building, um, bridges.

so mccain picked palin.

a knee jerk reaction to the democratic convention and the hillary/obama situation and not a wise choice in my opinion.

if he thinks he's going to get the hillary vote i think he's sadly mistaken.

hillary supporters were for hillary. not just *any* woman will do just because she's a woman.

it doesn't translate that easily. the sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits is a tougher nut to crack than that.

and sure, palin has her points going for her. unfortunately i think this is just a case of finding the body to fill the skirt. "progressive" as it is, she's still a republican. the sidekick to a flip flopping, bush loving, status quo supporter of all that is fucked up in this country. the sidekick to the guy who is running for a third bush/cheney term.

well when you put it like who in the hell cares that's she's a woman!?! who would sign up for that!

the feminist in me is not amused.

but, that dude is old. and not in the best of health. so perhaps the republican party could give us the first woman in the white house and perhaps the first female commander in chief.

stranger things...

it's at least, at the. very. least, somewhat of a bridge to the future. even if for the wrong reasons, it's a bridge.

fuck, poor hillary. damn if there's not always someone younger faster and prettier comin' up on her heels! everywhere she turns! and this latest one an actual beauty queen!

she just can't catch a break.

x.

i was wondering what he's been up to.

i assure you i am not having nearly as much fun as our commander in chief.

busy here. will be back. behave yourselves!

(you too, george)

x.

camping.

we've been away camping.

this is the view from our campsite.

pretty, no?

every year we camp on the san juan islands at this site with another family. there's a lot of fishing, both salt water and fresh, trips to town for ice cream and boat watching, and everybody gets along, has a total blast, and it's a lot of fun.

other than an end of summer all boy camp out in the back pasture in a few weeks this is the last big summer activity.

in other news, soccer starts next week for the duke. we've always had a one sport a year rule because i don't like the idea that each new season brings a wholesale schedule dedication to yet another sport and team.

but the duke has always wanted to play soccer so we decided to try it out this year.

truth be told, i found a pair of brand new totally terrific soccer cleats in his size for 4.99 at target and that's what sealed my decision.

god, i am so damned cheap. whatever gets you there, right?

BUT, i heard from a friend, who's totally tapped into the public school community, that she heard that the duke's coach is a "yeller." oy.

in the meantime, i've got laundry and unpacking and school to facilitate so i bid you adieu.

enjoy your wednesday!

x.

basketball jones.

so as you can see, i've taken another picture of my morning coffee. this is simply to illustrate something i recently found out about photography.

did you know that when you take a picture of coffee with cream, even a little cream, the color of the coffee ends up looking like watered down hot chocolate? which can be illustrated by yesterday's photo. which is my morning coffee with very little cream and no sugar.

so if you think about it, when you see pictures of coffee in a cup, they are nearly always of straight black coffee. which just looks better regardless of how you take your coffee and screams "cuppa joe!"

it's kinda like when i found out they use watered down glue for pouring milk shots in commercials because it looks more "milky" than regular milk.

and now lets all let out a collective "huh."

all right, moving right along. i'm supposed to be at yoga. but i hurt my shoulder playing basketball yesterday and have to take the day off. bummer. yoga, oddly enough, has become my "thing."

and when i say i was playing basketball what i mean is i was shooting hoops by myself. i try to "play" with the boybarians but inevitably the duke gets all agro and elbowy and grabby and shovey and then wingman gets goofy and the whole thing is just less like fun and exercise and more like another parenting challenge for the day.

and in case you are wondering, yes, i made the shot that hurt my shoulder. 3 points and a perfect swish, nothing but net. and no, it wasn't worth it.

so instead we started school early so we can leave the house at a reasonable time for some errands and visiting with friends before baseball tonight.

along those lines i will give you a "and this is why i love my job" moment from yesterday.

okay, i know i said we are just doing math and latin this month but it turns out wingman and i had some history to finish before we start the new book in september.

and yesterday we got to learn about siddhartha. and how he came to be buddha. and wingman was listening in his half interested half let's get this over with way until the end. until the end of the lesson when it is actually revealed that siddhartha is buddha when his eyes went wide and big and incredulous, and his head shot up from the arm rest of the couch.

"what? he's buddha? he was a guy? a real guy?"

and then he had that smile and that little chuckle he gets when he learns something new AND interesting and went to tell his papa all about it. just in case he didn't know. and then his brother. just in case he didn't know.

history coming to life is a priceless gift to a child. almost magical even.

and makes my job more than worth it.

x.

monday.

we made it through the first week of school and now we are on to our second.

it seems to be going well. there's been no breaking down in tears, hysterical fits, or running away.

and the boybarians seems to be doing okay also.

buh dump bump.

there's still plenty more summer to be had, but i definitely am more and more feeling the shift towards a new season.

it's so funny how we can't wait for summer! then we can't wait for fall! for christmas! for spring!

hurrying through the last, and sometimes best, bit of each season in favor of relishing the beginning of the next. shiny shiny! we love the shiny and new.

silly. mortals. indeed.

and it's a good thing this earth exists with seasons playing such a huge part in civilization. because imagine if there weren't any seasons? imagine the same day over and over only changed by how we are feeling that day. with absolutely no influence either positive, negative, or indifferent by the ever changing weather or the turning leaves or the sense of renewal and rebirth or conversely of the cold and the darkness, of closing up and looking in?

it would be like living in stasis.

or phoenix.

x.

the apple. the tree. not a far fall.

so on monday when the duke was starting his new latin book he encountered a review based on the vocabulary he learned in the two previous books.

"hey! this is a review and i have never seen this word before in my life!"

"maybe you've just forgotten it?"

"nope! i have a feeling i've been bruckheimered!"

in other news, i hope you are enjoying my poppy pictures because besides the lavender (that thrives on benign neglect so i'm not sure it counts)the poppies are the only show in town. i am a hopeless gardener, no wait, i'm not hopeless, but rather hopeful.

i've figured out the real problem is that my dirt sucks. all of it. even if i take the necessary steps towards being a passable green thumb, my dirt ultimately thwarts those efforts.

at some point i'm going to have to remedy this situation. story of my life.

compost? steer manure? take all the dirt out and replace it? who knows.

BUT, in the meantime, california golden poppies apparently thrive in poor soil. they love it! and if they can grow on the side of freeways and in vacant busted concrete lots then they can grow in my soil! right!

well, they weren't growing. they weren't blooming. they weren't doing anything.

and then, they did.

faith and patience. like anything else in life it's all about faith and patience.

and failing that, a healthy layer of bull shit never hurts.

x.

the four buck yogi.

so this morning i felt well enough to go to yoga.

unfortunately, i was running late.

so naturally i was speeding down the road (okay, can i just say that i never speed. ever. so when i say i was speeding down the road it means i was doing approximately 53 in a 50 MPH zone. scandalous, i know)

so i was speeding down the road when i get waaay slowed up by a utility truck going 40! crap!

who goes 40 in a 50 MPH zone!?! losers, that's who!

i start getting all kvetchy at the driver in front of me, shouting out loud in the confines of my own truck, a few choice words and the whole nine yards, when it hits me.

double crap! i am not only breaking the law and risking life and limb speeding down the road now i'm getting all road ragey too!

all to get to yoga? what's wrong with this picture?

clearly someone needs more time with the buddha.

so i slowed down (to be fair, i had NO choice ) and took a deep breath and drove the rest of the way in relative calm.

who's the loser now, huh?

people are weird. we're late so we maximize and compound any potential drama by breaking the law and putting ourselves and those around us at risk. all to get to a desk, or an appointment, or yoga on time?

don't get me wrong, being late is not something i enjoy. in fact, i've been known to get fairly agro about it, but as i get older i am realizing i spend more time fretting about being late or hollering at the boybarians to hurry up or taking my anxiety out on the road than i should. all for what? a few minutes?

because if getting somewhere on time means doing any of those things, all with their own potential short term or long term risks, then it's not worth it. it seems like it is, or you don't even think about it, but it's not.

especially yoga! and 4 buck yoga to boot! good lord.

and while we're on the subject, i'll tell you what you get for your money when you do 4 buck yoga.

the last 10 minutes of yoga, which are typically reserved for the relaxation/corpse pose, deep breathing, closed eyes, low lights, and soothing music, coincide perfectly, as if planned by bruckheimer himself, with the first 10 minutes of arrival for the pre-school in the room next door.

namaste.

x.

today.

today was the first day of school.

today it's my wedding anniversary.

today i have a cold.

tomorrow fall baseball (a month long clinic) starts for both boybarians which means today i have to gather all the stuff they're going to need. cleats, do they still fit? cups, wingman has never had one, bat bags, a new bat!?! of course because wingman's bat is for t-ball. new mouth guards for both, they think they need new batting gloves but that's not happening. and on and on and on. it's worse than a traveling broadway show, i swear.

ooops! i think i might be too busy to post.

carry on.

x.