Memorial Day

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

World War II Memorial in Washington, DC

The Sunken Road, Antietam National Battlefield

For those who stayed

And for those who returned…

We remember…

My grandfather, a Navy Chaplain

Busy week Friday 5

As suggested by the title, here are 5 Fabulous things about the past week of my life:

1. The 4th Annual Girls Gone Mild weekend: 3 nights, 2 friends, 1 bottle of wine (okay, maybe there was more than one bottle…) And yes, it did rain quite a bit. The tradition continues!

2. Wyder’s Raspberry Cider (it’s even better on a hot summer day)

3. The view from the plane somewhere over Nevada (??)

Sometimes I forget how much I miss snow-capped mountains. Silly me.

4. The result of yesterday’s traffic court appearance for MM: a guilty plea to a lessened charge of “improper driving” and a fine of $125 (plus court costs, for a total of $186).  He knows well the meaning of mercy. And thankfulness.

PDQ Bach and MusicMan

5. Last night’s band concert. It was MusicMan’s final concert as a high school student. Here he is, looking fabulous in his tuxedo and posing with PDQ Bach after the concert.  –>

I have a video of the two of them presenting a PDQ Bach composition, but the video is 15 minutes in length and I couldn’t upload it here… which is unfortunate, because like all PDQ Bach pieces, it was a riot! 😀

Thematic Glass

Here is a little peek at my Girls Gone Mild weekend:

Cranberry wine

As beautiful as this front door is, the view out the back window was even better!

I’m sharing these as my entry in Carmi‘s Thematic Photographic. He is kindly giving us 2 weeks to post pictures of glass.  Feel free to play along! 🙂

Now just working

I’m back, but I haven’t even taken the time to upload the photos onto my computer. We have 4 weeks (or is it fewer than that?) left of school. Last night was AP night at the high school, where EB and I managed to cover 4 classes in only 3 sessions. Since I was there, I missed the cub scout meeting, but there’s a pack meeting tomorrow night. We are in the middle of SOL testing, dental visits, and band concerts. MM has his court appearance on Thursday morning. And being the end of the month, it is newsletter week as well.
I’ll return when I have photos to post!

Working for the Weekend

While the boy and I were petting baby Bella on Saturday, SuperDad was shaking the hand of the Crown Prince of Belgium.

(I’m guessing his hands were cleaner than ours.)

Yep, some people know how to party!

My weekend starts now. I’m on my way to the 4th annual “Girls Gone Mild” get-together — just 3 old friends hanging out, gabbing, listening to 80’s music, eating deliciously healthy food made by KCINNOTX, and possibly experiencing the other part of our tradition: rain.

Be Different — Ride a Donkey!

Saturday was Heritage Day in a nearby town. I convinced SnakeMaster to join me on some errands and rewarded him by this time spent with “Gus” the Mammoth Donkey. SM then asked if we could get a donkey.

Come to think of it, people are a lot like donkeys: sometimes sweet and often stubborn.

And yes, we did see goats… and sheep… and sheep being sheared… and after petting various animals, SnakeMaster had a chocolate brownie with chocolate icing sold to us by roaming girl scouts.  And then he pet some more animals.
We are so very sanitary.

I’m getting ready to head out of town for the remainder of the week, so I’m trying to take care of various bits of housekeeping.

Those 2 orange pots in the back row on the left? Same kind of tomato plants, seedlings purchased at same place on same day. Obviously, something is wrong with the one on the left. I should probably take it back, but I’m not sure I want to deal with the hassle.

I’ve got the same problem with a package of cheese: the date is good, the package is unopened, and it has been stored in the fridge drawer with the other cheeses, but it still managed to grow mold. I know, Eeeewww! And unlike Suburban Correspondent, I can’t even manage to make a fridge post out of the mess.

Sing me a song, you’re a singer

I had already posted a Musical Monday for today when I heard about the death of Ronnie James Dio, who died yesterday at the age of 67 after losing his battle with stomach cancer. He was perhaps best known as a lead singer for Black Sabbath (where he replaced Ozzy Osbourne); however, unlike Ozzy, you didn’t hear about drink, drugs, or so-called “reality TV” with Ronnie’s family.

Ronnie James Dio was a gentleman and kept much of his private life exactly that: private. He was the son of Italian immigrants and it was his Italian grandmother who taught him to throw his signature devil’s horns — she was superstitious and used the gesture “as protection from the evil eye” [see link to interview here]. RJD was the father of an adult son (adopted during his first marriage) and grandfather of two. His wife, Wendy, was his manager and is the chair of an organization called Children of the Night, dedicated to rescuing America’s children from prostitution.

Ronnie possessed the voice and range of a truly good singer; he was also a song writer and story teller in his songs.The song “Children of the Sea” makes me think of the current gulf coast oil disaster.

Fun Monday: Shoes

Meet me at the X

I’m not a shoe person. I wear shoes because they are practical and often required.

I prefer life more like this:

Now THAT would be a fun Monday! 😀

Musical Monday on a Sunday: guilt and mercy

I have varied tastes in music. Sometimes it is the lyrics that really grab me… sometimes it is the tune… and occasionally (rarely) it is the video. This particular song/video has components of  hope and sorrow.  I find some of the images disturbing, but really? That is why they were included.  The band wanted us to stop and think about what we are doing — and what we have already done — to the world, to ourselves and to one another.  I think they ask, is there forgiveness? Can we forgive ourselves and start again? Will we make better choices in the future?

embedding fail yet again … sorry, you’ll have to click through to watch

Saturday night

sleepy slivered moon
watched over by silent star
lays back in dark sky