Hi Kansas, talk about messages getting crossed, lol. I will take my FBC down, so leave yours up…
Morning Kansas and everyone, or good evening to others.
ack! sorry everyone, I just woke up. Flight didn’t get in until 2 this morning.
I’ll be all over the cafe next week!
On the bright side, the impromptu trip home was a ton of fun, and while it wasn’t mexico, it was nice to see the mom and fam, even if she did put me to work weeding the backyard 15 minutes after we arrived…
Hi, y’all! Our regular host is on vacation, may he have a blast, so I’m putting this up just so we don’t all expire from Cafe withdrawal. Terrible symptoms!, including: frantic checking of Recent Diaries to see if a cafe has appeared in the last five seconds; desperate searching for friends who may be hiding in other diaries; craving to place photos somewhere and no place to put them. . .
I know these symptoms all too well!
Wish I could stick around to play, but I can’t today.
Y’all have fun, be sweet to the newbies, be funny and smart as you always are, and hand out 4’s like crazy because if we accumulate enough of them we can send a Republican to summer (prison)camp.
Well I started a new interactive blog, see my tag, line so please go over and take a look and sign up…non political….site…
Good that you are back, zander is back too if others have not heard. http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZNfox000‘ target=’_blank’>
Who left me such warm wishes and thoughts on my mental health day off yesterday. It was nice and I feel refreshed today and a lot more fair and balanced HA!
geeesh, I am going to have a double, double, if I see one more Doom and Gloom tale, I’m gonna get DRUNK….hmmm,,,think I will anyway ; )
Gonna pull up the hammock under that Live Oak by the lake, set the cooler close, put the phones on voice mail, toss out the fish’n pole, (with no hook, so as not to be disturbed) and ice down a case, pull out a good Honduran Cigar, and watch the clouds ; )
Y’all have a good one where you are…I’ll be here, under the oak ; ) gett’n pleasantly blurry eyed, red eyed, sleepy eyed, and then I’m gonna eat GATOR
Woke up this morning with a killer headache; the spouse brought me a couple of painkillers, then gave me a kiss and shut the door to let me sleep a couple of extra hours…maybe having him around isn’t such a bad thing after all…
Our church has a Wednesday patio Eucharist tonight, followed by a concert by a great jazz/classical combo (one of the musicians is a member of our church), so we’re planning on that for the evening; should be a delightful time.
I posted this idea on Booman’s open thread the other day where he was hawking t-shirts and mugs: What do y’all think?
Over Labor Day Weekend, we have a “BMT Virtual Family Reunion” by posting pictures of ourselves wearing out BMT t-shirts, taken in front of local landmarks, in front of something famous, or on vacation. We’d post a diary for the photos and recommend it so it would stay posted all weekend.
And since we’re plugging t-shirts and mugs, it’s time for a little shameless diary whoring: For all of you interested in global warming (been outside lately?) what’s your take on this? Y’all asked for diaries on the environment, now c’mon, go read ’em…
The weather folks seem to think that today will be our last “hot” day in Puget Sound, getting into the high 80’s. They think we’ll be back to more normal 50’s-to-70’s with some clouds and possibly morning mist for the next week ahead.
Here’s your afternoon cooling-off view. It’s one of my favorite pictures, showing Rosario park on Fidalgo Island looking towards Deception Pass, and the low reach-out-and-touch-’em clouds common to here, the U.K., Ireland and other oceanic places. The distant clouds ride the Cascade Mountains when salty breezes blow.
Penn Cove in Coupeville… that’s is where I lived with my parents. We had moved back and forth to Oak Harbor/Coupeville several different times due to the Navy.
Coupeville is so lovely. Now it’s so expensive….
I used to swim in Penn Cove 3 times a week. Rain or shine. Had to swim with tennie shoes on though.
I love your photos, Gooserock. And your little dog, too 🙂
We’ve got plenty from Coupeville & Penn Cove, mostly dating from before we had the digital camera. All our print photos are presently near my craft shop under mounds of household “surplus.” We also have many scenes from our old life including Lake Erie (the real one, not the pond on Fidalgo Island). The search is ongoing.
Here’s big ol’ August Penn Cove jellyfish to jog your memory.
Did you happen to live there in 1970 for the great Penn Cove Orca whale roundup?
But the most extraordinary catch of the year came in August when Griffin and Goldsberry captured some 80 whales at Penn Cove, Washington. Never before or since have so many whales been captured at once. Although they were unaware of it at the time, Griffin and Goldsberry had captured three pods traveling together. Those 80 whales comprised almost the entire ‘resident’ orca population off southern Vancouver Island and in Puget Sound. For a day, until they released the majority of the whales, the fate of an entire ‘community’ or breeding stock of orcas was in the hands of two unregulated collectors.
Ah Jelly fish. I know them well. Got them in Washington and then on Guam. I once was covered from head (face) to toe (ankles) in big red blobs. I had snorkeled through some plants which is basically a jelly nursery. I have scars from them on various parts of my body.
Many run ins with the flora and fauna. Had some red fire ants infest my beach shoes while I was swimming, put them on and OOOOOOOOOOOOOH Myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. I had laid my clothes next to a nest.
Coral… is mean and unforgiving. Picasso fish (trigger fish) are mean and aggressive (if you follow them like a nosy busy body…)
But… I love snorkeling and being in the water. It’s all worth it. I just have bad luck. 🙂 I’m a clutz to the nth (water nymph?) degree.
Hi All,
I have a question as soon as I sip this iced coffee. WHat kind of car do you all drive and why would you (or wouldn’t you) recommend it. I have been a Civic driver for quite a while and love its economy and sporty feel. I love being able to get out of tight squeezes and react quickly. Unfortunately, my ’96 didn’t fare so well versus a deer and now I am in the market for a car. I have 2 kids so I need a 4 door, but wouldn’t be caught dead in a gas guzzler SUV and I am definitely not a “minivan mom”. Suggestions?
We just dropped a rebuilt engine into our 94 Saturn wagon at 175k miles. I’m sure we’ll keep the car for at least another 100k, +/- future disappearance of replacement transmission units or parts.
To our thinking, vehicles are utilities–boats are for passion!
Now the reality:
“But we hae meat, an’ we can eat, sae the Laird be thankit!” — Burns
Bought it used locally for the price of a desktop pc. I used to teach in them 30 years ago on open water on Lake Erie. It was a hoot watching little kids disappear between waves. The waves there could be big enough and short enough with winds moderate enough to sail, that the boats would be partially becalmed in each trough.
Mrs. Gooserock wanted to name our A Dory Bull. I suspected there were already probably plenty El Toros with that name, and countless others with names that pun on the syllable “-ble.”
Cleverest boat name I ever heard, back in the ancient 70’s when I was active in class racing, was for a Fireball class boat: UnjustiFireball !
This is our usual approach to cars as well. Unfortunately, a spooked deer didn’t understand that I wanted to keep my car for another 100K miles. I guess others can use my perfectly good parts to patch up their vehicles.
We LOVE our Honda Civic. Bummer is it was bought as a commuter car and so only got the 2-door (it was used and a good deal) Our next car will be a Honda for sure.
Just read in the Sierra Club magazine that Honda is the leader in hybrid technology. Check out their mini-SUVs. They just did an article endorsing a SUV… can’t recall though. They also mentioned how Detroit has the technology to lower gas consumption… but won’t. ARRRGHH.
I also have an older USED Explorer. LOng story short -Ford can kiss my ass. We bought it used from an elderly couple. Very low mileage and we beat the crap out of it. We needed it for long hauls to town for shopping. Camping. Lugging wood home. Driving the dog to the pong and driving her wet, dirty ass home again. It’s totally ruined LOL. It’s an SUV used for it’s purpose. However I rarely drive it off the mountain anymore.
Our next “big” vehicle will be a mini-SUV hybrid type from Honda. One of these days.. I’ll get a motorcycle 🙂
I love my civic too, I will probably get another one. I just don’t have time, money, inclination to do alot of shopping around, so I am looking for a convenient used car (that gets good mileage). If people really love a car I never considered it would be good to know if I see one available.
Love love love my 98 Nissan Maxima. She drives like a dream, handles corners beautifully, makes nifty little moves in traffic with her 6 cylinders and at 88K miles she still has 100,000 at least left in her.
My first car was a Datsun B210 (76 maybe)- I always felt like it should have holes in the floor so I could put my feet down and help out- Flinstones style. Then NE winters and salt did their work and I could put my feet down. The worst thing about that car was that the radiator had so many holes I kept the engine cool by running the heat full blast. Not bad in the winter, by summers were miserable.
I loooooved my Honda Civic sation wagon. Drove it over 200,000 miles and it was still going strong but the body was wearing out so I sold it to the Air Resources Board/wrecker for $500. Since then I’ve had a couple of Toyotas, and I like it OK, but the Honda got better mileage and fit my 5’3″ frame better.
But I gotta say, if you can afford a new car, why not buy a hybrid? The Toyota Prius is very popular in my town.
I’d love one, but wasn’t really planning on a car just now. The 20+ K price tag will be a bit of a challenge especially since I don’t expect insurance to cough up much for the 1996 Civic.
Gets 28 mpg and looks retro cool. But the best part is that it’s soooo roomy and versatile. You can fold down all the seats absolutely flat. I’ve even carted home a load of 12′ long lumber in it. I like the head room, too, and the cute little hooks for hanging grocery bags so they don’t slide around the back. And, altho I’ve never done it, you can arrange the back end into a table for tailgate parties. Also, if you still need to use car seats for your kids, you can lean in and get the babe without worrying about knocking the back of your head as you stand up. I luv it when function + form = style.
One to many cups of coffee today and I am really jittery. Finally the cool weather arrived and it is heaven. It rained and all those brown spots have dots of green in them today.
Saved thrown away kitten yesterday at my niece’s house. She had taken the last two so I had to do it. My three old boys are not happy about it either. I had just congratulated myself that I had gone all spring and summer with out one thrown in my yard. They evidently all are now tossing them at her house. Once they quit hissing and get the pecking order straight things will be fine. My husband gave me the eyeball when I brought him in but in ten minutes was holding him and telling him the house rules and the names of the other cats. He hasn’t told me what his name is yet.
We have two little kittens. They say their names are “give me food” and “don’t give her food, give me food”. My daughters have applied more traditional monikers though.
In Socal, and I was just working outside, hosing down the driveway, etc. and now I am safely back in my a/c room, still sweating.
More plants lost today due to the hot sun hitting them when I didn’t know it (umbrella cover was flopped over, and they the ones that can’t take any sun.
I have lost over 10 very nice plants this summer, over watering, underwatering or sun…
Poor Diane you are having more than your share of problems with the plants this summer. I was feeling like I was running in circles trying to keep everything watered and happy but I don’t think our area is as sever as yours so you must feel like you are running in circles with one shoe nailed to the floor.
“”so you must feel like you are running in circles with one shoe nailed to the floor””
Good analogy, or whatever those are called,,, lol, yes I laughed when I read it,,,fits perfectly..
My stag horns are still doing faiyly good, not the best time of year for them, tho….
I’ve been watching the Northeast radar all day. C’mon, cold front, c’mon!
My dad told me once that the British Foreign Service used to consider Washington DC a hardship post, with the commensurate pay increase that entails. You see, British civil servants as a rule wear (or used to wear) those nicely-tailored three-piece woolen suits you associate with Savile Row. A three-piece woolen suit? In a typical DC summer? I’d consider that a hardship, all right.
Hi everyone,
A week into vacation. Just returned to Oslo from Bergen. And who is in Bergen? curly and I had the pleasure of a mini BT/ET meet-up with Sirocco in the afternoon (going into night) yesterday.
I’ve been seen on the blogs before – curly and Sirocco are still a bit shy.
How cool, ask, seeing what you look like and the backs of curly and Sirocco, so there really is a Sirocco.
Say high to Curly for me especially! We all are waiting for your return so you can get back to regular posting.
More pics…please, looks like you are having a wonderful time.
Is the weather coolish there?
Hi diane,
Here’s a cutie we met on our stroll through the narrow alleys just behind the waterfront in the centre of Bergen:
It’s definitely cool compared to what I see NY-area getting these days. Mid – high 60s and a mix of sun and clouds + some showers. Greetings from curly, breakfast time for us now before heading out.
Arrgghhhwhoooaaammmmmmm. Yawn of the Dead. 🙂 that’s our Kitty She has taken over the back tub as it’s the coolest place in the house. However she still comes out to check on us.
Found this site about helping our pooties with the heat. http://cats.about.com/cs/catmanagement101/a/heatstroke.htm MaJeff had a great idea about adding some catnip to the bed area as enticement when using the advice about frozen peas/corns in a towel/pillowcase to help the kitties stay cool. What to do about my 80# black labrador. Costco bag of peas?
Last night I had to care for my son’s leg. He is a picker and he had some holes (thankfully none were festering or infected). We worked very hard to have a discussion about why he’s picking and he doesn’t know. He said his hand just does it. From left field I thought of a scene in “Mystery Men” where Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller) is angrily telling his boss the Junkit Lady as he squeezes a ball that “this little sucker just saved your life.” I asked him if a squeeze ball like that would keep his hand busy. We found a similar foam ball and he said he liked it. That he could take it to school even. So I surfed these cyber waves and damnit… they have such things for sale LOL http://www.officeplayground.com/balls.html – tactile stress relievers. Whoodathunkit!? 🙂
InfidelPig… you have gators?!?! Damn!! We just found out we have Southern Alligator Lizards. I had made a C&J post about Danni and I finding a “cute” lizard that we held and carried… didn’t know what it was. My son is phobic about lizards and bugs. So he hid. Turns out he was the smart one. An alert Kossak posted info that the creature my daughter was holding was not a timid animal but a lovely specimen of a grumpy biter – complete with links. YIKES! We have a family of them now. We don’t pick up ANY lizards now.
Re-keeping the cats cool. All mine hate the AC and elect to go out side and find some shade for themselves. If I put frozen peas in their beds I think they would really be pissed. So I just keep plenty of fresh water around. This last hot spell when I had the sprinkler going all the time I had a yard full of butterflies and dragon flies who were so happy to get a drink. The Grand children were so thrilled to have so many neat bugs to observe. Also attracted several, I don’t know their real name, walking sticks. You know the long ones who look like a twig.
That is one brave person to have a lizard sit on their leg. Uuuckkkkkk!
My cat would be super upset if I sprayed water on her or tried to touch her with water. 🙂 Coyotes kill cats around here so she’s INDOOR. No AC and she’s got black fur. I have a black lab who HATES the water hose… go figure! A water dog who doesn’t like to get wet unless it’s a pond/lake. She’s afraid of the beach too… and snowmen… 🙂
we have butterfly bushes which attract TONS of butterflies and hummingbirds. It’s amazing in the early morning and near dusk. They’ll even land on you.
I’ve “enjoyed” reading about your gator trials 🙂 “Crikey!” 🙂
We have rattlers, black widows, scorpions, coyotes, and mountain lions. oh my. Me and my daughter love finding lady bugs, roly polys and lizards… now we have the audobon society guide books… 🙂 We want to keep our fingertips 🙂
I just made a batch of sun tea I’m bringing in from the
deck. . . Help yourselves, I’ve got more a brewing. .
I survived my computer rants of yesterday and am having a pretty good day so far. It helps that it is 15 degrees cooler here today, just now 80 and it feels good.
Glad to see Abbott back, and I know Zander is around somewhere. . .
Looks pretty nice in here. . .I hope Infedel doesn’t fall out of the hammock out front. . .
I’m not totally 100% it is a pest repellent. Something I heard somewhere… something that stuck in my head. Most likely meaningless. But.. no holes in any leaves on my deck plantings. I did find a little inchy wormy though. And the bees are laying in the moist dirt.
I once planted mint around my tomatoes (box garden) and the tomatoes had a minty taste to them. No kidding. No tomatoes this year as the house remodeling… andthe transition.. But had to have chilies 🙂
I also have Lemon Catnip … no idea what it’s for really. I liked the smell. And now it’s HUGE and I gather it can be used as tea… but mostly for a garnish.
So I tried the web and found a few suggestions for repelling rabbits. One was to plant Mexican marigolds or garlic around the garden. But I liked this one best:
Set old leather shoes (from the thrift shop) around the garden to give it that “humans are here” smell.
Yessir, there’s nothing like old boots scattered artfully around the garden. Hey! Maybe I could plant the marigolds in the boots.
I’ve been so frustrated waiting for our house to sell before we can start up our little farm. So yesterday, Hubby wisely counsels that I should get to work, acting as tho we already have the place and need to market ourselves. So, we decided we’ll name the place GREEN DRAGON FARM and I’ve created a seriously cool logo in full color, grayscale for newspaper ads and a tiny little black and white one to rubber stamp on our green egss.
Now, I’ve asked this before but what is the best, free image hosting site? I sure would like to show everyone the logo I made…
in Boston was Samuel Adams first brewery where all our Founding Fathers took refreshment… and plotted the over-throw of King George. Later, they argued about the Constituition.
The Green Dragon & plotting against King George … there’s a joke about repeating history in there somewhere, but I can’t see it. Can someone fill in the blank for me?
Which, if you emove the “s shold give you your image. Preview and check size…nothing bigger than 400…adjust as necessary. Another nice thing about tinypic is that it automatically maxs the image out @ 250k so you don’t overload the dial=up folks.
Nope, I just find the best rotation angle while they’re on my head, take ’em off and hold ’em tight against the camera lens to elminate reflections, clamp the two retractable Toto dog leashes between my knees, hold my breath and try to shoot before they hit the end of their ropes.
The monsoon is in full force here in southern Arizona. I have been extremely unfocused here at work since we were off-site at a retreat for a few days. Good news though, I received a great evaluation along with a hefty raise that will be retro’d back to January. Woohoo!
Wow manny, that is good news about your job, congrats. http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZNfox000‘ target=’_blank’>This is how it is where I am….
We’re having some storms north of here, but monsoons in Arizona, and I saw Booman in Philli was having some awful storms also..
Hi Kansas, talk about messages getting crossed, lol. I will take my FBC down, so leave yours up…
Morning Kansas and everyone, or good evening to others.
ack! sorry everyone, I just woke up. Flight didn’t get in until 2 this morning.
I’ll be all over the cafe next week!
On the bright side, the impromptu trip home was a ton of fun, and while it wasn’t mexico, it was nice to see the mom and fam, even if she did put me to work weeding the backyard 15 minutes after we arrived…
even if she did put me to work weeding the backyard 15 minutes after we arrived…
lol! So glad you had a good trip, Abbott.
Hi, y’all! Our regular host is on vacation, may he have a blast, so I’m putting this up just so we don’t all expire from Cafe withdrawal. Terrible symptoms!, including: frantic checking of Recent Diaries to see if a cafe has appeared in the last five seconds; desperate searching for friends who may be hiding in other diaries; craving to place photos somewhere and no place to put them. . .
I know these symptoms all too well!
Wish I could stick around to play, but I can’t today.
Y’all have fun, be sweet to the newbies, be funny and smart as you always are, and hand out 4’s like crazy because if we accumulate enough of them we can send a Republican to summer (prison)camp.
being away from the internet is strangely exhirarating… what’s been going on in here?
what do we think of the new SC nominee? I’m so out of it.
Well I started a new interactive blog, see my tag, line so please go over and take a look and sign up…non political….site…
Good that you are back, zander is back too if others have not heard.
http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZNfox000‘ target=’_blank’>
Who left me such warm wishes and thoughts on my mental health day off yesterday. It was nice and I feel refreshed today and a lot more fair and balanced HA!
geeesh, I am going to have a double, double, if I see one more Doom and Gloom tale, I’m gonna get DRUNK….hmmm,,,think I will anyway ; )
Gonna pull up the hammock under that Live Oak by the lake, set the cooler close, put the phones on voice mail, toss out the fish’n pole, (with no hook, so as not to be disturbed) and ice down a case, pull out a good Honduran Cigar, and watch the clouds ; )
Y’all have a good one where you are…I’ll be here, under the oak ; ) gett’n pleasantly blurry eyed, red eyed, sleepy eyed, and then I’m gonna eat GATOR
(Evil Laugh)
Woke up this morning with a killer headache; the spouse brought me a couple of painkillers, then gave me a kiss and shut the door to let me sleep a couple of extra hours…maybe having him around isn’t such a bad thing after all…
Our church has a Wednesday patio Eucharist tonight, followed by a concert by a great jazz/classical combo (one of the musicians is a member of our church), so we’re planning on that for the evening; should be a delightful time.
Everyone have a great day! 🙂
I get migraines sometimes so I can relate. Got a monster when the hurricane blew through. Barometric pressure changes seem to trigger mine.
I posted this idea on Booman’s open thread the other day where he was hawking t-shirts and mugs: What do y’all think?
Over Labor Day Weekend, we have a “BMT Virtual Family Reunion” by posting pictures of ourselves wearing out BMT t-shirts, taken in front of local landmarks, in front of something famous, or on vacation. We’d post a diary for the photos and recommend it so it would stay posted all weekend.
And since we’re plugging t-shirts and mugs, it’s time for a little shameless diary whoring: For all of you interested in global warming (been outside lately?) what’s your take on this? Y’all asked for diaries on the environment, now c’mon, go read ’em…
I love that idea, and I think we should call it “Show us your mugs and/or jugs”
Unfortunately, my mug still isn’t here…hmmmm….I need it for the beach!
Show us your mugs and/or jugs
You are positively inspired today, CabinGirl!
I’m still waiting for my mug and, um, t-shirt.
The weather folks seem to think that today will be our last “hot” day in Puget Sound, getting into the high 80’s. They think we’ll be back to more normal 50’s-to-70’s with some clouds and possibly morning mist for the next week ahead.
Here’s your afternoon cooling-off view. It’s one of my favorite pictures, showing Rosario park on Fidalgo Island looking towards Deception Pass, and the low reach-out-and-touch-’em clouds common to here, the U.K., Ireland and other oceanic places. The distant clouds ride the Cascade Mountains when salty breezes blow.
Gorgeous picture, as usual!
So, it’s your last “hot” day in the 80s…
Here in SE PA, today is our last hot day (98!), to be followed by a cool day tomorrow at a temperature of, you guessed it, 80!
Can we trade weather???
Penn Cove in Coupeville… that’s is where I lived with my parents. We had moved back and forth to Oak Harbor/Coupeville several different times due to the Navy.
Coupeville is so lovely. Now it’s so expensive….
I used to swim in Penn Cove 3 times a week. Rain or shine. Had to swim with tennie shoes on though.
I love your photos, Gooserock. And your little dog, too 🙂
“Wait for it–!”
We’ve got plenty from Coupeville & Penn Cove, mostly dating from before we had the digital camera. All our print photos are presently near my craft shop under mounds of household “surplus.” We also have many scenes from our old life including Lake Erie (the real one, not the pond on Fidalgo Island). The search is ongoing.
Here’s big ol’ August Penn Cove jellyfish to jog your memory.
Did you happen to live there in 1970 for the great Penn Cove Orca whale roundup?
Ah Jelly fish. I know them well. Got them in Washington and then on Guam. I once was covered from head (face) to toe (ankles) in big red blobs. I had snorkeled through some plants which is basically a jelly nursery. I have scars from them on various parts of my body.
Many run ins with the flora and fauna. Had some red fire ants infest my beach shoes while I was swimming, put them on and OOOOOOOOOOOOOH Myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. I had laid my clothes next to a nest.
Coral… is mean and unforgiving. Picasso fish (trigger fish) are mean and aggressive (if you follow them like a nosy busy body…)
But… I love snorkeling and being in the water. It’s all worth it. I just have bad luck. 🙂 I’m a clutz to the nth (water nymph?) degree.
Hi All,
I have a question as soon as I sip this iced coffee. WHat kind of car do you all drive and why would you (or wouldn’t you) recommend it. I have been a Civic driver for quite a while and love its economy and sporty feel. I love being able to get out of tight squeezes and react quickly. Unfortunately, my ’96 didn’t fare so well versus a deer and now I am in the market for a car. I have 2 kids so I need a 4 door, but wouldn’t be caught dead in a gas guzzler SUV and I am definitely not a “minivan mom”. Suggestions?
That is liking talking about religion with people. They take their cars very seriously. My favorite is exactly what I can afford at the moment.
We just dropped a rebuilt engine into our 94 Saturn wagon at 175k miles. I’m sure we’ll keep the car for at least another 100k, +/- future disappearance of replacement transmission units or parts.
To our thinking, vehicles are utilities–boats are for passion!
Now the reality:
“But we hae meat, an’ we can eat, sae the Laird be thankit!” — Burns
Nice little pram. It looks like a Nutshell, but I can’t see the bow.
Bought it used locally for the price of a desktop pc. I used to teach in them 30 years ago on open water on Lake Erie. It was a hoot watching little kids disappear between waves. The waves there could be big enough and short enough with winds moderate enough to sail, that the boats would be partially becalmed in each trough.
Mrs. Gooserock wanted to name our A Dory Bull. I suspected there were already probably plenty El Toros with that name, and countless others with names that pun on the syllable “-ble.”
Cleverest boat name I ever heard, back in the ancient 70’s when I was active in class racing, was for a Fireball class boat: UnjustiFireball !
This is our usual approach to cars as well. Unfortunately, a spooked deer didn’t understand that I wanted to keep my car for another 100K miles. I guess others can use my perfectly good parts to patch up their vehicles.
We LOVE our Honda Civic. Bummer is it was bought as a commuter car and so only got the 2-door (it was used and a good deal) Our next car will be a Honda for sure.
Just read in the Sierra Club magazine that Honda is the leader in hybrid technology. Check out their mini-SUVs. They just did an article endorsing a SUV… can’t recall though. They also mentioned how Detroit has the technology to lower gas consumption… but won’t. ARRRGHH.
I also have an older USED Explorer. LOng story short -Ford can kiss my ass. We bought it used from an elderly couple. Very low mileage and we beat the crap out of it. We needed it for long hauls to town for shopping. Camping. Lugging wood home. Driving the dog to the pong and driving her wet, dirty ass home again. It’s totally ruined LOL. It’s an SUV used for it’s purpose. However I rarely drive it off the mountain anymore.
Our next “big” vehicle will be a mini-SUV hybrid type from Honda. One of these days.. I’ll get a motorcycle 🙂
I love my civic too, I will probably get another one. I just don’t have time, money, inclination to do alot of shopping around, so I am looking for a convenient used car (that gets good mileage). If people really love a car I never considered it would be good to know if I see one available.
Love love love my 98 Nissan Maxima. She drives like a dream, handles corners beautifully, makes nifty little moves in traffic with her 6 cylinders and at 88K miles she still has 100,000 at least left in her.
My first car was a Datsun B210 (76 maybe)- I always felt like it should have holes in the floor so I could put my feet down and help out- Flinstones style. Then NE winters and salt did their work and I could put my feet down. The worst thing about that car was that the radiator had so many holes I kept the engine cool by running the heat full blast. Not bad in the winter, by summers were miserable.
I loooooved my Honda Civic sation wagon. Drove it over 200,000 miles and it was still going strong but the body was wearing out so I sold it to the Air Resources Board/wrecker for $500. Since then I’ve had a couple of Toyotas, and I like it OK, but the Honda got better mileage and fit my 5’3″ frame better.
But I gotta say, if you can afford a new car, why not buy a hybrid? The Toyota Prius is very popular in my town.
I’d love one, but wasn’t really planning on a car just now. The 20+ K price tag will be a bit of a challenge especially since I don’t expect insurance to cough up much for the 1996 Civic.
Another Honda lover here…we have the CRv (98), and his name is Henry Honda…130,000 miles and runs like a top…
Gets 28 mpg and looks retro cool. But the best part is that it’s soooo roomy and versatile. You can fold down all the seats absolutely flat. I’ve even carted home a load of 12′ long lumber in it. I like the head room, too, and the cute little hooks for hanging grocery bags so they don’t slide around the back. And, altho I’ve never done it, you can arrange the back end into a table for tailgate parties. Also, if you still need to use car seats for your kids, you can lean in and get the babe without worrying about knocking the back of your head as you stand up. I luv it when function + form = style.
One to many cups of coffee today and I am really jittery. Finally the cool weather arrived and it is heaven. It rained and all those brown spots have dots of green in them today.
Saved thrown away kitten yesterday at my niece’s house. She had taken the last two so I had to do it. My three old boys are not happy about it either. I had just congratulated myself that I had gone all spring and summer with out one thrown in my yard. They evidently all are now tossing them at her house. Once they quit hissing and get the pecking order straight things will be fine. My husband gave me the eyeball when I brought him in but in ten minutes was holding him and telling him the house rules and the names of the other cats. He hasn’t told me what his name is yet.
That would be the cat hasn’t told me his name. I do know my husbands.
We have two little kittens. They say their names are “give me food” and “don’t give her food, give me food”. My daughters have applied more traditional monikers though.
That’s funny, my dog’s name is “There might be food, there might be food!” Maybe they are related somehow?
Of course, the kids just call him dumbledore…
Oh Jake Apple – that was very funny! I laughed my first honest-to-goodness-laugh of my day (it is mid-afternoon) — thank you!
Glad it did. If it makes someone laugh I am always happy to be the village idiot so I went to that school I saw on Monty Python where they train them.
I’m a graduate from the Ministry of Silly Walks. 🙂
Congrats on your kitty rescue 🙂
In Socal, and I was just working outside, hosing down the driveway, etc. and now I am safely back in my a/c room, still sweating.
More plants lost today due to the hot sun hitting them when I didn’t know it (umbrella cover was flopped over, and they the ones that can’t take any sun.
I have lost over 10 very nice plants this summer, over watering, underwatering or sun…
Poor Diane you are having more than your share of problems with the plants this summer. I was feeling like I was running in circles trying to keep everything watered and happy but I don’t think our area is as sever as yours so you must feel like you are running in circles with one shoe nailed to the floor.
“”so you must feel like you are running in circles with one shoe nailed to the floor””
Good analogy, or whatever those are called,,, lol, yes I laughed when I read it,,,fits perfectly..
My stag horns are still doing faiyly good, not the best time of year for them, tho….
I’ve been watching the Northeast radar all day. C’mon, cold front, c’mon!
My dad told me once that the British Foreign Service used to consider Washington DC a hardship post, with the commensurate pay increase that entails. You see, British civil servants as a rule wear (or used to wear) those nicely-tailored three-piece woolen suits you associate with Savile Row. A three-piece woolen suit? In a typical DC summer? I’d consider that a hardship, all right.
Hi everyone,
A week into vacation. Just returned to Oslo from Bergen. And who is in Bergen?
curly and I had the pleasure of a mini BT/ET meet-up with Sirocco in the afternoon (going into night) yesterday.
I’ve been seen on the blogs before – curly and Sirocco are still a bit shy.
What a great photo. I can now put a face to your posts when I read them.
Small world, indeed. Glad you got to meet up with some friends. Looks like a lovely visit.
Next visit… can I tag along?? 🙂
How cool, ask, seeing what you look like and the backs of curly and Sirocco, so there really is a Sirocco.
Say high to Curly for me especially! We all are waiting for your return so you can get back to regular posting.
More pics…please, looks like you are having a wonderful time.
Is the weather coolish there?
Hi diane,
Here’s a cutie we met on our stroll through the narrow alleys just behind the waterfront in the centre of Bergen:
It’s definitely cool compared to what I see NY-area getting these days. Mid – high 60s and a mix of sun and clouds + some showers. Greetings from curly, breakfast time for us now before heading out.
That is so cool! An international Boo-Euro meetup!
I think we need to do one of those stateside…how about DC in September?
Arrgghhhwhoooaaammmmmmm. Yawn of the Dead. 🙂
that’s our Kitty She has taken over the back tub as it’s the coolest place in the house. However she still comes out to check on us.
Found this site about helping our pooties with the heat. http://cats.about.com/cs/catmanagement101/a/heatstroke.htm MaJeff had a great idea about adding some catnip to the bed area as enticement when using the advice about frozen peas/corns in a towel/pillowcase to help the kitties stay cool. What to do about my 80# black labrador. Costco bag of peas?
Last night I had to care for my son’s leg. He is a picker and he had some holes (thankfully none were festering or infected). We worked very hard to have a discussion about why he’s picking and he doesn’t know. He said his hand just does it. From left field I thought of a scene in “Mystery Men” where Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller) is angrily telling his boss the Junkit Lady as he squeezes a ball that “this little sucker just saved your life.” I asked him if a squeeze ball like that would keep his hand busy. We found a similar foam ball and he said he liked it. That he could take it to school even. So I surfed these cyber waves and damnit… they have such things for sale LOL http://www.officeplayground.com/balls.html – tactile stress relievers. Whoodathunkit!? 🙂
InfidelPig… you have gators?!?! Damn!! We just found out we have Southern Alligator Lizards. I had made a C&J post about Danni and I finding a “cute” lizard that we held and carried… didn’t know what it was. My son is phobic about lizards and bugs. So he hid. Turns out he was the smart one. An alert Kossak posted info that the creature my daughter was holding was not a timid animal but a lovely specimen of a grumpy biter – complete with links. YIKES! We have a family of them now. We don’t pick up ANY lizards now.
Re-keeping the cats cool. All mine hate the AC and elect to go out side and find some shade for themselves. If I put frozen peas in their beds I think they would really be pissed. So I just keep plenty of fresh water around. This last hot spell when I had the sprinkler going all the time I had a yard full of butterflies and dragon flies who were so happy to get a drink. The Grand children were so thrilled to have so many neat bugs to observe. Also attracted several, I don’t know their real name, walking sticks. You know the long ones who look like a twig.
That is one brave person to have a lizard sit on their leg. Uuuckkkkkk!
My cat would be super upset if I sprayed water on her or tried to touch her with water. 🙂 Coyotes kill cats around here so she’s INDOOR. No AC and she’s got black fur. I have a black lab who HATES the water hose… go figure! A water dog who doesn’t like to get wet unless it’s a pond/lake. She’s afraid of the beach too… and snowmen… 🙂
we have butterfly bushes which attract TONS of butterflies and hummingbirds. It’s amazing in the early morning and near dusk. They’ll even land on you.
I’ve “enjoyed” reading about your gator trials 🙂 “Crikey!” 🙂
We have rattlers, black widows, scorpions, coyotes, and mountain lions. oh my. Me and my daughter love finding lady bugs, roly polys and lizards… now we have the audobon society guide books… 🙂 We want to keep our fingertips 🙂
I just made a batch of sun tea I’m bringing in from the
deck. . . Help yourselves, I’ve got more a brewing. .
I survived my computer rants of yesterday and am having a pretty good day so far. It helps that it is 15 degrees cooler here today, just now 80 and it feels good.
Glad to see Abbott back, and I know Zander is around somewhere. . .
Looks pretty nice in here. . .I hope Infedel doesn’t fall out of the hammock out front. . .
Growing on my deck (I grown more than just chilies LOL) for your iced tea.
Reason for the mint – I want to learn how to make marvelous MOJITOS! Plus I heard mint was a natural deterrant to plant pests.
Bless your heart! Mint is all of that but especially good when you put a fresh sprig of mint in the iced tea!
I’m drinking tea with my own mint in it as we speak. But I never knew it’s a pest repellent. Wonder if it repels wabbits.
Which reminds me, anybody seen Keres lately? Maybe hanging out at European Tribune?
I’m not totally 100% it is a pest repellent. Something I heard somewhere… something that stuck in my head. Most likely meaningless. But.. no holes in any leaves on my deck plantings. I did find a little inchy wormy though. And the bees are laying in the moist dirt.
I once planted mint around my tomatoes (box garden) and the tomatoes had a minty taste to them. No kidding. No tomatoes this year as the house remodeling… andthe transition.. But had to have chilies 🙂
I also have Lemon Catnip … no idea what it’s for really. I liked the smell. And now it’s HUGE and I gather it can be used as tea… but mostly for a garnish.
So I tried the web and found a few suggestions for repelling rabbits. One was to plant Mexican marigolds or garlic around the garden. But I liked this one best:
Set old leather shoes (from the thrift shop) around the garden to give it that “humans are here” smell.
Yessir, there’s nothing like old boots scattered artfully around the garden. Hey! Maybe I could plant the marigolds in the boots.
Didn’t Peter Rabbit hide in Mr. MacGregor’s old shoe?? 🙂
oh oh!! Lol. I think you’re right. Okay, no old shoes.
Chips and guacamole everybody?
I’ve been so frustrated waiting for our house to sell before we can start up our little farm. So yesterday, Hubby wisely counsels that I should get to work, acting as tho we already have the place and need to market ourselves. So, we decided we’ll name the place GREEN DRAGON FARM and I’ve created a seriously cool logo in full color, grayscale for newspaper ads and a tiny little black and white one to rubber stamp on our green egss.
Now, I’ve asked this before but what is the best, free image hosting site? I sure would like to show everyone the logo I made…
Photobucket.com…
We’re waiting! (taps fingers on desk…)
I went and ate dinner. Now I’m gonna check out photobucket. So there will be a loooooong pause while I figure it out.
Tapping foot.
The Green Dragon … didn’t that have the finest ale in the Eastfarthing?
in Boston was Samuel Adams first brewery where all our Founding Fathers took refreshment… and plotted the over-throw of King George. Later, they argued about the Constituition.
what a coinkydinky. I walked past that this April.
Good luck with your farm 🙂
The Green Dragon & plotting against King George … there’s a joke about repeating history in there somewhere, but I can’t see it. Can someone fill in the blank for me?
Easiest to use IMHO is PHOTOBUCKET
or, if you don’t want to register and maintain an account, use their
TINYPIC Site
Once you’ve “hosted” the image, drag the “links” to use desk top and use the “tab” link for posting…the html looks like this:
<“img width=400 src=http://tinypic.com/9ig26t.jpg”>
Which, if you emove the “s shold give you your image. Preview and check size…nothing bigger than 400…adjust as necessary. Another nice thing about tinypic is that it automatically maxs the image out @ 250k so you don’t overload the dial=up folks.
Peace
Now, I’m going to go do it…
Now how do I get rid of the danged blue box?
Okay, got rid of the blue box but I really should make it bigger, huh?
Okay, I’m tired. I keep getting HTML errors. I’ll wrestle with this in the morning.
Is this too big for the dial-up folks?
I do believe you’ve got it…kewl!
Now, of course, you’ve unleashed a monster…
I’m heading off now to watch Countdown. See all you kind folks tomorrow.
when you preview it will tell you where the HTML error is…after much trial and error I finally got it:
Preview is your friend
Preview is your friend…ooohhhhmmmmmm
Enjoy your new toy!
Peace
Wow, that’s really really cool! I love the name AND the logo.
not too big… it’s lovely!
That logo looks INCREDIBLE! It also looks like you’ve got Photobucket down, too.
I had to share this low budget digital cam shot of Mt. Rainier in our mid-80’s heat, taken w/ built in zoom through my rotated polaroid sunglasses.
Keep in mind–that thing is like 80 miles away!
taken w/ built in zoom through my rotated polaroid sunglasses.
I’m impressed!
And I’ll be even more impressed if it turns out your sunglasses have a built-in zoom…
I’d own a camera that could accept filters.
Nope, I just find the best rotation angle while they’re on my head, take ’em off and hold ’em tight against the camera lens to elminate reflections, clamp the two retractable Toto dog leashes between my knees, hold my breath and try to shoot before they hit the end of their ropes.
LOL! I can see it now.
This is a shout out to members who want to volunteer for hosting the FBC diaries, We have one day of the week open, so please send me an email if you are interested, and BTW visit my new blog.http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZNfox000‘ target=’_blank’>
http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZNfox000‘ target=’_blank’>
The monsoon is in full force here in southern Arizona. I have been extremely unfocused here at work since we were off-site at a retreat for a few days. Good news though, I received a great evaluation along with a hefty raise that will be retro’d back to January. Woohoo!
Wow manny, that is good news about your job, congrats.
This is how it is where I am….
http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZNfox000‘ target=’_blank’>
We’re having some storms north of here, but monsoons in Arizona, and I saw Booman in Philli was having some awful storms also..
Way to go, Man Eegee!! Here, have a little dollop of whiskey in that coffee in your brand new BooMug. Congrats!