Opa!

I got myself out of the house to go to the Greek Festival last weekend.  I carried the camera around and only took one picture.  Cat art, of course.

I love the food.  We had gyros, of course, and brought home some baked delights.

In keeping with the Greek theme, Handy marinated some lamb from Costco, and barbecued it.  I would share his marinade recipe but I don't really know what he put in it.  Olive oil, red wine, spices?  He said, and I quote, "Some green stuff from the cupboard."   That would probably be oregano. It was the most delicious meal.

There was enough left to make pitas, and there is still enough left for Frank to make a Shepherd's Pie.  He is the pie man..  We are due for another peach pie soon, or at least some cobbler.

The Mouse Hunt

DISCLAIMER -- NO ACTUAL LIVE MICE INVOLVED

Homer can't be bothered with cat toys.  You must be joking, he says, if a toy is dangled in front of his face.  Give me the real thing to eat.  He will, on occasion, go out and catch himself a lizard tail.

Fifi, on the other hand, likes a nice toy mouse (or is it a flying squirrel?) to tease.

And of course Frank likes to tease Fifi with it.

He was looking for it yesterday. We searched all the usual places. Under the TV. On the stairs. Behind the chair.  Finally we resorted to fishing deep under the couch with the yardstick. No flat mouse, although we found a goldmine: a bowl, a peanut M&M, a pistachio, a penny, Bertie the Bus, and an older mouse!  Some of those items had been missing for a year or two a while.

But where was Fifi's flat mouse?

Hiding!

So Fifi and Frank were able to have their playdate with the flat mouse after all.

Let's Eat Grandma

Our charming great-nephew Mr. T celebrated his 9th birthday yesterday.

His grandma gave him this shirt:

Everyone in the family is a fan of proper punctuation, so this was a big hit.

Beep beep

I have written before about strange noises that I hear in the night. I hear them in the daytime, too, but then they are usually easier to ignore. 

Not yesterday. I kept hearing a beep. Not the dishwasher. Not the microwave. Not a smoke alarm chirping for a new battery. But close.

I followed the sound outside, which led me to the garage door opener. The display says Battery Dead. So I move the car, get out a ladder, unscrew the cover, and try to remove the darn battery. I can only get one lead off, and can't even pull it out of the compartment. But at least disconnecting the lead stopped the beeping. 

My husband comes home and pops out the battery with no problem. Of course. 

Dark Cafe Days

I'm gonna blow this damn candle out

I don't want nobody comin' over to my table

I got nothing to talk to anybody about

All good dreamers pass this way some day

Hidin' behind bottles in dark cafes

Dark cafes

Only a dark cocoon before I get my gorgeous wings

And fly away

Only a phase, these dark cafe days

Karen asked me was there something wrong with her feed or was I not posting. It's not your feed, it's just me.  It feels like I used up my mojo on the college road trip, and then visiting my dad, and since then I have felt like nothing.  I'm Snow White trapped with the dwarves Fussy, Lazy and Sassy.  I'm the stepsister's foot that doesn't fit the glass slipper.  I'm Droopy.

I suppose these dark cafe days will pass.  They always do.

I am on a lonely road and I am traveling

Traveling, traveling, traveling

Looking for something, what can it be

Oh I hate you some, I hate you some, I love you some

Oh I love you when I forget about me

I want to be strong I want to laugh along

I want to belong to the living

Alive, alive, I want to get up and jive

I want to wreck my stockings in some juke box dive

Home Again

4950 air miles.
1398 driving miles.
1 rental car.
7 colleges.
6 hotel rooms.
3 Broadway shows.
Many new friends.

Since I was driving (17 year olds are not authorized to drive a rental car, much to their annoyance), I don't have a lot of pictures.  Also I didn't want to irritate Ernest more than necessary. I do have a few cell phone snaps which I will post this week.

It was a great trip.

I received mild cat snubbing from Homer but I'm sure to win back his affection with a dollop of cream cheese.

Now to tackle that foot high pile of junk mail that someone left for me.

Just Something Pretty

What's pretty in your world today?

Nothin' Like a Dame

There is nothin' like a dame,
Nothin' in the world,
There is nothin' you can name
That is anythin' like a dame!

We were so lucky to see both Dame Judi Dench and Dame Helen Mirren live on stage during our trip to London. I was chatting with a few other ladies on the trip and we were slightly bemoaning that we weren't seeing Maggie Smith, because wouldn't that have been a trifecta?

Seeing the queen certainly made up for that!

We also saw One Man, Two Guvnors.   Hilarious!

And at the Globe Theater, The Tempest with Colin Morgan (Merlin) as Ariel.  You can see hoodies and plastic ponchos on the groundlings.  Yes, they did get a little wet.

Yum

Frank made some great banana granola muffins the other week.  He said to himself, I really should bake something every weekend.

Well, it hasn't quite been EVERY weekend, but we have had

OVERNIGHT CINNAMON ROLLS

And NO BAKE STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE PIES

YUM!

Around the House: Ironing

Ernest is packing... he asked me a couple questions.

"Mom, how do I fold a shirt so it won't wrinkle?"  Fold it the way it was when you bought it.  Like this.  And look at this quick way to fold t-shirts.  (Thanks Jen and C for the links.)

"Can you teach me how to iron?"  I said, "Have the shirt laundered at the cleaners.  They'll do a much better job!"  But we practiced on a wrinkled cotton dress shirt I found in the closet.  Most important instruction:  Careful, don't burn yourself.  (Oops, he did.)  He ironed pants, too.

Ironing is definitely not big amongst teen-age boys.  He says only one male boarder at Hogwarts had an iron. I rarely iron any more -- nothing needs it.  I keep the iron for sewing projects.    I remember my mother always having a large basket of ironing.  That's what I learned on.

Do you still iron?

The Sheep of Stonehenge

This has nothing to do with the sheep, but Gary reminded me... [five years later, the video is not available. it was probably Spinal tap's stonehenge]

Anyway, there we were in a big field.

Lots of traffic on the road on a Friday afternoon.  

Those drivers know what a week end is, but the sheep don't get a break.

This poor guy had some bathroom issues.

"I say, old chap!  I'm a mite peckish."

At least he has a wooly coat to keep him warm in the brisk wind.

"Nothing, not even a smackerel?"

Sigh.  Back to grass.

And now for something completely different.

I call this Daisyhenge.

Love this old cab!

Homer's Got Something to Tell You

Homer is very vocal about expressing his needs. If the kibble dish is empty, you'll know it. He'll do the sad meow and lead you into the pantry where he will politely open the cupboard door where the kibble is stored.

If the litter box is messy, he will meow outside the bathroom door.

Feeding time?  No worries.  Homer will remind you.

But the other night, the meowing was pitiful. What could be wrong?  I went through the usual routines, but nothing satisfied him. I finally went into the room he'd came from, turned on the light, and searched for anything that might be bugging him. Like a bug or critter. Nothing. 

I left the light on and left the room. Silence. That was it. He just wanted the light on. 

Planning a Road Trip

I'm just not one of those fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants people.  I'm not Anthony Bourdain.  I like to have reservations.  At least for a few important things, like flights, rental cars, and hotels.

However, when it's someone else's college tour road trip, I had to wait until said person made his plans.  Waiting, waiting.  Weeks and weeks.  And then my own dalliance and delay.

Now I can say, plans MADE!

Ernest, with me in tow because he is too young to rent a car himself, will be visiting Drexel (Philadelphia), Carnegie-Mellon (Pittsburgh), Cornell (Ithaca), Rensselaer (Troy), MIT/Boston U/Northeastern (Boston).    And two days on my own in NY, seeing Once (I'm all fluttery over Arthur Darvill, Rory from Doctor Who!) and Kinky Boots.

Saturday PhotoHunt: Unknown / Stonehenge

Join the Saturday PhotoHunt.  This week's theme is unknown.

Situated starkly on the Salisbury Plain, surrounded by fields of grazing sheep, the original purpose of Stonehenge is unknown.

A brief spot of sunshine.

The sheep were rumpled in the wind

but were quite charming. 

Thematic Photographic: On the Water

Carmi at the blog "Written, Inc." posts a photographic challenge each week at Thematic Photographic. This week, the theme is "On the water."

At Seattle's Edgewater Hotel on the water, my guys make like the Beatles. 

August 2003, almost 10 years ago!

Recital

I've been in the doldrums again...must swim out...things to do (online traffic school because I got my first ticket EVER in my whole 50-something year old life)...places to go (college road trip with Ernest next week-- Gary and Janet know we're visiting)...shows to see (Fiddler on the Roof just a few blocks away from our house TONIGHT and I will steal away for a couple shows in NYC)...

While I work my way out, enjoy a little bit of Frank and Ernest at their piano recital.

Frank - Northwoods Toccata.  (Sorry for my outoffocusness at the beginning.)  Whoa, look at Frank with all those crossing over hand thingies.




And Ernest, debuting a little Debussy.  (Again, my camera was a little wibbly-wobbly.  Had to get the socks in the picture!)

Separated at Birth #6

Mick Jagger

Frank Jagger?

Sharp Dress-Robed Men

Ernest's black suit has seen a lot of use since we made the investment 2 years ago.  It's lucky he was able to have the pants lengthened!  This year he's worn it twice a week, and it even subbed for a tuxedo at prom.  There was a dress robes rep from Men's Wearhouse at Hogwarts, but either he didn't have enough time or the line was too long so he decided to make do with the suit.

Ernest's young lady lives on the other coast, so he went to prom with friends instead.  I'm not sure where Mr. Blue got this fine combination -- but I love those shoes.  I hear he has blue suede shoes, too.  Actor, artist and foodie, he's been a great friend to Ernest this year.

Another friend (since back in the WorldofWarcraft-playing freshman year) still had his dress robes  rental from last year!  He had forgotten to return it.  After calculating that a year's rental added up to $6000, he and Ernest bravely ventured back to Men's Wearhouse and it turns out they didn't even have a record of it.  So they charged him for a week, instead of for a year.

It was a Men's Wearhouse week, because I had seen there was a BOGO sale, so now Ernest has two new ensembles.

Bad cell phone pictures, but that's all I have.

The tweed (here's a better view):

And the classic blue blazer.

To Recap the Week

It's been an interesting week around here.

Monday:  Forest fire.

Tuesday:  Grass fire.

Wednesday:  Earthquake.

OK!  That's enough!

We are so fortunate that these events were not worse.  The first fire started in a campground.  The official cause has been ruled accidental:  "It appears it began as a result of embers escaping an approved fire-use site."  Here's a video from some campers evacuating.



The second fire started from power lines sparking in a high wind. It swept through an open field on the edge of a small town. Had the wind been blowing the other way, the town would have been in jeopardy.

The earthquake was only 4.6 and did no damage.

All in all, we were lucky.  So that's what I'm thankful for this week.

Music Time