Saying yes...

An Excellent Year For Irises

Grizzled dug up some irises from another location a number of years ago. The bulbs sat in our garage for waaaaay too long, but finally made it back into the ground last year. I guess they were ready for a comeback.

Don't blog while under the influence of cold medicines...

Note for ZRM- There are multiple spelling and punctuation errors in this post, but I am too tired, wired, fried, to correct them. Consider them my little Easter Egg hunt for you. :)

xoxo

Sir Jen

I've been fighting the viral plague for the past 10 days now... What started out as an funky cold, a cold that had been avoided all winter, has turned into a 7-staged viral extravaganza. Most of the time, I've felt like I just had a bizarre cold, but it's expressing itself in different forms and just when I think it's leaving, I wake up with the newer, mutated version.

Of course life has gone on. It's a crazy busy time of year, and some things can't be ignored, so I'm running any number of "must have" errands that come at the end of the school year, while looking like a rabid raccoon. Off I go to the 4th drugstore to try and score some SweeTarts (not as easy to find anymore) for my eldest lamblet's math carnival. I was only given 12 hours notice...That trip alone had me sweating and shaking. It also had the cashier giving me the stink eye when I carried my 15 rolls of SweeTarts up to the counter. The lady in front of me, who was buying new pantyhose, new underwear and panty liners, got nary a glance, but I get the once, twice, three times over. I even found myself inadvertently pushing up my sleeves to prove I had no track marks... Didn't matter. I'm sure they tracked me via security camera all the way to my car, waiting to see if I cracked open the packets of pure sugar before even opening the car door.

When not forcing myself to deal with daily life, I've been a slug on the couch, with tissues stuck up my nose... maybe that was it! Maybe I forgot to remove a tissue before going to the drugstore. No... I did a mirror check. I looked like hell, but was tissue-free. Anyhow, large portions of the day have been spent watching TV or drugged out and snoozing in front of it.

One of the shows I was catching up on was "Out of the Wild", where a group of people attempt to survive an insane amount of time out in the Alaskan wilderness. I confess, these types of shows intrigue me. I'm always amazed at the people who had no clue what they were getting into. I keep thinking, how could you be interested in it and have no clue?? Surely they knew reeeeeallly rough camping would be involved. Even in relatively humane primitive camping, you know that your day revolves around hiking, setting up your camp, preparing and cleaning up meals, etc and that's tame. This show never once claimed to be tame, hence the title.

I have no desire to tame the Alsakan wilderness. I'd love to see Alaska and don't need to see it from the lap of luxury, but I know myself and know that I don't want to put myself that far into jeopardy.

The shows I would have loved to have been a part of would have been any of the "House" series on PBS or National Geographic's "Worlds Apart" series. I would have given my eye teeth to have participated in either, but unfortunately,  both were done at a time when my lamblets were to young to be involved and by the time the youngest was the appropriate age, "Worlds Apart" had ceased to exist and I have not seen any suggestions that a new "House" series is going to be undertaken.

Actually, come to think of it, the youngest lamblet would have been old enough by the time they did "Texas Ranch House", but I missed the early advertising and people had already been chosen... still, I hope, someday, to be able to do one or something similar. I like the thought of being out of your comfort zone and finding a better place within yourself and I would like to think that if I undertook an adventure like those two, that I would remember that it was going to be hard, hard and hard. Again, I am constantly amazed at the people who have either chosen to "go back in time" or to go to a remote culture and who are surprised that things are different, that women don't have the same value, say, or roll to play as today.

"But my husband got to have all the fun and I had to cook!"

What did they expect??

"The ranchhands were told not to listen to me, but only to my husband!"

Again... is this a suprise? You're going back in time... what part of the relatively recent women's movement did you miss? Of course, these statements are also made after the person has professed to be a history buff... I guess they missed the part about women being chattel...

Even the men are suprised by how hard things would be which again leads me to, have you never gone camping and if not, why on earth would you even undertake something like this?? Camping removes more than enough creature comforts to give you a clue that life something more severe would be, uh... more severe... If you read your history, you also read that LOTS OF PEOPLE DIED.

Still, I would have loved to have done either of those shows and would like to think I would not be suprised by the hardships.  I know it would gotten ugly at somepoint, at many points, how could it not?? It gets ugly, but then you surrender to the ugliness, have a moment of grace, learn something and move on and hopefully come back a better person.

And yes, I realize I've just rambled a whole post about how tough I am, how aware I am,  while still moaning about being sick... life is fully of irony.  Yes, I'm still in the midst of viral ugliness, but I think I've surrendered to it and am ready to learn its lessons and move on. When I come back, I hope to be a better person.

Happy Unofficial Start to Summer

Fruit I Never Hated- Part 1

Inspired by Snag and Fish...

Yes fish, even Danny Gokey...

I posted below that I pretty much love "Get Ready" no matter who sings it... I'd probably even get a hoot out of Mrs. Miller...

Fish responded with, "Even Danny Goeke?"

After much research, I found out that Danny Gokey was one of 3 finalists on the latest American Idol extravaganza. Not being as refined as fish, I have not seen this season of AI... but luckily Danny and his cover of Get Ready is available due to the wonders of YouTube... and while not my favorite version... it's still got the horns (and not flat horns like you know who...). I'd still have to say, " Yes, fish, even Danny Gokey."

Topic Stolen From Snag

Below is a song I've never hated. Doesn't matter who covers it, I almost always like it. I still think the Rare Earth version is my favorite...

Song Jag

Per Kathleen: Song Jags are different than ear worms. An ear worm is a bar or two of a song that gets into your head on repeat, and you can't make it stop. A song jag is when you want to hear a song over and over, just one or two listens doesn't satisfy.

This is my current song jag... I can't listen to it while driving though. I'd either be sitting at the green light forever or would drive off into something that shouldn't be driven into... trees, other cars, buildings...

Even the Undead Need Some Luv

It's Show a Zombie Some Luv Day... have you hugged your zombie today? Zombies, often maligned in the arts, are really sensitive, caring souls... or would be... you know, if they had a soul. Still, they want their attention, they want their props, and who are we to deny them?

One of my fave zombies  (ok, I only have two) frequents my place. When not busy busting my chops over my increasingly sloppy grammatical ways, he's filling up the comment section with delightful anecdotes. Oh, what the hell... it's nonsense. He's filling up the comments with nonsense, but I love him just the same and he isn't told that enough. No, we take our zombie for granted... assuming he's roaming the blogosphere, looking for brains, grammatical errors... anyone who might have been wrong!!! When in reality, he's a constant reminder that we're not alone... he's there... letting us know life is short and if we don't give him what he wants, it'll be even shorter.

Still... he's our zombie and we lahve him! The place wouldn't be the same without his lurching, decaying ways, his endless defense of Rush (the band!), his love of Zardoz...

Happy "Show A Zombie Some Luv Day" Zombie Rotten McDonald!!! May your day be filled with no sunshine and all the brains you can eat.

Ahhhh, a Rush I'll listen to!

I'd like it though if the sax and drums that come in around 1:10 lasted about 45 seconds longer...

When Food Sends The Wrong Message

I had rhubarb sitting in the fridge that was left over from the other day. I was going to have to use it or it would go bad. I couldn't justify planting rhubarb, nurturing it, picking it and then letting it go bad. No, I'd have to make something... another pie. Besides, Grizzled just looked beaten by life this morning and the lamblets and I won't be here when he gets home, so maybe he'll smile if he sees a freshly made pie. Maybe he'll do the pie dance...

While cutting up the rhubarb I thought that there is no way you can confuse that smell with anything else. Rhubarb is uniquely its own when it comes to the aroma department... and then my nose picked up something else... roasted pig...

I mean the smell you get when someone is roasting the entire hog. I now want to know what chemical compound in rhubarb can also be found in a roasted hog! I like both, but it doesn’t seem right…

You got your rhubarb in my roasted hog! No! You got your roasted hog in my rhubarb!