The Ringbearer

The wedding is closing in and in a scoop here is a shot of the
ringbearer.

Yeah. He is a cutie and if he looks like this, what must the groom

and the bride look like?

Less than two weeks away. But who is counting?

I guess everyone is.

Sleep--Why is it Elusive Sometimes?

The alarm woke me this morning. That doesn't usually happen. Most often I'm already awake waiting for the alarm to signal the start of the day.

But this morning--the alarm had to do its duty and wake me from a restful slumber.

I usually sleep pretty well--only occasional bouts with mid-night insomnia. Sometimes the animals--cat or dog, wake me for some need or as they shift around in the bed. And then there is Chris--yes she snores, and when she has a bad night I often wake up.

But last night--the stars aligned and once my eyes closed, they did not open again until the alarm informed me that my allotted time in bed had ended.

And when I woke up--I realized that something really special had happened. I slept all night.

Wow.

Did I feel great? No, actually I was a bit groggy and would have stayed in bed had it been a weekend.

So I'm grumbling that I had a great night's sleep and had to get up?

Isn't that just like a guy--unhappy that something good happened.

I don't know why a full night's sleep is elusive, but I know I should appreciate a good one when I experience it.

And so, I will and I do.

Maybe a repeat performance tonight when I can sleep until 9 AM rather than 5:10 AM?? (Yes, my alarm goes off at 5:10 AM on mornings I do not play racquetball)

Do you think there is a chance?

There I go again--grumbling about something special that happened today.

OK--thanks for a great night sleep. May you all have one, too.

Thursday Party

Mid-week, pick-up parties have become a way of life around the house lately. And I must say they can be a lot of fun.

Tegan and her friends have brought a new sense of relaxation to the place and on almost any night there may be people around the pool with the heater going discussing the happenings of the day or the deep political crises of our nation.

Equipped with the new rope lights around the pool area, the whole place really becomes like a Key West bar after dark--ant that is exactly what we a trying to achieve.

The pool is open, the lights are on, the alcohol may be flowing--or not. But the laughter and talking and discussions which happen often go on right until bedtime. And since most of us have to get up early--the place shuts down almost exactly at 9:30 pm.

Memories--that's what we are making. Something to reach back for during a future time and recall friends, family, deep thoughts, and cool nights around the pool.

You Believe Them Why?

So the continuing saga of the Gulf oil spill and BP and the Federal government has become like a bad movie.

In this movie there are two bank robbers and they are constantly bickering about what they are going to do and how best to rob the bank.

But they continually bungle the job and escape only barely to try to rob another bank.

I was reminded of the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with the exception that they actually successfully made a living off of robbing banks.

And how can you tell that they are lying? Their lips are moving.

And why do we keep hearing about the next plan to stem that flow of oil which will likely fail? Because if they keep talking we can't really take the time to understand how bad it is.

And it is pretty bad. And getting worse.

And there isn't a viable plan except to drill another well to intersect the one that's there--and that won't happen until August.

They will keep talking and planning until August--because they know they just can't sit there and wait--but nothing seems like it is going to work.


And so we must wait and more oil will pollute the Gulf of Mexico and the beaches and kill the creatures of the sea and the birds of the air--


and our government will wring its hands and point its finger at BP.

And BP will point its finger at the government,


and nothing will get done, but we will feel better because of all the finger pointing.

Dawn of the New Day

I let Makayla out this morning for her usual walk around the yard to relieve herself and I noticed something in the sky. The colors of the morning were pushing away the darkness and bringing dawn to the slumbering world.

And so I looked it up in the official tables for sunrise and sunset and found that 5:11 am was the predicted time for dawn and that is almost exactly when I let Makayla out the door for her morning activity. Sunrise was slated for 5:42 am. We are should see 15 hours and 48 minutes (dawn to dusk) of daylight today--over 5 hours more than the 10 hours 37 minutes we will experience on December 1st.

And as I looked into the brightening sky, I thought about the promise of this Tuesday--the first day of June 2010 and all of my plans and activities.

Life is so busy--especially coming out of a three-day (or in my case four-day) weekend.

I am looking forward to Florida in July! A mere 47 days away.

But I don't want to get there so fast that I miss the joy in between which will include a wedding and the Independence Day celebration, the end of the school year for Chris, and so many other events and happenings.

It is similar to when I get behind in a racquetball game (which seems to be happening more than less lately). The key to success is not scoring all the points needed to win on one serve--it can't be done; but in racquetball, much like life, the key to happiness and success is to play one point, or one day, at a time and to give the best possible effort in every situation.

Monday Musings - Memorial Day May 31, 2010

1. Holiday weekends pass so quickly--and then it is back to the grind of daily living. It is good to have a respite to change up what we are about for a bit.

2. Note to self--wear sunscreen when driving for long periods in a convertible.

3. Flexibility in plans is the key ot a happy life. Don't get so wrapped up in what I thought I was going to be doing that I don't enjoy what I'm doing.

4. The distance between Elkridge and Ithaca varies by over an hour depending upon the time of day and day of weekend of the departure.

5. Confused priorities lie at the bottom of many controversy.

6. And here is a quote of the week for your consideration: "I was also going to give a graduation speech in Arizona this weekend, but with my accent, I was afraid they would try to deport me." -- Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California, ribbing Arizona's new immigration law, in his commencement speech at Emory University in Atlanta.

7. Allowing diversity of thought and opinion is what sets this great Republic apart from so many other places during this time of radical conformism.

Bonfire Evening

Last evening we enjoyed a bonfire and smores in Ithaca. The sky was
clear and we sat around watching the night fall while keeping warm
around a bonfire.

We saw a couple shooting stars and a couple satellites as well as
identifying Venus and Mars and Saturn.

We were also treated to the emergence of some fireflys and heard a fox
barking in the nearby field.

And so summer is officially underway.

Trev and Cat

We have Cat out for it's first road trip this weekend. I can't begin
to tell you how it pains me to put all of the miles on it, but it sure
is fun to drive.

Trevar thoroughly enjoyed his trip in Cat. Radio up full blast with
the wind in his hair.

Makayla enjoyed riding with the top down, too. She was leaning ony
shoulder with her nose just below the windshield cruising down the
interstate.

So far it has been a great holiday weekend. Still haven't made it to a
floatie in the pool with a beer in my hand--but I will.

Summer Pool Fun

It finally happened on Wednesday evening before I went to see the Orioles lose (again).

I made my initial entry into the pool for the 2010 Summer Season!!!!

Yup, I braved the chill and hits the surf, so to speak.

I had just finished brushing Makayla (outside) and it was really warm and i was hot and sweaty. A perfect time to check out the pool--

And I did.

It was awesome! So awesome that I grabbed a floatie and took a nap for about 30 minutes.

Yes, it's baaaaaaaack!

Since I was heading off to an Orioles game, I left the beer in the fridge, but clear water, the light smell of chlorine in the afternoon and lying on a floatie in the pool listening to the birds play in the trees.

It doesn't get much better than that!

Memorial Day Weekend

Well--even though astronomically it hasn't happened yet and won't happen for another almost four weeks--the official start of Summer is here!

Yup--Memorial Day.

Break out the pools, the grills, the bikes, the Summer fun equipment because we are gonna have a party.

Memorial Day, although with somber beginnings, has become the start of the Summer season. Many municipal pools open on this weekend--and around here they should be fairly cold given the weather we have been having right up until this week.

A lot of people have forgotten the reason that Memorial (or Decoration) Day was established. Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 31 in 2010). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War), it was expanded after World War I.

And so from this somber remembrance, we also enjoy the start of a summertime season that includes Independence Day and ends on Labor Day in early September. More than 92 days of heat, travel, vacationing, and sunburn.

Take a moment though on Monday, to remember our fallen heroes--the men and women of the military services from all of America's wars who died while in service to this great Republic.

I will be traveling--so I am sure to enjoy spending time with family and friends this weekend. We are going to do a test run with Cat--to see if we really want to pack ourselves into the car for a long ride to Florida in July. I wonder how Makayla will do riding with the top down?