Visit to the ranch

I recently visited my family at their 90 acre ranch - otherwise known as 42North - in southern Oregon. It was a nice relaxing trip and I got to hang with my mom, dad, and grandma a good bit.

It really is very beautiful and peaceful down there.

Mom is growing a pot of mini daffodils


Saw some elk - blurry but true:

The south fork of the Coquille River is running beautifully






















Can you guess which side of the pot faces north for most of the day?

















And I even came across an ancient relic: this is a picture of a hot watter bottle holder that my cousin Sandy made for me when I was a wee little girl.... I'd forgotten all about it until mom dug it out of the basement looking for something else. Apparently I had leg cramps a lot when I was little.
The nose and eyes are velvet, and the hooves are all pink satin. I think this is so cute.

One of those days

I was thinking that there should be a single word for those crappy days where it's really clear nothing is going to go right. One of those terms that just succinctly communicates

"I'm going to write this day off as a bad alignment of the stars or planets, and everything will be better tomorrow, but it's probably best if I just stay in and go to bed early. It's nothing personal, it's just one of those craptacular days, y'all."

I just bailed on seeing a friend tonight and I feel really bad about it - and I might even have had a great time if I went - but this whole day has been poo scented and I suspect I wouldn't be the best company and, with that kind of forewarning, isn't it wise to heed the signs?

And, no, nothing really big went wrong (Paul is still the best, we still have housing and electricity, and the business is still moving along), but after one of the worst night's sleep I've had in a long time, I just woke up grumpy.

Maybe I could call these "phone book" days: Days when just hearing someone reading the phonebook would put me in a foul mood.

I'd even consider chalking it up to pms if I had pms - now that I'm on the pill to regulate my cycles, most of that stuff has abated greatly (hooray!).

I'm probably able to embrace the craptastic nature of days like these because I do truly believe that I'm stupidly lucky most of the time and that the universe doesn't, on the whole, suck.

Anyway, if any of you have suggestions for a concise term that would capture the moment, I'm all eyes.

any title is insufficient

Christvertising.com

To quote the immortal Bender

"Oh. Your. God."

Really?


REALLY???


I can't sort out what part of the text is the most bizarre:
1) that there is anyone who thinks this is an even remotely helpful thing to do for their business, or
2) that there are Christians who think that this isn't a bit off message. WWJSF - Who Would Jesus Shill For? Or, WWGB - What Would God Buy?

Lawmaker Larry Craig Unclear on Law

This article suggests that Lawmaker Larry Craig was unclear that pleading guilty to something means that he's not innocent.

[Craig's defense] attorneys argued that even though Craig may have pleaded guilty to avoid publicity and face a more serious charge, that doesn't change the fact that the plea is inaccurate.

Because I hate to see injustice done anywhere, I am creating a fund to help the severely overprivileged learn the meaning of words in their native language and chosen profession.

What greater indictment could there be of our educational system than a Lawmaker who doesn't understand law or a President who is "misunderestimated"?

Please, donate today. Because a nation is a terrible thing to waste.

Just about to head out of town in the next few minutes to go visit my family at the ranch, but in a last minute let's-see-if-there-are-any-jobs-I-should-apply-for-before-leaving effort, I came across two unusual postings on - where else? - craigslist:

> Vaccinated against Anthrax? Earn Money from Donating your Plasma
> Tactical Weather Forecaster, Air National Guard, Entry Level

The first seems like a marketing effort to an amusingly slim demographic, and as for the second, I can't seem to imagine how to tactically forecast weather. And would it be possible to tactically forecast weather at an entry level?

Anyway, I'll be back sometime next weekend, peace out.

I noticed that we started getting some flowers coming up in our little front yard the last couple days, a nice sign that Spring really is coming. This flower was closed yesterday morning, but when I came home from some errands at noon, it had opened up into a bright piece of happy:














After a late night finishing a cake, Paul threatens me with his dirty laundry.














That's right folks, this is the unglamorous side of cake making that they don't show you on TV!