I'm finally gardening ! (IN THE RAIN !!!!!)

OK, OK. enough is enough. I HAVE to garden. I can't wait around for a month in June and July NOT to garden !!

Oh, yeah, It's raining. Rained all day yesterday, too. The only 2 days it didn't rain, at least not all day, we weren't here! (not that I'm complaining about THAT !)

So here I am, gardening, in the rain, come heck or high water.

(Witness Protection Program blurry face...)

AND I am wearing a FLEECE top under that raincoat !

Supposed to be nice tomorrow ! (I'll believe it when I see it.) 

4th of July ....and...NO RAIN !!!!!

At least there was no rain where I was!! Which is good enough for me!

I hear there WAS rain back home, but what the heck. I didn't really care. (sorry...)

This is a view from my nephew's balcony. THIS is where we were the 4th of July, all day.

New York City ish...(Called New Jersey)

I've never seen anything so spectacular.

This was at sunset. The fireworks were in the Hudson River this year, to commemorate the 400th year since Henry Hudson stumbled upon the Hudson River.

The fire boat is shooting water, for effect, no doubt. When it started, one strand of water was bright red and another was bright blue. You know, for the Red, White and Blue stuff.

However, the red and the blue ran out after a while, so it was all white.

That is one of the Macy's fireworks barges, which situated itself around 6 PM. There were SIX of them. All conveniently located right in front of our vantage point. It was really nice of them to do that, doncha think?

It's starting to get dark...an important ingredient for fireworks. You can see 2 of the barges here.

Voila !!!  Fireworks!!! All computerized, so that all six barges shot out the same stuff, timed perfectly. 

Sidebar: When it was all over, and we all caught our collective breaths, and were thankful that the balcony didn't collapse under the weight of all of our bodies that were eating and drinking all day.....we noticed that one of the barges was on FIRE !!!! A really good sized FIRE!! With flames, and all.

Were any of the fireboats around? Heck, no.

Some little rinky dink boat pulled up and some guy took out one hose and doused the flames.... in due time.

It was a wonderful day. Thanks, my beautiful nephew !!

THEN, as if that wasn't enough, the next day we got taken on a schooner trip up and down the aforementioned Hudson River. (NOTE: no rain...)

It was in the low 80's and breezy enough to use the sails on the schooner, which I think is the main idea.

We went down river, past where the poor twin towers used to be, :-( , and down to the Statue of Liberty, around it, and back up river. We didn't fall off the ship, even when it was sailing completely on it's side. And most importantly, I didn't get sea sick, which I am prone to do even just walking around.

We had a wonderful weekend, stayed dry as a bone, and now are back home.

Thank you my dear sister and husband.

I hope you all had a great weekend, too.

Update: It's 9:35 AM on Tuesday and it's (gulp) raining.

@&%$*(@)^%^***!!!!!

As I said.....@&%$*(@)^%^***!!!!!

(somebody.....help us.)

Insomnia moments....

It's 4:29 AM. I can't sleep. As a matter of fact, I've been up since about 2:30 AM. Whenever either of us can't sleep, we turn on the tv in the bedroom and usually the droning on of Tru TV puts us back to slumberland.

But not tonight.

I watched 2 entire episodes of Tru TV (actuality, not reality is their motto). 

All night long they do crime scene stories....I hate to say this, but watching them solve people's murders is more comforting than having the TV tuned in to the News channels. The real news is way too depressing.

So there was this one guy in Florida that murdered his wife. It was his second marriage. His first wife mysteriously hung herself for no apparent reason.

They were married for 16 years, he and the second wife. She had all kinds of assets and he owed 68,000 bucks on his charge card. He looked to be in his late fifties or early sixties.

He was in real estate, but nobody he worked with knew he was married! (Red flag, ya think?)

They took a weekend trip from Jacksonville to Key West in January.

She disappeared from their Motel room the next day. He was so distraught! (NOT !)

(by the way, the news, that I am now watching in the family room, just reported that Michael Jackson is NOT the biological father of any of his kids  AND Debbie Rowe is NOT the biological mother of the first 2 kids, she was a surrogate, just carried someone elses fertilized egg to term.)

Anyway, back to the crime. Long story short, he shot her in their garage, wrapped her in trash bags and duct tape, buried her in a shallow grave (it's always a shallow grave, isn't it) in an abandoned golf course and then drove himself to Key West and reported her missing there.

He was found out by the pings on his cell phone (which placed him directly at the golf course because he actually ANSWERED HIS CELL PHONE WHILE DIGGING HER GRAVE), his GPS thingy tracked his exact route to Key West, Video cameras at a convenience store showed him alone, a video camera at a toll booth showed there was NO passenger in his car and all the food he ordered while there was only for one person! Then they traced the duct tape on her body to the duct tape in his garage. Researched his hard drive on his computer. He had all kinds of on line relationships. Even put his own photo on a dating service !! 

Guilty as charged.

Lesson: All these modern conveniences we have.....they are tracing your exacts movements, bowel or otherwise.

It's 4:54. Still wide-eyed and bushytailed. 

Hey, you think that guy had problems...How would you like the be the engineer that designed this building???

This is a 13 story building in Shanghai that tipped over, all by itself. (Brand new and unoccupied, thank goodness. It would surely ruin your day if you lived here.)


OK, let's see, what else.....I just had a cup of tea and saltines with dijon mustard on them. About 12 of them. Still talking about Michael God Rest his Soul Jackson on TV and, I know this is hard to believe, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S GOING TO RAIN OUT !! (see previous 3 posts....)

It is now light out.....

For CAM...a relative coming to visit the rain forest where we live....

Today, tomorrow, the next day and the next day.

Bring raingear.

And an ark.

We had a little fire in the woodstove yesterday.

Anything else you want to know?

My SunRainday picture...

GUESS what it's doing ALL DAY today ??&%$#@????

Hint:

sigh....

Update: Monday.....rained all day.

SUN !!!!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I've been out doing this...

Well, not really sunbathing, BUT I have been out and enjoying that bright yellow thing up in the sky. It's warm and bright, just the way I like it.

By the way, that is not a photo of me.

Rain, rain...go away...no, really....

GO AWAY !!!!

Ever hear that saying, it goes something like this...."April showers, bring May showers,which bring June showers..." Isn't that how it goes? If it isn't, it should be re-written.

Even my cats won't go out today in fear of coming back in and looking like this:

So, on this rainy and very windy, cool day, this is what I suggest one does.

Or perhaps this:

Some canines would probably pop open a cold one:

Although all that snacking and drinking might lead to this....

If you HAVE to go out into the rain, this is rather a clever thing to use. 

These are kinda cute, but I don't know how you keep the rain out of your FACE!!

and believe it or not, some folks don't know how to use a regular umbrella correctly.

Actually, THIS is the umbrella that I want to be using...ASAP !!

Thank you very much.

UPDATE: Tuesday....it rained.

Wednesday....it's raining.

LAST DAY.......

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL TOMORROW !!

Yes, it’s true. Teachers are JUST as excited by summer vacation starting as the kids are! Yes, it’s true....teachers are people, too ! 

I know kids don’t think so. I am always amazed at the look of wonder when I run into a student at the mall and they look at me, like thinking, ‘what are YOU doing here????”  Oh, that’s right.  I’m never supposed to leave my classroom.....I forgot !I Just sleep with the crayons at night.  Right next to Midnight Blue.

But tomorrow IS the last day. This past Wednesday at 11:30 was my last day with the sweet little cherubs...but tomorrow is it for ME.  As much as I LOVE teaching, and I DO, all I have to say about tomorrow is....

YIPPPEEEE !

My Sunday Picture....

HAPPY FLAG DAY !!

In the United States, June 14th is Flag Day. It celebrates the adoption of the United States flag by the Second Continental Congress in 1777.

It wasn't until 1916 that President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14 to be Flag Day.

The American flag has inspired many folks to use its image in multiple ways. Some are awe-inspiring and some are, well, stupid. 

But to each his own....

Here is a picture of the world's largest American flag. It is 505' x 255' in dimension. It takes 500 people to unfurl it.

Here is a picture of the world's smallest American flag. All 50 stars and all 13 stripes are there, and it is smaller than a human hair. The Guinness Book of World Records won't accept it because they don't have a method of actually seeing the flag, as you can clearly see.

We have the unbelievable image of our flag on the moon, or in the desert in Arizona as some skeptics choose to believe. 

Some die hards have displayed the flag on the top of Mt. Everest.

Artist Jasper Johns used the flag in his art work.

Some patriotic dog owners deck out their pooches in the red, white and blue.

Others pronounce their patriotism in more personal ways.

Here multiple countries embellish young faces.

And the red, white and blue colors embellish young boobs.

And finally, I don't even know what to say about this one.

God Bless America.

My Sunday Picture....

Look what the Have-a-heart trap yielded today !  We trapped the Mama yesterday and she was lugged to another location on this earth. Babies are looking for her, and they also will be transported courtesy of Mr. Downeastdoingstuff, in due time.

Be healthy...

We all try so dangnabbit hard to be healthy, but sometimes there is nothing you can do. My 'little' boy is still so very, very sick. That Mono stuff. Went to the doctors again today, and there is nothing, really nothing you can do. No magic bullet for this one unfortunately. He's been sick for 6 days so far. sigh.

But here is one way we do TRY and stay healthy. (Although, now that I think about it, my son wouldn't touch this with a ten foot pole.)

BROWN RICE WITH ROASTED VEGGIES AND BLACK BEANS

Cut up a bunch of veggies...any kind you would like. This time I used zucchini, yellow summer squash, red onion and asparagus. Then toss them in some Extra Virgin Olive Oil and some Mrs. Dash Table Blend (or salt and pepper, but I am cutting out salt...)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Put the veggies on a cookie sheet. Spread them out.

Put into the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes. Stir it up every once in a while. I like to have some of the veggies sort of crispy, so I leave it in longer. Eyeball it.

Meanwhile, make up a batch of brown rice and open up a low sodium can of black beans. Drain the beans.

When the veggies and the rice are done, toss them together. Add the black beans and sprinkle with a generous amount of Parmesan Cheese, to taste. Adding shredded chicken to this is very delish. You can buy a rotisserie chicken at the supermarket. 

I forgot to take a photo of it when it was all done. This is what was leftover....

Quite yummy.

My Sunday Picture....on Monday....

The first Rhododendron flower to open up......I'm loving this.

My poor 'baby' (22 year old) has severe Mono! I've never seen anyone so sick.

Hopefully the 254 new pills he got and the IV saline solutions that were administered will get him on the mend. I hear it's going to be a long haul. At least he's not puking anymore....

Hence, the late Sunday Picture.

It's so hard to watch your child be sick.......

The Birds.....

Birds are winged, bipedal, warm-blooded, vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species.

   9,999 of them live at my house.

   And why not? It’s home sweet home around here for our fair feathered friends, thanks to Mr. Downeastdoingstuff.

   Take a glimpse of the structures he provides for them...yes....all out in my yard. sigh. 

   (just scroll quickly to get a  sense of how many there are...)

And, yes, birds do actually nest in most of them

We have happy cats.

“Fish got to swim, birds got to fly, I got to love one man till i die. Can’t help lovin’ dat man of mine.”

Oscar Hammerstein II from ‘Showboat’.

(Wonder why he’s got a blog where he’s called Birdman?) 

PORTCITYDAILYPHOTO

NOW,  you have to watch this sweet, sweet animated Pixar short....

(If the video doesn't work, go here: Bird Clip )