Happy Easter!

This post is going to be short and sweet. It is 74 degrees and simply divine outdoors today. I have been outside since about 10:30 this morning gardening! Wooo HOOOOOOOO!

I filled up my flower boxes with good soil and commenced to planting seventy-million fleurs in them! We have a mixture of white tulips, romaine lettuces, violas and pussy willow branches. It's lovely!

And, just so you know, this is the year of purple. I'm even wearing a purple t-shirt today! Last year, a person who lives on a street nearby has one flower box in the front of their house. In that single flower box, she put all manner of purple, lavender and blue flowers and the effect was stunning! So, I'm going to be a copy cat, (or if you're the ridiculously annoying kid, Sandy, who used to live up the street from me you'd say "coffee cat." She was so annoying even in her insults!), and I'm going to do all purply fleurs this year.

So, the violas I bought are all different purples, even. Some with partly white faces, some with creamy yellow and lavender faces, some deep violet.

Here are some of the colors:




Aren't they just adorable?!

Ok. I'm going back outside for a while. It's too nice to be computing.

Happy Easter!

Twitchy

This is ridiculous! I used to speak in front of hundreds of people on a daily basis. Now the thought of getting up in front of a group of garden aficionados is making me have a twitch in my eye. What the...?

The talk I'm giving is tomorrow evening, so I have at least another 24 hours to work myself into a fine, frothy frenzy. HATE being nervous!

The good news? The deluge is over for now. We have really had some serious rain over here this March. I know I keep saying this, but it's been really bad for a lot of people. Not only did our governor declare Essex County a disaster area, President Obama also declared our area a disaster area which frees up some funds for the cities that have been hit so hard with flooding like you can only imagine!

Here's our McDonald's drive-thru: Would you like a fish with that burger?

This restaurant (and I use that term very loosely!) is on a street aptly named Canal Street. In the past this was an actual canal. Someone thought, "Hey, let's fill this in and build lots of buildings on it. That's a good idea, right?" No. Wrong. Not a good idea at all! Nature always tries to reclaim what we humans try to take over.

The thing is, every single dang time we get a heavy rain, this area floods. And, why is this news? This is not new! It happens EVERY SINGLE TIME we get a heavy rain.

Want to know another bad idea? The Discovery Channel has made a deal with Sarah Palin to do a show for them. Are you even KIDDING me, Discovery Channel? REALLY? The woman didn't know the difference between a "country" and a "continent." That is geography 101 and the Discovery Channel is seriously considering giving her a show? There is something very wrong with the world. SHE KILLS WOLVES FOR SPORT, Discovery Channel.

Oh, I just really can't stand it.

Please sign this petition to urge the Discovery Channel to reconsider. Ugh.

Celebrity Check

OK. Hold on to your hats...


Wait for it....


Wait for it.............


Ok, are you ready for this?


Are you sure?


Here's the big news:

Ricky Martin came out today and announced he was gay.
Uhhh... DUHHHHH! We knew that long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away!

He's still hot as all get out and I love to watch him perform. He's one sexy dude. And a very good singer, I think.

This news was like the big "reveal" that Clay Aiken and Adam Lambert were gay, too! Ummm, like we already knew that!

I seriously do not understand one little iota why anyone cares who one chooses to date or marry or whatever. If you can find love in this life, I say, GOOD ON YA!

Speaking of this, we are going to a gay wedding this summer in England. This will be my first, official gay wedding and I'm really happy for them!

In other celebrity news, poor Sandra Bullock, right? Ugh. I cannot imagine having to live out the whole cheaty-pants thing with the entire world looking on. Horrid.

Lastly, I do not care for one more fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a second what that stupid Kate Gosselein or the Octomom lady are doing. They are both ridiculous and I wish the media would just STOP glorifying their selfish crap.

Ok. I am done. I feel better.
: )

Mushy March with Matzoh Meal

It is raining and raining and raining here. I heard on the news the other day that this has been the rainiest March since something like 1955.

I am making soup. How's that for a segue? I'm good like that. Smooth transistions are what I'm all about.

SO not true! Even my life is a non-sequiter. Early this afternoon I was all dressed up for a business thing. Ran a couple errands and then made a quick change into jeans and fleece to help my husband on the boat. Yes, we worked on the boat even in this pouring, driving rain. Our boat is all covered so it's sort of like being in a tent. Sort of. If your tent is 10 feet up in the air (our boat is propped up on land on these stilt-like thingys) and very roomy! What I'm trying to impart, I guess, is that I'm not your regular 9-5 person that puts on an outfit in the morning and then later that day would still be in that same outfit.

I tried that once. You know, being the "responsible" adult, working 9-5 in an office, getting benefits. It lasted one year. I have never, ever, EVER been so miserable as I was that year. I cried and cried all the time.

My husband is sort of the same. Not with the crying part, but with the part about being in an office all day. We are zippy-zoomers and absolutely cannot sit and do office worky-type things. It's just not in our genetics.

My parents were also sort of always different. Growing up, my Dad was a well-known radio announcer, which was really kinda cool! I'd get to do commercials with him once in a while, as would my Mom, so that was neat. Plus, he was the morning man that everyone listened to when they were getting ready for work and school, so that was also really cool. My Mom (Hi, Mom!) was and still is an artist. She had her own advertising agency and would do cool things like aerial photography to get photos for a beautiful slide show someone hired her to do or something else interesting and creative. Later when I was in highschool, she managed rock-and-roll bands. Yes, you heard me right, she managed bands! Nobody huge that you would know, but it still was VERY different from the other Moms I knew, right?

So, I come from a long line of weirdness. So does my husband, but I won't go into that here! I can out my family's weirdness, but not his. I've got my boundaries, man!

The reason I'm making soup, you ask? (Nice segue again, huh?) Is because it's Passover and my lovely husband is Jewish. He's not a practicing Jew, but we still like to observe the holidays, as we do Christmas and Easter. We used to celebrate Passover every year with his Mom and Grandparents, but his beloved Nanny and Gramps have passed on. So we now celebrate with his Mom and our good friends as he is also Jewish and enjoys the Passover Seder. It's a lovely tradition. And, one of the basic parts of the Seder dinner is matzoh ball soup. MAN, is it good! If you have never had matzoh ball soup, do yourself a favor and find a restaurant or deli that serves it. It's really delish.

Ok. Off to walk the dogs. More like, let's find an ark and take the dogs for a ride. Oy.

Happy Passover!

Not so hot, you?

First, a shout out to my friend, E, whose birthday is today! Hollaaaah!!

Second, I am definitely not feeling so hot today. The chills in the middle of the night were among the alarm bells that some sort of bug had gotten in to wreak havoc on my innards. Dang bugs. So, I've got the nice little sore throat and the aches and such. Especially nice to go along with the crampiness that Aunt Flo brought. Really a nice combo, wouldn't you say?

Third, I'm no longer cranky, so that's a bonus! Too tired to be cranky!

Fourth, the weather is supposed to get MUCH better this upcoming week! Yipppeeee!

Lastly, I'm getting nervous! I have been asked by our local garden club to do a talk on how to plant window boxes and planters! I did a similar talk about a year and a half ago, but this is for people who actually know what they're doing!! EeeeK! I will be doing the talk later in the week, so wish me luck!

Somehow I have to fill up an hour on putting dirt in a planter and then planting stuff. Hmmm. Seems I might have to embellish a bit, no?

Also, too, quite exciting is that the garden club has also asked me to be the "prize" in a big raffle-fundraiser thing they're doing. I am the grand prize (hee heee!) for the lucky winner and will go shopping with them for plants and then will consult with them on how to arrange said plants in their flower boxes!

Can you even imagine? I figure it will be good exposure for my business, and how often does a gal get to be the grand prize in a contest?

Maybe I can pull off something similar to this nice little arrangement:I'm kidding! I'm kidding! That looks just plain sad.

Or this little number I found on a site dedicated to teaching people how to plant a flower box!It's horrid. Just horrid!

OK. Wish me luck. Wish me better. Wishing for Aunt Flo to take a hike!