Sunday, September 11, 2016

Miscellaneous Musings No. 4

It's time for me to do another dump of random things that have been filling my pre-frontal lobe of short-term memory. I did a brief research on where this random stuff is stored, and that pre-frontal lobe appears to be responsible for my very active, sometimes overactive, brain.

I mentioned in my last musings I like and notice signs. Pictured below is yet another sign I noticed, when dropping off a package at my daughter's home. The sign's on her front door (to which her 10 year old nephew noted, "hey wait, you sing and dance". Yea, and I bet she does a little of the other, too.
A sign of the season....puttin' up hay....Hey!
Field of Hay
Another sign of the season...haulin' the hay (as captured, going down the highway, tethered, on a flatbed trailer).
Tractor Trailer Load of Hay
Which reminds me of this hilarious video I saw recently. If cats said "Hey!" instead of "Meow". Watch, and be entertained.
I caught this display (pictured below) when my sisters and I were antiquing in July....I think maybe the booth vendor was struggling with the styling here, do you agree? The sex, the season, and the items for sale....what?? It was good for a chuckle.
Train Wreck of a Display
Speaking of chuckle, when my sisters and I are together, we almost always have more than one 'pee your pants' laughing episode. In the video below, I'm reenacting one of those moments. As soon as we pulled into the driveway of sister J's house on our last visit in July, she came out to greet us, waving, and then did this (watch, it's only 4 seconds):
Ohmygosh, we just about died laughing. Just one of the many times in those two days. Sister M and I typically have at least 1 or 2 of those same kind of moments when we're restyling our spaces at the antique mall, too.

On the topic of gardening, I could pull weeds, truthfully, every day of the growing season, and still never be finished. My husband helps me pull them, too, and it's become a bit of a ritual, if not compulsion, almost daily. There is one thing that lightens us up in the process, though. I cannot tell you how many times we may go out, pull weeds and overlook this one particular type (pictured below, among the garden plants and then against the wall).  One day those suckers may be 2" high and, the next day (especially after rain), they'll be nearly 2' high, no kidding! We often play a little game of it, quizzing each other on, "where's the weed?" in a particular bed, to see if it's as easily overlooked by the other, as it seemed to be for our own (lack of) observation.
Do these weeds make my butt look big??
Where's the Weed?
Here's a bouquet of weeds Rose of Sharon that sprouted from last year's seeds. Remember, when I cut that shrub down in March, I said I'd probably still have seedlings for years to come. I was hoping I'd be wrong.
Rose of Sharon volunteers
And what about kudzu? Holy cow, it's like something out of a sci-fi movie in this neck of the woods AND city. The pictures below were taken from the passenger's seat in the car, and that stuff is everywhere!
Kudzu Monsters!
Kudzu Highway
Back to the subject of compulsions, ...I admit it, I have my fair share of quirks, and so does Mr. P. The Maxine cartoon had one recently that made me laugh:
"There should be support groups for women who can't put their dishes in the dishwasher dirty."
Guilty, as charged. My son-in-law once told me washing the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher was like wiping your butt before you take a crap. He may have a point. I also read  - somewhere - that a dishwasher actually performs better when you put the dishes in dirty. Sometimes I don't run the dishwasher for a few days, though, and I can't stand the thought of food on the dishes and utensils that long. For more on Maxine's creator, John Wagner, and how she morphed into such a character, click here. It's interesting.

Here's another thing that demonstrates mine and Mr. P.'s quirky sense of order (below):
Straight line
See how nice and vivid that stripe is painted on the road's edge? That's right in front of our parking pad. (The faintly visible 8 on the road is another story, another day). Now, look at this one (below):
Interference
See where the stripe gets painted on the grass? That's a neighbor's, just beyond ours. Although we don't have a grass edge on the side with the parking pad, we do have grass on the opposite side of the street. But we don't have painted grass. Nor do we have random weeds growing between our concrete and asphalt seams. That's because Mr. P. meticulously weed eats the grass away from the street and finishes the grass cutting with a blower, so that when the road does get striped, it won't be on grass. The city striped later than their normal June date this year but, thanks to our compulsive nature, we stay ready. :)

Seems Mr. P. is among those guys who know their wives are going to take pictures of most everything, but I don't necessarily do it for my blog. I've just always taken a lot of pictures, whether it's at the antique mall, my garden, decor changes, travel, etc. Now, it's every time I make a meal, he says, "aren't you going to take a picture?" lol.
Cheddar Bacon Chicken Ranch Pasta - Simple to Make!
Truth is, the real meals never look as good as the tablescape glamour shots, for which I'll go to such lengths as climb ladders or straddle a bench for the perfect overhead view. I've nearly gotten caught up in a ceiling fan in the sunroom, and attacked by wasps outside. Here's an outtake from that alfresco dining experience a few weeks ago (below). You know, one of the ones where you hold your camera out, overhead, and hope you have the subject centered?? Obviously, my aim was a bit angled toward my feet.
Little did I know there was a wasp's nest under the corner of that bench. When I picked it up by the underside to move it, out they flew! I banged my knuckle up pretty good bad as I flailed my hands, air Ninja style, and hit it on said bench as it dropped. Then I declared war on the wasps, and got out the Raid. No dishes were harmed in this scene (it happened as I was breaking it down), only my hand was collaterally damaged. It looked like I had a boxing glove on afterward.

Never mind the hands, did you like my sandals? They're Chaco brand (no compensation here, nada), and I've been getting a lot of mileage out of these this summer! They're great for garden, water, or adventure (hiking) with their nylon web straps - but the soles are like earth shoes from the 70s. Remember those? Very comfortable, and I even walk several miles at a time in these. But, let me tell you....they took me almost an hour when I first bought them to get the straps situated just right. They are totally connected throughout the footbed, and when you pull one strap in one place to loosen it, it tightens in another.  Cause and effect, baby.
The 4th of July typically means fireworks, but this year one local guy apparently decided he was going to have his own show...in his car. I know this story could have had a tragic ending but, fortunately, it didn't. So, after reading it (article link in caption), it struck me as funny on several angles.
Vehicle Fireworks Incident
One angle: notice the sign that reads, "DEAD END". Second angle: the story recounts the driver as noticing smoke coming from the floorboard. I had this vision of the Flintstones peddling their feet on the pavement through the floorboard, making sparks. Third angle: the story mentions a nearby building, a car wash, was partially melted as a result of the fire. Obviously, the car wash was not running at the time.

My neighbors - both sides - had their own fest of fireworks right on the riverbank on the 4th. Once lit, they looked and sounded like they were exploding right out of my attic! I found myself reacting much like most dogs.....very anxious and stirred up, and wanting to bark.

Speaking of dogs, I have several granddogs - three, to be exact. A lot of my blogging friends have grandbabies, but not me. I have granddogs. Wanna see my very social granddog at his favorite place in the world, doggy daycare? He even made their Instagram account, he's so sociable. And handsome!
Handsome Granddog
Here he is again, with a new (to me) and fun app called Prisma, in a mosaic finish.
Prisma Effect
Finally, here he is with all his buddies, on a different day:
Buddies
He loves his friends.

Don't we all?

Mr. P. and I have been on a Great, American Road Trip (GART) through most of August, and I've accumulated so many notes, I may just have to draft a special edition of musings for that 6,000+ mile trip sometime soon. Just one example: suffice it to say, I really worked on my public restroom muscles on that trip. ;)

So, what random thoughts do you have on your mind? Add them to my musings with your comment!

Rita C. at Panoply

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