taken three years ago

I took this the night before they set anything up for the carnival, but they still had the roads blocked off:

It was so nice and peaceful and gorgeous. I wanted to grab a folding chair and sit on the sidewalk in front of my door and sleep out there. Not sure the cops would have appreciated that, though. *g*

My exciting news– Well, two things that I find exciting, but one of them is actually exciting and one of them is exciting for boring fuddy duddy type people. I got a Dyson vacuum, and it is awesome! It is, alas, not one of the Dyson Ball vacs that turn on a dime. Those are WAY too expensive. I popped over to Overstock.com and got a lovely refurbished dc14 for 214 bucks! It was ridiculously cheap, and I really needed a vacuum (I’d been trying to clean my apartment with Dad’s mini ShopVac, which really doesn’t work), so I figured I’d spend an extra hundred bucks and get something that shouldn’t break within the year. woo! I can vacuum my many, many stairs!

And now the REAL exciting news. Okay, two parts. Halloween weekend I’m going to Vegas to celebrate my friend Anj’s birthday. It is going to be crazy fun! We’ve been looking forward to it since last spring – her brother and mom and a bunch of her other friends are going to be there, too, and it’s basically going to be just an amazingly awesome weekend.

A couple of weeks ago, I found out that the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame is having two concerts to celebrate the Hall’s 25th anniversary, on October 29th and 30th in New York City. The concert on the 30th will be Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Metallica, and U2. METALLICA AND U2! My two all-time favorite bands, which I could have never dreamed would be playing at the same concert! Plus, Eric Clapton is amazing in concert (as you’d expect). And I’ve always had it in my mind that I want to see Aretha Franklin sing “Respect” as one of those nebulous Life Goals that people make silly lists for. Anyway. Long story not so short, but shorter than it could be: I checked plane tickets, and it’s not really that much more money to add NYC as a leg on my trip to Vegas, and I somehow got lucky enough to score a ticket to the concert during the Amex pre-sale (Prepaid cards FOR THE WIN), and I AM GOING TO SEE METALLICA AND U2! PLAYING ON THE SAME NIGHT! AND POSSIBLY ONE OR MORE MEMBERS PLAYING SOMETHING TOGETHER! AND I THINK I WILL DIE OF AURAL ORGASM! I AM SO EXCITED I CANNOT POSSIBLY STOP USING ALLCAPS TO EXPRESS THE RIDICULOUSNESS OF THE SITUATION.

I mean, seriously. Metallica and U2? WTF?

AAAAAHHHHHH! So. Awesome.

So, that’s my news.

One of my favorite subjects – the irises in my mother’s front yard. She got her bulbs from my godmother, and I hope to some day have a permanent place so I can take some of the bulbs from this brood for my very own.

The tendrils in the middle of the image make me think of a lizard’s tongue. Or an alien unfurling its tentacles very slowly, almost hypnotizing you before its sudden attack.

Hi.

My sister and I got my mom flowers for Easter.

I’m a sucker for irises. They’re so gorgeous, no matter what color they are.

This is some Faygo Red Pop. If you click over, there are a few more similar photos, plus a couple of some nice bright green Midori

I ate this last Thursday night. It was pretty good for a half-assed meal.

I recently told someone that the corn field out back isn’t as pretty as it was last year when it was a hay field. That may have been a bit of a lie. You can’t really see the corn much in this photo, though.

I’m a sucker for the 4th of July/Independence Day. I can hear “The Stars and Stripes Forever” twenty times in a row and still get excited as soon as the music starts up again. I love my country, even when I hate a lot of its policies. I love drinking beer, barbecuing, and baking in the heat and humidity with friends and family. I love the parades. I am unashamed that my eyes tear up every time I hear our national anthem. And I love the pretty lights we blow up in the sky (and in our driveways and backyards afterward) every year.

Cold beer, good food, spending time with your loved ones, and blowing shit up. That’s what America is all about, right?

This time, I’m hoping it goes a bit better. There’re always lots of photo ops when I’m staying there (these photos were taken during House Sit ’07). I might have to head to Lake Michigan again.