If At First You Don't Succeed...

Dear Scammer:
If you are going to hose people, then at least have the decency to learn the language. You can catch more flies with proper grammar.
As opposed as I am to your operation, I feel I must tell you this.

Oh, and for dog's sake, lay off the exclamation points.
They are irritating as hell.

As Ever,
Not Replying To Your Email

Windows Live Team Account Alert!!!

ACCOUNT™ @ CONFIRMATION®

This  email from Windows Live Customer Service® and we are sending  it to all account user for safety. Due to the anonymous registration of our account which is causing congestion to our service, so we are shutting down some account and your account was among those to be deleted. The purpose of this email is for you to verify that you are the owner of this account and you are still using it by filling the information below after clicking on the reply button:

 
Username: ……………………..
Password: …………………….
Date of Birth: …………………
Country or Territory: …………

Make sure the details above are correct to enable us restore your account details, this will help prevent your account from been suspended.

 Note: YOUR DETAILS WILL NOT BE SHARED.
Users have often told us that the more they use Windows Live! Service, the more they discover its benefits. We'll keep working on making Windows Live! the best email service around, and we appreciate your joining us for the ride.Sincerely,
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052

#

Potential victim's note:

I had to reduce the size of the screaming red alert banner else it wouldn't show all three exclamation points.

Gratitude Monday --Friends, Fun, and Fish

I am grateful for many things this week, and every week for that matter. We have a friends we camp with and this past weekend was our annual camping weekend.
I am grateful for the time we spend with them, for the grand company, grand food, and grand times we have.
We camped at Goldeye Lake west of Nordegg and tried our hand at fishing.
Bob, below, caught one and made trout with sorrel sauce as an appetizer.
It was good.

There's a hiking trail around the lake. Bob fished while Mike, Sylvia, and I did the trail.

Here's Mike in his natural habitat examining what he determined was a bistort.

The lake is on the edge of the mountains and far enough away from light pollution that we could see the Milky Way. I am grateful for that, too.

Photo-Finish Friday -- Along the Nile

A cow turns its back on the tourists cruising the Nile.

Young 'un

The little guy was shy and scared as he explored on the steps of our garage.
Here he, or she, hunkers down and tries to be inconspicuous.
The squirrel stuck around a while and explored. I don't know if the raspberry got eaten or not.

Gratitude Monday -- Eggs

They'll hold you together.

I am so grateful that I have eggs, that I can eat eggs, and for the fact of the very existence of said chicken babies.
I'm sure I don't have to list their uses, but I will say they're good in potato salads, in baking, and on their own, especially for breakfast.
They come in handy when you don't have anything else in the house or want something quick and substantial.
As my mother used to say, "An egg will hold you together."
The ones above are from my FIL. I'm tickled silly to have them. His chickens live a good life. Their progeny taste the way eggs ought.
If I knew where to look, and wasn't lazy, I'd research where humanity first got the idea that eating poultry eggs was a good idea. For now I'll just say, "Thanks."
 

Photo-Finish Friday -- Biker Man

A man attends to his motorcycle in Aswan, Egypt.

Agatha Heng Thinks I'm An Idiot

Somewhere out there a person going by the name of Agatha Heng thinks I'm an idiot.
Good for her. Or him.
My hotmail account had an email this morning purporting to be from the Windows Live Team warning me my account would be deleted.
I must send fill out a form with my password, telling them where I live, and a few other things and they will keep my account live. Oh, and I get a new password, too.
And I can do it all by hitting reply.
Sigh.
They don't do that.
It looks quasi-real.
Here's the meat:

"This email is from Windows Live Msn Account and we are sending to all our account user for safety. Due to the anonymous registration of our account, so we are shutting down some accounts and your account was among those to be deleted. To prevent your account from closing, you will have to update it below so we will know that it's a presently used account, or your account will be suspended within 24 hours for security reasons.

To do this, You have to click on your reply button to reply back to this message and then you fill the information below.

* Name: ................................
* User Name: ................................
* Password: ................................
* Date of Birth: ................................
* Country Or Territory: .................................
After following the instructions in the sheet, your account will not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Thanks for your attention to this request. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Warning!!!  Account owner that refuses to update his or her account before 24hours of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently.

AFTER VERIFICATION,A MESSAGE WILL BE SENT TO YOU AFTER WHICH YOU ARE ADVISED TO CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD 
IMMEDIATELY.

Sincerely,
The Windows Live Msn Team"
 Some will be fooled.
I looked at the source and did a quick mouseover that showed it was from agathaheng.
I sent an email to the real Windows Live Team so someone could send out a warning about this nonsense.
It's very annoying.
I don't like you, Agatha.  I want to say very bad things about you. Please leave me alone.
I hope no one is caught. I expect some will, but I still hope.

Gratitude Monday -- Peas

Garden Goodness

The peas are ready.
They are tasty.
We prefer them raw.
For this, and other garden goodness, I am grateful.

Photo-Finish Friday -- Lake Sunset

Premier Lake, B.C. at sunset.

Two Sentence Tuesday -- Rewrite Rewritten

Wyoming. The Virginian is set there.

I finished rewriting BloodLovers Friday night. My husband had been away on a job for a few days so I spent a few nights all alone up late writing about vampires.

It was okay while I was doing the writing, but I did have the occasional anxious moment while getting ready for bed.

Said manuscript isn't really scary, but it sets one's thoughts on a particular path enhanced by a dark and lonely house.

I finished. His job was cut short due to rain and he was home Saturday. It all worked out.

Two sentences from BloodLovers:

" 'But those moments when the ache dancing inside me is about to be met… I take my prize, my blood lover in my arms… my body cries with need as I sink into the warm flesh. I feel the throbbing vein in my mouth as I hold the quivering body to me.' "

#

I've been reading The Virginian.

I vaguely remember the television show that was loosely based on the novel and I'd always meant to read the book.

It's been on my TBR pile for a few months now. I am glad I finally got to it last week. The characters are interesting, the setting intrigues me, and it is well-written.

Author Owen Wister started western fiction. From what I've read so far I am glad he did.

Two from The Virginian, A Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wister  (Penguin Books, 1988):

" 'I wasn't right convinced till I kicked him off and you gave that shut to your eyes again,' said the Virginian.

Once more the door opened.' "

#

Thank you for stopping in. For more or to get in on the fun please see the Women of Mystery.

Gratitude Monday - Thinking

I am grateful that I can think.

Specifically, directed thinking such as meditation and hypnosis. For readers who don't know this I am a certified transpersonal hypnotherapist.

I meditate or do self-hypnosis often. If nothing else the quiet time is great. It is a time of rest and shutting away the world.

This is good.

Often I'll do a hybrid, that is I listen to my taped self-hypnosis relaxation and then let my mind have at it. I like to see it will come up with as on occasion it has been useful.

About a week ago I was letting my mind out to wander and it brought back something useful. It formed a picture, a manifestation of all those miserable nagging voices that make fun of me and remind me that I'm not good at certain things like playing guitar.

The manifestation's name was Montgomery and he was dressed like a fancy 17^th  Century French fellow: moustache, hat with feather, blue clothing, and sword.

One of my guides told me to start telling him off and he'd get smaller.

I did. It was fun.

Montgomery shrank until he made Tom Thumb look like a giant. He ran away screaming.

Now when I strum my guitar and the reminders start I see Montgomery fleeing and I laugh.

I am grateful that I know how to use hypnosis and meditation, that I practice it often, and that if given the freedom, my mind will construct the darnedest things.

Photo -Finish Friday -- Carved in Stone

Sorry I can't recall for sure, but I believe this in in the ruined citadel of Kasr Ibrim, Egypt.

Two Sentence Tuesday -- A Few Extra Words

The last week or so has been good for rewriting.  I've managed to get quite a lot done and am currently happy with the results.
What more could one ask?
I'll cheat a wee bit and offer up a bit more than two from BloodLovers:

"A sound came from her grandfather that Eury could only think was a sigh. His voice lowered. It was almost sad.

'You hate me so much son, that when you married you took your wife's name.' "

#

I don't recall why as I write this, but I've felt the need to crack open the apocrypha and read about Enoch.
It's been interesting to read his trip through the levels of Heaven and what he found there including the creation of the zodiac.
Here's a bit:

"I have put every man's work in writing and none born on earth can remain hidden nor his works remain concealed.
2 I see all things."
(Chapter L. verses 1&2, Secrets of Enoch, The Lost Books of The Bible and The Forgotten Books of Eden. A Meridian Book, New American Library, 1974)
#
Thank you for reading me. For more or to get in on the fun please see The Women of Mystery.

Gratitude Monday - Computer

I'm happy to have a computer.
I write with it and store my photos on it.
With it and an internet connection I can visit instantly, see what's going on in the world, and walk away when I want without being impolite.
For all of this I am grateful.

A computer screen and a disembodied hand on a mouse. That's all it takes to keep in touch. And a herd of overworked hamsters somewhere making it all happen.