national poetry month and also april fool's day

i have this poster in my office now. i don't write poetry, but i love reading it. i love hearing it read out loud. try some soon. you'll be glad you did.

******

no pranks here today and only because it's the first day of poetry month.

but, now i owe y'all one....stay sharp!

***********

the MITM returned home last night. he has videos of the babies. i am jealous.


9/365

The Peep Cake Redux

i thought i'd bring these back from the first Peeps contest back in 2010!  ever since then i've been tempted to do another Peep Cake, but somehow, i know that i'd never top this marvelous confection!

HAPPY EASTER to all!

8/365

i'm not one to rest on my laurels

BUT,

it's saturday here on the plantation and i really hadn't given much thought to writing. actually, i'm being disingenuous, i woke up BECAUSE i realized i hadn't written anything for today! it's true. this whole 365 challenge is taking on another meaning for this slacker girl, darlings. of late, i've been rather half-hearted in my approach to things. not really doing anything correctly, just doing enough to keep things moving, but not really finished.

i am truly lacking in discipline.




7/365

things i saw on facebook last night

an honorary member of the coconut krewe via the columbia u. connection, posted this and i quote,

Every time some hack on cable news tells me that I should praise this new pope as "a man of the poor", this is all that I hear.

i laugh every single time because IT'S ABSOLUTELY TRUE!

*****************

this spoke to me because some days it is more and more difficult to believe that we will ever do the right thing here in the usa for ourselves and just say enough!

and then, to make me smile, the second comment was from daisyfae:

(sigh) i guess this means we can't slap stupid people, right?

   ***************

y'all are laughing right now, i know it!

****************

and because the MITM is in lalaland with you know who

BBC and the MITM via yahoo messenger

6/365

it's late and i've been awake since yesterday

lots of pictures, lots of memories, a lot of tears, but also a lot of joy in celebration of a life lived well and an easy passing into peace. a real gathering of a clan that has experienced a lot of sadness in a very short time.

all y'all were part of yesterday, too. kind words of condolences, glasses lifted in a few different places and a candle lit in st. patrick's cathedral, all of these were shared with our family.

our friend, UB, at st.patrick's remembering Aunt Dot

the MITM, his brother and their cousins

BBC and the Kid the day before

there will be more photos added to this post later today,

but for now,


i'm crashing.


xoxoxoxo


5/365

lapin agile or the easter bunny might be a bit late this year

no peeps surprise for easter this year...

but,

tuesday night the MITM made his famous lapin a la moutrade which in english is rabbit in a mustard sauce (sounds so much more delectable in french, right?).  the recipe is from the balthazar cookbook.  of course, our BFF's, Big Shelly and Miss K were our dinner companions here on the plantation.  in the rush of preparation for the dinner, we overlooked the fact that we had consumed the last bottle of bubbly, so the aperitif was a vodka tonic with a lime wedge instead.

we made do.

the MITM had started this meal on monday by marinading the rabbit in an aromatic blend of white wine, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and thyme sprigs; the aroma was intoxicating. he started the actual cooking at 13:00h. the completed dish, with, by the way, a double reduction sauce, was served over pappardelle with a spring greens salad drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette. we sat down for an early dinner at 17:00h. dessert was carrot cake (quite appropriate, right?) served with port.

today, the MITM is on his way to the left coast to attend aunt dot's funeral. he will join the coconut krewe and the extended family at the traditional burial site for creole families in lalaland to lay to rest another southern belle.  at 13:00h PDT i will bow my head in silent prayer and then raise a glass in her honor. 

4/365

i'll show you mine, if you show me yours

*snickering*

no, not that.

i need an idea/a way/a method of displaying some paper currency.  the MITM has all the fixin's for a resin mold/paperweight, but i'm wondering if there might be another way. we just need to have the ability to see both sides of the bills.

any suggestions?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the 365 challenge has been joined by ms. scarlet! it dawned on me that pearl has been doing a daily blog forever, so we have much to aspire to or shake a fist at for her incredible output! (i'm kidding, sweetpeas! her blog is my morning paper these days!)  it's great sitting down with a goal in mind everyday that isn't related to work. 

by the way, did y'all check out leah's entry regarding that other social media site which we shall not mention?  i think the first line of that entry is priceless!  i keep thinking i'll de-activate the account, but then, one of the krewe will post a picture or a friend will share a really interesting POV or article and bamm, like michael in the godfather, they pull me back in!

so, i'm in, just maybe not as much as before. besides, blogging is keeping me out of arguments and i'm no longer yelling at my poor MAC! (and we know what happened when i started yelling at the tv...)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and because it's been a few days. here are some baby pictures!

BGM and a book about tails

BBC calling ducks

punk rock lives

hey!

16 lbs of absolute cuteness!

3/365

ode to joy

there will be another funeral this week. a generation is slowly passing away in the extended family. 
the MITM's family will lay to rest another matriarch. she was miss daisy's sister-in-law and the MITM's auntie dot. we saw her when we were out on the left coast during the holidays and for that, we are both grateful.  another lovely lady gone, but never to be forgotten.

the MITM's dad, miss daisy, older sister, older brother, uncle, cousin and aunt dot from the California Eagle c. 1947

2/365

i'm late to the game, but i'm starting today

(this isn't about sports, but i did watch the nfl total access this morning when i woke up at damndarkthirty in the morning.)

~our pals, leah and eryl are doing the 365 posts challenge on their blogs* and i'm thinking, sure, why not? i had a blast posting everyday for a month last december, so i think 365 is doable. i'm not going to set any boundaries, other than committing to posting something every day.  
a challenge of another sort...

~here's a link to a new venture by mr. moose. check him out when you get a chance and enjoy the new twist on one of my favorite genres.

~and finally, one of my favorite topics: the oxford comma!

now, i'm guessing y'all might be wondering how the nfl figures in all of this and honestly, other than the fact that the new (american) football season is just around the damn corner (ok, just the draft, not the actual season) it doesn't!  but, somewhere in my damndarkthirtyinthemorning mind, it all made perfect sense to me.

all of this to say, fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night  (thank you, margo channing, all about eve)

but it will be fun.


and i hope all y'all have fun, too!


*thanks, scarlet for reminding me that eryl is also doing the 365!
1/365

what did i do?

was it something i said?

something i did?

i can't believe you've left me without saying  a thing.

a note.

a text.

voicemail?

i know i've been less than for a while,

but,

really?

you just walked away...











i promise i'll blog more, just comeback follower #114.
so, that happened and it really did surprise me, but whisky tango foxtrot can i do?

~~~~~~~~~~

today is st. patrick's day, but here in my little town it's just the day after the parade. (seriously, this may be the day, but around here, you can't be interrupting church services for a parade, sugar! so, st. patrick's is celebrated on saturday. go figure.)  the MITM and i spent the day with our BFF's, Big Shelly and Miss K, starting with our shared local tradition, green bagels, cream cheese, lox, onions, tomato and capers! this is served with coffee and bailey's irish cream. the early morning drink(s) of choice this year was a bloody mary! i don't think we even bothered watching the parade (on tv, of course) this year. it was all about eating, drinking, and music. given were we live on the intra-coastal waterways of georgia, we did what sensible people of our generation do: we took a golf cart ride around the neighborhood!  sunny weather and a good breeze that kept the gnats away, made sitting on the dock watching dolphins swim by a perfect way to kill some time before lunch and more beverages! grilled bangers and mash served with a petite syrah was the perfect mid-day meal after our day in the sun. 

dinner was at our house.

corned beef, red potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. guinness and jamesons were involved...in the pot, in a bottle and also, in a flask. you decide which went where and when.

there are pictures somewhere just not here.....yet.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOC!

it was 40 years ago today...

today is his birthday, #2 son, way out in los angeles, was awakened by me and the MITM! yep, at 07:00h his time, we were calling and wishing him a most happy day! which probably started the minute we hung up and he no longer had to live in that half asleep state of anticipation of the call that was sure to come and wake him up!

yes, every year on their birthday, m'darlings, they half sleep knowing i'll call.


and what's even better than when i don't call early and they do hear from me later in the day?


is hearing them say, "why didn't you call? i was waiting for your call!"


the joys of parenthood never end!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOC!

the day after or the first day of year 45

if either of us had committed a major felony 44 years and a day ago, we'd already have been up for parole at least ONCE. as it is, we're looking at the first day of year 45 and the planning has already begun for a REALLY BIG PARTY NEXT YEAR!

we had a lovely dinner with our BFF, Big Shelly and Miss K, at one of our little town's best kept secrets, circa 1875. they started as an "irish pub" and slowly evolved into a truly delightful parisian style bistro. (savannah has quite a few bars that have attempted to be authentic, but based on what i've learned from all y'all in IRELAND, it ain't happening here.) but, again, as is my wont, i have digressed...

if you click on the link to the resto, you'll find the menu. we shared a few dishes for our 
Hors d’œuvres, 

Coquilles St Jacques
Escargots
Plateau du Chef 

the wine list isn't online, but reflects the "3 different palates of the owner, the chef, and sommelier" as we were told by the very knowledgeable sommelier.  we had one of our favorites, a consentino cab franc with the hors d'oeuvers.

and then with dinner, the MITM chose a new one to me (which doesn't mean much because i'm like the guy in the movie, sideways, when it comes to wine, it tastes good to me!),  hahn's meritage. circa does a great burger with a green peppercorn sauce, the 1875 hamburger Au poivre which the others had. for me, it was the Sandwich de côte de bœuf. of course, we all had the truffle frites and they were worth every damn calorie, too!!

Miss K had the Crêpes Suzette and i had the Gâteau au chocolat. both were perfect french desserts and not their overly sweet american versions usually served here.  (unlike a real irish pub which i have never visited, i do know french bistros! remind me to tell you those stories one day.)  great service, lovely atmosphere, fantastic company and the added bonus of running into a few old friends we hadn't seen in ages, it was a beautiful night. we took a leisurely stroll  and realized how many changes had taken place along congress street to old haunts (read bars) we used to frequent when we lived in the historic district! 

now, i'm sure one or none of you are wondering why there aren't any pictures of the food since it obviously was fantastic, here's why:  


we didn't take any!  yep, last night, we didn't want to be those people who had their smart phones out taking pictures of everything and everyone at their table. (oh yeah, it was happening 2 tables over) 

AND, more to the point, this was one of those nights, 

that i will never forget

because 

of who was there

and

why

we were all sitting together one more time.

who knew?

i've been remiss about posting, but guess what i found out about this here blog?

this will be the 1264th published post since i began blogging.

(be glad you didn't see the unpublished ones.)

things have been hectic around the plantation and so, i've been a bit busy.  i've been in a writer's funk. also, a reader's funk and certainly, not commenting much anywhere.  i was asked to do a guest blog and haven't been able to even put two thoughts together, much less words.  seems that spring has sprung everywhere but inside my brain!  rather than post youtubes here, i just figured i'd just lay back for a while and let the words come when it felt right. 

this isn't it.

this is me telling you what's going on so you don't think i've abandoned blogging for that other social media site which shall remain anonymous, so we don't send shivers down any spines! (you know who you are!)

the MITM comes home on tuesday and our 44th wedding anniversary is on the 8th!  the interesting thing is that this is the first time in a very long time that he'll be here to celebrate!  we've talked about going out to dinner or doing something special, but who knows what we'll do.  we might just have to have a party to plan what we'll do to celebrate!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the babies!

super nana, BBC, BGM and Stretch