The Weeks Are Flying By

It seems like time is just flying by lately. Birthdays, birthday dinners, family and friends and, and, and.

I'll post again soon, I promise. With pictures even maybe (oOoOoOoOoOo ahhhhhhhhh).

Until then...

Patience...

Some Fireworks Fun!

I'm sure that I'm late to the party on this stuff....but this guy (who does the CoinStar commercials too), does some fun work!



Happy Fourth of July!

Have You Ever Had A Day

when you honestly got up really early - on a Saturday -and went to do something for a friend for all the right reasons (no self-advancement or remuneration or accolade)? Purely because someone needed help, and wasn't going to get much of that from others - so you dragged your very very very tired butt out of bed and went to work for the enrichment of someone else.

And despite best intentions, nothing went well at all.

Makes me think a bit about things.

Lots of things, different things...and just things in general.

I'm not particularly accustomed to being sworn AT, or cussed at, or whatever you call it. Certainly not in a very very long time. And never when there wasn't a lot of heated argument or something...Frankly, I can't recall the last time someone cussed AT me.

Until now.

I was cussed at several times today, and for no reason other than asking a question. The first time I was pretty shocked, and a bit embarrassed as this happened in an open driveway in front of folks. The second time, I tried to figure out why the hell I was there in the first place, and still there in the second place.

People in the area actually asked me who that person was? The one being rude and cussing at me...I explained that she was stressed, but they didn't think that was enough to excuse the behavior.

Neither did I.

So, the third time it happened, I went and found a quiet place to be, texting with peoples that actually wanted to talk civilly to me. It was nice there in the shade up against the fence (which was kinda where I was intellectually too). Passersby stopped to chat and ask questions...the sunshine warmed the grass...a much better place to be.

And then Goofy, that angel in turquoise, came and released me. She said that no one needs to stay and be abused - most especially when they are helping...so I should just leave and she'd see me later.

She's awesome like that.

So I left and went to get a high chair for my bubby. Put it together too...it ROCKS! or doesn't rock...lol.

Sigh...turned out well despite the start.

Kharma, I'm telling you...nice to have some good stuff in that bank. And, better yet, I'm done helping mean people. Not gonna do it anymore, regardless of how bad they need help. Someone else can get in line for that abuse.

Just sayin'

Sometimes, The Very Best You Can Do

is say nothing at all.

The Thing About That

So...there's a ton of coverage of the sudden death of Michael Jackson today.

Nearly every network chat show (Today, Good Morning America...anything broadcast live(ish)), has "special coverage".

The thing about all of that is this:

Michael Jackson was a troubled soul. So abused and neglected as a boy, so exploited, and so very very much a money making machine that everyone that could have helped - that should have - turned a blind eye and looked the other way.

I didn't know Michael Jackson, and I'm guessing that for the most part, people reading this didn't know him either.

Oh, I knew the public persona. The nice looking young man that morphed into something scary as he went deeper and deeper into whatever world his mind created for him. An outward manifestation of the monsters he was fighting, in my opinion. He was a bona fide musical prodigy that was able to bring amazing tunes to the world. He always came across to me as a fragile man-child that didn't quite "get it". But, again, just my impression. He was a man with more people hanging on to him for whatever they could leech from him than one with true friends that looked out for him. Was he a child molester? I don't know. I suspect he was more molested child than molester, but I wasn't there. He certainly paid the price as if he were - both in real terms of money and in other, more ethereal terms of isolation and ridicule and disgust.

My current disgust is directed at the media and all of the people that now praise him as an icon and the perfect person that he never was. While the man was alive, these same people threw figurative stones at him, enjoying his pain and reveling in the fact that the once "high and mighty" was now down and out in many ways.

Michael Jackson was a flawed man. Musical genius? Probaby. Abused by "friends and family"? Likely. Odd beyond understanding? Definitely. Tortured soul? Yeah, I really think so.

And now that he's died so suddenly and unexpectedly, he's "the king of pop" and "the most incredible musician of his generation".

Where were these people when he needed someone to step in and say the hard things? To get him the help that he seemed to desperately cry out for? Or at least so desperately needed...

Leeches...it's all we are when we allow this kind of hypocritical bs to happen without comment. We are no better than the ones shoveling it if we don't say "enough!". I'm not watching the "special tributes" or the legions of semi-stars lining up to get their share of his sad spotlight in death.

No, what I'm doing is remembering the people that I've lost. Some of those were suddenly and unexpectedly taken away. Some were more expected, but it's never expected enough to mitigate the pain of their loss.

And in remembering those people, I try to remember how precious and fleeting life is for us all. How it's fragile and amazing and confusing and sad and joyous. And I reaffirm my intention to live a better, more purposeful, more graceful and peaceful life. No matter how many years I have, I don't want to waste any more of those minutes than I can help, by being angry or trying to control things beyond my control. It's not an easy task, but I'm working on it. :)

So, today I am thinking about people I've lost. And I'm remembering how that felt and still feels.

And today, regardless of whether I knew them or not, I'm sending wishes of peace to those that have lost someone that they've loved. Everyone should be lucky enough to leave someone behind that misses them. And those are the people that I relate to and feel sad for.

That's the thing about that...

Just sayin'

The Putting Together of Toys

As Bubby's first birthday quickly approaches, there are things that need to be put together so he can play with them right away.

Kids, when given a new toy, do not want to wait around while you figure out how to put it together. And that's not even the hard part with some of these things these days...have you tried to get a toy out of the package it's embedded in lately?

If you have little Barbie collectors in your circle, you know what I'm talking about. Geez, you would think that they are putting those dolls in the package with the thought of it's withstanding a nuclear bomb. Forget about the 800 twist ties binding that doll to the cardboard prison...they literally SEW her hair onto the package as well. It takes nearly half an hour to get that puppy outta the packaging.

And then there are those sealed plastic clamshell things. What the heck is the point of that? I don't really know anyone that hasn't gotten some kind of cut trying to get through those. I'm sure there's a class action suit looming somewhere about that...haven't any of those packaging designers heard of "zip strips" along the back of the plastic? Come on, cardboard boxes (like what you get sandwich bags in, for instance) have have them for years...get a clue and save someone a sliced tendon, won't you?

But, I'm digressing.

As you can see from the picture, the Fire Car wasn't in a clamshell, and it wasn't twist-tied to cardboard...it was just in a lot of pieces. I wasn't particularly daunted by it though. Throughout the years, I've put together my share of stuff, and this was just one more.



It took one hour and forty-five minutes to assemble this little car. My main sticking point was the driver's side roof post - that puppy needed to not only snap into the frame, it had to also encompass and provide support for the door hinge-pin. I think that took the most time of all - other than that, the assembly went rather smoothly I think.

And it's cute as hell :) I'm sure Mr. Bubby will be well pleased with his new wheels. I know I am. I'm most pleased that it makes noise...bwahahaha.

Now, if I can only find that fire hat that has a siren on it, life will be even better!

Just sayin'

Aha!

The other day I was quietly minding my own business (trying to take a nap, actually), when I heard a strange noise...

I looked up, and what do you think I spotted? In broad daylight even?

A MOLE! (I think it was a mole, it could also have been a "pocket gopher" but for now, I'm going with mole) :)

It brazenly came up from a nearly invisible hole, walked across a little way to another hole I hadn't seen before either, and then...

disappeared.

Hrmmmmm

Nothing running around under the lawn, eh?

BAH!

Time to gather up the safari gear and big ammo...

Just sayin'

Contemplating the Relative Usefulness

...of night vision goggles.

I was out mowing the lawn today - well, what passes for a lawn here, considering the fact that I've decided not to water the moss anymore - and as I was bumping and bouncing over the newly engineered "critter" tunnels, I began to wonder what the heck I could do to encourage them to engineer elsewhere.

There is some controversy over the critters. Several landscapers have told me they don't exist, when clearly, they do. Haven't seen them myself, but I do see their handiwork. They seem to tunnel around every so often (particularly after I've stomped and rolled over (and over and over) their tunnels with the tractor - hmmmmm, coincidence? )

Anyway...

I got to thinking...I haven't actually seen whatever the heck it is that is tunneling around the yard...maybe it's nocturnal. That led me right into the night vision goggles idea. (it's how my mind works - lol).

I'm wondering if I sit still in the dark with night vision goggles on, if I might see the engineers at work? And if so, perhaps I can "encourage" them to do their building in the woods. I also wonder if I can get some evidence of their existence (other than the damn tunnels and intermittent holes that would seem to indicate to a rational mind that there is something down there doing that).

I wonder, too, what else night vision goggles might be useful for. Other than looking at things in the dark, can't really think of much. I might contemplate that for a while too...

Or, I might just forget about it all and get a bunch of fireworks at the reservation and "plant" them around the tunnels...bwahaha.

*shrugs*

So...that's what I was thinking about...scary, but true.

Just sayin'

There and Back

Hi Y'all

I've been wanting to do a short slideshow of a road trip for awhile. so...here it is...shot from my iphone while driving across the I-90 floating bridge (and back). I mean, someone else held the camera and took the pics while i drove. Seriously, I wouldn't drive and click ;)



I actually like this, but I'm interested in your thoughts too. Let me know what you think, eh? Be nice, but constructive criticism is never wrong. I didn't do much other than throw the pics into iPhoto and make a slideshow, so there isn't a huge investment either. I just thought it'd be fun!...god, i love Macs!

Just sayin'

Pioneering

While Mini-Me (MM) was visiting last week, we had a ton of things to do. We had school and homework, and riding around in the roadster, and soccer game & practice, and tie-dying and math, and yardwork...oh! and BBQ's!!!

We also had to figure out how to build a covered wagon (model) for MM's Pioneer studies in school. Apparently, 4th grade is when you study those things.

It was fun, because it was something we could do together.

So, we did some research on the internet, and drew some plans, and went to get supplies.

The result is shown above (in it's pre-colored state). MM and Goofy made the cover (which isn't attached yet in the photo - painting wasn't done), and also made burlap sacks with the staples those pioneers took with them.

There's a little left to do, but all in all, I think we did a fair job - considering we are NOT pioneers.

;)