Sunday, July 27, 2008

This and that...

This has been a relatively quiet weekend at home. Last night I hosted a birthday party for #1 daughter. I enjoy entertaining, and it really is good to have company over once in a while because it forces me to clean house.

But cleaning house means I don't get around to weeding my flower beds. I'm getting so far behind on that point that I'm about ready to hire some help. If you know any reliable middle school kids that would like to earn a few bucks and get some dirt under their fingernails, have them call me.

Golf this afternoon was a mediocre game. I bogeyed the first three holes and then deflected a compliment from my playing partner with a "Thanks, but I just haven't had my blow-up hole yet," and the blew up the next hole (quadruple bogey) and then put one in the water on #5 (Timber Ridge) for a triple bogey. Makes me wonder what would have happened if I had said "Thanks, and now it is time for a par." I never did hit a par today.

And from the sublime to the ridiculous...

I was encouraged to hear a brief report on npr about Friday's Judicial Committee hearing into the current "imperial presidency". What I don't understand is why the Democratic congress has taken impeachment "off the table." Did they ever have a spine? (Reminds me of the rubber egg project I did in Grade 5 science: Soak an egg in vinegar for several days and the shell dissolves into a transparent rubber-like coat. One gets the sense that maybe congress isn't all that transparent.) Kucinich gets my respect, but why the comment here about holding hands with his wife? How is that possibly news worthy? (I know she is drop dead gorgeous and 30 years his junior. So?)

Google "house judiciary committee hearing on bush" and bloggers dominate the top 20. Three national newspapers and ABC news have a story, but the MSM doesn't seem to give this much play. They're part of the problem.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Booked and pumped...

Yesterday I booked my flight to Manila to visit Ben. I leave Oct. 15 for 11 days. I'm pumped.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Why and how I'm voting...

Not!

The credits reassure us that "No Republicans were harmed during the making of this film."

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

66 days...

Back on May 10 I put an Early Girl tomato plant in my garden and today I took the first two fruits to the family dinner.

A long time ago I stopped bothering with tomatoes in restaurants. If they come on a salad I push them aside. More than any other food, tomatoes are meant to be in season and local. So the first taste of a 'real' tomato - the first tomato from my first garden - just about sent me over the edge. I had to stop myself from moaning.

I finished the lettuce and radishes a while back. I've been eating summer squash, beans, peas and kohlrabi. I wish I had planted more peas and beans. Basil is going strong. Yum.

There is so much stuff I'll do different next year, but this has been a great learning experience and I get to eat the experiments.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Bats...

And I thought I had a bat problem.

Sunday, July 06, 2008

My kind of vice president...

My friend Dale is running for vice president. I'm not kidding. You can read about his candidacy here.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Non-invasive flying species...

In the midst of all the bat news I forgot to mention the robin that pitched her tent outside my back door.

Today she started the food delivery service so I knew they were hatched. I grabbed the camera, which made mamma nervous; she spent a good 5 minutes watching me before she approached the nest, and then had nothing to feed. I left after snapping this picture because I had to be somewhere, and I figured the little guys need an uninterrupted food supply.

Am I light enough yet?

In other news, the bat was back the other night. All my theories have been dis-proven and I'm one step closer to batricide. I'm sleeping with my upstairs rooms' doors closed and towels stuffed under them. If it gets into my bedroom now I'm pretty sure it is being teleported from another dimension.

Friday, July 04, 2008

Enough...

Dusk is falling this July 4th and artillery shells are falling all around me.

At least that's what I think it is supposed to sound like.

I wonder what it sounds like to vets of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Or to the citizens of those countries.

I'm trying not to be a grinch about it, but I wonder. Like most Americans I'm quite safe. Would this be fun if we lived in the same conditions that people in Hebron, or Sadr City live?

I'm not a very good American, and the smoke is driving me inside.

Theology I can live with...

If... there is God, and I ask you why not?