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

Jim's Next Chapter Begins

Well. young Jim has successfully moved cross-country from LA to Washington DC, to begin working on his Ph.D at the University of Maryland. I must admit that, as a mother, I'm breathing a great sigh of relief. Now he'll no longer fall into the ocean when the great earthquake hits (or when Lex Luthor destroys it to make Arizona oceanfront property). However, in disaster movie logic, he's really not better off! He should have moved to Des Moines or someplace like that (Butte, MO, perhaps?)


Just think how often you've seen the White House blown up, either by terrorists or aliens! IS the DC area truly safer than LA? Compare "Volcano" (where lava runs uphill) to "Independence Day"! The only place that's less safe is New York City, particularly the Statue of Liberty -- think "The Day After Tomorrow" or "Deep Impact". I suppose, in the end, we're not really cinematically safe anywhere -- even Jericho, KS isn't safe!!!!

At any rate, I'm happy that Jim and his dad (and Simon, of course) made it across the country with no mishaps -- highway-wise or politically! Happy new beginnings, Jim -- I'm really excited for you, taking this step, and proud of you, too.

I can be a simpson, too!

If Jimmy and Christy can be simpsonized, so can I!! Here are Unc & I. . .

Yawns

Coming home from work tonight, I drove past someone (driving in the approaching traffic) who was yawning a big, open-mouthed yawn and it made me yawn immediately! That got me thinking about whether or not yawns truly are contagious or if it's just our imagination. As I started looking up articles on this: this one & this, I began to yawn & continue to as I write this post.

Yawns definitely are contagious, especially to me! I must be very empathetic, or closer to the chimpanzees than I like to think!

Happy Birthday, Charlie!

Today is Charlie's birthday and we got to have him at home with us to celebrate it. That may not sound like such a big thing, but with our guys scattered across the country (literally) having an at-home celebration is major.

I know that Charlie always refers to himself as "the good son" (as do his brothers, and NOT in a Macauley Culkin way) -- but what I think of most about him is his good nature. He almost NEVER gets angry or upset about things. I believe he is the most even-tempered person I know.

I looked at lots of pictures of him for this birthday blog, all cute and most with an interesting story attached. I chose this one, though, because it is exactly as Charlie looked growing up -- always smiley and always happy.

Happy Birthday, Charlie -- the big 25!! We love you!!!

Happy Birthday, Christy!

One of the greatest pleasures of blogging, to my mind, is sending birthday greetings to people I love and getting to choose just the right photo to honor them that day.

Crit, this one's for you!!

I've think it's pretty sad when a middle-aged mom updates her blog more often than her twenty-something sons. Jim, Charlie & Danny -- where are you?

Danny -- You're not a kid anymore!

Happy 21st birthday Danny!

It makes me sad (that my baby is 21) and happy (for you) at the same time! These momentous birthdays tend to make parents thoughtful -- so here's what I think about you! You've always been very generous -- enjoying giving as much as receiving -- sensitive to others' feelings & very wise (even as a little guy) and deep in your faith. I've always liked your love of music (you know more songs than anyone I know!) and the fact that you're a free thinker (yes, I'm even used to the plugs and tattoos).

My favorite Danny-ism: when you were 4 and told me you'd seen a spider that was little and big -- it was a daddy-longlegs. Also, another favorite is big brother (translate: second mother) Charlie constantly ripping into me for letting you mispronounce things as a toddler: "he's going to talk like that forever!"

So, happy birthday, Dan -- Charlie's roast comes in a few weeks!

Power Outages Suck!

I haven't been on a computer in 3 days. We had a huge storm move through very quickly Thursday afternoon and leave in its wake many downed trees, alot of debris and widespread power outages -- including ours. A tornado was reported to the southeast of us and I think there was a wind shear, because our neighbors across the street had 4 trees and/or their larger branches sliced off at exactly the same height.

Our power was out from 3:35 Thursday afternoon until about 4:00 today (Sunday).

Here's what I learned from the 3-day experience:

Living without electricity, telephones, refrigerator (you can't open it, in order to save the cold) or water (NO TOILETS!) really sucks!

Detroit Edison doesn't give realistic time estimates for repair

Detroit Edison never tells the caller what happened or why the power is still out

There are lots of people in Meijer at 12:30 on Friday night (especially when Harry Potter is released)

One cannot find gallon jugs of water anywhere when there are power outages

It takes 25 bottles of water to fill the holding tank on a toilet

If one eats enough junk food in a 3 day period, one gets sick of it

There is a God and He has a sense of humor -- Jim left on a golf outing early Friday morning and is getting back tonight and missed the whole thing!

Thanks for visiting!

In the garden today

The raspberries are in! With less than two weeks to be sad that strawberries and asparagus are done, we're getting big, beautiful, sweet raspberries. I used the only container I could find in the barn (this teacup) and filled it -- putting those left over into ME!

Also, we put up the scarecrow, called "Basketball Head" -- not very original, I know. He used to be named "Mexican Jones" because young Jim put a face on him that looked like a Mexican bandito, but that cloth face rotted away and was replaced by a dead basketball. Anyway, when Turner went out after that, he saw the scarecrow and FLIPPED OUT, barking and challenging. I can't get him to go near him -- he's sure he's a threatening person. Here's are some pictures -- see how scary YOU think he is.