Breakfast Letters: Team Sharp

Breakfast Letters: Team Sharp: On yahoo I get a choice of 6 fonts unless I switch to the funky font ap but then I cannot use stationery. On word I have 137 fonts 1/3 of ...

Team Sharp

On yahoo I get a choice of 6 fonts unless I switch to the funky font ap but then I cannot use stationery. On word I have 137 fonts 1/3 of which are in another language and not usable and still I am not happy with the choices offered. I would choose script to write these letters in but I do not wish to make them hard to read. I may get over that. Maybe I can type in one font and change it to a different one after I write. It is the writing part that is my problem. So that makes me lazy or just efficient or a martyr. Hmmmm…..

Okay a beam of light form a Mayan Temple in 2009 is a “sign” from the gods the Mayan calendar is correctly predicting the end of the Earth.  Yeah!!??!! The photo is really bizarre looking and, can we see the other two photos that did not turn out that way? NASA has an interesting explanation. I am going to believe it is the coming together of the crystal skulls and the Aliens have left the planet. They realized I was on to them and left.  Maybe some members of Team Picard arrived and just wanted to have a looksy around an obvious tourist trap. Since it was photographed right before a storm it was Thor god of thunder arriving.

I was hot on the trail of William Sharp when his dad John is being claimed as William and his mom Elizabeth is being called Susan. So I redirect my search for William father of William and Susan mother of William. There are a few tribes claiming this. There are a few tribes claiming John and Elizabeth. The lines are the same right up to either William or John.  I spent 4 hours on this last night.  Team John shows a clear uninterrupted line and Team William has death of parents and death of uncles and a poor orphaned girl being rescued and whisked away to another town to be married outside of her Quaker church. One sounds like an excuse to have no chaos and the other reads like a novel. Team John wants no skeletons in the wood pile and Team William wants drama. William may not even be William.  What if team Williams’ William was the bastard product of a Sharp and married a Susan and raised the orphaned child of John and therefor both are right? This information I gathered last night is of course filtered to me by what google wants me to see and was all from 2008 back. Which means each team has taken their stuff off line and are now hiding it. Which you know I HATE!! But also leaves me to speculate that both are WRONG! Team Susan and Team Elizabeth stuck with their prospective mates so there was no help there. Sounds like something that would happen in West Virginia huh? Well it was New Jersey!

This is going to fuss me up until I solve it!  GOOGLE!!!! Quit filtering what you think I want to research because it is not. You give me family tree after family tree I want to see every document and reference to the name I search…really!!! I do. I want to see registers from the Monthly Meetings of every little Quaker village that had a William Sharp, John Sharp and any other Sharp!!! What do I get if I switch to yahoo to search?....mmmmm…..

Lady Tamara www.LairdOfLochaber.com  is going to dismiss Google and bring on Bing so I can Bing instead of Google because Ladies do NOT Yahoo!!

How is your Sharp?

Breakfast Letters: Senator's Stallion

Breakfast Letters: Senator's Stallion: I really had nothing in mind to write about this morning and I thought about staying in bed for another hour and a half. But I decided the...

Senator's Stallion

I really had nothing in mind to write about this morning and I thought about staying in bed for another hour and a half. But I decided there may be something out there in the early morning that I would discover. I dressed and headed out the door. There was a glorious misty/foggy morning awaiting me. It was too fine for mist and too heavy for fog. It looked wet but did not feel wet. I walked 4 blocks when I ran my hand through my hair and it was very damp. By the time I returned home I would be soaked and overheated. I put on my hood. It was silent and everything felt soft. It crossed my mind as I traveled that I was walking through water, not swimming, but it was water and I was walking and then I realized I was breathing in the water. I thought about doing swim strokes as I walked. I looked at the trees as though they were seaweed. I was a shark and everything else was food. I was swimming on the bottom. I realized I had walked half my route and could not remember getting there. I changed thoughts to my mother.

She is getting on a flight this afternoon and will reach her destination late tonight. She has been checking the weather regularly and her family has updated her. The forecast calls for severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings pretty much all across the middle and southern parts of the country. She mentions this to me. I want to laugh. But it flashed through my memory she has never mentioned the weather before she has flown on other flights. I look at her and I realize she is really worried. I slow up my roll. Mom, there may be chaos and thunder and rain all over the ground but remember you will be 30000 feet in the air. You will fly right over it. Some of the prettiest flights dad described was those over thunderstorms.

 She smiles. It will be fine mom. The pilots will avoid bad weather if at all possible. I am flashing back to a memory I had of a pilot who flew a crazy path through the largest thunderheads I had ever seen as we approached Dallas. We went around them and over them and he explained as we flew. “If you look to your right we are avoiding a huge cloud bank.” A few moments later… “We are going to fly over the next bank of clouds please make sure you are buckled in.”I am not sure why he took the time to explain all of this but it was a wonderful flight and everyone thanked him as we disembarked the plane. He was grinning like the Cheshire cat.

I was at a ribbon cutting yesterday where they provided lunch. I got into line with a man I did not know and as we were chatting about the rodeo being over a Senator stepped into line behind us. He knew the gentleman I had been chatting with. I was thinking “Horror!!!! Now I would be dragged into a discussion on policy of some sort.” Those of you who know me and realize I was in college to receive an education that would land me right smack in the middle of the political arena may find my reaction strange. But there I was exploring my fight or flight instinct when the man asked the Senator if he had been to the rodeo this season. I stopped and decided to play a while in the conversation. Being the first in the line I had to keep checking the progress and moving but it also gave me an escape route. The Senator proceeded to tell a very endearing story of the little sorrel stallion that they bought on a whim while at the rodeo because they had missed the swine. Next thing I know we are at the food and making our plates.

Lady Tamara www.LochaberHighlandEstates.com was entertained by a Senator yesterday. What will happen today?

Who might you entertain? 

Breakfast Letters: Not Zombies

Breakfast Letters: Not Zombies: We are cruising on the access road headed toward the spa. Off to our right a suburban assault vehicle dismounts the highway. No worries, w...

Not Zombies

We are cruising on the access road headed toward the spa. Off to our right a suburban assault vehicle dismounts the highway. No worries, we are not in danger of a collision I move over one lane they pull forward and move over one lane. They have a family designator on their back window. You know, the mom and dad and one little stick figure for each child and stick dogs and stick cats. Or, the mama turtle and daddy turtle and all the little turtles, same with the family depicted with Oleanders.  As they sped past me I caught a flash of green. Curious because I have never seen a green family designator I chase them. The little green family designators are aliens. There is a mom alien and a dad alien and 2 little children aliens. I have never to my knowledge encountered aliens so at the stop light I creep up on them and Shaggy and I slowly turn our heads to get a peek of them. They look like humans.  We brave a longer glance they look like humans but with softer features and they sit very still, almost like they were mannequins. Not human. Not Zombies either because a Zombie cannot sit still and their heads hang as though about to fall off.  We are awestruck, our first real encounter with an alien. I may have to go buy Alien perfume by ThierryMugler just because I love the scent and because …well…… ALIENS!!!

I went to shoot some photos of a Little League practice Saturday morning. Not a sporting fan I was like a ballerina in a tutu line dancing at Blue Bonnet Palace. I could not turn down the adventure though.  For some very interesting people watching and a plethora of personalities you should try this. WOW!! Some of you parents…..back off, go home, sit on your hands, tape your mouths, Really? Here is a bit of a clue…those men out there on the field with the children are coaches. Their job is to coach your child. You brought your child there to be coached. Let Mr. Coach do his job. Your child will not listen to the coach if you are there yelling at them as to what to do.  They will never have respect for the coach because they are seeing you disrespect the coach. If dad or mom does not respect the authority of the man in charge why should they? This filters down to their team mates. Why should they respect their mates who listen to someone their parents and they do not respect?  Do you parents who are “coaching” in place of the coach realize the amount of stress you are subjecting your children too? Do you even care? It is not you playing out there. It is not you being judged. STOP!! Competing is stress enough but now you are in the mix so they have to please Coach, team, themselves, friends and you? The only people in the world who love them unconditionally (aside from GOD) and you are adding to the stress level. If I disappoint mom and dad will they still love me?   To you parents who let your child and their coach enjoy the game, have an exciting adventure this season. You are allowing your child a learning experience that will enable them to be successful team players in whatever job they perform. There were all levels of players out there, male and female, they were all adorable, brave and shy, experienced and beginners.  After some warm up exercises the coach told them they would get to pitch and catch and run to see where they would best fit in and by the middle of the season they would all be ready for High School Baseball. (These children were all between 6 and 8) It was hilarious. I laughed another mom laughed I saw a couple other parents smile, most looked very un-amused. The children? They were cheering and whooping and getting very wound up. They were envisioning themselves age 9 playing on the local High School Varsity team next spring.  It was a great motivator statement.  I thank GOD I had no children into sports but I did enjoy my morning.

Two springs ago a pair of Titmouse built a nest in a wreath on my door. They laid 4 eggs. We discovered the nest quite by accident as they had built on the very top portion of the wreath.  Scarlet kept attacking the door. Then one day I heard a ruckus outside the front door. That is when I discovered the nest and the pair of birds refused to re-nest it. The eggs died. I took the wreath down and vowed not to put another one up during the summer and spring….until this year. I hung a wreath filled with holly and pinecones and pine boughs on the door for the winter months. It has been horrifically warm this winter. Just a moment ago Scarlet took a leap from her perch on a partial room divider at the front door window.  I waited and watched Scarlet as she was waiting and watching the front door. Then it hit me. The Titmice birds were back. I sprang to the door, pulled it open and off they flew. I removed the wreath checking it for a nest first and brought it in the garage.  Mr. and Mrs Titmouse were livid. Talk about Angry Birds!!! They are some angry birds. They are screeching and buzzing my front door.  

Guess what is parked near my front door…..

Lady Tamara www.HighlandTitles.com  has decided that if she ever is to host a party with live entertainment it will be a 15 minute performance with Kurt from Glee. He will sing Bad Romance because the gaga creature cannot sing it as well as he can. Have you heard him roll those Rrrrrrs? Sexy!!!Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 I will also wear blue velvet and he can sing that song too. The people who judge the dresses worn by actresses at the Oscars are NOT invited. Mean, spiteful, haters!

Looking for my funkiest outfit to wear today to a luncheon.

What will you wear?

Breakfast Letters: King of Sweden's Cup

Breakfast Letters: King of Sweden's Cup: I choked on a piece of oatmeal from the last bit of granola. But that was not enough to kill me. I picked up my tea tray and made my way...

King of Sweden's Cup

I choked on a piece of oatmeal from the last bit of granola. But that was not enough to kill me. I picked up my tea tray and made my way up the stairs. I set it down on the tea table and was beset up on by a tickle that attacked while I was swallowing which made me inhale deeply to sneeze which again choked me. But that was not enough, to sneeze once and be done. This was a full on sneeze attack, many in a row and never being able to catch my breath because I am also coughing and choking.  I survived. But does this failure mean another attack is eminent? Do I fear the day? Or do I proceed forth under the illusion of victory and continue to conquer? Odd how that right at this moment Now We Are Free from Gladiator is playing on Pandora….. Love that movie! 

All of my tea cups are being washed right now so I am drinking from a very delicate white gold trimmed coffee mug which is NOT the same as tea from a tea cup. It has the Royal seal of the King of Sweden on it. Does Sweden have a King? No matter it is not a tea cup.

I finally got Shaggy from the airport. Apparently a part was bad and they waited for it to come from SFO which should have taken 2 hours max but took 6 to get to San Jose. Then they offloaded the entire baggage compartment to fix something else and after being allowed back on the plane they sat on the plane for another 2 hours. But by then there was a reduced staff at the airport and they were informed they might not get their luggage, oh and, you have missed your connecting flights. We will give you food vouchers and put you up in a motel for the night in Dallas.  So Shaggy spent the night in a Hotel that was roach infested without luggage. After she landed and went to fetch her luggage she discovered that it was not here and they promised delivery by 6 pm. It was 9 am at the time. So at about 4:15 yesterday a man knocked on the door and there was her suitcase. I listened to the rant on the drive home.  But mostly what she ranted about was other people who were ranting about a situation that was out of their control. Threatening the Airlines, screaming at staff who were trying to help, moaning to their fellow fliers, slinging angry words at some other person on the other side of their phones. This told me something about me. This told me what she was accustomed to seeing was taking things in stride and dealing with them whether you liked them or not, whether they were your plan or not, whether it was a bad thing or not. Her anger at her fellow travelers for their treatment and behavior of airport staff, as though anyone of them had with malice ruined their plans. Shaggy was upset but she was motivated by fear. She was traveling alone and nothing like this had ever happened on any of her flights. She was unsure of what was happening. But each time she spoke to an airline official about where to go or what to do she pre-emptied it with “I am sorry people are yelling at you. I am confused and have a question.” She would get a smile and an explanation she could grasp. She was so exhausted by the time I got her home she slept for 4 hours.  Other people, creating a sense of panic, and fear in my child with their anger driving her to stay apart from the group and therefor increasing her tension of the unknown, perhaps a little campfire singing of Kum-ba-yah should have been in order. I asked her if the airline had supplied her with a little ditty bag of necessities, no they had not. This still leaves my beloved British Airways as my favorite all time airlines. 

Maybe it is the fact that I am Lady Tamarawww.HighlandTitles.com  but I doubt it. British Airways treats all their guests with respect and dignity. When the airport in Paris kept my luggage British Airways gave me a very impressive ditty bag filled with anything I could imagine I might want or need including a night shirt and panties. I could have survived a week with what was in that bag.

What airline do you fly?

Breakfast Letters: Cockle-bur Tour

Breakfast Letters: Cockle-bur Tour: A few weeks ago my friend Star had posted online a few photos of her shimmy skirts she hand crafts. I had commented that wouldn’t those be...

Cockle-bur Tour

A few weeks ago my friend Star had posted online a few photos of her shimmy skirts she hand crafts. I had commented that wouldn’t those be lovely to wear to Sherwood Forrest and an adventure idea was born with Seumas. It was at the time, just a wish, a hope, a dream. As the proposed date came tumbling by I was well on my way to not being able to go. Then four things happened. I sold two photographs, I was paid, and my daughter met Milton and, the final I am not at liberty to discuss. Friday as I was calculating my bills and the feasibility of really going Seumas calls and asks if Sunday is good for me for Sherwood. He lays a very generous offer on me and as I say I can go we firm up our plan to firm up our plan the next day. Because being Gypsy means that the plan may not really end up being the plan. This is great! I can do another photo shoot and also go. We met up and off we drove to Sherwood. Things were happy and lively and Seumas was telling me of his impending battles and then we were there. It was not long after we got out of the truck that we realized this adventure had been named the Cockle Bur tour. Seumas proceeded to lay his tartan out to plait it when he jumped up grabbed the fabric and headed back over to the truck. As he laid it out on the truck and I asked what had happened, “cockleburs” I could see them. The nasty little varmints covered his tartan. So we proceeded to lay fabric, pluck burs, pick spines from our fingers, plait, pluck, pick, plait, pluck, pick until 6 yards of tartan lay ready to wrap. Not how we had envisioned the day going but it gave us a title. We made it inside and before long we had found Wolfer

 and he took us to the best place for food, which happened to have a falafel wrap and other meaty items for the carnivores. Once we ate and entertained the other patrons we marched to the other side of Sherwood where we invested in a bottle of Mead. Then to my delight shopping!!!! We were at a market and Seumas bought hand crafted soap in many delicious temple smelling scents for me and a few bars of leather scented soap for himself.  Next we stopped at the Apothecary and incense was the order. Wonderful smells mingle in my bag of scented sticks. Sugared ginger, patchouli bath salts, lavender oil the shop smelled divine. At the end of the day we took a last walk by Angel Sword and caressed the steel, leather, garnets, lapis, and bronzed swords, dirks, daggers and other weapons of our choice. As we sat chatting with Master D he offered us a sample of his home brewed whiskey, one with a Texas taste and the other a Canadian, both very smooth. The drive back to my car happened all too quickly and I was loathe to part company with me beloved Seumas. He had blessed me with a phone call to Tav whom I adore insanely; he had bought me oatmeal for breakfast and falafel for lunch. He had been generous  and kind, there was a peacefulness surrounding him I had never seen.

I was anticipating a quiet drive home and then picking up Shaggy from the airport later. I had no sooner gotten 15 miles down the road when she calls and says her flight has been cancelled and she must stay the night in Dallas. The airlines would pay for her hotel and transport her back and forth. I reassured her all would be fine and she rang off filled still with doubt. I had hoped she would call after getting to her hotel in Dallas and I awoke at 1:23 am with a start after checking both phones I realized she had not called and I decided it was too late to call her. This morning however at 5:28am she calls me and tells me her flight gets in at 9.

Lady Tamara  www.LairdOfLochaber.com now has to get going to the airport which was not on my schedule for today but has been put on my schedule. I just love adventure!

What is not on your schedule?

Breakfast Letters: Murdering Carpet

Breakfast Letters: Murdering Carpet: As a single mom I worry a lot. It’s part of my job. IS she nuts? I heard this as the opening line of a radio ad on Pandora. No…no I am a s...

Murdering Carpet

As a single mom I worry a lot. It’s part of my job. IS she nuts? I heard this as the opening line of a radio ad on Pandora. No…no I am a single mom and my job is NOT to worry. This really grates on my nerves. She sounds like a pathetic victim. Sweetie!!....... You are a mom!  All of us  Moms (single or not)  have a story and a sad one at that. You do not need to portray yourself this way. Just say Mom.  I have been a married Mom and believe you me my children and I are much better off without the sperm donor.  Hold up Peeps the ad is trying to sell insurance to single Moms. I think that says it all.

I know I said it was a denture day. Well, me hearties it was. Oh it was. That is all I will say about it.

The two vacant lots that were left behind me are no longer vacant. I have been boxed in and my view of open spaces gone. I have been keeping my curtains closed in an effort to not accept this. They are pouring the concrete for the foundation today on the last one. The noise alone with the building will be a constant reminder. I am ready to go. I have been here I have done this I am ready for a different life a different place a different adventure just ready.  There just has to be something out…. There, somewhere that is the perfect blend of what I love and what I find challenging and what will keep me puzzling and what will accept my fierce loyalty and passion. Something. Somewhere.

My accent rug, The one on my bedroom floor is trying to murder me. It has a crease lengthwise down the middle of it that refuses to lay flat. It is not under anything, it was flat when I brought it up here but now it has a crease about 6” tall. I trip on it constantly. I have no clue how to fix it or flatten it. I straighten the rug stomp on the crease and 10 minutes later up it pops. Maybe…..it is a magic carpet. Maybe it is straining to stay grounded to disguise itself and just cannot manage to hide what and who it really is. Maybe the carpet is also read to adventure on.  Perhaps it is a mouse tunnel and I collapse it and they rebuild it from underneath up.

I wish you could all see the photo I took that made the front page of my community paper. It was amazing even in print it is amazing. I have received several compliments on it. That never happens. I feel like a proud mama.

Shall I have business cards created?

Lady Tamara  www.HighlandTitles.com

Freelance photographer

 Paparazzi to the Chamber.

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Breakfast Letters: Waltz the Highlands

Breakfast Letters: Waltz the Highlands: If I had to describe my feelings for the day right now in one word at 6:53 it would be a combination of despair and adventure so that one ...

Waltz the Highlands

If I had to describe my feelings for the day right now in one word at 6:53 it would be a combination of despair and adventure so that one word would be…….denture?

Usually I awake pleasantly and jump up and head off with gusto into the moment. Today I had been lying awake but had just started to drift off again when the alarm went off and much to my surprise my first reaction was to ignore it. Different.  I changed and headed out into the early morning with great un-enthusiasm. I trudged along as though performing a chore I detested but was necessary, like changing the litter box.  That is when I came across the musky, unpleasant smell of skunk. It was not fresh as though the little varmint was near, it just lingered more prominent in some places than in others. I also noticed the scent of grass, wood from damp fences, and soil. The fences were damp? The air was warm and wet. I heard a cricket stop chirping as I walked on and noticed that the grass was twinkling under the street lights as though handfuls of diamonds had been strewn across them with abandon.  That is when I noticed a flicker of white and a rabbit scatted through the grass and around a corner. Off in the distance I could hear the traffic on the freeway but playing over that was the croaking bellow of a toad. As I gazed in his direction my eyes caught a pale veiled light hidden in the dark sky and as I watched it a fine thin curtain lifted for just a moment and a heavy black one dropped over it all. I turned to get a better look and realizing she had an audience the dark velvet curtain slowly parted and the moon dressed in black gossamer made a brief appearance as if to wave good bye and vanished again. I turned my head and looked up the long straight street I still had left to conquer before I was home. The streetlamps were lined up like soldiers for my review and each one of them was crowned with a bright golden halo that melted into a creamy honey light and then pale buttery yellow out into and becoming part of the damp warm air. I skimmed the still dark houses on the street and I realized with some sadness that they were not privy to the beauty I had witnessed.  I was bewildered to find myself at the corner of that long street and 4 houses from home. What at first seemed like trudging had become almost a waltz through a damp misty morning.

Do you think this is how a highland morning starts? If so then Lady Tamara www.HighlandTitles.com needs t’ be there not here.

Come…..waltz with me…..

Breakfast Letters: Man vs Pedicure

Breakfast Letters: Man vs Pedicure: Copyright? You have copyrights on family photos? ……from 1868 and before and after? Really? Copyright? That is some crazy shite! Some of ...

Man vs Pedicure

Copyright? You have copyrights on family photos? ……from 1868 and before and after? Really?  Copyright? That is some crazy shite!  Some of those people you have copyrights on are my mothers’ kin folk and “how thoughtful” but I have to ask your permission to use a copy? Did you take the photo? Were you there? Oh you touched them up? I would think you would be honored to share. That sharing the joy of the photos would be enough. Everyone who needs any of the family photos or letters or papers I have please feel free to copy away!  I will even email you the photo of Eudora Welty I have as a baby. The only one of her that young that I have seen. No charge! No copyright!  I must contact you to ask for a copy? What kind of crazy control freak power trip are you on? Il déménage complètement !

Friday morning dawned bright and early (5:00) as I was to be picked up by the groom and whisked away to the Best Man breakfast. No I was not the Best Man. I was the photographer who would capture those moments and events happening with the Grooms Party. Those things the Bride does not get to see or hear. I have pictures and now I will in this letter tell some of what was heard.  Later on in the day the “official” photographer will show up and take over. But even he will still not be everywhere so, I will endeavor to be where he is not. This had me in motion all day. We broke fast with a horse. This seemed appropriate seeing as how the Best Man lives on a ranch. The Red Rooster in New Braunfels serves up a spectacular Denver omelet!

After the omelet the Groom and all the Men meet up at the hotel. We are met by the Bride who proceeds to hand out itineraries, much to the amusement of the Best Man, who upon hearing that we have already one Groomsman off schedule decides the agenda is shot.  We decide to take two vehicles and off the men and I go to NB Nails. They are to have a pedicure and a manicure.  Video would have been the better choice for this part of the day. I will not do justice to the description of the faces of the 5 women in the pedicure spa as they watched 6 men march in and proceed to give them and the chairs and tubs a” deer in the headlights” stare. Photos are very hard to take when you are laughing uncontrollably I must say.  These guys were troopers and the undressing of their feet and the rolling up of their jeans started as one, as if on cue.  The women across the room all looked very uncomfortable and nervous. This surprised me. However, as the men accepted their fate and bravely soldiered on the women relaxed. Once Dan and Fran accepted a glass of wine things went much better, much funnier.  Here is some of what was heard:…..  “Rog… your horse will now make you ride side saddle.”  “Do not tell your horse about this or he will no longer respect you.”  “Gosh Darn!! These feet do not even look like mine.”  “No woman should ever be exposed to these feet!”  “I am having more sensations now than I have had in 30 years of marriage!”  “These poor girls will have feet nightmares for weeks!”  The frustration on a few of their faces once the massage chair time ran out was hysterical. Seeing them try to figure out how the control panel worked and NOT disgrace themselves by asking was riotous.  “No need to spend money at a cheap hotel on a vibrating bed, I’ll just come here and get a pedicure!” I will say rapture best describes three of their faces.

Next was lunch. Rog ordered the tortilla soup. I assumed he had eaten tortilla soup before, we soon found out he had none like this. It was a lovely little bowl decorated beautifully with tortilla strips and cheese and fresh pieces of avocado. Here is what was said….. “I don’t know what all this stuff is on this soup but maybe we can sell some of it back and help pay for the meal.”

The rest of the day was filled with Bridal party preparations.  I did sneak into the Groom’s party dressing room just in time to photograph the zipper malfunction and organized chaos that this created. How many men does it take to console, reassure, calm down, and refocus 6 men with a zipper issue?  Come on Marines! Let’s take this hill!!!! Three words! Adapt. Improvise. Overcome.  Later that night I asked the zipper victim how the zipper was doing and I was rewarded with a very boyish blush and a look of surprised wonder as he asked how I knew. …

Lady Tamara www.LairdOfLochaber.com never photographs and tells.

Paparazzi ……. We are everywhere.

Breakfast Letters: Tyler Stevana

Breakfast Letters: Tyler Stevana: I open my email to see a huge article on the odd name R Downey jr named his baby. Does not seem like an odd name to me. Exton Elias. Not l...

Tyler Stevana

I open my email to see a huge article on the odd name R Downey jr named his baby. Does not seem like an odd name to me. Exton Elias. Not like Moon Unit or Dweezil or Apple, or Blanket, Bean, Justice, Poeme on and on. Who are these people? The name Police? Unique names are very cool downright stupid names are cruel. My children complain because they feel their names are not unique or unusual or even pretty. When I tell them some of the others that were on the list I liked they pick a few they wish I had used. I chose with great care. The names on my list had meaning. They were strong names and attributes I wished for my children to have. Would I have named them something different if I had to do it again? Yes if it was just I involved in the naming decision. Sadly it was not. My second child could have been Shelly Grace or Carden Blue but then she decided to arrive 7 weeks early and cause severe trauma. She was not expected to live. She needed a big powerful name. I gave her one. She hates it. But now she is my favorite Shoe a name in a teenage fit of cruelty she tried to attach to her baby sister. It started as Shitpie and morphed into Shoepie because my 16 month old daughter could not pronounce Shitpie. My youngest was going to be Paisley Summer but that name had the entire family unit in such  uproar of jealousy that she was getting the best name I named her after her two grandfathers. Something I am glad now I did. I did rescue one daughter from Tyler Stevana in honor of Steven Tyler. Wheww!!! My grandmother was angry with my mother for not naming my brother after my dad and thereby creating a SPP the V that would have been cool we could have called him Five…..hahah She also thought  I should have gotten a family name after my grandmothers. I could have been Ina Vida or Vida Ina or Frances Ina or even better Ina Frances. Ok that one may not be so bad or any combination of Mary, Hannah, Chestina, Catherine or Martha. There was an Electra way back in 1723. Wish they had known that….I could be Electra.

The non-mower man was mowing his lawn yesterday just a few hours after my landscaper came and did mine. He then has the ….. to stop me as I am driving by to attempt to throw my daughter under the bus. “Didn’t she tell you I said I would mow it Monday or Tuesday?” Have you ever just wanted to be blunt and honest and let someone have it? I interrupt him as he is attempting this line of defense. “She told me what you said but you also said you would mow it while I was in Dallas!” He then changes tactics and tries to be aggressive. “You had to pay for it didn’t you?” (oh male creature you do NOT want to dance this dance) “My landscaper mowed my lawn as he said he would.” Foolish male creature continues ( I am convinced he is a village idiot).”You had to pay for it right?” I smile that benevolent smile you bestow upon a child who has brought you in a dandelion and believes it is the most beautiful flower in the world. “I said I would do it!” I laugh. “Did you make a lot of money in Dallas?” Uhmmmm….I am thinking it is Dallas not Vegas?????.....”NO?” “Are you off to work? He asks my daughter. She looks straight ahead and says yes. “Oh well I will let you go.” As if he ever had us? You lied, you made up excuses for your lack of commitment and then worst of all you throw your guilt on to my daughter? I almost married another version of you.

Dear male creature next door. I am Lady Tamara,www.LairdOfLochaber.com  I have a landscaping crew in case you failed to notice! He shows up. He does what he says. It is a great relationship

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 Blaming my daughter??? Really??? Are you truly that stupid???? My child is at fault because you failed to do what you said you would??? D&G HELLO?????

  

Can you say Tiger Mama????

Breakfast Letters: Clueless Cashier

Breakfast Letters: Clueless Cashier: To take my opening line from my dearest friend and former Boss…. So there I was standing in the queue at TMX patiently waiting my turn, ...

Clueless Cashier

To take my opening line from my dearest friend and former Boss….

So there I was standing in the queue at TMX patiently waiting my turn, looking about me for missed treasure and people watching when, I watched a female walk up the queue and look at a display of socks behind me. Ok.  Then she maneuvers around me and the large red sign that indicates this is a queue and looks at the socks on the other side of the sock display. Ok. She meanders further along toward the cash wraps. I realize that all along she was intending to do this.  She must have gotten away with it many times before. She did not appear to be an idiot. She did not look to be from some far distant country that does not have stores. She creeps up on the existing customer and positions herself to leap at the available clerk the minute she looks up from what she is doing, which the cashier does and calls me to proceed, I start to move and the female creature jumps over to her. The other cashier who had (much to my surprise) who had been watching her told her no I was next. The girl looked back at me with a momentary flash of fear. I paused; she looked like a cornered dog, glancing from each cashier back to me and around again. I waved my hand to let her go on. The clueless cashier is still looking clueless. This amuses me for a moment. It is my turn and the still clueless cashier asks me “How are you?” Really???? Without the slightest hesitation I tell her I am angry and it is taking the majority of my will power not to follow the scandalous skank into the parking lot and deal with her. The clueless cashier is now looking even more clueless ( I did not think that was possible). I was not done….”does she think because she weighs 80 pounds she can crash the line?” Her response…”uuhhh????”  I pay for my item and move on.

I have started yoga again. I was yoga-ing in 2002 when I moved to California for about 8 months. I was a size smaller and had not shattered my ankle at the time. So when my trainer Rodney tells me to walk back into downward facing dog I have to laugh. When he wants me to sit relaxed and lean over and rest my head on the earth I have to wonder…. Is he stoned? I have not been able to do that since high school. But because I enjoy the sensation of feeling the blood flowing through my body I will continue and Rodney is patient.

Can you send someone a 1099 for 2011 if they did not fill out a 1099 for 2011?

Lady Tamara www.LochaberHighlandEstates.com    very busy schedule today and it includes two committee meetings an email blast and a visit to my mother. So, I must move on.

Yo ho ho and fiddle dee dee…….I am a Pirate!

Breakfast Letters: The Non Mower

Breakfast Letters: The Non Mower: Going on a rant this morning, just giving you fair warning. I am reading a devotional book entitled Spiritual Notes to Self. I have re...

The Non Mower

Going on a rant this morning, just giving you fair warning.

I am reading a devotional book entitled Spiritual Notes to Self. I have read it before, a few years ago. I could not quite remember it but as I started reading I remembered I did not enjoy the book. It was a bit depressing and lecturing and full of self-abuse.  Anyway I read on with it. Every now and again the author has a brief moment of spiritual note and comes across as a sun drop in a stormy cloud covered sky. Today was NOT one of those days. He was ranting about the wearing of white cotton does not make you spiritual….true. But he also says being nice does not make you spiritual. Spiritual---of or pertaining to the spirit or soul, as distinguished from the physical nature. Uhm…..  I am giving the book a second chance because I was NOT on a pleasant personal journey when I read it the first time and why be judgmental of someone else’s personal journey because mine was h havoc. I still do not like it. I will continue the read because I started it and maybe that is what this is all about. The author may something brilliant tomorrow. I look forward to giving him the opportunity.

Second, dude if you tell me you will mow my lawn while I am gone and wink and smile like a little boy trying to please his Mom then I will believe you, not full-fledged trust but I will give you a chance.  I did make the comment to my daughter that the odds of you following through were very very slim however I did remain optimistic. I cancelled my regular visit from my landscaper to give you a chance. I came home and my weeds are over 2 feet tall. REALLY? You wander over here Saturday afternoon and offer my daughter a few flimsy excuses that not even she is buying. Do you really think we are stupid? As a man you have a responsibility to women.  Hint: Gentle competent strength is very sexy.  Incompetence and disrespect are not the message you should be getting across.  You are diminished in my eyes. Was that the objective? If so you succeeded and far exceeded my expectations.

To the man I complemented in regards to a behavior that was like my father. I take it back. You misunderstood the comment, you abused the meaning, you took a personal compliment and turned it into a banner you wave with what you perceive is justification. So unlike my father…..I am embarrassed to have ever let the words “my Dad” fall upon your ears. I pray you will forget. You are undeserving.

Third….. I was employed with job 1 and was doing my job. I also cared about the success of all my clients. You may be a business owner and feel you have certain rights and privileges above and beyond what you perceive as mere mortals but you are WRONG! We came to your business and asked if you had time to see us. You said yes. We gave you a brief presentation about our special project. You said you would consider it. Great!  We tried to follow up with email, phone calls, and another visit. We are a business too. What should have been more important to you was to believe we were potential customers. I only shop with the people who shop and support me. You ignored emails and phone calls. You were never there? You were always busy? Always with a client? You would tell your flunky to tell us to come back you were busy? This happened three times on three projects for job1. It happened again when I was employed with job2. Let me tell you what it is called. DISRESPECT!  Here are the results of your lack of respect. On my team were 7 women. You were the topic of conversation (not in a good way). That is 7 lost customers or shall we say revenue?  Now, I have 3 daughters and a mother and friends  I told of how you a local business were disrespectful. They each have… we could say 4 friends they told about how you were disrespectful. The 7 ladies on the team have mothers and sisters and friends and daughters and each of them have friends with mothers and sisters and daughters. Now, there were four ladies who sat near our department who overheard the tales of your disrespect to us. They have friends and mothers and sisters. We all live in this area. We all grew up in the area. We were NOT some fly by night people who do not care about our clients or potential clients. We were not some nameless faceless money grubbing corporation who just wants your money. We do not live on the other side of town and this was NOT just a job. I sought that job out with the objective of helping my neighbors who own local business to support my community to be a genuine part of your success. I created opportunities in my job to do this. You encountered potential customers and you blew it. How much revenue did you lose?    Think about it…. There are 5 of us and at $40 a bottle for make-up that alone is $200 you threw away every three months. Not to mention lipsticks and blush and powder and the recommendations from us to all of our friends. 7 Women not shopping there was how much revenue? $280.  Had you just responded to an email or phone call I would have said nothing.  Plenty of people have told me “No Tamara I am not interested in this opportunity today”.  I respect these business owners. There are 3 flowers shops in my community two have done business with me and I do business with them. The third I do not.  Just so you know…..   

Lady Tamara  www.HighlandTitles.com was giving  Armani all her love for make-up. However he does not love my old skin and it is time to change over to old lady make-up at Elizabeth Arden.

Who do you support?