Old Man Chase

I know I have written about The Yellow Bandit before, but I am not certain if I have ever mentioned Old Man Chase. Chase is the yellow lab across the street. When I first moved in, I thought his name was Jake for some reason. Chase lived to the nice old are of 14. He was a beautiful almost white yellow lab who had the most distinct bark. I'm sad for my neighbors. What a crummy way to start a weekend. :(

Miner says, "You're a slacker!! Post something, damnit!"

I need to get out and take some pictures of my garden today. There's tons of stuff growing. It's just too hot out right now. And it's not even that hot! Maybe this evening. 

I took Miner swimming out at West Lake Park. He was already pretty stinky and in need of a bath, so who cares that he smells like lake now. He is currently napping. I might decide to join him. 

My first ever guest post on a blog!

Check out The Mighty Rib...Kevin asked me to do a short review of a place I went while in St. Louis last weekend.

What I've Been Up To in the Back Yard

This year, my 4 foot X 4 foot garden has the following:

• grape tomato
• yellow pear tomato
• beefsteak tomato
• red bell pepper
• jalapeno pepper
• yellow banana pepper
• 8-ball squash
• radishes
• flat leaf parsley
• sweet basil
• thyme
• cilantro
• green beans when the radishes are done

I took this picture earlier in the week. Everything has pretty much doubled in size as we've had plenty of rain and warm weather. 

Everything else has been blooming for a while. The begonias up front look great. I'll take a picture of them once the Asiatic Lilies open up. There have been several baby birds in the yard. A few very young cardinals and assorted "chee-chee birds" as my dad calls them. I potted dahlias this year in some new blue pots I got a good deal on and one old one I've had for ever. 

All that warm weather and rain has been sticking around. Last night my friend Elisabeth and I ran a 5K out in Blue Grass, IA. It started at 7 PM and was 86-degrees and high humidity. Elisabeth was great and ran slow with me and walked and was a great running buddy. I beat my 5K personal best by a little more than a minute. Finished in just over 43 minutes.

For the record:

Top 5 shows of all time (in chronological order, because I can't possibly pick a best one):

Rollins Band, Helmet, Sausage @ International Ballroom in Houston, TX with Mel House

Hum, The Toadies, Bush @ some place I can't remember in Springfield, MO with Alex Silvius and Josh Sutterfield

Murder City Devils, Supersuckers @ Fitzgerald's in Houston, TX with Mike Quinn, Jason Kwiatkowski, Dave Hahn and Rich Macy

Ben Folds @ The Adler in Davenport, IA with Jim Purins

Robert Earl Keen, Bruce Robison, Todd Snider @ The Capitol Theatre in Davenport, IA with Robert and Lisa Burnett

So, the guy just stands up there and talks?

Either you have heard of Henry Rollins or you haven't. For those that haven't, here's what the wiki has to say about him and what he has to say about himself. I've now seen him twice. The first time was at the International Ballroom in Houston, TX. Mel House and I saw Sausage and Helmet open for the Rollins Band in the early 90's. That show is in my top five of all time list. I don't even know if the International Ballroom is still there. I think it used to be a grocery store. Anyway, that was an awesome show...so much bass it made me a little sick to my stomach (but in a good way) and I am pretty sure my ears rang for at least 2 days (this was back before I practiced safe rock). But I digress. Last night, I saw Henry Rollins for the second time. He was doing spoken word at The Capitol Theatre. Items of note:

• He talked for 2 hours and 45 minutes. Straight. Non-stop. No long pauses at all. Very few brief pauses at that. Never once took a drink of water. 
• I am fairly certain that he only knows one way to hold a mic: cord wrapped around his fist a time or two. 
• He's friends with William Shatner and Ru-Paul and had great stories to share.
• I now have a new favorite way to say spastic: spastique (as though it were a French word). Like me, Henry Rollins is apparently rather clumsy. 
• He does a good George W. impersonation. 

It was really quite fun. Josh, Emily and Chanda joined me. So yeah, the guy just stands up there and talks. But what he says is good, interesting and often quite funny.

W

No, not "W" as in former president. W as in a WIN for the Cubs. Today, I was moonlighting as a Cubs fan. It was a great game. I went with my friend Chanda. We drove in to Forest Park and took the "L" to Wrigleyville. It was Chanda's first Cubs game and my first trip on the "L." I LOVE public transportation! I didn't bring a camera and left my phone in the car, so I have no photos to show for it. 

I am thinking that now I need to make a similar trip to see a White Sox game. :)