and my toledo mudhens got wet yesterday and we lost the game,
but there is always today and always tomorrow.
and i will be there to cheer them on in person tomorrow night.
and i will be there to settle a friendly bet with blog writer friend, mark.
he is crowing all over the place about his believed chiefs from syracuse,
but we shall see, we shall see….
Chiefs vs. Mud Hens, and there’s going to be some sort of sign
If you cannot catch a bird of paradise, better take a wet hen.
Nikita Khrushchev
turns out it’s none of the above. it’s the rug i have on my wood floor, and it’s wool comes from a mountain goat or lamb or some sort of unknown animal, perhaps an otter, but it’s hard to know for sure.
and after such a long and hearty winter, it was time to wash my filthy flokati and bring it back into the fresh and clean spring feel now inhabiting the cottage. i researched online and found that the scandanavians traditionally throw it outside on top of a pile of fresh snow and beat it into clean submission with a stick. i then went with the laundromat option, so as to maintain at least some illusion of normalcy with my neighbors for just a bit longer.
i invited my friend m to go on a ‘goat washing adventure’ with me. she was in immediately, as she is up for most anything. and while she wasn’t sure exactly what we’d be doing, she knew that we always have fun doing whatever it might be. upon notifying her family, she was quickly questioned by her daughters, who said they never knew you could wash a rug, and asked why it had never happened in their house. and why it was never going to. i understood this, and if mine was not so ‘pet-like’, it never would have happened in my house either. that settled, we headed off to super sud’s.
all you need:
the flokati, some strong coffee, a bottle of gentle woolite, lots of coins. good company,
and of course, a dog brush.
greeted by the manager, with no bra, a benjamin the dog sweatshirt,
and a personality like a drill sergeant, who told us not to overload, we were warned and ready.
ummmm…
there were so many options, signs, warnings. so much potential for trouble.
so much math.
i should have listened better in school.
more math! and then, not working after all.
but, somehow it had a homey feel about it.
and it had with something for everyone.
the kitchen sink, with notes from mom.
the tech center.
the two odd cousins in the den.
the food and entertainment in the family room area.
the sports memorabilia corner.
the centrifuge?
the book nook.
here i am, reading and laughing out loud at
‘humor at the speed of life’,
written by fellow blogger, ned, (http://nedhickson.com).
and here is m, after the wash,
fluffing the flokati, with the dog brush,
bringing it back to it’s original luster.
she is taking her job very seriously.
and she is primping and pampering her
like dorothy upon arriving in the emerald city.
and at last, she is a beauty once more.
and after much coffee, many laughs,
more warnings, and a few scoldings from the sergeant,
we are on our way.
and the flokati
is ready to be welcomed back to the cottage,
fresh and fluffy, once more.
whatever it might be.
and now that i look at it,
i think it might be muskrat wool.
—
“I’ve buried a lot of my laundry in the back yard.”
― Phyllis Diller
as some of you know, new york blogger/friend/sports/movie/life stories writer, mark (http://markbialczak.com) and i are engaged in a major friendly minor league baseball battle. his beloved syracuse chiefs have played my toledo mud hens for 4 games in his town, (with mixed results and home field advantage). and luckily they’ve made their way back and hens have come home to roost for a 4-game home stand. see the results of yesterday’s game one below! the hens and chiefs will take to the field again this morning and we shall see who indeed rules the farm in the end)
http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140513&content_id=75360256&fext=.jsp&vkey=recap&sid=t512
GO HENS!
and even when your special chocolate cupcake melts in the car,
you just stick the candles in sideways,
light them up,
and blow them out.
and you sing in celebration.
and you rename it a molten hot lava cupcake.
and you can then eat that volcanic overflow with a spoon and a smile.
and on this mother’s day,
i am reminded of when my girls were young and we had no money,
but we had each other,.
and they went to the neighbor’s garden to pick flowers for me,
as a very special mother’s day gift.
they knew i loved flowers.
and they did so fearlessly.
and they didn’t worry about getting in trouble.
and they hoped i wouldn’t be mad.
and when they told me,
i hoped the neighbors, if they saw them picking,
understood why, and wouldn’t be mad.
these flowers meant the world to me.
and they were dirty and smiling and proud to have a gift.
and i hugged them and was so happy to be their mother.
to all of the mothers and children out there,
this day is for you.
and to all of their neighbors.
if you see a child picking flowers in your garden today,
please understand and smile,
and wish them a happy mother’s day.
went to the 4th annual water hill music fest, held the first sunday of each may
in a neighborhood filled with artists, musicians, and eccentrics of the highest order, music rules the day
founded In 2011, Paul Tinkerhess (folksman, craftsman, businessman) to spotlight the cohesive personality of the neighborhood as well as its musicians, this un-sponsored event follows only one rule: at least one member of each performing band must reside in water hill.
so excited to see my very talented carpool mate create some jazz with the neighbors
every kind of music and settings and audience members were represented
all in the front yards, back yards, decks and gardens of their homes
people of all ages were welcome to participate
friends bonded together by their music
and a community bonded together by their sounds
and many joined into the drum circle
and they were from all walks of life
and everyone joined in to support the day
and many saw music that was new to them and old to others
and people came on foot, on bike, and by car to sit and listen and take it all in
and everyone had so much fun
and the maypole dance was the perfect way to welcome in the season
“Music acts like a magic key, to which the most tightly closed heart opens.”
― Maria von Trapp
—
image credits: peaches, monte fowler, ann arbor.com
an appeal to humanity.
As a rule I try to keep the weekend posts here at Unload and Unwind to more humorous topics as a way of taking a step back from the more serious pieces that I write about politics and the environment. However I have decided that this issue far out ways the need to step back and in fact I am calling for all of us to step forward, to raise our voice and add our names to the petitions being created around the world decrying the horrendous taking of a number of young girls in Nigeria.
As most may be aware on April 16 of this year 200 girls were kidnapped by an extremist group called ‘Boko Haram‘. This was done so that they would be unable to take their examinations and to call a halt to the education of women in that country. Around the world the…
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out on a hike around the lake with the kinders,
and a is walking back with c, close by her side.
a tells me, ‘he says he wants to marry me.’
i ask, ‘do you want to marry him?’
a says, ‘yes.’
then a says to c,
‘and i will always sleep when you sleep.
and we could go to the park together.
and we can get ice cream.’
c says, ‘okay.’
as we all walk on, i think about how wise a is with regard to marriage.
if we always sleep when the other sleeps, go to the park together, and get ice cream,
we might have many happy marriages.
===
what a great day at the farm, where we met farmer chris, who taught us many things.
we learned that eggs come in all colors, and shapes, and sizes.
we learned that the littlest of baby goats will follow us, just to be part of a group.
we learned that even a strong-looking pony, needs to be gently cared for.
we learned that it was nice to have someone waiting there to greet us when we returned back to the barn.
and when the farmer on a tractor gave us a bumpy ride on a wagon,
we learned the world is even bigger than we thought,
and filled with many more wonders ahead,
yet to discover.
—
“Children are born naturalists. They explore the world with all of their senses, experiment in the environment,
and communicate their discoveries to those around them.”
The Audubon Nature Preschool
after more than a decade spent in kindergarten, i now am proud to say i have developed and maintained a strong kinder-level mastery of the spanish language. thank you so much señora olga, for your infinite patience and humor as you try endlessly to teach me, along with my little friends, and as i do my dances, sing enthusiastically with phonetically sounded out words, pummel the piñata, cha-cha step on the colorful foot-shaped cut-outs, use a fly swatter to identify animals, and try out my spanglish on you. you have taught me well. i know there are times you would like nothing better than to say to me, the following phrase, (below), but you have not, as of yet. (at least as far as i know). and for this, i dedicate this cinco de mayo to you, and i look forward to the piñata frenzy later this morning.
‘Pocas mujeres admiten su camisa de once’
You’ve put on a shirt made of eleven sticks;
meaning:
You’ve bitten off more than you can chew
“A different language is a different vision of life.”
-Federico Fellini
“Americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that, despite all the progress that has been made in the last 30 years, many foreign people still speak in foreign languages.” ‒ Dave Barry
I didn't have my glasses on.... 