Moon Lace (243/365)

 
“Moonlight is sculpture.” 

Nathaniel Hawthorne (American short-story Writer and Novelist, master of the allegorical and symbolic tale. One of the greatest fiction writers in American literature. 1804-1864)

TIME:  9:27 PM
PLACE:  The backyard
SUBJECT:  Leaves and moon

Once again, I left picture taking until the last minute.  I worked from 8:45am-1:45pm today, then made a quick stop at Target for some essentials (toilet paper!) and the grocery store.  Rushed home to put the cold stuff away then walked to school to register StellaDella for Daisy scouts at 3:00pm.  That meeting lasted until 4:30, then came back home to make dinner.  I sat down after dinner to catch my breath and the next thing I know, it’s 8:30pm (stupid internet).  And I have no picture.  DramaQueen suggested taking one of the moon.  I tried to do an artsy type shot.  I took quite a few and wasn’t happy with them.  I wanted the moon to be more defined.  HH yelled at suggested to me that I “use landscape mode”, so I tried again.  Still not what I wanted.  He played with the apeture and I tried a third time (with the neighbor’s dog barking at me).  Now it’s late, I’m tired and this is as good as it gets today.

r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r (242/365)

 
                                   r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r
                        who
  a)s w(e loo)k
  upnowgath
                  PPEGORHRASS
                                       eringint(o-
  aThe):l
            eA
                !p:
S                                                               a
                         (r
rIvInG                                  .gRrEaPsPhOs)
                                                             to
rea(be)rran(com)gi(e)ngly
,grasshopper;

(translation - “grasshopper who as we look up now gathering into the leaps arriving to become rearrangingly grasshopper;”)

e.e. cummings, r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r

TIME:  8:56 AM
PLACE:  The front porch
SUBJECT:  Grasshopper

A lazy Sunday.  Read the paper, did the laundry, took a catnap.  HandsomeHusband and I removed the old couch from the premesis…now I am seriously thinking about getting rid of the chair that went with it.  Maybe. 
MonkeyBoy saw this grasshopper on the broom handle when he went outside to fetch the Sunday papers.  He called me to take a picture, so I did.  Such a helpful son I have!

Birthday Boy (241/365)

 
“…now I am six, I'm as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six now and forever.”

A.A. Milne (1882-1956), “The End” (l. 11-14)…Now We Are Six, 1927

TIME:  6:29 PM
PLACE:  My sister’s house
SUBJECT:  David Charles

6 years ago today, my younger sister had her first child, my nephew, David.  I was 3 months pregnant with StellaDella at the time.  When my sister went back to work, I watched him once in a while.  I remember taking him to the the mall when he was about 3 1/2 months old.  The salesclerks asked how old he was and when was my other baby due.  When I told them he was born in August and my baby was due in February, I got perplexed looks.  You could see them trying to do the calculations and not being able to figure it out.  I usually took pity on them and told them that he was my nephew, but sometimes I just left them wondering!    

Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button? (240/365)

 
Gold Hat: Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Alfonso Bedoya-actor, John Huston-Writer, B. Traven-novel, John Huston-director, 1948)

TIME:  8:40 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen table
SUBJECT:  Badge pinbacks

I hit the Badge-a-Minit jackpot at the thrift store today.  I stopped by there briefly after paying HandsomeHusband’s union dues this afternoon.  I noticed the badge maker sitting on the check-out counter with a $17.00 price tag.  I didn’t buy it then, but gave it some serious thought on the way home.  I have been contemplating making “TEAM EDNA” badges for our family reunion in October.  “Edna” being my paternal grandmother and one of the siblings of the reunion family (the Tedesco side of the Tedesco-Mercurio reunion).  I thought these would be fun to wear and distinguish our line from the other sibling’s lines in addition to the navy shirts we will be wearing.  On our way to dinner, I drove by the thrift store to see if it was still open and if the badge maker was still there.  It was open, the badge maker was still there and so I bought it.  It came with two boxes full of pin supplies, a circle cutter, additional assembly rings and a hand press!  Looking at the “Badge-A-Minit” website, I’ve got about $210-$330 of badge making stuff (2-1/4” Bench press system, Hand press starter kit).  Not too shabby!

Cones (239/365)

 
I see four nuns
who sit like a bridge club,
their faces poked out
from under their habits,

Anne Sexton (1928-1974), U.S. poet. Letter Written on a Ferry while Crossing Long Island Sound (l. 35-38). . . The Complete Poems [Anne Sexton]. (1981) Houghton Mifflin.

TIME:  7:09 PM
PLACE:  Jaycees Field
SUBJECT:  Athletic cones

No exciting picture or adventure today.  Boring stuff mainly – laundry, grocery shopping and paper shuffling.  In fact, I did not even give a
thought to the whole Project 365 picture taking idea until football/cheerleading practice this evening.  These are some of the athletic cones the coaches place on the field to define a particular practice area for the players.  I took this whilst sitting on my folding chair, watching the girls practice their cheers.  I didn’t even bother to get up…I just turned and used Mr. Zoom Lens.  Here’s to better inspiration tomorrow!

Bean Counter (238/365)

 
“People always ask me, 'Were you funny as a child?' Well, no, I was an accountant.”

Ellen DeGeneres (American stand-up comedienne, television hostess and actress, b1958)

TIME:  9:37 PM
PLACE:  Desk
SUBJECT:  Accounting tools

Now that the kids are all in school I have returned to the working world.  Well, part-time anyway.  My client needed a part-time accountant for his law practice and I accepted the position.  I will be working on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while the kids are at school.  He told me that he hasn’t had a true bookkeeper in about 4 years.  Hmmm, I can tell that by the way things have been posted in the system.  It truly offends my bean-counting sensibilities.  He just wants me to “go forward” but I have to go backward to make 2009 correct…and to balance the checking account (which hasn’t been “officially” balanced since January 2008!).  I need to review the 2008 general ledger to make sure it is correct so I can file 2008 business taxes before the extension runs out.  It looks like I will be kept quite busy for awhile – oh well, it will keep me out of the mall and spending money, that should make HH happy!   

Cemetery Sentinels (237/365)

 
Loin des sepultures celebres
Vers un cimitiere isole
Mon coeur, comme un tambour voile
Va battant des marches funebres.

To the solemn graves,
near a lonely cemetery,
my heart like a muffled drum is beating funeral marches.

  Charles Pierre Baudelaire (French poet, critic and translator, 1821-1867) Les Fleurs du Mal. Le Guignon

TIME:  12:04 PM & 12:10 PM
PLACE:  Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis, MO
SUBJECT:  Headstones & Moss-covered angel

I went to some cemeteries in St. Louis to seek out gravesites of my relatives.  The St. Louis Archdiocese has a wonderful website where you can search for burials.  The results will include, among other information, the cemetery, section and lot number of the internment.  At the cemetery office, additional information about the plots are often available.  The workers at Calvary Cemetery are very helpful.  I have been to this cemetery several times and find it fascinating.  After finding my latest genealogical gravesites, I wandered through the older Italian section.  That section had rows with many large statues on top of the stones as seen in the first photo.  About half the stones had porcelain portraits. The burials in this section, ranged from the late 1900s to the early to mid 1950s.  There were many children and young people buried here.  When I retuned home, I was able to trace several of the internments back to death certificates on the Missouri State Archives website.  All those people were living, breathing human beings; they touched someone’s life and were loved at one time.  Now, all that is left to prove that they were once here is the stone that marks their final resting place.  It makes me think…100 years from now, will there be a person viewing my grave in the same way?  It is a very humbling thought and can help me put my day-to-day frustrations into some much needed perspective.         

How To Make A Point (236/365)

 
I think there are a hundred bees
inside the pencil sharpener
and they buzz
and buzz
and buzz
until my point
is sharp!

Zoë Ryder White, “The Pencil Sharpener”

TIME:  8:40 PM
PLACE:  The basement landing
SUBJECT: APSCO Pencil Sharpener

Is it me, or do pencils today not seem to sharpen as well as they did when I was younger?  We have tons of pencils that we have gotten from goody bags, giveaways, etc and my kids will sharpen them and more often than not, the graphite tip falls off.  I don’t recall that happening when I was in school.  In any case, here is a photo of a great pencil sharpener.  It was attached to a wooden cart that I bought at a yard sale for two dollars.  The seller told me that both were from a school classroom.  The cart and the sharpener had been sitting downstairs by the washing machine since I purchased them.  Whenever the kids would need a sharpened pencil for homework they would trudge down the steps to the basement, complaining the whole time about how far they had to walk to sharpen their pencil. About a month ago, it finally occurred to me that it would make more sense to hang the dang thing closer to where we actually use it – what a concept!  So I attached it to the back of the basement door where it is more readily available.  I’m sure there will still be whining during homework time, but at least the sharpener is much closer!

Purple Berries (235/365)

 
“And the ambitious vine
Crowns with his purple mass
The cedar reaching high
To kiss the sky,
The cypress, pine,
And useful sassafras.”

Michael Drayton (1563-1631), British poet. To the Virginian Voyage (l. 31-36). . . Oxford Book of English Verse, The, 1250-1918. Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. (New ed., rev. and enl., 1939) Oxford University Press.

TIME:  6:40 PM
PLACE:  The backyard
SUBJECT:  Berries on Ampelopsis glandulosa brevipedunculate 'Elegans' (Variegated Porcelain Berry vine)

I can tell that late summer has arrived as my Porcelain Berry vine is starting to produce its fruit.  I first noticed the berries on Friday afternoon and made a mental note that I would need to take a picture of them.  I was busy today cleaning the kitchen and napping and didn’t take any pictures.  So tonight, after a delicious make-your-own-taco dinner, I went outside with my camera.  I found this cluster and was delighted with the spectrum of colors of the ripening berries.  I hope everyone out there in blogland also had a restful and relaxing Sunday.

Nina, Pretty Ballerina (234/365)

“There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, thanks to their art and intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun.”

Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor, 1881–1973)

TIME:  6:43 PM
PLACE:  The front yard
SUBJECT:  Heliopsis “Ballerina”

Another Saturday has past.  There was football and cheerleading practice from 10am to noon.  Home for lunch, then I went to the garden center to pick up plants for our front flower beds.  I had a printout of a plan I found on the internet for inspiration, but was still not too sure what I wanted to do.  One of the employees was familiar with my layout and quickly sketched a plan for me.  So now I have Little Fontaine Dwarf Maiden Grass, salvia, Sedum “Autumn Joy”, Perovskia “Little Spires” (Russian Sage), Salvia n. “Caradonna” (Meadow sage), Moonbeam Coreopsis and the Heliopsis.  I LOVE purple and yellow flowers.  The owner then threw in a large purple fountain grass and 3(!!!) flats of various annuals - “For more pops of color in your flower beds.” he said.  Talk about service - that’s one of the reasons I patronize locally owned businesses as much as possible.  I spent the rest of the afternoon, digging holes, planting and watering.  Dinner was Chinese take-out - no way was I cooking after all that!

Ricardo Montalbán Approved (233/365)

 
“On my velvet couch reclining,
Ivy leaves my brow entwining,
While my soul expands with glee,
What are kings and crowns to me?”

Thomas Moore (Irish Poet, 1779-1852)

TIME:  9:50 PM
PLACE:  The Living room
SUBJECT:  New Leather Couch

After 12+ years, our old couch had done its time and was due to be retired.  It had been through 4 cats, 3 kids and 1 dog.  It had been jumped on, eaten on, thrown-up on, and urinated on.  (I will not go into other activities that have been performed on said couch.  This is a family-friendly blog.)  When I sat on either corner of it, my derriere would sink to the ground.  The upholstery covering the cushions was becoming threadbare.  It also retained a certain smell that even an entire bottle of Febreze could not rectify.  It was time for it to go.  Last Sunday, I looked at couches and I ended up choosing this leather one.  It was delivered this afternoon.  The dog is being trained to stay off of it – she has her own upholstered chair to sit on – I wish I could do the same with the kids!

Mmmm…Fried Bologna (232/365)

 
“If you are writing about baloney, don't try to make it Cornish hen, because that is the worst kind of baloney there is. Just make it darned good baloney.”

Leo Burnett (Pioneer American advertising Executive, 1891-1971)

TIME:  1:52 PM
PLACE:  The Beltline and 17th St.
SUBJECT:  Hardee’s sign

My cousin, Kathleen, called me this morning and said that she saw this sign and just had to let me know about it.  When she told me what Hardee’s was now serving, I had to laugh.  A fried bologna sandwich was a childhood staple of ours.  I still get a craving for one every once in awhile and have introduced my kids to its joys.  I can’t believe that our hoosier lunch has gone mainstream.  Kat and I wondered if when they fry it, do they fry it until the middle rises up and the bologna slice looks like a little hat in the pan?  Do they serve it with Fritos on the side?  I just might have to try this fast-food delight!

(I didn’t get to take any “redos” today for the kid’s 1st day pictures – it was gloomy again this morning…  stupid weather!)

Walk and Talk (231/365)

 
“You send your child to the schoolmaster, but 'tis the schoolboys who educate him.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (American essayist, philosopher and poet, 1803–1882)

TIME:  8:15 AM
PLACE:  School playground
SUBJECT:  MonkeyBoy, StellaDella and Friend

Today was the first day of school, well, until 11:30am anyway.  It was a cloudy and overcast morning and the pictures I took in our “1st day of school” spot on the front lawn look gloomy because of that.  Since tomorrow is the 1st full day, I will take pictures again and they will count for first day shots.  The kids will roll their eyes at me, but too bad, so sad!  I’m the mom and I can call a photo do-over if I want to!  

Our school does what is called a “Walk and Talk” in the morning from 8am until the first bell rings at 8:20am.  When the kids arrive at school, they walk in a large circle around the playground and talk to their friends.  MB and his classmate took SD under their wings during Walk and Talk this morning.  SD was disappointed, she thought that she would get to climb and slide on the play structure until school began.  And apparently she was disappointed in the curriculum as well. While we were eating lunch, she informed me that “Mrs. K--- did not teach me how to read today!”  Hmmph, tomorrow I shall have to tell Mrs. K--- that I am very displeased with the fact that SD cannot read yet and that my faith in her ability to teach kindergarten is quite shaken. ;) 

Tomato Tomahto (230/365)

“If life deals you lemons, make lemonade; if it deals you tomatoes, make Bloody Marys”

Unknown

TIME:  8:02 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen sink
SUBJECT:  Homegrown tomatoes

A confession – these are NOT from our garden.  The squirrels have abscombed with and have eaten the majority of the tomatoes from our plants.  I even found a half-eaten ripe one tossed aside in our yard the other day.  Pesky tree-rats!  The ones that remain on the plants are not ripe quite yet.  These tomatoes are courtesy of a friend of ours who does not have the squirrel issues that we do.  There is nothing like the taste of a fresh, ripe, home-grown tomato.  It’s one of the best parts of late summer!

Double Bubble (229/365)

 
“I wonder how much it would take to buy a soap bubble, if there were only one in the world.”

Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)

TIME:  4:47 PM
PLACE:  The front-yard
SUBJECT:  Bubbles and MonkeyBoy

I bought bubbles last Saturday as a contingency plan if a cry of “There’s nothing to do!” came up at the baseball BBQ.  Luckily, I didn’t have to place that plan into action.  StellaDella found the containers today and blew bubbles off the front porch.  MB decided to join her and suggested that they go down to the sidewalk and let the wind do the blowing for them.  They were out there for about 30 minutes, then a storm rolled in with thunder, lightning and a ton of rain. 

Girl With A CZ Earring (228/365)

“The most precious jewels are not made of stone, but of flesh.”

Robert Ludlum (American author of 25 thriller novels, 1927–2001)

TIME:  6:58 PM
PLACE:  The Living room
SUBJECT:  StellaDella

Do you see the “bling” in her ears?  StellaDella had them pierced today.  We had planned on doing this back in February on her 5th birthday, but never got around to it.  Today, DramaQueen, SD and I went to the mall to get “skinny jeans” for DQ.  While we were there I asked SD if she still wanted her ears pierced.  She did.  She chose square Cubic Zirconia 14 karat studs.  She was a little nervous and visibly winced when they inserted the posts.  She told me that it did hurt “a little”.  While I was at the cash register completing the transaction, she was running around the store like a crazy monkey, any memory of pain quickly forgotten.  We returned home, where she had to place a phone call to Grandpa and one to Uncle John in California, to inform them - “I got my ears pierced.  They’re bling…diamonds!”

On Green Pond (227/365)

 
An old pond—
a frog tumbles in—
the sound of water.

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), Japanese poet. (Untitled haiku), Trans. by Bernard Lionel Einbond, appearing in One Hundred Frogs by Hiroaki Sato, New York & Tokyo: Weatherhill (1983).

TIME:  2:29 PM
PLACE:  Town Hall Road
SUBJECT:  Dock with boat and chair

MonkeyBoy’s baseball team had their end of the season BBQ today.  My contribution for the occasion was a 7-layer salad – layered last night as we had football and cheerleading practice this morning.  It was held at a former winery, which also happens to be the home of one of his fellow ballplayers.  A pond bordered part of the property and of course, StellaDella was drawn to it like a magnet.  This brightly colored chair and paddleboat were across the pond from where we stood.  The sun was bright overhead and washed out much of the contrast of the boat and chair, but I like the reflection in the water.

Nesting (226/365)

 
God gives every bird his worm, but He does not throw it into the nest.

P.D. (Phyllis Dorothy) James (b. 1920), British mystery writer. Jonah the tramp, in Devices and Desires, ch. 40 (1989). Quoting a wayside pulpit.

TIME:  10:00 PM
PLACE:  My desk
SUBJECT:  Bird in a nest

This little bird and its nest hitched a ride with the roses HandsomeHusband sent me for our 1st date anniversary (20 years) back on July 28th.  Our florist places these little birds sitting in their moss nests in her bouquets as her signature.  After the roses faded, I plucked the bird out of the arrangement and stuck it in a pencil holder that sits on my desk – I’m sentimental that way.  I spent a lot of time sitting at my desk today, attempting to uncover it under the layers of papers, receipts, magazines and books.  I think I may have found it! 

Rosebud (225/365)

“I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.”

Eleanor Roosevelt (American United Nations Diplomat, Humanitarian and First Lady (1933-45), wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd US president. 1884-1962)

TIME:  7:42 PM
PLACE:  Jaycees Park
SUBJECT:  Rosebud

I ended up having to take the kiddos into work today, threatening them with bodily harm if they fought, whined or bothered me while we were there.  They did good, sitting in the conference room, watching a movie on their notebook computer and playing with the Mr. Potato Heads that StellaDella brought.  Sometimes threats do work! ;) 

Tonight was football and cheerleading practice again.  I can’t complain – I really don’t mind being there for the 2 hours that they practice.  I bring a magazine or book to read and I find it quite relaxing.  Tonight, I wandered about and found this rosebud on the side of the Jaycees’ building.  Ta-da!  I had my photo for today.

Stitched in Time (224/365)

“Take your needle, my child, and work at your pattern; it will come out a rose by and by.  Life is like that - one stitch at a time taken patiently and the pattern will come out all right like the embroidery.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes (American Physician, Poet, Writer, Humorist and Professor at Harvard, 1809-1894)

TIME:  1:55 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Counted cross-stitch

Well, I finished!  It turned out a lot cuter than I expected it too.  Right now, I have it hanging in a 10” embroidery hoop on my kitchen wall.  The colors go great with my orange kitchen and I am digging the Scandinavian vibe.  Now, what should be my next crafty goodness?

Hall Pass (223/365)

 
“The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), U.S. essayist, poet, philosopher. Lecture, March 3, 1884, in Amory Hall, Boston, Massachusetts. "New England Reformers," Essays, Second Series (1844)

TIME:  8:07 PM
PLACE:  School hallway
SUBJECT:  School hallway and banner

Tonight I had a leadership team meeting at the children’s school.  The leadership team was put together by our principal when she arrived at our school 3 years ago.  It consists of parents, teachers, and the principal.  The main focus of the leadership team is to improve the overall school environment for our children.  We discussed a new program regarding rewards for the students this year.  The goal is to eliminate rewarding the kids with candy, stickers, small prizes, etc and replace that by teaching them to make good choices because it is the right thing to do.  We want to move from extrinsic rewards to one with more intrinsic recognition.  It is a new mind-set and will undoubtedly, make some kids unhappy at first.  The current reward system has just not been retaining the behaviors that are desired, so we are taking this new approach.  It will be interesting to see how this program is greeted by the kids next week when school begins.

Road Closed (222/365)

 
“The shortest distance between two points is under construction.”

Noelie Alito

TIME:  6:52 PM
PLACE:  South 15th Street
SUBJECT:  Construction signs

They are doing some sort of street work down the way from us.  I’m not sure exactly what it is.  HandsomeHusband thinks it might be sewer work as they have dug deep into the street and have shorn up the sides of the hole they have excavated.  Tomorrow I just might wander over and be nosy!

‘Shroom (221/365)

 
“I am... a mushroom; On whom the dew of heaven drops now and then.”

John Ford (English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet, 1586-1640)

TIME:  2:09 PM
PLACE:  Homer F. Stemler Memorial Walking Trail
SUBJECT:  Mushroom (unknown variety)

HandsomeHusband did some damage to his calf muscle at MB’s football practice on Saturday and spent much of today in bed with ice and heat packs placed upon it.  Poor guy!  DramaQueen had a birthday party to attend at the Millstadt pool from 1-6pm today.  I dropped her off and took MonkeyBoy and StellaDella to the Stemler Walking Trail in order to take pictures and to let HH rest his leg in relative peace and quiet.  It was daggum hot out there, let me tell ya.  And the spider webs across the trail were plentiful.  After about an hour and 15 minutes of hiking, we were all soaking with sweat and quite thankful for the air-conditioning in the car on the way home.

Topless (220/365)

 
“A girl in the convertible is worth five in the phone book.”

Mae West (American Actress and sex symbol, 1892-1980)

TIME:  7:33 PM
PLACE:  Driveway
SUBJECT:  1992 Mazda MX-5 Miata

Here is my first “baby”.  I adopted her on June 13, 1992 when she was a young pup…only 22 miles on her.  I remember that day well, I was still living at home and my oldest brother came by and accompanied me to the dealership.  It was destiny - I wanted a yellow convertible and lo and behold they happened to have a single “Sunburst Yellow” Miata sitting on their lot.  SOLD!  I pretty much learned how to drive the manual transmission taking her for the test drive.  After I signed the papers and took my brother home, I drove the car to HandsomeHusband’s place.  I still remember his eyes widening with surprise when he saw the car.  We drove it that night on our dinner date.  The Miata has been immortalized in our wedding album and went with us on our honeymoon to New Orleans.  Beginning in late 1997, she was “retired” to 3rd car status due to the birth of DramaQueen.  With the addition of two other children, she doesn’t get driven as much as she used to.  However, if HH and I go somewhere individually or if we have just one kid with us or we go on our date nights, we try to take “Mom’s yellow car” when possible.  She has 120,680 miles on the old odometer now.  DQ says she had dibs on the car when she gets her driver’s license in 4 years.  I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen – the “yellow car” is mine! ;) 

Another What Is It? (219/365)

“There are things known and things unknown and in between are the doors.”

James Douglas Morrison (American singer, songwriter, poet, writer and filmmaker, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of The Doors, 1943–1971)

TIME:  9:24 PM
PLACE:  Somewhere in my house
SUBJECT:  ????

Another slacker day!  Well, for picture taking anyway.  I did do laundry and other various household chores.  But nothing that inspired a photo.  So here we go again…do you know what this is?  Please leave your best guess in the comment area, (no peeking!) then click here to see if you were right.

The Notebooks (218/365)

 
“The school is the last expenditure upon which America should be willing to economize.” 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt aka “FDR” (Member of the New York Senate, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 44th Governor of New York, 32nd President of the United States, 1882–1945)

TIME:  9:54 PM
PLACE:  Dining room table
SUBJECT:  Spiral notebooks

Can you believe that two weeks from today, the kids will be back in school?  I can’t and neither can they.  We went to the Evil Empire today (Wal-mart) to purchase school supplies.  $140 later and we still didn’t have all we needed.  We headed home for lunch and then out to Target to finish up…we spent an additional $148 there.  The communal copy paper, white board markers, paper bowls, antiseptic wipes, tissues and baby wipes kill me.  I think it is a sad reflection on our school systems that they must rely on the students for basic office supplies.  Although, this is the second year that we do not have to supply film for cameras - thank goodness for digital cameras - I do foresee the day when we will be asked to purchase photo paper and inkjet cartridges as well.  In September, we will also charged a $50/child “supply fee”.  While HandsomeHusband and I can well afford these expenses, I often wonder about those who cannot.  Then I feel guilty about complaining and purchase a few extra supplies for the classroom.

Alien Fingers (217/365)

“I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful.”

John Constable (English Romantic painter, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, 1776-1837)

TIME:  6:15 PM
PLACE:  Foundation on the west side of the house
SUBJECT: SEDUM spectabile blossoms

DramaQueen and StellaDella both had a doctor appointment today. Our state requires children entering kindergarten and 6th grade to have a physical examination and up-to-date immunizations.  DQ needed two shots and SD needed five(!) – I didn’t realize how behind we were in SD’s immunization schedule.  Bad mom!  DQ looked away and didn’t even realize when the needle went in.  As for SD, she kept her eye on each shot as the nurse gave them to her and didn’t flinch or cry once.  That’s my girl! 

These Sedum plants are located at the foundation on the west side of our house.  They were there when we purchased our home and thrive in that spot.  This is a side view of the flower cluster.  Click here for a view of the entire plant.   

Sew What (216/365)

 
The sewing machine joins what the scissors have cut asunder, plus whatever else comes in its path.

Mason Cooley (b. 1927), U.S. aphorist. City Aphorisms, Eighth Selection, New York (1991).

TIME:  4:41 PM
PLACE:  The living room
SUBJECT: DramaQueen and her bean bags

I got the sewing machine out to repair a pair of HandsomeHusband’s work pants.  The original hook and eye closure was broken, and I ended up having to sew a buttonhole and button onto them.  I also finally sewed a button onto a pair of his shorts that had been sitting around for awhile.  DQ watched me and said that she wanted to sew something.  She looked at a few of my books, then I remembered this fabric basket and bean bag tutorial from One Crafty Mumma’s Handmade Holidays.  I figured that they would be relatively quick and easy to do.  She did a great job and only required a minimal amount of help (like when she broke the needle sewing up the bean bags – it was time to change it anyway!).  It turned out really cute…now StellaDella wants me to make her a set as well.  Tomorrow honey, ok?

Oaks Inside (215/365)

 
The acorn's not yet
Fallen from the tree
That's to grow the wood,
That's to make the cradle,
That's to rock the bairn,
That's to grow a man,
That's to lay me.

Unknown. The Cauld Lad of Hilton or, The Wandering Spectre (l. 2–8). . . Oxford Book of Light Verse, The. W. H. Auden, ed. (1938) Oxford University Press.

TIME:  7:19 PM
PLACE:  Jaycees Park
SUBJECT:  Acorns

Today was a day spent doing laundry and trying to catch our breath from our busy weekend.  From 6-8pm tonight, MonkeyBoy had football practice and the girls had their cheerleading practice.  HandsomeHusband is helping out by doing some coaching for the boys, so I was with the girls.  I got a kick out of watching StellaDella learning the cheers.  I sincerely hope her co-ordination kicks in soon, LOL!  During the cheer breaks, she amused herself by plucking the young acorns from the tree.  She set them by me for safekeeping - placing them on the railroad tie that served as my chair for the evening.  I turned the camera to its macro setting, put it on the weathered wood by my right hip and pressed the shutter.  This is what I got.

Peaches and Cream (214/365)

“Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring, and because it has fresh peaches in it.”

Alice Malsenior Walker (American author, feminist, most famous for the critically acclaimed novel The Color Purple b1944) 

TIME:  8:16 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen counter
SUBJECT:  Peach crisp with ice cream

The kids and HandsomeHusband went to the 1:15pm baseball game – St Louis Cardinals vs.. the Houston Astros.  It was Build-a-Bear day at the old ballpark.  They each received a Cardinals stuffed puppy, then when the game was over, they stood in line for about an hour and a half, so they could go down onto the field and “Run the Bases”.  HH took them out to eat after and they did not make it home until a little before 8PM.  Sweet “FREEDOM!”  (said in my best Mel Gibson, Braveheart impersonation).  I didn’t know what to do with myself.  I ended up going to the bookstore for a little while – then came home and just enjoyed the peace and quiet.  I did make the peach crisp with the peaches we picked last Tuesday.  It was quite delicious served warm from the oven and with some vanilla ice cream.

How Cozy (213/365)

 
Robot: Care for another sundae, weenie?
SpongeBob: I am not a weenie!
Nerd #2: Relax, you’re among friends. (raises his drink)
SpongeBob: My friends don’t hang out at Weenie Hut Jr’s. (scroll over to Patrick in the seat next to him)
Patrick: You tell 'em, SpongeBob! (sips his drink)
SpongeBob: Patrick, what’re you doing here?
Patrick: I’m always here on Double Weenie Wednesdays.
Nerd #2: Actually they moved Double Weenie Wednesday to Friday.
Nerd #3: And besides, today’s Monday.
Patrick: Oh, so it’s Mega Weenie Monday?
Nerd #2: Uhh, that’s now on Sunday.
Patrick: Barnacles!
Nerd #3: Super Weenie Hut Jr’s has a Mega Weenie Monday.
Nerd #2: Uhh, no, you’re thinking of Monster Weenie Monday.
SpongeBob: I don’t have time for this! I’ve got to go pick a fight with a muscular stranger! It’s the only one of getting into the Salty Spittoon. (begins to walks out)...

Spongebob Squarepants: No Weenies Allowed, Stephen Hillenburg - executive producer, Season 3, Episode 48a, Airdate March 15, 2002

TIME:  3:06 PM
PLACE:  Springfield, IL
SUBJECT:  Cozy Dog Drive-In Sign

HandsomeHusband purchased the “A Hot Dog Program” DVD from PBS and MonkeyBoy watches it regularly.  One of the hotdog places featured in the program is the “Cozy Dog Drive-In” in Springfield, Illinois.  It is only about 100 miles or so away and MB has been itching to go there and sample their wares.  Today, after his first football practice (and the girl’s first football cheerleader practice) we made the trek.  The diner is on Route 66 and the battered fried hot dogs are pretty dang tasty and well worth the trip.  Don’t you think that is the sweetest hot dog couple you’ve ever seen?  Love that sign!  Then it was back home so HH could participate in a hay-bale stacking contest at a homecoming.  This event raised money for the County’s 4-H program.  HH didn’t win, but I think he put on a good show and even more importantly, he didn’t throw out his back!  Afterwards, the kids went on some carnival rides and then we finally headed for home.  I’m beat.