Doom Buggy

Or perhaps I should call this post "Something's been bugging me..."

Yes, I realize that I sometimes find myself funnier than others do but as Paul often says to me, just because you're not laughing doesn't mean it wasn't funny.

Yesterday afternoon, as I was watering the plants in the backyard, I discovered this big fellow. Thankfully, it didn't jump because the little grasshoppers make me hurt myself trying to get away. I probably would have needed medical attention if this one had moved.


I wanted a size comparison but it was with great trepidition that I put the sprayer beside that thing.

Mum's the word

This was me trying to be arty and snap some pictures of the mums in the yard that are just starting to bloom out. The maroon ones I just planted; the yellow and purple ones I managed to keep alive since I planted them last year. That is a feat in and of itself for she-of-the-fake-grass-yard. There's a reason beyond water conservation as to why we got the fake grass. :)

These purple mums really loved the cool, wet summer. They were little stumps in June but have just sprouted up since and are covered with buds.

I picked up some pansies yesterday to replace the fading petunias I'd had in the pot. My grandmother had johnny-jump-ups (little purple & yellow pansies) in her yard for years. I'd love to find some to plant in my own yard.
And my daylilies are blooming out again. I planted them this spring and they were fairly lackluster all summer. I was pleasantly suprised to notice the new buds a few days ago.

Fall is easily my favorite time of the year. I love the feel of the air, the smells, the look of the landscape. I love the crisp air in the mornings and evenings, when it's time to start thinking of jackets but still too warm during the day to wear one. The colors of leaves changing and fall flowers are my favorites and these figured into the decor of our wedding. The centerpieces for our wedding reception were hollowed-out pumpkins with mums that my mom later planted at their house in Canadian.

I noticed yesterday as I was looking at getting some new plants that I had a genuinely happy smile on my face. I'm generally a pretty cheerful person so it's not unusual but this was different. This was a smile that was there because I was feeling so peaceful and relaxed; a smile I haven't had in some time as I have muddled my way through the last few months. Things have calmed down, my head is in a much better place, and while all still isn't "right" in my world, it just seems that I'm better able to handle those troubles in the fall.

Five years

It's so hard to believe it's been five years since that fateful day in 2001. I feel so uneloquent trying to write any type of tribute or remembrance. There are so many others who were so directly affected, while I was sitting on my couch three-quarters of the country away. But this is definitely one of the "where were you?" dates in history.

I'd gone downstairs to eat breakfast, earlier than usual, and turned on the television as the second plane was hitting the second tower. I was driving to work as I heard that the Pentagon was hit. It was such craziness as teachers were trying to gather bits and pieces of information and keep some amount of sanity in the classroom. Definitely a day that couldn't end soon enough but one that lasted forever. I had to try to get to ABQ's Westside that afternoon--almost impossible since there were barracades around the FAA office that I didn't even know was in town until that day. I stopped by a friend's house to feed her cat, forgetting that she wouldn't be able to leave town on her early morning flight. I spent the rest of the week sitting on the couch, unable to turn off the terrible tragedy or sleep or do much of anything but worry.

Paul was at a conference in Baltimore. Phone lines across the country were tied up and I couldn't get in touch with him until late in the day. I spent the next five days desperately wanting him to be back home. I was so thankful that he would be coming home but feeling so guilty for those people who would never get to see their husbands or wives again.

My inlaws were on their sailboat in Chesapeake Bay and mostly unaware of what was happening in the world. All evening I had relatives calling our house to see if I'd been in touch with them. I didn't even know some of these people had our phone number but I wasn't in touch with my inlaws for a few more days to hear that they were fine.

Everyone eventually got home to me. Paul and his coworker drove across the country in their rented Cavalier, getting home on Sunday afternoon, just two days off-schedule. My inlaws continued their trip as planned, coming home in early November.

I still can't believe that this happened here. It seemed like such improbable tragedy and it was hard to know when it was fine to feel that things had returned to "normal." On our anniversary several weeks later, Paul and I spent a very quiet evening together, going up to the top of the tram and watching the sunset. It was so peaceful and calm--hard to believe that there was so much trouble happening in the world that unfortunately continues today.

One of those things in life we'll never understand

We came across this after the Royals/Rangers game in Kansas City. Yes, it's microwave oven left inexplicibly in the parking lot with no electricity to be found.



It looks quite a bit like the first mammoth microwave my family had in the mid-80's.

Beach pictures