A-Z Monday L IS FOR LEGS!

ODE TO LEGS

TWO LEGS...

FOUR LEGS....

SIX LEGS...

EIGHT!
WHAT DO WE APPRECIATE???

LEGS! LEGS! LEGS! LEGS! LEGS!

LEGS! LEGS! LEGS! LEGS! LEGS!

LEGS! LEGS! LEGS! LEGS! LEGS!

LEGS! LEGS! LEGS! LEGS! LEGS!

OK, PERHAPS NOT UP TO THE LITERARY STANDARDS WE HAVE SET IN WEEKS PAST.
CALL IT POETIC BURNOUT. CALL IT MARCH MADNESS.
PERHAPS OUR INTREPID POET WILL RETURN NEXT WEEK TO CLEAR THAT HIGHER BAR.
PERHAPS NOT. STAY TUNED...

W.O.F. 55 EGG DE-SHELLER

Here is the device, egg in place in the center.

When Linda goes to a rummage, garage, or yard sale, there is just no telling what comes back with her. This week it was a weird Object - a device that purports to smack the eating part of a boiled egg right out of its shell.

First, you are supposed to crack a little hole in the end of the egg. Then you stand the egg up in the hole in the middle, put the big collapsible cylinder over it, and smack down on the cylinder as hard as you can. Poof- the egg smashes right through the hole down into your bowl or plate or what have you, leaving the shell upstairs.

She's giving it all she's got!

Does it work??? Well, sorta!!! There were a couple shell fragments remaining, but for the most part, the egg was ready to eat (with a pinch of salt on it). I had forgotten how much I like a simple hard-boiled egg.

Shell remains on the hole; egg-ready-to-eat down below!

A-Z Monday: I'm Keyed

I've got a key to the office
And a key to the home
A key to the car
And a key that's unknown

I'd like a key to success
Or a key to prosperity
Or a key to a kingdom
Or to peace and clarity

But I'll settle for this:
My key to the good life:
Two fantastic kids,
And a wonderful wife

A house that's a home
A job that's a passion*
Unconditional love
That we don't have to ration

Yes, that is the stuff
That makes it for me
Yeah, that's the ticket
Yeah, that's the key!

*Ok, stretching it a bit on that line. But there are times when my job is actually my passion! It can happen! Once in a while!

W.O.F. 54 Mini Keg?

Our son, William, returned last week from his week in El Salvador, and visited us Sunday. He came up and we took in the local high schools' stellar production of "Hello Dolly". It was great seeing him.

And... he brought us a present, this interesting little "keg" with little cups and a tray, all crafted out of wood. Unfortunately, for now, it is largely ornamental. The spigot does not actually shut off, so you cannot store your tea or lager or what have you in the "barrel". So for now it makes a great conversation piece. Perhaps we will engineer some sort of stopper later on.
Man, I just realized...keg...good one for "K week" coming up on A-Z Monday? Can I cash in twice on one object? Nah...I'll figure something else out.

The Post I Don't Want to Write

Our beloved companion and family member, Silky, lost her battle with cancer Saturday night. I am thankful that she was at home with us and we spent a lot of time with her that day. Also, thanks to many readers for your kind comments over the past month or so.

I cannot really express what Silky meant to us, especially after the kids had moved on to college and a career, leaving us with the "empty nest". She was a wonderful dog and Linda and I are trying to slowly dig out of the deep hole that is left here. The feeling is made more bearable, though, by fourteen years of great memories.

I told Linda I think I'm good for one more dog, but not for quite a while. This last one left big paw prints to fill.

We miss you, girl.

A-Z Monday J is for JAVA

Work your magic, coffee bean
Wake me up and get me goin'
Monday mornings start like snails
Without you things are really slowin'

Kick it in and boost my drive
My need for you is really keen
Folgers, Starbucks, Maxwell House,
Whate'er your name, thank you, bean!

Weirdless Friday

Sorry; It got late; it was an extremely long day, a Friday the 13th to boot, and I am too spent to hunt down and round up a weird object, although they certainly abound around here. I beg the forgiveness of anyone who jumped to this site only to find this lame explanation for non-weirdness. We offer a full refund at our service site www.weirdobjectripoff.com.
We should be back in this space with something weird next Friday.

Out Like a Wet Lion?

Ever get the feeling something is bearing down on you? It's been rain, rain, and more rain. The weather has had a hazy, hydrogenating hold on our area for a couple days. The property has gone "lakefront" again; gurgling sounds are coming out of the basement.

On the plus side, I grew up upstairs in a Cape Cod style house, and used to love listening to the rain on the roof (cue the Lovin' Spoonful). I even had a rain rating system; a subtle shower may have fetched a 1 or a 2, where a driving downpour rated an 8 or 9, with an occasional monsoon-like 10. Anyhow, our house now is no Cape Cod, and there's an attic between the bedroom and the shingles. But two nights ago, the rain was a-pouring, all night, a lulling sound, and I was just mentally floating along to the peaceful sound. Especially lulling when the bedroom is on the second floor; no worries about riding away on a wall of water.

For all you birders, our beloved buzzards have returned to the 'hood. Uncanny how these travelers show up like clockwork, or maybe calendarwork, and hang with us for a few weeks before moving on to wherever buzzards like to summer. If the rain and mist ever relent, I may venture out and get a picture or two. But somehow that rain and gloom sort of fits the whole essence of buzzardness. Nope, no sunny spring songbirds for us; it's buzzards in the mist!

We have settled in to this new status as dog health care personnel. Our dog requires some looking after, some special care, and some patience. But when she locks eyes with me and gives me that look, the one that says (and I don't think I am over-interpreting) "I am where I should be, and I'm glad and thankful that I'm here", well, we are, too.

A-Z Monday: I is for INDULGENCES

We all have indulgences, whate'er they are
For some it is knitting yarn; others, a car
Things we go nuts for and spend too much dough
Things we could do without, or take it slow

For me it's been music, from LPs to CDs
And now in this era it's on MP3s
I have this huge library, yet I get more
Enough for an aisle in the old music store

But what fun is it if you cannot indulge?
What good is money that just makes a bulge?
Don't we all need a diversion, a thrill?
Yep, for me it's the tunes, and I can't get my fill.

Yeah, posted a little early, because by the time I get home on Monday and all, there isn't much of the day left.

W.O.F. 53 Painting

Maybe not so weird, just kind of interesting. This was painted by my wife's art professor back in college days. Diane Almendinger is her name. Sort of an African thing going on - notice the giraffe sort of mirrored in the lower left and right. You may also notice the reflection of a couple lights in our living room. Oh well.

-----

Our dog is home from her week at the OSU vet hospital. She is not well, but things are being done to make her as well as she can be , for as long as possible, and things could even go into remission, perhaps. We have a very high maintenance dog on our hands now, but for all that she has given us, we figure we owe her a little attention in her golden (dog) years.

A-Z Mondays H is for Hope

Sorry to interject a downer on the fun, but we have a dog in a veterinary hospital ICU who is in recovery from some serious surgery. She is doing ok (we visited her yesterday), but could be doing better. So to rip off a better poet, Emily Dickinson, I'm stealing a verse from a well-known poem of hers:

Hope

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all

Again, sorry for the lack of Humor this time around, but this is where our Hearts (and pretty much our Heads) are right now..