Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Beany Cat thinks the red roses look charming next to her white coat. Also, this photo was taken yesterday, because this morning the view behind Miss Chublina looked like this:
Seasons, shmeasons...who needs them in any particular order? Not us, apparently. We were sneaking into spring, with things popping up everywhere, now it's downright chilly! That's ok, by this afternoon it will be gone, but it's really picturesque while it lasts.

A Valentine's Bouquet

Since I'll forget to do this tomorrow, here's a Valentine's Day Bucket!*
*(it's pronounced "bouquet")!

The Da Vinci Hype

Apparently some pastors* are encouraging Christians to see The Da Vinci Code so they can debate it with non-believers who buy into all the "Jesus was a fraud" hoo-ha. Sorry, I refuse to throw my hard-earned dollars at this film...it might be interpreted as a show of support. Barbara Nicolosi agrees.

I already read the book (borrowed from a friend...glad I didn't support Dan Brown that way, either). It was a real page turner, but not what I would call literature for the ages, and so full of crackpot spurious scholarship in the second half of the book as to render the serious tone of the first half null.

Says Amy Wellborn:

Me, I hope I can steer clear of The Da Vinci Code debate. The writing is nothing to shout about. Dan Brown treats a long-buried (albeit imaginative) heresy like hot stuff. And the movie's being directed by Ron Howard, who has yet to make a movie that I really enjoy. I can't wait for all of this to become ancient history, so we can look back and shrug and see how trivial all of the hoopla really was.

* The "challenge" website is functioning just fine.

Critters

Just got an email from my sister in Kona. Right after New Years they lost one of their cats to poisoning (grrrrrrr)...and came home from the vet with this little guy! His name is Billabong. He is cute. Great photo!

And now, for something completely different...

What is it?! This came in the same email. If I were a biologist and I'd just found this in the jungle, I'd call it the Jungle Camo moth. Wow! Big boy, too...must be a Marine. Any entomologists out there?

Nummymuffincoocolsweater

I must have this sweater. In a "large", of course (the model shown is for a wittle bebbee). Sarah over at SewGeeky is a knitting goddess and deserves special praise for this pop art confection.

On another note, the aforementioned "headache" situation has taken a turn for the surreal. My husband, who is more personally involved than I, has had some very bizarre communications from somebody whom he wishes would remain firmly in the past. Joel and the 'bots of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame did a wacky fun spoof/PSA about the joys of alcoholism several years ago (#402 - The Giant Gila Monster), and one of the segments was "the guy who gets blind drunk and calls you in the middle of the night to tell you 'what a great friend you are, man. Like, you're the greatest...you are sooooo cool. I love ya', man....' etc.". Now, just imagine that this lampshade chapeau person, say (the following is hypothetical), wrecked your brand new Lagonda ten years ago, and ran over your dog and took out the corner of your house while he was at it. And not only never paid for the damage but never apologized...and is now coming over all chummy and nostalgic. How do you say to this person, "I miss our friendship, but it's gone, and just wanting it back isn't going to make it magically happen."

Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me.

Needless to say, there have been some raised eyebrows around here. I think it's possible to wish somebody well and yet not want them in your life, especially if "welcoming back" would imply absolution from all past infractions when no attempts at restitution or reconciliation have been forthcoming. Nowhere is it written that we have to be doormats in order to be compassionate.

The Weekly Blog

Boy, I'm slow posting, lately. First, I've been getting busy working in the yard. Yes, this is one of the wimpiest Januaries on record (temp wise), and stuff is bustin' out all over. If I don't get the "Winter" pruning done it ain't never gonna happen. Put in a bunch more primroses in shady spots, and have continued to divide bulbs that obviously haven't had attention since the Bush Administration. Papa Bush.

Second, we had a big momma of a storm Friday/Saturday. Gusts up to 50 mph and 13' tides on the coast. We lost power at the stroke of midnight Friday...just as I was putting the conditioner in my hair. It was the quickest rinse in the history of the world, as I didn't want to run the pressure tank in the pumphouse down. Whew! I put on rain gear over my nightshirt and staggered down to the barn to nab the phone from the tack room (a nice luddite model) and let Woody in with Taxi to get out of the weather. Power came back on Sunday around 0700. Luckily we have a wood stove for heat and cooking, and I'd set up a rain barrel so we had plenty of water.

Back on the gardening theme, Mom finally decided to end the war with Bambi and simply take away the targets. All rose bushes (except the one climber that they never seem to notice) have been re-located here. I put two more in the ground today, and will do the rest tomorrow. This Spring and Summer should be 1000% more colorful and vegetative around here. What's the opposite of horror vacui? Affinito vacui? Horror baroqui? Well, that's what the previous owners of this place had. Their idea of landscaping was a big flat plane/plain of lawn. With a couple of tentative trees and the odd shrub. And a couple of wads of dwarf iris. Yawwwwn. I'm more of a "country (English) garden" type. Sam Gamgee all the way. Give me a riot of shrubs, perennial flowers, fruit trees, and indigenous stuff. And a huge veggie/herb patch. Got to get a rototiller...soon.

Anyway, sometimes life just gets wacky and you're so busy living it you don't have time to journal (a neo-verb that's since been replaced by "blog" in the computo-geek world).