It's Autumn and the Roof Has Dry Rot!

It's amazing how your life is completely taken over by a new baby in the family; in a good way though. There is nothing else I'd rather do then spend my time with that sweet baby boy! I guess it didn't take long for my blogging obsession to be replaced with my baby obsession. It is such a treat to watch him change from day to day, isn't life the most miraculous thing?I

Speaking of change, with the coming of Fall came the first rains. With the first rains came a leaking roof at the beach house. With the investigation of the leaking roof came the realization that there is dry rot all over that house. It's one of those little, flat-roofed beach cabins, completely walled inside with knotty pine, built back in the early part of the 20th century. Well, it appears that some of this damage has gotten worse and worse over the years to the extent that they have had to remove the entire roof. They are even having to replace some of the beams and posts, especially around the fireplace and the entire back wall where the porch was is being replaced. Due to the age of the building, it takes longer to do this type of work because all the wood was put together tongue-in-groove.

The good news is, my mother-in-law and her friend were there when it started to leak in the kitchen. The bad news is, this has turned into a very expensive proposition. The good news is, the handyman doing all the repair gives the house an excellent prognosis. The bad news is, the rain is supposed to be back tomorrow, but hopefully not for too long. The good news is, they have the entire house covered in plastic to avoid any further water damage. The bad news is, it's too cold inside the house to stay there so a nearby motel will be required for the night. The really bad news is, spending money on fixing your roof and porch is like buying underwear and tires, you can't get by without them but you really hate spending that money.

So what is the derivation of a term like "dry rot"? Typically, "dry" rot occurs because of the "dampness" that's trapped against the wood...hmmm. You have to wonder what makes a certain phrase or term stick and carry on through generation after generation. It's another one of those answerless questions I'll just have to live with.

Halloween is only a month away so creepy things that happen are more meaningful now. Last weekend we went out for pizza with our friends and their kids. This place is in "old town" and the pizza parlor itself is in an old hotel. In fact, we sat in a small room that used to be the elevator shaft. The story goes that a young woman named Nina was dropped to her death in this elevator shaft and one of the kids, Kelsey, was really creeped out by that. I had brought in my favorite sweatshirt just in case of excessive air conditioning but promptly put it on the back of my chair because it was quite warm in there. When we left, I of course forgot it. I didn't remember until we had pulled away from the curb about a half block away so we had to drive around a couple of blocks to get back there (you know how those one way grids are) and Mike ran in to get it. We couldn't have been gone more than 10 minutes but it was already gone and the kitchen and bar staff said that no one had turned it in. Kelsey insisted that "Nina took it"! You know, she could be right.

Time to do some writing of a different kind. I'll be back whenever I can pull myself away from Beckett!

Babydom!

My baby is having a baby, how wierd and cool is that? She's at the hospital and we're not because Beckett (not yet here but he will be soon) is taking his sweet time. Chances are good she will go through the night in pseudo-labor then they will induce the little dickens tomorrow morning. So, I'll plan to be there first thing in the morning along with his other grandma and his auntie to await the big event. Funny how it's all about the baby and his agenda regardless of how anxious everyone is waiting for him to arrive.

On this momentous eve, I think about the world he is joining and all that is right and good in that world.

• He has many, many people who love him already who will support him and be there for him at all times.
  
• He is being born in a country that is free where so many other people around the world want to live they sneak over the border illegally, just to be here.
• He'll live in the most beautiful part of that country where there are four separate seasons that are relatively mild.
• He is being born at a time when medical advances are amazing and improve on a daily basis.
• The world of technology is moving so fast we can't even keep up with the latest and greatest. We can't even imagine what electronic gadgetry will exist when he is an adult.
• Planets are no longer planets and new galaxies are being discovered...our universe continues to grow and expand.
  
• His parents are good, loving, talented people who will guide him and love him throughout his life.
• His big "brother" Quimby will be a good playmate as he grows older, watching over him and protecting him from strangers. (I'm not sure about Aly the cat...I think she'll just continue to do her thing.)
• His dad is already looking forward to spending special time with him doing sporty things like playing catch. I wonder if he'll get his dad's competitive genes?
  
• His mom spent many hours painting for his nursery to prepare his "Where the Wild Things Are" surroundings. I'm sure he will share her love of books.
• His grandparents are ready and able to spoil, spoil, spoil!
• His Aunt Kara will never get to babysit as much as his Grammie, sorry Kara.

That's a good question!

Why is it that potato chip bags and cereal boxes are less than half full right off the shelf? I know, I know, it's all about marketing, i.e. the larger the bag the more value we THINK we're getting. So, okay, okay, okay that wasn't my real question, my real question is why in the world do we keep buying them?

Why do so many drivers neglect to use their blinkers? Are they all broken? Did they truly buy a car in which blinkers were not considered standard? Do they all have broken left or right hands or are all their blinkers broken? Did they all flunk that part of their driving tests? Do they all hate their cars and they're trying to get hit? Or, are they all truly THAT lazy?

Why does the price of gasoline act like a roller coaster? I understand when it goes up, everything goes up eventually, even though it's sometimes at inordinately fast rates like we've seen recently, but down????? What else can you think of where the price goes down, other than for short-term super sales? Okay, okay, okay electronics prices eventually go down but that's due to their replacement by newer, shinier and more exotic electronics. House prices go up and down over long periods of time based on demand, economy, etc. But, what's behind the gas fluctuations? Is it that they run out of oil then all of a sudden they find more? Is it that the oil companies continually change their minds or change their methods of measuring, first about having too much, then they think they have too little? Is it because all the station owners just get a kick out of changing the little, plastic numbers on their station signs on a daily basis? Or, is it simply because they like to demonstrate the kind of power they have over us peons?

Why are so many people allergic to milk/dairy products, even babies? This is a substance that is as natural as can be, not intended to harm a fly, it's even homogenized, pasteurized and sterilized these days but still many can't touch it with a ten foot pole. Have our bodies formed a natural aversion to the essence of dairy-based foods over thousands or perhaps just hundreds of years? Have certain cells or enzymes or chemical processes ceased to function in the average person that would otherwise make this substance tolerable? Have we outgrown the need for it (I don't believe that because we still have bones)? Or, is it all the izing that has created the problem? Are we really only allergic to the homog, to the pasteur and the steril? That could be it.

Why is it that some of us only get headaches from wine produced in America but never from wine grown and bottled in Europe? Is it because European wines include Ibuprofen - no. Is it because American wines are out in the sun too long - no. Is it because American wines cost so much more - no. Is it because we drink American wines only when we haven't had enough sleep - no. I think this may get back to that izing process again.

We have squirrels in our neighborhood, hundreds of them. Whenever we see them outside, they are running around with nuts in their mouths. Sometimes they have peanuts, sometimes filberts (hazlenuts) and sometimes walnuts. The question is, where do they get these nuts? We have no peanut, hazlenut or walnut trees in our neighborhood. I can't even guess at how to answer this question.

Keep in mind these are purely my cornball opinions and I'm quite sure I never will learn the answers but I'd like to know if anyone can come up with better ideas. The answers to these questions are probably societal in nature and don't really have a right or wrong perspective, they just are (except for the squirrel thing of course). I always hate that logic. Give me Trivial Pursuit anyday where there is a question and an answer, no endless guesswork involved. Don't hesitate to offer up your opinion on these and any other unanswered questions you may have.
Inquiring minds want to know!

"I thought it was a costume ball!"

If you've ever seen the old cult film, "Start The Revolution Without Me", you'll recognize that line. Louis XIV comes down the stairs in this awkward, garish bird costume and he's the only one dressed up. Of course, he's kind of a dufus so it isn't surprising but still funny. The film has the most bizarre story line and cast, Orson Welles, Gene Wilder and Donald Sutherland who play identical twins who get switched at birth, one set poor and one set rich. I can't remember who else is in it but it is worth a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon with a big, old bowl of popcorn.

I'm celebrating the fact that my name is going to be posted on a plaque over my friend's pantry in their new house. Now how many of you have that singular honor? Why do I, you ask? Well, I was the one who suggested they have a pantry put into their current house so they are simply going to take the sign with them and put it up again in their new house. Who knows, my sign could travel half way round the world in future generations. I wonder if I should apply to the Guinness World Book of Records for the only pantry in the world named after a person, probably not. That wouldn't hold nearly as much interest as eating 48 hot dogs in 15 minutes or climbing to the top of a 100 foot pole and sitting there for three days without coming down. Nope, the more I think about it, it sounds more and more boring compared to those world record examples.

All the new Fall tv is on, you'll notice I'm on the computer as opposed to on the couch. I figure if I wasn't impressed last season, they don't have much chance of convincing me otherwise this season. Just how many ways can a group of people fight with each other, the only thing I see that changes is the island they're on. No, they won't get my vote on or off the island. Give me a good old movie any day. I've almost finished "Saving Grace" for the umpteenth million time, one of my all time favorites. I find myself grinning just thinking about it regardless.

Fall is turning back into summer over the next week or so. This is definitely a bonus so we have all sorts of outdoor activities planned to enjoy it. This is the best time of year because all the colors are beginning to change and the air feels crisp and clear, even when it's warm. We have scads of squirrels who live in the trees around us, I could sit for hours watching them scurry back and forth, preparing for the winter (even though I see them scurrying all winter too). Unfortunately for the cat, she isn't allowed outside so she has her eye on them and talks to them through the window but they blissfully ignore her. In fact they come right up to the window and give her this innocent look, twitch their tail while she is having a fit, then scamper off, rubbing her nose in it.

This last April/May, we visited Santorini, one of the Greek islands. It is on one edge of the caldera of what was at one time the largest mountain ever recorded in the world. Legend insists that it could have been the home of the lost city of Atlantis, obliterated when the giant mountain/volcano erupted and fell into the Mediterranean Sea. When you stand on the edge of the cliff and look down into the caldera, you get a sense of the immense size of that mountain. Now that they know it is over 1,200 feet deep, the eruption must have been like nothing we've ever seen, truly cataclysmic. It makes our nearby 12,000 foot peak seem like a mole hill. Considering some of the ancient civilization discoveries elsewhere on the island you almost believe the whole Atlantis thing could be true. Or maybe you just want to...

So, if not Atlantis, what about reincarnation? That is a cool concept. When you die, your soul is reborn in a different form. Apparently, you get multiple chances until you get it right, or something like that. Actually, I'm not sure the cycle ever ends. Which means it could be possible that all of us have known each other at some other time in the past. I think that's cool. Unless I was like a buzzard or a seagull, that would not be cool. It would also not be acceptable to have been a spider or a yellow jacket, those are not noble souls. But a dolphin, now that would be the ultimate. Imagine spending your entire life jumping in the surf, doing flips, perfectly synchronized with your family and friends. I doubt that was me though, I'm not that good of a swimmer.

Time for the pumpkin to appear, please return my glass slipper...

Is it the White House or the White Sox, that is the question?

All I had to hear today was that an instant replay official for college football was being threatened with death because he made a MISTAKEN CALL last weekend and it set me off (can you tell?). It's bad enough that our baseball players, our basketball players, our football players and our golf pros make more money than the President of the United States (present company excepted) but to threaten bodily harm because one team won (this early in the season) instead of another is sick, yes I said sick and I meant sick.

What has our society come to when many of our teachers don't make enough to buy a house or pay back their student loans but the pro basketball player living in the BETTER part of town, makes more in a season than that teacher will make in a lifetime? How do we explain that to our kids? What does that say about our value system - I know, that we don't have one. Heck, it's hard to come up with any profession that makes as much as professional sports figures. Don't even tell me what professional wrestlers make, BECAUSE I REALLY DON'T WANT TO KNOW!!!! And no, I do not watch sports on tv so I am not contributing to this problem.

Anyway, this really got my dander up so I needed to let off this steam, thanks. The unfortunate thing is I don't see this getting fixed anytime soon, if ever. If I think about that for too long, I'll get really depressed. So many aspects of modern life are truly upside down from where they should be and probably from where they were meant to be...evolution can be a very strange thing.

Speaking of evolution, don't you love how styles keep going in and out, in and out. You never really need to buy anything new, all you need to do is to segment your closet into decades and eventually, you will find that you have all that you need without ever shopping again. Now for someone like my girls, I don't think there are closets big enough, or houses big enough to hold the closets they would need to do this but I still think this is the key to drastically reducing your clothing budget. The only question is how many decades do you need to save your clothes until you have enough. I guess you just wait until the retro cycle begins. Don't worry, I'm sure this concept will never catch on, especially in my family.

Here's another question for you, we keep hearing we are in the midst of global warming. What exactly does that mean besides the fact that we are experiencing more severe weather, the ocean is rising and the Arctic is thawing? Do I really want to know? Probably not but I hate to think I'm turning my back on something that deserves my attention. I'll have to go dig up one of my recent National Geographics that featured an article on this, their research is outstanding, not to mention their photography.

You know how they say , "a picture is worth 10,000 words", who decided how many words? I'd say that with inflation, a picture today is worth 1,000,000 words at a minimum, and that's without tax. We are so fortunate to have so many ways to capture "the perfect image", there's no excuse for not having your memories captured for posterity.

I have a friend who has traveled extensively. This year alone, she's been from Antarctica to the Yangtzee, from Rome to a rodeo, while holding a full time job. She recently decided she needs to retire so she has time to travel! I think she needs to retire so she has time to rest!

I'm going to close by quoting another bumper sticker I have seen around. I'm probably going to slaughter it but it goes something like, "I wait for the day when we have all the money we need for schools but have to hold a bake sale to fund the purchase of another bomber." Anybody hungry?

One Thing and Another

So, just yesterday I thought the need to rhyme was addictive, today I would say that blogging is addictive because all I could think about today was, I WANT TO BLOG! I may have to see a doctor about this if it doesn't let up. In the meantime, look out because it's unstoppable!

So, I saw a great bumper sticker the other day, it said, "We need Nixon now!" Who would have ever thought we would sink so low that Nixon would be up. That was worthy of a John Stewart moment (and probably has been, I've missed so many).

I walk through a bookstore, or the book aisles at a department store and I think, how did they come up with enough original thought to fill an entire book...or two...or three...you catch my drift. I can get writer's block just thinking about my next sentence. Then I think, maybe they have extra compartments in their brains that were never fully populated in mine. Sometimes something very noteworthy will buzz right through but I'm unable to grab it before it's gone. I would give my eye teeth to be clever. But I don't think the trade would do me any good and I'd have to give up steak and crusty bread.

So, the rain is here, right in line with Fall. Our weather is the world's best kept secret, while hurricanes, tsunamis, snowstorms, tornados, floods and ice storms hit the rest of the country, we sit here in our banana belt, keeping our heads down, so no one finds out and comes to take it away.

Speaking of weather, I need someone to explain to me the physics behind why a cloud full of rain floats thousands of feet up in the atmosphere, while individual drops of rain fall down on my head, my plants, my house, my car, etc. Why doesn't gravity pull down the entire cloud instead of individual little drops? And why when it's raining from a cloud does it look the same afterwards as it did when the rain started? Where did the water come from and where is the hole it left behind? I have the same questions about snow. Actually, if you think about a snowflake and you think about gravity, there isn't much in the way of surface to be pulled down, especially not when it hits your tongue. You'll notice that Sir Isaac Newton did not test his gravity scheme with a snowflake.

There are certain songs that should never have been written. The reason I say this is that the tunes disintegrate your mind. You know what I mean, they get stuck in there and eventually, all other thought is obliterated and the song is pounding through over and over again. Let's see, I'm talking about songs like, "Do You Know The Way To San Jose", "Raindrops Keep Falling On Your Head", "Doe a Deer", "She Wore An Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini", you catch my drift. There should be warning labels on them to Beware of Repetitive Motion or Watch for Brain Freeze.

One of the favorite memories of my youth was sitting on the ice cream maker while my dad kept throwing rock salt around the sides and cranking away on the handle. Now, here's another question for you, why is homemade ice cream so much colder than the ice cream you get at Baskin Robbins or Dairy Queen or in the grocery store frozen food case? Yet another unanswered question...

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride...says who? Maybe they'd wish for a dirigible.

It's not all about frogs!

Have you ever noticed that random thoughts become organized just with the writing of them? If I write like I think, no one will be able to follow, for instance...I love history, the more the better, international, national, family, doesn't matter.

So, who decided to demonize Thomas Jefferson? So what if he was conflicted, tormented by his double standard and duplicity, most geniuses suffer from similar afflictions...you have to admit, his house is amazing and he had an uncanny vision of the future...

I would love to know who provid "HAL"'s voice in 2001:A Space Odyssey, I wonder if anyone knows...

Is the need to rhyme truly addicting?

How in the world did we ever evolve from saber tooth tigers to the 9 lb. cat laying on the back of your couch?

There was a news story recently of some guy getting hit by a truck while running across the interstate freeway...does this remind anyone else of the old computer game where the chicken tried to run across 8 lanes of traffic without getting hit...perhaps their I.Q.'s were similar?

Imagine if certain points in history had taken a slightly different slant...

• If Nixon had been Bush's father, would he still have been elected?
• If John F. had lived, would Jackie have kept wearing those pillbox hats?
  
• If we had built condos on the moon, could anyone afford to live there?
• If television had never been invented, would we have computers?
  
• If you grew up with Captain Kangaroo, do you have an innate aversion to green jeans?
• If we hadn't endured Vietnam, would we still not get that Iraq is a mistake?
  

Yes, there is such a thing as too many frogs but that's not my point! This can be ad