Stephen Burckhardt's Blog: My Blog Ramblings, page 49

Whatever Wednesday: National Mutt Day

Hello, Posse!

Today is national mutt day and I am very in favor of celebrating the mutts in our lives. I know my life would not be quite as fulfilled without out beloved mutt, Shaggy. He is most definitely my furbaby and he brings a lot to our lives.

I have almost always had a dog with only a few years here and there without; when one dog had passed and I just couldn't bring myself to adopt another just yet. When the pain of the lost furry family member had at least begun to subside, I always felt the need to have another mutt in my life. I have had everything from a Chihuahua mix, a Husky/German Shepherd mix, a black Pomeranian, and now our adorable Chinese Crested/Collie mix from Russia.

Adopting mutts from shelters can sometimes come with some unexpected aspects that you cannot really foresee until they are in your home and becoming a part of your family. Many dogs in shelters have lived on the streets as strays, been abused, and/or abandoned. Many can have health issues and even have emotional issues that will only appear when they are in a stressful situation.

When we got our sweet boy, we thought he adopted a perfect little puppy who had no issues or health problems. It would be a few weeks before we would learn that was not the reality. Shaggy began to get sick. His stomach was always making noise and he began eating less and less. We spent a lot of time going back and forth to the vet. It took many vet visits, a lot of test, and several hundred dollars to learn that our boy has severe allergies to beef, pork, and amaranth. Basically everything we had been feeding him. Since we adopted him, we had been buying him giant ham bones as treats and would let him lay out in the sun all day long on the weekends gnawing on the bones. We had no way to know we were actually slowly poisoning him with them.

When we finally got the allergy results, we changed his diet and his health made a quick recovery. Occasionally, he still gets an upset stomach but it is nothing like it was in the beginning. After we sorted out his diet we turned to his anxiety issues.

When we started taking him out for walks on the street we found out very quickly that he has a lot of fear issues. We assume that he was abused at some point while living as a street dog in Russia before he made it to the shelter where we adopted him. On the street, Shaggy would panic and start fighting the leash whenever a car passed us on the street, a bike passed us, a person walked passed, especially men or children. He was afraid of other dogs, bikes parked on the street, trash and trash cans on the street, and even just loud gusts of wind. It was so sad.

It has been five years since we adopted him and he is doing so much better. We trained him to just sit next to whomever is walking him whenever something starts to scare him. He does a great job with this. He sits and waits for the scary thing to pass then we start walking again when he calms down.

I know people who have faced a lot less with a shelter adoption and they have turned around and taken their pet right back to the shelter and abandoned then again before they even had time to start to get used to being in a new home. Some people do not even bother taking them back to a shelter and will just dumped the poor pup on the street to acquire new stressors.

When we found out our adopted boy had so many issues, we never considered giving him up. We just worked that much harder to find out what was making him ill and worked with him to help him deal with his anxiety issues. Mutts bring so much unconditional love to a person's life. They deserve to have the same gift from their people.

I know many of my readers are also avid animal lovers so why not share some photos of your beloved furbabies with us!

Happy National Mutt Day Everyone!!

Dianne (& Shaggy)P.S. Speaking of shelter dogs. If you would like to help provide for abandoned senior dogs, Shep's place is a great organization. You can donate to help them care for the dogs in the shelter or check out the senior dogs they have up for adoption and share your own home with a senior dog who wants to have a person of their own to love until the end of their days here on earth. Check them out and share this blog to help spread the word about their great work.

Monday Movie Madness: Meet me in St. Louis

Hello, Posse!

Today's Christmas movie pick is another that is not always added in the Christmas movie lists. However, this movie gave us a classic Christmas song sung by none other than mega star Judy Garland. Of course I am talking about the 1944 classic Meet Me in St. Louis.

Garland debuted several songs in this movie that became hits after the movies release including, The Trolley Song, The Boy Next Door, and the now Christmas classic, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. The producer of the film, Arthur Freed, wrote these songs and even performed one of them.

Meet Me in St. Louis is a romantic musical comedy that follows the lives and loves of four sisters on the leading up to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. The young women learn how to navigate the ways of the world and budding relationships with the help of their family and a lovable housekeeper who keeps everyone on their toes. In the end, love conquers all with the help of a little singing, dancing, some great technicolor scenery and costuming.

This is a great feel good family movie that is a great addition to any holiday movie marathon you might be planning this Christmas season. It's ties to westerns was easily made through actress Margaret O'Brien who plays Tootie in Meet Me in St. Louis. She also starred in a 1946 western film Bad Bascomb with Wallace Beery. We also have Leon Ames who plays Mr. Alonzo Smith. Ames has an extensive filmograph which includes a few westerns including the 1950 western, Ambush, which was directed by Sam Wood and stared Robert Taylor. Even Judy Garland has a western connection even if it is an unfinished one. Garland was originally cast to play Annie Oakley in the 1950 western musical, Annie Get Your Gun . However, due to issues behind the scenes the role was recast with Betty Hutton in the title role.

Movie Snack

It's time to make a movie snack that is touted as a St. Louis signature sandwich, The Gerber. I suggest you try the version on CopyMeThat.com's, Show Me the Gerber Sandwich - Missouri.

This hot sandwich is an ooey gooey delight that will be a great snack any day of the week even if you are not planning to watch any movies that day, but why limit your enjoyment when you can indulge in both at once.

So, it's time to get your snacks and settle in for some great movies and tasty treats!

Enjoy,

Stephen
Meet Me in St. Louis, Trailer (1944)https://youtu.be/hdEouRM7Xv8

Friday Funnies: Day Off

Hello, posse!

We are still on vacation for a few days, but I didn't want to leave you without a giggle or two this weekend. Holiday's can be stressful so it is nice to grab the laughs where you can. I wanted to share one of my favorite comedians with you, Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias. I got lucky enough to see him in person a few years ago. He is hilarious! If you ever have a chance to see him in person . . . DO IT!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and have a great weekend!

Enjoy,

Stephen

Fluffy Goes to India, Gabriel Iglesiashttps://youtu.be/ux8GZAtCN-M

Wednesday Whatever: Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello Posse,

I have to work some tomorrow so I wanted to be sure to hop on here for a moment to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope this finds you and your families happy, healthy, and safe this holiday.

Take care, and we will be back to blogging next week!

Enjoy!

Dianne (and Stephen)

Monday Movie Madness: The Christmas Chronicles 1 & 2

Hello Posse,

We are in full holiday season swing now and will be counting down the finals weeks until Christmas with some great holiday movies that have a connection in some way to great westerns. We kick this off with a fantastic Netflix holiday film and it's sequel that was just released this year, The Christmas Chronicles and The Christmas Chronicles 2.

Now, I want to give fair warning, there is a spoiler in here so do not read on if you want to watch the movies and enjoy the surprise in the first movie.

The original movie was released on Netflix in 2018 and stars Kurt Russell as a hot-rodding, sax-playing Santa Clause. The story follows two kids, Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy Pierce (Judah Lewis). Kate believes in Santa and is determined to catch him and prove he is real. With the help of her brother, the siblings hatch a scheme to capture Santa on Christmas Eve. When things do not go as planned, the kids have to join forces with the not so jolly Saint Nick, his reindeer, and his crew of elves to try to save Christmas before it's too late. When Christmas is saved, we get to see Santa return home and relax with Mrs. Clause (Goldie Hawn).

The Christmas Chronicles 2 was released just this month on Netflix (2020). We see a return of the original cast reprising their roles from the first movie, with the addition of a whole new crew of supporting actors. In the sequel, Kate Pierce (Camp) is now a teenager. She is reunited with Santa and Mrs. Claus when someone starts causing trouble and threatens to cancel Christmas. If the North Pole crew can't stop this troublemaker, Christmas just might get cancelled forever.

With Kurt Russell in the lead role, it is easy to tie these movies to westerns. Russell started his career as a child actor. His second role in 1964 was in Guns of Diablo, a western starring Charles Bronson, Susan Oliver, and Kurt Russell. When discussing western movie, we cannot forget his incredible performance as Wyatt Earp the 1993 western, Tombstone. This increible film also featured Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, and Dana Delany. As if these western movies ties were not enough, Goldie Hawn also has her own western connection. Hawn starred in the 1976 western comedy, The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox with George Segal.

Movie Snack

It's time to deck the halls with a decorative and edible ,,Christmas Tree Cheese Ball snack by Inspired by Charm. Pair this with some pumpernickel bread rounds, club crackers, sesame rounds, or (my favorite) Mediterranean flavored Melba rounds and you have an incredible holiday treat.

If you want options that are not a flour based food, why not use this for a veggie dip?

Put this in the center of a veggie platter and snack away without all the guilt that can come with of some other more traditional movie snacks. No matter what you dip in this cheese tree, it is sure to be a hit with movie goers, should you decide to share it with others.

Now, you know what time it is, posse! It's time to grab your snacks and settle in for some great Christmas movies!

Enjoy!

Stephen
The Christmas Chronicles, Netflix (2018) https://youtu.be/V0xv99h17QEThe Christmas Chronicles 2, Netflix (2020) https://youtu.be/HVzBwSOcBaI

Friday Funnies: Thanksgiving Edition!

Hello Posse,

Friday's are usually for Stephen and "dad" jokes, but I felt like switching things up today. Next week is American Thanksgiving. Many cultures celebrate an autumn harvest holiday and the US is no exception. This week people will be roasting turkeys, mashing potatoes, and making pies. In our house, things are a little different with me being vegetarian. Even though I would never touch meat, I always offer to cook a small one for my husband, who is decidedly carnivore. Sometimes he takes me up on the offer and other times, like this year, he decided to just have the vegetarian roast with me.

No matter what you eat, one thing is certain, this is a great holiday to focus on our blessings. This year has made it a challenge for everyone around the global to stay positive and upbeat, but this holiday give us a chance to really focus on all the good we still have in our lives.

One tradition we always had at our house was we would go around the table at dinner and everyone had to say at least one thing for which they were thankful. This year it is actually pretty easy for me, I have a list. I am thankful I have a wonderful husband. I am thankful I am somewhat healthy, my parents in the US have been healthy-ish, if you discount my father's heart surgery in August and mom's knee problems. I am thankful the majority of our family has escaped Covid19 and the ones who have contracted it seem to be managing it well. I am thankful my husband's family is, for the most part, all safe and healthy too. I am beyond amazed and thankful I was recognized for a few incredible awards this year and my books are getting more attention. I really have a lot to be thankful for and that includes each and every one of you reading this blog. I am eternally grateful for you. I would love to hear what you are thankful for. In the meantime, I'm also thankful for humor.

So . . . on with the jokes!

Have a wonderful weekend, posse!

Dianne

Q:, What do you call a running turkey?

A: , Fast food!

Q:, What is a turkey’s favorite dessert?

A: , Cherry gobbler!

Q:, Why did the farmer run a steamroller over his potato field on Thanksgiving Day?

A: , He wanted to raise mashed potatoes.

Q:, Why did the turkey cross the road on Thanksgiving Day?

A: , He wanted people to think he was a chicken!

Q:, What animal is the fastest eater?

A: , A turkey, it gobbles everything up!

Q:, What do you get if you cross a turkey and a centipede?

A: , Enough drumsticks for everyone at Thanksgiving dinner!

Q:, What did the turkey say to the hunter right before Thanksgiving?

A: , “Quack! Quack!”

Last but not least . . .

Q:, Why do turkeys eat so little?

A: , Because they are always stuffed!

Whatever Wednesday: Homemade Ornaments!

Hello Posse!

I am going to be straight up honest right now, I'm feeling burnt out! I have been working on the serial since about 2014. It has been a long slow process as I learned about how to do all the things like formatting, layout, website building, etc., all the things that go on behind the scenes to be a successful self-published author.

I am just now, six years later, starting to see some gaines in my following but I am still far away from turning a profit. Now, do not get me wrong, I'm not complaining about these things. I knew going in it could take years to build up a following and actually start making money and I was prepared for that. What I was not prepared for was the pandemic, not being able to go in person to speak to bookstores managers about author signings, networking in person to get libraries to carry my books, going to my writers group and sitting in a coffee shop with other writers to help keep my creativity up. It is the lack of connection to readers and other writers that is starting to bother me.

Due to my being very high risk, my husband and I have had very limited exposure to the general public. My husband has been out far more than I have. In fact, since March, I have been out in the public exactly twice. Once, I had to take public transportation to the eye doctor because I desperately needed new glasses. Then again, to go back to the eye doctor to get my new glasses. That is it. I do go outside in our neighborhood and walk our dog on occasion but that is it. While I have never been one to really enjoy being out in crowds, I am actually starting to miss it.

To combat this growing feeling of discontent, I have a two fold plan. Step one: I have been focusing on enjoying the holidays. The house is already decorated for Christmas, something I NEVER do before Thanksgiving! I'm planning menus, making decorations, and just trying to find things to enjoy. Step two: I'm going to take a very short break from my blog next week to enjoy Thanksgiving with my husband. There will still be a Monday Movie Madness blog next week but there will not be a Wednesday Whatever or a Friday Funnies. I will still make a few quickie social media posts on those days. Hopefully this small shifting of my routine will help give me a little boost I need to get back in the swing of things.

In the meantime . . . let's make some great homemade ornaments!

John McClane, Die Hard

This first one I told you about in the Monday Movie Madness blog this week. A John McClane, Die Hard air duct scene ornament. I had seen this online a few years ago and thought it was great. I did a quick search for directions on how to make this and there were actual several tutorial videos on YouTube. I linked one here (see video posted below) for you all in case you want to make one yourself.

Mine is a little different in that I used heavy photo paper for my picture and poked a hole where the lighter flame is. When I put this on my tree, I put the tip of one of my white tree lights in the hole so it glows like it is actually lit. I doubt that would work with plain paper. the weight of the light would end up tearing through it after a while. This is definitely one of my favorite ornaments to put on the tree every year.

Snowman Spoon

The next ornament idea comes from my sister, Stephanie Crow. She has been making crafts and teacher others to make them for pretty much her entire adult life. If you want to add a hoey touch to your tree this year, this is a great idea. You will need a spoon, paints, a brush, some embellishments and maybe glue if you need the embellishments to stay in place.

Bend the spoon handle to make the hook to hang on the tree and pick your design to paint in the bowl part of the spoon. I love this simple snowman with a star my sister made. You could go for a tree, an angel, a Santa face, the possibilities are numerous! Then, when it has dried, tie some ribbon or yarn on the handle and add a bell, a star, whatever you want (or even just the ribbon) and you are done!

Snowman Caps

This next idea is something my mother, Sharon Stephens (yes the woman in my book series for whom Sharon Springs is named after is herself named after my mother) found online and suggested I share with you. It would be a great project for the family to make with kids.

You will need some bottlcaps, paint, ribbon and/or yarn, buttons, and glue. paint the insides of the caps white. Glue them to a strip of ribbon, paint the snowman faces and buttons inside the caps, tie the ribbon or yarn around the "neck" of the snowman. Glue your button on top of the knot. Let the snowmen completely dry and then hang them on the tree. If you search online for bottle cap snowman ornament you will find all kinds of variations on this idea. some have stocking caps. Some have top hats. People really get creative with this simple project. Some even use bottle caps to make some adorable reindeer ornaments. I was trying to find who created these snowmen to link their site and give them a proper attribution, but I have not found it yet. If I do find it, I will add it in as soon as possible.

So, that is it for today, posse. Three ornament ideas and my plan to take a break from two of the blogs next week to enjoy Thanksgiving with my husband. I hope you are enjoying these blogs as much as I enjoy doing them. I hope you are all happy, healthy, and looking forward to the holidays.

Enjoy!

DianneDIY John McClane Ornamenthttps://youtu.be/WahRe8YBmDE

Monday Movie Madness: The Holiday Editions Are Coming!!!

Hello Posse!

I hope everyone is happy and healthy and looking forward to the holiday season. I know this year will be tough as many people choose to forego the family get togethers this year due to the current state of the pandemic. For us, things will not change much. Since 2014, we have not lived near any of our family. Holidays are spent with just me. P.R., our dog, Shaggy, and a lot of family video chats.

For those who know me personally, it is no secret that I do not like Christmas, never have. To me Christmas is just a time of stress and anxiety, I know I am not alone in that. Millions of people deal with holiday anxiety every year all around the global. Because of my stress, the holiday traditions I adopted over the years were a way to celebrate while trying to make it seem like it was not Christmas at the same time. Since I married someone who likes Christmas, I have tried to get more into the typical holiday traditions.

I think this year, it will be even more important to find ways to find joy and fun this holiday season. To that end, I actually put up our Christmas tree and decorated the house this weekend. Normally, P.R. and I are at odds on this. If I had my way, the tree would never go up before Thanksgiving and would only go up on Christmas Eve and come down promptly on New Years Day. If P.R. chose, it would go up before or at least by Thanksgiving Day and stay up until about the second week of January, so you can imagine that P.R. is pretty happy right now.

For the most part, I think this is actually helping my mood as well. No matter what the decorations symbolize, they are pretty and I like turning on the lights on the tree in the evening. I even plan to make some holiday cookies this week for us to have with tea in the evenings. It is all of these little things that make this time more bearable, being endlessly confined with someone I actually like being with helps too.

To try to share some of this holiday joy, I am going to start doing for Christmas what I did for Halloween. The coming weeks of blogs will have a decidedly holiday theme to them. The movies will be holiday movies with a connection to westerns in some manner and I will be adding in holiday recipes and crafts. I may even try to con my sister and my mother into helping with some recipes and craft ideas for the Wednesday blogs. They are both serious talent in those areas. I often use their ideas in my own home.

To start off the holiday momentum today, I am going to feature one of my favorite holiday films Die Hard. I know, many people do not consider this to be a "holiday" movie but there are just as many who do. Many people, myself included, have even gone so far as to make a Christmas Tree ornament of the air duct scene, which will be in this Whatever Wednesday blog.

To connect this movie to anything western is actually very easy. Alan Rickman stars as the villain, Hans Gruber. He also starred as the villain in Quigley Down Under with Tom Selleck.

Die Hard is an American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. This film was released in 1988 and stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov, and Bonnie Bedelia. The story is based on a 1979 novel, Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp.

The story follows John McClane (Willis), New York City policeman, who is visiting his estranged wife (Bedelia) and their children on Christmas Eve. He visits her at her office and joins her for the company holiday party. Her office is in the headquarters of the Japanese-owned business for which she works. The party is interrupted by a group of terrorists who take over the entire building and hold everyone in it hostage. McClane soon realizes he is the only hope to free the hostages and save his wife.

Movie Snack

I wanted to come up with an easy themed movie snack that would be surprising and have a bit of a Japanese twist, just like the movie. I think ,,Tablespoon.com's, Spicy Grilled Edamame Snack (

This snack is easy to make and healthier than the typical western snacks like buttered popcorn and cheesy nachos, and while sometimes those classic snacks are still a favored movie treat, it never hurts to shake things up and try something new once in awhile.

So now you know what time it it, get your snacks and settle in, it's time for another great movie!

Take care, posse!

StephenOfficial Trailerhttps://youtu.be/jaJuwKCmJbY

Friday Funnies: Meh . . . Whatever (Wednesday)

Hello Posse,

I will admit I am so not feeling up to working lately. So many things are not working out how I want at the moment and it is really just dragging down my energy. We have been having trouble with our internet here the last few weeks and it completely crapped out on Wednesday which is why there was no Whatever Wednesday blog and you are getting a twofer mashup today.

Problems like this really disrupts my work. Not to mention, I still feel emotionally hungover from the election and the continued uncertainty at the moment. While I understand how important it is to laugh and enjoy yourself especially during times like now, it can be difficult to find your joy.

To this end, I actually pulled out our Christmas tree today. Now, I am one of those people who normally puts up the tree on Christmas Eve and just leaves it up until after the New Year, then take it right back down. I have NEVER even considered putting up my tree before Thanksgiving! Ever! It#s just wrong . . . normally. However, this year, is not the typical year.

I thought putting our tree up might lighten the mood in the house a bit. Though for me Christmas is traditionally just a ball of anxiety and stress. My husband has been working on this since we got married. He tries very hard to make it a fun happy time for me. Unfortunately, it's difficult to undo 40 some years of learned stress response, but I'm working on it.

To that end, I am going to be dedicating Whatever Wednesdays to Holiday Happiness from now until New Years. These blogs will be filled with recipes, crafts, and family fun ideas. I might even see if I can recruit a few friends to help. Stay tuned.

So now I think it is time to get on with the jokes!

Take care,

Dianne
So now how about a few jokes to get you in the holiday spirit?

Q: What kind of key does not open any locks?
A: A turkey.

Q: Why does Santa like to garden?

A: He can hoe, hoe, hoe!

Q: Where do turkeys go to dance?
A: A butterball.

Q: Where do snowmen keep their money?

A: In a snowbank.

Q: What kind of car does an elf drive?
A: A Toy-ota.

Q: Why did the Christmas tree go to the barber?
A: It needed a trim.

Q: What do you call a poor Santa?
A: Saint Nickel-less.

Q: Which reindeer is always cleaning?
A: Comet

And last but not least . . .

Q: Why does everyone want Frosty the Snowman to come to their Christmas parties?
A: Because he is so cool!

A game of You Laugh, You Lose and a holiday craft . . . https://youtu.be/JvCuGXGdprs

Internet Issues

Will post tomorrow if the internet here get sorted out. May have to post a double on Friday. Take care, posse!

Dianne.