The Japanese haiku poet Basho once wrote, "Old pond / a frog jumps / the sound of water." Try writing some of your own haikus about the little things in your life. A haiku generally consists of a five-syllable line, a seven-syllable line and a second five-syllable line. You can also use any combination of ten-to-fourteen syllables.

I know. The off-color limerick is easier.
(Do one of those if you want.)
Come on...it'l be fun.
I'll toss one out for starters

Wind, rain closing in,
Dashing the weekend plans of
Many good gentles.

I missed my annual "throw the kids out on the first day of
school and sit on my porch for an hour and drink coffee" ritual.
Too busy running like a fiend at work. So I have a date with my
coffee cup and camp chair on my day off Thursday morning.
Only one kid to toss out this year...(and I can't really toss him, he's WAY
bigger than me now.) I went from sending
4 kids out and kicking up my heels to sending one kid out, and
thinking, " It is QUIET in this house."

My brother-in-law Bob's son-in-law Phillipe, an ex-Marine, finished the race yesterday
evening in 14.22 hours. Not too shabby for his first event. The Millers are all going
bonkers, appropriately. It's a racing thing with them, whether on foot, or in a car...
Hydrate, Phillipe, HYDRATE!

Ironman Louisville

Distance:
2.4 mi. swim • 112 mi. bike • 26.2 mi. run


Ford Ironman Louisville made it's debut in 2007 and has quickly become one of North America's most popular Ironman races.

"This is one of the biggest amateur sporting events that has ever been to Louisville and the state," says Jeff Schneider, Interim Executive Director of the Greater Louisville Sports Commission. "The city and state have embraced Ironman and we look forward to continuing to combine the athletes' passion for Ironman with Louisville's ongoing enthusiasm and support for sports."

The 2.4 mile swim for Ford Ironman Louisville takes place in the Ohio River and the bike and run course goes through various areas of Louisville to include not only downtown but also Prospect, Clifton, the city of LaGrange, Clarksville, Ind. and Butchertown. The race will also feature a spectacular finish at Fourth St. Live.

Well, she's safely tucked in her all-girl dorm at Ferrum, in the middle of nowhere Southwest Virginia. It was tough to leave her there, but she and roommate Uma have been chatting online all summer, and a pal from Henrico is there. They've already packed 80,000 bean-and-rice meals and shipped them off to a 3rd world country.

Went to see my Mother-in-law in assisted living, who was ready to go out to eat as soon as
we showed up. Not sure if she remembered that she had just eaten, but she was glad to see us, and rarin' to go. That was a project.

On the way back through the NC mountains we stopped at an old red pickup truck on the side of the road that had a
"Honey for sale" sign. An elderly couple was selling honey for $15 a quart. I've never seen honey like this before. It's very dark
and smoky-colored. It might make a gallon of respectable mead.

Tomorrow I work my usual 12-13 hour shift, then packing Samantha's things in the truck and driving to Roanoke.
Then we'll overnight in Roanoke so she can be at Ferrum on time for her dorm check-in at 0900 Friday morning.
It hit me when I walked in the door tonight and saw a crate of apples, instant oatmeal, and Oodles of Noodles up on the counter. "For weekends when I'm stuck at school." I hope they are not frequent. I understand one of the history profs is in the SCA, and I gave her her SCA card and some garb in case there's a Black Diamond event she can get to. It's interesting, the stuff I've given my girls as they've moved out... garb... cookbooks... feast gear...
Why is this difficult??


.

Ay ya ya...college loans.
"Click here" to be butt-deep in debt...

Loooooonggg day. 12 hours of running and still not caught up at
the end of it.
Winding down with hugs from Sam and Nathan,(and Ashley blowing
through the house for a few minutes to say goodbye to Sam). Missy is running along
behind me butting her nose on the backs of my knees as I walk,
(don't know why she does that) Lancelot greeted me at the door, but he
gets wiggish after a few seconds of togetherness, and runs off.
J.K. Scrumpy's Farmhouse Organic
Hard Cider. Mmmm. Crisp. Sweet. A taste of autumn.

My friend Ian in England went to see Fairport Convention at their annual
Cropredy Festival, camping in a tent in the rain about the same time as I was
at Pennsic.
(except my tent was WAY bigger and sturdier.)They did a 30-year tribute to Sandy
Denny, with Robert Plant (supposedly she was the only female to sing with Led
Zeppelin, on "Battle of Evermore."
He sent a boatload of pics.
And if you didn't already know I was old, I just now gave it away.

Pics taken after Atlantian Court at Pennsic.
A gorgeous sunset from the battlefield (almost gone), and
a gracious pose from Their Excellencies.

Dorothy Jean Perry.
We grew up together, stayed up all night at each other's
houses, got into a LOT of silly teenage girl mischief (wasn't a lot of adult
guidance going on at either house.)
Today would have been her 46th birthday.
But at 17 she couldn't see that things can get better, that there would
be other young men besides the one that dumped her, and that even in that small rural town, she could get help.
She chose not to have any more birthdays, so when I occasionally dream
about her after all these years...she's still 17.

Whoo-HOO! Off till Thursday.
Gonna try to finish up last-minute things before Samantha
leaves for college in 2 weeks. MY BABY GIRL WILL BE HOME WITH
ME FOR 2 MORE WEEKS.
I usually handle change very well, but having a whole hell of a
lot of it at once (changes in relationships mostly) threw me into
a slump...gotta get it together, I don't have time to sit and stare
at the wall and mope about. Usually getting off my rear and doing something for
someone else fixes it. Help others, and help myself.
...okay...I just need a little...push...

So my new nickname at work is "PD"...
One of the secretaries said, "Sharon, that
hair of yours has a certain...pole dancing
appeal to it."
"oh, right," I laughed. It's pulled back all prim
and proper in the morning, and by evening, it's
flying and sticking out everywhere."
Later yesterday evening everybody's nerves were frayed,
and the nurses and secretaries started to bicker
in the nurses station. An IV pole I'd been waiting for
was finally delivered to me, and I rolled it in front of
the secretaries and did a "pole dance" with the IV pole,
"Miss Piggy" style.
It was so ridiculous that everybody broke up laughing, and
they forgot what the heck they were arguing about.
My work was done there...for the moment.

Yesterday was my first day back to work from Pennsic, and an hour into the shift I had the delight and pleasure of meeting up with Dr. B, renowned throughout the hospital for being a first-class jerk to nurses, and sometimes to patients. He ranted and raved at me (in front of the patient) for neglecting his patients' NG tube and causing it to slip out some and clog. What
REALLY happened was that he had come in and attempted to irrigate the tube, and he couldn't figure out how to work the connector between the NG tube and the suction tubing. It was working fine until he came in and messed with it, and I was able to irrigate it with ease, but he had to make himself look important by trying to make me look incompetent. It didn't work, and I'm writing his ass up for his adversarial behavior that makes his patient feel less safe.

So...what with some post-Pennsic blues, physician assholery, and leg cramps keeping me up a good part of the night...
IT'S A GOOD DAY TO MAKE AN ALE!
Let me hear from you, friends. What shall it be...the tried and true Scotch Ale? A Stout? A Belgian? A porter? (No lagers, sorry)

Can I just brag a LITTLE more about one of my kids?
I'm just saying...they're cool.
My oldest daughter Ashley works at Panera Bread. She
was working lunch the other day, and saw this long
cord tucked up on the floor under the cash register.
At least, everyone THOUGHT it was a cord...until it moved.
It was a snake, minding his own business that morning until
the lunch rush, and then apparently decided he wasn't comfortable
with all those feet. The customers and the other employees FREAKED. A
young girl in line with her mother just happened to have
her Book of Snakes and Reptiles with her, and she quickly
opened her book and ID'd the snake as a Rat Snake, nonpoisonous.
Ashley ran over to the ovens, donned an oven mitt, came back
and grabbed the snake behind its head, held its tail with the other
hand, walked it outside the restaurant, and threw it up into a nearby
tree. She then walked back in, washed her hands, and continued taking
lunch orders, much to the amazement of her coworkers and customers.
Yeah. All those years of camp paid off.

What a ham.
Happy Birthday, Sammie.

Making barbecue and an assortment of breads for breakfast, for
snacking, for chili, for hunks of cheese and fruit...keeping it
simple, as there will be NO fakey steaky consumed by Isabel this
year...but maybe just ONE chicken salad bread boulle...Mmmm...

Whooooo!Tax refund! Woowoo!
I can pay Amy's tuition and get Sam's laptop for
her 18th birthday Wednesday, which is required for
school...
NOW I can get excited about Pennsic. I'm not leaving those
things undone, or feel like I'm spending THEIR school money...

I have the next 3 days to finish sewing, cooking, and
packing. Then I work 3 12-hour shifts Fri, Sat, Sun, then
drive up Monday morning, (and fall OUT of the truck when I
get to camp... )
Wasn't there a country song about propping up some dead guy
in the corner of a bar, and sticking a beer in his hand?
Except I won't be dead, just very chilled and comfy...
prop me up and stick a
bottle of mead in my hand, and I'll still be sitting out there
with the "torches of doom" and the crickets and hoot owls till sunrise...

Is it just ME and my goofy self, or does everybody have a song
that makes them cry?

f#@&%@#& PMS...

"Sweet Child of Mine" by Guns n Roses. One of Sam's favorites, which
blasted from her stereo yesterday.
Her dad commented that she "Probably wouldn't be home more than once a
month".
So after a brief pity party, I got to thinking, "What about parents whose kids live with the ex? Or whose kids have been shipped off to Iraq?"
Suck it up. It's college, she'll be fine.

Had a very nice time at the Topkis cookout last night. Yuuummm.
Good food and good company. The Belgian Abbey Ale I was worried about
is shareable now. Yay.

Happy Birthday to the Aliwoman, my brew buddy. (Betcha I'm still older than
you, though Nyah...)

I have a nice bush of basil in my herb garden, so today will be a pesto-making day. Mmmm. I see a chicken pesto/artichoke/Roma tomato pizza, or some such dish in my immediate future...
ONE brewing project before Pennsic, (just one!) that I can make and leave alone for 6 months...Scottish Highland Liqueur. Johnnie Walker Scotch, honey, angelica root, fennel, and lemon. Angelica root is off to a sluggish start in my garden, so I await an online shipment.
I also have tiny little goldfinches in the herb garden. I won't turn them into anything...