This one is free

From January

though you might feel compelled to send money to me, anyhow.  Really, it is THAT wonderful that you'll feel an immediate rush of gratitude to the world... and to me.  Ok.  You CAN send me money.  Or, more spinach.



Spinach Burger

Cook hamburger to desired level of doneness.  Keep it pink if you like the thrill of a possible food borne illness.

Saute spinach in butter and onions.

Place burger in pan with the spinach and pile the spinach around burger.

Lift it out of the skillet as a unit.

Garnish as you like.

You might even want to consider wrapping it in bread or a nice bun.

One more reason you should be glad you didn't marry me

From January

Kevin fortunately loves me.  And, he tells me the truth.  I am hyper-critical.  Yes, yes, yes, I want to be easy going and always find my world to be copacetic, but I cannot turn off the "evaluator": not even when I am reading lovely, warm-fuzzy books to my son.

Take the quote above and now look at the illustration:

From January

Yes, the cow is in milk but she is not a "milk cow".  She's a beef cow.  And, if anyone wanted to milk her, they would not let her nurse that calf.  Maybe this is a bit of a stretch.  Maybe any cow with a distended udder is a milking cow.  Maybe I am wrong here.

But, what about:

From January

I know my rodents.  That is not a mouse.  

From January

It is a gerbil.  

From January

And, here -

From January

I think this poor fawn may have hydrocephalus.


Edited to add :  Kevin says, "How do you know I still love you?"

The end of an era

From January

I figured it would happen sometime.... a smart phone has been moved into our house.  It is Kevin's.  And, those are Zupe's bananas.

I am now the last of a lost tribe... the phoneless.

Is there any wonder why I wake up at 5 AM?

From January

Don't worry.  I didn't see any birds, either.

Hmmmm - the video doesn't play when you push the arrow, but takes you to where it originates.  You have to repeatedly push play to get to see the video.  Sorry.  That is true for the video below, too.  Erggg.

Year in Review - thanks to Google

Merry Christmas

and Happy Boxing (Rebellion) Day at the Goma!

In my next career move, I think I am going to be

From December 2014

a ninja.  Yep.  Not only did we whip WuFang's butt despite early expense of yin-yang tokens, but I have decided to embrace my superpower and go with it.  I can walk up to automatic-open doors without triggering an automatic opening.

Ninja.

Why did it take so long to figure this out?


Edited to add:  Kevin reminds me that we are playing CHINESE Ghost Story and, therefore, those are not ninjas.  Fair enough.  They are not ninjas but I AM.

We are having something of

From November 2014

a tea party revival here at Hibiscus Circuit.  No one is exempt - not bear, not doll, not mom, not dad.  Whether you can actually reach the table from the chair makes no never mind.

From November 2014

There will be plates and bowls and cups and lots of spoons.

From November 2014

You are invited.  Bring an appetite.

As we move ever closer to Christmas

From November 2014

it is time to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

A Cautionary Tale

From November 2014

There is so much going on here.  Consider what it might be saying about Australia...  about the rise of the mammals and the extinction of the dinosaurs...

Then, consider that a few minutes later while eating lunch, the stegosaurus toppled the koala off the high chair tray...to the ground with the marsupial! The fall was not good.  Two legs were lost.  A koala that doesn't stand isn't long for this world.  He was ushered into the rubbish bin.

 Consider what it might be saying about Australia...  about the rise of the mammals and the extinction of the dinosaurs... about the fall of mammalia...

Ohio Part 4: The Stillwater River (Autumn)

From September 2014

From September 2014

From September 2014 From September 2014

Mirror, mirror….

From September 2014

This mirror hung at my Uncle Will and Aunt Jane's home.  (They raised my father - in Versailles.)  Uncle Will used it to shave with every day.  After he died and my mom hung it in our house, she used to expect to see his face looking out of it.  I don't think she ever did.  I haven't.

Now, it has hung in this spot at the bottom of our stairs for 40 years.  I am not a big mirror person myself, but I have looked into it before leaving for the homecoming dance, or trick-or-treating, or the prom.  And, wayyyy back when, I stood here and shot a selfie (before they had a name) to mail to my boyfriend (after waiting days or weeks to have the film processed) - because back then kids, there were no digital cameras and there was no internet…

I wanted to recreate it and I'd let you be the judge of my success, but my computer is developing Alzheimer's disease about some of my old photos, and while I can see the thumbnail in i-photo, I cannot open it, let alone upload it.

One day.

Ohio : Part 3 : Family

From September 2014

From September 2014

From September 2014

Ohio : Part 1 : Autumn color

From September 2014

Happy Fall from Bear's Mill, Arcanum, Ohio.

We were so lucky to be in the US during the peak (or part of the peak or a peak-ish period) of fall.  It rained, of course.  And, was gloomy and grey.  I felt so at home away from this dreadful, never-ending, mind-numbing sunshine that is Queensland…  And, I was very, very lucky that my mother is willing to drive me places or slow wayyy down or even stop when we are out so I can take a photo.  And, then, I borrowed the car for a brief drive around the outskirts of Versailles and Webster.  I wanted to drive out to Willowdell and take some shots ala Annie Leibowitz, but didn't have the time.

From September 2014

Pumpkins, gourds, and indian corn from Bear's Mill, Arcanum, Ohio.

From September 2014

Pumpkin patch, sincere, on State Route 121 between Versailles and Greenville, Ohio.

From September 2014

Stand of trees behind a field of dry soy beans, Versailles, Ohio.

From September 2014

Orange lining the street, Dayton, Ohio.

From September 2014

Yellow!  Bear's Mill, Arcanum, Ohio.

Ohio : Part 2 : Great Smoky Mountain Veterinary Conference

Because I didn't want to miss our flight (needing to leave for the airport about 5 AM) and because I was painfully jet lagged, I woke at 2:30 Thursday morning.  ARGHHHH.

We didn't miss our flight.  We arrived in Charlotte, original home of Zelda, picked up our rental car and drove to Asheville…where I stopped at a gas station/fast food joint and bought a map.  Fortunately, our hotel was easy to find and the wifi there was sufficient to allow me to get directions to the conference hotel.

It was a beautiful weekend in Asheville…a bit overcast and occasionally drizzly - but I was locked inside (Friday through Sunday) learning important veterinary stuff like the flea tablet Capstar can be given rectally and it will also kill maggots.  (WOW! and you get this info for free!)

Now, I'm disappointed that I didn't play hooky on that sunny Thursday and take in the Biltmore Estate. Instead, we studied the local halloween shop and K-Mart….hmmmmm…. I was playing hooky on Thursday, ANYWAY.

The brief slide show (above) from Asheville notably lacking any of the endoscopic images that were "slide showing" during breakfasts at the meeting.  Hope that's OK with you.

Thoughts about home

From September 2014

You probably feel a bit like you know Versailles by now.  And, really, considering the population of the world, you ARE pretty much an expert.  (I did tell you that to sound like you are from Versailles you need to pronounce the "s" with an "s" sound and not a "z" sound - 'cause if you do that, everyone will think you are from "up north" - like Minster.)

So, here I wanted to share a few things that are meaningful and probably specific to me.

See the above landscape.  When I was growing up, we'd drive every Sunday 30 minutes to my grandparent's farm for dinner (lunch).  It was during these drives that I first became impressed by the way that when you'd look at the horizon, there was an unbroken line of forests.  It really helps to appreciate that Ohio was a wilderness not that long ago.  Trees, trees, trees…  And, how much work to clear all that to make the acres and acres of farmland!

From September 2014

This is the church at Webster (Scenic Webster on the Stillwater River or maybe it is Webster on the Scenic Stillwater River) - just outside of Versailles on SR 185.  Isn't it beautiful?  It is no less pretty in the middle of winter with everything covered in snow.

When I got my first 35mm camera with my first roll of film I headed out to Webster.  I don't think I've ever taken this shot, however.  It involves parking along the highway.  Thanks, Mom.

(My second roll of film was taken on a post-graduation trip to NYC…. )

From September 2014

I suppose everyone is imprinted with a love for their "home" waterway.  All around the world there are people who have left their hearts on an important coastline or a majestic river.  For kids from Versailles, it is the Stillwater River.  The Stillwater features in a post every time I'm home.  It is small and simple, but in my eyes it is beautiful.  Someday, I'll gather photos from the seasons on the Stillwater.  I am sure I can do spring, winter and fall from the same bridge.  This is the Stillwater taken from the bridge we'd cross going to the farm.


Finally, what feels more like being at home than looking out the front door?

From September 2014

Review of October….

From September 2014

So, how did that rehabilitation of October go… exactly?

No one died or became critically ill. That's pretty darn good for October, I'd say.

On the other hand, the compressor for the car's air-conditioning needs to be replaced. And, oh yeah, Kevin needs a new job.

Happy Halloween!

from our house to yours….

Exxopolis - at the Brisbane Festival

We finally took in some seasonal culture at the Brisbane Festival.  

Exxopolis is an large plastic tent-like installation that is illuminated only by natural light filtering through thin, colored plastic "windows".  It seemed to be inflated from within - sort of like a jumping castle - but there is no jumping!  The walls are very thin - can you tell yet that this was emphasized in the orientation?  No running!  No jumping!  Maybe there was some sort of hard skeletal structure... I remember there were cement blocks lining the outside edge...no throwing yourself at the wall - you could fall onto the cement block and crack your head open...

We didn't run...but someone scooted on his knees as quickly as he could.

"The Accidental Tourist" by Anne Tyler

From September 2014

 

 "I said to you the other day, I said, 'Macon, now that Ethan's dead I sometimes wonder if there's a point to life.' Do you remember what you answered?"
     "Well, not offhand," Macon said.
     "You said, 'Honey, to tell the truth, it never seemed to me there was all that much point to begin with.'  Those were your exact words."

But Macon had the feeling that school never went very well for Alexander.  He came out of it with his face more pinched than ever, his glasses thick with fingerprints.  Her reminded Macon of a homework paper that had been erased and rewritten too many times. 

     "It's my opinion that sex is overrated."
     Macon looked at him.
     "Oh, when I was in my teens I was as interested as anyone," Charles said.  "I mean it occupied my thoughts for every waking moment and all that, but that was just the idea of sex, you know.  Somehow, the real thing was less… Why, I don't mean I'm opposed to it, but it's just not all I expected.  For one thing, it's rather messy.  And, then the weather is such a problem."
     "Weather," Macon said.
     "When it's cold you hate to take your clothes off.  When it's hot you're both so sticky.  And, in Baltimore it does always seem to be either too cold or too hot."
     "Maybe you ought to consider a change of climate, " Macon said.  He was beginning to enjoy himself.  "Do you suppose anyone's done a survey - city by city?  Maybe the Businessman's Press could put out a pamphlet."

If Ethan hadn't died, Macon thought, wouldn't he have grown into such a person?  He would have turned to give the boy another look except that he couldn't manage the movement.
     The taxi bounced over the cobblestones.  The driver whistled a tune between his teeth.  Macon found that bracing himself on one arm protected his back somewhat from the jolts.  Every now and then a pothole caught him off guard.
     And if dead people aged, wouldn't that be a comfort?  To think of Ethan growing up in heaven, fourteen years old now instead of twelve eased the grief a little.  Oh, it was their immunity to time that made the dead so heartbreaking….
     He felt a kind of inner rush,  a racing forward.  The real adventure, he thought, is the flow of time.  It's as much adventure as anyone could wish.  And, if he pictured Ethan still part of that flow in some other place, however unreachable, he believed he might be able to bear it after all.  

I picked up "The Accidental Tourist" after finishing "The Beginner's Goodbye".  I had read the book years ago - I think when I was living in Wooster - and I had loved the movie.  I remembered Gina Davis's  quirky "Muriel" - an excellent rendition of a truly original woman from the movie (obviously) and I remembered from the book enjoying Macon's quiet but exceedingly odd family and boss.  I saw/see myself being a lot like Macon - who wants to feel like he's always at home and that things are stable and predictable.  I thought it would be good to go through his journey and remind myself of the gift of Muriel.

What I didn't remember was why Macon and his wife had separated.  And, so I found myself reading another story of death - in this case the death of a child.

Wow.  Painful.  And, so beautifully written.  You pretty much get that from the above excerpts.