Fresh rhubarb, April 2010

Fresh rhubarb, April 2010
Originally uploaded by sweetgaldecals

The rhubarb is going crazy this year. It got an early start and has been very happy with the weather. (Catherine, do you recognize the apron? I bought it from you!)

I woke up in a cranky, self-pitying mood this morning, but when I stepped outside to pick the rhubarb, the air in town was scented with lilacs. How could I stay in a rotten attitude with all the lilacs in town working against it?

It's lilac time again!

And so soon! What's going on? It's still April.

We did have a pretty good frost last night, but down here in the valley I think we were mostly okay; whether the apple farmers on the ridges fared so well, I have not yet heard.



Okay, Beckham, one sniff, and then you need to get off the table, bad cat.

Eating well on a food stamp budget: $68.88 - Diet and nutrition- msnbc.com

Eating well on a food stamp budget: $68.88 - Diet and nutrition- msnbc.com

Parking this here so I can find it later.

My son's first prom

Mole holes? Nope - pocket gophers.

I thought the bazillion holes in our lawn were from moles, but then I spotted one of the culprits, and he's a pocket gopher. He was absolutely adorable! K wanted to catch him and make him into a pet. He's just a little bit bigger than a field mouse, but with this big head, and so round.

I am still not crazy about the holes but he's too adorable to trap or poison. Look at that fuzzy head. *smooch*

Happy anniversary to my in-laws.

Ronald and Jane Stahl were married 48 years ago today. We are thankful for all these years they have loved each other and set an example of a faithful marriage.

Catherine's Vintage Style - a blog worth reading

I cannot remember how I found Catherine's blog for the first time but it's one I recommend. Catherine lives an amazing lifestyle in the Arizona desert, far from the conveniences I certainly take for granted. She and her husband live fairly simply, enjoying the beauty of the desert as their entertainment. And get this: They make their living by gold prospecting! I'm serious! How cool is that!!??

That's her current blog header photo there. She has such an eye. I would love to follow her around for a few days and try to see if she will rub off on me.

Oh, and I sorta left out the fact that she has a lifetime of knowledge of vintage linens. She was the one who got me started doing Saturday's Apron,which I out-and-out stole from her - and I'm not even sorry. She finds the most gorgeous linens and tells what makes them wonderful. I learn a lot from her posts.

Anyway, go check out her peaceful, quiet blog over here. Tell her hello from Maria. :o)

FailedMessiah.com: Arguing Fallacies: Rubashkin, 'Antisemitism' And 'Disproportionate' Punishment

FailedMessiah.com: Arguing Fallacies: Rubashkin, 'Antisemitism' And 'Disproportionate' Punishment

Another editorial which again brings up the point that RUBASHKIN IS NOT SORRY.

Church building progress: Basement floor

This photo was taken from an upstairs window in our house (through the screen - sorry). Church basement floor was poured today.

Those guys walk confidently around on the wall all the time, carrying tools and supplies around. It scares me to even think about it. They are easily 10-12 feet off the ground.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: Does a Kosher Butcher's Fraud Mandate a Life Sentence?

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: Does a Kosher Butcher's Fraud Mandate a Life Sentence?

A reasonably balanced opinion on the Rubashkin case.

Antique school desk on Craigslist

I just put this desk on Craigslist if anyone is interested.

After I kicked her out of the office so I could work...

Associate degree in nursing versus BSN

NursingLink.com published an article comparing nursing with various degrees. I hope it will help explain why Barry is going for his BSN. He is actually thinking about pursuing the doctorate in nursing that Viterbo is planning to offer by the time he graduates.

The associate degree was going to take nearly as long as the BSN, considering the waiting list he would have to be on, and it really did not make sense.

Bo vs. the Coyotes

SCENE: Our house, 1:00 a.m.

COYOTES:  Yip yip yip! Arooooooo! Yip!

BO:  BARK BARK BARK! BARK BARK BARKBARKBARKBARKBARBARRRGGGRRRRR! BARK!

As proof that Bo is very scary, we offer the fact that there are no coyotes in town this morning. I'm sure they are cowering in fear down in the wetlands, thanks to the nocturnal efforts of Bo. Thanks heaps, Bo.

Five is the Guy Number

This morning my 16-year-old son had an epiphany. He said that most of the really pivotal moments in a guy's life usually start with 5 words.

• I can win her back.
• I can trust you guys.
• Poke it with a stick.
• I can jump that far.
• I am not that drunk.
• I don't need this job.

Heh.

Smelty Deliciousness

Worth the drive. From just about anywhere.

For the Conspiracy Theorists Out There:

At last: The Government admits it - tinfoil hats work!

I just received our i-Pass (for our travels over the toll roads back East this summer). It came wrapped in tin foil, I presume to keep it from being scanned and charged on the mail trucks. I didn't even realize the significance of this, but Barry did: It's government admission that wrapping stuff in tinfoil protects us from alien brain waves. So everybody get out there and make those tinfoil hats.

Who could resist that smile?

Remember when we were car shopping and I nearly had us buy a Scion xB?

I still think they're adorably ugly and I still think I'd like to have one someday... unless I buy this:

That's the Scion iQ as seen at the New York Auto Show. It's been marketed for awhile in Japan as a Toyota, though the company thinks maybe it would do better in the States branded as a Scion. (Ya think? Maybe?) Isn't it cute? Look at that happy expression. It would rub off for sure. Think how happy I would be driving a happy little car.

Anyway...

Photo source:  The New York Times

More:  Watch these!

Tracing old patterns, and migraines

This is one of those posts that give Shallow Thoughts from Iowa its name! Shallow. Anyway, here are two little random tips:

One is, if you're going to trace off an old pattern (and never use the old patterns as is, they are too fragile), use bleached  muslin instead of tracing paper. Much sturdier and it still folds up nice and small for storage. Doesn't slip around on the fabric as you are cutting out the pieces, either.

The other is, I may have found a migraine cocktail that works for me:  One Imitrex, 800 mg ibuprofen and 3 cups of very strong coffee. Rest in a dark room 1 hour. Can I get a hallelujah?

He's catching up, slowly but surely

Email this morning:


Brother: good morning.  now you're three years older than me, so I guess that makes you boss, at least for almost two months ... when you go back to only being two years older than me ... and still big sister ... but slightly less so.  one of these days I'm going to catch up, though, and when that happens you'd better watch out.


Me:  Yes, well, you ARE catching up. Right this moment you are 93.75% as old as I am, whereas one year ago you were only 93.61% as old as I. It's only a matter of time.

The Hugos

The Hugo finalists have been announced, and you can find the full list here.

Up for the full-length movie award are five films, each of which I love but for completely different reasons, and I'm glad I'm not going to be one of the ones to pick a winner, because I'd be completely at a loss. They are (in alphabetical order):

    

See what I mean? Argh!

And Kij Johnson's "Spar" is a nominee for the Hugo. She's already won the Nebula with this story. I have read it twice and while I find it amazing, I cannot honestly recommend it; I feel like I need to go through an autoclave a couple of times each time I read it myself, as the ick factor is extremely high. It's a story that I can admire as a piece of writing without saying I actually like it, if that makes any sense. As Kij herself describes it on her website, "This is a very disturbing and sexually explicit story - not for kids!"

Why Zombies Don't Run, by Simon Pegg

(Yes, we did celebrate the Resurrection this morning, but still this is a post about zombies, not faith.)

Simon Pegg wrote this piece for The Guardian back in 2008.

You cannot kill a vampire with an MDF stake; werewolves can't fly; zombies do not run. It's a misconception, a bastardisation that diminishes a classic movie monster. The best phantasmagoria uses reality to render the inconceivable conceivable. The speedy zombie seems implausible to me, even within the fantastic realm it inhabits. A biological agent, I'll buy. Some sort of super-virus? Sure, why not. But death? Death is a disability, not a superpower. It's hard to run with a cold, let alone the most debilitating malady of them all.

Birthday present from Britta

Britta gave me my birthday present a little early. It's this great government-issued official Zombie Survival poster, which I can put where I can easily see it from my desk for quick reference. Just in case. Because you just never know.

Judy Laquidara's recipe for Kahlua Heath Bar Dessert

Saving this here so I don't lose it.

April Foolishness 2010

A roundup of springtime trickery from around the Interweb.

First, my email this morning contained this amazing offer from TFAW.com:



Failbooking got me with this moderately funny one.

And finally,

Oooooh! I missed one! What if they finally made that Halo movie everybody has been waiting for... in Bollywood?

April Fool's Day tricks seemed a bit scarce on the Web today, which means either people are too busy to be coming up with good ones or (more likely) I was completely duped by them and didn't notice.

Update: As an example of the latter, I was horrified at Lil Guildies and very thankful to find out that it's not real.