July 31 - Later, and more video

Those first clips of the plane were from early this morning. Later in the day he was back and I happened to be outside already so I got some better shots.





Ok, I'm done boring you with planes.

I did a bit of work outside today. Added wood mulch to the flowerbeds where they needed more, and got the bed made around the Clematis tower.

There will be a bird bath and feeder in that large open spot. I need to look for something suitable when I go shopping tomorrow.

All of the other plants seem to doing quite nicely, suffering no obvious effects from the trauma of my planting frenzy the other day. Even the greenhouse plants are still coming along nicely. Hubby's radish sprouts are growing like crazy! I planted a few of those little pre-seeded squares we bought the other day. Hubby was going to plant a few of his own when he got home from work but he didn't. He says he'll do it tomorrow. The lawn desparately needs mowing but I really wasn't in any kind of mood to do it today. I suppose that will be tomorrow's project. Bleah.

Really didn't do much else today.

Leaving you with one more short video...

July 31 - Video clips

One thing about living in the country that I still find entertaining is when a cropduster shows up. These guys are crazy. The way it looks like they're going to slam into the ground, and the way they yank it back up to avoid power lines or trees or whatnot.

We had one out there early this morning. At first I didn't think anything of it because EAA is also happening this week so the nonstop sound of planes flying over kinda becomes background noise. Once I realized this one was different I grabbed the camera and ran out to the front porch. I didn't have my shoes on, didn't have time to get to a better vantage point, but you can still get the idea from this clip. The beginning of it is crazy, looks like he's about to land on the road. (You can't really see the road but since I know where it is in the picture, well, you know what I mean.)

Hope this works!



This next one is another pass he did but this clip shows him a little better as he passes the house. (The first clip kinda loses him in that part.)

July 30

Revolutionary Road (2008) Helmed by Sam Mendes, this Oscar-nominated adaptation of the novel by Richard Yates follows young suburbanites (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, in a Golden Globe-winning turn) trying desperately to confront the problems in their marriage while raising two children in 1950s Connecticut. Co-star Michael Shannon snagged an Oscar nod for his role as a mentally unstable visitor who diagnoses the couple's bottled-up misery with chilling clarity.

I've never read the novel and knew nothing about the story when I watched this movie today. Early on I was relating to their problems, could totally understand how they felt like they were in a rut, could totally understand the thrill of picking up and moving to a whole different country. As it went on though I was really starting to dislike the wife. More and more it seemed like it had to be all about her. It seemed like her trying to get him to things to better *him* were really just things that fell into the plans of what *she* wanted. If she recognized that he would be happy in the boring life with his job and kids, why didn't she leave? Ok, times were different then, but geez. Maybe divorce was less common then but I'm sure it still happened. The absolutely constant chain smoking got really old really fast, along with the never ending alcohol. Even with all this, I found it quite suspenseful coming into the end. I couldn't decide if someone was going to die, which one would it be, and would it be suicide or murder....or was she just resigning herself to the fact that this was what her life here was going to be like? Not knowing the book, it had my stomach in knots wondering which way it was all going to go. Overall, a pretty good movie even if I did want to slap Kate's character repeatedly.

The Reader (2008) Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes) reflects on the formative sexual relationship he had with older woman Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet, in a Golden Globe- and Oscar-winning role) as a young teenager in this poignant drama set in post-World War II Germany. The passionate affair ended when Hanna disappeared. But years later, Michael learns she's on trial for horrific Nazi war crimes. David Kross plays the teenage Michael in this film based on Bernhard Schlink's best-seller.

Also watched this one today. Lots of nudity and sex early on but then it settled down into the boring kind of story that sucks me in. It was interesting. Did he keep the information to himself just to keep her secret, keep her pride intact? Did he keep it to himself because he felt she must be punished for what she did? Was it a bit of both? I couldn't quite figure out how she felt about what she'd done either. The thing with the money later on made me cry, but I guess the recipient of it was justified in her reaction. Ya know, I really don't know what else to say about this one. It would be a good one for my sister to review....hehe.

Defiance (2008) Daniel Craig stars as Tuvia Bielski, one of four Jewish brothers who escape from Poland into the forests of Belarus during World War II to lead a band of resistance fighters and create a safe haven for Jewish refugees. The real-life sanctuary established by the Bielski brothers saved more than 1,000 Jews from persecution and death. Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell and George MacKay also star in this moving historical drama based on actual events.

Watched this with hubby this evening. He really liked it but man was I bored. It just seemed to drag, felt more like about four hours than the 2hrs 17min it really was. And I just kept thinking 'Holy crap, this is still only 1941?! How are they ever going to jump to the end of the war??' Problem solved....they didn't. No, the movie ended when it was still early 1942 (I think) and then only had some captions at the end saying they'd done this and that and blah blah. That was an extreme letdown for me. Now I'm wondering how they ended up? Like, when did they come out of hiding? How did they know it was safe? Where did they go? What did they do? I mean, yeah, it told us the long term happenings of the main brothers but what about immediately after coming out of hiding? You've lived in a forest for years, now you walk into a town and just find a house and job and settle in? What do you have to go back to, and where? So I found this one to be extremely slow and in the end didn't really tell enough. I also had a huge problem with Daniel Craig's annoyingly white eyebrows whether his face was clean or dirty or bloody. It looked like a reversed raccoon. And, when he was deathly ill, why did his coughing and wheezing conveniently stop every time he had to go deal with people? Wow, I sound like I hated this movie. Did not hate it, was just bored and disappointed.

Other than movies I didn't do much today. It was cold and rainy so I couldn't finish up my yard projects. I've kinda felt crappy all day too, haven't been sleeping very well lately because hubby's been tossing and turning and doing the highly irritating snorechokegagsnore thing all night. It's like 'DUDE! You can't possibly getting decent sleep that way, so roll over already!' Yeah, I'm pretty tired and pretty cranky.

Ty's interview turned out to be 'We'll let you know.' Sounds like the guy doing the job now is only a kid and will be going back to school next month. The interviewer told Ty there were others still to interview but he'd let Ty know before school starts up. Yeah, a month of wondering.

Ok, well, I'm just writing crabby stuff now so it's time to quit. Hopefully tomorrow is a dry, sunny day!

July 29

After two days of slaving in my yard I totally did not want to rush back into it today. Instead, Ty and I went to town to check Kmart for some things (Casey was still sleeping) but couldn't find what I was looking for. When we got back home I asked him if he'd help me today, so he actually did alot of the piddly tasks...the gofer work, hehe. I kept getting crabby and frustrated cuz I didn't know where to plant the remaining flowers. Then I got crabby and frustrated when I finally decided, and found the ground in that area to be extremely rocky so we couldn't dig down as far as we should have. After that I just pushed myself to finish because I was now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

'If I just get this all done today, then I'm done done DONE,' I was telling myself.

Sooooo, tada! Done done done!

I decided to take Kari's advice and leave the scrawny roses where they are for now. Got their bed all cleaned up and mulched and beautiful with the trellises in place...


These are the four I didn't know where to go with, the four in the rocky soil. They are two Foxgloves and two Phlox. The Foxgloves ended up farther apart than I'd hoped, and the Phlox ended up closer. We did what we could. Hopefully they survive. If not, we know we need to only do container plants in this bed...


We even decided on a place to put the antenna thingie/Clematis plants. It's in the front yard, somewhat in the area of our lilac bush and the front porch. It gets plenty of sun there and will be visible from the road as well as from our living room window and/or sitting on the front porch. Of course, this is assuming the plants all survive and decide to climb the tower in a beautiful flourish of flourishing beauty.


The full view of the 'tower'...


I even transplanted my two baby hostas from their big pot to the front flowerbed, but I didn't take a pic cuz they are spread out, one on each end. They look lovely though, quite at home. I put two small solar lights in the front bed too. I only have two at this time, will buy more if I decide I like the look.

Actually I'm not totally done with my yard projects, but I'm done with the main back breaking stuff. Tomorrow I will lay out another small bed around the tower thingie, something big enough to maybe put a small bird bath and feeder in. It shouldn't take long because I still have rocks left and we went to Menards after hubby got home to get more wood mulch and a couple other things. Tomorrow I will also use the extra bags of mulch to cover all the beds with a thicker layer. Initially I only used enough to lightly cover and hold down the weed fabric. So while I do have a couple more things to do, they are quick and easy. Woohoo!!

Oh and did I mention my tulips are doing great?


Lol...I had gone to the barn in search of my garden critters sculptures and found these wooden tulips from my stepdad that I'd forgotten all about. Since that big pot has been vacated by the hosta babies I decided to make use of it with the tulips. My mom should get a kick out of that next time she stops over.

As mentioned, hubby and I went to Menards this evening. I needed the wood mulch, and he needed more things to complete the plastic part of the greenhouse work. I looked for a bird bath but didn't see any cheap ones. They only had the big fancy high priced ones left. Oh well. And then, as always happens to us in that store, we got sidetracked and bought three packs of these pre-seeded flower things. You lay the little squares where you want them and water and they magically grow flowers. Yeah, my flower seed balls didn't work that great but we decided to try these anyway because...we have a greenhouse now. LOL

Oh! And hubby noticed the radishes are already starting to sprout!? We found about a half dozen wee tiny little sprouts just starting to poke thru the dirt. He was tickled pink. There is another jalapeno almost ready to pick, and the cucumber didn't droop today. Greenhouse life is good...lol

In other news, Ty has a job interview tomorrow. Yessss! It's just a part-time job, but it's something. Details tomorrow, but positive vibes are definitely welcome!

I haven't read any of my 'Tis book for several days now. I miss it. But now that the big jobs are done outside, I can hopefully get some front porch wicker sitting reading done. I also got a new movie from Netflix today. It's chick-flicky so I didn't bother watching it tonight with the menfolk. I'll do it tomorrow when they're all occupied elsewhere. And I think I'll have two more movies arriving tomorrow anyway.

Yes, yes, yesss...I'm feeling wonderful today. :)

July 28

Got a late start on my yard projects again today. Spent part of the morning paying bills and going to the bank, but then it was back to my work. I was cruising along, thinking I could finish today, getting excited at the thought of it and then...got to the section with our non-thriving roses. I just don't know what to do about them. The four other rose bushes are doing quite well, which leads me to believe it's the location of these two that is hurting them. I weeded all around them, checked for any extra new growth we may have overlooked, and sighed. Nope, they're pathetically scrawny. I looked online to see about transplanting them. It said to do it late winter or early spring. Bleah! They'll be dead by then. So I'm kicking around the idea of digging an extra wide area around them and seeing if I can get them moved tomorrow. Maybe they'll take off in the new spot, or maybe I'll kill them. I have to try cuz they're just going to die in the current spot anyway.

Except for that section, I have the front flowerbeds done. Woot! Well, ok, we will probably plant a couple more things in there but for now the rocks are set and the wood mulch is spread.



We also got the greenhouse wrapped today! It's not done yet but the main part of it is at least up now. Hubby has to pick up a few more supplies before we can really finalize it. Even so, this should really help for the few plants we have in there already. The air blowing there the last couple days has just been drying everything out so fast. That poor little cucumber plant was perked up in the morning, and drooping again by afternoon. After more water it was perked up again by early evening. Anyway, today's greenhouse progress.....


Tomorrow I really reeeeally need to figure out what to do with all those flowers we bought and get them planted. Moving the scrawny roses will open up one section, and I think I have an idea for what to put there. Guess we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Oh! Forgot to mention that we picked our first jalapeno pepper off our plant. Hubby was all worried, "Why'd you pick it so soon???" I pointed out the tag says they get to be three inches long and this one was three inches long. He's the only one in the house that eats jalapenos so he...acting all macho and nonchalant...took a big bite of it and started chewing. A moment later he's doing the 'ooh that's hot' dance and even started sweating. LOL! We were laughing at him. He could barely even talk. When he recovered a bit, he finished off the rest of the pepper, we all laughed our asses off. He hadn't thought it would be that potent. A little after he finished, after laughing and pacing around, he was about to light a cigarette and Ty said "Why do you need the lighter?" LOL! Kurth laughed, "No shit," and pretended to light it on his burning hot tongue.

And that, people, was about it for my day.

July 27

Stormy weather cut my productiveness short today. Well, I was slow in getting started but once I channeled my crabbiness into my work I was doing fine. First of all, when I went out to the greenhouse this morning I found our little cucumber plant all drooped over onto the dirt. Gah! Quick check of the other plants found them to still be looking fine. Gave the poor thing more water, it rained quite a bit this afternoon, and it was looking a wee bit perkier this evening when I checked on it. (We don't have the plastic up yet on the walls so yes, the rain did get to the plants.)

The goal for today was to get the front flowerbeds weeded and get the rocks set into a more permanent position. I got sidetracked right off the bat when I decided to fill the rest of the back deck flowerbed with the remaining wood mulch. It's just been sitting with the one little sample patch done for how long now? Since we've decided to go ahead with the wood mulch, I went ahead and filled in the open areas because we have no plans yet for what else might get planted in there. So then I decided as long as I'm working on the front flowerbeds I might as well get them mulched too. Except no, we don't have anymore mulch cuz I'd only bought that one bag as a sample. And no, because I don't know which, if any, of the plants we bought yesterday will be planted in the front beds. That's where the crabbiness came from. Ended up figuring a rough estimate of how many bags I'd need, then running into town to get them. Looked around Menards garden center for some shorter yellow or white flowers to go with the Phlox but didn't find any I liked enough.

I got only the front part of the bed weeded, still have the south side to do. I planted the one peppermint candy looking plant in the middle of that front bed. Started laying down the weed fabric and mulch but only got about a quarter done before the rain moved in. I didn't even get any pictures of my progress. *sigh*

In an attempt to figure out where to put the other plants, hubby wanted me to set them in places and take pics with my phone and send them to him at work. When I put them on the ends in the front bed I realized I really really did not like that idea. I moved them over to the smaller, back deck bed and while they look better there I still don't like it. From the pics, hubby liked them better by the back deck. Now I really don't know where we'll put them! We might end up building a totally new detached bed somewhere, cuz I don't know where we're going to put the Fox Gloves either. Yeah, this all caused a big case of the crabbies in me today. Heh.

Anyway, the rain came and cut the work short. I came in the house and puttered around, watched a movie I've had sitting here, made supper and then watched another movie that just came today. Now hubby's gone to bed and I'm feeling very much ready to just go join him. Hopefully tomorrow let's me get back to my work.

As for the movies...

Coraline (2008) In this breathtaking stop-motion animation based on Neil Gaiman's novel, curious young Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) unlocks a door in her family's home and is transported to a universe that strangely resembles her own -- only better. But when her Other Mother (Teri Hatcher) doesn't want Coraline to return to reality, our heroine must summon an amazing amount of courage to go home and save her family.

I always love the animation in these types of movies. This one started off pretty good but it eventually lost me and I even found myself dozing off at one point. I still don't really understand what was going on and what the heck happened. Oh well.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008) When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno (Asa Butterfield) befriends Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a boy who lives on the other side of the fence, where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.

I liked this one even though it's about a horrible subject, and saying you liked it seems somehow wrong. I really wish I hadn't known the whole story but co-worker had blabbed it all to me. David Thewlis, who is Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter movies, played the father. It was hard to tell if he really felt what he was doing was right, or if he was just doing his duty as a soldier, fear of what could happen if he showed he felt otherwise. Vera Farmiga was very good as the mother. She seems so familiar to me but according to IMDB the only thing I've seen her in was Joshua, and I *hated* her in that. She was interesting...kinda like she was uncomfortable with what was going on but as long as she didn't know too much it was ok...? Once they were close to the situation and she accidentally found out the truth, she was horrified. It was almost comical to see the Hitler salutes and hear what was being taught but then you have to stop and think that yeah, this was probably how it was on 'the other side.' And the two little boys...it was heartbreaking. The one so clueless and obviously struggling to sort out what's being pounded into his head and what he has right there in front of him. *shakes head*

We also had the movie Watchmen. It was for the menfolk and I had no interest in seeing it. Turns out the menfolk didn't think much of it afterall. Hubby thought it was rather boring (did he say stupid too?) and went to bed before it was done. The boys continued watching but said the end was totally dumb. There you have it.

July 26

Another productive day today. It was kinda funny cuz hubby got up at 6am but I fell asleep again and didn't get up till about 8:30am. That is unheard of for me. I was shocked when I looked at the clock, and although I still felt like I could sleep several more hours I forced myself out of bed. Sure enough, hubby and Ty were there to pick on me..."Heck, we could have been to town and back already." "Twice."

Hubby and I did indeed head to town shortly after that. We went to Walmart to check out their garden section because it's closing this week. We ended up buying a crapload of plants, including more veggies which is funny considering hubby scoffed at me yesterday for buying some. Heh.



We had it figured out in the store where each of these would be planted but I've already forgotten those plans. Doh! Actually, I can't even remember what three of them are called. We did get two of the purple Phlox I'd been eyeing up. There were some nice looking white ones too that I might go back and get. We didn't find any shorter yellow or white ones to go with them yet. Well, there were a couple possibilities there but we decided to wait and check other garden centers first. There are also two more purple Clematis in there. However, once we got them home we discovered they are not the same variety as the one I bought yesterday. *grrr* Hubby suggested taking them back but I poo-pooed the idea and decided they're close enough that at a distance maybe you can't tell the difference. They will all be planted with that antenna tower I mentioned yesterday, but we're still not sure just where that will go. The two kinda bell shaped flowery plants on the ends...I can't remember what we had in mind for those. And the one in the back with no blossoms is supposed to produce some cool looking red and white flowers that reminded us of peppermint candies.

We went over to Shopko next because I knew they had their garden stuff marked way down. We found two really nice looking trellises, 50% off. These will be for our climbing roses...the ones that are not thriving. We've decided to transplant them over to the other side of the house but we're not sure when to do it. Now? In the fall? In the spring? Anyone know? Other than the trellises we didn't see anything worthwhile there. There were some really cool looking red plants called Dragon Wings or something, but they were annuals and we decided we didn't want to bother with those at the moment. We were tired by then and decided to skip Menards and head home instead. So we didn't get any short yellow or white flowers to go with the Phlox today. (And we tend to spend too much money at Menards anyway. LOL)

As soon as we got home we planted our veggies...


We picked ones that already had some on them (except for the cucumber)...




We also planted some radish and carrot seeds. We should get some radishes but we're doubtful there is enough growing time left for the carrots. Oh well, we'll see. We also cleaned out the back of hubby's truck, put the remaining dirt into a large garbage can for now.

After taking a lunch break we hopped in the truck and headed out to pick rocks that will line the flowerbeds. Half of our land is farmed out, so way back past the far edge of our property is a hill where the farmer dumps the rocks from the fields. This area isn't technically our property but hey, alot of those rocks are. *snicker* We've gone here before to get rocks. It's quite handy if you don't mind climbing and wondering what sort of animal lives in those large holes dug into the hill. I had my camera in the truck so I snapped a few pics. Hubby thinks I'm snap-happy.

General scenery, looking east from near the rockpile. We're green like Ireland!


Looking west from the same spot, this lane curves around to the left and ends up back in our yard. Cornfield on one side, soybeans on the other.


Hubby and Boy #1 at the rockpile hill.


Our collection. Hubby wanted bigger ones than what I was planning on. What is it with men and Bigger Is Better??


And then when we got back home we laid them all out along where the flowerbeds are intended to be. This is just a rough layout to see how many we really had. I get to spend the next several days weeding these areas and getting them ready for the final setup. But we found out we did get enough to do the main beds for now. Cool!



We also got enough to go around my tulip bed in the backyard. That area is going to get a major overhaul as soon as they start getting the usual Fall bulbs out in stores. We'll probably use that leftover dirt for this particular bed.

There was a threat of stormy weather approaching by the time we finished with the rocks so we called it a day. I'm ok with that because I think we got alot done this weekend. Of course the house has been neglected and I haven't had a chance to read but....

Ok, so, I brought up the subject of Ireland today. Hubby laughed it off at first. We had a short discussion about it that I felt was going nowhere so I gave up. He didn't seem to take it serious at all, and I felt uncomfortable even suggesting it. I think the real problem is in me...can't blame him. I think it's my own fear of travel and new places, and that thought of 'Things like that don't happen to me.' So anyway, I was curious and decided to putter around at Travelocity. I compared prices to Norway vs. Ireland, looked at typical flightpaths, etc. A bit later I commented to hubby what the costs would be. He was like "Really? That's it? Oh hell, then why not? I think we can do that."

WHAT?!

We talked a bit about it and then I let it go again, went out to fill bird feeders and whatnot. When I came back in I asked him if he was serious about going. He said he doesn't have a problem with it but would like to get some of our bills taken care of first.

WHAT?!

So it won't be anytime this year and neither of us wants to go at peak travel time (summer) so late Fall 2010 *MIGHT* be possible. We also both agree a shorter trip is fine. We spent almost three weeks in Germany, and several times felt totally ready to come home. Oh.My.God. Now I'm terrified. Truly. I don't know if I should stick with this and start researching and planning? Should I give it up as 'Not gonna happen?' I don't even know if he means Ireland or Norway. Wow, I'm just baffled by this. LOL Really, honestly, right now, I feel like it won't happen.

His reaction has just totally taken me by surprise. Wow.

And with that, I'm off to clean up the kitchen and then go try to read.

July 25

I'm all about Ireland at the moment so I've changed my colors, pictures, and music. I used to be all about Ireland before we went to Germany, then I became all about Germany. I've even got the idea of finally taking that trip to where I've always wanted to go tickling my brain. And it's funny because it's kinda setting up the same way our Germany trip did...a comment from a co-worker, implying there is really no reason why we can't do it. No, I have not even mentioned it to hubby yet. LOL

Call me dumb, but is Gaelic still a common language? I mean, do kids grow up learning it, speaking it, using it in school?

Well, I have started my 17 day layoff. *deep satisfied sigh* Did I mention this at all? A large portion of the floors at work are being redone, along with various other projects happening, so no production can be run. Luckily, my lines will be down the longest....first ones down, last ones up....AND it's the other day crew's turn to work on the day that production is starting up again so my crew gets the longest 'vacation' of all. WOOT!

This is Day 1 and it's been quite productive. Hubby worked this morning, and I was up early as usual and off to do my grocery shopping. I went thru the garden center, as I seem to be doing more often these days, and ended up buying two veggie plants and a flower plant. The garden center will close for the season on July 31 so tomorrow hubby and I might go back to town to buy more stuff for the greenhouse.

Hubby sent me a text mid-morning saying he was going to swing by the landscaping place I'd checked out a few days ago, and get a load of top soil. I asked if he wanted to go to town afterwards. He said no, he had an afternoon appointment, but we could try tomorrow. (More about his appointment later.)

Turns out that place is closed on weekends so he ended up coming home. We looked thru the phone book and checked online, found plenty of other nearby landscape places but most were closed weekends and others hubby didn't know if he could get to and back before his appointment...and he was determined to get dirt this morning. So we found one possibility fairly close to home and hopped in the truck to go check it out. Success! We got 2240 pounds of dirt and the ass end of hubby's truck was practically dragging as we made our way home. Once we got back here we didn't have alot of time but we did manage to get one of the grow boxes filled before he had to leave. He took my car, leaving the truckload of dirt there for me and the boys to continue working with.

Ty, Casey, and I got the other long box filled then took a break. I wasn't sure if I was going to work on it anymore so Casey hopped in the shower and Ty was getting ready to go hang out with friends. Hubby still wasn't home. I decided I was not going to get into my crabby lazy mood so soon in this time off and ordered myself to go back out and do more work. Ty came back out and helped while waiting for his friend to pick him up. We got one of the smaller boxes filled. Then he left and I almost left the last box for when hubby got home, but decided no, dammit, I can and will get this done. And I did. Then I cleaned up a bit and grabbed the camera...



You can see a bit of our new plants in the pic. I bought a tomato and cucumber, and the flowering one is a purple Clematis. Hubby said "I don't know why you bothered buying those (tomato, cucumber) so late in the season." I kinda snapped at him that we're not starting from seed so we're cutting that growing time, and the tomato one even has a small tomato already on it, and what does it hurt to try??? We'll see. As for the flower one, I have two ideas for it. One is to put in the spot where our two failing roses are. The other is to put it somewhere with this tall former TV antenna stand that we got years ago from someone (in-laws?) for just such a purpose. If the plant does take off and climb, it could look really cool. Not sure just *where* to put the towery standy thing though....possibly by my tulip bed. And if we put the purple flower with the stand, I want to get this dark red one I saw, and put that one in the spot by the roses. The red will look good with the house and the eventually painted porch floor.

I have a question for you gardeners. I've been looking at purple Phlox the last two weeks when I go shopping. I want to buy some but they're tall and I don't know what shorter, preferably yellow, flower would work planted around them. Something that will be in bloom about the same time as the Phlox. Ideas??

Rose update:


The yellow roses are blooming together....heeeee! So far we've only had one on a bush at a time. I don't know what happened to the one of the right, it had all these little brown marks as it was opening up and those marks are now holes. Some kind of rose cootie I'm guessing. Boo.

The multi-color rose in front of the house has a partner now too.



We're also getting another red rose just starting to open on that first bush that bloomed months ago. It wasn't picture worthy yet though.

So, hubby's appointment. He got another tattoo today. He already had three...one on each arm and a picture of me on his back/shoulder. Did I ever write about that one? I thought he was crazy for doing it, plus he did it at a time we were having alot of problems between us so that made it even crazier. Anyway, he didn't tell me until this morning that he was getting another one, and he wouldn't tell me what it was. While he was gone Ty and I were speculating on what it might be and we pretty much concluded it would be something Vikings related. Ha, nope....



He added on to the one of me. And it's roses. Awww...lol He says he's going back to get some work done on 'me.' I asked if he was having my wrinkles put in...? No, getting it touched up cuz it's so faded now, get some things fixed on it. I hope he gets some color in the flowers too. And yes, I still think he's crazy.

Hehe.

July 23

You'll all be happy to know that I am not deaf. Yes, we had the hearing test today and mine came in well within the normal range. *phew* It was funny, and slightly unfair, that I started to worry about missing the sounds because I could hear myself breathing. I started breathing thru my mouth but was thinking 'oh gawd, it's already too late, I probably missed too many, they think I'm deaf.' I was greatly relieved, and we all had a good laugh, when several people commented about having the same thing happen. lol

Got home this evening and found a package from Amazon. YES! My 'Tis book came a day early! I'm tossing Public Enemies aside and diving into this one instead. I don't know if I'll even finish Public Enemies. There are soooooo many names and things going on that I couldn't keep anything straight. On my breaks today I was just reading to pass time, and not really actually taking any of it. So yeah, I'm extremely happy my new book is here!

My landscaping poll has closed. Thanks to the four people who voted! (Four? Really. I didn't think it was *that* hard.) All votes were for the rocks and that's funny because hubby and I like the wood mulch better and will probably be using that. Cost was a factor.

Just a quickie tonight cuz I want to go read. :)

July 22

First, the pics of things I mentioned yesterday.

The greenhouse has a roof now:


A peek at the growing troughs and workbench area:


The second multi-color bloom (with a third on the way, to the right):



Two yellow roses opening up, with three more not far behind:


My 'back from the dead' hosta babies:


I think that's all I had promised.

We had our monthly safety meeting at work today. This time our plant manager was there too, doing a sort of 'town hall meeting,' so it was a longer meeting than normal. That's ok. Alot of it was interesting, and we were getting paid to be there. Found out we're getting our hearing checked tomorrow as part of the followup to the noise study they did in the plant late last year. One area was found to be above safe limits (in decibels) so hearing protection was changed from 'recommended' to 'required.' Apparently when you have a 'required' area you also have to start annual hearing tests for all employees. If there is any decline in hearing in the next several years they have to step up the protection. Right now we only have to wear those little squishy foam plugs that you put into your ears. So yeah, tomorrow I find out how deaf I am from so many years working there. Wheee!

Didn't do much else today. It was one of those crabby 'can't get off my ass' days again. It started out rainy and blah but it did clear up reasonably early. There was no reason I couldn't have been outside working on my flowerbeds or something, or even just sitting out on the porch reading. But I *will* head out there for a while after I get this posted. Wish I had my next Frank McCourt book though.

*sigh*

July 21

Angela's Ashes (1999) When Frank McCourt penned Angela's Ashes, the first volume of his memoirs, he was an obscure creative-writing teacher. The best-selling book tells the grim story of his impoverished childhood in Ireland -- a time of deprivation spent alongside starving siblings, a long-suffering mother and an alcoholic father. Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves) shines in the pivotal role of Angela.

Got this from Netflix today and immediately sat down to watch it. It was good but I'm glad I read the book first. The movie didn't seem to make it all as bad as the book did. It kept a quick pace and touched on all the key points but I never got a sense of it being as horrible and almost hopeless like I did from the book. Still, I want to watch it again and will definately buy it.



(I hate when the pics don't fit in the post! And why do they have size options if they don't adjust anyway? Gah.)

When I first finished reading the book I had little desire to read the second book (called 'Tis). I thought it couldn't be as interesting because he's in America at that point and he's older and that's all kind of boring. While puttering around the internet looking for pics or info on the McCourts I came across a review or something (can't remember for sure) that told about the book and it sounded more interesting than I'd originally thought. And then Frank McCourt died the next day. I was at Amazon.com looking for the book and noticed it said there were only two in stock. It struck me that people will probably suddenly want the books now that he had died so I quickly placed my order. I'm really anxious to read it now.

I also read something that said Angela's Ashes was supposed to be the title of the second book, and 'Tis was supposed to be the title of the first book. It said something about Frank McCourt joking about this, so I don't know if it's actually true or not. It would make tons more sense that way though.

I started reading Public Enemies right after I finished Angela's Ashes. It was interesting but now my heart's not in it. I'll keep going until my Amazon order arrives, then I'm jumping back to the story of the McCourts.

We have another rose blooming, on a third of our six rose bushes. This is another of the multi-color ones, like the one that I posted recently. I don't have a pic yet but it seems to have a darker red in it than the other one did. Both of these bushes are in the front of our house, by the front porch. That's very cool but I'm more excited about the two bushes by our back deck. One of them will have at least five blooms at once, with two of them probably starting to open tomorrow. Woot! I will try to get pics of everything tomorrow. Sadly though, the two bushes on the south side of the house are really scrawny looking. One has another bud about to open but the other is just a puny, pathetic looking thing. It's still green but it just doesn't seem to be growing. Maybe they need more water because they're in the sun more? I don't know.

Remember the hostas I planted then dug up cuz I thought they weren't growing only to find they were indeed growing? I had replanted them in a big pot that day and hoped for the best. They survived and are coming along nicely considering I thought they were dead. LOL! They have the yellow edges, not like the white edged ones I planted in their place. I'll have to get a pic of these too. Not sure yet where they'll be planted.

Hubby and Ty got a roof on the greenhouse the other day. Still don't have the plastic on the walls yet. Hubby wants to get a load of dirt and fill our 'troughs' first since it will be easier to just go around the edge and scoop it in that way, instead of hauling it thru the door if we have the walls done first. Not sure if he'll be able to get dirt during the week or if that will be a weekend project. I wonder too what we could hope to grow anymore at this point in the season. Any ideas or suggestions? And again, I'll have to get some pics tomorrow of the progress so far.

Hmm. Can't think of anything else interesting enough to babble about.

July 19

Frank McCourt died today. He was 78. I am sad, and strangely touched. Maybe because I just read Angela's Ashes, and it's all fresh in my mind.

*sigh*

July 17 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) The sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry kicks off with a bang for young Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) when he inadvertently discovers a mysterious book that sheds light on the sordid life of the evil Lord Voldemort. Preparing for inevitable battle, Harry and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) turn to professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) for help in pinpointing the weakness in Voldemort's forces.

(The description above, from Netflix, is not quite accurate. The book is not what tells about Voldemort. But whatever...)

I saw this movie last night and came away from it one pissed off chickie. First things first though. I was in town during the day and decided it would be best to stop and get tickets ahead of time. There were other people already there doing just that. The guy ahead of me asked the ticket girl if the shows were still selling out. She said the day showings were slowing down already but the evening showings were still crazy. Ok... *phew* ...glad I got the tickets early then.

Hubby got home from work shortly after 5pm, hopped in the shower, and then we quickly headed back to town. We wanted to get there plenty early so we could get our favorite seats, all the way up in the back and over to the far end. The start time was 6:30pm. We got there just before 6pm and there was already a line waiting to get in. We had the boys get in line, while hubby and I went to buy the drinks and snacks. A few minutes standing in line and we were soon let in. We got our seats. We were happy.

It was rather shocking to see how few people there actually were. Equally shocking to see how many young *guys* were there. Not alot of young kids this time. Have parents finally figured out it's not the same little kid Harry Potter stuff that we started with all those years ago? Still there was the usual amount of slightly loud and obnoxious teens present. Luckily they settled down when the movie started. And by the end the place was totally silent. That was weird too, kinda funny.

It's been two years since the final Harry Potter book came out, two years since the previous movie came out. I have not read the books since then. I bought the dvd but have not watched the movie since the time in the theater. My Harry Potter obsession has definitely cooled since then. I knew I would see this movie but the excitement and urgency wasn't there like with the others. But what the heck, my day off and it's just opening, why not go? I started to wonder how much I'd forgotten from the book. While we were sitting in the theater waiting for the movie to start I was trying to remember as much as I could, then wondered if I was remembering enough to recognize things that might be different or just not there.

So the movie starts and I'm ok with it in general. I think I was quite liking it but also recognized that it just wasn't the Harry Potter type stuff we've come to know. All the regular things were there but it just seemed different, like it was all just old familiars that we didn't need to spend much time with. I actually liked Quidditch this time. Snape looked great this time, I was greatly relieved to see that. Luna was in fine form. Sadly, no Dursleys. I really liked both of the boys who played the younger versions of Tom Riddle. I started to realize what things were missing or changed but I was ok with most of it.

Until...

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

Dumbledore and Harry recovering the horcrux was still pretty good. But everything after that was...ridiculous. In my case, it was infuriating. I *do* remember from the book that everything after that had an extreme urgency to it. The race back to Hogsmeade and then back to the castle. Dumbledore at death's door and telling Harry to get Snape. The chaos with the fighting in the already infiltrated castle. The thing I remember and was looking forward to was a screaming, frantic Harry chasing after a desperately fleeing Snape and Draco...screaming "Coward!" and trying to cast spells only to have Snape deflect them and try to toss back cryptic information. Even after they got away I seem to remember chaos back in the school, trying to sort out what had happened and who and how and why.

But what did we get in the movie? Nothing frantic or urgent. No Dumbledore paralyzing Harry under the invisibility cloak at that last moment. No fighting within the castle. Not even any urgency once Snape finished the job. Nooooo, we have a fairly healthy looking Dumbledore telling Harry to hide below and stay quiet. We have Snape turning Draco by the shoulder and leading him and the few other Death Eaters down the stairs and out of the castle. We have an almost leisurely stroll across the grounds with a bit of an 'oooh let's torch Hagrid's house' side-thought. We have Harry running to catch up, yelling a bit and maybe trying to cast a few spells, but then Snape zaps him and reveals in his cool Snape-way that he is indeed the half-blood prince, and then they leave the grounds with no trouble. So THEN, we have Harry coming back to find everyone standing there gawking at Dumbledore's body but is anything happening? Is anyone afraid or wondering what the heck just happened? Is anyone doing anything?? Nooooo. Harry will go to the body and cry, and Ginny will go to Harry and hold him while he cries, and everyone will raise their lighted wand in a very cheesy looking bit of crap. Then we'll skip right over the funeral and the explanations have Harry say he's not coming back, and Hermione saying they'll come with him, and Fawkes the phoenix flies away and....the end.

WTF?

I. Hated. It. I literally sat there with an open mouthed, lip curled, hands out in a 'what is this' gesture. The tears I'd had just moments before instantly dried up. I shook my head and blinked my eyes and snorted in disgust. When we got out to the car I let my anger go in the form of a long rant to my hubby and sons about how it was *supposed* to be. Do I really not remember the book? I don't think so! I almost wanted to get it out last night and read to my family just to be sure, just to prove my point. There have always been parts of the movies that don't live up to the books but this was...to me...like a slap in the face. Maybe because I'd been soooo looking forward to these particular parts for so long? Maybe because it seemed like there wasn't much they could do to screw it up and I was too confident?

Or did I really just misinterpret that whole ending of that book?????

Oh, I'm still steaming about it.

A bit of trivia...
The boy who plays younger Tom Riddle is Hero Beauregard Fiennes-Tiffin. He is the nephew of Ralph Fiennes, who plays adult Tom Riddle, aka Voldemort.


(Hero has a brother named Titan, and a sister named Mercy. Wow.)

July 17 - Angela's Ashes

Angela's Ashes Angela’s Ashes is a memoir by Irish author Frank McCourt, and tells the story of his childhood in Brooklyn and Ireland. It was published in 1996 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.

I really didn't know anything about this book when I started it. Somewhere in the back of my head I've had the 'Have to read that one' feeling and I think I may have thought it was about a Jewish family, the holocaust, etc...not a poor Irish family. Where that came from, I don't know. lol

The writing style was annoying at first, hard to get used to, but I got over it. I thought it would be more, I don't know, factual...? More of a timeline to keep track of things...? But it's a memoir, not a biography, so I got over that too.

I liked this book. It's very depressing and many times had me lost in thought, wondering how people can really live this way. I can't remember names offhand but the one family that was even worse off than the McCourts...had me trying to imagine, what do you live for? What do you get thru the day for? When there is nothing, no food, no money, no clothes, no soap, water, bathing, rules, discipline, healthcare, entertainment...what, WHAT gets you thru the day? You wake from your cold, hungry, filthy sleep to pace around your bare, filthy room and stare at your bare walls. Perhaps you sit outside or wander the streets for the day, only to return to your pitiful, condemned home to stare at the walls until you fall into a cold, hungry, filthy sleep again.

I realize this is a memoir, and it is written as the memories were. This means there was probably tons actually going on in the adult world all around Frank that his little kid memories never knew or understood. What I don't understand though is why it's called Angela's Ashes. Ok, so it often mentions her staring blankly into the ashes when there was nothing left around her. But is she supposed to be like this strong woman, the guiding force in young Frank's life? Are we suppose to feel for her because she was somehow the thread that held them together and kept them going? She sacrificed so much to give her family what little they had? Are we suppose to *like* her? Cuz I didn't feel any of that, didn't see any of that, and did not like her at all. For as horrible as Frank's father was, the slacker loser alcoholic, I felt for him far more than I ever did for Angela. I cried when he visited Frank in the hospital, cried when he left that time at Christmas. It was sad to realize, much later in the book, that he really was gone for good...and you kinda catch yourself wondering, 'hey, just when did we hear from him last?' It was sad when Frank was older and slapped his mother, but it was sad that Frank had come to that point, not that his mother had been slapped.

The part where he walks the streets on his days off before leaving for America is sad too. It reminded me of the book Petals on the Wind (or was it in Flowers yet?) when Cathy goes back into the attic. Even for as horrible as times were, that is where your memories are. It all becomes a part of you. Very bittersweet. I wonder what it was like for Frank even later in life, how often did he go back there? What was it like when he had plenty of time and distance put between himself and those early days? I know there is another book but I don't know if I'll read it.

I have not seen the movie yet but I have watched the trailer a couple times. That too seems to give an impression that Angela is this strong wonderful character. Did I miss something?

So I just finished this book a couple days ago and was Googling to find more info like old pics or whatever happened to the rest of the family, and I find there was quite some controversy surrounding the story. Some people saying it's horribly exaggerated, some saying he made his own family better than others, some saying he's trashing everyone and everything around him and giving it all a bad name. Suddenly I'm wondering if I've been suckered. As horrible as it is, I want this all to be true.

And now I'm also reading the Frank McCourt is gravely ill, not expected to live much longer.

July 16 - Opinions please

Please vote in my handy dandy little poll, to the right.

With 'river rocks'....


Or with wood mulch....

July 13

Today is the 24th anniversary of Live Aid. I can't believe it's been 24 years! I can still remember almost every teeny detail of that day...from waking up early and catching the coverage from Australia, which was already underway...to growing increasingly annoyed with the Sally Fields "drop in a bucket" pleas...to the much more boring coverage from later that evening in the US. My sister and I were recording it from TV *and* recording on cassettes from the radio. We loved all the UK acts waaaay more than the US stuff. Well, except for Duran and Power Station. And U2 completely owned the day. Ah, great great memories.

So, back in the present... *sigh* Yesterday we worked on the greenhouse again but not nearly as much as we had on Saturday. We went to Menards for wood, and we restrained ourselves, only bought what was on our list. Plexi-glass for the roof is out of the question but we did accidently come across some other kind of clear plastic roof panels that might be a possibility. For this year though, we'll just put the plastic up. We did a tiny bit more work today after hubby got home from work, but I think any more major work will wait till the weekend again.

Yesterday we bought one bag of landscaping stones. We've recently been trying to decide what we want to use in the eventual landscaping around the house...rocks or wood chips. We've been debating buying a wood chipper and just doing it that way, chopping up the tons of branches we have every spring, or putting the money into stones and be done with it. We only have one little area ready to go at this point anyway, so we just bought one bag of 'river rocks' to play around with and see how we like the look.

The area, before...


The area, with the rocks...


I'm trying to imagine later on when the rose bushes are bigger, and we have another plant or two in there, but I'm thinking the rocks make it look too 'busy.' I'm thinking plain old boring wood mulch might look better. Surprisingly, hubby likes the rocks. He was not really impressed when we were looking at all the options at the store, but now he likes them. Ty likes them too. I don't know...what do you think?

As for the rose bushes, they're all still alive! Four of the six are doing quite well. The other two are still alive but much smaller, and we fear one might not survive. We have a new bloom, this time on one of the bushes in front of the house. We were so happy to see this one because it's the really cool multicolor ones we'd picked out.

This pic taken three days ago, when it was first really opening...


And this pic taken today, showing how freaking huge the bloom is...


Three of the other rosebushes have oodles of flower buds forming. I can't wait till they all start bursting forth with bloomage! I really need to start reading up on how to take proper care of these babies. My hostas are coming along nicely too. I'm happy, and greatly impressed. lol

Earlier this year I'd ordered some little flower seed ball thingies from the LTD catalog. They were cheap and I thought what the heck, if they really do grow I have lovely flowers, and if they don't grow I'm not losing much. All you have to do is set the balls in the dirt of the pot (not even buried) and keep them watered and they are supposed to grow into a lovely assortment of flowers. They took forever to even start growing but I finally have some flowers. They're kinda scraggily though, and it seems these will most likely be past their prime if and when the others ever grow. These are definately not as numerous and lush as the catalog showed. LOL!

Mine...


Theirs...


Yeah yeah, just wait till next year when the greenhouse is functional!

I didn't get a chance to read my book last night. Hubby and I got back into watching Jericho. No, we never did finish the series way back when I first started posting about it. I don't remember what sidetracked us. Anyway, nothing was happening last night so we popped that in and tried to figure out where we'd left off. I think we watched three episodes last night. Still really like the show, and still don't like the blonde girl. Bleah. Oh, and really don't like the new girl Sarah, who works with Robert.

Push (2009) On the run from the Division, a dangerous government agency that uses people with psychic abilities to do their bidding, telekinetic Nick Gant (Chris Evans) and clairvoyant Cassie Holmes (Dakota Fanning) team up to find a third psychic who can help them destroy the organization. But when the Division picks up their trail, it sends a powerful agent (Djimon Hounsou) to stop them at all costs. Paul McGuigan directs this thriller.

Finally watched this today. My menfolk had all watched it last week. Ty loved it, thinks it's way better than Jumper. Hubby said it was good, not great. I thought it was ok, but *I* liked Jumper more. This one was pretty good but then it started to drag. And then of course there was one of those boring, drawn out fight scenes that I'm really finding no patience for in my old age. I liked Dakota Fanning quite alot. I don't think I've seen any of her other work. I now look forward to seeing her in New Moon later this year! The story got a little confusing a couple times, and then it got frustrating when they kept using the 'force' skill or whatever it was called...where they can force memories into your head, tell you lies and make you believe them. That got a little old after a while. Overall, it was ok and I'm glad I saw it.

Does anyone watch a show called Make It or Break It? It's on the ABC Family channel, or something like that. I've never seen it but saw a commercial and was immediately curious. It's about Olympic hopeful gymnasts. And ya know what? I think it was on tonight. Crap!

Ty applied at Best Buy this morning. This afternoon they called him and talked to him a bit, maybe you could call it a mini phone interview. They said they had a few more people to talk to and if Ty did not hear back from them by the end of the evening they had probably decided to go with someone else. Well, it's 8:55pm and he hasn't heard anything so I guess it's a no-go on this one. Bummer. He was pretty darn excited though when he got that call. :)

Alrighty, I'm outta here to do some reading.