Author: boomingbanter

If you’re English it’s  Zed if you’re from the US it’s Zee which causes me no end of problems!

In Hebrew its a name meaning wolf. Please enlighten us if you know of other meanings.

In French a ZZ (zizi) is an important little appendage associated only with males of the species so it must have something to do with that Y chromosome from a few days ago.

We owe a lot to the ZZ because none of us would have made it to planet earth without it.

There are many other ZZs out there including some pretty plants like the ZZ from Zanzibar. Thank goodness for abbreviations as it’s botanical name Zamioculcus zamifolia is a bit of a mouthful!

One not quite so pretty gives life a lot of spice and is always in our home because no Indian can live without it. It imparts pungency to so many things from chai tea to chutneys. It is the adorable zingeberace

It got its name from the Sanskrit word for horn singabera and is adorable in its cuddliness.

According to my pal Maggie there’s a pop group with the name of ZZ Top. Have only very vague memories of that name. Just shows what a sheltered life I lead compared to some wild ones who are still rocking all over the world!

A ZZ that again is essential to life and that is loved by so many is sleep. There is nothing as sweet as a sound slumber that alas becomes less frequent as the years roll on.

There is of course the equally adorable and much needed afternoon nap. What better thing than that to start the weekend especially if it’s taken at the pool.

Blessing # 437 – Snoozing in the Sun

Train buffs will associate YY with double yellow lights and the need to slow down and prepare to stop. In spite of many train journeys over the years never knew there was such a thing.

Nor have I ever come across the use of YY in texting. It has multiple meanings ranging from the quite logical Yes Yes to YES Why to the hard to fathom expression of hopelessness!

The YY I thought of was Yo-yo. There are probably as many yo-yos in the world as there are people. Is there one of you who NEVER had one.

They are the second oldest toy, the first being dolls, and date way back to 1000 BC. Like many things they find their origin in China with the Diabolo which somehow looks to be more fun.

Yo-yos always seemed to find a way into the bottom of Christmas stockings. Did any of you like them? Some people can do all sorts of tricks with them.

What I’m really quite good at though is yo-yo dieting. I can loose ten pounds and put it back on again like a champion.

Bit like the stock exchange what goes down must come up again!

Blessing # 436 – Nothings YY

 

 

Bet you all remember school days when we had to learn Roman numerals. X was ten so XX was twenty. It all looked so beautiful and evoked images of Ben-Hur but it got a bit too challenging when you added in the Cs and Ls. Didn’t quite flow like the old 1&2s! Thank goodness we switched to the Arabic system!

You will also remember from the much anticipated biology classes about the birds and the bees that women have a pair of XX chromosomes while men only have an X and a little Y.

Isn’t it amazing all those difference between the sexes is down to such a tiny thing! That extra bit of genetic material woman have must surely explain their greater intelligence!

The Irish among us will forever associate XX with a certain black nectar known to fortify the blood. Although it seems some other breweries have a lighter option to offer.

These liquids might very well fuel a little romance if your not careful. No sweeter way to end than a XX

Blessing # 436 –  Kisses

 

It would be interesting to know what came to your mind for WW.

Was it the Worldwide Web, Weight Watchers, Wonder Woman or did you, like me, think  of World War?

Your first thought might give some clues on when you were born. All of us though, including us boomers have been fortunate never to have known a World War!

There was no need for Oprahs Weight Watchers in those days. Food was strictly rationed and you were lucky to get a treat at the holidays.

The diet was NOT low carb, it was high in fiber, full of seasonal veggies and whole grains, low in animal products and if epidemiologists are to be believed  had a positive impact on health. A nightmare for keto and gluten free fans though!

What has spared us from another World War? Some might say it’s the threat of a nuclear catastrophe.

On the way back to the USA one of the movies I watched was called Red Joan. It’s loosely based on the life of Britain’s most notorious woman spy  Melita Norwood.

In the movie Dame Judy Dench plays June  (Melita). The shy and retiring woman’s argument is that she divulged nuclear secrets to the enemy because she believed the only way to ensure peace was to even the field.

By giving the enemy what they needed to make their own atomic bomb she thought she spared future generations from the horrors of war.

Not sure her argument holds true if you factor in the Risk of egotistical dictators. Eighty years on since the start of WW II it’s still scary stuff.

Blessing #435 –  A Peace Worth Watching

There are many uses of VV in medicine the only one that means much to me is Varicose Veins.

My Mother was a fit and healthy woman but everyone who knew her knew that she was plagued with VVs.

They caused her a lot of issues and pain and she tried everything to minimize them.

First up were elastic stockings. To say that these were ugly is an understatement. In the days before Spanks these were about two inches thick. Worse still they took an age to get on and off each day.

They helped some but since her job involved a lot of standing the VVs got Very Very bad so medical intervention was called for.

She had the veins in both legs stripped. By all accounts this was agony and she was sorry she had it done. It gave a few years of improvement but like the proverbial bad penny the VVs returned.

Next approach was some injections followed by a program of walking three miles a day. Whether it was the injections or the walking things did improve and the VVs never returned to such an extent as before.

What did arrive though were dreadful cramps in the middle of the night until she discovered a miracle. She took to drinking copious quantities of tonic water.

She wasn’t much of a drinker but she was mercilessly teased by her grocer and her neighbors that she must be out a fortune on gin!!!!!

It was only alas when she got really thin at the end of her life that she eventually beat the VVs and had lovely slim legs.

Having seen the horror my Mom went through I made sure to have my VVs sapped as soon as they popped out.

Thanks goodness for a fast and effective laser treatment for the condition that work like a dream.

Blessing # 434 – Medical Advances

UU is text speak for sympathy. If anyone knows why please say because it’s a mystery to me! Hope none of us need any today!

Top of the google list for UU is Unitarian Universalist. This denomination is something that had never crossed my path before. That’s a great thing about bantering something new can be uncovered every day.

Of course U lends itself to a number of Universities, Utrecht, Uppsala and of course ULSTER!

The University of Ulster is the second largest in Ireland yet it was founded only in the 1960s.

Across the UK at that time action was being taken to expand access to Universities to give everyone equal opportunity to attend.

Initially in Northern Ireland a plan was made to transform the long established Magee College into a university. This plan was scuppered because of the location of Magee in a predominantly Catholic area by the predominantly Protestant government of Northern Ireland led by, wait for it, Ulster Unionists

So instead Northern Ireland got what was referred to as the NEW University of Ulster. It was set in the very beautiful area that man you may have seen if you watched the recent British Open golf tournament. It offered new degree courses like nursing and campus living that hadn’t been experienced in the province before.

The UU was at first seen as an underdog to the long established Queens University of Belfast. It went on though to prosper and grow rapidly, ironically in part through merger with Magee!

Today it has one of the highest success rates for post graduation placement of students of any university in the world and it no longer plays second fiddle in any way to any other establishment.

It has an interesting Chancellor too a very successful Hobbit called James Nesbitt who before he took up acting studied French at UU.

As the University grew with clear areas of focus and amalgamation the Ulster Unionist, who dominated Northern Ireland politics since the country’s inception, went  into a free fall of division and decline.

An epic tale of infighting, inflexibility and vociferous back stabbing that even Tolkien himself could not have dreamed up.

Blessing # 433 – Degrees of Distinction

 

There can be no other meaning in our household for TT than Tibetan Terrier. So here is a longer than usual banter about the boyo as befits his importance within our life and home!

 

When our dear Labrador Darcy followed his brother Bingley to the big playground in the sky we decided we would get a smaller dog.

The Labradors were gentle giants but as they got older it was a challenge for us  getting them in and out of the car.

We were living close to Paris and were out one Saturday at a little fete when we saw an older lady with a shaggy little black dog. We asked her if he was good with kids and she said he was indeed and explained he was a TT.

We looked for a local breeder and found one not far away called Tom. When we called him he said his last litter had all been taken but one of his stud dogs had just met his mate and some little ones were expected in May.

Tom took the placement process very seriously as any good breeder does so we were well vetted and had to submit an application to adopt.

Tom had been to Nepal in the 1970s and had brought home Dibleys great great great grandpa Djouley. He literally saw Djouley in a window and knew he had to have him. Djouley went on to sire many champions.

Tom was so kind and said after several chats with us that he’d have first pick of the litter on the way and would keep that puppy for us.

Sure enough on May 11th 2008 the bold boy was born. Tom choose him specifically for us.

All pedigrees registered in 2008 had to have a name starting with D and we thought of all sorts. Eventually Krishna hit on Dibley because our puppy had a little white collar and a black coat just like the VICAR of Dibley in a TV series we all loved.

Of course that’s not his kennel name which is Deschan Dibley Karamain de Makalu. It suits him well because he bears a very close resemblance to his ancestors the champion Karamain above!

We went to Toms beautiful kennel on July 10, 2008 to bring the rascal home. The kennel is in a very old sheep farm and all around Buddhist prayer flags blow in the breeze. Everywhere you turn there is a TT waiting to love you.

This is so in keeping with the origin of the breed. These little men of Tibet as they are known are the guardians of the temple of the Buddhist monks. They are bearers of good fortune and the protectors of little Tibetan children while they sleep. They are not as their name suggests Terriers rather they are Herding Holy Dogs.

Dibley was so tiny when we brought him home that we all managed to trod on him many times.

He chewed everything from socks to carpets and pyjama legs even when they were on our guests.

His first trip was to Switzerland in August when he managed to squeeze under the gate and took himself off to Aaron’s friend Fabrice’s farm. We were shaking with worry but he was like the proverbial pig in muck.

Many more escapes took place. The critter could squeeze though the smallest hole.

We then took him on vacation to the Isle de Rey where he proceeded to dig holes in the hedge of the house we’d rented in another escape bid.

After about six months all of a sudden he calmed down and became very regal. Unlike the Labradors he had his own opinions on most things and held his head high like a king. He is so so smart and can talk too!

He travelled widely around France through the channel tunnel to England up to Scotland over to Ireland and finally across the ocean to the USA.

He has been in many states on vacation and has always been very well behaved when he’s a hotel guest.

His favorite things in the whole wide world are his big ball and a ride in the car.

He hates getting bathed and is terrified of thunder. He is a delight with children and welcomes other dogs who visit us but he is a terror when he sees other dogs approaching him if he’s on a leash as he is determined he is going to defend his family.

He always kept a tight control on his food intake, walked long distances, loved to play and party and was generally very fit and well.

Just shy of his eleventh birthday he was struck with Cushing Syndrome a very rare condition that caused his weight to soar.

Still a great companion our hearts break for him as he is now thirsty, hungry and lethargic and not himself at all. His medicine seems to work for a while each time the dose is increased but then wears off. He is now at the maximum dose for his size so if this doesn’t sort him we will have to take a different approach. Right now all we can do is love him all the more.

Lets hope for the best and for many more happy years ahead for this little man of the mountains Who means so much to us all.

TTs are smart, sassy, great with kids, loving and absolutely adorable characters!

Truly Terrific!

Blessing # 432 – The Furball

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of Woodstock the rock festival that changed the world for at least a generation or two

Peace and love were all around us in the Swinging Sixties. Even if you were just a child at the time like me you’ll remember the long hair, the short skirts and of course the colorful clothes and the great music.

The Cold War was also in full swing so there were lots of spies and scandals and Secret Service too making everyone just a little edgy.

Exciting exploration was underway. We had Space Ships taking men to the moon yet Steam Ships were still plying the ocean. It was truly a time of polar extremes and transformation.

Today there are new Space Ships ready to launch with plans in place to take tourists into space.

If you had the $250000 to buy a ticket or your Secret Santa brought one would you go? Seems many have already signed up!

You’d really need to have an adventurous spirit to take that on. Give me flower power any day

Blessing # 431 – Being a Boomer

When we live in China between 2001 and 2004 we were entitled to two periods of RR each year in addition to our home leave.

We were living in a luxury apartment in a beautiful gated complex so you might wonder was this Rest and Recovery really necessary. The place we lived was like a resort!

Original the policy had been put in place for the first expats in the market who were the Pioneers in the 1980s out in remote areas building factories when it was a very different China than the one we experienced.

It was needed though as we left our complex each and every day. It was much appreciated though and provided a respite and recharge of the batteries from the hectic life, congestion and pollution of the metropolis.

Everything felt brighter and better when we returned and our Respiration Rate was definitely improved. That’s kinda how I feel today.

The insurance adjuster has been this morning and given us the green light to go ahead and get our car repaired.

We have a date at the body shop for August 27 and the insurance is going to cover hire car rental while the car is getting it’s facelift.

There are not enough good words to express how gracious Encompass our insurers have been. They just could not have been better.

Let’s just call them the Rolls Royce of  care and compassion!

Blessing # 430– Breathing Easier

Being a bit of a royalist the first thing QQ brought to mind was Queens Quarters. We recently saw a few of these on our tour of the UK and there is no doubt her majesty could offer a decent bed and breakfast.

Seems from what you read the Royal households are quite frugal. Think most of us could maybe manage a stay for a night or two!

Aaron tells me QQ is also hotel speak for Queen Queen. In other words a room with two double beds. QQs are gigantic yet quite common in the USA making travelling as a family very comfortable. If your alone though it can feel far from cosy having such a vast expanse of bed!

Yesterday the most relevant QQ for us was getting a Quick Quote for the repair of the car. The first one puts us on the borderline of it being written off so an assessment will now be done by the insurance company themselves.

All this is but a drop in the ocean compared to what some people are dealing with in their lives. It just underlines how rarely a problem has come my way and how very fortunate I’ve been.

Just have to apply the text speak QQ then and Quit Crying.

Blessing # 429 – Putting Perspective