Notes on a Mild Afternoon

We are having the most marvelous weather -- nights are in the high fifties and low sixties, days are in the high sixties to high seventies. We only get this once or twice a year -- during the transitional periods -- and I relish it each time. Its perfect for walking, working in the yard (what little I do), and, of course, sleeping. Which is why I slept in this morning, and just now, took a nap. And then got up for a nourishing lunch of Cocoa Krispies. What could be better? Granted, my wife was a little surprised when I told her that my lunch is frequently cereal -- perfect guy food - easy to make, no problems with measuring or is this safe to put in the microwave? or any of that. And, of course, Cocoa Krispies is one of nature's perfect foods, as everyone knows.

Yesterday, we went to Lowe's and picked up a container of Spectracide weed killer, as the weeds and such had gotten to be too much even for us (and we're pretty tolerant of it). The container was a nifty little deal with a battery operated pump. What could be better? This morning, while it was still cool, I was out there, spraying away, muttering to myself each time I stepped where I had just sprayed - got to do it the OTHER way, dummah! - when, abruptly, the flow stopped. I looked at it, wiggled it a bit -- and the little bitty hose snapped right of at the cap. Oh, man. So I got to make a run back there this morning, and picked up a container of concentrated spray, plus a sprayer deal, one of those things where you pump it to get an overpressure and then spray. I'm sure it won't be as convenient as just point and squeeze, but I'm hoping it will work out well. I admit, I am a little nervous -- I rarely use garden chemicals -- no major reason, I just don't -- and reading the directions, noticing that right up front, it talks about how if you mix and use it wrong, you could have an 'explosive container failure' - hoo, boy -- it made me wonder, a bit. But I pumped up a little bit of my testosterone, and we'll give it a try tomorrow.

I'm a little disappointed by Obama's decision to not accept public campaign funding (and thus allow him to avoid being limited in how much he can take in). I can't say its the wrong direction to take, but I don't like it. I know that if McCain did that, I'd be quite irritated.

This afternoon, I need to make a menu/shopping list for next week -- my wife's taking the week off, which is mostly good news, but it will mean that the meals during the day are likely to be more normal, shall we say, than Cocoa Krispies - a small price to pay for her company - and then this evening, I'm going to the funeral home for the wake of the fellow I used to work with. We were not friends, but he was a decent sort. And, of course, the classic feeling of but he was ten years younger than me! Makes you think.... at least, for a little while.