Let's Catch Up, Shall We?

Hey There, Hi, and Hello.

Well you may have noticed the new Spiffy! Blue! Banner! at the top of the blog.  I'm just thrilled to pieces that I have been invited to join a network of blogs called BlogHer.  Nothing much will change around here, except you may see an ad or two for a family friendly product over on the sidebar in a month or two, and you will eventually see some links to other blogs in the network.

I assure you everything is on the up and up, and clicking on links from BlogHer will not give you a virus and certainly, Mercy Sakes, nothing bacterial.

I think it's going to be exciting.

Just two other quick little things:

1.  Here's a picture of the "BOW!".  It's really a Vitamix (The Culinary Institute of America Model).  So many of you asked why I didn't post a picture in the first place.  Well, we're all friends here aren't we?  I didn't want to sound, you know, boastful or anything.  Now some of you may laugh and say "Well, Lu, I can see if maybe if it was a Bentley, or a fur coat, or like a diamond or something..."
But I was always taught not to flaunt your new things.  "Never flaunt your blender". I was told.  It's not nice.
But I want everyone to know that I WILL get my money's worth out of it.  As a matter of fact when The Chief gets back into town, he'll be excited and pleased to learn that I've switched him to an "all pureed" diet.

The Chief loves it when I do stuff like that.


2)  This is a Stargazer Lily.

I just took this photo a few minutes ago.  It is beautiful, isn't it.

Well here's something you may not know.  (And keep in mind I was a Biology teacher so I think this stuff is important).

You see those long filaments with the dark knobs on the ends?  Those are the stamen, and on the anther (the knobby part) you'll find the pollen.  We all know pollen, right?

Well, this afternoon I was removing some of the blooms that were, let's say, spent.  I re-cut the stems and placed the remaining blooms in fresh water.

Then I went to Wal-Mart.  As I walked in the door of the store I noticed that lots of spots on my hand were kind of fluorescent yellow.  You know, kind of like I had rubbed a School Bus on my hands, or taken a bath with an old school highlighter...  (And by the way, can you believe the vast array of colors that highlighters come in now?  Seriously, I think my GPA in college would have been no less that a 4.0 if I had that many colors at my disposal.)  But anyway, my hands were all kinds of bright yellow and I couldn't rub it off.  I kind of chuckled and went on about my business and thought that all the stares I got as I walked through the store were just because I was rockin' a nice new pinky-red shirt.

Until I got back in my car and started to back out of my parking place and looked in the rearview mirror.

I had apparently rubbed the School Bus all over my face.

All over.

There was even a clump of still intact pollen on my left cheek.  A pretty large clump.

Anyway, kudos to the cashier for keeping a straight face when she rang up my purchases.

And lesson learned: Check a mirror before venturing out into The Public.

Lu

Humiliation.  It keeps me humble.