Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Weddings

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
- Albert Einstein

A little boy was in a relative's wedding. As he was coming down the aisle, he would take two steps, stop, and turn to the crowd. While facing the crowd, he would put his hands up like claws and roar. So it went, step, step, ROAR, step, step, ROAR, all the way down the aisle. As you can imagine, the crowd was near tears from laughing so hard by the time he reached the pulpit. When asked what he was doing, the child sniffed and said, "I was being the Ring Bear."

***
This will probably be my last blog for a week or so. Out of state relatives are coming in tomorrow.

We're having an after rehearsal cookout Friday.

The wedding is Saturday.

Sunday my sister, daughter, son in law and myself are off to Virginia for a few days.
See you in a week.






I've used this quote before but I like it.
'Friendships are a little like backyard gardens. We plan to tend to them but always put it off.'
Boston Legal





Saturday, June 20, 2009

Daylilies, Fathers Day

I went to visit a daylily farm this week. Wow what a rush. Walking through the flowers both takes your breath away and fills you with serenity. As you probably guessed from the cat in the picture below, these are my daylilies. I wish I'd taken my camera when I went to the farm. Whippoorwill's Call has over three hundred varieties and I very much would have enjoyed sharing them with you. I'm currently writing a book on flowers and Joyce and Jimmy Rumple, the owners of Whippoorwill's, were kind enough to spend a lot of time explaining the ins and outs of daylilly farming to me.

If that wasn't enough, I was given a piece of Joyce's homemade peach cobbler. Yum.

I will share a little tidbit (no not the cobbler) that they shared with me. Do you know, you can break off a daylily and set it on your table without putting it in water and it will stay fresh and crisp all day?
Alas, these beautiful flowers are short lived and whether they are on a stalk or sitting on your desk, at evening the flowers close up not to bloom again. Lucky for us, each day lily produces more than one flower and gives us several weeks of enjoyment during the summer, especially if you purchase early, midseason and late bloomers.
If I'm not online tomorrow, I want to wish all you dads out there a restful, funfilled Father's Day, surrounded by your family. Enjoy.







Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Proofreading



Headlines you’ve gotta love

Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over

Miners Refuse to Work after Death

If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile

Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures

Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide

New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group

Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors

Typhoon rips through cemetery; hundreds dead

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half

Kids Make Nutritious Snacks

Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft

Red Tape Holds up New Bridges

Just a Reminder......

STROKE OF GENIUS CONTEST

Want to see your name on the acknowledgment page of Emily Bryan's next book? Here's your chance! Emily is giving her readers an opportunity to name an important secondary character in her upcoming STROKE OF GENIUS. The winner will receive signed copies of Emily Bryan's entire backlist (including A CHRISTMAS BALL anthology, due out Sept 29th). PLUS you'll be mentioned on the acknowledgment page of STROKE OF GENIUS. The contest begins June 1st and entries close July 1st. For more information, visit http://www.emilybryan.com or www.emilybryan.com


Also you may want to take a moment and go to http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/. Its free and it will help feed and shelter an animal in need.

Have a great day, friends.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Places to retire

Who say's it gets lonely at the top?








Cute aren't they? Two bottle babies from a local rescue.


Where to Live After Retirement:

You can live in Phoenix, Arizona where.....

1. You are willing to park 3 blocks away because you found shade.

2.. You've experienced condensation on your butt from the hot water in the toilet bowl.
3. You can drive for 4 hours in one direction and never leave town.
4. You have over 100 recipes for Mexican food.
5. You know that "dry heat" is comparable to what hits you in the face when you open your oven door.
6. The 4 seasons are: tolerable, hot, really hot, and ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!
You can Live in California where...
1. You make over $250,000 and you still can't afford to buy a house.
2. The fastest part of your commute is going down your driveway.
3. You know how to eat an artichoke.
4. You drive your rented Mercedes to your neighborhood block party.
5. When someone asks you how far something is, you tell them how long it will take to get there rather than how many miles away it is.
6. The 4 seasons are: Fire, Flood, Mud, and Drought.
You can Live in New York City where...
1. You say "the city" and expect everyone to know you mean Manhattan .
2. You can get into a four-hour argument about how to get from Columbus Circle to Battery Park, but can't find Wisconsin on a map.
3. You think Central Park is "nature."
4. You believe that being able to swear at people in their own language makes you multi-lingual.
5. You've worn out a car horn... that is, if you even have a car.
6. You think eye contact is an act of aggression.
You can Live in Maine where...
1. You only have four spices: salt, pepper, ketchup, and Tabasco.
2. Halloween costumes fit over parkas.
3. You have more than one recipe for moose.
4. Sexy lingerie is anything flannel with less than eight buttons.
5. The four seasons are: winter, still winter, almost winter, and construction.
You can Live in the Deep South where...
1. You can rent a movie and buy bait in the same store.
2. "Y'all" is singular and "all y'all" is plural.
3.. "He needed killin'" is a valid defense.

4. Everyone has 2 first names: Billy Bob, Jimmy Bob, Mary Sue, Betty Jean, Mary Beth, etc.

5. Everything is either "in yonder," "over yonder" or "out yonder." It's important to know the difference, too.

You can live in Colorado where...
1. You carry your $3,000 mountain bike atop your $500 car.
2. You tell your husband to pick up Granola on his way home and so he stops at the day care center.
3. A pass does not involve a football or dating.
4. The top of your head is bald, but you still have a pony tail.

You can live in the Midwest where...
1. You've never met any celebrities, but the mayor knows your name.
2. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor.
3. You have had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" on the same day.
4. You end sentences with a preposition: "Where's my coat at?"
5. When asked how your trip was to any exotic place, you say, "It was different!"

AND You can live in Florida where..
1. You eat dinner at 3:15 in the afternoon.
2. All purchases include a coupon of some kind -- even houses and cars.
3. Everyone can recommend an excellent dermatologist.
4. Road construction never ends anywhere in the state.
5. Cars in front of you often appear to be driven by headless people.
As you can see, I started this Tuesday and am just now posting. Yes, I'm a little behind. sigh.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Ryne Sandberg, Operation Rescue




Any Cub fans out there? Remember Ryne Sandberg? He was my son's hero when my son was growing up. Ryno is now managing the Tennessee Smokies. 'The boy' went to the game the other night and got to meet Ryan and get his autograph.
Ryne Sandberg was one of the best second basemen of all time.
He was drafted by the Phillies in 1978 and traded to the Cubs in 1982
In 1984, he led the Cubs to a divisional title and was named MVP.
He retired in 1994, then came out of retirement in 1996-1997.
Sandberg was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.


Speculation is that Sandberg is being groomed for the position of Cubs major league manager when the current manager retires.

Operation Rescue

We live in a disposable society. Sadly, most of us are only too aware of 'people' that decide they no longer want an animal and leave it out without food and water to die a slow and excruciating death so they don't have to deal with killing it or keeping it. My son's fiancee, came across just such a situation. An eight week old puppy had been placed in a box in the driveway without food or water and left to die. She called the local animal rescues and had no success. At this point her options were take it to the shelter for a quick humane end or leave it to die slowly.


She opted for the shelter where she found out they were out of room and it would be put down immediately. She begged for more time and they gave her till four o'clock.

She made some phone calls including to me. I started making calls but felt it was hopeless. This is puppy and kitten season and the rescues are inundated. Someone I called, made more calls and a miracle happened. A group agreed to take him. My son went to the shelter and got him and then took him to the vet.
Now its just a matter of making arrangements to hook up with the rescue group that agreed to take him. One puppy saved.