Full Moon

In case you're still awake, don't forget to step outside to take in the full moon. I saw it setting this morning, so I know it's out there. The moon is definitely something we'all take for granted.

Great Pumpkins

I was snapping a few pumpkin pictures out in front of a local grocer when an older fellow waiting to board the happy bus asked me why I was taking pumpkin pictures? I replied that I wanted to take pictures of something orange. That seemed simpler than explaining to him I would probably include these pumpkin pictures on my next blogspot post celebrating the onset of October.

These great pumpkins were just waiting to be photoed for free or purchased for $4 each. These colorful gourd-like squash are so versatile. Besides their carvability as Jacko Lanterns, they can be pureed into pie to host a dollop (or two) of whipped cream. The seeds are a popular autumn snack and pumpkin seed oil can be used in cooking.

Their size, color, and design make them a popular folklore vegetable. Cinderella made clever use of a pumpkin as a limousine. Linus believed the Great Pumpkin was capable of great things. Harry Potter and gang enjoyed drinking pumpkin juice at Hogwarts. Pumpkin Chucking has also become a fun (and funny) sport, making use of catapults and air cannons.

I personally like pumpkins to carve into yard greeters for Trick or Treaters. Perhaps once it gets a bit closer to Halloween, we might have to go back to that grocer and actually buy a great pumpkin instead of just standing there snapping pumpkin pictures.

Grasshopper

Two versions of the same story:

OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself.

MODERN VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.' Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake. Nancy Pelosi and John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share. Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government. The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2010.

Milestone

The Miles Brothers Corp likes to take special note of big, round-number birthdays. Well, how is 22,000 days old, for a nice, big, round number? Congratulations, Jimmy, on reaching another Major Milestone on Friday, September 25th.

Perhaps, we might best on-goingly celebrate this occasion by writing a series of Haikus!

In the comments section below, please leave a quick, spontaneous haiku, if the spirit moves you. 5-7-5 would be nice, but we always promote creativity.

Give it a shot, what'cha got, maybe a lot!

Jimmy: Tatanka To You!
Happy 22,000 days old!
You don't look a day over 21,000 :o)

Bean Box

Stare at this box for a moment. What do you see?

Swiss Chicken Casserole

Here is the recipe for my favorite casserole that Kit makes. She may have gotten the recipe from her Mom who may have gotten it from a friend.

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Swiss Chicken Casserole*

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1. Mix all ingredients in a casserole.

2. Top with slivered almonds.

3. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes at 350.

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The ingredients:

4 cups diced cooked chicken

half pound shredded swiss cheese

2 cups diced celery

half cup diced yellow onion

2 cups seasoned croutons (don't forget these!)

1 cup mayonnaise

half cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

quarter teaspoon pepper

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*Trust me. Try it!

Chaosism

Chaos is a name

for any order

that produces confusion

in our minds.

./././

--George Santayana

Ten Red Tomatoes

Ten Red Tomatoes sitting in a row

Ten Red Tomatoes all ready to go

Ten Red Tomatoes looking for some fun

Ten Red Tomatoes just basking in the sun.

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Ten Red Tomatoes lounging on the deck

Ten Red Tomatoes wondering what the heck

Ten Red Tomatoes asking "True or Falsa...

One of these days will we be salsa?"

Fireside Chat

Since we cannot have bonfires in our back yard, we created our own chimenea under our deck. Sitting in a few low lawn chairs, the flicker of the flames creates a bonfire atmosphere without danger of the sheriff stopping by.

With a few bricks, I created our chimenea fireplace right on the ground. The inside is lined with aluminum foil to reflect the flames. On the inside, we have multiple small candles, each in their own glass holders for safety and extra protection from the wind. It requires no cleaning, and there's no need to chop any firewood. Once winter arrives, we might just bring our chimenea inside, and hope that Santa doesn't mistake it for a chimney.

Dream Team

Monday Night Football on October 5, 2009 should be an interesting game when Brett Favre's Minnesota Vikings host the Green Bay Packers! They play again in Green Bay on Sunday, November 1, at high noon!

Happy Birthday

Another great idea to create a new tax on the middle class in order to generate much needed revenue for the US Federal Government is the Birthday Tax (or some might call it, The Aging Tax). Within a month after your birthday, everyone would send Obama $10 times how old you are. For example, if you turned 48 on August 4th, you would be required to send in $480 by September 4th. This new Birthday Tax would provide Obama with some substantial year-round support for the next stimulus packages to grow Big Government. Just remember, Big Government can spend your money more wisely that you can.

Pet Tax

Doing our part to help Obama find new ways to tax the middle class, our next recommendation would be a special new Pet Tax.

The new Pet Tax would be on all pets, without exception, except for President Obama, and any congressional pet owners. If the owner fails to pay this quarterly tax, the pet would temporarily be housed in a government run foster-pet home, until the tax liability is collected. Part of the tax revenue taken in from the Pet Tax would go toward Universal Pet Healthcare.

Taxi!

In an effort to help the Obamadministration raise more tax revenue in order to help stimulate the growth of Big Government, we will be putting forth a series of ideas for areas that are ripe for new taxation.

The first new tax is the Taxi Tax. Since taxis add to global warming because they are left idling so much, and because it's mostly the rich who can hail a cab, and since travelling in general should be discouraged to help save the Earth, we suggest that the Obamadministation consider a special new Taxi Tax which would be paid by both the taxi driver and the taxi rider.

Watch for coming new ideas for new taxes to help stimulate the growth of Big Government!

Oxymoronic

Did you know that "oxymoron" is itself an oxymoron? "Oxy" meaning sharp, and "Moron" meaning dull - two things putogether which are seemingly contradictory. Below is a list of oxymorons relating to the new administration in Washington, D.C.

Obama Oxymorons (in no particular order):

Democrat republic
Limited government
Tax cuts
Government transparency
Unbiased media
Senator Franken
Efficient bureaucracy
Clean coal
Recovery.gov
Honest politician
Smart government
Balanced budget
Presidential approval
Unquestioned eligibility
President Obama

Windows

July 2009 Photo Caption Contest.

Post a comment with your captions ideas for this photo!