When I was picking up seasoning for our last crawfish boil of the season this past weekend, I ran across a sazon by McCormick. So tonight I am cooking Francesca's bean recipe to have with ribs tomorrow.

Sounds good, eh?

UPDATE: Let me try this recipe again at another time. Those sun-dried tomatoes were too old. Talk about a "whang."

Sorry, Francesca. I'll do better next time.

This spending to mitigate global warming seems to really work.

Here at 4:30 p.m. on the 30th day of May it's only 83F outside. The average for this date is 86F. See?

New Windows

Four gentlemen showed up at 10:15, installed nine windows (three of them double), and were cleaned up and packed to go at a quarter to three.

They were a courteous group, and more importantly, were courteous to each other.

UPDATE: Why no mintons? I was outvoted on dividers for the windows. Windows do work two ways, and the men in my family want to see out.

The installers are here.

Joe Miller has 28 years in the business. Good deal.

Well, let's hope today is the day. Or it might be tomorrow.

UPDATE: Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time...

Memorial Day Parade

Julie Finley of The Natchez Democrat wrote a short history of the local Memorial Day parade here. The drummers practice in the neighborhood near us for a few weeks before the day. Since I have the camcorder, I thought I'd go see and share.

This tape shows where the parade emerges from the neighborhood, and a shot as the marchers start to cross the Mississippi bridge.



And despite my voice I wasn't drunk. I was distracted. I've never thought of filming a public event.

(3 minutes)

Time to Lighten Up

I like the look of this template, and can read it well enough, but what about you? I am worn out with boxes and hard colors.

Comment capability might or might not appear with this post.

UPDATE: Well, that's good. But I didn't save my other template and I have a lot of catching up to do.

We planted cucumber seeds this year, and the fruit is coming in.

We keep a container of them peeled and sliced in a solution of rice vinegar, a little water, and salt in the refrigerator at all times.

However, there is a nice, cool, easy soup that I found years ago in a New York Times large-print cookbook that might be good this week:

CUCUMBER AND YOGURT SOUP

1 med. cucumber
salt
2 c. plain yogurt
2 c. chilled chicken broth
2 tbsp. finely chopped walnuts
1-1/2 cloves garlic, finely minced
Black pepper
Chives to garnish

Dice cucumber fairly finely. Sprinkle with salt and let stand in refrigerator 20 minutes. Mix together yogurt, broth, walnuts and garlic. Rinse and drain cucumber. Add to liquid mixture. Black pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped chives. Makes about four servings.

The crew blew the insulation in this morning. Of course, now I'm reading that blown fiberglass loses R-Value when the temperature drops below 50F. Whatever.

All right, Possum, you did it.

I just got a call from the window installer. The lead guy who was coming this way got a call in Jonesville from school in Alexandria that his 10-year-old son was sick.

He turned around and is with the boy at the hospital now. Seems the boy was ill with a stomach virus, but felt well enough to go to school today. But he's dehydrated from the virus and is being attended. The man asked for a couple of days off.

So now we're looking at Tuesday morning. No skin off my nose, but Papa Possum, did you have to include the boy in your jinx?

UPDATE: Or did the father run across Eileen at the Stop and Shop and decide to shack up for the weekend?

Lucy has another egg today. She had one on Monday, too.

That's three this month.

I got LSU's interim mascot right here.

Ahem. It is 10:10. There are no workers here. We have received no calls. I'm getting a dial tone when I lift the telephone receiver.

I've taken down the pleated shades in the great room.

What's the deal?

UPDATE: Mr. Vater doesn't know where the crew is, either. When I called he said they should be here. He can't raise them on a cellphone.

I hope they haven't been in an accident.

Our energy auditor, Mr. Byrd, was appalled at the amount of air infiltration caused by the recessed lights in this house. All the reports remark that they are terrible energy wasters when the housings are in unconditioned spaces. They play hell with air quality, too, allowing dust and gases from the attic into the house. Lyman installed most before Halo (Home Depot, Lowe's) manufactured airtight housings.

That's one of the reasons why Mr. Byrd was pushing us toward foam. Well, foam is right out of the budget, and I've been worrying about what to do about the lights.

After some research, I've found that Halo makes retrofit kits to make housings airtight for six-inch housings. In combination with a gasket fitted under the ceiling trim, these lights can conform unto California's Title 24 Energy Efficiency Standards, which are strict.

That would only leave six four-inchers without protection.

If you have the same problem, be informed that the Halo retrofit trim kits are part of the SUPER TRIM catalog. It took me half a day to find out the name of the series. Kits for flat recessed lights run about $15 for white ones at Home Depot and Lowe's. I haven't found a price for eyeballs, but they are available.

Sure beats Lyman going into the attic and rewiring all of them. There are 16 of those up there.

The windows arrive today and installation starts Thursday.

I dread the coming disruption, and I hope these guys know what they're doing 'cause I sure don't.

The birds are gonna be beside themselves.

Oh, Charlie, the big tiger died.

Lucy laid an egg today.

$2000 for foam insulation? Not even. That's something in the range of $7500. An R38 layer of blown fiberglass is more in that range. So that's what we'll go with. The fellow who'll install that insulation will manufacture caps for the recessed lights, which should provide some sealing.

The duct guy has been here and will start work on Friday. New ducts are of better material and will carry this house many years forward.

Ducts, insulation and windows, in that order.

It's a fair dreadful time to do these things, because we'll have the air-conditioning down for days. But when the summer really heats up, we might see some savings.

So, Al, what's going on in Nashville? You get some new lightbulbs or something?

UPDATE: From what I understand, the house in Nashville is about 70 years old. It would be interesting and enlightening for the Gores to detail the steps they're taking to make the house more efficient.

When we replace said chairs, I want to bring those home, but this time we carried a club chair home (we might be the only family who takes old things from the beach property to the home property).

So I bought a couple of bottles of Tilex to give them a good cleaning. There is no place on the property there to get after something with a water hose, so I used pails of water to rinse the chairs down when I was done.

On one trip to the balcony I slipped in a spill of water and fell flat of my back and knocked my head against the tile floor. No breaks or splits, but I feel every one of my years and then some days later.

But the old chairs look pretty good.

This type of patio furniture is called "strap" furniture and I can find one vendor in this resort town that sells it for a cool $135 a chair. The design has changed a little since these were bought in 1984 or so, but they've held up well over time except for some peeling paint, and one broken strap from six chairs, and it was cut some way after the hurricane. Our boy Fitzroy painted them once in one of his stays here, but he and his wife Ann are now busy at their place in South Carolina.

Our guests love these chairs. They're both comfortable and sturdy. Do we replace these chairs? Internet cost runs about $65 a chair plus shipping and figuring out how to get them delivered. Or do we tap down to Wal-Mart and buy 6 poly chairs for the price of one.

UPDATE: There's a lot to be said about renting a condo here and then bitching about what's wrong. And I have been remiss. Rents here are up to about $245 a night in the summer, and I don't even have the interest to justify that.

And we need a new refrigerator. There's absolutely nothing wrong anywhere except for an internal band of rust at the bottom of the door that interferes with the gasket. That's another four hundred to replace the GE bought in 2001 or so before the hurricane.

We are at the coast.

We arrived to find one of the sofas thoroughly stove-up, so it's turned into a furniture-buying trip in addition to an owner's meeting tomorrow.

I am not in the least interested in going into the second-generation of renovations that development down here demands. Those include custom cabinetry in the kitchen and bath, granite countertops and assorted other high-dollar investments.

Janis, you're very quiet. Why so?

I'm always quiet while I'm thinking about spending money.

We have accepted a bid on replacing the windows, we're looking further at blowing foam insulation into the attic, and we need to do something about our ductwork. All of these things contribute to energy inefficiency in this house.

We are in process of becoming a HERO home. Supposedly, under this program we can get some cash back on our improvements.

We paid for a visit by Home Energy Rater Wade Byrd from Baton Rouge, who is a practical energy guy, who also thinks that Al and his like should practice what they preach.

One of the things that he told us, and that his equipment proved, is that the recessed lights that we installed are all direct conduits to the 140 degree heat and dust from the attic. He suggests blowing in non-rigid foam. He does not like dry celluose. Wet cellulose he'll go with. The foam will seal the lights, and bring us up to an R38 rating from the near worthless 2-1/2 inches or so which has packed down in the attic with less bulk. We haven't gotten an estimate yet from the local provider of that service, but there, we're looking at $2000 or so.

But, you know, if we do those improvements we'll spend about what we paid for the enormous Viking, which you'll pry from my cold dead hands, and that substandard Jenn-Air.

Because I do think we should conserve energy. I think global warming is real, whatever its source, and a 30 percent savings is a reasonable goal in this old house.

Here are a few of my pet bees.

They took up with this soaker hose when it was first laid out, and there are scores of them.

Lyman wants to replace this hose with a Simple Soaker, and move the true simple soaker to the front, underneath a tree. The set-up will be entirely different and the bees will be deprived.

I'm not so sure that I can allow that.

I have deleted this post since the photograph has gone missing.

The actor Alec Baldwin threw a fit at his 11-year-old daughter.

I've been reading Dr. Helen on the topic, and one of her commenters gets to the point:

Anonymous said...
dittos to what tmink said.

I don't know about punishment, but the dude could sure use some anger management counselling or parenting classes or something. If he's this over the top about an eleven year old not answering her phone, he's going to stroke out when she's fifteen. (In my experience, most obnoxious age of them all.)

Lucy laid an egg last night, 4/20/07. It goes with the one she laid on 4/17/07.

Seems there is a problem with bees leaving their hives.

Could it be a water problem? I have a couple hundred bees living around one of the raised beds to suck on the soaker hose -- the one where I decided to plant flowers. My flowers aren't beyond seedlings.

Scientists are working on this problem, and Lyman reminds me that my experience is thin. He's right. So am I.

I saw these geraniums and the blue-purple petunias near one another at the nursery and couldn't resist. Do they remind you of Peter Max, too?

I called the lumber yard. We're looking at about $150 per 35" X 60" for Energy Star windows.

I like that set-up.

I took a king-sized comforter to the washateria up on the highway where they also have a car wash.

It's not the Bar of Soap, but it will do.

UPDATE: I positively hate laundromats. But it's worth my time to save $10 to $15 on cleaning a comforter and getting it really clean. The last time I sent it to a cleaners, the cost was $20 and I wasn't satisfied.

This laundry had the normal allotment of little wild Indians running around trying to crack their noggins on the vinyl-tiled concrete floor. So it was a relief to spend some time vacuuming the car and washing the top coat of grime off. It needs more work, but I have a start.

Michael has been using this car, taking it to Baton Rouge and New Orleans. I noticed yesterday that someone seems to have taken a crowbar to the post at the edge of the windshield. Did they plan to take the windshield? I can't imagine what else they'd want to steal from a ten-year-old Escort wagon. If it was something else, why not go through the side glass like the other vandals? And the car is seldom locked.

Damn, damn, damn, damn and more damns.

Charlie jumped to the floor after his bath and popped his keel again.

What can we do?

Oh, Lucy.

Why don't we put you under contract to an exclusive restaurant? Poached parrot eggs might bring someone a pretty penny.

I haven't taken her other egg away yet, and this morning she is sitting on two.

Tell you what, Tony, I'll eat my heart out for you.

Strawberries from Tickfaw, Louisiana.

My, my. He might clean up right nice. Except for the tattoo.

(Thank you, Obscure Store.)

Poor kitchen hand has been backed into a corner by Bridezilla.

I have nothing to offer.

(There's another egg from Lucy as I write at 9:20 p.m. Excuse me, dear...)

The gifting I have done for couples has been through showers given by outside parties. Because I have some connection to everyone who invites me to one of these things, I'll call a mother or someone else in the know to ask what the couple wants or needs. If one of those people were to tell me that the couple would like cash, I wouldn't be at all offended. I appreciate the flexibility of cash myself.

However, I've never heard of a bride asking for her own gifts, and I've never encountered a direct request for cash.

UPDATE: As brides and grooms become older and better established before they marry, we might need to find a way for them to make that request without embarrassing themselves. The last four gifts I've given have been gift certificates -- one to Lowe's, two to Amazon, and one to the shop of registry. A check would have been more convenient for me and more welcome to a couple who would, for instance, like to purchase things on E-Bay.

Kate, you married recently. What's your opinion?

Dr. James Joyner was married fairly recently. What does he think?

UPDATE: Dr. Joyner answers:

I don't think we said anything about gifts on the invitation itself, since those things tend to be formal. On our wedding blog and eVites, though, we put a note to the effect "we've got enough crap, don't buy us anything" but established a couple wedding registries at Macy's, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Home Depot.

UPDATE: Kate's answer here.

Kate has pictures up from her trip to China. Here is one of the lazy Susan serving arrangement that she calls "the wheel of death."

A friend brought me a dishpan of daisy clumps. I dug out a suitable spot to plant them in. I like flowers with faces.

One day, my ambition will get the better part of me, and I'll create a mixed border all the way around this area. Summer will then come on, and I will die of West Nile, even though I avoided the heat by waking at dawn. Mosquitos never sleep anymore.

A few blossoms on these George Tabor azaleas took on a deeper hue. That's odd and very pretty.

Taking no risks this year, we planted $2 basil plants in a planter on the patio. One healthy $2 plant will yield about $300 worth of those tiny containers of fresh basil that you buy at the supermarket.

Before, I've also cut a bunch of basil, stuffed it into a pint Mason jar, and added a daisy or two for a perfectly presentable centerpiece for a casual dinner. The basil cuts rooted.

I've tried all week to take a decent picture of this arugula plant. It's a great looking old-fashioned kitchen garden plant that makes me want to plow up the rest of the back yard for garden.

Lyman has now cleared it from the bed, where he's going to plant a variety of peppers, squash, broccoli and Brussels sprouts.

Why couldn't he let it go to seed? Next time that goes into my bed.

I just finished watching The Great Global Warming Swindle here on my computer.

Ladies, do you find Professor Ian Clark of the University of Ottawa as attractive as I do? Dr. Reiter (sp?) was also wonderfully attractive in a different way.

Now I'm ready to watch An Inconvenient Truth just as soon as the distributors make it available for free on the Internet. If that has happened, please let me know the URL.

Now for something completely different.

This is Lucy doing one of her mating dances. They're not as lovely and complex as they were when she was two or three.

(Just short of a minute, the end of about 3 minutes of dancing.)

This Bacopa and Coreopsis together should make a cheerful planter.

I was a little worried that they wouldn't play well together, but further reading suggests that they'll do fine.

What did you do today, the first day of spring?

First, the big boys came to collect leaves.

I admired the tulips.

Then I cleaned the bird complex, which entailed some nifty limbo moves wiping down the interior of the lexan cage. But they're all ready for taping again.

I admired the tulips.

My back.

I admired the tulips.

Lucy laid an egg on the evening of March 19.

Here is a story on the new library from the Natchez Democrat.

Maia is sitting with her mother. God bless.

This year is the first time I've planted tulips. They cheer me no end.

UPDATE: I had forgotton that tulip stems follow the light. We had a partly cloudy day today, and they all leaned to the north. Cut ones do it, too. There is a biological term for that, which I once knew.

UPDATE: Photophilic? Ah, phototropism.

The new Concordia Parish Library opened its doors today!

Pictures here, here, here, and here.

I'd have taken more, but the camera battery was running down.

UPDATE: I'm having a few qualms about this design. I was dressed in a clean sweatshirt and jeans when I walked in, and thought about turning around to go home and dress better.

Yes, yes, I could dress better when I go out. But what happens when you can't?

Is this going to turn off the poor people in this area, black and white?

There's an open house on Saturday including Ms. Amanda Taylor, whom I've spoken about before, and the architect. I can always ask.

Personally, I think it's a great public space for the region. But for a lot of kids, this will be nicest building they've ever been in. That could be scary. Would've been for me.

Let me find that sentence. It's in this article.

Here it is:

Mr. Lacob, the Kleiner Partner, declined to specify how the company’s technology works, saying he did not want to tip off potential competitors.

Now that's in reference to a proprietary oil something or other in this case, but I suspect it will be repeated many times in other energy contexts in the next few years.

This household needs fewer cooks and more cleaners.

Today promises to be a good day for the birds. Lucy and Charlie both love crawfish, and Charlie adores corn on the cob, raw or cooked.

He talks about it:

"Charlie is a handsome boy. Charlie wants corns. Ok? Ok, sweeties."

All day long.

So white azaleas are in a pint Mason jar in the guest room. E., the young lady from Baton Rouge, is staying the weekend.

Tomorrow we have the season's first crawfish boil for our house. We've invited some lady friends (bless'em, they're widows now), and Michael, the cook, has invited a few friends.

How is that guest room coming, Janis? Well, it's stalled. The woodworker we've asked to build the furniture is having terrible trouble with his artificial knees, and spends a lot of time in pain. Guests have a bed, though, and a lamp, and a chair. The lamp stands on the flipped seat of the vanity bench that was part of Girl's bedroom suit bought when she was 11.

M. the woodworker has begun work on the headboard, but is going no faster than he can manage without harm.

As for the quilt. Ah, well, the ten-year-old quilt top might be 11 or 12 before it's done.

I can say, though, that the laminate floor is a pleasure to take care of. A flick with a dust mop, maybe a swish of a damp cloth, and it's good as new. I can barely wait to do our bedroom.

If I had any sense at all, the whole house would be done in industrial linoleum.

The blossoms on these azaleas are as big as the palm of my hand. They cut well for display in a vase.

These predate my arrival at the Gore house.

This is a particularly pretty tulip. I wish I knew which one it is. Maybe a Rembrandt? Or is it a Juice n' Honey? The Antoinette?

Spring.

That was a lovely wedding.

Music was a flute and a harp. And one vocalist who went on too long. Just a note kids, being on stage is being on stage. Don't fidget.

The big girls were all beautiful. The bride's dress was a crushed silk, with a simple floor-length lace edged veil. That girl has a flawless complexion. I asked her mama if she was trying to outshine the bride. Girl did them both in with a bronze two-piece floor-length that was vintage Hollywood. Just the thing for dinner and dancing at the supper club. She was 87 on the 5th of this month.

The pastor cited Corinthians on love. The pair took communion to "Let us Break Bread Together."

And yes, I cried. Nearly blubbered. And I don't even have to pay for it.

Okay, Kim.

Today is the wedding day. It's beautiful outside, 80 degrees.

Lyman's niece has waited and worked a long time before marrying this boy. Seven years. She'll graduate from law school in May.

I'm having terrific fun watching this flamenco video that I found at Sarah's site.

Watching the videos that come up on the sidebar is fun, too. You know, I might like being a woman.

On the evening of March 6, Lucy laid an egg. I took it away from her yesterday.

I let her sit one for the 28-day term in January into February. Her laying behavior was so weird through November, December and January, I thought it might get her back on schedule.

We'll see.

Kate's business has taken her to China. She's having a little culture shock.

UPDATE: Her latest post reminded me of the excellent way the Chinese serve large groups. The tables are round, with a large lazy Susan in the middle where all the dishes are placed. Settings are at the perimeter of the base table. Guests can serve themselves from whatever dish is in front of them, then spin the Susan along to select another dish. Those tables seat 8 or 10.

Friends of ours had a similar 6-seat table built for their home. It was charming. I love a round table, but we don't have the space for one.

When I was in China with a tour group, the dishes weren't, all in all, quite so ... colloquial (help me here with a better and more appropriate word), perhaps? But I can go the rest of my life without tasting another sea cucumber.

And she missed a digit in her pop. figure for ChongQing -- 31 million and change.

Ok, dear readers. (I'm so nice when I want something.)

We have access to high-quality tuna steaks via a local restaurant. We want to sear thick tuna steaks, and serve them with a sauce or not. We don't like sweet food.

We're not finding anything chasing down our resources.

Do you have something good?

Ahem.

Radley Balko posted a piece on the Waffle House code that's a good companion to this from way back.

Ah. Pumps.

So, I have to track back and correct misinformation.

While we live nestled in an arc of a hydroelectric facility and nuclear reactors, we actually belong to the Louisiana Energy and Power Authority. Most of the facilities in this organization are gas-fired power plants. I don't know yet if they buy from other sources.

(Always do the research, Janis.)

So time to push along the window replacement project.

How the past sneaks up on you.

This morning, during my last dream, I was doing some work with a bizarre little shop. Someone else and I had altered a sign for a product, then presented it for approval.

The sign was not approved because the product name was not in the same font as the product price. The font used for the price was named "Desert Rag."

Lucy laid an egg on the evening of 3/2/07.

I don't know.

Stuffed shells? Spinach salad? Cream of spinach soup? Sarson Ka Saag? (However, I don't think they carry channa dal flour at Piggly Wiggly.) Indian Spicy Fried Spinach?

I love spinach. I even liked the stuff out of the can.

This page needs a little color.

I do so hate to be cross, or see people crossed, so let me show this alligator recipe we cooked the other night:

SCALOPPINE OF ALLIGATOR

12 (3 ounce) medallions of alligator
1/4 cup chopped basil
1 T chopped thyme
1/4 cup chopped parsley
salt and cracked black pepper to taste
Louisiana hot sauce to taste
egg wash (1 egg, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup milk, blended)
2 cups seasoned flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup thinly sliced pickled okra
1/2 cup diced red bell peppers
1 T minced garlic
1 cup white wine

Pound medallions until 1/4 inch thick. (He uses waxed paper.)
In a a large mixing bowl, combine basil, thyme and parsley. Season medallions with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Dip in egg wash then coat with flour and press into herb mixture. In a 10-inch saute pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Pan saute alligator until golden brown on both sides. Add okra, bell peppers and garlic. Saute 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are wilted. Deglaze with wine and reduce to sauce consistency. To serve, place two medallions over angel hair pasta and top with sauce.

(Please forgive me, Mr. Folse, but this is a good recipe, and not everyone, yet, knows what you do.)

Just to note that Lucy laid an egg at 10:13 p.m. on 2/27/07.

Mmmmmm. Alligator scaloppine with pasta from John Folse, grilled asparagus on the side.

The other other white meat.

I have a question.

Like a good rubbernecker, I looked at the bit about Al Gore's energy usage in his 10,000 square foot Nashville house, coming in at a hefty 221,000 KWH.

I have some mixed receipts for a few years, so I did an estimate for our usage in our middle-aged, inefficient 2000 square foot house in Louisiana. I'm coming up with 16,500 and some-odd, so let's round up to 17,000 KWH.

17 x 5 = 85,000 KWH for a comparable house of 10,000 square feet. That offers 15 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, and five areas of about 700-1000 sq. ft., depending on the sizes of the bedrooms.

Anyone with with good taste would have higher ceilings than we have, so I'll pitch in another house and a half, which brings that total to 110,500.

This ABC article reports that half the energy bills were for the pool house.

My question is, what in tarnation are they doing in the pool house that takes so much energy? I thought we were supposed to bring our own energy to that stuff.

When I bought a gift certificate for china for Lyman's soon-to-be-wed niece at Hal Garner's this week, Lyman's patience ran out.

He has been agitating for new dinnerware at our house for a year or two. Not long after we married, we bought 12 place settings of stoneware. The set is in pretty good shape, but a few pieces have been chipped or crazed or broken, and besides, he's tired of the pattern.

After looking around a lot, we've decided to accept our destinies and go with restaurant ware.

To start, we're taking a case of the 10-3/8 dinner plate and one of the 7-1/2 inch menudo bowl. (The menudo bowls will be a good addition to our our kitchen. We frequently eat gumbos, stews and pasta, and they have enough capacity for a decent portion of salad. Our cereal bowls aren't really up to it.) I think we can mix our current coffee cups/saucers and salad/dessert plates with those, along with our seldom used serving pieces, and still set a decent table.

And he won't be standing at the sink trying to scrub away the pattern that he has mistaken for parsley.

Just a note for people watching their portions: restaurant ware allows you to select smaller dinner plates, so smaller portions don't appear so small.

(We looked into ordering from our local restaurant supplier, but even with shipping, Richards was cheaper.)

UPDATE: If they'll let us order single-case quantities, Instawares is even cheaper.

Nate McCord has posted a fun little time waster.

Did I tell you that when I talked to my 92-year-old aunt that she told me that my maternal great-grandfather was from Tennessee? Or so she thought.

Or that he had a family before my grandmother was born, and she went to visit her half-siblings in Baton Rouge?

Charlie has a new phrase: "Are you okay?"

UPDATE: I've talked about how careful we are with language around Charlie. There's no knowing what he'll take to and pick up.

Today, for the first day in my memory, Lyman made a noise that was a quiet "choo, choo, choo." Charlie picked it up as soon as it was out of Lyman's mouth.

The boy has needed a new song with a simple melody. He's still working on "good tidings for Christmas."

Pardon me, boy, is that the Chattanooga choo-choo..."

Or is it the sound of brushes on drums that he likes?

Looks to me that Lynn Pulsifer and Kevin Brodeur are of the same school of art.

(Thanks, Ann Althouse.)

The envelope for my BellSouth bill is stamped with this message:

BellSouth is joining the new AT&T, connecting you to the nation's most complete and secure network.

Not so long ago, but near 20 years, 1984-86, I worked at a small long-distance company that had sprung up in the wake of an enormous anti-monopoly lawsuit to split Bell and AT&T.

I did not dream that. I have a T-shirt.

I just watched two shows of What Not to Wear.

So what do I need to do? Wear a tube top braless to the wedding? Believe me, my sister-in-law and niece would understand for a $5000 shopping trip to New York.

James Joyner posts Amanda Marcotte's description of her arc as a worker on John Edwards' campaign in Salon.

Ms. Marcotte attributes the controversy leading to her resignation to sexism in politics and Bloggerville, and to the rumblings of the mighty Republican smear machine.

I quoted portions of this thread to a daughter of a Democratic legislator (state) who is staying with us this week. She said she wouldn't want the woman near a campaign.

(Yes, Diane, I needed a new dedicated guest room. Sometimes I think we're running a bed and breakfast here. Or a dinner-and-bed operation. It's seen a lot of use since my sister came in October.)

Ann Althouse has a post up about the Mona Lisa today.

It's interesting for a comment from Drew W that quotes a song from Michelle Shocked:

But in between her cracks
You can read between the lines
She'd love nothing better than
To rob the Louvre blind . . .

-- "Looks Like Mona Lisa
4:32 PM

Wouldn't she?

How about a Valentine's Day greeting from a pretty girl redhead?

Tornados in New Orleans

I can't resist, even if it's not new: "I didn't say [he] has a small penis, I said he was a little prick."

(Ann Althouse)

An Ipod Shuffle for my birthday! I'm so cool and up-to-date!

How do I make it work?

Charlie is two years old today.

You figure he's spoiled?

This will be the last announcement precisely of its kind.

Today is my birthday. I am 50, a half-century, on the down-hill slope. I have learned a lot about gravity since I was 40. There will never be another statement of this kind on this blog. Ever.

Today is also Charlie's hatch day. He is two. He has learned a good deal about gravity in the past several months, too. We'll keep track of this handsome boy.

Charlie and I are working on a birthday tape for his fans.

Oh, and I woke at 6:30 this morning from a dream in which I was at a large party with music and dancing. I had three possible dresses to wear and was wondering whether I had proper white heels to match a dress, when I found myself standing beside the bar stark naked and bare-footed with nothing but a piece of poster board for cover.

Does it come down to thinking of wearing white shoes between Labor Day and Easter? Down here I certainly wouldn't be dressed if I did.

So I open the door of the truck and step down into the parking lot of Fred's.

On the puddled lot lies one slice of white bread, still dry on this damp day.

Not to be particularly hateful, but y'all get cut roses and I have a new bloom for Valentine's Day.

I never had an orchid for the senior prom. I also wasn't a senior. (Didn't ever go to a prom, either, for that matter.)

Until about now. I'll be 50 in a few more days.

I'd like to ask Mr. Cowen how many times he has vacuumed the bedroom carpet? Someone must do it, right?

I shouldn't say this, but this Super Bowl halftime is the first time I've ever listened to Prince. Or really seen him.

How did that happen?

Too cool. The second line has gone wild.

Michael went to see them in Natchez last night and brought me a CD.

Hip-hop, jazz, and a lot of brass. Works for me.

UPDATE: Their myspace page has several clips.

UPDATE: I'm listening on the Ipod. The boys make much better music than their lyrics would suggest.

The Johnsons now have a TV star in their midst!

Kiwi, the green bird with the yellow beak, is a male Solomon Island Eclectus. A mate for Lucy would look like him. That kind of "dimorphism" is rare in the parrot world.

It won't work. Not right now.

I bought 12 blank signs from Smith Printing, and duct-taped ten together (for 24 square feet) on the inside so Charlie couldn't get a purchase on those chewy edges.

The enclosure just makes him frantic. No harm done, but no go for him.

However, I plan to keep it around. There might be uses for it later. It folds down to 18" x 24" x 2-1/2".

It would do, I think, everything that the Grrreat Wall can do at 1/5 the cost. So, for a small kitten or puppy or rat, or guinea pig, or young birds, it might be a dandy playpen. Worth trying, anyway.

I am: Hal Clement (Harry C. Stubbs) A quiet and underrated master of "hard science" fiction who, among other things, foresaw integrated circuits back in the 1940s.

Which science fiction writer are you?

I don't read much science fiction and never have. So I don't know this gentleman at all. (From Sarah)

Pierre C. Shadeaux did not see his shadow this morning.

So spring should be around the corner.

Corrugated plastic sign stock is $1 per 18" x 24" sheet at Smith Printing in Natchez.

18" would, I think, do.