Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category

The Corn Man

Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Garden, Home and Garden, Musings, tagged , , , on August 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

sweetcorn

During the summer months, when fresh produce abounds, I try to buy as much as I can from local fruit stands. The other day I stopped at one I hadn’t tried before because I wanted some sweet corn and there were multiple signs advertising their selection.

Although there wasn’t an overwhelming about of produce to choose from, fragrant cantaloupes, lemony cucumbers, vibrant tomatoes and boxes of plums were set out in an appealing display.

Gathering up a few things, I looked around for the corn and didn’t see any. Asking the man running the stand if he had any, he smiled and nodded his head of white hair. At this point, all he needed was some funky sunglasses and a T-shirt to confirm he had not quite left behind the haze of the 1960s. Both his speech and laid-back body language assured me of this.

Turning around, he pointed to a huge barrel and removed the lid where sweet corn hid beneath a burlap covering. Pulling out a few ears, he showed them to me, describing his “beauties” as “elegant and lovely” before bagging a half dozen ears for me.

Seeing the corn man, along with those burlap bags took me hurtling back to the summer I was seventeen when my parents decided my divine torture for the summer would be helping them sell sweet corn. Although I’m sure it was probably just a few acres they planted, at the time it seemed more like hundreds. For a few weeks that summer, it seemed like all I did was pick corn (which caused my asthma to go into overdrive), shuck corn (which caused my whining to go into overdrive) and bag the shucked corn for customers. Some corn we delivered and others we sold right from the front yard, where huge piles of corn husks sat until yours truly got the privilege of hauling them off to the garbage.

To this day, I hate shucking corn although I do enjoy a good ear of sweet corn.

Thanking Mr. Corn Man for the produce, I begrudgingly shucked the corn for dinner that night.

Although I had my doubts, the corn man was right – those ears were not only sweet, but elegant and lovely, too.

She Who Needs to Go Back to the Fruit Stand

Read Full Post »

I Remember It Well

Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Entertaining at Home, Musings, tagged , , , , , on August 26, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Captain Cavedweller had a rare weekend off from work so we spent it driving all over the countryside, eating things we know we shouldn’t, moving some well loved “junk” to storage, and in general enjoying time well wasted.

Our weekend together also helped me remember a few important details about my husband.

The first jog in my memory occurred when he emerged from the bathroom the first morning of his weekend off sporting a goatee. He’s been sporting scruff on his face for a few weeks and from past experience, I’ve learned to not complain about it too much or too loudly because that just prolongs the suffering. The last thing I expected was to see his snappy goatee, which, by the way, I love.

CC is always game to go for a drive, as long as there is something interesting to see along the way. Apparently 207 miles of dirt, harvested wheat fields, rocks, more dirt, winding mountain roads with no guardrail, and one deceased porcupine did not qualify as interesting.

Also, after spending the better part of a day driving 207 miles round trip to the middle of nowhere so I can take photos of a town that no longer exists, CC just wants to be fed (and gas station food does not count.)

While he seems to have challenges remembering details like the wedding we are supposed to attend, the name of my cousin’s new baby, or what time we need to leave for an appointment, he recalled with startling detail the exact location of a new restaurant he was most interested in trying after I mentioned weeks ago it was opening.

When CC decides he is completely and totally done with a project (like moving well-loved junk), it means he is completely and totally done right now.  Not five minutes from now, not “wait, let’s just…”  – all done. Right. Now. Which turned out to be a good thing, because I was ready to be all done, too.

She Who Is Now Remembering Many Details…

 

Read Full Post »

Hang Up and Drive

Posted in Musings, tagged , on August 19, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, as I was driving to church, I couldn’t help but notice two youngsters riding down the sidewalk in their little motorized car.

It could have been something right out of a commercial with the nice neighborhood in the background, a little boy clutching the dashboard and his sister driving, her ponytail bobbing in the breeze.

The thing that caught me  by surprise was the fact that the little girl, who couldn’t have been more than five or so, was steering with one hand and held a cell phone in her other, not paying any attention to where they were going. Her little brother must have said something because she looked up and turned the wheel just before they would have crashed into a mailbox.

I couldn’t help but wonder if the kids are just following the example their parents set for them.

Although most people think they are so great at multi-tasking they can handle driving and talking on their phones or driving and texting, the truth of the matter is that no one should be diverting their attention away from the road. No one.

It’s dangerous, irresponsible, and  could very well end in disaster. Especially when those actions are being mimicked by those so young. Do you think they’ll grow up to drive safely when the example being set is that it is perfectly okay to play on the phone and drive?

If you haven’t yet watched Tim McGraw’s Highway Don’t Care video, it’s a great reminder, especially to teens, why they need to focus on their driving instead of their phone.

She Who Wants You All to Be Safe

Read Full Post »

Baby Kitty

Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Musings, Pets, tagged , , on August 14, 2013| 2 Comments »

Dear Neighbor with the Herd of Cats,

I feel it only fair to write and give you ample warning you are in danger of losing one of your multitude of felines.

You see, it has not gone unnoticed that one of your cats recently increased the number of your herd.

The reason we know this is because one of the new additions has taken to wandering into our yard.

baby kittyHow are we supposed to ignore, let alone resist, this sweet little ball of friendly fur?

Even the non-cat person at our house has taken to cuddling this precious little pookie face, patting it on the head and calling it George – okay, Baby Kitty – but you get the idea.

The Heinous Cat has also been on his best behavior around the adorable baby. He even  let it get within sniffing distance without knocking it into next Tuesday.

Please, if you don’t want this fuzzy, wonderful little kitten to find a new home, I’m begging you to keep it home.

Otherwise, we can’t be held responsible for it taking up permanent residence at our house.

Sincerely,

Captain Cavedweller and She Who is Completely Loopy over Baby Kitty

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »