Now this was a cool day . . .

Our only poppy. C'est triste.

Woke up to beautiful, dry, clear blue skies and abundant sunshine. Now, let me tell you what was cool about today. After over two hours in the dentist's chair I am now sporting a temporary bridge and have all of my teeth. It may not seems like much but it is terrific. I can chew away and it feels just perfect. Then as I was working in the garden the boy from next door came to borrow two eggs. It feels so good to live a bit like in the old days when MaTante Blanche would need some milk, eggs, flour or what have you and we would oblige just as she always helped us when we needed "qu'que chose." It makes me feel warm and comfortable in this old homestead. But I've got to tell you something; a pigeon is not just any bird. It fouls whatever it lands on and it lands on the roof of the house and the porch. It's terrible. One visited a few days ago. Then we had two. Then four and now we have six who have tried to alight at the feeders. I have taken to hating them. They are dirty birds. I hope we can scare them away easily by banging on the window or I may have to beg Puppy's Pop to sit outside and wave a towel at them!

Quote: Choose an author as you choose a friend. __Roscommon

There is no Happy in Memorial Day . . .

I was taken aback as I returned from buying our Memorial Day flowers for the cemetery when I saw the sign at the Wauregan VFW wishing drivers a "Happy Memorial Day." I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach. Where is there any "Happy" in the remembrance of dead soldiers who fought for our country? I must be getting maudlin in my dotage but it bothers me that our society seems to find a party in everything.

Quote: Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable. ___Daniel Webster

Phew . . .

Starting the photos from our English sojourns. Youngest's home when we went to her graduation from the University of York. This is in Darlington. They no longer live here.

It is 72 outside but near 100% humidity with the sun trying to peek out rarely. Always complaining about the weather! I like dry and sunny with enough rain for the plants and animals but have no idea if this perfection exists on God's Earth. I think He's trying my patience and I'm not passing the tests. Puppy's Pop is flying at the Sterling School and I had no inkling to walk so I just vacuumed and did a touch up dusting. Now I'm ready to sit back and as is usual try to get caught up on my daytime reading. Starting June 20 I'll be getting my National Review on line and have access to their archives and their on line bloggers. Should be fun. I'm really starting to like reading on the iPad because I can change the size of the print to suit my vision. Neat! Had a late afternoon email from Oneco friends and we went to their so beautifully landscaped home and enjoyed conversation, wine and crackers on the patio before heading to Cranston and the Hong Kong Buffet. I was a bit reticent about a Chinese buffet but it was really great and at $12.95 a person a very good deal.

Just took a 40 minute break. Youngest child called and gave us an update on their goings on. Hoping to see them here in Moosup next year! That will be so great. It's been exactly one year since we were in England so it'll be a long stretch before we see her again. They are very busy with their jobs and that's a good thing. Time to get ready for Mass.

Quote: Of the whole sum of human life no small part is that which consists of a man's relations to his country, and his feelings concerning it. __Gladstone

The Fox Family has arrived . . .

Visiting Perry at noon today while he was trying to eat lunch!

Yay ! ! !

And we have lift off! The garden is all planted: early girls, better boys, marketmores, straight necks, Yukon golds, bush beans, Swiss chard, jack o'lanterns, fancy gourds, nasturtiums, puff ball zinnias, medium zinnias, double zinnias, short fat sunflowers. Yesterday we had the best day so far for 2011 and I took full advantage of the gorgeous sunny, cloudless deep blue skies. Puppy's Pop got the yard looking stunningly green and weed free! The purple flocks have filled the wooded area behind the garage, the lilacs are past their prime as well as the forsythia but the bridal wreath is the most voluptuous it has ever been. It's no wonder the birds flock here. We even had four colorful pigeons. I do hope they don't bring any friends because they are big birds which means big messes. Even the foxes have taken a liking to our cottage homestead. The turkey hasn't been back lately. Perhaps she was dinner for the foxes. How the world does keep turning and what an infinitesimal yet exciting part we play.

Quote: One must be poor to know the luxury of giving. __George Eliot

Walking lunch . . .

Just returned from the Yankee Flyers' Field where Puppy's Pop flew and I walked my two miles on Lake Road where I inhaled lunch as I stepped lively by Automatic Rolls of New England (ie rolls for McD's.) Good way to spend part of the day. It didn't even rain but it is hot and muggy at 76 degrees. After the fox siting this morning we went for coffee and to Agway for the seeds and plants I needed if I can ever get into the garden. We had a message from Richard's Service Center and the Dodge Ram was ready with a new clutch and whatever else it needed so we went to pick it up. Met the soon to be new owner of the garage, Richard, and was quite impressed. I'm certain we've found a good place to have our cars taken care of. The closing should be in a couple of weeks. That would be terrific. Richoni's is sporting a newly oiled and painted parking lot and the lower lot has a huge load of pink stones laid over it. The wooden fence is nice and bright with all kinds of beer and whiskey signs. Place is looking good. Richard with the chef's hat gave me a monster ham grinder, chips and pickles to bring home for lunch so I won't make much of an attempt at supper tonight. While I was at Richoni's Grampa went to his kid brother's home to pick up the roto-tiller and as I write he is out working it through the garden. So we're getting a lot done today before the next rains fall. Spent a good day yesterday with my youger sister. We went out to our usual lunch at Mr. G's in East Granby and then up Route 20 into Granville, MA for our home made ice cream at the farm. It rained all day but we enjoyed our time together. Bought gas for $3.85 and thought it was a bargain. How sick is that? Also stopped for some dark chocolate at Munson's on the way home. That was a bit of a bummer because this is the second time I stop to get dark chocolate covered ginger and they don't have any. I put in a complaint but it seems they'll only be making it for the Christmas season. I may have to start a petition through the state legislature to get my ginger chocolate covered earlier than that. Since the legislature in Connecticut is useless we might as well give them useless tasks to perform!

Quote: What is human sin but the abuse of human appetites, of human passions, of human faculties, in themselves all innocent? ___R.D. Hitchcock

The Fox family

Grampa took these early this morning before I was awake! Can't believe that this whole family came right to the house!

That was fun . . .

Youngest sister-in-law and I went to see Aluminum at Providence Performing Arts this afternoon. We had a good time even though the theatre was probably only about a third full. It was a fun and bouncy show, rather like a Blue Man Group with Aluminum! After the show we stopped at the Corner Bistro in North Scituate for an early dinner. Our meals were very good but the best part is that I found a new dessert that I really like, Panna Cotta. It's an Italian custard of sorts with fresh raspberries, black berries, whipped cream and a dash of balsamic vinegar. It was "délicieux." Although it was another gray, cool day it was perfect for our excursion. Hoping Puppy's Pop's Dodge will be fixed by tomorrow or Tuesday so he can pick up his brother's roto-tiller and get the garden ready for planting. I can't believe that I haven't put it in yet. Groton daughter got her tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers planted today. Hard to believe that the kids are so far ahead of "moi." Even though yesterday started out poorly I ended up at a great afternoon party for our four year old great niece who lives in Mémère and Pépère's old home. The property there looks great as does the house. We had a good time and there were oodles of kids. Kiddo enjoyed his day and since his Mom came to pick him up he was super psyched. Going to see my younger sister tomorrow so the sun will shine even if it doesn't. That's my latest philosophy. Make your own sunshine! Only way to survive this crazy Spring. I shall be amazed at what Summer has in store for us.

Quote: Where the speech is corrupted, the mind is also. __Seneca

And the rains are still with us . . .

Just managed to get in an evening on my mood swing when the heavens parted for the umpteenth time and the rains are upon us. Drove to Groton in the pouring rain this morning but when I left the school at one for lunch at Richoni's the sun was out and it was in the 70's and very humid. Humidity followed me home this evening but just a smidgen of sun took the ride North and now we're back to dark, cloudy and rain. We haven't been able to get the garden turned even though I've picked out our crops. I haven't bought anything yet but I'm hoping to plant next week. We shall see what the gods have in store for us after the Last Day, Saturday. Had a first today, never too late for a first of any kind. I was speaking with a nice lady at a playground and she spoke of the young girl she was watching as I was watching Kiddo play too. She said, "I'm married to her Mom and she wasn't too happy when I had to discipline her." Okay, I must admit I just took it in stride at the time but I feel sorry for the kid in some gut wrenching way. I just don't feel that kids should have to know about homosexual relationships so young. I wish they could live in a family with their very own Mom, Dad, brothers and sisters until they are at least 16 or so before they have to join the craziness of our selfish, TV, gadget lives. Sometimes it's hard to be an optimist. I never had to work at it before. It's disconcerting and uncomfortable. Life has changed so much since cave man days but I'm afraid that man himself never changes. He still makes the same errors as the earliest inhabitants of our beautiful planet. Man's happiness can never be fulfilled if he continues to act "me first." I wish I had answers to the callousness of humanity.

Quote: Teach me to feel another's woe, to hide the fault I see; that mercy I to others show, that mercy show to me. ___Pope

Just a bit perky . . .

This drab climate change weather has got to stop. At least I hope that youngest child is getting the beautiful Spring in Durham that we're not getting in New England! Just to liven up the days we went to lunch at Java Jive Sunday and had breakfast at Zip's today. The house is almost spotless, impossible to imagine, I know. Windows need big time cleaning but the pollen is so thick it is useless to try to shine anything. Puppy's Pop washed the Pontiac Sunday and it's already covered with pollen which is now stuck on it from all the rain.Want to open the four doors to let in the melancholy, drizzly light but it's only 50 degrees and I don't want the furnace to kick on but I may over rule the rules and open them anyway. I hate dark, cloudy, dismal days, so I'm making a bread machine honey wheat bread for Puppy's Pop and some stewed rhubarb for myself. It smells pretty good in here. I hear that aroma therapy is uplifting. I'll have to see if that's true. Received a best phone call today! Moosup niece, H, called to say she has a job waiting for her after she takes the state nursing boards in June. That is such great news. She and J and the kids have worked so hard for this accomplishment. I'll see them Saturday when Kiddo and I go for the little one's fourth birthday. Kiddo's Mom will come to the party to pick him up so it will be a super day. Another semi-plus: I had my first run in with an Amazon marketplace seller. She charged me $24 for a book which I was willing to pay but when the book arrived the invoice was from a different seller and the Amazon payment was only $6. So I went through proper channels and did manage to get an $8 refund, still not really satisfied but I'm the dodo bird that agreed to the $24 payment and Amazon said it was legit, just an accounting error on the seller's part so I accepted the refund and learned a lesson. I do a lot of buying from Amazon and I usually stay away from their marketplace sellers now I shall be more circumspect. Oh, merde! The oil man just drove up for our last delivery of the season. I don't think I'll even look at the bill, just let it go on the charge card and close my eyes when it comes time to pay at the end of the month.

Quote: Nothing is cheap which is superfluous, for what one does not need, is dear at a penny. __Plutarch

I quit . . .

Now the video, which was really awful and not centered, no longer exists. Hummmmph.

He is incorrigible . . .

As I walked out the door to accompany Puppy's Pop to his flying site at a neighboring town's sports fields I saw a stick and can near the door and asked if he needed it. He said, "Yes" so I grabbed it without really looking at what I was carrying since I don't wear my glasses when I go for my walk while Puppy's Pop flies. When we got to the field I dutifully helped carry the flight box and then came the realization that the can on the stick was orange spray paint to be used to paint a circle in left field. At control line contests a circle is generally marked so the pilot doesn't move around too much which would cause chaos if he strayed into someone else's circle or close to spectators. But this is a school ground in another town. You really can't paint an orange circle and expect maintenance to be thrilled about the left field markings! As it happened I walked while Grampa made use of a clover circle that fortuitously was taller than the grass and he managed to get in about 4 flights as I steamed my way around the soccer, basketball, track, long jump, shot put and baseball fields. I was picturing, Grampa caught on security cameras set up high on the school building; police knocking at our door accusing us of defacing public property; me explaining that I had already done community service because I always pick up the garbage left by others, stand up the garbage barrels that have fallen down, find the covers for said barrels in the far corners of the property where the winds seem to blow them, save soccer balls, softballs and golf balls. But for now we are safe. There are no orange circles except at the Yankee Flyers' Field. So I am relaxed for now. Allah Akbar.

Quote: Conscience! conscience! man's most faithful friend! __Crabbe

The video is horrible . . .

I've finally figured out how to get the video on here and it's not even centered!!!! What a mess. But I refuse to take it off. It was too much of a hassle. I may play with it again tomorrow and then again I may just delete the darned thing. It's not very good anyway and it's even worse like it is on the post because it doesn't show Kiddo. It just cuts him off. It won't even let me add these words to the journal part of the post. Super merde.

Get the Spinner . . .

Kiddo has made up a new game. He spins a propeller on a stick and it lands on the garage overhang. Then, after all that work, he gets to knock it off the roof with tennis balls, if he's lucky! The video last for 5:50 minutes. We finally quit waiting for the hit that would win the day and stopped the video. At 6 minutes, without any fanfare he made a direct hit and it tumbled down. Oh well, c'est la vie, n'est-ce pas? So if you want to see Kiddo in action you will have to fast forward through some of the video. He actually does get a hit but it pushes the spinner higher up!

Kiddo was sick at school lunch Thursday so I brought him to his house and next day he stayed with us a bit earlier than usual for a Friday as daughter didn't want to send him to school since he really couldn't eat. We had a good day reading, swinging, flying spinners and he came up with his new Get The Spinner game. The sun has not deigned to come out yet this drab Saturday and Puppy's Pop is mowing up a storm. I'm going to make some Gumbo for supper with Cajun C.J.'S home made mix that we mailed to Moosup from Slaughter. Hope I make it right. There's enough to feed an army! Kiddo's brother is in a huge funk because he's got a job at Big Y in Mystic and should have gotten his license Friday but a set of his Dad's dealer plates are on his car and the DMV wouldn't let him take the driving portion of the test. Not only that but now you have to take the driving portion before you take the written part and he couldn't get another appointment until June 3. On top of that the DMV generally makes you take the two tests on different days!! This place gets nuttier by the minute. Hope he was able to schedule both tests on the same day but that happens infrequently and he had lucked out the first time around. His step grandmother on his mother's side will most likely let him use her car for the next test and take him to the testing site. I hope he continues to drive and study.

Quote: He had the rare quality of not only loving but respecting childhood -- its innocence, its keen sense of justice, its passionate yet sensitive affections. __Mulock

Rather lucky day . . .

Here I sit at the dining room table in middle child's home in Groton and consider my self lucky because I'm sipping coffee and snacking on Goldfish. Yesterday I had to make a mad dash to Dr. Mackey, our dentist here in Groton, because it seemed I might have an abscessed molar. She checked it out, thought hopefully that it was only a cracked filling that was acting up right down to the gums, but she didn't have the time to work on it so I returned for 8 this morning and she had me out of there before 9! Hip, hip hurrah! I'm thankful that's all there was to it. So I went to Starbucks, splurged on a Mocha Latte and very berry coffee cake which I took to a beautiful park on Route 1 near Grasso Tech. After my delicious splurge I walked my two miles in the grey, windy cold on their half mile track. There were many people walking but the best part was a class of new mother's, about 12 of them, with their babies and buggies walking, running, stopping, working out all the way around the track. Pretty neat. It was Miss April, daughter's neighbor who runs the class. I did stop and say hello. They were having a grand old time. Then I decided to help out at Kiddo's school even though I don't generally do lunch duty on Wednesdays. I'll go pick him up at three and let hm stay for a half hour or so to play with the walkers that often stay and hang around on the school's playground. He gets a kick out of that. For now I'll just settle in and get caught up on my magazines.

A moody day . . .

Not really back in sync. Today is bright, cheery but windy as the devil. I should have cleaned as is my wont but had absolutely no desire. So Puppy's Pop brought me to the Warwick Barnes and Noble so I could get pepped up picking out some books. Didn't do too badly, two out the ten I was looking for were in stock! They're ruining my "fun at the book store days." I still do better at Amazon. That's a disgrace when I need an actual outing to heft, appreciate book covers, read back covers, mull things over, try new quirky books. Oh for the days of yore, pre-amazon, pre-iPad, Kindle, Nook. I figure that God is in His laugh mode. After we returned home I delivered the Geaux Tigers posters and note paper to the Killingly High main office for my friend Sue. Not at all impressed with the new building. Looks like a jail and the lady who I thought should have greeted me was out in left field in a non-descript all purpose some kind of room. I left my items with her in the hope that they make it to Sue's mailbox. Stopped for two bottles of Rex Goliath Cabernet Sauvignon and a mocha latte on the way back down Route 12. That made my day as the beautiful woman who waited on me was a former student. I guess I do miss the kids, not the buildings and administration though. Puppy's Pop is out mowing for the second time since our return from Louisiana early Friday morning. The place looks grand. The house smells so good because I'm making beef barley soup from the frozen Easter left overs. Middle child and family came to Moosup early yesterday evening and we had a nice, calm meal at Riverview before returning here to relax while the Kiddos played basketball. The young Kiddo also managed to attack the spruce tree his Mom fell out of when she was a kid with his new sword and quicker than lightening moves. Neat kid. He also gave a thumbs up to the swing Grampa fixed for him on the Dogwood.

Quote: To most men their early home is no more than a memory of their early years. The image is never marred. There's no disappointment in memory and one's exaggerations are always on the good side. __George Eliot

Tired . . .

Views of the new John James Audubon Bridge spanning the Mississippi and her flood plains South of St. Francisville, LA. The bridge was opened early because of the very great flooding this year and the ferry could no longer run. We drove across it about 90 minutes after the grand opening on May 05, 2011. Beautiful structure. The highway leading to the main bridge is really a bridge too surrounded by water.

Must be getting older. I'm pooped and we've been home for a day and a half! Puppy's Pop has gone flying and I didn't even tag along to go for a walk. I can't believe that I just heard fairly loud thunder overhead and our sunny, warm, refreshing day is getting cloudy. I hope Grampa isn't flying if this storm hits! He has already mowed the lawn and we had Kiddo overnight so we're pretty much back in sync. It seems that our neighbor had to scare someone off of the porch Tuesday evening! She checked to make sure there were no broken windows and everything is fine but it ticks me off. Hoping it was just a nosey new neighbor. There certainly isn't much worth stealing except my rocker and Grampa Rose's desk! Oh, yeah, maybe some beer and wine too. I received my wild flower bouquet from that special man for Mother's Day. He made a nice arrangement! We've got our dinner all set for tonight; Richoni's spaghetti and meatballs. I love nice and easy!

Quote: Dreams full oft are found of real events the forms and shadows. __Joanna Baillie

Last day at home in Slaughter . . .

Beautiful morning in Louisiana and if we're lucky we'll get a chance to drive over the brand new John James Audubon Bridge across the flooding Mississippi just south of St. Francisville. Louisiana has shut down the ferry because of the flooding which is expected to peak at 47.5 feet on May 23. The levees in Baton Rouge range from 47.3 to 51 feet. The mighty Mississippi is expected to crest at levels not seen in 84 years. Human endeavors can only hope to contain Gaia when she unleashes her mighty power. Nature is not evil. It is only that humans have the hubris to believe they can keep her yoked to do their bidding. Pride does come before the fall and we puny beings are filled with pride. Yet Nature in it's power and majesty humbles us.

We spent a quiet yesterday recovering from our whirlwind stay in New Orléans. Grampa managed to visit with his friend Gil and get in some flying at the ball fields in Slaughter. Southern daughter and middle child left immediately for Texas because of a death in her family. Oldest child must get back to work today and A went in earlier than early for a meeting. He hopes to get home by noon so we can take a ride across the awesome Mississippi before we leave for the Baton Rouge airport. I'm always torn when we leave this comfortable home to go back home to Connecticut. A part of me stays here always and even though we've only been to Darlington in England twice there's a part of me that stays in England. It's a good thing that we only have three kids! I'd be in too many pieces! It is true that "Home is where the heart is." Life is good.

One day in NOLA . . .

We started out in the rain and ended in sunshine. La Nouvelle Orléans is not hard to take when you are with family who know the way and let you stay in ritzy accommodations on Saint Charles Street where the sounds of Streetcars lull you to sleep in the early morning hours. Buying a white russian; sipping as you walk past the bars, clubs, souvenir shops, smells, live girly shows, fancy hotel fronts with waiters in black ties, or dilapidated, crusty, old restaurants, head swiveling to try to take in Bourbon Street is the best way to guarantee a smile on your face. Quaint doesn't work as a descriptive word for the French Quarter. Lively, lovely, scary, loud, somber, showy, reeking, bold, disdainful, not meek or mild, beautiful, warm, gutsy, microcosm of good and evil, sinful, lusty, sleek, serene, worldly, holy, peaceful, calm, so far from perfection, enticing, NOLA, you're the one.

A Pyrrhic Victory ???

So Obama bin Ladin is dead. Excuse me, I meant Osama is dead and gone. This is a victory? A victory for whom? What will this victory entail? I'm very happy that bin Laden has gone to meet his virgins at the hands of the USA but I don't see the dangerous fanatics laying down their weapons and calling it quits. Bin Laden was just the latest harbinger of the world power grab that has eluded Muslim extremists for centuries. Hatred, treachery, dishonesty, misogyny, ignorance, stupefying rigidity, arrogance, cupidity in the Muslim world has not changed in millennia. Who could be so simple as to believe that this is a victory? It is right that he has been killed and if it should somehow lead our self serving politicians to allow the US military to do whatever is necessary to beat the muslim terrorists than it will be a victory for civilization. But if we just get the same rhetoric from Washington we will be the worse for it. Let's not tiptoe around the world. Let us strike hard and furiously with all our might and rid the world of these tenacious bastards who hold us hostage with impunity. We can't be squeamish in defending our western way of life for if we don't fight well we are doomed to lose the battle with Satan. And if Washington will not allow the military to do their job then we should pack up and come home. There is no reason to put American lives on the line in defense of political objectives and material gain. And those are my scattered thoughts on this grave matter.