First Count to 10

I had an "incident" that just got my underwear in a bunch!  Again!

I've mentioned that we have lived in a condo community for three years now.  The first spring, skip a year and then this spring... just last week, maintenance hires a service to power wash all the buildings.  I remembered from the last time that due to the mold down here in the south, that water contains bleach.  Of course these men swore up and down to me that it wouldn't hurt my plants.  Wrong......


Now go back with me about 5 years ago...we lived in our house in Michigan that had a back deck with a planter at one end.  I had tried to grow Moonflowers up a trellis for two or three years to no avail.  Morning glories would grow, but not the Moonflowers...(basically the same thing but they only bloom in white and bloom at night)  Add to this equation that Terry is a golfer.... (important information to know a little later)  

I had finally gotten those Moonflowers to grow about 3 feet up that trellis when, one day, I noticed a bucket of water sitting on the deck.  I thought it was rain water and poured it on the Moonflowers.  Should be good for them shouldn't it?   No.....   within 2 days those things were brown, shriveled and dieing. I went to work just ranting about Terry bleaching his balls and leaving the water sitting so that was what I had poured on my plants.    Darn him and his bleached balls!

So this year I thought I would try the Moonflowers again.  The seeds are about as big as a pea so I soaked them overnight and planted them and threw in some red Morning Glories in hopes of a red and white blooming trellis.  The Moonflowers grew to be about 4 inches tall.  I was thrilled. 

So now comes power wash day. They scrubbed sidewalks and the buildings.

  I carried my and planters baskets away from the porch.   I was ready......but I forgot my poor things that were planted in the ground.  Of course the water would run off  and would spray over them.  The cannas are turning brown and the little plants by the planter are almost all gone.   

My poor geranium was about 10 feet from the porch but I believe it got the blow back from the mist.

I keep pulling off the dead leaves.  I 'm hoping it will recover but I have my doubts.

Excuse me while I  pout.  Enough with the whine. Bring on the wine.

The "Dirty Dancing" Catskills Resort Burns

Oh, Baby, tell me it isn't so.... 

I'm sure most of you caught that little nugget of heartache on the news.

MSNBC photo of what had originally been "The Brown Resort" in the Catskills, that the resort in which Dirty Dancing was based.  (It was actually filmed in Virginia - Hollywood magic at work there)   I feel a bit nostolgic about a place that never existed with people that were pretend.  I read once that Margaret Mitchell was repeated asked "What happened next with Scarlett and Rhett?"  She would say "I don't know."  and was tired of being asked.  We readers and viewers get emotionally attached. Well, I do at least.   So, my heart aches a little for Baby and Johnny and the place where it all began.   

I wore those cut off jeans all during the mid to late 1960's. 

There might have been a boy on the other end of that phone line, but I'm sure he was no "Johnny". Big sigh.......

Random Rants

OK, it's been a few days since I posted my thoughts on the Secret Service scandal but I've heard another take on this that is so bad I have to share.  Maybe you heard it too.  I swear my nine( soon to be 10 ) and 11 year old grandsons come up with far more believable stories to rescue their butts when they get in trouble.

I did get a Fox News update in my email that these men have lost their Top Secret Clearance status.  My husband has that clearance in order to do his job at the Marine Air Base.  It is no small thing.  Your entire life and family background is checked to get it.  So, I say "Good" and what they did, as representatives of my country is an embarrassemnt.

But the thing that I thought was pitiful was that some are claiming they never slept with these "ladies" because by the time they got to the hotel these guys were so drunk they had passed out.  Okay then..... silly me.  No!  You do not receive a "Get Out of Jail" card because you were too drunk to go through with your intentions.   If my teenager came home with that story, I don't think they would have been less grounded because they were too drunk. 


Living here in North Carolina even our local news is covering the John Edwards trial.  Politicians...what can ya do?  I do believe the truth lies closer to Andrew Young than towards John Edwards.  From interviews and in reading Mr. Young's book, The Politician,  John promised to take care him if he "went along" with the plan.  Basically, it's all slight of hand, razzle dazzle, I believe. 

Here we are in the midst of another election year.  I voted as soon as I could at 21 and have voted in every National election since  Am I disheartened? Sure but I feel it is my duty to vote.  On my shoulder, though, is stting a little imp that sings in my ear:

Movie Time

I was rummaging through Youtube yesterday while looking for Lionel Rickie songs and came across one that reminded me of a movie which did lead me down another path altogether.

In the early 1980s Debra Winger scored big in two movies.  In 1980 she danced her way into John Travolta's heart in Urban Cowboy.

I loved the music from this movie, especially Mickey Gilley's "Stand By Me."   I tried watching it a few years ago and realized that John's character was pretty much a hot mess in that movie.  At the time, there were mechanical bulls in some bars, but, no, I didn't ride any.  Now I wish I would have been more adventuresome and had given it a try. The music holds up well though.

The other movie where she won the guy was "An Officer and a Gentleman" with Richard Gere. Holy Smoly.... Richard Gere still melts my girly heart.  For instance "Nights in Rodanthe" with Diane Lane,  is a great chick flick

Richard was the first "Naval Aviator" that stole our hearts.  It wasn't until 1986 that Tom Cruise's Top Gun captured that spot and, as of yet, he still has the title.

Random Thoughts

For the last few weeks I've had a big writer's block.   I'm usually inspried by current events, pop culture or reminences of times gone by. Finally a couple of things caught my attention and probably caught yours too.

The President's Sercret Servie getting caught soliciting prositiutes in Columbia.  Prostitution is not illegal in Columbia so they weren't breaking any federal laws there.  What their wives think is a horse of another color, to quote the Wizard of Oz.   Eleven men..... They only got "caught" because one lone guy refused to pay.  Seriously?  You are in a third world country. How much is the going rate for a hooker in Columbia?   Morality and marraige vows aside... you know the other ten a mad as hell.    This was just all kinds of stupid.  I just saw on Jane Velez- Mitchell that the number could be 21 prostitutes for 19 men.  11 Secret Service and  the rest  military.  Good Grief!

Also, on that trip, we saw photos of Hilary Clinton dancing and drinking beer.  Ooooo... scandal.  I will say I am not a Hilary fan, but good grief....the work day was over.  After a hard day at work, I'd have a beer too.  (actually, I'd have wine or a gin and tonic.)  If this were Eric Holder or Leon Panetta, would they have been front page news over a beer?  hmmmmm

On to my favorite topic today.   I watched the ACM (Academy of Country Music) Special with Lionel Richie.  Oh, my, my 1980's self loves his music.   We have "Chick Movies" and I now proclaim Lionel the King of Chick Music.  ( Although I did hear once that at the sound of a Johnny Mathis song, women's bras unclasped themselves!)   I was a big fan of The Commadores back in the 70's when they did "Still", Easy, like a Sunday Morning..." and of course, "Brick House".

I saw an interivew with Lionel ( we are first name friends evidently) where he said that men come up to him and say "My wife/girlfriend just loves you.  I don't understand it."  Lionel told him to buy his album, go home and learn the lyrics to all the songs and then repeat them back to his significant other.  He'll soon understand.    So true.   There is not a woman alive that does not want to hear her man tell her how much she means to him.... like this.

LADY

      by Lionel Richie

Lady, I'm your knight in shining armor and I love you
You have made me what I am and I'm yours
My love, there's so many ways I want to say I love you
Let me hold you in my arms forever more
You have gone and made me such a fool
I'm so lost in your love
And oh, we belong together
Won't you believe in my song?
Lady, for so many years I thought I'd never find you
You have come into my life and, made me whole
Forever let me wake to see you each and every morning
Let me hear you whisper softly in my ear
In my eyes I see no one else but you
There's no other love like our love
Oh yes, I'll always want you near me
I've waited for you for so long
Oh, Lady, your love's the only love I need
And beside me is where I want you to be
'cause,'cos, my love, my love, there's somethin' I want you to know
You're the love of my life, of my life, you're my lady
You're my lady.

Lionel, during his Commadores days, wrote this song for Kenny Rogers and he does do it well, but, for me, Lionel does it better.