To Kill A Mockingbird

"Neighbors bring food with death, and flowers with sickness, and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a knife, and our lives." Scout Finch

Sniff... Sniff... Sniff.. BWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.... I cry every time I watch this movie. The boy and i chilled today with our Netflix DVD. It's the perfect movie for a lazy Sunday afternoon. I think this is a movie you should watch once a year when you're like me and forget just about everything you see within a few hours. Like the fact that this was Harper Lees' only book. Like the fact that the character Dill was based on Truman Capote who was Harper Lee's playmate and long time friend in Alabama where they grew up. She actually accompanied Truman Captoe to Kansas to help him research his best seller, In Cold Blood. How highly thought of Gregory Peck was and how he stayed in touch with the actors and Harper through out his life. He even had a grandchild named Harper in her honor. Brock Peters, the actor who played Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a white girl, actually gave a touching eulogy at Gregory Peck's funeral. I'd also forgotten this was Robert Duvall's movie debut playing Arthur "Boo" Radley. Harper Lee refused an Oprah interview as she was quite a recluse, informing Oprah she was a lot like her character, Boo Radley. The movie kept the boy's attention who had so many questions I am determined to read him the book. The teenager informed us she thought Tom Robinson was lying on the witness stand and she was leaving to watch Sponge Bob. Maybe with the teenager I'll stick with Peter Rabbit.

My Dog Woke Me UP

It's 3:53 AM and my dog woke me up going ballistic. After 20 minutes of me yelling "STOP BARKING" I finally got out of bed with the boy tugging on me yelling that Vanna White was "sensing danger." Sure enough, there are 3 police cruisers in front of my house and a strange man/teen standing on my lawn smoking! There was something lying next to him on his right. A bike? A dead body? I just hate it when you can't see details in the dark! Of course, the boy was using my binoculars last week and didn't put them back! After seeing the man hunt and the boy's incessant, I told you so's, my tune changed to,"GOOD DOGGIE! WHAT A GOOD DOGGIE!" Since 2 of the 6 uniformed police were obviously on foot searching my neighborhood and 2 of the 3 cruisers were driving around with their lights off (which the boy noticed) I figured I'd let Vanna out for a little jog around the back yard so she could fulfill her doggie dreams and rip someones head off if they just happened to be lurking there. I saw Vanna in a fight once. She was attacked by a boxer who Vanna thought wanted to play. Within seconds of the attack I watched her switch effortlessly from play mode to I'm going to rip your neck open mode. The boxer immediately knew he bit off more than he could chew...literally and figuratively...and stopped the attack, standing perfectly still acknowledging Vanna as, "Alpha Dog." I was so proud of her I wanted to make her an Alpha Dog cape on the spot. They say these dogs kill bear, wolves and big cats and after the boxer rebellion I have no doubts regarding this tid bit of information. Vanna made a vicious sweep of the back yard perimeter tonight and finding nothing prances regally over to my heirloom tomatoes right in front of me and pees on them! "BAD DOGGIE! WHAT A BAD DOGGIE!" Even if my heirloom tomatoes survive who will want to eat them? Anyway, I soon lost interest in the hoopla and decided to check my e-mail. Thank you to my friend Diane who sent me two seriously funny blogs right up my thrifty alley. I'm in here laughing and snorting reading these blogs and since I have no curtains I'm sure between the giant polar bear dog and my insane cackling whoever they were looking for was making a mental note in the bushes to avoid my house in the future. Anyway, enjoy!

http://community.livejournal.com/thrifthorror/

http://mtss.blogspot.com/

Rainy Day Road Trip North West

Today we had planned on going to the beach. All week it has been sunny and warm. This morning when we woke up it was dark, gloomy and raining. Time for a road trip! We hopped in the car and took off over a bridge and down a highway. When we passed an establishment that was newly built called The Hip Hop Soda Shop I lamented out loud that they must have gone broke before they ever got up and running. The teenager states matter of factly, "That's because everyone is buying that sugar free junk."

We drove aimlessly through a few different cities. One city we passed is a well known carnie town where many of the old time circus side show folk settled including, the Lobster boy, Melvin Burkhart (the Human Blockhead), Percilla the Monkey girl, and a number of little people who starred as Munchkins in Wizard of Oz. Al and Jeanie Tomaini, (the giant who married the “half girl” ) were considered to be the founders of the community and were known for their hospitality and friendliness as well as their restaurant, bait shop, and marina. Together they operated “Giant’s Camp”, offering southern style food and drinks to the local residents. Both Al and Jeanie are deceased leaving behind a daughter named Judy. Judy has a fascinating site full of carnie lore. Check it out: http://www.sideshowworld.com/thstgod-jtrs.html

We stopped at any thrift store we came across (no matter how scary) and found the Forget Me Not candlestick below for 80 cents:

The tiny cream and sugar set for $1.01:

To top it off the teenager spotted a pink Barbie "lap top" in a plastic bag with 4 stuffed animals which we donated back to the thrift store. The lap top cost $1.99 and works perfectly. What a find!

Sometimes you have to look a little harder when you are surrounded by dilapidated mobile home parks, junkyards and stinky phosphorous plants but there is always beauty to be found. Like this:

this:

and this:

We found a large nursery in the middle of no where with a huge selection of Orchids and containers of lady bugs which fascinated the boy. (Fortunately, I caught him before he was able to "free" a container full.) The employee who helped us actually lives in our city but drives an hour or more to this nursery for employment. She told us how the nurseries in our area are cutting back hours to almost nothing and how she had to go where she could find full-time employment. I left there with two hardy day lily plants, a weird color of lantana, creeping rosemary and a thankfulness to be employed close to home. Today our city looks a little better to us and our house seems like a mansion. We actually had such an interesting time we've decided to hit the road at least once a month with no destination or plan in mind. Next time we go north east!

TV Coma, Organic Gardening and the Virus From Hell

This morning I'm talking to the boy and he is not answering. I finally YELL in exasperation and the teenager informs me, "He can't hear you. He is in a tv coma. This is a bad thing." I love how the teenager sums up life so neatly.We don't really have a tv. I got rid of cable when I sat down at Christmas to watch a popular family program with my son and was horrified by the Christmas perfume commercials and one commercial advertising the new season for a show where a man is throwing a woman up against a fence and ripping her shirt off over and over and over. That did it for me when I realized my 9 year old son and I could not even watch a family program without being inundated with the worlds version of "love." I canceled cable the following day. I'm not a complete freak, though. I subscribe to Netflix and we do Redbox. Both commercial free. It was Sponge Bob the boy was watching earlier on a rented DVD this morning that induced the coma. Sponge Bob has the same effect on me.

Today the boy is going on an outing with a neighbor friend. Thank you Jesus.

The girls and I are going to chill which means i will be putting loads of laundry away, mopping floors, etc. There really is never any chilling in my world. I've spent my "vacation" being sick. Saw the eye specialist Tuesday and my corneas are ok so am being weaned off the meds. Woke up Wednesday sick as a junk yard dog. Thought I was going to die. This is part of the eye virus according to the specialist. Go figure. I refused to let illness get me down, though. Armed with saline nasal spray, antihistamines, gallons of water and liquid gel ibuprofen I worked in the back yard for 4 hours anyway. I figured if the pollen count didn't kill me off nothing would. Planted the heirloom tomatoes, basil, cilantro, oregano, nasturtiums and pretty flowers all in a row. Worked on the red and yellow butterfly garden. Red and yellow are not colors of my choosing but the butterflies have informed me over the years that it is their choice so I have complied. All in all a good day.

This morning I feel a little better. Hooray! I am determined to homestead where I'm planted at the moment although my heart is in a country place. Even this morning watering the tomatoes I wished I could hear the bird songs without the whir of I-275 drowning them out. I was talking to a friend yesterday who has 5 gorgeous acres of land and a nice home in a country place. She wants to move back here. I want to move up there. In a perfect world we could simply trade and both would be happy campers. Unfortunately, her land and house are paid off and my house isn't. There are hundreds of threads in the scriptures that weave our every day tapestries. One of them is to be content in the situation you are in. Forget about the past. Don't worry about tomorrow. Contentment, however, doesn't just happen. It's very often an act of the will. Lately I am determined that i will make the most of my homestead in the city. Maybe some day I'll hear the birds sing without the droning of traffic. I guess I'm hanging on to that "thread" of hope.

Since When Did " i Carly" Represent Easter?

The teenager and I were in the store back when I could see well and she said, "look! It's almost Easter!" pointing to a huge display of stuffed animals, candy, baskets and a very large display of...i Carly? For those of you who don't have small children and are not familiar with the program on Nick it is a very popular tween show involving the main character, Carly, and her buddies who have a web show. It's an entertaining show if you're 12 and I have nothing against it but what does it have to do with Easter? This has been swirling around in my head like a turd that won't flush and today, Easter Sunday, I feel compelled to officially protest the commercialization of yet another special day. After I un-stuck both of my eyes this morning and was able to see a little of my world, I went out in the garden to find samples of what Easter is truly about. I did not find an i Carly Easter display.
I love the story according to John: "For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.Then the disciples went away again unto their own homes. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus has lain. And they say to her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because, they have taken way my Lord and I know not where they have laid him. And when she said this, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself unto him, Raboni!; which is to say Master."
And so to sum it up less eloquently than John, it is Jesus who has risen and His resurrection that we celebrate on Easter. Irregardless of how hard we try, His show will never be canceled.

For the Kindhearted Among You...

who have inquired about how I am feeling I have included a photo of myself taken this morning. Both eyes are now officially affected. I will not be blogging for a while for obvious reasons. The teenager just woke up and said, "So how are your eyes today?" I took my glasses off to show her. "Kinda worse I see." You can always expect an accurate assessment from the teenager. I put a 40 fluid ounce jug of hand sanitizer at my front door. Sanitized are those who enter and sanitized are those who depart.

You're Village Called. They Are Missing An Idiot.

Well, so much for "vacation." The artist just called and she has to work. Seeing as this is the only time we can go it looks like we won't be going back for many moons. Just as well. I'm very tired and don't feel all that well. I get criticized all the time for "not asking for help" as does one of my favorite bloggers, Big Mama Hollers. She feels her "problem" is stubbornness. I think my "problem" is perceived as stubbornness but to me it seems more like when I ask for help it isn't always convenient for people who can't help and so I end up embarrassed for asking. They say it takes an entire village to raise a child or in my case today take a baby off the school bus while I'm at the eye specialist. My "village people" were unavailable so I phoned the genius in tears who left work and came to my rescue. Between Iris/Virus, the genius and Curly T the children and I survived. Curly T and I have been friends for some time now. We met at our children's special needs bowling league and per Curly T she liked me immediately because one of my children who shall remain nameless the teenager was rolling down the alley in the throws of a tantrum and I obviously didn't give a rip. Curly T is not a people person and is suspicious of those who are "religious."Apparently, I am acceptable because I admit I'm an idiot and as she puts it so eloquently, "yes, you suck but not as bad as everyone else." The genius drove me to the eye specialist who diagnosed me with a virus which is beginning to affect the other eye as well and the lymph glands in my neck. This explains why i feel as terrible as I look. The good news is it has nothing to do with an auto-immune disease. The bad news is, "it will get much worse before it gets better and it has a very prolonged duration. I have a lady who has had this for 6 weeks now." She said this at least 3 times as she slathered hand sanitizer all over her arms. The medication cost $97.00 and I have to go back next week for a re-check to make sure my corneas aren't rotting. While there I ran into an optometrist I've know for years who greets me with a cheery, "hi!" and then notices my eyes..."WHOA!!" Jumping back about 3 feet he asks me if I'm contagious. Yes, I told him, but this has already proven to be a positive thing. The genius treated me to lunch but refused to take my money or anything else I touched for that matter. While all of this is happening a friend of mine who is always available for everyone in need calls me to see if I can help her today. She recently broke both feet and is alone with her special needs daughter. I felt terrible telling her no, i was blind as a bat. I'm sure if she saw me though she would be thankful I could not help. As Curly T put it today, "put your sun glasses back on you look freakish!" So in all reality...and I do love reality...I guess it's just as well that we cannot go to visit the artist and the tall man next week. Honestly, I think a vacation might just kill me. I have to say though, before I die I really want to visit Crazy Woman Creek in Colorado. It sounds like my kind of vacation spot.