just catching up

i've been reading some past blogs and have comments. we should join some kind of forum so we could get paid to do this. We could maybe afford stuff like toilet paper. what a rip off that is. you know there's a problem when several people are all in the same aisle waiting" behind you" to check out the the label on the brand your looking at to see how many sheets are on a roll and is it double or single. you know you what the most for your money. I think i remember that harmonica. dad got it for sharon, i think, because she talked so much. sharon stand up and defend yourself! andy 13 will have a whole new meaning for you. a new job, sounds refreshing. should we pray for you? i have no co workers to pis off but if i did i probably would. people are so easy to make mad. it would actually be nice to have co workers since i don't really have a job right now. maybe you could pray for me. jacob has beautiful eyes. I can't believe he is almost two. and yes i think he will get on funniest home videos! he is a little beethovan. hey heyheyheyheyheyheyhey these are all the fonts we can use to type with in this blog.color italics what do you like?

All the world is a stage...

I have found in my time upon this earth that we all fall into many circles of friends, those we watch movies with, those we party with, so on and so forth. We rarely ever take a step back and see what our life is like from an outside point of view. The next time you find your self asking "How did I ever become friends with these people?" Step back and look at the world you live in, the world you've created for yourself, you may be surprised at what you find. My own personal experience with this has shown me that I have two distinct groups of friends, the highly intellectual "nerds" those who I can have a deep philosophical conversation about the inner workings of life, the universe, and everything those who contemplate the world around them and understand what we're all about. The other group consists of the party animals, the ones who are always out having fun living life to the fullest and rarely taking a moment to stop and smell the flowers, luaghing, having a good time and generally enjoying the merriments that can be had from even the simplest things. I digress, without these two groups, the amalgamation such as they are, I find that I would be most unhappy they appease almost every aspect of my life save for the minor proprietary sanctums of my mind. So when you find yourself in a bind as to why you spend time with the people in your life, think about what part of your consciousness it satisfies you may be amazed to find a deeper level to yourself then you knew existed.

Dandy Andy

Andy, I just wanted to let you know your name is now Dandy. We were looking at Katie & Trent's pics this evening & I pointed to everyone & said names. Jacob repeated them pretty well, we got to you & he kept saying Dandy. Of course, after awhile Trent also became Dandy & also all of the cats. So, now you have a new nickname. LOL

Hello Carol!

Hi,

I am so glad you joined the blog Middle C. You always have something worthwhile or entertaining to say. You are not an old dawg. Far from it. You hit the nail right on the head. You are sweet Middle C.

The kitties sound cute. I love black and white cats. Who needs tv when you can watch your feline family.

Unfortuneately, I cannot afford a cat. I think a cat would go stir crazy in our apartment. I hope you can find some nice people to take the kittens. How is Halo holding up during this disruption?

I am excited that you are now part of Fiddler Kin. Love, Honor

fooled you all

it's me carol, big and little sister. I left a comment for honor under "regrets." does anybody need some kittens? a stray cat, pretty young i think, has taken up residents on our back porch. She has 6 little babies. they have just started to open their eyes. One is all black the others are black and white. one is calico. the mother is very sweet and is litter trained but prefers to be outside. they are all free! make my day there is enough to go around. have a great day and don't feel guilty about turning down this great little kittens. love you all from the one in the middle c

Jacob's Pics

What a handsome boy that Jacob is. He looks like he is getting tall too. I think that haircut is very cute, but he was pretty cute with his curls. He didn't look all that happy about getting a haircut, but then he seemed to get into it. Thanks for the pics.

Spring

It is spring, well at least according to the calendar it is, but Mother Nature and Ole Man Winter sometimes battle it out well beyond the calendars designated season dates, but I have been mowing the lawn and I think that rates up there as a sign of spring. I bounce along on the John Deere and think of Trent telling me "don't race track mow." Which is of course what I do. I remember when we lived in ES we had Jerry mow the lawn and weedeat every other week. John didn't want to do yard work. Then we looked at this property and one thing John said to me was "We can work out in the yard.", except that I am the one who does all the mowing(about 3 hours a week)and John has yet to weedeat. "We can work out in the yard." Yeah right. I did tell him if the blueberries don't either grow or produce blueberries they are getting mowed down this Fall. There is no room for blueberry slackers. John cut up the redbud tree that was sacrificed in the storm the other night. He cut a few branches though and brought them in and made an arrangement. The iris are as of yet not producing any flowers, but they are usually pretty slow, of course this year everything is slow. I remember this was the time of year that Dad sold all those flowers at the store. At night we would have to put them on the back of this semi-trailor(where did he get that?) and in the morning bring them out. In June he would bring home the flowers that didn't sell and he would make a flower bed in the backyard. I think it would be where the stock tank was the year before. Remember the stock tank Sharon. That was his version of a swimming pool, until one year he actually let us join the city pool. I remember one year I was so excited about planting the flowers that I stayed up all night so that he couldn't take off in the morning without getting the flowers planted. We sold a ton of flowers and vegetable plants. I also remember a couple of summer trips to Worlds of Fun. There were a few rides Dad really enjoyed. Well that is my walk down memory lane, but I can't believe you guys let a customer stick his head into a pickle jar and then wouldn't help him get it out. What kind of customer service do you call that?

Iris Season

It is iris season. The iris is my favorite flower. My favorite color is purple but the iris comes in many colors and shades. So far the color red has not been successfully developed in this genus. It has been attempted; beginning in the middle ages with the Medici family. But the iris has a much longer history than that.



The word iris is Greek. The Greek goddess Iris was a messenger from heaven to earth. In her time a purple iris was placed on the graves of women to assist them on their journey. The original meaning of iris was rainbow. Today deeper meanings are ascribed to it; Faith, Hope and Wisdom.



The iris is an emblem for the city of New Orleans. It is the national symbol of France. It appears on the Quebec flag and on the Brussels-Capital Region flag. The sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma uses the iris as it's symbol. It is the state flower of Tennessee.



Partsof the iris are used to make perfume. It's essential oil is used in aroma therapy as a sedative.



Vincent Van Gogh has painted many pictures of the iris. The stately beauty of the iris is what holds our attention. I wish I could capture the flower's beauty in a haiku,but I cannot write a worthy haiku for such a worthy flower. I like this one by Margarita Engle.



iris season
each plant has its own
shade of purple.

Mmmm, That Good

My family & I decided to have a nice meal at home this evening. Peter fixed grilled steak & baked potatoes. While I was finishing the last of my steak, Jacob reached over & stole a hunk of steak off my plate. He chewed on it & finally yanked a bite off. It was then he uttered these words.....mmmm, that good. It was one of his first complete(sort of) sentences. Needless to say, we were pretty excited. He then proceeded to repeat the same action & sentence. I just wanted to share our little moment with everyone. Haven't seen or heard anything out of any of you, hope you've had a great week.

Beer

I found a haiku site called Beer Haiku Daily. A guy named Captain Hops writes pretty good beer haiku.
It's hard not to spill
Navigating with crutches
In the crowded bar.

I want for nothing
On this finely crafted day
Another beer? Sure!

Here is my beer haiku.
Seated quickly. Good.
Red ale is my liquid bread.
Starry night? Who cares.

Democracy

I have been thinking about how little our vote counts in today's society. The candidates are usually from the two party system. An outsider does not stand a chance against the real power brokers in this country. The press decides which candidates receive attention. Those who receive the most attention receive the most money. The Democrats include super delegates as part of the process. The super delegate is responsible to no one. They can over ride the popular vote. The courts can over ride the popular vote. Where does the average voter fit in this process? I think he gets lost in the shuffle. How can we export democracy when we no longer practice it? Why should a candidate spend millions of campaign dollars when he doesn't really care what Americans think? The election all comes down to the same thing. The joy and pain the candidates feel after every primary versus the daily issues Americans face. I do not want to hear about the rift betwwen Obama and Rev. Wright anymore. I do not want to hear about Hillary's shame at being caught in a lie. I do not want to hear John McCain praise the war in Iraq. I do not want to watch and listen to how the media exploits those issues. I just want to know that my vote counts for something. I don't think it does anymore. There has to be more to being American than pin lapels, flag salutes and BBQ on July 4th. I think it is too late to make a correction in time for the November election. Maybe next time...

Regrets, I've Had a Few.....

Recently, I learned that after I left home my parents let my sisters have horse back riding lessons. My sisters were allowed to have music lessons before I left home. I only looked on while they had ALL the fun. Clearly, Dad hoped to form an accordian band just like the ones in the old country. That plan fell through. Dad's girls liked horses and hated accordians. Dad gave in to the pressure. With one less mouth to feed he could. This led me to thoughts about my childhood. From the very start I was a rebellious dare devil. I was surprised by this revelation. I had formed the opinion that I was a golden child who could do no harm. Upon reflection, I realize I have a few regrets. If only....

If only I had not been greedy, that CONCUSSION would not have happened. Warning to Moms: Do not hide candy high in the garage rafters. That is too much temptation for a pre-schooler to resist.

If only I had listened to Mom ,my broken birthday trike would not be sitting in a ditch. Explanation: Mom told me not to let Sammy ride it.

If only I had not been gullible, my pre-school self would not be stranded on the roof of our house. Question: Sammy and Roddy, why did you take the ladder away?

If only I had not been a MEAN LITTLE KID, Sammy would not have punched me in the eye. Apology: Sammy I am sorry I punched you first. (My eye turned Black. Sammy got in trouble!)

If only I had not been such a Rebel, my mean little self would not have jumped in the pool fully clothed! Consequences: 1) I swallowed a ton of water. 2) A spanking that REALLY hurt.

Yes, I kept my folks busy. And yet, they had five more children. Brave, weren't they? But as Dad used to say, The Lord hates a coward.