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Friday, May 31, 2013

Cicada Hoopla



I don’t get it.  There is all this hoopla on the east coast over the Cicadas – how they only come out every 17 years and this is THE year…. Bug pictures everywhere – New York all over the news…..

Here’s the thing – I took these pictures last year – I was gonna blog about the big bugs, but just never got around to it.  I already had the spider, the centipede, and the praying mantis - I though you all might be getting a little buggie on me (haha) so I skipped them.   

Little did I know it would have been BIG news – “Cicada’s out of sync in Michigan”. 

And, just because I took the pic last year, doesn’t mean their nasty yellow shells haven’t been littering our lawn for as long as I can remember.  We have these giant bugs all the time – every year they are out loudly humming like a live wire in the summer air.  

Oh I have a nasty shell picture somewhere – where is the darn thing….taken, in our yard, last year…before all this East Coast hoopla.  Why does everything in America revolve around New York and California?  There are 48 other states….

Anyway, back to the big loud bugs. 

Ah – here he is – still stuck to the tree – must not be not hatched yet – when they hatch, the shells are scattered all over the ground – they are skeletal and ucky!!
I know they say they only hatch every few years (4,7,17 pick a number that works for you), but I just figured there was a round of them every year.  While some are hibernating and growing, others are hatching – just a cycle of life.

Oh - here’s a newly hatched green one I took on our door screen – last year…

If you come visit us in the fine Great Lakes State you can hear their cyclical summer song vibrating in the air too! No need to rush to New York to see/hear them – we have them every summer. BUZZZWZZZZUUUZZZWUPPP, BUZZZWZZZZUUUZZZWUPPP, BUZZZWZZZZUUUZZZWUPPP



Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Eau de Toxic Vanilla (Re-post)

Lovely hot summer day we are having here (yeah and it's about time...)!  I'd say it's a day for another summer re-post of a favorite.  Enjoy and I'll see you all on Friday with a new post!





Now here is something in the history of mankind I never knew existed or was necessary. 

Please look closely at the label – ah yes, it is VANILLA SCENTED CAULK! 
Let me say that once again VANILLA SCENTED CAULK!!  

Who on earth – Why in the – What possessed – When did this – and How is it - ?????   

Did caulk need a scent?  It has a scent, a pretty toxic scent, but a scent none the less.  Now that scent is combined with the smell of vanilla to make a vanilla toxic scent – does it come in chocolate toxic smell too?  Are children now in danger of discovering scented caulk and having it become the replacement for the old glue/paste that used to come in those brown jars with the dabbers?   

Were the tradesmen of the world complaining that day in and day out they never got smell anything other than paint, caulk and sawdust and wouldn’t it be nice if lavender, vanilla, or hell even coffee scent, was added to their work supplies to wake them up in the morning and make them smell like a pretty scented bean?  You know, just a more enjoyable day overall – while up on ladder ten feet above ground – sniffing epoxy… 

Here’s what really scares me, women get a bad enough rap in the world of skilled trades, craftsmen and home improvement, like we don’t know how to do anything and only use pink tools.  Did some fool woman executive come up with this to appeal to the ladies so we would want to do more around the house and be more handy?  Make it enticing to the Little Lady of the house… we hear they buy lots of vanilla scented candles, let’s go with that! 

I purchased this, unaware of the Vanilla Scentedness of it all.  If some polling group was staked out in the store watching the purchases of caulk by women, would I have verified to them as proof that adding scent was working?  See, a chic just bought some of that crazy vanilla scented caulk!!  Executive Suzie Polly Anna was right!! 

I bought this to seal up the windows for winter – I do it every year - me, all by myself, on a ladder in the yard, every fall (to go up) and spring (to come down).  Years ago I had Plexiglas inserts (Perspex for you Europeans) cut to size for each of the house windows and I stick them up every fall to act like the old storm windows used to, only better.  It gives us a third layer of protection from old man winter (and greedy man Gas Company) and virtually makes the house sound proof.   

I thought this was pretty cool idea years ago and so far it has worked great!  I use the peel and seal removable caulk for easy take downs and clean up.  The first year’s brand of caulk (over ten years ago) came in a blue spray-ish kind of can that didn’t need a caulk gun, they don’t make it anymore, but I found this stuff and I stock up on it every year.    

And now, lucky for me – the girly girl that I am, they made it smell pretty too, so I can feel oh so good about women’s liberation and my ability to caulk things all by myself.  Hey, can you put it in a bubble gum pink can next year and sell me a new caulk gun in unicorn purple?  I don’t think women have been demeaned enough yet.   

Oh, and maybe you can make it smell like my favorite perfume – I like Beauty by Calvin Klein.  Yeah thanks – tee hee tee hee, swirl my hair on my finger…. 

Oh and I bet if you polled the boys, they would rather have it beer and sausage scented instead, maybe you can do a research panel on that?  Brilliant! 

Monday, May 27, 2013

I Can See Clearly Now the Smoke has Cleared




Hubby and I went out on the town for our Anniversary this weekend – dressing up and hitting the big city of Detroit and wandering around one of the local casinos.

We were wandering in the casino because we had dinner at a fancy restaurant at the top of the casino and thought we’d go down for a few drinks after.

Didn’t quite work that way.  I’m not a smoker, but we have been in many a bar in our life and it really never bothered me.  Or so I thought.  Now that they don’t allow smoking in the bars, the air has gotten remarkably clearer in the bar world. 

That apparently is not the rules for a casino.  It was like walking into a blanket of smog.   

Honestly, like going into the girl’s bathroom in High School.  Thick, heavy, gray, truly not pleasant.

We wandered from bar to bar in the casino thinking at one point there would be a smoke zapper that was working in the joint – not so.  So we sidled up to one bar, got a couple of mixed drinks the size of a shot glass for $5 each and then left that bar. 

As we continued to wander around we found this joint.  I thought – oh my, this MUST be a buffet or why else would they call it that????  I HAVE to get a picture!  How funny!!!  A lady even moved out of the way so I could get a good shot.

Now folks, as I told you I had the smallest mixed drink ever sold in America and a glass of wine with dinner – over a three or four hour period - I was just fine.

What do you think the restaurant sign says?   

Cause I thought it said “PIG SLOP” yeah – “PIG SLOP”, not a good name for a restaurant, but I just thought it was a funny play on buffets….

I gather you can read and see that it is called “PIT STOP”?  Good for you – your eye site will qualify you to be a pilot – which is obviously a career choice that is not an option for me…..