the green, green grass of home....

ok, so the summer is almost at an end...which means that the c-dub obsession with keeping the grass green and the perennial beds flowering until labor day is winding down.....we host an annual running and biking event the last saturday of summer.....and despite our efforts we have shamefully allowed out guests to stand on a moonscape of dead grass and gaze upon the sun-dried remaining of planting beds.....i thought we had this issue licked this year, what with twice a day watering and the use of actual fertilizer...but this morning as i held the hose in one hand and coffee in the other, i was shocked to see patches of dying grass......and rose bushes that dropped their browning leaves overnight......how is this possible? i freely admit that the yard still looks better than most years, but i expected a bigger bang for my better efforts....

a waking dream....

ok, so iw orked last night until 7 (H1N1, of course) and opted to go in late this morning as compensation....and i went back up to bed after letting the dog out and feeding the cat and making coffee......i could not get comfortable, given the minor back pain from overdoing yardwork on monday, when i took the entire day off to recoup from the 20 hours of driving to virginia and back......but that is another story.....and so i tossed and turned, and while i contend that i did not actually fall asleep, i did have a curious dream.....my pupils were dilated as i came out into the sunshine, and though i had on sunglasses i could not see clearly enough to walk to my car....and a woman took my arm and led me to my car....and as i was getting inside she handed me a bag and told me it was a chicken sandwich for my lunch......i sat inside the car, waiting for my sight to return, but i did not eat the sandwich, because i am leary of anyone who hands chicken sandwiches to strangers.....and so i sat in the car plotting on how i could throw away the sandwich that must surely be poisoned....i did not want to toss it in the trash for fear some homeless person would eat it and die......i do not remember if the dream progressed beyond the internal dialogue about the sandwich.....

ok, so....

ok, so.... i travel to williamsburg, virginia tomorrow after lunch...looks to be a 10 hour drive...the kind of journey one only makes for family or dear friends....i will miss the final leg of the ride for reading....which is acceptable as i was not at the beginning......and only in the middle for a few hours.....we plan on driving back on saturday...which means i will have driven/ridden 1000 miles in 36 hours.....thankfully i have my bookd on cd lined up.....

ok, so.....Julie and Julia was a throroughly enjoyable movie.....Meryl Streep was marvelous as Julia.....though her Oscars have been earned from her dramatic roles, i continue to be impressed by her comic flair......and to be treated to Meryl as Julia in Paris......at Cordon Bleu.....and in darling bistros drinking fine wines and nibbling perfectly prepared fish in beurre blanc.....oh my......yeah, i did enjoy the Julie part as well....and I did feel her pain when she slept through the timer for the beef dish.....and the lobster boiling sequence was hilarious.....i am inspired to try braised cucumbers.....but given that i do not own Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I have had to look up a recipe on-line.....thankfully, several generous bloggers were also moved to try the recipe:

Braised Cucumber

1 huge cucumber (or 2 regular sized)
1 tablespoon butter
1 dash salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 pinch dried mint

Peel cucumber. Cut into quarters and remove seeds. Cut into 1 inch pieces.

Melt butter in a pan and add cucumber. Cover and cook about 5 minutes on medium heat.

Stir in salt, lemon, and mint. Cover and cook another 2 minutes.

I cannot wait til supper!

Three Irish musicians who were sent to the service by Bono led the group in singing Bob Dylan's "Forever Young."

ok, so.....i had heard of the passing of eunice kennedy shriver earlier in the week.....and i only clicked on the huffingtonpost writeup because the tickler photo showed of a woman (a shriver grandchild) as a pall bearer....and i did take the time to read about her funeral.....but it was not until the part about bono sending over irish musicians to play forever young that i teared up......i love that song....and i would be so honored for 3 musicians of any nationality to show up at my funeral to sing it.....

ok, so...this bit of the daily show was right on target.....

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Glenn Beck's Operation
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Spinal Tap Performance

playing for change

ok, so this from the world-wide web.....

ok, so this from the daily kos...

Best Deep Thought ever? From DougJ over at Balloon Juice:
When someone talks back to a cop in his own house, that’s disorderly conduct.

When people make death threats and start fights in public, that’s exercising their First Amendment rights

fairy garden....

ok, so our little 8-year old neighbor from around the circle stopped by to chat for a meoment while iw as grilling supper last evening....and this sweet child took one look at the mass of blooms in the 'new' bed and said..'a fairy must have snapped her fingers and made this garden'.......and she snapped her fingers to add to the charm of her words.....made my day....

red cadillac with the windows down...

ok, so in my dreams i was in my aunt and uncle's original house near cleveland...the one on carpenter road....and i set my purse and keys down on the floor just inside their front door.....and i was with a woman who is taking my class....and we walked down the hall to tell those gathered watching televison in a very small bedroom that we were leaving to go to class....and my purse was gone- but the keys were there...and we saw 2 small small children running across the lawn with the purse, and one child dove into the open window of a red cadillac driven by another child..and i was able to grab the second child by the arm..and hold on tight.....and my aunt announced that those were neighborhood kids.....and i marched over to the neighbor's house with my 'hostage' child...and demanded that the mother hand over my purse for the child......and i kept looking at my watch because i was supposed to start my class in 20 minutes.....and that is all i remember, except for worrying that i would be charged with kidnapping the accomplice to the theft of my purse....

a new question.....

ok, so....i gave blood on my way home from work yesterday...mostly because my daughter was keen on giving blood and i was not going to be the one who did not having gone to the trouble to show up at the location....i have not given blood in years- not since leaving a job where the blood mobile showed up regularly onsite and all i had to do to donate was to walk a few hundred yards.....i was therefore way out of the loop on questions now asked of donors to determine fitness to donate.....the nurse in the pre-donation interview did not break a smile when she asked me 'were you born a woman?'......i laughed out loud.....having never before been asked that question......hopefully the enxt time i can keep a straight face....

some forged documents are more fun than others....

ok, so this from a huffington post piece about how easy it is to obtain forged documents.....

ok, so i just loved this bill maher birther bit.......