Nothing New Under the Sun

I've posted before about the joy of being the help desk at my work. Now I've come to find out that the problems and frustrations I face are nothing new at all . . .

I'm tired of winter. Why is it that the shortest month, February, always feels like the longest one?

Happy Birthday, Lily!

It's hard to believe Lily's a year old -- the time has flown by! Happy Birthday, little one!

New Mentoring Website

Our mentoring program now has a website -- http://www.lc2ndchance.org/. Check it out! The more hits we get, the higher we'll go on search engines.

I voted

I voted today . . . which may not sound like a major thing. This year we had to sign a paper stating which ballot (R or D) we wanted and that information will be given to the party whose ballot was chosen. Many people didn't vote, either in protest of that loss of privacy or because both parties were upset with Michigan for moving the state's primary to January 15.

So I vacillated -- I won't ... I will ... I won't ... back and forth -- and in the end, I voted. I couldn't stand the idea of missing a presidential primary (it would have been the first national election I had skipped in over 30 years of voting)!

Does my vote matter? I doubt it. Do I care that the Republicans think I'm one of them? Absolutely! They'll find out, though, when they start spamming me. 11 months of political phone calls and junk mail are in my future -- imagine my delight!

Happy New Year

Well, the crazyness that is Christmas (and especially Buehlermas that follows) is over. Though the trees are still up -- because I haven't had the energy to take all the decorations down and put them away -- I figured it was time for a recap of the highlights of the season.

Probably the best thing was having all the guys home for extended periods and in pretty relaxed moods. I know that they got bored, which was unavoidable because there isn't much to do here, but it meant so much to me to see them! And an added bonus was that we had *almost* 3 weeks without a fight . . . only one or two notable skirmishes and apologies were actually spoken (or attempted)! Considering how passionate we all are about our faith, politics & our own particular points of view, that was a Christmas Miracle.

Here are the rest of the high(low)lights, with some illustration:

* I had fun decorating this year. It was, perhaps, my best Christmas house ever. I really enjoyed having an extra week to get ready.

* I didn't bake enough kinds of cookies. There will be more next year.

* The divorce-gate (the piece of trash I dragged home -- actually, which I had 3 other people help me drag home -- and which was the evidence that I'd "gone too far" and which put Jim over the edge) was FINALLY up and even decorated in time for Christmas! Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of it until the snow day. The blob to the left of it is a lovely lighted grapevine tree that Kally made for me.

* We all had fun at Grandma's -- holidays have definitely improved now that the littlest little is in 4th grade. Cathy looked stronger and like she felt better than she did at Thanksgiving and that made me very happy.

* I got the stomach flu in the wee hours of Christmas morning and pretty much missed Christmas. I couldn't eat for 3 days, which probably was a good thing.

* Everyone, except Paul, made it here for Buehlersmas. We really missed him & I hope he reads this sometime to know that. It just wasn't complete without him. I felt like this Christmas was especially precious because last year neither he nor Christy & Tom could come and you never know how many more years we'll all be able to be together. It was such a blessing and I had a real sense of cherishing every moment.

* I got to spend time with Lily, which was great. She doesn't know me, except that I look vaguely like other people she does know, but it was fun anyway. She's a real sweetie & did very well, considering that she'd been away from home and living with non-stop stimulation for 3 weeks!

* Danny & Jim got to meet Lily for the first time, which was very cool!

* We had the best Bucket of Doom ever and a great pre-Bucket show. An unknown neighbor even yelled at us to "KNOCK IT OFF". Bethany got to bond with Christy, Tom and everyone else -- and survived!

* Young Jim was awarded his trophy as the winner of the 2007 UncFL. I know all his office mates at U of Maryland will be impressed when they see it.

* Gene fell on their second night here and broke her wrist and Jim and I made a 4:30 am run to the hospital with her. They couldn't set it -- just put a splint and wrap on it -- and she took it like a real trooper for the rest of the visit. She's amazing for 85!

* We all learned how to play Mexican Train Dominoes and it became the game of choice for the week. Gene did fine with that, too, one handed.

* On New Year's Day, we were welcomed with over a foot of snow. It was beautiful!

That's all, and that's enough. Happy New Year, everyone.

Happy Birthday Jim!

Happy Birthday to Jim -- 28 years today. I can't post a photo, since I'm not at my PC and can't get to my save CDs, but you know who you are and what you look like anyway! I love you, little Jimmy!

Snow!

All my guys are starting to come home for Christmas & I'm excited to see them! Dan was going to fly out today to go to Orlando & drive home with Charlie, but we got 12" of snow last night & today, so all flights were cancelled. I'm sad that he won't get to go to Florida, but happy because I'll get to see him more and Charlie that much sooner! Not only that, but the snow is beautiful... if only I didn't have to drive in it tomorrow.

As unhappy as I was about Christmas last year, I am excited about it this year. I'm definitely in the zone, as my guys say! I've already made 5 kinds of cookies, am all decorated, almost finished with shopping and wrapping and there is still a week and a half left.

Dan brought his new kitty, Little Dice, with him and she's really sweet and friendly! She's a black and white semi-long hair and I find it interesting that all of our pets -- Turner, Leo, Dan's Little Dice & Jim's Simon -- are black and white. They all look great in our kitchen (or would if they weren't afraid to come out of the basement).

Is Europe a Country?

Unbelievable...

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're off to grandmother's house, but I wanted to wish everyone a happy and blessed and truly thank-full Thanksgiving -- not just an eat-turkey-and-plan-tomorrow-morning's-shopping day!

I'll have pictures from our trip to Minnesota when I get back.

They Shall Not Grow Old. . .

I have to admit to being obsessed with World War I.

Today is Armistice Day -- the day the treaty was signed that ended World War I, the forgotten war. Over 12 million were wounded and over 5 million killed. Most of the wounded and dead were Russian, British and French. We can't even imagine what it was like to see an entire generation of young men lost, often an entire family or village of men, since they signed up and saw active duty together. If, as Tom Brokaw says, WW II saw the "greatest generation", WWI was the "lost generation".

People in Britain still where poppies this week to commemorate Flanders' fields. We don't do that any longer here, or remember the meaning of the poppies. We've become such a nation of weenies that we can't even imagine the bravery of those who fought, were wounded or killed. We lament (as we should) the loss of several thousand, while they lost millions, sometimes with entire famiies or entire villages lost!

Here are two of my favorite poems (or parts of poems):

Grass -- Carl Sandburg
Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo,
Shovel them under and let me work--
I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?

I am the grass.
Let me work.

For the Fallen -- Laurence Binyon
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Remember the lost generation this Armistice Day.

An Interesting Post - Not By Me!

In light of my last post, I'm reprinting this from one of my favorite Daily Photo blogs, Ham's londondailyphoto. I didn't just link to it, because I didn't trust any of the 3 people who actually read my blog to navigate to it & it's GOOD STUFF! Enjoy!

Ham writes:

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

The Sovereigns Gate

After the 5th of November and the Gunpowder Plot comes the state opening of Parliament - they still search the cellars for gunpowder, just in case. The queen arrives in full pomp and circumstance, enters through the Sovereigns Gate in Victoria Tower and reads the speech the Prime Minister has prepared for her.

I happen to believe that the process of making our laws is important and the single thing that will destroy our democracy is not Left wing extremists, or right wing extremists, or even terrorists, but apathy.

Talking of laws, I'm sure you'll find this report entertaining of a survey into the stupidest laws still on the statute books.

Also if you want to visit and you aren't in London, you may enjoy the Virtual Tour.See where on the London Daily Photo Map

posted by Ham at 00:16

5 Comments

Remember, remember the fifth of November

“Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder, treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.”




Today is Guy Fawkes, also known as Bonfire Night! I'm late posting this, as I wanted to note it early this morning, but life got in the way.

It's Good to be a Packrat

I'm very excited! We found a box in the attic (that we've obviously moved 5 times) with a lot of old Reds' scorecards and World Series books going back all the way back to the 1970s & the Big Red Machine. Some are scored in and some aren't. There are a few from Opening Days in the 80s, including 1983, the last one I went to in Cincinnati (with my sister -- poor thing -- because Jim was already in Philadelphia). My favorite is from 1982 and has this note: "July 24 - Farmers' Night - Baby due Aug. 4" That baby is Charlie, who arrived August 5!

Too Cool!!!

Goodbye, Garden

It looks as though our incredibly warm weather is finally gone and autumn has come. We had our first frost two nights ago, so the garden is put to bed. I'm actually a little glad, since it allows me to turn to some indoor projects I've been putting off. Here are some end-of-the-season pictures, including some of the Turner the Crazy Dog actually sitting still!

What do you do with 130+ little pumpkins?

I wanted him to sit on the bench for a shot for the Michigan Border Collie Rescue 2008 calendar, but he would have none of it!

A classic pose. Doesn't he look calm & composed?

Look out, Crit -- here they come!

Yawns revisited

Back in August, I posted about yawns and how powerfully I'm affected by them. At the end of September All Things Considered did this story about a man at the University of Maryland who set out to create a "doomsday yawn" (sorry about the quotation marks, Bethany ), where NO ONE who saw it could resist. He found that it isn't the sight of the gaping mouth or sound of the "ahhhh" (sorry, again, Bethany) but that some people just can't resist any suggestion of a yawn, while others remain unaffected. Listen to the story, because the research is fascinating!

Now, I know there are lurkers out there -- honestly, how many of you yawned when you read this?

I've yawned 4 times since I began this post!

I hate plastics!

I haven't posted in a while and was planning to update on my garden or what I've been doing lately. But what I've been doing lately is stewing over a story I heard a few days ago on All Things Considered.

Albatross chicks on Midway Atoll , in the Pacific Ocean, are dying because their little stomachs are full of plastic. I have long thought plastic, along with its nearly-eternal lifespan, is almost an evil thing. The thought of PETE 6 cups and disposable diapers piling up and existing forever in landfills is so disturbing! Perhaps, though, I should hate not the plastic, but the truly ignorant and, yes, selfish people who are responsible for all of it -- people who won't wash diapers (disposables) or wash a mug at work (styrofoam cups) or carry an item out of a store by hand (plastic bags) or who drink bottled water when they aren't on the go AND people who won't recycle because it's too much trouble to clean, sort or take labels off AND, most especially, the people who just DON'T CARE!

I would be happy living in a plastic-free environment, even though it would mean no computers or electronics and the end of myriad items I use every day. Our entire disposable-mindset has gotten out of hand and, from what I can see, even the thoughtful and responsible people I know don't care! Everyone would rather throw things out and buy new than restore, repair or clean the old things.

And where, by the way, did the plastics come from that the albatross chicks ate? The mainland -- 1000s of miles away!! The plastic litter (thrown by stupid people) washes down the storm sewers and is washed through water systems until it goes out to sea, where the parent albatrosses think it's food and pick it up to feed to their young.

So, even if you don't REALLY care, do something nice for the environment every day -- reuse a bag, wash out a cup, buy recycled-material products, throw away your trash, recycle EVERYTHING recyclable and, best of all, don't use it in the first place!

Sorry about the rant -- I'll be back to thinking happy thoughts at the next post.

Creepy Crawlies, Haze & Cake

Today's post is a collection of photos.

There are always lots of insects in the garden -- especially when one gardens organically. We brought in a large basket of tomatoes yesterday and brought a few creepy crawlies with them.

I know the quality isn't good, because I can't get close enough with my camera, but here's a tomato-colored bug with a chevron on it's back, just like a Box Elder Bug, on the side of the basket.

If you look closely her at the handle of the cookie jar, you'll see a little tomato worm who crawled all the way along the kitchen counter overnight to go to the largest tomato it had ever seen!

This is a creepy caterpillar that was on our barn door.

I'm including this picture because I like it! It was hazy last Friday morning and the sun was beautiful through the haze. Of course, I couldn't do it justice through the screens on the back porch and only an idiot would have gone outside to be carried off by the mosquitoes!

On to animal foolishness. . . we've known for a while that Turner has a sweet tooth. However, we stupidly left my birthday cake unattended and he licked the icing from one side, in a surgical strike, never eating a single crumb of cake!



And here's the culprit, pretending to be innocent. This one's for you, Charlie!

The Garden

Since I don't have a separate garden blog, you all have to suffer through posts about the garden.

It's starting to wear the typical August look -- overgrown, browning and tired. The weather has alternated between really hot & droughty and cool and too much rain -- not a great combination for keeping plants from getting fungus, black spot and shocked. In spite of that, we've had great yields this year, though, no matter how bad the plants look (about a bushel of green beans, lots of broccoli heads, lots of strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes and cukes)!

Here are some pictures. And, as a reward (?) for looking at the pictures, when you get to the bottom you'll find a video of Turner, the crazy dog. I apologize for the poor quality of the video, but it was shot on a regular digital cameral and he's so incredibly fast that it's hard to keep him in the frame.

Thanks for visiting!

Lumina pumpkins that are taking over

The "attack luminas" from another angle


All the beds are running together


Leeks -- new to the garden this year


Some of the tomatoes & green beans


Not in the veg garden -- native prickley pear flower


Also not in the veg garden --
"Joseph's Coat" climbing rose

Turner, the Crazy Dog