Butrfly's Wonderings

Happy Birthday, Babs!



By the way, if anyone out there is looking for a message board community to become a part of, this is a fantastic one: Able2know

It has a wide range of posters and views and nearly any category and topic you can think of. It's well managed with very active moderators and posters, and a no-nonsense TOS that keeps the maturity level above par.

Here's a list of the categories from their site map to whet your interest:

Able2know.com

Reference
English
Other Languages
History
Art
Film
Music/Lyrics
Video Games
TV
Performing Arts
Original Writing Forum
Original Art & Photography Forum
Literature
Poetry Forum
Books Forum
Quotes Forum
Philosophy/Debate Forum
Spirituality/Religion Forum
Legal Forum
General News
Politics
Human Interest
International
Business/Science/Technology
Sports/Fitness
Medical News & Health
Technology
Computers
Internet
Web Design
Electronics
Autos
Home & Family
Food/Drink
Pets/Garden
Parenting/Childcare
Relationships/Marriage
Home Improvement
Finance
Aging
Travel
Asia
Africa
Europe
North America
South America
Australia
Wilderness, Wildlife & Ecology
Careers
Life at Work
Teaching
Business & Marketing
Technology Careers
Jokes
Riddles
Trivia & Word Games
Fun & Games category

Welp, today I am tenderly pampering a scorching sunburn over most of my upper body and face. Yesterday I got carried away with feeling so good about my accomplishments in the swimming pool and stayed out way too long. Wish it were easier to pour sunblock on the unreachable parts of my body. I'd really like to be able to stay in the pool longer then a couple hours a day.

To top off the sunburn, I spent the afternoon repotting and rearranging the plants on my balcony. Did I wear a hat? Nooooo... I think this one is going to peel. :(

Discovered something rather nasty in my planters...dozens and dozens of baby slugs. I have no idea how they got there, I'm on the second floor! I think they are attracted to the moisture since it is so arid here in the summer. Soon as the sting from my sunburn tames a bit, I'll be making a trip to the nursery to buy slug killer. Slugs have got to be some of the ugliest creatures on this earth (or should that be in this earth?)! I wonder if the bird poop from the birdies on my feeders contains little sluggetts. Could that be where they are coming from?

Congrats to Tracy on her soon to be addition to her list of degrees and for getting off the unemployment rolls!

And a big congrats to Stef on her new home purchase. Love the pictures of the house. I envy you for your writing discipline.

Had a letter from my brother yesterday. Seems my sister-in-law narrowly escaped being in a neighborhood bank during a robbery. Narrowly escaped by about 2 minutes! She may have even witnessed the robber's car and called the police to give them the details.

My family seems so far to have an amazing track record for narrow escapes. Hope the record holds for a long long time.

People often ask what is the story behind my use of the screen name Butrflynet. I've been using Butrflynet since February, 1990 when I first signed up on AOL 1.0. At the time, screen names were only permitted 10 characters so I had to shorten butterfly. I've never really used any other name except when playing characters in roleplaying games on the internet. Even then, my account names have always been Butrflynet. It is such an unusual spelling that I've always found it available when creating new accounts at various domains.

The reason for the name Butrflynet has many aspects to it. Butterflies represent nature, peace, freedom, travel, metamorphosis, inner beauty, change. The Net part of the name had to do with my new found interest and love for the internet, and my effort to search for and capture all those aspects of the butterfly. I loved the play on words in my profile when I put "I used to be a c'pillar of the community" as my occupation.

As I mentioned earlier, I'll soon be making a trip back to Boston to visit my dad. I'm looking forward to the trip but also feel rather anxious about it. Because of the distance, cost and my father's age, I believe this will probably be one of, if not the last time I see him alive. How does one prepare themselves for such a visit? I feel under pressure to make sure I say whatever it is I need to say to my dad, although I have no idea what that need is other then to just tell him I love him. Has anyone else knowingly visited a parent or loved one for the last time? How did you prepare yourself for it? What do you say? Do you acknowledge to them that you think it will be the last time you see them or do you carry on as if it is just another visit? What are some of the things to be sure and talk about? What do you do with the angst when it comes time to return home?