Land of Legend and Lure

What fresh hell is this?

My Mother's masterful garden went from this:

to this when all hail/hell broke loose last night:

That's holes in the siding folks and my Mama smiling despite the catastrophic damage. Practically every window on the West side was blown in sending glass up to 20 feet away. Even her 17 year old Lexus, Mrs Toliver, got pocked in the carport. Less than 2 miles away, nary a blossom was bruised by the little hail we received.

Annie-isms in the AM

A.O. also informed me that God sends the bad people to Louisiana and asked what direction that was. Nevermind that a quarter of her extended family resides there.

Note to self: DVR only Noggin

With great earnestness, Annie implored me to get rid of the "allergies" lurking in our toilet with some amazing product she saw on TV that presumably kills those pesky allergies and bacteria breeding in my comode.

Now I can't get Carol Channing and this wise little dity out of my head.

You know, there are times when we happen to be
Just sitting there, quietly watching TV,
When the program we're watching will stop for a while
And suddenly someone appears with a smile,
And starts to show us how terribly urgent
It is to buy some brand of detergent,
Or soap or cleanser or cleaner or powder or paste or wax or bleach,
To help with the housework.
Now, most of the time it's a lady we see,
Who's doing the housework on TV.
She's cheerfully scouring a skillet or two,
Or she's polishing pots till they gleam like new,
Or she's scrubbing the tub or she's mopping the floors,
Or she's wiping the stains from the walls and the doors,
Or she's washing the windows, the dishes, the clothes,
Or waxing the furniture till it just glows,
Or cleaning the fridge or the stove or the sink,
With a light-hearted smile, and a friendly wink,
And she's doing her best to make us think
The her soap, or detergent or cleanser or cleaner or powder or paste or wax or bleach,
Is the best kind of soap, or detergent or cleanser or cleaner or powder or paste or wax or bleach,
That there is in the whole wide world.
And, maybe it is, and maybe it isn't,
And maybe it does what they say it will do,
But I'll tell you one thing I know is true.
The lady we see when we're watching TV,
The lady who smiles as she scours or scrubs or rubs or washes or wipes or mops or dusts or cleans,
Or whatever she does on our TV screens,
That lady is smiling because she's an actress,
And she's earning money for learning those speeches
That mention those wonderful soaps and detergents and cleansers and cleaners and powders and pastes and waxes and bleaches.
So, the very next time you happen to be
Just sitting there quietly watching TV,
And you see some nice lady who smiles
As she scours or scrubs or rubs or washes or wipes or mops or dusts or cleans,
Remember, nobody smiles doing housework but those ladies you see on TV.
Your mommy hates housework,
Your daddy hates housework,
I hate housework too.
And when you grow up, so will you.
Because even if the soap or cleanser or cleaner or powder or paste or wax or bleach
That you use is the very best one,
Housework is just no fun.
Children, when you have a house of your own,
Make sure, when there's house work to do,
That you don't have to do it alone.
Little boys, little girls, when you're big husbands and wives,
I f you want all the days of your lives
To seem sunny as summer weather,
Make sure, when there's housework to do,
That you do it together!

Anderson is a punk rocker

as captured at school with the Sippy Cups "I Wanna Be Elated". He's also obssessed of late with "Bad Reputation" on the Shrek soundtrack. No more mohawks until he's 12.

I love my *$%^ son

He makes a pretty princes, no? And they always love their mama.

I'm so ready for his rehearsal dnners.

I think I'll keep her

Oh the things that I grow

The garden is starting to gallop!

Tulle makes for a trellis for the tangerine cross vine and hopefully purple hyacinth.

Our shady grove with the kumquat and fig tree. The morning glories are starting to happen on the fence.

I found the blue tumbled glass for the busted fountain/mosquito farm at Target in the dollar aisle

A victory with the vegetables!

A few holes to fill and a lawn in need of mowing this weekend.

I'm hoping to get some action out of the Mimosa this year. I love that bloom and thick fragrance.

Sigh...My baby girl is about to make the big leap into Kindergarten this Fall. We got rounded up in the Highland Park cafeteria this past week for the paperwork. I think we were more anxious than Annie O. Now that 7:45 start time is going to take some serious adjustment on our part.

I'm clinging to the little bit of baby left in Mr. Blue Eyes. Mama's boy is finally in the same swimming class with his sister. Poor guy burst into tears when the class ended. I'm hoping Tom and Co. will make swimmers out of them yet. I'm ready for some pool time engrossed in a SPF stained book instead of anxiously averting deadly accidents.