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If "sense of humor" were #1 on my list of requirements in a president, Mike Huckabee would TOTALLY get my vote.
But only if these guys ran as Vice President:
and performed their songs before every Presidential appearance. (They also do send-offs on Mrs. Robinson, Breakfast at Tiffany's and others)
The temperatures have been topping 60 degrees here in the great Pacific Northwest, so today is the day I have finally acknowledged that we have a yard and started to do something about it.
The landscaping the house came with met the minimum requirements of landscaping around here. (Dying) lawn in the front and back, a few rhododendrons a few rose bushes, and a healthy dose of fresh bark dust. There are also three large, unidentified, trees in the back and a handful of unidentified bushes amongst the rhodies.
Because the lawn was in such crappy shape, and we had enough to bother ourselves with inside the house, upon moving in I proclaimed that I was ignoring the yard until spring. Well, spring's not officially here yet, but the time has come all the same.
I have done minor gardening/yard care in the past: I mowed lawns at both my house and my grandmother's house into my teen years, I had a vegetable garden once or twice growing up, and Gary Payton's apartment had a strip of plants surrounding it that I tried to prune and tame. Still, I've decided I need to take it slow. This will keep me from saying fuck it all, and hopefully prevent me from making any grave mistakes.
I've got a subscription of Sunset magazine coming my way for my birthday this year (Thanks Mom and Dad!), which will help give me a good to-do list. Hopefully I'll be to the to-do list part of the process by the time the subscription kicks in. A copy of the Western Garden Book has been acquired, and will make it's way here the first week of April - I could have had it this weekend, but have told my Mom she can obtain a replacement to hold up the lamp in the living room before I take it.
But it's going to take some time before we get to the point where we can plant anything.
For the time being I've decided to take 15 minutes a day to work in the yard. Enough to make a visible dent in what needs to be done, and I'm focusing on a small enough piece of the yard in that time I can start to really get a feel for what needs to be done, and stat to prioritize.
First: Getting rid of the dead stuff. For the next few days this will be small branches that have blanketed the back yard (I suspect they are from the unidentified trees). From there will move on to some random dead plants here and there.
Second: Getting rid of the live stuff I don't want anymore. Weeds. Things that have started growing that I just don't like or is out of place.
Third: Take care of the living stuff that I want to stay. The lawn is in pitiful shape. In the front yard it's just brown and pitiful. The back yard seems more alive, but when you get close up you realize it's the moss that makes it green and lush and not actual lawn. This will be a big, ongoing project. I'm sure the rhodies and roses and other plants will need some maintenance as well, but that still needs to be investigated.
Finally: Start to move forward. There's already an area set aside for a vegetable garden. I think I'd like to do a compost pile, but will need to do some planning and figuring on the best place for that to go. I'd like it to be hidden near the heat pump, but not sure if there's space. There are also many, many opportunities to add new plants to the mix that currently exists.
It's going to be fun.
The Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition showed up in our mailbox today.
Because nothing says love like nearly nekkid hot chicks.
For someone who's generally pretty ambivalent about politics, I sure am keeping close track of everything this year. It's the debate team's fault. The kids are currently debating whether or not the US Primary System meets democratic values, so there's been lots of focus on what's going on in the current situation.
Anyhow, some news that came out yesterday is making my blood boil, and the word needs to get out there now that this is just wrong.
Here are the basics:
Once upon a time the DNC pledged there are four states who are allowed to have their primary/caucus prior to Super Tuesday: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Florida and Michigan said "but we want to go early, too." The DNC said if you go early none of your delegates will be seated at the convention, and if a candidate campaigns there we will punish them.
In Michigan Obama and Edwards actually removed their name from the ballot, so your choices as a democrat were "Clinton" or "Uncommitted."
Now we're in what could turn out to be a race that is not decided before the convention, and those delegates could come in handy. The DNC is recommending the states hold caucuses now, and delegates be seated with those results. The states are saying "we've had our elections, take the results or leave them." Hilary is saying "they had their say, let's use their results."
YOU CANNOT SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT DELEGATES ARE SEATED WITH THE RESULTS FROM THE EXISTING PRIMARIES. Especially in the case of Michigan.
It was NOT a fair fight, and the rules cannot be changed in the middle of the stream to suit the ease and interest of certain individuals.
Even if you're a Clinton supporter, no good can come of this. If she becomes the nominee as a result of these "elections" you have to know that the Republican party will make all kinds of smear out of it. There are already some people who question Clinton's integrity - and this will NOT help things any.
Me, I'm trying to let the world know what's happening, so we can all take a stand.
I'm also going to be contacting the Democrats at the National, State, County, and District Level, to let them know just how unacceptable this is.
I encourage you to do the same.
There are people who will tease a girl about her obsession with shoes, and the sheer number of shoes she desires to have in her closet. And to those people I say PSHAW! Because my shoe obsession turned into a very, very good thing yesterday.
It seems Sweetie is suffering from tendinitis of the posterior tibialis tendon which means he's in a boot for the next 4-6 weeks.
The thing about the boots is that the sole of the boot is a bit thicker than the sole of your standard shoe. So while you're treating the issues with your ankles you can also be causing hip problems as you walk off balance. The doctor mentioned he should get some shoes with a higher sole to help compensate. That's where I came in.
So, we needed shoes with a thick sole. They either had to be so cheap that we could justify him wearing one of them for 4-6 weeks and then kicking them to the curb, or attractive enough that he might wear them once he had use of both feet.
The doctor suggested Danskos- he was on the phone with her at the time, and I was standing right in front of him - he repeated the suggestion out loud so that I could interpret, and I just pointed down to my feet. They would solve the problem at hand, but I knew they wouldn't pass the cheap test, and doubted we could find a pair to pass the attractive test. Especially with limited time available.
My first thought had been Dr. Martens air cushion soles, but I was open to suggestions from the experts. So we started our escapades at Nordstrom, and confirmed my suspicions. Sweetie also tried on a pair of eccos and a pair of Clarks, but it was quickly determined that the Docs were the best sole for the job at hand. Now it was simply a matter of finding a pair that met Sweeties fashion standards.
I started out hopeful. I figured the bright yellow stitching attaching the upper to the sole was the issue, and knew we could find something with a more subdued look. Worst case we'd go to the Dr. Martens store the next day. However, the issue was not the stitching, it was the color of the "snot-yellow color" of the sole.
Now we were in a quandary. I could easily find him Docs without the standard sole. Heck, Portland has a Dr. Martens retail store, so I knew we could find ourselves in Doc mecca if we had to. But the air ware sole was the reason he wanted the Docs in the first place.
Compound that with the fact that Sweetie has a large foot and the Sweetie has made it to the Dr. Martens party about 15 years too late and that further limited our options. Luckily, we found a pair that meet all the necessary requirements.
The thing that made me chuckle throughout the whole process is that prior to last night Sweetie was unaware there existed a brand of shoes known as "Dr. Martens." We'll turn him into a cool kid yet. Even if it is a cool kid from 15 years ago.
Today New York Giants officials are receiving a key to the city from the Mayor.
Which surprises absolutely no one, since it is the ceremonial way for a city to say "Thank you for helping spread a positive image of our fair town to the world."
The thing that gets me about this particular display is the fact that the team plays in New Jersey. But now that they've proven themselves, they're actually allowed into the city. Even after hours if no one else is allowed to let them in.
Reasons I am happy the Giants won the Superbowl:
