Monthly Archives: June 2009

I am tired…but I have raspberries

Garden, Nature,

I am tired.  I get plenty of sleep most days but my tired is a little more than that I think.  I am tired of running.  I am not one to usually chase after stuff so that’s not really it either.  I don’t know what it’s all about (aside from maybe I am crazy), but I am tired.

So, for awhile, I am going to take pictures of simple things that make me not-tired.  Kim over at Achorn Farm is who made me realize that simple stuff is the best stuff.  I’d love to hear if you have stuff that makes you not tired…

Anyhow, we have raspberries now!  They are really starting to give the berries and Abigail loves to pick them and feed them all to me.  Fortunately, I can eat raspberries all day long!

So, here is a simple thing that makes me un-tired…

Symphony Sunday

Family, Fun, WV, ,


The WV Symphony is based here in Charleston and is really first class.  As a part of their community outreach, they hold Symphony Sunday each year at the University of Charleston.  The university is situated on a beautiful campus along the Kanawha River directly across the WV State Capitol.

(Note my artistic shadow on the poster…uh…I meant to do that)

The symphony sets up on a stage at one end of the green the rest of the area fills with people and vendors (classy stuff mostly) and activities for the kids.  Symphony Sunday is really an all day event where local children’s orchestras and community ensembles get an opportunity to perform. There are kids’ activities all day long and it’s a great family affair.  They have special dinners and brunches and so on leading up to the event.

So, “the event” is the evening performance of the WV Symphony followed by a fireworks show.  This year, the theme of the event was “A Pirate’s Symphony”.  Mostly, the performance was comprised of music that sounds like it would be good in a pirate movie…you know eerie stuff that shivers yer timbers and makes you yell “Arrrrrgh”. Indeed, I had a strange craving for rum all evening.  Anyhow, there was one funny song that made me laugh when it began.  They started the song, “Holding out for a Hero“.  Emily asked what movie it came from and I said, “Footloose”.  The kids both immediately chimed in, “Shrek”.  Huh…yup, I guess so.  But I knew the real right answer!

Anyhow, the kids got some ice cream and completely enjoyed the frozen joy from ear to ear!  We sat along the river eating ice cream and talking and listening to the music.  A regular armada of boats anchored in the river and also enjoyed the music.  We dreamed about pirates and the looming attack from all the “ships” waiting to send their crew to land.  It was a perfect night and we had a tremendous time.

Finally, at around 10 o’clock, the barge from which they launch the fireworks moved to the middle of the river as the final songs started.  We watched and waited, not sure which point in the final number would signal the launch.  We had an unimpeded view of the men in the cage on the barge controlling the launch.  As “Stars and Stripes” got midway through, the fireworks kicked off and we were delighted by the sight!  It was magnificent!

So, summer is officially here and we are ready!  Do you have some similar event that you enjoy that signals summer at your place?

Original Gangsters

Family, Fun,

We went to PA last weekend to visit my family and it was actually warm there. It’s rare that we go to PA and not find snow…regardless of the season. Anyhow, we went and my Mom had bought a few squirt guns for the kids. I’ll mostly let the pictures speak for themselves…but notice that Isaac is often on the run from his sister…that’s gonna haunt him later!


(Is she bad a$$ or what?!)


(the only time they worked together was to refill…and to attack me!)


(this one scares me a little)


(yeah…I am hit!)

Of course, back in WV is raining cats and dogs…and cows and sheep and goats.  We’ve had so much rain and so many bad floods nearby that I think we are due a little more squirt gun sort of weather!

I’m not George Bush

Fun, Garden,

Back when the first George Bush was president, he (somewhat) famously said, “I do not like broccoli. And I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I’m President of the United States and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli.”  In fact, he went so far as to ban broccoli from the White House and Air Force One menus.

Truly, it was a sad day in American history.  In a brilliant move, broccoli growers shipped 10 tons of the stuff to the White House (which was refused and later donated to food banks).  The funny thing is that the popularity of broccoli grew after President Bush’s statement.  I guess it sort of follows his presidency really.  No wonder he wasn’t re-elected!  It all started with his distaste for broccoli…the American people could not tolerate such a a trait in a President!

I never realized, but broccoli is very important in American politics and appears to swing elections every cycle.  Discussion of broccoli started back in Roman times but first figured into American politics when Thomas Jefferson wrote about it.  Let’s see, Jefferson, one of our most foundational leaders loved broccoli…yes, George Bush should have choked it down and followed after Jefferson!

We harvested our first broccoli the other day and it was delicious!  I have long been a proud broccoli-eater and am delighted to have fresh available again!  I think it is pretty clear…along the Presidential continuum, I am much closer to a Thomas Jefferson than a George Bush!

Still boiling water

WV

We live in the city limits of Charleston, WV.  It’s mostly a civilized place but like many cities, it is falling apart, slowly.  We were out of town this past weekend to visit my family in Tionesta, PA (where it is still cold).  We got home around 4:30 on Sunday to see the water company digging up the road near our house.  There was a water main break out front.  Actually, there was another water main break out front.  Not too long ago, we had a break that allowed me to get some history.  I was talking with the crew and they said the main in front of my house was installed in 1939.  Yikes!  No wonder it finally gave it up.  That pipe is ancient in dog-years!  If you drive down the road in front of my place, you will see patch after patch in the road (which was re-paved 2 years ago?) where water main leaks have been fixed.  I don’t fault the crews who fix the leaks.  In fact, I would put the guys who do the work even with Spiderman and Hulk Hogan (in his younger years).  But, like many cities across our country, our old infastructure is failing at an alarming rate.

So, we got home on Sunday and the crew was delivering “boil water advisories” door-to-door, up and down the street.  I guess there is a danger of contaminants like e-coli, the swine flu and the clap getting into the water from the rupture.  We were basically instructed not to use the water for anything except flushing the toilets.  Now I can go a day without a shower but much longer and my “manly scent” starts to be overpowering.  I get cats and dogs following me around the neighborhood.  Vultures circle overhead searching for the “food” that recently gave up the ghost.  Luckily, Emily’s parents live close by and were unaffected by the break so we have been able to shower at their house.  

We have boiled a bunch of water for cooking and so on but it is a real pain in the hind-parts.  My father-in-law joked, “how do you like living in the country?”  I responded, “I bet they freakin’ have water in the country!”  It’s pretty funny how paralyzed a person can be when city services go bad!  Of course, I grew up in the country so I know a loss of electricity can mean the well pump won’t run, but still!  

Anyhow, we’ll continue to boil water and de-funkify at the in-laws until the water is deemed clean.  I will do my best to keep the vultures at bay!

Anyone else ever have similar stuff go on at home?  Does your water ever go out?  How did you cope?