We planned all day on going to the Drive-in tonight to see the new Indiana Jones movie, but, Nooooo, it had to storm again. However, I got some great sunset pix, while I was standing out in this field with lighting flashing around me and rain drops hitting me in the head.....it was worth it though. As I am typing this, it is still storming...Bill is asleep.....we are officially old people, it's Saturday night, it's 9:00 and I'm watching the news..:-).
My bro, Kent, came home for the Memorial day weekend and so we all went out for supper tonight at Applebee's in Salem. We all had delicious food, and some dessert shooters. I had one of the perfect marguaritas, and it was so yummy.
Then we all went back to mom's and watched the landing of the Phoenix Mars lander, landing on, you guessed it....MARS. It was really very exciting, as only 1/3 of the objects sent there have landed successfully and then many of them had various problems. This one seems to be a success story. All of the engineers at Nasa in the control room cheered and were very happy when it was confirmed that the Phoenix had landed successfully. The solar panels deployed successfully too. The picture below is a computer generated picture of how the landing went, but the one below it, of the Martian landscape, was taken by the Phoenix soon after landing.
Went to some garage sales today. Bought a fan and a glass pie plate..... How exciting it that? My right front tire kept going kind of flat, so we went to Walmart and was going to get new tires, but they had teenagers working in the tire dept. and didn't seem like they knew what they were doing. So, we came back home to our town and took the car to one of the gas station/garages uptown and they fixed the tire. It was leaking around the rim because when the tire was put on the car, they forgot to take off the bar code sticker which was right on the rim area, and it was causing it to leak....so didn' t need a new tire after all. Had them rotated and checked out, so I am good to go now...
Washed the clothes and let them dry outside, it was just a gorgeous day. Then I took Sally for her walk.
Soooo, after all of that, if you're not snoozing yet....here's another chapter in the "Mayberry Chronicles"....
We have a new policeman in town. Since we are a small rural community, we usually are without any type of "law" officers. However, we have a new, young and eager guy filling that spot now. So, last week some kids in the park, painted graffiti on the wooden slides and swings and other objects, like the large pavilion and left it all a mess and looking terrible. These kids, around 15 years old, weren't very bright. They actually signed their graffiti with their first and last names! So, our new policeman rounded them up, along with their parents and they repainted everything in the park. I guess the kids had a good time after all, and avoided getting charged with damaging public property.Bill said they were covered with paint, because they got to decorate some of the smaller objects, like wooden steps, with their hand and foot prints . The policeman also found lots of razor blades in the ground, under the main slide with a metal detector. The razor blades were not put their by these same kids, as they were embedded in the ground and had evidently been there for a while. The policeman asked Bill to come out there with his metal detector today to make sure all razor blades had been found. So, he did, no razorblades, but found 42 cents...hee! I swear this new cop is just like Andy Taylor....no joke!
I planted a very small garden, using the french intensive gardening method, with the use of wide rows, and planting in an octagon shape, allowing for more produce per foot. I took a picture today, so that I will have a comparison as it keeps growing. Everything was planted on April 5, 2008. Except the potatoes, which were planted on April 16th.
It was a beautiful day and we found our way with no problems. It is located on the outer edge of Rotary Park in Wentzville, Missouri and is a beautiful setting. We ran into some old friends that we met last year, which is always a pleasant surprise. We did our usual walk arounds, visited the may stage shows, especially the Limey Birds and the Musical Blades (a pirate act).....we decided we would be, as our characters this year "The Captain and Tenniille"....go ahead an groan. Hey, I thought it was funny....lame, but funny! Some folds "got it", most didn't. There we some new things too, and we always enjoy the many different characters. So, we had lunch and some good ale from the pub and we were sitting under a tree watching the last joist of the day, when suddently one of the horses got spooked or something and it threw the knight into the wooden fence, it made a loud smacking noise, the crowd went silent at the poor guy laid there and was completely knocked out. The paramedics were on the scene immediately along with the police. It seemed like forever, but he finally regained consciousness, he was in a lot of pain. It looked like his shoulder was dislocated. It was NOT part of the act, as was announced and they asked for everyone to make way for the ambulance. The crowds waited quietly, until the ambulance came, and finally got him on the gurney. We all applauded and cheered as he waved to us with his good arm. So, it was such a relief, but everyone was really frightened for a while there. So, now that knight will have a story to tell when he is all healed up, about going to the ER in his armor and 1500's garb. We were talking to one of our friends there who said they knew the guy that was hurt, he rides in joists for a living and has done it for many years. He trains the new guys, so it was just the horse that was the problem. Many people think the jousts are just an act, but I can tell you that I have been to many Rennfaires and the jousts are completely real. They wear strong armor, ride their spirited horses and use real lances. I have seen many times where the knights have gotten cut, or the lances break in two. It is very exciting, and very dangerous.
We waited until the big finale on the main stage and then we all go to the gate, where they play a beautiful kind of prayer with guitar, flute, and oboe, it is a prayer for safety on the way home. They do this at all Rennfaires I have attended. I always like that, because the day is mostly fun and silliness, but in the end, it is about loving your fellowman and enjoying your life with others. The King's court always lines up at the gate as we leave and they wish everyone, individually, a good day.
We ran to the car and threw off out hot clothes, and put on some other ones we brought with us. We stopped at Vandalia and had some fried chicken and then drove home through the country. It was still a beautiful night, the moon was full and shining on the country road drove as we listened to some oldies on the radio:, Bon Jovi, AC/DC, David Lee Roth, Hall and Oates...it was a wonderful day.
Mom and I went to Sandoval to visit my brother and Barb. We had a really nice visit and ate lots of donuts and coffee. I always enjoy spending time with them, we always have lots of laughs.
Those of you who know me, know that I am a huge Clay Aiken fan. For the last 4 months he has been starring as Sir Robin, in Monty Python's SPAMALOT, a hilarious medieval comedy ( in case, you have been living under a rock or something) . He was a smash hit and tripled sales of performances during that time period. Many fans attended day and night, though most attendees were regular New Yorkers/ or tourists wanting to see a Broadway play. (Because, unfortunately most of us can't go running off to New York, no matter how bad we want to). After each performance Clay would greet his many fans at the stage door behind the Shubert theatre. The last performance was last Sunday night (May 4th) . The street overflowed with literally hundreds waiting to say a final good by to Clay as Sir Robin. I am posting this because I thought this was just genius. There were so many people in the street, there was no way he could shake all of their hands, or sign autographs, or show his fans the love. So, he found his way to the top of the marque of the theatre. It didn't take long for those below to see him, everyone got to say good bye to Clay on Broadway. It was quite a moment...so had to post the Youtube also...
If you want a quick overview of Clay's stint on broadway, here is a "Farewell, Sir Robin" Youtube. Yeah, I am into the Youtubes today....heee
It has been raining steadily for the last few days, everything is so green, it reminded me of Ireland. Above, bird feeder under tree. Trees on the creek, by my house. This is the road where I always take my dog for a walk. Some gnarled trees along side the road above. More tree by the same creek, the flooding has washed away some of the bank. A tree in my front yard...
I have been neglecting my blog, because nothing is happening right now.
Today I went to mom's, we had cheesecake and listened to Clay Aiken's new album, that was just released today. It is amazing, and completely different from his others. Yes, there are still some love ballads, he like him some love songs, but most of them are very different and upbeat. We enjoyed it a lot. It is always fun to share the music with mom.
Today I hung clothes out in the sunshine to dry and finally got my flowers planted. The vegetable garden is just growing like crazy. Soon I will have peas, and we have already eaten some lettuce. The potatoes are blooming and the tomatoes survived the freeze last week. So all is well in the plant world.
All is well in my world too, I know you were all wondering...hee
How exciting it that? My right front tire kept going kind of flat, so we went to Walmart and was going to get new tires, but they had teenagers working in the tire dept. and didn't seem like they knew what they were doing. So, we came back home to our town and took the car to one of the gas station/garages uptown and they fixed the tire. It was leaking around the rim because when the tire was put on the car, they forgot to take off the bar code sticker which was right on the rim area, and it was causing it to leak....so didn' t need a new tire after all. Had them rotated and checked out, so I am good to go now...
It has been raining steadily for the last few days, everything is so green, it reminded me of Ireland. Above, bird feeder under tree.
Trees on the creek, by my house.
This is the road where I always take my dog for a walk.
Some gnarled trees along side the road above.
More tree by the same creek, the flooding has washed away some of the bank.
