we have three winners!

March 19, 2010 ~ jama

Yes, yes, I know we were supposed to be giving away only two copies.

But then it started raining again, and another copy magically appeared!

Everybear was excited to participate in the drawing. Is there a hat in the house?

Why yes, the perfect hat, just like one Isabel’s Grandma might wear:

Cornelius gathered a pile of cupcake wrappers,

then diligently wrote everybody’s name on them in his neatest handwriting (not easy when you have paws):

Then we tossed all the names into the hat.

Now, who would draw the names? (There is always fighting about this.)

Cornelius came up with the perfect solution. Only bears wearing hats could pick a name.

So Betty Sue came from the den,

and Eloise from the foyer,

and finally, Isabelle graced us with her presence, traveling all the way from the Great Room:

Please applaud if you like their hats!

And the winners are:

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wherein i offer proof positive that i am indeed irish

March 17, 2010 ~ jama

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!

It has come to my attention that there are some of you out there who doubt my Irishness.

Last year I offered a green alphabet, corned beef and cabbage, and St. Paddy’s Day cupcakes. My Irish eyes were smiling, and I danced a little jig. Still, that was not enough for the doubting Thomases, Erins, and O’Malleys of the world.

May I remind you I love potatoes, "Ballykissangel," and Bono? Have decorated my house entirely in shades of green, spent countless hours reading Joyce and Yeats, and remain fiercely loyal to the Holy Trinity of Clooney, Dempsey, and Depp? There is also my love for Lauren Graham and the unmistakable lilt of plucky Irish names: O’Connell, O’Donnell, O’Brien, O’Hara. O’Connor, O’Neal, O’Keefe, Rourke and Flynn. McCafferty, McConaughey, McDermott, McDonough. And Kelly and Reilly, Dillon, Farley, and Quinn.

Plus, I’m married to a leprechaun. ☺

Here’s a bit o’ the blarney:

♥ Mick and Paddy were walking home after a night on the beer when a severed head rolled along the ground. Mick picked it up to his face and said to Paddy, "Jez. That look like Sean," to which Paddy replied, "No, Sean was taller than that."

♥ Joey-Jim was tooling along the road one day when the local policeman, a friend of his, pulled him over. "What’s wrong, Seamus?" Joey-Jim asked. "Well, didn’t ya know, Joey-Jim, that your wife fell out of the car about five miles back?" said Seamus. "Ah, praise the Almighty!" he replied with relief. "I thought I’d gone deaf!"

♥ Pat and Jimmy-Joe met and one said to the other, "Have ye seen Mulligan lately, Pat?" Pat said, "Well, I have and I haven’t." His friend asked, "Shure, and what d’ye mean by that?" Pat said, "It’s like this, y’see . . . I saw a chap who I thought was Mulligan, and he saw a chap that he thought was me. And when we got up to one another . . . it was neither of us."

There now. Have a green velvet cupcake:

photo by clevercupcakes.

and an Irish blessing:

Like the warmth of the sun
And the light of the day,
May the luck of the Irish
shine bright on your way!

from Pictures by Ann.

Happy St. Paddy’s Day!

Ever yours,
Jama O’Kim O’Rattigan
xxoo

P.S. You believe me now, right?

friday feast: proof of the puddig (or sumthing)

February 26, 2010January 5, 2018 ~ jama

photo by gsol.

I wish I had a proofreader for all of my blog posts.

It drives me absolutely nuts to find errors after I’ve posted something. Usually they’re not obvious typos, or else spell check would have caught them. Just words that decide to become invisible at whim, others that like to rearrange themselves for fun, or the weirdness that happens when one ballsy word unexpectedly steps in for another. Why? I’m not smoking funny cigarettes, and I proof everything at least five times.

Now, it could be you’re all very polite, strapped for time, or smoking those aforementioned cigarettes, because thus far, you haven’t brought any of these errors to my attention (I wouldn’t mind, really). Okay, not something to obsess over. We all make mistakes. But I was thinking that people in food service really can’t afford to make mistakes. “Corned beef harsh” could be lethal. In fact, some mistakes could kill your appetite on the spot:

photo by Gunnar Geir Pétursson.

*Julia Child screaming*

A sense of humor helps, and slam poet, former teacher, and awesome teacher advocate, Taylor Mali, is all that and more. Thought you’d get a kick out of this poem. When you’re done reading it and watching Taylor in the video, send your copy editor and/or proofreader some chocolate.

The the impotence of proofreading
by Taylor Mali

Has this ever happened to you?
You work very horde on a paper for English clash
And then get a very glow raid (like a D or even a D=)
and all because you are the word¹s liverwurst spoiler.
Proofreading your peppers is a matter of the the utmost impotence.

This is a problem that affects manly, manly students.
I myself was such a bed spiller once upon a term
that my English teacher in my sophomoric year,
Mrs. Myth, said I would never get into a good colleague.
And that¹s all I wanted, just to get into a good colleague.
Not just anal community colleague,
because I wouldn¹t be happy at anal community colleague.
I needed a place that would offer me intellectual simulation,
I really need to be challenged, challenged menstrually.
I know this makes me sound like a stereo,
but I really wanted to go to an ivory legal colleague.
So I needed to improvement
or gone would be my dream of going to Harvard, Jail, or Prison
(in Prison, New Jersey).

So I got myself a spell checker
and figured I was on Sleazy Street.

(Rest is here.)

Today’s Poetry Friday Roundup is being hosted by Jone at Check It Out. She may enjoy some rice puddig.

photo by psychoticadvisor.

2010 Bloggers’ Library-Loving Challenge!

February 25, 2010 ~ jama

photo by bfurlong.

March is just around the corner, which means it’ll be time once again to show our libraries a little love! ♥

Remember last year, when Jennifer R. Hubbard organized the first Bloggers’ Library-Loving Challenge? That netted over $1600 for our local libraries! Thanks to many of you, I was able to earn over $100, which I donated to the Friends of the Chantilly Library. I hope to surpass that amount this year with your help.

This year’s challenge is scheduled for the week of March 23-27, and Jenn would like to have more bloggers join the effort. You could either make a flat-fee donation to the library or literacy organization of your choice, or host a blog challenge like I did — donating a specified amount for every comment received on a designated post. Please sign up to support and help raise awareness for one of the most valuable free resources we have in our communities. Even if you don’t have a blog, there are other ways to help. Click here to check in with Jenn and get all the details, then please help us spread the word via your blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc., or emailing anyone you know who loves libraries!

let the games begin!

February 24, 2010 ~ jama

Greetings, flannel friends!

So — now that we’ve watched a slew of Gilmore Girls episodes, drooled over a fair number of hot dishes, gorged ourselves silly on pizza, popcorn, and hot chocolate — you may well ask, "What next, O great Pajama Party hostess?"

*please get up, there’s really no need to prostrate yourselves in my presence*

My adorable, wiggly guests: I’m glad you’ve enjoyed all the hoo-hah thus far, but I admit to feeling a little concerned about your well being.

In short, has your brain gone into hibernation?

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