Honest, I meant all of that so much, I wrote it twice.
Yup.
That was touching MBG. I watered my back porch plants earlier today. The lizards live in 'em and what with there being lizardlings on the way now and all, I want them to have happy green homes. I’m like that.
I went to the store and got a spiral cut honey baked ham. I was assured it was fresh by the deli lady. I’m glad cause it would have been tacky to show up with an unfresh ham. Anyhoo… I got the tater (N.O.T.) salad ready and took it all over, expressing my sincere sorrow and all that. The mom seemed especially pleased that I brought plates, cups, napkins and dinner ware. I gather there was a dearth of those. Dearth. Now that’s a good word. Apparently the funeral plans will be finalized tomorrow. I doubt I’ll go to the funeral, but I will swing by the funeral home to pay my respects and all that. Neighbor lady was touched by my visit. We’ve talked and all from time to time but don’t really know each other all that well. She said other neighbors had been over with food and drinks.
I got a question. In other parts of the country (world for that matter) do people show up with vast quantities of food whenever someone dies? Or is it just a southern thang making sure the bereaved are well fed in their time of sorrow?
Mailbox ribbons are big in these parts. Purple if somebody dies. Pink if there’s a new baby girl. Blue if there’s a new baby boy. White if somebody’s gettin’ hitched. If there’s not a mailbox to tie a ribbon on, it’ll be on the front door or a porch rail.
I really do live in a strange part of the world don’t I? 
Jews do it, too. It’s to relieve the grieving family of the burden of mundane tasks like cooking. I wasn’t familiar with the custom of ribbons, though. Do you know the significance of the color purple?
Robin
Just heard from my precious baby - they’ve left the Grand Canyon and they’re enroute to Vegas. They don’t expect to make it tonight, since they’re both pretty tired. I suggested they go to Lake Havasu City to see the London Bridge - she thought that sounded pretty cool. Go me - I had a good idea!
Sadly, I think today is the last for a while that I can leave the house open. It was in the low 80s today after a night in the 60s. There was no reason to turn on the AC. Till tomorrow, when it jumps to the upper 80s, and into the 90s later in the week. Stoopit summer. Why can’t it stay mild?? <sigh>
I really don’t have a clue about the purple ribbons. My brain says it should be black. I can’t even say it has a religioius significance. I mean purple is the liturgical color used in churches during lent and sometimes during advent. Purple denotes penitence though. I just don’t have a clue.
I do know that down south one cannot properly grieve without several bowls of tater (N.O.T., it just don’t get old!) salad, lots of ham and fried chicken and several gallons of sweet tea.
I forgot this. FCM did you ask The Perfect Child [sup]TM[/sup] to bring you a souvenir from every place she stops? A tshirt. A mug. A snow globe. Something. My sister and I like to bring each other gaudy souvenirs of our travels. Because of this I am the proud owner of a really gaudy semi-naked mermaid ash tray among other tasteful treasures. She on the other hand is quite taken with her ceramic salt and pepper shakers shaped like Graceland and her Elvis bobblehead doll.
Since the girls are on a very limited budget and traveling in a New Beetle, there’s no way I’d expect her to send me any kind of souvenir. But she did say she’d send me a postcard or 2.
#1 son is helping me connect my printer. I want to go make brownies (I bake when stressed). Will no one help my quest for chocolate?
Hi everybody! Didja miss me?
We’ve returned from our camping trip and had a blast. The weather was beautiful and it didn’t even get cold at night. We played on the boat, we swam, we wakeboarded (is so a word) and we skiied.
In the evenings, we sat around the campfire. We grilled our food, and we had “camping” drinks. We had a great time. Oh, I already said that. Well, I’m leavin’ it in.
I am tired and need a shower.
We’re trying to finalize the mini DV-R disk on our camcorder so we can watch what we taped. I hope it turned out. We didn’t know what the hell we were doing with it. We just bought the thing on Thursday.
It’s very hot here. It’s about 86 degrees outside. I don’t even want to start unloading the crap, er, stuff from the Expedition and boat. Maybe later. I think I’m gonna get me a tall glass of ice water now.
I’ll try and skim the MMP and catch up a little later.
Didn’t get all the painting done that I wanted, but we put a hell of a dent in it. Two rooms are completely done, the paneled room is primed and masked, the living room is taped, the kitchen is ready as far as wall work but needs masking, and the pantry has been cleaned and spackled. Whew!
The pantry had termites in it at one time. I went through a half gallon of spackle fixing the places where the little bastards ate the paper from the drywall and left the paint intact. Nothing active now, thank Og.
Oh, and I also mowed that 1 acre yard. I actually felt guilty doing that, because my spiffy new riding mower was too much like having fun when I should have been inside in misery painting.
Time is ticking away. By my schedulng, all of the painting has to be done by Saturday night so we can clean up and get the house ready for moving day on Sunday. I’ll have to go to work just to rest…
checking in and going to sleep. I did nothing, with a capital NUH, all weekend.
See you all tomorrow in the new MMP
Printer installed and actually works! Hot damn. Now I just have to figure out HOW to print stuff (like cancelling jobs etc).
Off to procure chocolate in some form or other.
Bobbio --you make me tired! I know how much work painting under a time constraint can be.
Hello to everyone else–sorry to be so in a hurry–but chocolate is calling!
I can’t believe I have to go to work tomorrow. Do you think they would notice if I just didn’t show up?
I fixed some ribs and tater (N.O.T.! - you are so right Swampus) salad and baked beans. That was very sweet of you to bring the ham and stuff. Paper plates are perfect, so no one has to do dishes. I’ve never heard of the purple ribbon thing either. I think it’s way cool! (The tradition of all the different ribbons, I mean.)
I’m pretty tuckered out. Can I bitch about the treatment making my hair fall out? It’s really thin now, and I don’t know what the hell to do with it. I’ve always had thick curly hair, cut short. I guess I’ll just have to get it cut shorter. Or start wearing a hat. I hate hats.
Y’all want some cheese with this whine?
See ya manana. Who’s doing the MMP? I forgot.
Swampy, dd you ever find out what happened with your neighbor?
Rebo, sorry about the hair. How do you look in a scarf? Can they tell you at the doctor’s what other people do?
I believe Bobbio [del]was[/del] graciously volunteered for tomorrow’s MMP.
Sorry to hear about your neighbor, swampy. I think it’s pretty typical for people to show up with food for bereaved families. It might not be the neighbors, but usually friends, co-workers, people from church, etc. will make sure that there’s enough food. I think it’s one of those things that makes people feel less helpless.
Spent a nice day in other people’s gardens and houses and then had dinner at a friends. I’m feeling tired and lazy, so I’m crawling into bed with a book and calling it a day.
GT
If I can stay awake long enough to write and post it. It was a long weekend in the Money Pit… I have to go to work tomorrow just so’s I can rest.
When someone important enough to have a bunting put on a public building around here, it’s always a purple bunting. FWIW.
Hey rigs, I just noticed which Ikea you were at. When I go Ikea-ing, that’s the one I go to. We have lots’o friends in that town, so it almost inevtiable ends in lunch, or drinks or something.
Wimp. 99 here, and annoyingly, it’s 35 degrees cooler in San Francisco. Of course the AC is running, and the electric meter’s making a funny zinging noise as it spins madly around.
What’s really strange today? Somebody put our flag upside-down. It’s an inexpensive American flag on an even more inexpensive stick, and some nutcase got it off the stick and made it fly upside-down, which is the way one would signify distress with a flag. Of course, inexpensive flags on even more inexpensive sticks aren’t made so one can easily fly it upside-down.
At least if someone wanted to mess with us, they at least picked the $12.99 flag from Target, and not the car, our fresh lawn or the house itself. For now, I’m just going to let the neighborhood busybody know, so if anyone else has their flag messed with, we’ll know that there’s a fleet-footed flag-flipper in the area.
Even here in Bugswat Toolieville we all bring food to those who have had a death in the family. Only here it is always pirok and macaroni salad. (Pirok is pie with salmon, rice and vegetables all layered. Macaroni is cheaper to freight in than potatos.) No ribbons. For festive events it’s balloons, approptiate colors for either gender in the case of a birth, multi-colored for any other festivity, unless it’s a 40th birthday, in which case the balloons are black, oh haha. :dubious: In any case swampy you did very well, not only bringing comestibles, but dinnerware as well. Will your head swell if I say that you are very thoughtful and kind?
All of you living where the summer is warm, I grudgingly send my sympathy. It is sunny and a whopping 58F. Rain and wind in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. I really didn’t need to check the forecast for that, my bones are achy, stupid easterly wind.
FCM I have been meaning to say again how envious I am, of both your studio as well as your energy level. Judging from your photos we are in the same age catagory, and I just don’t have the oomph I used to.
The kidlets went to the matinee of Pirates of the Carribean, which is not fair because they just do not fully appreciate Johnny Depp. The peace and quiet have been nice though, even the neighborhood monsters have been quiet, I am assuming everyone else is at the beach.
No plans for dinner other than Eat What’s Left in the Fridge tonight.
Maybe I’ll just watch a late movie and be the first to post to the MMP, 4:00 am EDT is 11:00 pm ADT for me, so unless the MMP is posted very late in your morning, I will generally be awake.
Ta, cool kids!
Fleet footed flag flippers?
Jeepers–the terrorists have won!!!
Swamps --we do the the whole food thing, but not the ribbon. Years ago, crepe (black) was hung on the front door.
Purple–lavendar, really–denotes mourning. IMS, black is deep mourning and would have been worn by a widow for a complete year to honor her husband (Queen Victoria never stopping wearing it), but after a year, I think a woman could move to either gray or lavendar. Seems the ribbons just continue that tradition, with a modern tweak or two…sorry about your neighbor.
Rebo --sorry to hear about your hair. Ask your stylist.
Off to bed-work in AM. Got the brownies made–they’re ok, not great. shoot.