Rhetorical Question

So, how much schooling do you think is being accomplished today?

:P

Merry Christmas!

From our Nut House to yours....

(this photo taken by our next door neighbor, Mr. multiple-earring-tatoo-dude who-just-married-his-son's-mother... there's always a story, isn't there?)

Have a wonderful celebration, my bloggy friends!

:)

G.I.T.

Stands for Gardener In Training.

That's my new title.

It's all because of my over-zealous neighbor whose yard (front and back) looks like the cover of a Mary Engelbreit magazine.

Mr. D works for a lawn care company and does quite a bit of landscaping. And instead of being a sensible man and leaving his work at work where it belongs, he brings it home and deposits it in flat-fulls on my front lawn.

Last Friday, after the 4th of July parade, I sauntered over to ask if I needed to yank out my pansies petunias since they were looking pretty worn out... To which he replied that he was going to say something to me about that, but didn't want to bother us this weekend...

heh heh

So, I dutifully yank out the overgrown eyesores and prepare the bed for the 6 flats of flowers he has parked on my side lawn. As we chat about the different varieties: lantanas, verbena, and purple grass-something... (hey! two out of three isn't bad... stop laughing) he realizes that the flowers will not work for my front bed. So, we go around to the back yard (which does not resemble anything Mary Engelbreit-ish... unless she is going for a "home on the range" look, what with all of the B.B. gun targets and homemade bows and arrows lying about) where he points vaguely to some shrubs and tells me that I can clear out some of the dead leaves ( ahem... ok, you can laugh now) and plant the lantanas there.

3 hours later... they are planted, and I am a dripping mess. I hose the flowers and myself down, and attend a very fun 4th of July party.

Today I notice... the lantanas are dead.

Oh, agony and horror! What the heck am I supposed to do now? I drowned them in water and went to go confess my sin to Mr. D. He reassured me that they may bounce back and gently told me that maybe next time I need to plant them a little further in the ground and was I using a trowel?

*cheesy smile*

Back he comes with a trowel and 3 more flats of flowers for my front yard. Then he patiently digs three holes and shows me exactly how to extract the plant from its prison and place it in the hole... pushing the rest of the dirt gently around the flower and patting down firmly...

Yes, I feel like an idiot.

But my yard? Is looking killer.

:)

It's that time of year again...

Now that the temps are dipping below 90 degrees, my little peanuts have decided that it's safe to venture outdoors again.

Clothed in their shorts and sandals, and covered in mosquito repellent, they zoom off on their bikes and scooters through the neighborhood, striking fear into the hearts of the elderly, retired peaceful folk on our street.

Alas! It's those darn home schoolers. They have emerged!

Accessing our front door after such an adventuresome afternoon is akin to scaling the heights of Mount Doom...















So, what are your afternoons like these days?

:)

More on Image

Well, what a great discussion we had a few days ago!

I wanted to add something to the mix, and that is this:

We know that people judge.

Nothing new, right?

So, knowing this, shouldn't we all try to help others down the path to charity?

How?

Well....

should we all dress the same so as not to offend or intimidate?

Absolutely not. That's ridiculous.

I had two things happen to me today that was the fodder for this post. Let me tell you, and then maybe my point will be clear.

I went to Carnival this morning for our weekly shopping trip. As I perused the aisles, bopping along to my mp3 player, I kept crossing paths with a 40-something mexican man. He would shyly smile, I would return the smile and go about my business. Well, in the parking lot, as I unloaded my groceries into the car, he came over and quietly inquired if I was married. (yes, I do wear my wedding rings) I responded with a happy "Yes!" and he shuffled away.*

After lunch, I took Little Boo to her floor hockey class at the local rec center. Sporting my orange crocs, wild hair, tank top and drawstring pants, I walked in with the 4 kids (Action Man was at camp) and looked around to see where the class would be held. A very thin, well-dressed, flawlessly made-up woman was sitting on a bench with her two boys... staring at me. In a friendly voice I asked her if this gym was where the floor hockey class would be. Looking down her nose, eyes boring into mine, she nodded curtly...

I have never been put off so utterly by anyone since high school. Yes, she spoke English, just to be clear. I was hoping she didn't, just to give her an excuse... but, alas.

And so. What is the lesson?

A little smile doesn't hurt. A little chit chat, would it kill a person? Yes, I am shy. So, if I can overcome my shyness and say something inane to break the ice (or get a marriage proposal... heh heh*) I would think most anyone could.

So, I tried it. I tried it at the next grocery store, the library book sale, and the pool later that afternoon. (I'm exhausted, by the way... what a day we had) Making small talk with other customers, the volunteers at the book sale, the other moms and the lifeguard at the pool.

All were friendly, and open to chat. No-one seemed to be in any mood to judge. No-one snubbed me, everyone smiled.

Maybe it's the South. I am totally ready to believe that.

Or maybe a little friendliness goes a long way.

Thoughts?

Go see what others are saying about this topic.



*btw, that has never happened to me before. I was a bit freaked out, but he was so shy and humble about it, not leering at all, that I wasn't freaked out for too long...

The Snake Fiasco... (or how to enamor yourself to your neighbors, Nutmeg-style)

I took my kiddos to the lake again on Thursday, and included in my repertiore our adopted son-from-down-the-street, Andrew. He is 10, and since he had spring break and both of his parents work, he was at our house pretty much all day, every day.

No need to ask how this impacted our homeschooling week.

(ahem)

Having never spoken to his mother before, I was a bit apprehensive about what she thought of our crazy, over-sized family and the impending field trip. She was a typical mom, concerned about the child to adult ratio, (6 to... um... 1) and exhorted her offspring to obey me at all times.

As it turns out, having Andrew in the group was a real perk, since his presence provided all of the excitement. He was the one who caught everything:

a snake

a fish

and Little Boo (but that's another story)

Catching the snake was probably the least exciting catch of the day, since it was just swimming along in the water, minding it's own business, when we scooped it out and passed it around. I emptied our cheese container, and we made a nice cozy wet home for Rover and continued on with the more pressing needs like baiting the fishing rods, keeping the pocket knife out of Little Love's hands, and practicing my math skills by constantly counting to 6.

After we had eaten lunch, taken a successful bathroom break, and gotten sufficiently sun-burned, we headed home with Rover in tow.

The next morning, Andrew shows up at our door relaying the hysterics that had occurred the night before when his mom saw Rover the snake. Turns out, Texas has quite a few species of venomous water snakes, deadly enough to kill after a single bite... and this native NYer didn't have a clue.

So, I packed up the kids and the nasty snake, and we headed out to a fish and reptile store to see if the owner could identify Rover for us.

I went into the store first and told Mr. Tatoo/multiple-earring-dude how we caught this snake at the lake-

He said, "You pulled this snake out of the water?!?"

I nodded.

He said, "Ma'am, here in Texas, you need to leave those water snakes be."

I nodded again.

And then I herded in the brood, along with the snake, where Tatoo-man identified Rover as a harmless black corn snake.

WHEW

Much to my relief, Rover was never a threat. But much to my neighbor's consternation, Rover is now a permanent household fixture.

Yer welcome, Ma'am.

:)

*next post will concern "how to enamor your neighbors by RSVPing in the negative for a boys' sleepover, then letting your boys ride their bikes out front while the party is starting" (sheesh)*