You Gotta Wonder...

I'm used to people thinking I'm weird. I give them plenty of reasons.

I bought a floor lamp last Sunday for the living room. It's a Japanese lantern style with the white paper shades. The thing is 10" x 10" square and 56" tall, comes up to about my shoulder. It's sat in the living room all week. Jay has sat next to it and never noticed it. Do you think my living room might be over crowded with 'stuff'? I love stuff like this. I'm not saying a word until he spots it.



Here's a map of the old home town. The new office is located just to the left of the red dot. It's next to a place called Fort Dent. It was a was a blockhouse built on the orders of Territorial Governor in 1860 during the "Indian Troubles" It's located at the confluences of what used to be the Black River and the Green River (yes, the infamous Green River of the killer) It's at this spot that the two rivers merged and became the Duwamish River that flows into downtown Seattle. Here's what bugs me (refer to map when needed) At the turn of the last century Lake Washington (the body of water with Mercer Island in the middle) was lowered to sea level by opening the Montlake Cut. (just above the two 'T's in the word Seattle on the map) This dried up the Black River that used to flow out of the south end of the lake so it no longer joins the Green River.

What I want to know is who is the one that comes up with river naming conventions? If the Black River no longer meets the Green River, how does it then become the Duwamish? Isn't it just the Green River all the way into town?

These are the things that keep me up at night.

By the way, locals...A piece or two of the Black River still exist as some sort of orphaned ponds. The Black River Riparian Forest is a GREAT place to spot Herons and Hawks, the occasional Eagle and their dinner, bunnies. Good trails to hike.


I did a good job of getting all my plants planted this week. Well, that is except for 20 hostas and 10 ferns, and the new load I just bought this morning. I know I'm out of control but it will keep me out of the pool halls.

Have a great weekend!

B

Absolutely Nothing Fabulous

This person sent me a "Friends" request today on Facebook. My first thought was: Oh great, ladies of the evening, just like MySpace. The reason I deleted the account a dear freind set up for me.

Then I looked closer and saw we have 17 friends in common. Apparently I know her. Oops.





I'm told by the resident goat herder that the little one, Bess is pregnant again. These things are baby breeding machines! Bess spent the past few weeks up in the upper goat paddock with Mr. Deeds. We wanted to give the baby Silver Moon time to get a bit bigger before she was around Bess. Bess moved back into the goat barn with Belle & Baby last week. Leaving Mr. Deeds forlorn at the top of the hill. Hopefully this time we'll have a baby billy who can keep him company. Baby Moon goes right up to see Dad when ever we let her out in the yard - very cute.

Another perfect spring day. It's 72* and not a cloud in the sky. I met the data cabling contractor down at the new office this morning and then stopped by McClendon's the local non-big box (yeah!) hardware store in town and bought yet more plants. Strawberries and tomato's, salvia and lobelia. It's all going in the perennial border mixed in with the flowering plants. I'm forsaking vegetable gardens with nice neat rows and going for the overgrown look. I really need to get busy with what I've already got at home instead of buying more. I'm really feeling the old "make hay in the sunshine" thing. I suppose I should set some goals on what I want to get done by the end of the week. Get the beds done this week and then have time for the containers on the porch this weekend.

On the way back to the office I was listening to a very interesting interview on NPR. The guest, Joel Berg was making the point that we have a multitude of state and federal agencies overseeing food programs in the schools. One of his points was that if we eliminated these redundant functions we could feed all of the children in public schools regardless of their economic status. Another point was that if we reduced or eliminated the bureaucracy that's in place to prevent food stamp abuse it would more than pay for that program as well. I don't know where he got all his data or how valid his numbers were but it was pretty thought provoking stuff.

It's too nice to be inside. I think I'll forward the office phones out to my cell and go get lost for a little while. Meanwhile, I'll leave you with this:

Don't kiss your hunny,
When your nose is runny,
You make think it's funny,
But it's s-not.

XOXOBC

I'd Like A Pony Please...

Random picture of my best friend, because you all haven't seen him in a while.


What a wonderful weekend. While Saturday didn't turn out exactly sunny it was nice and warm but with a thin cloud cover that just never really burned itself off. Sunday was warm and sunny and perfect. I didn't get a lot of my own planting done but was able to go over to my Mom's and help her get her deck containers sorted and planted so that's one annual task out of the way. Before tackling that, Mom and I had brunch at the Lake Route Cafe. I had the low-cal (not) eggs benedict because clearly I'm trying for a life time personal best in weight gain this year.

Mom and I were talking at brunch about my sister and her family. Sis & BIL both got laid off from their jobs in the resort industry last winter. They worked for the same company. This same company that relocated them to Florida about 2 years ago. Poor guys are now sitting in a very large home down there they is starting to look next to impossible to sell. They're both looking for jobs back here in Seattle (sounds like BIL has found one) with an eye to moving back home. My niece has been up here for the last year because she didn't like FL and it was her senior year in high school and she wanted to be with her friends.

The conversation made me regret opening my big fat mouth a few posts back about not really feeling the effects of the economic slow down. They're having a tough time all the way around. My poor sister is sick of living in a house that she needs to keep in realtor showing cleanliness for realtors and potential buyers that never come around. The easy solution for them is to leave the house there basically furnished and move back home and get on with life. What really surprised me was that they're planing to move in with my Mom for a while. I know there's nothing new about "boomerang kids". Well, ok we're all a bit old to really fall under that category, but you know what I mean. What really threw me was that my BIL, the lone republican standout in a family awash with die-hard liberals is actually willing to live with his mother-in-law! Don't get me wrong, we all love my BIL, but if that poor guy is willing to do that, even for a short time, clearly things are worse than I thought.

I'm being somewhat silly about this but later I got to thinking about my niece. I really feel sorry for her. She's a great kid. Never been in any kind of trouble. She's very athletic, a jock really. She's been on the top soccer teams in the local leagues all through school. Just an all around great kid. What I worry about is they lifestyle she was raised in. I know for myself that my mother spoiled us quite a bit. I never realised it growing up but when it came time to live on my own it hit me between the eyes. The day's of salon haircuts and designer clothes were over for a while. My standard of living took a giant step down when I moved out of home.

I wonder if this post is ever going to make a point? Well, carrying on....

Anyway...
As I pulled away from Mom's my niece and her boyfriend pulled up in his new BMW. (high-school kid, driving a BMW...) What kind of shock are those kids in for? How are they going to be able to adjust to a new way of living. I don't think for a second their situation is unique. I know it isn't, we've got another young lad 'working' for us who was raised in a life style far above what his means will be as a lone adult. I wasn't at all shocked when the kids was 'sick' for a week after his Mommy bought him a brand new truck!

Maybe this is just the way life is. Maybe all kids and parents go through this to some degree. Is it the same as adults always thinking the music their kids listen to is garbage? generation after generation? Is it just one of those universal things or has something changed in the last couple of generations?

This is one of those posts that I should really go back and edit or possibly re-write/re-think but that's how I end up not posting for a week. I think I'll just hit publish and then go outside and play in the sun!