Incredible Catch – Watch more free videos

Pretty awesome, ‘eh?

For some reason, I haven’t been able to get many good pictures of the flowers currently in bloom.

Part of that is because it’s been raining so much, but another part is that masses of flowers seem harder for me to photograph than a single flower.

Ah well.

(more…)

At some point, I’m going to put together some before and after pictures of the yard/gardens. Just so you can see how sad and barren and pathetic the place was when we moved in.

For now, however, here is how my garden has progressed since early spring.

(more…)

Even saw lightening bugs this evening, which makes it really officially summer, right?

Sometimes, the Internet brings awesome into your life!

(more…)

That economic stimulus check? We just blew through it and then some.

We finally ordered a new wood stove (back in April I shattered one of the glass panels on the old stove, and it really was not worth trying to repair). We went to a local business that sells pools and wood/gas stoves, and ordered a Vermont Castings Encore. Compared to the old stove, this thing will be amazing. Burn time of 10 hours, swing out ash pan, it can be loaded from the front AND the top, and it has a griddle on the top for cooking if you so desire. Plus I think it’s about a third the size of the monster we have right now. AND it’s the cleanest burning non-catalytic stove, which was also an important consideration. So that was more than the stimulus check for the deposit, and then another thousand in August when it arrives, and then installation. BUT this should heat the basement–and the rest of the house–much more efficiently, and with a whole hell of a lot less smoke.

Then if that wasn’t enough, I bought shoes for Kim’s wedding in September in Wyoming. (TRAIN RIDE!) Now, you have to understand that I hate shoe shopping, and I have a hard time finding shoes that are comfortable. So I went straight to the lady who specializes in comfortable shoes, and found a shoe I liked straight away. It’s leather, it’s black, and it has a heel, but it’s also comfortable enough that I should be able to wear it again and again (even with a pants suit).

Of course, I’ve now paid three times as much for the shoes as I did for the dress, but there is nothing worse than hurting feet to ruin a good time. And as I said, I can wear ’em again.

Then since I hadn’t apparently spent enough money, I got a new pair of work shoes.

Of course both pairs of shoes had to be ordered, because she didn’t have my size in black (I tried on a different color) but since the wedding isn’t until September, I’m okay. And that meant I only had to pay half for those as well.

And OMG! The website has an AWESOME pair of boots! Want! Want!

So now I have spent a disgusting amount of money. But I’ll have wood heat in the winter, and an awesome pair of shoes to wear at the wedding and onward form there.

Happy Friday!

First I must walk over to the water bowl. Then I will walk over to you and bonk your leg with my head. Then I will walk away, then I will walk over to you and bonk your leg with my head.

BUT DO NOT PET ME!

Yes human? What do you want? You don’t like my bed? Why do you keep nattering on about spending money to buy a real cat bed with lambswool. I like this bed.

Because it’s embarrassingly bad.

This ad has been sitting on top of paper boxes ALL WEEK.

Woman: “Excuse me, do you know where the morgue is?”

(I do and was able to direct her accordingly.)

Yes, today is West Virginia‘s Birthday! The state is 145 years old, which I’m sure most of Europe thinks is positively young, however, the Appalachian mountains are quite old–and probably related to mountain ranges in Great Britain. And don’t forget, our cities and counties have been around much longer than 145 years, and if Virginia hadn’t chosen the wrong side in the Civil War, I wouldn’t have to spend my life going, “No, it’s West Virginia. Yes, we have snow here. No, I don’t live near the beach.”

Nor would I be nearly as thankful for Arkansas and Mississippi as I am now.

When Chief Justice Rhenquist spoke here several years ago, he said the state was very lucky that Virginia had never challenged our statehood, because he wasn’t sure the cause would have held up in court.

Yet, despite everything, I fiercely love West Virginia.

Yes, we’re a poor state. Yes, we’ve got lots of problems. Yes, there are places in the state where ignorance thrives.

Yet the people are kind and generous.

In college I was riding around in the woods with my friend Andy, back from where we all would go camping on a regular basis, when he managed (through a series of unfortunate events) to destroy the battery in his jeep. We ended up not far from the kind of place that makes out-of-staters think of “Deliverance” and out in the yard was one of the biggest men I’ve ever seen. We explained the situation to him, and he went over to one of the trucks in his yard, pulled out the battery, handed it to Andy, and said, “Y’all go get a new battery, and just bring this back when you’re done.”

He wouldn’t take money or anything else. So we went to town, got a new battery, and then took his battery back to him.

Those are the kind of people you meet here in West Virginia.

If I get in my car and drive in any direction, within fifteen to twenty minutes I’m surrounded by trees, with houses few and far between. Sure, I’ll eventually come to another town or city, but for the most part you drive through woods, with shade and cool temperatures in the summer, and spectacular color in the fall. Even living in the center of town as I do I walk out on my front porch and see trees–most of the steeper hills in town are still wooded; it hasn’t been worth the effort to try and build on those hills, though I fear that may change in the near future.

And so despite her faults–and I admit we have many–I love this state, and am proud to live here.

That’s right! It’s World Sauntering Day!

Everybody go saunter!

I just finished Volume 10 of Fables, The Good Prince, and let me tell you, if you are not reading this series you need to be.

Here’s the gist: There has been a terrible war that has driven many Folk and Fairy tales from their Homeland. Many who can pass as human are living in Fabletown in New York, while those who can’t pass as human live on The Farm up State New York.

While the Fables yearn to return to the Homelands, they have their own lives to live, and those lives are even more complex than you can imagine.

These are not fairy tales for kids. These stories hark back to the folk and fairy tales before they were cleaned up. There is murder and sex and revenge and most of all fantastic stories.

So really, check it out. It’s completely and totally worth it.

Yes, Eric is a fan of the God of Tapeworms.

Please, ask him how much he adores tapeworms.

Live webcam of a lion and her cubs.

I saw them eating earlier. And two of the babies getting licked by a VERY large tongue.