** No Time for Sergeants **

I chose this title because I don't have much time to blog this morning, and it just popped into my head! How many of you have seen the 1958 comedy starring Andy Griffith? From a partial review on Amazon: "Griffith plays a hillbilly who is drafted into the army where, among other things, he has to wear shoes regularly for the first time. Griffith brings an engaging glee to the role of this likable bumpkin, whose happy-go-lucky demeanor is impervious to insult. Ask him to clean the latrines and he rigs the toilet seats to stand up and salute." Don Knotts had a supporting role and two years later, he and Andy starred in The Andy Griffith Show. (I think it's pretty obvious where the idea for Gomer Pyle, USMC came from!)

Ah....but I digress......Here's my brief morning bulletin of Writer Stuff :

The latest newsletter from Poets & Writers Literary Magazine has tons of cool information in it, but I particularly liked what I found about submitting to various magazines....495 various magazines, that is! If you can't find a venue there to submit your writing to....then....I got no time for ya!!

"Be yourself. No one can ever tell you you're doing it wrong." -- James Leo Herlihy

** TEA TIME TUESDAY **

This is my first attempt to participate in Lady Katherine's Tea Time Tuesday! She graciously invited me to do this a month or so ago when I posted the picture of my wall plates in my dining room. I feel kind of silly because I know how to upload my photos and do all the correct things, but Mr. Linky scares me!! I'm unsure of myself because I've never been in Mr. Linky's company before. You could even say that when it comes to Mr. Linky.....I'm quite virginal.

 This photo is of the plates, teapot clock, and "half" tea cup & saucer, that I hung in a random way on a wall in my dining room. Two of the larger plates were my grandma's. The other plates were single purchases at various consignment stores. The "half" tea cup set is a one-of-a-kind I found at a gift shop in old St. Charles, Mo. I've never seen another one like it. The teapot clock was purchased at Dillard's quite a few years ago. It's the Royal Albert, Old Country Roses pattern. (These all look like miniatures in the photo, but they are "regular" size!)

This is a close up of the teapot clock.

This is a teapot I purchased at Dillard's about the same time as the teapot clock.

The tea cup and saucer were bought at one of the local consignment shops.

This cup and saucer is not a set. The cup was my deceased sister's cup when she was a little girl. It's smaller than regular, but it's also not miniature. It's just kind of "child-sized". It has a little chip at the top on the right, which is visible. (I can't imagine giving a young child a CHINA cup!) I don't know exactly how it came into my possesion, but I'm so glad I have it, and I really do cherish it.

This is a darling sugar bowl and creamer set I bought at Home Goods a couple of years ago. It's so cheery and spring-like, and just makes me smile to look at it.

Okay. That's all I've got. I'm not even sure if these pictures qualify for Lady Katherine's Tea Time Tuesday. They weren't taken in the best of light, and I don't have a professional camera. Hopefully, everyone will still enjoy looking at them.

Thanks for stopping by. Now it's time to morph back into my other self, which is Writer Gal 53!

 

"The mere chink of cups and saucers tunes the mind to happy repose." --George Gissing, The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft

** BLOG LAYOUT PROBLEMS **

Is anyone else having problems with the Layout section of their blog? Ever since this morning, I can't do any editing of my Layout. When I click on it, only the top 1/3 or so of the page shows, and there is no way to scroll down any farther.

Please check yours and let me know. Thanks!

                                                      (photo courtesy of: blog.ning.com)

"Hardware: the parts of a computer that can be kicked." ~Jeff Pesis

** Random Thoughts on a Sunday Night **

Here's a few things of interest:

1) I visited Bylines Calendar this evening and noticed what appeared to be a new page, at least to me. Click on the tab that says Writers' Resources, and you will find an abundant list of websites that pertain to many different areas of writing. I didn't count them, but at a glance I'd say it's near one hundred sites! I didn't even begin to start clicking away on any of them. I plan to get to bed before midnight tonight!

2) I love reading all my friends' blogs, obviously, but even more so when they have good news to share about their writing. One such person tonight is: Janel of Janel's Jumble. Click on the link and read about her exciting publishing news, posted on April 11th and 12th. Congrats, Janel!

3) I also love reading hilarious blogs, which many of my friends also write. A recent one is at Tammy's. Click on the link and read her post from Saturday, April 10th. Make sure you read the quote at the end of the post! If you don't laugh out loud, then come back and let me know......(and I don't expect to hear back from anyone!)

4) Tiny Lights has posted the Essay Contest winners and runner-uppers. I didn't recognize any names, but maybe some of you will know of someone, who knows someone, etc. Don't forget you can always submit something for various online publications there.

5) Another "find" of mine, and I must've seen this blog on someone's blog roll, is The Slush Pile. It is the blog of a flash magazine, appropriately named:  Flash Me Magazine. I don't know that much about it....have never submitted anything to it, but it looks pretty cool. It says: "FLASH ME MAGAZINE is a quarterly publication brought to you by Winged Halo Productions. We are a paying market, accepting all genres of fiction under 1,000 words. We are one of the few markets that offer editorial feedback with rejection letters."  I think it would be worth looking into further, for all you fiction writers!


 ** Please know that just because I highlighted Janel's and Tammy's blogs tonight, doesn't mean I don't love all y'alls!  (Hey, I'm starting to sound like my Southern blog buddies!)


"No matter how good you are at something, there's always about a million people better than you." -- Homer Simpson

* I'm Definitely NOT a Poet, and I KNOW IT! *

Fun information found at Cathy C.'s Hall of Fame Blog:  April is National Poetry Month and using book spines to write a poem is a fun way for anyone to get in on the action.

So, below you will find my attempt at a "book spine poem" - just read the titles (not the authors' names) from top to bottom. Fun, huh? Give it a try!

I managed to quickly put two of them together this afternoon, but couldn't take photos until I charged up the old battery.....the camera's, not mine. Although, mine is still dragging a bit. I've got to get out tomorrow and start my walking regimen again. That usually helps.

Anyway, here they are. (These are two separate "poems", but I couldn't get the two photos very far apart.)

How did I do, Oh Wondrous Miss Cathy C.?
I now challenge other blog buddies to do the same!


"Roses are red. Violets are purple. I never thought him funny. That goofy Steve Urkel." -- Becky Povich


"Roses are red. But the thorns are a bear. The guy who is funny. Was the Prince of Bel-Air." -- Becky Povich

* Wasted Days & Wasted Nights *

Why am I still awake at 1:30 am again? A title of an old song by the late, great Freddy Fender comes to mind: "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights".

Although, I don't ever purposely waste any time, it's days like this that really bother me. I didn't sleep well Wednesday night, mostly because dear old Tiger woke me up twice to go outside. Once was around midnight, and again around 3:30am. Both times I was deep in sleep, in the midst of weird, wacky dreams. I was so "out of it" I barely remember getting up, and both times, I easily fell back asleep.

All I can say is, when I DID wake up at 6:30 Thursday morning, I felt like I'd been run over by a Mac truck, as the saying goes. I got up for a few minutes, had a headache, went back to bed, and slept most of the day....waking up with the same or a new headache in the late afternoon. I even had to cancel my dinner plans with two gal pals. And when THAT happens, you know I'm not feeling good.

And how strange that my last blog post was about needing and having spare minutes!

So, did I get anything accomplished today?  I slept. I ordered pizza delivery for dinner. I answered some much-needed-to-be-answered e-mails. I read many blogs. And I'm now going to read until I fall asleep. Well, any day that includes reading, writing, and pizza can't be all bad!

"Be yourself. Everyone else is taken." -- Oscar Wilde

* Everyone Needs a Spare Minute *

Blog buddy Jenny and I e-mailed each other a time or two this morning. She suggested something she thought I'd be interested in and I said, "I'll check it out, when I get a spare minute." And she, with her witty sense of humor, replied, "Let me know how you find those rare animals, wouldja?"

Okay, Jenny! Ask, and you shall receive! I bestow upon you, this:

And, really, I'm happy to share this much needed gift to all my blog buddies!! Feel free to copy and paste it and use that spare minute whenever you need it. It automatically recharges itself, too, so it can be used over and over!  ☺

"I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once." -- Jennifer Yane

** Turn Up Your Volume in Life **

Many of you may have your volume turned down ...both on your computer and in life itself....
Shortly after I wrote about Susan Boyle and going for your dreams in life, I hunted up some "Dream" songs for my playlist. So, if you haven't realized what's playing, scroll down to the bottom and listen to one or two. I ended this short playlist with "Oh Happy Day", which is one of my absolute favorites. Every day is a happy day, if you just look around, turn up the volume in your mind, LISTEN, LEARN & LIVE!

Here's a couple of Happy Things I found on friends' blogs recently:

Janel at  Janel's Jumble has a new template and it is totally awesome!! Go check it out!

Ann at My Reading Corner had a Teaser Tuesday yesterday. It's a very cool idea. Go check it out and leave a comment of your own!

"If you search the world for happiness, you may find it in the end, for the world is round and will lead you back to your door." -- Robert Brault