This Won’t Last Long (243/365)

Jimmy: I had a dishwashing detergent with a great name: "Dandy Clean". Everybody trusted it, then that whole break-dancing fad hit, and my people told me to change the name so I can stay hip. The whole thing went bust in less than a year.
Lisa: What did you change the name to, sir?
Jimmy: Break-dancing Detergent.

"Ploy." Perf. Stephen Root and Maura Tierney. NewsRadio. Mar. 1999. Television.

TIME:  7:44 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Finish Automatic Dishwasher Detergent Powerballs

Before the clock hit 8:30 this morning, I already spend $Xxx.xx at Lowe’s on a new dishwasher.  The HH picked it up after work and installed it for me.  Of course, it didn’t go in smoothly.  The old water line was 12” too short and since the electric on the washer was made to be directly wired to an electrical box, he had to attach a power cord so we could plug it in.  Oh, and the hose needed an adapter because we had 3/4’ pipe and the hose was made for 1/2’.  *Sigh* nothing’s never easy is it?  Nevertheless, it’s installed and currently washing our backup of dirty dishes.  The Bosch people were kind enough to include a “100 day supply” of dishwasher tablets - a whole 45 of them…yeah, right.  We do at least one load of dishes each day, so their “100 day supply” will only last 45 days around here.  In any case, I still appreciate the free dishwasher tablets.

Freshly Trimmed Nails (242/365)

“The advantages of whiskey over dogs are legion. Whiskey does not need to be periodically wormed, it does not need to be fed, it never requires a special kennel, it has no toenails to be clipped or coat to be stripped. Whiskey sits quietly in its special nook until you want it. True, whiskey has a nasty habit of running out, but then so does a dog.”

W. C. Fields (American Comic and Actor, 1880-1946)

TIME:  6:36 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT:  Oreo’s paws

It was a big day for Miss Oreo – I drove her to the vet’s to have her rabies and distemper vaccines as well as having her nails trimmed.  She was sooo happy to ride in the car with me - Not so much so when she was entering the vet’s exam area.  But, she survived and was a happy dog once again when she was able to enter Petsmart with me and get more sweet potato treats.  Life is good, right Oreo?
 

Paint Chip Rainbow (241/365)

Paul: Did you eat a lot of paint chips when you were a kid?
Tommy: [laughs] Why?

Lowe, Rob, and Chris Farley, perf. Tommy Boy. Dir. Peter Segal. 1995. Paramount Pictures.

TIME:  7:25 PM
PLACE:  Lowe’s Home Improvement Store
SUBJECT:  Wall of paint chips

StellaDella picked out several shades of paint chips to show me what color she wants her room to be painted.  The color? Black!  I told her that when we paint her room (which isn’t in the scheme of things right now) we would paint only one wall black…the other 3 will have to be a lighter color,  She seemed to accept that.  *shakes head*  That girl.
~*~*~
This was a side trip for the main reason I had to go to Lowe’s this evening.  Our dishwasher, after 9-1/2 years and averaging at least a load of dishes a day, bit the dust.  I went to scope out the potential replacements.  I found one I like, but I’m going to be stuck doing dishes by hand until Wednesday.  Why?  Well, the big Labor Day sale will not begin until then…hey it’s an additional 15% off…I can wait for that.

Hello Kitty (240/365)

“They say the test of literary power is whether a man can write an inscription. I say, 'Can he name a kitten?'”

Samuel Butler (English novelist, essayist and critic, 1835-1902)

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

After StellaDella’s 2:30pm soccer game (they won!), we headed to my sister’s house for my nephew’s 8th birthday party.  They recently adopted this male kitten from a farm.  He doesn’t have a name yet and they were taking suggestions.  Since they already have a cat named “Woody,” I suggested “Stinky Pete” to go along with the Toy Story theme.  It’s been taken under advisement.

~*~*~


TIME:  7:45 PM

TIME:  7:47 PM

And here are two different sunset pictures I snapped on the way home.  It was a beautiful one this evening.

The Katydid Whisperer (239/365)

“Thou art a female, Katydid! I know it by the trill That quivers through thy piercing notes So petulant and shrill. I think there is a knot of you Beneath the hollow tree, A knot of spinster Katydids,-- Do Katydids drink tea?”

Oliver Wendell Holmes – To An Insect

TIME:  6:53 PM
PLACE:  Driveway
SUBJECT:  Greater Arid-land Katydid (Neobarrettia spinosa)

Apparently we picked up a hitchhiker at the soccer games this afternoon.  As DramaQueen and her cousin, Sophia, opened the car doors to head to my old grade school parish’s picnic this evening, this katydid jumped out and scared the pants off of them.  They were both freaked out by it’s “buggy-ness.”  Of course, SD had no such fears.  She was more than happy to hold it for a picture.

Great-Aunt Stella (238/365)

“A man finds room in the few square inches of the face for the traits of all his ancestors; for the expression of all his history, and his wants.”
 
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), U.S. essayist, poet, philosopher. "Behavior," The Conduct of Life (1860).

TIME: not sure…sometime between 1930 & 1940?
PLACE:  My 2nd great-grandfather’s produce store
SUBJECT:  Great-Aunt Stella

I went to a get-together this evening at the home of my 2nd cousin on my paternal grandmother’s side.  She also happens to be my 4th cousin, 1 time removed on my paternal grandfather’s side.  How does that happen?  Well, you see, my dad’s parents were related…Grandpa C’s great-grandfather was also the 2nd-great grandfather of his wife, my grandmother.  Hmmmm, that could explain a lot about the family.  Anyway…this photo was displayed on a shelf and I took a photo of it.  It shows my great-aunt Stella (who is my dad’s maternal aunt AND 3rd cousin.  She is also my 3rd cousin, 1 time removed.  Are you confused yet?).  She is standing in her father’s produce store which was located on Main Street downtown.  My StellaDella is her namesake.

I, Robot (237/365)

“I'm completely operational and all my circuits are functioning normally—“

Hal 9000 (2001, A Space Odyssey)

TIME:  10:48 PM
PLACE:  My desk
SUBJECT:  A robot made by StellaDella

I took photos of an ice sculpture that was at a fundraiser I attended earlier this evening, but none of them were in focus…that’s what I get for not using a flash.  Anyhow, I was panicking about what I would have to post today.  Like this is the most important thing in the world…yeah, right.  So I turned to my desk and seized upon the “robot” that SD made the other night.  He looks a little forlorn and sad standing there in the desk light.  SD needs to make him a friend to play with.

Maybe A Little Compulsive (236/365)

“Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature . . . what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action . . . if you know these things about a man you can touch him at the core of his being.”

William Bernbach (American advertising executive, 1911-1982)

TIME: 8:23 PM
PLACE: Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Target bags

What?!  You mean to tell me that after you arrive home from a shopping excursion to Target, you don’t obsessively neatly triangle fold your plastic bags and arrange them in a pinwheel?  I thought everyone did that.  Please don’t judge me.

Cookie-Eyed (235/365)

Lenny: Ah! My eye! My doctor said I wasn't supposed to get pudding in it!

The Simpsons, “Homer vs. Dignity.” 26 Nov 2000

TIME:  5:56 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  MonkeyBoy

MB wanted to make cookies…luckily we had pre-formed frozen peanut-butter ones purchased from some past school/sports fundraiser in the basement freezer.  Heat up the oven, throw them on a cookie sheet, bake and voila! – warm-pretty-much-homemade-cookies.  He was happy with them.

Railroad Tracks (234/365)

Two drunks were walking upgrade between the railroad tracks. One of them said, "This is is longest stairway I have ever been on." To this, the other replied, "It's not the stairs that bother me, it's the low banister."

Unknown

TIME:  7:02 PM
PLACE:  Looking west between South 17th & South 18th Street
SUBJECT:  Train tracks

I decided to walk from our house to my son’s Boy Scout parent meeting this evening.  I need the exercise.  As I crossed the tracks, I realized that I had never taken a photo of train tracks in the past 963 days of this project.  So, I stopped and quickly took care of that deficiency.

Power Lines And Clouds (233/365)

“We believe that electricity exists, because the electric company keeps sending us bills for it, but we cannot figure out how it travels inside wires.”

Dave Barry (American, Writer and Humorist best known for his weekly newspaper column. b.1947)

TIME:  4:09 PM
PLACE:  Soccer fields
SUBJECT:  Power lines and clouds

MonkeyBoy had another game this afternoon.  It was much warmer on the field today (low 90’s).  He played goalie for the first half, then as a defender for the last.  They won 8-0.  On the way to the air-conditioned car, MB told me that he like being goalie better than fullback.  I think that was because it had to be brutal running up and down the field in this heat.

Soccer Goalie (232/365)

"Behind every good man is an empty net"

Unknown

TIME:  12:48 PM
PLACE:  Soccer fields
SUBJECT:  Monkeyboy

Today was the first soccer games for MB and StellaDella.  Well, for MB anyway.  SD’s game was rained out this morning.  But, it cleared up enough to get MB’s game in.  This was his first time ever playing an official soccer game.  They put him in as goalie.  He did good though…they ended up in a tie.  Now, if this is his permanent position on the team, I am going to have some really bad grey hair by the time it’s all over.  Oy vey!  The pressure of being the mom of a soccer goalie.
~*~*~
And I want to clarify something…I am NOT a “soccer mom”…#1-I don’t have that kind of personality and #2-I can’t figure out the rules of the darn game to save my life.

The Man Of The House (231/365)

“Where wise actions are the fruit of life, wise discourse is the pollination.”

Bryant H. McGill (American, editor and author, b1969)

TIME:  8:21 AM
PLACE:  East side of the house
SUBJECT:  Male pumpkin flower

Did you know that pumpkin vines have male and female flowers?  Neither did I until today.  This is a male flower.  It has a center stamen that contains the pollen.  The female flower has a short stem close to the vine and has a baby pumpkin between the flower and the stem.  The female has a multi-centered stamen which must be pollinated in order for the pumpkin to grow.  Normally, bees or other insects are the natural pollinators of the pumpkin vines.  That’s what I’ve been relying on and judging by the small number of pumpkins I see growing on the vine, they are doing an ok, but not spectacular job.  I might need to be an active participant in a pumpkin pollination orgy if I really want a large amount of baby boos to harvest for this fall.  Since I’m freaky like that, I will be more than willing to lend a hand to make sure pollen is transferred.

Moth (230/365)

"...Then the Andorian says: "That's not my antenna"."

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993 TV Series), Episode: Homefront (1996)

TIME:  8:18 AM
PLACE:  Front porch
SUBJECT:  Polyphemus Moth - Antheraea polyphemus

This guy has been hanging out on our front porch for the past two mornings.  He's huge and fuzzy and I am fascinated by his antennae.  After knocking out my picture for the day, I headed over to St. Louis to meet my sister at the Goodwill outlet and several other thrift stores.  This was our way to celebrate the kids being at school for their first full day of the 2011-2012 school year.

5 Years Under The Bridge (229/365)

“Sometimes I feel that life is passing me by, not slowly either, but with ropes of steam and spark-spattered wheels and a hoarse roar of power or terror.  It's passing, yet I'm the one who's doing all the moving.”

Martin Amis, Money

TIME:  7:45 AM today & 7:54 AM back on 18 Aug 2006
PLACE:  Front yard – same spot
SUBJECT:  DramaQueen, MonkeyBoy & StellaDella

It’s the first day of school!  It’s only a half-day, but I did the happy dance nevertheless.  As tradition, I took their photo in front of the house.  Then I pulled up this one from 2006 from the depths of our digital photo folders.  Awww, look at them….DQ was going into 3rd grade, MB was entering 2nd grade and SD was just starting preschool in the 2-year-old class.  Now, it’s 8th, 7th and 2nd grades this year.  Time flies.

Fly On The Wall (228/365)

Crow #1: Did you ever see an elephant fly?
Crow #2: Well, I've seen a horse fly.
Crow #3: Ah, I've seen a dragon fly.
Crow #4: Hee-hee. I've seen a house fly.

Dumbo. Walt Disney Studios, 1941. Film.

TIME:  3:57 PM
PLACE:  Front porch
SUBJECT:  Horsefly

The lone photo I took today…a large horsefly that landed on the hutch sitting on my front porch.  I snapped this one picture and he flew away.  Now I’m going to be a “fly on the wall” and stalk read my daughter’s Facebook page.  She was not happy (many tears were flowing) with the 8th grade class schedule she received at orientation tonight.  Reading what she posts to her wall gives me much more information than what she tells me directly.  Pesky teenager.

I Hate Mall Traffic (227/365)

“A commuter tie-up consists of you - and people who for some reason won't use public transit.” 

Robert Brault (American, free-lance writer who has contributed to magazines and newspapers in the USA for over 40 years)

TIME:  8:27 PM
PLACE:  Outside the mall
SUBJECT:  Traffic

After going to StellaDella’s orientation (no, I did not ask about the 8 sticks of glue…because I forgot to bring her school supplies with me…d’oh!), the DramaQueen, SD and I went to the dreaded mall for a few new clothing items for DQ.  She picked out 2-pairs of jeans, a t-shirt, socks and - the new “in-thing” - a rubber bracelet.  You don’t want to know how much it all cost.  Gah!  I hate going to the mall to begin with…the traffic stinks and the prices that I end up paying rubs salt into the wound.  I joke that the rest of us shop at Goodwill just so we can afford DQ’s clothes.   And I’m not putting down the “Will” by any means.  I find great stuff there and am more than satisfied with the value I get for my money.  

Zombieland (226/365)

[first lines]
Columbus: Oh, America. I wish I could tell you that this was still America, but I've come to realize that you can't have a country without people. And there are no people here. No, my friends. This is now the United States of Zombieland.

Eisenberg, Jessie, perf. Zombieland. Dir. Ruben Fleischer. Columbia Pictures. Film.

TIME:  8:02 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT:  StellaDella

StellaDella being, as she put it, “…a zombie that fell in paint, got it all over her hands, but went through a sprinkler garden.” 
~*~*~
(Oh, and do you see that string in the background?  About 4 weeks ago, our next door neighbor (who rents the house) planted a bush back by the garages.  It was planted on our side of the property line.  So HH tells him (nicely) that he might want to move it and helpfully points out where the line is.  A few days later, I go outside and see a string that follows the 120’ line running from the front sidewalk to the back fence.  Not sure if the neighbor put it up or the property owner did.  I’m also not sure if I should be taken aback or amused by this.  I’ll go with amused.)

Window Treatments (225/365)

“The truth in the matter lies in the fact that anything repeated too long without variation tends to become boring.”

Don Ellis (American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer and bandleader, 1934-1978)

TIME:  7:47 PM
PLACE: Around the neighborhood
SUBJECT:  Windows

I took this photo while walking Oreo this evening.  This are the windows of a factory that is close to our house.  The top picture is SOTC and I like it.  But to have some fun, I applied some Photoshop Actions to it.

Here is one called “Old West”:


This one is called “Seventies”:


I like this one.  It’s called “Vivid Blur”


And finally, a “#2 Pencil” action:


I just love Photoshop.

Rain Puddle View (224/365)

“Did you ever wonder if the person in the puddle is real, and you're just a reflection of him?”

~Calvin and Hobbes (syndicated daily comic strip that was written and illustrated by American cartoonist Bill Watterson, 1985-1995.)

TIME:  8:04 PM
PLACE:  Driveway
SUBJECT:  Reflection of wires and tree

I like rain puddles.  The reflections are always different depending upon where you stand.

Unmatched Style (223/365)

“His socks compelled one's attention without losing one's respect”

H. H. Munro (Burman born English Novelist and short-story Writer (under pseudonym Saki), 1870-1916)

TIME:  7:11 PM
PLACE:  Soccer practice
SUBJECT:  StellaDella’s soccer socks

We’ve started fall soccer.  I bought SD new socks today – a pair of striped ones and a pair of polka dot ones (in black naturally!).  She decided to mix it up.  I like her style.

Spuds (222/365)

“A lucky person is someone who plants pebbles and harvests potatoes.”

Greek proverb

TIME:  8:41 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Potatoes

It was time to dig up our 2 potato plants.  This is the bountiful harvest they produced.  I guess it would have been easier (and cheaper) to buy a 10lb bag at the grocery store.  However, I know for certain that these are organically grown potatoes.  THAT fact alone should add another $2 or $3.00 to the value don’t you think?

Black Ink Silhouette (221/365)

“I dip my pen in the blackest ink, because I'm not afraid of falling into my inkpot.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Poet, Lecturer and Essayist, 1803-1882)

TIME:  8:30 PM
PLACE:  S. 11th Street
SUBJECT:  Tree silhouette against evening sky

MB’s baseball team’s end of the season party was held at the same house that we did last year.   SD and I were late, as she had soccer practice from 6 until 7pm.  Still, she was able to get some swimming, jumping on the trampoline and fishing in the hour and a half that we were there.  The evening sky was a pretty pink and the clouds a lovely blue.  The trees looked like black ink drawings on a watercolor background.

Sewer (220/365)

Ed Norton: Like we say in the sewer, "time and tide wait for no man".

"Ralph Kramden, Inc." Perf. Art Carney. The Honeymooners. 1956. Television.

TIME:  10:21 PM
PLACE:  Basement
SUBJECT:  New plastic sewer pipe

See what fun stuff is going on in our basement?  The HH and MB replaced the old clay pipe this afternoon.  Very dirty and stinky work.  I don’t think MB wants to be a plumber when he grows up.

Summer Afternoon (219/365)

“Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”

Henry James (1843-1916), U.S. author. Quoted in A Backward Glance, ch. 10, Edith Wharton (1934). Remark during "one perfect afternoon we spent at Bodiam" (Bodiam Castle, Kent, England).

TIME:  1:57 to 2:20 PM
PLACE:  American Legion Post
SUBJECT:  The kids and a dragonfly

MB’s Boy Scout troop had a “Day At The Lake” get together.  The kids and I went, while HH stayed home to deal with the plumbing.  Of course, SD and MB went straight into the lake.  DQ, although she wore a swim suit, did not want to go in, because she just showered and did not want to smell like lake water.  That’s a 13-year old girl for you.  Of course, her brother took that as a challenge and dragged her into the water anyway.  That’s a 12-year old brother for you. 

Sluggish (218/365)

“He would pore by the hour, o'er a weed or a flower, / Or the slugs that come crawling out after a shower.”

Rev. R. H. Barham (English Poet and Dramatist, 1788-1845)

TIME:  8:32 PM
PLACE:  Basement
SUBJECT:  Leopard Slug  Limax maximus

When you live in an old house and are breaking up and removing the concrete basement floor to work on the sewer pipes so you can get the basics taken care of so you can, maybe, just maybe, finally finish updating the bathrooms, you end up with exposed moist dirt surrounding the unearthed, broken clay drains.  Then the slugs invade your basement.  I’m keeping the basement door locked tonight.  I don’t need to be attacked as I sleep.

Happy Rain Print (217/365)

“The thirsty earth soaks up the rain,
And drinks and gapes for drink again;”

Abraham Cowley (1618-1667), British poet. Drinking (l. 1-2). . . Seventeenth-Century Verse and Prose, Vols. I-II. Vol. I: 1600-1660; Vol. II: 1660-1700. Helen C. White, Ruth C. Wallerstein, and Ricardo Quintana, eds. (1951, 1952) The Macmillan Company.

TIME:  5:38 PM
PLACE:  Back driveway
SUBJECT:  Outline in driveway of HH’s work van after the rain

It rained this afternoon.  And it cooled down to 76 degrees.  AND the HH is working overtime.  Cha-Ching!

“Karens” (216/365)

“A box of new crayons! Now they're all pointy, lined up in order, bright and perfect. Soon they'll be a bunch of ground down, rounded, indistinguishable stumps, missing their wrappers and smudged with other colors. Sometimes life seems unbearably tragic.”

Bill Watterson (American Author of the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes, b.1958)

TIME:  10:15 PM
PLACE:  Desk
SUBJECT:  Crayola Crayons <= “Karens” is how DQ would pronounce them when she was little.  Now, that’s how I usually refer to them.

We did some school supply shopping today.  I have a question to ask SD’s second grade teacher.  I know you pool the supplies in your classroom, but why would each child need to purchase 8-glue sticks and 4-bottles of white glue?  Assuming there are 25 students, that’s 200 glue sticks and 100 bottles of the white stuff.  Good gravy, that’s a lot of glue!  Do they eat it as a snack?  You are also not going to get washable markers you specified.  Those are priced at $3.29 and the regular markers are on special at 50 cents.  Guess which ones I purchased?  And you, yes, Jr. High School folks, I’m talking to you – seriously, when have you ever seen solid orange notebooks in any stores in our community?  I’ve been to every office supply, drug and discount store around and there are no orange notebooks to be had.  My children are going to have an extra blue one instead.  Deal with it.

Waterworks (215/365)

“Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.”

George E. Woodberry (American poet, critic, and teacher, 1855-1930)

TIME:  8:01 PM
PLACE:  Front porch
SUBJECT:  Tabletop fountain

MonkeyBoy had his second day of Jr. High baseball tryouts.  He was one of 25 boys who were trying to make the team.  The school puts together one team consisting of eight-8th graders and seven-7th graders.  At 3:30 this afternoon, we were to call the school to find out if he made the team.  Unfortunately, MB was not one of the names on the recording.  He was devastated and I felt bad for him.  I may be biased, but he is a good player.  In any case, I am very proud of all of the effort and practice he put in in preparation for the tryouts – I told him so too.  Ironically, in today’s mail, I received a “Thank-You-For-Your-Resume-But-No-Thanks” letter.  I showed it to him.  The little turkey actually smiled at my misfortune…hmmph!  Actually, he wasn’t being mean-he just saw that I don’t get everything I try for either.  Poor MB and I…nobody wants us.  Ah well, it’s not the end of the world.

Smile (214/365)

“Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other -- it doesn't matter who it is -- and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other.”

Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Albanian born Indian Missionary and Founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity. Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979. 1910-1997)

TIME:  5:59 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  McCain Smiles – “Crispy outside, mashed potatoes inside!”

I found these in the frozen food section of my supermarket last week.  They were marked as a “Discontinued” product, but I had never seen them in the market before.  How could I pass up smiley-faced frozen potatoes?  I made some tonight.  They were delicious.  I must go back to the store to see if there are any bags left and purchase all I can.

Wall O’ Veggies (213/365)

“You can learn many things from children.  How much patience you have, for instance.”

Franklin P. Jones quotes (American Businessman, 1887-1929)

TIME:  4:39 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT:  StellaDella’s vegetable drawings

When I returned home this afternoon from work, SD was excited to show me the pictures she drew and colored while I was away.  They are lovely renditions of vegetables.  The only problem is that she used my (expensive) rubber stamp markers.  She was so proud of the bright colors.  And they DO look nice and colorful.  I just kept repeating to myself, “It’s only markers.  It’s only markers.  You can always buy new ones.” *Sigh*

~*~*~


TIME:  8:02 PM
PLACE:  The couch
SUBJECT:  Jack

But this cheered me up later.  He looks like he’s been hitting the sauce.