Yes I stole a biscuit

Posting has been light because my brother and his family are in town from Alaska. Haven't seen them in 14 years so I've been spending as much time as possible with them while they're here.

Had a great time today. We all went to breakfast and then hung out at Dad's shooting the shit, and watching the birds. They're very tame. They come to the feeders even though we're sitting just a few feet away. And even better, a family of wrens starting moving into one of the bird houses.

Very exciting. The three houses have been up there under the eaves of the shed for years and this is the first time any birds actually used one. It was great fun to watch them carrying in their furniture. They were at it for hours.

I left at dinnertime though, because I'm still so full from breakfast. We went to the buffet at Golden Corral. The food was mostly good. I ate a ridiculous amount. My favorite was the biscuits. Admit I wrapped an extra one up in a napkin and took it home for breakfast tomorrow.

A very short concert

They do a street concert here in the little city on Friday nights in the summer. Never caught the name of this band. They were okay. They did top 40 covers that you might hear on the jukebox at your local VFW bar. Sadly, the video I tried to get of all the old ladies out there doing the shag didn't work. Not sure what I did wrong. Was really hoping to put up a youtube where you could hear the band too.

In any event, the concert only lasted about 20 minutes before a lightning storm blew in. Glad I don't live far away. Got to my front porch just before the rain hit.

Praise be to all the benevolent spirits

For no comprehensible reason, ever since I failed one in something like 1987, I go into a major state of panic every year when I have to get my car inspected so I can renew the registration. This year was no different. I was even more freaked out because I'm new in town and had no idea where to go. The car is fine but I was worried that they would try to make me get new rear tires so I didn't want to go to a tire place to get it done.

I picked the nearest place out of the phone book that wasn't a tire shop and headed out. Apparently drove right by it and ended up on a road I've never been on, in a part of town I've never seen. As I was turning around I drove by a garage that had a big sign and it felt like the right place to go. So I circled around again and there was no way to get into from the main road. Big fence closed off the street.

On the third try I figured out that I needed to get to it from the side streets. Finally got to the place after missing the turn again one more time. In and out with a passed inspection within 20 minutes. Renewed the reg on line and I'm good to go for another year. Can't begin to describe the relief of having it over with. If I had to get new tires I would have been screwed.

And let me tell you I was praying to every God and benevolent spirit in the universe while I was waiting. Praise be to all.

It's a family affair

I forgot it was a holiday weekend. My brother and his family are coming in today from Alaska for the week. Sis is having a big barbecue tomorrow. Really looking forward to the family gathering. Haven't seen my brother in over 13 years. And can't wait to hang out with my cool niece who is now all grown up. Last time I saw her she was a toddler.

Meanwhile, my internet is still out so I can't use the desktop computer. Hoping it's restored today. I've finally figured out how to modify this template and I want my links back. But I've got those saved on the desktop with no way to get to them. If anyone on my old blogroll is still reading me here, can't wait to get around and see all of you. It's been much too long.

Hope everyone has a great holiday.

Hell Week

This is shaping up to be a hellish week. I feel like my world is crashing down around me. A whole lot of stuff going wrong and I lost my internet connection yesterday. After losing hours of time running diagnostics to make sure my hardware wasn't fried, I finally got routed to a tech. It seems there was a huge crash that took out the entire local network and last I heard it won't be fixed until late tomorrow. Of course most of everything I critically need to get done in the next week depends on internet access.

And I still need to get my car inspected, which is really complicated for reasons too complicated to explain, by the end of the week. That always stresses me out. I'm terrified that I'll fail and need to get work done that I can't afford to pass it. Times like this I wish I had a boyfriend to deal with that part of it. And to pat me on the back on tell me everything is going to be alright.

A year in 60 seconds

Love these time lapse things. This one is especially pretty.



And the photographs here aren't that pretty but are interesting. Ten abandoned places from around the world, including Russia.

Happy Birthday PacMan

Sorry posting has been so boring. I'm focused on job hunting and trying to keep up on a bunch of stuff so I haven't had time to cruise the little city on any adventures. But this might amuse you for today. Google is celebrating Pac-Man's 30th birthday with its first interactive logo. Click on the logo or on the insert coin button to play.

I used to like the game and would play it if there wasn't a pinball machine around. Admit I tried it. I was never good at the game though and I'm still not, so I only played once. It did however remind me of my daughter's high school sweetheart. I recall he was so good at it, he could play on one quarter for an hour.

What were they thinking?

Behold, the new mascots for the Olympics to be held in England. Wenlock and Mandeville made their debut yesterday.

Yikes. They look like mutant Teletubbies. Apparently they're supposed to appeal to children, who will then be inspired to get their parents to give the Olympics money, or something like that. If I was a kid, I think I would be terrified of those cyclops eyes. Actually, I find them a little scary as an adult.

Living Art

This picture is alive! It's actually a vertical garden made up of succulents. I think it's really cool. If I had my own house, I would build one for sure.

Click here for more pictures and close ups of the plants. I do wonder if it ever outgrows the frame and haven't looked far enough into the site to see how they keep the dirt from falling out.

What are their parents thinking?

I'm no prude but this is just so wrong. These girls are 7 and 8 years old. What the hell are they doing dressed up like strippers and doing Lady GaGa routines?



They obviously have a lot of talent. I can't believe the choreographer couldn't come up with a routine that didn't scream slut in training. Backstory here.

How does your garden grow?

I've been sick for a couple of days so no big news or little city stories to report but I do have a couple of pix of my Dad's garden. It's growing at a great pace. This was taken a few days ago and when I was there Sunday these cukes were already double in size.

The lettuce is holding up really well too since it's been pretty cool so it hasn't bolted. I admit a grabbed a few leaves to take home for a sandwich on my way out. It was delicious.

(Pictures are usually better if you click on them to enlarge.)

Pickles for Mother's Day

Happy Mom's Day to the mothers who visit here. My gift this year was Dad's cat Pickles let me take a picture of her. She's always been really shy and it took weeks before she would even enter the room if I was there. She's become more bold since Phoebe died. I think we bonded in our grief over losing her. She doesn't run away from me any more anyway.

And she's amenable to the occassional scritch around the ears now too. Meanwhile, the lilies on Phoebe's grave are coming up but it will be while before it's worth taking a picture of them.

Happy Train Day

I'm told today is National Train Day. The love of trains runs deep in my family, especially with my Dad, so these youtubes are for him.





And the video on this is boring, but it's one of my favorite Harry Nilsson songs, Nobody Cares About the Railroads Anymore.

A rose by any name...

The only bummer of my trip to Atlanta was that I forgot my camera. Too bad because the place has really shaped up since the last time I was there and it would have nice to chronicle the changes.  So no trip pix but here's a couple of shots of the rose bush in front of my house. It's an old fashioned rose and the bush is huge.

The roses smell so sweet it's intoxicating to stand near it. Wish there was some way to add aroma to pictures.

A night at the opera

So I haven't posted because I took a quick trip out of the little city. My ex talked me into taking a break and going down to Atlanta for a few days. Since he kindly sent me a ticket and we were overdue for a visit, it was impossible to refuse. I confess I was a little cranky when he informed me a couple of days later we were going to the opera on the night I arrived. Mainly because I would have to bring extra clothes and I pride myself on traveling light. I was thinking, "I'll need two extra pairs of shoes for a three day trip. Really?"

Of course, as always happens with these things, he was right. I had a great time. He scored front row seats for The Magic Flute. I've never sat in the front row for anything. I could hardly decide whether to watch the show or the orchestra in the pit. They were both fabulous. And the sets were incredible.

They appear to have a blog, so you can see more pictures here. And as an added bonus, my brand new heels didn't pinch and I didn't fall off them, being out of practice in wearing heels at all for the last five years or so.

Otherwise the visit was low key. We get along much better as friends than we ever did as a couple. Went out for Indian food, which I really miss. Played pinball. That's kind of our thing. We've played it all over the world. And it was great to play on a new working machine. I'm glad I went.