A Chance Encounter

just ran into Dave Shore @ the Botanical Gardens. I rarely forget faces, and in fact we both recognized each other @ the same time. It was a friendly reunion. He thanked me for advice back in the day, commented on the lovely paint job of the hi, and mentioned the economy is tough.

Anyway. 

There was a concert there that evening (the music of John Williams) and that allowed me to get in free with the kids. We didn't stay for the music. I had 3 kids under 8 with me, all of whom have a 7 pm bedtime. Had I stayed everyone else would have missed hearing a good show. 

Smiley's Roller skates

Technically, aren't they called Heeley's?

Wish Me Luck

I should mention that I tossed my hat into the ring for a writing job of some significance. While it's a long shot of a long shot, I was happy to see that not only wasn't I rejected out of hand, the editor passed news of my interest up the ladder. So say a prayer, offer to fund a bribe, or just send good thoughts my way - whatever your preference, I'm grateful for the help.

Rain Rain Go Away

Tonight's rain reminded me of something Junie did a few wks ago. It was raining very hard, and she was reciting the "rain rain go away" ditty over & over. That's unremarkable - except for the increasing panic and frustration in her voice. To her it was a legtimate spell against the rain, & her tone revealed an absolute sense of betrayal that her magic had gone unanswered by the "powers that be".

My Thoughts - Anthony Weiner

On Weiner: I consider sex scandals to be largely "other people's marital problems". Whether it's Waren Harding, Arnold, or Norquist, it's their spouses business, not mine. I'll worry about my marriage & leave them to worry about theirs. But I'm not keen on lying to the press after the jig is up, & his decision to post pics via Twitter shows he has disturbingly poor judgement. Stay or go? Up to his constiuents, IMO.

A Reunion

Today I ran into grade school classmate Lisa Mattice for the first time since 1985. It was great to catch up for a few minutes. On the flip side, I fell asleep on the couch during The Voice and ruined the planned night w/ (my) Lisa. Even worse, I am now forced to listen to Jay Leno until I can locate the TV remote. *shiver*

Getting Ready to Rollerskate!

Our Sentry Store is Closing

I know of two Sentry stores that were around until this year - 50th and Oklahoma by Serb Hall, and in Bay View in the old Cub Foods/Jewel building on Howell and Oklahoma. The 50th St locale closed this past winter. The pic is of the Bay View Sentry.

YaYa and Gizmo

Dropping off YaYa at camp

My Evening

outside in the yard, helping Junie write thank u notes for her teachers, bus driver & crossing guard. Meanwhile YaYa is off @ her 1st night of camp . . .

Breaking News

Breaking News: the WI Supreme Court has ruled that the collective bargaining law should be upheld.

Mad About You

watching Mad About You. We are 15 min in and Helen Hunt is on her 3rd vest of the show.

Hypocrisy

2day Entertainment Tonight devoted a long segment to the intrusive & sometimes confrontational nature of papparazi. The example that compelled them to speak out? A cameraman who filmed Maria Shriver despite her request that she be left alone. ET delivered this spiel w/ a straight face & no sign of hypocricy - despite *playing (& presumably paying for) the Shriver vid themselves*. Gotta love the media.

In the Garden of Beasts

I finished Erik Laarsen's "In the Garden of Beasts", a narrative history of US Ambassador Dodd's tenure in Nazi Germany. The book was fascinating and compelling in the moment, but left me feeling empty. In the end there is no real story at work. Like most of us, Dodd's life is interesting as an anecdote here and there, but fails to accumulate the drama needed to fill 400 pages. An inferior work by Laarsen.

Gosford Park

Between loads of last minute laundry, I finished watching "Gosford Park", a Brit period piece/ murder mystery erroneously classified as a comedy by both BN & Netflix. I love the large ensemble cast and the way the script deftly weaves us into their lives with ease. But oddly, while I liked it a lot, I think it would bore most viewers w/ its slow pace and lack of action.

On this Day

On this day 100 yrs ago Robert James Murphy, a riveter working on the Titanic, died when his scaffolding collapsed. RIP

The tree out front goes "Adios!"

Since we moved into our house four years ago we've taken special notice of the city-owned tree in front of our house. While much of it seemed healthy (certainly healthy enough to generate piles of leaves and clogged gutters every autumn) one large branch was visibly dead, and as the years wore on more and more of the trunk appeared diseased.

A few calls for removal went unheeded, but a few weeks ago a city worker drove by and just happened to notice the tree. He got out of his truck to talk to me, then put in an order for the tree to be cut down. The crew showed up the day we departed for LuLu's trip to Fort Atkinson.



One guy went up in a cherry picker with a small chain saw. One by one he removed the large limbs of the tree, often lowering them to the ground with rope.





Other crew members carried the debris to a portable chipper.



Given Smiley's huge interest in botany and gardening, this was right up his alley and we sat outside and watched the proceedings until it started to rain. Lu joined us for a spell, but YaYa (claiming to mourn the tree) stayed in her room. The guy in the cherry picker waved to her when he was even with her window.





Much of the tree is still standing. The rest will be removed another day, and the stump ground down. A replacement will be planted in the spring or fall of 2012.

Soap

watching Soap on 6.2. They just introduced the crazy ventriloquist son.

On This Day

On this day 69 years ago, Anne Frank received a bday gift - a diary.

He-Man

@ his adament request, I just woke up Smiley to watch He-Han on Qubo. In fairness to my parenting, by the first commercial break he will be asleep again in front of the TV.

Straight No Chaser

watching Straight No Chaser perform on PBS

True Grit

We just finished watching the remake of True Grit. The acting was wonderful, and the film closely follows the great book of the same name. Still, while I enjoyed the movie I was not overwhelmed with affection for it. Of all the Best Picture nominees I've seen, Social Network remains the clear *should have been* winner.

Taylor Swift - A Surprise for YaYa!

This evening we suprised YaYa w/ an early bday gift - a pair of tix to tonight's Taylor Swift concert! She literally screamed when we gave them to her. She's there now with Lisa. I hope they're having fun.

Three Times the Lump!