Friday, August 29, 2008

Better to be silent and let people think you're a fool ..

.. than to open your mouth and erase all doubts.

A few years ago, Jan Wong of The Globe and Mail went "undercover" as a maid in Toronto to gain first-hand experience as a minimum-wage worker in Toronto.

She described the mess left for her by one "nouveau riche" family, including the nastiness that was the child's bathroom, and speculated on the correlation between the slovenliness of the patriarch and the large waistband of the underwear which she was required to iron for him. The family was never identified in the article.

The family, however, recognized themselves, and are now suing Jan Wong and The Globe and Mail. They are claiming "significant embarrassment and mental distress" and seem to think that $50K will be an appropriate salve for their wounds.

It seems to me that they just confirmed their sloth and stupidity to the world.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Why walk when you can ride on the John Deere?



We found this not-so-little critter on the lawn tractor when we were playing with our new toy cleaning it with the pressure washer. It's the first Walking Stick that we've found around here.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Dinner's ready


Fast, simple .. but who doesn't love a hot dog on a summer day?

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Well, how do you like them apples?

A few months ago, I noticed a new flowering shrub in my back forty. I wondered if it was cherry or apple, and marvelled at its appearance. Then I promptly forgot about it.

This morning, some small red spheres caught my eye as I was hanging laundry. It turns out the the mysterious blossoms were the precusors to tiny MacIntosh apples.




I think I tossed a few apple cores in that general area several years ago, and Mother Nature did the rest.

None of the fruit appears edible at this point, as each apple appears to be blighted with some sort of black marking. Perhaps, with a little nurturing, next year's crop will be better.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

The year of the deer

This evening, while we were picking up some pizza in the Jersey suburbs, my mother-in-law and I saw a pair of fawns at the edge of the treeline. This marks the fourth time in a month that I've seen baby McFawnersons - and only the fifth time in my life that I can recall seeing fawns in the wild.

One of the fawns had blue eyes. Is this a rare thing? I can't say that I've ever seen pictures of a deer with blue eyes, let alone one in real life.

Does anyone out there know - have the deer been particularly prolific this year? Or have I just failed to observe the fawns all around me?

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Political Haiku

Dear Mister Powell
Please run for Vice President
Restore your honour.

Still can't understand
Why you lied to the U. N.
How did they make you?

Faux News is saying
You will endorse Obama
Maybe there is hope.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Aaaah, summer!


The first sunflower to reveal its sunny face!

That'll do.






It only took us ten years, but we finally made good on the promise that we had made to ourselves to take in the Kingston Sheep Dog Trials. It was a beautiful day, a truly perfect summer day - warm but breezy, surrounded by other dog-loving country folk.

Friday, August 08, 2008

To boldly go where no MMORPG has gone before ...

I'm not much of a gamer, but I'm an unapologetic, geeky Star Trek fan.

My husband, on the other hand, can often be found in Paragon City or Middle Earth. He's also a Trekkie, though he loses credibility by insisting that Kirk was the superior Captain to Picard. He's obviously wrong, but I love him anyway.

Needless to say, there was great excitement in this household when my brother-in-law let us in on the secret - that his company, Cryptic Studios, would be launching the Star Trek Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game. There's an interview with him about the game, here, on the CTV website.

Jack will also share the stage with Spock on Sunday.

dramatic pause ...

Engage!

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Going batty




This little fellow took up residence on the stucco wall outside the Olive Garden in Clay, NY, this afternoon. I suspect that he wanted some breadsticks.

The magical world outside my window


If you feed them, they will come ...

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

It isn't every day that yer young man turns eleven!



Happy Birthday to my Eagle-Eyed Scientist!