emptying nest

ok, so...on this day the youngest goes to 4-h camp...which will leave us temporarily empty-nested......a reality that will be remedied on friday when all re-converge for a few weeks of togetherness......before scattering once again......as for this MM....i have enjoyed the time spent with my adult children passing through the homeplace on their ways to where-ever......

spell check

ok, so.....i have a hankering to read a book i have blogged about before.....one of the few novels my grandmother c. kept at her house....i read it over at least one of my yearly solo summer visits to her farm....i have no idea which of my cousins was lucky enough to have gotten this book when she died.....i recalled it as a girl of the linderlost....and recently when i decided to do a google search so that i could buy a copy for myself......maybe even a similar volume published in 1909 rather than a newer version......but my google search came back fruitless......except for my original blog about the book...which meant that i had the title wrong.....how does one find a title when one does nto know the correct title?......this morning there was an email from alibris books in my junk folder...surely they would have a line on this classic tale.....they had no girl of the linderlost........ what they did have was a girl of the limberlost...what a difference a single letter can make with insensitive search engines.....alibris does have several original copies...some in better condition than others.....eureka...

petunias.....

ok, so.....i walked out onto my back deck this morning, and startled a squirrel who was busily munching my petunias.....no wonder they did not seem to grow.....what with a furry creature trimming them back on a daily basis......i also suspect the furry creatures have shirred off my kale and spinach plants....such as they are....it is a good thing we do not have to survive off of our home grown produce.....i began my errands with the displaced library......and have already polished off a cozy murder mystery that features a middle-aged widow living in a cozy cabin with rosa new dawn at her doorstep......i borrowed the 2 sequels........based solely on the name of the grand rose mentioned in the first paragraph......a bulb catalog was in my saturday mail stack.....in addition to my middle child's grades 3 A's, and A+ and an A-.......i could not be prouder of a child who takes an extra class each semester.....but i digress from bulbs.....i am already thinking to my new bed in the spring....and basically planning around frittilaria.....an unusual spring plant sold in a trio....orange-ish.....which could go well with some lovely daffodils and tulips.....and iris....to bloom just until all of the perennials i planted this season come up.......gardening is such a hopeful hobby......speaking of which...while i was in the aldi this afternoon, i spied the missionary who wanted so badly to proselytize underneath my arbor rose a few weeks back.....she did not seem to recognize me.... which is just as well....given that i have spoken of her visit far and wide......and i must say...that i feel every bit as optimistic about the future of our country at this very moment as i did that day.....the lexington herald leader featured a piece by its religion columnist...paul prather...this morning...who chimed in with yet another disavowal of dr dobson......i have read so many i am getting them all mixed up in my mind.....and so i will close this entry with a few thoughts of my own.....for the bible-thumping right to put forward a candidate who is married to another woman while his first wife still lives.....jesus called that sort of person an adulterer.....then nothing that his supporters can say about the religious thoughts of my candidate holds any sway.....

mccain mashup

ok, so this youtube offering has mccain enmeshed in a madonna video......it is bloody brilliant.....

dobson versus obama

ok, so i am highly amused that dr. dobson decided to throw his weight around in this election cycle.....by accusing my man obama of misconstruing the bible.....the tired evangelical focus on social issues like abortion and gay marriage are not playing well these days, with so many of those who used to be associated with the christian right now wanting to focus on global warming and protecting the earth god gave us all.......dobson's base is shrinking, and i am pleased to see that obama is not afraid to court those folks.....

9 kids.....

ok, so....at the 1st home swim meet on wednesday night we marveled at the family of 9 children that participated on the local rec team.....well....not all 9...the three oldest sisters are either in high school or in college...and they were in charge of their younger siblings who appeared to be between the ages of 4 and 12....neither mamma nor pappa were in evidence...which made we wonder if there were not more children at home.....and so these young swimmers had only the cheers of their sisters, who likely wished they were somewhere other than at a swim meet in the 90+ degree sun......which reminded me of my spouse and his multi-child family.....he recalls (sadly) that the year he was mvp for little league baseball, his parents did not manage to come to a single game......whatever one says about having lots and lots of children......having so many that one cannot manage to be there to cheer them on seems like just too many children.....

celebration

ok, so this lovely english-style rose by David Austen...celebration is blooming in my new bed...and it is just lovely....

seeing eye cat....

okk, so this from jezebel.com.....Take the heartbreakingly angelic goodness of a seeing-eye animal, add a dash of inter-species friendship, and you've got a recipe for tears. "Cashew, a 14 year old Labrador Retriever owned by Terry Burns in Middleburg, Pennsylvania, is blind and deaf. Her best friend is a red tabby cat named Libby. Libby has become Cashew's seeing-eye cat. She guides Cashew around obstacles, leads her to the food dish and even sleeps next to her every night."

power sweaters....

ok, so....i enjoy a good piece on power sweaters......

teary-eyed.....

ok, so....the olympics are coming up sometime in late summer....seems like a long time off...but the tear-jerker stories have already squeezed my heartstrings.....i cannot pick up a paper or surf a site without some story of tissue proportions.....like the iowa gymnast whose gym was flooded despite the efforts of everybody she and her coach every knew in iowa.....filling sandbags and such.....and this story of a runner and coach.....i could just sit and cry rather than read these heart-wrenching tales of personal achievement....and yet...my youngest cries out at the screen when watching the 15 year-old divers....and admonishes their dedication.....this from someone who knows not a shred of personal commitment......if i cannot do it today it is not worth doing...or some version of this mantra......teary-eyed awe is worthy only of teary-eyed accomplishment.....

stuff

ok, so.....i was saddened to hear that George Carlin died suddenly over the weekend.....NPR did their post-6:30 am piece on his supreme court case involving his 7 words you cannot say on television...but i shall remember his for his piece on stuff....this is just an excerpt....i encourage you to watch it on youtube..

A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you're taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody's got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff. And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn't want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff. They always take the good stuff. They never bother with that crap you're saving. All they want is the shiny stuff. That's what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get...more stuff!

power

ok, so......after a powernap.......i rallied to complete the bushtrimming with a repaired powercord.......i finished just before the winds started to pick up and i felt a few drops of rain....must not tempt fate with electrical appliances in the rain.......i did not manage to get to the semi-circle of low boxwood in the corner of the yard......these started out as tiny edging shrubs....and i let them get out of hand so that they are not almost too high to a frame to the solomon seal in the middle.....trimming them has always been problematic, as they are on a hill....does one try to make each bush squared off, of make the flow downhill smooth across the tops........luckily one's mistakes grow out like a bad haircut.....speaking of power...i have discovered that our smokies campground has neither electric nor showers......which i can take for 2 nights if the company is good...and going off the grid for a couple of days could only be good for me.....i WILL problem-solve a way to make my morning coffee.....i vaguely recall us having a small camp-stove here.....i cannot recall my last coffee-less morning....i CAN recall my last showerless day......it can be done......i have visions of a 4 day hike across the southern island of new zealand......which would require several showerless days...might as well get in training for such things now.....got to keep these goals and dreams ahead of me like a carrot in front of the mule....in these post-midlife crisis menopausal days, i feel a power surge coming on....

rhythms

ok, so.....i was studying my sunday school lesson the on the 104th psalm.....which alludes to life's rhythms.....and my spouse informed me that two of our longest married friends were no longer a couple.....seems she went to new orleans to help with the hurricane relief and never came back.....their children are the same ages as our two eldest........how can people married 26+ years just walk away?........their children dropped out of school after they broke up...and we have offered their eldest refuge while he regroups (he knows bikes and the bike shop needs help just now)......we are not their only d-ville contacts, and we are certain that others will lend this fellow a hand in rebuilding his life......

cutting the cord.....

ok, so....i had a little incident this afternoon, and i lived to tell the tale.....i went big, as we say around here......and not only trimmed and weeded, and pruned....but i got out the long extension cords and the electric hedge trimmer, and prepared to do battle with our overgrown shrubs.....i got through the taxus and boxwoods by the front porch, and had moved to the boxwoods along the fence by the road.....when it happened.....a flash of sparks, a jolt, and then...nothing.....i had cut through the electric cord....gentle readers....i have been trimming hedge and shrubs for years and years with this appliance.....and have somehow managed to avoid this sort of semi-disaster until today.....probably scared me more than anything......as i was into my 5th hour of yard work, i declined the suggestion that i trudge up to grandmas to borrow another extension cord.....the remaining shrubs can just sit tight until i get up the nerve to finish the job.....

saturday

ok, so....i am determined to go big today....which in c-dub terminology means to either go for a large distance (as in running or biking), or to get a lot accomplished.....which is the route i am taking.....thus far i have made omelets and fried potatoes....must keep up my strength...i have planted all of the seedlings i have been tending from my flats that have languished on the back table waiting for this moment.....they are rather spindly...but if only part of them take off it is still a success...most have been eased into pots on the back deck...amongst other flowers or vegetables......i put some stringy sweet peas alongside my potted tomato plants.....might look kinda special at some point.....and so now i am heading back outside to deadhead rose bushes....and to trim back the volunteer shrubs that seem to burst forth every day.....and then maybe i'll take a shower and do some grocery shopping....i seem to shop twice as much with the extra mouth to feed.....which is just fine as i enjoy cooking for someone who complements each and every meal....i absolutely must make our rental reservation in the smokies for the (now) annual runner/walkers weekend .....we went to north carolina the year before last, and our rental cabin was idyllic...the ones available to us in this locale seem so baby blue and pink country with ruffles as to be almost unbearable.....there was one cabin with a bear motif.....a little too many bears for my taste......ah well...it is only for the two nights.....must make myself do this simple task.....

flowering tobacco

ok, so.....i stopped in at the lowes on my way home from lincoln county last evening.....just to see what plants they had in the back 'mark-down' section......and there was an entire trolley of perfectly lovely flowering tobacco plants (nicotiana alata) blooming in a lovely shade of pink for 99 cents each.....i also invested in a few black-eyed susans (rudbeckia hirta), some pink coneflowers (echinacea purpurea), and blue speedwell (veronica spicata)....i got up early this morning to water them again.....having already watered them when i planted them, and again when it was nearly dark.......i have placed these plants in amongst my new rose bushes.....and while i still see a few gaps....i could consider this bed 'done' if i so chose.....but i digress from the flowering tobacco.....i leaped at the chance to buy it, because i was quite certain that tobacco grows well around here........

board meeting

ok, so i survived my second board meeting, and managed to get our budget passed without much to-do.....this is a great relief, as the budget is a huge deal and this was my very first experience in the process.....i am so very relieved....

the times.....

ok, so the times, they are a changing.....this couple, aged 87 and 84...were legally married today in california.....who could not look upon this happy couple and be glad.....?

bloomsday

ok, so....it was not until rather late in my workday that it dawned on me that today is june 16....which means that it is bloomsday......the day in 1904 featured in james joyce's ulysses........there is still time to raise a glass to leopold, stephen and molly.....

rien ne dure comme la provisoire

ok, so.....my eldest quoted this sentiment this afternoon when the topic of my interim-ship came up...nothing lasts like the temproary...to make this quote in conversation i would have to write it on my hand...which does detract from the drama.....

cats....

ok, so i dreamed last night that i was on a cruise......and i had our cat with me, and i was trying to hold onto her so she wouldn't not go over board.....not a likely scenario but you never can be certain in dreams.....and this cruise ship was curiously narrow....with tables for 2 against the windows and only a body-width aisle for negotiating the length of the vessel.....and somehow managed to get off the boat with me and into a cafe, where again i was trying to keep her in my lap, and again she escaped.....cats have been in our family discussion these days, now that my eldest has found austrian accommodations that are inexpensive due to the cats: he will essentially house-sit for 2 cats....an older female and a younger male.....not a bad deal for a fellow who is comfortable with cats.....our cat stayed out all night last night, and had to jostle for food with the big yellow dog....she is quite at ease with the dog.....and i suspect she caterwauls for food in her dish knowing he will eat it....a symbiotic relationship of sorts......

a regular gertrude stein....

ok, so....my 24-year old birthday boy arrived home this morning, and his reply to my exuberant description of the art i bought last night was....so you're just a regular gertrude stein........what a great line......

art......

ok, so.....i have not updated the wall decorations in my house for.....25+ years.....what is there has always been there...no matter what wall one looks at...and so this evening was a freeing experience....i bought a piece from one of the artists in the shop.....part of a series of jazz related acrylics.....a woman playing piano in pink and green with a touch of mustard and the soul of the piece done in pen/ink......and in order to place it just so in my front room i will have to move something out.....or many somethings out.....and this could be a very good thing......i came close to buying another piece.....already framed in fall colors that would have looked lovely with a pastel piece my middle child did in high school....a remarkable work, so says his mamma......but it is his piece and i should not pairing it up like it will stay here.....he will want it to serve as the foundation of his own busy wall decoration at some point.....

bon anniversaire

ok, so....we have been married 27 years as of this day...the 13th of june.....periodically the day is on friday......and this day annually comes up either just before, during or just after the band festival......and occasionally a relative schedules a wedding around this time of year......as tonight is the gallery hop, and my spouse's business is hosting 3 artists.....i am packing a hamper of treats to take into town, and we at least share a picnic of sorts in the work area of the bike shop......yeah, well.....we've had more romantic celebrations...but then.....we did enjoy several lovely meals together in paris last fall......and plan on traveling to austria this fall........so we are not tied to mid-june for getaways......the rain is actually a nice reminder of our actual wedding day, which included not only rain but a tornado.....we c-dubs are quite resilient when it comes to making do with what we have got.....

prayer list

ok, so my youngest child got a call last night....from an elderly member of our church......and this sweet lady told me before i handed the phone over to my child that she wanted me to know that she had been praying hard for my daughter this week....and wanted to tell her so.......omg....literally......my daughter get kinda tearful after she hung up.....no idea what that was about, but......the lord does work in mysterious ways....

raining cats and dogs....

ok, so i was touched by this photo from iowa of a man saving himself and his 2 cats....i was offered another cat today at work...a woman walked in the hd with a box, placed it on the floor, and said to the clerks...i am just dropping this off...and she left a kitten in a box in our lobby.....gentle readers...i'd have taken that cat home in a heart-beat...but i have an aging parent across the street with an aging cat and an aging dog......who will at some point come over to live with me.....and so i left that kitten to someone else to take home.....

the violet window.....

ok so....with all of the flowers in bloom outside, i overlooked the brilliant show in the window we installed beside the fireplace.....this window provides morning light to a room darkened by the front porch, which essentially blocks light from the east....seems african violets love morning light.....and so the 2 pots of bright pink and purple violets are now at riot stage......wow.....too bad they are not fragrant.....that would be icing on the cake......

60's kids programming in cleveland, ohio

ok, so.....my aunt and uncle from the cleveland area emailed yet another forwarded email my way today......and i am so glad i opened it because this gem was included.......from left to right.....Franz the Toymaker, Woodrow the Woodsman, Barnaby, and Captain Penny.......i can recall watching them as i ate lunch after returning home from morning kindergarten.....in black and white.......it is quite likely that they were on the same 30 minute show, and each had a segment........gosh....but time flies

rain....

ok, so....we were treated to overnight rain showers.....and a cooler morning as an added bonus....so glad i took the time to finish mulching and to water down my planting beds....i appear to have primed the pump.....

mail and mulch

ok, so i drove by the lowes on my way home from work to buy mulch....as the roses i planted behind the b-ball hoop have never been mulched, and when i watered them by hand this morning (the hose does not reach) they were looking a bit weary with the heat......and so i bought 6 bags of dark mulch, as well as a few marked down gailardia and daisies......when i had unloaded those purchases, and fetched the mail/paper from the box on the road....i found that most of our mail was addressed to our across the street neighbor.....i had 2 choices...the first to walk to their box and slip the errant mail inside.....not the best option as their big picture window looks out on their box....and i would look potentially mischievous if i opted for that route..... and so i decided to march right up to their door and present them with their mail....the second good deed in 3 days....as my spouse called them on saturday to let them know that their water line had burst and that they were paying for water flowing across the street and into the neighbors drive....curious about the mail they claimed.....one piece was in the hand not extended.....to an address on the main road...and an unrecognizable name.......and my neighbor grabbed it and said....oh...this is the name that this guy always puts on my bills .....hmmmm.......fraley is the pseudonym, by the way just in case........ah well...and so i put down the mulch, and watered all of my deck and bedding flowers, and took a bath because i was filthy, and yet my spouse is not home.......to tell about our neighbor who could be doing business as someone else.....just too funny......

getting up early.....

ok, so.....my plans for the seep hoses has not come to fruition....as the hose is damaged and i am having to get up early to water my plantings before the sun gets too hot......i have no idea how to repair the breach in this hose.....i have no excuse for not learning.....i also have no excuse for failing to place the remaining hoses in the remaining beds before the lilies got too overgrown to do so.....i can say it had something to do with the fact that the water source should really be at the top of the yard, rather than the bottom.......eventually i will work out all of these little details....

finnegan's rainbow.....

ok, so...when asked by close kin just what epic book i intended to read this summer.....i said, with a straight face.....finnegan's rainbow....oh, no....you must be mistaken was the quick retort.....there is no such book....you must mean either finnegan's wake (joyce) or gravity's rainbow (pinchon).....i did mean both......as the twin set of unreadable novels are at the top of my to-do list.....but having peeked briefly under the covers of each.....i opted out.....i mention the peeking part purposefully.....my book-loving kin are greatly offended when i read their books, as i have the audacity to bend back pages, pencil in notes, and roll the front cover around to the back (we are talking with paperbacks only).....and these appear to grotesque misuses of books....ah well......i have chosen another top-of-the-list book for the warm weather months.....a portrait of the artist as a young man a joyce prequel to ulysses which i managed to finish reading last summer with the support of family and friends....i am excited to read portrait, not just because it is related to ulysses, but because it is the book that my u.k. library student-employee son requested to be donated to the library collection in his name upon his graduation....i found this a touching tradition at the time i read through the booklet that listed all of the many donated tribute volumes......and believe that the book chosen by my eldest may give me a glimpse, if fleeting, into the man he has become since leaving home.....

goodnight bush

ok, so....this parody of the children's book can be purchased at amazon.....

birds and bees

ok, so.....i sat on my waterfall patio reading a book this evening.....and was amused that my cat sidled down my way....from her perch under the birdfeeder.....she tried to sit on my lap....and failing at that....she settled herself on the next chair to ponder her prey from afar.....i was pleased to catch a few glimpses of the oriole in the high branches......i had intended to sit in the red Adirondack's chairs...but the bees have descended on the fallen mulberries.....i am rereading the snow leopard by Peter Matthiessen...i had forgotten how many birds and plants he recorded in this diary of a long and arduous trek.....no orioles....but species i will never chance to see.....unless i get it in my craw to hike from Kathmandu to the crystal monastery.......you never know.....

water, water everywhere.....

ok, so we got up early and rove to h-burg....my spouse to run the beef 'stampede', and the youngest and i to hand out water to runners at the halfway-point as well as the finish line.....this departmental collaboration has been plagued with uncertainty, as my colleagues have never done a race let alone volunteered......and so there was wringing of hands over what we would wear (race volunteer shirts, whether or not we would put up tents (no- as the event isn't very long, it is at 8 am, and there is no place to anchor a tent)and whether or not we should come earlier than 7:30 to set up (what set-up?)....as i was pulling out of the drive this morning i noticed that there was water leaking out of my neighbors yard across the road and into my neighbors yard....which meant a there was a water-line problem.....sure enough- when i got home 10-ish after errands fixing to take a shower...there was not water to be had while the water company was digging up the neighbor's yard in search of the breach.....thankfully i still had a bit of bottled water in my car to tide me over.....

wisdom

ok, so.....one of my gossip blogs directed me to j.k.rowling's commencement address at harvard........i took the time to listen to her 18 minute address......wow.....there is more to this woman than i thought.....

the garden of eden.....

ok, so......i heard from my favorite gardener yesterday.....he who has the privilege of working as an intern in some of the world's most famous garden beds for the next month......and he told me that they are busy pulling out spent pansies, forget-me-nots, and money plant, and putting in several varieties of salvia, cosmos, cleome, and liriope....along with a team of gardeners.....heavy sigh......to have a team of gardeners, the right soil conditions, relatively flat space, and the funds to replace spent flowers in such a manner......in france, no less.....my trellis rose is almost spent......and i will have to wait patiently to see if it condescends to rebloom in the fall with a small flush of repeat blossoms.....sometimes it does, but mostly it doesn't.....same with the cherry-colored robin hood musk roses at the corners of the house......should rebloom but doesn't under drought conditions.....but i speak only of roses......by the time our annual bike/run rolls around august most of our perennials are spent, and the nurseries carry few replacement flowers to perk things up......short of mums.....these are minor concerns when compared to the woes of the world...and i shall not worry about them on this lovely day......

so very tired....

ok, so i spent yesterday with a budget consultant, trying to get our budget worked through.....at 6:00 i threw in the towel....as we were not done and i was glazed over with fatigue and therefore unfit to make financial choices.....budgeting is much more complicated than i imagined.....but we will get through this, and the required board approval...and move on to other things less frustrating very soon.....

on to november

ok, so.....it is a relief that the nomination is clinched, and the democrats can move on to unifying themes and away from all of this divisive rhetoric.....this primary season went on for far too long.....hilary needs to take this defeat graciously and move on as well......her day will come.....

a candidate to look up to?

ok, so as i head to bed cnn is projecting that obama has the votes to clinch the nomination.......i took a moment to reread caroline kennedy's endorsement of obama from the nytimes awhile back......and her prose was every bit as memorable as i recalled.......i feel great hope and energy these days......

6-pack

ok, so this being the last first-monday of the fiscal year.......i moderated my last diabetes support group in a distant county......my county and this neighboring county are slowly untangling...and the new director felt, rightly, that if i got the permanent director's job in my county then i wouldn't have the time nor inclination to do this group......and we had a roomful at this transitional meeting......more folks than have ever come out for diabetes information showed up to let this new fellow know just how much they value this group.....and most folks made a point of thanking me for the 3 years i traveled there on their behalf......which was very nice....but the sweetest part came as i was pulling out of the lot...and an elderly gentleman with a cane came my way.....and raised one finger to tell me to not only stop, but to open my window.....and he handed me a 6-pack of water with a note attached.....and said that he hated to see me go without a little gift......gentle readers......i am seriously considering a 6-pack of water shrine to this gesture of friendship/appreciation.......

dissimilar scents.....

ok, so.....now that rose season has reached its peak....and is waning...i have started to bring a few inside so i can revel in the glory of the contained aroma...i generally wait a bit before cutting, as i really enjoy seeing the full effect of every possible bloom as a tour-de-force....and as i type i am trying to describe the variations on the theme of rose.....as the individual varieties differ so greatly as to scent.....the trellis rose city of york leans toward the lemon.....it is a creamy, clean smell......while my grandpa's pink damask rose belladonna smells like classic rose scented soap....intensely rose......the tea rose by the basement door auguste renoir is a bright scent that bears no resemblance to tea, while the rambler paul transom that blooms 20+ foot along the back fence is vaguely citrus and sweet yet still rosy.......this morning i was met with a mixture of all the rose scents- a dazzling medley that i shall miss as the summer wears on....we shall still have a few roses.....the cherry clusters of the robin hood musk roses that edge the house on 3 sides will rebloom.....as will ginny and ballerina....the musk roses that are on the left fence.....and the knockout roses....though they hardly seem to count as they have no scent at all.....they simply rebloom as advertised.....auguste renoir will rebloom as will st cecilia.....stanwell perpetual is supposed to rebloom....but has yet to manage this feat.....my new roses...the 7 bushes i bought because they will rebloom are still growing and filling out....they are english roses bred to be full and disease resistant....and will hopefully bring a renewal of the spring rose frenzy in the late summer......ah, i just love my rose garden......

the dead tree

ok, so...at lunch today...out on the side deck.......my mother commented on how we really need to cut down the dead tree that is just beyond the stone wall that may or may not hold up the back of our property.......we have this discussion periodically......on why we leave the dead tree......it is a clear destination for birds flying across the creek....and therefore we have an unobstructed view of a variety of birds...large and small.....and...given that the tree is hanging on to the side of a cliff....we see no reason to risk life or limb to attempt to cut it down......as i mentioned.....we have this discussion on a regular basis...which means either that my mother forgets why, or simply disagrees and revisits the removal to see if we can remember why it remains.....