Friday, May 28, 2010

Memorial Day Weekend Thoughts

 

Memorial Day

 

Memorial Day

 

Memorial Day

 

Memorial Day

 

Memorial Day

 

Memorial Day

 

Memorial Day

 

Memorial Day

 

Memorial Day

 

Memorial Day

 

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion. 

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble. 

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial. 

It is the  VETERAN, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote.

Remember.

 image01022

Thursday, May 27, 2010

This ‘n That Thursday

  • I think I’m finally over my bout of food poisoning.  Ugh.  Although one can never be sure exactly what may have caused one’s food poisoning, I suspect it was either the ice cream or the maraschino cherries I had Monday night before going to bed.  After throwing up for over 24 hours straight, I am finally able to eat normally again – yay!

  • A while ago I had bought a bottle of cherry Pepto Bismol because my old stuff was out of date and this stuff was on sale.  I never minded the taste of regular Pepto Bismol, so I thought I’d give the cherry stuff a shot.  It is awful.  And it doesn’t help with food poisoning.  It tastes even worse the second time around   

  • A big thank you to Stephanie for the very funny distraction!  It was nice to have something to concentrate on for a bit besides my couch and my bathroom 

  • I am so far behind on my blogs, TV, housework – everything!  It isn’t even funny.  I won’t even begin to get caught up until this weekend 

  • When I went to feed The Ladies, I got a shaky picture of the baby robins – they are getting big!

Getting Bigger!

  • And speaking of baby birds, I checked in on the UB Peregrine falcon cam for a minute and just happened to catch it when Mama (or maybe Dad?) was feeding what looked like a pigeon to the kids.  Fortunately, or not so – depending on how you look at it - the parent bird had it’s back to the camera blocking the view of the dead animal.  All you could see were the…. ummm…  parts that were being fed to the babies.  The dead animal’s feet made me think it was a pigeon…

  • And while I haven’t really been following much news or anything this week, but I do want to comment on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  I think that BP is handling the situation as best as any company can.  I think that they are being very open about the whole situation.  They've said that they are going to pay for all the damage and all the reparations for the area and I think that they are doing the best they can to resolve the problem.  And why wouldn’t they?  It makes the most sense business-wise.    From the little bit of news I have listened to, all I hear is Obama saying how unacceptable a job BP is doing.  I’m am just glad that the government isn’t sticking their nose in there, because they would definitely screw up things more and make things way worse than they already are.  FWIW, I think that BP will make good on their promise of cleanup and damages once the oil well is plugged up.  I guess time will tell…

 

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Sick

VOMIT

Ugh.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

And Then There Were Three…

As we all know, I am not at all musically inclined…  I’ve always said that I couldn’t carry a tune if it had a handle.  The only two places I felt safe singing was in the shower or in the car with the windows rolled up and the radio blasting.  Until I got my mp3 player    Now I have one more place I can sing safely – while cutting my lawn sing1

So I gathered my mp3 player and headed out to get my lawnmower today and as I looked up to see how Mrs. Robin’s nest was doing, what did I see?  Three!

Three Baby Robins!

Fortunately Mama Robin must have been out foraging, so I didn’t upset her when I ran inside to get my camera and came back to take a few pictures.

I thought it was kind of interesting that the starting up of my lawn mower didn’t faze the babies at all – they just stayed there looking to be fed  laughing

I haven’t seen anything in the other nest – but I’m suspecting it’s a sparrow’s nest.  It’s really jammed up in a corner, so I don’t know if I will ever see if anyone is in there.  I have seen a sparrow flying back and forth tho’…  I’ll have to see if I can spy on that nest a little bit better  detective

 

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Video Day

Today is video day (mostly)!

 

  • I discovered that the UB Peregrine Falcon webcam also has a streaming video webcam… it’s waaaay better than the 6-second photos that they had before!  I’ve updated the link in my sidebar 

 The babies are getting big!

 

  • Did you know how slow you run?  I wish I could try this, I’d love to see how I rate – this is good!
 
 
 
 
  • Power Dolls brought to a whole new level…  laughing
 
 
 
 
  • … And on a non-video note – one of the Mrs. Robins’ has at least one baby    Being that the nests are so close to where I’m in and out all the time, I really try not to pay attention to them so that the Mama Birds are feeling a bit more secure – but today I saw this guy peeking out of one of the nests…

Baby Robin

I haven’t looked inside either nest, so I have no idea how many eggs/babies there were/are, but it was good seeing this guy today!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Sesame Street

Saturday I joined the family in taking my niece and nephew to Sesame Street Presents: The Body at the Buffalo Museum of Science

I was bracing myself for anticipating a lot of loud, out-of-control kids running around all over the place, but I was pleasantly surprised at what a good experience it was.  When we got our tickets we had to pick a time, so I think that they were limiting the number of people in the room at a time.  We could stay as long as we wanted, but the room, while busy, wasn’t crazy and I think we all had a good time.

My niece and nephew were definitely the cutest kids there…

I sure wish I could walk!           Who's *that* guy?    

The exhibit was set up really well, with a lot of the favorites… Guy Smiley, the Count and among the other stuff was the famous steps at 123 Sesame Street, Mr. Hooper’s store and a kind of squishy obstacle course thing that was a favorite with the kids. They also had a huge nose that sneezed on you when you stood under it and pulled a lever.   My sister was the only one brave enough to try that one  rolleyes 

... with the sugar tax, that comes to...         I love my cauliflower and carrots!

It was supervised pretty well with museum people helping the kids all over and constantly wiping everything down with (what I imagine was) sanitizer.   One of the things I think they were missing was people dressed up as the characters walking around.  It would have been really neat for the kids to meet Big Bird or Oscar the Grouch…

At any rate, I survived it a lot better than I thought I would have 

 

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Happiness Is….

Compost

Here’s $19.40 of the most happiness any garden could ever want 

I finally got to the Amherst Compost Facility this weekend…  the prices went up a bit, but they are still the best deal around.  Not to mention the fact that the compost is gorgeous.  Right now I have about half the trailer emptied – I’m hoping to get the rest of it emptied by Friday so that Saturday I can go pick up a load of mulch.   The rutabagas and beets that I had started early are now in the ground and they look like they took the transplant well.  The peas are coming up nicely too, but it looks like only about half of the lettuce and cabbage I directly planted are coming up.  This weekend I will reseed the spots that didn’t come up and I still have to get watermelon and pumpkins started…

It looks like my fence is working – my plants are all still there  dance2

And my hoop house?   It’s the greatest thing since sliced bread!  I’m sooo glad I decided to make one this year.   Now that I see exactly what it can do, next year I will be able to use it to it’s full potential…

Hoop House

They say that there isn’t any more danger of frost after the last full moon in May, so after the 27th I should be able to take it down and put it away until next year…. but maybe I’ll pull it out in the fall and see if I can extend my growing season a bit.  We’ll see!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Another Crazy Story

OK – this is going to be one of those “Are  you serious????” weeks – I can tell already!

Are they kidding me with this story????

…Wildlife biologists say an initiative to preserve New England Cottontail rabbits will branch out into New York, Rhode Island, and Maine.

 

rabbit

 

There are so many of these guys around, it’s not even funny!  I had to buy fencing to keep them out of my garden.  I know my Mom can’t even have a vegetable garden or grow certain plants because the rabbits eat them.  I also have a couple other friends that totally gave up on any kind of garden (veggie and flower) because of all the Evil-Garden-Eating-Rabbits they have.  Egads!

Maybe if they were just trying to preserve the Non-Evil, Non-Garden-Eating variety of cottontail rabbits, I wouldn’t mind, but as it is, I think the rabbits are doing just fine on their own rolleyes

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Politics

Even tho’ I have some pretty definite political views, I try to stay away from that subject here.  Today I’m going to make an exception. 

I was reading some of the briefing that Obama Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton gave before the president’s visit to Buffalo.  I can’t even express in words what I was feeling when I read this:

     Q    Some of your fellow Buffalonians are a little disappointed at the brevity of this visit.  Why so brief a visit?

     MR. BURTON:  I share their disappointment.  If it were up to me, we’d stay here for a week and I’d be able to take the President all over town and see all the great places to eat, maybe even go to Niagara Falls.  But as I said before, the President has a lot on his plate.  He’s coming here to have what he hopes is a very robust discussion about the economy.  And we’re spending every second that we can in this great American city.

Are you kidding me?  He would have the president here for a week and show him all the great places to eat?  And maybe see Niagara Falls??????  Helloooooo – McFly!

Buffalo suffers from one of the country's highest poverty rates with nearly 30% of its population living at or below the poverty line. The unemployment rate in Buffalo currently stands at 8.6. 

And you would take the president out to eat??? 

What about taking him to the dozens and dozens of small businesses that are failing or barely able to keep their heads above water?  What about talking with them and finding out why they are having such a hard time?  Do we think high taxes might have a part to play in that?

How about having him visit people who are unemployed and can’t find a job and letting him see how hard/impossible it is for someone who has worked hard their entire lives to get some one-time help while it seems like people who have never worked ever have no problem getting whatever they want forever?

What about visiting a ‘Joe the Plumber’ or two from the Buffalo area and take a look at his income.  And his tax bill.  And take a good look at what a person is left with in their pocket at the end of every year.

And what about asking these people (while he’s there anyway) what they think of his health care bill and what they think about the $2 trillion (that’s trillion with a ‘T’) he’s added to National Debt and now to our tax bill?

I’ve always said that Western New York is a really nice place to live.  The only things that screw everything up are the politicians and the taxes.  We need less government, not more.  We need less taxes, not more.  It seems like Obama is doing everything he can to make our problems worse.  We are having enough problems with our state and local politicians – we don’t need any extra help thankyouverymuch.  Taking him sightseeing and out to eat????  How is that going to impress on the president (or any politician) the problems that need solving?

 furious36   gah   xxpissed 

Tune in tomorrow for our regularly scheduled program 

Friday, May 14, 2010

Quirkyalone

I never got to the grocery store yesterday and I refuse to go grocery shopping on Fridays or Saturdays. That stems from my working-retail days and knowing how crazy busy it is then – I refuse to be a part of that madness. So subsequently when I opened my refrigerator after work today, this is what I saw:

'Fridge

Eggs. Peanut butter. Shredded cheddar cheese. Maple syrup. Maraschino cherries. Beer.

I don’t drink beer (practically the whole bottom shelf is for company). I didn’t feel like eggs or peanut butter and jelly (the jelly is in the door). So cereal and ice cream for dinner it was rolleyes I’ll definitely have to get the store on Sunday.

So I discovered a new word that describes me - Quirkyalone.

I've never felt obligated to date just for the sake of dating. When I dated anyone, it was because I thought that there was potential for a lasting relationship. Being single isn’t horrible to me at all… The way I see it is, if I find the right ‘someone’ that’s terrific! But until I do/if I don’t – being single is OK too. I’m the only one in ‘my circle’ that seems to think that way, so I thought I was really weird. Finding out that there are tons of other people out there that think the same way is pretty cool

From the website:

Quirkyalones are people who enjoy being single (but are not opposed to being in a relationship) and prefer being single to dating for the sake of being in a relationship. It’s a mindset.

Quirkyalone is not anti-love. It is pro-love. It is not anti-dating. It is anti-compulsory dating. We tend to be romantics. We prefer to be single rather than settle. In fact, the core of quirkyalone is the inability to settle. We spend a signficant chunk of our lives single because we hold relationships to a high standard.

Yay to revelations!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

This ‘n That Thursday

Man.  The past bunch of days have seemed to be perpetual non-stop sea of motion for me.  A communion party, a couple of appointments, Mother’s Day and committee meetings plus the work from the committee meetings - the days have been flying by like a blink of an eye!  I am so far behind in my TV and blogs it isn’t even funny.  And I really need to go grocery shopping… and get to sleep a bit earlier.

 

  • I mentioned earlier that I had volunteered to be on a town committee.  Progress is being made and the project will hopefully come to fruition shortly.  I don’t want to jinx anything (I’m superstitious like that!), so I won’t give any details until I know everything is in place.  I’m learning a lot about politics and stuff that goes on behind the scenes, which isn’t always what you think it would be, but the project is kind of exciting 

 

  • I broke down and entered the 21rst century and got myself an mp3 player.  I got it for £22.50 (about $34.00 USD) off of EBay.  That was the first time I’ve bought something off of EBay using foreign currency – it was weird because of the whole ‘Am-I-really-sure-about-what-I’m-spending?’ thing, but it was all good.  The unit is kind of neat – along with playing music, it can take pictures and movies and can let me read Ebooks. The movie thing is neat.  The quality isn’t the best, but good enough for me – and now I can now upload movies to YouTube.  Like this one of The Ladies (Banana, Cocoa and Pumpkin) enjoying a nice dust bath (they don’t seem to care too much about kicking dirt in each other’s faces!):

 

 
 
  • I have a shed-thing out back that I use for storage.  Last year I had a robin’s nest in it – this year I have two!  They are built pretty much right over where I keep The Ladies’ feed, so every time I go out there, the robin missus’ get all upset.  I’ve learned that if I announce that I am coming instead of just walking in, the stress of the birds seem to be a lot less.  So if you happen to be near my house and see me walking through my yard saying in a not-too-quiet voice “Cheep!  Cheep-cheep!”, that’s just me letting Mrs. and Mrs. Robin know I’m around  rolleyes  I really wish I could get the outdoor webcam I bought working – I would love to have one of these nests online.  The webcam itself works fine, I just can’t get it to broadcast over the internet.  I don’t know why – I had the other one figured out when I had my Baby Chick Cam working  hmm

 

Nest #1         Nest #2

 

  • My sister called me today all excited: the light bulb may have clicked on for my nephew - he used the potty all by himself for the the first time  dance2 Here’s hoping that he got it!!  laughing