Mr. Vu and his Crew, Part Two

After seeing what an incredible job Mr. Vu did on the back yard, we had to have him come back and do the front. I meant to take the "before pictures" but it was pouring rain that whole week. They arrived at 7:30 am a couple of Saturdays ago, and I was only able to take 2 pictures out my car window on the way out to do errands that morning. Great googly moogly!

Brian found that tree after a terrible windstorm we had in Dec. 1995. It was only about 11" tall and it's roots were all exposed when it blew past the door where Brian was standing (at work), the morning after the storm. He took it home and we potted it and then snuck it into Washington (along w/ the sequoia which is planted in the back yard). We planted it next to the front porch but didn't take into account the way the roof hangs over far, so it's growing out at an angle and has suffered a lot from weighty, wet snows bending it over.

They worked until nearly 4:00 pm. We tried not to look out the windows while they were working but it was hard not to take a peek every now and then.

They actually shapped all of the rhododendron bushes and cut back all the dense branches.

They trimmed the tree to ease the top heavy weight and also shaped the barberry (middle) and butterfly bush. Because of the cold weather, all the plants have gotten off to a very late start.

This looks soooooo much better!

More shaping of the rhodie bushes.

They also weeded and trimmed the azaleas and potentillas in the rockery, and shaped the heather.

Dogwood flowers.



For the Vixens:

So Brian went shoe shopping on Saturday and when he got home, he showed me his new shoes. I squealed with delight and said, "You bought Bobby shoes!" He goes, "Oh brother." I placed his shoes on the table, got my camera and he says, "Oh maaan! You're gonna blog about them aren't you?" He knows me too well. So then he offered to wear the shoes, Vincent's "black wifebeater of hotness" I won on ebay and take out his Goren-like leather portfolio notebook. lol

I'm not much of a soda drinker anymore. I used to consume mass quantities of Diet Coke in the 80's, then switched to Weinhard's Cream Soda for awhile, but overall, I'm not a soda fan. However, every time I went to Safeway and passed the Jones Pure Cane Soda, I became intrigued. Jones is the wacky Seattle company that brought us "turkey gravy" flavored soda and last year, a special Seahawks set of sodas that included "dirt" and "perspiration" flavors. But one of the Jones flavors being featured in Safeway is "green apple". I always loved Adam's Sour Apple gum in the 70's and I like apple flavored candy as well. So I bought some.

Could it be any more bright green? I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty and refreshing it is. They only use pure cane sugar as a sweetener and it's delicious. I have forgotten how good pop used to be before all the companies switched to high fructose corn syrup. If you can find Jones in your local grocery store, give them a whirl.

My BFF Julie is on her annual mountaineering trek. This year's destination is Bolivia, where she will attempt to summit Hyuana Potosi. She flew into Peru and I got a couple of emails from her, both from Lima and La Paz. Because she goes as part of a mountaineering tour group, she has to bunk with people wherever they stay. I got this email from her last Friday, and I laughed so hard [Caution: many f-bombs ahead]:

"my roomie is driving me nuts. she won´t shut up. fuck. no wonder i live alone. tomorrow we head to the mountains for trekking and stuff. it will be wicked cold up there. la paz bolivia is nasty. i will be glad to leave it. once in lima alone, i´ll just hover around my hotel and not venture far. whew. i´ll be alone. the group things get pretty trying for me after a while. i prefer my singleness. how are you guys doing. how are all your doggies. how is loci. haven´t been really watching much tele here. fuck. she is driving me batshit, sitting next to me at the next computer going on and onn. shut the fuck up. no matter where you fucking go there´s annoying people. ug. anyway. am glad i am here tho since this is a growing experience for me. ok, gotta go i love you both and will email both you Vixens as soon as i can. fer sher it wont be for another week plus at least. love, me too. ps. shut the fuck up and deal w-your shit and shut the fucking fuck up."

She cracks me up. She'll be home on July 5th. We'll be planning our trip to the Portland area when she gets back, and that's going to be my only out of town trip this year. Now that I have a laptop, I will be able to upload photos of the trip in real time. You know you are in the new millenium when you have more computers in your house than TV's.

Right now I'm trying to see if I can financially swing an overnight trip to San Francisco in August to attend our friends Donnie & Mike's wedding. Brian is already signed up for a voice over training at a studio in Sausalito, and he's not sure he'll be able to even drive into The City for the reception/party. Still, I'd like to put in an appearance, if we can afford it. Donnie used to live in Haight Ashbury and his garden parties were something out of Armistad Maupin's "Tales of The City". It was always quite the paradigm shift when we'd leave the garden and go back out onto the street, after spending an afternoon behind his building where you could wander around and check out all the cool things tucked away here and there. I'll blog about it one of these days, as I have photos. Donnie & Mike have since bought a house in the Glen Park neighborhood. I'd really, really like to go. I truly hate to fly, but it's only a 2 hour flight from SeaTac to SF. I might even have to suck it up and fly coach. lol

I got a message from Bryde's fiance today, and so far her surgery was going OK. He'll update me later on. She should be home soon, as it was outpatient surgery.

Weather's supposed to get hot this weekend....of course "hot" for here means 2 days of 85 degrees. Still, I don't like it and plan to hide inside.

For Bryde

WHAT CANCER CANNOT DO

It cannot.....

Invade the soul

Suppress memories

Kill friendship

Destroy peace

Conquer the spirit

Shatter hope

Cripple love

Corrode faith

Steal eternal life

Silence courage

Good luck with your surgery on Wednesday, my friend. This time next year, we'll be celebrating your triumph over Tumora!!! Take care and we are here for you. Let us know how it went as soon as you are able.

XOXOXOXO

We got our Chevron bill in the mail yesterday.....

Tagged by Daisy!

"List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring-summer. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to."

I go thru phases of listening to tons of music then not listening at all. Right now I'm in a "not listening at all" phase. However, that doesn't mean that music isn't constantly playing in my head. Or as the Buzzcocks say, "There's a harmony, in my head." My taste in music is extremely eclectic. I love everything except rap/hip hop and new country. You are just as likely to find me listening to Mozart as you will the Sex Pistols, Partridge Family, bluegrass, 1940's swing, or the Grateful Dead.

1. "Someone's Lookin' At You" by the Boomtown Rats, because it seems that everywhere I go, there are cameras. Traffic cameras, store security cameras, parking lot cameras.... It's getting to the point where I can't deal with a wedgie situation in a store anymore w/o being watched by someone. I used to have this poster in my bedroom, much to my parents' chagrin.

2. "Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane, because it reminds me of my fantabulistic trip to Vancouver Island last summer.... ....the amazing time I had, how much I love to travel by myself, and how utterly heartbroken I am that I have to skip my annual trip to Canada this summer b/c of the damn economy and gas prices. Oh well. At least I have my photo albums.

3. "Bittersweet Symphony" by the Verve, because you have to admit, it's a killer, hooky song. It also reminds me of my trip to Vancouver, BC in the summer of 2006. And sometimes I feel like the words were written just for me:

"Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life

Try to make ends meet

You're a slave to money then you die

I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down

You know the one that takes you to the places where all the veins meet yeah

No change, I can't change

I can't change, I can't change

But I'm here in my mold, I am here in my mold

And I'm a million different peoplefrom one day to the next

I can't change my mold

No, no, no, no, no, no, no,no,no,no,no,no..."

4. Just watched my alltime fave rave movie, "Paper Moon" and that's chock full of music that I absolutely love. They used authentic recordings of the music that was popular in the 1930's. I was lucky enough to score the soundtrack album a few years ago and it's awesome. One of my faves that seems to get stuck in my head a lot is called "Keep Your Sunnyside Up". A lot of the music in the early 1930's was very topical and tried to cheer people up during The Great Depression. "Sunnyside" is one such song. Of course the way things are going in this country, we may need to resurrect some of the Depression Era music.

"There's one thing to think of when you're blue, there are others much worse off than you.

If a load of troubles should arrive, just laugh and say it's great to be alive.

Keep your sunny side up, up, hide the side that get's blue.

If you can't buy lobster and cake, you're in luck, your tummy won't ache.

So keep your sunny side up, up,

Let your laughter come thru, thru,

If you meet with gloom, don't fall down go boom,

Keep your sunny side up

Keep your sunny side up, up, hide the side that gets blue.

If you have nine sons in a row, start a baseball team, they make money you know.

So keep your sunny side up, up, let your laughter come thru,

Stand up on your legs, be like two fried eggs, keep your sunny side up."

5. "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" has also been coming and going thru my head, because many of our clients have mortgaged themselves to the hilt and now have massive negative equity on their homes, thanks to their subprime loans & plummeting property values. I keep singing, "The percentage you're paying is too high priced, while you're living beyond all your means, and the man in the suit has just bought a new car from the profit he's made off your dreams...." And it also reminds me of road trips we took up to Fort Bragg (CA not NC) in the 1990's, as it was on a mix tape we used to listen to a lot.

6. And what would be a list of summery songs without a selection by the Dead. This is a tough one b/c so many songs remind me of summer tour. But I'd have to go with their version of "Hey Pocky Way" from 7/3/88, Oxford Plains Speedway, Oxford, Maine. I met Brian at that show. Can you believe the ticket price was only $20???? I found a pic of these tix on line as mine are in our Dead scrapbook. I used to cheerfully ask the gate attendants "Rip it pretty, please!" so that they wouldn't tear it carelessly, as seen above.

7. My final choice is my fave Bruce Hornsby song, "Across the River," which reminds me so much of the summer of 1990. We wuz dirt po' back then. Po' po' po'. Couldn't even afford cable TV. Had to buy generic beer. I saved a can. It's white and says, "BEER" on it. By the summer of 1990, both of us were finally hitting our stride in SF: We'd survived our first major earthquake, we got to our very first New Years Eve and Mardi Gras Dead shows, we'd met Bobby Weir and Jerry Garcia, we had a ton of new Deadhead friends, and we managed to scrape up enough $ to see the Dead as much as possible. Our lives literally revolved around the Dead back then: tape trading, shows, swapping lists, hanging out w/ friends practically every night, eagerly awaiting our next copy of "The Golden Road" or "Relix", calling the hotline 3x a day to see if new shows were announced. That was the summer that their keyboardist, Brent Mydland, died and Hornsby stepped in along with Vince Welnick. Unfortunately, even though Jerry Garcia is the lead guitarist on the studio version of "Across the River", for some reason the Dead never played it. At least not that I know of.

No pressure, but consider yourselves tagged:

Axe

Susan

Kris

A Moralized Criminal

Bryde

Kathleen

Danger Panda

Throat cramp, pee your pants funny

You have got to check this out. Make sure you have an empty bladder, and an inhaler nearby if you are an asthmatic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqjV4Tzv1j8

Never speak ill of the dead

But I'm gonna anyway.

So last Sunday, all of the local meteorologists were predicting a storm for Monday, with snow in the mountains & the snow level dropping to 2,500 feet by 6:00 p.m. Monday night. Down here in the lowlands, it was damn rainy, cold and windy too. It looked and felt like a classic Northwestern winter wind storm, only it's June. Or "June-uary" as we've been calling it.

At some point, 3 experienced hikers, a husband, wife & their friend, decided to take a day hike on Mt. Rainier, from the parking lot at Paradise to Camp Muir, about 10,000+ feet up the mountain. The husband and the friend had summited Rainier twice before. So they start up the mountain and get caught in a white-out blizzard. Because it was a day hike, they had no camping gear. They had to dig a snow trench and ride out the storm. The husband took the brunt of the cold in order to save the lives of his wife and their friend. He, unfortunately, died.

The spring weather on the mountain is erratic at best. We can be in bright sun down here, but Rainier is socked in with clouds and it's snowing like crazy. The storms blow in without warning, and Rainier makes a lot of its own weather because of its sheer size.

Now I am very sorry for their loss. But, HELLO!!! What the hell were they thinking? We're not talking about a couple of flatlander rube tourists, thinking they can take a stroll up the mountain. These people were allegedly experienced climbers. I would have way more sympathy if they started out in good weather and a storm came in....it happens all the time up there. But it was pouring down rain and windy here and snowing in the Cascades. Why would they take such a risk and attempt a day hike?

This morning we wake up to the sad news that a small flat bottomed boat has capsized in the fast moving & very swollen Nisqually River (fed directly by glaciers and melting snow from Rainier), a 5 year old boy's body was found, and another child and adult are missing. The mother made it to shore, as did the guy who was sailing the boat. No one had on life jackets. Alcohol was involved. The woman's husband is in Iraq. I cannot even begin to fathom how his CO is going to break the news to this poor guy, thousands of miles away, and what a looooong trip it's going to be for the father to get back up here.

What part of RESPECT MOTHER NATURE don't people understand? All the rivers here are running fast and deep, as they do in the spring. They are ice cold. The Green and Cedar Rivers have been closed to recreation. Yet people continue to make poor decisions that result in the tragic loss of life. I am caught between feeling bad for their losses but also thinking that they deserve what happens to them - with exception of the child that drowned in the river, which clearly was a really poor decision on his mother's part.

And on another sad note, RIP to Tim Russert from "Meet the Press" who died suddenly today.

Gas is now $4.39 in Bonney Lake.

Got an email from The Bead Factory, which is hosting the Puget Sound Bead Festival in July. The contents of the email had to do w/ the fact that hardly anyone has signed up for the classes offered during the weekend of the festival, and many of the teachers are being forced to cancel them. The main reason is that with our economy, no one can afford the extra money to take the classes, which run from about $45 to $200, depending on what it is. I looked into it myself but also decided not to spend the extra on classes. At this point, I'm not 100% sure I'm even going to go. I just don't want to use gas to get there, or spend $ once I'm there. Unfortunately, I was kind of annoyed w/ the tone of the email, saying that they can't reduce the prices of the classes but would accept the fees on a payment plan. It encouraged everyone to sign up anyway, because why should beaders give up something they love because of the economy?

This ticks me off for many reasons. For one thing, The Bead Factory is the most expensive bead shop in the area. Their prices are insanely high. I've taken a few classes there, but I haven't bought much because I can get everything WAY cheaper at Shipwreck Beads in Olympia, or by mailordering from Fire Mountain Gems. And the craft store, Ben Franklin, has put in quite a lovely & large bead section as well. I would suspect that other crafters/beaders have found this to be the case too. Why spend $100 at TBF when you can get the same stuff for $50 elsewhere? People are struggling to make ends meet, homes are in foreclosure, layoffs up the kazoo, gas and groceries are thru the roof, yet TBF shows little to no sympathy for the feedback they received from beaders who can't afford to take classes at the bead festival, and urge people to pony up money they don't have by using the "guilt trip" approach. Not cool.

I have to work on Sunday because we have a trial on Monday. I am annoyed with my coworker for not offering to work instead. She lives literally less than a mile from here. But no. I have to drag my sorry ass in from Bonney Lake to do it. However, I did offer; I would have felt like a real shit all weekend if I didn't. But not without a little "quid pro quo". I told Steve I'd work Sunday if he gave me next Friday off, so that I'm not out gas for the extra trip to Tacoma. Can you tell I've been working for attorneys too long?

Have a great weekend all.

For those of you sweltering in the hot weather

It's cold, cloudy and rainy up here and has been for over a week. The snow level has dropped to 2,500 feet and snow is expected in the passes after 6:00 p.m. tonite.

I LOVE THIS WEATHER!!!!

The longer it stays cold and rainy, the shorter we have to deal w/ the hot summer weather and neverending daylight.

Rain on, Ma Nature, Rain On.

Pepper Sez......

"We are NOT amused!"

Tagged by Val

Val tagged me to post six quirky things about myself. Like her, I'm a quirky person. I have so many quirks that I can't think of them all, so here goes:

1. If 2 light switches control one light (like in a hallway), when the lights are off, both switches HAVE to be in the off position. I have gone downstairs and fixed the switch if it's in the up position while the lights are off.

2. I have to have my breakfast stuff set out the night before, as well as my lunch packed and in the fridge, and my clothes for the next day ready, before I go to bed. But only on weekdays.

3. My desk at work has to be tidy before I leave at the end of the day.

4. I talk to myself A LOT, but I think most only children do.

5. When I was a teenager, I couldn't shut the light off in my room to go to bed unless EVERYTHING was tidy - records put away, pens capped and in the pen holder, school books neatly stacked on the desk. If something was out of place, I'd get out of bed and fix it.

6. When I am coming to the end of a craft project, i.e., ready to put the last few beads and clasp on a necklace, one last thing to glue onto a homemade card or scrapbook page, I start putting all the tools, beads, findings, paper, etc. away and tidying up my craft table before I do the last step.

Now I have to tag 6 of you (forgive me). Don't feel obliged.

Here are the Rules:
1. Link the person(s) who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

Unfortunately I have no idea how to link so I'm just going to put your names down and feel free to do, or not do, the list:

Kris
Danger Panda
Daisy
Annie
Bryde

Have an awesome weekend everyone and GO CELTICS!!

Please send good thoughts

My teeny, tiny, teacup baby guy is sick and has to stay overnight at our vet. He's been sick off and on over the past couple of weeks, vomiting now and then; our vet is aware of it of course. We stopped giving him rawhide chews and got the special food from them. Other than that, he's as bright eyed and playful as ever, jumping up and down, teasing his sister, running all over the yard, climbing onto our laps. Because of the horrid start he had during his first 9 months of his life, before we adopted him, he's always had somewhat of a delicate system. But it's really hard to patrol what he might be eating when he's outside. Brian found some cat scat by our fence and assumed that's what Sagan got into.

I took him to day care today and they called Brian to say that Sagie was having diarreah really bad and they were going to take a sample for testing. At 3:45, Brian called me at work to say that the doctor recommended that Sagan "board" overnight and the sample had been sent to the lab. I suppose using the word "board" instead of "inpatient at the hospital" was meant to make us feel better, but as you can imagine, I'm worried sick. Of course I'm worried sick. He's my baby! My beloved pet! I hate it that he's not here & I'm having a really hard time not crying. It's bad enough when we send him to board over July 4th b/c of the fireworks, but knowing that he's down there overnight b/c he's sick is a whole other story. Brian keeps telling me not to worry, he worked in a vet clinic and saw this before and it's usually just some intestinal thing. But I can't help it. I'm his mommy. Mommy's worry.

Fortunately for us, he is in very capable hands. Sumner Veterinary Clinic is an amazing facility and just started 24/7 emergency care, which is a relief. The only other emergency vet that's close to us is clear out in South Tacoma. I do feel a bit better knowing he's just down the hill instead of 25 miles away. Everyone knows, and loves, Sagie at Sumner Vet so I know that he's getting top of the line care.

It's probably nothing serious, but if you could all send good thoughts, karma, prayers, whatever, our way, it is greatly appreciated. I know all of you are pet lovers and/or owners, and understand the kind of stress this causes.

Fool me once, shame on you

Fool me twice and your ass goes to juvenile hall. At least that's what SHOULD have happened.

I'm sure you all remember Washington's favorite juvenile delinquent, Semaj Booker, who managed to talk his way onto 2 flights last year, after stealing a car to get to SeaTac Airport, the day after he was busted for stealing, and crashing, another car in a high speed chase. He was all of 11 then. Judge McCarthy, here in Tacoma, issued an order requiring the kid and his mother to stay in Pierce County and not leave, pending resolution of the matter. So what do they do? Fly to LA to appear on "Dr. Phil". Judge McCarthy cuts him another break, and tells him to stay out of trouble for one year....or else.

The little juvenile delinquent was just bagged AGAIN at SeaTac, on the ramp to a flight leaving for Sacramento. He was trying to get to Texas, just like he tried last year. Authorities have decided not to file new charges, although I am hoping that Judge McCarthy yanks the deal off the table and throws this little shit in juvvy.

First, let's start with his name: Semaj. It's "James" spelled backwards and pronounced "Semahjay". How STOOPID is that? But don't get me started on all the names I find to be completely, utterly and eyerollingly lame, or else I will get branded as a "racist". Second, what is wrong with his mother? Has she lost complete control over her 12 YEAR OLD child that she has no idea where he is or what he's doing, ever? Third, if the kid hates it here that much and wants to return to Texas, then why doesn't she just send him, and good riddance? God knows the taxpayers of Pierce County don't need to be paying for what is likely to be a life of crime. I mean, if he's stealing cars and savvy enough to watch the TSA at the airport to pick the most lax screeners, then you know he's only going to get worse.

And that brings up another point. The TSA. When I went to the Cape, my passport and boarding pass were scrutinized so many times that I lost count (of course I don't need a passport to travel within the states, but it's that extra measure of peace of mind when going thru security). Meanwhile Semaj manages to work his way thru the many security check points, metal detector AND gate without a boarding pass, luggage or any photo ID. What does that tell you about how secure our airports are?

And from now on, you all can call me Ennaoj...pronounced "Ennahahjay".

Disturbing commercials

So we're watching TV the other night, and a commercial comes on for one of the many bladder control medications. It shows a bunch of water balloons, dancing under a disco ball in a gym. The banner reads, "CLASS OF '68". 1968?????? Geez Louise! When I was young, I really thought we would stay young forever. There's no need to tell me that I have "Peter Pan Syndrome" because I readily admit it. I have watched my friends grow up around me, and decorate their homes "age appropriately", but I never moved past dorm room decor. Or wearing tie dye shirts and ratty sweats. Or caring about my appearance. I just don't give a tiny little rat's ass what other people think of me or my house. I yam what I yam.

And I SWEAR TO GOD, I was about to throw the remote thru the TV the other night when a Verizon commercial came on, and they were singing to the tune of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." It's fucking MAY! It's bad enough we will be subjected to this nonstop barrage of carols starting in October, so give it a rest already, Verizon!

Just plain disturbing

I read in a magazine that a new product has hit the market for babies. It's a rectal thermometer that plays the theme to "Spongebob Squarepants". Don't get me wrong, I love Spongebob and Brian downloaded the theme to my cell phone for it's ring tone. But really, a rectal thermometer that plays music? I do NOT want to see that kid's psychotherapy bill.

Celebrities

One of our clients was in his cups a month or so ago, and decided to order a ton of magazines for our office. His choices were really bizarre. A couple of the mags are celebrity related. I thumb thru them at lunch, or take them to the gym. But I am just disgusted by the kind of media attention these people get. WHO CARES????? And quite frankly, the Olsen Twins scare me with their vacant stares. Tom Cruise scares me too. Now there's an example of someone who has boldly gone where no man has gone before. Then we have the copious coverage of the various and sundry Pop Tarts: Britney & her tartlet sister Jamie Lynn, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, ad nauseum. We have the feud b/t 2 celebs I've never heard of over some sex tape, which I'm sorry, but if you make a sex tape and you are a celebrity, there is the reasonable expectation that it's going to be on YouTube in less than 24 hours. So qwitcherbitchin about it, you stupid skanks.

And speaking of celebrity mag rags, I find it so gross and offensive that they have pages of "best boobs after baby", or close ups of actresses cellulite in bikinis, or take shot at ones who gained weight. Meanwhile, on another page, they have "cutest paunch" for fat male celebrities. Take Kevin Federline. He looks like he ate his ex wife AND their 2 kids. But do they criticize him for gaining weight? Noooooo, of course not. This double standard has got to go.

Bikini Barista Battle a Bust in Bonney Lake

Killer alliteration, eh? And get it? "Bust"???? Several months ago, many small drive up coffee shops decided to feature young girls in skimpy bathing suits and lingerie. It's been somewhat controversial, with letters to the paper from people both for and against it.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, Brian came home and told me that he saw a girl wearing nothing but blue butterfly pasties and panties at the Hot Chick-a-Latte stand near our house. Keep in mind, he was driving by at about 35 mph at the time. This from the man who "doesn't see" the dirty dishes in the sink or newspapers on the floor. Yet he was somehow able to not only describe the shape but colour of the pasties.

Apparently a mom w/ a couple of kids who were at the gas station next door, saw it and pitched a major league fit when her kids said, "Look mom! A naked lady!" KING-5 news was called and they came down to Bonney Lake to cover the story. They interviewed the coffee stand people and the woman who complained. The story got picked up by CNN and other newspapers around the country. Last weekend, a protest was planned for both Hot-Slut-A-Latte and the Cowgirls stand on Highway 410, from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, all 3 days.

Brian decided to go down there for the protest, and broadcast it live on the Free World Pub, which airs on Sat. mornings on Blog Talk Radio. Unfortunately, no one from either side wanted to comment because they were really pissed at the media for blowing it out of proporation. I guess the woman that complained only was angry about the pasties, not the wearing of bikinis. But she was branded as the bad guy. The City Council is, however, looking into what constitutes indecent exposure.

It wasn't much of a protest anyway. When I drove by at 8:30 to do my errands, there was the woman, her husband & kids, and 2 other people. Meanwhile, Hot Slut-A-Latte had a line around the corner which kept up all day. The protestors were gone by 10:30, never to return.

What say you, my peeps, on this issue?

The Village

Here are the last of the Sandwich photos.


This was my elementary school, Henry T. Wing. When I went there, everyone from K-12 was in this one school, and I remember how small I felt, lining up for lunch in the high school section with all those big kids around. The new high school was completed in the spring of 1976, and my class, the Class of '82, was the first to start off 7th grade in the fall of '76 in the new Junior/Senior high school in East Sandwich.


The first set of windows on the left were my Kindergarten & first grade classrooms. They kept trying to expand the school, first by putting in "temporary" classrooms called Portables. For the first month of my 3rd grade year, all of us were in the gym till the Portables were ready. We moved in but it was short lived, because once the fall rains started, the flat roof leaked, so it was off to the gym again till they got the ceilings fixed. They built on another addition on the other side of the school for the 5th and 6th graders, but eventually, they had to build the high school. Now, there are 3 elementary schools, 1 middle school and Sandwich High. The Portables were never removed and I think are offices now.


This is a shot of what used to be the old cafeteria/auditorium. When we had lunch there, it was very old and musty. There was a piece of grey insulation sticking out of the high ceiling, and the "big kids" liked to torture us younguns by saying it was a mouse and be careful, it might drop onto our lunch tray. It didn't take too long to figure out that the "mouse" never moved. So then we passed the legend along to the kids who were younger than us! And who could forget the day we were eating and Peter Gill let out a bloodcurdling scream, as his fingers got caught in those heavy blue doors? In about '75, one of the other gyms was converted to a new cafeteria/auditorium, and this old one was used briefly as a youth center. I assume it's been renovated inside as well, but I haven't been in it since the late 70's.

Quail Hollow, across from the Wing School. It's really sad to think that I never patronized many of the historic places in Sandwich, and as a result, I have no idea what Quail Hollow is. Or does. Or sells. But every time I see it, I flash on a memory of being in first grade, in Mrs. Hart's classroom. It was either the last day or day before the last day, in mid-June. It was so hot and humid, and the windows were all open. I was wearing a sleeveless sundress. Since all lessons had officially ended for the year, she had us pull our desks into a circle and she read to us. The whole class was so sleepy from the opressive heat, and I remember just staring out the window at the bright yellow Quail Hollow building, spacing out.

This was Yesteryear's Doll Museum, and was white with dark red trim, when I lived in Sandwich. I loved the old doll museum, and it had the most amazing collection of antiques dolls and doll houses from all over the world. For awhile in the 70's, the clock's bell would chime the time on the hour and half hour. The building was falling apart and in the 80's & 90's, it was a blight on Main Street. It was built in 1703. I think it's a bistro/B&B now. The funds for the clock at the top were donated in 1808, by Titus Winchester, the last slave in Sandwich. I used to live in this building, from 1988 to when I moved to San Francisco. It's next door to the Doll Museum and across from the library. My apartment was on the 2nd floor, left. The two windows on the left were in my livingroom. The window on the same floor, but behind the main part was my bedroom.

I didn't shoot the side so that you can see the angle, but this is a large saltbox house, owned by the Columbo family. From K-12, I was in the same class as Joya. Her dad was my dad's dentist. My dad did all their plumbing. The plaque over the door has the year it was built, I think it was around 1697 or 1693. Although we knew each other from kindergarten, Joya and I had different sets of friends (she being from town and me being from E. Sandwich), so I've never been inside her house.

Another of the oldest churches in Sandwich, built in the late 1600's. It's called the First Church of Christ, or "The Christopher Wren" as it is in Wren's style. Senior year in high school when I was in chorus, we did a concert of Vivaldi's "Gloria" with the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra, in this church. All those months and months of practice in class and after school and it totally paid off. I have to say, Mr. Graham's Sandwich High Chorus kicked some serious butt that night, eh Liz?

The "Greco-Roman Piece of Shit" Sandwich Town Hall, as Brian calls it. I never really thought about it's imposing and out-of-place architecture as compared to the Ye Olde Sandwich Towne historic homes and churches till Brian mentioned it. But thanks to my cousin Bobbie, I now know why it was built in this style. Which is that in the early 1800's, after the Revolutionary War and War of 1812, New England towns were moving as far away from their English colonial roots as possible, and shunned that style in favor of the classical Greek and/or Roman architecture. (Did I get that right, Bobbie?). In the 6th grade, my class took a field trip to Town Hall and we were shown the 2nd floor dancehall. I bet very few people in Sandwich even know it exists. They had to close it to public events b/c the floor wasn't safe anymore. But there's a stage with huge asbestos curtains (which are probably gone now but they pointed them out on our field trip), and it was just used for storage. But I guess for awhile, it was one of the places to go for entertainment.

This is an Artesian Well, located at the Grist Mill, next to the duck pond. People always come to fill up their plastic jugs with this water. It is cold and refreshing and delicious, that's for sure. And I'm proud to say that my dad did the plumbing on this well till he retired.

At the grist mill.

Dexter's Grist Mill. It's open for tours in the summer. I think they still do stone ground milling demonstrations and then you can buy the ground corn meal if you want. At least they used to do that; not sure if they still do. Always loved the weeping willow tree along the creek. The grist mill is behind town hall.

I'm not entirely sure why this photo came out so tilted....I thought I was shooting straight at the time. I liked how it reflected in the duck pond. This house has a sign that says, "Newcomb's Tavern" and it was built in 1693. While Fessenden's Tavern (now Daniel Webster Inn) was the headquarters of the Patriots during the Revolutionary War, Newcomb's Tavern was the HQ of the Tories. Newcomb's Tavern is now a rental property. So if you find yourself with an extra $1,000 burning a hole in your pocket, that's how much it will cost to stay for one night. $5,500 gets you a week; $20,000 buys you a month. Now, the Webby may be pricey at a few hundred bucks for the suites, but it's not THAT pricey.

It was all I could do to keep myself from squealing with delight when two fuzzy little yellow heads popped up from the grass near 2 Canada geese. The geese let me get pretty close to the babies to take photos.

Maybe they are used to humans. Maybe they could sense I meant no harm and thought that their family was lovely.

Thornton W. Burgess Museum. He wrote a bunch of children's stories set in Sandwich, and included characters like Jimmy Skunk, Grandfather Frog, Mother West Wind, Little Peter Cottontail, Mrs. Peter Rabbit, Lightfoot the Deer, and his stories were set at The Briar Patch.

I shot this one from the bus, going back to Logan Airport in Boston. This is from the Sagamore Bridge, looking at the eastern entrance of the Cape Cod Canal, and the power plant at the Sandwich Marina. There are 2 bridges that link the Cape to the rest of the state by car, the Sagamore and Bourne Bridges. There's also a railroad bridge in Buzzards Bay, at the western entrance of the Canal, that stays raised to allow shipping traffic and lowers when a train needs to cross.

East Sandwich, A bit of Downtown & the Kids

My hometown is broken up into 3 villages: Sandwich, East Sandwich and Forestdale. Although now I understand that there are 2 other new "villages" within the town, but since I've never heard of them, they will get no mention. I grew up in East Sandwich, which was, at the time I lived there, still considered "far" from "downtown". It's really only about 7 miles.

Oh and yes, I have heard all the "sandwich" jokes so there's no need to say them ("is East Sandwich near the crust?", "You live in Sandwich? You're full of baloney!" ad nauseum).

This is an adorable birdhouse that I saw at the local artist's collective gift shop, on Rte. 6A. This was also outside the collective.

This is one of my fave rave stores in the world, Lavender Moon. I could literally buy everything in the shop. I came away empty handed this time b/c I couldn't narrow down what I wanted out of about 20 things, so I bought nothing. I wish they'd allow photography inside the shop itself because it's absolutely beautiful and magical. I can walk here from my mom's house. Too bad it didn't exist when I was living back there.

And what's a trip to the Cape without a visit to Sandy Neck Beach at low tide, to play on the sandbars and beachcomb?

Things that come second nature to children raised on Cape Cod:
* Using the word "wicked" to emphasize something (this is actually true of all of New England), i.e., if something goes wrong, it's a "wicked pissa". Something really good is "wicked good", etc.

* Education in boat and water safety, and for crying out loud, never, ever turn your back to the ocean.

* Swimming in icy cold water.

* How to pick your way carefully, toe-heel, and quickly, across the rocks strewn across the beaches on the Bay side. This is a point of pride for native Cape Codders. To be seen walking to the water's edge in sneakers, then taking them off to wade in, is clearly a tourist thing. Cape kids start toughening up their feet as soon as it's warm enough to go barefoot, so that we can show up the tourists by running across the sharp rocks to get into said icy cold water.

I have no idea what this is supposed to be. Is is art? Did it wash up on shore? Since bonfires on the public beaches are not allowed, I don't think it's set up to burn.

This is the Benjamin Nye homestead on Old County Road, not far from my parents' house. Can you believe in the 24 years I lived on the Cape, and passed by this place literally thousands of times, I've never been inside?

The East Sandwich Grange was once very active, when the Cape was more rural and had small farms. My parents were members of the Grange, but weren't that active in it. The only time I remember going is in mid-November, in the early 1970's, when the Grangers would host an early Thanksgiving dinner, and we'd go there to eat downstairs with a bunch of other town folk. It was nice and very small-town, "back in the day". Many of the Grange families trace their roots back to the original founders of Sandwich.

This is on the same property as the Grange. It's pretty beat up, but I thought it was picturesque.

"Green door, what's that secret you're keepin'....?"

Moving back to downtown, this is the Dan'l Webster Inn, where I worked during my summer vacations & other school breaks while in college. I was a chambermaid and also worked in the laundry. The "Webby" as we employees called it, is a 4-star hotel & restaurant. Mom and I had lunch here and I'm pleased to report that the chicken pot pie is as delicious now as it was when I worked there over 20 years ago.

The thing is, tourists would always remark at what great shape the Webby was in, considering it was established in the 1690's. It was at that point that I had to make the decision to let them live with that fantasy, or clue them in on the real story, which is that the original Daniel Webster Inn burned to the ground in 1971. This photo was taken in 1960. It was originally known as Fessenden's Tavern, in the early 1700's, and was a meeting place for local men to go and discuss their displeasure with the crown, and what they could do to separate from England. Thus, our country was born in places like Fessenden's Tavern. The tavern was renamed "Daniel Webster Inn" to honor its most famous guest.

My mom INSISTED I get into the stocks for this photo. That upper piece is really, really heavy and I was choking. She's all, "Joanne, I can't see your face. Can you look at the camera?" I go, "Mom, I'm being crushed to death by an extremely heavy board and I can't lift my head. Can you please just take the picture?" She thought I was joking.

This is at the entrance of the library. I always take a photo of it each year I visit because it's always wearing something different. One year it was in Red Sox gear. Some people actually make clothes specifically for this statue. And then there are the ones who have to ruin it by stealing the clothes.

Jarves Street, downtown Sandwich. The red brick church was the Catholic church in which I was baptised, received communion and confirmation. It's been de-sanctified and is now a bistro or B&B.

And no trip to Sandwich would be complete without a visit to Twin Acres Ice Cream. The day mom and I went, it was so cold and damp. But I didn't care. I wanted my soft serve chocolate/vanilla twist cone. My family started going to Twin Acres in the mid-1970's, after Frannie & George's Ice Cream closed. Now Diane carries on the tradition by taking her kids to Twin Acres too. That's my mom's car too, btw.

Back in East Sandwich, I had to make my pilgrimmage to one of my favourite places, Spring Hill Beach. I give the east coast one thing over the west coast, and that's the beaches. Better beachcombing, sand bars at low tide, and the salt marshes. My parents had a cottage at Spring Hill, which they sold in 1977, so that dad could funnel all the money into my college fund. I was bitterly disappointed when the cottage sold, although I am thankful for my education and the fact that I wasn't saddled with student loans.

So each year that I visit, I go to Spring Hill, even though it's a private beach and I'm really not supposed to be parking there and trespassing to get to the beach, but too bad. I still feel a sense of ownership & a right to visit Spring Hill whenever I want, even if the asshole who bought our cottage ripped it down and built an ugly home that dwarfs the quaintness of the other cottages.

Whenever I'd get tired of the beach, I'd drift back to the salt marshes on the other side of the road and play till I got too hot, then I'd go back to the beach. I love Spring Hill Beach. It's lonely, but a nice kind of lonely.

The small white sign says, "Beware of attack lobster".

I was so excited for Diane and her 3 kids Adam, age 9, Madison "Maddie", age 7 and Logan, age 6, to arrive from Maryland. Her sister, Sharon, and fiance Paul bought their grandparents' house which is down the road from my mom's. In fact, I was so completely stoked to see everyone, that I forgot to take a lot of pictures of them. I shot lots of pics of the kids, but I realized I didn't take one of Di & Sha together, or one of Sha & Paul, or a decent one of the 3 of us either, although Sha's turned out the best and I'm still waiting for her to email it to me.

Anyways, I cracked up when Adam did this, because one of my famous things as a kid was to put olives on my fingers and then draw a face under the olive hats, and do "changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace." I'm glad to see that zany sense of humor runs in the family and was passed down to Adam.

There's Diane, cozying up to her pitcher of mimosa's.

That's my 94 year old Uncle Dick (Di & Sha's grandfather), and Sharon's fiance, Paul. Uncle Dick is the patriarch of our family at this point, and when we sat around the large diningroom table to shoot the breeze, he occupied his time-honored place at the head of the table. He lives at the Soldier's Home in Chelsea. His choice. Everyone begged him not to go, but he wanted to live there and he really seems to love it up there. But Paul & Sha bring him down to his old home for visits whenever he wants. I don't remember my grandfather, and Uncle Dick was always around in my life and he's the closest thing to a grandfather that I ever had.

Logan wearing Boston Celtics mini-foam fingers.

Here's a shot of of the gang at Outback Steakhouse in Hyannis, left to right:

Adam, Sharon, Diane, my mom, Paul, Maddie, Irene (Di & Sha's mom) and Logan.

Diane, me & Sharon in 1968.....

....and making new memories 40 years later in 2008. Next generation, same (but newly painted) fireplace.

Adam, Maddie & Logan.