csn.....and clobert

ok, so.....crosby, stills, and nash were on the colbert report last evening.....talking about the anti-war movement now versus the viet nam era.....and colbert gave them grief about neil young dropping in and out of the band over the years.....the best part of the episode was when stephen colbert dresses up like neil, and sings the 4th part of the harmony with teach your children.....a fine old song.......

kitty

ok, so our aging grey feline is having a hard time getting used to the new dog.....she is holed up in the downstairs bedroom with he-who-talks-to-cats......and has possibly not eaten since the puppy came home yesterday afternoon.....to his credit, the pup hasn't done anything to alarm the cat- like lunge or even bark...but all of this newness is troubling to our favorite kitty......hopefully she will ease up and settle into a detente of some sort

flown the coop

ok, so.....the the house is a child-short this evening.....as the eldest has departed for berlin via newark.....and we shall not see him until may unless we go to the little austrian town where he will teach english as a second language to middle and high school students.....he will spend a fair stretch in berlin before setting off for dresden, munich, vienna, venice, florence, rome, milan, paris, amsterdam, prague, and budapest before heading for branau-am-inn....he is traveling might light for a long stay......hopefully he will be kind enough to upload to flickr so we can enjoy the trip vicariously.....we have enjoyed having him back home for a few months.....and though we are thrilled about this opportunity, we already miss him...

hatred

ok, so....i am still in shock that a crazed gunman burst into a U.U. Church in Tenn. and opened fire his legal automatic weapon upon the crowd watching a children's play......all because he hates liberals......as best that i can recall, from nearly five decades of reading my bible, jesus was a fairly liberal guy, who preached tolerance and acceptance and forgiveness......and if gunman sees this as liberal, then i am proud to be in that number....for when the saints go marching in, the crazed gunman will be in hell with all of other crazed gunmen.....this, from crooks and liars......anyone wishing to send a remembrance card on behalf of Greg McKendry and his widow, Barbara, could do so: Tennessee Valley UU Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919-4624

the times, they are a-changin......

ok, so....after having children continuously in the d-ville system since 1996......we are switching child #3 to the county school.....this change comes after exhaustive consideration and debate.....the system that served our sons well failed our daughter......and it seems that the grass is greener for her across town- she has signed up for wildlife management and equine management, as well as required courses.....and she is over-the-moon at the opportunity to focus on subjects that mean so much to her......

stage 21

ok, so.....we were unable to watch taped stages of the tdefrance this year....my mother bought digital hd televisions that were in compatible with her vcr's.....and things just went downhill from there.....we did pre-empt lunch to watch the cbs condensed version this afternoon....having already read the on-line version of the last stage......not nearly as dramatic as watching the entire event blow-by-blow.....maybe next year....

buddy

ok, so....my husband woke me up a few nights ago...he came bounding into the bedroom sometime after 10pm with the d-ville newspaper in his hand....'look at this picture honey- doesn't he look just like redbone?'......it took me a few seconds to figure out that i was looking at the humane society pet of the week, and even longer to figure out that he was asking my blessing to adopt this dog......he does look a lot like our beloved dog redbone, a purebred vizsla who we bought as a puppy from a family near versailles before we ever had children.....buddy looks like a more full-figured version of redbone, and certainly with some extra hound of some sort added into his mix.....my spouse and child #1 stopped by on friday morning to take a closer look, with me following along after work.....i signed the papers this morning, along with children #2 and #3.....he seems like one of the family already.....sadly, we do not get to pick him up from our vet until wednesday afternoon- the shelter transports the animal to the vte of your choice to be neutered before you take possession- seems about the only way to assure that the deed is done.....we cannot wait....

rabbit to the rescue

ok, so this from jezebel.com....A pet rabbit in Australia was credited with saving its owners Thursday after scratching at the door of their bedroom as their home burned, emergency workers said.

The couple were in their bedroom of their Melbourne home Thursday morning when the pet, named simply "Rabbit", began scratching at the door prompting the husband to investigate, Metropolitan Fire Brigade commander Mick Swift said.

He said the man discovered a fire in the back room with smoke spreading through the house and the couple could have been seriously injured if the bunny had not hopped to the rescue.

book club

ok, so....the highlight of my day turned out to be early-ish....when i snuck a look at a live cnn-feed of obama's berlin speech.....i was pleased that he did not try to raise the specter of JKF and try to speak german.....i was pleased that he managed to keep to his signature message of hope and unity...i was not surprised that no foreign service personnel based in berlin were in attendance, having been instructed to stay clear of this partisan event....but i digress from my book club selection meeting...whereupon only a small % of books i voted for made the final cut......and therefore the majority of selected books are those in which i have little interest in reading....bummer.....

a parody of a parody....

ok, so this from the latest vanity fair.....a little parody of the famous new yorker cover....

a little weezer.....

ok, so this you-tube spoof video by weezer, from crooks and liars.......i like the name of the piece....pork and beans....

mamma mia

ok, so......my sons accompanied me to lexington, whereupon we went to a far-flung goodwill, j-beth....whole foods for vegetarian foods....target, and l.barn........and somewhere in the mix we met up with 2 of my eldest's friends to see....mamma mia.....and all i can say is wow!....or woo! as is more our family exclamation......merle streep does all of us over-50 women proud in this movie.....and she belts out abba songs like she has been acting in all of those heavy-hitting roles as something to pass the time while she waited for this very moment...i enjoyed myself....which is what i need given all that i could be worrying about........

ups and downs....

ok, so.....our smokies walk/run weekend is over.....and i must admit that the tent-camping part was not quite as uncomfortable as i feared.....waking up to a cool morning in the deep woods was worth the sleeping-on-the-ground part....and the scenery in the virgin forest we hiked 7 miles round trip to see was spectacular.....Albright's Grove had trees at least 20-foot around...and mountain laurel still blooming.....and moss the ferns and fungi sprouting out of downed/rotting trees......very primeval....

piled how high?

ok, so....this from cnn...... SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- A measure seeking to commemorate President Bush's years in office by slapping his name on a San Francisco sewage plant has qualified for the November ballot.

The measure certified Thursday would rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.

Supporters say the idea is to commemorate the mess they claim Bush has left behind by actions such as the war in Iraq.

procrastination

ok, os...i freely admit that i have been playing wordtwist (quite poorly) rather than organize our provisions for this Smokies camping trip......most of our friends will be staying in lovely rental homes about 20 minutes away from the trailhead where the stalwart of our acquaintance will be camping....and at last count the number of total folks exceeds 50...which has deflated my interest in going at all....as 50+ is an unruly number...it will be like herding cats making any sort of plan for dinner either night of our trip....we will be doing either a 7-mile or a 14-mile loop through a virgin forest 30 miles east of Gatlinburg.....I do look forward the actual hike....but i digress from wordtwist.....i have hit all-time lows with my scores....and have failed to guess the 'big' word in 90% of the matches i have played this evening......not good for my tender ego.....on the other hand, my youngest child is thrilled to be going on a camping trip.....she swears that we have never taken her camping, and she is so excited as to be giddy.....pray that i will rise to this occasion.....

off the pull-down menu

ok, so....i have been so lax on blogging since my children all came home that blogger fell off my pull-down menu for lack of use.....omg......and it is not as if i have nothing to blog about....it is more that the things that happen end up being non-bloggable......off-limits even with names removed and the details glossed over.....and even when the doings are acceptable for the web....i am just too tired from cooking and cleaning up to muster the strength to put it all down.....will catch up with posts sooner or later.......i promise

rain

ok, so i got up early yesterday so i could water the planting beds and fill up the pond before the ambient temperature got up into the predicted 90's.....and it was not until i was tidying up the spent stems that the wind picked up.....and the thunder loomed closer and closer....and there came up such a storm that i unplugged the computer just in case.....yeah...it is plugged into a surge protector....but the storm was so very violent that unplugging stuff seemed prudent....fast forward to this very moment....when i had planned to head outside to wander my brick paths with my coffee.....it is again raining....i will not complain about this free source of sustenance for my precious plants......but i do wish it would take a break for the shortest of interludes......

exhausted even in dreams

ok, so....i worked so very hard in my dreams last evening.....we were living in an urban neighborhood of cute bungalows on a shady street, but moving across the street for some unknown reason.....and i was comparing a planting chart for the new house's garden, and deciding which of my own plants i would dig up and move with me...the new garden had grass growing between each plant- what a crazy detail to dream about- as it would be a nightmare of upkeep.....but i digress.....and at some point there were christmas parties, and a father of a classmate of one of my children was there cross-dressing in a pink floral silk skirt and pink pumps.....which was remarkable for how inappropriate the summery floral was at a holiday party.....one of the parties was at my house, and i was moving stuff so i was taking things from behind and under the guests and carrying them across the street.....needless to say, i am so very tired this morning for having labored all night.....

too good to pan out....

ok, so the nytimes has reported that john mccain may not fit the constitutional requirement for natural born citizen, given that he was born in the panama canal zone prior to it being under u.s. control....

speaking of zanesville, ohio

ok, so i was startled to read this morning about a lawsuit that awarded multi-millions to a black neighborhood east of zanesville, one in which the county deliberately failed to lay water pipes to the area until 2003......forcing the residents to collect rain water in order to drink or bathe.....omg......i have blood kin who was an elected county official in the 70's and into the 80's....the notion that he was part and parcel to this sort of discrimination is troubling.....

friday.....

ok, so this day begins a new age.....sadly.....as i ease into the director's workweek....i no longer have time to flex-off on friday afternoons.....today i have to work until closing time of 4:30 pm....yikes.....i am already wishing i was back home and i have not yet left the house.....

ted kennedy returns

ok, so this from crooks and liars about ted's return to the senate floor for a medicare vote yesterday.....be sure to read the comments from a california dem about maccain's failure to show up for the vote, which illustrates his reluctance to face up to the insurance companies.....

so very ohio....

ok, so this photo could have been taken in any backyard in a 20 mile radius of my blood in in the zanesville area......

obama in zanesville

ok, so...i am the last to know that obama delivered a speech in zanesville, ohio on 7/1/08....what i suspect is that not one of my blood kin who live within a stone's throw of the venue showed up to cheer...given that only myself and my paternal grandmother are/were democrats......out of a sizable clan of offspring....but i would like to think that helen, were she still alive, would have gently suggested that someone drive her to hear this young man speak.....'it's only a couple of miles'....as for my far-flung kin..... you never know how a sputtering economy and outrageous gas prices may inspire my conservative kin to broaden their horizons toward a new description of hope.....

menu, please.....

ok, so this is a link to what the G-8 summit folks aare having for lunch and dinner....some of the dishes sound kinda.....nasty....corn and caviar?

a good night's sleep....

ok, so....there is little in this world so delicious as waking up before one's alarm to the realization that one has had a good night's sleep.....which in my book means that i did not wake up for any reason....and at first glance i do not feel like i have been beaten with a stick.....too bad i have to get dressed to go to work, as i am enjoying this glorious morning....just the way it is....

unprepared....

ok, so.....on my way to the lexington goodwills and a sushi lunch mit mien kinder.....i stopped by the visitation for a coworker who lost her newborn.....the loss was expected, but the preknowledge cannot prepare one for the devastating loss of birthing a baby, only to hold him til he dies of natural causes......oh my....and at the visitation i was also unprepared for the opportunity to see the deceased infant.....who was being passed around between the parents and the grandparents and the aunts and uncles...dressed in a blue outfit and wrapped in a blue blanket......very tiny for being born so early.....i was glad that i was able to leave before the funeral home folks had to take the baby from the mamma for the last time.....so as to follow through with the scheduled burial....so very sad....

home at last....

ok, so.....we all ate supper together last evening on the deck.....grandma is feeling so much better she walked down the street rather than drove.....after years of sitting in the overly hot corner with the built-in seating, we have moved the table into the shade to utilize the padded bench and green garden chairs.....so much more pleasant to sit outside in the shade....with the water splashing into the pond as a backdrop.....so very pleasant.....as for my second day off in a row....i mostly did laundry and hung it outside, and cut back dying perennials....the rose campion starts to look really leggy after the flowers are spent.....i do take time to spread the seeds before tossing the stems into the pile on the walk.....i am also ripping out more daylilies.....ones that i know to be single and orange that are blocking a rose in some fashion.....there is much more of this cutting back to be done.....and many more roses to deadhead.....but i opted to spend a bit of time reading rather than laboring on my off-time....i am still pouring over the book about 1000 places to see before you die....i am reading now about places in africa....i can see myself taking a nile river cruise to see the temples.....and sitting on a terrace at the mena house in giza with the pyramids in view.....i can also see myself on a 4-day hike across the south island of new zealand, with a guided tour that features huts with hot showers.....adventures worth saving for....a figure i have 13 more years to work before i can take extra long trips.....not just 4 day weekends here and there.....something to plan for.....and i so enjoy planning for trips....

oh, oh, oh.....

ok, so...everybody's home......til they scatter again.....

going big.....

ok, so....i slept well.....what with the soft rain....and woke up at 7:30 am refreshed and ready to....start cooking......i made 2 vegetarian enchilada casseroles and spanish rice for this evening, and then moved on to pineapple kuchen for breakfast tomorrow, cumin lentil soup, onion nan (from a mix) and potato latkes for lunch and spinach stuffed wontons for an appetizer at some point....i also made a lovely pasta salad, and pita chips to eat with the hummus i bought at the aldi's......and....then i moved on to sewing projects...i repaired 2 pairs of khakis and 1 pair of shorts, and then recovered the chaise longue pad.......and refreshed the flowers in the vase...and did a load of personal laundry....and all the while watched wimbledon tennis......and now i do believe i might just go out on the deck, and sit on my newly recovered chaise longue, and read for a spell before i shower and drive to lexington to pick up the middle child.....

smart friends

ok, so.....i want to pay homage to my much smarter friends who are so much better than I at wordtwist.....one of my favorite facebook games....thanks for coming out and playing so often.....

heifer project

ok, so we are fans of the heifer project....we donate to this charity in lieu of gifts to family members....this is from jezebel.com

Beatrice Biira, the "Beatrice" of Beatrice's Goat, graduated from Connecticut College last weekend and is headed to the Clinton School of Public Service in Arkansas for her Master's degree before going back to Uganda to work for a non-profit. Beatrice's family's rise out of poverty was aided by Heifer International, which allows people like us to purchase livestock for families like Beatrice's. The goat Beatrice's family received served as a source of nutrition and income for her family, which allowed Beatrice to attend school, which led to scholarships and to her being the first person in her village to get a college degree from America

almost off

ok, so....i work today then have 4 days off, counting the 4th and the extra day on monday......i will have take 2 such long weekends this summer instead of an entire week....saving the remainder of my accrued time to visit austria in the late fall and/or spring......i understand that rain storms have been predicted for tomorrow......not to worry as long as the bad weather stops in time for my boy's plane trip from london to lexington.....yeah, well...it is not a direct flight, but y'all know what i mean.....

glorious gossip....

ok, so this from wonkette...

Charles “Chip” Pickering is the only Mississippi Republican left in the House. He is the ultra-conservative son of famous racist/civil rights champion and retired federal judge Charles Pickering. Chip announced in August that he was quitting Congress so he could, of course, spend more time with his family, and get a lucrative lobbying job. The lobbying job will surely come, but on Friday it was announced that Chip is divorcing his wife so he can spend more time with all the various women he’s been connected with over the years. What, a Republican in Congress who commits adultery with the opposite sex?

back to jane.....

ok, so....so i walked on the treadmill when i got home from taking my mother to a medical appt....and the british murder mystery video was scratched, and kept stopping and starting....and i put it away and loaded the jane austen book club instead.....seemed a better choice than murder, anyway.....i needed to walk to blow off steam from the medical appt.....i startled my mother by going into her surgeon appt with her.....and by inquiring about physical therapy......but my boldness was unnecessary, as the surgeon told my mother that she has no need for either hip replacements or knee replacements...and that her arthritis has not gotten to the bone-on-bone stage....and he not only prescribed physical therapy, he prescribed water aerobics.......which she used to do when she first moved to town......and he gave her a cortisone shot.....which seemed to mollify her, and by the time we got back home she was walking better......the scenario of serial-complainer mother and skeptical daughter go to the doctor could be a sub-plot theme for an updated austenesque novel.....

library books

ok, so.....i went by the library for the second time in less than a week, to return what i borrowed on saturday and to look for ore...i had borrowed 2 films....2 days in paris with julie delpy and friends with money with jennifer aniston....found both lacking......my spouse insisted that the only reason to watch the first was because it took place in paris......mostly it was talk,talk,talk about infidelity.....oh my.....i brought home 2 british made-for-tv movies...the first is leo mckern as rumpole of the bailey in what appeared to be the film that inspired the series....mckern still had dark hair and he did not have all of his side-kicks that included phillida erskine-brown.....she for whom we named the cat.....if for no other reason than a rumpole rerun was on pbs when daddy brought home the kitten....and she had a hyphenated last name.....i started to read one of the mysteries i brought home, and found it neither cozy nor charming.....same with the second...and i put them down.....i was not in the mood for hard-boiled and sassy....speaking of rumpole and the old bailey.....our middle child is now in london...safely i would suppose.......and possibly eating cheese and pickle sandwiches in pubs....rumpole ate his with a shot of rum with a guinness chaser.....and then went on back to court.....i'd have had to take a nap after such a lunch......i do happen to have a collection of rumpole cases upstairs.....might be better than the borrowed hardboil.......