I have a few pics on my camera to download, but haven't had a chance to do so yet. In the meantime, here's an office nosegay, contents of which were poached off of various ornamentals around campus. It smells lovely too!
Memorial Day weekend was a bit of a bust since the weather was so shitty. I feel gypped. Though Beth and I did get in a couple of decent bike rides, and I got the grass cut and most of my garden cleared of weeds and planted in a sort of half-assed way. Rather than do a little each day and enjoy it, which I prefer, I crammed it all in to one afternoon...and now I'm paying for it! Mama's not as young as she used to be. Between gardening and falling off my bike (oh yeah, I wiped out on the wooden bridge by the pie shop cuz it was all wet...the bridge, not the pie shop!), I'm moving a bit slowly today.
Here's the bruise so far -- it's about the size of an orange, but if I show it to scale on my leg, everyone will be able to see I'm wearing blue underwear, and we can't have that.
Anyway...back to the garden. This morning, everything I planted was still intact. I'm afraid to look now though, since the squirrels and other destructive critters have had all day to undo what I did. I'm off to get some fencing, STAT.
There *is* some good news, but I don't want to even report it, lest I jinx it!
Well that was a little anticlimactic. Though I will say that on Saturday, we went for a bike ride and noted how empty the bike trail was for such a nice day. Kind of made me wonder... and then be glad that I wasn't raptured wearing bike shorts. So far, no one I know is missing, but then again, maybe that's not saying much.
In mattress news...I'm still waiting.
Maybe I should say...maybe I shouldn't...but I will. I ordered a mattress from Verlo (cuz I like to shop local), and I was sorely disappointed. So back it went, and they are allegedly fixing it to my exacting princess-and-the-pea standards. It was lacking in cush and stability, which was exactly what I liked about the showroom model. So why was it not even close to the one I sampled? Why have a floor model if you're not going to build it to those specs? I appreciate the re do, but it's been a pain in the ass. I've had to give up not one but two Saturday mornings, and of course I'm without a bed while they fix it. That said, I know there are people in tornado ravaged locations who'd be happy with a roof over their heads...I'm just sayin' -- it's annoying when you spend over $800 on something and it's a poor imitation of what you were expecting. Hmf.
So my neighbor Lucy and I are at war with the behind neighbor, because behind neighbor has more dogs than ordinance allows AND they let the damn things bark all the time. Like until after midnight. I don't know their name or phone number, but we both left notes asking if they could please do something about the barking (giving them a fair chance before calling the police), but the response was defensive and just a little crazy. This is the letter that behind neighbor wrote to Lucy. (Click the image to read the first page. It goes on for two pages.) It's worth noting that behind neighbor is the same woman who let Sam the cat roam around the neighborhood all day (referenced in the letter as "loving family pet"). Sam didn't seem like an outside cat -- he was always following me around the yard, trying to sit in my lap and begging to come into my house (which Hoops did not appreciate). Not that I minded, but it's just irresponsible. And, just to clarify, I was the one who found Sam a loving home, not crazy behind neighbor. She was going to take him to a shelter where he likely would have been euthanized. This woman is a nurse somewhere, so I hope she reads orders better than she spells.
But enough of that. Check out the May nosegays! Yes, there's a theme, but I haven't got a whole lot to work with just yet.
Oops, this isn't a nosegay, but it still smells good. It's my new favorite bread to make -- sesame/sunflower seed/walnut. Delicious.
Odie obligingly tested out the bridge for safety. Actually, I'm not sure he really knew what I was up to when I said, "Hey, stand over there and I'll take your picture ... yep, a little to the left..." but suffice it to say, the bridge passed the test and our bike ride was able to commence.
Odie took this cool photo of me riding across the new bike bridge in St. Charles.
Here we are after the bike ride at Rosie's...now that's refreshing. My new old favorite beer, Hacker Pschoor...since 1417. (burp)
In weekend other news, I spent $800+. Got me a new Verlo mattress. It should be delivered by Saturday, so after that, I may never get out of bed. The guy in the showroom is also the guy who's going to build my mattress, so I feel we have a special bond. Wish I had thought to take his picture. Then again, maybe that's just weird. So after the mattress buy, Beth and I went over to Ambrose Garden Center and I could not bring myself to spend $5 on a little frog statue for the garden.
Es war ein Wochenende der deutschen Unterhaltung. Und die Toten Kerl gewonnen.* Not that Sacha Baren Cohen isn’t brilliant, because he definitely carries the gene. It’s just hard to compete with a triple concerto (played by the Elgin Symphony). Some of which was played on a Stradivarius from 1708 (on loan from Samsung to amazing violinist Chee-Yun). All I can say is wow – I don’t know why the triple (as I like to call it) isn’t performed more often, because it really is spectacular. At least to someone who never got past book III in piano lessons (can I help it my teachers kept dying?). While the ESO performance isn’t on YouTube (that I know of), check out this version if you want to hear some. (This is part I of II) I should note I skipped watching MMA fights with my karate friends for this, and I am OK with that.
As for Bruno...it definitely ranks high for shock value. Subtle it’s not, but honestly, there were parts that were so concentrated in humor and other so sublime in their satire, I needed some time to reflect and laugh later. I mean that in a good way. Cohen is most definitely dedicated to his jokes. And, as one reviewer noted, [Homophobia] deserves confrontation, but when done in the manner of the movie here, it is less enlightening than it is just plain squirmingly funny. Also, "The only thing Cohen can do is to throw the character's sexuality in people's faces, but there are several brilliant sequences of baiting and utilizing American gay panic that really hit the satirical button." Yeah, what he said. (gayby ... haha)
The African "gayby" he traded for an iPod...and named OJ.
Speaking of gay...behold the season’s first nosegay! (s) Two for the price of one! The grape hyacinths are going to town, and a few brave soldiers have even migrated out into the lawn. Also, much to my delight, a few of the alliums have survived squirrel onslaughts and are being borned as we speak.
OK, technically not a nosegay, but Pliget is back in the garden! Along with Pooh, the Speedy Family (turtles) and the Normans (gnomes).
I'm not sure how the garden is going to go this year. Spring seems to be passing us by with little in the way of actual warmth. I bought a few plantlings at the school’s annual sale, but I’m not sure they’re hearty enough to brave the elements just yet. I did harvest one, count 'em, ONE sprig of asparagus. Yum. I ate it raw as I was walking into the house. Sadly, that may be the extent of that crop. It was worth a try.
Odie's home (I’m told) for an early mom’s day outing, which works out well for me, as my sweet new propane generator arrived, but, while it’s billed as "portable," it’s over 100 lbs. So I need brother muscle to move this sucker…where I’m not sure. I still need to hook up the propane tank and test it out. With this purchase, I think I’m pretty much guaranteed the power will not ever go out again. Priceless? We’ll see. I just hope the damn thing works.
This is how it came -- I hope that's not going to be a problem.
*It was a weekend of German entertainment. And the dead guy won.
I forgot about this little video I made of the tiny waterfalls in Trout Park. I don't have a video camera, just a regular digital camera with a video feature, so it's not too polished, but you get the idea. I had fun making it, so in that regard, it's a success. The music is by Congress of Starlings.
