Things I Am Tired Of: Parts 1 & 2 of 365

In no particular order of Importance, Relevance to Life, or Linear Time Lines (we qualified for a 'free' Direct TV upgrade; I can now watch Daughter C's recorded episodes of Dr. Who over & over again as I dust), I am tired of

1. Not blogging

--and--

2. Dust

It is dry and there is always dust when it is dry but the sanding of the drywall inside the rooms that had been flooded three months ago really did me in. Had to spring $9 on a new mop/dustmop.

Regarding #1. I have, can, and will do better than this post. How hard can it be to get back on that blogbike after all these weeks-- especially since we've started a new contest!!

We launched the Fall '14 Mac & Cheese Contest last Sunday Supper. So far, after one entry, we are unanimous-- 'of one mind.' (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/unanimous?s=t)

He looks like such a harmless little pup, doesn't he?

Brilliantly staged photograph by Daughter C

"We have come to claim our promise, O Oz," Dorothy said.

"What promise?" asked Oz.

"You promised to send me back to Kansas when the Wicked Witch was destroyed," said the girl.

"And you promised to give me brains," said the Scarecrow.

"And you promised to give me a heart," said the Tin Woodman.

"And you promised to give me courage," said the Cowardly Lion.

"Is the Wicked Witch really destroyed?" asked the Voice, and Dorothy thought it trembled a little.

"Yes," she answered, "I melted her with a bucket of water."

"Dear me," said the Voice, "how sudden! Well, come to me tomorrow for I must have time to think it over."

"You've had plenty of time already," said the Tin Woodman angrily.

"We shan't wait a day longer," said the Scarecrow.

"You must keep your promise to us!" exclaimed Dorothy. 

GET HIM TOTO OXY!! He's behind the curtain!!

[The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1900)]

I wonder how long he'll have Mississippi on his mind?

Goodbye, Arthur! Take good care of yourself and little puppy Cooper. Thanks for everything! We'll miss you.

Kat! A Request from Rocky & Missy

As I've mentioned time & time again, things are discombobulated here at the Farm. BUT! We have all spent a considerable amount of energy (ATP is our Friend) trying to get & stay organized. So it was no surprise to learn that Rocky & Missy had learned (LTP is another Friend) my habits-- that is, where and when I keep my laptop at various times of day.*

I found this letter at my day-time work station but didn't open it until I was set up at my night-time station.

So, Kat. 8:30am? Would you like me to bring coffee 'bout 8?

*Mr. Low-Man. Get over yourself. If the dogs can figure this out, what do I need you for? Go find someone else to spy on.

It's Independence Day

I love Independence Day.

Here are some things I've written about Independence Day in years past. 

http://bigfoodetc.blogspot.com/#uds-search-results

http://bigfoodetc.blogspot.com/2012/07/must-read-declaration-of-independence.html

http://bigfoodetc.blogspot.com/2012/07/independence-day.html
~~

I love Miss M more than I love Independence Day.

Cross your fingers she can travel back to the farm from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital on Monday.

And for those with a sense of family history and irony...

No surprise here.

Everybody loves Miss M! See?

Sadie Is Not Amused

When I play with my cat, who knows whether she isn't amusing herself with me more than I am with her.

--Montaigne (1533-1592)

Sadie is not amused by the state of affairs in Miss M's room.

Snaps isn't all that happy about things, either, but she'd taking it in typical Snaps fashion. 

(Thanks to Daughter C recommending I post about the cats.)

Quick Kitten Update

[Because I know you're only humoring me when you pretend to care about history and crappy old books and such.]

Yesterday morning only two kittens were in the box. We didn't see hide nor hair of the mamma. Miss M set out a bowl of cat food topped with a spoonful of tuna. We checked on them periodically throughout the day and gave them a dropper full of water later in the evening. 

We were prepared to go into full-on kit* rescue mode this morning if necessary. Zero kits this morning but the food bowl was empty.

There have since been two sightings of mamma in or near the garage. AND the food bowl is again empty. 

So... . The kits are around here somewhere and Miss M is doing her best to see that the mamma is well-fed.

*"Kits" because the mamma can apparently read. She put them in the old packing box marked "kit."

Quart #4

Garden News:

I'll remember to take some photos tomorrow.

Things are coming along nicely.

I've dried almost 4 quarts of oregano. I did have to move the drying operation outside because 8 hours of drying really heats up the kitchen.

We will have garden peas. That is exciting.

We are looking for a pea sheller for the blackeyes.

As you know, we have lettuce. And we have carrots.

Carrots are odd. You think you have carrots and you pull something up and realize that you don't yet have carrots. And then-- one day-- you have carrots!

I don't know why I didn't think of this. It's Brilliant!

A rubber band. Brilliant!

Horatio Alger was a name I'd heard before. I went looking to see who he was. 

This whole book thing takes on another dimension now that  I'm thinking about rubber bands. 

I have a lot of books which are hanging together by a thread. Which? That?* 

A rubber band would do them good!

FREE DAY!!

These are some of the best photographs you will see all year.

I thinned the turnips today and SURPRISE! got some halfway decent turnips. And some decent turnips greens.  

Miss M & Her Friend weeded the tomato garden. 

Mr. Big Food & Tuffer arrived back at the Farm and the boyz decided to go fishin'.

This is the best photo. There's a whole story to tell. 

Surprise Projects

Good afternoon!

Hope you enjoyed that completely unexpected Guest Post by Miss M. Poor Dear. She kept dropping hints all day. She baked me a quiche!  But I had decided to stay away from the World Wide Web and enjoy time with my family. Daughter C finally called to tell me to look at the blog. What a great surprise! Thanks, Miss M.

Anyhoo... we started some sewing projects yesterday. Stay tuned!

I thought this was funny

coming on the heels of Daughter C's departure.

Apparently, Daughter C subscribed to a new magazine.

MOM

Books Bygone: “To Mother with Love, Mary and Bill”

Marica Bernstein

Despite popular belief, Mother’s Day was not cooked up by a greeting card company. On May 9, 1914 President Wilson, following the adoption of a congressional resolution, proclaimed that the second Sunday in May be celebrated as Mother’s Day. He called upon government officials to fly the American flag on all government buildings, and asked that Americans display the flag at home as “a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” The idea had originated some years earlier in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). This bit of background comes by way of an old favorite, “Anniversaries and Holidays: A Calendar of Days and How to Observe Them” (1928). Though not the subject of this essay, if you ever come across “Anniversaries and Holidays”-- which was written primarily for librarians and teachers— add it to your home library.

Concluding a list of supplemental materials on Mother’s Day, the author notes, “There have been many poems written in praise of and in memory of ‘My mother’.” Wouldn’t you know, I just happen to have a collection of poems and prose about Mother: “Far Above Rubies: My Mother” compiled by Mary W. Lightfoot (1970). Lightfoot begins the collection with lines from Proverbs “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies” (31:10-12). “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her” (31:28).  

This short book is divided into three sections, Abiding Love, Lasting Influence, and Gratitude, and each has selections that will pull at your heartstrings, and make you laugh. For example, a story titled “The Door to the Heart” tells of a young woman who left her widowed mother for a “gay and dissolute life in a big city.” The mother prays she will return home someday and after many months she does! She returns in the middle of the night to find the door to her mother’s home unlocked. She asks why it had been left open “this late at night.” To which the mother replied that she’d not locked it since the daughter went away “so that no matter the day or the hour you might know you were welcome to enter at once.”

Here’s a funny story. Two women are sitting on a bench. The one’s three children “gleefully tumbled and cavorted while the other woman, who was childless, looked on and said: ‘I would give ten years of my life to have such wonderful children.’ After a moment’s reflection, the mother said, ‘Yes, three children cost just about that’.”

The poetry selections are likewise sentimental and lovely. Edgar Allen Poe’s “To My Mother” was written for his mother-in-law! “But you,” he says, “are mother to the one I love so dearly… .” There’s another by Alice Allen comparing … well, Alice says it better that I: “Her heart is like her garden, Old-fashioned, quaint and sweet, With here a wealth of blossom, And there a still retreat.”

There is something about this book—this particular book on my desk right now—that I find sad. Clearly it was marketed—no doubt in a greeting card store—especially for Mother’s Day. A corner of the title page has lines for “To,” “From,” and “Date.” This particular book is “To Mother with Love, Mary and Bill, May 14, 1972.” It’s in beautiful cursive handwriting with flourishes on the “Ms” in Mother, Mary, and May. Tucked away inside the pages is a little piece of light blue paper with pasted-on cut-out yellow flowers and another pasted-on smaller piece of paper on which is again written “To: Mother. From Mary & Bill.” Between the beautiful handwriting and the childlike decoration, I can’t figure out how old Mary and Bill might have been when they gave this book to their mother. Nor do I know how this book (and the corresponding one from Mary & Bill to “Our Daddy”) found its way to a junk store. I just can’t imagine Mary & Bill not wanting to pass this book bygone on to their children. Can you?

“Anniversaries and Holidays: A Calendar of Days and How to Observe Them.” Mary Emogene Hazeltine. American Library Association, Chicago. 1928. Available at MSU Mitchell Memorial, West Point, and Aberdeen libraries and at online booksellers.

“Far Above Rubies: My Mother.” Mary W. Lightfoot, ed. The World Publishing Company, New York. 1970. Available at online booksellers. 

No Commercials

Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.

--William Makepeace Thackeray

The blog remains commercial free. The little tidbits regarding Mothers' Day I'll be sharing are NOT intended to get you to buy anything!

Found inside a crappy old book given to Mother by Mary & Bill on May 14, 1972.

Far Above Rubies: My Mother. Mary W. Lightfoot, ed. The World Publishing Company, New York. 1970.

Clarifications

Caroline and kymber ask,

The "groove" referred to normal, day-to-day, operations-- in light of recent events. [I read your bio.]

I alerted Caroline to alert Matt to this. It's a light thing. 

Caroline is driving across the USA. She has sent me photos. There was one of a plate with John Wayne's face. It was awesome. 

OMG! I almost forgot!! We Dressed Up for Derby Day!

Hard copy

"This is a f Un & people need to start acting like adults."

I leave the translation to you. At issue was the University's decision to cancel classes at 3pm last Monday. Miss M got the email about half way to campus at about 2:50. She called to vent. 

I couldn't agree with her more! I had the same problem during the Girls' kindergarten signup. Sure. Schools have teachers whose job it is to teach the three Rs. But schools should also be models. This is how groups of kids & parents & teachers self-organize. But to just welcome 60 little kids and their parents to your school and say, "Go find you name on a door," seemed a little unorganized to me. We got that fixed.

The higher ups at State blew it. And then they blew it in the other direction the next day. 

Anyhoo...

The point of the post is that nothing substitutes for a hard copy. See? My scribble of Miss M's tirade is a hard copy of a tiny little point in time. 

Daughter C has been sending me photos of Flyover Land. 

If someone knows how to move messaged photos on my phone to my computer so that I can print a hard copy of them, I would be thankful if you would send along instruction. 

I hear Thursday is

Throw Back Thursday. 

Mac & Cheeeeese. 

It's Comfort Food.

We planned on 50

including this one.

By my head count, there were 47 1/2. (Olive eats a lot but she just doesn't put it down the way the guys do.) 

I made a couple of things this morning.

Brandied fruit

Beer potato salad

By about 3pm were ready.

Daughter C had made menus.

We weren't quite sure about the weather, so the guys moved the grills up to the porch.

Meanwhile, we put on the finishing touches.

And iced down the beverages.

People started showing up.

And then my camera ran out of battery.

BUT! Everybody & his brother were taking photos. So if you just go look on the WorldWideWeb, I'm sure you will find a photo of yourself (haha) at the Farm.

Unless, of course, you were not here.

Secure the Perimeter!

Wait! What? Where are you headed?

This is a pretty amazing story! Missy was outside and I realized she was barking which is something she hardly ever does unless... 

"Oh! Marica! That's just not true. I don't need my Dear Friend Rocky to tell me when to bark! I bark at the birds all of the time."

"RUFF!!"

"My apologies, Missy. You do bark at the birds. And today a turtle that was far far away."

"rufffffff"

"You seem surprised."

"Well, as I said, you don't usually bark at much besides birds."

"RRrrruuuufffff ruff!"

"You find that amusing, my Friend? May I remind you that you bark at just about everything. You even bark at Mr. Big Food when he incites you."

"Okay. Okay. How did you know the turtle was way down there by the fence, Missy?"

"Oh my goodness! Couldn't you smell it? It was abominable."

"Wonder if that's the way the males and females find each other?"

"Ruff."

"So you smelled it. Why! I'm impressed, Missy!"

"Thank you. I was just, however, following my instincts."

"Ruff ruff."

"You know, we should talk about that one day-- what we've learned about our instincts."

"We must have a crappy book, sorry-- an old book-- or two about instincts we could read together at reading time."

"Some William James?"

"Lovely! And there's that brand new volume of Henry!!"

"Ruff."

"By the way-- I might have forgotten to mention-- but things are about to get hectic."

"oh. Ha. Um... Excuse me, Marica. I must have been nodding off. We did have a big weekend. "

"Indeed we did. Goodnight, Missy. Goodnight, Rocky."

Look! Girls! I Made A Video!!

The final still. 

It ain't great, photo-wise, but it was a lot easier to upload.

Happy Birthday, Miss M. We all hope you had a great day.

Love you!