Happy Blog Birthday to Mariana

( fireworks display held in honor of Gatochy's 2nd anniversary. Damn the expense!)

Congratulations to Mariana at Gatochy's blog (see button to your left) on her second year of blogstardom! She is the BlogDiva, blogoddess, an inspiration, and a great friend--cheers, M!

Theme Week at Work

This has been my week for medical personell-- three nurses, a doctor, a physical therapist, and a pre-med student. I LOVE working on these guys--they give good feedback, and really appreciate the work. Plus, they really need some nurturing, so YAY!!!!

Geo-Theraputic Rejuvenation

Ok, so I planted my face in the garden last saturday night--and today it's just about 100% healed. The skin is smoother and younger looking on the injury site--my left side looks younger than my right. This leads me to promote "Geo-Therapy for a Younger Looking You". All you need is the planet, some anti-biotic ointment, plasters, and time.
It's simple--useing the earth's gravity, you collide your face with the earth's crust (the mantle and core are for more serious cases). Once you've "kissed our mother hello", just apply ointment, plasters, and wait. Viola! Safer than botox, cheaper than clinical dermabrasion, and the supplies are mostly right at your feet!
The author of this blog assumes no responsibility for the individual outcomes of this modality. It's mostly a "silver lining" attempt to "save face". Oooooh--bad pun!

Summer Reading List

Children's Books That Didn't Make It ...

1. You Are Different and That's Bad!
2. The Boy Who Died From Eating All His Vegetables
3. Dad's New Wife -- Robert
4. Fun Four-Letter Words to Know and Share
5. Hammers, Screwdrivers and Scissors: An I-Can-Do-It Book
6. The Kids' Guide to Hitchhiking
7. Kathy Was So Bad Her Mom Stopped Loving Her
8. Curious George and the High-Voltage Fence
9. All Cats Go to Hell
10. The Little Sissy Who Snitched
11. Some Kittens Can Fly.
12. That's It; I'm Putting You Up for Adoption
13. Grandpa Gets a Casket
14. The Magic World Inside the Abandoned Refrigerator
15. Garfield Gets Feline Leukemia
16. The Pop-Up Book of Human Anatomy
17. Strangers Have the Best Candy
18. Whining, Kicking and Crying to Get Your Way
19. You Were an Accident!
20. Things Rich Kids Have, But You Never Will
21. Pop Goes The Hamster & Other Microwave Games
22. The Man in the Moon Is Actually Satan
23. Your Nightmares Are Real
24. Where Would You Like to Be Buried?
25. Eggs, Toilet Paper, and Your School
26. Why Can't Mr. Fork and Ms. Electrical Outlet Be Friends?
27. Places Where Mommy and Daddy Hide Neat Things
28. Daddy Drinks Because You Cry

Mixed Karma Weekend, or "Ouch, but Thanks....."

This has been an interesting weekend, to say the very least.
Friday afternoon, coming home from the nurserry with plants for the garden, my truck blew the radiator hose--right in rush hour traffic, in 100 degree heat, me wearing my cliche' black t-shirt. On the fortunate end, one of my co-workers and former classmates--my sweet dharma sister Lisa--was passing, and stopped to assist. All I really needed at that point--having made all the neccesary and appropriate calls already--was water--than you, Lisa! Shortly after that, the kindest, most laid back police officer showed up to provide assistance while I waited for the tow truck. The towing people were nice--they took me home to unload plants before dropping the truck off. The shop was anticipating my arrival (yay cell phone)--we are replacing the radiator--I should have it back monday about noon.
Then, last night, sitting out in the developing garden, I had a blood sugar event. I had consumed WAY more carbs than I'm used to, was fatigued, it was hot---I came over extremely dizzy, and did a face plant, right in the dirt. Quite lterally "hit the dirt". Fell like an ox. Right on my mug. Ouch, but could have been worse. The impact was mostly to my left zygomatic process--"cheekbone" to most folks. It didn't mess up my eye, didn't break my nose, no split lip or injured teeth--for a couple of traumatic events in such a short time, they were both much better than they might have been. Plus, my wonderful friend Rob was able to provide transportation to buy neccesary things like groceries and first aid supplies. Thanks, Rob!!

Downtime Update

Hey kids--it's been a while.........[uncomfortable period of silence, eye contact avoided]....I'm having another truck repair day, hence the "at home, on the computer" state of things.............
the new career is going quite well--the time flies when I'm in session--a good indicator that I've found the right livelihood. Still, the forearms get fatigued, as do the thumbs. Hence the not blogging for a couple of weeks........
Mariana started a great campaign--it's in honor of people who would never abandon their pets while on holiday.http://proudtosay.blogspot.com/
It's a positive reinforcement idea--so much kinder and easier than sending me to rip people's spines out (that Mariana is so thoughtful--she knows I'm almost to 40 years of non-violence, and is aware that my knowledge of anatomy and fierce love of animals puts me in a unique position regarding the whole spine ripping thing, but no......) she has cool buttons you may copy and paste onto your own blog (as soon as I figure out how to do that, you'll see one here). Apparently, some people think it's perfectly ok to go on holiday, and leave the companion animals to starve. Just amazing, in that "I don't believe a human being would do something so fucked" kind of way. Not only would I never do that, but I will care for neighbor's pets while they're on holiday. My nextdoor folks had me feed their sweet dog "Cookie" for a few days, and I got a groovy chiminea for my effort.
Which brings me to my last topic and excuse for the lack of posts lately--I''m planning a meditation garden in the back, just outside my window. When Sandy moved, I scavenged all the stone out of her (former) back garden.....they make a lovely circle , which has been divided into quadrants, each to have it's own theme. Closest to the house will be the herbs and vegetables--I plan to stack a drywall, and build up with compost and soil. Next to that will be the "grasslands"--I plan to plant pretty grasses that will ripple and sway in the wind, along with fragrant lavender. Moving along, we come to what will be the cactus garden--imagine sand, agave plant, cacti--that's where the chiminea is, along with the old wagon wheel--all I will need is a steer skull to complete the southwestern cliche'........finally, we will come to the water garden--I have a horse trough that will make a great aquaculture container--imagine cattails, dwarf lotus, etc--I plan to surround it with ferns, crepe myrtle, and irises.
I spend most of my time after work in the back, planning. My before mentioned neighbors are a little creeped out--gardening in the dark just looks so unsavoury.........