I had my first gunny non-nightmare last night. I've had plenty of "trigger doesn't work," "can't reload to save my soul" and "bad guy won't die" nightmares that seem to come with the defensive shooter territory, but I've never had a "save the day" gunny dream. Sure, I've thought through what I would do during an attack, anyone who has their ccw permit has (or should have). Over 3 years ago, I made a serious introspection of whether my life was worth someone else's, came up with 'yes,' and haven't looked back.
Still, that dream was oddly comforting as it wasn't a bit of conscious 'what if' woolgathering. My subconscious-self acted in a realistic and characteristic manner. Showing, in a way, that I was mentally honest when I decided to get my ccw. I'll even protect myself in my sleep :-)
Strange how realistic dreams can be: I wasn't a 'hero,' just an ordinary shopper going about their life. I felt fear & the adrenaline rush; heard screams and breaking glass. When knocked to the floor in the general upheaval, I groped the pistol out of my purse looking for my 'wallet' and ended up shooting from a few feet away, kneeling and landed at least 2 solid chest shots. Then I woke up... at 3 in the Blessed morning, ugh. Even with it being a 'good' dream, it was like waking from a nightmare, which is how I imagine the aftermath of shooting someone would be - a nightmare.
Not sure there's a point to this rambling, just felt the need to share. Has anyone else had a similar dream? Did your dream-self act like you feel you would in real life? Have you ever been shaken about your abilities due to how you reacted in a dream? Just curious really. In the end, I greatly approve of Bill Watterson's take on dreams in Calvin & Hobbes - just a few little guys rattling around in your head splicing reels together in the dark. Nighty-Night!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Go hence and laugh
If you need a pick-me-up for the evening, pop over to Adaptive Curmudgeon's post about the glorious Chevy Volt. Beverage Alert folks, I nearly ruined my keyboard!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Funny of the Day
Watching my 100lb German Shepherd plow into the baby gate only to get rebounded. Shake it off buddy and walk away, it ain't goin' nowhere!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Praise Long Over Due
Back story: In October, my wonderful other-half shipped out to Parris Island for 13 fun-filled weeks. Before he left, he hid notes and surprises all around the house since he knew communication would be next to nil (yep, he's a keeper!). In one of those notes I found out I had free rein on a holster from Dragon Leather Works *Squee!* Which gave me an idea for him for Christmas, another holster :-) So I called up Dennis in November to see what we could come up with. I had some really awesome ideas; unfortunately, I'm very good at asking for impossible things. While he tried to make them happen, silly things, like copyrights held by the US government, stood in the way. So I gave Dennis free rein instead - sounds like a good idea, no?
Fast forward to January 7th (also known and second Christmas) and Heath & I squeed liked little girls over these:
His & Hers matching holsters with hair-on accent! Dennis, you truly out did yourself this time, I really can't thank you enough. I love the feel of the flatjack, it's like carrying air and it melts right into your outline. Even that plastic brick manages to stay concealed and feel unobtrusive (I tried Heath's on for kicks and giggles). Still, I don't think mine's going to be covered over much, it's too pretty not to OC!
*Note to anyone who cares: the holsters were bought & paid for. Kiss my knickers.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Enrichment
As a hat-tip to Daddy Bear's '30 days of Heinlein', I'm doing something I'm rather chagrin to admit - I'm finally going to read some of Heinlein's books. They've been on my 'need to read' list for years but haven't made it off the shelf and onto my nightstand. So, I've snagged The Moon is a Harsh Mistress to start tonight; any other recommendations?
*Edited: 3 hours later and 10 chapters in & I'm having flashbacks to college days of buying a new book and reading until dawn, uh-oh!
*Edited: 3 hours later and 10 chapters in & I'm having flashbacks to college days of buying a new book and reading until dawn, uh-oh!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Utterly Improbable - Simply Tragic
This incident blows my mind. (go read & come back, I'll wait)
The girl's death was fairly improbable to begin with but it would have been impossible if he had followed 4 simple rules. Also, what part of gun cleaning requires firing off a round? Have I been missing an important step all these years or is that only a step for muzzle loaders? Even if he was just plinking, how is 'up' ever a good direction to shoot? So many questions, so few good answers.
While I'm with Weer'd on the 'gun death' metric, this is probably one of the few legitimate additions. Mind you, it wouldn't be any less horrible if she & the buggy were smashed to kindling by an inattentive motorist; this just seems like a more honest entry than a thug getting shot over crack, ya know? One minute the kid's driving home from a Christmas party, next thing she's dead due to someone's inability to grasp "know your target and what's beyond it" or "what goes up, must come down and remember, trajectory arcs are a bitch". What a shame.
Now here's the kicker for the antis: not one proposed gun law would've prevented this since it was a muzzle loader. There are no magazines, shoulder thingys that go up, high capacity anythings, etc. A law wouldn't have prevented this from happening, only the use of the gray matter between the shooter's ears. Remember folks, follow the four rules - they are not like guidelines.
*Did anyone else catch that the horse must have continued going home since they followed a blood trail for close to 1/2 a mile?*
The girl's death was fairly improbable to begin with but it would have been impossible if he had followed 4 simple rules. Also, what part of gun cleaning requires firing off a round? Have I been missing an important step all these years or is that only a step for muzzle loaders? Even if he was just plinking, how is 'up' ever a good direction to shoot? So many questions, so few good answers.
While I'm with Weer'd on the 'gun death' metric, this is probably one of the few legitimate additions. Mind you, it wouldn't be any less horrible if she & the buggy were smashed to kindling by an inattentive motorist; this just seems like a more honest entry than a thug getting shot over crack, ya know? One minute the kid's driving home from a Christmas party, next thing she's dead due to someone's inability to grasp "know your target and what's beyond it" or "what goes up, must come down and remember, trajectory arcs are a bitch". What a shame.
Now here's the kicker for the antis: not one proposed gun law would've prevented this since it was a muzzle loader. There are no magazines, shoulder thingys that go up, high capacity anythings, etc. A law wouldn't have prevented this from happening, only the use of the gray matter between the shooter's ears. Remember folks, follow the four rules - they are not like guidelines.
*Did anyone else catch that the horse must have continued going home since they followed a blood trail for close to 1/2 a mile?*
Monday, November 28, 2011
Pie!
Alright, for Thanksgiving, instead of pouring pumpkin out of a can to make a pie, I make one out of butternut squash. It's just like pumpkin, but smoother and *bonus* I can get the butternut fresh from the garden.
Recipe (1 pie):
1 lg butternut squash pie (1 1/2 cups)
1 c brown sugar (firmly packed)
3 lg eggs (slightly beaten)
3/4 c evaporated milk or half & half (recommend the latter)
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t ginger
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t salt
2 T flour
1 T melted butter
1 t vanilla
Side notes on ingredients: You can play with the spices quite a bit, I use less cinnamon, more nutmeg and a little less ginger and cloves. All spices are ground. Also, more vanilla never hurt anyone :)
Prep:
Cooking squash: remove step, slice lengthwise, scoop out seeds. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with foil and brushed with oil. Bake at 400 for 45 min - 1 hr (easily pierced with a fork)
Remove the tray from the oven, reduce heat to 350 and allow the squash to cool. Put the cooked squash through a food mill. Combine it with the remaining ingredients in the order listed using an electric mixer (or really resilient arms).
Baking:
Fill the uncooked pie crust & bake for at least 45 min, should be firm in the center when done. Use foil or a pie shield to keep the crust from burning.
Crust:
Use whatever pie crust recipe you like, use pre-made if you want. But if you're looking for a good, flaky crust, try using lard instead of butter or Crisco. If you're going to eat something fattening, you may as well go full out.
Recipe (1 pie):
1 lg butternut squash pie (1 1/2 cups)
1 c brown sugar (firmly packed)
3 lg eggs (slightly beaten)
3/4 c evaporated milk or half & half (recommend the latter)
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t ginger
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t salt
2 T flour
1 T melted butter
1 t vanilla
Side notes on ingredients: You can play with the spices quite a bit, I use less cinnamon, more nutmeg and a little less ginger and cloves. All spices are ground. Also, more vanilla never hurt anyone :)
Prep:
Cooking squash: remove step, slice lengthwise, scoop out seeds. Place cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with foil and brushed with oil. Bake at 400 for 45 min - 1 hr (easily pierced with a fork)
Remove the tray from the oven, reduce heat to 350 and allow the squash to cool. Put the cooked squash through a food mill. Combine it with the remaining ingredients in the order listed using an electric mixer (or really resilient arms).
Baking:
Fill the uncooked pie crust & bake for at least 45 min, should be firm in the center when done. Use foil or a pie shield to keep the crust from burning.
Crust:
Use whatever pie crust recipe you like, use pre-made if you want. But if you're looking for a good, flaky crust, try using lard instead of butter or Crisco. If you're going to eat something fattening, you may as well go full out.
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