Nuclear Explosion

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the meltdown of the Fukishima nuclear power plant. Today also marks the meltdown of our nuclear family member, Finn McCarter. He was sent home from school today for unacceptable behavior. It's not a suspension and there wasn't really even an altercation except that he and his Spanish teacher are really having a war of the wills. One of the assistant principals thought it best to send him home because Finn was upset.
Teen angst is really not my forte.
As a punishment on this beautiful day, I decided to show Finn what he might be doing for the rest of his life in case he decides that an eighth grade education is sufficient. He moved about 200 large garden rocks and repaired the rock walls of my garden beds. He raked leaves and bagged them. He loaded the bags into the car and then unloaded them at the dump. He lifted heavy bags of soil and spread it in said beds. I hope that this lesson hit home. I also hope that he realizes that if yard work is a career choice, Spanish might be a really good language to learn and maybe he should pay attention in Spanish class. And oh, that he will also have to live without any electronic devices whilst performing said yard work.
Can we please just skip this year of teenhood?
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Fat Yesterday

Look what I had for lunch yesterday:


And look what we brought home yesterday:


Her name was Polo at the shelter and might change to Cleo, but we aren't sure we want to switch her name. The kids and Craig couldn't resist her extra toes. She is polydactyl and has two big "thumbs" on her front paws. She is very complacent, very quiet and very overwhelmed. She likes the back basement and has settled in nicely. She has an upper respiratory infection, conjunctivitis and is a little beat up from life on the streets, but takes her meds without a fuss. She is also really smart and knows how to spit the pills out. Pill shooters are marvelous inventions.

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A Great Weekend

On Thursday, Evan and Owen performed in a concert at the high school. It was a showcase of the bands of the middle schools that feed into the high school as well as the high school itself. Owen was asked to play in the Festival Band which is normally just 7th & 8th graders, so that was an honor. All of the bands were enjoyable. Arbutus Middle School was particularly good. I will admit that I did have a yearning for the nibbles and (alcoholic) drinks intermission at the kids' UK school.

Yesterday, we threw a Mardi Gras fete slash Open House and it was a blast! It was so wonderful to see family and friends from near and far; some we hadn't seen in well over FOUR years. Everyone was so generous with their goodies too. At one point, the house was so full, I opened windows and doors to cool down the house! In February. In a drafty old house. I will admit that I chose this holiday weekend because I thought many people would have gone on a short holiday and over invited. But in hindsight it was definitely not a mistake. We are so glad to have reconnected with many.

Today, Craig took Owen and Finn down to the animal shelter in Baltimore City, to take a look-see at the cats. They came home with stories of two cats in particular. It seems Craig had officially caved in and was checking with the boss (that's me) to see if it was okay to adopt. I will admit I have missed having a cat. An hour later, they traipsed back to the city to officially adopt a polydactyl feline. We will go to get her for good on Tuesday. The kids are dreaming up a good name as I type.

Tonight, Craig and I went to see A Skull in Connemara at Centre Stage. It was really good and I would recommend seeing it. However, the elderly couple seated next to me would beg to differ. They left in the beginning of the second act, never to return! I think the wife was offended by some of the manhandling of the skulls and the constant use of the word "fecking". I will admit I found a perverse amusement in that.
Shrug.

We are looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow. Yay for dead Presidents' birthdays!

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Happy Hearts

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
I love hearts (the shape, not the organ, although it has its good qualities).

When Finn was in preschool, the kids said this prayer at snack time and we used to say it at home. I have always thought of it on Valentine's Day.

Fank you, God, for happy hearts
In rain and sunny wedder.
Fank you for da food we eat
And dat we are a-gedder.

In case you didn't figure it out, that was Finn-speak circa 2000.
I can still hear him say it just like that in my head.

Love your family. Love your friends.
I love you.

A Day in Balteemore

Craig took an unexpected day off so we went to Bawlmer for some chow. We went to a corner diner in Locust Point where the waitresses were the real deal, hon, and a homemade yellow cake with coconut flake frosting was calling my name. (I ignored it.) I had cod cakes with mustard and saltines, mashed potatoes and green beans. Craig had a Reuben that almost ate him. It was that big.

Then we headed over to the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM).

The AVAM WAS fantastic! It is really amazing what an artist can do. We went here because I got a great Groupon deal on admission and we really enjoyed ourselves. Photos were not allowed inside the museum, but I snapped one in an outdoor garden.

And just in case you forgot...

The Best Motto Ever

My friend, Amy, gave me one of those calendars with a quote for each day. I have been enjoying it a lot and so have the kids, especially Finn. Today's quote was "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can!" by Watty Piper from the inspirational book, The Little Engine That Could. The calendar had this picture on the front


which is why Amy bought it because I love this motto. Inside the calendar on the first tear off page was a history of this poster entitled "Old Advice for a New World".
Read on.

"In 1939, as Britain prepared to enter World War II, government ministers turned their attention to the task of bolstering national morale. Two posters designed for that purpose made it onto walls and windows across the country by the time the war was officially declared. A third was also created, reserved for a moment of greater need. That poster, representing a full 65% of those printed, was to be used only in case the worst happened; it would go into circulation only if the Nazi army crossed the British Channel. With white type and a crown motif on a solid red background, it read "KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON".

The posters were never needed. Most of them, more then two million copies, were destroyed.

Then, in 2000, Stuart Manley, a bookstore owner in northern England, discovered a single specimen of the long-lost poster, folded neatly at the bottom of a box of used books. He had it framed and hung it in his shop, where it immediately attracted attention from his customers. The image -- created by an unknown civil servant -- was now in the public domain, so he was able to create reproductions. In the last decade, as the world has endured a different kind of trouble, the design has increased in visibility, status and perhaps meaning."

So there you have it. I wonder if Stuart Manley was able to copyright the poster. If so, he is one rich man.

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American Football

Where to begin?
I have never been a fan of American football. It takes forever for the game to end. There are a ridiculous amount of stops and starts. Most of the players are ginormously huge and fat. The gross hairstyles these days are just well, gross. It is FREEZING cold when most of the games are played. The grown-up cheerleaders are just embarrassing (sorry cheerleader friends). It's supposed to be all testosterone-y and then guys are hugging one another, spanking one another, dancing and constantly looking at the butt of the player in front of them which is tightly packaged in shiny spandex. Each team's fans participate in a silly tribal "war": the face paint, the chants, the mottos and slogans. Each player is glorified for the ability to throw, to run, to catch or to smack the crap out of another guy. And then get paid for it.
There are some good moments when you watch what the human body can actually do or endure. And it's nice when your town is represented. And the camaraderie is nice when it's not over the top.
I will confess that I enjoy college football, but only LSU, and it was warm when we attended the games.
I know there are some who will say that football (soccer) has some of the same attributes that I just described. I will argue that they are nothing at all alike except for the weird tribalness. The players are a lot more fit and for an ADHD TV watcher like me, an hour-long match is fab.
I do wish the Ravens the best, but I will be very happy when the Super Bowl is OVER!


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