Friday, October 19, 2012

Friday's Odds and Ends - Funnies and Flowers

Before I get into the main part of this post, I want to ask if you have ever had trouble posting a comment here? On Wednesday, my guest, Mary Deal, could not leave a comment, and I know that was very frustrating as she wanted to thank me for hosting, as well as interact with visitors. I don't know anything about the technical side of what happens with the computer and programs and websites. I just know how to put words on a screen. Mary mentioned using an "atom" thing to try to post after she could not use the regular comment function. I don't have any kind of comment moderation set up. I've realized in visiting a lot of blogs that it isn't always easy to find where to click to leave a comment. For my blog, and several others I write for the comment link is at the end of the blog piece where there is a line:   6 comments:  Sometimes it will say "no comments" and you can be the first to leave a comment. (smile)

Let me know what your experience has been commenting here or on other blogs. 

In a recent letter to the editor in The Dallas Morning News a man suggested that the U. S. Postal service consider delivering residential mail on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and business mail on the other days of the week. Interesting proposal. It would save money, but would that work in this era of instant everything? People today would never have survived waiting weeks and sometimes months for mail to arrive way back when it was delivered by horseback and stagecoach.

Maybe we would all be better off if we took a few deep breaths and just.... waited.

Today I thought I'd share some great descriptive lines I copied out of a book I read. I made this note so long ago that I don't even remember which book the lines came from, and like a doofus, I did not write the book title on the note. I thought of just throwing the note away, but these lines are too good not to share.

"His eyes were ice blue. Hard. So sharp, Val could feel them cut."

"His eyebrows resembled a backwoods thicket"

I'm not even sure if the descriptions were of the same character, but they sure are vivid, and such a refreshing alternative to some of the common descriptions of cold eyes and thick eyebrows. If the author reads this blog post and recognizes the lines, I'd love a reminder of what book they came from.

Something just for fun from the comic strip Non Sequitur: The scene is a cemetery called Last Words Cemetery. One headstone reads: "Hey, why spend all that money on an electrician?"

Not so funny? Okay, how about this one from Pickles. Earl and his grandson are talking a walk. Nelson asks, "Grampa, do you and Gramma ever argue?"

"Argue? No. I can't say that we do. We disagree sometimes, though, and then she explains to me why she's right and I'm wrong.

"You might say we have one of those marriages where one person is always right and the other person is me."

Some time ago I noticed these wildflowers growing in and around a large branch that fell during a storm that blew through. This was on the side of the highway leading to our county road, so I had to be careful of traffic when I went to snap the pictures. I couldn't resist, though. It was so pretty.

8 comments:

Yolanda Renée said...

The photo is gorgeous!

Descriptors are a fun thing. Trying to describe without being obvious is a real talent.

Maybe need to do some practice with that, because I fall into the dull area a lot!

Hope you comments all get through!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I've not had any problems commenting.
Only deliver mail three days a week? I'd think that would be the beginning of the end for the postal service.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

The eyebrows one is very descriptive.

Maryannwrites said...

Glad you liked my picture Yolanda. I always have to redo descriptions to get them to shine. I think all writers tend to start with dull. LOL

Alex, the point of the op-ed piece was that the PO could save money by cutting staff. Of course, that would not be good news to the folks who had to be let go, but it would be better than the whole system failing.

L. Diane, I really liked the description of the eyebrows. Such a refreshing change from "he had bushy eyebrows." LOL

LD Masterson said...

Lovely picture.

I can't remember having any problems commenting here.

I don't think people would accept the cutback in postal service.

Have a great weekend.

Laura Eno said...

On some blogs it's an adventure trying to figure out where the comment box is! Yours is easy though.
Those are great descriptions and the flowers are beautiful!

Maryannwrites said...

Thanks, Laura. I had to smile when I read your comment. If the comment box is too hard to find on a blog, I don't leave a comment. Most of them that I visit regularly, do have boxes that are easy to find.

Maryannwrites said...

L.D. would you personally go for mail three times a week? I'm thinking I would, but that may be because I am old and tired of the push for instant everything. LOL