Booming Banter

There is only one possibility for OoO and that’s Out of Office!

As Aaron and I are taking off for the UK on Wednesday the timing of OoO could not be better.

One lesson learned from years of travel and missed connections is get by with hand luggage only.

This has become an obsession and fortunately it is one that Aaron is happy to adopt.

I have a great dislike for suitcases. They are cumbersome and encourage you to take much more than you need. In particular, if you are moving around from one place to another as we will be, they are a pain to haul in and out of cars.

So what to use instead? It’s got to be a little black bag. My love affair with this treasure has been ongoing for many many years. It is light as a feather, can be stuffed to the gills and fits under even the smallest airline seat. It can serve as a pillow an even a foot rest.

The little black bag is all we’ll have for three weeks apart from my handbag (purse) and Aaron’s back pack!

It’s a fun challenge to get by with just this. Anything superfluous has to be removed! Downsize everything to the smallest denomination. Why take a big bottle if a small one will do!

All essentials like contact lenses, specs, tickets and travel documents must be taken though. So a check list is vital. Last year we were half an hour from home when we realized Aarons’ contact lenses had been forgotten!

Only essential clothes are possible but for a tour of all of the UK this means being prepared for all weathers. We’ll have four changes of clothes from inside to out including T-shirts and sweaters, trousers and shorts, swim wear and rain wear and a few dressy items for a fancy outing or two!

Of course this means we’ll need to wash our clothes as we go along and some people might think this is madness but honestly it is liberating and better than  trailing laundry around with us for weeks.

With just one or two nights in each of the places we plan to stop we may well have to transform the car into a mobile clothes dryer.

Trust us though while there may be a few odd outfits there will not be any offensive odors 

Blessing # 407 – Travelling Light

Man what a day for the island of Ireland. Shane Lowry is certainly a very happy man entering the history books.

He will never be an NN nomen nescio or unknown name again!

Makes you think though how far back you can go in your own history.

Some years ago my cousin Vicki organized a family reunion. We didn’t make it because our niece was getting married at exactly that time. Vicki managed to trace back the family tree to five generations. Quite something!

I don’t know much though about my fathers side of the family but then again I didn’t loose any sleep digging into it.

This brings us to the more commonly used NN the night night  in text speak!

Made me think of goodnight moon and other stories that Aaron liked when he was little and of a little rhyme my Mom would say to me.

Bet Shane will not need too much rocking tonight to nod off.

Blessing # 406 – Sound Sleep

The OPEN was live today from Portrush Northern Ireland. It was so wonderful to see the homeland in all its glory and to hear all the commentary about the hospitality and beauty of the country. This is brilliant for tourism and the economy and it makes me so happy.

Those golfers need mm precision to get that little ball where they want it and maybe a little luck too for a hole in one.

Here in the USA the mm is foreign as the Système International (SI) for units of measure has yet to be adopted. We’re still working in inches, pounds, gallons and so on. This always amazed me. Why, when all over the world people have gone metric does the USA still hang on to the past yet was one of the first countries to have a metric system of currency! Very weird.

Mind you for the US golfers at the open they will feel right at home in Northern Ireland for we, as part of the UK, still hold on to miles as our measure of distance!

Cross the border to the Republic of Ireland and you move to kilometers. How confusing is that? Let me tell you it is especially so if you hire a car in the Republic and have to convert your speed to miles as I often do!

Enough now of mm and on to the much more serious topic of  small four legged critter!  All MICE seem to have names that start with M. We have Mickey, Minnie and my own favorite Mighty Mouse. Which MM do you like most?

Finally the most important topic of all the M&M. We love them all but if you haven’t met the new jalapeño one yet you have got to try them. I got two big family bags for Mothers Day that were devoured in no time and went straight from the lips to the hips!

Mars and Murrie created not just a great confection they created characters too.

We went to an auction today in the 100F (38C in SI speak) heat and what did we encounter but a whole truck load of M&M memorabilia.

Didn’t quite fit with my booth so we didn’t bid but certainly confirmed the subject of the day just had to be sweet!

Blessing # 405 – Morish Munchies

Those inclined to numbers will attach much significance to LL! Particularly if they are statisticians looking for what is and isn’t a true difference.

The medic or the nutritionist might think of the LL as the lower limit for a drugs effectiveness or the safest minimum level for an essential component like a vitamin in the diet.

Sporty types especially here in the USA will remember their Little League days.

That wasn’t so long ago for Aaron but his Leg Length has stretched a lot since then.

When I see LL together the face of the Llama leaps out.

The village where we lived in Switzerland had a lovely little zoo replete with a herd of Llamas.

Eventually the herd grew so big most of them were moved to a farm and ran around the fields like young goats.

One day when we were at the zoo with some friends there were some people standing close to us by the Llamas.

They were nasty people and were being mean to the animals teasing them with handfuls of grass and then pulling this away. All of a sudden one of the Llama who must have been the boss man had had enough. He came running at them and I kid you not he spat straight in their faces.

We were mesmerized but we couldn’t resist Laughing Loud. You should have seen those people slinking away.

Blessing # 404 – Getting the LL!(Last Laugh)

There are a few nasty things that KK could be associated with but they don’t deserve any word and are best ignored, ideally destroyed.

The first KK I thought of was the BIG gorilla KING KONG. The movie has been remade several time but the only one I’ve ever seen is the old classic.

Best thing about the movie was also the worst. It gave everyone a taste to go see the Empire State Building where the poor soul met his demise.

A gorilla would never cross the mind of guys like our Aaron if asked what KK means. He’d tell you it’s text speak for everything is OK.

Maybe if he was online gaming he’d go one step further and stay it is OK Kool! For sure when he says with exasperation K I get the message that he understood me!

Indian family and friends might think of the popular singer that I must confess I’ve never heard of because my Krishna is not the sort to listen to pop.

No matter where you are in the world you’ll know the name of Kim Kardashian. Love her or not there is no doubt she is gorgeous and clever.

KK may mean you hit the jackpot and are a millionaire

In which case you’ll be expected to buy a ton of KK treats to share!

Blessing #403 – KK is Sweet

There are some people you can always count on to share a good giggle with. All they need to do is give you that look and you laugh!

No matter what is going on in our lives my friend Laura and I always end up in stitches.

When we worked together in France people would give us the evil eye when we broke into a fit of the giggles. Often the tears would be tripping us. It was serious if it happened during a meeting and sometimes it did!

So today with JJ we’ll focus on Just Joking!

Do you have a friend who makes you laugh? If so name them now and thank them too!

Do you have a favorite one liner or joke? If so share it now?

Here’s my favorite joke of all time it’s a bit long and definitely not a one liner but hope you enjoy!

Once upon a time there was a lovely couple. Each day they ate their breakfast and dinner together. Breakfast was always porridge and dinner always had a side salad of healthy greens.

After seventy years of marriage the husband suddenly passed away. Next day his wife died of a broken heart.

When she reached heaven Saint Peter directed her to the newcomers tour. She saw her husband in the distance and Saint Peter told her they would be reunited in the restaurant when the tour was over.

After sailing on the crystal river, skiing down the freshest snow and surfing in the bluest ocean the tour adjourned to a restaurant the likes of which she had never seen.

There at a huge table set for one sat her husband eating like Henry VIII. There was lobster soaking in butter, steak swimming in gravy, mountains of onion rings, french fries and fresh hot rolls and a whole chocolate chip cheesecake ready for dessert.

Oh honey the little lady said isn’t heaven wonderful?

Wonderful wonderful? Her husband replied angrily. Get away from me woman I don’t want to talk to you.

Oh honey what has happened the sweet lady asked.

Well her husband replied if it hadn’t been for you and your damned porridge and salad I’d have been here thirty years ago!

Blessing # 402 – Sharing a Laugh

There is some continuity with yesterday’s GGs. HH is a measure of a horses height! No need to dwell on that though. They are BIG and we have more important HHs to talk about.

HH is an abbreviation for something very small but so important; the measure of hemoglobin and hematocrit that tells if all is A-OK with your tiny red blood cells.

Sad to say that for a quarter of the worlds population this is not the case and they are anaemic. Many of these 1.7 BILLION people are children under five.

Anaemia is often the result of a dietary deficiency of iron and or certain vitamins. This is generally associated with a poor diet brought about by poverty.

It means low attention spans, fatigue and lethargy. In child bearing women it also means risk of prematurity and low birthweight. So children born in poverty, deficient in essential nutrients, will have multiple hurdles to jump to lift them out of this viscous cycle.

Bodies like the World Health Organisation, the Gates Foundation and the Elders are doing such admirable work driving fortification strategies to reduce and hopefully one day eliminate this huge health and social problem.

HH the Pope is also playing a major role here. He has been very vocal on the absolute responsibility we have to address poverty. Who could disagree with his position that Hunger must have no present and no future only a past

The HH though that has and will likely continue to have the greatest impact on global change is the Hand Held. That little device that is so accessible and offers so much to so many.

As this screen shot of my HH shows it provides education, maths, music, health, literature, alternative to pen and paper, entertainment and community. This little thing has got it so much to offer so many.

It’s opening door of opportunity and without doubt will play a critical role in driving forward so many of the millennium goals.

Blessing # 400 – Elements of Hope

So many of you found good solutions for FF. Anne was the most prolific with suggestions so is officially the WINNER! Not sure what she’ll get but it will be unbelievable!!!!!

GG was so easy compared to FF.

First up the GG that stares every girl in the eye in her dreams. The ever elegant always chique and timeless Gucci bag.

The poker players among you will be familiar with GG as the way to sum up and close a Good Game.

Girls with names starting with G may well have been nicknamed GiGi just like one of today’s social media icons.

Some of us will remember the movie of the same name that won an Oscar and that starred the beautiful Lesley Caron.

The GG though that means most for me is horse racing. It’s not that I’ve any love for the sport myself but my Dad absolutely lived for it. He studied the form, was very knowledgeable about the sport and always dreamed of going to the big races. The Classics as he called them!

He made it once to Epsom and to the Curragh a few times. Secretly though he wanted to go to the Kentucky Derby. If only he’d been around today he would not believe that we are only three hours drive away.

No doubt he’s met his hero Lester Piggott in heaven by now and maybe his adored Nijinsky too! Or even the immortal Sceptre who was really a GREAT GIRL!

Blessing # 396 – Fine Fillies

Well FF beat me as the only thing I could think of was swearing and you can’t banter about that to a broad audience can you?

Did you think of anything?

After a google to find what’s out there the conclusion was it seems fairly limited.

There will be a huge reward for anyone who comes up with something good!

For the medics among you there is Forced Fluids. That’s even worse than swearing. Takes you back to days of suffragettes.

For the online game players like a certain resident of this house there is a popular game called Final Fantasy but it can’t be that good because game boy himself has never heard of it.

On the social media platform Twitter # FF means follow Friday which allows you to recommend a notable feed of the past week.

FF also means Fast Forward for the DVD watchers among us and for the reader a starting point followed by a reference with unspecified end!

Blessing # 395 – FF to No End

 

As an abbreviation the only thing that rung a bell for me was Electrical Engineer. Admirable people but a profession that’s not my cup of tea. Can you think of something else?

In our household we are very familiar with EE shoe fittings as both Krishna and Aaron have very broad feet.

We spend inordinate amounts of time looking for EEs or even EEEs. Many shoes have been bought that last just one or two outings because while they seemed OK in the store they pinch on an outing.

If your from Scotland EE might be your way of saying eye.

If your from Yorkshire it’s an alternative to a swear and commonly used by the famous Yorkshire lass Miss Gracy Fields.

First thing that crossed my mind though was the adorable Eeyore. He is the hero of Aaron’s girlfriend and such a wise critter. In spite of his droppy look he is bright and colorful. Who doesn’t love Eeyore!

Blessing # 394 – Wide Eyed Wisdom