ok....it's 6pm and 91 degrees...what the hell. I'm going to have to turn on the sprinkler because the crying from the flower beds is driving me crazy. Oh, you can't hear your plants cry...lucky you. They're always wanting something..feed me, water me....smell me, touch me....accidentally run me over with the mower...whoops, maybe not that last one. Hey, that zebra grass had it coming. Been giving me attitude all spring...

Gotta go water before we have a flash fire....see yaz...Doug

Peace and Love and Sprinklers, oh my!

The fridge is packed with cookout supplies.

Graduation ceremonies tonight.

Plenty of firewood for the firepit.

Maybe a drive-in movie.

Absolutely refuse to think about a bill, work or the state of the nation.

Memorial Services for our countries bravest..My Dad, especially.

The first day of swimming season.

The only thing that would make it better would be all of you stopping by and grabbing a plate, cold one or me..wink, wink.

Have a beautiful weekend, all

Peace and Love...Doug

Some of our greatest culinary finds were the result of misdirection and murphy's law.

Today, we set off to find a good pub burger. If you're a fan of a thick, juicy, fragrant and flavorful burger, you're probably aware that some of the best come out of some of the least expected places. The Farmer's Pub Burger with it's sauce dripping down your hand, crisp and tangy bacon, all the fixins and a bed of shoestring potatos. The Whimpy from Soren's...as pure a cheeseburger that can be had. You'd swear your letter sweater and date's poodle skirt would be splashed with the griddle grease. The Half-Pounder from The Metro, weighing slighty more with it's veggies, cheeses, sauces and onion rings all stuffed into a crispy bagel bun.....that one makes me re-live the crying into the night that my tummy hurts..lol.

Anyways....it was one of those days....I needed a killer burger to make up for an otherwise uneventful afternoon. East was the direction...if we didn't find it in this state, there was Indiana and Ohio to go before turning back around. Hey, I was serious. 45 minutes later....no luck and I'm starting to rationalize to my stomach that crackers really are on the food pyramid. My wife says...look, over there...a red door. Oh, I know the red door...they're not known for burgers...steaks, yes, but not burgers. But, I'm a pushover and she's not the burgermaddened Scarfmonster that I've become. Long story, cut short...no burgers....a really delicious steak that, if squinted at over the dinner roll kinda looked like a burger and the complaining stomach was quelled. Was my mind, though? No! Just delayed a bit. I will find that burger and I will eat it and wear it and belch it and I will have my day....

Perhaps it will be one of those Saturday drives to Chicago for German deli foods that turns into a keystone cops episode of wrong turns and bad directions and ends up at a corner diner in a part of the city I couldn't find again if I had to with a bag full of gyro's and Chicago dogs as the only reward for the 5 hour effort. Only reward, did I say...oh, what a reward! Delicious lamb and veal, onions, cucumbers, peppers, tomatos and cucumber sauce overflowing a thick, warm pita that needed a third hand to tame it...it was the best I've ever had and the hell if I know how to get back for a repeat performance. Of course, nobody makes a dog like Chicagoans....Rosen poppyseed bun, Vienna Beef weiner, onion, green relish, tomato, peppers, celery salt and mustard....no ketchup....that's heaven on earth.

Hmmmm....I think I've talked myself hungry and there's nobody here to tell me what is good or bad for me....so, it's my own standards now...if it isn't on fire while going in your mouth and you don't break a tooth on it and it doesn't talk back...it's fair game...especially with hot sauce..lmao

Peace and Love and Taste Bud Dreams....wink, wink

By the way....remember Murphy's Law? Well, here's Cole's Law.......it's thinly sliced cabbage in a white sauce...lmao

What started out as a quiet, homefire type of Saturday quickly changed direction. I usually lament the fact that cell phones are the bane of a private and under the radar existance but today, it became a portal to an enjoyable and relaxing gathering of friends and relations.

Let me explain...I'm sure I've blogged on how the flower garden in the back of the property has taken on a life of it's own. It grows in size, almost overnight...damned gnomes are always up to something, wink. Well, today was a perfect day to hit the nursery to pick up plants for the border of the pond. It's going to have a different look this year so there were quite a few new plants required. Normally, I shy away from annuals as they do nothing to naturalize an area from year to year and are constantly needing replacement but now that's gone out the window. In order to achive the colors needed..we had no choice. Of course...much like quicksand...a good greenhouse sucks you in and we went a little crazy....getting enough plants for a few more projects as well..lol.

Here's where the cellphone comes in....buzzzz, buzzzz...(that's my cell on vibrate because I hate how a ringing phone can be out of place sometimes)....anyway, buzzzzz, buzzzzzz..hello......oh hi, what's up?........cookout......now.....we're buying plants.......I'm dirty and dressed like a college kid after a friday night drunk....whatever's clean and fits..lol........sure, we can come over but we don't have anything to bring to the table......are you sure.....plenty of food......ok......hey, why not......see ya in a little bit.....bye.

Just like that...plants being paid for, tucked into the bed of the truck, quick stop to the convenience store for sodas and we're off to a cookout.

It wasn't a hard sell, where we were going to end up at was a beautiful rolling hills and hidden ponds area belonging to one of my wife's sisters. The kind of place that sunfish ripple the surface of the pond all day and a handful of dogfood brings catfish the size of greyhound buses up from the depths for a quick nosh. The wind through the trees, the honk of Chuck the goose...yes...chuck has adopted them, not the other way around. The sun, strong, warming the day rapidly and the smell of grilled meat and the rise and fall of about 25 of 30 voices.

Ok...if there is one little piece of nirvana in this corn and bean besotted place...this is it. Just prop me against the post on the patio overlooking the ponds and I'll die a happy man..lol.

Anyhoo....we had a great time until the sun had almost dropped below the horizon and I, for one, came away knowing that all the hustle and bustle of everyday life is worth it as long as you can steal a few moments in a place like this to cleanse the pallate(sp?).

Peace, Love and the time to enjoy it...Doug

Breathing each others breath, Bleeding each others blood, Crying each other cry, Sighing each others sigh.

May 1st was another anniversary of my wifes and my decision to try to outlast each other for the insurance money..lol. Just kidding.

It's funny. Marriage seems like such a crap-shoot in todays society. More often than not, it doesn't turn out the way the brochures promised. Believe me...I failed the first time, myself. Not that I wasn't in love....perhaps because I hadn't realized that love is not enough.

What else is there, you may ask...hmmm. Let me explain.

There's Frustration...and the defeat of it to make a stronger bond. There's Anger...and the banking of it's flames to control the hurt. There's Jealousy...and the epiphany of it's reckless impotence. There's Fear...and it's clutching hand that ultimately loses it's hold. And then...when these false gods have been proven to be idle idols...

There's Love...and it's potent poultice to sooth away all ills. There's Compassion...allowing us to feel what is felt, see what is seen, understand what is understood. There's Passion...a word invariably tied to sexuality but none the less important in all aspects of a relationship and life. There's Charity..for doing what is needed for others is always more satisfying than doing for yourself. There's Hope...that maturing relationships will always offer new and better futures. There's Peace...knowing that all things in this universe are represented in the person next to you.

I'm sure I've missed so much and each of us define it differently...but this is my blog...so toooo bad..wink.

As for my friends that are not at this place right now. No Worries. Love begins at home...and old adage but so true. As long as you remember that "home" is easily substituted for "youself". All the above emotions and ideas can only be ultimately shared if they have been addressed in ourselves.

If I had to make a list of the strong souls on this site I'm addressing this to, it would be so long as to be unreadable...so...just know it applies where it's needed.

I guess what I'm saying is that...Love is to be a human and Big ole Bear Hugs is to be me.

Peace and Love and forgive my prolonged absences..I never forget!

First off...to Texami, who seems to share my vibe....I am you and you are me and we are all together....I'm still around and I'm glad you are, as well.

Crazy Lives led by crazy people. Oh sorry, just pasting a label on myself. I think it's time we rethought this whole 24hour day thing. Shorten the week to 3.5 days, each day 48 hours and I can get everything done when it needs done.

Think of it....2 sixteen hour days and a short eight on the 3rd day....then the rest of it is down time. That's 1 and 5/6th days off....hmmmm....wait a minute....that doesn't sound fun at all....Lotto...where the hell are you when I'm needing some serious lounge time..lol.

Anyways...not a hell of a lot to say...just family, work and a few more gray hairs.

Take care all...I'm sure I'll have something more interesting to blog but for now...it's just Big ole Bear Hugs to fill the in between times.

Peace and Love..Doug

the joke is, a man walks into a store to by a couple of pairs of boxer briefs..lol.

the joke part? actually walking back out after only purchasing what he intended. it appears that saturdays are very bad days for self-restraint. even funnier is the fact that we were supposed to do some grocery shopping afterwards but instead grabbed some sandwiches from subway and called it mission accomplished..lol. even that was almost a disaster. we were driving back out of town toward home when it struck me that i'd ordered the sandwiches, paid for the sandwiches and then promptly, drove off to the gas station. now, we're driving, trying to sort through the bags in the rear of the cab and watching the rain turn into sleet. well, long story short..i swallow my pride and go back to subway and retrieve our dinner. the look in the guys face....he could have taken out a magic marker and written senile across my forehead..sheesh.

an interesting side about the sleet storm today. this winter has been amazingly mild. even the turbulance above has been sub par for a midwest winter. scientifically speaking, sleet is hail that hasn't matured yet. when a raindrop is frozen, drops from it's weight and then is thrust up by the winds to have another layer of frozen moisture added to it, it becomes hail. this process continues until the hail is too heavy to be thrust up anymore and it rains down on you new vehicles and shingles, usually doing some pretty major damage.

well, that's what usually happens. what we had was bb sized hail that looked like the filling for a bean bag chair. it's almost mesmerizing to watch it fall and bounce and roll across the roadway. the wind swirls it back and forth, creating the coolest patterns and it's easy to smile watching big ole mean hail's little brother pretending to be a badass..lmao.

ok, i'm giving myself a headache..gonna stop before i explode.

peace and love....

I've just spent some time reading a few of "maggies" blog entries. This gentleman really gets it. An spellbinding writer with an honest and open approach to the subject and his feelings about it. Shame on me for being so petty. Thanks to maggs for showing me how it could be.

I'm going back now to finish what I've started. Living a life vicariously through him, my eyes are opened a little more to this big, amazing world around us and the people that grace it.

Peace and Love and please, give his blog some reading time.

and somebody took my pork rinds and whoopee cushion. can't take your eyes of anyone around here. now it will be weeks and weeks of suspiciously eyeing anyone that makes rude buttock noises, racing over to check their seats when they leave for a moment...days of frustration and odd looks....especially in church..sigh.

the pork rinds can be replaced but a really good fart cushion...worth it's weight in gold to a deviate like myself.

Peace and Love and "Did someone step on a duck?"...in honor of Rodney Dangerfield...my hero.

Things that we should never have 25% of....

A good book...no ending.

A shoe...guess we could just superglue the heel to your foot.

A Hostess Twinkie...you'd barely get to the creamy filling.

A VOTER TURNOUT FOR PRIMARY ELECTIONS!

Ok...I suckered you in on that one but I've got a genuine beef. All of you that say politics doesn't belong here can jump to the next blog on the list. The rest of you that believe NN is a lifestyle rather than a petty fetish can understand what I have to say.

25% voter turnout is a sad condemnation of a democracy. We choose legislators that will represent our voices in the making of laws and dictating policy, foreign and domestic. So, why is it that 75% of the eligable voters in Illinois didn't take 30 minutes to let their wishes be represented in the upcoming elections?

Let me guess....maybe they're happy and satisfied with the status quo. Oooops, somebody forgot to tell you that an incumbent almost always has an opposition party candidate. How comfortable will you be in a year when your satisfying and content lifestyle is dependent on a political flip. Oh yeah...it happens all the time. Of course, you can look sadly into your loved ones eyes and lament the probable upheaval that follows.....Poor Ole Me! Well, too fricken bad! If you were really concerned...you would have made sure there was a candidate there to represent you ongoing nirvana.

Don't get me wrong. I believe more and more that the current two party system is antiquated and the previously sharp lines of policy have been blurred so many times that calling yourself a democrat or republican has little or no meaning anymore. Surely, most Americans fall into the category of Moderates. Somehow, those Moderates have been lumped into the Republican Party when it should be liberated and fielding it's own candidates without right or left affiliation.

What is a Moderate, you ask...well, it's like this. A Moderate is a centrist: a person who takes a position in the political center. Why is that important...because America is not just white bread, sewing circle w.a.s.p.'s. It's the most amazing blend of nationalities, religions and orientations to ever be seen on this planet. They come to a country that calls itself The UNITED States of America. United....A Melding. Where can this melding find voice. In moderation..nuff said about that.

Back to the sorry turnout. My solution is simple. Instead of giving out little stickers that say, "I Voted", use punch cards with each punch signifying voting activities. Now, this is where I get pissy. Everytime someone begins to moan and complain or jumps up on a soapbox to praise or villify(sp?) one of our countries leaders, they should be able to produce their card demonstrating their right by vote to be there. No card, too bad. You had a chance and you didn't have the time to participate then so you obviously have better things to do than force me to listen to your crying now.

Hard ass, ya say...YUP! 30 minutes, people....that's a nice, leisurely shower, a pizza delivery, a womans dream of foreplay, a guys lie about how long he performed last night..lol...sorry...that's funny though.

Anyhooo, Peace and Love and Grass Roots Democracy

ps...wanna see my card?