….maybe I am conserving energy. Maybe I am depressed over the Prague adventure. You see Shaggy and I were going to go to Prague for Christmas this year.  We had started planning the whole trip last November. I had saved up a wee bit over $5,000 and was adding to it a little at time from my new job. A job that I was told would start paying off  small but after we went live at the end of November would be better and better. That did not happen. It did not go live, it did not make money therefore I made no money and I had to start using what I had saved to survive. Then Christmas came and it was still not live and I was promised a greater percentage of commission and profit sharing to the tune of 17%. I refused the greater commission and I asked for a smaller percentage.  Granted.  Still we did not go live. This went on for months and before the end of February I had used all of my savings. I kept getting promises from the owner, while another owner was all doom and despair. One kept telling me that he had a track on two investors and we would have money he kept telling me he had appointments with investors and that they were millionaires and that him and J would be out of the office and out of the city and meeting with these investors and all would be well…..keep working. He would be out of the office, he would be gone. I assumed he was doing what he said. Both of these owners behaved as if they knew what the other was doing. Maybe I was not the only one being lied to…… he was attending meetings alright but they were NOT with investors were they?   This ended in April with the company owing me over $2000. Now I am in a battle to get what I earned and the commission at the rate I was told.  I have J1 saying one thing to me and another to J2 and now J1 is denying everything he said to me. What I cannot understand is why I who have no reputation for harming others in a work environment am not believable and yet J1 who has had similar issue in two other states is believable. Curious the things you can find out with good Counsel. J2 if he is lying to me about what he was up to then maybe he is lying to you about what he was up to also. He lied to me about things, has it never occurred to you that he is lying to you? Why are you so quick to believe I am the one not telling the truth?  This is a question I put to you. My actions were based on what I was being assured of, promised and told by J1. He told me we had investors right up to the day I was let go and for a week even after that. He even told me to call you, to get paid that one of the investors had come through and you had money. Do you remember me texting?

LOL…… I think that this is the cause of my fuss. That trip to Prague we, Shaggy and I, should have been preparing for. I feel a little better draining some more of the festering poison. Not the whole experience…just the owing me the money I earned. That is the poison. The lies told to both us J2 that is poison. 

mmmmm….. maybe if I buy a lottery ticket I can win the money and take that Christmas trip to Prague my daughter and I had so carefully started to plan. I can feel a little spark of hope…..warm.

One more thing J2….. I am Lady Tamarawww.HighlandTitles.com not just Tamara.

Since my favorite Shoe is reading this and feels left out because I never mention her.  I must tell you what her man did. She decided that since they are rock-stars they needed body guards. They discussed this and decided they needed body guards with Ninja skills. He placed an ad on Craigs List for Ninja trained body guards. She thinks and so do I that this was a very sweet and romantic gesture.

I wonder did any Ninjas apply?