They Had a Plan...

While the rest of Y'alls are freezing your collective pitutes...
The C & C partners are hard at work preparing for the AZ "Dog Days of Summer".
With some design inspiration from our friends at Rondo Pools we've swung into motion on the centerpiece of the backyard, "Ye Olde Cement Ponde".

With any luck, we should be splashing about by mid April.







(As usual,... you can clicky on the picys to get a closer look.)

Chris Matthews Sees White People

What exactly do you have to say to get fired at MSNBC?



"...maybe I shouldn't talk about it..."
Bingo!

Then again, if a tree falls in the woods and no one is watching, does it still make an ass of itself?

Thanks YouTube

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mother's birthday. Here is a salute to her.

She gave me life

A voracious reader, she fostered my enjoyment of reading as well by taking us kids with her to the library frequently, making it an event to look forward to.

A multitalented artist and craftist, she has dabbled in just about every art imaginable, both fine and applied. I learned to play piano by watching her.

She has both a culinary arts degree and an English degree, both of which she finished later in life after making the sacrifice to stay at home to raise her children. Something that, even without realizing it at the time, I am extremely grateful for.

Compassionate, kindhearted and gentle, but with a resolve of steel and an unshakeable adherence to a strong moral and ethical code. And you don't get over on her, ask anyone who has tried.

Today she is enjoying the bucolic life in rural Pennsylvania, where her chief role is grandmother to three girls and mother to one cat

The Good Guys Win

Court dismisses city's discriminatory lending lawsuit against Wells Fargo*
The Baltimore Sun

This was a nonsense lawsuit from the beginning. Never should have gotten this far, but I'm very happy to see it tossed. The implications would have been staggering and very unfortunate. It didn't work in Cleveland or Birmingham. Memphis should be the next case to be dismissed.

Here's a bit of news: Banks don't make money from foreclosures!! They lose money when people can't repay loans. Let's grow up here. Stop blaming everyone else for bad decisions that we made ourselves.

If Baltimore is a rotten, smoking hellhole, (and it is, I've driven through it. Just ask Ed) perhaps the first finger of blame should be pointed at the people who have been in charge. And the people who continue voting those people in.

And now, for a completely unrelated story:

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon will resign next month, part of a plea deal reached today that brings a years-long corruption investigation to a close with a guilty plea in a perjury case in addition to last month's jury conviction on an embezzlement count.

Mmmmm, it's karmalicious

*Full disclosure, I am a proud 20-year veteran of Wells Fargo

Happy Gnu's Ear

Generally, I'm not unhappy to see 2009 in the rear view mirror. It was a year of ups and downs.

The majority of it was occupied by real estate dealings - selling one house and buying another.

It was a year of new starts - the birth of my third niece and the hatching of this blog.

It was a year of promise and promises - not enough of them realized or kept.

2009 began with a sense of cautious optimism and ended with a sense of optimistic caution. Make of that what you will, it sounds cool.

Our hope for 2010 is that of a year filled with delight, pleasant surprises, surmountable challenges, and always love.

Enjoy your 2010, it's the only one you get.