Friday Morning Nature Blogging

Love bugs...

Hello Universe?

Ummmmm......I think you may have misunderstood my meaning.

I did not want to be homeless.

I wanted a house of my own.

The letter from the landlady saying we had to vacate by July 30th so she could sell this place (HA!) was a cruel joke in place of what I had asked you for.

So Fuck You.

Thank you that is all.

Dear Universe...

You know what I want so I'm not even gonna say it.

Just give it to me already, please? I've been a good girl (or bad whatever works) I deserve it.

We both know you want to so why fight it? Why not save us both a lot of time and energy and give me what I want, what I need.

It's not like I'm asking a lot, it's a big world and it's just sitting there lonely and unloved, uncared for.

Just give it to ME and I will love it and care for it and make it beautiful again, it's what it wants.

And how can you say no to that hmmm?

So let's just stop all this hemming and hawing over whether or not we are meant for each other WE SO ARE!

So let's get the show on the road Universe, let's just get this over with and you can move on to bigger things.

Thank You for your time.

This video made my day...

I stole it from my buddy Kevin Charnas ....I might even have teared up with laughter over it.

And does this girl look familiar to anyone else?



P.S. I highly recommend listening to the Sunburnt Hand song when your done with this one!

Friday Morning Nature Blogging

Where did the time go?

I found an old friend on the internet the other day and it got me thinking about time. It seemed to me that it hadn't been all that long since last I saw her, but then I was aware that she had never met my children. My oldest will be twelve this summer. It seemed like yesterday I was this woman's roommate and her then youngest child would NOT wear her underpants; now that little girl is almost grown. Seems like last night we were having a conversation about my possibly visiting her in Florida for a time when she lived there and being interrupted by her realization that there was an alligator at the other end of her pool. Now twelve years, 4 children, 3 states, 1 new spouse and a cancer scare have gone by.

I feel like at any moment my mother is going to call my name and tell my teenager self I have to take my little brother with me if I want to go to the mall or to Melanie's house; then my 6th grader walks through the door. I pass a mirror and catch a brief image and my mind thinks "Wow that lady looks like my Mother" and then realize it's my own reflection I passed.

I don't feel my age but am more over reminded of it. Small babes are giant girl women taller than me now; Suave men get old then expire; young boys grow up strong then grow crazy/angry/withdrawn then finally medicated. People change into new people that you don't know. They start new lives, have new children, move out of state, get new spouses, contract diseases, loose touch, loose heart, stop caring or are unable to. And when or if you re-connect you are new people with new lives and new stories to tell and hear. Hopefully you are not so different; maybe there is a path from the youth that you were to the adult that you are.

Now yours is the suave Man and you are the Mother and they are the teenagers. The young boys are strong men. The giant girl women will soon be real women and our usefulness will fade with the transition.

But then there is that little glimmer of what is to come. A shiny little jewel to ponder and admire from inside the little box where I keep it. Someday my usefulness will fade. Someday they won't need me. That both saddens and elates me, makes me teary eyed and giddy. That I will again be my only obligation.

For now though, I will set my alarm for 4:45 a.m. and I will get up tomorrow and make coffee and get the Man off to work and the kids off to school and I will remember that yesterday I was a wife and Mother and not "Single girl in the city" although it would seem so.

Outdoor School

My big girl left today for Outdoor school.

This is it. I'm obsolete.

She's off to start the phase of her life where in she starts not needing me.

She gets to go for three days to outdoor school, then she comes home and Thursday she gets to go to the 2008 Girls Summit in Portland, then on Friday she gets to go with the rest of the 6th graders to Fort Clatsop to help finish building the Fort to Sea trail.

She's busy.

So that leaves the youngest here alone with her Dad and I.

We will be taking her to see Horton Hears a Who at the local Pizza place/Movie house.

Friday Morning Nature Blogging

This little guy is one of the many little birds that regularly tries to fly into my dining room, only there is the glass issue. With a loud THWACK they knock them selves out ALL THE TIME! It's loud enough to startle all the inhabitants of the house and give a good shake to the large picture window.

He was knocked silly long enough for me to take a couple of pictures, then the cat came over to see what I was doing and got interested so I took him in the house. When I came back out he was still there.

And not to worry, he snapped out of it and flew away after he got his picture taken. He he will live to knock himself out another day

A letter to Cami Kaos

Dear Cami,

I heard your podcast where in you called me out. I HEARD! And so to save face and not to let you believe I would ignore something so HUGE as an invitation from the Great and Powerful Cami Kaos,

I am formerly accepting your invitation to do the Strange Love podcast.

However, I still do not know when I can do that for I am lame and here's why...

I just bought a new headset w/mic specifically for the podcast and they DON'T WORK!! sucks to that. Plus my kid now needs glasses so I can't afford to replace them right now. Not only that but it wacked out my sound system like hella bad and I bought them at Fred Meyer's so I don't know if they will take them back. If you (or anyone) has any ideas for inexpensive headset w/mic I can purchase I would love to hear it.

So...as soon as I am not lame I will let you know and we can set up a time to do this and I will enlighten you as to the bathing hippie, if your still interested by then that is.

And P.S. I think the Bubblewench might know a little something about being a hippie; jus sayin'

So I had this great post planned...

and then the Sun came out and the birds started to sing and I completely forgot what it was I was going to say...

So I'm going to take my camera and go have coffee with my girlfriend and maybe take some picture's for tomorrow.

See ya!

There was an actual line...

At my bathroom this morning.

There was one person in the shower, one using the facilities and when I walked out there was the rest of my family standing in single file line waiting for the bathroom.

It was to say the least hilarious.

Note to self: next time you move...make sure there are two bathrooms.

Spring cleaning time...

Are you ready?

I've been up since 5am. I've gotten three people off to school and work, cleaned two picture windows and a few small ones too, I've done four loads of laundry, half of my dishes, cleaned and moved three dressers, a shelf, a filing cabinet and a dog bed.

And I'm not even close to done yet. And I won't even go into what I did yesterday.

Nothing like a Land Lady coming into the house to measure for carpet to light that spring cleaning fire under your ass is there?

Well aren't we special

Former President Bill Clinton is in Astoria, he'll be at the maritime museum in half an hour.

Now all I need to know is...can I get to the grocery store which is on the other side of town...former Pres in the middle...before the traffic becomes a completely horrible mess?

Sigh...

Happy Mother's Day!

We took the kids to Seaside Fun Center yesterday for some pre Mother's day fun.

We had spin-y spin-y fun! I laughed until my guts hurt, we love the Tilt-o-Whirl.


My Family tried to run each other over on the bumper cars.


We laughed our butts off at these two Seagulls who were fighting over a spot on the turn around wall.


this spot in fact that this Seagull quickly took when they hopped down to yell at each other.


But then we chased him away 'cause we needed to take this great picture for me for Mother's Day, a girl needs a good pic of her Family you know! Aren't they lovely, sigh.

So I tried something new yesterday.

Absente.


It is refined Absinthe, which is what I WOULD have tried if you could get it in the United States but I'm told you can't. I'm still researching; I'll let you know.

Plus it came with this:

And I love it when my booze comes with gifts.

Anyway, the box reads:

'During the heady days of late 19th century Paris, Absinthe was the trademark drink of artists like Degas, Manet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and Oscar Wilde.

Today, Absente, Absinthe Refined, evokes the glamour and mystical allure of "The Green Fairy."
Absente is the modern version of the original Absinthe recipe. The single difference is we replaced the notorious botanical Wormwood with a less bitter cousin, Southern Wormwood, also known as "petite absinthe." Absente is the first legal Absinthe available in America since 1912.'

It was strange, it tasted like licorice and fennel. And it's 110 proof (hoo boy!) I have always wanted to try Absinthe, and Mead but thats another story, but these things are hard to buy if you are an American (kinda says something right there doesn't it?) it has a substance called Thojone which is what makes Wormwood "notorious."

It does have this substance in it, just at the legally allowed limit in the States; which I researched and found out that it's not really all that much stronger if you buy it outside the U.S.

It's the process of making the drink that most people enjoy, the ritual of it.

You pour 2 ounces of Absente into a glass, then you place the Absinthe spoon over the glass with a sugar cube on it, then pour 3 ounces of cold water over the sugar cube until it dissolves, then stir with the Absinthe spoon.

It turns from a bright poison green color to a milky light green, it's quite pretty the effect. I can see why artists liked it and also why the process seemed so ritualistic. I am a little disappointed that it tastes like black licorice though. But the fact that it's nice and strong makes up for it.

Cheers!

Friday Morning Nature Blogging

This is an Orange Eastern Lubber Grasshopper.

My girlfriend Amber is a photo biologist, She took this picture in Florida while trying to determine the food supply for some migratory birds in the swamp. She currently resides in The Virgin Islands continuing her schooling.

We hope to see her or her work on National Geographic soon; then I will have yet another geek celebrity name to drop. Heh.

In case you are wondering, the grasshopper IS as big as he looks. Even their babies are huge.

Happy Friday all!

Soooo....

It's Wednesday, the Man has been on Vaca all week long and so has been monopolizing all the time on the computer (or I don't have a lot going on in the way of funny and it's a damn good excuse).

All is well, except I feel like Hell. Just found out a couple of days ago that my little girlfriend is leaving town to start a whole new big girl life all by herself free of her 6 year relationship with her boyfriend.

We are saddened by this.

Anyway fear not fellow Evil lovers, I have much Friday Nature to Blog saved up so I'll be back on my game soon. Or whatever it is they say these days I'm outa the loop today.

Asta Manyana

To Miss Melanie on her Birthday,

So the universe never did see fit to give me my very own sister...And so instead it sent me you.

Happy Birthday Miss Melanie, I love you ever so much and this I dedicate to you.

Love you, Love me.

Ummmm.....

Well it's Saturday morning...my Man is at work, my children were picked up by their Grandmother last night and taken far away, I just don't know what to do with myself.

I could sleep. oooo, sleep...sleep is good. My old friend sleep how you have abandoned me in recent years, how like a jilted jealous lover you have left me for some other who will appreciate you like I have been unable to.

Some lucky little 20 something who doesn't really need you because they don't have offspring and can run on hangover fumes after days and days of thwarting your every effort to sway their young souls to your slumber land, undeserving little wretches.

Oh how I miss you sweet sleep. I meant not to offend thee with my inability to lie with you at will, with my wakeful nature that keeps me from your sweet embrace, oh evil bladder that wakes me and pulls me from your arms when I have finally succumb to your honey potion.

How fondly I think of the soft, soft pillow that is the top of my bed...and the dark dark curtains I have hung in honor of the ever approaching summer with it's ever earlier day break that seems to come only minutes after we meet again.

Well sleep, now...I have no other engagements. I have all day so...please...don't leave me now.

Good day all; to bed I go. I have a date with an old friend and his name is Dream.

Friday Morning Nature Blogging

This is the frozen tundra, I Don't know if this picture is real or photo shopped. But it's beautiful.

Happy Friday Everyone. I hope you all have a fantabulous weekend ;p

Happy May Day All!

Did everyone go out and protest something? Ya! Me Either...But the rest of the world did so don't worry...someone was out there protesting for you.