Thursday, June 28, 2007

and so it goes...

I have a little bit of poison ivy on my hand. I don't know where or when I got it.

The house is in desparate need of a good scrubbing. We have tomorrow off, and scrubbing is first on the list.

I continue to patch my convertible top with gobs and smears of clear silicone. It's working swimmingly.

The weed-n-feed application mysteriously burned parts of the lawn. I am sad.

Our social schedule is packed until mid August. This is fun.

We have taken several days off from work in July. This is very fun.

My alert wife tells me the slugs are back this year. I will put beer out for them.

I may add to this list later, if the mood strikes.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Pride '07

We had such a great time at NYC Pride last year that we decided to add to the fun and go in a day early for the women's dance on Pier 54.

Fantastic. The music was great, the women were hot, and we danced until we couldn't stand anymore.

What I treasure about being able to celebrate Pride in NYC is the powerful ties to the origin of a movement. While this was only our second time ... we again got to talk to someone who was there at the beginning... Stonewall '69.

Sunday morning we walked into a bar (yes.. morning ... bar... hey - it was Pride) and while we were sipping our breakfast mimosa's - our bartender, a retired NYC cop who served The Village precinct, regaled us of stories of Stonewall and how it all began.

So while you are celebrating Pride events around the country and wearing rainbows and watching parades and dancing and enjoying the 'scenery' - remember where it started.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Friday

tip-o-day

With the heat and humidity of the summer - be sure to leave the lid to your washer open in between loads. This goes for both front and top loaders. This will keep the machine from smelling musty.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

It's a Girl!

Shortly after TheDaughterTheTherapist and her HandsomeBeau get their own place - look what they get!



After some internet research and some poking around, she thougth she had a boy. It's actually quite difficult to tell you know.

But the vet confirmed - a little girl.
Weighing in at all of 1 lb. 12 oz.


They call her Sophie.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Friday

tip-o-day
Will you be throwing any big parties this summer? Perhaps a graduation, or a family reunion, or perhaps taking part in a town-wide happening such as a lobsterfest or clam bake?
To make the event even more memorable, or to really call attention to your group – whip up some iron-on T-shirts.
They are so easy to do using the iron-on paper right in your own color printer, and you can make as few or as many as you need.
Come up with any wacky design you can think of and start ironing.

Remember, it’s important to use a hard, flat surface – don’t rely on your ironing board for the best quality. And try looking online for affordable (yet good quality) T-shirts if you have a lot to make.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Home alone

Recently, I was so happy to find out that dog hair we had found on the sofa was not from the big, smelly FREE dog sleeping there... she simply needed to hide her perfect, like new, never-been-chewed rawhide under the cushion.

Ah.. so foolishly relieved.

I came in from work yesterday evening to find the living room and dining room ransacked. Cushions and pillows all over the floor, blankets strewn about, a lamp tipped over, a picture fallen to the floor, tables askew, the rug bunched up...
It didn't take me too long to figure out that that the FREE dog had happily (or perhaps feverishly) spent the day finding a better hiding spot for her perfect, like new, never-been-chewed rawhide.

In case you need to know - after (I can only assume) trying every other place in the room, the rawhide was finally placed back under a different cushion on the sofa.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Summatime

I saw a commercial last night which said that our children are losing valuable information taught to them during the school year over the summer. That they were starting school in the fall at a deficit. This commercial advised that we send our kids to summer classes so as not to let all that pertinent school stuff just leak out of their feeble little heads.

I had summers off as a child and remarkably I can still do basic addition, subtraction and multiplication. I remember what year WWII started, I can conjugate Spanish verbs and for reasons I can’t really fathom I have an uncanny recollection of the battle at Bunker Hill.

But what I learned over the summer was so much more than anything my parents tax dollars could buy me in the classroom.

I learned how to get along with others – sometimes compromising, sometimes holding my ground. I learned the laws of gravity and the repercussions of this awesome power. I learned how to do things for myself, how to be alone, how to make fun from nothing, how to fight, how to make up, how to be a good friend and a bad one.
These are things that blossom in the unstructured environment of the neighborhood streets and lawns and woods.
Having kids sit in classrooms during these invaluable summer months robs them of their greatest and most memorable learning experiences... and some of their most colossal mistakes.

Parents get a grip.
Let the world be their classroom, even if that world is only a block wide, and two months long.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Those late night calls

First, Ferris is fine.

How many blog entries have I started like that?

19 year old boys are invincible, immortal and seemingly made of rubber.
When Ferris was 5 years old he was hit by a car in front of our house. He flew 25 feet across the front yard – right in front of me.
Ferris was fine.
His uncle dubbed him RubberMan from that day on.

With Ferris you can expect anything, so when the phone rings at 2:22 a.m. – it may not necessarily be anything to worry about.
Then again… sometimes it is.
Again. He is fine.
The car… not so much.

At first skillfully maneuvering to avoid a car speeding through a red light – he unfortunately met with disaster when he launched over a ridiculously high curb and down a ditch. Airbags deployed, front under carriage and tires completed destroyed.
He and a buddy walked away.

At first inconsolable, mad and sad… his sister helped to bring him out of his cocoon. They are like that. An 8 year age gap and a bond like cement.

We are grateful for these kids of ours.
And insurance…

Friday, June 08, 2007

Friday

tip-o-day

Did you forget to put down your Weed-n-Feed application?

I forgot to tell you to put it down.
It's ok.
Do it now.

I actually haven't done it either.
Let's do it together.

Remember, apply in the morning when the dew is still on the grass, and no rain is expected for 24 hours.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

They grow up so fast

Completely out of character, Ferris decides to bring in the mail yesterday.
Further defying logic – he actually opens some mail addressed to him.
And what does the universe send him on this day.

A medical bill for two million eight hundred fourteen thousand four hundred ninety-three dollars.

He called my calming wife in quiet the distress and read to her over the phone...



Please pay this amount: $ 2,814,493




We have not received your payment for the above referenced account. Your obligation is clear and this account needs to be paid in full immediately. If payment in full is not received within 15 days, your account may be ref…blah blah blah….



Mom. I need to pay this within 15 days ???!!"

Ah… the joys of adulthood.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Horticultural Identification

Anyone know how to properly identify Papaver Somniferum?

I am just curious.

...no really

Monday, June 04, 2007

Look at this


They say this stuff has negative calories.


No really, if you read the back of the can it says this:

Three cans per day of eniviga have been shown to increase calorie burning by
60-100 calories....



So now that I can no longer go to the gym... I am thinking I drink 6 of these and I am good to go!

Friday, June 01, 2007

Friday

tip-o-day

It’s a great time of year to bring it cut flowers. If you have a small, somewhat sunny, unused part of the yard you can start a cutting bed. Cutting beds should be placed so they are not a focal point. This way you can bring in as many blooms as you want without trying to save some to keep the garden looking colorful.
For cuttings with woody stems, use a small hammer to smash the stems. This allows the flower to draw more much needed water.