You know the end of school is close when you see "Cook's Choice" on the school lunch menu...

I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog: "No good in a bed, but fine against a wall." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

Mathman Meme

Reveal..again. I know, I know, don't groan and gripe.

#1 I've had a lap dance bought for me once. Yikes!!

#2 One of the loveliest sights to me is a fern growing in the shady, deep forest.

#3 I hate to talk on the phone and avoid it if I can. I only talk to my mom or maybe bro or sis longer than 10 or 15 minutes. With anyone else I consider it talking under duress.

#4 My first name is Elizabeth which was my dad's grandmother's name. Both my nieces and my grandniece have my first name as their middle names. My sister was mad. She thought the name Deborah should have been used at least once. My middle name is Ann. My mom got to name me instead of my dad who named the first two and she entered it on the birth certificate before my dad got back to the hospital. (Hehe)

#5 When I was in 6th grade, I asked for a feather duster and an orange caution flag for my bike for my birthday. You know, the flags that are on a tall pole that attaches to bikes on the back wheel? Like all the geeks had/have? Yeah, I was thinking how cool I looked with that 6 foot tall flag warning people "Geek Alert"! as I buzzed down the street. And a chore of mine was to dust so I thought I would be cooler if I could use a feather duster. I was wrong. I just had to dust more often.

#6 I played alto sax in band. I was one of 6 sixth graders allowed to play in the high school band which consisted of 7th thru 12th grades. The band was unusually small that year so we helped flesh it out especially for parades. As I recall, we were even allowed to play. It wasn't the best experience in my life.

Ok, mathman. It was not as earth-shaking as you might have expected and certainly not that interesting but perhaps I've revealed enough to give you something to joke about at your next party...
Thank you for thinking of me.

Shakespeare's World Quiz
By Myriam Gabriel-Pollock

Most of us are familiar with at least a few of the works of William
Shakespeare -- perhaps the most celebrated English playwright and poet in modern history. We recognize many of his more famous characters, such as Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Lady Ophelia and Hamlet. But how much do we know about the world he lived in? How did he become famous? Who were his contemporaries? What was the theater experience like back then? If thouest taketh our Shakespeare's World Quiz, thou mayest find thine answers.

1
Shakespeare composed his plays during the reigns of which two English monarchs?
a)
William III and Anne
b)
Henry VIII and Edward VI
c)
Elizabeth I and James I
d)
Victoria and Edward VII

2
The Globe Theatre in London, where many of Shakespeare's most famous plays were first performed, was destroyed by fire in 1613. How did the fire start?
a)
A theater patron accidentally dropped his lit pipe into a bale of hay.
b)
A cannon discharged during a performance of "Henry VIII" set fire to the thatched roof.
c)
A Puritan arsonist set fire to the wooden stage.
d)
The building next to the theater was on fire, and the flames spread to the Globe.

3
Which gifted contemporary of Shakespeare wrote the masterpiece "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus," and was stabbed to death in a tavern brawl?
a)
Robert Greene
b)
Thomas Nashe
c)
George Chapman
d)
Christopher Marlowe

4
Shakespeare's poetry, not his plays, reached print first.
a)
True
b)
False

5
English poet and dramatist Ben Jonson's first original play, "Every Man in His Humour," was performed in 1598 with which man as a cast member?
a)
Thomas Dekker
b)
John Marston
c)
William Shakespeare
d)
Sir Walter Raleigh

6
At the Globe Theatre, members of the general public paid 1 penny apiece to watch the play while standing in the yard or "pit." These attendees had several nicknames, including "commoners," "groundlings" and:
a)
Penny-pinchers
b)
Stinkards
c)
Cheapskates
d)
Belly-itchers

7
This English actor -- considered to be the first great English theater performer -- gave life to many leading Shakespeare roles, including Hamlet, Lear, Othello and Richard III. Who is he?
a)
Richard Burbage
b)
Joseph Taylor
c)
Nathan Field
d)
Edward Alleyn

8
In which picturesque English town was Shakespeare born?
a)
Crickhollow
b)
Stratford-upon-Avon
c)
Little Whinging
d)
Wotton-under-Edge

9
Queen Elizabeth was a leading patron of the theater, and attended the Globe's performances so frequently that she and several other aristocratic patrons had specially designated royal seats right in front of the stage.
a)
True
b)
False

10
Two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare, John Heminges and Henry Condell, collected 36 of his plays into a 900-page book known as the First Folio. In what year was it published?
a)
1608
b)
1611
c)
1616
d)
1623

I was surprised since I guessed on a few that I made 7 out of 10.
How'd you do?
Answers are posted farther down. Don't be a cheater.....







Answers are
1-c
2-b
3-d
4-a
5-c
6-b
7-a
8-b
9-b
10-d

I gave my girlfriends an amaryllis bulb in bloom a couple of years back and they returned them each to me after they were done blooming so I could make them bloom again. I told them it wasn't hard to do and they should give it a try. No one wanted to so I ended up with 7 amaryllis bulbs back. I potted 4 of them together in this pot when they started putting up a bloom stem. I didn't bother giving the girls their bulbs back.

Am I a bad person?

Mathman Meme

As you know, random is NOT my middle name (cough).
Mathman here http://mathman6293.blogspot.com/ tagged me on Sunday. I am still in the process, Mathman. Forgive me. It's a deep well from which I bring forth.
Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Write six random things about yourself.
Tag six random people by linking to their blogs.
Let each of the six know they’ve been tagged by leaving them a comment (on their blogs).
Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

As for my faithful readers, you are welcome to join if you like. Since I just tagged people not long ago for a meme, I'll let you play as you will.

J had his Spring band concert last night. I never mentioned that he is the sole percussionist for the 6th grade band since the other 5th grade percussionists didn't last into 6th grade. So on several of the songs they played, he was racing around trying to play all the parts. At least he could SEE the music to play it. He went patch -less. But he definitely needs to grow two more arms. On a couple of songs he did have help with a trombone playing the bass drum while he was on snare.
Today he only has a bit of swelling in the eye. Boring....

It just rained cats and dogs a bit ago. That takes care of us working outside today in the outdoor classroom with the 5th grade. It's gone straight from late winter into summer. 80 degrees today! I'm never surprised but I do gripe a lot. Have you noticed?


I knew it was coming, I knew it, I knew it! Saw the signs, I did.

The nightmare: daughter comes and stretches out on the bed with me while I'm watching the news. Says the daughter in so many words "Slim and I have been talking. You know, we have been going out for over a year and a half. We are starting to talk about having ..you know... " AAaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Head plunges into sand! Nope, that doesn't work. We know that in this family. Take it out and face her. Breathe slowly, show no signs of stress, no sudden moves and for Heaven's sake, don't show the whites of your eyes....
"Well, honey, I appreciate you coming to me like you and I discussed over and over". Launch into warm, coherent convo about how it was for me, what I would expect for her and possible problems, anything and everything I can bring up and discuss to gauge what the actual situation is.
Hhm. Actually having a mature, lengthy, enlightened conversation. Ideas, questions, ancedotes (not many, mind you) flowing more easily than expected. Maybe there is not as much to worry about as I thought. Oh, wait. She's within a month of 16. She's talking about having ..you know...Gaahhhhhhhhhhhh! There is plenty to worry about!

I have a plane ticket bought to some remote island. I'll be back when my kids are grown and in therapy.

A Smattering

J wore this big Band-aid patch over his eye today to school since the antibiotics made his eye very light sensitive and blood-red. His classmates in first hour submitted drawings of eyes they would draw on and his choice was this handsome blinker.



This was my first salad of the year. Some corn salad better known as lamb's lettuce or mache and at the other end of this little raised bed was beets I could thin by picking the baby shoots.




Then over to my whiskey barrel for some spinach, leaf lettuce and a little green onion. This tasted so good and fresh.









These are the packages I haven't planted yet. I really wish I could stop myself.

Saturday And An Eye For an Eye

Thankfully it didn't require an eye being given. An arm and a leg without insurance but thankfully on that as well we are covered.
Last night J received a direct hit to his eyeball with a plastic pellet from an airsoft gun. NO goggles, kids will be kids especially with Mom at the local winery with co-workers. Checking it out, deciding to wait until morning figuring it would be much better but even with ibuprofen, the eye was so sore little sleep was had by J.
This morning I ran him into urgent care and an eye specialist observed and set our mind at ease (Dad met us there). J's eye was indeed scratched nicely but already healing, and with some rest should be in good shape by the weekend's end.
Don't ask me about the other kid with the other gun. I am not going there.
I feel like a glass or six of wine. Whew. I feel like we dodged a bullet.

Chatters, beware. I have Skype, a web cam and I"m not afraid to use it!

The Coming Season

Well, not the one we are waiting patiently on (not patient at all, Spring) but the one that I turn into a lizard during. Yeah, Summer. OOoo, I can't wait to tempt fate and skin cancer by lying on my chaise soaking up that sun. It is almost as good as a hot tub soak. Add a tall cold glass of...something tall and cold and maybe a book- I'm set. Guess I'm getting old but warm weather is my friend.
Once upon a time, cold weather was useful to cool my fevered brow of youth.
But now it just makes me burrow into down comforters and sleep like a mammal. And lets face it- hibernating animals are not that attractive.

And there are activities and possible trips planned that excite me this Summer. Michigan for sure and Maryland most likely. Maybe others to think about.

I need more traveling in my life. It always shakes me up and reminds me of what a small, insular world I live in and what a huge world there is out there. Similarities and differences, some subtle, some knock -me- in -the- head obvious. I find myself soaking up as much as I can of the views, the people, the architecture, the flora until I can't store any more at which point I take a nap.
And I like off the beaten path. I don't like herd mentality. I don't want to join a bunch of people tracking around like bovines with Nikons.
More on this later.

Don't Breathe On Me or Where is the Disinfectant Spray?

J is home with a raging case of Strep.
He demanded I let him go to school today for the last of the achievement testing so he could partake in 100% testing day activities. Since he woke up with a fever at 5am I thought better than to let him go. Seems they really encourage kids to come whether or not they are sick by bribing with no work and fun.

Now I am swabbing everything down so E and I don't get sick.


Nothing much to report. I am ready to plant all over the place but alas the rain is a'comin. I need a day off during a dry spell, I guess. Other than that, I am a dull girl just taking care of business.

Cheers

Ladies and gentlemen,


Renunculas- in fact the color I bought.

This is a marguerite daisy but my plants were about 1/2 inch across and a light lavender. I couldn't find any pics of my variety.









Swan River Daisy or Brachycome

Wassss UP

I had the weekend to myself and not a piddly thing did I get to do outside. We had 30 degreee weather and SNOW! $%@(&&*^@! All freakin' weekend.
I did go outside Sunday but just from my car to the mall then back to my car to the large chain department store back to the car,....you get it, I know.
I spent a small fortune on flowers at Lowes and the greenhouse I shop at. Renunculas, sweet potato vine, French marigolds in a beautiful deep yellow (I don't appreciate yellow much in my garden but these are to die for) and lovely succulents that will grace my sister's porch since they are about the only thing she won't kill-wish I would have thought of those sooner. Most of these purchases are for my Mother's Day gift to my mom but I don't have to give them up for awhile so I plan on enjoying them till I do.

I watched " No Country For Old Men". I was reeling from it after it went off. I'm glad I rented it but it was bleak and brutal. I figured it was going to be. I'm not sure what I want to say about it otherwise. It took me to a totally different plane of thought and feeling.

My kids came back last night from their dad's and as I was sitting there watching PBS "A Room With a View" J asked me if it was "that show, you know, the one you were watching last week- "'Sense and Sensitivity"? I busted out laughing as did my daughter and she said "Sounds like a good ad for condoms" to which we all roared. Yeah, we are doomed, I tell ya.

More testing this week and next week as well. At least the scary part has worn off and everyone is breathing normally. That is until our scores are unleashed on the community and heads will begin rolling....Uh-oh, I just signed next year's contract.

Remember my previous post "My Morning Walk Yield"? This next part is is the reasons I posted that.
It's been almost three weeks since I went to talk to our new local apple orchard owner about some work. I spent an hour with him discussing what his vision was for the place and how to go about starting some of those idea. He isn't interested in working the orchard himself. He only bought the place to improve his existing restaurant location but the orchard of peaches and apples plus some grapes needs to be taken over and he can't find a taker to lease it from him. He talked to me about starting a truck garden on two acres for saleable produce out of the building in addition to the fruit. But I was thinking about the orchard job.
Now, I have had my eye on that orchard for many years thinking about the nice locale, the beauty and draw of an orchard most of the year and the fact it's the only one we have locally and it's our main source of apples for our festival. Seems a shame that it might not be in production.
I have thought how this orchard could be that perfect place to buy spring bulbs, annuals and perennials, summer produce from local farmers only (none of that stuff that comes from 4 states away and isn't ripe), Farmers Market Saturdays with many local meat and fruit producers, artists and crafters (we have many), Fall decorations like straw bales, broom corn and Indian corn, gourds and the prized pumpkins, and then Christmas trees, fresh greens and wreaths and locally made gifts (gotta watch quality here).
I shared that with him. We talked about the truck garden and what he thought would make sense to grow. He wanted me to work after school and weekends and we would together find people I could direct in working it. I was down for that but the fact was there was way too much to be done before the field would be plant-able. Not enough time to get it done and the fact was, no one is wanting any of those jobs besides me. So I could foresee a problem of me being bogged down in Andreas and my project, my own house garden, and then a huge undertaking with this two acres. He can't find anyone to even work the orchard on a lease or otherwise.
I spent that night in a fever all night, partly because I had the flu (remember last month?) and partly because I thought I had been sent an opportunity. But I finally figured out a big piece of my puzzle.
I want to be like my dad who actually said on many occasions "I'd rather be scratching shit with the chickens than to work for anyone else but myself". In other words, he wanted to rely on himself. And he did a wonderful job. Very strong man, indeed. And we all have that propensity to be independent in my family.
Anyhow, I wanted to jump at the chance to work my own orchard, to have a local business that the town actually needs and wants and to work for myself. Hhmmm, I had a lot of thoughts but the one that kept coming back to me was " how are the kids going to handle this kind of lifestyle?" I won't be home most of the time, I won't be at a lot of their functions due to work, I won't be holding down the fort while they are out of school and keeping them lined out. They will be on their own and it scared me. No way do I think they aren't capable but it's a big change from our lifestyle now. I would miss being being there with them and yes, they could be working with me but I don't think I can manage a household, and an orchard at the same time even with them helping me. I wish I could do it but I know my limitations. I want them to have a lifestyle that is good for them and me working like I would have to work to make a successful venture would not make me a very nice mommy. I can do something like this when they are out of school.
What I learned was how much my mom job means to me and how much that counts in the world. Even if no one agreed with me, it is the truth for ME. And I don't get to the truth of myself very often. So I'm not like my dad in this area. I'm making up for it.
Sorry that was a ramble.

Just Call Me Eleanor Abernathy

Let me just say it's impossible to live in town and have an nonfluctuating cat population.

My pet numbers ebb and flow with the tide.

I had a VERY pregnant, friendly cat up my Spruce tree last night after the storm. She proceeded to disappear about the time I was going to deposit her to the house I saw her at last week.

This morning she was back and yowling like a ...I don't know what!

I already had a friendly beautiful cat come join the two-cat clan a month ago and I agreed to keep him. But this is too much!!!

Much Ado About E

It sure has been an action-packed couple of weeks for E.

Last weekend while my mother was here, we attended the talent show in which E played. Here she is. I thought she did a pretty good job given how nervous she was.
Nah, I didn't take photos of the other participants. I'm funny that way...





This past Saturday, E was in the drama class play "Flyin' ". Pretty much about teenage angst about the hierarchy or caste system in place in school- you know the drill...all about the dweebs, the heads, geeks, jocks, preps-(They all love him. They think he's a righteous dude) and their interaction or non-interaction which each other and why. Interesting and of, course I'm gonna say it- pretty good, to see these kids try to pull off real drama.

E was a bulimic whose only interest was fitting in with the Socs and she does a darned good job with the needy, desperate girl looking for acceptance. I have to talk to her about that...















Some of the cast...









At the end...it was a freakin' hour and a half long. I'm going to suggest the drama deparment make some money by renting out school seat cushions.

My Morning Walk Yield

I want to be fearless, doubtless and brilliant.

My children are the single most important defining factor of my life.

I am happy to be where I am.

I don't have time to elaborate. Just take it for what it means to you.
Talk amongst yaselves...

Things looming on the horizon in a scary way:

Daughter driving-Ack!
Daughter needing a car- starting out with mine but geez, I don't want to sit at home when she needs it.
Finding a car her father and I can afford at some point. Last night we passed a Mercedes Benz for sale (maybe a 70's model- four door) and missed the sign with the details. I told E I was going to buy it for her which totally blew her mind. I was kidding. Then she was saying she would drive any old clunker if need be. Which is good to know.
I am amazed as I sit in the high school parking lot and watch those kids get into Honda Accords, Mitsubishi's, big honker 4-wheel drives, Trans Ams and Mustangs- brand new or close to it. How do they do it??? And why would you buy a brand new car for a High Schooler? Especially a guy...

Only For Kimmyk

Kimmyk (http://www.ihavenonameforthis.blogspot.com/) needed me to keep my promise so she could have a real laugh.

My promise was to post my prom pictures from 1980 and 1981. She was kind enough to treat us to hers so I will return the favor.

Obviously, I need some direction for scanning to a computer but whatever. Just overlook the tech problems and settle on the hair problems I inevitably have encountered my WHOLE LIFE beginning with these years. Then you can move on to the boy/man problems from there. The dresses? - not so much.

First pic- junior year. Five words were spoke the entire evening and that was him telling me about the hit he took on the football field during a game that made his kidney bleed......Ack! (Guess there were more than five words)

Second pic- Senior year. An actual friendly acquaintance but younger and his prom. At a town from which I had bunches of friends in common, who accompanied us to eat and then to the shindig. Not a horrible evening.







Before you leave, please sign my keepsake guest book from this eve. You all had those at prom, didn't you?


Anyone feeling like playing along by posting your own prom pics?