I ran out of pickling salt. You need pickling salt when you make pickles. Actually, I think you can use any salt as long as it isn't rock salt or "when it rains, it pours" iodized salt. All I had left was the later type of salt. I only use rock salt if I'm making homemade ice cream and I don't make homemade ice cream. I'm on a diet. You can use Kosher salt when you make pickles. I didn't have any of that either. Thankfully, my mother had some "salt for smoking" which also works when you make pickles so I didn't have to run out to the store again to buy pickling salt. I'm making fermented dill pickles. My grandmother used to make them. I never liked them back then but my tastes have changed over the years. My parents love them and so does my sister. A friend sent me her mother's recipe so I'm making fermented dill pickles. Just a few jars. I'll keep one for myself and give the rest away. If my tastes remain the same (if I still don't like fermented dill pickles), I will give my jar away too. Waste not, want not.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

A shark is the only fish that can blink both eyes. Technically, I don't think the shark is a fish but I can attest to the fact that none of the fish I cleaned this summer could blink their eyes. None of them winked at me. They did flop around a bit however.

Yesterday was spent collecting my husband from Minneapolis ergo no blog yesterday. Actually, I drove to the airport and he drove back here. Partnership. Let's all pray that my 17 year old, very responsible son, all alone in Phoenix, manages to keep said Arizona home and hearth and his health safe and sound while we're gone. A moment of silence while we pray.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

A telephone signal travels 100,000 miles a second. All the better for calling my son while we're in Wisconsin, 2000 miles from Arizona where our son lanquishes in solitary splendor. The internet is fast too and although not as satisfying because he doesn't always check his emails, it's a lot cheaper. I sent out the first of many emails to my son this morning. I'm sure he's not awake yet. I hope he doesn't forget his trumpet lesson.

My husband is coming tomorrow. Better clean the house. Later. Tonight maybe. My favorite show is on tonight. Monk. Maybe I'll clean the house before that comes on. Don't want to miss it even if it is a repeat.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

After making a snide comment about the French in one of my past blog's Trivia section...hey, I only am reporting the facts, just the facts, I thought I'd give equal time to our little hang ups here in the good old United States of America, home of the red, white and blue, where the deer and the buffalo play, of purple mountains majesty and amber waves of grain fame. German-sounding items were a no-no in the United States during World War I. Americans took to calling sauerkraut "liberty cabbage". We've grown up a lot since then. Now we're dumping French wine into the street and we're eating "Freedom Fries". Please don't comment on the fact that we still haven't found any weapons of mass destruction. We should be happy that there weren't any found...right? Let's just hope that someone nuttier the Saddam doesn't have them in their possession right now.

Never wave anything red in front of a bull. The same holds true when it comes to hummingbird fledglings. I generally concider myself a bright enough person to avoid running around anywhere near a bull especially if I'm wearing red. This morning I wore a red shirt and believe it or not, a red sweater. It's been blessedly cool today. Anyway, I wore red. Lots of red. There are no bulls in my backyard or anywhere that I know of within the contiguous 140 acres of my property. I have no idea if any of my neighbors on any of the surrounding farms own any bulls but there definitely are no bulls out on my deck. I do have hummingbirds. Lots of hummingbirds. I encourage them with three large feeders filled with red sugar water. I knew that the fledglings were out but I wasn't thinking. Hummingbird fledglings aren't the brightest birds in the world. They don't leave the nest with much training. I've seen them poke their little beaks at anything remotely resembling red. I've seen them poke their little beaks at stuff that isn't red. I've seen them chase goldfinches away from the finch seed feeder even though I've never seen a hummingbird eat finch food. I've seen them do this year after year but still I walked innocently, clad in red, out onto my deck to enjoy my morning coffee. I was even carrying my red coffee mug. My shoes were red. My hair is red. The only relief from red was my blue jeans and my blue socks. They weren't red. The hummingbirds didn't actually attack me; however, it wasn't long though before I heard the whirring of hummingbird wings. I dismissed this as the usual hummingbirds visiting my feeders. Pretty soon I got a prickly feeling on the back of my neck. You know, that prickly feeling when someone is watching you? I'm not paranoid but I do get that prickly feeling when someone is watching me...or when I think someone is watching me. I glanced over my shoulder and there they were. Four hungry hummingbird fledgings lined up and hovering for a chance to check out the new flower that had walked out into their world and onto my deck. They were practically salivating. It was early. I hadn't even taken more then a sip of my coffee. I was confused. So were they. And then it dawned on me. Red. I was wearing red. Lots of red. RED! Poor birds. I went inside to finish my coffee. I'll have to change my shirt...and sweater...and maybe my shoes. The hair will have to stay.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Bees flap their wings 300 times a second. A hummingbird sounds remarkably like a large bee. When I had my gutters installed one year, my hummingbirds really scared that poor man who installed my gutters. I didn't laugh when he nearly fell off his ladder trying to dodge them. He thought he was being attacked by mutant bees. I don't recall that he was wearing anything red at the time.

Still no rain. It was too hot outside to do anything outside so I turned on the air and made jam and then I made dill pickles. Then I watched two movies on TV while I crocheted borders on some towels that had lost their fringe. I'll clean tomorrow...or maybe on Thursday.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

In ancient Rome, it was commonplace for a woman's bath to have a tub filled with donkey milk and spiced with perfumed swan's fat. I think I'll stick to my jacuzzi filled with warm water with a handful of coconut scented bath salts.

I have noticed that when it comes to the weather no-one is ever satisfied. When it rains there will always be someone who bemoans the lack of sunshine in a summer. When the sun shines, there is always someone who bemoans the lack of rain. I find myself in the latter camp this summer. I really could use some rain...or failing that a good sprinkler system. Lugging sprinklers around and minding a timer have never been my favorite pastime. Even with all the lugging and timing, my grass is looking parched. On the otherhand, the crabgrass and weeds seem pleased. I spent the morning pulling weeds. My father came over for a short while yesterday and informed me that I really should do something about the crabgrass as he caved into the urge to pull a few of the buggers from my lawn. I never discourage family members and guests from pulling my weeds. Everyone is welcome. That which someone else does I don't have to do myself which leaves me the time to do something that I'd far rather do. On a related subject, I never discourage anyone's efforts should they choose to clean my house either being so fond of such work myself.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

The word taxi is spelled the same in English, German, French, Swedish, and Portuguese. This must bug the French to no end. I recently learned that the French have banned the use of the word "e-mail" from their lexicon. Too English...too American. I'm not sure that the replacement which I can't remember "couriel?" will catch on but far be it from me to nay say the French.

I went to the Farmer's Market again today. This time I found some tomatoes for canning. Any guesses how I've been spending the rest of my day? I only canned 11 quarts of tomatoes. That's not going to be enough to last us the winter. I'm going to have to go back to the market next Saturday and repeat the whole process. At least I'll have a week to recover.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

I am always amazed at the funding that our government doles out for various research studies. Who approves these studies? A U.S. government-backed study found that pigs can become alcoholics. I don't want to think about all those other government-backed studies. What I want to know is if those soused pigs taste better then the tea-totaller pigs? I wonder if someone has already won a grant to do that study?

One more week and my husband is coming. That either means that I'm leaving Wisconsin in one more week or it means that I'm leaving in one to two weeks beyond that date depending upon how persuasive I can be. Regardless, I really don't have all that much more time here in Wisconsin this year. I look forward to a time where I can have as much time as I want here. Maybe next year. In the meantime, I'd better be prepared to put my garden to bed...just in case.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

In honor of my daughter's upcoming wedding, I thought I'd provide you with the following bit of trivia. In 1986, the average age of a bride in the United States was 21. The average age of the groom at that time was 23. Having discovered this little bit of trivia, I decided to do a little more research and found out that people are waiting longer and longer these days to tie that knot, jump the broom, make that final commitment. In the year 2000, the average age of a bride in the United States is now 25. The average age of the groom 27. I haven't got any figures for 2003. My daughter is 22 and her fiance will be 28. I would never use the word "average" to refer to either of my daughters so the above statistics must refer to someone else's daughters.

I want everyone say the following sentence. "Happy Happy Happy Birthday!!!!" Though I wish I was in Arizona to wish a special someone a very Happy Birthday, I'm here in Wisconsin which isn't to say that I don't like being in Wisconsin. If I could magically transport myself to Arizona for just today, or magically transport that special someone here to Wisconsin I'd be wonderfully happy. Since that isn't happening, I'll have to settle for sending my very sincere wishes for that special someone to Have a Very Happy Birthday! I'm looking forward to seeing that very special person here in Wisconsin at the end of this month so I can deliver an additional belated birthday greeting.

On a completely different subject, the weather has improved. But, darn! Only 1/4" of rain. Oh well...at least the cold front moved on through and I am no longer in danger of drowning when I step out the door. I can turn off the air-conditioning too and enjoy a nice cool breeze from the lake.


Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Did you know that at 90 degrees below zero on the fahrenheit scale, your breath will freeze in midair and fall to the ground? That has never happened to me but I do have quite a few vivid nightmarish memories of frigid Minnesota winters. There is a reason that I live in Arizona during the winter months.

I was sure that grass was gone for good...or bad. It was so dry that it crumbled into powder when you stepped on it. We got some rain. You couldn't even measure it. NOAA radio tells me that there hasn't been any rain for the month of August. By the way, there has been 0.00 inches of snow. But that unmeasureable rain sure perked up the grass. It's still pretty much a pale yellow color but it no longer crumbles. We got a bit more of that unmeasureable stuff this morning along with a lot of lightening and thunder (please note that I unplugged my computers..also please note that they are plugged back in right now because there isn't anything happening anymore). I'm hoping for some measureable stuff later on today. I'm not talking about the kind of quantity that they got in Las Vegas yesterday. Flooding in the streets. I just want enough so my grass turns green again and so that I don't have to water my plants every day so that I can still pick cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, beans, squash and peppers.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

I remember long distance phone calls when I was growing up. My parents never discussed phone bills back then but I remember that IF you made a long distance phone call, you always kept the call REALLY short. We rarely called anyone long distance and yes, we did have people who we could have called. My parents and my in-laws still have a tendency to try and keep those long distance calls as short as possible. I'm sure it's a sort of knee-jerk reaction to the cost of long distance phone calls while they were young. I know that I've always thought that the cost per minute of long distance phone calls have made me wonder if the cost of maintaining a cell phone might be of interest. But talk is cheap now compared to what it once was. In 1915, a telephone call from New York to San Francisco cost $20.70 for the first three minutes.

It's hot and humid. If I went outside right now I'd drown just breathing in the air. OK. I admit it. I probably wouldn't drown. I can swim.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Concidering that I'm on a diet the following bit of trivia tweeked my interest. I think I'll plug a comedy flick into the old VCR tonight. Did you know that you burn three and a half calories just by laughing?

I blew the heads off of millions of mosquitoes today while I went berry picking. Hah! So there! I wore mosquito repellant. They still whined but they didn't land. I've made two batches of jam...finally....any I have enough berries to make one more batch of jam. I'm canning green beans as I write this and will be making another jar of dill pickles. At this rate I'll never have to buy another jar of dill pickles as long as I live.


Today's Little Bit of Trivia

"How much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? He'd chuck as much as a woodchuck could if a woodchuck could chuck wood." Actually, that was running around in my head when I decided on the following bit of trivia so I thought I'd pass it on and see if it'll drive you nuts too.

How many times can a woodpecker peck? A woodpecker can peck twenty times in one second.

Did you ever ask yourself if you really need to spray yourself with mosquito repellant? I don't really like the stuff. It tends to give me a headache. I wonder if that's why mosquitoes hate the stuff. Imagine the kind of headache this stuff would give you if your head was smaller then the head of a pin? I'd like to see their little head exploding off their little bodies. I'd really like to see that. Oh well. Add that to a long list of stuff that I'll never get to see. I went out berry picking this morning. Since I only wanted to get enough berries for a small bowlful to go with breakfast I figured that I wouldn't really need to use the repellant. I just wanted a few berries. The intention wasn't to feed the entire population of Wisconsin mosquitoes with a blood sacrifice. Wearing long sleeves and a hat, I innocently sallied forth to donate blood. Never again. Any exposed part of my skin was a fair target for those little vampires. My fingertips, my eyelids, my entire face, my ears...you name it. Thankfully I don't actually react too badly to their bites or I'd look like I developed a terminal case of acne in my old age. However, my ears are still ringing from their high-pitched whines. Safe back in the house, I vow never to go berry picking again without bathing in mosquito repellant. I'll just have to buy stock in Advil. As a side note, no amount of bug repellant will repel the demonic deerfly.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

Joseph Gayetty invented toilet paper in 1857. His name was printed on every sheet.

Concidering the lack of anything really happening today to report other then the production of another quart of dill pickles and a fruitful morning thrift sale shopping...I bought some more quart jars, I thought I'd share the following quotes that someone sent me.


If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there is a man on base."

--- Dave Barry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"A study in the Washington Post says that women have better verbal skills than men. I just want to say to the authors of that study:---- Duh."

--- Conan O'Brien
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The day I worry about cleaning my house is the day Sears comes out with a riding vacuum cleaner."

--- Roseanne
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Women complain about premenstrual syndrome, but I think of it as the only time of the month that I can be myself,"

--- Roseanne
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We have women in the military, but they don't put us in the front lines. They don't know if we can fight or if we can kill. I think we can. All the general has to do is walk over to the women and say, 'You see the enemy over there? They say you look fat in those uniforms.'"

--- Elayne Boosler
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Relationships are hard. It's like a full time job, and we should treat it like one. If your boyfriend or girlfriend wants to leave you, they should give you two weeks' notice. There should be severance pay, and before they leave you, they should have to find you a temp."

--- Bob Ettinger
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My Mom said she learned how to swim when someone took her out in the lake and threw her off the boat. I said, 'Mom, they weren't trying to teach you how to swim.'"

--- Paula Poundstone
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my God.... I could be eating a slow learner."

--- Lynda Montgomery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty, and that's the law."

--- Jerry Seinfeld
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same."

--- Oscar Wilde
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Marriage is a great institution, but I'm not ready for an institution yet."

--- Mae West
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Suppose you were an idiot... And suppose you were a member of Congress...But I repeat myself."

--- Mark Twain
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place,"

--- Billy Crystal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'"

--- Dave Barry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten."

--- George Carlin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I think that's how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough. Let's go west.'"

--- Richard Jeni
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sometimes I think war is God's way of teaching us geography."

--- Paul Rodriguez
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"If life was fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead."

--- Johnny Carson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"In elementary school, in case of fire you have to line up quietly in a single file line from smallest to tallest. What is the logic? Do tall people burn slower?"

--- Warren Hutcherson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well preserved piece.You are meant to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, shouting GERONIMO!"

--- George Carlin


Cliche of the Day

You Said a Mouthful. What you have said is pithy, pertinent or sums up the situation. H.L. Mencken recorded the remark in The American Language (4th edition, 1936); it probably dates from just after World War I. Ring Lardner's First and Last (1934) has: " 'Well Lardy we will have to make it some other time,' said Gerry. 'You said a mouthful Gerry; was my smiling reply."

And so comes to an end my daily use of the Cliche of the Day selected from The Dictionary of Cliches by James Rogers. I will mourn its passing but find that it is becoming more and more difficult to keep from repeating myself. This could be because so many of the events which percipitate the choice of these cliches are also repetitive. One would hope not but to save myself from digging myself into a deeper rut then necessary, tomorrow will start a new closing segment. Today's Little Bit of Trivia. Stay tuned.

It's Friday. Normally that would be a good thing. TGIF and all, but I'm afraid that means that weekenders will be back. I can hear them out on the lake already. I guess that just means that I'll have to work on the garters for my daughter's wedding. I'll pretend it's raining outside, close all the windows and doors and turn on the air-conditioning. Since it's hot (for Wisconsin) and humid that won't be all that great of a hardship. I already did that when the temps reached 88 ° earlier today. With all the windows closed I won't have to listen to them (the boaters, skiers, the joyriders, the pleasure seekers) but I still can enjoy the view from my recliner while watching the news. I'll work on crocheting and beading those two garters and go outside again when the weekenders all leave. I was planning on making that wild raspberry jam anyway. Ha! I can wait them out. They're weekenders. They have to go home sometime.


Cliche of the Day

Whistle in the Dark. Be cheerful or optimistic in a situation that doesn't warrant cheer or optimism. It is a great temptation to try to cheer oneself up by whistling or singing in a dark and lonely place. Sigmund Freud, in The Problem of Anxiety (1925), had a thought on the practice: "When the wayfarer whistles in the dark, he may be disavowing his timidity, but he does not see any the more clearly for doing so." The notion that one should whistle in difficult circumstances to show that one is not concerned or frightened can be found in Robert Blair's The Grave (1742): "The Schoolboy...Whistling aloud to bear his Courage up."

Well it goes to show you. I decided not to worry about the news for one day and there's a huge power outage. One might think that it's all my fault that the power went out because I wasn't watching the news just as it's my fault that it rains because I washed my car? Nope. Not my fault. My thinking just isn't that screwed up. But ok already, I've got the news back on. I never would have known there was a problem if I hadn't noticed the news statement when I powered on my computer. I'm glad we've got power out here. It's a hot one today. It's actually not all that hot but the humidity is a killer. Tomorrow is supposed to be worse. I won't and I can't complain. It's 91° in New York's concrete jungle and there isn't a drop of power to run the air-conditioning. I'm glad I'm not in New York. I've never been there but I've been without air-conditioning in hot and humid weather. No fun. I wonder what nightfall will bring. Makes me think about all of those wonderful old movies like "Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?". I wonder how many new babies will be born in 9 months time? Something to ponder.

Cliche of the Day

Vanish into Thin Air. Disappear or fail (said usually of a plan, an idea or money). It used to be merely "air". Shakespeare, in a different context, envisioned "thin Ayre" in The Tempest The notion of "thin air" seems to emphasize the total disappearance of whatever it is that one is talking about. Thomas Dekker wrote, in The Guls Horne-booke (1609), of "Plaudities, and the Breath of the great Beast, which (like the threatenings of two Cowards) vanish all into aire."

My daughter and her fiance have left the wilderness of "The Lake". Peace and quiet. Yes, they remembered to take their cat. I think I'll go out and pick the beans...and the lettuce....after I clean out the fridge. Garbage night. My brother thinks I have an obsession with garbage. He's just jealous because he has to burn his garbage or haul it all back the Bloomington.

Cliche of the Day

Unwritten Law. A precept of restriction observed as a matter of custom. John Milton, always eloquent, may be the source of this expression, which he employed in The Reason of Church-government Urg'd Against Prelaty (1641), referring to "those unwritten lawes and Ideas which nature hath ingraven in us."

I've been busy today. I made two more quarts of dill pickles from the cucumbers I picked from my garden. I made five quarts of dill pickles on Saturday. I picked, cleaned, cut-up, cooked and canned 3 quarts of green beans from the garden. I boiled up another batch of crayfish caught and brought up from the traps off my dock. I still have to make the wild raspberry jam. Tomorrow. Maybe. We'll see. I'll get to it. Soon. Really. I'm told that I need to go out blackberry picking too. Maybe I'll run into my brother's lawn gnome on my berry picking venture. I'll let you know.

Cliche of the Day

Time is Ripe, The. the moment has come to do something or for something to happen. One cannot watch a plant or a whole crop ripen without thinking there is an opportune moment for almost everything. In Henry IV, Part I, Shakespeare has Hotspur, his father and his uncle (the Earl of Worcester) planning a rebellion against the kin. Hotspur and Worcester are departing; Worcester says:

Cousin, farewell: no further go in this
Than I by letters shall direct your course.
When the time is ripe, which will be suddenly....

All corn is not created equal.

I was raised in the Midwest and I know that there is a difference when it comes to corn. Anyone who was raised in the Midwest knows their corn. I'm not talking about popcorn or corn nuts or bags of frozen corn or canned corn. I'm talking about corn-on-the-cob. Not field corn. This is what is fed to the cattle. It is not sweet. It tastes bland and potato-like and very starchy. This isn't to say that potatoes taste bad. I love potatoes. However, I really don't care to have my corn taste like potatoes. On the other hand, I don't expect my potatoes to taste like corn but that's a whole other subject. The corn-on-the-cob that I had in South America was.... The South Americans were very proud of their corn so I won't say anything other then it was the most interesting potato-on-a-cob that I've ever had. I prefer eating Sweet Corn. Good old Midwestern grown sweet corn. Nothing is better then fresh sweet corn. OK. Chocolate is better but we're talking about corn.

I had sweet corn for supper tonight. Just sweet corn. You really don't need to have more for a meal then good sweet corn, dripping with melted butter with just a light sprinkling of salt. The sweet corn I had for supper tonight wasn't sweet. Sweet corn is supposed to be sweet. It wasn't as bad as field corn but the corn I cooked up for supper wasn't sweet. I've had sweet corn like this before. Sad but true. Sweet corn tends to lose its sweetness after sitting in a hot truck all day. What did I expect? I only paid 10 cents an ear and I bought it at the grocery store. "Penny wise, dollar foolish". I have bought good corn from a grocery store in the past but this just wasn't one of those times. I know I should have bought it this morning, fresh picked, from one of our local farmers. My fault entirely. I was at the grocery store and I was blinded by what looked like "a target of opportunity". Sigh. The corn wasn't bad. Not like the corn... Oops, I almost insulted South American corn again. My corn wasn't as bad as field corn but it wasn't sweet. It'll be fine if I cut it off the cob and reheat it with a little sugar or make cream corn out of it. Waste not want not. I'll just have to make another meal of corn (sweet corn) before the summer ends. Next time I'll do it right. Fresh picked from the field. Served steaming hot with heaps of butter. MMMMM!

Cliche of the Day

Sadder and (But) Wiser. Having learned from experience (usually a difficult or unpleasant one). "Sad and wise" was an expression of the 16th century, carrying the suggestion that experience makes one sad or sober. These lines appear in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1798):

He went like one that hath been stunned,
And is of sense forlorn:
A sadder and a wiser man,
He rose the morrow morn.

I didn't write in my blog yesterday. I was guarding nature.

What possesses a person to chase a bald eagle across a lake with a Sea-doo? The bald eagle is there, minding his own business, fishing for supper and some kid on a Sea-doo decides to see if he can, I can only surmise, catch him? He said he only wanted to look at the bird. I enjoy looking at the bald eagles too but I don't feel like I have to jump on a motorized vehicle and chase them down. When the harassed bird landed on a tree up on shore, my shore, the Sea-doo Cowboy decided that he wanted to further his nature studies and hop out on shore, my shore, to explore the wilderness. I objected. I had stood in silent shock as I watched him attempt to chase down an endangered species for the sport of it but when he tried to follow the bird onto my property to further harass it that was just too much. When told that he was trespassing on private property, the Sea-doo Cowboy informed me that no-one lived on that property so he could do whatever he wanted. I told him someone (me and my entire family and extended family) indeed lives on the property, pays the taxes on the property, and he wasn't welcome on the property. The Sea-doo Cowboy road his noisy steed off into the sunset...actually only as far as the floatilla of 4 boats anchored 30 feet off my dock...but eventually they too all left. I would hope that they left in shame for their poor behavior and stupidity but I'm guessing that they were afraid that I'd call someone to report them. I should have. Poor bald eagles. Poor nature. Weekenders. Where do these people leave their brains when they come out here? Where are the game wardens when they're needed? Thankfully, I heard the loons calling early this morning as I got up so I guess they survived any encounters with the Sea-doo Cowboy I may have missed.

Cliche of the Day

Raise the Roof. Vent one's spleen; show anger; stir up an uproar. The image is of sound and action being so vigorous as to lift the roof of the room in which things are happening. Mark Twain wrote in the Century Magazine of June 1894 about a black woman watching a court trial: "When dat verdic' comes, I'se gwine to lif' dat roof, now, I tell you."

Did you realize that a bridal veil costs almost as much as a bridal gown? What's with that? Gowns are expensive. It was that way when I got married 25 years ago too. There just isn't enough material in those veils to justify that kind of expense. I ended up making my veil 25 years ago and I probably should have made my daugher's veil too. I showed my daughter my old wedding pictures so she could see my gown and my veil. I probably should have shown her those pictures before we bought that expensive bridal veil. Too late now. On the positive side the veil matches the gown. I had to do some fancy handwork to get my veil to match my gown...25 years ago they didn't make ecru lace in the same pattern as the lace in my dress. I could only get white. Coffee to the rescue. For dying not for drinking. I may play with the store bought veil when I get back to Arizona to dress it up a bit. I crochet, I tat, I do beading, I can make a heck of nicer bridal veil then those store bought veils. As a side note, I was told that my gown was old-fashioned and that my husband's tuxedo was....well I won't say. On the positive side, I was told that I looked like my oldest daughter (sorry dear...I know that daughters don't like to be told that they look like their Mom) and my husband looked like Elvis (Elvis lives!). "Thank you very much."

Cliche of the Day

Queer as a $3 Bill. Highly suspect; plainly phony; of dubious value. "Queer" as applied to counterfeit money goes back at least 250 years. Since there is no $3 bill, any one that turned up would be self-evidently counterfeit, or queer. John Habberton's Jericho Road (1877) offers this exchange: "'Let's give him fifty [dollars] to send her.' 'Fifty queer?' asked Mr. Lodge. 'No, fifty straight,' said the little man."

I may not have much to say in my blog today but I did get all the wedding invitations addressed and ready to go in the mail. I did get all my beans picked. I did pick all my cucumbers but I still need to buy some dill which is ever illusive. I did pick a couple of ripe tomatoes and I did pick a couple more zucchini. So there. I am an accomplished person. Here's a "funny" that someone sent me to perk up your evening...then go ahead and pour yourself a nice glass of wine. It's Miller Time....oh right...that's beer.


An Irishman's been drinking at a pub all night. The bartender finally says that the bar is closing. So the Irishman stands up to leave and falls flat on his face. He tries to stand one more time, same result. He figures he'll crawl outside and get some fresh air and maybe that will sober him up. Once outside he stands up and falls flat on his face. So he decides to crawl the 4 blocks to his home and when he arrives at the door he stands up and falls flat on his face. He crawls through the door into his bedroom. When he reaches his bed he tries one more time to stand up. This time he manages to pull himself upright but he quickly falls right into bed and is sound asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.

He awakens the next morning to his wife standing over him shouting at him. "So, you've been out drinking again!!" "What makes you say that?" he asks as he puts on an innocent look. "The pub called, you left your wheelchair there again."

Cliche of the Day

Pile it On. Carry something (such as praise or ridicule) to excess; overdo. The sense is of heaping up needlessly. Thus, in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn (1884): "I reckon that was sort of piling it on maybe."

Wow! The invitations are already back from the printer and the order was placed on Monday. I'm ahead of schedule. I love small town Wisconsin. The same thing would have taken weeks and they would have come back misspelled in Arizona. Now we just have to fold them all, put them all together with self-addressed stamped envelopes, address them and then get them out to the post office. Folding them is the hard part. Well....hand addressing the invitations won't be too easy either. Fitting these things together with the correct envelopes is kind of like a puzzle too. We have the invitation, the RSVP card, the envelope for the RSVP card which needs to have a stamp put on it, the stupid piece of vellum to put on the invitation before you put the RSVP card with it's envelope inside (to protect the lettering on the invitation?), and then stuff it all in this other envelope which you need to write people's names on and then the whole thing need to be put into yet another envelope which you need to put the actual address on and then top it off with another stamp. I think I got that right. Now, do that all 100 times. I told you it was like a puzzle.

Cliche of the Day

Off His Rocker. Insane or seriously muddled. It is the rocking chair that is central here, although why going off it should symbolize losing one's mind is hard to say. Perhaps it is the association of the rocker and the elderly, and the fact that many old people gradually drift into a state of mental confusion. A British newspaper (the Daily News) offered an example of the broader meaning in 1897: "When asked if he had swallowed the liniment, he said, 'Yes, I was off my rocker.'"

It's a beautiful day today. The sun is shining. The lake is wonderfully still. I thought I'd quickly write my blog while I'm waiting for the water to boil for the crayfish. Yup! I'm still catching the little rascals. The lid is securely on their bucket so they can't get out to wander the kitchen before they meet their ultimate fate. While I'm waiting for the water to boil, I thought I'd share the following "funny" that one of my friends sent me. What with all the wedding plans parading endlessly through my mind night and day, I've been experiencing quite a few Senior Moments.

Senior Moment

Two elderly ladies had been friends for many decades. Over the years they had shared all kinds of activities and adventures. Lately, their activities had been limited to meeting few times a week to play cards.

One day they were playing cards when one looked at the other and said, "Now don't get mad at me..... I know we've been friends for a long time.....but I just can't think of your name. I've thought and thought, but I can't remember it. Please tell me what your name is."

Her friend glared at her. For at least three minutes she just stared and glared at her.

Finally she said, "How soon do you need to know?"

Cliche of the Day

No Flies On Me. I'm alert; I'm functioning vigorously; I'm taking advantage of my opportunities. It is a farmer's image, deriving from the fact that flies settle more on a standing horse or cow than on one that is moving briskly. The Detroit Free Press offered a definition in 1888: "There ain't no flies on him, signifies, that he is not quiet long enough for moss to grow on his heels, that he is wide awake." Even earlier there was the expression, "don't let flies stick to your heels," which appeared in an 1836 British publication.

"It's astounding, Time is fleeting, Madness takes its toll." ( Quoted from Rocky Horror Picture Show)

I only have one month before I head back to Arizona and there's so much that I need to do yet. I'm going to have to plant some dill for next year. Why I didn't think to do it last year I haven't a clue. Probably because I didn't realize or dream that I'd have tons of cucumbers to make into dill pickles. Now I have to go into town tomorrow to see if I can find some fresh dill. That's not easy because most everyone around rural Wisconsin grows their own. Why would they buy any in a store? I planted rhubarb for this very reason. With everyone growing their own rhubarb, why sell it in a store? I had a hard time finding any rhubarb plants at the nursery to plant. My mother felt sorry for me and gave me some that she split of from her plants which she undoubtably got from her mother. It's that same thing with winter onions. Something like that you inherit. Anyway, I picked a colander of green beans this morning. Another colander of cucumbers and a few more squash. I try to pick the squash before they get too big. One never knows what to do with a zucchini the size of a tree trunk. I've got a great relish recipe though and a zucchini crisp recipe waiting in the wings just in case of such an eventuality. It's amazing how something that large can creep up on you without your ever knowing. They hide and then bam!....there they are just when you're proudly showing someone your magnificent garden. It's embarrassing.

Cliche of the Day

More Here Than Meets the Eye. This is more significant than it appears. Samuel A. Hammett, who wrote under the pen name Philip Paxton, gave the following version in A Stray Yankee in Texas (1853): "There might be more in it than at first met the eye." And actress Tallulah Bankhead is credited with giving the phrase a sharp turn when she dismissed a work by Belgian-born author Maurice Maeterlinck with: "There is less in this than meets the eye."

I forgot to blog yesterday or maybe time ran away with me kind of like the dish running away with the spoon. Too many people here and too few computers. I actually have two computers linked up but the monitor on my computer died so we really only have one functioning computer. Whenever I got near the computer the phone would ring and then I'd come back and someone else would be on the computer. I've only got a few minutes to write before someone else calls me and someone else hijacks the computer while I'm on the phone. Wedding plans are coming along just fine. We've accomplished 6 months of work in 1 week. That ain't bad. In addition, I picked and washed 5 bags of lettuce. I harvested 8 more summer squash (what the heck am I going to do with all this squash....oh yeah....I gave 6 of them to my sister...maybe I can give some to my parents) and another bunch of cucumbers (looks like I'm going to have to dig out my dill pickle recipe), and some more green beans. I have a feeling that I'll be anonymously leaving bags of summer squash at people's doorsteps before the end of this summer. You know the routine, set the bag down, ring the doorbell and run.

Cliche of the Day

Last Laugh, Have the. Score a belated or unexpected triumph; get revenge. It is a most human tendency to laugh in a gloating fashion when one succeeds over someone else; it is an even stronger tendency to find that the tables have turned. In John Ray's A Collection of English Proverbs (1742), the thought appears as: "Better the last smile than the first laughter."

August 1st and I've just ordered the wedding invitations. So much is involved in wedding planning before you can actually send out invitations. Amazing. I did it though. I'll try not to break my arm patting myself on the back. I just wish that the Post Office had decent stamps this year. What ever happened to flowers or cute little animals? I get to choose from bats, Audrey Hepburn, psychodelic love stamps (looks like gay love to me but that's just me being politically incorrect), Chinese New Year, bi-planes, or some guy that looks like Saddam Hussein (my apologies to Cesar Chavez). I'll worry about all that later along with cash or hosted bars, champagne, buffet dinners vs. sitdown dinners, menu selections, airline and room reservations, etc. etc. etc. Tomorrow. I'll worry about all that tomorrow. A bald eagle just flew overhead. The birds are singing. The sun is shining. The lake is as still as a mirror. Are mirrors really still?

Cliche of the Day

Keep Your Shirt On. Stay calm; don't get riled. A tendency of a man who thinks he is about to get into a fight is to pull off his coat, and perhaps his shirt, so that he has free use of his arms. Probably this is the source of the expression, which was known by 1854 when it appeared in The Spirit of the Times, by George W. Harris: "I say, you durned ash cats, just keep yer shirts on, will ye?"