Paddy's Wanderings

Of Cars & the Apocalpyse

I am kinda rambling today on a bunch of topics... it is that kind of day.

I am not a big Vette fan, but my Dad just got this car and I am itching to take it for a spin. I am not as big a car nut as some people, but I do dig old cars, even vettes. It is kind of hard to get excited about driving a Jeep Liberty, the soccer mom jeep, but its ok, it is a jeep after all. For the most part, I have not had a cool car since my first car, a 76 Firebird... ah well...

I have been working tons of hours for so long, I forget what it is like to not to do so. Even that sounded wordy.. sigh. My writing has suffered a great deal. Too tired when I do get the time to do much of anything. I am transcribing from Open Office to Word a bunch of stuff, in preperation for trying to get it published, or self publishing that is. I have enough rejection letters, may as well try it myself. At least I know the publisher wont send me a form letter. Then again, who knows?

Took the techion-kid to his first movie at a theater yesterday, we saw Cars 2. Sequels are usually meh, but not in this case. I think I liked this one better,nowhere near as sad and it was a pretty good take off on James Bond. Plus who doesnt like Mater being... Mater?

The t-k had a lot of fun. I asked him as we walked out of the theater what he thought, was it fun? he looked at me and said, 'Dad, that was awesome! Lets do it again.' Well that was music to my ears. He seemed a little scared at first by the whole process and clutched my hand until we sat down. Then we attacked the huge box of popcorn we got, watched the previews and he was cool with it all. He laughed and would stage whisper, as only a five year old can, this is cool!

So score for the first movie experience. Of course he wanted go back in and watch it again. Cant we just play the DVD again? Well no.. we would have to buy another ticket and we spent all of our money already. He says oh.. then the wheels were turning, 'lets go the bank and get more money!' I knew if he liked it he was going to say that, I just knew it. Oh well, we went to Target and snagged a couple of the new Cars 2 toys and called it a day. He was cool with that.

I am on an apocalypse kick. We just watched Jericho and loved it. Now we are watching Jeremiah and liking that too. It must be something in the air. Who knows.. it may be just my taste in TV lately. Either way its better then a lot of what is out there.

I think it is time for a nap and maybe then a bit of grilling. Who knows?

Happy Wanderings

 

 

Then & Now ~ Canning

Yesterday, Better 1/2, Gammie, and the Techno-kid went to the local Farmers Market and had a good ol' time. I got to sit home and suffer through the Annual June Capt Tripps sickness. (I do joke about it, because it seems ever since I read The Stand a zillion yrs ago, I get a major upper respiratory infection first week of June.. go fig.) Anywho, they acquired some strawberries and rhubarb and assorted bits and bobs. The canning season has begun at the ol' homestead.

The t-k says he wants to go back again and again. He had a good time, and today had fun with the canning. When I was a wee lad(queue middle son playing air banjo~smart aleck) I would go with my grand parents and my great aunt and great uncle to pick strawberries so my gram could make strawberry jam. Not a whole lot different other then we picked em ourselves and they were a fraction of the current price, but the idea is the same.

Trust me the smell was fantastic, and I got a tiny taste before it went in the jar. The t-k and me had to taste test! The rhubarb/strawberry flavor was great, and will go well in a pbj. The t-k helped take stems off, and start the batch, then hung out with me while it was cookin'. He had to tell me twice, no touch Dad, it is hot. I know better then to get between the canner and her pot, I just stay out of the way.

I have seen this many a time over the years, not as exciting to me as the wee lad, but it may be a matter of age, not so much the coolness. He was dancing around with the jar tool, trying it out on everything in sight. Apparently, tools are his thing and they blamed me went they didn't have it right there when the jars were ready to come out.. peshaw. It was the little wee lad and the big wee lad, goofing off in the living room picking up objects. It was not just me!

Then a small voice would gleefully announce, 'It popped!' Kinda like another small voice, about forty years ago, would do. I swear I heard an echo.

Personally, I think it is cheating to label the jars, but what do I know. I also miss taking the boxes of jars, filling the ol' radio flyer, and walking them to the cellar under the barn. These went to the table and will go into the pantry when they are fully cooled. Not the same I tell ya, not the same.

That cellar was creepy cool, usually in the dead of summer musty and not quite dry. After a rain, mostly during the spring and fall, there was standing water and you had to make sure you did not step off the boards or you would get some nasty water up to your shin. The winter time, it was frosty, not brutal cold like outside, but that wierd underground coolness and the water would not freeze. It may have a thin layer of ice and no, if you stepped on it, then you had a shin high ice bath.

Cobwebs, old barnbeams and moss coverd fieldstone would greet you as you went down the broken stone steps. Creepy, but cool, and filled with jars and jars of food. My grandmother had a tendency to can venison and pigs feet. The yellow flashlight beam would show some weird stuff in those jars. Well weird to a preteen reading too much SF and expecting to see brains or aliens or some such.

Now the t-k can just open the pantry and see the can goodness from mom and gammie mixed with bags of flour and sugar and spaghetti-o's. I dont think that is anywhere near as cool, but you know, you have what you have. Different, but still as cool, because really, the tradition of canning is still there, just a little more updated is all.

If I had a barn and a cellar underneath one end would it be cool? Oh yeah... but not necessary to keeping with the canning tradition. Probably not as creepy either, which might be a good thing!

Happy Wanderings

 

 

Chalk Art in the Driveway

Faint though they be, there are some strange lines appearing in gammie's drive. Me thinks it is the techno-kid and his sidewalk chalk! He does love to draw, and chalk on the driveway is the perfect way to do it. He can spend a lot of time, just doodling, and that is just fine by me, keeps him off the 'puter and tele.

I am suspicious of this one. I believe it may have been the work of mom. It looks a lot like her type of simple flower. Hard to tell from the pic, but I believe the pink drawings are bumble bees flying around the flower. The t-k is fascinated by 'good guy bees' who visit flowers and make honey.

I think they were on a flower kick the other day. Another example of mom helping I am sure. T-K likes to draw bees around flowers, birds and fishes too. He has lately been drawing lots of diggers and cranes and dozers too. Whatever he is drawing is okey dokey.

I said, rather innocently, that they look like Nasca drawings. Silly Dad who reads too much. I then had to go into great detail about a wide variety of subjects related to those desert drawings. Thankfully, we have the internet and I hunted down all kinds of pics and info and had a pretty good discussion with the t-k. He was fascianted, which warms my heart.

I like to think he will become an explorer of knowledge and self teach himself as he grows up, kinda like his parents have done. The thirst for knowledge can be powerful, but very, very satisfying. I do miss being a kid, but it has been fun watching the boyos discover the world.

Happy Wanderings

 

 

Of Bubbles & Maples

Sunday was a good day.I got to sit in the shade under a maple tree and watch the planting and play with bubbles. Well, actually, the techno-kid got the bubble-gun from gram and he was sending bubbles everywhere. It was fun, bubbles are like that.

 I dont know, the bubbles looked cool in the grass, so I took a couple pics. Not as good as being there but, you get the idea.

More bubbles! Actually, I may have taken a zillion pics of bubbles, so did the t-k when I was shootin' the bubble gun. Good thing it is a digital camera. back in the day, we would have taken one, if that.

Oh I was kicked back in the chair, kinda enjoying the shade and a bit of sun. I looked up and saw this. I like gram's maple tree, good shade under there.

The view did not change much. I took a zillion pics of the tree too. I did not want to move too much, thats for sure.

The big brothers put up a tent they bought for $2 at a rummage sale. Not too bad for two bucks, it even came with its very own musty basement/old storage smell. The tent is a two person tent, well two people who dont mind sleeping cheek by jowl. Not a bad find either.

Then we grilled hotter-doggers and called it a day. I have put in for more days like this, we'll see if we can't do that every weekend.

Happy Wanderings

 

Project Garden: The Container Planting

Better 1/2 with Gammie and the Techno-tot have been working on their container garden and this is but a small pic of the vast array of herbs and such they have planted. They are on a kick with all kinds of tomato plants which is fine by me. Throw in the pepper plants and all the herbs and I am thinking at some point this summer, there will be much making of homemade salsa.

The woman can make some awesome salsa. Hopefully the garden will be plentiful and we will have a few more jars this year. As in, the salsa cache will last past Christmas. I doubt it though. Thats ok though, you can only grow so much in a container garden.

Which brings me to the container garden thing. See, we have limited room, and what room we have seems to have deck and concrete and very little grass. So, the next best thing is a container garden, which is cool. Someday we will buy a yard with a house and we can plant until the cows come home. Until then, containers work just fine.

Farmer Nerf in action. Transplanting a tomato plant she started with heirloom seeds. So far, she has had good success with most of the seeds she has planted. I do find it funny that we have plastic pails with stuff growing from them. Even more.. funny is buying dirt. But when you dont have the yard space you can convert to garden, you gotta get it from somewhere.

Farmer Techno-tot posing with the huge tomato plant and all the other containers he has been tending. He loves to water, almost too much really. All he needs is a straw hat and sprig of hay sticking out of his mouth and he would be a farmer. His great grand parents would be proud. Nice to know a 'city kid' still has roots in farming. I'll have to find a local farm that needs some help shoveling out the pens, its good for the soul.

When we do find that yard with a house, some time this summer I am hoping, we will have to plan for next spring and plant like crazy. I gotta feeling we will be digging up a back yard and transforming it into as big a garden as we can. It will be fun.

Oh and that local farm I was thinking about? Yeah, that would be a good place to acquire.. fertilizer. I'll just have to figure out a way to transport it home. Buckets would work.. hmmm..

I'll have to post updates as we go. Project Garden should be pretty neato this year.

Happy Wanderings