Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

This blog will pay for itself.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

“In this country American means white. everybody else has to hyphenate.”

Republicans do not trust women.

This fight is for everything.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Not all heroes wear capes.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Here’s Another Memorial Day Open Thread

Here’s Another Memorial Day Open Thread

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Gerald and the boys are coming over for a bbq, so I made a big vat of potato salad from scratch, another of cole slaw, and have about a dozen burgers ready for the swarm. Gerald is bringing dogs, beans, and dessert. The weather here is beautiful, and we are going to have a little bonfire when dinner is over.

Dad is resting comfortably and had to wait until tomorrow to have surgery to get the blood thinners out of his system. According to the surgeon, he sheared off the ball of his ship and they have no choice but to replace his hip. He’s getting a drip of the good stuff, so is doing ok.

What are you all up to?

Reader Interactions

79Comments

  1. 1.

    schrodingers_cat

    I just divided and repotted all my succulents and left a rant about Christopher BowTie Kimball in the last thread

    ETA: Wishing your father a speedy recovery and an event free surgery.

  2. 2.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Thanks for the update on your dad, John. If you haven’t already done so — heck, even if you have — please be sure and let him know that lots of people he’s never heard of are wishing him well.

    Your BBQ meal sounds good. If your photographic skills are up to the task, please share pictures. Especially of all the dogs.

  3. 3.

    Another Scott

    Sounds like a great time.

    Me? I’m fighting the flu – yes, the flu. I picked it up at the end of my trip to Japan. Perfect timing since I have a bunch of deadlines and stuff at work this week. (sigh).

    And of course J has a fever now too, but is going to get treated now – it was too late for me to take tamiflu. Maybe it won’t be so bad for her.

    All those people is Japan walking around in surgeon’s masks know what they are doing…

    Enjoy the holiday, everyone. I hope that it is peaceful.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  4. 4.

    debbie

    Hope your father’s recovery is speedy and without issues. A friend’s mother had to have both hips replaced at the same time, and she breezed right through it.

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Speaking of succulents, any secrets on repotting them? I’ve got two jade plants (about 10 inches each) I was going to pot up in a single, larger pot, but I’m losing my nerve.

  7. 7.

    MomSense

    Worked outside, took the pup for a walk and now I’m cleaning my room. There was an avalanche in my closet. My whole fabric stash came tumbling down so I decide to sort through everything. We are about to get a thunderstorm so it’s not so bad to be indoors.

    Sending healing thoughts to Papa Cole.

  8. 8.

    CaseyL

    Bought some cages for my tomatoes and snipped some of their lower leaves, as gardeners seem to recommend. Other than that, no great plans. My last couple of glass pieces cracked in the kiln, so I need to redo them – at least I know what I did wrong, so odds of it happening again are, hopefully, slim.

  9. 9.

    R-Jud

    Recovering from a motherfucker of a migraine, one that had me puking behind the Salvation Army bin at my local supermarket. I was supposed to work today, but as I’m a copywriter and my migraines come with a heaping helping of aphasia, I’ve opted to withhold sending my drafts until tomorrow when I can review them with a clearer head.

  10. 10.

    01jack

    I observe every Memorial Day by reading Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est.

  13. 13.

    Brachiator

    Best wishes to your dad, John Cole.

    I simply could not get any restful sleep last night and have been dragging around most of the morning. I might beg off visiting some friends later today. I’m just feeling drained.

  14. 14.

    spudgun

    I second the call for pix – my family doesn’t do Memorial Day, we save it for 4th of July, so I like seeing what other folks are doing.

    All the best to your dad for a speedy recovery!

  15. 15.

    Steeplejack

    Hmm, FYWP is throwing away my comments. They’re not going into moderation, just disappearing.

    Let’s see if this unclogs the pipeline.

  23. 23.

    J R in WV

    When I was a kid we had big family cook outs at my grand-dad’s place, lots of cousins and aunts and uncles. Deviled eggs, burgers, hot dogs, beans and potato salad galore. Then wait to go swimming in ice cold trout creek water.

    We went next door last night, had French 75 cocktails, listened to some very good old time mountain music by contest winning musicians. Had a good time, a small bash, got home around 10:30, slept well. Chilling today.

    Best wishes for Dad Cole. It’s a good thing to wait for the surgery, let all those folks have their holiday, rest up ready to go tomorrow. He’ll be fine.

    @schrodingers_cat:

    We’ve had jade plants, they did OK. But our neighbor has a green thumb, hers bloom hugely on a regular basis. Amazing, I didn’t even know they could do that!

  24. 24.

    debbie

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Yeah, guilty of overwatering. I also look at plants every five minutes, hoping they’ve put out new buds since I last looked.

    My hope was to transfer the plants along with their dirt, but I can’t figure out how damp the soil should be. I rotted out a beautiful purple echveria when I watered it and then repotted about an hour later.

  25. 25.

    Steeplejack

    Okay, I closed Firefox and rebooted the computer. Let’s see if that fixed things.

    ETA: Apparently not. Still can’t post another comment that doesn’t have any offensive niblets in it that I can see.

  29. 29.

    Steeplejack

    @Steeplejack:

    I have been listening to telephone answering sounds to find a more noticeable one for my new cell phone. I think #47 is my leading contender so far.

  32. 32.

    Raven

    Our friend from Oakland is here. She’s a really cool artist and sr pet rescuer! One of her painting prof’s and old buddy of mine who happens to have been a chopper pilot in 62-62 is also coming. Dude is a complete mad man so it should be fun. I decided to go low maintenance on the cooking so it’s turkey or not-dogs with blueberry slaw dressing. The princess has to try to impress so she is destroying the kitchen making vegan ice cream. I did convince her to roast some vegetables on the grill instead of the goddamn oven.

  33. 33.

    PsiFighter37

    Just back from our babymoon in Hawaii. It is hard to believe that in 3 months or so, we’re going to have another human being in the apartment! Definitely a bit nervous, but also very excited. Off to PEI tomorrow for a quick solo day trip to check out the oyster game up there and determine if it’s a trip worth making with the little one in the future while Mom and Dad feast on seafood.

    OT: I am thinking of doing a quick trip to see Mt. Rushmore in mid-July. For those who have been – is it worth it?

  34. 34.

    satby

    @Another Scott: ??sorry to hear that Scott! Hope you and J are feeling better soon!

    @JGC up top: enjoy your day and please do tell your dad he has fans wishing him a speedy recovery.
    I raked up about 1/3 of the heavy grass clippings and decided to create a hugelkultur bed where the evergreens were in the hopes that it will also rot the stumps faster. I had a lot of downed sugar maple branches I was saving for a fire that I used as the base of the bed, maple leaves and grass clippings will be the next layer, and then I will cover it all with garden soil since Lowe’s has the Miracle Grow .75 c.f. bags on sale for 1/2 off. But right now we have a tornado watch and big storms coming so instead of finishing that project I’m inside posting this comment.

  36. 36.

    TaMara (HFG)

    Pulling for you dad.

    I’m headed out to mow the backyard before I have to machete it in between rain storms. I also have to replace the pool water for the ducks and if I remember will try to get video of the fun they have with fresh water.

  38. 38.

    satby

    My other elderly dog Rosie is bereft without her Hershey and considers me a completely inadequate substitute. The younger dogs are too much for her because she’s getting deaf and blind, their playfulness startles her too much. Poor girl.

  39. 39.

    debbie

    @satby:

    I am so sorry about Hershey; did not see your post about him. Poor Rosie, maybe the kids will tune into her sadness, calm down, and offer her comfort.

  40. 40.

    SFAW

    John –
    Best wishes for an uneventful surgery for your father. I expect he’s in a fair amount of pain (when the meds wear off), so I’m sure he’ll be feeling a shitload better with a new hip.

  41. 41.

    Rob

    John, I’m hoping the best for papa Cole.

    @Another Scott: Yikes! A quick recovery for you and J! Earlier this month I was in the hospital for a few days, recovering from broken ribs (fell on asphalt chasing soccer ball). After discharge, I picked up a cold that turned me into a snot factory, and the cold soon became the more unpleasant malady. It took another week before I started to feel normal.

  42. 42.

    AliceBlue

    It’s 96 degrees here, so we have no outside activities planned.

    I took the dogs outside for a quick pit stop a little while ago and noticed that my gardenia bush is loaded with buds. Gardenias are the best thing about summer (along with fresh tomatoes, corn, squash, etc.)

  43. 43.

    NotMax

    @PsiFighter37

    See it now so you can tell the grandkids you saw it before the executive order to rechisel it into the likenesses of Himself, Junior, Eric and Ivanka. //

  44. 44.

    Steeplejack

    I’m in that weird holiday time warp where part of me thinks it’s Sunday and wants to know why all the TV programs are wrong.

  46. 46.

    JoyceH

    I got my hair restreaked (hot pink and teal), and am working on getting my book ready for publication.

    Got a beautiful cover, which can be viewed – here

  48. 48.

    Yutsano

    @NotMax: Please to not give the Toddler in Chief ideas.

    Brisket is cooking. I’m noshing on a quesadilla with a surprisingly good fast food guac. I’m going to attempt a nap with the whole family here. Tots & pears appreciated.

    Also: dropped an e-mail to AL re: possible meet-up this weekend. I thought my schedule was going to be full but the event I was going to on Sunday with the family ain’t happening now.

  51. 51.

    Dog Mom

    Awake at 4:30 to a shivering and panting pup – possibly serious concern in an Addisonian beagle who does not know how to present with the right symptoms to make dx’ing easy. After she refused breakfast, I planned for a trip to the urgent care which didn’t open till 11:00. Got her in, blood taken, electrolytes good – so Addison’s not the problem. All other blood mostly good – maybe slightly low heading towards anemia, but nothing definitive. While waiting for the results, I got her to drink some water. She perked up a bit – I opted to wait till tomorrow to try to get a urine sample – last time we went through with this it was a UTI. At home I got her to eat and have some goat milk – shivering is mostly gone and she is napping. I could use a nap, but think I need to mow some grass.

  52. 52.

    NotMax

    @zhena gogolia

    Ah, been waiting to see your nym. TV production of Kiss Me, Kate starring Alfred Drake found on Amazon Prime the other day while poking through their offerings.

  53. 53.

    zhena gogolia

    @NotMax:

    Oh, it’s back? It was up and we watched the first half, then when we went back to finish it, it was gone. I’ll have to get in a watch this week. I used to trek to NYC to the Museum of Broadcasting to watch it on a little teeny television.

    My brother sent me a great CD, “Lucky To Be Me,” that has a lot of stuff I hadn’t heard, including a live recording from Kean. The recording is muffled, but it’s great to hear that his superb singing was not just a product of the recording studio.

  54. 54.

    geg6

    We had our big bash yesterday. It was a combination Memorial Day celebration, sixth anniversary for my sister and BIL (who hosted) and baby shower for my eldest niece, who is due in early July with a girl. There were about 25 or 30 relatives and friends of all ages there. A nice time was had by all, but I drank too much wine and have been lazy all day. Did get some laundry done, at least. I had planned to make BBQ ribs for dinner but John has started a bunch of projects and has the kitchen torn up, so not sure about that at this point.

  56. 56.

    Dog Mom

    @satby: Give Rosie a good hug from me and a knowing sigh from my old girl Skye. She and Dottie are doing pretty well together after the one sister beagle, Lulu’s passing two weeks ago. I was not expecting that they would do so well as they had some friction in the past.

  57. 57.

    PsiFighter37

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Did not think of Devil’s Tower – but that is further away, and at most I will have all day Saturday + half of Sunday. It seems like if I stay in Rapid City, Devil’s Tower is probably the one I knock out (unless I get an early start to my Saturday morning and drive all the way out there first). I could also fly into Gilette, WY, but TBH I am not very keen on staying in rural white America as a non-white person, and it seems like Rapid City is the (marginally) larger town/city to stay in.

  58. 58.

    NotMax

    @zhena gogolia

    Whoever was operating the main camera was kept damn busy panning, zooming and dollying. Also noticed it uses the bowdlerized stanza of Brush Up Your Shakespeare.

  60. 60.

    Sab

    @schrodingers_cat: I am very curious. How do you manage to have ANY indoor plants with cats? My meyer lemon tree is still with us but everything else has been destroyed. I can’t even have cut flowers.

  61. 61.

    TaMara (HFG)

    @JoyceH: Congrats! You know the drill, email pdf of the cover, a link to the book, blurb on the book and a little bit of your process for the Authors in Our Midst and I’ll feature it.

  62. 62.

    Mnemosyne

    @satby:

    I’m sorry to hear about Hershey. Our two remaining kitties are spending a fair amount of time with each other and with us. They mostly seem confused about why Annie isn’t around, but it’s hard to say since G and I are both still a little mopey. One week ago tonight.

  64. 64.

    Mnemosyne

    We did a BBQ at my brother’s yesterday, so today is a lazy day with occasional laundry.

    I also ended up doing a fairly ridiculous amount of internet shopping since I was running out of a lot of stuff (like my cleanser and moisturizer) but too cheap to pay full price for it.

  65. 65.

    Jay Noble

    @PsiFighter37: That whole area is shall we say – touristy – but do see Rushmore and Crazy Horse Mountain. I would add in Wind Cave.

    Be aware that distances can be deceiving because of windy roads and lower speeds.

    Unfortunately, The Flinstone attraction has gone the way of the dinousaur in the last year or two or I’d recommend that.

  66. 66.

    Mnemosyne

    @TaMara (HFG):

    Thank you. She was very stubborn and wanted to keep going, but she could no longer keep food or water down, so it seemed cruel to let her starve herself to death. ?

  68. 68.

    Mnemosyne

    Is anyone else watching “Fosse/Verdon”? We’re really enjoying it, and I’m getting tired of the internet whiners who refuse to see all of the fucking nuance in front of their faces.

  69. 69.

    Dan B

    @PsiFighter37: The Black Hills are beautiful with lots of lakes and rock formations. Mt. Rushmore is fine but touristy. The Black Hills aren’t very touristy so you can tool tool around and enjoy them easily. Rapid City is probably a good choice for you. And if you ever have more time the Badlands are amazing.

  71. 71.

    smedley the uncertain

    @J R in WV: They Bloom?? Ours never have. They grow well for us and when a piece breaks off, transplant with about 75% success. A bit of sand in the soil helps…

  73. 73.

    HinTN

    Mowed, weed whacked, transplanted oak saplings, bought a battery powered hedge trimmer, cooked burgers on charcoal grill, now cooking bbq chicken (sauce is Sweet Baby Ray’s), checked on familial plot for stray stars and bars (none, thank FSM), half drunk, good vibes to papa Cole.

    That is all.

  74. 74.

    Ivan X

    When I am asked whom I am supporting in the Democratic primary, I just answer, “I like cheese.”

    It’s amazingly powerful, mostly because everyone likes cheese.

  75. 75.

    Tehanu

    First, best wishes again to Dad Cole; everyone we know who’s had a hip or knee replacement has been very happy with the results, so I wish the same for him. As for our holiday, we were watching the last day of the May sumo tournament — one of our best respites from politics — and who should walk in but The Dumpster and Melanoma? Ugh. Fortunately we had tickets to go down to a little theatre in Fullerton to see Fellowship!, the musical parody of Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring, for the (ahem!) 9th time in 14 years, along with the kids and grandkids, which made up for it. Today, just treadmilling and watching “Trials and Tribble-ations” on DVD. When my late MIL was alive we always used to do barbecue on Memorial Day but nowadays just having time to read and watch shows is very welcome.

  76. 76.

    JoyceH

    Hey, new subject, but I happened across that press conference Trump gave in Japan the other day and just now saw a clip from it again – and does anyone else think his makeup is looking particularly bad lately? Weird color, like mud, and looks like it was applied with a trowel.

  77. 77.

    MazeDancer

    @debbie:

    Do not out them in the same pot.

    Jade plants get big. That is why they are the good luck money plant. They grow.

  79. 79.

    Gvg

    We had a long mild spring for Florida. 3 weeks ago we were commenting how cool it still was (for us). Now we have had a week of some of the hottest days I have noticed in years, with no rain, and at least a week more to go. I had my first migraine in years a few days ago, apparently because a small cold clogged me up more than normal. Anyway by Saturday I was trying to work on building the shed I need, and it’s been brutal. so far all I have accomplished is dismantling the rusty metal one being replaced. Working mostly mornings and evenings to survive. We have the plans picked out and are getting everything found and priced. I bought some heavy weight pavers and foundation gravel. Tomorrow after work I should begin digging and leveling. I have lots of dry grass and large areas with no lawn because several trees were removed before I bought the house and lawn hasn’t filled in. Now the whole town has crispy lawns. Naturally some of the best lawn green and lush is where the shed needs to go. That means digging up the healthy stuff and moving it, watering to keep alive while building a shed.
    I really want the rains to start. In Florida a normal summer we start getting daily rains in the next few weeks. It helps.
    Once I have a shed, dad will have space to put his boat in my garage instead of my sisters 30 miles out in the country, and we can go boating more often.
    Still, this weekend was more work than fun.

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