Moon Flower - Seeds Sown

It seems that even the Full Moon has a sense of humor.

I had intended to sow the moon flower seeds by the light of the full moon at precisely midnight...then, at 8:30pm last night there was an overabundance of severe thunderstorm warnings in my area. So, instead the seeds were sown by the light of the hidden from view full moon at 9PM.

The thick black cloud cover made it impossible for me to admire the full moon, however, the full moon was there. It's the effort that counts as even though I couldn't exactly see the full moon, I know that the moon flower seeds "sense" that the full moon is there encouraging them to grow! grow! grow!!!!!

Nestled safely in their small Jiffy greenhouse, the moon flower seeds are preparing to germinate themselves into this great wide world! After all, the culmination of my meticulous moon flower meditative efforts was a brilliant rain dance complete with explosive thunder claps and magnificent lightning displays!

I have no doubt, that last night's full moon was indeed a fitting and splendid night for sowing moon flower seeds. If the tiny hopeful seeds weren't impressed with the unseen full moon, than by far the booming thunder and crackling lightning should have them leaping out of those seeds if only due to having the begeezuz scared out of them!

I planted a total of 16 seeds to start with in regular potting soil. I hope to see some tiny moon flower plants peeping out within the next 2-4 weeks. The Jiffy greenhouse is in a warm sunny spot on my front porch and I plan to keep the soil moist, but not overly damp.

More photos and information about growing Moon Flowers will follow in the upcoming weeks so keep checking back to see how Cemetery Road's official flowers are progressing! Or, click on the Moon Flower label for past posts.

The Case for Lowercase L

I recently came across the blog lowercase l. Until reading a few of the entries, the case for lowercase l had not previously crossed my mind. However, while on my three day hiatus what did I happen to meet? Well, nothing short of my very first lowercase l sighting!!! I'm so excited that of course I had to share! Would you like to buy some lowercase l pot?

Do check out the lowercase l blogspot to explore some more lowercase l sightings while you're at it. And don't worry- I'm forwarding my own lowercase l sighting to their blog as well! What's that? Up there on that sign? It's a bird? It's a plane? It's an alien flying in a ClAY POT? Why, no...it's uh....a lowercase l!!!

Lowercase L sighting by the side of the road outside of Pamplin, VA.
lG pots $3.00. SM pots $1.50

Moon Flower Seeds Soaking it Up

The Moon Flower Seeds are currently soaking it up!!
They have been happily swimming in their water dish since midnight last night! As the full moon is quickly approaching, they are quietly awaiting their planting ceremony which will commence at midnight tonight, of course, by the light of the full moon!

As a reminder, moon flower seeds should be soaked prior to sowing. If you haven't soaked yours yet you still have time to do so before tonight!

Moon Flower - Preparing Seeds

Preparing Moon Flower Seeds:

For more successful growing, Moon Flower seeds should be soaked in water overnight before sowing. To honor the sacred plant's heritage, it is also strongly recommended to plant seeds on a full moon. If you would like to wear a white dress, chant, run around screaming at the wind, or meditate skyclad, go right ahead and feel free to do whatever puts you in the mood to encourage these beautiful aphrodisiac plants to begin life off to a healthy start.

The full moon is Sunday, July 29th. My seeds will be soaking on Saturday night and I will have them ready to plant on Sunday evening.

More info and photos of the planting ritual will follow as I begin growing my own Moon Flowers!

The Chicken Noodle Escape

I am soon to be escaping from the land of Chicken Noodles. I am excited. Who am I kidding? I'm jumping up and down, fighting to contain my excitement! Now that's more like it!! I am heading out into the real world of grown-ups with one infant in tow. After dropping the toddler off at grandma's, I am boldly going where I have not been able to go for at least the last eight months. First, I have a meeting with my thesis advisor and then I'm off to visit my sister and a couple of my fabulous single girlfriends whom I have not had the pleasure to really "visit" with since baby number two arrived. My three day hiatus is largely due to some timely house repairs. So, tonight I am thankful that when I turned on the air conditioner back in June some little plastic thingy-a-ma-bob cracked, water leaked, and chunks of drywall came plopping down into the bedroom. It was certainly not funny at ten o'clock at night, but on the eve of my welcomed departure I find it incredibly fantastic! The only vacation I'm taking this year is because the bedroom ceiling has to be fixed before it caves in! Since things generally do tend to come crashing down on me here lately, I have decided that I should not press my luck. Anyway, the hiatus, no matter how short, is indeed a good thing. I will miss cemetery road probably until the end of the week, but it will be in my thoughts.

Moon Flower - Sacred Plant

I have the Moon Flower seeds in hand!! More to come soon...

Revenge of the Refrigerator

1 crying (hungry) + 1 sneaking (thirsty) = Revenge of the Refrigerator.

Since I couldn't factor in two additional seconds or at least another 1/2 of myself, the results of today's equation equal one small disaster. Or today, revenge of the refrigerator. Yep. It only happens when I clean.

Did you know this little fella could get the refrigerator door open and pour his own cup of juice? Nope. Neither did I. Learn something new every day. I don't understand- how did absolutely NOTHING end up in his cup?

Oh, by the way, grape juice was in "his" pitcher. The purple can soda is not his, nor is he allowed to drink it. The crawdaddy has to have caffeine every now and then. Yes, he does have one shoe off and one shoe on. Yes, the shoe is on the wrong foot. No, I don't let him run around naked. I dressed him earlier. Twice. He then decided to redress himself, obviously according to his own taste- grape.

Diddle diddle dumpling...

Baby Think It Over...Really!

Last Sunday, I commented about the Baby Think It Over Program by Reality Works.

Today, I have another thought to add. Below is two days worth of laundry at my house. With an infant and a toddler, welcome to reality.

Hmm... Reality works?

Warning: Refrigerator Refreshment

Tonight's Tackle Box: The Refrigerator

I could lie and say this happened a week or so ago, but I'll be honest...it happened more than a month ago. My toddler decided to help me fix breakfast one rather chaotic morning, so more than a half dozen eggs ended up in the bottom of my refrigerator.

Like me, you know you're guilty. Something spills down behind the crisper box and after a quick swipe at the bulk of the mess, you think I don't have time right now, so I'll clean it thoroughly later.

In the meantime, one child is crying, the other needs to be changed, the phone rings, there's a knock at the door, someone needs to be changed again- wait a minute, didn't I just change you? And then, cleaning out the refrigerator ends up way down at the bottom of the day's to-do list, right along with the growing collection of spills, gunks, and goos.

Then you definitely know it's time to clean the refrigerator when there are sufficient amounts of green and blue stuff growing down there behind the crisper drawer getting crispy! Anyway, tonight is the night! My beautiful squeaky clean refrigerator is proudly modeling her intimate areas for your viewing pleasure. You can see that she even brought her own strawberries and whipped cream, just for you! There's just something really sexy in its own right about a clean refrigerator. If you don't have children yet, don't worry. You'll know what I mean some day.

Since cleaning the refrigerator is certainly not on my top 100,000 favorite things to do list, I was far from amused while tackling this task tonight. However, that was only until I realized that my own little refrigerator comes equipped with a sense of humor.

As I squatted down to put the crisper drawer back into its place something caught my attention. There were three lines of capital letters written in bold face type across the bottom of the crisper drawer. Maybe because I put food down in there or because I just open the door, get what I need, and shut the door, but I had never thought to actually read the drawer's writing.

So, I had to share...

"WASH IN MILD SOAP AND
WARM WATER
DO NOT WASH IN DISHWASHER"

If that don't beat all! Someone out there hated cleaning their refrigerator so-o-o-o-o much that they actually tried to put the crisper drawer in the dishwasher!! Come on now! Even I can see that there's no way a crisper drawer that size would fit in a dishwasher, and I don't even have a dishwasher!

At times, I wonder...how stupid do manufacturers think we really are? Then, I think about that question carefully, and I realize that the warning wouldn't be there if it weren't for that one very "special" SOMEBODY who sincerely needed it to be. After all, it only takes one to make a manufacturer decide that a warning needs to be there, just so the rest of us don't get any more wise ideas.

But, if the person who tried to put the crisper drawer in the dishwasher would care to step forward, I'd certainly love to shake your hand! The refrigerator said she'd share her strawberries and whipped cream with you too! Oh, by the way, the refrigerator would also like to know if you own a car wash? She really needs to take a shower but only if it gets her hinges and her feminine components clean too!

Chicken Noodlin' All the Day - Again!

Guess who went Chicken Noodlin' again?
Yep. Pretty soon that old crawdaddy won't have any more dental floss left!

Sunflower Sunday

Have a Happy Sunflower Sunday!

Moon Flower - Sacred Plant

During a recent visit with relatives, I inquired about a flowering plant that I thought was absolutely gorgeous! Due to the inquiry, I recently discovered the "Moon Flower" or Datura inoxia.

Datura inoxia - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is such a fascinating plant! The Moon Flower's white trumpet-shaped blooms start to open at night and they are about the size of your hand. Absolutely beautiful and extremely fragrant!

The Datura is also revered throughout many different cultures as a medicinal, magical, or sacred visionary plant due to its aphrodisiac attributes. All parts of the plant can be poisonous, so care should be taken when growing it, as it is not child or pet friendly.

I have been so enthralled with this plant that I cannot wait to try growing it on my own! I'm a symbolism geek at heart, and to me, this wonderful discovery combines symbolism from Freud, Jung, mythology, and also the tarot.

The High Priestess is my favorite tarot card as to me, it has always been my "self" card. The High Priestess is a card of knowledge and intuition- that which is known but not revealed. Mysterious. The High Priestess is about the things that are hidden but not necessarily seen, told, or discussed. There is much duality in the meaning of this card as the High Priestess is both a seeker of knowledge and record keeper of the truth. On her throne, she sits, almost somewhat precariously, between pillars of light and dark, good and evil, with the crescent moon at her feet and the moon crown on her head. The scroll in her hands is an archive of information which she may or may not share with you. Pomegranates, symbols of traveling to and from the land of the dead, decorate the curtain behind the High Priestess' throne. The curtain itself acts as a shield which almost protects her from the troubled emotional waters which are flowing freely behind her. What hidden secrets are in these waters? Will she choose to share her secrets with you or not?

There is also a Black lotus flower atop the black pillar and a white lotus flower atop the white pillar. Yet hey, I kind of think a "Moon Flower" is simply much more clever!

So, the Moon Flower is hereby instated as the Official Blog Flower of Cemetery Road 101.

In the future, check out the Moon Flower label on the right for other posts about my Moon Flower growing endeavors. The seeds are scheduled to arrive in another week or so!

Chicken Noodlin' All the Day

Well, it's been a busy week around here. It rained much of Tuesday and Wednesday. The thunderstorms fretted the DSL modem too so I'm behind on my blog because I was "under the weather." Sorry. But now I can catch you up to speed on what I've been up to!

I've been working with my toddler on potty training. We occasionally have some luck, although the only potty he seems to have mastered is the one below.

Yeah, I know. Not the greatest "toy" to have your child playing with but he seriously loves it! He has this fixation with buttons and beeping noises so it does keep him entertained for hours. That, and as long I can hear the beeps I always know exactly where he is!

Of course, today's great adventure took us back once more to Chicken Noodlin' - wanna know what's biting? Well, after some big crawdaddy left the dental floss out in the bathroom, the toddler found it and apparently decided that he needed some fishing line.


Now I know exactly why Johnson-Johnson calls it "REACH" as the stuff "REACHES" from one end of the house to the next!!!! The toddler's catch of the day was literally a whole whole lot of Fish-er Price! An impressive stringer even for a toddler!

I would've loved to post some more pics but the crawdaddy didn't find this too funny! LOL!

Roads Less Traveled

Here's a few photographs of actual road signs for you to enjoy:

Shades of Death Road

Fucking (Austria)

This Way to Dildo

We couldn't survive without Wikipedia now could we?

"Yeah."

Babies Gone Wild

In the same spirit as Okie Noodling and "Girls Gone Grabblin," wouldn't you like to see videos about "Babies Gone Wild?" If you think that wouldn't be entertaining than you certainly haven't seen my sugar deprived toddler immediately after someone says MARSHMALLOW! Now that's a baby gone wild!

Another of my toddler's greatest new tricks is the infamous spinning himself in circles until he gets dizzy and falls down...only this baby gone wild screeches "BOOM" at the top of his lungs and then gets right up and does it again- over and over again as it never gets old. Wild, huh?

Some time ago, I had the pleasure of working with a group of teenagers who were participants in the "Baby Think It Over" program, by Reality Works. The program is designed in part to help teenagers seriously think about what it means to be a parent as they care for an infant simulator. The infant simulator gets hungry, needs to be changed, and cries. The simulator records how long it takes the teenage "parent" to respond to the baby's needs as well. Though it is interesting to watch a group of teenagers pretend to be parents for a week, my experience led me to have some doubts as to the effectiveness of the program, despite what some of the research might say. Granted, I was also observing a group of troubled teenagers who already had a great deal of issues to work through to begin with. For instance, I recall a promiscuous fifteen-year-old who wanted a baby and the infant simulator did little to convince her of anything besides the fact that she would certainly receive an "A" in parenting. She was more convinced than ever that she wanted to have a baby, but really all she was capable of doing was inserting a key in the back of a simulator and holding it there until the baby stopped crying.

As a parent of two Babies Gone Wild, both under the age of two, I would really like to know where the damn key is at midnight, 1 AM , 2AM, 4AM, 4:30AM, and 5AM when both are up and bouncing off the walls around here! Shoot, I'd settle for a skeleton key! Wow, now let's do some market research on that little product, shall we? Of course, where's the infant simulator that allows the teenager the opportunity to experience the joys and challenges of breastfeeding? Or is there an infant simulator for multiples? Twins? Triplets? Or the toddler and the infant sibling variety?

Don't get me wrong, I love being a parent. I also firmly believe there is no greater more important job in life than parenting. I'd also be lying if I said there haven't been times that if my joyous little infants had keys in their backs to time how long it took me to respond to their cries, I would probably have received at least a "C" if not a lower grade as sometimes no matter what, a person simply doesn't have enough hands to do everything simultaneously. However, an infant simulator doesn't move nor does it have another infant simulator to contend with. There's not a simulator program available that can prepare you for what it's like to keep up with two mouths that are hungry at the same time, two bottoms that need new diapers at the same time, and loads of laundry, diapers, and dishes that need to be done, and oops! the cup of milk and bowl of spaghetti that was just dumped on the floor too!

Maybe there should be a postpartum "Mothers Gone Wild" segment instead, starring my toddler! Lately, he could pass as a simulator as you can ask him any question you want and his answer is always, "Yeah."

Are you hungry? "Yeah."

Do you need to go potty? "Yeah."

Is the world coming to an end? "Yeah."

Is mommy crazy? "Yeah."

Am I turning into my mother? "Yeah."

Does this outfit make my butt look fat? "Yeah."

The new toddler simulator! It always agrees with you no matter what! In stores soon!
Not to mention, the new toddler simulator already comes playing with it's very own set of keys!! You don't have to put a key in the toddler's back as the toddler can take the keys and put them into every single keyhole in your house while you chase after him! Don't worry! If you lose the keys, the toddler will always be one step ahead of you and FIND them too!

I know, it's nearly as bad as someone asking you what the words are to the Smurfs theme song. "Years ago I could sing the whole song by heart, but right now I'm just drawing a blank...."

(Still trying to remember the words? You know who you are...)

La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La....

"Yeah."

Alas, it seems I'm not the only one who thought there should be a Babies Gone Wild. Check out the video. Funny or Die? I'm not sure, but is it definitely a good waste of 3 minutes and 17 seconds?

"Yeah."

Do you really have anything else more important to do?

"Yeah."

Did four grown men really do that?

No they didn't!! LMAO!!

Dead Polls of the Week

Be sure to stand up, roll over, crawl, shake your booty thang, or what not and be counted in the Dead Polls of the Week.

What is your preference regarding your own funeral?

What is your favorite type of Noodles?

(Psst...if you have an answer that's not available, but certainly should be, shoot me a quick email and I'll try to add it for you!)

More Oodles of Noodles

Have you ever realized that in Elmo's World he ALWAYS talks to Mr. Noodle in the window?

So, reading my blog, is well, like you listening to an imaginary Mr. Noodle. Only, some days my noodles are overcooked, fried, a little underdone, or maybe even a bit too soggy :)

Well, I came across Video #10 Chicken Noodle Soup and just had to share it today!

Enjoy, with a soda on the side!

Oodles of Noodles!!

Once again, PBS fails to disappoint me!!

I spent an hour of my time last night watching a documentary about "Okie Noodling!" For those unfamiliar with the term, Noodling is basically hand fishing, or catching flathead catfish with your bare hands! This ain't your every day okie dokie noodlin' all the day either! This so made me want to jump in the car and hop on over to the Oklahoma waters for their annual Noodling Tournament. Alas, I seem to have just missed it as the 2007 tournament was held on June 30th! Darn, who'd a noodled it?

For additional information, check out the following:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noodling

A Field Guide at Cabela's (Outdoor Sportsman gear - great catalog!!)

Noodling for Catfish: The Ultimate Thrill in Fishing by Keith Sutton

The Okie Noodling Tournament Link

Oh, and for those who like to check out the latest "Girls Gone Wild" there's now apparently such a sport as "Girls Gone Grabblin" - http://www.catfishgrabblers.com/


If you'd like to see me participate in the next "Girls Gone Grabblin" please place your comments and vote for me now! For certain this should be some sort of Simon Cowell sponsored competition for the next greatest "American Grabbler." Simon's already had some practice as here he is grabbing some fur, at Celebrity Dog Watch. Look at that grip! He's a natural! Dog. Cat. Catfish? I mean, this sport is brutal, isn't it?

Now, this whole Noodling notion has my macaroni brain all excited! I'm thinking for sure that here around Kerr Lake this has got to be something crazy for me to just rush right on out and try! Right? Especially, since the first fish I ever caught in the lake was a catfish...and well, I ran all the way home line in tow screaming because I had never seen or heard a singing gurgling fish with a twitching mustache and I sure as hell wasn't going to touch it! But, since then I've been a Future Homemakers of America and I know quite a few Future Farmers of America, so perhaps a venture in joining the Future Grabblers of America wasn't that far fetched of an idea.

Then I started talking to some of the locals who catfish at the John H. Kerr Dam. Now, there are certainly some sizable cats in these here parts. Yet, the whopper of all tales that I've recently heard recounted has to do with a plane crash that occurred a number of years ago near the dam. As I was told, after the plane crash they sent in some professional divers to look for wreckage and human remains. The divers didn't stay down there long. When they surfaced the divers stated that they weren't looking for remains anymore and that the wreckage could stay at the bottom for they had seen catfish large enough to swallow a human whole.

If you think that there's no way that's possible, be sure to check out the Giant Catfish from Thailand (article courtesy of National Geographic) - Giant Catfish May Be World's Largest Freshwater Fish


Anyone still up for grabblin' at the dam?
Or are you Chicken?
You...you...Chicken Noodles, you?

Well, I'm slightly more hesitant. A number of the reliable town elders recall reading about the giant catfish story in our small local newspaper, and they certainly don't give a dam about trying out grabblin' anywhere near John H. Kerr!

Anyway, I thought I'd share some of the "noodling all the day" that I've recently been up to in addition to the only noodles that I could find in my house...lol!

My toddler and I have decided that it's much safer to be a "Chicken Noodler." For those of you interested in learning how to Chicken Noodle, see the photos below.

First, find yourself a good fishin' hole and climb on up!

Next, always make sure ya know where the fish are bitin' at.

Then, go grabblin' on in there with yer bare hands and git dat sucker!




















"Chicken Noodle" tournament - same time next year, okie dokie?
Ya'll come back now, ya hear?

Sesame Street - The Ladybugs' Picnic

Hey, anyone else out there remember this?

Thanks brooks for reminding me too!

Go, Dog Go!

My toddler has discovered a new favorite book. P.D. Eastman's "Go, Dog Go!" For that reason, I have been a bit behind on my blogging the last couple of days. In case you're wondering, yeah, my house is overflowing with all these stray dogs everywhere! I know, literally, that I have read "Go, Dog Go!" at least 50 whopping times since Sunday...and it's only Tuesday! So, P.D. - when exactly do the dogs get run over?