Saturday, July 27, 2013
GetDown, GetDown...
If any of my neighbors look out the window and see me flailing my arms around swating at the skeeters and spiders and no-see-ums while I'm in the garden...Well, it ain't Jungle Boogie I'm dancing to I can tell you that.
I must admit this song makes we want to get up and dance. Where's my bell bottom pants, fringe vest and platform shoes? (Now that would be a sight to see. Almost as scary as the dude with the REALLY high shoes at the beginning of this clip.)
I know it makes you want to jump into that dance line and shake your boo-tay@;)
Doesn't it?
SM and I are just disgusted enough with the state of things around here that we've decided to run away to the beach for a long weekend. A little bit of sand between our toes, the sound of the ocean, feeling the breeze and the hot sun on our necks...Yep, just what we need!
Enjoy your weekend, Kids!
Friday, July 26, 2013
Pig Blocked
We have a new phrase around here.
"Pig Blocked."
I was out weeding the other day and who comes between me and my weeds?
Inside the house is even worse. SM or I are usually sitting on the floor giving Ginny or Scooter a little bit of puppy loving. Those times are few and far between because someone around here is a jealous little girl.
Casey's nickname is Pig. There's a really good reason for that. She's a piglet for love. She's got to be involved in every interaction. Casey is a big mamma but she can wodge herself between you and whatever it is you're doing simply by inserting her rather bodacious body in between you and your goal, effectively pushing things apart.
Pig Blocked.
"Who's my sweet girl....?"
"Pig Blocked."
I was out weeding the other day and who comes between me and my weeds?
Inside the house is even worse. SM or I are usually sitting on the floor giving Ginny or Scooter a little bit of puppy loving. Those times are few and far between because someone around here is a jealous little girl.
Casey's nickname is Pig. There's a really good reason for that. She's a piglet for love. She's got to be involved in every interaction. Casey is a big mamma but she can wodge herself between you and whatever it is you're doing simply by inserting her rather bodacious body in between you and your goal, effectively pushing things apart.
Pig Blocked.
"Who's my sweet girl....?"
Monday, July 22, 2013
Torpedo's Away?
Well, not quite yet.
It had been 3 weeks since we'd pulled the Red Tropea "Torpedo" onions.
I went out to the shed every weekend since then expecting to see moldy or rotting onions with all the rain we've been having but they're actually curing up pretty well.
How do I know? Well, last year was my first year growing onions and since anyone can get lucky at least once, (ha) I goggled and found this nice tutorial that I used as a reminder. I didn't follow her instructions exactly but found the reminder about a wet neck useful.
Just to be extra double checky sure, I grabbed 4 onions and decided to cook SM a breakfast frittata since we're both having a super busy work week.
I like these onions better than the HUGE Red Candy onions I grew last year. These are more "meal sized" meaning I don't have half an onion sitting in the fridge waiting to be used another day.
I could tell that the outer "wrapper" was nicely dried.
Typical onion smell so I slid on a pair of glasses and carefully chopped and fried them up. I've found that glasses help keep the tears away and did you know that while washing your hands afterwards, if you take your soapy hands and rub them on your stainless steel sink (or pan) your hands don't smell like onions anymore?
This is a mostly egg white omelet. SM has to watch his cholesterol so I only use a few egg yolks. The rest is egg whites. Turkey sausage, yellow and red bell peppers along with onions and mushrooms. Under the broiler with some cheese on top and "Oh, YUM."
Deb and I split the cost of the purchase of the onion sets but Deb wanted me to grow them since I had more room so after breakfast I went out to cut off the tops and roots and divide the spoils up.
I started snipping back the dried up leaves and saw that while some of them are dried up, others are still wet at the neck once I cut them. I finished trimming all the leaves off but left them on the screen. I'm going to let them dry another week or so before sending them on their way.
Mine will go into a paper bag to hang out in the house since it's so hot and humid out in the garage. (No basement.) I've also promised the ladies at work some so I don't expect these will stick around long enough to worry about rotting.
Deb says she plans on chopping and freezing hers up. She did this last year and it worked well for her.
I'm still hoping that the Copra's manage to beat the Bermuda grass strangle-hold they're in and provide me with my storage onions for the year. I pulled one up to check. Still small and the tops aren't bent over yet so I'll leave them in the ground a bit longer.
Weird that both the Torpea and the Copra have a 110 day till harvest label but I did grow the Tropea in a raised bed and the Copra's are in the ground. Maybe the cooler start slowed the Copra's down.
Regardless, it will work out fine. I'll have the screens free and clear for them when they're ready.
It had been 3 weeks since we'd pulled the Red Tropea "Torpedo" onions.
I went out to the shed every weekend since then expecting to see moldy or rotting onions with all the rain we've been having but they're actually curing up pretty well.
How do I know? Well, last year was my first year growing onions and since anyone can get lucky at least once, (ha) I goggled and found this nice tutorial that I used as a reminder. I didn't follow her instructions exactly but found the reminder about a wet neck useful.
Just to be extra double checky sure, I grabbed 4 onions and decided to cook SM a breakfast frittata since we're both having a super busy work week.
I like these onions better than the HUGE Red Candy onions I grew last year. These are more "meal sized" meaning I don't have half an onion sitting in the fridge waiting to be used another day.
I could tell that the outer "wrapper" was nicely dried.
Typical onion smell so I slid on a pair of glasses and carefully chopped and fried them up. I've found that glasses help keep the tears away and did you know that while washing your hands afterwards, if you take your soapy hands and rub them on your stainless steel sink (or pan) your hands don't smell like onions anymore?
This is a mostly egg white omelet. SM has to watch his cholesterol so I only use a few egg yolks. The rest is egg whites. Turkey sausage, yellow and red bell peppers along with onions and mushrooms. Under the broiler with some cheese on top and "Oh, YUM."
Deb and I split the cost of the purchase of the onion sets but Deb wanted me to grow them since I had more room so after breakfast I went out to cut off the tops and roots and divide the spoils up.
I started snipping back the dried up leaves and saw that while some of them are dried up, others are still wet at the neck once I cut them. I finished trimming all the leaves off but left them on the screen. I'm going to let them dry another week or so before sending them on their way.
Mine will go into a paper bag to hang out in the house since it's so hot and humid out in the garage. (No basement.) I've also promised the ladies at work some so I don't expect these will stick around long enough to worry about rotting.
Deb says she plans on chopping and freezing hers up. She did this last year and it worked well for her.
I'm still hoping that the Copra's manage to beat the Bermuda grass strangle-hold they're in and provide me with my storage onions for the year. I pulled one up to check. Still small and the tops aren't bent over yet so I'll leave them in the ground a bit longer.
Weird that both the Torpea and the Copra have a 110 day till harvest label but I did grow the Tropea in a raised bed and the Copra's are in the ground. Maybe the cooler start slowed the Copra's down.
Regardless, it will work out fine. I'll have the screens free and clear for them when they're ready.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Tami 1 - Mother Nature 1
We've all heard of the "Five Stages of Grief.
I think I've made it through the shock, denial and anger phases.
About what, you might ask?
The garden, that's what. You might have wondered why I haven't been posting about my beautiful tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and green beans.
It's because there isn't any. Or very little at any rate.
I ventured out a week or so ago for a look-see, turned around and haven't been back since. SM is the only one who ventures out into the abyss risking life and limb for the few tomatoes he can salvage.
(He must still be in the bargaining stage.)
Me? I jumped from anger straight into acceptance.
I don't bother going out to the garden anymore except to pick flowers. The zinnias are the only joy coming out of my garden right now.
I am by nature a neat and orderly person. What I see when I look around the garden gives me hives.
Mother Nature is taking back what I, in my human arrogance, sought to wrestle away from her.
Mamma N knows how to slap a girl right upside the head alright. She's left me with chaos. With weeds and grass so high you'd need a machete to hack through it all.
And consider all the spiders, ticks and mosquitos that populate such a pasture. (shudder...)
I feel allergic to my garden, it's such a mess. I'm scratching just thinking about it.
Who knew I was such a wimp?
In my defense though, I think that with all the rain we've had, you'd have to be home 24-7 pulling weeds everyday just to stay ahead of it.
Then again my beans, squash and cuc's knew when to throw in the towel. They're all yellowed up and succumbed long ago to the chewing hoards of bugs.
So we're batting about even this year. I had a great Spring garden and the Summer garden is a wash out.
Literally.
Tami 1
Mother Nature 1
So I've got a month or so to cool my heels before I can begin to consider the Fall garden.
Or not.
We'll see what happens.
I think I've made it through the shock, denial and anger phases.
About what, you might ask?
The garden, that's what. You might have wondered why I haven't been posting about my beautiful tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and green beans.
It's because there isn't any. Or very little at any rate.
I ventured out a week or so ago for a look-see, turned around and haven't been back since. SM is the only one who ventures out into the abyss risking life and limb for the few tomatoes he can salvage.
(He must still be in the bargaining stage.)
Me? I jumped from anger straight into acceptance.
I don't bother going out to the garden anymore except to pick flowers. The zinnias are the only joy coming out of my garden right now.
I am by nature a neat and orderly person. What I see when I look around the garden gives me hives.
Mother Nature is taking back what I, in my human arrogance, sought to wrestle away from her.
Mamma N knows how to slap a girl right upside the head alright. She's left me with chaos. With weeds and grass so high you'd need a machete to hack through it all.
And consider all the spiders, ticks and mosquitos that populate such a pasture. (shudder...)
I feel allergic to my garden, it's such a mess. I'm scratching just thinking about it.
Who knew I was such a wimp?
In my defense though, I think that with all the rain we've had, you'd have to be home 24-7 pulling weeds everyday just to stay ahead of it.
Then again my beans, squash and cuc's knew when to throw in the towel. They're all yellowed up and succumbed long ago to the chewing hoards of bugs.
So we're batting about even this year. I had a great Spring garden and the Summer garden is a wash out.
Literally.
Tami 1
Mother Nature 1
So I've got a month or so to cool my heels before I can begin to consider the Fall garden.
Or not.
We'll see what happens.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
The Spice Of Life
When we were in Ohio my SIL Connie and I were discussing their traditional "cookie day".
This is when her daughters come over to the house for an all day bake fest and distribution of the Christmas cookies they had made. When I told Connie that I didn't have that "bake and swap" relationship with any of the women I know down South, she invited me to come back up to bake with them.
"I just might have to do that." I told her. "SM can hang out with Ron, watch football and do all the taste testing."
Which then had Connie rummaging through her recipes for Ron's favorite diabetic cookie. One of the spices in it was ground gloves. I mentioned that I'd never used ground gloves before and that had Connie whipping out a box of spices that her brother had given to her as a gift.
"Smell this." She said, opening the jar of ground cloves. Wow.
I noticed the label on the jar. Penzeys Spices.
Hm. Never heard of em. But Connie is a convert and swears by the quality.
We then sat there sniffing spices like drug addicts and flipping through the catalogs that they send to her now that she's a customer. She told me to take one with me when we left along with a small sample container of the ground clove.
When we left to drive up to Cleveland for the wedding, we had a few hours to burn so I suggested we head over to the West Side Market which turned out to be nirvana for a certain middle aged polish boy I happen to know.
SM has been jones-ing for some good kielbasa (sausage) and kolaczki (cookie) ever since we moved.
Boy, were his eyes BIG as we wandered around the busy market. We bought some cookies but I didn't want to deal with storing fresh meat on the road so we collected business cards instead with the plan to have the stuffed shipped down to us closer to the holidays.
We also noticed that there was a Penzeys store across the street so we headed over.
They had samples of all the spices they sold out so you could sniff before you bought them. Man did that store smell good. This time SM and I indulged and bought some excellent Vietnamese cinnamon, pure vanilla extract, smokey seasoned salt and some chicken soup base. SM also had to have a tin of their hot cocoa mix.
Since my stove is on the fritz, I haven't had the chance to bake with any of my new spices yet. I did make SM some oatmeal using the cinnamon and vanilla and he says the flavor is yummy. We grilled some chicken and chops and used the smokey salt on it. Nice change.
SM is the foodie in the family but even I'm looking forward to the holidays where I'll be baking up goodies and feasting on some authentic polish sausage.
This is when her daughters come over to the house for an all day bake fest and distribution of the Christmas cookies they had made. When I told Connie that I didn't have that "bake and swap" relationship with any of the women I know down South, she invited me to come back up to bake with them.
"I just might have to do that." I told her. "SM can hang out with Ron, watch football and do all the taste testing."
Which then had Connie rummaging through her recipes for Ron's favorite diabetic cookie. One of the spices in it was ground gloves. I mentioned that I'd never used ground gloves before and that had Connie whipping out a box of spices that her brother had given to her as a gift.
"Smell this." She said, opening the jar of ground cloves. Wow.
I noticed the label on the jar. Penzeys Spices.
Hm. Never heard of em. But Connie is a convert and swears by the quality.
We then sat there sniffing spices like drug addicts and flipping through the catalogs that they send to her now that she's a customer. She told me to take one with me when we left along with a small sample container of the ground clove.
When we left to drive up to Cleveland for the wedding, we had a few hours to burn so I suggested we head over to the West Side Market which turned out to be nirvana for a certain middle aged polish boy I happen to know.
SM has been jones-ing for some good kielbasa (sausage) and kolaczki (cookie) ever since we moved.
Boy, were his eyes BIG as we wandered around the busy market. We bought some cookies but I didn't want to deal with storing fresh meat on the road so we collected business cards instead with the plan to have the stuffed shipped down to us closer to the holidays.
We also noticed that there was a Penzeys store across the street so we headed over.
They had samples of all the spices they sold out so you could sniff before you bought them. Man did that store smell good. This time SM and I indulged and bought some excellent Vietnamese cinnamon, pure vanilla extract, smokey seasoned salt and some chicken soup base. SM also had to have a tin of their hot cocoa mix.
Since my stove is on the fritz, I haven't had the chance to bake with any of my new spices yet. I did make SM some oatmeal using the cinnamon and vanilla and he says the flavor is yummy. We grilled some chicken and chops and used the smokey salt on it. Nice change.
SM is the foodie in the family but even I'm looking forward to the holidays where I'll be baking up goodies and feasting on some authentic polish sausage.
Monday, July 15, 2013
The $7 Solution...I Hope
With all this wet weather we've noticed (and I'm sure you have too) that the ants have come to call.
We have teeny, tiny, ittie bittie ants here. When we were up in Ohio, I noticed they were the big black ones. Picnic ants we called them.
Anyway, we've always noticed the ants would come around during really dry or really wet weather. They hang out for a few days and then mysteriously disappear.
I don't mind the little ones in the house but out in the yard I keep my eyes peeled for fire ants. Those get a quick dose of poison and are outta here before you know it. But the tiny little ants we have are more of a nuisance than any real issue. Fleas are bigger than these ants.
This year though, with the heavy rains, I'm afraid that the ants are building nests in places where I don't want them. Behind drywall and even up in the attic.
Neighbor H was out on his back porch as I finished up mowing one day. I noticed a lady walking around with an Orkin shirt on and a spray can and nozzle spraying the foundation.
"Termites?" I asked.
"Ants." H replied.
Thus ensued a long conversation about ant infestations and the fact my neighbors on either side of me are spraying for them.
"You're sure to keep getting them if you're not spraying." The Orkin Lady pointed out to me.
Rightly concerned with the thought of being the tempting Oreo cookie in the middle of my two neighbors I asked the stupid question. "How much."
H answered. "$70 a visit."
"But you'll need to sign up for a years worth of spraying." The Orkin Lady chimed in. "If you'll sign up today, H will get $30 off his next spray and I'll give you $30 off your first spray."
"Well, I'll think about it." I replied dismissing the whole idea. (Do they think I'm made of money? Crap! That's $800 bucks! For ants! Every freakin year!)
So I came into the house and relayed the conversation I'd just had to SM who just shrugged. "They're just ants. There's always ants around."
Not to be brushed off that easily, I googled about ants and saw tons of companies offering to spray for them and one message board that told a gal to just buy ant traps.
I guess with ant traps you let the ants come to you, they eat the bait and then take it back home to the nest where supposedly they die and kill the rest of their buddies along with them.
So the next time I went to Walmart I looked for bait traps. There was a lady standing there picking one up and there were only a few left. Seems like the rest of the world is having an ant invasion too. I went ahead and bought the double strength kind for $7.
So I placed them around the kitchen as that is their favorite area right now. We had a little trail going up a wall so I taped one in their path. They promptly walked right around it.
"Should I spray these?" SM asked observing the ant congo line.
"No. If you kill them now they won't eat the bait and take it back to the nest."
After a while we noticed some of the ants going for the bait. The next day, no ants. Success! At least I hope so.
Over the past week that the bait traps have been up I've seen a few sluggish ants here or there but for the most part they're gone. Again.
Could it really be this easy?
And if it is that easy than why do folks shell out the big bucks to Orkin?
Do any of you have tales to tell about controlling ants at your place?
We have teeny, tiny, ittie bittie ants here. When we were up in Ohio, I noticed they were the big black ones. Picnic ants we called them.
Anyway, we've always noticed the ants would come around during really dry or really wet weather. They hang out for a few days and then mysteriously disappear.
I don't mind the little ones in the house but out in the yard I keep my eyes peeled for fire ants. Those get a quick dose of poison and are outta here before you know it. But the tiny little ants we have are more of a nuisance than any real issue. Fleas are bigger than these ants.
This year though, with the heavy rains, I'm afraid that the ants are building nests in places where I don't want them. Behind drywall and even up in the attic.
Neighbor H was out on his back porch as I finished up mowing one day. I noticed a lady walking around with an Orkin shirt on and a spray can and nozzle spraying the foundation.
"Termites?" I asked.
"Ants." H replied.
Thus ensued a long conversation about ant infestations and the fact my neighbors on either side of me are spraying for them.
"You're sure to keep getting them if you're not spraying." The Orkin Lady pointed out to me.
Rightly concerned with the thought of being the tempting Oreo cookie in the middle of my two neighbors I asked the stupid question. "How much."
H answered. "$70 a visit."
"But you'll need to sign up for a years worth of spraying." The Orkin Lady chimed in. "If you'll sign up today, H will get $30 off his next spray and I'll give you $30 off your first spray."
"Well, I'll think about it." I replied dismissing the whole idea. (Do they think I'm made of money? Crap! That's $800 bucks! For ants! Every freakin year!)
So I came into the house and relayed the conversation I'd just had to SM who just shrugged. "They're just ants. There's always ants around."
Not to be brushed off that easily, I googled about ants and saw tons of companies offering to spray for them and one message board that told a gal to just buy ant traps.
I guess with ant traps you let the ants come to you, they eat the bait and then take it back home to the nest where supposedly they die and kill the rest of their buddies along with them.
So the next time I went to Walmart I looked for bait traps. There was a lady standing there picking one up and there were only a few left. Seems like the rest of the world is having an ant invasion too. I went ahead and bought the double strength kind for $7.
So I placed them around the kitchen as that is their favorite area right now. We had a little trail going up a wall so I taped one in their path. They promptly walked right around it.
"Should I spray these?" SM asked observing the ant congo line.
"No. If you kill them now they won't eat the bait and take it back to the nest."
After a while we noticed some of the ants going for the bait. The next day, no ants. Success! At least I hope so.
Over the past week that the bait traps have been up I've seen a few sluggish ants here or there but for the most part they're gone. Again.
Could it really be this easy?
And if it is that easy than why do folks shell out the big bucks to Orkin?
Do any of you have tales to tell about controlling ants at your place?
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Crush-ing
Back in the day when I was a sweet young thing I had a crush on Rutgar Hauer.
I think it was the whole LadyHawk thing with him and Michelle Pfeiffer. What a hottie he was back then!
Then again, weren't we all?
So I'm watching a Trueblood episode the other night. Good old Rutgar has signed on to play Sookie's grandpa and is looking a bit eccentric.
SM walks into the room and starts laughing. "Is that Rutgar Hauer?" He asks.
"Yeah." I reply somewhat defensively. (Don't you laugh at my teenage crush.)
"His hair looks like yours!" SM crows.
"HEY. That's not fair." I pause for a moment.
"Well..." Conceding his point. Mine does have a tendency to get super bushy in this humid weather we've been having.
"At least mine's not white!" I say throwing ole Rutgar under the bus.
What is that line from Steel Magnolias?
I always thought that one of the best things about being in a relationship with someone over a VERY long time is that they always remembered the "Young You."
I know SM has gotten older but I still see the young guy I married and I sure hope SM still sees me as the young hottie he married.
Even if I am starting to look like Rutgar on a bad day.
@;)
I think it was the whole LadyHawk thing with him and Michelle Pfeiffer. What a hottie he was back then!
Then again, weren't we all?
So I'm watching a Trueblood episode the other night. Good old Rutgar has signed on to play Sookie's grandpa and is looking a bit eccentric.
SM walks into the room and starts laughing. "Is that Rutgar Hauer?" He asks.
"Yeah." I reply somewhat defensively. (Don't you laugh at my teenage crush.)
"His hair looks like yours!" SM crows.
"HEY. That's not fair." I pause for a moment.
"Well..." Conceding his point. Mine does have a tendency to get super bushy in this humid weather we've been having.
"At least mine's not white!" I say throwing ole Rutgar under the bus.
What is that line from Steel Magnolias?
"Honey, time marches on and eventually you realize it is marchin' across your face."(laughing)
I always thought that one of the best things about being in a relationship with someone over a VERY long time is that they always remembered the "Young You."
I know SM has gotten older but I still see the young guy I married and I sure hope SM still sees me as the young hottie he married.
Even if I am starting to look like Rutgar on a bad day.
@;)
Saturday, July 13, 2013
The End Is Near
Or so they say.
I looked at our week ahead weather forecast and they're actually offering us a chance to dry out starting Monday.
Seriously?
I'm not sure I can believe it.
And I'm not sure the summer garden can recover. The cuc's, squash and beans have all bellied up. The tomatoes are starting to ripen but we're throwing away as many as we're saving to BER. Can't be helped. Just too much rain.
The only thing that seems to be doing well is my arch nemesis, the sweet peppers. Year after year I've tried to find the proper growing conditions to get a harvest and who knew that it would take 40 days of gray skies and 20 inches of rain to do it?
You heard me right. We're going on 6 weeks of rain. Just over 18 inches and that's not counting anything more we get this weekend.
Astonishing.
All in all I'm quite grateful to live in a country so diverse that if one part of the country is hit with drought or floods that wreck a harvest, there is usually another area that can pick up the slack.
So the summer garden may or may not be a bust. I'm hoping to head out there today to evaluate the situation a bit more closely.
I do know that my crop of Bermuda grass and mosquito's has never been better. Hence I'll be attired in high boots, long pants and a can of OFF. (If there's no post tomorrow it's because the skeeters all glommed onto me and sucked me dry. Death by mosquito...Oh Joy!)
Times like this, I wonder why I even bother to garden. Gardening is seriously hard work, not for the faint of heart. We're like gamblers spinning the roulette wheel, round and round we go pulling weeds, battling bugs, sweating and breaking our backs. Sometimes we win. Most times we loose.
I must be addicted to the challenge of the thing. The thrill of a harvest. What were the words from that show? The Wide World of Sports? Remember that?
Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport... the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat... the human drama of athletic competition...
I suppose gardening could be considered an athletic competition. It sure is one of the most challenging (and rewarding) things I've done in my life.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Easily Amused
Have I ever mentioned to you that SM and I are little weird.
As in strange.
As in we live our life in our own amusing little world. We plod along together as the days go by and find the most interesting things to laugh at. Silly stuff. Stuff that would never strike most people as funny.
And if you're around observing us while we're bring silly, you'd likely take a step back, turn around and walk the other way.
We find the humor in our lives is kind of like a Far Side cartoon. Gary Larsen is right up our alley. This is one of our favorites.
I can just see SM and I in the cockpit laughing our butts off.
So the drive up to (and back from) Ohio is less than stimulating. The radio only spins so far on the dial until you feel the need to settle on a channel that seems somewhat appealing. From FM music channels to AM talk radio, we hit it all.
At one point we were bouncing along to a rap song with lots of (assumed) profanity (that was bleeped) and a "shake dat ass" refrain.
What can I say? It had a really catchy beat for two people who were rather "punchy" after 10 hours on the road. Unfortunately, if you were passing us and could hear what we were listening to you'd likely shake your head at us "old farts" listening to that kind of music. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.
We are also prone to extreme silliness.
We were listening to NPR when the journalist reporting the story began using rather BIG words. Like mel·lif·lu·ous and vo·lu·mi·nous and neb·u·lous.
Who uses words like that in conversation?
It was so out of place in her report that we found it extremely funny. Sort of like she was trying too hard to show others that she was a smart cookie and could interject words that would impress them.
So like students reciting a word after a school teacher says it, SM and I would repeat those BIG words right after she used them. Then we laughed about it and continued to use them all day long. Even days after that SM or I would toss one of those words into a conversation, either with ourselves or with others. We sure got the looks not only for using the BIG word in the first place but for laughing like loons after using it.
Our own private joke, if you will.
"Do my pants make my ass look vo·lu·mi·nous ?" I asked SM as I dressed for the wedding turning slightly in the mirror to check out my booty.
"No. Your ass makes your ass look vo·lu·mi·nous ." Says SM. We laughed like loons.
Last year we were heading to Trader Joe's to do some shopping when the radio guy said that today is "Talk Like A Pirate Day" which I immediately latched onto and started "Arrr-ing" and talking like a pirate. Which is actually harder than you might think. So we walked around shopping with me talking like a pirate and SM laughing as I did so.
I even greeted the cashier with an "Ahoy there Matey" but I dropped my lingo after getting that indulgent "I'm working with two nut jobs" look.
Oh well, Silly me...I guess you had to be there.
As in strange.
As in we live our life in our own amusing little world. We plod along together as the days go by and find the most interesting things to laugh at. Silly stuff. Stuff that would never strike most people as funny.
And if you're around observing us while we're bring silly, you'd likely take a step back, turn around and walk the other way.
We find the humor in our lives is kind of like a Far Side cartoon. Gary Larsen is right up our alley. This is one of our favorites.
I can just see SM and I in the cockpit laughing our butts off.
So the drive up to (and back from) Ohio is less than stimulating. The radio only spins so far on the dial until you feel the need to settle on a channel that seems somewhat appealing. From FM music channels to AM talk radio, we hit it all.
At one point we were bouncing along to a rap song with lots of (assumed) profanity (that was bleeped) and a "shake dat ass" refrain.
What can I say? It had a really catchy beat for two people who were rather "punchy" after 10 hours on the road. Unfortunately, if you were passing us and could hear what we were listening to you'd likely shake your head at us "old farts" listening to that kind of music. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.
We are also prone to extreme silliness.
We were listening to NPR when the journalist reporting the story began using rather BIG words. Like mel·lif·lu·ous and vo·lu·mi·nous and neb·u·lous.
Who uses words like that in conversation?
It was so out of place in her report that we found it extremely funny. Sort of like she was trying too hard to show others that she was a smart cookie and could interject words that would impress them.
So like students reciting a word after a school teacher says it, SM and I would repeat those BIG words right after she used them. Then we laughed about it and continued to use them all day long. Even days after that SM or I would toss one of those words into a conversation, either with ourselves or with others. We sure got the looks not only for using the BIG word in the first place but for laughing like loons after using it.
Our own private joke, if you will.
"Do my pants make my ass look vo·lu·mi·nous ?" I asked SM as I dressed for the wedding turning slightly in the mirror to check out my booty.
"No. Your ass makes your ass look vo·lu·mi·nous ." Says SM. We laughed like loons.
Last year we were heading to Trader Joe's to do some shopping when the radio guy said that today is "Talk Like A Pirate Day" which I immediately latched onto and started "Arrr-ing" and talking like a pirate. Which is actually harder than you might think. So we walked around shopping with me talking like a pirate and SM laughing as I did so.
I even greeted the cashier with an "Ahoy there Matey" but I dropped my lingo after getting that indulgent "I'm working with two nut jobs" look.
Oh well, Silly me...I guess you had to be there.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Dorothy Had It Right...
There's no place like home.
We got back from our Ohio trip last night around midnight. SM is still sacked out from the long drive. I got up at 5:30 (some habits are hard to break) and took the pups out for a well deserved walk. With all the eating (and drinking) this past week, I'm kinda scared to step on the scale.
I'd love to say the wedding went off without a hitch (of course there was) but we had a great time and it was fabulous to see our old friends. SM and I were having a "milestone moment" with whole event. Remembering Jackie as a little girl and now she's creating a new family of her own. Seeing her face when she recognized us and blurted out "You've changed so much!".
(laughing...) Back atcha girl!
Before we left yesterday, J & S took us to see "The Lake House". J's parents passed a few years ago and he and his brother inherited the home that they grew up in. We spent an enjoyable morning traveling down memory lane with J as he showed us around the house which was built in the 1920's. It's a lakefront property on Lake Erie and the house was in such disrepair. They are slowly gutting it and renovating it for the next generation of family get togethers.
The kicker to this tiny little home is the unobstructed view of Lake Erie. SM and I just stood there feeling the soft summer breeze and marveled at the thought of living a lakeside life. We teased J to make sure that our future "guestroom" had a view of the lake.
I'm so happy for him. You can see the contentment in his face even though it's a huge project to take on.
He's home.
As I sit here in my nook typing, I look out and see an overgrown yard that needs mowing and a garden that is just waiting for me to come out and discover her mysteries.
The sky is overcast and everything is wet. Soaked in fact.
The air is heavy.
I see a huge mushroom growing in the middle of the yard.
I have puppies passed out at my feet and a husband safely snoozing in bed.
The ceiling fan is spinning slowly overhead.
The washing machine is chugging in the background and I'm making a mental list of "to-do's" that need doing before I go back to work tomorrow.
Yes...I'm smiling. It may not be lakefront, but it doesn't need to be.
I'm home.
And there's no place like it.
We got back from our Ohio trip last night around midnight. SM is still sacked out from the long drive. I got up at 5:30 (some habits are hard to break) and took the pups out for a well deserved walk. With all the eating (and drinking) this past week, I'm kinda scared to step on the scale.
I'd love to say the wedding went off without a hitch (of course there was) but we had a great time and it was fabulous to see our old friends. SM and I were having a "milestone moment" with whole event. Remembering Jackie as a little girl and now she's creating a new family of her own. Seeing her face when she recognized us and blurted out "You've changed so much!".
(laughing...) Back atcha girl!
Before we left yesterday, J & S took us to see "The Lake House". J's parents passed a few years ago and he and his brother inherited the home that they grew up in. We spent an enjoyable morning traveling down memory lane with J as he showed us around the house which was built in the 1920's. It's a lakefront property on Lake Erie and the house was in such disrepair. They are slowly gutting it and renovating it for the next generation of family get togethers.
The kicker to this tiny little home is the unobstructed view of Lake Erie. SM and I just stood there feeling the soft summer breeze and marveled at the thought of living a lakeside life. We teased J to make sure that our future "guestroom" had a view of the lake.
I'm so happy for him. You can see the contentment in his face even though it's a huge project to take on.
He's home.
As I sit here in my nook typing, I look out and see an overgrown yard that needs mowing and a garden that is just waiting for me to come out and discover her mysteries.
The sky is overcast and everything is wet. Soaked in fact.
The air is heavy.
I see a huge mushroom growing in the middle of the yard.
I have puppies passed out at my feet and a husband safely snoozing in bed.
The ceiling fan is spinning slowly overhead.
The washing machine is chugging in the background and I'm making a mental list of "to-do's" that need doing before I go back to work tomorrow.
Yes...I'm smiling. It may not be lakefront, but it doesn't need to be.
I'm home.
And there's no place like it.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Entertain Me!
We've had some wild and wicked thunderstorms here lately but strangely we've never lost power.
Not even during the 2 hours of fireworks that produced a 6" flash flood that took out our local bridge for most of the night.
But this past weekend, close to 8pm, we were having a light sprinkle when the lights flickered, snapped off, came back on again and then finally crapped out.
SM and I just looked at each other from our respective recliners.
"Well..." SM said. "What do we do now?"
We sat there for a few more minutes in silence waiting for the miracle of electricity to come back on.
Nothing.
So I stood up and said..."Well, we can always talk to each other, you know." As I wandered into the kitchen.
"I think this is going to take a few hours to fix." SM said as he joined me in the kitchen.
We're enough out in the country that it does take a few hours to pop us back to power whenever it goes out.
I rummaged in the kitchens junk drawer and pulled out some playing cards that I had stashed. These cards had a beach scene on them and said Bermuda on them.
"Look at that." SM said amazed when I handed them to him. "Do you know how long it's been since that Bermuda trip? What? 1989?" He asked as he shuffled the cards.
For some reason guys always steer towards poker which I find boring in the extreme. So we're playing a few hands of Five Card when I feel a flash coming on and yank my T-shirt off.
"Is this strip poker?" SM asks eyebrows up.
"No. This is me having a hot flash during a power outage." I replied, standing up and going to the sink to toss some water on me.
"How about some ice water to drink?" SM suggested. Good idea.
So we played a few more hands and I got him to change to Rummy which is WAY more fun.
As we're playing it's getting darker out so I lit some candles and we gabbed about the old days when board and card games were the bread and butter of social get togethers. Dancing too. And drinking of course.
Eventually the power came back on and SM and I migrated back to our respective chairs only to fall asleep watching some mindless program on the TV.
But ever since then the playing cards have sat on the kitchen table for a quick round of Rummy when we have the chance and I even dusted off the Scrabble board and we've played a few games of that too.
It's kinda nice taking an hour here and there to play a game or two.
Takes me back to late nights, laughing at stories, drinking a glass, all around a table full of family and friends.
They way it used to be.
Not even during the 2 hours of fireworks that produced a 6" flash flood that took out our local bridge for most of the night.
But this past weekend, close to 8pm, we were having a light sprinkle when the lights flickered, snapped off, came back on again and then finally crapped out.
SM and I just looked at each other from our respective recliners.
"Well..." SM said. "What do we do now?"
We sat there for a few more minutes in silence waiting for the miracle of electricity to come back on.
Nothing.
So I stood up and said..."Well, we can always talk to each other, you know." As I wandered into the kitchen.
"I think this is going to take a few hours to fix." SM said as he joined me in the kitchen.
We're enough out in the country that it does take a few hours to pop us back to power whenever it goes out.
I rummaged in the kitchens junk drawer and pulled out some playing cards that I had stashed. These cards had a beach scene on them and said Bermuda on them.
"Look at that." SM said amazed when I handed them to him. "Do you know how long it's been since that Bermuda trip? What? 1989?" He asked as he shuffled the cards.
For some reason guys always steer towards poker which I find boring in the extreme. So we're playing a few hands of Five Card when I feel a flash coming on and yank my T-shirt off.
"Is this strip poker?" SM asks eyebrows up.
"No. This is me having a hot flash during a power outage." I replied, standing up and going to the sink to toss some water on me.
"How about some ice water to drink?" SM suggested. Good idea.
So we played a few more hands and I got him to change to Rummy which is WAY more fun.
As we're playing it's getting darker out so I lit some candles and we gabbed about the old days when board and card games were the bread and butter of social get togethers. Dancing too. And drinking of course.
Eventually the power came back on and SM and I migrated back to our respective chairs only to fall asleep watching some mindless program on the TV.
But ever since then the playing cards have sat on the kitchen table for a quick round of Rummy when we have the chance and I even dusted off the Scrabble board and we've played a few games of that too.
It's kinda nice taking an hour here and there to play a game or two.
Takes me back to late nights, laughing at stories, drinking a glass, all around a table full of family and friends.
They way it used to be.
Friday, July 5, 2013
The Stinky Shed
We've had a very rainy season so far and this weeks weather forecast shows a repeating cycle of rain, fog, sun, heat, rain, fog, sun, heat...Well, you get the picture.
One of the funny things about living here is the cloudy, foggy mornings. (San Francisco's got nothing on us.)
I'm up early enough that most mornings I can see the dawn breaking with pretty colors and blue skies. But by the time some sleepy heads around here get up (ahem)...The clouds have taken over and the ground fog creeps in. (No wonder I can't style my hair in the Summer. Frizzy, frizzy, frizzy...)
SM usually says the same thing every day as he stands out on the back porch, coffee in hand. "I wonder how long it'll stay overcast?"
To which I reply, "Oh it'll burn off around lunchtime." And it does. And then the sun heats everything up enough that the pop up thunderstorms start to roll in around 5pm.
Rinse, repeat. Hey, at least I haven't needed to water the garden much this year.
So I'm eyeballing the situation in the garden the other morning. My hair is doing the watoosie and I'm scratching 2 new bug bites on my butt that I didn't have when I walked out there.
I tell ya them bugs are something else!
I march in the house and say "You got a minute? I'd like to pull the sweet onions and four hands are easier than two to get the job done."
SM perks up. "Where are you going to put them?" He asks reasonably.
"Well, I'd like to hang them on the fence line to dry like I did last year but it's way too humid and wet for that." I paused, scratching my newly acquired bites. "How about we stick them in the shed?"
"On what?" SM asks.
"There's that plastic shelving unit that I use and I suppose we could always stick some in the garage." I watch as SM heads out to investigate the situation in the shed.
I doodle a bit in the kitchen and then head out to the garden and start pulling the red sweet onions (Red Torpedo Tropea).
The storage onions (Copra) are no where near to harvesting yet.
Then I see that SM is heading back across the yard and he says to me "I laid that old screen door we have on a couple of horses. That'll give us plenty of room to let these dry. Give them some good air circulation."
I swear I stood there with my mouth hanging open.
"You are the smartest man alive!" I cried with a big old grin. "I never would have thought of that! It's perfect!"
In minutes SM and I had them pulled up and hoiked them to the shed where he stood on one side and I stood on the other and we laid them all out.
"It sure is pungent in here." SM pointed out.
"Yep. Better here than in the garage."
So now we've got a drying shed full of onions.
Hopefully they'll dry up OK.
One of the funny things about living here is the cloudy, foggy mornings. (San Francisco's got nothing on us.)
I'm up early enough that most mornings I can see the dawn breaking with pretty colors and blue skies. But by the time some sleepy heads around here get up (ahem)...The clouds have taken over and the ground fog creeps in. (No wonder I can't style my hair in the Summer. Frizzy, frizzy, frizzy...)
SM usually says the same thing every day as he stands out on the back porch, coffee in hand. "I wonder how long it'll stay overcast?"
To which I reply, "Oh it'll burn off around lunchtime." And it does. And then the sun heats everything up enough that the pop up thunderstorms start to roll in around 5pm.
Rinse, repeat. Hey, at least I haven't needed to water the garden much this year.
So I'm eyeballing the situation in the garden the other morning. My hair is doing the watoosie and I'm scratching 2 new bug bites on my butt that I didn't have when I walked out there.
I tell ya them bugs are something else!
I march in the house and say "You got a minute? I'd like to pull the sweet onions and four hands are easier than two to get the job done."
SM perks up. "Where are you going to put them?" He asks reasonably.
"Well, I'd like to hang them on the fence line to dry like I did last year but it's way too humid and wet for that." I paused, scratching my newly acquired bites. "How about we stick them in the shed?"
"On what?" SM asks.
"There's that plastic shelving unit that I use and I suppose we could always stick some in the garage." I watch as SM heads out to investigate the situation in the shed.
I doodle a bit in the kitchen and then head out to the garden and start pulling the red sweet onions (Red Torpedo Tropea).
The storage onions (Copra) are no where near to harvesting yet.
Then I see that SM is heading back across the yard and he says to me "I laid that old screen door we have on a couple of horses. That'll give us plenty of room to let these dry. Give them some good air circulation."
I swear I stood there with my mouth hanging open.
"You are the smartest man alive!" I cried with a big old grin. "I never would have thought of that! It's perfect!"
In minutes SM and I had them pulled up and hoiked them to the shed where he stood on one side and I stood on the other and we laid them all out.
"It sure is pungent in here." SM pointed out.
"Yep. Better here than in the garage."
So now we've got a drying shed full of onions.
Hopefully they'll dry up OK.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Wherever You Are...Happy 4th
We drove out of the gray murkiness of North Carolina yesterday morning up to Ohio for the holiday weekend.
We saw blue skies briefly, and then the clouds and showers enveloped us once again.
You can run, but it seems that if you're anywhere on the east coast, you just can't hide from this subtropical ooze.
The rain is gonna get ya.
Case in point...We headed over to Buckeye Lake, along with a few thousand other folks, to watch the fireworks last night.
After hitting a brew pub where the guys drank craft beers and the girls sipped on an early wine, we all shuffled to the lake front and squeezed in to watch the splendor lakeside.
I must say that watching fireworks while having a slight wine buzz has a certain appeal to me now @;)
Menacing dark clouds were hovering over the boat filled lake, which was quite lovely all on it's own with their safety lights bobbing along the horizion.
The boys were placing bets on a shower or a deluge. They got both. Plastic ponchos were rapidly dispensed as the showers started. SM and I sat on the ground, huddled under one as the cold rain hit my backside. I snuggled in closer. It was quite romantic for about 30 seconds when the BOOM went off.
Are you kidding me?
Actually the rain that was hitting us had just cleared the other side of the lake where the fireworks were set up. Fortunately, the downpour was short lived and we all emerged from our plastic cocoons to find most of the crowd had run off somewhere and we now had a clear view of some really amazing fireworks.
I mean one of the BEST shows I've seen in awhile. Great Job Buckeye Lake!
Wherever you are today, wet or dry...Enjoy your Fourth.
We saw blue skies briefly, and then the clouds and showers enveloped us once again.
You can run, but it seems that if you're anywhere on the east coast, you just can't hide from this subtropical ooze.
The rain is gonna get ya.
Case in point...We headed over to Buckeye Lake, along with a few thousand other folks, to watch the fireworks last night.
After hitting a brew pub where the guys drank craft beers and the girls sipped on an early wine, we all shuffled to the lake front and squeezed in to watch the splendor lakeside.
I must say that watching fireworks while having a slight wine buzz has a certain appeal to me now @;)
Menacing dark clouds were hovering over the boat filled lake, which was quite lovely all on it's own with their safety lights bobbing along the horizion.
The boys were placing bets on a shower or a deluge. They got both. Plastic ponchos were rapidly dispensed as the showers started. SM and I sat on the ground, huddled under one as the cold rain hit my backside. I snuggled in closer. It was quite romantic for about 30 seconds when the BOOM went off.
Are you kidding me?
Actually the rain that was hitting us had just cleared the other side of the lake where the fireworks were set up. Fortunately, the downpour was short lived and we all emerged from our plastic cocoons to find most of the crowd had run off somewhere and we now had a clear view of some really amazing fireworks.
I mean one of the BEST shows I've seen in awhile. Great Job Buckeye Lake!
Wherever you are today, wet or dry...Enjoy your Fourth.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Wow...That's A Lot Of Rain
Welcome to July!
We've got a busy holiday week coming up and I'm sure you do too.
For me, summertime always seems to get rolling once the fireworks go off. It's weird to think that we're also at a halfway point for the entire year. I was mentioning to SM yesterday that this weird weather makes me wonder if we'll have a long extended summer and fall or if we'll just roll right into colder weather as we normally would.
SM is betting on a long season. Me? I think anything is on the table. Snow in October anyone?
I did go look to see how June wrapped up as far as how much precipitation we'd gotten.
Month
to Date
15.01 in.
Now THAT's a lot of rain. According to TWC our average is 4.35 inches. We got almost 3 1/2 times our normal amount.
Amazing.
Mother Nature is handling it pretty well. The only casualties in the garden so far are the snap beans. For whatever reason they are not liking this weather and have only given me a couple of meals out of them. They're done.
Well, maybe I can't blame the rain entirely. The Bermuda grass is growing like crazy and has pretty much choked out the beans. I suppose I am growing grass and weeds at an amazing rate.
I'm also surprised that I don't have mushrooms growing everywhere, it's so wet.
Is anyone having a normal weather year?
We've got a busy holiday week coming up and I'm sure you do too.
For me, summertime always seems to get rolling once the fireworks go off. It's weird to think that we're also at a halfway point for the entire year. I was mentioning to SM yesterday that this weird weather makes me wonder if we'll have a long extended summer and fall or if we'll just roll right into colder weather as we normally would.
SM is betting on a long season. Me? I think anything is on the table. Snow in October anyone?
I did go look to see how June wrapped up as far as how much precipitation we'd gotten.
Month
to Date
15.01 in.
Now THAT's a lot of rain. According to TWC our average is 4.35 inches. We got almost 3 1/2 times our normal amount.
Amazing.
Mother Nature is handling it pretty well. The only casualties in the garden so far are the snap beans. For whatever reason they are not liking this weather and have only given me a couple of meals out of them. They're done.
Well, maybe I can't blame the rain entirely. The Bermuda grass is growing like crazy and has pretty much choked out the beans. I suppose I am growing grass and weeds at an amazing rate.
I'm also surprised that I don't have mushrooms growing everywhere, it's so wet.
Is anyone having a normal weather year?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)