In Which The Bug Gets Crafty, And Other Stuff

So yesterday I didn’t get home from church until 4:00 or so (the wee solo went just ok – I’m no Whitney Houston, but I’m no Roseanne Barr either). And today has been extra busy. This means that I’ve read about four blogs since Friday and it looks like I won’t get caught up anytime soon because I’m starting a new hobby.

This weekend I randomly decided to start relearning how to crochet. My goal is to make a dishcloth, because my source for them has left the family & mine are getting a wee bit tattered.  

Ya think?

And why can’t I just pick up my crochet hook and do it myself? As the Crochet Queen Robin says, “How hard can it be?” Indeed. We’ll see how this goes.

I was playing around on Saturday - all I had was this burlap twine. I have real yarn today after a trip to Michael's.

Don’t Feed the Pixies has asked about the goose that lives with the Tax Time Pig. To be quite frank, I didn’t realize until recently that she gets dressed in outfits that coordinate with the TTP’s outfits. I’m kind of slow that way. For example, you can see her head sticking up behind the TTP in this picture:

Here are a couple more:

Obviously, I need to do a better job of capturing the goose’s new look when I take TTP’s picture. So, what shall we call her? Any ideas?

Every time Dr. M sees the commercial for this product he howls: Magic Mesh – the Fast and Easy Way to Keep Fresh Air In and Bugs Out! I think I’m offended. Should I be?

2012 Project 365 – Week Eight

We’re mostly back to normal in the Bug Household – well, as normal as… you know. Ha!

Sunday, February 19^th    

I went to an open house & got to meet Eva, the elderly bunny. She’s so cute!

Dr. M took this picture of doves. Here’s Dr. M’s caption from Facebook: So, you want to grab a bite to eat, watch the sunset...maybe, you know... The phrase, "not if you were the last dove in Xenia" comes to mind...

Monday, February 20^th

The Tax Time Pig says Happy President’s President Presidents’ Presidents Day!

Dr. M took this sparrow picture. I have to wonder why this bird is so fat – it wasn’t even that cold that day. Could it be the 24 hour buffet available in the Bug backyard?

It’s a starling sighting! They are so funny looking to me, with their orange feet.

Tuesday, February 21^st

Weekly squirrel picture.

Wednesday, February 22^nd

I’d say this deer is camouflaged pretty well!

The State of the Bug: Lent begins.

Thursday, February 23^rd  

Red tailed hawk. Dr. M didn’t have our long lensed camera with him, but these are still pretty good pictures.

I don’t know why the gaggle of white geese always make me giggle, but they do.

Friday, February 24^th   

Ohio scenery.

One of Dr. M’s friends got this sheep as swag at a stair-climbing fundraising event she participated in. Of course she knew that it really belonged to Dr. M so she sent it to him! Thanks K!

Saturday, February 25^th  

My breakfast (lovingly prepared by Dr. M). I forgot to take the picture before I chopped up the egg. That’s turkey bacon – it works really well as a shovel to get the grits & egg to my mouth. Please note the absence of raisins. Ha!

Go to Sara’s blog here to see the blogs of all the other Project 365 participants. Have a great week!

Most of our photos are taken with a 12 megapixel Nikon D5000 DSLR, using a 55-200mm zoom lens. This is the camera that Dr. M takes with him most days. He also takes pictures with our old reliable 7 megapixel Canon Powershot A710.  The Bug uses our new Nikon Coolpix S6200 most of the time. If you’re interested in which camera was used for a particular shot, just ask! 

Day Two of Operation Lent, and Other Random Randomness

I promise I’m not going to give a daily accounting of how I’m doing on my Lenten observance – because that just smacks of doing good works for glory & such (although I’m not sure my works will be all that good, come to think of it). But it amuses me to write about my progress so far.

·         Yeah, so I haven’t been successful at getting up at 6:00 the last two mornings. I set my alarm & then I just hit snooze. Same as it ever was. However I am getting to bed by 10:00 which is the most important part of the equation.

·         So far so good on the no sweets. I got my sack ‘o Girl Scout Cookies & didn’t even open it (I know even I’m shocked by that). And I added sliced almonds to my dish of chopped apple & banana & my goodness I thought I was already breaking the rules – so yummy!

·         By far the easiest of the three practices is the rosary – both because I was already doing it about 50% of the time, and because it’s a nice peaceful way to end the day. No issues there.

·         I’m singing one solo verse (a cappella for heaven’s sake!) on Sunday morning & I’m a wee bit freaked about it. Especially because it’s the opening music – the choir is going to process down the aisle to my hopefully not flat dulcet tones. Gah!

·         I last washed my hair on Tuesday. Today I pulled it back with a barrette to minimize disgust. And I’m wondering if I can go another day. This is one thing that doesn’t suck about getting older – I’ll bet another few years & I’ll be down to washing my hair once a week.

·         Knowing that the Braves’ pitchers & catchers reported on Monday is like back when we lived in Fairfield & we were driving back from NC & saw the “Cincinnati 75 miles” sign on the interstate. Home is so close we can taste it but there’s still another 2 hours to go. Sigh. [Note: I’m still singing, “…and the home of the Braves!”every morning. I wonder if that makes me unpatriotic?]

OK, that’s enough of that. Carry on!

So Much Depends Upon

I haven’t participated in the Poetry Jam in AGES. (Remember yesterday’s floaty clouds? Yeah, writing to a prompt requires more in the way of brain power). Anyway, for whatever reason, the prompt for this week grabbed me so I had to participate. Peggy has asked us to play around with the phrase “so much depends/upon” (which is from "The Red Wheel Barrow" by William Carlos Williams). I thought I would write some deep, meaningful treatise about the meaning of life, but this is what you get instead (happens to me all. the. time. Heh.).

So much depends upon

what you ate for breakfast,

what I saw from the window,

whether my latest poem

was well received.

I imagine my spirit

in a runaway cart

in an abandoned mine.

When you say, “Hey!

How are you?”

Am I heading up

or screaming my way

to the bottom?

So much depends upon

the eggs, the view, the accolades,

the zing of metal wheels

on metal tracks.

But the answer is

“Fine.”

Now – go here to see what everyone else did with the prompt!

Lent

I’ve been trying to decide what I will do for Lent this year. I had lots of grandiose plans & silly ones, but Ash Wednesday is tomorrow – I need to make a decision already! So, I’ve boiled it down to three things:

1.       No sweets except on Sundays (except for my birthday which comes very inconveniently during Lent every year – sheesh!). This means that the Girl Scout Cookies I’m getting tomorrow are going into the freezer!

2.       Going to bed by 10:00 and getting up at 6:00 every day (except Sunday – I can sleep in until 7:30 on Sunday). I’m not going to make myself promise to DO anything at 6:00, but I need to be out of bed by then. This is in an effort to get myself into a routine where I get more regular sleep. I’ve felt really sleep deprived lately.

3.       Praying with my Episcopal rosary every night.

I’m also going to try to limit Facebook to a certain timeframe each night, but I want that to be more of a gradual lifestyle change than a Lenten observance.

So, how do these directives help me observe Lent? I’m going to test the theory that there is freedom in structure – that in creating this routine I can let go of what I ought to do, & in the vacuum created by “ought’s” absence I can find my way to myself again. Because maybe it’s just February, or maybe it’s self-disdain, or maybe it’s a dearth of estrogen, or maybe it’s because I’m almost 48 (48!), but I find myself staring off into space a lot lately, wordless, thoughtless…

Wow, just in the process of trying to write this post I’ve caught myself several times staring out the window thinking, “floaty clouds…” I’m thinking that shaking things up by pinning things down will be a nice change for me. I’ll let you know how it’s going!

2012 Project 365 – Week Seven

It was a quiet week in the Bug household. I made fun of Dr. M having Manflu, but he really was sick. He still took pictures for us every day (thank goodness), but he stayed home & recuperated. I think that today he’s finally starting to feel better.

Sunday, February 12^th    

Our neighborhood hawk. So pretty - & deadly!

Monday, February 13^th

There’s a moon in the sky!

Dr. M took a picture of this almost frozen pond. I love that tree.

Tuesday, February 14^th

Squirrels, birds…something you just never see around here. Ha!

Cardinal in a tree – they’re just so cheerful in the winter.

Look! This cardinal gave us a heart for Valentine’s Day! Can you see it?

Wednesday, February 15^th

Our doves are back – looking fat & contented.

Thursday, February 16^th  

The State of the Bug. I’m listening to another tender vittles audio book. This week it’s Sarah’s Key – about a Jewish girl in occupied France in 1942.

Friday, February 17^th   

Doves on a wire. Love how the sun hits them up there.

I took a number of pictures at work today. I was reading Ruth’s blog about her special place to write (check it out here if you’d like), and I realized that most of my poetry gets written at work. Here’s my view – it’s not too bad. I’m looking out at the main entrance to the building & I have to laugh because the windows are reflective – so people walking in & out are checking out their looks (and sometimes making “adjustments”) & don’t know that I can see them. Ha!

I don’t know if you can see, but the guard is in the left of the picture getting ready to chase the geese away. He spends half his time chasing geese.

The company that owns the building (not the one I work for) is having a special initiative this year. The person who “wins” gets a new car. They’ve had signs in the lobby, but these just showed up in the bathroom this week. I don’t know about you, but I think I would be offended by them. They aren’t even aimed at me & I’m offended! What’s really funny is that the ladies that work for the other company don’t ever loiter in the bathroom that I can tell.

Saturday, February 18^th  

This squirrel is getting ready to ice skate.

Winter sun.

I met a friend for lunch today - & did I get a picture of her or our meal (at Jason’s Deli)? No – I took a picture of the Trader Joe’s sign. I’d never been to one before so I wanted to commemorate the occasion.

Go to Sara’s blog here to see the blogs of all the other Project 365 participants. Have a great week!

Most of our photos are taken with a 12 megapixel Nikon D5000 DSLR, using a 55-200mm zoom lens. This is the camera that Dr. M takes with him most days. He also takes pictures with our old reliable 7 megapixel Canon Powershot A710.  The Bug uses our new Nikon Coolpix S6200 most of the time. If you’re interested in which camera was used for a particular shot, just ask! 

Feeding Her Heart

She blames the caffeine for

that thunderous thrumming

coursing viscous flow.

She peers at her wrists,

wonders why she can’t see

the cells whitewater rafting

through her veins.

Mindlessly, she eats

another cookie,

wonders if maybe sugar

is the stampeding culprit.

The answer is, “fine.”

It’s always fine and

sometimes even dandy.

And she wouldn’t even worry

except for that thrumming.

The lapping at her ears

keeps her awake at night.

It sounds like a thousand crickets

or one bursting heart.

The cookie is a distant memory

as she pops a french fry

into her mouth.

It’s all fine and good

but she really needs

new pants because these

ones are old, yeah, old.

What would happen

if the thrumming stopped?

If the chewing slowed?

If her mind sat still

on that flat rock?

If, instead of crickets

she heard the truth in her ear?

What would happen

if she stopped trying

to feed her heart?

The Doldrums...

It's cold outside and warm inside & thoughts meander through my head without actually making it out for public consumption. And in fact, one might argue that there aren't really thoughts inside my head at all at the moment. It would probably be a good idea to just turn this computer off & head for bed. After all, Dr. M is sacked out on the futon because he claims that I gave him my cold (which is mostly gone - thanks for all the good wishes). Only he has the manflu & it will be much worse than what I had. In case you haven't seen it, this video explains:




Anyway, I thought I'd just share my facebook status from tonight & let you guys be just as grossed out as my facebook friends. You're welcome.

2012 Project 365 – Week Six

Well, I’m sad. I caught a cold & didn’t get to go to Rita’s place to spend time with her & Sara today. I’m actually feeling a little better now, but didn’t think they needed to be around my sneezy self. Darn. Oh well, here's a look at our week.

Sunday, February 5^th    

Dr. M started the week off right by taking the obligatory squirrel shot.

At church this morning a group of us were “commissioned” as Lay Eucharistic Visitors (I’ll be taking communion to shut-ins). We each received these crosses to use in our portable communion kits.

This year I’m sending out birthday letters to friends & family & asking them to send me a letter back. I got my first one back yesterday, but didn’t get a picture until today. My niece sent a really nice note – three pages worth!

Dr. M & I went out to drive around & visited a park in Yellow Springs. Here he is taking a picture of a tree.

Here's the picture he was taking.

It was a gorgeous day.

Monday, February 6^th

The Tax Time Pig is ready for Valentine’s Day!

Dr. M took this picture of sparrow – so pretty in the shaft of light.

The moon!

Tuesday, February 7^th

The State of the Bug: Skunk!

Our dinner Tuesday night – yum! [Note: that’s Jiffy corn bread – my favorite kind]

Wednesday, February 8^th

We had some snow today. I took this on the way to work. It looks more impressive than it was.

In fact, there was just a bit left when Dr. M left school.

And nothing left here on this road. I love this tree!

Thursday, February 9^th  

It’s a smorgasbord!

This guy looks very crafty :)

Got my oil changed.

Friday, February 10^th   

Mallard couple on a partially frozen pond. Dr. M took the picture & he seemed to think that the Mister convinced the Missus to come in (the water’s fine!) but that she wasn’t too thrilled with it.

Saturday, February 11^th  

To cheer me up Dr. M took me on a ramble this afternoon. We had more snow overnight & this time it's sticking around a little longer (it's so cold!). We liked the look of this wagon in the snow.

I love this sign – I made Dr. M stop so I could get a picture of it.

Donkeys!

Sheep!

The Biggest Squirrel Feeder in the World! Ha!

Go to Sara’s blog here to see the blogs of all the other Project 365 participants. Have a great week!

Most of our photos are taken with a 12 megapixel Nikon D5000 DSLR, using a 55-200mm zoom lens. This is the camera that Dr. M takes with him most days. He also takes pictures with our old reliable 7 megapixel Canon Powershot A710.  The Bug uses our new Nikon Coolpix S6200 most of the time. If you’re interested in which camera was used for a particular shot, just ask!