Sunday, July 08, 2007

Guns, bugs, alcohol and smokes...


That's how MizBubs summed up our weekend as we sat in the screen house surveying our back yard Saturday night.

Our youngest daughter, the Peculiar Girl Wonder, and a friend had caught a cicada, and it turned out it was just about to bust out of its shell. PGW snapped a couple of pictures as it emerged.


Our eldest and her boyfriend had a couple of old bb guns and were shooting some targets I brought home from work; the targets look to be late 80's vintage, and the integrated bad guys on them bear a resemblance to Chuck Norris and Gary Coleman.

So there we all were: me and Mizbubs sitting enjoying a drink and a smoke (I got a tasty cigar knowing I'd have time to sit and do nothing for an hour or so) while our one daughter played with a bug she found and the other shot stuff. I'm living the American dream. Seriously, I can't tell you how glad I am that I have a 15 year old who can still be entertained by catching a bug in a jar and watching it for an hour or two. MizBubs turned to me and said "look at this--we got guns, bugs, alcohol and smokes" and I knew on the spot I had a title for a blog post.

The inside of my house is a mess. It needs a deep cleaning, and I have a couple loads of laundry that need to be done, and it's generally in a state of disarray. And I don't really care right now. We've had the best time the past few days just hanging out together. The only real work we've done has been outside. I think we both decided, unconsciously, to spend what little time we have not working doing things that will bring us joy: working up a sweat in the garden, cooking together, and just sitting without doing a single damn productive thing. It's been restorative.

Just goofy bullshit like throwing a tennis ball, over and over, and over, for our mutt Duffy, until he falls down exhausted in the grass.
MizBubs invented a new drink for us on Friday. It doesn't really have a name yet so we're open to suggestions for a name. It's one shot of vodka, one shot of Bauchant raspberry liqueur, and it's topped up with tonic water, with a couple of berries muddled in. Damn it was good.

MizBubs planted a row of sunflowers along the back of the house, and they're coming up nicely. They're developing some nice buds, so hopefully they'll bloom within a few weeks. She found a couple of funny folk art chickens at someplace like Hobby Lobby and put them in there; I love it because it reminds me of Key West.

Ah well. I have a couple of things to put up in the next few days, but right now I got to get some sleep. Y'all take care.

11 comments:

Splotchy said...

My God, how in the hell did you let one of those cicadas emerge all moist and juicy without dousing it in Worcestershire sauce and popping it into a frying pan?

My naming suggestion for Mizbubs' new drink -- the fizzy wound.

Mob said...

The drinks sound awesome.

The sunflowers and chickens are way cool, the wife has a hankering to plant some at the new house, though I doubt we'll see a return on that investment this year.

I loved Key West, it was a one of the ports we hit on a cruise last year, I'd love to go back. The random chickens wandering in the bushes really amused me.

Joe said...

mob, I thought the roosters were the best thing about Key West. Sitting in a cafe, or walking through the old cemetery, and having roosters crowing at random was pretty fun.

Splotchy, believe me that was the first thought that popped into my head, but Hannah was very protective of him.

Some Guy said...

Lazy weekends are the best!

I'm surprised. I thought the cicadas were over by now.

Barbara Bruederlin said...

What more do you need for a perfect weekend? I feel like I was there with you folks, watching the miracle of birth, sipping on one of those amazing-looking drinks ("the gift of life"?) and marvelling at how big Duffy can open his mouth. Wow!

Dino said...

sounds like a great weekend. Its too hot here to want to be outside so I spent the weekend inside reading and doing homework

Katie Schwartz said...

could you two love each other any more than you do? I don't think so. YOU ARE SO DAMN CUTE, I CAN'T STAND IT! it is the sweetest thing.

ps: can juice and I move into your backyard? oh, how he would pine for those plush greens.

Dale said...

Restorative (and everything mentioned in your post title)is what it's all about. Poifect.

Coaster Punchman said...

I approve of that drink!

Joe said...

CP, I'll have to make up one of those seals for that: "THIS DRINK BEARS THE COASTER PUNCHMAN SEAL OF APPROVAL"

Dale, thank you, thank you! Back atcha. It's good to see you back.

JG, we've always got room for you! Come enjoy the wonders of the American midwest.

Katy, it was hot here too...but I go stir crazy inside in the AC, so it's nice to be outside. You just don't move around much, and have a cool beverage at all times.

Barbara, that Duffy is a wonder.

Chris, that was a regular "dog day" cicada, not one of the 17 year kind. The dog day cicadas are just getting started.

justacoolcat said...

Call me strange, but your folk art chickens greatly amuse me.