What’s everyone up to?
I just came in from the pool. My little Henry is so sweet, he kept circling the pool – doing laps of his own on the cement around the pool!
Last day of vacation, returning home on Tuesday.
Here are some photos of Henry with some of his buddies for the week. I didn’t take them myself, but they are bad enough that I could have!
Another Scott
[ that guy ]
I think you meant “a composite material composed of aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement that cures over time” rather than “cement”.
[ /that guy ]
Just hanging out, reading B-J, before I get back into work-mode.
Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@Another Scott: ha!
Sorry you have to work today.
JoyceH
Flashing back to Granny in the Beverly Hillbillies calling the pool the ‘SEEment pond’.
I’m just loafing today. Got a zoom later…
Scout211
Whoa! WaterGirl, I had no idea Henry was so tiny! Your photos of him always make him look (apparently) larger than life. 😉
Such a cutie!
jackmac
I’m trying to finish placement of two 12 x 40-inch planters in front of my house. The entire project included fabric cover underlay, mulch, bricks around the whole area and then planters in position. Oh, yeah, flowers, too.
But it’s starting to get too hot (85 degrees and rising and sunny) to work. And the forecast for the next six days call for upper 80s and lower 90s. It might require a break and resumption near dusk, but I will persist and complete.
Also, Water Girl’s pup is adorable!
JoyceH
I’ve brought the bike into the house and am practicing with it. Right now I’m just practicing getting on and off. One thing I’ve learned in recent years – if there’s something you used to do and you haven’t done it for a long time, don’t assume you can still do it. Just lifting my leg high enough to get over the center bar is taking work.
Scout211
We went to an outdoor party/celebration of life yesterday for a neighbor we knew. It was nice but I could have done without the Biden joke. One of the speakers forgot what he was about to say and called it a “Biden moment.” Laughter ensued. Ugh. Living in the country, in a red county has its drawbacks at times .
Today is a quiet day at home.
Old Dan and Little Ann
Game 4 puck drop at 6:05. Hershey Bears vs. Rochester Americans. Go Amerks!
laura
I just spent 2 hours pick axing the neighbor’s canna out of my raised bed so that I can finish sheet mulching over the relentless crab grass and get my summer flower garden in. The time flew by because I’ve been binging the Wiser Than Me podcast- julia Louis Dreyfus talks with old gals to find out all the good stuff and every single one has been so good.
Ohio Mom
Doing laundry this sfternoon. For some reason, there is a lot of it today. In between loads, zoning out. I have lots to organize but no energy today, there’s always tomorrow for paperwork.
twbrandt
I’m up at Torch Lake, Michigan through tomorrow.
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
Henry is adorable! He looks like he’s having a great time with his doggie friends, if maybe a little overwhelmed by being, well, little. It’s all worth it though, if the big guys include you in the fun. And friendly dogs never seem to care about size.
Everyone is making me feel very lazy! Because I am, I guess… it’s raining so I’m going to go back to reading my novel.
evap
Greetings from Ireland, where it’s just a normal Monday. I’ve been here three weeks and the weather has been glorious, warm and sunny most of the time. And since it’s late May, the sun is out 4:30 – 21:30. One more week here and then we’re off to Portugal for 5 days. Life is good!
mrmoshpotato
Envious!
(checks weather)
Oh, I’m good with it being 65 up north!
Went to my sister’s yesterday with our parents for a small party with her hubby and kiddos. Couple of family friends and a family of 4 they know from the kids’ school were there too. Great weather.
Heading over to Mom and Dad’s today to watch the Cubs get blown out, and dinner.
Scout211
@laura: Canna lilies! Ugh! It took me weeks and weeks to rid them from the flower beds in our previous home. I guess they are not technically invasive, but they were invasive in my flower bed! Pick ax, for sure. I used a mattock. It was insane where all those bulbs were under the ground.
I wish you the best of luck.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I’m reading Simon Jimenez’s THE VANISHED BIRDS. It’s science fiction, and it took me a while to get into. I nearly quit at the 10% mark, but now I’m really enjoying it. For one thing, it has a stray child, and that always rouses my protective instincts.
Poe Larity
I thought the post said what is everyone giving up…
Giving up a day off to work, because someone wants an answer tomorrow.
zhena gogolia
Recovering from reunion/commencement. Getting ready to go to NH tomorrow. We haven’t been out of CT since May 2021. Just finding our suitcases was challenging.
cliosfanboy
Going to a cook-in at friends. (weather too iffy for a cook-out in northern Virginia at the moment.) I like to fly appropriate flags for holidays so this weekend’s flag has been a Civil War-era US flag. V-E Day had a 48 star flag. July 4 will have the Betsy Ross. Juneteenth will see my June teeth flag. St. Patrick’s Day has an Ulster flag. Hey, my Irish ancestors were Irish PROTESTANT dagnabit.
sab
Potted the rest of my container flowers. Watered everything. Tomorrow it’s 0lantw the three last plants for the shady bed. Promised the dog no bath today. When it got too hot I went in and balanced the checkbook, caught up the payrolll ledger for May. Made egg salad and a new pot of coffee.
Husband has been watching Band of Brothers all day.
I wanted to visit my dad but he gets too wound up on holidays, so tomorrow I’ll take him cupcakes.
JMG
A day of actual grandparenting, as opposed to the coo, chuckle and leave it to the parents version. My daughter in law cut a finger very badly cutting a bagel with a bread knife (Nurse at Brooklyn Hospital told her it’s the most common knife injury they see, right down to the bagel). Alice and I spent the day alone with grandson. Feed, change, try to get him to sleep, repeat as needed. Turned out he thought his grandmother made a better pillow than I do. Can’t argue.
Tenar Arha
Nothing really. Mostly just recovering from my past 3 days at Boston Calling, an annual music festival that takes place on the Harvard Athletic Fields in Cambridge. I Just od’ed on 3 days of rock, soul, punk, edgy folk, etc. music. Also, I think I can say that it was probably the sunniest, driest, coolest & then hottest music festival I’ve ever been to. Plus, 4 stages made for a lot of walking. I had lots of fun listening, but I’m definitely feeling the after effects.
ETA Woof to the dogs
frosty
Just finished a 19-mile ride on the rail trail that goes through our town. Ebike, so the uphill return wasn’t too bad, but man my butt is out of shape. I’m now contemplating planting the tomatoes, peppers, and squash I bought yesterday and thinking instead that I’ll just water them and do it tomorrow.
Other than that … cook paella on the grill, work on guitar and harp for St James Infirmary Blues for an Open Mic later this week, a little handyman stuff, read some. Like a friend said awhile back, “Retirement isn’t what I expected.” When I looked puzzled, he said “It’s better!!”
schrodingers_cat
Just finished coloring this in the morning.
trollhattan
Boy, has Amazon ever made it hard to get customer service after a phantom delivery. And yet, they managed to charge me for air.
Grumble.
StringOnAStick
Pot luck with several sets of neighbors (we love our neighbors and feel extremely lucky to have landed here), yesterday was a group jam and pot luck with music friends. Perfect weather at low 70’s but the sun is intense here. I need to go make balsamic roasted onions to contribute to today’s burgers.
Tomorrow I’m going to go make a hard push to get closer to finishing up the drip irrigation system I’m building at a local wildlife rehabilitation nonprofit; the week after this is when the 80 degree weather starts and I want this project done and dusted by then, and I’m sure the thirsty plants want that too.
trollhattan
@Scout211: Scotty would say, “Canna do it, captain. Me circuits are a puddle of lead!”
frosty
@schrodingers_cat: Nice! I like the effects you get with the sky and water. I tried standard watercolor with brushes in Jr High art class and it was really difficult to control. Seems like your pencils might be less fussy.
Emmyelle
wrapping up end of academic/fiscal year reports, sipping non-alcoholic beer, and taking care of my little dog who is recovering from a splenectomy.
Tenar Arha
@schrodingers_cat:
Nice pretty pond!
kalakal
Henry looks very happy!
We went for a nice walk at one of the county parks. I always enjoy seeing what Florida looked like before they slathered concrete all over it. Saw 6 ‘gators and 4 turtles in one of the lakes, some spoonbills which made me think of Betty’s post yesterday and, one I’d never seen before, the gloriously named Yellow Crowned Night Heron. They’re probably as common as Sparrows but it was new to me :)
That an emergency repair of a fence to avoid liability on the pool
Will do some guitar playing this evening, I’m working on my BB King repertoire
Yutsano
I’m able to delay laundry until today, so that’s the most exciting thing happening. Hoping I can talk the folks into Chinese food tonight although I doubt I’ll win that battle. Major aim is to not leave the house if at all possible. But no guarantees there.
EDIT: however I am getting up to shower now!
Geminid
I’ve been reading Turkish journalist Ragip Soylu’s post-election commentary. He had a lamb update;
Mr. Soylu’s tweet included two pictures of the lamb lady stroking her pet’s muzzle. The lamb is wearing the orange flag of the AKP, Erdogan’s party.
Villago Delenda Est
SQUEEEE OVERLOAD!
schrodingers_cat
@frosty: They definitely are easier to control.
Another Scott
@Emmyelle: Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery for your pooch.
Cheers,
Scott.
schrodingers_cat
@frosty: I do like watercolors in their paint form too! This is from a long time ago. I did have a reference pic.
Elephants
trollhattan
Goddamn Russia has become so bad they have me giving Lindsay Fucking Graham an “attaboy.”
Fuck you, Vlad and Vlad’s enablers, you odious bastards.
“If is not technically is crime today, by Wednesday it a crime will be, going back one Soviet decade.”
Tenar Arha
@Emmyelle: happy sipping & speedy wrap up,
& along with @Another Scott: ditto get well soon wishes for the doggo.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
Getting ready for work, it is a paid holiday at the Home of the Orange Apron, so I get double time for my 8 hours of labor. Last week I managed to get out to Joshua Tree for my “Saturday night”(actually Thursday night) to get some Milky Way shots.
Another Scott
Meanwhile, … DW.com:
Hmm…
“Operator: What’s your emergency”
“Concerned Citizen: There’s a guy with an AR-15 hanging out by my kid’s bus stop. He looks suspiciously like a stripper…”
Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: His buddy Stella weighs 65 lbs, Skye weighs 70+. Henry is 12 lbs. Gunner is 50 and Rocky is 35. It’s big dog city here!
Gunner and Rocky not pictured.
Sure Lurkalot
Lovely 20 mile bike ride along an old farmers canal that weaves its way through the Denver suburbs. Taking the car in for standard service, a bit of shopping and then hopefully nothing. I do have to pack for a trip to St. Louis where I have family and a good friend from high school. Leaving Wednesday.
dmsilev
Work this morning; long-running lab experiments have no particular understanding of “holiday”. Or “weekend” for that matter. Fortunately, what needs to be done only took an hour or two, and I can head out shortly.
HeleninEire
Henry!!!
I’m doing absolutely nothing. Just sadly contemplating going back to work tomorrow after more than 2 weeks off. It’ll take me most of the day to dig through my emails!!
Next vacation is November.
dmsilev
@WaterGirl: That’s like my parents’ dog (toy poodle, maybe 10 pounds) and his “canine cousin”, a doberman mix that my cousin has. They get along great, even with the factor-of-several difference in size.
geg6
We did our annual Memorial Day picnic at my sister’s yesterday. It was the sisters, our spouses (if we have one), some good friends and our late cousin’s wife, Mary. Mary and Marilyn moved to the area about 3 years ago from Minnesota as Marilyn is originally from here (Sewickley, for the native Yinzers) and had retired from her ministry and wanted to spend her retirement at home. Marilyn passed away from breast cancer about three months before my sister’s husband died from a massive stroke last June. So we have adopted her as an actual blood cousin as all her family is in MN. It was a great day, telling stories about our dad and uncles (none of whom Mary had ever met) from the WWII war adventures. My dad was an Army Air Corps mechanic who never really saw action (but the planes he serviced in Britain sure did). One uncle was Navy and served in the Pacific on a destroyer (don’t ask which one because none of us could remember and there’s no one left to ask of that generation). And the other uncle was in the 101st Airborne and was in Overlord, Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. He had a ton of medals by the end of the war. It was a lovely day and the reminiscing was fun and interesting since we all had various stories we’d been told by our mom, dad, uncles and aunts. Mary and our friends loved it. So did we.
Raven
We drove all over St Helena Island and finally found the beach where they filmed Daughters of the Dust! Then we went the Fish Camp on 11th in Port Royal and it was packed so we are at a joint in Beaufort right across the street from the National Cemetery. We got into town right before the noon ceremony but,alas, no doggie’s allowed so we passed.
ColoradoGuy
Love seeing little Henry wagging his tail in pix #2. What a cutie!
Here in Colorado, feeling mild effects of Bivalent Booster #2, or sixth in the series. Planning on going to the Seattle Audio Fest on June 21, so need to get ready for the event. Will wear a N95 mask at the airport for sure, but probably not at the show.
Our neighborhood got hit pretty hard by the hailstorm two weeks ago, so we get a new roof, trim, and gutters. Sounds great until you realize there’s a 1% deductible on the home insurance.
Raven
@geg6: Find out which Tin Can, I’m a fount of information on destroyers.
kalakal
@WaterGirl: Gosh, he’s smaller than he looks at 12lbs. As Private Eye likes to put it, small but perfectly formed. Definitely a cutie
lowtechcyclist
Grilling burgers and otherwise taking it easy today. It was pouring down rain for about an hour just now; it’s either stopped or quieted down now. But it was dry at lunchtime when I did the grilling. And the burgers were delicious.
The kiddo’s at a party with some friends until 5:30, so it’s just my wife and me hanging out, reading, talking, napping.
Earlier in the weekend I actually accomplished some stuff – trimmed all the shrubbery (ni!), did laundry, washed the cars – but at a relaxed pace, getting stuff done when I was in the mood, goofing off or napping when I wasn’t.
geg6
@Raven:
I’ll try but there is no one left from his family but his grandkids, who we have never kept in touch with. His son and daughter died over the last couple of years and I know they knew. Maybe my brother may remember. Mary’s wife was the daughter of my super hero uncle. We were very close with that branch of my dad’s family and they, too, are also all gone. Seems all my cousins have died fairly young. I think I’m doomed.
Geminid
@Geminid: Final results for the Turkish Presidential runoff have Erdogan beating Kilicdaroglu by a little over 4 points, 52.14 to 47.86%.
Observers noted that the media playing field was tilted in Erdogan’s favor, with many Turkish newspapers and TV stations owned by his allies. Ironically, one exception was Turkish Fox News. That network was acquired by News Corp in 2006 and rebranded as “Fox Turkey.” In 2019, a division of the Walt Disney Corp. bought many of Fox’s foreign TV networks including Fox Turkey, but by then Fox Turkey had already established an editorial policy critical of Erdogan.
Another Scott
France24.com:
Cheers,
Scott.
Phylllis
Quiet, lazy day. We had a late breakfast at a great local place we were surprised to learn was open today. They also do baked goods, so we have a couple of monster chocolate with mint chocolate chip icing cupcakes for our after-dinner treat. Slaw and deviled eggs are chilling in the fridge to go with the ribs we’ll do on the grill later. Sort of weird to think this will be my last ‘official’ work holiday.
gene108
@cliosfanboy:
No flag for Flag Day, June 14?
Benw
I’m working; big deadlines on Thu/Fri. Plus 2/3 of my kids got the Rona with mild symptoms so I’m ferrying food n things to some quarantined kiddos.
I set up zoom for everyone so we can all be on video together to play games so they’re not TOO bored.
WaterGirl
@HeleninEire: That is sad, going back after 2 weeks off!
Henry says ‘hi!’
trollhattan
@Geminid: Whatever one calls Turkish Cletus safaris, I heard interviews with women who declared, “He gave us freedom to weir veil in public and at school and work, protecting us from the secularists!”
Pondering me to wonder where I’ve heard this before.
Sister Golden Bear
Been trying to declutter and clean up the house, but even vacuuming is leaving winded with the post-Covid symptoms I’ve got.
I had Friday off, so I went to see the Ansel Adam’s exhibition in SF. Both photos he did plus various other photographers, either for context (expedition photos of Yosemite pre-Adam’s), and others who were influenced by Adams.
While Adams photos are a masterclass in photography, the curators also made clear how darkroom work did manipulating the negatives to get his prints to look way he visualized the scenes. Essentially Photoshoping them long before Photoshop (In fact in his famous print of Half Dome, you can see where he “burned” to darken it.)
They also had an Adams used the same negative to create two dramatically different print. Adams said he considered the original negatives to be the score, and prints to be individual performances.
The Thin Black Duke
My Beloved and I just finished listening to the audiobook of Seanan McGuire’s Every Heart A Doorway. Cynical bastard that I am, I broke into tears at the end. Yeah, it surprised me too. I recommend it highly.
Another Scott
@geg6: If you know his full name, you probably have a good chance of finding his records given enough time.
Maybe start here. e.g.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Scott.
trollhattan
@gene108: Parked in the middle of the Sacramento River yesterday, in front of Old Sacramento (our hopeful tourist trap) was a houseboat with a gigantic “Trump” flag. They sure showed us! Guess they don’t know the California Dem Party are having a convention in LA. “Hurr, hurr, suck it Nancy and Newson!”
EBAY would not send me a torpedo.
PsiFighter37
Drove back from Philly to NYC first thing in the morning to avoid traffic. Gotta say, I never knew Manhattan to Philly was 1.5 hours with no traffic, but it is – and quite a manageable/pleasant drive at that, mainly because you get off the NJ Turnpike at Exit 6 and don’t have to endure the agony of going all the way to Exit 4. Now enduring yet another ridiculous grumpfest/tantrum from the 3-year old (nearly 4 at this point – shouldn’t she be growing out of this?). Basically the 3rd one in the past 24 hours. Very annoying, mainly because it’s barely incited by anything at all, and she has now had plenty of time to nap/rest up.
Props to all you Juicers who had more than one kid…that’s all I have to say about that. Hope everyone else’s Memorial Day is going better. I have a 6am work flight tomorrow morning, so it’s extra-awesome to be closing out the long weekend like this.
Wapiti
The spouse and I drove down to the Tahoma National Cemetery, near Covington, WA. A lot of people were out doing the same thing. The cemetery was fully flagged, each and every plot, and more than a few had fresh flowers as well.
It was worth the trip. I’ve thought I should try to visit a different cemetery each year. But we’re leaning towards Tahoma as our eventual forever home since (a) we’ve both already paid for the plots, as it were, and (b) they have plenty of space. It apparently has a view of Mount Rainier (Tahoma) when the sun is out.
Part of this thinking is driven by irritation at my dad, who’s made exactly zero plans. “It really doesn’t matter to me, Wapiti. I’ll be dead.” “Oh, and your mother’s ashes are somewhere in the house, too.”
karen marie
I’m doing experimental cooking. Friday I made chili paste with dried chilis from my local Mexican grocery. Saturday I made chili with stew beef and the chili paste. Today I am making hoe cakes with the masa harina I bought but didn’t use for the chili.
Very exciting!
The chili, though pretty hot when it finished cooking, toned down considerably after 24 hours in the fridge. Not bad but tonight’s serving will get a spoonful of chili sauce.
I am still thinking about what I will put on the hoe cakes. Some really spicy store-made guac and sour cream sounds good but so does honey. We can do both!
eclare
I was just thinking we hadn’t had a photo of Henry in a while. Thank you!
LiminalOwl
@schrodingers_cat: ooh, that’s pretty!
The spouse and I are mostly lazy today. Listened to Seanan McGuire’s Every Heart a Doorway and loved it—and I’m trying to figure out why reading it six years ago did nothing for me.
Yesterday we took Tobias the cat to a groomer for the first time. Won’t be the last, because he’s gotten sloppy about cleaning himself. Cat groomer was amazed at how well-behaved he is, even when bathing. Spouse was amazed to see how much of what we’d thought was fat, was actually fur; he’s a much smaller Toby with the summer haircut.
(Someone on reddit recently was claiming that the word “groomer” now refers only to the homophobic/transphobic slur. I’m a curmudgeon who won’t cede words to my enemies.)
Best wishes to all puppers too.
zhena gogolia
@LiminalOwl: I’m with you.
LiminalOwl
JPL
@HeleninEire: Work where? Are you in Eire, of the USA?
Citizen Alan
I have spent the day working on refinishing old furniture to take with me to California.. Specifically, mid century modern American bedroom and living room furniture that my mother bought in the 1960s which my RWNJ sister wanted to sell at a yard sale for at most a few hundred dollars.
Geminid
@trollhattan: Turkiye is a very different country than the US, and its politics are very different also. I would hesitate to draw analogies between the two. Turkish people are keenly aware of Western disdain for their culture and their nation though, and that is one reason some voted against Kilicdaroglu, who was widely seen as the candidate of the West.
As for headscarves, the country has a lot of devoutly religious people, and they deeply resented the secular state’s prohibition on women wearing headscarves in government offices and university classrooms. Erdogan did not force any woman to wear a headscarf, he just allowed women to wear them if they want to.
Mel
@schrodingers_cat: I love it. Thank you for sharing that.
JPL
The mutt knows he gets a cookie when he comes inside. So he now asks to go out one door and then barks to come in at the other door. How to you tell a dog, that’s cheating.
Wanderer
@WaterGirl: Henry is very adorable. Thanks for the pictures.
Mel
@karen marie: Salted butter and honey are so delicious on the cakes.
Uncle Cosmo
What am I up to, you ask?
I called the voice mail associated with my mobile phone.
That was two hours and multiple calls to AT&T Customer Disservice ago. I am now waiting for a “manager” and a “senior tech” to come back on the line and explain to me how to reset my voicemail password (which has failed a half-dozen times) and, peripherally, how the name of Jeebus H Cripes my voicemail was unilaterally locked by my “provider” in the first fucking place. (And I hate to be a linguistic chauvinist, but it would help if just one of the service personnel did not speak as if they grew up in a quadrilateral between Manila, Beijing, Mumbai and Bangalore. The grammar and vocabulary may be impeccable but the audio is impenetrable.)
Two and a half hours now…grrr…
Mel
@WaterGirl: Henry is darling. He has the loveliest little face, and such a sweet expression.
JPL
@schrodingers_cat: It is beautiful.
PAM Dirac
Pretty lazy day with burgers on the grill and a very nice bottle of Ridge 2017 Geyserville. My wife did the cooking since it is also kind of a birthday celebration for me. When I was young my birthday was always Memorial Day, so I think I’ve kind of gotten used to the feeling that Memorial Day celebrations are all, in part, my birthday celebrations. Of course now that it is last Monday stuff, the days aren’t usually the same, but hey, if you can make your celebration two days instead of one, why not? Tomorrow, the Official Birthday Wine will be Waving Free 2021 Backyard White.
Raven
@geg6: If I knew his name I might be able to find him. markann at that ever so popular emai thingy
danielx
Cutting back the wisteria around back porch, grilled marinated shrimp later.
Raven
Did I mention it is our Anniversary weekend? We got married on Memorial Day but it was the 30th that year.
mrmoshpotato
Hey Chicago, what do you say? Hot damn! The Cubs won today!
UncleEbeneezer
Had first day of tennis camp today so I wasn’t able to sleep in. Now just chilling watching French Open (missing Rafa :( ) with no major plans for this evening/night. Maybe we will watch a Summer Movie later, since this usually marks the beginning of Summer for us. Gloomy and cool, so not really grilling weather.
Scout211
@Uncle Cosmo: Can you go into a company store for in-person help?
FelonyGovt
Henry is seriously darling! Love the photos!
Lazy day here as we are having our usual “May Gray” day (predecessor to June Gloom. Don’t visit coastal California in May or June) and it’s not very nice outside.
Saw an article in the Wall Street Journal (I DO NOT subscribe, got it thru Apple News +) with the title “Disney’s Orlando Campus Cancellation a Blow to Neighboring Projects”. The article says the decision “creates a 60-acre hole inside an 11,000 acre master planned community, clouding the near-term future of many other real estate projects already under way there.” FAFO, Puddin’ Boots.
FelonyGovt
@mrmoshpotato: They’ve been winning a lot lately, recently having the good fortune to play my slumping Mets. :(
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
In other news from the Home of the Orange Apron…it appears that the HR Dept head has been dropping acid before doing the schedule. I scheduled 2 days off(June 15th and 16th, Thursday and Friday) for vacation(right before the new moon). So, she scheduled me for Monday and Tuesday off, back at work for Wednesday and then I have the two days of vacation. It is almost demanding that I take a personal day on Wednesday, I’ve got lots of personal time(87 hours). One must celebrate Flag Day.
Quinerly
Played in town yesterday.
Today more plantings….mostly British Lavender. Apparently bunnies don’t nibble it and since it is drought tolerant, I’m mixing it in certain areas of the cactus beds to add a little different texture, color, eventual height. I really have no idea what I am doing, but I like the look. Lots of weeding and thinning in the backyard. My Tiki Brand Smokeless Firepit came. It’s pretty cool. I’m impressed! New batch of Tibetan Prayer Flags are up in JoJo’s side yard. I bought different ones this time. Very vibrant colors. What will the HOA say? Thankfully my house is pretty isolated. Most don’t even realize it is here.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend.
And speaking of cement…..OK, let’s not.
Baud
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA:
🇺🇸
Quinerly
@Raven:
❤️
NotMax
A traditional annual clip.
And, repeated from morning thread, from the ridiculous to the sublime for the day.
karen marie
@Mel: I will def make the hoe cakes again but not with masa harina. They’re lovely but revealed to me that the reason I don’t like tamales is the nixtalized corn flavor.
I had my “dessert” hoe cake with honey and bacon. Nice!
HeleninEire
@JPL: I’m in the US. Visited Dublin last week.
Uncle Cosmo
@Raven: A friend from HS has a 3-fer going today: Her ‘leventy-sumpin’ berfday, her sumpin’-sumpin’ anniversary (2nd marriage – I usually call to wish her a happy annibirthdary), and Memorial Day. (NB she picked the wedding date specifically so she could celebrate another year of hitching rather than another year of ageing…)
(FTR we are now approaching hour 3 of this voicemail maharishi-mahesh-mishegosh-omigosh…)
NotMax
Pre-coffee linky fail at #94. Fix.
A traditional annual clip.
And, repeated from morning thread, from the ridiculous to the sublime for the day.
Quinerly
@Citizen Alan:
What’s the wood? What did you do to it?
After my mom’s death, when I cleaned out the house I grew up in, I brought the 5 pieces from the suit my parents bought in 1959 back to St.Louis and integrated it in my home there. All solid cherry, “cannonball bed,” two huge chests, large candlestick table, and desk. It’s really heavy, well made. I drug it here to NM since I couldn’t bear to part with it. Part of the set is in my bedroom, part in a guest room. The desk is in an alcove off the den. One of the chests has gloves and hose drawers. The other chest has a hat compartment.
mrmoshpotato
@FelonyGovt: They got swept by the Reds over the weekend.
Almost Retired
@FelonyGovt: Greetings from down the street (more or less). Dreary weather indeed, but we walked down to the Fiesta Hermosa (mostly for the food trucks). Do you ever go?
https://fiestahermosa.net/
Geminid
@Quinerly: It’s not cement! It’s mezcla!
FelonyGovt
@Almost Retired: We were there yesterday. Kind of underwhelmed, but then again we’ve been going for so many years.
ETA We went to Guisados on Hermosa Ave. for tacos instead of the food trucks. Highly recommend!
schrodingers_cat
@JPL: Thanks so much!
jackmac
@mrmoshpotato: It’s an unusual baseball day in Chicago with the Cubs playing at home in the afternoon and the White Sox at home for an night game. The baseball gods schedule both teams at home on the same day some seasons, but it’s extremely rare — maybe unheard of — to have this kind of doubleheader on a holiday.
Dan B
Today is quiet for Mike and me. Yesterday we went to dinner at a friend’s in West Seattle. He has a huge, 1500 square foot, deck overlooking Puget Sound and the Olympics. It was hot on the deck but felt good to bake for a few hours. Fantastic Dolmaes followed by Tandoori Chicken with seven sides. It was three couples. Socializing, wow!
Quinerly
@frosty:
Take a listen to Hugh Laurie’s version of St. James Infirmary. Loved his first album.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IYqUlVO48PM&pp=ygUeaHVnaCBsYXVyaWUgc3QgamFtZXMgaW5maXJtYXJ5
Pete Downunder
It’s a regular Tuesday morning here, getting close to our usual brutal winter weather: 8C (46F) this morning going up to a chilly 22C (72F) during the day. It’s amazing we can survive it. Our equivalent of Memorial Day is Anzac Day (25 April) which commemorates the defeat of Australian and New Zealand forces at Gallipoli in Turkey in WW1. Mrs Downunder is off to work and I’m happily retired about to have a Zoom French lesson.
ETA to correct the day of the week. It’s Tuesday here already (we’re GMT +10)
bbleh
It’s my birthday party, which means I have to neither cook nor do eldercare, and lemme tellya that counts as a fkin holiday.
BeautifulPlumage
I’m prepping for a colonoscopy tomorrow, so enjoying* clear liquids, and various laxatives.
I’m also getting the damaged areas of the floors fixed. Poor Cleo Marie with all the noise!
JPL
@HeleninEire: It’s exciting trying to figure out where in the world is Helen? You have worked in both locations and I have the feeling you will again.
KrackenJack
@jackmac: Same here ground cloth, drip irrigation, mulch. No big ass planters though. I got enough problems without all that.
You can fit 16 bags of mulch in a Chevy Bolt without using the front passenger seat. Ask me how I know. I appreciate the rear view monitor that it has in place of a mirror. I’ll have several more loads or the next few weekends as I refresh the mulch all around.
Anotherlurker
Working a Giants game today. Hooray for holiday pay. Go union!
HeleninEire
@JPL: In 2 1/2 years I retire, and forever and ever I will spend my summers using Dublin as a base and traveling all over.
You’ll never be able to find me. 😆
Quinerly
@laura:
Ha! Re Canna Lilies. In St.Louis I had them in large planters, and in the ground lining a fence. Dug them up and stored them every year. Had them in cardboard boxes and I thought a friend took them when I moved. They ended up in POD #2 that sat from March to May. When I discovered them they had already sprouted. I wasn’t sure what to do with them out here. Probably had 100 bulbs. Last Spring I was getting my footing on gardening here. Lots of visits to Lowe’s and the nurseries. Ended up chatting up a lot of old Hispanic gardeners in the parking lots. They were a wealth of info and weren’t in any kind of hurry. One day I noticed those preplanted pots of cannas with mixtures of other plants. Couldn’t believe the outrageous prices. Then I learned for some reason there was a canna shortage last year and all these gardeners in the really expensive neighborhoods were looking for cannas to plant in huge planters for their clients. I thought it was totally bizarre. One day, I drove to Lowe’s parking lot loaded down with my canna bulbs. Sold them out of the hatchback of my Ford Escape to these “gardeners to the stars” in Tesuque. I like to think last summer, Redford gazed out on my St. Louis cannas while drinking his morning coffee.
BeautifulPlumage
@BeautifulPlumage: ugh, can now smell the neighbors grilling. Time for more jello!
2liberal
I’m eating microwaved Costco beef dogs with a slice of multigrain Oroweat bread, honey mustard and bbq sauce. My next work day is June 9th so looking forward to some down time. My sisters are coming out for a visit this upcoming weekend so I’m doing some prep work – mainly getting the second and third bikes ready to go and scouting out the places I need to get to for the scheduled events.
Quinerly
@Geminid:
Related…I’m back on flagstone laying duty come Sunday. Phase 2 of this project. I really like this thing we plug in that rotates around and stirs the substance that we end up making.😉
surfk9
@PAM Dirac: Ridge wines are the bomb!
Kelly
I’ve been cleaning and putting away stuff from last weeks Deschutes raft camping trip. Next is a nice walk along the North Santiam river, just outside our doors. Dinner and basketball at Mom’s after that.
Geminid
@Quinerly: Cannas overwinter in the ground now in Central Virginia. Same with dahlias.
These days, people here are even growing sweet potatoes and peanuts. Those were Tidewater-only crops a few decades ago.
James E Powell
Working to get back to Los Angeles from a wedding in Vermont. Flight out of Burlington delayed four hours, no connections to LAX available that late. I think four hours means the flight is cancelled and I don’t want to argue semantics. Changed flights to fly through DC. Now that flight is delayed. I truly dislike air travel in the 21st century. I remember the old days when going to the airport filled me with eager anticipation.
That said, Vermont was lovely, the wedding was very nice with some weirdness, hanging with the family for three days was the best part.
PAM Dirac
@surfk9: Damn Right! I’m going to be out there in Aug. I found out they ship to Maryland so I might have to sign up for their wine club. As much as I like their Zins, I think their Syrahs are even better.
bbleh
@Raven: Fab! Congratulations!
schrodingers_cat
@Raven: Happy Anniversary!!
bk
Today is my roommate’s birthday, so I took her to the town’s (relatively) famous Irish pub for a late breakfast/early lunch. The corned beef hash was great!
surfk9
@PAM Dirac: Have you been to their Monte Bello winery in Cupertino/Saratoga? It has a great view of a big chunk of Silicon Valley.
Steeplejack
@Raven:
Happy anniversary! 🎊🎉
Geminid
@bbleh: I hope it’s a happy birthday for you, and that there will be many more!
Quinerly
@Geminid:
We had them at my family’s old beach place…Southern Outer Banks, Carteret County, NC. Could leave them in the ground…cut back, heavily mulched.
I actually think a few of those made their way to St. Louis years ago. I planted and dug up every year.
And then Bob Redford ended up with them last year in Tesuque, NM.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.😉
Gvg
@Quinerly: it’s not just this year. I was looking for some and found out there has been a virus for several years. Kills most of the cannas, but not before they can be sold and infect the bulbs you already have. A lot of growers refused to kill diseased stock etc. Anyway, if you have any that start showing signs of a virus, streaks in the foliage, growing weird etc, throw away the bulb right away. Result, cannas are now rare and expensive. I bought a few. One came up looking bad so I yanked and through away. Other look ok. It’s a shame because I had just seen a bunch in Australia that looked fabulous, but we can’t import now.
Rebel’s Dad
I didn’t get home from work until 1:30 am last night. After showering and trying to unwind, I didn’t fall asleep until about 5 am. I slept off and on until about 5 pm. I didn’t have plans today, and I’m not scheduled to work, but I still feel like a lazy bum. My allergies are bad right now (thanks, grass pollen), so even after taking meds daily, I feel like I have a low-grade cold.
Classes start tomorrow, and I’m scared shitless. I’m as ready as I can be; I’ve got my school account created and logged into the LMS we use. I’ve even emailed the Office of Disability Services to get whatever accommodations I’ll need for being an autistic online student.
Thank God and President Biden that I have no student loan debt. I’m single with no responsibilities and can work part-time while getting my master’s. But I’ll be 45 in July, so this experience feels strange.
PAM Dirac
@surfk9: Yes I’ve been there. The friends we are going to visit live pretty close. Extremely nice place. I’ve also been once to the Sonoma location, along with the other famous Sonoma Zin making Rs, Ravenswood, Rosenblum, maybe another I can’t remember. Good times.
FelonyGovt
@Rebel’s Dad: Wishing you the very best for your school term and your Masters.
frosty
@geg6: My uncle Roger flew a C-47 in IX Troop Carrier. He dropped the 101st on June 5 and towed gliders with the 82nd on D-Day. He was also in the other operations you mentioned. There’s a non-zero chance your uncle was on his plane!
All he ever told his family was that he “towed gliders over Normandy”. My brother and I dug out the rest of the story on the internet. Including pictures of him in France!!
frosty
@Raven: My FIL was on a PT tender in WWII (Wachapreague) and a DE during Korea (Robert L Wilson). Had some good stories, like sleeping on deck through the Battle of Leyte Gulf. And protecting the Mediterranean from the Chinese counterattacks!
lowtechcyclist
@KrackenJack:
Thank you very mulch for sharing this with us. ;-)
Quinerly
@Gvg: I pretty much sold all of my old stock last year in that Lowe’s parking lot. Some of them were 10-20 years old, where I planted, divided, dug up every year for years. I figure I gave Bob Redford’s gardeners😉 a good deal at $3 a bulb. $4 for the really large clusters.
kalakal
@Raven: Happy Anniversary!
frosty
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Spanish Moss
I just arrived home after 24+ hours flying back from a wedding in Vietnam. My son and his wife met at college here in MA, and after graduation got married at a courthouse. This was early in the pandemic, and at the time her family hadn’t even met him yet! It wasn’t possible to travel to Vietnam because of pandemic restrictions, so they didn’t meet face to face until a year ago. His wife’s family wanted a traditional ceremony, and I finally felt comfortable enough with the pandemic easing to do the international travel. Our immediate family and a few others flew over for the big event. We spent an amazing week there and the ceremony was beautiful.
frosty
@Quinerly: I’ve heard it, it’s good. I’m working on a picking up some notes for a simpler version of Arlo Guthrie’s live one from Sydney. ‘Cause note-for-note is impossible!
Quinerly
@frosty:
My dad flew C46 in WW II, Pacific Theatre. (I just looked it up to refresh my memory that it was the Curtiss C 46 Commando) Troop transport. 130 lb farm boy from Eastern NC. He had graduated from college at age 19. Enlisted after Pearl Harbor.
Quinerly
@frosty:
I missed Hugh Laurie when he actually toured for that album. Would have loved to seen him.
frosty
@Quinerly: C-46. Known as the Widow Maker. Also the Baltimore Whore. It was built by Curtiss in Baltimore and was somewhat difficult to fly so it had “no visible means of support “
CliosFanBoy
@gene108:
Yes, a 48-Star since it dates from the 1910s. Same on 11/11. Election Day gets a Virginia flag (since I live there)
And Henry is a CUTIE!
frosty
@frosty:
@Quinerly:
Oops, I was thinking of the Martin B-26, which Jimmy Doolittle had to fly to convince the pilots that it was OK. The C-46 was a pretty good transport, triple the capacity of the 47 my uncle flew.
Sorry ’bout that!
Quinerly
@frosty:
Thanks for refreshing my memory. I had a lot of this written down. Actually, had to go back and look at my dad’s obituary from 2008 to look up all that he flew.
Geminid
@frosty: Pilots were also afraid to fly the B-29 heavy bomber. I read about this in a history of the Women’s Auxiliary Service Pilots corp, or WASPs. These woman pilots delivered airplanes from factories to Army Air Corps bases. The story was that General Hap Arnold heard of a group of pilots who balked at flying the new bomber, saying it was unsafe. So General Arnold had WASPs deliver the next B-29s in order to encourage his timid pilots.
The WASP were disbanded in November, 1944, 9 months before the war ended. There were finally enough male pilots to do their job, and a DC journalist named Drew Pearson was agitating about these women taking men’s jobs.
Senator Barry Goldwater flew alongside WASPs for several months. He later was instrumental in passing legislation that finally gave the civilian pilots veteran’s benefits, and which Jimmy Carter signed into law.
There is a National WASP Museum at an airport just outside of Sweetwater, Texas. A nice place to stop, just a couple of miles off of I-20.
Geminid
But I repeat myself.
NotMax
Snack bar offers Miracle Whip on Wonder bread sammiches and a selection of Jell-O molds?
:)
Manyakitty
Wishing everyone a happy everything and extra scritches and kisses to the cutest Henry ever 😍
Grover Gardner
I cleaned up the patio, which I SWEAR EVERY WINTER I will keep clean and not let get filthy and junked up but do anyway, and bought some new outdoor rugs to cover the wretched green felt carpeting stuff that desparately needs to be replaced. Also fended off a plea from our kid and boyfriend to steal our Kitchen-Aid ice-cream maker attachment even though they DON’T HAVE A KITCHEN-AID MIXER though they think they will find one somewhere on some “free stuff” Facebook group. That got sidetracked when she realized she couldn’t find her camera case and camera and had to focus on that propective disaster. So basically a productive day. ;-)
Quinerly
@Grover Gardner:
You done good!
Steeplejack
@frosty:
I like the extremely simple version by Peter, Paul and Mary. Maybe some ideas for you there.
Pennsylvanian
@schrodingers_cat: That is beautiful. I haven’t colored in months. Thank you.
Quinerly
@Steeplejack:
Classic. Thanks for posting!
Steeplejack
@Quinerly:
👍
Mel
@Rebel’s Dad: You have got this, and you are going to do great. I loved having students who were past their 20s and 30s in the classes I taught. I knew that they would be motivated, engaged, and insightful.
Grover Gardner
@Quinerly: Thank you!