Two and Gaga Exchange Words

Two: "Gaga, you're such a liar!"

Gaga: "What on earth are you talking about?"

Two: "Last Christmas you told me Santa wouldn't come if I was bad, and I was bad and he still came!"

Gaga: Silence.

Lileks on Jackson

"I wouldn’t have felt any of this if the event wasn’t being treated as a near-fatal blow to Western Culture in some quarters. He called himself the King of Pop - after which fame and sales ebbed. Of the many lessons in his life, that may be the oldest."


A little wisdom in the late afternoon. Entire piece here.

A Sweet Valentine

Yes, I know it's almost July, but read this - just go ahead. You'll be glad you did.

"It took us a long time to understand how blessed we were and from whom such blessings flow. The understanding made us even happier and more grateful, but it also forced humility on us. If we could claim no credit for what made our union good, we could lay no blame on others whose unions went bad. We have been poor and rich together, crazy and sane, mournful and joyous, and I can think of half a hundred times we might have gone down the wrong road or, even worse, failed to turn back and find the right one. If we fared well, it wasn't because we were wise - it certainly wasn't because I was wise. It was only, I think, that the power of what we felt for each other schooled us to trust in love. Love over money, love over politics, love over fashion and philosophies of life: our love - and, in our love, God's - over all."

The Perfect Father's Day Activity

If only they could do it without dad's assistance!

Shadow Boxing

Craftsmen

This piece in Popular Mechanics reminds me of not only my own dad but also of Husband and my grandfather. All three are craftsmen in life - the kind of men who do things well simply for the joy of doing it. They are men who give everything they have to everything they touch; they wouldn't know shoddy work if it walked up and whacked them on the knees. What they have isn't perfectionism - it's nothing as shallow as that. Instead, as the author points out below, it's a desire to make the world around you better by doing each job better than it needs to be done.

"To him, doing work precisely and with care is an end in itself. He often told me about the men he grew up with, fellow machinists and mechanics. To them, doing a job well–better than it needed to be done–was a core ethical principal. He took pride in his craftsmanship. 'The best thing you could say about a man,' my dad often recalls, 'is that he was a good mechanic.' And that was all you needed to say. But my dad also taught me that craftsmanship isn't just about how you build things. He brought that quality to everything: working in the business world, writing books, raising kids, grilling steaks. Craftsmanship is the respect we pay to ourselves, to the people around us, and to the material world we try to shape and improve."

Happy Father's Day to all three of the wonderful craftsmen in my life. May God grant all of you many years!

Work in Progress

Knight and his escape plans have led us to try some different options when it comes to crate containment.

This one worked for a day or two. You can see it's not working here, though - crate #2 is empty.

So far, this is the best solution. Poor Lambie - he ate her bed the first time I locked them in together, so she is sleeping on the plastic for now.

It's that or a steel box like they use for police dogs. And I don't have $1,100 handy, so this better work!

Children Flying Alone

Maybe should give Continental a pass?

Scary!