Sizzling Peppers Sunday

Yes, the peppers I have under the broiler are sizzling ...

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Larry Kelley, proprietor of "Only in the Republic of Amherst" blog was nice enough to loan some  of his photographs so I can show you some of our fall splendor.

Larry is very proud of his photography, as he should be, but also is proud of the fact that he has become very skillful with a drone camera. So you will see views of Amherst and the area that you have never seen before!

Above: North End of Downtown Amherst, photo by L. Kelley
The cylindrical building on the upper right is the Amherst College observatory. The brick buildings are also part of "The College." The cranes in the rear are from new dorm construction for Amherst College.

Above: West Cemetery, photo by L. Kelley

West Cemetery is where Emily Dickinson was buried. She died in 1856.

Above: Amherst Town Hall on the R with Clock Tower, photo by Larry Kelley

I would tell you who designed the Town Hall but I sure couldn't get it with a simple Google search. (I did get Larry's blog!)

The steepled grey church on the right is Grace Episcopal Church. The orange trees are in the north section of the Town Common. 
Supposedly, residents of Boston can still graze their cows on the Boston Common. I haven't heard that about the Amherst Town Common, but it is where they hold the Farmers' Market in the summer and early fall.

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Finished up my cooking for lunches. I still have to work on breakfasts and snacks. Sigh.

I love the two-compartment containers that I got on a Groupon. Yes, I know there are more than 5 -- some are leftovers that will be for suppers. That way I can just heat up when I get home. (Or not. It depends on how tired I am. It takes a lot of energy to run a microwave!)

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In between laundry today, I finished up the yarn I had from work. No more knitting for me! We now have patches that cover about a desk-sized area. Someone has to attach them for our community blanket at work. I can't wait to see it!

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Last night, Emily and I went to the Calvin Theatre in Northampton to see/hear Mike Birbiglia (comedian). He was really funny and we laughed a lot. I had heard most of his act when Emily got tickets to see him in Boston. But that was fine -- the jokes were still funny. 

His warm up act was great too. He was a guy named Joe Fish and he said, "I'm 43 and still not married. I expected to be divorced by now." 

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I notice how none of you reacted when I posted the thing about Rh negative blood -- which insinuated that we come from alien stock. As in space aliens. I thought that was pretty funny, actually. It could explain a lot of things.

I often don't understand others. To me, they are the aliens!

I just picked up my cell phone and it said, "Finding location." Since the phone has been in this house for two days straight, it made me wonder. Was it noticing that it's in the kitchen and not the living room where I charged it last night? Or was it missing the bedroom because I had used it as an alarm this morning? And there's another message saying, "Voice mail: sorry we ran into a problem, please try later." There is no voice mail and I can't get rid of that foolish message. This is because I'm an alien, isn't it?

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I was gratified to see that CBS Sunday Morning ran an opinion piece saying people who swear are more intelligent than those who don't. The woman (I didn't get her name) had read reports on the subject so it wasn't solely her opinion. At one point we had a swear jar at work and put in a quarter every time one of us slipped.  After this piece on TV, I think they should pay me if I swear.

The jar has gone away -- we have learned to curb our tongues -- and save it up for when we are alone in the car. So if you see me driving by and the air is my car is blue, you'll know why.

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Speaking of car colors -- what is it with auto manufacturers? I was looking at a Honda Accord and it's called "obsidian blue." When you look at it in real life -- in full sunlight-- it looks black. I have a friend with an "eggplant" colored car. It looks black. I saw a blue that I liked on a Fit -- and that's the only model (a little coupe) that has that color. It looked like blue. You would recognize it as blue.

I looked at a Honda Accord that the saleswoman said was grey. Turns out, it was green. It looks like grey -- with green undertones. Way back in 2005 when I bought my current car, the color was listed as "desert mist." Yesterday a woman called it gold. A friend calls it beige.

Why can't they call the colors red, maroon, green, blue, etc. and you know right away what color it is? I don't want to buy a car that I have to continuously explain, 'It's really blue and it only looks like it's black.'

Yes, I'm searching for a new used car. I'll get either an Accord or a Camry with about 30,000 miles on it. Since my 2005 only has 78,000 miles, I think I'll be o.k. with some starter mileage. The prices are much better than new.

And, no thank you, I don't want any more advice. :)

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I assume you know I am very proud of both of my daughters. (I try to keep it in check!) Emily is an independent Jamberry representative and in the spirit of giving back to the community, she is filling bags with goodies for two organizations. One is the nurses at the Cooley Dickinson MGH Cancer Center in Northampton (a friend goes there for chemo), and the other organization is Dress for Success in Worcester. They provide suitable work clothes for women who are interviewing for jobs so they can be independent.

The gift bags will have useful and caring items (it's different for the two groups). But there will definitely be chocolate for the nurses!

If you would like to donate money to the cause, let me know and I'll put you in touch with Emily. 

It's time for supper. Ciao!

I Couldn't Resist Reprinting This Article

Studies conducted on rhesus negative blood types show that they are missing the Rhesus factor, a protein substance present in the red blood cells of other humans.

Theories suggest that people with Rhesus (RH) negative blood may be from outside this world.

Others suggest they are fallen angels from the heavens above or they belong to an alien race from somewhere in the vast darkness of space.

What is clear is that those who have with Rhesus (RH) negative blood are different and unique.

A person who has RH negative O blood is able to serve as a donor to any person regardless of their blood type. But if they need blood, only their own type will suffice.

They represent 15% of the human race and are mostly from northern Europe.

The four common blood types of today include A, B, AB and O. The differences between each blood type is dependent on the proteins in the blood, but when it comes to RH negative blood types, which make up about 10 to 15 percent of the population, they don’t have these proteins.

The question that is on the minds of scientists now, is where this group of RH negative blood type people originates from. Looking back about 35,000 years, scientists believe that the blood type is linked to specific tribes and groups. Europeans have the greatest incidence of this blood type, but only 3% of African-Americans have it, and only 1% of Asian people have it.

Some common characteristics of people with this blood type include having a higher IQ, having a lower body temperature, having more awareness (physically and emotionally), having red hair, being sensitive to heat, and having blue, green or hazel colored eyes.

This blood type is shrouded in even more mystery when we look at pregnant women. RH negative women who become pregnant have difficulty delivering a baby with an RH positive blood type, as their bodies naturally attack and try to kill the fetus. Thus, they are given a special sterilized solution. (Anti-D or  RHo (D) immunoglobulin)

But, why would the woman’s body attack the offspring it’s been helping give life to?

This is where a relatively new theory comes in and suggests that it’s possible alien life has influenced this blood type. What’s even stranger is that almost every person who has reported being abducted by (or interacted with) aliens has the RH negative blood type.

It’s certainly very possible that aliens visited our planet, as they’ve done for centuries, and somehow tooled around with the genetics of mankind. After all, history from all over the world has shown time and time again, through ancient texts and depictions, that we’ve been visited by beings not of this world.

What do you think about the blood type that is missing a key link to evolutionary humans? Could it be that some of us have alien blood running through our veins?

Source: YNW  http://www.theearthchild.co.za/people-rhesus-negative-blood-may-aliens/

Mom and I are Rh negative.  

It Has Begun

Fall, that is.

These colors are in my neighborhood, but it's raining today, so I don't think there are more colors. I'll keep you posted.

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There has to be something out of whack when someone pays $1.2 Million for a baseball playing card -- when we have people with no food.
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Above is Zachary's quilt. YaoYao said they like it! I designed it -- some of those squares are very little pieces. It's hand quilted. 

Here's the back of the quilt (polka dots).

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I don't know about you, but for me, time speeds by as if I'm on a bullet train in Japan. Consequently, I don't remember when this was (the week before last, I think). Sharon, my boss, pictured here took me with her for our version of postering at UMass. They have a wonderful Community Foundation where employees can designate an amount from every paycheck that is donated to the cause/charity of their choice. We do have some wonderful patrons who currently do this. Yes, that's Sammy the Owl with his construction hat on and the display shows our proposed renovation and expansion plans.

Almost everyone who said they use the Jones Library talked about how they like the staff. That was really gratifying -- particularly since they didn't have to say that! We had a good time although it is pretty tiring to be "on" for 4 hours.

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I went to pick up a friend's mail yesterday. Look at what was on her front lawn. I used the business sized envelope to show you how tall the 'shroom is. The neat pie shape was already out of the top -- I think it split on its own.

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We had had a long week at work, so on Friday morning, I brought Scotch Eggs for our coffee break. Sharon said "Yuck!" but Lisa and Roxanne seemed to like them. Personally, I think it's one of those things that looks better than they taste.

I liked the low carb blueberry muffins better! I had just baked them.

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I painted a new tote bag! 

This is my rendition of Cezanne's Pears on a Chair. No, I wasn't drinking. But I did have a good time!

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On Tuesday night, I went to a Church Council meeting. On Wednesday night, I painted the tote bag above. On Thursday night, Lisa and I hosted Trivia (the last one) at the Library. Add a Trustees' meeting which included a mean-spirited argumentative person, and my energies flagged.

Additionally on Wednesday, I had drilling and the beginning of a new crown. The dentist put a temporary crown on. It fell off yesterday (Saturday). I don't know if they are open tomorrow on Columbus Day. Excuse me, the Amherst Select Board declared it "Indigenous Peoples Day."  It sure makes the closed sign bigger.

So by Friday we were pretty tired and ready for a weekend. Just before I left, someone had a medical emergency and the ambulance had to be called. Consequently, I really enjoyed supper out with Nancy. It was nice to relax and just chat.

Today, Sunday, I have just been hanging around. I don't want to go out, but I'm out of cream for my coffee. I was going to use milk from a little Parmalat box but I looked at the carbs and it's 12 carbs! Heavy cream is 0! (I'm trying to do 25 carbohydrates per day.)

Thank goodness for the crock pot!! I threw in some beef with some sugarless bbq sauce and onions and it's fantastic! Woo hoo! I haven't shopped for groceries ... maybe I'll just eat tuna fish for the week, ha ha.

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Here's the latest baby quilt I'm working on. I don't know why there are just two stars, that's what I designed.

As you can see, the back is the same polka dots as on Zachary's quilt. On this quilt, I have been outlining some (not all) of the dots -- that's the quilting. I hope to put the (homemade) binding on tonight. The binding takes a long time mainly because I get bored and put it aside.

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Monday -- Glad I put the trash out last night! Anyway, it has been a lazy day. I have machine added the binding to the other baby quilt (that you don't see here) because that was the binding I had cut. I had forgotten that. Now I just have to hand sew it to the front. I can do that at class tonight.

I am really enjoying my Bible as Literature class. It's taught by Bruce Penniman and he's a great discussion leader. I really appreciate that he sends us the passages because it's easier if we are all discussing the same version/translation.

It's a good thing we don't take the Bible literally -- last time it was o.k. to sleep with the maid to get a kid (a la Swartzenegger), o.k. to pretend your wife was your sister so the Pharoh wouldn't kill you, but he would "marry" her, and it was o.k. to sacrifice your only son because that's what God wanted. I can hardly wait to read tonight's fare. I peeked and there's at least one rape. Yick. I guess they are telling us what's not o.k., but some of these are sure roundabout stories!

My crustless quiche is even yummier with fresh tomato slices (and feshly cooked bacon bits). I've got a daisy ham and cabbage in the slow cooker.  I've got two lunches and three morning snacks packed up ready to go. I expect to have ham and cabbage for lunches too. 

A wash is merrily in so after class I can veg out and watch Netflix. Thanks to Cyndi for suggesting Death in Paradise. It's popcorn style cosy mysteries -- but I get to see palm trees and warm beaches. 

Ciao, have a great week!