Halloween Village

It is October after all.

Time to really begin the window dressing on seasonal decorations. One of the things Chris really enjoys are her Halloween decorations.

Those of you who know me, know that I'm not a huge fan of Halloween. I like the candy (a bit too much) but that's about it. But, in the spirit(s) of the season we decorate the house because, well, it is a piece of American tradition that keeps us from becoming stogy.

There is so much inertia to overcome in doing anything different these days. It seems the easiest thing to do is nothing at all. And then feel guilty about it later.

We did get our decorations out Sunday and placed around the house to begin to get into the season. We only have a small Halloween village--because it is out for less than a month. But it does get me excited for the Snow Village and its arrival in the house, now scheduled for November 20th.

That of course, begins the Christmas season--with all of its special sets of issues.

For now though--the next celebration on the radar is Halloween. And the nights are getting colder and the days are cooler.

Autumn is fully in control now. I guess we need to embrace it because, as the line from one movie reports: "resistance is futile!"

Monday Musings - October 4, 2010

1. Busy weekends move by so quickly that sometimes I even wonder if you I a weekend.

2. Baseball season is over--the Orioles finished really strong and made watching baseball fun. I hope it carries over to next year. I miss the "Boys of Summer" already.

3. Where is hockey? I'm ready. Oh yeah--Thursday night! Can you say Stanley Cup?

4. It is raining again. I'm not sure we need anymore for a while. Who turned off the sun?

5. Did you hear about the Earth-like planet they found? It doesn't rotate. I guess it is not so earth-like, then.

6. We are in the season of changes--decorations which last only for about a month. Currently we are celebrating a harvest holiday with pumpkins and scary houses. Next month we get out the turkeys for a celebration of thanks.

7. Makayla had prissy feet. What are prissy feet you ask? Well, she won't go into the wet grass to do her business. That becomes a bit of an issue with all of the rain we are having and so I have to put her on her leash to guide her to spots suitable for her activity. I do not have prissy feet by the way.

8. Did you hear the joke about October weather? Neither did I.

9. And writing of jokes:

If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you! (from Joke of the Day)

Saturday Catch-up

It is funny how a quick trip to the dump turned into an all day series of projects--some of which still beg for completion.

The day started pleasantly enough with Chris and Riordan enjoying a moment on the sofa before it was off to the lab for blood work in advance of a physical.

After a short breakfast we decided to rid the hacienda of excess junk that had piled up during the summer. One additional item which finally made its way to recycling was was an old Honda engine which had been reclining under a counter in the garage for almost eight years--it is finally being recycled.

Patrick and Tina arrived to help and we also sorted through attic holdings that were beginning to burst out all over. It is funny how attics quickly become the black holes of the home--things go in but never come out.

The truck was full as Patrick and I headed for the recycling center--and I am happy to report that only a very small amount of the overall load were not able to be recycled.

Chris and Tina took a load of clothing to the Salvation Army for donation--and amazingly did not pick anything up while they were there.

But did the day end there?

No.

We all went out to an enjoyable lunch and then it was on to other projects--moving beds and finally, after over a month of consideration and planning, placing the TV in the family room on a wall mount.

Is any project easy? No. the TV mount required three trips to Lowe's, including changing the original mount which didn't fit the TV to complete the project. I also discovered a number of wires and pipes in the wall--right where I wanted to put the new electric outlet. OK--so I do have some patchwork to complete.

We shot this image after the TV was mounted to the wall but before we had removed the base that it had been sitting on for almost two years. It kinda looks suspended in space.

As as darkness fell--and the carry out Chinese arrived--the day began to come to completion. The TV was finished--although there is a mattress in the garage that displaced Cat for the night.

All in all though--a productive day and an enjoyable one.

I slept well.

Blades of Grass

Green. Alone among the millions
growing in my yard.
The mower cut them all the same
no individuality here.

Despite the lack of rain this year
my lawn remained still green.
And so I mowed it every week
as each grass blade grew new.

Summer's sun has lost its heat
and frost too soon will fall.
The blades of green will change then too
become the brown of Fall.

And lay beneath the royal robes
adorning trees that shade.
The blades which once were green and warm
will sleep beneath the snow.

Happy New Year FY11

Funny how that sounds, right?

But actually we celebrate other new years as we go through our calendar. Last month it was Jewish New Year. In February it was Chinese New Year.

Today though is the Fiscal New Year! And so we awake this morning to a government without a budget because our elected officials can't seem to focus on the important aspects of their jobs and ensure a funded and functioning government.

Thank goodness for continuing resolutions!

I'm frustrated about the state of our government.

I saw a poll reported on the NBC Nightly News Tuesday night that really drove home the point about voter frustration. The bottom line was--it didn't matter whether Republican or Democrat--the voters are ready to part ways with whomever is currently in office and get some new people in place who are more collaborative and less partisan.

I'm with them.

As it stands right now, I do not see myself voting for anyone who currently is in office this year.

Give someone else a chance.

Let's get past partisan politics and get on with the business of running the government and stop the ceaseless bickering. It is not getting any better, is it?

The economy is still faltering, joblessness is increasing, and the debt is mounting.

I don't care whose fault it is, FIX IT!

That the government has no budget is just one of the many symptoms of the problem.

It seems that our elected officials no longer represent us--the ones who gave voted them into the job.

So Happy New Fiscal Year (FY) 2011. May we reclaim the government of the people and for the people this year!

The Rain

I could not believe the weather report the other afternoon.

Six (yes: 6) inches of rain was expected in some areas. Coincidentally, that is the exact number of inches we are below average for the year. But trying to make it all up in one storm was a bit extreme.

Well the rains came--as predicted--and they kept coming--even beyond the intiial expecatations.

Plans changed. Baseball games were rescheduled.

And the rains came causing traffic tie ups and accidents. The rains caused flooding and all sorts of biblical oriented travails.

But the rain kept falling.

Not for forty days and nights--thankfully.

But the rains came and the floods rose and the cars stalled.

I just wish I didn't have to go to work!

Butterflies and Miners

I read an interesting story in the news the other day about a hwite butterfly saving the lives of two miners in the Chile mining disaster.

Ready the story at Did a butterfly save two miners' lives in Chile?

It is pretty interesting--albeit a bit confusing.

the article begins as follows:

In Chile's dry Atacama desert, folklore mixes with superstition and superstition blends with religion.
Scorching days give way to cold, foggy nights.
In the tent village christened "Camp Hope," at the gates of the San Jose mine complex, close-knit miners' families huddle together and light a fire.
They tell tales in the glow of red-hot embers. And the one everyone wants to hear these past few nights is an almost supernatural tale about the miner and the white butterfly.

I like the way it begins--in the midst of a disaster, there is a miracle. And that any of the miners is still alive seems to me to be a miracle.

But I like the premise--God provides a way for those who believe.

Bat Dance

Dancing on a wing, the ballet in the sky was mesmerizing
As the orange-hued light from the setting sun silhouetted
Small forms performing intricate routines not only for my enjoyment
But in search of sustenance as they winged and turned and dove
Freely and effortlessly it seemed they were free of gravity
To fly where they willed as night fell and darkness gradually overtook the scene
Until I could no longer make out their forms in the waning twilight.
Were they still there, I wondered after I could no longer enjoy the dance?
Dancing, chasing a delectable mosquito or other flying insect
Unseen now and unheard, but probably more numerous than before
I briefly glimpsed one of them in the weak light of a lamp as it flew past the window
Its dark, featureless form reminding me why so many people fear them
Even though we are not in their food chain and despite the fact
That they actually serve us unselfishly by ridding the sky of the
Blood sucking vermin that make being outside after dark on a summer evening
An event that requires copious amounts of liberally applied foul smelling bug spray
To keep from becoming a banquet table for the bugs.
They try to make it smell good by offering scents of fruits and other flowers,
But who really wants to smell like a fruit bowl
Do I look like a strawberry? So then should I smell like one?
No—bring on the dancing warriors of the skies who live to rid the area of winged vermin.
I love seeing them dance in the twilight, knowing that they are there every summer’s night
Conducting the same fanciful flight routines for both me and for themselves.

A Disciplined Mind

I have been thinking a lot about this lately as my frustration with my neighbors continues to grow again.

No, it isn't the garbage as I wrote about earlier in my entry titled Good Fences and Questionable Neighbors. The garbage is making it to and from the street, mostly.

But I have begun to notice other things around me that point to lack of a disciplined mind. And I am at fault too, as my loving wife will often point out.

The evidence of a undisciplined mind can be seen in simple things, like walking over or around the basket of clothes waiting to either go to the laundry or be put away after coming up from the laundry.

Seeing a cup fall out of the car and not stopping to retrieve it an place it in the trash. But leaving it to see in whose yard it will blow into.

Parking the car sideways in the drive--this one really amazes me because it may be easier to pull into, but it sure creates problems parking the other vehicle and then departing in the morning.

So what are the traits of a disciplined mind?

A disciplined mind closes the cupboard door after retrieving a measuring cup.

It puts the top down on the toilet when business is finished.

It picks up the tuft of dog hair on the sofa and deposits it in the trash.

It picks up the newly delivered phone book strewn around the base of the mailboxes at the same time as when retrieving the mail.

It recognizes that the Styrofoam Chic-fil-A cup lying in the drive is soon going to be debris in a neighbor's yard and moves the cup into a trash receptacle.

A disciplined mind takes the trash out instead of trying to cram another piece into the already overflowing receptacle.

And so, I think I have captured the archetype of the disciplined mind. As I pondered it more, I realized that one of the defining differences between children and adults is the transition to a more disciplined mind.

Can one therefore extrapolate that those who do not possess a more disciplined mind are still children?


I wonder.

Monday Musings - September 27, 2010

1. I was humbled by all of the birthday greetings I received yesterday on the phone and via Facebook and in person. Thank you to all of you for taking a minute to send me a note. I was awesome.

2. It is birthday season again for our family. It started last Wednesday with Michael and will continue until April when Ethan celebrates his sixth birthday!

3. I heard an interesting study that found that September is the favorite month of the year for the majority of Americans.

4. July is my favorite month of the year followed by June, August, May and April in that order.

5. My four least favorite months of the year are: January, February, December, and November. I often refer to these as the dark months.

6. That leaves March, September, and October in limbo--but definitely not among my favorites. Although the grape harvesting of September and October sure are enjoyable and foretell good wines in the future.

7. We have a new cat (actually a feline and not a Jaguar automobile) which has been turning the house on its ear. The cat, named Riordan, has established a pretty good relationship with Makayla. But Louis is a different story. So now at night the sound of cats screaming at each other is happening inside and not outside of the house!

8. Hockey season is underway this week. A welcome counter to the NFL.

9 Do you know what you get when you mix three dogs, two cats, three children under the age of six, NFL football, three TV's on different channels, a little bit of beer, and seven adults? Sunday at the Doan house.