Sunday Happy Sunday

I love Sundays. They just might be my favorite day of the week. Things just seem sunnier on Sundays. During the school year, Sunday is often my only day off of the week. My Saturdays are frequently taken up during the school year either at school working on sets for an upcoming production or at a speech tournament. I love those Saturdays spent building and painting with my students or at tournaments with my team, don't get me wrong, but there's something about having a whole day that's all yours. Sunday is the day that I sleep in (during the school year, I'm up at 5:30) until 8:00. I'll wake up and watch Meet the Press with my cat Tela happily curled up beside me. (Neither of us is quite sure how we're feeling about Tom Brokaw filling in since the passing of Tim Russert, but we're willing to give him a chance.) Sunday is the day that I make a big breakfast -- whether it's omelettes (which I've finally mastered the creation of) or pancakes or just scrambled eggs. I'll go pick up the Sunday paper and check out the sales at Target. It's a day to run errands during the school year or curl up on the couch and watch old movies during the summer. The past couple weeks, Sundays have included time out working in my yard. Today, my sis and I went out and de-vegged the crop circle and put in a seed blanket so that the crop circle will, in a few weeks time, be full of lovely flowers. Sunday is the night when I often cook a fine dinner feast -- even if it's just putting a good soup in the crockpot (as I've done today -- see the recipe below). (Again, not much serious cooking gets done during the school year because I often don't get home until 6:00 when I'm directing or coaching and am usually too tired to then stand over a hot stove cooking dinner). Sunday nights are often spent getting ready for the week ahead, curling up in bed a little earlier than usual to read. It's a day of endless possibilities. I can understand why God chose it as his day of rest. It's the perfect day to do just that.

As promised, here's the recipe for the soup currently brewing in my crockpot.

Italian Peasant Stew
Ingredients:
Italian Sausage Links (I usually do one link per person. You can use regular Italian sausage, turkey Italian sausage, or Boca makes a really excellent vegetarian "sausage" that's terrific to work with. I do recommend browning the sausage first if it's not precooked)
1 cup of pasta (I like radiatorre) or a couple chopped potatoes (Again, I usually do one potato per person)
1 can of white beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
1-2 teaspoons of minced garlic (depending on how much you love garlic. I always use 2)
1/2 teaspoon basil
2-3 cups of water

Put it all in the crockpot and cook it on low for 4-5 hours. It's great to serve with a tasty crusty bread on the side if you're so inclined. It's also a great recipe to experiment with, adding different things or substituting different things. The pasta is a recent brainstorm I had when I made radiatorre with my usual pasta sauce and commented, "This would be great in soup!")

Channel Surfing Adventures

One of the things I love about summer is the fact that it gives me the time to explore -- whether it's reading more books or renting more videos or finding interesting things to watch on television. Typically, each summer I re-discover (or newly discover) some television show and watch it obsessively all summer long. One summer it was Happy Days; another it was A Different World. This summer, I've found myself getting sucked into crime procedural shows like Without a Trace and Cold Case in addition to my already strong addition to Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

This summer, I've also found a great gem, That Mitchell and Webb Look. For those of you that get BBC America, check it out. It airs on Friday nights and is a great 40 minutes of bizarre, random sketch comedy. David Mitchell and Robert Webb create a series of bizarre characters, including the drunken hobo Sir Digby Chicken Caesar , as well as some hilarious one-off sketches such as Heroin Addict Christmas or Bawdy 70's Hospital . Not every sketch is a home run, but enough of them are that it makes it worth a watch.

Save Big Money at Menards

I'm getting a little concerned about my developing Menards addiction. I mean, it's bordering on a problem when you've made a Menards trip three times in the past 24 hours, isn't it?

First off, for those of you that didn't grow up with the ubiquitous commercials starring the very freaky Menards Man , Menards is a Midwestern-based home improvement chain akin to Hope Depot or Lowe's. One just opened about six months ago here in Galesburg as part of the ginormous Super Wal-Mart complex that was supposed to be the savior of the Galesburg economy but which has about 75% of its stores vacant. My first trip to Menards came on moving day when I had to go get some converters since most of our electrical outlets were 2-prong and we needed some 3-prong outlets for the computer and Menards is closer to my house than Lowe's. I have subsequently fallen in love with this store which seems somehow softer and more friendly than Lowe's. Maybe it's just that Midwestern hospitality I'm sensing.

My addiction really hit full force last weekend when I made my trip there to buy petunias for my front lawn (they're doing well, by the way). A couple days later, I was back to buy some impatiens that are also growing quite nicely around the tree that sits at the front of my property. The problem really began yesterday when I headed over to Menards to buy some edging stones to help protect my new flowers from the lawn mower. I bought what I thought would be enough along with a rake to help loosen the soil in the crop circle so I can get the seed blanket in, a watering can, and a hose. Well, I didn't buy enough stones, so I had to go back today and buy more. While I was there this morning, I also found some other edging stones to use by the front sidewalk where the petunias are growing -- also an attempt to protect them from the mower. Well, I didn't buy enough of these new stones, so I had to go back a couple hours later (after I had mowed my lawn) to buy more of those and while I was there I also bought some Miracle Gro for my flowers, an attachment for my hose so that I can spray it a little more evenly, and a box of Pop Ice that were a total impulse buy since they were right by the cash register. (That's part of the wonder of Menards -- you can seriously get anything there!) Now, granted, in these three adventures over the past 24 hours, I don't think I've even cracked $50 in expenditures, but I have to admit there was also a little shame in my heart as I walked into the garden center for the third time in 24 hours today -- and a huge wave of relief when I saw it was a different person running the cash register.

And here's the thing -- I think I need to go back tomorrow. I was one edging stone short.

The Further Adventures of Nature Girl

So I ventured back into nature today. I had a couple items on my agenda and accomplished most of them.

My first goal for today was to do something about what I call the "crack weeds." You know those weeds, the ones that grow in the cracks of a sidewalk or driveway or (in my case) the cracks of my concrete patio. I tried pulling them when I tackled the crop circle in my backyard, but I could tell that just wouldn't be as successful since I couldn't really get at the roots as easily because of the concrete. I had resigned myself that I was going to have to fight these things chemically, which I was not thrilled about. I hated the idea of using chemicals that could damage my lawn or get into the ground water or hurt the rabbits I often see hanging out in my backyard. So I did what anyone does nowadays -- I went online and did some research. I found recipes for several natural weed killers. My concern with a lot of them was that they involved using salt. I took Latin. I remember how the ground of Carhage was salted so that nothing could ever grow there again. One errant spray, and I could be destroying future gardening attempts! I finally settled on a recipe that involved 1 cup of vinegar, 1/2 cup of dish soap (which makes the vinegar adhere to the leaves of the weed), and then filling the rest of the spray bottle with water. I doused the crack weeds with this mixture this morning, so we'll see how it goes.

My next goal was to plant some more flowers. On my shopping expedition to my new beloved Menards yesterday, I found some beautiful impatiens plants that would grow around the tree in my front yard. Luckily, it rained last night, so the ground was a lot easier to dig into than it had been when I planted the petunias Sunday morning. I planted two rows of impatiens around this tree, but the really remarkable moment (for me anyway) came as I was digging and came across a worm. A WORM. And do you know what I did? I picked it up and tossed it into the yard but away from where I was working -- WITH MY BARE HANDS. I mean, seriously, a worm is like a tiny snake and there I was picking it up and not even cringing or screaming or anything. What has happened to me?!?!?!?

My last goal for the day did not come to fruition. Also at Menards, I had bought one of those seed blankets that promise to be a quick and easy way to cover a large area with wildflowers -- perfect for the crop circle! "Quick and easy" is a big old lie! Once I read the directions, I realized that it would take a ton of work, including completely clearing the crop circle of all vegetation, even grass (and there is some of that growing in the crop circle), and raking the area and moistening the area and I just didn't have it in me to tackle that today when I also had a lot of stuff I wanted to accomplish inside the house. So that might be a project for this weekend. Harumph!

In case you missed it . . .

In all the grieving at the loss of George Carlin yesterday, the passing of the great comic actress Dody Goodman probably flew under the radar for most people. A lot of people probably don't even remember her anymore despite the decades she spent doing films, television, and theatre. (I, personally, had no idea she had been such a prolific stage actor until I read her obit.) So in honor of her (and to help jog your memory in case you still can't quite figure out who she was), here's one of her classic scenes from Grease .

R.I.P., George

I woke up this morning and turned on CNN as I usually do and discovered that one of my favorite comedians, George Carlin, had died. Sad news. Like many people my age, I grew up listening to George. My mother was a huge Carlin fan and I can remember listening to his albums and watching his HBO specials often. Even with the "blue" language (as my dad would say), he was always a big hit in our household, even with my more conservative father. I often think that Carlin is where my own political consciousness began to develop -- and maybe that's what my more liberal mother was trying to accomplish all along. Who knows? I just know that he was a funny, funny motherfucker.

Here is George performing one of my all-time favorite monologues, one which I think of almost daily (especially as I continue to recover from my recent move) as I deal with my stuff .

BREAKING NEWS: I just read in the New York Times that HBO will be re-airing eleven of the fourteen Carlin specials that have aired on the network over the past 30 years. (Why only eleven and not all fourteen is beyond me.) Set your DVRs and TIVOs now, folks!!

Close Encounters of the Odd Kind

I've had a couple odd encounters this weekend, and I just had to share the tale.

1. Yesterday, I went to Mecca (that's Target for you uninitiated). While there I bought some bandanas from the dollar section and a couple bottles of the special edition Mountain Dews. I don't know if you've seen the commercials for these, but they are basically Mountain Dew with berry flavoring and ginseng added and they have cool names like Mountain Dew Voltage and Mountain Dew SuperNova. I'm not a huge fan of the Dew anymore, but I was a little curious as to what these were all about. So I went through the checkout with my three bandanas and my three bottles of Mountain Dew. My checker was seriously the Target Lady. First, she scans my bandanas, one of which is the previously mentioned "Pinkalicious" bandana. (It's very cute -- pink with "pinkalicious" written all over it in red in various fonts. I can't stand how cute it is!) Checker, whom we will call T.L. from here on out, picks up the "Pinkalicous" bandana and says, "Ooooh, pinkalicious!" I smile and nod. (You know, I'm not big on idle, polite chit chat with strangers.) Then, she gets to my Mountain Dew. The conversation goes something like this.

T.L.: Oh, do we have these?

Me: Yes

My internal monologue: No, I brought those over from Wal-Mart but I'll pay for them here.

T.L.: Where are they?

Me: Over on one of those endcaps by the chocolate section.

My internal monologue: Mmmmm . . . chocolate.

T.L.: Do we have more?

Me: Yeah, some, but not a ton.

T.L.: Ooh, I'll have to go get some.

Me: Yup.

My internal monologue: FINISH CHECKING ME OUT AND LET ME OUT OF HERE!

Now, if I worked at Target (and I probably shouldn't even joke about that -- the joy of it would be overwhelming!), I think that I would probably daily play Target Lady with people because to me it would be an homage to the only person on this earth who loves Target more than I (albeit she is a fictional character and therefore I win by default since I actually exist). It would be an homage and a way to amuse myself. This exchange, however, was clearly not meant as an homage or in any ironic way. This chick just really liked my bandana and wanted some Mountain Dew SuperNova. (One more note about if I worked at Target: I would know that place's inventory like the back of my hand and would know EXACTLY where the Mountain Dew SuperNova was located, how much it cost, and how much we had left in stock. But that's just how devoted I would be!)

Odd Encounter #2: Today as I was driving to go buy the petunias I planted, I was stopped at a stop light. I was in the middle lane of three. I looked to my left to see an older man (probably late 50s) clearly grooving to something on the radio. His window was up so I couldn't confirm that he was grooving to what I was grooving to on my radio (which would be the theme from Ghostbusters). I had a little chuckle and then turned to my right. In the turn lane was one of Galesburg's finest. First of all, by finest I mean finest. This was the most attractive police officer I've seen outside of television -- and maybe even more attractive since television cops tend to be gritty and this guy was beautiful. I sort of smiled and looked ahead of me again . . . and then what I had just seen kind of clicked into place. Yes, there was a handsome, blonde cop in the car next to me, more handsome than any tv cop. But wait, no . . . I've seen a tv cop that attractive before, but it's been awhile. I'm thinking of a certain tv cop by the name of Officer Stacy. Anyone out there remember Officer Stacy . . . from a little show called TJ Hooker . . . . Officer Stacy as played by the soon-to-be-legendary Heather Locklear. Now, why did Handsome Cop in the car next to me make me think of Officer Stacy? Maybe it was just the fact that he was good looking. Maybe it was the fact that he had blonde hair. Or maybe it was the fact that he was rocking a feathered haircut that I haven't seen in person since about 1982 (although it occasionally shows up in my dreams when Parker Stevenson circa The Hardy Boys Mysteries makes a cameo appearance). That's right. It was 2008 and the car next to me contained a cop who had clearly traveled from the past to nail some time traveling perp. Or maybe he was on his way to strip at a bachelorette party before getting his glamour shot taken at the mall. Very surreal indeed.