Happy Birthday, Julian!

Julian turned 14 years old today, and I gave him extra apples and extra kisses. Then I ate a chocolate-covered Dove ice cream bar from the barn owners in his honor. (It wasn't big enough to share--really.)

We have been together now for six years, and I love him more with each passing day. Thank you, Julian, for always curing my headaches, and reminding me what is truly beautiful in life.

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Reading Kaye Gibbons

If you're not going to write, I tell myself, you'd damn well better be reading. After exhausting a run with Netflix, I decided to hit the books again. By accident, I came across an article about an author who had written numerous award-winning novels despite her life-long battle with Bipolar Disorder. I am always drawn to writers who manage to succeed despite themselves, and this seems to be the case with Ms. Gibbons.

The article, found here, states that she is not currently doing well, and my heart goes out to her. The two books of hers I have just read, both written in the voice of the young and embattled Ellen Foster, are so vital and genuine that they are now studied alongside such classics as Huckleberry Finn, Catcher in the Rye, and To Kill A Mockingbird, according to SparkNotes. Biographical notes can also be found at SparkNotes.

I wish Ms. Gibbons and her family the best and thank her very much for sharing the gift of her writing.

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I don't want to hear any Monday morning bitching

You could have this guy's job.



U.S. Marine Cpl. Brian Knight, of Cincinnati, Ohio, with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, 1st Battalion 5th Marines, pauses briefly in the heat to rest with his heavy pack filled with mortar equipment, ammunition, food, and water in the Nawa district in Afghanistan's Helmand province Saturday, July 4, 2009. Taliban militants attacked a U.S. coalition base in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday with an explosives-laden truck that blew up outside the gates, sparking a two-hour gunbattle and killing two American troops, officials said. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

Courtesy of Yahoo! News Photos

And doesn't your day look a whole lot easier, now? Read more!

Foo Fighters play Obama's 4th of July BBQ

Courtesy of The Huffington Post (Don't sue me, Ariana!)

President Obama held a July 4 barbeque on the White House lawn in honor of U.S. troops, hosted by NBC late night host Jimmy Fallon and headlined by the Foo Fighters.

A YouTube user posted three videos from the evening's musical festivities -- the camera is a bit shaky but the audio quality is great. In the second video, the Foo Fighters play a new song, "Wheels." [Nancy: The third is the best. Fireworks!]

Some more details from the scene via The Hill:

Dave Grohl, lead singer and guitarist for the Foo Fighters, grew up in Alexandria and said he used to "sweat his butt off" watching the fireworks on the mall. He said he never thought he'd be performing on a stage just yards from the Oval Office in front of about 1,500 people. [...]

President Obama, in remarks at the beginning of the evening, said the spirit behind the event was to throw a backyard party just like the ones being held across the county. ... "In small towns and big cities, folks are firing up grills, laughing with family and friends, and laying out a blanket in preparation for the big show," Obama said. "They're reliving the simple, unmistakable joys of being an American."








Dave, Taylor, Nate and Chris--I'm so proud of you boys! Read more!

Because I can

These pictures of Chris, Toni and Baby Chris are courtesy of Gabriela Elizabeth Palavecino Villalba on Facebook. I was going to post all 200, but I didn't. Too bad for you.

I could eat this man alive. Or in the case of this picture, both of them.

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We could all use a little...

CuteOverload right about now.

"Kitten in a Wine Glass" seems a good place to start...

Just click on the link and watch your troubles disappear...

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They always go in three's...

Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and now Michael Jackson? The King of Pop, dead of a heart attack at 50? Now THIS will get Ahmedinejad's attention. Everyone knows Off The Wall was his favorite album.

How long until Ahmedinejad declares himself the new King of Pop?!

Although secretly he really dug Invincible. And who can forget his cameo in that dance-off video for "Beat It?" Remember the guy in the white jacket..?

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Columbus Carriage Classic

Dr Chet and one of his trusty driving Fjords, CCC 2008

It's that time again--time to bring out the old-time carriages and the gorgeous horses and ponies (sorry--"very small equines" as they are referred to in the driving field) that pull them. Drivers, men and women alike, get to dress in their finest wool costumes in the heat of summer. What fun!

For pictures of last year's competition, visit my photos at Flickr.

Forgive me if I trade in my wool skirt for cotton shorts. Read more!

Where you can find me

More complaints of late that I have gone underground. I want to assure anyone following this that I am most certainly still above ground. For the last several days, at least, I can be found in one of four specific places:

1. Picking and eating copious amounts of strawberries from my backyard. If there is an overdose mark for eating fresh strawberries, I passed it days ago. Strawberries for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and still enough to give away. Apparently there is at least one plant I cannot kill.

2. Cleaning up my house after my neurotic new Chihuahua. As much as I would like to disprove the rumor that "Chihuahua's don't potty train" so far I have little to refute it. He's lucky he's so fucking cute--and easy to bathe.

3. At the barn. I am finally getting solid leads on new homes for Jack, whom I would love to keep but must re-home as a last-ditch bid to keep my true love, Julian. I have come so close to re-homing Julian that I am spending as much time as I can with him, savoring our time together in case I can't find a way to make it work. My paycheck isn't what it used to be--though I am grateful I still get one--and I can only stretch the numbers so far. When it's come to home or horse, you know you've reached the truly thin ice. And yes, I'm refinancing, but it's not the miracle cure they might have you believe.

4. Going green. I am spending a great deal of time reading Nico Pitney on The Huffington Post in order to more closely follow minute-by-minute updates on the Twitter Revolution in Iran. They didn't just have a rigged election, they had no election. President Ahmadinejad declared victory within hours of the polls closing, which is pretty remarkable given that the millions of votes cast were all handwritten. Apparently Ahmadinejad has some very fast ballot readers at his disposal.

Now the conflict has gone far beyond election fraud to blatant disregard for human rights, as peaceful protesters are arrested, detained, beaten or killed. Censorship from the government has left only one avenue open for news from the ground, and that is Twitter, believe it or not. You won't find adequate coverage on CNN, which is where you always expected it, but rather in blogs such as Nico Pitney's, or by The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan, who have spent days without sleep compiling personal posts received from hundreds of Iranian citizens. I strongly urge you to check either of these sites for a most comprehensive view of the history unfolding before us.

Going green has taken on a completely new meaning.

Why aren't you reading The Huffington Post? already Read more!

Date for Dickens?

Dicken's ultimate date?

A dog wears an attire by a designer during the Pets Fashion Week Russia in Moscow, May 31, 2009.
REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin

'Cuz I know this one doesn't do anything for me...

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