Pictures of A & J

Angie & Johnny were the best man and maid of honor in their friends' wedding last Saturday night and I told Angie to take some pictures for me.  I 'm still a little bothered that I wasn't invited seeing as both my kids were in the wedding.

I'm so proud!

Pictures

This is a picture of the peony I got from Janet a few years ago - it's finally starting to get alot of flowers.

The ferns are taking over!  Does anybody need some?

My double knock-out rose bush that got me into a fight with the b---- at Koenig's.  Can you guess where Angie got my Mother's Day gift of hanging baskets from?

These are pictures of mom's front porch with the new bench/glider.  It looks real "homey" don't you think?

Rundown of the weekend....

Jim & I and Debbie & Mike went to Alegria, a Cirque du Soleil show at the Chaifetz Arena Saturday night.  This is the 4th Cirque du Soleil show that I've seen and I love them all.  Debbie is hooked after going to our first one Quidam which was under the big top on the parking lot of Riverport Ampitheatre some years ago.  Angie is hooked too, after we saw Cirque de la Mer at Seaworld in San Diego which is an act mostly on water.  We also saw Saltimbanco last year at the Family Arena.  Each one is different and I love all the costumes and am amazed at the acts.  I told Jim that some of the characters in Alegria were almost Pink Floydian - pretty creepy - but those kinds of characters are in every show.  There was a particular act involving two Asian girls - I don't know if they're sisters or twins, but they looked alike.  They were also in the Saltimbanco show last year.  They are extreme contortionists and the way they can bend their bodies is amazing.  I bet every guy in the audience was having fantasies as they watched the performance!

After the show was over and we were driving home talking about it, Jim & Mike didn't disclose any fantasies they might have had but they did proclaim how the girls would have terrible arthritis later in life.

Before we went to the show, Jim & I went over to Mom's to set up her mother's day present.  Barb & I pitched in on a bench/glider and flowers that I potted up.  I also got some cedar edging to block the mulch from getting on the concrete which I think really put a finishing touch on her porch.  Matt & Sharon had taken her out for dinner so we put everything up while she was gone so as to surprise her.  Jim & I went over Sunday and she was thankful.  When we left, I invited mom to our house and told her I'd be barbecuing.  Of course she said she was afraid of driving in the dark but I told her we'd eat early and it stays dark late now.  Anyway, I really didn't expect her to come but when I heard the doorbell ring at about 4:30, I knew it was her.  It made me happy that she came over.  She really is doing much better and is starting rehab 3 times a week now.  She's reorganizing the books in the library at the big house and playing bingo again.  I think she's really trying....

Trapped!

The raccoon, that is.  Jim & I went back to Rural King to buy another finch feeder like the one I had gotten there before so now I have spare parts on hand.  While we were there, Jim came upon a 2 for 1 deal on animal traps.  A large one and a small one.  We set it last night under the deck with a paper plate of semi-fried bacon & grease in it.  Shortly after dusk, we heard the raccoon on the top deck already going after my new finch feeder (which, by the way, I secured to the hanger with some straps) and Jim scared him off.  I went to bed & was reading when Jim yelled up that he caught the raccoon in the trap.  He asked if I wanted to come down to see it and I told him no because I'd feel sorry for it.  Not that I like the raccoon, especially since it's been messing with my stuff, but I thought I'd feel bad that it would have to stay in the cage all night until Jim took it to be released on his way to work this morning. 
He released it at the Family Arena area and he said when he opened the door it shot out of there really fast.  When he bought the trap I told him it would probably be a continuous job because more than likely there are several raccoons back in the woods.  He said he knew this and it was okay.  I think his dormant, Daniel Boone is surfacing...

Those Pesky Raccoons

I had bought a new finch feeder at the Rural King in Wentzville and loaded it with thistle seed.  I enjoy watching the gold finches come to the feeder and was hoping to finally see a purple finch.  It is my understanding that the other birds & wildlife don't care for thistle seed so I didn't think I'd have a problem with the raccoons.  Well, no such luck.  Yesterday morning I noticed from my master bathroom window that the finch feeder was totally gone.  I started cussing the raccoons.  When I went downstairs & outside to get the feeder, I was hoping it wasn't ruined because it's a long drop from the top deck where it was hanging.  So I go down the steps & see the mesh cylinder tube and the bottom part laying on the ground.  I looked around for the top part of the feeder and couldn't see it immediately.  It was kind of rainy & I didn't want to get my shoes wet by traipsing around looking for it so I figured I'd find it after work. 

I got home from work and went out to put my feeder back together and cannot find the top part.  I looked everywhere!  It's bright yellow so it shouldn't be that hard to spot!  It's gone.  I can't believe that the raccoon took it...it's not like it can be used for nesting or anything.  And no seed stays on the top of the feeder.  Why would they want it? 

I told Jim maybe someone else in the neighborhood had problems with raccoons getting their finch feeder and they needed the top part so they took mine and made it look like it was the work of raccoons!

Buzzing across the USA

Last month the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets Buzz tour stopped at JCI. The Buzz Tour rolls in a converted school bus powered by waste vegetable oil and solar panels. The bus went to cities across the U.S. to raise awareness for the insecticide treated bed nets used to prevent malaria in Africa. In 2008, JCI created JCI Nothing But Nets in partnership with the UN Foundation. Through JCI Nothing But Nets, members take action against malaria through education and fundraising in their communities. A bed net only costs $10 and can be the difference between life and death for many children.

Although we found the mosquito’s get-up quite funny, he was a good sport and posed for many pictures.