I think I Left your Oven On

Once the weather gets warm, and the trees jump into greenness, and the dirt invites a spade and some willing fingers, I can be found outdoors at every chance.

Every year, I’ve taken a little more time and a little more effort to plant a vegetable garden and a couple of flower beds. This year, with gas prices being what they are, and food costs skyrocketing, I decided that it would be necessary to grow as big of a garden as I can possibly get, and that everyone in the family will work in it, no exceptions.  So far it has worked out with the exception of an occasional friend of Meg’s coming by and pulling her away from her chores.  Negotiating with me to promise to work on it later, and later never really seems to come around.

I need to figure out a way to keep the daycare kids from sabatoging the garden as well.  Those little fingers just can’t help themselve from pulling off every blessed blossom they can find on a plant.  It makes me nuts.

So I’m looking for solutions to my problem,  maybe some chickenwire or electric fencing might work.  hehe.

I need it to be asthetically pleasing and condusive to the neighborhood civic association bylaws you know.

I know, i’m just a misplaced hill billy living in the burbs.  I need to remember that.

On Monday I thought I would read a few chapters  while the daycare kids were outside running around and enjoying the sunshine.  All was fine until about 5 minutes into the reading,   here comes my neighbor with a wrench in his hand,  “Howdy” I smile and wave, “Just thought I’d do a few chores it’s a nice day”.  I smile again and say “yea it’s a nice day for that or something.  He walks over to the rusty old swingset that has been there for about 10 years and starts banging on it with his wrench tryring to tighten up the bolts.  Ok, he is about 68 years old and no kids at home, why why why, does he choose to do this now?????  It triggers his three yappy dogs to bark bark bark  incessantly, which triggers the daycare to to scream scream scream, then MY dog starts barking and then he starts yelling at his dogs to be quiet, and I start yelling at my dog to go inside and try to calm down the situation.  They all quiet down for 5 minutes and go I go back to reading,

Two paragraphs into the page,  now Mr. Handyman gets out his lawnmower and the whole chaotic mess starts again.  I tough it out and try to ignore all noise, the lawnmower drowns out the kids screaming and dog barking.  Im really trying to be understanding, After all, the man does have things to do on his day off.   He finishes the lawn in about ½ an hour,  THEN gets out his weedwhacker and away he goes, and away they go, craziness at its best.  I finally gave up and took all the kids inside and put them down for a name, settled my dog down and sat on the sofa, trying to regroup.  Then what do I hear outside??  NOTHING! Abosolutely NOTHING but the birds singing and an occasional car drive by!!!   I chalked it all up to bad timing and never gave it another thought.

So Tuesday morning, another beautiful morning, right?  I’ll try this again, don’t you know the EXACT same situation occurs again but with my neighbor on the other side of me!  Not with lawnmowers and weedwhackers, but with a WOODCHOPPER!!! He feels the need to chop firewood on a 75 degree TUESDAY MORNING!  Gah! 

It is now Wednesday morning and its sunny and 75, I am not stupid enough to try going out back to read again. I am hearing in the distance the neighbor right behind me starting his power washer looks like he might be geared up to wash his house.  An all day job…

I freaking giveup, there is no rest for the wicked and I’m guessing I will have to deal with this all summer.  Why did I think living in the burbs would be a quiet existence?

My photography class instructor just emailed me and said he really liked my images and wants to display them in the gallery photo exhibit at school!  First dean’s list, now this?  OMG, I’m so flattered.  I’ve never had anyone appreciate my work before!  (I’m giddy!) 

“The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You’re one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
a cloud come over the sunlit arch,
And wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you’re two months back in the middle of March.”
- Robert Frost

I’m working on dodging and burning, and trying to refine my post processing abilities.  This is not one of my better photos of her,  I just liked the look on her face.  I need tons more practice, and after about 10 hours this week, I’m a little burned out on it.. I think I’ll take a break this evening and pick it up again on Friday.,

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What a big shocker on American Idol!

I think Carly was the happiest I have ever seen her. Was she just tired of the whole thing?

Sigh-esh-a really wanted to stay, didn’t she.

Well. Nights like last night show that American Idol is not about finding the best voice,
it is about finding a Pop Star. And I think Pop is short for popular.

I am not really emotionally invested in anyone. Are you?

I loved what David Cook said about being original and unpredictable last night.

He is cool. Have you noticed the size of his noggin yet.

I think I am going to ask every week until someone agrees with me.

You have been warned.

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Today was take your kid to work day.  Meg chose to go with her dad instead of staying home with me.  What a shocker..haha.  They left at 7am and took off for parts unknown.  They called me to tell me they were in Freemont working on arming security systems at several stores.  Meg loves that sort of stuff.  Then they had lunch at Cracker Barrel and visited the Susan B Anthony Library and museum. 

I think they had a pretty cool day, much better than mine.  I watched 4 children throw sand at each other and cry, and worked on a Marketing Case Study paper.  Marketing, not my forte.  

 I love thursday night t.v.  The Office is back on, so I can’t wait to see a new episode,  also a new episode of 30 Rock.    thank goodness for tivo.

This is from the early 80’s by an English New Wave band called Altered Images

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(Looks like WordPress is still on strike,  still cant post photos or videos….;(

She is a pure marketing genius.

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but I though Michael Johns rocked. 

but what do I know.  Another perfectly good rocker bites the dust.

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Oh man, this dreary overcast weather can just stop now.. really,  When I woke up this morning, I saw the sun, so I jumped in the shower and as soon as I got out, it was rainy and overcast.  ;{

Can I say how much I love that my 12 yr old wants more responsibility?  I love love love that she wants to take on more chores to prove herself and I give her a bit more space here and there, and she respects the boundaries.  I hope things do not change anytime soon.  She’s a great kid with good responsible friends.  So far, so good.

My Ash and her fiance have finally set a date for thier wedding.  Its next June in Boca Ratan.  Do you think I can loose 500 million lbs before then?  I’m starting Adkins again on Monday.  I went to the grocery today and bought all the stuff for the Induction period.  I did ok on it a few years ago, but somehow, it fell by the wayside and I went back to my bad eating habits.

Guess what else happens on Monday?  I turn the big 50!  OMG!  When I was a kid, 50 was like you may as well be 100!  But I dont feel really that old, mentally, physcially, I feel like 147! 

I bought 3 big baskets of daffodils today to plant on Monday.  Providing the weather is ok to plant them.  One of my daycare mom’s mother gave me a big basket of Panseys to thank me for sharing my homemade chicken soup with her!  She is such a sweet sweet woman.  One afternoon she came in and said oh what are you cooking it smells wonderful.  So I gave her a big container of my very favorite asian chicken soup.  She is getting on in age and lives alone,  and she thought my gesture was so nice.  Bless her heart.  So she brought me flowers.  She still works at the OSU horticultural department, and has so much wonderful knowledge of plants and such.  I just love talking to her.

here is my horoscope for today..too bad word press doesnt agree! hahah.This is an important day for you, dear Aries, especially if you are an artist. The work you have begun is already beginning to escape your grasp. It’s time to give it a name, its own identity in the world. Of course, it’s painful, but you knew it wouldn’t belong to you forever. This is your lot in life; you need to accept both the joy and the pain of creation.

ok, so  I guess I cannot publish fotos anymore, which stinks.  WordPress has been fin eggeling thier site so, I guess I will soon have to find yet another site for my blog,  if things work,they shouldnt try to fix them!!!!!