Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Wednesday-9am

Good Morning!
I have a few older pictures of Karma.
Sitting between light and dark.
She's just so odd.  This is how she sleeps best...pushing her butt up against the chair and her head against the wooden arm.  Sometimes I look at her and I am convinced she was a dog in her last life. 
The birthday bag has remained interesting for some reason.   
Confession.  
I stuck the Bbag out on the porch under my chair yesterday--because it's just another interesting spot--but I forgot it out there.  We had a whopping thunderstorm last night.  I haven't checked yet to see how the Bbag survived.
****  
Don't tell Karma.
****
I go in streaks with everything it seems.  The past week or more I have really been into writing letters. Day before yesterday the Circle Letter arrived!  Perfect timing, eh?  Last I mailed it off was mid-December.  There are ten of us, so it takes a while to make its way around.  Third time I've had the letters.  Fun getting to know all these ladies from around the country.  :)
****
Okay, let's see...oh, yah...Zines!  
I did google zines and it was very interesting.  Basically they are handmade, original, non-profit pamphlets.  From what I could find, there's usually one author and no more than 500 copies are made of the original zine.  They've been around for a long time but were big in the 60s.  Back then they were usually black and white (or that blue mimeograph color--LOL!).  You could say whatever you wanted--uncensored.  Being able to talk about the Vietnam War or sex was very appealing during those days of the underground newspapers and all.  You could make it yourself and hand them out for free or sell them at cost so you could make some more.  Looks like there was a lot of cutting and pasting of typewritten word being rolled off in the 60s.  I can't believe I never heard of these back then--it's so hippie-perfect!
****
Anyways, apparently they've changed a bit since the 60s.  Today we have home printers and copy stores!  Actually is a lot easier to make a zine these days, I would think--or at least to mass produce them.  Artists have gotten into making colored Zines, too--but black and white is still cheaper to copy.
****
  Seems that more people are trying to make a little profit off of them these days, too.  Instead of charging just to cover costs I have seen them for upwards to $12.00 and even more.  They can look quite professional now with all the home computer programs and the quick copy stores.  But you can still get some very handmade looking zines for 1 to 3 dollars and most are under 6 or 7, I'd guess.  
****
The variety out there is amazing!  There are still political and sexual content zines, of course, but there are fantasy, comic, poetry, personal stories, art, and fan zines to name a few.  It's hard to tell what you're getting when you're buying online unless they show a sample of a couple pages.  Some people have serial stories going or whole invented worlds--quite something!  Freedom of expression at its best.  There are apparently zine stores around the country and people who are zine collectors.  I really didn't know any of this existed!  And there are really no rules I could find except that there be less than 500 copies of an individual zine.  I guess if you have more sales than that you have morphed into a proper magazine, eh?  LOL! 
****
Interesting fact I heard on CBS Sunday Morning--1 out of 7 or 32.7 million Americans live alone.  17.2 million of those are females and they fare much better on their own than most of the men do.  Men are more likely to report that they are unhappy or lonely.  They were saying it's the biggest shift to American households since divorce became commonplace (60s?).  I'm part of the new trend--LOL!  A contented, happy female living alone.  ;)
****
We had a pre-inspection of the apartments yesterday by the building owners.  In June we have the federal inspection for the building (to keep its subsidies, I assume) and they wanted two weeks to have time to dot their Is and cross their Ts.  Anyways, Tahnee from the office came to check my place.  The dryer flap was pounding--fairly softly in the afternoon wind--but she got to hear it.  Even in the few minutes we stood and talked the pounding was annoying her.  She starred my dryer flap complaint!!  I hope they can figure something out.  It's been seven years, people!  
****
AND--I had time to really talk with her about the dog!  The dog is not even out on the balcony!!??  It's apparently inside the apartment!!!!  She says they kennel the dog while they are gone (maybe destructive?) and it just cries the whole time.  But the dog has food and water and all that.  I couldn't believe the dog wasn't outside.  We all thought it was because it is so loud!  They leave their windows open, I guess.  (How good is that for the woodwork!!!)  The kennel is near a window.  So, there you have it.  And they are supposed to be gone by the end of the month.
****
We had a raging thunderstorm last night.  Karma decided to sleep with me--LOL!  The parking lot puddle is huge again.  Why do I mention the PLpuddle so often?  Well, I think of it as my own personal backyard bird bath.  ;)  The birds just love it.  The water is fairly clean, not muddy, and it's been there pretty consistently all spring whether large or small...like a big bird bath.  
****
Have a super duper day, my friends!!  :):)  
****
"The more alert we become to the blessing that flows into us through everything we touch, the more our own touch will bring blessing."
David Steindl-Rast

20 comments:

Beth said...

I am part of the new trend too I guess, although it is certainly not by choice. I do have everything I need and I would say I am fairly happy living alone.

Crazy Life of a Writing Mom said...

That's so interesting about the percentage of Americans living alone.

Oh and the zine idea sounds very intriguing :0)

Karma is gorgeous as always ;)

Have a wonderful day!

TexWisGirl said...

sounds like n dak got quite the thunderstorms last night. another blogger showed big hail!

Megan Adamson said...

I've never looked into the English theory of living alone, but I'm living in a pretty remote part of the country so I guess people make friends at school and just stay together for lack of partners. But are they happy? Something to think about ;)
Karma looks happy in her bag. Mine would be destroyed long before now! {My cats love paper bags too!}
I've had a drippy tap since before Christmas...and it is driving me mad...unfortunately we don't have the same system here.
I still feel so sorry about that poor dog. It needs some exercise and stimulation just like people.
Some people just don't care enough and it is so sad.
Love to you and Karma. ;)

Friko said...

Hello, happy lady living on her own.

You don't live on your own, you have Karma!
Your posts are so lively that I think your life must be pretty bright too. Here's hoping it stays that way.

DJan said...

I didn't realize that one out of every seven people lives alone. I guess that the number of them who are elderly (well, our age) must be fairly high, huh?

And you aren't counting pets, are you? Living alone is not exactly accurate! :-)

Janie Junebug said...

Sometimes I enjoy living alone, like when I'm super gassy, and sometimes I'm lonely, like when I'm really horny. 'Tis a conundrum.

Love,
Janie

Marianne (Mare) Baker Ball said...

Interesting 1 in 7 lives alone. I'm married, but enjoy my time alone. I do think women fare better than men in that regard. :-) I still have no idea what a zine is! Karma looks like a character! Happy Wednesday!

betty said...

Oh no about the bag! I hope it did survive! If not, I'm sure any bag might do? How cute with that letter too that gets circled around! Very creative whoever thought of it! That poor dog; just lonely I bet. We crate Koda when we go some place (but never longer than 5-6 hours tops) and after he barks a few minutes after we go, he settles down and sleeps until we return home. We do leave the radio on for him for background noise.

Honestly, I think I'd do good living alone LOL :) I do like my quiet space and keeping my own schedule :)

betty

Queenie Jeannie said...

I hope the dog neighbor moves SOON and that your dryer flap issue gets resolved SOONER!! 7 years indeed!! What did she think of all your glorious crafting goodies??

Sounds like you're the zine expert now, lol!

I hope the weather has cleared up and that it's going to be a sunny weekend for you!

Francene Stanley said...

It seems you're not as happy and content with your surroundings as you'd like to be. Thank goodness for your cat, who keeps you grounded. What is important in life? Food, shelter and love. You've got all three. Try not to let annoyances grow in your mind. You're one of the lucky ones, living alone. Haha.

carol l mckenna said...

Wow! So much info ~ great post ~ of course my favorite is Karma ~ love her 'cat positions' ~ and the % of single people intriqued me ~ I still see in this small town at least that it is a 2x2 world ~ Rather like living by myself with ArtMuse Dog and socializing with whom I choose so I don't become a recluse ~ thanks for all your into ~ have a great weekend ~ thanks, namaste, ^_^

Hilary said...

The underground zines sound interesting. Then again, it's not a whole lot different than what we do as bloggers.. except in hard copy.

Karma is a little beauty.

Toriz said...

Interesting about the Zines; thanks for sharing the info. :)

That's also interesting about the percentage of single people - especially women. Had to laugh about the bit where women are happier doing it than men. At the risk of annoying your male readers, I have to say... I'm not surprised. Men can be pretty good at complaining, and women are more likely to make the best of things.

Hope the dryer flap gets sorted now.

At least it's inside, I guess (the dog I mean). Still, poor thing! This is why we don't leave Kero alone. He gets in that state and also becomes destructive (and messes everywhere). The vet says it's part of seporation anxiety. Some dogs (and I suppose some other animals too) just don't like being alone!

Dana said...

Thanks for the info about zines. :)

The pics of Karma brighten my day! :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Carolyn Dube said...

Thanks for your kind words today!

Cindy Lane said...

Karma is a Star and doesn't she know it!

So when you've published your first zine Rita, I'll be first in line to buy it!

AliceKay said...

The Zines sound interesting. You dug up quite a bit of info.

I feel sorry for that dog. Being stuck in a kennel all day, and being so lonesome it barks all day. :(

I enjoy watching birds take baths in puddles in the driveway or road down to the barn. We had quite a downpour yesterday afternoon...huge drops of rain at first, and then a deluge. It lasted about 5 minutes and then the sun came back out. Today was hazy, hot, and humid. Thank goodness Terri and I got the big air conditioner put in the living room window last night. :)

Far Side of Fifty said...

That poor dog..He must sound very sad. I hope they take a look at your dryer flapping noise...perhaps you should put a list of what is wrong on your front door..nice and big for the Feds to see it! :)

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

Hopefully the dryer vent will be fixed soon. You are very patient to have waited seven years.

That's too bad about the dog being kenneled all day. I can't imagine what a difficult and sad life that would be for a dog to be confined for hours each day.