Entry for March 31, 2007 - The Wukky Song...

For Wukky and all of those on his 360 blog trip -

(Sung to the tune of Yellow Submarine)



We sailed the open sea
To the land of our Wukky
To see wonders and the sights
Of the land of vegemite

Saw a wombat, a kangaroo
Wild dingos, a cane toad too
Our biggest fear, our biggest fright
Yellow jar of vegemite

We've all come to the land of vegemite
Land of vegemite, land of vegemite
We've all come to the land of vegemite
Land of vegemite, land of vegemite

Gathered round our billabong
Have a tinny-we sing this song
And the jar passed this way

We've all come to the land of vegemite
Land of vegemite, land of vegemite
We've all come to the land of vegemite
Land of vegemite, land of vegemite

Pinched our nose and took a taste
Spread on toast, a thin brown paste
Forced it down in one big bite
That Aussie love - vegemite

We all tried the jar of vegemite
Dark brown vegemite, salty vegemite
We don't like that stuff called vegemite
Icky vegemite, yucky vegemite

We've all come to the land of vegemite
Don't like vegemite, please no vegemite
Taste buds lost, killed off by vegemite
No more vegemite, keep your vegemite.

Entry for March 24, 2007- PEEP SHOW!

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(hover your cursor over the pics for the captions)

....What were you thinking?...

Okay the title was a blatant ruse to have you rush over to my rather sedate 360 blog page. In your search to find scandalous pics, you instead have been treated to of all things...peeps. Those oh so sugary marshmallow confections that crowd the market shelves at Easter time.

Marshmallow candy dates back from Egyptian times, where it was a honey based candy flavored and thickened with the sap of the root of the marsh-mallow plant. Until the mid-1800's marshmallow candy was made using the sap of the marsh-mallow plant. Today gelatin replaces the sap in modern recipes.

Marshmallows contain corn syrup or sugar, gelatin, gum arabic and flavoring. Hmmm, just think sugar. Peeps are sugar rolled in more sugar, a definite sugar rush if there ever was one. Surfing across the web I was surprised at how many peep afficinados there were. Peeps fall into the same category as twinkies, ya either love them or you hate them.

Perhaps one of the biggest debates on peeps are how to eat them. Some like the soft squishiness of the marshmallow, others prefer to let the marshmallow candy set out to "cure". The chewiness of the peeps is a matter of preference, some preferring their peeps almost crunchy.

Peeps aren't just for Easter any more, there are Christmas and Halloween peeps. There are chocolate peeps and sugar-free peeps according to the Just Born manufacturers of peeps. Thousands of Easter baskets this year will be containing the sugary delights in the shapes of chicks and bunnies, and in a variety of colors.

...and you just thought you were going to see porn.....

Entry for March 22, 2007 - Nine Million Years, and counting...

Time gets away from us, I was going to blog on this the other day but didn't get to it. Several blogs have been written about Spring officially arriving this week. Though you couldn't tell it here. For being the first day of spring, it was 40 degrees and overcast with a fierce wind.

Some things are a given. The change of seasons, life, death, rebirth, jellybeans at Easter, and the sandhill cranes migration thru Nebraska. Somewhere in my web surfing, I read that the migration of these magnificent birds had been going on for nine million years. I at first thought that had to be a typo, nine million years, it boggles the mind. I can't even think past tomorrow most days.

Nine million years. They come every year, for roughtly 6 weeks from the end of February till the first of April, in the largest concentration to feed in the fields and on the wetlands and marshes along the Platte river in Nebraska. Bird lovers across the globe come in their own migration to photograph and experience the moment. Many are hoping to catch a glimpse of a whooping crane migrating with the sandhills cranes. It can be an awe-inspiring sight to see the birds by the thousands with their large 5-6 foot wingspan. (Included up in my blast above, is a link to the National Geographic live cam, make sure and check their page for the best viewing times.)

Spring brings so many changes. After a long cold winter, it's a relief to see the earth coming back alive. The birds arrive, flowers bloom, trees and grasses start to green up and their is a sense of rebirth and renewal of life. It was on the official day of spring that I also read about in 360 the passing of Silverfox.
Silverfox (Al) was one of the very first people I met on 360. His blogs on life, and faith, and common sense hit home with those of us who were lucky enough to be on his friend's page. Al grew up in Nebraska and I was always going to ask him if he watched the migration of the sandhill cranes.

Time and people slip from us. Time flies, time drags, time is elusive. We can't reach out and grab it, and if we try to, we might look down and see those time-worn hands we don't recognize as our own that Hillbilly blogged about earlier this week on his 360 page. Now before you start to write and leave me comments about being down and depressed I want to impress upon you that is not the case.

It's spring,.... it's renewal,... it's about life and growing, and nine million years.

Things change, life changes, but I find it oddly comforting that the cranes will still be flying and spring will always come. We can try to mark a date on our calendar every year,..... we can't really pin it down to the exact time and date though,..... but it still comes.... and they still come.




*side note: The National Audobon Society has issued a warning for people living in Oklahoma for the migratation and influx of killer zombie turkeys.

Entry for March 13, 2007 - For Mahvin....

Where, Oh where, are you tonight?
Why did you leave me here all alone?
I searched the blogs over,
And thought I found Mahvin,
You're like a big zit,
and Phtt! You were gone....

Entry for March 10, 2007 - Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh...

(With apologies to Alan Sherman)....


Hello Muddah, hello Fadduh,
Here I am upon the water
On a cruise ship to down under
If I make it there alive, t'will be a wonder.

The cruise ship it keeps rolling
With the waves to and fro'ing
A huge buffet was for dinner
Hurled all night, today I am looking thinner.

All the passengers at the poolside
On my lounge chair, queasy inside
In the bright sun oh will I learn
Don't fall asleep or you will get a bad sunburn.

In my grass skirt learning the hula
It chaffes and itch, don't let them fool ya
Rash breaking out- I'm not so hardy
The music's playing, they're having a big party.

Take me home, oh muddah fadduh,Take me home, I hate the wadduh
Don't leave me by the railing,Where I might fall over while sailing.
Take me home, I promise I will not make noise,Or mess the house with all my toys,
Oh please don't make me stay, I've been here one whole day....

Dearest fadduh, darling muddah
How's my precious little bruddah?
Let me come home if ya miss me
I will even let Aunt Bertha hug and kiss me.

Wait a minute, we've stopped sailing,
Guys in kilts, bagpipes wailing,
Wukky's swimsuit, it's not better,
Muddah Fadduh please respond to my letter.

Entry for March 01, 2007 - Snow Day

Today's blog was originally going to be a continuation of my last blog. I was going to write about flowers, perennials specifically, and what was on my wish list this year. I am somehow wondering if I have jinxed myself, in that we are having a snowstorm today in Nebraska. I am almost afraid that another blog on anything spring-like might bring a typhoon or earthquake or some other natural disaster from Mother Nature. I will save that blog for another day, when the sun is shining, flowers are popping up, and I see more green. Today everything is white. Today is a snow day.

Earlier I read a blog by Cyn on being still a kid at heart. I remember as a kid, the mention of a snowday brought whoops and cheers of delight. A day off from school and we would find ourselves wrapped up in layers and off to sled in all kinds of weather. We wouldn't show our faces back inside until our clothes were thoroughly soaked thru and are faces so red and numb we could no longer feel them. We would then come indoors and drink hot cocoa and watch reruns of Gilligan's island, the Brady Bunch, and other sitcoms from the 70's.

Today as I watch the drifting snow and hear the howling wind, the last thing that appeals to me is the cold and snow and soggy britches. I turned on the tv this morning and listened for what seemed hours on the cancellations and snow amounts and roads that were closed. I couldn't find Gilligan's Island or Marsha Brady. I turned the channel and found Rosie O'Donald spouting off her views on The View. It was a far cry from Gilligan and the Skipper and I turned the tv off.

I read some blogs this morning, posted some comments. My friend Spotty has won the UK blogging gold star and I have been secretly cheering him along the way this past week. I visited the page to vote for him and I was so tempted to leave a comment. I wanted to tell the UK blogging world that Spotty should win because he has the nicest legs. Well except for his floppy ankles he acquired while wearing high heels in his earlier days, but I wasn't sure if I would be costing him votes for that comment so I refrained. He won anyways despite being my friend, which I am relieved.

I read over in Bonnie's blog of a recipe she posted for chocolate pie. What a perfect day it would be to make pie. Just as quickly I talked myself out of it and as my stomach rumbled reminding me I hadn't had breakfast and it was getting past lunchtime, pie would hit the spot nicely. I shrugged, telling myself mentally that pie is a lot of work, even though I am home today because of the blowing snow. Vaguely I recall having bought some pudding cups, maybe if I stick a graham cracker in one it can pass for pie.

I got to thinking about in years past how our pioneer ancestors braved the elements with so few conveniences. How a snowstorm to them, meant more than just a day of boredom with nothing on tv. I remember reading as a child how they prepared for the winters, stocking their larders, cutting wood, and stringing a rope to the barn to find their way to the animals in the blinding snow. They endured so much.

I peered out my window just watching the snow blowing off the ice encrusted trees. I couldn't tell if I saw any tire tracks in the snow anywhere or past my mailbox. Hmmmm, I could go out and check the mail, surely I have mail. I envisioned me tieing a rope to myself as I trudged out the door to tie it off to my mailbox in the blinding snow. I then thought of them finding me, weeks later, thawing out in a snowdrift with a Capital One low interest credit card advertisement in one hand and a Publisher's Clearing House entry form claiming I could have been a winner in the other. I sighed.... Ed McMahon could wait till tomorrow, there was no hurry..

I thought of Sue's blast she had written today. Her Fibro is acting up and I know it's causing her some pain and discomfort. I know the cold and change of weather affects so many who have arthritis and other ailments. Just hearing the wind blow makes me pull my sweater tighter around me. I wondered what all of my neighbors were doing, and then it flashed on my computer screen I had an e-mail from my niece. She was bored and called me stinky. I wrote back on the insulance of children and how they should respect their elders. There followed a volley of e-mails till all grew quiet on her end. I knew then that her older brother must have kicked her off the computer so he could play computer games.

The wind still blows, the snow still falls, and I sit and watch it. It's starting to brighten up outside, whether from the sun trying to shine or just the blinding white of the snow... I don't know.

I start to think about Cyn's blog again and I start to get that feeling that somewhere along the way I might have grown up.

Someone should have told me.



For now though, I am going to make my way to the kitchen.

Somewhere there is a pudding cup with my name on it.