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Shot by Aunt Julie with a Canon Rebel XTi
Tree Peony
Stargazer Lily 
Delphinium
Big Bird Day Lily
Lupine 
Here's Patch again. She's lounging on my Amish quilt. But more about that (the quilt, not the lounging) later.
Patch is nearing her 14th birthday. That's 72 years in human terms, according to the Cats Age Conversion Chart. Practically a Senior Citizen, huh? Hence, my six words for this fine Saturday morning:
You think she's eligible for AARP?
Just wondering. Especially since a cat's life expectancy has grown in the past 20 years, according to Pet Place.com.
Cate at Show My Face hosts Six-Word Saturday each week. You should stop by to see her!
In March, those of us who love to read commemorate this joie de vivre by celebrating Dr. Seuss' Birthday and National Reading Month. I'm sure there's a month for everything and every cause under the sun, but reading is fundamental to me.
Why do I bring this up now? Because I just uncovered this cute shot in the POPrs Family Archives. Meet College Boy in his younger years, showing off one of his favorite authors. Mine, too!
I have to say I love me a good piece of meat. I've always been a steak girl. And, yes, I know it's sinfully bad for me, but I don't think I can help myself.
Three-quarters of our family, in fact, not only favors red meat, but likes it done up rare. An old expression comes to mind: "I'll have mine rare~Just wipe its but & run it by the fire."
Last year, the Veggie Family tried to be good. The Wild One read Skinny Bitch over Winter Break, and all of the sudden the Veggies were going Quasi-Vegetarian.
The mantra of SB's authors?
"If you can't take one more day of self-loathing, you're ready to hear the truth: You cannot keep shoveling the same crap into your mouth every day and expect to lose weight."
They pinpoint red meat as the culprit in many of our diet disasters. So, at the first of the year we vamoosed cow from our diet.
I had a whole new repertoire in the kitchen. Quiche Lorraine replaced Ribeye. Curry stood in for flank steak. We still did kabobs, but they featured chicken instead of sirloin.
Moker started to make cracks at the dinner table. Things like, "I just wish I could eat a meal that required a knife every so often." But even the Big Guy got with the program, eventually.
Have to say I'm pretty proud of the Veggie Family. We lasted close to four months. Then TWO, who had orchestrated the whole charade, decided that she, too had had enough.
She broke her fast one sunny late-April afternoon, with a post-school steak burrito. And then we celebrated with burgers on the grill that night.
It was a challenge while it lasted. And, no, I didn't lose weight. Not an ounce!
We live on a cul-de-sac. Some of us call it a "court." Four other families live on the court with us. We decided to do something festive for Memorial Day, so we did a 5-family bar-be-que.
My Philly looks festive, doesn't it?
No, not a wine-tasting. Just some good cheer in front of the garage.
The peonies dressed up for the occasion.
Well, not all the kiddos were home for the weekend, but we drew a pretty good crowd. And we got the whole thing in before Mother Nature threw a wet blanket, so to speak, on the proceedings. We'd been anticipating rain all day, but the skies didn't open up until we'd finished with dessert.
You all know, Dear Readers, how Veggie Mom feels about women competing in this world. But I'm not so sure that they all have to dress up to do it.
Susan Boyle showed up on Britain's Got Talent the other day, all glammed and gussied up. But I'm not sure her makeover has made her any better.
Yes, for the most part Ms. Boyle virtually nailed "Memory," that classic from the musical, "Cats." But she started off a tad shaky. She clearly was nervous, and those nerves showed in the opening bars of the ballad.
I wonder if all the buzz around Susan Boyle's initial performance, when she knocked that snarky smirk right off Simon Cowell's face, has somehow upped the ante for this Scottish lass.
We were talking about this at work the other day. Do the clothes really make the woman? Is Ms. Boyle somehow a better person because her hair's been permed, her eyebrows waxed, and she's wearing a glam frock? Does the powder and the rouge help her project? Keep her vibrato steady? Enable her to sing in the upper registers?
Above all, does all this America's Next Top Model treatment make Susan Boyle a better person?
I'm not sure it does.
One of my colleagues maintains that Ms. Boyle has to be glammed up in order for audiences to pay attention. I maintain that her lusty soprano is what helps her command the most attention.
Another friend said, "But what if she wins? Won't she be made over anyway? Won't the whole experience transform her?" My friend says the producers are "just getting a head start."
I can't help but think that if Susan Boyle were named Steve, she might be treated differently. How much of a price must one pay for success?
