Sunday, May 31, 2015

Daily Koda

White speck of a pup running around a soggy Mendon.

As you saw from the attempted Firemans Parade, we had some massive storms last night . It was 85 degrees early yesterday afternoon , and did not make it out of the 40's today - a huge temp drop in 12 hours - gives you some sense of how big these storms were.

Not Neil's

It would not have mattered except IT WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE NEIL'S FLOWER SHOW, and sadly his beautiful Irises paid the price. So, it was not a repeat of him winning the whole thing like last year. But we learned that if inclement weather is looming to pick them early and keep them cool.

If only we would have had a crystal ball

My pal Celia posted this to me Facebook this morning with the question

IS THIS THE MOOPAH DEN ?

FOR SALE

click below for scads of photos

3577 Hildon Cir,
Atlanta, GA 30341

3 beds2 baths1,883 sqft

Picture perfect 3 bed/2 bath cottage in highly sought after Keswick Village. Wow! Newly renovated main level bathroom, expanded Kitchen & Dining Rm, crown molding, plantation shutters, hardwood floors, breakfast bar & walk-in pantry. Private, upper-level, Master Suite retreat features an exposed beam, a large walk-in closet & other bonus closets in the bedroom. Master bathroom has a cast-iron, claw-footed soaker tub & separate shower. Main level laundry room. Stand-up crawl space storage area. Award winning schools w/ proximity to shopping, restaurants & interstates.

420,000.00

Hildon Cr was the house that a bunch of us moved into post Athens. Our first Atlanta house - It had the exact same footprint as this house, but this one is on the wrong side of the circle. Our little house looked NOTHING Like this at all - no where near as nice, was really just bare bones - made a little creepy by the Proudy boy doing monster make up in the basement. But back in the late 80's you could have bought the entire street for FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS! ( and that is with out a Taco Bell! )

Saturday, May 30, 2015

RIP BEAU BIDEN

So very sad.

From The Vice President :

It is with broken hearts that Hallie, Hunter, Ashley, Jill and I announce the passing of our husband, brother and son, Beau, after he battled brain cancer with the same integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life. The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words. We know that Beau’s spirit will live on in all of us—especially through his brave wife, Hallie, and two remarkable children, Natalie and Hunter.

Beau's life was defined by service to others. As a young lawyer, he worked to establish the rule of law in war-torn Kosovo. A major in the Delaware National Guard, he was an Iraq War veteran and was awarded the Bronze Star. As Delaware’s Attorney General, he fought for the powerless and made it his mission to protect children from abuse.

More than his professional accomplishments, Beau measured himself as a husband, father, son and brother. His absolute honor made him a role model for our family. Beau embodied my father's saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did. In the words of the Biden family: Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known.

From the Washington Post :

Joseph Robinette “Beau” Biden III, the son of Vice President Biden and former state attorney general of Delaware, died Saturday after battling brain cancer for several years.

Biden, 46, the oldest son of the vice president and the rising star of a family dynasty, had been admitted recently to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda as he fought the cancer, a battle that his father largely kept private in the last weeks as his son clung to his life.

“The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words. We know that Beau’s spirit will live on in all of us — especially through his brave wife, Hallie, and two remarkable children, Natalie and Hunter,” Vice President Biden said in a statement that was released Saturday night.

THE REST

President Obama's Statement :

Michelle and I are grieving tonight. Beau Biden was a friend of ours. His beloved family – Hallie, Natalie, and Hunter – are friends of ours. And Joe and Jill Biden are as good as friends get. Beau took after Joe. He studied the law, like his dad, even choosing the same law school. He chased a life of public service, like his dad, serving in Iraq and as Delaware’s Attorney General. Like his dad, Beau was a good, big-hearted, devoutly Catholic and deeply faithful man, who made a difference in the lives of all he touched – and he lives on in their hearts. But for all that Beau Biden achieved in his life, nothing made him prouder; nothing made him happier; nothing claimed a fuller focus of his love and devotion than his family. Just like his dad.

Joe is one of the strongest men we’ve ever known. He’s as strong as they come, and nothing matters to him more than family. It’s one of the things we love about him. And it is a testament to Joe and Jill – to who they are – that Beau lived a life that was full; a life that mattered; a life that reflected their reverence for family. The Bidens have more family than they know. In the Delaware they love. In the Senate Joe reveres. Across this country that he has served for more than forty years. And they have a family right here in the White House, where hundreds of hearts ache tonight – for Hallie, Natalie, and Hunter; for Joe and for Jill; for Beau’s brother, Hunter; his sister, Ashley, and for the entire Biden clan.

“I have believed the best of every man,” wrote the poet William Butler Yeats, “And find that to believe it is enough to make a bad man show him at his best or even a good man swing his lantern higher.” Beau Biden believed the best of us all. For him, and for his family, we swing our lanterns higher. Michelle and I humbly pray for the good Lord to watch over Beau Biden, and to protect and comfort his family here on Earth.

Dinner

Grilling in the Rain

A new one from Wegmans - it was surprisingly boozey

Bourbon BBQ Country Ribs

Broccoli Salad

Cucumber and Apple Salad

w/ ginger dressing

WORRIED ...

This really was a big powerful rainstorm - really coming down there for a while -

AND tomorrow morning is Neil's big annual flower show where HE is reigning Champion! We won't know till morning what the real damage was. We did not get any hail like some areas did - just very hard rain.

Mendon fireman's parade '15

What should have been a quick summer pop corn storm decided to hang out over Mendon for like an hour. Very hard rain , rumbles of thunder - all starting about 5:15 - with -parade kick off at 6:00.

About six thirty we heard bands going by so we walked down there - it was still raining pretty hard.

Not much of a crowd - even the hotel was not full, at all - and this has to be one of their busiest days of the year. It was a very rain soaked and shortened parade - it can take hours, this one took maybe 30 min...

The folks that did stay were upbeat

anyone want to move to Mendon ?

wet dog, going home.

Mumford & Sons - Believe (Official Audio)

Friday, May 29, 2015

NEW CRUDITE

I have a few parties coming up this week - and if the weather stays as warm some fresh spring veggies will defiantly be on the table.

I love this first one, sort of messy credit - but also inviting, and all things I can find , makes it easy.

Very much like these two, something new - tonal crudite - I think I could pull this one off

Then this great one - like a little garden - although folks would not eat it - thinking they were messing up a center piece or something...

Dinner

We had every intention of going down to the fair tonight for corn dogs and salt potatoes, but were both beat after a long day of Neil in the garden and I mowed the lawn . So lazy it was.

It's called THE GODFATHER, its from out little local pizza place and it is the best ever.

Presidential Proclamation-- LGBT Pride Month, 2015

The White House released President Obama's annual PRIDE PROCLAMATION today, June being PRIDE month in most of the country. Lots of progressive folks out there ringing hands and ripping clothes over Hillary 16', do any of them think anything like this will happen if any member of the GOP Clown Car take the WHITE HOUSE ?

Read the entire Proclamation here

from

WHITE HOUSE.GOV

In related news, the place that started it all THE STONEWALL INN is one step closer to getting land mark status.

From the NYT : " With its burned-out neon sign and darkened windows, there was little to distinguish the Stonewall Inn from any other West Village bar when it was raided the night of June 28, 1969.Nowadays, that bright red sign not only works, but colorful posters and rainbow flags mark the location as a historic battleground for gay rights. Soon, those adornments may be joined by a bronze plaque, as the city prepares to recognize the squat buildings on Christopher Street that housed the Stonewall Inn as an official city landmark.On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission is scheduled to vote on adding the property to its calendar, the first step toward designating it as a landmark worthy of protection. Though the buildings, 51-53 Christopher Street, lie within the Greenwich Village Historic District, and enjoy some safeguards as a result, local preservationists have been lobbying the commission for nearly a decade to recognize the Stonewall Inn on its own

If that happens, it would become the first landmark explicitly honored for its place in New York’s long, rich history of gay culture, a fitting form of recognition for a location that many consider the birthplace of the gay rights movement. THE REST

TODAY'S FLOWERS

They won't be around all that long with this early summer heat, so Ill post them while I can. The BIG SHOW is this weekend and Neil's party is not until next weekend , but I think some folks are going to come over during the week.

Not just irises, these peonies are about to explode! there are several bushes all around the garden.

He totally sold me my comic books

WRCB, your NBC affiliate in Chattanooga , Tennessee hates America

( or at least the people fighting for their freedom! )

AND he is even a REPUBLICAN !

From Buzzfeed via JMG

A television station in Tennessee had no policy about airing commercials on same-sex marriage until executives received a submission this week. The 30-second spot, sponsored by the group Freedom to Marry, features Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, a gay soldier who just returned from a tour of duty working in a trauma hospital in Afghanistan — and wants to marry his partner.

“I’m a Republican, I’m a doctor, and I’m a soldier,” says a voice over by Ehrenfeld as the commercial shows images of him serving in uniform, and back at home with his boyfriend, Judd Taback. “As a military physician, I take care of other people’s loved ones who are wounded in combat. But here at home, I’m fighting a different fight. Because I’m gay, I’m not allowed to marry my partner here in Tennessee where we live.”

“It’s just a very controversial and personal issue, and we just choose to not air a commercial on either side of that debate,” Tom Tolar, the president and general manager of Chatanooga-based WRCB, told BuzzFeed News in a phone interview.

The ad crossed the station’s lines, he explained, because “people probably have really strong opinions on one side or other of the debate. It’s just an emotional debate for many people.”

The station, an NBC affiliate that also broadcasts in parts of Georgia and North Carolina, didn’t have a position on ads about same-sex marriage until executives reviewed the commercial featuring Ehrenfeld on Wednesday, said Tolar. “We had not had a request before to run an issue-ad like that.”

Ehrenfeld called the decision disappointing, saying that people in Tennessee — where same-sex couples are prohibited by law from marrying — are the ones who need to see the ad most.

“I respect that they have to manage their TV station as they see fit,” he said in a phone call with BuzzFeed News. “But it seems they just created this policy out of thin air when presented with this ad.” When station executives saw the ad, they refused to run it. THE REST

TICK TICK TICK ( it is getting louder )

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Al fresco

After a busy day we had a lovely evening , drinks and then dinner waiting on the FIREWORKS!

That mark the kick off to the annual Fireman's Carnival here in Mendon.

We have a great view of the fireworks from our back yard

It was a beautiful afternoon. Some big storms came through last night dropping the temps today and much lower humidity . Just a very pleasant day all around.